Fast Flashes - Kobaruto

Aura Guardian

Kobaruto has always feared those that have succumbed to the darkness in their hearts.

Raised at the edge of Black Woods, Koba was forbidden from entering the forest alone, and no one in their right mind would enter at all after dark - for in Black Woods roamed an army's worth of Umbra Hearts, and without day's visibility, one may as well drop a Blast Seed on their heart as enter the woods in the nightlight.

Koba's mistake nearly cost him his life - but for the warrior's heart within, and the warrior's soul on his back.



"I'll be back before dark, I promise," Koba called as he stepped out of the forest's-edge house where he lived with his mother, Spinel. After spending the entire previous day meditating, he was anxious to do something active. And so the gold-furred Riolu started off with a jog as he went to visit a friend of his - a Petilil by the name of Flora.

He wasn't surprised to see Flora was already outside with something-or-other in her hands When his footsteps reached her ears, she turned and broke into a smile. "Hey, Kobi!" she called. The sound of her voice made Koba's feel warm. "You're early!"

"Nah, I'm not that ahead of time, am I?" he asked. "What have you been doing?"

In response, she held up what, at first glance, looked like a simple grass-woven bag. As Koba got closer, however, he noticed that it actually shimmered several different colours as it passed through the air.

"That's... wow," he stated. "How did you do that?"

"I put a bunch of different spores around it," Flora explained. "It's interesting." She swept her hand through the air, and a mixture of Sleep Powder, Synthesis, and Sweet Scent spores flowed after it, changing the light to indigo, then green, then orange before they started to thin out.

Koba covered his nose as the spores neared him. "Nice work," he replied. "Got anything planned today?"

Flora nodded. "Why don't we head into the woods? I've been looking for some berries and I heard there's a weird kind of berry bush in there."

"Sounds good," Koba replied. Normally, he would have been worried, but around Flora he was quick to agree. His mother's conditions were not to enter the woods alone - he had found a loophole to this in that if he was with Flora, he was not alone, and he was always prepared to use it if Spinel called him on it. "Let's go," he said to Flora.



Before long, the two of them were deep in Black Woods. They had been fortunate not to run into any Umbras, but Koba was ready to retreat into a tree if they did.

He was contemplating turning back when Flora called, "Oh, look there!" Koba followed her gaze to see a large bush covered in black-and-gold leaves. Within it were a variety of berries the like of which Koba had never seen before.

"That bush looks like Alchemie," he whispered to Flora. "You think that's what you're looking for?"

"Definitely," she replied. She took one step forward and cracked a branch.

From not very far away, a wicked, volted howl sounded.

The sound of stampeding through the trees caused Koba to turn as a Zebstrika burst through the trees, white turned electrical gold as it saw Koba and Flora. Koba stepped back when he saw its eyes - black corneas and white pupils on one where they could be distinguished.

The mark of an Umbra Heart.

"Run!" he shouted to Flora as he stood his ground. The Zebstrika charged towards him, lightningbolt horns levelled towards his chest. He waited until the last second, then leapt, landing on the horns and gritting his teeth as the sharp, jagged horns dug into his feet.

Knowing he had no chance in a head-on battle against an Umbra Heart, he spun and gripped the horns, determined to drive the violent Zebstrika into one of the trees. The Umbra had no such desire; electricity swarmed volt and rider in a Wild Charge, and Koba shouted in pain as the lightning tore through his skin.

Throught the thunder, he slammed a kick into the Zebstrika's neck, triggering the Umbra to charge. With a wicked twist, Koba managed to steer the monster into a tree, then backflipped off and rolled out of the way as the trunk snapped, dropping the plant onto the Umbra's head and knocking it out.

Looking around, he saw that Flora was nowhere to be seen. "Flora?" he called. "Flora, where are you?"

"Kobi?" Flora's voice emerged from one of the nearby trees. Koba sighed and was about to advance when he caught sight of sillouhettes all around him.

"Sonova..."

He had no chance to finish his sentence as three figures leapt out around him - Simisage, Simisear, Simipour, all with inverse eyes. All of them gave primate shouts and unleashed torrents of energy towards him; nature, fire, and water.

Koba leapt out of the way as they collided in a wicked nova where he had just stood. "Flora!" he shouted. "Get out of here! Run!"

"Kobi!" she called back. Koba had his eyes on his foes when he heard a gut-wrenching scream. Forgetting himself, he ran towards her voice, searing up the tree's trunk like a Treecko. He found himself looking at a Kokorok, which instantly turned towards him. It's usually desert-brown eyes were turned silvery-blue.

"Back off!" he shouted, slamming a Force Palm into the Umbra and knocking it out of the tree. He turned to the shape of Flora, cowering on the branch.

"Flora?" he asked hesitantly.

The Petilil turned...

...and Koba met a pair of black-green eyes and a wicked cry like crushing wood.

He leapt back as what used to be Flora was enveloped in black light, her form twisting, growing taller, the foliage around her body becoming a dress, the leaves upon her head turning into a crownlike shape. When the darkness faded, Koba was met with a tall figure, surrounded in black leaves.

"Flora..."

The sharpened leaves shot towards him, and he leapt out of the way, dodging the attack by inches. Knowing he had no chance against the swarm of Umbras, he did the only thing he could.

He spun and dashed as white light enveloped him, moving faster than an Umbra, and never once looked back.



Koba came to a stop at the edge of the forest as the light faded. He didn't care that he was changed, nor that the blades on his arms had turned into sharp spikes on his wrists. He fell against the the tree and closed his eyes, letting the tears fall.

He was not found until after the sun fell. Spinel came looking for him, and was surprised to see a gold-furred Lucario sitting at the edge of Black Woods.



When Spinel found him, she knew she had to make contact with Shinka High. For the first while at Shinka, Koba went into a state of solitude. But after a while, he started to warm to the Pokémon around him.