Kung Fu Lucario

Chapter 8: Outfoxed

"Okay, look, I'm sure you're old enough to know that not all strangers are bad, kid. Otherwise, how else are you gonna meet anyone?" Po replied in a much calmer tone. "I know you're probably scared right now, but really, I mean you no harm. I'm not here to hurt you, bud."

Hearing this, the Tricky Fox Pokémon became a bit less on-edge. He tilted his head to the side and stepped closer to where Po stood.

"You promise?"

The panda smiled and jokingly shook his stomach a little. It jiggled from side to side in his hands.

"I mean, just look at me. Do I really look like I can hurt anyone with this thing in the way?"

Zorua, to his surprise, started chuckling at this joke. He then coughed in a half-hearted attempt to hide it, but Po caught on pretty quick. "Who... and what are you exactly?"

"My name's Po and I'm a panda. Not exactly a normal one, given everything that happened yesterday, but I used to be." The Dragon Warrior said with a shrug. "Although, come to think of it, I should be asking you that same question."

The Dark-type Pokémon nervously looked down at his feet before speaking again. He had no idea what a panda was, but given Po's behavior, it didn't matter much to him.

"I'm... erm... Zorua. I'm a Dark-type Pokémon... and so is my Meema. I got separated from her somehow and ended up here, or whatever this place is."

"Dang. You must have no clue where you are then, huh?"

"N-No. I don't even know where to even find her."

Zorua sniffled, trying to hold back his tears.

"Hey, no worries. Believe it or not, we have another Pokémon here who can sense people's energy and stuff. Lucario should be able to find your Meema in no time."

The young fox's sadness was now replaced with fear. That name was the last one he ever wanted to hear about.

"L-Lucario? He's here?!"

Growling, Zorua quickly hopped away from Po and got into a fighting stance. His gray tail seemed to puff up in tandem with his emotional state.

"Sorry, Po, but anyone who's a friend of that bully, is no friend of mine. I can find Meema all by myself! I won't let her be hurt again!"

To no one's surprise, the panda was now even more confused than before. A "bully" was the last term he'd used to describe Lucario, considering their prior conversations with one another. Master Shifu fit that word a bit more, from his perspective.

"Wait a second! What do you mean—"

Zorua, unfortunately, refused to explain himself further. Glowing with pink energy, he somersaulted into the air and transformed into an exact copy of Po's body. The only thing that distinguished him from the original was his gray fox tail. He also hung out his hands like a cat.

Po was stunned speechless. He pointed from Zorua to himself in quick succession.

"I mean, not gonna lie, that's pretty dang awesome, but what are you exactly planning to do as me... against me? See who can go down the stairs faster?"

"No. More like this!" Noticing that Po's defenses were left wide open, Zorua lit up his fist with white energy and socked him across the face. "Feint Attack!"

"GWAAAGH! Doh!"

The poor panda was sent flying directly on top of the two posts he inspected beforehand. His legs were forcibly placed into an imperfect split, much to Po's clear dismay.