Jack worked his arm in a circle, stretching out the muscles in his shoulder and making sure everything was in working order. His ribs had healed quickly with lots of rest and a little aura, and he was loath to wait any longer for his next fight. He'd already got his cut of the profit from his last fight, and it was a staggering figure. He'd held suspicions before about Snake's claim of quick money, but at this rate he really would have enough in a week or two. Especially if he could keep playing to the crowd and making them bet against him.
"Of course," he thought to himself, "If the other competitors are as powerful as the wrestler, or even more so, then I may not have to do much acting to make it look like a close match…"
He shook his head, dismissing that thought. He'd survived a full-fledged war, complete with apocalyptically powerful mutant Pokémon; and that was just the most recent in a long series of supernatural, death-defying adventures he'd walked into. He wouldn't be beaten in some martial arts tournament.
After breakfast, Jack signed up for a match on an 'as soon as possible' basis. They told him that there was already someone waiting for a match, and that they'd schedule the fight for that afternoon. Finding himself with a few hours to kill, Jack headed back to his room and knocked on the door to Nova and Razgriz's room. Nova opened the door moments later.
"Morning Jack," Nova said before stretching out some.
"Morning Nova, Razgriz," Jack replied. "My next fight is at three o'clock this afternoon, so I was going to go get some fresh air and exercise outside the city. Either of you want to join me?"
"Sure, we could use some training. I would assume a city like this has a place where Pokémon can train?" Razgriz asked as he walked through the doorway into the main room.
Jack shrugged. "Probably, although we'll probably have to pay to use the equipment…"
"Equipment?" Razgriz questioned, "I was thinking like an open field…"
Jack blinked. "Oh. Well yes, I'm sure they have one of those too. And if not, I'm sure we could find a spot ten minutes or so outside the city."
"Either works for us," Nova responded as she closed the door to their room behind her.
"Considering what 'training' will likely look like with the three of us," Jack commented as he headed for the door out into the hallway, "I think it'd be better to find someplace outside the city."
"Fair enough," Razgriz said with a shrug.
Halfway down the hallway Jack suddenly stopped and turned back to Nova and Razgriz. "Wait, why are we walking? Two of us can teleport…"
"Because people are around and we want to keep a low profile… I mean, people here would probably run in terror from me and well… what happens to you?" Razgriz mused, thinking back to the terrible things Alpha forced him to do.
Jack blinked. "Okay, good point… never mind then."
He kept walking, wondering why he had such a hard time thinking that through. Maybe he was just tired. Oh well. The three of them continued to walk, heading out of the hotel and then making their way towards the edge of the city. As they walked, the Pokémon they passed tended to look over in Razgriz's direction, eyeing the seemingly normal Lucario cautiously.
Eventually, they made it out of the city and started looking around for a suitable place to do some training. Nova also dropped the illusion around herself and Razgriz as it was no longer needed. After a while of looking, they came across a grassy hill with trees dotted around.
"This look about right?" Jack asked.
"Looks good enough for us," Nova replied, also taking in the beauty of the landscape and happy to be out of the city.
Jack took a deep breath and sighed. "Yeah, I agree."
He headed over to the tree and walked up it, using aura to keep his feet glued to the vertical trunk. He then sat on one of the top branches and started to meditate; closing his eyes and expanding his auric vision so he could sense everything around him.
Nova and Razgriz had spent the morning meditating before Jack knocked on their door, so they didn't feel the need to meditate again and instead decided to spar. It was fairly easy to find an open area given the trees were not too dense.
"It has been a while since we have spared hasn't it?" Razgriz asked as he stretched out some.
"Well, if you take out our fight back at Alpha's base, it certainly has. By the way, you lost that one," Nova said with a smirk.
"Then again," Jack commented from the tree, "You did have help that time."
"You had your own mysterious help as well bub," Nova shot back over her shoulder as she stretched as well.
Jack rolled his eyes. "That's who I meant."
Razgriz just shook his head as he tried to clear his mind, still preferring not to think about that time. The memories were still rather painful for him.
"Anyways, I believe we were going to spar, not stand around and talk," he interjected before widening his stance some.
Nova simply rolled her eyes and widened her stance as well, opening and closing her paws a few times. She then exhaled as blue aura gathered around her paws. Razgriz made the first move, using Quick Attack to close the distance between then in a blink of an eye. Nova was properly braced for the attack and deflected Razgriz's lunging arm. Knowing what was coming next, she ducked just in time to avoid the following kick before sweeping out with her right leg, but the counter failed to connect as Razgriz jumped backwards.
Nova focused the aura around her paws into a sphere before launching it at Razgriz. The Aura Sphere shot towards the white Lucario and Nova smirked knowing her aim was on point but wasn't prepared for what followed. As Razgriz looked up upon landing and saw the sphere of blue energy speeding towards him, he simply reached out with one of his paws and caught it. He smirked as he saw Nova's grin die down. He infused his own aura into the sphere, giving it a purplish hue before throwing it towards Nova.
She quickly rolled out of the way of the attack expecting to see it wizz past where she had been moments before. Instead she saw it impact the ground where he had been, exploding and sending dirt flying in every direction. Nova brought her arms up to shield her eyes, by the time she lowered them Razgriz had already made and launched another Aura Sphere. Nova didn't have anytime to react as the attack hit her square in the chest and launched her backwards. After having rolled on the ground for a small distance, Nova went to get up but quickly found herself pinned down as Razgriz stood over her, using Bone Rush to hold her down.
"You did last longer that time," Razgriz stated with a satisfied smirk.
"I swear you use these training sessions just to beat me up sometimes," Nova countered and stood up as the auric staff that was holding her down dissolved into the air. "Plus, I just remembered one of your lessons."
"And what would that be?" Razgriz asked inquisitively.
"Never let your guard down," Nova replied with a certain amount of smugness in her voice.
Razgriz had just enough time to look over his shoulder to see a yellow-white sphere slam into him. Nova smirked as the Focus Blast knocked Razgriz to the ground. She sprinted forward as he was still recovering intent on following up her surprise attack. The white Lucario had just managed to get to his feet when Nova hit him with a quick series of Night Slashes, her claws glowing blue with energy. Razgriz took a few of the hits before he countered, thrusting his right arm forward with a Force Palm. Nova didn't see the attack until it was too late and she caught it on the chest, sending her flying backwards. She came to a halt when her head hit a tree.
"Ugh… was that really necessary?" Nova groaned out.
"You were the one who attacked after the round was over," Razgriz countered as he walked over.
"All is fair in love and war," Nova replied as she decided that sitting against the tree was probably in her best interest at the moment.
"True… I guess you are capable of learning after all," Razgriz said with a smirk.
"Hey!" Nova interjected before mumbling, "You're lucky I love you…"
"One more round," Razgriz stated as he held out a paw and helped Nova up.
"Must you beat up on me more?" Nova asked as she took his paw.
"Not for your sake, Jack let his guard down," Razgriz pointed out, nodding his head in the direction of the human who had been paying close attention up till this point. Nova saw what the white Lucario was insinuating and smirked.
The two of them went back to their starting positions before beginning another round of sparring. They started off as they had in the past with a few quick jabs at each other before Nova dodged and just happened to come to a stop so that she was between Razgriz and Jack as the former was charging up a rather large Aura Sphere. Nova easily dodged that attack, but it continued on its path straight for Jack.
Fortunately, while Jack did have his eyes closed, he was still meditating; which meant that the bright flashes of aura which Nova and Razgriz were spewing everywhere were pretty much the only thing Jack could focus on. Seeing one heading straight for him, Jack quickly teleported behind Razgriz just as the Aura Sphere hit the tree.
"Just making sure you were paying attention," Razgriz said as he didn't think Jack would be that oblivious.
"Of course," Jack said, smirking wryly. "You two are way more interesting than anything else in these woods."
"Let's hope Katia didn't hear you say that," Nova smirked as she glanced towards Jack's backpack.
Jack glanced back at it too, and quelled a sudden urge to say a few famous last words. "Yeah… anyway, are you two all sparred out now?"
"Well, I could go a few more rounds, but I doubt Nova would be willing to," Razgriz replied as he glanced over at Nova, who just glared back. "Yeah no… she is done."
Jack chuckled. "Alright then. Well, in that case how's about a quick jog back to the city? Last one there pays for lunch."
Nova and Razgriz looked at each other, one of Nova's ear falling to the side.
"How much money do you think two wild Pokémon carry on them?" Nova asked as she turned to face Jack.
Jack snorted. "Kidding. I'm still gonna beat you there though; and no teleporting."
"Where are we eating?" Nova inquired as she turned in the direction of the city.
"Not sure," Jack said with a shrug. "Somewhere cheap probably."
"So… we are racing but only you know where the finish line is?" Razgriz pointed out as he crossed his arms underneath his chest spike.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Well, there's not much point in racing after we get back inside the city now is there. The finish line is the edge of the forest."
"Well, I could still race through the city," Nova pointed out, but knew that Jack was right. With them trying to maintain a low profile and all that. "Also, not really sure if it is going to be much of a race… Razgriz and I are fast, but you're just ridiculous."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, I still want a workout so I'll meet you there."
With that, he took off towards the city. Razgriz rolled his eyes before smiling.
"He almost has as much energy as you used to," Razgriz said before looking over at Nova.
"Used to?" Nova replied with mock indignation. "Well, guess I will just have to beat him then."
With that said, Nova dropped on all fours before starting after Jack. Nova was quite fast when she ran on all four of her legs. Faster than Razgriz could ever hope to run. He closed his eyes and projected his aura out over the surrounding land, finding both Nova and Jack. Guessing where they would end up near the city, he opened a portal there and decided to wait for them to arrive.
Jack soon realized that Nova was chasing after him. He chuckled, letting her catch up to him and then keeping pace with her so they were neck-and-neck. He wasn't too surprised to find that he didn't have to slow down much before Nova started gaining on him.
It didn't take them long to get within sight of the city. Nova had quite a bit of experience in long distance running given that she and Razgriz had pretty much walked across Saldara. While they they didn't sprint too often, they did do a fair share of jogging. That and just training in the mountains in general gave her good stamina when it came to running. Though she knew she was approaching her limit while she doubted Jack was.
"You're going easy on me," Nova said telepathically, not wanting to mess with her breathing.
Jack smiled. "I thought we said it wasn't a race. It's not as much fun to run alone, that's all."
"I suppose you are correct, though most people don't find it fun to run at all," Nova replied with some amount of amusement in her voice.
"Fair enough, fair enough," Jack admitted. "So I'm boring you, is that what you're saying?"
"You're in the top ten most boring humans I know," Nova countered smugly.
Jack couldn't help chuckling at that. "In that case, I'd love to meet the other nine."
"You already met three of them," Nova responded.
Jack was silent for a moment. "You don't know very many humans, do you."
"Took you long enough to figure that out," Nova nearly tripped as she started laughing and only barely managed to regain her footing as she ran.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh hardy har har. Excuse me while I get back to running."
With that, his body crackled with electricity and he took off like a bullet from a gun leaving Nova in his dust. A few seconds later he shot past Razgriz before skidding to a halt. He then turned around and smiled wryly.
"That was a good run," he commented.
"If you say so, though I figured you would be here sooner," Razgriz said from his position leaning against a tree.
Jack stretched a little as he waited for Nova. "Well, I don't want to push myself right before a fight."
"Fair enough, though a little birdy told me that you're a boring person now," Razgriz replied with a noticeable smirk on his muzzle.
"A little birdy, or a little foxie?" Jack mused
"Hey, I am not little any more," Nova protested as she finally arrived.
Jack glanced over at Razgriz, then on a whim he walked over to Nova and stood back to back against her.
"Okay," he asked Razgriz. "Who's taller?"
"Nova clearly is," Razgriz declared in an even tone.
"What?" Jack exclaimed in confusion, turning around. He was confronted with a Nova that was standing several inches taller than him. She was also sticking her tongue out at the human. Jack snorted quietly, then poked the large fox right in her belly; his hand passing through Nova's illusion and booping her on the snout. The illusion faded away, revealing the shorter than average Zoroark still sticking out her tongue.
Jack chuckled. "That's better. Now then, how's about we go find something for lunch."
"Sounds like a good plan to me," Nova agreed wholeheartedly.
Jack took a deep breath as he stood in the hallway outside the arena, waiting for the fight to start. After his first match, he was feeling quite a bit more nervous about the opponent he was going to face next. Snake hadn't had nearly as much information about this one as, like Jack himself, this next contestant was relatively new.
Eventually, he was called into the arena. He cracked his neck and steeled his nerves, stepping forward into the open space. Glancing up at the spectators box, he easily spotted Nova and Razgriz; as well as Katia, who had insisted on watching as well this time.
Jack's gaze then drifted to the other side of the arena, where his opponent was just walking out of the hallway on the other side. The strong steel doors then swung shut behind them. Jack examined the other person as closely as he could from that distance, viewing them with a healthy amount of caution.
It was a boy, at least he was pretty sure. The figure was about the same height as him, with a ragged shock of hair which was almost as messy as Jack's; except theirs was a bright shade of fiery orange/red. Somehow, Jack was struck with sudden deja vu; as if he'd faced off against this strange person before.
The figure was wearing what looked suspiciously like something out of some cartoon about ninjas. It was complete with a mask carved and painted to resemble a stylized fox's face; hence Jack's uncertainty as to whether it was a boy or girl. Overall, the outfit's black and red colour scheme seemed designed to accent its wearer's flaming red hair. Jack also found it vaguely reminiscent of his own robes, insofar as it resembled a martial arts uniform.
Having learned his lesson after his first match, Jack then took a quick glance at the figure's aura. He furrowed his brow as his suspicions were confirmed. Whoever his opponent was, their aura was far stronger than any normal human's should be, and once again Jack was struck with a strange sense that he'd met this person somewhere before. Their aura felt strangely familiar, but at the same time different from anything he'd ever sensed before. It almost felt like there was something… wrong about it.
Jack shook those thoughts out of his head. Whoever it was, and whether or not he'd met them somewhere before, it looked as though this fight would be every bit as tricky as his first. He'd have to keep on his toes.
He settled into a fighting stance, watching as his opponent did the same. At the sound of the bell, they both started circling each other slowly. Jack watched the other boy carefully, keeping track of his movements to try and anticipate when he'd attack. It almost worked. Jack saw the first two strikes coming easily, a right jab and a left hook, and blocked them without too much trouble. He then responded with a couple right jabs of his own which were similarly ineffective. For now, both of them were just sizing each other up; trying to get a feel for each other's strength and speed.
After a few exchanges like these, Jack had started to get a feel for his opponent; and he was sure it was mutual. The other boy was right-handed, and always opened with either a right jab or hook. As such, when he saw his opponent tensing up for another attack from the right he automatically moved his own arm to deflect it harmlessly aside. However, the expected blow never came. Instead, Jack felt rather than saw his opponent's left fist slam into his jaw.
Jack's vision went blurry for a moment, his eyes unfocusing slightly from the force of the blow. He'd been flung backwards like a ragdoll, and he hit the ground hard before rolling a few feet along the ground.
As Jack came to rest on the ground, despite still not being able to see clearly, he quickly rolled a few more feet to avoid the attack he knew was coming. His instincts proved accurate, as he heard a powerful blow land right where he had been a moment ago.
Rolling back to his feet, Jack managed to refocus his vision just in time to see that his opponent was turning to re-engage him. In a move straight out of a video game, the red-headed fighter leapt into the air above Jack and spun once to gain momentum before whipping his leg down in a vicious hammer kick.
Jack saw the attack coming and blocked it with one arm, but then his opponent used his own momentum to flip himself behind Jack almost faster than he could see. Jack was tempted to try and turn around, but suddenly he realized what his opponent was doing. Almost reflexively, he leapt straight up into the air.
Jack flipped upside down in midair, looking down at his opponent. He was somehow not surprised to see that he'd been right. The red-head was just recovering from executing a low, sweeping spin kick which would have probably knocked Jack's legs clean out from under him. Jack furrowed his brow as he realised why he'd seen it coming so easily.
Maylene had taught him that exact same maneuver.
Jack landed directly behind his opponent, and almost without thinking he tried the same move. A low, sweeping kick. His wasn't the least bit surprised when the red-head dodged it in the exact same way Jack had. The only difference was that Jack was ready for it. As his opponent was about to land behind him, Jack suddenly reversed his kick and, doing a brief handstand, lashed out behind him with both his legs.
The surprise counter-attack caught the red-head by surprise, and sent him flying backwards. He hit the ground and rolled a few times before getting his bearings and flipping back onto his feet. A quick glance with aura vision told Jack that his opponent had used aura to reinforce his stomach just before impact, drastically decreasing the damage he took.
The masked boy barely hesitated before going on the offensive again, quickly closing the distance between them and unleashing a barrage of rapid blows. Jack, knowing he couldn't let himself get forced into a corner, matched his opponent stroke for stroke without losing any ground. Neither of them seemed able to land any decisive blows against the other however.
As they traded blows, Jack watched his opponent's movements very carefully. It didn't take long before he'd all but confirmed his suspicions. The red-haired boy's fighting style was remarkably similar to his own, but not identical. That wasn't surprising however, considering Jack's fighting style had changed a lot in the past few months alone. What it was almost identical to, was Maylene's techniques. Whoever this person was, he'd been trained by the Veilstone City gym leader. Fairly recently too.
Knowing that, and knowing his opponent might well have realized the similarities in their fighting style by now as well, he knew he had to kick it up a notch. Remembering the lightning-fast blow his opponent had landed earlier, Jack waited for the perfect moment. They traded blow after blow, eventually starting to settle into a rhythm. Now that he knew his opponent's fighting style, it didn't take long before he spotted an opening. Charging his left arm with aura, he feigned right before switching to deliver a devastating open-palmed blow from the left; moving just fast enough to pass clean through his opponent's guard.
Jack grinned in satisfaction as he felt the blow connect, and saw his opponent launched backward like a shot from a cannon. The masked figure flew so far and so high he actually hit the far wall of the arena, putting a small crater in the stone. Jack's grin faded quickly however as he saw that the red-headed ninja had actually landed feet-first, and was now standing on the wall using the same technique Jack used to walk up trees.
Then the figure spoke.
"Good grief, that one really packed a punch. Looks like you're finally fighting for real. In that case, I guess I'll have to go all out," said a distinctly male voice from behind the mask. Jack furrowed his brow. He knew that voice from somewhere. But where...
His opponent then stood up on the wall, and Jack took and involuntary step backwards as he felt a surge of energy from the masked figure. It felt so familiar, almost like…
Almost like his own.
The figure chuckled, holding out his right hand as a spark crackled into being in his palm. A moment later, the figure's entire arm was wreathed in red-hot flames.
"I hope you're ready. This is the day I finally beat you, Jack," the figure said, a familiar note of excitement in his tone. Realization hit Jack like a tidal wave.
"N… Nicholas?"
