Day 2: The Legend of Ryutaro

In a certain village lived a young man named Ryota, a priest's apprentice who had near superhuman strength--he could pick up massive boulders as easily as a piece of grass, and pull up trees by their roots as easily as picking a flower." Brock began. "Because of his god-like strength, the villagers affectionately called him Ryutaro, which means 'dragon boy'".

After putting on a warrior's headband, he went on "One day, the priest informed Ryutaro that a huge martial arts tornament was being held in the Aiiro City in honor of the Pokemon Master's birthday. One of the warriors, a man named Kokanja, had heard of Ryotaro's amazing strength, and had issued a challenge for him."

Excited chatter raced through the crowd as Brock explained "Kokanja was a master of the Raikou style of martial arts, and had lines out the door at his dojo. He regularly competed in tournaments large and small, and some said that he had never lost a match."

"Wow!" Flyer gasped.

"Doesn't Brock take kung fu lessons?" Sunny asked me.

"Yeah--he's up to an orange belt in Raikou style, meaning he can fight unarmed, and fight with the staff, the nunchucks, the dagger, and the orange belt opens training in the bow--his favorite so far." I replied. "Though archery holds a place in his heart, he says he can't wait to learn to use the sword at the red belt level."

"Cool!" Mint was starry eyed at this. "Maybe in the morning, if we ask really nicely, he can show us his bow skills!"

"The priest told Ryutaro that the choice was his to accept the challenge--if he did not want to accept it, he would not force him." Brock went on "Ryutaro replied that he did not fear Kokanja, nor did he fear a demon or monster. The priest smiled and said that before he left for the Aiiro City, he should at least ask Arceus' protection."

He walked around the stage as he continued "The whole village turned out to see Ryutaro off, wishing him victory in the tournament. Every time Ryutaro passed a shrine, no matter how large or small it was, he would ask Arceus for spiritual strength and protection."

Once he was back in the center of the stage, he continued "In one village, he overheard some villagers putting him down while conjecturing how Kokanja would win. He stormed over to them, and said he was the very Ryutaro they were badmouthing--and vowed that he was going to win."

We cheered at this. "A girl met him on the road, and tried to give him some advice, but it went in one ear and out the other--Ryutaro was that confident." Brock grinned, to some giggles "Before long, Ryutaro arrived in the Aiiro City. Many skilled fighters were there, and Ryutaro watched some of the matches before he prepared for his match."

He grabbed his familiar referee's whistle as he went on "The time finally came for Ryutaro and Kokanja to battle. A huge crowd had gathered to watch this face-off between Raikou and Gyarados martial arts."

After hanging the whistle around his neck, he prepared to blow it as he went on "The whistle blew to start the match..."

Cottonee jumped in surprise when Brock blew his own whistle for effect. "...and Kokanja started off strong with moves such as Thundering Kick, Raikou Guards the Road, Raikou Moves the Mountain, and Raikou Descends from Heaven." He did a few moves of his own for effect, but I wasn't sure what they were named. "Ryutaro was quickly overwhelmed, despite his valiant efforts to defend."

Then he remembered something. "Then Ryutaro remembered what the girl on the road had told him--though Konanja was very strong, he did have one weakness--the question was, where was the weak point?"

"In his stomach!" I suggested, memories of playing "Punch-Out" on the NES at home dancing through my mind.

"In his back!" Neon suggested.

Brock, however, had other ideas. "Just as all hope seemed lost, he spotted the girl in the stands, pointing to her forehead. He concluded the weak point was at Konanja's forehead."

"Oh"s went up as Brock gave more of the fight's play-by-play. "He started fighting back, and landed the move Gyarados Returns to the Sea at that spot. Everyone watched in horror as Ryutaro followed that with Gyarados Roams the Mist, sending Konanja flying clear to the other end of the arena.

The PLING signaling a knockout in Super Smash Bros. echoed through the camp to illustrate Brock's point. "Ryutaro was declared the winner, and was rewarded the victor's crown, but deep down, Ryutaro knew the girl he had met was really Arceus watching over him, and that night, he gave thanks to Arceus for his victory." Brock smiled as everyone cheered.

He concluded "Ryutaro went on to become one of the greatest fighters in the world, but though he never lost a match in his long and fruitful career, he didn't boast about his strength anymore after that!"

"WOW!!!" Neon gasped. "I hope he has another hero tale tomorrow night!"