I own no Mario Tennis Power Tour characters, the plot of the game or any dialog in the game. Credits to Camelot.

Things get more difficult for Clay and Ace from here on out.

Starting now, I'll make a list of Power Shots used in the chapter. This is the first time doing it, so I'll cover the previous ones used this time and this time only.

Anyway, enjoy!

Oh yeah! The 1-Up mushrooms don't exist in this story.

Roy's POV

It was early in the morning when Emi and I began to stand on the Senior Courts, waiting for our just finished breakfast, so we were fully prepared.

Those two from last night may look tough, I thought to myself. But let's just see how they do in the match...

Just then, our two opponents arrived with our coach.

Ah, speak of the devil...

After another reminder of the rules, Emily threw the ball to Clay, so he could begin the match.

I was taken aback by Clay's power in his hits. Emi didn't expect ot either, so that was one point gone. I didn't do much to return the next serve, so that was another point gone. Then, Emi's quick reflexes kicked in and I stepped in to assist after that shot was returned, but it still wasn't enough, so the next point went to them.

They're tougher than I thought... Time to kick it up a notch...

Conveniently, my racket glowed orange as I returned Clay's next serve and the ball was flying through the air fast, with a fiery trail following it. Ace tried to save the ball, but it went past her and Clay, so the point went to us. Things were looking to be evened out as Emi's next shot sent the ball at a huge arc after her racket glowed orange. They couldn't do anything. They were surprised at our Power Shots.

But things were looking bad after Clay and Ace's rackets glowed blue. I smashed the ball past them, but as Clay went for it, he left a trail of illusions of himself! I knew what that was, but I didn't know that he could use it! Emi dashed ahead of me to return that ball, but Ace's racket glow changed to orange as she hit the ball and it it was sent at a wider arc than Emi's! The first game was lost, but Emi and I still kept our hopes up.

"This is a change," Emi told me. "They can use Power Shots."

"Things are just about to heat up," I added. "I'm getting excited!"

Using our speed, strength and skill, we just managed to even things out by winning the next game, meaning that the set would have to drag on further.

Ace's serves weren't half bad, I'll admit. She had really good control over the ball and managed to score three Service Aces. However, I anticipated where the fourth would bounce, so I smacked it with power, thinking that it would be a point, but Clay had to get in the way and smash it back! Emi covered for me, but it left us in a position for Ace to lob the ball and win the game.

Emi and I were getting exhasuted, so we purposely didn't do our best in the next game, letting Clay and Ace win the set.

It was Clay's turn to serve again and this time, we were ready. We scored three Return Winners in a row, but I guess they caught on where we hit the ball because they suddenly came back and turned the game to a deuce! They were looking tired at this point, but they still kept going. I commend them for determination, but it was wearing them out. Emi and I took the game.

By the time the next game's score was 40-00 to us, I thought that we had the set in the bag. However, another one of Ace's Power Shots kicked in and afterwards, Clay's smash made the ball fly right past us. Emi and I were getting anxious, but we did our best to hold them off, but I guess it wasn't enough because once again, Clay and Ace came back and won the game.

Hmmm... I thought to myself throughout the next game. They're worn out, but it seems that their determination is pulling them through...

Emi snapped me out of my own world and my focus was on the game again.

Clay's POV

Things were really heating up, but I couldn't let Emi and Roy win or bring the set to a tiebreaker, so even though Ace and I were tired, we pushed ourselves. Smashes, volleys, strokes and even those special shots made the ball fly everywhere - it was intense! But I did feel left out that my racket was the only one that didn't glow orange throughout the entire match.

Winning the game only meant that our opponents got even more serious than before. I didn't think that I would have such an exciting match! At 40-40, the match was stalled out for a really long time. They didn't realize that they were in a bad position again, so Ace lobbed the ball. However, this was saved when Emi's racket glowed blue and she dashed for it. Illusions of her followed close by and she managed to get the ball. This left her tired, so I smacked the ball right past her so hard that not even Roy could get it.

This was looking like a victory, but each of us hit the ball with each of those shots that happen after the racket glows orange. Roy smashed the ball with fire following it and Ace returned it with one of those 'huge arc' shots. Emi caught up with it and copied that shot.

It was up to me. Everyone was exhausted, so this was my chance. When I swung my racket at the ball, something really strange happened. A giant hand appeared out of nowhere! And it kept hold of the ball while it flew really fast! Nothing could be done, though. Ace and I won the match.

"I... I fought with all my strength!" Emi gasped after the results were announced. Then, she turned to me and Ace. "But I guess I wasn't a match for you two."

"You guys must be something to keep us down to the very end," Roy added.

After the two nodded to each other, Emi turned back to us and said, "You're in Varsity now. We'll have to get you back once you join us in the Center Court."

"We'll beat you in the Varsity standings and stop you from climbing any further!" Roy claimed.

"We're still unranked. You two think you can do any better?"

After nodding to each other again, the two walked away, probably to train for our return.

"Varsity doubles is full of high level competition," Emily told me and Ace. "So high that even Emi and Roy can't place..."

"Well, we beat them good and proper," I replied. "So we won't need to worry."

"They were Varsity, but they were unranked," Ace told me. "We'll have to work harder if we're to make it to the top of that class. If those two were difficult to face, who knows how hard the others will be?"

"You can't underestimate your opponents, but you can't go in afraid, either," the coach said. "i understand that you don't wanna let up until you rank in Varsity, but you just took first in Seniors! I think it's okay if you let loose and relax, just for today. Wouldn't you agree?"

"When I think about it, overworking ourselves may be a bad thing to do..." Ace thought out loud.

After a quick giggle, Emily gave us Ace and me Senior Class Championship Medals and wished us luck in Varsity.

We decided to take Emily's advice and rest up in the lodge before heading for the Center Court, where the Varsity class is. In my room, we were talking about how far we've gotten in so little time and how we could become celebrities with our skill. After a while, we got bored and decided to continue our journey to become the champions and find out who those masked players were.

Right after some lunch. yeah, Ace and I didn't really look at the time.

Anyway, after stuffing ourselves, we decided to head for the Teaching Courts and finish our training with those coaches. Apart from the Varsity Serving Lessons, they were pretty easy.

The two of us met up outside the courts and made our way to the Center Court. It was on the same path as the Training Center, but we had to turn right instead of left. What stood in front of us was a huge red and white building. The door was open, so Ace and I made ourselves comfortable and stepped inside.

To be honest, I wasn't really surprised that the Center Court was an inside court in the first place - they must have needed to hide what was going on. The one room building we were in looked pretty roomy and it had wooden floors. In the middle of the floor was the green tennis court for ranking matches. There were a few windows on the walls, so overall, if you just add a few home necessities and some entertainment (maybe a couple more rooms), it would make a pretty good home for an adult tennis player.

Offensive Power Shots Used

Power Shot (earlier in the story)

High Power Shot

Curve Shot (earlier in the story)

Slider Shot

Control Shot (earlier in the story)

Stunner Shot

Defensive Power Shots Used

Superswift Save (earlier in the story)

High Jump Save (earlier in the story)

Quick Step Save

We're getting to the good stuff! Clay and Ace are finally in Varsity!

If you think I've missed any Power Shots, please tell me and I'll type it down in the next chapter's list.

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~