Now that Machoke was wide awake, he could finally fight to the best of his abilities. But on the other hand, Fiarrow was no longer going to let the boy hit him. It was still uncertain who could possibly win this match but at least Machoke's spirits were high now.

With that in mind, the boy sprinted toward Fiarrow, the falcon getting ready to counter only for Machoke to swerve to the right, sending a roundhouse into his side. Fiarrow's eyes widened as the boy proceeded to send a hard elbow to his cheek, the falcon moving away from him a bit while the crowd cheered. It seemed Machoke had gotten his advantage back.

"I'll admit, you have skills, kid," Fiarrow said, rubbing his cheek with a smirk, "but don't think for a minute that I can't beat you, even with you fully awake. This is just a minor setback."

With that, the falcon once again spread his wings and took to the skies, Machoke attempting to grab him only to miss his legs. With Fiarrow airborne, it was anyone's guess how this could possibly end as Machoke gulped.

However, his confidence returned a bit when Aipom exclaimed, "Machoke, remember how Blaziken used the ropes in this situation!" Machoke blinking and replying, "That's right," the boy nodding his head before charging toward the ropes.

He leapt into the air and planted his feet firmly against the top one before launching himself off. Afterwards, he performed a flip in the air as Fiarrow readied himself for a counterattack only for the boy to send an axe kick into his skull, the crowd going wild.

Machoke smirked and said, "Oh yeah, how do you like that!?" only to panic when he noticed his kick seemed to have little to no effect. Fiarrow was still flapping his wings and looked completely unfazed as he held up his arm and grabbed hold of the boy's ankle.

"I'll admit, your strategy was at least better than Blaziken and Scyther's were," Fiarrow stated with a smirk, "Instead of wasting your energy on a special move, you used a simple but effective one. Even so, you forget how strong I am."

With that said, Fiarrow lifted the boy up by his ankle and hurled him back-first into the mat, the falcon's fanclub now cheering him on. He then proceeded to dive down with his heels pointed outward, ramming them hard into Machoke's gut, the boy once again taking in extreme pain, especially now that he had a pretty bad wound in this spot from earlier.

"I'll also let you all in on something else," Fiarrow stated, folding his arms and landing against the canvas, "I'm even stronger when I'm flying, so it'll take a great deal of muscle to ground me."

Blaziken's eyes were wide with fear as she uttered, "He's got a point. Both Scyther and I had the most trouble taking him down when he was in the air like that," Aipom screeching, "Come on, Machoke, get up! You've taken in worse than this!"

"Yeah, I have," Machoke uttered, slowly rising to his feet and breathing heavily. However, now he really was scared again. Fiarrow was such a frightening opponent and so far, it seemed no one could beat him. But no matter what, Machoke had to find a way.

His train of thought was quickly interrupted when Fiarrow flew toward him with his arm out, Aipom exclaiming, "Machoke, you can either duck under that or counter it!" the boy ducking under it in fear of being overpowered if he tried to counter. Unfortunately, Fiarrow would not him go that easily and sent his arm downward into the boy's skull when it was close enough.

Machoke groaned from the pain as Fiarrow proceeded to stop his flight and wrap his arms around the boy's neck. Machoke quickly rose his foot back and kicked the falcon in the shin only for him to ignore the pain and lift the boy up, ramming him face-first into the turnbuckle.

Fiarrow's fans were once again ecstatic as Nori said, "Just as things were finally looking up for Machoke, Fiarrow's strength starts getting the better of him," Machoke's friends all in panic, Lucario taking a deep breath as Scizor once again eyed the dog. She could tell he was hiding something.

Fiarrow laughed and said, "This is the champion's son? Man, I'm kinda disappointed. I was expecting so much better from you," Machoke fuming and retorting, "Don't count your chickens before they've hatched!"

Aipom, all the while, bit her lip, wishing she knew of some sort of advice she could give to help him back up those words. With Fiarrow, it was difficult to tell just what would work. He seemed to have either a counterattack or high resistance to just about everything. What could Machoke possibly do to defeat him?

In fact, Machoke seemed to think just that as he let out a sigh, groaning, "Oh, what's the use?" spreading out his arms and falling on his back, everyone staring in shock as Gardevoir whimpered, "Machoke?"

Reika fumed and barked, "WHAT THE HELL, MAN!? AFTER ALL THAT BACKTALK, YOU'RE JUST GIVING UP!?" Machoke uttering, "Yeah, that's pretty much the case."

This definitely caused a huge upset in the crowd as Machoke sighed, "I can't possibly beat you. Just make this quick," Fiarrow blinking and smirking before saying, "Now there's a request I can fulfil. I must say, you're a lot smarter than I thought you were," everyone else staring in utter silence.

However, the only one not looking distressed right now, shockingly enough, was Lucario. But why? He had been so scared for Machoke's safety up to this point and now he did not look worried in the slightest.

"MACHOKE, STOP JOKING AROUND!" Aipom screeched, slapping her tail hand against the side of the ring, "YOU CAN STILL BEAT HIM! WE'LL COME UP WITH SOMETHING TOGETHER! IT'S POSSIBLE!"

The rest of the crowd broke out into an uproar as well, one of Machoke's fans shouting, "Come on, man, you can still fight him!" another adding, "Come on, rise to your feet!" Lopunny barking, "REMEMBER YOUR PROMISE!"

"No," Gardevoir remarked, everyone staring at her as Reika retorted, "Are you crazy!?"

Gardevoir shushing her and squeaked, "I can see it in his eyes," Blaziken nodding and replying, "Me too. He's got something planned, something big."

With that, Fiarrow rose high above the ring, getting himself ready for his Spinning Top Inferno again. However, Machoke simply grimaced and asked, "That's how high you're gonna go? Really?" Fiarrow looking up, a scared look forming in his eyes briefly as he quickly wiped it from his face and said, "You're right, an attack from higher up would create more of a spectacle, wouldn't it?"

All went silent as the falcon rose a bit higher, Machoke smirking and thinking, 'Perfect,' before quickly getting into a bridge formation and propelling himself high off the canvas, everyone staring in absolute shock. After that, the boy proceeded turn himself upside-down and grab hold of Fiarrow, applying all of his might to flip both him and the falcon one-hundred-and-eighty degrees.

With that, the crowd went wild as Gallade asked, "All of that was to set him up for the Muscle Tombstone?" Gardevoir nodding as Tsuya said, "Wow, Machoke's a genius. I can't believe I just said that."

And it seemed they were right as Machoke wrapped his ankles around the falcon's neck, pulling on his arms and locking them in place. Best of all, though, he was right up against Fiarrow's back. Because of this, the bird could not use his wings to stop his descent.

The crowd went wild as Nori exclaimed, "What a shocker! Machoke wasn't giving up at all! It was all a ruse to drop Fiarrow's guard!" Weedle saying, "I didn't think he was capable of something that smart."

"I also needed you just high enough," Machoke stated with a smirk, "I want to make sure this move takes you down, and while normally it would do that anyway, the extra height will help for sure," Aipom's eyes sparkling as she thought, 'I never would have come up with that,' before squealing, "COME ON, FINISH HIM OFF, MACHOKE!"

However, while the boy started his descent toward the mat, Fiarrow smirked and said, "You're not as clever as you think you are," all going silent as Machoke remarked, "Are you kidding?" only for the falcon to state, "I knew you'd try something like this, so I let you set me up for it, because I know how to counter this move."

The people in the audience looked shocked as Machoke retorted, "You're a liar! Even with the lack of an extra pair of arms, this move is perfect and can't be defeated, right, Aipom!?"

The monkey simply stared in absolute silence, Machoke reiterating, "Right, Aipom!?"

"Figures the daughter of Ambipom would know what I'm talking about," Fiarrow said before shifting his weight back, everyone staring in absolute shock as the falcon added, "The only downside is it takes a considerable amount of muscle to pull it off, but it's still possible," now pushing even harder as soon enough, he had managed to flip himself over so now it was back to square one with Machoke's head now facing the mat, the falcon turning himself around so he was facing the boy.

Everyone stared in absolute horror as the bird wrapped his arms around Machoke, ramming his head hard into the canvas while Lucario winced at the sight of this. Why had he not seen this coming?

"What just happened?" Reika asked, Keiko saying, "I think the Muscle Tombstone was just defeated," the audience not even sure how to take this. Machoke had used that move to defeat the majority of his opponents and no one had been able to get out of it, and yet Fiarrow had pulled it off with so much ease.

"That was a lucky shot," Machoke grunted, slowly pushing himself back up as everyone stared silently, the boy coughing a bit and adding, "Clearly, I must have done something wrong, that's all. I can get it right, though, so it's okay."

"No," Aipom remarked, "It's best not to try it again, at least not until Fiarrow's weak enough," Machoke turning to her and asking, "What do you mean?" Fiarrow raising an eyebrow and asking, "Yeah, are you saying you actually know how I pulled that off?"

The monkey nodded and sighed, "Yes, my mommy told me all about it. See, back when Bouffalant was still evil, he and Machamp fought, and during that match he had been set up for the Muscle Tombstone. However, Bouffalant managed to counter the attack by applying a massive amount of strength and using it to flip himself and Machamp. It was truly devastating."

Machoke's eye twitched as Weedle added, "But I don't understand. All records of that fight were disposed of in case villains tried to get their hands on it. How did you acquire that information?" the falcon replying, "Let's just say a little birdy told me and leave it at that."

The crowd could not believe such a thing was true, Machoke having even more trouble believing it as Fiarrow added, "Though to be perfectly honest, your version's much easier to avoid. I could have easily just used my feet to escape from it and save me the trouble, but I wanted you to know exactly how it was beaten when your daddy used it."

Machoke stood silently as Gallade groaned, "Oh no, his spirits have been crushed," Blaziken sighing, "I can't blame him. That strategy of his was really good."

However, it seemed Machoke's spirits had not left him as he spat, "NO, YOU'RE WRONG! I CAN BEAT YOU WITH THE MUSCLE TOMBSTONE AND I WILL PROVE IT!" the boy charging at Fiarrow and ramming his shoulders hard into him, getting behind him and latching his arms onto his shoulders, leaping high above the ring and flipping him upside-down for the attack again.

"MACHOKE, NO!" Aipom spat, Machoke not listening as he spat, "MUSCLE TOMBSTONE!" heading toward the ring and adding, "I made no mistakes this time!"

Fiarrow laughed and retorted, "It's not a matter of you messing up the attack! It's that this move is ancient by today's standards!"

With that, the bird decided to prove his theory correct by spreading out his legs, bend then back and latching them onto Machoke's neck. After that, he used the feet to pull forward, once again switching places with Machoke. After that, he quickly grabbed hold of Machoke's ankles thus slamming his face hard into the canvas, his fanclub going wild while everyone else was mortified.

Machoke slowly rose back to his feet, coughing up blood now as more was dripping from his nostrils. Lucario all the while gritted his teeth, Scizor now really concerned about him and tempted to ask him what was going on. She could tell this was something he was not willing to talk about, but even so, she wanted to know what he was hiding.

"Alright, I've had my fun now," Fiarrow said with a smirk as Gardevoir let down tears, sniffing, "Is Machoke going to lose?" Gallade patting her on the shoulder and saying, "There, there," Lopunny praying for his safety.

Fiarrow immediately walked over to Machoke, saying, "You should have stayed down," wrapping his arms around the boy and adding, "It would have saved you a world of torment, though because you've suffered enough seeing your precious Muscle Tombstone defeated, I'll apply only half the force I usually do when using this. I don't think you could handle much else in your state."

With that, the falcon's body burst into flame as he took off high into the air, performing a U-turn and shouting, "FLARE BLITZ!" slamming Machoke's head hard into the mat, a smoke cloud forming around them.

Soon enough, the smoke cleared as Fiarrow released his hold on Machoke, shouting, "YEAH, I JUST DEFEATED THE SON OF THAT OVERRATED HACK!" his fans once again cheering while everyone else was simply stunned.

"No," Blaziken uttered, Gardevoir biting her lip and whimpering. Not only was she going to be separated from her friends, but Machoke looked like he would be hospitalized for a long time after taking in so much punishment. Sure, he had dealt with great challenges, but not one opponent was worse than Fiarrow.

"This can't be happening," Reika uttered, "Mom, Machoke will get up, right?" Keiko nodding and replying, "He has to. He's a member of the Mach family. They always get up no matter how bad the pain," Cici and Tsuya hugging each other.

"He put up a valiant effort," Gallade sighed, "I just can't believe he of all people would lose," Lopunny scowling at Fiarrow and growling, "I was really hoping that smug jerk would get his comeuppance."

However, the one feeling the most torn up by all of this was Aipom, the monkey looking down with light tears and sniffing, "This is my fault. I wasn't able to give him any good advice," Fiarrow shrugging his shoulders and remarking, "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, kid. I'm not exactly an easy fighter to figure out."

Lucario all the while struggled to stay seated now when suddenly, Scizor took him by the wrist and said, "Lucario, if you have something you need to say, say it now before it's too late!" the dog taking a deep breath and replying, "You're right," the dog getting up and running down the steps along with Scizor.

He no longer cared about whatever dirt Fiarrow had on him. He just wanted things to turn out right.

Weedle took a deep breath as he nodded at Nori, the woman reaching for her mallet. This was it. Machoke really had lost.

But just as Nori was about to ring the bell, Lucario came close enough for everyone to hear as he snapped, "STOP!" all going silent as the crowd turned to face him, Fiarrow glaring at him and thinking, 'What are you doing, Lucario? You'd better not be thinking of tattling on me.'

"Listen, there is something you all need to know about Fiarrow," Lucario stated, "He's not who you think he is. Before coming to Hero School, he and I once trained together back when I was on the side of evil! In other words, Fiarrow is actually a villain!"

Everyone gasped as Weedle asked, "Is what you're saying true?" Lucario nodding and replying, "One last thing to note, his real name is Talonflame!"

All went silent as Weedle uttered, "I've heard that name before," Nori asking, "You have?" the caterpillar nodding and replying, "It was right after the graduates had been sent to Earth. I was investigating the campus late at night when I noticed one of the assigned students, Swanna, had been badly beaten with only a few seconds left to live. With her last ounce of strength, she told me someone by the name of Talonflame had done it."

Fiarrow's eye twitched as everyone glared at him, the falcon taking a deep breath and replacing his irritation with a smirk. After that, he looked at Weedle and stated, "Yeah, that was me alright, though personally I think you did a better job taking me in as her replacement. She was pathetic!"

Everyone panicked, Fiarrow, or rather Talonflame's fans all gasping in shock, those with merchandise related to him tossing it. They could not believe they had supported someone so cruel and deceitful.

"If you knew this, why didn't you tell anyone!?" Aipom spat, Weedle sighing, "It's shameful to admit, but, well, I was afraid, okay?" everyone staring as he added, "Right after Swanna had told me this news, a paper crane flew at my head with a message inside saying I would be killed if I breathed a word of this to anyone."

"So you kept this important news a secret for your own benefit!?" Reika snapped, the rest of the crowd shouting insults and curses toward the bug as he sighed, "Yes, that's exactly the case. I don't deserve to be chairman."

Lucario took a deep breath and added, "I have another thing to say," Talonflame asking, "What would that be? You've already ratted me out," the dog remarking, "You know what it is!" the falcon's eyes widening as he uttered, "You wouldn't."

Lucario simply frowned and stated, "I also knew the secret to countering the Muscle Tombstone! My father told me about it back when I still had a good relationship with him," everyone even more interested as he added, "I told Talonflame this very secret," the crowd gasping, Scizor nodding and saying, "It took a lot of courage to say that, Lucario."

'Lucario, you bastard!' Talonflame thought while gritting his teeth, 'Not only do you tattle on me, but you even have the balls to rob me of the satisfaction of revealing your own secret to the world! Once my victory is made official, I'm coming for you next!'

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Scyther was crying out in agony, tears rolling down her cheeks. Scizor had tears of her own as she knew this was happening right now, and she understood entirely. After all, Scyther's ally whom she had sent her mother to help encourage was now revealed to be on the side of evil. It would be a long time until the insect could forgive herself for fighting alongside someone like that.

"I know it's my job to be neutral, but there is something you can do about this," Nori said to Weedle, the caterpillar nodding and glaring at Talonflame before barking, "Talonflame, you have violated a major rule! Going under another alias during the tournament may not have been against the rules, but being a villain in a tournament for heroes is! As chairman, I hereby disqualify you from The Next Gen Battle and yield the victory over to Team Jinroku!"

Talonflame simply glared at him as the bug trembled, uttering, "You can't intimidate me anymore! Now leave before I'm forced to take drastic measures!"

A group of security guards ran into the area as Talonflame shrugged, saying, "Okay, fine, I'm going. I don't even care about this tournament. I just wanted to beat up Machoke. I don't even care if this counts as an official victory, because it technically is."

The crowd glared at the falcon, feeling that Weedle was being far too kind even giving him the right to leave as Talonflame walked toward the ropes while saying, "Let me give you a few parting words," pointing at the unconscious Machoke and adding, "If this is the best that mankind has to combat our forces, you guys are majorly screwed! You may as well give up right now!"

But just as the falcon was about to take his leave, a voice came from behind him grunting, "Hold it!" Talonflame's eyes going wide as everyone stared in absolute shock, Machoke slowly rising back to his feet and breathing heavily, Aipom biting her lower lip and letting down tears of joy.

"I THOUGHT FOR SURE YOU WERE DONE FOR!" the monkey screeched, Gardevoir taking a deep breath and squeaking, "That terrified me!" the others in full agreement.

"If Scyther and I had fought in this ring today," Machoke said through breaths, "either one of us would have gladly accepted the outcome no matter what. Sure, I would have been upset, maybe even thrown a tantrum if I'd lost, but I would have eventually accepted it."

Talonflame rose an eyebrow, Lucario wondering where he was going as well, the boy adding, "But now that I know you're a villain, I can't let you walk out of here!" turning to Weedle and saying, "I would like to finish this match if that's alright with you!"

Weedle had a serious look in his eyes, confused as to what he should do now as Nori asked, "Sir, is that alright?" the caterpillar taking a deep breath and replying, "Yes, as I said before, if the opponent is okay with the rule violation, the match will be allowed to continue."

With that, everyone in the area cheered wildly for Machoke, all of them truly amazed by his spirit. Even after having his best move shattered, even after having taken in such a horrible beating, he was still willing to fight to the bitter end if it meant saving the world from Talonflame's might. Aipom was more proud than ever before. Machoke had truly grown from what he once was.

"I'm impressed," Talonflame said with a light chuckle, "Most people would have accepted a free victory like that, but you got guts, even more than Blaziken," the falcon then turning to face him before adding, "I think I actually might have some real respect for you now, but don't think I'm not gonna wipe the floor with you, buddy! I'm not so easy to take down, but you already knew that!"

And on that note, tensions had risen greatly. Sure, Machoke had made a miraculous recovery, but was this really enough or was Talonflame simply too strong to be beaten?