Things had certainly taken a turn for worse. Just as Machoke had finally decided to represent Japan in the Hero Olympics, it was already too late. But he simply could not accept this. After all, he had a knack for turning the tides in his favour. But he had to face facts, this was not a match but rather an issue with the rules. This was something he as a hero could not overcome.

As such, he simply groaned while slowly walking toward his house with a look of disappointment on his face. It was not so much the rules he was disappointed with but rather himself, which was certainly rare what with his inability to take responsibility for his own actions.

Reika noticed him headed home and asked, "Machoke, is something wrong?" the boy turning to face her and forcing a grin before fibbing, "Of course not! I've never felt better!" Reika shrugging and replying, "If you say so."

Soon enough, he walked to his house and thought, 'I just know what Aipom will say if I tell her the truth. She'll scold me for taking this long,' the boy then forcing a more natural look while adding in his mind, 'I'll just pretend I still have no interest in the Olympics. At the very least, I can watch the tournament tomorrow and see who will represent Japan instead of me.'

And with that, he managed to hide everything that had happened this day. Aipom was still convinced that her words had done nothing and she had given up as she knew it would be too late what with the day of the tournament being tomorrow.

However, while Machoke mentally beat himself up, Gallade and Gardevoir had spent their time in Paris training vigorously for the tournament. With Gardevoir's power now a permanent part of her, she was finally able to lift the really heavy weights. And to make things even better, their friends decided to help them out.

Smeargle and Florges would spar with the two every now and then, though this was also for their own benefit as they were going to compete as well. Smeargle did not feel that he could truly get through the elimination tournament, but he was not the kind of surrender no matter how bad things looked, so he was going to try anyway.

Of course Clare and Henri had helped to support all four. They had provided training equipment for them and helped them perform situps and other exercises like that.

The one thing that was on everyone's mind, though, was how Gallade and Gardevoir would avoid facing each-other in the elimination tournament as both wanted desperately to at least qualify together. Because of this, Gallade had specifically chosen to sign up for the tournament in Bourges while Gardevoir was fighting in the Grenoble tournament.

Smeargle was also in the Grenoble tournament and felt rather nervous about the idea of fighting his own childhood friend but knew he would have to suck it up. Florges, on the other hand, had signed up for the tournament taking place in Paris meaning she would be the only one not to change locations.

Blaziken had been training extra hard on her old farm. However, irony seemed rather strange as only her father was around to help her out. Combusken had gone off on a business trip and for whatever reason, Blaziken's father refused to reveal what that reason was. The chicken simply shrugged it off and decided that worrying about this would only hinder her training. Needless to say, she was ready.

And this was going on with many of the others as well. Throh and Sawk were both competing in the Osaka tournament, meaning both would likely have to fight each-other at some point.

As for Scyther and her friends, Scyther was fighting in the Berlin tournament. All the while, Heracross would be competing in Elgin while Lopunny was ready for the tournament in Cairo. Talonflame was of course not competing as he was still in prison, and even if he was not, he still would not have been interested.

Scrafty had returned to his home country of Poland to compete in Warsaw while Bisharp was partaking in the Manchester tournament. Lucario was of course competing in his hometown of London. He simply felt it was right.

Tyrogue and his siblings had returned to China to compete in their own tournaments, though the big challenge was making sure they would all make it. Of course, in the end, that would be impossible as there were four of them and only three tournaments. As such, Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan decided they would much rather face each-other in the tournament than the other two. As such, the two had signed up for the Beijing tournament.

Tyrogue decided to compete in Hong Kong while Hitmontop was going to fight in Yinchuan. The two felt very confident that they would make it, especially after all the training they had done to ready themselves.

Clauncher would also partake as she took a flight to Florida where another American tournament would take place. She really hoped she would win as she wanted to compete against Lucario.

And finally there was Dodrio, who had of course returned to their home country of Australia. They were to compete in Melbourne for the right to qualify.

Needless to say, everyone was truly ready for the elimination tournaments except for Machoke. He just hoped that all of his friends would at least make it. There was no way he would.

And as such, Machoke had gone to a local fighting arena the following day to check out the first round. Aipom had gotten front row seats as she said, "I'm glad you at least decided to watch the tournament," Machoke folding his arms and trying to hide his annoyance as he smiled and said, "Hey, as long as it's not me in the ring, right?"

Of course, Reika and her friends were also there as Tsuya sighed, "I wish I could go to France and watch Gallade instead," Reika remarking, "I know none of our friends are competing in this one, but you know how much a flight to France costs."

Strangely enough, the judge for the Tokyo tournament was Beedrill. Of all the tournaments for him to judge, this just happened to be the one he had chosen to partake in.

Actually, this was not his choice. Since he was new to being chairman, he had turned to Weedle for help and as such, the caterpillar had made this suggestion, though he had mainly done it to rub the fact that Machoke would never make it to the Olympics in the boy's face. This was made possible by the fact that Beedrill had agreed to let his father accompany him throughout the tournament and guide him through the rules and regulations and what sort of judgement to make under the right circumstances.

"Welcome, one and all, to the first round of the Tokyo elimination tournament!" Beedrill announced as everyone clapped, the wasp adding, "I am your host, Beedrill, the new chairman of Hero Planet," Weedle nodding his head and patting his son on the shoulder with his tail, saying, "Good job, my boy. Keep it up."

While Beedrill continued his speech, Weedle looked around and noticed Machoke in the audience. Sure, he was forcing a smile, but the caterpillar could tell he was feeling extremely negative right now. While he may have been grateful for the way Machoke defeated Talonflame, he still considered his family an embarrassment, so the fact that the boy was not competing made him extremely happy.

"Announcing this match will be none other than Nori," Beedrill stated as the woman entered the announcer's booth and bowed her head, saying, "Thank you," before exclaiming, "And now to introduce the fighters for the first round!"

The crowd was ready as Nori exclaimed, "In the red corner, originally from Spain but having recently become an official Japanese citizen, weighing at twenty-one-and-a-half kilograms, Hawlucha!"

The audience went wild as a humanoid parrot performed a series of flips toward the ring, propelling himself high above the floor before landing firmly against the mat, letting out a big laugh. This was a rather odd-looking parrot as his head actually looked more like a lucha libre mask, what with his eyes being pitch black. He had big green wings that looked more like a cape on the backsides of his arms and small clawed hands. His chest was covered in red feathers while his entire lower body was white save for his small yellow feet. His face had green feathers with an orange stripe going across the middle. His beak was small and red, but his actual mouth was located underneath it, attached to a white patch under said beak. He also had two orange tassel-like appendages coming out of the back of his head.

Nori was then about to announce the next fighter when suddenly, a staff member ran into the area and handed her a letter, her eyes going wide as she exclaimed, "Everyone, we have bad news!"

"What would that be?" Beedrill asked, Nori replying, "Well, according to this letter, Hawlucha's opponent, Venomoth, was unable to get here," Weedle remarking, "What is the meaning of this!?"

Nori let out a sigh and replied, "Well, there was a thunderstorm last night and Venomoth was out getting last-minute training in, and this included her flight. And while she was practising, a bolt of lightning came down and struck her, so now she's in the hospital recovering and won't be able to make it."

The audience looked beyond disappointed as Aipom blinked, uttering, "Wow, that's really bad luck," Reika retorting, "Bad luck? A result of stupidity is more like it! Who flies during a thunderstorm!?" Cici whimpering, "I just hope she's okay."

"Wow, that is certainly bad news," Beedrill replied before adding, "Well, then, the event must to on, right? If there are any heroes in the audience right now who have not signed up, you can officially take Venomoth's place in the elimination tournament and face Hawlucha right now!"

Weedle's eyes widened as Machoke sprang up out of his seat, exclaiming, "ME!" Aipom and the others staring at him in absolute shock, the boy running toward the ring and shouting, "I'll do it! I'll fight Hawlucha and compete for the right to represent Japan!"

Weedle was shaking his head at his son as Beedrill did not turn to see this and said, "Oh, hi Machoke," the boy freaking out when he suddenly remembered who the host was, the wasp adding, "I am so glad you've decided to compete after all, even if it is a little too late. I was hoping to see you in the Olympics."

"Uh, why?" Machoke asked as the wasp replied, "Well, I would like to personally thank you," all going silent as Weedle was slamming his head against the desk in front of the two, his son adding, "You're part of the reason I discovered my father. If you hadn't defeated me and had me sent to prison, I don't think this ever would have happened," light tears coming from his eyes as Hawlucha laughed, exclaiming, "That is muy bueno right there! Truly a touching moment!"

Machoke blinked and said, "Wow, you really have changed now," a big grin on his face as Weedle cut in, barking, "No, son! You didn't run this decision by me first! Personally, I don't approve of this official replacement idea of yours!"

Beedrill turned and blinked, asking, "What's wrong with it?" Weedle sighing, "If we implement a rule like this, everyone can just take advantage of a mishap and take the place of another hero," all going silent as Machoke sighed, "How many other heroes are here in this area right now?"

The wasp, however, did not seem to think this way as he replied, "Well, if my dad doesn't approve, then I'm afraid Machoke can't take Venomoth's place," the audience starting a huge uproar as one hurled an empty pop can into Weedle's forehead, the caterpillar barking, "WHO DID THAT!?" more following.

With that, the entire audience started to chant, "LET HIM FIGHT! LET HIM FIGHT!" Aipom's eyes sparkling as she smiled at the display, Reika and her friends joining in, even Cici looking legitimately furious in response to Weedle's declaration.

"Well, Dad, they seem to really want this," Beedrill stated as Hawlucha folded his arms with a smile, saying, "Si, we should give him a chance. After all, I would feel honoured to face the son of the great Machamp!"

"ALRIGHT, FINE!" Weedle snapped, everyone calming down as Beedrill nodded and stated, "Well, folks, it seems Machoke can legally replace Venomoth now," the audience going wild as Reika took a deep breath, sighing, "That boy has the strangest luck on his side."

Aipom had said nothing, though. She was absolutely speechless. Had Machoke been hiding a desire to enter the tournament this whole time? Well, of course he had, but no one besides Machoke had really been aware of this fact.

While Nori, as an announcer, was supposed to be neutral when it came to matches, even she was beyond happy to see him be accepted as the replacement fighter. While she never showed it, she had secretly become a die-hard fan of his from watching his matches over the past. At the very least, his fights were always interesting.

"By the way, Machoke," Beedrill stated, "you'll need to work on an entrance too, so I'll give you five minutes to prepare one," Weedle shaking his head while his son failed to notice this. It was bad enough Machoke had been allowed to participate but now he was given a chance to come up with one of his embarrassing entrances.

Even Aipom felt a tad against this idea but said nothing. She was just thrilled to see the boy taking this so seriously even if he had been accepted into the tournament because of really convenient happenstance.

Hawlucha patiently waited for the next five minutes, Aipom waiting by the side of the ring as she had been given permission to give Machoke advice, the boy getting himself ready. Time was soon up as Nori got the signal to announce his entrance, the woman nodding and exclaiming, "And in the blue corner, hailing from Hero Planet but having become an official Japanese citizen, weighing at seventy kilograms and having defeated many powerful opponents, Machoke!"

The crowd stared silently as Machoke rode toward the ring on a tiny unicycle, no one understanding where he was going with this as the boy smirked, thinking, 'When I leap off of this, I'm going to make my most grand entrance ever," only for his weight to eventually crush the transportation device, all going silent.

"What exactly were you trying to do?" Aipom asked as Machoke laughed nervously, replying, "Sorry, I didn't have as much time as I normally do, so I did the best with what I had."

Hawlucha laughed and exclaimed, "Oh, you are a funny man, Machoke!" the boy's eyes sparkling as he squealed, "Did you hear that, Aipom!? He called me a MAN!" the monkey face-palming.

"Oh god, he's not taking this seriously at all," Reika groaned, Tsuya asking, "What do you see in him?" Reika retorting, "I have no feelings for him whatsoever!"

Her eyes then widened when Machoke climbed into the ring and turned to her, exclaiming, "OH, REIKA, LOOK! I'M IN THE RING RIGHT NOW!" the boy then blowing her kisses as the girl ducked under them, all of the kisses running into a big man sitting behind her, the man snarling in irritation.

"Sorry, sir," Reika uttered with a nervous grin, Cici and Tsuya simply shaking their heads. She was definitely hiding her true feelings and Machoke could feel it too.

Weedle let out a sigh and thought, 'Well, it should be fine. Hawlucha should be more than enough of a match for Machoke. After all, the whole reason he's in the Tokyo tournament instead of one of the Spanish ones is because of me.'

With all said and done, Machoke and Hawlucha waited on their own sides of the ring as the excitement in the audience grew. Sure, this may not have been a match in the Olympics themselves, but it was still a big deal.

With that, Nori rang the bell as Machoke immediately sprinted toward Hawlucha. The boy was not going to hesitate for a second. He was going to blast his way through the tournament and make his way into the Olympics.

Hawlucha readied himself to counter only for Machoke to swerve to the right, the crowd cheering as Aipom thought, 'Good, he's already using his brain,' but just as Machoke was about ready to strike the parrot, it seemed Hawlucha had seen this coming as he threw his arm in front of his side, having his feathers block a roundhouse kick.

Machoke's eyes widened as Hawlucha proceeded to grab hold of his ankle, turning it sideways as the boy fell on his side. Machoke attempted to grab his ankles only for the bird to leap high into the air before sending his feet hard into the boy's cheek.

Everyone stared in shock as just from these two moves, Machoke already had blood coming from his nostrils. This was not a good sign.

However, Machoke simply ignored this and spat, "Alright, that was a lucky shot!" the boy quickly getting up and attempting to grab Hawlucha. However, the bird seemed more than ready for this as he simply grabbed the boy's wrists, saying, "Senor Machoke, you are a very strong fighter, but I have been preparing for opponents like you for a long time even before I knew I would have a chance to face you!"

Machoke's eyes widened as the parrot proceeded to ram his beak hard into the boy's face, once again drawing blood as the Machoke released his hold. Hawlucha then proceeded to flip back onto the turnbuckle, exclaiming, "I know it is a lot to expect when going up against one of your stature, but you will be the first stepping stone I cross toward becoming champion!"

"Was that supposed to sound cool?" Reika asked, Tsuya replying, "That's what that was? I didn't even get it," but this hardly mattered as Hawlucha leapt off of the turnbuckle, flying toward Machoke with his arms spread out.

Machoke stared at this with shock as Hawlucha shouted, "FLYING PRESS!" slamming his belly hard into the boy's chest, all going silent as Machoke coughed up quite a bit of blood. How could such a simple-looking attack be so powerful? This was not even a new technique. This was something lots of wrestlers could use and yet Hawlucha's harnessed the strength of an advanced slam technique.

Whatever the reason, this was certainly enough to knock Machoke onto his back as the audience started to cheer wildly for Hawlucha. Sure, this was their first time seeing him in action, but they had seen Machoke in combat many times and knew that knocking him down this easily was no small feat.

"Oh my god," Aipom uttered, her eyes wide with shock as Nori stated, "Who could have ever guessed a flying press could deal so much damage? It seems using one of the oldest techniques in the book, Hawlucha has already managed to knock Machoke on his back, and it doesn't look like he'll be getting up anytime soon either."

Cici whimpered while Reika groaned, "Oh my god, you can't be serious," Tsuya simply staring and asking, "Is it really over already?"

Hawlucha rose his hands in the air, exclaiming, "MUCHOS GRACIAS, SENORS AND SENORITAS! I LOVE YOU ALL!" Beedrill staring and saying, "Wow, that Hawlucha guy is really something," Weedle nodding and replying, "He sure is, son."

'Of course he is,' Weedle thought with a fiendish look in his eyes, 'I had a feeling Machoke would find some way or another to weasel his way into the tournament. His family has a knack for pulling off things like this. That's why I searched hard for someone who could defeat him under such circumstances, and that was when I discovered Hawlucha. While Machoke is definitely better when it comes to physical strength, Hawlucha has something that kid lacks, and that's a fighting spirit outmatched by many.'

While Hawlucha continued to bask in the cheers, one member of the crowd got up and exclaimed, "GOOD JOB, HERMANO!" Hawlucha waving and replying, "I'm living the dream, Isabel!" Reika staring at this and saying, "Wow, his sister came all the way here to watch him fight."

However, all went silent when Hawlucha could hear coughing behind him, the parrot turning and noticing Machoke slowly rise to his feet. The boy took a deep breath and spat a bit of blood out of his mouth, stating, "Hey, this match is far from over. Don't celebrate just yet."