Story Notes:
It was a quiet night when Deoxys descended from the heavens.
Believed to not be of this world, it went on a rampage, leaving death and destruction in its wake.
Finally defeated by an unknown force, the tragedy of unparalleled magnitude it created remains in the heart of every human.
To make sure that something like this will never happen again, every wild Pokèmon powerful enough to cause such mayhem must be captured, controlled or killed.
Needless to say, this year has been a bad year for Legendaries. This year has also been a bad year for Champion Trainers.
But my year... Has been... THE WORST!
Twisting Manipulator Alakazam
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"A scientist..." Zoroark muttered before sighing and looking back at Lucario with a hopeful face, "Time for a little payback, eh?"
Lucario didn't respond. Even when right next to Pokèmon far stronger than himself, he had been able to dismiss any feelings of unease created from their intimidating aura. This Alakazam was completely different. Lucario feeling like a pit had opened up in his stomach, sucking his very being into it.
"... Lucario?" Zoroark asked with worry. Lucario was now visibly shaking while Astrid was cowering on the floor in unison with the Lilligant, having long since given up their bravery. Connor kept himself as steadfast as always, but even he was showing signs of unrest.
"I can feel it! That thing's strength..." Lucario burst out to the oblivious Zoroark, "... It's unreal!"
"Awawawa..." Astrid stuttered before hiding his face underneath his arms in terror, "Th-That thi-i-ing... I-It's evil!"
"You..." Zoroark muttered disappointedly, before trailing off and starting to walk towards the Alakazam.
"NO! Zoroark! Not that way!" the Lilligant screamed fearfully while scuttling backward, "Find another exit...!"
"Y-Yeah!" Astrid stammered as he lifted his head and turned around with no hesitation, "Great idea!"
"Go back now, and you will never return," Zoroark said bluntly, keeping his eyes fixed on the Alakazam.
"Oh..." Astrid whispered slowly before lowering his head back under his arms, "... How's the prison food?"
"Non-existent," Lucario responded. While he had seen and felt firsthand what monsters with a fraction of this Alakazam's strength could do, he knew that whatever horrors it would unleash upon him would not compare to getting caught once more.
"Foolish aggressors!" the scientist said with a loud, haughty voice, "Know you not who you are challenging!? Return, and I will spare your pitiful lives!"
At the sound of this, Zoroark's left ear started twitching as he noticed something was out of place. Lucario was too busy worrying about the Alakazam to ask himself what had happened to make the scientist so cocky all of a sudden. He seemed to be having a little trouble keeping a proper composure as well, waving back and forward at regular intervals. The peculiar movement of the human gave the both of them strange vibes.
"He'll spare us!?" Astrid exclaimed with far too much relief before turning to Zoroark, "Come on! I don't want to die!"
"Wimp..." Lucario muttered under his breath.
"W-What!?" Astrid stammered, apparently having better hearing than Lucario gave him credit for.
"You never know... He might be weak against roundhouse kicks, or something," Lucario continued while thinking of a way to properly strike the head while on a staircase, "... If not, THEN we'll surrender."
"I would not count on that..." the scientist said ominously while pointing at Zoroark who had suddenly stopped himself, "A single step forward, and I shall utterly destroy you!"
"You're much too... Wait... Huh...?" Lucario said before thinking about what had just happened and shouting at the human, "... I knew it! You bastard, you understand Pokèmon's speech, don't you!?"
"Hehehe..." the scientist snickered ominously in response, "Heh... Heh... HAH!"
"He..." Zoroark repeated in confusion, not long after which a smile spread across his face as he closed his eyes, "... Ah. Of course."
"Oh! You... You mean...!" Astrid exclaimed with a hopeful voice, "He understands what we're saying?"
"Yeah. Doesn't change the fact that his Pokèmon's going to kick our asses, though..." Lucario mumbled, "But if he understands us, there's got to be a way for us to use it against him..."
"PLEASE DON'T KILL US!" Astrid wailed, making Zoroark's smile quickly fade away. Lucario felt a twinge of disgust over his ally's cowardice, which magnified when he saw the Lilligant nodding feverishly in the corner of his eyes.
"Alright, I've had enough of this..." Zoroark growled quietly as he started walking up the stairs.
"Halt!" the scientist yelled menacingly, "One more step, and you're all dead!"
Zoroark stopped himself. Then, with the mischievous smile returning to his face, he took a slow step forward.
"Are you incapable of hearing!?" the scientist shouted, "Stop, or you WILL regret it!"
Zoroark answered by moving forward one more step.
"I'm warning you! This Alakazam is far more powerful than any other Pokèmon in the world!" the scientist continued while throwing his hands in front of him in a strange manner, "Last chance! Move back, or PERISH!"
Zoroark then took yet another step.
"Now you've done it!" the scientist bellowed, his eyes positively glowing with hatred, "You shall suffer! I will crush you beneath my heel! I-"
He was interrupted as Zoroark suddenly leaped forward, coating his claws with the contents of another vial drawn from his bushy hair, stabbing the Alakazam in the chest with his left claw. The Alakazam dropped both his spoons and grabbed on to Zoroark's arm with a hateful glare, life disappearing from his eyes as he involuntarily closed them and fell asleep.
"Amateurs..." Zoroark muttered as the Alakazam fell and started tumbling down the staircase.
"... EH!?" Lucario burst out in shock, his fear dissipating with each passing second.
"Zoroark!" the Lilligant burst out happily as she seemed to have regained her bravery as well, "You did it!"
"Did what?" Zoroark groaned with disappointment, "This idiot was probably weaker than everyone we fought to get here."
"He... Huh?" Lucario muttered before he felt a hard substance hitting his leg, looking down and seeing Astrid quickly backing away from the approaching Alakazam, "Hey, watch it!"
"He used his psychic powers to fill you with irrational fear," Zoroark explained while sighing, "Which, quite frankly, I was hoping you'd be above."
"Hey, I am!" Lucario exclaimed confidently, "I was ready to charge him at a moment's notice!"
A loud thud was heard as the scientist suddenly collapsed, landing sideways on a step while leaning dangerously on the edge. Zoroark looked down at him with a bored face, before signaling the rest to follow him.
"He was controlling the human like a puppet, manipulating his movement and speech..." he said quietly as Astrid and the Lilligant carefully passed the unconscious Alakazam, Lucario simply walking right over him, " ... But why...?"
"Really?" Lucario asked nonchalantly as the memory of a smug yet frighteningly powerful yellow rat crossed his mind, "From what I heard, mind control is impossible."
"Not mind control - Puppetry," Zoroark clarified, "The human must have given him consent to do it, or it would've been easy to break out of."
"Must've been some kind of battle strategy," Lucario said while trying to sound smart, "Not that it did 'em a whole lot of good."
"Paralyzed half our crew with fear," Zoroark muttered while looking back at the Lilligant and Astrid who were still recovering, "At any rate, seems the human's Pokèmon ended up controlling him... How ironic."
"OK, fine, great, WHATEVER!" Lucario rambled as the temptation of being so close to freedom became too much, "How about we continue getting the hell out of here!?"
"Nothing would suit me better," Zoroark said before turning around and starting to climb up the stairs.
The sunlight burned Lucario's eyes as he once more became acquainted with a bright, blue sky. He paid no attention to the many tall buildings above him and carefully placed pavement beneath him, much too occupied with the fresh air filling his lungs and a small breeze pleasantly whisking by his form.
"Aahhh..." Lucario sighed longingly before inhaling deeply, "... Air."
"They deprived you of that, too?" Zoroark asked with an amused tone, bringing him back to reality.
A quick glance around him told him that he was in a large city, surrounded by both Pokèmon and humans that were walking around peacefully and blissfully unaware of the many battles that had taken place just a few paces underneath their feet.
"We're not exactly in the clear just yet," Zoroark said determinedly as Connor, Astrid and the shaky Lilligant joined them, "We need to get to the base, which is just on the outskirts of town."
"Sweet. Is that the pickup I'm sensing?" Lucario asked, feeling something very powerful heading directly for them.
"You mean... Connor?" Zoroark asked in return, trying to understand what he was referring to.
"... No...?" Lucario exclaimed with a questioning voice, "I'm talking about that huge aura coming at us at a rapid pace."
"... What!?" Zoroark suddenly burst out, making a nearby Pokèmon look at him strangely, "From where!?"
Lucario did not have time to answer as many screams echoed throughout the city behind them, that of both Pokèmon and humans. Most of the bystanders stopped walking to try to hear what was happening, growing more and more frightened as they saw several people running away from the origin of the noise.
Far away in the city, they saw a massive beast suddenly appear from behind one of the taller buildings. It towered over the surrounding humans and Pokèmon who all quickly scrambled to get away from it, and it was approaching the team as quickly as a speeding train. Ignoring those that fled, it maneuvered around the signs and trees which blocked its way with uncanny precision.
Although the images of Suicune and Raikou were starting to fade from Lucario's mind, he saw that this creature was quite similar in form, more so the latter. Its fur was mostly brown, and surprisingly rugged for the monster's proper stature. This one adorned a seemingly artificial mask covering its mouth, also having thick armlets equipped around the middle of each leg.
"Hey... This one's also using that fear thing to appear strong," Lucario said while doing his best to remain confident and ignore the absurdly strong aura emanating from the large Pokèmon, causing his very insides to rattle.
"No, he isn't..." Zoroark replied slowly while biting his lips, "This one's the real deal."
"E-E-Eth..." the Lilligant stammered, making Lucario wonder if it was an affliction or if she was just having a really bad day, "It's Ethan's Entei!"
"Who!?" Astrid burst out and kept himself from shaking, deciding to try to appear brave from now on to make up for his earlier shameful display.
"The legendary Ethan!" Zoroark explained loudly while frantically searching through his long hair for something, "The only trainer to ever surpass Red!"
"Hah! I can't tell which name's funnier!" Lucario laughed before the nodes in his brain finally connected, "Wait... Red... You mean, that guy that had Raikou!?"
"Oh! H-He's coming!" Astrid stammered as his legs felt more like heavy rocks than ever before, "Do we run, or...!?"
Entei had slowed himself down and moved closer to them with big, intimidating steps. Lucario knew this to be an act, having seen just how fast it had been running earlier. The beast stopped a few feet away from them, his frighteningly large and deep eyes locking with Zoroark's.
"I know not what manner of Pokèmon you are..." Entei spoke with a booming voice, sounding as if emanating from a deep abyss, "But attacking a human settlement is a crime I simply cannot tolerate."
"Settlement!?" Lucario shouted back at the legendary dog, the words stirring some of the pent up anger within him, "More like a death camp, and even that's being too nice!" Entei's eyes shifted to Lucario for a second, both of which were larger than his head.
"Be quiet!" Zoroark hissed dangerously at Lucario while standing his ground before the intimidating monster, "Entei, we have simply liberated those who have been wrongfully imprisoned and experimented upon. Do not let your chivalry cloud your better judgment!"
"Aggressions will always breed further aggression, no exceptions..." Entei growled intimidatingly, "Stand down, and allow me be the judge of your actions."
"... Connor, take 'em to the designated spot!" Zoroark suddenly yelled as he rummaged through his hair once more and pulled out a very small bomb, "Lucario, follow Connor! Leave this one to me!"
Zoroark threw the bomb to Connor, who to everyone's surprise caught it between his teeth. He then wasted no time in biting down on it, wave after wave of smoke suddenly escaping the tiny contraption. The newly created fog quickly became too thick to make out even the smallest detail in, but Lucario sensed something strange happening as Connor's aura suddenly combined with that of Astrid and the Lilligant. He did not have to wonder about this for long, as a shadow grabbed on to his left arm and pulled him in its direction with amazing strength. He saw Connor with both Astrid and the Lilligant hanging on to his shoulders
The scene made him stifle a laughter as Connor suddenly turned around and started running using his arms like before. Lucario instantly lost sight of them in the mist, but was able to easily sense the huge Pokèmon's aura and decided to follow him. Behind him, he sensed the aura of Entei flaring up, and even though it was far more dangerous it was not affecting him as badly as the Alakazam had.
"Hey, you forgot Zoroark!" Lucario shouted after Connor while doing his best to keep up, "He can't deal with that monster alone!"
"Yes, he can!" Astrid responded confidently, covering his face into the large shoulder in front of him.
"He m-must..." the Lilligant said weakly, still breathless from all her earlier screaming. Lucario was about to say something snappy in return, but stopped himself as he sensed the auras of several strong beings approaching from behind.
"Wait, this is no good!" Lucario burst out as he realized what was happening, "They'll just follow the smoke cloud!"
Astrid was about to say something, but was interrupted by an angry grunt from Connor. He spat out the smoke ball into his hand and suddenly threw it far away. He continued onwards, Lucario following as he suddenly ran straight into a tree. He took a step back from the recoil, clutching his nose in pain as he realized he wouldn't be able to navigate past every tree in a forest if he couldn't see. As luck would have it, the smoke had yet to creep into the woods, and he was able to avoid crashing into anything as he followed the auras of Connor and the rest.
"Yes! We made it!" Astrid finally shouted with a very large amount of relief, "There! It's hidden in that bush!"
Lucario felt like crying out in joy, seeing his cowardly companion pointing directly at a very bland-looking bush. Instead, he had to think twice as he saw a familiar Pokèmon standing in front of it.
It looked like a miniature version of Entei, making up for its lacking armlets and masks with a puffier shape to its fur. It had an unremarkable aura and seemed to pose little threat, but Lucario had simply been through too much lately to take any risks. He had come too far to fall now, and the soil beneath his feet became ground up as he dug himself down, preparing the most powerful roundhouse kick of his life.
"Lucario!" Astrid yelled with panic, "Not a foe!"
Lucario stumbled as he abruptly stopped himself, the strength of his own leg making him twirl around in confusion. Connor grunted as he grabbed a hold of Lucario, quickly stopping his pirouette before throwing him into the bushes. The small branches brushed past him as he felt himself fall down a hole in the ground, leading him to a large chamber underground...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"A scientist..." Zoroark muttered before sighing and looking back at Lucario with a hopeful face, "Time for a little payback, eh?"
Lucario didn't respond. Even when right next to Pokèmon far stronger than himself, he had been able to dismiss any feelings of unease created from their intimidating aura. This Alakazam was completely different. Lucario feeling like a pit had opened up in his stomach, sucking his very being into it.
"... Lucario?" Zoroark asked with worry. Lucario was now visibly shaking while Astrid was cowering on the floor in unison with the Lilligant, having long since given up their bravery. Connor kept himself as steadfast as always, but even he was showing signs of unrest.
"I can feel it! That thing's strength..." Lucario burst out to the oblivious Zoroark, "... It's unreal!"
"Awawawa..." Astrid stuttered before hiding his face underneath his arms in terror, "Th-That thi-i-ing... I-It's evil!"
"You..." Zoroark muttered disappointedly, before trailing off and starting to walk towards the Alakazam.
"NO! Zoroark! Not that way!" the Lilligant screamed fearfully while scuttling backward, "Find another exit...!"
"Y-Yeah!" Astrid stammered as he lifted his head and turned around with no hesitation, "Great idea!"
"Go back now, and you will never return," Zoroark said bluntly, keeping his eyes fixed on the Alakazam.
"Oh..." Astrid whispered slowly before lowering his head back under his arms, "... How's the prison food?"
"Non-existent," Lucario responded. While he had seen and felt firsthand what monsters with a fraction of this Alakazam's strength could do, he knew that whatever horrors it would unleash upon him would not compare to getting caught once more.
"Foolish aggressors!" the scientist said with a loud, haughty voice, "Know you not who you are challenging!? Return, and I will spare your pitiful lives!"
At the sound of this, Zoroark's left ear started twitching as he noticed something was out of place. Lucario was too busy worrying about the Alakazam to ask himself what had happened to make the scientist so cocky all of a sudden. He seemed to be having a little trouble keeping a proper composure as well, waving back and forward at regular intervals. The peculiar movement of the human gave the both of them strange vibes.
"He'll spare us!?" Astrid exclaimed with far too much relief before turning to Zoroark, "Come on! I don't want to die!"
"Wimp..." Lucario muttered under his breath.
"W-What!?" Astrid stammered, apparently having better hearing than Lucario gave him credit for.
"You never know... He might be weak against roundhouse kicks, or something," Lucario continued while thinking of a way to properly strike the head while on a staircase, "... If not, THEN we'll surrender."
"I would not count on that..." the scientist said ominously while pointing at Zoroark who had suddenly stopped himself, "A single step forward, and I shall utterly destroy you!"
"You're much too... Wait... Huh...?" Lucario said before thinking about what had just happened and shouting at the human, "... I knew it! You bastard, you understand Pokèmon's speech, don't you!?"
"Hehehe..." the scientist snickered ominously in response, "Heh... Heh... HAH!"
"He..." Zoroark repeated in confusion, not long after which a smile spread across his face as he closed his eyes, "... Ah. Of course."
"Oh! You... You mean...!" Astrid exclaimed with a hopeful voice, "He understands what we're saying?"
"Yeah. Doesn't change the fact that his Pokèmon's going to kick our asses, though..." Lucario mumbled, "But if he understands us, there's got to be a way for us to use it against him..."
"PLEASE DON'T KILL US!" Astrid wailed, making Zoroark's smile quickly fade away. Lucario felt a twinge of disgust over his ally's cowardice, which magnified when he saw the Lilligant nodding feverishly in the corner of his eyes.
"Alright, I've had enough of this..." Zoroark growled quietly as he started walking up the stairs.
"Halt!" the scientist yelled menacingly, "One more step, and you're all dead!"
Zoroark stopped himself. Then, with the mischievous smile returning to his face, he took a slow step forward.
"Are you incapable of hearing!?" the scientist shouted, "Stop, or you WILL regret it!"
Zoroark answered by moving forward one more step.
"I'm warning you! This Alakazam is far more powerful than any other Pokèmon in the world!" the scientist continued while throwing his hands in front of him in a strange manner, "Last chance! Move back, or PERISH!"
Zoroark then took yet another step.
"Now you've done it!" the scientist bellowed, his eyes positively glowing with hatred, "You shall suffer! I will crush you beneath my heel! I-"
He was interrupted as Zoroark suddenly leaped forward, coating his claws with the contents of another vial drawn from his bushy hair, stabbing the Alakazam in the chest with his left claw. The Alakazam dropped both his spoons and grabbed on to Zoroark's arm with a hateful glare, life disappearing from his eyes as he involuntarily closed them and fell asleep.
"Amateurs..." Zoroark muttered as the Alakazam fell and started tumbling down the staircase.
"... EH!?" Lucario burst out in shock, his fear dissipating with each passing second.
"Zoroark!" the Lilligant burst out happily as she seemed to have regained her bravery as well, "You did it!"
"Did what?" Zoroark groaned with disappointment, "This idiot was probably weaker than everyone we fought to get here."
"He... Huh?" Lucario muttered before he felt a hard substance hitting his leg, looking down and seeing Astrid quickly backing away from the approaching Alakazam, "Hey, watch it!"
"He used his psychic powers to fill you with irrational fear," Zoroark explained while sighing, "Which, quite frankly, I was hoping you'd be above."
"Hey, I am!" Lucario exclaimed confidently, "I was ready to charge him at a moment's notice!"
A loud thud was heard as the scientist suddenly collapsed, landing sideways on a step while leaning dangerously on the edge. Zoroark looked down at him with a bored face, before signaling the rest to follow him.
"He was controlling the human like a puppet, manipulating his movement and speech..." he said quietly as Astrid and the Lilligant carefully passed the unconscious Alakazam, Lucario simply walking right over him, " ... But why...?"
"Really?" Lucario asked nonchalantly as the memory of a smug yet frighteningly powerful yellow rat crossed his mind, "From what I heard, mind control is impossible."
"Not mind control - Puppetry," Zoroark clarified, "The human must have given him consent to do it, or it would've been easy to break out of."
"Must've been some kind of battle strategy," Lucario said while trying to sound smart, "Not that it did 'em a whole lot of good."
"Paralyzed half our crew with fear," Zoroark muttered while looking back at the Lilligant and Astrid who were still recovering, "At any rate, seems the human's Pokèmon ended up controlling him... How ironic."
"OK, fine, great, WHATEVER!" Lucario rambled as the temptation of being so close to freedom became too much, "How about we continue getting the hell out of here!?"
"Nothing would suit me better," Zoroark said before turning around and starting to climb up the stairs.
The sunlight burned Lucario's eyes as he once more became acquainted with a bright, blue sky. He paid no attention to the many tall buildings above him and carefully placed pavement beneath him, much too occupied with the fresh air filling his lungs and a small breeze pleasantly whisking by his form.
"Aahhh..." Lucario sighed longingly before inhaling deeply, "... Air."
"They deprived you of that, too?" Zoroark asked with an amused tone, bringing him back to reality.
A quick glance around him told him that he was in a large city, surrounded by both Pokèmon and humans that were walking around peacefully and blissfully unaware of the many battles that had taken place just a few paces underneath their feet.
"We're not exactly in the clear just yet," Zoroark said determinedly as Connor, Astrid and the shaky Lilligant joined them, "We need to get to the base, which is just on the outskirts of town."
"Sweet. Is that the pickup I'm sensing?" Lucario asked, feeling something very powerful heading directly for them.
"You mean... Connor?" Zoroark asked in return, trying to understand what he was referring to.
"... No...?" Lucario exclaimed with a questioning voice, "I'm talking about that huge aura coming at us at a rapid pace."
"... What!?" Zoroark suddenly burst out, making a nearby Pokèmon look at him strangely, "From where!?"
Lucario did not have time to answer as many screams echoed throughout the city behind them, that of both Pokèmon and humans. Most of the bystanders stopped walking to try to hear what was happening, growing more and more frightened as they saw several people running away from the origin of the noise.
Far away in the city, they saw a massive beast suddenly appear from behind one of the taller buildings. It towered over the surrounding humans and Pokèmon who all quickly scrambled to get away from it, and it was approaching the team as quickly as a speeding train. Ignoring those that fled, it maneuvered around the signs and trees which blocked its way with uncanny precision.
Although the images of Suicune and Raikou were starting to fade from Lucario's mind, he saw that this creature was quite similar in form, more so the latter. Its fur was mostly brown, and surprisingly rugged for the monster's proper stature. This one adorned a seemingly artificial mask covering its mouth, also having thick armlets equipped around the middle of each leg.
"Hey... This one's also using that fear thing to appear strong," Lucario said while doing his best to remain confident and ignore the absurdly strong aura emanating from the large Pokèmon, causing his very insides to rattle.
"No, he isn't..." Zoroark replied slowly while biting his lips, "This one's the real deal."
"E-E-Eth..." the Lilligant stammered, making Lucario wonder if it was an affliction or if she was just having a really bad day, "It's Ethan's Entei!"
"Who!?" Astrid burst out and kept himself from shaking, deciding to try to appear brave from now on to make up for his earlier shameful display.
"The legendary Ethan!" Zoroark explained loudly while frantically searching through his long hair for something, "The only trainer to ever surpass Red!"
"Hah! I can't tell which name's funnier!" Lucario laughed before the nodes in his brain finally connected, "Wait... Red... You mean, that guy that had Raikou!?"
"Oh! H-He's coming!" Astrid stammered as his legs felt more like heavy rocks than ever before, "Do we run, or...!?"
Entei had slowed himself down and moved closer to them with big, intimidating steps. Lucario knew this to be an act, having seen just how fast it had been running earlier. The beast stopped a few feet away from them, his frighteningly large and deep eyes locking with Zoroark's.
"I know not what manner of Pokèmon you are..." Entei spoke with a booming voice, sounding as if emanating from a deep abyss, "But attacking a human settlement is a crime I simply cannot tolerate."
"Settlement!?" Lucario shouted back at the legendary dog, the words stirring some of the pent up anger within him, "More like a death camp, and even that's being too nice!" Entei's eyes shifted to Lucario for a second, both of which were larger than his head.
"Be quiet!" Zoroark hissed dangerously at Lucario while standing his ground before the intimidating monster, "Entei, we have simply liberated those who have been wrongfully imprisoned and experimented upon. Do not let your chivalry cloud your better judgment!"
"Aggressions will always breed further aggression, no exceptions..." Entei growled intimidatingly, "Stand down, and allow me be the judge of your actions."
"... Connor, take 'em to the designated spot!" Zoroark suddenly yelled as he rummaged through his hair once more and pulled out a very small bomb, "Lucario, follow Connor! Leave this one to me!"
Zoroark threw the bomb to Connor, who to everyone's surprise caught it between his teeth. He then wasted no time in biting down on it, wave after wave of smoke suddenly escaping the tiny contraption. The newly created fog quickly became too thick to make out even the smallest detail in, but Lucario sensed something strange happening as Connor's aura suddenly combined with that of Astrid and the Lilligant. He did not have to wonder about this for long, as a shadow grabbed on to his left arm and pulled him in its direction with amazing strength. He saw Connor with both Astrid and the Lilligant hanging on to his shoulders
The scene made him stifle a laughter as Connor suddenly turned around and started running using his arms like before. Lucario instantly lost sight of them in the mist, but was able to easily sense the huge Pokèmon's aura and decided to follow him. Behind him, he sensed the aura of Entei flaring up, and even though it was far more dangerous it was not affecting him as badly as the Alakazam had.
"Hey, you forgot Zoroark!" Lucario shouted after Connor while doing his best to keep up, "He can't deal with that monster alone!"
"Yes, he can!" Astrid responded confidently, covering his face into the large shoulder in front of him.
"He m-must..." the Lilligant said weakly, still breathless from all her earlier screaming. Lucario was about to say something snappy in return, but stopped himself as he sensed the auras of several strong beings approaching from behind.
"Wait, this is no good!" Lucario burst out as he realized what was happening, "They'll just follow the smoke cloud!"
Astrid was about to say something, but was interrupted by an angry grunt from Connor. He spat out the smoke ball into his hand and suddenly threw it far away. He continued onwards, Lucario following as he suddenly ran straight into a tree. He took a step back from the recoil, clutching his nose in pain as he realized he wouldn't be able to navigate past every tree in a forest if he couldn't see. As luck would have it, the smoke had yet to creep into the woods, and he was able to avoid crashing into anything as he followed the auras of Connor and the rest.
"Yes! We made it!" Astrid finally shouted with a very large amount of relief, "There! It's hidden in that bush!"
Lucario felt like crying out in joy, seeing his cowardly companion pointing directly at a very bland-looking bush. Instead, he had to think twice as he saw a familiar Pokèmon standing in front of it.
It looked like a miniature version of Entei, making up for its lacking armlets and masks with a puffier shape to its fur. It had an unremarkable aura and seemed to pose little threat, but Lucario had simply been through too much lately to take any risks. He had come too far to fall now, and the soil beneath his feet became ground up as he dug himself down, preparing the most powerful roundhouse kick of his life.
"Lucario!" Astrid yelled with panic, "Not a foe!"
Lucario stumbled as he abruptly stopped himself, the strength of his own leg making him twirl around in confusion. Connor grunted as he grabbed a hold of Lucario, quickly stopping his pirouette before throwing him into the bushes. The small branches brushed past him as he felt himself fall down a hole in the ground, leading him to a large chamber underground...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chapter End Notes:
"The Pokèmon that spearheaded the whole thing..."
"Yes. I have no idea what that was."
"A new species...?"
"Must be. I heard it quacking "Zoroark! Zoroark!" throughout the whole thing."
"Zoroark... Is that with an S or a Z?"
"Let us make it a Z. Not enough Pokèmon utilizing that letter."
"... Type?"
"Dark is at least one of them. Peculiar, seeing how similar it looked to our main escapee."
"Mmm..."
"How badly will his escape affect your research?"
"Little... We already have a blood sample... Tissue sample..."
"Hmpf. You really did not care about his behavior or condition at all, did you?"
"Not really, no."
"Let us focus on the Zoroark then, so we have something to tell the press."
"... How long until the boss-man gets wind of this?"
"Half a second before we did, I assume."
"That's... No good."
"True. Pray we get tangible info on that Zoroark, or brace yourself for the shitstorm of the century."