Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Spinne Biss]

Shalour City Gym

It had been an endeavor for Azucena to get everyone there on time. Mostly because Bridgette was dead set on her outfit for the day. Finally the younger teen had settled on her signature purple hoodie, jeans, and a yellow tank top.

As they shuffled into their seats Bridgette would shout "Hey! Helllll! Kick her butt!"

"L-let her focus," Henrietta would respond as Azucena took her seat, iced coffee in hand.

"So that's Mega Lucario," Azucena would say as she spotted the creature opposite of Helena's Scizor. "This is gonna be good."

Azucena would take the picture and type "tune in" before sending it to her followers. It wouldn't take long before the number of people watching the match remotely would double.

And in a few seconds it would triple.

***

Helena closed her eyes as the hum of energy moved through her. It was almost like a palpable but imaginary sensation that pumped through her body. Learning to feel it, to control it, had been a task but she had accepted the challenge.

Just like her training had instructed, she let herself feel it pulse in time with her heartbeat. A perfect synchronization until it caused the hair on her arms and neck to stand up on end. This was the introduction of Écarlate's aura. Their bond complete with a calm coldness as she watched the match.

It was barely a pulse, but one that was better when the two of them were on the same page. Cold. Calm. Calculated. Disconnected.

Now.

And then Écarlate changed, the blinding flash of light like a cocoon and once it faded away his new form would stand in the arena. It wasn't terribly different from his previous one and he had spent a lot of time in this one while training to synchronize his aura with Helena's.

Still, Helena looking out at the arena, it was exciting. Her heart picked up suddenly and the teen would gasp before taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

Resonate. Synchronize. We are one.

When her eyes opened this time, her face was expression. And then, in a monotone voice, she spoke. "Iron Defense."

Let her come to us. Écarlate would keep his eyes on the opponent as the declaration for the matches start would resound throughout the arena. Unless the Lucario fired into a priority move, the Mega Scizor would take the time to Iron Defense himself up.  

[Marsuru]

Shalour City Gym

Lucario raised his paws to his sides as his Aura began to rush through his body. Ecarlate raised his defences to try and counter Lucario's attack power, but two could play at that game. And so, he stood there, his Aura becoming a flame that blazed around his body as his powers grew more and more intense, his own Iron Defence hardening his skin.

The two Mega Evolved pokémon stood at opposing sides of the arena, their Auras flaring, as they stood still and boosted their stats.

'Caaaaaaaaaaaaaar---!'  

[Spinne Biss]

Shalour City Gym

Time to move, we can't give him time to keep boosting.

"Bullet Punch."

Écarlate didn't yet know Sword Dance which put them at a disadvantage if Lucario did. Instead, he would rocket forward. It would take but a moment to cross the distance with the use of Bullet Punch. The thunderous crack of his speed echoing through the arena - the only sound that could drown out the cries of the audience.

Helena paid no mind to the cheering. She didn't care for the showmanship. Cool. Calm. Collected.

The elongated pinsir of Écarlate would rocket out as he reached his opponent, aimed to strike the shorter opponent in the face.  

[Marsuru]

Shalour City Gym

'Ugh, I have got to cut down on his TV time,' Korrina grumbled into her palm. Still, she was impressed with Helena's display of Mega Evolution. It usually took a lot longer than a few days to reliably trigger the transformation, but some people had the knack for it. She noted, however, that Helena still had to call out her commands, and smirked.

The cannon blast of sound that escaped Ecarlate's Bullet Punch blew across the arena. The Mega Scizor vanished in a blur, streaking towards Korrina's Lucario. Among the greatest Aura users in the world, Lucario could sense the general thoughts and emotions of others even at great range. Only a true master could meld their Aura with another's so thoroughly that it was akin to mind reading, but Lucario could effortlessly tell when Helena and Ecarlate intended to attack, feint, dodge...

In short, he would be almost impossible to catch unawares.

He allowed the Mega Scizor to veer in close, and moved faster than him. With Extremespeed, his movements were heightened, allowing him to react with the same burst of action that Ecarlate could. Moves with increased priority like this generally weren't very complex - few pokémon possessed the dexterity necessary to do more than sudden charges, punches, slashes, and so on.

So he used it to dodge, but kept one of his feet planted and roundhouse kicked with the other. His torso shot to the side, allowing the Bullet Punch to careen above his shoulder as he dropped away from it. His natural momentum forced his other leg to rise in an immediate spin, with his anchored foot as a base. Lucario's Extremespeed roundhouse would hook Ecarlate across the chest and send him flying sideways. Not too damaging, not at all, but disorientating for a moment.

Lucario bent as the knee during this, and the moment his blow was over, kicked himself skywards. He flew into the air above Ecarlate, and raised his hands, the Aura-sensing appendages attached to his head rising vertically as his Aura flared again. Blue-white light sparked into life above the Mega Lucario, ballooning into a massive Aura Sphere that he heaved downwards, rushing towards Ecarlate with unerring accuracy.

Even if Ecarlate dodged, the Aura Sphere would follow, locked onto its target until it made contact.  

[Spinne Biss]

Shalour City Gym

Écarlate's landing was graceful. He allowed his body to be flung and instead used the moment to keep their distance. Still, he wasted no time. Écarlate could not feel aura as aptly as Lucario but his trainer studied moves.

Thinking several steps ahead wasn't just a matter of assessing situations quickly. It was also a matter of planning out all possible situations. Before their rematch, Helena had made sure that Écarlate was aware of the move Aura Sphere. So this one he reacted to automatically.

There was a pang in his chest as he did. A small comfort as if he could feel Helena agreeing with him. It meant they were closer when their thought patterns were so insync. He would need to remember this.

The massive size of the Aura Sphere only made it an easier target. At the peak of the throw Flash Cannon would fire at the Lucario who was stuck in the air. One of two things would likely occur - the first was the simplest. If the sphere dodged his cannon then only Lucario would be struck by the Flash Cannon - which was aimed at this center of gravity the only spot he couldn't alter while in midair - and slammed into the top of the arena's barrier. Écarlate would retain just enough time with the aura sphere needing to move to dodge it with Bullet Punch.

However, if the Aura Sphere blocked the Flash Cannon, the force of the blow would be enough to destabilize it and, that close to Lucario, the resulting explosion would likely deal the total damage to the Pokemon himself while he was trapped in the air, unable to dodge.

If, however, Lucario found and used a third option to avoid both sources of damage Lucario would still retain the opportunity from the Aura Sphere moving to dodge it before it could hit him.  

[Marsuru]

Shalour City Gym

The Aura Sphere flew over the top of Ecarlate's Flash Cannon. If it weren't for his Bullet Punch sending him speeding sideways away from it, the Aura Sphere would've easily caught the sluggish bug type. Instead, it veered sideways after him, following the streak of red. The moment Ecarlate slowed down, he would get a blast of Aura to the back that would wipe out a good chunk of his health.

Flash Cannon shot below the Aura Sphere, hitting Lucario square on the chest. The Aura pokémon grit his teeth in pain and the momentum of the cannon caused him to spin backwards, but he used the spin to his advantage. The moment he was angled correctly, he threw his fists behind himself, unleashing a Vacuum Wave that allowed him to fly across the arena.

With Aura as his guide, he judged where Ecarlate was headed with his Bullet Punch, and slide to a stop just beyond where the Scizor's rush of speed would dissipate. His eyes flicked up, and once again made contact with the Scizor's as Ecarlate slowed.

'Caaaaaaa--- Riiiiiiiii--- ' he yelled, channelling another Aura Sphere between his paws at his side. 'Caaaaaaa--- Riiiiiiiii---' The moment Ecarlate acted, Lucario would launch the second sphere with an 'Ooooooo---!'

Korrina facepalmed.  

[Spinne Biss]

Shalour City Gym

Écarlate couldn't avoid both attacks forever. However, there was one thing he could do. As the next blast came at him and his speed ended he would focus on the first of his new techniques.

Light Screen.

The barriers would come up, eating at a portion of the attacks before they collided with him from both sides - the explosions half as effective as they would normally be.

His second foot hit the ground as the explosion turned to smoke. Pain scorch through his body.

And Helena could feel it. Their bond destabilizing. However she couldn't let go. Not yet. Instead she bit into her hand. Hard. Both of them screaming through the pain as Écarlate closed the almost non-existent distance with another Bullet Punch. This time however, he would not aim to simply strike the Lucario, but to catch him by the arm with one of his pincers. The attack wouldn't do much by itself, but with the distance between the two of them closed completely, Lucario would have to utilize his hand-to-hand skills to win.  

[Marsuru]

Shalour City Gym

Reducing two Aura Spheres' damage by half meant talking the brunt of a single full one. Ecarlate wouldn't come out of that blast looking pretty, but to anyone watching it was lucky that he came out of it at all. Korrina crossed her arms, feet spread wide as she watched and mentally instructed her pokémon.

He moved in a flash. As Ecarlate shot out of the cloud of smoke and debris, Lucario Quick Guarded, the crimson of his appendages glowing bright, reading Ecarlate's Aura. He grabbed the bottom-side of the attacking pincer and held it aloft, stopping Ecarlate's momentum in its tracks. If the challengers wanted a close range battle, they would get one.

Aura whirled around his foot as he brought it back, coalescing into a blazing wreath of flames. Lucario threw his Blaze Kick up vertically, aiming to slash his foot across the Scizor's midline as he performed a leaping scissor kick. If it hit, Ecarlate would go flying skyward before crashing into the ground in a clanging crash.  

[Spinne Biss]

Shalour City Gym

Écarlate focused as the attack came. The heat of it causing him to react automatically. The Scizor had reach, being the taller of the two, and he intended to use it.

***

"That's three times now," Helena said in a huff as she looked at Écarlate. "I can't have you correcting your emotions when I'm trying to. Let me correct, you just focus on fighting."

***

Helena felt herself become colder as she synced with the new movement. She watched as Écarlate brought a focused claw down. Swiping the blaze kick aside would only cause the heat of it to glance Écarlate as the claw aimed to slam into the foot near the ankle., but just above.

If it hit, it would also off-set the enemy Lucario completely, allowing Écarlate to slam a Brick Break into the exposed midsection of his opponent.  

[Marsuru]

Shalour City Gym

Lucario grunted as the Scizor deflected his kick, forcing his leg to rotate outwards, leaving him completely exposed. He sensed the Brick Break coming, the sudden rush of focus as the Scizor thought he had him pinned.

Instead, Lucario brought his fists from behind his back, and punched them both in front. They wouldn't quite meet Ecarlate's Brick Break, instead creating a cushion of air with Vacuum Wave that forced both pokémon away from each other with a boom.

Lucario somersaulted and slid to a halt. As he stood upright, he threw his paw out to the side, generating a cylinder of light in his grasp. It rapidly grew longer, the light fading as it became a solid mass of bone. Lucario held his staff to his back, and gestured for Ecarlate to come for him.

And then he would rush forwards, aiming to meet Ecarlate in a frantic fray of melee blows. Lucario's Bone Rush would try to strike Ecarlate across his face and chest the number of times that gets rolled in an attempt to open the Scizor up for a finisher.  

[Spinne Biss]

Shalour City Gym

Écarlate landed gracefully and launched himself toward Lucario as the opponent prepared his bone rush. As the blow landed on his chest he would bring one arm down and curl it around the bone to prevent it from being pulled away. At the same time his claw would attempt to catch the center most hand on the staff between the teeth of his free claw. If the Metal Claw met its point it would allow Écarlate to crush it between the claw and bone. Not enough to destroy the fist, but enough to mangle it.  

[Marsuru]

Shalour City Gym

Lucario didn't miss a beat when Ecarlate caught his attack. He used the Mega Scizor's claw to help him snap the bone into two shorter escrima sticks to continue his assault. Unless the challenger did something to stop him, Lucario would hit him three more times, travelling up his body; the side of the leg to knock him off balance, the opposite hip to send him reeling, before finally bringing both sticks together to jab into his stomach, forcing the Scizor to double over.

Then Lucario would cast his sticks aside, generating two small Aura Spheres in each hand before bringing them together at Ecarlate's stomach as one true Aura Sphere. The explosion would catch them both in its blast radius, forcing Lucario to take some damage, but Ecarlate a lot more. If Korrina was right, it'd be more than enough to knock him out.  

[Spinne Biss]

Shalour City Gym

Écarlate would not allow Lucario to make use of his continued momentum. Instead, the moment the bone would snap he would let go to the half on his side, stepping forward in Bullet Punch speed to enclose his claw over the Lucario's head.

If it worked he would trap the Lucario blind and, even if he was hit or knocked down, Écarlate would be able to keep the grip of his Metal Claw there, digging into the side of Lucario's neck and exposing his entire body to a point blank Brick Break.  

[Marsuru]

Shalour City Gym

Lucario jerked back when Ecarlate's enormous steel claw closed tight on his head. The jagged razor edges crushed into his iron skin, holding him in place. But not all of him. His arms were still free to assault Ecarlate's body with his sticks, and charge an Aura Sphere that would blow them up. Grabbing him by the head hadn't stopped any of that.

The pain was enough to shake even the Lucario's focus, but he yelled through it, generating enough Aura force to create one final sphere, centred directly on the Mega Scizor's stomach. It erupted the moment it came into being, blowing up in a display of dazzling light that shook the arena with a sudden rush of air.

Even behind the protective barrier, people in the stands fell backwards, collapsing into their seats. Korrina raised a hand to shield her eyes, then stood proud against the remainder of the blast as it died down.

Once it was over, Ecarlate still stood upright, holding Lucario by the skull. Both of their bodies smoked with damage from the blast, but only one would fall. And that would be Ecarlate, finally pushed to the brink. His vice grip would ease open enough for Lucario to free himself and land on his feet, then the rest of him would crumble to the ground. Collapsed. Defeated.

Korrina smirked. 'Not a bad show, Helena. But I guess the house takes this one.'  

[Spinne Biss]

Shalour City Gym

Écarlate did not fall.His claw released Lucario's head, and there was a dead look in his eyes as if he was unconscious but he did not fall.

***

"Scizor," Helena said as she pushed as him. Several chunks of his metal skin had been punctured by Tyrantrum. He was dying. She placed her hands on him, desperate to keep up their bond. "Roost. Something. Anything." She calmed herself. Calm. Collected. Calculated. "Get up."

He'd survived it. Stood back up. Beat Tyrantrum. No injuries.

***

"Last time we tried this, it didn't work. So I've been thinking, what if you can only regenerate when our bond is perfect? If it isn't a Pokemon move it's something that exists in our aura."

***

"I can feel your apprehension. If we can't push ourselves like that with the team we'll have to go somewhere where Pokemon don't care if they kill us or not."

***

So much research had poured into this. A flare of aura that only those who could read aura would see as a blinding light. To everyone else Helena would simply grow still. So still she was like a statue. Her expressionless face hosting cold, dead eyes. There was no more mantra in her head. No more focusing. She simply was.

How many times had they faced life or death situations in the wild off-route areas in the last few days? Killing where nobody cared. Almost dying where nobody could see them? Everything about their encounters so perfectly hand-in-hand entrusting their survival to each other. To the idea that this would work.

So Écarlate did not fall. Instead, through the flare of aura, he would instead bring his own double clawed-fist toward Lucario's chest. A double brick break, all of its intention lost in the sudden flare of his resurrection.

To everyone else, he simply endured the double Aura Blast. But to those who could feel it? Who could see it? Something much stranger had happened. When Écarlate's aura flared with invigorated life, Helena's immediately faded to a flicker of itself.