Ch. 6 Drifting Soul

Saria ducked under a giant, glowing bone made of Aura, her teeth gritting even as she tugged Adrian against her neck. The Lucario, wearing a purple mask in the shape of a Ninetales’s face, glared down at them, far larger at a hundred and fifty feet tall to Saria’s eighty feet. Saria’s horn glowed while she growled, and radiant energy blasted out to her opponent.

“Night Slash!”

The Lucario grunted and shrunk, going to ten feet within a second, and the purple slash flew over. He landed on the ground, with electricity emitting from his body and burning to the ground even as his eyes remained steady at Adrian, filled with hatred. Within another second, he climbed Saria’s body and swung his Aura bone at him.

Adrian, his green eyes wide, leaned back with the attack inches away from his face. He stumbled and fell off from her body. He spun around midair, screaming, before a pair of massive claws grabbed him, ensuring he didn’t get hurt by the fall. His sigh of relief soon twisted into horror as the Lucario fell down headfirst, swinging his Aura bone down at his head.

Saria pulled back her paw, with the Lucario’s attack only hitting her claw instead, and he flung himself forward from the force itself. He twisted his body midair around before growing back to a hundred and fifty feet tall, his feet-paws digging into the ground with a quake felt for miles. Saria grew just as massive; her mouth opened wide as a mix of red and yellow glow emitted from her mouth.

“Flamethrower!”

A jet of flames came from Saria’s mouth, with the Lucario’s eyes widening a bit before swinging his Aura bone forward. The fire met the Aura and split into several smaller flames, with the ones hitting the ground causing the earth to shake. The fire soon stopped coming, even as the bone morphed into a ball as large as his head.

Saria blinked before she growled as the Lucario threw the Aura ball, glaring back. She leaped to the side, with Adrian screaming out even as he clung to the claw. A quarter of a second later, the Aura Sphere pierced into the ground before exploding, with a massive amount of dirt flying. Her horn glowed purple once more even as she charged.

“Night Slash!”

The Lucario grunted, forming another Aura bone before swinging it towards the purple energy. They made contact before exploding, with smoke covering his massive body. But he leaped out from the smoke at ten feet tall, his red eyes glimmering, and he landed on Saria’s paw.

Adrian’s eyes widened in horror as he climbed up the claw, the Lucario forming a new Aura bone, his spikes on his appendages long, and his stoic glare changing into a savage grin. His left paw flinched even as he sensed something familiar about the Lucario before he ducked, the bone inches from his head. He breathed in, and he leaned upwards, a jet of flames billowing out from his mouth.

“FLAMETHROWER!”

The flames hit the Lucario on the chest spike, with him grunting. But he only grinned even more enormous and, when the fire stopped coming, his body emitted electricity, and he sprinted forward, swinging the Aura bone. Adrian’s body cracked a bit as he flung over to the side, bouncing against the ground while he grunted. He rolled around the dirt a bit before he stopped, panting before his eyes widened even more, the Lucario already there with his Aura bone raised.

“Hey!”

The Lucario looked back, only for a massive claw slamming against his side, flung over to the air. Adrian leaned upwards, and he sighed, the Lucario hundreds of feet away, only for him to gasp when he grew back to a hundred and fifty feet tall and landed on his feet-paws, fear filling his heart.

Adrian stumbled back, the left side of his body sore before Saria picked him up and set him on her neck once more. He lay there, staring over at the Lucario, and he blinked, sensing something missing from him. It took a second for him to realize that the spikes on his appendages shrunk somehow, and he clutched his paws.

The Lucario and Saria glared at each other for several seconds, with his eyes shaking even as he clutched his hand-paw tight. Finally, he leaned both of his arms back and to a side, with an Aura Sphere forming between them, though electricity emitting them. Saria’s claws dug to the ground even as Adrian gulped.

The Lucario breathed in and twisted his body, shaking as though he was fighting his every desire, so that he faced Kucheat Town instead and blasted the attack that way.

“No!”

Saria leaped to the side even as her eyes widened in horror, setting herself between the town and the attack itself. Her horn glowed a bit, but the attack came too fast. It hit her square in the chest, with electricity coursing through her body even as massive smokes covered her body. She gave out a glass-shattering roar, filled with pain before she collapsed. Her body shrunk in size, going from a hundred and fifty feet to a mere twenty feet, lying within her own crater.

When Faith stepped outside of the hotel, it was total chaos. Various Pokémon streamed out from the buildings even as the earth shook beneath them. Lights went out from a few of them even as Alolan Golem charged forward, plugging themselves into the walls to give support and emergency power. Even so, one building leaned bit by bit and collapsed on top of them and other Pokémon.

Faith’s heart twisted itself as she followed A-Ninetales, his expression dark. They, along with David, leaped from one crevasse to another, avoiding any glass that shattered onto the ground. David turned from side to side, gripping onto his hair mane even as they passed by a burning building.

“To think,” David said through his pale face, “even miles away from here, a giant Pokémon battle could wreak such destruction.”

Faith nodded, running through a couple of streets before she and the others heard a massive roar. They paused, wincing in pain even as any remaining glass shattered all around them. Then, just before the glass contacted the ground, a massive quake shook the area, with a couple of buildings to the side collapsing on top of each other. Pokémon ran all around them, most of them screaming.

“What in Giratina was that?!” David said even as he shook his head.

“T-that wasn’t Saria, was it?” Faith asked, only for her face to pale.

A-Ninetales’s expression became cold, dangerous, with his eyes shaking and his snout wrinkled. His body glowed red as the ground shook a little, the ground breaking away from his paws. Then, in a quick motion, he sprinted forward, not really knowing or caring that he was growing.

Nor did he seem to care about obstacles that stood in his way if the building he stepped through showed.

Faith and David stood there, dumbfounded, for a moment before Faith rubbed her head.

“We have to catch up to him!” Faith said as she bent her knees. “Whoever this attacker is must be tough.”

“I agree, but how?” David asked as he crossed his arms. “Because we need you big for him and us to stand a chance.”

Faith nodded before she turned around.

Adrian struggled as he pulled himself off from Saria’s neck, her eyes closed but still breathing. His tail fluffed up as he climbed over to her face and pressed both of his paws against it. His ears twitched, hearing an electric cracking sound, and he felt his scruff yanked back, with him tossed to the ground.

He twisted himself up, only to freeze at the sight of the masked Lucario, standing at his standard height on Saria’s face, Aura bone in hand. He climbed down her body, not moving his gaze away from him with eyes burning with hatred. Finally, Adrian regained control over his legs and sprinted over to the town, where Faith was, only for the Lucario to appear ahead.

Adrian stopped and leaned back, jaw dropped even as the Lucario gave the smuggest grin he could provide. He lifted the Aura bone high, brushing against the appendages with long spikes on them. Something clicked within him, but the Aura bone lowered, and Adrian closed his eyes and winced. Yet, he felt no impact. He opened one eye, the Aura bone an inch away from his head. He opened the other, with the Lucario’s head turned behind.

He wiggled his paws, and he felt the ground shake beneath him.

Then, just behind the Lucario, a large A-Ninetales appeared at fifty feet and enraged. The Lucario spun around and lifted his Aura bone against the incoming paw, only for it to shatter upon impact. His eyes widened, and the paw blasted him back, with him spinning in the air and over Adrian. His own snout wrinkled, and his teeth gritted, with electricity popping out from his body, and he grew. When his feet-paws landed, he already grew up to a hundred and fifty feet, with A-Ninetales growing to the same height.

They glared at each other, blood-red and sea-blue before A-Ninetales opened up his mouth and fired a jet of flames. The Lucario grunted and, conjuring an Aura bone, threw it at the fire. They met in the middle and exploded, with dust and smoke forming between the two. Then, just as quick, A-Ninetales ran through the smoke and shoved the Lucario back with his entire body.

The Lucario grunted and, with an electric hand-paw, punched A-Ninetales right on the green A, with him yelping in pain. Yet, his glare only deepened, and he flung the Lucario back forty feet before gripping onto the ground. The dirt broke and crushed down even as they burned hot before he threw it against the Lucario, who grunted with burn marks on his chest.

Adrian stood there, hundreds of feet away and feeling powerless compared to the two behemoth-sized Pokémon. The only thing he had going was an idea, but even so, he doubted he could exploit it himself, and A-Ninetales wouldn’t hear him from this distance even without his rage. So instead, he turned away and climbed onto Saria’s face, pressing his paws against it.

“Come on! Wake up!” Adrian said, his tone high and nervous. “We need your help!”

“Adrian, what are you doing?” a familiar voice came from behind, and he blinked, turning around. David sat sitting between a seventy-five feet tall Faith’s ears, with his head tilted to the side. Around his right wrist was tied a lime green bow. “Give her a rest before you wake her back up.”

Adrian stood there, dumbfounded, before Faith picked him up and pulled into a snuggle. “Oh, thank Arceus, you’re OK.”

“Faith, not so tight!” David said even as Adrian grunted, his face blushing. She put her down, and she blushed as well.

“Sorry. I need to learn to control my strength when this big,” Faith said while rubbing the back of her head. “I should ask A-Ninetales how he can walk without breaking the ground like that because I left pawprints back in town.”

“Indeed. In any case, I’m glad that you’re alright as well, buddy,” David said, and Adrian blinked in response. “What?” He jumped down, picked Adrian up, and hugged him as well. “I may tease you without mercy, but I don’t want you harmed or dead.”

“Uh, thanks,” Adrian said, and he was put on the ground once more, with Faith wagging her tails. “How did you get so big this time? I know for certain that David doesn’t know Flamethrower.”

David shrugged a bit as Faith replied, “Yeah, you think that there isn’t anything flammable there since that town seemed to be built of steel and not much else. But what little else they have that can burn is enough that entire buildings were on fire. I managed to absorb the flames until I grew too big to do more without any more damage to the town.”

“Plus, it seemed that Faith could absorb molten steel, and she grew even more from that than the fire itself,” David said. “So, we couldn’t stick around much longer. But, seriously, what happened? Did you tick off a passing Lucario only for him to grow in front of him?”

“I honestly have no idea why he came,” Adrian said as he turned to Saria. “When he appeared from the direction of the town, he tried to crush my head with that Bone Rush move. Saria blocked it, only for her horn to react to danger. It was then where that Lucario grew to a hundred and fifty feet tall and attacked once more.” He hopped onto Saria’s body once more. “And whatever that caused him to grow at will, he can do it faster than Saria and likes to play dirty by forcing her to block an Aura Sphere from hitting the town.”

“That explains why she is down for the count,” David said as he shook his head, his face filled with disgust. He sighed before he squinted. “But why were you trying to revive her?”

“Because I think—”

“No!” Faith said, her eyes wide even as the other two stumbled. The Lucario leaped over A-Ninetales and sprinted towards them. “I need to fight with A-Ninetales! Stay here!”

“Faith, wait!” Adrian said, extending his paw, but she already leaped away.

Faith sprinted forward, her mouth glowing yellow and red even as flames spilled out from her lips. Then, she breathed in and fired out a jet of fire. The Lucario, not turning his gaze away from Adrian, kept charging until he felt hot flames hit his chest. Then, he turned to the side, and his eyes widened as though it was the first time he spotted a giant Vulpix in the area.

He grunted and, changing course, sprinted towards Faith, Aura bone forming on his right hand-paw. His teeth gritted, enraged that being delayed again, but knowing that, at her size, she wouldn’t stand for much more after this attack. He soon stood before her, with his Aura bone held high and his blood-red eyes met her fearful baby blue—

The Aura bone paused mid-swing, his feet-paws soon brushing against her white paws. Her expression changed to confusion, and his anger faded away, his mouth opening even as he lowered his Aura bone, avoiding her head.

At that moment, A-Ninetales’s teeth dug deep into his shoulder, and he screamed out, dropping the Aura bone and it fading away. Then, without a wasted second, he was flung over hundreds of feet, away from Faith, and his anger grew once more. Finally, he landed with electricity popping out from his body, and he roared out, summoning another Aura bone and blocking another jet of flames.

“Thank you for stopping him in time, Faith,” A-Ninetales said as soon as he paused his Flamethrower attack, his knees bent low. “We should be able to stop him together.”

“Huh? Oh, right,” Faith replied as she shook her head.

“Anything wrong?” A-Ninetales asked, and, before she could answer, he sprinted forward and slammed against the Lucario once more, with both of them grunting.

“Not sure,” Faith said to no one and, instead, she stared at the Lucario, with her wondering why this Lucario felt so familiar. In her mind, it screamed out to join the fight and add in her flames against this mix of Aura and electricity. And yet, her heart told her to pause, and her stomach became tight. Two sides, within herself, battle it out and remain at a stalemate, but not knowing why she felt so.

David stood there, his yellow eyes wide with horror, and yet there was still room for wonder. “This is such an awe-inspiring sight, but now, I think, I understand why the anthros chose to disappear. Right, Adrian?” No answer. “Eh? Aren’t you listening?” Still, no response. “Adrian!”

He spun around, his stomach tight, only for him to blink. Adrian slammed his paws against Saria’s cheek, his expression just as fearful but without the awe. His face was covered in sweat even as he panted.

“I thought I told you, Adrian,” David said as he squinted, “Saria still needed to rest.”

Adrian instead went to the side of Saria’s face. “A-NINETALES NEED YOU RIGHT NOW!”

David sighed, climbing onto Saria’s body as well, and picked Adrian up by the scruff. “Look, A-Ninetales has Faith by his side. He’ll be fine. Just give her a rest.”

“Listen, David.” Adrian glared at him, who blinked and lowered him back down. “I think I know how to beat him, but I need a giant Pokémon who knows Fire-type moves, and two are out of earshot. Saria is the only one I can tell her my plan.”

“You do?” David asked before he lowered himself to Adrian and waited until he nodded. “To be honest, I think letting A-Ninetales and Faith take on that Lucario may be the safer option, but I need to know more. Especially since I do have a way to revive her.” He dug into his hair mane and pulled out the Revive All Orb, with it glowing green a bit. “It cost me nine Reviver Seeds just to make this orb.” He pressed his free hand-paw against his hip. “Please give me a plan that will make throwing away 7,200 Poké worth it.”

Adrian nodded and explained.

Kyle gritted his teeth as he glared at the opposing Ninetales, who glared back. So many desires cobbled together within him, getting A-Ninetales, getting Faith, crushing that Flareon, Adrian, into a bloodstain. And yet, there wasn’t any way to fulfill any of them at this time. In his mind, he cursed Arceus for playing this joke on him and swore that his master would take his place.

Kyle swung the Aura bone, but A-Ninetales leaped back, with the attack only causing an earthquake. A-Ninetales’s mouth glowed green before it fired out a green sphere in return, with Kyle lifting up his Aura bone. It exploded with the bone itself disintegrating. He grunted even as the rumbled of paw steps came toward him.

“Daren, my dear. It’s me,” a female voice that belongs to that Absol said. “I’m back up, and I’ll get Adrian far away from here.”

“What?!” A-Ninetales said as the smoke faded, his face filled with confusion.

Kyle’s muzzle curled into a grin as he bent his knees. Perhaps Arceus wasn’t as cruel as he thought. Finally, an opening for one of his goals came up, even if he couldn’t fulfill all of them, and one desire overwhelmed the other two. He formed a new Aura bone and sprinted forward.

A-Ninetales’s eyes widened as Kyle ran by, his breath gone at that moment. He twisted his head around, but Kyle had already passed by the tails at that moment. The smell of sweat filled the area even as his face became pale, his wrath gone too soon and replaced by soreness in his head. His badge beeped once more, and he pressed on it.

Kyle grinned even broader, running forward to his goal and not hearing the words A-Ninetales yelled out. Even so, his body emitted electricity even as they burned through the ground below him. The rush feeling came through his body even as Faith stood in the way in front of him.

“Flamethrower!” Faith said, bellowing out a jet of flames.

The flames hit Kyle square in the chest, with him grunting while trying to ignore the pain. Yet, he charged forward more, with Faith’s eyes widening even as he lowered his Aura bone. Finally, the bone pierced into the ground, and, with a leap, he flung himself over Faith, with her tails becoming fluffier and her paws still.

“No!” Faith yelled out as she twisted her neck, Kyle heading towards the Absol and Adrian.

He blinked for a moment, feeling a pain coming from his heart. But the image of Adrian came to him again, and he growled some more, sprinting even faster to his goal. The idea of him living through the night sickened him.

Soon, he stopped in front of the smaller Absol with the even smaller Adrian and Zoroark, David, sitting on her head. The Absol’s horn glowed, but it wasn’t bright, and she seemed to only glare back. He gave out a savage grin even as he raised the Aura bone high before slamming—

The Aura bone shattered twenty feet from her head even as Kyle was knocked back by some kind of force, his eyes wide and his grin turned into surprise.

“Detect!” the Absol said, grinning wide.

Kyle stumbled back a bit, trying to regain his footing even as he reforged the Aura bone once more. The Absol, in turn, leaped up even as her mouth glowed a mix of red and yellow. Soon, she emitted a jet of flames at him.

“Flamethrower!” she said.

Kyle blinked, the fire aiming not quite at his face but beside it—

His eyes widened from her actual target was, and he tried to lean back. But the flames contacted his appendages, and electricity coursed through his body. Finally, he roared out, the lightning and electricity coming out from his body with no way to control or stop it. Instead, his body shrunk in size, the bolts aiming upwards, until all of his stored power emptied. He floated in the air for a moment, four feet tall, before he fell down.

Kyle grunted, pain from all over his body, but that was nothing compared to the shame of his failure. He looked up, spotting the twenty feet tall Absol, who gave a grin at him. Adrian, who lived, sighed even as David slapped his back in joy. Arceus was cruel indeed.