Episode 260: Brendan's Keyblade
Shortly after winning her second Contest Ribbon in Fallarbor Town, Kairi looked at her two Ribbons and she saw that she only needed to win three more Contests before she could enter the Grand Festival. But she knew it wasn't going to be an easy thing to do since she'll be up against some tough competition ahead of her.
As for Sora, he decided to train for his Gym battle coming up. He had Poochyena and Zigzagoon sparring with each other. Brendan and Lisia were watching it go down.
"Okay, Poochyena! Use Thunder Fang, and Zigzagoon, use Headbutt!" Sora ordered. Poochyena came at the Tiny Raccoon Pokémon with a Thunder Fang as Zigzagoon dodged and lands a Headbutt on the Bite Pokémon. "That was a great dodge, Zigzagoon. Poochyena, try a Bite this time!" Poochyena came right at Zigzagoon with a Bite, intending to land a bite. Zigzagoon tried to dodge, but Poochyena came too fast for him to dodge, so he bit Zigzagoon by the tail. "Shake him off, Zigzagoon!" Zigzagoon attempts to get Poochyena to let go of his tail by swing his tail. Zigzagoon kept on swinging his tail until Poochyena was successfully off. "Nice work, guys!"
"Pika!" Pikachu added.
Poochyena and Zigzagoon kept on training hard just by biting and headbutting right until they stared right at each other. They kept on staring at each other until they both started to evolve simultaneously, much to Sora's awe.
"Poochyena, Zigzagoon, you're evolving," Sora said, awestruck. Kairi and Angel noticed the evolution taking place. They kept on staring until Poochyena and Zigzagoon have evolved right into a Mightyena and Linoone. "You became a Mightyena and a Linoone. I knew you two could do it." The newly evolved Pokémon both beamed. "Since you evolved, that would mean you both learned some new moves. Mightyena! Use Snarl!" Mightyena unleashed Snarl and sends it right at Linoone. "Okay, Linoone! Dodge and use Slash!" Linoone dodged Mightyena's Snarl and lands a Slash on Mightyna. Sora was impressed by how strong those moves were. "That was awesome. Take five for right now. Don't overdo it." Mightyena and Linoone took their break and relaxed for a bit. Sora turned to Pikachu and Seedot. "Okay, Pikachu, Seedot, how about you two have a crack at it this time?"
"Pika," Pikachu nodded.
"Seedot, Seedot," Seedot also nodded.
Both Pokémon got in front of each other, waiting for Sora's instructions.
"Seedot, I want you to know, I don't wanna hurt too bad, so it's only a practice battle, but at the same time, treat as it was real." - Pikachu subtitle.
"I'll do my best. Sora wants us to be ready for anything, doesn't he? Well, don't worry about hurting me, because I won't hold it against you." - Seedot subtitle.
"I appreciate it, Seedot. Give me everything you got!" - Pikachu subtitle. Pikachu got into position for their sparring match.
"Okay, Seedot! Use Bide! And Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Sora ordered. Pikachu fired Thunderbolt right at Seedot as he started to endure the hit from Pikachu's Thunderbolt. As Pikachu kept firing Thunderbolt, Seedot was building up more energy. Seedot held his own thanks to his resistance to electricity, but it still hurt him. Despite that, Seedot was taking it. "Okay, Pikachu, ceasefire!" Pikachu stopped firing Thunderbolt and then unleashed a burst of energy, sending it right at the Mouse Pokémon. "Dodge it, Pikachu!" Pikachu ran to dodge Seedot's attack, but it came too quick for Pikachu to dodge. "That was awesome, Seedot! I had no idea you had this much power in you. Man, even a Shiftry would be surprised by this."
"Seedot, Seedot, Seedot, Seedot!" Seedot said, jumping up and down. Seedot then started to evolve just like Mightyena and Linoone did earlier. Seedot has now become a Nuzleaf. He was still jumping up and down. "Nuz, Nuz, Nuzleaf!" He stopped jumping when he saw that he evolved. "Nuz? Nuzleaf?"
"You're a Nuzleaf now," Sora said.
"Nuzleaf!" Nuzleaf said.
"Since you evolved, that means you learned a new move. So use Razor Leaf!" Nuzleaf took the leaf from his head and threw several leaves and sliced a rock like it was a cake. "Awesome job, Nuzleaf."
"Congratulations, Nuzleaf," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"I know you would be an awesome Shiftry when you evolve again," Brendan said.
"I think we should slow it down since we don't wanna get ahead of ourselves," Sora said. "Besides, Nuzleaf isn't the only evolved Pokémon here."
"Sora's right. Mightyena and Linoone deserves some praise, too," Lisia said.
"Congratulations to you two, too," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
Meanwhile, over to Rei, she was greatly troubled by the bit of news.
"How could I not see it before?" Rei asked.
(Flashback)
It was when Rei was walking down the road when she sensed something. He summoned her Keyblade and held it tight. The Eternal Flames came right at her, but she held her Keyblade tight, blocking the chakrams. She saw Axel standing before her.
"So you're Sora's father's apprentice. I gotta say, you're a little younger than I was expecting," Axel said.
"Judging by your attire, you're with Organization XIII," Rei said.
"I was," Axel stated. "I had a feeling that we would cross paths at some point."
"Well, you're gonna regret meeting me," Rei said, coming at her. Axel calls his chakrams and clashed with her Keyblade. She swung her Keyblade again, so Axel blocked with his chakrams again. As they fought, Rei looked at Axel, and he does the same thing. She said in her thoughts, "He's tough. Tougher than I thought. He has a handsome face. Wait, he's the enemy! And I won't let his charming, good looks distract me!"
"She's skilled. If I had a heart, I would say I she's very beautiful, but I'm not going to tell her that," Axel said in his thoughts. They separated from each other and stared at each other in their faces.
"Not too shabby," Rei said.
"I was thinking the same about you, Snow White," Axel said. Rei blushed red when she was called that. Kaito was the only one who called her that. She ends up blushing. "Are you blushing?"
"No," Rei lied. She attempts to strike him down, but he dodged, so he knocked her down on the ground. Axel dismissed his chakrams and pinned her down. "So what happens now?"
"That really depends on you," Axel said. Rei moved her knee over to Axel's crotch and beaned him in the family jewels, so Axel winced and fell to the ground, holding his crotch. He spoke with his voice all high and squeaky, "That was a low blow!"
"Well, you said it depends on me, hothead," Rei said. Axel slowly got up on his feet. "I didn't think a Nobody felt anything."
"It's still a low blow," Axel said. "But that was a mean kick." He chuckled, but regrets doing it. "Ouch."
"Why did you attack me?" Rei asked.
"I was only testing you out," Axel said. "I gotta say, you didn't disappoint me one bit."
"Neither did you," Rei said. "I'll have you know, my name's Rei Sakura, not Snow White. Now, what's yours?"
"The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" Axel asked.
"I guess I do. Why is your Organization trying to take out Sora?" Rei asked.
"Now, why would I tell you that?" Axel asked.
"Because you know the reason for it since you're one of them," Rei said.
"I was. I left the Organization, same as my best friend," Axel said.
"Your best friend, huh?" Rei asked.
"Yeah. And they're gunning for me since I left. So I don't have a home to go home to," Axel said.
"Is that even legit?" Rei asked, skeptical.
"I know you find it hard to believe, but it's true. Roxas and I were inseparable, but then he had to go away to make it right," Axel said. Rei looked at him and she felt sorry for him. She felt that Roxas is someone she should know about, and it struck a particular cord with her. She placed her hand on his, surprising him.
"If this Roxas is your best friend, then can you at least tell me about him? Please?" Rei requested. Axel nodded.
"Roxas is a pretty stand-up kid. When I first met Roxas, he made feel like I had a heart. He was the only one that I actually liked ever since I became a Nobody. And you're right about that, Nobodies don't have feelings," Axel explained.
"They sound real to you, right?" Rei asked.
"I think so. Even though we don't have the heart to feel it," Axel said.
"Axel, tell me. I need to know," Rei said. She was prepared for the answer she didn't want to hear, but she knew she had to ask. "I would like to know whose Nobody is Roxas. It felt like I had to know."
"Roxas actually came from Sora," Axel answered. Rei was surprised by this bit of news.
"You're kidding!" Rei exclaimed.
"If I was, you'd be laughing. Roxas is actually Sora's Nobody. Roxas was born when Sora turned into a Heartless when he sacrificed himself to save Kairi. And when Sora changed back from being a Heartless, Roxas lost all the memories he had as Sora. Roxas was first found by Xemnas, the Organization's leader and brought into the Organization. For a while Roxas was carrying out orders Xemnas has been giving him. Along the way, he met Xion, Kairi's Nobody."
"Kairi's Nobody? She never mentioned being turned into a Heartless," Rei said.
"She didn't. She was born a different way than a Nobody would have been normally born. Xion is a special kind of Nobody," Axel said. "Getting back on Roxas, when he learned who he really was and where he came from, he left the Organization, but they didn't take his resignation with good humor. So they tried to force Roxas back into the Organization. I left shortly after he did, so I had to have Xion come with us because I knew Xion will be in danger if they knew about her."
"So that's why Organization XIII attacked Pallet Town. Does Sora and Kairi know about them?" Rei asked.
"No, they don't. But I think the Organization knows about Xion by now, so the both of them thought they'd make things right by going back to where they came from," Axel said.
"That sounds right. Roxas and Xion have made the right choice by going back, but all the same, I wish I met them both, because things would have been different," Rei said.
"You're right about that, because it would have been," Axel said.
(Flashback ends)
"Sora and Kairi have too much on their plates already, so I can't burden them both with this bit of information. I can understand why Delia never shared this with me, because she knew I would tell him. The same with Kairi's parents. Did you know about them, too, Kaito?" Rei asked in her thoughts.
Meanwhile, Sora, Kairi, Brendan, Lisia, Pikachu, Angel, Ali, Grovyle, and the other Pokémon were having some lunch. A Mudkip is among Brendan's new Pokémon. Suddenly, they spotted May and Max coming up.
"May, Max, good to see you guys," Brendan said.
"Hi, Brendan," May blushed.
"So how are things going with you, May?" Lisia asked.
"Smoothly. I won another Contest Ribbon. And I saw the one in Fallarbor Town and I was at the edge of my seat," May said.
"You kept on clinging to me when we were watching it," Max said.
"I couldn't help it," May said. "Anyway, congratulations on winning your second Contest Ribbon, Kairi."
"Thanks, May. And if you wanna join us for lunch, you're more than welcome to," Kairi offered. May smiled.
"Max and I would like that," May said. May and Max joined the group for lunch and they shared their experiences since they last saw each other. They even shared about their encounter with Luxord and another Keyblade wielder named Zell. "I can't believe those guys would go far to make a Pokémon out of thin air."
"Neither could we, but it's true. Luxord would have made me cash in my chips if Kairi didn't step up," Sora said.
"I just figured he was a dirty cheater," Kairi said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"You can say Luxord gambled and lost," Lisia said.
"But he'll show up again, along with the rest of them," Sora said.
"Chu," Pikachu agreed.
Brendan looked at Sora, Kairi, and Brendan, so he felt envious that they each have their own Keyblade and he didn't. He even felt that about his crush, so he wished he could do his part to protect May when the need should come.
With the topic of the Keyblade in their minds, Rei have arrived to the group and she noticed Nuzleaf, Mightyena, Linoone, Zangoose, and Seviper with them.
"It looks like you've been keeping busy since the last time I saw you," Rei said. The group turned to see Rei coming.
"Master Rei," Sora, Kairi, and May said.
"I earned my second Frontier Symbol and Kairi has won her second Contest Ribbon," Sora said.
"I see. You've both been doing well. And you May?" Rei asked.
"I won a Pokémon Contest, too, Master," May said.
"Good job," Rei said.
"Yeah, but we also met Ben Blaze just before we got to Fallarbor Town and he filled us in on he knows you and Sora's dad," Kairi said.
"Ben? Ben's here?" Rei asked.
"Who's Ben?" May asked.
"He's an old friend of Sora's dad back when he was a kid. Sora was very happy to see him again," Lisia said.
"It must have been a nice reunion between the both of them," May said.
"If you met him, you'd like him," Lisia said.
"I just wish I bumped into Ben, because I-" Rei was cut off.
"He wanted me to tell you that he's proud of you for teaching us, Master," Sora said. Rei just smiled as she looked at Sora. She then saw Roxas in his place. The same can be said as she saw Xion in place of Kairi. She quickly shook it off.
"Is something wrong, Master?" Kairi asked.
"Wha, huh?" Rei asked.
"For a second there, you looked like you saw a ghost," Lisia said.
"You could say that," Rei said nervously. "But since the three of you are here, I thought it would be appropriate for me to teach you something about your senses."
"I think you already covered that with us," Sora said.
"Actually, it's different," Rei said. She took out blindfolds for Sora, Kairi, and May. "Wear these blindfolds."
"Okay," May said. She, Sora, and Kairi put the blindfolds over their eyes.
"Now, call your Keyblades," Rei instructed.
Sora, Kairi, and May summoned their Keyblades.
"I don't understand why we have to do this, becuase with these on, we can't see," May said.
"Your eyes can play tricks on you, so you don't always have to rely on them. Beisdes, there is more than way to see. And that brings us to our topic. You have your other senses that don't originate from the use of a Keyblade. Those senses are the senses of hearing, touch, smell, and taste. You must use those other senses in your surroundings. In this exercise, you must rely on your sense of hearing, because there will be times when you not be able to use your eyes to see anything coming your way. This is another way to test your ablities as wielders of the Keyblades. Now, are you ready?"
"Yes," Sora, Kairi, and May answered.
"Then, let's begin," Rei said, summoning her Keyblade and creating orbs of light. "Now, listen." And they did listen as the orbs or light moved forward. May tried listening for the sound, but one came up behind her before she could act. Sora and Kairi were also having some difficulties of their own, so they swung their Keyblades to land a hit, but missed them completely. "Use your hearing! Listen for the movements of the orbs!"
"Right! Listen for the orbs," Sora said. He swung his Keyblade like a baseball bat, but he missed his target once again. Kairi listened very carefully. She stood her ground as one was coming right for her. She waited until the last moment and struck the orb of light with her Keyblade, taking it out.
"Good work, Kairi. But it's not over yet!" Rei said. Sora and May were having some trouble with it as well, but he had to get his act together. He waited for the orbs of light to come to him. He jumped and he casts a thunder spell, hitting all the targets at once. "Great job, Sora!" May tried listening for the sounds the orbs of light made. She managed to land a hit on the orb of light. "Not too bad, May." Sora, Kairi, and May carried on with their training for their sense of hearing until Rei made the orbs of light vanish. "Enough. You may remove your blindfolds." Sora, Kairi, and May does so and stood before her. "You all did well. The senses of touch, taste and smell will also be of help to you, but that is something all of you will learn on your own. I will pass this on to Riku, Naminé, Ash, Ethan, Lyra, and Kris when I see them again. But I suggest you all practice on those."
"Yes, Master," Sora, Kairi, and May said.
Suddenly, their sense of hearing kicked in when they all heard something soaring. Pikachu and Angel's ears perked up just as well.
"Something is coming this way," Kairi said.
"Be ready, apprentices," Rei said, summoning her Keyblade as Sora, Kairi, and May held theirs tightly. A screeching sound is heard throughout the forest, scaring the Taillow, Swablu, Beautifly, Dustox, Volbeat, Illumise, and, Altaria in the sky, and the Wurmple, Zigzagoon, Poochyena, Shroomish, Breloom, Seedot, Nuzleaf, Lotad, Igglybuff, Jigglypuff, Kecleon, Surskit, Vulpix, Pichu, Oddish, Budew, Roselia, Gloom, Plusle, Minun, Zangoose, and Seviper on the ground. The Pokémon were all running in the woods, past the group.
"It's something really bad if it's scaring the Pokémon," Brendan said.
The roar is heard again as something is flying right towards them. It turns out to be another Heartless.
It is a large, draconian creature with predominantly dark green skin, save for its belly, which is tan, and its wings, feet, and the tip of its tail, all of which are brown. Its body is rather thin, while its three-toed feet are quite large, each sporting yellow talons. Its wings seem rather short and bulky when compared to its feet and tail, and its wingtips are vaguely reminiscent of the Nobody symbol. The Heartless's tail ends in a large, misshapen club with three conical, yellow spikes on it, and its head is V-shaped and flat. It has beady yellow eyes on either side of its head, and its Heartless emblem is on its chest. This Heartless is known as the Tailbunker.
The Tailbunker unleashed another roar, making Brendan, Lisia, and Max cover their ears.
"Oh, great. Another Heartless," May groaned.
"It can't be helped, May. We gotta take it out," Kairi said.
"Kairi's right. One Heartless left out on the loose is too dangerous," Rei said. The Tailbunker swoops down, attempting to grab them like a hawk snatching a rabbit.
Sora, Kairi, May, and Rei dodged the attack from the draconian Heartless, so Pikachu and Angel wanted to join in.
"Not this time, Pikachu! We need you stay with the other Pokémon, because I don't want them to be in harm's way," Sora said.
"You too, Angel! Stay where you are!" Kairi said.
"Pi," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel nodded.
They allowed their Trainers to do what they have to do deal with the Tailbunker. The Tailbunker unleashed flames right at the Keyblade wielders, so they dodged the flames, but the Tailbunker the slammed on the ground, creating a shock wave. It then rushes at the Keyblade wielders while spinning. Sora, Kairi, May, and Rei jumped out of the way and attempted to strike it, but it swings its tail hitting Sora and Kairi. The Tailbunker spews fired, forcing Rei to cast a reflect spell to protect herself. May then rushes at the Tailbunker, but it flapped its wings and snatched her in its talons.
"May!" Max and Lisia gasped.
"May, no!" Brendan exclaimed.
"I'll get her down! I just need to cast a spell to get her down!" Sora said.
"No! You might hit May! And even if you do land a hit on it, it'll drop her and she'll die in the fall!" Rei said. Sora just growled.
"May," Brendan said. He clutched his fist. "I won't lose her! I won't! I won't lose her!" A light shines all around Brendan, making Max and Lisia shielded their eyes. The light stopped shining and they were surprised by what they were seeing next.
"Brendan," Lisia said.
Brendan felt something in his hand and he turned to look at what he was holding in his hand. It was a Keyblade. The Keyblade is red. The guard of the Keyblade is shaped like Groudon's face. The blade had Groudon's white spikes protruding from each side. The teeth of the Keyblade is shaped like Groudon's claws with the Omega symbol on it. The token is the head of Primal Groudon. The Keyblade shall be known as Omega Ruby Groudon.
"No way! I have a Keyblade, too!" Brendan exclaimed. He looked up to May in the Tailbunker's talons, so Brendan threw the Omega Ruby Groudon right at the Tailbinker's talons, making it drop her. Brendan ran and caught her in his arms. "I got you, May."
"Brendan, thank you," May said. "Did you do that?"
"Yeah," Brendan said, putting May on her feet and he grabbed his new Keyblade. "I guess I'm officially in the club now." May smiled.
"And I'm glad you could join," May said. Brendan and May held their Keyblades as the Tailbunker lowered itself close to the ground. "You still think two against one is an unfair fight?"
"If it's a Heartless, then it's an exception," Brendan answered.
Brendan and May rushed at the Tailbunker with an attempt to strike it down. It flew back and spewed three fireballs. Brendan and May dodged the fireballs and came at the Tailbunker and struck it by the wings, hurting it. The Tailbunker glides to move in for a kick. It kept on kicking and kicking. The Tailbunker attempts to rush at Brendan and May, but they gave the dragon-like Heartless a slash on the tail and then they struck the Heartless on the wings. The Tailbunker was about to shoot out some fireballs, but Brendan and May struck the Tailbunker with theiir Keyblades. The Tailbunker gave one, last roar before falling to the ground. A heart is seein floating in the air before it vanished.
"Way to go!" Sora said. Brendan and May turned to see their friends as they were watching them fight the Tailbunker.
"The both of you have done well," Rei said, walking up to the two of them. "The way you both handled that Heartless has impressed me very much. You've shown that you can work well together. And you're going to continue working together from now on."
"You mean...?" Brendan asked.
"That's right, Brendan. Beginning right now, you are going to be learning about the ways of the Keyblade under my teachings," Rei said.
"I will do my best to learn what you can teach me, Master Rei," Brendan said.
"I'm glad to hear it, Brendan. I am not going to make things easy for you up ahead," Rei said.
"Looks like they themselves a new classmate," Lisia said.
"I wonder if I could have a Keyblade," Max said.
"I honestly doubt that, because you would be forced to fight evil monsters," Lisia said.
"You're bad as May," Max said.
Meanwhile, in the World That Never Was, Saïx appeared before Xemnas in their thrones.
"Lord Xemnas, another Keyblade wielder has been identified. It is the son of Professor Birch, as you have predicted," Saïx reported.
"The Keyblade wielders in the other regions have still not awaken their powers. Only time knows when they will awaken," Xemnas said.
"Indeed. This gives us more of a reason to speed things up," Saïx said.
"True. We must begin planning our next move at once," Xemnas said. "And make sure the rest of the Organization knows this."
"At once, Lord Xemnas," Saïx complied with the Organization's leader.
Back in the Hoenn region, Sora, Kairi, Brendan, and May have begun swinging their Keyblades around just to get Brendan familiar with his Keyblade. It won't be long until Brendan learns to use his magic.
"Hey, Brendan," Sora said.
"Yeah, Sora?" Brendan asked.
"I was kinda hoping it was you. You got the right stuff," Sora said.
"I'm glad I get to show it off," Brendan said.
"Save your conversation for later. Keep your blood pumping!" Rei said.
"Yes, Master Rei!" Sora, Kairi, Brendan, and May said in unison.
Brendan has awaken his potential for using the Keyblade, things are going to be more interesting, but the Organization is making a new plan to fight them, so what could it be? Find out when we continue on with the journey.