Episode 382: Lucario and the Evil Emperor Part 1
A whole week had passed since the Pokémon Stadium Cup has reached its conclusion. Things have been peaceful in Pallet Town for the most part. There hasn't been any signs of Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, or of Vanitas, and the Keyblade-wielding Pokémon Trainers knew that kind of peace never lasts for long. They asked the swordsmen to practice to build up their vigilance.
Sora and Pikachu were tending to the egg, waiting for it to hatch as Sora polished the egg.
"There you go, little egg. Gotta get you to be nice and clean," Sora said. Sora hummed a tune before he was finished. He saw his reflection in the eggshell. "Nice and shiny."
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"What do you think, Pikachu? Think it's about time we have a talk with the others about where to go next?" Sora asked.
"Pikachu," Pikachu nodded.
"Thought so. Let's make sure the egg is at a safe place," Sora said, leaving the bathroom and to his room. He placed the egg on the pillow on his bed, making sure it was soft for the egg to be on. "There you go. Nice and comfy. Mom and Karen will be by later to check on you, so you be good while I'm gone, okay?" He and Pikachu stepped out as Roxas and Xipak were waiting for him.
"Tending to the egg again, Sora?" Roxas asked.
"Yeah, just making sure it's well-taken care of," Sora said.
"You've been doing that ever since you got it back from Fennel Valley. You've been giving it a bath and everything," Roxas said.
"Just had to make sure the egg shell is shiny as possible. Kairi was pretty much the same way ever since she got her first egg," Sora said.
"It wouldn't surprise me if Xion was like that. She would probably give me a shouting loud enough to make an Exploud deaf. Anyway, the reason I'm looking for you is because..." Roxas paused.
"To discuss on where to go next. I didn't forget. In fact, I was about to bring that up to you, Roxas," Sora said.
"Kairi and Xion are just next door, so we'll head for the Master's house as soon as we get the others," Roxas said.
"Right. Let's get going," Sora said as he, Roxas, Pikachu, and Xipak took their leave. Delia and the Pichu were listening in on them, making her giggle.
"Those boys of mine. They've been home a week and they're already up for another adventure. It really doesn't surprise me. Kaito was the same way before he and I were even married," Delia said. She looked up to the sky. "I know you're watching over them, Kaito. You must be so proud of them. I know Roxas wasn't born the same as most kids, but I know you would accept Roxas without giving a second thought. Because he's your son, too."
Starting with Kairi and Xion, Sora and Roxas had gathered Riku, Naminé, Ash, Leaf, Ethan, Kris, Lyra, Brendan, May, Chase, Elaine, Wes, Rui, and Michael before they went to Rei's house.
Speaking of which, Rei was feeding Magmar, Growlithe, and Flareon some Pokémon food.
"Eat up, everyone. Plenty to go around," Rei said. A knock on the door is heard, so she went to answer it. She answered it to see her apprentices outside. "Ah, hello, apprentices. So glad you could drop in."
"Master, if it's not too much to ask for, but I think we should have a discussion on where to go next for our mission," Sora said.
"Yes, the search for the Keyblade candidates is still on. I was about to bring it up to you. Come in," Rei said. With that said, everyone stepped inside their master's house to make the plans in their travels. "Alright, so far, Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn are places most of you have been to already, so the search is being narrowed down to Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar, and Paldea. And those are places we haven't looked yet. Of course, Alola is an exception to Riku since he lives there."
"So, those are places we have to look into next, do we?" Elaine asked.
"That's right. The last time we've been to a new region, we had some new monsters to fight, and that was when we thought we only had to worry about Nobodies and Heartless," Sora said.
"The good thing about it is we don't have Organization XIII to worry about anymore," Chase said.
"That's true, but still have Vanitas, Loki, Mateus, Garland, Xande, Golbez, Exdeath, Kefka, Sephiroth, Ultimecia, Kuja, and Seymour to contend with," Wes said.
"Yeah, but what if we have even more problems than we already have?" Kris asked.
"Don't jinx it, Kris," May said.
"No, May, Kris is right. We've dealt with Ganondorf, Seth, evil Digimon, and ExDark, and we defeated them. And I know we can defeat them, too. And if we do have some new enemies showing up, then we'll have to deal with them," Sora said.
"Well spoken, Sora. But the question remains unanswered. What will be your next destination?" Rei asked. Sora thought long and hard. He then remembered the egg he retrieved from Gary and remembered him being in Sinnoh. He figured the Sinnoh region would be perfect since he could thank Gary for the egg he gave him and it's a place where to catch some more Pokémon. Sora figured he would catch some Pokémon he hadn't come across before.
"I think our next stop will be Sinnoh," Sora said.
"Pika?" Pikachu asked. Everyone looked at Sora.
"Sinnoh?" The rest of the group asked.
"Why not, right? The Sinnoh region is a perfect place since it's full of Pokémon we hadn't seen before like a Starly and a Bidoof. You can't tell me that you guys aren't a bit curious about it, too, aren't you?" Sora asked.
"Sora actually has a point, but I think it's an excuse for you to thank Gary for the egg you got from him," Ash pointed out.
"Well, it's a good excuse, isn't it?" Sora asked.
"I'll say it is. I heard all about it from my dad when he went there a few years back. He even told me about how he got in a bind when he was being chased by an angry Hippowdon," Brendan said.
"Sinnoh must be an awesome place," Chase said.
"It's gotta be if it's full of new Pokémon for us to see," Ethan said.
"I heard there's a Pokémon League in Sinnoh, so the same rules applies," Riku said.
"Not only that, but I hear there are Pokémon Contests there, too. But I heard the Contests in Sinnoh are different from the ones in Hoenn and Kanto," Namine said.
"It seems that you all agree on the same thing. Very well, apprentices. You will begin to make preparations to depart to Sinnoh once you're ready. But there is another matter to consider. There is the matter of which one of you will be leading," Rei said.
"Leading? You mean you want one of us to be the leader?" Sora asked.
"You don't need to decide right now. You still have all the time in the world to decide it. You see, you're quite a team of Keyblade wielders, known as a Union. And your union will be led by one of you. Like I said, you don't need to decide it right now, so you have all the time in the world to make up your minds. You make up your minds while you're heading for the Sinnoh region," Rei said.
"Thanks for for that, Master," Sora said.
After the meeting with their master, Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Xion are heading back when they saw a red car in front of the Ketchum house.
"You expecting any visitors?" Kairi asked.
"I don't know," Sora said. They went over to the house and entered. They saw Sora's cousins, Sora and Lily whom has a strong resemblance to her mother, but she wore a white dress and white shoes. Padgette smiled when she saw Sora.
"Sora, look at you. You've grown," Padgette said, hugging Sora tightly.
"Hi, Aunt Paddy," Sora greeted as he hugged her back. He looked at Lily and smiled. "Hey there, Lily. Keeping Arthur out of trouble?"
"You know someone had to keep this knucklehead out of trouble," Lily said.
"You know I'm right here," Arthur said. Padgett looked at Roxas and she smiled.
"So, you're Roxas. I've been waiting a while to meet you, but my company tends to keep me busy," Padgett said.
"It's not a problem, Aunt Padgett. I was hoping to meet you at my welcoming party," Roxas said.
"I think I'd like it if you could call me 'Aunt Paddy', Roxas," Padgett requested.
"Sure thing, Aunt Paddy," Roxas said, smiling. He earned a hug from his adopted aunt. Lily approached Kairi and Xion.
"Let me guess. You're Kairi and Xion, aren't you?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, we are. It's nice to meet you," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Kairi and Xion? I'm having telling which is which, because they're so very pretty," Padgett said.
"That's what I thought when I first met her," Delia said.
"Um, what brings you here other to meet Roxas?" Sora asked.
"There's a reason for it, though," Arthur said.
"The reason for it is because you were given this invitation from Rota," Padgett said.
"Rota?" Sora asked.
"Yes, here," Delia said, handing her son the in invitation and read it. He saw it was an attendance to Celebration of Freedom Day festival. It happens to be Sora's favorite holiday ever since he was a little kid. Though he liked Christmas like any kid would, but Celebration of Freedom Day topped it. This holiday is the day the world celebrated victory over the Palamecian Empire.
"Dear Sora,
You and your comrades are hereby invited to attend the Celebration of Freedom Day festival here in Cameron Palace in the Kingdom of Rota. Your blood tieds to Sir Aaron, the legendary aura knight is not the reason of your invitation.
There is a tournament known as the Hero of the Year if you are interested. I am looking forward in meeting you.
Sincerely,
Queen Ilene
"I don't believe it. I'm being personally invited to attend it in the Cameron Palace in Rota," Sora said.
"I know, it was quite a shock to hear it, but Queen Ilene is personally inviting you and your friends to attend," Delia said.
"I guess our traveling plans will have to be on hold for right now," Sora said.
"Traveling plans? Sinnoh?" Padgett asked.
"That's right. You went over to Rei's house. I take it that you've made up your mind, honey?" Delia asked.
"Yeah, we talked it over, so we'll be making plans to travel to the Sinnoh regions," Kairi said.
"I figured you would travel again so soon since the Pokémon Stadium Cup ended," Karen said.
"Is that right? Sorry to spring this on you, Sora. I didn't know that you-" Padgett said.
"Don't worry about it. I wouldn't miss this holiday for the world. Even the Heartless won't ruin it for me," Sora said.
"I guess we'll pass it on to the others," Roxas said.
"You mean other Keyblade wielders like you four?" Lily asked.
"Yeah," Xion said.
"We can introduce you to them," mom," Arthur said.
"I'd like that," Padgett said.
(Flashback)
We have a look back to the Wild Rose Rebellion, where war has engulfed the world. This war has taken place centuries after Gaia, Cascade, and Viento have each been given their own set of misfortune when Master Xehanort attempted to forge the X-blade and access Kingdom Hearts with Gaia as his vessel.
We have a look at a young man with dark blue hair and blue eyes. He wore an azure vest, boots, gloves, and band around his black hat. He has gray sleeves, pant-legs. In one hand, he held a staff with a jewel in the center, and in the other, he held a sword with a sapphire handle. This is indeed Sir Aaron.
He is fighting along with Firion, Maria, Guy, and several other soldiers against the Palamecian army. Not only there were human soldiers, but there were also Pokémon wearing Palamecian armor and a horde of monsters to fight against the freedom fighters.
Sir Aaron and a warrior wearing black armor are fighting off the enemy soldiers. He has long, silver hair, reaching down to his shoulders. And he has blue eyes. This warrior is the ancestor of Riku.
The two warriors fought against the Palamecian soldiers.
"You're a fool to side against us, Darcel. You are one of the finest dark knights the world has ever produced, and you would make a great asset for the Empire. There is no need for you to die," the general said.
"I would rather be dead than to serve a mad emperor," Darcel said.
"So be it! Kill them both!" The general commanded. The soldiers attempted to attack when an aura blast struck the soldiers. The blast came from a Lucario using Aura Sphere.
"Sir Aaron," Lucario said through the aura.
"Lucario, my student. Good of you to come," Sir Aaron said.
"I will always come whenever you need me, Master," Lucario said.
"Kill that Pokémon!" The general ordered as Houndoom wearing Palamecian armor came at and attacked. One of the Houndoom fired Flamethrower, blinding Lucario.
"Lucario!" Sir Aaron exclaimed. Lucario bested the Houndoom with Aura Sphere.
"Don't worry about me, Master. I am using your teachings to guide me," Lucario said as he blasted one of the soldiers with Aura Sphere.
"Must I do everything myself?!" The general roared as he rushed to kill the blinded Lucario when Sir Aaron stabbed him from behind with his sword.
"You will not touch him," Sir Aaron said, pulling the sword from his back. The general lays on the ground, bleeding out and dying.
"Long live Emperor Mateus," the general said his final words before he died.
Later, Sir Aaron, Darcel, and Lucario are joined by Firion, Maria, and Guy as they had stormed the imperial palace.
"The emperor's end is imminent," Firion said.
"Yes, but can we do it?" Maria asked.
"We have to. The world depends on our victory. Only when the evil emperor is defeated can we truly be free," Darcel said.
"Indeed," Sir Aaron said.
"We shouldn't wait any longer," Guy said.
"I agree. Let us go," Lucario said.
"No, Lucario. Not this time," Sir Aaron said. Lucario was shocked to hear Aaron say those words.
"What do you mean, Master? We've both prepared for this, so why not?" Lucario asked. Sir Aaron didn't answer him, so he held the staff as Lucario flows inside the crystal. "Sir Aaron, why?"
Further up, Sir Aaron, Darcel, Firion, Maria, and Guy approached Emperor Mateus whom is sitting in his throne.
"Well, well, well, it appears I have visitors. Or should I say, unwanted intruders," Emperor Mateus said.
"Emperor Mateus. Your reign of terror ends today," Sir Aaron said. Mateus laughed evilly.
"Is that so? It's rather amusing that a band of insects like you believe you can defeat me and my empire. You insects aren't even worthy to be crushed by my foot. Guards, I summon you!" Emperor Mateus shouted. Just then, the guards entered the throne room from the side. The guards wore black armor with horns on both sides of the heads. "Kill them!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The guards said as they engaged the group of warriors.
They all engaged the guards as they clashed their weapons against their blades. Darcel gave one a kick in the gut as Sir Aaron unleashed a burst of aura, hitting several of the guards. Firion struck down one with his sword as Guy chopped him with his axe. Maria shot one with her arrow. The guards fought fiercely as Sir Aaron stabbed one with his sword and pushed him off. They kept on fighting until the last of the guards were dead.
"You're fresh out of guards, Your Majesty," Sir Aaron said.
"So, it seems. I shall the pleasure of killing you myself," Emperor Mateus said, standing up. "I order you to..." He unleashed a blast of lightning, "DIE!" The warriors are pushed back as Sir Aaron creates a barrier of aura and uses it to protect himself and his comrades.
"This will not last for long, but we mustn't give up," Sir Aaron said.
"Everyone would have died over nothing if we die here," Darcel said.
"I won't let it happen. We mustn't give up," Firon said.
"I agreed. We came too far to give up," Sir Aaron said. He sends out lightning made of aura and uses it to push back the emperor's lightning attack.
"You cannot hope to defeat me!" Emperor Mateus said.
"Yes, I can!" Sir Aaron said, pushing back. Mateus screamed as he goes flying. Sir Aaron unleashed a burst of aura, hitting him. Sir Aaron then comes at Mateus and struck him. He groaned in pain. He then laughed in pain.
"Is that the best you insects can do?" Mateus asked.
"It is," Sir Aaron said, holding out his hand. "And more!" He unleashed a beam of aura, hitting him and weakened him greatly.
"I-I-Impossible! How can this be?" Emperor Mateus asked.
"Your oppression ends here today. You and and your empire have lost," Sir Aaron said. Matues laughed evilly again.
"You think so, do you? Well, you might as well just think again. I may have been defeated today, but mark my words, I will again return one day. And when I do, you will not be here to stand in my way," Emperor Mateus said.
"Maybe, but someone like me will be here to stop you, Mateus. And that is a promise," Sir Aaron said as Mateus vanished in a huff of yellow smoke.
(End of flashback)
Over to Firion, he was thinking about Sir Aaron and about the day Mateus was defeated, but not destroyed.
"Firion, something eating you up?" Guy asked.
"There is. How can we celebrate when the Emperor is still alive after all these centuries?Especially after we thought he was dead?" Firion asked.
"Mateus is emperor of no one. Palamecia is no more. And because of that, the people can live their lives as they were meant to; not being ruled by a power-hungry madman," Maria said.
"What if he strikes? What then?" Firion asked.
"Relax, Firion. Whatever happens will happen. We can't control a future we have no understanding over. Besides, I heard someone mention they were making something known as 'churros' for the celebration," Guy said.
Firion, Maria, and Guy went off to join in the festivities.
Meanwhile, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Naminé, Roxas, Naminé, Roxas, Xion, Ash, Leaf, Ethan, Kris, Lyra, Brendan, May, Chase, Elaine, Arthur, Pikachu, Angel, Eevee, Azurill, Xipak, Celeste, Marill, Volt, and Maple arrived to Rota. There, the townspeople were dressed in medieval outfits.
Before leaving, the rest of the Keyblade wielders were introduced to Padgett and Lily, they left for Rota and head for Cameran Palace for the competition to held there.
"Here it is. Cameran Palace," Roxas said.
"Pikachu," Xipak said.
"Look at that. Everyone is wearing traditional costumes," May said.
"Yeah, but we don't have any costumes," Chase said.
"We can pick some up at the palace," Arthur said.
"Then, let's head for the palace and change," Ethan said.
"Great idea. Let's go," Sora said.
With that said, everyone reached the palace and changed. The boys all wore heroic costumes as the girls wore ball gowns. May's dress is a pink ball gown with a white vest and red underskirt, decorated with tiny bows, an ornament sewn similar to Beautifly wings on the back with a green jewel, with a red choker with a tiny green jewel that matches the one on her back. She wears her hair in two different ways in this outfit, with different accessories for each: in one way, she wears a large red rabbit-ear bow styled to look like her regular bandana, and another, she has little pink pom-poms that hold twin tails and tiny red bows on braids.
"So, Brendan, what do you think?" May asked. Brendan blushes at the sight of her in her costume. He was captivated by her beauty.
"You look beautiful," Brendsn said.
"Thank you," May said.
"You all good good," Sora said as he is dressed like Sir Aaron.
"So do you, Sora," Kairi said, wearing a pink ball gown with a petal overskirt, a ruffled white petticoat, long triangular sleeves, a golden tiara, and blue or pink shoes. Sora blushed over how beautiful she looked in it. "What's the matter, Sora? Torracat's got your tongue?"
"You look very beautiful, Kairi," Sora said, blushing. Kairi blushed just as much.
"Thank you," Sora," Kairi said.
"Come on, let's go. The competition is about to start," Ash said.
"Yeah, we should go before Sora turns into a statue," Arthur said.
"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, making everyone laugh.
"Presenting her royal majesty. The luxurious ruler of the Kingdom of Rota... Lady Ilene!" The referee announced as a beautiful young woman with long wavy blonde hair. She wore a pink gown and a gold tiara. She is seen carrying a Mime Jr in her hands. She placed Mime Jr down as an elderly woman ealked in with her. The queen waves to the cheering crowd.
"That's gotta be Lady Ilene," Wes said.
"She's beautiful," May said.
"And now in honor of Sir Aaron, Spyro and their nobel deeds. We will begin our annual Pokémon battle tournament!" Lady Ilene announced, beginning the tournament. Sora stepped out as did his first opponent.
"Go for it, Pikachu!" Sora called out.
"Breloom! Go!" The Trainer called out, throwing a Pokéball, letting out his Breloom. "Use Mach Punch!"
"Thunderbolt!" Sora ordered. Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt, shocking the Mushroom Pokémon. "Iron Tail!" Pikachu slammed his tail on Breloom, knocking the Mushroom Pokémon out.
"Breloom is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! The winner is Sora!" The referee announced.
Everyone cheered and clapped their hands, including the queen and her chamber maiden.
The tournament went on as it was now down to the final battle. Sora's final opponent is a woman wearing a knight's armor as her partner is a Weavile.
"Weavile!" Shadow Claw!" The woman ordered. Weavile came for Pikachu with a Shadow Claw.
"Iron Tail!" Sora ordered. Pikachu clashed his tail against Weavile's claws.
"Use Shadow Ball!" The woman ordered.
"Thunderbolt!" Sora ordered. Pikachu fired Thunderbolt, sending Weavile down, resulting in a knockout.
"Weavile is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! We have a new guardian for the year, Sora Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The referee announced.
"Great job, Pikachu," Sora said. The woman approached him and took off her helmet.
"That was a great battle. Congratulations. I'm Kidd," the woman introduced herself.
"I'm Sora," Sora introduced himself.
"As in Sora Ketchum? The Pokémon League Champion and the Champion of the Pokémon Stadium Cup, Sora Ketchum?" Kidd asked.
"Um, yeah," Sora said.
"Well, it was a thrill to be meeting and battling you," Kidd said, shaking hands.
Meanwhile, in Count Ernesh's mansion, Mateus looked through a crystal ball.
"They celebrate the fall of my empire. The most powerful empire the world has ever know. How dare they insult me in this matter!" Mateus growled.
"And insult we cannot have, Mateus," Insidious said, stepping in. Mateus saw Insidious coming to the former emperor.
"Lord Insidious. May I presume you share your distaste for this so-called holiday of my downfall?" Emperor Masteus asked.
"I do. Sir Aaron has destroyed your empire and your pride, but you can have them back. You simply must rebuild your empire," Insidious said.
"I intend to do so, Lord Insidious. Sir Aaron may no longer be here, but his descendants are. And I will destroy them and erase Sir Aaron's bloodline from existence. And the world will be mine to rule," Mateus said.
How will Mateus make his move to rebuild his empire and what happened to Sir Aaron after he defeated Mateus the first time? We will have to find out when we continue on. Stay tuned.