A/N: Well, here's the next round of the tournament. Wonder what'll happen.

Disclaimer: Definitely don't own Pokemon.

Chapter Four

Totally Not Mapped

"Alright, you two ready for the next round?"

Yup. Let's get it over with.

"...Right."

With that, Micheal nodded to both Palkia and Algida, and stepped out of their Pokemon Center room, both of them right behind him. Stretching to loosen up his muscles from only recently waking up, he led them to the cafeteria. All three of them needed some food at the moment; when they finally got it, they ate in relative silence. Probably because of yesterday's events, so it was rather understandable. When the three of them had, at last, finished eating, Micheal returned the Pokemon to their respective Pokeballs. He had to get over to the arena from the Pokemon Center. It was time to watch the current rounds until their next battle. Once they reached the locker room, Micheal decided to let Algida hang out of her Pokeball for the time being, until they were called down.

...Micheal, Algida began. Do you know who we're up against?

"Nary a clue," Micheal answered, randomly feeling like he wanted to use a bit of old-fashioned language. Algida just rolled her eyes, receiving a grin from the boy in the process. "No, I did not plan this battle out."

Why not? You planned the first.

"You know as well as I do that I'm no good at planning that far ahead."

That's true, Algida chuckled to herself, making her trainer roll his eyes this time.

"Well, come on, let's get ready for this battle. It'll definitely be harder than the last one."

Right.

Then, glancing over at the screen, Micheal noticed that it was almost their turn. He stood up, grabbed his pack, put it on, and started to head out to the field, Algida not too far behind him. Standing at the tunnel's exit into the arena as the current battle finished up, they watched while the two trainers continued to battle it out.

"No! Milotic, you can do it!" Exclaimed the female, a water-type user.

"Ha! Raichu, one more should take it down!" Countered the other trainer, another girl.

With that, a nicely-timed Thunderbolt, catching the Milotic mid-dodge, achieved the wanted effect. Finally, the battle was over, as the water-type collapsed to the ground, and was returned to its Pokeball shortly after. The trainers soon left the field, leaving it open to Micheal and his opponent.

"Ready?" Micheal asked Algida, who nodded. "...Are you sure? You know that I haven't changed your partner..."

I know... Algida said, nodding once more. She carefully hid the hatred she felt for her counterpart from her countenance.

Micheal saw right through his friend's mask – but he remained silent. There was no point in commenting on it. So, with a quick nod, the two of them walked out onto the battlefield. Once they were in their proper positions, their opponent reached the opposite side of the field. She was dressed in a simple, white long-sleeved shirt that had frills near the wrist, which went well with the beige-colored skirt that went down to her knees. It was only the second round of the tournament, so the trainers were still limited to two Pokemon per battle. It was still a double battle, as well. This was in order to quicken up the battles so that they didn't take forever.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" Called out the announcer, as he was back in his spot once more. "It's time for the next battle!"

Countless cheers went up through the stadium, including one particular person, whom seemed especially interested in who Micheal would team the Dialga up with.

"Over in the red is Micheal Smith, the trainer who caused us all to drop our jaws!"

On a whim, Micheal turned to Algida. She looked at him in return, getting the feeling that he was going to follow that statement with a joke. As it turns out, she was right.

"Here's hoping they picked them up, huh?" He said with his signature cheesy grin. Despite herself, Algida chuckled momentarily.

Oh, come on, that was terrible, She said, rolling her eyes.

"You still laughed!" He countered, causing her to chuckle a little more.

"And over in the green is Nancy Perea, ready to clean up after Micheal!"

That caused a few chuckles and giggles to be heard throughout the audience. Even Nancy's opponent gave a chuckle and a grin. Algida just rolled her eyes again.

"With the introductions set... let the battle begin!" Exclaimed the announcer, and in an instant, Algida was in her spot on the battlefield.

No more than ten seconds had passed by the time Palkia was released. The two deities glanced at each other, the same emotions from the day before playing through their minds... yet, despite themselves, a new one had joined: trust. It was fairly weak, but it was there; trouble was, its strength was the equivalent of tissue paper. Micheal's hopes were to have the battles of the tournament strengthen it; however, right now his only plan was to go through it on a wing and a prayer. Nancy had chosen to release a Glaceon and a Leafeon. Clearly she was having them cover each other's weaknesses... but when the two Pokemon saw their foes – both of whom were in their miniature size to make the battle fair – neither of the Eons seemed able to hold onto their will to fight.

"Don't lose it now!" Nancy called to her Pokemon. Luckily enough for her, it was just enough to get the two of them back into the game. "Alright, that's what I'm talking about! Leafie, start it off with Sunny Day!"

"Leeaff... eooon!" Cried the Pokemon, as its eyes glowed momentarily. A second later, a beam of beige-colored light was shot from the leaf on the top of its head... and it was soon followed through by clearing the sky of the clouds that had gathered and making the sunlight seem brighter and stronger.

"That's just too bright..." Micheal muttered to himself, wishing he'd brought a hat. The sunlight was starting to blind him a little. After a moment, he spoke up. "Algida, Heal Block!"

"Damn, can't use Synthesis, and artificial healing items are banned, so..." Nancy thought about it for a moment, as Leafie and Ice were covered in a sparkling, pink mist. Then she knew what to do. "Ice, let's start by taking out the Dialga! Ice Shard!"

"No!" Micheal exclaimed, as small pieces of ice flew at Algida, appearing out of practically no where.

Augh! Said deity exclaimed, wincing sharply when the icicles bit into her flesh. Despite being partly steel-type, it did nothing to keep the shards from hurting her – and the pain was enough to get her to her knees.

"Follow through, Leafie! Hit it with a Solarbeam!"

Shit, with the Sunny Day, it'll – not enough time! The male trainer's mind raced to get the right solution. In moments, the bright white attack had been charged, and was just about to be fired. "Palkia, block it! Aura Sphere!"

Palkia immediantly charged his attack, and the instant the Solarbeam was fired, he let loose with his own move. Both Pokemon's strike met in the center, and they were equally powerful. For a tense moment, they battled to see who would win – but then a voice rang out through the air.

"Palkia, help Algida up!"

His trust for his counterpart had been enough to protect her... but to help her directly? There was no way in hell that was going to happen! There was absolutely no way in hell. Then the two attacks gave in to each other, causing a minor explosion and bringing forth plenty of smoke, preventing all from seeing what was happening on the field. Micheal could vaguely see Algida's shadow, while she was struggling to stand, and Palkia seemed to be... just... standing there. Frowning, the trainer spoke once more.

"Palkia, just do it!"

Growling his frustration at the scolding that went with the tone of voice, Palkia finally reached over to his... partner – oh, how he hated that word! – and assisted her in standing. The instant she was on her feet, he let go and stepped away. Micheal sighed inwardly, and noted it for later.

...Thanks, Algida whispered to Palkia.

The pink-fleshed legendary glanced at her, unsure if he heard right... but she obviously had no intention of repeating herself. There wasn't enough time, anyway.

"Stop hiding! Ice, aim for Palkia this time!"

With that, the sound of ka-chink chink reached Micheal's ears – and he reacted in time.

"Algida, melt the icicles using Dragonbreath!"

Even though it was to save the counterpart that had hesitated to help her, she did as she was told... but unlike Palkia, she did it immediantly. The shards of ice never touched the deity's flesh; the Dragonbreath had been enough to stop them.

"Palkia, Aura Sphere on the Glaceon! Algida, do the same, if you can!"

Both legendary Pokemon charged their spheres, and shot them at their target. The smoke, finally lifting, was still partially blinding the field... so the opposing trainer never saw where the spheres came from, nor did Nancy see which of them was fired first. Especially since they had been fired at about the same time.

"Glaaay!" Ice cried out, as the globes of pure aura struck it. Taking the brunt of one is hard enough; but two is even worse. The fact that the ice-type was weak to the strike didn't help matters any; in an instant, it was wobbling on its legs – and Heal Block was still in place!

"No! You can keep going!" Nancy cried out for her beloved Pokemon – right as it fell over. The smoke, finally cleared, showed Micheal the results... but he didn't cheer yet. The Leafeon was still standing – and, even worse, the Heal Block was just ending. "Leafie, go with a full-power Giga Drain on Palkia!"

"Lea..." The Leafeon's eyes glowed yellow, and immediantly, so did Palkia's body.

Ugh... Palkia grunted, as the glow poured out of him and into the leaf on his opponent's head. It had taken enough energy from him to make him sink to his knees and have to use his "hands" to hold himself up. Dammit...

Micheal opened his mouth to say something, but before a sound left his throat, he froze. Algida's rear appendage was swelling... her chest jewel was glowing... and a moment later, the corresponding attack was launched as she gave one of the most frightening roars her trainer had ever heard from her. The Roar of Time was quite powerful – and it was too much for the poor Leafeon. With everything having to do with time itself collapsing on the poor thing, it's body had only one response: to faint. Which is exactly what it did. Micheal gave a sigh of relief at the victory, but then his attention instantly went to to two Pokemon before him. Algida, despite being almost as wounded as her counterpart, gently helped him to his feet. The moment he was standing on his own, she let him be, and neither of them noted it; but their trainer, along with one other creature, did.

"Thanks for the great battle," Micheal said to Nancy, as he met her in the middle of the field and shook her hand, both her Eons' in their Pokeballs.

"It certainly was," She agreed with a smile. With that, the two trainers parted, and Micheal returned to the two that had partenered up – without disastrous results, thankfully – from his team.

"You two did great," He said with a smile. "But we better get off this field. Do you two want to be returned?"

No... I can walk, Algida said. Palkia just shook his head.

"Alright, then I guess we'd better get going."

Only a few minutes passed before the three of them were in the room they'd checked out. Immediantly, both legendary Pokemon chose a bed, lay down, and sighed inwardly with contentment at being able to finally rest. Palkia didn't bother to move the sheets or anything; he just chose one of the beds closest to the floor, to the left of the entrance, and plopped down onto it – practically burying his face into the soft pillow. Algida wasn't much different. Minus the fact that she had to lay on her side, since she had four legs instead of two.

"Don't go to sleep quite yet," Micheal chuckled, as he watched them both get dangerously close to that point.

What is it? Palkia asked, his words slurring from how exhausted he was. That battle had taken its toll – on both of them. He didn't even bother to open his eyes to look at the human he had come to trust so much. After the first round of battles, the spatial ruler had lost a little respect and faith in his trainer... but now they were back to how they were before the tournament.

"Just wanna talk for a bit."

Don't take too long, Algida mumbled.

"It's not much... but, Palkia... I noticed that you hesitated out there and that I had to instruct you twice. What happened?"

...Oh. That. The diety replied after a moment. Well... when you first told me what to do, my first instinct was to do as you told – but my second was to ignore you. Until you yelled it the second time, I was kind of... I don't know how to put it.

"At war with yourself?" Micheal supplied.

Yeah.

"That's alright. Just... try not to let it happen too often, okay?"

I won't.

"Then get some rest. Both of you. You... never mind."

Chuckling, Micheal quietly left the room, and locked the door behind him. The window was completely secure as well, meaning nobody was going to get into the space easily. The reason the boy had stopped mid-sentence was because of the fact that, by that point, they'd both fallen asleep. They were going to be completely out for quite a while, there was now doubt about that... and Micheal had no problem with it. He just smiled to himself as he let them rest. As he left the building – no doubt to get some lunch or something – the image of seeing two incredibly powerful legendary Pokemon passed out on the beds wouldn't leave his mind's eye. Especially since he'd used the non-flash option of his camera to take a picture. The entire time Micheal ordered the food from the cafeteria, a soft smile was seen on his features, simply from the picture in his mind...

A/N: Alright, I'll explain the chapter title really quickly. It's called "Totally Not Mapped" since I thought that would be a silly synonym for saying "Not Planned". Anyway, I don't know about you, but picturing Palkia and Dialga asleep on the beds like that is making me chuckle a bit. =D Tell me if you found it adorable by clicking the "Review This Chapter" below!