While Shaymin had failed to get Dialga and Palkia booted out of the upcoming team tournament, this hardly mattered. Now that she and the others were signed up, there was no doubt they could stop the dragons from accomplishing their goals. On top of that, they even had a chance to compete in front of a crowd for the first time in almost three years.

Or at least most of them did. Unfortunately, Vaporeon might very well have sacrificed her chance when she allowed Scorbunny an opportunity to team up with Blaziken. As such, she decided to keep a close eye on the rabbit to see if the chicken would really accept her as a partner.

At this time, Machoke and the others were about to head off to spend some time with each other. After all, they intended to use most of the week for training purposes and wished to take full advantage of this moment right now.

But right before they could vacate the area, Scorbunny squeaked, "Hey, Blaziken!" the chicken turning to notice her standing there with a big open-mouth smile on her face and stars in her eyes. She also had her hands held up to her chin and balled up into fists while her elbows shook back and forth.

Machoke turned and asked, "Hey, you coming?" Blaziken replying, "One second," before looking awkwardly at Scorbunny and enquiring, "Can I help you?"

Scorbunny breathed heavily for a few seconds before she cleared her throat and said, "Sorry. I can barely contain myself. You are my biggest fan!"

All went silent until she bonked herself on the forehead and groaned, "Dammit, that came out wrong! You don't even know me!" Blaziken biting the lower half of her beak and snickering. And when the rabbit noticed this, she felt her soul shatter and tried her best not to tear up.

At that moment, the chicken gasped, "Oh my god! Calm down," smiling lightly, "It's just, I'm used to human fans. You're the first hero to say that to me. Well, granted, you're also the first one to put it that way, but still, I'm flattered."

Gallade blinked and uttered, "Maybe we should leave these two alone for now," Hitmonchan beaming bright and giving Blaziken two thumbs up before she and the others went on ahead. Blaziken turned toward them and waved before exclaiming, "You guys start without me! I'll be at the club real soon!"

She then turned to face Scorbunny and said, "So, I reckon you'll be wanting an autograph, eh?" Scorbunny about to agree to that before she took a deep breath and shook her head. She then bit her lower lip and sighed, "Actually, Blaziken, I noticed that you didn't enter the tournament. Why is that?"

"Can't find a partner," Blaziken sighed, "The only hero I've ever worked well with is Gardevoir, and, well, she and Machoke work much better together. So I figured unless I can find a good partner soon, I'd just sit this one out."

Scorbunny had certainly heard of that. While Blaziken and Gardevoir had lost the first round of this very tournament four years ago, they had put up an incredible fight, more so than most expected considering how vastly different both heroes were.

Even so, Scorbunny took a deep breath and said, "Well, I kinda wanna enter the tournament myself and I was wondering-" biting her lip hard before barking, "PLEASE BE MY PARTNER!"

Vaporeon watched this, not sure if she truly wanted Blaziken to say yes or not. However, it seemed the results may very well lead toward the latter when the chicken chuckled, "Okay, I really appreciate all of this, but look, it's like you said. I've never heard of you. I've never seen you in combat. Hell, I don't even know your name. For all I know, you might just be some fangirl who's never seen combat before."

Scorbunny frowned, trying to find a way to say what she needed to without revealing that she was from the future. Thus she stated, "I'll have you know I placed third in a tournament back home!"

Blaziken rose an eyebrow before the rabbit added, "But also, look, Blaziken, I'm not just some crazy fan. I'm a super fan. You're my idol. I've based most of my fighting style off of yours!"

Now the chicken started to have second thoughts again until Scorbunny sighed, "Wait," looking around before spotting a man carrying an old mannequin out to the trash. As such, she ran over to him and asked if she could take it off his hands to which he gladly agreed.

She then carried it over to the chicken and said, "Alright, get a load of this," before she leapt onto the back of the plastic person and lit her feet on fire while clutching onto the sides of its head. Blaziken's eyes were wide with shock when Scorbunny squeaked, "BUNNY BLAZE KICK!" and rammed her heels into the back of its neck, knocking it forward before its fragments scattered across the ground.

The chicken's beak hung open while she stared at Scorbunny in stunned silence. Up until now, the only one not from her family who had even come close to mastering her Blaze Kick was Machoke, but his version was more similar to Ben's Cowboy Kick. And yet before the chicken's very eyes stood someone else who could not only use the ability but even found a way to make it more effective.

As such, she grinned and said, "Well, I'd like to see what other abilities of mine you've mastered." She then slapped her knee and chuckled, "Colour me intrigued! Let's go sign up right now! We'll be the Flying Phoenixes!"

Scorbunny's eyes sparkled brighter than ever before while she hopped toward the chairman's booth beside Blaziken. Vaporeon watched this and bit her lower lip while Dialga noticed this and whispered, "Look at that. I could tell from looking at that rabbit and mermaid thing that they would have made for a much better team. Now their chances of success have dropped."

He then turned to Palkia and added, "Say, I have a job for you. You think you can handle it?" the purple dragon forming a big grin and nodding.

As if Scorbunny being accepted into Blaziken's team was not enough, the chicken had actually invited her to hang out with her friends at the club they were headed to. While Vaporeon had no reason to be upset since she had set this up, a part of her felt like she had made a mistake.

Even so, she took a deep breath and thought, 'No, this is a sign. I just need to find a new partner. Yeah, if I can win the whole tournament with someone I've never fought with before, I'll finally gain the same reputation Mommy had, even if it's not in my own time.'

With that in mind, she took a deep breath and set off to find someone. But after a while, her eyes widened when she suddenly remembered a very important detail. Machoke and Gardevoir were the only heroes currently in Tokyo who lived there. Everyone else was a visitor from another country with a partner of his or her own, and while Blaziken may have been the exception before, now she was not.

With that in mind, the fox clutched onto the sides of her head and let out a loud cry before whimpering, "Okay, I gotta think. What would Mommy do in a situation like this?"

During this time, Machoke and his friends were all at a place aptly named the Tokyo Day Club. There, a middle-aged man had given them all free drinks to enjoy. Blaziken had some whisky while Gallade had a Ginza Mary as did Hitmonchan. Although Machoke and Gardevoir simply had fruit punch as they could not stand the taste of alcohol.

Scorbunny took a sip of a Caesar and said, "I can see why you guys like this place so much. It's simple but really cozy," Blaziken snickering, "Yeah. Everyone says that about this place, and it's true."

Machoke, all the while, grinned and said, "Still, of all the people to team up with, I never would have imagined you'd choose a fangirl," Gardevoir pouting and retorting, "Honey, that's rude!"

"No, he's right," Scorbunny replied with a big smile, "I'm not the least bit ashamed to admit that I might be the world's number one Blaziken fangirl! How many can honestly say they based their signature moves off of hers!?"

Gallade nodded and said, "Still, I can't help but find it really ironic that you just happen to have the same weakness as Blaziken. The only other hero I know of who can't use slam moves is Sawk, but that's only because he's incapable of using them, not because they cause him to use up a great deal of energy."

"I dunno, is he actually incapable or is it just a conscious choice not to use them?" Machoke uttered, "That's never been established. I always assumed he and Throh just based their fighting styles off of their given names."

The others simply shrugged before resuming their drinks. And when they were finished, Machoke and Gardevoir had a little round at the karaoke machine, which, ever since they became a couple, was one of their favourite activities. Despite the massive voice difference, they had really good harmony.

Scorbunny clapped and squealed, "Me next!" before belting out a tune of her own, Blaziken smirking and saying, "Well, I guess that's one difference between me and her. Her singing voice is actually good," before thinking, 'I don't normally believe in things like fate and destiny, yet it really feels like fate that we just happened to meet today of all days.'

Once Scorbunny was finished, Gallade looked at his phone and gasped, "Oh shit! Honey, we gotta go!" Hitmonchan nodding and replying, "Oh, right. I'd just about forgotten."

Both stood up before Gardevoir enquired, "Where are you going?" the green man chuckling, "Oh, right, I completely forgot to mention. Hitmonchan and I figured since we haven't been to a cinema in Tokyo in forever, we'd have ourselves a movie date, you know, before we have to spend the rest of this week training. You're free to come if you want."

"Nah," Blaziken replied with a grin, "You two lovebirds enjoy yourselves," Machoke and Gardevoir nodding in approval. As such, Gallade and Hitmonchan both gave each other a big smile and headed off while Scorbunny thought, 'I can't believe I'm thinking this, but they're more adorable than Drizzile and Allie.'

Shortly after the couple exited the club, they failed to notice someone looming in the shadows and watching them closely with glowing red eyes. A wicked smirk formed on her face while she followed them and readied a set of claws.

All the while, Vaporeon was currently in a nearby tavern. In her hand was a fruit cocktail, the fox taking a sip of it through a straw and sighing, "I can see why Mommy likes these so much. They have alcohol, but they're loaded with sweet things to disguise the flavor."

She then let out a light hiccup and giggled, "Cocktail's a funny name," when she looked out the window and noticed something going on. As it so happened, someone was currently picked on by a group of teenagers, the tallest one having shoved him backwards into a nearby dumpster.

The victim in question was a black and yellow cat. The thin and flesh-like black fur covered his lower legs, lower body, upper arms and face while the thick yellow fur covered everything else. Each of his thighs had a black stripe shaped like lightning and each forearm had two smaller ones. He had small blue tufts on his chest and a longer one on his forehead that resembled a diamond. And on his cheeks were matching lightning-shaped whiskers. His hands had four claws each and blue pads, his ears were fairly big and his tail was quite long with the tip shaped like a lightning bolt.

But while he may have looked intimidating, it seemed as if he was anything but when a tall boy cracked his knuckles and grunted, "I swear, if you don't get that money by tomorrow night, you'll be far worse off than you are right now!"

He then slammed his hand into the part of the dumpster right above the cat's head and added, "In fact, you'll join the contents of this lovely treasure chest at the local dump!"

The cat gulped and whimpered, "Okay, I understand!" a girl walking over to him with a smirk, placing her hand firmly against his head and saying, "Good boy," rubbing said part so rough that it actually hurt and even caused a bit of his fur to shed.

As soon as the teens left the area, Vaporeon's eyes and mouth widened with shock. Thus she pulled out some cash and paid for her cocktail before she slapped herself in the face. After all, she had a golden opportunity here and would not let a little alcohol ruin that.

But just as she was about to head outside, the bartender looked at her money and asked, "Hey, what is this?" the fox's eyes wide as she slowly turned and uttered, "Oh, right, I forgot to exchange my currency. I am so sorry!"

The man blinked and uttered, "Oh, you must be one of those overseas contestants for the tournament," before he chuckled, "Alright, I'll let it slide this time. Besides, I'm pretty sure this is enough to cover six hundred yen."

Vaporeon breathed a sigh of relief, bowed her head and said, "Thank you," before heading outside and spotting the cat. And it seemed she was just in time as he had only started to sulk away from the area. Thus she approached him from behind and tapped him on the shoulder.

The cat groaned, "Oh, come on, haven't you guys done enough?" only to have a look of shock when he saw a being like him standing before him. Thus he stared at her in stunned silence before he enquired, "Hello. Can I help you?"

Vaporeon looked deep into the cat's eyes and thought, 'Alright, don't ruin this,' before a smile formed on her face and she replied, "As a matter of fact, you can. Or rather, we can help each other. You seem to have a bit of bully trouble there."

The cat stared blankly at her before he remarked, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm not dealing with any bullies. Nope, not me!" laughing nervously before Vaporeon sighed, "I saw all of that from the front door. They want money from you, right? How much do you owe them?"

The cat took a deep breath and replied, "A hundred thousand yen," Vaporeon's eyes wide with shock while she thought, 'Damn, that's almost twelve thousand Canadian dollars. I mean, I can afford to cover that, but just barely.'

However, she was desperate, thus she sighed, "Alright, well, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you definitely don't want to be stuffed in a dumpster, right?" the cat rubbing his arm and whimpering, "Of course not. But there's no way I can raise that much money by tomorrow night."

"Well, what if I told you there was?" Vaporeon asked with a light smile. The cat stared briefly at her before she pulled out her wallet and said, "In my wallet is just enough money to cover what you owe."

The cat had to admit, he was certainly intrigued by this. If what she said was true, his problems would be gone, at least for now. But even so, he could not in good conscience take this, but he sighed, "Thanks for the offer, but I can't just take your money, even if you are offering it. If a hundred thousand yen is all you have, it's not worth it for someone like me."

"Of course," Vaporeon replied with a smile, "That's why I want you to do something for me in exchange for the money," the cat staring briefly and tensing up before groaning, "Oh no! You want me to do some sort of awful job, don't you!? Let me guess, you work for a mob boss and you want me to help you whack someone!"

"What!? No!" Vaporeon retorted with a look of disgust, "Oh, god no! I'd never condone that sort of thing!" the cat blinking and uttering, "Oh, thank god. So, do you want me to deliver something or mow your lawn? I'm not exactly amazing at either of those, but I'd gladly do something like that."

Vaporeon shook her head and replied, "Actually, what I have in mind is much more noble. I want you to join me as my partner in the Ultimate World Team Tournament."

The cat stared blankly at the fox before he said, "Oh, you're a hero. That's even more reassuring," before he wiped his forehead, "For a second there, I thought you might have been lying when you said you didn't want me to kill someone."

Vaporeon stared awkwardly and thought, 'Is this guy for real?' although she soon became disappointed when he sighed, "Anyway, it's cool that you think I'm worthy of being on your team, but even though I am a creature with powers, trust me, you don't want me on your team."

Vaporeon blinked and enquired, "What do you mean?" the cat sighing, "Look, you saw what was going on there, right? I was confronted by a group of humans. Humans! And I couldn't stand up to them! Think about it! If I was strong and had mastery over my powers, that would never happen!"

Vaporeon bit her lower lip nervously. Sure, she knew one human who was strong enough to take on creatures like her and had even heard of two others before him. But there was a reason only three humans in recorded history had such power.

The cat let out a sigh and said, "If I join you, I can guarantee you'd be doing all the work. You'd likely lose the first round all because I'm a nothing but a loser and a coward and a weakling."

As painful as it was to admit, Vaporeon realized he certainly had a point. But just as she was about to consider her efforts fruitless, her eyes sparkled while she thought, 'Oh my god, why didn't I see it right away? There's no doubt about it.'

For a split second, she could swear she saw a light shine down upon the cat before she clasped his hands and squealed, "You're the perfect partner for me!" the cat blinking and uttering, "Did you not hear what I just said?"

"Yes, I did, and all of that makes you perfect!" Vaporeon stated with a big grin, "Look, you might not have heard of me, but believe me when I say I'm a highly experienced hero! I've been in the business for three years and even qualified for the Hero Olympics! If you will have me as your partner, I promise that I will shape you into the warrior you were always meant to be!"

The cat stared blankly at her while she continued, "Aren't you sick to death of being picked on all the time!? Wouldn't you like to stand up to those bullies and not have to pay them!? Wouldn't you just love it if people actually respected you!?"

After a few seconds, the cat took a deep breath and sighed, "More than anything," Vaporeon's smile widening until he pried his hands away from hers and groaned, "But unfortunately, it can't happen. I'm really sorry about this, but you've mistaken me for someone with a spine. I don't even know what my powers are."

He then turned around and sighed, "Goodbye forever, Miss..." his eyes shifting back and forth until the fox stated, "It's Vaporeon," the cat replying, "Thank you, Miss Vaporeon, for the offer, but I can't accept this. So, yeah, goodbye."

With that in mind, he bolted off into the distance as Vaporeon held out her arm and squeaked, "WAIT!" before tears welled up in her eyes. In all of Tokyo, there was only one more option, and he was an emotional wreck. This just felt cruel now.

Even so, she took a deep breath and sighed, "You know what? That might be for the best, anyway. I mean, who am I to force someone like that into a situation like this? He has nothing to do with me. I'm just a stranger. What right do I have to make him enter a tournament?"

While the cat carried on, he took a deep breath and stopped in his tracks. He then looked back with a thoughtful look in his eyes before he shook his head and grunted, "No. Someone like her deserves a real fighter, someone who can compliment such skills. I don't even know what my powers are!"

But after a few seconds, he blinked and said, "But then again, she has a point. I mean, there's no way in Hell I'll be able to raise enough money to pay off those guys," looking at his paws and biting his lower lip, "If I could at least learn to stand up to them, I could strike fear into them."

He then smiled and added, "I could strike fear into anyone! If I could even make it through one round of that tournament, they'd never look down on me again! They'd see me as a true champion!"

With that in mind, he raced back toward the back of the tavern, hoping Vaporeon was still there. But of course, when he arrived, she was not. But just as he was about to give up, he noticed a staff member carry out a trash bag before he enquired, "Hey, sir, um, did you see a blue mermaid fox thing leave this area?"

The man turned to face him said, "Oh, yeah. I saw her out the window. She took off that way a minute ago," pointing south. Thus the cat smiled and bowed his head before he took off, thinking, 'Wait, did I just converse with that person and thank him without feeling nervous? Oh my god, I'm growing a spine already!' a big smile on his face while he pressed his paws against his mouth.

During this time, Hitmonchan and Gallade were both seated in a theatre watching the latest romantic drama. Both sat happily and shared a bucket of popcorn while Palkia sat near the back with tears in her eyes, sniffing, "Wow, this is so beautiful."

Vaporeon was just about to find herself a hotel when the cat caught up with her and poked her on the shoulder. However, he failed to realize his claw was out when he did so, thus the fox winced and grunted, "Hey, what the-!?"

But when she turned and spotted him, she forgot about the minor pain this dealt and uttered, "Oh, hello." She then bowed her head and sighed, "Look, um..." the cat replying, "Zeraora," the fox nodding and adding, "Zeraora, I'm sorry for all that stuff I said earlier. I shouldn't have tried to force you into something like that. I mean, if you partook in a tournament, you'd be up against foes far worse than those human bullies."

"That may be true, but I'm willing to try," Zeraora replied before Vaporeon continued, "I mean, the only reason I even wanted to-" her eyes wide with shock when she slowly inched her gaze toward him and uttered, "Um, what did you just say?"

Zeraora took a deep breath and stated, "I said I'm willing to try, because you're right. I was born with unique powers, powers I don't yet know, but powers nonetheless. I should be the one calling the shots, not a bunch of humans! Heck, if anything, all I need is someone who can help me master these powers, someone with experience, like you!"

Vaporeon's eyes sparkled as she squealed, "Well, mark my words, Zeraora, I will make sure no one ever picks on you again!" placing a firm grip against his hands, "I promise to help you unlock your true potential!"

She then blinked and uttered, "By the way, why do you owe them so much anyway?" the cat sighing, "I caught them smoking indoors and reported them. They told me they'd make my entire life a living Hell if I didn't give them the money as compensation for the time they wasted being grounded."

Vaporeon took a deep breath and said, "You don't owe them anything. I'll make sure they realize that," a big grin on Zeraora's face. He already felt like he had just made the best choice of his life.

Meanwhile, Gallade and Hitmonchan were on their way to Machoke and Gardevoir's house. After all, since the condo suite the siblings used to share had been sold and the green man was family, there was no way his sister would let him and his wife pay to stay in a hotel.

But while they carried on, Palkia continued to follow them and wait for just the right moment to strike. And things could not have been more perfect when Gallade spotted a small child standing in front of an alley and trembling. Thus he approached the kid and asked, "Hey, what are you doing here at this hour?"

"I was walking my dog and he ran into that alley," the kid whimpered, "I want to go in there and get him, but there might be giant rats in there."

Gallade smiled sweetly, rested a hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "Come on, I'll go in there with you. If any giant rats attack us, I'll take care of it," showing off his arm blades while Hitmonchan clapped and said, "That's my hubby."

But just as Gallade entered the alleyway, it seemed that this was Palkia's chance. While one could only guess why Dialga wanted her to take out the boxer, hopefully this would not turn out as bad as it seemed.