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Pokemon: Further Evolutions

CH 10

Don't Back Down

At the center of the island is a large, inactive volcano. And on this particular day, large crowds of morphs were making their way into the volcano. Inside, there waited a large, coliseum-like arena, with rows and rows of seats surrounding the inner area. This place had once been but a simple "bowl" of dirt, but after recent renovations, and the aid and support of volunteer humans, the place became what it was now. And this place was made for one purpose and one purpose only. To fight.

Today was the day that the island's tournament would begin. This was the day that many morphs had long awaited. Whilst hunting and sex were still very much a part of many morphs' natures, the desire to fight was something ingrained into the minds of almost every living being on the island. One could even say it had become part of their culture. And though they could very easily find a combatant where they lived, this was different. It was here that the competitive spirit of every morph could truly shine. Nowhere else could there be a place to prove that they were the best, and that they were the strongest. Here, no lies could be told; it was a true test of skill. And many of the morphs were very excited to be here. Many were getting eager, itching for a fight. Many were calm and collected, almost as though they had done this countless times before, which held true to some of them. Many were eying up their potential opponents (or mates) to go head to head with in the ring. Many were just excited to cheer for their favorites or friends, eagerly awaiting for their beloved ones to have their time in the spotlight. Many were exuding their confidence, flexing their muscles, and doing all sorts of things to try and catch attention and gain approval of the other morphs nearby.

Kyo fell under none of these categories.

Kyo stood at the entrance to the tournament, staring at it in utter silence. His heart was pounding in his chest, almost to the point that he was sure it would burst in him at any minute. He was practically frozen in fear. He tried to will his feet to move, but they wouldn't budge an inch. If he still had skin, it would've been pale white by now. Teddy walked up beside him and placed a paw on his shoulder.

"Come now young Kyo," he began, "There is no need to wait around any longer. You have come this far after all, so there is no point in running in the opposite direction before reaching the finish line."

"I...I know," Kyo managed to reply after finding his voice, "I'm just...really...really nervous."

"And that is normal," Teddy replied, "You should not be ashamed of that fact. It is understandable why."

"Yeah but..." Kyo continued, "but what if I don't make it all the way? You know?" He turned to the ursine and looked him in the eyes. "I mean, I still haven't managed to learn a proper move yet."

"You will be fine young Kyo," Teddy assured him, "I can assure you that you will...probably...be alright." Hearing this, the Feraligatr-morph shot him a look, but he simply shrugged it off with a sheepish look. "Just try and relax. Remember, you are only in the beginner rank, which means that pretty much every other combatant you will be facing will be just as inexperienced as you are."

Kyo turned his gaze down at his feet. "Yeah...I guess that's true..." He curled his tail around his lower leg, squeezing it gently. Seeing this, Teddy patted his shoulder once again.

"Do not worry Kyo," Teddy continued, "You will be fine. I promise."

"I hope so..." Kyo muttered under his breath before making his way into the volcano.

***

Within a few minutes, the crowds of morphs had filled up the seats entirely. They all talked amongst one another in a low murmur, each of them voicing their enthusiasm and their eagerness for the event to start. Soon enough, a Raticate, wearing a headset, scurried over to the center of the stage. Some of the morphs noticed him walk up and began to cheer, rousing the rest of the crowd to follow suit.

"'WELCOOOOOME EVERYONE!!!'" he shouted out loudly, prompting everyone to cheer, "'It's finally that time of the year again, the time for everyone to blow some steam and just forget past troubles. Because now is the time to show your moves! Now is the time to test your might! Now is the time to prove you're the very best! Now is the time...for the annual Pokemorph Island TOURNAMENT!!!'" At that, the crowd exploded into a mess of cheering morphs. The Raticate spoke up again, only being able to be heard due to the aid of the loud speakers throughout the arena. "'Today, we're starting with the Beginner's rank, so without further ado, let's introduce our eight entrees!'" The Raticate scurried off to the side to allow space for the eight morphs to make their way onto center stage. Included were a mix of evolved and unevolved morphs, as well as a couple of normal pokemon. "'For the ladies, we've got the lovely Meowstick! The striking Toxicroak! The majestic Pidgeotto! And finally, the stunning Grovyle!'" The crowd exploded into cheers as the mentioned morphs waved to the crowd, with Grovyle only standing there in silence. "'And for the gentlemen, we've got the immovable Graveler! The dashing Houndour! The daring Machoke! And last but not least, the mysterious Kyo!'" The crowd once again exploded into cheers as the males all exuded their confidence and flexed their muscles, making Kyo stick out like a sore thumb among them.

They all were then signaled to move off to the side to allow Raticate to move back center stage, which he quickly did. "'We've got plenty of fresh meat here, so we should expect a lot of interesting fights here today, as well as throughout the course of this entire tournament. So now that we've introduced today's fighters, it's time to introduce the heads of the tournament. Please give it up...for Garo and Sheena!!!'" At that signal, Garo, accompanied by a female Mienshao-morph, walked up center stage and waved to the audience. Kyo watched them with his eyes wide in surprise; he hadn't expected to see Garo here. He knew he was an island leader, but he didn't realize that he was such a big part of it. After receiving a bit of praise from the crowds, the two of them moved to one of the stands among the seats. "'The two of them will be acting as judges for the tournament's matches, and they will address any technical disputes we run into at a--'"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" screamed a loud and obnoxious voice, cutting off the Raticate. Soon after, Octavius strolled out onto the stage. "I BELIEVE you forgot someone rather important!" Raticate scratched the back of his head.

"'R...right,'" he continued, "'Octavius will...also be acting as a jud--'"

"THAT IS CORRECT!" Octavius cut him off again, "I shall be judging the skills of you tender-fleshed peons, so you BEST be performing at your FINEST today!"

"'...Yyyyyess,'" Raticate went on, "'...so...give it up for Octavius!'" A few seconds of silence passed before a small golf clap sounded out for him.

"OH THANK YOU ALL! You are MUCH too kind!" Octavius smiled and waved to the audience before taking a seat next to Garo and Sheena.

"'...............Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyways...'" Raticate continued as he took center stage again, "'.........iiiiiiiiiiiiit's time we reminded everyone of the rules! I'm sure many are familiar with how things work around here, but our newcomers need some filling in. So, let's get them accustomed shall we?'" He smirked a bit and turned towards the awaiting combatants. "'Alright, so each battle will be one on one. The winner will be decided when one of the contestants is no longer able to fight. Matches will only be done once. No best out of three, so do your best. Fighters are to stay within the fighting area. If at any point you are knocked into the audience stands, the fight ends there. Don't go overboard, and only fight within reason. Other than that, there's absolutely nothing else! Use whatever tactic you feel necessary! Grabbing, distracting, attracting, it's a no holds barred tournament!'" At that, the crowd along with many of the combatants exploded into cheers and whistles. With that settled, Raticate turned towards a large whiteboard covered by a sheet. "'Now with that out of the way, it's time to reveal our tournament brackets!'" The crowd cheered as two morphs removed the sheet from the board, revealing a chart with crudely drawn faces of each fighter.

Kyo glanced over the chart nervously. A lot of his fellow fighters seemed very tough, and he was worried about fighting all of them. He tried to make out which drawing was him which wasn't the easiest thing in the world. He soon found himself and glanced at who it was he would be facing. Again, it was difficult to tell due to the less than perfect drawings, but one thing he could easily make out was the presence of a skull. He glance over to his side and looked at Houndour. That must be who I'm facing, he thought to himself, Well...I guess it isn't too bad of a match up. He's unevolved and he's a fire type, so I have a type advantage on him... He paused. Well...I would_have type advantage...if I could use a water move..._ He sighed inwardly and shook his head. It was a hill he would have to climb later. All that mattered was that he was finally here. This was what he had been training for over all of these weeks. Now wasn't the time to worry. Now was the time to focus on what had to be done.

For Grovyle's sake...

Out of curiosity, Kyo looked over to her match up. And as Kyo stared at the smudge-like drawing of what her match would be, Raticate suddenly spoke up. "'Alright everyone! Time to clear the stage because it's time for the first match up. So MACHOKE! GROVYLE! It's time to show everyone what you've got!'" The crowd cheered as the two of them removed themselves from the bunch to take their spots in the arena. As they did, Grovyle walked by Kyo along the way. She stopped in front of him suddenly and locked gazes with him, holding him in a cold, empty glare. Kyo said nothing and only stared back, unsure of what else to do. Before he had the chance to speak up, the grass type turned away and proceeded past him. Kyo silently watched her go before walking away and finding a seat. Once everyone else was cleared, Raticate spoke up over the roaring crowd. "'Alright you two, time to take center stage!'" The two of them nodded and followed directions, walking up to the center and standing before each other.

"'Heheh, well don't you look cute,'" the Machoke said in a flirtatious manner, taking the time to flex his large muscles, "'So...heh, let's say after I win, we can talk later and meet up at my place. I'll even let you touch my muscles. And I do mean all of them.'" He grinned broadly as he awaited the grass type's response. However, after a few seconds of her standing there in complete silence, Machoke realized that he wouldn't be getting one. His stature wavered slightly, but he soon recovered. "'Hmph, saving your breath for the fight I see. Well, I can respect that. But let me tell ya...'" He raised his arms over his head before striking a pose, eliciting several squeals from the audience. "'It's gonna take a lot to bring this down!'" Grovyle chuffed and rolled her eyes. The held out their hands to each other and shook them before turning away from each other to take their place on opposite sides of the arena. Once they were both set, Raticate scurried off to the side.

"'OKAY!'" he shouted, "'Match one of the Beginner rank! Both fighters at the ready!'" Grovyle closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "'Both fighters set.........'" Raticate raised his paw slowly, holding it up in the air with a smirk. After a few seconds, he shot his paw down.

"'BATTLE START!!!'"

Machoke slammed his fist into his palm and stalked towards Grovyle, who simply stayed put and waited for him to approach. Once he closed the space between them, the fighting type threw a hard punch from his right. Grovyle snapped her eyes open and caught sight of this, Detecting the attack before batting his arm away with her right to guide the punch away from her. As Machoke followed through, Grovyle followed up by stepping past him and striking him in his side with her right. Machoke grunted and stumbled from the blow. He clutched his side as he turned to face her. But the grass type didn't leave him with enough time to turn, as she followed up her follow up. She flicked her wrist upwards which conjured a cluster of leaves to suddenly form around her. She then quickly thrust her arm forward and sent the Magical Leaves darting forward. They struck and cut at Machoke, repelling him backwards and away from Grovyle. Once the leaves all faded away, she lowered her arm down to her side, taking on a very loose and open stance.

What is she doing? Kyo thought to himself in concern, clenching his hand tightly, She's not the kind to be careless...is she? Unless... Kyo's jaw fell slack. Unless she's confident that she's going to win.

As Machoke recovered from the sudden rush of attacks, he caught sight of Grovyle's subdued stance. He clenched his teeth in anger and confusion. "'OH!'" he growled, "'So you think I'm gonna be EASY, HUH?! You think you can take it EASY against me DO YA?! Well I'LL SHOW YA! I'LL SHOW YA REAL GOOD!'" With an infuriated roar, Machoke charged forward and threw a powerful forward punch. Once again remaining where she stood, Grovyle waited for him to close in on her before Detecting his attack. Once the punch was thrown, she batted his fist away with her left before using her right to tug him down to her level. With the momentum he carried from his initial charge, it was easy for Grovyle to guide his head straight into her left elbow. The blow stunned Machoke severely, resulting in him seeing stars. But Grovyle wasn't content with leaving it at that. She took a quick step back before delivering a firm forward kick to his chest and making him stagger back. Still not content with the space between them, she flicked her wrist again and summoned more Magical Leaves around her. She propelled them forward, and the fighting type was once again struck by leaf after rapid leaf, repelling him further back and toppling him to the ground. Grovyle took on a more defensive stance, and the crowd went absolutely wild.

"Hmph, impressive," Teddy grunted in surprise, "What a deadly balance of offense and defense. Wouldn't you say Kyo?" But the water type wasn't listening; his attention was entirely on the match. It didn't matter anyways, as he was at a loss for words. Even his mind was blank, entirely due to him being in awe. They were barely two minutes in, and Grovyle already seemed to have the fight under her control. But it was only the beginning, and Kyo had been through enough training sessions with Teddy and Lucario to know that a victory wasn't certain until the end of the fight itself. With that in mind, he watched carefully as the Machoke got back up on his feet and stumbled towards the grass type.

"'Urk...y-you think that...j-just cuz you can...predict a couple of my moves...you think you've got this in the bag?'" he said in a dazed state, "'Y-you ain't seen NOTHIN yet!'" He clumsily swinging at her. Grovyle didn't even bother with Detecting the attack, seeing as how telegraphed the attack was already. She easily batted his arm away before taking hold of his wrist and yanking him down and pulling his stomach straight down onto her knee. Machoke let out a sudden cough from the blow, once again stunned and vulnerable. Grovyle shoved the muscled male off of her and backed away a step or two, prompting a cheer from the crowd. Amongst the judges' table, Garo and Sheena glanced to each other in silence. After a moment, they shook their heads and returned their attention to the match, not yet convinced enough to call the match just yet.

"'Uuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrk...'" Machoke groaned, clutching his stomach protectively. He suddenly caught motion to his side, and he glanced to see Grovyle kneeling a few feet next to him.

"'Do you surrender?'" she asked flatly, almost unironically. Machoke growled through clenched teeth.

"'You...little...BITCH!!!'" Machoke swung in blind rage at her, only for her to quickly jump away. He staggered to his feet, keeping their gazes locked with a cold glare. If Grovyle had been intimidated by his glare, she showed no signs of it. She simply looked back at him with a blank expression as she took on a more offensive stance. The sight of her doing so only served to further enrage Machoke. With a loud roar, he rushed forward with enough speed and strength to match that of a steam engine and charged at Grovyle. However, she quickly brought him to a stop by staggering him with another set of Magical Leaves. As he stood there and shielded himself with his arms, Grovyle used this opportunity to strike.

She quickly closed the space between them and swung her arm at him, causing the leaves on her arms to extend and form long, slender blades. With Machoke unable to defend himself in time, Grovyle's Leaf Blades sliced at his torso with little to no hindrance. Grovyle continued to assault him and never allowed him to leave her reach. Every time he staggered back, she simply moved in and closed the space again. Her arms became nothing but a blur as she rushed him with a flurry of slashes and swipes, leaving her opponent unable to do anything but hold his arms up to defend himself. Even then, it made no difference as his sluggish movement speed left him with openings all over. He blocked upwards, and she slashed at his midsection. He blocked downwards, and she was given several easy strikes to his head. He tried to back away, and she just kept the pressure on him. He tried to run, and she was given his back as a target. She suddenly caught him on a turn and made an upwards slash, staggering him and stunning him on the spot. Now left with an opening, Grovyle thrust her arm out and placed her hand on his chest. She closed her eyes and began to focus.

For a short moment, it seemed as though the two of them were merely standing there. However, as time went on, the fighting type's balance gradually began to waver. More and more he began to lean against her hand, with it eventually becoming the only thing holding him up. His eyes soon drifted closed and his arms and jaw fell slack. Feeling the added weight on her hand, Grovyle opened her eyes and stepped to the side, allowing Machoke to topple to the ground face first. Grovyle backed away several steps, taking on a loose stance as she kept her eyes on her now still opponent. A moment passed, then another, and then another. Finally, Sheena stood from her seat.

"'The match has been decided!'" she shouted out, "'And the victory goes to Grovyle!'" The crowd exploded into a frenzy of cheers. As they went wild, Raticate spoke over them using the speaker system.

"'HOW ABOUT THAT!!!'" he shouted, "'The FIRST match of the day, and we've ALREADY hit a record-breaking time for the beginner rank! Only the FIRST match, and it seems we've already found a shining star making her debut here! If this match is any indication, it seems that this tournament's gonna prove to be an interesting one!'"

Kyo kept his silence, still stunned by how well Grovyle had maintained control of her match. That move just now..._he thought to himself, _That was Giga Drain... For a brief moment, his mind flashed back to when he had been at the receiving end of that particular attack. She's...already mastered that move...and I can barely even accomplish a simple Water Gun... Am I...in over my head here?! Suddenly, Grovyle's gaze locked with his. He froze in place as she held their gazes together. She kept her hold for a moment before turning away and going off to find a seat. Once he was finally let go, Kyo let out a breath he only now realized had been holding in. He shook his head. No, I didn't go through all of this training to just give up now.

"'But hey,'" Raticate continued, cutting Kyo from his thoughts, "'we didn't just come here for those two. We've still got THREE MORE matches to go. So without further-a-do, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT FIGHT!!!'"

***

The next two matches went by fairly quickly. Whilst they weren't as brief as Grovyle's match, they didn't go on for very long, partly due to the unfortunate type match ups of those fights, However, that wasn't to say that each fighter didn't show at least some level of skill. Each combatant displayed notable skills and abilities, proving to everyone that even beginners could hold their own. In the end though, the two to come out victorious were the Meowstick-morph as well as the Graveler. With those two matches out of the way, that only left one match to be completed.

Kyo's.

The Feraligatr-morph paced around nervously in the waiting room. It would only be a matter of time before he was called in. He repeatedly tried to tell himself to calm down, but that only served to make him even more nervous.I'm gonna fail, he thought to himself, I'm gonna fail and make a fool of myself in front of Grovyle... Why did I even bother doing this anyways? I mean even if I do win, she'd probably just spend the day she has to wait by telling me how much she hates me, or probably just ignoring me in general. And that's if I even make it to the finals. Literally everyone here knows how to use their moves except ME! I'm gonna look like a complete IDIOT once I go up against this Houndour. They'll all LAUGH at me because I can't use a water type move on a fire type morph!

"KYO!" Teddy's voice boomed suddenly, making Kyo nearly jump out of his scales in surprise. He looked over to him, seeing him standing at the entrance. "Kyo, of all the times to panic, now is the absolute worst." He stepped forward and placed a paw on his shoulder. "You have trained especially hard for this moment, we have personally experienced how much you have improved since your first training session. Now is NOT the time to panic. Now is the time to make everyone proud. Lucario and I, yes, but especially yourself." He pressed a finger to Kyo's chest at that.

"'That's right Kyo,'" Lucario's voice sounded out from beside him, startling him and making him jerk suddenly. He whipped his head towards her in a bewildered manner.

"H-how long have you been sitting there?" he asked.

"'Long enough,'" she replied simply as she stood up, "'I wanted to see how my training has affected you, but I came in a bit late. As per my reason why...'" She glanced behind herself and smiled, gesturing with a paw. "'Come on in hun.'" At that, a female Espeon-morph walked into view, with her tails intertwined around her legs and a paw delicately placed on her bulged stomach. Lucario stood from her seat and took the psychic type's side, wrapping an arm around her tenderly. "'Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet my mate, Espeon.'"

"'H...hello everyone,'" Espeon greeted them in a shy and quiet tone, wiggling her fingers at them.

"Hello Mrs. Espeon," Teddy replied with a polite bow.

"N-nice to meet you Mrs. Espeon," Kyo greeted as well, hastily making his own bow. Lucario smiled and rubbed her mate's shoulder affectionately.

"'She's been meaning to see who exactly I've been training,'" she explained, "'so we decided to have her show up on the day your match begins. We would have arrived sooner, but some...urges needed to be sated.'" Espeon blushed brightly at the mention, and she looked over to her mate lovingly. Lucario smirked before planting a soft kiss on her cheek.

"'I..I hope you don't mind me watching,'" said Espeon, "'and...also, I should warn you that I've been experiencing rather strong mood swings since my pregnancy began. It's begun to tone down recently, but they still do happen.'"

"Well...d-don't worry," Kyo replied, "I understand. It won't be a problem." Suddenly, a knock was heard near the entrance. The group looked over to see a morph standing in wait.

"'Mister Kyo,'" she called to him, "'you're up. The match is going to start soon.'" Kyo groaned inwardly, shuffling around on his feet.

"'You're gonna be fine Kyo,'" Lucario said reassuringly, "'Just stop doubting yourself and go for it already.'"

"We know how skilled you've become Kyo," said Teddy, "and we are very sure that you are up to the challenge."

"'Don't worry Kyo,'" Espeon spoke up, "'I understand that you're scared, but once you get out there, you won't be scared anymore. I promise.'"

"I...I'm still not--"

"Nope, no further discussion," Teddy cut him off before taking hold of his shoulders and ushering him along, "It is time for you to get moving." Teddy followed the other morph as she guided them to the stage, ignoring Kyo as he voiced his disapproval.

***

"'Alright!'" Raticate shouted over the roaring crowd, "'Now it's time for the final match of the day! Let's bring in our last two combatants! Houndour and Kyo!!!'" Both morphs took their respective sides of the arena as the crowd cheered them on. Whilst Houndour waved and posed, Kyo merely stood there silently and waved to everyone timidly. He glanced over to where Lucario and the others had seated themselves, and they all gave him a thumbs up. Kyo then looked over to his upcoming opponent.

Okay...so I can't take advantage of my type advantage, he thought to himself, but at the very least, he can't use anything too effective on me_... At least I hope..._Kyo shuffled around nervously on his feet.

"'Hey Kyo! Don't hold back huh?!'" he suddenly heard Lucario shout out. He turned to look, and she pointed directly at him. "'Or he'll kick your ass!'" Kyo groaned lowly and returned his attention to the arena.

"'Alright you two!'" Raticate shouted, "'Time to take center stage!'" With a hesitant nod, Kyo made his way over to the center to meet up with the fiery canine.

"'Water type, huh?'" said Houndour with a cock of his head, "'Well don't expect an easy win on me alright? I'm a lot stronger than I look, as hard as that is to believe, heh.'" He began to flex one more time, earning excited squeals from the crowd. Kyo had to think for a moment as he tried to match his enthusiasm.

"Y-yeah? W...well..." he paused briefly, "Well I'm...I-I'm stronger than...than I look...too-never mind." He quickly took his paw and shook it before abruptly turning away and heading over to his side of the arena. With a bit of a shrug, Houndour went over to his side as well.

"'ALRIGHT!'" Raticate shouted, "'Match four of the Beginner rank! Both fighters...at the ready!'" Kyo tensed up suddenly, taking a stance as he tried to calm himself. "'Both fighters.........set!'" Raticate slowly raised his paw up. Time seemed to slow down for Kyo. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. No more waiting; this was it. Now was his time to prove himself. To Lucario...to Teddy...to Grovyle...to himself. He closed his eyes, allowing the roaring of the crowd to fall into the background, and focusing solely on his heartbeat. Gradually, it began to slow...and slow...and slow. He pushed away his doubts, swept aside any worries, and forgot all of his fears. No more training, no more preparation. This was it. It all lead up to this...

"'BATTLE START!!!'"

Houndour immediately took the initiative by leading with a charge. Caught off guard by his speed, Kyo quickly jumped off to the side and whipped his tail out to regain space. As he finished his spin, Houndour shot off a Flamethrower straight at him. Without any time to regain enough balance to dodge, Kyo was forced to shield himself with his arms. The flames hit him and were guided away from his body as his arms directed them away. Kyo cringed as he felt the intense heat burn at his arms, but he was surprised at the fact that it wasn't burning him as much as he expected. He quickly forced the thought aside as Houndour charged at him again. Kyo panicked for a moment, unsure of whether or not to attack. At the last second, he dodged to the side again. But Houndour continued to pursue, becoming more aggressive with his attacks. He threw punch after punch, and Kyo only continued to back away more and more.

Several times he felt that there was an opening for him to attack, but he just couldn't get his timing down. Once he thought he was going in, he immediately had to move off to the side to avoid another swing. He only continued to dodge again and again, almost to the point of just turning tail and running away. Already the crowds were yelling at him, urging him to stand and fight. But he just couldn't. Houndour's moves were just so different, the timing wasn't like anything he was used to, and he was too unpredictable for him. It was incredibly difficult for him to read the fire type's movements in time to react.

"'Come on Kyo!'" he heard Lucario shout, "'Go for it! You can do it!'" Soon enough, the rest of the group followed, shouting out words of encouragement. Kyo grimaced; his fear was getting the better of him. With an inward growl, Kyo pushed aside his hesitations and tried his best to focus. He gradually stopped backing off and tried to read Houndour's movements. An uppercut. Two jabs. Right hook. Left swing. Forward punch. Uppercut. Forward jab. Kyo tried to move in again, only for his shoulder to be met with a firm strike. He grimaced as he was pushed back, forced to take on the defensive role. Forward jab. Uppercut. Left hook. Right swing. Two jabs. Uppercut. Jab. Right swing. Uppercut.

_THERE!_Without a second thought, Kyo threw a straight punch on his uppercut. Completely caught off guard, Houndour's chest was met with a firm strike. He grunted and staggered back a step. _Gotcha!_Kyo's celebration was cut short though, as Houndour let out another Flamethrower. Kyo quickly reacted and sidestepped, but his arm was still burned in the process. But Kyo saw another opening. He quickly countered with a high kick from his right. Houndour's head whipped back from the impact and he staggered back another step, standing there stunned. Unable to come up with a more precise strike, Kyo followed up by tackling him. Houndour stumbled back and shot off another Flamethrower. Kyo reacted quicker this time and jumped off to the side. He quickly closed the space between them and delivered a hard uppercut. Houndour grunted and stepped back in a dazed state. However he quickly recovered and countered with a firm kick to Kyo's side. Kyo cried out in pain and withdrew, whipping his tail out and giving the both of them space.

Kyo's group tensed in anticipation, watching and waiting with baited breath as the two combatants took the time to recover. Both of them hesitated to attack, moving in sometimes only to stop and stay where they were. After a few seconds of this passing, Houndour let off another Flamethrower. Kyo easily dodged to the side and began to move in, throwing a right hook. Houndour batted his arm away and threw a palm strike to his chest. Kyo staggered back only to spin and Tail Whip to maintain a good distance between them. But it barely mattered to the fire type as he shot off yet another Flamethrower. Once again left with no time to regain balance, Kyo shielded himself with his arms. The flames were more focused this time, flickering out and feathering his lower legs. Kyo grimaced as his arms were burned and the sting of the heat traveled up and down his arms and legs. He thought about attempting a Water Gun, but by the time he was done thinking about it, the flames had faded away. Not really bothering to think anymore, Kyo charged forward. But Houndour only let out another Flamethrower, forcing him to dodge to the side again. His tail was singed from dodging late, but as he dodged, he noticed something.

Houndour's eyes were closed.

That's it then! Not taking the time to elaborate for himself, Kyo charged the Houndour with a new plan in mind. The canine opened his eyes in time to sidestep and deliver a blow to his shoulder. Kyo tumbled forward a bit but quickly recovered. As he turned, Houndour sucked in and prepared to launch yet another Flamethrower. Given a good second, Kyo found his balance and prepared himself. Houndour let out his Flamethrower, and Kyo made his move. Rather than jump off to the side like normal, Kyo dove under and closed up the space between them. Houndour opened his eyes, only to be surprised to see Kyo missing. Before he even had the chance to look around, Kyo shot up and delivered a powerful uppercut. Stars flew around Houndour's head as the blow stunned him momentarily. Taking this opportunity, Kyo rushed him with a flurry of punches and swings. Houndour quickly recovered and began to respond with the same action. Soon enough, they were locked in hand to hand combat. Punches were redirected, swings were dodged, shoulders and heads were struck with blunt force.

Kyo didn't think, he didn't predict, he didn't worry, he didn't flinch, he just fought. He threw a right hook. He took a strike to his side. He made a forward punch. He took strike to his head. Upper cut from the left. Took several strikes to his chest. Right swing. Misses and takes another head blow. Strike to the midsection. He opens up. Forward punch. He blocks and swings in response. More and more punches were thrown. If either one of them moved, then the other would only follow. It was a consistent back and forward exchange with no end in sight. Suddenly, both of them swung, and they caught each other in a cross counter. After standing still with their fists against their cheeks, they both jumped away from each other and panted heavily. The crowd roared their approval and cheered them on, urging each of them to continue.

"Go for it young Kyo!" Teddy shouted, "'Victory is almost in sight!"

"'That's it Kyo!'" Lucario shouted with her paws cupped around her muzzle, "'You've got him on the ropes! Don't let up!'"

"'GET HIM KYO!!!'" Espeon screamed, startling the other two, "'SHOW HIM WHAT FOR!!!'" She paused and looked over to her mate. She blinked before sheepishly apologizing and returning her attention to the fight.

As Kyo stood there, he found it becoming progressively harder to remain conscious. He clenched his teeth and fought off his fatigue. Looking over to his opponent, he spotted a tired, but confident smirk from him.

"'Heh...not bad...'" he panted, resting his paws against his knees, "'I'm actually having...a good amount of fun...'" Kyo couldn't help but smirk as well.

"Not gonna lie," he replied breathlessly, "I'm having fun too..." The fire type laughed and stood straight.

"'But...'" he continued, taking on a battle stance, "'we've still gotta...end this...'" Kyo nodded in agreement and stood as well.

"Then let's...end this..." Letting out a battle cry, Kyo rushed forward with as much strength as he could muster. As soon as he was in range, Houndour let loose another Flamethrower. Kyo acted quickly and ducked underneath, still continuing his advance. However, the fire type anticipated this and cut his attack short. He opened his eyes and delivered a kick to Kyo's head. Kyo grunted and rolled off to the side. Even as he came to a stop, his head was still spinning. As he tried to get up, Houndour charged forward and jumped up. He clenched his fists together and raised them over his head, preparing to deliver a hard downwards swing. But Kyo recovered just in time to see this coming and saw the opening he had been given. He reeled his fist back as Houndour careened down towards him. And before the canine could make his swing, Kyo quickly stood and thrust his fist forward, delivering a solid and powerful blow to Houndour's stomach. The resulting force knocked the air clean out of him, and he all but collapsed over Kyo's body. For a brief moment, he struggled to stand back up on his own, pushing against Kyo and trying to use him as a stabilizer. However, his need for air won over him, and as a result, he collapsed and fell to the ground. Silence suddenly hung over the crowd as they waited with baited breath to see if he would once again rise. After a few seconds, Raticate hurried over to check on the fire type. Another moment passed before he stepped away and turned towards the judges. It was only after he received their feedback did he finally speak.

"'Ladies and gentlemen...'" he began, "'it would seem that...we have ourselves...A WINNER!!!'" The crowd exploded into cheers. Raticate hurried over to Kyo's side and nudged his hand up. "' The winner of today's final match is KYO!!!'" The crowd roared even louder in approval, with Kyo's group being the loudest among them all. As several morphs helped move the knocked out Houndour out of the arena, Kyo did his best to stand fully and look to the crowd. With a bit of hesitation, he began to wave back to the crowd to return their praise. He couldn't help but smile from their cheering, and he blushed as some of the audience members made hearts at him with their paws. But once he came across one audience member in particular, he froze. It was Grovyle, and once their eyes met, their gazes were locked together in an unbreakable grip. They stared up at each other wordlessly, though there was very little they needed to communicate to each other in the first place. The way they looked at each other was all they really needed.

"'And with that,'" Raticate continued, "'we have reached the conclusion of today's matches. Thank you all very much for attending today's tournament, and we will see you all...next time!'" After a final hurrah, the crowd began to disperse and leave for their huts. It was only then that Grovyle released Kyo from her grasp and made for the exit. Kyo watched her leave silently until she was out of sight. Once she was, his entire body went limp. If not for the quick paws of Raticate, Kyo would have collapsed to the floor. "'Whoa there,'" said Raticate, "'easy now.'"

"'Kyo!'" he heard Lucario shout out. He turned to look and saw the group hurrying over to his side. Once they were there, Raticate passed the water type over to Lucario. "'Thanks. We'll take it from here.'" She smiled and slung Kyo's arm over her shoulder. "'C'mon big guy. Let's get you over to the other room.'"

***

Kyo drank generously from the stream running through the room they had gone to, taking in large gulps with every sip. "Congratulations on your very first victory, young Kyo," said Teddy. Kyo took one last gulp before turning to him.

"Ahem, thanks Teddy," he replied with a wipe of his mouth.

"'You've definitely improved since we last trained together,'" said Lucario, "'I'm glad to see that all of our training paid off.'"

"Thanks," Kyo replied, "but the problem is that I still had difficulty despite the fact that I held the overall advantage."

"'True,'" Lucario tilted her head slightly, glancing up at the ceiling in thought, "'the match probably would've gone a lot smoother had you used any water moves.'" She returned her gaze to the Feraligatr-morph. "'So you really haven't been able to learn any yet, huh?'"

Kyo confirmed this with a nod. "It's honestly just too much for me to handle right now." He massaged his throat at the memory of his previous attempts.

"'Yeah, I know,'" Lucario continued, leaning her chin against a paw, "'Floatzel told me all about your first time. Sounded pretty nasty when she explained what happened.'" She shook her head and clapped her paws together. "'Either way, you did very well. If you keep this up, you should be able to make it all the way to the finals.'"

"Thanks," Kyo chuckled for a moment before continuing, "...coach." Lucario smirked and nodded to him. Suddenly, she noticed a bit of movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look and was surprised to see Garo and Sheena enter the room. The two morphs waved to her before allowing their presence to be known.

"Greetings everyone," Garo began, bowing to the group, "I thank you all for coming to watch today's matches. I'll take it that you are all friends of Kyo?" The group nodded in response, and he turned to face the Feraligatr-morph. "I must say though, I am rather impressed by your performance today. It is intriguing to me that you are the same morph I met not too long ago. Whatever request you came up with must have really driven you to train hard."

"Yeah...I'd say so," Kyo replied rather hesitantly, swishing his tail behind him. With a nod, Garo continued.

"Anyways, I would like you all to meet my fellow judge, Sheena." The Mienshao-morph bowed slightly at her mention.

"H-hello there," said Kyo, "w-well this is Teddy, Lucario a--"

"'Don't bother,'" Sheena cut him off in a shallow tone, raising a paw, "'I'm an island leader, so I already know who all of you are.'" Lucario chuffed and rolled her eyes.

"'Well aren't you just a pleasure to be around,'" she said sarcastically, "'I wonder how many morphs you've managed to seduce.'" As Espeon gave her mate a look from the remark, yet the fighting type hadn't even seemed to flinch as she made her response.

"'I have no desire in trying to seduce others,'" she explained, "'I only desire my mates to be as strong, if not stronger, than myself.'" She turned her chin upwards and closed her eyes. "'And_only_ because I wish for my children to be strong as well. The only one here on this island that has ever come close to being worthy is Garo.'"

"We've...tried...to have children..." said Garo.

"'Multiple times...'" Sheena added.

"A lot of times, yes," Garo nodded, "but it seems our species just isn't compatible with each other."

"'Why even...bring up the subject?'" Lucario muttered under her breath before sitting down with her mate and cuddling with her.

"Anyways, we should probably get to the point," said Garo, earning a nod of agreement from Sheena, "Kyo, we would like to congratulate you for making it through your first match."

"Oh," said Kyo in surprise, "well, thank you."

"'You shouldn't feel too secure just yet,'" said Sheena, "'If you haven't already seen, all of the other contestants are notably skillful, despite the fact that they are only beginners.'" She folded her arms across her chest before pointing a finger at him. "'I'll tell you exactly what I've already told the other contestants; stay on guard, and by no means ever underestimate your opponent.

Kyo nodded in acknowledgement. "I will. Thanks."

"'Garo and I will be watching you carefully,'" Sheena continued, "'and know that we won't be giving you any special treatments just because of your...background. Our judgement will remain unbiased throughout the remainder of the tournament, as it has always been since the beginning.'"

"That's right," said Garo, "so it's best you not slack off any time soon. Because once you do, that is when your opponent finds an opening to strike at."

Kyo nodded again, this time a bit more firmly. "Right. Don't worry, I've got absolutely no intentions of letting up any time soon."

"I'm glad to hear it," Garo replied before making one final bow, "Well then, the two of us are off. I look forward to seeing you in the ring." At that, the two judges made their leave. Once they were gone, all eyes fell upon Kyo.

"So then," said Teddy, "what is it you plan to do now?" Kyo thought for a moment before coming up with his reply.

"Well, I'd say I've had enough rest," he began, "So you know what? I think I'm up for some more training." The rest of the group smiled broadly at his statement. With a loud clap, Lucario stood up.

"'Well then, let's not keep you waiting.'"

***