Tomorrow was sure to be a big day. Bisharp may not have made it perfectly clear what he was planning, but both Machoke and Blaziken were expecting a tag team match like Throh and Sawk had. Seeing how quickly Bisharp had turned things around for the team, Machoke did not wish to pin all the responsibility on Blaziken, so he was going to try his absolute hardest.

Tomorrow came soon enough and the hours leading up to noon went by in a flash. Currently it was eleven-thirty, just a half-hour before the main event and Blaziken and Machoke were already by the ring, Machoke trying to stop his knees from shaking.

Onix and Bisharp were also there as the bleachers were full, the announcer exclaiming, "Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Osaka Stadium! I am your host, Hito Koufu, and we are getting ready for the match between the heroes of Tokyo and the strong duo of Bisharp and Onix!"

The crowd waited in anticipation as Bisharp bowed his head to Machoke and Blaziken, the knight saying, "I don't think I need to tell you how much of an honour it is that you're here," Onix exclaiming, "Yeah, I've been looking forward to this!" clenching his fists and adding, "I can't wait to smash your heads into the pavement!"

"Actually, you might not get a chance to smash both," Bisharp replied, the rock snake looking and asking, "Are you implying you would wipe them out so quickly, I wouldn't get a chance to do anything?" the knight shaking his head stating, "Not quite. You know I always let you go first in tag team matches."

Now everyone was curious as to what Bisharp meant as he pointed at Machoke and Blaziken saying, "I feel privileged by the fact that it was you two who accepted our challenge above all else, the kids of the Torch family and the Mach family, whose parents were two of the greatest fighters of their generation. I feel like having a tag team match would end this major event far too quickly."

"So, where are you going with this?" Blaziken asked, Onix nodding and asking, "Yeah, where are you going with this?" Machoke all the while thinking, 'I don't wanna know where he's going with this.'

"I apologize, Sir Onix, for I should have discussed this with you beforehand," Bisharp stated, the rock snake nodding but saying nothing in response as the knight proceeded to explain, "I declare a string of one-on-one matches," all going silent as the knight nodded and replied, "We will start with two fighters going up against one-another. The winner of that match will then go up against the remaining team mate and it will work like this until there is only one team left standing."

"Uh, can you rephrase that?" Machoke asked as Bisharp nodded and replied, "Gladly. See, the first match will be between two fighters, one member of each team. After that match, one team will be minus a member in which the winner of that match will go up against the second, or rather last member of the opposing team," Machoke blinking and replying, "Okay, that made a little more sense."

"Well, I understand perfectly," Blaziken said with a smirk, Aipom nodding and adding, "Me too," Machoke grumbling curses under his breath as Bisharp turned to Onix and asked, "Do you wish to go first?"

Onix smirked and replied, "I thought you'd never ask!" Bisharp then pointing his hand at Blaziken and Machoke, clearly giving them the option to choose who would go first on their team.

Blaziken thought this over as Machoke simply folded his arms, sporting a serious look on his face and saying, "You can go first," the chicken turning to him as the boy gave her a confident grin, adding, "I've already had my debut match here. You're the only one of us who has yet to grace the world with your amazing talents."

Blaziken nodded with a confident smile and gave Machoke thumbs up saying, "Thanks, man, you're a real pal," Aipom staring at Machoke and realizing right off the bat that he had different reasons, but seeing as Blaziken was happy with the arrangement, the monkey said nothing.

"This should be interesting," Onix said with grin, "We are still yet to see what Combusken's daughter can do. I'm looking forward to this."

Of course, Blaziken still had a little over twenty-five minutes to prepare and as such, she headed to the stadium's training facility to prepare herself. After all, Onix may not have been as hard to hit as Bisharp, but his body was a lot tougher. The chicken would need to be ready for that.

With that in mind, she spent a good twenty minutes training her body with the equipment provided. It may not have been as useful as the weights on Hero Planet but it would have to do and right now, it was clear that strength would be more useful than speed in this fight.

A couple of minutes remained until the match, Machoke taking a front-row seat next to Aipom while saying, "Blaziken's tough. I'm certain she can handle this," the boy then grinning childishly and adding, "In fact, she's so tough that I bet she could easily defeat both Onix and Bisharp so I won't have to do a thing," Aipom face-palming with her tail hand.

After the two minutes were up, Hito took hold of his microphone and exclaimed, "Now it is finally time for the main event, starting with the first match! In the red corner, weighing at two-hundred-and-ten kilograms, a snake made entirely of stone, Onix!" the crowd going silent when the snake headed toward the ring.

At that moment, he pointed upward thus directing the audience's attention to the ceiling where a big cinder block was hanging, the people hired to hold it up releasing the rope and dropping it toward Onix's head. Just as it was about to hit, Onix pointed his head up toward it, opening his mouth wide and catching it, crunching down on it and cracking it into small fragments within seconds, swallowing the pieces. Clearly he meant business.

After the snake crawled into the ring, his arms folded, Hito proceeded to announce, "And in the blue corner, weighing at fifty-two kilograms, the fiery bird from Texas, Blaziken!" the crowd going wild when Blaziken rushed toward the ring wearing a cowboy hat and a cowgirl top, leaping into the ring and striking a pose before removing the hat and hurling it out of the ring like a frisbee.

"Fiery bird from Texas, eh?" she muttered to herself, tapping her chin and grinning, before adding, "Maybe I should call myself the Texas Phoenix."

"Not a bad entrance," Onix said with a grin, "You're quite the expert at showmanship, I must say," Blaziken smirking at him and remarking, "Thanks, but flattery won't make things any easier for you," Onix replying, "Please, I wouldn't dream of it."

"She's from Texas?" Machoke asked, Aipom, who was holding a bowl of banana pudding, nodding before replying, "Oh yeah, we have records on all Hero Planet graduates. In fact, Gardevoir and Gallade grew up in France," Machoke blinking and replying, "Funny, they don't sound French."

Blaziken performed a few leg warmups while the announcer stated, "This is a no-holds-barred match, meaning anything goes. I would forbid hits below the belt, but seeing as neither of these fighters really have anything that can be hurt down there, I think it's safe to make those areas fair game too, not that either would have of a reason to take advantage of that anyway."

Machoke had a look of envy on his face as Aipom laughed nervously, saying, "Sorry about that," the boy sighing, "Whatever, it's in the past," Aipom smiling sweetly before taking a bite of her pudding, her eyes widening as Machoke broke out into hysterics, Aipom slapping the snack into his face.

With that, the bell was rung as Blaziken wasted no time charging at the snake. Onix had no time to respond as she leapt up toward his head and sent a roundhouse kick into his cheek, the hit showing a bit of an effect while the crowd cheered.

The chicken did not let it end there, though, as she allowed herself to land in front of the snake and started punching away at his torso. Blaziken may have been skinny, but she was also really tough, so her punches actually did have a descent effect on her opponent and her knuckles could handle the pressure of hitting rocks.

Onix was not going to stand for this though as he did his best to ignore the pain, raising his arms over his head with both hands cupped together to form what resembled a giant fist. But just as he was about to send it crashing down on Blaziken's skull, the bird leapt back just in time to avoid it.

"Where's them tactics you were using when fighting Sawk?" Blaziken asked tauntingly, "Seriously, that move was beyond predictable," Onix roaring, "SHUT UP! I AM NOT PREDICTABLE!"

"Cool your jets," Bisharp said in a harsh tone, Onix turning to face him as he added, "If you let her get to you, you'll only make it easier for her to win. And I know you're not the predictable fighter she thinks you are, so prove it."

Onix nodded and took a deep breath, saying, "Right, I'm in control," Blaziken seeing this as a bluff and charging at the snake again only for Onix to stand up on the tip of his tail, bending his body forward. He then proceeded to latch his hands up against said tail to form a wheel, rolling toward Blaziken and shouting, "ROCKIN' ROLLER!"

Blaziken had no time to react as the snake rammed his body hard into her, the bird already coughing up blood as she flew backwards, the ropes preventing her from falling out of the ring. Onix stopped rolling and regained his original stance before asking, "Not so hot now, are you?" Blaziken spitting out a drop of blood and grunting, "At least my special moves don't have stupid names like Rockin' Roller."

Onix's eyes widened when Bisharp sighed, "She has got a point. That is a very stupid and might I add obvious name to give something like that," the rock snake retorting, "I thought you were on my side!" Bisharp holding up his right finger and adding, "But that is of no importance. Stupid-sounding or not, it is still fitting and the attack did a very good job injuring the opponent, so it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I hate to admit it, but Bisharp makes a valid case," Aipom stated, Machoke staring at her and remarking, "When did this become a court trial?"

Still, Bisharp was right. Obvious bad pun or not, there was no arguing that Blaziken had taken in a great deal of pain from this. Only one hit had drawn blood. This was nothing to scoff at.

Even so, the chicken refused to let this get to her as she proceeded to charge at Onix, the rock snake once again unable to respond, or at least it seemed she would get another easy hit. Unfortunately, just as she was close enough, a light stinging sensation went through her head as she rubbed it, stopping in her tracks.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Machoke snapped, Blaziken shaking her head as the pain had gone, but unfortunately for her, this delay was just enough for Onix fling his tail at her, wrapping it around the bird and holding her up.

The snake grinned wickedly and said, "It seems my attack had more of an effect than you thought it did," tightening his grip as Machoke closed his eyes, the audience going silent.

However, just as quickly as that silence had come, it left when everyone noticed Blaziken actually applying enough force with her arms to loosen the tail's hold on her. But just as it looked like she might be able to escape, Onix decided to use what little grip he had on her left to lift her high above the mat shouting, "BINDING SLAM!" ramming her head hard into the canvas.

The crowd was now in extreme panic as Blaziken already looked down for the count. She had just taken in two insanely powerful blows. Not even she could get up from that, could she?

Machoke was trembling in his seat and chattering his teeth, terrified out of his mind. After all, if Blaziken was unable to get up and pull off some kind of miracle, he would have to take both Onix and Bisharp on and he did not feel up to such an insane task.

"Blaziken put up an amazing fight, but not even someone as strong as her could get up after taking in fierce blows like that," Hito said, "As such, the victory goes to..."

However, his announcement was interrupted by a certain female voice barking, "NOT SO FAST, MISTER KOUFU!" everyone gasping when Blaziken placed her hands firmly against the mat, slowly pushing herself back up and rubbing her head, taking a deep breath and patting her cheeks.

"But how?" Onix asked, Bisharp folding his arms and saying, "She possesses a strong spirit, I will give her that," Blaziken taking a deep breath and saying, "Onix, I'll admit, you're really something. It takes a lot of strength for only one move to make me feel lightheaded, but this is far from over."

The crowd went wild as Machoke breathed a sigh of relief, Aipom saying, "I hope she can back up those words, because it's not looking good right now," Machoke grumbling, "You are such a killjoy."

Onix attempted to lunge at Blaziken and bite her, only now that pain in her head was gone as she leaped over his head. The snake was not going to let her get away as he propelled himself off the mat, the chicken smirking and saying, "You're making this easier all the time."

With that, the bird grabbed hold of Onix's neck and leaned backwards while applying just enough force to flip Onix's entire body around, igniting a burst of flame around her body before shouting, "ASTEROID SUPLEX!" soaring toward the ground like a rocket falling from the stratosphere and planting the snake's head hard into the mat.

The crowd went insane as the mat had pushed inward from the force of Onix's head, the snake now stuck in the canvas with his tail still sticking up in the air, Bisharp's eyes wide with shock. Even he had to admit that he was impressed.

"Alright, Mister Koufu, ring that bell already cause this match is in the bag!" Blaziken exclaimed with a proud look on her face, but just as Hito was about to do so, his eyes widened as he stated, "It appears this match is not over yet, folks," Blaziken sporting a look of confusion before slowly turning around.

Onix had placed his hands against the mat and managed to push hard enough to pry his head out of the crater his face had left in the canvas. Blaziken shook her head, her eyes wide open in terror as the snake had not yet broken his handstand. Instead, he had different plans as he once again rolled up his body into the wheel shape from earlier.

"BLAZIKEN, YOU KNOW HOW THIS ATTACK WORKS!" Machoke spat, "DODGE IT!" the chicken nodding when Onix shouted, "ROCKIN' ROLLER!" and rolled toward her.

Machoke was right, Blaziken knew exactly how this worked now. As such, the chicken narrowly managed to dodge it as Onix released his hold on the tail and returned to his normal stance, saying, "Damn, guess I can't rely on this one anymore."

Blaziken was still shocked, though, as Onix folded his arms and nodded, stating, "I know what you're thinking. 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall', right? You thought that just because I'm big and heavy, an attack like that would take me out in one hit, but obviously it didn't. Or am I wrong?"

Blaziken shook her head and sighed, "Oh well, even though that didn't finish you, it still packed a punch. You can't deny that," Onix nodding and saying, "You're right, it did. I applaud you for actually managing to do this much," the snake pointing at a small section of his head where it looked like a tiny chunk of stone was missing.

"THAT'S ALL SHE MANAGED TO DO!?" Machoke spat, more fear filling him as he let down tears, whimpering, "This guy scares me more and more by the minute!"

Even so, Blaziken refused to let this get to her as she noticed Onix attempt to bite her again, once again leaping over him. But rather than attempt the same move she had just used, figuring he would not fall for it twice, the chicken instead sent a flaming two-legged kick to the snake's skull shouting, "BLAZE KICK!" propelling herself off, going straight for the snake's tail.

Onix ignored the pain to his head and threw his tail toward the chicken, a smirk forming on her face as she allowed it to run into her, only now her legs and arms were bound to it as she tightened her hold, all going silent. As if trying something like this on a creature made entirely out of stone was not confusing enough, the strange thing was that it was actually working, Onix feeling legitimate pain from this.

However, it did not take long for the audience to realize why as Blaziken not only applied a hard grip to the tail but also turned her body enough to start twisting it. Seeing this, the crowd went wild once more, Machoke exclaiming, "AW YEAH, JUST LIKE I TAUGHT YOU!" Aipom sighing, "You're a terrible liar."

After a few seconds, though, Onix seemed to stop feeling pain and instead starting snickering, Blaziken asking, "What's so funny?"

"This move," Onix replied with a smirk, "Your mom used this exact same technique against mine back in the day," everyone staring in confusion as Hito stated, "Apparently, Onix's mother fought Combusken back in the day, but when did that happen?"

"That's a good question," Blaziken remarked, Onix nodding and asking, "Ever heard the famous match between Combusken and Steelix?" the chicken's eyes going wide as she uttered, "Oh my god, I should have known. You two are very similar in appearance and name."

The rest of the crowd could not believe this either. How could no one have made such an obvious connection? Sure, Steelix was made of steel as opposed to rocks, but the similarities to Onix were plain as day.

"That doesn't explain why you're laughing, though," Blaziken stated, "From what I heard, this move defeated your mother. She gave up because she couldn't handle the pain," Machoke turning to Aipom who nodded and said, "Yep, it's true. Mommy told me all about that."

"That's why I find this so funny," Onix replied, "I figured a move that caused my mother, who by the way was tougher than me at this age, would be much more powerful! Up to this point, I figured maybe you were a good successor to Combusken, but it seems you're not even close to her level!"

A vein formed on the side of Blaziken's head as Aipom uttered, "Oh no," the chicken shouting, "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I'M TOUGHER THAN MY MOTHER EVER WAS, AND I'LL PROVE IT!" tightening her hold even more.

However, Onix simply ignored the pain and lifted his tail up, Machoke shouting, "BLAZIKEN, LET GO OF HIS TAIL!" the chicken retorting, "LIKE HELL!" only to end up having her back slammed hard against the mat.

Despite the pain coursing through her, she continued to hold on tight, grunting, "I will defeat you with this move," Onix laughing and retorting, "You're not even hurting me anymore!" the snake lifting his tail up again and sending it down toward the mat, once again slamming Blaziken's back into the canvas.

The chicken tried to hold on as tight as she could when Onix rose his tail again but found herself unable to as she released her hold, falling hard against the mat, Onix taking full advantage of this and slamming his tail into her gut. Blaziken coughed up more blood as the crowd stared at this with fright.

"Don't feel too bad," Onix said, wrapping his tail around the chicken and lifting her up one last time before adding, "You put up a really good fight. In fact, I'll even go so far as to say you're the best opponent I ever had. But all good things must come to and end, right?"

"Well put," Bisharp replied, nodding his head as Machoke groaned, "Her first match and her career's already gone down the toilet."

Onix's eyes went wide at the sound of this as he dropped Blaziken, his body twitching as everyone stared in confusion, Hito asking, "What is going on with Onix? Just as he was about to win, something seems to have spooked him."

Bisharp rose an eyebrow and said, "I thought you told me you had gotten over that," Onix blinking and shaking his head, saying, "Right, of course. Besides, it's not like a sewer is deep or anything." Machoke blinking and asking, "When did I mention a sewer?"

Aipom's eyes went wide as she said, "That's it," nudging Machoke and replying, "Toilets lead to sewers, which contain lots of water in them. Rock types like Onix here are usually unable to swim due to their heavy builds with very few exceptions. Maybe Onix has a fear of water because of that."

Blaziken looked like she was now starting to recover but clearly lacked the strength to get up completely as a light bulb turned on in Machoke's head. A grin crossed his face as he knew exactly how to help his friend without rushing into the ring and breaking the rules.

"Hey, Onix!" Machoke spat as the snake turned to face him saying, "I'm in the middle of something here," Machoke nodding and replying, "I understand that, but hey, even though we're on opposite sides, I was wondering if you'd like to join me sometime for a vacation to Hawaii! We could go swimming!"

Onix's eyes went wide, his jaw dropped as he proceeded to embrace himself, trembling all over. Sure, he was a villain, but even he found this too cruel.

It was all coming back, a time in his childhood when he was invited to a human birthday party. Of course, his mother did not approve of him making friends with humans and would have rather had him at home so she could teach him to fight, but Onix had always wanted to be good so he snuck out while his mom was having a nap. Unfortunately, it was a pool party.

He tried not to go into the water as best as he could but it was no use as a group of bullies teamed up on him to shove him in. Since he was nowhere near as big back then, it was a lot easier for them to pull this off.

He remembered what it was like, sinking to the bottom and coming really close to drowning. Because he was so heavy, it took every adult in the area and a few of the kids to pull him back to the surface. But even with most of the humans helping him, it did not change the fact that humans had also been close to ending his life. That was the moment he swore to be more like his mother when he grew up.

Unfortunately for him, this also made him terrified of water, so much that even mentioning something related to it sent a chill down his spine. After all, that had been the most useless he had ever felt in his life.

Seeing as this was clearly working, Machoke grinned and added, "If Hawaii's not your cup of tea, then how about a trip to the local pool after the match?" Onix clutching onto his head and crying out in horror, shouting, "STOP!" only for Machoke to hold his hand up to the side of his his head, replying, "I didn't hear that. Did you say stroke?" the snake crawling over to a turnbuckle and slamming his forehead against it.

"Onix, cease listening to his ramblings this instant!" Bisharp snapped, Onix turning to him, light tears in his eyes as the knight took a deep breath and added in a more calm tone, "Machoke is clearly trying to psyche you out. All that stuff he is saying is just words and nothing more. He has no intention of doing any of those things with you, okay?"

Onix blinked and stared silently for a while before breathing in and out, his confidence returning as he nodded his head and replied, "Thanks, Bisharp. You're a lifesaver," the knight nodding his head and saying, "Now go on, you have a fight to finish."

Machoke, however, failed to realize Onix had now gotten over his fears for the time being as the boy exclaimed, "You know, I heard it's supposed to rain big, big puddles today!" Onix taking a deep breath and casting a wicked grin his way, Machoke trembling and taking his seat.

"Oh no," Aipom murmured as Onix took one last breath, saying, "Save your breath, Machoke. Your words don't faze me anymore."

However, Machoke's fear subsided when he noticed his plan had worked to a certain degree. He had provided just enough of a distraction for Blaziken to rise to her feet, the bird taking many deep breaths but still hanging in there.

"Thanks, man," the chicken said with a grin, giving the boy thumbs up and adding, "I don't know what I would have done without your twisted sense of humour."

With that, Blaziken turned back to Onix, both of them having their confidence back. Even so, the odds were still stacked against Blaziken after what she had just endured. Would this really be enough for her to win or was she just delaying the inevitable?