Wardens Eternal

Chapter Six: Not Worthy

The absolute moment Martian registered imminent danger the entire world seemed to freeze in place as a large part of his missing memory returned like a mighty deluge. Discipline, stances, guards, counters, parries, and striking, it all came rushing back. It was almost as if the instincts flowed through his veins, tensing every muscle in his body as the world seemed to change before his eyes.

Okay, so the world didn't actually change, but how he saw it did. Now he was thinking as a veteran warrior, nothing looked the same. Martian looked at the charging Machoke and only three words came into thought.

Threat. Engage. Neutralize.

The former human dug his claws into the dirt to maximize his traction as a mighty war cry ascended up his throat. Time sprang back to normal and instinct took over. . .

Scarlett knew she didn't stand a chance against the fighting type's destructive power. There was nowhere she could run, nothing she could do to get out of the way of the attack. All she could do was curl up into a ball and hope that Protect would be strong enough to stand up to the punishment. Like a weak coward.

The vulpix had just managed to cover up her vulnerable belly and neck under the temporary safety of the spherical barrier, closing her eyes and concentrating desperately on maintaining the shield when she felt a presence use her Protect as a platform to jump off of. Even if she didn't see it, she definitely felt the clash of attacks and war cries followed almost immediately by a thud on the ground.

When the timid fire type finally gave into her curiosity and looked around, she froze in awe at the sight of the machoke slammed to the ground with the wind completely knocked out of him with a very serious looking luxio standing on his chest.

The blue electric type withdrew from atop his opponent's chest putting himself between the fighting and the fire types before using his claw to carve a deep and unmistakable line in the packed dirt floor. The message was just as unmistakable.

This ends here. I will not back down.

There was a brief pause in the fight while the Machoke got back on his feet and reevaluated the situation. Admittedly when he attacked he assumed that the vulpix was alone, he wasn't expecting the luxio at all so when the electric type attacked he was caught off guard. One mistake he wouldn't make again.

The fighting type took a step back to make sure he was only fighting two opponents, that there wasn't a third waiting to jump him again. Convinced, he turned his attention to the vulpix to assess her before scoffing and rolling his eyes at the sight of the fragile little thing shaking on the floor under a flimsy Protect. Easy pickings once he dealt with the Luxio.

Said luxio was a far more formidable opponent. The way he stood and the way his eyes tracked the Machoke's every move were clear signs of experience. The little electric type wasn't lacking in confidence either, growing fiercely as he stood his ground giving no visible sign of weakness or fear. There was something not right about the electric type, something different, something out of place, something almost feral but disciplined.

Martian's mind was also hard at work assessing his opponent and the situation. He had managed to get in a preemptive attack when he tackled the fighting type head on but has since lost the element of surprise. He knew that his opponent was an opportunist and would not hesitate to fight dirty and that as a fighting type he possessed lots of stamina and raw strength. One good hit would be enough to put Martian out of the fight with a really good chance of breaking a few ribs or a leg.

But he was much smaller than his opponent and had far more control of his own balance and momentum, key factors that could help him in the fight. He also remembered that the ribs, back of the knees and under the shoulders were common weak points on a humanoid opponent. His best chance is to use his speed and mobility to upset the fighting type's center of balance, knock him to the floor and hit those weak spots as hard as he could.

The Machoke threw the first punch, another Focus Punch. The time for thinking was over, now all Martian could do was react.

Incoming right handed punch. Dive under it.

The attack managed to graze through the very tips of the fur on Martian's back, but ultimately overshot the former human who rolled to his feet now located behind the Machoke's back. In perfect position to jump on and start upsetting the Fighting Type's balance. The Machoke had anticipated such an attack, but his backhand lashed out too early striking nothing but thin air, leaving nothing to protect his chest that was now facing the Electric Type. While not what he had anticipated, Martian was quick to take advantage lunging again for the Machoke's neck, not to draw blood, but something he could apply his momentum to.

The former human managed to wrap his front legs around the Machoke's neck, letting his momentum swing him around. The fighting type's legs wanted to keep going forward towards Scarlett, his missed backhand wanted to keep going clockwise around his body, and now the luxio hanging by his neck pulling him backwards, he never had a chance of keeping his center of balance as his body rotated with his arm and landed on the floor face first again with Martian on top of him.

With a quick roar, Martian struck at the Machoke's side, aiming to crack a rib. He was surprised when his claw became enveloped with electricity but still managed to connect the blow, His first Thunder Punch.

The Machoke did not like that, easily throwing the electric type off his back when he jumped up in pain. Martian hit the ground and rolled a few times before he was able to find enough footing to land on his feet. Flipping through dirt and rocks like that was not pleasant.

Now it was the Machoke's turn to go on the offense, charging the former human while bending down to scoop up a handful of pebbles to lob at the Electric type. Martian raised a paw to shield his eyes as the small rocks pelted him, sure they hurt but they were not a truly damaging attack.

The follow-up Karate chop on the other hand definitely did a number on him. The Machoke managed to land it perfectly on Martian's head, right between the eyes. Right away his vision blurred and his ears started ringing as overwhelming pain drowned out all other senses. His blurred vision started to go black as his body began to go limp without the strength to even stand up.

The Machoke smiled in satisfaction as the luxio fell to the ground on the verge of fainting, his eyes were lost staring at the ceiling. The fighting type was confident that victory was his all he had to do was one last move and then the little electric lion would be in the infirmary for weeks, why not have some fun doing it?

With a laugh the fighting type scooped up the limp luxio before holding him by the armpits, hopping in place a little to get some bounce going the fighting type launched himself in the air before beginning a Seismic Toss. His favorite way of finishing a fight.

The darkness grew threatening to overtake his entire field of vision as his ears kept ringing, but thankfully the pain was starting to 's when Martian realized he was moving, spinning to be precise and he doubted it was a good sign. He began to feel the blood flowing through his body again, like filling empty bags with water until they bulge.

That wasn't good enough, he needed strength to keep fighting, not slobs of mass hanging from his body! He needed to fight! A fresh rush of adrenaline began to flow through his body, he began to feel solid bone in his limbs again, his claws, his muscles solidifying, the darkness left his vision but it wasn't enough.

No, Martian told himself, I am going to FIGHT!

A single twitch from one of his paw's digits, and he could feel a pulse of energy radiate throughout his body from within. Now he felt his strength back and better than ever as his vision cleared instantly as a new warcry began to build in his throat.

The Machoke smirked at the helpless victim in his hands as he kept spinning, building up as much momentum as he could before landing the final blow. The fighting type looked down at the ground for a moment to see how high he jumped when he felt the electric type's body tense up in his hands. When he checked to see what was going on he froze: The luxio was looking right back at him almost as good as new and five times more angry. Suddenly, keeping the electric type at arm's length didn't seem like a very good idea.

Martian was quick to show why discharging a devastating amount of power directly through the fighting type's limbs before knocking himself free with a headbutt. The fighting type's grip vanished as the two fighters began to fall back to the ground. Martian began to growl as the tip of his tail began to adapt a metallic sheen to it turning as hard as steel and as heavy as lead. The Machoke hit the ground first on his back, dazed and battered but just managed to open his eyes wide in shock as a roaring Luxio twisted in midair and landed the final blow with a terrifying Iron Tail. The force of which enveloped the two combatants in a cloud of dust.

"Martian!" Scarlett coughed, trying to get some of the dust out of her eyes as she ran into the dirt cloud looking for her partner. She was beginning to feel like dead weight, the moment she felt threatened she cowered and used Protect to try and shield herself. Martian, though, just went in no problem fighting a much larger opponent. Heck, Scarlett could swear Martian looked like he was enjoying it!

No duh, He was a natural fighter, even without his own memories he held his own in a fight with a fighting type Pokemon for quite some time. He even took a direct blow to the head and managed to regain his senses in seconds! He was a true fighter, not a weak, fragile, petite fool with dreams of delusion like her. Martian was everything she was not.

The electric type's victory cry almost made the poor vulpix jump out of her fur as he boldly proclaimed victory over his opponent from within the dust cloud. Emerging proud and strong, head high and lungs full of air, Martian revealed briefly in his accomplishment, taking a moment to examine his paw and a few bolts of electricity arcing from it.

That's when Scarlett lowered her head in shame again, there was no way they could stay together. He was born for an exploration team but she was merely a burden. He didn't deserve her.

"Goodbye," The fire type muttered before turning for the exit. She was about to pass through when a stampede of Pokemon came flooding in surrounding the Electric type, ecstatic about something. It didn't matter, she was on her own again and silently slipped out of the dojo before her former partner could notice. . .