The Pantheon

The Cleanup

Ashley threw her head back as she laughed, gripping tight to the thick ruff of Vulcan’s neck while he thundered down the narrow dirt path that carved through the final stretch of Viridian Forest. The sun was slanting through the trees, golden light bouncing off his fur as he picked up speed with every loping stride. Lucario was right beside them, keeping perfect pace, just a blur of blue and silver in the corner of her eye. He wasn’t pushing himself—just running for the joy of it. She could feel his energy through the aura: open, amused, alive.

“Come on, slowpoke!” she called over the wind, laughing again when Lucario surged ahead just enough to pass them, only to slow back down with a cocky little smirk. Show-off.

They hadn’t even meant to stay in the forest that long. A couple days of rest, some light sparring, maybe a marshmallow or two. But then Mars had roped Lucario into some footwork drills. Then Proserpina got that glint in her eye and decided he needed to learn Trailblaze, and from there it all snowballed.

Vulcan had taken the lead, literally and figuratively, showing Lucario how to channel Extreme Speed. Mercury turned every Dig lesson into a chaotic race underground, half-training, half-prank war. Venus taught Lucario how to focus Shadow Ball without wasting energy, always patient, always precise. Apollo introduced Dragon Pulse like it was a dance. Neptune—blunt as ever—just went for Bulldoze and told Lucario to “match it.” Rock Tomb came last, drilled into him by Mars with silent nods and the occasional tail flick, the only instruction he ever gave.

Lucario hadn’t mastered the moves—not yet—but he had learned them. Bit by bit, he was pulling them into his own style.

They’d camped longer than expected, sure. She’d run out of clean socks. Mercury had run out of patience for bugs. But watching Lucario go from “team outsider” to having inside jokes with Vulcan? Worth it.

As the forest finally broke and the dirt path gave way to cobblestone, Ashley pulled back gently on Vulcan’s scruff. He slowed without complaint, tongue lolling out, clearly proud of himself. She swung her leg over and slid off his back, sneakers hitting solid ground for the first time in hours.

“Okay, okay, you win,” she said, ruffling the thick fur behind his ears. “Fastest fuzzy oven in the west.” Vulcan huffed, smug. She leaned in and kissed him right on the side of the face. “Love you too.”

He woofed softly, almost bashful, before the red light of the Poké Ball swept over him and pulled him back inside. Ashley clipped the ball to her belt and turned to Lucario, who had already stopped a few steps ahead and was waiting, arms loosely crossed. She smirked. “Ready for a new city?”

Lucario tilted his head, smiling faintly. That familiar spark shimmered through the aura—eagerness, curiosity, and something a little more playful underneath. It wasn’t quite confidence. But it was getting there.

For a second, they just stood there at the city’s edge—just past the old welcome sign, the wind catching her hair, Lucario’s fur ruffling in the breeze. The stone towers of Viridian loomed ahead, quiet and gray in the early light, but there was movement in the distance. Voices. Activity.

Lucario’s gaze tracked upward, toward the skyline.

Ashley grinned, hands on her hips. “Well, guess we better go see what kind of trouble we’re walking into.”

Ashley and Lucario exchanged a look as soon as they passed under the first arch into Viridian City proper—one of those “uhhh, what’s going on?” looks, silent but immediate.

It was weird.

Not the usual kind of city weird, either. This wasn’t the occasional wild Primeape on a rooftop or a Magmar causing trouble in a noodle shop. This was organized weird. Heavy weird.