Author's Notes :
Thanks, everyone, for pouring in all the support for this fic! I will post replies to reviews in this section, because I (and you) don't want the review section to be as overcrowded as a popular anime convention. Okay, here they are:
Navarchu - Thanks a million for bestowing the first review to this story! I wholly appreciate your feedback on the story and the battles; the whole 'shouting your attacks' thing is of my own choice, to homage the regular "Hadouken!"s, "Rasengan!"s and "Giga Drill Breaker!"s thrown about in my inspirations. I envisioned this fic to be as over-the-top as possible, though not without its touches of realism (like Luke's 'fish out of water' status).
SnowLabrador - Thank you for your compliments on all three chapters! Pertaining to chapter 2, I imagined Pokemon had a higher metabolism than humans, owing to their superpowers, so I had Luke eat more than he intended. Anyway, keep up the speculations!
11-25-2021 - I've updated this chapter to fix some writing errors and inconsistencies.
11-26-2021- Updated it again. Turns out I missed a grammatical error at the very end. I'll make sure future chapters will be more polished.
Happy reading to all!
TurboBolt99
Luke was never a fitness freak to begin with. His means of exercise was only a simple 30-minute jog every morning and basketball games with his friends, and he never dreamed of having a six-pack like most men. But now, he had to adjust to a superhuman body, as well as the superhuman powers around him.
He went in search of the nearest gym, asking for directions along the way. When he reached his destination, he saw a building crammed with all kinds of strong Pokemon, not just Fighting-types. It appeared to be called "Hitmaster Gym".
How do I train with these guys? Luke thought as he observed a Poliwrath, Nidoking and Feraligatr among the crowds, sporting tough expressions and rippling muscles, They look too scary! Anyway, monsters, including myself, are supposed to look scary. I'll try talking to them.
Luke approached the trio. "Um, hello there, mons," he greeted, waving his paw.
"What do you want, pipsqueak?" croaked the Poliwrath, glaring at him.
"Listen, noob, this gym was built for real Pokemon like us," growled the Nidoking, puffing his pecs up, "You want to get your ass kicked without mustering a single move? Over and over again?"
"Don't bully him!" the Feraligatr chided, "He's a rookie! At least give a little help, won't you?"
Ulp! That doesn't sound so good... Luke thought, trembling at their imposing statures. These mons are not exactly friendly either. I'll look like a dunce among them. Perhaps I would be better off at a less crowded gym...
"Uh, i-it was nice meeting you," he stammered, shuffling back, "B-Bye!" He gave them a wave as he scurried away.
"Mon, this Lucario's the biggest wimp I've ever seen," the Nidoking remarked.
"Doesn't he even use aura?" added the Poliwrath.
"Look what you've done to the poor mon!" said the Feraligatr, crossing his arms, "He could have earned some valuable training here if not for your intimidation!"
Luke continued his search for a suitable training spot till he reached another gym, named Smackdown, not far away from the first. It was smaller, and as Luke hoped for, sparsely populated. He scampered to the wide wooden doors and opened them.
The Lucario smiled as he entered. Is that...a human?
His eyes widened at the figure of a bodybuilder on one of the benches, lifting a barbell up and down. He went toward him, only for his smile to be wiped off.
The 'human' had two pairs of arms, grayish-blue skin, large yellowish lips, and a crest on his head. He appeared to wear a pair of black briefs and a belt with the letter P on it. And he was lifting not one, but two barbells. Instead of a human, Luke found a Machamp.
"Hi, visitor," the Machamp beamed in a youthful voice as he continued with his bench press, "You came here to train?"
"Uh, yes," Luke replied, observing the heap of equipment around him, "I lost my memory, so I came here to retrieve it. Can you please introduce yourself?"
"I'm Hammer Smackdown the Machamp," He got up, keeping the barbells back, "Nice to meet you!" One of his forehands gave Luke a thumbs-up, "And you are?"
"Luke Anderson," He smiled.
"So...what's your reason for training?" Hammer placed his hands on his hips.
"Um, I would like to improve my battling skills. They are sort of spotty. Today, I lost to a Rhydon whom I could have easily defeated."
"Aww mon! That's sad to hear from you. Come to the battle room with me," One of Hammer's hands pointed to another door at the end of the room, while another gave Luke a pat on the back.
Luke followed Hammer to a black room. Its star was a wrestling ring which spanned about half of it. The floor beneath the ring was made of wood. There were benches at each corner flanked with refreshments like water and healing items.
Hammer climbed onto the ring and Luke followed him. "Okay, to assess your fighting style, I challenge you to a battle!" he said as he brandished his four arms in the center of the ring.
"Right," Luke replied as he nodded in dutifulness. He took a stance a few feet away from Hammer.
"Aura Sphere!" barked Luke.
"Millennium Fist!" shouted Hammer.
Before Luke could begin, he was pounded with a barrage of silver-coated punches like bullets from a machine gun. "HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE!" Hammer yelled as he moved forward thrusting all four of his arms.
Luke backed, holding his head in dizziness.
"Darkest Lariat!" Hammer charged red flames of darkness in his hands and swung his arms like a helicopter as he ran toward Luke.
Luke barely regained focus when he was slammed by a disc of spinning arms. "Extreme Speed!" He dashed backward with a burst of speed, only to press against the ropes with a twang, and ricochet at even greater speed.
Hammer caught the flying Lucario in all four of his arms as if he were a dodgeball. "Spinning Submission!" he bellowed.
Hammer jumped high in the air, spinning, and smashed his opponent headfirst onto the floor of the ring as he landed.
Luke's fainted body bounced on the floor and settled. Hammer brought him to one of the benches and roused him back to consciousness with a Reviver Seed.
"Ow, I hated that battle!" Luke moaned, rubbing his head.
"Luke, you've a lot to brush up on," Hammer said, sitting next to Luke, "First, when you get hit, you hold on to your pain, leaving yourself open to attack. Accept that pain is part and parcel of battles. No victory is flawless. Second, your Extreme Speed was not executed well. Since it is a priority move, you have to learn to control it instead of treat it as a glorified escape technique."
"Thanks for your advice, Hammer," Luke replied, "So what training regimen will you give me?"
"I'll give you some strength training. Come back to the gym."
Luke and Hammer exited the battle room and arrived at a bunch of weights. "Luke, lift this for me," Hammer took a dumbbell from one of the shelves.
Luke tried to lift the dumbbell. To his surprise, he picked it up like a purse. He widened his eyes and smiled at his feat. "How heavy is this?" he asked, looking at Hammer.
"The answer's right there on the dumbbell itself," Hammer replied as he crossed his forearms and placed his hindarms on his hips, "Check."
Luke examined the top of one of the dumbbell's weights. "FIFTY POUNDS?!" he howled as he dropped the dumbbell, his feelers jumping. The dumbbell fell onto one of his feet, eliciting an even louder howl of pain.
"Why are you so surprised?" Hammer said with concern as Luke hopped one-footed in pain with tears in his eyes, clutching his swollen foot, "Look what you've done to yourself!"
"Seriously, am I really this strong?" Luke questioned, rubbing his foot, I think this is more than the typical dumbbell weight! he thought.
"You're strong, but not very strong," Hammer replied with a smile, "That dumbbell's actually on the lower end of weights."
"For real?"
"Yes. Don't take it too much. You lost your memory anyway."
I never did, Luke reminded to himself, visions of his siblings surfacing in his mind, "Thanks for your kindness, monster Hammer," he said with a bow, "Can I try out the barbells?"
"Yup. I'll show you."
Hammer took a barbell from another shelf with a single hand. Luke stared at him in astonishment. The Machamp placed it on a mat. "Here, this is the average barbell for your weight category," he pointed out.
Before lifting the barbell, Luke bent down to examine its weights. Each weight is 30 pounds, he thought, There are five weights on each side, which means... His eyes widened in shock, ...this thing's 300 pounds?! That's higher than the Olympic record!
"Hey, why are you standing still?" said Hammer, "Are you focusing?"
How do I lift this? Luke pondered, twiddling his paws, Oh, if I was able to carry a Rhydon for a long time then this could be achievable enough...
The Lucario rubbed his paws, took a deep breath, crouched, and curled his paws around the barbell. He heaved, grimacing, and raised it with ardor. Soon, he was holding the steel rod above his head, stretching his muscles to the fullest.
"Aww mon!" Hammer cheered, giving a thumbs-up, "You're getting your groove! Keep it up!"
Luke continued to hold the barbell as his body trembled. He managed to enter a steady state. "Wow..." he whispered, his eyes rolling upward.
"Marvelous, mon!" Hammer gave a fist pump, "Now put it down."
Luke dropped the barbell back on the mat. "Monster Hammer, I've been pleasantly surprised!" he said with a smile, "I never knew I could lift this much of weight! Thanks for your valuable support!"
"Hah, don't call me 'monster' over and over," Hammer chuckled, "Just call me 'Hammer'!"
"Thanks again. You're such a friendly mon!"
"All right, Luke. I'll give an exercise for you. Pull off 100 squats with that barbell."
"I've...done it..." Luke panted, hunching with his tongue hanging out, "Completed...100...squats..." He slumped to his knees, Gee, I've never worked so hard in my whole life! he reflected.
"That's the spirit!" Hammer said, grinning, "You may be in pain, but you still showed commitment to your aim. This goes the same for battles too. You have to withstand pain till your opponent faints. We'll take a little break to recharge your muscles, okay?"
"Yes..."
Luke took a big gulp of water from a bottle before he followed Hammer upstairs to the terrace.
"Tell me about yourself, Hammer," Luke said as he noshed on an Oran Berry. The two Fighting-types were seated on a bench.
"You know, I'm a pretty easygoing guy," Hammer said as he shrugged.
"That doesn't reflect in your fighting style though." The wind blew Luke's feelers and his fur felt its cool touch, "Your wrestling is very brutal! How are you able to throw a thousand punches so quickly?"
"That's what all Machamp are renowned for. To explain, each punch in my Millennium Fist is a Bullet Punch. Bullet Punch is a Steel-type priority move. Priority moves override all other attacks except themselves, regardless of the speed difference. That's why your Aura Sphere was interrupted."
"Oh, I understand. Your species is very strong indeed."
"Hey, can I tell you something?" Hammer gazed at Luke's face, "I can't help but say you're very cute!"
"Me? C-cute?" Luke stammered, blushing, "Y-you find me attractive?"
"Yup. I'm gay, by the way," Hammer shrugged again.
"Nice!" Luke smiled, "I'd love to have gay friends!"
"That's great to hear. Now, let's not continue wasting time with our mouths," Hammer got up, "Get ready for your next exercise."
"Thanks. I almost forgot about the bakery!"
Luke and Hammer went inside the battle room and climbed onto the ring. "Luke, this time, you will learn to use Extreme Speed properly," Hammer said with his hands on his hips.
Luke nodded. He walked to one end of the ring. "Extreme Speed!" He dashed at high speed, leaving blue afterimages of himself.
Unable to adjust to the velocity, Luke tripped and fell on his snout. "I'm lame at this move!" he grumbled, heaving his body up.
"Keep practicing, Luke," Hammer advised, "In the end you'll get a hold of the speed. I'll go to the gym now. I can't leave it unattended!"
Hammer left the battle room as Luke kept using Extreme Speed, spamming patterns of afterimages across the whole ring. The first dozens of times, he was either flung in every direction by the ropes howling or had his face squished to the ring. Luke kept trying and trying, hoping that motion sickness would never strike.
Around fifty tries later, he finally pulled it off without a collision or a pratfall. "Whew...I finally got this right," he muttered, holding his head. "I'll try this a last time. Extreme Speed!"
Luke dashed so fast, he tore through the ropes and darted straight into the wall. He left a crater in front of him as he tumbled to the room's floor. "Ow!" he said, rubbing his head, "This is my strongest Extreme Speed yet! I'll leave it at that. At least I don't fall on my face anymore."
Luke got off the ring, took a drink of water, and headed to the gym, where he saw Hammer tying weights to a Rapidash's hooves. "Oh, hello there, newcomer!" Luke greeted with a wave.
"I'm no newcomer," the Rapidash whinnied as her fire mane kindled, "I've been frequenting this gym since I was a Ponyta."
"Since ponyhood?" Luke balked, his pupils shrinking.
"Calm down, Luke," Hammer reassured as he let go of the tied weights, "This is Flarie Charcolt the Rapidash, and she used to visit here in the past with her mother."
Really? Luke was surprised, Is it normal for monlets to visit gyms?! "Nice to meet you, Flarie," he said with a bow as he concealed his disbelief.
"Hey, can I battle this Lucario, monster Hammer?" said Flarie, raising a hoof, "He looks like a decent opponent. I can test my speed with the weights!"
"Of course!" Hammer beamed with a thumbs-up, "I'll watch your fight in the battle room."
Luke put his fists together and joined Hammer and Flarie to the battle room.
Luke and Flarie stood on opposite sides of the ring, while Hammer glanced at them, crossing all four of his arms.
"Luke, I challenge you to a battle!" neighed Flarie as she reared back and her mane blazed, "Flame Wheel!" She galloped toward Luke and curled herself into a wheel of fire. Hammer stepped backward to avoid blocking her.
"Extreme Speed!" Luke dashed above the spinning Rapidash like a rocket and landed with two feet and a paw. Hammer watched the blue afterimages flicker behind him.
Flarie uncurled herself. Both Pokemon turned to each other.
Flarie curled into a brighter Flame Wheel and charged at Luke with even greater speed.
Luke shot an Aura Sphere. The energy projectile crashed into Flarie, forcing her out of the wheel as the fire dissipated. She let out a squeal of pain as her back collided with the ring.
Luke seized the opportunity and used Bone Rush. He sprinted toward Flarie, who was helping herself back on her hooves.
Just when Luke was inches away from Flarie, she kicked the bone rod out of his paws, which somersaulted in the air and dissolved into aura upon hitting the ring.
Flarie swung her hind around and slapped Luke's face with her flaming tail. Luke yowled as his snout was scorched by the fire.
Luke bore the heat and dashed backward with another Extreme Speed, nearly falling on his backside. He conjured another bone rod.
Flarie had entered another Flame Wheel when Luke threw the bone rod at the burning equine. She whinnied in pain as her Flame Wheel was interrupted.
Luke did not relent as he launched another Aura Sphere at Flarie. The Rapidash was knocked out.
"Great, Luke!" Hammer congratulated, clapping with both of his arm pairs, "Your training paid off, mon!" He gave him a thumbs-up before he walked to one of the benches to pick a Reviver Seed.
A smile formed under Luke's snout as he watched Hammer revive Flarie. Hah, I feel I'm quite the fighter, he reflected, looking at the spikes on his paws. How did I do it? I'm supposed to be just a guy who hates bloody movies and video games...
"Luke, you were so cool in our battle!" Flarie whinnied as she strode toward him, having her weights removed, "The way you fought at long range to avoid my Flame Wheels...it was a stroke of genius!"
"Oh, really?" Luke muttered, "T-thank you, Flarie. Anyway, I have some compliments for you too. You surprised me with how you nullified my Bone Rush and hit me with your tail. All this with weights on your hooves!" He gave her a smile.
"Double thanks!" replied Flarie, "Just why are you so, so nice?"
"Um...it's my nature," Luke said bashfully, wagging his tail, "I can't help it." Flarie and Hammer chuckled.
"Wait a minute," Luke asked Hammer, "How did the ring not catch fire? Flarie was literally in flames!"
"Well, the ring's heatproof," Hammer said, "Anyway, do you care for a rematch?" He flexed his muscles, "Let us see how much progress you've made! You don't wanna abandon your bakery, right?"
"Right," Luke nodded.
"Here, eat this Sitrus Berry to get yourself back to full strength," Hammer brought a lemon-colored, orange-sized fruit to Luke. The Lucario gobbled it and a pulpy flavor diffused in his mouth.
"Hey, you two are about to battle?" Flarie neighed, rearing as her mane brightened, "Don't leave me alone. To miss your Spinning Submission would be a crime!"
Luke and Hammer stood on opposite sides of the ring. "I challenge you to a battle!" shouted Hammer.
"Aura Sphere!" Luke attacked from a distance. Hammer blocked the incoming fireball with his forearms as he strode toward Luke.
"Extreme Speed!" Luke charged at Hammer at high speed as he thrust one of his fists forward. In the blink of an eye, he delivered a powerful punch to Hammer's chest and landed a few inches in front of him.
"Low Kick!" Hammer swished his leg and struck a blow on one of Luke's thighs, flooring the canine.
Luke rose immediately just as Hammer was about to grab him, his thigh shaking in pain, and surprised his opponent with a flying Meteor Mash. Hammer reared back in pain as his forearms quivered. Luke landed a few feet away from the Machamp and an Aura Sphere began to form in his cupped paws.
"Bulk Up!" Hammer tensed his muscles as a copper aura briefly surrounded him. Luke shot the Aura Sphere at Hammer.
Hammer took the attack, grimacing in pain. He dove at Luke, extending all four of his arms.
Luke punched Hammer in the face, but to negligible avail. Hammer clutched him with all of his arms as he landed. He got up and yelled "Submission!" as he jumped backward, rose his legs and slammed Luke's head onto the ring's floor. Flarie's mouth gaped in awe and her eyes widened as she watched the battle from below the ring.
Luke's body bounced a foot away from Hammer, giving him enough time to get up.
"Millennium Fist!" Hammer announced, "HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE!"
Luke crossed his arms in front of the ensuing flurry of Bullet Punches as he slid a small distance backward.
He recoiled one of his fists and sent it flying at Hammer with great force.
Hammer caught the Lucario's punch with a single hand, and knocked him upward with an uppercut from another. He leapt into the air, caught hold of his opponent, and piledrove him to the floor. The Lucario yelped as he fainted.
"Wow, what an electrifying battle!" gushed Flarie as she lightly plopped her hooves, "Hammer, where's the Spinning Submission?" she whined, "You always finish off your opponents with one!"
"It depends on the situation," Hammer replied as he climbed off the ring and brought the fainted Luke to one of the benches, "Practicality always comes before presentation. For instance, Fire Blast. It may look cool, but it's unreliable and it runs off your lower special attack," He held a Reviver Seed in front of Luke's snout, rousing him back to consciousness, "That's why you were advised to focus on attack instead,"
"Luke, our battle tells us that you've improved a lot," Hammer said as he gave Luke a pat on the back, "You utilized your moves in innovative ways, like your Extreme Speed punch and using Bone Rush to block my Millennium Fist. You may have lost, but your efforts have convinced me."
"Thanks a lot for your training, Hammer," Luke said as he bowed, "How much money should I pay?"
"100 poken," replied Hammer.
Luke gave a bag of coins to the Machamp. "I have to get back to my bakery," he told, smiling, "I hope we'll meet again!"
"Goodbye, Luke!" whinnied Flarie, waving a hoof.
"Do visit this gym sometime!" Hammer said, giving a thumbs-up.
How wonderful! Luke thought as he walked out of the gym, looking at the bright afternoon sky, Hammer has been so supportive of me. I can't wait to deal tit-for-tat to Rhyzo when he comes to the bakery again! Then again, I will never reduce myself to a fighting machine. Hopefully, all those beatdowns will go away... He set off to the bakery as the sun's heat radiated in his fur.
"Cannon! Snowball!" Luke said in elation as he opened the saloon doors, wagging his tail.
"Luke!" The Arcanine and the Glaceon called as they stood behind the counter.
"I had a great training session at Smackdown Gym," he chirped, "The coach, Hammer the Machamp, was very kind and helpful in it! I'm a better battler now!"
"Good to know," Snowball replied with a smile.
"Did any customers come here when I was away?"
"Nope," Cannon said with a frown as he nodded his head side to side.
"Our bakery's a small business," Snowball added, "We're nowhere near a brand."
"Oh, that's sad," Luke sympathized as he went to the counter and jumped across it.
"Okay, to see how genuine your claim is, note that we both will challenge you tonight," Snowball said, raising an eye ridge at Luke, "Do you agree?"
"I agree," Luke nodded.
This world must be better than I thought, Luke monologued as he went to the kitchen to wash the plates, I thought it was full of brutes. But now I've met quite a few good Pokemon. Cannon, Snowball, Hammer, Flarie, that cute ferret family... Turns out it may not be so different from my world...
Author's Notes :
Sorry for updating a day late! My academic duties have kicked in, so I have had less time to spend on this story. Anyway, it would be best to make do with a variable, more lenient schedule to maximize time management and quality. So from now on, expect an update between 7 and 14 days.
Footnote : Sure, submission holds and piledrivers may be different, but I named Hammer's piledrivers 'submissions' to keep it more in line with the Pokemon games. That "HUEHUEHUE" he says when he uses Millennium Fist? That's actually inspired by such fist-spammers as Kenshiro ("AAATATATATATA") and Jotaro Kujo ("ORAORAORAORA"). I make up my own yells because direct references seem cheap to me.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to post concrits and suggestions if you'd like!
TurboBolt99