Tales from the Pokemon Universe: Aura of Empathy

by The Bricklayer

Part 5: All Part of the Family

Lucario leaped from rooftop to rooftop after shoving open Cianwood City’s Pokemon Center doors, Talonflame in hot pursuit. Shingles tumbled down to the streets below as his paws hit them. Only Talonflame’s keen eyesight allowed him to keep track of the fast-moving Aura Pokémon, his eyes darting from left to right as Lucario continued playing his game of leapfrog.

“Lucario, come back! We just want to help you!” Talon screeched out but Lucario was having none of it.

“No, I’m not going back to a human, not ever again!” Lucario hissed out at his pursuer. “I trusted a human once, and he broke my trust! Sunset… I wanted to trust her, but she’s only going to send me back to Damien! I’m never going back to him, never!”

“Sunset’s not going to send you back to that damned human, she’s not like that!” Talon argued. “She cares for all her Pokemon!”

Lucario paused his leaping for just a moment, and looked up at Talon, and his eyes locked with the Scorching Pokémon’s before they narrowed. “Are you sure? What happens when your usefulness is extended? How do you know she won’t throw you away like an unwanted toy?”

“I… I just do, that’s how,” Talon stuttered out, briefly thinking over Lucario’s words. He was taken aback by Lucario’s criticism. What if Lucario was right? What if once his usefulness as a Pokemon ended, Sunset would just release him? What if that’s all he was good for, battling? He was surprised at himself, how Lucario was getting to him, making him question his faith in his trainer. Talon’s eyes then narrowed in rage, pure and utter fury. Lucario was going to pay for that. Sunset was like family to him, and if you couldn’t trust family, who could you trust?

“That’s all you are to your trainer, a means to an end…” Lucario snarled. Finally, Talon exploded, having had enough of Lucario’s comments.

“How dare you…” Talon growled out before he opened up his mouth and unleashed a pure blast of hot flame in a Flamethrower attack. Lucario leaped out of the way, moving to the side to avoid it before his own eyes narrowed. He charged up a Focus Blast attack, and fired the glowing blue sphere at his attacker. Talon flew upwards to avoid it, and then did a barrel roll to avoid another Focus Blast.

“So, that’s how it’s going to be huh?” Talon sighed. “I hate to do this, but if you’re not going to listen to reason…”

He then released blast after blast of Air Cutter attacks and Talon smirked as Lucario grunted out in pain as the blasts of wind hit. He hated attacking Lucario, but it was obvious by this point Lucario wouldn’t go down without a fight and so had to be taken back to the Pokemon Center by force.

Lucario leaped up towards Talon and kicked him in the face before leaping backwards towards the roof. Talon charged up a Fire Blast and sent the star-shaped manifestation of flame towards Lucario, but he managed to dodge it almost in a nanosecond. As if he already knew what attack was coming ahead of time. Then Talon’s eyes widened in realization.

“That… That was Mind Reader! One of his parents must have been a Psychic type, a Medicham probably,” Talon thought to himself in shock. “No wonder he predicted my attacks ahead of time, he knows the moves I’m going to make before even I do!”

Knowing the battle was futile, he sighed to himself and could only watch in resignation as Lucario continued leaping from rooftop to rooftop towards the direction of the beach. He then contacted his trainer.

“Sunset… I lost him. He’s heading towards the beach. I’m sorry…”

Sunset sighed through their empathic link. “Alright, just come on back. I’ll try and talk some sense into him later, okay?”

“Got it.” Talon replied before flying back towards the direction of the Pokemon Center. Even as he did so, his earlier thoughts came back to haunt him and he was hit with a horrifying realization. Damien was like family to Lucario, and after all, if you couldn’t trust family, who could you trust? His eyes narrowed in rage once more, if he ever met up with this “Damien”, he was going to be very sorry indeed...

---

A few moments before…

While Talon had been chasing down the terrified Lucario, Sunset had called Professor Elm in New Bark Town. The rather young and somewhat scrawny professor had been looking over his papers when he suddenly received the call. Surprised, he yelped reflexively, dropping the papers in his hands and making them scatter to the floor. In her tank nearby, his Corsola let out a sigh and sweatdropped.

“Oh, oh… Just a minute!” Elm shouted as he gathered up his papers and put them back in a binder in a neat and organized fashion. Sunset smiled wistfully, she was reminded of another overly organized friend of hers, who could easily become a professor one day.

“There… There we go…” Elm murmured “Sorry, caught me in the middle of my research, startled me a bit, that’s all…” He laughed nervously before adjusting his glasses.

“Wasn’t expecting a call from you Sunset. Is there a question about Pokemon you needed answering? I thought you’d have called Rowan back in Sandgem Town. What can I do you for?” Elm asked, before hurriedly correcting himself upon realizing on how that could be taken. “N-Not that I was offering to d-do you like that, you understand? Much too young! Plus, I’m married!”

As Elm’s face grew redder, a few of Sunset’s Pokemon stifled their laughter. Rufflet, however, just looked confused. He looked towards Dragonair quizzically, who could only respond with a “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“Well, normally I would call Rowan if I had a Pokemon related question, but this is something I figure only you can answer, given that it relates to something that happened in your region and a trainer hailing from Johto. Damien Daisuke.”

Elm’s eyes narrowed and he sighed as he rubbed his temples. “What complaint is being registered against him now?”

It wasn’t the first time, evidently, that someone had called to complain about Lucario’s former “Trainer”, Sunset mused to herself.

“Pokemon Abuse,” Sunset stated with a distinct growl in her tone. Elm’s widened in considerable shock.

“I knew that boy shouldn’t have become a trainer the moment I met him, far too arrogant and cold towards that Cyndaquil I gave him. Arceus only knows what he’s done with it, or worse, to it by now...” He muttered to himself before looking directly at Sunset. “Do you have any proof of his abuse?”

Sunset groaned and fell back in her chair as she sighed. “No, just the word of a Lucario me and two of my Pokemon found badly wounded on the beach. Looked like it had been whipped, beaten and dive-bombed, perhaps all at once…” Sunset replied, looking visibly sick as she spoke.

“Then I’m sorry Sunset, there’s nothing I can do. All of that, it’s circumstantial at best and the word of a Pokemon won’t hold up in court, not with the current laws. You’d actually need to find proof that Damien is abusing his Pokemon. The only way you’d get the courts to listen to you via the word of a Pokemon and revoke Damien’s license is if you had a Legendary verify the abuse from his or her own word, and the chances of that…” Elm trailed off sighing sadly.

“That’s the biggest load of Tauros shit I ever heard!” Sunset snapped angrily. In actuality, if Sunset wasn’t completely furious, she would have remembered the reason behind the law. It was to keep trainers from reporting other trainers falsely and abusing the system, or to prevent misunderstandings. Elm shook his head in sympathy.

“I’m sorry Sunset, there’s nothing more I can do to help. It’s wrong, I know, but that’s the way the world works I’m afraid. Brave heart as I know Rowan likes to say, you’ll find a way. I just know it.”

With that, Elm ended the call just as Sunset got Talon’s message…

---

Now:

Sunset’s boots pounded against the dirt road that led up to the beach, sweat trailing down her face, breathing hard as she kicked up dust in her wake. Her shoulder bag contained all six of her Pokeballs, just in case she needed them. She didn’t want to have to fight Lucario, not after what he’d been through, but from his past actions, there was every possibility he would fight back. Also in her bag was her other Cherish Ball, given to her, like Talon’s, by her mother. She thought back to some years ago, right before she became a trainer...

“Sunset,” Celestia said as she handed her daughter two bright red Pokeballs. “These are Cherish Balls, given to me by the Pokemon League a few years back when they made their one-millionth Pokeball. A few went into stores yes, at high prices, but others the Pokeball Company gave out to famous trainers and Coordinators, like Red and Lance. Now, I want you to use these only on Pokemon you truly love and care for, understand?”

“Yes… Yes, I understand,” Sunset nodded before she looked at the Fletching that had often frequented Celestia and Sunset’s home and that they’d befriended. “And I think I know just where to start Mom…”

But Sunset’s mind was on the here and now, with Lucario.

“Sunset,” Dragonair said through their empathic link. “Have you even considered the possibility that Lucario may not want you to catch him? He does seem quite determined to get as far away from humans as possible.”

Sunset never answered.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Dragonair sighed. “You know, we can always just call the Pokemon Rangers on him, get him to a safe preserve like that Laramie Pokemon Ranch in Kanto or some other place where he can live out the rest of his life in peace. It’d be the right thing to do,” She said kindly.

“No, I’m not giving up yet. One last try…” Sunset thought, steel filling her voice. “I’m not chancing any possibility that Damien, or some other piece of shit would re-capture Lucario, hurt him even more.”

Dragonair sighed. Her trainer was stubborn, sometimes far too stubborn for her own good. “Alright, but promise me this… If Lucario declines your offer, we’re calling the Rangers on him okay?”

Sunset gave out a long sigh before finally relenting.

“Yes, I promise…” Sunset thought, even if she didn’t have to like it. Then, she saw Lucario on the beach. He was in a gentle mood, a far cry from what Sunset had seen of him so far and quietly meditating, just listening to the sound of the water and the wind blowing through the trees. The bead-like appendages on the back of his head went up as soon as he detected Sunset’s presence through their natural Aura.

He whirled around to face her as Sunset screeched to a halt. She started to approach Lucario, slowly, cautiously but he began to charge up a Force Palm.

“Stay away, just leave me be!” Lucario growled out in a warning tone. “Only warning I’m giving you!”

Sunset’s eyes widened, but not because of Lucario. In the water, she saw scales rippling and cutting through the sea.

“Lucario, look out!” Sunset shouted out in fear as a giant sea serpent with a huge maw and vicious fangs, and a three-pointed crest on its head rose up from the sea with a fearsome expression plastered on its maw. Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokémon, and the name was well deserved, with the fearsome Pokemon being feared by sailors and fisherman alike for its nasty temperament and the ability to destroy a ship with ease. It was brutally vicious and enormously destructive and had earned many a nightmare.

Lucario’s eyes widened as well as he heard the roar and just as the Gyarados was about to grab him and swallow him whole in one bite, Sunset shoved him out of the way before throwing Dragonair’s Pokeball as both she and Lucario hit the sand. All the while, Sunset reached out and touched the Gyarados' mind. She shuddered, all that was there was pure, uncontrollable anger.

The Gyarados shrieked in rage before it raised its tail and nearly crushed Sunset and Lucario with it, had Dragonair not launched herself at the Atrocious Pokémon with a well-aimed Dragon Rush.

Dragonair’s eyes steeled as she saw the monster of a Pokemon nearly kill her trainer. She rushed to the left as a giant beam of yellow, destructive energy fired from the Gyarados’ maw. She hit back with a powerful Dragon Tail, striking the Gyarados in the side and enraging it even further. It let out a shriek and lunged towards Dragonair ready to bite down on her slender form, leaping out of the water as it did so.

Just then Talon appeared from his Cherish Ball and slashed at Gyarados with a powerful Steel Wing before hitting him with an Aerial Ace like an uppercut delivered to the Pokemon’s jaw. Gyarados roared in rage as it hit the dunes, sending sand flying everywhere before taking advantage of this and firing off a Twister. Sand whipped up in a cyclone threatening to sweep away Sunset and Lucario as it approached.

Dragonair and Talon shared a nod before they fired off a combination attack. Dragonair fired off a Twister of her own and the slashing winds cut into the one created by Gyarados as the two mighty attacks fought for dominance.

“Talon, now! Can’t hold it back much longer!” Dragonair yelled out and Talon nodded before spewing out a Flamethrower and what happened next was predictable to those of you who knew your science. The giant whirling cyclone was frozen, now completely made of glass. It was a beautiful sight, but not one destined to last much longer as Gyarados roared in rage and smashed through the structure right towards Sunset.

Lucario’s eyes widened at the sight. “She and her Pokemon… They’re willing to fight for each other, fight for me even after how I’ve treated them. They’re like… family.”

Then he knew what he had to do. Lucario leaped forwards and hit Gyarados with a powerful Force Palm making it roar in pain before he then unleashed his Mind Reader move and predicted what was to happen next. As he suspected, Gyarados lunged forwards and then Lucario jumped onto the Pokemon’s back and hit it with another Force Palm and the Atrocious Pokémon finally collapsed into the sand, unconscious.

Sunset took her chance and threw a black and yellow Ultra Ball from her shoulder bag, and Gyarados was sucked in. The Pokeball rocked back and forth, but finally subsided and pinged, signifying a successful capture.

Sunset sighed and collapsed in the sand as she muttered “Thank Arceus…” to herself. Lucario strode towards her and bowed his head.

“I’m… sorry. I was wrong about you. Can you ever forgive me?”

To his surprise, he was pulled into an embrace by Sunset who only said “There’s nothing to forgive.” in response. Then, Sunset held out her other Cherish Ball.

“It’s yours if you want it,” Sunset asked, and Lucario looked at it. After a few moments of hesitation, thinking back to his previous Trainer, he finally made up his mind. He reached out, and pressed the button and allowed himself to be captured. Sunset’s eyes widened in shock, honestly not expecting that result (Dragonair and Talon sharing the same expression) before she smiled.

“I promise Lucario, I’ll never let you down. You’re one of us now, part of our family.”

And almost as if in response, the ball shook a little.

Comments

[Black_Knight]

Well, all ends well for Lucario. And Sunset got not one, but two new strong Pokémon.

Now next thing on the list: beat the crap out the Damien.

Mistakes found:

Is there was a question about Pokemon you needed answering?

A few went into stores yes, at high prices but others the Pokeball Company

A few went into stores yes, at high prices, but others the Pokeball Company

as far away from humans as possible,”

*full stop*

hurt him even more,”

*full stop*

nearly crushed Sunset and Lucario with it had Dragonair not launched herself

nearly crushed Sunset and Lucario with it, had Dragonair not launched herself

[The Bricklayer]

8622611
Okay, yes, dealing with Damien is next on the list, but so is healing Lucario's psyche a bit more. Plus, that Gyarados? Considering it's demeanor, probably wouldn't be wise for Sunset to keep it around considering it seems to think humans and Pokemon alike as it's next meal.

[HB_DS2013]

8622615 But Sunset could do something to help Gyarados somehow.