I'm back with the second chapter of my newest project. Sorry if I don't exactly update this as often as any devoted writer should, but this is purely a product of boredom mixed with my occasional hobby.

Please don't hate me for this, dear reader.

I will try my best to update as often as possible, but for now, onto the legal crap.

Disclaimer: Nintendo is a owned and registered trademark of Nintendo, I don't own jack.

"So what do you say?"

All I could do was stare at the ball just inches away from my muzzle. The offer caught me completely off guard so bad that I couldn't even formulate an answer.

"I-…I don't…" I stuttered, despite him not being able to understand me. Thankfully he caught onto my hesitance and pulled the ball away from me.

"Its ok, you don't have to answer right away, I know it's a little sudden, take your time and think on it." He said while rubbing my ears softly. I looked up to see him smiling down at me again before pulling something else out of his bag.

"You hungry?" He asked and replaced the ball from earlier with a strange pink looking fruit. I had to delve deep into what little memory I had left to identify it as a Pecha berry, which he placed in my paw. I looked down at the small berry in my paw with intrigue before bringing it closer to my snout, giving it a tentative sniff. I know its not something I would have done as a human, but it felt right in this new body of mine.

'Smells like sugar' I thought before taking a small bite of the fruit. My eyes shot open at the explosion of flavor that delighted my taste buds. It was so sweet, I couldn't even compare it to anything I'd ever tasted before. Then again I couldn't really remember anything I've eaten lately.

"You like it buddy?" he laughed while he watched me inhale the delectable treat. A small whimper escaped me after I ate the last of the berry, making Caleb laugh once again. "Sorry bud, that was my last one, how about we get somewhere more comfortable while I fix us some real food instead." He offered after getting back up on his feet and securing the bag around his shoulders. He gestured me forward and started walking along the road with Lilly on his heels. I absentmindedly followed after him, trying to come up with a conclusion as to why he would have offered to bring me along with him on his journey.

'Do I just seem that trustworthy, or is he desperate for greater numbers on his team' that's when I realized what I now was. Riolu evolve into Lucario, a very strong and very intimidating Pokémon that I believed that many a trainer would covet. 'Maybe he's just wants me for the potential power I could grant him' I concluded. If that truly is the case, then he would be severely disappointed. I don't even know if I received any powers after my mysterious transformation, but my instincts told me that I'd end up learning the answer pretty soon.

"Hey Riolu?" I looked up at Caleb, catching sight of his eyes gazing down at me with barely contained giddiness. "I was wondering…would you like to have a battle with us?" I tilted my head in response, wondering where that question has arisen from.

"A…battle?"

"Yeah, its actually really fun." Lilly told me from her place by Caleb's feet, "I love the excitement and thrill of a good battle." I looked between the two for a minute before bringing a paw up to my chin in thought.

'A battle...this can be a good chance to test out this new body of mine' I looked back up at them and saw the twin look's of hope and desperation in their eyes. They must have either been itching for a battle for awhile, or were eager to show someone their combined power and teamwork.

'Why the hell not' I nodded to Caleb, causing a giddy smile to form on his face before he quickly ushered me to the back of the Pokémon center where a large dirt field lay with large white lines like a basketball court.

"Man, this'll be so cool" Caleb was unable to contain the happiness in his voice, "I heard that Riolu and Lucario are super strong, can you believe we get to actually battle one Lilly?"

"This is going to be so exciting" Lillie's tail was wagging so fast that I was afraid it was gonna fly off.

"Y'all really love battling don't you?" I laughed, receiving a blush from the adorable little firefox.

"Yeah, it's kind of our thing" she replied sheepishly, making me let out another chuckle.

"Nothing wrong with that."

"Are you two ready?" Caleb shouted impatiently from the other side of the field. He truly was a very energetic person.

"Better get this rolling before your trainer looses his head" Lilly giggled and nodded before running over to Caleb, leaving me on the other side to face them in my very first battle. I don't know why I actually agreed to this, but something in the back of my mind was almost ordering me to fight. Maybe its my new fighting type nature taking over, maybe it was just me being an idiot.

'Too late to find out now, I'm going off a wing and a prayer.' I thought nervously, getting into a fighting stance. Lilly did the same and I caught a small bead of sweat rolling down Caleb's forehead. 'He's already too nervous, he's gotta learn to calm down.'

"Alright, Lilly, use scratch!" He ordered and I caught sight of Lillie's claws begin the glow brightly before she shot towards me like a bullet. I watched her movements closely and waited for her to close in on me before sidestepping her attack and grabbing her by her tail.

"Wha-" was all she could mutter before being hurled clear across the field, landing inches from her original position. I was honestly amazed at my reaction time, but I forced myself not to show it. I wanted to seem confident to try and throw off my opponent.

"Lilly, you ok?" the fox nodded in response and got back in her stance, her muscles tense. She was ready to go…perfect...this is gonna be fun.

"Quick Attack!" I didn't think it was possible, but she was actually faster than last time, I couldn't possibly keep up with her, all I could do was brace myself for the impact. When she connected the hit, it felt like I just got rammed by a freaking freight train, it actually knocked me back a few feet. That presence in the back of my head took over again and my arm started moving on its own accord.

"Concentrate your energy into your paw" I heard a voice tell me in my mind.

'What'

"Just do it" I decided not to question the little voice telling me what to do, that should probably worry me actually, and tried channeling my inner power into my paw. I was surprised when my paw actually started glowing brightly and I unconsciously touched Lilly's ribcage.

"Now release." I did as commanded and let loose all of the stored energy in my paw. This caused a large explosion that sent Lilly flying across the field once again.

"LILLY!" Caleb yelled and ran towards the Fennekin after the dust cleared out. Said Pokémon was laying her side, out like a light. I actually felt kinda bad for causing Lilly to be in this state and found myself by her side in an instant.

"Lilly?" I nudged her lightly, 'Did I over do it?' Caleb was quick to pick her up and run towards the Pokémon center, not even seeming to acknowledge my concern. I bit my cheek fearfully and ran after him as fast as I could, but even with my seemingly enhanced speed, I was hard-pressed to keep up with him.

"Damn dude, you're a freaking pint-sized powerhouse aren't you?" he laughed good-naturedly from his chair in the center lounge, much to my amazement. I just put his partner out of commission in one blow, and he's laughing about it.

"Your friend is hurt, how are you not upset!?" He just stared at me, reminding me of that ever-loving language barrier between us.

"Your worried about Lilly aren't you"

'Thank you oh divine being.' I quickly nodded at looked at him with worried eyes. He just smiled and patted my head comfortingly.

"Don't worry about her little dude, she a strong girl, she's probably gonna come out those doors any second now." As if on cue, the little tone rang through the center, signaling the complete healing of a patient, and the doors to the back offices opened, revealing a smiling Fennekin sitting calmly on a gurney being pushed by the Wigglytuff from earlier.

"Thank you for waiting, your Fennekin is back to full health." Nurse Joy informed us, her happy smile melting away my anxiety.

"CALEB" Lilly jumped from the gurney and into the arms of her beloved trainer. He caught her easily, laughing while she climbed up his arms and perching herself on his shoulder.

"Haha, happy to see you to girl." I found myself smiling at the adorable scene between the partners. I could see he took very good care of his friend, and he had potential in battle. Those nerves would be the end of him though.

'Maybe I should stick around for awhile, see if I could help fix that problem.'

"Alex, did you even hear me?"

"Huh?" I looked up at the fox.

"I said that you were awesome," she jumped to the floor and started running around me, "your so strong, I couldn't even last after one hit" she continued running around while I rubbed my arm sheepishly.

"Uhh, thanks I guess...are you doing ok though?" I asked and she came to a stop in front of me before twirling around and getting back in her fighting pose.

"Oh yeah, I'm raring to go" her attitude made my smile return as a looked at her form in relief. I was glad I didn't accidentally scar her permanently, but I still felt like I owed her and Caleb for helping me learn about the potential within me. That's when I had made my choice.

Caleb was too busy with fiddling around with some strange device to notice me creeping towards his bag. I'm sure Lilly noticed, but her curiosity wouldn't let her intervene. I dug around in the bag for a minute before I spotted the object of my desire. The Pokéball didn't activate as soon as I touched it, much to my surprise and delight, and I was able to carry it over to Caleb, who still hadn't noticed that a supposed 'wild' Riolu had pilfered a pretty expensive device from its contents. I decided to fix this situation by chucking the ball at the back of his head, where it hit with a satisfying and painful sounding thud.

"OW, the hell!" He rubbed the back of his head and glared down at the little smirking Pokémon that just nailed him. "What was that for?"

I raised an eyebrow and nodded to the ground behind him. He looked down at my instruction and instantly froze at the sight of the empty Pokéball laying by his feet.

"A...Pokéball..." he muttered before returning his eyes to me, "does that mean..." my smirk turned into an honest smile and I nodded again. His face reflected pure joy as he pumped his fist in the air and raised his voice to the heavens.

Luckily we were the only ones in the center at the time, so he didn't make himself look like a complete idiot to a bunch of strangers. I chuckled at his reaction and watched him snatch the ball from the ground and hold it at me eye level. I nodded and reached out, poking the center button with my paw. The ball responded by suddenly popping open and covering me in a bright red light that seemed to pull me along with it.

Next thing I know, I was in a vast white plain that seemed to stretch on forever. It was kinda creepy, but I knew that I shouldn't fight it just cause I don't like it. I'm agreed to go with Caleb, and I ain't about to go back on my word. So I just waited until the pull I was feeling from the world around me cease, and was rewarded by a resounding ding that echoed in the vast white landscape, signaling my capture.

"No going back now" I chuckled and looked up at the vast empty sky, or what used to be the sky. I was pleasantly surprised to see the smiling face of Caleb looking down at me from the world outside of the ball. Then everything around me vanished before I was assaulted by colors once again. I guessed that Caleb must have released me from the ball so he could address me more personally.

"Riolu" I looked back to see my new trainer kneeling down before me to be eye-to-eye with me. It looked like tears were threatening to fall from his face, unable to contain his joy.

"I can't thank you enough, you have no idea how much this means to me" he started and put his hands on my shoulders, "the fact that someone as powerful as you would let someone like me be your trainer...it means the world to me."

His sincerity touched me heart and I couldn't help but wrap my arms around him in a hug. I don't know why I did it, its just something telling me that it was something I should do. He returned it immediately, his fingers digging into the fur on my back and his arms pulling me close against him in a brotherly hug.

"Now before I forget" he pulled back and looked me dead in the eyes, "I can't keep calling you Riolu now can I, you need your own name." He lifted a hand to his chin and rubbed it thoughtfully while he did his best to come up with a name off the fly.

'Can't wait to hear this' I decided that it was just easier to let him name me than go through the hassle of trying to tell him my real one, I just hope he chooses something good.

"Oh, I know, how about Aaron" he suggested confidently. I sweat-dropped before shrugging and giving him a nod in confirmation. Not the most original name ever, but E for effort bud.

"Alright then, its official," he raised his fist towards me and looked at me expectantly, "welcome to the team Aaron."

I chuckled and bumped his fist lightly, solidifying my place as a friend and new member of his team.

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