Chapter 35: The Fruits of Training

Lucia tossed the Pokéball in her hand, and out came Salamence, who bellowed a cry as he appeared in front of his trainer.

"A Salamence, eh?" Aiden said. His sinister smile deepened. "It won't help you."

The young girl wordlessly walked in front of Salamace, sliding her hand across her Pokémon's side as she did. She smiled at her partner, who had finally grown after such a long time. Once Lucia finally stepped in front of her Pokémon, she grinned.

Because she, too, had grown exponentially.

Lucia bent every finger on each hand one by one as she slowly clenched them and raised them close to her chest. She breathed in a tranquil breath through her nose.

Suddenly, shards of rock began to rise from below the girl's feet. The earth began to tremble.

Aiden's eyebrows raised in sudden shock. "What...?" He muttered. Lucia gritted her teeth as an intense, azure-colored dragon type aura exploded around her.

All she had to do was remember what had happened on the moon, where she fought her mother. The moment when Anastasia could have been hurt, or worse. The sheer amount of emotion she went through in that moment- sadness, guilt, regret, and most of all- rage and determination, were what she was going to transform into her weapon.

Lucia roared at the top of her lungs as the aura raging around her exploded upwards into the air like a geyser- and quickly took the shape of a dragon. As it flew into the air, it made a U-Turn before flying down to Lucia, whose body shined brightly like a star.

The dragon type energy that surged around her became Lucia's azure-colored armor made of sheer dragon-type power. It was the same one she donned when she fought against her mother on the moon. The sword she wielded from that battle took form and came into her right hand. To her left, a shield made of the same dragon-type energy as her armor appeared as she grabbed a hold of it.

Finally, Lucia's wings made of Dragon type energy unfurled and stretched outward, emitting a wave of wind that blew against Aiden and the rest of her group behind her. Beatrice watched in sheer shock. She dug her fingers into the ground so the winds wouldn't carry her away.

"H-How…! How did she get so powerful!?" Beatrice roared. "What kind of training..!"

"That's my girl for ya..!" Lucian cried, gritting his teeth, but laughing.

Lucia's screaming finally stopped. Her ponytail flew majestically in the wind along with her yellow bow. She glared furiously at Aiden, who looked troubled, but still glared furiously at his enemy.

Everyone was complimenting her from behind. In that moment, She felt like Number One, and shining bright for everyone. She was finally living out her fantasy.

"Hey… Kid..!" Quinton's voice came from behind Lucia. She turned around. "You have to destroy that remote at all costs…! You don't have to defeat him- just destroy the remote..!"

Lucia nodded in understanding. She then turned her head to Aiden.

She grinned, and with a flick of her wrist, her shield burst into flames before disappearing entirely. She then put her hands into her pocket, much to everyone's surprise. Out of her pocket were two Pokéballs, which she tossed in front of her.

Out of them came out Machoke, who still wore his monk's robe, and Marshtomp, who roared in excitement.

"What're you doing..?" Aiden asked. "Oh- I see. More Pokémon means that you'll up your chances to win against me. Well-"

"Nah," Lucia said. "I changed my mind. I'm not fighting you." She pointed at Marshtomp and Machoke. "They are."

"What?!" Aiden cried. "Are you making a mockery of me!?"

"I dunno, maybe?" Lucia taunted.

Beatrice's eyes widened as everyone but Quinton gasped. Beatrice's gasp, however, wasn't one of shock, but of realization. She understood then what exactly she was going to do.

Lucia was going to use Machoke and Marshtomp as a distraction as she and Salamence charged an attack. The attack she and her Pokémon would unleash wouldn't be to finish off Aiden, but rather, destroy the remote, so long as he had it in his possession.

Quinton, who had caught onto the plan the moment Lucia tossed her Pokéballs, smiled to himself.

"How dare you make a fool of me!?" Aiden cried. Lucia brought her sword up into the sky with both hands. She looked up at Salamence, who looked down at her with a knowing look.

"Machoke, Marshtomp, get em'." Lucia said this without diverting her gaze.

Machoke roared, and in an instant, the top half of his robe ripped into shreds. He leapt fist-first after Aiden as Marhstomp raised her head before unleashing a torrent of water with Hydro pump.

Aiden grinned, sidestepping the approaching Machoke who flew right by him, then extending his arm to erect a firewall to block the oncoming hydro pump. The water splashed outward as he kept his arm extended to block the attack. Machoke twirled while in mid air and fired a quick Aura Sphere at Aiden's back. Aiden turned his head.

"Precipice blades!" The man cried. He stomped his foot toward Machoke and pillars of earth stained in the lava from the center of the earth rose one after the other and approached like an oncoming wave of water. One pillar protected Aiden from the aura blast while another rose below the fighting type Pokémon and struck his stomach. The pillar carried him high into the air and exploded once it reached its peak height.

Aiden spun his head and leapt toward the torrent of water, carrying his fire-wall with him to zero in on his attacker. Marshtomp gasped in surprise as Aiden finally reached the water type, grabbed her by the neck and dragged her across the floor as they darted across it. The charred earth that formed in their wake spewed lava toward the air.

"Oh no..!" Beatrice cried. "Lucia's Pokémon are already defeated!?

"Pff- no they're not!" Lucia's voice reached Beatrice's ears. "They're my Pokémon. They can take a lot more than that."

As the momentum that carried Marshtomp and Aiden across the floor weakened and went to a halt, Aiden finally raised the bruised up Marhstomp. Marshtomp shot a glare before blasting a Water Gun directly at her opponent's face. Aiden shouted in immense pain, dropped Marhstomp and staggered back.

Because Aiden's invoker was fused with Groudon's, a Fire/Ground legendary Pokémon, Water was beyond super effective.

"How dare you..!" Aiden roared, "I'm sending you to your grave!" He shot a hand at the downed Marhstomp who was starting to stand back up. Suddenly, the human's eyes widened as he heard the war cry of Machoke who was steadily coming closer. He turned left, then right, then finally, looked upward. Machoke was plummeting down from the sky fist-first like a rocket toward Aiden. The human spun around, grabbed the Pokémon by the arm the instant he came close and threw him into the ground.. The crash was so intense that the ground they stood on imploded, and several geysers of lava burst around them.

Lucia's group watched from afar. A wave of hot air flew their way.

"Ugh..!" Beatrice grunted, trying hard to withstand the blast of hot air that came her way.

"Gah..! T-Those poor Pokémon..!" Rebecca cried.

Lucia stayed quiet as the winds blew against her and Salamence, who was helping with gathering power to her blade. She and her large Dragon Pokémon kept their eyes closed as tiny azure particles of light began to gather around Lucia's blade, which slowly began to glow brighter with each passing second.

The ground around Aiden was completely charred and black as night. Steam emanated from the crater Aiden stood in like a cooked meal. Lava flowed around the man like a river. He, and Marshtomp, who was still flat on her face, were the only ones on solid ground. Machoke was nowhere to be found.

Aiden grinned a satisfied grin before turning to Marhstomp, who struggled to get back to her feet.

"Now then…!"

Suddenly, the sound of something leaping from the lava hammered Aiden's ears. The man spun around to see Machoke leaping out from the lava and grabbing a hold of him.

"H-How?!" Aiden cried. He tried hard to pull away, but Machoke's grip was simply too strong. As they struggled, Marhstomp slowly went up to her feet while clutching one arm.

"How are you still alive..?!" Aiden cried. "You couldn't have possibly survived that attack!" Marhstomp slowly opened her mouth, and slowly, an orb of water formed in front of her face. She was preparing to use Hydro pump, and if that attack hit him directly… it could be over.

"No!" Aiden cried. "This isn't how it ends! It's not how it's supposed to end..! IT WON'T END LIKE THIS!" Aiden screamed at the top of his lungs as his entire body began to shine in an amber light. Machoke's eyes widened in shock, and so did Marshtomp's.

A geyser of lava exploded from below Aiden and Machoke's feet. Marshtomp fell on her back in startlement. She watched in horror as the geyser became even more violent, and Aiden's scream became louder. The Water-type could see Aiden's silhouette from within the geyser, and his glowing red eyes. The geyser's flames dispersed finally , revealing Aiden's glowing body. The Machoke that held him was in flames. He slowly fell back-first toward the ground, completely unconscious.

"I won't be beaten by a couple of Pokémon who don't know their PLAAAAAAAAACE!" As Aiden screamed another geyser of lava exploded and flung Marhstomp and Machoke's unconscious body into the air. Machoke's flaming body fell to the flat grassy ground, and Marhstomp fell and landed next to him with a crouch. Quickly, Marhstomp shot a water gun at Machoke's body to douse the flames. She then looked up at the ascending Aiden who was floating in the air, his flame geyser rose from behind him as his hands ignited into flames.

Marshtomp stepped in front of Machoke protectively.

"Marhstomp! The only reason you're still standing is because of your typing!" Aiden said, pointing at the Marshtomp as he slowly landed on the ground. "There's only one way to deal with this…! I'll crush you with a Grass-type move! I won't need to charge with my body glowing like this.,.! Let's see how you take a Solar beam!" Aiden shot his arm at the Marshtomp and started laughing maniacally as a shining orb of light formed in front of his palm.

"Oh no..!" Lucian cried.

"If that Solar beam hits Marshtomp..!" Rebecca cried. "Then she'll go down for sure..!"

"Lucia..! Your attack better be ready!" Quinton cried.

Lucia grinned.

Machoke's eyes slowly opened. He coughed, and Marhstomp spun to him. Machoke slowly uttered its own name in worry, as though he wanted her to escape while she had the chance.

Marshtomp smiled an assuring smile and turned back to Aiden.

"This is gonna be good," Lucia said. "Go on, Marshtomp... Prove em' wrong."

The Solar Beam came and flew toward Marshtomp, and the Water/ground type didn't do a thing. The Solar beam exploded on impact, and smoke rose from where they stood. Aiden watched in delight as he started chuckling to himself.

"How's that!?" He cried. "That's what happens when-" Aiden's eyes widened in sheer shock once the smoke cleared.

Marshtomp was standing still, with more bruises on her body, but she was standing like a wall.

Everyone in the area except Lucia gasped. Lucia's grin just grew.

"That training you and I did before against Wattson..." Lucia said. "It's made us strong, your defense is as good as mine, Marhstomp. You're like a steel wall."

"HOW!?" Aiden cried. "GO DOWN ALREADY!" Aiden shot his other arm and a fully-charged Solar beam flew toward the Water/Ground Type.

The beam exploded on impact. The smoke cleared, and Marshtomp stood strong.

"WHY?!" Aiden cried. "WHY WON'T YOU GO DOWN!?" Aiden shot his arms again and again, rapidly firing solar beam after solar beam at Marhstomp. The smoke rose higher and higher as more and more solar beams came his way.

Machoke couldn't believe his eyes and watched in sheer amazement as Marshtomp began walking toward the blasts that struck her.

Aiden continued to yell loudly with every blast he fired.

This was the strongest Marhstomp had ever felt in her life. All of this defensive power… was thanks to Lucia.

Marshtomp remembered when she held Lucia's hand in anxiousness with the first attack Wattson fired at her. She remembered the time when she cowered and watched with Vulpix when she met Lucia. Back then, she couldn't fight against the other Water types that bossed her around because she didn't believe in herself.

She didn't believe in her own strength.

But now, there's no telling how much stronger she could become. She could become even stronger still..!

Slowly, as she marched, Marshtomp's body began to shine in a brilliant white light. Her body began to morph and grow.

"HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, HUH!?" Aiden cried as he fired more and more fully charged Solar beams. The smoke expanded more and more.

Suddenly, a large, blue arm emerged from the smoke and grabbed the man by the face. In that moment, the smoke finally cleared.

Marhstomp had evolved and become Swampert.

"WHAT-!?" Aiden roared. "WHAT- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU..!?" Aiden cried. Swampert pushed Aiden away, and as he stumbled back, she opened her mouth, and then unleashed her ultimate attack:

Hydro Cannon.

A torrent of water that was large enough to rival the size of a Wailord exploded from Swampert's mouth. Aiden's shout of pain rivaled the noise that came from the blast of water that was strong enough to rip apart the earth below in. The Hydro cannon blasted and tore apart trees once it reached them.

Finally, the cannon slowly stopped, and was left behind was Aiden, who was standing with widened eyes and a steaming body.

Aiden's legs gave out, and he fell to one knee.

"They… They beat him..!" Quinton cried. Aiden glared at the approaching Swampert who looked down at him.

"Why… Why can't I move..!?" Aiden cried. "No.. NO! ME!? DEFEATED?!"

Quinton sighed. He saw a bit of himself in that man, and he felt ashamed.

Aiden slammed his fists onto the ground. "No… NO! I REFUSE TO LIVE THIS DOWN! I CANNOT… I WILL NOT..! even if it KILLS ME, I WILL-.."

Aiden's eyes widened suddenly in realization.

An explosive fiery aura rose around Aiden's body as he began to laugh. Swampert's eyes widened in shock. "I've got an idea…" Aiden said. "I'm going to hit you with an attack that not even you can withstand..! Sure, It'll kill me in the process… but I'll explode and take you, and everyone you hold dear along with me!"

Swampert glared furiously at the laughing Aiden. Lava surged around the man and formed a shield around him. "There's NOTHING You can do!" Aiden cried. "You'll need to attack me with something more than a Hydro Cannon to stop me at this rate! Get ready to burn with the rest of your friends!"

Lucia finally opened her eyes once her sword shined with intense dragon-type energy.

"It's ready," She said. She dug her heels into the ground as her sword she lifted in the air quadrupled in size. "This sword of ours burns with an AWESOME POWER!"

Rebecca's eyes widened. She knew those words well; Lucia had said this when she fought against her for the very first time.

"Its flames cry out in hunger… for our VICTORY!" The sword became even larger, large enough to rival the size of a skyscraper.

Swampert made one look at the Trainer holding her massive sword and went to Machoke immediately. She picked him up and put her on her back before going on all fours to get out of the way.

Aiden watched in sheer terror as the sword loomed over him. He couldn't move, because the weights of his Invoker had activated.

"Take this..!" Lucia cried. "Our blood, our sweat, AND ALL OF OUR TEARS! DRAGOOOON…! SWOOOOOOORRRRRRRRD!"

Lucia finally swung the mighty sword to the ground. Aiden shouted in horror as the sword slowly went down on him…And utterly crushed him. The flames explosion was brief, but incredible, the flames exploded and rose toward the sky, dancing wildly and intensely before disappearing from sight. T Lying on the ground and seemingly unconscious was Aiden. His invoker armor was burnt and had begun to break and shatter. It was no longer working- which meant he could not use Groudon's abilities.

Lucian gasped as he felt a weight lift from his body. He, along with everyone else in his group who had an invoker, stood back up to their feet.

"You did it..!" Marie said.

"Not just me," Lucia said, turning to the others who were rising to their feet. "Everyone in my team did it and played a part. Machoke, my Marshto-.. I mean, Swampert, uh- and Salamence did a great job!"

"You're incredible." Lucian said approaching Lucia and smiling a huge smile. "Absolutely incredible. I'm so proud… I might start crying again."

"Daaad…" Lucia said, scratching the back of her neck in embarrassment.

"Oh- there it is, the waterworks...they're coming..." Lucian sniffed as his eyes began to water. "Oh, there we go… there it is...!"

Rebecca came up from behind and patted his shoulder in assurance. Lucian wiped his eyes, then smiled at his daughter.

"MY BABY'S GROWING UP...!" Lucian went back to crying all over again. Rebecca hugged and patted her crying husband.

Marie quietly stepped forward, walking past Lucia and her parents and past the approaching Swampert who had the downed Machoke on her back. She kept walking until she reached the downed Aiden. Marie narrowed her eyes and kicked his side.

Hard.

Aiden coughed loudly upon being struck.

"I know you're still conscious," Marie said. Aiden groaned and opened his eyes.

"You… You're…" Aiden groaned.

Marie asked the question that was on her mind from the start.

"Where's Zennon?"

A smile came to Aiden's lips. He began laughing weakly.

"Where is he?!" Marie cried. Aiden's cackling ended with a sigh.

"Zennon!" Aiden cried at the top of his lungs. "WHO IS YOUR KING!?"

Suddenly, the earth began to shake. Marie's eyes widened.

"W-What's..." Beatrice said.

"What's going on!?" Lucia cried.

"What's this… pressure I'm feeling!?" Lucian cried. Lucia gasped and pointed ahead of Marie and Aiden.

"Look!" Lucia cried.

A massive tidal wave was coming their way. And swimming in the middle of it was Zennon, with his eyes shining red.

"YOU ARE MY KING, AIDEN!" Zennon roared with a mighty roar.

Author's note: I wonder if anyone knows the several anime(s) I referenced... Lemme know if you do- guess in the reviews! It'll bring a smile to my face.

Thanks so much for reading! The next one will be coming next week. Stay tuned!