Episode 255: Luxord, Gambler of Fate
After meeting up with Ben Blaze, an old friend of Sora's father, Kaito Ketchum, Sora, Kairi, Lisia, Pikachu, and Angel continue on their way through towards Fallarbor Town, so they're passing through a valley.
"Fallarbor Town should be over this way," Lisia said.
"And it looks like we might be there just in time," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Yeah, and we should start training as soon as we get there," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu agreed.
"Yeah, because we know it won't be a walk in the park," Kairi added.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"And that's if we don't bump into any unwanted visitors," Sora said.
"And who is it that you could be talking about?" A new voice asked. Lisia recognized the voice when she heard it. Sora and Kairi looked around and they spotted a young man wearing a blue suit and a back shirt underneath. He wore a pair of brown loafers. He has blonde hair and violet eyes. "If you are referring to me, I should have you know that I consider it to be very rude."
"Um, I don't even know you, and I wasn't even talking about you," Sora said.
"Hi, Chaz," Lisia greeted.
"You know him, Lisia?" Kairi asked.
"I do. Chaz is a Pokémon Coordinator, too. He's been a rival of mine for a long time, but I would like to have him as a friend," Lisia explained.
"So, Lissi, I see you're palling around with one of the girls you were scouting back in Slateport City. I watched it with my own eyes, so I figured you would be heading for Fallarbor Town for the Contest, no less," Chaz said.
"Are you entering the Contest, Chaz?" Sora asked.
"What is to you if I am?" Chaz asked.
"I was only asking a question," Sora said.
"Well, if I am, then I am simply making a statement that there is no one is deserving to being Lissi's rival than I! And that applies to the two of you!" Chaz said.
"Don't be like that, Chaz. They're my friends," Lisia said.
"Sure, friends," Chaz scoffed.
"Look, we're never going to get anywhere if we just stand around and argue about stuff, so why not just come along since we're going the same way," Sora offered.
"I don't need your charity!" Chaz said.
"Hey, I was only trying to be nice," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"You're just trying to jinx me in the Contest! Get me to drop my guard!" Chaz accused.
"I'm not entering the Contest! I'm only heading to Fallarbor Town with my girlfriend as support, and I'm going to challenge the Frontier Brain Greta, and it's on the way to Lavaridge Town!" Sora said.
"Lavaridge Town? You mean you're taking part of the Hoenn Pokémon League?" Chaz asked.
"Yeah," Sora said.
"Well, I'll have to remind you that I am heading to Fallarbor Town, and it has nothing to do with you," Chaz said.
"Sure it doesn't," Sora said.
Meanwhile, Luxord sits in his throne along with Xemnas and Saïx.
"You summoned me, Lord Xemnas?" Luxord asked.
"Yes, we called you here for you to have your chance to dispose Sora and Roxas," Xemnas said.
"I figured I would have my turn to deal with him sooner or later. It was worth the wait after all," Luxord said.
"But this assignment acquires you to deal in a different style of combating our enemy. You must play by his playbook," Saïx said.
"His playbook? Sounds interesting," Luxord said.
"Yes. You will use the replica Pokémon that Vexen has created very recently, and use them to battle against him. He will be distracted by the Pokémon battle, and you shall strike when the time is right," Xemnas said.
"I understand. I was always curious about Pokémon battles, and it looks like I'm about to have a taste of it for myself," Luxord said.
"You have your assignment, Luxord. Now, go," Saïx said. Luxord took his leave. "Sora will not be able to resist a Pokémon battle presented to him."
"I agree. This shall be a good opportunity to test our new replica Pokémon," Xemnas said.
Joined by Chaz, despite his claim, he joined Sora, Kairi, Lisia, Pikachu, and Angel on their way to Fallarbor Town. Along the way, they made a stop to rest their feet and start training. Kairi practced for her contest with her Beautifly.
"Use Silver Wind!" Kairi ordered. Beautifly flapped her wings and sends out a Silver Wind. Kairi threw a couple of apples in the air. "Beautify! Use Air Cutter!" Beautifly flapped her wings and unleashed Air Cutter, cutting the apples, making them apple slices. Kairi catches the apples in her hands. "Great job, Beautifly. Your Air Cutter sliced these up nicely." Kairi took a bite of the apple.
"Beautifly," Beautifly said.
"The way Kairi used Beautifly's Air Cutter was very creative. That's a dazzling stunt," Lisia said.
"I'll say," Chaz said. He shook his head. "I mean, it was luck." He looked over to Sora and his Pokémon. He saw that his Pokémon were sparring with each other. Pikachu was sparring with Treecko, Torchic was sparring with Torkoal, Mudkip was sparring with Zigzaggon, Electrike was sparring with Slakoth, Seedot was sparring with Lotad, and Taillow was sparring with Wingull.
"Great job, you guys! Keep it up!" Sora called out. Sora's Pokémon trained for like an hour until they were pretty tired. Sora called them back just so they could rest. Sora took out his Pokémon Box and exchanged Torkoal, Slakoth, and Electrike for Duskull, Shuppet, and Nosepass. Sora decided to wait a while before going back to some training when they heard the sounds of footsteps.
"Vee?" Angel asked.
"You hear that?" Sora asked.
"Someone or something is coming our way," Kairi
"It's probably a Pokémon coming our way," Chaz said.
"Hope you're right," Kairi said.
As it turns out, it was only Brendan and Grovyle coming up behind them.
"Brendan!" Sora, Kairi, and Lisia exclaimed.
"Hey, guys! Glad to see you," Brendan said.
"Likewise, because we thought you were someone else for a moment," Sora said.
"Sorry about that," Brendan apologized.
"What brings you here, and where are May and Max?" Kairi asked.
"They were heading to a different town when I parted ways with them for a while. So I thought I'd come along and see how you guys are since you're coming this way," Brendan said.
"Grovyle," Grovyle said.
"But we're glad you did show up, Brendan," Kairi said.
"Who's he?" Chaz asked.
"It's Brendan. He's another Trainer. I met him along with Sora, Kairi, May, Max, and another Trainer named Lyra back in Slateport City," Lisia said.
"So, you heading for Lavaridge Town, Sora?" Brendan asked.
"Yeah, after Fallarbor Town for the Contest, and for my battle against Greta," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"Oh, yeah. Greta. She's a tough battler. She won't pull any punches with you," Brendan said.
"So I've been warned," Sora deadpanned.
"Anyway, if you don't mind, I'd like to tag along with you for a while," Brendan said.
"Vyle," Grovyle added.
"Sure, Brendan. You're more than welcome to," Sora said.
"Awesome," Brendan said.
With that said, Sora, Kairi, Brendan, Lisia, Chaz, Pikachu, Angel, and Grovyle started to walk as soon as they felt rested. Unknown to any of them, Luxord is in the area and he tossed his dice in the air.
"Well, the merry band is on the move once again. It would be a shame if I went back without having my shot with them," Luxord said. He snapped his fingers as four Gamblers appeared right next to Luxord, awaiting his instructions. "You know what to do." The Gamblers complied with him and went off to his bidding. Luxord just grinned. "Well, Sora, Kairi, do me a favor and make it entertaining for me, won't you?"
Just a little further away, the group were walking down the road when a card pierced the ground right in front of the group, forcing them to make a stop.
"What is that?" Chaz asked.
"A card?" Brendan asked.
"Where did it come from?" Kairi asked. Angel looked around and she saw what threw the card.
"Eevee, vee!" Angel shouted. Kairi and the rest of the group saw the Gambler on the branch of a nearby tree.
"Oh, no!" Kairi gasped.
"What is that thing?" Chaz asked.
"It's one of them!" Lisia exclaimed.
"I knew they'd show up again sooner or later!" Sora said, summoning his Keyblade and held it. Kairi summoned hers and held it tight. The Gambler came down along with three other Gamblers, ready to take them on. Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, and Angel went right for the Nobodies, but they dodged their Keyblades, so they summoned a giant dice and rolls right at the couple. Sora and Kairi dodged out of the way and they came right at the Gamblers and struck down two of them. A new Nobody appeared right in front of them. This Nobody has a black and white torso and has large cartoonish gloves. It has black diamonds over its eyes and has black shoe-like feet. It has a black French beret with the Nobody emblem on the side. This Nobody is known as the Mime. The Mime copied the Gambler's attacks, so Kairi struck the Mime down with her Keyblade. Some Dusks and Creepers appeared and attacked, so Pikachu and Angel fired Thunderbolt and Swift, taking them out. Luxord then appeared right before them, clapping his hands.
"Good show, you two. I was very impressed by that display," Luxord said, clapping.
"And you would be?" Sora asked.
"Yes, an introduction is in order. My name is Luxord. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sora, Kairi. Too bad that the others couldn't be here since I would have liked to meet them," Luxord said.
"Yeah, too bad for you," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu growled.
"I take it to take a shot at Sora, right?" Kairi asked.
"You could say that," Luxord said.
"What is going on? And what is he talking about?" Chaz asked.
"He's bad news," Lisia said.
"Very bad news," Brendan said.
"Vyle!" Grovyle growled.
"It was fortunate that Vexen has made an appearance before the new girl of the bunch back in Forina," Luxord said.
"You were there?" Kairi asked.
"I was. Just to get to Axel after he made the mistake of betraying us," Luxord said.
"You having a fight?" Sora asked.
"Not too organized, if you ask me," Kairi said.
"Who's Axel?" Chaz asked.
"I don't know," Lisia said.
"Don't look at me," Brendan said.
"Start talking, Luxord! Why are you trying to get rid of me?" Sora asked.
"Oh, you should know by now we could never just tell you. Organization XIII has its share of secrets, and some secrets has a place," Luxord said. He chuckled. "Let's make this interesting, should we?"
"What are you planning?" Sora asked.
"Let's make this a Pokémon battle, shall we?" Luxard suggested as a Pokéball appeared and threw it. "Go!" The Pokéball opened and a Dragonair appeared.
"You guys have Pokémon, too?" Brendan asked.
"The Pokémon I'm using are replicas created by Vexen from his laboratory. So what you see are not real Pokémon. Everything that makes the Pokémon is fake. Their hearts and their memories. Speaking of memory, I believe you two had a taste of Vexen's replica Pokémon before. If not, allow me to remind you. Dragonair! Use Water Gun!" The replica Dragonair fired Water Gun right at the group, so Sora dismissed his Keyblade and took out a Pokeball and held it.
"Okay, Luxord, you asked for it!" Sora said. He threw the Pokéball. "Go! Nosepass!" His Pokéball opened and Nosepass emerged from inside. "Okay, Nosepass! Use Rock Throw!" Nosepass hurls rocks right at the replica Dragonair.
"Dodge and use Iron Tail!" Luxord ordered. The replica Dragonair dodged Nosepass's Rock Throw and swings its tail right at the Compass Pokémon, dealing some heavy damage, due to his weakness to Steel-type moves. Nosepass gets up on his feet.
"Nosepass! Use Thunder Wave!" Sora ordered. Nosepass sends out Thunder Wave right at the replica Dragonair, paralyzing it. "Use Spark!" Nosepass charged right at the replica Dragonair, landing a hit. "Use Rock Throw!" Nosepass hurls Rock Throw, landing a hit, dealing some damage on the replica Dragonair. The replica Dragonair then vanished.
"Not bad, Sora. You are far better with Pokémon battles than Vexen has described. But I'm just getting started," Luxord said as a Pokéball appeared and he threw it. A Pokéball opened and a Sneaseler appeared from inside.
"What kind of Pokémon is that?" Brendan asked, taking out his Rotom Phone and scanned it.
Sneasler, the Free Climb Pokémon
The evolved form of Sneasel Hisuian Form
Type: Poison/Fighting
Sneasler operates in solitude, so it injects its prey with the venom in its claws. The claws can cause either poisoning, paralysis, or sleepiness.
"Evolved form of Hisuian Sneasel?" Brendan asked.
"Sneasler! Use Metal Claw!" Luxord ordered. Sneasler charged right at Nosepass to land a hit.
"Dodge it, Nosepass! Hurry!" Sora called out. Nosepass tried to dodge, but the Compass Pokemon was struck and fell backwards. Sora called Nosepass back inside his Pokeball. He looked right at Sneasler and he took out another Pokeball and threw it. "Go! Wingull!" His Pokeball opened and Wingull flew right out, ready to battle.
"Ah, a Flying-type against a Fighting-type. An impressive strategy, but it won't be enough. The replica Sneasler, use Dire Claw, if you please," Luxord said. The replica Sneasler came at Wingull with its claws giving off a purple glow.
"Dodge it, Wingull!" Sora called out. Wingull dodged the replica Sneasler's claws. "Use Supersonic!" Wingull unleashed Supersonic right at the replica Sneasler, making it confused. "Use Wing Attack!" Wingull flew right at the replica Sneasler. The replica Sneasler shook off the confusion.
"Use Aerial Ace!" Luxord ordered. The replica Sneasler dashed right at Wingull with incredible speed, landing a hit. "Use Poison Jab!" The replica Sneasler jumped and came at the Seagull Pokémon with its claws giving off a purple glow.
"Use Wing Attack!" Sora ordered. Wingull flew right at the replica Sneasler lands a hit, making the replica Free Climb Pokémon cancel out Poison Jab and fell backwards. The replica Sneasler vanished.
"Not bad, not bad. Now let's see how you handle this one," Luxord said as a Pokéball appeared and he threw it. The Pokéball opened and a Steelix appeared right before Sora. He called Wingull back inside and he took out his next Pokéball and threw it.
"You're up, Torchic!" Sora called out. Torchic emerged from inside, ready to go.
"A Fire-type against a Steel-type. But you are aware that there is a fifty-fifty chance of victory, but I'm a gambling man," Luxord said.
"Steelix, use Stone Edge!" Luxord ordered. The replica Steelix unleashed Stone Edge and it heads right for the Chick Pokémon.
"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Sora ordered. Torchic dodged the replica Steelix's attack with his speed attack. One rock came at Torchic, landing a hit. "Torchic!"
"Use Dragon Breath!" Luxord ordered. The replica Steelix spewed Dragon Breath from its mouth and sends it right at Torchic, landing a hit.
"Torchic!" Sora gasped.
"Steelix, use Skull Bash!" Luxord ordered. The replica Steelix lowered its head and heads right towards Torchic to land a hit. Torchic got on his feet and started to run towards the replica Steelix.
"What's that Torchic doing?" Chaz asked.
"Torchic is just running right at that fake Steelix," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
Flame erupts in flames as he ran and jumped right at the replica Iron Snake Pokémon and lands a hit onto it. Torchic lands right on his feet and skids backwards.
"Chick!" Torchic yelled.
"Torchic just learned to use Flame Charge," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
The replica Steelix got back up.
"Impressive. Learning a new move in the middle of the battle. Your Pokémon are truly strong. You're doing a whole lot better than you did after your battle against Vexen's replica Mewtwo. I don't doubt you did some sufficient training since then. Or you might have gotten lucky," Luxord said. He grinned. "Either way, the bet is still running."
"A bet you're gonna lose, Luxord! Use Ember!" Sora ordered. Torchic fired Ember right at the replica Iron Snake Pokémon. The replica Steelix dodged Torchic's Ember. Torchic kept firing Ember at the replica Steelix until Torchic lands a hit onto the replica Iron Snake Pokémon, resulting in a knockout and vanished. Luxord just clapped his hands.
"Bravo, Sora. Well done," Luxord said as he took out the Fair Game and he threw the cards right at Sora, but Kairi came at quickly casts her reflect spell, making the cards bounce off.
"Cheater!" Kairi accused.
"You said this was going to be a Pokémon battle, Luxord!" Sora said, summoning his Keyblade.
"Ah, it was a distraction. I should have known Kairi would step in and save your skin. I gambled and lost," Luxord said.
"You're going to lose more than that, Luxord!" Kairi said.
"We are going to see about that," Luxord said. Luxord threw his cards right the couple, so they dodged the cards as they explode on contact. Luxord summoned a giant card and it comes down on him and several other cards appeared and they stand up, making them face the back of the cards. "Pick a card, any card!" The cards shuffled around and around. Sora and Kairi shuts their eyes and they smacked one of the cards, revealing Luxord. "How did you find me?!"
"We just got lucky!" Kairi said.
"Luck of the draw, Luxord!" Sora said.
"Yes, luck of the draw, indeed," Luxord said as he chuckled. "I can see why the others had a hard time with the both of you, so I shall retreat for now. But we'll be back," Luxord said as he took his leave through a corridor of darkness.
"Glad you're okay, Sora," Brendan said.
"Me too. I was hoping you'd make it out," Lisia said.
"Who was that guy?" Chaz asked.
"He's from an organization that are controlling white monsters called Nobodies. Why they wanted me out of the picture, I don't know," Sora said.
"Nobodies?" Chaz asked.
"It's a very, very long story," Sora said.
"The story that you may wanna avoid if you want to having nightmares when you sleep," Brendan said.
Meanwhile, Luxord has returned to the World That Never Was, he chuckled as he approached Vexen.
"I trust the replica Pokémon have been useful," Vexen said.
"Indeed. My plan to distract Sora with a Pokémon battle was a good distraction, but Kairi's intervention was something I failed to expect. Your Pokémon replica project was genius. No wonder Lord Xemnas had placed his support for this," Luxord said.
"Yes, but I plan on pursuing a project that would involve human replicas, but it is still in consideration. I have not made it known to anyone except for Lord Xemnas and Saïx," Vexen said.
"Hm, I thought you would pursue that kind of project, Vexen. That would be interesting to see," Luxord said.
"If I had a heart, I would feel the same way," Vexen said. "But nothing is really set in stone as Xaldin would say."
Back in the Hoenn region, Lisia explained to Chaz about Sora, Kairi, Riku, Naminé, Ash, Leaf, Ethan, Kris, Lyra, and May having a Keyblade, and the Heartless and about how a Nobody was created.
"Okay, what you're saying is that there are things out there called Heartless and they come from the darkness in every heart and there's darkness in every heart, and when they give in to the darkness in their heart, they turn into a Heartless, right?" Chaz asked.
"Right," Lisia confirmed.
"Also, if someone with a strong heart turned into a Heartless, a Nobody gets created, and this Organization XIII, where this Luxord character is from, is a group of Nobodies and they have control over the other Nobodies," Chaz guessed.
"Also right," Lisia confirmed.
"If I wasn't here, I wouldn't have believed this, but I saw it, and I do," Chaz said.
"You do know the rumor of the masked boy going around, do you?" Lisia asked.
"Yeah, what about it?" Chaz asked.
"It turns out that he has a Keyblade, too, and he's controlling monsters called the Unversed, which are born from negative feelings," Lisia said.
"You don't have one, too, do you?" Chaz asked.
"No. But I know enough. Sora and Kairi have been dealing with them the longest," Lisia said.
"This is crazy. Key-shaped swords and monsters. I have been hearing those rumors of monsters, so I didn't believe a word of it, but I saw them as clearly as I see you," Chaz said.
"There are things no one can control. I know that from experience," Lisia said. "Despite dealing with evil monsters, there's never a dull moment with those two."
"After what I saw, I don't doubt there's not a dull moment," Chaz said.
A little while later, Sora had his Pokémon healed from their past injuries, and Kairi has placed Pokémon food for the Pokémon. Kairi has confirmed that Duskull and Shuppet were both males. Kairi placed some Pokémon food for Chaz's Machoke, so she figured Machoke is female.
"Here you go, Machoke. Have as much as you like," Kairi said. Machoke took the food and started eating it. The Superpower Pokémon instantly liked the food and wolfed it down. "Glad you like it, Machoke. It's perfect for Fighting-type Pokémon. It's full of all sorts of vitamins."
"Hey, Kairi," Sora said. Kairi turned to her boyfriend. "Thanks for what you did for me earlier."
"I had to, Sora. I knew something was up, so as soon as you brought down that fake Steelix, that's when I figured it out," Kairi said.
"I'm glad you did," Sora said. He hugged her tight. "So, again, thanks."
"It's because I love you," Kairi said. She gave Sora a kiss on the lips, so he kissed her back. Brendan looked at the couple and he smiled and felt envious of how they're open about their love. Lisia and Chaz came back and they saw the couple kissing each other. They parted lips and looked at each other so lovingly.
"Get a room, you two," Chaz said. Sora and Kairi saw Lisia and Chaz as Lisia was smiling warmly, witnessing the kiss.
"A good way to ruin the moment, Chaz," Sora said.
It wasn't long until Sora has prepared some grilled cheese sandwiches for them to eat. Chaz just looked at his quite discontented.
"Grilled cheese? You expect me to eat this?" Chaz scoffed.
"It's not as fancy as what you're used to, but Kairi and I like it," Sora said.
"It looks tasty," Lisia said, taking a bite. "And it's definitely tasty."
"I shouldn't be eating this commoner food," Chaz said.
"If you wanna go hungry, then it'll be your call, so don't blame me if you starve to death," Sora said. Chaz took a bite of his sandwich and he immediately liked how it tasted, but he couldn't let any of them show it. "So you like it, huh?"
"Well, it'll be considered to be bad manners to allow food to go to waste. I'm not accustomed to eating with my hands," Chaz said.
"Not judging," Sora said.
After the meal has concluded, Chaz was taking his leave.
"Well, it's been a pleasure to meet you, but make no mistake, I don't plan on losing in the Fallarbor Town Pokémon Contest, mark my words," Chaz said.
"Just give it everything you got, Chaz," Kairi said.
"I intend to," Chaz said.
Chaz took his leave, so Sora, Kairi, Brendan, Lisia, Pikachu, and Angel were heading for Fallarbor Town in their own way. And so the journey shall continue on until the next adventure should come.