"You wanted to talk? Fine, Let's talk" And as those words left my mouth, The subtle glow in Lycanroc's eyes dimmed and he sat down on the ground.
He stretched his back and shoulders before he leaned forward, placing his arms on his legs in a sort of cross sitting position.
"Look, Kid-" "I'm not a kid" I interrupt him. "I am nineteen, an adult, don't treat me like a child"
"Sorry, So, You're a human as well, obviously, your accent is strange but I can work with that, I wanted to just talk about human stuff, ya' know?" Lycanroc continues his talk.
I take a subtle look around, The forest clearing I'm in has plenty of ways to run away into, but Lycanroc is clearly faster than me, I won't be able to vine-whip up a tree because he could probably climb it, I won't be able to beat him in a fight, he's clearly stronger than me.
I'm going to have to play along with him for now until I get an opportunity to get out of here.
"So, Let's start with names. My name is Jeremy, What's your name?" Lycanroc introduced himself.
"My name is Samuel. My question now, Why are you doing this?" I return.
Lycanroc smirked at my reply before speaking, "So it's a question game now? Fine. I'm doing this to get my freedom" Lycanroc responded.
Freedom? "Caninia doesn't own slaves, what kind of freedom will you get by getting rid of the royalty?" I ask.
"Slavery isn't the only reason to want freedom kid-"
"Don't call me kid"
"-There are other forms of freedom out there. The Freedom to express your opinion, the freedom to learn, the freedom to earn a living, the freedom to work a job. Are those not all types of freedom?" Lycanroc continued talking, "Getting paid for the work your doing is the difference between being a Slave and being Free. There are no chains on our necks, but our wallets are held by a higher power-" He didn't stop talking "-I work my life away, practically slaving in the coal mines, and when We decide to Unionize we get thrown away and replaced! Is being paid what we're worth really such a wrong idea?! Do I not deserve to be paid a living wage? DO I NOT MATTER?" He screamed.
"Every day I slave away, digging rocks and stones to feed my family while I can barely even feed myself! This world is no different from ours kid-" "Stop calling me that" "-The rich get whatever they want when us workers die in obscurity from a disease we could have bought the medicine for TEN TIMES OVER If we simply got paid a few dollars more! ITS INSANE!!!"
He's still talking, no, rambling would be a better description for what's going on right now.
The man is mad, he's a terrorist trying to justify his acts to a sympathetic crowd.
Too bad I'm not a sympathetic crowd.
"Are you listening to me kid?" He's starting to get on my nerves. "Don't ignore me, we're both humans, are we not? We're both in this together" I can't take this.
"Don't lump me in the same basket is you," I finally interrupt him, "You kidnapped a young woman, barely twenty years old, and held her in a damp cave with no food or water. Stop trying to justify yourself, It's pathetic!" That's seem to shut him up.
"I don't care what reasons you have to do what you've been doing, I could actually care less. But no, what I care about is that you made a scared little girl cry." And that's the truth.
How could I call myself a big brother if I allow a bully like him to hurt young siblings.
Sure, Princess Moonbeam isn't a sibling of mine, but she is Jenn's. And it's a job of the older sibling to take care of the younger kids, even if they aren't his family.
And that is why President Jeremy Lycanroc won't win me over with his pathetic attempt at a recruitment pitch.
Because he made Moonbeam cry.
Lycanroc stares silently at me, looking straight into my unwavering eyes. "I see" He whispered to himself, "You were wrong Jirachi" what?
"I would like to make my wish now" He said with a flat tone of voice, his stare not leaving my eyes.
And as we both stood there silently, I could feel a soft breeze flow through the clearing before a bell chime was heard.
Immediately after, three light blue ribbons appeared floating around Lycanroc, one of the ribbons looked like it was also covered in soot, but the other two were in pristine condition.
The blue ribbons spun in the air around him, and I knew, deep down, that I need to stop him from making that wish.
Two green ropes of energy emerged from my back before whipping towards Lycanroc, He simply leaned to the left and avoided them.
I rolled into a ball and threw myself at a nearby tree, crashing into it and bouncing off at a slightly higher speed before I ricocheted into another tree, building up momentum every ricochet jump. Soon I was practically flying around the forest clearing faster than a hawk mid-dive, and with a final bounce, I shot forward towards Lycanrocs unguarded back.
And I hit!
And I moved him ten centimeters forward, barely even leaving a scratch.
...shit.
With a lightning fast paw, Lycanroc grabbed my head like a bowling ball and threw me away from him. I crashed into the ground, skipping a few times before my back slammed into one of the trees.
The floating ribbons started spinning faster.
I tried getting up, but a rock flew towards me and hit me in the stomach. It didn't hurt but it pushed me back onto the ground.
The ribbons seemed to blur together by how fast they were spinning. I need to stop this, whatever this is!
I once again tried to get up only for another rock to shoot towards me and knock me back down.
Looking up at Lycanroc from my place on the ground, I could see him smiling sadistically while looking at my downed form.
So much for trying to recruit me, I guess.
Wind chimes started sounding in the clearing as the Ribbons spun so fast they seemed to turn gold by the heat building off of them.
Wait no! Upon closer look, the ribbons really have turned gold.
A melodious voice sounds out around us, the voice of an innocent child made out of the dreams and wishes of those born under the starry sky.
"Your wish is ready, Jeremiah Anderson, Speak it out and it shall be granted" The voice said, before a transparent body appeared floating behind Lycanroc, whispering in his ear.
Jirachi, The Wish Pokemon.
"Of course," Lycanroc started as he grabbed one of the golden ribbons, the other two seemingly burning away in an invisible fire, "I wish for freedom to all the people of Caninia, from Dogs to Minotaur, from Zebra to Griphon, I wish for all of them to be free from the clutches of this dictatorship! I WISH FOR FREEDOM!" He screamed the last part out, and the golden ribbon in his paws also burned away, in a shower golden of sparks.
"Very well, Your wish is my command" Jirachi whispered before she glowed a bright white light and flew off into the sky like a firework.
Like a shooting star.
All around Caninia, from the edges of the border, to the Equestrian ship docked near the ocean, to the capital of Dimondia, Every single creature could see the wishing star shoot upwards towards the heavens.
Lycanroc smiled calmly as Jirachi left the clearing, as if a great burden has been lifted off his shoulders. "Now, where were we?" he asked no one before he turned back to look at me.
"Oh, Right" He took a single step towards me, I tried to get up and escape but another rock slammed into me, pushing me back into the ground.
"tsk tsk tsk, not so fast" He clicked his tongue and shook his head as he took another few steps towards my downed form.
And as he inched closer to looming over me with his sharp claws and teeth, A single disgusting thought went through my head.
Is this how I die? In some nameless clearing after being beat to death by a fucking terrorist? Is this really it?
NO! I am not going to die here! I am going back to Equestria, I am going back to earth, And I am going to see my father again!!!
I am Samuel Fucking Cohen for crying out loud, I did not join the military just because it was required of me, I joined because I protect others.
And I will not be killed by some asshole with a freedom boner!!!
And as those thoughts passed through my mind, I felt a weird energy swell up inside of me, it reminded me of when the brown energy coated my arms while I used dig, or the green Energy when I use Vine Whip.
But this was different.
The whip was visibly thicker and moved faster.
No, Faster isn't a good word for it, it moved with visibly more force behind it.
Another pulse of energy built inside me and I finally realized what's happening.
I'm using Bulk Up, a fighting type move that boosts the users Physical Attack and Defense stats.
And since I used it twice, I should be twice as strong as I was, since in the games, a single boost to a stat strengthens the original stat by 50%.
Two boosts is 100%, three is 150% and the maximum boost of 6 times is 300% boost making the user four times as strong.
Lycanroc easily dodged the vine whip, even with the boost from Bulk Up won't change the fact that he is a fully evolved pokemon with higher base stats total.
Or in layman's terms, he's still stronger than me.
But I don't need to fight him, do I?
"So you got a little boost, did you? That's nice, I'm still going to hurt you for refusing to join me. Don't worry, It'll only hurt a little" He said as he continued walking closer to me, but that's fine.
As soon as he gets close, I'm going to throw dirt in his eye and Roll Out out of here. With my stat boost, I should be able to roll faster.
Hopefully.
"But it will all be over soon, With Jirachi granting my wish, my victory is all but assured, don't make this harder than it needs to be kid" And that's when I struck.
"DON'T CALL ME KID!" I yelled as I picked up the dirt from the ground and threw it in his face, with him looming over me so close I didn't miss.
A Vine whip emerged from my back and shot towards him. He dodged once more, but I wasn't aiming at him.
The vine caught on the a branch on a tree behind him. I pulled. And I swung myself into the air like I was shooting myself from a slingshot.
Usually, a move like this wouldn't work, but with Bulk Up now boosting my stats, I'm strong enough to fling myself with the vine-whip without tearing a muscle.
When I pass Lycanroc's shocked face, I throw a mock salute before I curl into a ball and Roll Out.
"Why you!" He shouts as he quickly turns around to chase after me, but I'm already at the other side of the clearing, and as soon as I hit a tree and start ricocheting, then I'll pick up enough momentum to roll out of here faster than he can run.
"Get back he-" Lycanroc tried to give chase, but his shout was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Chespiiiiiiiiiin!!!!!" And with a mighty flying dropkick, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza joined the fight, sending Lycanroc crashing into the trees on the other side of the clearing.
And just after the pink Alicorn sent the human turned pokemon flying away with her kick, she landed on the ground in front of me and took an unfamiliar stance, her horn glowing with a light blue aura, her back legs in a wide stance with her front legs leaning closer to the ground, her wings opened behind her like a bird showing it's dominance.
"You stay away from My Friend!" She yelled as a blue barrier surrounded the clearing and a few trees around it.
It seem this fight isn't over, but at least I have back up.