Ch.38
Learning
Pokemon is the property of its respective owners
Grunting, Karen shrugged off a stiff, heavy punch at her midsection and trapped the offending arm underneath her armpit and threw a swift elbow straight at Lucario's face, but the wily fighting type brought his arm up and blocked the blow despite the brief loss of feeling when he did so. Lucario quickly managed to hook his arm underneath his trainer's arm, trapping it, and forcefully stepped backwards. Other opponents would have awkwardly stumbled forward because of this move, rendering them off balance, but Karen followed his momentum and drove her knee into the inside of Lucario's leg causing the fighting type to hiss, but didn't release his grip or buckle like Karen had hoped he would. Trying to use his superior strength to his advantage, he tried to pick up Karen and slam her to the ground, but was on the receiving end of a hard knee to the chin for his attempt to do causing him to loosen his grip on his trainer causing Karen to take advantage of this and plant her feet on Lucario's chest. Like on a leg press, Karen mightily pushed on his chest causing Lucario to stagger back and hit the ground hard while Karen, with practice from her pokemon, managed to break her fall and absorbed most of the impact when she hit the ground with her arms and legs.
Karen forced down as much pain as she could and tried to get back onto her wobbly feet, but cried out when a seemingly ethereal, shining blue sphere crashed into her like a runaway train and carried her across the battlefield. Try as she might, the former champion couldn't twist her body out of the way nor could she resist its movement causing her to glare at Lucario who blankly stared back at her and condensed his fist causing Karen to widen her eyes in shock. The beautiful orb of life detonated in a bright blue flash causing the Battle Academy's best teacher to be hurled across the ground like a stone skipping across the water before she finally hit the ground belly first causing her to scream under her breathe and tried to get crawl to her feet, but her lost sense of equilibrium and blurry vision weren't helping her in the slightest.
Karen grunted when she felt a sudden weight pressing down onto her back and resisted as best she could in her current state, but all it led to was her arm being painfully twisted behind her back and her head being shoved onto the grass with Lucario breathing heavily down her neck.
"(Yield,)" Lucario ordered firmly causing Karen to struggle once more in an attempt to break free, but growled in pain when she felt her arm being contorted in the wrong direction by her fighting type when she did so and despite being in a bad position, Karen reached backwards and tightly gripped Lucario's leg.
Like a Rapidash trying to buck off its rider, Karen drove her back into Lucario's chest causing the fighting type to slam onto the ground headfirst causing him to grunt, but quickly got back up and finished off his trainer with a hard, forceful palm heel strike to the back of her head just as she managed to get up onto one knee. The former champion let out a small cry before her eyes went blank and started plummeting to the ground, but Lucario managed to catch her and sat down, letting Karen's head rest against his sweaty chest that was rising and falling as he sucked in oxygen while his teammates approached the duo with concerned looks.
"(You did well Karen,)" Lucario praised his trainer despite knowing that she couldn't hear him and began synchronizing his aura with Karen's causing her wounds to heal at a rapid rate and continued to do this despite the death glare he was getting from Rhyperior.
"(What?)" Lucario questioned the elder pokemon just as he finished healing Karen and handing her over to Stephanie who coiled around her trainer and watched how this conversation was going to go causing Lucario to want to stalk off somewhere, but knew Rhyperior would track him down if he did so.
"(You didn't have to knock her out,)" Rhyperior pointed out with barely restrained rage causing Lucario to cock his head to the side at her aggressive tone and shrug casually and shoot his teammate a cool, collected gaze while Electivire placed a hand on his shoulder.
"(Yes, I did. Since our training tries to simulate real combat as close as possible, common sense was just to render her unconscious so she would no longer be a threat to me,)" Lucario calmly explained to his comrade causing Rhyperior to snort and put her gigantic hands on her hips and round on the fighting type causing Lucario to fold his arms and blankly stare up at her.
"(Be calm Friend Rhyperior; Friend Karen isn't seriously injured and she should be back on the battlefield in short order given some time to rest,)" Salamence reasoned with the elder pokemon causing the bulky rock type to huff irritably, still eyeing Lucario warily, before stalking off with her hands on her hips causing Slowbro to slowly follow after her.
"(She'll be fine; she just needs to cool off for a bit before we can resume our training before Hope and Malakai come over later for cross training,)" Stephanie tiredly got out, panting heavily from the practice battles she had with her teammates, as her allies nodded in affirmation and sat down for a break while waiting for Karen to regain consciousness.
However, a white, shining ethereal light illuminated the field around them causing all of the pokemon to form a defensive circle around each other, but they all yelped when the light suddenly detonated like an exploding star causing all of them to shield their eyes. Stephanie was the first to regain her sight and when she took in her surroundings, she couldn't help but shake her head in disdain at the marvelous architecture and the brilliant design of the place. Stephanie became on guard though when she saw that Reshiram and Zekrom were here as well with their "heroes" causing her to tense up, more than ready to engage in combat if need be.
The grass snake was even less impressed by the booming footsteps that sounded like deafening cracks of thunder in a lightning storm that were gradually getting closer and closer and although Rhyperior, Salamence, Reshriam, Zekrom, N, and Touko bowed in respect, Stephanie, Salamence, Lucario, and Electivire narrowed their eyes suspiciously, still ready to throw themselves into battle if necessary. Karen groaned and groggily opened her eyes, shaking the cobwebs from her head while putting a hand on her thigh as she slowly got herself onto one knee causing Stephanie to slither toward her and slightly coil around her arm causing Karen to nod in gratitude as she used the grass snake's body for support in order to get to her feet.
Shaking her head one last time, Karen blinked a few times and was taken aback from the grand structure of the large chamber they were in and was taken aback upon seeing the creator pokemon itself in their presence she put a hand over her heart and slightly bowed her head.
"(Legend Killer, champions of the legend killer, Hero of truth, and Hero of ideals, we have much to discuss.)"
Meanwhile
Dmitri narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth tightly as beads of sweat rolled off his forehead while his friends shouted cries of support as he struggled to hold a piece of paper in his artificial arm before the strain became too much and was forced to let go Dmitri to curse under his breath and bury his face in his palm. Maris, seeing her boyfriend frustrated, got up from her bed and put a paw on his shoulder causing Dmitri to sigh, but he reached over with his "good" hand and placed his hand over her paw while Sparkplug and Kiera sympathetically stared at their friend. Zangoose in the meantime reached over and picked up the piece of paper from his lap and made light cuts into it, recording the amount of time he managed to keep his grip, before setting it aside and put a comforting paw on his leg.
"(You're doing great Dmitri; you're progressing faster than other patients in the past who were beginning to learn how to use their prosthesis, but you need to give it time,)" Zangoose simultaneously praised and scolded her patient causing Dmitri to nod in affirmation and take a deep breath in before letting it back out as Maris released her grip on his shoulder and sat down on the edge of her bed with her paws on her legs while intently staring at Dmitri and the cat ferret pokemon.
"Can I give it another try?" Dmitri requested causing Zangoose to nod and hold out the piece of paper to him as Maris and her teammates resumed cheering for him as he struggled to lift up his new arm, but with herculean effort managed to raise it up and reach out for the object as he mightily strained to unclench his fist.
He managed to do so and with great effort on his part, managed to grip the piece of paper tightly and with that Zangoose looked at the clock to see when he started the exercise and then stared back at her patient who was still trying to maintain his grip to the best of his ability. Grunts of determination escaped Dmitri's lips every now and then as he solely focused on the object in his new hand, but like last time was forced to let go after the strain became too much for him.
"How did I do?" Dmitri asked hesitantly, already not liking the answer he was going to receive, as Zangoose shook her head and hesitantly told him he did better by three seconds of his original time causing the young battle to hang his head down while Maris took this as a cue to attempt to offer him comforting words.
"(It's okay dude; like Zangoose said it's going to take some-)"
"STOP, JUST STOP ALREADY!" Dmitri snapped furiously causing Maris and her teammates to be surprised by his angry outburst, but Maris quickly got over it and cocked her head to the side, studying Dmitri and his change in body posture, while the young battle ace put a hand to his forehead and sorrowfully shook his head.
"Guys, I'm so sorry. I didn't meant to snap like that; I know you guys mean well," Dmitri apologized humbly causing Kiera to let out a soft click in response, Sparkplug to nod and give him a toothy grin, and Maris to sigh softly and get up from her bed and sit next to her boyfriend.
Zangoose wisely hopped off the bed to give them space and sat down on a chair near Sparkplug and Kiera in order to observe how this conversation would go and to see if she could offer any help.
"(Dmitri, what happened was stressful on all of us, but I can't imagine what it's like to lose something so significant like an arm. Not to mention being mauled by Alice and her pokemon and then the gigantic battle that followed where we all thought we were going to die, it's okay to be stressed out,)" Maris pointed out causing Dmitri to hang his head down and nod, but Maris could see that something else was still eating away at him causing her to put a paw on his leg.
Glancing at Maris, he could see in her eyes the same fiery determination and stubborn compassion that indicated that she would always be there for him causing him to sigh and run a hand through his hair before speaking.
"It's just that, everyone always worries about me, and that's okay, but you guys sometimes treat me like I'm a delicate flower," Dmitri admitted causing Maris to nod in understanding, knowing why he felt like this, and patted his leg.
"(Dmitri, no offense, but when we were younger Delia, Haxorus, and I had every right to treat you like that since you were too nice for your own good and you always tried to avoid conflict with bullies so someone had to step up and protect you. Dmitri, like it or not, friends are supposed to dote over each other so we're not going to stop caring about you,)" Maris bluntly stated as she smirked and playfully punched her boyfriend in the shoulder causing the young battle ace to crack a small grin as he put a hand on his lap.
"Maris…I know you already know how I feel…but still, thank you for sticking up for me when I didn't have the strength to do so," Dmitri thanked his girlfriend who smiled warmly like the sun on a bright day and pulled him into a hug which he returned before Maris broke off the hug and stared down dejectedly.
"Maris…" Dmitri said concernedly as he reached out to her and placed a hand on her shoulder and to his surprise he saw that tears were streaming down her face and that's when she decided to speak again.
"(Dmitri, do you know why I continue to get stronger?)" Maris asked of him causing Dmitri to nod and place a hand on her shoulder causing Maris to put her paw on top of his and look down at the floor.
"I think I know; you push yourself because you want to get stronger for our friend's sake right?" Dmitri answered causing the martial arts pokemon to tighten her grip on his hand and shake her head before looking up at him with red, teary eyes.
"(Close, but no, that's not why. Dmitri, I doggedly train myself for you; I don't want anything to happen to you so nearly losing you three times…it was devastating. I know I'm older now and if you did pass I would be old enough to be heartbroken, but I would still continue on with my life with the goal to be to get stronger to honor your memory, but if you had died if we were younger? Dmitri, I would have become like Luka killing those responsible for your death and after that, I would be a hollow shell, a warrior without purpose,)" Maris told him with barely restrained tears causing Dmitri to pull her into a hug and allowing her to cry on his shoulder while Kiera looked down guiltily, feeling somewhat responsible for the day when her trainer was attacked by her parents, but continued to watch on intently.
"(I don't want to be a warrior without purpose Dmitri; next to losing those I care about, that's the scariest thing that can happen to me,)" Maris admitted to him in a fearful voice causing Dmitri to tighten his grip on her and pat her on the back while she continued to weep.
"Maris, you have to promise me you'll continue being you if I were to ever die and watch out for our friends," Dmitri requested of her causing Maris to break off the hug and stare into his eyes intently, neither of them moving an inch, before Maris stoically nodded causing Dmitri to nod back as he looked over at Sparkplug, Kiera, and Zangoose.
"That goes for you guys too," Dmitri stated firmly causing Kiera and Sparkplug to nod passionately in response while Zangoose awkwardly rubbed her arm, but gave a timid grin in response after a moment had passed causing Dmitri to let out a soft breathe and look to Zangoose.
"Can we try again later?"
"(Yes, that would be okay considering what you just went through.)"
Meanwhile
"What is this about Arceus?" Karen questioned the primordial curiously causing the mighty pokemon to let out a deep bellow the likes of which sounded like a tornado before it focused its gaze on the former champion and narrowed its eyes.
"(We're here to discuss the effects of your actions regarding the killings of the Swords of Justice,)" Arceus responded causing collective groans of exasperation from Karen's teammates to echo throughout the room, but the former champion's kind gaze caused them all to silence themselves causing Karen to nod gratefully in return as she stared back at the primordial with a cool gaze.
"What effects do you mean Arceus?" Karen asked with great interest and despite trying to put on a disinterested, aloof gaze, Stephanie couldn't help but tune in to what the creator pokemon was going to say on what their actions caused.
"(Your actions have had profound impacts, and not all of them are bad. Keldeo is now currently traveling around the Unova region on a journey of self-discovery now that he's free to be his own self instead of a subordinate under Cobalion and the other legendary pokemon are beginning to become wary of pokemon trainers and have taken certain measures in order to avoid capture such as employing their own guards, but there's a downside to what you have done. Without the Swords of Justice to enforce order, the realms in which they resided in have fallen into civil war and pokemon who live in that realm are fighting to restore that order and as such pokemon trainers trying to travel through it are now more open to attack in order to prevent such a thing from happening again,)" Arceus explained stoically in a deep, low voice causing Karen to rub her chin thoughtfully and mull over what the actions she caused before looking up again at the creator pokemon.
"So you want me to go around the region and try to restore order back to the realms where Cobalion and the rest of her comrades use to reside?" Karen responded tersely while folding her arms causing Touko to snort derisively and shoot an angry glance at the former champion with her hands on her hips while Karen just looked at the young adult calmly.
"No, N and I are going to do that; Lord Arceus just wanted to tell you that your son is now being suspiciously watched by the legendaries in the Sinnoh region because he's the spawn of the Legend Killer," Touko bluntly informed the Battle Academy's best teacher with cold fury causing Karen to sigh and let her arms rest at her side while narrowing her eyes at the young adult.
"That's not very fair; just because I the parent did something doesn't mean Dmitri's going to do it. He's a gentle spirit who doesn't want to harm anyone and he doesn't have the mindset for that kind of thing," Karen defended her child passionately, not liking the fact that her son is being scorned for something he hasn't committed, while Touko huffed angrily and raised a brow, giving the former champion a level gaze.
"How're we supposed to know that, let alone the legendaries in the Sinnoh region who haven't even met him yet?" Touko retorted viciously causing Stephanie to rear up to her full height and slither right up to Touko with her vines out at her side while Reshiram stepped in front of his hero protectively and fired up his engine like tail with a fierce roar that shook the room the inhabitants were in.
"(Alright, everyone be calm. Legend Killer, you have been summoned here in order to give suggestions to N and Touko on how to restore order to the realms given you're experience as a champion gladiatrix and a renowned mentor at an esteemed education center,)" Arceus explained causing Karen to raise a brow and cock her head to the side confusedly, baffled as to why the primordial would choose her as an adviser on such a topic even though the primordial has given its reasons, and her confusion caused Touko to groan irritably under her breathe and speak to the primordial.
"Lord Arceus, I mean no offense, but I told you that she wouldn't be of much help and of course it falls to N and I are going to have clean up the mess she stupidly made," Touko tactlessly stated causing Karen to fold her arms and narrow her eyes at the brown haired girl intensely which would have drilled holes in her skull if the former champion was capable of such a thing.
"What's your problem Touko? Are you still mad that I beat you all those years ago?" Karen pointed out scathingly causing the hero of truth to huff indignantly and give the former champion a disapproving, sour look that one would give a piece of trash.
"No, I'm mad that a woman that I used to look up to could make such a stupid mistake as to killing an entire legendary pokemon team! They're necessary to keep the balance and you are just murdering them instead of trying to find another solution!" Touko screeched at the older woman who widened her eyes incredulously at what her former challenger shouted at her and shook her head in disbelief while keeping a hand on Stephanie's chest, preventing her from smacking the young adult upside the head.
"Touko, the Swords of Justice meant to go back to their old ways and slaughter every human they see with a pokeball on their belt and any pokemon that support them; we tried to give them a chance for peace, but they wouldn't take it so we regrettably had to end lives to protect lives. Foolish girl, if they managed to go on another killing spree that would have ignited another Poke-Human War that would cause countless deaths!" Karen yelled furiously back at the young adult who didn't back down from the harsh gaze she was getting from her former idol and addressed with her angry vigor.
"That doesn't excuse what you've done and you're doing nothing to clean up the mess you-"
"Shut up! With the Swords of Justice gone pokemon are now free to live life according to the rules they want, not the rules of ignorant zealots," Karen interrupted the brown haired girl sharply in a tone that gave no room for back talk causing the former champion's former challenger to growl under her breathe and ball her hands into fists.
"Oh yeah, because they'll be able to live life how they want it during a civil-"
"Shut up and listen Touko! Arceus wants me to be an adviser on how to deal with this, fine! I suggest you let the pokemon handle it instead of trying to use human intervention because that will make things much worse! The last thing the civil war needs is some haughty, self-righteous humans barging in and trying to force them into peace!" Karen shouted at the young adult who smiled mockingly and put her hands on her hips.
"This coming from the woman who killed three legendaries and was arrogant enough to think that was the best course of action," Touko smugly retorted causing Karen to narrow her eyes, unamused by the comeback, and tense up her muscles.
"Yet my point remains valid," Karen pointed out causing Touko's smug smirk to fall and contort into a furious scowl and before the former challenger could retort, Arceus coughed loudly which sounded like a harsh wind besieging a house causing everyone to turn to the primordial.
"(Very well Legend Killer; instead of intervening we will let the pokemon in the former Swords of Justice's realms settle who rules by themselves,)" Arceus stated with finality causing Karen to nod in response while Touko and Reshiram seemed to be fuming at the decision while Stephanie her team curiously waited to see what would happen next.
"Okay, that sounds fair; I'll inform Alder to warn trainers that Mistalton Cave, Victory Road and Pinwheel Forest are no longer safe to travel through and they should find other means in order to get to their destinations," Karen replied causing the primordial to let out a deep, low growl and nod its gigantic head before looking over to Touko and N who respectfully looked back at the mighty pokemon.
"(Heroes of Truth and Ideals, it would seem that protecting trainers from these civil wars falls to you unless you want the aid of the Legend Killer,)" Arceus said sagely causing N to study Karen intently from head to toe before nodding in affirmation, seeing nothing wrong with another helping hand, while Touko fiercely shook her head.
"No, she'll just-"
Touko cried out in pain as Stephanie flash stepped over to her and hit her upside the head with her heavy tail like a baseball bat hitting ball and caused the former challenger to hit the ground harshly where she lay still, groaning in agony as she shakily tried to get to her feet, but fell to the ground when her arms gave out on her. Snorting, Stephanie slithered back to Karen's side where the former champion gave her trusted started a disapproving glance, but nevertheless mouthed a thank-you to her.
"I'll talk to Drayden, Clay, and Burgh about beefing up security around their cities in order to protect the civilians there and I'll get some of my friends at the Battle Academy to help with security there too considering some of the pokemon in the civil war may want to get revenge for what we did," Karen said thoughtfully to the creator pokemon who let out a deep, soft breath that felt like strong, cool breeze and nodded in turn.
"Arceus, I have to ask, aren't you angry at us for what we did to the Swords of Justice?" Karen questioned hesitantly as she felt that she would be struck down where she stood for asking such a thing, but instead the primordial's eyes grew somber and lost much of the brightness it had before gazing at the former champion grimly.
"(Pokemon and humans are my children and as a mother I try my very best to guide them onto the right paths, but I also know that I have to step back at times and let them grow by themselves. Seeing what Cobalion did to my other children, twisting my teachings in order to fit her philosophy on the world, it made my heart ache and I had hoped her longevity would help her learn that humans and pokemon could be friends, even family. Unfortunately, they lived 5,000 years of ignorance and denial in order to adhere to their worldview they set and as much as it pained me, I knew they had to be stopped,)" Arceus informed the teacher sadly causing Karen to sympathetically stare at the primordial pokemon and dreading the scenario if Dmitri had become like Cobalion and she had to be the one to put a stop to him.
"(I was thinking of recruiting strong and experienced pokemon in order to combat them, but then you silenced them and did what I was afraid to do myself. As of right now, Cobalion and her friends are being confined in the Reverse World where they must deeply study their atrocities while experiencing the same kind of pain they inflicted on others every time they go to sleep. I'm not angry at you my child, I'm just sad that one of my children had to kill another of my children even though it was meant to protect life,)" Arceus clarified somberly causing Karen to shed a slight tear for the pain she unknowingly caused the creator pokemon while Stephanie lightly grunted and looked away as she wiped away tears forming at her eyes with her vines before putting on an aloof expression on her face once more.
"(Karen Long, you and your friends are free to go and I will teleport you back to your domain, but I hope that you will use your title well in order to keep the more bigoted and zealous pokemon from getting out of hand,)" Arceus said serenely as a white, ethereal blast overwhelmed Karen and her team causing them all to shout and cover their eyes and when they opened them again they found themselves back in Karen's backyard just as a knock on the door and the ring of the doorbell rang out.
"Stephanie, can you let them in? I need to make some phone calls," Karen ordered firmly causing Stephanie to nod while having a concerned look on her face causing the former champion's face to fall and mouthed "we'll talk about it later" causing the grass snake to nod and slither over to the door, mulling over what had transpired.
Later
Mother and daughter stared at each other intently, not a hint of malice or spite from either of them, before Delia and Maya both sighed and awkwardly hugged each other in apology for what they did to one another. Jet rubbed the back of his head and sheepishly joined in on the hug causing Maya to giggle and wrap an arm around his neck and pull him in closer which Delia didn't object to as she rather enjoyed the feeling of being hugged by her parents once again. Breaking off the hug, Delia lay her head back down on the pillow and held her parent's hands tightly, never wanting to let go again, as she closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep while her parents moved their chairs closer to her bed. Resting their heads against her leg, they too closed their eyes and tried to get some rest while Delia's team grinned warmly at the scene, finally glad that Delia was taking a big step in letting her parents back in.
"(Lopunny, here, you can sleep with me tonight if you want,)" Haxorus offered in a caring tone when he saw the lone, sad look on the bunny pokemon's face when she couldn't snuggle up with Delia on this night and when he said this, Lopunny gave an elated smile and vigorously nodded at the dragon pokemon's offer.
Lopunny crawled into the bed with him and rested her head against the pillow while the axe jaw pokemon wrapped an arm around her body while placing his other claw behind his head where he stared up at the ceiling.
"(Please Delia, for your sake, please let them back in.)"