Lucario Fanfic – Quest for Power Chapter 15

← Chapter 14 / Contents Page

Lucario fanfic – Quest for Power (Team Ruki Origins)

【 Chapter 15: A New Beginning 】

Ruki, Alina and Filio had left Mega Island, exhausted from their long journey. As they were in no shape to continue battling, they had decided to leave the search for Filio’s Absolite for some other time. Once they returned to the Kalos Region’s mainland, they rested for some time at the beach near Shalour City, taking their time to recover from their wounds and to think of where to go next. Filio had gone off for a walk, so Ruki and Alina laid down on the sand to watch the stars together. Ruki took in a deep breath, enjoying the cool sea breeze.

“I think that this is the first time I can lie down like this, without worrying about anything,” the Lucario said. Alina giggled, leaning against him. She placed a hand on his cheek and turned his face towards her to look at it.
“Since you were always in a hurry before. And you were always frowning! You look more handsome like this, with a calm face.”
“Oh, stop that.” Ruki grumbled, turning away with a light blush. The night wind blew through his fur gently.

“It’s getting late. You’re not cold?” He asked the Tsareena.
“Maybe… A little?” Alina said, blushing.
“Liar. You never say that you’re cold when you’re actually feeling cold. Just say that you want a hug,” Ruki replied, wrapping his arms around her awkwardly and pulling her closer.
“……” Her blush deepening, Alina buried her face in the Lucario’s chest.

“Thanks for always paying attention to me, Ruki,” she said, “After losing Roza, I thought that no one cared about me anymore. I expected you to just tolerate me being there, but you did so much more.”
“It’s just manners. My parents would’ve punished me if I don’t treat a girl properly.” Ruki’s cheeks reddened as he avoided eye contact. Alina smelt so nice.

“You came from a good family, didn’t you?” The Tsareena giggled. “It feels like you’re more than just a knight to me, Ruki. Say… Will you… be my dance partner?”
“……?” The Lucario looked at her, unsure of what to say.
“Sorry, it’s a foolish question, isn’t it?” Alina buried her face in his chest again, rather embarrassed.
“O-Oh, no, not at all…!” Ruki replied awkwardly.

“You’ve helped me so much on my way here too, Alina. I never expected someone with such a pure Aura to bother with someone like me either.” He cupped her cheek to look at her delicate face. “I’m no prince, but if you’ll have me, then I’d be happy to accompany you. You’ve helped me reach my goals this time, so I hope I can contribute a little to yours, too.”
“Ruki…”

“Oh, dear me, look at those two love birds. Hahaha!”

Ruki and Alina blushed and pulled away from each other in panic when they heard Filio’s voice.
“Noooo! Don’t let me stop you!” The Absol said in disappointment.
“Filio, you’re back,” Ruki said, a little annoyed, “What’s that you’re carrying?”

Filio let himself drop next to his two friends, raising a little puff of dust as he settled down on the sand. He pulled out a poster which he had tucked into his neck fur, passing it to Ruki.
“A group of Machoke and Machamp gave this to me. It’s a poster about a new type of Pokémon battle that the humans are developing–Unite Battles.”
“Unite Battles?” Alina asked, leaning in to see as Ruki stretched open the poster to look at it.

The poster showed the picture of an island paradise, with clear blue seas and lush green forests. There, they had built several stadiums and facilities for Unite Battles, where two teams of five Pokémon battle each other.

“Word has it that lots of powerful Pokémon gather there,” Filio said, “And it’s a team battle, too! Sounds good for practicing our team synergy and for training in general. If you don’t have any plans, we can go and give it a look. What do you think? “

Ruki gave it some thought before replying. “Well, it’s a fact that I failed to Mega Evolve in the end. So training to be as strong as a Mega Lucario even without evolving sounds like a plan. It’ll be nice if these Unite Battles can help me with that. If there are lots of powerful opponents there, all the better.”
“I don’t see a problem,” Alina said, “The island looks like a nice place to visit!”

“Heh, guess we have our next destination, then,” Ruki said, “We’ll leave at dawn.”
“Ready whenever you are, Ruki!” Alina replied.
“Tagging along wherever you go, boss!” Filio laughed.

With that, they sat together and looked confidently towards the horizon, excited for the beginning of their new adventure.

---

Meanwhile, dark clouds continued to swirl over Mega Island. As always, various Pokémon prowled and battled each other across the rocky fields. Vicious cold winds blew across the unfriendly landscape as winter settled in. The temperature dropping, snow began to fall, making the conditions of life even harder. But the harsh environment were of no concern to two certain Pokémon taking refuge in a cave.

Zeraora groaned weakly as he slowly regained consciousness. He felt that someone was holding him. There was an object in his mouth, pouring some liquid down his throat. Naturally, his first reaction was to panic. He choked and bit down hard with his sharp teeth.

“YEOWCH!”

He tasted some blood. The object was pulled out of his mouth and he was dropped to the ground. His head was spinning, but fearing for his life, the thunder cat forced himself to wake up, looking at his surroundings. He was in a cave and an Inteleon with tattered fins was looming over him, worrying about his bleeding finger.

“Dear sir, that’s not very nice!” Inteleon said.
“W-What did you do to me?!” Zeraora demanded, panting in fear and backing away against the stone wall.
“Just letting you drink some water! You know, to keep you alive!” The other said, shooting a spray of freshwater from the tip of his finger to demonstrate. “Isn’t it fascinating that you’d never have water shortage if you have a Water-type Pokémon with you? Mine’s as fresh, clean and tasty as spring water, so worry not☆”

“Couldn’t you find a better way to do it?!”
“Well, sorry that we Inteleon produce water from a gland in our fingers. Or would you prefer drinking it from my lips?” Inteleon winked at him cutely.
“Ugh…”
“But oh dear, you have no sense of survival! What would happen if you just passed out like that in the middle of nowhere?! You’re a rare species, so please be more careful with your life!”

Still groggy, Zeraora could barely make out half of what he heard. He buried his face in his palms. His face and forehead were burning hot, and he had a throbbing headache. A sharp pain in his stomach reminded him of what happened before he fell unconscious. A cold shiver ran down his spine.

“Ruki…!” He cried out, terror in his face.
“Shh, shh… The Reaper’s not here anymore. You’re safe now,” Inteleon told him, patting his back to calm him down. He helped the cat to lie down again, sitting down next to him.
“You still have a fever, so rest well. Tell me if anything hurts.”
“……” Calming down a little, Zeraora looked around. His wounds had been bandaged. There was a familiar white cloak over his lap that acted as a blanket. He looked at Inteleon.

“You’re the Pokémon in the white cloak. Did… Did you save me?”
“Yes. You can call me Skye.”
“Skye… I owe you.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I used to have a Trainer who was a doctor. Treating the wounded’s just natural!” The other chuckled proudly. “Although if you want to return the favor, I’d be happy if you’d let me study your body. This is the first time I’ve seen a Mythical Pokémon from up close. You’re really… fascinating!”

“…How long was I out?” Zeraora asked, evading the request.
“Hm? A month or so. You slipped in and out of consciousness. Ruki certainly did a number on you,” Skye answered with a shrug, “Too bad that it didn’t storm at all while you were out, so I couldn’t get any electricity to heal you faster.”
“I see… Ruki… He was stronger than I expected.”

Zeraora frowned in frustration as he thought back on his last battle. It was an absolute defeat to a mere Lucario. The weather had even been in his favor to let him unleash all his strength as a Mythical Pokémon. Losing despite all his advantages was total humiliation. What would he say to his master when he returns to Mount Frost? Skye noticed his distress.

“Bothered that you lost to the Reaper?”
“…Yeah. If I’m given another chance to fight him, I would. I promised to beat him.”
The cat balled his hands into fists, claws digging into his paw pads. Seeing his determination, Skye smiled at him, leaning closer and gently saying into his ear.

“Would you like to know where Ruki went?”

“……!!” Zeraora’s eyes widened. Looking at Skye, he demanded an answer hurriedly. “Tell me!”
“Ooh, impatient, aren’t we?” The other chuckled darkly. “My little birds told me that he’s heading to Aeos Island with his Tsareena and Absol friend. They’ll be joining a new form of battle called ‘Unite Battles’ there.”
“Aeos Island?”

Skye made some water drip out from his fingertip, using it to draw a map on the cave’s stone floor.
“This is Mega Island where we are. And this is Aeos Island. Hope you can memorize this map.”
“Hmph, I’ll get there before that map you drew dries up.”
“Well, I know that you have lightning speed and all, but right now? With all your wounds and your fever?”

As they were talking, thunder can be heard rolling in the skies outside. Zeraora smiled.
“Yeah. Looks like we have our storm. I’ll have plenty of electricity to heal up.”

Before Skye could protest, the cat drew out his claws, ripping away all his bandages. The deep gash along his stomach looked like it was still far from healing, glowing a faint blue and thirsting for electricity. He’d take care of that soon enough, though. Fighting his headache, he struggled to stand up, supporting himself against the cave wall as he headed to the cave’s entrance.

The winds were blowing wildly outside, snowing heavily. Lightning flashed in the dark clouds above, thunderbolts stretching down to earth as if searching for him. It was a thundersnow, a phenomenon where the cold temperature turned the rain of a thunderstorm into snow. Zeraora smiled, remembering that his beloved master had been named after this weather. Before parting, he looked back at Skye.

“Skye… Thanks for saving me and telling me about Ruki. If we ever meet again, I hope I can repay you in some way,” he said, “Well… Preferably something that doesn’t involve you studying my body. Hope things go well for you until then.”
Skye smiled warmly, waving to him. “Looking forward to our next meeting then, kind sir. Winning against Ruki would be quite a difficult challenge, but good luck!”

Zeraora returned the smile, turning around and exiting the cave. He walked out into the snow, closing his eyes and spreading his arms. The storm welcomed him like a parent who had found their lost child. Thunderbolts struck the ground and danced around him. Absorbing all the electricity, he floated off the ground and healed his wounds.

His previously hunched and weakened form returned to a majestic one as he regained his energy. The large wound on his stomach closed perfectly into a long blue scar, a reminder of his past and his future purpose. Fully recharged, he concentrated his electricity to his feet and shot off into the distance at lightning speed, headed straight for Aeos Island.

Skye leaned against the wall at the cave entrance with his arms folded, content as he saw Zeraora off. Looked like his own long adventure to Mega Island was over too now. He removed his locket from around his neck and opened it, looking at the photo of a little girl in a wheelchair with her Sobble inside. Nozomi and him when they were young.

“Are you happy with the test results… Nozomi? Your medicine worked. I’m not a crippled Inteleon anymore. It’s all thanks to your hard work. Too bad that you’re not here to see it with your own eyes…” He said wistfully.
“Now that this whole elixir and IV business is over, I want to be an Inteleon you can be proud of. To repay you for everything.”

He looked out at the snow, wondering where to go next.
“Well, you always said that we’ll explore my homeland Galar together if the medicine succeeds, so maybe I’ll go there and see what I can use this new body for. Watch me, Nozomi!”

Excited as he settled on his next destination, Skye closed his locket and put the necklace back around his neck. He trotted back into the cave with light footsteps to pack his stuff, looking forward to his own new beginning.

【 END 】

---

Trivia

Recurring objects and plot devices:

• Thunderstorms
  To reflect how Ruki and Zephyr (a Pokémon born from thunder) are arch-enemies, Ruki always got slowed down and tormented by thunderstorms throughout his journey.
• Stars
  Stars are used by various characters in the story to look for their way and to not get lost. Alina with the star jewel’s Ruki’s guide whenever he’s in trouble. A bright star also features on the cover page illustration since it’s an important story element.
• White
  Since Ruki’s theme colour is black, anyone with white colour schemes are his opposites. While Ruki has a twisted personality, Alina with her white cloak is pure. As the antagonist, Team Hope’s theme colour’s white: Nozomi has white hair and all the scientists wear lab coats, Skye also wears a hooded white cloak.

← Chapter 14 / Contents Page