Lucario Fanfic – Quest for Power Chapter 13

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Lucario fanfic – Quest for Power (Team Ruki Origins)

【 Chapter 13: Zeraora, King of Storms 】

A deafening roar of thunder. Their duel began. It was Ruki against Zeraora–the final battle of the Lucario’s journey. If he wins, he’d get his Lucarionite. Eyes set on that goal, Ruki got ready to fight, his blue black Aura flaring up wildly. Standing across him, Zeraora’s eyes shone a bright blue, electricity crackling in his fur. Without hesitation, he lunged at Ruki with an electrified fist.

The Lucario blocked the punch with his bone scythe, but it felt as though an Avalugg had Body Slammed him with its entire weight. Sent flying, he slammed hard against a large rock. Zeraora zipped across the field in a blink, suddenly appearing right in front of him.

“Spark!” The cat’s movements too fast for his eyes to follow, Ruki was hit by a hard electric kick to his stomach. Wet from the storm, the electricity bit into his flesh, easily spreading across his entire body. He forced himself to keep moving, dodging the next two kicks from the cat skilfully.

“Wow, no one’s ever managed to evade my attacks like that before,” Zeraora said in amazement, “You’re really as strong as the hooded Pokémon told me!”
Ruki glared at him. He tried to fight back with his scythe, but his foe would just evade him with his incredible speed. The Lucario kept his distance, trying to form a strategy.

Speed, strength… Mythical Pokémon were really something else. It annoyed him that the cat was formidable enough even without doing anything special, attacking head on recklessly and depending only on his natural powers. He could feel the other’s inexperience. If Zeraora was any other Pokémon, Ruki would’ve won easily, but unfortunately, he was a Mythical Pokémon–a rare, special jewel that resulted from the condensation of nature’s great powers.

A Pokémon that was born powerful. Ruki hated that idea to the core.

Gifted, Mythical and Legendary Pokémon soared above the rest of the world from birth. Groudon and Kyogre ruled the land and sea since they came into existence. Celebi could breathe life into forests. And Zeraora fought like lightning itself–fast and powerful, each attack dealing as much damage as a thunderstrike. Meanwhile, having no such godly powers, common Pokémon like Ruki and everyone else had to crawl and struggle through sweat and blood just to survive. Disgusted by that unfairness, he glared at the thunder cat.

“You sound so confident. In that case, I’ll beat you so hard that you won’t dare to battle again!” the Lucario threatened. He gripped his scythe tightly, ready to fight with renewed vigor. “Come at me!!”
The blue-black Aura around him turned darker and flared up. Zeraora felt the sudden pressure from his foe, but it didn’t scare him.
“As if I’d let you win! Discharge!”

Concentrating his energy, the cat let loose a large flare of electricity, shocking Ruki with a powerful electrical wave. The Lucario growled as his body started to fry, but the pain was nothing compared to what they did to him in the labs. So without flinching, he lunged at Zeraora while he was in the middle of performing the attack, catching him off guard.

With all his strength, he rammed the blunt end of his scythe right into the cat’s stomach. Zeraora gasped, all the air knocked out of him from the unexpected blow. Before he could react, Ruki attacked again.

“Extreme Speed!” He slashed at the cat, but unrivalled in speed, his target dodged. Ruki wouldn’t let him evade the next one, though. Grabbing his foe by the tail, he pulled him back, charging his scythe with Ground energy.
“Bone Rush!!” He yelled, attacking with a merciless flurry of slashes.

Zeraora roared as countless wounds opened all over his body. As an Electric-type, the Ground-type move was even more painful for him, sucking out all his electricity. Greatly weakened, he dropped onto his knees before crashing to the ground, panting in pain. Ruki chuckled darkly, using the tip of his scythe to lift the cat’s chin up, forcing their eyes to meet.

“Hmph, being born stronger than other Pokémon made you careless. Attacking head on like that might work on weaklings, but you’re nothing against skilled opponents. Your strength shall be your downfall!!”

Ruki swung back his scythe and raised it high, ready to deal the final blow. Zeraora glared at him defiantly. He wasn’t going to lose from something like this. His blue eyes and horn glowed brightly, and Ruki was suddenly thrown back by a powerful blast of electricity.

“What?!” The Lucario exclaimed.

Controlling the electromagnetic field around him with his paw pads, Zeraora floated off the ground into the air. Once he was high enough, he closed his eyes and spread his arms open. The storm raged around him, strong winds blowing and thunder striking. It would’ve been terrifying for any other Pokémon to stand in the midst of all that, but not for Zeraora. He is the storm.

Dark clouds began swirling around the Thunderclap Pokémon, crackling with a great amount of electricity. Feeling the sudden violent change in the weather, flocks of birds dispersed from nearby trees and many Pokémon in the area evacuated in a hurry. Ruki shielded himself as thunder began striking around him destructively. Unaffected by the chaos and being one with the element, Zeraora absorbed the thunderbolts into his paw pads. Electricity pooled at the cat’s wounds, healing them completely as though they were never there.

“Volt Absorb?! You’re kidding me!” Ruki spat, glaring as his foe’s ability undid all of his hard work.

Unleashing his true powers as a Mythical Pokémon, Zeraora’s Aura grew to be even more intimidating. A veil of hot whitish blue electricity coursed through his entire body, forming a little crown of thunder over his head. The air around him glowed blue with a high density of plasma. High voltage currents crackled and thunder rolled.

He was lightning incarnate–Zeraora, King of Storms.

Having regained his energy, the cat opened his eyes slowly, looking down at Ruki from his thunderous throne.
“Looks like you’re stronger than I expected. Been awhile since someone cornered me,” he said. Any trace of friendliness and playfulness in his voice was replaced by serious authority. “But I won’t play around now!”

Ruki growled in frustration. He was already somewhat tired while Zeraora just restored himself to full health? How was he supposed to win this? The scale and power gap between them just proved that Mythical Pokémon shouldn’t be messed with. He wasn’t fighting a Pokémon, but a literal thunderstorm. It was as foolish as a mortal challenging a god. Ruki hated it even more.

“Tch! So that’s why you fought so recklessly. You don’t even have to worry about dying! How unfair of nature to birth creatures like you!” The Lucario spat, purely disgusted. Even so, he smirked twistedly as a thought came to him.

“But I see now. In a way, we’re both cheaters. I didn’t get my own strength naturally either,” he said, thinking of his artificial perfect IVs. It was nothing compared to Zeraora’s powers, but that would be perfect to push himself over his own limits. If he wins this, he would finally have a victory that he could call his own–not something caused by just his IVs. He’d be free from Team Hope’s haunting grasp. Filled with a new enthusiasm, he pointed his scythe at his foe challengingly.
“I’ve always wanted a battle like this. Your death shall be the proof of my abilities!”

“……?!” Zeraora was taken aback by the Lucario’s sudden killing intent. There was something dark emanating from him. But not one to back down from a duel, he prepared to fight back.
“In that case, I won’t hold back!”

Looking up to the dark clouds, the cat closed his eyes, letting out a long, melodious meow. A song of the storm. His call echoing through the rain, the clouds answered back, shooting down a deluge of giant thunderbolts around the field. The ground shook from the impact. Ruki hurriedly evaded them, using the rocks nearby as cover. Zeraora wasn’t kidding about not playing around, although he swore that this was overkill. Their little spar had evolved into a death match. While he was still planning his next move, Zeraora appeared behind him.

“Wild Charge!” He shouted, lunging at Ruki with his sharp claws.
“Extreme Speed!” The Lucario moved away by reflex, barely managing to evade the attack as the rock next to him exploded into smithereens. He took the chance to slash Zeraora with his scythe. But the other simply released some of the electricity stored in his paw pads to heal himself. He then put his palms together to charge a giant ball of electricity.

“Plasma Fists!!”

Zeraora slammed his charged paws to the ground, sending a giant blue thunderbolt straight at Ruki. The Lucario braced himself as it exploded in his face, screaming from the electrocution. Once the currents subsided, he breathed heavily, smoke and remnant electricity rising from his burnt fur. His body swayed as he began to feel lightheaded, but using his scythe as a crutch, he refused to fall. Zeraora looked at him in surprise.

“How are you still standing?!”
“This is a battle to see the results of everything I’ve worked for so far,” Ruki said through pants, “I won’t lose. Especially not to the likes of you!”
“Hmph. Admirable fighting spirit, but this victory’s mine!”

The cat raised his paws, about to absorb more thunder for his next attack. Seeing that, Ruki saw his chance. It seemed that Zeraora always had to absorb some electricity first in order to attack or heal, so he just had to make sure that he didn’t get another chance to recharge.

“Extreme Speed!” He lunged forward, swinging his scythe powerfully. In one swipe, he slashed both of Zeraora’s exposed paw pads, wounding them greatly. The cat yowled in pain.

“What?! No…” Zeraora growled. He tried raising his paws again, but no matter what he did, lightning wouldn’t strike them. Ruki chuckled.
“Noticed that you’ve been absorbing and storing all your electricity in there. Without them, you’re as good as a Skitty!”

Then Ruki saw it for the first time–the fear and panic in Zeraora’s eyes. It made his heart dance with a strange excitement that he had never felt before, like a wolf chasing a bleeding prey. He grinned a sharp-toothed grin, madness in his eyes. It was time to turn the tables.

“REVERSAL!!”

The Lucario gathered the powerful energy and willpower that only Pokémon fighting for their lives could muster. His weapon transforming into a giant pitch black scythe, he swung it at Zeraora in a huge arc. Unable to avoid the attack’s wide range in time, the cat took the slash. It threw him back and slammed him against a rock wall. He moved away just in time to avoid another blow from Ruki.

“Is that all you can do without your electricity?! Hahaha!” The Lucario taunted.

Zeraora glared at him. Against giving up, he fought back with his claws. Ruki took care to dodge him. His foe might’ve been weakened, but if he himself took even one more hit with all his wounds, he was as good as dead. Waiting patiently for an opening, he used the flat side of his blade to knock the other off balance. He’d win this now. Exerting all his remaining energy, he prepared his next attack.

“BONE RUSH!!”

Zeraora watched in horror as a large number of black bone staffs materialized from the ground around him. Unable to evade, he did his best to shield himself with his arms. The staffs shot at him like spears from every direction.
“……!!” He winced in pain as the Ground-type move wounded him severely, draining his energy even further.

While the cat was stunned, Ruki gathered an energy ball in his hand. His will to destroy the other was so strong that his Aura became pitch black. The ball spun into a small, highly concentrated orb that resembled a little black hole–the condensation of all of Ruki’s hatred. He slammed it into Zeraora’s chest. The cat’s eyes widened in horror as the world felt like it suddenly stopped.

“Aura Sphere,” Ruki whispered softly into his ear, smirking as his victory was sealed.

The next moment, a giant whirlwind of dark energy engulfed Zeraora. He screamed as he felt it tear through his body and consume him. Ruki’s Aura invaded his own forcefully. Images of death, fear and despair attacked his mind and there was nowhere to run. Once the whirlwind subsided, he dropped weakly to the ground, tears streaming down his fearful face as he clutched his chest in pain.

“N-No… I can’t… lose like this… Get up…” Zeraora sobbed with a broken voice. “Master Snow…”
But try as he might, he couldn’t bring himself to move. His body shivered, as if it knew that it couldn’t win against Ruki. Meanwhile, the Lucario towered over him, a dark shadow across his stern face.

He did it. He had brought down a god. With his own mortal hands.

Ruki smiled darkly as his eyes glowed red with delight. For some reason, seeing Zeraora crying and broken at his feet pleased him to no ends. It was the proof that he was superior–the proof that he wasn’t a weak Lucario anymore. What a beautiful sight. He wanted to see more of it. Reaching down, he grabbed the cat by the throat, forcing him up and pinning him against a stone wall.

“……!!” Zeraora gasped in pain. Thunder rolled and lightning flashed, illuminating Ruki’s twisted grin.

“How does it feel? To be defeated and be helpless like this?!” He laughed. The cat struggled against his grip, desperately trying to pull away. Ruki didn’t like that he was still resisting, so he summoned his bone scythe again. Glaring at Zeraora, he drove the sharp tip of his weapon into the cat’s stomach, pushing it in slowly.

Zeraora screamed. The Lucario felt a strange pleasure as warm blood spurted onto his face. Chuckling darkly, he dragged his scythe slowly along the cat’s stomach, making the wound wider and deeper. He wanted the celebration of his victory to last. Zeraora roared in pain, grabbing at Ruki’s scythe and kicking at him weakly in an attempt to stop him.

“No…! Stop…!!” He pleaded, writhing and panting heavily.

Ruki could smell his fear, and it made him all the more ecstatic. Playing with the cat’s life while the other was completely helpless felt amazing. Was this how having complete control felt like? Being strong was certainly addictive. No wonder Nozomi wanted to create powerful Pokémon. Maybe he should do this more…

Just like Nozomi.

“……!!”
Suddenly realizing his horrible actions, he released Zeraora, letting him drop to the ground. The cat panted heavily, in tears as he miserably tried to stop his bleeding. Ruki took a few steps back, trying to calm himself. But he found that his disdain for Mythical Pokémon stayed. He watched Zeraora with cold eyes, a fearsome Pokémon reduced to such a pitiful state.

“Pathetic,” he spat. “That all you’ve got? If the apprentice’s like this, the master must be weak, too. What a let down.” The Lucario turned to leave. “Going to fight Thundersnow would be a waste of time.”

“……!” His words seemed to have hit something within Zeraora. Forgetting his pain, he glared at Ruki.
“You… Don’t you dare talk like that about Master,” he growled. Ruki stopped and turned to look. Fuelled by fury, the cat forced himself up, stumbling and getting back on his feet with difficulty. He drew out his claws weakly from his bleeding paws.
“Take back what you said!!” He cried out, lunging at Ruki with the last bits of strength he had left.

“……” Ruki easily evaded him, smashing him onto the ground with his scythe. Zeraora choked in pain, unable to get back up again. He glared at Ruki sharply–his last retaliation as his consciousness began to fade.

“Ruki… I’ll… defeat you someday,” he swore, tears of frustration streaming down his face.
“Hmph. Then come at me.” Unimpressed, the Lucario used his scythe to keep the cat’s head down on the ground, reminding him of his position. “I’ll show you your place as many times as you want.”
“……” Zeraora wanted to say something, but unable to fight his exhaustion any longer, he passed out, his body falling limp.

(Pictures below are from my comic ‘Studying my Zeraora‘ ↓)

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Once Zeraora fainted, the thunderstorm calmed down a little. Wrapping his black cloak around himself again, Ruki walked through the quiet, grey drizzle to claim the prize for his victory.

The Lucarionite.

The Mega Stone sat there on the rock where Zeraora had placed it, beckoning to him with its promises of power. It was his now, rightfully won. As the Lucario walked towards it, his steps were bold and confident. There was no trace of the self doubt that had always haunted him throughout this long journey.

He stopped in front of the Lucarionite for awhile, trying to process what had happened to him so far, from when he escaped Team Hope’s labs up to this point. It was a long road plagued with pain, despair and regrets, but he had finally made it here. He took in a deep breath to calm himself, ready to end the journey.

Finally, Ruki reached out, taking the Mega Stone. His Mega Stone. It glowed brightly and felt warm in his hand.

Having obtained it with his own strength and wit, he felt a little relieved. He prove that he had mastered his own powers, and that he could stand up for himself now. He should be able to defeat anyone who’d try to hurt him, maybe even protect someone if necessary. Can he finally let go of his past and forget about Team Hope completely? Can he finally accept himself?

“Perfect, perfect! You did it, Ruki. Congratulations!”

Hearing the familiar voice made the Lucario suddenly burn with fury. He turned to look, glaring at the Pokémon he saw. The stranger in the white hood was standing there, appearing out of nowhere as always. He held the unconscious Zeraora in his arms, having bandaged the large wound on the cat’s stomach to stop his bleeding.

“How do you like the pawn I chose for you this time? I see that he’s helped you overcome your fears and gave you a new confidence,” the stranger asked, pressing his cheek lovingly against Zeraora’s forehead. Ruki summoned his bone scythe immediately.
“The hell do you want this time?! That Zeraora’s been with you from the start?!”

The stranger shrugged. “Not at all. I simply arrived on this island before you did, followed a trail of wild Lucario like bread crumbs to a Lucarionite, snatched it from them, and gave it to this clueless cat who happened to be training here. Because I thought that it’d be fun to test your strength against someone this strong.”

He then pressed down lightly on the bandaged wound on Zeraora’s stomach, making the cat arch his back and cry out in pain.
“But you surpassed my expectations and overdid it. This poor cat would’ve bled to death if you just left him back there. And well, huge shame if such a rare species goes extinct because of one of my ‘tests’, so I’ll take responsibility for his life. Don’t you fret about him.”

Ruki growled, feeling the sudden need to kill this guy. Who in the world did he think he was, toying with everyone around him like that? Overcome by anger, Ruki lunged at the stranger, swinging his scythe at him. The other bent over to shield Zeraora protectively, his white cloak ripped away in the process to reveal his identity. Ruki’s eyes widened in disbelief.

It was an Inteleon with a silver locket around his neck. Seeing Team Hope’s winged symbol embossed onto the locket struck terror into Ruki’s soul. The chameleon’s familiar tattered fins further confirmed his suspicions. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he said the his name.

“Skye…?!”

Nozomi’s Inteleon. But this Skye wasn’t like the weak, hunched, bony one he remembered from the labs. The Pokémon before him was well-muscled, with a confident air about him. His Aura was powerful beyond recognition. Skye jumped back, putting a safe distance between himself and Ruki.

“Oh my, seems that I’ve been discovered. What a failure of a secret agent.” Skye sighed, shaking his head sadly. “And careful, there! You might hurt the cat!”
“Why are you here?! You’re supposed to be dead!!” Ruki protested. Among the plethora of questions attacking his mind, he then asked the most disturbing one.

“Is… Is Nozomi still alive…?”

Ruki searched through his memories frantically. He didn’t see her die with his own eyes. If Skye was here, could the evil scientist also have survived the labs’ fires? Was she still out and about with her infernal research? It scared Ruki. Skye smiled quietly for some time, drawing out the silence and enjoying the Lucario’s suffering, before finally deciding to answer.

“No. Unfortunate,” he said simply.

“I was unlucky enough to be alive after the passing of my loved one. Team Hope’s precious elixir that you disrespectfully spilled all over the floor saved me. Drinking it gave me this powerful body similar to yours,” he explained, “Other than that, all other surviving scientists disbanded after Nozomi’s death, because a headless bird can’t fly, obviously.”

Skye looked to the ground, kicking a pebble away sadly. The wings that formed the H of Team Hope’s symbol on his locket were all that was left as a reminder of the organization’s ruined ambitions. He continued.

“I was sad for awhile, but then I remembered that you’re still alive,” he said, looking at Ruki. “Did you know how much work Nozomi put into you? How many nights she stayed up to figure out how to turn you into the perfect Pokémon? You’re one of her most precious treasures–her masterpiece, if you would. So I looked for you and took it upon myself to finish the final stage of her research: Test out the final product in the field, in real life situations. You made it easy by setting out on a difficult journey. I just had to roll in harder and harder enemies at you to see if you can defeat them with the power we provided.”

Ruki took a step back, shaking his head and shuddering in terror. Skye’s explanation sounded like something that came out of a nightmare. The Inteleon smiled at him.

“And you did it! You’ve defeated everyone I’ve sent you, even a powerful Mythical Pokémon. Team Hope’s elixir was proven to be a successful product. Shame that we can’t recreate and distribute it for those who needed it, since you’ve destroyed all our research,” Skye lamented, but he cheered up again. “But even then, you gave me the test results that I wanted. I’m happy that as long as you live, you’ll be a walking proof of my dear Nozomi’s greatness!”

“Right, Ruki? Team Hope’s Lucario?” Skye smiled at Ruki darkly.

“N-No… SHUT UP!!”
Ruki grabbed his head, falling to his knees. Just when he thought that he could move on and forget Team Hope once and for all, Skye had to drop this sudden bomb on him. He hated Nozomi and everything that had to do with her. Being labelled as her product was too much for him to process and accept. Ignoring his plight, the Inteleon continued.

“Well, as promised, I’ll leave you alone now since I’ve completed Nozomi’s research on you. I won’t try to bring back Team Hope or remake the elixir again–it’s just not the same without my mistress, so don’t worry. Anyway, we’ve troubled you enough, so I’ll use my own body if I ever need further data on the elixir’s effects. Thanks for your participation in our experiments, Ruki,” Skye told him, bowing politely.
“And oh, a word of warning before I leave–from my observations, that elixir had nasty side effects like mental instability and horrid nightmares. They plagued me too, so I’d know. Guess no good things come for free, huh? Better stock up on those Chesto Berries for emergency.”

Finished with everything he needed to say, Skye bent down to pick up his torn white cloak. He wrapped it around Zeraora carefully as a blanket, protecting him from the rain.
“Well then, I’ll be off. This child needs some serious treatment,” he said, smiling at Ruki. “I have nothing against you, so I wish you well on your next journey. Hope you can find a good use for your perfect body. Good luck, Ruki. Don’t lose.”

“……” On his hands and knees the Lucario didn’t reply, not knowing what to think.

With that, the two lab Pokémon parted ways. Ruki wondered if he’d live the rest of his life as Team Hope’s product, never able to escape his past. As he struggled to make sense of things, a Tsareena and an Absol came into view.

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Trivia

• Pictures are from my video ‘Team Rhyme Origins‘ and my comic ‘Studying my Zeraora‘.
• Zeraora’s in-game ability Volt Absorb absorbs electricity and turns it into HP.

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Fanart

Fanart of this chapter by NDRAEY (Andrey) (original tweet). Thank you so much, Andrey!
Translation by Andrey: Please stop, No / (Russian) Хватит, Нет / (Finnish) Lopettaa, Ei