This was it. The final match would take place five minutes from now, but at this moment, Machop was tempted to leave the area so she could join Torchic on her trip to the hospital. As if that was not enough, now the very idea of facing Slurpuff terrified her.

Jackalu could see this as he rested a hand on her shoulder, smiling and saying, "Don't worry, alright? If the winner of this next match doesn't deal with that overrated cupcake, Clawitzer or I will do it. He may have some nice tricks up his sleeve, but it's nothing we can't handle."

"Right, of course," Machop replied with a light smile, "If anyone can defeat that guy, it's you," her cheeks light pink as Isamu thought, 'Alright, once we're out of this area and headed home, I'll ask her out. If she says no, I'll just accept it and move on. That's it.'

Once five minutes were up, Beedrill stated, "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the final match of the day! We've had a very exciting first round, but let's see if this match will be just as exciting if not more!"

Nori nodded and said, "In the red corner, our second hero representing Germany is a fennec fox descended from a long line of pyro mages. With a strong spirit and a heart for combat, it is my pleasure to introduce Delphox!"

The German crowd went wild as the fox made her way toward the ring with a fireball circling her courtesy of the magic that had been brought up, and she was quite a lovely sight to behold. Her fur resembled a robe that was primarily dark-red with reddish-orange markings that resembled flames on her knees. She had a tuft of white fur on her torso flanked by yellow fur draping down her shoulders and also covering her head and tail. Protruding from each ear were three tufts of reddish-orange fur as that on her arms was red and resembled sleeves. Her hands and feet were dark-grey with three clawed fingers on each.

As she approached the ring, she proceeded to leap up into the air, shooting fire from her heels thus allowing her to fly higher into the air. She then performed a vertical flip before landing perfectly on her feet, the crowd cheering even louder.

"Wow, she's beautiful," Meloetta uttered with her eyes wide open as Vigoroth shrugged and replied, "Well, she is a fox. That kind of comes with the territory."

"And in the blue corner," Yuki stated, "coming to us from Nicaragua is one who may look weak and skinny but can actually pack quite a punch, mostly with the help of her moon rock-like shell! As such, it is my pleasure to introduce Shuckle!"

The Nicaraguan fans cheered wildly as the noodle-like turtle made her way over to the ring. However, with the way she was moving, one would swear she came out of a cartoon from the thirties as it looked like she was struggling just to stay up, her body leaning in various different directions at random. The only thing that remained consistent was how her legs were moving.

Machop stared in stunned silence and uttered, "Really? She qualified for the tournament? She's harder to take seriously than Slurpuff," as Lairon replied, "Exactly. We all thought Slurpuff was going to be weak, but he proved us wrong. We can't make the same mistake about this one either."

Soon enough, the turtle made her way over to the ring and attempted to climb into it. However, some members of the crowd resisted the urge to laugh as found herself struggling to get up, her legs waving around like actual noodles dangling in the breeze. Seeing as her arms were not helping things, she ultimately lifted her head up and lightly bit the bottom rope, using that to pull herself up.

"Oh my god," Rinko snickered, "You have a point, Mister Lairon, sir, but come on, this is hard to take seriously," as Venipede was resisting the urge to laugh.

"Come on, guys, stop that," Meloetta whimpered, "She can't help the way she was born," as Vigoroth sighed, "I hate to say it, but she's right. Besides, for all we know, she's probably really hardcore."

With all said and done, Shuckle sauntered over to Delphox and held out her arm, saying, "Hey there. It's nice to meetcha," the fox giving her a light smile and shaking her hand, replying, "Likewise. Here's to a good match."

The crowd cheered in response to this as Yuki said, "You know, with all these bitter, brutal matches, it's kind of refreshing to see good sportsmanship. After all, one would expect heroes to be like this more often," Nori nodding and sighing, "True, but let's face it, all sporting events are super competitive."

Once the handshake ended, both fighters walked to their own sides of the ring as Yuki said, "Well, folks, the combatants are set. Thus we can begin the match."

Once the bell was rung, Delphox lit her hands on fire only for Shuckle to tuck her legs into her shell. Most of the crowd was confused by this until she retracted her feet, launching herself toward her opponent. The fox sent her palm forward only for the turtle to tuck her head and legs into her shell, only leaving her arms out and spinning while shouting, "SHELLED KUNAI!"

Delphox's eyes widened as she took multiple strikes to her cheek, the Nicaraguan crowd cheering wildly as Shuckle emerged from her shell, sending her head hard into the fox's chin. And it did not end there was she sent a barrage of rapid punches and kicks into her midsection, Machop and her friends staring in stunned silence.

"You know, I really should have seen that coming," the girl uttered as Garchomp nodded and replied, "Yeah, that stretchy exterior of hers makes it really easy for her to pull off moves like that. It already looks like she could very well win this match."

Delphox narrowed her eyelids before lighting her hands on fire and sending two karate chops toward Shuckle's arms. However, the turtle was more than ready for this as she tucked them into her shell, Delphox missing as her eyes widened. And while she was distracted, the turtle's arms emerged and bound her wrists in place.

Shuckle then proceeded to tuck her legs into her shell before swinging it back, shouting, "SHELL SLINGSHOT!" reeling it inward thus ramming it into Delphox's gut.

"Delphox's magic may be tough, but against an opponent like Shuckle, it's practically useless," Yuki stated, "Not only does Shuckle's slender, stretchy build make her very fast and flexible, but that hard shell of hers makes it easy for her to protect her body from harm."

Delphox backed up and took a few breaths before saying, "Alright, you've proven yourself a challenge, but now it's my turn," before conjuring up a fireball with her fingertip and sending it toward the turtle.

Seeing this, Shuckle tucked her entire body into her shell as the flame ran into it. And sure enough, it had no effect as the turtle allowed one arm to emerge from a hole, placing it against the mat and using it to lift herself up. She then tilted her shell sideways and leaned her arm back, flinging herself toward Delphox while allowing her shell to spin.

The Nicaraguan fans continued to cheer as Delphox took another blow to her gut, this time coughing up blood as Vigoroth groaned, "My god, this is just painful. I hate to say it, but I think Delphox would be better off giving up."

It seemed this could very well have been the better option as Shuckle emerged and stood atop a single leg while balancing the rest of her body like a spinning plate, saying, "I have to admit, when I saw that you were my first opponent, I was beyond happy, and this is the reason. See, the ability to use magic is rare among our kind. You're one of the few heroes out there with the ability to use long-ranged attacks, and while that sort of thing may be impressive against your common villain or, well, just about any other hero, it's useless against someone like me."

"What!?" Delphox retorted as the turtle snickered and replied, "Think about it. Your puny little flames can't penetrate my shell, and it's not like you can possibly hit my body as I'm far too flexible. But it's okay if you wanna forfeit. I won't judge."

Hearing these very words caused the often calm and collected fox to feel a great deal of rage, her eyes narrowed as her tail burst into flame. The German fans stared in stunned silence as Shuckle smirked and thought, 'Perfect. This just got easier.'

With that, the fox leapt into the air and pointed her feet backwards, crossing her arms as flames surrounded them. She then shot fire from her heels like she had earlier and exclaimed, "FOX FIRE ROCKET!" blasting toward Shuckle as she once against started to tuck herself into her shell.

However, it seemed Delphox was moving even more quickly than the turtle had expected as she was unable to hide her head in time to avoid a strike to her neck. The crowd went wild as she coughed up blood, flying backwards into the ropes and bouncing off. And it did not end there as Delphox sent a palm punch into her face, causing her to fall on her back.

"After taking in quite the assault, Delphox finally manages to work around Shuckle's ironclad defence," Nori stated, "When moving at her normal speed, she was unable to strike the turtle, but now that she's moving faster, she's managed to land two very impressive hits."

"Not only that, but I think Shuckle may have taken in more pain from those two hits than Delphox has from all of her attacks," Beedrill added, "While Delphox may be closer and, well, lacking a shell of her own, she's also bigger and is thus able to take in more pain. Meanwhile, Shuckle's shell is nothing short of a blessing due to her body being so thin, meaning even a light karate chop would feel like a two-handed punch."

"YEAH, THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!" Rinko exclaimed as the others stared at her, the brunette shrugging and uttering, "Hey, she's the only representative of my country left. May as well give her some support, right?"

And it truly seemed that these two hits had been enough to end this match as Nori had already started the ten count, currently up to three. Needless to say, Delphox was not to be taken lightly.

"Look at you," Delphox scoffed with her arms folded, "You act all tough when in reality, you're nothing more than a coward who needs the protection of her precious shell to keep her safe. It was only a matter of time until someone found a way around your flexibility and defence. I'm just amazed that I had to be the first."

However, once Nori counted up to nine, Shuckle quickly recovered and propelled herself back to her feet, breathing heavily as the Nicaraguan fans cheered wildly. The turtle wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead, smirking and saying, "I have to say, I'm actually impressed. But even so, you should have hit me harder because there's no way in Hell I'm letting you land another hit."

With that, the turtle leaned her legs back before propelling her shell forward and tucking her entire body into it. Delphox knew trying to counter would be pointless and thus attempted to dodge. Unfortunately, it seemed she was too slow as she took a hit to her side.

Shuckle then whipped out the arm and leg closest to Delphox and latched onto her arm, pulling hard enough to force her downward as her chin hit the canvas. And to add insult to injury, Shuckle proceeded to leap high above her before once again tucking herself into her shell, falling toward the fox and shouting, "SHELL METEOR!"

And sure enough, Delphox was unable to react in time as she took the blow to her back, coughing up blood with her eyes and mouth wide with shock and agony. The Nicaraguan fans cheered even louder as Yuki stated, "Well, Shuckle is certainly putting her money where her mouth is. Now that she's taken in damage, she's doing everything to make sure Delphox can't hit her again."

Shuckle leapt away from Delphox and poked her head out of her shell, noticing the fox slowly pushing herself up as she smiled wickedly and said, "I'm impressed that you're still able to move, but this next one will finish you off for good."

With that, the turtle pushed herself into the air and toward the ropes, pressing up against them. And after a few seconds, she bounced off of the springy material toward the fox while shouting, "SHELLAPULT!"

Unfortunately for the turtle, Delphox was not going to allow this one to hit her. As such, she took a deep breath as fire surrounded her hands once more. Then then proceeded to wave them in a circular pattern, forming a ring of fire and shouting, "MYSTICAL FIRE!"

Each side of the ring separated thus forming two streams. The fire then flew toward Shuckle as it soon formed into five small streams, each one entering one of the turtle's holes. And sure enough, this managed to halt her attack just as she was a mere millisecond away from hitting Delphox, her arms, legs and head emerging as she cried out in agonizing pain.

The German fans went wild as Delphox took full advantage of this, spreading out her arms next to Shuckle's neck and sending both hands into it, shouting, "DOUBLE FIRE CHOP!"

This was more than enough as Shuckle coughed up blood, her eyes and mouth wide open as she collapsed. All five exposed parts were spread out as Nori started the countdown yet again, Yuki exclaiming, "And just as it seemed like Shuckle still had this match in the bag, Delphox takes full advantage of the openings on her shell, setting her up for further pain to her sensitive neck!"

The German fans went wild as Jackalu folded his arms behind his head, saying, "You know, I'm kinda surprised she didn't think to do that sooner," Lairon nodding and replying, "Yeah, it's weird when they don't think of the most obvious method from the get-go, isn't it?"

Whatever the case, Shuckle had barely gotten up in time to avoid the ten count before, so there was no doubt in anyone's mind that she would not rise from this. And just as expected, Nori reached ten and rang the bell, exclaiming, "And the victory goes to Delphox, therefor she will be the last fighter to advance to round two!"

The cheers from the German side and even a few Tokyo viewers grew as the Nicaraguan fans bowed their heads in respect. After all, Shuckle had done the best she could and that was all they could ask.

Once she had been taken out of the ring on a stretcher, Delphox turned toward Slurpuff in the crowd who had a dopey smile on his face while bobbing his body up and down. Seeing this, she had a cross look on her face as she thought, 'Yeah, keep up that stupid act of yours. Keep getting the crowd on your side. You're not going to get the better of me. You'll soon realize what it feels like to lose in a fair fight.'

"That concludes round one," Beedrill stated, "Round two will be in three days, thus I would recommend that those of you still competing use that time to prepare yourselves. After all, the matches can only get harder from here, right?"

With all said and done, the audience members got up to leave as Eiko asked, "So, Kelani, did you have fun?" the doberman nodding and saying, "Well, some of the stuff was upsetting, but I liked it. I can't wait to see Machop and Venipede win their next matches!"

"And me?" Jackalu asked with a grin as Kelani replied, "Of course!" the dog's eyes sparkling as he squealed, "I like this kid!"

And soon enough, everyone was ready to head home as Lairon said, "Well, this has been a long day. I'm gonna make you a nice, big dinner, Machop," the girl grinning with excitement as Meloetta said, "I'll help."

But just as the girl was about to join the others in Garchomp's van, Isamu tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Hey, Eiko and I are gonna head home in a bit too, but I want to talk to you about something first. Something private," his cheeks flushed pink.

Machop shrugged and nodded before calling, "Hey, can you guys wait up for us!?" Garchomp nodding and replying, "Take your time. We're in no rush, right?" as Lairon bit his lower lip and uttered, "Okay," really wanting to start on dinner sooner than later.

With that, the two walked a small distance from the others until they could no longer see them. As such, Isamu took a deep breath and said, "Alright, Machop, I have something I need to confess. It's not easy for someone like me to say this, but I figure if I hold this off any longer-"

"Alright, no need to beat around the bush," Machop remarked with a grin, "Just let it all out, okay?"

"Alright," Isamu replied before calming himself down, adding, "Machop, as you already know, I didn't trust you when we first met," the girl sighing, "I try not to think about it, but go on."

The boy felt awkward bringing this up before adding, "Anyway, ever since you saved me from Crawdaunt, I've found you absolutely amazing. You're fun, you're actually pretty cute for a lizard-like thing and, well, whenever you fight, it's like watching magic. You just pull off all these amazing miracles that not even your friends have ever truly pulled off."

Machop's eyes widened as she bit her lower lip. Deep down, she had a feeling of where this was headed and she was not sure how to feel, but even so, she knew how important this was and thus allowed Isamu to continue.

"Anyway, I really, really like you," Isamu said, "So I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime, you know, on a date."

While the boy looked embarrassed after having said all of this, he also felt strangely content like he had just removed a heavy burden from his life. Machop, on the other hand, still had no clue what to think of this.

However, she had to be honest and thus she gave him a light smile and replied, "Look, Isamu, I like you, too, but not in that way. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I actually have feelings for Jackalu. It's strange, but ever since that time he almost sacrificed a spot in the Olympics to help me, well, he makes my heart race."

Even though Isamu knew this, it still came off as devastating, especially after he had spent so long mustering up the courage to say this. He had even mentally prepared himself for failure and yet he still had trouble taking this all in.

However, his hope lifted when Machop uttered, "In all honesty, I'm not even really sure if I love Jackalu or if a relationship between the two of us could even work. But even so, I see you as more of a big brother than, well, a soul mate."

Isamu took a deep breath and replied, "Okay. I understand," Machop groaning, "I'm so sorry," before holding her arm and biting her lower lip.

The two remained standing awkwardly for a while before turning and walking off toward their families. Needless to say, the whole day had been mostly positive with the results of the matches, but this one moment had made it the most awkward day of Isamu and Machop's lives. To make matters worse, Isamu was now conflicted about whether he really should have confessed or not.

Either way, Machop had lots of training ahead of her and would have been much better off focusing on that. Whoever the girl had a crush on would have to wait as Chesnaught would certainly be a tough adversary.