A Boy and His Lucario Part 14
#14 of A Boy and His Lucario Series
Lucario slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was in John's room in the living quarters. He got up out of bed and found some food and a note. He read the note then looked through the window outside. The moon told Lucario it must have been late. He ate the food and walked across the hallway to talk to Ashito. Lucario knocked on the door and Ashito was there almost instantly.
"Good Evening Lucario, come on in!" he said with his usual cheerful tone. Lucario entered to notice the room was identical to John's, minus the bonsai tree.
"Ashito, Master left me a note saying to come talk to you. Do you know what it's for?" Lucario asked. Ashito sat on his bed and yawned.
"Yes, John asked me to talk you while he was gone. He said he went to the Pokémon Center to call a friend. He also said he'd be back before sunrise and that you should make sure you eat and get some rest for tomorrow's training."
"Why did he go to call a friend so late at night?" Lucario asked.
"He didn't say, but I heard him say it was going to better for you if he could."
"I see. Thank you Ashito." Lucario bowed. Ashito returned his bow and Lucario left the room. 'Better for me? What does making a phone call have anything to do with things being better for me?' Lucario thought while making his way outside. The moon was full and the dojo grounds were light by candle stands around the perimeter. Siegfried's flowers looked beautiful in the moon light. A Noctowl flew quietly over head into the forest. Lucario crossed the bridge in the center of the garden and stopped in the middle to look at the water. He saw reflections belonging to him and the moon. A gentle breeze blew some flower pedals onto the pond's surface. Lucario continued to watch the water. 'Better for me?'
"Alright, this is going to make Lucario so happy!" John couldn't contain his excitement. The girl laughed.
"Yeah, I think they'll both be happy. See you in a few days!" and with that the videophone's screen went blank. John smiled and turned off the phone. He walked out of the Pokémon Center and looked to the sky, seeing the full moon. 'I wonder if Lucario's awake?' the thought made him smile. 'There's only one way to find out!' and he started running.
Lucario had found his way back to John's room and went back to bed. Short after, John walked into his room. He noticed the food had been eaten and Lucario was curled up at the end of the bed. He smiled knowing his friend had done as he was asked. John crawled into bed and fell asleep quite happy with his deed.
"Master, it's time to wake up." Lucario said with his morning ritual with light poking. John sat up and stretched his arms out with a loud yawn. John barely got a chance to stand up when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." John said. Kyo walked in already wearing his kimono. "Oh, good morning Kyo." Kyo bowed.
"Morning. I came to check on Lucario." He faced Lucario and grinned. "Are you ready for today's training?" Lucario looked confused. He looked at John with his head tilted.
"Oh that's right, I forgot to tell you. Today Siegfried is leading us in some standard Pokémon training." Lucario's face lightened up with a large smile.
"Really? That sounds great! I haven't battled since we challenged the Pewter City gym! Master, this is going to be so much fun!" Lucario began bouncing around the room in excitement. John and Kyo laughed while Lucario hurried to put on his kimono and flew out the door.
"He certainly is an excitable little guy, isn't he?" Kyo teased. John smiled and put on his kimono.
"You don't know the half of it. In a few days he'll be even more excited than that."
"And why is that?" Kyo chuckled.
"You'll find out when the time comes." John snickered. The boys walked outside just in time to see Lucario fly into the main dojo. They couldn't help but laugh at his excitement, it really was pretty funny.
"Is he happy or in a hurry to leave?" Ashito giggled as he joined them.
"He's really excited; he hasn't battled for a while now." John explained. Ashito continued to giggle.
"You've got to love that one."
"Hey Ashito, aren't you supposed to be mediating with Sensei Hosokawa?" Kyo asked.
"Not today. Sensei says he needs his rest and will have to skip this morning, so I'll be watching you guys today." He enlightened them. They all entered the main dojo to see that Donal and his Mankey were ready to go, sitting against the wall. Lucario was standing in a meditative stance in the center of the dojo, ready to fight.
"Mornin' lads. Be ya ready to fight?" Donal greeted. "I warn ye, Mankey knows how to put up a good fight." He boasted. Mankey put its paws up in the manor of an Irishman, guarding its chin (if Mankeys even have chins).
"I think Lucario can take your Mankey and day!" John boasted in return.
"Das ist genug!" Siegfried shouted, entering the dojo. "Wir sind hier um zu trainieren, nicht gegeneinander kämpfen!" he demanded.
"Yes, sir." Everyone said with a bow.
"Sehr gut. Nun, wer würde gerne den Vortritt?" he asked. Lucario's paw shot straight up. Siegfried laughed. "Du zeigst Entschlossenheit. Sehr gut, John und Lucario zuerst gehen." A faint 'yes' escaped Lucario's mouth as we made his way to the other end of the dojo, John following. Ashito couldn't help but chuckle.
"Like I said, you've got to love him!" he whispered to Kyo.
"Lucario, bitte nehmen Sie Ihre Kimono aus." Lucario turned to John confused.
"He said take off your kimono." John explained. Lucario nodded and did as he was told.
"Lassen Sie uns beginnen. Hitmonlee! Ich wähle dich!" Siegfried through a Poke' Ball onto to dojo floor and Hitmonlee appeared in a white silhouette. Lucario bowed, it seemed the proper thing to do. WHAM! Hitmonlee delivered a strong kick to Lucario's face and sent him into the air. Donal pointed and laughed.
"How you like that? The poor lad doesn't even know to keep his head up!" Siegfried shot Donal a scold and laughter seized. Kyo threw in some advice.
"Lucario, never lower your eyes to an opponent. Hitmonlee may not be an enemy, but in training you must treat it as if it were a real fight." Lucario picked himself up and nodded. "John, in these training segments, the Pokémon are to attack themselves. No trainer assistance is allowed." John nodded.
"Alright Lucario, give it your all!" John encouraged. Lucario faced Hitmonlee and bowed again, lowering his eyes again. Hitmonlee leg extended for another kick to the chin, but Lucario moved with lightning speed to the side and gave the leg a good whack. This sent Hitmonlee's leg upward with the rest of Hitmonlee following. Lucario jumped into the air, span around, and rammed both paws into Hitmonlee's torso. Hitmonlee slammed onto the floor with a loud thump but quickly recovered and flung a barrage of kicks at Lucario. With a docile nature, Lucario swiftly dodged each kick. Each move Lucario made was full of grace and beauty, anyone there could tell you that.
"That's amazing!" Ashito declared "He's dodging the kicks, but it looks like he could be dancing!"
Hitmonlee stopped the barrage and faked a kick. Lucario thought it was going to be real and moved to dodge, not expecting the real kick to follow. Hitmonlee's foot came within inches of Lucario's face as he back flipped to avoid the attack. Lucario recovered and threw an Aura Sphere, impacting Hitmonlee in the face, sending him into the far wall.
"That's it Lucario!" John cheered. "Keep it up!" hearing this, Hitmonlee shot up and kicked with great intensity. The first few hit Lucario and smacked him around a bit until he was able to reestablish his footing and continued to dodge in the dancing manor from before. Each move was like that of a beautiful dance unseen to anyone in the room, or at least, almost everyone.
"STOP!" A loud voice shouted. Hitmonlee's legs froze in mid air and Lucario stopped his dodging technique. Everyone turned their heads in confusion to see none other than Sensei Hosokawa standing in the door way. His face was the shade of a beet and his face was dotted with light blots of sweat. "Lucario! John! In my quarters now! Ashito and Kyo come with! Donal, stay with Siegfried and continue training!" and like a flash, Sensei Hosokawa shot out the door and disappeared. Everyone in the dojo had the same look of confusion on their face.
"Well you heard him." Kyo said. "Let's get going." Lucario put on his kimono and the four left the dojo, leaving Donal infuriated about being the only one not summoned.
The four boys kneeled on the floor of Sensei Hosokawa's quarters and watched the little man rummage through scrolls on the back wall. No one knew why they had all been summoned, but they were all sure it wasn't for something good. Lucario and Ashito nervously twitched their ears while John wiped sweat from his brow. Sensei Hosokawa stumbled back to the four while intently reading a scroll.
"Lucario, were did you ever learn those dodging techniques?" he asked while looking from the scroll and Lucario. Lucario gave a slight shrug and spoke telepathically.
"I don't know, Sensei. It just came naturally." Sensei Hosokawa calmed down and rolled up the scroll.
"I see. Have any of you heard of The Society of Mountain Lucario?" he asked. Everyone looked at each other with a look of unknowing and shook their heads. Sensei sighed. "I thought not. You see, The Society of Mountain Lucario were once a large group of Lucario and humans who lived together in harmony. The Lucario became civilized in the manor of the Japanese humans who lived with them. The humans taught them who to read and write, build structures, basic government, and even to fight. I was once affiliated with The Society long ago. My brother was one of the chiefs when The Society prospered. I often visited them before I established the dojo and trained with them, but I had to swear never to teach these techniques to anyone and I've kept that promise to this day."
"Sensei, what are you trying to say?" John asked
"Just a moment, I'm not done. A few years ago, the nefarious Team Rocket attacked The Society of Mountain Lucario." Ashito bared his teeth, a low growl followed.
"What did they do to the society, Sensei?" he asked in a low and angry voice. Sensei Hosokawa sighed.
"Team Rocket wanted the Lucario for experimentation and fighting tools. The humans wouldn't stand for this and fought back, but to no avail. Everyone who fought back, Lucario and human alike were killed. Rumors say that some Lucario fled across the region, only to be hunted down by Team Rocket." Ashito was angry. His teeth were bared, his ears pointed back, and the fur on the back of his neck stood up. John put his hand on Ashito's.
"Sensei, why have told us this?" Kyo finally asked.
"Because.... Lucario... You are one of the Mountain Lucario." Everyone was taken aback in surprise.
"WHAT?! But sensei, how can that be? Master discovered me as an egg in a field in Pallet Town." Lucario questioned.
"I don't know how that could've happened, but I know you are one of them. Those dodging techniques are only known to members of The Society of Mountain Lucario. I haven't seen them in years and had begun to assume that all of them had been wiped out. But seeing you, there must be others. It is the only logical way to explain how you were found." Lucario sat silent with his mouth open. Ashito no longer bared his angered face. Kyo and John looked at Lucario with attentiveness. "Men, seeing a survivor of The Society, I know there must be others out there. I want you all to go search for them."
"I'd understand John and Lucario, but why do you want Ashito and I to go?" Kyo asked.
"The Society adopted many Japanese customs. Form all that I've taught you Kyo, it will be helpful. As for Ashito, you have been here for a while and I believe it's time for you to experience the world again. There should be no worry about Team Rocket; they have probably assumed you're dead by now. Besides, I can only teach you so much. The Lucario will more than likely give you even better training."
"Sensei, how will we know if we can find them, or if they'll accept us?" John asked.
"The Society of Mountain Lucario would be hard to miss. If they remain, they will be found in the mountain range that separates Kanto and Johto, near Mt. Silver. The members of The Society can tell who one of them is. If they see Lucario, they'll know you belong. Now, prepare for your journey. You will leave in three days. Tell no one where you are going or what you are going to do, I'll deal with Donal and Siegfried."
The four stood and bowed.
"Hai, Sensei."
Two days had gone by and the four had exiled themselves to their rooms. But not today, John had plans.
"Lucario, I've got something planned for us today. We're going back to that hill from a few days ago. There's something waiting for us there."
"Really? What is it, Master?" Lucario asked. John grinned.
"You'll see. And I think you'll like it."
The hill seemed vacant. The large tree stood alone, the leaves standing perfectly still.
"Master, what are we supposed to be seeing?" Lucario didn't understand. John smiled.
"Alright, you can come out now!" he yelled to the tree. Two blurs jumped down out the leaves.
"Good to see you guys again!" one of them said. Lucario focused his eyes on them then realized who was there.
"Celia?" he darted up the side of the hill and the closer he got, he could see a yellow Lucario. "Celia!" he shouted as he came closer. The yellow Lucario put its arms out wide.
"Yes Lucario! It's me!" Lucario ran straight into her arms for a long embrace.
"Celia I've missed you so much!" Tears of joy ran down his face as he held her tight. Celia smiled and wiped his tears.
"I've missed you too, Lucario! I've missed you too!"