While Shaymin and Melmetal's loss to Dialga and Palkia had lowered everyone's spirits at first, Rillaboom and Aipom's victory lifted them for the time. As such, the group was much more positive during their hour-long break. Although much like Aipom and Rillaboom, Machoke and Gardevoir headed to a secluded area to prepare for their match.

Since Aipom and Rillaboom had not had lunch with the others, the monkey enjoyed a banana split in the lobby while the gorilla had a burger and fries. After she took a bite of her sandwich, she looked over at Aipom and enquired, "Shouldn't you have something healthy after all of that?"

"Come on, this is a victory celebration," Aipom remarked, "I think I've earned the right to indulge a little. Besides, it's not like a burger and fries are that much better for you."

Rillaboom held up a finger and opened her mouth before she uttered, "Okay, you have a point there," Scorbunny chuckling, "You've both earned this. It's a shame Rolycoly and Morgrem can't join us, but we'll all do the best we can for their sake. Well, them and Melmetal and Shaymin."

Vaporeon nodded before she noticed Dialga and Palkia purchasing themselves gyudon from a nearby food stand. The purple dragon took a bite and said, "I'll give the humans this. They sure can make a mean rice bowl," only for the blue dragon to reply, "Eh, I've had better."

The fox narrowed her eyelids and thought, 'You'd better brace yourselves. If Rillaboom fails to defeat you, you can guarantee we will in the finals, assuming Machoke and Gardevoir don't get you first,' Zeraora smiling when he saw how determined she was.

All the while, Lucario and Clauncher were busy getting ready, the pistol shrimp gulping down some noodles and shrimp while the dog stared at her. He then took a deep breath and thought, 'Come on, you've seen her eat fish and chips multiple times. Is this really worth questioning?'

Once Clauncher finished her meal, she let out a light burp and chuckled, "Excuse me," before asking, "So, we're really gonna go with my entrance? Because I'm okay doing things your way again."

"No way," Lucario replied with a grin, "You were the one who helped me realize I was fit to be a hero. It's the least I can do. Besides, if entrances like these can work for Machoke, maybe they can help me."

Clauncher snickered only for Lucario to retort, "What's that supposed to mean?" the shrimp chuckling, "I'm sorry. It's just, you spent so much time trying to one-up Machoke and now you're looking to him for inspiration. That's funny to me," the dog lowering his eyelids.

He then resumed his training and thought, 'Still, she's right. While Machoke may have lost to me in the Hero Olympics, he really has become something else entirely. I missed my chance to face him in the last Ultimate World Team Tournament, but I won't waste this one.'

Meanwhile, Machoke and Gardevoir were at it, but rather than training, the two were in the midst of preparing their entrance. The reptilian looked over the blueprints and said, "So I was thinking since Alcremie totally beat us to the cake idea, maybe we could have a giant pie."

Gardevoir giggled, "I like it, but I don't think that really works all that well," before gasping, "Oh, I know! Let's have something that pays tribute to all of our friends!"

Machoke stroked his chin and said, "It'll require a lot of people, but since Lucario's match is first, we'll get a lot more time to set it up. Yeah, let's do it," Gardevoir clapping and squealing.

He then took a deep breath and sighed, "Maybe we should train, though. I mean, you and I both know how tough Scrafty and Bisharp are, but also, again, if we win the first two rounds, we might have to face Palkia and Dialga."

"And if Shaymin was right and they really are evil, we can't lose," Gardevoir added with a sad look in her eyes, "You know, as much as I like fighting evil, I was really hoping this would just be a fun tournament without any major drama for once. And yet not only have a few of our friends already been hospitalized, but we might have two villains in the tournament."

Machoke nodded and smiled before he replied, "Well, I've already beaten five villains who snuck into tournaments for heroes in the past. What's another couple, eh?" Gardevoir giggling, "And I'll be here to help you again, just like when we fought Hoopa!"

The reptilian chuckled and kissed his wife on the cheek before the two set up a couple of punching bags to work on their technique. After all, while each had defeated one of their opponents in the past, it did not guarantee victory.

Once the hour was up, everyone was assembled in the stadium where Beedrill sat behind his podium with Butterfree and Nori and stated, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are just about ready for the next match to begin! This is one of the most highly anticipated matches of today! After all, Lucario lost the first round of this very tournament four years ago and now everyone wants to see if he and his partner can make a true comeback today!"

All the while, a young woman with long brown hair and freckles named Amanda sat in the middle row with a big grin on her face, thinking, 'Thank you, Mother, for letting me attend this. Now I can see my big brother kick ass without being driven by petty revenge.'

As it so happened, Amanda was Lucario's sister. And seated next to her was a slightly older woman with long silver hair named Veronica. She currently wore a T-shirt with Lucario's face on it and a foam finger on her left hand, saying, "I can't wait to see my darling win."

Amanda nodded and chuckled, "Yeah, and when he wins, we can all go out to celebrate, eh!?" Veronica replying, "Hell yeah! I think I saw a really nice fancy restaurant nearby!"

Veronica was actually Lucario's girlfriend, or more specifically, his fiance. He had proposed to her just a couple of months ago, so she currently had her engagement ring on. Needless to say, she and Amanda could not refuse this opportunity to see the dog fight in person.

Nori smiled and stated, "In the red corner, we have two former villains who once worked under the mighty Missingno back in the day but now fight for good! One is a ghostly sword with incredible skill and the other is a shocking zebra who, while a tad over dramatic, can really pack a punch! Introducing the Thunder Blades!"

The crowd clapped but stopped when Blitzle entered the area carrying a long black box and wearing a traditional black Japanese swordsman outfit. When he approached the ring, he set the box down and opened it to reveal a sword with a single eyeball inside of it with her arms crossed. She then opened her eye and rose up before leaping out of the box with her arms raised, the crowd cheering.

Blaziken looked Aegislash over and sighed, "You know, if I knew she'd turn to the side of good, I probably wouldn't have broken her shield," Gardevoir patting her on the shoulder with a light chuckle.

Beedrill noticed the crowd calm down before he exclaimed, "And in the blue corner is probably the second most popular team to have advanced past the elimination round! One is the world Olympic champion! And his partner is a crustacean who is much, much stronger than her size would lead you to believe! Having proven themselves quite the team four years ago, the Fancy Fighters!"

Machoke lowered his eyelids and sighed, "They're still calling themselves that," only for Gallade to shrug and reply, "I dunno. I'm starting to warm up to it."

In the past, Lucario had always opted for a standard entrance, never truly going over-the-top. So needless to say, everyone was beyond surprised when he and Clauncher rode toward the ring on the back of a Hawaiian themed float with the dog dressed in a fitting outfit for the setup playing an ukulele while Clauncher blew into a flute.

"Seriously, it's like at least one team has to have a music-themed entrance now," Butterfree uttered, Nori shrugging and replying, "I actually like it. It adds a nice bit of spice to this whole thing."

Once the two were close to the ring, Lucario leapt into the air, threw off his shirt and landed firmly against the mat. He then held out his hand to catch Clauncher who had flipped herself upside down and pointed her big claw downward. The crowd clapped when she balanced perfectly atop the dog's finger and flipped off of it.

Blitzle clapped with a big smile and exclaimed, "Wow! Good show! Very good show!" before looking down and groaning, "You're not still mad at me for trapping you in an electric cage, are you?"

Lucario folded his arms and sighed, "I learned a long time ago it's best not to hold onto petty grudges. I'm just glad to know someone as strong as you is on the side of good now."

The zebra's cheeks turned bright pink before he let down light tears and sniffed, "Oh, my, I don't know what to say!" approaching the dog, bending down on one knee and adding, "It warms the cockles of my heart to hear you give me such praise, good sir!" Veronica retorting, "HEY, BACK OFF, HE'S MINE!"

Blitzle blinked and stared at the woman until Aegislash sighed, "Just get over here. We have a match, remember?" the zebra making his way back over to the sword and uttering, "Right, of course. I don't know what came over me."

Blaziken snickered and said, "He's just as awkward as I remember," Drizzile saying, "I'd have trouble believing he was a legitimate threat to you back in the day if I wasn't once more awkward myself."

Either way, both teams were ready, Veronica folding her arms as Amanda sighed, "He was just showing gratitude," the silver-haired woman grumbling, "I know. I just get a little jealous. You know how long it took me to convince my parents that he's a good guy, right?"

"Both teams are set," Beedrill stated, "Now let us begin!" before he rang the bell with his right stinger, Nori staring at him with her jaw dropped and her eyes wide open.

Lucario immediately raced toward Aegislash and sent a flying roundhouse into her face before a bright aura surrounded his right hand. He then rammed it into the same spot and spat, "FORCE PALM!" causing her to wince and back up.

Blitzle sped in to help only for Clauncher roll up into a ball, leap backward into the ropes and bounce off. She then rammed hard into his chest while the crowd went wild. Afterwards, she wrapped her arms around him, leapt into the air and leaned backward, planting his upper back into the canvas.

Meanwhile, Lucario dealt an axe kick to Aegislash's midsection as the crowd went wild, Nori exclaiming, "And the Fancy Fighters are off to an amazing start! They don't even give the Thunder Blades a chance to react as they go all-out! And much like before, it really is incredible how easily Clauncher can back drop someone that much bigger than her!"

As if the Fancy Fighters did not already have a big advantage, things only got better when Clauncher lifted Blitzle by his head and held him upside-down. Lucario did the same with Aegislash before he and his partner shouted, "DOUBLE BRAINBUSTER!" and leaned backward, planting the backs of their opponents' heads into the canvas.

Machoke grinned and exclaimed, "Way to go! You're just as awesome as ever, Lucario!" Aipom nodding and replying, "Yep. Let's just hope Aegislash and Blitzle won't get the upper hand."

Sure enough, Aegislash rose back to her sword tip and sighed, "Okay, Lucario's fighting about as well as I figured he would," Blitzle whimpering, "And that Clauncher really is stronger than she looks. Can we really do this?"

The sword nodded and replied, "Of course we can. We just need to dish out some impressive moves of our own."

Blitzle nodded and took hold of Aegislash's handle. He then reeled his arm back and flung her toward the Fancy Fighters while a dark aura surrounded her blade and she exclaimed, "SACRED PINWHEEL!"

Clauncher managed to duck under the incoming strike due to her short height, but Lucario took the slash to his gut and winced in pain while blood flew out. Aegislash then sent a karate chop into his forehead. But just as Clauncher was about to help out, Blitzle went down on all fours and raced toward her with sparks flying around the tip of his mane.

"WILD CHARGE!" he exclaimed before ramming it into her back. Electricity coursed through the shrimp's veins as the zebra progressed forward and rammed her belly into the turnbuckle.

Veronica pulled on the sides of her hair and whimpered, "Come on, that can't be it!" only for Amanda to sigh, "I've seen him deal with way worse. He'll turn this around," the silver-haired woman nodding and replying, "Yeah, you're right. I should know better than to underestimate my darling."

Sure enough, Lucario ignored the pain and lifted up his hands, grabbing hold of Aegislash's wrists. Her eye went wide when he planted a knee kick into her midsection and delivered another Force Palm to her face. All the while, Clauncher increased the size of her big claw and leaned backward, planting it into Blitzle's skull and barking, "CRABHAMMER!"

However, she was shocked when he refused to let go and wrapped his arms around her. He then leapt backward and aimed her toward Lucario, the dog's eyes wide with shock when the shrimp was slammed into his cheek.

This distracted him just long enough for Aegislash to take hold of his wrists and shout, "SACRED SWORD!" A dark aura once again surrounded her blade as she swung it upward and across his torso, blood spewing out.

The crowd gasped, Blaziken sighing, "Yep, even without her shield, she's still a major threat," before Blitzle leapt into the air one last time and barked, "LIGHTNING STAMPEDE!" ramming Clauncher's belly into the mat.

The shrimp coughed up a bit of blue blood before Blitzle finally removed his mane from her back and breathed heavily with a big smile. He then turned to Aegislash and uttered, "Wow, we're actually winning."

"Yes, indeed," the sword replied, "Still, though, I have no doubt that was not enough to finish them off," thus the zebra nodded and picked her up by her handle, flipping her upside-down. He then sent electricity through her body and shouted, "THUNDER SWORD!"

Just as they suspected, Lucario and Clauncher rose to their feet while Veronica breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I know Lucario's great and all, but does he have to cut it so close?" Amanda replying, "When you see as many of his matches as I do, you get used to it."

"While things looked really well for the Fancy Fighters at first, things seem to have taken a turn in the Thunder Blades' favour," Butterfree stated, "As someone who once fought alongside them, I can tell you, Lucario and Clauncher will certainly need to watch themselves. That Thunder Sword ability is nothing to scoff at. Hell, those two actually cut off Sawk's hand with that ability."

The blue martial artist sat in the crowd with a look of discomfort. He folded his arms and looked at some stitching on his right wrist while Throh patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.

However, Lucario was not the least bit worried as a blue aura suddenly surrounded him. He then grinned at Clauncher who nodded and allowed him to lift her up by her tail. He then held her forward and exclaimed, "CRUSTACEAN LANCE!"

Blitzle frowned and raced toward Lucario with Aegislash at the ready. But just as he was about to swing her into his side, the dog pointed Clauncher forward and planted the tip of her big claw into the zebra's gut. The crowd cheered wildly when Blitzle winced in pain and tried his hardest not to release his hold on Aegislash.

However, it did not end there when Lucario held Clauncher up above his head. She once again expanded the size of her claw considerably before the dog swung her downward into Blitzle's skull, both of them barking, "CRAB GAVEL!"

Blitzle's teeth gritted and his eyes went wide before he dropped Aegislash. The sword had seen this coming, thus she used her hand to push herself back up. She then took a deep breath and patted Blitzle on the shoulder, asking, "Are you alright?"

The zebra's eyes spun while he groaned, "But Mommy, I don't wanna ride the Merry-Go-Round anymore," Aegislash taking a deep breath and smacking him on the cheek. Thus he placed his hoof against it and barked, "The hell was that for!?"

"Excellent," Aegislash said with her arms folded, "You seem to be in good health now," Blitzle about to retort before gasping, "My word! You broke me out of my trance!" holding onto her hands and saying, "Aegislash, you are a true friend!"

The sword turned pink briefly before she sighed, "Now isn't the time," before noticing Lucario standing there and asking, "Are you finished?"

Aegislash and Blitzle stared in shock until Clauncher said, "We didn't wanna interrupt your sweet moment there," the zebra's eyes sparkling as he squealed, "You guys are such good sports!"

"You know, I'm having trouble taking this fight seriously," Drizzile uttered, Vaporeon sighing, "I know what you mean," only for Zeraora to reply, "Well, both teams have shown amazing skill up until now. I still see a bit of tension there."

Either way, Aegislash and Blitzle realized they would need to kick things up a notch if they were to come out on top. As such, the sword stated, "As much as I don't like the idea behind this move, we might need to try this."

The zebra gasped, "You mean that move!?" Aegislash sighing, "Yes. Just don't bite too hard, okay?"

Blitzle nodded and bit into Aegislash's handle before he pointed her forward and sent electricity through her veins. He then raced toward Lucario and grunted, "SACRED JOUST!" the crowd gasping when he managed to drive Aegislash's blade into the dog's gut.

But while Lucario showed signs of pain at first, her smirked and said, "Not bad, but not good enough," before placing a grip against the sword's handle. But rather than trying to pry her out, he kept her lodged inside of him, and while everyone was confused at first, that stopped when Aipom gasped, "Oh my god, that's both brilliant and super risky at the same time!"

While her wording was vague, it did not take long for most of the others to figure out what she meant. And all became clear when Clauncher leapt into the air, expanded her big claw one last time and sent it downward into Blitzle's snout and Aegislash's handle.

"CRABHAMMER!" she exclaimed while both took in extreme pain. Blitzle released his hold on Aegislash, thus Lucario now felt the need to pry her out of his gut before he leapt into the air and wrapped his legs around the end of her blade. He somehow managed to position his legs in a way that prevented him from cutting himself before he flipped a full three hundred and sixty degrees and sent her soaring toward the canvas.

Clauncher saw this, leapt up to Aegislash's level and wrapped her claws around her handle, causing her to descend faster before the back of her head hit the mat, the shrimp and Lucario shouting, "FULL MOON SLAM!"

Aegislash lay there with her eye closed while Blitzle tensed up and trembled. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath and growled, "Alright, that's it, you will pay dearly!" racing toward them with sparks surrounding him and barking, "WILD CHARGE!"

His eyes went wide when Lucario lifted up Clauncher, had her expand her big claw and rammed it into the zebra's skull. Blitzle released one last bit of blood from his mouth and passed out, he and Aegislash out for ten seconds before Nori rang the bell.

"The match has certainly been back and forth, but in the end, The Fancy Fighters have come out on top!" Beedrill exclaimed before the crowd broke out into heavy cheers and applause, Amanda and Veronica both hugging one-another and squealing, "WAY TO GO, LUCARIO!"

Talonflame and Tsuya also cheered for this from the back row, the falcon exclaiming, "I knew there was no way he'd lose to those two! Hoopa and Diancie I can forgive to a certain degree, but not those two!" only for the white-haired woman to laugh, "Come on, you would have accepted this one too!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, sweetie," Talonflame retorted with his arms crossed as Tsuya kissed him on the cheek.

Machoke and the others gave a round of applause, the reptilian exclaiming, "Alright! Now we'll win our match and face you in the next round for sure!" Gardevoir nodding and squealing, "Just you wait! We'll put you in your place!"

Lucario smiled at Machoke and Gardevoir while Clauncher waved at them. She certainly looked forward to this herself, as did the others. Zeraora especially could not contain his excitement. He had at least seen Machoke and Gardevoir in combat on TV before, so this was certainly a big deal.

Bisharp and Scrafty got up from their seats and headed off to prepare before Machoke and Gardevoir did the same, all four heading off while Beedrill stated, "And it would seem our next two teams are ahead of the game, but yes, in ten minutes, we will soon witness the number one most highly anticipated match of the day! So don't go anywhere, folks!"

At that moment, Lucario looked at his opponents while they were loaded up onto stretchers, asking, "Excuse me, do you know how long they'll be out for?" one of the medics replying, "You don't seem to have taken things too far, so they should be back in commission soon enough."

The dog breathed a sigh of relief before he and Clauncher headed to the bleachers. And while they had seats reserved for them in the front row, they had agreed to trade their spots with a couple of humans so the dog could sit between his sister and fiance. Thus he joined them in the crowd and took a seat before Veronica held his arm and kissed his cheek while Amanda slugged him and Clauncher on their shoulders.

Palkia, all the while, turned to Dialga and enquired, "So, you think those two might be a problem?" the blue dragon replying, "Well, I can see how Lucario got his strong reputation, and that aura I saw earlier could be a problem. But I'm sure we can handle that easily enough. If anything, I'm more interested in Machoke and Gardevoir."

He watched the couple exit the stadium to head to a training area, thinking, 'I hope you two make it to the semi-finals. Once we defeat you two, the whole world will fear us for sure.'