Chapter 7: The Test (Part II)

An Abandoned Field In the Desert

near Dutchman Pass Rd, Henderson, NV, United States

Sunday, 5 January 2020 14:55

The real test is about to begin.

I sat back down on the wooden bleachers on the sideline of the field and brought out my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone out of my pocket. - It is a phone (more like a "phablet" because it is that large of a size) that I have had for six years now. Even though the Android version is way out of date, it still has been a pretty reliable phone for me, and I am very happy with the technology features it came with. The only major change I have done to the phone is extend the battery capacity, three times the original size; I can get up to around 48 hours without charging with occasional use (checking notifications and a little bit of social media on it every now and then). I nicknamed it "The Brick" because it looks like a brick...and feels like a brick. - I opened the camera application and prepared it to record a video.

As I was prepping for recording, both Greninja and Lucario were having a last-minute conversation.

"[If anything bad happens to the both of us, just know that we have Simon to help us,]" Greninja said.

"Yeah I know, it is proven," Lucario replied, "If any of us are in bad shape, we can simply enter our Poké Balls and have him do the rest. I will never understand how we are recovering outside of a Pokémon Center."

"[So do you want to take it nice and easy, or do you want to go all out?]"

"I think we should take it slow first, then go all out."

"[Okay, fair enough. Let's do it!]" They both fist bumped, and then they went to the far ends of the field.

"Oh man, here we go," I said as I pressed the record button on my phone, and the phone started to capture a video.

I have always loved watching Pokémon battles. Whenever I have free time, I would be at home watching the anime, sometimes repeating my favorite episodes from the XYZ series (because that is my favorite series and the generation I started the games in). Sure, the anime is cheesy most of the time, but let's face it...it's a kids show. Most of the anime is centered around what seems to be a forever 10-year-old kid by the name of Ash Ketchum after all. But anyway, what I'm hyped for is to see a battle IN REAL LIFE. It will look totally different when compared to watching a battle in the anime. There would be water everywhere because of Greninja. There would be a lot of "bullet holes" on the ground from the projectiles from both him and Lucario. There would be a few loud noises from physical contact between the two monsters. There is a chance that I could die from a projectile. There is just so much that would happen within the next five minutes or so. In any case, I am ready for everything. I will be the first person to ever witness a real Pokémon battle!

I focused the camera on Greninja, who is already on his ninjutsu pose. Before a battle, he would always do this, standing on one leg and having his hands together, with two out of three of his fingers on one hand wrapped around his other hand. He has his eyes closed, and he was thinking to himself, "(All my life, I've been training myself to be the very best Greninja I could be. From my birth as a Froakie, throughout my evolution to Frogadier and finally the evolution to who I am now, I've learned a lot growing up with my master Simon. Because of me, along with the help of Lucario, I helped Simon become who he is, and that's why I exist. I am the reason why he has earned all badges to participate in the Pokémon League in Kalos. I am the reason why we won the League. I am the reason why Simon is still alive. If it weren't for each other, we wouldn't be who we are today. Now, I am here, in this completely new world, without my master. You have taught me well, and I will be applying my techniques learned in previous battles for this battle. May Arceus watch over me as I find ways to defeat Lucario in this match.)"

After Greninja, I pointed the camera on Lucario next, who is standing tall, head down and his eyes half-closed, his paws on his sides. He was clearing his mind free from anything that would interfere with his battle performance. He also thought to himself, "(Ever since I met my master, I discovered my hidden potentials, and I have been using those in the previous battles in Kalos. They have proven me well because I was able to conquer some of the hardest enemies with them. And if it was not for Simon, I would not be who I am nor where I am. I am one who believes someone must never hesitate to do whatever it takes to win a battle. More importantly, the trust between trainer and Pokémon must be well established, and I saw that happen between me and him. Because of him, I was able to mega-evolve. Because of him, I was able to do more things I would not have done under Korrina's care. … Arceus, bless us with your gifts of power for use in battle, and may you keep all of us, especially Simon, our guardian, safe from trouble.)"

I panned the phone to fit the two Pokémon in the frame. There was silence for a minute.

Then I heard a growl from Lucario. "Are you ready, partner!?"

"[I will not hold back!]" Greninja exclaimed. Immediately, he jumped several tens of feet into the air thanks to his strong and powerful frog legs. I was blown away by how high he was! Then I could see him slapping his thighs, followed by him throwing two projectiles made of water. It appears he was using Water Shuriken, his signature move.

Lucario prepared for his defense. He put his two paws together and spread them out to form a bright beam. Then he held the beam on one end with both paws together as of he was holding a sword. The beam appeared to be the shape of a bone, about three feet in length. When Lucario saw the two projectiles of water coming directly at him, he positioned his paws to the center of the bone and started spinning it. He was using Bone Rush to defend himself from the shurikens. The two shurikens struck the bone, resulting in two loud sounds resembling a gunshot hitting a wall.

"Oh my f****** God!" I said out loud. I could not believe my eyes and ears!

Greninja landed back down on the ground. Lucario, still holding his bone, rushed forward towards him. He can run really fast, but not as fast as Greninja. He used Bone Rush again, but this time to attack. He swung at Greninja, but Greninja jumped again, making Lucario's bone hit the ground. The sound of the bone impact was also very loud due to the bone's velocity when it hit the ground.

Greninja, still in the air, turned himself around and used Water Shuriken again. Once again, he slapped his thighs and threw two pieces of water blades at Lucario. Lucario turned around to find Greninja, but he did not notice the shurikens coming at him. The shurikens hit the ground about a foot away from Lucario. Plumes of dust rose from the ground covering Lucario. "Arrrgh!" he grunted.

Greninja landed back on the ground, then he struck a battle pose. "[Well?]" he croaked.

"I am just getting warmed up!" Lucario exclaimed.

"Oh God, guys, this is intense right here," I said talking at the recording. "My first Pokémon battle spectacular."

Both monsters were now having a stare off. This continued for about thirty seconds. Then Greninja said, "[Lucario, you make the next move.]"

Lucario formed his bone again to use Bone Rush. He rushed forward like last time, but he had a different strategy. He rushed close to Greninja, which results in Greninja jumping once more. However, he stopped short of him. His bone vanished, and then he held both of his paws out towards Greninja. "(Uh oh, is he about to use Aura Sphere?)" I thought. Then suddenly, a bright, white ball of light appeared in front of his paws and grew bigger for a second, then a bright, white beam appeared connecting from Lucario to Greninja in a split second. Lucario has used Flash Cannon.

Since Greninja was in the air, he had little control over moving himself. The light energy from Lucario hit him and caused damage. It caused little pain to Greninja because of the fact that Flash Cannon is a Steel-type move, and due to his Water-type nature, it deals half of the usual damage to him. "Whoa!" I reacted to this sight. Then, after Greninja landed on the ground, I saw a field of blue light flowing down from top to bottom on Greninja. "Wait a second, that means one of his stats has decreased," I said to myself. Indeed, Flash Cannon has a chance of lowering a target's Special Defense stat.

"[That was a good hit, mate,]" Greninja said.

"Even though I am aware that Steel-type moves are not as effective against Water-type, I wanted to start off light," Lucario replied.

"[Now that's funny, you just made a pun. How does that make you feel?]" Greninja made a slight smile.

Lucario realized this. "You know what, I do not even give a damn anymore."

"[So what's next?]"

"Hmm," Lucario thought on what to do next. Then he said, "You go."

"[Okay then,]" Greninja responded. He thought for a few seconds. Then he folded his arms together to form an X as if he was shielding himself. Out of his fists came bright white beams shaped like kunai. Then he walked forward, allowing Lucario an opportunity to decide on something.

Lucario knew he was about to use the move Cut, a Normal-type move that is not very effective against Fighting-type Pokémon like him. "So, you want to go hand on hand? Alright then." He formed his bone again.

Greninja saw the bone, then he dashed forward. Lucario, already prepared to match his attacks, spun his bone and allowed Greninja to make his first move. In under a second, Greninja arrived at Lucario and delivered the first strike by slashing with one of his kunai. Lucario blocked it, but due to Greninja's velocity striking his bone, he was sent sliding back, and Greninja was staying in place, as if a cue ball hit the 8-ball and the cue ball stay put.

Lucario then rushed to Greninja after he stopped sliding on the dirt, and he swung his bone at him at a repeating fashion. Greninja countered his throws with his kunai, and the physical contact between him and Lucario lasted for about half a minute until he manages to strike a blow. Lucario was knocked back a few feet from Greninja due to the hit, and his bone disappeared. Now, both Pokémon are about even in health points.

"Nice one, we're equal. So how about we turn up the heat?" Lucario asked.

"[I'm as ready as I'll ever be, Lucario!]" Greninja replied with determination.

At this point, I have enough video footage of both of them fighting against each other. I stopped the camera recording and put my phone away into my pocket. "Hey guys," I shouted. Both creatures looked at me. "Impress me. You both can do this!" I raised my hands open into the air. They nodded in response, then turned towards each other. Both of them were planning their next moves.

Only two of Greninja's moves have regular damaging effects towards Lucario: Water- and Flying-type (Water Shuriken and Aerial Ace, respectively); the rest are not very effective (Cut and Dark Pulse). On the other hand, Lucario can deal double the damage on Greninja with his Fighting-type moves (Aura Sphere and Power-Up Punch); his Ground-type move (Bone Rush) deals normal damage, and his Steel-type move (Flash Cannon) is not very effective against him. Therefore, technically speaking, Lucario has a moveset advantage over Greninja.

"(Okay,)" Greninja thought, "(I have only two moves that are effective against Lucario. I just need to strategize by myself on how I will make them work better than just using those moves on him. I have a feeling he will be using his Aura Sphere at some point. I know he will not use Power-Up Punch because that is devastating to me, and he knows that from what happened to me in the past training. If using Aura Sphere is the case, I can counter that with either my Cut, Water Shuriken or Aerial Ace.)"

Meanwhile, on Lucario's mind, "(So I have little options. I have trained with Greninja so much in the past that I already know what is going to happen with some of my moves. I know I cannot use Power-Up Punch because that is pure savage. I have no issues with using Aura Sphere as long as my partner can deflect it; he has done this in previous training. If I use Bone Rush again, he will not hesitate to use Cut again. There is also a chance he can use Aerial Ace against that. If he does, when he hits my bone, it will shatter and will possibly cause damage to me,)" Flying-type wins over Ground-type, "(I have to be careful with what I choose to do. Simon would trust me to come up with the best strategy.)

"Okay, Greninja! Here is your next obstacle," Lucario barked. He positioned his paws to the right of his waist with his palms facing each other. In-between his paws, there was circulating energy that was visible, and it steadily grew into a bright blue ball. In a matter of a few seconds, the ball was expanding to about ten inches in diameter.

"[Aura Sphere, just as I had predicted,]" Greninja said to himself. To counter Lucario moves, he decided to use Water Shuriken. This time, instead of using two small shurikens, he put both hands together at his right side. Between his palms was a growing shuriken which grew to about the same size as Lucario's Aura Sphere. Once the shuriken had been formed, he threw it with his left hand as if he was throwing a frisbee.

The shuriken was spinning with such velocity that it could slice through metal. Right after it was thrown, Lucario also threw his Aura Sphere, pushing it with both of his paws towards Greninja, using his strength to push the energy ball up to speed. Both projectiles were now coming at each other at high speed. In less than a second, they both collided into an explosion, which sounded like a grenade. The collision caused a bright flash of light and a shockwave that caused particles of dirt below to be sent flying around the vicinity of the explosion. I felt the wave of little dust pebbles hitting my face, with some entering my mouth which was open, and even though I was wearing wraparound glasses, the particles were small enough to enter my eye area from the bottom of them. I raised an arm to cover my face, and I instinctively closed my eyes after a few particles went through.

"Holy s***!" I exclaimed to myself, and then I started spitting. Then I took off my glasses to wipe off any dirt away from my eyelids. I had never been near an actual explosion before. There wasn't a simple way to describe this experience.

Greninja and Lucario halted to see me. Then Lucario asked, "Are you okay, Simon?"

"Yeah," I replied, still cleaning my eye area with only my hands. "Wooooaaah! I have not experienced anything like this, it's so epic."

"The battle is not over yet," Lucario said. Greninja stared back at him to stay on his own guard in case he throws a surprise attack.

"Right, continue. I wanna see more!" I said, feeling better to watch the rest of the battle. "(I should prepare myself for situations like what happened just now. I'm actually a little nervous now that I'm danger close.)"

Lucario wanted to check on me using Aura, but he knew Greninja would make a move on him if he did. So he returned his focus. "Okay, Greninja, it is your turn to make another move."

"[Let's go back to physical moves]," he replied. "[I will use Aerial Ace!]"

"Give me your all!" Lucario barked. He prepared Bone Rush, even though Greninja's move will have a big advantage.

Greninja charged forward then jumped using little force on the ground, and then his arms and legs glowed. Lucario spun his bone with both of his paws then set himself up for a counter. He stood there until Greninja got closer. The distance between the two had decreased until Greninja was a couple yards in front of him. Then, he stepped to the side to have Greninja miss him. Once Greninja passed him, sliding on the ground after landing, Lucario turned around and charged at him. He slashed his bone on Greninja, and it hit successfully.

"[Aaargh!]" Greninja yelled as he hit the ground and slid for some distance. His health points decreased to less than half-full.

I gasped and put my hands on both sides of my head. "(Oh no, is he alright?!)" Worried thoughts started generating in my head after witnessing my all-time favorite Pokémon get hit.

Lucario walked up to Greninja and asked him, "Are you all right, partner?"

Greninja slowly got up from the ground and replied, "[Yeah, I'm fine. You got me.]"

"Whew, he'll be fine," I sighed after I saw him get up under his own energy, filling me with confidence.

Suddenly, Greninja turned around and struck Lucario with his arm, which was glowing. Lucario was knocked back quite a distance. "Grrrrrr," he said, feeling pain. His health points were now at about less than half of maximum.

"Oh my God!" I said in amazement. "What a surprise!"

"Nice one, mate," Lucario said and smiled.

"[Thanks,]" Greninja replied.

"Hey guys," I said out loud. "Come over here!"

Greninja and Lucario both glanced at each other for a few seconds, then proceeded towards me.

"I... I have no words...to describe what I just saw," I was trembling, "But I do wanna say that..." I paused.

Lucario noticed my trembling, and he had to check on my Aura. "Simon, you are worried about something. Please tell us."

I knew that was going to happen. How else could I have hidden myself? "I'm just worried about how well you guys will fare into this world. After seeing the powerful moves you all have, I just don't want an innocent to be harmed. As far as I can tell, someone will literally be killed in one swing of a bone or a shuriken...or ANYTHING for that matter!" I said this with the most serious-looking face I can possibly make.

"[I mean it's not like we harm humans for pleasure...]" Greninja said.

"No," Lucario replied, "Simon has a point. If we use a move against the humans in this world, it may have a devastating result. I believe it. We are at a high enough level that if we do not control our power, someone will be killed. Now if it is a lower level Pokémon, it can be mitigated."

"[You're right...]"

"I do agree with you that we are not Pokémon that simply harm humans for fun. For Arceus' sake, we respect humans." Lucario put both paws on my shoulders, "Simon, this is your world. We will follow you wherever you go. Somehow, our lives depend on you now. And if there is anybody out there that will try to harm you, we can protect you upon your request."

I could tell in his eyes that he really means it. "Thank you, Lucario. I appreciate it, and I promise to you, and Greninja as well, that I will do my best to guide you through planet Earth and show you how everything here works." I teared up a little bit. "I will enforce the fact that you two must not use moves unless I tell you to. I will also have to test how much power you really need for all of your moves in case you end up using them on people. I am willing to sacrifice myself for that, but as much as possible I don't wanna die, nor does anyone here."

"We both understand," Lucario replied. Greninja nodded and raised a fist.

"Okay, I think this is a good time to stop. I can see that you two look a little beat up." I recommended. They agreed. "Here, drink up." I reached into my backpack for two Gatorade bottles, and then I gave one to them.

After drinking the Gatorade, Lucario commented, "This does actually taste better after some action."

"Yeah, and this stuff works!" I exclaimed.

Sunday, 5 January 2020 15:15

"Okay, everyone back inside!" I commanded as I held both Poké balls towards the two monsters. Streams of red light covered Greninja and Lucario, and both were sucked into the ball.

I took my Nintendo 3DS from inside my backpack, booted up the Pokémon X game, and loaded my profile. I put one of the spheres on top of the bottom screen, and the turquoise magic occurred. The healing sound from the game played through the system's speakers. Then I moved the restored Pokémon out and put the other on the screen. The same magic occurred.

Once Greninja and Lucario were healed, I told them to come out. Both balls opened and out came blue light. They formed into actual beings, and once the transformation process completed, both of the living creatures took a deep breath. They appear to be relieved of their conditions successfully.

"[I still find it weird to be able to recover with Simon's device,]" Greninja pointed out.

"It will forever be a mystery, Greninja," Lucario responded.

The winds suddenly picked up, and I could feel the sudden drop of temperatures from the wind chill. "Whoa, there it is," I said, "It's getting cold. We all should get going."

"Right behind you, Simon," Lucario said.

I packed my backpack and secured it, then we walked back to the car.