It had been a whole day since the graduates of Hero Planet had been sent off to their assigned areas, and needless to say, the majority of them were excited to see their new homes. The one looking the most forward to this was Eevee as she could only imagine what kind of fancy establishment she would get. After all, this was a place paid for by the government. There was no doubt in her mind that they would only save the best for their graduates.

However, when she was finally dropped off, her jaw dropped when she saw that had been given a condo suite. While it was not bad by any means necessary, she could not believe her own living space would be this small.

However, her disappointment left her as she thought, 'No, it makes sense. After all, they have to provide for all of us. That's over two hundred students, and there will soon be more added to that. Of course they can't afford big mansions for us.'

She then shrugged and said, "Oh well, I'm sure the others have similar living quarters, so this should be fine," as she headed toward her new suite, trying to make the best of the situation.

But as it so happened, the others had gotten nicer houses to say the least. Popplio wound up with a simple, one story house with a pool in the back as he smiled and said, "This is tres magnifique. It's not too big but it's not too small either. I like this," before pulling a photo of his mother out from under his armpit and thinking, 'You see? I do have what it takes to be a hero.'

Meanwhile, Mapin ended up with a nice house of her own, though this one had less luxuries. Either way, she was fine with this as she entered with pride. While she was living on her own, she had also been stationed in her hometown. As such, she could visit her family and her human friends whenever she wanted to, so this could not have been more perfect.

Upon entering, she noticed many things provided that she would certainly need. She had a refrigerator stocked with food that had recently been purchased, a nice comfy bed and more training equipment than she had in her room. She looked over all of this, smiled and said, "Yep, I'm home."

She then turned on the TV to see if there were any reports of recent attacks. After all, both Machop and Torchic were defeated here and one could not help but find it suspicious that there had been no mention of the villains responsible ever since.

And as it so happened, the news was fairly normal. The only crimes mentioned were those commited by humans that the police were more than able to handle.

Mapin narrowed her eyelids and thought, 'Isn't that strange?' before pulling out a small sheet of paper that had her friends' phone numbers. After all, being teenagers, they all had cellphones and that made communicating with one-another much easier.

Thus the girl looked over her contacts and selected Popplio's number, holding the phone up to the side of her head as he answered quickly. He had a big smile while he said, "Bonjour, Mapin. How's your new place? Mine is a dream come true!"

"It's good," Mapin replied with a sigh, "But I can't really enjoy it. I just checked out the news and there's no mention of any villainous activity. I would have thought after a whole month, this place would be crawling with villains."

"Well, I wouldn't read too deep into that myself," Popplio replied, "Apparently, it was a similar case for the generation before us and the one before them."

"That makes it even stranger," Mapin remarked, "Either way, I'm gonna go on patrol once I've settled here. Do you wanna join me?" the seal replying, "Oui. That sounds like a good idea. Besides, we can get to know the people here along the way. Or at least I can. I mean, you grew up here, oui?"

"Yeah, that is true," Mapin replied with a grin as she said a quick goodbye and called up Eevee. Needless to say, the fox was much more excited about this than Popplio, especially since she saw this as an opportunity to defeat a villain before Umbreon could.

After a while, Mapin stepped outside and breathed in the air through her nostrils. She took a deep breath and thought, 'It's only been a month, but it's good to be back,' as she walked along the area, heading toward a specific location that her folks introduced her to long ago. That was where she would meet up with the others.

Though as much as hero work mattered to her, right now, all she could think about was restoring the family honour. After hearing of how these two humiliated her mother, she wanted vengeance. She could not accept anyone else as her first opponent.

And while she walked along, it was just as Popplio said. Since the girl knew most of the people in Tokyo, every one of them gave her a nice greeting, including a few students from the local high school. Needless to say, they were all jealous that Mapin no longer had to go to an Earth school, and the girl did not have the heart to tell them that single month along with her new job was far more stressful than taking classes with them had ever been.

Soon enough, she was standing just one block away from the meeting point, specifically a club that was open during the day. This was where Machop and her friends used to hang out frequently during their time off, so it was very special.

However, when she approached it, she blinked when she heard sounds coming from inside. As such, she immediately thrust the door open and much to her shock, the owner was trapped as a certain chipmunk had his bristles wrapped around him, saying, "I knew you couldn't resist coming here."

Mapin's eyes were wide with terror as Tsareena stated, "Now, now, calm down. We simply needed this man as a hostage," the girl growling, "But how did you know I would be here?"

"We overheard some of your fellow classmates talking about how much you and your family love coming here," Chespin replied with a smirk, "We were willing to wait as long as it took, but hey, you came a lot earlier than expected."

The owner trembled as Tsareena said, "We'll happily let this man go, but on one condition. You must come to the local arena for a one-on-one match with whichever one of us you wish to face. And if you lose, you must hand Tokyo over to us."

"You say that as if I'm the only one protecting this area," Mapin remarked with a smirk only for the flower girl to reply, "Oh no, I am fully aware of your allies. But we only wish to face you. As such, you are not allowed to accept their help otherwise Chespin here will have to get really ugly on him," the chipmunk smirking and poking his bristles lightly against the man's flesh.

Mapin scowled and said, "Well, luckily for you, I fully intended on taking you alone anyway, so I accept! Now let the innocent man go!" only for Tsareena to smirk and ask, "Do you think we're stupid?"

Mapin's eyes widened with fear as the flower girl added, "Only after you come to the arena and swear that no one else will jump in to take over if you lose will we let him go," the owner wanting so much to tell her his life was not worth it.

However, Mapin could tell he was thinking it and shook her head, saying, "Fine. But once that's out of the way, your partner there will let him go, got it?" both villains nodding as Tsareena said, "We'll see you there."

Thus the duo took off with the owner of the club still in Chespin's grasp. Needless to say, Mapin would need to win this match as soon as possible.

But just as she was about to head off to the arena, Eevee and Popplio entered as the seal said, "Ah, bien, you're already here."

"No, things aren't good at all," Mapin sighed as Eevee looked around and asked, "So, is the owner in the back?"

Popplio was afraid of the answer when Mapin sighed, "No, he was just captured by the same villains who defeated my mom," both of her friends gasping.

"Oh my god, we need to go save him!" Eevee squeaked as Mapin sighed, "Look, Eevee, try to calm down. I know how much you especially want to help, but they said they wouldn't let him go unless I and I alone fought them. I hope you understand."

Popplio could tell from the look on her face that Eevee was not the least bit okay with this. Even so, the fox understood entirely and thus she nodded her head. After all, it was not as if Mapin had much of a choice.

"Well, then, at the very least, we'll be there to cheer you on," Popplio said with a supportive smile as Mapin smiled and folded her arms, replying, "Thanks. That's all I could ask for."

With all said and done, the trio headed off to the nearest fighting arena where a news crew was set up out front. As such, a young woman stood in front of the camera and said, "We are here at Nippon Budokan where two villains, Tsareena and Chespin have a hostage with them. From what I can gather, this man is a bartering chip to bring one of Tokyo's new heroes into the ring."

Tsareena smirked and said, "That's right. I'm sure many of you are familiar with Mapin, the daughter of Machop, correct?" the announcer's eyes wide with shock as the flower girl added, "Our plan is to deal with her and finally end the Mach family's stellar reputation! Voltorb came close when he bested Machop back in the day, but he didn't quite make the cut."

"Unfortunately for you, I'm more than capable of that!" came a familiar voice as everyone turned to face Mapin, the girl smirking and adding, "And don't worry about my friends. They're only here for emotional support, so you can let go of that nice man now."

Eevee wanted to lunge at the villains right now, but Popplio held her back and whispered, "Do you want to compromise this?" the fox grumbling and calming down, thinking, 'Dammit! I wanted to make a name for myself before Umbreon could have the chance! She's probably kicking ass right now!'

Even so, seeing the fox being held back put Tsareena's mind at ease while Chespin growled, "Do you honestly expect me to buy that!? If you're truly ready to fight us alone, you'll have your allies head home!" only for Tsareena to hold up her hand, the chipmunk giving her an odd look.

"It's fine," the flower girl said with a smug grin, "They can watch as the people in Tokyo fall to their knees and beg us to spare them," as Chespin folded his arms and retracted his bristles, allowing the owner of the club to escape from them.

The man breathed heavily and turned to Mapin, saying, "Thank you, but you really shouldn't risk the lives of so many just for me."

"Look, if I allowed even one person to die, I would fail in my duty as a hero," Mapin remarked, giving the man a serious look, "Besides, I'm a Mach. There's no way I'll lose," the man nodding and giving her a smile. Just hearing those words alone put his mind at ease.

"Well, then, I'll give you an hour to prepare yourself," Tsareena said with a smile, "Also, I'll be your first opponent. See you inside," as she turned around, Chespin pointing his paw at his eyes before directing it at Eevee, hissing, "I'm watching you."

Mapin took a deep breath while Popplio patted her on the shoulder, asking, "Are you sure about this?" the girl sighing, "Yes. I have no doubt in my mind that they'll both be eating the mat in two minutes tops."

With that, the girl headed to a secluded area to ready herself while Eevee and Popplio got front-row seats in the bleachers. While the fox was still upset that she would not have a chance to prove herself, she still wanted to see Mapin win. After all, it would be wrong to wish for her friend to fail.

Once the hour was up, a young woman sat behind a desk and exclaimed, "Hello, folks, this is your announcer, Yukiko, and today, we're going to witness something that hasn't been seen in years, an official match between good and evil!" the crowd getting restless as she added, "However, this is going to be a very intense match as while Tokyo has three heroes to protect it, it has been agreed that only one hero may represent us today! Needless to say, the stakes are high!"

Strangely enough, no one in the audience looked the least bit frightened by this. This was because every one of them had come because of the news report and were already aware of the fact that Mapin, one they all knew and trusted, was the hero in question.

"Without further ado, let's get this started!" Yukiko exclaimed, "In the red corner is a beautiful yet deadly warrior! Having defeated the legendary Machop just last month, she returns to us with the intent of doing the same to her daughter! Presenting Tsareena!"

The crowd booed and jeered as the flower girl strutted down the aisle with her hand against her hip. Currently, Machop was watching this on TV with her teeth gritted, growling, "Dammit! I just wanna run into that ring and beat the crap out of her smug face!"

"Calm down," Isamu sighed, "You heard the news. Our daughter is the one fighting her," Machop taking a deep breath and replying, "You're right. Once she wipes the floor with both of those smug pricks, I'm gonna call her up and invite her to a celebratory dinner."

Once Tsareena was in the ring, she blew kisses to the crowd and exclaimed, "Get used to me, folks, for I'm gonna be your new queen!" the audience booing her even louder.

"Wow, what a cliched reaction," Chespin scoffed with his arms folded, Yukiko stating, "And in the blue corner, fighting for our lives is the daughter of the world champion herself! Having grown up here, her amazing strength is known to all of us! Give a round of applause for Mapin!"

The crowd went wild when Mapin sprinted toward the crowd. She then leapt forward, performed a handstand and flipped herself into the ring, spreading out her arms and waving for the crowd. This was her first chance to make a true impression and needless to say, it had worked.

The audience was beyond excited as one girl squealed, "I know her!" another gasping, "Me too!" as if this information had not just been made obvious by Yukiko.

However, what really got Mapin even more motivated was when a buff boy shrugged and said, "You know, I always thought she was kinda cute," her cheeks turning bright pink. As it so happened, this boy was Muto, the captain of the football team in the school she used to go to. She had a crush on him since the day she saw him play, so hearing these words made her heart race.

Tsareena whistled and said, "I see we're playing for more than just Tokyo's safety. Better be a good challenge for me," as Mapin scowled, Popplio sighing, "I really hope she can stay focused."

Eevee gave him a look of confusion but said nothing. However, the seal was right. Mapin already seemed to have lost a bit of concentrations, and if she were to get carried away, one could only guess how this would end.

Just as Yukiko was about to ring the starting bell, Mapin said, "Before we begin, I need to know something because this happened to both my mom and my grandpa."

Tsareena blinked as Chespin asked, "Do you know what she's referring to?" the flower girl shrugging.

"You know exactly what I mean!" Mapin snapped, pointing at Tsareena, "You defeated both my mom and Torchic a month ago! You could have easily enslaved Tokyo during that time, but instead, you hid in the shadows even though there was no one around who could have possibly stopped you! What's up with that!?" the area going silent until Eevee uttered, "You know, that's actually a good point."

Chespin smirked and remarked, "I can field that one. You see, while taking down the former champion of the world is certainly a good start, when we heard Hero Planet was preparing a new generation of heroes, we saw a golden opportunity."

Tsareena nodded and explained, "You see, taking down two heroes past their prime is hardly what one would call impressive. We figured if we took down a much younger hero, it would make us come off as much more of a threat. Thus we decided to wait until Hero Planet's government brought us our key to success, and they delivered more than we bargained for."

Mapin stood silently for a few seconds before folding her arms and smirking as she scoffed, "That was dumb! You could have control over Tokyo but you decided to wager it all on the off-chance that you could defeat me!"

With that, she pointed at Yukiko and exclaimed, "Ring that bell so I can wipe the floor with her smug face!" the woman nodding and doing just that, exclaiming, "Let the match begin!"

Mapin wasted no time racing toward Tsareena as she sent a three-handed karate chop into her side. The crowd went wild as the flower girl winced, Mapin racing behind her and wrapping her arms around her waist. And with Tsareena trapped in place, the muscle-bound girl lifted her up and leaned backward, aiming the back of her head toward the canvas.

"What an incredible start!" Yukiko exclaimed, "Not only has Mapin landed three karate chops at once, but she has also connected a perfectly executed suplex! This might be a very short match, folks!"

However, Popplio did not seem all that confident as her narrowed his eyelids, Eevee turning to him and uttering, "What's wrong? She's doing great," the seal shaking his head and pointing at Tsareena.

The cheers came to a halt as everyone soon noticed what Popplio had. Tsareena's head had not actually made contact with the mat as one of the pedals that made up her hair had lowered itself and was pressed up against the surface.

Chespin smirked and said, "Sorry, but that's not gonna help," Mapin's eyes wide open as Tsareena said, "I'll admit, you are very strong, but that was incredibly rash."

Before the girl could even respond, Tsareena wrapped her legs around her neck. Then using the big pedal to hold herself up, she proceeded to lift Mapin high above her, planting her skull into the mat with a frankensteiner.

The crowd gasped as Yukiko exclaimed, "After countering Mapin's suplex, Tsareena has retaliated with a slam of her own! The only difference is that this one actually dealt damage!" as Mapin rolled away, a look of terror in her eyes.

However, that soon left her when Popplio barked, "Don't let that get to you!" Eevee blinking as he added, "Now you know that her pedals are more than just a decoration! Take advantage of that knowledge! Try not to slam her anymore and you'll be fine!"

Mapin took a deep breath and nodded as she grunted, "He's right," and raced toward Tsareena with her arms at the ready again. And once she was close enough, she unleashed a barrage of rapid punches, shouting, "MACH GATLING!"

However, while the move was quick, Tsareena did not seem to see it as a threat. Thus she started swaying left and right, easily avoiding the punches as everyone stared in shock, Yukiko exclaiming, "I can't believe what I'm seeing, folks! Somehow, Tsareena is dodging every single one of these punches with little to no effort!"

After a few seconds, Tsareena noticed Mapin starting to breathe at an alarming rate, a wicked smile on her face as she thought, 'Perfect,' thus she spun her body around and exclaimed, "TROPICAL PIROUETTE!" a yellow light surrounding her leg while she sent it hard into Mapin's side.

The girl's eyes were wide with shock as she could not believe how much that hurt. And it only got worse when Tsareena took full advantage of this, unleashing an onslaught of rapid kicks to her face, the same glow encompassing her legs.

"TROPICAL MACHINEGUN!" the flower girl exclaimed as she ended her assault with a hard kick, this one sending Mapin flying head-first into the turnbuckle while the crowd had no idea how to react to this. How could a member of the Mach family perform this horribly?

"Sacre bleu!" Popplio groaned as Yukiko announced the events, "She totally got carried away! She should have saved that move for a more opportune moment!"

Eevee laughed nervously and uttered, "It's okay. She's not down for the count or anything. She just has to get right back up."

Unfortunately, even Mapin was starting to doubt her chances now. The match had only gone for a little over two minutes and she already felt incredibly weak while Tsareena was still in really good condition. All the while, Chespin clapped his hands and squealed, "You're amazing, Tsareena!"

"Thanks," the flower girl replied, "But I already knew that. Though I have to admit, I'm really disappointed, Mapin. I thought a member of the Mach family would be a much bigger challenge."

"SHUT UP!" Mapin retorted, fury taking over when suddenly, a violet aura surrounded her hands, "So you got in a few lucky hits! Big deal! I can still beat you!"

The crowd was unsure what to think of this as Eevee uttered, "Did you know she could do that?" Popplio shaking his head and replying, "This is the first time I've ever seen that. What is it, though?"

Whatever the case, it seemed as if Mapin might very well have more of a chance as she charged at Tsareena, the flower girl gracefully dodging to the side and sending another kick into the girl's waist. However, Mapin did not take in nearly as much pain as she smirked and said, "Didn't hurt."

Chespin and Tsareena had lost their confidence right then and there as the flower girl retorted, "YOU'RE LYING!" delivering another kick only to get the same results. Thus Mapin took full advantage of this and latched onto Tsareena's ankle, twisting it hard enough to cause her to fall on her back.

The crowd cheered wildly while Mapin took full advantage of this, leaping into the air with her arms raised and planting her elbows hard into her downed opponent. And before Tsareena could do anymore, Mapin lifted her up and flipped her upside down, wrapping all six of her arms around her with a smirk on her face.

The area erupted with cheers as Yukiko stated, "It was looking really bad, but now it looks like Mapin has this match in the bag!" Eevee squealing, "YEAH, THAT'S THE MAPIN I KNOW!"

Popplio, meanwhile, was spellbound as he said, "Fascinating. So she had power like that hidden inside her all this time."

"It's time to end this!" Mapin exclaimed when suddenly, the aura on her hands left her. However, she did not seem to notice this as she leapt into the air, spinning like a tornado and shouting, "MACH HURRICANE!"

But just as the audience was ready to cheer for what seemed to be Mapin's inevitable victory, the area went silent when all three of Tsareena's pedals lowered themselves toward the mat. Thus they wound up hitting the canvas as opposed to the flower girl's head, Tsareena taking many deep breaths before realizing she was safe. As such, she smirked and latched her ankles on Mapin's neck once again.

"I have to admit, that really surprised me," she said as the audience groaned, Eevee whimpering, "Are you kidding me? She was so close," Popplio looking down as he was equally disappointed.

Things only got worse when Tsareena used her pedals to propel herself and Mapin into the air, flipping one hundred and eighty degrees. To make matters worse, the girl was spellbound after her best move had failed and thus she could not do a thing as her skull made contact with the canvas. Thus her grip on Tsareena loosened, allowing the flower girl to free herself.

Seeing as Mapin was no longer focused enough to fight back, Tsareena saw this as a perfect opportunity to end the match as she leapt up onto the top rope, her arms folded. All went silent among the crowd while Yukiko said, "This could be it, folks. If Mapin doesn't act fast, all of her efforts could be in vain."

"NON!" Popplio gasped, "COME ON, MAPIN! YOU'RE SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS! YOUR FAMILY IS KNOWN TO SUSTAIN EXTREME AMOUNTS OF PAIN!" Eevee cheering as well.

Unfortunately, it was too late as Tsareena leapt over Mapin and cupped her feet together. The same yellow glow from before surrounded them while she exclaimed, "TROP KICK!" planting them hard Mapin's chest.

The girl coughed up blood as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. And after a few seconds, it was clear that she would not be able to get up. Thus Yukiko rang the bell and exclaimed, "I can't believe it, but Mapin has lost! Tsareena is the winner, therefor she and Chespin now have control over Tokyo!"

Eevee's jaw dropped as Popplio planted his forehead against the guardrail in front of him. As much as he criticized Mapin, he truly believed she had what it took to defeat at least one of the two villains. And yet it seemed as if all hope was lost.