Episode 231: Xaldin, the Whirlwind Lancer
A few hours came and went as Sora and Kairi were doing some training. Sora ran along Pikachu, Taillow, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Poochyena, Zigzagoon, Seedot, Shroomish, Lotad, Whismur, and Cascoon to build up their speed. Lotad pretty much kept up at his own pace, and Cascoon just hopped after them. They came across some Heartless, Nobody, and recently made recently made Unversed dummies.
"Okay, guys, do your thing! Poochyena! Thunder Fang!" Sora ordered. Poochyena came at a Nobody dummy. "Seedot! Use Tackle!" Seedot rushed at a Heartless dummy and lands a hit on it. "That was great! Mudkip, Poochyena, Shroomish, Cascoon, Zigzagoon! You use Tackle, too!" Mudkip, Poochyena, Shroomish, Cascoon, and Zigzagoon came at the dummies and lands a hit onto them. "Great! Treecko! Use Pound! Torchic! Use Scratch! Lotad! Use Water Gun!" Sora's Pokémon attacked the dummies hard. "Way to go, guys!" Kairi and Angel were watching them train hard for their Gym battle.
About a half hour later, Sora took a break from training since he remembered the letter he has to deliver at the request of Mr. Stone. Sora did wonder what kind of person Steven was and how good a Trainer that Kennedy says that he is. He had to guess he had to wait and see. The couple went off to search for Steven. Luckily, Mr. Stone told them what he looked like before they took off. He looked like Mr. Stone, but younger. As they kept looking, they came across a young man, wearing a huge backpack. He spotted Kairi and he became interested in battling against her. He approached the couple.
"Hey, you with the red hair! I was wondering if I could have a Pokémon battle against me?" The Trainer asked.
"You want to battle against me?" Kairi asked.
"Yeah! Just thought I get into shape for my battle against Brawly!" The Trainer said. He took out a Pokéball and he threw it. "Go! Aron!"
What came out of the Pokéball is a quadrupedal Pokémon with four stubby legs and a large round head. Its body is black with plates of gray armor covering its head, back, and legs. Throughout its body are small openings in the armor. There are six openings on its head, with the largest two being openings for its pale blue eyes and one opening on either side of the spike on its back. A single, blunt spike protrudes from its back.
"Aron?" Kairi asked, taking out her Rotom Phone to scan it.
Aron, the Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Aron usually makes its homes on mountains. In order for it to maintain the iron armor on its body, it feeds on the ore where this Pokémon inhabits. Aron is also known to eat railroads and parts from cars.
"Talking getting your daily iron," Kairi joked, putting her Rotom Phone away. She took out a Pokeball. "Since Aron's a Rock-type, I think I'll use this. Go! Surskit!" Her Pokéball opened up and out came her Surskit, ready to go.
"Aron! Use Tackle on it!" The Trainer ordered. Aron charges right at the Pond Skater Pokémon with a full force of its body.
"Dodge and use Bubble!" Kairi ordered. Surskit avoids Aron's Tackle and fired Bubble at Aron, hitting it. "Use Water Gun!" Surskit fired Water Gun at Aron, dealing some damage on it.
"Aron! Use Iron Head!" Aron charges at Surskit with an Iron Head.
"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Kairi ordered. Surskit uses her Quick Attack to avoid Aron's Iron Head.
"Aron! Use Rock Throw!" The Trainer ordered. Aron unleashed Rock Throw and the rocks have done some heavy damage, due to Surskit's weakness to Rock-type moves. "Use Rock Throw again!" Aron unleashed another Rock Throw right at Surskit.
"Dodge and use Water Gun!" Kairi ordered. Surskit avoids Aron's Rock Throw and fired Water Gun and it lands a hit onto Aron, resulting in a knockout. The Trainer called his Aron back inside.
"You did your best, Aron. Get some rest," the Trainer said. He took out his next Pokéball and threw it. "You're up next, Lairon!"
His Pokéball opened and what came out is a stocky, armored Pokémon with four short legs. Its body is dark gray, and its eyes are sky blue. Its back is covered with segments of iron armor, each with a high ridge and round dark holes on the sides. The sides of its lower jaw have several flat protrusions, and two teeth are visible in its mouth. There are two-pronged metal bands on its legs. The upper band is gray and the lower is silver. Kairi took out her Rotom Phone again and scanned it.
Lairon, the Iron Armor Pokémon
The evolved form of Aron
Type: Steel/Rock
When two Lairon meet in the wild, they fight for territory by bashing into each other with their steel bodies. The sound of their collision carries for miles.
"Lairon's even stronger than Aron, so it won't be easy," Kairi said, calling Surskit back. Angel stepped in.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"You want to have a go, Angel?" Kairi asked.
"Vee," Angel nodded.
"Okay, let's do this thing," Kairi said.
"You're sending an Eevee out against my Lairon? You should have stuck with Surskit. You at least had the advantage," the Trainer said.
"My Eevee has a lot of spirit," Kairi said.
"We'll see about that. Lairon! Use Take Down!" The Trainer ordered. Lairon charges right at Angel.
"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Kairi ordered. Angel managed to dodge, but Lairon came pretty fast.
"Use Take Down again!" The Trainer ordered. Lairon charges at Angel with another Take Down, landing a hit.
"Are you alright, Angel?" Kairi asked with concern.
"Eevee," Angel replied, while hurt. Kairi looked at Lairon and noticed it wasn't even phased by its own attack.
"Lairon should have taken some recoil damage, unless his ability's Rock Head," Kairi said.
"You got that right, red. Recoil moves like Take Down usually kicks in after it's been used, but Rock Head prevents that from ever kicking in. Comes in handy," the Trainer said.
"Use Iron Tail!" Kairi ordered. Angel came at Lairon and swung her tail, hitting Lairon on the side. Lairon's defense starts going down.
"Use Metal Claw!" The Trainer ordered. Lairon came at Angel with a Metal Claw.
"Dodge it!" Kairi called out. Angel managed to dodge Lairon's Metal Claw just by jumping. "Use Iron Tail!" Angel swings her tail at Lairon and deals some heavy damage onto Lairon, landing a critical hit and resulting in a knockout.
"Ah! Lairon! Okay, okay, you're good, but let's make the next round a double battle!" The Trainer said.
"Sure, I'm game!" Kairi said.
"Great!" The Trainer said, taking two of his Pokéballs and threw them. "Go! Vigoroth and Skarmory!" His Pokéballs opened and his Vigoroth and Skarmory both came out to battle. Kairi took out two of her own Pokéballs.
"I know just the right duo for this match! Go! Plusle and Minun!" Kairi called out as she threw them.
"Vigoroth! Use Crush Claw! Skarmory! Use Steel Wing!" The Trainer ordered. Vigoroth and Skarmory charges at their opponents with their chosen attacks.
"Plusle, Minun! Dodge and use Nuzzle!" Kairi ordered. Plusle and Minun rushed at their opponents and paralyzed them both. "Use Discharge!" Plusle and Minun unleashed Discharge, shocking both Vigoroth and Skarmory.
"Skarmory! Use Rock Slide!" The Trainer ordered. Skarmory forms rocks and sends them at Plusle and Minun.
"Use Quick Attack to dodge!" Kairi ordered. Plusle and Minun managed to dodge Skarmory's Rock Slide.
"Vigoroth! Use Facade!" The Trainer ordered. Vigoroth's body becomes covered in an orange aura for a moment. It then charges into Minun, dealing some heavy damage. This surprised Kairi.
"What?!" Kairi exclaimed. "That Vigoroth knows how to use Facade?"
"Man, this is serious. Facade deals a lot of damage when a Pokémon is either paralyzed, poisoned, or burned," Sora said.
"Skarmory! Use Steel Wing! Vigoroth! Use Facade again!" The Trainer ordered.
"Plusle! Minun! Use Spark!" Kairi ordered. Plusle, Minun, and their opponents rushed at each other and they land a hit onto each other, and they all took some heavy damage. All four Pokémon ends up being knocked out. He rushed at his two fallen Pokémon.
"You guys okay?" The Trainer asked. Vigoroth and Skarmory responded. "Don't sweat it. You both did your best. And so did Aron and Lairon."
"Are your Pokémon doing okay?" Kairi asked.
"Yeah, thanks for asking. I gotta say, you're not half bad," the Trainer said. Kairi just smiled.
"You were pretty good, too," Kairi said.
"Thanks a lot," the Trainer said.
"If you don't mind us asking, have you seen someone by the name of Steven Stone?" Sora asked.
"Steven Stone?! As in the Hoenn region's regional Champion?! I just saw him not too long ago!" The Trainer said.
"Really?" Kairi asked.
"Yeah. I took him on, and he whopped me with just one hit," the Trainer said.
"Well, do you know where he went?" Sora asked.
"You know, he said he was heading for Granite Cave. It's not too far from here. It's just down this path. He said he was looking into something about ancient Pokémon," the Trainer said.
"What kind of Ancient Pokémon?" Sora asked.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu added.
"Eevee?" Angel asked.
"I'm not quite sure. He didn't really say. But he said he said it might have something to do with Mega Evolution," the Trainer said.
"Mega Evolution? Really?" Kairi asked.
"But I thought Mega Evolution came from the Kalos region," Sora pointed out.
"It does. Maybe someone from Kalos might have come here and hid something there during the ancient days," the Trainer said.
"Thanks for letting us know," Kairi said.
"And thanks for that great battle. I didn't get your name," the Trainer said.
"Kairi," Kairi answered.
"Okay, Kairi. Just call me Rufus. See ya," Rufus said, taking off.
Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, and Angel have taken off to find Steven over in the Granite Cave, but unknown to them, Xaldin was in the area.
"I found you at last, Sora and Roxas. I'll have to eliminate you both," Xaldin said.
Just when they were heading for Granite Cave, they came across a pair very familiar faces. It was May and Max exploring the forest.
"May, Max," Sora said.
"Sora, Kairi! Glad we bumped into you two!" May said.
"Likewise. Isn't Brendan with you?" Kairi asked.
"He's off somewhere training," May said.
"What about you, Sora? Did you win your Gym Badge yet?" Max asked.
"I didn't even have my battle with Brawly yet. So I figured I'd get some training done before I get right to it," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"But right now, we're heading for Granite Cave. That's where Steven is or at least we think he is," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"You're looking for Steven?" Max asked.
"Yeah. We still have a letter to deliver," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"A letter you will not be delivering, I'm afraid," a voice spoke. Sora, Kairi, May, Max, Pikachu, and Angel looked around.
"Who's there?" Max asked.
"Show yourself!" Sora demanded.
"As you wish," the voice said. The voice belonged to Xaldin. He appeared before them, grinning.
"Who's that guy?" Max asked.
"Max, get behind me!" May told her brother. He does that as Sora and Kairi summoned their Keyblades and held them tightly. "I know that black coat! You're a friend of Marluxia, aren't you?"
"You could say that. My name is Xaldin, and as you may have guessed, May, I am a member of Organization XIII," Xaldin introduced himself.
"Nobody asked you here, so get lost!" Sora said.
"Pika!" Pikachu growled.
"Why are you here?" May asked.
"I have come to eliminate Sora's existence from this world," Xaldin stated.
"Eliminate his existence?" Max asked.
"You mean you're going to kill him?" May asked, appalled by his intentions.
"It must be done," Xaldin said. He snapped his fingers, and several Dusks and Dragoons appeared all around them. "Destroy them." Sora and Kairi turned to May and Max.
"Get to safety! We got this!" Sora said.
"But-!" May tried to argue.
"We can handle them!" Sora said.
"We don't want to have you in harm's way!" Kairi said.
"You're right! We'll go!" May said. She grabbed Max by the hand. "Come with me, Max!"
The Dusks slithered at Kairi to land a hit, but Angel fired Swift at the Dusks as the Dragoons swings their spears at the couple, but Pikachu fired Thunderbolt at one of the Dragoons, taking it out. The Dragoons readies their spears and then falls directly over Sora's head.
"Above you, Sora!" Kairi called out. Sora quickly dodged the Nobody's attack and struck down the Dragoon that tried to slay him. Just when the Dusks and Dragoons were slained, a new kind of Nobody appeared before them.
It is a lion-like Nobody. It has a large golden mane and huge silver fangs. It has a large and bulky body and razor sharp claws coming from its paws. It has the same gold tuft at the end of its tail. It has the emblem of the Nobodies on its back. This Nobody shall be known as the Twilight Lion.
The Twilight Lion gave off a roar so powerful, it scared away all of the Pokémon living in the area. It would frighten even the most ferocious of Pokémon in the world.
"That is one scary Nobody," May said.
The Twilight Lion charges at the couple, so they started to run. The Twilight Lion raised its paws up to slash at Sora, but Kairi saved him by casting a blizzard spell at the beast, hitting it. The Twilight Lion lunged at Kairi with its huge claws at her. Angel fired Swift at the Twilight Lion, hitting it. Pikachu and Angel then lands an Iron Tail combo on the fearsome Nobody. The Twilight Lion gave off a pained roar, so Sora and Kairi gave the Twilight Lion a combo slash from their Keyblades, destroying it.
"That takes care of the Nobodies," Sora said.
"So you think," Xaldin said.
"We can handle you, Xaldin," Kairi said.
"As you say," Xaldin said as he raised his hands together in the air as a wind picks up. Six black tornados appeared as grayish white lightning crackles from the tornadoes. From the tornadoes, six lances all appeared. The main shaft is periwinkle in the center, with each of the ends being purple; the periwinkle and purple sections are separated by a small gold band. One end of the lance is shaped like the top half of the Nobody symbol and is colored purple. The other end seems to be a combination of the lower half of the Nobody symbol and a Dragoon Nobody's "head", and is also purple. This lance is known as the Lindworm.
It didn't take genius to figure out that his element is air.
Xaldin he thrusts his lances forward, but Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, and Angel managed to avoid him, so they tried to counter his wind with their wind magic.
"Wind!" Sora and Kairi shouted, blowing wind his way, but he blocked with his lances. He was unimpressed by their attempt.
"Amateurs. Do you think you can beat me in my own game?" Xaldin asked.
"Can't blame someone for trying," Sora said.
"Don't push your luck," Xaldin said, pushing back. Sora, Kairi, Pikachu and Angel were being pushed back by the heavy winds, but they kept on blowing their wind magic right at Xaldin. He could see how determined they were. "You just don't know when to quit."
"It's not over until it's over. That's the motto that I live by," Sora said.
"It'll be over before you know it, that I can promise you both. After all, back when I was human, I was a warrior," Xaldin said.
"Yeah, good for you," Sora sarcastically said. Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt, hitting Xaldin. A strong wind picks up and he grabs Pikachu and held him by the throat.
"Pikachu!" Kairi gasped.
"Eevee!" Angel cried.
"Let Pikachu go, Xaldin!" Sora demanded.
"I will if you value the life of your little friend," Xaldin said. Sora growled in frustration, but he didn't want to see Pikachu getting killed, so he dismissed his Keyblade. Kairi does the same thing. Xaldin just grinned. "That's what I thought." Just then, Xipak rushed at Xaldin and bit on him by the arm. He yelled in pain from the pain. He drops Pikachu, so he rushed back to his side. Xipak dropped to the ground and fired a Thunderbolt, hitting Xaldin as Celeste rams into Xaldin with a Quick Attack.
"Where did you two come from?" Sora asked. Just then, Espeon and Umbreon appeared and fired Psybeam and Dark Pulse at him, but Xaldin uses his lances to block the attack. "You two, too?!"
Espeon and Umbreon turned to Xaldin and attacked him.
"It cannot be," Xaldin said, looking at them. They attacked the Organization member with Psybeam and Dark Pulse again, but Xaldin blocks with his lances. He then jumped in the air and huffed. "I'll retreat for today, but the next time we cross paths, there will he no mercy. Farewell." He took his leave from them.
"Where did he go?" Max asked.
"Probably back to where he came from," Sora said. He looked at the four Pokémon that helped them. "Thanks for the help, you four. You helped us and we gotta be grateful for that." Xipak, Celeste, Espeon, and Umbreon said nothing and went their separate ways. Xipak and Celeste went one way while Espeon and Umbreon went another. "Hey, wait! Come back!"
"Where did they just go?" May asked.
"I don't know, but I think they'll show up again," Sora said.
Over to the World That Never Was, Xaldin sat before Xemnas and Saïx to make his report.
"Lord Xemnas, I regret to inform you that I have failed to dispose of Sora and the traitor, but during my encounter, I met an Espeon and an Umbreon that seems familiar to me," Xaldin reported.
"An Espeon and an Umbreon, you say?" Xemnas asked.
"Indeed. I suspect it had to be Wes," Xaldin said.
"That's absurd. Wes is dead. He's been dead for the last five years, along with Rui after he foiled the Shadow Pokémon project back in the Orre region," Saïx stated.
"I cannot cannot confirm if it is indeed them, but I am not without my suspicions, nor am I one who believes in coincidences," Xaldin said.
"If memory serves, Saïx, I believe you were the one who gave Axel the assignment to dispatched them," Xemnas said.
"Indeed, Lord Xemnas," Saïx agreed.
(Flashback)
Five years ago, Axel stood before Saïx for his assignment.
"Axel, you are being ordered to report to the Orre region. We have reasons to believe that a Pokémon Trainer has been a great source of annoyance to us," Saïx said.
"A Pokémon Trainer?" Axel scoffed. "You're sending me down to that dust ball just for that? And how exactly is he a problem for us?"
"We have discovered that this Pokémon Trainer has the power to wield not only one Keyblade, but two. This is something not even Lord Xemnas could have foreseen. Your assignment is to kill him," Saïx said.
"And then turn him into a Heartless just so we can control his Nobody and bring him into the Organization?" Axel asked.
"No," Saïx stated. "He far too dangerous to be a member of the Organization. The Snag Machine he stole from Team Snatch was used against Team Shadow, both we had under our thumbs, same as Team Rocket. This is a loose end that must not be left behind."
"I'm on it," Axel said, taking his leave through the corridor of darkness.
(We go on further)
Axel has just returned from his assignment. Axel saw Saïx standing before him.
"Were you successful?" Saïx asked.
"It was a piece of cake. I knocked him out before he even knew what hit him. He and his girlfriend are both down for the count," Axel said.
"Excellent. Now we have no interference from the enemy," Saïx said.
(Flashback ends)
"I should have known Axel lied to me," Saïx scowled.
"If he has, then we must deal with him even more severely. But until we know more of this development, we shall keep this a secret," Xemnas said.
"If you feel that is best," Saïx said.
Back on Dewford Island, Sora and Kairi casts their cure spells on each other and on their partners.
"Glad you're okay, Pikachu," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee!" Angel nuzzled him very affectionately, showing her how she's glad Pikachu is okay.
"Pika, Pika," Pikachu said, nuzzling her back and then hugged each other, lovingly.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out Angel feels the same way," May said.
"I'm just glad Angel isn't going to go through what I did before we went off to Johto," Kairi said. May just looked at Kairi when she said it.
"What do you mean by that, Kairi?" May asked. Kairi paused when she realized what she just said.
"I'd rather not get into it," Kairi said.
"Well, since we're all together, we should go and find Steven together now that Xaldin's gone," Sora said.
"Right," Kairi agreed.
"How could you just shake it off after being attacked?" Max asked.
"Max, if we spent our lives being scared of out of our wits, then we wouldn't be here, now would we?" Sora asked.
"He's right, Max. And Sora did promise. So let's go," May said.
With that said, Sora, Kairi, May, Max, Pikachu, and Angel started to head for Granite Cave to meet up with Steven and deliever the letter over to him. But will they find him before he takes off? Just wait and see if you want to find out.