Slowly rising from its crouched position, a…a something resembling a bipedal jackal regards him with wary crimson eyes. The thing stands on two very canine paws coated in black fur up until its knees, where the fur suddenly transitions to a dull blue color. The muscular legs lead up to a narrow waist with another sharp change in fur color, this time back to black before just as suddenly changing to a cream color for its torso. Right in the middle of its chest, a short, symmetrical spike of… Bone? Metal? A spike of something protrudes from its sternum, and connected that sternum are a pair of arms with the same blue and black fur as the legs. The arms each end in a paw with three digits, and on the back of each paw is another conical spike. Finally, the head of the creature looks like a heavily anthropomorphized jackal, with a thin muzzle set in a frown, tall ears, and what seemed to be dreadlocks hanging from the back of its head.
This thing, Julian remembers this thing. It was nearly 20 years ago that he played that old videogame, but how could anyone forget such an iconic creature? This is a…
"…Lucario?" He breathes.
The Lucario blinks. The action looks so strange on a three-dimensional being rather than a two-dimensional animation on a computer monitor. The pokémon looks so real. Julian can see the wind rustling its fur, the subtle tensing and relaxing of the muscles despite said fur, and the slow rise and fall of its chest.
So real.
For a second, the teen in ill-fitting clothes and the animation-made-flesh remained still, both unwilling to break the uneasy peace. Then something rustles in the leaves above.
With a gulp, Julian slowly turns his eyes skyward and immediately wishes he hadn't.
Standing crouched in the tree branches high above like expert gymnasts… or assassins, an entire trope of Lucario, numbering at least 10, stare down at him.
"Well shit…"
One of the jackals high above leaps down from its perch, landing between Julian and the first Lucario, totally unfazed from the 20-foot fall. This one rises with confidence and stands half a head higher than the first Lucario, and Julian can see why.
Those old games clearly got the heights of these pokémon wrong, because this one stands tall enough to look him in the eye. The newcomer's fur is a duller color all around and its lean body is a sculpted, envy inducing collection of muscle. Crisscrossing over its body is a number of scars, each one faded with age. On its muzzle, which holds wisps of graying fur, an imperious expression sits. The large Lucario raises its nose to Julian and crosses its arms. From its skin rolls crackling bands of light the same color as the sky. The grass around its feet ripples.
Julian sucks in a tense breath as his body breaks out to goosebumps. A tangible sort of pressure presses down upon him, and in the back of his mind, a primal instinct long forgotten to modern humanity awakens. With that awakening, Julian is struck with the preternatural feeling-no, preternatural knowledge of just how small he is before this Lucario. One single strike from the pokemon in front of Julian would cave in his chest, powder his skeleton, rupture his skin and organs. The eyes, the eyes, the eyes! The red eyes of the Lucario shine with violence! It wants to KILL him!
The instinct grows from a whisper to a scream, it urges the frightened teen to do one thing and one thing only.
Run.
The blonde tries to turn and flee as fast as his limbs will carry him, only to tremble in place. Julian gurgles, his eyes bugging out as he realizes that he can't even breathe, the pressure around him is so great. The edges of his vision bleed red, and then black.
How long has he been stuck like this?
Then suddenly, the terrible pressure vanishes.
Julian sucks in a breath and coughs, almost falling to his hands and knees when his legs nearly give out. The spots dancing in his vision slowly fade as someone takes a firm hold of his shoulder to keep him steady.
'The fuck was that? It felt like gravity doubled and tried to pull me to the ground! And that… that…' He tries to find words for the feeling of utter dread and the surefire knowledge of his impending demise that pierced him down to the soul, but nothing he thinks of seems to carry enough weight. 'That felt like… like… Maybe that killing intent shit you see in bad anime?'
A snarling bark makes him jump, and when he looks back up, he blinks in surprise.
The smaller Lucario is now at his side, one of its large forepaws on his shoulder and the other wrapped securely around his arm. Its face is screwed up in anger as it lifts a paw and points accusingly at the larger, more grizzled Lucario. Did this one… Jump to his defense?
The smaller one says something in a growl, then pulls at Julian's too-large clothes as if to make a point. It glances at him with its red eyes, which take a gentle, apologetic look. The apology is replaced with fury again when it looks back at the senior pokémon.
A short, quiet rumbling of the throat is the elder's reply. It doesn't seem phased in the slightest bit by its junior's anger. It uncrossed its arms and finally takes its piercing eyes off of Julian to stare at the smaller pokémon. "Grarrio… Ruruirioo?" It says with a voice like stones grinding together.
Julian's defender scowls and steps forward, firmly planting itself between the human and the aggressor.
"H-Hey, uh…"
Both turn to look at him, one set of eyes uncertain and the other set with displeasure, making Julian flinch. "Look, I'm not here to make trouble. I'm just super lost, honest. If you could, uh, point me to the nearest human town I'll skedaddle. No need to be upset…"