We're moving on to the second match of the tourney… Fox vs. Pikachu. The preshow is written by Dan Bonez, the battle is written by BigCow, and the aftermath is written by Furious J.

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PRESHOW

The stadium was filled to capacity with fans awaiting the upcoming match. Some audience members, especially most of the children, were cheering for their favorite Pokemon, Pikachu. Others, however, were creating some silly rhyme, cheering against the electric creature.

"What the heck is wrong with you?
Only the stupid cheer Pikachu
Fox will make him black and blue
See ya rodent! Don't let the door hit you!"

The majority was just waiting to see what should be an exciting match, not having a preference for either contestant. It was similar among the other participants in the contest, who sat in their own section of the stadium. Many were just there to see the match, having no strong feelings toward either.

Except for one Mr. Resetti, however. His viewpoint was somewhat different, as he reflected on how the hole in the ceiling of the shop he currently stood in came to be.

"Pikachu will get what he deserves in this match, especially after what he did to this store!"

Magus was waiting, taking quite an interesting in this match. The winner of this match will be facing the defending champion… It will be interesting to see what they can do. Perhaps I'll fight one of these two after I get past Fisher… He looked over at Sam Fisher, who was talking with Solid Snake and Raiden, and grinned confidently.

On the stadium grounds, Fox McCloud sat in his room, waiting until the match started. He could hear the roars from the fans, but it didn't make him nervous. He was just looking over his blaster to see if everything was in working order. He'd done it about twenty times. …Okay, so maybe he was slightly nervous, but he was still confident. Judging by what he'd seen of Pikachu, this should be a walk in the park… But Fox wouldn't take the electric mouse lightly. He would not make his confidence a weakness.

Pikachu, on the other hand, was hopping around his room madly. There were black burn marks on the wall from where Pikachu had fired off a little of his electricity. Pikachu was used to fighting alongside of Ash, and taking orders from him in battle. A battle on his own would be quite different indeed… but he would not give up, no matter what situation Fox put him in.


THE BATTLE

Beady black eyes met light green eyes surrounded by fur. A yellow rat and a fox stood across a dividing line, sizing each other up. Pikachu had his head cocked to one side, with a mildly serious expression on his face. He seemed satisfied, turned the other way and smiled, yipping "chu! chu!".

Fox found it difficult to evaluate the little Pokemon. One of Fox's greatest strengths was his ability to anticipate and outguess what his opponents would do-his intuitive knowledge of combat, and instincts for danger had turned the fate of a whole galaxy around. But against a rat that barely measured up to his knee, he wasn't sure what to do. The creature was an animal, unpredictable... and his abilities with electrical power were not to be taken lightly.

Fox rested on hand on his holster. He couldn't afford to mess up again... he wouldn't take another first round loss.

A gong sounded. "FIGHT!!!" a voice from the crowd yelled out. Fox guessed it was time to begin.

Pikachu growled at Fox, and then zipped up into the air past his head. Fox turned his head to one side quickly, and felt Pikachu's tail strike the side of his helmet. Fox turned around and drew his blaster at the same time. He fired off a quick burst of energy at Pikachu... but his opponent was too fast, the rodent jumped to the side almost faster than Fox could see.

It's like he's teleporting. This is insane. Fox laid down a stream of fire in front of him, hoping to lead Pikachu into one of his shots. Pikachu jumped up into the air over the blasts and looked Fox in the eye with a determined stare.

"Piiiikkaaaachuuuu!!!!"

Fox rolled to one side before he could even see the lightning bolt. He'd seen Pikachu in practice, he knew what that meant. Pikachu pointed an angry finger at him, and Fox jerked himself in the opposite direction just in time to be missed by an electrical shock. He had to figure out something fast. At least he's not dodging at the moment...

Fox faked a jump to one side, but swung his gun forward and fired straight at the rat. Pikachu quick dodged out of the way, but one of the shots got him in the tail. He stood to Fox's right, rubbing his tail.

I have to end this. Fox realized. The little guy has more energy than me, and he'll just wear me down.

In a somewhat undignified move, Fox jumped forward and tried to land on Pikachu. Pikachu flinched and tried to move away but Fox grabbed him by the tail. The two animals kicked and clawed at each other, with Pikachu getting the worse end of the bargain. Finally Pikachu had had enough.

"PiiiiikkaaaCHUUUUU!"

A thunderbolt came out of nowhere and hit pikachu in the chest... but he simply channelled the energy and poured it into Fox. Fox was thrown backwards by the electrical force. He looked around dazed.

Great, now all my hair is standing on end. And for me... that's no joke. Fox managed to locate Pikachu, who seemed unaffected by his blast. The rat gave off sparks around him, and static electricity seemed to be coursing through his veins. Pikachu began to run forward.

Fox desperately reached for his gun and tried to fire. "Come on, work!" It was overloaded from the last attack. "Reset, Reset..." Fox pleaded. The gun started warming up in his hand. Pikachu was running even faster and began diving into the air, but now, Fox was ready… He held down the trigger and fired blast after blast into the rat. Pikachu began to swerve to one side but Fox followed his path through the air with his gun. Pikachu landed on his feet.

Fox looked at him expectantly, believing his time was up. Pikachu looked at him with a smile, and nodded. "Pikaaaa!"

The little rat's eyes turned to x's, and he flopped on his side. Fox stared in disbelief. The crowd began clapping lightly. He could see Samus Aran give him a thumbs up. Fox walked over and kicked the little rat lightly, but with no effect. It's like he just fainted or something...

Fox shrugged. He was in no position to complain. The fight had gone on more than long enough for him. Fox made his way off the field, and joined his friends in the stands, Samus looked like she wanted to talk to him. That was lot of work for such a little guy. Well, next round I fight Link... eh, at least he's human.


AFTERMATH

"That's it," chortled Link from the sidelines. "That's all the great Fox McCloud can do? Really, I would've liked to at least try to defend my title."

"You will beat him with just as little effort," sneered Tingle gleefully.

"Careful, Master Link. Fox McCloud is no push over, that Pikachu was quite powerful. Fox may not be as easy as you think," said a wise voice belonging to the owl Kaepora Gaebora.

"Ha, ha, courageous as always, eh Link," said a dark voice.

"Ganondorf," Princess Zelda said. "What business do you have here."

"I just wanted to express my congratulations... on a helpless animal well slaughtered."

Zelda leaped up. "He was not helpless, he knew what he was getting into before he signed up."

"So? The pilot didn't kill that adorable little mouse; Link could have just as easily incapacitated the monkey. But don't get me wrong, given the situation I would have done the same myself." He began to life and then in a high whiny tone he snickered, "Oh… You remind me of myself at your age." Ganondorf walked off laughing.

The wise owl, who had remained quiet the entire time Ganondorf was there, turned to Link and said, "He's right you know. At times during this tournament, you have reminded me of the evil Ganondorf."

"Silence!!!!" yelled Link, "I am not Ganondorf."

"I'm sorry Link, I just...." Kaepora was interrupted as Link rose from his chair and exited the arena. "I just think becoming champion has changed you."

"Well, keep it to yourself then." Link retorted.

Tingle, Zelda, and Kaepora exchanged looks and then followed after the champion.