Things had certainly taken an unexpected turn. Machoke was ready to enjoy another day off from fighting and now he had to take on three villains in a row. However, one particular villain among them interested him the most.

"Before we start this," the boy uttered, pointing at Lucario and asking, "who are you?"

All went silent as everyone stared at the dog who simply folded his arms and replied, "I am Lucario," one of the cloaked figures nodding and adding, "This guy here is the son of Riolu, so you'd better watch out!"

The crowd's eyes went wide with shock at the mention of Riolu's name, Machoke and Blaziken looking more confused than anything else. Lucario looked around and let out a sigh, knowing exactly where this was coming from as Machoke asked, "Riolu has a son? I've never heard mention of you," Blaziken nodding and replying, "Me neither."

Lucario took a deep breath as Aipom, who had been handed over to one of the cloaked figures asked, "But why? Why would you serve evil!?" Lucario taking a deep breath and retorting, "Oh, of course, I guess this was unavoidable!" the dog turning toward the monkey and bringing his face close to hers with a scowl.

"I see what this is-" he grunted, leaning back before exclaiming in sarcastic tone, "My dad was a famous hero, so that means his son must be one, too!" the dog returning to the calm tone he was using before and sighing, "I bet the only reason he doesn't talk about me is because he sees me as a disappointment. I'm fine with that, in all honesty."

The people still could not believe what they were hearing, Machoke asking, "So... wait, why did you decide to become evil? Was Riolu not a good father? I'll admit, I don't really care for the guy either..." Lucario sighing, "No, it wasn't that," Blaziken remarking, "Then what was it!?"

Lucario simply smirked, giving Machoke and Blaziken the most frightening look both of them had ever seen before saying, "Bad boys get everything!"

All went silent throughout the area, no one even knowing how to respond to this as Machoke scratched the side of his head, asking, "So, in all seriousness, what's your actual reason?" Lucario laughing and remarking, "That is my reason! Sorry it's not an epic back story full of hardships and suffering!"

"Hate to break it to ya, but our boy, Lucario, is bad to the bone!" one of the cloaked figures exclaimed, everyone at a loss for words. However, Machoke did not buy it. While everyone else took these words to heart, he had sensed a hint of falseness in what the dog had said but it was obvious Lucario was not willing to tell the truth.

"Okay, enough stalling," the other cloaked figure said, "You're new to the hero racket, I assume, so here's how this is gonna work," Machoke and Blaziken looking at each other, asking in unison, "How does he know that?" the cloaked figure clearing his throat and remarking, "May I continue, please?" the boy and bird turning back to him, pursing their mouths shut and nodding.

"Even we villains have a code of honour to uphold," the figure explained, "Our parents fought like this as have our families done for generations. Instead of having you fight all three of us at once, this will be a string of one-on-one matches. The battlefield-" the figure then pointing down at the ring all three villains were standing on.

"So it's just like the matches on Hero Planet," Machoke whispered to Blaziken, the chicken nodding and replying, "This is common knowledge. This is how heroes and villains have been solving conflicts for ages. It's tradition."

"Since this is a fight between heroes and villains," the cloaked figure added, "there will not be any special rules implemented except for hits below the belt. Even we have standards," Machoke's eyes widening as he thought, 'Thank God!' the figure continuing to explain, "If you manage to defeat all three of us, we will submit to you, return your precious trainer and leave Tokyo for the time being. But if you lose, Tokyo is ours, got it?"

"I suppose refusing is the same as an automatic loss, right?" Machoke remarked, the cloaked figures both nodding in response to this as the boy sighed, "Well, it is for everyone's safety, so who am I to say no?"

"Spoken like a true hero," Blaziken said with a grin before looking down and noticing Machoke's legs were trembling despite the fact that every other part of him looked ready for combat, the chicken face-palming.

Despite his fear, though, Machoke knew how important this was. He had been put in a situation where he had little choice in the matter and he knew the villains were not going to agree to have Blaziken join the fight. As such, the boy slowly made his way over to the ring, taking a deep breath and climbing into it.

With that, Lucario reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, latching one cuff to the table and using the other to lock Aipom's tail to it. He also pressed a button on that specific cuff make the inner part bigger in case the monkey would be able to slip out of it.

"Alright, for the sake of fairness, we'll let ya decide your first opponent," one of the cloaked figures said as Machoke placed his hand against his chin, looking over the competition.

He definitely did not wish to take on Lucario. After seeing his power earlier, there was just no way. The cloaked figure standing to the right of him was almost as tall as he was, and Machoke could not help but find that intimidating. However, the figure on the left hand side was short, half Lucario's height in fact.

"Alright, I've made my decision!" Machoke exclaimed, a look of confidence on his face as he pointed at the cloaked figure on the left exclaiming, "You shall be my first opponent here on Earth!"

The figure snickered, a big grin and a pair of glowing eyes forming underneath his hood as he said, "You are very brave to have chosen me, Machoke!" the boy's confidence slowly fading when the villain removed his cloak, revealing an orange floating head that resembled a lightning rod. He also had blue oval-shaped eyes with a dividing line in the middle of each, but the most intimidating feature of all was a light blue aura surrounding him that made up a lightning bolt-shaped body.

"Nice to meet you," the head said, flashing a big smile and revealing his razor sharp teeth before adding, "I am Rotom!"

Now Machoke was scared, the boy trembling and thinking, 'That's what I get for judging by size,' Aipom about to tell him to get a grip when Lucario turned to her, holding a finger up to her mouth and saying, "If you give him any advice, any kind at all, we won't hesitate to strike you, got it?" Machoke nodding to the monkey and saying, "I don't wanna see you get hurt because of me."

A light tear rolled down the monkey's cheek after he had said that. She thought Machoke hated her and did not want her around, but perhaps her assumptions had been wrong.

Rotom then grinned and said, "I'll give you a little extra something to make this more fair," Machoke asking, "Are you going to hit let me hit first?" a look of hope on his face as the head folded his arms and replied, "No, even better. I'm going to give you a demonstration of my power so you know what you're in for!"

The people stared in wonder as Rotom floated over to Lucario, the boy nodding and pulling an orb out of his pocket, pressing a button on it as it sprouted a pair of robotic arms, Machoke thinking, 'That's a training orb. Where did he get one of those?' The orb flew at Rotom as the head smirked, dodging it with ease before sending a surge of electricity through his body and delivering a karate chop straight through the orb shouting, "THUNDER CHOP!" the electricity covering the orb and causing it to explode.

Machoke trembled, a look of absolute terror on his face as Rotom smirked, saying, "Sorry, I held back a bit there," Machoke exclaiming, "That's holding back!?" the boy wanting so desperately to flee for his life but knew it was too late.

With that, Blaziken finally took her seat, folding her arms and hoping that Machoke would win. Rotom may have been small, but he certainly seemed intimidating, Machoke looking him over to think of some way to get a good early lead.

A starting bell was rung as a young woman with short brown hair sitting behind a desk announced, "Let the match between Machoke and Rotom begin!" Machoke rushing at Rotom, the head grinning wickedly and sending electricity through his body only for Machoke to swerve to the right. Everyone stared in shock when the boy sent a karate chop right into the side of Rotom, the head's eyes going wide.

Just as Rotom attempted to counter the attack, Machoke once again dodged his aura and struck his side, the crowd going wild as the announcer exclaimed, "What an incredible start to the match! Machoke is already dominating with only one simple move!" Rotom growling as steam shot from him.

"You made it obvious how to defeat you the minute you demonstrated your power," Machoke said with a smirk, "When you sent that karate chop into the training orb, your hand went right through it. It was at that moment I could tell that directing any attacks toward your body would be pointless," Rotom grinning and saying, "Not bad, Machoke, but I can still turn this around."

With that, Rotom rose up above the mat, Machoke blinking as Blaziken said, "It makes sense. Rotom's body is made of pure energy, so the laws of gravity don't apply to him," Machoke unable to respond as the head floated behind him, electricity coursing through him as he simply moved it right through his opponent, the boy's eyes widening, his mouth wide open as the electricity coursed through his veins.

The crowd gasped as the announcer stated, "Machoke had a good start, but Rotom's energy has gotten the better of him," Machoke falling to his hands and knees, breathing heavily as Rotom backed up, the bolts fading as he said, "The only downside to my electricity is it only lasts a few seconds at a time and needs at least ten to recover, but that's a small price to pay for such amazing power, no?"

This certainly seemed true as that one shock had left Machoke covered in burn marks, the boy already looking like he was going to collapse. Blaziken gritted her teeth angrily, Aipom wishing she could have warned him about that.

At that moment, Gallade and Gardevoir arrived at the arena, spotting Blaziken and running over to her, noticing the spot next to her was empty and sitting down. Both breathed sighs of relief as Blaziken said, "Hey, guys," Gallade holding up his finger so he could breathe a little bit longer before saying, "We saw what was happening on TV and raced here as soon as possible," Gardevoir adding, "We missed the start of the fight. How's Machoke doing?"

Blaziken let out a light sigh and replied, "See for yourself," pointing at the ring, both siblings turning their gaze toward it and panicking at the sight of Machoke already looking so weak.

"Oh no, what happened?" Gallade asked, Blaziken sighing, "He just took in a huge jolt of electricity. Any human would have died from that."

However, Gardevoir's focus had shifted to something else, something that had been on her mind for a while. Since she and Gallade had seen the events leading up to the match's beginning, they had also witnessed their saviour perform the heinous act of ending an innocent human's life while also admitting to serving the side of evil. Gardevoir wanted answers as like Machoke, she too refused to believe the reason Lucario had given for his actions.

"I'm kinda disappointed," Rotom said with a sigh, "I thought the son of the world's greatest hero would put up more of a fight," Machoke not even moving as Gardevoir got up and exclaimed, "MACHOKE, DON'T GIVE UP! I DIDN'T GIVE UP WHEN MY MOUTH STARTED BLEEDING FROM ONE PUNCH, SO KEEP TRYING!" the boy hearing this as he shook his head, slowly rising back to his feet and taking a deep breath.

"MAN, that was terrifying!" he exclaimed, a distressed look on his face, "I thought my heart was gonna stop!" Rotom smirking and saying, "Good, I can still have a little fun with you," turning to Lucario and adding, "I know you probably wanted to face him, but it's our job to take care of heroes like him, so don't take it too personally."

Lucario simply folded his arms, looking less disappointed now that Machoke had recovered. But was it really as Rotom had predicted or was it something else?

Either way, Rotom was ready to deal more damage as Machoke held his right arm in front of his face, the head sending a karate chop into it while saying, "I thought you already knew my body wasn't a solid mass," the electricity coursing through that very spot as the boy boy smirked, saying, "Yeah, I just wanted you to waste your electricity."

Rotom's eyes widened as the electricity died down once again, Machoke using is left arm to grab hold of the head, lifting him high above his own before slamming him hard into the mat while the crowd went wild. The announcer whistled in admiration before exclaiming, "Just as it looked like Machoke was going to lose, he countered with an incredible choke slam!"

Aipom breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, 'He's doing a lot better than I thought he would,' Machoke's friends applauding him, Gardevoir breathing a sigh of relief. To make things better, Rotom looked even more shaken up from that one hit than Machoke did from the shock dealt to him earlier.

"Your fake body is strong," Machoke said with a smirk, "but your real body is small and weak! I bet I could finish you off with a single flick of my finger!" Rotom's eyes turning green, a scowl forming on his face.

Everyone stared in confusion as Rotom's body started to change. The spike atop his head extended to form a pole with an oval-shaped handle on the top. The head itself expanded in width, its height not increasing by a whole lot as the bottom portion tucked itself into the head, a pair of wheels popping out of his cheeks. A green aura surrounded him now with what looked like a rake coming from the lowest part of his front side. To top it all off, a big arch came out of the back, Rotom now having taken the form of a lawnmower, a fiendish grin on his face.

"What just happened?" Machoke asked, the announcer uttering, "Um, it looks like Rotom just transformed," not completely understanding this herself.

"My lightning rod or normal form is actually my weakest state," Rotom explained, "I have five others, each one based off of an element. This is my mow form, which has the power of grass."

"You mean that green stuff that grows on a lawn?" Machoke asked, "How is that threatening?" Rotom sighing, "Oh god, you are seriously uneducated."

Machoke turned to Aipom, the monkey looking at Lucario as he shrugged, saying, "This doesn't count as advice, so go ahead," the monkey nodding before explaining, "All heroes are born with a different type. Grass types have the power of nature on their side. Water types are water-based beings while fire types, like Blaziken, have powers based around fire," Machoke nodding and asking, "So what type am I?" Aipom replying, "Fighting," Machoke narrowing his eyelids and groaning in disappointment.

"What's wrong with that?" Aipom asked, Machoke remarking, "That sounds like such a lame type!" Gallade retorting, "Hey, I'm also a fighting type!" Aipom nodding and adding, "You're also part psychic."

Machoke's eyes widened as he barked, "He gets TWO types!?" Gardevoir uttering, "I have two types as well."

"Yeah, yeah, so do I. Are you done talking!?" Rotom grunted, clearly growing impatient now as Machoke sighed, "Whatever, even if I am just one simple type, I'm still badass, so it hardly matters," a smug grin on his face as his friends face-palmed.

With all said and done, Rotom headed toward Machoke with his blades running beneath him, Machoke asking, "Wait, if your blades are for mowing grass, how are you gonna get me under there?" the mower remarking, "With this! And unlike my aura before, this one can actually touch you!" his rake-like hand rising up and making a grabbing motion, Machoke panicking as he started to flee for his life.

He knew that if that hand managed to get him, he would be pulled under and torn to shreds. He had to come up with something quickly. However, it did not take him particularly long to notice a solution to his problem, a smirk forming on his face.

With that, the boy leaped onto one of the ropes, propelling himself off of it and soaring over Rotom's body, the mower's eyes going wide as Machoke held out an arm, hooking the pole and placing a firm grip against it. After that, he lifted Rotom high above his head and leaned backward, slamming the machine's back hard against the mat.

The crowd went wild as Machoke got up, taking a deep breath before tauntingly smacking his butt toward the mower, asking, "Was that actually supposed to be an improvement? Seems like a downgrade to me!"

Rotom's anger had now reached its boiling point as he grumbled, "Alright, I'll admit, that did not go as planned!" his aura and eyes becoming light blue, an arm that resembled a wrench coming from the left side with one resembling a crab's arm coming out the right. Machoke was terrified to think of what the machine would become next, Rotom's body expanding into a washing machine with a spike at the top and a hose coming out of his back.

All went silent as Blaziken asked, "How's becoming a washing machine supposed to help?" Gallade snickering and replying, "He must be low on ideas," Gardevoir shaking her head and sighing, "I wouldn't be too quick to judge if I were you."

It seemed Machoke was thinking the same thing. Sure, it was hard to imagine how a washing machine could possibly be threatening, but considering what Rotom had been capable of up to this point, one could only imagine what he could do in this form.

"You seem quite intimidated by my Wash Form," Rotom said with a smirk, "Well, there's certainly no other like it," Machoke trembling until the machine added with a pleasant smile, "It removes the stains that no other washing machine can get out," the area going silent.

"So I really got nothing to worry about then," Machoke said with a smirk as he rushed toward the washer, Rotom sporting a wicked grin and thinking, 'That's right, just a little closer.'

Machoke was just about to punch him when the machine pointed his hose at the boy's face, spraying a bit of water into it as he was temporarily blinded. Rotom then attached his wrench to Machoke's right arm, opening the door and stuffing the boy into it.

The crowd gasped when the door was shut, Machoke banging against the glass shouting, "LET ME OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

Rotom laughed maniacally before shouting, "YOU'LL PAY FOR TAKING ME LIGHTLY!" as he proceeded to press a button labelled wash, the inside of the machine filling up with water, Machoke trying to keep himself from suffocating.

Once the entire inside was filled with the liquid, Rotom proceeded to activate the spin cycle, Machoke spinning around as he had trouble holding his breath, his body ramming up against the walls and taking in pain. After a while, Rotom proceeded to open up the lid, Machoke's body flying out while still spinning, the boy running head-first into the turnbuckle as the crowd gasped.

"That looked painful!" Blaziken groaned, Machoke's face now bleeding as Rotom laughed, tauntingly saying, "Look on the bright side, kid. At least now you're sparkling clean!" his laughter becoming more maniacal as Machoke glared at him.

The boy took a deep breath and said, "Alright, that caught me off-guard, but I am NOT taking another one of your forms lightly, no matter how non-threatening it might seem!" Rotom asking, "You sure about that?" his eyes and aura turning yellow as he took the form of a wind fan, two arms shaped like gusts of wind coming from his sides.

Machoke looked at this for a few seconds, a light bulb turning on in his mind as he grinned, saying, "All I gotta do is avoid being in front of you," the boy running toward Rotom while also directing himself sideways, knowing that a wind fan could only blow the way it was facing.

"You are thinking logically, and I applaud you for that," Rotom said, "but unfortunately, this isn't any ordinary fan," the blades spinning as a gust of wind came out, Rotom holding his arms in front the wind, placing one in front of the top part and the other on the side, redirecting the blast to where Machoke was headed.

The crowd stared in absolute horror as Machoke could not dodge in time, the wind picking him up. But rather than sending him flying like everyone assumed it would, it instead formed into a mini tornado, shooting the boy high above the ring.

Gardevoir clasped her hands against her mouth, Blaziken and Gallade closing their eyes as Rotom pointed the fan blades toward the mat, using the wind to launch himself up to Machoke's level, pointing his face toward the roof and reaching his arms back, grabbing hold of the boy. With that, he proceeded to shout, "TORNADO DRIVER!" shooting a burst of wind toward where he was facing and spinning his body around, slamming Machoke hard into the mat, all going silent as the machine let go, taking a deep breath.

Machoke lay there, clearly in deep pain as Rotom said, "It's a shame. I was hoping I'd get to at least use all six of my forms on you," the machine shrugging and adding, "Oh well, at least I finally took care of you."

The one villain still cloaked let out a disappointed sigh and said, "I'm with ya, Lucario. I wanted to face him too," Aipom biting her lower lip, praying this was not the end. The crowd was thinking the same thing, Gardevoir holding her hands together and praying that Machoke would come out of this okay.

"This is a dark day in Tokyo for sure," the announcer said, "As was the agreement, if Machoke loses, the villains rule. Hopefully the boy can get up."

As Machoke continued to lie there, Gallade gulped and put on a serious look, shouting, "Machoke! Machoke!" Gardevoir nodding and doing the same, Blaziken joining in shortly after. The crowd heard this and started to do the same. There was no way they would sit back and do nothing while Machoke had been risking his life for them. Aipom wanted to join in as well, but she knew that would count as helping.

Lucario simply had a neutral look on his face, almost as if he was unsure how to feel about this, Rotom laughing and saying, "These people are so stupid!" his eyes going wide when he heard the sound of something slapping the mat, turning around to notice the source of this was Machoke's hands.

The boy grunted, slowly pushing himself up, breathing heavily as the crowd stopped chanting his name, silence filling the area as Machoke eventually managed to get to his feet. His heavy breathing continued, but he now looked more confident than ever before, a smile crossing his face as he was thankful for everyone's support.

Rotom's fear soon turned to a creepy delight as he smirked, saying, "Well, seems this match isn't over yet," Lucario looking strangely relieved as Aipom stared at him, the dog quickly going back to his neutral look.

But why did he look pleased by Machoke's recovery? Was this really a matter of him wanting to fight the boy or was there more to this? Aipom and Gardevoir were both having a lot of trouble figuring this out.

Before Rotom could do a thing in response to Machoke's recovery, the boy charged toward the machine and spat, "ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT! I'M REALLY PISSED OFF NOW!" Rotom's eyes going wide when Machoke crossed his arms, sending a cross chop to the fan and sending him flying into the turnbuckle.

The crowd broke out into heavy cheering as Rotom started to sputter a bit. However, he refused to let this discourage him as he said, "I'm glad you recovered, Machoke, because there's something I want to show you!" his eyes and aura turning red, two hands shaped like oven mitts forming on each side of him as he shifted into an oven.

"Okay, I know damn well what an oven does, so there's no way in Hell I'm letting you get me with that!" Machoke exclaimed as Rotom hopped toward him, a big grin on his face as Machoke dodged to the side, rushing behind the machine and wrapping his arms around him.

However, it seemed Rotom had wanted him to do this as he placed a firm grip against the boy's hands, Machoke in full panic again. The machine proceeded to lift him up over his head without much difficulty and opened up his lid, stuffing Machoke into it as the crowd gasped. Gardevoir trembled and whimpered, the others unsure of what the boy could do now, the inside of Rotom heating up as Machoke had no way of escape. Was this it? Was Machoke going to be burned to a crisp?