"LIZZIE! LIZZIE! LIZZIE!"
"KICK LUCAS'S ASS!"
"BEAT HIM TO A PULP, LIZZIE!"
"WE'RE YOUR NUMBER ONE FANS!"
"YOU HAVE NO CHANCE LUCAS!"
"I HOPE YOU'RE READY TO GET YOUR ASS WHOOPED BY A GIRL!"
The boys cheered loudly for the Lopunny and obviously wanted her to win this round against the Lucario, who was getting more and more annoyed by their chants and curses against him.
"Heh, looks like the class is in favor of me." Lizzie mocked her opponent and smirked at him.
"Looks like someone's very confident."
"Why wouldn't I? One-on-one battling is my specialty anyway."
"So you're just going to stand there or what?" Lucas gritted his teeth.
The Lopunny didn't say a word and raised her arm at him, and waved her fingers, motioning him to come towards her, taunting him.
"Fine." Lucas quickly darted off from his location and towards her; his hands already glowing as sharp claws emerged.
Lizzie, however, stood her ground and made a battle stance, however, she still had that smirk on her face.
Lucas's attacked with a Metal Claw attack, but before he could make contact, Lizzie quickly moved her hand against his wrist with a swift blow, temporarily paralyzing his hand and cancelling the attack, as she swept her other hand against his face as it charged up with electricity and slammed against his cheek, sending him flying away from her.
'What the?" Lucas was shocked on how fast she countered back.
Lizzie dashed from her position and towards Lucas who was still in mid-air, hoping to get another hit before he hits the ground.
She raised her elbow up and slammed it straight towards Lucas's abdomen and connected before he could even defend himself, causing him to crash below the gymnasium floor.
But that wasn't over, the Lopunny jumped above him and joined her hands together and channeled up another attack; she released her hands as a bright globe of energy formed from her palms as it grew larger immediately.
"Eat this!" She smirked as she threw the Focus Blast attack against the Lucario, who was still lying on the floor and recovering from that blow.
'Watch out!' Suddenly, a voice called out to Lucas in his mind, prompting him to open his eyes and saw an incoming Focus Blast attack.
Quickly, he jumped out of the way before the attack collided, as it exploded on the ground instead.
'What the?' Lucas was surprised, somehow that voice sounded familiar to him as he took a quick glance at the bleachers where their class was seated.
'Gardenia?' He locked his eyes onto the emerald haired pokemon staring at him intently, now he knew who called out to him in his mind; although he wasn't sure if he should be happy or not that she helped him.
"Quick reflexes you got there." Lizzie said to him, although he doesn't know if she's complimenting him or just messing with him.
Lucas, however, didn't say a word as he dashed from his position, but this time, he didn't charge up an attack while Lizzie stood her ground again, waiting for him to strike so she could counterattack.
The Lucario thrusted his palm against her face, but she smirked as he fell on the same trick again, but instead of intercepting the attack, she suddenly ducked down to the floor and making a perfect split with ease as the attack missed its mark.
"Nice try." Lizzie smirked as he was very vulnerable at that point as the Lopunny charged up a globe of energy from her palm and released it towards him.
Lucas however, quickly leapt away and gained some distance from her and some time as well to counter that Focus Blast from her.
He stood his ground, closed and joined his fists together as a blue light illuminated from in between his fingers; he released his fists and extended it as a blue, glowing staff was formed. Quickly, he made a stance and swung the Bone Rush attack against the Focus Blast attack as if he's striking a ball with a baseball bat and deflected the attack right back at her.
However, the Lopunny who also stood her ground; from her position she quickly leaned forward and placed her hands on the floor as she did a handstand where her arms were supporting her whole weight as she began rotating around with her legs extended and gained speed and momentum.
As the attack came within range, she intercepted it with a powerful kick right back at the Lucas, who was surprised by her sheer flexibility and agility, however this wasn't the time to be thinking about it.
He raised his Bone Rush attack overhead and threw it towards the Focus Blast and pierced right through it, causing an explosion that rocked the whole gymnasium.
Meanwhile in the stands…
"Whoa, this is an amazing battle." Lily said in awe.
"Yeah, that Lizzie sure is giving Lucas a very hard time." Gloria added as the two stared at the Lucario who charged right through the dust cloud created by the explosion, trying to capitalize on the opportunity.
Back in the fight…
'Damn, she's a tough one!' Lucas said in his mind as he ran inside the dust cloud and hoped to find the Lopunny, however, doing that was going to be a challenge since he couldn't really see anything besides flying dust all around him.
'She's behind you!' Suddenly, a familiar voice called out to him in his mind, prompting him to turn around.
Lucas's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Lizzie's extended leg aiming right towards his face and immediately, sidestepped as the attack missed him by an inch and left her quite open for a counterattack.
Lucas quickly placed his palm against her abdomen as a flash of light emerged from his hand as an explosion ensued, causing the Lopunny to fly away from him and outside the dust cloud and eventually skidded against the floor as she quickly held her hands over her abdomen where smoke was coming from it.
'H-how'd did he know?' Lizzie was shocked on how he countered what she seemed to be a perfect strike.
"AAH!" Suddenly, she cried in pain as sparks were seen coming out and in her body, electrifying her insides. Unfortunately, that Force Palm paralyzed her in the process.
Meanwhile in the stands…
"How'd that happen?" Gloria was surprised when she saw Lizzie coming out from that dust cloud in mid-air and came crashing on the ground with that Paralysis suddenly kicking in.
"Lucas probably used a Force Palm attack since there's a chance it could cause Paralysis to anyone hit by it." Gloria replied.
Back in the fight…
'Talk about luck.' She gritted her teeth and slowly stood up on her feet, enduring the intense pain she felt over her abdomen that she could vomit anytime, plus that Paralysis also stiffened her muscles due to the electricity still surging inside her.
Soon after, Lucas came charging from the dust cloud with long, sharp claws from his hands, startling the Lopunny as she tried all she could to stand on her feet to defend herself.
'Don't you dare fail on me. Not right now.' She said in her mind, pertaining to her arms and feet as she raised her arms and spread out her legs to try and counter his attack.
The Lucario swung his Metal Claw attack against her as she managed to intercept it with her fist, hitting his wrists and redirected it away from his body; however, there was still the other claw coming straight towards her.
But luckily, she managed to redirect it away from her as well, now he was open for a counterattack; she backed away a bit as she leapt towards him and swung a leg against the side of his head.
Unfortunately this time, the Paralysis kicked in as she stopped in a few inches from making contact with him. Lucas, however, used this window of opportunity as he grabbed hold of her leg with his arm.
She quickly retaliated with her other leg, but he caught it and grabbed hold of her other leg.
'WHAT?' Lizzie was just surprised that she was now at a very dangerous position. She was in a sitting position with her legs secured tightly by his arms and shoulders, however, it was still an awkward position since Lucas's head was in between her legs.
Nevertheless, Lucas lifted her up the air and dived towards the ground, using all of his force as he slammed the Lopunny, Electric Chair Drop style, against the ground as it shook the whole gymnasium as her back made contact with the floor, forcing the air out of her lungs due to the immense force as it shocked every inch of her body.
Everyone was standing from their seats as they stared in suspense at the two combatants. Lizzie was motionless as Lucas let go of his grip as her legs fell helplessly on the floor.
Meanwhile, the class was whispering amongst themselves…
"Was that Seismic Toss?"
"More like an Electric Chair Drop to me."
"You watch too much wrestling…"
"Looks like Lucas pulled through this one again…"
"Wish Ma'am Vessie would have interrupted their fight and fry him."
"Lucas and Lee are the winners!" Mr. Fisher announced after examining the fallen Lopunny's face as the swirly eyes showed that she's unconscious and unable to battle. Paramedics immediately came in and picked up the three fallen pokemon via stretchers, and left the wounded Lucario.
The class, however, was still in a state of shock, at first the Lopunny was controlling the fight, and then in an instant, the Lucario suddenly defeated her. Was it because of the type advantage? Did something happen while the two were inside the dust cloud? Only one pokemon aside from the two combatants knew…
'If she didn't warn me, I would have lost this battle.' Lucas, however, wasn't sure if he should be happy that he won this fight single handedly. He realized that if she didn't help him back there, his opponent would have been the victor.
He stared at the bleachers where the rest of the class watched their fight as he looked at the emerald-haired pokemon's eyes.
Suddenly, Gardenia's eyes widened in surprise when he gave her a stern look; somehow her whole body shook a bit.
"How about we take a twenty minute break before we continue with the double battles, okay?" The Floatzel said to the class.
Immediately, the class dispersed from their seats and headed straight outside the gymnasium while Gloria and Lily came towards Lucas.
"That's an awesome comeback Lucas!" Gloria congratulated him with a pat on the back while he quickly made a painful expression on his face.
"Oh, sorry…" The Glaceon quickly realized he's still hurt. Wonder why Paramedics didn't bring him towards the clinic.
"Nah, that's okay." Lucas smiled a little before trying to walk towards the bleachers to sit down in which he was quickly assisted by Lily and Gloria as they placed his arms around their shoulders as they walked.
"At first everyone thought you're going to lose." Lily said to him as they assisted him in sitting down and offered him a bottle of water.
"Yeah, how'd you pull off that Force Palm? We couldn't see through that thick dust cloud earlier." Lily asked.
"…I didn't do it myself." Lucas spoke softly as he noticed the Gardevoir walking towards them.
"Hey, Gardenia!" Gloria was surprised yet happy to see her as she stood up from her seat and gave her a friendly hug.
"It's been a long while since we last saw you." Lily added.
"Yeah, you also disappeared at Lucas's place at Christmas day." Gloria said to the psychic type as she recalled her sudden departure.
"Oh that, sorry… Just had an urgent call back at home." Gardenia replied hesitantly.
"Oh, what kind of urgent call?" Gloria was curious.
"Umm… it's about my brother." The Gardevoir quickly made up an excuse, although bringing her brother up suddenly changed the atmosphere.
"Oh, is he doing okay?" Gloria slowly asked.
"Yeah, he is…"
"Anyway, past is past, right? Why don't we buy something to eat before break time is over?" Lily suggested with a cheery expression, hoping it would lighten everyone's mood up.
"Sounds like a good idea." Gloria agreed.
"Yeah lets." Gardenia added.
"You coming Lucas?" Lily asked.
"Are you kidding me? I'm too exhausted to even walk…" Lucas replied in a deep, tired tone; he already finished the whole bottle but still felt thirsty.
"Oh, sorry. We'll buy you a sandwich and another bottle then." Lily giggled.
"Umm… Why don't I keep him company for the meantime?" Gardenia suddenly suggested.
"Oh okay, what do you want us to buy for you?" Lily asked.
"The same food you'll buy for him, I guess."
"Okay then, see you guys later." Gloria waved at the two and headed towards the door while the Leafeon followed behind, although the grass type took a glance at the psychic type who sat down next to him.
'Why do I feel uneasy all of the sudden?' Somehow, seeing those two together made her felt weird…
Back at the bleachers…
"I'm sorry for what I did earlier…" Gardenia bowed down to him and apologized, which obviously startled him.
"I was only trying to help, but-" She continued.
"It's an official battle; you know it's prohibited to interfere in these kind of matches."
"I know that! It's just that…"
"Just what? This isn't like you at all." Lucas suddenly raised his voice at her.
"…I'm sorry." Suddenly, tears formed from her eyes.
"N-no, I've been a little too harsh on you…" Lucas apologized after realizing what he had done.
"No, its okay. I-I've just haven't been honest with anyone…" She quickly wiped off her tears and made a weak smile at him.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm lone…" She spoke softly, but couldn't finish her sentence.
"What?"
"I mean, it's nothing really. There are just a lot of things going on inside my mind, that's all." She quickly made up an excuse made a fake smile at him.
"I see." Lucas replied and didn't utter another word. He knew that she was lying and there was clearly something wrong, although he didn't want to dwell in it further if she doesn't want to. Girls, we'll never understand them…
'I'm sorry Lucas… I want to tell you everything, but not now…'
After break time is over as the class was back in their seats and the double battles resumed…
Match number six of the double battles betweenthe Gardevoir and her teammate, a Raticate versus a Vulpix and a Machoke.
Unfortunately, the Raticate had already fainted due to a combination attack by their two opponents.
Gardenia, however, didn't show any signs of fear at all; she was in a calm and quiet state as she just stared at her two opponents intently.
"Let's go Trixie!" The Machoke told to his partner as the fire type agreed and the two charged towards the Gardevoir, who stood her ground.
When the two were close, Gardenia suddenly rose her arms towards the two as her ruby eyes glowed brightly, followed by her entire body.
Suddenly, the whole gymnasium shook due to the immense power she was about to unleash.
The Machoke and Vulpix leapt towards the air and dived towards the Gardevoir, but suddenly, she stopped in mid air as their bodies glowed as well and they couldn't move at all.
After a few seconds, she swung both her arms towards the ground, as the two also fell towards the ground at a very fast rate, crashing beneath the floor due to the intense force, causing a huge dust cloud to form and covered the whole battle field.
The class was at the edge of their seats; curious on the outcome of this match, did the two make it? Although it was hard to tell due to the fact that they couldn't see anything with that dust cloud covering everything up.
The cloud slowly dissipated as they could see two pokemon-shaped holes on the floor while the Floatzel rushed towards the field and examined inside.
Both the Vulpix and Machoke laid there below the floor, both unconscious and unable to battle.
"Gardenia and Ray are the winners!" Mr. Fisher announced and pointed his arm towards the Gardevoir who quietly went back to the bleachers.
Meanwhile at the stands…
"Amazing…" Gloria's jaw dropped.
"She just took those two out with a single blow." Lily said as she scratched her chin while staring at the emotionless face of the Gardevoir.
"What do you think Lucas?" The Glaceon asked.
"Well, she's gotten a lot stronger now… that's all I can say." The Lucario replied.
"So what's with her face? Shouldn't she be in a joyful mood that she won?" Lily asked as the three stared at the psychic type who just took her seat quietly with her seatmates all staring and backing away from her a little.
Who knows? Inside that empty expression of her face was a war inside her mind, filled with confusion, anger and desperation that she kept it to herself…
*DING*DONG*DING*DONG*DING*DONG*
The School bells echoed throughout the university, signaling the end of the morning classes as students were overjoyed.
Lucas, Lily and Gloria sat together as they joined tables together for a bigger space and brought out their lunch.
"I almost forgot, how's Lee doing?" Gloria popped the question, leaving the two in a deep thought.
"Hey guys!" Suddenly, a familiar, yet cheerful voice called out to them as they all turned towards the door where the huge pink blob pokemon was approaching them.
"Hey Lee, you're back!" Lily was delighted to see him as the Lickylicky took a nearby chair and sat with them.
"Are you feeling okay?" Gloria asked.
"Me? I'm perfectly fine! What are you talking about?" Lee replied with a very big smile as he brought out his humongous pack lunch.
"Eh? You don't remember?" Lily, along with the rest was shocked by his statement.
"Remember what?"
'Wait, I remember, Lee's weird Amnesia thing…' Lucas said in his mind as he recalled a familiar incident with him also getting hit in the nuts and having Amnesia afterwards.
"Oh yeah, this have been bugging me for a while now." Lucas said to them.
"What's been bugging you Lucas?" Gloria asked.
"When we hardly knew each other, you've been very hostile to boys." Lucas said, pertaining to the Leafeon obviously.
"Oh yeah, back in our elementary days, Lily's temper always skyrockets when a boy gets too near to her." Lee added as he chuckled while gobbling up his sandwich in just one bite.
"Oh, that…" The Leafeon looked down in embarrassment.
"How come?" The Lucario was curious.
"So, should I explain it or you?" Gloria asked her sister.
"I will." After a deep breath to calm her nerves, she looked up and said to her.
"Where should I start…" Lily scratched her head while trying to recall the past events of her childhood life.
FLASHBACK
'What kind of a girl likes sports? Only boys play that!'
'Yeah, and she stinks too!'
'No wonder no boy dares to come near you!'
'Yeah, you also have cooties!'
'Tomboy! Tomboy! Tomboy!'
A group of boys surrounded a Leafeon and said all nasty and mean things to her, although she was a girl…
*SMACK*
Suddenly, a boy fell on his back as a huge swelling formed from his cheek, surprising all the other boys. Lily just gave him a sucker punch which he never expected at all.
"You want to take us on?"
"Hell yeah, I'll take all of you on!" The Leafeon shouted.
END OF FLASHBACK
"When we were in grade three, most of the boys always teased me because I was into sports, especially in tennis. And I usually picked a fight with them." Lily explained.
"Plus, Lily excels in sports really well especially when the sun is out; and she also won first place in the regional Tennis tournament." Gloria added.
"Whoa, I never knew you're an athlete." Lucas was surely surprised upon hearing that.
"…Thanks." Lily looked down and blushed lightly.
"Oh yeah, I remember you saying 'most of the boys'."
"I'm really glad you mentioned that Lucas." Lee suddenly interrupted.
"Heh, Lee was the only boy that she befriended." Gloria said.
"What can I say? I'm a charm with the ladies." Lee said with a cool expression on his face.
"Heh, you sure are. Anyway…" Lily smiled at him.
"And when we reached fifth grade and beyond, the boys turned from rowdy, wild kids into perverted freaks."
FLASHBACK
"Damn, dude, she's so hot!"
"Whoa, look at those tits!"
"Man, those hips are gorgeous!"
"I'd hit her!"
"Can't resist… Must…fff."
A group of boys were joining their heads together as they were very busy with an adult magazine, inside the classroom, blurting out their disgusting and perverted remarks and didn't care even there were other classmates in the room.
Sometimes, they even teased their other classmates on their bodies, and since Lily's body grew more mature than the rest, she became the center of their attention…
'Hey, nice ass you got there Lily.'
Suddenly, one of the boys greeted the Leafeon with a slap on the butt, copying those they saw on either the magazines or television, which was followed by a roundhouse kick to his face.
END OF FLASHBACK
"And because of that she labeled every boy as nothing more than perverts, well except for Lee." Gloria added.
"Wait, isn't Lee a pervert?" Lucas was surprised.
"Hey! At least I have some dignity." Lee quickly defended himself.
"Plus, if it weren't for your heroism, she would've still acted this way towards you." The Lickylicky added as the Lucario and Leafeon stared at each other before looking away eventually.
'Yeah, that…' Lily said in her mind as she brought her hand towards her lips and pressed it against her hand lightly while recalling that incident…
Later that evening…
It was past ten'o'clock and everyone was asleep… well, except for a certain someone…
Lucas opened his room while drying his head with a towel, another day has finished and his daily chores are done. All that's left to do now was to get some well earned good night's sleep.
After drying up, he placed the towel on his desk and leapt towards his bed and felt instantly relieved by the soft and comfortable cushion.
He laid there for a while before turning around, facing the ceiling. He continued staring until his eyes slowly became tired, until…
*RING*RING*RING*
Suddenly, a sound came from his desk, snapping him out of his drowsiness as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.
"Now who could that be at this hour?" Lucas was surprised as he stood up from his bed and went towards the desk.
His eyes widened as he saw on the lit screen of his phone was:
"Gardenia." Lucas picked up the phone and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Lucas, you're still awake! Thank goodness!"
"Oookay?"
"I just want to apologize for my behavior earlier. And I want to make it up to you."
"How about we go out together sometime? You know, for old time's sake."
"Uhh, sure, why not?"
"Really? That's great!"
"Umm, how does this weekend sound? 10AM?"
"That's fine."
"Awesome! I can't wait. Good night!"
"…Good night?"
*click* She disconnected as Lucas stared at his phone for a while. Then, he placed it back at his desk and went back to bed.
"Old time's sake, huh?"
To be continued…
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Meanwhile…
"You…"
The Lopunny was holding two pictures on his hand and was staring at them intently for a while now.
"Lily and Gloria. You two are my latest challenge yet. It's just a matter of time before you two will bow down to my greatness." Laurice began to laugh maniacally, really, something is wrong inside his obsessed mind.
"Brother! Shut up! You want me to teach you a lesson again?" Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a very annoyed sister.
"Whatever, little sister. You also lost that match, don't you tell me to keep quiet!"
"Pfft. That was just a lucky break; well whatever, it's late and I want my sleep!" She said and slammed the door.
"Lucas, I'll get my revenge on you. Just you wait." She said to herself as she began to laugh loudly, just like her brother did a while ago.
To be really continued…
