Finall, it feels good to hit the road again :)

Skirmist at Veilstone City

"What exactly is going on there?" Jake murmured as he, despite the rapidly darkening sky, spotted several columns of smoke and the unmistakable flickering orange light of a fire.  Civilians poured out from both sides of the street, all wearing a mixed expression of curiosity and worry on their faces, certainly wondering what was happening to the city. Jake felt for them.

The sound of crying sirens caught the trio's attention. Jake turned around and noticed nearly a dozen of police cars lining behind him. Among them, a motorbike suddenly leaped up and landed right in front of Jake, leaving him barely enough time to slow down without being jerked forward from Flash's back like a rocket. Dazed, Jake glanced at the rider, and to his surprise, the trainer found himself looking at a green-haired lady in her mid 20s, wearing a blue female cop uniform.

"Where do you think you're going? It's dangerous ahead." said the officer firmly.

Jumping out of nowhere and getting in his way, the lady cop had already irritated Jake, and her question only added fuel to the fire. Biting back an insult, the trainer managed to reply, albeit with obvious annoyance, "Well it's clear that I was going to help out, if you're so kindly not have me caught in an accident first."

 Whether Jake's words were beneficial or not, they'd certainly fulfilled their venting purpose.  The cop frowned, looking as if she was about to arrest him when Jaden and Ryan slowly came down and landed on Jake's sides.

"What's the matter?" Jaden asked, getting off from Latios.

"I was wondering the same thing. Perhaps she can give you a proper answer." Jake replied, pointing his head at a very displeased-looking female cop.

"Ah, officer Jenny. My friend here didn't cause you any trouble, did he?" said Jaden.

"Trouble? She was the one nearly got me hospitalized!" Jake protested indignantly.

"Just calm down and let me, okay?" Jaden placed a hand on his irritated friend's shoulder, "Again, may I ask why you stopped us, Jenny?"

"I've already told him it's not safe ahead. Whatever going on there, the police will handle it, so just fall back and let we do our duty." Jenny repeated; her eyes gleamed strictly.

Still, Jaden remained unaffected, "I'm well aware of your good intention, but everyone knows trouble will be easier to face with help, and we'll happily it to lend you."

He sounds pretty confident, as if he's been in these situations before, Jenny thought, but she was far from being convinced, well, at least until she noticed a certain Eon pokemon floating behind Jaden, "Is that…Latios?"

"This big guy?" said Jaden, patting Latios's arm, "Yep, one of the Eon duo, in the flesh. He's my best friend and partner. You need anything from him, Jenny?"

"No, but…if that's true, then you must be Jaden." the female officer replied, "And these two are Jake and Ryan, aren't they?"

"How did you know us?" Jake inquired.

"In times of difficulties, should they offer help, you have to accept it. That was Cynthia's order. I don't suppose there's anything I can do now." Jenny sighed begrudgingly.

"Then would you hurry up and lead the way! The situation could be getting worse very second there while we're having this lovely chat!" Jake urged, earning a glare from the female officer. Albeit, Jenny said nothing and hopped on her motorbike, "Come on!"

…

After a while, Jake realized they were moving to the suburbs as the density of houses and buildings rapidly declined, which also raised a question in his head: If the fire and smoke meant an attack, then whoever was doing it, what was their target?

"Where exactly are we going?" Jake inquired.

"You'll know soon enough." officer Jenny snapped. Indeed, just a few minutes later, they arrived on the scene - a huge, barren field, which would've seemed ordinary without its numerous holes, as if a meteor shower had just barraged the place. Once again, Jake was questioned by the motive of the attackers for targeting such a place.

Still, even that thought wasn't enough to keep Jake occupied for long, as the trainer quickly spotted the ongoing chaos. In the middle of the field, about a dozen trainers their pokemon were fighting, surrounded by twice as many uniform-wearing trainers and their pokemon. Jake's eyes flared the moment he noticed the obvious yellow "G" embroidered on the attackers' clothes.

"Team Galactic!" Jake gritted; hands clenching into fists.

"You know them?" officer Jenny asked.

"Talk later. We gotta help those trainers now!" Ryan urged.

 Jake bit back a curse as he'd completely forgotten why they were here at first. As he and the others rushed to the field, their pokemon were all summoned and ready for battle. Jake even considered using mega evolution, but Jaden interfered before he could channel any power to the key stone, "Don't waste your strength, Jake. It's better to keep some maneuvers secret."

When he'd finally calmed down, Jake realized that their pokemon's force was more than enough to turn the tide of the battle. Moreover, he and Lucario still had yet to control mega evolution completely, and it'd be lethal if they experienced fatigue amidst the fight.

…

Team Galactic had surely expected reinforcement, but not one this overwhelming. Having underestimated the resilience of Veilstone's trainers, they took quite an amount of damage even before Jake's gang and the police joined the battle. Things started to go down when a chain of commands were given.

"Aurum, aura sphere!"

"Charizard, flamethrower!"

"Latios, dragon pulse!"

The triple attack worked even better than they were meant to. Having no time to react whatsoever, team Galactic could only watch in disbelief as a third of their pokemon troop was decimated by a single blow. However, their stunned state didn't last long, as the struggle between two sides quickly resumed; only this time, the trainers of Veilstone were gaining the upper hand, thanks to their newly arrived backup.

Even amidst the fight, Jenny was glad for allowing Jake's gang to come along. When the officer first laid eyes on Jake, Ryan and Jaden, they struck her as nothing more than rash, hot-headed lads, but the trio soon caused her to have a change of mind. They fought like seasoned trainers; barely making any mistakes at all, especially the one with the Latios.  He seemed able to counter every attack from his enemies, as if he could read their mind and knew what they were about to do. That, combined with his legendary Eon pokemon, made him almost unbeatable, even against multiple enemies.

"Commander, out front line has crumbled. We can't hold on any longer." a Galactic member reported to their leader - a masked man wearing the same uniform as the rest of them, expect for the letter "G" being crimson instead of yellow. Sweat beaked the commander's forehead as he analyzed the situation and finally, came up with a decision, which he seemed to resent, judging from the frown between his eyes, "Fine, we've got what we need anyway. Tell all troops to retreat."

"Yes sir." The reporter replied and pulled out a pokeball, from which he summoned a large, bipedal pokemon with flame-shaped marking all over its body, "All members fall back! Magmortar, smokescreen!"

As much as Jake hated the villainous team, he couldn't help admiring the mobility of their formation. One minute their members were scattered across the field, fighting Veilstone defenders, next thing he knew, they retreated more quickly than a pokemon being called back to its ball. Also, their movements synced perfectly with the columns of smoke protruding from Magmortar's cylinder-shaped hands, making it even harder for Jake to follow.

Still, after the skirmish in Eterna City, Jake'd made a vow to seek out and destroy every single of team Galactic's scheme, and this one was no exception, "Aurum, read their auras; Flash, use your vision to locate them. Don't let any single one escape!"

However, before either pokemon could follow his commands, they were interrupted by rushing noises. From out of nowhere, two dark beams pierced through the smoke and hit Aurum and Flash simultaneously, knocking them a good measure backward.  

"What the…?" Jake exclaimed in shock, and before the trainer even realized it, the smokescreen created by Magmortar had already cleaned away; team Galactic was nowhere to be found. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Jake resented losing another chance to prevent team Galactic's evil from spreading across Sinnoh, but with them gone, the trainer's concern gradually shifted back to Aurum and Flash as he checked on them, "Are you two alright?"

"I'm okay." Aurum responded as he struggled to get up. The Lucario then looked his Luxray friend concernedly, "I'm more worried about him. That attack seems to damage him more than mine."

Jake followed Aurum's eyes and realized the pokemon was right. Flash was on the ground, curling into a ball and shivering. The attack had left a huge burn mark on his midsection. Jake immediately rushed to his Luxray, stroking the poor creature's mane to comfort him, "He's more severely injured than Aurum…but how?"

"That attack was Dark Pulse, and since it's a dark-type move, it deals little damage to a fighting-type like Aurum." Jaden explained, frowning as he saw the Luxray's smoldering injury, "But as far as I know, dark-type holds no advantages against electric-type, and to be able to damage Flash this much…The caster must've been a really powerful pokemon."

He then handed Jake one of his healing pokeblocks, "Here, this should help, but you still need to bring him and Aurum to the pokemon center for a check-up. We also have many injured pokemon who could use tending here."

Next to them, Ryan cleaned his throat, "Uhm, you mean we have to put out the fire first?"

"Ooops." Jaden exclaimed softly, rubbing his head awkwardly. Jake noticed that too, and he initially planned to let the Veilstone trainers handle everything. Unfortunately, most of their pokemon were fighting-type. Even Jenny and the rest of her police team didn't have any water pokemon.

"Jenny, I thought you have a bunch of Squirtle? Where are they?" Jaden inquired.

"They…well," the policewoman lowered her head, looking mortified, "They got injured when we were chasing a pokemon smuggler. Don't worry, I've contacted the firefighters. They'll be here any seconds."

The former Hoenn champion suppressed a sigh, "By the time your firefighters arrive, this place will become an inferno…guess we don't have other choice. I'm leaving this to you then, Jake."

Jake sure knew Jaden's implication. He disliked the idea of asking Buizel for another favor, as the water-type had already helped them so much by participating in this battle, but given their current situation, Jake had no other option, "Buizel...I know I'm in no position to ask, but could you help us one more time? These people risk their life to protect this field, and I can't stand watching their effort go down in flame."

Jake's plea was so earnest, if Buizel hadn't been here the whole time, he'd have thought Jake was one of those defending the field at all cost. Of course, he wouldn't exclude a chance that Jake was simply playing the nice guy, yet his instinct told him to trust the trainer. Wasn't he the one to rush here and fight for what's right, despite being well aware of the danger awaiting? What was there for him to doubt this person - this human?

Buizel wasn't good at making emotional expression, but he damn knew how to let actions speak. With all of his remaining power, the pokemon unleashed several Water Pulses, affectively reducing the raging flames into little more than bonfires, but also overexerting himself in the process.

In that moment before he passed out, Buizel still remembered hand reaching out to support him, and a grateful smile that almost shined in the Sunset.

…

The Pokemon Center had to work overtime that night.

Nurse Joy and Chansey were initially overwhelmed when all of a sudden; dozens of trainers burst into the building and required that their pokemon healed. Thanks to her experience, however, Nurse Joy quickly organized her staff and soon, carts of healed pokemon were rolling out steadily.

In the cafeteria, the trio sat together and had their dinner ordered, but aside their hungry pokemon, no trainer bothered to touch his food. Jake was worrying about Aurum and Flash (thankfully, his other pokemon didn't suffer from any serious injuries). Ryan couldn't help wondering why team Galactic chose to attack that field while Jaden pondered over how the Dark Pulses were launched with such accuracy through a thick cloud of smoke.

Sometime later, a pink-haired, slim but athletic girl wearing blue tank top, gloves and white pants entered the cafeteria. She walked toward Jake's table and held out two pokeballs, "You're Jake, right? Nurse Joy asked me to give you these."

"Err…Thank you." Jake replied and received his pokeballs.

"I'm Maylene, gym leader of Veilstone city. Officer Jenny told me everything, and I'm so thankful for your help." The girl continued, offering Jake a handshake, which he gladly accepted, "You're welcome. We only did what needed to be done."

"Maylene…isn't it?" said Ryan, "I'm a little confused about the attack. What exactly did they want there?"

Maylene's face darkened. She gestured at an empty chair next to Jake, "May I?"

"Sure."

As the gym leader began her narration, Jake noted that their pokemon had stopped eating and were now listening attentively to the conversation. Apparently, they wanted to know what'd been troubling their trainers, and suddenly, Jake thought it'd be unfair if two of his pokemon were left out, especially with one being his very mate. Casually, Jake opened his two pokeballs, from which came his Luxray - Flash and his Lucario - Aurum.

"You have a Lucario too?" Maylene noted, though didn't sound very enthusiastic. Jake paid no attention to the gym leader's odd reaction, "Well yes, but I think your story interests me more, Maylene."

 The gym leader blushed, and Jake could have sworn she was eyeing him. He let it slip, however, when Maylene began, "To tell the truth, I'm just as clueless as you are. When the attack was reported, I tried to get there as fast possible, but by the time we arrived, the Meteorites was badly damaged. It seemed as if they'd been…excavating for something."

"Meteorites?" Ryan frowned.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to explain. Meteorites was the name local folks call that field. They consider it sacred and believe it was created by mystic meteors from heaven." Maylene explained.

"Well, meteors do fall from the sky, don't they?" Ryan retorted. Jake didn't want to embarrass the gym leader, but he found it incredibly difficult to quell the laugh which had already threatened to escape his throat.

"Wait until I'm done, okay?" a mortified Maylene spat, "Of course meteors fall from the sky, but the special things is what causes them to fall."

"Uhm, gravity?" Ryan replied in a pretentiously innocent manner. At this point, Jake could no longer restrain himself, and his chest started to rumble from quiet giggles. Of course, it was just another childish, passable joke, but when Maylene caught the sight of Jake giggling, the gym leader looked as if she wanted to use a sure-kill martial move on Ryan.

 "A-R-C-E-U-S, okay!" Maylene gritted out each letter, her fists trembling on the table, "Arceus created the field with its meteors."

"Draco Meteor, huh?" Jaden murmured.

"What?" Ryan inquired.

"Sorry, a bit distracted. When she said Arceus used meteors to create that field, I can't help thinking about Draco Meteor. One of the most powerful dragon-type moves. Latios and I have been practicing for a while, but we still have a long way to go." Jaden explained sheepishly.

"Interesting…" Ryan mused, "So you're saying Arceus may be a dragon-type."

"Not really." Jaden shrugged, "For a single entity that created the universe by itself, using a dragon-type move is a piece of cake, don't you think?"

"But why should it go through such trouble for that tiny field?" now it was Jake's turn to get curious.

"That's…" Maylene's confidence crumbled as she failed to provide any logical answer to Jake's question, but from the look of it, she was seconds away from an outburst, "Well excuse me, but I just repeat what my folks said!"

"S'okay…really." Jake offered, holding his hands up. For some reason, this gym leader got really worked up when it came to him. For now, Jake didn't bother to dwell any further into that, as he was busy looking for an excuse to change the subject. An idea sparked in his mind when the trainer swept his eyes past Aurum - his Lucario, "Hey Maylene, didn't you say something about having a Lucario as well?"

Jake was pretty sure he had the tension covered, and he had, but only for second. The trainer realized he'd messed up the moment Maylene's expression, which resembled that of a person whose wounds had just got salted. Nonetheless, he was responded, "Lucario's probably training himself in the woods."

"That's one hard-working Lucario." Ryan remarked. Maylene should've been happy that her pokemon just got complimented, but instead, her shoulders sank wearily, "I suppose…Well, I'm taking my leave now. If you want to challenge my gym, I'll welcome you anytime tomorrow. I don't have any strength for a gym battle now."

"Bye…And Maylene, don't push yourself too hard, 'kay?" Jake said gingerly. A small, shy smile flashed across the gym leader's face as she nodded and waved him good bye.

"Look like she's got a thing for you, Jake." Ryan teased, ignoring a certain Lucario's growl of annoyance.

"Then too bad, I'll have to disappoint her." Jake replied, winking slyly at Aurum, "Now if you excuse me, my boys and I all had a rough afternoon, and I think we'll call it a day."

…

The room Jake got in the Pokemon Center was adequate, but due to him having all of his pokemon out, it got a little crammed. Not that Jake really cared, since he was getting used to the coziness and family feelings brought by the presence of his pokemon.

"I'm sorry; I got you guys into another mess." Jake told his pokemon apologetically.

Jake's pokemon stared at their guilt-ridden trainer in silence.

"If I may…" Nova the Typhlosion stood up, "I think it's fair that I speak for myself and everyone here. We know you'll do the right things. That's why we'll trust our lives in your hand and fight."

"Whoa, that's a touch too corny for my taste," Gale the Starly chirped, flapping his wings playfully at Nova, "But yeah, dude's right. Just remember not to forget feeding me, and we're cool."

Jake wished he could scoop his pokemon up and embrace them all at once, but instead a wild grin flashed across his face, "You guys are really the best. Only a fool would ask for something other than this."

On the bed, the Luxray, despite his condition, managed a nod. The young man was distracted when a blue-furred paw grabbed his sleeve, "What's up, pup?"

"I…uhm, I want to go out to train. Do you want to come along?" the Lucario offered.

"Oh, the aura control thing…I almost forgot." Jake rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Alright, we're heading for a couple of hours. If there's any trouble, you can seek Ryan or Jaden for help. I believe their rooms are right next to ours."

As the trainer and his trustee Lucario made their way out of the room, they were completely oblivious of a certain Buizel. Thankfully, someone else was. The sneaky water-type barely had one leg out of the door when Nova's voice rendered him motionless, "Where do you think you're going?"

Chills ran down Buizel's spine, but the pokemon knew a verbal respond meant exposing himself. Instead, he pretended to hear nothing and continued creeping his way out.

"I'm not gonna say this again: Leave them alone." Nova warned, not even bother to look at Buizel, "There's a limit to stalking, and I won't allow you to ruin their time. I know I'm at a disadvantage against you, but I've brought down water-type before. Wanna try?"

Frowning, Buizel considered his next options. Then again, what choice did he have? Provoking a fight in this crowded building would result in a disaster, and even worse, sever his only tie to the human world. Haste made waste anyway. Buizel still had plenty of time to study and figure out the mysterious bond between Jake and his Lucario.

Flopping on the couch next to Nova, the water-type inquired, "Why do you look after them so much? Because Jake's your trainer?"

"No," replied the fire pokemon, looking at the window contemplatively, "Because I made a promise…even though it's so painful to keep."

"I don't get it?" Buizel muttered. Nova chuckled and patted the water-type's back, "You will, if you get stuck in the same case, and let's pray that you won't."

…

Veilstone library was a quiet place, and normally at such late time, it'd have gone completely silent due to the lack of readers.

Yet today, the sound of turning papers could still be heard as the building had late visitors. On the table at which Jaden and Latios were sitting, laid a pile of books, and the trainer himself was also reading through another one.

The little talk with Maylene earlier had triggered Jaden's curiosity. If the legend and his theory were correct, then Arceus had indeed used Draco Meteor to create the field. Then again, Draco Meteor was an offensively devastating maneuver, and Jaden was pretty sure no rational being would use it without any particular reason, leave alone Arceus, which raised another question: Why must a godlike entity go to such an extreme length? Jaden would only resort to Draco Meteor in desperate times, especially when facing a foe so powerful, and as far as he concerned, a being capable of threatening the Alpha One was pretty much nonexistent.

"Oh man." Jaden sighed, closing the book he'd been reading, "Eleven already. This is getting daunting, even for me. We've been looking for all night, and all we found about that Meteorite field is the exact same thing Maylene said earlier."

"C'mon love, giving up is so unlike you. May be twelve will be our lucky number." Latios encouraged, stroking Jaden's cheek gently.

"Right…" Jaden smiled. Finally, his hard work was rewarded, for the twelfth book indeed contained the information he was looking for.

As the Shadow spread across the land, it was confronted by the wrath of the Alpha One, on whose sides stood Creation and Destruction. The wind raged and thunder roared as sacred meteors fell from Heaven, striking into the heart of all that was evil. From the aftermath formed a large field which carried the remains of a divine war.

"This is it, Latios!!!" Jaden exclaimed, "All that's left is to decode this puzzle and we'll have the answer!"

…

In the Pokemon Center's battle area, a fierce hand-to-hand battle between two fire-type was taking place while outside, a young man who happened to be their trainer watched attentively.

"Is that all you've got, big boy?" Blaziken smirked as Charizard narrowly dogged one of his punches. Taunts weren't exactly his favorite battle tactic, but it was a secret command from Ryan. Charizard needs a chance to tame his anger, said Ryan, with such certainty that Blaziken, too, wanted to see if the fire-breathing dragon could.

Watching his two most powerful pokemon go at it, Ryan couldn't help likening the battle to that between him and his father. Just like Charizard struggling against Blaziken, Ryan knew his current experience and battle prowess wouldn't hold a candle against his old man, but in the end, what really mattered was determination and motivation, both of which Ryan'd got plenty.

Meanwhile, Charizard, despite being cornered by the skillful Blaziken, showed a remarkable ability to keep his composure. After his trainer's blazing round with Jaden at Celestic Town, Charizard had finally learnt of Ryan's dark side and hazardously hidden temper. The dragon knew only him could guide his mate on the right path, and in order to do so, Charizard must first control his very own raging flame.

Before Blaziken even realized, Charizard's sharp claws had successfully landed a hit on him, leaving a narrow but still visible cut on his cheek.

"Don't worry, hen, I've got plenty of that for you." the fire dragon retorted.

…

Down the night street, Jake and Aurum casually made their way out of the city. As they walked side by side, Aurum was curious about the constant smile on his lover's face, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Jake grinned, "Say Aurum, earlier when Ryan mentioned Maylene had a thing for me, was you, by any chance…jealous?"

The question was entirely light-hearted, but Aurum felt as if it hit him with the force of a Rock Tomb. Judging from Jake's tone, the Lucario knew his lover was pretty much teasing him, so there was pointless to lie. In fact, the only respond he managed was a curt nod.

"Relax; I never said it was a bad thing. The fact that you're capable of getting jealous means you still love me, so yeah, it's fine to get jealous, as long as you don't act recklessly, okay?" Jake explained, gently taking Aurum's paw in his hand.

"Got it." the steel-type replied, blushing feverishly.

"Good pup! Now let's see, where shall we train? The park is okay, but I still think we should go to somewhere quieter."

"The woods, then?" Aurum suggested.

"Sounds good."

…

Sitting cross-legged, facing Jake under a tree, Aurum closed his eyes and let his instinct take over. Just like the steel-type predicted, when his vision got disabled, his aura sensor intensified, allowing him to feel even the wild pokemon lurking in the forest. However, as Aurum tried to find his own aura, the only respond was weak, unclear signals. Lucas was right. Focusing on oneself might sound easy, but it truly was one heck of a task.

Even though he had no idea what exactly was Aurum's problem, Jake could tell the steel-type was in trouble. The trainer found it hard to believe, but ever since they started using the Mega stone, Jake could feel something start to change inside him. To be more specific, he began to see things in a different way, not just how they appeared to be. Though faintly, he felt their essence, in other words, auras. Every now and then, the trainer thought he merely hallucinated from exhaustion, but there were so many times a person got fooled by his idled mind, and Jake knew that wasn't his case. When it came to his Lucario, Jake was pretty sure he could read the steel-type's aura to a certain decree.

"Easy now," the trainer whispered, placing his hand on Aurum's paw, "I know you're trying to tame your aura, but instead of being forceful, just relax and let it find you instead."

The steel-type gasped. Now that he remembered it, Lucas had given him the exact same advice, and to think he completely forgot it as soon as the training started, how idiotic! Still, what really amazed Aurum was how Jake managed to make that statement again; it was as if he'd read the pokemon's mind and find something his memory couldn't recall. Nonetheless, the steel-type was incredibly grateful for his mate's support. Indeed, every time he was about to make a huge mistake, Jake had always been there and guide him to the right track again.

Following Jake's suggestion, Aurum once again closed his eyes, but this time, instead of forcing his mind into the surroundings, the steel-type just steadied himself and let loose his aura sensor, as if giving out a silent challenge to his own aura, I'm right here, try taking over my body if you can!

Though dauntingly slow, the pokemon excitedly realized his new method was working, as he began to feel his aura being drawn to him…until an explosion violently broke his concentration.

"What the…?" both exclaimed in shock. From the blast's direction, several panicked avian pokemon flapped their wings and shot into the night sky.

"Ah c'mon! Haven't I got enough explosions for a day?" the steel-type groaned, irritated from having his training disturbed.

"Anyway…we should check that out first." Jake suggested softly.

…

"You sense anything?" the trainer asked as he noticed the twitching aura sensors behind Aurum's head

"A strong but unstable aura. Whoever that is, they must be in a bad mood." The steel-type nodded.

"Should we be careful, then?"

"Perhaps, but I detect no sign of hospitality, and if anything happens, I think we can handle it." Aurum replied, looking thoughtfully ahead.

When the two arrived on the scene, they were greeted by the sight of a large, demolish chunk of woods, in the middle of which stood a single pokemon. Jake had no problem recognizing that pokemon, since he had an exactly same one - a Lucario.

"Sorry about the mess. I overworked my Aura Sphere." said the steel-type.

Another one?, Jake thought, "Are you, by any chance, Maylene's?"

The Lucario's crimson eyes Novad with unknown anger at the gym leader's name, "Do not speak to me of that weakling!"

"Hey, watch your tongue!" Aurum interrupted; his hackles rose, "No one gets away with insulting my trainer. Also, I don't know what's going on between you and Maylene, but badmouthing someone behind back is just low."

"Shut up! Nothing's wrong with calling a weakling weak. She's weak, lazy and pathetic. She isn't worthy to order me around." the Lucario retorted, "That's why I have no reasons to obey her anymore. From now on, I rely on my own strength."

Suddenly, it all clinched in Jake's mind. He hadn't realized until now, but this Lucario never participated in the battle against Team Galactic. His nasty attitude also explained Maylene's sorrowful look when Jake mentioned her Lucario earlier. Then, he couldn't help thinking about his Lucario - Aurum, and Kai's - Lucas. Compared to them, this one in front of him looked like a bratty child who only blamed others for his lost.

"Let me handle it, pup." Jake offered, patting Aurum's shoulder, "Hey Lucario, we don't agree with you, but everyone has the right to defend their opinion, so how about we settle it this way: Let's have a battle."

"A battle?" Lucario's ears twitched.

"Yup, you alone versus us. Let's see if your individual power can overcome our unity."

"Interesting…But I have one condition: if I win, you have to release all of your pokemon, including that Lucario."

"WHAT?" Aurum exclaimed, outraged.

"Deal, but if we win, you'll apologize to Maylene, and promise to never look down on her again." Jake agreed without any hesitation, rendering his lover dumbstruck.

"You have my word." Maylene's Lucario nodded.

(To be continued)