Chapter 5: Mr. Smoothy and Greedy Vreedles
"Definitely an odd topic to bring up for our visit, don't you think Ben?" Gwen asked, the sky having turned orange due to the afternoon going on the wane. Gwen Tennyson was Ben's cousin, their fathers being the sons of Grandpa Max, and while she and he did not get along at first, they had become each other's favorite cousins, with the two being quite close to one another. She was a young woman a little shorter than Ben, with her red hair being wrapped in a ponytail, and she also wore a long-sleeved red shirt, a blue vest with a cat logo on her back, long black pants, and black flats. "I thought this would be more about relationship advise for you next date with Julie, not a telepathic jackal from an entirely new dimension."
"I know it is, but I needed some advice. You're one of the smarter people I know, and you know me quite well. But you understand why I need your help. Paradox himself pretty much asked a god to revive someone who gave up his life to our dimension. And I'm pretty sure I made a bad first impression," Ben answered. Gwen scratched her chin in thought, pondering what she should tell her cousin.
"I'll tell you one thing. So long as he doesn't wreck my ride, he'll be alright," Gwen's boyfriend Kevin added. Once one of Ben's worst enemies, Kevin had since become like the older brother Ben never had, and with his checkered past came some useful contacts that he could use find information about the criminal underbelly. That said, he didn't like it when his car, a green and black striped sports car, got damaged, and being around a hero like Ben, it was not an uncommon occurrence for it to end up totaled. He had long black hair styled in a choppy mullet, as well as a striped, long-sleeved grey shirt, a black t-shirt over that, blue jeans, black shoes, and had a padlock with the number 11 on the front serving as an emblem. "However I think you should know that this has made Lucario a new figure in the criminal world. He's an entirely new individual of an undiscovered species, so I'm pretty sure that at some point, criminals are gonna try to either buy him off to act as their enforcer or just kill him to make sure he can't help you," The three had been spending their time at one of Ben's favorite places: smoothie shop Mr. Smoothy. It was hard not to see, given the cartoony anthropomorphized smoothie cup holding a smaller smoothie cup in its gloved hand.
"Unfortunately, I kinda see why that would be the case," Ben agreed.
"Yeah, plus, he's not exactly the most subtle or easily concealable. A walking jackal colored blue. A trench coat and hat won't hide that," Kevin stated. An awkward silence rang out afterwards.
"So, you got your Ultimate Forms back. You sure that's a good idea considering…you know…" Ben knew exactly what Gwen was talking about and found his mind flash towards that moment. The fiery pit that wouldn't be unwelcome in hell. The continuous chanting calling for his combustion. The sheer hatred his Ultimate Forms bared to him as they bayed for his blood to be shed.
"I know what you're talking about, but considering that it's Azmuth who put it in, and not Albedo, I think we can trust the quality of this Evolutionary Function to be a bit higher on the quality scale. I don't think we have to worry about the Ultimate Forms going completely nuts this time around," Ben said in an attempt to soothe Gwen's fears. "Maybe we'll test it out at some point, but let's keep the knowledge of me having my Ultimate Forms on the down-low for now."
"Good idea. And don't worry, I think you'll know how to handle Lucario's trust issues when it comes down to it. That's always how you've been. You've always had some ability when it comes to turning people around. We wouldn't have stopped the Highbreed invasion if you couldn't," Gwen assured Ben. Smiling at this, Ben decided to relax, wondering when he'd be seeing Lucario again.
He could sense Ben's aura, but he didn't quite recognize the other two. The girl seemed somewhat similar to Ben, so perhaps a relative of some sort? The other one, however, was completely unknown to him. Deciding to make the first move, he began transmitting his message. "Hello Ben. Is that you? I just want to talk to you," He was happy to notice that Ben seemed to get the message, and turned to wave at him. Seeing Ben outside what looked like some kind of tavern (heck, they were even drinking something out of cups), he ran across the street…not noticing the larger chariot on the road turning inside.
As Lucario ran across the street, Ben, Gwen, and Kevin stared in shock. Oh no, it wasn't Lucario they were shocked to see. It was the SUV that was about to turn Lucario into a black and blue pancake! As Lucario quickly heard the car blare its horn, he froze like a deer in headlights, and while Ben was quick to try to dial-up Fasttrack or XLR8, Gwen was faster on the draw.
Using her Anodite abilities, she quickly created a pink sphere of mana around Lucario, and lifted him out of the way and towards her and her family, while the driver yelled out obscenities at the poor Pokémon. Seeing Lucario taking rapid wheezes due to the shock, Gwen and the others quickly tried to reassure the jackal-esque Pokémon.
"Calm down. You're only going to worsen things by hyperventilating like that," Gwen tried to soothe.
"We aren't trying to hurt you, buddy. Work with us and we can help you!" Kevin brashly stated.
"Kevin, we really gotta get you to take Tact 101 at some point. Your bedside manner stinks," Ben reprimanded. "Easy now, Paradox told me you're basically from the medieval era, so no one's blaming you for not quite understanding how this world works," Seeing the trio try to calm him eventually began having an effect, and Lucario found his remaining shock disappear and get replaced with calmness.
"Th-Th-Th…Thank you," Lucario stammered, still in shock from nearly getting run over. With Gwen and Kevin briefed on Lucario using telepathy instead of vocal chords, they weren't surprised as much as Lucario thought they'd be.
"So that's how it is," Kevin replied. "Not as bad as some of the other telepathic aliens I've met in my time."
"So you're Lucario, right? Nice to meet you! I'm Gwen Tennyson. You've already met and fought alongside my doofus cousin Ben, and the one next to me is Kevin, my boyfriend," the newly named Gwen said.
As soon as he heard "Kevin", Lucario's mind flashed back to the hideous conglomerate of alien body parts that tried to skewer a helpless little boy, but seeing no evil intent emanate from Kevin's body, he decided to trust their judgement. He also remembered that Paradox told him that he had reformed into an older brother figure for Ben. If such was the case, then Ben trusted him, and thus, he could trust Kevin.
"Indeed. A pleasure to meet you as well, Gwen. Could I please speak to your cousin, I do need to talk to him," Lucario politely requested.
"Well. At least you have some manners, which is a bit better than what I can say for Kevin at times," Gwen replied cheekily, while Ben snickered and Kevin's jaw dropped.
After that good chuckle, Ben quickly adopted a more serious look. Lucario seemed to respect more stoic and attentive people, and figured that restraint and discipline would be excellent in helping him feel more comfortable. Much to his surprise, Lucario bowed, getting down on one knee and placing a paw on his chest spike (probably where his heart was).
"I owe you an apology, Ben Tennyson. It is quite obvious that you are not fully experienced, yet I was expecting the full capabilities of a battle-hardened warrior, one whose ability to fight was reflexive. Paradox showed me that it was your compassion that makes you heroic, not merely your slightly impressive battle prowess" Lucario said. That certainly wasn't the route Ben was expecting him to go on. At least he seemed to admit that he had been a little to harsh before.
"Hey. We're all guilty of making poor judgments in the heat of battle," Ben assured Lucario, attempting to take some blame off Lucario's back, tapping his shoulder. Giving a small smile, Lucario seemed to be a bit better off, but it was quite obvious he needed some time to himself after what happened. A nice smoothie often helps me after a long day. Maybe Lucario might like something similar. "Look. It's been quite a stressful day. Maybe a smoothie might do some good in getting you to calm down," offered Ben. At that suggestion, Kevin laughed uproariously.
"Calm him down? Pretty sure that's you, Ben. You calm down drinking smoothies, how do we know he won't have trouble with this?" Kevin asked in a joking tone.
"Kevin! Ben seemed to honestly mean it that time, cut him some slack!" Gwen chastised. Lucario, however, seemed more confused as to what they were taking about.
"A smoothie?" he asked, trying to get the name of the product out correctly. "What is that?"
"Before I get it, I need to know what things you like. We can definitely ask for a custom smoothie for you, but I think you would rather have some control over what we get you. So are there any tastes that you can think that you like off the top of your head?" Ben inquired. Thinking about what Ben was saying, one taste instantly came to mind: chocolate. Max had practically gotten him addicted to the candy bars, but that wasn't to say that he wasn't fond of other flavors. He especially loved Magost and Mago berries, the rich sweetness being intoxicating. He was pretty sure that no such berry existed unfortunately, but deciding to try his luck, he decided to give it a go.
"I feel chocolate exists here, but I do not think the berries I like grow here," Lucario admitted.
Nodding his head, Lucario decided to ask, "Is there anything close to the Mago or Magost berry?" Preparing for a wave of disappointment, Lucario was surprised to hear what Ben said.
"Mago berry? OH! Maybe mango might work for you. And don't worry, we do have chocolate! Be right back, I'll get a chocolate-mango smoothie right now!" Running back into the shop, Ben quickly made the order, and handed Lucario a cup similar to the cartoony illustration prominently shown on the billboard outside the shop, including the thin red straw. As Lucario gingerly took the cup in his paw, he took a small sip and with that small sip came a deluge of flavor. He could recognize chocolate on his palate, but some strange fruit similar to a Mago berry was also present. He loved it, but in his haste to slurp it down, it happened. The worst thing to happen to any smoothie lover of any age or species. The thing that made grown men whine in pain, and could elicit a cry from the most stoic of men and women. Brain Freeze. Searing pain erupted from Lucario's forehead, and he dropped the empty cup and held his head in utter agony, letting out shrieks of pain as the trio tried to help him. Unaware another score might be made soon.
It had been a rough week for the Vreedle Brothers and their siblings, but they did have a plan for this new heist.
"Sceles, are yer pets ready" the southern-accented leader asked their sister. A menagerie of various roars and animal sounds erupted. Heisting the zoo had been a good move, as Sceles or rather, Isosceles Right Triangle Vreedle, was a great animal whisperer: no animal, regardless of how unruly or untamable, acted as obedient as cute little puppies under her. Parallelogram Vreedle, or Parry for short. had been getting impatient, and they were running out of bubble wrap to occupy him, and them, with.
"Don't yawl worry churself brother! Mah pets is reddy an waitin' tuh play, an thay'll bay purdy good in helpin' us in thus heist yawl keep goin' on bout! Mah portable zoo's reddy wheyun yore!" a giddy voice rang out.
"Ah thunk we're all set tuh go brother!" an older but dumber voice said.
"Thet so? Then let's do thus! Ah know tahms might hav been kewyute tough fahwar thuh past few days, but Ah can assure all uh yawl thet all uh our hayud work in our difahkult endeavors will finally pay awf! As chur leader, Ah, Octagon Vreedle, say let's go now! Let's git whut way might call thuh motherlode!" the now-named leader said. Cheers erupted as the quartet joined in Octagon Vreedle's cheering
After managing to help Lucario with his first brain freeze, Ben and his friends were hoping that would be end of the events. Letting out a sigh after helping Lucario overcome the trauma of a brain freeze, Ben was ready to hit the sack.
"Well, it's been a long day, perhaps we can have some time over at my house. It might do Lucario some good, and we all coud use some rest," Ben anyone could accept, however, a familiar space ship flew over them. The cockpit was more reminiscent of a truck than a regular space craft, and the yellow color helped confirm who was responsible. The Vreedle Brothers. Combining idiocy with firepower, they could be as dumb as a sack of hammers when it came to common sense, making rocks look like honor roll students. However, when it came to firearms and heavy-duty weaponry, they were very, very dangerous, leaving a trail of destruction that would make one think a tornado or freak thunderstorm rolled in. Pinching his nose in frustration, Ben made his decision.
"Scratch that, guess we have to play damage control for the Vreedles now. Hope you're ready Lucario," Ben said somberly. "You're going in blind once again."
"I have to be ready for what opponents come. I won't let innocent people get caught in the crossfire," Lucario explained with pride.
"Then get in," Kevin bluntly replied, opening his car doors. Kevin took the driver's wheel as Gwen sat in the passenger sheet. Ben sat behind her, but Lucario struggled to understand what was going on. Gingerly stepping into the car, he gently closed the door, but then, the engine roared to life and Lucario, unused to life on the highway, felt like wind had just slammed him in the face.
"Guess this is your first ride, eh Lucario," Kevin said with a smirk. Pride was clearly etched on his features, and he seemed to be happy with Lucario's discomfort, seeing it as some kind of joke.
Gwen noticed his discomfort and chided Kevin. "Kevin, it's his first time, have some respect for that!" Adopting a gentler tone, she then said "It's alright Lucario. At least you aren't getting motion sickness from this, like we've had some others we've escorted."
"Just hang in there. Kevin, any idea you can see what they're after?" Ben asked. Pulling up a small disc reminiscent of the emblem shown on Ben's chest, Gwen pulled up a holographic map, revealing that the spaceship was en route to intercept a railroad, so it was obvious that they were after whatever was on that train. "Hmm. Whatever's on that train must be really important if Vreedle Brothers are after it. But I don't think we'll be able to catch up in time!"
"Nah, we're gonna ground them! Do you really keep forgetting that my ride's always fitted with weapons?" Kevin replied cheekily. Flipping a few switches, Kevin showed he wasn't joking. A four-barrel missile launcher ejected from the hood, and four missiles flew towards the space truck, whistling as they homed in on it. The spaceship tried to do a barrel roll to dodge the missiles, but it was too late. The distinctive "KABOOM!" of an explosion rung throughout the valley, and it spun into the ground near the tracks, though not before taking out the tracks in the process. Thankfully, it seemed the conductor had noticed this, as the train quickly came to a screeching halt, the noise greatly irritating Lucario's ears.
"Ow. Mah head hawhrts. Whuts thuh number uh thuh spaceship thet hit us?" Rhomboid asked. Thankfully, no one was really hurt by the crash, but the same couldn't be said for Octagon's pride. Gritting his teeth, his features scrunched up in rage.
"Uh all thuh robberies fahwar him tuh foil, it had tuh bay ours! Wayul, not thus tahm! Parry, how do yawl feel bout takin' care uh sum brats stickin' thur nose whayer it don't belong?"
Parry's response was a grin and a satisfied grunt before saying "Sounds fun. Ah want in!"
Octagon gave out his last order, "Sceles, Ah thank it's tahm yawl released thuh beasts!"
Sceles gave a happy giggle, and upon putting down a small cube, it quickly expanded, unleashing a small squad of various beasts, including lions, tigers, eagles, bears wolves, snakes, elephants, hyenas, vampire bats, and crocodiles. "Reddy tuh go mah sweets? It's playtime!"
Quickly getting out of the car, Lucario managed to finally see the Vreedles, and they were probably the most, strangely, plain aliens. If it wasn't for the grey skin, he would have sworn they were all human. Much like Fistrick and his cronies, the Vreedles were a quartet. The only girl of the bunch was, admittedly, somewhat attractive. A low cut t-shirt exposing part of her cleavage and midriff, short shorts, red hair tied in braids with ribbons, and a beauty mark under her right made for a combination of adorable and sexy. The others, though, were entirely different. Two of them were muscular individuals, and unlike their red-headed sister, they were all black haired. One was incredibly muscular with broad shoulders, a tattoo saying "MA" with an arrow shot through it, orange fingerless gloves, a sleeveless brown t-shirt, a black belt with orange pouches attached to it, red pants, and black shoes. The other was similar to his compatriot, but seemed to be less muscular and slightly paunchy. Scruffy sideburns lay on his face, and his hair was underneath an orange hat with goggles, and for clothing, he simply wore red overalls, black gloves, and black shoes. The final member was the most unimposing, but appearances could always be deceiving, as was the case with Pokémon like Bellsprout, Roserade, or Swalot. He was a thin and lanky individual, wearing a cap to hide his hair, a black shirt underneath an orange-black jacket and red overalls, a belt, and black gloves.
"Uh course it's yawl, Ben. Who else tuh interfere in our heist other than whut everyone calls thuh "Protector uh Earth". Wayul, Ah kaynt let yawl ruin thus heist fahwar us, so Ahm monly gunna say thus once. Git out uh hare, or you'll bay full uh holes!" Octagon said, making his demands clear.
"Okay. That's an oddly morbid threat for your usual shtick. What was so valuable on this train that you traveled quite a bit away from Undercity?" Ben had to ask.
"No questions.I'm not in the mood to give answers. Brothers and sister, you do what you gotta do, but turn Tennyson and his pet mutt into Swiss cheese!" Octagon ordered. Before anyone could ask where Octagon had eaten or seen Swiss cheese (or in Lucario's case, what was Swiss Cheese), red energy bullets flew everywhere, forcing Gwen to erect a pink energy shield, managing to keep the shots from hitting her and her friends. Cracks began to emerge in the shield, and Kevin quickly responded by touching his car. Before Lucario could ask what he was intending to do, he was surprised to see Kevin become like the metal on his car, and then morph his arms into a pair of hammers. Targeting the big Vreedle with the tattoo, Kevin slammed his left hammer into his gut, knocking the breath out of him.
"Yawl hawhrt Parry. Now Parry gunna hawhrt yawl good!" the newly-named Parry screamed before boxing Kevin's ears, disorienting him as his eardrums tried to recover from the sudden attack, leaving him unprepared for a shoulder tackle as Parry let out a berserker yell.
"Good work Parry!" the lanky one complimented, most likely the smartest, and therefore the leader. "Sceles, Ahm gunna git thuh goods. Thank yawl can distract Ben an his new friend fahwar may while Ah git whut way might call our much deserved dues?"
"Don't worry Octagon! Ah got yawl covered!" Sceles said to her leader, apparently named Octagon. As he entered the train, she put her fingers in her mouth and unleashed a shrill whistle. As soon as she did, Lucario was shocked to see a veritable army of strange creatures run towards him and the others. Creatures resembling bigger yet unarmored Donpan, and with much bigger tusks. Felines resembling Luxray, but with tan fur across most of its body, with darker, longer fur around its neck. Many other strange creatures came to the aid of Sceles. "Alright then. Ah rilly don't wonna cause too much trouble, but few interfere, you'll bay goin' down faster than uh raindrop. Then again, chur bulloo friend iz kinda cute," That certainly elicited a reaction out of the normally stoic Lucario. He found his face suddenly feeling warm, as if he'd suddenly developed a fever, and it felt like he'd swallowed little Metapod and they had just evolved into Butterfree. All he could do was stammer, causing the redhead to give off a little giggle.
"It's no good, we're sitting ducks right now!" Gwen cried. "We need to get Rhomboid to stop firing at us for a few seconds!" Indeed, the other big Vreedle, named Octagon, had not ceased his attacks, continuing the unleash energy bullets from his blaster. However, she and Lucario were not blind to what Octagon was doing. It was then Ben made his move.
"Lucario, you have to stop Octagon! Gwen and I can do better against these guys than you, since you focus more on 1v1 combat," Ben ordered. Lucario was shocked, since it was now obvious that Ben was putting a task he didn't think Ben would be willing to give up: stopping the main villain responsible for this crime.
"But I was part of a war that involved multiple Pokémon on either side! I could do well enough against these creatures while you stop Octagon," Lucario complained.
"True. But when it comes to aliens, I feel that it's not quite the same as it was back there. You only got her a good couple hours ago, so you're still pretty new to this," Ben explained before turning on the Omnitrix, turning into one of his older forms. As he dialed his wanted alien, he quickly found himself shrinking, and his cells converting into sound waves while his skin changed into silicon. In place of Ben was now a tiny white humanoid with bulging green eyes, headphones attached to a square appendage akin to an MP3 player, small sound holes resembling green indents on each hand, and things similar to cassette tapes attached to his lower legs.
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Codon Stream Entry: Echo Echo
Species: Sonorosian
Home World: Sonorosia
Sonorosia is a planet with great gorges and giant canyons with layers of multi-colored strata. It is wonderful in the creation of echo or whisper chambers. No one uses these traits better than the top dogs of the planet, the Sonorosians. Made of sound waves and contained with a silicon containment suit, they are evolved to use powerful sonic screams, causing agony in their prey and letting them use echolocation in the event of getting blinded or at night. Uniquely, they are also able to duplicate, creating perfect clones of themselves to distract or surround prey. Usually, Sonorosian clones return back to the original before a period of time, and if they still exist after that time period expires, they become individuals of their own.
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"I just figured that you seem more focused on single combat, and had you use your strengths! Now go! We'll cover you!" Echo Echo said in a high pitched, tinny voice. Quickly creating 4 more clones of himself, the 5 Echo Echo proceeded to unleash a powerful sonic scream, leaving the animals grounding themselves in an attempt to drown out the noise, and the same applied to everyone outside the train. Including Kevin and Parry.
"Ben! Be careful with your screaming! You're gonna make me deaf someday!" Kevin screamed. Lucario wasn't faring much better, but he did seem to nod in acknowledgement for the opportunity to run forward. If he thought they would have stopped, it was pretty that he thought wrong. Sceles quickly recovered and with a whistle, snakes began wrapping around Lucario's ankles, acting as primitive ropes. Vampire bats soon began biting and scratching at the poor Pokémon, who screamed in agony, and while Gwen had since begun fighting Rhomboid, Ben decided to try to save his friend, with the Echo Echo's halting their attack and trying to run towards him.
Sceles noticed this and pulled out a pistol. Shooting with speed and accuracy that would impress Calamity Jane, she managed to shoot all five clones like fish in a barrel. The real Echo Echo skidded back, desperately watching Lucario get overwhelmed by the constant biting and scratching from the vampire bats when something strange happened. Black energy beams began emerging and soon, the snakes seemed to run away, and probably for the better. A wave of dark energy erupted from Lucario's body, sending the bats helplessly flying away, landing on the ground unconscious. With him now free, Lucario nodded towards Ben, giving a small smile before entering the train to try to find Octagon before he could find his payload. Focusing on the sole sister of the Vreedles, Ben began to focus. The zoo's not gonna appreciate me making all their animals go deaf, and Harangue would probably just use said fact as more evidence that I've abandoned Earth for "alien invaders". I have to knock them out without hurting them too badly. Wait. Knock out? Knock out GAS! Let's do this! Ben smirked as he slammed the Omnitrix on his chest, selecting the alien in his head.
In place of Echo Echo was a much bigger alien, a mechanical humanoid to be exact. One would be forgiven for thinking it was wearing a containment suit, given its face was similar to a gas mask. Most of his body was green, and the other parts (his head and shoulders) were a bluish purple instead. Numerous nozzles lay across his body: two on each forearm, one on each shoulder, and three on his head. On his chest was a belt, but it seemed to be more to show the spinning gases within his body, and his Omnitrix symbol was where his mouth would be.
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Codon Stream Entry: Gutrot
Species: Koffikauser
Home World: Gnizeew XVII
Gnizeew XVII is nearly uninhabitable for most beings reliant on oxygen, as its atmosphere is easily one of the most toxic within the galaxy, and without proper protection, a human would only last a minute before they died from the sheer toxicity. Not only that, the planet is very active in terms of tectonic activity, with earthquakes and mountain formation being common occurences. To survive, Koffikausers became masters of gas manipulation. They are immune to the effects of any gaseous substance. More importantly, their bodies are essentially walking chemical laboratories, and they have extraordinary knowledge about chemistry. As such, they can conduct numerous chemical reactions within their bodies and expel the gaseous products with varying effects, such as laughing gas, tear gas, pheromones, acid, and more.
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Watching the battle around him, Gutrot saw Kevin get in a wrestling match with Parry, before finally managing to end it with a metal-infused headbutt to Parry's own noggin, knocking one Vreedle unconscious. Seeing that Gwen and Rhomboid would still be fighting, Gutrot decided to focus on the problem at hand. Racking his brain for the perfect reaction, he found one that had sevoflurane as a product. While dodging lunges from tigers, lions and wolves, his innards began to churn, working to try to create knockout gas. Eventually, he found what he wanted, and thrusting his hands forward, he unleashed a giant cloud of knockout gas at the pack. The effects were instantaneous. Soon, the animals began falling asleep, and even the actions of Sceles began to become sluggish, before she eventually collapsed in a sleepy heat.
"Couldn't handle the gas, could ya?" Gutrot mocked in a Brooklyn accent. "Ya know what they say? If you can't handle the gas, get outta the kitchen! Heh Heh!"
While Ben and Kevin had managed to finish their fights, Gwen and Rhomboid still continued fighting. As Rhomboid continued firing shots, he whined "Wha kaynt yawl gist stand still, girl? Thus won't hawhrt thet much! Ah promise!"
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with a 'no', considering how much destruction you cause, even by accident," Gwen commented, launching a few mana discs, which caused the Vreedle to wince, but no real damage had been dealt. Unwilling to use magic on non-magical opponents, Gwen decided to try a more indirect option, and created a mana tendril that proceeded to seize Rhomboid's gun. The stronger Rhomboid tried his best to keep his grip on his weapon, and the fight soon became a tug-of-war between the two. Gwen's tendril was more flexible than his arms, but his bigger body provided him with greater inertia and resistance to Gwen's strength. Gwen, though, was more brains then brawn, and decided to let go of the gun, whereupon Rhomboid's arms quickly snapped back to him, causing him to hit himself in the face with his gun. Dazed, he was helpless as Gwen created a massive mana tendril, picked him up, and slammed him into the ground. Dusting her hands after what she'd done, she only hoped that Lucario would be OK fighting Octagon on his own.
Entering the train, Lucario wasn't sure what he was expecting to find. Treasures? Jewels? Gold? Plain old money? It was difficult to know what exactly he was trying to protect. Tracking down Octagon's aura, he found himself in an unlit train car.
"Wayul, wayul, wayul. Looks lahk Ben's liddel dawg has gone sniffin' whayer his nose don't belong. Few're wonderin' whut thus wuz all bout, how bout Ah shed sum laht on thuh truth," Rhomboid's voice rang out. The lights quickly switched on, and Lucario was shocked to see 6 cubes made of a large number of bars of a sky-blue metal. "Smatter? Nevur sayn platinum before?"
Lucario could only shake his head dumbly, saying "No. I've never heard of platinum,"
"Wayul, Ahl tell yawl! It's wunna thuh rarest metals in thus warld. Gist uh single 10 ounce bar can bay sold fahwar uh heapin' fiftane thousun dollars! Thus lottuh platinum iz gunna solve all our money troubles an then sum!" Octagon exclaimed, greed bulging from his eyes. Lucario was shocked: nothing in the Pokémon world was that valuable as far as he could tell! Determined to not let the Vreedle get his grubby hands on such an amount of money, Lucario took a fighting stance, while Octagon cocked his gun.
BGM: Vs Trainer Johto, Pokémon Heartgold and Soulsilver
Octagon made the first move, shooting where Lucario was. Detecting this attack, Lucario jumped to the wall of the train car, quickly grasping onto it like a Spinarak, then leaping from it onto one of the cubes of platinum bars. Charging up an Aura Sphere, Lucario began to meditate, trying to locate where exactly Octagon was. With the sphere fully charged, he leaped down, before throwing at his location. Octagon gasped and quickly dodged, with the Aura Sphere hitting the cube behind where he'd been. The resulting explosion destabilized the cube, and it quickly collapsed in a heap.
Chuckling, Octagon mocked Lucario, "Not bayud fahwar uh liddel mutt. Yawl got kewyute thuh farpower. Wha don't check out mine?" Octagon grinned, and Lucario noticed him detaching a small ring from a little ball. Figuring it was something bad, he was quick to try to get out of the way. A massive concussive explosion erupted, shockwaves rippling across the vehicle, causing another cube of platinum to collapse.
Dizzy and disoriented, Lucario ended up on the receiving end of a sucker punch to the gut from the Vreedle. Groaning in pain, this gave Octagon the opportunity to continue wailing on him. More and more pain swept across his body as Octagon continued to punch and kick him. His hatred for the Vreedle, Lucario decided to give another go at Dark Pulse. Concentrating dark energy within himself, he then unleashed a powerful shockwave of darkness, causing Octagon to flinch in shock at what happened. Before he could try to shoot Lucario again, the Aura Pokémon charged a smaller sphere and launched it at his hand, knocking it away, and afterwards, Octagon ended up on the receiving end of a paw to the face. Huffing and puffing, Lucario proudly let himself smile. Another battle, another victory.
Carrying the unconscious Vreedle outside the train, Lucario was greeted by the pleasant of the other Vreedles knocked out, and Ben, Gwen, and Kevin giving proud smiles at his victory. "Nice job, Lucario. A genuine solo fight, and you manage to win,"
"To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed. After fighting against those four before, I suppose I was expecting everyone to give a tough fight, but this one seemed quite frail," Lucario boasted, pride swelling through his body. "So. What now?"
"I already called animal control about all the animals, and Kevin told the Plumbers about the Vreedles' actions. Their mother will probably bail them out, but then berate them for their idiocy, as has happened before," Gwen noted, chuckling.
"Still, I think I can say with confidence this. Welcome to Team Tennyson, Lucario!" Ben proudly declared, extending his hand, and Lucario gladly shook it.
Voice Cast:
Gwen Tennyson - Ashley Johnson
Ben Tennyson - Yuri Lowenthal
Kevin Levin - Greg Cipes
Lucario - Sean Schemmel
Octagon Vreedle - John DiMaggio
Isosceles "Sceles" Right Triangle Vreedle - Beth Littleford
Rhomboid Vreedle - Rob Paulsen
Parallelogram "Parry" Vreedle" - Bumper Robinson
Echo Echo - Dee Bradley Baker
Gutrot - Rob Paulsen
Next Chapter:
When maddened martial-arts master Kundo breaks out of his mental institution and nearly kills Rook Da of Revonnah, Ben and Lucario work alongside his son, Ben's Plumber partner Rook Blonko, to protect him from further murder attempts. Will their skills be enough to defeat the technology-hating cyborg?
Author's Note: Like I said, this chapter is a bit better in the action department, and here we have Lucario not only fully becoming part of Team Tennyson, but also meeting Gwen and Kevin and learning his first real new move in the form of Dark Pulse. If you're curious why I had Lucario focus on single combat when he had participated in war before, remember that from Ben's perspective, Lucario is still a rookie in combat against actual aliens, and doesn't want him biting off more than he could chew. Expect the first few chapters to be more bonding between Ben and Lucario, with Rook also becoming part. As for why Lucario was in shock seeing all those animals? Remember, from his perspective, they're the entirely new creatures to him. I will also be using BGM if I feel it fits. And yes. Julie, not Kai, is Ben's girlfriend in this fanfic. When we meet her for the first time, that's when you'll see how Ben managed to stay with her (I really hate how Man of Action chose to have them break up in Omniverse, and since this is my fanfic, I'm free to retcon it as I feel is needed. With one of those being that the events of "So Long and Thanks For the Smoothies" are not canon in this story, so yes, Alien X is still operating under the rules of Alien Force. As before, feel free to review, follow, or favorite this story if you liked it. See you all next chapter!
