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Operation Ragnarok Chapter 1: Grand Clash
Alrighty folks, been waiting a bit on this, but it's time to post the official first chapter of Operation Ragnarok. Huge shoutouts to my Discord server for helping me edit this chapter to make it as great as it could possibly be. This chapter focuses on the first round of the Grand Clash as well as some minor worldbuilding in the background. As well as... makes something I drew years ago canon.
Chapter 2 is already in the works and I really hope you all enjoy
A week had passed in the blink of an eye. The news of the tournament had began spreading like wildfire days prior as people from not just the three represented regions, but across other regions like Paldea and Sinnoh would come to watch the event live. Amber City was bustling with life like never before as they all came to Thunder Fist Stadium. It was an arena originally designed for giants to do battle for entertainment when Atrimel’s mother, Queen Galena ruled over Orrei 30 years ago, but discontinued it upon her passing due to shifts in interest for the majority of the public and Atrimel’s… changes to how he ran the region. Kajex and Kaja were on their way to the main grounds for the opening ceremony, their collars clasped around their necks.
“W-Welp… this is it,” Kajex gulped as they began to walk into the gate saved just for the 8 combatants, guards standing by to check the collars before entry.
“Time to get our asses handed to us,” Kaja sweated as she clenched her fists tightly. They could hear the crowds getting more and more excited as more civilians flooded the arena like a tsunami. This would only put them more and more on edge until they both jumped in place when an unknown force tapped their shoulders simultaneously, making them jump in place.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” the twins screamed as they turned around, eyes darting around to look in every direction.
“Oh don’t you make a fuss now,” the delphox witch Lilith giggled as she waved at the two, “It’s just me.” The two would calm down, thinking she was one of their opponents at first. They’d try to compose themselves as they glanced up at her.
“Y-You really shouldn’t jumpscare the two people most on edge over this thing,” Kaja panted as she tried to calm her heart rate.
“Didn’t mean to,” Lilith smiled as she placed her hands on each of their shoulders, “Just wanted to come and wish you two good luck in person before I went up to join Thorya and Cherry in the VIP seats.”
“Th-Thanks,” Kajex blushed as his heart began to calm down. As he said that however, unbeknownst to the two, a sort of… light that flooded from Lilith’s palms and flowed straight into the twins’ bodies. Whatever she did wasn’t immediately obvious to anyone really.
“Well, just remember to give it your all,” Lilith smiled as she took her hands away, “I know your mom and everyone else will be cheering at you all from the sidelines.”
“W-We know,” Kaja blushed as Lilith teleported with another finger snap. They began to walk through the hall, the blinding light of the inside washing over them within seconds as they glanced up at the literal tens of thousands in the crowd. This was the Grand Clash.
“G-Geez didn’t know it could house this many people in here,” Kajex stammered as he looked all around.
“So you two are the Orreian representatives?” a male voice echoed in front of them, “Heard the King picked some oddballs.”
“H-Huh?” they stammered in unison as they glanced forward. One of the many combatants they were to deal with was a male flareon of a more athletic build, He only wore a black tank top with a silver crown, a pair of gloves with metal bits on the knuckles, and blue shorts. On his back was a large greatsword with a sort of sun like pattern on its hilt. His hair was glowing as if it were fire as he stood before them with the other 5 combatants.
“Y-Yeah we honestly have no idea why he picked us,” Kaja remarked as they joined them in the center of the arena, clenching her arm nervously.
“Well whatever reason he’d better have picked well if he wants a shot at beating me,” the flareon scoffed as he held out his hand with a sense of pride in his aura, “I’m Sulien. Sulien Abner. Who’re you two then?”
“I-I’m Kajex Alura,” Kajex remarked as he gestured towards Kaja, “And she’s my twin sister Kaja.”
“Not often you see twins of two different species,” he smirked before glancing at the two curiously, “But we’ll see what you’re made of in this tournament.”
“Which’ll… probably not be much,” Kaja sweated as they continued to assert the amount of people watching them.
As the twins got into position for the ceremony, Leah, Naomi, and their other acquaintances were all gathered in the front row of the eastern side of the arena. Rhys, Ace, Jade, and even Yuki, Dimitri were getting excited to see it all unfold, but Naomi and Leah were honestly nervous for their safety. They didn’t wanna see the twins get hurt.
“I wish Miteru was here to watch and make sure everything goes smoothly,” Naomi sweated as she tried to not bite her fingers off.
“She had to temporarily send her avatar to Kalos to deal with complications with the queens sadly,” Leah sighed, her heart thumping uncontrollably.
“Woooo Kaja! Kajex you got this!” Rhys cheered on as he saw the two step onto the center platform visibly jumping in his seat.
“Make me proud!” Yuki cheered on, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of pride and excitement. After a bit more time had passed and more seats were filled in an unexpected guest had taken a seat right next to Dimitri. It was Sora, and somehow she WASN’T the size of a building.
“Wh-When did you get a-all.. small?” Dimitri asked out of curiosity, sweat pouring down the side of his cheek as he more closely examined the shrunken cinderace.
“Oh thank Cherry BIG time for this one,” Sora said with a smile, ears perking up as she looked at her co-workers, “She gave me some prototype compression tech to keep me small just so I could watch the fights today!”
“Well, that’s definitely handy,” Jade said with an awkward chuckle, “Let’s just hope it doesn’t fail mid match.”
On the uppermost point of all the seats circling the arena Cherry and Thorya were currently seated in two of the three special seats just beneath Atrimel’s. Thorya was sweating bullets, clenching their knees tightly as the cold aura their father exuded continued to strike their core. Cherry would notice this however.
“Something bothering you?” Cherry asked curiously, her ears perking up a bit.
“J-Just uneasy about Kajex and Kaja fighting in this tournament is all,” Thorya shakily replied, “They could lose control over their powers at any moment.”
“Eh, they’ll be fine,” Cherry shrugged, “They seem to keep it under control pretty we-” She was suddenly cut off when Lilith teleported right into the seat beside her. Cherry’s look of optimism turned into her normal, pouty scowl she’d always give the witch instead.
“Well look who finally decided to show up,” Cherry said as she rolled her eyes in disappointment, “Miss tardy decided to show up literally seconds before the ceremony starts.”
“Had to get Cain out of bed and into a seat in the arena is all,” Lilith replied with a calm smile, “Wasn’t gonna let him nap this one away.”
“W-Well that’s good,” Thorya awkwardly chuckled. Atrimel would then stand up, a single flick of his cape for all of the monitors to see signifying everyone to calm down and almost instantly everyone piped down. The arena was now filled with silence as Atrimel cleared his throat, ready to begin the opening ceremony.
“Now to all who’ve come across many regions,” Atrimel began with a somewhat enthusiastic tone for once, “Welcome to the Grand Clash, hosted by the Orreian royal family here in Orrei. Leaders from Galar, Unova, and Alola have sent their very best to join in on this invitational as well as my personal choices for the best Orrei can offer.”
As he went on and on with his speech however Kajex and Kaja were scoping out the other combatants. In particular a female shiny zangoose wearing nothing but blue shorts with a lightning bolt pattern, a bandage on her nose, and bandages around her forearms, feet, and chest was looking to be the most dangerous combatant of the lot just from the sheer aura she exuded. They really hoped they wouldn’t have to go against her.
“I am so fucking dead,” they both thought as sweat poured down their faces, hearts thumping uncontrollably.
“But now we seem to be tired with the formalities,” Atrimel continued after some time, “It is now time to announce our matchups for round 1.” As he said that the monitors turned into a tournament bracket, all eight slots shuffled between the eight combatants at a rapid pace. Kajex and Kaja were praying with all their heart they wouldn’t have to fight the zangoose.
“Let’s see who we got,” Sulien smirked as his picture popped up in the first match. And who his opponent was just as shocking. His opponent in the first match was Kajex and the lucario was SWEATING over it.
“Looks like it’s you and me round one,” Sulien smirked as he glanced towards Kajex with a confident grin.
“T-Try to take it a little easy at least okay?” Kajex half-joked as he glanced back, his eyes visibly shaking.
“I’ll try to,” Sulien smiled as the round two match was decided to have the zangoose in it, “I’m already trying to save my family’s greatsword for the semifinals… unless push comes to shove.” The matchups were fully decided after just a bit longer, with Kaja being in the final match of round one. She’d look back at Kajex with a look of fear in her eyes.
“Good luck Kajex,” Kaja stammered, her heart racing wildly.
“I-I’m gonna need it,” Kajex replied as he looked back at her as she walked away.
“All combatants minus the two fighting go to the gates on either side of the arena while we wait for the match to conclude,” Atrimel grinned as he took a seat as the extra six went to the sidelines. Leah was growing particularly worried. She was scared that Kajex could get critically hurt in this first fight. Naomi would try and comfort her as she held the lucario’s hand tightly.
“He’s gonna make it,” Naomi assured her, holding Leah’s elbow tightly.
“I know he will,” Leah said before she retreated back into her own mind, clenching her knees tightly, “I just hope that part of him doesn’t come out.” Sulien and Kajex stood on either side of the arena. Sulien assumed a sort of boxer-like fighting stance as Kajex assumed a street-brawler stance. The match was about to begin.
“Round one of the Grand Clash,” Atrimel began with more gusto in his voice, “Between Sulien Abner of Unova and Kajex Alura of Orrei will commence in 3… 2…1…”
“Here we go Kajex,” he mumbled to himself as he took a deep breath.
“And… BEGIN!!!” Atrimel announced at the top of his lungs.
Sulien wasted no time, immediately charging right at Kajex with the force of a Flare Blitz behind him. Kajex, choosing to run from the attack, uses his own Extreme Speed to dodge the blow, but Sulien was quick to use his own Quick Attack to try and catch up to him, plumes of dust following behind them.
“”You’re gonna need more than speed to be any good in a fight,” Sulien remarked as he yanked Kajex’s tail back and threw him into the nearby wall, blood spurting from his mouth from the blow.
“Urk!” Kajex gritted as he got back on his feet, “Y-Yeah you’re right.” The two soon began to trade blows left and right, Sulien’s iron knuckled slamming into Kajex’s fists with a shock rattling through the lucario’s bones even with him using Close Combat to try and keep up with Sulien’s raw adaptability in a fight wasn’t enough. Clearly he was more than just experienced in fighting, he LIVED in the ring so to speak.
“Come on Kajex, fight harder!” Rhys exclaimed, seeing how Kajex wasn’t landing any proper hits as he raised his fists into the air, “You gotta land something!”
“He’s dodging everything I can throw at him,” Kajex gritted as he blocked several left and right hooks from Sulien, “He’s one hell of a boxer.” Sulien would land a powerful uppercut right into Kajex’s lower jaw, sending him flying back a couple dozen feet as some of the audience winced in pain and his glasses were sent crashing into the wall and shattering. Kajex was outta his league if something didn’t change.
“Oh no Kajex!” Leah gritted as she watched Kajex’s blood drip into the soil beneath them, “He’s gonna need his spare glasses when this is over.”
“A bit rough around the edges, but you’ve got some potential in hand-to-hand combat,” Sulien remarked as he rolled his shoulder, “But you can’t predict an opportunity to dodge now can you?” Kajex would pant heavily as he fumbled to his feet, blood continuing to drip from his jawline. His supporters and Kaja would watch in horror as he tried to see straight. He was against the wall and the fight only just got started.
“Let the monster loose,” Atrimel grinned as he watched Kajex have himself pressed against the wall, “Let K-4J3X out.”
“I’m not the type to say this sort of thing but…” Sulien began in a concerned tone, “You should probably forfeit if you can’t even see properly now.” The audience was booing Kajex, exclaiming stuff like, “We want a real fight!” or “What’s a wimp like you doing in this tournament?!” Kajex didn’t wanna leave it like that, not only to disappoint the crowd, but to those who supported him. But… there was a voice gnawing at the back of his mind. Something was feeding off of the negativity.
“I said I was gonna try this tournament,” Kajex gritted as he wiped away his blood, “And I’m gonna keep going! I don’t need my glasses to at least see you!”
“That’s a bit more like the words of a fighter,” Sulien grinned as a spark flashed in Kajex’s eyes, “Then let’s go!” Sulien would rush at Kajex, but this time Kajex was using Extreme Speed to dodge the blows like Sulien was earlier to try and keep up with his skill level. He had one goal in mind, to wear down Sulien enough to where he could get one good blow in before he threw in the towel. The audience watched as Kajex clearly tried to stall it out.
“Not a bad idea you’ve got there,” Sulien smirked after some time, “But it’s nowhere near good enough!” Sulien soon threw in a surprise Double Kick that would send Kajex flying back before he had any time to properly react. He was forced to his knees and now hardly able to dodge. Sulien was about to land a powerful Take Down that would knock the lucario out if he didn’t block it.
“I need to block this…” Kajex shut his eyes out of fear and held his hands out forward to try and catch his fists, “... NOW!” And just like that, right before contact, something formed in Kajex’s palms in a burst of blue light, blocking the fists and keeping Sulien at bay. The flareon was confused by the sudden appearance of the item, but chose to try and wail against it, to see if Kajex would let go. He wouldn’t.
“What the hell is this thing made out of?!” Sulien gritted as Kajex opened his eyes, his confidence beginning to waver a bit, “Makes registeel metal look like paper!”
“H-Huh?!” Kajex stammered as he clung to the blade tightly before swinging it forward to repel Sulien. The audience gasped, seeing the blade in Kajex’s palm. It was a Keyblade, one based entirely off of his outfit color wise and even the hilt and spokes of the key were shaped like the emblem on his shirt. He was awestruck, Kaja was awestruck, everyone was dumbfounded by the sudden revelation. Boos turned into cheers for the underdog.
“I was wondering when my spell was gonna activate,” Lilith said with a devilish grin, “Now it’s a real fight.”
“That thing is YOUR doing?!” Cherry gritted as she looked towards the delphox, anger sparking in the feline’s eyes.
“I forged the twins' weapons made from my own magic,” Lilith grinned, “Gave them a transmigration spell and forged their shapes to be akin to some old drawings I saw they made. Still missing a few abilities in them, but they’ll do for combat.”
“Leave it to Lilith to save the day,” Thorya thought with a sigh of relief. Kajex would glance down at his new Keyblade, feeling the knowledge to wield it properly flooding into his psyche before looking back at the dazed Sulien. The playing field was now even between the two.
“Now is the time when things get going,” Kajex said with a light smirk, readying a stance as newfound confidence raced through his mind and body.
“Does it now?” Sulien smirked as he dashed towards Kajex as he drew his greatsword, “We’ll see about that!” Kajex would defend with the blade, its impossibly durable metal deflecting all of Sulien’s swings and blasting his muscles with the shockwaves from each clash and the same would dish back at Kajex. Kajex would use one hand to hold it by the handle and the other to support the blade.
“Oh you bet!” Kajex gritted as a smile began to form on his face for the first time in the fight. The audience was growing more and more excited. The fight was finally feeling evenly matched.
“He’s like a completely different fighter with this thing,” Sulien thought as his arms began to wear out a bit as he kept swinging around the sword and began to bleed when Kajex’s weapon grazed against his arms, “I gotta disarm him and knock him out in one hit.” Sulien went in on that plan, punching Kajex’s hand that was holding the blade while gearing up a swing with his free hand. This caused his grip to waver for a moment so he kicked it away all the way to the other side of the arena.
“If it’s really a keyblade then…” Kajex thought as he reached his right hand out behind him. As if it was second nature the Keyblade vanished as it clanged to the ground before instantly reappearing in his open right hand, catching Sulien off guard and making him realize that he wasn’t gonna win this as easily as he thought.
“What the-?!” Sulien stuttered at the sudden revelation. It was the fatal mistake that cost Sulien the match. The blade made direct content with Sulien’s side, right against his chest with a force behind it Sulien didn’t even conceive was possible for a person to achieve. It was like a truck the size of a small building rammed into him and sent him flying all the way to the other side of the arena, the wall visibly cracking from the impact. He spewed blood from his mouth as he struggled to get onto his feet, his side slightly torn and oozing more blood.
“Looks like you got a bit of an arm there if you can land a shot,” Sulien stammered, using his blade as support, “I really didn’t need to hold back after all.”
“Maybe,” Kajex panted as he caught his breath, blood oozing into his eye as the adrenaline kept him from feeling all too much pain, “I just got lucky.”
“With a weapon like that I bet,” Sulien smirked as he got back on his feet, arming his blade behind him with both hands. Sulien was gearing up for their finale.
“Let’s finish this Sulien!” Kajex exclaimed as he used Extreme Speed to dash right towards Sulien, the crowd growing more and more excited as they felt rushes of wind behind each of their movements.
“My thoughts exactly!” Sulien exclaimed as he used Quick Attack to dash right back towards him, “Now I really wish I went all out!” The audience cheered at the top of their lungs, Naomi and Leah sweating bullets, hoping Kajex wasn’t gonna get hurt as they neared their final clash. This really was to decide everything.
“All or nothing!” the two exclaimed as they were mere steps away from each other, their bodies cutting through the air like it was a knife through butter. The audience was getting PUMPED, cheers for both ends ringing through the arena with resounding applaud. But some were cheering just hard enough to reach Kajex’s ears.
“Come on Kajex!” Dimitri exclaimed, his body visibly shaking with anxiety.
“We believe in you Kajex!” Sora exclaimed as she fist pumped to the heavens, “Make it to the semifinals!”
“Do it for us and my sis!” Ace exclaimed, leaning over the edge of the arena to get as close as he could to Kajex so he could hear him.
“I can’t lose,” Kajex thought, feeling their pleas ring through his mind and to his core as he took one hand off of his Keyblade, “Gotta play this smart.” They prepared their final attacks. Sulien was expecting Kajex to use his Keyblade for the clash as it was what carried him all the way here during the fight and attempted to use both hands on his blade to repel it with maximum force before he landed the final blow while he was staggered.
“Wh-What the-?!” Sulien stammered as his face when from confident to fearful in mere seconds. Kajex’s free hand was open and ready to strike him while he used his Keyblade to block the attack. Kajex landed a final Meteor Mash as he tried to alter his swing. It was a direct and destructive hit that shocked Sulien’s system, sending Sulien right back against the wall, a bone or two in his body cracked as he fell to the ground, hardly staying conscious.
“H-Heh, you get this win,” Sulien wheezed as he laid there, hardly staying conscious, “Guess I underestimated you a bit too much. Drew my weapon a bit too late.”
“I-I… won?” Kajex realized as he clutched his Keyblade in his grip, “I WON???!!!” The crowd was cheering, even the fans who wanted Sulien to win were cheering after such a pendulum of a match. Kajex raised his Keyblade into the air, tears mixing with his blood as they ran down his face. He actually won a match through sheer luck.
“And the winner of round one is Kajex Alura!” Atrimel exclaimed in pure glee, “He will move onto the semifinals to go against the winner of round two!” As Kajex was riding off of the adrenaline from the fight, Leah would let out a sigh of pure relief as her heart rate finally calmed down, Naomi crying tears of joy as their friends cheered on for Kajex’s out of left field comeback.
“Thank arceus he didn’t lose himself to the stress,” Leah said in a HEFTY sigh of relief, her body quivering uncontrollably as she tried to continue to clap.
“That’s my best buddy for ya!” Rhys exclaimed as he stood up and fist pumped towards the air, Ace following suit.
“Let’s go Kajex!” Ace exclaimed as Yuki and the other clapped in awe of the display
“I just can’t believe he actually clutched it!” Naomi said as the tears soaked her shirt collar. Kajex would fumble his way to the gates outside the arena, taking a seat next to Kaja as he clutched his side, blood soaking his coat as he’d pant heavily, his eyelids feeling a tad heavy.
“H-How?! WHEN did you get a Keyblade?!” Kaja exclaimed as she gave him some water, “Th-That was the best anime comeback I’ve ever seen!”
“I-It kinda just… happened,” Kajex replied, getting some of the blood off of his face, “I just felt desperation and it just… appeared.”
“D-Do you think…” Kaja replied, remembering their interaction with Lilith earlier with a spark of hopefulness in her eyes.
“Only one way to find out,” Kajex replied, not noticing his injuries seemingly… burning off of his skin. As the twins were chatting however, the zangoose was glancing towards Kajex, a soft smirk striking across her face.
“Let’s see what this kid is made of in the semifinals,” she smirked as she cracked her knuckles, walking into the arena for her match. The VIPs up top had their own reactions to the fight however as paramedics took Sulien to an infirmary on a stretcher just before he passed out from blood loss.
“Wh-Whoa!” Thorya stammered, their heart still palpitating, “D-Didn’t think he knew his way around such an unorthodox weapon!”
“Me neither!” Cherry exclaimed as she tried to get data on that, “He was WAY different in that match!” Kajex was ecstatic over this revelation, he never thought he could do it, even with his own Keyblade at his side. Clearly there was… a bit more behind his win.
“Thank arceus he doesn’t have to get hospitalized because of father,” Thorya sweated as they looked down towards the lucario. Atrimel would look down at Kajex with a mixture of pride and disgust. He knew there was something more behind the timidness that masked Kajex’s nature, but he couldn’t complain, he did manage to win even without it.
“Maybe in the semifinals,” Atrimel thought with a devilish grin, “He’ll show me just how dangerous he is.”
“Glad to know my gift came in handy for you,” Lilith smirked before looking down towards the gate Kaja was behind, “Wonder how she’ll handle using hers.” However, Atrimel was fixated on knowing Kajex was only playing right into his hands and a small call on his special little earpiece only made him even more excited.
“The energy core is all set in place,” the weavile’s voice echoed on the other side, trying not to sound all giddy, “Just give us the word when it’s time for activation.”
“When the finals come to a close,” he whispered in a grizzly tone to try and make it so nobody would notice, “I’ll say the word.”
Chapter 2 is already in the works and I really hope you all enjoy
A week had passed in the blink of an eye. The news of the tournament had began spreading like wildfire days prior as people from not just the three represented regions, but across other regions like Paldea and Sinnoh would come to watch the event live. Amber City was bustling with life like never before as they all came to Thunder Fist Stadium. It was an arena originally designed for giants to do battle for entertainment when Atrimel’s mother, Queen Galena ruled over Orrei 30 years ago, but discontinued it upon her passing due to shifts in interest for the majority of the public and Atrimel’s… changes to how he ran the region. Kajex and Kaja were on their way to the main grounds for the opening ceremony, their collars clasped around their necks.
“W-Welp… this is it,” Kajex gulped as they began to walk into the gate saved just for the 8 combatants, guards standing by to check the collars before entry.
“Time to get our asses handed to us,” Kaja sweated as she clenched her fists tightly. They could hear the crowds getting more and more excited as more civilians flooded the arena like a tsunami. This would only put them more and more on edge until they both jumped in place when an unknown force tapped their shoulders simultaneously, making them jump in place.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” the twins screamed as they turned around, eyes darting around to look in every direction.
“Oh don’t you make a fuss now,” the delphox witch Lilith giggled as she waved at the two, “It’s just me.” The two would calm down, thinking she was one of their opponents at first. They’d try to compose themselves as they glanced up at her.
“Y-You really shouldn’t jumpscare the two people most on edge over this thing,” Kaja panted as she tried to calm her heart rate.
“Didn’t mean to,” Lilith smiled as she placed her hands on each of their shoulders, “Just wanted to come and wish you two good luck in person before I went up to join Thorya and Cherry in the VIP seats.”
“Th-Thanks,” Kajex blushed as his heart began to calm down. As he said that however, unbeknownst to the two, a sort of… light that flooded from Lilith’s palms and flowed straight into the twins’ bodies. Whatever she did wasn’t immediately obvious to anyone really.
“Well, just remember to give it your all,” Lilith smiled as she took her hands away, “I know your mom and everyone else will be cheering at you all from the sidelines.”
“W-We know,” Kaja blushed as Lilith teleported with another finger snap. They began to walk through the hall, the blinding light of the inside washing over them within seconds as they glanced up at the literal tens of thousands in the crowd. This was the Grand Clash.
“G-Geez didn’t know it could house this many people in here,” Kajex stammered as he looked all around.
“So you two are the Orreian representatives?” a male voice echoed in front of them, “Heard the King picked some oddballs.”
“H-Huh?” they stammered in unison as they glanced forward. One of the many combatants they were to deal with was a male flareon of a more athletic build, He only wore a black tank top with a silver crown, a pair of gloves with metal bits on the knuckles, and blue shorts. On his back was a large greatsword with a sort of sun like pattern on its hilt. His hair was glowing as if it were fire as he stood before them with the other 5 combatants.
“Y-Yeah we honestly have no idea why he picked us,” Kaja remarked as they joined them in the center of the arena, clenching her arm nervously.
“Well whatever reason he’d better have picked well if he wants a shot at beating me,” the flareon scoffed as he held out his hand with a sense of pride in his aura, “I’m Sulien. Sulien Abner. Who’re you two then?”
“I-I’m Kajex Alura,” Kajex remarked as he gestured towards Kaja, “And she’s my twin sister Kaja.”
“Not often you see twins of two different species,” he smirked before glancing at the two curiously, “But we’ll see what you’re made of in this tournament.”
“Which’ll… probably not be much,” Kaja sweated as they continued to assert the amount of people watching them.
As the twins got into position for the ceremony, Leah, Naomi, and their other acquaintances were all gathered in the front row of the eastern side of the arena. Rhys, Ace, Jade, and even Yuki, Dimitri were getting excited to see it all unfold, but Naomi and Leah were honestly nervous for their safety. They didn’t wanna see the twins get hurt.
“I wish Miteru was here to watch and make sure everything goes smoothly,” Naomi sweated as she tried to not bite her fingers off.
“She had to temporarily send her avatar to Kalos to deal with complications with the queens sadly,” Leah sighed, her heart thumping uncontrollably.
“Woooo Kaja! Kajex you got this!” Rhys cheered on as he saw the two step onto the center platform visibly jumping in his seat.
“Make me proud!” Yuki cheered on, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of pride and excitement. After a bit more time had passed and more seats were filled in an unexpected guest had taken a seat right next to Dimitri. It was Sora, and somehow she WASN’T the size of a building.
“Wh-When did you get a-all.. small?” Dimitri asked out of curiosity, sweat pouring down the side of his cheek as he more closely examined the shrunken cinderace.
“Oh thank Cherry BIG time for this one,” Sora said with a smile, ears perking up as she looked at her co-workers, “She gave me some prototype compression tech to keep me small just so I could watch the fights today!”
“Well, that’s definitely handy,” Jade said with an awkward chuckle, “Let’s just hope it doesn’t fail mid match.”
On the uppermost point of all the seats circling the arena Cherry and Thorya were currently seated in two of the three special seats just beneath Atrimel’s. Thorya was sweating bullets, clenching their knees tightly as the cold aura their father exuded continued to strike their core. Cherry would notice this however.
“Something bothering you?” Cherry asked curiously, her ears perking up a bit.
“J-Just uneasy about Kajex and Kaja fighting in this tournament is all,” Thorya shakily replied, “They could lose control over their powers at any moment.”
“Eh, they’ll be fine,” Cherry shrugged, “They seem to keep it under control pretty we-” She was suddenly cut off when Lilith teleported right into the seat beside her. Cherry’s look of optimism turned into her normal, pouty scowl she’d always give the witch instead.
“Well look who finally decided to show up,” Cherry said as she rolled her eyes in disappointment, “Miss tardy decided to show up literally seconds before the ceremony starts.”
“Had to get Cain out of bed and into a seat in the arena is all,” Lilith replied with a calm smile, “Wasn’t gonna let him nap this one away.”
“W-Well that’s good,” Thorya awkwardly chuckled. Atrimel would then stand up, a single flick of his cape for all of the monitors to see signifying everyone to calm down and almost instantly everyone piped down. The arena was now filled with silence as Atrimel cleared his throat, ready to begin the opening ceremony.
“Now to all who’ve come across many regions,” Atrimel began with a somewhat enthusiastic tone for once, “Welcome to the Grand Clash, hosted by the Orreian royal family here in Orrei. Leaders from Galar, Unova, and Alola have sent their very best to join in on this invitational as well as my personal choices for the best Orrei can offer.”
As he went on and on with his speech however Kajex and Kaja were scoping out the other combatants. In particular a female shiny zangoose wearing nothing but blue shorts with a lightning bolt pattern, a bandage on her nose, and bandages around her forearms, feet, and chest was looking to be the most dangerous combatant of the lot just from the sheer aura she exuded. They really hoped they wouldn’t have to go against her.
“I am so fucking dead,” they both thought as sweat poured down their faces, hearts thumping uncontrollably.
“But now we seem to be tired with the formalities,” Atrimel continued after some time, “It is now time to announce our matchups for round 1.” As he said that the monitors turned into a tournament bracket, all eight slots shuffled between the eight combatants at a rapid pace. Kajex and Kaja were praying with all their heart they wouldn’t have to fight the zangoose.
“Let’s see who we got,” Sulien smirked as his picture popped up in the first match. And who his opponent was just as shocking. His opponent in the first match was Kajex and the lucario was SWEATING over it.
“Looks like it’s you and me round one,” Sulien smirked as he glanced towards Kajex with a confident grin.
“T-Try to take it a little easy at least okay?” Kajex half-joked as he glanced back, his eyes visibly shaking.
“I’ll try to,” Sulien smiled as the round two match was decided to have the zangoose in it, “I’m already trying to save my family’s greatsword for the semifinals… unless push comes to shove.” The matchups were fully decided after just a bit longer, with Kaja being in the final match of round one. She’d look back at Kajex with a look of fear in her eyes.
“Good luck Kajex,” Kaja stammered, her heart racing wildly.
“I-I’m gonna need it,” Kajex replied as he looked back at her as she walked away.
“All combatants minus the two fighting go to the gates on either side of the arena while we wait for the match to conclude,” Atrimel grinned as he took a seat as the extra six went to the sidelines. Leah was growing particularly worried. She was scared that Kajex could get critically hurt in this first fight. Naomi would try and comfort her as she held the lucario’s hand tightly.
“He’s gonna make it,” Naomi assured her, holding Leah’s elbow tightly.
“I know he will,” Leah said before she retreated back into her own mind, clenching her knees tightly, “I just hope that part of him doesn’t come out.” Sulien and Kajex stood on either side of the arena. Sulien assumed a sort of boxer-like fighting stance as Kajex assumed a street-brawler stance. The match was about to begin.
“Round one of the Grand Clash,” Atrimel began with more gusto in his voice, “Between Sulien Abner of Unova and Kajex Alura of Orrei will commence in 3… 2…1…”
“Here we go Kajex,” he mumbled to himself as he took a deep breath.
“And… BEGIN!!!” Atrimel announced at the top of his lungs.
Sulien wasted no time, immediately charging right at Kajex with the force of a Flare Blitz behind him. Kajex, choosing to run from the attack, uses his own Extreme Speed to dodge the blow, but Sulien was quick to use his own Quick Attack to try and catch up to him, plumes of dust following behind them.
“”You’re gonna need more than speed to be any good in a fight,” Sulien remarked as he yanked Kajex’s tail back and threw him into the nearby wall, blood spurting from his mouth from the blow.
“Urk!” Kajex gritted as he got back on his feet, “Y-Yeah you’re right.” The two soon began to trade blows left and right, Sulien’s iron knuckled slamming into Kajex’s fists with a shock rattling through the lucario’s bones even with him using Close Combat to try and keep up with Sulien’s raw adaptability in a fight wasn’t enough. Clearly he was more than just experienced in fighting, he LIVED in the ring so to speak.
“Come on Kajex, fight harder!” Rhys exclaimed, seeing how Kajex wasn’t landing any proper hits as he raised his fists into the air, “You gotta land something!”
“He’s dodging everything I can throw at him,” Kajex gritted as he blocked several left and right hooks from Sulien, “He’s one hell of a boxer.” Sulien would land a powerful uppercut right into Kajex’s lower jaw, sending him flying back a couple dozen feet as some of the audience winced in pain and his glasses were sent crashing into the wall and shattering. Kajex was outta his league if something didn’t change.
“Oh no Kajex!” Leah gritted as she watched Kajex’s blood drip into the soil beneath them, “He’s gonna need his spare glasses when this is over.”
“A bit rough around the edges, but you’ve got some potential in hand-to-hand combat,” Sulien remarked as he rolled his shoulder, “But you can’t predict an opportunity to dodge now can you?” Kajex would pant heavily as he fumbled to his feet, blood continuing to drip from his jawline. His supporters and Kaja would watch in horror as he tried to see straight. He was against the wall and the fight only just got started.
“Let the monster loose,” Atrimel grinned as he watched Kajex have himself pressed against the wall, “Let K-4J3X out.”
“I’m not the type to say this sort of thing but…” Sulien began in a concerned tone, “You should probably forfeit if you can’t even see properly now.” The audience was booing Kajex, exclaiming stuff like, “We want a real fight!” or “What’s a wimp like you doing in this tournament?!” Kajex didn’t wanna leave it like that, not only to disappoint the crowd, but to those who supported him. But… there was a voice gnawing at the back of his mind. Something was feeding off of the negativity.
“I said I was gonna try this tournament,” Kajex gritted as he wiped away his blood, “And I’m gonna keep going! I don’t need my glasses to at least see you!”
“That’s a bit more like the words of a fighter,” Sulien grinned as a spark flashed in Kajex’s eyes, “Then let’s go!” Sulien would rush at Kajex, but this time Kajex was using Extreme Speed to dodge the blows like Sulien was earlier to try and keep up with his skill level. He had one goal in mind, to wear down Sulien enough to where he could get one good blow in before he threw in the towel. The audience watched as Kajex clearly tried to stall it out.
“Not a bad idea you’ve got there,” Sulien smirked after some time, “But it’s nowhere near good enough!” Sulien soon threw in a surprise Double Kick that would send Kajex flying back before he had any time to properly react. He was forced to his knees and now hardly able to dodge. Sulien was about to land a powerful Take Down that would knock the lucario out if he didn’t block it.
“I need to block this…” Kajex shut his eyes out of fear and held his hands out forward to try and catch his fists, “... NOW!” And just like that, right before contact, something formed in Kajex’s palms in a burst of blue light, blocking the fists and keeping Sulien at bay. The flareon was confused by the sudden appearance of the item, but chose to try and wail against it, to see if Kajex would let go. He wouldn’t.
“What the hell is this thing made out of?!” Sulien gritted as Kajex opened his eyes, his confidence beginning to waver a bit, “Makes registeel metal look like paper!”
“H-Huh?!” Kajex stammered as he clung to the blade tightly before swinging it forward to repel Sulien. The audience gasped, seeing the blade in Kajex’s palm. It was a Keyblade, one based entirely off of his outfit color wise and even the hilt and spokes of the key were shaped like the emblem on his shirt. He was awestruck, Kaja was awestruck, everyone was dumbfounded by the sudden revelation. Boos turned into cheers for the underdog.
“I was wondering when my spell was gonna activate,” Lilith said with a devilish grin, “Now it’s a real fight.”
“That thing is YOUR doing?!” Cherry gritted as she looked towards the delphox, anger sparking in the feline’s eyes.
“I forged the twins' weapons made from my own magic,” Lilith grinned, “Gave them a transmigration spell and forged their shapes to be akin to some old drawings I saw they made. Still missing a few abilities in them, but they’ll do for combat.”
“Leave it to Lilith to save the day,” Thorya thought with a sigh of relief. Kajex would glance down at his new Keyblade, feeling the knowledge to wield it properly flooding into his psyche before looking back at the dazed Sulien. The playing field was now even between the two.
“Now is the time when things get going,” Kajex said with a light smirk, readying a stance as newfound confidence raced through his mind and body.
“Does it now?” Sulien smirked as he dashed towards Kajex as he drew his greatsword, “We’ll see about that!” Kajex would defend with the blade, its impossibly durable metal deflecting all of Sulien’s swings and blasting his muscles with the shockwaves from each clash and the same would dish back at Kajex. Kajex would use one hand to hold it by the handle and the other to support the blade.
“Oh you bet!” Kajex gritted as a smile began to form on his face for the first time in the fight. The audience was growing more and more excited. The fight was finally feeling evenly matched.
“He’s like a completely different fighter with this thing,” Sulien thought as his arms began to wear out a bit as he kept swinging around the sword and began to bleed when Kajex’s weapon grazed against his arms, “I gotta disarm him and knock him out in one hit.” Sulien went in on that plan, punching Kajex’s hand that was holding the blade while gearing up a swing with his free hand. This caused his grip to waver for a moment so he kicked it away all the way to the other side of the arena.
“If it’s really a keyblade then…” Kajex thought as he reached his right hand out behind him. As if it was second nature the Keyblade vanished as it clanged to the ground before instantly reappearing in his open right hand, catching Sulien off guard and making him realize that he wasn’t gonna win this as easily as he thought.
“What the-?!” Sulien stuttered at the sudden revelation. It was the fatal mistake that cost Sulien the match. The blade made direct content with Sulien’s side, right against his chest with a force behind it Sulien didn’t even conceive was possible for a person to achieve. It was like a truck the size of a small building rammed into him and sent him flying all the way to the other side of the arena, the wall visibly cracking from the impact. He spewed blood from his mouth as he struggled to get onto his feet, his side slightly torn and oozing more blood.
“Looks like you got a bit of an arm there if you can land a shot,” Sulien stammered, using his blade as support, “I really didn’t need to hold back after all.”
“Maybe,” Kajex panted as he caught his breath, blood oozing into his eye as the adrenaline kept him from feeling all too much pain, “I just got lucky.”
“With a weapon like that I bet,” Sulien smirked as he got back on his feet, arming his blade behind him with both hands. Sulien was gearing up for their finale.
“Let’s finish this Sulien!” Kajex exclaimed as he used Extreme Speed to dash right towards Sulien, the crowd growing more and more excited as they felt rushes of wind behind each of their movements.
“My thoughts exactly!” Sulien exclaimed as he used Quick Attack to dash right back towards him, “Now I really wish I went all out!” The audience cheered at the top of their lungs, Naomi and Leah sweating bullets, hoping Kajex wasn’t gonna get hurt as they neared their final clash. This really was to decide everything.
“All or nothing!” the two exclaimed as they were mere steps away from each other, their bodies cutting through the air like it was a knife through butter. The audience was getting PUMPED, cheers for both ends ringing through the arena with resounding applaud. But some were cheering just hard enough to reach Kajex’s ears.
“Come on Kajex!” Dimitri exclaimed, his body visibly shaking with anxiety.
“We believe in you Kajex!” Sora exclaimed as she fist pumped to the heavens, “Make it to the semifinals!”
“Do it for us and my sis!” Ace exclaimed, leaning over the edge of the arena to get as close as he could to Kajex so he could hear him.
“I can’t lose,” Kajex thought, feeling their pleas ring through his mind and to his core as he took one hand off of his Keyblade, “Gotta play this smart.” They prepared their final attacks. Sulien was expecting Kajex to use his Keyblade for the clash as it was what carried him all the way here during the fight and attempted to use both hands on his blade to repel it with maximum force before he landed the final blow while he was staggered.
“Wh-What the-?!” Sulien stammered as his face when from confident to fearful in mere seconds. Kajex’s free hand was open and ready to strike him while he used his Keyblade to block the attack. Kajex landed a final Meteor Mash as he tried to alter his swing. It was a direct and destructive hit that shocked Sulien’s system, sending Sulien right back against the wall, a bone or two in his body cracked as he fell to the ground, hardly staying conscious.
“H-Heh, you get this win,” Sulien wheezed as he laid there, hardly staying conscious, “Guess I underestimated you a bit too much. Drew my weapon a bit too late.”
“I-I… won?” Kajex realized as he clutched his Keyblade in his grip, “I WON???!!!” The crowd was cheering, even the fans who wanted Sulien to win were cheering after such a pendulum of a match. Kajex raised his Keyblade into the air, tears mixing with his blood as they ran down his face. He actually won a match through sheer luck.
“And the winner of round one is Kajex Alura!” Atrimel exclaimed in pure glee, “He will move onto the semifinals to go against the winner of round two!” As Kajex was riding off of the adrenaline from the fight, Leah would let out a sigh of pure relief as her heart rate finally calmed down, Naomi crying tears of joy as their friends cheered on for Kajex’s out of left field comeback.
“Thank arceus he didn’t lose himself to the stress,” Leah said in a HEFTY sigh of relief, her body quivering uncontrollably as she tried to continue to clap.
“That’s my best buddy for ya!” Rhys exclaimed as he stood up and fist pumped towards the air, Ace following suit.
“Let’s go Kajex!” Ace exclaimed as Yuki and the other clapped in awe of the display
“I just can’t believe he actually clutched it!” Naomi said as the tears soaked her shirt collar. Kajex would fumble his way to the gates outside the arena, taking a seat next to Kaja as he clutched his side, blood soaking his coat as he’d pant heavily, his eyelids feeling a tad heavy.
“H-How?! WHEN did you get a Keyblade?!” Kaja exclaimed as she gave him some water, “Th-That was the best anime comeback I’ve ever seen!”
“I-It kinda just… happened,” Kajex replied, getting some of the blood off of his face, “I just felt desperation and it just… appeared.”
“D-Do you think…” Kaja replied, remembering their interaction with Lilith earlier with a spark of hopefulness in her eyes.
“Only one way to find out,” Kajex replied, not noticing his injuries seemingly… burning off of his skin. As the twins were chatting however, the zangoose was glancing towards Kajex, a soft smirk striking across her face.
“Let’s see what this kid is made of in the semifinals,” she smirked as she cracked her knuckles, walking into the arena for her match. The VIPs up top had their own reactions to the fight however as paramedics took Sulien to an infirmary on a stretcher just before he passed out from blood loss.
“Wh-Whoa!” Thorya stammered, their heart still palpitating, “D-Didn’t think he knew his way around such an unorthodox weapon!”
“Me neither!” Cherry exclaimed as she tried to get data on that, “He was WAY different in that match!” Kajex was ecstatic over this revelation, he never thought he could do it, even with his own Keyblade at his side. Clearly there was… a bit more behind his win.
“Thank arceus he doesn’t have to get hospitalized because of father,” Thorya sweated as they looked down towards the lucario. Atrimel would look down at Kajex with a mixture of pride and disgust. He knew there was something more behind the timidness that masked Kajex’s nature, but he couldn’t complain, he did manage to win even without it.
“Maybe in the semifinals,” Atrimel thought with a devilish grin, “He’ll show me just how dangerous he is.”
“Glad to know my gift came in handy for you,” Lilith smirked before looking down towards the gate Kaja was behind, “Wonder how she’ll handle using hers.” However, Atrimel was fixated on knowing Kajex was only playing right into his hands and a small call on his special little earpiece only made him even more excited.
“The energy core is all set in place,” the weavile’s voice echoed on the other side, trying not to sound all giddy, “Just give us the word when it’s time for activation.”
“When the finals come to a close,” he whispered in a grizzly tone to try and make it so nobody would notice, “I’ll say the word.”
Category Story / Anime
Species Pokemon
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 93.6 kB
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