Earth's Protectors

by nld200xy

A new breed of villains have risen up to terrorize humans in the form of Pokemon, powerful creatures with the strength to end mankind. Luckily, a group of heroes are trained to protect the humans from this menace. Heavily inspired by Kinnikuman, this is something I've wanted to make for a long time.

16. Chapter 16

This was it, the day of The Next Gen Battle. Would this be the last time Machoke and his friends could enjoy living in Tokyo? Who knew?

Many were gathered at a big stadium where B block was scheduled to fight as the female announcer from before exclaimed, "This is Nori Takanawa coming to you live for the first round of The Next Gen Battle, specifically B block! I notice many of you have gathered here for the big event and I can't blame you! As awesome as seeing heroes fight the bad guys can be, heroes facing off against their own allies is another thing altogether!"

At this moment, someone wearing a trench coat entered the area, standing next to the bleachers, but this was no ordinary audience member. This person was actually a red bug with a build similar to that of a Scyther but with plenty of key differences. For instance, her hands were actually big claws similar to those of a crab with yellow circles that resembled eyes on the sides. Her midsection was a lot wider than Scyther's and her wings were half the length but twice the width. And rather than having three claws on each foot, she instead had one claw on the front and one on the heel. But who was this figure and why did she look so similar to Scyther?

Meanwhile, in a small park far from the stadium, a ring had been set up in the centre of the area. Weedle, Machoke, Aipom and Heracross were seated behind a desk right next to the ring as Machoke looked around, noticing an extreme lack of people coming for the event. As if that was not weird enough, most of them seemed more interested in having picnics with their families than watching the match that was about to unfold.

"Geez, what's with the lack of attention?" Machoke asked as Weedle replied, "Well, it's quite simple. See, the fighters in Block B are much more popular, therefore more people want to see them," Machoke glaring at him as Aipom patted him on the shoulder, saying, "There, there, it's not his fault."

Among these audience members were Reika and Cici, Tsuya claiming that she just simply had to watch B block instead. Cici felt happy either way as she always felt safer around Reika. And of course, Keiko was there as well.

"So, Reika, why do you want to watch A block so much anyway?" Cici asked, Reika replying, "A block audience is quieter," Keiko smirking and asking, "Are you sure that's your only reason?"

"MOM!" Reika retorted with a look of horror, "What are you suggesting!?" her cheeks bright pink as Keiko pinched her daughter's cheeks, teasingly saying, "Reika's got a crush!"

With that, Weedle tapped on a microphone in front of him a couple of times before exclaiming, "Welcome to the first round of The Next Gen Battle! This is where the A Block fighters will compete! As you already know, I am Weedle, the chairman of Hero Planet, and I will be acting as announcer for this section!" Machoke taking a deep breath and sighing, "He sure is humble, isn't he?" Aipom smacking the boy on the back of the head.

"Without further ado," Weedle exclaimed, "it's time to introduce the fighters!" Machoke grinning while whispering, "I can't wait for Gardevoir to come out," Aipom sighing, "Let me guess, you chose another entrance for her didn't you?" the boy nodding as the monkey face-palmed with her tail hand.

"In the red corner," Weedle stated, directing his horn toward one side of the ring and adding, "Coming to us from Egypt and weighing thirty-three kilograms, representing Team Next Gen, Lopunny!" the rabbit bounding toward the ring before crouching down and leaping high into the air, landing hard against the ring and striking a battle pose, the small crowd clapping as a child pointed at Lopunny, saying, "Look, Daddy, a bunny."

"Boy, they sure seem excited," Machoke said sarcastically as Weedle ignored this before shouting, "And in the blue corner, coming to us from France and weighing at forty-eight kilograms, representing Team Jinroku, Gardevoir!" Machoke glaring at the bug and retorting, "HEY, THAT'S JAPANESE FOR DUNCE, YOU JERK!" Aipom holding him back.

Insulting team name or not, Gardevoir did not seem to care as she entered with a black cape wrapped around her body, the audience now fully interested in what they were seeing. Whatever Machoke had planned, it actually looked like this entrance could be taken seriously. That was until the girl removed the cape, everyone staring as she had a dancer's outfit on underneath.

With that, the girl struck a sexy pose while obnoxious J-pop played in the background. After her last couple of entrances, she no longer felt awkward doing these, so the girl did not hesitate for a second as she thrust her body a few times. After that, the girl performed a graceful twirl before somersaulting toward the ring and propelling herself off the ground, landing delicately against the mat and pointing her finger at Lopunny like a shotgun, shouting, "BANG-BANG!"

When the music stopped, all went silent as Machoke clapped, exclaiming, "YEAH, YOU GO, GIRL!" whistling to her with admiration as Reika gritted her teeth, feeling strangely offended now that she knew he was responsible for this, Cici asking, "Is something wrong?"

Lopunny on the other hand was once again impressed as she clapped her ears and hands together, squealing, "OH MY GOD, WHERE DO YOU GET SUCH WONDERFUL IDEAS!?" Machoke exclaiming, "From yours truly!" the boy standing tall and proud as Lopunny asked, "Can I hire you to plan my next fight entrance!?"

"Hm, working for Lopunny," Weedle uttered, rubbing the tip of his tail against his chin, "It will give me a reason to let you stay in Tokyo," Machoke now actually considering the offer as he replied, "I'll have to think about it."

However, while Reika still looked beyond annoyed by this, Gardevoir felt so happy as she thought, 'As awkward as these entrances are, they actually help relieve stress. Thank you, Machoke,' the girl shooting him a small smile.

After a while, Reika calmed down as she said, "Wait, she seems a lot less timid now," Keiko nodding and replying, "I guess those entrances Machoke plans for her give her more courage," the girl blinking and saying, "And here I thought he was objectifying women."

All the while in B block, Nori was ready to introduce the fighters as she exclaimed, "In the red corner, coming to us from Germany and weighing fifty-six kilograms, the spirited insect of Team Next Gen, Scyther!" the bug dashing toward the ring before spreading out her wings and leaping high into the air, performing a bit of aerial ballet before landing perfectly against the mat, the crowd going wild.

"And in the blue corner," Nori stated, "hailing from France and weighing fifty-two kilos, the fast and strong warrior of Team Jinroku, Gallade!"

Gallade took a more humble approach toward the ring only for his calm look to drop when he spat, "JINROKU!?" Nori trembling and uttering, "Please, don't look at me! Mister Weedle thought this one up!" Gallade then noticing Blaziken wearing a T-shirt with the kanji for 'Jinroku' as she sighed, "Sorry, Gallade, but we have to accept this."

The boy let out a sigh before shaking his head and folding his arms, saying, "Oh well, it doesn't matter," before making his way over to the ring and entering, quickly recovering from his outburst earlier as the crowd started cheering for him as well, especially Tsuya who got up from her seat, squealing, "YEAH, GALLADE, KICK HER BUTT!"

The two stared each-other down, holding up fighting stances with serious looks in their eyes. Once Nori rang the bell, Scyther immediately sprinted toward Gallade, tackling him as he spread out his legs, stopping himself from falling back.

Everyone stared in admiration as the boy held his ground, Scyther's eyes going wide when Gallade wrapped his arms around her shoulders, saying, "Hate to break it to you, but I've developed a technique to prevent myself from being knocked down so easily."

Before the insect could respond, Gallade leaned backward, pulling her up over his head before slamming her skull against the mat. The crowd went wild as he released his hold on her, saying, "Weedle thinks I've been shirking in my duties, but that's not true. Both my sister and I have been working out daily at a gym close to our condominium."

Scyther slowly rose to her feet, acting as if the pain meant nothing before replying, "That is certainly commendable, but my training far exceeds yours," the insect rushing at him again.

However, Gallade once again seemed ready as he dodged to the side, crossing his arms and shouting, "PSYCHO CUT!" rushing at Scyther and attempting to strike her. Scyther held up her arms when the stranger in the crowd barked, "SCYTHER, DON'T!" Scyther turning toward the bug in the trench coat and remembering another method to this, the insect simply leaping high above the ring in time to avoid Gallade's attack.

The boy was caught off-guard as Scyther landed behind him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him high above her head. Everyone thought she was going to use a brainbuster but instead, the insect leapt high above the ring and leaned back, Gallade's head now closer to the canvas as she shouted, "FLYING HAMMER!"

With that, she descended toward the mat, slamming the back of Gallade's head hard into it while the crowd went wild for her. Gallade's eyes were wide with shock as just from this one hit, he was already feeling rather weak. Perhaps it had not been an exaggeration when Scyther said her training was more effective than his.

However, Gallade would not allow her to win so easily as he shifted his legs downward, latching them to the insect's sides. With that, he placed his hands firmly against the mat and attempted to lift her up only for the bug to shockingly overpower him, forcing her body back onto the mat.

Seeing how his efforts were helpless, Gallade simply twisted his body, forcing her to let go of his and rolling away. But before he could do anything else, Scyther came up behind him and delivered a flying roundhouse to the back of his head.

The boy could not believe it. From only two hits, he was already feeling really weak as Scyther smirked, saying, "You boast about your training, but it is nowhere near the level of mine. I've read about your match with Scrafty and it did not make you sound particularly impressive," Gallade retorting, "What do you mean by that!?"

The insect took a deep breath and remarked, "It's quite simple, really. Losing every now and then is okay, but from what I can gather, you barely put up a fight," Gallade's eyes going wide as she added, "I mean, Blaziken went up against a really strong adversary while under an injury and did a better job than you did," Blaziken gulping, not sure whether or not she could argue with that statement.

"HEY, WHAT WAS THAT!?" Gallade spat, glaring at the chicken, "BACK ME UP HERE!" Blaziken nodding and shouting, "She's trying to psyche you out! Don't listen to her!" Scyther remarking, "Yes, Gallade, don't listen to the truth. Keep living in that fantasy world where you're a champion."

Gallade gritted his teeth and spat, "SHUT UP!" swinging his right blade at her only for the bug to hold her left arm up to block it, everyone staring in shock when a real blade sprouted from the bottom of her arm, reaching all the way to her armpit and blocking Gallade's attack.

'Dammit, I told her not to use that until it was necessary,' the red insect in the audience thought, gritting her teeth, 'Guess it's too late now,' Gallade staring in absolute shock as Scyther sighed, "Sorry, lehrer, I acted too quickly to think."

"Where did that come from?" Gallade asked, Scyther backing up and saying, "No sense holding back now," the insect rushing at the boy and shouting, "ARM SCHWERT!" speeding right past him when suddenly, a cut formed on his midsection, expanding into a big gash as he cried out in pain.

All went silent as Gallade fell to his knees before falling forward, landing hard on his face. After a few seconds, Nori rang the bell and exclaimed, "AND THE FIRST MATCH OF THE NEXT GEN BATTLE GOES TO SCYTHER!" the crowd then breaking out into heavy cheers as Scyther stared at the red bug, Nori adding, "That attack, the Arm Schwert, has not been seen in a long time, but I do remember that being a finishing move used by the mighty Scizor back in the day."

Blaziken stared at the red insect while news reporters ran up to her asking questions such as "Where have you been all this time, Miss Scizor?" and "What is your connection to Scyther?" The insect simply ignored the press and exited the area. One thing was for certain, though. These new fighters could not be taken lightly.

When Scyther exited the area, Blaziken ran into the ring, helping Gallade up when a group of medics came in, the chicken laying him down on the stretcher. Gallade was just conscious enough to let down tears, Blaziken sighing, "Don't be so hard on yourself. We didn't mean what we said the other day. You are a good fighter."

A light smile formed on his face as he uttered, "Beat Golurk, please," the boy carried out of the stadium as Blaziken took a deep breath, nodding her head with a serious look on her face.

During this time, Gardevoir was unaware of her brother's loss as she and Lopunny were literally locked in combat, both having a contest of strength as Gardevoir was using her hands to force Lopunny's ears away from her. Strangely enough, she was actually putting up a descent struggle this time.

"I will not longer allow myself to be overpowered!" Gardevoir squeaked with a serious look in her eyes, "Mister Weedle assumes I haven't been taking my job seriously, but I've been working out with my brother everyday!" Weedle asking, "Is this true?" Machoke nodding and replying, "Yeah, you should probably rethink your judgement," the caterpillar remarking, "We shall see about that."

However, while Gardevoir's arm strength had certainly improved overtime, Lopunny's ears were big and strong and as such, Gardevoir soon found herself forced back. But just as she was about to succumb, the girl remembered a countermeasure that Gallade had taught her, releasing her hold on Lopunny's ears and allowing them to get just close enough for her to wrap her arms around them.

All went silent as Lopunny gasped in shock, rather impressed by this strategy. Gardevoir smiled lightly and thought, 'I'm going to win without having to use my power,' the girl tugging on the ears as Lopunny cried out in pain. Unfortunately, this was not the girl's intention.

Her strategy was to pull hard enough for Lopunny to fly toward her so she could land a headbutt on the her, but unfortunately, her strength was still not enough for that to work. As such, Lopunny grinned and said, "Nice try, but it's not good enough," the rabbit bending backward and lifting Gardevoir up off the ground. With the girl still clinging to her ears, Lopunny proceeded to swing them around as Machoke spat, "GARDEVOIR, LET GO!"

Unfortunately, this proved to be a bad idea as when Gardevoir did release her hold, she ended up flying into the turnbuckle, the girl squeaking in pain. However, she knew that she had to be strong, so she slowly recovered from the hit and took a deep breath, pretending not to feel pain from it.

"I'm impressed," Lopunny said with a friendly smile, "Most opponents would take in extreme pain from that," Gardevoir taking another deep breath and replying, "Well, I'm not your ordinary, everyday opponent."

"Yeah, now show her what you got!" Machoke exclaimed, Reika raising her fist and shouting, "YEAH, SOCK IT TO HER!"

With that in mind, Gardevoir raced toward the rabbit only for Lopunny to send her ears forward like fists again. This time, though, Gardevoir gracefully dodge to the side and swerved next to the rabbit, sending a palm punch to her cheek. Unlike before when she tried that same move on Nidoqueen, this actually seemed to deal pain. One could have made the argument that this was because Lopunny's body was much weaker if the attack had not had such a huge impact, the rabbit actually forced to the side as a result of the attack.

Gardevoir smiled and squealed, "I ACTUALLY DEALT DAMAGE!" Machoke exclaiming, "THAT'S GREAT, BUT DON'T STOP!" the girl nodding and proceeded to deliver a series of powerful slaps before Lopunny could recover, those initially uninterested in the match now getting really involved as they cheered wildly for the girl.

Gardevoir was filling up with pride now. Up until now, she had never been able to cause pain in her normal state and now not only was she causing damage, she was causing some real damage. It seemed her training had paid off and she could not help but feel a great thrill from it.

However, Lopunny was not going to let her team down no matter how much she admired Gardevoir. As such, the rabbit held up her arms to block the incoming slaps while sending her ears out until they were behind Gardevoir's back. Seeing this, Machoke gasped and spat, "GARDEVOIR, BEHIND YOU!"

Unfortunately, the girl was unable to react in time as the ears bent toward Lopunny, holding Gardevoir tight like a pair of arms. With that, Lopunny proceeded to bounce high above the ring, wrapping her normal arms around the girl and flipping her over for a Tombstone, sending Gardevoir's head hard into the canvas.

Cici winced at the sight of this as Gardevoir was just about to cough up blood. But not wanting to show any signs of weakness, the girl held her mouth closed to contain the blood so when Lopunny released her and her body collapsed, the girl gulped it back down. It was a strange feeling but Gardevoir was not going to let that get her down.

"My god, you are so hardcore!" Lopunny squealed with a big grin, "I've gotta try extra hard to beat you!" Machoke blinking and uttering, "I don't like the sound of that."

"What do you mean?" Aipom asked as Machoke sighed, "Gardevoir clearly took in more pain from that than she's letting on," the monkey blinking and saying, "Oh my god, you noticed it too," Heracross nodding and saying, "Yeah, Lopunny's really strong. Gardevoir's done a descent job so far, but I worry about her health when this is all over."

Now Machoke was really confused about what kind of being Heracross was. Was he being friendly and sympathetic or was this his way of making fun of Gardevoir? Either way, Machoke would still have to fight him anyway, so that hardly mattered.

Lopunny proceeded to send her ears forward like fists once again, Gardevoir gracefully dodging each strike. Sure, her strength was nothing to be proud of at first, but she had always been good at avoiding attacks. Unfortunately, this would not last as Lopunny eventually noticed a pattern with her movements and sent a hard punch to her chest just above the spike.

Gardevoir backed up, clutching onto the spot and once again trying to ignore the pain. Unfortunately, she was having trouble now as she was really starting to feel it. Even Machoke could feel the pain just from the look of it as he winced.

She had to win, not just for the sake of having her training mean something but so she could remain with her friends. Whether or not she remained in Tokyo hardly mattered to her. It was the thought of being separated from Machoke, Blaziken, Aipom and even Reika and her friends that terrified her the most.

As such, she took a deep breath and rushed toward the rabbit, Lopunny once again sending her ears forward. However, Gardevoir managed to come up with a new strategy as she leapt over one of the ears, Lopunny's eyes wide with shock as the crowd went wild, Aipom grinning and shouting, "THAT IS SO COOL!" Machoke staring at the monkey who simply cleared her throat, saying, "Um, I mean good job, Gardevoir."

What really impressed the crowd was not the fact that Gardevoir had jumped over the attack but rather that she had successfully landed on top of Lopunny's ear. Thus she took full advantage of this and leapt off of it, planting her foot hard into the rabbit's forehead, causing her to fall on her back.

Reika grinned and spat, "THAT WAS AWESOME!" everyone else continuing to cheer and applaud the girl. However, while Weedle looked a tad distressed by this, Heracross looked perfectly calm. Either he was a really good sport or he knew something the others did not as he still had a look of confidence as if nothing had just happened to his teammate.

Gardevoir looked ready to strike again as she leapt into the air, aiming her foot toward the rabbit's belly. However, Lopunny made a quick recovery as she moved her ears in front of her torso. This was more than enough to block Gardevoir's attack as she squeaked, quickly leaping away from the rabbit in fear of something else happening.

"I have to admit, that really caught me by surprise," Lopunny said with a smile, "You've been such an amazing opponent, but I have no intention of letting you win!" Gardevoir nodding and trying to remain calm.

After all, it seemed every one of Lopunny's attacks involved her using her ears in some way, just like Diggersby, the opponent Gallade had fought to be allowed on Earth. At the very least, Gardevoir knew what to expect from her, and that gave her an idea.

Gardevoir proceeded to rush toward the rabbit, Lopunny simply sending her ears out like fists once again only this time Gardevoir lowered her body, now sliding toward the rabbit's feet with one foot pointed toward them. However, the rabbit easily saw this coming as she sprang off the mat, Gardevoir's eyes going wide. She could not believe that she had forgotten rabbits could jump high.

With that, Lopunny descended toward Gardevoir's head shouting, "BUNNY BOUNCE!" planting her feet hard into her face and bouncing off, landing on the opposite side of the ring. All went silent as Gardevoir could no longer hide her pain, her body twitching as her face was bleeding a bit.

Machoke stared in horror, asking, "Are you okay, Gardevoir?" Heracross saying, "Good job, Lopunny."

The rabbit simply bounced back and forth on the spot, asking, "Did you think my ears were my only weapon? I'm a rabbit! Of course I'm gonna use my feet every now and then," Weedle taking a deep breath, sighing, "I'll give the girl some credit, she's gotten better, but she's still weak."

Machoke fumed at the caterpillar when suddenly, a voice came from the crowd, shouting, "HEY, CAN IT, OLD MAN!" Machoke slowly turning to notice one of the picnickers had said this, another getting up and barking, "Gardevoir's not weak! We've seen her in action! She's really strong when it counts!" Cici getting up and squeaking, "That's right! Even though she's not always confident in herself, she still tries her hardest! She keeps fighting even when things look their worst! I could feel that from the moment I saw her face Scrafty!"

Reika nodded and smiled at her friend, saying, "Well, put," the girl then turning to the ring and pumping her fist up and down shouting, "Gardevoir! Gardevoir!" Cici and Keiko nodding before doing the same, chanting Gardevoir's name repeatedly.

Soon enough, everyone in the audience including the children were doing the same. They thought this whole tournament was ludicrous and certainly did not want Gardevoir to leave because of some rule. And needless to say, Machoke and Aipom wasted no time joining in, Weedle all the while feeling a twinge of guilt in his heart.

Heracross noticed this and said, "Don't be hard on yourself, sir. You only did what you felt was right," Weedle nodding and replying, "Oh, yes, that's certainly correct," the bug taking a deep breath and thinking, 'I almost let a group of strangers make me question my entire life.'

Despite there not being a large crowd here at the moment, Gardevoir could certainly hear their words as she flipped her hands over, placing them firmly against the mat. Lopunny stared in wonder, simply amazed that the girl could get up after all of that as she slowly rose back to her feet, taking many deep breaths. And to make things even better, a violet aura now surrounded her hands.

Gardevoir noticed this and bit her lower lip, shockingly disappointed to see her hands glowing. But it made sense. After all, she was trying to avoid relying on it.

Aipom noticed this and sighed, "Oh no, she's not happy at all," Machoke getting up and shouting, "Hey, Gardevoir!" the girl turning to face him as he added, "Don't let this discourage you! That power is helpful! If anything, you should be proud of yourself for going this long without needing it!" the audience cheering as Reika exclaimed, "He's right! Feel glad you made it this far and take advantage of that power!" the girl then smiling at Machoke, rather glad that he was the first one to point this out.

It seemed to work as Gardevoir's confidence quickly returned, the girl nodding with a serious smile on her face. This power was not something to be feared. It was a force that helped her in her time of need and right now, she definitely needed it.