Looking up at the strange, amber eyes of the human cradling him in his arms late one evening, the young child listened intently as the man began to speak.
“Once upon a time, there were two people who loved each other very, very much. In fact, they loved each other so very much, that they had more love than the two of them alone could hold. And because the two of them had so very, very, very much love, they decided to take a chance, and go beat up a certain Lucario…”
*
The Lucario, Seitaro, had been accompanying the rest of Bruno’s elite team to train within Sevault Canyon when the strange challengers had arrived. He didn’t know how they’d found him, but they had made it clear they were here for him and him alone. When they’d challenged him with an unspecified favor on the line, his rational mind had told him not to accept such an ominous proposal, especially not from such suspicious foes. His warrior spirit though, upon sensing that he was in the presence of the truly strong, roared at the opportunity to square off against such opponents. The fact that he had no intention of losing also helped.
Now though, faced with the two monsters before him, the Lucario laughed at his own arrogance even as the thrill of the fight roared through him. Through his species’ unique senses and his bond with Bruno, he could tell that his partner for this battle, Ganryu, shared his feelings as the Onix towered amidst the Sandstorm he’d summoned. As two powerful members of an Elite Four team, it was rare for them to face new opponents that could match them, let alone push them back. For the past few years, the only such opponent had been the recently anointed Champion, who’d fought with the kind of burning passion that Seitaro hadn’t felt in years. These two though, fought with a passion that he’d never felt before. It was heavy, obsessive and unrelenting; the kind of passion that would drive them to grind any opposition to their goal into dust, no matter the cost. And right now, it seemed like he was that opposition.
As he hears his partner’s roar echoing throughout the valley, Seitaro danced forward through the Sandstorm, an armor of blue aura bending and sharpening around him, increasing his gathered power with every second. Bruno’s own aura flowed into him as well, suffusing him with strength and honing his senses. With his help, Seitaro’s staff, cloaked with a shadowy edge, cut apart their opponent’s psychic grasps as they reached for him. Weaving between hurled stones and moving though streaks of lightning, the Lucario closed in on his foe with a sudden burst of speed to slash at her. Despite his speed though, the Gothitelle teleported out of the way before he could reach her. She reappeared a few meters away as a blast of psychic energy materialized under him, forcing him to jump away.
Landing, he quickly formed an eerie Shadow Ball, wrapped it within an Aura Sphere, and sent the combined ball of destruction to seek out the psychic’s unique aura. Racing after it, he closed in on her as she paused to try and force the sphere of energy back, but to no avail. It was only once he was a hair’s breath away that she, perhaps knowing that his claws and staff would be a far greater threat to her, once again teleported away. It was no use though. In the split second she disappeared from existence, the combined sphere had already changed directions and barreled towards where she would appear, simultaneously leading Seitaro to her impending location as well.
She finally blinked back into existence with the destructive, combined attack just feet away and Seitaro not far behind. Rather than looking surprised or trying to defend though, the Gothitelle simply stood tall and calm while gathering electricity to herself. He was momentarily confused at her seeming lack of concern, only for a massive spike of aura behind him to replace his confusion with alarm. Ducking low, his body near parallel to the ground, he just barely avoided the searing Hyper Beam that streaked past him before obliterating the Shadow Ball-Aura Sphere combo. His dodge though, left him completely open to the Gothitelle’s Thunderbolt, and he was sent stumbling as lightning coursed through him.
Shaking his head, Seitaro glared as the Gothitelle teleported away, putting more distance between them once again. He’d been close that time, but like they had throughout the battle, any projectiles thrown at the Gothitelle were soon blasted from the sky by her partner, despite Ganryu’s efforts to block her sight.
Early on in the battle, Seitaro had tried closing the distance at Extreme Speed, even breaking the sound barrier to drive Shadow Claws into the Gothitelle’s spirit and shredding apart her attempts to fight back. Unfortunately, the terrain had quickly turned weird around them, tripping him up and sending his mind spinning whenever he tried to move too fast. Now, the psychic danced freely away from him and bombarded him and Ganryu with blasts of telekinetic power. Any attempts to Taunt her or otherwise hamper her movements bounced off the Magic Coat she’d woven around herself.
Every trick he tried and every strategy Bruno called for, she seemed to see through with cool grace, each of the psychic’s eyes glowing with a swirling nebula of light, one spinning clockwise while the other spun counter-clockwise. Despite the intense light dwelling within them though, Seitaro could tell that neither of those eyes had even once glanced towards him or Ganryu since the start of the battle. Instead, they both seemed to stare far off into something even he couldn’t sense while a third eye that burned in his sight hovered above her head, it’s piercing gaze alone tracking Seitaro and his partner wherever they went.
Realizing he was getting nowhere like this, he reached out to Bruno and Ganryu through aura, the three of them quickly mapping out a plan. The rock snake was deep in his own struggle as well, being tossed bodily from his own opponent after having unexpectedly been struck with an Energy Ball he hadn't seen coming, but agreed to help. Despite her partner’s strength, it was clearly the Gothitelle that was the linchpin to this battle and it was her that needed to be stopped at all costs. Plan made, Seitaro growled and charged forward once again, honing his senses to the limit as he blurred forward. The Gothitelle responded by conjuring three glowing orbs of green energy. As he approached, two of them blinked away while the third launched towards him.
She quickly built up more energy to attack, but was forced to stop as Ganryu’s Dragon Breath poured over her in a torrent of crackling flame. Seizing his chance, Seitaro lunged forward while she was distracted, whipping his weapon around to slash through the Energy Ball. His foe started glowing, most likely trying to escape once again, but with another few steps, he was within range and driving his staff towards her heart. One good blow would be all he needed to turn this around. He would-
‘Lord above, what have I done,’ Seitaro nearly dropped to his knees as his staff thudded into the figure before him. Even though the staff’s ghostly edge faded to nothingness as it landed, he was overwhelmed by the sense of guilt flooding through him. Where the dreadful psychic had stood just a second ago, the most hauntingly beautiful Ursaring he’d ever seen was now in front of him, having switched places with his enemy in the blink of an eye. Every iota of her being radiated a Captivating warmth and Charm that soaked into his spirit. The gentlest of eyes peered innocently into him even as sorrowful tears spilled down her face, clearly pained by his grievous attack. A gentle, tantalizing aroma wafted through the air, drawing him in and pinning him in place.
Feeling the strength leaving his limbs, the Lucario made no move to stop the Ursaring even as a burning sun of normal type energy formed within her mouth. After all, if this embodiment of innocence saw fit to attack him, then clearly it was warranted. He would have stayed like that too, if a brain rattling Screech from Ganryu hadn’t broken him from his stupor. Coming to his senses, he just barely managed to form a Protect around himself before a Hyper Beam more powerful than any before it crashed into the glowing barrie, driving him into the ground. He groaned painfully as his barrier cracked, but he managed to sustain it. Once it dropped, he didn’t dare look up again, relying on his auric vision alone to know that the Ursaring too was slumping down slightly from the exertion of the attack.
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Rising to his feet, Seitaro's stomach dropped as he heard another screech coming from Ganryu, this one coming from simple pain and surprise rather than intentional. Turning slightly, he saw the Onix attempting to cover up a harsh wound seeping grass type energy into his rocky body, but he didn’t manage fast enough. The Gothitelle unleashed a devastating Dark Pulse into Ganryu’s core before he could protect himself. Feeling the power in the blow, Seitaro knew from experience that his partner was officially down.
Realizing he’d soon be outnumbered if he couldn’t take out the opponent in front of him, Seitaro called upon all his remaining strength. He was Bruno’s spirit and steel. His role was to be sharper, harder, faster than any other. Channeling all those feelings into his aura, Seitaro forged the blue energy into a blade that would pierce through even the Ursaring’s befuddling veil. With unshakeable resolve, Seitaro surged upwards, driving his blade towards the bear’s chest.
An instant before his blade pierced the Ursaring, Seitaro felt the presence of a crushing Focus Blast appear out of nowhere directly above him. Before he could react, the cannon ball of energy crashed down on the steel type, producing an audible crunch as bones cracked and he dropped limply to the ground at the Ursaring’s feet. His consciousness flickered away from him for several seconds before crashing back into him. Sucking in deep breathes, Seitaro felt a wave of concern flow from where Bruno stood off to the side. Looking up at the Ursaring, he felt a twinge of concern himself as he saw the normal type had formed another quaking Focus Blast. If that hit him in this condition, fainting would be the least of his concerns.
Seitaro’s worries faded though, as the hem of a black dress stepped into his peripheral vision and the Focus Blast blinked away. He briefly wondered where the psychic had sent it, but ultimately shrugged the concern away as he felt that neither pokemon had any intention of continuing the fight.
Moving to stand by the Ursaring’s side, the psychic looked down at him, the glow from all three of her eyes fading away as well. “I believe that this should be sufficient to label us victorious?”
Cough* “Yes,” he huffed out lightly as he pushed himself to his feet. His bones creaked painfully as he moved, but he could already feel his spirit pushing away the pain. He’d need to get checked out eventually, but he’d be fine for now. Glancing to his left, he saw that Ganryu was fully unconscious, but breathing lightly and evenly. Seeing that, he nodded as low as he could towards his two opponents. “Despite my loss, that was a worthy fight. I stand now with a renewed determination to grow stronger. It’s been an honor.”
“Not at all, mate,” the Ursaring responded lightly, her mantle of overwhelming innocent warmth fading and giving way to a more natural charisma. “Honor’s all ours. Thank you for agreeing to this in the first place. I know we kind of sprung it on you.”
“Hoo hah!” Seitaro’s leader, Bruno heaved a heavy breath as he moved to join them, recalling the unconscious Ganryu as he went. Seitaro could feel the human’s usual response to a loss, initial disappointment quickly overwhelmed by the urge to fight and train even more. Sensing his leader’s eagerness behind the man’s stony face, Seitaro grinned lightly in greeting. “Good effort, Seitaro. We’ll need to redouble our training against psychics. Normal types too.”
“Looking forward to it, sir,” Lucario affirmed with a short bow.
“Hmph,” Bruno grunted before turning to their opponents. “You two are strong. Not quite sure what to think of your trainer though.”
Seitaro couldn’t help but wince slightly at his human’s blunt delivery, especially as both pokemon glared at him with looks that would turn a lesser human into a quivering puddle. Seitaro couldn’t say he disagreed with his trainer though, as he turned to look at where his opponents' supposed trainer was.
Sitting motionlessly a few meters behind them, a scarecrow thin and unshaven human missing both his arms from the elbows down and wrapped in dirty robes stared at them blankly. A large and smiling Clefable stood protectively behind him. The human hadn’t spoken a single word since the small group had arrived, instead letting the Gothitelle do all the talking. He had just stared into the distance with an overwhelming feeling of desperation, despair, and anger rolling off of his aura. Seitaro didn’t even know why he was here seeing as he’d made no move to speak nor aid his pokemon in the battle.
‘Rainbow has been through a lot recently. His oldest partner, our brother is still in critical condition,’ the Gothitelle’s icy inner voice filled all their minds, making even Bruno wince in sympathy. ‘Nevertheless, he insisted on accompanying us as a show of support.’
“He’s actually ridiculously happy for us right now,” the Ursaring commented.
Turning to look at the human again, Seitaro nearly jerked back in fright at seeing that he had somehow moved slightly without the Lucario noticing, those empty eyes now boring directly into Seitaro while a painful looking smile split his face in two. His aura still screamed of barely contained violence and frantic energy. Pushing down a shudder, the Lucario turned back to the two. “Ah, I see,” he agreed politely.
‘Good,’ the Gothitelle stated shortly. ‘Now, about that favor we needed.’
Seitaro straightened up at that, bruised and battered as he was. “Of course, a deal’s a deal and you have proven more than worthy of my aid. If it is within my power, I swear to grant you any favor I can.”
“Don’t worry mate,” the Ursaring responded, a faint note of amusement coloring her voice. “My understanding is that this should be pretty easy for you to accomplish.”
Before Seitaro could respond, the psychic’s eyes glowed once more and the drawstring bag at the human’s side leapt into her hands. A few seconds later, two objects floated out of it and hung in front of his face. Taking the hint, Seitaro reached out and grabbed both of them. Peering at the two items, Seitaro felt confused as saw them. What exactly did they want him to do with a magazine depicting several posing Lopunny and a…sealed…... plastic…...... cup. The Lucario felt his mind stall as he realized the purpose of the two items in his paws.
‘Surely, they don’t mean…’ he thought as he looked back and forth between the two pokemon that were staring at him expectantly.
The Gothitelle eventually tilted her head to the right. “There are some bushes over there if you want privacy.”
Realizing they were serious, Seitaro’s head turned creakily towards his trainer, hoping the man might have some guidance for him. In response, the musclebound human nodded decisively with a grunt. “This seems like a personal matter. I’m going to go check on Ganryu. Good luck.”
Feeling a cold sweat streak down his back as his human hurriedly retreated, Seitaro turned back towards the Gothitelle and Ursaring. “Uhhh.”
The Lucario hemmed and hawed, but the two pokemon, the two challengers who had bested him fairly and honorably, just stared at him with resolute eyes. Giving in to the inevitable, Seitaro ultimately walked over to the bushes where- “Ouch!”
*
“Ouch! Hey! Stop that! Where’d you even get a paper fan?” Uncle Skittles cried out as Mama chased him around the room with said paper fan. “I was just answering Fides’ question.”
Meanwhile, Mum had easily scooped Fides into her arms and was watching with a bemused smile while the other two ran around.
“Mum,” the baby bear urged as he tugged on his mother’s arm, causing her to look down. “What’s Mama and Uncle Skittles doing?”
“They’re just playing a little game, baby,” she rumbled reassuringly as she reached down to bop him gently on the nose. “No need to worry.”
“Ohhh,” he said understandingly before frowning slightly. “But what about the rest of the story? Uncle Skittles was supposed to tell me why Saturday and I look so different.”
“Hmmm,” Mum nodded while looking up to watch Mama and Uncle Skittles playing their game. “Well, you see baby… After Mama and I battled that friendly Lucario, he gave us a bunch of dark chocolate as a gift. Your mama and I ate so much of it that our tummies got big and round, and the next thing we knew, we found Saturday’s egg nearby. But when we found your egg, your mama and I had eaten a bunch of milk chocolate. That’s why you two look so different, and that’s also why you can’t stuff yourself full of chocolate until you’re all grown up and ready for babies of your own.”
“Wow,” Fides said in an awed tone. “That makes so much more sense than what Uncle Skittles was saying.”
“Yes, well,” Mum said as the funny human ducked under Mama’s fan. “That’s just how things work in this family.”
Fides nodded happily before turning back towards her. “Can we play the game too?”
“…Sure.”
“Hey Huntress, could you, wait, wait! Why do you have a paper fan too?!”