Note: In case you're wondering, yes, Jackalu is, in fact, Mega Lucario.

Just as the day had gone so well, everything had been ruined by Gourgeist and Trevenant. Currently, both were fleeing from Eiko and Isamu's house with Kelani trying his hardest to break free from Gourgeist's grip, the broom pumpkin frowning and grunting, "God, this kid's annoying!"

"I'll hold him if you'd like," Trevenant suggested as the broom pumpkin shook her head and replied, "It's fine. I can manage."

With that, she increased her grip as the baby cried out in pain, Trevenant asking, "But seriously, what kind of name if Kelani? I don't expect a human to know his real name, but come on! That's just so stupid!"

"Well, from what I can gather, it means heaven," Gourgeist replied as the tree blinked and said, "Okay, that's slightly less lame, but unfitting nonetheless."

During this time, Isamu called up Machop only for Garchomp to answer the phone, asking, "Oh, hello, Isamu. What's up?"

It was not long until Machop and Meloetta were wide awake and searching for where the two demonic creatures had run off to. Though in order to make sure they could get there more quickly, Garchomp was driving them. And of course, Machop had decided to call up the others just to be on the safe side.

Naturally, they were more than happy to help as well with Torchic sprinting toward Isamu and Eiko's house. After all, the villains had only escaped a few minutes ago, meaning there could very well be some way of knowing where they had gone.

Venipede and Rinko were also on their way as the brunette yawned and grumbled, "Dammit, usually when villains show up late at night, they give us time to rest up," Venipede replying, "You have to remember, though, every other villain fully intended on facing us for control of Tokyo. I get the feeling these two don't even care about that."

Soon enough, the group arrived as Isamu met them outside, breathing a sigh of relief and saying, "Thank god. I knew I could count on you," Machop nodding with a grin as Vigoroth turned to Eiko, who had tears in her eyes, and asked, "Did you see where they went?"

"All I saw was them jump out my window," the pink-haired girl whimpered, pointing toward the back yard as Torchic immediately noticed two things coming from that area. One was a line of holes leading to the left and the other was a trail of leaves.

"Guys, I think I know how we're gonna find these two, but we're gonna have to move quickly," the chicken stated as the others nodded, the heroes entering Garchomp's van while Noboru and Hana decided to drive Isamu and Eiko in their car. While they may not have been able to fight these two like the others, they still wanted to make sure Kelani was okay.

All the while, Gourgeist and Trevenant had run pretty far from the house. But just as it looked like no one could oppose them, both were stopped in their tracks by a red and blue blur that hooked them both in the neck.

This caused them to fall on their backs as Gourgeist released her hold on Kelani, the baby flying as their assailant quickly dashed to where he was headed. He then took hold of the baby and smiled, saying, "Don't worry. You're safe now."

Gourgeist and Trevenant slowly rose to their feet, turning toward the source as their eyes widened. The one who had struck them was a dog with a look similar to that of Lucario with quite a few differences.

His thighs were slimmer and the cream-coloured fur around his torso covered more of him. His paws and feet were crimson and each had two spikes on top of it. Along with a spike on his chest, he also had two in front of his shoulders, which resembled braces as opposed to actual skin and fur. Like Lucario, he had four ear-like appendages on the sides of his head, only these were longer and had crimson tips. Finally, he had black markings along his arms and legs and his tail was long, cream-coloured and bushy.

"I can't believe it!" Trevenant uttered, "It's the legendary Lucario!" Gourgeist shaking her head and retorting, "No, that's not quite him, but he bears a striking resemblance."

"Well, good to know my father still has a reputation even today," the dog replied with a grin, "I am his son, Jackalu."

"Look, I don't care who your father is!" Trevenant snapped, "That child needs to meet his real owners, the ones originally entrusted with his egg!" Gourgeist adding, "Yeah, they'll be really angry if we don't return with him!"

"Sounds like a butthurt reaction to me," Jackalu remarked with a smirk, "If anything, they should have thought about all of this before dropping their precious egg. I'm gonna make sure this baby grows up in a good environment. That way, he'll never fulfil his so-called destiny."

"Wait, what?" Gourgeist uttered as Trevenant asked, "Do you actually know who that is?" Jackalu nodding and replying, "Most people don't, but I do. I may not know all the details, but I managed to get the truth out of one of your allies, someone by the name of Mismagius."

Both stared wide-eyed as the dog explained, "I caught her snooping around Osaka. The minute she saw me, she attacked me, so I knew she couldn't possibly be on the side of good."

Since this had only happened two weeks ago, the dog remembered it perfectly, his meeting with the villains' associate. Mismagius was a tall purple ghost with a round head and elaborate tufts that resembled a witch's hat. Her body was also a lot like a cloak, though her arms and legs were more like sleeves.

At first, it seemed like she would be able to defeat Jackalu with ease as she leapt high above the ground, binding his arms and legs in place. However, the dog easily managed to escape by wriggling his wrists and ankles free.

He then took full advantage of Mismagius by flipping himself upright, taking hold of her and turning her so her belly was pointed upward. He then rested her back against his shoulder, leaning backward and slamming the back of her neck against the ground, exclaiming, "HALF-MOON PRESS!"

Back in present time, Jackalu had a proud grin on his face as he explained, "In exchange for not calling the authorities, I had her tell me everything I needed to know. She told me how she was looking for the egg carrying this baby that I'm holding right now, saying her masters dropped it somewhere while taking a flight through Japan. Apparently, he's very powerful, the future heir who's going to one day reign supreme over all mankind, correct?"

Gourgeist nodded and growled, "But if all she told you was that the egg was somewhere in Japan, how did you know to look here?" Jackalu replying, "I didn't at first. In fact, I've been travelling throughout Japan looking for this egg, and this just happened to be the most recent spot. I asked around and some people, mostly teens, spoke of an associate of theirs having a green and black egg in her possession. That's when I knew the baby was here."

He then remembered earlier in the day when he came to Isamu and Eiko's house during dinner, peering through the window. He had fully intended on swiping the egg from her so he could protect it, but when he noticed that the baby hatched and also seemed comfortable around the human girl, he figured that she and her family would be perfect. There was no doubt such nice people could raise this child to be a good citizen and not the evil heir he was initially intended to be.

Back in present time, Jackalu took a deep breath and said, "I was just about to head back to Osaka when you came along. Too bad, really. If you'd waited just a little bit longer, I wouldn't be here to stop you."

Gourgeist frowned and retorted, "Whatever! Your family may be tough, but it's two against one! We can take you!" Trevenant nodding and striking a fighting stance, adding, "Exactly. Now hand over the kid and no one gets hurt."

"As if I'd allow your masters to raise this child," Jackalu grunted as Kelani trembled, the dog stroking him atop the head and cooing, "It's okay, baby. I'll keep you safe."

"Alright, even if you are good enough to take us, how are you going to hold onto the baby and fight us at the same time?" Gourgeist enquired as the dog was about to retort only to stop himself as if he was frozen in place, his eyes wide open while his mouth was forced into a smile.

Gourgeist smirked and cracked her hair knuckles, saying, "I'm going to enjoy this," before charging toward the dog as he gulped and spat, "TACTICAL RETREAT!" turning around and fleeing as both villains pursued him.

"Dammit, he's fast!" Gourgeist grumbled only for Jackalu to trip and fall forward, still holding onto Kelani. Unfortunately, this did not last when Gourgeist picked the child up, placing him in the hole of a nearby tree and saying, "Stay."

Kelani trembled as Jackalu blinked and said, "You know, that was actually a pretty good-" only to be cut off when Gourgeist placed a firm grip on his ears and lifted him up.

With her hands still pulling on his ears, she propelled herself off the ground and planted her rear end into his back, shouting, "PUMPKIN STOMP!" Thus she applied all of her weight and sent his chin into the surface.

However, now that Jackalu no longer had to worry about Kelani, he could finally fight back as he growled, "You've dealt your last blow!" before pushing his lower body up and sending a two-legged kick into the broom pumpkin's face.

Trevenant gasped and ran toward the area as Jackalu pushed his body up, sending another kick into Gourgeist's face. This one managed to knock her on her back as the dog leapt off of said part, flying toward Trevenant with his wrists pointed toward him.

The tree attempted to fight back, but Jackalu was flying too quickly and thus managed to pierce his arms, shouting, "ROYAL JAVELIN!"

While Trevenant did feel pain from this, Jackalu's eyes widened when he suddenly realized he had just pierced wood. As a result, his spikes were stuck as Trevenant laughed wickedly, saying, "You know, I thought that human girl was stupid to oppose us, but now I know who the real idiot is. A shame seeing as your dad was known as a tactical genius."

Jackalu laughed nervously as the tree pried the spikes out of his arms. He then flipped the dog upside-down and held him in place, a dark aura surrounding him as his roots started to grow. And before Jackalu knew it, he was ten feet off the ground as Trevenant started to shrink his roots, quickly descending toward the ground.

"INGRAIN PILEDRIVER!" the tree shouted as he sent the dog's skull hard into the ground, Kelani squeaking in panic.

The tree released his hold on the dog and allowed him to collapse before raising his hands and clenching them, forming an actual hammer shape and sending both into Jackalu's back, exclaiming, "WOOD HAMMER!"

The dog coughed up a small amount of blood as Gourgeist charged toward him, saying, "Hey, save some of the fun for me," leaping onto his back thus adding to the pain.

Kelani watched in horror as the broom pumpkin climbed off of him, nodding at Trevenant as each villain grabbed onto one of Lucario's appendages. They then proceeded to drag him along the ground, shouting, "TRICK-OR-TREAT!" skipping merrily while pulling the dog skull-first into a nearby tree.

"Hey, why'd you stop?" Gourgeist asked tauntingly, "I thought we were having fun," Kelani breaking out into tears and letting out a loud cry.

Luckily, Machop and the others had just exited their vehicles and were looking around this area when they heard the sound. Eiko's eyes widened as she squeaked, "KELANI!" sprinting toward the crying as the others nodded and followed close behind.

At this point, Jackalu had no chance of winning as Trevenant had his shoulders locked in place while Gourgeist unleashed an onslaught of punches into his face. With each hit, Jackalu coughed up more blood as he felt so useless. Despite his skills and his heritage, not even he could stand up to two adversaries at once.

After delivering a total of forty punches, Gourgeist was ready to end this for good as she leapt backwards, performing a handstand and pushed herself back. She then tilted her lower body so it was facing Lucario as she leaned her arms back, launching herself toward the dog and shouting, "PHANTOM BOMB!"

But just as she was seconds away from hitting him, her eyes widened and Trevenant's jaw dropped when Machop suddenly flew toward the broom pumpkin. And before Gourgeist knew it, she was on the receiving end of an elbow drop, Machop using all her might to force her back against the ground.

Eiko ran over to the tree as Kelani squeaked happily, leaping into her arms. The pink-haired girl held him in a tight embrace as she kissed his forehead, squealing, "I thought I'd lost you forever!"

Noboru and Hana breathed a collective sigh of relief as Isamu grinned and said, "I knew we'd get them back," as Machop leapt at Trevenant and kicked him in the skull, forcing him to release his hold on Jackalu. She then turned to the dog with a smile and said, "Hey, thanks for keeping them busy."

The dog's eyes sparkled as he gazed into Machop's, asking, "Are you an angel?"

Machop gave him a strange look until Gourgeist rose to her feet, she and Trevenant glaring at her as she smirked, saying, "You know, two against one is pretty cowardly and hardly fair. I just thought I'd even the playing field."

Jackalu sported a more serious look and nodded, barking, "Yeah, now you can't gang up on me!" as Trevenant blinked and asked, "Hey, Gourgeist, you know who that is?"

"Yeah," the broom pumpkin replied with a nod, "That's the daughter of the mighty Machop. I heard she was protecting Tokyo, and I guess the stories were true."

"Damn right they were," Machop replied with a smirk, "Now come on and fight me," the others standing back as Garchomp grinned and said, "That guy over there is lucky to have such an amazing ally."

"He sure is," Isamu replied with a sigh as Venipede and Rinko held up fighting stances, the brunette saying, "And hey, if push comes to shove, we'll take them down."

"Before we continue this, how in the hell did you find us?" Gourgeist asked as Machop pointed at Trevenant's footprints and the trail of leaves he left behind during his escape. The tree's eye widened as he let out a nervous laugh, the broom pumpkin slapping her forehead.

"Whatever!" Gourgeist groaned, "Come on, let's end this already!" as both villains raced toward the heroes.

However, now that Jackalu had help, he felt more than ready for this as his paws formed a transparent crimson orb around them. And just as Gourgeist was close enough, he sent one forward and spat, "FORCE PALM!" sending it hard into her face.

Before Trevenant could help his ally, Machop charged at him and rammed her arm into his neck. She then dashed behind him and wrapped both arms around him, lifting him up and leaning backwards, planting his head into the ground.

The others cheered as Kelani stared in wonder, Vigoroth shouting, "Never mess with Machop!"

Garchomp nodded and tapped her chin, saying, "Now that I think about that, that dog looks very familiar," the others nodding as Venipede replied, "Yeah, he kinda looks like Lucario."

With Gourgeist distracted, Jackalu saw a perfect opportunity to end this fight once and for all as he took hold of her wrists, leaping high into the air and flipping her so her head was facing the ground. He then wrapped his arms and legs around her, planting his chest spike into into her torso thus putting a hole between the pumpkin's eyes. With that, he descended toward the ground and shouted, "CANINE HUG SLAM!" sending her skull hard into the surface as she coughed up blood.

The dog released his hold and allowed her to collapse as Machop took hold of Trevenant's wrists from behind. She then pulled his arms back and leapt high into the air, wrapping her ankles around his roots while bending his back.

The others cheered as she spun like a twister, flipping herself over one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. Trevenant had a look of terror in his eye as she exclaimed, "MUSCLE TORNADO!" slamming his face hard against the ground.

Like Gourgeist, the tree passed out as Jackalu stared in amazement, saying, "Wow, I've never seen a move quite like that," his eyes replaced by beating hearts.

That came to a halt when Isamu ran over with a grin and held out his fist, saying, "Awesome work as always," Machop nodding and pounding her own fist against his. However, Jackalu shook his head, figuring this was nothing to worry about as he approached the girl.

"Hey, thanks for the save back there," the dog said as he held out his paw, Machop grinning and replying, "Any time," before shaking it.

"You weren't so bad yourself," Torchic said with a grin as Eiko's eyes sparkled, the pink-haired girl squealing, "Thank you so much for saving my little Kelani!" the baby squeaking happily.

Jackalu stared briefly, wondering if he should reveal the actual identity of the child. However, he figured it would be better if they did not know the truth and thus he smiled and bowed his head, saying, "Hey, I just happened to be in the area and, well, I couldn't let the forces of evil kidnap a baby."

He then chuckled lightly as Garchomp asked, "Hey, kid, you wouldn't happen to be related to Lucario, would you?" the dog nodding and replying, "Yeah. He's my pop. The name's Jackalu."

Since it was quite obvious from first glance, most of the group was not the least bit surprised to hear this. However, Eiko could not contain her excitement as Hana smiled and said, "I'll hold him if you'd like."

"Thanks, Mommy," the pink-haired girl replied as she handed Kelani over to the woman and sprinted over to Jackalu and squealed, "OH MY GOD, YOUR DADDY'S THE COOLEST, AND YOU'RE PRETTY COOL TOO!" the dog laughing nervously and replying, "Why, thank you, kind citizen."

"Okay, give the celebrity his space," Isamu sighed as he took hold of his sister's collar, "Sorry about that. She's the biggest hero fan in our family."

"Oh, nonsense," Jackalu replied with a shrug, "I'm used to this kind of treatment. In my assigned area, Osaka, the people love me."

"I can imagine that!" Eiko squealed as Machop blinked and uttered, "Wait, you're assigned to an area? I could swear I never once saw you in our class, and I do at least remember the faces of my classmates, even if there were more than a hundred of us."

"Come to think of it, I never noticed either," Venipede replied as Rinko nodded and said, "Same here."

Jackalu stared at the brunette, Machop sighing, "Yeah, she's also a Hero Planet graduate."

The dog nodded and explained, "Well, that's only natural. After all, I graduated last month. See, I'm a second semester student, but apparently, I was so good that I graduated early," a proud grin on his face as Machop nodded and replied, "Just like Gyarados."

Jackalu blinked and tapped his chin, saying, "Gyarados. Gyarados. Nope, doesn't ring a bell," Machop replying, "She's a former villain. She was actually the first opponent I ever defeated on Earth," a proud grin on the girl's face.

"Wow," Lucario replied with a sigh, "Well, I never did interact that much with my classmates. I was always too focused on being the best, you know?"

Torchic lowered her eyelids and whispered, "Anyone else think the way he's talking is really suspect?" as Rinko nodded and replied, "It sounds like he never actually went to Hero School."

However, that suspicion was dropped when Machop asked the dog who he defeated to be allowed on Earth. Jackalu nodded and said, "That's right, I faced my pop," the others staring in shock.

Jackalu reminisced about his victory over his father, how he had locked his arms and ankles in place and pressed his back up against his chest spike, shouting, "LONDON BRIDGE!"

Back in present time, the dog rubbed his chin with a grin and said, "That was the proudest moment of my life," before shaking Machop's hand again and adding, "Well, it was a mighty pleasure meeting all of you, but I need to head back to Osaka. After all, those dear citizens can't protect themselves."

The group nodded in understanding as Venipede shrugged and replied, "Well, I can't see any other reason he'd face his father if not for a final exam. Guess he is telling the truth."

Torchic nodded and exclaimed, "Best of luck in the future!" as the dog nodded while Garchomp had just finished reporting the unconscious villains to Beedrill. After all, the heroes could not just forget that they were still there.

And with all said and done, things had turned out well. Everyone retreated home for the night while Eiko showering Kelani in affection. And needless to say, the baby was happy to be back with her safe and sound.

Though while Jackalu headed to the subway to catch a bullet train back to Osaka, he took a deep breath and said, "I really hope no one else decides to kidnap him. God, that was too close."

But just who was this leader that Gourgeist and Trevenant worked for? How did they even have his egg to begin with? Only time would tell.