Chapter Ten: Parody of Another Fandom

Lelouch laughed at the trainers that called Suzaku weak.

They all knew him from their own village, where he had been under the tutelage of Gym Leader Tohdoh. They had all heard the stories about how Suzaku had come running to Tohdoh with an injured Pidgey, begging for the Pokemon to be saved. They had all heard how he had run away from home on his tenth birthday because of his father. Genbu had demanded that Suzaku follow the usual Pokemon journey that most ten year olds went through. They were to go to the nearest professor's house, if they didn't already have a Pokemon or couldn't take the family Pokemon, get the gear that they would need and set out on their own journey. Genbu Kururugi had made it to the Pokemon League once, and had placed third. It hadn't been enough to gain him entry to the Elite Four, but it had been more than enough for him to win fame in his own town. The stories of his anger at his son's refusal were legendary.

Of course, they all knew Suzaku from their own journeys, everyone had seen him with his Pokemon and challenged him to battles, all of which he had turned down. On the rare occasion he did accept, it was because one of his own Pokemon stepped up to take the challenge. To the rest of the people in their age group, Suzaku was a mystery; either too stupid or too weak to know what he was doing. To the rest of them, it would be better off if Suzaku had stayed home instead of going out on his own.

But none of them knew Suzaku, not really.

Lelouch had known Suzaku for seven years now, the two of them meeting early on into their journey. He remembered goading Suzaku into a battle, confident that his three Pokemon could beat the one Mewoth that Suzaku had tailing him, but he had been proven wrong. Everything that the other trainers had told him about Suzaku was wrong, so terribly wrong and it had embarrassed Lelouch completely.

He had put off his own journey, content to return home and look after his sister. Of course, he still caught Pokemon, on the off chance that he would go out into the field. Lelouch had planned to follow Nunnally, just to be sure that his sister was left alone. But then Suzaku had messed it all up.

Three years after his disastrous battle with Suzaku, the boy had showed up looking panicked. He had dragged Lelouch out to where a group of Pokemon poachers were setting traps, begging for his help in setting the Pokemon free. Lelouch had managed to get attached to a Vulpix that had been stuck in a trap, but that was the only Pokmeon they had kept that day. The others were sent free, and the poachers sent packing by Suzaku.

Lelouch had expected that to be the end of their friendship, but he found himself following Suzaku, just to make sure the boy didn't get into trouble. He remembered the many arguments that they had over that time, but they had somehow managed to come to an understanding, a strange friendship. Sometimes, it still baffled Lelouch, but he knew better than to think too hard on it. He trusted Suzaku to have his back no matter what, and he trusted Suzaku with his own life, something that Suzaku had proved time after time. However their friendship came about, it had worked.

Together they could do anything.

Lelouch smirked to himself, leaning forward on his rock as he watched a fierce wind ripple through the field in front of him. On his shoulder, he could feel his Murkrow dig her talons in, getting a better grip as he shifted. On his lap, Espeon didn't seem to notice his move; she was too busy staring at the battle that was happening right in front of them. For a moment, Lelouch was tempted to allow his other Pokemon out, just to see the proceedings, but he didn't want them running into battle. Not when this one was Suzaku's.

There was an explosion in the field, Lelouch starting to his feet. Whatever had happened in the battle had taken a turn for the worse. Lelouch narrowed his eyes before making his decision. He trusted Suzaku to hold out on his own, but there was nothing wrong with tipping the scales to their advantage.

He reached up to lift the Murkrow from his shoulder, looking the bird in the eyes. "Go find the traps, mark them. Espeon," Lelouch glanced down at the Pokemon by his feet, "Follow and free them."

The two nodded and took off, Lelouch ignoring them. He was too busy reaching for three Pokeballs on his belt. Technically, it was an unfair number, considering that Suzaku had probably already worn the poachers down, but Lelouch couldn't be sure if the poachers would play far. And, after all, he was only going to buy Suzaku some time before the main event arrived. And, considering the size of the explosion, it wouldn't be too long.

Lelouch selected Nidoking, Ninetails and Serperior's Pokeballs, releasing the Pokemon quickly. They fell into place beside him as he strode down the hill onto the field. Lelouch reached out to rest his hand on Serperior's head, a gentle reminder to all of them to wait for his signal. He was just there to intimidate, not to barge in immediately. Suzaku would let them know when they were needed.

The smoke over the battlefield cleared, Lelouch getting a glimpse of two crumpled bodies to one side. He clenched his free hand into a fist as he recognized them. It was Suzaku and Lancelot, the Absol curled pathetically on the ground. Suzaku wasn't moving, but he wasn't in any danger, not by the way that Arthur rushed up to jump onto Suzaku's body. The Persian snarled, glaring across the field.

Lelouch pivoted to look at their opponents, not really paying attention to the men. His focus was on the Charizard and Rhydon that were still standing, although it was barely. Suzaku had managed to inflict some damage on them before he had been knocked out. Lelouch narrowed his eyes, resisting the urge to check the sky or on his friend. Arthur would have everything well in hand concerning Suzaku; he just had to stall for a bit more time.

"Ninetails, make a fire and make it big." He heard a soft bark in understanding, feeling the Pokemon brush against him before Ninetails rushed off to the side. Lelouch stepped easily to the side, Serperior and Nidoking moving to stand in front of him.

He could see the looks of surprise on the men's faces, the expression quickly covered over. It was obvious that he was going into battle at a disadvantage considering the two Pokemon already on the field, but he had gone for impressive and threatening over type advantage. Besides, from what he had seen of the men, they were just hired thugs and none too bright.

One of them stepped forward, waving a hand in Suzaku's direction. "You gonna to step in for your friend?"

Lelouch gave the man a banal smile. "For now, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. We get to show some boys how Pokemon battles are really done." The poacher reached over to nudge his companion, Lelouch ignoring them in favor of the heat that he felt as Ninetails sent up a column of flame.

He had called, now he only had to wait for it to come.

Lelouch sighed, rocking back onto his heels as he looked at the men. "Tell me why you think I need a lesson."

"Because all boys need to know their place."

Lelouch saw his Pokemon twitch, both of them making an effort not to look over their shoulders. That was as much of a hint as the faint sound of something flying their direction. Nidoking and Serperior hunkered down, knowing what was coming their way, both of them a little intimidated. Lelouch couldn't blame them, not when he was also close to shaking. Then again, it was probably for a different reason.

He crossed his arms over his chest, about to deliver a witty retort when he heard a groan from behind him. Lelouch turned slightly, watching as Suzaku rocked onto his hands and knees, pushing at Arthur as the Persian continued to hiss and spit. Their gazes met for a moment, Suzaku blinking blearily at him before he was reaching for the Absol that was still unconscious on the ground. "Lancelot!"

"Suzaku." He looked up at the sound of his name, seeming to really see Lelouch for the first time. Lelouch just tipped his chin up. "Try to exercise some control this time. We're trying to save the Pokemon too."

The sound of something large coming their way was getting louder, Lelouch watching as Suzaku glanced over his shoulder before stumbling to his feet. Suzaku stepped carefully over the Absol, straddling the Pokemon as he looked over towards the poachers. He raised one arm up, like he was about to catch a flying bird. Lelouch smirked at the action, knowing that it was just to mark where he was so that the incoming attack wouldn't harm the people and Pokemon around Suzaku. He waved to his own Pokemon, retreating to the safe zone as Suzaku pointed toward the poachers and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Sacred Fire!"

The ground still smoldered, but the worst of the fire had been put out quickly after the attack had abated. In the ensuing chaos of Ho-Oh's arrival, Espoen and Murkrow had managed to free the trapped Pokemon and had returned to Lelouch's side, resuming their lounging positions. Lelouch had let the rest of his team out as well to let them romp before they were cooped up again. He had no idea where Suzaku would go next, but he was sure that he would follow after.

He made a face as he watched Ninetails roll enthusiastically in the ashes, letting the Pokemon do as it wished. It was a rare holiday for them on their constant tracking of Pokemon poachers. They had gotten enough out of the two that had been defeated to take down an entire ring; something that Lelouch was sure would make Suzaku happy, as soon as his friend was done looking after his Pokemon.

Lelouch looked over to where Suzaku was carefully applying salve to Lancelot's injuries, speaking quietly to the Absol. He smiled fondly at the scene, even with the inclusion of the huge bird that loomed over Suzaku.

He had long since gotten used to Ho-Oh's presence and the legendary Pokemon's affection for Suzaku. Even now Ho-Oh was trying to preen Suzaku, failing in its task to get Suzaku's messy curls to lay straight. But the Pokemon persevered; even when Suzaku reached up to gently push Ho-Oh's head away. It was only when Ho-Oh draped a wing over Suzaku that he allowed the preening to continue, meeting Lelouch's gaze with a helpless shrug of his own.

All the other trainers might have thought Suzaku was weak, but that was because they had never seen the sixth Pokemon that followed him around, the one that Suzaku never claimed to have captured, even though Lelouch was sure that the fact that Suzaku had never tried to catch the Pokemon meant more than any claim he made. And whether or not Suzaku had officially caught Ho-oh or not didn't matter.

Ho-Oh was as much Suzaku's as Suzaku was Ho-Oh's.

Author's Note: Here are the teams I made up for them for this fic. Please not that I chose Pokemon that I thought would suit them the best, not Pokemon that would make a good team for battling per say.

Lelouch-Nidoking, Ninetails, Espeon, Serperior, Murkrow, Liepard
Suzaku-Persian (Arthur), Breloom, Lairon, Absol (Lancelot), Haxorus, Ho-Oh