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Post by Digizel on Jun 28, 2014 0:07:44 GMT -5
The harsh desert sunlight beat down on the thick-furred Pokémon relentlessly. However, the Zangoose continued to trudge onward through the sand. He raised a large paw to his forehead and wiped his arm across it, trying to remove some sweat that he could feel accumulating under his fur. Of all places for him to have ended up, he of all Pokémon had to end up in the middle of what was undoubtedly the Hiruko Desert. He had never actually been all the way out here before since he never had a reason to traverse the desert. As fascinating as he found exploring new areas, it usually did nothing for him when the area consisted of nothing but seemingly endless dunes. Further, there was one huge problem with his situation: he had had absolutely no time to properly prepare himself in advance for desert travel.
As a Pokémon with thick fur, Marduk was liable to collapse from heatstroke if he stayed in the desert sun for too long. Dehydration was also a very possible danger to him here, as he had no time to prepare water before this either. What was the Creator thinking, putting a Pokémon like him out in the middle of the desert? If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that the Creator specifically wanted him dead. But that was a ridiculous concept. After all, the entire reason he had been in the original tournament in the first place was to help protect something that the Creator very likely wanted protected. They were clearly on the same page, so then why would he have any negative feelings toward him at all? Perhaps, then, this was purely accidental or coincidental? That was probably the likeliest assumption to make: that all of the participants had been distributed randomly and that this was just his luck of the draw. He certainly knew that he had been rather down on his luck recently, what with his crushing defeat at the claws of Vito Steele in the previous tournament. The only aspect of good luck he actually had was that he had been able to recruit the help of Doug the Abra.
It was just too bad that they were now separated with no possible way to know where the other was.
As he traversed the sands of the desert, occasionally passing one of a few cacti, Marduk thought back to when he first woke up. He tried to piece together everything he knew yet again, as if searching for some kind of minute detail he may have missed that could explain the Creator's interference with the Wish Festival Tournament. He had been fighting that Lucario named Haru in the tournament. And as expected, he had been winning. He distinctly remembered starting a relentless beat-down with his Close Combat attack...but that was it. Then nothing. The next thing he knew, he was waking up covered in sand to a bunch of rules regarding the Creator's new version of the tournament. Did the secret lie in his lack of memory? Whatever the case, it was as clear as the sun in the sky that simply reflecting on the event itself was not going to yield any answers.
Marduk raised his paw to his forehead, trying to shield the sun from his eyes as he continued to walk. Suddenly, something was there. He couldn't really make out any details, but in the distance was undoubtedly some kind of structure out here in the middle of the desert. He wasn't sure what it could be except for a mirage...but it wasn't like he had anything to lose by investigating. If it vanished, then it was simply a mirage. But what if it didn't? Then he could have truly found something rather interesting in the middle of this harsh environment...as well as some form of shelter from the elements.
Finding new energy in his body again, he lowered himself onto all fours and started toward the distant structure. As he got closer and closer to him, he started to grow more disappointed. It wasn't really much of a structure from what he could tell, but more of a...giant wall of sorts. It wasn't long before he finally got close enough. It was definitely a very large, ancient wall. But...how could that be possible? He knew all about ancient history in this dimension, yet he had never heard anything about something out here in the Hiruko Desert. And what was even stranger was that there didn't appear to be anything else here. Just...a wall. A lone wall, sitting in the middle of the desert, likely the last piece of a destroyed ruin of some kind.
Marduk's eyes widened slightly as he realized something. He may very well have just discovered something that even his clan had not known about. What most Pokémon would probably see as a boring, needless landmark in he middle of the desert was virtually a vast treasure in his eyes. He immediately walked straight up to the wall, placing one of his paws upon the stone surface. Or at least, it looked and felt like stone. There was no telling what the material might actually be made of. He was certainly no geologist at least. For the first time since waking up in this forsaken plane of sand and nothingness, a smile crossed his lips. This could be the discovery of a lifetime...and as far as he knew, he could be the only one who knew about this. He needed to escape this desert alive. Not only did he need to keep the Wish Stone out of the wrong hands, but this would be worth a huge investigation to his clan. He needed to inform them as soon as his duty was done, one way or another.
Perhaps this would make a good place to rest for now, in the shade of the wall. He could take a rest here and wait until dusk. If he did that, then just maybe he could travel through the night when it was cooler. That wouldn't solve his water problem, but he might be able to avoid heatstroke.
Suddenly, his ears twitched as a voice was heard from behind him and to his left.
"Well well well, what have we here?" the voice murmured in a sarcastic manner. "If it isn't the Zangoose from the Wish Festival. Marduk, I believe? It's so nice to finally meet you in person."
At this point, Marduk turned around and came face to face with a Lucario. He could tell immediately from the Lucario's manner of speech that this was not Haru. In that case, it was highly likely that this Pokémon was part of the Dimensional Guard. Marduk's gaze immediately fell upon the Pokémon's wrist where, as expected, a device with he number 3 on its surface was wrapped around his wrist, specially designed for a part of it without the screen to fit neatly around his arm spike. This betrayed the fact that the Lucario was undoubtedly a new competitor in this tournament, as the device was remarkably similar to the one he had woken up with around his own left forearm which also bore a number three.
"...I take it that you are a Lucario of the Dimensional Guard?" Marduk asked as casually as he could. However, he could sense that something was amiss here. He had no idea where this Lucario had even come from. Then again, he had been so absorbed into examining the wall that it was probably easier to sneak up on him than it should have been. It was almost as though he had been waiting for him. And that, in conjunction with the Lucario's tone, was what made him uncomfortable. "What would a member of the Guard be doing in the Creator's tournament? It seems a little bit...unnecessary." he asked, hoping against hope that he would get some kind of an answer. However, if things were as off as they seemed to be...he rather doubted he would get one.
Marduk had no idea what was going on here...but he would have to be careful. He glanced to the left for just a moment, where there should be enough open desert for him to dash away if necessary. He wasn't sure that he could outrun a trained Lucario, but he would need to at least try if the need arose.
"...I'm afraid that's something you don't need to know." the Lucario said, his expression rather neutral. However, a smirk soon crossed his face. As the smirk appeared, the spike on his right arm started to glow as it appeared to transform into three metallic claws. This action caused Marduk to instinctively raise his arms defensively. "...But I can tell you that my partner and I are here to put you under arrest." the Lucario finished.
At this last declaration, Marduk's eyes widened as he realized the implications of those words.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jun 28, 2014 14:41:26 GMT -5
Unaware of the others of his kind present in the desert, a lone silver-skinned Lucario wandered at a patient pace in search of a more hospitable biome. This Lucario, unlike most others in this dimension, answered to nobody, choosing instead to follow his own path and embrace the open-ended freedom this dimension granted him upon arrival. Unfortunately, he recently discovered that his freedom had been somewhat compromised. He awoke that morning to find himself surrounded by sand, learning from an immovable bracelet on his arm that the Creator had enrolled him involuntarily in a sudden remake of the Wish Festival tournament. This left him somewhat conflicted. On one hand, he would finally be able to fight among the strongest in the dimension, seeing how well his long years of training measured up to the best. On the other, he wasn't sure whether he was ready for it. Even though true perfection is impossible to achieve, he would always find some area where he realized he could improve.
Although, if the Creator hadn't thrown him in this situation, he may not have ever considered himself ready to compete in an official event. Yes, perhaps he should be thankful... The Hiruko Desert was not the worst place for a Lucario. His sturdy steel-typing helped him withstand the elements, though it did little to hold back the heat itself. He had to find some kind of place where he could rest before the day was up.
It wasn't long before Noboru came across a helpful landmark: a long, ancient wall. He didn't spend much time thinking about who built it or what its purpose might have been. He was more interested in the shade it provided. Without a second thought, he took a minor detour and headed for the wall. He kept on guard, in case another Pokemon had the same idea as him, but he could not sense the aura of any life-forms nearby for now, so he sat up against the wall, in the relatively cool shade. Perhaps listening to the more detailed set of tournament rules would give him enough time for a proper rest before moving on. He pressed a button on his bracelet, causing it to play a pre-recorded message as it did before.
During his second listen, making sure he could commit the rules to memory, Noboru suddenly felt a presence approaching. He turned off the recording and looked up, scanning the desert. Nothing. He stood up, staying against the wall so as to decrease potential avenues of ambush as he searched for the source...
Soon, he heard a voice from behind him. Whoever they were, they were on the other side of the wall. He quickly learned that there were multiple Pokemon on the opposite side, and none of them were yet aware of Noboru. Although it was a matter that likely didn't concern him, he found himself listening in regardless. Apparently, one of them was Marduk, the Zangoose from the previous installment of the tournament. There was also at least one Dimensional Guard present. The next part of the conversation left him somewhat confused. Why was Marduk being arrested, and what did the Guard have to hide from him?
Another voice joined the group, this one an excitable young female. "I don't think he's going to come quietly, heheh. Not that he has a choice." He guessed this was another Guard. "I call dibs on his points!"
Noboru raised an eyebrow. That hardly sounded like how a just law enforcement outfit would operate. In fact, it sounded like they were going to double team him... and enjoy doing it. A quick glance down both sides of the wall conveyed that he probably wouldn't be able to make it around in time to help, so he had no choice but to climb it. The creases and cracks in the old bricks seemed like reliable enough footholds. He jumped onto the wall, scaling it rapidly. After climbing Fionn Peak by himself, this 20-foot wall was a piece of cake. When he reached the top, he leaned slightly over the wall to see if his worries were correct. He saw two Lucario on the other side, several feet further down the wall, cornering a Zangoose against it.
The female Lucario closed in on Marduk, cracking her knuckles. She had a crooked stance, as though she were only loosely planted in reality, and her sharp, bright-orange eyes were paradoxically cold and distant. "Don't worry, this won't hurt..." she taunted, grinning maniacally. "It'll torture."
Noboru couldn't believe what he was hearing. He figured there were bound to be some corrupt members of the Guard, as were many figures of authority and power, but this one looked like she belonged in a mental ward. And her partner, though less extreme, didn't seem to care, either. He had to put a stop to this. Remaining hidden, he held his arms back, collecting his energy in the form of an Aura Sphere. Just before the insane Guard lunged at Marduk, Noboru threw his Aura Sphere to intercept her. As soon as he did, he ducked down against the top of the wall and started creeping closer, hoping to remain out of sight of the both of them until he could drop down right into the fray.
The Aura Sphere hit its mark, causing the Lucario to twist around and fall face-first into the sand. She slowly lifted herself with her arms, beginning to let out a strange fit of hysterical laughter. "What's this? It looks like someone else has joined the party!" She slung her legs around into a position where she could literally jump to her feet. Although the attack was super-effective, she appeared to feel no pain. In fact, if anything, she seemed to enjoy it. "Ahahaha... I hope they brought friends!"
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Post by Digizel on Jun 28, 2014 18:30:19 GMT -5
Marduk was already readying himself for an attack when he heard a female voice speak up next. It didn't take him long to locate the second Lucario, who was approaching from his other side, essentially cutting off his only escape route, given that his back was to the ancient wall behind him. He supposed he could consider climbing, but he doubted that the Lucario would give him the amount of time it would take to make it to the top of the wall. And even if he was successful in evading attacks, the Lucario would still damage the ancient artifact behind him. And he would rather keep damage to the wall as minimal as possible if he could possibly help it anyway.
The Zangoose felt a chill go down his spine as he heard the new Lucario speak. There was definitely something wrong with this one. She sounded like she had no intention of taking him in quietly, even if he did surrender to them. At her cracking of her knuckles and her chilling, sadistic words, however, he tensed. He quickly readied himself, preparing to read her movements and evade her inevitable attack. He could not afford to be caught by her. Judging from her sadistic demeanor and tone, it was fairly obvious that she was likely to inflict some serious pain...much more than what would be necessary for simply capturing him.
The female Lucario's partner simply smirked to himself. "Fine then," he said, shrugging slightly. "I know how much you like to toy with your targets." He then grinned to himself. "Just make sure you leave some to me and I'll leave the finale to you." He then crouched slightly, preparing himself. He knew that this Zangoose was not going to be caught by the first attack. However, unless he had reflexes that outmatched that of the trained Dimensional Guard members, he would have a very difficult time avoiding a second attack so soon after the first.
Suddenly, the Lucario lunged and Marduk flexed his legs, ready to spring to the right side in an attempt to avoid the attack. He readied himself to leap at the last possible moment, hopefully catching her off-guard...but that moment never came. An orb of some description slammed into her from above, causing her to slam powerfully into the sand. He was stunned for a moment, unsure of just what he had seen. However, it didn't take long for him to identify the attack as an Aura Sphere. Was there another Lucario around, then? If that was the case, then why would they attack these other Guard members?
The first Lucario scowled when he saw the Aura Sphere get launched. He had observed the entire attack and recognized the attack instantly. He followed the trajectory he had witnessed and soon identified that it had been launched from atop the wall. Clearly somebody was there that did not want to remain seen. There weren't many Pokémon that could utilize the Aura Sphere attack...could another Lucario have intercepted them? Or was it something like a Mienshao? There was definitely one way to find out. He closed his eyes and his aura sensors on the back of his head started to lift themselves up as he started tapping into his aura capabilities. No physical object could hide a being's aura from him. And sure enough, an aura emanated from atop the wall. "...Tch. Looks like we've got another Lucario in our midst." he muttered aloud. Could it be that Lucario that they had been on the lookout for? The one named Haru? It was possible, but he didn't really care much about the identity of the one getting in their way. He just wanted to teach them a lesson.
And so, the Lucario put his paws together. Between his palms, a similar orb formed. He brought his arms back and then suddenly thrust them forward, launching an Aura Sphere upward at the wall, where he witnessed his new target's aura resonating from. There was no hiding from the Dimensional Guard. And this interloper was going to learn that the hard way.
Marduk would have liked to figure out the identity of the one who had come to his aid, but his attention was drawn by the female Lucario who had quickly gotten back to her feet, almost as though she didn't care that she was just struck by a super-effective move. His eyes widened in surprise. In act, it was almost as though she had actually enjoyed the pain of the attack! Was the Guard really just that insanely powerful, or was she simply a special case? Whatever the case, he could not afford to take his eyes off of her. If he let her take him by surprise, he was really going to be in trouble. "Why don't you worry less about them and more about me?" he muttered to the female. He had already seen the other Lucario launch an attack that was too fast for him to stop, no doubt targeting his helper. The best that he could do right now was keep the second Lucario's attention on him as much as he could.
With that thought in mind, he slashed through the air with the claws on his arms, readying himself to mount an offensive should it be necessary. He had used his Swords Dance move, raising his offensive attack power. If he kept his opponent's attention and increased his strength...then perhaps he could be able to counter the Lucario's next attack with a Revenge. That way, he would not be the one landing the first hit. He certainly didn't want to be the one to land the first blow of a battle against a member of the Dimensional Guard. Otherwise, it would look like he picked the fight rather than defending himself. And that was not the kind of attention he wanted right now.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jun 28, 2014 21:01:09 GMT -5
The female Lucario watched as her partner decided to deal with the newcomer, leaving her to have her fun with the Zangoose. "Well, if you want it that badly..." she cackled as she once again stepped toward Marduk, swaying back and forth in an uncomfortable motion, "It'd be wrong of me to take it away from you, huh? Hehehehe..." And with no further warning, she rushed forward, all five of her limbs (yes, including her tail) flailed wildly at Marduk in a Close Combat attack. Of the strikes that missed, some were off by a mile as if she were missing him on purpose, perhaps in an attempt to make him cringe more.
Noboru continued crawling along the wall. He figured the Lucario would probably be able to find him using his aura, but he wanted to stay undetected as long as he could to give him more time to get into position. Just before he reached the section of wall above Marduk, unfortunately, the male Guard had sighted him and launched an Aura Sphere of his own at Noboru. It would be just as effective on him as it was on the female Guard, so he concentrated his efforts on dodging it. He closed his eyes, sensing only aura. He felt the movement of the projectile and the trajectory it had, working out in a split second the best way to avoid it. With his Detect kicking in, he leaped into the air just over the sphere, which kept going until it dissipated into the hot desert air.
His leap sent him forward, off of the wall, where he dropped straight at the Lucario that had launched the attack. He drew his fist back in midair, and it surrounded itself with a contingent of fungal spores in preparation for one of his trickier techniques. It was especially difficult as Lucario had no natural method of producing spores, so the move took him quite some time to get the hang of, but the utility of the move was hard to pass up. Right before he landed, he threw his follicle-riddled fist at the Guard's forehead for a Spore Punch. If his target were to breathe in too many of these spores, he would find his body briefly shutting down for a quick sleep, which might give Noboru and Marduk enough of a chance to escape. Noboru had no intention of sticking around with a couple of violent cops.
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Post by Digizel on Jun 28, 2014 21:43:08 GMT -5
Marduk observed the approach of the female Lucario carefully. His experience in fighting Lucario was limited strictly to Haru. And judging from the fights that he had been involved in and his performance, he was far from the perfect representation of the species' combat abilities. He would have no choice but to play this struggle mostly by ear. He had learned some of the moves that Lucario were capable of performing, but not to their best extent. So when the Lucario approached so quickly, he prepared himself, clenching his own claws into fists, ready to test this Lucario's own capabilities first before he started into the full battle. He swung his fists to meet hers...or at least the ones that would have connected with his body. The same went for his legs. Her tail was particularly tricky to block at times, but he managed to meet her blow for blow...by utilizing his own Close Combat attack. The tricky part of this would be to match her speed. If she was able to out-speed him, she would get the advantage quickly. Whatever the result, this would work perfectly for getting a feel for her abilities.
The male Lucario scowled as he watched the interloper avoid his attack by leaping over it and off of the wall he had been using as a hiding spot. He recognized the Detect move that all Lucario shared. And so, he was not surprised to see the familiar shape of a Lucario plummeting toward him. What caught his attention, however, was the fact that this Lucario was not the usual blue color...but was instead a silver color. He didn't have the time to worry about this, though. The Lucario was pulling his fist back, clearly ready to throw a punch attack at him of some kind. At first, he would have no problem taking the hit...but when he saw the spores starting to appear around it, his eyes narrowed. Spore Punch, was it? Well, he was not about to fall for such a remedial trick such as sleep. He was no rookie trainee.
The Lucario reacted quickly. He jumped toward his right side and avoided Noboru's troublesome spores altogether, not willing to take the risk of falling asleep. He rolled in the sand, quickly landing back to his feet again. He glared at the silver Lucario and clenched his fist. The fact that this Lucario was actually fighting against him rubbed him the wrong way. He put his two paws together in front of him and extended them. As he did, an object that resembled a bone formed between his paws as he brought them apart. He held the long, thin bone like a staff and twirled it around in his grip like a show off. "So it is another Lucario, like that Haru runt." he muttered lowly. "I don't know who you are or why you're not part of the Guard, but I don't take kindly to anyone interfering with our arrests." As soon as he was finished speaking, he rushed forward, twirling his bone staff again and swinging it, aiming swing after swing at the silver Lucario with Bone Rush. He aimed first for a blow to the head, then to his side...and he continued to swing his staff around, showing off a high amount of skill and precision with each attack.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jun 29, 2014 1:49:11 GMT -5
The Zangoose had chosen to counteract the female Lucario in a way she didn't expect - by using a Close Combat of his own, focusing primarily on blocking, yet she was still able to get some hits in. Now that she had lured him into a false sense of security, she could start to focus her attacks and take them seriously. "I see... you've got some... fight in you," the Lucario excitedly observed between strikes. "Just what I expected... from someone... from the last festival!" Instead of missing on purpose, she was now attempting to aim every hit where the Zangoose had the least amount of guard, focusing completely on speed and offense and not caring in the slightest if any of the Zangoose's stray blows hit her. She concluded her barrage of punches, kicks, and tail-smashes by suddenly charging point-blank into Marduk with an Extremespeed, hoping to slam him painfully against the wall.
Noboru listened to what the male Guard had to say. It wasn't surprising that Haru had become an infamous name among the Dimensional Guard. That guy had a knack for antagonizing everybody he met, and despite all of Noboru's advice and warnings in the past, Haru always continued to push his luck. He couldn't ignore the possibility that they were after Haru for another reason, however. Both he and Marduk were in the previous tournament, and the fact that they were both apparently enemies of the Creator made the former fact look like more than just a coincidence. If those players were targets, then were the others as well? That would indeed explain, in part, why the Creator interrupted the first tournament to create a new one of his own design. But why was Noboru forced into it? How many other participants were there?
Although the other Lucario didn't give him much of a chance to respond, he had a few things he wanted to say regardless. He first made sure he could avoid most of the damage from the Bone Rush attack by blocking the bone with the spikes on his hands whenever possible, and his forearms otherwise. As he chose to block, rather than attempt a dodge, he still took some damage, but he was properly braced for it. "I just want to know a few things," he asked, his calm demeanor betraying his desire to find answers. "Why are you arresting Marduk? Doesn't he have a right to know the purpose of his own apprehension? Secondly, is it necessary to use as much force as your partner is using?" He indicated the crazed, ruthlessly attacking Lucario behind his opponent. Ideally, this would make the male Lucario turn to look at her, even if only for a split second. Whether this distraction worked or not, Noboru thrust his leg at the Guard with a Drain Kick, aiming to heal the damage he had just taken by absorbing the strength of his opponent.
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Post by Digizel on Jun 29, 2014 12:48:05 GMT -5
Marduk had a lot of difficulty keeping up with the Lucario's Close Combat with his own. He simply could not help but allow some of her attacks through, causing him to wince slightly in pain. Her abilities were definitely very impressive, as he had expected from a member of the renowned Dimensional Guard. But it was always difficult to judge an opponent's abilities through rumor alone. Especially when they could quite easily vary. He could tell, however, that she hadn't been taking things seriously as he hadn't even needed to move to avoid some of her attacks, which likely meant that she was missing on purpose. He said nothing in response to the Lucario, but instead was forced further on the defensive as the Lucario started actually focusing her attacks completely, no longer taking it easy on him. He hadn't realized how fast and strong she was until all of her attacks started raining down on him. He knew that there was no way he was going to be able to keep up with all of her new attacks if he could not even help but allow a few attacks through earlier.
So, instead of taking useless damage, Marduk shifted tactics. If he was going to take hits, he may as well land a few of his own while he was at it. His physical strength was something that he felt that he could pride himself on if he cared to. And so, he started taking the Close Combat attack without restraint...but at the same time, he began to do the same to the Lucario, striking her without relent. He was particularly aiming his blows for the usually-vulnerable gut, which would hopefully get her attacks to ease up slightly on the power...although he had his doubts that it would actually work, given her demeanor after getting blasted by the Aura Sphere earlier.
However, Marduk was not expecting her to switch attacks so smoothly. After one particularly rough kick to his face, he was preparing another punch aimed for her gut...but suddenly, she rushed her entire body forward instead of swinging another blow. Caught completely off-guard, he was slammed by the Lucario's attack. "GRGH...!" he grunted in pain, getting slammed backward and powerfully against the ancient wall. Well, on the bright side, he now knew for sure the extent of this Lucario's abilities. They were definitely impressive.
"...I guess it's true that the Guard are absurdly powerful," Marduk muttered as he started trying to pull himself off of the wall. "But clearly, rumor alone does not do them justice. One really must see the strength of their opponent with their own eyes before they can truly understand." He then glared at the female Lucario. He had to be prepared for anything. He now knew the extent of her strength...and he was at a disadvantage as a Normal-type Pokémon. But, he was not about to let that stop him. Instead, he clenched a fist and swung it as powerfully as he could, with all of his strength. He aimed his Revenge attack at the Lucario's gut, hoping to deal just as much damage as he could with a Close Combat--thanks to that Extreme Speed--only without lowering his defenses at all.
The male Lucario continued to assault the silver Lucario, without letting up on his Bone Rush even once. He was getting annoyed by his opponent's skillful blocks. Clearly, this was no ordinary fighter. He seemed to at least rival the abilities of standard Dimensional Guard members. He allowed his opponent to speak, but he did not really listen to any of the questions he was asked. "Why would I answer some interloper in our business?" he retorted. When the silver Lucario indicated his partner, he did not fall for the distraction since he couldn't care less about his questions. Instead, he brought his bone staff around to block the incoming leg that was being aimed at him. But he was not about to let him retreat so soon. Instead, once the foot's momentum had been stopped against his bone, he let the bone dissipate into thin air. Then, he reached out with both of his arms and attempted to grab hold of Noboru's leg. If he could pull that off, he could then start spinning him around in circles, which would hopefully throw him for a loop.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jun 30, 2014 2:58:38 GMT -5
The Lucario grinned darkly as Marduk peeled himself off of the wall. She had clearly taken several strong hits from the Zangoose's retaliation, evidenced by the bruises scattered across her body, but she continued to show no signs of being hampered by pain. It was impossible to judge exactly how much fight she had left in her. Marduk's admittance of her strength made her all the more roused. "You got that right," she agreed pridefully, watching her opponent prepare the Revenge attack. Rather than attempt to dodge, she allowed herself to take the empowered move, planting her feet firmly so as not to be knocked back very far. She let out a stifled grunt as Marduk's fist struck, which she quickly covered up with a laugh. She was not about to give him the satisfaction of knowing just how much damage he had done. "But from what I've seen of you in the first Wish Festival... I thought you'd be stronger." Gathering what could very well be the last of her energy in one final lunge, she aimed to turn that powerful attack against Marduk as she struck right back with Counter.
Noboru drew his leg back as soon as he saw that his kick had been blocked, and just in time to slip past the other Lucario's attempted grab. The last thing he wanted at that moment was to be at the mercy of his opponent and have his potential selection of actions limited. "It's all a matter of perspective," he answered, jumping back to gain some distance from his opponent. "I'm interloping in your business, whatever that may be... but you are interloping in Marduk's business of playing in a fair tournament. Now, why would you be hiding your reasons for doing so from us if the Creator and the Dimensional Guard intended on giving us a fair tournament? Or, do you wish to deny us our sole, rightful chance to obtain even a sliver of the power that the Creator supposedly has?"
He chose not to immediately attack again, instead using the distance he had gained to focus on drawing forth more of his Aura. This would give the male Guard a chance to verbally defend himself and his faction, but if he admitted to this injustice or continued to withhold that information, Noboru's Calm Mind would better prepare him for putting an end to this corrupt action.
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Post by Digizel on Jun 30, 2014 11:54:24 GMT -5
Marduk could easily tell how much damage he had managed to inflict on the Lucario...yet for some reason, she seemed unperturbed by all of the damage. She seemed just as strong and ready to fight as before. What was this blasted Lucario made of? How could she take so much damage but not even appear to be injured or exhausted? He had never met an opponent like this before. For all he knew, she could maintain the fight within her for hours to come. In fact, even as his Revenge attack dug itself into the pit of the Lucario's gut, even then she did not react very much. It was almost as if she were turning pain into pleasure for herself. He listened to her words and he readied himself. He did not care about the insult thrown his way. He just knew that there was an attack coming.
Sure enough, the Lucario lunged toward him. Marduk was prepared, however. He quickly side-stepped the Counter attack, her move barely even passing his body by a hairsbreadth. He knew that he could not afford to take such a powerful blow. As he moved himself to the side, however, he readied one of his claws, bringing it upward above his head. He could not allow the Lucario enough time to react to his movement, lest he risk falling victim to another one of her powerful attacks and succumbing to them. His claws glowed for a moment before he brought them down, trying to smash them on top of the Lucario with a Crush Claw attack.
The male Lucario frowned as the silver one managed to slip right out of his grip. This one was quick, if nothing else. He would have made a great member of the Guard, had he been smarter. He did not even bother to react to Noboru's accusations nor allow his opponent to get enough time to mount any kind of offensive. If he was going to catch the silver Lucario off-guard, he was going to need to keep the pressure piled on as much as possible. So instead of answering or waiting, he suddenly rushed forward at a blinding speed. His Extreme Speed attack was used in the hopes of catching the Lucario in an unexpected way, with him trying to slam his shoulder into his body. But that was not all he would do. If he could land his Extreme Speed, he would shift gears immediately and in one motion would start throwing a barrage of punches and kicks at anywhere on Noboru's body that he could reach. He would go from Extreme Speed to Close Combat almost as though they were one and the same attack.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jul 1, 2014 17:10:49 GMT -5
The female Guard's grin faltered for a brief moment as she saw Marduk narrowly dodge her Counter. She had been convinced that this move would be impossible to avoid and would finish him off completely. In an attempt to keep up her ruse, she laughed again, though this one sounded a bit forced and she had nothing else to say to accompany it. In addition, rather than stand there and take the Crush Claw attack, she ducked and jumped away, nearly losing her footing in the process, though she tried to pass that off as being intentional by stumbling around in an exaggerated fashion, spreading her arms out wide. She spun around again, this time using her momentum to strike several times in quick succession with a Metal Claw, quickly getting back into the groove. She wasn't about to let this Zangoose think she was running out of steam or becoming more predictable.
When Noboru did not immediately hear a response from the male Guard, that more or less confirmed it. This Lucario prioritized doing his job over defending his boss, which was a good indicator that he knew full well that he could not justify his actions, or at least didn't care if the dimension's residents thought ill of the Creator. Noboru began to regret leaving the Dimensional Guard to its own business for as long as he had. There was no telling how many misdeeds he could have prevented if he had known about the corruption present in this theocracy. He would have been glad to put his own training on the backburner if it meant relieving the world from the oppression of a mad god.
But he had no time for regrets. His opponent's lack of a response meant that he was more interested in the battle at that point, which meant that Noboru had to stay on his guard. As soon as he saw the other Lucario move, he threw up both of his palms in front of him, forming a wide barrier just in time to stop his Extreme Speed attack. This bought him enough time to jump back even further, keeping out of melee range of his opponent and preventing him from landing any hits as soon as the Quick Guard faded. He then channeled his newly-accumulated aura into a Zen Pulse, knowing that it had a good chance of leaving the Lucario confused and much more likely to hurt himself with the same reckless maneuvers that Noboru had seen him attempt thus far.
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Post by Digizel on Jul 4, 2014 2:54:25 GMT -5
Marduk looked at the female member of the Dimensional Guard. This Lucario clearly thought that he was still buying her act. Finally, she had given herself away with that last, forced laugh. It was clear to him that he was getting to her, one way or another. She was starting to have difficulty in this fight, that much was obvious. If he could simply maintain the pressure, he could most likely cause her to slip up at one point or another. But first, he had one other thing he had to focus on right now; the female Lucario's newest attack onslaught. He had to move backward in order to avoid each Metal Claw. He ducked, moved to the side and jumped in whatever direction was necessary to evade the sharp claws. As well as he knew that he was doing, he was still at a severe type disadvantage here and he had taken quite a pounding from her other attacks. If he let her get the better of him here, it might be all over for him.
Marduk cast a glance backward at the wall as he approached it again in his evasive efforts. He was going to run out of room very soon. He would have to think of something more. Finally, his back hit the wall and he was stopped right in his tracks. But with his back pressed up against a wall that had withstood perhaps thousands of years of weathering, he felt that he had a solid support. Instead of trying to evade another attack, he lifted one set of claws upward in an attempt to stop one of the Lucario's arms from slashing at him. With his back to what he believed to be a solid wall, this would become a battle of muscle. But if he was successful, he would have one arm stopped. With that attempt done, he braced himself for the sharp sting from the second set of claws. But as he would take the second attack, assuming that he wasn't overpowered in his block, she would have to deal with his opposite fist, which was clenched tightly and ready to swing in an arc for a clean uppercut to the Lucario's jaw with another powerful Revenge attack.
The male Lucario scowled in frustration as Noboru was able to block his Extreme Speed attack. On top of that, he had been able to jump backward and away from his Close Combat, leading his assault to mean absolutely nothing. He had thought that he had had him right where he wanted him...but still the silver Lucario evaded his attacks. Who was this guy and where did he come from? How had Silver, as he decided to call him until his real name was discovered, stayed underneath the Dimensional Guard's radar after all this time? Well, there was certainly one obvious way to get his answer: he would have to capture this guy and bring him in. At this point, he didn't really care about the tournament. Now, he just wanted to come out of this on top. He had to shift his focus from his thoughts soon, however, as the silver Lucario launched a Zen Pulse at him. But he was prepared. He quickly gathered his own aura energy together, as well as his palms, and formed a small orb between them. He then thrust his arms forward, blasting a blast of energy of his own...albeit his was backed by draconic properties: A Dragon Pulse attack that was a perfect choice to go up against the silver Lucario's Zen Pulse.
The two attacks collided in midair, resulting in a small explosion that kicked up much of the sand and dust that had surrounded them. The male Guard member was not phased by this, however, as he had planned for this since he launched his attack. He shifted seamlessly to using his aura, closing his eyes and quickly scanning the area before him. Silver's aura was easy enough to detect; he found it almost instantaneously. He then immediately brought his palms together, forming and subsequently hurling an Aura Sphere attack straight through the dust cloud, aimed right for Noboru's midsection. Hopefully, this would all be enough to take Silver by surprise and catch him off-guard...or at least overwhelm him with a combination of his quick, successive actions. If not, he would have expended all of that energy of his for nothing.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jul 5, 2014 5:11:41 GMT -5
The female Lucario continued her relentless, wild onslaught of Metal Claws, expending a seemingly endless reserve of energy. Not many Pokemon could take as much punishment as she had taken and persist in dealing such rapid, powerful strikes, but this Dimensional Guard did just that. Her confidence returned as she pressed Marduk closer and closer to the wall, decreasing the amount of room he had to dodge. Soon enough, she had him practically pinned against the wall again, allowing her to close in for the coup de grace. She brought down one arm, which was stopped by the Zangoose's attempt to block. But, in doing so, he left his other side wide open. The Lucario put as much power as she could in her condition into her other arm, swiping at his exposed gut and letting her steeled claw dig deeply into her opponent.
But in putting everything into this opportunity, she failed to notice Marduk swinging his fist with another Revenge attack. The super-effective move slammed into her abdomen. She dropped to one knee, the pain momentarily too much for her. But even now, she was not quite finished. Every limb of hers shook as she held on. She couldn't say a word, or even look at her opponent to see the aftermath of her own onslaught. She would have to maintain hope that her opponent had either fainted or taken so much damage that he couldn't deal what would certainly be the finishing blow right away, giving her enough time to muster the strength for one final attack if necessary.
Meanwhile, Noboru felt a hint of frustration creep into his mind as his Zen Pulse was completely blocked by a blast of his enemy's creation, causing a cloud of sand to engulf the two of them and obscure the silver Lucario's vision. Although he had prevented his opponent from inflicting a serious hit on him so far, his opponent had done the same. If the battle continued in this way, he wasn't sure which of them would last longer, and if this Guard's strength was any indication, he couldn't fully count on his one ally to finish off the other in time to turn the tide.
He thought back to his training. Doubt betrays focus. He had to concentrate on the present rather than dwell on the past and fret over possible futures. The other Lucario was likely reading his aura at that very moment in order to get a quick, easy shot despite the hindrance of the dust cloud. Noboru could do the same, but no ordinary attack was absolutely sure to make progress on his opponent. It was time to use the strongest technique he had learned in his many years of training, and with the cloud in place, it would be very difficult for anyone present to recognize it, let alone react to it.
Tapping into his aura once again, he pinpointed the exact relative location of his opponent. He also identified that the male Guard was gathering a large amount of his aura into an elliptical shape, telling Noboru that he was preparing an Aura Sphere. Using his Mind Reader skill, he noted all possible escape routes of the Guard, and soon, he picked out a location to aim for that would almost certainly hit him. Everything fell into place, and the only thing left to do was execute the move.
Holding out his hands, he began to shape his own aura in front of himself much like his opponent was doing, and continued to fill it with energy to sustain it until his opponent launched his attack. He kept it small and close to his body so as to be difficult to distinguish from his typical aura at such short notice. As soon as he detected the Aura Sphere heading towards him, he pumped as much aura as he could into his own ball, creating a sudden massive cushion of energy that blocked and absorbed the sphere, making it even bigger. Wasting little time, he put as much additional power into the orb as he could before the dust completely settled. He lifted the sphere high over his head, throwing it down on the spot he had picked out earlier. The bomb of aura, blindingly white and with a diameter about as tall as Noboru himself, sailed in an arc towards the target area. By the time full visibility had returned, the orb hit the ground and exploded into an ever-growing blast radius of concentrated destruction. Noboru slumped slightly, exhausted from all the power he had expended in the Wyvern Blast, but he knew that none of it was going to waste.
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