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Lucario fanfic – Quest for Power (Team Ruki Origins)
【 Chapter 3: Foreign Lands 】
Ruki hated cages, especially being in one. He remembered his days in captivity, and his heartbeat quickened. He forced himself to calm down, trying to think clearly about his current situation.
He was in a region far away from home, and now stuck tied up inside a cage as an Ursaring and a Bronzong whisked him away to sell him off to some poachers. Despite it being broad daylight, there was no one in sight as they walked through the thick bamboo forest, so he couldn’t ask for help.
“We’ve chosen a quiet route that no one uses,” Ursaring warned, “No one’s gonna hear you even if you scream.”
“Tch.” Ruki clicked his tongue in annoyance and closed his eyes. As a Lucario, he could sense the Aura of other creatures from miles away. He focused his attention and searched Zhuzi Forest with his mind’s eye to see if there would be anyone or anything he could use to help him free himself.
Several small human settlements laid in the distance. He supposed Ursaring and Bronzong were planning to take him to one of them. Other than that, he didn’t sense anyone else around, except for a small ball of Aura in the shape of a small bear a little away from him.
Ruki frowned. He doubted a small bear could win against the two brutes who caught him, but it was worth a try. So he focused on his telepathy, trying to get his thoughts to the little bear across the long distance.
‘An Ursaring and a Bronzong captured me. Need help. I’m straight to your left!’
“…!” Ruki noticed that the little bear had picked up his thoughts. He had expected the bear to run away and call for backup, so he was surprised when the Pokemon ran directly at him instead.
FOOL! Ruki thought as he looked towards the direction of the little bear. Suddenly, the leaves of the bamboo trees nearby rustled, and out of them shot out a…
Pancham!
“W-WHAT?!” Ursaring and Bronzong were caught completely off guard when they were suddenly ambushed. Pancham sent a flying kick right into Ursaring’s face, his little panda body hitting him with the force of a cannon ball.
“UGH…!!” Ursaring lost his footing and crashed into the trees, dropping Ruki’s cage. “Ursaring!!” Bronzong shouted worriedly and flew to him.
Ruki’s cage clanged against the ground. The Lucario braced himself as he was slammed around in it. Pancham landed on the cage, tidying the red scarf on his neck as he chewed the single bamboo leaf in his mouth. He peered into Ruki’s cage to check up on him with his huge, round, baby eyes.
“Oh! Stwange to see a Lucawio here. You must be the one who called me. You okay, mister?”
Ruki nodded nervously, surprised at what Pancham could do. The little bear smiled back reassuringly.
“Hang in there, awwight? I’ll beat those two and fwee you!” Pancham then looked towards Ursaring and Bronzong, yelling at them in his squeaky child-like voice.
“The Pokémon twafficking bwothers! We’ve been looking for you! You’re on top of my guild’s wanted wist!”
The child struck a confident pose and pointed a finger at the two outlaws, glaring at them with his cute panda eyes.
“I’m going to awwest you for evewyone you’ve kidnapped! Weady yourselves!”
“……”
An awkward silence ensued. Pancham’s glare was supposed to be intimidating, but no one seemed scared of him. Even Ruki wasn’t impressed. Ursaring, angry that Pancham had hit him, broke the silence with a roar.
“GRRAAHHH!! Who do you think you are, you stupid BRAT?! This isn’t a playground. Go play police somewhere else!!”
Ursaring charged at Pancham with his claws drawn out, unleashing a Slash attack. Despite Ursaring being many times his size, Pancham didn’t seem bothered. He jumped to the side and evaded successfully. Ruki backed away to a corner as Ursaring’s claws connected with his cage with a loud clang, tearing deep gashes into the iron bars. Pancham landed next to Ursaring and dropped into a low fighting stance.
“Low Sweep!” He squeaked as he flipped his entire body to tackle the bigger bear. Pancham’s well-trained Fighting-type move had no trouble inflicting great pain to Ursaring’s untrained Normal-type body. Ursaring let out a shrill cry and fell to his knees. Pancham gave him no time to react though, grabbing him by the arm.
“VITAL THWOW!!” The little panda squeaked loudly, lifting the gargantuan Ursaring and slamming him onto the ground head first.
“Ugh…!” Ursaring coughed from the sheer impact. Feeling faint, he stopped moving and passed out.
“Heh, that’ll teach him for tweating me wike a kid!” Pancham said proudly, rubbing his nose. But then, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head as if it was being bombarded from the inside. The child fell to his side, screaming and writhing painfully.
“NOOO! What’s happening?!!” He screamed. Bronzong loomed over him and cackled victoriously.
“Hehehe, you forgot that you were fighting against TWO of us, little one. I’ve casted Future Sight on you at the start of the battle. Looks like it’s beginning to take effect!”
“Ugh…” Pancham glared up at Bronzong as his body felt weaker and weaker.
“You Fighting-types may be strong against the Normal-type Ursaring, but we Psychic-types are strong against you. You’ve made the mistake of biting off more than you can chew. Now you’ll join that Lucario in that cage over th–WHAT?!”
Bronzong’s eyes widened when he saw Ruki’s cage empty. It seemed that Ursaring’s Slash had damaged the bars enough for Ruki to kick them open and break free.
“Wh-Where…?!” Bronzong looked around for Ruki in panic. A chill ran down his spine when he heard Ruki’s voice from behind him.
“I’ll show -you- who had bitten off more than they can chew,” Ruki threatened, eyes burning with a quiet but unmistakable rage.
“W-What?! I’ll put you back into that cage! Confusion!” Bronzong exclaimed, attacking Ruki with his Psychic energy. Ruki took the hit, feeling a sharp pain in his head, but he was unfazed. Bronzong flinched at Ruki’s boldness.
“I’m also a Steel-type, so your psychic attacks won’t hurt as much,” Ruki explained. “You’re also a dual-type of Psychic and Steel, right? So my punches won’t hurt you. Normally, we both don’t have a type advantage against each other, but you know what I have?”
Ruki raised his arm and gathered the energy of his Aura to summon a Lucario’s signature bone staff. Pancham watched in wonder as the weapon began to form, but was surprised when one tip of Ruki’s staff expanded longer into a large crescent, forming a great scythe. Ruki grabbed the weapon and pointed it at Bronzong, the blade of his scythe burning with a dark, black Aura.
“A-A bone scythe?!” Bronzong exclaimed.
“Some people say that us Lucario might be connected with the souls and spirits of the dead,” Ruki said, “That’s why we have a bone staff as a weapon and this move is a Ground-type move. It’ll erode and damage your Steel until you can’t fight!”
“A-Aaaaa!!” Bronzong turned around and tried to fly away in fear, but Ruki wasn’t about to let him.
“BONE RUSH!!”
Closing his distance with Bronzong immediately, Ruki swung his scythe mercilessly at the bronze bell, slashing him in quick succession. Hooking the scythe’s blade around Bronzong, Ruki smashed his opponent to the ground with a final swing. Bronzong crashed onto the rocks with a loud toll, the impact ringing his hollow body and sealing his defeat.
“Noooo… How??” Bronzong whimpered. “I’m a strong Bronzong. My attacks should’ve affected you a little more…”
“Maybe because you challenged someone with the perfect IVs,” Ruki told him. Bronzong fainted, not understanding Ruki’s words.
“Hmph.” Seeing his enemies vanquished, Ruki made his bone scythe disappear. He turned to look at Pancham, who was shivering on the ground.
“……” Did he overdo it and scare the child? Not that he cared much about it. But then the panda jumped up in joy.
“T-That was so COOL!” Pancham shouted excitedly, “C-Can I call you Shifu? Aaaaaa!!”
The little Panda ran in circles around Ruki’s feet in glee and then stuck to one of his legs, giggling. Ruki tilted his head curiously.
“Hm? What’s Shifu?” He asked.
“I forgot that you aren’t fwom awound here. It means ‘Master’ in my wegion!” Pancham smiled. “Speaking of which, you should come see my actual Shifu! He’s my Guildmaster and I think he’d be thankful that you helped us catch Ursawing and Bwonzong. He’d have a reward for you.”
“Guild? Guildmaster? What’s that now?”
Ruki was so confused. This foreign region seemed to have a different system from Sinnoh and he felt so lost. But before he could ask more questions, his stomach rumbled loudly. Pancham giggled.
“A guild’s a band of Pokémon who do good things. My guild’s made up of locals who gathered together to help evewyone in Zhuzi Fowest when there’s twouble,” Pancham explained, before continuing, “Anyway, we also have wots of tasty FOOD after compweting quests! Come, Mr. Lucawio! I think it’s easier to expwain what a guild is if you see it for yourself!”
Ruki thought for a moment. He supposed he might as well have a meal and ask for some road pointers to get to Kalos, so why not? Dusting off his black cloak, Ruki accepted the little panda’s offer.
“Alright. I’ll come with you. Let me carry Ursaring and Bronzong back for you.”
“Yay!”
Pancham led Ruki to a cave within Zhuzi Forest, where his guild’s base was located. By the time they arrived, the sun had set. Ruki was glad they made it to their destination before nightfall.
Once they’d walked a little further into the cave, they entered a wide room where many Pokémon of various types gathered. A large stone slab that acted as a table laid in the center of the room, with plenty of berries and fruits on it. The atmosphere was lively as the guild members laughed, chattered and ate together around the table.
“Welcome to the Zhuzi Guild!” Pancham told Ruki proudly. He then ran ahead of Ruki to announce his return to his friends.
“Evewyone! Shifu! It’s Pancham! Mr. Lucawio here caught Ursawing and Bwonzong for us!!”
Ruki dropped the unconscious Ursaring and Bronzong next to Pancham.
The announcement caught everyone’s attention. Several guild members ran towards Pancham and Ruki worriedly.
“Pancham! Those two are dangerous. You’re not hurt, are you?!”
“Lucario, you caught them? They’re both known to be very elusive!”
“They’ve been kidnapping our children! Thank you!”
Ruki felt a little irritated to be suddenly crowded by so many people. Luckily, a loud, commanding voice calmed the crowd for him.
“Guys! They’ve just returned. Give them some space,” A Pangoro, a large panda Pokémon, ordered from his seat at the dining table.
“Shifu!” Pancham squeaked in glee, running over to jump into Pangoro’s lap. Pangoro patted his head, making the little panda smile blissfully. He then addressed Ruki.
“Welcome to the Zhuzi Guild, Mr. Lucario! Guildmaster Pangoro at your service! Sorry for the mess, but my members are thankful for your great deeds. Hahaha!”
“Pangoro,” Ruki greeted him with a nod, “Comfortable place you got here.”
“Heh, make yourself at home, young wolf. Let my guild members take care of Ursaring and Bronzong for you,” Pangoro said, before patting the empty seat next to him.
“Why don’t you come and dine with us?”
Pangoro told Ruki that he could eat as much as he wanted as thanks for his deeds, so he did. Ruki was hungry. It seemed that Ursaring and Bronzong had been having dealings with some human poachers, where they kidnap the Zhuzi Forest’s rare Pokémon in exchange for human goods. The guild members were glad that the two outlaws had been captured.
“What sort of goods were they after?” Ruki asked curiously.
“Max Potion, Full Heal, Revive, Rare Candies… You know, the convenient man-made stuff,” Pangoro answered, gnashing at his berries irritably, “They must’ve learnt how to use them from the poachers they traded with. It’s sad, but I guess some aren’t afraid to dirty their hands if it’s easier to get things done that way. After all, it’s convenient.”
Ruki looked down at the table, quietly remembering what Nozomi told him about some Trainers. Pangoro asked him.
“You said that you’re going to Kalos to look for a Mega Stone?”
“Yeah…?” Ruki looked up at Pangoro, surprised at the question.
“Is it because it’s a convenient way to become stronger?”
“……” Ruki had no answer. He never thought about it that way until Pangoro said it. Pangoro chewed on his bamboo leaves thoughtfully, continuing.
“You sure you really want to Mega Evolve? I’ve heard that it can be dangerous. There’s no Mega Evolution in this land. Neither was there one in yours. But you’ve fought and lived even then. Do you think that you aren’t good enough simply as yourself?”
“…Not good enough?” Ruki gripped the fur on his lap tightly. His chest hurt. Pangoro might’ve said something he never realized about himself.
“Yes,” he mumbled, “I, as I am now… I’m not good enough. I need to become stronger. Much stronger. Wouldn’t be out here looking for some damn stone, otherwise.”
He turned to look at Pangoro, raising his voice.
“But NO! I’m NOT doing it because it’s convenient!” Ruki protested, standing up. “If I were to lose another battle in future, I want to know that I have done everything I can. That I have fought to my limits. I don’t want to lie down on the ground regretting that I’ve left a rock unturned. I.. simply want to be the best I can be…”
Ruki looked away, his fists clenched and his body shaking from his overflowing emotions. His sudden outburst seemed to have surprised all the Pokémon sitting around the dining table.
“…Excuse me.” He sat down with his ears drooped, avoiding eye contact.
Pangoro shook his head to assure Ruki that it was alright, before giving the Lucario a friendly bump with his shoulder.
“Hahaha! That’s okay. But why are you so afraid of losing, little friend?! You’re the hero who beat Zhuzi Forest’s most wanted outlaws. What are you scared of?”
“……” Ruki stayed silent, still unsure of himself. Pangoro continued.
“Look, I don’t know what happened to you, but no warrior worth their salt starts a journey or walks into a battle thinking of their defeat. You can’t win a good victory like that. Be sure of yourself. Look up to the sky and fight proudly.”
“Pangoro… That’s comforting, but you don’t know about the mistakes I did in the past. It’s not easy for me to do that.”
Pangoro took a sip of the fermented berry juice from his wooded bowl and set it back down on the table.
“Well, I don’t want you to get in trouble since you’ve helped us, but I understand. You must be fighting for something very important if you’re going all the way out there to get a Mega Stone. I hope there’ll come a day when you’ll be happy with yourself. You’ll never find peace in your heart otherwise.”
“…Yeah.”
Pangoro gathered some of the berries on the table and gave them to Ruki. “Have these for helping us. Might be helpful on the road.”
“I’m grateful.”
“Pokémon in trouble form bands or guilds like this to help each other out. You might run into others like us on the way. Helping them might give you some useful rewards for your journey, so keep an eye out!”
Ruki nodded in agreement. “That would certainly be nice.”
Pangoro raised his bowl of berry juice, wishing Ruki well.
“Cheers to Lucario! May he have a smooth journey and reach his destination safely!”
“Cheers!” Pancham and the others around the table cheered in unison.
Trivia
- Lucario are quite likely based on Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of the dead who’s represented as a jackal, or a man with the head of a jackal.
- Pancham’s behaviour about trying to look intimidating and looking up to Pangoro are all based on the actual descriptions in his Pokédex.
- The guild system’s loosely inspired by the guilds in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series.
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