Chapter XI: The Battle for the Oak Cup

An hour has passed since Bowser JR kidnaped Peach. Sora's group (except for Toadsworth who boarded the Toad Express) arrived at the hotel where Leon was waiting. Sora explained everything that happened.

"I see..." Leon said baffled. "So there was a keyhole here after all."

"And then little Bowser kidnap Peach." Yoshi added sadly.

"He's probably taking her back to big Bowser as we speak." Luigi growled. "As always that Bowser doesn't want to be alone."

"This time I'm afraid he has a true purpose." Leon sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked nervously.

"I was doing some research when I came across something about seven beautiful maidens know as the Princesses of Heart." Leon explained. "It's believed they hold the key to unlocking a powerful darkness that could bring about the end of mankind."

Yoshi whimpered upon hearing this. "Really?"

"I'm afraid so." Leon replied. "That was something also mentioned in Ansem's Report. I suspect that's the reason Bowser is after Peach and the others."

"Then that's probably why Dixie and Samus disappeared." Sora gasped. "They were one of the seven princesses!"

"Exactly! As I feared, he must be trying to get them all to gain true power." Leon said.

"We have to stop him then!" Luigi cried. "Or else innocent lives will be destroyed!"

"Before you go take this." Leon said handing Sora a scroll.

"Another scroll!" Sora exclaimed.

"Yeah, you left it behind after your battle." Leon said.

Sora read the scroll and a white gust of wind surrounded him.

"Whoa!"

"You've learned Aero." Luigi said. "This increases your defense and gives you more power."

"Cool!"

"There's no time!" Leon said. "You three should get going then!"

"Right!" Sora nodded. "Luigi, Yoshi, let's rock and roll!"

The trio said good-bye and headed back into to town. They arrived back into town and met up with Toadsworth. As Toadsworth approached the trio, Luigi whispered to Sora and Yoshi.

"We can't let Toadsworth know about what Peach is or else he'll have a heart attack." Luigi whispered. "That goes for you too, Yoshi."

"Aw!" Yoshi moaned.

"Master Sora, Master Luigi, Yoshi glad to see you." Toadsworth said happily.

"Hey man, are you alright?" Sora asked Toadsworth concerned. "You were pretty bummed out about Peach."

"Who ever this man is, I assure you that I have gotten over losing the princess." Toadsworth said. Sora rolled his eyes. "Besides, I'm sure we can find her."

"Yeah, we won't give up." Luigi said with confidence. "We'll search every part of the globe until we've found her! And we do have FLUDD to help us."

"Thank you." FLUDD responded. "I appreciate your kind words."

"Then let's go!"

"Hold on, kid!" Luigi said stopping Sora. "We should stock up on supplies before heading out."

"I wonder if Cid has anything good at the accessory shop?"

"Come on! Yoshi want to see!" Yoshi said excitedly.

The four headed over to Cid's shop and were about to walk in when they got stopped by Mr. Resetti.

"Mr. Resetti?" Sora asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Why I'm spreading the word about resetting and you four look like you could use it." Resetti said.

"Liked to, loved to, but we have too much to do." Luigi responded.

Resetti then yelled at Luigi. "YOU WILL SIT YOUR BUTT DOWN AND LISTEN TO MY LECTURE OR ELSE I"LL BEAT INTO AN EARLY GRAVE!"

Luigi ran behind Yoshi screaming. "Why do these things always happened to me?"

Toadsworth slapped Resetti across the face. "Get a hold of yourself sir."

"Sorry." Resetti sighed. "You wouldn't believe how many people I had to talk to about resetting today."

"It sounds interesting but we're kinda in a hurry." Sora said nervously. "Man, I could imagine Cid and this guy going at it with those big mouths."

"Very well, but next time we meet I won't go so easy on you." Resetti said. "And I'm watching you Mr. Italian and wash your hair before bed."

Luigi gulped and came out from behind Yoshi as Resetti walked away.

"He scares me." Luigi shivered.

"Like everything else that scares you." Sora mumbled with a chuckled.

"What was that?" Luigi asked suspiciously at Sora.

"Oh, nothing." Sora lied with a chuckle.

"At least we don't have to worry about him for awhile." Toadsworth added. "Let's go in!"

The four entered the room only to discover that Cid wasn't there. The four walked around the room looking for him.

"Cid? Ya here?" Sora called out.

"No one home." Yoshi sighed. "Yoshi think Cid taking nap." Just then, everyone could hear snoring. "Yoshi right! Cid asleep!"

"It sounds like it's coming from the left of the counter." Luigi pointed to the side of the counter.

Everyone walked over to notice a Goomba was asleep on the floor but this one wore a blue baseball cap.

"Well, I'll be." Toadsworth laughed. "As I stand here and breath if it isn't Goombario."

The Goomba then yawned and began to wake up.

"The answer is Pi 3.14" Goombario said sleepily. He then looked up to notice Toadsworth. "Oh, hi Toadsworth, and Luigi too. So nice to see you again."

"Who and what is that?" Sora asked Luigi.

"This is a Goomba, a creature that came from our world. However, this kid Goombario is very smart for his age." Luigi explained. "He once helped my brother save Peach from Bowser and because he was so smart he was enrolled in Toadsworth advance Math class after."

"I didn't know you were a teacher." Sora said in surprise turning to Toadsworth.

"It was a part time job." Toadsworth said.

"Actually, he was my collage professor!" Goombario interrupted.

"What?" Sora and Yoshi exclaimed.

"And I'm glad to see you're okay, but what on earth are you doing down there?" Toadsworth asked Goombario.

"Um, I was trying to solve a long division problem." Goombario lied.

"That's always been the problem with you. You were such a good student, but after the battle with Bowser you became a liar." Toadsworth sighed.

"But I'm telling the truth." Goombario protested. "Just like how I found this present."

"Listen, little Goomba boys and girls who continue lying will have no feet." Toadsworth pointed out.

"I thought it was their noises grow real long." Sora interrupted.

"If you took the time to notice, I don't have a nose." Goombario pointed out. He then sighed. "Alright, I took the present so I could make a ship to go find Kooper, Lady Bow, and Parakarry. They were all with me when we got separated. I'm going to find them."

"Yes, but It's dangerous out there." Toadsworth pointed out. "Not even your super strong head can help you."

"Then what can we do?" Goombario asked. "I want to be with my friends again."

"Don't worry, you leave that to us. We'll find your friends and these three fellows will lend me a hand."

"We will?" Luigi asked.

"Okay, Toadsworth." Goombario smiled. "I'll leave everything to you then."

"Then shall we go Master Sora?" Toadsworth asked.

"Could have asked us first." Sora grumbled.

Sora payed in advance for the equipped items and then headed out. They took the boat back to the airport and boarded the ship with Luigi smiling knowing that his brother's good name has been finally cleared. As they boarded the ship the ringing of a telephone could be heard.

"That must be our on air phone service." Toadsworth assumed. "I'll get it." Toadsworth picked up the phone and put his mouth up to the mouth part. "Hello? Yes? Oh, hello professor. Yes he's here!" He then handed the phone to Sora. "Master Sora, Professor Oak is on the line. Do you wish to speak with him?"

"Sure." Sora said putting the phone up. "Hi, Professor."

"Hello Sora, good to hear from you." Oak said happily but a little glum over the phone line. "You sound well."

"Thanks, but you sound a little sad." Sora responded concerned. "What's wrong?"

"I have some good news and some bad news." Oak said. "The good news is that we've finally managed to clean up the mess done by Team Rocket, so the first cup of the tournament is beginning."

"Alright!" Sora cheered.

"Why Sora cheering?"

"The mess done by Team Rocket has been fixed so we can fully enter the games now!" Sora said excitedly.

"Happy day!" Luigi cheered. "Now we can kick some serious butt and win the tournament faster then you can say.."

"Um, what's the bad news professor?" Sora interrupted quickly not wanting to hear Luigi's jokes.

"Hey, I didn't even finish!" Luigi said angrily.

"The bad news is that Ash lost the Johto competition and he was so close." Oak said in sorrow.

"Oh, that's too bad." Sora said in disappointment. "He sounded so confident he could win. But when we get there we'll cheer him up."

"Good, and Ash said he is going to take part in my competition. So maybe you'll end up facing him."

"Sounds like fun." Sora nodded. "We'll be there real soon. Good-bye and see ya soon." Sora then hung up the phone and turned to Toadsworth. "Tell the pilot to head to Pokemon Coliseum." He then turned to Luigi and Yoshi. "I know we're on a mission but if we battle for a little while we'll become stronger then ever."

"Good point." Yoshi nodded.

"Then off to Pokemon Coliseum!" Toadsworth announced.

Using the new warp feature the Toad Express blasted through space and time and arrived at Pokemon Coliseum. Sora looked out the window in amazement.

"Wow, we've got here so fast." Sora said in shock.

"Come, on, kid." Luigi said. "Let's go kick some butt!"

The trio exited the Toad Express and said good-bye to Toadsworth. They made their way through town until they arrived at the entrance to the coliseum. As they walked in they got greeted by a yellow friend.

"Pikachu!"

"Hi, Pikachu!" Sora said. "Long time no see!" Pikachu jumped onto Sora's head and then licked Sora's face causing him to laugh. "Hey, that tickles!"

"Come here, Pikachu!" Called a voice.

Pikachu jumped off Sora's head and ran over to Ash and jumped on his head.

"Ash!" Yoshi cried.

"Hiya ,Sora." Ash said shaking Sora's hand. "Man, I've had a wild day how about you?"

"Trust me, my day couldn't get any wilder." Sora responded. "By the way, I heard you lost the Johto competition. I'm really sorry about that."

"It's alright." Ash replied with a chuckle. "As long as me and my Pokemon had fun, that's all that matters. I'm entering the professor's tournament. Who knows, maybe we'll end up facing each other!"

Pikachu tugged at Ash's pants. "Pika!"

"Oh, I forgot, I promised I would take my Pokemon to a big banquet celebrating that we made it to the semi-finals." Ash gasped. "I've got to go and the professor is waiting for you guys."

"Okay, kid. We'll see you guys around then." Luigi said.

The trio said good-bye to Ash and Pikachu and they headed in. They arrived at the entrance to the arena and Oak greeted them.

"Sora, Luigi, Yoshi, good timing." Oak said. "You're a bit earlier but we can start right now if you wish."

"That would sound great." Yoshi nodded.

"Then hurry up! The Oak cup is going to begin." Oak said.

The trio enter the arena where they get confronted by heartless for their first match.

"I thought this was a human vs. Pokemon competition?" Luigi gulped.

"Remember, that these guys can bend the rules." Sora pointed out.

The trio fought through nine seeds fighting old heartless like Space Pirates, Metroids, Power Wilds etc. Finally they made it through the nine seeds and arrived at the final seed.

"Who we facing?" Yoshi wondered.

Just then some space pirates and a Guard Armor with just it's chest and head floated out of the arena.

"Not again!" Luigi groaned. "Can't we have a day without Guard Armor?"

"But the thing about this one is that it doesn't have arms or legs so it shouldn't be too hard." Sora said with a smirk.

"Knock on wood." Luigi replied.

Our heros attacked the heartless. Luigi and Yoshi dealt with the pirates while Sora dealt with the handless and footless Guard Armor. The pirates tried to attack Luigi with fire but he used FLUDD to put out the fire. Yoshi ate up one of the pirates turning them into an egg and he shot it at another one. The armor spun it's body and knocked Sora back but he easily got up.

"That was weak." Sora laughed.

The Armor tried to attack again but Sora counter the attack sending it spinning into the ground. Sora jumped on top of it and slashed through the metal of the armor. The armor growled in pain and got back up. Luigi fired an ice spell knocking the armor over again and Sora stabbed it, finishing it off. The trio finished off the rest of the heartless and then the referee waved the flag.

"Team Armor is unable to battle, Team Sora wins and moves onto the Charizard cup!" The referee announced.

The gang cheered and Yoshi and Luigi jumped into Sora's arms and he swung them around. At the gates Oak and Ash (Who arrived a few minutes ago) watched the victory. Pikachu did his victory sign by making the piece sign.

"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered.

"He truly has a lot of skill." Oak said impressed.

"Looks like you underestimated him and his pals." Ash chuckled. "Just imagine, he might win the whole competition." Ash then smirked. "But he'll have to go through me and my Pokemon first! Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

Moments later, Sora and his friends were on a stand. A female reporter came up with camera people to interview Sora.

"So, Mr. Sora." The Female reporter said. "What do you have to say about your victory?"

Luigi and Yoshi looked at Sora and he lifted his keyblade into the sky.

"We're the champs!" Sora cried.

The audience cheered for the victory again. Minutes later, everyone was out in the lobby.

"Good job, boys! You are well on your way to winning." Oak said to the trio. "But we have to prepare for the next round, so I'll call you when it's ready. And here's your prize for winning!"

Oak handed Sora another scroll and he read it. Just then, Meowth walked in.

"I'm going to get dat Pikachu this time!" Meowth snickered. Just then he looked up to notice a black ball falling on him. "Oh, pooh!" The ball fell on him flattening him and everyone started laughing. Meowth stood back up. "This isn't over! I'll be back ya twerps and I'm going to get dat Pikachu!" He then ran off. "Team Rocket is blasting off again!"

"That Meowth will never learn." Ash laughed.

"We've just learned Gravity." Luigi told Sora. "A useful ability that lowers one's health by 25 percent. It can make them weaker so we can hit them more easily."

"Could be useful." Yoshi nodded in agreement. Everyone then heard a growling sound and Luigi screamed and hid behind Sora. Yoshi rubbed his stomach "Yoshi hungry."

Everyone looked at Luigi as he nervously walked out. "Oh..um...I knew that was his stomach."

"You're always hungry." Sora chuckled.

"Yoshi can't help it!" Yoshi whined.

"There's some table scraps back on the Toad Express..."

Yoshi ran out the door leaving a startled Sora and Luigi.

"Wow! He's fast!" Sora exclaimed.

"That's when he hears the word food. Then he's a speed demon." Luigi laughed.

"We should go then." Sora said to Oak. "We'll be back!"

Our heros said good-bye and headed out. As they headed back to the ship, they saw Cloud leaning on a building.

"Good job out there." Cloud smiled. "You fought well."

"Thanks, Cloud." Sora replied. "I can't believe you're still here!"

"I told you I'm looking for someone." Cloud said. "And I won't rest until I've found him."

"So you're going to enter the games now?" Luigi asked.

"I heard he's here." Cloud said softly. "If I get to the Platinum Cup I can beat him. So I guess this means there will be a rematch between us."

"I can't wait!" Sora replied excited. "By the way, do you know someone named Arieth?"

Cloud dropped his sword and gasps. "She's alive! But I thought Se...never mind. What did she say?"

"She say be careful!" Yoshi said.

Cloud pet Yoshi's head. "Okay, I will. Just tell her I'm fine and I know what I'm doing." He then looked up at Sora. "Sora. We will meet again and next time I promise to give you a fair fight."

"You're on!" Sora said shaking Cloud's hand. "And no dark powers involved!"

"Okay, and no dark powers." Cloud agreed.

Sora's group headed off and boarded the Toad Express. As the ship left they saw a giant green pipe appear.

"What's a warp pipe doing in the middle of space?" Luigi asked stunned.

"Believe it or not, this warp pipe should lead up into the next set of worlds." Toadsworth said.

"How sure are you?" Sora asked.

"Pretty sure!" Toadsworth responded.

"Then let's go!" Yoshi cried.

The Toad Express flew through the pipe and entered a warp vortex. Everyone went flying back into their seats.

"Hang on everyone!" Sora cried.

The ship picked up more speed at it flew through the vortex. Finally, a light could be seen at the end and the Toad Express exited the pipe. Everyone sighed and sat back in their seats and Sora ran to the window.

"Holy, Ravioli!" Luigi exclaimed. "That was insane!"

"Insane or not we're already approaching a world." Sora said looking out the window. "That was cool! Can we do it again?"

"Later." Luigi replied. "Right now, let's check out what world is coming up."

Everyone looked out the window to see a giant castle in a small town. The castle was dark and eerie.

"That place scary." Yoshi gulped.

"It may be, but we have to investigate." Sora said. "Come on, guys:et's go!"

"Hold up kid." Luigi said "It's getting close to dark so I suggest when we get to...what's this world's name?"

"It's called Hyrule." Toadsworth responded. "A beautiful kingdom used to rest here until an evil man gained total power of this world and that's all the information I have on it."

"Now Yoshi know why it scary." Yoshi whimpered.

"Anyways, when we get there let's try to find a hotel and..."

"It'll have to be more of an inn Master Luigi." Toadsworth interrupted. "This world is Mediaeval, so hotels don't exist yet. There is a ranch there called Lon Lon Ranch. I'm sure someone can help you if I drop you off right by there."

Sora stood up and Luigi and Yoshi joined him. "Well, then let's go! No time to waste!"

The Toad Express made it's decent into Hyrule as Sora prepared for his adventure in the second round of worlds.