So far, things were not looking good for Eevee. While she had been super excited and prepared for the first round of Bangkok's preliminary tournament, Cyndaquil already dealt quite a few strong blows to her. And to make matters worse, all of this was because the Eevee kept hesitating to strike her, but why?

Cyndaquil did not seem to notice this as she leapt toward Eevee and sent a two-legged kick into her midsection. At that moment, Flareon could no longer keep quiet as she stood up and barked, "Hey, Eevee, honey, take advantage of this!"

Eevee gasped, "Right!" taking hold of Cyndaquil's ankles and swinging her around. The crowd cheered for her now as she released her hold and sent the shrew careening head-first into the turnbuckle. Now it finally seemed like she could win this after all.

A smile formed on her face while Mongkut stated, "And after taking in quite a beating, Eevee gets the upper hand with a giant swing! Let's see if she can keep this up, folks!"

But just as soon as that smile appeared, it left when Eevee noticed Cyndaquil backing away from the pole and shaking the pain off of her head. Once again, the brown fox's anxiety returned as the shrew beamed and squeaked, "Now that's what I call a counter! I'll need to step up my A-game for sure!"

With that in mind, she tucked herself into a ball while smoke emerged from the dots on her back. Everyone stared in curiosity as she squealed, "FLAME WHEEL!" and rolled toward the brown fox while her entire body was now covered in it.

Eevee took a deep breath and thought, 'Remember the others,' narrowing her eyelids and preparing a counterattack. But when Cyndaquil closed in, she once again hesitated and took the attack to her gut. Combined with the smoke rising up, she could not resist coughing as Cyndaquil took full advantage of this by wrapping her arms around the brown fox's waist.

"Not sure why specifically that move was called Flame Wheel when she only made smoke," Mongkut stated, "But either way, Cyndaquil's managed to catch Eevee off guard as she sets her up for a suplex."

Cyndaquil proceeded to leap into the air and lean backward, planting the back of Eevee's neck into the canvas while Mongkut added, "Eevee just can't seem to catch another break! While she has landed a couple of good blows, there's no doubt that this match is feeling very one-sided, folks!"

After Cyndaquil released her hold, Eevee mustered up enough strength to roll backwards and away from her. She then positioned herself upright and breathed heavily, once again wondering just what was wrong with her. She wanted so badly to prove how good she had become and yet for some reason, just looking at Cyndaquil made her nervous.

However, the shrew seemed to notice this briefly as she thought, 'I know I should be happy about this, but something feels off. It shouldn't be this easy, should it?'

She then shook her head and figured it was nothing. If she dropped her guard, there was no doubt Eevee would probably perform better against her. As such, she leapt backward toward the ropes and bounced off of them with her leg stretched out for another kick.

"Eevee, you know what to do!" Flareon barked as the brown fox gasped and attempted to counter. But it was too late, thus she took the kick to her face and backed up, rubbing that very spot.

Now Cyndaquil could finally see it as she leapt away from her. However, she needed to test something out, therefor she forced a smirk and said, "You know, Eevee, so far, I'm the only one who's been moving throughout this entire match. Come on, where's all that energy you used to have? Come at me like you used to, eh?"

Eevee's eyes widened as she remembered it like it was yesterday. She and Cyndaquil used to spar all the time, and since this was long before Popplio taught her to think more logically, both would race at one-another and wrestle. Though the biggest difference was that they were always equal.

With the brown fox as strong as she was now, she should have had what it took to defeat the shrew. With that in mind, she took a deep breath and thought, 'Right,' before racing toward her.

Once close enough, she prepared a high kick only to hesitate again, Cyndaquil frowning and taking hold of her ankle. She then used all her might to force Eevee onto her back while the crowd cheered for her once more. Flareon bit her lower lip as the woman next to her said, "Your daughter's not looking so good out there. Maybe you should get a towel and throw it in for her."

"Hey, we Chimlins don't forfeit," Flareon grunted, folding her arms and thinking, 'Please, Eevee. Cyndaquil clearly wanted you to hit her with that.'

When Eevee rose back to her feet, for the first time in her entire life, Cyndaquil looked irritated as she folded her arms and gave her friend a cold stare. The brown fox gave her a strange look while she tapped her foot.

"I knew it," Cyndaquil growled, "You're holding back on me, aren't you?"

Eevee's eyes widened as she grunted, "What happened to you, Eevee!? You used to take me seriously! You know I can handle pain, so why do you seem so afraid of hurting me!"

The crowd gasped as, while this should have been obvious, they could not believe what they had just heard. So all this time, the reason for Eevee's poor display was not due to a lack of skill.

The brown fox stared for a few seconds until she finally realized why she kept hesitating. As such, she let out a sigh and groaned, "I know you can handle it. That's not the reason."

"Then what is it?" the shrew retorted, "If you're not afraid of hurting me, then what are you so afraid of? Why can't you treat me like any other opponent!?"

"Well, I know making it into the Olympics has always been your dream," Eevee whimpered, "I guess I didn't wanna take that away from you, you know?"

While Cyndaquil had a bit of trouble accepting this at first, she soon took a deep breath as a light smile formed on her face. She then looked into Eevee's eyes and sighed, "Look, Eevee, that's really sweet. You really are the bestest best friend I could have had. But do you think I want a free victory?"

The brown fox blinked before she added, "You're right, I would love to win this match and have a shot at making it into the Olympics so I can perform in front of millions. But if I don't truly earn this victory, it won't feel satisfying. I'll constantly think about how my best friend literally handed this spot to me and mess up in the first event. Not only would I feel cheated, but I'd feel like I robbed you of a chance too, and that's even worse."

Flareon let down light tears and sniffed, "Thank you, Cyndaquil," before blinking and uttering, "Though that really should have been obvious. Why didn't I realize that first?"

Cyndaquil gave her friend a sweeter smile and said, "Come on, let's continue this fight, but for real, okay? I want you to give it your all."

Eevee nodded as she felt a huge weight had been lifted off of her chest. Now she had no doubt in her mind that she could win this match and advance to the second round. And with that in mind, she stood her ground while Cyndaquil rolled up into a ball and covered herself in smoke again.

"FLAME WHEEL!" she squealed before heading toward the brown fox. But this time, Eevee was ready as she sent a kick into her side thus halting her attack and catching her off guard.

Eevee took full advantage of her current state and delivered a karate chop to her forehead while the crowd went wild. And it did not end there as she dashed behind Cyndaquil and wrapped her arms around her, lifting her up for a suplex of her own.

"That's more like it!" Cyndaquil squealed, "But I got a way to counter this, remember!?" releasing smoke from her back and shouting, "SMOKESCREEN!"

Luckily, Eevee had seen this coming since she had been on the receiving end of it many times in their youth. As such, she closed her eyes and held her breath before leaning back further and connecting the suplex.

The crowd cheered wildly as Mongkut exclaimed, "And after taking in all kinds of torment, Eevee finally gets the upper hand with a couple of good hits and a suplex! Cyndaquil will need to up her game if she wants the advantage back!"

"There's the challenge I wanted!" the shrew squealed as she latched her ankles to Eevee's neck. She then rolled backward and pulled the brown fox with her thus flinging her away and sending her back into the canvas.

She then propelled herself into the air and planted her feet into Eevee's midsection before leaping away from her and saying, "Now that actually felt earned," the crowd beyond pumped now. Just seeing both fighters on more equal ground only made the match more entertaining as they hoped to see more.

And sure enough, it did seem as if they would get their wish when Eevee sprang back to her feet and said, "You're just as good as I remember, but I've changed quite a bit since we last sparred."

"Oh?" Cyndaquil replied with a smirk, "Is that so? Well, go on and show me how you've improved," as Flareon nodded and thought, 'That's right. Not everyone here has seen your matches, so show them exactly what you're made of.'

The shrew once again leapt at Eevee only for her to step to the side and grab hold of her ankle. She then lifted her into the air with her leg bent forward and planted her back into her knee.

"For starters, a good friend of mine has taught me how to fight with my brain instead of barrelling into danger like I used to," Eevee explained as she released her hold on Cyndaquil and sent her elbow into her gut.

Now the brown fox was certain she was ready to end this while she flipped backward toward the ropes, adding, "But most of all, I've created a total of three signature moves, and I intend to finish you off with the first one I ever made."

"I'm touched," Cyndaquil replied as she sprang to her feet and leapt toward the opposite ropes, "But unfortunately for you, my plan was to take you down the same way, and there's no way I'm losing this opportunity!"

With that, smoke once again seeped from her back while she and Eevee rolled up into balls. And when they made contact with the ropes, both sets stretched back further than usual. After all, they really did intend on these being the last moves the crowd would see from them today.

"FLYING FOX WHEEL!" Eevee squeaked as she launched herself toward Cyndaquil, the shrew doing the same and shouting, "FLAME WHEEL!"

Soon enough, both heroes collided and stayed airborne for quite some time, sparks flying from them as some audience members could swear they actually saw a light flame flicker on Cyndaquil's back. But it died out soon enough when the two wound up being more evenly matched than expected and flew backwards, each one's back hitting the canvas hard.

As they lay there, all went silent among the crowd until Flareon uttered, "Wow, I actually wasn't expecting that," while Mongkut said, "Well, folks, it would seem both of our fighters have knocked each other down with their impressive finishing moves. Whoever gets up first is our winner."

Flareon cupped her paws together as, while she knew it was wrong to play favourites in this situation, she still wanted Eevee to win. Unfortunately, it seemed as if that might not be the case when Cyndaquil smirked and thought, 'You're awesome, Eevee, but this match is mine.'

But as she attempted to rise up, she wound up feeling too weak and struggled a lot. And before she could even try to get used to the pain, Eevee's eyes opened and she sprang to her feet, the crowd smiling wide and giving her a round of applause.

"And after a very close call, Eevee is our winner and has advanced to the semi-finals!" Mongkut exclaimed while the cheers only got louder, Flareon jumping up and down while clapping and shouting, "THAT'S MY DAUGHTER! THAT'S MY DAUGHTER!"

The woman next to her laughed nervously and uttered, "You must be so proud," before sighing, "Though that was pretty cool."

Cyndaquil had finally gotten used to the pain as she sat upright and rubbed the back of her head, saying, "Wow, Eevee, you weren't kidding. You really are a lot better than you used to be."

Eevee turned and asked, "Are you alright?" the shrew nodding with a big grin and replying, "Think about who you're talking to! You're not the only one with fighting spirit!"

"Well, there was that, but I meant-" the brown fox uttered only for Cyndaquil to sigh, "Look, like you said, I've always wanted to represent Thailand in the Hero Olympics. But hey, if I'm gonna lose, I may as well lose it to you. Anyone else and I would have been pissed."

Eevee stared silently before the two shared a good laugh, the two pounding their fists together as Cyndaquil slowly rose to her feet. Thankfully, Eevee had only dealt enough damage to end the fight and not much else, so she was able to hobble her way out of the ring.

But as she and Eevee were ready to take a seat, a staff member whispered something into Mongkut's ear. Thus he nodded and said, "It has come to my attention, folks, that it's a damn good thing this match was as exciting as it was, because it's officially the last one for the entire tournament."

Silence spread through the crowd until the man added, "As it so happens, three of our contestants could not make it as their flight was delayed for too long thus preventing them from making it on time. A couple more were training together for the event and took it so far on the last day that they wound up hospitalizing each other."

"Wow, that is ungodly stupid," Flareon uttered as Mongkut explained, "And unfortunately, the last contestant, Mareanie, got cold feet and decided to drop out."

No one could believe what they were hearing. Every one of them felt beyond disappointed until Mongkut added, "This can only mean one thing. Eevee is our champion and will represent Thailand in the Hero Olympics!"

After a few more seconds, the crowd shrugged and cheered for the brown fox as Mongkut pulled out a small gold trophy and approached her with it. He then handed it to her and said, "Congratulations on your victory. I'm sure you'll make it far, kid."

Eevee felt a little bad about this. After all, this hardly felt earned. But when she looked at Flareon and Cyndaquil, both of which nodded their heads in approval, she shrugged her shoulders and accepted the trophy. She then held it above her head and squealed, "LOOK OUT, WORLD! HERE I COME!" the cheers getting louder.

During this time on Hero Planet, specifically in a mansion that was fancier than the one he had been assigned, Metapod was preparing for the trip to Earth. After all, it would not be long until the opening ceremony was set to begin. But just as he was almost finished packing, he noticed Caterpie seated right in front of the TV watching Eevee accept her trophy.

"I could have earned a trophy just like that," Caterpie grumbled before Metapod chuckled and replied, "Don't worry, my boy. I got you covered," before walking toward a desk and pulling out a trophy with a small Caterpie statue on top, "The championship belt will make this rather obsolete, but-"

"No, Dad, I can't accept that!" the caterpillar retorted, "I didn't earn that trophy!" only for Metapod to sigh, "Look, son, you needn't waste your time on the scrubs. You're too good for that. You just need to save your strength for the real competition. I'll even bump you up to the finals if you'd-"

"Don't even think about that!" Caterpie retorted with a serious look in his eyes as Metapod let down a light tear and sniffed, "So proud of you!" the caterpillar thinking, 'It must feel so good earning your right to compete, Eevee. Even if I was just given one opponent to face, that would be fine.'

He remembered the day he came to Hero Planet. The first thing he did was discuss such an idea with his father.

"Look, just one match, that's all I'm asking," he pleaded, "Seriously, I've been training really hard for a moment like this and I wanna know if my hard work is worth it!"

"Nonsense, son," Metapod remarked, "It's in your blood. That's all you need to know."

"You can't even arrange a match with Charjabug?" the caterpillar remarked, "You offered to make him my personal trainer the day I left," as Metapod nodded and replied, "And you told me you didn't need him, and I still believe you."

Back in present time, the caterpillar sighed and got up before saying, "I'm gonna go pack my things now," as the chrysalis nodded and replied, "Yeah, you do that, son."

However, Caterpie did not enter his old room. Rather, he knocked on the door of another when a middle-aged mantis with long black hair named Mantarina answered and smiled, saying, "Oh, hello son. You excited for the big day?"

"Yeah, I sure am," the caterpillar replied as he sighed, "Look, you agree that I should at least earn the right to compete, right?"

The mantis took a deep breath and signalled her son to enter. He did so and sat on the bed next to her as she smiled and said, "Look, son, like your father, I do believe you have what it takes to at least make it past the first round, but not because it's in your blood. I've seen you training extra hard when he's not looking, and I can see the determination in your eyes. You don't need to prove yourself in a match here. You just need to make it far enough to show the world how much better you've become, you know, let it be a surprise."

The caterpillar nodded and asked, "By the way, I gotta ask, since you knew Grandma and Grandpa a lot, did they treat Dad the same way? I'm just wondering if maybe they're the reason he believes I don't have to work toward my goal."

"Actually, they had very little to do with it," Mantarina sighed, "The truth is, when your father was growing up, they would train him really hard to become a hero, and he was okay with that because he really wanted that. But unfortunately, after he became as good as he was and gained chairman status, he suddenly realized that he didn't have much of a social life because all he did was train. He never had fun. So I guess in a way, he figured that if he convinced you and himself that amazing power was in your blood, you wouldn't have to sacrifice a social life to become a hero."

Caterpie blinked and uttered, "He does realize it's possible to work out for an hour a day and still kick ass, right?" as Mantarina chuckled and replied, "It's funny. Your grandparents used to tell him that all the time and he'd never listen. Eventually, they just stopped trying and figured if he felt comfortable working himself that hard, they may as well let him. If only they'd tried just a little harder."

Caterpie nodded and smiled before replying, "Well, I may not have won a match to be accepted, but now I'm certain I can make it far. Thanks, Mom," the mantis beaming bright and giving him a hug. There was no doubt he would prove himself to the world.