Machoke certainly had a reason to worry as Serperior clearly had a grudge against him after the way he had used her to land himself a spot in the Hero Olympics finals. And the opponents with a desire to face him above all other heroes often proved the most dangerous.

However, Hawlucha rested a hand on his shoulder and smiled, saying, "Relax, Machoke. She may seem scary, but I've seen that you can be even scarier when you put your mind to it. Just treat her like any other opponent."

The boy blinked and took a deep breath, replying, "Whatever, she didn't seem all that tough when she attacked me anyway," the green snake beyond furious now as Arbok patted her on the shoulder, saying, "Calm down. I swear, I'll help you get your revenge on him. Just wait for the bell."

The green snake took a deep breath and replied, "Right," as Machoke asked, "So, is he your boyfriend or something?" Serperior retorting, "Ew, no! He's my cousin!"

"Wait, are you insinuating that I'm not dating material?" Arbok retorted as Nori exclaimed, "Calm down! Save it for the match!" Aipom sighing, "Good, someone with common sense."

"Anyway, before we begin, I need to bring up a certain rule for this tournament that Beedrill instructed me to save for the first match," the announcer stated, "See, for the first five minutes, these will be normal tag team matches, but if both team mates of each side are still standing after that time, all four fighters may enter the ring at once in which it will become a tornado tag match. That means all fighters are vulnerable and susceptible to damage."

Machoke blinked and said, "Well, that's certainly good to know," Hawlucha grinning and saying, "Well, in five minutes, we'll be able to show off our new abilities, granted you don't win before that point."

'Oh, so you think he might actually be able to pull that off, do you?' Serperior thought with a frown, 'We'll see about that. He's only seen a small fraction of my power. He has no idea what he's in for.'

With that, both teams headed to their own separate sides of the ring as Hawlucha smiled and nodded at Machoke, saying, "You may go first," Isabel gritting her teeth.

Sure, she knew this was unsportsmanlike, but at the same time, she was unsure of whether or not Machoke was the best choice to go first. He may have defeated Hawlucha, but he also did not seem all that intelligent.

However, she soon calmed down when she noticed Lea and her mother seemed happy with this decision, Serperior naturally volunteering to go first. Arbok smirked and folded his arms, saying, "Give him Hell," the green snake turning to her cousin with a smile and replying, "You know I will."

And with that, the teams were ready as Nori rang the bell, signalling the start of the match. Before Machoke could even do anything, Serperior leapt at him and latched her tail around his neck. The crowd gasped as even Aipom could not believe what she had just seen.

Serperior smirked and said, "You often seem to get the first hit in. I'm not going to let that happen," the snake then leaning forward in an arch formation and taking hold of the boy's ankles.

Some members of the crowd cheered for Serperior when she rolled one-hundred-and-eighty degrees, planting Machoke's skull into the mat. But her move did not end there as she released his ankles, allowing him to collapse as she tightened her grip on his neck, Machoke's head becoming a dark shade of blue.

Hawlucha blinked and asked, "You okay, amigo?" Arbok smirking and saying, "Nice one, Serperior," giving her a thumb up.

"The match has not even lasted a minute and it already looks like Machoke's gonna lose this one," Nori stated as Isabel gritted her teeth, thinking, 'No! This can't be over already! Come on, you idiot, get out of this!'

Aipom, meanwhile, was in full panic as she squeaked, "HE NEEDS MY ADVICE!" only for Reika to pat her on the shoulder, remarking, "He's been in spots like this countless times over the past. He got out of a Boston Crab once. I'm sure he can overcome this."

Machoke seemed to have something in mind as he took hold of Serperior's tail in an attempt to pry it off, though this would have likely resulted in her grip tightening. However, when he touched it, he noticed an odd smile on her face, the snake biting her lower lip and shaking.

The boy's eyes widened as he smirked, ignoring the pain to his neck before rubbing his fingers against the tail's tip. And just as he predicted, the green snake was unable to contain herself as she broke out into hysterics, releasing her hold on the boy and slithering away from him. Once far enough, she stared at the boy and breathed heavily, a look of fear in her eyes.

The crowd stared at this in stunned silence, an orchestra of crickets hopping into the area and making noises. However, it was not long until Machoke's fans broke out into heavy cheering, glad to see the boy escape from yet another tight spot, especially after having gone so many years without seeing it.

Even Weedle, who was currently watching at home, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank god. If that moron went down that easily, I'd be truly disappointed."

"Hey, man, that was not cool!" Arbok spat before noticing that Serperior still looked frightened now, and Hawlucha could see it too as he exclaimed, "Now, Machoke!" the boy nodding and charging toward the green snake.

But as Serperior attempted to dodge, she was too distracted by his actions earlier and thus was unable to avoid a hook to her neck, falling hard on her back. Machoke then proceeded to lift her up by the tip of her tail, once again rubbing his fingers to stop her from fighting back as he swung her around, the snake laughing while he did so. And after a few seconds, he released his hold on her and sent her face-first into the turnbuckle, the crowd going wild.

"Now there's the Machoke we all know and love!" Nori exclaimed with a grin, not even caring about how unprofessional that statement may have been, "Just as it looks like he'll forfeit early, he finds a bizarre yet still creative way to get out of his predicament!"

"That's our Machoke," Reika said with a grin, "Somehow, I knew something like that would happen," Aipom breathing a sigh of relief, adding, "Leave it to him to spot a weakness no one else can see."

Serperior now looked furious as she shook the pain off of her head, clenching her fists and growling, "How dare you!? What gives you the right to use my ticklish side against me!?" Arbok sighing, "In all due respect, this isn't exactly against the rules. He's kind of allowed to do that."

The green snake shot him a glare, but the cobra was unfazed by this as he sighed, "You know, before this match, you told me you had gotten over this. It's not his fault that you still have little to no resistance when people touch the tip of your tail."

Serperior bit her lower lip and started to breath heavily, her hand against her chest as the audience stared at this, Reika uttering, "Ever notice Machoke usually gets the weirdest opponents?" the others nodding in response to this.

Machoke stared at this, unsure of what to do when Isabel sighed, thinking, 'Well, he did get out of that, but Hawlucha wouldn't have taken nearly as long.'

With the green snake having calmed down a bit, she smirked and said, "Just try and get me with that again," Arbok sighing, "You could just tag me in-" only for the green snake to glare at him.

However, after a few seconds, that was replaced by a delicate smile as she replied, "Thank you for trying to help, but I can turn this around."

With that in mind, Serperior proceeded to slink toward Machoke, thinking, 'I'll just keep the tip of my tail away from him until the right moment,' Machoke on the defensive now. After enough matches, he was certain his opponent would not be dumb enough to try the same failed tactic twice.

However, it seemed attacking with her tail was not the only thing the snake could do as just when it seemed she was going to attack from the front, she lowered her body and shifted it to the right. Before Machoke could even respond, she sent her elbow into his side as his eyes widened, the boy kneeling down and holding onto that very spot.

Serperior's fans cheered as Aipom blinked, uttering, "That should not have hurt that much," and Machoke seemed to think the same as he had a look of shock on his face.

And it only seemed to get worse as Serperior used this distraction to bind his ankle with her tail, pulling back and causing him to fall on his face. She then proceeded to leap into the air, forming a green blade on the end of her tail before spinning vertically toward the boy's back, shouting, "TAIL BLADE!" ramming it hard into that very spot as he coughed up blood, a cut forming there.

Isabel gritted her teeth at the sight of this as Hawlucha asked, "You okay, amigo?" Serperior keeping her distance once again as she smirked and said, "The solution to my problem was really simple. All I have to do is make sure you can't touch my tail again and I'll be fine. In other words, I'm going to wait for just the right moment to strike, the exact opposite of what you did during your match with Lucario."

Lucario let out a sigh and said, "I can't deny that she certainly has the right idea," Clauncher uttering, "Aren't you worried the mention of that might lower Machoke's spirits?" the dog replying, "No, he got over that long ago."

Machoke ignored the pain in his back and slowly rose to his feet, a smirk on his face as he said, "I'll admit, I'm impressed, though you really should have thought of that earlier," the crowd cheering as Serperior hissed, Nori saying, "And as usual, it'll take a lot more than a few good hits to take down Machoke."

Hawlucha grinned and held his thumb up, Abomasnow turning to Golduck and saying, "I can see why you admire him so much. He's got spirit, I'll give him that."

However, Serperior refused to give him a chance to take the advantage back and thus, she picked up her speed when slithering toward him. But as she shifted to the side, Machoke saw this coming and threw his leg sideways, kicking the side of her head.

The crowd cheered as the snake hissed again, once again grabbing hold of his ankle with her tail. However, it seemed she may have used this too soon as Hawlucha grinned and exclaimed, "NOW, MACHOKE!" the boy nodding and immediately taking hold of the tip, rubbing his fingers against it as Serperior tried to ignore it only to fall on her chin, breaking out into hysterics while slamming her fists repeatedly against the canvas.

The crowd cheered for Machoke as Isabel thought, 'He is a lot better than I gave him credit for, I will admit. Maybe he did truly deserve his victory over mi hermano,' Lea cheering while her mother grinned, saying, "Look, Hawlucha's comrade is doing magnifico."

Once Serperior released her hold on his ankle, Machoke proceeded to lift her up by the tail and lean backward, slamming the back of her head hard against the mat. The crowd started to cheer even louder as Aipom squealed, "I'M SO PROUD OF YOU, MACHOKE!" Keiko sighing, "Was there ever any doubt?"

However, Machoke did not release his hold on the snake as he started to tickle her again just in case she tried to turn this around. Arbok, all the while, stared at this in horror as he stretched out his tail under the rope, exclaiming, "TAG ME, SERPERIOR!"

"No!" the green snake retorted through laughter, "I-I need t-t-to do this! I w-want revenge! HAHAHA!"

"Look, we can get your revenge," Arbok retorted, "Trust me, I'll make sure of that, but we'll need to work together. All we have to do is tough it out for two more minutes."

Serperior bit her lower lip, tears running down her eyes as she tried to contain her laughter. As such, she held out her hand and slapped it against her partner's tail as the bell was rung, Nori exclaiming, "And Serperior has tagged in Arbok! Therefor Machoke must release his hold on her."

The boy nodded and let go of the tail, Serperior slithering back to her side of the ring and switching places with Arbok. Once again, Isabel was impressed. Machoke had actually managed to bring Serperior to the point where she had no choice but to take a breather.

Needless to say, the green snake was not happy about this in the slightest as she folded her arms, saying, "Make sure you don't finish him off too quickly. I want to be the one to deal the final blow," the cobra smirking and replying, "If I manage to get him to that point, I'll tag you in and let you do just that."

Despite their arguing before and during the match, the two snakes did seem to get along rather well, and needless to say, this was alarming to Machoke's friends. After all, this was still Machoke's first time in a team match.

However, it would seem their worry was for nought as Hawlucha held out his hand, saying, "Tag me in, mi amigo. You took in quite a bit of punishment from Serperior earlier."

Having not been used to team matches, Machoke had almost forgotten that he could do that and as such, he nodded and headed toward his partner. However, Arbok refused to let that happen as he coiled his tail like a spring and launched himself toward the boy's back.

"SPRING MISSILE!" the cobra exclaimed as he rammed his skull hard into Machoke's back, the boy coughing up blood and falling forward.

Arbok then proceeded to wrap his tail around the boy, saying, "By the way, I'm not ticklish like my cousin," and this was especially bad due to his tail being quite a bit stronger than that of his ally.

However, just as it seemed hopeless, Machoke managed just enough strength to hold his arm up, Hawlucha wasting no time tagging him in as Nori once again rang the bell, stating, "And now Hawlucha has been tagged in, thus Arbok must release his hold on Machoke."

With that, the cobra smirked and did just that, saying, "I'm okay with this. At least I got an extra hit in," Reika groaning, "He's got a point there."

Serperior let out a sigh and thought, 'Yeah, he does. I hate to admit it, but that was a good idea.'

However, there was no way Hawlucha would let himself get hit that easily as Isabel exclaimed, "YOU GO, HAWLUCHA! KNOCK HIS BLOCK OFF!" her mother and Lea turning to face her as she laughed nervously, saying, "Just cheering him on."

"This is just rich," Arbok said with a smirk, "From what I've heard, you lost to Machoke. Do you honestly think you can intimidate me?" the parrot folding his arms and remarking, "I don't care if I intimidate you or not. Are you gonna fight me or should I just beat you senseless right now?"

A vein formed on the cobra's head as he remarked, "You asked for it!" lunging at the parrot.

But just as it looked like he was about to land another fierce headbutt, Hawlucha held his arm feathers in front of his body, blocking the incoming strike. Both Serperior and Arbok, having only heard of the match between the parrot and Machoke and never having seen it, were naturally shocked that mere feathers could be this strong.

And it did not end there as Hawlucha threw his arm out, forcing Arbok back and lowering his guard. With that, he proceeded to charge at the snake with his arm out, shouting, "MATADOR HOOK!" sending his feather into the cobra's face thus knocking him on his back.

The crowd went wild as Nori exclaimed, "And with little effort, Hawlucha has brought the advantage back to the Flying Muscles!" Isabel breathing a sigh of relief, thinking, 'I knew it. Machoke may have skill, but mi hermano has an unmatched spirit.'

Reika blinked and uttered, "I almost forgot how tough that guy is," Serperior all the while asking, "Arbok, you alright?"

However, it seemed he might not get up any time soon as Hawlucha leapt up onto the turnbuckle, exclaiming, "OH, HOW I HAVE MISSED THIS!" the parrot then leaping off and soaring toward Arbok, exclaiming, "FLYING PRESS!"

Machoke grinned wide and exclaimed, "YOU RULE, HAWLUCHA!" and he had all the reason to be happy. After all, he had been on the receiving end of this move twice, so he knew just how powerful it was.

Unfortunately, Arbok had managed to recover just in time to roll to the side, Hawlucha's eyes widening as he fell hard against the canvas. Isabel gasped at the sight of this as did the rest of his family. After all, this was the first time his Flying Press had ever missed its target.

And it seemed to cause the parrot a bit of pain as Arbok wrapped his tail around his neck, saying, "I can tell that you are certainly stronger than Machoke, but if there's one thing he had on his side, it's that his way of fighting is creative. He's been known for his unpredictability, but that was just amateurish. Anyone could have seen that coming."

Machoke gritted his teeth and retorted, "You take that back! Hawlucha's an amazing fighter!" as Isabel blinked, thinking, 'He took the words right out of my mouth.'

And it seemed so as Hawlucha ignored the pain to his neck, pressing his arms up against the mat and using his feathers to lift himself up. Serperior and Arbok were both just as astounded as the crowd was as the cobra spat, "What are you doing!? Don't you know that only adds to the pain!?"

"Funny, I thought for sure you'd be happy with that," Hawlucha uttered before placing a firm grip against the tail. With that, he leapt forward and used as much force as he could to swing Arbok forward, sending his chin into the turnbuckle thus causing him to let go.

Lea and Isabel both cheered heavily while the rest of the crowd was equally impressed, Nori exclaiming, "And Hawlucha pulls off an incredible counter! I don't think I've ever seen anyone pull off a feat like that!"

"You rule, Hawlucha!" Machoke exclaimed as Serperior whimpered, "Are you okay, Arbok?"

Luckily, the snake's body was tougher than that of Serperior and thus he easily ignored the pain, shaking his head and giving her a thumb up and a smirk. There was no was he would let this get him down, not when he knew there were only a few seconds left before the cousins could fight together.

And after those few seconds, Nori rang the bell and exclaimed, "Alright, five minutes are up! You know what means!" the crowd even more excited now as Serperior wasted no time leaping high above the rope, spinning toward Hawlucha before he could respond.

However, Machoke saw this coming and climbed atop the ropes, leaping toward Serperior only for Arbok to reach up and grab his ankles. And with that, the boy was slammed on his back as Isabel exclaimed, "HERMANO, BEHIND YOU!" only for the green snake to once again form her green blade, shouting, "TAIL BLADE!" sending it hard into the back of the parrot's head.

Hawlucha's eyes widened as he coughed up blood, falling flat on his face as some members of the crowd cheered for the snakes. However, Machoke's friends and fans were naturally worried as was Hawlucha's family.

"And it seems that at the exact second the tag team portion ends, the Flying Muscles immediately lose their advantage," Nori stated, "Can they possibly get out of this?"

And it only got worse as Arbok bound his tail to Hawlucha's legs, Serperior doing the same to Machoke. The two then proceeded to latch their hands against one-another's arms before spinning like a pinwheel, lifting up their victims while floating thanks to a gust of wind created by their movement.

"FLYING SERPENT TWISTER!" the two exclaimed before Serperior released her hold on Machoke, sending him hard into the turnbuckle as Arbok proceeded to do the same to Hawlucha, the parrot flying into his partner to add to the damage. Clearly, the two were focused on dealing more pain to Machoke what with Serperior's grudge against him.

"I'll admit it," Serperior said with a grin, "You were right all along. Waiting until the tornado tag portion was a much better idea than continuing," Arbok nodding and replying, "Don't forget, there is a brain in this head."

Isabel was terrified now as Cici whimpered, "Those two are a really good team," Gardevoir nodding and replying, "It's okay. I'm sure they'll be able to get the upper hand back. They're working together now, too."

And sure enough, Hawlucha shook the pain off of him as he asked, "You okay, Machoke?" the boy nodding and replying, "Yeah, we were just caught off-guard. Let's show them our teamwork now," a grin forming as Serperior scowled at him. The last thing she wanted to see was a smile from him, especially after all the pain she and her cousin had just dealt.

But could Hawlucha and Machoke really turn this around? After all, the Venomous Titans had certainly proven themselves to be a major threat. But then again, the Flying Muscles were among the most physically strong heroes out there, so this was still anyone's game.