***

Warning this contains death and dismemberment and mature content. This is a work in progress that does include Lemons. I do not own Pokémon or associated media. If you do not like the described content do not read. Also if you are under the legal age to read mature content DO NOT READ.

***

Champion’s Fall

“ Lupen , why are you hiding you eye? ” Namiko asked as she folded a basket full of white linen towels .

“I’m not hiding anything,” the Zoroark evaded.

“ Lupen ,” the Lucario sighed tiredly. The Dark type met her eyes for a moment before turning away to touch his right eye.

“It’s shameful to have scars, they are considered ugly by my kind,” he sighed.

“I take it all Zoroark say that?” Namiko huffed.

“We are masters of illusion, if we have scars then we aren’t very good masters are we?”

“So you hide them ,” the fighting type sighed.

“Yeah,” Lupen shrugged . “ B ut you’re lucky, you don’t have any scars .”

Namiko turned to the Zoroark and gave him a look that made the dark type nearly jump out of his skin. He flinched when she raised her paw to her left ear.

“Here!” she spoke, her voice quivering in rage. “My ear got burned as my home and my family burned.”

“I…” Lupen tried but Namiko was quick to cut him off.

“Or here!” she pointed to her arm. “ My arm was cut on my mother’s spike as sh e pushed me into my hiding spot.”

“ Namiko I’m…”

“Or here!” the Lucario nearly sc reamed as tears streamed down her face. Lupen saw the Lucario point to her chest to a small crescent mark just beside her chest spike .“ When I watched…”

“ Shh ,” the dark type cooed as he pulled the steel type into a hug. “I’m sorry ,I wasn’t thinking.”

“Seeing you hide your eye reminds me of what I’ve kept hidden,” Namiko wept. The Lucario’s words struck the Zoroark like a sack of bricks.

“Hey look,” Lupen smiled. “See no more illusions okay?”

The fighting type pushed out of his embrace to regard his face. The Zoroark’s right eye now sported a clean white bandage covering the empty socket. Namiko noticed the extreme discomfort in her friend as he waited under her scrutiny.

“I, I need to be alone,” she choked unable to look at the dark type any longer. Lupen felt powerless as he watched the Lucario push past the Serpierior that slithered in with another basket of laundry.

“What’s with little Namiko ?” Cloud asked as he sat the basket down.

“She’s going through a difficult time right now and I,” Lupen paused. “I said something very crass.”

“What did you say?” the obese grass snake turned.

“I said that scars are ugly, and that they should be kept hidden . ”

“That would make me upset as well , ” Cloud hissed.

“I need to apologize to her,” the Zoroark said as he stood.

“Yes you do, but first you better finish folding that basket of cloth e s.”  
***

“Aura, head that one off!” Jack shouted as he fought alongside Aqua. Only two of Giratina’s followers chased after the group as they were ejected from the distortion world, but the two Dusknoir proved to be very competent in team tactics.

“We will do the will of Giratina !” they spoke in unison . “ A nd we will punish Helen for…”

“Oh go suck an egg you two!” the Mismagious spat as she assisted Uxie with closing the still open portal.

“Such impudence!” they growled. “We thought Giratina taught you better . ”

The two Dusknoir charged for the vulnerable Ghost, but where intercepted by a powerful blast of ghostly energy from both Aura and Jack.

“I thought you two would be happy to see me banished, but a word of advice Lock; Giratina gets a little clingy after he pops,” Helen sneered.

“Ugh, you defile our lord!” the apparent female grimaced.

“Well he was fun for a while, but I got tired of doing it the same way every tim e, ” The ghost retorted. “My old mate at least knew how to diversify, but alas thanks to your lord’s curse I out lived both him and my daughters!”

“Heh, you know what they say Helen, can’t teach an old dragon new tricks,” Jack quipped before he sent a blizzard crashing into the pair of ghosts. No retort came from the ghosts as the snow and ice receded. Before the battle - weary Pokémon stood the frozen statues of the two Dusknoir .

“Lock and Key, also known as Giratina’s twins,” the Mismagious smiled as she floated to their helpless forms. “Let’s throw them back through!”

Despite Yoshi’s small size, the diminutive ghost effortlessly tossed one of the Dusknoir back through the portal. Aqua however used her hydropump to blast the other back into the Distortion world.

“Close it!” Aura yelled. Uxie and Helen both collected their energy for a moment until they slammed the portal closed.

“Good riddance,” Ace sighed as he nursed a broken wing.

“We have to catch up to Arthur,” Aura addressed.

“ I can’t, not with this wing,” the Flygon huffed.

“And I’m not the fastest thing in the world, not with three legs,” Jack added.

“Two teams : Helen, Uxie and myself w ill run up ahead to see if we can’t help Aurora, while the rest of you take it slow. It ’ s clear weather but dark, and I don’t want anyone taking a spill over a cliff , ” The Lucario explained.

“Aurora should almost be at the town,” Uxie enlightened.

“Let’s go,” Aura nodded as she activated her aura sight.  
***

Heavy paws thundered through the freshly fallen snow as a Suicune raced through the sparse frozen forest. She knew only agony as she used her powers to keep the teen clinging to her back from expiring. The fire that burned within him only grew hotter with each footfall, and with every mile the burn on her back grew larger and more severe.

“ Ahh ,ha-hang on Arthur!” Aurora gasped when she vaulted over a fallen log. She kept the agonizing pace until a sudden gust kicked up a cloud of snow right into her eyes. Driven by pain and her critical mission the blinded Suicune pressed on until an errant branch caught her foot. The sound of breaking bone sounded through the forest as Aurora fell ,and Arthur was sent flying into a bank of snow.

Arthur staggered out of the melting bank only to see Aurora unconscious in the disturbed powder. A quick glance over his shoulder revealed a distant glow from a small snow covered town next to an unmoving sea. The trainer returned to the fallen water type to see her back covered in a dark ugly burn and her left foreleg hanging at an angle.

“A-Aurora, h-hang on,” he gasped just as another surge of power coursed through him. Arthur effortlessly conjured up the same energy that his younger Lucario Namiko used to heal him. With great care the teen touched his pink lit hand to Aurora’s back. The burnt flesh seemed to magically regenerate as the overpowered heal pulse worked. Slowly the teen felt the internal fire that burned within him less e n as he expended more energy on the Suicune .

“A-Arthur?” Aurora groaned.

“Come on, I-I can’t set your leg but we are so close to Snowpoint ,” he spoke.

“H-how?” she breathed as she carefully stood on her three unbroken legs.

“I-I’ve never been able to use Pulse heal, but when I combined my aura with Nicole’s power it just worked like I had as much aura as Aura,” Arthur explained as he helped the legendary trudge through the deep snow.

“But what happens when you…”

“I don’t know,” the teen sighed as they continued to the town.  
***

“N- Namiko ?” Lupen called as he approached the lone Lucario that sat next to an old tree.

“What do you want Lupen ?” the fighting type huffed.

“ I’m sorry for what I said, I,” the Zoroark paused . “I wasn’t thinking.”

Namiko remained silent as the dark type sat next to her.

“Look, I don’t think your scars are ugly ,I , heh , didn’t really notice them before,” he chuckled. “But as a whole…”

“Stop Lupen ,just stop,” Namiko sighed.

“Sorry, I guess I’m just messing up all over the place,” the Zoroark spoke as he stood.

“I’m not telling you to leave Lupen ,I’m telling you to shut up,” the Lucario growled.

“ Wow you didn’t pull you punch there . ”

“I know you mean well Lupen , but you need to learn to keep your mouth shut,” Namiko explained.

“Yeah,” the Zoroark huffed as he retook his seat. A few hours passed before the Lucario finally spoke up.

“What happened in the cave, how did you lose your eye?” she asked.

“I missed,” Lupen grumbled.

“ Before or after you lost your eye?”

“After, what does it matter, if I hadn’t missed Nicole wouldn’t have gotten hurt and we would still be on Arthur’s team,” the Zoroark ranted. He stood and began to restlessly pace before the Lucario

“I don’t think it’s your fault, I think Arthur is protecting us,” the steel type sighed.

“How could it not be! ” Lupen spun . “You know how much Arthur loves Nicole!”

“Did you cause the wish to backfire?” the Lucario yelled. “Did you send that Froslass ?”

“No, but…”

“But nothing !Y ou had no control over what happened, just like I had no control when I lost my family!” Namiko all but screamed as s he stood before the larger male Zoroark .

“ Lupen that is enough!” an older Zoroark intervened . “ An d young lady you must understand that my son was depended upon and he failed.”

“You already told your father?” the Lucario asked , bewildered.

“ Yeah, I told him when I visited the clan… or what’s left of it. ” Lupen sighed .

“What happened?”

“My father took the clan north and made me pack master here , ” Takea explained. “ I stayed behind to keep the promise he made to Aura .”

“ And to take care of mom,” the younger Zoroark added solemnly.

“Yes,” the elder nodded. Namiko’s stomach knotted up as she remembered Lupen’s mournful howl echoing over the forest the night they were sent back.

“I’m sorry,” she gulped.

“It’s alright Namiko ,a death in the clan isn’t something we talk about all that often,” her friend soothed .

“ I am sorry for your loss . ”

“Traditionally we howl for those we’ve lost , ” Takea explained.

“Perhaps we could do a howl for Namiko’s family?” Lupen added.

“ I don’t see any reason why not. Are you up to it young lady?” the elder asked. The young Lucario’s eyes became misty as she nodded.

“What are the names of the departed?”

“ Kon , Hasko ,Apollo, and Athena,” Namiko spoke. “They are my brothers and parents.”

“My Lord Arceus , please guide those that we have lost and bring them peace as we live on.” Takea spoke reverently. Lupen grasped the Lucario’s paw as he too k his place next to his father.

“Know and remember these names; Athena and Apollo, mother and father to Namiko and her brothers Kon and Hasko .These four Pokémon were taken too soon from this world and we mourn their loss. Honor them as we honor them in this song,” the pack master finished. His and his son’s voice both started into a low howl. The mournful song brought Namiko to tears as father and son called out to the sky. Soon her own shaky voice joined the duet and with her own song she found comfort.  
***

Nurse Joy was startled by shrieks of the patrons that populated the Pokécenter’s lobby. When she stepped out to investigate what was going on she saw what the cause of the commotion was. A young brown - haired trainer staggered across the floor with a maimed Suicune .

“Oh my god,” she gasped as she watched the white coat the youth wore smolder with an unfathomable heat .

“N-Nicole,” he managed to say through a pained voice. “I-I need to get…”

“Everyone, make way!” the Nurse called. “Through here Arthur!”

She quickly cleared the busy hallway that led to where the Victini was held. Trainer and Pokémon alike flinched from the heat that poured from the trainer ,even a few fire types found the heat intolerable. Even though the pokecenter’s intensive care wasn’t very far , each step seemed to drag on to the agony wrought teen .

“In here,” Nurse Joy directed before she retreated from the smoldering air. Inside the room Arthur saw his beloved Victini still comatose from the lack of her power.

“Nicole,” he breathed as he stumbled towards the bedside. The trainer’s hand moved on its own accord until he could feel the Victini’s soft fur beneath his fingers. The fire that burned with in Arthur’s chest died away as the power he contained flowed back to its rightful owner. When he could no longer feel his love’s power , Arthur fell into a still calm.

Nicole woke with a start when she felt a hand slid e across her chest. The sudden movement from the fire type upset the I.V. that was set into her arm. The Victini ignored the sharp stab from the needle as she heard a dull thud that sounded from her bedside. A movement from the foot of the bed caught the attention of the Victini .Standing in the doorway was Aura accompanied by her guardian and an odd yellow fairy-like Pokémon.

“Oh god,” the Lucario paled.

“Where’s Arthur?” Nicole asked. Aura choked up as her gaze never left the side of the bed. Perplexed , the Victini looked to where the steel type was looking to see a smoldering mass heaped against the bed. She moved as far as the I.V. would allow to better examine the unmoving form. Her heart fell when she recognized the brown hair and white coat of her mate.

“Arthur…” she choked, “ Arthur!”  
***

Arthur rested in a pure white space; He felt neither pain nor discomfort. Tears streamed down his face as thoughts of what could have been fate had been kinder .

“What are you doing here kid?” spoke a familiar voice.

“Captain?” the teen sat up to see Aura’s mate sitting next to him.

“Too soon Kid,” the Lucario sighed. “Way too soon.”

“I didn’t want it to end like this, I just…”

“ Listen, tell Aura I love her,” Captain interrupted. “And tell her I’m sorry for leaving so soon.”

“What do you mean?” Arthur turned. The Lucario placed a paw on the youth’s chest and flashed him a weak smile. The teen felt a jolt of electricity course through his body followed by an agonizing pain.

Arthur opened his eyes to his starter pressing a paw to his chest while a mask was pressed to his face. Pain clouded out his other senses as the world ab out him slowly came into focus. Aura must have sense d his miraculous revival as she smiled through the tears that streamed down her face. A second form came into Arthur’s field of view, one that was much smaller than his starter and possessed a pair of impossibly blue eye s .

“N-Nicole,” he spoke in the softest of whispers.

“Arthur,” she wept as she took hold of the trainer’s left hand.  
***

And with that part two comes to a close, but this story is far from over. Until then I will see you all in part three for Victini’s love.

Your ever crazy

Kolofo x