There will be a lot of scene changes here as this is the last chapter for this season of the story and there's a lot to get done.

February 20th, 2019. 9:59 am.

Logan and Ben stepped in the fighting dojo. It was fairly what you'd expect from a building like this. Mostly wooden, polished floors, very well organized and neat. Logan was somewhat nervous. The Lucario had seemed quite old. His fur was very course from weathering and his muzzle had been greying. Sure this meant he was likely a very experienced fighter, but could he really handle a creature as powerful as a Zoroark anymore? Well, it was a question he'd find answered soon enough. They found Lawrence standing in the middle of a large circle lined by chalk. Almost certainly where any physical fights took place. 'Right on time. That's what I like to see.' Ben and Logan noticed no one else was here. Lawrence in turn noticed their confusion at the emptiness. 'Classes don't start for another hour, but with how long you intend to train each day you'll have to step outside my usual times.' Logan just gave an ah. 'So, let me look you over.' The elder jackal stepped over. Logan took note of their height difference. Lawrence was only a hair taller than the average Lucario, leaving quite the size gap. He didn't seem phased though as he began to inspect Logan's body. 'Hm.' He gave a light punch to Logan's chest. Logan flinched from the unexpected attack which at such close range and with no warning he had no chance to block. 'Bones seem dense and strong. Typical for the species. Mane, oddly short and spiky, could actually be a plus. Less to grapple.' He then felt Logan's right and left biceps. 'Small but hard muscles. Right bicep seems larger so you're probably right handed.' He then poked his short claws into the dark fox's gut. 'Some abdominal definition. Fur is softer than I'd expect on a Zoroark, so I'd bet you're rather young.' He then stepped back. 'Overall, a fine young Zoroark.'

"Thanks em... do I call you Lawrence if you're training me?"

'Sensei would be more proper. Now, do you think you could take me in a fight?' Logan was caught slightly off guard by the direct question. How did he know? 'I've trained many a young ones, most of them think that, just because I'm old, that I can't fight. Would you like to begin with a test of my abilities to see if I am truly capable of training you?'

This had answered Logan's question, and if Lawrence was this confident, surely he still had a lot of strength. Logan couldn't resist the temptation to see just how strong his new teacher was. "Ok."

Lawrence pointed. 'Stand on that side of the arena.' Logan did so and Lawrence stood opposite of him. Lawrence stood in a wide stance with both paws up close to his chest to protect his vital spots. Logan got down on all fours and kept his head by his forepaws. 'I see you favor your beast traits while fighting. Not uncommon among anthros like yourself. Only rules here are no major injuries like broken bones, and no Moves. Understood?' Logan nodded. 'Good. Let's begin.'

The two circled each other for a bit. Feeling each other out so to speak. It was only a matter of time before someone lost patience. Of course it was Logan. He slowly crept closer and then leapt. Lawrence easily dodged it. 'Way too slow and obvious. Right off the bat you need to ditch that feral stance. It's good for fighting most other Pokemon and animals, but against a skilled fighter, it won't work.'

Logan nodded and got on his hindlegs. "Lived in the wild for a good while you see. Instinct works well there."

'Until you come up against another creature with similar intelligence to you.'

"Ok, yeah I see your point. I had one instance where I fought a Lucario. He beat my ass. Don't bother saying I told you so." Logan slowly closed in again, this time throwing a right hook. It was easily dodged and Logan received a sharp punch in the jaw for his efforts. Logan stumbled, but it didn't hurt THAT much. It stung like hell, but it wasn't as powerful as he was expecting. Logan closed in with another wild swing. It was again dodged and a swift punch came to his face and then gut. The punches weren't particularly painful, but they were staggering.

'You do indeed fight like you're young. You put your all into every attack. This makes them slow and predictable though. Until you can quicken your attacks, you should save your energy and deal damage to important areas that can weaken your opponent.'

Logan threw another punch, this time a faster one with less power. The Lucario intercepted it with a shot to his shoulder. This one left a stinging pain. Lawrence then swept Logan's leg out and delivered a powerful shot to his chest while he was on the ground. This caused quite a coughing fit. Logan just elected to not get up. "Ok, I think I've had enough."

Lawrence held his paw out and helped the fox up. 'It's ok. You're just not trained in these sorts of styles. You'll get better. It's why you're here. Now then, let's begin.'

March 9th 2019. 3:00 pm.

Logan had been improving in both his fighting itself, as well as his strength and speed. Ben had been training up the rest of his team towards matching Logan's level across the board. They'd been making progress. Today however, training for Logan would end early because it was a very special day. Logan had turned 21.

He stepped in and got Lawrence's attention. He halted the class and walked over, Logan following. He was bruised up like he usually was after this class. Ben ha eventually made peace with the fact Logan was getting beat up on the regular. "May I request Logan end the class early today? Today is his 21st birthday."

'Ah, well happy birthday Logan. I suppose you can end early today. Come in two hours earlier tomorrow though.'

Logan smiled. "U-uh yeah, no problem. Thank you sensei."

Shortly after, they were off. Ben turned to Logan. "You're gonna have a massive hangover tomorrow aren't you." It was a statement.

"Oh very massive."

"Welp, I normally should and would stop you from doing something so stupid, but you only turn 21 once. Let's have fun."

6 hours later...

Logan was in a human disguise. Same height, light skin, brown hair, copper colored beard, but they both had illusory tuxedoes on, which was appropriate as they were approaching a casino. Logan figured they wouldn't like a Pokemon known for casting illusions in a place where actual money was on the line. They didn't even blink at his human disguise though. It was like your average casino. Very loud, bright lights, no windows so you had no idea how long you'd been in there. Logan immediately eyed the poker tables. Ben handed him a couple bills. "I'm giving you $200, and only that. Once it's gone no more. Got it?"

"Yeah yeah yeah sure. I'll be back." And just like that he was gone. He had grabbed the bills and walked into the crowd. Ben had a feeling that was a 'be quiet I'll do whatever I want,' kind of yeah yeah yeah.

"I'll be at the Craps tables I guess. I've heard those have the best odds."

4 hours later...

Ben had long since lost his half of the $400 limit, he grumbled and looked around for his companion. He eventually spotted him at the bar. He had just finished flashing an illusory ID. Zoroarks were known to be capable of producing illusions so real they could trick your sense of touch. The bartender handed the nonexistent card back and poured the drink. Ben sat next to him, asking for just a water. He started speaking as Logan started downing his shot. "I knew this was a bad idea. I'm out 200 bucks."

Logan put the empty glass down with authority. "I'm up about 15,000." He reached over to his other side and chucked a stack of hundreds at Ben, which he caught. Ben's eyes about bugged out of his head.

"How... what..." He leaned in and whispered. "You used your illusions to cheat didn't you?"

"Oh maliciously.~ Now enjoy a few drinks, or 20, on me!"

March 10th, 2019. 1:00 am.

Ben had indeed indulged a bit on the alcohol. Probably more than he should have. He didn't stop Logan from drinking in excess, in fact he had even encouraged him. Logan, disguise now gone, was currently puking his guts out behind the casino. Ben was nearby, but he wasn't that close because the sound of people getting sick made him want to throw up too. "I really shouldnta encouraged you." Ben was slurring his words a bit as he was definitely on the tipsy side. "Summa this ish my fault."

Logan burped wetly. "Iz okay. If I wanned to be sobr I wuldnta gottn drunk." He wretched and expelled a bit more of the alcohol from his stomach.

Ben had to admit Logan was hilarious to be around when he was drunk. He was so damn giggly and airy. He laughed at just about anything, and it was such a strange laughter for someone like him that it was just so entertaining. Especially when he fumbled his words up to six times, which made him laugh like a hyena, which then make Ben laugh.

One thing was for sure though. Logan was going to be fucking miserable today.

March 10th, 2019. 10:00 am.

Logan stumbled inside the dojo, Ben doing what he could to keep him up on his feet. Lawrence looked at Logan with disappointed and stern eyes. 'You're late. I told you to be here early.'

"He would not wake up! I even hit him a few times but he was just dead to the world! He had like 15 shots last night so I can't say I'm surprised."

Ben had a slight hangover himself, but Logan was completely out of it. He groaned. "Someone get me some greasy food, a bottle of water, and a gun to shoot myself. Can I just... rest my... " Logan fell to his knees, and then passed out completely.

"I don't think you'll be getting much out of him today."

The blue jackal chuckled. 'Well, I can't say I'm surprised. 21 is a big birthday for humans and anthros. You don't seem fully with it either. You have a good time?'

Ben rubbed the back of his head. "I may have had a few..." This earned a full out laugh from Lawrence. "I would say it was fun spending time with him in a situation like that though. He's quite fun when he just relaxes and lets loose. I daresay he and I are starting to become true friends. Never thought I woulda said that when I first met him."

'Out of curiosity, how did you two meet?'

"He tried to kill and eat me. I ended up catching him while trying to buy time to run, and well, lots of things happened since then. He obviously wasn't happy that I'd caught him despite not having a pack or family where he lived, but he's changed a lot since I met him."

'Zoroarks do make very strong bonds. I think you two will become fantastic friends and a wonderful team. In fact, something in my head is telling me to give you something that I have no more use for, and in light of my old age, I want to give them to someone so they can see more use.'

Lawrence disappeared into a back room and came bac with a locked box and a key. He unlocked it and revealed a pair of shiny silver looking bracelets with a strange looking black stone in the center. 'My trainer, back when he was alive, acquired these long ago. Apparently these stones are called Fate Stones. They're meant to bond a trainer and Pokemon together at a deeper level, one that "death alone can break." Logan has mentioned to me how determined he has become to protect you in the time you've been travelling. I think you two should have them.' He handed them both to Ben. 'The smaller one was mine, but since Logan is larger, I image you'll be wearing mine.'

Ben felt something strange when he touched these apparently old, but pristine accessories. It felt like these were destined to be in his possession for some reason. "Wow, thanks. I don't know what to say other than ask how I can make it up to you."

'Don't worry, like I said, I don't want them to go to waste when my time runs out, and I think you'll get some mileage out of them since you've not long ago started your journey. Now, I think I'll cancel Logan's lessons for today because I don't think he'll be waking up anytime soon. Go ahead and recall him then get him to a nice bed.'

Ben put the smaller bracelet on before placing the other in his pack and recalled the zonked out Zoroark.

And that's the end of this season. I do feel I should warn you, the next one is the main reason for this story's rating. There is a very large amount of violence and gore, as well as the mild sexual content, so be warned.