Earth's Protectors

by nld200xy

A new breed of villains have risen up to terrorize humans in the form of Pokemon, powerful creatures with the strength to end mankind. Luckily, a group of heroes are trained to protect the humans from this menace. Heavily inspired by Kinnikuman, this is something I've wanted to make for a long time.

4. Chapter 4

After the final exams were over, it was finally time for graduation. The students who had bested their opponents would be sent to Earth while those who failed would be held back another month. Either way, this was an exciting day and the beginning of a new hope for mankind.

"Congratulations, all of you who graduated," Riolu stated while standing on a stage located outside the building, "Of the thirty-two students who joined, twenty of you have passed," the dog then pressing a button to bring up a screen with a map of various landmarks on it before adding, "A few of you will be assigned to specific locations based off of your performances. To make things easier, we will be assigning more than one to each area."

Just as he was about to continue, though, a young lizard-like man approached him while wearing a suit, tie and glasses and exclaimed, "Just a minute, my good sir!" Riolu blinking and asking, "What are you doing?" the lizard remarking, "I think a better question is what are YOU doing!?" everyone staring in confusion, Blaziken sighing, "Is he serious?"

The young man proceeded to clear his throat, straightening his glasses before saying, "Now, see here, Mister Riolu, I am a representative of the national institute of schools-" Magnemite muttering, "That's not even a real thing," the lizard man adding, "and I have witnessed several violations from your so-called 'Hero School'!"

"Violations?" Riolu asked, tilting his head to the side as the lizard nodded and remarked, "Exactly, my good sir! First of all, if you're sending people to protect the entire planet while also sending more than one to each landmark, why were there only thirty-two students brought here instead of, I don't know, a hundred?" Gallade nodding and saying, "I have to admit, that's actually a good point."

Riolu took a deep breath and replied, "We were under a time limit and went with the biggest names that came to mind. Trust me, we're starting another semester this month with new students coming in," the representative retorting, "Unacceptable! You should have brought them here DURING the semester, but what's more, you should have ASKED if they wanted to come here! Have you ever even thought about the feelings of your students!?"

Riolu gulped, uttering, "The safety of mankind is much more important than-" the lizard man cutting in and barking, "What's more is that you put all these poor kids through horrible training at the ripe age of fourteen and, in some cases, fifteen! I am absolutely appalled by your ethics! And worst of all, you smell!" Riolu narrowing his eyelids and sighing, "Cut the crap, Machoke, I know it's you."

Gardevoir stared wide-eyed and squeaked, "That was Machoke?" the boy groaning and looking down, walking off the stage and muttering, "I'm keeping the outfit," Machamp laughing nervously and patting his son on the shoulders saying, "Nice try," when the boy returned to his spot in the audience.

"With that little distraction out of the way..." Riolu stated, gazing upon the crowd to make sure no one else was going to try and interrupt his speech, the dog taking a deep breath and adding, "it is time to decide who will protect which area."

With that, the dog held up a sheet of paper handed to him by Bouffalant, clearing his throat and saying, "At the top of the class are two star pupils with a lot of promise!" pointing at a slender boy with blue, rocky skin wearing a karate gi and having a black sideways Z representing his nose and left eyebrow.

Next to him was the other 'star pupil', a red boy with a bulkier build and a black Y making his nose and eyebrows. He also wore a karate gi.

"Throh and Sawk..." Riolu said, pointing at the red one first and the blue one second to specify which one he was addressing with each name, "you have both been excellent students and have proven yourselves the best in the class. As such, I am assigning you two to protect Osaka, Japan," the two grinning at one-another before bowing their heads in respect to Riolu.

The dog then proceeded to assign more locations, saying, "Sandslash, Karachi, Pakistan. Ledyba, Bangalore, India. Lombre, New York City, USA."

The list went on, a few locations being repeated for different students while Gardevoir and Gallade looked at each other, hoping they would be assigned to the same location as Riolu stated, "Gallade, Tokyo, Japan!" Gardevoir biting her lip nervously as the dog added, "Gardevoir, also Tokyo!" the two breathing a sigh of relief, Blaziken coincidentally getting the same location.

Riolu all the while took a deep breath thinking, 'They seem to work best together. It only makes sense,' but just as he was about to put the list away, Machoke rose a hand and asked, "Um... what about me?" Riolu blinking and replying, "Oh, right, sorry, I almost forgot," the dog clearing his throat as Machoke frowned, folding his arms.

However, his frown turned to a grin as he thought, 'I wonder where he'll send me. Maybe I'll get the sunny beaches of Hawaii or even Florida. Maybe Paris, the city of romance, or maybe even Mexico! Oh, the possibilities are endless!"

Riolu cleared his throat and said, "Tokyo," Machoke exclaiming, "Aw yeah, I get to be with my-!" the dog adding, "Specifically this area here," pointing to a small little park on the map, Machoke staring in confusion and asking, "You mean I can't protect any other areas?"

Riolu nodded and replied, "I wasn't going to tell you this, but of all the graduates, you were the worst," all going silent, Machoke fuming and barking, "ARE YOU HIGH!? I DEFEATED THE FORMER CHAMPION! ISN'T THAT WORTH SOMETHING!?"

Machamp nodded in agreement as Riolu narrowed his eyelids and remarked, "Yes, that is commendable, but it's not enough to make up for your disgraceful attitude, childishness and juvenile behaviour. You also weren't that good during the training exercises."

"But..." Machoke whimpered, "that area's so tiny," Riolu replying, "But it's still worth protecting. Just last week, a villain stole some cigarettes from a shop within that area and I'm certain the owners would greatly appreciate you being there to keep them safe," the boy grumbling, "Fine."

With all said and done, it was time for the students to head off toward Earth, spaceships lined up for the students to board as Machoke let out a sigh, trying to run away only for a group of security guards to force him through the door, Machamp asking, "Are you sure you made the right decision?" Riolu shrugging his shoulders and replying, "There's a reason I chose that specific location for him."

And for the next day, the students travelled through space before morning came along and they had finally reached Earth. Each graduate was dropped off at a specific house where they were assigned to live, and luckily for them, the Hero Planet government was paying for rent.

Gardevoir and Gallade were assigned to a condo suite, number forty-four to be exact. Blaziken had been given a nice little house to live in, the chicken liking this fine.

However, Machoke continued to get the short end of the stick as he ended up being assigned a small shack shaped like his father's head with an open mouth in an O shape painted around the door, Machoke letting out a sigh and grumbling, "Great, it's like being swallowed by my dad. Who could ask for more?"

Upon entering, he was even more underwhelmed by the interior. All he had was a cot, a small TV, a stove top with no oven and a bag of rice with no cabinet to put it in. There was a drawer, but this looked like the kind used to store small objects or paper in. However, there was one other thing in this tiny shack that stood out, Machoke actually quite interested in this.

Right up against the Northern-most wall rested what looked like a treasure chest, Machoke walking over to it with a big grin, saying, "Alright, these must be my savings," thinking about just what to spend it all on before opening it up, a look of disappointment on his face when he noticed the box was filled with dumbbells in various sizes.

"What are you doing digging through my stuff?" came a little girl's voice from behind the boy, his eyes widening as he slowly turned, noticing a purple monkey with a white hand on the end of her tail standing right there, the chimp resting her hand against her side and scowling at him while stating, "It's very rude to break into someone's home, you know!"

"For your information, I was assigned to live here!" Machoke retorted with a look of annoyance, that look slowly turning to confusion when he noticed the monkey was staring at him with wonder in her eyes, the boy blinking, walking over to her and waving his hand in front of her face, asking, "Hello? Anyone home?"

The monkey blinked a couple of times before touching the side of his face with her tail hand, uttering, "That physique, those ridges. There's no mistaking it," Machoke cringing before prying the monkey's hand away from his face, asking, "What is wrong with you?" the monkey falling to her knees and exclaiming, "Please forgive me! I didn't know I was in the presence of Machamp's son!"

'Man, my dad's even more famous than I thought,' Machoke thought before nodding and saying, "Yeah, that's me, alright, Machoke," the boy grinning smugly before flashing two thumbs up and adding, "I am here to protect Tokyo from evil!"

"But of course!" the monkey squealed, shaking his hand with her tail before adding, "Riolu sent me an email telling me you were coming," Machoke blinking before asking, "You know Riolu?" the monkey nodding and replying, "Yep. I'm Aipom, your new trainer!"

All went silent until Machoke broke it, asking, "What?" Aipom nodding and replying, "That's right, Riolu assigned me the task of shaping you up into the hero your father once was."

Machoke stared awkwardly at the monkey before asking, "How old are you?" Aipom stating, "I'm ten, but I turn eleven in June," Machoke nodding his head slowly and uttering, "Uh-huh. And is there a specific reason Riolu would pick you as my personal trainer?"

Aipom nodded before walking over to the drawer and opening it up, pulling out a photo of Machamp standing next to tall purple monkey with two tails, the hands on the ends of them looking more like flowers as she said, "That's my mommy, Ambipom," Machoke thinking, 'No one ever told me about her,' Aipom adding, "She used to train your daddy back in the day."

"So like me, you were forced into this because of your heritage," Machoke remarked, the monkey shaking her head and saying, "Oh no, I volunteered," Machoke grumbling curses while thinking, 'Lucky stiff.'

Aipom then explained, "See, like my mommy before me, I'm very knowledgeable in fighting skills and the like. I've studied many different styles, including your family's, so I know I can be a great asset to you."

Machoke nodded slowly and asked, "If this is true, why haven't you been trying to protect Tokyo?" the monkey sighing, "I may be knowledgeable, but I'm not exactly strong like you are," Machoke nodding and replying, "Oh, I see, so you're gonna use my muscles for your benefit," Aipom frowning and refusing to respond.

The boy simply let out a sigh and shook his head, getting up and heading toward the door as Aipom asked, "Where are you going?" Machoke replying, "Just gonna look around the city for a little bit," the monkey retorting, "No! You're assigned to this area! You can't leave the vicinity!"

Machoke simply rolled his eyes, heading out the door as Aipom sprinted over to him, latching her tail hand to his ankle and attempting to pull him back only for the boy to easily pry himself out of the hold, saying, "Man, you're not kidding about your lack of muscles."

But just as he was about to leave, Aipom sprinted in front of him, sighing, "Forgive me," clenching her tail hand into a fist and sending it straight into his crotch. Machoke's eyes went wide as he knelt down, falling on his side, the monkey sighing, "I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but Riolu did instruct me to let you protect the rest of Tokyo when I feel you're ready."

At that moment, Blaziken walked by and looked down at Machoke asking, "What's wrong with him?" Aipom gazing at the chicken and squealing, "Oh my god, you're Combusken's kid, aren't you!?"

Soon, Machoke was fully recovered as all was made clear inside his shack, Blaziken letting down a nervous sweat drop and saying, "Sorry to hear that, Machoke," the chicken giving him a smile and adding, "But look on the bright side. At least it's not permanent," Machoke still looking peeved as he grumbled, "I wish I could leave this area sooner, though."

With that, the chicken headed toward the door and said, "Try to hang in there, okay, Machoke? Soon we'll be able to spend time together," exiting the shack as Machoke waved lightly, Aipom smiling and saying, "It's always nice to have friends visit," Machoke mockingly moving his lips on cue with hers.

During this time, Gallade and Gardevoir were getting to know the area together, the people not treating them as strangely as one might have expected. However, this was not a big surprise to them as aliens had been living on Earth since before their parents moved in and Machoke was the only graduate who had not grown up on the planet.

However, what did bother Gardevoir was all the stares she was getting from people, mostly young men, and with her carrying a purse in her arm with her, she was being especially cautious right now. Gallade noticed this and grinned, saying, "Well, look at you, Miss Popular already," Gardevoir asking, "Is that what's going on?" Gallade rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

At that moment, a tall and slender dog sporting an unbuttoned leather jacket and holding a can of beer walked out of a store, taking a sip of his beverage. His look was similar to that of Riolu only he had spikes coming out of his forepaws and chest, his torso covered in cream-coloured fur. He also had four ears as opposed to two and they looked more like hair than Riolu's did.

Gardevoir glanced briefly at him but then shook her head, remembering that other aliens did in fact live on Earth, and not just those who trained on Hero Planet either. However, she and Gallade both failed to notice a young man creeping up behind her, reaching for her purse when suddenly, the dog dashed right to where the man was, ramming him hard in the face with his elbow.

Gardevoir slowly turned, her eyes wide with shock, Gallade looking at the man and taking a deep breath. He then turned to the dog and said, "Thanks, man," then looking at Gardevoir and sighing, "Sorry, sis."

His blinked and asked, "What are you apologizing for?" Gallade replying, "Never mind," the robber slowly rising to his feet and barking, "What the hell, man!?" the dog giving the man a cold look, the human pulling out a gun and pointing it at him while snapping, "STAY OUTTA MY BUSINESS!"

Gardevoir gasped as the dog simply dashed right in front of the man, snatching his gun out of his hand and applying a firm grip to it, breaking it into tiny pieces, the man trembling and getting up, about ready to flee for his life when the dog shouted, "FORCE PALM!" sending a hard palm punch to the man's chest, knocking him unconscious while a blue aura briefly covered his paw.

Gardevoir was simply spellbound as the dog turned to her and said, "There, you should be safe, but be more careful next time," the dog turning as she squeaked, "Wait, sir!" the dog stopping and turning to face her, the girl adding, "What's your name?"

Gallade nodded, wanting to know this as well, the dog simply saying, "Lucario," the siblings introducing themselves as the dog nodded his head. He then turned away from them again and walked down the sidewalk, not seeming to have a destination in mind as he took another sip of his beer, Gallade uttering, "He looks kinda like Riolu, don't you think?"

Gardevoir nodded and replied, "They're definitely related, but I didn't know Mister Riolu had a son," Gallade shrugging and saying, "Me neither."

Aside from the attempted theft, the rest of the day seemed rather peaceful. Not a single villain had revealed him or herself, so the streets were certainly safe to walk. This was rather strange with crime being at such an all-time high lately, but even so, Machoke and his friends were just glad they could enjoy their first day on Earth.

Unfortunately, it seemed like the peace was not going to last when three cloaked figures appeared right outside of Machoke's house, one of them grinning and saying, "Yep, this is where he lives," another figure adding, "This is going to be easy," the third saying nothing as one of the figures sighed, "Ya need to talk more."

"Say, how did ya find this place again?" the second figure asked, the first one replying, "I was just spying on this area undetected when I noticed Mister Champion being dropped off here. But remember, we have to make sure he walks into our trap."

The following morning was bright and sunny as Machoke awoke, stretching his arms and sitting upright in his bed, smacking his lips. His eyelids were still lowered a bit as he murmured, "Morning, Aipom," looking next to him only to notice the monkey was not next to him.

The boy blinked, now fully awake as he shrugged, saying to himself, "She's probably watering the garden or something," the boy getting out of bed and looking around the house before remembering all they had was a bag of rice, a disappointed sigh escaping his mouth.

However, his thoughts shifted to something else when his eyes went wide, Machoke exclaiming, "We don't have a garden!" the boy racing outside and looking around, noticing Aipom was nowhere in sight.

The nearby shop was closed, so there was no way the monkey was conversing with the owners. With all of this in mind, a wide toothy grin crossed Machoke's face, the boy letting out a psychotic giggle before thinking, 'She probably went to buy groceries. Can't blame her. Damn house has nothing to offer.'

But most of all, this meant he now had an opportunity. With no one around, he could finally step foot outside of his property without needing permission, the boy slowly tiptoeing over to the sidewalk, his eyes shifting back and forth as he slowly reached one foot out, gently placing it against the sidewalk in front of his house.

When nothing happened, Machoke breathed a sigh of relief and sported a happy smile, marching along his merry way while saying to himself, "Now let's see what I can do on this glorious day."

During this time, Blaziken was out for a trip to the local outdoor marketplace, looking at the selection when she noticed Machoke passing by, the chicken smiling and walking over to him, asking, "So, Aipom already decided you're ready?"

Machoke shook his head and signalled the bird to get close, whispering, "I snuck out," Blaziken snickering and remarking, "Don't you worry about how she'll respond to that?" Machoke shaking his head and replying, "Please, she only has one tactic that can work on me and I'm prepared for it."

As much as Blaziken cared about her duties on Earth, even she understood the desire to have fun every now and then. After all, the heroes were still teenagers.

While the two walked along, Blaziken noticed a sign advertizing a local exhibition match being held in the local arena, the chicken pointing at it and asking, "Hey, why not see how humans fight?" Machoke groaning, "I don't wanna do that."

Blaziken smirked and nudged the boy, remarking, "C'mon, it'll be fun. I'll do whatever you wanna do afterwards, okay?" Machoke letting out a sigh and shrugging, figuring this was better than just wandering.

And so the two arrived at the arena, sitting in the middle row as Machoke sighed, "This better be worth it," Blaziken laughing and saying, "Come on, at least this isn't a serious fight, right?" the boy shrugging and replying, "I guess that's true."

What both failed to notice were the three cloaked figures from the other night sitting in the back row with one of them holding a tied up bag. Something seemed to be moving inside but the holder ignored this, knowing whatever it was could not get out.

The exhibition match was between two teams with both fighters on each in the ring at a time as opposed to following traditional tag-team rules. This was known as a tornado tag match.

While each team fought vigorously, putting their all into it, Machoke looked bored as he sighed, "Why did you drag me here, Blaziken? I can pull off more impressive moves than these guys," Blaziken sighing, "Who cares? It's fun," Machoke folding his arms and grumbling, "Maybe for you."

Soon, the match was over as the referee held up the hands of the winners, exclaiming, "And with that, the match goes to Tokyo's reining champions, Genjuu and Kai!" the crowd cheering as Kai exclaimed, "WE ARE THE STRONGEST FIGHTERS IN THE WORLD!"

However, the lights suddenly went out in the whole building, a spotlight shining down on the ring as a voice entered the area, asking, "Is that so?" everyone looking around in a state of panic when another voice chimed in, "That's a very bold statement. Are ya sure about that?"

"Who said that!?" Genjuu spat, raising his fists with anger in his eyes, "Come out of hiding and say that to my face if you have the balls!" one of the cloaked figures leaping into the ring and saying, "As you command, your highness."

The two fighters glared at the cloaked figure as the two others entered the ring, the first figure holding his hand toward them and shaking his head. The two nodded and exited the ring, standing by the side as Genjuu cracked his knuckles threateningly, smirking while saying, "Well, you definitely have balls, I'll give you that."

With that, both partners rushed at the cloaked figure, Kai racing around him so both could attack from behind. But just as they were about to strike, the figure threw an arm out into each one's chest, both sticking out of his cloak to reveal a pair of blue paws, Machoke and Blaziken both rather shocked by this as the owner shouted, "FORCE PALM!" a blue aura surrounding both as the fighters coughed up blood, falling on their backs.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down," the figure said only for Genjuu to rise to his feet, fury in his expression as he spat, "I DON'T THINK SO, PUNK!" lunging at him only for the figure to dodge to the side, this time removing his cloak entirely so he could fight better, everyone gasping in shock at the sight of the blue dog who had met Gardevoir and Gallade the previous day, Machoke asking, "Is that Riolu?" Blaziken shaking her head and replying, "No, but he does look similar."

Before anyone could do a thing about this, Lucario had taken hold of the man's wrists and stood behind him, bending backwards to form an arch, Genjuu crying out in pain as the dog had his back pressed right up against the spike coming from his chest, the dog shouting, "LONDON BRIDGE!" his spike going straight through the man's back, everyone staring in absolute horror.

When Lucario released his hold on Genjuu, allowing him to fall on his side, there was no doubt about it. This man was dead, Kai trembling in absolute terror as Lucario folded his arms, asking, "Are you going to play hero too?" Kai shaking his head and fleeing from the area, the dog saying, "Smart man."

Machoke was still in shock from the sight of this when Blaziken rose up from her seat barking, "HEY, WHY NOT PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!?" Lucario and the cloaked figures looking up at her as she snapped, "Yeah, I'm talking to you!" Machoke blinking and saying, "Yeah, fight her, not the humans."

One of the cloaked figures smirked under his hood saying, "Ya see that?" another replying, "Yeah, hook, line and sinker. Didn't think he'd bring a friend with him though."

Machoke laughed nervously as Blaziken took a deep breath, exclaiming, "People of Tokyo, don't be afraid! I am Blaziken, a hero sent to protect Tokyo from the forces of evil, and this here-" pointing at Machoke who was trying to slink away, the boy's eyes widening when a spotlight shone on him, the chicken adding, "is my ally, Machoke, son of Machamp!"

Everyone perked up at the sound of Machamp's name. After all, Machamp was the greatest hero from his time, so the people could not help but cheer as Machoke bit his lip, wanting so much to bolt right now and wishing Blaziken had not introduced him.

"That's the one we came to see," one of the cloaked figures said, "Come on over here, boy. We got something of yours," Lucario nodding as the other figure handed him the bag, the dog opening it up to reveal that Aipom had been inside the whole time, Machoke staring in absolute shock.

"Hey, that's my roommate!" the boy spat, Aipom's eyes wide with shock as the boy added, "Let her go!"

The monkey could not believe it. Yesterday, Machoke seemed to want nothing to do with her and now he was speaking on her behalf, and she had done nothing to deserve this either. Perhaps Machoke did have the heart of a hero, though he still had priorities to sort out.

"Relax," one of the figures replied, "We'll return her to you, but only if you can beat us without her advice," Machoke's eyes going wide, the boy gulping as he looked at all the people in the area, noticing how much hope they had now that he was here, the boy putting on a serious look and shouting, "Bring it on!"