"Okay," Jack said, his face a mask of determination. "I hereby call this strategy session to order."
It was early morning on the day after Jack, Nova, and Razgriz had arrived at the Veilstone dojo. The guests had already enjoyed a hearty breakfast, which was fortunately catered by a diner in Veilstone City, and they were now sitting around a table in the outdoor courtyard of said diner. Maylene, when she heard they were going out for breakfast, had politely requested to join them.
"What do you mean by strategy?" the gym leader asked. "From what I heard, your plan seems pretty straightforward. You just need to start some rumors about Razgriz being here."
"If you were J, and you heard the name 'Razgriz,'" Jack replied, "Would you go within a hundred miles of wherever he was?"
Maylene blinked. "Good point."
"After the Saldaran war," Jack continued, "Anyone who watches the news is going to have heard about Razgriz, and I'm sad to say that J is smart enough to know when she's out of her league. We have to lure her in, not scare her away."
"So you need to lure her here without using my name," Razgriz interjected.
Jack nodded. "Precisely. Which is why I need your help, Maylene."
Maylene furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment, then understanding dawned on her face. "I get it, you want me to pretend to have caught Razgriz. Or... not him specifically I guess, but a powerful Lucario."
"It doesn't even have to be a Lucario," Nova started, "I could make him look like any Pokémon you want."
Jack nodded. "True, but he'd still feel like a Lucario under the illusion. Right?"
"Of course, we have used illusions plenty of times. Mostly to get around cities looking like humans. They don't change anything underneath. If you are worried about attacks, I can make those as well. I have actually fooled a bunch of Pokémon with a fake Earthquake before," Nova explained.
Jack grinned mischievously. "That's actually better than I dared hope for. Depending on how convincing your illusions are, and I have absolutely no doubts about that, my plan should work perfectly. Here's what I was thinking."
A black-haired trainer approached the gates of the Veilstone City dojo. He was wearing blue jeans, and red and white tee-shirt, and a ball-cap with a Pokéball symbol on the front. His name was Mark, and he hailed from Oreburgh City. The Veilstone Gym was the next milestone on his journey to the Sinnoh League, and he intended to pass with flying colours.
He strode confidently into the building, escorted by one of the dojo's students, and quickly made his way to the arena. Maylene was there waiting for him, eager to face his challenge.
"The battle will be three on three," The referee said. "It will be over when all of one side's Pokémon are unable to continue. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute Pokémon. Ready? Begin!"
Maylene tossed a Pokéball onto the field and, in a flash of light, a Pokémon appeared. It was a Lucario, but its fur was gold where it would normally have been blue; and a pale blue where it would normally have been tan. Its eyes were a piercing blue, like the summer sky.
Mark was taken aback. Maylene had a shiny Lucario? He hadn't heard anything about this. Still, his team were more than strong enough to handle anything the gym leader could throw at him.
"Go, Haunter!" he shouted, releasing the Ghost-type onto the field.
Haunter was the perfect Pokémon to take on a Lucario, as Mark knew perfectly well. Fighting-type moves would be useless, and its Levitate ability would cancel out Bone Rush. Even if this shiny Lucario knew other moves, like Metal Claw, they'd be easy to predict and avoid. In fact, if all went well, Mark's Haunter might even take down Maylene's entire lineup.
Haunter stared down at the shiny Lucario with as much malice as it could muster in an attempt to unnerve the Fighting-type. It didn't work, but it was a valiant effort. Seeing the Lucarios stoic expression remain unchanged, the Ghost-type went to plan 'B' and charged up a powerful Shadow Ball.
Before the Haunter could unleash its attack, the Lucario rushed forwards in blink of an eye. His arms were surrounded in black aura, and three long blades of energy extended from each paw as he closed in with Shadow Claw.
The Haunter desperately fired off its Shadow Ball at the approaching Lucario, but the Aura Pokémon expertly ducked under the attack, popping back up right in front of the floating ghost with an undeniable smirk on his muzzle. In an instant, he swept the Shadow Claws across the body of Haunter, hitting it with a super effective attack. While Mark had hoped his Pokémon would be able to absorb the attack, this was not the case. The Haunter was instantly knocked out from the power behind the attack.
The Lucario calmly dropped its arms back to his side before giving a small bow towards the unconscious Pokémon. Without any other actions, he then turned and started walking back towards Maylene.
Mark stared at his unconscious Pokémon in utter shock, disbelief even. He'd been so sure of himself, and yet this strange Lucario had one-shot his Pokémon without even breaking a sweat. The trainer gritted his teeth as he recalled his Haunter to its Pokéball. It wasn't over until the fat lady sang.
With a defiant shout, Mark sent out his next Pokémon; a Staravia. Also a good matchup against Fighting-types, and Shadow Claw would have no effect on it because it was a Normal-type. Staravia didn't waste any time and launched straight into a Quick Attack, hoping to score a surprise hit and set up for its next attack.
While the flying Pokémon was fast, it was not fast enough. In the time it took to travel the length of the field, the Lucario had raised his right paw and caught the Staravia in a psychic field mere inches from his body. Before Mark could even react, his Pokémon was thrown into the ground with enough force to do substantial damage. The Lucario then leapt into the air, maintaining his psychic grip on the flying Pokémon and pinning it to the gym floor. When he landed on the ground, the arena shook as a large crack split down the field right towards the trapped Staravia as the Lucario unleashed a powerful Earthquake.
Under normal circumstances, the ground based attack would have no effect on the flying type. Since it was pinned to the ground however, and had nowhere to escape to, the attack proved to be particularly devastating. The Starling Pokémon was hit directly by the attack and thrown backwards against the wall of the dojo. When the dust settled, the Staravia was knocked out. Once again, the Lucario bowed towards its defeated opponent before making his way back towards Maylene.
At this point, Mark was in a state of denial. Surely this was some sort of nightmare, brought on by stress. It couldn't be real, could it? Could Maylene's new Pokémon really be that strong?
The trainer recalled his unconscious Staravia with a stunned expression. If it was a dream, then it was a darned realistic one. He knew his third Pokémon wouldn't be able to beat this monster of a Lucario, but his pride wouldn't let him give up without fighting to the last. His team understood his drive, and they'd fight until the bitter end for him without question.
He called out his last Pokémon; his partner, Ivysaur. The large Grass-type stared at Maylene's Lucario with steadfast determination. As soon as the battle started, Ivysaur unleashed a powerful Razor Leaf attack. The Lucario didn't even move as the attack approached him. Instead, he simply closed his eyes. The attack connected, much to Mark's excitement. However, the attack only lasted a few seconds and Mark's enthusiasm died down as the Lucario looked like it had hardly taken a scratch. The Aura Pokémon once again reached out with his right paw as it was engulfed in psychic energy. The large grass type Pokémon was effortlessly lifted into the air, ascending all the way to the ceiling before the Lucario slammed him against the already cracked gym floor. The attack once again dealing enough damage to knock out Mark's Pokémon in a single hit. As with his other two Pokémon, the Lucario bowed towards the defeated Ivysaur.
Mark recalled his final Pokémon, his head hanging low as he finally accepted the truth. He had lost decisively, hilariously outmatched by Maylene's new Lucario. He turned around to leave the arena, the perfect picture of defeat. Beneath his shock of raven-black hair however, hidden by a shadow, his mouth curled upwards in a mischievous grin. The plan was going without a hitch. A few more repetitions scattered throughout the next couple weeks, and the whole country would know about Maylene's shiny Lucario.
Jack, for it was him hidden under Nova's illusion, left the Veilstone dojo in his best impression of a daze. Once he was sure no one could see him, he surreptitiously teleported back to the dojo and Nova allowed the illusion to fade. It was an elaborate ruse, as the entire battle was the product of Nova's light shows, but it had turned out even better than Jack had expected.
The handful of people who had watched the fight from the bleachers would be sure to spread the news about Maylene's shiny Lucario, and how it took down three Pokémon in under five minutes. They would gradually ramp up the fake fights, until eventually Jack would pose as an elite trainer with a much higher-level team. Razgriz would once again rofl-stomp him, and the rumors would go crazy. J would have to be deaf and blind to miss it, and if they played their cards right she'd be unable to resist such a tempting target. Jack was also counting on the fact that, after successfully stealing his Pokémon, J might get a little overconfident.
Jack reappeared in his room at the dojo, and from there went downstairs to find Nova and Razgriz unwinding after the 'battle.' Maylene was there too, pacing back and forth with a thoughtful expression.
"Well," Jack commented. "That went well, I thought. Any problems on your ends Nova? Razgriz?"
"Aside from being exhausted, I'm good," Nova replied as she plopped down on the floor. Razgriz sat down next to her and ran a paw through her blue mane.
"You did good," Razgriz said with a faint smile.
Razgriz, for obvious reasons, had not actually been bound to a Pokéball. Even that was just another layer within Nova's complex illusion. Considering everything the Zoroark had done, it was no wonder she needed a rest. Jack had anticipated this, which is why he planned on giving her at least a day to recover before they put on another show.
"Any thoughts, Maylene?" Jack asked, glancing at the gym leader.
Maylene sighed. "I was just wondering, what do I do if someone else comes and challenges my gym? After a while, wouldn't people expect me to keep using Razgriz?"
Jack shrugged. "Let them speculate, it'll just spread the rumors faster."
"So… just go on as usual?" Maylene asked.
Jack nodded in confirmation. "Yup, pretty much. Our next show is going to be in three days. Until then, I propose we kick back and relax. Any objections?"
"No, none at all!" Nova said as she rolled over onto her back, having left her sash and spear in her room. That was when Razgriz moved a bit closer to her and propped her head up against him.
"I suppose some relaxation would be nice," Razgriz agreed.
Jack grinned. "Alright then. In that case, I'm going to pop into the city and give those rumors a little kick-start. And after that, I'm going to grab some lunch."
Maylene's head snapped around to face Jack. "Can I come?"
Jack's grin grew by a few centimeters. "Nope. Bye."
Maylene made a desperate grab for Jack, but he teleported away before she could reach him. The gym leader groaned, knowing that she'd have to come up with a good excuse if she wanted to go out for lunch; having already gone out for breakfast that morning. After a moment though, she glanced over at Nova and Razgriz as a lightbulb went off in her head.
"Say," she asked the two Pokémon. "How would the two of you like to eat out? It'd be my treat."
"That would be nice," Razgriz started before looking down at Nova. "I know she will be particularly hungry after all that work she did."
"That is one hundred percent true," Nova said before sitting up. "Is there some place with fish nearby?"
Maylene's grin was reminiscent of Jack's. "I know just the place. If anyone asks though, none of this was my idea. Deal?"
The next week went by quickly and, as is the way of peaceful times, uneventfully. The four of them put on another show three days after the first, then another one only two days after that; seeing as Nova was sure she could handle it. Jack figured that it was a good idea to stagger the performances, so as to avoid falling into a predictable schedule. As such, after the third show he planned to wait a whole five days before putting on another, much to Nova's relief.
His plan worked almost perfectly, and rumors about Maylene's shiny Lucario spread through Veilstone City like wildfire. Jack figured it wouldn't be long before the news spread to other cities, and after that it was just a waiting game until J showed up.
Despite the thrill of seeing his plan working, and the mock battles providing an entertaining diversion, Jack still found himself increasingly agitated as the week wore on. Patience had never been one of his strong suits, and the longer he sat around doing nothing the more restless he became. Then again, who could blame him.
Jack's restlessness came to a head the day before the fourth of their mock battles was scheduled to take place. More specifically, it was the middle of the night. After lying awake for several hours, Jack simply gave up trying to go to sleep. With a sigh of resignation, Jack teleported down to the courtyard; the only sound being the quiet rush of air filling the space he'd just vacated.
Jack sat by the crystal clear pool, his breath freezing in front of him in the cold night air. He didn't mind the cold, in fact he barely felt it. It seemed like such a small thing, to not feel the cold, but it was those little, inexplicable things that made him wonder exactly what he was. The more his abilities developed, the less they resembled those of a Pokémon. But if his power wasn't linked to Pokémon, then where could it possibly have come from? The whole thing just didn't make any sense. Then there were those strange memories, and his blackout, and the voice...
Jack groaned and flopped onto his back, staring up at the crescent moon above. He'd thought about his abilities from every conceivable angle by this point, but every time he thought of a possible explanation something new always came up to shatter it. For the millionth time, Jack resolved to shelve the issue until he had more to go on. He had better things to worry about at the moment, like what to do if J didn't fall for plan A.
It never once crossed Jack's mind that he might never catch Hunter J. He refused to even contemplate it as possible. He would catch her, and he would save his friends. He had absolutely no doubt of that. He didn't allow himself to doubt it. To his mind, it was nothing more than a matter of time.
Suddenly, Jack sat up straight again as an idea crossed his mind. Thinking about how quickly his abilities were growing had reminded him about something he wanted to try. He was back to peak condition by this point, so there was no better time than the present to test the newest weapon in his arsenal.
Jack teleported again, this time to a quiet spot several miles from the dojo. That way he wouldn't disturb anyone with a loud noise. In addition, the chances of anyone interrupting him were that much slimmer. He got the feeling that he'd need as much concentration as he could get to pull off the technique. That, and he wanted to keep this particular ability under wraps for now; in case he ever needed a new trump card.
"Alright," he mumbled to no one in particular, "Let's see if this works."
Jack held out his right hand in front of him and sent a surge of energy into his palm. Tiny sparks arced across his fingertips, illuminating his surroundings with a flickering yellow glow. The trees scattered haphazardly around him cast eerie shadows on the ground, and seemed to lean in to watch Jack as he focused.
Jack could feel the electricity coursing down his arm, building an ever increasing charge in the palm of his hand. Jack took deep, steady breaths as he narrowed his focus until all he could see was his right hand; and the static electrical charge building in it. He could feel every spark, every tiny bit of energy. It was too cramped inside his hand, the charge was trying desperately to jump to something else. Only when he was satisfied with the amount of energy in his hand did Jack finally release the charge.
Jack brought his hands together, and the charge in his right hand was so eager to reach his left that it jumped the last several inches through thin air. The current produced a thick arc of superheated gas, plasma. Jack had done some research on the subject during his stay in Veilstone City, and now he was ready to put his newfound knowledge to use.
With a flick of his mind, Jack grabbed hold of the flow of electricity and tried to bend it to his will. It was like trying to grab a greased eel, but Jack managed it almost without thinking. Like the majority of his abilities, it seemed like all he had to do was think about it happening and it would happen; as though he'd practiced it to the point that it had become a reflex.
Jack could feel the electrical arc writhing in his psychic grip like a snake. The thick cord of energy between his hands was alive, and it hated being forced into an unnatural shape. Even so, under Jack's mental pressure it had no choice but to submit. The boy spread his hands further apart, forcing the electricity to continue along its path despite the distance, until eventually Jack's arms were spread out on either side of him as far as they would go. The cord of energy arced through the air, filling the entire area with the smell of ozone. Jack could feel the strain of the technique already. It was depleting his aura at an alarming rate, but he had quite a while yet before his reserves started getting low.
Going into it, Jack hadn't known what to expect from the technique. The last time he tried it, he had still been recovering from the assault on Alpha's main base and the effort had almost knocked him out. Now that he had the energy to spare though, the technique was surprisingly easy to pull off.
Now that he had what basically amounted to a whip of plasma, Jack's mind practically exploded with ideas on how to use it. He thought about making a sword like he did in the Alpha base, but he already knew how to use a sword; somehow. He still wasn't too sure about that, but oh well. At any rate, it wouldn't be an experiment if he didn't... well, experiment.
Jack glanced at a low branch jutting out from a nearby tree, and suddenly he knew exactly what he had to do. With a flick of his mind, Jack redirected the flow of electricity towards the branch. The current latched onto the protruding limb, although the wood didn't conduct the charge very well. Even so, the white-hot cord of plasma burned clean through the branch in an instant and the piece of wood was sent crashing to the ground.
Jack allowed the current to return to its original path, jumping from one hand to the other, as he surveyed the damage with a strange sense of satisfaction. He didn't know exactly how to explain it, but this new technique felt… right, somehow. It felt like he'd met an old friend again after a long time, and they were catching up on lost time. There was a certain nostalgia to it that made Jack wonder if, once upon a time, this trick had been a favourite of his.
At that point though, Jack decided he'd had enough playing around. This technique was meant to be used in a very specific way, and it wouldn't be right to stop without completing it. Jack focused on the electricity coursing through him and, instead of allowing it to jump to his other hand, he forced the current to crackle through the air for a few feet and then curved it back on itself so it landed in his palm again. It took a lot of focus at first, but after a moment Jack found that he didn't even have to think about it any more. The arc traced a thin line in the air above his hand, and Jack knew somehow that it would continue to do so even in the heat of battle. It would take a blow to the head to break his concentration now.
Jack willed the stream of superheated gas to expand, filling out a larger and larger area until finally it took on a very recognisable shape. Jack felt a chill run down his spine as he looked down at the glowing, golden sword in his hand. The plasma was light, in terms of weight, but what mass it did have was perfectly balanced. The handle extended several inches behind his grip, and would have had a lump of a heavy metal on the pommel for balance if it was real. At this point, he didn't even bother questioning how he knew that.
Jack gave the glowing blade a few swings. It let off a high-pitched crackling whine as it sliced through the air, leaving a trail of shimmering, superheated air in its wake. On a whim, Jack flicked the blade towards another low-hanging branch and lopped it off with barely any effort; the sword slicing clean through solid wood like a hot knife through butter. It cut through so easily in fact, that Jack stumbled forward slightly when the blade didn't meet the resistance he expected.
Jack grinned impishly. Like any boy his age, when presented with a dangerous tool with which he could very easily hurt himself, his first instinct was to see exactly how much fire he could play with before he got burnt. Focusing once again on the stream of electricity, Jack cranked the current up a couple notches.
With the extra energy, Jack expanded the blade of his sword even further. Before long it had grown to the size of a claymore, but Jack wasn't satisfied. He kept pushing it further, making it longer and wider by the second. He only stopped when the blade was almost as long as he was tall, and several inches in width, with the tip sloping sharply toward the back edge at a forty-five degree angle. To balance it out, he also extended the hilt of the sword by more than a foot so that it swung out behind him. He'd seen weapons like this in comic books and video games; a buster sword.
Jack gave his new and improved weapon an enthusiastic swing. It was definitely weighted toward the blade, but it still only weighed about as much as a good sized stick and Jack had no trouble swinging the enormous blade around with one hand. It was an impractical weapon, his instincts assured him of that. Still, there was something strangely fun about swinging around a blade almost as big as himself. With an exaggerated spin that would've been a very bad idea in a real fight, Jack swung his sword toward the trunk of a nearby tree. The blade sheared through it with almost contemptuous ease.
Jack watched as the massive tree slid, and then toppled to the ground with a crash that probably woke the entire forest. He heard birds take off in flocks, probably startled half out of their wits by the commotion.
Jack blinked. "Whoops…" he mumbled sheepishly, allowing his gigantic sword to fade into nothing. "Guess I got a little carried away."
Jack took a moment to check his aura pool, and decided that there was no point letting it dip any lower. He still had plenty left, but if J decided to attack he wanted to have energy to burn. Nova and Razgriz could almost certainly handle J on their own, but Jack had no intention of letting them have all the fun. J was his to take down, and his alone.
Three days passed. Jack snuck out every night to practise with his new favourite toy, but he was always careful to leave himself within a few hours' sleep of being in peak condition. The fourth mock battle went as smoothly as its predecessors, and the crowds couldn't get enough of it. The next battle, Jack decided, would be the climactic one in which he would play the part of a veteran trainer. After that, it would be back to business as usual for a while. If J was going to make an appearance, she would probably do so soon.
Jack woke up early. It was the day for which he'd scheduled the climactic showing of Maylene's shiny Lucario, and Jack wanted to get in a little practice with his plasma sword before breakfast. He was really taken with the technique by this point, although he wasn't sure whether he would ever actually use it in a fight because of how deadly it was.
Jack was about to teleport away to his quiet place in the woods, a place that was now covered with burn marks, but something stopped him in his tracks. He could sense something approaching from the south, a malevolent hunger the likes of which he'd only felt twice before.
Jack tossed a mental probe at Nova and Razgriz, sending them one thought. His emotions swirled inside him like a tempest, each one clawing viciously to be on top. It was hardly a contest though, anger won out easily; a righteous fury, spurring him on to free his friends.
"J is here."
