Lyra looked at her reflection in the small, smooth stone she used as a mirror. The intimidating face of a Lucario looked back at her, her facial features hardened by time and past experiences. She wasn't the helpless young female she had been five years ago; she stood and spoke for herself. She didn't take orders from or get attached to anyone; for the most part, she was solitary and content to be so.

Despite being distant from others, she had opened up to a certain Rhydon named Rowan, who had greeted her openly when she first arrived at the larger, busier town she now lived in. The expertly built stone buildings were large and sturdy, and they were very well decorated on the inside. The community was larger than Lyra's old one, also being home to a larger population. That didn't bother Lyra, who made her way through the town as if she was roaming the streets alone most days.

The night sky above Lyra's home was lit up by tiny white dots, glowing rather brightly. The crescent moon complimented them as Lyra sat in a small wooden chair, diverting her attention from the mirror to the candlelit window just in front of her. That was when she heard the front door open. A few moments later, Rowan appeared in her room, carrying a heavy looking box full of all kinds of items.

Being a Rhydon, he was overwhelmingly strong and hard to move. Only a few other Pokemon in town would have been able to contend his strength, and Lyra wasn't one of them. She knew a weak spot just below his neck, but relying on physical strength was hopeless against him. She had other ways of keeping him in check, and to stop him from going too far with his 'unfunny' jokes, as she referred to them. He was light hearted and helpful most of the time, but he could be fierce when it was needed. He knew his strength and used it from time to time, when it was necessary. He had a soft spot for Lyra because of reasons unknown to him. His compulsion to protect Lyra often annoyed the Lucario, who insisted she didn't need anyone to hide behind. Rowan and Lyra lived in the same house, but didn't spend a lot of time together outside of it. Lyra preferred it that way; Rowan told her often that her constant independence would be her undoing.

Once he entered the room, he set the box down on the hardwood floor in the middle of the room. The Lucario turned to look at her friend's assortment of objects.
"What's in the box?"
She asked in her usual, emotionless tone.
"Nothing interesting, really. Just a few old relics I found in the basement."
Rowan replied. He lifted the lid and Lyra understood what he meant. Most of the contents were old, framed pictures or dusty decorations. One item caught Lyra's eye, something she hadn't seen before. She got out of her seat to examine it more. Handling it carefully, she picked up a spherical glass ball with a sapphire crystal in the centre.
"Have I seen this before?"
Lyra said aloud, turning it in her paws, examining it from different angles. Rowan shook his head. "I wouldn't think so. A lot of the things in here have been in this box since long before you arrived here. I received the ornament you have there as a gift from a traveler not long ago. They said it was a token of their appreciation for sheltering them for a few days. A nice looking object for a small amount of my time if you ask me."
Lyra was too busy admiring it to hear most of Rowan's explanation.
"It's unlike anything I've seen before."
Rowan was amused at Lyra's concentrated admiration for the object.
"How about you keep it then? You clearly have a stronger attraction to it than I do."
Lyra looked at the Rhydon with a guilty yet happy expression; seeing any expression from Lyra was rare, and Rhydon was slightly surprised.
"Are you sure you're okay with giving such an object away?"
The Lucario asked. Rowan nodded calmly.
"Of course. It would be better taken care of with you."
Lyra then did something she did less often than show emotion; she smiled.
"Thank you, Rowan. That's very kind of you."

The two slowly organised the contents of the box, and as soon as they finished, Lyra headed out to find a good container for her new possession. She found a surprisingly fitting small wooden slab with a spherical divot in the centre, which held the ornament in place. She then took it home and placed it next to her single bed, and Lyra couldn't have made any change to improve the look. She wasn't often so openly happy, but something about the ornament really filled her with joy. She knew that if anything were to happen to it, unspeakable consequences would follow. Even she hated the thought.

The next day, she saw a poster as she passed by the market which caught her attention. The poster advertised a battling competition, held in town later that week. It invited all strong and confident Pokemon to register at the town hall within the next three days. Rowan seemed excited about the news, being the unmovable heavyweight Pokemon that he was. It also showed that other major towns were aware of the competition, attracting a larger and more diverse field of battlers.

Lyra wasn't sure whether or not battling for sport was her thing. She was skilled at it; she was fast, focused and extremely powerful when pushed to her limit. Her power only seemed to grow as she took more damage. Her attitude of battling for sport was not a good one, however. She believed battling was only necessary for important and potentially dangerous events, such as self defence in a hostile situation. She had fended off several hostile or overconfident brutes without breaking a sweat in her time, most of them being bigger than her. Her size was only a means of enhanced evasiveness, the way she saw it. She was still able to punch through solid rock and used that power when necessary.

She went about her usual commute and was on her way home when she passed an alley, hearing three voices, then one, then the same three. She stopped, listening closer.
"You look so pathetic. Do you really think anyone cares about you?"
Two other voices agreed in a sinister tone.
"Leave me alone!"
The other voice cried feebly.
"What did I ever do to you?"
The owners other the voices simply laughed.
"What are you gonna do, cry? Go on, let's see whether or not someone actually cares enough to stop us."
Lyra couldn't stand it anymore. She turned to see three houndour trapping a young Machop in a corner. She began making her way toward the three bullies. One of them saw her coming, whimpering in surprise and fear. The other two were quick to follow after seeing the approaching Lucario.
"Uh oh, it's Lyra! We were just playing around Lyra, honest!"
Lyra wasn't so easily convinced. She charged up two aura spheres, one in each paw.
"You have three seconds to leave my sight before I launch you to the other side of town."
Lyra began counting shortly after finishing her sentence. The three ran faster than Lyra's eyes could follow. She dissipated her spheres, sighing.
"Um, thank you for... saving me."
The Machop said quietly, half out if shyness and half out of fear. Lyra simply grunted, looking down at him.
"Get out of here; it's not safe."
She told him. He ran at a slower pace than the bullies, but was still quick to leave. Despite having a soft spot for the vulnerability of young Pokemon, she was no more forgiving toward them than anyone else. She was the same cold and emotionless Lucario to everyone.

Lyra reached her home next, and went to relax in her room.
"Anything interesting happen?"
Rowan asked when she arrived.
"I straightened out a few bullies."
Lyra commented.
"Another day in the life of an intimidating looking Lucario."
Rowan joked, getting an unamused look from Lyra. Despite that, it was true to an extent. Lyra was always setting confrontations straight. She used her past experiences as a pretext as to why she did it, but was unsure of the real reason. She didn't consider the reason why she did it important, and she had no intention of justifying herself to anyone, so she didn't consider it. It would be a waste of time to her. She had the ability to end arguments, and that was enough for her.

While she was relaxed, Lyra gave the battle tournament more thought. She had seen the line 'battling as you've never seen it before' which intrigued her, and her interest went beyond that as the poster said nothing about what new type of battle was planned, if there was one. On one hand, she had nothing to prove, and no drive to do so, but on the other hand, Rowan would be entering, and although her image to others meant nothing to her, it would be a chance to do something interesting and perhaps new. The thought played on her mind until she eventually decided that registering was the right call.

Rowan was excited more by Lyra's entry into the competition.
"We're both going to destroy in this competition, just you wait and see."
Lyra simply rolled her eyes. She was both proud and disappointed for giving in to join such a trivial event, but decided that since she had, training would be necessary. It was going to be a long week for a certain Rhydon who she had in mind, strong or not. By the end of the training period, Lyra would be in a league of her own.

After five years, Lyra sure looks to have bounced back. This battle tournament will help show just how much she's learned.

All that aside, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the introduction of the other main character of this story after the same amount of time. Until then, stay cool and keep on reading.