Earth's Protectors

Alright, this is something I wrote a few years ago and is kind of an on-going series on FF. Right now, I'm in the middle of a forth installment. But here's the first one. It's heavily inspired by an anime series called Kinnikuman (And the first one follows quite a few of the sequel show's story lines, though I feel I did enough to differentiate it), so it's definitely not your typical Pokémon fic. Also, it's rated T for occasional gore and language. It's not super high in content, but it's worth mentioning. There may be a few typos here and there, but it's not as bad as it used to be as I did go through the entire fic and edit it long ago. It's over 80 chapters long and each one was designed to match the length of a standard anime episode, so each chapter will take at least 20 minutes to read. It's not expertly written either, at least I don't think so. I tend to write my fics more like screenplays, so I always try to give my readers a very clear image of what's going on. Some Pokémon designs have also been altered for this, like how you'll notice I kind of hint at Magnemite having an actual body. Anyway, here's chapter 1: (God, I hope there isn't a character limit)

It was a fine night in Tokyo. The sky was nice and clear and the stars were bright as things could not have looked better. It was so nice, in fact, that a young woman was walking home from the store with groceries in her hand, not even feeling the need to drive to the store and back. That was just how peaceful a night this was, or so it seemed.

Just as the woman was humming a happy tune, she failed to notice a set of glowing eyes following her. In fact, these eyes belonged to someone who had been hot on her trail since she had left the store, but this was no ordinary person. He was a reptilian creature that stood on two legs and had orange skin. A big crest that resembled a Mohawk rested atop his head as he also sported loose yellow skin that resembled baggy trousers and a scarf, the lizard seeming to be having a bit of trouble keeping the lower skin up as he had to hold it up with his hands.

He had a devious grin on his face as the woman was still oblivious, the lizard waiting for just the right moment to strike when the woman stopped at a red light, his grin widening as he sprang off the ground, aiming a kick straight for her head with his knee pointed out. The woman was just about to take in the hit when suddenly, a brown and red streak flashed through the sky, hitting the lizard hard and sending him flying into a lamp post, the woman hearing this as she turned.

The woman's saviour was another odd being, this one being a monkey with white fur covering her torso, head and legs and brown fur covering the rest of her body, a stream of fire representing long hair coming from the top of her head. She also sported golden knee pads, shoulder pads and breast plates.

"I know you," the woman uttered, her eyes wide open as the monkey turned to her and said, "Save the pleasantries. You should run now," the woman nodding and saying, "Thank you, Miss Infernape, Ma'am."

The woman sprinted off as the lizard shook his head, grunting, "Ya must feel real special, what with everyone and their grandma knowing your name," slowly rising to his feet before adding, "But that was a lucky shot."

"You know who I am yet you have the gall to claim you can defeat me?" Infernape remarked, folding her arms with a look of anger in her eyes, the lizard retorting, "Of course. Ya may have been a legend back in the day, but you and your comrades are getting old now, and ya know it too. Why else would ya drive that lady away instead of letting her stay to watch the show?"

Infernape's eyes widened as she stood still, the lizard smirking and adding, "It's cause ya know you're gonna lose, that's why."

"I don't wanna hear that from a troublemaker like you!" the monkey retorted, springing off the ground and flipping vertically toward the lizard, aiming a kick at his head.

The lizard spotted an opening, leaping toward the monkey shouting, "HIGH JUMP KICK!" sending his knee hard into her gut before she could lower her leg. Infernape's eyes were once again wide open as she coughed up a bit of blood, falling hard on her back, the lizard landing and folding his arms, snickering wickedly.

"It's time to make way for the next generation, lady," the lizard taunted with a smirk, "Ya probably could have beaten me back in your prime, but not anymore," Infernape trying her hardest to get up only to receive another kick to her face. Even she had to admit that this lizard was right as she lay there, allowing the reptile to make his escape.

The following day, a meeting was held on a nearby planet known simply as Hero Planet, the place where a lot of these strange creatures first originated. The meeting in question was located in a big building called the Tower of Justice where those of high status and power went to discuss major issues. And this was certainly one of those issues.

"This is terrible," one representative, a yellow caterpillar with a horn and a grey moustache named Weedle stated while looking at a screen with what looked like a series of maps for areas of Earth on it, "Crime is at an all-time high ever since these new villains showed up," Infernape sitting in one of the chairs and lowering her head, sighing, "I'm sorry."

Weedle took a deep breath and turned to her, stating, "Don't apologize, Infernape. We've all faced at least one of these threats and each and every one of us has failed."

A variety of others sitting in their own seats also had looks of shame on their faces. It was as Weedle had said. These evil beings were dominating and it was only a matter of time until mankind would bow to their knees.

"Well, what are we supposed to do!?" one of the creatures, a buffalo with an Afro spat, slamming his hoof against the table, "Are you saying we should sit back on our asses and let them take over!?" Weedle shaking his head and remarking, "No," a hybrid of a shrew and a pangolin asking, "Then what are you suggesting?"

The caterpillar took a deep breath and replied, "It's time to pass on the torch. Our time has ended, but our children have the potential to be just as good as we once were if not better. It's time to put our faith in a new generation of heroes."

All of the others stared until a blue tortoise rose her hand, asking, "With all due respect, sir, are you suggesting we send our kids into battle? My daughter just turned fourteen," the pangolin nodding and adding, "Mine's almost fifteen. Granted, she'd love to follow in my footsteps. She's made that very clear, but she's too young for this. We didn't fight evil until we were in our twenties."

"I'm not going to pretend that you don't have a point," Weedle remarked with a sigh, "But look at the situation as it is. We need to act fast. These new villains have youth on their side, something we don't have," the others nodding in understanding as the caterpillar added, "If we could even defeat one of these new villains, I would consider waiting a few years before making such a decision, but let's face it, as it stands, this is our only option."

At this moment, one particular being living in a small cottage on Hero Planet had woken up for some breakfast, not really thinking about anything else. This creature in particular was a more human-like specimen with bluish-grey skin and a short snout. His face was reptilian in a sense and he had a rather impressive physique with red stripes on his arms and he seemed to only wear a speedo. His head was lined with three light-brown ridges and he even had four sharp teeth that could be seen whenever his mouth was open.

While eating breakfast, a young human woman entered the kitchen and said, "Good morning, Machoke," the boy blinking and saying, "Wow, you're up early, Mom. What's the occasion? Is Dad finally coming back home?"

The woman let out a sigh and replied, "I wish," looking at a photo of a similar-looking being, only this man was light-blue, had yellow fish lips and four arms, the woman shaking her head and saying, "No, son, I received an important message last night from the Tower of Justice."

Machoke blinked, clearly confused as to what this had to do with him as the woman smiled bright, saying, "You're going to be a hero, son," all going silent as Machoke asked, "What?" the woman's smile widening as she added, "The government has issued that you along with a lot of others with the blood of heroes in their veins must attend Hero School."

Machoke's eyes widened, the boy too shocked to even protest against this as the woman added, "Those who graduate will be sent to protect Earth from evil. You'll be fighting bad guys just like your father," Machoke staring silently before nodding slowly, a fake grin on his face as he uttered, "Um, yeah, that sounds awesome," the boy laughing nervously before adding, "I'll go get my things packed."

But just as Machoke was about to head to his room, his mother replied, "Already taken care of," pulling out his backpack, the boy blinking and asking, "You sure you didn't miss anything?" the woman shaking her head, her smile still on her face as she flashed a toothy grin, uttering through clenched teeth, "Head outside to the car, honey."

Seconds later, Machoke's mother was pulling on his legs as he clung to the side of the entrance way to his house, wining, "NO, I DON'T WANNA GO!" the woman sighing, "Stop being such a baby," Machoke remarking, "I don't like fighting!"

The woman gritted her teeth and grunted, "So help me God, I will get you into that car, young man!" Machoke laughing and shouting tauntingly, "And what's a normal Earthling going to do about it, huh?"

The woman applied extra force as the boy finally let go, waving his arms, desperately trying to grab onto something else only to wind up being forced into a vehicle parked out front. The woman entered the driver's seat and sported a sweet smile, asking, "Is your seat belt done up nice and tight?" Machoke letting out a sigh and strapping himself in, groaning, "Yes, mom," the woman nodding and starting up the engine, the car rising up off the ground and taking off.

The school in question that Machoke and many others were being taken to was located within the vicinity of the Tower of Justice. It had only recently been made in response to the attacks on Earth, but because Hero Planet consisted of beings with out-of-this-world abilities, making an entire building in less than a week was easy.

And at around noon, all of the potential heroes were starting to arrive, only unlike Machoke, these people actually wanted to be here. Most of these students were related to the previous generation of heroes while others came from families who had not really used their abilities to fight evil but certainly possessed the power to do so. And there was certainly a high number of creatures of various shapes and sizes, all of them wanting to do their absolute best to fight for the sake of mankind.

One particular being among them all was a slender girl with a lower body resembling a slim white gown to match her snow white torso with a green rim on the inside. There was also green surrounding her chest area and extending out to her arms and hair, a red spike coming from her chest with a rounded one sticking out of her back.

It seemed not everyone here was willing to fight evil as this girl looked nervous beyond compare, trying her best not to make eye contact with anyone. However, her fear seemed to leave her when a boy rested a hand on her shoulder and said, "It's okay, sis. I'm here for you, remember?" the girl turning with a bright blush and saying, "You're right. Sorry."

This boy, who seemed to be the girl's brother, had a very similar colour scheme as he was clearly the same species, though the rest of his appearance differed quite a bit. His lower body and head was white while the rest of him was green, and rather than having hair, he had a helmet formation atop his head with a blue spike attached to the back half of it. His arms were less human-like and more like sickles and rather than having a gown-like lower body, he had rounded hips with long, strong legs. Like the girl, he also had two spikes sticking out of his chest and back, only both were pointy as opposed to just one.

And of course, there was so much more, such as turtles, snakes and even anthropomorphic flowers, and not all of them grew up on Hero Planet. In fact, Machoke was the only one of these students who actually grew up on the planet. The parents of the others had already made Earth their home and as such, the rest of these future heroes were born and raised on Earth in various different countries, all of them even sporting accents native to these areas.

A blue dog was currently looking over the students who had arrived, the doors not yet open as he said, "Alright, looks like almost everyone is here and accounted for. There's only one missing," a car pulling up as he smiled and said, "And speak of the devil, he's here."

The door opened up as Machoke was forced out of the vehicle, landing hard on his chin and grumbling curses under his breath, all of his things tossed right into the back of his head as his mother waved, exclaiming, "Bye, son! Make me proud!"

The car took off as Machoke barked, "YOU WITCH!" everyone in the area staring awkwardly at him as he got up, grinning nervously, the dog taking a deep breath thinking, 'Oh god, he's just like his father.'

With that, he cleared his throat, regaining his composure and stating, "Welcome, one and all to the first day of Hero School. For the next month, you will be training hard as those who graduate will be assigned to protect Earth. Anyone who fails to graduate will have to stay here for another month and this will continue until you qualify," Machoke's eyes widening, his jaw dropped as he resisted the urge to speak out against this. After all, he had no say in his enrolment and had never fought in his life. This was the worst possible thing that could ever happen to him.

"Pathetic," came a female voice from behind him, the boy slowly turning to notice a tall chicken that resembled a phoenix behind him.

The majority of her body was covered in red feathers with yellow ones covering her ankles and the area right below her chest. Covering the chest and making up her long hair were white feathers. Currently, this chicken folded her arms and stared at Machoke with a look of anger, saying, "I expect better from the son of the great Machamp."

The others in the area stared in shock as a robot with a ball-like head, one eyeball and two magnets coming out of the sides stated, "Ah, I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. He certainly has Machamp's physique, though he does lack the two extra arms," Machoke blinking in confusion as a small blue turtle exclaimed, "Wow, so you're Machoke! Your dad's a legend among legends!"

Machoke blushed, laughing nervously before forcing a triumphant look thinking, 'May as well try to soak up the glory while I can,' but just as he was about to do so, the chicken let out a sigh and said, "Don't be fooled, everyone. This kid may be related to Machamp, but he sure as hell isn't like Machamp. I could tell right from the moment I saw him."

Machoke stared in shock and confusion as she sighed, "Your father was a powerful man, truly worthy of his respect. You, on the other hand, reek of cowardice. Let me guess, you didn't actually want to come here, did you?" Machoke letting down nervous sweat and uttering, "Is it really that obvious?" only for the blue dog to glare at the chicken, barking, "Enough, Blaziken! You can have small-talk during lunch break and after the following classes are finished, but right now, you are all to follow me."

Upon hearing the bird's name, other students immediately started whispering among themselves, the magnet cyborg whispering, "I should have known that was the daughter of the great Combusken! Though what's her deal? Her mom and Machamp were great friends."

Machoke did not even care about that as he groaned, "So much for the hero treatment," the young white and green girl tapping him on the shoulder, a shy look on her face as she uttered, "Um, if it means anything to you, I didn't want to come here either."

Machoke blinked and bit his lower lip, letting down light tears and sniffing, "You have no idea how beautiful it is to hear someone else here say that," the girl's brother walking ahead and signalling her to follow, saying, "Come on, Gardevoir," the girl nodding and exclaiming, "Coming, Gallade!" before running off and shooting Machoke one last little smile before sticking close to her brother.

Machoke took a deep breath, following the students to class. The thought of there being another who felt the same way about attending Hero School that he did was at least comforting to a certain degree, but even so, this did not change that fact that Blaziken was right. He was not fit to be a hero.

After walking to the first training area, the dog turned to his students and said, "I haven't properly introduced myself yet. I am but one of many instructors here at Hero School, and my name is Riolu," everyone staring in absolute amazement.

Even Machoke, despite his lack of knowledge, did know this name. Riolu, much like Combusken and Machamp, had an incredible reputation.

"Now with that out of the way," the dog added, pointing at the training equipment before everyone and adding, "Welcome to your first training exercise," Machoke noticing that the area was full of punching bags, the boy saying, "Alright, this is okay. A few punching and kicking exercises. I can live with that."

That was before he noticed what happened next as another old hero, a badger with a flaming neck named Typhlosion entered the area, Riolu saying, "Miss Typhlosion here has arranged an added element to make this exercise more, shall we say, challenging."

Everyone stared as the badger smirked, saying, "Feast your eyes on this, students," rolling up into a ball and shouting, "FLAME WHEEL!" covering her body in fire and rolling past the punching bags, lighting them on fire.

When Typhlosion returned to her regular state, she smirked and said, "Alright, try hitting the bags without burning yourselves," some of the students staring in terror at the sight of this, Gardevoir trembling with fear as Gallade patted her on the shoulder, saying, "It's okay, I'm sure you can manage this," Machoke glaring at Riolu and barking, "ARE YOU INSANE!?"

"Need I remind you this was not my idea but Miss Typhlosion's?" Riolu remarked, "Besides, some adversaries on Earth might have bodies that can harm you just as much as you harm them, if not more. If you can hit these punching bags without hurting yourself in the process, you're more than ready to take on opponents like that," Machoke uttering, "But that's impossible."

"No it's not," Blaziken remarked, walking over to one of the bags and raising a foot, ramming it hard into the bag and bringing it back just as quickly as she had sent it forward, Riolu saying, "See, that's a good way to do it. By making her kick as fast as possible, she was able to avoid having her foot out long enough to have it burned," Machoke grumbling curses before sighing, "Fine, I can do that too! Just watch me!"

The boy walked over to one with a smug grin directed at Blaziken while saying, "Anyone can do what you just did," sending a kick into one of the bags but keeping his foot there too long and burning it, falling on his back and crying out in pain while Blaziken sighed and shook her head.

"It's also worth note that the same technique doesn't always work for everyone," Riolu replied, "Blaziken's body may be capable of such speed, but not everyone's body can pull off those kinds of reflexes. You must find another way to use your natural abilities to your advantage," Machoke fuming.

Gallade performed beautifully by standing on his tip-toes and spinning his arms around like blades, forming a sharp twister and hitting it multiple times, many impressed by this tactic. Gardevoir even managed to do a descent job by sending slaps with a good amount of force to move the bag while still delicate to the point where she seemed to be using the momentum of her swings to blow the fire away from her.

Though she was not as fortunate as Gallade as after ten hits, she ended up getting a light burn. After receiving it, she squeaked a bit but shook her head, took a deep breath and said, "No, I'm going to be a strong. A hero should be able to tolerate pain," looking at Gallade and asking, "Right?" the boy nodding and replying, "You'll be ready for this soon enough, sis."

Machoke could not believe this. The only other person who did not feel fully confident in her abilities ended up doing loads better than him. Sure, she did get burned, but only after hitting the bag ten times, which was more than could be said for the boy.

Almost immediately after time with the punching bags was up, everyone was led to the next area, which involved everyone having to lift weights, Machoke blinking and saying, "Okay, I can probably handle this."

He then flexed his muscles and grinned, saying, "Not bad at all," looking around and thinking, 'I actually have the biggest muscles of anyone here. I may actually dominate everyone in this category.'

Riolu smiled at the students and said, "This is a simple training round. For this one, our fitness instructor, Mister Graveler, will decide which weight is most suitable for you to work with," a boulder with two arms among the students waving at an older boulder with four arms, a rougher build and small legs and exclaimed, "Hi, dad!" Graveler grinning and replying, "Hey there, Geodude, my boy! Looking strong!" Machoke blinking and thinking, 'I almost forgot a lot of students here are related to the instructors.'

"So," Riolu said, turning to Graveler, "what weight do you think we should start with today?" Graveler replying, "Well, I'd like to go easy on the newcomers."

Machoke took a deep breath and thought,, 'Thank you, lord,' the boulder tapping his chin and adding, "So I was thinking a minimum of two thousand pounds should suffice."

Machoke's eyes widened, his jaw almost hitting the ground as he spat, "TWO THOUSAND POUNDS!? ARE YOU MAD!?" Blaziken groaning, "Come on, that's child's play for us," Machoke staring at her and barking, "You do know two thousand pounds is a ton, right!?"

Blaziken smirked and remarked, "I'm surprised you actually know that. Maybe you do have some intelligence in you," Machoke retorting, "Well, if you're so tough, you can go first!" the chicken scoffing, "Gladly," making her way over to the weight provided for her.

And with almost no effort at all, the chicken grabbed hold of the iron bar with both of her hands and lifted it high above her head, most of the heroes acting as if this was nothing special as Graveler said, "Not bad," Machoke blinking and saying, "Hey, maybe this isn't so challenging."

The boy walked over with a grin and said, "Me next," Graveler smiling and replying, "I like your enthusiasm," Machoke saying, "If someone like Blaziken can lift this, I can lift it with one hand!"

With that, the boy attempted to lift it only to find himself unable to move it, the boy saying, "Okay, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself," this time applying both hands only to end up budging it slightly above his feet and no further, the boy dropping the weight and breathing heavily, sweat pouring down his face.

Graveler shrugged and said, "Nice try. I recommend exercising those muscles of yours," Machoke staring as Blaziken sighed, "Having a nice physique is one thing, but actually using those muscles and building your strength is another."

Machoke fumed as Gardevoir walked over to Blaziken and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why do you hate Machoke so much?" Blaziken shooting the girl a glare and remarking, "That is none of your concern!"

Hearing this, Gallade walked over and retorted, "Hey, don't talk to my sister that way! She asked you a question, and very nicely at that!" Riolu and Graveler wondering if they should separate the two of them when Blaziken walked away from the other students herself, not wanting to talk to anyone.

The truth was that Blaziken had always had a deep hatred towards Machoke's entire family. She hated how Machamp had all the glory while her mother, Combusken was always second-fiddle. Sure, the two of them fought side-by-side many times, but it was always Machamp delivering the finishing blows and getting all the praise with Combusken getting lip-service. Blaziken swore that she would end this trend by up-staging Machamp's son, but seeing that he was such a weakling and a coward made her sick. She was easily better than him and it did not feel satisfying knowing she would not have to put any effort into it.

Gardevoir looked at her with a depressed look, Gallade sighing, "Forget it, Gardevoir. You're a great person and she just doesn't see it," the girl shaking her head and replying, "I'm not offended, I'm just concerned," Gallade giving his sister a confused look as she held her hand up to her heart and added, "She seems so sad."

Either way, weight-lifting was soon out of the way as it was time for the day's final exercise. For this one, treadmills were set up as Riolu said, "As you can probably tell, this is a speed exercise. Jolteon here has chosen a way to motivate you all to run the fastest you can."

A bright yellow fox with spiked fur grinned at the students and exclaimed in at a speed almost too quick to hear, "I've chosen a great way to get your spirits high!" whipping out a cup of coffee from nowhere and gulping it down before pulling out a switch and pressing a button on it.

The ground at the end of the treadmills came open as spiked walls rose up on platforms, the students staring at this with fear, even the bravest ones as Jolteon squealed, "THIS IS SO EXCITING! If you're not fast enough, you'll end up hitting the spikes, so you'd better be prepared! All you gotta do is outrun the treadmill for twenty seconds! I'm sure you can all handle that!"

Gardevoir trembled as Gallade said, "Don't worry, you're one of the fastest people I know," the girl nodding with a light smile.

"Spikes or not, this actually isn't too bad," Machoke replied, Blaziken asking, "You sure of that?" the boy nodding and replying, "If there's one thing I do have experience with, it's my feet."

Ten heroes tried out the treadmill, Blaziken being one of the first to go as she easily overpowered the machine, running so fast in fact that she managed to reach the front of the machine in less than ten seconds and leap over the machine that told how fast it was going, everyone clapping as Jolteon spat, "WOW, THAT WAS AMAZING!"

After that, Blaziken sat in a corner and pulled out a bag of chicken feed, munching on it. Machoke went up next as he ended up standing next to the machine Gardevoir was using, the girl smiling and saying, "Good luck," Machoke nodding and replying, "You too," the machines once again starting up.

Strangely enough, it seemed Machoke's talk of being fast enough was actually true as he managed to run on time with the machine's speed. Blaziken scowled at the sight of this before spitting one of her seeds right at his ankle, Machoke's eyes going wide as it hit him like a bullet, the boy losing his balance and sliding back-first into the spikes, crying out in agony.

Everyone gasped as Jolteon shouted, "OH, THAT LOOKED PAINFUL!" Riolu glaring at Blaziken and barking, "Blaziken, I know you have some sort of grudge with Machoke, but that was going too far!"

Machoke groaned while slowly staggering away from the wall as Gardevoir whimpered, "He needs medical treatment," Riolu nodding and replying, "You're right. Someone take him to the nurse's office."

At that moment, a groundhog walked over to him and said, "I'll help," Machoke uttering, "Thanks."

The groundhog led him toward a certain area, Riolu stating, "Watchog, that's not the way to the nurse's office," as the groundhog grinned before saying, "I know it isn't."

Everyone gasped when suddenly, his arms ripped open to reveal giant needles, his tail end coming open to show a yellow abdomen with a stinger underneath. Soon his entire body had come apart, everyone gasping as a large wasp with two giant stingers for hands appeared.

As if that was not bad enough, a big white square with poles on the ends and ropes attached to said poles rose up from under them. This was a fighting ring, the sort of thing heroes and villains alike often settled their disputes in, and as if this was not bad enough, a big cage surrounded it as well, Riolu asking, "Who are you?"

"I am Beedrill!" the wasp replied with a wicked laugh, "If you're wondering where Watchog went, let's just say he met an unfortunate accident on the way here," everyone staring in absolute horror, Blaziken also in shock. She had been partly responsible for this and felt a little bad about that.

"In case you're wondering how I got this to work," Beedrill explained, "I've been studying the layout of this facility since I got here. I know you guys keep training rings around here and this specific one is for practising cage matches, so when I saw Machoke get badly injured, I thought of this as a perfect opportunity to lure him over here so I could kill him and no one could stop me!"

Machoke stared in horror and barked, "But why me!?" Beedrill replying, "It's simple! You may not be on the level of your father, but your family is still considered a major threat among villains everywhere! If I take you out, they'll recognize me as their superior and give me a position of high power! As if you being weak isn't enough to make this all possible, your injuries have made things so much simpler!"

Machoke trembled in absolute horror as even the instructors could not do a thing about this. This was the perfect plan. The only way Machoke could possibly get out of this was to defeat Beedrill in a fight, but could he pull this off with his lack of skill?

 

Chapter 2:

This was truly the worst day of Machoke's life. First he had been forced to partake in a school he had no interest in. He had undergone intense training since shortly after his arrival, training that had only managed to get him hurt. As if that was not enough, Blaziken had it out for him and had even sabotaged him during the one training exercise he was actually good at, causing him great pain as a result.

But just as things were looking up and he was to get medical treatment, it turned out a villain had snuck into the school and was now going to face him in a steel cage match, the first fight Machoke would ever take place in, and he was under an injury, so this was even worse.

Beedrill started flapping his wings, making that intimidating buzzing sound flying bugs always made while Machoke trembled and whimpered, "Oh god, I really hate wasps."

Gardevoir walked to the side of the ring and said, "Remember, Machoke, that's not normal wasp you're fighting," Machoke retorting, "Yeah, this one's bigger and stronger than a normal wasp!" Gallade sighing, "Yeah, and that makes him an easier target, right?"

Machoke's eyes went wide as he smirked, saying, "You're right," slowly rising to his feet, trying his best to ignore the pain to his back, "Normal wasps are a total pain, flying really quickly and since they're so small, they're almost impossible to hit. But this guy's big," Beedrill remarking, "I'm also fast!"

With that, the wasp flew toward the lizard boy, Machoke unable to respond in time as the wasp jabbed his stingers straight through his shoulders shouting, "TWIN NEEDLE!!!!!"

The boy cried out in pain as blood was now dripping down from the spot that had been hit. Beedrill took full advantage of this as he flew up toward the roof of the cage, carrying Machoke with him, his eyes glowing briefly before he flipped his entire body over, heading quickly toward the mat shouting, "TWIN NEEDLE SUPLEX!!!!!" slamming Machoke's head hard into the mat, the boy now in more pain than he could have ever imagined.

Beedrill finally pulled his stingers out of the shoulders while Machoke clutched his head, rolling around in pain. He had only taken in one hit and already felt like he was sure to lose.

'Is this what I'll have to deal with if I graduate?' he thought, 'Always having to face scary guys like these on Earth? I don't think I can handle it!' Beedrill laughing and exclaiming, "This is just too easy! I'm actually impressed that didn't knock you unconscious!"

Machoke secretly wished it had as Beedrill did not hesitate to fly in for another one. Blaziken simply got up and headed away from the area. Not only was it painful seeing the son of her mother's biggest rival being beaten so badly, but she still felt guilty for putting him in this spot and did not want to show that she cared about his safety, even just a little bit.

Gallade gritted his teeth and spat, "Machoke, his form is sloppy! He's left a really obvious opening! Take advantage of that!" the lizard boy blinking and looking at Beedrill, noticing exactly what the green and white boy was saying as he threw his arms forward in a sideways motion, grabbing the wasp's stingers.

Beedrill's eyes were wide with shock. As if that was not surprising enough, Machoke had actually applied enough force to keep the stingers from hitting him just long enough for him to lean back and release Beedrill, sending him careening into the side of the cage, his head hitting the steel hard as he fell onto the surface of the mat, grunting in pain and rubbing his head. Machoke stared at the wasp while uttering, "Did-did I just do that?"

"Excellent job, Machoke!" Riolu exclaimed, one of the other students exclaiming, "Get him while he's down!" Machoke snapping back to reality as he nodded, saying, "Right."

He then charged toward the wasp only for Beedrill to regain his senses, propelling himself off the mat in time to avoid taking in another hit, Machoke uttering, "Oh no," the wasp descending right behind him with a smirk on his face before ramming the stinger on his abdomen into the lizard's back, Machoke's eyes widening in pain as more blood came out.

With that, the wasp proceeded to wrap his stingers around the boy's neck, grunting, "That was a lucky shot!" everyone staring in fear, hoping a miracle would happen.

All the while, Blaziken continued to stand away from the ring, sitting down while hugging her knees and sighing, "Mom, I'm sorry. If you could see me now, you'd think I was a disappointment," the chicken letting down light tears. The truth was, she knew why her mother had always been okay with Machamp being better than her and was too blinded by her ego to accept this.

Combusken had told her several times that she did not care about the glory of the medals or the trophies. Fighting alongside someone so powerful and selfless and protecting the lives of others was its own reward. Blaziken had always viewed this as a stupid mindset that only weaklings could possibly possess, but now even she was starting to seriously consider it.

With that in mind, she rose to her feet and turned back toward the ring saying, "Dammit, that boy's gonna get himself killed," racing toward the area while Machoke struggled to get free from Beedrill's grip, the wasp chuckling wickedly and exclaiming, "You're not going anywhere!"

However, just as things were about to get worse, Blaziken ran into the area, snapping, "COME ON, MACHOKE!!!!! THIS GUY IS NOTHING!!!!!! HE MAY BE FAST, BUT HE'S LACKING IN MUSCLE, AND MUSCLE IS SOMETHING YOU HAVE PLENTY OF!!!!"

everyone stared at her as Machoke blinked, his eyes narrowing as he said, "You're right," Beedrill asking, "What good is that if you can't hit me?"

Machoke smirked and remarked, "Why don't you find out?" the boy grabbing hold of the wasp's stingers before leaping backwards toward the cage wall, Beedrill trying to flying away only to find himself unable to pry his arms out of Machoke's grip, receiving a hard blow to the back of the head once again.

Seeing his opponent in a weakened state once more, Machoke knew better than to hesitate this time as he quickly lifted the wasp up by his shoulders, saying, "I may not know a lot about fighting, but I have heard enough about this move to pull it off," everyone wondering what he was going on about as he proceeded to propel himself off the mat, leaping high above the ring before flipping Beedrill upside down.

Riolu's eyes widened as he uttered, "I can't believe it... he's using that move..." Jolteon squealing, "THAT IS SO COOL!!!!!" the students watching this, not sure where the instructors were coming from.

Machoke gritted his teeth and said, "This was a move my dad used to end a lot of his matches, so I know this should be enough to finish you off," the boy grabbing hold of Beedrill's stingers and pulling on them to lock his arms in place, wrapping his ankles around the wasp's neck before descending toward the ring stating, "It's a little incomplete. My father would also lock the legs in place, but since I don't have four arms, I'm gonna have to count on this," Beedrill clearly too shocked by this to retaliate as the boy barked, "MUSCLE TOMBSTONE!"

Before anyone could even blink, Beedrill's head was slammed hard against the mat, all going silent as the wasp closed his eyes, a green liquid coming from his mouth as Machoke released his hold on him, allowing the rest of him to fall to the mat, the bug now unconscious. With that, a mechanism activated on the ring, sensing the match was over as the cage was quickly removed, the students all cheering wildly, applauding the boy.

"That was so cool," Gardevoir uttered, "I wonder if I could pull off a miracle like that," Gallade replying, "You probably can if you try hard enough."

Riolu took a deep breath and thought, 'Maybe he does have the potential to reach his father's level. But I'm surprised he was able to pull that move off just from hearing about it.'

Machoke slowly sauntered out of the ring, a couple of security guards racing into the area and cuffing Beedrill's arms, legs and wings, carrying him out of the area. Gardevoir raced to Machoke's side and gave him a hug, squeaking, "I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!!!!"

Machoke's eyes widened as he grunted, "Thanks for the concern, but you're hurting me!" the girl releasing him and blushing brightly, uttering, "Sorry," Gallade giving him thumbs up.

Machoke then looked toward Blaziken, the chicken taking a deep breath and walking toward him, patting him on the shoulder with a grin saying, "Good job," Machoke's eyes widening briefly before a smile formed on his face, the boy nodding and saying, "Thanks," Blaziken shaking her head and remarking, "All I did was say a few words of encouragement. That victory was all you," Riolu more than happy to see them finally getting along.

And so the next month passed by and was certainly a lot better. After winning his first match, Machoke was feeling a lot more confident in himself and as such was performing rather well and building up his strength. Gardevoir had been inspired by Machoke's win just enough to have more confidence in herself, though her skills remained barely passable, only now she no longer hesitated to try them out. Blaziken of course still considered Machoke her rival, only now she was proud to view him that way and was less focused on outdoing everyone. At this time, she preferred to concentrate simply on improving her skills and letting nothing else distract her.

Of course ,during this time, Machoke had become good friends with her, Gardevoir and Gallade and was actually kind of glad he had been forced to enlist in this school. So far, it was helping him improve not only as a fighter but as a person.

When the final day came, everyone was assembled outside of the building, Riolu smiling at the students and saying, "Well, this truly has been a good month, hasn't it? All thirty-two of you have improved so much since you came here. Some of you showed great promise from the get-go and continued to keep that promise. Most of you struggled a bit but still proved yourselves worthy of fighting on Earth. We did unfortunately lose one, but we have not let that discourage us. As such, your training has come to an end," the students grinning and cheering, Machoke sighing, "Thank god it's all over," Blaziken saying, "As much as I hate to admit it, even I'm glad it's over."

However, everyone's positivity left them when Riolu added, "Now it's time for your final test," all going silent as Gallade spat, "Didn't you just say training was over!?"

The cyborg with the magnets simply shrugged and replied,, "He said TRAINING was over," Riolu nodding and replying, "Right you are, Magnemite," the cyborg implying a smile with his eye seeing as he had no visible mouth as Machoke muttered, "Know-it-all," the dog adding, "Now that training is over, you still need to pass your final exam, one that you've been preparing for."

"Oh, is it multiple choice?" Gardevoir asked, everyone staring at her as one of the students said, "That's like something Machoke would ask?" Machoke remarking, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Riolu let out a sigh and continued, "It's not a written exam. No, each of you will go up against one of the heroes of my generation. We need to make sure you're prepared for the villains on Earth, and if you can't defeat any of us, then how are you supposed to defeat the very beings who have been dominating us for the last while?"

"You know, he does have a point," one student said, another nodding and adding, "Yeah, if anything, this is the perfect way to test our skills."

However, what surprised most of the students was that Machoke did not seem the least bit scared, Blaziken saying, "Wow, I'm shocked. You're not trying to run away," the boy grinning and replying, "Of course not. Even I can beat an oldie with ease," his friends face-palming as Gallade sighed, "How did I know he was gonna say that?"

Riolu then pointed behind him at four rings saying, "We will hold four matches at a time. Anyone who loses will not graduate and will have to undergo training for another month. When you decide to go is up to you, but if none of you volunteer in the next minute, I will choose at random who goes first," Blaziken smirking and remarking, "You're too generous," the chicken racing toward one of the rings and leaping over the ropes, landing gracefully against the mat as Machoke said, "It's amazing how spirited she is."

After that, three others entered their own separate rings, one student being a grey bipedal creature with a dark purple nose. Bulbous protrusions of skin came from both sides of his head, the front being on the top and the back one on the bottom, and parts of his body had pink vein-like protrusions. This boy was named Timburr.

"Alright, give me all you got because I'm ready!" the boy exclaimed, flexing his muscles, which were rather big considering his small stature.

Just as he said this, a small part of the mat lowered itself before rising up with a fighter in a cloak appearing, said opponent pulling it off as everyone gasped at the sight of a dark blue frog standing tall and proud, her arms folded as she had a serious look in her eyes. Her webbed hands consisted of three fingers while her feet only had two toes.

"You must be the famous Greninja, am I right?" Timburr asked, the frog nodding and asking, "I hope you're ready because I am not going to hold back," the ninja striking a fighting stance, her opponent smirking and remarking, "Bring it on!" Machoke staring in a bit of disgust when Greninja prepared for the battle by whipping out her tongue and wrapping it around her chin and mouth, using it as a scarf.

More opponents came up for the other students, but of course, Machoke and his friends were more interested in who Blaziken was fighting, the chicken smirking when she noticed her match was with a buffalo sporting an Afro, two long horns sticking out the sides of the hairdo. Blaziken had always dreamed of facing this particular fighter, so she felt like the luckiest student there.

"It is an honour to finally meet you, Bouffalant," Blaziken said with a grin, "My mom told me scary things about you," the bison nodding and saying, "Your mom was a great fighter, but she couldn't hold a candle to me. Let's see if you can manage that."

Before this match could start up, though, Timburr had already started his as he raced toward Greninja shouting, "LET'S SEE HOW YOU HANDLE HANDS THAT CAN BREAK THROUGH WOOD!" the boy propelling himself off the mat and aiming a karate chop toward the frog's head. The ninja saw this coming and vanished, Timburr's eyes wide with shock as she appeared behind him saying, "Your form is sloppy," the ninja sending her own karate chop to the back of his head.

Before Timburr could even respond, the ninja vanished again, this time appearing over his head and sending her foot into his skull, knocking him down and sighing, "Strength means nothing if you can't hit your target."

Timburr grunted, ignoring the pain to his head as he remarked, "What good is speed if your hits are super weak?" getting up quickly and swinging his body around, attempting another karate chop only to end up missing, his eyes wide open with shock as the ninja once again appeared in another area.

This time she was standing atop the turnbuckle as she said, "You definitely need another month here," unravelling her tongue and sending it straight at Timburr, latching it around his body as he found himself unable to get up, the ninja saying, "Seems like I'm not as weak as you think."

The ninja then used the tongue to hurl him high above the ring, leaping up and latching her legs to his sides, flipping herself 180 degrees, Timburr's head facing the mat as she spat, "NINJA FRANKENSTEINER!" slamming his head hard into the mat and knocking him out cold.

Machoke's jaw was dropped as his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. Now he was scared. Clearly these old fighters could not be taken lightly.

Blaziken simply stared at this with interest as Bouffalant smirked, saying, "Yeah, I'm gonna be fighting with that level of aggression, too," the chicken nodding and raising her fists for a fighter's stance, the match starting up with Bouffalant wasting no time charging toward the bird. Blaziken tried to dodge only for the bison to graze her left ankle with his right horn, the chicken crying out in pain and falling on her knees, the buffalo coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her neck for a sleeper hold.

Machoke whimpered at the sight of this as Gardevoir asked, "Is she going to be okay?" Gallade sighing, "We'll see, sis, we'll see," patting his sister on the shoulder.

Blaziken grunted and decided to risk extra pain from his attack as she rose her right fist, ramming it hard into the buffalo's nose, causing him to release his hold as he rubbed the spot, the chicken sending a roundhouse toward his face. The bovine fighter blocked the incoming talons with his hoof, knocking her on her back and kneeling over her, sending a series of punches into her face, Machoke covering his eyes and whining, "I can't watch!"

However, after a few blows, Bouffalant was shocked to see Blaziken block the next two with her hands, grabbing hold of his hooves while saying, "You really are as tough as they say, but that's not good enough to stop me."

The bison growled and muttered, "You cheeky little..." the bison using the chicken's grip on his hooves to his advantage, Blaziken's eyes going wide as he rose her up high enough to lock her arms around his horns and charge toward one of the turnbuckles shouting, "BUFFALO STAMPEDE!" ramming her back hard into the turnbuckle as she coughed up a bit of blood.

As the bison backed up, a smirk on his face, Machoke stared at this asking, "What is wrong with that guy?" Gallade sighing, "Bouffalant used to be a villain and they say that aggression and passion to beat the pulp out of his opponents never left him even after he turned good," Gardevoir whimpering, "That's horrible."

However, Blaziken did not seem the least bit shaken up by this as she shook off the pain, maintaining focus as Bouffalant's eyes widened, the chicken saying, "Don't worry, guys. I'm glad he's not holding back just because it's a fight between heroes. This is how most villains fight, so if anything, this is better training than I could have ever asked for."

Bouffalant smirked and said, "I like you, kid. You got a lot of fighting spirit, but even so, I'm still not holding back," Blaziken replying, "I wouldn't want it any other way."

With that, Bouffalant rushed toward the chicken with his horns lowered, shouting, "BUFFALO STAMPEDE!" once again, Blaziken smirking and leaping up just in time to grab him by his horns, a grin on her face as she said, "Unfortunately for you, I was raised in a barn."

Her legs lit on fire as she propelled herself above his head while still holding onto his horns. She then positioned her feet so they were aimed at the back of his neck.

Bouffalant was actually terrified now as the chicken exclaimed, "BLAZE KICK!" sending her feet hard into his neck as he coughed up a bit of blood, falling hard on his face. Sure, he had not taken in a lot of damage during the fight, but somehow this one move was still enough to knock him unconscious as Blaziken's victory was official, the chicken raising her fist in the air, Machoke and Gardevoir both breathing a sigh of relief.

With that, Blaziken and another student who had won his match were the first two to officially graduate from Hero School. But one thing was still certain, this was going to be tough for the remaining students, and no one wanted to spend another month in this school.

Seeing just how hard it would be, Machoke was still feeling scared as Gallade noticed three rings already being claimed and asking, "Hey, Machoke, you wanna go first?" the lizard boy uttering, "Actually, you can go ahead of me. I know you want to more, right?" a big nervous smile on his face.

Gallade saw through his lie but pretended not to, shrugging his shoulders and replying, "You're so generous," walking toward the last ring with a confident look on his face, Gardevoir squeaking, "Be careful!"

Gallade folded his arms and waited patiently for his opponent, a chunk of the mat going under and rising up seconds later to reveal the boy's opponent. This seemed like a weird pick but Gallade took it very seriously nonetheless.

His opponent was a rabbit with a portly build and grey fur around most of his body. His midsection had a big fluffy belt of fur that was brown on the sides and yellow in the middle. Brown fur also covered his muzzle and feet, though the main feature that stuck out was that his ears were crowned with massive, muscular forearms, each one with a brown hand on the end. This hero was known as Diggersby.

"Howdy," the rabbit said with a grin, "You must be Kirlia's boy. I must say, she has a raised a fine son," Gallade grinning and replying, "You should see me in battle before you make such statements."

Diggersby blinked before laughing and replying, "Guess you're right," using one of his ear arms to wipe a finger against his nose, Machoke saying, "He seems nicer than the others," Gardevoir whimpering, "I just hope Gallade can beat him."

With that, the match started up with Gallade immediately sprinting toward the bunny with his arms spread out like those of someone holding a pair of blades, Diggersby readying himself only for Gallade to dodge to the side at blinding speed. However, it seemed Diggersby was not as slow as he appeared for when Gallade sent his arms forward for an attack, the bunny turned and grabbed the boy's wrists with his ear hands.

Gallade's eyes widened with shock, Gardevoir equally surprised as the rabbit smirked, saying, "I've had lots of experience with quick opponents in my life, kiddo," the rabbit folding his regular arms and leaning backward, slamming Gallade head-first into the mat shouting, "EAR SUPLEX!"

Gallade tried to get up only for the rabbit to slam both of his fists into his skull shouting, "BUNNY HAMMER ARM!" Machoke wincing at the sight of this, Gallade's eyes spinning. However, he regained focus when he heard Gardevoir whimpering louder than usual, a confident grin forming as he said, "Don't worry, sis, I got this," Diggersby taken off-guard by these words as the boy quickly turned his body around, sending a strike toward the rabbit's chest.

Unfortunately, he still failed to hit the rabbit, Diggersby just barely grabbing his arm in time to avoid taking in damage. However, he noticed his ear hands bleeding a bit as Gallade asked, "Did you think these blade formations were just for show?"

The rabbit blinked and said, "They don't look too much like real blades, but I guess looks can be deceiving," the rabbit releasing his hold on the blade formations before wrapping his arms around Gallade's back, the boy's eyes widening as he uttered, "I really should have taken advantage of that."

With that, Diggersby propelled himself off the mat, performing a series of vertical flips before slamming Gallade's head into the mat once again, the boy grunting in pain, really tired of this abuse as Gardevoir cried, "GALLADE!" Machoke and Blaziken also worried for his health.

Hearing his sister's cry, Gallade fumed and spat, "NO!" rising to his feet as Diggersby noticed this, saying with a grin, "I must say, I admire your spirit," sending his fists toward the only for Gallade to block the incoming punches with the blades on his arms, once again causing the rabbit's ear hands to bleed.

The rabbit winced as Gallade spat, "I SWORE THAT BOTH MY SISTER AND I WOULD GRADUATE AT THE END OF THIS MONTH AND SO HELP ME GOD, I'M GOING TO FULFIL MY PROMISE!" Diggersby reeling his ears back as Gallade took full advantage of the opening, sending both blades across the rabbit's chest in an X formation shouting, "PSYCHO CUT!"

This caused the rabbit's chest to bleed, a perfect X forming where the blood was coming from as Diggersby fell hard on his back, his eyes and mouth wide open from the shock of it all. Gallade breathed heavily and wiped sweat off of his forehead before turning to his sister, Gardevoir looking at him with concern as he grinned, holding a thumb up and saying, "I did it, sis."

The girl breathed a sigh of relief and uttered,, "Now I just hope I can help fulfil that promise," Blaziken patting her on the shoulder and saying, "Don't worry, I'm sure you can do it."

Gallade slowly made his way out of the ring as Gardevoir gave him a hug, the two patting each-other's backs as Gallade looked deep into her eyes saying, "It's your turn now," the girl nodding and entering the ring, feeling nervous beyond compare but trying not to show it. After all, she had to at least win this one match for her brother.

 

Gardevoir stood in the ring, taking a deep breath and hoping to get this over with fast. Her heart was racing a mile a minute and she was not completely confident in her abilities. Sure, Gallade had told her several times that she was stronger than she believed and that he admired her talents, but she still had trouble casting aside her doubts.

Either way, it was too late to turn back as her opponent rose up, Gardevoir's eyes going wide with terror. Like Machoke, she had never been in a serious fight in her life and now here she was standing face-to-face with what she could only assume was her polar opposite. This woman was a hulking dinosaur-like figure with large rat-like ears and a horn atop her head. Her skin was light-blue save for her lower belly, breasts and chin, which were white. With spikes going along her back, this dinosaur was known as Nidoqueen.

Seeing that Gardevoir's opponent had such a tough physique, Gallade looked a little worried as Machoke noticed this, asking, "Is that fear in your eyes?" Gallade shaking his head and sporting a more serious look remarking, "No, I was just shocked is all!"

He then noticed a similar-looking being with purple skin and a longer horn exclaiming, "Don't go easy on her just because she's a student, okay, sis!?" Nidoqueen rolling her eyes and remarking, "Of course I'm not going easy on her, stupid!" the brother being Nidoking.

Gardevoir blinked and said, "So your brother's here to watch you too," Nidoqueen sighing, "Yeah, though unlike your brother, he does it because it's his job," Nidoking remarking, "That's not true! I care about your health and well-being!" Nidoqueen snickering as Gardevoir suddenly realized the two were just teasing each-other and did not really have a bad relationship.

With all said and done, Nidoqueen got ready before rushing at Gardevoir, the girl unsure of how to respond as the dinosaur sent her claws toward her, Gardevoir instinctively swaying to the side to avoid the attack. The movements were graceful, but only because she had taught herself to always dodge like this. Her facial expressions made it clear that she was nowhere near as calm as the movements made her seem.

However, after she avoided the attack, Nidoqueen had left herself wide open as Gallade spat, "HIT HER WHILE SHE'S DISTRACTED!" Gardevoir nodding and taking her brother's advice, sending a back-handed slap to Nidoqueen's cheek.

Unfortunately, the dinosaur-rat's body was just as strong as it looked so not only did this deal next to no damage to her, Gardevoir ended up taking in a light pain to her hand as she whimpered, backing up and stroking the spot she had used.

"Geez, girl, I didn't think you were actually as delicate as you look," Nidoqueen grunted, not even feeling the slap as Gardevoir whined, "Gallade, I can't do this!" Gallade sighing, "Don't say that. Remember, if physical attacks don't work, try internally damaging your opponent."

Gardevoir took a while to realize what he meant before remembering him teaching her how to harm an opponent on the inside, the girl nodding and saying, "Right."

Nidoqueen charged at her again and said, "Good to see you haven't lost your cool just yet. I'd hate to wipe the floor with a wimp," Gardevoir putting on a more serious look as Nidoqueen attempted to grab her, the girl once again swaying to the side and gracefully dodging her, grabbing hold of the dinosaur's arm and with both hands and using them to twist her wrist.

"Oh, I get it now," Machoke said with a grin, "If she can't harm her skin, she can at least harm her bones, right?" Gallade nodding and saying, "Yep, that's the plan," Blaziken sighing, "I hate to burst both your bubbles, but this doesn't seem to be working."

The boys started to panic when they noticed what the chicken meant. While this did seem to be slightly more effective than her slap earlier, Nidoqueen still did not seem to feel any pain as she proceeded to lift up her free arm, pulling in the arm being twisted as a means of bringing Gardevoir closer so she could connect a hard punch to the girl's face, causing her to back up.

No one could believe what they were seeing. Gardevoir had only taken in one punch and she was already coughing up blood, the girl holding out her hand to catch some of the droplets, her eyes going wide as she breathed heavily. As if this was not bad enough, Nidoqueen still did not seem the least bit weakened.

"I don't get it," Machoke uttered, "I'm not an expert or anything, but shouldn't Nidoqueen have taken in a bit more damage to her arm by pulling it inward like that?" Blaziken nodding and replying, "Yes, I'm sure she did, but Gardevoir's not strong enough for it to make that much of a difference," Gallade glaring at her until the chicken sighed, "I'm just telling it like it is. No offence, but your sister is nowhere near as powerful as you are."

"No, you're wrong," Gallade remarked, Machoke saying, "Look, I like your sister too, but..." Gallade shooting him a scowl and stating, "I'm telling you, she's a lot stronger than she looks right now! She's not even unleashing her full power yet! You'll see! When it happens, you'll be amazed!"

Blaziken and Machoke were not even sure how to respond to this. On one hand, Gallade was her brother and likely knew her better than anyone else, but on the other hand, if Gardevoir really had such power, why was she not using it?

Gardevoir seemed lack even more confidence than Machoke and Blaziken right now. Whatever this great power was, she did not seem to know of its existence either. Physical attacks had done next to nothing and trying to deal internal damage was not much of an improvement. As if things could not get any worse, one hit, something her brother could have easily shrugged off, had caused her to bleed. It was only natural that the girl would be terrified out of her mind right now.

"I hate to beat you so easily, but I have a job to do and I doubt any of the villains on Earth would show you sympathy," Nidoqueen said, folding her arms, "so please, I beg of you, don't take this personally," the dinosaur charging toward Gardevoir once more with her elbow pointed forward, the girl closing her eyes and screaming, "NO!" holding up her hands to block the incoming strike.

Everyone stared in absolute shock as Gardevoir's manoeuvre had actually worked. Nidoqueen was applying all of her might and yet somehow, Gardevoir had actually managed to hold her back. However, the people watching could not help but notice a violet aura surrounding her hands, Gardevoir opening one eye to see why she had not been sent flying yet, her other eye following as both were wide open in absolute shock.

As if this could not get any stranger, Gardevoir proceeded to force Nidoqueen away from her, the dinosaur's back running into the turnbuckle. The girl pursed her lip as Gallade exclaimed, "SIS, THAT WAS AWESOME! KEEP IT UP!" Blaziken and Machoke staring in shock, Machoke's shock turning to excitement as he rose his fist, shouting, "YEAH, DON'T STOP!"

Gardevoir's confidence returned just a little bit. Strangely enough, she had no clue how she had pulled that off, but right now, she had a promise to fulfil and she would not fail without trying her hardest.

With that in mind, she held up a defensive stance as Nidoqueen smirked, saying, "Well, looks like you got some fight in you after all," the dinosaur once again rushing in recklessly, Blaziken saying, "At least now Gardevoir can finally take advantage of Nidoqueen's sloppy fighting style," the girl not dodging but allowing Nidoqueen to close in on her, sending a palm punch hard into her midsection. Nidoqueen's eyes widened as the blow provided enough force to send her back a bit, the dinosaur-rat actually feeling pain this time.

Everyone was truly amazed as Gardevoir had stopped bleeding at the mouth, the girl taking a deep breath and smiling, letting down light tears and sniffing, "I might actually be able to do this," Nidoqueen barking, "Don't act like you've won yet!"

The dinosaur-rat once again charged toward the girl, Gardevoir ready to end this as she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and keeping her palm open. She remembered a move that Gallade had taught her, a powerful finisher that she could actually use. It was the only advanced move she could pull off, but she knew it would be enough.

With that in mind, she waited for just the right moment as she propelled herself off the mat, shouting, "MOON..." kicking just slightly above Nidoqueen's chest and actually managing to catch her off-guard before allowing herself to fly past the dinosaur, pressing her arm right up against the rat's neck, her eyes wide with shock as Gardevoir ended with the word, "HOOK!" pulling Nidoqueen downward until her back hit the mat hard, the dinosaur-rat's eyes wide with shock as she was out cold.

Machoke bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes as a big smile crossed his face, the boy exclaiming, "WAY TO GO, GARDEVOIR!" everyone else truly amazed by this as Blaziken smirked, saying, "You were right. Your sister's good, though she was cutting that a little too close, don't you think?" Gallade shrugging and replying, "Yeah, not sure why, but she always waits a long time to use that power. I always figured it was to lower her opponent's guard and let them waste their energy on her weak state."

The sad truth was that Gallade was way off. This was not a means of deceiving the opponent as Gardevoir was not knowledgeable enough of her power to use it for that reason. In fact, she had absolutely no idea she had it and even now, she was secretly wondering where all that strength had come from. Even so, she could not have been happier right now. This guaranteed that she and her brother would be fighting on Earth, even if she was hoping Gallade could handle all the dirty work for her.

With all said and done, the girl exited the ring, Gallade giving her a big hug while Machoke and Blaziken patted her on the back. Riolu took a deep breath and said, "She certainly has Kirlia's power, but she clearly doesn't know how to use it yet," Nidoking asking, "Do you think we should keep her here for another month?" the dog shaking his head and replying, "It seems like a good idea, but rules are rules. She passed the final exam, so it would be unfair to keep her from returning to Earth."

After a few more matches, it was finally time for the four final students to go up and give it their all. Machoke was trembling, feeling beyond nervous as Blaziken gave him thumbs up saying, "Come on, man, I know you got this."

Gardevoir nodded and said, "If I can do it, you can too," Machoke laughing nervously and sighing, "Right," grinning and nodding, the boy feeling a little bit more confident in himself. After all, he had defeated a villain under an injury. If he could pull that off, how could he possibly lose to someone at least twenty years older than him?

With that, the boy waited for his opponent, thinking, 'Who could it be? I hope it's not Graveler! Please don't let it be Graveler!' the piece of the mat rising up to reveal quite possibly the biggest shock anyone could ever see. Even Riolu was surprised to see this man standing there right now, a man with four arms, blue skin and white fish lips.

"Oh my god," Blaziken uttered, Gallade asking, "Is that-?" Gardevoir adding, "They look similar to each-other," Machoke blinking, his eyes widening, everyone nodding in understanding. After all, his father had a stellar reputation and if Machoke was going up against him, one could only imagine how bad this could be.

However, Machoke did not seem all too afraid as he pointed at the man before him, barking, "HEY, WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED MOM'S BEEN ABOUT YOU!?" the man retorting, "WHAT WAY IS THAT TO TALK TO YOUR FATHER AFTER SO LONG!?"

Everyone stared in confusion as Machoke seemed more annoyed than terrified, the boy sighing, "Dad, you left us two months ago without saying anything. At first we thought it was another one of your business trips, but since when do business trips last more than a week?" Machamp sighing, "I'm sorry to worry you both like that, but, see, I had a feeling I'd have to face you in combat to prepare you to face evil someday and I wanted to be ready, so I went off to train somewhere," everyone nodding, figuring this was certainly a good reason until Machoke sighed, "Do you think I'm stupid?"

Everyone was confused by this response. Was this ignorance or denial?

It seemed Machoke was in the right state of mind when he smirked, saying, "Knowing you, you probably just wanted a vacation from parenting and decided to head off to Earth so you can spend time in Hawaii, didn't you?" Machamp's eyes widening, his face beet red as he remarked, "No, of course not!"

Riolu face-palmed and groaned, "He's still a terrible liar after all these years," everyone else in the area giving dumbfounded looks. This man was the greatest hero of his time?

"I hate to say it, but your son's got a point," Riolu grunted, folding his arms, "While you've been off having the time of your life, evil has reared its ugly head again and we all got our butts kicked while you didn't even attempt to help us," Machamp remarking, "Well, if the new villains dealt with you so easily, what chance could I possibly have?" the students all in utter shock at this man's behaviour.

The man then took a deep breath and turned to his son saying, "Listen, son, it's true. I went off to have a vacation the month I left, but I was planning to return on the second week. However, it was this time that I'd heard that villains were starting to run rampant and that my friends couldn't stop them. I figured the Hero Planet government would start training a new generation of heroes, so I spent the last month-and-a-half preparing myself to face you in battle. I even paid one of the officials to make sure I would be your opponent no matter when you chose to go up or what ring you picked."

Machoke could see in the man's eyes that this was actually true. With that in mind, panic filled him as he spat, "OH NO, I HAVE TO FIGHT THE WORLD CHAMPION!?" the others barking, "NOW YOU SEE THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION!?"

Machoke ran to the side of the ring and barked, "Please, Mister Riolu, sir, he cheated to become my opponent! Surely you can pick someone else!" Riolu sighing, "I'm sorry, but as long as he's from our generation and he's your opponent, then it's official," Machoke letting down light tears as Machamp smirked, saying, "It is nice to see you at least realize how serious this is, but stop crying, boy."

Machoke looked up at him, the man folding his arms and adding, "The battles on Earth are far worse than what you will face today. I may have spent the last month-and-a-half training, but I have weakened just like my friends have over the years. If you fought me in my prime, I'd tell you to high-tail it and run, but I'm certain you'll stand a chance against me now, even if I am in tip-top shape for this match. Don't look at me as the man who bested the greatest villains of all time back in the day but instead look at me as a really strong sparring partner."

Machoke let out a sigh and remarked, "That speech wasn't as helpful as you think it was, but I do see your point," Blaziken grinning and giving Machoke thumbs up saying, "Come on, man, you won't know unless you try," Gardevoir and Gallade nodding as the boy took a deep breath, stating, "Alright, I'm ready."

However, Machoke still was not fully confident, but he knew it was too late now. Still, he certainly did not wish to spend another month and if he forfeited, he knew that would be the same as losing and that would have surely resulted in him failing to graduate. He just wished he could have gotten someone else as his opponent. Even Riolu would have been fine.

But while Machoke wished this match was not going on, everyone else was extremely focused on seeing how this would turn out. Even the other three students and their opponents had put their matches on hold to witness this spectacle, knowing it could very well be the last time these two would ever face each-other in combat.

As the fight began, Machoke did not even hesitate to rush at his father, Machamp smirking as the boy sent a punch toward his face, Machamp blocking it with one hand and using the lower arm to punch his son in the gut, Machoke's eyes widening as he knelt down, clutching his tummy while his father walked behind him, wrapping his lower arms around the boy's neck while using his upper arms to hold his head in place.

"Oh my god, a four-armed sleeper hold," Blaziken uttered, her eyes wide with fear, "Two arms are bad enough with that move," Gallade saying, "Wow, he really is serious about this," Machoke already starting to lose his breath when suddenly, he remembered something very important, his eyes widening.

With that, the boy slowly rose his hands, placing them firmly against his father's lower arms as Machamp said, "All you're doing is adding to the pain, son," Machoke smirking and asking, "Am I?"

Everyone stared in confusion when the boy started to rub his fingers lightly against his father's skin. Machamp blinked, biting his lower lip as light tears ran down his face, the man breaking out into hysterics and loosening his grip as Machoke proceeded to lift his arms up further, rubbing his fingers against his father's armpits until he finally let go, the boy proceeding to deliver a fierce karate chop to Machamp's face as he backed up, still laughing a bit.

"Something I haven't forgotten over the years if how ticklish you are," Machoke said with a childish grin, everyone staring in shock as Blaziken uttered, "I can't believe it," Gardevoir squeaking, "Way to go, Machoke!" the boy taking a deep breath and saying, "I still got another ten seconds until you stop feeling it, so here goes."

Machamp was still laughing while holding his sides, shouting through laughter, "OH NO!" Machoke rushing at him and grabbing hold of his father's arm, swinging him toward the turnbuckle as the man ran head-first into it, his face now in a bit of pain as he groaned, his laughter finally stopping as he took a deep breath, shaking his head and turning toward his son with a look of anger before barking, "THAT WAS UNFAIR, YOU STUPID POO-POO HEAD!!!!!"

Machoke simply gave him a smug look and remarked, "Just admit I'm a tactical genius," as Riolu sighed, "Like father like son."

Machamp let out a sigh and patted his cheeks a couple of times, remembering he had to be serious, Machoke's sudden burst of confidence leaving him almost instantly when he saw his father get serious again. Machoke was no expert on fighting and there was no way Machamp was going to try the same tactic again, especially now that the boy knew a way out of it.

He did not have much time to think of a way to keep his advantage, though, as Machamp rushed at him, saying, "You may have gotten out of that one, but try countering this," the man sending both of his lower fists at Machoke, the boy instinctively holding out his own hands to block the incoming punches.

Unfortunately, this was what Machamp was hoping he would do as the man used his top arms to send two karate chops into the boy's shoulders, Machoke crying out in pain. With his guard dropped, he was now wide open as Machamp smirked and proceeded to send a flurry of punches into the boy's face and chest. Because he was using all four of his arms, Machoke was unable to retaliate as everyone stared at this, scared for the boy's well-being.

"Machamp really is something else," Gallade uttered, Blaziken sighing, "I want Machoke to win, but maybe his dad was wrong about him standing a chance."

Gardevoir shook her head with a serious look and said, "I believe he can do this," Gallade's fear turning to confidence. If Gardevoir truly believed he could win, there was no doubt in his mind that the boy could pull through somehow.

With that, Gallade spat, "COME ON, MACHOKE, LOOK FOR AN OPENING!" Machoke shifting his eyes around thinking, 'I don't see one,' before noticing Machamp start to slow down, his eyes widening as he smirked, grabbing hold of two incoming punches, raising his father's fists up to block two more punches, thus causing the man to hurt himself.

Machamp's eyes went wide as he cried out in pain, blowing on the hands that were used to take the force of his punches, Machoke taking full advantage of this, remembering a move he had picked up on during his training. The boy reached his arms between each pair of arms and wrapping them around his father, lifting him up and leaning backwards, slamming his head hard into the mat thus performing a perfect German Suplex.

Everyone cheered for the boy, his eyes widening as he thought, 'They're actually cheering for me!' Riolu thinking, 'He's finally feeling it, the thrill of the fight. Maybe he does have the potential to carry on the family legacy after all,' Machamp slowly rising to his feet and rubbing his head saying, "I'm proud of you son. It took me months to figure out how to perform something like that, but this isn't over yet."

The crowd went silent as the man rushed at Machoke, the boy attempting to strike only only for Machamp to block the incoming attack, shifting behind his son and reaching his arms under the boy's shoulders, propelling himself off the mat and raising his son high above the ring, everyone staring in shock as Blaziken uttered, "Oh no, he's going to use that move, isn't he?"

Everyone stared in absolute horror as Machamp flipped Machoke upside-down just like the boy had done to Beedrill. Unfortunately, because he had all four arms, this would be a lot more devastating and much more difficult to escape from, the man using his upper hands to lock Machoke's legs in place while using his lower hands to lock Machoke's arms. He then wrapped his ankles around the boy's neck and shouted, "SEE IF YOU CAN SURVIVE THIS, OUR FAMILY'S ULTIMATE FINISHING MOVE, THE MUSCLE TOMBSTONE!"

However, just as he was about to descend, his eyes widened as he suddenly released his hold on Machoke, the boy blinking but not questioning this for a second. He now had the advantage and there was no way he was going to lose this. As such, the boy grabbed hold of his father's ankles, using all his might to reverse their positions, Machamp's head now facing the mat. Machoke proceeded to lower his arms so he had them wrapped around his father's torso, Riolu uttering, "He's learned that move too?"

Machamp was unable to respond as Machoke proceeded to lift his legs under the man's shoulders, wrapping them around his upper body before barking, "ULTIMATE DRIVER!" sending Machamp's head hard into the mat, all going silent as the boy released his hold on the man, Machamp's eyes rolling to the back of his head as he coughed up a bit of blood, his back falling hard against the mat as everyone stared, no one making a sound.

Machoke was breathing heavily as he looked down at his father thinking, 'I knew he didn't have enough energy left to pull the Muscle Tombstone off, but that was still scary.'

Thus Riolu nodded his head before exclaiming, "There's no doubt about it! Machoke has defeated Machamp and has graduated from Hero School!" the area breaking out into heavy cheers and applause, Machoke feeling a strange rush from all of this attention. Riolu was right, he had finally felt the thrill of the fight and now he felt more than ready to take on any evil that threatened Earth.

"YOU ROCK, MACHOKE!!!!" Blaziken exclaimed, Gardevoir letting down light tears, sniffing, "I'm just happy he's okay."

Gallade shouted, "YOU THE MAN!" Machoke smiling before remembering how critical his father's state was, the boy looking down and asking, "Are you okay?" Machamp coughing a bit, his eyes returning to their normal position as the man took many deep breaths, uttering, "I'm better than okay. I'm proud, proud of my son."

Machoke let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Want me to escort you to the nurse's office?" the man chuckling lightly and saying, "That sounds like a plan."

And with all said and done, the other three fights commenced and were over with soon, none of them generating the same amount of excitement that Machoke's match had. This had certainly been a successful day and Machoke felt more confident in himself than ever before.

 

After the final exams were over, it was finally time for graduation. The students who had bested their opponents would be sent to Earth while those who failed would be held back another month. Either way, this was an exciting day and the beginning of a new hope for mankind.

"Congratulations, all of you who graduated," Riolu stated while standing on a stage located outside the building, "Of the thirty-two students who joined, twenty of you have passed," the dog then pressing a button to bring up a screen with a map of various landmarks on it before adding, "A few of you will be assigned to specific locations based off of your performances. To make things easier, we will be assigning more than one to each area."

Just as he was about to continue, though, a young lizard-like man approached him while wearing a suit, tie and glasses and exclaimed, "Just a minute, my good sir!" Riolu blinking and asking, "What are you doing?" the lizard remarking, "I think a better question is what are YOU doing!?" everyone staring in confusion, Blaziken sighing, "Is he serious?"

The young man proceeded to clear his throat, straightening his glasses before saying, "Now, see here, Mister Riolu, I am a representative of the national institute of schools-" Magnemite muttering, "That's not even a real thing," the lizard man adding, "and I have witnessed several violations from your so-called 'Hero School'!"

"Violations?" Riolu asked, tilting his head to the side as the lizard nodded and remarked, "Exactly, my good sir! First of all, if you're sending people to protect the entire planet while also sending more than one to each landmark, why were there only thirty-two students brought here instead of, I don't know, a hundred?" Gallade nodding and saying, "I have to admit, that's actually a good point."

Riolu took a deep breath and replied, "We were under a time limit and went with the biggest names that came to mind. Trust me, we're starting another semester this month with new students coming in," the representative retorting, "Unacceptable! You should have brought them here DURING the semester, but what's more, you should have ASKED if they wanted to come here! Have you ever even thought about the feelings of your students!?"

Riolu gulped, uttering, "The safety of mankind is much more important than-" the lizard man cutting in and barking, "What's more is that you put all these poor kids through horrible training at the ripe age of fourteen and, in some cases, fifteen! I am absolutely appalled by your ethics! And worst of all, you smell!" Riolu narrowing his eyelids and sighing, "Cut the crap, Machoke, I know it's you."

Gardevoir stared wide-eyed and squeaked, "That was Machoke?" the boy groaning and looking down, walking off the stage and muttering, "I'm keeping the outfit," Machamp laughing nervously and patting his son on the shoulders saying, "Nice try," when the boy returned to his spot in the audience.

"With that little distraction out of the way..." Riolu stated, gazing upon the crowd to make sure no one else was going to try and interrupt his speech, the dog taking a deep breath and adding, "it is time to decide who will protect which area."

With that, the dog held up a sheet of paper handed to him by Bouffalant, clearing his throat and saying, "At the top of the class are two star pupils with a lot of promise!" pointing at a slender boy with blue, rocky skin wearing a karate gi and having a black sideways Z representing his nose and left eyebrow.

Next to him was the other 'star pupil', a red boy with a bulkier build and a black Y making his nose and eyebrows. He also wore a karate gi.

"Throh and Sawk..." Riolu said, pointing at the red one first and the blue one second to specify which one he was addressing with each name, "you have both been excellent students and have proven yourselves the best in the class. As such, I am assigning you two to protect Osaka, Japan," the two grinning at one-another before bowing their heads in respect to Riolu.

The dog then proceeded to assign more locations, saying, "Sandslash, Karachi, Pakistan. Ledyba, Bangalore, India. Lombre, New York City, USA."

The list went on, a few locations being repeated for different students while Gardevoir and Gallade looked at each other, hoping they would be assigned to the same location as Riolu stated, "Gallade, Tokyo, Japan!" Gardevoir biting her lip nervously as the dog added, "Gardevoir, also Tokyo!" the two breathing a sigh of relief, Blaziken coincidentally getting the same location.

Riolu all the while took a deep breath thinking, 'They seem to work best together. It only makes sense,' but just as he was about to put the list away, Machoke rose a hand and asked, "Um... what about me?" Riolu blinking and replying, "Oh, right, sorry, I almost forgot," the dog clearing his throat as Machoke frowned, folding his arms.

However, his frown turned to a grin as he thought, 'I wonder where he'll send me. Maybe I'll get the sunny beaches of Hawaii or even Florida. Maybe Paris, the city of romance, or maybe even Mexico! Oh, the possibilities are endless!"

Riolu cleared his throat and said, "Tokyo," Machoke exclaiming, "Aw yeah, I get to be with my-!" the dog adding, "Specifically this area here," pointing to a small little park on the map, Machoke staring in confusion and asking, "You mean I can't protect any other areas?"

Riolu nodded and replied, "I wasn't going to tell you this, but of all the graduates, you were the worst," all going silent, Machoke fuming and barking, "ARE YOU HIGH!? I DEFEATED THE FORMER CHAMPION! ISN'T THAT WORTH SOMETHING!?"

Machamp nodded in agreement as Riolu narrowed his eyelids and remarked, "Yes, that is commendable, but it's not enough to make up for your disgraceful attitude, childishness and juvenile behaviour. You also weren't that good during the training exercises."

"But..." Machoke whimpered, "that area's so tiny," Riolu replying, "But it's still worth protecting. Just last week, a villain stole some cigarettes from a shop within that area and I'm certain the owners would greatly appreciate you being there to keep them safe," the boy grumbling, "Fine."

With all said and done, it was time for the students to head off toward Earth, spaceships lined up for the students to board as Machoke let out a sigh, trying to run away only for a group of security guards to force him through the door, Machamp asking, "Are you sure you made the right decision?" Riolu shrugging his shoulders and replying, "There's a reason I chose that specific location for him."

And for the next day, the students travelled through space before morning came along and they had finally reached Earth. Each graduate was dropped off at a specific house where they were assigned to live, and luckily for them, the Hero Planet government was paying for rent.

Gardevoir and Gallade were assigned to a condo suite, number forty-four to be exact. Blaziken had been given a nice little house to live in, the chicken liking this fine.

However, Machoke continued to get the short end of the stick as he ended up being assigned a small shack shaped like his father's head with an open mouth in an O shape painted around the door, Machoke letting out a sigh and grumbling, "Great, it's like being swallowed by my dad. Who could ask for more?"

Upon entering, he was even more underwhelmed by the interior. All he had was a cot, a small TV, a stove top with no oven and a bag of rice with no cabinet to put it in. There was a drawer, but this looked like the kind used to store small objects or paper in. However, there was one other thing in this tiny shack that stood out, Machoke actually quite interested in this.

Right up against the Northern-most wall rested what looked like a treasure chest, Machoke walking over to it with a big grin, saying, "Alright, these must be my savings," thinking about just what to spend it all on before opening it up, a look of disappointment on his face when he noticed the box was filled with dumbbells in various sizes.

"What are you doing digging through my stuff?" came a little girl's voice from behind the boy, his eyes widening as he slowly turned, noticing a purple monkey with a white hand on the end of her tail standing right there, the chimp resting her hand against her side and scowling at him while stating, "It's very rude to break into someone's home, you know!"

"For your information, I was assigned to live here!" Machoke retorted with a look of annoyance, that look slowly turning to confusion when he noticed the monkey was staring at him with wonder in her eyes, the boy blinking, walking over to her and waving his hand in front of her face, asking, "Hello? Anyone home?"

The monkey blinked a couple of times before touching the side of his face with her tail hand, uttering, "That physique, those ridges. There's no mistaking it," Machoke cringing before prying the monkey's hand away from his face, asking, "What is wrong with you?" the monkey falling to her knees and exclaiming, "Please forgive me! I didn't know I was in the presence of Machamp's son!"

'Man, my dad's even more famous than I thought,' Machoke thought before nodding and saying, "Yeah, that's me, alright, Machoke," the boy grinning smugly before flashing two thumbs up and adding, "I am here to protect Tokyo from evil!"

"But of course!" the monkey squealed, shaking his hand with her tail before adding, "Riolu sent me an email telling me you were coming," Machoke blinking before asking, "You know Riolu?" the monkey nodding and replying, "Yep. I'm Aipom, your new trainer!"

All went silent until Machoke broke it, asking, "What?" Aipom nodding and replying, "That's right, Riolu assigned me the task of shaping you up into the hero your father once was."

Machoke stared awkwardly at the monkey before asking, "How old are you?" Aipom stating, "I'm ten, but I turn eleven in June," Machoke nodding his head slowly and uttering, "Uh-huh. And is there a specific reason Riolu would pick you as my personal trainer?"

Aipom nodded before walking over to the drawer and opening it up, pulling out a photo of Machamp standing next to tall purple monkey with two tails, the hands on the ends of them looking more like flowers as she said, "That's my mommy, Ambipom," Machoke thinking, 'No one ever told me about her,' Aipom adding, "She used to train your daddy back in the day."

"So like me, you were forced into this because of your heritage," Machoke remarked, the monkey shaking her head and saying, "Oh no, I volunteered," Machoke grumbling curses while thinking, 'Lucky stiff.'

Aipom then explained, "See, like my mommy before me, I'm very knowledgeable in fighting skills and the like. I've studied many different styles, including your family's, so I know I can be a great asset to you."

Machoke nodded slowly and asked, "If this is true, why haven't you been trying to protect Tokyo?" the monkey sighing, "I may be knowledgeable, but I'm not exactly strong like you are," Machoke nodding and replying, "Oh, I see, so you're gonna use my muscles for your benefit," Aipom frowning and refusing to respond.

The boy simply let out a sigh and shook his head, getting up and heading toward the door as Aipom asked, "Where are you going?" Machoke replying, "Just gonna look around the city for a little bit," the monkey retorting, "No! You're assigned to this area! You can't leave the vicinity!"

Machoke simply rolled his eyes, heading out the door as Aipom sprinted over to him, latching her tail hand to his ankle and attempting to pull him back only for the boy to easily pry himself out of the hold, saying, "Man, you're not kidding about your lack of muscles."

But just as he was about to leave, Aipom sprinted in front of him, sighing, "Forgive me," clenching her tail hand into a fist and sending it straight into his crotch. Machoke's eyes went wide as he knelt down, falling on his side, the monkey sighing, "I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but Riolu did instruct me to let you protect the rest of Tokyo when I feel you're ready."

At that moment, Blaziken walked by and looked down at Machoke asking, "What's wrong with him?" Aipom gazing at the chicken and squealing, "Oh my god, you're Combusken's kid, aren't you!?"

Soon, Machoke was fully recovered as all was made clear inside his shack, Blaziken letting down a nervous sweat drop and saying, "Sorry to hear that, Machoke," the chicken giving him a smile and adding, "But look on the bright side. At least it's not permanent," Machoke still looking peeved as he grumbled, "I wish I could leave this area sooner, though."

With that, the chicken headed toward the door and said, "Try to hang in there, okay, Machoke? Soon we'll be able to spend time together," exiting the shack as Machoke waved lightly, Aipom smiling and saying, "It's always nice to have friends visit," Machoke mockingly moving his lips on cue with hers.

During this time, Gallade and Gardevoir were getting to know the area together, the people not treating them as strangely as one might have expected. However, this was not a big surprise to them as aliens had been living on Earth since before their parents moved in and Machoke was the only graduate who had not grown up on the planet.

However, what did bother Gardevoir was all the stares she was getting from people, mostly young men, and with her carrying a purse in her arm with her, she was being especially cautious right now. Gallade noticed this and grinned, saying, "Well, look at you, Miss Popular already," Gardevoir asking, "Is that what's going on?" Gallade rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

At that moment, a tall and slender dog sporting an unbuttoned leather jacket and holding a can of beer walked out of a store, taking a sip of his beverage. His look was similar to that of Riolu only he had spikes coming out of his forepaws and chest, his torso covered in cream-coloured fur. He also had four ears as opposed to two and they looked more like hair than Riolu's did.

Gardevoir glanced briefly at him but then shook her head, remembering that other aliens did in fact live on Earth, and not just those who trained on Hero Planet either. However, she and Gallade both failed to notice a young man creeping up behind her, reaching for her purse when suddenly, the dog dashed right to where the man was, ramming him hard in the face with his elbow.

Gardevoir slowly turned, her eyes wide with shock, Gallade looking at the man and taking a deep breath. He then turned to the dog and said, "Thanks, man," then looking at Gardevoir and sighing, "Sorry, sis."

His blinked and asked, "What are you apologizing for?" Gallade replying, "Never mind," the robber slowly rising to his feet and barking, "What the hell, man!?" the dog giving the man a cold look, the human pulling out a gun and pointing it at him while snapping, "STAY OUTTA MY BUSINESS!"

Gardevoir gasped as the dog simply dashed right in front of the man, snatching his gun out of his hand and applying a firm grip to it, breaking it into tiny pieces, the man trembling and getting up, about ready to flee for his life when the dog shouted, "FORCE PALM!!!!!" sending a hard palm punch to the man's chest, knocking him unconscious while a blue aura briefly covered his paw.

Gardevoir was simply spellbound as the dog turned to her and said, "There, you should be safe, but be more careful next time," the dog turning as she squeaked, "Wait, sir!" the dog stopping and turning to face her, the girl adding, "What's your name?"

Gallade nodded, wanting to know this as well, the dog simply saying, "Lucario," the siblings introducing themselves as the dog nodded his head. He then turned away from them again and walked down the sidewalk, not seeming to have a destination in mind as he took another sip of his beer, Gallade uttering, "He looks kinda like Riolu, don't you think?"

Gardevoir nodded and replied, "They're definitely related, but I didn't know Mister Riolu had a son," Gallade shrugging and saying, "Me neither."

Aside from the attempted theft, the rest of the day seemed rather peaceful. Not a single villain had revealed him or herself, so the streets were certainly safe to walk. This was rather strange with crime being at such an all-time high lately, but even so, Machoke and his friends were just glad they could enjoy their first day on Earth.

Unfortunately, it seemed like the peace was not going to last when three cloaked figures appeared right outside of Machoke's house, one of them grinning and saying, "Yep, this is where he lives," another figure adding, "This is going to be easy," the third saying nothing as one of the figures sighed, "Ya need to talk more."

"Say, how did ya find this place again?" the second figure asked, the first one replying, "I was just spying on this area undetected when I noticed Mister Champion being dropped off here. But remember, we have to make sure he walks into our trap."

The following morning was bright and sunny as Machoke awoke, stretching his arms and sitting upright in his bed, smacking his lips. His eyelids were still lowered a bit as he murmured, "Morning, Aipom," looking next to him only to notice the monkey was not next to him.

The boy blinked, now fully awake as he shrugged, saying to himself, "She's probably watering the garden or something," the boy getting out of bed and looking around the house before remembering all they had was a bag of rice, a disappointed sigh escaping his mouth.

However, his thoughts shifted to something else when his eyes went wide, Machoke exclaiming, "We don't have a garden!" the boy racing outside and looking around, noticing Aipom was nowhere in sight.

The nearby shop was closed, so there was no way the monkey was conversing with the owners. With all of this in mind, a wide toothy grin crossed Machoke's face, the boy letting out a psychotic giggle before thinking, 'She probably went to buy groceries. Can't blame her. Damn house has nothing to offer.'

But most of all, this meant he now had an opportunity. With no one around, he could finally step foot outside of his property without needing permission, the boy slowly tiptoeing over to the sidewalk, his eyes shifting back and forth as he slowly reached one foot out, gently placing it against the sidewalk in front of his house.

When nothing happened, Machoke breathed a sigh of relief and sported a happy smile, marching along his merry way while saying to himself, "Now let's see what I can do on this glorious day."

During this time, Blaziken was out for a trip to the local outdoor marketplace, looking at the selection when she noticed Machoke passing by, the chicken smiling and walking over to him, asking, "So, Aipom already decided you're ready?"

Machoke shook his head and signalled the bird to get close, whispering, "I snuck out," Blaziken snickering and remarking, "Don't you worry about how she'll respond to that?" Machoke shaking his head and replying, "Please, she only has one tactic that can work on me and I'm prepared for it."

As much as Blaziken cared about her duties on Earth, even she understood the desire to have fun every now and then. After all, the heroes were still teenagers.

While the two walked along, Blaziken noticed a sign advertizing a local exhibition match being held in the local arena, the chicken pointing at it and asking, "Hey, why not see how humans fight?" Machoke groaning, "I don't wanna do that."

Blaziken smirked and nudged the boy, remarking, "C'mon, it'll be fun. I'll do whatever you wanna do afterwards, okay?" Machoke letting out a sigh and shrugging, figuring this was better than just wandering.

And so the two arrived at the arena, sitting in the middle row as Machoke sighed, "This better be worth it," Blaziken laughing and saying, "Come on, at least this isn't a serious fight, right?" the boy shrugging and replying, "I guess that's true."

What both failed to notice were the three cloaked figures from the other night sitting in the back row with one of them holding a tied up bag. Something seemed to be moving inside but the holder ignored this, knowing whatever it was could not get out.

The exhibition match was between two teams with both fighters on each in the ring at a time as opposed to following traditional tag-team rules. This was known as a tornado tag match.

While each team fought vigorously, putting their all into it, Machoke looked bored as he sighed, "Why did you drag me here, Blaziken? I can pull off more impressive moves than these guys," Blaziken sighing, "Who cares? It's fun," Machoke folding his arms and grumbling, "Maybe for you."

Soon, the match was over as the referee held up the hands of the winners, exclaiming, "And with that, the match goes to Tokyo's reining champions, Genjuu and Kai!" the crowd cheering as Kai exclaimed, "WE ARE THE STRONGEST FIGHTERS IN THE WORLD!"

However, the lights suddenly went out in the whole building, a spotlight shining down on the ring as a voice entered the area, asking, "Is that so?" everyone looking around in a state of panic when another voice chimed in, "That's a very bold statement. Are ya sure about that?"

"Who said that!?" Genjuu spat, raising his fists with anger in his eyes, "Come out of hiding and say that to my face if you have the balls!" one of the cloaked figures leaping into the ring and saying, "As you command, your highness."

The two fighters glared at the cloaked figure as the two others entered the ring, the first figure holding his hand toward them and shaking his head. The two nodded and exited the ring, standing by the side as Genjuu cracked his knuckles threateningly, smirking while saying, "Well, you definitely have balls, I'll give you that."

With that, both partners rushed at the cloaked figure, Kai racing around him so both could attack from behind. But just as they were about to strike, the figure threw an arm out into each one's chest, both sticking out of his cloak to reveal a pair of blue paws, Machoke and Blaziken both rather shocked by this as the owner shouted, "FORCE PALM!!!!" a blue aura surrounding both as the fighters coughed up blood, falling on their backs.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down," the figure said only for Genjuu to rise to his feet, fury in his expression as he spat, "I DON'T THINK SO, PUNK!" lunging at him only for the figure to dodge to the side, this time removing his cloak entirely so he could fight better, everyone gasping in shock at the sight of the blue dog who had met Gardevoir and Gallade the previous day, Machoke asking, "Is that Riolu?" Blaziken shaking her head and replying, "No, but he does look similar."

Before anyone could do a thing about this, Lucario had taken hold of the man's wrists and stood behind him, bending backwards to form an arch, Genjuu crying out in pain as the dog had his back pressed right up against the spike coming from his chest, the dog shouting, "LONDON BRIDGE!" his spike going straight through the man's back, everyone staring in absolute horror.

When Lucario released his hold on Genjuu, allowing him to fall on his side, there was no doubt about it. This man was dead, Kai trembling in absolute terror as Lucario folded his arms, asking, "Are you going to play hero too?" Kai shaking his head and fleeing from the area, the dog saying, "Smart man."

Machoke was still in shock from the sight of this when Blaziken rose up from her seat barking, "HEY, WHY NOT PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!?" Lucario and the cloaked figures looking up at her as she snapped, "Yeah, I'm talking to you!" Machoke blinking and saying, "Yeah, fight her, not the humans."

One of the cloaked figures smirked under his hood saying, "Ya see that?" another replying, "Yeah, hook, line and sinker. Didn't think he'd bring a friend with him though."

Machoke laughed nervously as Blaziken took a deep breath, exclaiming, "People of Tokyo, don't be afraid! I am Blaziken, a hero sent to protect Tokyo from the forces of evil, and this here-" pointing at Machoke who was trying to slink away, the boy's eyes widening when a spotlight shone on him, the chicken adding, "is my ally, Machoke, son of Machamp!"

Everyone perked up at the sound of Machamp's name. After all, Machamp was the greatest hero from his time, so the people could not help but cheer as Machoke bit his lip, wanting so much to bolt right now and wishing Blaziken had not introduced him.

"That's the one we came to see," one of the cloaked figures said, "Come on over here, boy. We got something of yours," Lucario nodding as the other figure handed him the bag, the dog opening it up to reveal that Aipom had been inside the whole time, Machoke staring in absolute shock.

"Hey, that's my roommate!" the boy spat, Aipom's eyes wide with shock as the boy added, "Let her go!"

The monkey could not believe it. Yesterday, Machoke seemed to want nothing to do with her and now he was speaking on her behalf, and she had done nothing to deserve this either. Perhaps Machoke did have the heart of a hero, though he still had priorities to sort out.

"Relax," one of the figures replied, "We'll return her to you, but only if you can beat us without her advice," Machoke's eyes going wide, the boy gulping as he looked at all the people in the area, noticing how much hope they had now that he was here, the boy putting on a serious look and shouting, "Bring it on!"

 

Things had certainly taken an unexpected turn. Machoke was ready to enjoy another day off from fighting and now he had to take on three villains in a row. However, one particular villain among them interested him the most.

"Before we start this," the boy uttered, pointing at Lucario and asking, "who are you?"

All went silent as everyone stared at the dog who simply folded his arms and replied, "I am Lucario," one of the cloaked figures nodding and adding, "This guy here is the son of Riolu, so you'd better watch out!"

The crowd's eyes went wide with shock at the mention of Riolu's name, Machoke and Blaziken looking more confused than anything else. Lucario looked around and let out a sigh, knowing exactly where this was coming from as Machoke asked, "Riolu has a son? I've never heard mention of you," Blaziken nodding and replying, "Me neither."

Lucario took a deep breath as Aipom, who had been handed over to one of the cloaked figures asked, "But why? Why would you serve evil!?" Lucario taking a deep breath and retorting, "Oh, of course, I guess this was unavoidable!" the dog turning toward the monkey and bringing his face close to hers with a scowl.

"I see what this is-" he grunted, leaning back before exclaiming in sarcastic tone, "My dad was a famous hero, so that means his son must be one, too!" the dog returning to the calm tone he was using before and sighing, "I bet the only reason he doesn't talk about me is because he sees me as a disappointment. I'm fine with that, in all honesty."

The people still could not believe what they were hearing, Machoke asking, "So... wait, why did you decide to become evil? Was Riolu not a good father? I'll admit, I don't really care for the guy either..." Lucario sighing, "No, it wasn't that," Blaziken remarking, "Then what was it!?"

Lucario simply smirked, giving Machoke and Blaziken the most frightening look both of them had ever seen before saying, "Bad boys get everything!"

All went silent throughout the area, no one even knowing how to respond to this as Machoke scratched the side of his head, asking, "So, in all seriousness, what's your actual reason?" Lucario laughing and remarking, "That is my reason! Sorry it's not an epic back story full of hardships and suffering!"

"Hate to break it to ya, but our boy, Lucario, is bad to the bone!" one of the cloaked figures exclaimed, everyone at a loss for words. However, Machoke did not buy it. While everyone else took these words to heart, he had sensed a hint of falseness in what the dog had said but it was obvious Lucario was not willing to tell the truth.

"Okay, enough stalling," the other cloaked figure said, "You're new to the hero racket, I assume, so here's how this is gonna work," Machoke and Blaziken looking at each other, asking in unison, "How does he know that?" the cloaked figure clearing his throat and remarking, "May I continue, please?" the boy and bird turning back to him, pursing their mouths shut and nodding.

"Even we villains have a code of honour to uphold," the figure explained, "Our parents fought like this as have our families done for generations. Instead of having you fight all three of us at once, this will be a string of one-on-one matches. The battlefield-" the figure then pointing down at the ring all three villains were standing on.

"So it's just like the matches on Hero Planet," Machoke whispered to Blaziken, the chicken nodding and replying, "This is common knowledge. This is how heroes and villains have been solving conflicts for ages. It's tradition."

"Since this is a fight between heroes and villains," the cloaked figure added, "there will not be any special rules implemented except for hits below the belt. Even we have standards," Machoke's eyes widening as he thought, 'Thank God!' the figure continuing to explain, "If you manage to defeat all three of us, we will submit to you, return your precious trainer and leave Tokyo for the time being. But if you lose, Tokyo is ours, got it?"

"I suppose refusing is the same as an automatic loss, right?" Machoke remarked, the cloaked figures both nodding in response to this as the boy sighed, "Well, it is for everyone's safety, so who am I to say no?"

"Spoken like a true hero," Blaziken said with a grin before looking down and noticing Machoke's legs were trembling despite the fact that every other part of him looked ready for combat, the chicken face-palming.

Despite his fear, though, Machoke knew how important this was. He had been put in a situation where he had little choice in the matter and he knew the villains were not going to agree to have Blaziken join the fight. As such, the boy slowly made his way over to the ring, taking a deep breath and climbing into it.

With that, Lucario reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, latching one cuff to the table and using the other to lock Aipom's tail to it. He also pressed a button on that specific cuff make the inner part bigger in case the monkey would be able to slip out of it.

"Alright, for the sake of fairness, we'll let ya decide your first opponent," one of the cloaked figures said as Machoke placed his hand against his chin, looking over the competition.

He definitely did not wish to take on Lucario. After seeing his power earlier, there was just no way. The cloaked figure standing to the right of him was almost as tall as he was, and Machoke could not help but find that intimidating. However, the figure on the left hand side was short, half Lucario's height in fact.

"Alright, I've made my decision!" Machoke exclaimed, a look of confidence on his face as he pointed at the cloaked figure on the left exclaiming, "You shall be my first opponent here on Earth!"

The figure snickered, a big grin and a pair of glowing eyes forming underneath his hood as he said, "You are very brave to have chosen me, Machoke!" the boy's confidence slowly fading when the villain removed his cloak, revealing an orange floating head that resembled a lightning rod. He also had blue oval-shaped eyes with a dividing line in the middle of each, but the most intimidating feature of all was a light blue aura surrounding him that made up a lightning bolt-shaped body.

"Nice to meet you," the head said, flashing a big smile and revealing his razor sharp teeth before adding, "I am Rotom!"

Now Machoke was scared, the boy trembling and thinking, 'That's what I get for judging by size,' Aipom about to tell him to get a grip when Lucario turned to her, holding a finger up to her mouth and saying, "If you give him any advice, any kind at all, we won't hesitate to strike you, got it?" Machoke nodding to the monkey and saying, "I don't wanna see you get hurt because of me."

A light tear rolled down the monkey's cheek after he had said that. She thought Machoke hated her and did not want her around, but perhaps her assumptions had been wrong.

Rotom then grinned and said, "I'll give you a little extra something to make this more fair," Machoke asking, "Are you going to hit let me hit first?" a look of hope on his face as the head folded his arms and replied, "No, even better. I'm going to give you a demonstration of my power so you know what you're in for!"

The people stared in wonder as Rotom floated over to Lucario, the boy nodding and pulling an orb out of his pocket, pressing a button on it as it sprouted a pair of robotic arms, Machoke thinking, 'That's a training orb. Where did he get one of those?' The orb flew at Rotom as the head smirked, dodging it with ease before sending a surge of electricity through his body and delivering a karate chop straight through the orb shouting, "THUNDER CHOP!" the electricity covering the orb and causing it to explode.

Machoke trembled, a look of absolute terror on his face as Rotom smirked, saying, "Sorry, I held back a bit there," Machoke exclaiming, "That's holding back!?" the boy wanting so desperately to flee for his life but knew it was too late.

With that, Blaziken finally took her seat, folding her arms and hoping that Machoke would win. Rotom may have been small, but he certainly seemed intimidating, Machoke looking him over to think of some way to get a good early lead.

A starting bell was rung as a young woman with short brown hair sitting behind a desk announced, "Let the match between Machoke and Rotom begin!" Machoke rushing at Rotom, the head grinning wickedly and sending electricity through his body only for Machoke to swerve to the right. Everyone stared in shock when the boy sent a karate chop right into the side of Rotom, the head's eyes going wide.

Just as Rotom attempted to counter the attack, Machoke once again dodged his aura and struck his side, the crowd going wild as the announcer exclaimed, "What an incredible start to the match! Machoke is already dominating with only one simple move!" Rotom growling as steam shot from him.

"You made it obvious how to defeat you the minute you demonstrated your power," Machoke said with a smirk, "When you sent that karate chop into the training orb, your hand went right through it. It was at that moment I could tell that directing any attacks toward your body would be pointless," Rotom grinning and saying, "Not bad, Machoke, but I can still turn this around."

With that, Rotom rose up above the mat, Machoke blinking as Blaziken said, "It makes sense. Rotom's body is made of pure energy, so the laws of gravity don't apply to him," Machoke unable to respond as the head floated behind him, electricity coursing through him as he simply moved it right through his opponent, the boy's eyes widening, his mouth wide open as the electricity coursed through his veins.

The crowd gasped as the announcer stated, "Machoke had a good start, but Rotom's energy has gotten the better of him," Machoke falling to his hands and knees, breathing heavily as Rotom backed up, the bolts fading as he said, "The only downside to my electricity is it only lasts a few seconds at a time and needs at least ten to recover, but that's a small price to pay for such amazing power, no?"

This certainly seemed true as that one shock had left Machoke covered in burn marks, the boy already looking like he was going to collapse. Blaziken gritted her teeth angrily, Aipom wishing she could have warned him about that.

At that moment, Gallade and Gardevoir arrived at the arena, spotting Blaziken and running over to her, noticing the spot next to her was empty and sitting down. Both breathed sighs of relief as Blaziken said, "Hey, guys," Gallade holding up his finger so he could breathe a little bit longer before saying, "We saw what was happening on TV and raced here as soon as possible," Gardevoir adding, "We missed the start of the fight. How's Machoke doing?"

Blaziken let out a light sigh and replied, "See for yourself," pointing at the ring, both siblings turning their gaze toward it and panicking at the sight of Machoke already looking so weak.

"Oh no, what happened?" Gallade asked, Blaziken sighing, "He just took in a huge jolt of electricity. Any human would have died from that."

However, Gardevoir's focus had shifted to something else, something that had been on her mind for a while. Since she and Gallade had seen the events leading up to the match's beginning, they had also witnessed their saviour perform the heinous act of ending an innocent human's life while also admitting to serving the side of evil. Gardevoir wanted answers as like Machoke, she too refused to believe the reason Lucario had given for his actions.

"I'm kinda disappointed," Rotom said with a sigh, "I thought the son of the world's greatest hero would put up more of a fight," Machoke not even moving as Gardevoir got up and exclaimed, "MACHOKE, DON'T GIVE UP! I DIDN'T GIVE UP WHEN MY MOUTH STARTED BLEEDING FROM ONE PUNCH, SO KEEP TRYING!" the boy hearing this as he shook his head, slowly rising back to his feet and taking a deep breath.

"MAN, that was terrifying!" he exclaimed, a distressed look on his face, "I thought my heart was gonna stop!" Rotom smirking and saying, "Good, I can still have a little fun with you," turning to Lucario and adding, "I know you probably wanted to face him, but it's our job to take care of heroes like him, so don't take it too personally."

Lucario simply folded his arms, looking less disappointed now that Machoke had recovered. But was it really as Rotom had predicted or was it something else?

Either way, Rotom was ready to deal more damage as Machoke held his right arm in front of his face, the head sending a karate chop into it while saying, "I thought you already knew my body wasn't a solid mass," the electricity coursing through that very spot as the boy boy smirked, saying, "Yeah, I just wanted you to waste your electricity."

Rotom's eyes widened as the electricity died down once again, Machoke using is left arm to grab hold of the head, lifting him high above his own before slamming him hard into the mat while the crowd went wild. The announcer whistled in admiration before exclaiming, "Just as it looked like Machoke was going to lose, he countered with an incredible choke slam!"

Aipom breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, 'He's doing a lot better than I thought he would,' Machoke's friends applauding him, Gardevoir breathing a sigh of relief. To make things better, Rotom looked even more shaken up from that one hit than Machoke did from the shock dealt to him earlier.

"Your fake body is strong," Machoke said with a smirk, "but your real body is small and weak! I bet I could finish you off with a single flick of my finger!" Rotom's eyes turning green, a scowl forming on his face.

Everyone stared in confusion as Rotom's body started to change. The spike atop his head extended to form a pole with an oval-shaped handle on the top. The head itself expanded in width, its height not increasing by a whole lot as the bottom portion tucked itself into the head, a pair of wheels popping out of his cheeks. A green aura surrounded him now with what looked like a rake coming from the lowest part of his front side. To top it all off, a big arch came out of the back, Rotom now having taken the form of a lawnmower, a fiendish grin on his face.

"What just happened?" Machoke asked, the announcer uttering, "Um, it looks like Rotom just transformed," not completely understanding this herself.

"My lightning rod or normal form is actually my weakest state," Rotom explained, "I have five others, each one based off of an element. This is my mow form, which has the power of grass."

"You mean that green stuff that grows on a lawn?" Machoke asked, "How is that threatening?" Rotom sighing, "Oh god, you are seriously uneducated."

Machoke turned to Aipom, the monkey looking at Lucario as he shrugged, saying, "This doesn't count as advice, so go ahead," the monkey nodding before explaining, "All heroes are born with a different type. Grass types have the power of nature on their side. Water types are water-based beings while fire types, like Blaziken, have powers based around fire," Machoke nodding and asking, "So what type am I?" Aipom replying, "Fighting," Machoke narrowing his eyelids and groaning in disappointment.

"What's wrong with that?" Aipom asked, Machoke remarking, "That sounds like such a lame type!" Gallade retorting, "Hey, I'm also a fighting type!" Aipom nodding and adding, "You're also part psychic."

Machoke's eyes widened as he barked, "He gets TWO types!?" Gardevoir uttering, "I have two types as well."

"Yeah, yeah, so do I. Are you done talking!?" Rotom grunted, clearly growing impatient now as Machoke sighed, "Whatever, even if I am just one simple type, I'm still badass, so it hardly matters," a smug grin on his face as his friends face-palmed.

With all said and done, Rotom headed toward Machoke with his blades running beneath him, Machoke asking, "Wait, if your blades are for mowing grass, how are you gonna get me under there?" the mower remarking, "With this! And unlike my aura before, this one can actually touch you!" his rake-like hand rising up and making a grabbing motion, Machoke panicking as he started to flee for his life.

He knew that if that hand managed to get him, he would be pulled under and torn to shreds. He had to come up with something quickly. However, it did not take him particularly long to notice a solution to his problem, a smirk forming on his face.

With that, the boy leaped onto one of the ropes, propelling himself off of it and soaring over Rotom's body, the mower's eyes going wide as Machoke held out an arm, hooking the pole and placing a firm grip against it. After that, he lifted Rotom high above his head and leaned backward, slamming the machine's back hard against the mat.

The crowd went wild as Machoke got up, taking a deep breath before tauntingly smacking his butt toward the mower, asking, "Was that actually supposed to be an improvement? Seems like a downgrade to me!"

Rotom's anger had now reached its boiling point as he grumbled, "Alright, I'll admit, that did not go as planned!" his aura and eyes becoming light blue, an arm that resembled a wrench coming from the left side with one resembling a crab's arm coming out the right. Machoke was terrified to think of what the machine would become next, Rotom's body expanding into a washing machine with a spike at the top and a hose coming out of his back.

All went silent as Blaziken asked, "How's becoming a washing machine supposed to help?" Gallade snickering and replying, "He must be low on ideas," Gardevoir shaking her head and sighing, "I wouldn't be too quick to judge if I were you."

It seemed Machoke was thinking the same thing. Sure, it was hard to imagine how a washing machine could possibly be threatening, but considering what Rotom had been capable of up to this point, one could only imagine what he could do in this form.

"You seem quite intimidated by my Wash Form," Rotom said with a smirk, "Well, there's certainly no other like it," Machoke trembling until the machine added with a pleasant smile, "It removes the stains that no other washing machine can get out," the area going silent.

"So I really got nothing to worry about then," Machoke said with a smirk as he rushed toward the washer, Rotom sporting a wicked grin and thinking, 'That's right, just a little closer.'

Machoke was just about to punch him when the machine pointed his hose at the boy's face, spraying a bit of water into it as he was temporarily blinded. Rotom then attached his wrench to Machoke's right arm, opening the door and stuffing the boy into it.

The crowd gasped when the door was shut, Machoke banging against the glass shouting, "LET ME OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

Rotom laughed maniacally before shouting, "YOU'LL PAY FOR TAKING ME LIGHTLY!" as he proceeded to press a button labelled wash, the inside of the machine filling up with water, Machoke trying to keep himself from suffocating.

Once the entire inside was filled with the liquid, Rotom proceeded to activate the spin cycle, Machoke spinning around as he had trouble holding his breath, his body ramming up against the walls and taking in pain. After a while, Rotom proceeded to open up the lid, Machoke's body flying out while still spinning, the boy running head-first into the turnbuckle as the crowd gasped.

"That looked painful!" Blaziken groaned, Machoke's face now bleeding as Rotom laughed, tauntingly saying, "Look on the bright side, kid. At least now you're sparkling clean!" his laughter becoming more maniacal as Machoke glared at him.

The boy took a deep breath and said, "Alright, that caught me off-guard, but I am NOT taking another one of your forms lightly, no matter how non-threatening it might seem!" Rotom asking, "You sure about that?" his eyes and aura turning yellow as he took the form of a wind fan, two arms shaped like gusts of wind coming from his sides.

Machoke looked at this for a few seconds, a light bulb turning on in his mind as he grinned, saying, "All I gotta do is avoid being in front of you," the boy running toward Rotom while also directing himself sideways, knowing that a wind fan could only blow the way it was facing.

"You are thinking logically, and I applaud you for that," Rotom said, "but unfortunately, this isn't any ordinary fan," the blades spinning as a gust of wind came out, Rotom holding his arms in front the wind, placing one in front of the top part and the other on the side, redirecting the blast to where Machoke was headed.

The crowd stared in absolute horror as Machoke could not dodge in time, the wind picking him up. But rather than sending him flying like everyone assumed it would, it instead formed into a mini tornado, shooting the boy high above the ring.

Gardevoir clasped her hands against her mouth, Blaziken and Gallade closing their eyes as Rotom pointed the fan blades toward the mat, using the wind to launch himself up to Machoke's level, pointing his face toward the roof and reaching his arms back, grabbing hold of the boy. With that, he proceeded to shout, "TORNADO DRIVER!" shooting a burst of wind toward where he was facing and spinning his body around, slamming Machoke hard into the mat, all going silent as the machine let go, taking a deep breath.

Machoke lay there, clearly in deep pain as Rotom said, "It's a shame. I was hoping I'd get to at least use all six of my forms on you," the machine shrugging and adding, "Oh well, at least I finally took care of you."

The one villain still cloaked let out a disappointed sigh and said, "I'm with ya, Lucario. I wanted to face him too," Aipom biting her lower lip, praying this was not the end. The crowd was thinking the same thing, Gardevoir holding her hands together and praying that Machoke would come out of this okay.

"This is a dark day in Tokyo for sure," the announcer said, "As was the agreement, if Machoke loses, the villains rule. Hopefully the boy can get up."

As Machoke continued to lie there, Gallade gulped and put on a serious look, shouting, "Machoke! Machoke!" Gardevoir nodding and doing the same, Blaziken joining in shortly after. The crowd heard this and started to do the same. There was no way they would sit back and do nothing while Machoke had been risking his life for them. Aipom wanted to join in as well, but she knew that would count as helping.

Lucario simply had a neutral look on his face, almost as if he was unsure how to feel about this, Rotom laughing and saying, "These people are so stupid!" his eyes going wide when he heard the sound of something slapping the mat, turning around to notice the source of this was Machoke's hands.

The boy grunted, slowly pushing himself up, breathing heavily as the crowd stopped chanting his name, silence filling the area as Machoke eventually managed to get to his feet. His heavy breathing continued, but he now looked more confident than ever before, a smile crossing his face as he was thankful for everyone's support.

Rotom's fear soon turned to a creepy delight as he smirked, saying, "Well, seems this match isn't over yet," Lucario looking strangely relieved as Aipom stared at him, the dog quickly going back to his neutral look.

But why did he look pleased by Machoke's recovery? Was this really a matter of him wanting to fight the boy or was there more to this? Aipom and Gardevoir were both having a lot of trouble figuring this out.

Before Rotom could do a thing in response to Machoke's recovery, the boy charged toward the machine and spat, "ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT! I'M REALLY PISSED OFF NOW!" Rotom's eyes going wide when Machoke crossed his arms, sending a cross chop to the fan and sending him flying into the turnbuckle.

The crowd broke out into heavy cheering as Rotom started to sputter a bit. However, he refused to let this discourage him as he said, "I'm glad you recovered, Machoke, because there's something I want to show you!" his eyes and aura turning red, two hands shaped like oven mitts forming on each side of him as he shifted into an oven.

"Okay, I know damn well what an oven does, so there's no way in Hell I'm letting you get me with that!" Machoke exclaimed as Rotom hopped toward him, a big grin on his face as Machoke dodged to the side, rushing behind the machine and wrapping his arms around him.

However, it seemed Rotom had wanted him to do this as he placed a firm grip against the boy's hands, Machoke in full panic again. The machine proceeded to lift him up over his head without much difficulty and opened up his lid, stuffing Machoke into it as the crowd gasped. Gardevoir trembled and whimpered, the others unsure of what the boy could do now, the inside of Rotom heating up as Machoke had no way of escape. Was this it? Was Machoke going to be burned to a crisp?

 

"After a miraculous recovery, it seems Machoke's comeback did not last long," the announcer uttered with fear in her eyes, "He's now been stuffed into a giant oven with no way to escape."

Everything the woman had said was true. Machoke was likely to burn to a crisp and there was nothing his friends could do to stop this, Aipom letting down tears.

"I never even got to train him, not even once," the monkey sniffed, the cloaked figure next to her remarking, "Cheer up. You can work for us instead," the being then turning to face Rotom shouting, "I was disappointed before, but now I'm loving this! BURN, BABY, BURN!"

Machoke's friends watched in terror as Rotom said, "You've been such a pain in the ass, I think I'll turn up the heat in case you come across some sort of last-minute solution," the oven doing just that, Machoke slamming his fists against the cage only for the intense heat to weaken him every second.

Sweat was pouring down his face as he was certain his muscles were dropping as a result. It would not be long until he was baked lizard and served on a silver platter to the villains. Now all he could do was pray they chose a good seasoning to go with him.

"People of Tokyo, I want you to remember this day!" Rotom boasted, "Let it be known that I, Rotom, singlehandedly ended the Mach family for good! Never again will they stop us from conquering the world!"

Gardevoir let down tears, trying her best not to cry. Gallade patted her on the shoulder and shook his head. Even Blaziken was resisting the urge to break out into waterworks. She had only known the boy for a little over a month and yet she already considered him her best friend.

But just as all seemed lost, Rotom's eyes widened when he noticed smoke coming from inside of him. His eyes widened as he opened the lid shouting, "OH MY GOD, I'M BURNING!" Machoke falling out and letting out a loud cry of pain, his skin beet red from the extreme heat.

Rotom all the while was digging through his inside, wondering what had caused this before pulling out a rather large grey substance, holding it toward Lucario and asking, "Can you tell me what this is?"

The dog sniffed it and held his nose, remarking, "Whatever it is, it smells rancid!" Machoke blushing and uttering, "Oops, sorry."

Rotom looked confused until he managed to put two and two together, a look of disgust on his face as he tossed the dry substance onto the mat, breaking it into tiny pieces and shouting, "THAT'S DISGUSTING!"

The audience stared in shock for a few seconds before cheering heavily, all of them beyond thrilled to see Machoke once again escape from death's door. Sure, his method was unorthodox and juvenile, but it was still effective.

Aipom still had tears in her eyes, a smile on her face as she sighed, "Idiot, don't scare me like that," Gardevoir hugging Gallade tightly, the boy's eyes widening as he wheezed, "Can't breathe!"

Machoke took a deep breath and glared at Rotom, exclaiming, "Alright, that's it! You're out of tricks now, buddy! Once I'm able to ignore this massive burn, you're in for it!" Rotom taking a deep breath and remarking, "You're forgetting something, Machoke. I still have one last form!"

With that, his eyes and aura turned purple, his hands becoming more like metal spatulas. The crowd watched with intent, curious as to what this final form was. And soon enough, Rotom taking the shape of a refrigerator with double doors.

"This is my Frost Form!" the machine stated, "You've done well to get me to use all six, but it ends here!"

Machoke blinked and said, "Actually, that doesn't look too bad. It might help with my burn," Rotom smirking and asking, "Wanna try it out?" opening the double doors, Machoke striking a defensive stance and retorting, "As if!"

"Even after all that, he still needs to be super careful," Gardevoir said, Blaziken nodding and adding, "If he gets caught, he could wind up frozen like a popsicle," Gallade replying, "Who knows? Maybe Rotom has an ice cream maker built into him. Machoke could become the next big flavor."

All three cringed at the thought of this, Machoke narrowing his eyelids before turning to them and barking, "FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I'D PROBABLY BE VERY TASTY!"

"Even if I could make ice cream, I don't think anyone would want Machoke flavor," Rotom chimed in, Machoke turning back to him and retorting, "DON'T YOU START TOO!"

Rotom simply ignored his statement and said, "Well, if you won't crawl into me, I guess I'll take you down another way," the fridge opening up the door closest to the top of him, revealing the freezer. Machoke narrowed his eyelids and asked, "Do you think I'd be stupid enough to enter the freezer? There's not even much room in there."

Rotom simply laughed as he rose his spatula-like hands, resting them against the icicles forming on the roof of the freezer before cutting them all loose. After they fell off, he proceeded to position his hands behind them, applying enough force to launch the ice straight into Machoke, two of them piercing his shoulders, one going into his midsection and the last two getting his chest.

As if the stab wounds were not bad enough, the cold mixed with the extreme heat he was feeling only added to the pain as Machoke cried out in intense pain, falling to his knees and trying his best not to cry. This may not have been as brutal as when Beedrill pierced him with his stingers, but the pain was far worse. He felt like his heart was going to stop at any moment.

"MACHOKE!" Gardevoir cried out, Aipom gritting her teeth before barking, "IGNORE THE PAIN! IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD! IF THAT'S TRULY THE BEST HE'S GOT, THEN ROTOM TRULY HAS RUN OUT OF TRICKS!" Machoke's eyes going wide, Aipom receiving a roundhouse to the face courtesy of the cloaked figure.

Machoke took a deep breath and nodded, saying, "She's right," the boy suddenly ignoring the cold chill going down his spine as he took a deep breath, saying, "That's right, I just gotta think of a nice mild day, not too hot or too cold."

Rotom was actually trembling in fear now as he slowly backed up toward the ropes, shouting, "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! I'LL SEND MORE ICICLES AT YOU!" Machoke cracking his knuckles and remarking, "How are you gonna do that when you have none left?" the machine's eyes widening when he remembered he had used up every single one that had been in his freezer.

There was no way he would let it end like this. As such, he simply waited for Machoke to get close before locking his arms in place, attempting to stuff the boy into his freezer as everyone stared in shock.

But just as it looked like all was lost, the area went silent when Rotom came to a startling realization: his freezer was way too small for Machoke, and the boy realized this too. With that in mind, he placed a firm grip against the fridge and pried his head out, his face back to its regular colour as he spat, "ALRIGHT, I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR TRICKS!"

With that, Machoke placed a firm grip against Rotom's arms, Rotom in absolute panic as the boy allowed himself to fall on his back, pulling the machine over him. Once Rotom was in the perfect position, Machoke used his feet to propel him high into the air, leaping up to his level and grabbing hold of him, flipping him upside down.

The audience went wild as Machoke proceeded to spread Rotom's arms out, locking them in place before wrapping his legs around the top of the fridge, shouting, "MUSCLE TOMBSTONE!" falling toward the mat as Rotom's head was slammed hard against the surface.

"And with his family's most famous finisher, Machoke seems to have finally knocked out Rotom!" the announcer exclaimed, Rotom's head sputtering as he slowly returned to normal, the head lying there and twitching.

His body shrunk down in size so now it was only a pair of hands, the cloaked figure and Lucario knowing exactly what this meant. Rotom truly had been defeated.

Eventually, the head stopped twitching and the sparks came to a stop, all going silent for a while until the announcer rang the bell, exclaiming, "And my prediction was correct! The winner is Machoke!" the crowd going wild as Machoke breathed heavily, looking around at all the cheers and applause. There was just such a strange thrill from it all.

Gardevoir had tears in her eyes, biting her lower lip with a cute smile while Gallade exclaimed, "That's how it's done, Machoke!" Blaziken taking a deep breath and saying, "Good thing he's not stupid all the time."

Machoke then remembered Aipom, turning to face the monkey who had a big bruise on her face. She did not seem to mind this though as she grinned at the boy, clenching her tail hand into a fist and sticking the finger on the right into the air to make it look like she was giving him a thumb up.

However, all went silent again when Machoke's eyes went wide, the boy falling to his knees, his upper body collapsing as he fell hard against the mat. But it made perfect sense. The boy had suffered so much pain and injury during the fight that it only made sense he would have trouble standing.

"Aw man, come on!" the cloaked figure exclaimed, "First he doesn't even have the decency to defeat Machoke then he ends up dealing too much damage!?"

However, while his partner seemed beyond disappointed, Lucario actually looked scared. But why? Why would he care so much?

The announcer stared in horror and fiddled with her microphone, uttering, "After taking in too much damage, Machoke is now unconscious. Does this mean all hope for Tokyo is lost?"

Blaziken rose up from her seat exclaiming, "THERE'S MORE THAN ONE HERO GUARDING TOKYO!" the crowd turning to her, Gallade nodding and shouting, "That's right! What kind of victory would you have if you didn't take at least another one of us out!?"

"They have a point," Lucario said, his partner turning to him and retorting, "Are ya nuts!? We already made a deal!" Lucario sighing, "Alright, I guess we'll both have to settle for being known as the cowards who won by default."

The cloaked figure folded his arms, nodding his head and sighing, "Alright, I see your point, but I'm going next!" Lucario shrugging his shoulders as the figure leapt into the ring, removing his cloak to reveal the lizard who had attacked Infernape a month and two days ago.

Gallade and Gardevoir had carried Machoke out of the ring to let him rest on a bench, both of them relieved that he was okay. Lucario did the same with Rotom, quickly exiting the ring.

"Good," the lizard said, "With that out of the way, I can finally make my big introduction," the lizard then striking a cool fighter's stance, shouting, "I am Scrafty, your worst nightmare!"

He then turned to Lucario and asked, "Was that threatening enough?" the area going silent as Lucario stared at him with a neutral look, Scrafty letting down nervous sweat and whimpering, "Please, give me an answer! I need to know!"

The dog rolled his eyes and uttered, "Yes, it was really badass," Scrafty's grin returning as he said, "Thanks, man."

All three of Machoke's friends were now standing next to the ring as the lizard cleared his throat, turning to them and stating, "Now, since Machoke picked his opponent, I feel it only fair that I get a turn," Blaziken nodding before exclaiming, "Well, if you want an easy pick, choose me! I'm itching for a fight!"

"That's a tempting offer, I'll admit," Scrafty replied with a nod, "Your family has a very impressive reputation, but no. I already knew from the moment I entered the ring who I wish to face."

Blaziken blinked, feeling rather offended by this but also curious as to who he meant. Gardevoir was praying it would not be her while Scrafty lifted a finger, pointing it at Gallade, the boy blinking and pointing at himself, Scrafty nodding his head.

"Alright!" Gallade exclaimed with a grin on his face, "I must admit, you have a good eye!" Blaziken folding her arms and sighing, a smile forming as she said, "Kick his ass, Gallade."

Gallade nodded with confidence before entering the ring and holding his blade arms out on both sides of him. The crowd clapped as clearly his attempt to look cool had worked.

"In the red corner, representing the villains, we have Scrafty!" the announcer exclaimed, the lizard holding his hands above his head together and waving them while the audience booed him, the announcer adding, "And in the blue corner, representing the heroes, Gallade!"

The boy smirked and said, "Enjoy the attention while it lasts. I'll cut you into mincemeat," Scrafty blinking and remarking, "Ya know mincemeat is actually fruit, right?"

All went silent as Gallade's eyes went wide, the boy clutching onto the sides of his head and exclaiming, "OH NO, HE'S RIGHT! HOW COULD I MAKE SUCH A NOVICE MISTAKE!?" Blaziken face-palming and groaning, "Is that really important?"

Gallade blinked, sporting a more normal look now as he replied, "No, no it isn't," the boy regaining his composure and returning to his fighting stance, Scrafty saying, "I thought it was kind of important."

With that, the bell rang as Gallade charged toward Scrafty with his arms out like those of a man carrying sickles. If he could get a clear hit, he could possibly end this in one strike, though Scrafty would not make things so easy.

Just as Gallade sent his blades forward, Scrafty held tightly onto his lower skin, crouching before propelling himself off the mat. Gallade stopped his attack, looking around in a state of panic as Blaziken snapped, "GALLADE, LOOK OUT!" the boy unable to look up in time to notice Scrafty falling toward him, planting his feet hard into the boy's skull.

The lizard leapt off, performing a flip before landing firmly against the mat, a proud grin on his face as Gallade scowled, grunting, "Don't look so full of yourself! That was a lucky shot!" Gardevoir whimpering, hoping her brother would be okay.

Scrafty simply rushed toward Gallade with his head out, but now the boy was ready as he held out his arms, blocking the incoming headbutt. This would have caused Scrafty to start bleeding if it weren't for the crest atop his head, but this still gave Gallade an upper hand.

With that in mind, the boy forced Scrafty's head back before sending his own headbutt into the lizard's chin. This distracted Scrafty just long enough for Gallade to race behind him, reaching his arms around his shoulders and lifting the lizard high above his head, leaning backward and slamming the back of his head hard into the mat.

Scrafty cried out in pain, rubbing said area while the crowd cheered for Gallade, the boy turning toward the lizard and knowing this was far from over. With that in mind, he took full advantage of the lizard's state and lunged toward him, blades raised.

However, Scrafty saw a huge opening and wasted no time, propelling himself off the mat with his knee raised. Gallade noticed this as the lizard spat, "HIGH JUMP KICK!" the boy quickly shifting his arms into an X formation, blocking the incoming kick aimed at his midsection before spreading his arms back out, sending Scrafty careening into the mat.

He landed gracefully against the mat, a bit disappointed his Psycho Cut had been interrupted but still felt fully confident. The start had been a rocky one, but he had the advantage now, and the announcer said just that while the crowd applauded the boy.

"Your brother's amazing," Blaziken said, turning to Gardevoir as the girl nodded, a light smile on her face as she replied, "He's always been my hero ever since I was three."

As if things were not already hard for Scrafty, Gallade's arms had actually caused the lizard's knee a bit of pain as he held onto it, rocking back and forth for a few seconds before it subsided. After the pain had left, Scrafty rose to his feet and took a deep breath, firmly pulling up his skin and barking, "That was a lucky shot, ya jerk!" sticking out his tongue.

"And to think, I was expecting a challenge," Gallade said with a confident smile, Scrafty taking a deep breath and remarking, "Oh, ya'll get your wish. I'm just getting started."

With that said, the lizard proceeded to race toward Gallade again, the boy holding his arms in front of his face, ready to counter once again only for Scrafty to propel himself off the mat, jumping over Gallade's head. The boy blinked in confusion as Blaziken spat, "BEHIND YOU!" Gallade once again unable to respond in time when Scrafty planted his feet into the ropes, shouting, "HEAD SMASH!" shooting off of them like a rocket and planting his crest hard into the boy's back.

Gallade's eyes went wide as he flew into the ropes, bouncing off and flying back toward his opponent. Scrafty waited for just the right moment when the boy got close enough for the lizard to send a hard kick to his back.

Gallade fell hard against the mat while Gardevoir whimpered in fear, Blaziken patting her on the shoulder and saying, "It's okay, he'll be fine," only to wince when Scrafty flipped toward the boy, planting a drop kick into his back.

"Ya wanted a challenge, right?" Scrafty asked tauntingly while releasing one hand from his skin and lifting the boy up by the spike on his head while adding, "Ya got it," the lizard ramming his head into the boy's face.

The crowd gasped when Scrafty continued to pummel Gallade with his forehead, the boy's face starting to bleed now as Gardevoir squeaked, "GALLADE, DO SOMETHING!" the boy's eyes widening when he took another blow to the face, a look of anger forming as he took in another. Clearly Scrafty was not willing to give him time to recover.

However, the one second between each headbutt was more than enough for Gallade to work with as he slowly lifted his arms up, once again wrapping them around Scrafty's shoulders. The lizard froze, a nervous grin on his face as Gallade smirked, a more serious look forming as he once again leaned back, setting the lizard up for another Suplex.

However, Scrafty was prepared this time, the crowd gasping when the lizard leaned his head back just enough for his crest to stop his head from colliding with the mat, the announcer stating, "In a last-ditch effort to save himself, Scrafty has used the strongest part of his body to lighten the blow."

"Thank ya, Captain Obvious," Scrafty muttered, rolling his eyes before taking full advantage of this. Gallade was unable to respond as the lizard wrapped his ankles around his neck, pulling him downward and slamming the back of his own head into the mat.

Gardevoir was back to whimpering as Blaziken was not even sure how this would turn out. That blow to the head had done quite a lot to Gallade due to the damage dealt to the front earlier, so he was having trouble recovering from this.

"I'll admit, ya fight the good fight, but you're nowhere near as tough as I figured ya'd be," Scrafty stated before backing away from Gallade a bit, propelling himself off the mat and aiming his knee toward the boy's midsection shouting, "HIGH JUMP KICK!" planting his knee hard into the boy's chest.

All went silent as Gallade's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, the boy coughing up blood and passing out. Everyone stared in silence, hardly believing what they had just seen as the announcer rang the bell, shouting, "The winner is Scrafty!"

Panic spread throughout the area as the lizard grinned wickedly, laughing maniacally and flashing a peace sign to the crowd. Was this it? Had the villains won?

"Good job defeating Gallade," Lucario said, "but we still haven't technically beaten Machoke yet," Scrafty blinking and saying, "You're right," looking over at the boy who finally starting to stir a bit, his eyes slowly opening.

"I'm awake!" the boy exclaimed, bolting upright as Blaziken breathed a sigh of relief, Scrafty smirking and saying, "Oh, goody, I was worried I wouldn't get a chance to fight you."

Machoke blinked, his eyes going wide as he suddenly remembered why he had been unconscious in the first place, the boy then noticing Gallade lying in the ring, his forehead covered in blood stains. Just what had happened while he was out?

Lucario let out a sigh and said, "You should probably recover before you fight him, Scrafty," the lizard shrugging and replying, "Nah, I'll be fine. That Gallade didn't do too much to me. Besides, Machoke's still in far worse condition."

This was not too far from the truth, either. Machoke still had a few burn marks and bruises on him from his fight with Rotom. Sure, he was conscious now, but was he truly ready for another match.

"Hold it!" came a squeak from the crowd, everyone turning toward the source to notice Gardevoir standing up with a look of anger on her face as she snapped, "Scrafty, you just beat up my brother! I can't stand by and let that go unpunished, so I challenge you to a fight!"

The area fell silent, Blaziken asking, "Are you sure about this?" Gardevoir gulping, feeling terrified beyond belief but keeping her composure as she replied, "Yes. My brother would want me to be strong in his stead."

Scrafty let out a sigh and pinched his forehead, groaning, "Look, kid, the offer's nice, but we've already broken the terms of our own agreement once! What kind of example would we be setting if we did it again!?" Lucario sighing, "If someone dear to me was badly hurt, I would want vengeance too," Scrafty barking, "WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON!?"

The lizard took a deep breath and sighed, "Well, alright. But I need some time to recover, so let's agree to an hour of preparation time," Lucario rolling his eyes as he did not even want to respond to this display of hypocrisy.

Gardevoir took a deep breath, bowing her head in respect and saying, "Thank you, Scrafty," the lizard retorting, "I DON'T WANT YOUR THANKS!"

While Gardevoir headed toward a training facility located within the arena, Machoke stood before her and rested an arm on her shoulder saying, "Gardevoir, you don't have to do this. I'll fight him. I may be a little beat up, but I'm sure I can hold my own," Gardevoir smiling lightly and shaking her head, replying, "That's very kind of you, but I want to do this. I need to overcome my fear of fighting."

Aipom turned to Lucario and asked, "Can I go now?" the dog sighing, "The agreement was that we only let you go if we're all defeated. Scrafty and I are still standing, so try putting two and two together," the monkey letting out a disappointed sigh, praying this would end soon.

Blaziken stared as Gallade had regained just enough consciousness to see her heading toward the exit of the area but not enough to get up, the boy whining, "Can someone carry me off the mat?" his friends nodding and doing just that.

Machoke and Gallade both watched Gardevoir exit the general area, Gallade proud of his sister for mustering up the courage to challenge Scrafty. Machoke on the other hand was scared for her safety. It really should have been him fighting the lizard, not someone like her, or at least that was what he figured.

 

What a stressful day this had been. Machoke had finally defeated Rotom only to end up too badly beaten to take on Scrafty. Things at least seemed to work out okay as his friends managed to delay a horrible failure, but that miracle started to fade. Not only had Gallade lost to Scrafty, but Gardevoir had taken his place and she still hardly seemed ready for this sort of thing.

Gardevoir had been gone from the area from a few minutes when Machoke came to check on her in the training facility. The girl really seemed to be doing her hardest as she delivered a series of palm punches to a punching bag, a look of determination on her face.

Machoke let out a sigh and still believed that he should help her out in some way, the boy walking over to her and patting her on the shoulder. Gardevoir turned to him, about to tell him to leave when the boy volunteered to help her out. Sure, he was no expert either, but he had picked up quite a few things from Hero School that he figured would help.

He helped her lift some dumbbells in the hopes that Gardevoir could build up her muscle strength even just a little bit. Sure, Scrafty did not have the same tough skin that Nidoqueen had, but he was still a force to be reckoned with.

After that, he had her using his hands as targets to practice her palm punches. At one point, she ended up missing one of his hands and smacked him in the face to which she promptly apologized, Machoke simply congratulating her for actually causing a bit of pain from the hit.

After more and more training, Gardevoir only had ten minutes before her match started, Machoke taking a deep breath and saying, "I'm sure you can do this. You've improved quite a bit," Gardevoir blushing and asking, "Do you think so?"

Machoke nodded and replied, "I know so," flashing the girl thumbs up as she gave the boy a light hug, squeaking, "Thank you so much!" giving him a light peck on the cheek, Machoke's eyes going wide as the girl got up to head to the ring, the boy saying, "Wait, you still have ten minutes."

Gardevoir turned to him as the boy grinned, saying, "Neither I nor your brother had a chance to make a big entrance, but you actually do, and I got just the thing in mind," the girl actually interested in what he had to suggest, thinking this would be a good way to help her stay positive before the match started.

After nine-and-a-half minutes, everyone had taken a seat and was ready for the match to start, Blaziken sighing, "I really hope your sister knows what she's doing," Gallade replying, "Relax. My sis can beat that punk no sweat."

Aipom was still scared after all this time, but was at least a bit grateful that Lucario bought her a salad for lunch to keep her from starving. Either way, tensions were high as the announcer took her seat and got ready.

"In the red corner," the woman announced, "representing the villains and weighing at thirty kilos, Scrafty!" the audience once again booing and jeering the lizard as he approached the ring from the entrance on his side, a smirk on his face as he walked over to the ring, propelling himself off the floor, performing a few flips in the air and landing firmly against the surface.

"And in the blue corner," the woman added, "fighting to protect Tokyo and weighing forty-eight-and-a-half kilos, Gardevoir!"

The crowd was ready to start cheering before noticing Gardevoir not entering, though they did hear voices coming from the entrance way, a young girl squeaking, "I'm scared, Machoke! What if they laugh?" Machoke's voice replying, "Don't worry, you look great."

Gallade's jaw dropped when he saw his dear, beloved sister approach the ring wearing a black jersey and a spiked collar around her neck. Her hair had also been styled into a Mohawk as she had an angry, aggressive look on her face. Needless to say, Machoke had told her to go in with 'bad girl' plastered over her.

Gardevoir took a deep breath, remembering his instructions as she placed a firm grip against the ropes, propelling herself above them and performing a handstand on the top rope before allowing her body to drop, landing gracefully against the mat, the girl absolutely shocked that she was able to pull it off.

The crowd continued to stare, Blaziken groaning, "What the hell is this?" the chicken expecting to see anger from Gallade but was shocked to see him smiling, the boy letting down light tears and sniffing, "I don't know what Machoke did, but he's a miracle worker!"

Gardevoir glared at Scrafty, the lizard looking beyond confused. The girl was starting to lose a bit of confidence and turned back, noticing Machoke standing just a short walk from the ring and giving her thumbs up. Seeing this gave her the confidence to finish the routine as she pointed at Scrafty, exclaiming in a low, punk-like tone, "Yer roadkill, sucka!" Gallade's smile fading as he uttered, "Okay, that's going too far."

With that, Gardevoir pulled off the jersey, which of course now had a big slit down the middle of it thanks to her chest spike, the girl tossing it out of the ring. With that, the routine was over, her hair suddenly returning to normal on its own, Machoke shrugging and saying, "Oh well, at least it stayed up as long as it did."

The audience was still in shock, the announcer at a loss for words. Even Lucario could not help but stare at this display, an orchestra of crickets hopping into the area and providing chirping sounds throughout the area.

Gardevoir looked like she was about to cry when she heard Gallade shout, "THAT WAS AWESOME, SIS! EXCEPT FOR THAT ROADKILL TAUNT! EVERYTHING ELSE WAS GREAT!" Gardevoir smiling as the audience decided to give her a pity clap, seeing that she really was trying her best to make a good first impression.

Blaziken snickered and said, "You're a great brother, you know that?" Gallade remarking, "What? I meant every word of that," Gardevoir about to take the collar off when Machoke gave her a confused look, the girl blinking and realizing what that was about, keeping it on. After all, it would be insulting to take it off before the end of the match.

Scrafty snapped out of his shock and said, "That was actually pretty cool. I didn't think someone like ya could make that work," Blaziken shouting, "HE LIKED IT TOO!?" Gardevoir bowing her head in respect, the lizard sighing, "Again, I don't want your thanks."

However, before the match could get underway, Gardevoir held up her hands to call a timeout, turning to Lucario and saying, "There's something I want to know before the fight starts," the dog giving her a look of confusion before she sighed, "If you're really evil, why did you save my brother and I from that robber?"

"Wait, ya did what?" Scrafty asked, Machoke blinking and uttering, "I didn't know that either," the area now listening to what Lucario had to say. That was a very good question indeed.

Lucario let out a sigh and replied, "I wanted you all to myself, that's why," Gallade wincing at the sound of this but was surprised when Gardevoir did not seem the least bit fazed by these words.

"You're lying," the girl replied, "I can tell, but I can also tell you're not ready to tell the truth yet, so I'll wait," the announcer asking, "Can I ring the bell now?" Gardevoir nodding before turning back to her opponent. Just what was Lucario hiding?

And with that, the bell was rung as the match finally started, Gardevoir taking a deep breath and holding a defensive stance. After her time spent with Machoke, she actually felt ready for this now. There was no way Scrafty was going to beat her with ease.

Scrafty, of course, did not wait as he charged toward the girl with his head out. Gardevoir held out her hands to defend herself just like she had when facing Nidoqueen. However, the odds of it working this time were low as that strange power from before had not yet been activated.

When Scrafty's head closed in, Gardevoir found herself surprisingly able to hold him back, though his crest being alarmingly close to her chest did frighten her a bit. To make matters worse, her strength was not enough to keep him back for long as the lizard started pushing her slowly toward the ropes.

In a state of panic, Gardevoir simply released her hold, attempting to dodge to the side. However, this proved ineffective as the side of Scrafty's head ran into her ribcage, the girl crying out in pain and falling to the side, stopping the fall with one hand, breathing heavily and trying to regain focus.

She tried to ignore the pain, shaking her head as she knew she had to be tough. With that in mind, she rose to her feet, Scrafty charging at the girl a second time. Gardevoir took a deep breath and tried her best to concentrate, noticing the lizard was aiming a kick toward her this time.

The girl attempted to dodge to the right only for Scrafty to smirk, turning around mid-way and sending a roundhouse into her side. Gardevoir cried out in pain as she fell on her side again, this time landing on her shoulder.

Machoke's eyes went wide in disbelief, Gallade and Blaziken hoping she was okay while Gardevoir herself simply could not believe this. After all that training with Machoke, after her strength had actually gone up a bit, a single hit was still enough to bring her to her knees.

Logically speaking, though, this was not too unexpected. After all, Machoke had only trained her for a tad more than forty minutes. That was not a particularly long period of time and she was unable to handle the strength training procedures on Hero Planet, so she had barely trained her muscles at all.

"I'm disappointed," Scrafty said with a sigh, "Ya came in looking so cool and confident but you're really just a weakling," Gardevoir starting to lose confidence when Machoke spat, "Don't listen to him! You actually managed to hurt me during training, remember!? Look at my physique and think about that!"

The girl's eyes went wide as she nodded, rising to her feet and fibbing, "That barely hurt at all," Gardevoir trying her absolute best to sound intimidating with that statement.

"And ya have the gall to call Lucario a liar," Scrafty remarked, shaking his head and adding, "Oh well, at least this'll be more fun, I guess."

With that, the lizard propelled himself off the mat, aiming a knee kick toward the girl's head and shouting, "HIGH JUMP KICK!" Gallade's eyes going wide as he barked, "GARDEVOIR, DODGE IT NOW!"

Gardevoir nodded and swayed gracefully out of harm's way, Scrafty's knee hitting the surface hard as his eyes widened. A light tear fell from his left eye as he fell on his back, rolling around in pain while clutching his knee.

Gallade took a deep breath and said, "I remembered how much it hurt when I used my arms to block that before. Figured a harder surface would deal more damage," Blaziken nodding and saying, "Not bad."

Gardevoir breathed a sigh of relief, resting her hand against her heart when Machoke exclaimed, "Quick, get him while he's down!" the girl's eyes going wide briefly as she nodded, squeaking, "Of course!" as she leapt toward the lizard, planting her right foot into his gut, Scrafty actually taking in a considerable amount of pain from this.

Gardevoir sported a big smile as she turned to Machoke and squealed, "DID YOU SEE THAT!? I REALLY HURT HIM, DIDN'T I!?" Machoke nodding and replying, "You sure did!" not even bothering to tell her that an attack like that could deal a good amount of pain to anyone no matter who used it.

Scrafty slowly rose to his feet, panting while holding his belly and grunting, "Okay, guess I can't take ya lightly after that stunt of yours," Gardevoir tilting her head to the side asking, "Um... Mister Scrafty, sir, may I ask you something?"

All went silent for a few seconds until Scrafty blinked, scratching the side of his head and replying, "Okay, sure, why not?" Gardevoir rubbing her chin and enquiring, "I notice you have your own way of saying the word 'you' but you don't use that way of saying it all the time. Why is that?"

"Oh, I'm surprised you're the first person to catch that," the lizard replied, a grin forming on his face as he added, "I'll be happy to explain that. See, it really depends on how it sounds in context with the next word. For instance, if the next word starts with a vowel or sounds to much like 'ya', it doesn't roll off the tongue quite as easily, but also, if I were to say something like 'yar' instead of 'your' I'd sound too much like a pirate."

"Is he for real?" Aipom asked, Lucario sighing, "I can't believe they're even having this conversation right now."

However, Gardevoir was actually really interested in this as she clapped her hands, squeaking, "Wow, so much attention to detail! I'm really impressed," Scrafty sporting a smug grin and replying, "Yeah, I don't mean to brag, but I'm a lot smarter than I look."

With that, Scrafty took a deep breath and said, "Man, almost forgot we were having a fight right now," the lizard rushing at Gardevoir once again, only this time he knew he would need to be more careful. After that last stunt, there was no way he was going to let her get to him again.

Gardevoir took the defensive again, remembering how he had managed to get past her first two counters. With that in mind, she waited for Scrafty to start up an attack only for the lizard to try absolutely nothing, no prepared kicks or anything.

Instead, the lizard stopped right in front of her and snickered saying, "Go on, hit me," all going silent as he turned his head to the side adding, "Give me a good palm punch right here," Gardevoir not even sure what to do as Gallade looked equally confused, Blaziken letting out a sigh and barking, "HE'S TRYING TO BAIT YOU! DON'T TAKE IT!"

Gardevoir gasped and backed up, Scrafty smirking as he proceeded to race behind her, kicking her hard in the back. All went silent as Gardevoir fell hard on her face, coughing up blood for the first time in the match. She had certainly lasted longer than when she faced Nidoqueen, but it was still painful beyond compare.

"Oh no," Machoke whimpered, clutching his head while thinking, 'All of that confidence has surely left her now!'

"Truth be told, I had a plan for both situations," the lizard explained with a smirk while folding his arms and adding, "If you had attacked me, I would have shrugged off the pain and struck ya back. I knew I could take it after seeing how weak your arms are earlier."

"So she was doomed no matter what," Aipom whimpered, the announcer stating, "Well, it would seem that Scrafty here really is a lot smarter than he appears. Even with Gardevoir taking the safer approach, she still wound up taking in a considerable amount of pain."

The crowd was even more scared than ever before. Despite her confidence earlier, Gardevoir was fairing even worse than Gallade had. What could she possibly do?

Despite her pain, though, Gardevoir tried her hardest to ignore the blood coming from her mouth as she started to push herself up, mumbling, "I have to-to win," Scrafty sighing, "It pains me to see someone so beautiful suffer, but I knew what I was getting myself into when I joined the dark side."

With that, the lizard propelled himself off the mat, aiming his knee toward the girl's back shouting, "I'LL GIVE YOU THE HONOUR OF FALLING TO MY STRONGEST ATTACK, HIGH JUMP KICK!"

But just as it was about to connect, a violet aura surrounded Gardevoir's hands, the girl quickly turning around and holding them up, the knee running into her palms. While Scrafty's feet were not harmed by this counter-measure, it did seem to prevent Gardevoir from taking in further damage as the lizard leaped away from her, a look of shock in his eyes.

'This power...' he thought, 'I could have sworn she didn't have it before, so where did it come from?'

The lizard shook his head and refused to let this discourage him as he rushed at the girl again, this time pointing his head out. Gardevoir panicked and held out her hands in defence, not having enough time to think up a more effective strategy. However, unlike before, her hands had actually prevented Scrafty from advancing any further.

No one had any idea what was going on but cheered anyway, Aipom and Lucario both very interested in this sudden burst of strength. Hearing the roar of the crowd gave Gardevoir her confidence back as she opened her eyes, noticing what everyone was freaking out over.

"So it seems my training is paying off," the girl said with a light smile, forming circles with her pointing fingers and thumbs before flicking Scrafty in the face.

This actually managed to cause enough pain to cause the lizard to back away from her, rubbing both sides that she had flicked and shouting, "WHY DID THAT HURT SO MUCH!?"

Gardevoir proceeded to leap past the lizard, hooking his neck and shouting, "MOON HOOK!" sending the back of his head into the mat as he actually coughed up a bit of blood, the girl breathing heavily while looking down at him, saying, "I guess the fight gave me just enough extra workout time to make my muscles even stronger," her eyes sparkling when she said this.

"That doesn't make much sense, but maybe her body works differently from that of most people," Aipom said to herself as Machoke refused to say anything, Blaziken turning to Gallade before asking, "Does she not even notice the aura surrounding her hands?"

Gallade blinked and said, "Now that you mention it," the boy letting down a sweat drop and adding with a nervous grin, "She might not actually know of her powers."

The chicken face-palmed and sighed, "After this match, you're going to have to tell her. Right now, she's under the impression that her training with Machoke caused this. When this power leaves her and doesn't come to her right away in her next match, she'll wonder where it all went," Gallade nodding and replying, "Yeah, you're right."

Scrafty slowly rose to his feet, rubbing his aching neck and taking deep breaths of his own. There was no way he was going to let this sudden burst of strength ruin everything for him. He had come so close to finishing her off and he was not going to lose this chance.

With that in mind, the lizard lunged at Gardevoir, knowing his fake-out trick would not work now that she was strong enough to use it against him. With that in mind, he decided to rely on stealth as he propelled himself off the mat and over Gardevoir's head, flipping toward the ropes and bouncing off of them, his head aimed at her back.

Gardevoir was unable to react in time as he spat, "HEAD SMASH!" ramming his crest hard into the girl's back.

Gardevoir fell forward, but managed to keep her face from colliding with the mat with her hands. After all, she had seen him use this same technique on her brother, so she knew how it worked.

With that in mind, she tried something she had never thought of before, remembering how successful her handstand earlier had been. She managed to propel her lower body up high enough to land a hard two-legged kick into a spellbound Scrafty's chin, the lizard coughing up more blood as an aura was now covering the girl's feet as well thus sending the lizard high into the air.

Seeing this, Gardevoir pushed herself up and jumped to his level, Machoke asking, "Gardevoir, what are you doing? You don't know any slam moves!" Gardevoir replying, "I know, but I can at least try to come up with one when the opportunity arises."

Thinking fast, the girl came up with something rather simple as she placed her hands against Scrafty's cheeks, the lizard asking, "What are you trying to do?" the girl smiling softly and squeaking, "I have absolutely no idea."

The crowd stared in wonder as Gardevoir proceeded to lower his head below her body, keeping her legs above her own head, tilting Scrafty's head so the back of his neck was facing the mat, the girl squealing, "Can't have your crest saving your life, now, can I!?"

Scrafty was in full panic now as his neck was slammed hard again the mat, Lucario and Aipom's eyes wide with shock. Scrafty coughed up one last bit of blood before his body collapsed, the lizard now unable to move just long enough for his loss to be official, the announcer ringing the bell.

"And in a stunning turn of events, Gardevoir has created a new finishing move!" the woman exclaimed, "No one knows where this sudden burst of power came from, but the important thing is Scrafty has finally been defeated!"

The crowd cheered wildly, Gallade letting down tears and sniffing, "I'm so proud," Blaziken sighing, "Remember, you'll have to tell her sooner than later," the chicken then smiling and joining into the cheering.

Gardevoir smiled lightly at Machoke who stepped into the ring, holding his arms out before hesitating, Gardevoir embracing him. She now felt like she was truly ready to fight evil and it was his influence that pushed her in the right direction.

With that, Lucario let out a sigh and unlocked Aipom's cuffs, the monkey staring at him in confusion as the dog rose up and heading toward the exit. Everyone directed their gaze toward him as Machoke asked, "Where are you going? We haven't had our fight yet."

"I know," the dog replied with a sigh, "But honestly, I don't wanna serve evil anymore," everyone now more confused than ever.

Lucario noticed this and took a deep breath, adding, "I may as well explain myself. See, the reason I joined the dark side isn't because of family matters, though, Machoke, you are right that I don't particularly like my father, but that's a story I'd prefer not to tell."

Machoke blinked and nodded his head asking, "If it's not that, then why did you join the dark side?" Lucario sighing, "Well, to be honest, it wasn't a matter of pride or a want of destruction either. It's simply that I don't know what I want to do with my life."

All went silent as Machoke asked, "Are you serious?" Gardevoir nodding and replying, "I can tell he's not lying this time," Lucario nodding and explaining, "I figured maybe I was born to be evil and that I had finally found my true place, but the truth is, I don't like what they had me doing. When I killed that human earlier, I felt kind of bad."

"Well, if evil isn't what you want, try serving good instead," Machoke replied, Blaziken nodding and adding, "It is true you'll probably face some time in prison for murder, but once they let you out, you might find serving justice to be worth your while."

Lucario simply shook his head and sighed, "Maybe someday, maybe not. Right now, I just don't know," the dog exiting the area as Machoke lowered his eyelids, saying, "That guy is messed up."

However, panic returned to the area when Scrafty suddenly recovered from his head-blow, sitting upright and shooting a cold stare at Gardevoir. The girl squeaked in fear, holding up her arms defensively only for the lizard to surprise everyone by shooting her a grin.

"Ya got me good," he said with a shockingly positive tone, "Ya got me real good. I did NOT see that coming."

"So you're not mad?" Gardevoir squeaked, Scrafty shaking his head and replying, "Nah, I'm a good sport. I know when I'm licked, though man, the others are not going to let me hear the end of this."

"Why go back, then?" Machoke asked, "If you know you're gonna get punished, why return?" Scrafty letting out a sigh and replying, "I'll let ya in on a little secret. Consider it a bonus for beating me."

Everyone was quite curious as the lizard sighed, "Lucario's issues may not be family-related, but mine are. The truth is, I used to be a really nice guy. I always stood up for the little guy and would often convince bad people to start obeying the law. Unfortunately, my daddy never noticed any of this stuff."

Gardevoir blinked and asked, "What do you mean?" Scrafty explaining, "Well, whenever I'd go about my heroics, most of the time, it would result in a fight. My daddy would always get the wrong impression when I came home covered in bruises and would never take the time to hear my side of the story, so I ran away and became exactly what he thought I was."

"That's not right," Machoke said with a serious look in his eyes, everyone turning their gaze to him as he added, "All you ended up doing was proving your dad right. He may not have seen you for who you were, but so many others did. Maybe if you had them talk to him, he might have gotten to know the real you, but now, well, you've tarnished your image."

"You're right," Scrafty replied, looking down when Gardevoir patted him on the shoulder, giving him a light smile and cooing, "It's not too late. You have lots of time to make things up," Scrafty nodding and replying, "First, I'm going to apologize to Daddy, then I'll turn myself into the government and take whatever punishment they have for me."

A smirk then crossed his face as he added, "Thankfully, I've never gone so far as to kill anyone, so my sentence should be fairly light, don't ya think?" the others nodding with warm smiles on their faces, the lizard taking his leave as things had truly turned out well.

 

It had been two days since Rotom and Scrafty had been defeated. Both were now serving time in prison while Lucario was off in an unknown location trying to find himself. It may not have been a completely happy ending, but it was nice to have some peace in Tokyo again.

Machoke was in the middle of training with Aipom in the yard this morning, in which she had forced him into a headlock with her tail and expected him to find a way out. While the lizard boy struggled to free himself, he noticed a few girls walk by talking amongst themselves. Machoke prayed they would not look his way but they ended up glancing and staring for a few seconds before walking off.

"This is so unfair!" Machoke whined, light tears running down his face as Aipom sighed, "You can think about girls later, but right now we have work to do! Now how would you get out of this hold?"

Machoke continued to struggle, placing his hands against the tail and pulling only to find this had no effect whatsoever. But while he found himself wondering how such a small and youthful creature could have high physical strength, he noticed Blaziken walk by wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

The chicken noticed him and asked, "Hey, Machoke, me and the others are meeting up downtown. Wanna join us?" Machoke exclaiming, "You betcha!" the boy spinning his body and loosening himself from the hold before running into the house, putting on a long-sleeve shirt and pants at lightning speed and taking off with Blaziken.

"Hey, Machoke, we still have work to do!" Aipom exclaimed before sighing, "Well, at least he got out of the hold," the monkey then folding her arms and walking toward the entrance to the house and muttering, "I wish I could hang out with them too."

Machoke and Blaziken soon came to the spot where the others would be, Gallade and Gardevoir arriving and waving. Machoke and Gardevoir had spent most of the previous day resting up from their fights, so they had not yet seen each-other since Gardevoir's match ended. As such, Machoke was rather surprised when he saw Gardevoir still wearing the spiked collar he gave her.

Not only was she still wearing the collar but she also had the black jersey she had worn before the match on. Gallade on the other hand did not feel the need to wear any human clothes, finding it unnecessary since he had no visible genitalia.

"You know, Gardevoir, you don't have to wear that now that the match is over," Machoke uttered, Gardevoir gigging and replying, "Oh, I know, it's just..." the girl then blushing a bit and adding, "I really like it. This collar makes me feel strong!"

"Well, it does actually kinda suit you," Machoke replied with a shrug, "Not so sure about the jersey, though," Gallade giving him an awkward look as the boy laughed nervously, saying, "After a few more seconds, it does actually suit you quite well."

"So," Blaziken whispered into the side of Gallade's head, "have you told her yet?" Gallade nodding and replying, "Yeah, I told her what I know about her power last night," the chicken noticing how positive the girl was and asking, "How did she get over it so quickly?"

"It's kind of funny, actually," Gallade replied with a snicker, "She took it rather well."

The boy remembered the events that night as he sat down with her at the dining table and finished telling her all about the aura, the effects it had and how it only appeared in dire situations. Despite all of this being a surprise for the girl, she did not have a look of shock, nor did she so much as raise an eyebrow. Instead, a smile actually appeared on her face, her eyes sparkling.

"So, this doesn't bother you in any way?" Gallade asked, Gardevoir shaking her head and sporting a more serious look, squeaking, "This is a sign from God that I should train even harder so I don't have to rely on the power!"

Back in present time, Blaziken nodded and said, "That is actually a logical way of thinking about it," Gallade nodding and sighing, "I'm just glad it didn't destroy her fighting spirit."

"So, guys, what's the plan for today?" Machoke asked, Blaziken turning to Gallade who nodded his head and replied, "My neighbour told me of this club located around these parts, said it's a lot of fun."

All four agreed, Gardevoir feeling nervous about going to such a place as Gallade promised to protect her from anyone suspicious. Sure, Gardevoir may have defeated an opponent he had lost to, but he still felt obligated as her older brother.

The four were soon seated on a couch in the lounge area together, Machoke saying, "I will admit, you picked a good place," looking around as the building had four televisions scattered throughout, pool tables, a few arcade machines, free drinks and even a karaoke machine. There were even quite a few people here as well, so they were not the only guests.

While Blaziken and Gallade each had their own alcoholic drink in hand, though, Machoke and Gardevoir were simply having fruit punch, Blaziken turning to Machoke and saying, "You know, Machoke, I think you've earned yourself a little drop of the creature after all you did," the boy cringing at the thought before groaning, "Alcohol's gross," Gardevoir looking at him with even more admiration after hearing that.

"By the way," Gardevoir stated with a big smile, "I thought up a name for my new finishing move! I call it the Meteor Bomb!" her friends staring at her as Blaziken smirked, asking, "How'd you come up with such a cool name?" Gardevoir replying, "I gave it a lot of thought and, well, the way I had Scrafty set up and how my body was positioned made me think of a meteor falling into the ring, and, well, from what I can gather, power bombs are kind of similar with how it was executed, so I came up with a combination of the two."

At that moment, the group of girls Machoke had seen earlier entered the area, taking a seat on a couch right across from them before noticing the lizard boy. The girls turned to one-another and started giggling as Machoke groaned, looking down.

Blaziken blinked and asked, "Do you know those girls?" Machoke not even dignifying this with a response as one of them noticed Gardevoir and asked, "Excuse me, are you the one who beat up that Scrafty guy in the arena yesterday?"

Gardevoir blushed and nodded, her lips pursed together as the girls got up from their seats and walked over, one of them pulling out a pen and a notepad asking, "Can we have your autograph?"

Gardevoir's blush brightened as she trembled a bit, Gallade resting an arm on her shoulder and saying, "It's fine. They just want you to write down your name," the girl nodding as Blaziken added, "Make sure you add a nice touch to it to really leave an impression.

Gardevoir thought hard about this before remembering the name she had just stated for her new finishing move and wrote her name in beautiful hand-writing. She also attached a drawing of a small meteor flying away from the 'r' while also making it look artistic. Needless to say, the human girls were very happy to have received this, Gardevoir having trouble containing her mix of excitement and nervousness.

"Hey, what about me?" Machoke asked, "I beat Rotom!" the girls simply looking at him, one of them turning to the girl next to her and asking, "Who's that?" the other shrugging as Machoke fumed, another girl then pointing at Gallade and exclaiming, "I know you! You're Gardevoir's brother, the guy who fought Scrafty first!" the girls then asking for his autograph as Machoke roared, "BUT HE LOST! THIS IS SO UNFAIR!"

Blaziken laughed and patted the boy on the shoulder saying, "Well, I thought you were awesome," Machoke still looking peeved as the chicken added, "Don't forget, saving lives is its own reward," Machoke muttering, "Yeah, but being showered with affection is a nice bonus."

The girls then decided to find something else to do as Machoke picked up a nearby ashtray and threw it into the side of Gallade's head, the boy laughing and rubbing the side of his head, Machoke barking, "THAT IS NOT HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO REACT TO THAT!!!!!"

"Alright, let's try to take our mind off girl problems, okay?" Blaziken replied, Machoke sighing, "Right. We came here for a good time, not an argument."

At that moment, something caught Blaziken's attention on one of the TVs. It was a broadcast from Osaka where Throh and Sawk were standing in a ring face-to-face with two opponents.

One was a snake made entirely out of rocks, two big stone arms coming from his sides. The other was a knight clad from head to toe in armour. The armour on his shoulders and legs was red while the material on his torso and arms was black. He also had a pair of white metal gloves covering his long, slender hands, each with a spike coming from the wrist. There were also long white boots made from the same material and to top it off, he wore a red helmet with a black rim and a golden axehead attached to the top. Finally, his waist was lined with sharp rounded blades.

"We're here live from the Osaka stadium," said a man with a flat haircut and a fancy suit, "Currently, the resident heroes, Throh and Sawk, are going up against the fearsome duo of Onix and Bisharp in a tag team match!" Onix being the snake with Bisharp being the knight.

Throh and Sawk were currently playing a game of rock, paper, scissors with each other as Sawk ended up winning, Throh bowing his head and saying, "Give them Hell, Sawk," the blue fighter giving his brother thumbs up and replying, "Of course."

Onix looked eager to take him on as Bisharp folded his arms, saying, "Go ahead. You may go first," the rock snake grinning and replying, "Thanks, Bisharp. I'll be sure to save you some leftovers."

Machoke's eyes widened as he uttered, "That Onix guy looks really tough," Blaziken nodding and replying, "True, but don't forget, Throh and Sawk were the top of the class. They're not to be taken lightly."

The bell was rung as Sawk held up a fighter's pose, waiting for Onix to make the first move. Luckily, the snake did not even hesitate as he came toward Sawk, his head lowered.

"Too easy," Sawk said with a light smile before leaping over the snake's head, sending a karate chop hard into the back of his neck.

The crowd went wild as Sawk leapt away from the snake so he could not counter. Machoke simply grinned at the sight of this and exclaimed, "Wow, that's amazing! He managed to damage stone with his bare hand!"

Onix growled and ignored the pain, rising back up and sending a punch toward Sawk. The martial artist easily dodged this when suddenly, Throh shouted, "SAWK, BEHIND YOU!!!!!" the boy's eyes widening when Onix redirected his arm, sending the side of it into Sawk's ribcage.

Sawk tried his best to ignore the pain only for Onix to wrap his tail around him, pulling hard on him and saying, "That's right, just stay there while I break you in two!"

Sawk gritted his teeth as he squeezed his arms out of the hold, sending two karate chops into the snake's tail thus causing just enough pain for Onix to release him. After that, he ran over to Throh and tagged him in, the brother nodding and performing a flip over the ropes.

When he was close enough, the wider boy proceeded to grab onto Onix's head, pulling it down toward the mat and slamming his chin hard into the surface. With that, he backed away from the snake and held a defensive stance.

"It's awesome seeing both their skills at work," Blaziken said with a grin, "Sawk uses more head-on moves like punches, kicks and karate chops as he supposedly can't use grappling moves while Throh's fighting style is the exact opposite. In a way, they both compliment each other well," Machoke nodding and saying, "Well, it seems to be working."

Onix took a deep breath and grunted, "You know, Bisharp, I'm certain I can crush that guy's head, but since you were generous enough to let me go first, I figured I'd return the favour," the knight nodding and replying, "How thoughtful of you," slapping his hand against the snake's tail and taking his place.

"Things might actually be easier now," Machoke said with a grin as Gardevoir seemed unsure, Blaziken replying, "Don't be too quick to judge. Remember, you thought Rotom was going to be weak because of his size and he almost killed you," the lizard boy letting down nervous sweat and uttering, "Oh yeah, good point."

Throh was not going to let something like this intimidate him though as he charged toward the knight, Bisharp waiting for him to close in. When Throh attempted to grab him, the knight simply took one step back, this being just enough for the boy to miss as Bisharp placed a firm grip against each arm, tossing him high into the air.

After that, he leaped up and wrapped his arms around Throh, the boy crying out in intense pain as Bisharp's blades were digging into his skin, the crowd gasping when the knight flipped himself one hundred and eighty degrees shouting, "RIBCAGE OF TORMENT!" slamming Throh's head hard against the mat.

All went silent as Bisharp released his hold on the boy, allowing him to collapse, Sawk leaping into the ring shouting, "I WILL AVENGE MY COMRADE!" Bisharp letting out a sigh and saying, "Your spirit is admirable, but not enough to save you."

Sawk ignored these words and aimed a palm punch toward Bisharp only for the knight to hold up his right wrist, blocking the incoming strike. As if that was not bad enough, the spike on his glove went right through Sawk's hand, the martial artist crying out in pain as he reeled it back.

Before Sawk could attempt anything else, Bisharp tagged in Onix, saying, "I will give you the honours," Onix nodding and replying, "You're too kind."

Sawk looked at Throh, knowing his partner would not rise as he rushed at Onix, remembering he had at least stood a chance against the behemoth earlier. However, Onix was ready this time as he allowed Sawk to strike him with another karate chop, the snake swinging his tail around and striking him on the side.

The crowd was now terrified as Onix wrapped his tail around Sawk, lifting him high above the mat and shouting, "BINDING SLAM!" sending Sawk's head hard into the mat and knocking him unconscious, releasing his hold on him.

The announcer stared in silence at this until Bisharp cast him a cold glance, the man gulping and ringing the bell, shouting, "OUR WINNERS ARE THE TEAM OF ONIX AND BISHARP!" the crowd in absolute panic.

A camera was now pointed at Bisharp as the announcer left his desk and walked over to the knight, asking, "Anything to say because we become your eternal servants?" Bisharp taking a deep breath and stating, "I am a man of honour, therefor I will give Osaka a fighting chance," all going silent as Bisharp pointed at Sawk and Throh adding, "These two fought most valiantly and deserve a medal for bravery, but they were not a satisfying challenge."

"I hate to say it, but he's right," Machoke groaned, Blaziken smacking him on the back of the head sighing, "That may be true, but it's disrespectful."

Bisharp then pointed at the camera and added, "If any of the heroes stationed in other parts of the world can hear this, I will give you twenty-four hours to come here by any means necessary and challenge us. The first two to arrive will be our opponents, but only the first two!"

Onix nodded as the camera was redirected toward him, the rock snake adding, "In other words, you'd better hurry up if you want to avenge your comrades here!"

Machoke's eyes were wide open with shock as Blaziken got up from her seat, exclaiming, "I'm going!" the others staring at her as she added, "We have more than enough heroes stationed here as it is! I'm sure you guys can hold the fort while I'm away!" Gardevoir nodding and squeaking, "Good luck, Blaziken."

When the other club guests heard this, they all broke out in heavy cheers for the bird, Machoke's eyes widening when he saw the perfect opportunity. With that in mind, the boy rose to his feet and said, "You're gonna need help, and I think I can provide that."

Gallade and Gardevoir were shocked to hear him say this, Blaziken smiling and nodding before saying, "I'm sure I could take them both myself, but I guess I could use a little backup."

A half-hour later, the two were already had a local train station as they knew there would be no way to book a quick flight to Osaka and that the next bus there would not come any time soon either. Machoke was actually quite terrified to go, especially after seeing Onix and Bisharp in action but there was no way he was going to have Blaziken go in alone.

Gardevoir gave both a quick hug and said, "Be careful, you two," Gallade grinning and adding, "And don't you worry about a thing. Tokyo will be fine in our hands."

The train arrived at that exact moment as the friends said their goodbyes, Machoke and Blaziken entering the mode of transport. However, Machoke immediately tried to run only for Aipom to sprint into the area shouting, "MACHOKE, YOUR FRIENDS TOLD ME EVERYTHING!" the monkey pouncing on him and forcing him back into the boxcar, the door closing as the train took off.

Machoke let out a sigh and thought, 'Well, I did volunteer,' Aipom smiling bright and jumping up and down, squealing, "Machoke, you're amazing! I didn't think you had the courage to take on such a task!"

Machoke nodded slowly, Blaziken saying, "Yep, he's a true friend," Aipom putting on a serious look and stating, "Don't you worry, Machoke! I will be there to give you advice should you need it! Thus is my sworn duty!"

After nine hours, the group arrived in Osaka. It was seven in the afternoon, so the evening was still young. This gave them more than enough time to get at least one match out of the way as soon as possible, but would their opponents feel the same way?

This would become clear soon enough as Bisharp and Onix just happened to be by the train station almost like they were expecting someone to arrive there, Onix's eyes wide open as his partner asked, "Did I not tell you someone would come to challenge us?" the rock snake nodding and replying, "You're a genius."

"Are you a psychic?" Machoke asked, now even more intimidated by the knight, Bisharp taking a deep breath and replying, "Actually, a reporter caught you two boarding the train and broadcast it all across Japan. Two heroes coming to challenge us is not something the media is going to ignore, after all, even if you two haven't earned celebrity status yet."

"Hey, Machoke's earned celebrity status," Aipom replied, Machoke biting his lip and letting down light tears, sniffing, "It means so much to hear you say that," Onix laughing and remarking, "The world doesn't seem to think so. Seriously, every headline has been talking about Gallade's noble sacrifice and his sister's shocking victory."

Bisharp pulled out the newspapers from this day and the previous one, showing Gardevoir and Gallade being the prime focus on the front page, Machoke grabbing them and looking over it, fury in his eyes until he noticed a tiny, barely noticeable article about him in the bottom right-hand corner, the boy laughing and exclaiming, "I am on the front page!"

"That hardly matters anyway," Aipom remarked before pointing at the villains and snapping, "Mark my words, you're going down!" Blaziken nodding and adding, "Yeah, we're not holding back, right, Ma-" her eyes widening when she noticed Machoke was now missing, Aipom looking around to see where he could have gone.

"I guess he decided to get in some training before the main event," Bisharp said with a shrug, "We'll give you until tomorrow at noon to prepare yourselves. Pass that on to Machoke if you find him."

All the while, Machoke was already looking around as he let out a sigh and groaned, "I can't believe it. Even after all that talk, I couldn't spend more than two minutes without hightailing it. Maybe I deserve my lack of recognition," his stomach then growling as he whined, "And worst of all, I haven't eaten since this morning!"

"Excuse me, sir," came a voice from behind Machoke, the boy turning and asking, "Are you talking to me?"

A young woman stood there with her son, the boy pointing and shouting, "I told you it was him! That's the guy from the TV!" Machoke's eyes widening as the woman said, "You did a wonderful thing for Tokyo, defeating that awful Rotom. We were really scared for your safety but you pulled through in the end."

Machoke nodded and grinned, replying, "Well, yeah, but it's my duty as a hero, you know?" the little boy's eyes sparkling as he exclaimed, "It's awesome that you've come to help us out, too!"

The mother nodded and offered Machoke a box of noodles she had purchased a few minutes ago, saying she was not hungry as the boy smiled warmly, bowing his head in respect and letting down light tears. The child saw this and asked, "Are you crying?" Machoke shaking his head and replying, "Just something in my eyes, kid," the boy flashing the two thumbs up and saying, "Don't you worry, I'll make sure your city is safe."

Aipom all the while was searching for Machoke while Blaziken was off training for the following day. However, it was difficult finding the boy in such a big place, especially now with the sky getting dark. But when the monkey came to the local stadium where the fight was to take place, she noticed Machoke standing in front of it.

The monkey sprinted over to him, snapping, "There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Machoke turning and staring silently before asking, "Why aren't you inside already?" Aipom sighing, "The match is tomorrow at noon."

Machoke fell on his side before groaning, "I wish I knew that sooner. I've been standing out here for the last couple of hours waiting for someone to let me in," Aipom blinking and asking, "You did knock more than once, right?" Machoke not even dignifying this with a response.

With that, Aipom simply smiled, glad to see Machoke taking this matter seriously as she went with him to an open space to train, telling him that Blaziken had already booked a hotel room for all three. Tomorrow would not be easy but Aipom was certain things would turn out for the best.

 

Tomorrow was sure to be a big day. Bisharp may not have made it perfectly clear what he was planning, but both Machoke and Blaziken were expecting a tag team match like Throh and Sawk had. Seeing how quickly Bisharp had turned things around for the team, Machoke did not wish to pin all the responsibility on Blaziken, so he was going to try his absolute hardest.

Tomorrow came soon enough and the hours leading up to noon went by in a flash. Currently it was eleven-thirty, just a half-hour before the main event and Blaziken and Machoke were already by the ring, Machoke trying to stop his knees from shaking.

Onix and Bisharp were also there as the bleachers were full, the announcer exclaiming, "Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Osaka Stadium! I am your host, Hito Koufu, and we are getting ready for the match between the heroes of Tokyo and the strong duo of Bisharp and Onix!"

The crowd waited in anticipation as Bisharp bowed his head to Machoke and Blaziken, the knight saying, "I don't think I need to tell you how much of an honour it is that you're here," Onix exclaiming, "Yeah, I've been looking forward to this!" clenching his fists and adding, "I can't wait to smash your heads into the pavement!"

"Actually, you might not get a chance to smash both," Bisharp replied, the rock snake looking and asking, "Are you implying you would wipe them out so quickly, I wouldn't get a chance to do anything?" the knight shaking his head stating, "Not quite. You know I always let you go first in tag team matches."

Now everyone was curious as to what Bisharp meant as he pointed at Machoke and Blaziken saying, "I feel privileged by the fact that it was you two who accepted our challenge above all else, the kids of the Torch family and the Mach family, whose parents were two of the greatest fighters of their generation. I feel like having a tag team match would end this major event far too quickly."

"So, where are you going with this?" Blaziken asked, Onix nodding and asking, "Yeah, where are you going with this?" Machoke all the while thinking, 'I don't wanna know where he's going with this.'

"I apologize, Sir Onix, for I should have discussed this with you beforehand," Bisharp stated, the rock snake nodding but saying nothing in response as the knight proceeded to explain, "I declare a string of one-on-one matches," all going silent as the knight nodded and replied, "We will start with two fighters going up against one-another. The winner of that match will then go up against the remaining team mate and it will work like this until there is only one team left standing."

"Uh, can you rephrase that?" Machoke asked as Bisharp nodded and replied, "Gladly. See, the first match will be between two fighters, one member of each team. After that match, one team will be minus a member in which the winner of that match will go up against the second, or rather last member of the opposing team," Machoke blinking and replying, "Okay, that made a little more sense."

"Well, I understand perfectly," Blaziken said with a smirk, Aipom nodding and adding, "Me too," Machoke grumbling curses under his breath as Bisharp turned to Onix and asked, "Do you wish to go first?"

Onix smirked and replied, "I thought you'd never ask!" Bisharp then pointing his hand at Blaziken and Machoke, clearly giving them the option to choose who would go first on their team.

Blaziken thought this over as Machoke simply folded his arms, sporting a serious look on his face and saying, "You can go first," the chicken turning to him as the boy gave her a confident grin, adding, "I've already had my debut match here. You're the only one of us who has yet to grace the world with your amazing talents."

Blaziken nodded with a confident smile and gave Machoke thumbs up saying, "Thanks, man, you're a real pal," Aipom staring at Machoke and realizing right off the bat that he had different reasons, but seeing as Blaziken was happy with the arrangement, the monkey said nothing.

"This should be interesting," Onix said with grin, "We are still yet to see what Combusken's daughter can do. I'm looking forward to this."

Of course, Blaziken still had a little over twenty-five minutes to prepare and as such, she headed to the stadium's training facility to prepare herself. After all, Onix may not have been as hard to hit as Bisharp, but his body was a lot tougher. The chicken would need to be ready for that.

With that in mind, she spent a good twenty minutes training her body with the equipment provided. It may not have been as useful as the weights on Hero Planet but it would have to do and right now, it was clear that strength would be more useful than speed in this fight.

A couple of minutes remained until the match, Machoke taking a front-row seat next to Aipom while saying, "Blaziken's tough. I'm certain she can handle this," the boy then grinning childishly and adding, "In fact, she's so tough that I bet she could easily defeat both Onix and Bisharp so I won't have to do a thing," Aipom face-palming with her tail hand.

After the two minutes were up, Hito took hold of his microphone and exclaimed, "Now it is finally time for the main event, starting with the first match! In the red corner, weighing at two-hundred-and-ten kilograms, a snake made entirely of stone, Onix!" the crowd going silent when the snake headed toward the ring.

At that moment, he pointed upward thus directing the audience's attention to the ceiling where a big cinder block was hanging, the people hired to hold it up releasing the rope and dropping it toward Onix's head. Just as it was about to hit, Onix pointed his head up toward it, opening his mouth wide and catching it, crunching down on it and cracking it into small fragments within seconds, swallowing the pieces. Clearly he meant business.

After the snake crawled into the ring, his arms folded, Hito proceeded to announce, "And in the blue corner, weighing at fifty-two kilograms, the fiery bird from Texas, Blaziken!" the crowd going wild when Blaziken rushed toward the ring wearing a cowboy hat and a cowgirl top, leaping into the ring and striking a pose before removing the hat and hurling it out of the ring like a frisbee.

"Fiery bird from Texas, eh?" she muttered to herself, tapping her chin and grinning, before adding, "Maybe I should call myself the Texas Phoenix."

"Not a bad entrance," Onix said with a grin, "You're quite the expert at showmanship, I must say," Blaziken smirking at him and remarking, "Thanks, but flattery won't make things any easier for you," Onix replying, "Please, I wouldn't dream of it."

"She's from Texas?" Machoke asked, Aipom, who was holding a bowl of banana pudding, nodding before replying, "Oh yeah, we have records on all Hero Planet graduates. In fact, Gardevoir and Gallade grew up in France," Machoke blinking and replying, "Funny, they don't sound French."

Blaziken performed a few leg warmups while the announcer stated, "This is a no-holds-barred match, meaning anything goes. I would forbid hits below the belt, but seeing as neither of these fighters really have anything that can be hurt down there, I think it's safe to make those areas fair game too, not that either would have of a reason to take advantage of that anyway."

Machoke had a look of envy on his face as Aipom laughed nervously, saying, "Sorry about that," the boy sighing, "Whatever, it's in the past," Aipom smiling sweetly before taking a bite of her pudding, her eyes widening as Machoke broke out into hysterics, Aipom slapping the snack into his face.

With that, the bell was rung as Blaziken wasted no time charging at the snake. Onix had no time to respond as she leapt up toward his head and sent a roundhouse kick into his cheek, the hit showing a bit of an effect while the crowd cheered.

The chicken did not let it end there, though, as she allowed herself to land in front of the snake and started punching away at his torso. Blaziken may have been skinny, but she was also really tough, so her punches actually did have a descent effect on her opponent and her knuckles could handle the pressure of hitting rocks.

Onix was not going to stand for this though as he did his best to ignore the pain, raising his arms over his head with both hands cupped together to form what resembled a giant fist. But just as he was about to send it crashing down on Blaziken's skull, the bird leapt back just in time to avoid it.

"Where's them tactics you were using when fighting Sawk?" Blaziken asked tauntingly, "Seriously, that move was beyond predictable," Onix roaring, "SHUT UP! I AM NOT PREDICTABLE!"

"Cool your jets," Bisharp said in a harsh tone, Onix turning to face him as he added, "If you let her get to you, you'll only make it easier for her to win. And I know you're not the predictable fighter she thinks you are, so prove it."

Onix nodded and took a deep breath, saying, "Right, I'm in control," Blaziken seeing this as a bluff and charging at the snake again only for Onix to stand up on the tip of his tail, bending his body forward. He then proceeded to latch his hands up against said tail to form a wheel, rolling toward Blaziken and shouting, "ROCKIN' ROLLER!"

Blaziken had no time to react as the snake rammed his body hard into her, the bird already coughing up blood as she flew backwards, the ropes preventing her from falling out of the ring. Onix stopped rolling and regained his original stance before asking, "Not so hot now, are you?" Blaziken spitting out a drop of blood and grunting, "At least my special moves don't have stupid names like Rockin' Roller."

Onix's eyes widened when Bisharp sighed, "She has got a point. That is a very stupid and might I add obvious name to give something like that," the rock snake retorting, "I thought you were on my side!" Bisharp holding up his right finger and adding, "But that is of no importance. Stupid-sounding or not, it is still fitting and the attack did a very good job injuring the opponent, so it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I hate to admit it, but Bisharp makes a valid case," Aipom stated, Machoke staring at her and remarking, "When did this become a court trial?"

Still, Bisharp was right. Obvious bad pun or not, there was no arguing that Blaziken had taken in a great deal of pain from this. Only one hit had drawn blood. This was nothing to scoff at.

Even so, the chicken refused to let this get to her as she proceeded to charge at Onix, the rock snake once again unable to respond, or at least it seemed she would get another easy hit. Unfortunately, just as she was close enough, a light stinging sensation went through her head as she rubbed it, stopping in her tracks.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Machoke snapped, Blaziken shaking her head as the pain had gone, but unfortunately for her, this delay was just enough for Onix fling his tail at her, wrapping it around the bird and holding her up.

The snake grinned wickedly and said, "It seems my attack had more of an effect than you thought it did," tightening his grip as Machoke closed his eyes, the audience going silent.

However, just as quickly as that silence had come, it left when everyone noticed Blaziken actually applying enough force with her arms to loosen the tail's hold on her. But just as it looked like she might be able to escape, Onix decided to use what little grip he had on her left to lift her high above the mat shouting, "BINDING SLAM!" ramming her head hard into the canvas.

The crowd was now in extreme panic as Blaziken already looked down for the count. She had just taken in two insanely powerful blows. Not even she could get up from that, could she?

Machoke was trembling in his seat and chattering his teeth, terrified out of his mind. After all, if Blaziken was unable to get up and pull off some kind of miracle, he would have to take both Onix and Bisharp on and he did not feel up to such an insane task.

"Blaziken put up an amazing fight, but not even someone as strong as her could get up after taking in fierce blows like that," Hito said, "As such, the victory goes to..."

However, his announcement was interrupted by a certain female voice barking, "NOT SO FAST, MISTER KOUFU!" everyone gasping when Blaziken placed her hands firmly against the mat, slowly pushing herself back up and rubbing her head, taking a deep breath and patting her cheeks.

"But how?" Onix asked, Bisharp folding his arms and saying, "She possesses a strong spirit, I will give her that," Blaziken taking a deep breath and saying, "Onix, I'll admit, you're really something. It takes a lot of strength for only one move to make me feel lightheaded, but this is far from over."

The crowd went wild as Machoke breathed a sigh of relief, Aipom saying, "I hope she can back up those words, because it's not looking good right now," Machoke grumbling, "You are such a killjoy."

Onix attempted to lunge at Blaziken and bite her, only now that pain in her head was gone as she leaped over his head. The snake was not going to let her get away as he propelled himself off the mat, the chicken smirking and saying, "You're making this easier all the time."

With that, the bird grabbed hold of Onix's neck and leaned backwards while applying just enough force to flip Onix's entire body around, igniting a burst of flame around her body before shouting, "ASTEROID SUPLEX!" soaring toward the ground like a rocket falling from the stratosphere and planting the snake's head hard into the mat.

The crowd went insane as the mat had pushed inward from the force of Onix's head, the snake now stuck in the canvas with his tail still sticking up in the air, Bisharp's eyes wide with shock. Even he had to admit that he was impressed.

"Alright, Mister Koufu, ring that bell already cause this match is in the bag!" Blaziken exclaimed with a proud look on her face, but just as Hito was about to do so, his eyes widened as he stated, "It appears this match is not over yet, folks," Blaziken sporting a look of confusion before slowly turning around.

Onix had placed his hands against the mat and managed to push hard enough to pry his head out of the crater his face had left in the canvas. Blaziken shook her head, her eyes wide open in terror as the snake had not yet broken his handstand. Instead, he had different plans as he once again rolled up his body into the wheel shape from earlier.

"BLAZIKEN, YOU KNOW HOW THIS ATTACK WORKS!" Machoke spat, "DODGE IT!" the chicken nodding when Onix shouted, "ROCKIN' ROLLER!" and rolled toward her.

Machoke was right, Blaziken knew exactly how this worked now. As such, the chicken narrowly managed to dodge it as Onix released his hold on the tail and returned to his normal stance, saying, "Damn, guess I can't rely on this one anymore."

Blaziken was still shocked, though, as Onix folded his arms and nodded, stating, "I know what you're thinking. 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall', right? You thought that just because I'm big and heavy, an attack like that would take me out in one hit, but obviously it didn't. Or am I wrong?"

Blaziken shook her head and sighed, "Oh well, even though that didn't finish you, it still packed a punch. You can't deny that," Onix nodding and saying, "You're right, it did. I applaud you for actually managing to do this much," the snake pointing at a small section of his head where it looked like a tiny chunk of stone was missing.

"THAT'S ALL SHE MANAGED TO DO!?" Machoke spat, more fear filling him as he let down tears, whimpering, "This guy scares me more and more by the minute!"

Even so, Blaziken refused to let this get to her as she noticed Onix attempt to bite her again, once again leaping over him. But rather than attempt the same move she had just used, figuring he would not fall for it twice, the chicken instead sent a flaming two-legged kick to the snake's skull shouting, "BLAZE KICK!" propelling herself off, going straight for the snake's tail.

Onix ignored the pain to his head and threw his tail toward the chicken, a smirk forming on her face as she allowed it to run into her, only now her legs and arms were bound to it as she tightened her hold, all going silent. As if trying something like this on a creature made entirely out of stone was not confusing enough, the strange thing was that it was actually working, Onix feeling legitimate pain from this.

However, it did not take long for the audience to realize why as Blaziken not only applied a hard grip to the tail but also turned her body enough to start twisting it. Seeing this, the crowd went wild once more, Machoke exclaiming, "AW YEAH, JUST LIKE I TAUGHT YOU!" Aipom sighing, "You're a terrible liar."

After a few seconds, though, Onix seemed to stop feeling pain and instead starting snickering, Blaziken asking, "What's so funny?"

"This move," Onix replied with a smirk, "Your mom used this exact same technique against mine back in the day," everyone staring in confusion as Hito stated, "Apparently, Onix's mother fought Combusken back in the day, but when did that happen?"

"That's a good question," Blaziken remarked, Onix nodding and asking, "Ever heard the famous match between Combusken and Steelix?" the chicken's eyes going wide as she uttered, "Oh my god, I should have known. You two are very similar in appearance and name."

The rest of the crowd could not believe this either. How could no one have made such an obvious connection? Sure, Steelix was made of steel as opposed to rocks, but the similarities to Onix were plain as day.

"That doesn't explain why you're laughing, though," Blaziken stated, "From what I heard, this move defeated your mother. She gave up because she couldn't handle the pain," Machoke turning to Aipom who nodded and said, "Yep, it's true. Mommy told me all about that."

"That's why I find this so funny," Onix replied, "I figured a move that caused my mother, who by the way was tougher than me at this age, would be much more powerful! Up to this point, I figured maybe you were a good successor to Combusken, but it seems you're not even close to her level!"

A vein formed on the side of Blaziken's head as Aipom uttered, "Oh no," the chicken shouting, "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I'M TOUGHER THAN MY MOTHER EVER WAS, AND I'LL PROVE IT!" tightening her hold even more.

However, Onix simply ignored the pain and lifted his tail up, Machoke shouting, "BLAZIKEN, LET GO OF HIS TAIL!" the chicken retorting, "LIKE HELL!" only to end up having her back slammed hard against the mat.

Despite the pain coursing through her, she continued to hold on tight, grunting, "I will defeat you with this move," Onix laughing and retorting, "You're not even hurting me anymore!" the snake lifting his tail up again and sending it down toward the mat, once again slamming Blaziken's back into the canvas.

The chicken tried to hold on as tight as she could when Onix rose his tail again but found herself unable to as she released her hold, falling hard against the mat, Onix taking full advantage of this and slamming his tail into her gut. Blaziken coughed up more blood as the crowd stared at this with fright.

"Don't feel too bad," Onix said, wrapping his tail around the chicken and lifting her up one last time before adding, "You put up a really good fight. In fact, I'll even go so far as to say you're the best opponent I ever had. But all good things must come to and end, right?"

"Well put," Bisharp replied, nodding his head as Machoke groaned, "Her first match and her career's already gone down the toilet."

Onix's eyes went wide at the sound of this as he dropped Blaziken, his body twitching as everyone stared in confusion, Hito asking, "What is going on with Onix? Just as he was about to win, something seems to have spooked him."

Bisharp rose an eyebrow and said, "I thought you told me you had gotten over that," Onix blinking and shaking his head, saying, "Right, of course. Besides, it's not like a sewer is deep or anything." Machoke blinking and asking, "When did I mention a sewer?"

Aipom's eyes went wide as she said, "That's it," nudging Machoke and replying, "Toilets lead to sewers, which contain lots of water in them. Rock types like Onix here are usually unable to swim due to their heavy builds with very few exceptions. Maybe Onix has a fear of water because of that."

Blaziken looked like she was now starting to recover but clearly lacked the strength to get up completely as a light bulb turned on in Machoke's head. A grin crossed his face as he knew exactly how to help his friend without rushing into the ring and breaking the rules.

"Hey, Onix!" Machoke spat as the snake turned to face him saying, "I'm in the middle of something here," Machoke nodding and replying, "I understand that, but hey, even though we're on opposite sides, I was wondering if you'd like to join me sometime for a vacation to Hawaii! We could go swimming!"

Onix's eyes went wide, his jaw dropped as he proceeded to embrace himself, trembling all over. Sure, he was a villain, but even he found this too cruel.

It was all coming back, a time in his childhood when he was invited to a human birthday party. Of course, his mother did not approve of him making friends with humans and would have rather had him at home so she could teach him to fight, but Onix had always wanted to be good so he snuck out while his mom was having a nap. Unfortunately, it was a pool party.

He tried not to go into the water as best as he could but it was no use as a group of bullies teamed up on him to shove him in. Since he was nowhere near as big back then, it was a lot easier for them to pull this off.

He remembered what it was like, sinking to the bottom and coming really close to drowning. Because he was so heavy, it took every adult in the area and a few of the kids to pull him back to the surface. But even with most of the humans helping him, it did not change the fact that humans had also been close to ending his life. That was the moment he swore to be more like his mother when he grew up.

Unfortunately for him, this also made him terrified of water, so much that even mentioning something related to it sent a chill down his spine. After all, that had been the most useless he had ever felt in his life.

Seeing as this was clearly working, Machoke grinned and added, "If Hawaii's not your cup of tea, then how about a trip to the local pool after the match?" Onix clutching onto his head and crying out in horror, shouting, "STOP!" only for Machoke to hold his hand up to the side of his his head, replying, "I didn't hear that. Did you say stroke?" the snake crawling over to a turnbuckle and slamming his forehead against it.

"Onix, cease listening to his ramblings this instant!" Bisharp snapped, Onix turning to him, light tears in his eyes as the knight took a deep breath and added in a more calm tone, "Machoke is clearly trying to psyche you out. All that stuff he is saying is just words and nothing more. He has no intention of doing any of those things with you, okay?"

Onix blinked and stared silently for a while before breathing in and out, his confidence returning as he nodded his head and replied, "Thanks, Bisharp. You're a lifesaver," the knight nodding his head and saying, "Now go on, you have a fight to finish."

Machoke, however, failed to realize Onix had now gotten over his fears for the time being as the boy exclaimed, "You know, I heard it's supposed to rain big, big puddles today!" Onix taking a deep breath and casting a wicked grin his way, Machoke trembling and taking his seat.

"Oh no," Aipom murmured as Onix took one last breath, saying, "Save your breath, Machoke. Your words don't faze me anymore."

However, Machoke's fear subsided when he noticed his plan had worked to a certain degree. He had provided just enough of a distraction for Blaziken to rise to her feet, the bird taking many deep breaths but still hanging in there.

"Thanks, man," the chicken said with a grin, giving the boy thumbs up and adding, "I don't know what I would have done without your twisted sense of humour."

With that, Blaziken turned back to Onix, both of them having their confidence back. Even so, the odds were still stacked against Blaziken after what she had just endured. Would this really be enough for her to win or was she just delaying the inevitable?

 

Things were not looking good. Sure, Blaziken may have recovered from Onix's assault on her, but she could not possibly have much left in her. After all, one hit from the towering behemoth was enough to make her bleed. It was a miracle she was still standing.

Machoke decided to give his tactic one more try as he started making swimming motions with his arms, Onix rolling his eyes and stating, "Sign language isn't gonna work either, boy," Machoke grumbling curses under his breath as Aipom patted the boy on the shoulder, saying, "Hey, I thought you did a good job."

Onix figured Blaziken was likely too weak to dodge his stone jaws this time as he proceeded to lunge at her once more, Blaziken dodging to the right and barely avoiding him. Unfortunately, she did not have the strength to jump or counterattack like last time.

"You should have just stayed down and accepted your defeat," Onix stated, "You're almost out of breath, and you wanna know what the best part is? I don't think my attacks earlier are the complete cause of this."

"What are you insinuating?" Blaziken remarked with a cold stare, the snake shrugging his shoulders and replying, "I'm referring to that Asteroid Suplex of yours," everyone rather curious as he added, "Something else worth note about not just Combusken but your entire family is that they were never cut out for using advanced moves. In fact, it was recorded that your mom only used one move like that in her entire life, a brain buster, and I'm sure you're fully aware of what happened when she did that."

Blaziken's eyes went wide as she nodded, taking a deep breath and adding, "Yes, it's true. She told me this story when I attempted to use a regular Suplex on a practice dummy. I found myself unable to lift the thing and my mom told me it was because I'd expelled too much energy with my other training."

"What does this have to do with the brain buster?" Machoke asked, Aipom replying, "Everything," Blaziken explaining, "She told me of her first time trying an advanced move, that brain buster you mentioned. She ended up straining herself just to pull it off and while she was able to use it in the end, it took a lot out of her and she ended up losing."

"Exactly, and you know why that is?" Onix asked with a smirk, Blaziken giving him a cold stare as he stated, "It's because your bodies are not meant to handle moves like that! You can spend your whole lives training your upper body and it would never work entirely in your favour!"

"Well, it didn't take too much out of me!" Blaziken retorted with a grimace, "I still took a good number of hits from you and was even able to counter your stupid dive technique a second time!" the chicken then dashing behind Onix and grabbing him by the tail before shouting, "And you know why that is!? Because I'm better than my mother could ever be!"

With that, the chicken tightened her grip on the tail, Machoke asking, "Is she doing what I think she's doing?" the crowd cheering wildly as Aipom got up, barking, "BLAZIKEN, DON'T DO IT! HE'S RIGHT! YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT!" Blaziken retorting, "SHUT UP! I CAN HANDLE THIS AND I'LL PROVE IT!"

With that, Blaziken proceeded to lift the tail up slightly. However, when she did so, she found herself really exhausted as she dropped the tail, panting heavily while Onix lifted his tail, saying, "I told you so," ramming the tip into her face and knocking the bird on her back.

"Again, you've proven yourself a great adversary, so I'll make this as quick as possible," Onix said, wrapping his tail around Blaziken and lifting her up, the audience now restless as the snake proceeded to send a hard punch to Blaziken's face.

The chicken simply closed her eyes after taking in the blow, thinking, 'I'm sorry, Mom. I've spent so much of my life obsessed with being better than you that I forgot what really mattered. I thought I'd learned my lesson on Hero Planet, but getting into this ring made me forget all of that.'

Onix sent another punch to her face while she thought, 'I thought the most important thing was outdoing the Mach family, something you could never accomplish, but the lives of the people I'm to protect are so much more important. I guess this is punishment for realizing that too late.'

"Alright, one more oughta do it," Onix said, preparing one last punch as Blaziken's eyes went wide open, the chicken shouting, "The lives of the people are more important than upstaging my mother!" the chicken freeing her arms from the tail just like Sawk had and blocking the incoming fist before sighing, "There is no way I'm letting you harm more innocent lives!"

Machoke and Aipom stared silently for a second before cheering wildly, Machoke wrapping an arm around Aipom's neck and squeezing it. The rest of the crowd went wild as well as Blaziken said, "I may have strained myself, but that doesn't mean I can't continue!"

"Where is all this energy coming from!?" Onix spat, a look of terror in his eyes. Sure, he knew that from a logical standpoint, Blaziken should not have been able to do more than just block his punch, but on the other hand, she should not have had enough energy to even pull that off.

As if that was not enough, Blaziken tightened her grip on the fist as she proceeded to push downward on it, prying her legs out of the hold. With that, a grin crossed her face as she exclaimed, "Now to finish you off, not with some fancy grappling technique but with an old-fashioned family favourite!"

With that, the chicken sent a kick to Onix's face in order to boost herself toward the ropes. Just before making contact, she flipped her body around so her feet hit them, pushing them back before applying just enough force to push them downward, allowing her to aim for Onix's chin.

Onix could have fought back but right now he was simply too spellbound by her sudden recovery. With that, Blaziken launched herself off the ropes, holding one fist out as it caught flame, the chicken shouting, "SKY UPPERCUT!" sending a hard punch into the snake's chin, his eyes wide open as he fell hard on his back, Blaziken spinning in the air just to show off a bit before landing firmly against the mat.

There was no doubt about it. Onix was down for the count. With that in mind, Hito rang the bell and shouted, "It looked really doubtful, but after coming so close to failure, Blaziken has won the match!" the crowd going wild as the chicken rose one fist in the air, Machoke and Aipom clapping with big smiles on their faces.

Suddenly, Blaziken fell on her back, Machoke and Aipom now worried when they heard laughing, Blaziken sighing, "Well, mother, it took me a while to figure everything out, but I did it," the bird then closing her eyes and deciding to take a nap.

"Can someone remove the bodies from the ring?" Hito asked as Bisharp nodded, leaping into the ring and saying, "Gladly," picking up Onix by the tail and dragging him off, everyone staring in absolute shock, Machoke even more terrified of the knight now.

Bisharp took a deep breath, allowing Onix to rest as he climbed back into the ring, saying, "Get up, Blaziken. You're not done yet."

All went silent until Blaziken opened her eyes and grumbled, "What are you talking about?" the chicken rising back to her feet as Bisharp sighed, "You remember the rules, right? The winner of this match takes on the last member of the loser's team, and that's me."

Machoke then got up and barked, "Wait a minute! Blaziken is clearly in no condition to continue!" Aipom nodding and thinking, 'He has a good point. She barely made it out of that one alive.'

Bisharp simply shook his head and remarked, "Yes, but the rules very clearly stated that the next match would happen right after the first one, or are you willing to violate the rules?"

Machoke went silent until Aipom tapped him on the shoulder, saying, "You know the answer," Machoke nodding and stating, "You never specified that the match had to take place right away!" Bisharp folding his arms and remarking, "That is true, but I never said it didn't," Machoke's jaw dropped as he groaned, "I got nothing!"

All went silent as Hito asked, "So, do I signal the next match now or not?" Bisharp about to confirm this when Blaziken asked, "What kind of knight doesn't give his opponent a fair chance? I thought you were all about honour and good sportsmanship up to this point."

All went silent as the audience applauded Blaziken, Bisharp taking a deep breath and replying, "You make a valid argument," the knight closing his eyes and saying, "It would be disgraceful for me to pick on one who cannot defend herself. As such, I shall grant you an hour to rest up before we fight."

Machoke was just about to object again when Aipom sighed, "I think this is as good as we're gonna get," Machoke trembling and whimpering, "But there's no way Blaziken will have enough strength after a mere hour."

"It's okay," Aipom replied with a big smile, "We still got a plan B, remember?" Machoke staring in confusion as the monkey sighed, "I mean you," Machoke lowering his head and groaning, "I was trying to block that out of my mind."

Still, Blaziken seemed okay with this arrangement. It could have just been due to her stubbornness and pride, but it seemed like both fighters had agreed that an hour was a reasonable amount of time.

Blaziken decided to rest up good, knowing she was in no condition to be training. She had a feeling she would lose. In fact, she was almost one-hundred percent certain of it. So why had she even requested the extra time instead of giving up and handing Bisharp over to Machoke? Was it a matter of pride or was there more to it?

During this time, Machoke was buying himself a hot dog when Aipom noticed him, running over to the boy and asking, "How can you think of food at a time like this?" Machoke remarking, "Hey, as long as I'm outside of the ring, I should be allowed to enjoy every moment of it!"

Aipom groaned and rubbed her temple, Machoke remarking, "Hey, you bought yourself banana pudding right before Blaziken's match, so this makes you a hypocrite," the monkey retorting, "But that's different!" Machoke shaking his head and sighing, "No it's not," Aipom groaning, "Darn, you're right."

Machoke then noticed his hot dog was prepared as he reached into his speedo, his eyes going wide as he gulped, "Um, I don't have any-" Aipom holding up a finger with her tail hand and digging into a handbag she had hanging from her shoulder and pulling out the cash he needed.

"Say, where do you get your money from?" Machoke asked, Aipom replying, "Weekly allowance. Every week, Hero Planet graduates and representatives receive whatever currency is necessary for paying rent among other things. Since we're stationed in Japan, we get five-thousand yen each. In fact, at the end of this week, you get an extra thousand since it's your first month in Japan and the government wants to make sure you can buy groceries until rent comes around."

"Wait, I don't get it," Machoke replied, "Why do we have to pay rent when the government pays for our housing?" Aipom replying, "It's government money, so they still pay for it. It's just they've already paid for the house itself. It's easier for me for live off of five-thousand a week than most others because our house is not official property and therefore does not require rent."

"How is our house not official property?" Machoke asked, the monkey replying, "It's cause your daddy had a bunch of his friends build it for him," the boy thinking, 'That explains why it looks exactly like him.'

Machoke then shrugged and said, "Still sounds like a great deal. With none of us paying rent, we could be rich!" Aipom nodding before stating, "And best of all, since I am clearly more responsible with money than you are, your allowance goes to me!"

Machoke narrowed his eyelids and said nothing as a part of him knew Aipom was going to say that. Either way, it still sounded like a good deal.

Once the hour had passed, it was finally time for the match as the seats were filled up again. However, the audience was on the fence about who they thought would win. On one hand, they certainly wanted Blaziken to win and knew how fierce she could be in battle, but on the other hand, it was just as Machoke had said. One hour was hardly enough for even a hero to recover from such extensive damage.

Hito cleared his throat and exclaimed, "It is now time for the second match of the day! In the red corner, weighing at seventy kilograms, a knight honourable enough to let his opponent recover, Bisharp!" Machoke muttering, "He's giving that jerk too much credit."

Bisharp simply walked toward the ring, no flashy entrance or anything. After all, he was a knight and did not care about looking 'cool' for audiences. But this was hardly working against him as the strong silent approach actually did send chills down the audience members' spines.

"In the blue corner..." Hito added, "once again weighing at fifty-two kilograms, having just defeated Onix and yet is still ready for more, Blaziken!" the crowd cheering for Blaziken, but mostly out of loyalty. They still were not sure whether or not she would win.

Things seemed to look up, though, when Blaziken ended up sprinting toward the ring, still in her cowgirl top as she leaped toward the ropes, performing a handstand with only one hand on the top rope. The crowd applauded her performance as she propelled herself off the rope, landing perfectly on her feet, no one even noticing that she was already breathing rather heavily after the routine was over.

"That looked like it took a lot of energy to pull off," Bisharp said while folding his arms, "Perhaps you should have taken a more simple approach like I did," Blaziken remarking, "Nah, I'm perfectly fine."

Although she did her best to hide her exhaustion, Bisharp could sense that she was still tired. The reason was because she had stopped to take a breath after 'I'm', only she made it quick enough that the audience could not hear it.

"Still, I must say I am impressed with how much energy you're showing," Bisharp replied, "After all, you looked like you would not last more than a second before and after only a mere hour, you're performing acrobatics before the match despite you still being covered in wounds. You've got spirit and I admire that."

"Yeah, yeah, save your flattery for someone on your side," Blaziken remarked, Bisharp nodding as the bell was rung, Bisharp holding a defensive stance, everyone expecting Blaziken to make the first move again. Yet strangely enough, she did not.

No, the chicken was actually holding her position, Hito saying, "Perhaps Blaziken is not as full of energy as she first seemed. She is not moving an inch," Machoke gulping, "I knew there was no way," Aipom shaking her head and replying, "I'm sure she's still lacking energy, but I see another reason for her lack of movement."

Bisharp simply looked at this and said, "I am a man of honour, therefore I offer you the first hit," Blaziken gritting her teeth. The truth was that she wanted him to attack first, but why? That was far from her style.

Then she got an idea to get him to start moving as she simply replied, "Oh no, Bisharp, you were kind enough to allow me an hour to recover. Villain or not, such an act deserves a reward, so you may go first."

Bisharp rose an eyebrow as the chicken spread out her arms, adding, "Look, I won't even budge. Give me all you got," the crowd gasping as Hito exclaimed, "It would seem I was wrong! Blaziken is so full of energy, she's literally giving Bisharp permission to injure her further!"

"I think all those blows from Onix made her go crazy," Machoke said, Aipom shaking her head and replying, "Just wait. If this goes in the direction I think it will, we're going to see Blaziken at her most strategic."

Bisharp detected something suspicious about this, but on the other hand, he had already learned all he needed to know about Blaziken from the previous fight. She was hard-headed and reckless and as such would not have hesitated to attack first, and inviting the knight to do just that could very well be some bone-headed attempt to prove how tough she was.

With that in mind, the knight decided to start with something simple as he held his wrist blade-side forward, charging toward the bird. Blaziken smirked, waiting for him to get close as she leaned forward, placing her hands firmly against the mat and lifting her legs up. After that, she sent her right leg into the left side of the knight's helmet, Bisharp's eyes going wide.

However, thanks to his armour, this dealt minimal damage as simply ignored the pain and sent his spike into Blaziken's gut. The chicken cried out in pain as she rolled back, now having trouble standing up as blood dripped from the spot that he been stabbed.

"I must admit, I did not expect something so clever from a firebrand such as yourself," Bisharp said, "Clearly I should be more careful," Machoke saying, "Oh, so that's what she was planning," Aipom sighing, "It was clever by her standards, but it still didn't work all that well."

And this was true. Due to the fact that she was bleeding now, Blaziken was losing energy more quickly by the second. Whatever her plan was, she would certainly need to last a little longer for it to work.

With that in mind, Blaziken was on the offensive as she knew Bisharp would not fall for such a stunt a second time. After all, he already seemed like a more intelligent fighter than the others despite having not revealed too many fighting moves to the world just yet.

Bisharp was on the defensive now as he watched Blaziken's movements, the chicken coming at him with her leg ready for a roundhouse. Bisharp readied his wrist spike to block the attack only for Blaziken to exclaim, "Psyche!" before sending a punch to his face.

The crowd went wild as Bisharp backed up, rubbing the spot and saying, "I was planning on holding back due to your condition for the sake of fairness, but clearly I have underestimated you."

'That stab earlier was holding back?' Machoke thought with a look of terror on his face, Bisharp rushing at Blaziken with one arm out and the other in front of his face with its palm facing forward.

It did not take long for people to realize what he was doing. The arm sticking out clearly represented a sword while the arm in front of his face represented a shield. It looked strange, but it was a good way to ensure that he would have a good defence and a good offence at the same time.

Seeing this, Blaziken took a deep breath thinking, 'Hopefully I'll have enough energy to pull this off,' lighting her left leg on fire and shouting, "BLAZE KICK JUNIOR!" sending the foot toward the sword arm, Bisharp blocking the foot and saying, "I see. You know my shield would block any attack, so you've raised your power in an attempt to knock my sword out of my hand, in a matter of speaking."

"You catch on quick," Blaziken replied, continuing to apply force to his arm only for Bisharp to smirk, saying, "Unfortunately, my arms are not real knight weapons, so I can just shift my shield into a second sword whenever I want," the chicken's eyes going wide as if this was not an obvious factor to take into consideration, Bisharp turning his shield arm around so the spike was sticking out.

"WRIST SWORD!" the knight shouted before swinging his blade across Blaziken's gut, now making the gash the shape of a cross as more blood came out, the chicken backing up and clutching onto the wound, taking many deep breaths.

"Blaze Kick Junior," Bisharp said, shocking everyone by pulling out a cloth and wiping off the blood on his wrist before adding, "And you have the nerve to call Rockin' Roller stupid," Blaziken remarking, "Hey, I'll have you know that attack name is totally cool!"

Unfortunately, just shouting that seemed to take a bit out of Blaziken as she tightened her grip on the bleeding spot, taking more deep breaths. No, she had to last a bit longer. She felt like she had at least gotten close, but close to what?

With that in mind, the bird ignored the wound and sprinted toward Bisharp with her arm out. Bisharp once again blocked it, this time using his palm as a shield and placing a firm grip against it.

"And of course since my shield is not a real one, I can change it into a glove," the knight said, Blaziken remarking, "But it was already a glove to begin with!" the knight ignoring these words and hurling the chicken high into the air.

When he noticed Blaziken descend, clearly too weak to counter or anything like that, the knight proceeded to lean back, striking a bridge formation. The crowd was now in full panic while Hito exclaimed, "Lord only knows what Bisharp has planned with his rib blades sticking upward like that!"

With that, Blaziken's back fell hard against the blades, her eyes and beak wide open as Bisharp shouted, "REVERSE GUILLOTINE!" Blaziken now seeming to be stuck against his blades.

"NO, BLAZIKEN!" Machoke belted, Aipom also filled with terror as Bisharp wrapped his arms around the bird, holding on tight and exclaiming, "RIBCAGE OF TORMENT!"

The knight leapt high above the ring, leaning backwards and flipping over one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. Everyone knew what was coming next as he had finished off Throh with this exact same technique, and it went just as they suspected with Blaziken's head slammed hard against the canvas.

All went silent as Bisharp released his hold on Blaziken, allowing her to collapse. Hito stared at this for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and ringing the bell, exclaiming, "THE WINNER IS BISHARP!" the crowd crying out in horror.

Machoke's eyes were wide open as he forgot how scared he was of fighting Bisharp. As such, he got up and sprinted to the side of the ring, placing his hands against the canvas and breathing heavily, hoping Blaziken was alright.

The chicken managed to find the strength to open one eye, a light smirk on her face as she uttered, "How-how did I do?" coughing a bit as more blood came from her mouth.

Machoke continued to stare in silence until the chicken asked, "Did you s-s-see enough of his..." coughing some more before adding, "s-skills?"

"Wait," Machoke remarked, "Are you telling me you knew you would lose?" Blaziken snickering before coughing again and uttering, "E-Even I-I-I know when I'm in no c-condition to f-f-fight. I j-just needed to l-l-last long enough for Bisharp to show off h-his abilities."

Aipom had come to the side of the ring as well, the monkey hearing this loud and clear as her eyes sparkled, the monkey thinking, 'I see now. She took in more pain so Machoke would know how to defeat Bisharp.'

"I hate to break up your touching conversation," Bisharp stated, walking over to Blaziken before adding, "This valiant warrior has been badly wounded and needs medical treatment right away," Machoke nodding and turning to the crowd, exclaiming, "Someone call a doctor!" Aipom quickly pulling a cellphone out of her handbag as Machoke narrowed his eyelids thinking, 'She has a cellphone too?'

Blaziken had expelled the last of her energy telling Machoke all that stuff earlier, so she was out like a light when a group of medics rushed in, putting her on a stretcher. Machoke trembled all over. Sure, he was more than up to facing Bisharp for Blaziken's sake before, but after seeing him show enough kindness to even suggest medical treatment was unnerving for some reason.

"Sir Machoke," Bisharp said, Machoke's eyes widening as Bisharp said, "I propose we postpone our duel until dawn tomorrow. That is just a tad past seven o'clock, in case you were wondering."

'Oh sure, when he takes in damage before the next match, he's allowed to take a break,' Machoke thought with a grimace but figured this would give him some time to prepare himself. Sure, waking up early was far from his cup of tea, but for Blaziken and Osaka's sake, he would have to do this. After all, Blaziken had exposed Bisharp's abilities so he could use them to his advantage. There was no way he was going to lose.

 

That evening, Aipom had told Machoke about a nearby gym, the boy assuring her he would go there to prepare himself for his match with Bisharp. But before he could speed off, Aipom tapped him on the shoulder and told him he had something for her.

"I bought you this earlier today but forgot I had," the monkey said, pulling a cellphone out of her handbag, Machoke's eyes widening, a big smile forming on his face as he exclaimed, "OH MY GOD, YOU ARE THE BEST TRAINER EVER!" taking hold of the phone, even happier when he realized right off the bat that this was the latest model meaning Aipom had not spared any expenses.

"Now, Machoke," Aipom stated with a very serious look on her face, "you are to be responsible with this phone. No long distance calls unless it's really important because I'm already paying for your phone bill and if I see a bunch of stuff added to the expenses, I will not hesitate to hit you again," Machoke's eyes going wide as the monkey added, "Furthermore, this phone is mostly for emergencies. You can call up your friends every now and then, but no talking to them for more than ten minutes. Heck, that might even be too generous."

Machoke groaned and thought, 'I really should have seen this coming,' Aipom saying, "Oh, press this icon right here."

Machoke blinked as the monkey sighed, "It's a touch-screen phone," the boy nodding and replying, "Oh, right, I'd forgotten about that," the boy pressing the icon as a small list of contacts came up, Aipom adding, "I happened to get the numbers of your friends and family, so if you need to call any of them, this will make it easier for you."

Aipom handed him a manual to explain all the other features to him, the boy's excitement reaching an all-time high as the monkey added, "Don't spend all afternoon focused on that, though. You still need to train," the boy nodding and looking for a place to put his phone, Aipom saying, "You have street clothes in the hotel room, remember?" the boy nodding and replying, "Oh yeah, thanks."

Soon enough, Machoke was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of pants, fear still filling him as he decided to drown out such thoughts by calling up Gardevoir. He knew Aipom had told him no long-distance calls, but he had already come up with a cover story, that being his reason for calling up Gardevoir was simply to make sure she and Gallade were okay and nothing more.

The siblings were currently seated on a bench in the local park, both looking rather distressed for some reason when Gardevoir heard a lovely tune coming from somewhere nearby, the girl squeaking and looking around when Gallade sighed, "It's your ringtone, remember?" the girl laughing nervously and replying, "Right."

With that, the girl reached her hand under her jersey and pulled the phone out, saying, "Wow, those girls at the store were right. My chest does make for a good carrying case," Gallade not even bothering to tell her how suggestive that looked and instead reminded her that her phone could only ring six times before the answering machine came on.

With that, Gardevoir quickly pressed an icon with a green phone on it and held it up to the side of her head, squeaking, "Hi!" feeling a bit nervous about using a cellphone for the first time in her life, her eyes sparkling when she heard Machoke respond, the girl moving the phone away from her head and squeaking, "It's Machoke, Gallade! Machoke just called me!"

She placed the phone back to the side of her head as Machoke asked, "This is the correct number, right?" Gardevoir replying, "Yes, you got the right number. So what's up?"

"I was just wondering how you're doing," Machoke replied, Gardevoir saying, "Things are okay here, actually. Ever since we stopped Rotom and Scrafty, no villains have shown up. Though as happy as I am that you called, shouldn't you be training right now?"

"What?" Machoke remarked, Gardevoir replying, "We saw what happened on TV," Machoke biting his collar and thinking, 'Of course,' the girl adding, "Don't let Blaziken's loss be in vain. I know you can beat up Bisharp!"

The boy took a deep breath and replied, "Yeah, damn right I can," a hint of uncertainty in his voice as Gardevoir squeaked, "I'll be watching you on TV tomorrow!"

With that, Machoke hung up and sighed, "What am I thinking?" the boy shaking his head and saying to himself, "What kind of hero am I? I was so afraid of the fight to come that I was willing to do anything to ignore it! I need to train right now!"

With that, the boy rushed to the gym Aipom had told him about. At the very least, the knight did seem more civilized than the usual villain. Maybe this would not be so difficult.

Upon entering, he started working vigorously with the weights provided. There was even a part of him wanting to train with Aipom but then he remembered how harsh her training was and decided against it. He may have wanted to win, but he was not that desperate.

Before heading back to the hotel, the boy called up Gardevoir one last time, the girl replying, squealing with excitement over the fact that she had gotten two phone calls in one day. However, rather than talking about the match, Machoke decided to ask the girl what she had been up to with no evil to fight.

"Outside of watching your matches, I've been going to the gym with Gallade," Gardevoir stated, "It's rather exhausting, so we only spend about an hour there, which is apparently recommended anyway."

"That sounds good," Machoke replied, "You feel any stronger?" the girl flexing her right arm but not getting much muscle from it as she smiled and replied, "I don't look any stronger, but I do feel stronger," Machoke replying, "Well, if you feel stronger, it must be working."

"It's all thanks to you," Gardevoir replied with a light blush, "You gave me the courage to step into the ring and face a villain," Machoke asking, "But didn't you volunteer before I said anything?" Gardevoir shaking her head and replying, "I did, but I didn't really think I could win. You made me realize it's possible."

Machoke decided not to bring up the fact that it was Gardevoir's special power that had really allowed her to win that match so easily. After all, she seemed to have a lot more spirit now and that was not something the boy would like to break, especially since he was still struggling to get his own fighting spirit to stick with him.

After more talking, the two said goodnight before Machoke hung up, looking at the clock and noticing it was only nine as he groaned, "I can't believe I'm going to bed so early. How do people in the work force deal with this?"

With that, he entered the hotel suite, surprised to see Blaziken not in the room before remembering she was in the hospital. Thus was the risk of being a hero.

Aipom exited the bathroom at that moment, brushing her teeth while holding the toothbrush with her tail hand and noticed Machoke, using one of her normal hands to point toward a table next to his bed. This very table had a TV remote on it, the boy blinking as Aipom nodded, pointing at the TV. She would have said all this stuff, but again, she was brushing her teeth.

Machoke shrugged, rather glad she was giving him permission to watch TV before bed, but when he turned it on, he soon realized why she had told him to. As it just so happened, there was a news report right now in which a young female reporter was at the hospital Blaziken had been sent to.

"How did you know-?" Machoke started to ask before noticing Aipom had returned to the bathroom, the boy shrugging and deciding it was not important. The monkey's level of maturity for a ten-year-old was already confusing enough.

"We are here at the Osaka University Hospital," the woman said, "Two heroes have recently made a full recovery and are walking out today, but one seems to have taken their place. I intend to ask all three a few questions."

At that moment, Throh and Sawk exited the hospital, though neither looked too happy to be walking out. But why was this? Whatever it was, the reporter was more than eager to find out.

"Excuse me, you are Throh and Sawk, right?" the reporter asked, pointing at Sawk first and Throh second as Throh replied, "Oh no, I'm Throh, he's Sawk," the woman's eyes widening as she nodded, replying, "Oh, okay, sorry about that," Sawk shaking his head and saying, "No need to apologize. It's an honest mistake."

The reporter proceeded to ask them how it felt to finally be out of the hospital and back on patrol, Sawk replying, "Well, it feels satisfying to be able to watch over the citizens again," the woman nodding before enquiring, "You looked rather upset when exiting the building. Why is that?"

"We saw how badly Blaziken had been beaten on the TV," Sawk replied, "We felt kind of bad because we know if we had beaten Onix and Bisharp, this never would have happened," Throh nodding and adding, "We went to check up on her and pay our respects. She wasn't able to say much, but she did leave a message for Machoke if he's listening."

Machoke's eyes went wide as Throh said, "Blaziken wants you to do your absolute best and kick Bisharp's ass," Sawk waving his finger and scolding, "Now, brother, we do not use such vulgar language," Throh shrugging and replying, "I'm just putting it how she did."

After that, the reporter went inside of the hospital to Blaziken's room, commenting on how weak and battered she was. Machoke cringed at the sight of this, knowing he had to do his best. Blaziken had allowed herself to wind up like that all for the sake of helping him in his fight. There was no way he would let her down.

After a little more time spent watching the report, Machoke turned off the TV and took a deep breath, taking a shower and brushing his teeth when Aipom was done. He had done a lot of working out and now he just needed to get in enough sleep so he would be ready for the next day.

The night went by quickly as Machoke was close to oversleeping. Luckily for him, Aipom was more than ready for this as she smacked him hard across the face with her tail, the boy groaning, "Hey, what's the deal?" rubbing his cheek.

"Come on, you got an hour before your match!" Aipom exclaimed, "Come on, move it!" Machoke getting up and sighing, "You know it's against the rules to make noise in a hotel, right?" Aipom's eyes widening as she clasped her regular hands over her mouth, feeling beyond embarrassed to have made such a bone-headed mistake.

After forty-five minutes, Bisharp was already waiting by the ring as many had woken up extra-early to see this match. The little boy and his mother from two nights ago were also in the crowd, looking forward to seeing Machoke fight.

All the while, Hito was in his seat gulping down coffee from a cup that looked to be three times bigger than jumbo size. After taking a big gulp, the man took hold of the mic and exclaimed, "ALRIGHT, EVERYONE, IT'S FINALLY TIME FOR THE ONE MATCH TO DECIDE EVERYTHING!" the man taking a deep breath and toning his voice down while adding, "We've had two very intense matches up to this point, but now it's come down to this. If Machoke fails, Osaka is doomed!"

"Yeah, just lay on the pressure, why don't you?" came a voice as everyone turned to see Machoke walking toward the ring in his street clothes, Bisharp saying, "Nice of you to actually show up early," the boy smirking and replying, "You think I'd be late and let Osaka down? Fat chance!"

The knight folded his arms and asked, "As a man of honour, I feel like offering you a choice here. Would you like to start the match now or at dawn as was initially planned?" Machoke simply replying, "We'll still have it at dawn. I still need a little time to prepare myself," Bisharp bowing his head in respect.

Machoke then turned to Aipom and said, "You wait by my side of the ring, okay?" Aipom nodding while thinking, 'Wow, he's going to get in some extra training. Guess having everything up to him is enough to get him to try harder.'

She then noticed Throh and Sawk had gotten front-row seats, the monkey smiling and waving her tail hand at them as the two waved back, the monkey sprinting over and exclaiming, "I'm so happy to see that you're alright!" Sawk grinning and replying, "It'll take a lot more than a heavy beating to keep us down," Throh sighing, "Still, I wish we could fight Bisharp instead. I'm sure if we fought him again, we'd beat him."

"It's okay, brother," Sawk replied, patting Throh on the shoulder and adding, "Don't forget, Machoke is the one fighting for us and he's the son of the former champion. I am honoured to have him fight in our stead."

Once dawn rolled around, it was finally time as Hito exclaimed, "And now it's finally time for the match to begin, folks! In the red corner, the knight who has defeated both Throh and Blaziken with his fancy strategies, Bisharp!" the knight entering the same way he had for Blaziken. Once again, he felt no need to theatrics.

"And in the blue corner," Hito stated, "weighing at seventy-and-a-half kilograms, the son of Machamp who has defeated the mighty Rotom, Machoke!" the crowd cheering wildly. However, their cheers came to an immediate halt when Machoke approached the drink dressed in a shogun outfit with serious look on his face. Two plastic swords were kept in sheathes as everyone stared in confusion.

After a while, Hito blinking and stated, "Oh, I see what Machoke is doing! Since Bisharp is a knight, Machoke has dressed up as a Shogun as a means of declaring war on him! Or at least that's what I think he's trying to get across."

The crowd still did not understand as Machoke ignored the lack of applause, removing the gear and tossing it outside of the ring. Gardevoir and Gallade saw this on TV as Gardevoir's eyes sparkled, the girl saying, "That was so cool."

The people were still silent as Bisharp said, "A grand entrance indeed, but I fail to see what the point of it was," Machoke putting on a look of confusion and remarking, "What do you mean you fail to see the point!? Wasn't it obvious!?" the boy turning to the crowd, no one there getting it either.

Machoke then turned to Aipom who asked, "That was supposed to be symbolic?" Machoke retorting, "YES!" the monkey scratching her head, the boy sighing, "Whatever. It doesn't matter."

Bisharp simply bowed his head to Machoke and said, "Either way, I look forward to seeing what you have in store for me. I have wanted to face you for a long time, and I felt doing so at full strength would be the best way to go about it."

"I'm glad you've been so patient because I'm not holding back," Machoke replied as the bell rang, the boy immediately rushing at Bisharp.

Aipom blinked and asked, "Wouldn't it be better to wait for Bisharp to make the first move?" Machoke remarking, "No way. After falling for Blaziken's trick, that's definitely not gonna work on him."

With that, the boy got close to Bisharp as the knight held up his wrists to protect himself, Machoke grabbing hold of both and holding them up before sending a hard kick into Bisharp's gut. The crowd went wild as Bisharp backed up, saying, "Not bad. You knew I was going to block and used that to your advantage."

"Wow, that was really good, Machoke," Aipom said with a big smile, the boy grinning and replying, "Damn straight. I'm not making the same mistake Sawk did," the blue martial artist groaning, "Why did he have to bring that up?"

Bisharp simply ignored the pain dealt by the kick, what with his armour lightening the blow, and went on the offensive with his hands set up like a sword and shield. Machoke grinned and went straight for the shield arm, grabbing it with both hands to lock it in place.

"Nice try, but you forgot about my sword," Bisharp said, aiming the blade straight for the boy's head as he smirked, remarking, "No I didn't," the boy then lifting up the arm and twisting it so the palm was facing the spike, Bisharp's eyes going as he just barely stopped his spike in time to avoid stabbing his own hand.

Machoke took full advantage of this distraction by moving to Bisharp's side, still holding his shield arm and twisting it forward. This allowed him to flip the knight onto his back thus allowing him to deliver an elbow drop to his neck, the crowd breaking out into heavy cheers and applause.

"You're awesome, Machoke!" the child from the other day exclaimed, Machoke grinning with pride. Even he could not believe that worked as well as it did.

"I must admit, I'm quite impressed," Bisharp stated as he rose to his feet and folding his arms before adding, "However, you will not take advantage of me again, I can assure you."

With that, the knight proceeded to run toward Machoke with only his right arm up, its spike pointed toward the target. Machoke rolled his eyes and thought, 'Has he already run out of tricks? That's even easier to counter than his sword and shield technique.'

With that in mind, Machoke got ready to block the incoming strike, planning to grab the arm as opposed to holding his own arm in front of it and risking being cut. However, Bisharp stopped his wrist just before it made contact, Machoke confused by this when Aipom spat, "MACHOKE, LOOK OUT!" the boy not looking in time to notice Bisharp's left hand coming straight toward his gut, ramming hard into it.

Machoke's eyes widened as Bisharp proceeded to wrap his arms around the boy's neck, leaping up into the air and applying enough weight to push him down thus pinning him to the mat. After that, Bisharp removed his hands and quickly shifted his body so now his feet were clutching onto Machoke's head, the boy struggling to get out.

"You must think me a fool or something," Bisharp stated, "but it is you who is the court jester here. I knew Blaziken fought for so long so you would learn my techniques and come up with countermeasures for them. Well, it won't be so easy when I am using a different style."

"But if you knew that all along, why did you use your usual methods at first?" Aipom asked, Bisharp remarking, "I merely did it to lower Machoke's guard, let him think he was one step ahead of me. After all, with my armour, I can risk taking in a couple of hits."

The crowd gasped as Hito stated, "Well, it would seem Machoke's advantage was merely staged by Bisharp, the knight predicting every move and preparing to strike when we least expected it. What can Machoke do now that the knight is using a different method of attack?"

And it certainly seemed like things were sure to go from bad to worse when Bisharp lifted up his right arm, the spike facing Machoke's head, the boy crying out in terror as the knight shouted, "WRIST SWORD!" sending the spike toward Machoke's face.

"MACHOKE!" Aipom spat, "REMEMBER HOW YOU ESCAPED FROM MY HEAD LOCK!" Machoke's eyes widening as he spun his body, loosening Bisharp's hold on him and freeing himself just in time to avoid the incoming spike.

Bisharp's eyes were wide with shock as now the spike was stuck in the canvas, the knight trying desperately to pry it out only for Machoke to send a hard knee kick to his face. Machoke was about to use another one until Aipom informed him that Bisharp could easily use his left arm to block it, Machoke nodding in understanding and backing up while the crowd applauded him.

Bisharp eventually freed his spike from the canvas, Machoke grinning and saying, "Your armour may protect you from pain, but unfortunately for you, your face is completely unprotected, so I know that must have done a great deal of damage," Bisharp nodding and replying, "You're right. I have no argument against that. That was a clever strategy."

Machoke beamed until the knight added, "Of course, it wasn't completely yours," the boy blinking as Aipom thought, 'Is he trying to do what I think he is?' Bisharp shaking his head and stating, "You would have never thought to do that if Aipom hadn't told you to, isn't that right?"

Machoke's eyes were wide as he had no counterpoint. This was true. The only reason he remembered how to get out of a head lock was because of Aipom's advice, and the only reason he knew not to continue his attack was because of the monkey.

"A true warrior wouldn't need to take advice," Bisharp stated with a cold look in his eyes, Machoke taking a deep breath and sighing, "He's right," Aipom's eyes wide with shock as she said, "Please, Machoke, don't listen to him," the boy remarking, "I'm sorry, Aipom, but I really should do this on my own. How can I call myself a true successor to my father if I need someone giving me advice during matches?"

The monkey backed up as Sawk and Throh stared at this, Aipom turning to them and shouting, "Say something!" Throh shrugging and replying, "Actually, I think Bisharp makes a valid argument," Sawk nodding and saying, "Me too."

Aipom was absolutely mortified to hear this. Everyone was against her, and this was made clear when the crowd cheered Machoke on, shouting things like "Yeah, tell it like it is!" and "Real men fight on their own!"

Bisharp nodded and said, "Good to see you are as courageous as your father," the knight then rushing at Machoke, the boy knowing now that he could not rely on the countermeasures he had thought up before. As such, he examined Bisharp's charge and noticed an opening in his midsection.

With that, the boy went in, attempting to tackle the knight before he could land his attack, Aipom shouting, "MACHOKE!" before remembering that the boy was no longer listening to her, the monkey clutching onto her skull and whimpering, "What can I do?"

However, her advice definitely could have saved the boy for no sooner had he made the connection with Bisharp's midsection did the knight proceed to wrap his arms around the boy, trapping him in place. To make matters worse, Bisharp had Machoke pressed up against his rib blades, the boy crying out in pain as the crowd cringed at the sight of this.

"What a horrible turn of events!" Hito barked, "Machoke went in for a tackle only to end up on the receiving end of that deadly ribcage! How can he possibly get out of this?"

"That's easy, he cannot," Bisharp remarked before leaping high above the ring, all going silent as the knight flipped himself one-hundred-and-eighty degrees so now Machoke's head was facing the mat. Sure, Machoke had seen this move twice now, but he had no idea how to counter it and as such, he was unable to avoid having his head slammed hard against the mat as Bisharp shouted, "RIBCAGE OF TORMENT!"

All went silent as the knight released his hold on Machoke, allowing the boy to fall on his back, blood coming out of the holes in his torso. Blaziken and Throh had both been taken out with one use of this move. Had Machoke just suffered the same fate?

 

All was silent through the area as Machoke was out like a light. Despite him having felt so confident about the match before, Bisharp had managed to turn everything in his favour and it had not taken him long to do so. Could the boy possibly recover from this?

Bisharp took a deep breath, saying, "Much like the others before you, you put up a valiant effort. Unfortunately, you were much easier to defeat than those others for one simple reason, and do you want to know what that reason is?"

Aipom held her hands over her mouth, whimpering while Throh and Sawk glared angrily at the knight, Bisharp stating, "I know you won't be able to hear me for much longer, so I'll make it quick. You are a simpleton. Throh and Sawk may not have been a huge challenge, but they were at least capable of coming up with good strategies on their own. Blaziken I think would have stood more of a chance had she the strength to do so."

Aipom could hardly stand to hear this any longer as the knight added, "When you were dominating me, it was because you were using Blaziken's match as a reference, so that wasn't completely you doing the fighting. And when you countered my change in tactics, that was all Aipom's doing. And when you finally decided to fight by yourself, look what happened. You set yourself up for a really obvious trap and guaranteed your failure."

All went silent throughout the area as no one could possibly argue with this. Everything the knight said was correct. Even Aipom could not deny the cold, hard truth. Osaka was doomed and there was no changing this.

Bisharp simply cast Hito a glance and asked, "What are you waiting for? I have won, have I not?" the man nodding and replying, "Quite so. After a devastating Ribcage of Torment, it would seem our winner is-"

However, the man was cut off when he noticed Machoke's body start to twitch, everyone staring in absolute shock. Aipom's eyes widened as Machoke slowly pushed himself up, taking many deep breaths and rising to his feet. Bisharp turned and stared at the boy, trying his best to remain calm. How could this have happened?

"It's gonna take a lot more than that to take out a member of my family," Machoke said with a smirk, Bisharp asking, "What do you mean? No one has ever gotten up after taking in that move before," Aipom nodding and saying, "That's right. The Mach family is known for their tough bodies. It takes a lot to take them down."

With that, the crowd went wild as Machoke grinned, his grin fading as he winced, falling on one knee. Bisharp took a deep breath and said, "I am impressed that you were able to rise, but you are clearly in no condition to keep going. But I am a man of honour, so I will give you a chance to forfeit."

"No way!" Machoke spat, now ignoring the pain as he rose up again, adding, "I'll admit, you had a good point there. By myself, I didn't do so well, but that was merely an error in judgement! I won't let that happen again!"

"So you'll start listening to me again?" Aipom asked, Machoke shaking his head and remarking, "No, Aipom, I still think I should do this on my own. I'm just gonna think smarter now."

The monkey stared blankly before slapping her tail hand against her forehead, pinching it. As if that was not bad enough, the crowd once again cheered Machoke on, telling him that was the right way of thinking. And like before, Throh and Sawk were in complete agreement.

"I don't understand!" Aipom snapped at the two, "You two are a team, right!? How can you say it's best to fight alone!?" Sawk replying, "While it is true that we do work well together, if we relied on each other all the time, we would not be prepared for singles matches. For instance, the matches we won to protect Earth were just that, singles matches."

Throh nodded and added, "Exactly. If we were unprepared to fight alone, we would have lost those matches horribly, but since we've taught ourselves to fight alone when need be, we ended up winning, and as an added bonus, we're also top of the class."

"I still don't think this is right," Aipom whimpered, "It's my job to train him. What can I do if I don't train him?" Sawk suggesting, "Perhaps you could act like an actual ten-year-old kid would," the monkey screeching, "I CAN'T DO THAT!!!!!!"

With that, the fight resumed as Machoke went on the defensive, thinking, 'Alright, I've gotta think this time,' Bisharp rushing toward him with his spikes out again. Luckily, Machoke was ready this time as he waited for Bisharp to swing his arms, crouching right under them and delivering a sweep kick to his ankles.

The knight's eyes widened as he fell on his back, Machoke latching his legs around Bisharp's right leg, using his hands to tuck the knight's left leg under all three. Bisharp winced in pain as Machoke tightened his hold, using his ankles to pull on those very parts.

"And Machoke catches Bisharp in a figure four leg lock!" Hito exclaimed while the crowd cheered, "It seems he can fight well on his own!"

"Hear that!?" Machoke asked with a confident grin, "Even I can think logically by myself!" Bisharp nodding and saying, "I will admit, this did catch me by surprise, but it is hardly enough to win you this duel."

Machoke sported a look of confusion before asking, "What the hell are you going on about now?" the knight replying, "Simply put, there is a simple way out of this technique."

As such, he pressed the backs of his arms against the mat to roll himself over, flipping Machoke onto his belly and catching the boy in his own move, Hito stating, "And with little to no effort at all, Bisharp has managed to reverse the figure four leg lock!"

"I can't watch," Aipom whimpered, covering her eyes with her tail hand as Machoke cried out in pain. He had no idea how to get out of this.

"Well, now you seem at a loss for ideas," Bisharp said, "Tis a pity. You seemed to be doing so well on your own," Machoke retorting, "SHUT UP! I CAN TOTALLY BEAT YOU BY MYSELF!" the boy trying his best to come up with something only to draw a blank. He tried using the same manoeuvre Bisharp had used to reverse the original but this only ended up adding to the pain.

Suddenly, a thought came to him. He remembered something from the day after he defeated Rotom. Aipom had used her tail hand to get him in a similar hold. It was not the exactly same one, but it did involved him being on his belly while his legs were being twisted. When he had no way to escape, Aipom told him something that could work, but what was it?

After letting out another cry of pain, Machoke remembered as he gritted his teeth, grunting, "I know exactly how to get out of this!" the boy shifting his feet, Aipom's eyes widening when she saw this.

Bisharp blinked and said, "That will only hurt you more," Machoke remarking, "True, but it's the only way I know how to get out of this one!" the boy slowly but surely getting his legs out of the crossed position Bisharp had them in and successfully pried them out from the grip, the boy getting up once again and taking a deep breath.

"How did you even come to such an odd strategy?" Bisharp grunted, getting up himself, "There is another more practical way," Machoke sighing, "Well, I must confess, I didn't come up with that on my own," all going silent as Aipom's eyes sparkled, Machoke grinning and saying, "That's right. My teacher taught me that method and I am not the least bit ashamed to admit that."

Aipom let down tears of joy as Machoke turned to her with a smile and said, "Sorry, Aipom. I got carried away," Bisharp remarking, "Why are you acting like this is a good thing!?"

Machoke shot a glare at the knight, Bisharp feeling strangely intimidated by this look as the boy retorted, "For your information, there is no shame in taking advice from others! It's how people succeed! They get help when they're stuck!"

Throh and Sawk blinked before looking at one-another, then remembered how they prepared themselves for one-on-one combat by sparring with each-other. Many audience members even started to realize how many time in their lives they needed guidance to get where they were. Gallade and Gardevoir nodded after Machoke gave this speech, Gardevoir having recently told Machoke of how much he had influenced her. Even Hito remembered how it was his wife who suggested that he become an announcer.

"That's right, none of us can truly get far in life without seeking wisdom first," Machoke added, "In fact, that leg lock I used on you was something I learned in Hero School. My finishing moves are those of my father, not my own, but they're effective so I have no problem using them!"

Bisharp winced and remarked, "So you admit that you can't come up with any original techniques," Machoke nodding and smiling with confidence, replying, "Neither can you."

All went silent as Bisharp remarked, "I beg your pardon?" Machoke smirking and asking, "Can you honestly tell me you taught yourself every single move you know? I mean, you said it yourself, that reversal you used was a simple method meaning someone else had already come up with it first!"

Bisharp's eyes widened as the boy added, "Also, everyone knows most if not all knights are not self-taught. Most of them need at least one instructor to learn so much as the basics," Bisharp gritting his teeth and remembering how his mother, a knight by the name of Pawniard had taught him the Ribcage of Torment. Every other signature move of his was simply a souped up version of some move his mother had taught him, and she had learned her techniques from a shogun samurai.

"Alright, fine!" Bisharp snapped, now finally losing his patience as everyone stared in shock, the knight barking, "You're right! I learned everything I knew from others! But that's okay! I can still come up with my own techniques! Watch this!"

Machoke braced himself when Pawniard leaped up onto the top rope, spreading his arms out and leaping off of it, shouting, "GOLDEN BATTLE AXE!" spinning vertically toward the boy and slicing him down the middle with his axe head, blood flying from the big gash that formed as a result.

With that, the knight backed away from Machoke, pointed at him and exclaimed, "How do you like that!? Bet you didn't see that coming!?" Machoke taking a deep breath and trying to ignore the pain as he remarked, "Are you kidding? That's the most unoriginal technique I've ever seen. What caught me off-guard was you pretty much admitting that it took you this long to find a use for that axe head of yours."

"YOU LIE!" Bisharp snapped, leaping up onto the top rope again and propelling himself off, spinning toward the boy a second time shouting, "GOLDEN BATTLE AXE!"

This time Machoke was more than ready as he threw his arms out, grabbing hold of the blade and lifting the knight up so his legs were pointed toward the sky, his neck resting up against Machoke's shoulder. With that, the boy leaned back and slammed the back of his helmet hard into the canvas, small cracks forming as the knight quickly rolled away, getting back upright and breathing hard, Hito shouting, "And Machoke hits Bisharp hard with a brainbuster!"

"As I said, that's the most unoriginal technique I've seen," Machoke stated, folding his arms as Aipom exclaimed, "YEAH, KEEP IT UP, MACHOKE!" the crowd going wild as well.

However, the area went quiet again when they heard the sound of laughter, soon realizing that was Bisharp making this sound. After all this time of remaining calm and collected, Machoke seemed to have brought out a part of him even he never believed existed, his inner psycho.

"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'VE WON!" Bisharp spat, a maniacal grin on his face as he added, "I just came up with another move!" the knight getting up on his tiptoes with his arms spread out, spinning like a top before shouting, "SWORDS DANCE!"

Machoke had to admit, this move definitely looked like it would be hard to dodge as he asked, "Any ideas, Aipom?" the monkey rubbing her chin with her tail hand before snapping its fingers and exclaiming, "I got it! Machoke, aim for his helmet!"

The boy nodded, understanding exactly what the primate meant as he propelled himself up off the mat, leaping over Bisharp's head just as he was about to make contact with him. With that, the boy spread his feet out just far enough so each one was positioned next to the axe head, the boy landing hard against the helmet and leaping off, the cracks getting bigger. Everyone watched in amazement as the protective headgear shattered into small fragments.

Bisharp's eyes were wider than ever before as he watched the remains of his helmet fall to the mat, some girls in the audience screaming in response to the sight of rather long black hair flowing down the knight's head. As a result, he started to twitch as Machoke uttered, "Uh oh," as Bisharp sported another maniacal grin, now chuckling like a madman.

"Aipom, I think I broke him," Machoke murmured, fear filling his body as Aipom shook her head, saying, "Don't let it get to you. You've actually made him the most vulnerable he's ever been. This is the perfect chance to finish him off."

"NO IT'S NOT!" Bisharp snapped, everyone staring in silence as the knight let out an insane laugh before adding, "I CAN STILL WIN THIS! THIS IS BUT A MINOR SETBACK!"

With that, the knight charged toward Machoke, now moving slightly faster now that the weight of his helmet was gone. Machoke attempted to fight back only for Bisharp to swerve to the right, shouting, "WRIST SWORD!" holding out one of his spikes and striking Machoke's side, the boy crying out in pain.

Seeing this, the child in the audience gritted his teeth and got up, shouting, "MACHOKE! MACHOKE!" his mother getting up and chanting Machoke's name as well, the rest of the audience doing the same. Throh and Sawk nodded before doing joining in and while they knew the boy would not be able to hear them, Gallade and Gardevoir did the same thing. Even Aipom found herself joining in as Machoke grinned, acting as if the pain to his side was nothing.

Bisharp fumed and spat, "SHUT UP! YOU'RE ALL MORONS!" Machoke remarking, "Oh, is someone jealous because he doesn't have any support?" Bisharp retorting, "AND YOU SHUT UP TOO! I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOU!"

With that, the knight rushed at Machoke a second time, striking his side again. However, the third time, Machoke had figured out his pattern as he threw his arm out, grabbing hold of Bisharp's wrist as his eyes widened. Because the knight had been running so fast, he ended up slipping, Machoke letting him go and allowing him to fall on his back.

Unfortunately, Bisharp was not going to let this get to him as he got up before Machoke could take advantage of his position, getting behind the boy and wrapping his arms around him, once again planting his rib blades into the boy's skin. Machoke cried out in pain as all went silent, Bisharp taking a deep breath and saying, "You're weak enough now. It may not be an original move, but like your signature moves, it's effective and that's good enough for me."

Aipom gasped as all of her hope had left her. She knew one more hit from this would certainly end it and to make matters worse, even she had no clue how to get out of it.

With that, the knight leapt high above the ring shouting, "RIBCAGE OF TORMENT!!!!!" but just as he was about to flip his body around, Machoke spat, "I JUST FOUND A WAY TO ESCAPE FROM THIS ONE!!!!!!"

"But that's impossible!" Bisharp spat, Machoke remarking, "Yeah, impossible if you're afraid of hurting yourself, but right now, I'm in too much pain to care."

With that, the boy wriggled around and started loosening Bisharp's hold on him, the knight's eyes going wide as he asked, "What are you doing? You're only making the cuts bigger!" Machoke remarking, "Yeah, but this pain doesn't compare to the move it's associated with!"

And soon enough, Machoke was able to pry himself away from the rib blades as he lifted up his arms from between Bisharp's, resting them on his shoulders and pushing himself up while the crowd gasped in amazement. After that, the boy leaned forward, getting behind the knight while upside-down and grabbing his ankles, applying enough force to flip both of them over.

"No," Bisharp uttered when Machoke's ankles were latched to his neck, his arms spread out and locked in place as he struggled to free himself, shouting, "NO!"

Machoke took a deep breath before shouting, "MUSCLE TOMBSTONE!" allowing himself to fall hard and fast into the mat, Bisharp's head rammed into the canvas as all went silent, the knight coughing up blood and passing out, Machoke releasing him and allowing his body to collapse.

All went silent as Hito examined the knight for a few seconds before nodding and ringing the bell, shouting, "And after an intense match, our winner is Machoke!" the crowd going wild as Aipom took a deep breath, wiping sweat from her forehead with her tail hand as Sawk asked, "Were you as scared as we were?" the monkey grinning nervously and fibbing, "Of course not. I knew he'd get out of that. He's my student, after all."

In their suite, Gardevoir squealed with delight and wrapped her arm around Gallade's neck as the boy exclaimed, "Gardevoir, stop squealing! We'll receive complaints!" a voice from next door shouting, "No complaints here! I'm just as happy as you are!"

Bisharp lay on the mat for some time as Machoke walked over to him, the knight slowly opening his eyes and breathing heavily. He scowled at the boy in front of him, not saying a thing. It was bad enough he had lost. The last thing he needed was someone to rub salt in the wound.

However, it seemed his assumption was wrong when Machoke leaned down, taking hold of the knight's hand and shaking it before saying, "Here's to a good match. I thought I was gonna lose for sure."

"How dare you!?" the knight snapped, not having enough strength to strike his hand away as the boy simply removed it, saying, "Bisharp, as far as villains go, you don't seem like such a bad guy. Why do you serve them?"

The knight took a deep breath and said, "It's funny. I went on about how people should do their own things but in reality, I'm not a leader, I'm a follower. I saw how big the league of villains was and how much they were succeeding and felt that being a villain would give me a brighter future."

"There's nothing bright about villainy," Machoke replied, "Being evil is all about being cold and spreading darkness upon the world. What's bright about that?"

The knight then gritted his teeth and remarked, "Why do you care? I've been a beast, the kind that guys like me should be slaying!" Machoke shaking his head and replying, "A true monster would never admit to being one."

Bisharp's eyes widened as he suddenly lost consciousness, closing his eyes and falling asleep, paramedics heading toward the ring as they took him off to get treatment. After he was fully recovered, he would be sent to prison for sure, but Machoke was confident that the knight would improve for the better.

Aipom leaped into the ring and started hugging Machoke's legs, weeping into it as the boy blinked, asking, "Are you crying?" the monkey retorting, "NO, OF COURSE I'M NOT! GENIUSES DON'T CRY!" the boy rolling his eyes and letting her stay there for the next ten seconds before swinging his leg, saying, "That's enough. Get off, you little runt."

By around noon, Blaziken had made enough of a recovery to leave the hospital but still felt a little too weak to get into any fights again. This was hardly a big deal as she had no reason to fight anyone at the moment. Either way, she was really happy to not only be out of the hospital but she was also glad that Machoke had won.

After a quick lunch, Aipom gladly paying for the whole thing as she felt both fighters deserved a reward for their hard work, it was time for the heroes to head to the train station. Throh and Sawk saw them off, expressing their gratitude for all the help. All-in-all, this had truly been a successful visit to Osaka.

Machoke finally decided to take a well-deserved nap seeing as the train ride would take nine hours. Aipom smiled warmly before pulling a small blanket out of her handbag and putting it over the boy's body. Sure, it was only big enough to cover his torso, not even wide enough to get his arms, but it was still helpful. Either way, Aipom was proud of her student and only hoped for more success from him in the days to come.

 

It had been a week since Onix and Bisharp had been defeated and things were going rather well. Heroes in other areas seemed to be doing a good job keeping the villains at bay and no one had attacked Tokyo or Osaka. Sure, this did not stop the heroes from training every now and then, but it was still nice to have a break.

Machoke was currently walking with his friends downtown sporting a T-shirt and a pair of slacks. He had started to get used to wearing clothes for a change, especially since he needed pants to carry his cellphone.

Gardevoir could not wear her jersey today as it was in the wash but she had no problem wearing a woman's sleeveless top even if her chest spike created a slit in it too. She had even attempted to style her hair in a ponytail today only for it to return to normal within a matter of minutes. Though one thing that did remain the same was that she was still wearing her spiked collar, the girl having never taken it off.

Gallade only had a pair of shorts on. Unlike his sister, he felt wrong about ruining perfectly good shirts and since their kind could get away with being shirtless, he saw nothing wrong with this.

Blaziken sported a standard outfit, sporting a pair of cargo pants and a nice T-shirt. Girly outfits were not her thing, so it only made sense.

"Alright, so what do you guys wanna do today?" Machoke asked, Gallade replying, "Aren't we doing something right now?" Machoke sighing, "I mean something that doesn't involve walking."

"We could go to that club again," Blaziken suggested, Machoke replying, "I dunno, we've gone there three times this week," Gallade nodding and stating, "He raises a good point. If we keep going, it'll lose its specialness."

"I know just the thing!" Gardevoir squeaked, everyone turning to her as she grinned wide, suggesting, "Let's go to the gym!" all going silent as Machoke sighed, "We're trying to avoid work today. Aipom gave me permission to slack off today. I'm not losing that chance," Gardevoir looking down as the boy panicked, waving his arms in front of his face and saying, "Not that it wasn't a good idea."

Blaziken folded her arms and said, "We could try swimming at the local pool. That way we have fun and exercise at the same time," Machoke sighing, "I would like that but I can't swim," everyone staring at him as the boy looked down, murmuring, "It's in my genetics."

Gallade then snapped his fingers and asked, "How about we go see a movie? I don't think anyone can object to that!" the others looking at one-another before grinning and nodding. Gallade was right, no one could possibly say no to a movie.

When the group arrived, they looked over the listings, wonder in their eyes. Unfortunately, that wonder soon turned to disappointment when not one title appealed to them. Well, Gardevoir was interested in the latest chick flick, but she had a feeling the others would not want to see that with her.

"Well, great, the one good idea anyone had and society has to go and ruin it," Machoke grumbled, all going silent until the boy sighed, "To the club."

The group entered and were greeted by some of the regulars. The owner grinned and said, "Hey, guys. You want your usual?" Machoke shrugging and replying, "Sure," he and Gardevoir getting their usual fruit punch while Blaziken and Gallade had their alcoholic drinks.

After a few minutes, the group had completely forgotten why they were so resistant in coming here. A few games of pool, rounds at the arcade machine and even a bit of karaoke were all they needed to enjoy themselves. They even mingled with some guests they had never seen before, Gallade getting a couple of phone numbers while plenty of guys seemed to admire Blaziken and Gardevoir.

There was even a point where one of the boys there flirted with Gardevoir, the girl not fully aware that he was doing this. After a few minutes of talking, the boy asked, "I was thinking maybe we could hang out sometime, you know, out of the club. May I have your phone number?" Gardevoir smiling lightly and replying, "Sure," before blinking and sitting silently for a few seconds, the girl eventually saying, "Sorry, I don't actually know my phone number."

The boy looked down as the girl squeaked, "It's okay!" before pointing at Gallade and suggesting, "You can ask him. He has me in his contacts," the boy staring wide-eyed, getting the feeling that Gardevoir's older brother would likely be over-protective as he uttered, "On second thought, hanging out at the club is fine," the boy laughing nervously.

After another hour, the group headed out as Blaziken stretched, saying, "This has been a fun day," Gallade nodding and replying, "Yeah, I'm glad we decided to come here," Machoke looking rather bummed as Gardevoir looked at him with concern.

"Um, it something wrong?" Gardevoir asked with a look of concern as Blaziken and Gallade turned to face the boy, Blaziken asking, "Yeah, what's the deal?" Gallade sighing, "Look, Machoke, I'm sorry we couldn't find something else to do, but-"

"That's not it," Machoke replied, "It's just, I don't understand this. You three have people hitting on you constantly and I don't," Gardevoir blinking and squeaking, "Guys don't hit on me," Gallade and Blaziken rubbing the backs of their heads and laughing nervously, not sure whether to tell her or not.

Still, they did see Machoke's point. He deserved at least as much attention as they did and yet girls hardly ever spoke to him and when they did, it was usually just polite enquiry. Sure, Machoke did not exactly mind polite conversation, but he still felt rather envious that his friends were treated as celebrities while he was not.

"I'm sure plenty of girls are interested in you," Gallade said with a comforting smile, "They're probably just afraid to say so," Machoke sighing, "Thanks for trying to help, but I need to face facts. I'm nowhere near as popular as you guys."

With that, the boy headed home as Blaziken snapped, "Come on, you're getting upset over nothing! Even if your fangirls did ask you out, it's not like they would actually love you!" Machoke holding up his hand and fibbing, "I know that. I'm just tired, so I'm going home, alright?" Blaziken blinking and nodding her head, replying, "Well, if you're sure, um, see you around I guess."

With that, Machoke walked down the sidewalk with no actual destination in mind and sighed, looking around before noticing a building with the word 'Matchmaker' on the sign. His eyes sparkled at the sight of this as this could only be a sign from the heavens. Or at least that was what he figured it was.

The boy wasted no time entering the establishment as he walked over to a desk where a young man sat, the man grinning and saying, "Hello there, sir. I'm Kaito West," Machoke nodding and shaking his hand, the man pulling out a sheet of paper and saying, "You came to the right place. Just fill out this form outlining what you're looking for in a woman and I'll do the rest."

"Thank you, magical man," Machoke said, his eyes sparkling as Kaito replied, "Don't thank me yet. You still gotta fill out that form first."

With that, the boy walked over to a seat where a couple of other teenaged boys but mostly young men were sitting and filling out the forms. Seeing this, the boy looked over the questions and filled out the answers as thorough as he could without going overboard. Some questions did not matter too much to him such as hair colour and nationality, but he had plenty to say for many of the others.

While filling it out, the boy noticed one man getting a very positive response, Kaito almost instantly finding the perfect girl to set him up with. Machoke grinned, thinking this was definitely a good sign as he finished writing what he needed to, handing in the form.

"Alright, I'll just check this over and..." Kaito said, looking over the form as he stood silently, his eyes going wide. The man laughed and asked, "Are you sure about all of this?" Machoke nodding as Kaito looked over a list of women looking for matches as well, the man's eyes going wide as he forced a big smile and uttered through clenched teeth, "Hold on, kid, I might need a few seconds to think this over."

The man flipped through the files, breathing rather heavily as Machoke asked, "You okay?" the man remarking, "I'M FINE! BE PATIENT, SON!" the man breaking out into hysterics before collapsing in his seat, cackling while shouting, "I will find you the perfect match! I have never failed and never will!"

Machoke stared silently and backed away, saying, "On second thought, maybe this isn't for me. Thanks anyway," the boy taking off and taking a deep breath, a look of disappointment on his face.

However, while walking down the streets, he heard a feminine voice behind him saying, "Hi there," Machoke turning and noticing a very attractive young girl standing before him. The boy looked around as the girl giggled, saying, "Yes, I mean you."

"Oh," Machoke replied, blinking before asking, "Well, um, do you need directions or something? I haven't been living in Tokyo very long, but I do know where most places are."

"Actually," the girl replied, biting her lower lip before adding, "You look really strong and handsome," Machoke's eyes and mouth opening wide as the girl asked, "Would you like to go out sometime?"

Machoke felt a love arrow strike his heart at that exact moment, the boy spellbound for a few seconds as the girl blinked, asking, "You okay?" Machoke snapping back to reality as he grinned and replied, "Sure," nodding his head.

What he had not expected was that the girl wanted to go out right now, and it certainly did not help that Aipom only allowed him to carry a small fraction of their allowance with him. He had actually planned on begging Aipom to offer him more cash, but seeing as he no longer had the time, he would have to make due with what he had.

However, while walking with the girl, she noticed a fancy restaurant and squealed, "Hey, let's have dinner there!" Machoke laughing nervously and replying, "Well, I would love to, but I'm not really that hungry. How about some fast food instead?" the girl pouting but soon replacing the look with a grin as she replied, "Sure, that sounds great."

Machoke could have sworn she was forcing this. After all, he had been used to his mother giving him that same look quite a number of times, and not just the day she had forced him into the car to take him to Hero School either.

Even so, he was grateful the girl had agreed to this as the two were headed to the nearest fast food restaurant they could find. But just as they approached one, a young boy was walking by when he turned his gaze over to them, his eyes widening, but why? What was it about these two that caused him to react like this?

This was soon made clear when the boy stormed over to Machoke, tapping him on the shoulder as he turned and said, "Oh, hello," the boy punching him in the face as he snapped, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH MY GIRLFRIEND!?"

"GIRLFRIEND!?" Machoke retorted as the girl let down tears, sniffing, "It's horrible, Gendo! He said if I didn't go out with him, he'd beat me up!" the boy glaring at the hero and shouting, "OH, YOU ARE DEAD!"

Machoke simply rose to his feet and thought, 'So that's what this was. She was trying to make her boyfriend jealous,' the boy taking a deep breath and removing his shirt, grunting, "You clearly have no idea who you're dealing with, so I'll go easy on you!"

But just as he was about to attack the human boy, the girl proceeded to bend down, flashing her cleavage. Machoke tried his best to ignore this but found himself unable to turn away as the jealous boyfriend delivered a high kick to his face. Machoke tried to fight back only for the girl to lower her pants, revealing her underwear as Machoke once again found himself unable to look away.

Needless to say, this kept up for a while until Machoke realized he would not stand a chance under these conditions and gave up, the boy putting his shirt back on and hobbling away while the boyfriend rested an arm on his girlfriend's shoulder, saying, "You're safe from that freak of nature, honey. He can't hurt you."

Machoke soon regained his strength as he could handle multiple hits from an Earthling and whined to himself, "I don't get it. Is this fate telling me I can't date human girls? My dad married a human."

At that moment, the boy noticed a young girl riding by on a bicycle, the girl screeching to a halt and looking at him. She had short black hair, a nice thin build and a descent sized chest that was neither too big nor too small. She was wearing a navy blue schoolgirl outfit at the moment.

"What do you want?" Machoke asked, now trembling, "Are you here to take advantage of me too?" the girl gasping, "No, you just look really beat up," Machoke sighing, "It's none of your concern. You don't even know me."

"Well, that is true," the girl replied before smiling and getting off her bike, using her foot to lower a break for it and walking over to Machoke, saying, "I'm Reika," the boy blinking and saying, "Sounds fitting."

With that, the girl had him climb onto the seat, saying, "Hold on tight. I'm kind of in a hurry right now," Machoke blinking when the girl sped off toward her house, the boy doing his best to hang on.

Soon, the two arrived at a nice house with a beautiful garden, Machoke blinking and saying, "You didn't have to bring me here," the girl sighing, "Someone in your condition really shouldn't be walking around this late at night."

With that, Reika looked at her watch and panicked, muttering, "Oh no, Mom's gonna kill me," Machoke asking, "What do you mean?"

The girl sighed and explained, "It's way past my curfew. She told me I could hang out with my friends tonight but only if I came back at ten. I must have lost track of the time."

Machoke blinked and thought, 'She sounds more strict than Aipom,' Reika hushing the boy and sneaking toward the door, whispering, "Don't worry, she always watches TV at this time, so hopefully she won't hear the door open."

However, when Reika turned the doorknob, someone pulled it open while her hand was still holding it, a woman who looked to be in her forties standing there with a cold look on her face, asking, "Where have you been, young lady!?"

Machoke blinked as the woman turned to him and sighed, "I thought I told you not to bring boys home!" the boy laughing nervously and saying, "I can leave if you'd like."

However, Reika explained why she had brought Machoke with her as her mother, whose name was Keiko, decided to let him in. However, it was not long until she scolded him for being out so late and told him to call up his parents.

All the while, Machoke found it not only strange that neither of these two knew who he was but also the fact that neither drew attention to the fact that he was clearly not from Earth. Then he remembered how long beings like him had been living on the planet and that second fact suddenly made sense.

Even so, he quickly called the number for his house as Aipom, who was in the middle of washing dishes, used her hand tail to answer the phone, holding it up to her ear and saying, "Hello, who is it?"

After a quick conversation, Machoke nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I'll be waiting here," before turning away from the phone and asking, "Hey, Keiko, what's your address?" the woman giving him the location as he nodded, holding the phone back up to the side of his head and telling Aipom what he had just heard, saying goodbye and hanging up.

"Well, Reika, it was nice of you to bring him here, but you really should have asked for his address and brought him to his house instead," Keiko sighed as Reika protested, "But, Mom, I was already late! If I took any longer, you would have been even more worried!" the woman sighing, "I would have been more okay if you had told me you were escorting an injured person back home."

Machoke braced himself for another scolding only for the woman to smile sweetly, asking, "Would you like some tea?" the boy blinking and nodding as he replied, "Sure."

Keiko got up and headed to the kitchen as Reika sighed, "I hate making her worry like this," Machoke looking over at a photo of Reika and Keiko standing next to a rather handsome-looking young man, Machoke getting the idea as he nodded, saying nothing else.

All the while, Aipom had taken a taxi to the address, a look of frustration on her face as she grumbled, "I don't see why I should have to do this. He's older than me. He can handle himself," the monkey looking over the paper and nodding, looking up and spotting the house she was looking for.

With that, the monkey took a deep breath, finding something oddly familiar about this place as she used her tail to reach the doorbell, giving it a ring. After a few seconds, Keiko answered and looked around before noticing a hand rise up in front of her face, pointing downward.

When Keiko directed her gaze toward Aipom, her eyes went wide as she asked, "Aipom, is that you?" the monkey's eyes sparkling as she squealed, "Keiko! I haven't seen you since I was three!"

The monkey hugged the woman's leg as Keiko chuckled, saying, "I'm surprised you remember me," kneeling down and saying, "Wow, have you ever grown?"

She then blinked and asked, "But why are you here?"

Soon, all was explained as Reika stared at Machoke silently, uttering, "Oh my god, I thought you looked familiar," Keiko all the while looking over the boy and saying, "So Machamp had a son and now he's fighting to protect Earth just like he did," the woman letting out a sigh.

"I can't believe I didn't recognize you," Reika said, "I saw you kick the crap out of both Rotom and Bisharp and I thought you were so cool!" Machoke's eyes sparkling as he replied, "Really?" the girl nodding and squealing, "Oh yeah! I love the wrestling channel, and your matches, as small in number as they are, really are something else!"

'Nice to have at least one fangirl,' Machoke thought with a smile as Keiko then turned to Aipom, asking, "Where's Ambipom," Aipom replying, "Mommy's got a new job on Hero Planet. She teaches young kids six-to-eight the basics of fighting," Keiko nodding and replying, "That must be so nice, but it must be hard living on your own."

"It's no trouble at all," Aipom replied, shaking her head as Keiko sighed, "Just thinking of Ambipom and Machamp reminds me of the good old days, the days before Kala."

"Hey, that's my mom's name," Machoke said, Keiko nodding and replying, "Yeah, I know."

"Wait," Reika said, turning to face her mom and asking, "Did you know Machamp?" Keiko nodding and replying, "Yes. We met long ago. I was grocery shopping when a villain broke in and tried to steal everything. Luckily for us, Machamp came in and took care of him, saving everyone and..." Reika blinking and asking, "And what?" Keiko sporting a lovestruck look and sighing, "Took my breath away."

Machoke's eyes widened as he asked, "You had a thing for my dad?" Keiko nodding and replying, "Oh yes, and he had feelings for me too," Reika's eyes widening as well as she exclaimed, "Wow, I didn't know you were into guys like that!"

Aipom all the while scratched her head, thinking, 'Mommy never told me about this,' Machoke asking, "So, what happened between you two?" Reika shooting the boy a glare and growling, "Your dad better not have done something to my mom!"

"Nothing like that," Keiko replied with a chuckle before adding, "Usually when someone says he or she is the problem in a relationship, it's just to be nice, but in the case of ours, well, I really was the problem."

All three stared in confusion as the woman sighed, "The truth was, I never told him how I felt. Every day, I would say to myself 'this is the day' but I was too afraid, and then Kala came along. She was the opposite of me, out-going, brave, strong, an excellent match for Machamp. I didn't have a chance."

"The tragedy of romance, so beautiful," Reika sighed, Keiko nodding and saying, "But I was happy he found someone, and, well, I met the perfect man for me, even if it wasn't meant to last," Machoke now looking distressed as he thought, 'Damn, I had a feeling that was the case but I didn't know I'd be right!'

With that, the woman then looked at the clock and said, "I am so sorry to have kept you. It's so late!" the woman then turning to Reika and scolding, "You should be in bed! You have school tomorrow!" Reika nodding and heading up the stairs, Aipom saying, "Luckily for you, I called for another taxi to come around before I got here," Machoke laughing nervously and replying, "Sometimes I forget you're not old enough to have a license."

After the two left, Reika ran back downstairs but stopped at halfway and said, "One last thing, mom," Keiko turning to her as she added, "You're a really cool mom, you know that?" the girl racing back upstairs as Keiko chuckled, rolling her eyes and thinking, 'My daughter and his son. I wonder if it could work.'

 

It was another fine day in Tokyo as Gallade and Gardevoir decided to do some grocery shopping. Today, Gardevoir was wearing a nice pink T-shirt, Gallade saying, "Ever since you put on that jersey, you've been experimenting with a lot of clothes," Gardevoir nodding and replying, "I never thought I'd care about how I look, but I really like trying new things."

When the two entered a grocery store, Gallade asked, "So when were you thinking of going to the gym today?" Gardevoir replying, "I was thinking maybe after we put our groceries in the fridge," Gallade nodding and saying, "Sounds like a plan."

The two were looking down the aisles when they noticed Blaziken pass by, looking in the fruit section. Gardevoir smiled and squeaked, "Hi, Blaziken!" the chicken turning and noticing her, sporting a smile of her own and saying, "Oh, hey, you two. What's up?"

"Just doing a little shopping," Gallade replied, Blaziken nodding and replying, "Same here," the chicken taking a deep breath before adding, "Just think, a little over a week ago, we could hardly go a day without worrying about something interrupting our past times. Now nothing's come up."

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Gallade asked as Gardevoir looked rather upset about something, the other two looking at her as her brother asked, "Something wrong, sis?"

"I've been thinking lately," Gardevoir replied, Blaziken asking, "About what?" the girl squeaking, "About Lucario. I can't help but wonder what he's been up to since he quit villainy."

"I haven't thought too much about that, but you got a point," Blaziken replied with a sigh, "He could have joined us but he chose not to. I hope wherever he is, he's not back to causing trouble."

As a matter of fact, Lucario was currently in London, sporting the same street clothes he had worn back in Tokyo. He was simply wandering around, seeming to have no goal for the day or anything. But why specifically was he in London?

As it just so happened, London was where he grew up. Lucario was British and perhaps he simply wanted to see his old home. Either way, he neither looked happy nor disappointed to be back. He simply looked neutral and nothing more.

The dog moved along when he noticed a young boy walking with his father. Seeing how happy the boy was, he let out a sigh. He had claimed not to have any family-related issues, so what was up with that reaction?

He simply shook his head, choosing to ignore this as he carried on, a female voice coming from behind him and saying, "Hey, I know you," the dog turning and blinking as the owner of the voice added, "I saw you on the TV, or rather the telly, eh?" the stranger winking after saying that as Lucario sighed, "If it means anything to you, I prefer to call it TV myself."

The stranger talking to him was a hero who had been stationed to protect London. Hailing from Florida, this hero was a light-blue lobster half Lucario's size. She had two yellow antennae atop her head and, of course, two claws. The left claw was was more like a tiny lance than an actual claw while her right one was more like what one would expect from a lobster save for the lower pincer being yellow.

"Name's Clauncher," the lobster said, holding out her left claw and adding, "Nice to meet you, Lucario," the dog nodding and shaking her claw, replying, "Uh, yeah, nice to meet you too."

Lucario then scratched the back of his head, saying, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have somewhere I need to be right now," his stomach suddenly growling, his cheeks bright pink as he maintained his neutral look. However, Clauncher saw right through that look and realized the dog could not afford to buy himself food.

And soon enough, he found himself at a fish and chips restaurant with Clauncher paying for him, Lucario stating, "You seem oddly content eating at a fish and chips place," Clauncher blinking and asking, "Why is it odd?" taking a bite of cod, the dog blinking and replying, "Never mind. It's not important."

"So, you mentioned you were heading somewhere," Clauncher stated, Lucario blinking before nodding and replying, "Yes, I did, didn't I?" the lobster asking, "Would you mind if I ask where?"

The dog let out a sigh before replying, "I'm sorry, but it's personal," Clauncher nodding and saying, "Okay, I understand. You don't need to talk if you don't want to."

After a few seconds of eating, Lucario decided as long as he was being treated to lunch, he could at least try to be more social as he said, "I have a question for you. If you saw me on TV, why are you acting so friendly toward me?" the lobster shrugging and replying, "Because you're not a bad guy anymore, plain and simple."

"But I never said I was turning good," Lucario remarked, "I just said I was going to look for my own path. How do you know I won't turn evil again?" Clauncher simply resting her claws behind her head and replying, "I personally prefer to live in the now. Much less stressful than worrying about the future."

At that moment, a man in fancy clothing walked by and raised his hat, saying, "Top of the morning, Clauncher," the lobster waving and saying, "Top of the morning to you too, Mister Thomas," Lucario saying, "You seem to be fitting in rather well."

Clauncher nodded and replied, "Of course. I don't just focus on keeping people safe. I also like to socialize and make friends with most of the people I meet. I feel lucky to live in an age where folks like us living on Earth is acceptable."

Soon enough, Lucario had eaten everything as he got up, dabbing his lips with a napkin before saying, "Thank you very much for treating me, Miss Clauncher," the lobster replying, "Don't mention it. And just Clauncher is fine," the dog nodding before saying a quick goodbye and heading off, a smile forming on his face.

The dog carried on when he noticed an elderly woman up against a corner, trembling in fear as a three thugs stood before her, one snickering and saying, "Aye, look at this little old lady's face. Ain't it priceless?" another adding, "Now hand over all your money and we'll let you return home in one piece."

The group stopped when Lucario walked over to them and tapped them on the shoulders, one of them turning and asking, "And who the bloody hell are you?" Lucario grimacing and stating, "It's not right to pick on the elderly."

"And what are you gonna do about it, you circus freak?" the other thug asked as Lucario sighed, "Well, don't say I didn't give you a chance," the dog ramming his palm hard into the man's face shouting, "FORCE PALM!"

When the man fell hard on his back, the dog glared at the others and said, "Unless you wish to join your friend, I recommend running," the other two lifting up their unconscious partner by the shoulders and fleeing in terror, Lucario taking a deep breath and holding out his hand toward the woman.

"Thank you so much," the lady said with a smile, accepting his help, "It's so nice to have another hero in this town to help out that nice Clauncher lady," Lucario replying, "Oh no, I'm just here for a short visit, that's all."

The woman bowed her head and said, "Still, it was very nice meeting you," before walking off, Lucario feeling a sense of satisfaction. It was strange, too, because when he rescued Gardevoir from a robber, he did not feel much from it yet oddly enough, seeing that old woman full of gratitude made him feel like a million dollars, or in this case, well over six-hundred-thousand pounds.

The dog continued his walk when suddenly, a thick cloud formed. Lucario took a deep breath and thought, 'Oh right, I forgot,' thunder sounding before rain began pouring down, the dog shrugging and deciding it was not important.

He then noticed a child running across the street, his eyes widening when a car was speeding right toward him. Seeing this, Lucario immediately sprinted toward the scene, picking up the kid by the back of his collar and pulling him out of the way, the dog growling at the car. He could not believe someone could be so careless.

However, he calmed when the citizens passing by noticed this, smiling and saying nice things about his actions. Even the child smiled up at him and said, "Thank you, sir," before running over to a middle-aged woman nearby, Lucario sighing, "Watch your kid more closely," the woman hugging her son and sniffing, "Thank you."

With that, Lucario pulled out a pocket watch and noticed it was now seven in the afternoon. The dog groaned as he had hoped to finish his business much sooner and leave London on this exact day. But seven did not seem all that late, so why was he in such a hurry?

Whatever the reason, he started to pick up the pace, suddenly screeching to a halt when he noticed the bank being robbed, but not by another group of humans. No, this time it was a pair of villains.

One was a yellow stick bug with leaves covering her body. Her arms were shaped like blades with holes on the edges. Her partner was a light-brown crocodile with black stripes and eyes like a bandit mask. Both were holding big bags of money.

"This is your best plan yet, Leavanny," the crocodile said with a grin, "We keep this up and we'll be the richest people in the world," the bug nodding and replying, "Got that right, Krokorok," before asking, "Say, do you want me to make you an umbrella?" the crocodile shaking his head and replying, "Don't worry about it. I like the rain."

"Funny, because I don't take too kindly to it myself," Lucario said, folding his arms and standing before them. The two slowly turned to face him, Leavanny's eyes widening when Krokorok did not look so scared.

"What's the matter?" the crocodile asked, "It's Lucario. He's our buddy, remember?" Leavanny retorting, "Did you forget he's not one of us anymore!?" Lucario nodding and replying, "That's right."

"Oh yeah," Krokorok replied, "but he's not exactly on the side of good either. I do remember him saying that," Lucario nodding and replying, "You are correct, my good sir, but I am feeling bored today and need something to pass the time," the dog planting his right fist into his left palm.

All went silent as Krokorok laughed, slapping his knee before saying, "Wow, I didn't know you had a sense of humour," Lucario tapping his foot as Leavanny gulped, uttering, "I don't think he's joking."

With that, Lucario charged at the two, holding his arms out and hooking both of their necks. Since they were spellbound, they were unable to respond as they fell hard on their backs.

However, before Lucario could do more, he noticed string against his legs, his eyes widening when he noticed it was coming from Leavanny. The bug laughed wickedly and said, "I feel insulted. You forgot all about my sewing threads."

Before Lucario could retaliate, Krokorok rose to his feet, letting out a loud battle cry before shouting, "CROCODILE CRUNCH!" biting hard into the dog's shoulder.

Lucario cried out in pain before ramming his elbow hard into the reptile's gut, forcing him to let go. But before he could do more, Leavanny had taken this time to bind both of his ankles before pulling the string toward herself, causing him to trip and fall forward, Krokorok holding up his knee and allowing Lucario's chin to ram right into it.

After that, Leavanny proceeded to return her string before wrapping her arms around Lucario's neck saying, "I'll admit, on your own, you're very powerful, but you made a big mistake challenging both of us," the bug leaping high into the air shouting, "LEAF TORNADO!" spinning her body around and flipping her entire body so their heads were facing the ground, the bug ramming his forehead hard into the concrete.

Lucario's head was now bleeding as he grunted in pain, doing his best to ignore this and get back up, Krokorok lunging at him and shouting, "CROCODILE CRUNCH!" only for Lucario to fall backward, sending both his feet into the crocodile's midsection.

With Krokorok distracted, Lucario proceeded to send a series of punches into his face only for Leavanny to dash beside him, shouting, "X-SCISSOR!" crossing the leaves on the ends of her arms and ramming them hard into the dog's neck, his eyes widening as he coughed up blood.

"Like Leavanny said, you made a big mistake challenging us," Krokorok said as he placed his hands firmly against Lucario's arms, lashing his teeth again.

Just as he was about to use his Crocodile Crunch a third time, a certain lobster leaped into the area, spinning her body like a bouncing ball toward the crocodile and ramming her tail hard into his forehead. This was more than enough to get him to let go of Lucario, backing up and rubbing said spot.

Leavanny gritted her teeth in frustration, shouting, "DAMMIT, WE WERE SO CLOSE!" Krokorok shaking the pain off and saying, "Calm down, Leavanny. I was just caught off-guard. There's no way that shrimp can be of much help."

Lucario looked at Clauncher who grinned and said, "Hey, I'm London's official hero, so there's no sense letting you beat the bad guys alone," the dog about to object, but deep down inside, he knew he needed help, so he said nothing and just nodded his head.

With that, both rushed toward the villains as Leavanny simply released thin threads of string from her leaf tips, binding them to Lucario. But before she could take full advantage of this, Clauncher saw them almost instantly and used her claws to cut them, thus freeing the dog from the binding material.

Krokorok simply rushed at the lobster, shouting, "YOU'RE ALREADY BECOMING A PAIN!" the crocodile lashing out his jaws again only for Clauncher to roll up into a ball, quickly getting behind him and resting her claws against his sides.

"What's a half-pint like you going to do!?" Krokorok asked tauntingly before letting out a laugh, Clauncher grinning and replying, "Oh, you shouldn't underestimate me just 'cause I'm short," the lobster leaning back, Krokorok's eyes widening when Clauncher managed to lift him up with incredible ease, leaning back and planting his head into the concrete, connecting a backdrop.

"Now to make sure you stay down!" the lobster added before propelling herself high into the air, rolling into a ball again and spinning toward Krokorok's chest. When she got close enough, she stopped her vertical spin and held her big claw high above her head, shouting, "CRABHAMMER!" the claw doubling in size before she rammed it hard into the crocodile's belly, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets before he closed them, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth.

All the while, Lucario was no longer having trouble now that he could focus on Leavanny by himself. He had managed to avoid a few karate chops from her as he saw an opening and shouted, "FORCE PALM!" sending his palm hard into her chest, causing her to cough up blood as she tried to hold her ground.

"No, I've come too far to let you ruin this for me!" Leavanny grunted, crossing her arms and shouting, "X-SCISSOR!" rushing toward the dog only for him to stand his ground. Once she was close enough, he held out his arms and took hold of her wrists, stopping her dead in her tracks.

With that, Lucario proceeded to lower her arms and pull on them while they were still crossed. Leavanny cried out in pain when the dog ended up pulling hard enough to dislocate her bones. After that, he dashed behind her and grabbed hold of her wrists again.

Lucario leaned back, pulling the stick bug down and resting her back against his chest spike, shouting, "LONDON BRIDGE!" as he pulled hard. However, he did not wish to commit murder anymore, so he applied just enough force to break her back but not enough for the whole spike to go straight through, especially since she was skinny enough to be cut in half by it.

With that, both villains were out cold as Clauncher grinned at Lucario, saying, "We make a pretty good team, wouldn't you say?" Lucario taking a deep breath and replying, "You got skills, kid."

With that, police officers from Hero Planet were called up to arrest Leavanny and Krokorok, who had regained consciousness. But as the two were handcuffed, Leavanny looked deep into Lucario's eyes and asked, "Why did you spare my life?" the dog taking a deep breath and replying, "I don't like killing anymore."

As the car took off, the dog took a deep breath as Clauncher noticed a big clock nearby saying eight-thirty as she asked, "Hey, don't you need to be somewhere soon?" Lucario pulling out his pocket watch and sighing, "You're right," the dog sprinting off into the distance.

While he headed downtown, he was starting to find himself annoyed by all of this rain. Sure, he did not really care before, but now his fur had started to feel heavy from all the moisture. Sure, he had his leather jacket to protect part of him, but that did not cover as much, especially since he refused to button it up.

While he ran, he noticed a car stop next to him, the driver opening the door and revealing herself to be the mother of the child he had saved. She looked at him and asked, "Hello, sir, do you need a ride somewhere?" the dog nodding and replying, "Yes."

He sat in the back seat as the woman's son was seated next to her in the front, the boy looking back and grinning, saying, "Hi, Mister Doggy," Lucario smiling lightly at the kid before giving the address he was looking for. They would have noticed his bleeding shoulder had his jacket not covered it up.

After a while, they arrived in front of a big mansion, the woman saying, "I can't believe I didn't notice you were Riolu's son. You look so much like him," Lucario chuckling and replying, "Yeah, I do, don't I?" the child waving goodbye as the dog waved back.

With that, he slowly walked toward the entrance, taking a deep breath and standing before it for a few seconds. He cleared his throat and slicked his ears back, biting his lip and slapping himself on the cheek. He had come all this way and he would not allow himself to turn back now.

After a few more seconds, he gently placed his hand against the doorknocker, banging on the door once before doing it four more times at a quicker pace. After a few seconds, a young human woman with long brown hair wearing a light-blue gown answered, her eyes going wide as a smile formed on her face, Lucario leaning in for a hug as the woman cradled his head, though only the head for both knew exactly what would happen if their torsos were to touch. This woman was Lucario's mother, Sarah.

Soon enough, Lucario was dry and wearing an unbuttoned fancy suit and sitting at a table for dinner, a human girl around his age with hair similar to his mother's but with freckles on her face seated across from him. She had an uneasy look on her face as Lucario pretended not to see this, asking, "How is school going, Amanda?" the girl muttering, "Fine."

The dog blinked and enquired, "What's with that look, then?" Amanda turning away and remarking, "I think you know exactly what it is," Sarah remarking, "Amanda, that's rude! Your brother finally comes home after all this time and-"

"It's fine," Lucario replied, taking a deep breath and getting up, sighing, "I ran away and became a villain. She has all the right to spite me," Amanda nodding and replying, "Exactly. Thank you for understanding."

"But you admitted you were wrong," Sarah replied, "Not only that, but you came back here to make amends! I think it takes a lot of courage to do something like that!"

Lucario took a deep breath and replied, "Look, I don't really have any desire to stay here. I came to talk to Father, but he's clearly not here. Sorry for wasting your time," the dog getting up as Sarah scowled at Amanda, her hands against her hips as the girl simply had her arms folded, grunting, "Hmph!"

However, just as Lucario was about to exit the room, the girl bit her lower lip and turned to face him. Light tears rolled down her cheeks as she got up and ran over to the dog, placing her hands on his shoulders, pleading, "Please look at me, brother!" Lucario turning as Amanda sniffed, "I'm sorry for being so mean! It's just, when you ran away, I was so sad!"

Lucario's eyes went wide as he remembered it now. Growing up, he and Amanda had a stronger bond than most siblings. He would always play with her when their parents were too busy. Whenever bullies picked on Amanda, Lucario would come to her rescue. On her first day of school, the dog requested a ride there one hour before classes started just to give her the grand tour of the building so she would know where everything was, even walking her to her first class.

Amanda still had tears rolling down her cheeks as she held up her right fist, Lucario nodding and lifting up his left fist, the two pounding them together and holding them there. After that, the two opened up their hands as Amanda wrapped her fingers around Lucario's. The two had warm smiles on their faces as they held their hands like this for a few seconds.

"Good day, my lady," Lucario said with a bow as Amanda gave a curtsy with her left hand pulling on her dress while replying, "Same to you, good sir," the two laughing. Lucario could not believe it. He was actually happy after so many years.

With that, the two returned to the dinner table and talked about various different subjects. There was nothing in particular they were discussing. They just said whatever came to mind and that was good enough, Sarah more than happy to see them connecting with each other.

"Please tell me you're planning on staying, Lucario," Amanda replied, "You only said those things because you didn't think I wanted you around, right?" Lucario taking a deep breath and replying, "I'm sorry, Amanda, but-" Amanda asking, "But what?" Lucario replying, "There's something I feel I must do, and I need to do it my own way. I don't want anyone in my family getting involved with this."

Amanda shook her head until Sarah rested a hand on her shoulder, nodding her head with a smile and saying, "Lucario, whatever it is you need to do, we will support you," Amanda taking a deep breath before smiling lightly and nodding her head.

But just as Lucario was about to take his leave, he noticed it was already midnight, the dog looking out the window at the pouring rain and chuckling before turning to Amanda and saying, "Well, I guess I could put my plans aside for one night," Amanda's eyes sparkling as she gave her brother a hug, though remembered to keep her body away from his spike.

 

Today marked a whole month since Machoke and the others had graduated. This meant two things, the first being the fourth weekly allowance. But what was the other thing? This had not yet been stated.

As it just so happened, the chairman, Weedle, would call in four heroes each hour and have them brought to Hero Planet to show off how good they had gotten in friendly sparring matches. Currently, a pangolin with razor sharp claws and spikes coming from her back named Sandslash was going up against a grizzly bear with a yellow circle on his belly named Ursaring. A humanoid being with pale purple skin and brown shorts and shoes named Tyrogue sat on the sidelines watching them as his opponent had not shown up.

Sandslash propelled herself off the ropes and rolled up into a ball, shouting, "SPINY BOULDER!" Ursaring allowing himself to take the blow as he ignored the pain and grabbed hold of the pangolin. Sandslash retracted from her ball-like formation as her head was now facing the mat, the mammal trying to free herself only for the bear to slam her head into the mat, performing a tombstone piledriver.

Ursaring proceeded to kneel down, sending a punch toward Sandslash's face only for the pangolin to easily block it. She smirked as panic filled Ursaring's face, Sandslash shouting, "REVERSE BOULDER!" tucking herself into a ball again and rolling backwards, Ursaring going under her multiple times and taking in cuts to his back before being flung into the turnbuckle, Weedle ringing the bell with his tail.

Ursaring twitched as Sandslash walked over, saying, "Sorry about that, Ursaring. I got a little carried away," the bear spitting out a bit of blood and replying, "It's okay. I welcome the challenge."

"NO!" Weedle remarked, Ursaring asking, "Was there something wrong with my response?" the caterpillar grimacing and grunting, "This just won't do!"

Tyrogue looked at the bug and asked, "Excuse me, sir, but what are you getting at?" Weedle remarking, "The fact that Machoke was supposed to be your opponent and he isn't here!" Tyrogue replying, "That's okay. I can just wait for one of these two to recover and-"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!!!!!" Weedle retorted, taking a deep breath, "It's not just Machoke, either. All four of the heroes stationed in Tokyo claim to be sick and therefore unable to attend!" Ursaring asking, "But isn't that a legitimate excuse? I don't think Tyrogue wants a cold," Weedle retorting, "SHUT UP!"

The three heroes stared as the bug sighed, "What I mean is that it makes no sense that four heroes can come down with simultaneous colds, especially Blaziken! Fire types are, by nature, unable to get colds!" Sandslash asking, "Is this true?" Weedle nodding and sighing, "Something fishy is going on and I'm going to find out what it is."

Meanwhile, on Hero Planet, Machoke was currently lying in bed, coughing like crazy as Aipom said, "You really do look terrible, and on sparring day no less," Machoke moaning in a raspy tone, "I was looking forward to it," coughing some more as Aipom sighed, "Well, your temperature was one-hundred degrees. You'd better stay in all day."

Machoke coughed some more, watching Aipom and thinking, 'Alright, soon enough, that bitter chocolate I slipped in her tea will work its magic,' the monkey's eyes shooting wide open as she screeched, "HOLD ON, I'LL BE BACK TO MAKE YOU CHICKEN SOUP IN A BIT!" racing into the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

Machoke smirked and said, "Dipping the thermometer in boiling water when she's not looking. Never fails," the boy getting up and dashing out the door. And no sooner had he done this had the toilet flushed, Aipom exiting and taking a deep breath, her eyes widening as he groaned, "Why didn't I see this coming!?"

Soon enough, Machoke, who had his street clothes on the whole time, met up with his friends downtown and said, "Hey, guys," Gardevoir wearing her jersey while Gallade wore black jeans today, the two waving at him. Blaziken was dressed in blue jeans and a green T-shirt.

"I feel a little bad lying to the chairman, but this was a great idea," Blaziken said, Gardevoir blushing and squeaking, "This is so exciting! I've never done anything rebellious before!" Gallade sighing, "Just don't make it a trend, okay, sis?"

At that moment, Reika ran over to the group, exclaiming, "Hey there!" Blaziken grinning and replying, "Hey, good of you to join us, Reika," Machoke nodding with a big smile on his face while Gallade and Gardevoir looked at each other before chuckling. Machoke's infatuation with the girl was written all over his face.

However, just as the two were about to move elsewhere, they heard a sound and looked behind them to notice what looked like a comet streaking by in the distance, all of them blinking before Gallade said, "Huh, you don't see that everyday," the group carrying on.

It seemed the 'comet' was actually a spaceship piloted by Weedle as it had crash-landed, the bug groaning and slowly climbing out while wearing a small backpack and uttering, "Right, that's why we don't use light speed to land on planets anymore," shaking off the pain and sporting a serious look, exclaiming, "The important thing is I'm here! I'll just need to call for a ride later!"

And sure enough, the group was at their usual club, the guests of course greeting them. Reika had actually called up a couple of her friends and it was not long until they joined the group on a couch, one of them feeling rather nervous around Gallade.

"I guess we may as well all get acquainted," Reika said, turning to her girlfriends and pointing at the heroes, adding, "These are the guys I've been hanging out with these last few weeks, Machoke, Gallade, Gardevoir and Blaziken," all of them waving as one of her friends, a girl with short blue hair said, "I'm Cici," a nervous blush on her face as Gardevoir smiled lightly, saying, "It's very nice to meet you."

Cici felt a little more comfortable as she could sense Gardevoir was also a tad nervous to be around so many new people. Neither were exactly the most social of their kind, though Gardevoir was getting much better at talking to new people these days.

The other girl, who had long white hair, smiled bright and said, "I'm Tsuya, nice to meetcha," the girl then scooching over to Gallade and running her finger along his leg, adding, "Especially you," Gallade blinking and asking, "What are you doing?"

"I didn't really need to introduce you guys," Reika said to the heroes as Cici nodded, uttering, "We've all seen you on TV. We think you're amazing, though Tsuya especially likes-" Tsuya shooting Cici a creepy stare as the girl trembled, uttering, "Never mind, it's not important."

"Well, it's certainly great to have more members in our group," Blaziken said with a smirk, "So, who's up for karaoke?" Machoke getting up and replying, "Me! I wanna go first this time!" the others cheering him on.

At that moment, Weedle was crawling by when he heard a familiar sound coming from inside. The worm blinked and shook his head, saying, "I'm getting old. I thought for sure I just heard Machoke's voice," his eyes widening when the boy hit a higher note, the caterpillar thinking, 'Oh, I definitely heard him that time.'

With that, he stood up tall enough to see through the window, a look of fury forming on his face when he saw all four heroes in the club. What a disgrace. He expected such irresponsible behaviour from Machoke, but to see the other three acting like this was enough to drive him off the deep end. The way he saw it, Machoke must have had a bad influence on them. There was no better explanation he could come up with.

With that in mind, he propped down his backpack and pulled out a cellphone, dialling a few numbers with his horn and holding it up to the side of his head. He quickly got a response as he asked, "Hey, Riolu, how has the final exam been going?"

"Well, of the forty-four students we had the beginning of the semester, thirty-one have graduated," the dog replied as he turned to the four rings, adding, "Though that number might go up. We have four left," Weedle asking, "And how are they doing?"

Before the dog could answer, he noticed one particular fighter, a thin green bug holding Bouffalant high above her head. Between each of her body segments as a creamy white attachment and her eyes were narrow. Her head had three sharp points at the back and her face looked more like that of a dinosaur than a bug. She also had spikes of green fur on her thighs and claws on her feet. With two pairs of wings coming from her back, this fighter was known as Scyther.

After lifting up Bouffalant, the bug leaped high above the ring before leaning backwards and shouting in a thick German accent, "FLYING HAMMER!" ramming the bison's head hard into the mat and knocking him out cold.

And at that exact moment, the other three fighters finished off their own opponents, a rabbit taking down a huge tortoise with her ears, a beetle defeating the pangolin, Sandshrew with a big horn atop his head and a golem taking care of a red dragon with a piledriver as Riolu pressed the button on a stop watch, saying, "They all defeated their opponents at the same time, sir, three minutes and twenty-five seconds."

Weedle's eyes went wide as he stuttered, "Th-three minutes and-and twenty-f-f-five?" Riolu replying, "Yeah. Why do you ask?" the caterpillar taking a few seconds to collect himself before replying, "That's a new record, way better than the four stationed in Tokyo."

"I don't follow, sir," Riolu replied as Weedle laughed lightly, hanging up the phone before his laughter got louder, a few passersby stopping to stare at him as he froze briefly before laughing nervously, saying, "Oh, don't mind me, fair citizens."

The following day, Machoke was at home doing pushups as punishment for running off, Aipom sighing, "I swear to God, you can be such a pain sometimes," Machoke groaning before asking, "If I invite you along for our next get-together, will that make you feel better?" the monkey biting her lip, her body twitching as she screeched, rubbing her head. Sure, she would have absolutely loved that, but it would have been irresponsible to go against her duties.

At that moment, the door opened up as Blaziken, Gallade and Gardevoir stood at the doorway, Blaziken snapping, "MACHOKE, YOU GOTTA TURN ON THE TV RIGHT NOW!" Machoke blinking as Aipom asked, "Can't you guys knock first?" Gallade replying, "No time to explain."

With that, they flipped the TV on, turning it to the news channel as Weedle was on screen, Machoke asking, "Hey, what's that disgusting thing?" Aipom smacking the side of his face with her tail hand and remarking, "Don't be rude. That's Weedle, the chairman of Hero Planet."

"Alright, as you know, this report is regarding four particular heroes stationed in Japan, Machoke, Gallade, Gardevoir and Blaziken," the caterpillar said as Machoke grinned, saying, "I bet he's offering us all hero medals for our hard work," Gallade replying, "I dunno. He doesn't look too happy about this."

"How did you know he was going to talk about you guys?" Aipom asked as Gallade replied, "They stated it before the commercial break. I'm actually surprised we got here in time."

"It has recently come to my attention that these four have been slacking in their duties," the worm added, all four staring in shock as he grunted, "They think just because a villain hasn't shown up for a long time, it means they can just take a breather whenever they want."

"How did he find out?" Machoke asked, Aipom sighing, "It was only a matter of time," everyone glaring at her as she protested, "I SWEAR I DIDN'T TELL!"

Weedle then proceeded to state, "However, four very promising students have recently come to my attention. They have all simultaneously broken the record for the shortest time a student on Hero Planet has passed his or her final exam. As such, I am considering replacing Machoke and his team with them."

All went silent as all four gritted their teeth, Machoke feeling the most irritated of them all while Weedle added, "Now, I am a fair man, so I will give them a chance to defend themselves. In a few days from now, I will have them take on all four of my newcomers to defend their right to stay stationed in Tokyo. I will discuss further details tomorrow at this location," showing an address on the bottom of the screen before saying, "I recommend you four show up if you know what's good for you! And you know who you are!"

With that, the broadcast ended as Blaziken got up, barking, "HOW DARE HE SAY THAT ABOUT US!?" Gallade nodding and growling, "We have just as much right to be here as anyone!" Gardevoir not even sure what to say as Machoke spat, "This is complete, utter bullshit!"

Aipom covered her ears, whining, "Can you tone down the language, please?" Machoke remarking, "I'll say whatever the hell I want! This is pure slander and he knows it!"

"Exactly right, Machoke," Blaziken replied with a nod, "After all, I defeated Onix and helped Machoke beat Bisharp," Machoke replying, "Don't forget I also defeated Rotom, and he was a tough one."

Gardevoir nodded and squeaked, "I beat Scrafty, and that wasn't easy!" Gallade adding, "Yeah, and I..." all going silent until Gallade uttered, "Uh, what did I do again?"

"Oh, now we see who the real weak link is!" Machoke exclaimed tauntingly, "Gallade hasn't beaten anyone since he came to Earth!" Blaziken sighing, "Machoke, don't make fun of him," Gallade's eyes sparkling until the chicken added, "It's not his fault he's not as badass as we are," Gallade looking down and groaning, "They're right, I'm a failure," Gardevoir patting him on the shoulder saying, "No you're not."

"Look, I'm sure Weedle recognizes and appreciates everything you've done," Aipom stated as everyone turned toward her, the monkey adding, "But he's right! You guys rarely ever go on patrol and you all faked a sickness yesterday just to get off work! That's not exactly what heroes should be doing!"

"She's right," Gardevoir whimpered, tears forming in her eyes as Gallade took a deep breath, holding his sister's shoulder and replying, "It's okay, sis," Blaziken nodding and replying, "That's right. We'll just have to prove them wrong when we wipe the floor with his new students. They're probably not as tough as he makes them sound."

Machoke nodded and folded his arms, stating, "Yeah, we're gonna put those wannabes in their place, right, guys?" Gallade and Blaziken cheering before looking at Gardevoir, the girl biting her lower lip before sporting a serious look, wiping her tears and nodding. There was no way they were going to fail.

"Well, you'd better start training now if you want to prove Weedle wrong," Aipom stated as the four nodded and ran into the yard, starting up rigorous training exercises, the monkey sighing, "Somehow I don't think that's gonna be good enough."

All the while, Lucario was at an airport when he saw this exact report on the TV, the dog blinking and saying to himself, "Perhaps my next stop shall be Tokyo."

The following day, many arrived at a fancy building as Weedle stood atop a podium, saying, "Thank you all for coming. I'm sure you're all ready to hear the details regarding the upcoming event."

Many reporters were there as the four more recent graduates stood behind the caterpillar, all of them hidden under cloaks for dramatic effect. Everyone wanted to know as soon as possible who was under those disguises.

"I have proposed a tournament," Weedle said, everyone listening with interest as he added, "I will call it 'The Next Gen Battle'. Both teams will compete and whichever one has so much as one member still standing will be stationed in Tokyo," one reporter asking, "So even if three members of a team fail, one member can win it for all of them?" the caterpillar nodding and replying, "That's correct."

With that, he then proceeded to say, "Now, graduates, reveal yourselves," the heroes removing their cloaks as everyone gazed in wonder. One was of course Scyther, the German bug who had beaten Bouffalant, Weedle directing everyone's attention to her first while saying, "Hailing from Germany, an insect of many talents, Scyther!" the bug waving at the crowd.

The other was a blue rhino beetle with yellow eyes, Weedle stating, "Hailing from Scotland is a beetle with a lot of strength, Heracross!" the beetle smiling sweetly at the crowd and saying, "Hi, nice to meet you all."

The third was a light-blue golem with bronze arm and leg bands along with a metal patch over what looked like a crack on his upper body. His shoulders and a couple of diamond formations on his wrists had yellow swirls on them, a roman armour skirt over his legs. Weedle pointed at him and added, "Coming to us from Rome is a golem with a lot of fighting spirit, Golurk!" the golem exclaiming, "I will crush my opponents into dust!"

Then finally, the last of the new graduates as a dark-brown rabbit with a short round tail. Her ears were brown on the top but almost two-thirds consisted of long strands of cream-coloured fur, the ends resembling chubby fists. This same colour of fur was also present on two cotton ball-like tufts on her wrists and her feet right up to her knees also had this colour. Weedle simply stated, "And last but not least, coming to us from Egypt is a rabbit with a lot of speed, Lopunny!" the rabbit waving at the crowd with excitement.

One reporter stated, "I look forward to seeing them in battle, that is I would if their opponents had actually bothered to show up," Weedle replying, "Oh no, they showed up, surprisingly. I just have them waiting in another area right now. Come on out, guys!"

At that moment, the others also came in wearing cloaks as one reporter asked, "Weedle, I don't understand. We already know who they are," Weedle replying, "True, but do you know who's under which cloak?" the area going silent as Machoke grinned under his, thinking, 'This is a great disguise. I should use this when sneaking out of the house.'

With that, the bug explained, "Each member of the new team will pick one of these fighters. Whoever each one chooses will be his or her opponent for the first round. Now, who would like to pick first?"

"Me!" Scyther exclaimed, the bug stepping forward as Golurk grunted, "No fair! You always gotta go first!" Scyther shrugging and replying, "I strive to be number 1, Kamerad," the golem sighing, "I have no idea what that means."

With that, the bug thought hard before choosing the second to the left, said fighter removing his cloak to reveal Gallade underneath. The boy smirked, holding up his blade arms and saying, "I look forward to wiping the mat with you," Scyther smirking and remarking, "Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing."

Golurk then snapped, "Me next, everyone!" Lopunny and Heracross nodding, saying nothing to this as the golem did not even stop to think, pointing at the one on the far right and belting, "You! Show yourself so I can see your fear!"

The figure removed the cloak to reveal Blaziken underneath, though naturally there was no fear in her eyes. In fact, she looked more eager than ever to knock this guy's stone block off.

Lopunny bounced forward squealing, "This looks like fun!" tapping her chin and holding out her finger, saying, "Eenie meenie miney mo..." the crowd and the other fighters groaning as she actually went through the entire chant, soon ending up with the one on the far left, said fighter taking a deep breath.

Gardevoir was underneath this one as she thought, 'Okay, Machoke said I have to look cool,' Weedle uttering, "Um, you have to take your cloak off," Gardevoir taking hold of one edge and throwing it off to the side with an intimidating look on her face, now sporting a black shirt with ripped sleeves as she pointed at Lopunny, squeaking, "You're going down like a clown, Charlie Brown!"

All went silent as the last cloaked member exclaimed, "YOU ROCK, GARDEVOIR!" Gallade laughing nervously and saying, "Okay, Machoke is not allowed to pick her entrances anymore."

Weedle simply let out a sigh, saying, "Well, we already know it's him under the cloak, so I'll forgive that violation of my 'no talking until revealed' terms," Lopunny's eyes sparkling as she clapped excitedly, squealing, "OH MY GOD, THAT WAS SO COOL! I'VE HEARD YOU'RE SUPER SHY AND TIMID, BUT YOU JUST PROVED ALL OF THAT WRONG!"

"Thank you," Gardevoir squealed, lightly blushing as Machoke shot her a look, the girl blinking and nodding, sporting a confident look and adding, "I mean, your praise means nothing!" Gallade groaning, "It's okay to be a good sport, sis."

With that, Machoke tried the same thing with his cloak only to end up stepping on the bottom and causing himself to fall on his back, his cloak falling over his face as he flailed his arms, shouting, "WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS!?" the team even more embarrassed now.

Heracross simply helped him remove it, saying, "Here you go, sir," Machoke blinking as the beetle smiled bright, saying, "I am so happy to be your opponent. I'm looking forward to this."

The boy blinked and said, "You seem quite reasonable," the boy not even sure whether to act tough or scared right now. Heracross really did not seem all that bad.

"Alright, it would seem the match-ups have been decided," Weedle stated, "You will be divided up into sub groups. Group A will consist of Machoke, Gardevoir, Heracross and Lopunny with Gardevoir and Lopunny fighting in the first match. They will meet in a park located here," pointing to a park on a map before adding, "Group B will be the rest, with Gallade and Scyther being the first to fight in that division. They will be located here," the caterpillar pointing at another spot on the map.

"Hold it," Blaziken said, Weedle asking, "Yes?" the chicken asking, "So, you're saying if just one member of our team can make it through the tournament, we all stay in Tokyo?" Weedle nodding as Blaziken added, "What if two members of the same team win back-to-back?" Weedle replying, "Like any tournament, the winner of one match will face the other winner, so it is possible for two members of the same team to compete."

"But hold on," Gallade uttered, then trembling as he asked, "What if we all fail in the first round?" Machoke shouting, "DON'T SAY THAT!" Blaziken sighing, "He's right. We can't rule out the possibility," Weedle nodding and replying, "Well, the tournament will continue, but your team will lose, no ifs, ands or buts. You can choose to stay and watch the show or get going before it's over, your call. But let it be known, I've already chosen new locations for all of you, and with the exception of Gallade and Gardevoir, you're all going to be sent to separate countries."

Machoke's eyes widened as he now realized just how serious this was. If he and the entire team lost, it would be a nightmare trying to see each other again. They would likely get new partners who were nowhere near as pleasant to be around. On the whole, there was no way they could risk failure.

 

This was it, the day of The Next Gen Battle. Would this be the last time Machoke and his friends could enjoy living in Tokyo? Who knew?

Many were gathered at a big stadium where B block was scheduled to fight as the female announcer from before exclaimed, "This is Nori Takanawa coming to you live for the first round of The Next Gen Battle, specifically B block! I notice many of you have gathered here for the big event and I can't blame you! As awesome as seeing heroes fight the bad guys can be, heroes facing off against their own allies is another thing altogether!"

At this moment, someone wearing a trench coat entered the area, standing next to the bleachers, but this was no ordinary audience member. This person was actually a red bug with a build similar to that of a Scyther but with plenty of key differences. For instance, her hands were actually big claws similar to those of a crab with yellow circles that resembled eyes on the sides. Her midsection was a lot wider than Scyther's and her wings were half the length but twice the width. And rather than having three claws on each foot, she instead had one claw on the front and one on the heel. But who was this figure and why did she look so similar to Scyther?

Meanwhile, in a small park far from the stadium, a ring had been set up in the centre of the area. Weedle, Machoke, Aipom and Heracross were seated behind a desk right next to the ring as Machoke looked around, noticing an extreme lack of people coming for the event. As if that was not weird enough, most of them seemed more interested in having picnics with their families than watching the match that was about to unfold.

"Geez, what's with the lack of attention?" Machoke asked as Weedle replied, "Well, it's quite simple. See, the fighters in Block B are much more popular, therefore more people want to see them," Machoke glaring at him as Aipom patted him on the shoulder, saying, "There, there, it's not his fault."

Among these audience members were Reika and Cici, Tsuya claiming that she just simply had to watch B block instead. Cici felt happy either way as she always felt safer around Reika. And of course, Keiko was there as well.

"So, Reika, why do you want to watch A block so much anyway?" Cici asked, Reika replying, "A block audience is quieter," Keiko smirking and asking, "Are you sure that's your only reason?"

"MOM!" Reika retorted with a look of horror, "What are you suggesting!?" her cheeks bright pink as Keiko pinched her daughter's cheeks, teasingly saying, "Reika's got a crush!"

With that, Weedle tapped on a microphone in front of him a couple of times before exclaiming, "Welcome to the first round of The Next Gen Battle! This is where the A Block fighters will compete! As you already know, I am Weedle, the chairman of Hero Planet, and I will be acting as announcer for this section!" Machoke taking a deep breath and sighing, "He sure is humble, isn't he?" Aipom smacking the boy on the back of the head.

"Without further ado," Weedle exclaimed, "it's time to introduce the fighters!" Machoke grinning while whispering, "I can't wait for Gardevoir to come out," Aipom sighing, "Let me guess, you chose another entrance for her didn't you?" the boy nodding as the monkey face-palmed with her tail hand.

"In the red corner," Weedle stated, directing his horn toward one side of the ring and adding, "Coming to us from Egypt and weighing thirty-three kilograms, representing Team Next Gen, Lopunny!" the rabbit bounding toward the ring before crouching down and leaping high into the air, landing hard against the ring and striking a battle pose, the small crowd clapping as a child pointed at Lopunny, saying, "Look, Daddy, a bunny."

"Boy, they sure seem excited," Machoke said sarcastically as Weedle ignored this before shouting, "And in the blue corner, coming to us from France and weighing at forty-eight kilograms, representing Team Jinroku, Gardevoir!" Machoke glaring at the bug and retorting, "HEY, THAT'S JAPANESE FOR DUNCE, YOU JERK!" Aipom holding him back.

Insulting team name or not, Gardevoir did not seem to care as she entered with a black cape wrapped around her body, the audience now fully interested in what they were seeing. Whatever Machoke had planned, it actually looked like this entrance could be taken seriously. That was until the girl removed the cape, everyone staring as she had a dancer's outfit on underneath.

With that, the girl struck a sexy pose while obnoxious J-pop played in the background. After her last couple of entrances, she no longer felt awkward doing these, so the girl did not hesitate for a second as she thrust her body a few times. After that, the girl performed a graceful twirl before somersaulting toward the ring and propelling herself off the ground, landing delicately against the mat and pointing her finger at Lopunny like a shotgun, shouting, "BANG-BANG!"

When the music stopped, all went silent as Machoke clapped, exclaiming, "YEAH, YOU GO, GIRL!" whistling to her with admiration as Reika gritted her teeth, feeling strangely offended now that she knew he was responsible for this, Cici asking, "Is something wrong?"

Lopunny on the other hand was once again impressed as she clapped her ears and hands together, squealing, "OH MY GOD, WHERE DO YOU GET SUCH WONDERFUL IDEAS!?" Machoke exclaiming, "From yours truly!" the boy standing tall and proud as Lopunny asked, "Can I hire you to plan my next fight entrance!?"

"Hm, working for Lopunny," Weedle uttered, rubbing the tip of his tail against his chin, "It will give me a reason to let you stay in Tokyo," Machoke now actually considering the offer as he replied, "I'll have to think about it."

However, while Reika still looked beyond annoyed by this, Gardevoir felt so happy as she thought, 'As awkward as these entrances are, they actually help relieve stress. Thank you, Machoke,' the girl shooting him a small smile.

After a while, Reika calmed down as she said, "Wait, she seems a lot less timid now," Keiko nodding and replying, "I guess those entrances Machoke plans for her give her more courage," the girl blinking and saying, "And here I thought he was objectifying women."

All the while in B block, Nori was ready to introduce the fighters as she exclaimed, "In the red corner, coming to us from Germany and weighing fifty-six kilograms, the spirited insect of Team Next Gen, Scyther!" the bug dashing toward the ring before spreading out her wings and leaping high into the air, performing a bit of aerial ballet before landing perfectly against the mat, the crowd going wild.

"And in the blue corner," Nori stated, "hailing from France and weighing fifty-two kilos, the fast and strong warrior of Team Jinroku, Gallade!"

Gallade took a more humble approach toward the ring only for his calm look to drop when he spat, "JINROKU!?" Nori trembling and uttering, "Please, don't look at me! Mister Weedle thought this one up!" Gallade then noticing Blaziken wearing a T-shirt with the kanji for 'Jinroku' as she sighed, "Sorry, Gallade, but we have to accept this."

The boy let out a sigh before shaking his head and folding his arms, saying, "Oh well, it doesn't matter," before making his way over to the ring and entering, quickly recovering from his outburst earlier as the crowd started cheering for him as well, especially Tsuya who got up from her seat, squealing, "YEAH, GALLADE, KICK HER BUTT!"

The two stared each-other down, holding up fighting stances with serious looks in their eyes. Once Nori rang the bell, Scyther immediately sprinted toward Gallade, tackling him as he spread out his legs, stopping himself from falling back.

Everyone stared in admiration as the boy held his ground, Scyther's eyes going wide when Gallade wrapped his arms around her shoulders, saying, "Hate to break it to you, but I've developed a technique to prevent myself from being knocked down so easily."

Before the insect could respond, Gallade leaned backward, pulling her up over his head before slamming her skull against the mat. The crowd went wild as he released his hold on her, saying, "Weedle thinks I've been shirking in my duties, but that's not true. Both my sister and I have been working out daily at a gym close to our condominium."

Scyther slowly rose to her feet, acting as if the pain meant nothing before replying, "That is certainly commendable, but my training far exceeds yours," the insect rushing at him again.

However, Gallade once again seemed ready as he dodged to the side, crossing his arms and shouting, "PSYCHO CUT!" rushing at Scyther and attempting to strike her. Scyther held up her arms when the stranger in the crowd barked, "SCYTHER, DON'T!" Scyther turning toward the bug in the trench coat and remembering another method to this, the insect simply leaping high above the ring in time to avoid Gallade's attack.

The boy was caught off-guard as Scyther landed behind him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him high above her head. Everyone thought she was going to use a brainbuster but instead, the insect leapt high above the ring and leaned back, Gallade's head now closer to the canvas as she shouted, "FLYING HAMMER!"

With that, she descended toward the mat, slamming the back of Gallade's head hard into it while the crowd went wild for her. Gallade's eyes were wide with shock as just from this one hit, he was already feeling rather weak. Perhaps it had not been an exaggeration when Scyther said her training was more effective than his.

However, Gallade would not allow her to win so easily as he shifted his legs downward, latching them to the insect's sides. With that, he placed his hands firmly against the mat and attempted to lift her up only for the bug to shockingly overpower him, forcing her body back onto the mat.

Seeing how his efforts were helpless, Gallade simply twisted his body, forcing her to let go of his and rolling away. But before he could do anything else, Scyther came up behind him and delivered a flying roundhouse to the back of his head.

The boy could not believe it. From only two hits, he was already feeling really weak as Scyther smirked, saying, "You boast about your training, but it is nowhere near the level of mine. I've read about your match with Scrafty and it did not make you sound particularly impressive," Gallade retorting, "What do you mean by that!?"

The insect took a deep breath and remarked, "It's quite simple, really. Losing every now and then is okay, but from what I can gather, you barely put up a fight," Gallade's eyes going wide as she added, "I mean, Blaziken went up against a really strong adversary while under an injury and did a better job than you did," Blaziken gulping, not sure whether or not she could argue with that statement.

"HEY, WHAT WAS THAT!?" Gallade spat, glaring at the chicken, "BACK ME UP HERE!" Blaziken nodding and shouting, "She's trying to psyche you out! Don't listen to her!" Scyther remarking, "Yes, Gallade, don't listen to the truth. Keep living in that fantasy world where you're a champion."

Gallade gritted his teeth and spat, "SHUT UP!" swinging his right blade at her only for the bug to hold her left arm up to block it, everyone staring in shock when a real blade sprouted from the bottom of her arm, reaching all the way to her armpit and blocking Gallade's attack.

'Dammit, I told her not to use that until it was necessary,' the red insect in the audience thought, gritting her teeth, 'Guess it's too late now,' Gallade staring in absolute shock as Scyther sighed, "Sorry, lehrer, I acted too quickly to think."

"Where did that come from?" Gallade asked, Scyther backing up and saying, "No sense holding back now," the insect rushing at the boy and shouting, "ARM SCHWERT!" speeding right past him when suddenly, a cut formed on his midsection, expanding into a big gash as he cried out in pain.

All went silent as Gallade fell to his knees before falling forward, landing hard on his face. After a few seconds, Nori rang the bell and exclaimed, "AND THE FIRST MATCH OF THE NEXT GEN BATTLE GOES TO SCYTHER!" the crowd then breaking out into heavy cheers as Scyther stared at the red bug, Nori adding, "That attack, the Arm Schwert, has not been seen in a long time, but I do remember that being a finishing move used by the mighty Scizor back in the day."

Blaziken stared at the red insect while news reporters ran up to her asking questions such as "Where have you been all this time, Miss Scizor?" and "What is your connection to Scyther?" The insect simply ignored the press and exited the area. One thing was for certain, though. These new fighters could not be taken lightly.

When Scyther exited the area, Blaziken ran into the ring, helping Gallade up when a group of medics came in, the chicken laying him down on the stretcher. Gallade was just conscious enough to let down tears, Blaziken sighing, "Don't be so hard on yourself. We didn't mean what we said the other day. You are a good fighter."

A light smile formed on his face as he uttered, "Beat Golurk, please," the boy carried out of the stadium as Blaziken took a deep breath, nodding her head with a serious look on her face.

During this time, Gardevoir was unaware of her brother's loss as she and Lopunny were literally locked in combat, both having a contest of strength as Gardevoir was using her hands to force Lopunny's ears away from her. Strangely enough, she was actually putting up a descent struggle this time.

"I will not longer allow myself to be overpowered!" Gardevoir squeaked with a serious look in her eyes, "Mister Weedle assumes I haven't been taking my job seriously, but I've been working out with my brother everyday!" Weedle asking, "Is this true?" Machoke nodding and replying, "Yeah, you should probably rethink your judgement," the caterpillar remarking, "We shall see about that."

However, while Gardevoir's arm strength had certainly improved overtime, Lopunny's ears were big and strong and as such, Gardevoir soon found herself forced back. But just as she was about to succumb, the girl remembered a countermeasure that Gallade had taught her, releasing her hold on Lopunny's ears and allowing them to get just close enough for her to wrap her arms around them.

All went silent as Lopunny gasped in shock, rather impressed by this strategy. Gardevoir smiled lightly and thought, 'I'm going to win without having to use my power,' the girl tugging on the ears as Lopunny cried out in pain. Unfortunately, this was not the girl's intention.

Her strategy was to pull hard enough for Lopunny to fly toward her so she could land a headbutt on the her, but unfortunately, her strength was still not enough for that to work. As such, Lopunny grinned and said, "Nice try, but it's not good enough," the rabbit bending backward and lifting Gardevoir up off the ground. With the girl still clinging to her ears, Lopunny proceeded to swing them around as Machoke spat, "GARDEVOIR, LET GO!"

Unfortunately, this proved to be a bad idea as when Gardevoir did release her hold, she ended up flying into the turnbuckle, the girl squeaking in pain. However, she knew that she had to be strong, so she slowly recovered from the hit and took a deep breath, pretending not to feel pain from it.

"I'm impressed," Lopunny said with a friendly smile, "Most opponents would take in extreme pain from that," Gardevoir taking another deep breath and replying, "Well, I'm not your ordinary, everyday opponent."

"Yeah, now show her what you got!" Machoke exclaimed, Reika raising her fist and shouting, "YEAH, SOCK IT TO HER!"

With that in mind, Gardevoir raced toward the rabbit only for Lopunny to send her ears forward like fists again. This time, though, Gardevoir gracefully dodge to the side and swerved next to the rabbit, sending a palm punch to her cheek. Unlike before when she tried that same move on Nidoqueen, this actually seemed to deal pain. One could have made the argument that this was because Lopunny's body was much weaker if the attack had not had such a huge impact, the rabbit actually forced to the side as a result of the attack.

Gardevoir smiled and squealed, "I ACTUALLY DEALT DAMAGE!" Machoke exclaiming, "THAT'S GREAT, BUT DON'T STOP!" the girl nodding and proceeded to deliver a series of powerful slaps before Lopunny could recover, those initially uninterested in the match now getting really involved as they cheered wildly for the girl.

Gardevoir was filling up with pride now. Up until now, she had never been able to cause pain in her normal state and now not only was she causing damage, she was causing some real damage. It seemed her training had paid off and she could not help but feel a great thrill from it.

However, Lopunny was not going to let her team down no matter how much she admired Gardevoir. As such, the rabbit held up her arms to block the incoming slaps while sending her ears out until they were behind Gardevoir's back. Seeing this, Machoke gasped and spat, "GARDEVOIR, BEHIND YOU!"

Unfortunately, the girl was unable to react in time as the ears bent toward Lopunny, holding Gardevoir tight like a pair of arms. With that, Lopunny proceeded to bounce high above the ring, wrapping her normal arms around the girl and flipping her over for a Tombstone, sending Gardevoir's head hard into the canvas.

Cici winced at the sight of this as Gardevoir was just about to cough up blood. But not wanting to show any signs of weakness, the girl held her mouth closed to contain the blood so when Lopunny released her and her body collapsed, the girl gulped it back down. It was a strange feeling but Gardevoir was not going to let that get her down.

"My god, you are so hardcore!" Lopunny squealed with a big grin, "I've gotta try extra hard to beat you!" Machoke blinking and uttering, "I don't like the sound of that."

"What do you mean?" Aipom asked as Machoke sighed, "Gardevoir clearly took in more pain from that than she's letting on," the monkey blinking and saying, "Oh my god, you noticed it too," Heracross nodding and saying, "Yeah, Lopunny's really strong. Gardevoir's done a descent job so far, but I worry about her health when this is all over."

Now Machoke was really confused about what kind of being Heracross was. Was he being friendly and sympathetic or was this his way of making fun of Gardevoir? Either way, Machoke would still have to fight him anyway, so that hardly mattered.

Lopunny proceeded to send her ears forward like fists once again, Gardevoir gracefully dodging each strike. Sure, her strength was nothing to be proud of at first, but she had always been good at avoiding attacks. Unfortunately, this would not last as Lopunny eventually noticed a pattern with her movements and sent a hard punch to her chest just above the spike.

Gardevoir backed up, clutching onto the spot and once again trying to ignore the pain. Unfortunately, she was having trouble now as she was really starting to feel it. Even Machoke could feel the pain just from the look of it as he winced.

She had to win, not just for the sake of having her training mean something but so she could remain with her friends. Whether or not she remained in Tokyo hardly mattered to her. It was the thought of being separated from Machoke, Blaziken, Aipom and even Reika and her friends that terrified her the most.

As such, she took a deep breath and rushed toward the rabbit, Lopunny once again sending her ears forward. However, Gardevoir managed to come up with a new strategy as she leapt over one of the ears, Lopunny's eyes wide with shock as the crowd went wild, Aipom grinning and shouting, "THAT IS SO COOL!" Machoke staring at the monkey who simply cleared her throat, saying, "Um, I mean good job, Gardevoir."

What really impressed the crowd was not the fact that Gardevoir had jumped over the attack but rather that she had successfully landed on top of Lopunny's ear. Thus she took full advantage of this and leapt off of it, planting her foot hard into the rabbit's forehead, causing her to fall on her back.

Reika grinned and spat, "THAT WAS AWESOME!" everyone else continuing to cheer and applaud the girl. However, while Weedle looked a tad distressed by this, Heracross looked perfectly calm. Either he was a really good sport or he knew something the others did not as he still had a look of confidence as if nothing had just happened to his teammate.

Gardevoir looked ready to strike again as she leapt into the air, aiming her foot toward the rabbit's belly. However, Lopunny made a quick recovery as she moved her ears in front of her torso. This was more than enough to block Gardevoir's attack as she squeaked, quickly leaping away from the rabbit in fear of something else happening.

"I have to admit, that really caught me by surprise," Lopunny said with a smile, "You've been such an amazing opponent, but I have no intention of letting you win!" Gardevoir nodding and trying to remain calm.

After all, it seemed every one of Lopunny's attacks involved her using her ears in some way, just like Diggersby, the opponent Gallade had fought to be allowed on Earth. At the very least, Gardevoir knew what to expect from her, and that gave her an idea.

Gardevoir proceeded to rush toward the rabbit, Lopunny simply sending her ears out like fists once again only this time Gardevoir lowered her body, now sliding toward the rabbit's feet with one foot pointed toward them. However, the rabbit easily saw this coming as she sprang off the mat, Gardevoir's eyes going wide. She could not believe that she had forgotten rabbits could jump high.

With that, Lopunny descended toward Gardevoir's head shouting, "BUNNY BOUNCE!" planting her feet hard into her face and bouncing off, landing on the opposite side of the ring. All went silent as Gardevoir could no longer hide her pain, her body twitching as her face was bleeding a bit.

Machoke stared in horror, asking, "Are you okay, Gardevoir?" Heracross saying, "Good job, Lopunny."

The rabbit simply bounced back and forth on the spot, asking, "Did you think my ears were my only weapon? I'm a rabbit! Of course I'm gonna use my feet every now and then," Weedle taking a deep breath, sighing, "I'll give the girl some credit, she's gotten better, but she's still weak."

Machoke fumed at the caterpillar when suddenly, a voice came from the crowd, shouting, "HEY, CAN IT, OLD MAN!" Machoke slowly turning to notice one of the picnickers had said this, another getting up and barking, "Gardevoir's not weak! We've seen her in action! She's really strong when it counts!" Cici getting up and squeaking, "That's right! Even though she's not always confident in herself, she still tries her hardest! She keeps fighting even when things look their worst! I could feel that from the moment I saw her face Scrafty!"

Reika nodded and smiled at her friend, saying, "Well, put," the girl then turning to the ring and pumping her fist up and down shouting, "Gardevoir! Gardevoir!" Cici and Keiko nodding before doing the same, chanting Gardevoir's name repeatedly.

Soon enough, everyone in the audience including the children were doing the same. They thought this whole tournament was ludicrous and certainly did not want Gardevoir to leave because of some rule. And needless to say, Machoke and Aipom wasted no time joining in, Weedle all the while feeling a twinge of guilt in his heart.

Heracross noticed this and said, "Don't be hard on yourself, sir. You only did what you felt was right," Weedle nodding and replying, "Oh, yes, that's certainly correct," the bug taking a deep breath and thinking, 'I almost let a group of strangers make me question my entire life.'

Despite there not being a large crowd here at the moment, Gardevoir could certainly hear their words as she flipped her hands over, placing them firmly against the mat. Lopunny stared in wonder, simply amazed that the girl could get up after all of that as she slowly rose back to her feet, taking many deep breaths. And to make things even better, a violet aura now surrounded her hands.

Gardevoir noticed this and bit her lower lip, shockingly disappointed to see her hands glowing. But it made sense. After all, she was trying to avoid relying on it.

Aipom noticed this and sighed, "Oh no, she's not happy at all," Machoke getting up and shouting, "Hey, Gardevoir!" the girl turning to face him as he added, "Don't let this discourage you! That power is helpful! If anything, you should be proud of yourself for going this long without needing it!" the audience cheering as Reika exclaimed, "He's right! Feel glad you made it this far and take advantage of that power!" the girl then smiling at Machoke, rather glad that he was the first one to point this out.

It seemed to work as Gardevoir's confidence quickly returned, the girl nodding with a serious smile on her face. This power was not something to be feared. It was a force that helped her in her time of need and right now, she definitely needed it.

 

With Gardevoir's power now activated, the girl had been rather disappointed that she had to rely on it at first. However, her desire to win allowed her to at least embrace the fact that it had come when it did. Sure, the girl had nothing against Lopunny. If anything, the rabbit was the friendliest and most civil opponent she had faced. Even so, she did not wish to be separated from her friends and if losing the tournament meant that, she could not risk failure.

"That's a pretty colour," Lopunny said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the violet glow, Heracross calling out in a calm tone, "Hey, Lopunny, focus on the match!" the rabbit blinking and replying, "Oh, yeah, sorry about that," nervous sweat running down her cheek.

With that, the rabbit once again sent her ears toward Gardevoir like a fist, only this time the girl was ready. She allowed the ears to get close to her before wrapping her arms around them, holding them in place as Lopunny blinked. However, a smile formed on her face as she said, "Nice try, but this failed last time," Gardevoir sighing, "It's not going to fail this time, though, and I can guarantee that."

With that, Gardevoir pulled tightly on the ears, Lopunny's eyes widening when the girl actually managed to lift her up this time. After that, Gardevoir proceeded to lean backwards, flinging Lopunny over her head as the rabbit's head hit the mat hard.

The crowd went wild as Reika said, "It's so cool seeing that up close," Cici nodding and squeaking, "Gardevoir's so cool!"

Neither Lopunny nor Heracross could believe what had just happened. Sure, they had heard of her stunning victory of Scrafty, how she had displayed a shocking amount of strength, but they did not know she had this power hidden within her. Clearly Lopunny would need to be more careful.

The rabbit groaned, trying to get up as Gardevoir rushed toward her, leaping into the air with her arm out and shouting, "MOON-" only for Lopunny to block the incoming hook, Gardevoir's eyes widening. Machoke and Aipom both stared in absolute horror as not only had the attack been blocked, but Lopunny had actually managed to stand her ground.

At the very least, with Gardevoir's power adding to the force of her Moon Hook, the rabbit should have still been knocked on her back, and yet her ears managed to keep her safe as all the attack had managed to accomplish was pushing her back a little bit. However, Gardevoir was not going to let this discourage her as she landed, sending an onslaught of slaps toward the rabbit, Lopunny blocking them all with her ears.

Luckily, it did seem as if Gardevoir's slaps were doing something as light bruises formed on the ears, Lopunny wincing in pain as she realized she would need to take action. With that in mind, she leapt back just far enough to stand on her ears and propel her feet up, sending them hard into Gardevoir's gut.

The girl's eyes were wide with shock, Machoke's jaw dropped as neither could believe what had just happened. Not only had Gardevoir taken in a hit, but despite her power being activated, it still dealt a considerable amount of pain as the girl coughed up a bit of blood.

"I'll admit, that power of yours is scary, but I told you, I simply can't let my team down!" Lopunny stated before doing something truly unexpected, actually tucking her ears in until only the fist-shaped tufts of fur were still sticking out.

Gardevoir threw out her hands to defend herself, fearing the worst when Lopunny barked, "DIZZY PUNCH!" sending one ear forward only for it to run into Gardevoir's hands, the girl easily blocking this. But before she could do anything else, Lopunny shouted, "DIZZY PUNCH!" a second time, this time sending the other ear into Gardevoir's face.

Not only had this done quite a bit of damage, but now Gardevoir's eyes were spinning, Machoke asking, "What's going on?" Heracross explaining, "The answer is made obvious by the attack's name, but I'll explain it anyway. See, when Dizzy Punch hits an opponent in the face, it messes with his or her field of vision thus resulting in the opponent becoming dizzy," Machoke and Aipom blinking before sighing, "He was right, that was obvious."

Cici was now trembling as Reika asked, "Do you think Gardevoir will make it out okay?" Keiko looking concerned as she replied, "It's hard to tell, honey. We'll just keep supporting her and hope for the best."

Unfortunately, Dizzy Punch seemed to have a greater effect than anyone would have guessed as Gardevoir was far too dazed to focus, giving Lopunny ample time to send a barrage of punches into her face, drawing more blood with each hit. Seeing this, Machoke got up and spat, "GARDEVOIR, TRY USING YOUR OTHER SENSES!"

Thankfully, dizziness did not have an effect on hearing, so Gardevoir heard this, closing her eyes and hearing the swishing of Lopunny's ears coming her way. With that, the girl held up her arms, blocking one of the fists. Unfortunately, this was not good enough as once again, both her hands were focused on one ear while the other made a connection with her face.

And this last hit was just enough for Gardevoir to lose her balance, the girl falling on her rear end and breathing heavily, her eyesight finally returning to normal. Unfortunately, it was too late now as Lopunny wrapped her ears around the girl saying, "You were a great opponent, Gardevoir, but this match is mine."

The crowd watched in amazement, Machoke shouting, "COME ON, GARDEVOIR, FIGHT BACK!" Reika shouting, "YEAH, YOU STILL GOT YOUR POWER, RIGHT!?"

Unfortunately, even with the power, Gardevoir was far too battered and bruised to fight back as Lopunny bounced high above the ring, using her ears to turn Gardevoir upside-down. After that, the rabbit flipped herself over so her head was facing the mat as well, wrapping her ears around Gardevoir's ankles and spinning her body around shouting, "BUNNY TORNADO!" Gardevoir crashing into the canvas.

The force of the attack had caused a bit of the mat to sink inward as Lopunny released her hold on Gardevoir's ankles, taking a deep breath and wiping sweat off of her forehead. The attack was powerful, but it did take a lot out of her.

Even so, there was no doubt the move had done its job as the violet aura disappeared, Gardevoir's body collapsing as she was out cold, her eyes rolled to the back of her skull. All went silent as no one could believe it. Even with her power, Gardevoir had lost.

With that, Weedle rang the bell, exclaiming, "And the first A block match of The Next Gen Battle goes to Lopunny!" the girl raising her arms in the air and squealing, "YAY, I WON!" hopping up and down as Machoke gritted his teeth, a look of sheer terror on his face. However, he then took a deep breath and said, "Well, she may have won, but there's no way the audience is happy about this, right?"

However, many of the people watching looked not with horror but with admiration and respect. One of them smiled and said, "You know, that was really cool," another adding, "Yeah, I mean, Gardevoir had her power activated and she still lost," a child in the crowd squealing, "YAY, THE BUNNY WON!"

With that, the majority of the crowd broke out into heavy applause and cheering, seeming to welcome Lopunny as Gardevoir's replacement even though that had not been made official yet. The only members of the crowd not cheering were Reika, Cici and Keiko, all three of them running into the ring to carry Gardevoir over to the medics who had just arrived.

"You-you saw that, right?" Machoke uttered, turning to Aipom and barking, "YOU JUST SAW THAT, RIGHT!? I DIDN'T JUST IMAGINE THAT, DID I!?" Aipom biting her lower lip and nodding her head, sighing, "That really did just happen."

"Oh well, it's fine," Machoke said, taking many deep breaths before adding, "I'm pretty sure Gallade at least won his match. I know we badmouthed him the other day, but that was just a joke."

At that moment, a small red light had turned on in front of Weedle's desk with a time in electronic text underneath it, the caterpillar saying, "Seems the match in B block ended long before this one," Machoke asking, "How do you know that?" the worm replying, "See, Nori and I have this device that activates when both matches have ended and specifies how long each one went for. That way we know when to start setting up for the second round."

With that, Weedle stood up and exclaimed to the audience, "It seems that both of the first matches have ended! Let us see what the results of B block were," the worm having a big screen TV hanging overhead with a helicopter holding it up as it turned on, showing the replay of Gallade's loss, Machoke's eyes wide, his jaw dropped as he trembled in fear.

Blaziken had also seen the results of Gardevoir's match and uttered, "No, this can't be happening," Nori stating, "And as you can see, Team Next Gen already has two participants advancing while Team Jinroku has none!"

Back in the park, Machoke stared blankly at Heracross as the beetle flashed the boy a friendly smile, saying, "I look forward to our match," Machoke not sure whether to panic or not. On one hand, Heracross did seem friendly, but on the other hand, he seemed too friendly. And Lopunny was clearly a good sport yet that certainly did not stop her from going out of her way to make sure she had won. Sure, these were fights between heroes, but no one was holding back.

At that moment, Weedle and Nori both explained that there would be a two-hour wait between matches. This gave everyone a chance to do something else for at least the next little while. Aipom expected Machoke to head for the hills, but he did not. Instead, he walked away from his seat with a serious look in his eyes, telling the monkey he was off to train. Needless to say, Aipom was happy to see him taking this seriously.

All the while, Blaziken was about to do the same thing when she noticed Golurk folding his arms and staring at her, both glaring into each-other's eyes. There was no way Blaziken would let this golem win. After all, she had already defeated an opponent made of stone and Golurk was nowhere near as big as he was.

When Machoke entered the training facility, he immediately started on weight-lifting. Ever since his pathetic failure on Hero Planet, he had gotten a lot better at this and right now, he needed all the strength and skill he could muster. Sure, Heracross may have seemed like a nice guy, but he also looked really tough and was probably stronger than the appearance suggested.

Blaziken was also getting in all sorts of training, only rather than focusing on her strength, she was practising her skills and techniques on various dummies and punching bags. There was no way Golurk would get the better of her.

But while Machoke and Blaziken prepared themselves for their matches, Heracross and Golurk seemed a little too confident in their abilities. Heracross had stopped to buy himself lunch before his match and that was all he had intended to do during his two hours. After that, he simply walked around with no real aim in mind.

Golurk on the other hand was doing the least amount of prep work as he was just taking a nap. No meal or anything, just sleeping. Was this arrogance or was he really just too good for training? Either way, this certainly seemed like good news for Machoke and Blaziken.

After an hour of training, Blaziken called up Machoke, the boy responding and saying, "Hello," the chicken replying, "Hey, I bet you saw the results of Gallade's match, right?"

"Yeah," the boy replied, "That looked really brutal, like something a villain would have done," Blaziken replying, "Yeah, but it makes one thing perfectly clear. These guys are really serious about this. Gardevoir's beating didn't look too pleasant either."

"Anyway, I've been training pretty hard for this," Machoke stated, Blaziken replying, "Good, so have I. I'm gonna make sure Golurk doesn't know what hit him."

With that, the two heroes talked a little bit more, mostly about how they were going to prepare for their matches. After a while, the two hung up as Machoke immediately started prep work on his entrance, but what he was planning was anyone's guess.

After the break, things were actually a bit different. Now bleachers had been set up in the small park as more people had shown up. After Gardevoir and Lopunny's match, it seemed those who saw it first called up some of their friends to tell them how much more amazing it was than how they described the one between Gallade and Scyther because now the seats were filled.

Of course, this did not mean Blaziken and Golurk would be ignore. After all, Blaziken was a huge fan favourite after her win over Onix and there was no way her fans were going to miss this match. Sure, people were starting to like these new heroes more, but Blaziken's fans would not give up on her so easily.

In B block, Nori took a deep breath and exclaimed into the mic, "Welcome, one and all, to the second match of The Next Gen Battle in B block! The stakes are high for Team Jinroku as they have already lost two members of their team!"

The woman proceeded to point to the Western side of the area, shouting, "In the red corner, weighing at three-hundred-and-thirty kilograms and coming to us from Rome, the golem with a warrior's spirit, Golurk!" some people cheering when the golem walked toward the ring. He did nothing special or complicated, he just let his appearance do the work.

After entering the ring, he flexed his arms and exclaimed, "I'M GONNA CLEAN BLAZIKEN'S CLOCK!" the crowd truly impressed by his confidence.

"And in the blue corner," Nori stated, pointing to the Eastern side, "weighing at fifty-two kilograms and coming to us from Texas, now calling herself the Texas Phoenix, the fiery bird in a chicken's body, Blaziken!" the crowd going wild when Blaziken ran toward the ring wearing a cowgirl outfit and hat.

However, what really caught everyone's attention was the fact that she had a French flag tied to each arm, Nori saying, "It would seem that Blaziken is paying tribute to her fallen comrades. This has gotten quite a positive reaction from the crowd and it's easy to see why. She's really gonna give it her all for them, folks."

With that, Blaziken leapt into the ring, removing her clothes and allowing the flags to blow away in the breeze, the chicken giving the golem a cold look before grunting, "Excuse me, YOU'RE gonna clean my clock!? I don't think so, buddy!" the crowd even more excited now after seeing just how confident the bird was.

However, while certainly focused on the fight, Blaziken was also thinking, 'I hope you guys were awake to see that. I meant for that to lift your spirits and hopefully help you recover faster.'

With that, both fighters stared each-other down until the bell was rung, Blaziken immediately sprinting toward Golurk without a moment's hesitation. Golurk waited for her to get close before sending his fist toward her only for the bird to dodge to the side. After that, she took hold of the nearest turnbuckle and spun her body around, kicking the golem in the back of the head.

Golurk's eyes widened as he actually seemed to feel pain from that, the crowd cheering wildly. Blaziken added to the damage by grabbing onto the ropes and sending both her feet into his back, propelling herself off of it to make distance while thinking, 'I'm going to make sure we stay in Tokyo no matter what. Don't you worry, guys, I'll make up for your losses even if I have to do it myself.'

All the while, in the park, everyone was anticipating the entrances of the fighters as Reika sighed, "Machoke is good, but after seeing Gardevoir's match, I'm scared," Keiko replying, "It'll be fine, honey. The Mach family has a knack for getting out of these things okay."

Cici all the while was trembling, still thinking about Gardevoir's loss while Tsuya, now having switched over to this ring, really hoped Machoke would win. After what Scyther had done to Gallade, she felt like she had to support the others at all cost.

Aipom stood by the ring to give Machoke advice when he needed it, the monkey trying to stay strong. After all, it would be unprofessional for her to even think about the possibility that her own student might fail.

Weedle took a deep breath, tapping the microphone with his horn before exclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second match of The Next Gen Battle, A block division! It's nice to see a bigger turnout this time, especially since most people didn't even seem interested at first!" the caterpillar thinking, 'Course I don't know why more people would want to watch Machoke than Gardevoir, but I guess that's not too important.'

The bug then proceeded to point his horn toward the Western side shouting, "In the red corner, weighing at fifty-four kilograms and coming to us from Scotland, a beetle with Herculean strength, Heracross!" the audience clapping for the beetle as he approached the ring wearing a kilt, Lopunny squealing, "YOU LOOK SO GOOD IN A KILT, HERACROSS!"

The beetle smiled sweetly at her before thinking, 'You haven't seen anything yet,' before leaping up off the ground and tucking his arms and legs in, spinning vertically like a bouncing ball toward the ring and landing firmly against the canvas, striking a pose before flexing his muscles, the crowd's cheers getting louder.

With that, Heracross removed his kilt and threw it toward a teenaged girl in the crowd, the girl catching it and smiling wide, squealing, "I GOT HERACROSS' KILT!" her friends staring with envy.

'He's a bit of a showman too, but at least he's more humble than that idiot and his family,' Weedle thought before clearing his throat and announcing, "And in the blue corner, a boy so out-of-this-world that he doesn't even need an introduction, Machoke!" the crowd going silent when the boy walked toward the ring.

Under his nostrils was a fake, swirly moustache, the boy wearing a striped shirt that gondoliers wore in France. He also had the pants on and to top it all off, the boy sported a beret atop his head while holding a huge baguette in his hands.

Even Aipom could not help but face-palm at the sight of this, Reika muttering, "If anyone asks, I don't know him," Cici and Tsuya nodding in agreement while Machoke grinned, thinking, 'Blaziken most likely got a very positive reaction from her tribute to Gallade and Gardevoir, but her tactic was way too simple. By dressing myself up in clothes really representing their country, people are likely to be blown away. They'll say 'Wow, that Machoke really cares about his friends!' and 'What a beautiful sight!' I am a genius.'

However, his suspicions were proven false when the crowd broke out into hysterics, one member shouting, "OH MY GOD, YOU LOOK RIDICULOUS!" another shouting, "GET OFF THE STAGE, YOU CLOWN!" Weedle banging his head against his desk and groaning, "This is embarrassing."

"You think this is funny!?" Machoke remarked, "Well, feast your eyes on this!" the boy lifting up his baguette and twirling it like a baton only for it to slip and hit him on the head.

Heracross laughed and clapped, saying, "I certainly can't top that," Machoke feeling like the beetle was mocking him but chose to ignore this as he marched toward the ring, taking a deep breath. After that, he proceeded to pull off his French clothes before tossing them toward the crowd just like Heracross had. Unfortunately, the only one in the audience who wanted the clothes was a homeless guy who had snuck in.

Even so, Machoke knew he had to calm himself down and let this go. After all, he was still determined to win at all cost. And at the very least, Heracross did seem like the type to give him the first hit.

On that note, Weedle held up a small mallet with his tail and rang the bell, Heracross immediately racing toward Machoke with his elbow pointed out and shouting, "Sorry, boy, but I don't believe in giving my opponent the first hit!" the boy panicking as Aipom spat, "MACHOKE, THIS IS REALLY EASY TO DODGE!"

Machoke nodded and stepped to the side, Heracross blinking in shock as the boy proceeded to deliver a fierce kick to his back. Before the beetle could even respond, Machoke reached his arms around him and lifted him up, leaning back and setting him up for a Suplex.

"Yeah, way to go, Machoke!" Aipom exclaimed, the crowd cheering for the boy while Reika said, "Well, that entrance may have been stupid, but at least he's on his A game right now," Machoke shouting, "THIS IS FOR MY FRIENDS!"

However, just as Heracross' head was about to collide with the canvas, the beetle smirked and leaned his head back. As a result, his horn ended up hitting the mat instead, Machoke's eyes wide with shock as the beetle said, "Not bad, Machoke, but you'll have to do better than that."

With that, Heracross proceeded to remove his horn from the mat and applied all of his weight to Machoke's body. The boy was unable to hold him up as he fell hard on his back, the beetle then righting himself up into a sitting position. However, it did not end there as the beetle proceeded to stand up, placing his feet next to Machoke and flipping the boy onto his back, sitting back down and grabbing hold of his ankles.

As the beetle started pulling them upward, the crowd went wild for him as Aipom shrieked in terror, Machoke crying out in pain. To make matters worse, Heracross had folded his knees as far as they could go thus setting up the boy for a Boston Crab. Only a minute in and Machoke had already fallen victim to one of the most difficult submission holds to escape from. Was there any way he could get out of this?

 

This was looking bad. The match had only just started and Machoke was already on the receiving end of one of the most powerful submission holds in the history of wrestling. How could he possibly get out of this?

Machoke groaned, looking at Aipom with desperation as the monkey groaned, "Sorry, but even I don't know how to get out of this," Reika biting her lower lip and uttering, "It can't be over yet, can it?" the crowd cheering wildly for Heracross.

Gallade and Gardevoir were currently awake, both of them watching the channel showcasing this particular match. Both had looks of terror in their eyes but knew they could do nothing for their friend right now.

Heracross tightened his hold, Machoke crying even louder as the beetle said, "I got no hard feelings against you, Machoke, and I'd hate to end this so early, but like Lopunny, I cannae let my team down."

However, Aipom noticed something off about Heracross. While the crowd cheered for him, he seemed to have this odd look on his face almost like he was not completely focused on the match right now. Perhaps he was the type to soak up praise like a sponge, and this could very well have been the break Machoke needed.

With that in mind, Aipom spat, "MACHOKE, HE'S DISTRACTED! USE THAT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE!" Machoke nodding as it suddenly dawned on him that Heracross' grip had indeed weakened. With that in mind, the boy threw his legs back thus flinging Heracross toward the ropes, his horn going right between the top and middle ropes.

The crowd could not believe this miracle as now the horn was caught between them, Heracross saying, "Don't worry, I can get out of this," slowly working on the ropes to make sure he could get out. However, there was no way Machoke would to let this chance go as he rushed toward the beetle, leaping into the air and sending both feet into his back.

Reika breathed a sigh of relief as Keiko asked, "Wow, you were really concerned, weren't you?" Reika blushing and remarking, "Well, of course! He was in danger!"

Heracross ignored the pain to his back and finally managed to pry his horn out only for Machoke to wrap his arms around him, lifting him up and leaning backwards. Heracross laughed and tauntingly exclaimed, "You are funny, Machoke! You already know what's gonna happen!" Machoke smirking and remarking, "Yeah, I do."

And it seemed that the boy did have something else in mind as right after the beetle stopped the Suplex with his horn, Machoke propelled himself up into the air and pushed Heracross even further. The beetle's eyes widened as he soon found his face making a connection with the canvas followed by the rest of his body, the crowd gasping in shock.

"You like that?" Machoke asked with a smirk, "I call it the Reverse of the Reverse Suplex!" all going silent as Aipom sighed, "The move is impressive enough. You don't need to attach a lame title to it."

Even so, the monkey could not have been happier, not only because he had pulled off such a great counter but because no one had ever taught him such a tactic. Machoke may not have been a super genius, but he certainly knew how to learn from his experiences.

However, Heracross was not going to let this discourage him as he rose to his feet, a friendly smile on his face, much to everyone's surprise. Machoke was rather creeped out by this until the beetle laughed, exclaiming, "Wow, that was amazing! First you escape from a Boston Crab, then you pull off a move no one's ever used! Colour me impressed!"

Even Lopunny was giving Machoke a standing ovation, whistling in admiration as the boy blushed lightly, laughing and saying, "Well, I guess it was pretty amazing, wasn't it?"

"Wow, they're really good sports," Cici uttered as Reika nodded, replying, "At first I thought at least Heracross was faking it, but he's really taking this well."

With that, the beetle took a deep breath and sported a defensive stance, saying, "Anyway, I guess we may as well return to our match," Machoke nodding and getting into his own stance.

After a few seconds, Heracross rushed at Machoke, once again not being the kind to wait as Machoke easily dodged this. However, the beetle was prepared this time as he swung his horn to the side, hitting the boy hard in the cheek. All went silent as the hit seemed to cause a great deal of pain, Machoke falling on his side and tumbling a bit before coming to a stop.

The boy quickly rose to his feet, rubbing that very spot and groaning, "Damn, that hurt," Heracross charging at him again only for the boy to dodge to the side once more. And like before, Heracross sent his horn toward Machoke's cheek, only this time the boy saw it coming as he held up his hand to block it.

However, Heracross simply smirked, knowing the boy would do this as he applied twice as much force to his swing, so when it did run into Machoke's palm, it kept going, slamming Machoke's hand into his cheek. As if that was not enough, this dealt more than enough damage to have the exact same effect as before, Machoke using his hand to push himself back up before the tumbling could come to a stop.

'Damn, I knew that horn would be strong, but that was insane,' Machoke thought as Heracross chuckled, asking, "Impressed? My horn has always been my strongest part since I was born, but I've been working on it to make it an even mightier weapon against my foes."

"Wait, you mean you actually made it stronger than it first was?" Machoke asked, Heracross nodding and replying, "That's what I said," Aipom asking, "If you don't mind me asking, how did you pull that off? I didn't think it was possible to just focus on the horn without strengthening the rest of the body as well."

"Yep, it wasn't too hard, though," the beetle replied with a grin, "I just lifted a lot of rocks with it," Reika saying, "I didn't think it worked that way," Tsuya shrugging and replying, "Well, he's not an Earth rhino beetle."

One thing was for certain. Machoke would need to be much more careful now. He had only taken in two hits from that horn and was feeling a lot of pain in his cheek. With that in mind, he raced toward the beetle, Heracross readying himself for this.

However, Machoke now had a plan as he pointed his head out, everyone staring in confusion as Reika asked, "What is he doing?" Tsuya shrugging and replying, "Whatever it is, it looks rash."

As soon as the boy was close enough, Heracross sent his horn down as Machoke took the blow to his skull, his eyes going wide as he fell on his chin, Aipom barking, "WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO DO!?" Machoke groaning, "I figured maybe the ridges on his head would protect me from his horn," Aipom retorting, "SINCE WHEN HAVE THEY EVER PROTECTED YOUR HEAD!?"

Unfortunately, Machoke had left himself vulnerable as Heracross knelt down, placing a firm grip on him and lifting him up, saying, "Not a bad idea, but you underestimate the power of my horn," Heracross proceeding to lift the boy over his head, flipping him over so his skull was facing the mat. With that, he ended his move by slamming the top of Machoke's back hard in the canvas, the boy's eyes wide.

The beetle then let him go and allowed his body to fall as the crowd cheered heavily for Heracross, Machoke's friends staring at this in absolute horror. However, it did not end there as the beetle proceeded to tuck his horn under Machoke like a shovel picking up snow.

After that, the beetle smirked and shouted, "HORN SHOVEL!" flinging the boy high into the air like a catapult. After that, he leaped up high into the air until he was above Machoke as his horn glowed, the beetle barking, "MEGAHORN!" sending that part of him hard into the boy's gut, Machoke coughing up blood as he fell hard into the mat.

Many cheered for Heracross as he smiled wide, exclaiming, "I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I think it's clear who's more fit to protect the beautiful people of this fine city!" Lopunny hopping in her seat and clapping happily, Weedle nodding and replying, "My thoughts exactly."

The crowd also seemed to be in full agreement as one person stated, "Machoke's done quite a bit, but he's also kind of an embarrassment, wouldn't you say?" another replying, "Yeah, I've seen him chase girls and hang out with friends more than actually help us."

"LET'S WELCOME HERACROSS TO TOKYO, EVERYONE!" a girl in the crowd exclaimed as everyone started to chant the beetle's name, Heracross blushing and chuckling before replying, "Oh, you're all just being nice."

But of course, Machoke's friends were not to happy to see this. The boy seemed to be out cold now, his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he lay there completely still, not a part of him so much as twitching.

"I can't believe it," Reika uttered, Keiko biting her lip and feeling nervous now as Aipom whimpered, "I've been him survive punishment beyond even my wildest dreams, and yet Heracross has managed to defeat him with only a few moves."

Weedle was just about ready to reach the bell when he noticed his mallet had gone missing. It was then he noticed he had dropped it on the ground, the bug leaping out of his seat to pick it up.

While this went on, Heracross laughed and said to himself, "This is the greatest day of my life. Sure, I'll have to protect a bunch of people who should be able to protect themselves, but I've just defeated the former champion's son. This and so many other exploits are guaranteed to make me rich and famous," the beetle talking in a quiet voice in the hopes that no one would hear him.

Weedle crawled back onto his seat when suddenly, he noticed Machoke's body start to twitch. Aipom noticed this too but said nothing, the monkey instead turning to Reika and the others, holding her tail finger up to her mouth and shushing them before they noticed what she meant.

Heracross proceeded to say in his quiet tone, "Yes, I'll have commercial offers, magazine articles dedicated to me, merchandise beyond my wildest dreams. They say the super hero business is free, but when I'm famous, I'll be able to make millions off of royalties alone, and because I'm such a nice guy, they'll be happy to pay me whatever I want. Heck, I may even charge people for my services alone."

The beetle then blinked and asked, "Not to be rude, Mister Weedle sir, but why haven't you rung the bell yet?" the caterpillar sighing, "As much as I'd like to believe this is an illusion, I think you should look behind you."

Heracross noticed Machoke's friends grinning and pointing in said direction as his eyes went wide, the beetle turning around slowly, his jaw dropped when he noticed Machoke was up. But not only was he up, he looked as if all that damage dealt earlier meant nothing.

"Oh, how nice, you still have spirit in you," Heracross said with his friendly smile returning, Machoke remarking, "Can it!" all going silent as he added, "You know, Heracross, as powerful as you are, you also seemed like a good guy. I would have taken defeat hard at first, but I would have accepted Tokyo in your hands eventually. But after what I just heard, I can't believe I thought so highly of you!"

Heracross blinked, the audience staring at him as he uttered, "I dinnae know what you mean," the beetle keeping his friendly look as Machoke remarked, "Come on, tell the people what you said to yourself, about how you care more about fame than protecting them!"

Weedle was now curious as Reika asked, "Is that what he was saying?" one audience member shouting, "That's gotta be a lie! Heracross is a great guy, one of the greatest I've seen!" the beetle nodding and saying, "Clearly you're trying to turn the people against me, lad. That's a sign of poor sportsmanship," the people booing Machoke before throwing pop and beer cans at his head.

"I hate to say it, but I'm with the crowd on this one," Reika said, "Machoke's being really immature right now, even for him," Aipom shaking her head and remarking, "No, you're wrong. I know Machoke isn't completely honest, but he was telling the truth just now. I could see it in his eyes."

The crowd stopped to listen to the monkey as Machoke's eyes sparkled only for Heracross to remark, "Your loyalty to your student is most commendable, but it's clear as rain that loyalty is the only reason you're saying all of this. After all, you knew Machoke and his friends were shirking in their duties and said nothing about it!" the monkey's eyes and mouth wide open as she stood still, her body twitching. As painful as it was to admit, he was right.

The crowd was now shaking their heads in disapproval at the monkey, Aipom trying her absolute hardest not to cry. She truly believe she was right and to have everyone turn against her like this was painful. Even she almost felt like pretending not to believe what she said just so they would stop giving her cold looks.

However, the one member of the audience who shockingly had not shown support for Heracross was Lopunny, the rabbit standing up and shouting, "STOP IT!" everyone staring at her as she took a deep breath, saying, "Heracross, we've been friends for over a month. How could you forget that my ears can pick up on the tiniest of sounds?"

Heracross flinched and remarked, "What are you saying, lass?" Lopunny glaring at him and retorting, "I heard it too! Machoke's not lying! You were talking about using your reputation to get citizens to pay you for your duties! You were talking about being in magazine ads and commercials! You didn't seem to care at all about protecting the citizens of Tokyo!"

Everyone stared as Weedle asked, "Is this true? Hard to side with you when your own ally won't," Heracross letting down nervous sweat as Machoke glared at the beetle, saying, "Tell the truth."

The beetle simply maintained his friendly smile, but found himself having trouble keeping it up as his body twitched rigorously. It was as if smiling alone was physically hurting him right now. It was just as Weedle said, his own ally, let alone an ally whom a lot of people had developed a lot of respect for recently, had just ratted him out. What could he do?

And he soon realized the answer as he exclaimed, "Fine, I admit it!" all going silent as he spat, "I did nae ever want to be a hero! When I was forced into the academy, I had this plan to graduate just so I could run away without being hunted down!" Aipom asking, "Well, if that's the case, why not take this opportunity?" Heracross smirking and replying, "It's quite simple, you wee lass."

Everyone listened closely as the beetle added, "Halfway through the course, I discovered through the newspapers Riolu would give us for motivational purposes that heroes with great track records were extremely popular. They have action figures dedicated to them among many other things! Some have even appeared on TV, and not just on the wrestling channel either!"

The crowd simply could not believe what they were hearing as the beetle added, "I wanted it all for myself! Fame, fortune and, heck, even the idea of getting a girl sounds pretty intriguing too! I could nae care less about the lives of you whelps! As long as I get what I want in exchange for your safety, I'll gladly step in and fight for you, but only if you can pay me!"

Heracross naturally received a number of cold stares, Machoke grunting, "You make me sick! We put up with intense training to prepare us for even worse battles on Earth! We risk our lives to save these people and expect nothing in return, and you know why!? Because that in itself is its own reward!"

Aipom bit her lower lip, a light smile forming as tears rolled down her cheeks, the boy adding, "I didn't want to be a hero at first either! I hear you! I was absolutely terrified of the idea! I wanted to escape from that school, but I stayed because after winning my first fight, I knew how important this was! I knew that my safety is just as important as the safety of every innocent human! When I defeated Rotom and Bisharp, I didn't feel like I had just wasted precious moments of my life that I will never get back! I felt like I was worth something, like I had made a difference in the world! In other words, I felt like a true hero!"

The crowd went wild after that speech, some whistling in admiration as others gave a standing ovation. Even Reika could not help but let down tears as she sniffed, "That was beautiful," Keiko nodding and replying, "The Mach family may not be the most intelligent, but they've got big hearts."

Lopunny took a deep breath and stated, "As much as I want to win the tournament, I want you to put this jerk in his place, Machoke! He's no longer my friend!"

After that, Lopunny pumped her ears in the air chanting, "Machoke! Machoke!" Reika nodding and doing the same, everyone in the area following. It was just like with Gardevoir only Machoke had a lot more people on his side and there was no way any of them would switch back to Heracross' side even if he won.

Machoke grinned before replacing it with a serious look and rushing toward Heracross, the beetle still trying to collect himself and therefor was unable to respond. Machoke proceeded to send a hard blow to his face. However, just as he was about to send another punch the beetle's way, Heracross grabbed hold of his wrist, all going silent.

"SO WHAT IF I WANT A LITTLE FAME!?" Heracross spat before ramming his horn hard into Machoke's forehead, the boy crying out in pain as blood came from his mouth, the beetle adding, "SO WHAT IF I WANT SOME FORTUNE!?" ramming his horn into the boy's face again, this time drawing blood from his forehead.

The crowd gasped as the beetle shouted, "THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH WANTING TO BASK IN THE GLORY! AS LONG AS I'M DOING THE RIGHT THING IN THE END, I FEEL THAT MORE THAN JUSTIFIES MY WANTS!"

However, just as the beetle was about to ram his horn into Machoke one last time, the boy lifted up his arm and blocked it, his hand actually managing to hold it back this time. Even with Heracross adding to the pressure, Machoke was still able to keep it from hitting him as the beetle released his hold on him, slowly dropping to his knees with a look of terror on his face, Machoke still pushing on his horn.

"You're right," Machoke replied, "There is nothing wrong with wanting a little respect. But even so, that does not mean you should put that above all else. The important thing is not money or advertizements with your face on them, but the fact that you're doing your duty. It's nice to get a few perks, sure, but that should never be your primary focus otherwise you're fighting for the wrong reasons. The greatest creations come from the heart and not from a lust for wealth."

Heracross was now trembling as the boy added, "And you know, being successful doesn't always guarantee you'll get what you want either. I mean, heck, even after all I've done, it takes people a while to remember my name, and while I act annoyed and self-centred at first, I realize in the end that it really doesn't matter just as long as those people are alive to tell me they don't know who I am."

Heracross stared silently for a few seconds before grimacing and remarking, "THAT IS THE STUPIDEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD!" but just as he was about to fight back, Machoke simply leaned back while still holding onto his horn and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him flying high above the ring.

After that, Machoke leapt high into the air up to his level before flipping him upside-down. The boy then proceeded to wrap his arms around his waistline and his legs around the area just below his arms before shouting, "ULTIMATE DRIVER!"

While the two descended, Heracross laughed and spat, "ARE YOU DAFT!? I'LL JUST HAVE MY HORN STOP THE COLLISION AGAIN!" Machoke exclaiming, "DON'T THINK I FORGOT ABOUT THAT!"

With that, the boy tightened his legs, making it harder for Heracross to breathe. As such, it was more difficult for him to concentrate and lower his horn in time, therefore his head was slammed hard against the canvas, his eyes and mouth wide open from the shock of it all.

When Machoke released the beetle, allowing him to fall, Weedle took a deep breath and rang the bell before announcing, "And so A block's second match of The Next Gen Battle goes to Machoke!" the crowd going wild as one member of the audience spat, "I PROMISE I WON'T FORGET YOUR NAME THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU!"

Aipom sprinted into the ring and leapt up onto Machoke's shoulder, giving him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek and squealing, "YOU ARE THE BEST STUDENT I COULD EVER ASK FOR!" Machoke groaning, "Please, not in front of Reika."

However, the girl seemed more focused on Weedle right now, the caterpillar having this strange look in his eyes, almost like he was trying to hide positivity. Seeing this, the girl asked, "You wanted Machoke to win in the end, didn't you?" Weedle's eyes widening before he remarked, "Of course not, citizen! I'm supposed to be neutral in all of this!"

However, Machoke looked rather shocked when he heard Heracross utter, "Hey, laddie, lend me an ear," the boy blinking and nodding before leaning down, the beetle sighing, "You know, you're a lot smarter than you look," his eyes then closing for good as the medics came in to help him out of the ring, Machoke smiling and saying, "I think Heracross is gonna be alright."

With that, Weedle noticed the light had not yet come up as he said, "You know what? It's the final match. I guess we may as well watch the rest of it on the big screen," the TV once again brought into the area as the caterpillar turned in on.

What was on the screen was absolutely terrifying, though, as Golurk was using one of the ropes as a lasso and swinging Blaziken around. Upon seeing this, Machoke's positivity instantly faded as he spat, "BLAZIKEN!"

 

(Prepare to have your minds blown with the twist in this one)

Just as things were finally starting to look up, life had already put a damper on everyone's good mood. While Machoke had won his match against Heracross and may have even changed him for the better, Blaziken did not have it so well as one of the ring's ropes was being used as a weapon. Not only that, but she had plenty of bruises all over her body, meaning she had already taken in quite a beating prior to this.

Weedle immediately called for a chopper to come and take them to the stadium, Machoke staring in confusion as Weedle sighed, "Seeing as you're a participant and Aipom's your trainer, you may join me. I figure you'd want to be there for your friend, right?" Lopunny also joining the two as all four entered the flying vessel and took off.

Those still in the bleachers decided to watch the events on the TV to make sure things would turn out alright. This was not just bad news for Machoke and the others but for the audience as well. Of all four of the heroes in Tokyo, Blaziken was the most popular, so to see a rope being used like this against her created a huge upset among the vast majority of the crowd.

At this time, Lucario had finally arrived at the stadium, only this time he was wearing a black T-shirt with a hole in the front for his spike and a pair of shorts. He was also holding a bucket of popcorn and a jumbo-sized drink.

'Well, this should be interesting,' the dog thought as he spotted an empty seat, 'Though considering it's a fight between heroes, it's probably not going to be super exciting.'

But when he sat down and noticed Golurk using the rope to slam Blaziken's head into a turnbuckle, his interest peeked as he thought, 'Or maybe not. I'm glad I didn't miss the whole thing.'

Thanks to Weedle's mode of transportation, it did not take long for the others to arrive as Machoke ran toward the ring but stopped a short distance from it, exclaiming, "BLAZIKEN, ARE YOU OKAY!?" the chicken looking at him weakly and trying to give him a positive look to lighten his spirits only for Golurk to ram her head into a turnbuckle, tugging on the rope and spinning her around again.

Machoke then turned and noticed Lucario, saying, "Oh, hey, it's Lucario," turning back toward the ring before his eyes widened, the boy facing the dog again and exclaiming, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Lucario sighing, "Don't get the wrong idea. I simply wanted to watch the match and nothing else," taking a sip of his drink as Machoke shrugged and turned back to the ring.

"Mister Weedle, sir, what are you doing here?" Nori asked, suddenly realizing she had said this into the mic as she quickly set it to the side.

Weedle took a deep breath and replied, "I'm here to prevent foul play, that's what!" the caterpillar barking, "Hey, Golurk, it's against the rules to use the rope as a weapon!"

Golurk's eyes went wide as he turned toward the caterpillar, remarking, "Can it, old-timer! I can do whatever I want!" Weedle remarking, "For your information, I'm forty-seven!"

Machoke turned to Aipom and whispered, "He looks like he's in his sixties to me," Aipom remarking, "Don't be... oh, you're right, he does," the monkey actually snickering as Weedle chose to ignore this.

"Golurk, put her down," Lopunny protested, "I've read the rules and he's right!" Scyther cutting in and saying, "Sorry about this, chairman, but you see, Golurk isn't really knowledgeable when it comes to the rules. Every time we'd have a classroom lecture, he'd doze off, so he never actually picked up on any of that."

"Well, that's even more disgraceful!" Weedle remarked, Golurk grunting, "What are you gonna do about it!?" the caterpillar retorting, "I'll show you, or rather tell you!"

All went silent as the bug added, "Golurk, you are disqualified!" all going silent as Machoke grinned, saying, "Alright, that means we got another win, right?" Weedle turning to the boy and sighing, "I hate to say it, but yes."

However, all went silent when Blaziken exclaimed, "NO!" everyone staring at her as she added, "Look, to me, this is like the matches on Hero Planet! Our instructors never held back because they wanted to give us a sample of what to expect when fighting villains!" Golurk once again ramming her into the turnbuckle as she shook off the pain and added, "I see this as experience, so keep the match going!"

All went silent as Lopunny asked, "Is that allowed?" Weedle sighing, "You've read the rules. If the opponent is okay with the rule violation, the match will continue."

"ARE YOU NUTS!?" Machoke retorted, Blaziken giving him a confident smile as Lucario said, "Oh, I like her," taking a big bite of his popcorn while Aipom gave him an awkward look. What was up with Lucario's attitude toward this?

"Big words from someone in your position," Golurk said, still swinging Blaziken, "but if you ask me, you should have accepted that!" Blaziken remarking, "I plan to win this fairly and I'm going to!"

With that, the chicken finally fought back as she spun her body around, wrapping more rope around her but also allowing her to get close to the golem. Once she was close enough, her head burst into flame as she spat, "FIRE PECK!" sending her beak hard into Golurk's chest.

Despite her opponent being made of stone, the added fire to the attack seemed to strengthen it just enough as Golurk winced, releasing his hold on the rope. This allowed Blaziken to free herself as she proceeded to send a hard kick to his midsection, the crowd going wild.

Machoke breathed a sigh of relief before exclaiming, "ALRIGHT, WAY TO GO, BLAZIKEN!" Lucario looking calm as Aipom thought, 'Did he know she was going to do that?'

Golurk took a deep breath when suddenly, a small crack formed on the spot Blaziken had hit, the crowd staring in shock. Seeing this, Weedle asked, "Golurk, do you wish to continue? It looks like your body's been damaged," the golem shaking his head and remarking, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

While the audience found this rather rash on his part, Blaziken could not help but feel there was more to this. Rock types generally had stronger bodies than real rocks and as such, it was very difficult to put so much as a dent in one. This was shown when Blaziken fought Onix as she had dealt a considerable amount of damage to him but even after his defeat, only a small fragment of him was chipped.

With that, Blaziken frowned and said, "You're hiding something, I just know it," Golurk simply chuckling and remarking, "Well, you seem certain of that. Why not try and prove it?" the chicken retorting, "Gladly!"

As such, the proceeded to send a series of punches to the spot she had struck, the crack getting a little bit bigger. However, Golurk was not going to stand by and let her whale on him as he sent a punch toward her head. However, Blaziken saw this coming as she flipped backwards to avoid the attack, placing her hands firmly against the mat before sending the heels of her feet hard into Golurk's chin.

The crowd went wild as this proved enough to knock the golem on his back, Blaziken quickly flipping him over and wrapping her arms and feet around his leg, squeezing tightly on it while twisting it. Machoke grinned and said, "Wow, I thought Blaziken was gonna lose, but she might just win this after all," Aipom nodding and replying, "Yeah, now that she's freed herself, Golurk can't do a thing!"

However, Golurk did not seem the least bit fazed by this as he sighed, "Is that really all you can do? I expected better from the Texas Phoenix."

"What the hell are you going on about?" Blaziken remarked, "If you're trying to psyche me out, it's not working!" the chicken making her hold tighter as Golurk sighed, "I've heard that this is your family's greatest submission hold and yet I can barely feel a thing from it," Machoke staring in absolute horror and asking, "Is he kidding!? That looks painful as hell!" Lopunny saying, "I can't tell if he's trying to psyche her out or not."

"Wait, if I'm not mistaken, you're supposed to be his ally," Lucario said in response to this, "Shouldn't you know what he's like in battle?" the rabbit replying, "Well, it is true that Golurk is our friend, but he's never really told us much about him. I know he's a bit hardheaded and stubborn, but that's about it."

Blaziken continued to tighten the hold as Golurk sighed, "It's funny, I figured you'd be stronger than your mom but you're nothing more than a pale imitation of her," the chicken fuming before retorting, "I'LL SHOW YOU!" pulling as tightly as she possibly could.

After that, everyone gasped when Golurk's leg started to crack. Soon enough, the part came right off, Blaziken's eyes going wide as she as quickly rose to her feet, dropping the leg and breathing heavily.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, "I didn't mean to go that far!" Weedle barking, "Golurk, I insist that you exit this ring for treatment now!" the golem laughing while sitting there and remarking, "Don't you worry about me, oldie. I'm perfectly fine."

Everyone in the audience stared in absolute silence when suddenly, a set of talons came out from the hole Blaziken's attack had left, a bird's leg covered in white and orange feathers taking its place. As if things could not get stranger, Golurk proceeded to pull off his other leg, that one being replaced by a bird's leg as well.

Lucario's eyes went wide as he subconsciously crushed his cup, uttering, "No, it can't be," Machoke and Aipom staring at him in confusion. Did he know something they did not?

However, things did not end there as the golem stood up, his back coming open as a pair of wings with black feathers on the outer half and orange feathers on the inner half came out, the orange feathers forming an image of a flame. His rear end also cracked open to reveal four black tail feathers with yellow stripes running across the two in the middle.

Golurk also pried off his arms as new ones emerged, these ones looking very similar to his new feet. Soon enough, the rest of him broke apart into small pieces as the audience gasped, the golem now replaced by a falcon with white feathers covering his lower half and orange feathers covering the top.

'No,' Lucario thought, now trembling as Aipom was even more confused.

Machoke simply stared at this and said, "Oh, so he was a bird in disguise all along," the boy then scratching his head and asking, "How the hell was he able to pee with that thing on?" Aipom turning away from Lucario and remarking, "Is that really the most important question on your mind!?"

Scyther and Lopunny both stared at their partner as he smirked, saying, "I knew it would come to this soon enough," before exclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, what you all see before you is my true form! My real name is Fiarrow!" the falcon then giving Scyther and Lopunny each a quick glance before saying, "Sorry for lying to you guys about my identity. I had my own personal reasons for this. Let's just leave it at that."

'He's still lying,' Lucario thought, 'But why is he here? What's he doing in a tournament for heroes?'

Lopunny blinked as Fiarrow added, "Trust me, Lopunny, my reasons were in no way malicious or evil. I promise I'll tell you someday, just not now," the rabbit nodding and replying, "Okay, I understand."

"Wait, hold on," Machoke said, turning to Weedle and asking, "Isn't this against the rules?" Weedle sighing, "Lying about your identity during a match is not against the rules, so this is perfectly acceptable," Machoke groaning, "Just when I was starting to respect you."

"Don't worry about it, Machoke," Blaziken replied with a grin, "New form or not, I can still handle this guy."

With that said, the chicken charged at Fiarrow only for him to propel himself off the mat thanks to his wings. The falcon flapped in the air for a while, saying, "These babies aren't just for show," the falcon then soaring toward the chicken and planting his talons hard into her forehead, knocking her hard on her back.

After that, the falcon knelt down and sent a barrage of punches into the chicken's face. However, Blaziken was more than prepared for this as she sent her legs upward, lashing her feet onto Fiarrow's ribcage. The crowd cheered in response to this as Machoke said, "Alright, with that grip, any move he tries will only hurt him more."

"So you were actually paying attention to the lessons," Weedle stated, Machoke sticking his tongue out at him before exclaiming, "ALRIGHT, BLAZIKEN, KEEP IT UP!"

However, Fiarrow simply ignored this and smirked, leaning forward even more as he sent more punches to Blaziken's face, the crowd staring in absolute wonder, Machoke asking, "That should hurt him more than her, right?" Aipom replying, "You're right, it should, but I get a feeling this Fiarrow is a lot more powerful than he first seemed," Machoke trembling and replying, "And he already seemed powerful."

However, Blaziken refused to let this get her down as she lifted up her arms, grabbing two incoming punches and twisting Fiarrow's wrists. The falcon winced thus giving the bird time to flip herself over, using her legs to throw Fiarrow over her head so his back ended up hitting the canvas.

After that, Blaziken grabbed hold of the falcon's legs and spat, "IF MY REGULAR MOVE COULDN'T HURT YOU, SURELY THIS WILL!" the chicken latching her arms and legs to both of his legs at once. Since they were much slimmer now, it was certainly possible to pull this off. However, despite all of this, Fiarrow acted as if this did not hurt in the slightest.

"You must be really desperate if you're trying that move again," the falcon said tauntingly, "You try desperately to be better than your mother, but you're not even close to her level! Right now, this feels more like a massage than a submission hold!"

"SHUT UP!" Blaziken snapped, "I KNOW YOU'RE LYING!" the chicken adding more pressure when suddenly, Fiarrow rose his wings up, Machoke shouting, "BLAZIKEN, BEHIND YOU!"

Unfortunately, it was too late as Fiarrow bumped the backs of his wings into the chicken's back, resulting in her loosening her grip as the falcon took full advantage of this, throwing his legs backward and flinging the chicken into the turnbuckle. The crowd was truly astounded by this as not only had he gotten out of the hold with incredible ease, he had used his wings as a weapon without harming them in any way.

"I can see you're all surprised," Fiarrow said with a smirk, "See, I've got a lot of muscle in me, and that includes my wings! Normally to have those hit would weaken any bird and stunt his flight, but mine are so strong that it's impossible to pull that off!"

Even Lopunny was afraid right now, but Scyther seemed neutral about this. Not happy, just neutral, almost like she did not even know how to respond to this. On one hand, her ally was winning, but on the other hand, could she even trust him anymore?

Blaziken shook the pain off of her head before shouting, "I WON'T BACK DOWN!" rushing toward the falcon only for him to take to the sky again before she could land an attack. However, Blaziken would not let him use this to his advantage again as she quickly leapt atop one of the ropes and bounced high into the air to where Fiarrow was.

The falcon's eyes went wide when the chicken grabbed hold of his wings and mounted herself onto his back, exclaiming, "GOTCHA!" her feet bursting into flame as she propelled them above him and barked, "BLAZE KICK!"

However, just as her talons were about to collide with the falcon's back, he simply folded his wings inward while keeping the ends flapping so he would still remain airborne. This allowed the wings to block her attack, and despite the incredible force from such a devastating move, the wings had completely prevented Fiarrow from taking in damage.

"I told you, my wings are really strong!" the falcon exclaimed before using them to force Blaziken off of his back. However, before she could land on the mat, Fiarrow performed a U-turn in the air, getting right behind her and wrapping his arms and legs around her.

"BLAZIKEN, GET OUT OF THAT HOLD!" Machoke spat, Aipom biting her lip and whimpering, "I don't think even she can pull that off," and this seemed true when Fiarrow's entire body burst into flame, the bird performing another U-turn only this time, he stopped before positioning himself upright and continued to soar toward the mat, shouting, "OH YEAH, I FORGOT TO MENTION, I'M ALSO A FIRE TYPE!"

All went silent as Fiarrow belted, "FLARE BLITZ!" slamming Blaziken's head hard into the canvas. Machoke stared wide-eyed, his mouth hanging open as Aipom covered her mouth, Lucario wincing at the sight of this.

When Fiarrow released his hold on Blaziken and allowed her to collapse, everyone knew she was not getting up from that as she lay there, her eyes rolled to the back of her head. However, while everyone had actually cheered for Lopunny and Scyther despite them being new, no one even knew how to react to this. Should they be thrilled that such a powerhouse was on their side or should they feel bad that he had acted with such malice?

"And the B block's second match of The Next Gen Battle goes to Go-I mean Fiarrow!" Nori exclaimed, ringing the bell and adding, "Blaziken was the favourite to win, but it seems she could not stand up to this amazing newcomer!"

Lucario simply got up from his seat with a cold look in his eyes and exited the stadium. Just what did he know about this Fiarrow and why was he keeping it bottled up? Was there more to this newcomer than met the eye?

Either way, Machoke was absolutely terrified as a big wet spot formed on his speedo, Aipom too frightened to react to this. Fiarrow simply smirked at Blaziken and said, "You don't deserve to call yourself a phoenix. Just call yourself the Texas Chicken, because that's what you are."

With that, a group of medics raced into the ring and loaded the chicken up onto a bed to carry her to the hospital truck parked outside. No one would have ever expected fights between heroes to be so brutal and yet all four had ended with someone being hospitalized.

When Fiarrow stepped out of the ring he smiled at his team mates, yet shockingly enough, neither looked all too happy about his win. Scyther had her arms folded with a cold look in her eyes while Lopunny looked scared out of her mind.

"Look, as I said, I'm sorry for lying to you guys, okay?" Fiarrow said with a friendly smile, "Again, I have my own reasons and I really will tell you what they are some day! But you seem to forget that we're on the same team! I'm not gonna turn on any of you, alright?"

Lopunny blinked and took a deep breath, asking, "So, you are still our friend?" the falcon nodding as Scyther still had a cold look on her face, Lopunny saying, "Please, Scyther, I know he lied to us, but-" Scyther holding up her hand and saying, "Even if I could overlook that, don't think I'm going to go easy on you during our match."

Machoke blinked and said, "Oh yeah, I forgot, they both won the B block matches," Weedle nodding and replying, "Yep, and that means they're going to face each other in the next round."

Even so, Machoke was still scared. He was all alone against three members of Team Next Gen. Sure Lopunny was at least nicer and less scary than the other two, but she was also very strong and Machoke knew she was not going to hold back.

But of course he could not overlook Fiarrow and Scyther. Both during their matches had proven themselves to be scary. All Machoke had seen from Scyther was how she finished off Gallade in the replay footage, and the fact that she would resort to cutting open another hero was not something to overlook. And of course, Fiarrow seemed incredibly ruthless, willing to resort to any means necessary to win, even breaking the rules.

One thing was for certain. Things would not be easy for Machoke and he would have try harder than ever before if he wanted to remain stationed in Tokyo along with his friends.

 

With round one out of the way, it was time for a break from all of the fighting as Weedle decided to give everyone two days to rest up before the semi-finals. However, before doing anything else, Machoke went to check up on his friends in the hospital.

Gallade and Gardevoir were awake but could not move, Gallade now having stitches across his chest. It seemed that gash Scyther gave him had left a permanent scar. To think a hero would go that far against someone fighting for the side of good.

Gardevoir simply smiled at Machoke and squeaked, "Good job in your match, Machoke," Gallade nodding and saying in a weak tone, "You're the man," taking a deep breath as even that sentence took quite a bit of strength to let out.

"Did you see what happened to Blaziken?" Machoke asked, hoping they had not as Gardevoir whimpered, "I hope she turns out okay. Her beating looked far worse than ours," the girl then smiling softly and adding, "But it's okay because I know you're going to win the tournament for us, right?"

Machoke took a deep breath and nodded with a serious look in his eyes, saying, "I'll make them all pay. I promise," the boy already starting to regret those words but choosing not to let his emotions ruin the moment.

Suddenly, Reika and her friends entered as Tsuya ran over to Gallade, exclaiming, "ARE YOU OKAY!?" throwing herself right over him and staring deep into his eyes, Gallade whimpering, "Guys, help me," a Reika sighed, "Give him space, Tsuya."

Cici smiled at Gardevoir and said, "I thought you did a great job," Gardevoir giving the girl a big smile and replying, "Thank you. That means a lot."

After a bit more talking, the group headed out of the hospital as Reika turned to Machoke with a serious look on her face. Machoke knew what she meant and nodded, a confident smile forming on his. Sure, he was scared, but there was no way he could allow himself to lose.

However, he would have to think about this later as that evening, Weedle had set up a big meeting regarding the semi-finals. Quite a number of guests had arrived at the same building he had introduced the new graduates in, including Aipom who was wearing a small tuxedo and a bow-tie.

Reika and Keiko were there as well, wearing their nicest dresses for the occasion when Reika noticed the monkey, smiling and saying, "Wow, you look positively adorable," Aipom blushing and uttering, "No, I look too much like a boy!"

Keiko laughed and replied, "Honestly, that suits you much more than a dress would. Trust me, I'm a fashion expert."

The monkey smiled lightly and nodded, saying, "Thank you," when Weedle tapped a microphone with his horn, getting everyone's attention.

"Thank you all for coming," the caterpillar said, "As you all know, the first round of The Next Gen Battle is over. Currently, it seems like the odds are stacked in Team Next Gen's favour, but anything could happen. And a reminder to everyone, the first match will be between A block's Lopunny and Machoke while the second match will be between B block's Scyther and Fiarrow."

One news reporter in the crowd held up his own mic, asking, "Sir, where are the semi-finalists at this time?" Weedle nodding his head and replying, "Worry not, for they are in this building. I've set up a grand entrance for them therefor Machoke won't be doing anything stupid this evening."

With that, the lights were dimmed as fog came out from behind a big curtain, covering the stage. Everyone marvelled at the sight of this when the silhouettes of the heroes appeared, all of them striking cool poses. However, one particular silhouette was unable to hold its pose as the owner ended up falling sideways, running into the one next to him and knocking the figure over, Weedle groaning and shaking his head. Of course this was bound to happen.

As the fog cleared, no one was the least bit surprised to find that Machoke was the one who lost his balance, though thankfully the one he had bumped into was Lopunny. As the boy slowly got up, he held out his hand, saying, "Sorry about that," the rabbit taking it as he helped her up and replying, "Don't worry, I know you didn't mean it."

Reika took a deep breath and sighed, "Well, at least they're not fighting with each-other," Keiko chuckling and replying, "His father wasn't that much different."

Fiarrow simply rolled his eyes at this, though his look soon became shock when he turned toward Scyther to see her reaction. And soon enough, everyone else had the same surprised look when they noticed Scyther was not standing next to him. Instead, it was the red insect from before, Scizor.

Aipom's eyes sparkled as she squealed, "Oh my god, that's the great Scizor! Mommy told me all sorts of things about her!" the insect blinking and looking down at her, asking, "Your mother wouldn't happen to be Ambipom, would she?" the monkey nodding as Scizor smiled, saying, "Never thought I'd get to meet her daughter."

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" Fiarrow snapped with a look of fury in his eyes, "SCYTHER WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE, NOT YOU!" Weedle nodding and replying, "While I don't approve of the outburst, Fiarrow has a good point. Why are you here instead of Scyther?"

Scizor took a deep breath and replied, "Scyther asked me to take her place on stage, Herr Chairman," Weedle nodding and replying, "I see. In that case, I got another question that everyone's been dying to know."

"Don't bother," Scizor remarked, holding out her hand and adding, "You all want to know what my connection to Scyther is, and I guess I do owe you all an explanation, especially with the way I've been away for so many years," Weedle replying, "I was going to ask about that. I'm just glad we're on the same page."

Machoke had not seen her sudden appearance in the B Block area earlier, so this was the first he had heard of this. Now even he was interested as he at least knew who Scizor was and why she was so famous, one such reason being the fact that she was once Greninja's partner for a tag team match.

"First of all, yes, I am Scyther's lehrer," Scizor replied, "That's German for teacher," Lopunny nodding and asking, "But why wouldn't Scyther tell us something like that?" Fiarrow nodding and folding his arms, saying, "That's a very good question. You'd better have a damn good explanation for that."

"It's simply because I told her not to," Scizor stated, all going silent until she added, "See, I wanted to make my return to the world of wrestling a surprise until the right moment came up, but, well, she revealed that she knew my signature Arm Schwert before she was supposed to, though I guess in a sense I am glad that I don't have to hide it anymore."

Everyone nodded in understanding as Scizor proceeded to explain, "As for where I've been all this time, well, when Machamp defeated Deoxys and saved the world, evil pretty much came to a halt, and unfortunately, fighting evil was all I really could do with my life. Now that it was gone, I was out of a job, so I left back home to Germany. I tried finding a new form of work, but that was a disaster, so I moved into an abandoned movie theatre and lived off of whatever I could find."

The people all listened with intent save for Fiarrow who sighed, "Yeah, yeah, your life sucked, but what about Scyther?" Scizor remarking, "I'm getting to that, impatient one!" Fiarrow folding his arms and narrowing his eyelids, the insect continuing her story.

"One day, just when I was about to give up on life as I knew it, a young man entered the theatre," Scizor added with a light smile on her face, adding, "His name was Kristof and he was so handsome. He tried to cheer me up and give me a reason to keep living, even offered me a job at a meat-processing plant he owned. At first, I tried to brush him off, feeling like I didn't deserve anyone's sympathy, but he was persistent, so I finally took him up on his offer."

While Scizor continued her story, she reminisced about her first day on the job. At first, she was terrible at it, creating a mess at every turn and coming very close to chopping her arm off. However, Kristof guided her through everything and eventually, she was able to work just as well as he did, soon being promoted to assistant manager.

During this time, Scizor fell in love with the young man, and always having been a woman of action, she was the first to confess these feelings. She was afraid that he might not be interested in a romance what with him being a human and her being an insect, but thankfully, Kristof shared her feelings, admitting that he had actually felt this kind of connection between them since the day he hired her.

"Our wedding day was the happiest moment of my life," Scizor said with a soft smile, letting down a light tear as the audience could not help but shed tears of their own, Aipom sniffing, "That's so sweet," Reika and Keiko nodding.

"So where is he now?" Machoke asked, Scizor replying, "This is where my connection with Scyther really comes in," Fiarrow sighing, "Finally! That romance stuff was making me sick!" Scizor shooting the falcon a glare before clearing her throat and carrying on.

"One day, two years after we had been married, two people broke into our house," Scizor stated, "They were wanted convicts who were well-known for taking violent action against anyone who promoted the consumption of meat. You could call them vegetarian extremists if you will," one vegetarian person in the crowd gulping nervously and pulling on his collar, the insect adding, "Kristof was strong, but these people had weapons and, well, I'm certain you can all guess what happened next."

All went silent as people stared in absolute horror, Scizor adding, "To make matters worse, I had been pregnant for nine months at the time, so lord knew I should not have been doing anything too extreme. However, seeing what these people had done brought out a level of anger I had never reached before. I lashed out at them, pulling out everything I had, but I knew my beloved Kristof would not want me to kill in cold blood, so I simply called the police and had them arrested. Unfortunately, it was shortly after they arrived that my water broke and I was rushed to the hospital."

"Oh, I think I get it now," Fiarrow said with a smirk, "You're Scyther's mom, aren't you?" Scizor nodding and replying, "Precisely," everyone truly amazed, but in retrospect, all of them felt like this should have obvious from the start. After all, the two did look very similar.

"I never sent my daughter to school," Scizor explained, "I taught her everything myself after she turned three. The one technique she had always been really good with was the Arm Schwert as it came naturally to her. But even with her not being so good with the others, she was a very fast learner, and I'll admit, my training methods were harsh, but she had no problem with any of them. She had always wanted to be strong, like me."

Fiarrow's eyebrow rose but the falcon said nothing, the audience truly touched, Machoke now tearing up as he sniffed, "That was such a sad story, Miss Scizor! I would love to be your student too if you would take me!" Scizor replying, "As much as I respect your father and his family, I must decline. Scyther is my only schuler, got it?" Machoke blinking as the bug sighed, "It means student," Machoke nodding in understanding.

"Oh well, I'm sure my buddy Lopunny would love to team up with me, eh?" Machoke asked, grinning at the rabbit as she smiled, replying, "Sorry, but you're my opponent," the boy trembling as he looked at Fiarrow and said, "Uh, no."

Aipom face-palmed and groaned, "Is he actually thinking of switching sides?" Reika and Keiko shaking their heads as Fiarrow asked, "I got one more question. Where is Scyther right now?"

Scizor blinked and replied, "Oh yes, I was going to explain that. Well, currently, my schuler is off training in a nearby forest to get ready for the match," Fiarrow gritting his teeth and remarking, "EVERY ONE OF US HELD OFF ON OUR OWN PERSONAL VENDETTAS TO BE HERE THIS EVENING! HOW DARE SHE NOT SHOW UP!?" everyone gasping as Weedle said, "Look, I wish she could have come, too, but there's no need to be so upset about this."

"CAN IT, FOGIE!" the falcon retorted before shooting Scizor a glare and adding, "The next time you see your precious 'schuler', give her a message from me," Scizor staring at him as he stated, "You're going down!" the falcon holding a thumb down before turning and storming out of the area.

Everyone stared, wondering why Fiarrow was making such a big deal out of this. So what if Scyther was off training? If anything, it meant she was invested and took the match seriously, so why was he so offended by this?

Either way, things calmed down after he had finally left, Reika taking a deep breath and asking, "What's his problem?" Keiko shrugging and replying, "To be fair, he seemed to have issues already."

All the while, Fiarrow was walking away from the building as he sighed, "Oh well, at least I learned something interesting today," a smirk on his face as he spread his wings and flapped off into the night with no real destination in mind.

The rest of the event went okay with people having refreshments, Scizor talking to Aipom as she exclaimed, "No way! Ambipom's teaching children how to fight!?" the monkey nodding and replying, "Yep, you just can't take the teacher out of this family."

She then gave Scizor a serious look and added, "You should let Machamp know you're back in the game. I'm sure he'd love to meet up with you again. You might even get to be one of Hero Planet's instructors."

Scizor shook her head and replied, "Right now, my top priority is my daughter. I care so much about her and really want her to succeed. In fact, I actually asked her before we started training if there's anything else she'd rather do in life."

"What did she say?" Aipom asked, the insect replying, "My greatest desire is to be like you when I grow up."

Aipom stared in amazement and said, "Wow, very articulate for a three-year-old," Scizor chuckling and replying, "I taught her how to read when she was almost two and the first thing she did after that was read through the entire dictionary," Aipom's eyes sparkling as she squealed, "OH MY GOD, THAT'S JUST LIKE ME, ONLY I DID ALL THAT A YEAR EARLIER!"

"Geez, what a boring childhood," Machoke muttered to himself before walking over to Reika to talk to her so he would not feel bored the rest of the evening.

Watching this, Scizor sighed, "I'll admit, that Machoke does remind me a lot of his father. People talk about how Machamp was this great, brave soldier, but he was very much like his son. Childish, lacking in intellect but also having a good heart and the ability to pull through when he really needed to."

Aipom blinked as Scizor added, "You know, the age of three was not the only time I gave Scyther the option to follow a different path. I've always given her a choice. As long as she trained under me, she would follow my methods and undergo harsh training, but if she would rather pursue a new career, I will gladly let her do so. I don't want her thinking she's useless like I almost did."

"You're a very good mommy," Aipom replied with a big smile as Scizor sighed, "Well, there was one day I actually struck her, and it wasn't during training either."

Aipom stared with confusion as the insect added, "It was shortly after she turned eight. I once again asked her if she would ever think of pursuing another goal, and here's what she told me."

Scizor remembered a young Scyther standing before her, looking up at her and exclaiming, "I want to become big and strong so I can take down bad people like the ones who killed Father!"

As soon as she heard this, Scizor rose her hand and struck Scyther in the face, the child's eyes widening. However, due to her being trained to be tough under any circumstance, she did not shed so much as a tear when Scizor barked, "THAT IS A HORRIBLE REASON TO FIGHT!"

Scyther was even more confused as her mother added, "We fight to protect people, not for petty revenge, got it!? One day, I just know evil is going to return and your primary goal will be to focus on making sure they don't harm the innocent, nothing more!"

"But that's what I meant, lehrer," Scyther replied as Scizor's eyes widened, the child adding, "I want to take down bad people so no one else will have to die," Scizor looking into her daughter's eyes before hugging her tightly, sniffing, "Sorry for not understanding, mein liebling."

Back in present day time, Aipom simply nodded and said, "Still, that is certainly a good mindset to have. I still stand by what I said, you're a good mommy," the monkey then asking, "So, are you still willing to give her the option to choose a different path? She seems more than ready to take on evil."

"Trust me, that option will never leave," Scizor replied, "No matter how old she gets or how good she is at her job, I will always give her the option to pursue another path if she wants it. After all, it was choosing a new path that saved me."

During this time, Scyther was still in a nearby forest, racing through it and slicing down trees with her Arm Schwert technique. Only this time she was using both arms to do it. Sure, Fiarrow may have been her ally, but there was no way she was going to hold back.

It was not as if she was spiteful toward Fiarrow either. Again, Scizor taught her never to use vengeance as a motivational tool, and she already believed in that even before she was told. She was just focused to the point where she simply viewed Fiarrow as any other opponent as opposed to a friend.

The next two days went by quickly with Machoke spending a great deal of time preparing for his match with Lopunny. Seeing as he was the only one left, he knew how difficult this would to be, Aipom more than happy to see him taking this as seriously as he was.

And once the two days were up, it was finally time. The match was to take place in another park, only this one was more for going on nice walks than setting up picnic spreads and the like. Like before, bleachers had been set up in the area as a lot more people were coming to the event. There were snack vendors all around the area and even some people selling merchandise based off of the heroes who would compete.

Machoke was headed to the park along with Aipom as he asked, "So, you remember what I asked you to do for my entrance?" the monkey nodding and replying, "Can you tell me what your contribution is going to be? I really don't understand why I have to hold a miniature trampoline by the side of the ring."

"You'll see soon enough," Machoke replied with a grin, "It's gonna be awesome!" the monkey sighing, "That's what I was afraid of."

Strangely enough, Lucario was not in this area. In fact, he had not been seen since Blaziken's match ended. Where had he gone and why was he so afraid of Fiarrow?

Either way, everyone was looking forward to the event, and the setting seemed fitting enough as there were plenty of Earth rabbits in the area. If anything, Lopunny would have been right at home, and Reika had a sneaking suspicion Weedle had something planned when he chose this location.

Because the matches were happening one-at-a-time as opposed to having both blocks going at once, Nori was in the announcer's seat this time as she exclaimed, "Welcome, everyone, to the second round of The Next Gen Battle!" the crowd cheering as the woman added, "It's been a pretty intense tournament so far, but now we've entered the semi-finals! Whoever wins these two matches will fight for the championship, but if Machoke loses, his team will be kicked out of Tokyo before the finals even begin!"

Fiarrow smirked when he heard this but looked as if he was hoping for Machoke to win, but why? Scyther all the while sat across from him, both giving each other a cold stare before turning back to the ring.

With that, Nori exclaimed, "In the red corner, representing Team Next Gen and weighing thirty-three kilograms, the bunny with an amazing spirit, Lopunny!" the rabbit bounding toward the ring on all fours with a group of rabbits following her as if she had trained them to do this. Once in front of the ring, she bounced high into the air and performed a flip before landing on her ears and performing a handstand with them, the crowd going wild.

"And in the blue corner," Nori stated, "representing Team Jinroku and weighing seventy kilograms, Machoke!" everyone turning before noticing Aipom standing next to the ring with a small trampoline being held up by her tail hand, the monkey thinking, 'Please don't be embarrassing.'

Everyone stared in shock when Machoke bounced toward the ring, sporting a pair of sandals with springs glued to the bottom. When he got close, he smirked and started bouncing higher and higher before coming to the trampoline only to end up missing as he flew straight into the ropes, said objects sending him flying into a tree as everyone in the area laughed.

Reika face-palmed and groaned, "Even after everything that's happened, he can't be serious just this once," Lopunny blinking and saying, "Shame about the results, but that looked like a really cool idea," Machoke taking off the sandals and making his way over to the ring, climbing into it and acting as if that failure had not even happened.

Fiarrow simply watched with interest, wondering how Machoke would defeat Lopunny while Scyther said nothing. Lopunny simply bowed her head and said, "Machoke, I like you and all, but I can't let my team down. I hope you understand," the boy taking a deep breath, replying, "Me neither," Aipom glad to see him at least taking the match seriously as Nori rang the bell.