Asura

Heath eyed the old man walking slowly away with suspicion. He kept feeling that the man had to be Zorua in disguise, but without Zorua saying so, he couldn't be sure. After all, there wasn't a tail sticking out behind the old man.

"I just don't get it." Heath shook his head. Maybe Zorua was simply being cautious? Still, holding out for so long even when faced with its favorite Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs was pretty impressive.

"Human! Over here!" Just as Heath was about to head home, watch some TV, and get an early night, he heard a familiar voice.

Heath glanced back. There was nothing behind him, but the telepathic voice made him realize that Zorua was indeed nearby.

"Where are you?" Heath looked around in confusion. He hadn't thought much of it when watching the anime, but now that he was facing Zorua's illusions himself, he had to admit they were incredibly powerful.

"Behind you, to your right. Just walk over normally!" Zorua continued speaking through Telepathy. Heath followed its instructions and walked over, then spotted a Caterpie on the ground.

The Caterpie practically blended into the surrounding grass. Without looking closely, he really wouldn't have noticed it. Heath studied the Caterpie, figuring this must be Zorua.

"So that person just now really wasn't you?" Heath reached out and poked the Caterpie. It was soft, just like touching a real Caterpie.

"Who told you that Caterpie was me?" Under Heath's astonished gaze, another Caterpie dropped out of the tree and landed in front of him.

Heath looked at the Caterpie in front of him, then at the one beside him, and awkwardly withdrew his hand. Apparently, he'd gotten it wrong.

"That old man just now! He's awful! He's the one who caught me and brought me here!" The Caterpie trembled with a adorably vacant expression, seemingly intimidated by Farfetch'd just like the other Caterpie.

Yet Zorua's telepathic voice kept ringing in Heath's mind. Heath was rather impressed. Its ability to disguise itself really was flawless.

But Zorua's words also put Heath on alert. If that old man was the one who had captured Zorua and brought it here, didn't that make him Asura from Team Plasma?

Heath froze for a moment. He couldn't quite remember what Pokémon Asura had, but since the man had appeared here, he must have come for Zorua. Which meant that now...

"Farfetch'd!" Just as Heath was thinking things over, Farfetch'd, who had stayed beside him all along, suddenly slashed out with its leek. Something burst behind Heath. He turned around in confusion, only to see a Cofagrigus standing right behind him.

"Cofagrigus!" Heath jolted in shock. When? How did this thing get here?

"It's that one! That annoying thing!" Zorua screamed. The Caterpie darted away at a speed its species could never have managed.

But Zorua soon stopped. Behind it stood Asura with a Xatu, smiling at it.

"I was wondering why I hadn't been able to sense your mental fluctuations for so long. So you were waiting for me to leave, Zorua." Asura smiled at Zorua. He didn't even glance at Farfetch'd or Heath.

"What are you trying to do? Aren't you a traveler?" Heath braced his hands on his thighs and stood up, watching Asura warily.

His situation wasn't looking good. He had enemies on both sides, but Heath wasn't particularly panicked.

Farfetch'd's Ability had already proven useful, and Heath didn't think Asura would know that it had been altered. If they caught him off guard, they could still get some hits in.

Besides, Heath had other tricks up his sleeve.

"I'm terribly sorry, young fellow. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Asura, Zorua's owner. Come back, Zorua." Asura spoke with a smile, though Cofagrigus and Xatu looked anything but friendly.

"I'm not going back! You despicable, shameless creeps!" Zorua twisted angrily, and another Cofagrigus appeared.

"Very nice, but it won't work." Asura clapped, then took out an object and pressed it. Zorua's body distorted before returning to its original form.

"Farfetch'd! Tackle!" Heath glanced at Asura. Sure enough, the man had something that could counter Zorua's illusions.

Asura ignored Heath. He saw Farfetch'd charge toward Cofagrigus, but a move like Tackle couldn't possibly work against a Ghost-type like Cofagrigus.

A complete rookie. That was Asura's assessment.

"Now!" Noticing Asura's indifference and Cofagrigus's mocking expression, Heath immediately shouted.

Then, under Cofagrigus's astonished, disbelieving gaze, Farfetch'd abruptly stopped using Tackle. Flames flared around its wing, and a moment later, a Fire Punch slammed into Cofagrigus's face.

Caught completely off guard and without any defenses in place, Cofagrigus took Farfetch'd's Fire Punch head-on. The exploding Fire-type energy scorched its face black. It let out an angry cry, then enveloped Farfetch'd in Psychic.

But Farfetch'd seemed completely unaffected. It charged in again and delivered another Fire Punch to Cofagrigus's face.

"Cofagrigus, stop playing around. Use Dark Pulse!" Asura frowned as he watched Zorua battling his Xatu.

Cofagrigus answered, but a moment later, another scream came from it. Asura turned in confusion, only to see Farfetch'd slamming yet another Fire Punch hard into Cofagrigus's face.

Although Farfetch'd's Fire Punch hadn't done much damage to Cofagrigus, its once-fierce face now looked so ridiculous that it was hard not to laugh.

Asura frowned. Had Cofagrigus's Dark Pulse failed to hit this young man's Farfetch'd?

Asura stopped underestimating Heath. This young man actually knew how to play dumb. Still, seeing that Zorua was already getting exhausted, Asura wasn't in much of a hurry. He only needed a little more time.

"Heath! You little rascal!" Just as Asura thought victory was assured, a fiery red figure charged over from the distance. His expression changed, but before he could do anything, Officer Jenny Feng, who hadn't even had time to change clothes, arrived on Arcanine.

"Sister Feng! This guy's a bad guy!" Heath waved happily. She had finally arrived.