A Boy and His Lucario Part 11
#11 of A Boy and His Lucario Series
Lucario began poking at John's side.
"Master, it's time to get up." he said as his pokes became harder. John slowly opened his eyes and looked out the window, it was still dark out. He reached into his bag and pulled out a watch.
"What?! 5:00?! Lucario, why are you waking me up so early?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"I heard Kyo in the other room talking to someone, he said training begins at 6:00, so I thought I'd get you up to let you have time to get ready. Please don't be angry with me Master." Lucario pleaded. John let out a faint smile and pated Lucario on the head.
"Don't worry, I'm not angry, you did the right thing." John got up and changed his clothes, putting on something comfortable for the training. He walked out of his room and headed to the bathroom when Kyo exited his room.
"Hey, good morning John. You got up just in time, training starts in an hour."
"Good morning Kyo and thank you. Why does Sensei start things so early?" John asked as he stretched out his arms.
"I've been asking myself the same question for years." Kyo chuckled. "I think it has something to do with his military experience."
"Really? I'd like to hear more about that later." John seemed rather intrigued to learn more about Sensei Hosokawa now. Kyo walked over into one of the unoccupied rooms and returned holding some clothes.
"Here, you'll need these. Sensei only allows these to be worn during training, again, personal experience." John took the clothing from Kyo with a small bow to show thanks and respect. "The smaller one is for your Lucario, it should fit him." John walked back into his room carrying the clothes. He handed the smaller one to Lucario and told him to put it on.
"Kyo says we're to wear them during training." John explained. They both put on their outfits to find they were beautiful silk kimonos. John's was black and grey, while Lucario's was all blue.
"Wow, these are fantastic, Master." Lucario marveled at his new kimono. "It's really comfortable and it looks nice." John giggled.
"Yeah, you look good."
John and Lucario made their way outside and found Donal, Mankey, and Siegfried waiting on the bridge. They were all wearing kimonos too.
"Guten Morgen, John." Siegfried said as they approached.
"Good morning Siegfried, Donal. Where's Kyo?"
"Ah, he'll be out soon. The bugger always takes his time." Donal explained. His Mankey nodded in agreement. John heard the door to the living quarters slide open behind him. He turned to see Kyo walk out, but was surprised to see the Pokémon following him. It was a Ninetales, and a beautiful one at that. Even though it walked on all fours, it wore a red and white kimono with red petal designs. Lucario had a similar look of awe on his face, but it was not for the Ninetales, it was for the kimono Ninetales was wearing. John could already tell Lucario had grown a liking to kimonos.
"Good morning everybody." Kyo said as he joined the ranks. "John, Lucario, this is my partner Ninetales." Ninetales gave a low nod, which was probably its substitute for a bow. John and Lucario bowed back in respect. John had seen everyone's partner except for Siegfried's.
"Siegfried, where's your partner?" he finally asked. Siegfried reached into his large sleeve and pulled out a Poke' Ball. He opened the ball and a white human shaped silhouette erupted from inside. The silhouette faded to reveal a Hitmonlee.
"Hitmonlee ist mein Partner." John looked the Hitmonlee over; he had only ever seen pictures before and was quite impressed. Hitmonlee was also wearing a kimono, it was completely white.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Hitmonlee." John said with a bow. Hitmonlee returned a bow and said
"As it is to meet you."
Siegfried looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to rise. "Komm, Sensei erwartet uns." They all nodded and followed him to the dojo. When they reached the dojo, they exited through the sliding door on the right side of the room. A long path lead into a forest, it would take them out of the reaches of the city. Kyo looked over to John.
"It's about a two mile walk to the temple; it'll be a while before we get there." He explained. While Donal, Siegfried and the Pokémon led, John and Kyo stayed back from the group a bit, John had questions he wanted to ask.
"Kyo, is Ninetales your only Pokémon?" Kyo grinned.
"Yes, she is. I know what you're going to ask. 'This is a Fighting school, so why do you have a Fire type?' Well, after Sensei Hosokawa heard our story, he decided we'd be worthy of his training." John was more intrigued than ever.
"Oh? And what is your story?" Kyo gave a sarcastic chuckle.
"Well, when I was a kid, I heard of these creatures called Pokémon. They all had extraordinary powers, each different from the other. I heard that people captured and harnessed the power of these creatures and fought with them for sport. I wanted to do that more than anything in the world. My parents on the other hand, tried to keep it all hidden from me. They didn't want me going off to some foreign land with these dangerous beasts." John nodded taking everything in. This still didn't explain Ninetales though.
"In my freshman year in high school I took a Geography class. One of our units was the far off regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Shinoh. They explained to us that in these far off regions, humans had been there for thousands of years, and were just making themselves known in the past century. These natives of the land coexisted with creatures called Pokémon. I was more determined than ever. I was 14 when I ran away from home. I got myself boat tickets to take me to the Kanto region."
"Really?" John asked "You ran away from home so you could become a Pokémon trainer? The United Sates... that's an awfully long boat ride."
"Yes, it took us three days to get here. We arrived in Vermillion City. I was so excited to finally be here, but I didn't know where to go. I heard that Saffron was a sort of Chicago, so I decided to head there and see if I could find any means of starting my journey. I traveled alone. At night. On my way to Saffron I was attacked by bandits. Seeing as I came here with nothing but the clothes on my back, there was nothing for them to take. They beat me and cu... I mean, yeah they beat me pretty badly. They were going to kill me for wasting their time since I had nothing for them to take. I waited for them to drive a knife into my chest or something to end it all, when out of nowhere a white blur jumped from the trees and drove away my attackers. Everything was blurry. All I could remember seeing were blurred red and orange beams emitting from the white blur, and the black outlines of the bandits fleeing. I began to close my eyes as the white blur approached me. I awoke the next morning covered in dried blood. I was covered in leaves and other plants as well; they were covering my wounds and keeping me warm. But, something else was keeping me warm too. I felt something soft, wrapped all around me. I fully opened my eyes to see a large white fox with nine tails wrapped around me."
"I see. Ninetales was the one who saved you. And it covered your wounds, and kept you warm through the night." John concluded.
"Right. I sat up as best I could and looked at it. I was a beautiful creature, and it had taken care of me. It awoke at my movement and put its head up. I jerked back a little, unsure what it was going to do next. But then it did something I never would have expected: it looked me in the eyes and, it spoke" John gasped.
"WHA?! It spoke to you?!" he didn't know what to say. 'Am I not the only one who can understand Pokémon?' he thought to himself.
"Yes. It spoke. And with a beautiful, warm, flowing voice it asked me, 'Are you ok?' I couldn't believe my ears. That voice, it was that of a woman's. This fox was a female. 'Are you ok?' she asked again. I finally responded 'Yes, but I'm still hurt.' She nodded and said 'There's nothing I can do to help your wounds, but I will see if I can get the attention of any humans nearby.' Without leaving my side she put here head up and fire came spewing out of her mouth. I was so surprised by it that I fell back. A pile of leaves in front of us burst into flames, smoking rapidly. After too long a crew of firemen came and found us. They took us to a hospital in Saffron where they were able to fix me up, but, they had to make a few... alterations... to my body. Anyway they fixed me up and released me in a few days, all the while, Ninetales stayed close to my side." John was speechless. This was unlike anything he had ever heard before. This Pokémon had no reason to help Kyo, but she did. She helped him and stayed by his side.
"Kyo, this is amazing. She had no reason to help you." Kyo shook his head.
"No, she had a reason. Her reason is that she is selfless, loving, kind, and compassionate. She doesn't have an evil bone in her body. That's why she helped me."
"But where does this tie into the dojo?" John asked.
"Right, the dojo. You see, after that, Ninetales told me she wanted to go with me on my journey. We traveled around for a while, but we really didn't get anywhere. I had heard of a man in Saffron who trained trainers and their Pokémon to become better fighters. I decided to seek him out. When I found him, he immediately turned us away because Ninetales is not a Fighting type Pokémon. I pleaded with Sensei, explained to him Ninetales' story and her kindness, and our friendship. Sensei was silent. He observed Ninetales for a long time. I think he even looked into her soul. Finally, without breaking his gaze into her eyes, he said 'I will train you.' We've been here for two years now, and we've become closer than ever." John was baffled by the story; he'd never heard anything like it.
"Wir sind hier." Siegfried said as the group up front stopped. John came back from his thoughts and got a good look at the temple. It was a traditional Japanese style temple; it was about one story high. In front of the entrance were two samurai statues. They held their swords to their faces, still as a tree. Siegfried led the party inside, all were silent.
Inside the temple were plain wooden floors with exquisite and beautiful walls outlined with gold. In the center of the wall was a large Yin-Yang symbol, Sensei Hosokawa was seated on a cushion beneath it, two candles light at each side. A stick of incense burned in front of him.
"Welcome my students. Please, take a seat." He said lightly as he gestured to several cushions in front of him. Everyone came and sat on a cushion, their legs crossed and hands on their knees, mimicking Sensei Hosokawa. "I would like for you all to meditate, we will stop when this incense ceases to burn." Everyone took in a deep breath, closed their eyes and calmed their minds. Lucario was so focused the appendages on his head rose. Without opening his eyes, Sensei Hosokawa spoke. "Excellent concentration Lucario. You are indeed meditating with great intensity and focus." Lucario acknowledged the compliment with a small nod, careful not to break his concentration.
Lucario felt his aura flowing through him. He also sensed the aura of the others. Sensei Hosokawa's and Ninetales' were flowing smooth and steady like his own, but everyone else's flowed as normal. Expect for John's. Lucario became curious and began to read his mind.
'I wonder what would invoke her to help him like that. It's just so bizarre. But from the sounds of it, they are still great friends. I hope Lucario and I will stay that way, and grow in our friendship just as they have. Lucario. I wonder if he realizes just how much he means to me.' Lucario felt a small tear coming, but held it back best he could. Sensei Hosokawa sensed uneasiness.
"Is something wrong Lucario? It seems your focus has shifted." He said without opening his eyes. Lucario shook his head, still holding back his tear. Sensei Hosokawa gave a wrinkled smile. "Very well. Continue your meditation." Lucario got himself back under control and felt his aura steady once again. He began to think to himself. 'Oh Master, if only you knew how much you mean to me. I truly love you with all my heart. You brought me into this world, cared for me, watched me grow, and took me with you on your journey. I don't know who it was you were talking about, but I hope we will grow just as they have.'
When the stick of incense had burned its full, Sensei Hosokawa opened his eyes and spoke.
"Excellent work my students. I sense you all have used this time to your advantage, especially you, Lucario." Lucario gave a slight bow as a thank you. "Now, let us move into the garden." Sensei Hosokawa opened a sliding door beside the Yin-Yang symbol and everyone followed him outside. The garden behind the temple was lush with exotic plants and a small rock garden in the middle of it all. Five large rocks and precisely raked sand composed the rock garden. Sensei Hosokawa leaped onto the largest rock in the middle of the garden. "It is time for balance exercises. Today, I would like Ninetales, Hitmonlee, John, and Lucario to join me upon the rocks."
Ninetales and Hitmonlee leaped up on the rocks with ease, but John couldn't jump like that yet. Lucario assisted him by taking hold of him and jumping onto one of the rocks, set John down, and jumped to his own.
"Excellent Lucario. You have done well in assisting your trainer." Sensei Hosokawa stated. "Remember my students; you must learn to rely on one another, Pokémon to trainer. If not, you shall never truly succeed in your journey together."
The rocks each ended with a dull point. Ninetales had a hard time balancing all four paws at once, often switching from paw to paw. John also had a hard time; he also had to switch back and forth between feet. Hitmonlee however, stood still as a post. He was standing in a crane stance and not once had he switched his feet. Lucario also did very well. He stood on one foot with the other tucked up against his leg. He held his arms up, one higher than the other, to help him keep his balance.
"Excellent, all of you." Sensei Hosokawa remarked. "Especially good work from Hitmonlee and Lucario." Sensei Hosokawa jumped down from his rock with a light thump in front of everyone else. "I'm sorry my students, but these old bones of mine have grown tired. This shall have to do for today's training."
"Hai, Sensei." Everyone said with a bow.
"Siegfried, please accompany me back to my quarters." The tired little man ordered. Siegfried and Hitmonlee followed Sensei Hosokawa into the temple and began the trek back to the dojo.
"Ah man" Donal whined "I was hoping to get to do some hand-to-hand combat training with Mankey today." Mankey and Donal both sighed. Kyo faced them.
"Don't complain. Sensei is very old, he can't go like he used to. If you really want to do some hand-to-hand talk to Siegfried later." He turned to face John. "Sorry John. At least you got some training in. We only train every other day, so you can do what you want tomorrow." John nodded. He looked up to Lucario, who was still balancing on the rock.
"Lucario, training is over, you can come down now." Lucario opened his eyes and looked around. He gave a slight shrug and jumped down. Ninetales jumped down next to Kyo.
"Say, you guys want to go for a walk through the woods?" Kyo asked. "They're really nice this time of year." John looked at Lucario who nodded with a smile.
"Sure, that sounds nice." He replied.
"Bah, no thanks lads. Mankey and me are gonna go back to the dojo." Donal said. Kyo chuckled a bit.
"Alright, soot yourself."
The woods were huge, split in the middle by the path that led from the dojo to the temple. The crew had gone off the path to explore further into the woods, Kyo and Ninetales knew the way. Lucario held close to John's side because they had seen a Spinarak cross their path earlier.
"Kyo this forest is beautiful. There are all varieties of Pokémon here too. Do trainers come here often to do some catching?" John asked.
"No, this forest is protected by the city; there's no Pokémon catching or training allowed in here. Ninetales and I come here for a quiet rest from time to time."
"Yeah well they could at least do something about the bugs..." Lucario mumbled. Kyo chuckled.
"You're not a fan of bugs, huh Lucario?"
"No, not at all. If it were up to me-" Lucario gasped "D-did you understand what I said?!" John and Kyo laughed.
"Yes Lucario, Kyo can understand Pokémon too. He's not sure how, but he can." Lucario thought for a moment.
"So, you two can understand us, but you're not sure why?"
"Yep."
"Oh." Lucario was confused. He was with John when he started to understand Pokémon, which they still had no explanation for. But here comes this other fellow with the same ability? And from such a far country? Lucario didn't know what to think.
The four continued their walk through the woods when they heard a loud howl. Ninetales and Lucario froze in place while Kyo and John jumped back.
"What was that?!" John questioned gripping his chest.
"I don't know!" Kyo answered. "I've never heard anything like that in this forest before!" The sound came again.
"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" it eerily cried. Some yips and whimpering followed. John looked to his right.
"Whatever it is, is coming from over there, and it sounds like it needs help." He dashed into the brush without a second thought.
"John, wait!" Kyo yelled after him. Lucario ran around in a panic, Ninetales tried to calm him down.
"Guys," John yelled. "I think you're going to want to see this!"