Chapter 26: The Battle Begins

Roku's P.O.V.

Legend Keeper HQ

I could already feel it. The tension in the air...the rush of adrenaline...

Yup, this is gonna be an amazing battle, I said to myself.

Cedric and I had begun the battle that would determine whether I got into the Legend Keepers and whether I was going home. The first match was his Zoroark versus my Riolu. Curious as to what the hell that Pokémon was, I pulled up my Pokedex.

"Zoroark, the Illusion Fox Pokémon and the evolved form of Zorua. Each Zoroark can fool a large group of people simultaneously. They hide their lair with illusory scenery, and will lash out at anything that invades its territory."

Zoroark was listed as a Dark-type Pokémon with high offensive capabilities and high Speed. I knew I made the right choice in sending Riolu out for my first Pokémon.

"Now, Zoroark! Attack with Feint Attack!" Cedric shouted, starting the battle.

"Riolu, use Foresight!" I ordered.

Riolu's eyes gleamed for a split second, and right as Zoroark reappeared, Riolu dodged to the side and struck him with a vicious punch, suggesting that he used Counter. Riolu jumped back to get some distance between him and the now enraged fox.

"Zoroark, Fury Swipes!" Cedric shouted.

"Riolu, keep your distance!" I yelled.

Riolu did his best to stay away from him, but Zoroark's high agility let him close that distance fast, and now Riolu was doing his best to avoid the fox Pokémon's high speed slashes. He was doing great, until Zoroark managed to catch him and began slashing him repeatedly.

"No! Riolu, get out of there!" I shouted frantically.

The attack eventually let up, and Riolu was left on one knee, breathing heavily.

"Are you OK?" I asked.

"Rrgh! I'm not out of this yet!" he shouted, flipping up and going into a battle stance.

"Yeah, that's it!" I shouted happily. "Time to retaliate! Use Quick Attack!"

Riolu blasted forward with amazing speed. Just as Zoroark was about to dodge, I ordered him to meet him head on and use Force Palm. The attack was executed flawlessly, and now it was Zoroark who was breathing heavily.

"Hmph! Well played, Roku!" Cedric commended. "But I'm afraid I'll have to end it here. Zoroark, Night Daze!"

I gritted my teeth. In a normal circumstance, Night Daze wouldn't do much to Riolu. But since he was on the verge of fainting, it would end him for sure.

"Riolu, use Endure!" I said quickly.

Zoroark launched the deep black shockwave, and just as it was about to hit, Riolu put his arms up and took the attack. An explosion rang out, nearly shaking the entire stadium.

"Riolu! You still there?!" I shouted, waiting for the smoke to clear.

Once it finally did, I saw my partner standing there, arms still up, breathing heavily with exhaustion.

"Yes! Come on, Riolu, I know you still got it in you!" I said with delight. "Let's finish him! Force Palm!"

But Riolu had other plans, for I saw a glowing blue orb begin to form in Riolu's hand.

Whoa, did he just learn Aura Sphere?! I thought to myself.

Riolu let out an enraged battle cry as he released the energy attack, the blue sphere slamming into Zoroark and blasting him back to Cedric, everything but conscious.

"Zoroark is unable to battle!" the referee yelled. "Riolu wins!"

"Damn...come back, old friend," Cedric said, retuning the fallen Pokémon to his Poke Ball.

I looked back at Riolu to find him now glowing brightly. Then he started to change shape, and I knew what was going on. The glow dissipated, revealing an even bigger canine-like creature: Lucario.

"Riolu...you've evolved!" I said happily.

"Yeah...looks like it," Lucario said, looking himself over.

"So, it looks like your bonds with Riolu have been completed," Cedric said. "Too bad he won't last long in battle! Go, Manectric!"

I steeped myself as Cedric sent out his trusted partner. I knew Lucario wasn't going to last very much longer.

But we're gonna put up one hell of a fight!

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" I shouted.

Lucario jumped back and launched the high-powered sphere, slamming into Manectric with deadly accuracy. But I could tell it hadn't done much to Manectric, who I assumed was very well-trained.

"Manectric, Discharge!" Cedric ordered.

Manectric's fur began to spark and crackle with electricity as he was summoning up all of the power stored in his body. With one final roar, he let it loose, sending electricity flying out in all directions. I stepped to the side as a bolt seared past my face, the fresh smell of ozone permeating my nose.

Lucario, however, was getting the full brutality of the attack, jolting and writhing as the electricity mercilessly flowed through his body. Once the attack was finished, Lucario hit the ground, unconscious.

"Lucario is unable to battle! Manectric wins!"

"Lucario!" I cried, running up to my fallen partner. As I knelt down beside him, he opened his eyes slightly and said in a barely audible whisper, "H-How did I do?"

"You were amazing, partner," I said, pulling out his Poke Ball. "Return, and get a good rest."

Lucario's eyes closed again, and he was returned to his virtual area. I stood up and went back to my place on the field.

"You're gonna pay for that," I said, pulling out my next Poke Ball. "Go, Luna!"

I tossed it high up into the air, releasing my partner from Day 1. She landed on the ground, aggressively going into a battle stance.

"Yes! I've been waiting for this moment!" Luna said, her rings lighting up. "Bring it on!"

"Manectric, return!" Cedric said, retrieving his partner Pokémon.

"What?! Why are you switching?!" I said roughly. "Come on, are you afraid?!"

"I have something planned for Manectric later," he said, pulling out his third Poke Ball. "I need to know if your partner can handle herself against a Legendary Pokémon. Time for you to meet my Legendary Partner!"

Cedric wound up and threw the ball onto the field, revealing a Pokémon I did not expect him to have. I pulled out my Pokedex to obtain some extra data on the massive bird Pokémon he'd sent out.

"Moltres, the Flame Pokémon. Moltres is a legendary bird Pokémon that has the ability to control fire. If this Pokémon is injured, it is said to dip its body in the molten magma of a volcano to burn and heal itself."

"Moltres, huh?" I said. "How'd you two meet?"

"That's none of your concern right now, human," Moltres said, spreading his flaming wings. "I'm here to test your skills against fighting a legend. So let's get to it!"

"Hmph! Very well!" I shouted. "Let's show 'em what we can do! Begin with Quick Attack!"

Luna smirked and launched forward at breakneck speed, slamming into the legendary bird Pokémon with incredible force. Luna dropped back in order to keep her distance from Moltres.

"Moltres, Flamethrower!" Cedric ordered.

Moltres screeched loudly and fired off the stream of flames at high speed, engulfing Luna in a raging inferno. I was about to call out to my partner, until I saw the familiar silhouette of star-shaped rays slam into Moltres, shutting down the attack and revealing a very singed and frizzed-up Luna.

"Luna, you OK?" I asked worriedly.

Luna shook violently, getting rid of the frizz, and said, "If I ever need a quick blow-dry, I'll call that guy!"

I smiled and shook my head. As serious as the battle was, Luna could still crack jokes.

Man, I love my Pokémon, I said to myself.

Putting my head back into the battle, I told Luna to use Confuse Ray. Luna shot the ray of light from the ring on her forehead and right into Moltres' eyes, causing him to flinch slightly and then start stumbling around.

"Dammit, get your head in the game, Moltres!" Cedric shouted. "Use Flamethrower!"

Moltres tried to shoot flames in our direction, but to no avail. Luna ran in and jumped up, nailing Moltres point-blank in the face with a Swift attack. However, this attack managed to snap him out of his trance, and the firebird retaliated with a point-blank Flamethrower, engulfing the unwary Pokémon in another torrent of flames. Luna dropped back again, this time coughing out smoke in a cartoon-like fashion.

"Perhaps we should try keeping our distance," I suggested.

"Yeah," Luna huffed. "Good idea."

"Not going to happen! Moltres, use Agility!" Cedric ordered.

Moltres' muscles began to lighten up, causing him to move much faster. With this newfound speed, he dashed at Luna, who had to dodge using Quick Attack as another Flamethrower streaked across the battlefield.

"Now, Moltres! Sky Attack!" Cedric shouted.

Moltres dropped back to his side of the field and began charging energy. I gritted my teeth again, for Sky Attack was a very powerful move with a higher chance to land a critical blow.

"We have to stop that attack!" I shouted. "Luna, give it everything you've got! Swift!"

Luna built up as much power as she could into one massive star-like ray. Just as Moltres was about to launch forward and decimate Luna, she released the ray. It smashed into Moltres, breaking most of the impact, but it wasn't enough to stop the attack entirely. Luna was slammed hard and thrown to the ground, severely damaged.

"Luna! You OK?!" I shouted to my partner.

Luna didn't move for a few seconds, then she slowly got to her feet, shaking slightly.

"I can still fight!" she shouted aggressively.

"How?!" Moltres shouted in surprise, exhausted from the last attack. "How is she still standing?!"

Luna blasted off with one last Quick Attack, slamming into Moltres at terrifying speed and sending him to the ground, unconscious. Luna jumped back as well, breathing heavily.

"Moltres is unable to battle!" the ref shouted. "Luna wins!"

"Yes! Great job, Luna!" I shouted.

Luna looked at me and smiled before dropping to the ground, fainted.

"Heh…you did well, partner," I said, pulling out her Poke Ball and returning her. "Get a good rest."

"Well, now," Cedric said. "Looks like I only have one Pokémon left."

"Same here," I replied.

"Then let's finish this!" Cedric shouted, pulling out his last Pokémon. "Go, Manectric!"

"Go, Latias!" I shouted, throwing out my final Pokémon.

The two Pokémon burst from their Poke Balls, ready for battle.

"How's about we make this interesting, eh, Roku?" Cedric said, pointing at a small gem attached to the zipper of his leather jacket. Closer inspection of the gem made me gasp.

"Is that a…Key Stone?!" I shouted.

"You're not the only one who can use Mega Evolution, you know," Cedric said. "A lot of us Legend Keepers can utilize this power."

"You think I'm not aware of that?" I said angrily, holding up my Mega Ring. "Who do you think gave me this Mega Ring?"

"Yes, well, it's time to see if you can hold your own against someone who's been Mega Evolving longer than you have!" Cedric shouted.

"I'm not losing this battle!" I shouted back.

The both of us touched our Key Stones at the same time. Latias' Mega Stone began to glow from the new mount that was crafted for her; a gold armor-like necklace in which the Latiasite was mounted on a crest in the center. Latias was enveloped in the spherical cocoon, exploding out of it after some time, the Mega Evolution complete. I also saw Manectric explode out of the cocoon, looking like he just got out of a static dryer. I ended up pulling up his entry on the Pokedex and checking out his stat changes.

The Pokedex showed increases in defensive stats, and major increases in Special Attack and Speed. I winced slightly, but I knew Latias could handle herself.

"Now, let's finish this!" Cedric shouted.

"Oh, we're about to!" I retorted. "You ready Latias?!"

"I was born ready!" Latias said aggressively.

The two Pokémon rushed at each other at high speed. I was sweating, for this was a battle I could not lose.

Arceusspeed, Latias. You're gonna need it.


Author's Note: And there's the first part of Roku and Cedric's battle. Let me know what you think!

Strato Abyss signing out.