FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"... Him again!?" Zerobi burst out in disbelief as she looked up at Brendan, "He really was following us!"

Lucario swallowed hard. He had just barely recovered from the unexpected blackout earlier, and did not feel ready for this at all.

"Hmpf... Could have sworn you would've gained some of that weight back..." Brendan scoffed bitterly, remembering the piece of bread he had so gracefully given the starving Lucario, "... But look at you! You're mangier than an AIDS-ridden Gardevoir! Speaking of which..."

Slapping himself right below his chest, a bright red light suddenly zoomed out of his jacket, landing next to him. The red light dampened and became pearly white, taking the form of a Pokémon. To Lucario the Pokémon looked vaguely human, but as its features became more defined he realized it was not likeness, but a vile misrepresentation. What seemed to be neatly combed hair did not flow or move in the slightest, looking more like a helmet. What seemed to be a dress crept into the creature's skin, making him realize that it was organic.

The Gardevoir raised its slender legs from the ground and crossed them, sitting hovering in midair with the dress rippling gently beneath it. Its arms were like sleeves, lifeless and drifting in whichever direction the main body decided to turn. It showed an offended expression as it gave Brendan a dirty look.

"... You owe me a fight, Lucario!" Brendan shouted as he ignored his Pokémon, "This is a colosseum! Prove your worth to earn glory and freedom! If you lose... You're mine, and I'll do whatever the hell I want with you!"

"Uh... Let's run," Lucario whispered to Zerobi, who immediately nodded. As the two of them turned around, Brendan nodded towards his Gardevoir who blinked in acknowledgement and lifted its arms. A faint pink glow suddenly surrounded the doors to the gate, before they were hastily pulled inward and slammed together, sealing the way to the exit.

"Ah!" Zerobi yelped in surprise as she ran up to the door, "It's closed! Smash through it!"

Lucario did not feel a moment's hesitation as he leaped towards it with a straight kick, the mighty gate giving off a loud bang but showing no visible signs of taking damage. Growling, he punched it a few times, the result of which was nothing but a few sore knuckles. In the meantime, Brendan laughed heartily at the useless display as he recalled the Gardevoir into the Pokéball.

"Eyahahaha! See, the thing about a Pokémon Stadium is that it has to be built so reckless beasts like you kind won't accidentally destroy it!" he cackled madly before leaning forward with a snide expression, "Go ahead, try to break it down! I'd love to see you tr-"

Brendan fell quiet as the gate suddenly burst open, the doors ripped out of their hinges and flying up in midair, blasted by powerful psychic force. However, they did not fly outward, but inward. As the loosened doors buried themselves into the arena's dusty soil, they saw a small, green figure hovering by the other side of the gate, her stem-like arms outstretched in front of her.

"Sis!" Zerobi yelled out in gratitude, smiling brightly as she felt the tension begin to melt away.

"What are you two doing here!?" Celebi shouted with a confused expression, obviously trying to take in the hectic situation as quickly as possible.

"Sidequest," Lucario summed up as he made a small leap out through the gate, "We're, uh, done now. Let's go!"

Celebi nodded as Zerobi ran past her, all three of them heading out through the gate and fleeing towards the exit. Dust whirled up around them as they sped through the hallway, seeing a light at the end of the tunnel brought about by the sun reflecting off the snow. They made it through and all the way past the toll booth before suddenly stopping. In front of them stood Brendan with a furious expression, and this time he was riding Suicune.

The legendary dog Suicune looked just as Lucario remembered him, but his intimidation factor had worn off quite a bit. The teal lion which had once seemed like the biggest, fastest and most fearsome threat ever was now just one of many powerful monsters that wanted him dead. Suicune's body structure was not nearly as powerful as that of Raikou, and his size was still just a fraction of Rayquaza's and Lugia's. From what Lucario remembered, the legendary dog had employed many attacks based around water and ice, which was nothing compared to the fire and electric assaults he had faced since. The once big and scary beast now looked more like a small, mangy puppy with a mentally unstable guy on his back.

Brendan and Suicune stared at Lucario, hatred shooting out of the champion trainer's eyes. Lucario would never forget how he had been hunted, tortured and nearly killed, all while not even having been able to land a single blow against the agile legendary. Dreams of revenge had haunted his sleep for over a year, and he had been looking forward to this moment far too long to risk missing it due to not going all-out right from the start. Growling as he gathered up aura in the palm of his hand, he was suddenly cut off as Celebi sped up and hovered in front of him, arms outstretched to her sides. Brendan's gaze suddenly shifted to the small green legendary, and his expression turned bitter.

"I will pay notice to capturing you another time, Celebi," Brendan muttered scornfully as he waved his hand in front of him, "You and that Weavile, be gone. Today, the one I want is the Lucario."

"... Well, you can't have him!" Celebi replied courageously, staying in front of Lucario and her sister while mentally preparing for battle. She thanked herself for being such a worrywart, coming all this way after just sensing Lucario's aura turn in the wrong direction. Thinking the two were just taking a break or something, she wanted to make sure nothing was wrong, and had the intention to see if their relationship had progressed in any way. The question was still very much on her mind, and nagged at her so much that she barely even had time to think of the impending battle. She was a legendary, after all. No trainer could ever muster up the power to defeat her.

Brendan's expression turned into a frown as he stared down Celebi. Something about his gaze made her slightly less sure of herself, like he was not wondering if he could defeat her, but rather gauging if it would be worth the time and effort.

"I should point out that I am a champion trainer, wielding five extra Pokémon aside from Suicune here, a multitude of rare and effective healing items as well as enough Pokéballs to capture each and every one of you seven times over," Brendan counted up before leaning forward with a stern voice, "Me. Lucario. Duel. Spoil my fun, and you can BET that I will spoil yours."

Celebi remained steadfast, but could not help but feel a twinge of fear as the inauspicious trainer stared her down. Suddenly she was reminded of Lucas, the little boy who had overpowered and caught her. What if this trainer was just as dangerous, or perhaps even more so...? Reminded of the helpless feeling of being drawn into a Pokéball against her own will, and the endless darkness within which sapped both her consciousness and strength, she felt her determination begin to waver. But still, she refused to move, well aware what would happen if she did. She knew she had to be strong, for both Zerobi and Lucario's sake.

"... Then so be it! I will make you suffer for this, you miserable cunt!" Brendan suddenly roared with bloodshot eyes, "I will catch you, but I won't pawn you off or use you in battle, oh no... I will restrain you and have my angriest, most violent Pokémon rape you in shifts every remaining moment of your pathetic life until your precious little mind shatters UNLESS YOU FUCKING MOVE!"

Brendan shouted with all his might as he slammed down his fist on Suicune's back, and Celebi was no longer to keep herself from flinching. The thought of being captured was one thing, but to be enslaved and violated, begging for a death that would come shortly thereafter was enough to send her mind into panic. She knew that losing was a possibility, because she had lost before. What if she had never been rescued from the clutches of Lucas? What if the bullet that had penetrated her had been aimed a little higher? What if Pikablu's 75% had been just a bit more powerful? What if her luck was to finally run out, and she would spend the rest of her life in hell on earth, cursing herself for trying to be brave instead of fleeing and saving herself?

She felt so far away from her natural habitat, so detached from what she once was and should be. She was an avatar of nature, a sprite meant to seamlessly hover in and out of existence, blessing the earth with her nurturing presence. Here she was, about to fight a completely foreign legendary over matters that had nothing to do with either of them, risking suffering and damnation for the sake of two Pokémon she had barely even known for a full year. Conflicted and shaking, she suddenly felt something touch down on her shoulder. Looking back, she saw Lucario had placed his hand on her, a confident and calm expression on his face.

"Celebi... Move," Lucario said as he stared ahead at Brendan, who looked back at him with a malignant smile, "You don't need to dirty your hands on this one."

"... You idiot! You can't handle him!" Zerobi yelled at Lucario, amazed to see him stick his neck out instead to leaving the fighting to Celebi, "Run!"

Lucario said nothing to explain himself. He had tried running before, and as he now faced both Brendan and Suicune once more, he knew that it would only postpone things further. The psychotic champion would find him again, possibly at a far worse time than now and kill him and whoever else had decided to follow him around. Victory... Freedom... Revenge... Tempting words echoed through Lucario's mind as he felt his determination grow.

Suddenly, another set of thoughts entered his head. Something Zoroark had explained long ago about Pokémon Stadium, where Ethan had defeated both Red and Brendan, unofficially becoming the greatest trainer of all time...

"And don't even think about fleeing!" Brendan screamed with a glare as he pointed at Lucario, "I've got Pokémon with Shadow Tag AND Mean Look! I'll hunt you all down and kill you!"

"I have no intention of either fleeing or losing..." Lucario whispered as he straightened his back and clenched his fists, "Brendan! I've beaten you as a human, and I'll beat you as a Pokémon!"

"Standing your ground? Eyahahaha!" Brendan laughed as he too clenched his fists, "PERFECT! This will truly be the final battle! End of the road!"

The fearsome champion continued laughing while Lucario stood silent, a mocking expression appearing on the blue jackal's face.

"No..." Lucario said with clarity, a wave of nostalgia washing over him, "Just like before... To me, you're just a stepping stone."

"... Hmpf!" Brendan scoffed as something about the grunts Lucario made irritated him to no end, "Back into the arena with you! No disqualifications here, only death!"

Silently Lucario begun to march back where he had come from, walking past both Zerobi and Celebi without either of them catching his eye. He was too focused on not turning around as he felt an omen of death caress his back, just like what he had felt when he first entered Pokémon Stadium.

"No! Stop him!" Zerobi pleaded as she looked at Celebi, "He's having... Delusions of grandeur! We can't let him do this, he's going to get himself killed!"

Her sister did not answer, still staring at Brendan with a fearful expression plastered across her face. However, Brendan was no longer concerned with her and quickly ordered Suicune to leap up on the roof of the Stadium, obviously taking his own route back the ring.

"Listen... The only reason Suicune kicked my ass before is because we were outside," Lucario said as he kept walking, "No snow in here, right? And even if that's the case, I've learned a few tricks since then..."

Zerobi shook her head in disbelief, looking back and forth between her sister who was frozen in fear, and her love who was heading towards certain doom.

"Sis!" she yelled as she walked in front of the small legendary, trying to get her to snap out of it, not sure of why the legendary had been so freaked out all of a sudden.

"When... I mean..." Celebi tried to speak, still shaken up by her own fading bravery, "If... He faints... I will... Save him..."

It was a promise she was not certain she could keep, but had to make in order to justify her own actions. She decided that she was giving Lucario a chance to prove himself, and would be ready to jump in should things get too dangerous. She convinced herself that the reason for her hesitation was definitively not that her once prominent courage had slowly been drained out of her, leaving behind a shaking coward unable to cope with any situation not easily dealt with.

Soon they had returned to the colosseum, things unchanged from their first visit except for a miniature draft created by Celebi's reckless destruction of the door. Lucario stood in the middle of the arena while Celebi and Zerobi sat by the crumbled remains of the gate, and Brendan sat up on his perch. He had withdrawn Suicune into a Pokéball, which Lucario assumed was a very temporary rest for the azure hound. Instead, Brendan was sitting on a very comfortable-looking seat that seemed awfully new and did not look like part of the original decor. Muttering quietly to himself and reaching behind the seat, he suddenly pulled out an old and dirty microphone.

"Rules are simple!" Brendan shouted into the mic, his voice blaring all over the stadium as Lucario covered his sensitive ears, "1vs1, no switching, no items and NO running!"

"... One versus one?" Lucario muttered as he poked the insides of his ears, the excess wax making things a bit more painful than usual, "What, don't I get to carry around some guy shouting orders on my back? How will I manage?"

"Then... Let's get started..." Brendan snickered as he held out an arm directed at the arena, "I've prepared a special opponent for you, Lucario! TORANA, I CHOOSE YOU!"

Pressing down on the elbow of his arm, a red light suddenly shot of the Pokéball hidden underneath. The light dimmed into nothing after having struck the middle of the arena, but the color red never faded. Crouching on the dusty ground was a large human-like figure, one Lucario had never seen before. It rose to its feet, proving itself to be almost a full head taller than he was, looking down on him with the sharp eyes of an eagle. While human in stature, like other Pokémon it was clearly something of different nature. The face was the strangest part, looking more like a mask or a crest with a hooked beak melded into it. Long, flowing white hair reached down from its head to cover its back and chest, clashing against the rest of its body which seemed to be covered in red feathers, except for the hands which consisted entirely of three large talons.

The musculature of the creature was apparent enough to make Lucario wonder if it had transparent skin or something, not even a sliver of fat visible anywhere upon the lean and well-toned body. Still, compared to Zerobi and Zoroark he felt this humanoid had very little elegance to it, bulging muscles and powerful appendages making it seem more like a brawler. One thing to catch his attention was the creature's massive legs, his own fairly developed legs seeming positively weak in comparison. The thighs and calves looked as if they were made out of diamonds, polished to a fine sheen and hard enough to crack anything unfortunate enough to smash against them. He was unable to determine what the feet looked like, due to them being covered by some manner of thick yellow hair which grew at the base of the leg. The hair looked a bit like the drooping sleeve of a too long pair of pants, although Lucario could not imagine the kind of leggings that would be considered "too long" when staring at the tall monster. It was then that the realization dawned upon him.

"You're... Not going to use Suicune?" Lucario exclaimed hopefully, looking up at Brendan. The insane champion remained silent, but had a very confident smile on his face.

"A Blaziken?" Celebi said out loud, pleasantly surprised that Brendan was not going to use a legendary, but still seeing the matchup as quite unfair due to type advantages. Had it been her in the ring, she would have been able to exploit the Blaziken's weakness to Psychic attacks for an easy victory, and suddenly her chances to rescue Lucario did not seem as far-fetched.

"Wait... Torana...?" Zerobi muttered to herself before crossing her arms, "You don't think... THAT Torana, right?"

"... Torana...?" Celebi repeated with an unfamiliar tone. It was not often that she felt like she was out of the loop, but Zerobi had the edge on her when it came to recognizing celebrities.

"Don't know the details, but I've heard the name..." Zerobi whispered while thinking back to the friends she once had, remembering one Lopunny in particular who seemed infatuated enough to have a crush on fiery bird, "... Torana the Tormentor, also known as... The most powerful non-legendary Pokémon in the world..."

Celebi turned towards her, Lucario doing the same after looking over the Blaziken one more time. Despite what Zerobi had said, he felt a bit more relaxed after knowing he would not have to defeat Suicune in order to win. Famous or not, fighting a bodybuilding chicken would not be nearly as difficult as taking down a legendary.

"... Truly?" Celebi asked skeptically as she blinked, "Going by her aura, she is about as strong as Lucario... And I can tell that she is not suppressing it, either..."

"Well, I mean, I think it's been over ten years since she got the title," Zerobi mumbled and wondered if maybe she was thinking of another Pokémon, "Can't stay on top forever."

Suddenly, Lucario put his hands together, determination flowing through him at a rapid pace.

"So, when I beat her..." he muttered before raising his voice, "... That makes ME the strongest!"

A groan from Zerobi was his only response, the Weavile sad to see her attempts to bring Lucario's ego back to earth was showing little effect.

"Lucario, I don't think this is an enemy you'll want to underestimate," Zerobi said, not able to sense the aura or anything like that but still feeling a bit intimidated by the muscular Blaziken.

"Don't think I'll be going easy on her," Lucario clarified while feeling a bit peeved at the fact that Zerobi simply assumed that he was underestimating his opponents when usually he did his best right from the start, "If I win, I'll get Brendan off my back as well as some goddamn respect. She's humanoid; that means I can't lose!"

"This... Does seem like an enemy you can handle," Celebi admitted carefully as Zerobi stared at her with annoyance, "Consider the fact that your resistance to heat and blunt impacts should be superior to normal Lucario due to the low amount of steel plating covering your skeleton."

"... Huh?" Lucario exclaimed with confusion.

"She uses fire," Zerobi translated cooly, eliciting a troubled gasp from Lucario who was suddenly not so keen on fighting after all. He looked at the Blaziken and then at Brendan, trying to wash the fear away from his face. His eyes locked together with Brendan's, and the champion quietly began to chuckle.

"Yes... Let's make things a bit fairer, no?" Brendan whispered to himself before standing up and shouting, "Torana, I forbid you from using fire-based attacks! Show them true despair!"

The Blaziken refused to look back at her trainer in acknowledgement, instead remaining steadfast. Her gaze had long since wandered away from Lucario, moving towards Celebi and then Zerobi. Now, she was looking up into the ceiling, as if that was the most interesting thing around. Feeling somewhat neglected, Lucario moved up to her, his spirits returned after hearing he would not be set on fire, after all. He felt rather miniscule when next to her, his head aligned with her chest rather than her face, wondering what to do in order to make the situation less awkward.

"So... Torana..." Lucario said quietly in an attempt to strike up a conversation, "Nice name. Let's have a fair battle to see who's the real champion!"

For a few more moments Torana continued looking at the ceiling, before slowly shifting her eyes down to where he was standing.

"... Battle?" she finally replied, her voice clear but somewhat ragged, although not to the point of sounding hoarse. He actually thought her voice sounded surprisingly normal, as unlike every other Pokémon he had come across he was able to detect a hint of femininity in it.

Brendan witnessed the scene and felt rather annoyed that his Blaziken had not taken the initiative to kick Lucario in the gut in an attempt to start things off. He looked out over the empty seats in the stadium, remembering the time when they had been filled to the brim with excited onlookers. They had been cheering for him and him alone, crying out in disgust and anger as Ethan had employed cheap tactics to steal his rightful victory. Tonight, he swore that they would not be left with such disappointment. After what he had gone through, he could not tolerate being branded as a second-rate trainer forever. His favorite Pokémon against the Lucario that had given his former rivals so much trouble... A fair duel. It was all he had ever asked for.

"Ahh... People, people... What a show we've got for you tonight..." Brendan whispered into the microphone to nobody in particular before raising his voice to an excited scream, "Round... One... FIGHT!"

Although the fight had begun, neither Lucario nor the Blaziken was moving. Lucario felt torn between his own wishes to finally be able to dominate the enemy right from the start and a stern inner voice warning him not to underestimate someone with the nickname "Torana the Tormentor". Proceeding carefully, he bluffed by taking a single speedy step forward. Immediately the Blaziken fell for the bluff, lifting her leg as to attack. Seeing his opening, Lucario rushed in from the other side as the Blaziken hopped away from him, lashing out with her leg in revenge.

"Whoa!" Lucario yelled while ducking as the kick passed right over his head. It was far more powerful than he had expected, the wind pressure knocking him from the side and reminding him of the ridiculously huge sword the hunter had used. Even though his current opponent's legs weren't sharp and wouldn't cleave him, he knew a kick from that mass could still hurt him pretty badly. Following through with his plan, he leapt up and punched the Blaziken once in the face, following up with an elbow to the stomach. Her abs felt like striking the side of a building, but he heard a subtle cough from above as she spun around and jumped back.

"How's that!?" Lucario yelled, the unfamiliar feeling of success coursing through him, "That strength's not going to do you much good if you can't hit me, huh?"

Zerobi sighed, knowing that Lucario's moment of triumph would only serve to make him less careful. Celebi stared at the two fighters, thinking of something else entirely.

"... What manner of technique was that?" Celebi asked quietly while moving closer to her sister, "Lucario... He was already moving to dodge her kick before she had even used it!"

"He said that when fighting human-like enemies, he can bait and predict what they're about to do due to reading their muscle movement or something..." Zerobi whispered before shrugging, "... So, you know, once she starts spraying fire he's pretty much done for."

"Oh..." Celebi mused in wonder, amazed that there could exist such depth to a regular brawl. She decided to continue watching in silence, lest her own lack of battle experience would show.

The Blaziken ran up to Lucario, feinting with one leg before using the other to deliver a kick from the side. Lucario saw through her methods and turned towards the kick, blocking it with both arms. Although the blow was still powerful enough to make him stagger, when the shockwave running through his muscles began to settle down he managed to grab a hold of the leg, lifting up Torana and slamming her down into the ground behind him. She managed to dampen the damage by bracing herself with her arms, but looked less than impressive as she leaped back with a bruised and dusty front.

"N... Nice!" Zerobi could not help but exclaim, impressed to see Lucario actually dominating a battle for once. Celebi remembered what Pikablu had told her, and realized that Lucario's so-called "stroke of luck" against Rayquaza might not have been a fluke after all.

"Hah, I told you! If it attacks like a human, I can't lose!" Lucario replied cheerfully, bashing his chest once in confidence, "Brendan's probably got some trick up his sleeve though, so get ready for anything once I'm done with this fight!"

A moment of silence passed as the Blaziken looked at him, her feather a little rugged but her indomitable gaze still unimpressed.

"... Are you still under the impression that this is a battle?" the Blaziken asked calmly, her voice showing no signs of exhaustion.

"Well... Currently it's more of a beatdown, isn't it?" Lucario corrected her while scratching his chin.

"Exactly," Torana replied before holding up her talons and letting them click together, "If my master wished for a battle... He would have given you an opponent you had a chance of winning against."

"Hmm... Didn't expect you to be on the receiving end of the beatdown, did he?" Lucario said confidently as he looked up at Brendan, unable to determine the trainer's expression from where he currently stood.

"Just getting warmed up..." Torana mumbled before slowly holding out her arms to her sides. After a few moments of stillness, she suddenly flexed. Feathers rippled as they gave way for mighty muscles protruding all over her body like a rockslide piling up stones on someone. Brendan looked down over the arena and smiled, aware of what was about to happen.

"Torana... An impressive structure, carried by two great pillars," Brendan muttered into the microphone while eagerly watching his Pokémon, "The strength of the pillars is what determines the strength of the structure... So, obviously you'd want to focus on making the pillars as strong as possible... For a champ like me, to be training a Pokémon while focusing on one aspect only... How strong d'you think it'd get?"

In that instant, a fire exploded within the Blaziken, lighting up the arena in heat and splendid light. It was as if she had breathed life into the fallen Stadium, allowing it to display glorious Pokémon battles with pride one last time. Although the fighters in this case were Lucario and Torana, it was the battle between Ethan and Brendan that was finally coming to its conclusion.