FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The air was still and solemn as Lucario regarded the creature in front of him, quite a bit bigger than what he had expected. She was almost as tall as he was, and considerably wider. Irreversibly changed by time, yet Lucario had no trouble recognizing the maturing penguin. Her orange beak and glossy eyes were still in place, her navy flippers covered in sleek hair just like before and her white nipples had somehow multiplied by two.

"Lucario?" she whispered with a meek voice as she stared into his eyes with an expression just as stunned as his own. Two long years had passed since their brief meeting, and only now did Lucario realize they didn't really have much to talk about.

"Hey," was all he could think of to say, the bland phrase not doing much to dispel the tense atmosphere.

"Lucario..." she whispered again, closing her eyes halfway as she began to stumble towards him with flippers outstretched. Instantly reminded of how the penguin would incessantly chase him around trying to kiss him, this time Lucario simply did not have the heart to coldly keep her away. He welcomed her with open arms, but would soon regret his lenience. The penguin fell into his arms with a hazy expression, but immediately pushed her open beak towards his face, making Lucario forget about the cold and begin to sweat profusely.

"Ah, eh," Lucario stammered nervously, his pride and tastebuds demanding that he headbutt her and immediately run for the hills. But having seen her weakened walk and distraught expression, he once more gave way to empathy and could not ruin what she had obviously been dreaming of for so long. Just one, he figured, and however horrible it would be, it couldn't be worse than getting bossed around by Brendan for two whole years. That, and he found himself completely out of options that did not involve breaking his own neck.

He closed his eyes and shut his lips as hard as possible to prevent any unwanted intrusion. Loathing every part of his conscience, he braced himself and prayed that his extended nose would finally prove itself useful as one last line of defense from the approaching penguin.

It did. The cartilage of his overgrown snout bent easily, but still managed to absorb the brunt of the impact together with minor assistance from his eyelids. His mouth filled up with an all too recognizable taste, not that of stale berries but warm blood. Indeed, their intimate reunion was less like a waltz between tongues and more like being smashed in the face by a solid block of ice. Strangely preferring this to the former scenario, Lucario reeled back several steps as the Prinplup kept her head in place after the unexpected headbutt.

"... LUCARIO..." she growled once more, her voice sounding less meek and more ravenous as Lucario stumbled to regain his footing on the slippery snow.

"Wait! Y-You're not here to kiss me!?" Lucario exclaimed while clutching the tip of his bloodied nose.

"Ki... I-I..." the tall bird responded, mishearing him while her face turned red in anger, "... I'd LOVE to kill you!"

She jumped towards him, landing on her belly and gliding across the snow. Lucario sidestepped the telegraphed attack with little effort.

"Lonesome Wanderer Lucario? A hero? What a joke!" the Prinplup shouted as she came to a stop and turned around, "I bet you don't even remember me!"

"Of course I remember you, you crazy thing!" Lucario shouted back while pointing towards the heavily amused Brendan, "That's why I've followed you all the way here, to save you from this guy!"

The medium-sized penguin crossed her flippers in front of her face and spat out a white beam, covering her arms in an icy mist which quickly froze solid.

"Two years too late!" she yelled while running towards him, "You left me! I was your biggest fan and you left me to die, not lifting a finger to help!"

Trying to step away from her charge, Lucario realized his footing against the slippery snow was nowhere near as good as hers. He was forced to block as her previously harmless flippers quickly swung his way, now reinforced by a not-entirely intimidating cover of ice. It was a decent hit with the coldness biting into his skin, but hardly anything compared to what he regularly endured.

"I told you to run like fifty-" Lucario responded, being cut off as her wing-like fin poked past his block and nearly struck his eye, "STOP HITTING ME! Can't we talk this over like civilized people!? I can get you fish!"

"I don't eat fish, filthy cannibal!" she replied angrily, "And I don't want to be your sidekick! In fact..."

She stepped closer as Lucario protected his face and especially his eye. But the attack appeared lower than that, as she kicked him in the left side with a surprisingly sturdy foot.

"B-Bastard! You've got rabies, or something!?" Lucario coughed, not able to hide the sharp pain as his terribly brittle liver shook in fear, "I worried so much about you, and this is how you repay me!?"

"Repaying you with payback! You preyed on me because I was young, but I'm not that weak anymore!" the Prinplup roared with a defiant gaze as she leaned forward and held out her flippers, "Come on! Hit me with your Aura Sphere or Aura Storm! I dare you!"

Finally she realized he wasn't fighting back, Lucario thought. Progress.

"Who the hell do you take me for!? I came here to save you, not singe you!" Lucario yelled while shaking his head. The Prinplup remained silent and continued giving off an opening, obviously baiting him into attacking her. He knew this was his best chance to resolve this peacefully.

"Fine, I get it. Berserk until you tire out. I won't retaliate, I'm better than that," Lucario explained quietly as he lowered his arms and closed his eyes. As different as she was from before, the penguin he remembered had been a decent being merely two years ago. She was clearly angry with him, but would probably not have the heart to beat down someone unwilling to even defend themselves.

Lucario was once again amazed by the sturdiness of her left foot as it struck with the force of a thousand Aura Spheres right between his legs. His unprotected organ proved a poor defense against her battering ram of a foot, the sensation overwhelming Lucario as he groaned, coughed and nearly fell over. Hunching over and clutching his damaged pride as if that would somehow make it hurt less or heal faster, it took a number of seconds before the worst pain diminished and left a mere lingering urge to undo his breakfast.

"Heh..." Lucario whispered as he straightened himself up, facing the pouting Prinplup with a deceptively calm smile before jumping towards her with a scream, "... I'll RIP YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!"

Eyes flying open in fear, the Prinplup finally slipped on the snow and fell back. Lucario's hands were just about to wrap around her neck as her body flashed red and shrank, slipping between his huge fingers and back into the Pokéball in Brendan's hand.

"You know what? I take it back, that was great," Brendan said cheerfully as he regarded the Pokéball with amusement, "Here's her Pokéball. You want it?"

"Yeah, at the bottom of the ocean!" Lucario yelled while finding it difficult to stay upright as a result of his smashed pride, "Seriously! Nail that thing shut and never open it again!"

"Wasn't planning on giving it to you, anyway," Brendan muttered and moved the Pokéball back under his jacket, "She's shaping up to be a good fighter. Three, four years and she'll be top class."

Lucario huffed, this time hoping Brendan normally kept his Pokémon on a tight leash to prevent the Prinplup from getting free, or he could look forward to getting assassinated by an icicle sometime in the future.

"Alright, so, we're done here?" Lucario asked with a shrug and a pained expression, "I can go? You're not going to suddenly attack me, right?"

"Of course, she's not the real reason I called you here," Brendan said and pointed at Lucario with his left arm, "Rejoice! You, Lucario, is about to become the third most famous fighting legend in existence!"

"... I knew it," Lucario groaned, having no idea what Brendan was talking about but certain it would end up with him getting hurt by something. The notion that Brendan would let him escape relatively unharmed seemed ridiculous. The champion pressed down on his left elbow, the familiar action causing a red light to shoot out like a laser and bring an even more familiar being into existence.

The snow immediately melted as Torana's talons came down on it. The icy winds turned visible as her heated body caused a massive condensation all around her, like an eruption of steam at the top of a bubbling pot. The muscular avian hadn't changed much, tall and imposing just like before, an uninterested expression belying her undying desire for battle.

"Oh my god! I knew it! I KNEW it!" Lucario shouted loudly in disbelief, not at all surprised by Brendan going back on his word but startled that he didn't even have anything sporting in mind, simply fine with destroying him in the absolutely most obvious manner. He clenched his fists and struck a battle pose, eliciting a confused expression from Blaziken, Brendan and even Suicune.

"Hmpf. Yes, I did come here without the intention of harming you," Brendan muttered before he stepped off Suicune and walked towards Lucario as his voice took on a dangerous tone, "But rest assured that should you BUDGE an INCH during what I am about to do, you WILL, and I repeat, WILL die in a manner so gruesome it will referred to as certain proof of the non-existence of any benevolent higher power, simply for having allowed it to happen."

Lucario froze up as Torana approached him in a manner similar to her master. He was in absolutely no shape to deal with or even escape someone like her, and could only inch back slightly while fighting the urge to run. Brendan decreased the tension slightly by slapping Lucario's shoulder in a friendly manner.

"So, just bear with me. Torana, take the left," Brendan said while never letting his hand leave his shoulder, flashing Lucario a grin. Lucario returned it with a very strained and insincere smile, as if trying to crumble a pebble between his teeth. Suddenly, Brendan dropped his kind facade and started to run his hand down Lucario's arm, feeling and gripping his overarm. Surprised by this creepy development, Lucario suddenly felt Torana start to do the same with his left side, thankfully not using her claws as she poked and prodded.

"D... Does complaining count as budging?" Lucario stammered, shivering from the unwanted attention.

"Passable biceps, but damaged flexor carpi radialis. Torana?" Brendan asked, ignoring Lucario while looking over at Torana. She nodded and gave him thumbs up, or what might pass for it with a three-fingered hand.

"Good. Legs next," Brendan said and crouched down, continuing his inspection with Lucario's lower body. Lucario felt like he was at the doctor's office, with a mad scientist replacing the certified PhD. It took all available self-restraint to keep himself from lashing out, especially as Torana's warm leathery hands passed over certain very sensitive and badly aching places they probably should have been staying away from.

"Far from sturdy, but supple and gamey enough to withstand blunt trauma," Brendan said as he sighed and stood up.

"I disagree. I could break them with one strike," the Blaziken responded as she stepped away from Lucario, who opened his mouth as if to urge her not to. Brendan started laughing, somehow understanding Torana as he extracted a fairly large plastic bottle from his jacket.

"Torana, use Non-Violence and Converse!" Brendan shouted as he moved away and put down the bottle on the ground, "I've got shit to mix, so I'll let you two be alone for a moment."

Brendan edged further and further away, still within earshot but hardly able to understand them anyway. Vision straying from trainer to Pokémon, Lucario saw a slightly uncomfortable expression pass Torana's face as she looked at him and slowly opened her beak.

"Nice weather," she said unironically. Lucario reflexively slapped his forehead.

"It's a goddamn blizzard!" he burst out in response, "You're a Fire-type! Aren't you cold?"

"No," Torana answered, and then fell quiet. Many seconds passed. Feeling the levels of awkwardness reach critical, Lucario hastily thought about something to talk about.

"So, uh... You healed up OK after our fight?" he asked, remembering how torn up they had both been. He probably had it worse, but at least he had Mew to patch him up afterwards. Torana tilted her head slightly to the side, regarding him from a slightly different angle before responding.

"Have we met?" she asked. Lucario opened his mouth, and then let it close. Had he mixed up two different Blaziken? Didn't seem too unlikely, but he could clearly sense that her aura was the same as before.

"It's me, Lucario!" he shouted while pointing to himself. Torana let her neck return to its former position, scratching her forehead in disinterest.

"ExtremeSpeed? Blue fiery explosion?" Lucario continued, trying to nudge her memory. It apparently worked as Torana's eyes suddenly lit up in recognition.

"Ah," she said before swiftly returning to her detached expression, "Did you come here for revenge?"

"Revenge!?" Lucario repeated in pure annoyance, "Hey, I was the one who beat YOU, not the other way around!"

The Blaziken suddenly lowered her head and gave off a very serious expression.

"That was just sparring," she spoke with an equally serious tone, "Protect, Flare Blitz... A real match would have ended with my victory in two turns."

"Sparring!?" Lucario exclaimed with disbelief, remembering how intense it had been, "My eyes nearly melted out of my sockets!"

"Yes. That was stupid of you," Torana responded as bluntly as usual, obviously referring to his last attack. Suddenly a rematch did not seem like such a bad idea in Lucario's eyes, Torana's alien behavior and unwillingness to admit his victory starting to tick him off.

"I... Remember you being more talkative when we fought," Lucario pointed out, although even in silence her demeaning personality was as present as ever.

"Because we fought," Torana replied quickly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "No point in talking otherwise."

Lucario fixed his gaze at her, defiantly testing her theory. Surprisingly, Torana was the one to break the silence, Lucario's expression telling her he had misunderstood.

"Talk is for the weak. Diplomacy for the oppressed, relying on the mercy of others to achieve something," she said as she took a step closer to Lucario, "If you want something, really want something and absolutely can't take 'no' for an answer... Then force is the only way."

She leaned forward to make her head level with his, and Lucario quickly stepped back several paces from her imposing form. He was not about to repeat the Prinplup fiasco by needlessly holding his ground, because he was certain the Blaziken could mess him up a whole lot worse whether she wanted to kill him or kiss him.

"I have built up large amounts of force. I can have anything I want," Torana continued as she rose to her full height, "Even you."

Before he knew it, Lucario had struck a battle pose, once more ready to defend himself from the powerful firebird. But nothing came of it, as Brendan casually strode up behind her.

"So glad to see you two hitting it off!" he said with a snicker before throwing something towards Lucario, "Here, drink this."

The same reflexes that had let Lucario dodge fire blasts and great swords made grabbing the object in midair an easy task. It was the bottle Brendan had been working with earlier, a closed lid on top with a thick, very suspicious-looking concoction resting within.

"No," Lucario immediately responded while looking up.

"It will make you stronger. It's a customized mixture of calcium, protein, iron, zinc and carbon!" Brendan counted up while casually dropping an empty pouch into the snow next to him, "All vitamins designed to make you strong! Very expensive!"

"Do you think I was born yesterday!?" Lucario shouted with rage, discarding the bottle in a similar manner, "You probably poisoned it. Or spat in it. I know you!"

Brendan sighed and pressed down on his elbow, Torana barely reacting as she turned bright red and disappeared inside her trainer's sleeve. As the billowing condensation from her steaming body dissipated, Lucario took the opportunity to reconsider his decision - Getting stronger was always a good thing, and Brendan had proven himself capable of making some seriously powerful adversaries. He plucked the bottle from the ground, swearing to himself that he would let someone like Celebi scan its contents THOROUGLY before even considering a swig.

"So... What do you think of Torana? Strong, isn't she?" Brendan asked with an unusually calm voice as he walked back to his other Pokémon, leaning up against Suicune. Lucario had to agree, considering there weren't many other positive attribute he could give her. And considering their conversation earlier, to him her strength was not a good thing at all.

"My masterwork. Every muscle toned to perfection, every move executed without fail," Brendan said while waving his hand around, "The pinnacle of physique."

"You sure?" Lucario asked, thinking the pinnacle of physique was something more akin to a mountain of muscle like Connor, or a literal mountain of something like Lugia. Not to say Torana was not impressive, every part of her body from fist to breast seemingly tough enough to crack rocks. Brendan ignored him, or simply couldn't understand him.

"The only thing lacking... Is passion," Brendan muttered and sighed again, looking up at the sky, "Determination is not the issue. She fights at my command until unconsciousness, but you showed me that is simply not enough. I need someone ready to DIE to win. Someone capable of flying into a blind rage so severe they would not even care if their entire body was on fire."

Brendan stared at Lucario, examining his body one more time. Lucario figured he was searching for burns after the disastrous finale to his fight with Torana, and knew he would find none too severe thanks to Mew's care.

"It just so happens that your build nicely compliments hers," Brendan explained with a smile as he stopped leaning against Suicune, "Terrific individual values. Fitting ability. Perfect nature, and I've got Everstones coming out of my ass."

Pointing towards Lucario, the trainer's eyes were once again burning with the same spirit that had led him to become such a successful champion in the first place. A constant struggle for improvement, an endless desire for challenge and brilliant creativity opening yet another path to traverse.

"Combine that with both your speed-related moves and the result will be the strongest Pokémon in the world!" Brendan shouted before bashing his chest, "I have trained Pokémon from childhood. I have trained Pokémon from birth... But never before have I trained one preconception!"

"Conception...?" Lucario repeated, looking down at the bottle once more. Individual values and Everstones were one thing, but the last word was something he recognized. His heart began to beat faster as he realized what Brendan was implying, the snickering trainer leaping up on Suicune's back once more.

"So get stronger, or I can't guarantee you'll even survive the wedding night!" Brendan yelled before slapping Suicune's rear for absolutely no reason, "Farewell, Lucario! We will meet again, and then you shall enter legend as the father of the strongest Pokémon in the world!"

"Wait!" Lucario screamed with his arm outstretched as Brendan and his steed ran away, the mane of Suicune glittering in the morning sunlight. Lucario was left alone with a million troubling thoughts, but felt relieved that he remained relatively unharmed by the encounter.

"Can I at least... Get a ride back...?" Lucario mumbled to himself, sighing as he began his hour-long trek back to the caves of Nomad's Land and the life-saving alcohol stored within. If he was fast enough, he figured he could drink this terrifying development between him and Torana into complete oblivion.