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Most of Team Valiant hardly slept that night, brimming with excitement for the imminent battle with Team Kama that would be happening the very next day. When they arose that morning, they had a hearty breakfast to give them energy for the day, and did some short exercises to get their blood flowing until the announcement was made for them and their opponents to proceed to the Colosseum; their match would be beginning anon.

The time had finally come...

As they travelled from the ship to the Colosseum, Hank whooped with excited, pumping his arms in the air. "Man I haven't felt so pumped about a battle in a long time!!" He crowed. "They're gonna be seeing stars when I'm done with them! Literally!"

"Someone's brimming with confidence." Eagle Eye commented.

Luke, as excited as he himself was, stepped in as the voice of reason once more. "As eager as we all are, we should remain focused. We've come this far in the tournament, and so has Sickle's team. They won't make it easy for us." Luke cautioned.

"After seeing them in action throughout this tournament, these guys might be our toughest competition yet," Volcan commented. "But if we stick to our strategies, we have a shot at getting through. Luke has Sickle covered, so we just need to watch out for Blaster and Howler." He looked at Katsu. "We already know Blaster probably has more experience than the rest of Team Kama -probably most of us too, so beware -even without his defense he'll be a worthy opponent."

Katsu nodded back to Volcan. "I shall. Blaster might have a few tactics we've yet to see, but I will fight as hard as I can to secure our victory." Katsu returned.

"And Hank; remember how we discussed how to handle Howler?" Volcan asked the Zoroark.

"Yea, yea, I gotcha. Keep my distance and hit him from a distance." He returned. "Trip him up with my illusions while I'm at it."

"Just don't get dependant on them," Volcan reminded. "Remember, he'll be able to smell a fake; use them just to make him hesitate, and then nail him before he can recover. Just don't forget how fast he is; you'll have seconds at most."

"Right. Gotcha." Hank returned with a bit of a dismissive nod. "Relax, I got this in the bag."

Volcan rolled his eyes. "For our sakes, I hope so. I'd really hate for us to be knocked out this far into the tournament."

"That shall not happen," Katsu stated firmly.

Finally, the team arrived at the colosseum, stepping through the front doors and making their way around to their entrance, feeling the tension outside even from within the walls; the entire arena was filled with spectators, all of them ready and eager to see the battles of the day, and find out who from both the Team and Single divisions would advance to the semi-finals...

After a short trek through the halls, they made it to the elongated corridor that led out to the field, seeing the daylight beaming in ahead, getting brighter as they approached until they stepped out onto the sandy floor. Since the day before the colosseum had been repaired, suffering some mild damage from the battle between Tristan and Everest, but it seemed much of the night had been spent sealing up the fissures and holes left behind for the matches that day.

When they emerged, they saw Team Kama was already waiting for them, standing at the other side of the field by their entrance. Sickle, Howler and Blaster were both looking back in their direction; it was too far to see their expressions, but both sides could feel the eagerness and anticipation of the other. The battle could not start soon enough for either team, and their hearts warmed with excitement as Leon appeared and took his place at the referee's position, beginning his announcement.

"The quarter-final round will now begin!" Leon called. "Team Kama vs. Team Valiant - two prodigious teams who have performed admirably in this competition, and now we shall see one of our most anticipated matchups of the day!

"The winner of this contest will advance to the semi-finals, and compete with an equally worthy team for the right to challenge Team Warmachine for the championship! We have seen some amazing performances between these two teams, with two Perfect victories in favor of Team Kama, giving them Power of Choice for this match! Team Captains, step forward!"

At that prompt, Luke left his team at their waiting area, advancing toward the center of the arena to meet with Leon and Sickle, his eyes focused entirely on the latter; a stern, determined look in his gaze. When Sickle approached, he could see the Grovyle was anxiously waiting for his chance to battle with Luke, and even now as they stood a mere arm's length from each other, it was obvious the Grovyle wanted to fight him right now, but he staunchly displayed a professional manner as Leon addressed him.

"Sickle," Leon began. "Because you have two perfect victories in favor of your team, you may use one to decide the match type, and the other to choose which of Team Valiant's fighters will step up first."

But Sickle shook his head. "I'll let them decide that part for themselves," he said. "But the battle, I want it to be best of three; whoever wins twice will advance..." He looked at Luke. "But nobody will miss out."

Luke could not hold back his grin. Sickle was setting up the battle to make sure he would get his chance to fight Luke even if one team managed to score the best two out of three over the other.

"Done," Leon stated, before he turned to the audience. "Alright, spectators; it is decided! The match will be best of three, as chosen by Team Kama, who has ceded their right to choose their opponent's first fighter. The battle will begin as soon as both teams pick their first competitor."

Sickle turned away from Luke, glancing over his shoulder at the Lucario. "When we meet, Luke," he stated. "I promise you a fight you will _never_forget."

Luke smirked and crossed his arms. "I am counting on it," He said. "Whatever the result though... it's been an honour to meet you, Sickle,"

Sickle's smile widened. "You too," he returned, before he carried on returning to his team, leaving Luke to do the same. "Hopefully, I'll get to see more," he commented, in just a low enough tone that only Luke caught it.

As Sickle walked back, Howler trotted past him, heading to take his place at the middle of the battlefield. Just like before, Sickle was opening with his speedster, counting on Howler's insurmountable speed in order to guarantee a first-round win.

In response, Hank grinned and leapt up toward the middle of the arena, passing over Luke as he made his way back to the rest of his team. "Ok puppy... hope yer ready for a beat down." He said, flexing his claws in preparation.

Howler only furrowed his brow, remaining as silent as ever as he widened his stance in preparation, waiting for Leon to give them the clear to begin their battle. Hank frowned a bit as well. "What? Delcatty caught your tongue? Too shocked for words?" He asked. "Guess I can't blame ya. I am pretty awesome after all." Hank added, hopping back and crouching low in preparation for the fight.

At Hank's jest, Howler's eyes narrowed in a show of annoyance, but he still made no attempt to reply as Leon began to raise his flipper up, ready to start the match as Hank and Howler stared each other down, waiting for his word.

"Ready?" He asked, pausing for effect before finally bringing it down. "BEGIN!" And so he jumped out of the battlefield to get out of the way, letting the two have their battle.

Howler made the first move, unleashing Extreme Speed and charging at Hank with his unbelievable velocity, racing towards him so quickly that his body was a blur and the very air itself seemed to split apart as he moved.

Instinctively, Hank brought his arms up to block the oncoming Arcanine, knowing he couldn't outrun or outmaneuver such a fast Pokémon. He took the first hit, skidded back from the impact, then countered with a Night Daze attack, shooting a shroud of dark energy at Howler to both damage him, and obscure his vision. While he unleashed the Night Daze, Hank's eyes shone for a bit as he began prepping his illusions to counter Howlers next attack.

Howler recoiled from the attack, shaking his head to clear it before he raced at Hank again, this time with Flame Charge, running at him full speed and attempting to land the flaming tackle on the Zoroark. This time, Hank didn't dodge or counter. He just stood there with a toothy grin as Howler charged right at him... and then passed through him! The Zoroark then chuckled as he disappeared as if he were mist, leaving no trace of Hank anywhere.

Howler stopped in his tracks, staring at where the imitation had been for a moment, before his nose twitched, sniffing the air as he tried to find the Zoroark's scent in order to find out where he had gone. Eventually, he whirled around and turned in Hank's direction.

The Arcanine succeeded in finding Hank, but failed to gauge how close he was. Hank appeared right at his snout and grinned. "Time for the swag treatment!" He said, starting with a Sucker Punch to make Howler flinch. He then followed up with a couple Shadow Claws, then he tripped at Howler with a Low Sweep before ending the combo with a Shadow Ball as he retreated back a fair distance.

The Shadow Ball failed to hit, though; as Howler's legs were swept out from under him, he rolled upon landing on his side, narrowly dodging Hank's finisher. Despite focused more towards speed it appeared Howler was more than capable of taking some punishment as well, getting back to his feet without any sign of being slowed, although the marks caused by Hank's attacks were still visible. He took in a deep breath through his nostrils, fixing upon Hank's scent, and went at him with Extreme Speed once more.

Hank grinned, snapping his claws and leaping over Howler as he charged at him. The snap caused some grass roots to shoot up and tangle around Howlers legs, tripping him up and sending him skidding along the ground. Hank landed and winced at the impact. "OOOOH! That's gonna leave behind one nasty case of rug burn!" He said, then he looked to the crowd and grinned "CAN YOU DIG IT?!?!" He hollered, earning a roar from the audience.

But Howler was not amused... He forced himself back up despite the roots that were still wound around his legs, and exhaled sharply towards the ground. In seconds, the roots began to wither away, drying up and falling apart with a mere twitch of his legs, while the same wave of heat washed over the field, eventually reaching Hank who had taken his eyes off the Arcanine, only to be surprised as a wave of heat reminiscent of the hottest summer day rushed over him so suddenly it nearly made him swoon.

Hank froze for a second, then he groaned and wobbled a bit, literally feeling hot under the collar. "Whoa... Someone crank up the thermostat?" He asked as he turned back around to his opponent, panting as the heat had gotten to him.

Howler had freed his legs, and was still exhaling that wave of heat that washed over the colosseum, until even people in the stands felt it. "Arceus almighty; you feel that?" Volcan asked. "I'm a Fire-type and even I can feel that heat... he must be using Heat Wave."

"He is." Luke returned. "This isn't good... Hank won't be able to focus under that intense heat. He'll either faint from sunstroke or Howler will run him down."

"Dammit; our plan didn't work. I never even thought Howler might know Heat Wave since Arcanine don't learn it naturally," Volcan stated, cursing himself.

And then, Howler breathed in again before blasting another Heat Wave _directly_at Hank, with a concentrated blast of it enough to make his skin feel like it was burning under his fur. His dark colours didn't help either, only absorbing the heat more as Howler exhaled it.

"Ow OW!! Fuck!" Hank hollered, feeling his body start to overheat from the intense heat wave exhumed by Howler. In a vain attempt, he tried backing away from the Arcanine in hopes of finding some cooler air, but the entire arena was boiling hot, and Hank was starting to feel very dizzy from the overexposure to the heat. "S-shit...I'm in trouble..."

Finally, Howler stopped exhaling, and then he began to run at Hank while he was too dizzy to focus, his four paws carrying him across the floor faster than the either could follow, but he didn't run into Hank directly; he ran past him, and then came back at him from behind, ducking low and slamming into him at an angle to send him airborne. While Hank was helpless above ground, Howler dashed under him, sprang up into his path, and reared back his legs as Hank neared.

Delivering two consecutive kicks to Hank's face sealed the deal, sending the Zoroark falling back towards the ground following the Double-Kick attack, hitting the earth with such force that it stunned him. Howler landed, and then ran back over to Hank, pinning him down with a paw on each shoulder to keep him still, baring his fangs as if to dare him to try making another move...

From down there, Hank also got a close look at Howler's throat; it had previously been hidden beneath the bandana he wore, but on Howler's neck was a slash mark that left a bald spot in his fur, as if someone had tried to slit his throat but had landed only a shallow cut. The mark was right about where his vocal cords would be, and suddenly it all made sense why Howler did not speak; he couldn't...

Hank then narrowed his eyes at the sight of the mark, barely conscious from the assault he just endured. "Huh... so the Delcatty actually had yer throat..." He wheezed. "Jeez... sorry," He whispered before the last of his consciousness faded and he went slack underneath Howler.

"This battle is over!" Leon called. "The winner is Howler from Team Kama!"

As the crowd reacted to the news, Howler did something unexpected after he stepped off of Hank. He lowered himself down, slipping his front paws under the Zoroark before turning his paws over and scooping Hank up, letting him slide over his head and onto the Arcanine's back, before Howler rose back to his feet and walked carefully in the direction of Team Valiant, with Hank draped over his back as though he'd been hunted, making slow steps and trying not to sway in any way so that Hank did not fall off of him.

Luke met Howler at the edge of the arena, followed after by Mikhail, taking Hank into his arms and lifting him off of the Arcanine's back looking at Howler with intrigue. "Thank you..." He returned with a nod, before passing the downed Zoroark off to his brother so he could treat his injuries.

Howler nodded to him, before turning his back to the group and making his way back over to his own team, treading softly across the arena while the crowd cheered his name, taking it in strides.

"Is he okay?" Volcan asked as he helped Mikhail lay Hank down in the sand, feeling partly to blame for his defeat... it had been his strategy that he had hoped would stop Howler and yet the Arcanine had showed them two attacks -Heat Wave and even Double Kick- that the Blaziken had not even thought that Howler would even know, and now Hank had lost because of his oversight. True it may have also been in part to Hank's own overconfidence, but he had been following Volcan's plan, and it had failed...

"He's got a mild case of heatstroke and some bruises, but otherwise he'll be ok after some rest and rehydration." Mikhail explained before he carried Hank off to the medical ward.

Luke looked up to Volcan, seeing the disappointment in his gaze and placing his paw on the Blaziken's shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself," He said softly to him. "Even the best strategists make mistakes. We weren't expecting Howler to know Heat Wave, and Hank did get cocky." He said, trying to reassure him.

"I know..." Volcan returned, sighing. "But we're not off to a good start; Howler beat Hank so easily. Maybe we should have gone with Kage after all."

"Perhaps we should, but we didn't." Luke said. "We paid the price for our oversight. We can only learn from it and hope the next match rectifies our current standing."

"It better. If Katsu doesn't beat Blaster, then this is as far as we go," Volcan stated, clenching his talons tightly before he turned to the Samurott. "You ready?"

Katsu began stepping toward the arena. "I will succeed where Hank failed... I stake my pride as a swordsman on it," he returned, hopping up to the arena to meet with Blaster.

The mighty Blastoise was already entering the arena, crossing the battlefield to stand at the center and wait for Katsu. Going by the discussions of their strategies last night, the average Blastoise and average Samurott would normally perfectly counter each other, as a Blastoise's defenses -both Physical and Special- would be right up there with a Samurott's attack strength -in both Physical and Special as well.

Katsu was more than three times stronger than the average Samurott, but he had already seen Blaster's defensive strength first hand; even against an opposing type he had withstood every attack thrown at him, so it was possible Blaster's defense still matched his strength; they would perfectly counter each other, with Blaster only falling behind in speed.

Except, as they had discussed, Blaster's strength would be at distance fighting, not up close; if Katsu could stay in his face, he'd be out of range of Blaster's cannon since they could not aim in a manner that would allow them to cross streams, and that would allow him to tip the scales in his favor. No matter what, Katsu had to keep the fight on his side; it was the only way. Blaster was experienced, powerful, and likely to already be planning exactly how to fight Katsu even as they stared at each other, waiting for Leon to give the word.

As they waited, Katsu shot Blaster that signature glare he was known for, able to stop entire squabbles with just that one leer in his eyes. Blaster visible tensed under that gaze, but he responded in kind by bringing out his water cannons, lowering himself and bracing as he took aim, with Leon holding up his flipper, eyeing the two water-types briefly before he brought his arm down swiftly.

"BEGIN!"

Blaster made the first move. Being the distance fighter, of course he would; he aimed well, and fired a powerful Hydro Pump right at Katsu, blasting him with that famous high-pressured power every Blastoise had. Katsu quick drew his blades in response, slicing at the water coming right at him. He growled as he felt the immense pressure behind them, skidding back a bit from the initial jolt he felt from the impact.

However, with a roar he slowly regained his footing and actually started powering through the Hydro Pump, taking slow step after slow step, getting closer and closer to the Blastoise. Blaster, realizing his attack wasn't stopping Katsu, ceased firing and withdrew into his shell, doubling Withdraw with Iron defense to raise his defensive strength even higher while letting Katsu come at him, bracing himself.

Seeing Blaster retreat into his shell, he sheathed his blades and began charging right for the hidden Blastoise. However, he didn't try to tackle or punch him. Instead he wrapped his arms around as much of the shell as he could reach, then began straining himself as he slowly lifted the heavy shell up off the ground and over his head like a weightlifter. His arms shook as he held the Blastoise over his head, his ridiculous strength allowing him to carry Blaster easily.

Before he could do anything, though, Blaster's cannons suddenly reappeared, firing another Hydro Pump, but not at Katsu; he was firing them straight ahead, and being unable to brace himself sent him flying out of Katsu's arms, throwing of the Samurott's balance. While flying, Blaster emerged from his shell, landing on his feet and turned back to face Katsu again, grinning at him.

"You're not the first to try that on me, pal; you'll need something a little different to win here," he said, before aiming both of his guns at Katsu again. But instead of water, this time the two cannon barrels glowed with white light. "Take THIS!" He bellowed as he fired two beams of white energy at Katsu; he didn't know right away what attack it was, but it was clearly not a Water or Ice-type attack.

Katsu turned just in time to take the hit dead on his chest, making him skid back and growl in pain from the attack. Recognizing the metallic sensation of a Steel-type move, he assessed that the attack was Flash Cannon. However, the Samurott managed to push himself out of the way of the attack before he was thrown out of the ring, and then and charged right at Blaster with Aqua Jet. From then, he drew his blades and reared back his arms, then swung with a barrage of Fury Cutters at the Blastoise, each attack growing stronger and stronger with each blow.

Once more Blaster withdrew into his shell as Katsu came at him, letting the first attacks hit before the Blastoise unleashed a Rapid Spin; the next time one of Katsu's blades struck his shell, it skidded off, causing him to lose his grip on one of his swords. With that, as soon as Blaster was facing forward again, he emerged from his shell, and lunged at the guard-broken Katsu with a Power-up Punch.

Katsu took the hit square in the cheek, forcing his head to turn slightly. He stopped short, however, rather than be stumbled, glaring back at Blaster despite having a fist pressed into his jaw. "...Is that _really_all you have...?" He asked.

"I'm just getting warmed up!" Blaster returned, throwing himself at Katsu, both of them seizing each other by the shoulders in grapple.

"Katsu's in-close; good," Volcan stated. "At that range, Blaster can't use his cannons on him, so now it's a contest of muscle."

"And there ain't nobody who beats our Katsu at that!" Eagle Eye chimed, hopping side-to-side excitedly.

They struggled to overpower one another, strength against strength. Blaster was heavier than Katsu, but the Samurott's superior strength began to show, the muscles in his forelegs and back legs tensing as he resisted Blaster's strength, but was caught off guard when the Blastoise suddenly ducked backward, and lunged forward with a Skull Bash, throwing all of his weight forward to slam into Katsu's chest and knock the wind out of the Samurott, after which he attack with another Flash Cannon that sent Katsu skidding across the floor.

"Kind of a cheap shot, but effective," Volcan commented as he and the others watched the unfolding battle, watching as Katsu sprang back up and attacked Blaster again with his other Seamitar, forcing the Blastoise to withdraw back into his shell, striking it but dealing virtually no damage to the turtle Pokémon. "Blaster's even tougher than I thought; he can take any hit that you throw at him, and even when Katsu tries to pick him up and throw him out of the ring, he uses his own cannons to blast himself right out of his grip. This guy's compensated for his lack of mobility very well."

"Katsu will win," Luke stated, with confidence, followed by a nod from Kage, who acknowledged that he agreed. Volcan could only eye them with mild confusion, not sure he was seeing what they were, but looked on at the battle, silently cheering on the Samurott.

The two once more entered another deadlock, once more with Katsu holding the advantage and pushing Blaster back, but before the Blastoise could pull another surprise attack, the Samurott suddenly let go of him and jumped back, causing Blaster to stumble forward, and then Katsu rushed forward and punched him across the face, dazing him, and then Katsu lunged forward, throwing his forelegs around Blaster in a bearhug and pushing forward with all of the might his back legs could muster.

Blaster dug in his feet, suspecting Katsu was still trying to ring him out, and then brought both fists down on the Samurott's back, causing Katsu to lurch towards the ground, forced to release the Blastoise to catch himself on his forepaws before he ended up eating dirt. Blaster stepped back, lunging forward again to slam his shoulder into Katsu, but the Samurott was ready, rearing back up on his hind legs again and actually catching the charging Blastoise, picking him up, turning around and suplexing him head-first into the sand.

Blaster fell onto his shell, but with a quick Rapid Spin he was able to generate enough momentum to throw himself back onto his stomach as Katsu pulled away to prepare another attack. The turtle was too slow in standing up, and suffered an uppercut to the jaw that knocked his head back, exposing his chest to the Samurott.

"And now I end this!!" Katsu roared, drawing back his other fist for one more punch, taking advantages of the opening he had made.

Blaster tried to aim one of his cannons to fire at Katsu, but the stream of water he fired was off course, going over Katsu's shoulder harmlessly, and he couldn't angle it down any further. He turned to try and stop the punch, only to take it square in the center mass; his iron-hard body was all that saved him from being winded, but the punch was enough to knock him off of his feet, sending him flying backward and landing on his shell again coughing slightly.

"Ow... okay, felt that one," Blaster said, though was still not down; he started to get up again, only to freeze in horror as Leon suddenly chimed in.

"Out of bounds!" The Empoleon called, prompting Blaster to look at the ground in front of him. Sure enough -although a skid mark left by the Blastoise had broken the edge of the ring where he'd hit, he was outside of the boundary. He had not even realized he'd moved this close to the other side of the arena; no doubt brought there while he was spinning and unable to see where he was going.

"Well I'll be damned," he said as Leon ended the match, looking up at Katsu as the Samurott approached him. "You knew you couldn't break my defenses so you kept grappling with me to try and push me closer to the edge. I didn't realize I was even that close until now."

Katsu chuckled and tapped his head. "I'm not all muscle, my friend." He returned, leaning down and offering his paw to Blaster.

Blaster chuckled, reaching up and grasping Katsu's paw, letting the Samurott help him up. "I haven't had a battle like that in ages, and I lost by ring-out of all things," he admitted. "Next time we ought to try without a ring, and go right to the finish." He said this with a grin.

Katsu nodded. "I look forward to a rematch with you Blaster. You are a strong opponent indeed, one worthy of my respect."

"Right back at you," he said, before he began to make his way back to his team's side of the field.

The score was tied now; one for Team Kama, one for Team Valiant. And it all came down to the fight between Luke and Sickle...

Katsu rejoined his team, where Eagle Eye was flapping his wings frantically upon his arrival. "Hot Dayum! I knew you were the strongest here, but to send a Blastoise flying like that with a punch!" He squawked. "NICE!!"

Kage gave Katsu a small nod as he returned, to which Katsu returned with one of his own. "Great job Katsu." Luke said to his muscular friend. He then turned his gaze over to the arena, where Sickle was waiting. "Well... it's my turn now." He whispered.

"Go for it, Luke," Volcan said with encouragement. Luke glanced back to Volcan with a nod and a confident smirk, then faced forward once more and began walking toward the arena to meet with his opponent...

Sickle met him at the middle, the two of them taking their positions across from each other, their eyes meeting as Leon announced them; the two team captains would finally face off against one another, and judging by the tension Luke could see in Sickle, he was as much looking forward to this as Luke was.

"We're finally here," the Grovyle said.

Luke nodded in return. "Yes...our long awaited battle has finally arrived..." Luke returned, still smirking confidently.

Sickle's eyes narrowed slightly as he and Luke stared into each other's eyes; by now Leon had already signalled the match to start, but both fighters were keen on taking their time for the moment, sharing words a little longer before they got down to the battle.

"I know I said this already, Luke," he began as he shifted to a sideways stance. "But I will say it again; I promise to make this fight one that you will remember for the rest of your life." He triggered a Leaf Blade at that moment, the leaves on his arms merging before forming into two blades curved like fangs from his wrists, holding his arms out, one down low by his hip and the other up high, turned with his right claw held at eye level. "So let's go for it."

Luke shifted into his stance, spreading his paws apart and manifesting his Bone Rush, then spun it in his paws. "Let's enjoy this then, Sickle!" He exclaimed.

"You got it!" Sickle returned before he charged, lunging at Luke with a Leaf Blade swipe, striking the aura-made bone in his paws in a moving clash.

Following Luke's successful block of the attack, Sickle went into a flurry, striking high, then sweeping around to attack low, only to come back high again, spin on his keep and unleash and angled swing, swiping from Luke's hip area up to his shoulder. Luke displayed some expert staff work as he parried Sickle's attacks, then lunged forward with a long thrust, retracting his weapon and performing a double attack with both ends of his bone, each strike aimed at the Grovyle's shoulders.

Sickle managed to block both swings, and then surprised Luke by firing a Bullet Seed at him, striking him in the chest to make him wince before the Grovyle sprang away. In that instant, Luke noticed that the Bullet Seed had seemed to hurt more than it should have; as a Steel-type he should've been resistant to grass-type moves, and a weak move like Bullet Seed should barely have hurt, yet that one had actually stung.

.

Luke looked down at his chest for a moment, taking note of how much the attack stung him. He looked up to Sickle for a moment, narrowing his eyes before he closed the distance with Extreme Speed, clocking Sickle along his cheek with his paw, then tripped him up with his bone before unleashing a powerful force Palm right to the Grovyle's chest.

Sickle was sent flying backward, but he managed to recover in midair, turning about and landing back on his feet, facing Luke again. He then retaliated with a Quick Attack, zipping side to side as he went head-on at Luke, but just as the Lucario, easily able to perceive him, tried to strike him with his bone rush, Sickle halted mid-step, letting the bone swing past him and taking advantage of Luke's now exposed flank as he tried to bring it around again, dashing forward and delivering a Slam that knocked him backward.

Once again, the attack seemed to hurt more than it should. Keeping his balance, Luke faced the Grovyle, narrowing his eyes in suspicion as he watched Sickle return to his defensive stance. "...You're amplifying your attacks somehow, aren't you?" He asked. "First that Bullet Seed, and then that Slam -a Grass and Normal-type attack should barely hurt me, so how is it you've made yourself stronger?"

Sickle smiled, shaking his head. "I haven't, really. My attacks haven't been amplified at all," he replied, holding up his right arm and showing Luke a bracelet he wore around his wrist, which Luke hadn't noticed until now. Around this strange bracelet were four sockets likely intended for gemstones, but only one of them was filled, imbedded with a yellow, shining stone that seemed to be emitting some kind of energy. "The secret is with this."

Luke took a closer look at the bracelet from where he stood. "...Sneaky devil you are." He commented. "What's the gem in that bracelet?"

"It's not a gem," replied Sickle. "This bracelet is called a Looplet, and the stone imbedded in it is known as an Emera; special stones found on the West Continent that grant the user temporary abilities, and are stackable based on how many stones you have. Once activated, as soon as the battle ends, the stones break, so they're one-time usage only. I was saving them for taking on Team Warmachine, but I decided to use this one, to make our battle even."

He held up his arm. "See, this Emera is known as a Type Bulldozer; it basically alters my attacks to deal normal damage to an opponent even if they're of a type that resists the type of the attack I'm using. It doesn't apply to immunities like Normal against Ghost or Poison against Steel, but to put it simply it's nullifying the advantage of your Steel-typing." He returned to his combat stance. "Like I said, this battle will be decided by skill. To do that, I had to take away your type advantage, so now we fight as equals differing only in strength and ability."

Luke smiled. "Well then, this certainly tips the scales."

"That was the plan," Sickle returned before he struck again.

He unleashed another Quick-Attack, coming at Luke at his maximum speed and lunging at him with a shoulder slam. Luke countered the attack with another Force Palm, striking with enough force to try to cancel out the shoulder slam. Luke then twirled his bone in his dominant paw and swung it for Sickle's head in retaliation. Sickle parried the swing with his leaf blade, turning on his heel in a one-eighty and then attacking Luke with a Low Sweep towards his legs, sweeping his own leg at Luke's shins.

The Lucario was swept off his feet, but not before he swept with his bone to take Sickle with him before he fell. Once he was on his back, Luke rolled away from the Sceptile and fired a volley of Aura Spheres from his paw as he retreated. Sickle rolled onto his front, seeing the spheres racing towards him, and firing a flurry of Bullet Seeds to detonate them prematurely, except for one that he didn't quite stop; he rolled again, narrowly dodging it, and started to get up only for the sphere to come back at him and hit him from behind, sending him sprawling.

"I forgot!" He cried, struggling to regain his balance.

Luke closed in with Extreme Speed once more, taking advantage of the situation and then proceeds to dish out a heavy Close Combat combination on the Grovyle, hitting him hard and fast at the cost of his defenses.

Sickle was practically sputtering in the different ways he reacted to the flurry of strikes, until Luke delivered the final blow and sent him flying backward. He hit the ground hard, skidding a little, and seemed to be down, but just as Leon was about to call it, he started to get up again, flexing his arms and shutting his eyes as he took in a deep breath. His whole body glowed a lighter shade of green briefly as specks of light flowed into him, and when the light faded, several flowering bruises and cuts inflicted on him by Luke had healed visibly;

Synthesis, Luke realized. He smirked a little at that realization and limbered up his shoulders a bit. "You continued to surprise me. I was certain that Close Combat would have worked." He said.

"It helps if you're prepared," Sickle returned with a grin. "I try to be ready for any situation!"

They clashed once more, both of them zipping around and trying to get an edge on one another as the audience looked on. By now, everyone had seen just how these two differed; Luke was stronger and, when using extreme speed, faster but Sickle was more agile and no slouch in speed himself, dashing and darting around many of Luke's attacks, and now successfully managing to land some of his own. He even managed to cut Luke's Bone Rush clean in half with a leaf blade, but Luke switched his fighting style to suit it, using the aura bones like a pair of batons instead of a staff.

"They're almost completely even," Volcan commented. "Imagine if Sickle was a Sceptile now; Luke might even be at a disadvantage against him. He's strong for a Grovyle."

"Indeed," agreed Katsu. "He truly is a skilled warrior."

As the battle dragged on, the contest would turn to one of stamina, and in that, Luke would prevail, as Sickle started to slow down, forced on the defensive until he was knocked backward by another Force Palm from Luke. The Grovyle skidded across the sand, leaving an impression in the ground as he slid, until he managed to stop himself, shaking his head to clear it and panting for breath.

"Alright... one trick left," he said, standing up and standing perfectly upright. "Alright Luke," he said as the wind around him began to pick up. "If this fails, this match is as good as yours. But I'm giving it all I got; it's all or nothing!" He pumped his arms, the wind swirling all around him, tossing the leaf growing from the top of his head and that of the scarf worn around Luke's neck, and then he knew just what it was.

Razor Wind.

Luke furrowed his brow, seeing Sickle prepare his special attack. "...Looks like this will decide everything..." He said with a smirk, vanishing his bone rush and triggering his Aura Surge, empowering himself and cupping his paws at his side, charging a Focus Blast in between his paws. "As you said, Sickle... all or nothing!"

"Let's finish this!" Sickle called. "Here it comes, Luke!"

Luke finished charging his Focus Blast just as Sickle unleashed his Razor Wind, slash marks appearing the ground and racing towards the Lucario. The golden sphere of aura in Luke's paws glowed brightly as he launched it towards Sickle, the sphere colliding with the distortion of wind.

Luke could not actually see the wind, but he could see the slash marks in the ground being pushed off in separate directions, and that same force was actually resisting his Focus Blast. But, it wasn't stopping it. As the two attacks pressed together, the Focus Blast slowly pushed through, spreading the wind around it and inching closer and closer to Sickle.

The Grovyle's eyes widened. "Oh crap!" He screamed as he saw the Focus Blast breach his Razor Wind and race straight at him. He tried to jump away, but it struck the ground with such force it caused an explosion that sent him flying.

He struck the ground with force enough to leave him winded and stunned on the sandy floor. Sickle coughed as he lay there, unmoving with haze in his eyes. He wanted to stand up, but he capitulated to remain where he was, shutting his eyes completely and letting the match reach its conclusion...

"Match over!" Leon called. "The winner is Luke from Team Valiant, on possibly the most spectacular battle we have seen yet!"

The entire audience erupted with applause, cheering Luke's name at the top of their lungs. Volcan, unable to contain his excitement, actually sprang up into the air, letting out his own cheer of glee for Luke before he landed back on the ground again, fists pumping.

"That battle was frickin' awesome!" He cried. "Way to go, Luke and Sickle!"

Luke let out a sigh as he stood tall once more, letting the audience cheer for him for a moment as he let his tension ebb away until he was in a relaxed state again. With that, he began to cross the battlefield towards the downed Grovyle, kneeling next to him and touching his shoulder gently. "Best fight I've had so far," he said as he carefully rolled Sickle onto his back, slipping his paws under his legs and shoulders and picking him up, and then began to carry him over to his waiting teammates.

Sickle awoke in Luke's grasp, shakily raising his head to look at him with a wry smile. "And here I thought I'd be the triumphant hero carrying _you_off," he remarked. "But I can live with this too."

Luke couldn't help but blush at his remark, averting his gaze for a moment. "Funny how that works out huh...?" He asked, trying not to sound as embarrassed as he felt. "But I really did enjoy that fight, Sickle..."

Sickle chuckled weakly in reply. "Me too."

As he said those words, there was the sound of glass cracking, and both their eyes fell to his wrist where the yellow Emera in his Looplet bracelet had suddenly spider-webbed, and to then fall apart as it dropped out of the bracelet, crumbling into specks of powder that drifted off to join the sand below.

"Well, that's spent," Sickle commented, laying back his head and sighing. "But it was worth it..."

"Surely you can get more of those, right?" Luke asked.

To that Sickle only laughed weakly. "These aren't gems you find in the store, my friend," he said. "They're rare, and they aren't found here in the east -at least not that I know of. It's a long trip to the West Continent where I found this one and the few others I've got. Even then, Type Bulldozers are hard to find." He smiled. "But I have no regrets using it here." He stated. "I got to fight you as an equal, and I will not soon forget it."

Luke smiled back and nodded to him. "This has been one hell of an experience for the both of us... I'll remember this fight, and you, for the rest of my life."

Sickle smiled at that. "Then I'm one happy lizard," he said. "I accomplished at least that much. Though I don't intend to say goodbye to anyone just yet. Now that you've beaten me, I want to see you win this thing."

Luke nodded once more. "Then I will battle all the harder to do just that."

Finally, they reached Blaster and Howler, the latter of whom turned sideways to let Luke place Sickle onto his back. Thankfully Howler was so big the Grovyle could safely lay draped lengthwise over him and rest comfortably in his fur. As the Arcanine turned away to carry Sickle off to the infirmary, the Grovyle looked at Luke once more, giving him one last smile before he shut his eyes and let himself rest.

"Damn good fight, Luke," Blaster said, lowering himself down a bit and offering his hand to Luke. "We may have lost, but that fight alone was worth coming all this way for."

Luke took Blaster's hand into his paw and shook it firmly. "Meeting your team was a privilege as well... I hope we get to see more of you. I think we'd work well together."

"I agree," returned Blaster. "If you're ever near Bluegrove and need a hand, drop us a line. Team Kama will always have your back."

"As Team Valiant will have yours." Luke said as he released Blaster's hand. "See you around then." He said with a casual salute before heading back to his own team, jogging across the battlefield as the maintenance crews arrived to begin preparing it for the next match.

"Luke," Volcan said. "Even when I get all of my memories back, I don't think I'll ever find a battle as amazing as that one. That was an incredible performance by both you and Sickle."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Luke said with a nod and a smile back up to Volcan.

"HAHAHAAA!!" Eagle Eye swooped around and perched on Luke's head. "_That's_why yer our leader boss!!" He hollered with glee.

"Aye!" Katsu hollered, wrapping Luke in a headlock with just one arm and putting on possibly the most gleeful grin anyone had ever seen. "Truly a spectacular battle indeed! My blood was boiling from just witnessing such an event!"

Kage, stoic as always, seemed to wear a small smirk underneath his tongue scarf as the others crowded around Luke. "As if there was any doubt..." He said in a low, but calm tone.

Volcan looked at Kage with a deadpan face. "Buzzkill, man." He said.

"Let it go, Volcan." Luke urged him as he playfully struggled against Katsu. "Like I said, he's always like that."

"Still, we're trying to enjoy a win here," Volcan returned, sighing.

"I say we enjoy it by feasting like there's no tomorrow!" Eagle Eye hollered. "Who's up fer some grub!?!"

"That sounds like a good idea," returned Volcan, nodding. "We made it to the semi-finals so I think we've earned some reward."

"Then I'd say we've wasted enough time here." Luke said. "Let's head to the Kyogre's Rest and fuel up. After a fight like that, I'm rather famished."

"Don't gotta tell me twice!!" Eagle Eye hollered as he hopped off of Luke's head and was already zooming off to the ship for some food. Katsu trotted after the Talonflame while Kage vanished in a plume of water, leaving Luke and Volcan alone.

Luke glanced over to the Blaziken. "Well, better not let them beat us to it." He said with a grin. "Race you!" He hollered before he trotted ahead of Volcan.

Volcan looked after the Lucario, grinning widely before he broke into a sprint and followed after him. "You might have quick feet, but I've got a longer stride!" He called in challenge as he chased after the Lucario, sprinting past Katsu who had to struggle to keep pace with them as they charged through the halls of the colosseum on their way back to the ship.

~~~~~

Aboard the Kyogre's Rest the group had just sat down to their meal, recounting the day's events and the ways the battles had progressed. Hank and Mikhail, the former now healed up by the latter, arrived to join them shortly after they started, entering the hall accompanied by the spectacle-wearing Lucario to find the ongoing festivities.

"Oi Oi! Save some fer us!" Hank hollered as he strode into the room.

Mikhail spotted his brother amidst the others, sprinting over to him and hugging him tightly. "Well done, brother!" He cheered. "Everyone's been talking about your battle with Team Kama. Sounds like it was quite the spectacle!"

Luke chuckled a little. "It certainly felt like it was. Battling with Sickle was very fun."

"I bet everyone in town is talking about it too," Volcan added. "I wonder how often there's any excitement here in Valvatna."

"Probably not a lot, considering the uproar." Mikhail pointed out. "Though I think Team Warmachine's presence here is also adding to that uproar."

"Probably," returned Volcan, before his gaze turned up to the television. "Hey, check it out; that team of all-fighting-types made it to the quarterfinals too."

Luke and the others looked up toward the Tv and saw the results for themselves. "So they have." Luke said with a nod. "Think they'll make it to the Semis?" He asked.

"Depends on who they're fighting, I guess," said Volcan.

On the screen, the team's Medicham had taken to the field, but not only that, he had also Mega Evolved, taking on its rather unusual and yet powerful form of Mega Medicham. With this transformation, he gained four additional arms resembling white ribbons trailing behind him, and adorning a new piece of headgear in the likeness of a turban with an jewel mounted on the front of it. The oddly mystical Pokémon was facing a Dusknoir, who hovered ominously across the field from him.

"Hey uh... what's up with the crazy look he's got going?" Hank asked, pointing to the Mega Medicham.

Mikhail looked at him oddly, raising on eyebrow as he replied. "Medicham can mega evolve as well." He pointed out. "Didn't you know that?"

"Uhhh yea!" He exclaimed. "I knew that! I was just uh... testing to see if you knew!"

"Sure all that heat didn't melt any of your brain cells Hankie?" Eagle Eye asked with a snicker.

"Hey shut it fly boy!!" Hank hollered back at Eagle Eye angrily.

"Geez, what the hell is that Pokémon he's fighting?" Volcan asked. "That guy gives me the creeps just looking at him."

"That's a Dusknoir." Luke answered. "They're known as being the tankiest Ghost Type Pokémon in existence -they can endure punishment that would knock other Pokémon flat, and are quite strong themselves too." He added, looking to the Mega Medicham. "That one will be hard pressed to take down that Dusknoir, even with Mega Evolution..."

"Ugh... lots of luck to him," Volcan commented. "And, looks like it's the Fighting-type team's last fighter too."

"Agreed. He'll need to muster everything he's got to prevail." Luke said, and then he stood up from his seat and stretched a bit. "I'm going to take a bit of a walk... I'm feeling a bit stiff."

"Okay, Luke; we'll let you know how the fight turns out," Volcan called after him, watching as Luke left before he turned back to his meal, looking down at the bowl of soup in front of him.

He was just about to take a spoonful of it when he paused, noticing something odd in the bowl. He hummed curiously as he looked closer, thinking maybe his eyes were just playing tricks on him as he could have sworn he saw two pairs of eyes... looking at him from in the bowl. Not his own blue eyes, but red-pink ones with taller pupils than his own -almost cat-like by comparis.

His heart leapt when a big toothy grin appeared in the soup too.

"GAAAAH!" Volcan screamed, startling everyone as he fell back in his chair; Luke had only been halfway out of the room when the Blaziken suddenly cried out, and looked back to see him fall out of his chair and hit the floor, making such a racket in the process.

Luke rushed over immediately and helped his friend back up to his feet. "Volcan? What happened?" He asked. The rest of the team also seemed to be on high alert from Volcan's outburst.

"There was a freaking face in my soup!" He returned, looking back at the bowl as if it would attack him. "And I don't mean my reflection either!" He looked over at Hank, remembering the Zoroark's mischievous side. "Hank, you playing tricks on me?"

"The fuck are you looking at me for?" He asked. "I just got outta the med ward and I'm famished! Tricks are the last thing on my mind." He retorted defensively.

"Well unless I really am going crazy, my food just grinned at me," Volcan returned.

"Let me see." Mikhail said as he leaned over and adjusted his glasses as he looked into Volcan's bowl of soup. But the Lucario saw nothing out of the ordinary; just a regular, plain, bowl of tomato soup with a few crumbled crackers in it; nothing resembling a 'face' of any kind. "...I don't see any face on the soup." Mikhail said plainly. "You must've been imagining it."

Volcan scratched the back of his head feverishly, glaring at the bowl as though he were staring at an annoying fly, grumbling to himself. "Can't have been my reflection; I don't have any teeth."

Luke gave a sigh and crossed his arms. "Well, I didn't see it so I can't say whether or not what you saw really happened." He returned. "Either way, I'm going to head out now. If something like that happens again, let me know."

"Wait but I..." Volcan watched as Luke left, looking back at his bowl again before staring after Luke once more, letting out an aggravated groan. "I'm not hungry anymore," he grumbled, and began to leave the dining hall too.

There was a snicker in the air, caught only by Hank and Mikhail's keen ears; someone was laughing...Both of them perked up and looked to the direction of where the snickering was coming from. "...You heard that, right?" Hank asked.

"I did," Mikhail returned, adjusting his glasses.

The laugh was coming from under the very table Volcan had been sitting at just a moment before. Mik looked to Hank, who nodded back to him in response. Mikhail then closed his eyes and tuned to his aura sense to see if there was another presence among them. But he saw no Aura, though the snickering was heard again, and when he dropped his Aura Sense, he saw what appeared to be shadow moving on its own without anyone casting it through the floor, heading over to the table where Katsu and Eagle Eye were seated.

Mikhail looking back to Hank and motioned at the table in question, notifying Hank of where the shadow was moving. Hank nodded, and in a flash he had leapt over to their side of the table, landed between them, then stabbed down at the floor with a Night Slash attack.

There was a yelp, and then the shadow moved. "WHOA! Hey!" The voice called, a pair of red eyes and a tooth-filled frown looking back up at him as they seemingly materialized on the floor. "You almost hit me down here!"

"A... Gengar?" Mikhail asked inquisitively as the shadowy figure took form.

Kage was then right in the Gengar's face, his ninjato poised right between its eyes. "Explain yourself. Now!" He demanded in a very threatening tone.

"Hey, relax froggie," the face replied, turning its frown back to a smile before fading out of existence again, only for the Gengar to suddenly pop up in the middle of Katsu and Eagle Eye's table, the purple, shadowy bipedal Pokémon with a roundish body, pink eyes and short limbs with a back covered in spikes posing dramatically as he appeared from nowhere.

"Ta-da! Phanto of Team Phobia, here for your entertainment!" He announced, giving a mock bow to the group. "Starting with your rookie member; wanted to give him a good jolt." He added with a snicker.

"...Da fuuuuuq?" Eagle Eye asked, slowly backing his head away from the Gengar.

"I guess that solves that mystery..." Mikhail said before he stood up. "I'll go get Volcan. He'll want an explanation." He said as he left the table to find said Blaziken.

"Hey, come on; it was just a little fun," Phanto called after Mikhail as he levitated off of the table, propping himself back in midair as if lying on an unseen hammock. "Your buddy sure reacted well when he saw my face in his soup." He laughed heartily. "That one never gets old."

Suddenly, the doors to the dining hall flew open, and there was Volcan, but he wasn't alone. With him was a familiar-looking Charmeleon, who had a very displeased look on his face, blowing smoke from his nostrils before he bellowed loudly the name of the Gengar. "PHANTO!"

"Uh oh; busted," Phanto said, worriedly.

"I warned you if I caught you in here again there'd be consequences!" The Charmeleon shouted, storming into the room.

"Come on now, Kaen; can't a guy have a little fun?" The Gengar asked.

"Spooking the guests on our ship is only fun for one side," Kaen returned. "I'll be reporting to your team captain once we're done here; now get your sorry ghostly hide back over to the Colosseum before I light you up and throw you there myself!"

"Be kind of pointless; my team won't be in there much longer," Phanto remarked, pointing at the TV. "See for yourselves."

As if cued, when the group looked up at the television, they saw just in time, the Mega Medicham from before getting slammed into the ground by a disproportionately massive hand, which scooped him back up again, squeezed him tightly until he went blue in the face, and then hurled him out of the fighting ring. He devolved back to a regular Medicham before even hitting the ground, and so Leon called the match.

"Shu is down! Team Phobia is the winner!" The Empoleon announced. "And so Team Phobia will advance to the Semi-finals!"

"...Well I'll be damned." Eagle Eye commented. "Even Mega Evolved, that Medicham got his ass handed to him."

Hank looked over to Phanto. "Wow. Dude you so called that." He said, then grinned widely. "...I like this guy."

Kaen dashed up to Hank, jumping up to eye level with him and yelling in his face. "He doesn't need any encouragement from you!" He shouted before falling back to the floor.

"It's nice to be appreciated," Phanto returned, chuckling again. "Anyway, my business here is concluded. We'll be seeing you guys tomorrow."

Kaen glared up at the Gengar, instantly vanishing the Ghost-type's big grin. When the Charmeleon sent a Flamethrower up at him, the Gengar panicked and immediately flew for the nearest window. "Exit, stage right!" He called before flying out of the ship, and making his way back towards the colosseum.

When Phanto was gone, Kaen let out a snort, blowing smoke from his nostrils once more as he spoke. "That guy really steams me," he growled. "Just because he's from a Gold-ranked team he thinks he can make a game out of scaring his team's upcoming challenges." He jerked his thumb at Volcan. "And unfortunately, that was you guys next. Sorry about that."

"Phanto's been doing that to other competitors?" Volcan asked.

Kaen nodded. "Yeah... when he knows who their next challenger will be, he makes a habit of going to spook them before their upcoming battle." He let out another snort. "I've had three team Captains coming to me already to deal with him but there's nothing I can do, and his team Captain won't do anything either. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if he encourages it."

"Their team captain encourages him to frighten other competitors?" Katsu asked. "Why?"

"It's a scare tactic." Kage answered. "To unnerve us before we face them, throwing off our focus."

"So that's why they're called Team Phobia; because they scare people?" Volcan asked.

"No, actually, that came later," replied Kaen. "See, they're a themed team like some of the others you've seen; they base their choices on common phobias. There's a Galvantula, an Ariados, Dusknoir, the Gengar you just saw, a Drapion and a Houndoom."

"Bug... Ghost... Dark..." Volcan snapped his fingers. "Fear of spiders, ghosts and the dark. That's their theme; common fears. A really bad day for a Psychic-type especially."

"Bingo," Kaen clarified. "Pretty sharp there."

"They ain't gonna be getting the drop on me!" Hank said with confidence. "I ain't afraid of any bugs or ghosts, and I'm a dark type myself."

Kage scoffed. "Let them try... I fear nothing..."

"Yeah; their theme isn't what you should be worried about," Kaen stated. "You see, these guys aren't just a Gold-ranked team. Two of their members especially are very dangerous."

"Who?"

"That Dusknoir you saw, and their team captain -the Houndoom, have been rivals of Torolf for years. They've even fought him on several occasions," Kaen explained. "In fact, in all of the tournaments we've hosted it was always them to make it to the finals. I only joined the team last year so I only saw one match between them but let me tell you, when Romulus and Torolf collide, you better not get caught in the middle -their clash can shake entire continents."

"We shall be ready for them." Katsu said with a nod. "Fighting a Dusknoir that strong actually intrigues me... I look forward to meeting him."

"You would..." Hank said, rolling his eyes.

At that, Kaen suddenly smiled. "I for one legitimately hope you guys win," he said. "And I think Torolf wants you to as well."

"He does eh?" Eagle Eye asked. "These guys from Phobia really that troublesome to him? Or he just anxious to see 'em get knocked down a peg?"

"I think you presume a little bit much, Eagle Eye," Volcan commented.

Kaen chuckled. "I'd say it's a little of both," he replied. "Phobia's a rescue team too, and an effective one -crime in their area is practically non-existent. But the real reason we hope you guys win..." He grinned. "Is because Torolf wants to fight _you_guys instead of them. You've impressed him, and that doesn't happen easily."

Hank smirked and gave a shrug in response. "Eh, what can I say? We're pretty damn awesome."

"Says the guy who got cocky and lost to a speed dem-" Eagle Eye began, but was sharply cut off by Hank

"You utter one more word, and no amount of stitches will fix what I do to you!"

"...Shutting up!"

"So even the big man himself wants a piece of us," Volcan said, smiling broadly. "Well then, let's not disappoint him."

Kaen turned and started heading for the door. "The next round of the Singles matches should be starting any moment now; if you guys want to see your pals Wade and Rigel fight, you can still make it if you hurry," he bade before he left the hall, bidding them a 'later' as he headed out.

At that, Volcan froze, remaining silent as Kaen left the hall, bidding them goodbye before he turned to the others. "Oh right... Rigel's next match is right after Wade's," he said. "You guys remember who he's fighting, right?"

"Aye. Tristan correct?" Katsu asked.

"Think the boss' bro has a shot?" Eagle Eye asked.

Kage scoffed. "I doubt very much he can win," he stated. "Even with the type advantage, his arrogance will cost him dearly against one such as that Aggron."

Mikhail glanced over at Kage, looking of course offended by the discrediting of his elder brother, but he did not voice any protest, because unfortunately Kage was right. He let out a sigh, and then, "I better go find Luke, then. We need to be there for Rigel, because if he does lose, I have little doubt he'll take it hard." He turned, heading for the exit. "We'll meet you all at the colosseum."

Finishing their meals hastily, Team Valiant rushed out of the dining hall of the Kyogre's Rest, disembarking down the ship's gangplank before making a beeline back to the colosseum, just -as it sounded like, the quarterfinals of the Single Division were about to begin...