Chapter 31: The Man of Steel
It took surprisingly little time to train Kamina into the fighter he needed to be. I had carefully explained what the Nuzlocke challenge was to him, with his mothers assistance. It was almost depressing as I gave the rules for what felt like the fiftieth time. The worst part is, this is all he's ever going to know I thought. There was no wild for him, no lab to grow up in. As soon as he hatched out of the egg, there was the challenge and his life was in danger. I almost lost my resolve and put him in the box right next to the egg Cynthia gave me, but logic won out over reason. I need a fighting-type if I'm going to win this. Kamina's part steel, he'll survive.
Speaking of the blue jackal, he seemed undisturbed by the revelation that he was risking his life. In fact, he seemed to be motivated by it. When I asked him why he wanted to get so strong, his answer surprised me. "Because I need to protect everyone else." he said. "You told me that I'm here because your friend Armstrong died, right? And there were others that died? Well not anymore. I'm going to get big and strong! I'll protect everyone for you!" he declared proudly, standing as tall as his one-foot frame would let him. Lola and I chuckled, causing him to shrink a little bit.
"That's an excellent way of thinking." I said. "But I was just like that when I started. Accidents happen Kamina, and we can't protect everyone all the time." I leaned in to whisper in his ear. "But we can certainly try, right?"
He grinned widely. "Yep! Now let's get to training!"
I'm sure he wouldn't have been so excited to go out and train if he knew what was in store for him. Sitting grumpily on the grass next to me, he watched Moka as she battled the local wildlife outside of Canalave City, the Exp Share snug tight on his head. "Kamina, are you paying attention? That hat doesn't do anything if you're not watching." Lola scolded. She insisted that she be present while he was training, which I agreed to because I knew I wouldn't here the end of it otherwise.
"But Mom! It's boring watching other people fight! I want to battle!" Kamina whined. He still obeyed, looking forward as Moka narrowly avoided a Water Gun attack from a vicious Floatzel. She doubled back and "clapped" her wings in the wild pokemons direction, launching an Air Cutter attack that hit home, knocking the Floatzel unconscious. She flew around in a victory lap, but something seemed a little off. My eyes narrowed, hoping to get a better look when I noticed what was wrong. Moka was glowing.
He legs shrunk up towards her body, transforming from the simple feet to claws for latching onto branches. Her wings grew even longer, as her body expanded and moved, forming a ball-like shape. Another, smaller pair of wings appeared above her feet, allowing her to move at even faster speeds. Moka had finally evolved into a Crobat.
She cheered and sped over, making the trip in record time as she rushed to a stop literally a foot away from us before hovering in the air. Her wings slapped like crazy, not unlike a hummingbirds, in order to keep her aloft. "Guys! Did you see! I evolved!" she said happily.
"Congrats!" Lola said. I smiled warmly, wondering how traveling using Fly was going to go from now on.
Kamina, on the other hand, was absolutely astounded. "You...you transformed!" he announced, jumping to his feet. I swear, if this was an anime he would have stars in his eyes from how awesome it apparently was. "That's so awesome! I want to transform too!" he said, squeezing his eyes tight and flexing. He looked like he was going to pop if it went on for much longer.
"Stop before you hurt yourself." I chuckled. "You're gonna evolve too, you just have to be patient. You'll be a Lucario, just like your dad."
Kamina stopped his attempt at going super saiyan, beaming up at me. "Really!? I get to transform too!? Awesome! Let's get to training! Can we? Please?" he asked, having already run towards the patch of tall grass. His excitement was almost infectious.
"Alright, alright, if it means that much to you I'll let you train without the Exp Share." I sighed, walking over and grabbing the device off of his head. "But we're going to do things a little differently than Moka was okay? And I need you to listen to whatever I tell you." Kamina nodded enthusiastically, glad to finally be in the game.
"You lied to me." Kamina muttered at my side, arms folded and pouting. I glanced down at him. "Oh? When did I do that?" I asked, curious. "You told me that I would get to fight!" he cried, stamping his foot in frustration. "This isn't fighting! I'm just watching other people fight up close now!" He was right, to a point. I was letting him go first, getting the wild pokemon's attention. As soon as that happened, I switched him out for Lola, who dealt with the enemy with ease.
"I didn't lie to you. I said it was going to be different that what Moka did." I smirked. "Don't worry about it, you're leveling up quickly. Pretty soon, you'll be able to fight on your own."
Sooner than I had thought. Either from gaining so much experience or his own frustration towards not being able to battle, Kamina evolved shortly after our talk. His body sprouted upwards, limbs growing long and lanky, yet still powerful. The black fur on his chest turned white, and spread down his abdomen. The three spikes native to his species grew out of his chest and the backs of his hands. He was now a Lucario, and he couldn't be happier.
"Wow! You were right, I did transform!" he cried, twisting around to get a look at his new form at every angle he could. "This is so cool! I bet I can do all kinds of cool things now!" He thrust his hands out, palms open like he was going to shoot a beam. For a second, I was concerned he was going to launch an attack and moved to stop him, when I noticed nothing had happened. He frowned down at his hands. "Man, I was hoping I would shoot out a beam or something." he muttered, defeated.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Come on, let's turn in for the day. We'll train some more tomorrow." I said, patting him on the back. Lola gave him a hug, which was when I noticed that he was actually pretty small for a Lucario. Cobalt had stood equal height to Lola but Kamina was about six inches shorter than his mother. I shrugged it off. He'll probably grow more, he's only like a day old I thought.
That night we were back at the PokeCenter, getting ready for the night. Moka, Rose and Lola were talking about the recent evolutions on the team, complimenting Rose and Moka's new forms as well as talking about Kamina. The newest member of the team was off on his own, eying the oldest member of the team.
Mufasa was in his usual place by the door to the room, looking like he was asleep. I knew better though. The lion was almost always the last one to actually fall asleep, instead keeping an ear out for anything wrong. He had started doing this all the way back in Jublife, and I had silently agreed that it was a good habit to form. Everyone else on the team had learned not to interrupt him unless he talked to them first. Kamina, however, had yet to learn this lesson. He crept up to the sleeping Luxray, looking curiously at the old cat. A twitch of Mufasa's ear told me that he knew Kamina was there. As the Lucario leaned in to get a better look, one of Mufasa's eyes opened halfway, the red iris locking on to the startled Kamina's face. "It is best to let sleeping cats lie." Mufasa murmured.
Kamina stumbled back, falling backwards. Unfortunately, he fell right onto Cerberus, who actually was asleep. The large dog woke up immediately, shouting obscenities at everything under the sun. He jumped to his feet and whirled around, looking for the source of his discomfort. Finding Kamina, he growled deeply. "I don't know what you've heard pup, but I'm not someone you should be messing with." he said darkly, a puff of fire spewing between his clenched teeth.
The commotion had attracted everyone's attention, and Lola bounded over to protect her son. "Back off Cerberus, he didn't mean anything." she scolded, helping Kamina up.
Cerberus scoffed. "Keep codling him like that Princess, and he's not going to be a problem much longer." he spat.
Mufasa got to his feet, which was my warning that things were quickly getting out of hand. I needed to get everything under control, so I stepped between Cerberus and Lola. "Cerberus, if you ever say something like that again, I'll replace you with Zak so fast your head will spin." I warned. I turned to Lola, who still held Kamina in a defensive hug. "Unfortunately Lola, he's right. Tomorrow while we're training, Kamina's going to be going one on one with the wild pokemon. Without you there." She opened her mouth, about to protest. "I'm not going to hear it!" I snapped. "Do you want him to survive this? Then let him solve his own problems."
I could tell that she understood my logic but was still to mad to agree with me. She stalked off, dragging a bewildered Kamina with her. Excitement over, everyone else went back to their own thing, getting ready for bed. I was about to climb into my own bed when I noticed Mufasa behind me. "You did well." was all he said before walking back to his normal spot. Regardless, it made me feel better to have his approval. At least someone thinks I'm doing the right thing I thought sourly before falling asleep.
The next days worth of training went by really fast. Kamina was a natural fighter, and he quickly got the hang of actual battling. Moves like Bone Rush and Close Combat were some of his favorites, but when I taught him Aura Sphere, it was all over. I knew he would enjoy the move after his attempt at firing a beam, and enjoy it he did. At first he missed a lot, which confused the hell out of me because Aura Sphere was a move that wasn't supposed to miss ever. A quick call to Riley cleared everything up and I started giving Kamina lessons in using aura. Excited that he had super-powers, Kamina learned how to detect the aura of other people and pokemon very quickly. Not long after that, his Aura Sphere never missed.
Everyone else was pretty much ready for the gym, so I put them through some light training to make sure they were in top shape. Deciding that everything was good to go, we ate a quick lunch and then crossed over the bridge, making a bee-line to the gym. Entering the building, I discovered that it was just like it had been in the games. Three floors of unsafe platforms rose up in the air, holes cut in them for the various lifts. A trainer on the ground floor noticed me and motioned that he wanted to battle. I grinned, releasing Cerberus. "Well, you always wanted to go wild. Now's your chance." I said.
He took my words to heart. Say what you will about the mean-spirited Houndoom, he was powerful. Flamethrower and Fire Fang attacks were used in utter disregard for anyone's safety. We tore through the gym, taking down powerful Steelix, Bronzor and Magneton like they were Bidoof. It didn't take long at all to reach the top floor, which was entirely taken up by a large steel platform, an arena outline painted across it. On the opposite end stood a man. He wore a gray shirt that hugged his body a little to tightly. Cargo pants that were a darker shade of gray and some black boots completed the miner appearance. He had a slate colored cloak thrown over his shoulders, and plum colored hair.
"I heard from my son that he got whopped by some trainer with a Grotle about a month ago." Byron said gruffly, scratching the stubble on his chin. "Then I get word from Eterna that the trainer's a Nuzlocker. Now I have to wonder, this trainer must be something else to take that challenge. I can't wait to see what he can do. And here you are." He grabbed a pokeball and tossed it onto the platform, releasing a Magneton. "Let's get this started boy."
I had returned Cerberus on the lift, since he was exhausted from taking down the entire gym. Instead I decided to rely on a different veteran. "Come on out Lola, let's see what he's got!" I cried, releasing the Lopunny.
The battle began with earnest. Lola leaped across the field, kicking the magnet pokemon out over the edge. If it hadn't been floating, it would have fallen down to the floor. As it was, it screeched at her, the noise not unlike twisting metal. Lola kicked it again just to shut it up, which actually knocked it out.
Byron sent out his next pokemon without a word, a Steelix. I was impressed that the platform could hold its weight, but decided to ponder that later. "Lola, use Jump Kick again!" I called. The order was pretty much just for show. There was literally nothing else the bunny could do against steel-types, even if her Return attack was powerful. She lashed out, kicking the Steelix across the face. It shrugged that attack off, which put a bit of a damper on my spirits.
Byron, meanwhile, laughed loudly. "Is that it? You just keep spamming the same move until you win? Boooring! Let's see what you can really do! Flash Cannon!" he ordered. Steelix leaned back a bit, a large ball of light growing over its wicked smile. It launched the ball at high speed, and it collided with Lola, knocking her across the arena, and almost over the edge.
I was in shock. That attack shouldn't have done so much damage! Wait! I thought suddenly. The Magneton! It used Metal Sound before it fainted! Realizing that Lola was in danger, I recalled her back to her pokeball. "Okay then Byron, you want something new? How about this!" I called, sending out Kamina. The young Lucario looked up at the intimidating Steelix, which grinned down at him as it loomed above. I almost regretted sending him out against it, feeling it was to soon to put him against such an opponent. Then I noticed his grin. "Alright! Now I really get to test how strong I am!" he said excitedly.
"Don't get your hopes up kid." Byron announced. "Sandstorm!" Steelix rose to an impressive height, spinning the metal boulders that made up its body. Sand poured out, whipping around in a brutal dust storm.
My head was spinning as I tried my best to protect myself from the sand. Why would he do that? Doesn't he know that Kamina's a steel-type? Then I noticed that I couldn't see anything anymore, not even Kamina. He's hiding the fight! He's hoping that we can't hit Steelix if we can't see it! I grinned. "Kamina! Use Aura Sphere!" I shouted. A blue flash appeared in the sandstorm, which zoomed forward and collided with something. The large crash afterwords told me that Steelix had been taken down. The sandstorm faded away, revealing Kamina standing tall before the knocked out snake pokemon. Byron returned it, looking elated.
"You're smart kid! But I'm not done yet! Even with those fighting moves, you're gonna have to do better than that against Bastiodon." he declared, releasing the pokemon in question. It was a dinosaur, a fossil pokemon like Roarks Cranidos. It stood on four legs, its yellow body covered in black plates of metal. Its head was a large, thick steel square, promising to be impenetrable. Two white horns stretched out over its eyes. The triceratops-like pokemon bellowed a challenge, lowering its head at Kamina.
I couldn't help but chuckle. "You're in for a treat then Byron!" I called. "Kamina's got more than Aura Sphere up his sleeve. Show him." I said. Kamina smirked before rushing forward, abandoning all pretense of defense in order to get up close and personal with Bastiodon. Fists moving faster than I could follow, Kamina rained blows onto the fossils head. I'll give him one thing. Bastiodon held out a few seconds longer than I thought it would. As Kamina backed away, the large dinosaur fell over, defeated by the Close Combat attack.
Byron roared with laughter. "Now that's what I was looking for! Great job kid! I couldn't even land a hit!" He strode across the platform, handing me the badge and TM. "Take it! The Mine badge is yours!"
I was feeling pretty good when I left the gym, Kamina striding beside me. That feeling pretty much evaporated when I saw Professor Rowan waiting for me. "Nick. Come with me." he said gruffly.