Pokemon fan comic:
'A Change of Heart'
Part 1
Inspired by a Fanfiction by zorkbork
Characters: Lucario (Luke), Zoroark (June)
Cover: Zoroark (June) is cradling Lucario (Luke) in her arms, smiling at him. Lucario (Luke) places his paw on her cheek, smiling back at her. The background is of a night setting with a moonlight setting behind them.
Page 1: 4 panels
Panel 1: Lucario walks through the forest on an autumn evening, losing himself in his thoughts. His eyes are closed while he crosses his arms.
Panel 2: Just meters above Lucario, a shadowy figure of a Zoroark perches from a tree, searching the forest.
Panel 3: It spots the Lucario walking in the forest in front of it. The figure smiles, devilishly.
??? (In thought): 'Hmm... He's a bit slender, but he'll suffice.'
Panel 4: The figure jumps from the tree, spreading its claws wide as it descends on Lucario.
Page 2: 4 panels
Panel 1: Lucario opens his eyes as he detects the threat descending.
Panel 2: Lucario jumps back to dodge the figure, but gets his side scratched by its claws.
SFX: Scratch!
Panel 3: Lucario charges his aura sphere while looking at the figure with a determined look on his face.
Panel 4: The figure reveals itself as a Zoroark, standing on all fours with a hungry smile on its face.
Zoroark (in thought): 'Well, that was NOT what I was expecting.'
Page 3: 5 panels
Panel 1: Lucario and Zoroark look at each other in their battle stances, ready to strike at any moment.
Panel 2: Lucario still holds his aura sphere while talking calmly to Zoroark
Lucario: 'You know it's too harsh to hunt Pokemon for food. This kind of survival of the fittest isn't fair.'
Panel 3: Zoroark smirks at Lucario, bearing its fangs at Lucario
Lucario (continued, off-panel): 'So why bother doing it?'
Zoroark: 'Because you're my dinner. And there is nothing you can do about it.'
Panel 4: Lucario grits his teeth in anger and annoyance.
Lucario: 'Tch!'
Panel 5: Lucario thrusts his aura sphere at Zoroark, who took the hit at a magnified impact.
Lucario: 'Raah!'
Zoroark: 'Argh!'
Page 4: 5 panels:
Panel 1: Zoroark holds its arm to its chest, fading into the smoke.
Zoroark: '*Huff!* *Huff!* Well played, tricky Lucario. Let's see if you can survive this.'
Panel 2: Lucario frantically looks around for the Zoroark, trying to pin its location.
Lucario: 'Tch! Where did it go?!'
Panel 3: Lucario turns around to the sound of the trees and notices in shock.
SFX: Rustle, Rustle
FX: !
Panel 4: Zoroark leaps from the tree and lunges at Lucario with a devilish smirk and hungry eyes. Lucario is too shocked to react.
Panel 5: Zoroark headbutts Lucario very hard, still smirking at him. Lucario's eyes were closed in pain as he took the hit in the head.
Lucario: 'Aargh!'
Page 5: 4 panels
Panel 1: Zoroark pins Lucario down on all fours, its weight not letting him up. Lucario squints in pain from the headbutt he received, while Zoroark still smirks at him.
Zoroark: 'Now that was SO easy.'
Panel 2: Lucario winces in pain as Zoroark places its paw on his cheek. He tries to hold back tears.
Zoroark (off-panel): 'Might be one of the weaker types that haven't been lucky thanks to the others of my kind. But still...'
Panel 3: Zoroark licks its lips in delight, still admiring the looks of its prey.
Zoroark: '...you sure are going to be one tasty treat~.'
Panel 4: Zoroark grabs Lucario by the shoulder, gripping him tightly and draws its claw near his neck. The Zoroark is still smirking at him while the Lucario still squints in pain.
Page 6: 4 panels
Panel 1: Zoroark's claw is near Lucario's neck. Its tip is about to carve a wound in his neck.
Zoroark (in thought): 'Alright sly Zoroark, this is it. Do it swift and painless and you will be one of them.'
Panel 2: Zoroark looks surprised to see Lucario groaning off the panel.
Lucario: '*Groan*'
Zoroark: 'Huh?'
Panel 3: Lucario has tears in his eyes as he talks weakly to the Zoroark off-panel.
Zoroark (off-panel): 'Oh dear. You're still clinging to your life like this? So lame.'
Lucario: '... What are you waiting for then?'
Panel 4: Zoroark looks at Lucario in surprised shock while he tells her to finish him off, looking weak and tired.
Zoroark: 'Wha-?'
Lucario: 'Just do it already... It's not like I can escape...'
Page 7: 4 panels
Panel 1: Zoroark removes its claw from the Lucario and places it near its mouth, looking shocked. Lucario passes out from the pain in the head.
Lucario: 'Uhh...'
Zoroark (in thought): 'Did he just surrender himself?'
Panel 2: Zoroark sits up and looks at Lucario's unconscious body.
Zoroark (in thought): 'He did. This never happened to me before. And he... looks so young... and handsome too.'
Panel 3: Zoroark has a sad expression as it feels bad for the Lucario.
Zoroark (in thought): 'Am I really going to take his life? To be like... them?'
Panel 4: Zoroark places her hands on her mouth, worrying if he has a lover.
Zoroark (in thought): 'What if he has a lover? I mean, with his looks he's got to... If she learned that he is no more, she would be...'
Page 8: 5 panels
Panel 1: Zoroark kneels on top of Lucario, with tears swelling up as she started to cry.
Zoroark: '*sob* What is wrong with me? *sob* What am I becoming?'
Panel 2: Zoroark places her paws on her face as she sobs lightly. Lucario manages to open an eye to see Zoroark crying.
Zoroark: '*sob*'
Lucario (in thought): 'Why is she crying? Isn't she going to finish me off?'
Panel 3: Zoroark looks from her paws to the Lucario, tears streaming down her face. She notices him looking at her with an eye open.
Zoroark: 'Hic, hic... Huh?'
Panel 4: a split panel where Zoroark looks down at Lucario from the top and Lucario looks up at Zoroark at the bottom.
Zoroark: '...'
Lucario: '...'
Panel 5: Zoroark still kneels on top of Lucario as they look at each other, while the moon shines its light on them as it rises during nighttime.
Page 9: 5 panels:
Panel 1: Zoroark gets up from Lucario and backs away from him. Lucario looks surprised to see her do that.
Lucario: 'Huh?'
Panel 2: Zoroark stands two meters away as Lucario sits up, looking confused. Zoroark asks him:
Zoroark: 'Can you stand and walk?'
Lucario: '...?'
Panel 3: Lucario tries to get up while feeling some sort of pain in his right leg.
Lucario: 'Hrrgh!'
Panel 4: Lucario falls forward, because of his injured leg. Zoroark rushes to Lucario and catches him.
Lucario: 'Ah! Hah... Hah...'
Zoroark: '... Seems you can't walk, huh.'
Panel 5: Zoroark picks up Lucario and places him on her shoulder. Lucario looks confused.
Lucario: 'Wha... What are you-?'
Page 10: 4 panels
Panel 1: Zoroark looks sad as she carries Lucario on her back.
Zoroark: 'You are injured. You are far too weak to be wasting extra energy.'
Panel 2: Split panel: Lucario still looks confused as he is being carried by Zoroark in the top half, and then he looks tired in the bottom half.
Zoroark: 'Get some sleep. You'll need some rest.'
Lucario: '... Okay.'
Panel 3: Lucario falls asleep on Zoroark's shoulder as she carries him through the forest. Zoroark still has a sad look on her face.
Panel 4: Zoroark arrives at a cave to shelter the injured Lucario.
Page 11: 3 panels
Panel 1: Lucario slouches on the cave wall, still sleeping. A light shines on him.
Text box: Later...
Panel 2: Lucario wakes up with his eyes half-open, feeling groggy from sleeping.
Lucario: 'Uhh... huh?'
Panel 3: Lucario looks around the cave to see a campfire. It is fueled with thin wooden logs.
Lucario: 'Where am I? Is that a fire going on?'
Page 12: 4 panels
Panel 1: Zoroark enters the cave with some berries in her arms. Lucario notices Zoroark carrying the berries in surprise.
Zoroark: 'Oh, so you're awake from your rest. That's good.'
Lucario (In thought): Is that the Zoroark from earlier? And is she carrying berries?
Panel 2: Zoroark places the berries near Lucario with a shy smile. Lucario looks at her in awe, thanking her for the berries.
Zoroark: 'You look like you could use some of these.'
Lucario: 'Oh, uh, thanks. That'd be great.'
Panel 3: Zoroark sits on the cave wall opposite the Lucario, smiling shyly as she introduces herself.
Zoroark - June: 'I don't believe we've been properly acquainted. My name is June. How are you?'
Panel 4: Lucario looks surprised by June's introduction.
Lucario - Luke: 'Uh... I'm good, thanks... My name is Luke. How are you doing?'
Page 13: 5 panels
Panels 1-5 show Luke and June looking at each other, sitting on opposite walls during their talk at the campfire. Each panel has some changes.
Panel 1 - June smiles shyly as she talks to Luke. Luke looks a bit shy as well.
June: 'I'm fine. Thanks for asking.'
Luke: 'S-sure. Sure. No Problem.'
Panels 2 to 3 show Luke and June in awkward silence.
Panel 4: Luke breaks the silence.
Luke: 'So...'
Panel 5: Luke asks June with a puzzled look on his face. June looks down, blushing in embarrassment.
Luke: 'If you don't mind me asking, why exactly am I doing here?'
June: 'Uh... Well...'
Page 14: 4 panels
Panel 1: June looks to her side in embarrassment, still blushing. Lucario keeps looking at June with a puzzled expression.
June: 'You see... I was going to kill you. But I didn't.'
Luke: 'And what made you stop doing that?'
June: 'Well, it's a long story, and maybe we shouldn't get into that...'
Panel 2: Luke looks closely at June's appearance, blushing a little.
Luke (in thought): 'Guess she is not the type of social expression. But she's kind of cute. Even though she tried to kill me, I think I should hear her reasons.'
Panel 3: Luke convinces June to tell him her story with a shy smile on his face.
Luke: 'Please tell me. I'm really curious as to why you didn't do it. I-If you don't mind me asking, that is...'
Panel 4: June has a paused look on her face, thinking if she should tell Luke her story.
June: 'Uh...'
Page 15: 4 panels
Panel 1: June slouches her head down, letting out a big sigh. Luke looks worried if he said something to annoy her.
June: '*Sigh* Oh, alright.'
Panel 2: June explains her reason to Luke, feeling sad while what she is explaining made him kind of confused.
June: 'It is because I've been in the position you're in before... or at least the position your lover would have been in.'
Luke: 'My lover? What do you mean my lover?'
June: 'Well, I know first-hand what it's like to lose a loved one in such a ruthless and sudden way...'
Panel 3: June looks at Luke, feeling sorry while asking if he has a lover. Luke blushes in embarrassment, still looking confused.
June: '...and it would break my heart to inflict that same pain and trauma onto your lover... I mean, you do have one, don't you?'
Luke: 'Uhh...'
Panel 4: Luke feels confused and embarrassed about what June has said, thinking about what to say
Luke (In thought): 'Why is she talking about this topic? I don't have a lover. But if I tell her, what would she do to me?'
Page 16: 5 panels:
Panel 1: June smiles shyly at Luke as she talks to him. Luke is still blushing.
June: 'It's okay if you don't want to talk about your lover. I'll move on with my story.'
Luke: 'Oh... O-Okay.'
Panel 2: June fantasizes about a dream cloud, showing a flashback with her a young Zorua feeling lost and alone. Luke looks heart warmed as she tells her story.
June: 'Back when I was a Zorua, I was mostly on my own. I never really had parents to support me growing up.'
Panel 3: Flashback of young June with a shiny Zoura named Jette, foraging for berries.
June (off-panel): 'The only pokemon who would accept me for the little runt that I used to be was my best friend Jette. Much like myself, she too was a Zorua runt; spurned by her parents. We were on our own, having to forage for food and survival with merely our berries.'
Panel 4: June feels sadder as she continues telling her story.
June: 'We were close as could be. Like true sisters not bound by blood. We burrowed together, hunted together, and even played together. We were going to be best friends for life...'
Panel 5: June tries not to cry while telling her story. Luke's expression feels like he is expecting something.
June: '*Sniffle* *Sniffle*'
Luke (In thought): 'Hmm... I have a bad feeling about where this is going...'
June: That is... until that day.'
Page 17: 5 panels
Panel 1: Flashback of Zorua June and Zorua Jette looking for berries in the woods. Jette is walking to a grove with lots of different berries.
June (off-panel): 'While we were looking for berries, she wandered off on her own to explore a grove we haven't seen before, seemingly rich with so many different berries.'
Panel 2: Flashback continues. Zorua June looks horrified to see that Zorua Jette is being whisked away with a Zoroark silhouette carrying her by the mouth.
June (off-panel): 'I looked around to see where she left off and to my horror, all I saw was a Zoroark bolting by, quickly whisking her away by her neck.'
Panel 3: June has her paw on her forehead with tears starting to swell up in her eyes.
June: 'It turned out that the grove she was supposed to be exploring disappeared; it was an illusion. We were still too weak to detect the illusions of a fully evolved Zoroark and we have a price to pay...'
Panel 4: June pauses her storytelling and sobs lightly, with her paw covering her eyes as they stream tears out of them. Luke feels sympathetic towards June.
June: '*sniffle* *sob*'
Luke: 'Th-that's so awful. I'm so sorry to hear that.'
Panel 5: June feels heartbroken while she continues to recount her tragic loss of a friend, tears still streaming down her face.
June: '*Sniffle* Something inside of me died that day. Jette was the only Zorua that loved me and now she's gone.'
Page 18: 4 panels
Panel 1: June weeps with her face buried in her paws while Lucario looks at her with pity.
June: 'I'm still haunted by what I heard that day... *sobs*'
Luke: 'June...'
Panel 2: Luke hops with his good leg to sit next to June, who is still weeping with sorrow.
June: '*sob*'
Panel 3: Luke strokes June's mane lightly to calm her down. June still has her face buried in tear-soaked paws.
June: '*sob*'
Luke: 'There there. I'm so sorry about what happened.'
June: *sniffle* It's just... I couldn't ever make myself put someone else in that situation. Ever.
Panel 4: June rises from her paws, still crying over her conflict but doesn't turn to Luke. Luke looks at her with sympathy.
June: 'And me killing you isn't what Jette would have wanted. She was always so kind and compassionate. I know other Zoroark kill all the time, and I thought that it was time for me to move on, so they would accept me as one of their own. But I can't. I just can't.'
Page 19: 4 panels
Panel 1: Lucario has a sad expression as he plucks up the courage to tell her something.
June (off-panel): 'I couldn't ever put your lover in the same situation I was in. *sniffle*'
Luke: 'Well, actually...'
Panel 2: Luke confesses that he doesn't have a lover with his head down in sadness. June looks surprised to hear what Luke just said.
Luke: 'To be honest, after everything you told me... I never had a lover.'
June: 'Wha-?'
FX: !
Panel 3: June looks at Luke with confusion, tears still in her eyes. Luke still feels sad as he explains what he thinks of himself.
June: 'What? How don't you have a lover?'
Luke: 'What do you mean how? I mean look at me. I'm not usually strong enough or fast enough or anything else. Besides, remember how you easily took me down? Why would any self-respecting pokemon want to be with ME?'
Panel 4: June and Luke share a paused silence, assessing the validity of his response.
June: '...'
Luke: '...'
Page 20: 4 panels
Panel 1: June breaks the silence by telling Lucario what she thought, blushing. Luke blushes in response to what she said.
June: 'I-I don't know. I guess I thought you did. You seem like the type of Lucario that would.
Luke: 'Oh. R-Really?'
June: 'Yeah...'
Panel 2: Luke still blushes while looking at June, starting to admire her appearance as a Zoroark.
Luke: 'Okay...'
Panel 3: same description as panel 2 but with no talking dialogue.
Panel 4: June tilts her head to the side asking Luke something. Luke blushes a bit harder.
June: 'I-is anything alright?'
Page 21: 4 panels
Panel 1: Luke looks away, rubbing the back of his head and smiling shyly. June continues to stare at Luke, unsure if he is truly okay.
Luke: 'Uh, yeah. Everything's okay. Just, uh, thinking about my poor leg and how much it hurts.'
June: '...'
Panel 2: June smiles and gets up, offering Luke a hand in getting him back to his spot. Luke smiles at June, accepting her offer.
June: 'Well if it's still bothering you, maybe you should go back to resting then. It's not good for you to stay up and chit chat when you could be sleeping. Need a hand?'
Luke: 'Y-yeah sure. Why not.'
Panel 3: June places Luke's arm around her neck and carries him to the opposite side of the fire.
Panel 4: June places Luke in an upright position in his resting spot, having him leaning against the wall. She strokes his head gently as his eyes get sleepy.
June: 'Let me know if you need anything. Okay?
Luke: 'Alright.'
Page 22: 5 panels
Panel 1: June kisses Luke's forehead goodnight as he drifts off to sleep.
Panel 2: June lies in a Zoroark's resting position readying herself for sleep.
June (in thought): 'I should probably be resting too. I had a long day today.'
Panel 3: June looks at Luke one more time. He is sleeping peacefully in his upright position.
SFX: ZZZ... ZZZ...
Panel 4: June smiles as she drifts off to sleep in her position.
June: 'Heh heh. Goodnight...'
Panel 5: The campfire for the cave flickers out into the dark. A little smoke rises from it
Text box: End of Part 1
