Fly High: Maple Version!

by 0- Jougen-Knight -0

Matthew Williams recently starts his Pokemon journey with his trusty Cubchoo, Kumajirou. However, after meeting an Italian with a strange ability, he must not only prove himself by defeating the best trainers of the region, but also bring down the shifty criminal syndicate known as Shade to prevent them from stealing anymore Pokemon and doing horrible things to them. Pokemon AU.

21. Battle Tag Royale: Like Team Spirit!

I deeply apologize for the lack of an update. TTnTT hopefully this chapter makes up for it - it took me so long to write it due to my exams approaching, and work tiring me. Plus, this chapter is based on that one part with tag battles in the Diamond and Pearl anime (but don't worry, no abuse like how Paul did with poor little Chimchar).

Anyway, BIG thanks goes TomatoAmante for the for the follow; Naskara-Dragoon for the fave; and to MiyukiMarvell, cherrygemini, BloodRoseNinja, Pinkithai, yvonna and VisaVita for the fave AND the follow. :D also, a BIG thanks goes to Ayumi Kudou, AliasAlliance, Jayvee1669, FusososoLaugh, Pinkithai (again), Riverclan23 and Light Trainer for the reviews! 8D

Ayumi Kudou: Wow, you're pretty sharp. 0.0 I didn't think anyone would notice Picardy in there...XD yes, I agree - if you have a sharp wit and common sense, than you can pretty much achieve anything in my opinion. :) that's true, too - Erika is like a fusion of both Liechtenstein and Nyo!Japan. XD

AliasAlliance: Sorry 'bout the late update. ;w; but, haha - yeah, thanks to Sealand, now I can't look at sailors without thinking of the little guy. XD hehe, Lovino loves his siestas, but he'll be there to watch and root on Matthew. :) well, that's to be expected after all - Switzy is her big brother. :D I'm glad you like the idea of the little challenges I put - I quite like hearing people's guesses. :D you don't have to do them if you don't want to, it's just a fun way of interaction in my opinion. =^_^=

Jayvee1669: You'll see. ;)

FusososoLaugh: Cool. :) ooh, I like green tea. 8D haha, actually...Lithuania/Toris will make an appearance quite soon (not in this chapter, though). ;) just keep on reading, and you'll see~ ;D

Pinkithai: Hello there, Ms Pinkithai! I am HetaWriter/HetaReader, but you may just call me Heta-tan, Heta-kun, or simply just Heta for short. ^_^' thank you so much! That compliment is definitely not to be taken lightly since it concerns the King of Awesomeness himself. 8D thank you, really, I try to update all my stories, but I usually have only time to focus on one, so it took me a long time until I could get around to this one as well as trying to juggle my work and studying...TT_TT don't worry; your words have made me quite warm. :) (Gary Motherf***ing Oak! D8)

Riverclan23: Indeed, it is. ^7^ I couldn't help but put in that part - far too tempting since Switzerland apparently trains her and she's his little sister after all. :) thank you very much - you'll see in this chapter about your guesses. ;)

Light Trainer: Well, it took me a while to write it out, but here it is! :D oh, really? You're Dutch and live in Canada? 8D nice! I'm aware of the Tulip Festival and that Canada helped the Netherlands, but thanks for placing more detail into that part of history! :D

Well, I notice what happened with the guesses:
Michelin: 3 got it right.
Erika: 3 got it right.
Matthew: 7 (everyone) got it right. XD

The answers will be revealed in the chapter~ ;D

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Hetalia or Pokemon.

"In salted herring, it's a bedrijf Parade!"

---

"The name's Michelin," the Seychellois girl beamed at her partner with a wave. "What's your name?"

"I am Ramesh," he said with a charming smile; his pearly whites a beautiful contrast to his darker skin and warm amber eyes. He swept the fedora atop his head, revealing finely combed raven hair, as well as a tilaka on his forehead. He gave a gentlemanly bow in her direction, "It is nice to meet you." She noticed that he also spoke with a rather thick Indian accent.

"Nice to meet you, too," Michelin said, feeling her cheeks glow upon having a rather pleasant and charming man as her partner.

"We shall do our best in this Battle Tag Royale," Ramesh said with a smile. "Correct?"

"Oh, yeah!" Michelin nodded, her smile somewhat lopsided as she felt suddenly shy in her partner's presence. "Definitely."

"Very good," nodded Ramesh, looking very satisfied with her answer.

"My gosh, I can't wait to start!" spoke up Michelin, the blaze in her brown eyes burning brightly.

"Indeed," agreed her Indian partner. "This is an exciting experience, don't you agree?"

"Yeah!"

Pokétalia Maple Version: Fly High!

"Erika, huh?" the man smiled as he jerked a thumb at his chest. "The name's Jack! Nice to meet ya, sheila!"

Erika nodded, giving a weak smile in her wild, upbeat partner's direction; she really hoped that she could catch up with him. There was a big chance that she could easily slow him down; since he was more buoyant and rough than she was.

He had thick eyebrows and glowing green eyes. His dark brown hair had two ahoge, and there was a bandage across his nose. He was wearing what appeared to be some sort of uniform with a dark green necktie. Coupled with that big, bright smile spread across his face; he looked really friendly enough. "Can't wait for this shebang to happen! Exciting, ain't it, sheila?" he asked, grin still on his face.

Erika nodded, though she was still slightly confused as to why he was insistently calling her 'sheila'; she already told him her name after all. "Um…excuse me, but my name is Erika, not Sheila…" she began.

Jack blinked, slightly perplexed himself, but he immediately laughed afterwards, "Hahaha! No, no; where I come from, 'sheila's just a term used to talk about a little lady such as yourself!" he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he chuckled, "Sorry if I caused a little misunderstanding there!"

The Liechtenstein girl shook her head, feeling her pale cheeks light up, "Oh, no, no…I should be the one apologizing…"

"Well, let's not worry about that!" Jack smiled. He sighed as he looked at the big screen, "Can't wait for this thing to begin! 'Ow 'bout you, sheila?"

Erika nodded, the smile gracing back onto her features, "I can't wait for them to start, either."

Pokétalia Maple Version: Fly High!

"The name's Lars by the way," the tall man said in his gruff-like tone as he extended his arm out. "Yours?"

"O-oh! Matthew," the Canadian boy said as he quickly shot his own arm out and shook hands with him. He was quite intrigued with how large and wide the man's hand was.

"Got a specific type you use?" Lars questioned as he placed a hand in a little white bag that hung around his waist. "Just so I know if I can use anything to counteract anything that'll be strong against it?"

Matthew shook his head, "No, I don't have a certain type. How about you?"

Lars responded with a shake of his own head, "Nope. I just use the Pokémon I like." Next, to Matthew's surprise, the tall blonde pulled out a rather stylish pipe from a white pouch. He inspected it a few times, but maintained a hold on it. Matthew noticed that Lars had a bit of an accent on him, however he just couldn't place what it was. Much like how Antonio from Feral Town had a familiar accent, yet he couldn't place what it was, either.

The Canadian boy felt slightly awkward here – he really had no idea what to say at this point; he was never that much of a conversationalist. And this man, with the spiky hair, the scarf and the pipe, he would probably be someone he would never be able to talk to back at Tatserr Town.

He just seemed so…cool.

"There a problem, kid?" Lars asked, noticing the silence hanging around in the air and how awkward his partner was.

"H-huh? Oh! No, no there's no problem…" Matthew answered back, rubbing the back of his head.

"Look, kid – I know we've never spoken or seen each other before, but listen; tag battles are about teamwork," he said calmly. "Even if you hate your partner's guts, you have to suck it up and at least try. However, since I don't know you and you don't know me, we're at an advantage – we can get to know each other from this with a fresh start. Okay?"

Matthew had held onto his words closely. "You have a point," the bespectacled blonde nodded. "I understand. You must be experienced in tag battles…"

"I've only done it a fair few times," Lars shrugged. "With this old friend of mine; a pain in my ass he was, but well…he was a brilliant partner – things certainly weren't boring with him around. Now, before anything is announced, you got any questions for me?"

Matthew shuffled nervously on the spot, not sure if he should really ask, "Um…"

"Yeah?" Lars' pale green eyes were fixated on his younger companion. "Ask me anything so we can clear shit up. I'll ask you stuff, too. Where are you from, anyway?"

"I'm from Tatserr Town," said Matthew.

Lars arched an eyebrow, face stretched to a surprised expression, "That's quite a long way away from Sahil City…you travelling on your own?"

"No, actually," Matthew shook his head. "I'm travelling with a friend."

"A fellow trainer?"

"Um, no…"

"Ah…" Lars arched an eyebrow. "Just a companion, then? Or is he a breeder or a co-ordinator?"

"Neither, actually…" Matthew responded. "More like…a researcher."

"I see," Lars nodded, looking slightly interested as he twirled his pipe expertly between his fingers. "If he's the same age as you, then that's an impressive feat. If not, then it's still pretty interesting; not many people are interested in that work field. Now, come on – ask me that question that's been bugging you. What is it, Matthew?"

"Well…" Matthew sighed, feeling slightly intimidated from the tall man's gaze. He also felt really small here. "I was wondering…what exactly are you?"

Lars blinked, "Excuse me?"

"Ack! I'm sorry!" Matthew flushed as he shook his head. "No! What I meant is; what nationality are you?"

Lars arched both eyebrows, however a look of understanding crossed his previously confused expression. He gave a snort, but it was plain to see that he was amused, "I definitely wouldn't mind a question like that. Well, I'm Dutch. I also came from Ocamor City."

Here, Matthew's interest was piqued – he remembered Feliciano had mentioned something to Lovino about their grandfather being in Ocamor City. Did that mean that there was the chance that the Canadian's Dutch partner could know who Lovino was? And if he did, would he get pissed off and try to attack him?

Honestly, Matthew didn't want to fight him – Lars looked like a much more experienced trainer for one thing, and the thought of possibly battling him to defend the Italian was downright frightening.

Before he could say anything else, though, the screen overhead immediately lit up, gaining everyone's attention.

Looking forward, there was a woman with short, curly ginger hair and blue eyes with a beauty mark at the right side of her face. She was wearing a white and blue visor, a pink armband, a blue tank-top, and shorts as well as boots of matching colour. She waved to the large audience watching.

"Bella," breathed Lovino as he watched intrigued from his spot.

"It's battle time!" shouted the woman as she pumped her fist high in the air. Thunderous applause immediately erupted all around the battle room as all the trainers who were taking part of the grand ship's event were now paying attention. "Get ready for some action!" she continued as she raised her other fist.

Lars gave a small smirk at all the cheering and enthusiasm that was around them. He crossed his arms over his chest, "Heh. Sounds just like the Pokémon League."

Matthew looked up at his partner with widened eyes, "The Pokémon League?"

The Dutchman nodded, "Yup…that place…it was just loud in general. My ears almost popped out…"

The Canadian boy was about to ask him what it was like at the Pokémon League and what he was there; considering that only the strongest of trainers or people with enough money for tickets could actually get in, when he caught sight of Michelin who was with her partner – a young dashing Indian man.

The Seychellois girl caught sight of her friend after exchanging some excited chatter with her partner, and immediately waved at him, beaming warmly. Her partner turned his head around curiously, and with a smile himself, gave Matthew a nod of respect. The Canadian boy flushed a little bit, but nodded back as he awkwardly waved back at the pair. Lars arched an eyebrow as he looked around to see what his partner was looking at, and simply stared at their younger opponents.

Michelin was rather intimidated by Matthew's partner – for one thing, he was really tall; a towering figure with the Canadian boy reaching up to his chest. Another thing, the man had really darkened pale green eyes that were glowering intensely with a rather cold flame.

Just staring at those orbs…an unpleasant chill suddenly ran down her spine.

"Welcome trainers to the Battle Tag Royale!" called the woman, with both hands raised up in the air. "I know you're going to have a fine time! I should know – I'm the MC, Lilian!" after her announcement, and was met by more uproarious cheering and catcalling from the observing passengers. "Now, a tag battle, as you can all see, involves two trainers with two Pokémon – however, we've added the twist this year that from a random selection, you'll be partnered with a new trainer! A test of trust and unity between trainers and Pokémon alike! And to possibly even make new bonds! Yes! Bringing everything all together is what this event is all about! And so, let's see who's battling with who!"

She suddenly slammed her fist down on a big, red button, and immediately, the screen projected blocks with numbers – showing the match-ups.

"Looks like things are in order," Lilian the MC nodded as she gave a thumbs-up. "Now remember! In a tag battle, success lies in teamwork, and the union of the spirit between the trainers and their Pokémon! To learn to truly rely on each other, and so, to the team that emerges victorious, we will be rewarding an item that will sure to deepen the connection even more…" suddenly she took out two shimmering bells that were tied with green ribbons – the chiming sound they made was soft, soothing and overall pleasant and calming to the ears. Everyone 'oohed' and 'aahed' in relaxed sighs upon hearing the tinkling. "The beautiful Soothe Bell; a bell that produces a sound so lovely, that it brings both peace and joy to everyone who hears it. And this bell will be the award to our fine tag battle royale winners!"

"Damn…" Lovino gave a whistle from his seat as he adjusted his sunglasses. "That's actually a pretty good prize.

"Now, in every battle that will take place; trainers are only allowed to use one Pokémon per match," continued Lilian. "No time limit, and no substitutions. Whichever team is unable to battle is eliminated then with the results – tomorrow at the same time of seven in the evening, the winners will be matched up against each other – then finally, on the second last day of the cruise – on day three – the battles will hold out for the remaining tag-teams until only one is left and crowned the winner!" she then made a motion to the cell on the screen. "Today, our first battle will be in the C-block! So, it's time for battle!"

"Looks like it's us first," Ramesh noted as he swept his fedora back onto his head. Sure enough, when Michelin looked up at the screen again – their number was flashing in the C-block panel with another one matched alongside it.

The Seychellois girl nodded as she took out her Poké ball and called, "Okay! Go! Buizel!" and with a strong toss of her arm, once the white light subsided, the Sea Weasel immediately popped out, looking excited and ready for battle.

Then suddenly, much to Michelin's surprise, Ramesh stood rather rigidly straight, and then he moved his body around in a spin-like motion – making some gestures with his hands; her Indian partner looked like he was in the middle of some sort of dance. As she watched him in shocked amazement, Ramesh then swept off his fedora again as he spun once more and this time, took a Poké ball out from his suit quite gracefully. "Appear! Milotic!" he called as he threw it out.

Once the white light disappeared, the beautiful Tender Pokémon gave a soft cry as it landed quite heavily to the ground, coiling itself making a sweeping motion with its head; matching its trainer's dance. However, despite the loud noise it caused from its landing, it didn't detract at all from its beauty as it raised its head, looking calmly at its opponents.

"Interesting," Lars rubbed his chin. "Those things are hard to get."

Matthew flipped out his Pokédex to take a look at Milotic's data, "Milotic, the Tender Pokémon," said the Pokédex's mechanical vice. "And the evolved form of Feebas. It is said that a glimpse of Milotic and its beauty will calm any hostile emotions you are feeling. Its lovely scales are described as rainbow-coloured and change colour depending on the viewing angle."

"So pretty…" breathed Michelin.

Ramesh simply laughed, "I'm glad you think so! Now, listen, you attack," he said now softly with a secretive smile at his partner. "Do not worry about the defence – you can just leave that to me, okay?" and with that, he winked after saying so. "I have the perfect battle formula made for this, as well."

Michelin arched her eyebrow, "Battle formula?" that made her think of maths, a subject she wasn't so happy about. "Yeah, right…"

"Scyther, use Razor Wind!" commanded the lass.

"Weezing, you use Sludge Bomb!" shouted her motorcyclist partner.

The opposing Pokémon commenced with their commands while Michelin, her face determined, called, "Buizel, use Water Pulse!"

"Buii!" Buizel placed its paws together and formed a blue ball – then throwing it at the ground, turning it into a huge wave of water, and smashing it straight into the Razor Wind heading their way, causing a great explosion to occur due to the collision.

Satisfaction to say, the onlookers were very eager already at the spectacle.

However, the Sludge Bomb continued flying straight at Buizel and Milotic. Understandably, Buizel looked extremely panicked and was cowering a bit, when Ramesh chose that time to take action.

"Okay, now! Milotic, use Safeguard!" the Indian man called.

"Milo…" the Tender Pokémon's whole body began to glow a dazzling pale green and suddenly, a force-field of the same colour shimmered and formed around them; the blow of Sludge Bomb was still strong, however, there was far less damage than anticipated.

Buizel looked up in wonder at its partner, "Bui…? Bui…"

Milotic simply bowed its head at the Sea Weasel Pokémon, giving a fond smile itself, "Milot…"

"Safeguard," breathed Lovino. "Any move with status rendering effects will take less damage and the effects are nulled. Damn…" the Italian was rubbing his chin. "This flashy bastard knows his shit…"

"Weezing, use Thunderbolt!" the motorcyclist shouted, to which the gaseous Poison Pokémon followed.

"Dodge it, Buizel!" shouted Michelin, only for Ramesh to take charge again.

"Milotic, Protect!" he called in a calm and collected voice as his brown eyes sparkled playfully.

Before Buizel could move, Milotic brought the Sea Weasel Pokémon gently closer to its grand form with its long tail. At once, its fan-shaped, scaled tail was raised, producing a pale green force field to appear surrounding the two Water Pokémon. The Thunderbolt struck the force field instead, so the two Pokémon inside it were unscathed.

"Ahhh…" Michelin stared in awe.

Ramesh gave a chuckle as he swept his fedora back atop his head, "I told you not to worry. You can now do whatever you want, because I will cover you no matter what."

"Got it," grinned Michelin.

"Scyther, X-Scissor!" shouted the lass. "Go!"

"Scyther!" Scyther's large, blade-like forearms were glowing white as it flew straight at the pair, ready to charge.

However, Michelin was taking charge herself, "Buizel, use Aqua Jet!"

"Bui, bui!" the Sea Weasel Pokémon instantly surrounded itself with a great jet stream of water as it then shot forward like a bullet, colliding head-on with Scyther. However, its force and power was greater, so the Mantis Pokémon was knocked back after uttering a loud, pained cry as it slammed straight into one of the transparent walls that surrounded the grounds so no attacks would fly wildly.

"Scy…ther…" the Mantis Pokémon said, seeing stars.

"So, Scyther is unable to battle," concluded the referee.

The lass gave a squeak as the motorcyclist shouted, "Weezing! Hurry up and use Gyro Ball!"

The Poison-type Pokémon then spun into a rapid ball as a glowing purple light was immediately gathering – heading straight for Buizel and Milotic.

"Milotic, use Hyper Beam!" shouted Ramesh, eyes now blazing; fiercely determined.

His Tender Pokémon raised back its head as it opened its mouth where a glowing orange orb was forming, and suddenly, with a great burst of light – it shot forward and smashed straight into Weezing; the force was so strong, that the Poison-type Pokémon actually stopped from spinning and once subsided, crashed to the ground right next to its fallen partner.

"Weezing is unable to battle, too," the referee announced. "The victory goes to Buizel and Milotic!"

"And look at that, folks!" called Lilian as she beamed at the winners. "The first battle of C-block has now been decided!"

"That was rather nice, wasn't it?" Ramesh asked, giving a small smile at seeing how impressed the Seychellois girl was. "Well, that's how I am – I prefer defence; what do you think?"

"That was perfect!" Michelin called ecstatically. "Our attacks matched perfectly!"

Suddenly, to Ramesh's astonishment, the Seychellois girl immediately grabbed hold of his hands and spoke up excitedly, "You have to tell me more and teach me about this battle formula of yours!"

Much to Matthew's surprise, Michelin's Indian partner was flushing furiously at the forward gesture; his smile a little crooked. Lars snickered as he inspected his pipe, "Seems that guy's one of those defensive ones – that girl's sure got an interesting type of partner, that's for sure."

"With a strategy like that, they'll be tough to beat," noted Matthew, both impressed yet nervous.

Lars gave a dark chuckle, "Don't worry 'bout that – there's always a way to get out of a sticky situation."

Three more matches in, and Erika soon found that it was her turn with her wilder, older partner. The Liechtenstein girl was rather nervous since she had never taken part into something like this before (fighting alongside another trainer), however, Jack was quite kind and optimistic. So of course, she felt much better with him beside her as her tag battle partner.

However, when the battle played on, she began to feel the pressure.

She had sent out her Beautifly while Jack told his Marill to sit out this one at the side, and unleashed a Breloom. The opponents, who were a youngster and a camper, let loose a Yanma and a Shelgon, respectively.

And right now, Beautifly and Yanma were going into a very evenly matched fight in the air as they continuously rammed at each other.

"It's Beautifly and Breloom against Yanma and Shelgon!" called Lilian as Erika's Beautifly and the youngster's Yanma charged and rammed at each other again, giving squeaks as they did so.

"Beautifly, use Acrobatics!" shouted Erika. The Butterfly Pokémon obeyed and began flying in more complicated patterns higher up to the ceiling to get more space.

"Yanma, use Steel Wing!" yelled the youngster. Yanma's wings immediately glowed silver-white as it flew higher and higher – easily catching up to Beautifly in quick, steady succession.

"I think Yanma's gonna catch up with that speed!" Jack spoke up.

Erika's green eyes widened when the Australian man's words were true – Beautifly was struck harshly by Yanma's Steel Wing, and after giving an agonized cry, began plummeting down. However, the camper called, "Zen Headbutt, Shelgon!" and his Pokémon immediately began running forward, intent on striking Beautifly.

"Oh no!" Erika gasped, but she shook her head and called. "Beautifly, quick! Straight up!"

"There's no time!" Jack now shouted as he pointed; his eyes blazing furious flames. "Now, Breloom, use Brick Break!"

"Bre…!" the Mushroom Pokémon brought back one of its claws, making it glow white, then with great speed, rushed forward and slammed it straight into Shelgon, knocking it backwards. "Loom!" throughout that, Beautifly was able to pick itself up from smashing into the ground, becoming airborne again.

"Whoa!" the camper's eyes widened. "What power…"

"What are you doing?!" the youngster demanded his partner. "Yanma was doing so well!"

"Oh, yeah?" the camper challenged. "Why don't you think of doing a counterattack, then?"

Matthew sighed from where he was watching – with Lars, Michelin and Ramesh with him, "This is no time or place for those two to fight…"

Lars snorted, looking highly amused, "This has got to be the worst tag battle of all time…"

"True blue…" Jack flashed a thumbs-up at Erika. "Why don't we do this together and win this shebang, sheila?"

Erika nodded, "You're right; let's do it, then!" she turned her attention back onto her Pokémon, calling, "Beautifly, use Silver Wind!"

"Beauti…" the Butterfly Pokémon began rapidly flapping its wings as a great gale of sparkling winds blew harshly onto Yanma and Shelgon who appeared to be suffering.

"It looks like that Silver Wind has caused some serious damage!" announced Lilian excitedly; the audience sharing her interest.

"Now, Shelgon, use Dragonbreath!" yelled the camper, to which his Pokémon obeyed; a great breath of gold and dark violet appearing.

"Here it goes, Breloom mate, use Drain Punch!" shouted Jack as he did a punch forward himself.

"Bre…" the Mushroom Pokémon's claw was reared back and glowing gold, when suddenly, it leapt forward and punched straight through the Dragonbreath – immediately meeting its mark.

"Using that Silver Wind as a beautiful opening," said Lilian. "Breloom's Drain Punch is causing a massive amount of damage!"

"Acrobatics!" called Erika to Beautifly.

The Butterfly Pokémon immediately did the complicated loops and turns as it flew faster and faster, eventually slamming straight into Yanma, who took a heap of damage since Acrobatics was a Flying type move.

"Shelgon and Yanma are unable to battle," the referee announced after taking a close look at the two fallen Pokémon. He raised the flag in direction to Erika and Jack, "The winners are Beautifly and Breloom."

"We won," Erika breathed, her hands clasped together

"Beautifly~" the Butterfly Pokémon cooed in agreement as it settled upon Breloom's head. The Mushroom Pokémon gave what appeared to be a light-hearted chuckled as it raised its claw up happily, "Breloom!"

"Yeah," Jack beamed as he flashed a thumbs-up again at Erika. "Good job out there, sheila."

Erika shook her head as she bowed her head at him, hands now clasped at her front, "No, I should be thanking you. I'm so impressed by the brilliant call you made, and how sensational you were with your Breloom."

The Australian man blinked at all the fancy words; he understood them perfectly, but he was amazed at seeing a girl at Erika's age using them, "Yeah?"

"Alright!" Michelin pumped her fist. "Now Erika's won, too!"

"It'll be our turn really soon," Matthew glanced up at his partner, who was casually fiddling with his stylish pipe.

And soon enough, it was.

Matthew was feeling the knots in his stomach churn and twist as he stood next to his taller partner, swallowing the lump in his throat. The Canadian boy could see that Lars seemed more interested with his pipe than the opponents, who were a rich boy and a scientist, before them right at that very moment, and had one hand into the white pouch he had at his hip.

"And now here was have our final battle for the night!" announced Lilian. "I'm positive that in this case, last is certainly not least!"

"Okay…" Matthew licked his lips as he began to contemplate on who to choose. After a second or two, he took one of his Poké balls and immediately threw it out. "Yeah! Go, Monferno!"

"Ferno!" the Playful Pokémon chattered, looking absolutely pumped for the battle and because it was chosen.

The scientist and the rich boy both sent out their own Pokémon after yelling their names, which were revealed to be a Rhydon and a Magmar, respectively.

Lars cocked his head, still looking rather uninterested, though his pale green eyes had a little flame ignited in them. "Not bad…" the Dutchman said as he then lit his pipe. Next, he placed it in his mouth, eyes gently shut as he took out a Poké ball from the white pouch. His eyes then shot open again as he reared back his arm and tossed the Poké ball out. "Sceptile, you're up!"

Once the white light dissipated, the Forest Pokémon gave a loud war-cry, "Sceptile!" and landed agilely onto the ground. It then took out a stick and placed it in its own mouth, to which, Matthew couldn't help but feel, seemed akin to its trainer.

"Magmar, use Lava Plume!" the rich boy shouted.

At once, Magmar unleashed the attack – causing a vast amount of flames and smoke to emanate the battleground, even striking at Rhydon.

"Whoa, what's going on?!" called Michelin, brown eyes widening. "Rhydon just got hit, too!"

"Lava Plume," Ramesh breathed. "Fire-type technique that hits everyone who is participating in the battle. But, consider also that Fire-type moves will not have a big effect on Rhydon at all…a brilliant strategy in my opinion."

Lars however didn't look worried at all, much to the nervousness of the Canadian boy. Instead, the Dutchman took out his pipe as he called, "Sceptile, go!"

"Scep!" the Forest Pokémon suddenly leapt and shot on through, going into the Lava Plume.

"Huh? Sceptile?" the rich boy's eyes widened while his scientist partner's jaw dropped open in shock. "But with the flames this strong, it won't stand a chance!"

"Don't be afraid to go through it yourself," Lars told Matthew calmly. "You may need to take risks in the battles you take. Also, remember; your Monferno is partially Fire-type; it should be able to withstand the flames. In fact, the flames can even boost its power, I believe."

"Really?" Matthew's violet eyes widened at the Dutchman's words. Seeing him nod, the Canadian boy nodded and licked his lips, deciding to give it a shot, "Okay, then…Monferno; follow Sceptile!"

"Fer?" Monferno looked at its trainer, a little worried, but seeing Matthew nod, the Playful Pokémon swallowed its unease and immediately leapt into the Lava Plume, too, eventually catching up to Sceptile. And at once, the fire that blazed on its tail was burning higher and brilliantly.

"Go on," urged Lars.

"Monferno, use Flame Wheel!" shouted Matthew.

At once, Monferno complied, spinning into a rapid ball of flames. However, the fire it produced glowed and burned both strongly and brilliantly.

"Whoa, look at that!" Jack marvelled.

"I see," Ramesh nodded. "They're having Monferno use Magmar's Lava Plume to boost the power of Monferno's own Fire-type attacks."

Monferno then burst through the Lava Plume and struck at Rhydon who raised its arms to protect itself. It knocked Rhydon back, however, it didn't seem to be that much affected by the Flame Wheel. The Playful Pokémon landed on the ground from the force on its feet as it growled, looking irritated.

"Hammer Arm, go!" shouted the scientist to Rhydon.

Rhydon gave a growl as it reared back its arm, causing it to glow brilliantly and brought it forward to strike at Monferno when a command suddenly shouted right next to the Canadian boy.

"Grab Monferno and use Earthquake!"

"Tile!" Sceptile suddenly shot out of the Lava Plume in astonishing speed and took hold of Monferno, much to the Playful Pokémon's (and everyone else's) shock. The Forest Pokémon gave a great leap, effectively dodging Rhydon's Hammer Arm, and after spinning in the air, it landed straight into the ground with one of its green claws glowing brilliantly, at once causing a great tremor to resound throughout the battlefield.

The rich boy and the scientist were giving yelps as they almost fell over from the massive force that was done by Lars' Sceptile, and even Matthew himself was almost about to fall over. However, the Canadian boy turned to look at his partner and saw that Lars was standing his ground.

"Nice assist!" cheered Jack.

Erika nodded, "Indeed it was."

The Earthquake was able to knock off both Rhydon and Magmar back; appearing to have taken quite a considerable amount of damage as well. The scientist grit his teeth, "Heads up! I knew that guy was dangerous just by looking at him! We gotta be careful of him and his Sceptile!"

"Right!" the rich boy nodded in agreement as he shouted. "Magmar, Protect!"

"Rhydon, use Surf!" called the scientist. "Go!"

Magmar immediately produced a light green force field to surround itself as a massive tidal wave formed with Rhydon surfing on it, heading straight for both Sceptile and Monferno, to who the Forest Pokémon placed down.

"Watch out!" screamed Lovino from his spot. "It's coming straight for the both of you bastards! Fuck! A Rhydon that know freaking Surf?!"

Matthew was understandably scared here – that wave was going to ram straight at his Monferno and Lars' Sceptile. Lars' Sceptile was a Grass-type, so it would be no problem for it to withstand the Water-type technique, but Monferno on the other hand…

Lars could easily sense the fear in his partner, and he didn't like that. The Dutchman spoke up, "Hey…" when Matthew turned to face him, Lars gave him a very, very small smile as he jerked a thumb at his chest. "Just follow my lead…okay?"

Matthew blinked, but nodded; he knew that he had to place his trust in his partner, and so, that was what he would do. Tag battles were about trust between both trainers and Pokémon, and so, the Canadian boy took upon it as well. "Yeah, okay," he said as he nodded again. "I will."

Lars' smile expanded only slightly, and he murmured, "That's what I'd like to hear…" his face then morphed into a serious expression again as he shouted, "Sceptile, leap up and use Leaf Blade to punch down!" he then turned quickly to Matthew, "Use your fists!"

"O-okay, then!" Matthew then commanded. "Monferno, you use Mach Punch and follow Sceptile!"

Sceptile simply gave a smirk at its smaller and younger companion as it leapt up with its leaves glowing a brilliant green and forming a scythe-like shape while both of Monferno's fists were glowing light blue and followed suit. Suddenly, Sceptile rushed forward and slashed right at the waves, causing a gigantic rift in the middle, and effectively, causing the Surf to disperse, thus shocking Rhydon.

Monferno then caught on quickly as it rushed forward and began striking and punching Rhydon determinedly with a series of Mach Punches, eventually causing it to crash to the ground unceremoniously on its back, effectively knocking it out.

"What a move!" marvelled Lilian. "Sceptile and Monferno's brilliant teamwork has knocked Rhydon out cold!"

"No! Rhydon!" the scientist wailed while his rich boy partner was stunned, "What an attack…"

"Rhydon's unable to battle," announced the referee after close observation.

"Time to go nuts," Lars said with a dark chuckle. "Sceptile, use Leaf Blade once again!"

"Scep!" the Forest Pokémon rushed forward in a great burst of speed while Matthew called, "Monferno, use Dig!" which, caused the Playful Pokémon to leap up and make a quick hole underground.

"Magmar, use Fire Punch!" yelled the rich boy.

Magmar rushed forward; its fist engulfed into flames as it slammed against Sceptile's Leaf Blade. Both Pokémon were gritting their teeth as they stood firmly on their ground, determined not to lose.

"Both are evenly matched!" remarked Lilian.

Suddenly, Monferno popped up from underground and slammed its fist right into Magmar's chin, giving an uppercut, and thus, knocking Magmar back and right next to its partner, knocking it out.

"Magmar is unable to battle," announced the referee upon closer inspection, and causing him to raise his flag hand. "Sceptile and Monferno are the winners!"

"What a match!" called Lilian. "That means that the final tag team to make it to tomorrow's rounds will be the team of Matthew and Lars."

Matthew heaved a sigh of relief as his heart slowed from its rapid beating in his chest. This caused the Dutchman to look down at him, pale green eyes toning down with worry as he asked, "You alright there, kid?"

The Canadian boy nodded, "Yeah…but wow; that was some battle, huh?" seeing Lars shrug one shoulder, Matthew added, "You really know what you're doing – you're a really great trainer!"

Lars snorted, but a light red dusted at his pale cheekbones at the compliment, "I'm a trainer…but not good enough yet…"

"Not good enough?" echoed Matthew in confusion; really, if it weren't for the Dutchman, Matthew would be pounded in, and Monferno would've been hurt really badly. What did Lars even mean? Remembering that the Dutchman had mentioned something about the Pokémon League, the Canadian boy was more convinced that maybe, just maybe…Lars had competed himself before.

"Besides, it's a tag battle – we need to work together. Well, just rest up and we'll get another shot tomorrow," Lars said as he patted Matthew's shoulder. "Your Pokémon earned the rest. See you tomorrow, Matthew."

Matthew could only watch the Dutchman return his Pokémon and walk away with the pipe now smoking billowing, white-grey clouds.

Pokétalia Maple Version: Fly High!

The next day, Matthew and Lovino were going around the boat again – this time, inspecting the shops and stalls to see if there was anything interesting. Throughout this time, they were both discussing amongst each other about the Battle Tag Royale, the Shadow Pokémon escapade, and their new friends they met.

It was during the afternoon at around lunch time, the trainers all decided to meet up with their distinctive partners.

Michelin was going to meet up with Ramesh in the ballroom and Erika was going to meet up with Jack at the water park while Matthew was going to meet Lars at the ship's interior garden.

Lovino tagged along with Matthew, and the both of them saw that Lars was sitting on a bench; his face stretched down to a relaxed expression and his pipe in his mouth, which exuded some soft, grey-white billows of smoke. His Lopunny sitting by his side, also looking quite content. Suddenly, Lopunny's ears twitched upon hearing the Canadian boy and the Italian approaching and blinked at the sight of them coming.

"Punny?" Lopunny nudged its trainer, to which, Lars cracked an eye open and turn his head to face the pair. "Good you made it on time," the Dutchman rumbled.

Matthew nodded, "So…we're gonna start training?"

Lars stood from his place with his Lopunny following suit. The Dutchman turned to face Matthew and took his pipe out from his mouth. "Yeah, we are," he then pointed to what appeared to be a green blur that was running and dashing at great speeds. "Who you thinking of using for this night's match?"

Matthew gave a shrug, "Honestly, I'm not sure…"

Lars himself gave a chuckle that rumbled in his throat, "Fair enough; just train all of them at the same time."

"What is that?" Matthew asked, pointing at the green blur that kept dashing around. He released all of his Pokémon, and they all stared in wonder at the fast figure. That is, everyone except Pikachu, who just stared blankly.

"You know who it is."

Suddenly, the green blur stopped right near them, revealing it to be Lars' Sceptile. The Forest Pokémon had its stick still poking out from its mouth, and it stood upright from its previous position on all-fours. Monferno immediately brightened upon the sight of it and waved enthusiastically, "Ferno! Monferno!"

"Tile…" Sceptile gave a little smirk as it nodded its head. Then it leaned down and chirped some more, "Sceptile. Scep, scep, tile, Sceptile."

"Foo?" Mienfoo looked slightly confused, but Monferno pumped a fist, looking absolutely determined, "Monferno! Ferno! Mon!"

Sceptile seemed amused with the Playful Pokémon's response, and with that, it gave a little challenging motion as if to say 'bring it on', and suddenly, burst in a great amount of speed away. At once, Monferno chattered excitedly as it burst forward, too – running after Sceptile. Pidgeotto looked rather taken aback as did Kumajirou. Mienfoo gave a little sigh as it shook its head, but it ran after the pair. Following suit, Pidgeotto took flight, flying after them all with Kumajirou running on all fours, also pursuing.

Pikachu stayed in its spot, watching indifferently at the scene before it.

"What are they doing-?" wondered Matthew, to be answered when Monferno caught up with Sceptile.

"Monferno!" the Playful Pokémon's fists glowed light blue for a Mach Punch, and immediately lashed out at Sceptile.

Matthew was shocked, and was about to command for his Pokémon to stop, when Lars placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hold on…let's see what happens first."

Looking back, Sceptile didn't see fazed at all – on the contrary, it gave a smirk as it easily back-stepped and dodged all of Monferno's oncoming Mach Punches with great speed and agility. Next, the four leaves on Sceptile's wrists glowed light green as it formed into two – signalling that a Leaf Blade was coming into place. It immediately swung at Monferno…

…only to collide with Mienfoo's glowing white paws from Brick Break.

"Foo!" Mienfoo's face was pulled down to a focused and firm expression as it tried pushing its much smaller form against the larger Grass-type Pokémon.

"Tile…" Sceptile's golden eyes glittered in interest as they then narrowed and darted off to the side in time to see Kumajirou unleash an Ice Beam straight at it. Sceptile leapt up only for the Ice Beam to hit Monferno square in the chest.

"Ouch…" Lars arched an eyebrow while Matthew flinched at the blunder.

Monferno however shook it off and waved a dismissive paw at Kumajirou and Mienfoo, then ran after Sceptile again, this time, chasing the Forest Pokémon up a tree.

"Looks like they're training by themselves already," Lars noted. "Same old Sceptile…"

"Same old?" inquired Matthew.

Lars nodded, "He's pretty independent when it comes to training; always has, always will. Go on, try and command your Pokémon to try and hit him."

Matthew stared at the Dutchman, about to ask why he himself wasn't going to place commands onto his Sceptile, when he saw the Forest Pokémon suddenly slam his Leaf Blade right at Monferno, but since the Playful Pokémon dodged, it hit Pidgeotto instead, causing it to screech as it tumbled backwards a bit. The Canadian boy instantly took charge and called onto all of his Pokémon – determined to at least lay one hit on the Sceptile.

Sceptile turned its head, looking far more pumped at seeing its opponents' trainer come into play, and looked at his master. Lars simply gave a nod of encouragement. Sceptile looked nodded back in response, looking quite satisfied at the liberation.

"Lopunny! Lop!" Lars' Lopunny called, looking a little worried.

"Tile, Scep," the Forest Pokémon reassured its Rabbit comrade as it simply made a 'come at me' gesture at Matthew and his Pokémon, and fled further into the interior garden, causing Matthew and his Pokémon to go after him in hot pursuit.

Leaving Lars, Lovino and Lopunny.

The Italian narrowed his eyes behind his pair of sunglasses at the Dutchman standing beside him. "I thought you were already back at Ocamor City, pipe bastard…" he grumbled.

Lars simply snorted, "I was at Ocamor City. But, yeah…things are just too hectic for my taste." Seeing Lovino's expression tighten, the Dutchman huffed some smoke as he questioned, "Is it true? Emma told me that you apparently stole something from your old man's old man; don't really care if you did, but did you?"

Lovino snorted in response as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Yeah? And so what if I did?"

Instead of getting a scolding, the smoking Dutchman reared back his head and let out a dry, dark laugh, "Hah! Why does that not surprise me? You were always good at pick-pocketing – yeah, I saw you steal the idiot's poffins at times when he wasn't looking when you were a kid. But, really?"

"Wasn't that hard," Lovino murmured, his shoulders relaxing at the casual conversation between himself and an old friend. "Nonno's password takes no shit to solve, and really, his aides should've paid more attention to the thing rather than sit on their asses all day and talk about pompous shit on other crap…"

"Hmph, fair enough," Lars gave a half-hearted shrug as he took another inhale from his pipe. "But, what interests me is that you're here…and you seem to know my tag partner pretty well, too. How exactly did that happen?"

"Shit happens," replied Lovino. "I just randomly bumped into Matteo, and now I am travelling with him. There a problem with me knowing him?"

"No," responded Lars evenly. "Just kinda random. But, hey – didn't you say you wanted to travel around the region before? Well, I guess this chance was handed to you with travelling with that kid."

"After a shit load of crap happened…" grumbled Lovino. "You said you already went home at Ocamor, right? Well…how is everyone? Are they doing fine?"

"Emma's fine," said Lars tonelessly. "She's worried for both you and Antonio – that guy's stressing around looking desperately for you, you know?"

"I know," Lovino heaved a heavy sigh as he rubbed his temples. "Matteo and I saw him at Feral Town talking to Arthur…a lot of major shit happened there, so Matteo and I had to sort stuff out."

"Arthur needing help?" the Dutchman arched his eyebrow in surprise. "Well…that's a first…"

"His Buneary was in a load of trouble."

"Ahhh…"

"And what about you, anyway?" Lovino arched an eyebrow. "I thought you were supposed to stay with that other bastard – the one that everyone says looks like you? Did you get ditched by him?"

Here, Lars' eye twitched as he looked visibly annoyed, "How the hell does he even look like me? Who said that? They need their eyes checked…well, he's busy with his own crap; he has work to do, now, and well…at first, he said that he wouldn't like it, but I knew – he ended up loving with what he was doing. Makes him feel on top of the world from his great height."

Lovino snorted, "I only heard stuff about the Frontier. Don't really know much else about it, except you have to be a badass trainer to get into participation from it."

"Indeed," murmured Lars darkly. "And even to this day, nobody's been known to beat the king yet. After the previous one got dethroned years ago…" he then shrugged and placed a hand on Lovino's shoulder. "But, no doubt; I have the burning feeling that your partner will someday reach that limit – and you'll be there to support him."

"Much like you and your bastard friend?" asked Lovino quietly.

Lars gave a small, dry chuckle, "You could say that. Well, whatever's been going on with you; honestly, I don't give a damn – that's your business, and you and I know perfectly that if the idiot finds you, he'll just drag you back home. That certainly isn't good for a guy your age – you need to experience the world yourself without someone coddling you; besides, travelling is a nice experience with someone by you, too." Heaving another billow of smoke, the Dutchman concluded, "And…something tells me you have some sort of unfinished business with Matthew – the both of you…"

"You can say that again," sighed Lovino exasperatedly, deflating a bit. "Shade shit…"

"Shade?" Lars arched an eyebrow. "Getting yourself involve with them? The both of you?" seeing the Italian nod, the Dutchman arched his other eyebrow as well. "Well, I'll be, then…"

"That's pretty much how Matteo and I first met," said Lovino. "I got involved with some shit with Shade, and Matteo just decided to help out. Ever since, I've been travelling along with him. I never expected to end up with him…"

"Having fun?"

Lovino's face was tainted with a cherry red as he snorted, "You're kidding me, right?"

However, it was quite obvious to see that he was lying through his teeth, and seemed quite fond of travelling around with the Canadian boy. Lars simply arched an eyebrow as he looked to and from the Italian and his partner. They were an odd combination to say the least, but it appeared to work perfectly fine; especially with Matthew having the patience of a saint to put up with someone as ill-tempered and moody as Lovino. "You know that one day, you'll have to come to Ocamor," spoke up Lars. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know that, pipe bastard," grunted Lovino. "But that's still far away. So, until then…"

"It's better to tell him everything before that event so he could be more in tune with what the hell's going on around you," said Lars.

"He knows about what I've done," said Lovino tonelessly. "That I stole one of my nonno's inventions."

"How about you yourself?"

"…"

Eventually, Matthew and the Pokémon came back, but it was quite clear to see that there was a great workout in finally landing a hit on Lars' Sceptile, who was also panting, but looked immensely satisfied. Matthew's own Pokémon all looked completely frazzled from the experience. After that, Lars then took charge on his own Pokémon and began training more properly with his younger tag battle partner. Matthew only gained a little amount of rest before he was training hard with his older partner.

And throughout the whole thing, Lovino couldn't help but see how much Matthew was growing.

'Damn…' he thought to himself. 'He said he was a starting trainer, right? Fuck…that means he's only sixteen or something like that, and he's already this strong? Chigi…wait, when the hell is his birthday, anyway?!'

He decided he would ask the Canadian boy when they got back to their cabin for a little rest before reaching the Battle Tag Royale again for the night. However, after bidding Lars goodbye and returning to their cabin, before Lovino could ask, he froze upon the Canadian boy's statement.

"I know about you and Lars – you both know each other."

Lovino stopped and stared across at his Canadian partner. The Italian blinked and shuffled a little in his spot before questioning, "How the hell did you know?!"

"I overheard you guys," responded Matthew calmly. "You were talking about a lot of things about home in Ocamor City. I didn't understand a lot of things that you both said, but what I do understand is that you both know each other pretty well. So…" the Canadian boy planted himself on the couch. "How do you and Lars know each other? And for how long have you known each other? If you don't mind me asking; you don't have to tell me everything, but just answer those questions." The Canadian boy knew that Lovino would still feel awkward and not unready to speak about his full life yet, and Matthew didn't want to pressure his partner and upset him.

'Fuck you, Lars…' Lovino thought to himself as he placed himself on the edge of the bed. "Pipe bastard? I knew him for…a pretty long time, actually. We lived under the same roof, he was just that guy that was always there, but other than him being tall and stinking the place with his smoke, I never had a problem with him, actually…he was…kinda like a friend…"

"He seems to think of you as one," Matthew gave a soft smile. "I think he cares about you, too."

Lovino snorted, "He may look tall and intimidating and shit, he's actually soft – he has a fondness of tulips and rabbits. But…" the Italian rubbed his head. "He definitely knows a thing or two about battling…" Lovino then settled his amber eyes right onto Matthew, "There, that's it – anything else?" however, the look in his expression, Matthew knew meant, 'There better not…'

To which, Matthew simply nodded and said, "Yeah, that's all, really. For now, at least." He reminded himself that when Lovino felt ready, he would finally open more. He then looked out to see that the sky was already becoming dark and rubbed his stomach after hearing it rumble slightly, giving a sheepish chuckle, "Well, maple…I'm getting hungry. How about we get some pasta for dinner tonight, Lovino?"

Lovino simply shrugged, "Cheh…whatever…" however, he was inwardly grateful that Matthew patient; the Italian really liked that trait of his, and honestly…sometimes, he felt that maybe he was exasperating or tiring his Canadian partner. However, just from their interactions, it seemed that Matthew didn't have a problem with him at all and they made nice conversations together, too.

'Friend, huh?' a small tug reached the corner of his lips as his eyes settled upon the Canadian boy. Seeing him smile made him want to smile, too.

And honestly, he didn't know why.

Pokétalia Maple Version: Fly High!

"And now we've reached our final battle for the night!" announced Lilian as she raised a fist, causing a loud uproarious cheer to erupt throughout the place.

Matthew saw before him that his and Lars' opponents were a psychic and the one trainer that was continuously harassing Lars and who Erika beat at the shooting gallery. The trainer was smirking as he glared across from his end of the battlefield. Lars himself looked immensely uninterested.

The psychic sent out a Metagross while the trainer shouted, "Hah! Now it's time for me to crush you! Are you ready to lose?!"

Lars gave a yawn, "Sorry, kid – you say something?"

The trainer's face instantly reddened in rage as he shouted, "You-! How dare you! Go! Seviper!"

"Seviper!" the Fang Snake Pokémon hissed, baring its long, deadly, crimson fangs at the opposing side. Its red eyes glaring right at them.

"Why don't you send out your girly Lopunny and let's do it!" the trainer challenged obnoxiously.

Matthew was about to stand up for Lars by saying that the Dutchman didn't have to follow what he said, but Lovino beat him to it, screaming from his spot, "He doesn't have to listen to your bullshit demands, you little piece of shit!" The Canadian boy could see that there was a mother who was covering her child's ear right next to the Italian.

Lars however simply snorted and took out a Poké ball from his white pouch. "Go, Lopunny!" and with that, he tossed the ball out, released the Rabbit Pokémon.

"Punny! Lop!" Lars' Lopunny exclaimed as it landed quite daintily on the battlefield.

"She's all ready," the Dutchman said calmly. "And I am, too."

"And me!" spoke up Matthew as he threw his Poké ball out into the field. "Go, Mienfoo!"

"Foo!" the little Martial Arts Pokémon jabbed its paws out as it appeared determined to battle, too.

"Hah! You guys are going down!" declared the rude trainer. His older psychic partner simply rolled his eyes as he called, "Metagross, use Bullet Punch!"

"Meta…!" the Iron Leg Pokémon's massive, metallic arms glowed dangerously red, and began spinning on its side.

"Mienfoo, use Swift!" shouted Matthew.

"Foo!" the Martial Arts Pokémon reared back its head and unleashed star-shaped rays of energy right at the opponents.

However, the rude trainer called, "Poison Fang, Seviper!"

"Sevi…!" Seviper immediately coiled forward over Metagross, its jaws open and ready to settle its now glowing violet fangs onto little Mienfoo.

"What cooperation between Seviper and Metagross!" commented Lilian at the scene playing before everyone. Lovino gritted his teeth as he watched in anticipation along with Michelin, Erika, Ramesh and Jack.

"Lopunny, use Blizzard!" called Lars as he took hold of his pipe.

"Lopunny, lop!" the Rabbit Pokémon opened her mouth and unleashed the great Ice-type attack on the two opponents. However, Seviper simply bit at the ice and dissipated the Blizzard. And, as a result, Metagross was able to come forward with its Bullet Punch and strike Mienfoo, causing it to shriek and fall back.

"Mienfoo, are you alright?!" asked Matthew in alarm. However, at seeing the little Martial Arts Pokémon easily leap back up, the Canadian boy sighed in relief, "Good…now use Brick Break on Metagross!"

"Mien…foo!" the Martial Arts Pokémon's paws glowed white as it dashed straight at the Fang Snake Pokémon.

"Magnet Rise!" called the psychic. At once, the Iron Leg Pokémon's whole body was surrounded by a light, golden aura and it raised itself up and away from Mienfoo's Brick Break.

"Seviper, use Dragon Tail!" shouted the rude trainer.

"Seviper!" the Fang Snake Pokémon's tail glowed light blue and swung it forward, slamming straight into Mienfoo, causing it to shriek in pain again, and knocking it backwards on the battlefield.

"X-Scissor!" the trainer shouted, grinning madly. "Knock that nuisance away!"

"Lopunny, use Fire Punch!" shouted Lars, now looking furious. Matthew felt a shiver run down his spine at how darkened those pale green eyes had become and the creases that formed onto Lars' face due to his scowl.

Lopunny also looked irritated herself, her paw was clenched into a fist that was engulfed into flames as she brought it forward, colliding straight into Seviper's X-Scissor. The trainer and his psychic partner both looked really shocked at the sudden attack and that the Rabbit Pokémon even had such a move in her arsenal.

"What a shocker!" remarked Lilian. "Lopunny was able to stop Seviper dead its tracks with a dazzling Fire Punch!"

"Metagross, use Bullet Punch!" commanded the psychic, taking charge.

"Mienfoo, Brick Break on Metagross!" shouted Matthew. "Hurry!"

"Foo!" Mienfoo quickly ran forward and applied the move onto Metagross, who gave a loud yell as it was knocked backwards, landing on all four of its gigantic limbs.

"And Mienfoo chooses to counterstrike Metagross before it could come any closer!" called Lilian.

"So intense…" breathed Erika. "It looks so evenly matched out there. I didn't now that Lopunny can learn Fire Punch."

"Definitely not impossible," said Lovino, causing Michelin, Erika, Ramesh and Jack to look up at him. "Lopunny can learn moves that are pretty unusual if it's the offspring of certain breeding combinations. Maybe Lars' Lopunny was a Buneary offspring to a Lopunny mother and a different Pokémon father. Also…Lopunny can learn the punches from tutoring if a Move Tutor is capable of doing that…"

"Wow…" whistled Jack. "That Lars certainly is a beaut at battling…bottling, his blood's worth…"

"Seviper, use Wrap!" shouted the trainer, looking greatly frustrated now. The Fang Snake obeyed and immediately coiled around Mienfoo, squeezing it hard, causing Mienfoo to squeak, and for Matthew's comrades to gasp in shock. Lovino grit his teeth angrily at the sight.

"Get in there, Lopunny – use Attract on Seviper!" shouted Lars.

"Lopunny~" the Rabbit Pokémon then gave a wink and spun gracefully around once with her paws outstretched then reached to her mouth and blew a kiss – releasing multiple pink hearts with pink sparkles around them, floating straight at Seviper who still had Mienfoo in its Wrap.

"Get out of there, Seviper!" shrieked the trainer, to which the Fang Snake Pokémon obeyed, so the Attract ended up hitting Mienfoo.

Lars blanched, "Crap! That wasn't supposed to happen…"

However, when the pink hearts contacted with Mienfoo, much to everyone's surprise, the little Martial Arts Pokémon simply got back up again from landing and brushed itself off from the dust.

"Oh, Attract had no effect?" questioned Ramesh, blinking.

"Is your Mienfoo a girl?" Lars inquired his partner.

Matthew was quiet, "Honestly…" he looked at Mienfoo, who looked expectedly at its trainer. "I really had no idea…"

Just from that sentence, Mienfoo looked absolutely affronted.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Matthew instantly apologized as he shook his hands hurriedly.

"Seviper, use Flamethrower on Lopunny!" screamed the trainer. "I am not losing to this guy!"

"Sevi…" the Fang Snake Pokémon reared back its head where flames were already gathering in its mouth, and unleashed a fully last as it brought its head back forward and opened its jaws even more. "Per!"

Mienfoo instantly stood before up straight and began withstanding the flames with her paws outstretched before it could land on the Rabbit Pokémon. The little Martial Arts Pokémon grit her teeth as she tried to stand her ground.

"In that case…" sighed the psychic as he stretched out his arm. "Metagross, use Bullet Punch!"

"Meta!" the Iron Leg Pokémon's arms glowed dangerously red as it began spinning, heading straight for Mienfoo.

"Lopunny, your chance! Use Fire Punch!" yelled Lars.

The Rabbit Pokémon's paws were clenched into tight fists as she rushed forward and slammed her blazing fists right onto Metagross, who gave a metallic roar of pain. Suddenly, the Iron Leg Pokémon was knocked back and smashed into the ground.

"Metagross!" the psychic gasped, eyes widening upon seeing his Pokémon knocked out.

"Metagross is unable to battle," announced the referee after closer inspection.

"What a relief…" Erika sighed as she placed a hand over her chest. "I was so scared for the both of them…"

"Indeed," agreed Ramesh. "Unbelievable…"

"Go for it, you guys!" called Michelin as she raised a fist, punching it in the air. Jack agreed with her, "Yeah! You blokes can do it!"

"Your turn, Mienfoo!" shouted Matthew. "No go for it!" the little Martial Arts Pokémon complied, running forward.

"Urgh! Seviper, you use Poison Fang!" yelled the trainer. The Fang Snake Pokémon instantly rushed forward with its fangs bared and glowing purple with poison.

"Dodge it!"

Mienfoo easily leapt out of the way and ran along Seviper's body in the process.

"What the hell?!" cried the trainer.

"Now use Rock Slide!" commanded Matthew.

"Foo!" Mienfoo's fists glowed white again as she raised both of them up. Multiple white rings of energy appeared above and around her, then next, several large boulders came out of the ripples of energy and rained down heavily upon Seviper.

"Sevi…!" the Fang Snake Pokémon hissed in pain as it was knocked forward.

"Finish it off with Brick Break now!" called Matthew.

"Mien…" the Martial Arts Pokémon's fists glowed white as she came forward and slammed down right under Seviper's chin, causing it to screech in pain and knock it back to its side of the battlefield, effectively knocking it out.

"Seviper is unable to battle," the referee announced after closely inspecting Seviper. He then raised his flag in direction to Matthew and Lars, "The winners are Mienfoo and Lopunny!"

"Maple! We did it!" exclaimed Matthew happily. Lars' shoulder relaxed as he gave an amused snort, "Heh…"

The trainer's eyes popped out of their sockets as he yelled, "No! No! How could that be?! How could I lose to them!" he then whipped around and glared at his psychic partner, "You! It's all your fault! Your Metagross couldn't even withstand a Lopunny?!"

The psychic glowered angrily, "You think it's my fault?! The blame goes onto us both for this loss!"

"No! Your Metagross was too weak to withstand even a measly hit from that stupid Lopunny!"

There was a loud whacking noise and everyone was shocked at the sight before them.

Lars had gotten over to the opponent's side of the field, and with his hand raised in the air and there being a red handprint on the trainer's face, it was plain to see to everyone around that he had slapped him.

"You shut your trap," said Lars sharply. "Your partner is perfectly right – it's both of your faults. Just because fault also goes onto you, doesn't mean you go and blame others for it, you little piece of crap."

"You son of a bitch!" snarled the trainer. "How dare you!"

"Enough!" Lilian chose to cut in, her hands on her hips. Upon her raised voice, the trainer immediately froze and stopped from his actions. "Mr Lars is perfectly right – in a tag battle, the blame of a loss goes onto both trainers, not just one. You have a lack of respect for your partner, and you should take a lesson in that course, first, before handling Pokémon of your very own. Now, get out of the battlefield."

The trainer's face was bright red, but he chattered his teeth angrily as he threw a tantrum and left. Lovino snorted in his direction, "Good fucking riddance…"

Matthew sighed as he nodded, "I know…"

Lilian immediately plastered a smile back onto her face as she called to the audience again, "And now! Looks like we have our final eight tag teams coming on for tomorrow's showdowns! The ultimate winning tag team of the event will receive the prize of the Soothe Bell!"

"Little piece of crap," Lars snorted as Lopunny trudged to his side. He nodded at her, "Glad he's finally gotten karma to bite his ass."

"But it looks like we all made it," said Michelin happily. "Can't wait!"

Pokétalia Maple Version: Fly High!

"The final day of our Battle Tag Royale has been a blast!" called Lilian, to which the vast crowd agreed with enthusiastic, uproarious cheers. "And now, we've already moved on from one half of our semi-finals!"

The screen then showed Michelin waving enthusiastically with Buizel bouncing up and down happily while Ramesh had his arms crossed over his chest, looking quite pleased while his Lilligant folded her hands before her front and gave a polite bow.

"And the tag team of Michelin and Ramesh is moving on to our final round! Their combination looking sharper than ever!" said Lilian. "Now, let's bring out our second half to the semi-final's teams!" she then gestured to the battlefield. "It's the team of Jack and Erika against Matthew and Lars!"

"I know you and that bloke are friends, sheila," Jack said in acknowledgement, gesturing at Matthew. "But, don't hold back."

Erika smiled, and Jack was amused to see a little sparkle twinkle in her big, green eyes, "Of course not! My big bruder is a very renowned trainer himself – I know how tough one must be in order to win." She then turned to face Matthew and Lars as she concluded, "I'm not going to hold back on anybody."

Jack chortled merrily, "That's the spirit, sheila!"

"We've come too far not to give it our all," added Erika.

"Just think, Michelin," Ramesh said from his spot with the Seychellois girl and below Lovino's seating place. "We're going to face whoever wins this battle."

Michelin nodded, "It's either Matthew and Lars, or Erika and Jack."

"Looks like a free-for-all from here," Lovino remarked.

"Sceptile!" called Lars as he chucked his Poké ball to the battlefield. "Get ready to battle!"

"Pidgeotto, go!" shouted Matthew as he threw his own Poké ball forward.

"Feraligatr, you're up, mate!" yelled Jack as he pitched his Poké ball out to the field.

"Go Emolga!" spoke up Erika as she joined in.

Each of the four Pokémon came into view after the great amounts of white light disappeared, and Michelin squealed in delight when she caught sight of Erika's Emolga, "Aww, what a cutie!" she then took out her Pokédex to know more about it.

"Emolga, the Sky Squirrel Pokémon," said the Pokédex's mechanical voice. "It glides on its outstretched membrane while shocking foes with the electricity stored in the pouches on its cheeks."

"Man, what an interesting assortment of Pokémon," muttered Lovino.

"Alright, let the battle begin!" announced Lilian.

"Don't worry," Matthew assured his Dutch partner. "I won't go easy on Erika. Pidgeotto, use Steel Wing on Feraligatr!"

"Pigeo!" the Bird Pokémon's wings began glowing silver as it began flying in an alarmingly quick speed right at the opponents.

"Feraligatr, quick!" shouted Jack. "Use Dynamic Punch"

"Gatr!" the Big Jaw Pokémon's fist began to get surrounded in an orange aura.

"Emolga, use Air Slash!" called Erika.

The Sky Squirrel Pokémon complied with its wings glowing light blue and waving them repeatedly – causing saw-like energy blades of the same colour to shoot out from its wings straight at Sceptile.

"Hyper Beam, now!" Lars commanded.

Sceptile opened its mouth to which there formed an orange ball of energy, and after charging in an alarmingly short amount of time, released and fired the ball straight into Emolga's Air Slash.

The two moves collided for a time, but Sceptile's Hyper Beam eventually smashed straight through Emolga's Air Slash and flew straight into the user. Emolga gave a sharp squeak of pain as the whole battlefield glowed in harsh white light, and enveloping everything in great clouds of smoke.

"Oh my!" Erika clapped her hands to her mouth in shock.

"Whoa!" Jack's eyes widened. "Crikey! What power!"

Lovino rubbed his chin from his spot, "Sceptile may have the type disadvantage against Emolga, but its Sp. Attack really exceeds past Emolga's Sp. Defence and with Hyper Beam being a Normal Type…this could be a one-hit knockout on Erika and Jack's end…"

Once the smoke dissipated, the Indian man was proven correct.

Poor Emolga was lying in a heap, eyes spinning as it lay knocked out.

The referee nodded after seeing that the Sky Squirrel Pokémon gave a dazed moan from the experience, "Emolga is unable to battle!"

"No…oh, no!" Erika looked absolutely mortified.

"And Emolga is done in a flash!" announced Lilian. "Sceptile's power is just undeniable!"

Erika moaned sadly as she clasped her hands together and turned to Jack, looking ashamed, "I'm so sorry…"

The Australian man shook his head, flashing her a smile, "Hey, now, don't worry! I'd say…it's time! Feraligatr use Ice Punch on Sceptile!"

"Fera!" the Big Jaw Pokémon clenched its great claws into a fist, enveloping it with shards of cold ice as it ran forward towards Sceptile who looked rather tired and panting.

"But Sceptile isn't even moving!" said Michelin in alarm.

"After pulling off a freaking Hyper Beam?" Lovino shook his head. "I'm not surprised."

Ramesh nodded in agreement, "Indeed; from using such a move, the user has to rest one turn – which, means that it's the perfect time for Jack to strike."

"Pidgeotto, Steel Wing one more time!" shouted Matthew.

"Pidgeo! Geo!" the Bird Pokémon flew in quick speed straight towards Feraligatr who was still running towards the fatigued Sceptile, its wings glowing silver as it gained more and more speed.

"Feraligatr! Pidgeotto's right behind you!" yelled Jack.

All of a sudden, Feraligatr changed its course at the last moment – running right past Sceptile instead.

"Tile?" Sceptile's jaw dropped but it looked alarmed as did Pidgeotto when everyone realized that the Bird Pokémon would soon crash into the Forest Pokémon. So, as a result, Pidgeotto flew off course to prevent from striking its teammate by mistake.

However, Feraligatr used its Ice Punch fist to land on the ground and spin around in an alarmingly agile manner, leaping up high into the air right behind Sceptile.

"And Feraligatr is right on Sceptile's blind spot!" exclaimed Lilian as Feraligatr suddenly brought its Ice Punch down and slammed it right onto Sceptile's back, causing the Forest Pokémon to fall face first into the ground.

"Perfect hit!" remarked Erika.

"Use Ice Punch once more!" Jack shouted, looking extremely determined.

"Pidgeotto turn around-!" began Matthew, only to be stopped by the Dutchman. The Canadian boy gazed up at his partner in confusion.

Lars simply shook his head, "Don't worry – I can handle it."

Just as he said that, Sceptile's eyes immediately flew open and they were narrowed to dangerous slits as they looked from the corner of its eyes at Feraligatr. The Forest Pokémon then got up and swiftly dodged the Ice Punch with ease.

"Looks like Sceptile is moving again," noted Ramesh.

"Leaf Storm!" ordered Lars. "Now!"

"Sceptile!" the golden seeds on the Forest Pokémon's back glowed white and at once, it released a barrage of light green glowing leaves all around itself and Feraligatr, eventually knocking its target around and up with great force.

"Ack!" Jack yelped. "No!"

Feraligatr was blown back by the tremendous force and knocked to the ground and knocked out for the count having been weak to the powerful Grass-type attack and being struck at such a close range.

The referee surveyed the Big Jaw Pokémon, and after a little while, gave a conclusive nod as he announcer, "Feraligatr is unable to battle – Sceptile and Pidgeotto are the winners!"

"And that's the end of the second half of the semi-finals!" called Lilian. "Amazing! Feraligatr and Emolga just couldn't stand up to Sceptile's ferocious attacks!"

Jack simply sighed and returned his Pokémon, smiling fondly down at it, "Thank, old buddy…you tried your best out there."

"I'm sorry," Erika apologized again, bowing her head. "It's my fault…"

"What are you talking about, sheila?" Jack grinned warmly down at her. "You shouldn't be blaming yourself! S'all part of battling."

"Wow…" Matthew heaved a sigh as he looked nervously at Lars. 'I didn't even do much for this battle…'

"You okay there, kid?" the Dutchman asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah…"

"Don't lie to me, kid – something's bugging you; I can tell."

Matthew sighed, "Well…it's just…I felt like I didn't do anything…that's all…"

Lars tilted his head, "Hmm? That it?" the Dutchman then rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes as he pondered. Well, throughout the whole mix of it, Lars felt the adrenaline pumping, and soon, he forgot that it was a tag battle – he just wanted to crush the living daylights out of the opponent and feel more thrill from the battle.

It definitely worked, but…

His tag partner was pretty disappointed.

Lars sighed, "Yeah…I guess you didn't, really…fine. No more of that from me, then. Don't worry; you'll get the next one."

"And now the final match is on its way!" announced Lilian. "And all of the action will start at midnight!"

Gazing up at the screen, it showed Ramesh and Michelin's panels against Lars and Matthew's ones.

And well, the final competitors stood on the battleground, ready for the final match as the clock was ticking closer and closer to it was almost midnight.

"Alright, folks! This is it!" exclaimed Lilian. "The final match of the Battle Tag Royale on this lovely cruise and very soon, for their winning performance, one of our most gifted tag battle teams will receive the magnificent Soothe Bells!" she raised up the two, beautiful silver bells up and they tinkled lightly in that calming, peaceful chime.

"Okay…well I'd like to finish this in one way," said Matthew firmly as he tossed his Poké ball forward. "Go, Kuma!"

When the white light disappeared, Kumajirou gazed lazily before him, rubbing at his eyes. Then, upon seeing all the people, the Cubchoo stood up and looked more ready. "Choo!"

"Ampharos, go!" Lars threw his Poké ball out as well, revealing the yellow Light Pokémon.

"Interesting combination over there," Ramesh said thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin, fedora perched on his head. He then made a little sweeping dance move before throwing his Poké ball out while he took his fedora off his head, "Go, Heracross!"

"Charmeleon, you go out there, too!" called Michelin, also throwing her Poké ball out.

Once the light disappeared, Michelin took out her Pokédex upon looking at Heracross. "Heracross, the Single Horn Pokémon," said the Pokédex's mechanical voice. "It loves sweet honey. To keep all the honey to itself, it hurls rivals away with its prized horn, no matter how heavy its opponent is."

"You're both gonna be great!" said Michelin with a determined smile.

"No surprise about Michelin's Charmeleon," remarked Matthew. "And Ramesh's Heracross…"

"Don't worry about it," Lars said firmly. "I got your back as long as you got mine, okay?"

"Alright!" called Lilian as the clock's hand struck twelve on the clock. "Let the battle begin!"

"Okay, Kuma, use Ice Beam!" shouted Matthew.

"Choo! Cub…" the Chill Pokémon reared back its head and unleashed the great blast of ice, snow and frost.

"Ampharos, use Thunder!" commanded Lars. The Light Pokémon complied, immediately charging a great load of electricity.

"And both Cubchoo and Ampharos look like they can cause some serious trouble for their opponents!" announced Lilian as the attacks were coming closer and closer.

"Quick Charmeleon, use Fire Fang on Kuma!" shouted Michelin. "Go for it!'

"Char!" the Flame Pokémon's teeth immediately became engulfed in flames as it ran forward, withstanding the Ice Beam, and ramming straight into Kumajirou and biting the Cubchoo as well as knocking him back.

"Great work by Charmeleon!" remarked Lilian. "As Fire Fang stops Cubchoo in its tracks!"

Meanwhile, overhead, Ampharos unleashed the Thunder right down in Charmeleon's direction.

"Heracross, Revenge!" called Ramesh as he swept his fedora of his head.

"Hera!" the Single Horn Pokémon immediately flew in and took the hit for Charmeleon, its eyes squeezed shut. However, after getting struck by Thunder, its eyes darted back open and it flew straight at Ampharos, ramming straight into the Light Pokémon's chest with its horn.

"Revenge is sweet with a second strike!" stated Lilian. "Which means twice the power with one shot!"

"It's time to take the initiative," Ramesh said to his partner. "It's obvious that Lars is the more dangerous of the pair, no offense to your friend, so it is time we get rid of Ampharos first."

Michelin nodded as she ordered, "Charmeleon, use Fire Fang!"

The Flame Pokémon's fangs gained heat again as it dashed towards Ampharos, ready to strike.

"Protect!" shouted Lars, scowling deeply.

"Ampha…" the Light Pokémon instantly surrounded itself with a light green force-field to hold off the attack.

However, Matthew was scared at seeing the grin grow on Ramesh's face, "Perfect."

"Now, Charmeleon, jump!" ordered Michelin.

"What the-?!" Lars' jaw dropped.

The Flame Pokémon suddenly leapt up just as Ramesh called calmly, "Heracross, Feint!"

The Single Horn Pokémon suddenly flew at breakneck speed with its horn glowing white, straight at Ampharos who still had its Protect barrier up and running.

Matthew looked at his partner and was astonished at Lars looking shocked and horrified, "Heracross can use Feint?!" the Dutchman gaped.

"Protect's been smashed!" gasped Erika as Jack and Lovino simply stared in amazement as Ramesh's Heracross suddenly pick up Ampharos and tossing it straight into the air once the Protect force-field disappeared after the Feint attack.

"What a feat!" called Lilian after seeing Ampharos crash to the ground, giving a squeak of pain. "The team of Michelin and Ramesh makes a perfect combination!"

"Fuck…" Lovino breathed. "Feint is an effective attack when the opponent uses Protect or Detect. It can actually cause a shit load of damage against those defensive moves…pretty damn useful, but those bastards better stay on their toes, now!" He then murmured, "This is gonna be a tough one for pipe bastard; he's been known for using Protect a shit load in the past…"

"Flamethrower, now!" called Michelin, to which her Pokémon complied; setting out a massive burst of flames right at Ampharos.

"Pha!" the Light Pokémon squeaked, but immediately stood its ground.

"Kuma, quickly use Fury Swipes!" yelled Matthew.

"Choo!" the Chill Pokémon immediately launched forward and scratched multiple times at Charmeleon, before punching the Flame Pokémon with a fist filled with ice and frost. "Cubchoo!"

"Was that…?" Matthew began, only to be cut off by Lars.

"That was Ice Punch," the Dutchman said. "Great timing!"

"And Cubchoo just comes out of nowhere striking a little revenge for its own side onto Charmeleon!" remarked Lilian.

"Oh no, Charmeleon!" exclaimed Michelin.

"Counterattack!" Ramesh spoke up as he turned to his partner.

Michelin looked taken aback, but she nodded as she shouted, "Charmeleon! Quickly! Use Fire Fang!"

"Char!" the Flame Pokémon regained itself as it ran forward and settled its fangs onto Kumajirou again, causing the Cubchoo to get blown back after getting struck by the flames from the attack.

"Kuma! Are you alright?" asked Matthew in concern. Seeing his Cubchoo get up again, now looking irritated, the Canadian boy called, "Use Ice Beam on Heracross!"

"Flamethrower, quick!" yelled Michelin.

The Flamethrower and Ice Beam instantly collided harshly into each other, creating a little explosion as well as a great amount of steam to evaporate.

"Thunder Punch!" called Lars.

Ampharos complied, its paw glowing golden with electricity as it leapt high up into the air; ready to strike down on the opponents.

"Megahorn, Heracross!" ordered Ramesh.

Heracross' horn glowed white as it flew up straight at Ampharos, who brought its Thunder Punch down. The two attacks collided against one another into a deadlock.

"And it's Megahorn and Thunder Punch with evenly matched vicious power!" called Lilian as everyone watched in amazement and intrigue at the battle that was placed right before them. However, the force caused a little explosion, knocking back both Pokémon.

"Ampharos, use Thunder again!" shouted Lars, now looking determined.

The Light Pokémon, just as equally resolute, gritted its teeth as it charged this time, a more tremendous amount of electricity.

"Alright, I think that we should attack first," Ramesh suggested. "Just so that they don't get the upper-hand."

"Yeah," agreed Michelin.

Ramesh then called, "Heracross, use Megahorn on Ampharos!"

Following suit, Michelin shouted, "Charmeleon, use Flamethrower on Kuma!"

Both Pokémon complied to their orders – Heracross' horn glowed white as it flew forward while Charmeleon let loose a great burst of flames from its mouth.

"Dodge and use Ice Beam!" yelled Matthew.

"Choo!" Kumajirou leapt up in the air, and instead, unleashed the Ice Beam to hit its mark on Heracross, causing it to crash back to the ground.

"Unleash the Thunder!" shouted Lars.

"Ampha!" the Light Pokémon then instantly let loose the tremendous bolts of lightning straight at Charmeleon, who got struck harshly by the powerful attack, getting knocked back. Another little explosion happened upon Charmeleon's Flamethrower accidentally getting contact from Ampharos' Thunder, and they were both surrounded by immense clouds of smoke.

"That Thunder and Ice Beam moves blended together for an effective and new combination!" commented Lilian. "Now, will Charmeleon and Heracross counter?"

Once the smoke disappeared, it showed both Charmeleon and Heracross standing close by each other. Charmeleon actually had one of its arms around the Single Horn Pokémon's torso, as if to support it – Heracross appeared to be supporting its weight on the Flame Pokémon.

Lars grit his teeth as Matthew's violet eyes widened behind his glasses. Ramesh sighed in relief as Michelin exclaimed, "Oh, they're alright!"

However, as Ampharos and Kumajirou glared across at their opponents, Charmeleon simply gave a little smirk, "Char…" it said before its knee gave way, causing both Pokémon to collapse to the ground, both seeing stars.

"Oh no!" cried Ramesh.

"Charmeleon!" squealed Michelin.

"Heracross and Charmeleon have reached the end?!" gasped Lilian.

"Heracross and Charmeleon are unable to battle!" announced the referee from his spot after inspecting the Pokémon. He then raised his flag arm in Matthew and Lars' direction, "The winners are Cubchoo and Ampharos!"

From that, the whole hordes of bystanders immediately cheered and the top of their lungs, applauding greatly.

"And there you have it, folks!" called Lilian. "The winners of this year's Battle Tag Royale event goes to Matthew and Lars!"

"We won!" exclaimed Matthew, still looking quite shocked at what had just happened.

Lars smirked, "Yes, we did. We did it."

"Thanks, Charmeleon," Michelin said from her end to her injured Flame Pokémon.

Ramesh smiled warmly down at his Heracross, "You, too, my friend – you fought valiantly until the very, very end!"

Later on, Matthew and Lars were standing at the front on a greater stage with the Pokémon that participated with them throughout the whole challenge – Kumajirou, Monferno, Mienfoo and Pidgeotto for Matthew; and Sceptile, Lopunny and Ampharos for Lars.

"Indeed, there were a number of edges, but I think this year's event has brought something new and exciting in the both of you," beamed Lilian as she came forward. "So, I'm pleased to present you each with a Soothe Bell." She then held out a case where two Soothe Bells lay, shining beautifully under the light.

"T-thank you very much," Matthew said as he took one. Lars nodded and gave a grunt as he took the other.

"And let's all give a hand to the other Pokémon and their trainers who battled so hard during the competition!" added Lilian.

Matthew could only stare fondly at the Soothe Bell and shake it slightly with the tips of his fingers, letting it ring softly – its enchanting little chime resting upon his ears.

"Hey, Matthew."

The Canadian boy turned to face his Dutch partner to see that the man was towering over him. However, Matthew wasn't at all afraid of Lars' great height and serious face. The Dutchman then leaned down and whispered into the Canadian's ear before giving a small smile and leaving the stage to go back to his room to rest from the event.

Matthew could only watch him walk away.

Pokétalia Maple Version: Fly High!

The final day of the cruise, Matthew was eating lunch with Lovino, Michelin, Erika, Ramesh and Jack with their Pokémon all out and playing around with each other. Right at that moment, Feraligatr was laughing as Kumajirou, Monferno and Buizel were swinging on its massive arms. Milotic was smiling from its spot next to Feraligatr as the Pokémon who were playing on the Big Jaw Pokémon were sliding down its smooth, long body. Mienfoo, Breloom and Heracross appeared to be in some sort of meditation while Pidgeotto, Emolga and Beautifly were having some sort of a game of tag in the air.

Throughout the whole thing, Pikachu simply watched blankly as it sat at Matthew's side. Ramesh's Lilligant wasn't also playing, choosing to stay beside her trainer, but she noticed the empty look in Pikachu's eyes, worrying her slightly.

Michelin grinned as she tinkled the bell, causing Ramesh to sigh in wonder. "Nice work, Mattie!" the Seychellois girl exclaimed. "You really earned this one!"

Matthew gave a shy smile, "T-thanks, Michelin!"

"It's definitely not fun to lose," added Michelin. "But I'll get you in the next one!"

"This was quite a lovely event," Ramesh smiled. "A nice change of pace from last year's cruise."

"And what happened last year?" inquired Erika curiously.

"Well, I didn't join," admitted Ramesh sheepishly. "But it was some sort of scavenger hunt here on the boat – I just retired to my room with my Pokémon so we wouldn't get bothered by the hordes of people coming around finding things…it was very strange, though – some Pokémon came into the room…"

"Crikey, that does sound strange, mate," said Jack in surprise.

As they laughed at Ramesh's stories of last year's cruise, Matthew then saw a familiar figure buy a sandwich with a Lopunny by his side and a pipe sticking out from his mouth. The Canadian boy instantly spoke up, "Lars."

Everyone turned to see the Dutchman look up at them.

Lars simply gave a very small smile as the flame in his pale green eyes softened upon catching sight of the Canadian boy. He gave a nod with a slight wave of his hand as his Lopunny greeted them happily, "Lopunny! Lop!"

Once he gained his food, however, he left while humming to himself in a low tone.

"Your partner sure is one of a kind," remarked Michelin as she blinked.

"I know," spoke up Ramesh. "Such power and resolve…I haven't seen such strength like that before in a trainer! Mysterious one, too, isn't he?"

"Honestly…" Matthew admitted, a fond smile crossing his face at watching the Dutchman's retreating figure leave the restaurant, his Lopunny faithfully remaining by his hip. "I can't have done that without Lars – he was the one who carried us both through."

And he remembered the Dutchman's words from last night after they were both rewarded with their Soothe Bells.

"Never lose confidence in yourself, kid – you'll go far if you keep your head up. I'm positive you'll make it far. Really far."

'Maybe we'll see each other again someday, Lars,' Matthew thought to himself as he gazed at his Pokémon who were having a great time. 'And until then, I will become strong; and one day, I'd like to have a battle with you…because one day, I'll hopefully reach your level someday.'

---

And this chapter is drawn to a close - the next chapter, Mattie and Lovi will be in Caesura Town where they run into a little bump in and meet three very important characters as well as learn about the Town's Gym Leader! 8D

Who will they meet?

Clue (For the three people):
1. Has already been seen in a previous chapter already, but with a small speaking role before leaving.
2. Has feelings for 1, but doesn't realize how harshly 1 treats them.
3. Cries a lot.

Clue (For the gym leader):
Largo, 6-4 time in B-flat minor.

More gym battling business for our little Canadian before going back to serious Shade matters, however, there is an encounter of Shade in the next chapter with the three important characters. :) when will the next chapter come out? Honestly, I'm not too sure - I have to write the next chapter of my other major story, A Tail For Two Legs, and my exams are just peeking at me from around the corner...TTnTT curse you uni/college exams! *shakes fist*

But, like I said before - I do not give up.

Well, anyway, thoughts and opinions? I hope you have a nice day, my dear readers. :DDD

Sincerely,
HetaWriter/HetaReader