Hunter woke the next morning to hear a loud squeal and for something furry and warm to cannon into his chest. He opened his eyes and saw a small blue creature with a black patch of fur that made it look like it was wearing a mask. Almost like…

"Riolu!" he cried joyfully, hugging the little Pokémon hard.

Riolu hugged him as hard as it could, burying its face in its owner's chest.

Standing on the other side of the room, Mewtwo smiled. I thought that your reunion would be something like this. It has been training hard, waiting for you to come for it.

Hunter cocked his head and then looked down at Riolu. "Is that true, little guy?"

Riolu smiled and nodded.

Mewtwo looked outside suddenly. The sunrise is beautiful from here. Come. I'll show it to you.

The three went out onto the shore of the island, watching the sun come over the edge of Mount Quena.

As the sun finally cleared the mountain, Mewtwo turned to Hunter, who was holding Riolu in his arms. This is where I take my leave of you. I hope you and Riolu stay together.

Hunter smiled and nodded to it. "Thank you for taking care of him, Mewtwo."

Mewtwo smiled back. You are welcome. If you ever have need of me, call with your mind, and I will answer.

There was a bright flash of light, and Mewtwo was gone.

Hunter looked at Riolu. "Ready to go home, buddy?"

Riolu made a happy noise, smiled, and nodded.

Then both were nearly blown away by a strong wind as a large aircraft descended from the sky. Hunter looked up through the dust, unlike Riolu, who had shielded its eyes. "Figures," Hunter muttered.

The ship touched down and a group of people filed down the large loading ramp. In front of the generic henchmen in matching outfits, Pokémon Hunter J stood out quite well. She held out her hand. "There you are, Riolu. You've had us searching for you for a very long time."

Hunter clutched Riolu to him protectively. "You're not stealing Riolu from me again."

J narrowed her eyes. "Listen, kid. If you give us Riolu, we'll leave you alone. Unfortunately, we have a client that wants that Riolu. It's collectible. Not dispensable," she motioned two of her henchmen forward. "Like you."

"Crobat!" both henchmen shouted, throwing Poké Balls and being followed by the other henchmen.

A large number of Crobat appeared from a multitude of flashes, and they all grouped and swarmed at the pair. Hunter hurriedly set Riolu down and then began firing Aura Spheres into the Crobat's midst.

He looked at the Riolu without pausing in his volleys. "Get behind me."

He looked back at the Crobats, now struggling to get around him. He moved his hands with them, blowing more and more of them out of the sky.

One group got smart and split up into three directions, then all used Quick Attack on him at once. Hunter crossed his arms above his head, projecting a shield that the Crobat smashed into and were catapulted back towards their owners. The other Crobat soon followed suit. The leader of the henchmen then came up with a plan. "Crobat, use Double Team!"

All of the Crobat multiplied exponentially, actually partially obscuring the sun. Then they all rushed him again, and though he managed to take down many, they eventually swarmed around him, using Double Edge to cut him, trying to get at his wrists, his face, his eyes, his armpits. He put his arms down then slammed his arm into the ground, sending out a wave of Aura that blew all of the Crobat away. The defeated Pokémon then crumpled to the ground, and Hunter put his hands to his sides. He smirked confidently at J.

She smirked back just as Hunter felt a crushing pressure around his waist, pinning his arms to his sides. He turned his head and saw a Drapion holding him aloft. He narrowed his eyes at it. It responded by squeezing. Hard enough for Hunter to hear several things crack. He looked at Riolu, who was moving away from the Drapion. He then jolted as a shock pulsed through him. Looking back at J, he saw there was an Electabuzz standing beside her. It shocked him again; a much more powerful shock that, in addition to Drapion upping the pressure again, was slowly killing him in a very painful way.

He could still talk though, and he screamed at Riolu as he was simultaneously shocked and squeezed. "GET AWAY! GET OUT OF HERE!"

Riolu began backing away quickly, but J saw it. She tossed another Poké Ball towards it, which then burst open to reveal a Salamence. She nodded to it. Hunter saw the look. "No," he whispered. "Please, don't."

The Salamence shot its foot down, the foot landing on Riolu's back, crushing it into the dust. Riolu struggled to get up, to still try and get away. Salamence pressed harder, and Riolu let out a cry of pain.

"No!" Hunter begged. "Stop it! Take what you want, just let him go!"

J merely gave a sadistic smirk. Salamence pressed even harder, and Riolu screamed.

"Stop it!" Hunter begged, tears now streaming down his face. "Just stop!"

Salamence grasped Riolu with its foot, as if it was going to take it back to its owner. Then, it threw Riolu, causing the small Pokémon to slam into the rock wall behind the fight-cum-torture session.

Riolu crumpled to the ground, limp.

"NO!" Hunter screamed. "Riolu! RIOLU! Wake up, please! Please!" He broke down, sobbing. Tears stained the ground under his dangling feet. He'd failed. I'm sorry, Lucario. I'm so sorry.

J walked up to him, looking on the crying teenager with scorn. "Weakling."

She slapped him, hard, across the face.

She then turned away, and waved casually to Drapion and Salamence. "Leave the boy. Take the Riolu."

Drapion slammed Hunter roughly into the ground, causing the human to bark with pain.

Riolu's eyes snapped open, and began to glow blue.

It writhed in Salamence's claws until it broke free, then it floated in the air while giving a high-pitched cry that turned into a deep-throated roar as its body was enveloped in white light and it changed shape and size.

The evolving Pokémon came to the ground kneeling, one paw pressing into the ground. When the light faded, a Lucario was standing where Hunter's Riolu had once been. It glared at J and her henchmen. The Electabuzz and Salamence began to move towards it. It raised both of its paws to either side and used Aura Sphere, blowing the two Pokémon away. It then turned its paws on J and her henchmen. It spoke. Don't. Ever. Touch. My. Master.

Aura Spheres then began to flow from its paws like waterfalls as J and her cohorts ran aboard the ship. It took off, still taking fire from Lucario's Aura Spheres. One struck something vital and the ship wobbled for a crucial moment, but kept flying. Barely, with a stream of smoke flowing from one portion.

The Lucario, breathing heavily, turned to Hunter. It stepped forward hesitantly, then backed up as Hunter got up and walked towards it.

He held out his arms to it and it flinched and closed its eyes, then opened them in surprise again when his trainer hugged him. It blinked, shocked. Then it looked up at him. Are…are you alright?

Hunter smiled. "I'm fine." He tightened his hug. "I'm perfectly fine."

He stepped back, holding the Lucario at arm's length. "Very nice. You look perfect."

The Lucario cocked its head. What do you mean?

"Just like you're supposed to look."

He started walking, gesturing at the Lucario to join him.

__________________________________________________________

They were an odd sight on the bus, but Hunter didn't care. His charge was back with him, and they were both safe. He then turned to the Lucario, which was in the aisle seat. "You know, I ought to give you a name."

The Lucario jerked, and looked at him. A name?

Hunter noticed that the Lucario's voice was noticeably higher than his predecessor. He had probably evolved younger. "Yes. A name. Something to mark you out from the other Lucarios." He reclined for a moment, thinking. He then picked a name he like the sound of. "Taren. That's your name now."

Taren? The newly named Lucario said, puzzled. Then, he smiled. I like it.

Hunter ran his hand over Taren's head, causing the Lucario to arch his back and raise his head in contentment. "I thought you would."

They arrived back in Veilstone City two days later.

When they walked into the house, Buizel, who was lying on the couch sleeping, got up and fell off the sofa in shock. Hunter raised a hand. "Relax, Buizel. Riolu evolved." He gestured to Taren. "This is Taren. Can you say hi?"

Bui bui! Buizel cried, waving an orange paw at Taren.

Taren smiled and nodded back.

Hunter looked at his charge. "Come on. You're too big to sleep with me now."

Taren gave a little smile and followed his owner up the stairs.

Hunter led him to his old room, and then rubbed the Lucario's cheek before kissing his ears, then his forehead. "Get some rest now. You hardly slept all the way home."

Taren yawned. I'm perfectly fine, master. I'm just… he yawned again.

Hunter raised an eyebrow. "Sleep. You need it."

As Taren stubbornly got down on the bed, Hunter gently began to close the door. It didn't make any noise as he whispered to Taren through the steadily closing gap. "Pleasant dreams."

As the door shut, Hunter straightened and whispered two words that were not meant for Taren's ears. "My son."

He walked down the hallway to his own room, Buizel jumping up the stairs to join him as the human flopped down on his own bed fully dressed and fell asleep.

Second part's wrapped up! Third story's already written and on the way, so you can expect to read "A Student's Trials" sometime soon! Sorry for the delay, by the way. I kind of lost interest in posting this. R and R!