Popplio felt more than ready for his match with Lugarugan. After Eevee defeated Noivern despite coming so close to defeat, there was no way the seal could lose. He could not afford to, after all.

Lugarugan, on the other hand, was imagining popping the seal's nose like a pimple and painting the mat with the blood that would spew from it. He was unsure of whether or not he really could pull that off, but either way, Popplio had insulted him earlier and he wanted vengeance.

"Well, folks, the combatants are set," Yukiko stated, "And so, without further ado, let us begin!"

The bell was rung as Lugarugan wasted no time racing toward Popplio at rapid speed. Before the seal could even find the right moment to counter, he received a hard knee kick to the cheek, his eyes wide and his teeth gritted.

Things only got worse when the brown wolf sent a few rapid punches into his face. After he felt like he had done enough, he sent his claws downward and scratched Popplio's forehead while the crowd gasped.

"Thanks to his amazing speed, Lugarugan has gotten an incredible early lead," Yukiko stated, "Popplio, who before seemed like a master strategist, has already taken in an onslaught."

Popplio groaned and backed away from Lugarugan while rubbing his forehead and thinking, 'Damn, I didn't have time to react like when I fought Chespin. I'll need to be more careful, that's for sure."

The wolf grinned wickedly and tauntingly exclaimed, "How's that for a coward, eh!? Bet you didn't see that coming! You'll be easy prey for me!"

Lycanroc smiled and thought, 'Good, this will end soon. That means I won't have to watch too much bloodshed,' as Eevee squeaked, "Popplio, are you alright!?"

The seal gave her a reassuring smile and nodded before thinking, 'Now that I know how quick he is, I now see a much better strategy I can use. Hopefully he won't have a countermeasure for this.'

Since Lugarugan was full of confidence and spirit, he immediately raced toward the seal again. But as it so happened, Popplio had just the right counter in mind as he leapt forward with his flippers spread out, shouting, "SEAL WATERSLIDE!"

"Wait, what?" the Lugarugan uttered while Popplio slid along the mat. And once he was close enough, his flippers rammed into the brown wolf's ankles and thus he was sent flying into the air while flipping vertically.

Seeing a golden opportunity, Popplio smirked and leapt up to his level. And once high enough, he leaned backward and wrapped his flippers around Lugarugan's sides, ramming the back of his head hard into the canvas.

The crowd went wild as Yukiko exclaimed, "And with a new circus-based technique, Popplio has managed to turn Lugarugan's speed against him! Let's see if this can last!"

Eevee squealed happily and clapped while Caterpie thought, 'Wow, these guys are so amazing. My life couldn't be in better hands, could it?'

However, Popplio knew better than to assume he had won and thus he released his hold on Lugarugan and leapt away from him. He had a serious look in his eyes while the brown wolf placed his paws firmly against the mat and used them to propel himself upright. And while rubbing his head, he turned and glared at Popplio with his teeth gritted.

"Don't get cocky," he growled before getting down on all fours, "Mark my words. That'll be the last time you hit me in this entire match," sprinting toward the seal and barking, "ACCELEROCK!"

Popplio knew better than to wait this time as he leapt to the side. However, Lugarugan was running way too quickly and thus the side of his head not only made contact with his tail, but when the brown wolf came to a halt, he unleashed a small shock wave that caused the seal to lose his balance and fall on his back.

The crowd gasped as Lugarugan smirked and leapt sideways toward his downed opponent with his leg raised. But just as he was about to land a hard kick, Popplio gasped and threw his tail upward, blocking the incoming strike at just the right moment.

Unfortunately, this did not give the seal the advantage back like everyone figured it would, and this was made clear as the claws on Lugarugan's foot had been pointed downward. Thus they were currently digging into Popplio's tail while Eevee stared in concern, Lugarugan smirking wickedly.

But as luck had it, the seal refused to let this get to him as he smirked and said tauntingly, "Unfortunately for you, this is not skin. It's blubber, and that's much stronger than mere flesh."

As such, he did his best to ignore the pain and threw his tail upward again. Thus Lugarugan was unable to react as he was sent flying slightly into the air. This left him wide open when Popplio leapt up toward him while tucked into a ball just like when he fought Doduo on Hero Planet.

"BOUNCING BALL STRIKE!" the seal barked, the crowd cheering. But those cheers soon died as Lugarugan turned his body around just in time to cross his arms and block the incoming strike from the seal's tail.

Popplio's eyes and mouth were wide with terror as Lugarugan smirked, flipping his paws around and closing them inward. Thus he took hold of the seal's tail and pierced his claws through them, saying, "I'm starting to think this blubber of yours isn't all that great."

'Non,' the seal thought as Lugarugan lifted him up and swung him downward, planting his back into the canvas. Fear filled the crowd while Lycanroc exclaimed, "Yeah! You go, Pookie! Show him who's boss!"

Litwick had her usual cute smile as she said, "That seal doesn't stand a chance," Eevee growling, "No, this isn't right. Popplio's doing everything right. Why isn't any of it working?"

As Lugarugan released his hold on Popplio, he smirked and said, "I have to admit, after seeing how surprisingly awesome your partner is, I was expecting a much bigger challenge from you. However, you're nothing but talk. You say all this big stuff, but you can't back any of it up, can you?"

Before Popplio could try to get back up, Lugarugan planted a foot into his gut and grunted, "Can't let you do that," before lifting up the other foot and doing the same with it. He then planted the claws on both into the spot he had hit before leaping into the air and shouting, "FULL MOON FLIP!" flipping himself and Popplio until the seal's skull was facing the canvas.

Caterpie winced as Popplio made contact, coughing up blood, his eyes wide with shock. It was just as Lugarugan said. Despite his best efforts, he had only managed to land one hit throughout the entire match. Did he even stand a small chance at this point?

"While Popplio had plenty of spirit before, it seems to have been crushed," Yukiko stated, "Despite his best efforts to outsmart Lugarugan, only one of his tactics has worked so far. This could very well be a one-sided match, folks."

As Lugarugan removed his claws and allowed the seal to collapse, Eevee gritted her teeth and slapped her paws against the guardrail in front of her, barking, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS, POPPLIO!?"

The seal slowly turned to face her as she snapped, "I refuse to accept this! You're the one who taught me how to fight like a real hero! It's thanks to you I managed to come up with a strategy to defeat Noivern! I just can't believe the same one who helped me out could be this easily beaten!"

Many stared silently at her while she continued, "I know you can beat him, Popplio! Just stop being his punching bag and get back up! I know you're so much better than this!"

With that in mind, many other members of the crowd started to chant Popplio's name as Lugarugan let out a maniacal laugh, shouting, "Oh my god, you people are hilarious! Do you seriously think a pretty speech and a few chants are going to-?"

However, his speech was cut short when he looked down and noticed Popplio slowly push himself back up with a smirk on his face. He then rubbed his head a little bit and asked, "Going to what? You shouldn't just pause in the middle of a sentence."

Lugarugan's eyes widened as he gritted his teeth while grumbling, "You cheeky little-" before performing a series of back flips away from the seal. He then went down on all fours and barked, "ACCELEROCK!" as he bolted forward just like before.

Thankfully, Popplio was prepared this time as he leapt backward toward the ropes and stretched them back. He then bounced off and tucked himself into a ball while he rolled along the mat and exclaimed, "CIRCUS BALL!"

But while it looked like Lugarugan could still overpower the seal, he increased his speed and rammed hard into the brown wolf's snout. Lugarugan howled in pain as a small bit of blood came from his nose and thus he was sent careening into the ropes. And when he bounced off of them, Popplio retracted from his ball-like state and slapped the brown wolf hard in the face with his tail, the crowd going wild.

Litwick seemed intrigued, a look of terror on Lycanroc's face as Lugarugan was now on his back with his arms and legs spread out. But Popplio knew better than to try and take advantage of this as he backed up with a smirk on his face and sure enough, the brown wolf rose to his feet with a cold look.

"That's the Popplio I know!" Eevee squealed, but was shocked when Lugarugan's look of anger turned into a confident grin.

Everyone soon saw what he meant as Popplio had dropped his smirk almost immediately after he sported it. Now he was breathing pretty heavily as he thought, 'Non, this can't be right. Why do I feel so weak?'

"Wow, I have to say, I would love to commend you for that display back there," Lugarugan said in a boastful tone, "I mean, you managed to overpower my Accelerock. It's just too bad that the only way you could pull it off was by straining yourself."

"What?" Caterpie uttered as Popplio thought, 'Merde! He's right. I had to double my speed to pull that off, but that required a great deal of energy. I've built up a lot of that from my years in the circus, but not even I can handle that much speed.'

"That's not true, is it?" Eevee uttered with a look of terror in her eyes, "You can keep going, right?" as the seal took a deep breath and shook his head, grunting, "Of course I can, mon ami! Lugarugan should have taken advantage of my state when he had the chance!"

"It's like I said earlier," Lugarugan retorted with a smirk, "You talk tough when really, you're just full of shit."

With that in mind, he sprinted toward Popplio, only he deliberately lowered his own speed in order to mock the seal. Popplio frowned and swiped his tail toward the incoming opponent, but he found himself unable to move it fast enough as Lugarugan leapt over it and planted both of his feet into his forehead.

"And it would seem Lugarugan might very well be right, folks," Yukiko stated, "Even though he was clearly moving slower, Popplio still misses him and takes a hard blow to the head."

'Non, he can't be right!' the seal grunted as he attempted to grab Lugarugan's ankles. Unfortunately, this was easy for him to dodge as he stepped to the side and sent a roundhouse into the seal's ribcage.

"I have to admit, your persistence is pretty admirable, I guess," the brown wolf said tauntingly with his arms folded, "but this is just sad. Because I know how much my Honey Pumpkin would rather not have me hurt you too badly, I'll give you the option to give up right now. Of course, that still counts as you losing, but hey, your bones will still be intact, right?"

Even Eevee was starting to wonder if Popplio should continue. It was clear that he could not win this no matter how hard he tried. He may have done some damage, but not enough.

Even so, the seal took a few breaths before growling, "That's very kind, especially coming from you, but I am a hero. I graduated from Hero Planet to protect the innocent. As such, no matter what challenge is thrown at moi, I will fight to the bitter end. So do your worst! I'm ready!"

Lugarugan stared silently as a wide grin slowly formed on his face. And while Caterpie and Eevee were both terrified of this look, Lycanroc surprisingly showed more fear. After all, as much as she wanted Lugarugan to win, she did not wish for him to go too far.

Even so, she could not be upset as this was exactly what Popplio had asked for. As such, Lugarugan flipped sideways toward the ropes, planting his waist against them and stretching them back.

"Remember, you asked for this," the brown wolf stated as he launched himself off of the material, spinning his body with his arms and legs pointed outward.

The crowd gasped as Eevee cried out, "POPPLIO, FIGHT BACK!" only for the seal to close his eyes and think, 'I could try, but I've expelled too much energy. But after your match with Noivern, I have no doubt that you can handle the rest easily.'

With that, Lugarugan flew into him and covered him in various scratches while barking, "WOLF BARREL!" the seal crying out in agonizing pain as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

When Popplio fell on his back with his head tilted sideways, Eevee and Caterpie cried, "NO!" as Yukiko took a deep breath and stated, "And after taking in a lot of punishment, Popplio has met his limit. Therefor, Lugarugan is our winner," the woman ringing the bell.

Lycanroc took a deep breath and thought, 'At least it's finally over,' Lugarugan throwing his arms in the air and exclaiming, "OH YEAH! GIVE IT UP FOR YOUR FUTURE LEADER, TOKYO!" the crowd terrified out of their minds.

Eevee could not sit down any longer as she stood up and bolted toward the ring, Lugarugan leaping out of it and giving her a maniacal grin. She briefly turned to him with fear as he made a neck slitting motion with his finger, returning to his seat in the bleachers to take a good rest.

"Man, that was fun, but it sure took a lot out of me," the brown wolf sighed as he leaned backward and asked, "Hey, Honey Pumpkin, can you give me a good scratch behind the ears?"

Lycanroc smiled and replied, "Sure, Pookie," before doing as told, Caterpie staring and narrowing his eyelids. Their relationship made no sense to him.

The fox came to Popplio's side and knelt down, whimpering, "Come on, tell me you're okay. I'm not sure if I can take the rest of these guys by myself."

Unfortunately, the seal really was out cold now as medics rushed into the area and set him up on a stretcher. Eevee watched in terror while he was taken out of the area to an ambulance, holding her arm out with tears in her eyes.

"Wow," Lugarugan scoffed, "Where's all that confidence you had earlier? Seems now that your friend can't help you, you're hopeless," as she turned and shot him a glare, growling, "No, I can beat all three of you! Whichever one of you challenges me, I'll beat you easily!"

"Whoa, someone's got attitude," Lugarugan quipped with a grin, Litwick rising up from her seat and casually saying, "I'll do it."

The fox blinked as the candle stated cutely, "I'll be your opponent for the next match, but I'd much rather face you at full strength. So I'll give you as long as you need to recover, alright?"

"Wait, what!?" Lugarugan retorted, the candle remarking, "I prefer to earn my victories," as the brown wolf nodded and shrugged his shoulders.

But just as Eevee was about to agree to the terms, a familiar high-pitched voice with a Spanish accent entered the area and exclaimed, "How about I take you on right now instead!?"

Everyone looked around as Yukiko asked, "What was that?" Eevee's eyes wide with shock before she squeaked, "I know that voice!"

At that moment, a certain chipmunk with a grass hood stepped out from behind a tree and said, "I figured you might need my help."

The area went silent until Eevee blinked and asked, "Wait, you're here to help?" as Chespin nodded and sighed, "I owe Popplio my life. He made me realize that the path I had chosen to walk down would ultimately lead me nowhere. So if you'll allow me, I'd like to help you deal with these guys."

"HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!" Lugarugan barked, "That's cheating!" only for Litwick to smile and say, "Oh, another hero. This should be fun," the brown wolf groaning, "Haven't we agreed to enough of their terms!?"

Eevee, meanwhile, stared blankly at Chespin, not sure what to think. On one hand, she had heard of many famous heroes who started out as villains. But even so, how could she trust someone who treated her best friend so horribly?

She then thought about how Popplio would react to this situation. If anything, the seal would have been more than happy to give the chipmunk a second chance. And so with that in mind, the fox took a deep breath and smiled before extending her paw, saying, "Give her Hell, alright?"

Chespin gave the fox a warm smile and shook the paw, replying, "Don't worry, I will," as Yukiko stated, "And in a shocking turn of events, Chespin has come all the way back here to assist Eevee in her time of need! Though I'm surprised they let him out of prison so early."

"Oh, they didn't," Chespin replied with a nervous laugh, "This is actually community service for me. Look," pointing at the tree he had been hiding behind before as a Hero Planet authority stepped out and growled, "Remember, kid, one false move and you're going back, got it!?"

Eevee stared silently and slowly nodded her head while Caterpie panicked, gasping, "OH MY GOD, YOU'RE A CRIMINAL!?" as Chespin sighed, "Who's this?"

"That's our new friend, Caterpie," Eevee said, "He's weird but he's nice," as Chespin shrugged and uttered, "If you say so."

With all said and done, Litwick melted a bit of her wax to create tiny feet for herself. As such, she rose up from her seat and headed toward a secluded area to prepare herself, saying, "I look forward to our match, convict."

Chespin folded his arms and grunted, "You'll be eating those words soon enough," before walking toward a secluded area himself.

Eevee gave him a supportive smile and took a seat, feeling beyond grateful. As great as it felt to finally earn a victory, she still had a long way to go before she could take on this many villains by herself. And while a part of her was considering keeping a close eye on Chespin to make sure he did nothing wrong, considering he had an authority there to watch him, she felt he could be trusted after all.

While he prepared for the match, Chespin frowned and thought, 'Alright, Popplio, just you wait. I'll make sure all your hard work isn't in vain. First I'll defeat this candle person and then I'll kick that wolf leader's ass. It's the least I can do.'

After ten minutes, Yukiko got a signal as she nodded and exclaimed, "Alright, folks, it's now time for a surprise third match for the day! Eevee seems to have been given a break for a now, but can this ex-villain help our heroes or is he only delaying the inevitable?"

"It's so obviously the latter," Lugarugan sighed, "I don't know why she has to ask these questions when the answer's obvious!" as Lycanroc shrugged and replied, "She's an announcer. It's her job."

The woman then pointed to the left and added, "In the red corner is the one who once worked for the side of evil but promises to fight for our freedom! He gave Popplio quite a tough time when they fought a few days ago, so we know his skills are not to be taken lightly! Even though you once booed him, now you can give a round of applause for Chespin!"

The crowd cheered wildly as the chipmunk entered the area with a cape over his face. After a few seconds, he threw it outward with a dramatic look and leapt into the ring with his arms spread out. Needless to say, this only rose the crowd's excitement.

'Rest easy, Popplio,' Chespin thought with his eyes narrowed, 'By the time I'm through, they'll wish they never came to Tokyo.'

Once that was out of the way, Yukiko pointed to the right and stated, "And in the blue corner is a cute yet deadly opponent. We've already seen a sample of what she can do," as she directed everyone's attention to Caterpie.

The caterpillar's eyes widened as he let out a sigh and prayed this would not last long while the woman added, "Representing the villains, Litwick!"

The crowd as uncertain how to react when suddenly, a row of candles lit up and created a path toward the ring. And soon enough, Litwick emerged from behind a bush and made her way down the path with the same unsettling smile she almost always had. As she approached the ring, she made her flame bigger thus melting her wax and allowing her to stretch her body upward in an arch. And once her head was over the ring, she reeled in the rest of her body until she was back to her normal size, the crowd even more intimidated by her.

However, even Chespin had to admit that he was a little scared. He had not even taken into consideration the possibility that she could manipulate her height, and one could only guess how limited such a power was. But even so, he struck a fighting pose and thought, 'Alright, bring it!'