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Lucario fanfic – Quest for Power (Team Ruki Origins)
【 Chapter 4: Selfish Reasons 】
Ruki set out early the next morning. Pangoro had marked out shortcuts on Ruki’ s map to help him get through Zhuzi Forest and his region faster, so Ruki followed his instructions.
He ran into several other small guilds and bands of Pokémon on the way, each with their own troubles. Ruki didn’t really care about them, but helped them anyway, because rewards such as food, shelter and information were useful for his own cause. Easy quests such as item gathering were boring for him, so he always chose the most difficult tasks with the most dangerous enemies. No one else were willing or able to do them, but they had the best rewards, so they were efficient for Ruki.
SPLASH!
Ruki knocked out a gang of Ludicolo who had been bothering the inhabitants of a lake. The Goldeen of the lake swam past bunches of lotus flowers and gathered around the Lucario to thank him, happy that their home was freed from the menace.
“Ooh! You’re Ruki the Headhunter!”
“We heard that you never lost!”
“Thanks for saving us. We’re so glad!”
The battle over, Ruki made the bone scythe he was holding vanish. It seemed that his constant victories against the most powerful Pokémon bullies had turned him quite famous around these parts.
“Don’t need any fancy names, but whatever,” he muttered in annoyance.
“You’re so strong! Unbeatable!!”
“……”
Ruki stayed silent, looking at his own empty hands. He certainly won a lot, but it was only because of his perfect IVs–the artificial perfect IVs that Team Hope had given him with their various chemicals. The illegal experiment had enhanced his physical performance significantly. During battles, his body felt light. His opponents’ blows never hurt too much, while his own scythe seemed to cut through them like hot knife through butter. His battles would’ve been much more difficult if he didn’t have his current body.
Still, deep down, Ruki knew that it was a power that was just given to him, not because he trained or worked hard for it. It felt like cheating. As a result, no battle ever felt satisfying. Every victory felt as though it wasn’t his own, but Team Hope’s. Nozomi’s. It sickened him to the core.
The sound of a loud crashing wave from behind him stopped his line of thought. Ruki turned around to see a red Gyarados rise from the lake, proudly towering over him. Gyarados spoke with a stern and firm voice.
“Lucario, you’ve defeated the Ludicolo gang and brought peace back to my lake. As promised, I’ll bring you down the river to the neighboring region.”
Ruki nodded. “Counting on you.”
Day turned into night as Ruki sailed down the river on Gyarados’ back. It was a long trip. The evening was misty. Eerie giggles and little Litwick lights between the trees on the riverbanks made the atmosphere even more sinister.
Ruki hugged his knees and pulled his black cloak closer to warm himself. Gyarados wasn’t chatty at all, so he was accompanied only by the sounds of splashing water as the great dragon fish swam. The Lucario began to think back on Pangoro’s words.
‘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.’
“……” Ruki sighed. He played idly with the Mega Badge pinned to his cloak, rolling it between his fingers. What was he fighting for?
His best friend, a Machop who was another captive of Team Hope, already died when they were trying to escape the evil organization’s facility. Getting the Mega Stone wouldn’t change that. Then he deserted his pack on his own accord. There was no particular danger at the moment that he needed the Mega Stone’s power to solve either. So he’d go to Kalos, get the Mega Stone, Mega Evolve… And then what…?
‘It’s for myself. I’m not getting the Mega Stone because I need to protect anyone with it. I just want to be someone who can’t be hurt or pushed around. I want to prove that I’m really a strong Lucario, not a cheater that Team Hope created. Just want to be happy with myself.’
The back of Ruki’s mind told him. A very selfish reason. Ruki knew it, but didn’t want to admit it. But since he was so far out now, it was too late to chicken out and turn back. As if to cope with it, the Lucario convinced himself that the Mega Stone would be a nice safety net if something happened in future. Annoyed, he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep, hoping for the depressing thoughts to go away. However, thinking of past events made him dream about them.
“Hey, you okay?”
Hearing the kind voice, Ruki looked up. His huge Riolu eyes wet with tears as he sat curled up by himself. It was the first time he met Machop in Team Hope’s lab. They’ve been put together in the waiting room temporarily, waiting for their turns to be experimented on. Machop got down on one knee and stuck out a hand to Ruki. His subject number, 66, was written on the tag that hung from his head crest.
“I’m Machop. Can you stand? It’ll be alright,” he said, smiling in a friendly manner.
“Ruki,” Ruki introduced himself, taking his hand and standing. “It’s so awful here. How can you smile like that?”
Machop grinned at him.
“Because crying won’t get you out of here. I’ve been observing the humans’ experiments. Looks like you and I, we’re the strongest in the lab. So I’m glad I can finally speak with you, Ruki. Wanna help me find a way to escape?”
Ruki’s eyes widened in surprise. “T-There’s a way out of here?”
Machop put his hands on his hips and nodded confidently. “Uh-huh! There has to be. I believe in us! We’re the strongest, so I bet we’re good enough to outsmart these guys.”
“Tell me what I have to do!” Ruki said immediately.
They heard footsteps coming. Machop quickly told Ruki everything he had to say.
“I think they’ll be testing on both of us for awhile, so let’s discuss things whenever we get put together. We’ll leave this place together, okay? Don’t lose hope, Ruki.”
Ruki nodded as the scientists took Machop away. He heard his new friend’s screams from the next room as the humans ran their experiments on him. The Riolu curled up again, wondering if things would really be alright.
Weeks passed. It was hard to discuss things with Machop since they weren’t together all the time, but whenever they happened to be put in the same room, they’d share information about the layout of the lab, the scientists’ schedules, and any possible escape method. They’d try to sneak, break free or fight back sometimes, but so far, they’d had no successful attempt. Still, the two hung on to their hope while enduring Team Hope’s cruel experiments, their biggest nightmare.
It was Ruki’s turn to be experimented on today.
He was pinned to the wall by steel cuffs in an enclosed, fortified chamber. A thick bulletproof glass shielded the scientists who watched him from above from any harm. A brutish Alazakam then floated into the chamber, a mean look in his old, intelligent eyes. Team Hope’s logo tattooed on his forehead showed that he was one of the scientists’ Pokémon. Ruki shuddered as Alakazam stopped in front of him to size him up. Psychic-type attacks being his weakness as a pure Fighting-type, the Riolu grew anxious as he imagined the pain and torture that awaited him.
“Injecting the elixir,” One of the scientists said. A hole in the wall next to Ruki opened, a syringe injecting a sparkling, golden liquid into his neck. Ruki winced, his eyes tearing up as he felt a burning sensation spread through his veins. They’d done this so many times to him, but he could never get used to it.
“Subject 447 ready. Beginning today’s session,” the scientist confirmed, nodding to his colleague. The other man nodded back, commanding his Alakazam.
“Alakazam! Use Psybeam!”
Alakazam concentrated all his Psychic energy in his forehead, firing a bright purple ray straight into Ruki’s mind. Ruki clenched his fists and screamed as he felt a sharp headache. He trashed painfully against the wall, the metal cuffs that bound his arms and legs cutting wounds into his wrists and ankles. His brain felt like it was being split in half. He screamed for it to stop, but Alakazam continued mercilessly, seemingly enjoying it. Once the long torture finally stopped, Ruki hung limply from his cuffs, throwing up and panting in exhaustion.
“It didn’t knock him out. Amazing!” The scientist exclaimed with joy, looking at the data in their room’s many computers.
“Injecting a more concentrated version of the elixir,” another scientist announced enthusiastically, pressing a button to continue the experiment.
“……” Nozomi watched on quietly from her wheelchair behind her underlings, her Inteleon Skye standing beside her.
Ruki gasped as he felt a needle and more chemicals enter his neck. The Riolu gritted his teeth as his fur stood up and his blood boiled, his body rejecting the foreign substance. It was as though his blood vessels were filled with pins and needles, spreading from his neck to the rest of his body. The chemical forced his cells to restructure themselves. His muscles stiffened and throbbed while his entire body burnt. He choked, coughing out blood as his nose and eyes began to bleed too.
“Ms. Nozomi, maybe we should stop there,” one of the scientists advised.
“No,” Nozomi refused, “We’re so close. Keep going.”
“But we might lose him. He’s a precious subject–“
“Keep going!” Nozomi glared at her subordinate. “He can take it.”
Unable to rebel against his superior, the scientist sighed and gave his commands to his Alakazam.
“Alakazam! Use Psychic!”
Alakazam closed his eyes and focused all his energy in his mind. Ruki’s little body was suddenly crushed by an invisible force. The pressure from Alakazam’s psychic powers was so strong that it felt like a giant hand was grabbing him and crushing his flesh, bones, brain and inner organs. Bound in place, the Riolu could only take it, screaming until he tasted blood in his throat.
“He’s enduring it. Subject 447’s showing signs of perfect Stamina, Defense and Special Defense IVs!” One of the scientists exclaimed excitedly. Nozomi smirked, satisfied.
Ruki gritted his teeth as Alakazam continued to torment him with psychic energy. His body and mind were beginning to feel numb to the pain. He dug his fingers into his palms, hating that he could only sit and let these humans do whatever they want to him.
‘We’ll leave this place together, okay? Don’t lose hope, Ruki.’
Machop’s words echoed in his mind. No, Ruki wasn’t going to die in this hell hole or let these evil humans just do as they please!
A sudden anger bursting from within him, his fiery eyes shot open, glaring at Alakazam with rage. Ruki howled, forcing his arms and legs against his metal cuffs, tearing them right off the wall.
“What?!” The scientists cried out in surprise as they looked on. Graphs showing Ruki’s status on their computer screens fluctuated wildly.
In the experiment chamber, the Riolu bent down and kicked the floor, using the force to propel himself in front of Alakazam instantly. Alakazam flinched, but didn’t have time to react as Ruki spun in the air and gave his temple a hard kick, sending him flying across the room.
The Psychic Pokémon gave a pained cry as he crashed against the wall, forming a giant crack in the hard concrete before falling onto the ground. He coughed and looked up, glaring at Ruki as the dust cleared. Then he was struck with fear.
Ruki stood in the center of the room, eyes glowing red as he charged a gigantic Aura Sphere above him. Alakazam shuddered as he watched the sphere growing bigger and bigger, dissolving all the debris that floated around it into dust.
“AURA SPHERE!!” Ruki yelled as threw the energy ball at Alakazam, exploding him along with the wall. His foe fainted immediately from the sheer force.
“Whoa!” The scientists shrieked as the glass of the devices they used to measure Ruki’s strength broke.
“Subject 447 now has perfect Speed, Attack and Special Attack IVs! Unbelievable…” One scientist at the back reported urgently.
“Ms. Nozomi! We’ve achieved our first test subject with 100% IV!”
Everyone in the room looked excited and elated at the report. The scientists cheered and shouted with joy, hugging each other and shaking each other’s hands. The fruit of their hard work tasted so sweet.
“I can’t believe this!”
“Looks like our years of experiments finally paid off!”
“I’m glad we kept going despite all the failures!”
“Congratulations, Ms. Nozomi! Your dream’s coming true!!”
“Hmph.” Nozomi only smirked a little. “Not yet, this is just the first step. It worked on Subject 447 because he’s originally quite resilient. It’ll still take some time until the elixir’s safe to use even on weaker Pokémon. Study Subject 447 further to see why it worked. Cut him open if you have to.”
As they were celebrating, Ruki glared at them through the fortified glass. Rage still burning in him, he jumped off the ground and shouldered the glass, surprising everyone in the room.
“Whoa!” The scientists moved away from the glass, but they weren’t worried as the thick glass was made to be strong enough to withstand Pokémon attack. However, Ruki, eyes clouded with fury, began to kick and punch at the glass ruthlessly and repeatedly.
Bang… Bang… Bang… Crack… CRACK!
“Quick! The tranquilizer!” One of the scientists ordered in panic. With the click of a button, a machine in the experiment chamber shot out a dart at Ruki. It didn’t work, only making the Riolu even more furious. They machine shot at him with a few more darts, until Ruki fell to the ground, unmoving.
Had the elixir made Ruki too dangerous? Unsettled, the scientists began to murmur among themselves. Nozomi only stared at Ruki’s unconscious body for some time, deep in thought.
That night, Ruki sat quietly in his cage with empty eyes, thoroughly exhausted. The room he was in was empty except for his cage. It was much cleaner and tidier than his previous rooms, so he guessed that it was a special room reserved for successful test subjects. He pondered his future hopelessly. Would he be dissected and analyzed to further Team Hope’s research?
It was raining again outside, making the room feel cold. A sudden loud crack of thunder surprised him and gave him a scare. Ruki cursed the thunderstorm, but at the same time, envied it a little. If only he was also huge and strong and scary and free. The room’s door opened, catching his attention.
Two of Team Hope’s grunts came in, placing another cage next to Ruki’s. Noticing the Riolu looking at them, they stuck their tongues out at him, picking on him out of boredom. Annoyed, Ruki shouldered his cage’s bars rebelliously.
“Ooh, what a scary baby!” One of the grunts laughed. “You’re cute, so I’ll remember you after they cut you up. Be thankful!”
“Stop that and let’s go. Boss really overworked us, so let’s get the sleep we deserve!” His friend suggested.
The two grunts promptly left. Ruki ran to the side of his cage, sticking to the iron bars to see if the cage placed next to him had anyone in it. Did they manage to have another successful experiment to create perfect IVs?! A child-like figure he recognized sat inside the cage.
“Machop!” Ruki called out, happy and relieved to see his friend.
“Ruki! You made it!” Machop said, sticking to his bars to greet the Riolu as well. “Today’s session was especially evil! You successfully got 100% IVs, too?”
“Yeah,” Ruki said, “It hurt like anything. I made it only because I was thinking about you, and about escaping this place.”
“Actually, me too,” Machop said, “Knowing that I wasn’t suffering alone here gave me the courage to keep going. I’m so glad I met you!”
Ruki smiled and blushed a little, happy that his friend acknowledged him.
“What’ll happen to us now? They said that they’ll cut me up,” Ruki said nervously.
“Well, don’t worry. I have a surprise for you,” Machop said. He grabbed two of the bars of his cage firmly with his little hands.
“They’re doing their best to make powerful Pokémon and all, but they’re certainly not prepared for when they actually succeed. We’re the first, after all.”
Machop tightened his grip on the steel bars, exerting all his strength. With a guttural growl, he began to pull the bars towards both sides. Ruki gasped in surprise as the bars slowly began to bend, creating a big enough space for Machop to slip through. The little Pokémon squeezed himself out then, coming of his cage with a little pop.
“See?!” He said proudly with his hands on his hips, “A normal Machop’s strong enough to hurl a hundred adult men. Imagine a Machop with perfect IVs! I found out about my new strength in today’s experiment!”
“Wooooww!” Ruki looked at him in wonder, clapping happily. Machop walked over to Ruki’s cage and gripped his bars.
“And now, Ruki, it’s your turn to be free too!” He said, pulling the bars open. “There you go, Princess!”
“……” Ruki stared at the open bars speechlessly. It was his road to freedom. Is it okay for him to just walk out and finally be free?
“C’mon, man. You coming out or not?” Machop asked impatiently.
Ruki gulped. His heart ready, he dashed out and ran all over the room, Riolu being huge balls of energy. He threw both arms in the air and laughed happily, before running at Machop and pouncing at him with a hug.
“Machop! Thank you thank you thank you!!”
Machop laughed, hugging his friend back and sharing his happiness. “Haha, I know it’s nice to be out of the cage, but concentrate, Ruki! Let’s celebrate only after we’re both out of here!”
Ruki nodded, pulling himself off Machop. Machop looked at the door.
“Say, Ruki, I wanna go and free the other test subjects, too. What do you say?”
“……” Ruki thought for a moment. It would be very risky and very difficult, but he agreed, anyway.
“Yeah, I think it’s a good idea. No one deserves to be locked up and experimented on like this. Besides, we’ve all become stronger because of the experiments, so it’ll be nice if the others can help us fight our way out.”
“Heh, I’m glad you think the same.” Machop grinned cheekily. “That’s why I like you!”
The prison break was on!
Ruki and Machop broke down doors and cameras as they ran, making good use of the new speed and brute force that Team Hope’s chemicals had given them. Any obstacle in their way broke down with a few punches. Ruki used his Aura-sensing abilities to figure out the locations of nearby guards, avoiding them easily. They managed to reach and free the other captives, but eventually, the patrolling guards noticed all the noise and broken cameras. They hurriedly alerted the entire lab of the escape, sounding a loud siren.
Ruki and the others fought on as Team Hope members and their Pokémon began appearing to stop them. Luckily, their powered-up bodies were strong enough to help them win battles and keep going.
“Here you go, Ruki, Machop!” A Cleffa said, healing both of them with her moonlight energy.
“Thanks, Cleffa! I’m feeling better already!” Machop said, wiping sweat and blood off his forehead.
“This road’s a dead end, too!” An Eevee reported.
“Let’s just keep going until we find a door or window!” A Pikachu suggested.
Team Hope’s lab was more of a maze than they thought. Not knowing which way to go caused many detours and bought their captors more time to come and stop them. But Ruki and the others kept pushing forward and after much struggle, they ended up in a huge warehouse-like room with a corridor leading to the exit on one side.
“THAT WAY!” Machop commanded.
“HURRY!” Ruki added, directing the crowd of captives to the corridor.
But just as they began running there, a thick metal wall began to move down from the ceiling, blocking the entrance to the corridor.
“NOOO!!” Ruki yelled as he ran faster with the others. Once he got close enough, he pounced forward, trying to jump under the metal wall, but only ended up slamming face first into it. The Riolu stood up and pounded angrily at the metal wall with Machop and the others.
“Oh, if it isn’t Subjects 447 and 66.”
A chill ran down everyone’s spine when they heard Nozomi’s voice behind them. They turned around to see her there, her Inteleon rolling her wheelchair towards them. They were accompanied by Team Hope’s high ranking officials.
“To think that you’d be bold enough to try escaping the day you got your perfect IVs,” Nozomi said, adjusting her glasses. Despite her anger, she suddenly smiled a twisted smile at them.
“How was it, though? Do you like your new powers? I bet they’ve been VERY useful on your way here!!”
Ruki and Machop took a step back, intimidated by her. Nozomi laughed.
“I’ve been watching. You managed to fight and defeat so many other Pokémon although you’re all just tiny little children. You left an entire carnage in your wake. It wouldn’t have been possible if you were still as weak as you were when I first caught you.” She looked at her captives seriously. “Admit it, it’s better for the world if the elixir is completed. I can still make you even stronger. Now come back to me and serve your purpose.”
Ruki shuddered, the terror and pain of the experiments still fresh in his mind and his body. There was no way he’d go back to Nozomi’s hell, so he spoke up.
“NEVER! We’re not your tools! We’ll fight you if that’s what it takes to get out of here!!”
“Oh, show me what you can do, then. It’ll all be good data for our research. Besides…” Nozomi glared at her captives fiercely. “You might have the IVs, but you don’t have the experience. Take them out, everyone!”
At her command, Team Hope’s members sent out their Pokémon to battle Ruki and the others. As an Inteleon, Skye used his stealth abilities, changing the colours of his skin to blend into the surroundings and become invisible. The battle commenced.
Ruki expected to win against Nozomi easily like they had so far, but Skye and the Pokémon of the higher ranking officials proved to be very experienced and well-trained. The captives could barely land a hit on them while they were being beaten back brutally. Skye sniping at them with his water bullets from an invisible location made the battle even harder. Machop saw that it was a lost cause, so he stopped fighting the enemies and started punching the metal wall that blocked the corridor.
“RUKI! Help me break this down!!” Machop shouted.
Ruki listened to him immediately. The wall didn’t get much of a dent at first, but then all the other captives saw what they were doing and directed their attacks at the wall as well. With their combined strength, the blockade exploded to smithereens, whipping up a great cloud of smoke and dust.
The smoke cleared to reveal a large hole on the metal wall, letting in a great gust of cold night wind from down the corridor. It was still storming outside, but it was the first time the captives had smelt fresh rain, grass and dirt in weeks, or even months for some. The aroma tickled their nostrils and gave them visions of returning to their warm homes and families in the wild. Freedom invited them with an outstretched hand, waiting for them just a few meters away at the end of the narrow corridor. Enticed and hopeful, Ruki, Machop and all the captive Pokémon began to jump out of the hole, running at full speed towards the facility’s exit.
“WHAT?!” Nozomi couldn’t believe it. She ordered her men frantically.
“NO!! Don’t let them escape! The elixir’s almost complete. We can’t risk being discovered. Kill them all if you have to!! Erase all evidence!!”
Following Nozomi’s command, Team Hope’s admins activated the lab’s defense system. Large guns appeared from the walls, shooting indiscriminately at the escapees.
Ruki’s eyes widened in shock when he felt a bullet graze his cheek and make a hole through Cleffa’s chest. Screams rang around him as countless bullets rained down and pierced through the escapees. Ruki grabbed his head and fell to his knees. The Aura of everyone around him turned into a black, chaotic mess of panic and fear as they scrambled to look for an inexistent cover.
Fear, panic, despair, terror, hatred, sadness, shock, regret, fear, fear, fear…
The Riolu’s sharpened senses couldn’t handle all the negative emotions flooding into and engulfing him. Everyone’s Aura swallowed him like a black hole. Curled up helplessly on the ground, he froze and screamed.
“RUKI!!”
Machop pounced at him and took several bullets for him.
“MACHOP!!” Ruki shouted out in shock. Machop pulled him to the floor and used his body to shield him from the bullet rain.
“What are you doing?!” Ruki shouted desperately.
“I was… so lonely before you came,” Machop said, “I’ve always asked every new Pokémon Nozomi caught if they wanna try to escape together, but no one dared to. I almost lost hope, and I thought I’d stop asking if the next Pokémon I asked refused.”
Machop winced from his wounds, and then continued.
“But then you came along, and you accepted my invitation. I knew what hope felt like again. This is… the closest I’ve ever got to the exit.”
“Machop!! Don’t talk!” Ruki said, hugging his friend worriedly, covered in his blood, “You’re the one who gave me the hope of escaping this nightmare!”
Machop smiled. “Thanks, Ruki! I’m glad to have made friends with you… Run… Live…”
Ruki froze as he felt Machop’s body go limp. His friend’s arms that were holding him dropped to the ground lifelessly.
The bullet storm finally stopped. The corridor was quiet, littered with bodies and drenched in blood. Nozomi and her men approached the bodies, making sure that they were all dead. Everything was dead silent for awhile, but then they began hearing little sobs.
“Oh, looks like we have one survivor,” Nozomi said with a cold, unimpressed tone.
Ruki sat silently among all the bodies with a broken expression, tears streaming down his face. He looked around at all the fallen Pokémon surrounding him. They had trusted him to be able to lead them out of here when he opened their cages. They had lent him their strength to come this far and break open the last door. He looked down at the lifeless Machop in his arms–Machop who deserved to live more than he did for trying the hardest and suggesting the escape.
What was the use of having perfect IVs? He couldn’t do anything. He was weak. He was just a useless bystander. For the first time, Ruki really understood what Nozomi meant when she talked about being kicked and shoved around by those in power. If only he was stronger, he could’ve stopped her. Everyone around him died because of him…
Weakness is a sin.
“Hmph, at least one of our two successful experiments survived. Seize him and put him back in his cage,” Nozomi said emotionlessly.
Two of Nozomi’s men walked over to Ruki, but the moment they laid their hands on him, the Riolu was suddenly consumed by rage. A giant burst of blue Aura emanated from him, knocking the men back. Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise as a vast energy flowed through Ruki, engulfing him in a blinding light. His form began to change.
“What?!”
“He’s evolving!!”
Ruki hugged Machop tightly, the pain in his heart deepening. Team Hope took his friend away from him. He’d make them pay. Furious, he grabbed the subject label tag on his left ear and ripped it right off, not wanting to be the humans’ toy anymore. He’d punish Team Hope even if he died in the process.
Despair, rage, hatred and sadness swirled around Ruki, tainting his blue Aura black with darkness. His body grew larger and his arms and legs longer from the evolution energy flowing inside him. Gathering a handful of Aura in his paws, Ruki formed a large bone scythe. He grabbed it firmly and glared at Nozomi and her men, now more menacing in his new form–a Lucario.
“Get back!” Nozomi’s men warned each other hurriedly, but Ruki was too fast. Before they could move, the Lucario had already dashed beside them, slashing them and their Pokémon partners with a large swing of his scythe. The others tried to shoot Ruki down with tranquilizers, but the Lucario either blocked or evaded them easily. Screams rang through the corridor as Ruki continued his rampage. The Lucario’s flurry of attacks caused the machinery and pipes lying around the corridors to break and explode. Fires soon started lapping at the building.
“Everyone, evacuate!” Some of the men shouted, trying to escape.
“Skye! Take Ms. Nozomi, away! It’s too dangerous!”
Skye nodded. The Inteleon grabbed Nozomi’s wheelchair, quickly taking her further into the facility to look for another exit.
But Ruki saw them. No matter where they ran, he gave chase like a black shadow hungry for vengeance, knocking out everyone who tried to stop him. He eventually managed to corner Nozomi and Skye alone in the room where they stored Team Hope’s elixir. Large tubes of golden chemicals lined the walls. Fires were burning everywhere in the corridors outside the room, preventing escape.
“It’s over, Nozomi,” Ruki barked, walking up to the Team Hope boss and Skye menacingly.
Skye glared at him, standing in front of Nozomi protectively.
“Skye!” Nozomi called out worriedly. The Inteleon was pale, weak and skinny. He was already out of breath from his previous battle, made even more tired by running around while pushing Nozomi’s wheelchair. The hot temperature caused by all the flames around them further exhausted him, and Nozomi could tell immediately that her partner wouldn’t last.
Ruki knew it, too. But this weak, abandoned chameleon was Nozomi’s treasure. The scientist made everyone suffer just to save this weakling. Ruki looked at the Inteleon with a burning hatred, quickly lunging at him and kneeing him hard in the stomach. He followed up by grabbing Skye’s tattered fins and slamming him onto the ground. Skye gasped in pain. Thoroughly exhausted, he could only take it, unable to fight back at all. But Ruki gave him no mercy, kicking and stomping on him violently.
“You weakling! Making others suffer, but you can’t even stand up for yourself. You don’t deserve to be saved! Go to hell and don’t come back!!”
“No! Skye!! Leave him alone!!” Nozomi cried out. Then she heard a loud noise from above her. She looked up. A part of the burning ceiling crumbled, dropping large chunks of concrete towards her. She jumped off her wheelchair as the fiery rocks smashed and destroyed it.
“……” Struggling, she dragged herself to Skye, wrapping her arms around him protectively. Ruki loomed over them, a threatening air about him.
“Your dream ends here,” the Lucario barked.
“……Hahaha.” Nozomi replied with a broken laugh. “Hmph, to stop me although you’ve benefited from my experiments. Look at how strong you’ve become, Ruki.”
“……” Ruki spat, muttering furiously, “This power created upon the suffering and lives of so many innocent Pokémon? You call it strong? Don’t make me laugh.”
The Lucario gripped his scythe tightly as he glared at Nozomi. “Your dream, these cursed chemicals… They’ve cost me my life and everyone else’s! I won’t let you hurt more Pokémon just for your selfish needs anymore!”
Nozomi hugged Skye sadly, caressing his head. “So, you’d rather see more Pokémon be thrown out for being born weak?”
“……”
Ruki frowned. It was like being asked to choose between two evils. He shook his head.
“What those Trainers did was definitely wrong. But this? This isn’t the right answer either. I don’t want to see a world where this… this POISON has to be injected into every Pokémon upon birth or capture if they want a Trainer to accept them. This has to end.”
With that, Ruki swung his scythe powerfully, destroying the tubes that contained Team Hope’s elixir around him. He slashed at the organization’s computers too, destroying all their years of research. The flames from the corridors reached the room, burning everything and helping him lay waste to Nozomi’s ambitions.
Ruki was on his knees in the center of the mess once he finished, panting in exhaustion, his body drenched in all the chemicals that leaked from the tubes when he broke them. The fires around him got bigger, but he was so tired that he fell to the ground, unable to move.
Nozomi seemed to have given up too, unable to escape without her wheelchair. She dipped her hand into the elixir that flooded the floor around her and played with the liquid. All her years of hard work was gone on the same day she succeeded. She felt so empty inside. Nothing mattered anymore. Debris of the ceiling fell around her. Tired, she leaned against a wall and hugged the wounded Skye, awaiting her demise with her beloved partner. A large explosion caused a burning pillar to fall between her and Ruki, blocking her from view.
Ruki closed his eyes. He was starting to choke from the lack of oxygen and all the smoke. Perhaps it was better for him to die here as well, to erase all traces of Team Hope’s godforsaken experiments. Too bad that he’d never make it out of here in the end. Regret and sadness washed over Ruki as he tried to let go of everything.
But suddenly, there was a loud explosion. The wall beside him crumbled and formed a large hole, letting in the storm and gusts of cold wind from outside. Raindrops pelted his hot face and the crack of thunder sounded louder than ever, vibrating in his little chest. Ruki looked through the hole at the open fields in disbelief.
‘I… wan’t to live…’
A small voice from inside him said.
‘I wan’t to live… For everyone who died protecting me… For Machop…’
Trying to summon the last bits of willpower left in him, Ruki forced himself to crawl, dragging himself out of the burning facility little by little. His hand stuck out of the building, grabbing the wet grass. Hope starting to build in him, he tried harder, pulling himself up back to his feet. Once outside, he took in the deepest breath possible, replacing all the poisonous black smoke in his lungs with pure, fresh air. The Lucario stumbled in the rain, and then began to run through the storm and the mud, slowly increasing his speed. He ran without looking back as Team Hope’s entire facility and headquarters exploded behind him.
Tears began to flow down from his face as emotions overflowed from the core of his being. The sadness of losing Machop and his other comrades, the relief of having defeated Nozomi, the happiness of finally being truly free…
Even so, the ordeal had left a deep scar in Ruki’s soul. He fell to his knees once he was a safe distance away from the labs in the wilderness. The wide, wide plains, bellowing thunderstorm, and towering mountains of Sinnoh stretching before him made him feel like a small, pointless dot in the enormous world. He knew that this cold, stormy night would be seared into his memories forever. Dropping his forehead to the ground and clenching his fists, he let out a heart-wrenching scream.
He was so small, so alone, so utterly powerless.
Ruki might have defeated Team Hope, but at what cost? He lost everything. He hated himself, this useless Lucario, to the core–the powerless Lucario who could only be shoved around. Desperate, Ruki made a promise to himself as he cried–that he’d claw and bite his way to power no matter what it takes, just so he didn’t have to suffer like this ever again.
His howls and cries were swallowed by the storm, leaving him alone with no one to hear or comfort him.
Trivia
- Pictures are from my video ‘Team Rhyme Origins‘ and my comic ‘Studying my Zeraora‘.
- 66 is Machop’s Pokédex number.
- Machop being powerful enough to hurl a hundred adult humans is based on his Pokédex info.
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