I Am Lucario
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
Hello, everyone. I was wrong; this chapter turned out to be just about as long as the previous one. Yep, this is another triple-length chapter. I hope that would make up for the delay.
As mentioned before, this story is now under General/Friendship and Lucario/Eevee. I'll switch back to Lucario/Absol eventually. I notice that the Eevee chapters are generally less popular compared to the others; perhaps I have made her too unlikable? If you have any comments or suggestions for the Evolution Pokémon, feel free to leave it in a review!
Speaking of reviews, we're almost at the 100 mark! The previous chapter was the most-reviewed yet (and it also received the most votes in my poll, followed by Existence). Thank you very much, everyone. And thank you to those who added this to their favourites / alerts as well. It seriously means a lot to me.
By the way, Absol does decide to stay with Lucario. I've fixed the ambiguous sentence; I apologise for any confusion caused.
All right – on to the chapter. Like before, since it's longer than my usual chapters, you might want to read it bit by bit lest it gets too boring.
In response to Ri2; thank you very much! Indeed, under normal circumstances, the mess would have been cleaned up, but Kip decided to leave everything as it were – a decision which certainly raised some eyebrows. Incidentally, I'm sorry for the ambiguity in Chapter 10! As mentioned above, Absol decided to continue staying in the cave.
In response to Anonymous1; thank you very much! I'm a slow writer. XD This chapter marks the beginning of phase two, which explores more on Eevee's story. I hope I don't disappoint!
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The young girl glanced around at the many people and Pokémon that had gathered to hear her speak. Used as she was to making public appearances, she was still bewildered at the reception she received today. Surely they wouldn't be this interested in her?
On the chair to her right sat a Skitty with a bright purple ribbon tied to her tail. The pink Pokémon was licking her paws while occasionally beaming and waving at the crowd, posing as a few people tried to snap some photos with their fancy cameras. Well, at least someone was enjoying herself.
"Miss Kaori! Miss Kaori! Over here, please!"
The girl turned towards the photographer who had yelled for her attention. The man was at the far corner, waving at her enthusiastically while holding up his camera. She put on her well-practised plastic smile for him, doing her best not to flinch as several cameras began flashing at once. The press conference had yet to start, and already she wanted to leave.
A man in a suit came up to the stage and grabbed a microphone from the desk. Everyone quietened at once, with the exception of a couple of Bidoof who were chasing each other merrily, clearly not caring at all for the conference. The man shot the two Pokémon a look of annoyance before speaking.
"Everyone, thank you for coming today. Without further ado, let us begin. If you have any questions for Kaori, you may ask them now…"
The man had barely finished speaking when a few reporters began to stand with their hands raised, each of them trying to look taller than their neighbours so as to have their questions answered first. He was not disoriented though; in fact, he looked positively happy. He glanced around them appraisingly for a moment – as though trying to pick out the most influential reporter – before pointing at a woman sitting in the front row.
The woman stood up. "Miss Kaori, how do you feel about playing the lead role in 'Ocean of Time'? Can you tell us what it has been like?"
Kaori flashed a big smile once more, remembering that she was supposed to act as cute as possible. "It's a wonderful opportunity – I'm so honoured to be a part of the movie. Everyone has been so nice and patient, even though I kept making mistakes." The audience tittered; some even clapped their hands. "Thank you very much, Solar Studios, for giving me and Skitty the chance to do so!"
There was a smattering of applause, followed by a sudden rush as the other reporters began fighting for the chance to present their questions again. At last, the man on the stage had to intervene, choosing another reporter.
"Would you say that Skitty is the best friend you could ever dream of having?"
Several people in the audience scoffed, shaking their heads at what they deemed was a foolish question. Kaori, however, hesitated as she turned to look at the Skitty next to her. The Pokémon was beaming, letting out a soft purr. No doubt the answer was clear to the audience, but should she choose what was obvious, or what was honest?
"Yes." Realising that she sounded grave as she said that, she coughed and said again, more cheerfully this time, "Yes, of course!"
And she pulled Skitty into a hug. That was the cue for members of the audience to quickly pull out their cameras once more in order to capture the heart-warming moment.
Kaori broke the hug abruptly and turned to face the audience again. The reporters on the front saw their opportunity, and began raising their hands. The man with the microphone came forward once more, but Kaori shook her head, mouthing to him, "It's fine."
Sighing inwardly, she pointed at a random reporter. To her dismay, it was another question about her Pokémon partner.
"Can you tell us how and when you first met Skitty?"
She paused again, her smile faltering slightly. "Well… I remember it clearly. I was only four at that time. I woke up on my birthday, and there was an egg, waiting for me." Her smile returned; a genuine one this time. It was, after all, easier to talk about an event that truly brought joy to her, even if it was slightly different from what the reporter asked…
"I was overjoyed… To have a Pokémon that will play with me, stick by my side… comfort me when I'm down… Really, it was a dream come true." She leaned forward on the table. "It hatched some time later – she looked so cute then! Her grey and white fur was so soft, and her tail was so curly…" Several people looked confused, but she did not notice. "I remember I used to play with her tail. It was like a giant spring…"
Skitty began prodding her arm. Kaori looked round at her, and the memory in her head imploded. "Did – did I say…" She laughed nervously. "I was so caught in reminiscence that I've made a few mistakes! I meant her tail was like a giant string, so long and… uh…"
Kaori cast another hurried glance at Skitty, scrambling for a word she could use. "Long and nice. And I meant pink fur, of course! I don't know how I could have messed that up!"
As the audience laughed, a young woman with wavy, brown hair stood up. "Miss Kaori, you are only nine, no? And yet you are no stranger to the television and music business. Now that you have completed your first movie, do you plan on venturing further into this industry?"
"Well… sure, I find the experience fun and beneficial, after all!"
The woman nodded and smiled. "For someone so young, you are really mature!"
"Thank you!"
Kaori smiled again, sinking backwards on her chair. I'm not mature… I'm just tired.
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Chapter Eleven: Life in Polyrhythm
"The smallest star may just go on to shine the brightest."
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"Ha, they like you, Absol! They really do!" Lucario stood back and laughed, watching as a couple of young boys began ruffling and tugging at his roommate's fur. "Looks like you made some new friends!"
"Gah! But I don't like them!" Absol gritted his teeth, wincing as one of the boys gave a particularly large pull. "Sometimes, I find myself wishing that people would believe in the whole Disaster Pokémon thing! Aren't they afraid I would eat them? Where are their parents?"
Lucario looked around. "Their mother is over there, buying their lunch."
The cafeteria was packed with people and Pokémon alike. After the press conference had ended, many of them decided to have their lunch in the cafeteria, which was in the same building where the conference was held. Most of the tables were occupied, but Lucario was lucky enough to find one for him and Absol. Unfortunately for the white-furred Pokémon, he was spotted by a pair of Absol-enthusiasts.
"Well, Absol, I think I should go buy our lunch too. Don't move, okay? Don't let anyone steal our table."
"You're kidding right?" Absol said incredulously. Lucario looked at him and laughed; the boys had started climbing onto the Disaster Pokémon's back. "I couldn't even if I wanted to!"
"I'll be back soon. Hang in there."
"Hang in there…" Absol repeated dully. One of the boys had managed to wrap his leg around Absol's neck to secure his position, while the other was slipping down Absol's back as he desperately tried to pull himself up on the Pokémon again. "Are you talking to me, or the boys?"
Lucario laughed again as he strode off to check out the stalls. A few months have passed since the closure of the Silver Lane murder case, and Absol was doing very well. True, he was silent like usual when he was with others, but he had a more positive outlook towards life in general. And he had reverted to being cheerful around Lucario, much like in the past when the Aura Pokémon first met him.
Looking around, most of the stalls had a long line of people queuing in front of them. The press conference certainly brought good business to the cafeteria. However, as it was his first time in the building, he had no idea which stall provided the best food. At last, he joined the queue to what looked to be the dessert shop. It was probably a poor choice for lunch, but the colourful pictures of desserts displayed on the signs propped around the store caught Lucario's interest.
"Here you go, Absol," Lucario said, returning to the table a short while later with two plates of ice-cream. "Where are your new friends?"
"Their mother came and took them away," he said, somewhat happily. Absol jerked his head towards the boys – they were sitting at a table on the far left, occasionally looking at him longingly as they ate. "Let's finish our food and get out of here quickly, please…"
"Okay. I didn't know what to get, so I bought some ice-cream. Or would you rather have something else?"
"No, no, ice-cream's fine." He looked down at the plastic spoon sticking out from the dessert. "I've never tried it before."
"Me neither. When I place my paws above it, like this," he held out his paws over the ice-cream as though warming himself up by a fireplace, "I can feel a cooling sensation. It's almost as if it has an aura of its own."
Absol, as usual, ate without the use of his paws, choosing to bend his head down and eat directly from the plate. Lucario, however, decided to try using the spoon provided. Holding the manmade utensil was not too difficult a task, what with his experience in writing with a pen. The hard part was scooping the dessert out, though he succeeded in removing a large chunk of ice-cream from the plate on his first try.
As he was used to chewing his food, Lucario sank his teeth into the ice-cream without giving it a second thought. He was rewarded by a sharp pain in his fangs, and he withdrew the spoon quickly. Noticing that Absol wasn't making the same mistake as he did, Lucario mimicked his friend's actions by taking it slow and licking from the spoon instead. When he felt ready to face the cold again, he began taking small mouthfuls of the dessert.
The taste was unique, to say the least. It was sweet, and yet it made his tongue a little numb. Still, he had a tendency to like sweet items, and this was no different. Like the marshmallow, it was soft, and he had fun squishing it around his mouth with his tongue. Lucario was just beginning to wonder what hot ice-cream would taste like when a whole group of people began pouring into the cafeteria.
At the very front of the crowd was a short girl with a big, purple ribbon tied to her black hair – the child star he had seen earlier. She was accompanied by several important-looking people, some of who were pushing away persistent photographers insisting on taking more shots of Kaori. Romping around her feet was the Skitty, looking thoroughly pleased at the attention she and her partner were garnering.
A small, brown Pokémon ran forward and sat a short distance away. To Lucario's immense surprise, it was Eevee, looking nervous and excited at the same time. The Evolution Pokémon had grown a little since the last time he saw her, but her aura remained the same as always. He thought it strange how he did not notice her presence before.
Lucario was about to call out to her when the most peculiar thing happened.
Eevee edged a little closer towards Kaori, her anxiousness increasing sharply with each step. This caught the eye of the girl, who bent down to have a closer look at the Pokémon. Apparently deciding that Eevee was cute, Kaori reached out to pet her.
He could have cried out a warning, but his voice seemed to have left him momentarily. It was too late – Kaori's fingers made contact with the brown Pokémon's fur, and she was gently stroking the top of Eevee's head. Lucario squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the explosion that was bound to occur.
It never came.
Curious, he opened his eyes again only to find Eevee lazily enjoying the attention, nuzzling the girl's arm. Lucario could only stare at the bizarre scene with his mouth wide open – he didn't even notice that he had dropped his spoon.
Kaori straightened up again and walked towards the food stalls, leaving Eevee standing alone with a big smile on her face. Wondering if this was all a dream, Lucario got up from his seat.
"Where're you going?" Absol enquired, looking up. There was vanilla ice-cream all over his face. Resisting the urge to laugh, Lucario pointed at Eevee, and Absol's eyes went wide. "What is she doing here?"
"I don't know, but I intend to find out. You don't have to wait for me; continue eating your ice-cream. I'll just go and say hi."
"All right…" he said doubtfully. "Be careful!"
Lucario laughed. "Don't worry… I should be able to make it back alive."
Eevee, with her back turned to him, did not notice as the Aura Pokémon walked up to her. Instead, she was still staring after Kaori, who was apparently deciding what to buy for lunch.
"Eevee! Long time no see!"
The reaction was immediate – she leapt around with her teeth bared, claws outstretched and ready to attack. When she saw who it was, she relaxed her fighting pose, though the smile from earlier did not return to her face. Lucario did not expect a warm greeting from her, of course, but he found it strange that she was not wearing her usual scowl either.
Instead, the Evolution Pokémon was emanating a combination of surprise, unease, and something else which Lucario was not able to identify. If his guess was correct, the third emotion was actually relief… Had his sudden greeting frightened her that much?
Feeling a little downhearted by the lacklustre response, Lucario spoke again. "You're looking great, Eevee… I trust you have been well? It has been quite a while since we last met."
He could vividly recall their previous encounter – how could he forget, seeing as he had been pelted by apples and water balloons at that time? Though the expression on her face was placid, Lucario could tell that she was thinking along the same lines.
"I'm fine." Her tail was pointing rigidly upwards, and she seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying grudgingly, "How about you?"
The question caught him by surprise. Lightening up again, he smiled and bowed slightly. "Couldn't be better. Thanks for asking. But this is a surprise – I never thought I would meet you here!"
For some reason, Eevee narrowed her eyes at this statement, her mouth curved into a frown. Before she could make a retort, however, she glanced over Lucario's shoulder with a horrified expression. Lucario quickly turned around; a girl had just entered the cafeteria, holding a Poké Ball.
Spotting Eevee, she held up the device and made a beeline towards the Pokémon. "There you are, little Eevee! Don't run away! I promise I'll take good care of you!"
Sensing what the girl was about to do, Lucario quickly scooped Eevee up and held her tightly against his body like a child would with a doll. A second after he had done so, the Poké Ball flew towards the spot where Eevee had been standing, and bounced off to a group of people at their table.
Ignoring the yelps and protests coming from Eevee, Lucario turned back to the girl and pointed his right paw at her, growling softly. Judging by her attire and the belt of Poké Balls around her waist, she was probably a trainer.
She looked from Eevee to Lucario. Her eyes fell on the red scarf around Lucario's neck. "Aw… you already have a trainer, then?" she said to Eevee, apparently thinking that the two Pokémon were part of a trainer's team. "What a disappointment…"
And with that, she pouted and walked off quickly, casting a wary eye at the group of people who had her Poké Ball – one of them, a tall and burly man, was shaking a fist at her for disrupting their meal.
Eevee began to squirm violently again, her hind legs flailing about comically as she attempted to get out of Lucario's grip. "Glass-face, you can put me down now!"
"Oh… right, sorry." He sighed as he lowered Eevee to the ground; he had almost forgotten about the nickname given to him for his moment of carelessness at Greg's mansion. "I told you, Eevee. That's what you get for not wearing a human accessory. It was fortunate she thought you and I belonged to someone else."
"We got lucky indeed." Eevee dusted herself with her paw and stared at the cafeteria's exit – where the girl had disappeared to – with dislike in her eyes. "I hate her. She has been following me around ever since she saw me walk out of the forest. It started with a little bit of petting and cuddling, but then things escalated quickly. I managed to give her the slip earlier, but clearly she doesn't know when to give up."
She gave a shudder, and Lucario remembered something else he wanted to ask her. "Speaking of petting and cuddling, what are you doing here, Eevee? I saw you earlier, nuzzling that Kaori girl… I thought you hated humans?"
An intense wave of emotion erupted from Eevee, almost knocking the Aura Pokémon off his feet. "You did not see that!" She looked even more horrified than when she spotted the trainer who was after her. "You are mistaken! I was… I was dirty, so I was trying to get the dirt to stick onto the girl's hand by rubbing myself against her, that's all! Stop grinning!" She tackled him. "You didn't see what you thought you saw!"
"But there was no mistaking that smile on your face, nor the happiness radiating from you…" Lucario was rewarded with another tackle. "All right, all right, I believe you!" he said hastily, trying to restrain the irate Pokémon. "Though… you know, it's nothing to be ashamed about if you're a fan of hers."
Eevee growled, lowering the front of her body into a fighting stance once again.
"Okay, I get it – please don't growl at me anymore; there are people and Pokémon watching. If you weren't a fan of Kaori's, then what are you doing in this building?"
"I just wandered in here." She decided to take the offensive instead, apparently with the thought that it was the only way to stop Lucario from prying into her affairs. "But what are you doing here, Lucario?"
"Me? I saw a huge sign outside the building, saying that a star was coming to give some sort of giant interview. You wouldn't believe the excitement coming from the crowd that had gathered here – I decided to enter and check it out. Absol's here too; see, he's over there, looking at us."
Eevee turned to look at Absol, who was eyeing them warily. Lucario thought that his white-furred friend must have seen the commotion with the trainer earlier, based on the apprehension emitting from him.
Absol nodded slightly to acknowledge Eevee, a gesture which she returned with a slight inclination of her head.
"Would you like to join us, Eevee? We were having some ice-cream before you came along. I could get you one, if you want."
"No thanks. Ice-cream makes me sick."
"Ah, you've tried some before, then? If it's not to your fancy… is there anything else you would rather have instead?"
She paused, looking as though she was seriously considering his offer, but then lowered her head. "I'm not really hungry." She gazed downwards at her feet, her tail thumping the floor repeatedly. "Thanks for the offer though."
"You're… welcome," Lucario said, surprised at the politeness she was displaying. An awkward silence then fell between them and, for the first time in ages, he found himself at a total loss for words.
Lucario was spared the burden of reviving the dead conversation when someone else entered the cafeteria with his black tail swishing about as he took a sniff at the air, accompanied by a boy in a white jacket.
Amazed, Lucario called out to the Pokémon, waving his arms about. "Mightyena! Hey, Mightyena!"
Both the Pokémon and the boy turned to him; the human evidently confused, having no understanding of the Pokémon language, but the Mightyena smiled when he saw Lucario. He padded over to the duo. "Ah, it's you! Such a small world, isn't it?"
"No, it's a huge world," Lucario said excitedly, completely missing the meaning of the phrase, "but this is an even bigger coincidence! It's nice seeing you again! I'm glad you remember me!"
Mightyena laughed, sitting down on his haunches. "Of course I do. I enjoyed our chat at the bus." He turned to Eevee. "Hello, friend of Lucario's."
Before Eevee could return the greeting, the boy walked over and scratched the top of Mightyena's head, eyeing Lucario and Eevee with interest. "Didn't know you had friends here in Sinnoh, Wolf. Well, I'll go get us our food then; you have fun chatting with them."
With a slight wave at Lucario and Eevee, the boy walked away.
"Is he your human partner?" Lucario took his gaze off the boy and stared at the Mightyena. "And… did he call you 'Wolf'?"
"Yeah…" He laughed again, looking sheepish. "That's my human pal, Will, and yes, that's my name. I picked it out from a dictionary. Silly, I know."
"Will…" Lucario stared at the boy, who was now scratching his head as he looked around at all the different stalls in the cafeteria, seemingly overwhelmed by the choices available. "He looks like a nice guy. Are the both of you here to see Kaori too?"
Wolf shook his head. "Not to see her, no. Rather… it's more like… we brought her here."
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
"Well, remember when I told you that I'm here with my partner for a holiday, while his parents had work in this city?"
Lucario nodded; it had been a long time since they met at the bus, but he could still remember what they talked about.
"Will's father is a big shot in the television industry; he runs Solar Studios. He is here to work on a movie with some Sinnoh stars. They've finished filming some time ago, but he still has some sort of concert to oversee, so Will and I decided to hang around a little longer before we resume our travels." The dark-type nodded his head towards Kaori, who had purchased her meal and was walking away with it in a bag, instead of dining in the cafeteria itself. "The girl is the lead actress of the film. She's so young, and yet quite well-known. Don't tell anyone, but she isn't too happy about her position, actually."
Having already scanned Kaori's emotions during the press conference, Lucario was not too surprised with this revelation. Eevee, however, perked up her ears and stared earnestly at Wolf.
"And why is that?" she asked, slight apprehension in her voice. Wolf turned to her and Eevee moved a step backwards, apparently intimidated by the Mightyena.
"Well…" Wolf tilted his head and stared at his feet as he shifted them. "How should I put this? Apparently, image is an important thing that must be upheld at all times when you are a star. As such, there are lots of restrictions in place. Some might be willing to make those sacrifices – it's the price of stardom, after all – but she's definitely not happy about it. According to her, she had to lie about many things."
"You've spoken to her?" Lucario asked in surprise. From their previous chat, Wolf had revealed that he was able to converse in English, having learned the language when he was still a Poochyena. "In English?"
"No, of course not," Wolf said, laughing slightly as he stared at Eevee, who was looking bemused upon learning that he was capable of human speech. "Very few know of my ability, and I prefer to keep it that way. No, it was Will who talked to her. To be more precise, Kaori was the one who approached Will first. She wanted to hear what it's like to go on a journey for badges; it's her dream to start her own journey someday."
Eevee's eyes went wide with surprise. "Kaori wants to be a trainer?"
Lucario quickly brought a paw up to his mouth to hide a grin; contrary to what Eevee had claimed, she sure seemed to have a soft spot for Kaori.
"That's what she said. She's a tad too young, of course, but she's almost of age. Still, her father is not supportive of the idea."
"But why?" Eevee asked again.
Wolf surveyed her with interest. "Once again, it's all about image. In her father's eyes, she is more suited to be a coordinator, participating in contests and such. She's an idol, after all, and gym battles supposedly don't fit her." He paused for a moment. "Are you a fan of hers?"
Eevee quickly shook her head as she attempted to look indifferent. "No, of course not."
"If it is not Kaori, then it's probably the gossiping that you like, Eevee," chimed in Lucario, unable to resist the chance to make fun of her. "Who would have thought?"
"You shut up, you," she said, growling again.
Wolf stared from Eevee to Lucario in amusement. "So, Lucario, how's life been for you lately?"
"Quite good. How about you?"
"Same here. It's fun exploring this city, although –" he turned to stare at his human partner "– Will over there is quite disappointed about the lack of a gym in the city. There doesn't seem to be many trainers here either; I suppose they don't really see the point of stopping by if they couldn't get a gym challenge. Typical humans."
"I see." Lucario had never really thought about it before, but what Wolf said was true. There weren't many Pokémon trainers around Ferrous City, which suited him just fine. After all, the more the trainers there were, the greater the chance of him getting caught.
"By the way, how's your English coming along? Are you able to speak it fluently yet?"
"No, I'm afraid not," Lucario admitted shamefacedly, hanging his head. "To be honest, I've been neglecting my studies. I can read and write, sure, but I haven't worked on my articulation in a long time."
"Ah, is that so? No matter, it's not really important for Pokémon to be able to communicate in a human language, after all. Besides…" Wolf grinned. "My spelling is atrocious. Couldn't spell to save my life. Anyway… I won't be around here much longer, Lucario. The whole family's leaving Sinnoh after the concert."
"Oh… that's too bad," said Lucario, disappointed. "Will you be coming here again someday?"
"I might, yeah. Maybe not for a while, but sooner or later." He stood up. "Say… why don't you go to the concert as well? It's a charity event, but admission is free for Pokémon."
"Really? Where is it? And when?"
"It'll be held tomorrow, at around ten or eleven in the morning, I can't really remember." Wolf smiled sheepishly. "I do know the location though: the stadium at the northern section of the city, considerably near Kaori's house. It is an indoor stadium, and it's quite big. I've been there a few times.
"Anyway, various artistes will be performing there – Kaori being one of them. We could meet up one last time before I leave."
"I'll be there!" Lucario exclaimed happily.
"Okay, that's settled then. And here's Will with the food!" Wolf jumped up and rested both his forepaws on the boy's body, trying to sniff at the plastic bag Will was carrying.
"All in good time, Wolf," Will said, chuckling as he tried to yank the bag away from his Pokémon's nose. "We promised to eat with Kaori, remember? Let's see… an Eevee, and…" he turned to the Aura Pokémon, "uh… Lu… Lucario, right?"
Lucario nodded and was about to bow when he saw that the boy had stretched out his right arm. Smiling, he shook Will's hand and watched in amusement as Will turned to Eevee. The brown-furred Pokémon stared at the palm for a moment before reluctantly placing her paw in it.
The moment Will turned away, however, Eevee began to clean her paw on Lucario's fur.
"So, Lucario, Eevee, it's been nice chatting with you both," Wolf said. "I'll see you two at the concert."
Wolf nudged his human partner, and after waving goodbye, the both of them began to walk away. Lucario stared as Wolf attempted to smell the food again, but his mind was elsewhere. It had been ages since he last went on a human-watching session, and he was itching to do so again. And now, the perfect chance had presented itself for him to pursue his latest target.
"Wolf! Wait!"
The dark-type turned around. "Yes?"
Lucario ran forward. "Sorry for interrupting, but I was wondering… you are going to meet Kaori now, yes? Is it okay for me to tag along?"
Wolf blinked in surprise. "Kaori? I don't see any problems with that – she loves meeting new Pokémon… but hang on a sec."
The Mightyena turned to his perplexed trainer and motioned for the human to lean closer. Will bent down and Wolf pressed his muzzle to his trainer's ear – Lucario assumed that the Pokémon was whispering the message in English.
A while later, Will straightened up again and scratched his head, eyeing Lucario. "Well, I'm sure Kaori wouldn't mind. After all, she was eager to see the rest of my team the other day – she'll probably be ecstatic."
Lucario grabbed Will's hand and shook it again before turning to Wolf. "Thanks. I have another friend, an Absol, I'll go and get him."
"An Absol?" Wolf began craning his neck as he scanned the cafeteria for signs of the Disaster Pokémon. "Interesting."
Lucario hesitated, his smile faltering. "You don't mind, do you?"
"No, no," he said hastily. "Of course not."
"Okay then. I'll be right back."
As Lucario rushed back to his table, Eevee followed behind, looking slightly flustered. He had a feeling he knew what Eevee was thinking about, and his suspicions were confirmed when Eevee began emitting the same waves of apprehension like earlier.
"Hey, Lucario, are you seriously going with them to meet Kaori?"
"Yep. My latest human-watching project. Wanna come, Eevee?"
"Well…"
It was all Lucario could do to refrain from laughing – he was hardly able to contain his mirth anymore. Eevee was backed into a corner; if she said no, she would be giving up on the chance to meet her idol, which Lucario knew to be true no matter how hard she tried to deny it. And yet, saying yes was akin to a confession that she was a fan of Kaori's after all. Moreover, Eevee did condemn his hobby of human-watching the last time he dragged her into the activity.
"If I venture out of the building alone right now, that crazy girl from earlier might figure out that I'm a wild Pokémon," she said in a convincing irritable tone. "Guess I'm stuck with you for the moment. Just my luck."
"Not working, Eevee." He bent down until his face was inches away from hers. "I don't know why you are continuously hiding the truth; come on, you can tell me! I promise I will not laugh at you or anything. Though, I am rather curious as to how you came to know of Kaori in the first place."
She sighed, pushing Lucario's face away with her paw. "Okay, I admit it. I have seen her works on television – music videos, short skits… I wasn't a big fan, but – no, it's true, Glass-face!" she snapped as he scoffed at this. "She caught my eye, that is all. It was boring, being cooped up in that brat's home. At least she provided entertainment."
"I see." Lucario hesitated; the topic had turned to Greg again. Though it had been a long time since Eevee attained her freedom, it appeared that all the bitterness remained, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "Well, I guess you had to find a different form of entertainment besides chess. But hey, Eevee, it's all over, isn't it? You're back in the forest now. Life has improved, yes?"
"I guess so." She jabbed his leg crossly. "Aren't you going to get Absol? You shouldn't keep the Mightyena waiting."
"Oh no, I forgot!" He cast a hurried glance at the dark-type Pokémon. Thankfully, Will was talking animatedly with Wolf, and neither of them seemed to even realise how long it had been taking Lucario to fetch his friend.
Lucario rushed ahead, squeezing his way through the narrow spaces between tables until he reached Absol. His friend had been staring at him all this while, his empty plate of ice-cream pushed to the side. "Absol, I'm so sorry for making you wait."
"You don't need to apologise, Luc, though…" He stared down pointedly at Lucario's plate.
Puzzled, Lucario followed Absol's gaze only to find that his vanilla ice-cream had greatly reduced in size, with a small puddle formed around it. "Oh, no… have I been gone that long?"
"Long enough for it to melt." Absol leapt off his seat and mumbled a short greeting to Eevee before rounding on Lucario. "Hey, what's with that girl trainer I saw earlier? That was dangerous – you could have been captured!"
"Don't worry; she saw my scarf and left." Lucario grabbed the spoon and scooped up the remaining small chunk of ice-cream. Now that it had melted, it was not as tasty anymore. "She was aiming for Eevee."
Placing his mouth on the edge of the plate, he tilted it upwards and let the puddle of ice-cream flow slowly down into his throat.
"Relax, Absol," he continued, "I have you and Eevee with me. Though I must admit, that girl was very brazen, attempting a capture right here."
Absol was visibly unconvinced, though he changed the subject. "What about the boy trainer, then? I saw you talking to his Mightyena."
"Ah, the Mightyena is someone I had met in the city, before you decided to stay in the cave with me. He can speak English!" he said, enjoying the look of surprise on Absol's face. "And you know that girl we saw earlier, answering questions from the crowd? He is going to take us to see her. It's a perfect chance for me to get back into human-watching."
"Are you sure, Lucario? The last time you tried reading minds, you –"
"Oh, don't worry about that."
Lucario took the plates off the table and walked over to the ice-cream store with Absol and Eevee trailing closely behind. "I was mind-manipulating that day; it took a lot out of me, but it's not something I need to do every time I human-watch." He handed the dirty utensils over to the man at the counter, who looked utterly bewildered, though he found his tongue shortly after and thanked the Aura Pokémon. Lucario bowed and turned back to Absol. "Plus, it's been a long time since then. I've rested enough. So, want to come, Absol?"
The white-furred Pokémon cast a sceptical look at Will. "Okay. So I can keep an eye on you."
"Oh, you should look out for Eevee, really," he said, pointing at the Evolution Pokémon standing behind him. "She's the one in demand."
Eevee snarled, seemingly tempted to chomp down on his paw, which was pointed at her face. "Don't speak as if I'm an object put on sale!"
Lucario smirked as he lowered his voice to a whisper, though making sure that Eevee could still hear him. "If she was on sale though, I doubt anyone would want to purchase her."
At this, she really did sink her teeth into Lucario's paw, causing him to yelp in pain. Rubbing it gingerly, he turned to face Absol and sent a telepathic message, "Yep… she's clearly a faulty product," to which Absol replied with a grin. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, Eevee – you'd make a great Totodile, those fangs of yours – ow! Enough, please! I'm done teasing you. Let's hurry; I've kept Wolf waiting too long."
:::::::::::::::::::
According to Wolf, the building had reserved a special room for Kaori that day, as she was their special guest. The trip to that room led Lucario to his first ever elevator ride. He had to admit that it was scary initially, especially when the doors shut and trapped the group within. When he asked Wolf what would happen should the power go out, the canine replied that there was a special button that can be used to call for help.
The elevator itself was beautiful – mirrors were attached to the sides, and there was an intricate pattern on the floor. The Aura Pokémon played with his reflection as the elevator moved upwards, stopping occasionally to let some people and Pokémon in and out. Lucario seemed to be the only one admiring the little compartment; everyone else just stared blankly ahead as they waited. He had to fight the temptation to push all of the buttons in the elevator – for some reason, he had a feeling the others might not see the humour and fun in this.
Upon reaching their destination, the group poured out of the elevator into a long, brightly-lit hallway that had several diverging paths. Will took the lead while the rest followed, Lucario enjoying the feel of the carpet on his feet.
At last, Will stopped in front of a door and began knocking. A moment passed before it opened slowly, revealing a tall man in a pure-black suit and slicked-back hair. He pushed his shades upwards and inclined his head slightly as a sign of greeting before stepping back to allow them inside.
"Miss Kaori, Master Will is here to see you," he announced, his eyebrows raised in surprise at the large entourage the boy had brought with him.
Upon entering the room, Lucario was met with a sudden gush of chilling air. Looking up, he saw an air-conditioner attached on the golden-brown walls, just above a tiny window which boasted a modest view of the city. He was initially surprised that there was no bed in the room, but then he reminded himself that this wasn't a hotel.
Kaori was seated in front of a mirror; apparently, she had been brushing her hair. "Oh, Will!" She leapt up from her chair and beamed at them. "Hi!"
"Hello, Kaori! Sorry to have kept you waiting!"
She shook her head, but turned to the man as he cleared his throat. "Miss Kaori, I shall take my leave now. I will see you tomorrow then, when I fetch you to the concert. I will bring the car to your home at nine. You will be alone with the cook, no?"
The girl looked surprised. "Alone?"
"Ah… have you not been informed by your father? Apparently, he has something to attend to in the morning."
"No, he didn't tell me anything!" she said, disconcerted. "Never mind, I'll ask Daddy later. Thank you, Charles, I will see you tomorrow."
The man bowed and left, closing the door behind him. Will stared at Kaori tentatively. "Is everything all right, Kaori?"
"Oh, yes, everything is fine!" she said brightly, rushing forward. Before she could do anything else, there was a knock at the door. Looking confused, she walked over and opened it.
The guest was a professional-looking woman, clutching a large, bright red handbag tightly as she greeted the child idol, seemingly distressed. She swept her hair backwards, revealing a pair of earrings that looked as though they contained imitation gemstones. "I'm so sorry, Miss Kaori, but I seem to have misplaced my audio recorder, and I think it may have been after our interview this morning. Can I come in to have a look?"
"Oh, sure! I didn't see it, though."
"Thank you!" She took a step into the room and stared in surprise at Will and the large group of Pokémon, which did not include Skitty. The woman uttered a quick greeting and looked away, apparently embarrassed. "It may have dropped near the sofa, where we sat earlier."
The lady began lifting the cushions off the sofa, searching for her device. "It's not here… oh!" She bent down and pushed the furniture away slightly. Her recorder was on the floor, hiding in the shadow of a side-table next to the sofa. "There it is! Must have dropped it somehow – so careless of me. The CD with our interview is still inside too…"
Having retrieved the device, she pushed the sofa back to its original position before examining the recorder. "Well, I'm glad I found it, or that interview would have been for nothing. Thank you, Miss Kaori. Good luck for the concert tomorrow; I hope to get some nice shots of you!"
"You are welcome! And thank you!"
Once the woman left, Kaori shut the door firmly and locked it again before giving her full attention to Wolf.
"Hello, Wolf, nice to see you again! And Will, you've brought more of your Pokémon with you today!"
"No, no, these aren't mine! They're friends of Wolf's."
"Are they?" Kaori shook Lucario's paw, looking positively enthralled. "They're all so cute! You're a Lucario, and you're an Absol, and – oh! Aren't you that adorable little Eevee I met earlier?"
She petted Eevee again, causing some ripples of embarrassment to emanate from the little Pokémon. Lucario stifled a laugh; Absol was staring at them with wide eyes, wearing the same stupefied look he usually had on during the fighting-type's human-watching sessions.
"I know!" Kaori exclaimed, running towards the sofa and rummaging through her bag. She emerged shortly afterwards with a Poké Ball. "Now that we're alone…"
The first thing that crossed Lucario's mind was that she wanted to catch them – and apparently his companions thought the same, for Absol and Eevee both took a step backwards at the sight of the device. However, Kaori tossed the Poké Ball to the side instead, and a Pokémon soon emerged from it.
Lucario expected to see the Skitty, but he could not have guessed further from the truth. It was a huge, greyish Pokémon with long whiskers that twitched as she glared around with her sharp, yellow eyes. The moment she spotted Kaori, her frown lessened as she rushed to the girl's side.
"Pearly! I've missed you so much!" Kaori wrapped her arms around the Purugly's waist and beamed at the group. "You three," she said to Lucario and his companions, who were all wearing confused expressions, "have yet to meet her. Pearly is my best friend ever in the whole wide world!"
"Best friend," Lucario repeated softly, looking at the Purugly. Didn't that title belong to Skitty?
"Go on, Pearly." Kaori began pushing the Purugly towards them. "It isn't often you get to meet others. Go and have a nice chat."
The Pokémon took a few steps towards them with a smile on her face, though she still looked extremely intimidating. Will and Kaori went off to the sofa, opening the packets of food they bought earlier at the cafeteria. The smell of it had enticed Wolf over to them, leaving the Purugly alone with Lucario, Absol and Eevee. As neither of his friends seemed willing to start the conversation, he stepped forward and offered his paw.
"Hi! I am Lucario. I take it your name is Pearly?"
"Pearl, actually," she replied silkily as she placed her paw on his. "Forgive me for saying this, but you three seemed baffled by my being here."
Lucario nodded sheepishly. "To be honest, Miss Pearl, I was wondering why –"
"Why Kaori claimed I was her best friend?" She sat down and began licking her paw. "Because it's true. You're probably confused because you've seen her with the Skitty. That little pink furball's nothing but a lie, my dear."
Eevee gasped. "You mean… that Skitty is not – is not –"
Pearly fixed her gaze on the Evolution Pokémon. "Your guess is correct. It is but a façade. I remain Kaori's one and only Pokémon. Look around – the Skitty isn't even here! She's with her real owner for now, but she'll be back tomorrow for the concert."
As she said that, Lucario recalled the uneasiness Kaori had felt during the press conference, especially when the reporters began asking questions about Skitty. Suddenly, everything came together, and he understood at once. "I get it! When Kaori was asked about the time she first met Skitty, she went on to describe the day you hatched, Miss Pearl."
Pearl turned back to him, her eyes wide in surprise. "Did she now?" She laughed, shaking her head. "Silly of her to make that mistake…"
"But why?" Eevee said loudly, drawing a curious stare from Wolf over at the sofa. She seemed upset about the revelation, as though she had been betrayed by her idol. "Why pretend that the Skitty was her friend when it's actually you?"
"My dear…" Pearl walked towards Eevee and stared at her face-to-face. "Are you disappointed that Kaori's true partner is me instead of that furball?"
"N–no, but… why?"
"Well, it's like what I said earlier, isn't it?" Wolf said as he padded over, a few grains of rice stuck on his muzzle. "In this industry, it's all about image. I told you, there were plenty of sacrifices to be made, and this is a major one for Kaori. You see, for some reason, it was decided that Pearly here is not good enough for Kaori's persona."
"Oh ho ho, you amuse me, Wolf!" Pearl said as she bumped the Mightyena playfully with her body, causing him to yelp. "Way to skirt around the subject. Just say it out straight – they think I am ugly, and totally unfitting to be the companion of a star-to-be."
"But that's crazy – that's not a proper excuse at all!" Lucario said, outraged. "Forcing you to pretend that you didn't exist just because of your looks… and you're not ugly either…"
"Thank you, you're not so bad-looking yourself," Pearl said as Lucario became the next victim of her affectionate bump-attack. "Kaori tells that to me all the time. 'You're the most beautiful Pokémon in the whole world,' she would say." The Purugly sighed, gazing at Kaori fondly. "Even if it's just a lie, it's one I truly appreciate."
"She's not lying," Lucario assured firmly. "I'm certain of that."
"Thank you. Though, you know, male Pokémon used to flock around when I was a Glameow. It makes me wonder sometimes – if I had not evolved, would things have turned out differently?"
Lucario did not know how to respond to that – and neither did anyone else, for the matter. Pearl stared at Kaori dreamily for a few seconds before registering the uneasy silence that had fallen around them. She let out a loud chuckle, looking from one Pokémon to another.
"I'm not complaining, of course! I don't mind being the Pokémon behind the scenes, as long as Kaori is happy."
"But she's not," Lucario said. "I sensed it earlier. She is tired of the spotlight."
"Tired of the spotlight?" Pearl closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. "But it's only just beginning. She started out small, you know, just a few minor TV appearances here and there. Then she ventured into the music industry for a while, but she wasn't that huge a success – oh, no, nothing of that sort! Though album sales were reasonable, she was overshadowed by others; liked by only a few. But she didn't mind at all.
"It was only until recently when she was chosen to be the lead actress in this new movie that the public began to really look at her. Her parents were ecstatic – here, at last, was an opportunity to take her career one step higher! That's when they brought the Skitty in, too," she added bitterly. "This movie, 'Ocean of Time', is a huge one, you know. She worked alongside many big names, not only from Sinnoh, but from several other regions as well.
"You wouldn't believe the amount of money made from this movie alone. The old house was sold, and we moved to a nice new home here at Ferrous City." Seeing Lucario's confused expression, she chuckled and said, "Oh, didn't you know? We were originally from Jubilife – her mother is still there at the moment. That's where Kaori's career started, you know: a simple audition at Jubilife TV. And see how time favours her. Her star is only beginning to shine, and already she's tired of it? This won't do at all…"
"Quite the conundrum, isn't it, Pearly?" Wolf placed a paw on the Purugly's back. "What with filming work and being hidden from the public's eye, you don't spend much time with Kaori anymore, do you?"
"Not much, no. I'm a secret known to very few. But filming for the movie has completed, hasn't it, so I'll get to be with her a little more now. Until her next job, that is!" She laughed and shook her head. "There I go, spewing off sob stories… it's really unlike me."
"I heard Kaori wants to be a trainer," Lucario said. "If she pursues that dream and relinquishes her current occupation, you two can travel together, no?"
"Oh, yes, you heard right," she replied, sounding surprised. "She trains me for battle sometimes. But her parents wouldn't permit it; they'd rather see her in contests. And guess which Pokémon Kaori will be forced to use? That furball, that's who. In fact, even if she really did become a trainer, who's to say I would be her primary companion? It could still be Kaori and Skitty, the so-called golden combination."
Silence befell upon them again, and the Purugly glanced around almost gloatingly, as though she had finally convinced them that there was no way out of this maze for her. Wolf was right, thought Lucario. It was quite the conundrum indeed.
"Come on, let's stop this depressing talk." She jerked her head towards the two humans on the sofa. "Let's go and eavesdrop; they might be talking bad about us behind our backs."
Wolf grinned, showing off his impressive set of fangs. "You know, knowing Will, he just might be doing that."
"Let's go, then!"
"Yes, let's."
Together, the pair trotted towards their owners, leaving the three wild Pokémon behind. Lucario turned to his companions, eager to hear their opinions. "So, what do you think?"
Absol shrugged. "Pokémon discrimination, Luc. It happens, unfortunately."
"It all boils down to the humans," Eevee said angrily. "I told you, they're a miserable species. What kind of sick logic is that, judging Pokémon based on their looks… downright despicable, they are."
"Well, Eevee, that's like the pot calling the kettle a kitchen utensil. You're always commenting on how silly I look."
Eevee snarled, taking a menacing step towards Lucario. "But I don't judge you based on that, do I? No, I judge you based on your diminutive brain!"
"Speaking of which, my IQ is another thing you constantly rant about. Isn't there anything positive you can say about me?"
"Oh, sure, I can think of something," she said, sneering. "You're an expert at breaking into people's homes."
She burst into a fit of laughter, and as Lucario turned to Absol exasperatedly for help, he saw that the white-furred Pokémon, too, was grinning at the remark. Sighing, Lucario held up both his paws in defeat. "I give up – I can't win. Let's drop the subject." He gestured towards the child idol, who was handing a bun to Pearl. "I wish I can do something for Kaori and Miss Pearl."
"Oh, break into her home, why don't you. That's your solution to everything, isn't it?"
As Eevee proceeded to laugh again, Lucario raised a paw to his chin and pondered her suggestion. Absol's eyes widened in horror as he saw that the Aura Pokémon was seriously contemplating the idea. He shook his head violently.
"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?" he said hurriedly, a note of panic in his voice. "Are you, Lucario?"
"I was wondering… what does a star's house look like?"
"Lucario, you've seen one house, you've seen 'em all! Please tell me you're not gonna break in!"
"Wait…" Eevee had stopped her display of mirth and was now striding up to Lucario, her eyes narrowed. "You're seriously considering it?"
"Why, you want to come, Eevee?" He couldn't help but allow a smirk to form on his face. "I bet you want to, don't you? After all, Kaori is your –"
"Hush!" she yelled frantically, leaping forward and almost bowling him down. She cast a hurried glance at Absol, who stared back bewilderedly. "Be quiet!"
Lucario adjusted his scarf and grinned happily – here, at last, was a weapon he could use against Eevee. He patted her back and said innocently, "Don't worry; your secret is safe with me… for now."
Before she could reply, Wolf padded over, bits of food once again sticking all around his muzzle. "Hey, you three. What are you doing, isolating yourselves over here? Come on, the humans sent me to get you; let's have lunch together!"
"Oh, we couldn't…" Lucario began, but was cut short when Wolf walked behind him to give a light shove.
"Go on," he said, proceeding to nudge Absol and Eevee. "The food over here isn't half bad."
"Very well; if you insist, Wolf," he said, bowing. "It would be an honour."
:::::::::::::::::::
"Guess we should head back then," Will said as he stood up and stretched. "Tomorrow is going to an important day for you, isn't it? Good luck with your performance… how many songs will you be singing for the concert?"
The girl put up three fingers. "Three! One of them is my debut single, the second is one of my newer works, and the third a duet – the theme song of 'Ocean of Time'. You will be there, won't you?"
"Yes, of course. It'll be our last meeting in a while too, so I won't miss it for the world!"
Kaori's face fell. "Oh, that's right… you'll be leaving tomorrow, huh?"
"We'll stay in contact; I promise."
She reached out to scratch Wolf, who was lying down besides her, behind the ears. "Will you be going on your journey with Wolf again?"
"Aaaaah… that's a good question." Will sank back onto the sofa and stroked the Mightyena's body absently as he pondered the subject; Wolf appeared to be thoroughly enjoying the attention pouring in from all sides. "I'm itching to continue my quest, of course, but it might be a little tough getting back momentum after these few months of vacation. I think I might stay at home for a week or two – let Wolf be with his family…"
The Mightyena gave a few wags of his tail and opened an eye lazily, staring at Will. Kaori looked up, puzzled. "Family? You mean… Wolf has children of his own?"
"No, no, no!" Will said hurriedly, laughing at his Pokémon partner, who seemed extremely abashed. "I'm talking about his mother and Alpha. Though… there is someone you fancy, don't you, Wolf?"
Wolf grunted and shook his head.
Apparently, Will had completely forgotten about his earlier proclamation of heading back, for he was now conversing with Kaori about Pokémon breeding.
There were faint pulses of embarrassment emitting from the Mightyena, much to the amusement of Lucario, who was sitting in a corner with Absol. It had been a lazy afternoon, and he was left with nothing to do. Eevee and Pearl were having a chat about Kaori; the pair seemed to get along very well. Of course, Eevee was treating the Purugly with a lot of respect, a clear contrast to the way she always treated him.
Absol stretched and lay down. "Lucario…"
"Yeah?" He turned to his friend, who was playing with the frills on the rug, looking extremely bored. Lucario began to run his paw around the frills, wondering how he had not noticed this remarkable plaything until now.
"If you have children of your own someday, can I be their uncle?"
It was Lucario's turn to become embarrassed. "What? What makes you so sure I'll even have one?"
"I'm just saying." Absol was looking directly into his eyes, and there was a small smile playing on the white-furred Pokémon's features.
Lucario shifted his position and began hugging his knees, feeling awkward. "I don't see myself starting a family…"
"Well, you never know," Absol said, returning his focus to the frills. "You told me you have two more of the Secret Power TMs, and your father said that all of them would be used in the course of your life…"
"He could be wrong," Lucario interjected.
"But if he's correct… I got the first TM, so maybe the second one goes to your future partner, and the third to your offspring. I'm speaking theoretically, of course. Oh, but then that would mean you'll only have one child… unless… unless your children inherit the move, because both you and your mate would have learnt Secret Power; I'm not sure how the passing down of moves work…"
Lucario felt the heat rise to his cheeks; he was growing steadily uncomfortable with each passing second, and Absol showed no signs of stopping. At last, he decided to adopt Eevee's cowardly tactic by turning the tables on his friend instead.
"Absol…"
Absol stopped his prattling and turned to Lucario. "Hmm?"
"If you ever have children of your own, can I be their uncle?"
The Disaster Pokémon clearly did not expect the same question to be thrown at him. "M–me? Oh, I doubt I would ever start a family; absolutely not. No way."
"Why not?"
"Well… let's see… for starters, no one would want me."
Lucario grinned. "Ah, the classic excuse. So you're implying that if there is someone who likes you, you're willing to consider it?"
"That's kinda hard to say… I really don't know."
"I can think of someone," Lucario said nonchalantly as he tried to untangle a couple of frills that had somehow got tied together.
"What?" Absol sat up straight. He appeared to be appalled, and yet curious at the same time. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah, but I'll leave it to you to figure out who it is. And maybe I can even play matchmaker – that'd be fun."
"I – I –" Absol sputtered, struggling for words. "But Luc, I'm talking about you here! Don't put me as the subject!"
"But I'm too young, Absol. My mind hasn't matured enough to contemplate the possibility of starting a family."
"Hmm… touché." Absol paused for a moment, looking confused. "Well, I guess that goes for me too."
They shared a laugh, and thankfully, Absol dropped the topic as he lay down again, closing his eyes. The uneasy tension dissipated, and not even the vibrant waves emanating from the humans, Eevee and Pearl could block the somnolent auras of Wolf and Absol.
Influenced by the increasingly dreary atmosphere, Lucario yawned as he reclined backwards so that his back leaned against the wall. He had never really considered it, but now that Absol brought it up, the future was a scary thing. What was in store for him? Would he even have a future?
Back when he was an unwanted Riolu, he had only one primary mission in life: to survive. Finding his real parents would be an added bonus, but he kept his hopes to a bare minimum. But he found a family all the same, and Xatu had given him a new goal, to prevent his home from being destroyed – and yes, he considered Ferrous City to be a part of his home.
But then what?
What would happen after that? Xatu did not elaborate. The future was left a mystery, as though it was a huge canvas yet to be filled in. Would it be up to Lucario to paint it as he liked, or would there be nothing left? He shuddered; the possibility that he might not survive was a horrifying thought. Plus, he didn't like to think that the only reason for his existence was to help out when the predicted calamity strikes.
Father… just what did you see in your visions?
Just then, there came yet another knock at the door. Kaori stood up, looking slightly panicked. She grabbed the Poké Ball from the desk and aimed it at Pearl – Eevee quickly jumped aside as the Purugly got sucked into the device. After she hurriedly stashed it back into her bag, the girl dashed to the door and peeped through the eyehole before opening it.
The man in the black suit was back.
"Oh, Charles, it's you again. Did you forget something?"
"No, I am here to inform Master Will that his father is here, and awaiting him downstairs at the cafeteria. Incidentally," he turned to Kaori, "your father has arrived as well, and will be picking you up shortly."
"Dad's here?" Will exclaimed in surprise, springing to his feet. "Strange."
Kaori sighed, looking crestfallen. "I guess you have to go now, huh?"
"Yeah… guess I should. I'll see you tomorrow then, Kaori!" He patted her shoulder. "Good luck with your performances."
"Thanks… Bye, Will!" She ruffled the Mightyena's fur as he walked by her. "Bye, Wolf!"
Lucario quickly got up and headed towards the door, his friends behind him. Kaori bade each of them goodbye as well, to which he replied with a small wave of his paw. Once they were outside, Charles nodded to Kaori and closed the door.
As they walked down the hall back towards the elevator, Lucario studied the man carefully. Charles appeared to be some sort of bodyguard; he certainly looked and acted the part. Rigid and silent, even his footsteps made very little noise, though that may have been due to the carpeted floor. He seemed the calm and collected type, though there were mild traces of apprehension in his aura, which struck Lucario as odd.
Upon reaching the elevator, its doors opened. There was only a single person in it: a short, balding man in yet another suit. He stepped out and stared at the motley crew with mild interest.
"Ah, Charles, you're here," he said, holding on to the doors with his arm to prevent them from closing. "I'll be counting on you tomorrow then."
"Yes, Mr. Sato. Don't worry; I will fetch Kaori there for her performance."
"Good, good. And Will is here too!" he said, beaming at the boy. "I hope you are well?"
Will nodded. "Yes, sir!"
The man chuckled. "There's no need for formalities, Will." The elevator doors started to move again as they attempted to shut, but was stopped by Mr. Sato. "Well, don't let me hold you up! Your father is downstairs – just had a chat with him, nice man – you'd better get going."
"Okay, Mr. Sato. I'll see you tomorrow!" He stepped into the elevator, followed by Wolf and Charles.
His two friends sprinted ahead, but Lucario hesitated. This man was undoubtedly Kaori's father, and it was evident that he was going to meet his daughter. Once again, the opportunity had presented itself for the Aura Pokémon to continue his game of human-watching.
Seeing that the man was staring at him expectantly, he shook his head and pointed towards a hallway opposite from the one which led to Kaori's room.
Getting the message, Mr. Sato nodded. "You're going the other way, then? All right."
The man turned to Charles again, and Lucario quickly yelled out to the bewildered Absol, "I'll be with you shortly! Wait for me downstairs!"
Though Absol was still confused, Lucario saw his friend nod before the elevator doors shut, leaving the Aura Pokémon alone with Kaori's father. The man petted the fighting-type on the head once before heading towards his daughter's room. Lucario stood there and waited until Mr. Sato disappeared around a corner before following him.
Hiding around the same corner, Lucario heard the man knocking on Kaori's door.
"Kaori, it's me!"
The door clicked open, and Mr. Sato walked in. Switching to his aura vision, Lucario saw the man placing his hands on Kaori's shoulders.
"How was the press conference?"
"It was boring."
He laughed, releasing his grip. "You just have to put up with it. A small price to pay, given the benefits."
Kaori looked up hopefully. "It wouldn't be so bad if I could have Pearly with me. Can't I –?"
"Kaori, you know that's not possible…" He shook his head sadly and sat down on the sofa, motioning for his daughter to do the same. "I know how much she means to you, but the agency would rather you have a more… presentable, they called it, Pokémon partner."
"Pearly's presentable!" she shot back angrily. "Just because they don't see her beauty… it's not fair! It's not fair to me, or Pearly!"
"I know, Kaori, I know," he said exasperatedly. "But you'll still be able to play with Pearly at home, won't you?"
"It's not enough…"
They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, and Mr. Sato tapped his feet absently, staring around the room. Kaori spoke up again, remembering something that was mentioned earlier by Charles. "I was told that you wouldn't be around tomorrow? Aren't you coming with me to the concert?"
"Oh, that's right; I forgot to tell you." He beamed at her. "I have great news. After much discussion, I have secured a contract for your next big project. It's a film adaptation of a famous short story, 'Buizel in the River'. Imagine that, Kaori, isn't that great? They say the author of that tale will be writing the script – the story will be extended, and –"
Mr. Sato paused when he saw Kaori pouting with her arms folded, a reaction he was clearly not expecting. "What's wrong?"
"So that's where you'll be tomorrow – signing the contract?"
"Oh, no, of course not!" he said, laughing heartily. "Can't sign it without you there! No, I'll be collecting a copy of the contract for you to read after the concert. It is a great opportunity, Kaori…"
Kaori was unconvinced. "And I expect I'll be walking around with a stupid Buizel next, won't I?"
"Don't say that – Buizel aren't stupid, they are quite remarkable. And cute."
"Pearly's cute," she said defiantly, looking straight into her father's eyes.
"I know, but… well…" He faltered. "Anyway… I'm still unsure what role you'll be getting; there's no guarantee that you'll be the lead actress. I do know that they are interested in having you as a part of the production. In any case, Skitty will still be your main Pokémon – if you do get a Buizel, it'll only be temporary."
Kaori shook her head, pointing at her bag, where Pearl's Poké Ball was kept. "No, Pearly will always be my main Pokémon."
The man sighed. "You know what I mean. Anyway, collecting the document won't take long. I will be with you at the concert before it's even your turn to perform, okay? And Mommy's coming for a few days too! Aren't you looking forward to that? Pretty soon, when her work is finished, she'll finally move in with us at the house, and we'll be together again. Isn't that great, Kaori?"
"Yes, but…" The girl took her father's arm and shook it. "But Daddy, I really don't want to do this anymore… there is no freedom! I can't do what I like, I can't play with the Pokémon I want; I can't even bring Pearly for a stroll in the town…"
"Of course not. You're famous now, people will notice."
"Exactly! I can't stand it! I don't want to live like this anymore… my identity itself is one big lie! Even my real life is scripted! And I can't be a trainer like Will…" she added bitterly. "This wouldn't be so bad if I'm allowed to have Pearly by my side."
Mr. Sato stroked his chin, thinking hard. At last, he clasped her hand and said, "We'll talk more about this after the concert. For now, I want you to relax. It wouldn't do if you stress yourself out now, not when you have a big performance tomorrow." He kissed her forehead. "We'll talk more tomorrow, all right?"
Kaori nodded, and her father got up to gather her things. Apparently, they were about to leave the building and head home. Deciding that he had seen enough, Lucario was on the verge of terminating his aura vision when he heard a particularly disturbing thought from the child idol's mind…
What if… tomorrow… I run away from it all?
"That's everything," her father stated, checking around the room to ensure that nothing was forgotten. "Let's go home."
Kaori stood up and nodded. "Okay."
Lucario quickly returned to his own mind and tore down the hallway towards the elevator, determined to tell his friends about this unexpected development. He was unable to ascertain if Kaori truly intended to run away the next day, but he couldn't just ignore it… Even if it wasn't tomorrow, there was no way he could be sure that she wouldn't run away in the future. After all, the thought was there… that, in itself, was a huge red light.
But what am I to do?
He stepped into the elevator, which was empty. He could hear Kaori and her father approaching, and decided it was best to hold the door open for them. After all, if they were in the lift together, he could slip into Kaori's mind again.
Mr. Sato rushed ahead of his daughter to stall the elevator, only to find Lucario inside, holding on to the 'open' button. "Oh, it's you again. Thanks."
Lucario nodded. Kaori soon appeared, following her father into the elevator. "Oh, Lucario! You're still here?"
The Aura Pokémon nodded once more, smiling. Once the father-daughter pair was inside, he pushed the 'close' button, followed by the button which would bring them to the ground floor. Though it was only temporary, Lucario felt a sense of importance, being the elevator operator of the moment.
Neither of them spoke a word as the elevator moved downwards. Unfortunately, Kaori seemed to be distracted by the blue-furred Pokémon's appearance, and did not continue her thoughts about running away. Instead, she kept staring at his scarf.
They soon reached their destination without even stopping once at any other floors. Lucario held the door for them again, only exiting the elevator once they've both stepped out. He observed them as they walked hurriedly out of the building's main entrance and into a large and shiny brown car parked outside, perhaps to avoid being spotted by the many reporters still lurking around the premises.
And they were gone.
Lucario looked around, searching for his friends. There were relatively few people around the building compared to earlier, but he couldn't see Absol or Eevee anywhere. To his surprise, though, he saw Charles a distance away, talking to a woman reporter – the one who had left her recording device in Kaori's room earlier. She seemed intimidated by Charles, but there was a fierce determination emitting from her. Charles, on the other hand, was frowning as he listened to the woman.
Before he could eavesdrop on their conversation, he heard someone calling his name. Lucario turned to the source of the voice; Absol was at the entrance of the cafeteria, with Eevee sitting at his side. "Over here!"
Lucario rushed over, almost bumping into a group of important-looking people in the process. Upon reaching them, Absol grinned. "What, human-bowling your new hobby now?"
"No, Absol, listen to this: I've been –"
"Intruding on matters not concerning you," Eevee said, finishing his sentence for him.
"No – well, yeah, but wait, hear me out first. I've been listening in on their conversation, and apparently, Kaori's dad wants her to star in yet another movie. She isn't too happy about it, and just before they got up to leave, a brief thought entered her head: she was contemplating running away tomorrow!"
Absol tilted his head, looking sceptical. "Are you sure, Lucario?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure if she really meant it," he replied, ignoring Eevee as she scoffed. "But what if she does decide to run away? Her father won't be around in the morning, her mother is still at Jubilife, and she'll be alone with the cook. She could easily sneak off, you never know."
"And miss the concert?" Absol asked.
"I don't think she cares much about the concert, if truth be told. Oh, but," he said excitedly, a new thought surfacing in his mind, "what if she's escaping so that she can start her journey as a trainer? She's almost of age, after all."
Eevee shook her head and snorted disdainfully. "How? She is famous. Think about it, Lucario. Where would she go? People everywhere would recognise her, and she'd be caught in no time. As for being a trainer, that would mean walking right into gyms, where everyone can see her."
"Hmm…" Lucario considered Eevee's line of reasoning; she brought up a good point. "What if she escaped to a different region then? She might not be as famous elsewhere."
"How would she get there? Fly? By sea? Travelling between regions using Pokémon can be risky, especially without HMs, and I doubt she will be foolish enough to attempt that." Eevee paused. "And don't even bother suggesting airplanes or ships. There's no way she could pull that off without anyone noticing unless she becomes a stowaway, and that's breaking the law."
"I guess so… though I'm still a little concerned."
"You're reading too much into this, Lucario," she said firmly. "It's probably an idle thought. She won't act on it."
"I hope you're right," said Lucario thoughtfully, folding his arms. He had just remembered something else; according to Mr. Sato, his wife would be coming for a visit the next day. Would Kaori be willing to run away with that in mind, thereby not getting to meet her mother? Or was this just a ruse to get her parents worried? "But still…"
"Well, fine!" She huffed exasperatedly, turning her back to Lucario. "Don't listen to me!"
"Eevee, I didn't mean it that way… I'm just thinking… wouldn't it be more prudent to go and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid?"
"You know," Absol piped up, "it's pretty much a lose-lose situation for her. Even if she doesn't run away, she'll only be returning to the lifestyle she hates so much."
Lucario looked at him. "So… are you saying it's better for her to run?"
"No, that's not what I was trying to imply. Like I said, it's a lose-lose situation."
"Well, let's not think about that now," Lucario said, glancing around the cafeteria. There were very few people and Pokémon as opposed to earlier; in fact, there were only four occupied tables. Will was at one of them, with a smartly-dressed man Lucario presumed to be the boy's father. "I'm thinking of heading to her home tomorrow, just to keep a lookout."
Eevee wheeled around. "Aha!" She raised an accusatory paw at Lucario, triumph flashing in her eyes. "Your true colours shine through at last!"
"What true colours?" He held out his arm. "These are my natural fur colours."
"You're just trying to break into her home!" She shook her head, as though expressing her disappointment in him. "I should have known. No wonder you were so insistent."
"That's not true at all!" Lucario said indignantly. "I'm genuinely concerned for her! My intentions are sincere!"
She snorted, clearly not buying his words. "Yeah, right. Do you even know where her house is?"
"No, but I bet Wolf does. He said it was around the northern area, near the stadium where she'll be performing." Lucario placed his paws on his hips and smirked. "Why, does someone want to come?"
The Evolution Pokémon bared her fangs, but quickly turned away when Absol shot her a quizzical look. It was fun being able to tease Eevee without having to fear backlash for once, though he shouldn't push his luck too far. Deciding to stop before he overstepped his boundaries, he directed his gaze to the Mightyena and sent a telepathic message, "Wolf, can you come here for a moment?"
Wolf fell off the chair he was sitting on and looked around wildly. He soon found Lucario near the entrance, beckoning him over. The Aura Pokémon looked slightly guilty.
Both Will and his father turned to the Pokémon in astonishment. "What's wrong, Wolf?"
The black- and grey-furred Pokémon shook his head before gesturing at Lucario with a paw. Will nodded to show that he understood, and the Mightyena padded away from the table towards the fighting-type, looking curious.
"Hello again, Lucario," he said pleasantly, wagging his tail. "Is anything the matter?"
Lucario bowed apologetically. "I'm so sorry for giving you a shock, Wolf, but I have something urgent to discuss with you."
"It's no big deal, really. So, what is it?"
"Well, you see, I'm able to read emotions, memories and thoughts of other people and Pokémon…"
Wolf nodded, not showing any signs of surprise. "Yeah, you mentioned something like that the last time we met. Something about aura reading, was it not?"
Lucario's face lit up. "You remembered! Yes, that is correct. The thing is… I've been… well…" He paused, struggling for words.
"Spying," Eevee offered.
"Eavesdropping?" Absol suggested.
He glared at them both. "Well, I suppose that's one way to put it. Anyway, yes, that was why I did not follow all of you down earlier." He pressed on quickly, eager to defend his actions. "But you see, I've unearthed something important. Kaori seems to be cracking under the pressure – she's thinking of running away tomorrow!"
"Running away?" Wolf seemed dubious about Lucario's claims. "That'd be bad… but are you sure?"
Eevee stepped forward. "I think he's being paranoid. There's no way she could run away and elude everyone for long. But Lucario's stubborn as always."
Wolf chuckled. "Well, that's true… Not the part about you being stubborn, I mean, but –"
"You think so too, Wolf?" Lucario asked, dismayed that his fears were being taken lightly. "What if she does run away?"
"Luc, I've been waiting a long time to say this." Absol smiled broadly, looking as though he was trying his hardest not to laugh. "You worry too much."
"Ah… you got me…"
Wolf cleared his throat. "Though, you know, however unlikely it may be, I deem it unwise to ignore the warning sign altogether."
"Exactly!" Lucario said happily.
"The best thing we can do is to notify someone," Wolf said.
"Her father?" Lucario proposed. "He could look after her."
"I don't know the man that well, but I'm afraid he would ask her directly if he gets wind of this. That might just antagonise her, especially if she wasn't seriously considering it in the first place. I'm thinking of Pearly, actually."
"But she's currently stuck in her Poké Ball… and she won't be there all the time to keep an eye on Kaori," Lucario pointed out.
"True, but if Kaori ever runs away, it's guaranteed that she'll take Pearly with her. Informing Pearly would ensure that she, Pearly, will be mentally prepared should such an event occur," Wolf reasoned. "Yes, she definitely needs to be told. I'll tell her tomorrow when I meet her at the concert."
"Okay, I guess that's the best way forward." A thought then came to Lucario. "What about before the concert? There's a big window of opportunity for Kaori to escape, seeing as her parents won't be around."
Wolf blinked in surprise. "What do you mean? I know about her mother, but won't her father be taking her – oh, wait," he closed his eyes, "I remember now. That weird man said something to that effect. But it's only for a few hours – she'll be fetched to the concert shortly after."
"It's these few hours that are most critical," Lucario argued. "In her thoughts, she wanted to run tomorrow, and that's probably because she knew she would be left to her own devices before the concert. Well, the cook will be home, but that's only one person, and she could sneak away with ease."
"That's true. Ah well… it's only a few hours, no big deal. I'll keep a lookout, and then I'll pass the baton to Pearly."
"At her home?" From the corner of his eyes, Lucario could see Eevee making her opinion known by shaking her head reproachfully. "Can I come with you?"
"Sure, no problem." Wolf paused, as though considering something. "Though you understand that we're not going to show ourselves, don't you?"
"Why not?"
"If we leave her alone, we can gauge how serious this problem is by observing her actions," Wolf explained. "Should we make our presence known, she definitely won't run, but it'd be hard to tell whether she truly wants to or not. Best thing to do is identify her intentions, and then we can nip the problem in its bud. Get my drift, Lucario?"
Lucario could not help but feel impressed by the Mightyena's astuteness. Perhaps his travels had made him worldly-wise. "Oh. Okay then. So, um… I don't know where her house is, so…"
"That's fine." Wolf circled around the spot. "We'll meet outside this here building at seven in the morning, and when all is said and done, we can head to the concert together. How about it?"
"Okay. I don't have a clock, but I'll come early. Is Will coming too?"
"I doubt it; he's going to help his father with something at the concert." He grinned. "Besides, he's too impatient for this sort of stuff. And it'd look really suspicious if we were discovered with him along. If it was just us, we could act like we're merely roaming around innocently. Ah, being a Pokémon has its perks, you know. I'm glad I wasn't born a human."
"That's true," Lucario said, laughing along. "Free bus rides, free entrance to the concert… I see what you mean."
"I know; great, isn't it? Anyway, if there's nothing else, I'll see you tomorrow then, Lucario."
"Right. Bye, Wolf. And thanks."
"No problem. Thanks for confiding in me."
Once Wolf left the group, Eevee rounded on Lucario, though she seemed unable to say anything. Deciding that he had teased her enough for the day, he said, "So, the two of you are coming with me, right?"
"I'm coming?" Absol asked in surprise.
"Of course!" Lucario looked at him intently. "We could go straight to the concert later." He focused his attention to the Evolution Pokémon. "You will come too, won't you, Eevee? It is not often we get a chance to attend a concert. It'll be fun!"
Eevee hesitated. "Well…"
"I'll take that as a 'yes', then. So, we'll meet at the usual spot early in the morning, okay? Don't be late like last time."
She emitted a low growl, but made no protests.
He waved his paw. "See you tomorrow then, Eevee. Or do you want us to escort you back to the forest? That trainer might still be around."
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much!" she barked, swishing her tail arrogantly as she took her leave, not bothering to bid them goodbye.
"You're welcome!" Lucario replied cheerfully, waving both his arms in a wide arc over his head.
"Hey, Luc," Absol whispered, eyeing Eevee warily as though she would suddenly spin around and lunge at them. "Is it just me, or is Eevee behaving very weirdly today?"
Lucario laughed lightly. "What are you talking about, Absol? That's the way Eevee behaves every day."
:::::::::::::::::::
They met Wolf in front of the building the next morning, looking as though he lacked proper sleep. Nonetheless, he was cheerful as he greeted the trio. Together, they left for Kaori's house, which was moderately near according to Wolf. What with being from another region, Lucario found it impressive that the Mightyena seemed to know the city's layout as though it were the back of his paw. In fact, Lucario suspected the dark-type's knowledge of the city surpassed his own.
Lucario would readily describe himself as adventurous, always eager to explore. And yet, it just dawned on him that he rarely ventured out to new places. Be it the forest or the city, he always roamed around the same old circles: the lake, his mountain, Xatu's sanctuary, the outskirts, and once in a while, the downtown district. Very rarely did he head out of his 'comfort zones' alone. For instance, had Eevee not brought him along to aid her in her game, he would not have rediscovered his hatch-place. Neither would he have been to the beach nor park if he did not ride the bus with Wolf in his first human-watching session.
And now, once again, he was being brought to a section of the city he had never been before: the northern parts of Ferrous City. When Lucario voiced this out to the Mightyena, Wolf glanced at him in surprise.
"But you've been here before! Didn't you drop off at the park the other day?"
"The park is in the northern section?"
"Well, to be more precise, it's around the northeast, but same difference, right?" Wolf then went on to talk about various landmarks found at the particular area including the beach he had once been to, a port for ferries transporting people between Ferrous City and Canalave City, and a game centre. How ironic, Lucario thought – the tourist being the tour guide.
Wolf's speech did not last long, stopping abruptly after he paused to yawn. He never picked up where he left off, but merely led the way ahead in silence. Lucario could sense that, like him, the Mightyena was no early bird. Eevee, too, was surprisingly somnolent, her eyelids drooping occasionally as she followed them. He quite thought that she had forced herself to wake up early in order to tag along.
Absol, on the other hand, was the only one looking fresh and alert, staring around at the bare streets with interest.
"Almost there," Wolf muttered softly to no one in particular.
"Had breakfast yet, Wolf?" Lucario asked as he threw the tails of his scarf backwards. The morning air was chilly as usual, and it was times like this that he was glad for his scarf and coat of fur. "I forgot to bring something for you, sorry."
"No matter," he assured, shaking his head. "I'm not hungry."
After that, none of them spoke again until they reached their destination. Lucario had been expecting a mansion much like Greg's, and he was not disappointed. It was located at quite a secluded area; Wolf had to take them through a road that deviated from a small housing area at the city to reach it. The mansion was the only thing located at the end of the path, as though the road itself was built just for the manor.
Through the gaps in the iron gate, he could see a large garden stretched out in front of him, filled with a variety of berry trees, fruit trees, and even a small section of bonsai plants. The place was decorated with tons of Bonsly statues, making Lucario wonder if Mr. Sato was a fan of the Pokémon. Whereas Greg's garden contained miniature fountains, this mansion had only one, albeit larger by far. In the centre of it, perched atop a small pillar, was a Dewgong statue, a never-ending stream of water spouting from its mouth.
Then came the house itself. Its coat of beige paint seemed new, as was the shiny red tiles on the roof. But of course – the family did just move here after all. The building itself was not as large as Greg's was, but the garden was significantly bigger. Judging by the foliages visible over the house's roof, Lucario figured that there was more to the garden behind the manor. Perhaps Mr. Sato was a huge gardening enthusiast as well.
"It's amazing," Lucario said softly, staring at the garden in awe. "A star really earns a lot, huh?"
Wolf chuckled. "Yes, but Kaori's parents are working too. Together, the whole family generates quite the income."
"Your human's father is quite a bigwig too, right?" Lucario stared at Wolf. "I bet you live in a mansion as well, don't you?"
"You got it," Wolf said, laughing. "But before that, I was a wild Pokémon, just like you."
"So which was better? Life with a human, or in the wild?"
"I…" Wolf stopped and looked thoughtful, his grin fading away. He seemed bothered by the question. "I actually don't know. I'm sorry, Lucario. That is a question I cannot answer."
"It's okay," Lucario said hurriedly, startled by the sudden change in Wolf's mood. He immediately wished he hadn't asked. Trying to change the topic, he said loudly to Eevee, "So, what do you think of the house, Eevee?"
Eevee, who had been staring at the Bonsly statues in apparent disgust, turned to Lucario. "I have no opinion whatsoever."
"Wow. Coming from you, Eevee, that's akin to a compliment."
"Say, Lucario," Absol said, his eyes fixed on the house. Lucario followed his friend's gaze; it was too far to see clearly, but he could make out an unmistakable figure through a window on the ground floor. "Why don't you try seeing if she really plans to run away?"
"Oh, that's right, I totally forgot the reason why we came here in the first place," he said sheepishly. With his eyes closed, Lucario directed his senses towards the mansion, picking up the waves from the unknown individual that was visible through the window. It was not Kaori, but a man whom Lucario did not recognise. The stranger was not alone, however; the Aura Pokémon could sense the presence of Kaori and Pearl in the same room.
Kaori was running her hand through Pearl's fur. The Purugly, sitting on the chair besides the girl, was eating some berries off the flat dish placed on the table in front of her. Also on the table was a plate covered with crumbs; Lucario assumed that Kaori had already finished her meal.
The stranger, an old man with a heavily-wrinkled face, walked over to the table and placed a glass of milk in front of Kaori. "Here you go, Kaori. Drink it while it's warm."
"Thank you, Derek!" she said happily, taking the glass and drinking its contents immediately. Kaori appeared to be in a bright mood, and Lucario took that as a positive sign. Judging by her pyjamas and uncombed hair, he deduced that she had just woken up.
The man smiled, taking the plate off the table. "Would you like some more food? You have a show coming up; you need the energy."
She lowered the glass. "No, thank you. I don't think I can eat anymore."
"That so?" Derek said, moving to the sink. "Nervous?"
"A little," she admitted, placing the glass down and leaning forward on the table. "I didn't expect so many people to show up yesterday. There's only bound to be more at the concert."
"Well, many people would love to be in your shoes, you know," he said, chuckling lightly as he began soaping the dish. "You're still so young, and you already have it made. Your future is pretty much secure."
She pouted at his words. "I don't like it though. And if this is what my future will be like… I really don't want to think about it. D'you know, sometimes I wonder why I don't just run away from it all…" She made a sweeping gesture with her hand, as though waving her cares away.
There came a clatter as the dish slipped out of Derek's grip and fell into the sink. He spun around quickly to face the girl, his hands still covered with soap suds. "You shouldn't joke about things like that, Kaori…" he said sharply, scrutinising her. Even Pearl had stopped eating to look at her human partner.
A mischievous grin suddenly spread across her features. She rested her elbows on the table and gazed intently at the man. "Hey, Derek, we're alone in the house now. What will you do if I decide to run away? Will you stop me?"
"Kaori," he said hurriedly as he moved towards her, some of the suds on his hands falling down to the tiled floor. "Please don't… That is just… I can't even…"
She laughed, getting off the chair as she tried to avoid Derek, who was trying to get a hold of her shoulders. "I was only joking! I admit that I've thought about running every once in a while, but don't worry, I won't!"
That statement came as a huge relief to both Derek and Lucario.
The man heaved a sigh as he walked back towards the sink to wash his hands and get a cloth for the mess on the floor. "Really, Kaori… you shouldn't joke about things like that. Running away is never the solution, you know."
"But things cannot remain like this – I cannot take it anymore." She walked to her seat and resumed her stroking of Pearl's fur. "I don't want to follow this road; I want to take a detour! Mommy's coming later. I think I'll have a talk with my parents. Yeah, that's what I'll do."
"Hmm… I hope your talk goes well, then."
"By the way, why don't you come to the concert with me? Then I could chat with you in the car – Charles is such a bore."
He turned around again, eyebrows raised. "I would love to, but have you forgotten? I may be the cook, but today, I'm here to guard the house. You do know that there are some problems with the alarm system, right?"
"We could just lock all the doors. What are the chances of a thief coming in here, anyway?"
"Oh, believe me, I would love to go and watch you perform. But I'm afraid I really can't leave the house alone." He flashed a thumbs-up. "I'm sure you'll do –"
Derek left the sentence hanging as he peered out of the window. A long distance away, the iron gate was creaking slightly as it began to swing open. A man was getting out of a black car, walking towards a group of Pokémon.
"Hey, Kaori, I think Charles is here!"
The girl leapt to her feet, running over to the window. "What? That early? I'm not even ready yet!" She gasped. "Oh, I need to hide Pearly in her Poké Ball!"
A sharp jab jolted Lucario back to his senses. "Luc," he heard Absol say, "quick snap out of it! Someone's here!"
He opened his eyes hurriedly, immediately made aware of a loud whirring sound coming from the engine of a black car in front of him. A man in a brown suit was rushing over to them, waving his arm in an irritable manner.
"This is private property!" he yelled. "No one is allowed here, especially wild Pokémon!"
Eevee and Absol took a step back while Wolf lowered his body and growled. Lucario strode forward and pointed at the scarf wrapped around his neck.
"I don't care if you're not wild – you need to clear off! Shoo! Don't let me catch you here again!"
Lucario glared at the man before turning to the Mightyena. "Come, Wolf, let's go. I've checked, Kaori won't run. Our job is done."
Wolf huffed, his eyes still fixed upon the man. "He clearly does not recognise me. Well, all right then. We can head to the concert right away, if you want, even though it's still quite early."
Lucario nodded his agreement and motioned for his friends to follow as they left the area. The man adjusted his suit and looked around, apparently checking to see if there were more intruders. He then headed to the car's back seat. A quick aura scan told Lucario that Charles was the driver of the vehicle, but strangely enough, there were two others – the man in the brown suit not included – with him. He was not too knowledgeable on the matter, but the Aura Pokémon thought it strange that Kaori needed a total of four bodyguards for a short trip to the stadium. Perhaps stars like her are more susceptible to danger; he had never considered that before.
Charles' window was wound down, and he was staring at the group intently through his shades. Based on the way he was looking at them, Lucario figured that the man remembered who they were. Like the man in the brown suit, he scanned the area thoroughly – perhaps expecting to find Will somewhere. Satisfied that there was no one else about, he wound up the window and gazed straight at the mansion.
Upon closer inspection, Lucario found that two of the four individuals had auras he was familiar with. One of them was Charles, of course, but the other he couldn't quite place his paw on… And yet, he was certain he had met that person only recently…
And then it clicked.
"Everyone, please wait a second," he said to the group. All of them paused on their tracks and stared at him curiously, Eevee a little annoyed. "I need to check something."
"What is it, Lucario?" Eevee enquired, her tail flicking about impatiently. "Going to look for something to take as a souvenir?"
"No, no, it's just… something strange is going on. All of you remember, don't you, the reporter from yesterday?"
Absol tilted his head. "Which one? There were so many."
"The one who dropped her recording thingy in Kaori's room."
"Ah, yes, I remember." Absol looked at Lucario. "What about her?"
"She's in the car. I thought she was one of the bodyguards, but I was wrong."
"I see." Absol paused for a moment. "Er… so?"
"Well, I find it strange," Lucario explained. "I mean, why is she even here? You saw how that man was, saying that no one is allowed in there. She's an outsider, and yet she's being escorted in. And didn't she say she would be there at the concert to see Kaori?"
"Maybe they're going to the concert together," Absol offered.
"But why? Surely not for an interview?" He shook his head. "I really can't imagine Charles agreeing to let her tag along. There must be a reason. I'm going to check."
"That man will throw us out again," Eevee said.
"Not if he doesn't see us."
"Well, I'm all for the plan," said Wolf, looking from one to another. "The situation does sound fishy, and I know I shouldn't say this, but there are a lot of despicable humans in this world."
Lucario turned to the Mightyena, surprised at the anger behind those words. He first thought that Wolf was still peeved by the attitude of the brown-suit man, but he sensed a deeper reason for his rage. Eevee, however, looked delighted. "I agree completely! Humans are scum!" And indeed, there was a sudden rush of newfound respect and admiration coming from Eevee. Lucario rolled his eyes.
"Right. So… let's go."
The four of them ran back to the mansion, keeping close to the trees on the side of the road so as to avoid detection. The car was already parked close to the mansion's front door, and Charles could be seen walking in. The other three passengers poured out of the car and walked away to the side, away from the house's entrance. This made Lucario uneasy for some reason.
Speeding up a little, he ran up to the brick fence which encompassed the area and remained there. His friends caught up with him; Absol was looking doubtful while Eevee seemed a little curious. Wolf, on the other hand, had a surprising air of ferocity around him.
Using his aura abilities again, Lucario dived into the mind of the reporter.
This is for the best.
It was not right. She was a woman of great morals, an upstanding citizen, but look where it got her. Nowhere. It's a cruel world out there, it was said. Eat or be eaten. People fight to get to the top of the hierarchy. There was no room for the weak. Or so she had been told.
Photographs, interviews, she'd done them all. There were times when she was especially proud of herself; securing a private interview session with a huge star, for instance, or being the first to dig up a scandalous story. Why, her latest meeting with Kaori was one such example. A private interview ensured that she was the only one who gets to publish what the star says. Exclusivity. It was important in an industry like hers.
But it wasn't that simple. The battlefield was small, but the combatants aplenty. Most famous stars offer few interview sessions, and it was always a race to see who gets it. Thus far, she had not been too lucky. Her articles, too, were deemed 'not interesting enough' by her boss, even though she poured all her effort into it. And now the boss was dropping some not-so-subtle hints that she'd better do something about it, and fast.
What I need is a huge story.
She had been lucky to score an interview with Kaori, yes, but she was still doubtful. The little girl was far too kind. Kaori was known to give out plenty of her time to reporters everywhere. It was understandable, of course, as the girl was never too popular before she landed a role in this upcoming movie. Give Kaori a few years, and when her fame increases, it'll be harder to land an interview with her.
But would her boss be willing to wait a few years?
And yet, the interview with Kaori yesterday opened a new path for her. It was an undesirable path, dangerous and obnoxious, but it led to the same destination anyway: success. It was a way to make her name known – Judy Robinson. People would only have to see her name at the top of the article to know that it was something worth reading. To be appreciated, that was her goal.
During the interview yesterday, she used a recorder to tape her conversation with the child star so that she could go back and listen to it again. This was done so as to avoid leaving out important points from the final draft of her article. But that was not enough – throughout the conversation, she had also used a notebook to jot down her observations: Kaori's face expressions, hand gestures, and the likes. After all, simple things like those could become important later on.
It was then that she committed a little crime, one which was pretty much fail-safe. She 'accidentally' left her recording device in Kaori's room, with the record button on. It was a great method to listen in on any private conversations the star might have when Judy was no longer there – a perfect way to uncover a scandal. Not that she was expecting one with Kaori, but it was worth trying. She would retrieve the device later, and even if it was discovered before that, she could claim that it was carelessness on her part for losing it.
The plan went perfectly well. She managed to recover her gadget without anyone suspecting anything. No one even noticed it lying there. With slight anticipation, she then went downstairs to the lobby and pulled out a miniature laptop from her handbag. Judy placed the CD with the recording into it and put on her earphones. Using a digital audio editor to access the contents of the CD, she was pleased to discover that the recording was loud and clear. Though, of course, she did not expect any less – after all, she would use nothing but the finest equipments for her job.
The reporter scrolled to the right; eager to see if anything worthwhile was recorded after the interview. The waveforms there were small, probably catching the sounds of Kaori walking about the room. The private meeting was held before the press conference, but the girl should still be in her room for a while.
She scrolled further, feelings of disappointment rising within her. There didn't seem to be anything important at all. And then she found a spike in the waveforms, near the end of the recording. Kaori should have been at the conference at that time, so it couldn't have been the girl. Who, then, was in the room at that moment?
Judy highlighted that part of the recording and played it, pushing her earphones deeper so as to hear better. It started with a mobile phone ringing. The ringing soon stopped, followed by the voice of a man.
"I have expressed countless times not to call me here! You're very lucky I'm alone now, you know that?"
It was a voice Judy recognised. During the interview with Kaori, there was a man with her – Charles, if what she recalled was correct. Curious as to what could have upset the level-headed bodyguard, she continued listening to the conversation.
And the more she heard, the more she knew she had to speak to this man. She had struck gold at last, but was this something she would want to get involved in? Perhaps. She had taken the first step – might as well go all the way.
As such, she waited at the lobby, looking forward to – and yet, dreading – the confrontation she would have with Charles a while later. She knew she would have to get the man alone, and she was slightly disappointed when he came out of the elevator with the boy and Pokémon she'd seen in Kaori's room. To her relief, however, they went separate ways.
She made her move immediately, walking up to him swiftly while holding her bag in front of her almost in a defensive manner. Charles stopped in his tracks, his facial expression unchanging.
"My name is Judy Robinson," she said tensely. "I was the one interviewing Kaori earlier."
"Yes, I am aware of that." There was a hint of impatience in his voice. "Is anything the matter?"
Here, Judy paused. There was still time to turn back. But she dispelled the last of her doubts away, strengthening her resolve to do whatever was needed to further her career. She took a deep breath and said hurriedly, "I know of your plans."
She saw the slightest of a flinch, and was glad that her statement elicited such a response. Capitalising on his moment of weakness, she pressed on, more confident this time, "Involving Kaori tomorrow."
"I assure you I have no idea what you are talking about."
"That's where you're wrong. I can prove it – I have evidence right here. I heard you talking on the phone in Kaori's room while she was at the conference."
He paused, his mouth opened slightly. At last, he folded his arms and said sharply, "Is that what reporters do these days? Planting bugs in superstars' rooms? Wouldn't doing things like this land you in trouble? Or do work ethics mean nothing nowadays?"
"I believe, my good sir, that you are in no position to lecture me about ethics. As for landing in trouble…" She gave a short laugh. "Yes, in a manner of speaking, I did plant a bug, but that is nothing compared to what you have planned for tomorrow."
Charles quickly took a quick glance around, making sure they were out of earshot. "All right, out with it. Name your demands, but let me warn you: don't get carried away. It would not do to underestimate me. I am complying merely to avoid unnecessary hassle. If need be," he leaned closer and whispered menacingly, "I can erase anything obstructing my way."
The threat did not humble Judy in the slightest. "You needn't worry. In fact, you'll only be too happy to satisfy my requests. Let me tell you why…"
The present-day Judy wiped the lens of her camera absently, gazing up at the house in front of her. The rich had it good, she thought. However, their place at the top of the hierarchy was not guaranteed. There would always be someone ready to challenge their status, attempting to take over the throne. The higher you were, the harder you would fall…
But she was thinking too much. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she sank back into the shadows of the tree she was hiding behind. Charles was now inside the building, though why he was taking so long she did not know. His two other friends were lying in wait a short distance away from her – they were throwing her looks of distrust, a gesture which she ignored.
The plan was simple. Charles' original job was to be an escort, ensuring that Kaori gets to the concert safely. For reasons unknown, he had decided to deviate from that plan, ditching his position of bodyguard to become the danger he was supposed to protect Kaori from. Today, he would assume the role of kidnapper.
Panic began to fill Lucario's mind; once again, he had found himself in a sticky situation. Before he could pull out of the woman's thoughts, Judy began thinking about the kidnapping plot.
The initial plan was for Charles to just come into the mansion and fetch her away. In doing so, he was throwing cautions to the wind – everyone would guess that he was the culprit when he disappeared with Kaori. Surprisingly, he was fine with that, and Judy suspected that the man planned to leave the region and start life anew elsewhere.
But then Judy came into the picture, and things changed. What she wanted was a good scoop. A whole set of news which only she could provide. By obtaining that recording of Charles' conversation, she could have gone straight to the police and get him convicted, but there was little to gain from that.
Firstly, it was true, she would get recognition as the woman who prevented the kidnapping of a star, but it would be short-lived. No one really remembers names like these, and she was certain she would fade back into obscurity sooner or later. In addition, her story would not be considered exclusive anymore. Everyone would be writing about the failed kidnapping, and her article would be lost among the crowd. Even though she was – in a way – the star of the story, there was nothing much she could do to make her piece stand out from the rest. "I left my recorder in her room, stumbled upon this conspiracy, and went to the police." Boring. At most, she would be a one-hit wonder.
Ah, but what if she cooperated with Charles? She would be a witness to the crime, right here at the mansion. The moment the kidnapping took place, she would snap some shots. Exclusive photos, check. She could then write a first-hand account of what went down in the star's home. Exclusive story, check. And she would ensure that she was the only one up-to-date with recent developments on the kidnapping – perhaps have Charles plant fake evidence, and then have herself accidentally-on-purpose finding them. And there was her series of exclusive, enthralling articles, sure to cement her name in the industry.
There was also an added incentive for Charles to let her in on this scheme. As a witness, she could testify about how Kaori was abducted by two strangers – that's what Charles' friends were here to do. And her photos would prove it. Obviously, their faces would be obscured, though they, like Charles, did not seem too concerned about concealing their identity.
She would then testify about how she and Charles tried to stop them, but to no avail. This was a masterstroke, as it would lift all suspicions on Charles, letting him go about his devious plans without worrying about the heat. In turn, he would corroborate with her story, thereby alleviating any doubts thrown her way as well. Having testimonies from two people would make a lot of difference, especially since they had no apparent connection with each other.
As such, the stage was set, and the script finalised. Judy was to claim that she was in the area to take some photos of Kaori's mansion from afar, when in actuality she was in the mansion grounds. The two men would then leap out, blindfold Kaori, and shove her into the car. After the successful kidnapping, Judy was to phone the police and give a description of a nonexistent car, stating that the criminals had made off with Kaori in it.
She would then claim that Charles had left in his black car to pursue the kidnappers. Seeing as Charles wanted to personally fetch Kaori to his hideout, wherever it was, saying this would excuse his – and the black car's – absence from the scene of the crime. Judy herself would be to remain there, waiting for the police.
As Kaori would be blindfolded the whole time, the child star would not even know that Charles was involved. All the man had to do was keep quiet the whole time, but that was of no concern to Judy. That was his business; he could screw up for all she cared, as long as she was not implicated by any folly of his.
Ah, there was Kaori, stepping out of the house now. Charles was behind her, a Poké Ball in his hand. The show was starting – Judy knew that he had sent out his Gloom to take care of the cook. She tightened her grip on the camera. The moment the two men blindfolded Kaori, she would step out of her hiding place and take action.
Everything is in place. Let the show begin.
Lucario returned back to his own mind with a yell, startling his three companions.
"Luc, what is it?" Absol asked quickly.
"Lucario," Wolf said, his voice low and menacing, "something is amiss. Trouble is afoot."
"No time to explain!" Lucario brushed his way past Absol and peered around the brick fence. The two men were already making their way towards Kaori, the girl staring at them in surprise. Charles was yelling convincingly, though stepping backwards as one of the men clasped his hand over Kaori's mouth. The other was placing the blindfold over her eyes. "We have to move, quick!"
"I'm on it!" Wolf rushed past Lucario and into the grounds.
The Aura Pokémon turned to Absol and Eevee, who were both apparently stunned by what was going on. "Absol, Eevee, I'm going in too – are you coming?"
Absol nodded and ran up to Lucario's side. Eevee, however, hesitated slightly. "I… all right, I'll come, but –"
Lucario nodded and turned to stare at the scene. Wolf had made his presence known by letting out a loud howl. A dark ball of energy began forming around his mouth, and he shot the Shadow Ball towards the two men, but missing on purpose so as to avoid hurting Kaori.
The men jumped away, releasing their hold on the girl. As Lucario ran to join Wolf, Kaori quickly pulled off her blindfold and stared around bewilderedly. Judy had stepped out of her hiding place, camera still in hand. Abandoning all pretence, Charles yelled, "Get her!"
Kaori screamed, running quickly around the house and towards the back. The two men made to chase her, but were stopped by another Shadow Ball from Wolf. This time, the attack connected, and the both of them were sent flying to the side, where they lay motionless. Seeing this, a wave of panic erupted from Judy – Kaori had seen her, and they were under attack. Everything had gone wrong. The reporter tossed the camera aside and ran after Kaori, retrieving a Poké Ball from her bag as she did so.
Before Lucario could chase Judy, a distraction came in the form of a Gloom, waddling out of the front door, blue spores coming out from the rafflesia-like flower atop his head. Lucario recognised this substance as Sleep Powder, and knew what must have happened to Derek.
The Gloom stared at everyone in surprise, and at this point, Charles took out several Poké Balls from the pockets in his suit, tossing them all onto the ground. The devices emitted bright flashes of light, which soon diminished to reveal a whole group of Pokémon.
First in line was a towering Magmortar, spurts of flame emitting from both of his cannon-like arms. Catching sight of Lucario, he took a step forward, the flames disappearing to reveal dangerous-looking claws. He pounded on his massive red-and-yellow chest with an arm, his pink lips curving into a leer. Apparently, he had marked Lucario as his first would-be victim.
Next was a Lopunny, looking slightly insignificant next to the huge Magmortar, though Lucario knew that size was never a mark of a Pokémon's strength. Her arms were folded as she glanced around the area with seemingly little interest.
Third was a Toxicroak, his sharp yellow eyes scanning the battlefield quickly. A sudden rush of hatred came from behind Lucario, and the Aura Pokémon understood. He doubted this was the same Toxicroak that Absol's father had fought in the past, but Absol probably developed feelings of ill will towards the species since that incident.
The fourth opponent was a Vespiquen, her whitish wings beating rapidly as she hovered high above the ground. The red gem on her head was gleaming in the morning sun, and she began flying in a figure-eight pattern around the Magmortar and Lopunny, glaring menacingly at all her enemies.
And finally, with a deafening roar, a Gabite leapt upwards and sank his right claw into the ground, baring his fangs as he apparently sized up all his opponents. After a while, he straightened up and glared straight towards Lucario – no fair, the blue-furred fighter thought.
As a group, each of the five Pokémon looked incredibly daunting, and it wasn't until the Gloom at the doorway released a puff of pollen did Lucario realise that there were, in fact, six opponents in all. Though outnumbered, Absol had proven before that he was able to hold his own against multiple enemies. Lucario was confident that Wolf, too, had enough experience in battling to cope. Eevee, however, he had never seen fight before.
He turned behind to stare at her; the Evolution Pokémon looked petrified. "Eevee," he whispered urgently, "have you ever fought in a battle before?"
She shook her head, her tail thumping repeatedly on the ground.
"Well… you should get out of here as quickly as –"
"I won't run away!" Her outburst caused all six of the opposing group to stare at her, which in turn made her cower.
"Okay… um… do your best and get away quick if the situation looks hopeless. Just… just do what you always do to me, all right? Pretend they are all me, offending you in one way or another." He gave a comforting smile, and she nodded. Turning to Absol, he said, "Ready, Absol?"
"Born ready." Absol flattened his body, pawing the ground. "It'll be like the time we first met, huh, Luc?"
He nodded and raised both of his paws in an upright boxing stance. "Let's hope we get through this in one piece. And let's hope Kaori has Pearl with her…" Wolf, who was standing a distance away from Lucario, caught the Aura Pokémon's eye. They both nodded, and dark energy began forming in Wolf's mouth once more. A second later, he had shot the Shadow Ball towards the group, who scattered immediately.
The battle had begun.
Before Lucario could make a move, Absol had rushed past him, heading straight for the Toxicroak. Wolf was taking two at once: the Lopunny and the Vespiquen. Eevee scooted off to help him, though she still seemed to have the jitters. Strangely enough, the Gloom decided not to do anything, and merely stood at the door, watching the fight unfold.
Charles was yelling out commands, though Lucario could not quite make out what the man was saying; he was too focused on his own adversary. The Magmortar was lumbering over towards him, wagging a claw. "Come over here, kiddo, this won't take long."
Lucario took a cautious step backwards, aware that the fountain was just behind him. Magmortar was closing in on the Aura Pokémon, but of greater concern was the Gabite, who Lucario realised had just burrowed underground. Using his aura senses, he knew that the dragon-type was also targeting him, moving through the ground at an alarming speed.
Lucario's attention snapped back to the Magmortar as the huge Blast Pokémon raised both arms and began shooting fireballs wildly. He managed to avoid the first few spheres of flame, and he knew that Magmortar was not really aiming to gun him down – the fire-type just wanted to keep Lucario on his toes.
It was quite a good tactic of Magmortar's – Lucario was forcefully reminded of the time when he battled Houndoom: the onslaught of flames had prevented him from getting close to his opponent. And now, what with the never-ending barrage of fireballs and the predator lurking beneath the ground, Lucario knew that he could not afford to stop running.
But constantly running away was not a good solution either. He was bound to tire sooner or later, and when that happened, his game was over. The only plausible way out he could think of was to bring the offensive to his opponents. Gritting his teeth, Lucario dashed forwards, occasionally swerving left and right to dodge the next set of flames. Magmortar's eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, the fire-type looked slightly fearful, until –
Lucario yelled as a searing pain spread throughout his body. One of Magmortar's fireballs had finally hit its target, sending Lucario flying into a flowerbed adorned with Bonsly statues.
For a moment, Lucario was rendered immobile, and he lay there in the middle of the flowerbed, gasping for air. He was especially weak to fire attacks, and if he were to get hit once more… He then remembered his scarf, and he hastened to check it. A tiny flame had caught on at its end, and he extinguished it with his paw.
Was it his imagination, or did he really hear the ground below him rumble? Suddenly remembering the Gabite, Lucario managed to roll away in time – the dragon-type burst out from the earth with claws outstretched, only succeeding in uprooting several flowers. Without missing a beat, the dragon-type continued the assault by attempting to slash the Aura Pokémon with the fins on his arms.
Unable to get back onto his feet, Lucario did the only thing he could to defend himself: he summoned his trusty bone-shaped staff, which materialised just in time to parry the oncoming attack. Even then, however, it was a test of strength between the two Pokémon as Gabite began pushing his arm forward, forcing the staff towards Lucario. The blue-furred fighter could feel his muscles burning – any minute now and they would give way…
"Lucario!"
Lucario turned his head to the source of the sound. Absol was running towards him, the scythe on his head glowing. With a forceful swing, he sent a gust of wind flying towards Gabite, knocking the dragon to the ground.
With a grunt, Lucario quickly scrambled back up on his feet. "Thanks, Absol!"
"No pro—"
"Don't chase me, don't chase me, don't chase me!" Eevee yelled as she ran by in front of Absol.
Vespiquen swooped around, attempting to grab the Evolution Pokémon, looking extremely frustrated. "I won't chase you," she hissed, lunging forward and missing her target, grasping a fistful of air instead, "if you would just stop running away!"
"Eevee!"
"Don't worry, Luc," Absol said, looking slightly amused. "I'll help her."
He bounded off towards Vespiquen, while Toxicroak appeared a short while later, pursuing Absol. The poison-type appeared to be severely battered, though determination was still flaring in his yellow eyes. What a messy battle, Lucario thought.
Gabite grunted, and Lucario turned back to him. The dragon glared at his opponent for a second before digging downwards once more. Lucario leapt away from the flowerbed, knowing that it was time to keep moving again.
Running back to the fountain in the middle of the garden, Lucario saw that Wolf had taken over the battle with Magmortar, clawing away at the Blast Pokémon. Behind them, Charles was shouting at Gloom, probably egging the Pokémon on to join the battle. Beyond them, way past the mansion, Lucario could detect Pearl's presence, and knew she was probably doing her best to protect Kaori from Judy. He had to leave the child's safety in her paws… his plate was quite full at the moment.
Magmortar shoved Wolf off and aimed his arm-cannon at the dark-type. There was a blast of fire, but Wolf dodged it by somersaulting into the air, launching a Shadow Ball as he did so. The attack hit Magmortar squarely on the chest, causing him to stumble backwards. Unfortunately, Wolf was unable to follow-up on his assault, as Lopunny promptly attempted to get a few kicks in at the Mightyena.
With the Magmortar stunned, Lucario saw his chance. Dashing forward, with the Gabite still hot on his tail underground, Lucario summoned his bone staff again. The Magmortar saw him coming and shot two quick fireballs from his arms, but the Aura Pokémon was ready for that.
He stabbed his staff into the ground, and like an athlete would in a pole vault competition, launched himself up into the air over both fireballs, flying in an arc before landing on top of the Magmortar. The fire-type managed to remain standing somehow; Lucario could feel the intense heat emitting from the Pokémon's body, but he held on tightly as he wrapped his legs around Magmortar's neck, choking him.
Magmortar tried to pull Lucario off him, but the fighting-type refused to let go. Magmortar began sputtering, and the Aura Pokémon delivered a few punches to his head for good measure.
Sensing that the Gabite was drawing close, Lucario placed his paw on Magmortar's neck, releasing a burst of energy which knocked the fire-type onto the ground, while Lucario himself was launched upwards into the air once again. His timing couldn't have been better – Gabite burst out from the ground with an uppercut, aiming for Lucario, but hitting Magmortar instead.
Surprised, Gabite looked upwards at the Lucario, who was still airborne, the tails of his scarf flapping wildly. Lucario grinned as he conjured the bone staff in his paws. The Aura Pokémon then allowed gravity to pull him back down to the ground, where he swung as hard as he could at Gabite. There was a loud thwack as the dragon was sent flying, only to land on top of Magmortar.
Both of his opponents got up simultaneously as Lucario paused to catch his breath. Magmortar was chiding Gabite, who made an angry retort with a threatening shake of his arm. The two set aside their differences rather quickly though, and turned to Lucario again.
Lucario gulped, but felt something furry brush up against his side. It was Wolf, panting slightly, but otherwise looking unharmed. "Need some help, Lucario?"
He grinned, glad at the Bite Pokémon's timely arrival. "I would appreciate it. What about your previous opponent though?"
"Managed to knock her out," he said, jerking his head towards the Lopunny huddled up near the front door. He suddenly gave an involuntary shiver. "I never want to see another Lopunny again. And your Eevee friend helped me with that bug; thank her later for me."
"Enough talking!" Gabite shouted, kicking the ground in front of him, sending some earth flying upwards. He quickly slashed the air repeatedly, causing a huge cloud of sand to fly towards Lucario and Wolf.
Lucario crossed his arms in front of his face, trying to shield himself from the Sand Tomb attack. He felt as though he was trapped in a tornado – it was getting harder to breathe. Then, as soon as it came, the storm stopped.
He lowered his paws and saw that Wolf had eluded the attack, and was now covered in an orangey light. A purple aura soon formed around the Mightyena, and he launched himself like a torpedo straight at the dragon while the Magmortar quickly got out of the way.
Gabite was tossed to the side as Wolf plopped back to the ground, swaying lightly, looking extremely disoriented. Lucario rushed forward. "Wolf! Are you okay?"
"No – no prob," he said vaguely, blinking at Lucario. "G–giga Impact is not my fav – favourite move…"
Though still concerned, Lucario focused his attention on Magmortar. The Blast Pokémon was now lumbering forward with his right arm engulfed in flames. Upon reaching Lucario, he swung his arm backwards before thrusting it at the Aura Pokémon. However, the blue-furred fighter managed to dodge in time. Magmortar may be quick at firing projectiles, but he was slow when it came to close combat.
Magmortar continued trying to land a Fire Punch on Lucario, but the Aura Pokémon merely capered around, evading the blows swiftly. With each successful dodge, he felt a rush of adrenaline. His heart was pumping faster and faster as he moved to a nonexistent rhythm, feeling elated that his foe was having a hard time attempting to nail him.
When at last the surge of adrenaline seemed too much for his body to take, Lucario somersaulted backwards and landed gracefully. He felt every muscle in his body flaring up, and he roared at this sudden rush of strength. Raising his paws back into a fighting pose, he noticed that they were now awash with bluish aura.
Laughing mirthlessly, Magmortar said, "Swords Dance won't help you there, kid! You're just a tiny little –"
Without waiting for Magmortar to finish his trash talk, Lucario proceeded to relentlessly deliver some punches and kicks. His mind was working exceptionally quickly – he could pretty much predict in an instant where Magmortar would move; where Magmortar would block. That, coupled with the fact that the fire-type was a huge target, made it incredibly easy for Lucario to land every blow.
After getting several good hits in, Lucario leapt over Magmortar, landing behind the large Pokémon. Placing a paw on the fire-type's back, he unleashed another Force Palm, this one made stronger due to the effects of Swords Dance. Seeing that Magmortar was thrown to the flowerbeds, Lucario ran forward with his bone staff on the ready, weaving around all the Bonsly statues, intending to deal the finishing blow.
Unfortunately, he had underestimated Magmortar's endurance. Upon reaching his opponent, Magmortar swiftly grabbed the middle of the staff and yanked it to the side. As Lucario was still holding on to the bone-shaped weapon, he was thrown alongside with it, crashing into the brick fence that surrounded the mansion.
Rubbing his head, all momentum lost, he looked up to see a big grin on the Magmortar's face. His adversary pointed the cannon-like arm at him, and he knew the battle was lost. Feeling helpless, Lucario raised a paw as if hoping to deflect the impending attack.
And then it happened: a peculiar energy began coursing throughout his arm – it felt as though something was flowing from his shoulders to the tip of his paw. A small bluish ball formed, and without thinking, Lucario thrust it forward just as Magmortar shot a fireball.
The sphere collided with the ball of flame, and they both exploded, causing a shower of blue and red embers which quickly dissipated before they even reached the ground. Both of them stared at each other in surprise, and then Lucario grinned as he understood.
Aura Sphere. At last.
He had looked forward to learning this move ever since Xatu told him about it. Lucario then tried to launch another sphere at the Magmortar, but nothing happened. Puzzled, he stared at his paws.
"Ha ha!" Magmortar began bounding over, looking smug. "Luck has deferred your loss, but it all ends now!" Flames engulfed his fist again. "Fate dictates so!"
Lucario tried summoning his staff to defend himself, but when he held up his paws, blue energy began forming quickly before it whizzed towards Magmortar, exploding as it made contact with the fire-type. This second Aura Sphere was smaller than the first one, but Lucario was more concerned about the fact that he couldn't seem to control them.
Magmortar, knocked a short distance ahead, got back to his feet, looking groggy. Lucario felt a tingling sensation in his arm, and was certain that another Aura Sphere was on its way. Thinking quickly, he noticed that the fountain was directly behind Magmortar. A sudden inspiration struck Lucario – and he acted quickly.
Grabbing a Bonsly statue on his right, he tossed it up at the air. Timing was crucial; as the statue fell back down, Lucario released the built-up energy in his paw. A huge sphere of aura flew forward, hitting the statue and breaking it into several chunks, but it did not stop there.
The large Aura Sphere, along with the broken pieces of the statue, zoomed towards the Magmortar, whose eyes were wide open with alarm. It struck the fire-type like a massive cannonball. The impact caused Magmortar to fly backwards, where he crashed into the Dewgong statue at the top of the fountain. The effigy broke off and fell along with the Blast Pokémon into the water with a huge splash.
Lucario waited a moment, but his opponent did not get back up. Heaving a sigh of relief, he glanced around the garden to see how his companions were faring. Absol and Eevee were facing both the Toxicroak and Vespiquen, though Eevee seemed to be relying on Absol to advise her on what she should do. Wolf was still battling with the Gabite, though Lucario couldn't tell who had the upper hand.
Seeing that Lucario was free, Wolf called out, "Lucario! Help me out a little here! I need a breather!"
"Right!"
Lucario darted forward, replacing Wolf as Gabite's opponent. "Are you all right, Wolf?"
"Yeah," the Mightyena panted, "I need more exercise – this vacation has made me out of shape. Take over for me; I'll come back after I catch my breath."
"No problem!" he said reassuringly. "Go and rest; I'll take care of this." Lucario could only wish he was as confident as he sounded – he badly wanted a rest as well; the fight with Magmortar had taken a lot out of him.
The Gabite considered Lucario for a moment before smirking. Without a word, he dug his way underground.
Frustrated, Lucario cried out, "Why do you always do that?"
Gabite seemed to be moving about with new ferocity, and Lucario was getting exhausted. If the dragon were to constantly use this strategy, there would be little chance of Lucario getting an attack in. Still, the Aura Pokémon forced himself to keep on the move.
"Luc, watch out!"
Lucario paused in his tracks and spun around. The black car had whirred to life, with Charles at the driver's seat. It would appear that the man had decided to enter the fray, and his first move was to run Lucario down. The vehicle was moving towards him at an alarming speed; he could just see the look of determination on Charles' face…
A loud rumble from the earth snapped the Aura Pokémon back to his senses, and he reacted instinctively by jumping out of the way. At that moment, Gabite leapt out of the ground from where Lucario was standing a moment ago. There was a sudden screech as Charles seemingly tried to swerve the car away while reaching out for the handbrakes, but he was too late.
The vehicle rammed into the Gabite, causing the dragon to soar in an arc before landing with a thud, unconscious. In an attempt to take down Lucario, Charles had unwittingly knocked out his own Pokémon. But that was not all – when Lucario directed his gaze back at the car, he found Charles sitting at an odd angle, also out cold. Apparently, his sudden stopping of the car had caused him to bump his head onto something.
Unsure of what to do, Lucario rushed forward and opened the door, dragging the man out. Charles' sunglasses had fallen off, broken, and his forehead was bleeding. Looking inside the car, Lucario could see that the key was in the ignition, and the engine apparently still running. He had learnt enough about cars from books to notice that the handbrakes had been pulled, and even at a time like this, he couldn't help but be overwhelmed by a sudden desire to check out the vehicle's interior.
Whether he liked it or not, however, Lucario was soon shoved into the car, his chest-spike poking a hole in the seat. He quickly looked over his shoulder only to find Toxicroak, leering down at him. His new opponent attempted to strike Lucario, but was pulled out of the car by someone not within his line of sight.
Lucario quickly slid out of the vehicle, and he grinned when he saw that it was Absol who had come to his rescue. "You okay, Absol?"
"Perfectly fine," he replied, glaring at the Toxicroak as the Toxic Mouth Pokémon lunged forward, attempting to nail Absol with a Poison Jab. "What about you?"
"Same here. I've lost track of how many times you've saved me today. Let's do this together, shall we?"
"Two against one?" Toxicroak grunted. "Unfair!"
"You weren't complaining when you guys outnumbered us!" Absol shot back, punctuating his retort with a swift blow to the Pokémon's jaw. Toxicroak stumbled backwards, where Lucario was standing.
Reacting instinctively, he stretched out his arm to do a Force Palm, but a small ball of aura flew out instead. The Aura Sphere collided with Toxicroak, sending the Pokémon back towards Absol.
The Disaster Pokémon's eyes were glowing, and several purplish blades shot out from the scythe on Absol's head as he swung it at the Toxicroak. The Psycho Cut attack sent Toxicroak flying upwards over Lucario before landing on the roof of Charles' black vehicle.
Lucario let out a cheer when he saw that Toxicroak was knocked out. Turning back to Absol, he saw that his white-furred friend had a wistful smile on his face. He decided not to ask if this Toxicroak was the same as the one Absol encountered in the past. "Only the Vespiquen left, then! Oh, and that Gloom. Do you know why he's not fighting, Absol?"
"I did ask him earlier; he said he doesn't want to be a part of this. Apparently, he's not even Charles' Pokémon. He mentioned something about being one of those poached Pokémon, and is actually rooting for us, though he daren't help in case we end up losing."
Lucario turned to the doorway where Gloom stood, honey dripping from the Pokémon's mouth like drool. "Poached?"
Before he could question further, Wolf appeared by his side again, panting heavily. "Absol, please go help Eevee, I just thought of something I need to do."
Absol started, apparently forgetting about the Evolution Pokémon. "Right!" And he scooted off. Lucario was about to follow him when Wolf held him back with a paw.
"Hey, Lucario," he motioned towards Charles, lying on the grass. "Can you check if he has a phone on him?"
"A phone?"
"Yeah, a mobile. Please do it, quick."
Not really understanding, he walked forward and examined the pockets in Charles' suit. He pulled out a bunch of assorted stuff, including a set of keys, a pen, a notebook, and finally, a tiny mobile phone.
"Excellent," Wolf said, still panting heavily. "It's on, right? Can you check the contacts for Kaori's father's number? I would do it, but I figure you're better at reading."
"Oh, okay. Um… which buttons do I press?"
"Try those things that look like arrows."
It was quite hard, trying to press all those miniscule buttons with his large paws. He slowly tapped the arrows, bringing up a menu of assorted icons. Once again, he felt excitement building up within him – operating a mobile phone was so much fun. He managed to find a list of contacts, and he scrolled down until he saw Mr. Sato's name.
"I found it!"
"Great; now, there should be an option to dial that number. Can you try finding it?"
"Um… okay, got it!"
He tapped the button, and there came a soft ringing tone. The Aura Pokémon looked up at Wolf. "Now what?"
"There's an option for loudspeakers, isn't there? Turn it on and I'll take over from here."
Lucario found the option quickly enough. Turning the loudspeakers on, he placed the mobile on the ground, and Wolf walked up to it. He could hear a faint click, followed by Mr. Sato's voice, amplified loudly: "Hello? Charles?"
"You're Kaori's father?" Wolf said in English, his voice coming out extremely low and gruff. Lucario felt awed as the dark-type continued, "Your daughter is in grave danger at her home. Please call the police immediately. Your bodyguard, Charles, is a criminal."
"What?" Mr. Sato exclaimed through the phone, sounding panicked. "Hello? Is Kaori all right? Who is this?"
"Hurry up and put down already!" Wolf yelled. "Call the police! I will not be held responsible if your daughter loses her life!"
"All right – don't hurt Kaori!"
There was another click, and the mobile phone fell silent. Wolf huffed, his eyes closed. A wave of sadness washed over Lucario, and the Aura Pokémon stared at Wolf with concern. "Is everything all right, Wolf?"
"I'm all right," he said, reverting back to Pokémon language. "Come on, Lucario, Absol and Eevee can handle the Vespiquen. We should go check on Kaori."
"That's right – Pearl is with her; I hope she can handle whatever Pokémon Judy has."
"Don't worry, Pearly's a tough cookie. But we should help her, yeah."
Lucario paused, utterly bewildered. "Pearl's a what?"
Wolf stared back, apparently confused as well. Then he appeared to catch sight of something behind Lucario's back, and chuckled. Lucario turned around to find Vespiquen flying haphazardly, trying to grab something on top of her head.
He was surprised to find that Eevee had attached herself on the Vespiquen, covering the Pokémon's eyes with both of her paws. Vespiquen continued flying wildly, perhaps attempting to throw off the brown-furred Pokémon, but to no avail.
What the Vespiquen did not know, however, was that she was zooming straight towards the house. Just as she was about to crash, Eevee leapt off while dealing a huge blow to the back of the Pokémon's head.
Absol rushed forward to support Eevee's fall just as Vespiquen flew straight into a huge glass window on the mansion's upper floor, breaking through it in the process. Lucario took it as a good sign when she did not reappear. Eevee, on the other hand, bounced off Absol's furry back and landed face first on the ground. She got up quickly, wobbling a little, though looking extremely pleased.
"Great job, everyone!" Wolf addressed them all loudly. "Come on, we should go check on Pearly and Kaori. The police should be coming anytime soon – there's a police station near here – so all we got to do is to last until then."
"Okay," Lucario agreed. Wolf nodded and darted off like the wind towards the back of the mansion, Absol following swiftly behind. The Aura Pokémon paused to look at Eevee, who seemed disoriented. "I'll go ahead, Eevee, you can join us when you're ready!" Lucario then ran after Wolf and Absol, but soon felt a sudden sting at his muzzle as he was knocked to the ground.
Looking up, he saw his friends still dashing ahead, not noticing that their comrade was down. His field of vision was then blocked by an upside-down playful face, and he blinked in surprise. It took him quite some time before he finally registered that he was attacked by Lopunny, who had evidently regained consciousness.
She gave a friendly smile, but her fist was drawn back, clearly going for a punch. Lucario rolled out of the way before springing back on to his feet with an uppercut, which caught her squarely on her jaw. Lopunny staggered backwards, holding onto her chin. She looked back up at Lucario, and he was startled to see tears in her eyes.
"Why?" she whimpered, her eyes wide. "Why did you hit me?"
"W–what?" Lucario sputtered, completely perplexed. "You attacked me first!"
"I was only trying to be friends!"
"By punching me?"
She pouted, obviously pretending not to hear him. Burying her face in her fluffy arms, she cried out, "You're mean! I just wanted to say hi…"
This is not happening. He lowered his arms and walked closer to the Rabbit Pokémon. "I don't know what flawed logic you're trying to apply here, but you can't just –"
But at that moment, she looked up, a glint in her eyes. Lucario quite thought he saw a yellowish light flying towards him, but he wasn't too sure – he squeezed his eyes shut and shielded his face with his paws, expecting to be thrown back by an attack. But nothing happened.
Puzzled, he opened his eyes again, and then he saw it.
It was as though a beam of light had suddenly illuminated the dreary world he had been living in all this while. Her silky brown fur shone brightly in the sun's rays, seemingly giving off a magnificent glow. And her eyes – her red eyes were so captivating, filling him with warmth. Never before had he realised how empty his life was until now.
How could he have been so stupid? She was only trying to get to know him better, and he attacked her! That was extremely unbecoming of him. He raised a paw timidly, ears pressed flatly against the back of his head. "Are you okay, Lopunny? I'm sorry – did I hurt you?"
She shook her head and he smiled shyly, wondering if she would still like him even after his dreadful attitude earlier. A thought suddenly struck him, and he quickly combed down the fur on his head with his paw. His yellow-golden fur around his torso was covered with dirt; he quickly brushed it off, wanting to look presentable. Finally, he adjusted his scarf and cleared his throat.
He walked a few steps closer, but paused when a furry, brown bowling ball came rolling over to him at top speed. "Lucario, no!"
Strange, he never knew bowling balls could talk. He looked at it for a second – the disfigured object had halted in front of him, apparently staring right at his crimson eyes. "Snap out of it!" it said angrily.
"Be quiet!" he hissed, waving it away with his paws. "Go roll somewhere else!"
He turned back to the Lopunny, but soon felt a sharp pain from his behind. Yelping, he whipped his tail to the front and grabbed it, rubbing the sore spot. It was then that he noticed Eevee glaring at him, bits of blue fur around her mouth. "Eevee? What are you doing here?" He glanced around. "Where's the bowling ball?"
"Oh, so I'm a bowling ball, am I?" she said angrily. She pointed at Lopunny. "What is she then, a marshmallow? The way you were looking at her – honestly!"
He groaned, memories of his thoughts and antics flooding back to him. Fortunately, Eevee had stopped him before he could do anything else – like profess his love. Ruffling up the fur on his head again, he glowered at Lopunny. The Rabbit Pokémon appeared to be frightened – she hastily scooted off out of the mansion's front gate, disappearing from sight.
Lucario sighed. "At least she's out of the way now. I never want to see a Lopunny again. Thanks, Eevee."
For some reason, Eevee began rolling on the ground, bursting into peals of laughter.
"What?" he asked, somewhat annoyed.
"Come to think of it," she said, wiping the tears of laughter away, "you looked absolutely hilarious!"
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I certainly didn't."
At this, her laughter intensified. "You didn't? You definitely looked like you did!"
"Hmph. Wait till you get hit by an Attract attack, my bowling ball friend. Bet you'll go rolling over to him in no time." He paused, pondering what he just said. "Eevee in love… ha! I can't even imagine it."
"That's because you will never see that silly look on my face!" she said, sniggering.
"Then again," he went on in an indifferent tone, "I never thought I'd see you liking a human either."
That wiped the smirk off her face. "For the last time, I don't like her! I just hate her less than the rest!"
"Right," he said, nodding. "Whatever floats your submarine. Come on, we should go help them." They both headed towards the back. After a few steps, however, Lucario stopped, clutching at his head with both his paws.
"What's wrong?" Eevee said, staring at him.
"I'm not sure… I just felt a twinge." His vision was slightly blurry – he blinked a few times, and it thankfully returned to normal. "Weird. Well, at least it stopped. Come on, let's go."
Eevee nodded and ran ahead of the Aura Pokémon, who tried to keep up but was soon hit with a bout of dizziness. "Eevee," he called out as he quickly moved to the side, holding on to the brick fence for support. "You go on ahead; I'll catch up in a while."
The Evolution Pokémon looked back at him in puzzlement. "What's wrong now?" she enquired as she padded back to him.
"I'm feeling a bit giddy. No big deal – it's nothing new. I guess I might have overexerted myself again."
"Well, it's no use for me to go ahead without you, is there?" She jerked her heads towards the back. "Come on, let's move together; slowly, if you want to."
"Really, Eevee?" he said in disbelief. The brown-furred Pokémon sure seemed to be in a good mood – perhaps it was the thrill after a victory over the Vespiquen, or maybe it was because he made a fool of himself earlier. Whichever one it was, he nodded, and resumed walking with her at his side. "Eevee, do me a favour, and don't mention my dizziness to Absol."
Her ears perked up immediately. "Oh, so you're going to use up your favour for this?"
"Huh?"
"Your favour, your favour!" she said impatiently. "Didn't you say I owe you a favour?"
He chuckled when he realised what Eevee was talking about. "Oh, you mean for playing that cruel joke on me? But this is just a tiny favour… totally unbefitting what you did to me!" If Eevee hadn't brought it up, he would not have remembered about the favour in the first place – he decided not to mention that.
"It's not like I did something criminal," she grumbled, but did not pursue the subject.
He decided to change the topic. "That was some nice flying you did earlier, Eevee. You did very well, and it was your first battle, too."
"You think so?" She stared at him. "To be honest, I didn't know what I was doing most of the time. I just… kind of automatically did what I thought was appropriate at every instance."
"Yeah, I guess that's how I fight too. I mean, you can't really plan out your battles, can you? Not unless you already know your opponents' fighting style. But I bet Wolf would know about battling strategies – I expect he's been in loads of fights."
"I suppose so; I must say it's a little bit scary though," Eevee said, grimacing. "I wouldn't mind not fighting ever again."
Lucario laughed. "You fight me all the time; I don't think that will change."
"Not unless you change first," she said under her breath, though there was a small smile on her face. It soon faded though, and she spoke again after a while, "I just don't understand you, Lucario."
"Hmm?" He gazed at her questioningly, but she did not elaborate on her statement.
"Where are they?" she asked, staring straight ahead.
"Somewhere further. I can feel their presence."
He had been right, there were a lot more plants at the back of the mansion, many of them he had never seen before even in books. He could detect the auras of his friends as well as Kaori and Pearl, but the only one feeling agitated was Judy. Knowing what this meant, he trudged on in good spirits.
Sure enough, when Lucario and Eevee finally found them after navigating around a bunch of exotic plants, Kaori was hugging Pearl tightly as the Purugly licked her paws, looking very pleased with herself. Judy was on her knees, besides a downed Electabuzz. She looked utterly depressed as she glanced from Absol to Mightyena, who were both surrounding her.
Lucario smiled – it was over.
:::::::::::::::::::
Kaori, a girl who has made it big after landing a starring role in an upcoming movie. But fame and fortune has a price – in order to maintain an image, she was forced to hide her best friend, Pearl the Purugly, from the world. Instead, a Skitty took Pearl's place, because Pearl was deemed to be not presentable enough.
Also, though she wishes to be a Pokémon trainer and start a journey, Kaori's father would rather she continue her acting career while occasionally participating in Pokémon contests instead. Apparently, it would better suit Kaori's image as a cute child idol.
The police arrived in large numbers, moving in perfect coordination as they surrounded the premise. Kaori quickly explained to one of the officers as to what had happened, and each of the criminals were arrested and brought away, including the Pokémon. Lopunny, of course, had escaped, but it couldn't be helped.
Gloom was ecstatic when he saw the police. He was interrogated by a Growlithe, who appeared to be extremely uncomfortable during the questioning – the smell emitting from Gloom was quite unbearable. It was as Absol said – Gloom was stolen from his human partner, and was hoping that the police could help him get back home.
Derek soon awoke from his slumber induced by Gloom's Sleep Powder. Relieved as he was to find that Kaori was perfectly fine, he was quite insistent that the ordeal would not have occurred if he had been more careful. He even offered to resign, but Kaori would not hear of it.
Mr. Sato arrived shortly after the police, pushing his way past the officers as he frantically searched for his daughter. Finding her at last, he dashed forward and pulled her into a hug.
"Pearly protected me," she whispered into his ear, hugging him back as tightly as she could. "Wolf and his friends startled Charles just as his men were about to kidnap me. I ran to the back, and that reporter followed, and Pearly protected me. She saved me."
Mr. Sato released the hug and stared gratefully at the Purugly standing by Kaori's side.
"We should go now," Kaori said with a smile.
The man stared at her in surprise. "Go where?"
"To the concert, of course! We're going to be late!"
All that pressure was getting to Kaori, but she persevered. She's really strong, that girl. I was quite concerned when she thought of running away, but thankfully, she decided to take the better course of action and confront her parents about what she really wanted out of her life. Good for her – it's her life; she should choose the way she wants to live.
The concert had started by the time they reached the stadium, but fortunately, it was not Kaori's turn to perform yet. Mr. Sato kept telling her that it was fine if she did not want to go up onstage, but she was insistent. "The show must go on," she had said with a giggle. "I always wanted to say that. It sounds so cool on TV."
She tied the purple ribbon on her black hair and did a little curtsey, the Skitty by her side. "I'll see you later, Pearly!"
We didn't get to the concert in time – all the good seats were already taken. So we watched her performance backstage, through a huge television monitor. Eevee enjoyed it very much, I think. She says that she wasn't really a fan, and that she used to watch Kaori on television merely to pass the time when she was stuck in Greg's mansion. I'm not sure if I believe that – I think Eevee is just too prideful to admit she likes a human.
"You were great," Mr. Sato said, hugging his daughter in their room backstage. They were alone, though Lucario was just outside, prying into their private conversation using his aura abilities. "I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you, Daddy, but there's something I need to tell you."
He smiled, straightening back up. "I think I know what it is, but go on."
"I don't want to live like this anymore. I want Pearly by my side, always. I don't want to hide her away! And… if it's possible… I wanna become a trainer!" she added hopefully.
"I can see how much Pearly means to you," he said. Mr. Sato paused for a few seconds. "All right. I'll tell the agency about it. You do know that you'll probably lose a number of fans, don't you? I mean… you've been telling everyone that Skitty is your friend all along – I know you were forced to do it!" he quickly said after Kaori stared at him sternly. "But still, they won't like having been lied to."
She folded her arms and frowned. "I don't care!"
"Okay, I understand. Go ahead – tell the world the truth. And if the agent doesn't like that, then we'll just find a new talent agency!"
She beamed, wringing his hand. "Thank you, Daddy! And… um… what about being a trainer?"
He frowned. "Is it something you really want to do, Kaori?"
Kaori nodded. "I know it won't be easy, but I want to try!"
He sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Kaori… the reason why I – and your mother – didn't want you to become a trainer is because it's a dangerous world out there. See what happened earlier at our house? We don't want to risk it… you're still so young…"
"But I'll have Pearly with me! She can protect me!"
"I know, but what if, somehow, she isn't able to protect you? What then? If you participate in contests, you can train at home… we can fetch you directly to all the contest halls. Unless… unless you are willing to let us fetch you to all the gyms?"
"But there's no point in that! Being a trainer is all about the journey, and finding Pokémon in the wild, and –"
"Exactly," he said with a sad smile. "Dangerous."
"Daddy," she pleaded, "please?"
Mr. Sato sighed once more, looking troubled. At last, he said, "Give us a few years. Okay, Kaori? Once you're a few years older, and when we're sure that Pearly – and any other Pokémon you might get in the future – are able to protect you, then you can go. Is that all right with you?"
"Yay!" she exclaimed, hugging him again. "Okay! I don't mind waiting a few years, as long as I don't have to hide Pearly anymore. Thank you very much! I'll go tell Pearly now!"
She dashed out of the room, almost bumping into Lucario. "Oh, I'm sorry, Lucario!"
The Aura Pokémon shook his head, and held out the items he was holding: a pen and two sheets of paper. Though slightly bewildered at first, she caught on quickly. "You… want my autograph?"
He nodded, and she took the pen, smiling. "Okay," she said, signing on the paper, "there you go – oh, another one?" she asked as he handed her the next piece. "Right, here! Thank you for everything, Lucario." She rubbed the top of his head between the ears, and he let out a happy growl.
Lucario watched as she skipped off happily to tell Pearl the good news. He gazed down at the sheets of paper – Kaori's signature was neat and elegant, with a cute musical note drawn at the very end. He looked up again, and though she had disappeared from view, he bowed in her general direction.
In the end, Kaori gets what she wished for. She needn't hide Pearl anymore, and in a few years, she'll be able to start her Pokémon journey as a trainer. Turns out that Mr. Sato wasn't too keen on the idea because he was worried about what she might face in the journey… at first glance, it may seem like he was controlling Kaori's life, but he really was just concerned for her wellbeing.
I have no idea why Charles wanted to kidnap Kaori. It's probably for the money, but I can't be sure. In any case, he has a stolen Pokémon with him. I bet the police will squeeze the truth out of him soon enough, and maybe I'll read about it in the papers.
As for Judy, it's a pity she didn't go to the police right away. Instead, she chose to help Charles. I find it amazing the lengths certain individuals would go to just to get what they want. Personally, I don't see why she wanted those exclusive articles so badly. Even if she got fired, she could easily look for another job. Then again, what do I know? I'm just an unemployed wild Pokémon.
On a side note, I have finally learnt how to perform an Aura Sphere! Unfortunately, I can't seem to control it. I definitely need to practise more; I've been neglecting training a lot lately. I'm a lot lazier than I thought.
"Lucario!"
The Aura Pokémon spun around, the autographs still in his paws. Wolf was walking up to him. "Hello, Wolf! Is anything the matter?"
"As you know, I'm leaving Sinnoh soon. I just came to say goodbye."
"Oh… will I see you again, Wolf?"
"When we're here at Sinnoh once more, I promise I'll drop by to visit," the Mightyena said. "Where are you staying again?"
"Up on a mountain, in the forest. It's quite near a lake."
"All right. I'll be sure to remember that." He then said gruffly, in English, "Goodbye for now."
"Ah, let me try!" Lucario cleared his throat. "Goo – good… b – bye…"
Wolf chuckled. "Close enough."
He pulled Wolf into a hug. "Take care, okay?"
"You take care too, Lucario."
Wolf is a great Pokémon. I still remember when I first met him – I was following Julie Hawthorne around then. I learnt a lot from Wolf, and it's sad that he's leaving. I wish him, and Will, all the best in their travels.
Kaori's autograph, a symbol of identity. She mentioned something interesting, about how her life was scripted. Though she is but one person, she had two personas – a polyrhythm. I expect it must be hard to maintain the multiple tempos, and I'm glad she has finally found the one single perfect melody. I wonder what my rhythm is like… I never thought about it much.
Not forgetting Pearl, who is truly a selfless Pokémon, willing to sacrifice herself as long as Kaori is happy. It really is unfair for people to judge Pearl based on her looks. In any case, that's over now, and I hope they both have a bright future.
Finished with his latest entry, Lucario closed the journal and placed it inside his aura-imbued box. He was about to remove his scarf when he noticed that Eevee was behind him. The Evolution Pokémon had, oddly enough, agreed to go back to the cave with them after the concert.
"You have a diary?"
"Yeah, my father gave it to me."
"And what do you write about?" She smiled slyly. "What skeletons do you have hiding in your closet, Lucario?"
"Even if I have a closet, I wouldn't keep skeletons in there," he said firmly. "I usually write about my human-watching sessions."
"Oh really?" she said, in a tone that suggested scepticism. She tried peeking into the open box, but the lid shut down firmly, almost hitting her nose in the progress. Eevee backed away quickly, looking thoroughly offended. "How rude. Just like its owner."
He laughed lightly, taking the box and stroking its top. "It only opens for me, Eevee. I've placed my aura in it."
"Really? So no one else can open it?"
"No one." He pulled the box closer to himself, as though protecting it from her. "Why, are you thinking of stealing it?"
She scoffed, flicking her tail upwards. "Why would I want something of yours?"
"Maybe not, but…" He placed his box down and got up, walking over to the crate where he kept his human-watching souvenirs. He picked up one of the two autographs he received earlier. "I'm sure you would like one of this!"
"Oh, it's that paper you were holding earlier. And I would want that because…?"
"Because it's Kaori's autograph! I got two of them, so that's one for me and one for you." He turned to the Disaster Pokémon. "Um… Absol, do you want one? You can have mine."
"There's no need for that," Absol replied, looking amused. "Thanks for the offer though."
"I don't want one either," she said flatly.
"What? You want both of them then?"
"No! I don't want one – or two!" She cast a quick look at Absol, and Lucario understood.
Grinning, he sent her a telepathic message. "I get it; you don't want to accept the autograph in front of Absol. I'll pass it to you later then, when he's not watching."
"I'm telling you, I – don't – want – it!" she said loudly, making Absol jump. She suddenly narrowed her eyes at the Aura Pokémon, smiling sinisterly. "If you breathe one more word on this subject, I'll tell Absol all about you and Lopunny…"
Lucario gaped at her, astounded that she would stoop so low.
"Huh?" Absol turned to Eevee with interest showing on his face. "What's this about?"
"Oh, you want to know? Well, earlier at the mansion, your friend here was –"
Lucario intervened quickly, determined to save his pride. "Stop it, Eevee! Please! Or I'll tell Absol about what I saw that day at the cafeteria…"
The Disaster Pokémon now turned to Lucario, clearly enjoying himself. "What happened at the cafeteria?"
"Well, remember when Kaori entered? I saw Eevee too, and she –"
He gasped when Eevee suddenly leapt at him, causing him to fall down. She bounced off his chest and scampered to his aura box. Grasping its handle with her teeth, she ran towards one of the openings on the cave's walls before placing it down on the floor.
"Continue your story if you like, Lucario," she hissed. "But don't blame me if your box ends up at the bottom of the mountain!"
"Eevee, no!"
Lucario got up and ran forward, his paws outstretched as he tried to reach for his box. A small, familiar pressure began building up quickly in his arm, and before he knew it, a tiny Aura Sphere had launched itself from his paw, whizzing straight towards the bewildered Eevee.
She managed to get out of the way in time, but was knocked aside by the impact the sphere made when it exploded upon contact with the wall. Thankfully, it wasn't a powerful Aura Sphere, and Eevee was unharmed, though there was now a small crack in the wall.
Eevee stared at the wall for a moment before turning back to Lucario. Her expression was one of immense shock and hurt; she blinked back a few tears and began running up the path to the cave's entrance, letting out a small sob before disappearing from sight.
"Eevee! Wait!"
Awash with guilt, Lucario made to follow her.
"Lucario," Absol began, looking as though he could not believe what just happened. "What –"
"An accident, Absol, an accident! I didn't mean to do it – it materialised on its own… I've got to explain… Stay here, Absol! I've got to clean this mess I've created…"
Without another word, he dashed out of the cave, not bothering to seal the entrance. Eevee was nowhere in sight, which obviously meant that she was speeding her way down the mountain. He quickly ran ahead, scanning the surrounding aura in order to determine her exact location.
Just as he got a hold on her aura, he felt a sharp pain in his aura receptors. He fell to his knees, clutching his head and groaning. For quite some time, it felt as though the world around him was spinning like a carousel at high speed.
He slowly forced himself up, holding onto a nearby boulder for support. Lucario took a deep breath, trying to ignore the throbbing pain he felt. He had wasted enough time. The Aura Pokémon loosened his scarf a little and ran again. He had an Eevee to catch.
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AUTHOR'S NOTES
Yeah, I felt the ending of this chapter was awkward.
Next time, on I Am Lucario…
"You and I are miles apart in the hierarchy."
Lucario gritted his teeth, growling slightly. "You've never spoken a truer word."
This time, I'm pretty sure the next chapter will be a lot shorter.
Also, a new semester has started for me, so it might take a while before I complete it. I'll do my best though.
