{"sf1_id":829332,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Team Valiant","author":"Volcan MacAingeal","words":10780,"posted_at":"2015-03-11T13:14:00.000Z","tags":["Dugtrio","Greninja","Luario","Talonflame","blaziken","pokemon","samurott","vaporeon","zoroark"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/829332-team-valiant","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/829332","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=829332\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Luke emerged from the hospital,\nbreathing a sigh of relief; all the survivors were admitted and the Machop that\nwas poisoned would soon make a full recovery; it seemed an ordinary antidote\nhad been all it took to cure the poison, even with the corruption the\nTentacruel had been hosting -the rest of which had gone away on its own, being\ntoo little to take over the Machop. That alone, after all the horrors he had\nseen before, had made up for all the foreign terror he had experienced that\nday.\n\"..All in a day's\nwork...\" He muttered as he began to make his way back to the forest where\nhis home was, but his mind drifted as he walked. The Pokémon -the corrupted\nPokémon, mutated and twisted by an evil beyond anything he had ever seen in his\nlife. The strangers from another world, despite him not believing the first one\nwho had arrived, only to be proven wrong when a second person, someone who knew\nhim and that he knew well, suddenly passed over into their world as well.\nSomething horrible was coming... and\nright now only he, his friend Katsumoto, and his two guests knew about it.\n            When he got back home and walked\ninside, following the short tunnel to his door, he found Volcan and Serena both\nseated on the sofa, lost in thought. He could not blame them; such strange\nthings were happening to them now. They had been transported to a foreign\nworld, transformed into beings they had no idea ever existed, and the only one\nthey could depend on right now was a complete stranger -not that Luke minded\nhelping them... but nevertheless he could not imagine what they were\nexperiencing.\n            Luke walked into the living room and\nsat down on the couch next to them. \"...Can I get you two\nanything...?\"\n Volcan looked over at Luke, and then back at\nSerena. \"Just some water, please,\" she replied. \"Rather\nthirsty.\"\n            He nodded, walking over to the sink\nand filling a glass of water, then walked back and gently placed it in front of\nher before sitting down again.\n            \"Hey, Luke...\" Volcan\nbegan. \"Look, if you at all feel uncomfortable with any of this, or if you\nfeel Serena and I may be a danger to your family, just say the word and we can\nfind somewhere else to stay. Camp in the woods, maybe. I don't want you or your\nwife and son to feel insecure.\"\n            Luke looked to them for a moment.\n\"...I understand your concern...but we're quite safe here...\" He\nreturned. \"No one suspects a home that's underground...\"\n            \"Still... I can't help but feel\nresponsible for what's happening out there,\" said Volcan. \"I don't\nwant to put you in danger just for us.\"\n            \"I assure you we'll be fine,\nVolcan...\" Luke tried to reason with him\n            Volcan sighed. \"I hope you're\nright...\" He said.\nLuke looked around a bit.\n\"So...about these...demons. Where are they from?\"\n\"It varies,\" replied\nVolcan. \"On my world, there are numerous neighboring realms, not all on\nthe same time stream but around the same Universe. Nine of these realms are\ninhabited by Demon races; beings literally formed from negative emotions and\nthe dark deeds of others, some even from people who were once ordinary. They\nare literal incarnations of corruption and evil, possessing dark powers of\nvarious kinds. \n\"The ones I'm most familiar with are\nfrom a place known as the Realm of Destruction, and they're some of the most\ndangerous among all the dimensions. As their name implies, they thrive on\ncausing death and desolation to realms they visit, they're wild and\nuncontrollable, and only take orders from the strongest of their kind.\"\n            Luke nodded, leaning forward and\nlistening with great interest. \"And who would you say is the strongest of\nthese creatures...you did mention a name once or twice...\"\n\"That would be Kalo'Temir; he\nis unquestionably among the strongest,\" replied Volcan. \"The most\npowerful are called Arch Demons, and there's one higher than them called a\nDemon Lord, the master of the entire realm and its most powerful being. All\nothers answer to the Demon Lord, but below them, the Arch Demons are the\nrulers. Kalo'Temir is second only to the Demon Lord himself, stronger than the\nother 3 Arch ones by far.\"\n            Luke shuddered a little at that,\nhonestly intimidated to hear that piece of news. \"...Do you think he might\nbe responsible for this?\"\n \"It's possible,\" replied Volcan.\n\"I already know he can travel between dimensions; he did it when he took\nme. But what he could be doing to cause these anomalies between your world and\nmine, it must be big.\"\n \"Well...if it is him, then we have to\nstop him and put an end to all this chaos...and...find a way to get you two\nback home...\"\n\"I don't know how we can stop\nhim if it is him,\" replied Volcan, rubbing his chin in thought. \"It\ntook eight of us to beat him before; one of those beings were a Demigod, one\nArchangel-level Kitsune, two immortals, two superhuman Chi fighters, and me and\nmy rival. Even between us, we barely beat him... his power was beyond\nbelief.\"\n\"It won't stop us from\ntrying...\" Luke returned firmly.\n            Volcan nodded in agreement.\n\"Right... you won't see me backing down from it.\"\n            \"With that in mind. where should\nwe start looking?\" Luke asked. \"I'm still unfamiliar with how these\ncreatures work...\"\n\"I don't know,\" replied\nVolcan. \"The only thing I can think of is we find more of these anomalies\nand see if we find any clues around them. Maybe even see if one of them really\ndoes lead back to my world and see what I can do from that side.\"\n            \"It's worth exploring...only\nproblem is, these anomalies appear at random...one might be going on right now\nin a faraway land and we wouldn't know...\"\n            \"Well, we got a pretty good\ncompass to spot them with; those bright lights happen when they open,\"\nremarked Volcan.\n            \"True...\" Luke agreed.\n\"But again they appear at random...we can't exactly be prepared for them. I\nsuppose all we can do is wait and find others to act as our eyes and ears,\nletting us know when they appear.\"\n            At that, Volcan suddenly perked up.\n\"Waaaait a minute... didn't you say you had a team?\"\n            Luke's ears stood upright and a smile\nslowly crossed his face. \"...That's right...! I could have them stay on\nthe lookout for anything out of the ordinary!\"\n            \"It's our best shot for\nnow,\" stated Volcan.\n\"I agree,\" said Serena,\nfinally speaking.\n            Luke nodded softly. \"I suppose I\nshould gather them around...would be a good chance for you to meet them\nall.\"\nVolcan nodded. \"I guess that\nmakes Serena and I part-time members, eh?\"\n\"That would seem\naccurate.\" Luke said as he bade for them to follow him outside.\nVolcan and Serena stood up from the\ncouch and followed after Luke, both of them feeling much more confident they\ncould find a way home now.\nLuke lead them both outside of his\nhouse, then he raised his paw and fired an Aura Sphere into the air above,\nwhich exploded with a large plume of blue smoke. \"...And now we\nwait...\"\n\"...Better than a flare\ngun,\" remarked Volcan, chuckling.\nThe first to arrive was Katsumoto,\nsince he was the closest to the house. He nodded to Luke in greeting, and the\nsame to Volcan, but then he saw Serena and once again he blushed upon setting\nher eyes on her, quickly averting his gaze before she could notice...\nThe second member to arrive soared\noverhead, then dive-bombed toward the group in a blazing ball of fire.\n\"WHOOHOOOO!!!\" He whooped before quickly levelling out and skidding\nto a halt  in front of Luke and Katsu.\n\"DAMN that never gets old!\" The third member, a Talonflame, said as\nhe did a small hop of excitement.\n\"Stylish as always, Eagle\nEye...\" Luke commented.\n\"You know it!!\"\n\"Whoa... a flaming\nflier,\" remarked Volcan.\n\"Kind of reminds me of you,\nonly... more hyperactive,\" remarked Serena.\nThe fourth member seemed to\njust....faze into existence next to the Talonflame. A rather muscled up\nZoroark, though not as big as Katsumoto...oddly enough, he looked rather\nfamiliar to Volcan upon his arrival...\n\"...Why do I feel like I've\nseen him before?\" Volcan wondered aloud.\nLuke smirked to Volcan. \"Ah\nyes...remember that shadow you saw leaping from rooftop to rooftop?\"\n\"That was him?\" Volcan\nasked.\nThe Zoroark looked to Volcan and smirked.\n\"What, you never saw a Zoroark leap all over town before? Practically my\njob...next to workin' with these guys.\"\n\"I'm... not from around\nhere,\" Volcan remarked, plainly.\n\"Ah. Well name's Hank.\"\nHe said, giving him a wink and a thumbs up. \"Though I'm mostly known by my\nvigilante name, the Dark Night around these parts.\"\n            \"...\" 'I should just keep\nthat one to myself,' the Blaziken thought.\nThe next member to arrive seemed to\npop up from the ground, a Dugtrio. Its heads poked through the ground one by\none. \"So what needs tunneling this time?\"\n\"A... three headed mole?\"\nSerena asked, blinking in confusion.\n\"Is it that hard to\nbelieve...?\" Came a fifth voice behind Volcan and Serena, sounding cold\nand toneless almost.\nThe two of them jumped at the unexpected\nvoice and slowly turned around, facing the owner of the voice, which belonged\nto a frog like Pokémon -a Greninja, standing upside down on a tree branch, his\nlong tongue scarf billowing in the soft breeze to the left. On each leg were\npouches containing different ninja tools and strapped on his back was a typical\nninjato.\n            \"And who's this?\" Volcan\nasked.\n\"That would be Kage,\" Luke\nanswered.\n            The Greninja leapt down to join the\nrest of the team, landing without making a sound. Hank smirked softly upon his\nentrance. \"Peh, show off.\"\n\"As if you're one to\ntalk...\" Kage returned calmly.\nLuke cleared his throat to get\ntheir attention, then he turned to Volcan and Serena with a smile. \"Allow\nme to introduce to you, Rescue Team Valiant.\" Luke said as he went through\nhis allies one by one, \"You both know Katsumoto by now. He's the Mighty\nBlade and Tank of the team.\" He explained. Katsumoto bowed his head lowly\nin respect toward Volcan and Serena.\n            \"Already seen him in action;\ndefinitely a good one to have on our side,\" said Volcan.\n            The Talonflame hopped up to them\n\"Sup biatches! Name's Eagle Eye! I'm the Air/Fire Support of the\nteam!\" He said with a cocky attitude. \"Ain't nuthin that can hide\nfrom me!\"\n \"Not exactly humble is he?\" Serena\nmuttered to Volcan.\n\"About as humble as Korban\nafter a beat-down on a contract,\" returned Volcan.\nThe Dugtrio approached next.\n\"I'm Doug, The Tunnler and Demolitionist of the group. Anything that needs\ndigging or excavating, I'm your guy.\"\n            Volcan and Serena both nodded to him.\n\"Nice to meet you,\" said Serena.\n            Then the Zoroark was next to speak.\n\"Name's Hank, I'm what you'd call the Trickster of the group...and I also\nact as the interrogator of the group, 'cuz well....let's just say I know how ta\nmake Pokémon talk...\" He said with a devilish grin.\n            \"Sounds like you're a persuasive\ntype of guy,\" Volcan remarked\n            \"You've NO idea, buddy...\"\nHank said, still grinning, his eyes flashing briefly as he grinned.\n            Finally it was the Greninja's turn,\nbut he remained silent for a bit before he finally spoke. \"....I go by the\nname, Kage....I am the Shadow....\"\n \"Uh... not talkative, is he?\" Volcan\nasked Luke. \"That was kind of... vague.\"\n            \"What he lacks in speech, he\nmakes up for in his prowess as a shinobi...\" Luke returned.\n            \"Sounds like a few guys I've\nmet,\" remarked Volcan\n \"That so?\" Luke asked. \"I'm to\nassume they're one of your allies?\"\n \"...No, actually,\" replied Volcan,\nshifting uncomfortably. \"Just the opposite.\"\n            \"Ah...\" Luke returned, then\nhe turned to his teammates. \"For those of you who are unaware, this is\nVolcan and Serena....It may sound hard to believe, but these two are not from\naround here...rather...not from this dimension...\"\nHank, Doug and Eagle Eye looked to\nVolcan and Serena oddly. \"...Wait, so you're telling me that these chumps\nare from some kinda alternate reality?\" Eagle Eye asked.\nLuke glanced over to Volcan. \"It\nmay be better if you two explain it,\" he suggested.\n\"I agree,\" admitted Volcan. He\nstepped forward, regarding all of the members of Team Valiant; he felt a little\nuncomfortable with all of their eyes on him, but with a deep breath and running\nover his words in his head, he began his explaination. \"I know it sounds\nlike a lot to take in. But I can guarantee you all, it's the truth, and a\nrecent incident out at sea helps fortify my evidence, because a presence\nnormally only seen on my world has been brought to yours. Corruption, emanated\nby supernatural forces; several Pokémon who were afflicted with it turned into\nmindless monsters. \n\"Both Luke and Katsu can verify\nthis; they fought against several of these corrupted Pokémon. I helped but...\nunfortunately since this body isn't like my own I have no clue how to use it\nproperly yet. Anyway, I'm getting side-tracked; the corruption that has\naffected Pokémon in this world comes from a race known as Demons who are literally\nliving embodiments of Negative energy, created from the emotions of others or\ncrimes against nature across time and space. They're -pure- evil, and those who\nfall to their corruption slowly become the same thing.\"\n            \"D-D-D-Demons?!?\" Doug\nstuttered. \"Like...the kind in those kids storybooks that make em behave\nat night!?\"\n\"Worse than that,\nDoug...\" Katsumoto stated.\n\"Much worse,\" replied\nVolcan. \"My experiences are mostly of the ones from a single plane, but\nthe fact their presence is here means something is happening on the rifts of\nspace and time; it could mean those demons are trying to come here, to spread\ntheir evil to this world. I don't quite know how Serena and I got pulled here\nbut we come from a realm ruled equally by two races; humans, and anthropomorphics,\nor humanoid animals; picture any one of you with four or five fingers, longer\nlegs and about 3 feet taller you've got a general idea of what most anthro's\nare. They vary from one species to another.\"\n \"That sounds\nkinda....Farfetch'd....eh?\" Eagle Eye said with a snicker.\n\"If I could prove it to you\nguys somehow, I would; right now all I have is my word,\" continued Volcan,\nhis voice becoming dark, serious and quite convincing. \"But, whether or\nnot what I'm saying is true or all my memories are some wild dream, demons are\ncoming to your world; they will kill and destroy everything and everyone they\nsee. Young and old, male and female, living being or constructed building, they\ndon't care. They will cover this entire world in blood, darkness and evil.\nRight now, the only ones who know this is coming... are the ones standing right\nhere.\"\nLuke stepped in and nodded.\n\"He's telling the truth, I'm afraid. Which is why I've called you all\nhere.\" Luke said in a stern tone. \"I need you all to spread out and\nkeep an eye out for any sort of anomalies. You'll know if one's happening,\nbecause the area will be shrouded by a bright light.\"\n\"When you see those lights,\nlet us know, pronto,\" Volcan added. \"And whatever you do, don't try\nto take on the corrupted Pokemon alone; where there's one there'll be dozens.\nIf there's no sign of them having any control of themselves left either, don't\nhold back; it's too late to save people that far gone to the corruption.\"\nThe way he said that... it sounded like Volcan was speaking from experience.\n\"...You've had experience with\nthese demons before...\" Kage stated, keeping his arms crossed.\n            Volcan's visage darkened.\n\"That's... not a tale I like repeating...\" he said. \"But I can say\nI've had first-hand experience with the corruption of demons myself.\" He\nrelaxed a little. \"There is some good news however; if caught in the early\nstages, the corruption is removable, and we already found out how.\" He\nlooked at Luke as he said this. \"Luke here saw the corruption as a dark\naura, attempting to take the place of the victim's aura. \n\"Using his ability to manipulate\naura he was literally able to pull the corruption free and make it disperse.\nThis won't work on those who are completely succumbed, but those who still show\nsigns of their free will have a chance.\" His eyes narrowed again. \"Be\ncareful though; an essence of corruption powerful enough will either try to\ntake another host or it will physically manifest and come alive.\"\n            \"Sounds easy enough to\navoid.\" Eagle Eye stated with a cocky tone. \"No one's faster than dis\nguy!\"\n\"Your hubris will be your\ndownfall one day, Eagle Eye...\" Katsumoto stated while rubbing his\nforehead softly. Kage, however, had a rather piercing look in his eye as he\nlooked on at Volcan, as if seeing right through him... Volcan had nothing else\nto say, though; he had given them all the details he could on what to expect,\nleaving Luke to finish things off.\n            \"If there are no questions, then\nyou're all dismissed.\" he stated, then waved his arm to the side.\n\"Scatter!\" With that, the entire team all took off in different\ndirections to keep a lookout for any further anomalies\nVolcan let out a sigh of relief.\nSerena looked up at him and leaned against his leg. \"Are you okay,\nVolcan?\" She asked.\n\"Just... some bad\nmemories,\" he replied.\n\"I know... it's hard to keep\nhaving to relive that,\" agreed Serena.\n Luke turned to Volcan and gently placed a paw\non his shoulder. \"Try to relax...I'm sure we'll find a way to overcome\nthis dilemna...\"\n            \"I hope so,\" said Volcan.\n\"This world is in grave danger... I've been able to protect my home world\nbut will I be capable of helping to protect this one?\" He sighed.\n\"All of my powers are gone, and I'm left in a body I don't even know\nyet.\"\n            \"Well, we can still take time to\ntrain you and unlock more of your potential moveset...\" Luke offered.\n            \"Looks like I'll have to,\"\nsaid Volcan. \"I'll just have to be extra careful as well...\"\n\"I have to learn my powers in\nthis body too,\" agreed Serena. \"I want to help, and I won't be able\nto do that if I...\" She blushed, \"...can't even walk in a straight line...\"\n            Luke nodded. \"Katsumoto would be\na good teacher for you then, since he's also primarily a quadruped, and is a\npure water type such as yourself.\"\n            Serena nodded, but then blushed.\n\"He seems... uncomfortable around me though,\" she said. \"Are you\nsure he would want to train me?\"\n            Luke smiled a little. \"He may\nseem like he is; but in all honesty, I think he would like to get to know you\nmore...\" Luke commented, kneeling down and patting her shoulder.\n \"Okay... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to\nask him,\" she admitted, nodding.\n\"We should get started very\nsoon,\" said Volcan. \"We need every moment to prepare for what's\ncoming.\"\nLuke nodded. \"Let's head to a more\nopen part of the forest so we can continue training.\" Luke said, motioning\nfor Volcan to follow.\n\"Where should I go find\nKatsu?\" Serena asked.\n\"He'll mostly likely patrol\naround the town border...he doesn't really venture into town unless he has\nto.\" Luke commented.\nSerena nodded. \"Okay. I'll go have\na look around then,\" she said. \"I'll let you two train by\nyourselves.\"\n\"If you need us, Serena, just\nhead to Luke's place and wait there,\" instructed Volcan.\nSerena nodded. \"Okay,\" and\ncarefully trotted off to find Katsu.\n Luke led Volcan more into the forest away from\nhis house, eventually arriving at a large clearing in the woods, taking a few\nsteps away from Volcan before turning to face him. \"Alright let's get\nstarted.\"\n\"Alright,\" began Volcan.\n\"We already found out I know Fire Punch; what else can I learn?\"\n\"Well there's Blaze Kick...we\ntried that earlier, but it is rather hard to pull off...\" Luke thought out\nloud. \"Let's try Sky Uppercut...it's a pretty simple move to perform...and\nit allows you to hit Pokémon that take to the skies...\"\n\"But you can't fly; how would\nwe test it?\"\n\"But I can still jump very\nhigh. And it doesn't have to be used on flyers.\" Luke stated. \"It's just\na move that can be used to counter\nflyers.\"\nVolcan nodded. \"Makes sense. Okay;\nready when you are.\"\nLuke nodded and got into a stance.\n\"The key is to strike from below like a normal uppercut, but rather than\nstopping, you continue to follow through until you and your opponent are in the\nair...\"\n            \"I imagine Blaziken are good at\nthis because they can jump ridiculously high?\" Volcan asked.\n            \"There's that.\" Luke\ncommented.\n\"Alright then what're we\nwaiting for?\" Volcan asked, adopting a fighting stance.\n            \"For you to attack first.\"\nLuke commented with a small smirk.\n            Volcan grinned, and then ran at Luke,\ntaking a leap into the air and front-flipping before he came down with his foot\nextended. Luke held out his arm and blocked the kick, skidding a little before\nhe weaved around Volcan and let him pass by, back flipping away and re-stancing\nagain, waiting for his next attack.\n            Volcan turned around after landing,\nand barked out a laugh at Luke, but much to the surprise of both of them, a\nstream of flame also burst out! \"Eh?!\" Volcan yelped after closing his\nbeak.\nLuke quickly ducked low and\nflattened his ears to avoid the flames, though he smirked a little upon\nstanding up again. \"Seems you somehow unlocked Flamethrower.\"\n \"Sorry!\" Volcan exclaimed.\n\"Didn't mean to do that; I didn't burn you, did I?\"\n            \"I'm fine.\" Luke reassured.\n            Volcan took a breath to relax\nhimself. \"Okay... note; do not focus energy to mouth before\nlaughing.\"\n            Luke reassumed his stance, beckoning\nVolcan to approach him again. Volcan returned to his own fighting pose, inching\ncloser to Luke a little at a time, always keeping his eyes on the Lucario. \nIn a quick step, Luke then dashed\ntoward Volcan, arms at his sides as he approached. Volcan waited until Luke was\nclose enough before he delivered a spinning kick towards him, sweeping his leg\nthrough the air as if to hit multiple enemies at once. Luke slid under his leg\nas it swished over him, then retaliated with a quick rising kick from below to\nVolcan's jaw before backing up some and firing an Aura Sphere from one paw\nright at his chest.\n            Volcan went flying onto his back,\ngrunting painfully, but leapt back to his feet again, charging a fire punch and\nrunning at Luke again. Luke, knowing that if he even touched Volcan's hands to\ntry and block his strikes he would be injured greatly, instead weaved and\nstarted hopping backwards as Volcan came rushing in with a flurry of Fire\nPunches. Even Luke would slip up eventually with such a furious onslaught\ncoming at him, and sure enough, at one point he stumbled a little and was\nleaning back on one leg, open for a punishing strike.\nVolcan landed a powerful blow on\nLuke's stomach, but actually drew back a little at the last second to cause him\nno serious harm, and then leapt back from him for only a split second for\nunleashing a Jump Kick towards him. Luke grunted and rolled on the ground once\nbefore landing in a crouch, grunting from the hit he took. Upon seeing Volcan\nfly right for him with a flying kick, he flinched for a bit, but remained calm.\nWhen the kick seemed sure to hit, Luke shifted his feet a little and right as\nit was about to touch his nose, he just....vanished...like he wasn't even\nthere.\n            \"The hell...?\" Volcan\nlanded carefully, and began to look around for Luke, surveying all of his\nsurroundings and already expecting an ambush from any side...\n\"Where are you looking?\"\nLuke called from behind Volcan, a fair distance away from him, standing tall\nand with a small smirk on his face.       \n\"Oh that is so cliché,\"\nVolcan groaned before he rushed at Luke and thrust his elbow at him. He,\nhowever, managed to catch it and flip Volcan over his shoulder, and then backed\naway just as he hit the ground, landing again in a soft style stance. Volcan\nsprang back to his feet, and once more returned to his own fighting stance,\nthis time making sure to let Luke be the one to attack.\n            \"You're learning quickly I must\nadmit...pretty soon I'll have to go all out on you...\" Luke commented.\n            \"This body may not be as strong\nas my own, but my reflexes and my skills haven't changed,\" returned\nVolcan.\n            \"And judging by your reaction,\nI'm guessing you've faced quick opponents before?\"\n            \"Oooohhh yes,\" replied Volcan,\neyes wide as he remembered the foes he had faced. \"Faster than a bat out of\nhell.\"\n\"Then maybe I should put your\nreflexes to the test...\"\n\"Bring it on,\" said\nVolcan. \"I regularly fight a Sergal who moves faster than the blink of an\neye.\"\n Luke was a little confused.\n\"....Ser....gal...?\"\n            \"A race back in my world; very\nrare but each one I've met, unique,\" remarked Volcan. \"Tell you\nlater; all I can tell you is that this guy was fast enough to be in your face\nthe second you blink and literally deflect projectiles moving the speed of\nsound, with a sword.\"\n            \"...That... seems\nunlikely....\" Luke stated, but he still kept his stance regardless.\n            \"You doubted me being from\nanother world; you think I'm making THIS up?\" Volcan asked, shrugging\nhelplessly.\n            Luke shrugged as well. \"I\nsuppose it doesn't matter at this point.\"\n            \"Alright, now come on\nalready!\" Volcan barked at him. \"Come and get me!\"\nLuke then darted to Volcan, though\nrather than strike him head on, he darted to his back and struck his neck\nbefore retreating and skidding to a halt, rising back up quickly and firing\nroughly three Aura Spheres at him before disappearing again. Volcan wasn't\nfalling for it, though; he carefully dodged each of the attacks, and watching\ncarefully for Luke, he managed to spot the Lucario as he came at him, and\ncaught an oncoming punch from him with his left hand. \n\"Gotcha,\" he said, before\nyanking on Luke's arm and striking him in the forehead with his right elbow.\nLuke grunted from the strike, though he still held his form and quickly lifted\nhis feet up and double kicked his beak, landing on his back before rolling to\nhis feet and thrustng a Force Palm into Volcan's chest.\n            Another attack which Volcan caught,\njust barely, before trying to deliver another punch with his other fist. Luke\nquickly raised his other paw and caught Volcan's fist in it, leaving the two of\nthem at a standstill.\n            \"Yanno, my grandpa taught me\nthis is one of the worst situations you can be in,\" Volcan remarked.\n\"But he also taught me how to get out of it...\"\n Luke raised an eyebrow at that claim, still\nstruggling against Volcan's strength as the standstill continued. \"...And\nthat is?\"\n            \"With a cheap shot!\" Volcan\nbarked before he jerked back a little, pulling Luke towards him, and then\nSLAMMING his head against Lukes', the bone of their skulls audibly connecting.\nLuke's skull rattled a little from the impact, his eyes slightly rolling back\nfrom the intense pain he felt in his head before he roared in pain, jerking his\nhead back and letting go of Volcan's hand to grasp his head, yelping in a mix\nof pain and surprise.\nAnd that was when Volcan lunged\nforward, grabbing Luke around his middle in a powerful embrace before lifting\nhim up, jumping forward and diving back into the ground, although Luke landed\non something rather soft taking away some of the impact, but it was still\nenough to steal some of the air out of his lungs.\n            After that, Volcan reared back, drew\nback his fist, and punched at Luke's face, but stopped just inches away, before\nhe poked him on the nose. \"And, shattered cartilage,\" he stated.\nLuke looked up at Volcan, panting a\nlittle as he recovered from being winded. \"....Well that was\nsomething...\"\n            Volcan chuckled and got off of Luke,\noffering a hand to help him up. \"I do learn pretty quickly,\" replied\nVolcan. \"Didn't hurt you, did I?\"\n            Luke grunted and gently took Volcan's\nhand. \"Mph...a little, but it's part of sparring...What doesn't kill you makes\nyou stronger.\"\n \"Well, if you ever meet my Uncle, you'll\nfind living proof of that with him,\" replied Volcan, patting Luke's\nshoulder. \"And yet I never got the chance to even try Sky Uppercut.\"\n \"You'll get your chance, don't\nworry.\" Luke returned.\n \"Well... I'm feeling kind of peckish;\nshall we go get a snack before we keep going?\" Volcan suggested.\n Luke nodded. \"Sounds good. I know just\nwhat to make.\" He said as he led Volcan back to his home for some grub.\n ~~~~~\nSerena wandered outside the edge of\ntown, searching for Katsu. A few times, she was afraid she'd become lost, as\nshe didn't really know her way around and would retrace her steps to start\nover, a couple of times even calling out to Katsu as she looked for him\n            As she walked though, she bumped into\na rather broad and muscled up Samurott donning a kimono, looking down at her as\nshe bumped into him. \"You called, miss...?\"\n            \"Oh... there you are,\" she\nsaid, and then cleared her throat. \"I'm sorry to intrude, but I was hoping\nyou might be able to help train me in using this body? I'm afraid I'm...\ncompletely clueless as to what I can do in this form.\"\n            He was silent for a moment as he\nlooked down at her, a small blush once again appearing on his cheeks as he looked\naway for a moment. \"I see. I suppose I could put time aside to aid you in\nyour struggles.\"\n\"I-If this is a bad time I\ncould come back later,\" she offered.\n            \"No it's alright. I can put\naside my duties for now... besides, as powerful as we are as a team, I cannot.\"\nHe paused for a moment before correcting himself. \"WE cannot be around all\nthe time to protect you.\"\n\"Of course,\" she said,\nnodding. \"Where would be a good place to train, then?\"\n            \"Preferably somewhere near\nwater...\" Katsumoto stated. \"We can use my home...it's near a lake...\"\n\"A lake? But isn't the nearby\ntown near an ocean? Lakes aren't usually so close to the sea,\" remarked\nSerena.\n\"That's because my home is\nquite far from the town...I live in isolation by choice...\" He returned.\n\"Oh... how long will it take\nus to get there?\" She asked.\n            \"A half hour's walk...but I can\ntake us there quicker with my Aqua Jet...\"\n            She nodded. \"Okay,\" she\nagreed\n            Katsumoto then sat down in front of\nher so she could climb onto his back. \"Best you hung on tight...you can\nbite into my kimono if you must...\"\n            \"Okay\" she returned,\nclimbing carefully onto his back, hoping she didn't step on anything sensitive\nas she did. The touches of her paws were light and gentle, and when she laid\ndown as flat as possible against his back, she was securely in place. He could\nfeel her form through the back of his kimono...\n            He was blushing rather vibrantly now\nthat he felt her form against his back, but he dared not to show her. Instead\nhe kept his gaze straight ahead and quickly darted forward with his Aqua Jet,\ntravelling rather quickly through the forest toward his home.\nSerena almost fell off, but\ngripping with her paws she managed to stay on his back, and watch over his\nshoulder to see where they were going.\nAfter roughly six or seven minutes,\nhe slowed down until he skidded a little, arriving at a small hut right by a\nsmall lake roughly the size of a water resevoir. \"We're here...\" He\nsaid as he sat down again for Serena to climb off.\nSerena stepped off of his back, and\nfound herself a higher spot where she could survey the area around the hut. It\nwas completely surrounded by the thick forest, nothing but large green trees\nthat seemed to shelter the hut and the lake from the sun above.\n\"This place is\nbeautiful,\" she said. \"It... actually kind of reminds me of Vinge and\nBuniq's homes, back on my world.\"\n\"I'm sorry, I'm not familiar\nwith those names... are they friends of yours...?\" He asked, looking back\nto her.\nSerena nodded as she turned back to\nhim. \"Yes. Vinge is an Ice Phoenix, who's been on our team much longer\nthan I have,\" she explained, sitting down. \"He's... actually very\nmuch like you; he prefers his seclusion, far away from the crowd and noises of\nthe city, he's very intelligent and a cunning swordsman. Buniq is a Werecat,\nand a born leader; she inspires people to carry on even against difficult odds,\nand has a certain effect on others that make them trust her, very much like\nVolcan himself. She's also an excellent tracker, but... she's not a very trusting\nwoman.\"\n \"I see...well I'm not exactly that\nintelligent like your ice friend...I only know enough to survive and think\nquickly while in a battle...\"\n            \"That's sort of what he does,\nbut he is also an excellent strategist,\" replied Serena. \"He analyzes\nopponents as he fights them, eventually coming up with methods to defeat them.\nIn all the time I've known him he has never lost a battle to the same person\ntwice.\"\n            Katsumoto nodded. \"He sounds\nlike quite a warrior...it would be an honour to clash blades with such an\nadversary...\" Katsumoto stated. \"Alas, I rely only on my\nswordsmanship and my raw power...I am the tank of the team because I trained my\nbody to possess incredible strength and stamina...I am stronger than most\ntypical Samurott.\"\nSerena nodded in return. \"If\never we get the chance to, I'll gladly introduce you to all of my\nfriends,\" she promised.\nHe smiled a little, walking closer\nto her as well. \"I'd like that...\" He returned, staring down at her\nwith a soft smile, still blushing a tad.\n\"So... should we begin\ntraining?\" Serena suggested, before the situation became awkward.\nHe blinked a few times before\nresponding. \"Yes, we should...\" He said, averting his eyes a little.\n\"Let's see...if I remember correctly, Vaporeon are primarily distance\nfighters...so I suppose we should start with a simple Water Gun attack...\"\n\"Okay.\" She stood up and\nturned in a safe direction. \"How do I do it?\"\n\"Well, the way I learned it\nwas to focus your energies on shooting water from your mouth... I'm not sure it\nit's the same for other Water Types, but it's worth a shot regardless...\"\nShe shut her eyes and did so,\ntaking in a deep breath and focusing her energies before exhaling. Some water\ncame out, but it didn't go very far; only a couple of meters before it sagged.\n\"Oh,\" she whimpered, scolding herself silently.\n\"That was good for a first\nattempt.\" He said to her. \"Try again...you'll only improve with hard\nwork and tenacity...\"\nShe nodded, and gave another try.\nShe made two more failed attempts before, on the fourth try, a powerful stream\nfinally erupted and snapped off the limb of a nearby tree. She closed her mouth\nand saw the damage she had done, allowing herself a small, satisfied smile.\n\"I... I got it!\" She exclaimed.\nKatsumoto smiled. \"You see?\nYou can do it.\" He said with praise. \"And quite quickly as well...I\nhad to work to make mine snap a limb off a tree, but I suppose it's because I\nwas a young Oshawott at the time...\"\n\"It's probably because I'm\nusing it like my own powers in my real body,\" replied Serena. \"You\nsee, in my true form, I'm a Hydromancer; I can manipulate water through\nelemental magic. These powers actually feel quite similar, although I'm\ncontrolling them as much physically as mentally.\"\n            \"Well I'm not sure what this\nHydromancy is, but a Pokémon's elemental abilities stem from their own\nstrength...the stronger you are, the more powerful your moves will\nbecome.\"\n            She nodded in reply. \"i guess\nthat makes sense,\" she said\n \"Let's try another move...something more\nphysical...\" he suggested. \"How about Aqua Tail...\"\n \"Okay. How do I do it?\"\n\"The same way you would try a\nWater Gun, but focusing on your tail instead, then lashing out with it at your\nopponent.\"\n\"Okay,\" she returned,\nnodding, and so prepared to use the attack. She did as instructed, focusing her\nenergy into her tail and waited to see if something happened. This time she\nnailed it on the first try. Torrents of water surged around her tail, ready to\npummel any unsuspecting target. And so she lashed at the nearest target, a\nstump of a broken tree, and struck it with her tail; the enhanced attack\nslammed against the stump, leaving a noticeable dent in the stump after her\nattack landed.\n\"That was... easy,\" she\nremarked.\nEven Katsumoto was surprised.\n\"...That was very good.\" He said, quickly calming down and smiling to\nSerena. \"It would seem you're more of a physical attacker than a distance\none.\"\n            \"Well... yes,\" she replied.\n\"I mostly fight defensively, using my shield to protect the flanks of my\ncomrades until the fight gets in close, and then use that and my\nstrength.\"\n\"I see. So in your world you\nare also a close combat type...\" He returned, rubbing his whiskers a\nlittle. \"It seems we have that much in common....\"\n \"Yes... although,\nI really don't like fighting that much\" she admitted. \"I try to avoid\nit as much as possible... I'll protect my friends, putting myself between them\nand a dangerous person but... I don't like hurting others, even if they're\nevil...\"\nKatsumoto looked at her for a\nmoment longer. \"...It seems you also are aware of the most important trait\nof being a warrior...\"\n\"There's a saying back in my\nworld... 'the greatest battles are the ones never fought',\" returned\nSerena. \"Or... something like that. I am still learning the common\nlanguages of the world; I speak in an ancient tongue, normally.\"\n Katsu nodded, gently taking her paw in his.\n\"You are right in a way...but the trait I was looking for was to know when\nto draw your weapon...\"\n            She looked at his paw briefly, and\nshyly pulled hers back, her tail flicking uncomfortably. \"Yes I... believe\nthere's a saying like that as well...\"\n            He also blushed a little\nuncomfortably, lowering his paw and averting his eyes a bit, remaining silent\nfor a while.\n\"Now, um...\" Serena\nbegan. \"Next step?\" She asked, trying to get their minds back on\ntrack.\n\"Y-Yes...forgive me.\" he\nreturned, turning back to look at her. \"Let's try a Quick Attack...it will\nallow you to strike before your opponent and can even interrupt your foe from\nmaking a move on you...\"\n\"Okay...\" She looked\nstraight ahead. \"How do I do it?\"\n\"Because this is a Normal Type\nattack, no focusing is required...just charge in as fast as you can and tackle\ninto your target full force...\"\n\"Alright...\" She found a\ngood, open stretch to try the attack and broke off into a run, going as fast as\nshe could possibly manage. \nFor a moment, it seemed like she\nhad managed to perform the attack flawlessly on the first try... until an\nunseen obstacle appeared just after she was out of sight of Katsu, who had been\nunable to keep up with her; he heard her cry out in pain just seconds after,\nfollowed by several dead leaves scattering everywhere, where she had vanished.\n            Katsumoto's eyes widened a little\nwhen she saw her vanish. \"Serena!\" He called after her, running to\nwhere she disappeared to.\n            He found her lying on her side a\nshort distance away, one of her legs curled painfully against her chest. When\nshe saw Katsu approaching, she looked up at him. \"I... I hit a tree\nroot,\" she said. \"I think it sprained my ankle.\"\n            He froze upon hearing that, then\nlowered his head quickly. \"I'm sorry...I wasn't aware there was any\nexposed roots...forgive my lack of foresight...\"\n            \"It's okay,\" she replied,\ntrying to get up. \"Hazards are always part of training.\"\n            \"No, don't strain your\ninjury.\" He said as he stepped before her and gently supported her by\nrearing up on his hind legs and lightly scooping her up in his large arms.\n\"We'll continue when you're ankle is better...\" He said as he took\nher to his hut.\n            \"Okay...\" She returned.\n\"I'm... sorry for being a burden...\"\n            \"You are not a burden, else I\nwould not have saved you when you first arrived...\" He returned as he\nentered the hut. \"Life, no matter how large or small, is precious, and it\nis my duty to protect those lives of friends and strangers alike...\"\n            She looked at him, impressed by the\ncode and ethics he lived by, and deeply reminded of her friends back home; many\nof them had chosen to follow a path like that as well, and had lived up to it\nfor several years now... most especially Volcan. She turned her gaze back down\ntowards herself, slipping into deep thought and reminiscing about home.\n            He gently set her down on a bed and\npulled the covers over her gently. \"I'll get you some water...is there\nanything else you require...?\"\n            She looked at her ankle. \"Ice,\nif you have any; it'll help with the pain.\"\nHe nodded, and then went to his\nsmall pantry to grab a bag of ice from the makeshift cooler he possessed. He\nthen took a small bowl and filled it with water before heading back to her and\nplacing the ice on her leg, and the water in front of her head.\n            She gently lifted herself up and put\nher muzzle into the bowl, drinking some of the water gently and wiping off her\nmouth with her tail when she had her fill before laying back down again and\nsighing.\n            Katsumoto gazed at her for a bit as\nshe lay down, feeling a strange warmth in his chest he was not familiar with.\nIt made him blush quite hard as well as confused him a bit. \"Erm...If you\nneed anything else I erm...I will be outside...\"\n            She nodded to him. \"Thank you,\nKatsumoto,\" she said, gratefully.\n            He nodded to her, still blushing even\nas he turned and headed out the door. He walked to the waters edge and sat\ndown, looking at his reflection* ...What's coming over me...? *he asked\nhimself. \"Why do I feel so warm around her...?\"\n~~~~~\nAfter a short, second bout of\ntraining, Luke and Volcan arrived back at the Lucario's home, only for him to\nfind he had forgotten something back in town he'd meant to pick up; some lemons\nfor the fish he was going to cook that evening.\n\"Dammit...I need to go back\ninto town for a bit.\" Luke said as he closed the cupboard with an\nirritated scowl on his face. \"Forgot to pick up some lemons...\"\n\"Mind if I come along? Could\nuse a stretch for my legs after that last throwdown.\"\n\"I don't mind. I could use the\nextra hands.\" Luke returned, walking toward the door of his house.\n\"We only just need a few to properly marinade the fish.\"\n            Volcan nodded and caught up to Luke,\nfollowing him out of the house. \"Alrighty then. Maybe we can make that\ntrip without something else eventful happening.\"\n            \"Don't jinx it...\" Luke\nreturned as they headed for town.\n            Later on, they arrived in the town,\nheading down to the market where the produce sales were located. They found\nsome fresh lemons easily enough at one of the stands; after buying enough\nlemons, they started on their way back to Luke's house, but down at the docks,\nthey saw something; a large crowd was gathered near the beach, surrounding\nsomething. \nVolcan noticed the crowd, and\ngroaned. \"Don't tell me there are more corrupted swimmers over\nthere...\"\n            Luke narrowed his eyes at the sight\nof the crowd, then he made his way over and budged his way through the crowd to\nsee what all the commotion was. And there, beached on the sand, was the large\nslimy form of a Tentacruel, laying on the beach with half of its tendrils still\ntrailing back into the water. What caught his attention though were the tears\nin its body, as if something had tried to claw its way into its head. The\nTentacruel was unmoving, and no longer had an aura; it was dead, and not going\nto rise again anytime soon.\nLuke's eyes widened up at the sight.\n\"...Arceus Almighty...\" he gasped as he kept gazing at the deceased\nTentacruel.\nVolcan made his way through the\ncrowd, and saw the downed body as well. \"Yikes... someone had a bad\nday,\" he said, approaching the carcass and looking it over, finding a few\nopen wounds on the body, which he looked closely at, humming in suspicion.\n\"Hm... I know cuts, and these weren't done by a blade or claws...\" He\nran his finger along the wounds.\n \"It would have to take something even\nlarger and more violent to take down something like this...\"\n            \"What type of Pokemon has\nreally, really big teeth?\" Volcan asked, looking at the tears.\n\"Judging by these wounds, this guy was bitten, then tossed around in his\nattackers mouth, causing this shredded skin, and bleed-out in the water.\"\n Luke thought for a\nmoment, crossing his arms as he thought about every Pokémon he knew that had\nlarge sharp teeth. \"...Well...there's Gyarados...\"\nVolcan continued looking over the\nTentacruel, until he spotted something along its tentacles that caught his\nattention. \"Luke... you better come see this,\" he said, lifting up\nthe tentacle he was looking at in his hands -carefully, in case the creatures'\nnatural venom was still active.\n            Luke walked over toward where Volcan\nwas standing to see what he had discovered. \"What is it?\"\n\"Look here,\" he said,\npointing to the end of the tentacle, which was shorter than it should have\nbeen... \"This tentacle wasn't\ntorn... it was cut.\" He looked at the Tentacruel. \"I think this is\nthe same corrupted Tentacruel we fought out on the water. Check his eyes; see\nif they're damaged at all.\"\nLuke nodded and quickly headed\naround toward its head, checking on the eyes finding that the right eye was burned\nshut, and the other was sporting a visible pre-mortem bruise around it. \"...Looks\nlike you're right. This IS the same Tentacruel that was possessed last\ntime.\"\n \"This thing was a bugger to fight on its\nown; what the hell could do that to it?\" Volcan asked.\n \"Your guess is as good as mine...\"\nLuke returned. \"Maybe it was one of those demons...\"\n\"Well... the corruption that\nwas in this guy is gone now,\" stated Volcan. \"If it merged with\nwhatever attacked this one, it could be at a higher rank now.\"\n Luke had an uneasy feeling in his gut after\nhearing that. \"By rank, you mean...?\"\n\"Demons have their own\nranking, depending on how evolved they've become,\" said Volcan. \"I\ntold you about Kalo'Temir; next to Demon Lord, he's at the highest of the ranks\nwhich is Arch Demon. Down from there is Major, Greater, Lesser and Minor; the\nminors are the weakest and least intelligent, comparable to the drones of an\nant colony; mindless and often quite stupid, but capable of following\ndirections. Up until Major, the demons don't get much smarter but once they hit\nthat rank, they develop the ability to learn.\"\n            \"And the demons we've\nencountered so far...they're minor Demons?\"\n\"Minors and lessers,\nyes,\" replied Volcan. \"A Greater demon would be a tougher one but if\nwe come across one that's gotten smarter, things are going to get...\" Suddenly,\nthere was a long, low moan that seemed to echo from the water, carrying over\nthe shoreline to reach everyone's ears. Volcan frowned. \"What was\nthat...?\"\n            Luke quickly turned toward the sound,\nhis ears flicking quickly as the sound reached his ears. \"...Something not\nnormal...\"\n            \"Why does that make my skin\ncrawl?\" Volcan asked sarcastically.\n            \"We have to get everyone out of\nhere.\"\n            \"Definitely,\" agreed\nVolcan, standing up from the Tentacruel and getting away from the water. Luke\nfollowed suit as well, quickly running toward the crowd and ushering them away\nas best he could.\nThe people at first weren't\nresponding to him, wondering what it was he was ushering them away from, when\nanother long moan was heard, louder this time. Looking out towards the water,\nan area just off the shore seemed to rise up and move towards them a single\nappendage of some kind protruding from the water and causing a split in the\nwaves as it rushed toward the shore forming plumes on either side of it, and\nthe sight of that alone was all the incentive the people needed; they flew into\na panic, and rushed away from the shore, pushing and shoving each other and\nscreaming in terror.\n\"Move, move, move!\"\nVolcan urged, helping up a couple of people who had tripped and ushering them\nonward.\nLuke also helped usher the crowd\naway to a safe distance, even carrying some children who were separated from\ntheir parents to a safer distance before he returned to face whatever was\ncoming their way.\nOut of the water, a long-bodied\ncreature with a massive head and an equally large mouth burst forth from the\nwaves, eliciting a long howl that made Luke's spine tingle with fear just from\nthe volume of it, and the fact it sounded of pain and sorrow, yet the look in\nthe creatures eyes as it glared hungrily towards the shoreline towards the\nfleeing people spoke of a monster hungry for the flesh of mortals. Its entire\nbody was scaly and its tail ended in a large fin; the scales were blood-red and\nits eyes were a solid yellow colour; no pupils, no iris, just an empty yellow\nvoid.\nLuke had been right; it was a\nGyrados, but it had fallen to the corruption that had plagued the earlier\nTentacruel. Its appearance was absolutely mortifying, and the drool that\ndripped from its gaping maw discoloured the ground where it touched; probably\nnot a good idea to let that slime touch ones skin... He backed up in both shock\nand fright, his eyes wide open and his jaw gaping as he stared up at the\nmonstrosity before him. Its gaze then fixed on him, and the corrupted Gyrados\nlet out a low growl before it lunged right for him!\nHe tensed up for a moment, then he\nsnapped out of his trance and leapt back quickly before it could nab him,\nskidding to a halt and quickly firing some Aura Spheres in defense. However,\nhis quick-thrown Aura Spheres were too small to inflict any harm to the\nGyrados; he succeeded only in angering it, and it turned towards him before it\ninhaled deeply and unleashed a Dragonbreath attack towards him.\nHe grunted and brought his arms up\nin defense, unable to react quickly enough to dodge the attack. Thankfully his\nSteel subtype saved him from sustaining major damage, but he still fell to one\nknee, his body going numb as he was exposed to Dragonbreath's paralysis side\neffect.\nWith him unable to move the\ncorrupted Gyrados slithered towards him and growled ferally as it opened its\nmassive mouth in readiness to devour him, but from the side, Volcan came\nsoaring into view with a mighty leap, kicking the Gyrados in the side of the\nhead with all of his might, making its imminent lunge miss Luke, and crash down\nnext to him instead; Volcan landed on the corrupted Pokémon's head before\nleaping off and running towards Luke. \"What're you standing there for?!\"\nHe barked, unaware of Luke's status.\n\"Guh...I was hit with a\nDragonbreath...I'm paralyzed...\" He grunted as he tried to move, but was\nunsuccessful. His body was far too numb. \nVolcan grabbed Luke and carried him\naway from the Gyrados as it began to recover from Volcan's earlier strike and\nsought them out, but by then Volcan had ducked behind some cover with Luke,\nconcealing them from sight.\n            He clenched his eyes shut as he kept\ntrying to move his limbs, again with no luck. \"Damnit...I need a Cheri\nBerry...\" He groaned.\n            Volcan looked around. \"Where can\nI find one?\" He asked.\n            \"Most Pharmacies have them...or\nyou can just pick them from a bush in the forest...\"\n\"Great... if we step out from\nback here that thing'll...\" He was interrupted as a powerful stream of\nwater gouged into the ground near them, tearing a small trench through the\nstonework and into the dirt and also splashing them somewhat; the un-aimed\ndevastation was then followed by a furious roar from the corrupted Gyrados\nbefore they heard something be crushed nearby. \"Shit; it's on a\nrampage!\" Volcan barked.\n            Just then, a flash of jet black and\ncrimson streaked along a fallen building before it leaped up into the air. The\nfigure was Hank, rising up above the demonized Gyarados with his arms spread out,\na dark shroud enveloping him that slowly grew bigger. \"Night Daze!!\"\nHe roared and the shroud then shot forward, hitting the Gyarados' head and even\ncausing it's vision to blur slightly thanks to Night Daze's added accuracy\nreduction effect.\n            The Gyrados recoiled from the attack\nand hissed angrily, shaking its head to try and clear it, and blinking its eyes\nseveral times as it tried to fix its vision; he'd bought them some time. Then\nfrom behind Luke, a webbed hand held out a Cheri Berry to Luke. When he glanced\nback, he saw the hand belonged to Kage, who was kneeling behind him. \"Eat\nthis...quickly..\" He said sternly.\n\"I owe you...\" Luke said\nas he ate the berry from his hand. Upon swallowing he felt his paralysis\ninstant clear and he groaned as he had full mobility of his body again.\n            \"You good, now?' Volcan asked\nLuke.\n            \"Yes. That berry did just the\ntrick...\" Luke said as he cracked his neck a little. \"Though that\ndoesn't really fix our current problem...\"\n\"No kidding; we've got a\npissed off, corrupted sea serpent that'll turn this town into floating debris\nif we don't stop it,\" said Volcan. \"How do we beat it? It have any\nweak spots?\"\n            \"Well it's a Water/Flying\ntype...so it's dangerously weak to an Electric attack.\" Luke said.\n\"But I know no Electric Type Pokemon, and I don't know Thunder\nPunch...\"\n\"Aren't flying types also weak\nagainst rock or ice?\" Volcan pointed out.\nLuke thought for a moment.\n\"They are, yes...but again, I don't know any Rock moves, and if I call\nDoug, he'll only be in danger of potentially being killed as well.\"\n            Volcan looked at Kage. \"Can you\nuse any ice moves?\" He asked.\n            \"I know Haze...\" He\nreturned. \"But that only helps in concealing my location...It's not an\noffensive attack...\"\n\"Ugh... just great...\"\nVolcan growled. \"So we have nothing we can use against this guy except the\nHi-Jump Kick I nearly knocked him out with before; is that what you're\nsaying?\"\n            \"A Hi-Jump Kick would only do\nminimal damage thanks to its Flying subtype.\" Luke explained. \"And\nyou're in danger as well, Volcan. If you get hit by any Water type moves, you\nwill be gravely injured...\"\n\"Well, thankfully, big\nopponents like that are usually very clumsy,\" remarked Volcan. \"That\nworks to our advantage. Though... doesn't look like that'll be enough if we can\nbarely hurt the damn thing.\"\nLuke looked up toward the raging\nGyarados as it tore through town, then closed his eyes for a moment.\n\"...Looks like I'll have to use that then...\"\n            \"Use what?\" Volcan asked.\n            Luke slowly lowered his scarf a\nlittle, revealing a yellow jewel with what looked like a black, red and blue\nsymbol inside it. He slowly touched the jewel and closed his eyes. At first\nnothing happened, but then the jewel started to glow brighter and brighter\nuntil it completely shrouded Luke in a blinding light.\n            \"Whoa! What's going on?!\"\nVolcan barked.\nThe light was unfortunately also\ndrawing the attention of the corrupted Gyrados; it turned towards the glow, and\nbegan to drag its massive body towards them, growling louder as it got nearer.\n\"He's Mega Evolving.\"\nKage answered.\nThe light soon grew into what\nlooked like a crystal sphere around Luke, slowly expanding before it finally\ncracked and burst outward in another blinding flash. When the light died down,\nLuke's appearance had drastically changed. His fur was more wild and untamed,\nhis tail was now the same colour as his torso fur and was MUCH bushier, his\ndreadlocks became long tendrils with red tips, as well as his paws and feet\nalso gaining red tips, not to mention he also grew a second set of paw spikes\nand had two spikes on his feet as well. To top it all off, Luke's gaze was now\na much sharper, more intimidating glare...\n            Volcan's jaw dropped and his eyes\nwidened to the roundness of dinner plates, blown away by what he was seeing,\nbut suddenly snapping back to reality as the building they were hiding behind\nexploded, instinctively jumping away as the corrupted Gyrados barreled through,\nroaring as it went right for Luke, mouth wide open to devour him. In response,\nLuke quickly held out both paws and quickly charged a large Aura Sphere in\nfront of him. The second the Gyarados went to chomp on him, he discharged the\nsphere right into its mouth and down its throat.\nThe Gyrados slammed its mouth shut,\nseemingly at first mistaking the sphere for Luke, but then it coughed up blood\nas its insides were torn up by the attack. It glared at Luke once more, and\nswung at him with a Dragon Tail attack. Luke quickly leapt high into the air,\nthen started darting around the Gyarados with his Extreme Speed, striking at\nmany points at once before the Gyarados could even react before appearing in\nfront of it again, quickly tensing his body and emitting a bright red aura\nflame around him in preparation for his next attack.\nThe Gyrados was only getting\nangrier, but it was too slow and clumsy to have a chance at hitting Luke. In\nits fury, the creature roared loudly to the sky as the very air around it\nseemed to shiver with terror, and swirl in front of it like a twister, but not\nas fast.\n\"Uh... what's it doing?\"\nVolcan asked.\n            Hank's eyes widened at the sight.\n\"Oh shit! It's prepping a Dragon Rage!!\" He exclaimed.\n \"That's bad, right?\" Volcan asked,\nstill not fully educated on the fundaments of this world.\n\"Let's just say if it hits us,\nthe whole town's gonna get blown away into oblivion as well!\" Hank\nretorted.\n\"Oh.\" Volcan said, with a\ncross-eyed expression that practically screamed 'We're fucked', before shaking\nhis head and turning on the Gyrados. \"Okay... suggestions?!\"\n\"Let Luke take care of\nit...\" Kage said softly, pointing to the Lucario as he was gathering a\nmassive amount of Aura energy into his paws to counter the oncoming attack the\nGyarados was cooking up.\n            \"Well he better do something\nfast, because that leviathan is about to blow!\" Volcan barked.\nThe Gyrados unleashed its attack,\nand a force resembling a condensed hurricane tore its way across the ground.\nEven at the distance they were, Volcan, Hank and Kage could feel the attack's\neffects, and knew that it was too late for them to get away even if they were\nto try now...\n            Luke roared out as loud as he could\nbefore thrusting his paws forward. \"AURA STORM!!!\" He roared and\ndischarged a HUGE beam of blue aura energy toward the oncoming hurricane. The\namount of power packed into the attack was enough to tear through the hurricane\nat a fair pace and head straight for the Gyarados' face.\n            The Gyrados tried to charge a Hyper\nBeam to counter, but the Aura blast hit home. The Gyrados tried to resist, but\nsoon after impact, the blast literally blew its head off, and its decapitated\nbody was sent flying through the air, smashing on the ground some hundred\nmeters away, and did not move again.\nVolcan blinked at the display.\n\"I did not just see that...\" He said. \"That was like, something\nstraight out of Anime!\"\n            \"NICE ONE BOSS!!\" Hank\ncheered as the hurricane quickly subsided as well as Luke's blast. The Lucario\nlet out a long sigh and panted a bit before his body shone brightly and he\nquickly reverted back to his usual self.\n\"...The Aura Storm...\"\nKage said to Volcan. \"Luke's most powerful and potentially his most fatal\nattack....it's attack strength exceeds that of Katsumoto's Hydro\nCannon....\"\n\"I think even my own Solar\nInferno would be challenged by...\" He looked at Kage briefly. \"Oh...\nright... nevermind. I probably can't even do that in this body.\"\nHe shook his head. \"If it's\nfrom your dimension, then probably not...\"\n            Volcan looked at Luke; he imagined an\nattack like that would be draining, and hoped his new friend was alright... Luke\nwas indeed slumped over a bit and catching his breath for a fair amount of time\nbefore he managed to straighten up and take a deep breath to recollect himself.\nHe then turned back to Volcan and the others. \"Everyone alright? Any\ninjuries?\"\n\"We're okay, thanks to\nyou,\" the Blaziken replied in assurance, nodding to Luke. \"I gotta\nsay, I never imagined you could have power like that...\" He looked up at\nthe sky. \"There's a lot to learn about this world yet, it seems...\"\nLuke nodded. \"It's a move I\ndon't resort to unless absolutely necessary...and even THEN I have to consider\nthe ramifications of using it....\" Luke returned. \"Still...at least\nthe town and its inhabitants are safe...\"\nVolcan nodded again. \"It's a\nshame about all those Pokemon though,\" he said, sadly. \"I of all\npeople know the terrors of Demonic Corruption... how it's getting to this\nworld, I don't know, but I feel in my heart that something terrible is going to\nhappen, and perhaps I was sent here to help protect this world. Fate has a funny\nway of putting me in the path of calamities to be the vanguard against\nthem.\" He chuckled as he added. \"Only this time it's given me a whole\nnew team to work with.\"\n            \"Indeed...\" Luke returned\nwith a small smile on his face. \"I believe with you around, we might\nactually be able to fend off this corruption....for now though, I think we\nshould return home...\"\n            Volcan nodded. \"A good idea. I\nwant to go check on Serena too, see how she's settling in. Back home she's as\nstrong as I am - at least in body, but... she's very sensitive.\"\n            \"I'm sure Katsumoto is taking\ncare of her...but you're welcome to check on her anytime you desire.\" Luke\nadded.\n            Volcan let out a long sigh.\n\"I've got a bad feeling about all this,\" he said, looking at his\nhand. \"I've got to master this new body for whatever's coming. If I don't,\nI have a feeling it'll mean far more than me just losing a fight.\"\nLuke nodded. \"We can spend the\nnext while training you so you can get used to your new body....we'll all pitch\nin.\" Luke offered.\n\"I appreciate it,\" he\nsaid, and stretched his arms. \"Well... the town's got some cleanup to do.\nLet's see if there's any way we can pitch in, then get out of here...\""}