{"sf1_id":829334,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Contest Part 1","author":"Volcan MacAingeal","words":14890,"posted_at":"2015-03-11T13:19:00.000Z","tags":["Hitmonchan","Hitmonlee","Hitmontop","Swampert","Talonflame","blaziken","lucario","pokemon","samurott","vaporeon","zoroark"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/829334-contest-part-1","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/829334","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=829334\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"The group was shown to its rooms shortly after everyone\nreceived their numbers. Spectators and competitors shared different parts of\nthe ship, but Kaen made an exception for Serena, understanding she had come\nthere with Team Valiant even if she wasn't fighting with them, and put her in a\nroom across from Volcan's. \nAlthough nobody was in their room for very long; most,\nincluding Volcan himself, were eager to explore the ship, and get a feel for\nwhere they'd be staying until the contest was over.\n            \"Heh...\na free cruise with an action-packed tournament,\" said Volcan as he and\nLuke walked along the deck. \"Tristan's gonna be so jealous when I tell him\nabout this.\"\n\"Well you did say he makes a lot of money in his\nprofession...I imagine he's been on a few cruises like this.\" Luke\nreturned.\n\"Yeah, but never one with its own fighting ring,\"\nsaid Volcan. \"Back where I come, careers like his and luxuries like this\nship are kept separate; the closest thing to a fight you'd find on these liners\nis someone bickering at the buffet table. Honestly, I think that conventional\ncruises bore him.\"\n\"Well then maybe he should take a trip here\nsometime.\" Luke said in jest, chuckling a little.\nVolcan laughed. \"Be careful what you wish for,\" he\nremarked.\n\"Noted.\" Luke returned, laughing with him as well.\nHe then sighed and looked up toward the sky as the sun began to set over the\nhorizon.\n\"You alright?\" Volcan asked.\n\"I'm still disturbed by the recent events...\" Luke\nreturned, turning to face the sea and leaning onto the railing, supported by\nhis arms and his tail swaying absently behind him.\n\"You mean this corruption plague that has hit your world?\"\nVolcan asked, turning his back to the railing and placing his hands on it to\nsupport himself as he leaned back.\n\"Yes...\"\nHe replied, nodding in confirmation. \"In all my years, I've never encountered\nanything so....dark,\" the Lucario shuddered as he spoke those words, but then\ncalmed down, eyes rolling as he thought back. \"Well... that's actually a\nbit of a lie; I have encountered dark, demonic powers before...just not on THIS\nlevel.\"\nVolcan frowned. \"I know...\" He said. \"I can't\nhelp but feel I brought this to your world... where I come from, Demon visits\nare few and far between, but when they happen, they leave a lasting effect...\noften a grim one...\" He shut his eyes, his expression souring as he\nreminisced.\n\"How grim...?\" Luke asked, looking over to him.\n\"Often the area touched by those demons becomes uninhabitable\nuntil it's purged,\" replied Volcan. \"But anyone corrupted by their\nessence can't be brought back. Their bodies have been mutated into horrors\nbeyond comprehension, and their very souls are gone; they become monsters, as\nyou've seen, and kill everything they see, even one another.\" He looked up\nat the sky. \"All demons are born from the negative emotions of others, as\nI told you once before, and that darkness knows only how to destroy.\"\n            Luke\ngrimaced at that. \"...Sounds a lot like my uncle....\"\n            \"Your\nuncle?\" Volcan asked.\nLuke nodded. \"He once trained with my Mother at a\nyounger age... until he started desiring power... so much so that he turned to\na darker power and killed his master with it...or so Mother told me...\"\n\"Sounds like Kodaku's brother, Rovdyr,\" said\nVolcan. \"Only in his case, Rovdyr simply desired the thrill of being a\npredator to all other people, not so much power. The day he went rogue, it\nbroke Kodaku's heart.\" He sighed. \"And now, Rovdyr is a member of the\nOverlords, a group who regularly causes trouble in my world. They even\nconquered part of a country, taking it for themselves, and massacred anyone in\ntheir way.\"\n            \"That's\nwhere my Uncle differs..\" Luke returned. \"Unlike this Rovdyr you\nspeak of, he's part of no group or organization...he fights on his own\nterms...\" Luke then glanced to Volcan. \"And should you ever encounter him....he\nWILL fight you to the death...and he will kill you...\"\n            Volcan\nswallowed. \"Hopefully I don't, then...\"\n            Luke\nnodded. \"Indeed...his strength is matched only by his murderous\nintent...\"\n            Volcan\nshuddered. \"Okay, I take it back... he sounds more like Calhoun.\"\n            \"Who...?\"\n            Volcan\nperked up when he realized he mentioned that name. \"Er... well... let's\njust say he's a dark part of my past. He's part of the Overlords -their leader,\nactually... and by far one of the most dangerous people of my world.\" The\nBlaziken turned away. \"It's... kind of a touchy subject for me.\"\nLuke nodded. \"You don't have to tell me then...I think I\ncan get a good idea on how dangerous he might be...\"\nVolcan nodded. \"Thanks,\" he said. \"It's not\nsomething I like looking back on...\" He stepped away from the rail.\n\"Anyway, why are we being so glum here? Let's find the dining hall; I'm\nstarving.\"\nLuke nodded. \"I think there's one back this way.\"\nHe returned, leaning off the railing and heading toward the interior of the\nship.\n            \"I\nhope the food's good here,\" the Blaziken said. \"I've never been on a\ncruise liner; no idea what it's like.\"\n            \"Neither\nhave I honestly. I guess it'll be a new experience for both of us.\" Luke\nreturned with a small smile.\n ~~~~~\nMeanwhile, up at the\npool area...\nSerena had gone up to the pool to take a swim; as tempted as\nshe was to go into the ocean, she feared she might accidentally be left behind\nby the ship, which was already way out on open sea at this point. So. she\nsettled for the cool swimming pool they had on the uppermost deck, which was\nplenty spacious, but not quite the same as the ocean she so loved. Still, it\nwas enough that she got to swim again, and after doing countless laps, she\ncurled up on the edge of the pool for a rest, flicking her tail idly as she\ntought back on the events of the day.\n\"You seem troubled...\" Katsu's voice echoed through\nthe air behind Serena. When she turned she saw the large Samurott slowly\napproaching her, a softer gaze in his eyes. \"Something vexes you...?\"\n            She\nlooked at him for a moment before turning her gaze back to the water. \"I\nsuppose I'm still adjusting,\" she said, laying her head down on her paws.\n\"This world is so strange to me, and the longer I stay here the more I\nwonder if I'll ever look at my home the same way again... back on our world,\nI'm not from the same place as Volcan; my people live at the bottom of one of\nthe largest seas of the planet, but after being rescued by him, I decided to\nstay on the surface... learn about it, be a part of it. \n\"But now, before I've even finished, I am suddenly in a whole\nnew place, where violence is regular, yet not as fatal as when it happens on my\nworld.\" She frowned. \"And this Rescue Team 'Warmachine'... it seems\nso misleading, to be a team devoted to helping others, yet you name yourself\n'War' machine, and fight for self-gain... it seems as little more than\nhypocrisy to me.\"\n\"I couldn't agree more...it IS one large\nhypocrisy...\" Katsu returned, gently taking a seat next to her.\n\"They're only hosting this competition to revel even more in the fame...I\ndid not join Team Valiant because I wanted to be famous, but to use my blades\nfor the betterment of Pokémon kind...Those of Team Warmachine have no honour or\ndignity...\"\n\"It is also for that reason I joined the Os-Nadarra; not\nonly to learn of their new world, but to see it for everything it had to\noffer,\" she said. \"Volcan and his friends are wonderful people and\neven only being in this world for a short time, I can see you, Luke, and your\nother teammates are as well...\" She swept her paw back and forth through\nthe water. \"I guess I just have a hard time comprehending what goes on in\nthe minds of those like The Overlords or Team Warmachine... Maybe because I've\nnever felt such desires, but I just can't understand why they do what they\ndo...\"\n            \"Sometimes\nit baffles me as well.\" Katsu admitted to her. \"I suppose it all\nboils down to how they were brought up. They were probably raised with a silver\nspoon in their paws... I myself had to work long and hard to get to where I am\nnow. I care not for fame or money, but to hone my skills to their absolute\nlimit, and then I can rest and retire peacefully knowing that I've done what I\ncan to help others in need...\"\n\"I wish only to be an ambassador of my people to new\nworlds,\" said Serena. \"And to defend the friends I make along the\nway. I am strong, but I am not a warrior; I can control the water but will not\nuse it to drown someone. That is just not who I am.\"\n\"That is understandable...not everyone is destined to be\nwarriors...\" Katsu returned, turning to look her in the eyes. \"Take\nLuke's brother, Mikhail, for example...he possesses great power thanks to his\nmother's training, but he doesn't deem himself a warrior...he would rather use\nhis power to aid in his future career as a surgeon, just like his mate.\"\nKatsu stated.\n\"Mikhail is a surgeon?\" Serena asked. \"I can't\nsay I considered that when I saw him.\"\n\"He's studying to be one, yes.\" Katsu returned.\n\"He's shown some great progress...one time he even performed a quick\noperation with his mate and ended up saving a mother's life after giving birth\nvia C-Section...\"\n\"That sounds difficult... but I'm glad he was able to do\nit,\" said Serena.\nKatsu nodded. \"I can understand why you would not deem\nyourself a warrior...there are times where I wonder if the same result could be\nachieved through nonviolent means...\" He returned, then started to\nchuckle. \"But what do I know? I am just a Ronin who uses his blades to protect\nthe innocent...and that which matters most to me.\"\nShe smiled at him, and peered into the water again. \"Do\nyou mind if I ask you a personal question?\" She asked.\n\"I see no harm in doing so.\" He returned.\n            \"When\nyou first fought someone, not just to protect, but also to survive... did you\never hesitate?\" Serena asked.\nHe paused and looked at his own reflection in the water for a\nmoment. \"...Many times...\" He returned.\n\"I see...\" She returned. \"Does it... ever\nbecome any easier? Or does it always haunt you when you actually have to hurt\nsomeone?\"\n\"At first, no...\" He returned. \"I never fought\nto kill my opponent... but the temptation was always there...\" He\nexplained. \"It all depends on whom I fight; if I'm fighting against\nsomeone who has absolutely no respect for Pokémon life, I do not hesitate to\ndraw my swords. If I see even a shred of goodness within them, let's just say I\ntake my time in drawing my weapons...\"\n\"There are some on my home you would not find such goodness,\"\nshe said, almost in whisper. \"Yet even them, I cannot bring myself to do\nmore than ward them off, maybe bludgeon them if I have to but I cannot bring\nmyself to use a sword.\"\nHe nodded in an understanding manner. \"Then you are\nbeing the better individual in that regard. Luna once told me the most powerful\nthing a swordsman can do is keep their blade sheathed.\"\n\"I believe I heard that saying once before,\" she\nremarked. \"Vinge mentioned it once, I think.\"\n\"Then he must be a remarkable individual...\" He\nreturned, slowly lifting his head and glancing over to Serena.\n\"Yes... all of the Os-Nadarra are,\" she said.\n\"They are all so special in their own way. Volcan is brave, charismatic,\nVinge is incredibly wise and quick thinking, Pavan is just so happy, more than\nyou'd think someone with his lifestyle could be, and Tsume is just so\nadventurous... I could never be like any of them.\"\n\"No one says you HAVE to be like them.\" Katsu\nstated as he slid a little closer to Serena. \"You alone must carve your\nown path in life....I chose to become a warrior, and I chose to be part of\nRescue Team Valiant, just as you chose to remain on the surface and not with\nyour people.\" He explained. \"Others can help guide you down your path\nin life...but in the end it is up to you to decide what path you take.\"\nHer ears flicked at his words, and she glanced at him\nbriefly, before turning back to the water. \"I suppose you're right... I\nguess it is enough I do what I can. Maybe I'll never be a leader, a strategist,\nor an adventurer... but there is something that defines me, I guess.\"\n            Katsu\nslid a little closer to her. \"Everyone has something that defines them,\nSerena...some take longer to find it...others are born with it...\" He said\nto her, almost in a whisper.\n            She\nturned to him, and immediately blushed as she realized how close he was. But\nthis time, she didn't try to move away... she continued to meet his gaze, just\nfor a moment, before she forced herself to turn away. Feelings she was not used\nto were welling up inside of her; part of her told her to dive into the water\nand swim away from him, but another said to stay at his side. He was being kind\nto her, and for once her lack of confidence did not seem to overwhelm her\ncuriosity, and she didn't pull away.\n            Katsu\nslowly turned his gaze ahead of him, looking onward toward the opposite end of\nthe pool before looking up at the sky. \"...It's getting dark...\" He\nstated.\n            \"Not\nso much in there,\" she said, gesturing at the pool; lights had come on,\nilluminating the water below. She stood up and looked at him. \"Would\nyou... like to join me for a swim?\" She asked, blushing once more.\n            Katsu\nlooked back at her and smiled a bit. \"I would be honoured...\" He\nreturned, also standing up, but taking his time to remove his kimono from his\nbody, revealing his incredibly large muscle structure.\n            She\nalmost blushed deeper when she saw how toned he was. She wondered if perhaps\nher new body was causing her to feel an attraction to him, but subconsciously\nwondered what he would look like as an anthro... he had no idea what her true\nform looked like, but she didn't quite have the imagination to picture him in\nany other way. Without looking at him again -for fear he might notice her\nstare, she dove into the water, using her tail to propel herself through. The\nwater was non-chlorinated and properly cleaned, making it easy on her gills and\npleasant to swim through.\nKatsu dove in after her, using his shorter but powerful\ntailfin to propel himself after her, staying close to her side as they swam\nthrough the water together, not once using his arms or legs.\nShe displayed impressive water arrow dynamics as she\nliterally swam in a circle around Katsu before veering off in almost a 90\ndegree turn, swimming with impressive speed through the cool water. Her side\nwas cast in shadow as she swam past a light, and then somersaulted, swimming\nback over to him. She really seemed to enjoy the swim, and it helped calm her\ndown as well.\n            He\nsmiled as she saw her swim so gracefully, far more than he was ever capable of.\nHe didn't perform any impressive tricks while he swam, merely just swam laps\nwith Serena while watching her perform her aquatic stunts.\n            Soon,\nas she reached one end of the pool, she turned around and began to swim back\nthe other way, this time going as fast as she could manage. Halfway across, she\nlaunched herself through the surface, arcing through the air before splashing\nback into the water again, turning about, and repeating it once more, before\nletting herself glide through the water until she was alongside Katsumoto once\nagain.\nHe continued to watch her as she swam and leapt through the\nwater with such grace and skill, eventually surfacing with her at his side. he\nsmiled down at her and blushed a bit. \"You're quite graceful...you might\nbe able to give Wade a few pointers with those kind of water\nacrobatics...\"\n\"I lived my entire life in the ocean,\" she said,\nwith a hint of melancholy as she rolled onto her back and swam backwards at a\nslower pace. \"It is part of who I am,\" she said as she looked up at\nthe sky, seeing the stars above. \"I still wonder about those.\"\n            Katsu\nlooked up at the night sky himself. \"The stars...?\" he asked softly.\n            \"Yes...\nadmittedly as a deep water dweller, I never once saw the sky prior to my\nintroduction to the surface. More often than not, I felt like I was staring up\ninto nothing, especially when the sky was cloudy at night, and sometimes I feel\nas if something may carry me up into that endless beyond and never bring me\nback. But I am still very curious just what they are, and where they all\nare.\" She blushed. \"I... guess that sounds silly.\"\n            \"Not\nat all.\" He returned. \"I used to wonder about them myself when I was\nan Oshawott. I never understood why they were there to begin with...all I knew\nwas that they were beautiful to look at.\"\n            \"Seems\nwe have that in common then,\" she said.\n\"Excuse me,\" a voice called from the side, and the\ngroup saw a Raichu standing at the pool edge. \"I apologize for the\ninterruption but I have to close the pool for the night; there's supposed to be\na storm tonight and it's unsafe to swim in such conditions.\"\n\"Oh, okay,\" said Serena, rolling back to a\nbelly-down position and swimming over to the side so she could climb out.\nKatsu followed her and slowly climbed out, shaking himself\ndry before he grabbed his kimono and quickly dressed himself. \"As\nenjoyable as that was, it seems all good things must come to an end...\" He\nsaid softly as he adjusted his kimono top, and then turned to face Serena\nagain.\n\"The dining hall is still open... perhaps we can have\ndinner?\" She suggested.\n            Slowly\nhe smiled at her again. \"...Do you have any preference...?\"\n            \"I\nprefer mostly vegetables, but I do eat some ocean meats such as fish,\" she\nreplied.\n\"Perhaps you'd like to sample some sushi rolls with me\ntonight...?\" He returned, offering his paw to her.\n            She\nput her paw in his. \"I would be happy to.\"\n            He\nsmiled more and blushed a bit more vividly. As a kind gesture he slowly lifted\nher paw and lightly kissed it before leading her out of the pool and toward the\ndining area to munch on some food.\n~~~~~\nThe following day,\nearly noon hour...\nA broadcast on the intercom, roughly around noon, announced\nthe start of the first fight, and that all teams were welcome to attend. Luke's\nteam was 'D', so they would not be fighting in the first round; team 'A' was\nactually Rigel and Trish, and B was known as Team Bloom, while Team C, who Luke\nand his team would be fighting, called themselves the 'Hitmon-Champs';\nconsisting of a Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee and Hitmontop, who were present at the\nSpectating stand. The opposing team was forced to limit themselves only to two,\nas they normally has six on their team, and consisted of Grass-types; just\nTrish alone gave them a distinct advantage. \nA coin-toss later by Kaen determined the fight would be\ntag-team style instead of elimination, meaning the two would fight\nsimultaneously. Their opponents were a Chesnaught and a Tangrowth; two very\nheavy hitters.\nBoth of them looked at their opponents before glancing back\nto one another. \"You wanna take viney or bruiser?\" Rigel asked.\nShe scoffed. \"All the same to me.\"\nRigel smirked. \"Alright then...I'll get the tank, you\nget the mess.\"\nKaen overheard them and glanced over. \"Don't forget,\nthis is a tag-team battle; you guys are fighting together,\" he pointed out\nbefore hopping off of the ring.\nVolcan, up in the stands with Luke, eyed the Tangrowth and\nChesnaught. \"Those guys are huge' wonder what kind of tricks they have on\ntheir side?\"\n\"We'll find out in a moment, though I'm going to guess\nthe Chesnaught will be a heavy hitter while the Tangrowth will either attack\nfrom a distance or use status inducing attacks.\" He replied.\n\"I dunno; see that Chesnaught's arms?\" Volcan\nasked, pointing at the large Pokémon. \"Those marks are the marks of\nsomeone who's used to taking hits, not just dishing them out; I think this guy\nfights defensively.\"\n            \"As\nI said, we'll find out.\" Luke returned.\n\"Start!\" Kaen called.\nImmediately, the Chesnaught leapt in front of Tangrowth,\nputting his fists together and using Spiky Shield, while Tangrowth extended its\nvine-like arms, splaying them out in a wide arc before bringing them down\nrepeatedly at Rigel and Trish, striking several areas of the battle field with\nwhipping strikes.\nBoth of them split up and weaved around the attacks, quickly\nclosing on their opponents. Right as they dashed in together, Rigel quickly\nhalted and hunched over a little while Trish used his back as a stepping stone,\nleaping up and over the Chesnaught and coming down on the Tangrowth with a\nBlaze Kick. Rigel then cupped his paws at his side and discharged an Aura\nSphere at the Chesnaught, aiming him make him stumble from the attack.\nThe Chesnaught saw Trish's attack coming, and put up his arms\nto defend Tangrowth; she reached Chesnaught before Rigel's attack did, and\npunctured one of her feet on the shield. However, immediately after, Chesnaught\ntook the Aura Sphere square in the stomach, which sent him falling back on\nTangrowth. Luckily, the mass of vines had braced itself, and countered\nimmediately with a Power Whip towards Rigel, striking at him with the force of\na sledgehammer.\n            He\nrecoiled from the attack and was sent flying back a bit, then rolled on the\nground and recollected himself, dashing in as fast as he could while the\nChesnaught was still stumbling. He then unloaded a heavy combo on the\nChesnaught, then he nailed his chin with a Sky Uppercut, infusing it with his\nnatural chi flow to immolate his paw with fire. Trish stumbled off the Spiky\nShield and hopped on the ground a little, shaking her leg from the pain, then\ncollected herself and immolated her leg with fire to cauterize her wounds. She\nthen swung her leg hard and discharged a fire projectile at the Tangrowth after\nRigel sent the Chesnaught airborne.\nTangrowth was too focused on the stunning attack display by\nRigel and had forgotten about Trish; by the time it saw the fireball coming, it\ntook the attack square in the gut, stumbling him back, but like his Chesnaught\npartner the Tangrowth was tough.\nAbove, Chesnaught, after recovering from the initial hit from\nRigel's sky uppercut, retaliated with a hammer-arm at the Lucario, trying to\nknock him back down to the ground, while Tangrowth, his focus now on Trish,\nsnapped out its vines and unleashed a spray of Poison Powder at her. Trish\ntwitched and instinctively backed away from the powder, covering her nose and\nmouth while she retreated. \nOnce she was at a safe distance, she looked up at the\nChesnaught and fired a fire projectile from her leg at the Chesnaught while he\nwas still airborne, aiming to throw him off before his Hammer Arm could nail\nher boyfriend. Rigel saw the incoming projectile and took that as his cue to\nswitch it up, quickly diving down at the Tangrowth and landing an axe kick on\nits head before landing. He then went for a quick kicking combo before\ndischarging another hadoken point blank at the Tangrowth's face.\nTangrowth went flying out of the ring, scoring an instant\nring out on the second member of team Bloom. However, unlike other tournaments,\nthe fight wasn't over unless Chesnaught went down too, and even after being hit\nby another attack, he wasn't down yet; he landed on the ground HARD, landing on\nall fours, and glared at the duo, though he bore some uncertainty, clearing\ndebating on what to try next.\nTrish stood by her boyfriend with one hand on her hip, with\nRigel crossing his arms and smirking rather arrogantly. \"What'll it be\nman? You can either forfeit like a wimp or go down like a man.\"\n            \"I\nwon't be beaten by you two so easily,\" he stated, before curling up into a\nball and rolling forward with startling speed; the Rollout attack made a\nperfect combo of his offense and defense, turning him into a living, tumbling\ncannonball as he rushed at the two.\nBoth of them leapt over the spinning Chesnaught, landing\nbehind him as he travelled away from them. Rigel discharged another Aura Sphere\nafter they landed while Trish kicked out another fireball. Both the attacks\nmerged into one to create a pseudo Shakunetsu that hit the Chesnaught right on\nhis spiky carapace.\n            However,\nthe Chesnaught was coming back at them so fast, he literally bored through the\nattack, barely suffering any damage thanks to the speed of his spin, and made a\nbeeline right for Rigel!\n\"Shit!\" Rigel cursed and darted to the side,\nhowever his leg got caught and he cried out, skidding along the ground and\nlaying on his side, gripping his leg as he propped himself up on his elbow.\n\"That's gonna leave a mark...\"\n            The\nChesnaught was circling back to attack again, but this time he uncurled, lunged\nforward and went at Rigel with a mighty punch. This time, Trish darted and came\nin between the two of them, catching the Chesnaught's arm and skidding back\nfrom the force of the hit. She grimaced as she skidded back, her talons\ndragging along the ground before she stopped, then she grinned up at the\nChesnaught and winked. \n\"Game over for you...\" She stated, then lifted her\nleg and nailed him in the gut, then lifted him up and over her head, slamming\nhim into the ground with her incredible flexibility. Rigel, now recovered,\nfollowed up her attack by  and wound his\narm back. \n\"Yer finished...\" He stated, then uppercut the\nChesnaught's jaw. He then used his good leg to start kicking at his opponent\nall along his face and torso before spinning on the spot and winding up another\nSky Uppercut infused with fire. He nailed the Chesnaught again in the jaw, this\ntime rising in the air and spiralling as he rose, leaving a trail of fire\naround him almost like a Fire Spin. \"SHINRYUKEN!!!\"\n            The\nChesnaught flew up, up, up! So high he was nearly a mere speck. Two\nship-attending Pidgeot immediately took to the air and flew after him as he\nangled dangerously over the ship, soaring over and catching him before he could\nplunge into the water beyond the rail; this qualified as a ring-out, and so\nKaen jumped onto the ring, walking over to Trish and Rigel and holding their arms\nup in triumph. \n\"Team A, Rigel and Trish, are the winners!\" He\ncalled.\n\"Man, when that big guy started rolling around like some\nrunaway boulder, I admit, I was worried,\" said Volcan.\n            \"Admittedly\nI was as well...\" Luke returned. \"Thankfully Trish saved his ass and\nallowed him to perform that last ditch technique...\"\n\"Him and that... vine-mass had a good tactic going with\nthat first trick but they were too fast for it,\" said Volcan. \"Your\nbrother is impressive... but yanno, if we win this round, means we'll be\nfighting him next.\"\nLuke smirked. \"Think you'll be ready to fight a female\nblaziken?\"\n            \"Let's\nsee if I can beat one of the guys we're fighting in our upcoming round\nfirst,\" remarked Volcan, smiling sarcastically. \"So, there's three of\nthem; who're you taking?\"\n\"Let's see...I'm an all-rounder...I'd say you are as\nwell...we'll need some speed....\" He then looked to Eagle Eye. \nEagle Eye smirked and flapped his wings a bit. \"Sure\ncount me in boss. I'll fly in fuckin circles around em.\"\nVolcan swallowed nervously. \"Okay... I'll go first then.\nIf I don't win, will at least give you guys a sense of the guys you're\nfighting,\" he said.\n\"Fair enough.\" Luke returned. \"Just keep calm\nand you'll be fine.\"\nVolcan nodded. \"Alright.\"\nKaen stayed in the ring as Rigel and Trish left, and\naddressed the crowd. \"Next fighters will be two groups full of some of the\nroughest-toughest rascals I've seen since this tourney began! Introducing Team\nC, the Hitmon-Champs!\" \nHe gestured to the left side of the ring, where the three\nfighters stood -the first of whom was climbing into the ring already. A\nHitmonchan, who bore a rather smug expression on his face as he took his\nposition, hopping in place as he did some warm-up jabs. Luke, Volcan and Eagle\nEye headed down to the ring, with the Blaziken stepping in first. Serena and\nKatsu came down to spectate from a more front-row perspective, watching as\nVolcan stretched his limbs in preparation.\n            Trish\nand Rigel stood next to Luke, with Rigel smirking as he watched Volcan limber\nup. \"Got a new chump on yer team eh?\" He asked.\n            Luke\nglanced toward his elder brother. \"He's not really an official member of\nmy team. He's someone I'm trying to help in the long run.\"\nRigel chuckled. \"Always sticking your neck out fer\nrandom strangers...Well let's see what this new face can do.\"\n            Volcan\nand the Hitmonchan, whom his teammates called Boxer as they cheered him on,\nfaced each other down as Kaen backed off, giving them plenty of room. Volcan\nstood with his fists raised defensively, as did the Hitmonchan, both of them\nwith left-foot forward, indicating right-handed attackers.\n            \"Start!\"\nKaen called.\nVolcan and Boxer attacked simultaneously, both of them taking\na swing at one another only for their arms to hook onto each other part-way;\nsurprisingly, despite how unlikely it would have been, Volcan immediately took\nadvantage of it, grabbing Boxer's arm with his other hand, twisting around and\nhurling him over his head, sending the Hitmonchan flying across the field, but\nnot quite out; he landed at the edge, sliding for a moment before managing to\nstop himself.\n            Serena\ngrit her teeth. \"Almost had him,\" she said.\n            \"A\ngood start...but this fight has only just begun...I only hope he wasn't\nexpecting a swift victory...\" Katsu added.\nBoxer sprang back to his feet. \"Oh, tough guy, eh?\nThought by your face I was fighting a rookie; won't do that again,\" he\nsaid, once more hopping from one foot to the other. \"Well come on; show me\nwhat you got.\"\n\"Fine,\" Volcan returned before he rushed forward\nagain, coming at Boxer with a Fire Punch, which the Hitmonchan avoided by\nducking.\nAnd in that instant, the fight took a turn.\nAn audible impact was heard as Boxer's fist struck Volcan's\nchest, the Blaziken wheezing as the wind was knocked out of him, followed suite\nby two more punches to the torso that knocked him back, sending him stumbling.\n\"Oh no...!\" Serena whimpered.\n            Boxer\nwasn't done yet; he rushed in again, and unleashed four heavy-handed punches to\nboth sides of Volcan's face, two each, the blows smacking Volcan around\nsomewhat with each impact.\nEagle Eye winced each time Volcan took a hit.\n\"Owchie...damn talk about beating around the bush.\"\n Trish scoffed. \"I had a feeling this\nfight would be over fast... that new guy doesn't have any form in his fighting\nand he's sloppy.\"\n\"Hey!\" Serena snapped at Trish, the sudden\nsharpness in her voice causing everyone to jump. \"Don't talk about Volcan\nthat way! He's one of the best fighters on our team; he's still just...\nlearning how to use his new body!\" There was a moment of stunned silence,\nuntil, realizing she had shouted, the Vaporeon shied away, hiding behind Katsu\nand blushing feverishly. \"Sorry...\"\n\"THUNDEEEEEERRR!\" Boxer called as he wound up his\nfist on the stunned Volcan, his arm crackling with electricity. Volcan looked\nup just in time to see the fist coming, and was met with a blunt impact and an\nelectrical charge as it landed. \"PUNCH!!\"\n\"ARGH!\" Volcan bellowed before he was sent flying\nback, landing hard on his back and leaving a trail of dust as he skidded near\nthe edge, groaning.\n\"Ha!\" Boxer barked. \"Was that the best Team\n'Valiant' has? I'd hate to see who they call their strongest, 'cuz that just\nsucked!\"\nRigel frowned and glanced to his brother. \"Dude you\ngonna take that shit from a fuckoff like that?\" Luke however remained\nsilent, his arms crossed as he watched Volcan. His gut feeling to him Volcan\nwasn't finished yet...\n            And\nhe was right. Volcan coughed for a second, immediately catching Boxer's\nattention, before he sat up. \"Okay, that hurt,\" he said. \"But\nI've taken way worse hits than that.\" Slowly, he stood back up, holding\nhis stomach for a moment before he returned to his full height.\nBoxer's arms and jaw fell slack as he stared at Volcan, eyes\nwide with disbelief. \"How... how the heck are you still standing?!\"\nHe asked. \"I knocked out an Ursaring with that combo!\"\n\"Must've been a pretty wimpy Ursaring,\" said\nVolcan. \"And that last punch you hit me with? My brother punches like\nthat; fist charged with electricity, but compared to him that was a minor\njolt.\"\nBoxer's face immediately switched from astonishment to rage,\neye twitching with anger at Volcan's insult. \"What...what?! Why you...!\nOkay, you want a heavy hitter?! I'll give you a heavy hitter; I'm gonna punch\nyou so hard both you AND your bro will get a dislocated jaw!\" He put up\nhis fists again. \"You're not gonna beat me, you jackass!\"\nSerena actually smiled. \"That's the Volcan I know,\"\nshe said.\nKatsu also smiled. \"He's very sturdy for a\nBlaziken...I'm impressed.\"\nSerena looked at Katsu, the smile never leaving her face.\n\"Wait until he starts fighting back,\" she said.\nBoxer came at Volcan with a Mach Punch, so fast he was\npractically a blur; to many spectators, it looked like Volcan was going to get\nknocked out, but before the punch even landed, he slapped aside Boxer's fist\nand punched him across the face, turning his own momentum against him with a\nsickening 'CRACK!' following the landing of his fist.\n\"OOOH! That's gonna leave a mark.\" Eagle Eye\nstated, watching the Hitmonchan get decked by Volcan.\n            Trish\nwas silent for a moment before she uncrossed her arms. \"...I stand\ncorrected.\"\nBoxer spat out a tooth, watching it hit the ground\nexpressionally along with some blood, before he turned on Volcan again.\n\"You son of a...!\" \nHe swung at Volcan again, but this time Volcan blocked his\narm, and then lashed forward and slammed his head into that of Boxer's, their\nskulls meeting with a painful thud, followed by Volcan sweep-kicking his legs\nout from under him, sending Boxer off of his feet. But before the Hitmonchan\neven hit the ground, Volcan's fist came down and POUNDED him directly into the\nfighting ring, knocking all of the air out of Boxer's lungs.\nAnd still, Volcan wasn't done; he grabbed Boxer by the arms,\nand threw him into the air before he sprang up, grabbing him by his ankles and\nfront-flipping twice before hurling him back at the ground below; Boxer landed\noutside of the ring, the floorboards cracking and breaking as he landed, and a\ncrash following him as he disappeared below the deck, while Volcan landed\ngracefully back on the fighting ring, standing tall and proud at his win.\n\"Okay... that wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be,\"\nhe said.\nThe entire audience stood in stunned silence, including Kaen,\nwho took a moment to break out of his trance. \"Well... That was quite a\ncomeback! I think we can safely say who won that round; our floor's going to\nneed some maintenance, but the winner is... wait, what's this guys' name?\"\n            \"Volcan!\"\nSerena called.\n\"Right; Volcan of Team Valiant takes the win for round\none!\" Kaen called, running over to the Blaziken and holding up his arm.\n\"Let's hear it for 'em, folks!\"\n            The\naudience, after a brief pause, began to applaude, while the other two members\nof Hitmon-Champs lifted their battered partner out of the hole in the deck;\nBoxer's body was covered in bruises that were already starting to flower, and\nhe was stunned to the point he seemed unconscious, but was alive otherwise.\n            \"Whoa-ho-ho-ho!!!\"\nEagle Eye stated frantically. \"Now THAT was a fight!! You go man!!\"\n            Rigel\nsmirked and pounded his paws together. \"Bastard's won my respect.\"\n            \"Volcan's\nthe type where, if you don't make absolutely certain he's down, you're not\ngoing to get another shot at him,\" she said. \"I think now that he's\nmore confident in that new body of his, he just may surprise us a little\nmore.\"\n\"Indeed so...I look forward to seeing how well he does\nin the next rounds.\" Katsu remarked, looking back to Serena. \"You\nhave quite a powerful ally...\"\n            Serena\nnodded. \"He's one of the strongest people I know, in more ways than\none,\" she said. \"Yet on our team there are others even stronger than\nhim, but of all of them I'd say he's still the bravest; maybe not always\nlevel-headed, but inspiring.\" She frowned and rolled her eyes. \"I\ncannot say the same for Korban, Lighris or Tristan though... those three tend\nto be far too reckless.\"\n\"How reckless are we talking...?\" Katsu asked.\n\"Korban treats everything like it presents no danger,\nTristan runs in... how was it Vinge put it?\" She rolled an eye up to the\ncorner as she thought back. \"Head-first, brains last, I think he said? And\nas for Lighris, he only wants to prove how much tougher than everyone he is;\nhe's protective of his brother and friends, but far too eager to beat his\nopponents.\"\n\"I see...sounds a little like Rigel and Hank...\" He\nsaid with a small sigh. \"One day their arrogance will be their\nundoing...\"\n            Volcan\nstepped down from the ring, rubbing his shoulder as and rolling his neck as he\nwound down from the fight. \"Little bastard landed some good hits, but I've\ntaken way worse than that,\" he said. \"Still gonna leave a mark or\ntwo... ah...\" He rubbed his jaw. \"Especially here.\"\n\"You still won.\" Luke said with a nod. \"Well\ndone out there...You certainly know how to take a hit and deal one out...\"\n\"Took me a sec to get some confidence in my new\nbody,\" he said. \"Since I haven't used it for a straight-up fight,\naside from when we took on that Gyrados or that Tentacruel -although all I did\nwas piss them off. But now...\" He rubbed his bicep. \"I think I have a\nhandle on how this body works; it's got some good momentum.\"\n\"Keep this up and we might just make it to the\nfinals.\" Luke said with a smile.\nRigel stepped forward and smirked at Volcan. \"Not bad\nout there...ya won my respect, but that don't mean shit when yer up against me\nand Trish buddy.\"\n\"Don't think I'll go down easy either way,\" said\nVolcan.\n\"Where's the fun if it's easy...?\" Rigel returned\nwith a wink\n\"Hey you jerks!\" A voice called from the ring; they\nturned to see the Hitmonlee had stepped into the ring. \"Send your next guy\nup already; I'm going to knock your damn blocks off for what you did to my kid\nbrother, and that's a promise! Gimme your best shot; I dare ya!\" He\ntaunted.\nLuke looked back at the hitmonlee for a moment, then sighed\nand stepped forward. \"Guess I'll head on up.\" He muttered.\n\"Watch it, Luke,\" warned Volcan. \"This guy\nlooks a lot meaner than Boxer was.\"\n\"I've faced tougher opponents...\" He returned\ncalmly, walking slowly toward the ring and standing before his opponent.\nKaen began his announcement of the fight. \"And now we're\nonto round two!\" He called. \"This time, it's a battle of the Team\nCaptains themselves; the eldest brother of the Champs, Leaper, versus Luke of\nTeam Valiant! Which one will come out the winner?\"\nLuke slowly adopted his stance and breathed slowly, closing\nhis eyes for a moment before opening them again, staring at his opponent with a\ncalm, yet confident demeanour. \"Let's go then...\"\n\"Bring it on,\" he said sternly, stomping his right\nleg forward harshly, cracking the stone of the ring as he stanced himself. his\neyes fixed on Luke.\nLuke then quickly charged forward, weaving from side to side\nas he ran, then he skidded and fired off a quick Force Palm at his opponent,\nthen used his speed to move to his left and strike him with a backfist, then\nagain moving quickly to his right and slamming a point blank aura sphere into\nhis side to blast him away.\nLeaper, however, was no slouch. He watched Luke with a\nhawk-like stare as he moved, evading his first force-palm attack and again with\nhis backhand. Then, as the Aura Sphere came, he took the hit, but instead of\nbeing floored or blown away, he was only sent skidding across the ground, using\nboth hands and feet to slow himself, and looked back at Luke.\n            \"That\nwas your big opening?\" He mocked. \"I'm not impressed.\"\n\"The fight's only just begun...I wasn't anticipating a\nswift victory...\" Luke said as he adopted his stance again. \"Your\nmove.\"\n\"Alright,\" he said, and then rushed at Luke\nswiftly, lunging at him with what appeared to be a punch, but the instant Luke\nreacted to parry it, Leaper halted mid-step and then lashed out with a mighty\nMega Kick; despite only being a Normal Type move, the attack struck with such\nforce, Luke was launched clear off of his feet and sent flying across the ring!\nHe grunted and skidded on his back some, then quickly hopped\nup using his paws and handsprung a few times before landing on his feet,\nnarrowing his eyes as he straightened up and looked at the Hitmomlee.\n\"...Fast and powerful...even for a normal move...\" He muttered.\n\"Still...\" He said as he cracked his neck a little and adjusted his\nscarf.\n\"My brother may be a little raw,\" he said.\n\"But I'm the best fighter from the southern regions, and that's no boast.\nI'm going to be the one to take on Team Warmachine, not some backwater dog.\"\n\"I don't doubt you're the best in the southern\nregions...\" Luke returned. \"I admire your fighting spirit, but if you\nthink you have any shot at defeating me... well, let's just say you'll be in\nfor a harsh awakening...\"\n\"Talk is cheap, so let's see if you can back up those\nwords,\" he said, returning to his stance and bracing himself for whatever\nLuke did next.\nLuke closed his eyes and relaxed for a second, contemplating\nhis next move and taking a deep breath. And then, the second he flashed his\neyes open he was already in front of his opponent and punched his face as hard\nas he could, packing quite the power into his hit. Leaper recoiled from the\nhit, but took it without tensing up; he retaliated swiftly with a Rolling Kick,\nbouncing off of the ground and swinging about with his leg outstretched. Luke\nquickly parried it with his arm, then grabbed his leg and spun with the\nmomentum of the rolling kick, hurling Leaper toward a wall using his own\nmomentum.\nThe Hitmonlee turned about, landing with his legs before\nrebounding off of the wall and into the air with a soaring Jump Kick, heading at\nLuke with newfound momentum. This time however, Luke just sidestepped and let\nLeaper soar past him, not even trying to stop him as he hopped to the side.\nHe didn't go out of the ring; he landed on his feet again,\nfront-flipping before touching down and turning back to Luke. \"Well you're\nquick; I'll give you that,\" he said. \"But you're far too complacent;\nif you're not ready to fight at your fullest you'll never beat me.\"\n\"You sure you want me to fight harder...?\" He\nreturned.\n\"Did I stutter?!\" He barked.\nLuke shook his head a little and sighed. \"Alright then....prepare\nyourself...\" He warned.\n\"Show me what you're really capable of,\" he said.\nLuke's body tensed for a moment, then he took one step toward\nhis opponent and... just vanished, not a trace of him was left, until Leaper\nfelt an elbow nail him HARD on his spine, making him stumble forward. As he\nstumbled, Luke appeared in front of him again and punched him three times\nbefore vanishing again, appearing at his left and grabbing his arm, slamming\nanother Force Palm on the Hitmonlee's side with his free paw.\nAfter that last strike, Leaper went down, landing on his\nhands and knees. \"What the... hell?!\" He demanded. \"Even for\nExtreme Speed, that was a stretch,\" he stated, before taking on a\ndifferent stance, watching Luke with greater focus this time.\n\"Who said that was Extreme Speed...?\" Luke queried,\nvanishing again and appearing behind Leaper.\nHe immediately lashed out at Luke with another kick.\n\"You're saying that's your natural speed?! Impossible! Not even Latias and\nLatios can move like that!\"\nLuke caught his leg and sweeped him, knocking him onto his\nback and stepping back a little. \"You'd be surprised how strong and fast\nyou become when you spend most of your life fighting the most powerful Nidoking\nin existence...\"\nThe Hitmonlee looked at as he stood back up. \"I've never\nheard of a Nidoking being anymore than a horn-headed brute,\" he remarked.\n\"Whoever you trained with must be a rare find indeed.\" This time, his\nstance changed again, and he shut his eyes, waiting...\n\"You have no idea...\" Luke muttered, then he too\nclosed his eyes, tuning to his aura sense before moving again, this time he\ndarted to one side, then feinted him out and darted behind him, lashing out\nwith a knee to his kidney.\nBut Leaper did something unexpected; the very millisecond his\nknee connected with Leaper's side, he whipped around and his foot struck Luke\nacross the face, faster than the blink of an eye and hard enough that Luke's\nvision exploded with stars, not to mention dazed him, as Leaper landed a\nperfect Counter on him. Luke grunted as he was hit, falling back on his rear\nand grasping his head as he tried to clear his vision.\n\"But even if he is powerful, any opponent can be\novercome with the right training,\" said Leaper, reopening his eyes and\nrushing over to Luke before he dropped into a slide. \"As you will find out\nright NOW!\" And as he slid up to Luke, his pushed himself up with his\nhands and leg. \"Blaze Kick!\" He barked as he struck Luke square in\nthe chin with his foot ablaze with red-hot fire, and LAUNCHED Luke forty feet\nin the air!\n            \"Oh\nno!\" Serena exclaimed.\n            \"Luke!\"\nVolcan called.\n            \"Now\nI'm ending this!\" Leaper called before he jumped at Luke. \"For\nwithout wings, your speed means nothing in the air!\" He called as he raced\ntowards Luke, foot outstretched with a High Jump Kick.\nHe struggled to correct himself as he was sent airborne. He\nglanced down to see Leaper soaring after him with his attack. He tilted his\nhead back as the kick narrowly missed his face, then kicked at Leaper's back as\nhe passed, propelling Luke back down to the ground in a crouch. He then brought\nhis arms in front of him and tensed his body, a gentle flickering flame\nsurrounding his body before he roared out and threw his arms out, the flame\naround him intensifying and burning brighter around him.\nRigel cocked an eyebrow as he saw Luke power up.\n\"Resorting to that already huh...?\"\n            \"Wait,\nis he Mega Evolving again?\" Volcan asked.\n            \"Nope.\"\nRigel returned. \"That requires the use of his Lucarionite. He's tapping\ninto his aura reserves to boost his abilities greatly.\" Rigel explained.\n\"He calls it his Aura Release.\"\n\"How's that going to help him while he's in the\nair?\" Serena asked.\nVolcan's eyes suddenly widened with realization. \"Wait a\nsec... Hitmonlee can't fly either!\" He looked up. \"And he missed that\nkick; Luke can nail him before he gets back to ground!\"\n\"Exactly...\" Rigel returned with a smirk.\n\"He's gonna end this with one fell swoop.\"\nLuke then darted up toward the Hitmonlee at even greater\nspeeds, even faster than before. He appeared at Leaper's back and grabbed his\nwaist, then roared as he threw him back down to the ground below. Luke then\nused a Force Palm to propel himself back down to the ground, passing Leaper and\nlanding in a crouch. He stood up and SLAMMED his paw hard into Leaper's spine.\nLeaper screamed in agony as he was struck head-on by Luke,\nsmashed into the stone of the fighting ring with Luke's attack. The blast was\nso intense it actually created a small shockwave that made everyone blink, and\nin that instant of column of dust shot into the air, obscuring the scene from\nall onlookers.\n\"Holy moly,\" said Volcan.\n\"Luke's even stronger than I imagined,\" Serena\nsaid. \"He may even be as powerful as you, Volcan.\"\n\"Maybe as my true self, but right now... I'd say he\neclipses me,\" said Volcan.\nLuke's aura flame slowly died down and he looked over to the\ndowned Hitmonlee to see if he could get back up. Leaper was barely still\nconscious after that onslaught, however; he lay there, groaning and gasping for\nbreath, trying to find if he even still had any feeling left in his limbs as he\ntried to lift his hand. Satisfied that he could, he rolled onto his back and\nlooked up at Luke with a weary gaze. \n\"That... I don't think... I could ever have been...\nready for,\" he whispered. \"Well done...\"\n            Luke\nsilently knelt down and gently hoisted the Hitmonlee back up, taking his arm\nand putting it over his shoulders, then began to escort him out of the ring and\ntoward his team. \"As I said, I admire your fighting spirit...you deserve\nyour title of best in the southern regions...\"\n            He\nallowed himself a weak chuckle. \"Maybe I do... but if you ever come down\nto the south I may just lose that title to you,\" he remarked.\n            A\npair of Chancy that had arrived to treat Boxer took Leaper as Luke led him over\nto the side of the ring. The Hitmonlee looked at the third and last member of\ntheir team. \"Good luck, Whirl,\" he said. \"You may not be able to\nwin us this round, but if you can win this battle, we can at least leave with\nsome dignity left...\"\n            \"I\nwon't lose, big bro,\" the Hitmontop promised before turning to look at\nLuke. \"Hope your third fighter's ready; I'm going to win back our honour\nbefore this day is out.\"\nLuke nodded. \"I wish you the best of luck.\" He bade\nhim, then returned to his side of the ring and toward his own team again.\n            Rigel\nnudged Volcan's shoulder. \"Oh yea, fergot to mention that Luke STILL\nwasn't using his fullest. He's got two stages to that aura release thing of\nhis...of course...there's a bit of a catch...\"\n\"He can still get stronger?\" Volcan asked.\n\"Geez, he keeps this up he may be able to take on even my brother.\"\n\"Yeah, but like I said there's a catch...\" Rigel\nstated.\n            Katsu\nspoke up this time. \"Each boost gives Luke a tremendous boost in his abilities.\nHowever, when Luke taps into the second stage, his power goes into flux and\nbecomes unstable; the longer he fights in his second stage, the more his body\nsuffers for it.\"\n\"So it's a last resort,\" said Volcan, and his gaze\nfell. \"If this corruption plague is being caused by who I think it is... I\nfear he may have to use that power before long...\"      \nWhirl leapt onto the field, stretching his legs and arms as\nhe waited for his opponent. Whirl wasn't as tall as his brothers, but he was\nwell-built, and the marks on his body were the marks of a fighter; he had scars\nfrom many battles, some looking fairly recent, and when he stanced himself, it\nwas clear he had trained hard with both of his brothers, for he had the clear\nsigns of both a boxer and a kicker, not to mention the trademark ability of a\nHitmontop to spin on the spike on its head.\nEagle Eye quickly soared to the arena and landed in front of\nthe Hitmontop. He had a smirk, or what looked like a smirk, on his beak as he\nlanded, hopping on the spot for a bit before emitting smoke from his beak as he\nprepared for battle.\nWhirl leapt up, performing a midair cartwheel before landing\non top of his head, balancing himself on the spike and glaring at Eagle Eye.\n\"You ready for a beat-down, bird boy?\" He asked.\n\"Depends. You ready to see some stars?\" He\nretorted.\n\"We'll see who's seeing stars when I'm done with\nyou!\" Whirl barked. \"I won't let anyone dishonor my brothers!\"\nAnd as soon as Kaen signalled for the battle to start, Whirl was already\nspinning, rushing forward like a charging bull with his legs outstretched for a\nTriple Kick.\nEagle Eye only smirked and shot quickly into the air, leaving\na trail of smoke behind him as he soared into the air. He then veered back down\nand started literally flying in circles around Whirl, creating a Fire Spin to\ntrap the Hitmontop in a vortex of searing heat. The Talonflame was moving at\nimpossible speeds as he performed the attack, as he was only a red and gray\nblur as he created the Fire Spin, then darted back into the air to watch the\nfireworks so to speak.\n            \"Nice\ntry!\" Whirl called, before he began to spin even faster, until he created\na vortex. In seconds, the Fire Spin was being pushed away, and put out by the\nforce of the vortex generated by Whirl.\n\"Huh?! How'd he do that?\" Volcan asked.\n            \"Rapid\nSpin.\" Luke returned.\n            \"Damn,\nthis guy may be trickier than we thought,\" said Volcan.\n            \"Perhaps...but\nEagle Eye is the fastest of my team for a reason...\" Luke returned.\n            \"Let's\nsee if that'll be enough.\"\nNow free from the Fire Spin, Whirl dashed towards Eagle Eye,\ncoming below him before flipping around and leaping at him with a Sky Uppercut,\nbut didn't launch himself too high, knowing if he missed, he'd leave himself\nvulnerable to an aerial counter-attack. Eagle Eye reared himself back from the\nattack and countered with an Acrobatics attack, attacking Whirl from many\ndifferent angles at such rapid speeds. To end his attack, he coated his body in\nfire and rammed into his opponent with Flame Charge.\n\"Gotcha!\" Whirl barked, and used a Counter,\ngrabbing Eagle eye by the back of his neck and back-flipping with his momentum\nstill propelling him forward, turning it on him and sending him directly into\nthe ground face-first.\n            \"WHOOF!!\"\nEagle Eye grunted as he hit the ground, stiffening up from the impact before he\nstarted to go limp...then flames shot from his taloned feet and shot at Whirl\nwhile he was still grappling him. \"PSYCHE!!\"\n            Whirl\ntook the flames head-on and was blown onto his back, yelping in a mix of pain and\nsurprise as he quickly spun to put them out. \"How are you still conscious\nafter that?! You had to have been going seventy miles an hour; it's a wonder\nyour beak didn't break!\"\nEagle Eye propped himself up on his feet and grinned.\n\"Dude, you have any idea how fast I fly on a daily basis...?\"\n            Volcan\nnarrowed his eyes. \"Still, Eagle Eye's gotta see by now attacking Whirl\nhead-on isn't going to work,\" he said. \"I'm getting an 'all-rounder'\nfeel from this guy.\"\n\"Unfortunately,\" Katsu stated, \"speed is really\nthe only thing Eagle Eye has going for him...that and his tenacity...\"\n\"Speed's all well and good but if your opponent can take\nmore damage than you can dish out no amount of zipping and dashing around is\ngonna work,\" said Volcan.\n            Eagle\nEye flapped his wings furiously and created a tailwind around him, boosting his\nspeed greatly before he started to zip around Whirl at even greater speeds,\nfaster than the naked eye could tell. Eagle Eye then came at him from behind\nwith a Flare Blitz, tackling him full tilt wth his body completely immolated.\n\"OOF!\" Whirl yelped as he was hit square in the\nback; even though he had started spinning again, he hadn't spotted Eagle Eye in\ntime to counter, and was sent flying a short distance before falling onto his\nstomach, grunting.\n            Eagle\nEye wasn't about to give him a chance to recover. Despite the recoil damage he\ntook, he charged in full tilt again, this time with Aerial Ace, striking at him\nover and over with incredible accuracy, never once missing his mark.\n Before the attack landed, though, the\ndetermined Whirl managed another Counter, striking Eagle Eye in the stomach to\nstun him before he used a Vital Throw, hurling him across the field, trying to\nthrow him out of the ring; if Eagle Eye even passed out of bounds, he'd lose.\n\"Whoa whoa whoa!!!\" He cried out as he was hurled,\nquickly flapping his wings and veering up toward the sky again. He beat his\nwings to stay aloft for a while to catch his breath. \"Damn yer a tough\nfuck...\"\n\"Train with my bro's for a few months and you'll be able\nto take a direct hit from Lugia,\" Whirl retorted.\n            \"Only\na few months?\" Eagle Eye retorted. \"That's it?\"\n            \"Shut\nup and fight, already!\" Whirl barked, returning to his stance.\n\"What's a... Lugia?\" Serena asked.\n            \"It\nis the guardian of the seas.\" Katsu explained. \"It watches over the\nthree legendary birds, keeping them in check so they don't wage war on one\nanother...\"\n            \"Sounds\nlike a powerful creature,\" said Serena.\n            \"A\nVERY powerful creature...\" He returned.\nEagle Eye reared his head back and took a deep breath, then\nhe exhaled a MASSIVE Fire Blast, the star shaped attack speeding toward Whirl\ndown below.\nWhirl immediately entered another Rapid Spin, but this time\nwent mobile, rushing forward to try and power through the flames to get close\nto Eagle Eye again. The Talonflame darted down below Whirl as he tried to slam\ninto him, then quickly circled around and attacked him with another Aerial Ace\nfrom behind.\nBut this time, Whirl came out of his spin, launching himself\naway from Eagle Eye as he came at him and held out his arms. \"You're\ndone,\" he said, and then thrust one hand forward. \"Focus Blast!\"\nHe called, projecting a powerful bullet of pure energy at Eagle Eye, too fast\nfor him to evade at his current velocity.\n            \"Fuck\nme...\" he muttered and took the blast head on, crying out in agony as it\nexploded upon contact. He spiralled down toward the ground and landed hard on\nhis back groaning from the pain he just endured.\nWhirl landed on his feet, taking in a deep breath as he\nrecovered from the use of such a powerful attack, while Kaen stepped onto the\nring and peered over to Eagle Eye, watching him for any sign of movement.\nVolcan blinked in clear confusion. \"What... what the\nheck?\" He asked, and looked at Luke. \"That almost looked like your\nAura Sphere, only more condensed.\"\n\"That was a Focus Blast.\" Luke returned. \"It's\na move that's more powerful than my Aura Spheres, however, the trade-off is\nthey're hard to control and aren't very accurate...\"\n\"Yet if it lands,\" said Volcan. \"It's a heavy\nhit...\"\n\"Is... is Eagle Eye alright?\" Serena asked.\n            Out\nat the arena, Eagle Eye showed no signs of movement. He was out cold...\nKaen held up his paw. \"Time is up; Eagle Eye is down for\nthe count, and Whirl wins by knockout!\"\n\"Oh man...\" sighed Volcan, rubbing his head.\n\"Good try, buddy...\"\n            \"He\nput up a good fight.\" Luke added. \"Still, it's two out of three. We\nstill advance.\"\n            \"Yeah...\nbut I feel bad for Eagle Eye; I have a feeling he won't take this loss too\nwell.\"\n            \"He\nwon't...\" Katsu returned, shaking his head. \"But he will recover...nothing\nkeeps him down for long.\"\n            \"Come\non; let's go get him to the nurses,\" said Volcan, climbing up onto the\narena.\nLuke nodded and followed after him, trotting over and gently\nlifting Eagle Eye up in hsi arms to take him to the infirmary.\n ~~~~~\nThe members of Team Valiant stayed out in the waiting room of\nthe infirmary as Eagle Eye was treated. The members of Hitmon-Champs were there\nas well, and were visited by Oceana from Team Warmachine, who stated they were\nwelcome to stay and enjoy the cruise since one of their team members managed to\npull a win. Boxer gave Volcan a hard stare as they were led past, clearly\nwanting a rematch, but Leaper urged him onward, regarding the members of the team\nrespectfully as they were led out by Oceana.\n\"That one is going to hold a grudge,\" Serena\nremarked, having caught Boxer's expression.\n\"If he wants to fight again, I'll take him on,\"\nsaid Volcan. \"But I beat him fair and square. All there is to it.\" He\ncrossed his arms and peered through the window. \"I guess Eagle just wasn't\nready for the third bro though; I admit, wasn't expecting any of them to know\nan attack like that, since the first two seemed to like going up-close and\npersonal.\"\n\"Only goes to show that you must expect the unexpected\nin the thick of battle...\" Kage returned, still stone faced and calculated\nas always.\n\"Yanno if my brother were here and you said that, the\nfirst thing he'd say is, 'then next time YOU can do the fighting',\"\nremarked Volcan, chuckling.\nKage glanced toward Volcan, his expression remained unchanged\nas he stared at him for that moment before he turned his gaze forward again.\n            \"Did\nI say something wrong?\" Volcan asked Luke. \"Sure felt like he was\ngonna kick me or something.\"\n            \"He's\nalways like this...he keeps his emotions pretty close to the chest...\" He\nreturned.\n            \"One\nof those, eh?\" Volcan asked. \"That can only lead to just being\nmiserable.\"\n            \"Despite\nthat, he's still an important part of our team;he's never let us down.\"\n            \"Coming\nthrough!\" A voice called, catching their attention as the doors suddenly\nflew open, and a Chancy rushed into the room, pushing a bed with an injured\nMienshao lying on it, who was immediately rushed into the Emergency Room; the\nother nurses, a Blissey and another Chancy, were immediately on the new\npatient, who upon closer inspection, looked dead; their body was covered in\nbruises and burns alike, indicating that whoever they had just fought had\npulled no punches...\n            \"...Whoa.\"\nRigel muttered. \"Who put THAT poor bugger through the wringer?\"\n            \"Dayum...\nis he even still alive?\" Volcan asked.\n            \"We'd\nhave to ask the nurses.\" Luke returned, heading inside to speak to one of\nthem.\n            The\nfirst Chancy to spot him immediately dashed over to him. \"Please; you\ncan't come in here! We need space to work!\" She urged before turning and\ncalling back to her Colleagues. \"Where is Bell?! We need a healer down\nhere, now!\"\n\"She's on her way!\" The Blissey called back as she\nworked.\n            \"What\nhappened?\" Luke asked. \"Do you require any assistance? My brother is\na surgeon in training.\"\n\"We don't need a surgeon right now; we need someone who\ncan heal burns,\" she replied. \"This poor soul just barely survived a\nfight with the meanest Typhlosion I ever saw in my life... now go!\nPlease!\" She pushed him back out the door and closed it, rushing back to\nthe patient.\n\"Poor thing,\" Serena said with a voice of sympathy,\nstaring into the emergency room. \"Who could be so cruel?\"\n\"Was it that Torolf asshole?\" Volcan asked.\n\"Looks like something... no, wait; that can't be right. Torolf's a water\ncreature; unless he can spit acid he'd never be able to cause those\nburns.\"\n            Luke\nnarrowed his eyes in suspicion. \"A vicious Typhlosion...\" Luke\nmuttered. \"....I hope it's not who I think it is...\"\n \"Who do you think\nit is?\" Volcan asked.\n\"Well I don't want to make assumptions...let's head to\nthe arena, see if we can catch him before he's left.\" Luke stated.\n\"What about Eagle?\" Volcan asked.\n\"I'll stay, in case he wakes up,\" offered Serena.\n\"If you find the one that hurt that pour soul, try to make them understand\nthat they needn't be so excessive.\"\n\"We'll try, Serena,\" promised Volcan. \"Come\non.\"\nLuke led his team away toward the arena, hoping to find\nwhoever caused so much harm to the Mienshao from earlier. They arrived at the\narena and saw another fight beginning to take place. One of the combatants was\na rather jacked up Typhlosion with what looked like some sort of stone\nimplanted on his chest and had a look of sheer brutality in his eyes. Luke's\neyes widened when he saw the figure. \"I hate it when I'm right...\"\n\"That's him?\" Volcan asked.\nLuke nodded. \"Yes...\" He looked to Volcan.\n\"That's Sol....he's Luna's younger brother, the Zangoose I mentioned\nearlier...\"\n\"He certainly looks as mean as you made him out to\nbe,\" said Volcan. \"That look in his eyes... he has no regard for the\nlives of others; this guy's relentless.\"\nHis\nopponent, an Alakazam, stepped up into the field, regarding him with an\neven-toned expression as it held up its hands, spoons held in both, and watched\nhim carefully. The fight was being overseen by Torolf himself, who signalled\nfor it to start with a pound of his fist.\n\"What you did to that Mienshao before,\" the\nAlakazam called, before his eyes contorted. \"You really care nothing for\nit, do you? Did you find it enjoyable to utterly crush someone weaker than\nyou?!\"\nSol merely scoffed and pounded his fists together.\n\"...Shut up and fight....\" He growled in a low tone.\n\"Fine,\" said the Alakazam, reading himself.\n\"I'm going to give you the only award that awaits those who are so\nruthless!\"\n            \"The\nfuck'd I just tell you...?\" Sol stated again. \"Either shut up and\nfight or go home...I don't have time listening to preachings from a senile old\nfuck.\"\n\"A little respect goes a long way!\" The Alakazam\nbarked before casting a Psybeam at the Typhlosion.\nSol didn't even try to flinch. He took teh attack right to\nthe jaw adn his head flew right up upon impact. Though he slowly lowered hsi\nhead after the attack ended and cracked his neck. \"That all you\ngot...?\"\n\"What the...?!\" Volcan demanded, his mind blown by\nseeing the stranger take a direct hit and not even react.\n\"Still as strong as I remember too...\" Luke\nmuttered, keeping hsi eyes narrowed.\nSol then started stepping toward the Alakazam. \"Cmon...throw\nyer best attack at me...I fuckin DARE you.\"\n\"Fine... you want it, here it is!\" He abandoned his\ntwo spoons, holding his hands forward instead, unleashing a powerful Psychic\nattack. Sol grimaced as he felt the psychic attack slam into him, skidding back\na bit from the impact. He then growled and his neck flames came to life, slowly\nwalking THROUGH the psychic attack.\n\"That's... impossible!\" The Alakazam protested, too\nstunned to move as his attack faded, yet Sol remained unhurt.\n\"Done already huh...?\" He growled, then he quickly\ndropped on all fours and charged forward with Flame Charge, barrelling into the\nAlakazam, then he grabbed him and pinned him against a wall HARD as he ended\nhis attack. Sol then wound back his fist and began pummelling the trapped\nAlakazam with heavy Fire Punches, leaving deep bruises and burns all over his\nbody.\nThe Alakazam cried out with every impact that struck him, and\nit wasn't until Sol finally stopped that he fell away from the wall, collapsing\nonto the arena and moaning in pain as he lay there, curling and holding himself\nas he tried to ease his injuries. Sol snorted, a small flame shooting from his\nnostrils before he kicked the down Alakazam in the gut. \n\"Fucking pathetic...yer lucky I'm in a somewhat good\nmood.\" He growled before stepping away from him and leaving the arena.\n\"Hey!\" A voice yelled at him from above, and he\nlooked up to see a Blaziken glaring down at him. \"Kicking someone while\nthey're down?! He was already beaten, you asswipe!\"\nSol glanced up to the Blaziken from above, leering at him\nwith an angry look. He didn't respond, turning his gaze forward again and\nproceeding to exit the arena.\n            \"Why\nyou...!\" Volcan growled, ready to give chase.\n            \"Volcan\nno!\" Luke shouted, dashing around the angry Blaziken and standing in front\nof him. \"You go after him and you'll only get seriously hurt!\"\n            \"You\nkidding me?! He didn't just beat that poor guy; he pulverized him!\" Volcan\nprotested. \"Someone like that wandering around is going to get someone\nkilled!\"\n            \"As\nmuch as I sympathize with how you feel, I'm URGING you to cease and\ndesist.\" Luke returned. \"Sol is not someone you want to tango\nwith...Especially at your current level.\"\nVolcan cursed and kicked the wall next to him in frustration,\nleaving a deep impression of his foot in the metal as he struck it.\n\"Fuck!\" He growled. \"I can't stand people like that... first\nthat one in the ER and then that old guy down there? This is a competition of\nsport, not to turn someone into ground beef!\"\n\"That's just it though. Sol doesn't care who he\nfights... he only respects those who are strong and crushes those who are weak.\"\nLuke explained. \"Believe me, Luna tried time and time again to change him,\neven through force, but Sol won't listen even to him.\" Luke explained. \"To\nhim, power is everything.\"\n            \"And\nTeam Warmachine invited someone like that on board?\" Volcan asked.\n            \"Knowing\nSol, he probably entered the only way he knows how...\" He said with a\nsigh. \"He really is Nido's son...\"\n \"What way is\nthat?\" Volcan asked.\n \"By sheer\nforce...\"\nVolcan stood in stunned silence for a moment. \"...We\nshould talk to Kaen,\" he said. \"If that guy's here without an invite,\nthey need to get him out of here.\"\nAs much as Luke hated the idea of bringing the scandalous\nRescue Team into this problem, Volcan was right; Sol was a danger to everyone\non board the ship, especially the other contestants, and if he really was there\nwithout permission, then it was their duty to report him, and get him off of\nthe ship. \"Agreed...C'mon let's go find him.\" He reluctantly returned.\n ~~~~~\nThe group found Kaen easily; he had been hosting the\ntwo-on-two fights since the others had left, and when they came back and\nexplained the situation to him, he began to pour over a list of contestants he\nhad in his possession, reading names. \n\"There are only two Typhlosion registered in the\ncontest,\" he said. \"One went off with the last team who lost over\nhere, the other entered under the name 'Rocket', but I know him personally;\nhe's not your guy either. So there's a third one on board who came on without\nus knowing?\" He snorted a puff of smoke. \"Dammit, what the hell did\nwe pay those Machoke for; to stand around and flex their biceps?! They were\nsupposed to keep people from sneaking on board!\"\n\"I assure you, even if they ganged up on Sol, they\nwouldn't even scratch him. He's THAT powerful...\" Luke explained.\n\"If he's already sent two Pokémon into the ER, then I've\ngot to go speak to Torolf, right now,\" he said. \"We've got to get\nthat lunatic off this boat. You guys can identify him, right?\"\nLuke nodded. \"He's a large Typhlosion. Incredibly\nmuscular and always has a look of brutality in his eyes. He also has a stone\nembedded on his chest as well.\"\n            \"What\nkind of stone? Like a Mega Stone?\" Kaen asked.\n\"No, not a Mega Stone. Typhlosion aren't capable of Mega\nEvolution.\" Luke returned. \"Even I don't know what it's there\nfor...\"\n\"Alright; shouldn't be hard to spot. I'll get Torolf,\nLeon and Timber on this guy,\" he said. \"If anyone can take him down\nit'll be our heaviest hitters.\"\n            Luke\nshuddered softly. \"...Somehow I don't think that will be enough...\"\n            \"These\nguys took on Groudon and walked away; this guy CAN'T be tougher than him,\"\nassured Kaen. \"You guys let us handle this and try not to get in the\nway.\" And with that, he tucked his list under his arm and strode up to the\narena, clearing his throat. \"An urgent matter has been brought to my\nattention,\" he announced to the spectators and contestants, \"since we have\nfinished the first set of rounds and the teams who'll move on to the next have\nbeen decided, we will postpone further matches for tomorrow. Thank you all for\ncoming; we'll see you again same time tomorrow.\"\nA lot of Pokémon, disgruntled by the sudden interruption,\nwandered off muttering complaints, but did not protest as they cleared the\narea, returning to their cabins on the ship. With that, Kaen called over the\nmembers of his team who were still present, one of whom was a Haxorus -a BIG\none, bigger perhaps than even Torolf, and Kaen referred to him as Timber,\nfollowed by an Empoleon introduced as 'Leon'.\nVolcan suddenly let out a laugh. \"Timber... I get\nit,\" he said.\nLuke however still had a concerned look on his face, crossing\nhis arms as he looked at the three members of Warmachine that Kaen selected to\ndeal with Sol's presence.\n            Torolf\nshowed up to join them a moment later. \"You mind telling me why you put a\npause on the tournament? Things were just getting interesting,\" the\nSwampert said, begrudgingly.\n\"We've got a nutcase on board, boss; one who we didn't\nbring,\" said Kaen. \"A big Typhlosion with a stone in his chest; been\nfighting in the Single Division.\"\n\"That guy who beat that Mienshao and Alakazam?\"\nTorolf asked. \"Wait, you're telling me he doesn't have an invite, and he's\non MY cruise liner?!\" He growled. \"Alright, where is he?\"\n\"If he isn't registered, pretty unlikely he has a\ncabin,\" replied Kaen, looking at his list. \"Just in case though we\nshould start by looking for him in vacant rooms.\"\nKage shook his head softly. \"...Those three don't know\nwhat they're getting into...Sol is dangerous...\"\n\"Indeed...\" Katsu agreed. \"If they intend to\ncapture Sol intact, they will have to fight to kill...\"\n\"Even Sol can't be THAT tough,\" said Volcan.\n\"Look at those three; they could take on an army by themselves and\nwin!\"\n\"Sol took on Regigigas and walked away alive from that\nbattle...\" Kage returned bluntly.\n\"Am I supposed to know what that is?\" Volcan asked,\nshrugging. \"Forget it; let's just go. I want to see how this\nunfolds.\"\nLuke sighed, walking up to Volcan as they followed Team\nWarmachine. \"Regigigas is the Deity of Continental Drift...legends say\nthat was that Pokémon that shaped the world into what it is today...\"\n \"Kaen mentioned something about these\nguys taking on Groudon; who's that?\" Volcan asked.\n\"He is the Deity of Continents...\" Luke returned.\n\"The personification of land itself...It clashed with Kyogre, the Deity of\nthe Seas, many times throughout history...\"\n            \"Well\nif these guys fought Groudon... shouldn't they have a chance against Sol?\"\nVolcan asked.\n            \"I'm\nhoping so, but I know Sol; his brutality is only matched by his\ntenaciousness...\" Luke returned. \"He's not your average\nTyphlosion...\"\nThe members of Team Warmachine began searching unoccupied\nrooms belonging to members of the singular division, checking each one for signs\nof anyone living in them. However, they found no sign of him in any of the\nrooms, forcing them to expand their search to throughout the ship. But soon\nenough, they caught sight of him at the other end of the hall, heading toward\nthe stern of the ship. Perhaps for a breather or to head for a stroll.\n\"There he is!\" Kaen pointed him out, the voice of\nthe Charmeleon catching Sol's attention, followed suit by the three heavies of\nTeam Warmachine storming up to him, stopping just a short distance from him.\nSol slowly glanced back at them, leering at them with that\nsame brutal look in his eyes. \"...The fuck you asswipes want...?\"\n\"Proof you belong here,\" said Kaen, stepping up to\nthe front of the team. \"You're not on our contestant list, so either we\nmissed you or you're a stowaway. So...\" He held out his claw. \"Let's\nsee your invite, or you can get on one the rafts and get off our ship, right\nnow.\"\nSol snorted. \"What makes you think I got to prove\nanything to you chumps...\" He retorted. \"Especially a scrawny little\npussy like you....\"\n\"So we're going to play this game, huh? Oh well; tried\nto be a diplomat,\" said Kaen, before he stepped aside. \"All yours,\nguys.\"\nTorolf\nslammed his fists together. \"You're leaving my ship in peace, or in\npieces, squirt; make your choice.\"\nSol turned to fully face Torolf and his crew, eying each of\nthem one by one. \"You guys better be tougher than the other fucks I sent\nto the damn infirmary...otherwise I might just leave out of sheer fucking\nboredom...\" He stated. \"I don't give two fucks about your little\ncompetition. I'm only here for a challenge...\"\n \"Maybe you can go find Kyogre when I\nthrow you over the side!\" Torolf barked before he launched himself at Sol,\nswinging his large palm at the Typhlosion.\nSol weaved around Torolf's palm, slamming his fist with\nINSANE power into his stomach before kicking him back. \"Kyogre...? Fucking\nplease...\" He started to smirk. \"I took on fucking Dialga AND\nReshiram and walked away...\"\nTimber let out a bellow as he lunged forward, swinging his\nhead at Sol twice to strike him with his axe blades with Dual Chop attack. Sol\nbacked up from the first attack and caught the second, grabbing at the blunt\nends of Timber's axes and headbutting him in the cranium. Sol then let go and\nreached behind his back, pulling out two brass knuckles and fitting them on his\npaws. He then immolated his fists and unloaded a heavy combo of Fire Punches\nwith his brass knuckles, leaving some bad dents in the Haxorus' armour.\nBut as the Haxorus took the hits, and Sol was reminded that\nTimber wasn't fighting alone when Leon jumped in, blasting Sol point-blank with\na Water Pulse fired from his beak that slammed into his side, followed suit by\nTimber attacking him with Dragonbreath.\nSol took both hits and stumbled back, wincing as the water\nand dragon attacks nailed him. Slowly he opened his eyes and stood up tall\nagain, flexing his body and igniting his neck flames. \"That stung a\nlittle...\"\nLeon remained silent, crossing his flippers over his body as\nTimber carried on the attack, rubbing his claws against his axe blades to\nsharpen them before he prepared to attack again, this time coming at Sol with\nanother Dual Chop.\n            Sol\nsighed irritably, this time using his brass knuckles to block the Haxorus' Dual\nChops. He then punched Timber right on the snout, then with his free paw\nquickly created a Focus Blast, slamming it point blank in his chest and sending\nhim rocketing back toward his teammates.\nLeon stepped aside as Timber was sent flying, and maintained\nhis stance, though gave Sol a taunting, beckoning motion with one of his\nflippers before resuming his stance again, patiently watching him... Sol cracked\nhis neck at the taunt, then in a quick flash he discharged a huge Fire Blast at\nthe Empoleon.\nLeon took the hit, letting it strike his body with clear\ndiscomfort, but still held his ground, only to flare open his flippers and\nunleash the energy of Sol's previous attack right back at him, turning his own\nstrength on him with a Bide attack. Sol brought his arms up and blocked the\nattack, doing visibly more damage than before. However, Sol's entire body\nbecame immolated and he roared out, discharging the fire around his body with a\nfiery Reversal, attacking the Empoleon with even MORE power than both Sol's\nFire Blast and Leon's Bide.\nThis time not even Leon could take the hit, and was sent\nflying back, only to be caught by Torolf, who was back on his feet, looking at\nhis comrade before setting him down carefully and glaring at Sol. \"Fine...\nno more Mr. Nice Guy,\" he said as he reared up on his hind legs, revealing\na belt he wore the others hadn't seen yet. And imbedded in that belt was what\nLuke and his team immediately recognized as a Swampertite Mega Stone, which he\ntouched, and it began to glow.\nSol cocked an eyebrow and slowly started to smirk again.\n\"Finally a fucking challenge...\" He grumbled.\n            \"I'm\ngoing to break you like a twig,\" Torolf growled as the violet crystal of\npure energy formed around him, eliminating him from sight before shattering and\nrevealing the great, hulking form of a Mega Swampert, with arms as big around\nas Volcan's entire body, covered with dense blue scales and three overlapping\nones in various areas of his body, such as around his swollen forearms and\nshoulder, along with a thicker, almost blade-like tail and fins growing up from\nbehind and between his eyes to along his back. The massive form of the Mega\nSwampert let out a roar of anguish towards the sky before facing Sol again, his\neyes burning with anger.\nSol only kept his smirk, tensing his body hard and making his\nneck flames roar even more with power. He then grit his teeth and hunched over\na little, his neck flames starting to go from red to a deep blue, and his eyes\nturning a bloodshot red almost. He let out a huge roar and discharged a blast\nof blue flames, even the air around him sizzling with heat as he powered\nhimself up. He glared at the Mega Swampert and pounded his fists together in a\nchallenging manner.\nTorolf returned the favor with a hydro pump he fired from his\nmouth, blasting it with the force of a tank shell towards the Typhlosion. Sol\nreared his head back and discharged another Fire Blast, this time the attack\nwas the same colour as his neck flames and packed with even MORE of a punch.\nThe attack met with the Hydro pump and exploded in a huge cloud of steam,\ncancelling the two attacks out.\n\"Damn, those are some hot flames!\" Volcan\nexclaimed. \"Luke, shouldn't we be helping him?\"\n\"We'd only just get in their way...\" Luke returned.\n\"Plus I'm susceptible to fire based attacks. I'm part Steel type.\" He\nreturned. \"Added to the fact Sol is now in his berserker state, we'd only\nserve to piss him off even more...\"\n\"Dammit... I feel so useless!\" Volcan cursed as the\nclash between Torolf and Sol carried on, with the Mega-Evolved Swampert now\nleaping at the berserk Typhlosion with a Hammer Arm attack.\nSol blocked the attack with his arms, then countered by\nslamming his fist into the ground and discharging a powerful Earthquake, enough\nto rock the ship on dangerous levels. Of course, Earthquake didn't have the\ndesired effect on a wooden deck as desired, but it still split the boards into\ntwo, the break of which travelled over to Timber and Leon, who fell into the\ndecks below. Torolf had jumped over the quake but saw his teammates fall below,\nand glared at Sol again. \n\"That's the last straw!\" He declared, before he\nspat out a Mud Bomb at the Typhlosion, dropping it with such speed it\nsuccessfully reached Sol, splashing over his face and blinding him; the heat on\nSol's body worked against him as the mud rapidly dried, turning back into dirt\nand getting the gritty substance into his eyes.\n\"Gah FUCK!!\" He growled and clawed at the dirt in\nhis eyes frantically, his anger growing immensly.\nWith one more adrenaline-backed battle cry, Torolf threw\nhimself at Sol and slammed into him with all of his weight, launching him\nthrough the air with the force of the impact. Sol roared out and tried to skid\nto a halt, though the weight of the Mega Swampert was too much and he slammed\ninto a wall, gagging and coughing a bit from the impact.\nWith that, Torolf grabbed Sol roughly in his hands, lifting\nhim over his head despite the searing sensation on his palms, and hollered angrily,\n\"Get off my SHIP!\" Before HURLING Sol over the railing, sending him\nflying hundreds of feet before he finally hit ocean. Sol disappeared below the\nwaves with a large splash was heard followed by a huge could of steam...then\nsilence.\nTorolf threw out his arms and bellowed triumphantly to the\nsky above as he flexed his arms, showing off his strength as he called out,\n\"I WIN AGAIN!\" Before dropping to all fours, and devolving back to\nhis regular form with a bright flash of light.\nThe others ran up to the railing and peered out the ocean\nbeyond, or to the rocks or small atoll that could be seen in the direction Sol\nhad been thrown, searching for any sign of him. Sol soon surfaced and crawled\nup toward the shore, shaking himself dry before glaring back at the boat. He\nfired on more blast of fire back at the boat toward Torolf in retaliation\nbefore he growled and started to walk further inland, a deep grudge bored into\nhis pride.\nVolcan blinked in clear surprise and looked at Luke, gauging\nhis reaction to what they had just seen. Even he was surprised at this turn of\nevents, and then he slowly narrowed his eyes and let out a small relaxed sigh.\n\"Well...there's that problem out of the way....\"\n\"That's\nfor sure,\" said Volcan. \"Gotta hand it to Torolf; he's one tough son\nof a bitch.\"\n\"Indeed...and\nhe's capable of Mega Evolution as well.\" Luke pointed out.\n\"You guys surprised?\" Kaen asked, stepping up to\nthem. \"You really think they'd offer up mega stones as prizes for this\ncontest if they didn't already have some of their own? Those things are\nrare.\"\n\"Kaen!\" Torolf barked. \"We need to go help\nTimber and Leon.\"\n\"Right! Coming!\" Kaen called, and looked back at\nthe members of Team Valiant. \"If you guys need anything, let me know; we\nowe you for bringing that guy to light with us before he did something terrible\nto anyone else.\"\n\"We'll keep that in mind. Thanks.\" Luke returned, and\nthen he sighed and slumped his shoulders, rubbing his forehead in exasperation.\n\"Hey, what's wrong?\" Volcan asked. \"I thought\nyou'd have been happy to get that lunatic off this boat.\"\n\"I'm just concerned how Luna and Nido will react when\nthey find out...\" Luke returned.\n\"Wait... what do you mean?\" Volcan asked. \"You\nthink Nido will be angry with Torolf?\"\n\"No, he'll be angry with Sol...\" Luke returned.\n\"I'm sure I mentioned that Luna and Sol are brothers, which would make\nNido their father...and he doesn't take disrespect and insolence\nlightly...\"\n\"That sounds like it's going to be unpleasant.\"\n\"It will be.\" Luke returned. \"Anyway, let's\nreturn to our cabins; I've had enough for one day and I think my team can vouch\nfor me when I say that...\"\n\"Nido totally needs to meet my uncle,\" Volcan\nmuttered as the others walked past him. He looked out towards the atoll where\nSol was for a moment, wondering what could have created someone so full of rage\nand disregard for the life of others. Shaking his head he turned away from the\nrail and followed the rest of the team back to their quarters... although\nsecretly, he began to doubt their chances of defeating the members of Team\nWarmachine, after seeing their strongest fighter defeat someone who even Luke,\npossibly one of the best fighters Volcan had ever met in his life, was\nintimidated by..."}