With Scorbunny and Blaziken's match out of the way, both were headed back to the bleachers to join their friends. All the while, Drizzile and Gallade stood up to head to the training area and prepare themselves. While their previous victory had been impressive, this was the green man's chance to win a match in front of a big crowd after so long, and this time, he would not blow it.

After all, his first victory on Earth was never witnessed by humans. Meanwhile, his victories that qualified him for the Olympics were in front of a small crowd. Needless to say, he had not yet made a true name for himself, but with Drizzile by his side, he was certain that he could.

However, a part of him did feel a tad nervous about this. After all, their opponents were good friends of Gallade's family. In fact, Gardevoir and Smeargle were best friends growing up. Even so, he knew it would be insulting if he held back, so he shook his head and thought, 'Just think of them like any other opponent.'

Once Scorbunny and Blaziken took a seat, Machoke smiled and exclaimed, "Way to go, guys!" Gardevoir squealing, "You were great!" Vaporeon biting his lower lip nervously. They really were a perfect team. Would she be able to defeat Scorbunny this time?

Zeraora noticed her look of nervousness and uttered, "Hey, are you okay?" the fox blinking before she nodded and replied, "Yeah, of course," before smiling at Scorbunny and saying, "Good job back there. I look forward to our match."

Scorbunny blinked and gasped, "Oh my god, you're right!" a big grin on her face, "We get to face off in the next round!" before Rillaboom stated, "I can't wait to see that. I feel like this has been a long time coming."

Vaporeon bit her lower lip and thought, 'Yeah, a long time coming,' though deep down, she hoped Zeraora could truly master his electricity by then.

Until that point, though, she would certainly support Drizzile. After all, as much as she envied the success of him and the others, they were still her friends. There was no way she would forget that.

Smeargle and Florges, all the while, were off preparing for the match themselves. The flower woman smiled and said, "I can't believe we get to face Gallade in the first round! This is exciting!" Smeargle nodding and replying, "It's funny. Before, I would have been terrified to face him in the ring. But now I wanna see if I can best him in a fair fight."

The ten minutes passed before Beedrill stated, "Well, folks, after a great couple of fights, it's now time for another one! In the red corner, one is a fierce fighter from France! Even though he has a rather poor track record, he has never once lost his fighting spirit and always fights to the best of his abilities! His partner is yet another addition to the tournament who until three days ago has never been seen in combat! Either way, perhaps he can impress us just like the other three newcomers! Give it up for the Aquatic Katana!"

The crowd cheered when Gallade and Drizzile somersaulted toward the ring, the chameleon atop his partner's shoulders. Once close enough, they leapt high into the air before Drizzile separated from Gallade. They then spun vertically and landed perfectly against the surface with their arms spread out.

"Good job, bro!" Gardevoir squealed, Drizzile's friends all shouting words of encouragement.

"And in the blue corner are a couple who are sure to amaze us," Butterfree stated, "One is a fighter who truly surprised us all in the last Ultimate World Team Tournament! While he used to have a terrible reputation, a great transformation has made him into a serious threat to anyone who faces him! The other is a beautiful professional singer who also enjoys fighting on the side! Give a round of applause to the Rising Stars!"

Everyone watched as the lights dimmed and a spotlight shone on the entrance. Smeargle and Florges both entered on the back of a float covered in flowers, the flower woman holding a microphone while a classical score played in the background. She then held it up to her face and sang, "It is such a pleasure to be here right now in the wonderful city, Tokyo. The faces are bright and everything's right in the wonderful city, Tokyo."

Gardevoir beamed bright while Machoke uttered, "Damn, she's got some nice chops," Florges continuing, "The food is grand, the parks are lush, everything is as it should be. Whenever I walk along your soil, I feel truly free."

The song lasted another minute until Florges and Smeargle were in the ring. Both bowed before the crowd broke out into heavy cheers and applause, Gallade joining in and exclaiming, "Bravo!" Drizzile chuckling and joining him. After all, he at least knew enough about Gallade to know that their opponents were good friends of his.

Florges giggled before Smeargle walked over to Gallade and bowed to him, saying, "That's how you greet people here, right? It's been a while," Smeargle chuckling, "Yeah, that's about right, but you don't need to be so formal with me."

Florges, on the other hand, simply hugged the man and kissed him on the cheek, the crowd truly amazed until Nori explained, "Oh yes, it's worth note that Gallade is really good friends with the Rising Stars, as is Gardevoir. It only makes sense they would show a great deal of respect before a match."

Gallade then smiled and said, "This is my awesome partner, Drizzile," the chameleon sighing, "You don't need to say that every time you introduce me," the green man chuckling, "Sorry. I just really, really mean that."

Florges and Smeargle both shook his hands before the beagle said, "Well, then, what say we prepare for our match, eh?" the Aquatic Katana nodding and heading to their side of the ring.

Once both were ready, Beedrill nodded and stated, "Well, folks, the teams are set. Let's begin," Nori ringing the bell before Gallade and Drizzile raced toward their opponents. Drizzile covered his hands in water and formed his katana while Gallade readied his arm blades.

Smeargle smirked and thought, 'Pardon, mon amie. Now that I'm strong enough to win, I'm not holding back,' thus he waited for Gallade to close in before throwing his tails in front of him and blocking the incoming strike with his pen tips. Before the green man could respond, the beagle latched onto his wrists, leaned backward and planted his skull into the canvas.

Drizzile, all the while, exclaimed, "AQUATIC ASSASSINATION!" and swung his blades toward Florges only for her to easily back away from them. She then covered her arms in petals and sent her palm into the chameleon's face, shouting, "PETAL DANCE!"

This caused the petals to fly into him and put small cuts on his body while he winced and thought, 'Okay, she's definitely tougher than she looks,' Gallade flipping upright after Smeargle released him.

However, things would soon get complicated when the beagle kept his back turned to the green man and sent his pen tips rapidly into him, shouting, "TRIPLE TAIL PEN BARRAGE!"

Gallade folded his arms and blocked a few of the strikes, but it did not prevent him from taking in the majority of them. Thus he quickly found his body covered in holes as Smeargle uttered, "Pardon. Am I going too far?" the green man chuckling, "Hey, it's a tournament. You're allowed to go all the way."

Even so, there was no way he would allow this to continue, thus he watched Smeargle's stabs and soon noticed a pattern. As such, he spread his arms out in an X formation and exclaimed, "PSYCHO CUT!" his blades hitting the beagle's back.

The crowd cheered when a gash formed and Smeargle flew forward slightly. He managed to stop himself from going too far by planting two of his tails into the canvas, but even so, he could not completely ignore the pain this caused.

This was all Gallade needed before he sent a roundhouse into the back of Smeargle's head. He then wrapped his arms around him, lifted him up and leaned backward. But rather than slamming his head into the mat, he released his hold and allowed the beagle to fly into Florges' cheek.

The flower woman's eyes were wide with shock as Drizzile breathed a sigh of relief and sent a kick into her gut. He then proceeded to plant his blades into her shoulders, though he did it more lightly than he normally would have in the past. After all, he did not wish to harm Gallade's friends too much.

Even so, there was no way he would let this opportunity pass, thus he leapt into the air, leaned backward and shouted, "AQUATIC KATANA SUPLEX!" Sure enough, Florges' skull hit the canvas hard as she gasped, the crowd truly amazed by this.

"Oh, that's why they're called the Aquatic Katana!" Machoke gasped, Blaziken uttering, "You know, I should have realized that sooner."

Vaporeon smiled while Zeraora thought, 'They have such good mastery of their elements. I haven't seen Rillaboom in action yet, but I imagine she's probably really good with her grass powers,' a serious look forming on his face. There was no doubt about it. He would master his electricity before the next match no matter what.

Scorbunny and Rillaboom bit their lowers lips only for Gardevoir to giggle, "You can cheer for Drizzile if you want. We won't hold it against you," Machoke nodding and replying, "Besides, even if they are up against our friends, I really wanna see Gallade win a match. I've never seen any of his victories."

Smeargle slowly rose to his feet and rubbed his head. He then turned toward Florges and gasped, "Are you okay, mon amour?" the flower woman chuckling, "Oui. It'll take more than that to take me down."

With that in mind, Drizzile readied himself only for Florges to take hold of Smeargle's hand. She spun her body around while petals covered her. They then proceeded to circle around the beagle before she launched him toward Drizzile and exclaimed, "SAKUROCKET!"

Drizzile was unable to move in time to avoid taking Smeargle's skull to his gut. And it did not end there when Gallade raced in to help only for Florges to speed behind him and latch onto his shoulders. She then leapt into the air and spun backward while more petals surrounded her.

"TWIRLING SAKURA STORM!" she shouted before planting Gallade's skull into the canvas. Smeargle, all the while, lifted up Drizzile with his tails and flung him backward into the turnbuckle.

The green man grunted and slowly pushed himself away from the pole while Drizzile flipped himself back up. However, both could not help but tense up a little bit when Florges winked at Smeargle and enquired, "What say we show them our ultimate technique, non?"

The beagle grinned and replied, "Oh, oui, mon amour," Gallade trembling and thinking, 'Oh god, what could they possibly have in store? Smeargle was terrifying enough when he was with Vespiquen. What could he possibly pull off with Florges by his side?'

Smeargle took hold of Florges' hand before she smiled and exclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be entranced by our Magnifique Dancing Style!" before she lifted up Smeargle and twirled with his tails pointed outward.

Drizzile and Gallade tensed up when Florges advanced toward them, she and Smeargle barking, "TWIRLING SAKURA BUZZ SAW!" Gallade once again folding his arms in front of his face before the beagle's tails scraped against them. Drizzile frowned and leapt over them, soon positioning himself over Florges' head.

He then uncurled his tail and pointed the tip toward her skull, shouting, "CHAMELEON LANCE!" descending toward her only for her to toss Smeargle into the air after surrounding him with petals. Drizzile's eyes widened when the beagle managed to sway out of the way of his tail before holding his hands over his head and spinning his body like a twister.

"SAKURA BALLET KICK!" Smeargle exclaimed before delivering multiple hard kicks to Drizzile's gut. The chameleon coughed up blood after he took in four, and by the time he succumbed to a twelfth one, he was sent backward into the turnbuckle again.

Gallade gasped, "DRIZZILE!" dropping his guard. This allowed Florges to send a karate chop into each of his cheeks before she started to shake her rear end and throw her hands up and down. She repeatedly smacked Gallade's chin with the heels of her hands.

After dealing twenty four hits to him, she held her hands against her hips and shifted them around while petals circled around her. The sway of her hips caused them to spread out and cover Gallade in cuts while she exclaimed, "HANA TWIST!" soon ramming said parts repeatedly into the green man's pelvis.

This caused him to cough up blood before Florges bumped her rear end into him just hard enough for him to fly backward and land hard on his back. He could not believe this. The Rising Stars had already been tough before, but this change in tactics helped them immensely.

"This fancy new style has certainly given the Rising Stars a major edge in this match!" Nori stated, "I guess it only makes sense that a famous performer would know how to turn dancing into a deadly weapon!" Butterfree sighing, "I feel like that's something most performers could do," Beedrill shushing her.

Gardevoir's eyes sparkled before she whimpered, "I feel so bad! I want to cheer for them, but I also want to support my brother!" Machoke sighing, "Believe me, it's taken every bit of strength for me not to give them a round of applause."

Of course, Drizzile's friends were concerned for his sake, but they also had a feeling that if anyone could turn this around, it was him. After all, in their time, the chameleon was the world Olympic champion. There was no way he would go down this easily.

Smeargle and Florges were more than ready to continue their assault when Drizzile narrowed his eyelids and realized the same thing. As such, he turned to Gallade and enquired, "Hey, Gallade, I know these guys are your friends and all, but is it okay if I use, you know, that against them?"

The green man bit his lower lip. A part of him wanted to win this particular match without having to rely on the chameleon's defensive tactic, but not only had he already used it against two of the green man's friends, but right now, they were in a situation that really called for it. As such, he took a deep breath and replied, "Alright, go for it."

With that in mind, Drizzile closed his eyes and ear holes. Florges and Smeargle seemed to think nothing of this when the beagle allowed the flower woman to lift him up. She then launched him high into the air before he flipped vertically toward Drizzile's skull, shouting, "BALLET AXE KICK!"

Just like before, Drizzile felt the attack coming, thus he somersaulted backward just in time to avoid it. He then formed water around his hands and morphed it into a pair of daggers. Before Smeargle could react, the chameleon raced toward him and exclaimed, "AQUATIC DAGGERS!" throwing them downward in an X formation and forming a small cut on the beagle's gut.

Smeargle gasped before Drizzile changed his daggers into big gloves and shouted, "AQUATIC POWER MITTS!" before he sent two karate chops into his shoulders.

Smeargle cried out in agonizing pain before Florges gasped and sped toward Drizzile with petals circling around her again. She then sent her arm forward and exclaimed, "PETAL DANCE!"

But while Drizzile backed up just in time to avoid a palm punch, he winced when the petals flew into him and covered him in cuts like before. Gallade gasped and thought, 'That's right, when he uses this ability, he can feel the opponents' movements but nothing else. That means long-range attacks can still catch him off guard.'

The others could see this as well, Vaporeon groaning, "It's like the finals. When Melmetal whipped out his spikes, Drizzile was unable to hit him even with that tactic," Machoke uttering, "What tactic?"

The others blinked before Morgrem explained, "That's right, you've never seen this in action. When Drizzile blocks off all sense of sight and hearing, he can feel his opponent's movements and dodge anything that comes at him. However, he can only detect close range abilities. Any projectile serves as an exception."

Rolycoly nodded and added, "It also only lasts two minutes," Gardevoir uttering, "Wow, it's like my family power," Blaziken truly shocked by this.

Aipom nodded and said, "Well, that is certainly a useful tactic regardless, but definitely risky against an opponent like Florges. Let's hope Gallade has what it takes to help him out with that."

It seemed as if the green man was thinking just that when he sighed, "Forgive me, Florges and Smeargle, but I gotta help my partner," thus he raced toward the flower woman just as she was about to send more petals into Drizzile. Once close enough, he leapt toward her and sent a roundhouse into her cheek.

Smeargle gasped, "Honey!" only for Florges to retort, "Don't worry about moi! Deal with Drizzile!" the beagle nodding and racing toward the chameleon with his arm out.

Thankfully, since Smeargle had no long-range abilities, this was much easier. Thus Drizzile easily ducked under the incoming arm and swept his leg into the beagle's ankle, causing him to fall on his back. He then latched his legs to the beagle's right leg and used his hands to pull on his foot, the crowd cheering wildly.

Gallade, however, found himself in trouble when Florges sent a barrage of palm punches into his face, spinning left and right like a dancer. But while the green man felt pain from this, there was something else weighing heavily on his mind. He had chosen to focus primarily on Florges to help his partner, and while it had worked, it did not change the fact that he had taken in the most hits up to this point.

With that in mind, Gallade took a deep breath and waited for Florges to send another palm punch toward him. When she did, he held up his arm with the blade pointed forward. Thus the flower woman struck that instead and put a cut on her palm before she cried out in pain.

Smeargle gasped and pried himself out of Drizzile's grip, barking, "I'll help you! Hold on!" only for the chameleon to latch onto his sides and leap into the air, leaning backward and planting the back of the beagle's skull into the canvas.

Florges found herself in just as much trouble as Gallade unloaded a barrage of punches into her, thinking, 'This is for you, Hitmonchan!' Then after he delivered a total of thirty, he took hold of the flower woman's shoulders and leaned backward, kicking her in the gut and causing her to fly backward and land on top of Smeargle.

Drizzile realized two minutes had passed and opened his eyes just in time to see this. When he noticed both opponents start to rise, he felt Gallade rest a hand on his shoulder before he asked, "So, what say we end this together as a team?"

Drizzile nodded before he formed his katana and leapt atop Gallade's shoulders. With the green man's arms folded in a cross formation, Drizzile did the same thing with his blades before both Aquatic Katana leapt toward their opponents.

Smeargle and Florges had just barely managed to get back to their feet when they saw this. Thus both stared wide-eyed before each received a strike to the midsection, Gallade and Drizzile barking, "AQUATIC PSYCHO CUT!"

Just as the name implied, both threw their arms downward and put X-shaped cuts in the Rising Stars' chests. Thus blood squirted out before both cried out in pain and fell on their backs. The crowd stared in stunned silence and watched in anticipation while Nori started the ten count, Beedrill exclaiming, "And in a shocking turn of events, the Aquatic Katana keep the advantage with an impressive display of teamwork! But will this be enough!?"

Dialga and Palkia all the while stared at Drizzile in shock. With a defensive skill like what he had displayed earlier, he could certainly be a big threat. After all, as strong as the dragons were, they did not have any long-ranged moves.

Sure enough, ten seconds passed, thus Nori rang the bell and exclaimed, "And after quite an intense match, The Aquatic Katana have come out on top, therefor they will advance to round two!"

The area erupted with cheers and applause, Beedrill stating, "This is truly a momentous occasion, folks! Gallade has managed to advance past the first round of a tournament! While his incredible partner certainly helped with that, he certainly did not hold back himself!"

Gardevoir squealed with delight and clapped wildly while Machoke and Blaziken both cheered for their friend. And of course, the others were just happy to see Drizzile come out on top, Zeraora uttering, "Wow, they were able to handle so much. These hero fights are amazing."

Gallade held up his fist before Drizzile pounded his own against it. Both definitely needed a good rest after that, but this was truly a moment to remember.

The green man then gasped, "Oh shit, did we deal too much damage!?" only for Smeargle and Florges to slowly rise to their feet with light smiles. The beagle chuckled, "Bon travail, Gallade. That was incroyable," Florges nodding and adding, "You too, Drizzile. Your were tres magnifique."

The chameleon chuckled, "Thanks," before Gallade uttered, "Are you sure you should be standing right now? My Psycho Cut can be pretty deadly."

Both laughed before the beagle sighed, "We just need a good rest. Best of luck in the quarter-finals," before he and his wife turned around and exited the ring.

Gallade and Drizzile both smiled at one-another before Beedrill stated, "And that concludes the first three matches. Therefor, we will all take an hour-long break before the next three. Feel free to look around the lobby. There are plenty of food vendors inside."

Gallade blinked and uttered, "Oh yeah. What say we get a bite to eat?" Drizzile grinning and replying, "That sounds really good right now," the others getting up to join them.

But while things seemed fine, Dialga watched them all and said, "Any one of those teams could prove a serious threat to us. Luckily, they're all in the first bracket, so we'll only have to face one of them. Still, Palkia, no matter who we face, I hope you're prepared."

The purple dragon nodded and replied, "Of course. They may be tough, but we're way tougher," the blue dragon folding his arms with a grin on his face.