Note: Some of you have probably already caught onto this, and I'm sorry for not pointing this out sooner, but for purposes related to the story, some designs have been altered. Clearly the major standouts so far are those of Magnemite, Onix and the Pokemon revealed in this chapter.

Just as things were finally starting to look up, life had already put a damper on everyone's good mood. While Machoke had won his match against Heracross and may have even changed him for the better, Blaziken did not have it so well as one of the ring's ropes was being used as a weapon. Not only that, but she had plenty of bruises all over her body, meaning she had already taken in quite a beating prior to this.

Weedle immediately called for a chopper to come and take them to the stadium, Machoke staring in confusion as Weedle sighed, "Seeing as you're a participant and Aipom's your trainer, you may join me. I figure you'd want to be there for your friend, right?" Lopunny also joining the two as all four entered the flying vessel and took off.

Those still in the bleachers decided to watch the events on the TV to make sure things would turn out alright. This was not just bad news for Machoke and the others but for the audience as well. Of all four of the heroes in Tokyo, Blaziken was the most popular, so to see a rope being used like this against her created a huge upset among the vast majority of the crowd.

At this time, Lucario had finally arrived at the stadium, only this time he was wearing a black T-shirt with a hole in the front for his spike and a pair of shorts. He was also holding a bucket of popcorn and a jumbo-sized drink.

'Well, this should be interesting,' the dog thought as he spotted an empty seat, 'Though considering it's a fight between heroes, it's probably not going to be super exciting.'

But when he sat down and noticed Golurk using the rope to slam Blaziken's head into a turnbuckle, his interest peeked as he thought, 'Or maybe not. I'm glad I didn't miss the whole thing.'

Thanks to Weedle's mode of transportation, it did not take long for the others to arrive as Machoke ran toward the ring but stopped a short distance from it, exclaiming, "BLAZIKEN, ARE YOU OKAY!?" the chicken looking at him weakly and trying to give him a positive look to lighten his spirits only for Golurk to ram her head into a turnbuckle, tugging on the rope and spinning her around again.

Machoke then turned and noticed Lucario, saying, "Oh, hey, it's Lucario," turning back toward the ring before his eyes widened, the boy facing the dog again and exclaiming, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Lucario sighing, "Don't get the wrong idea. I simply wanted to watch the match and nothing else," taking a sip of his drink as Machoke shrugged and turned back to the ring.

"Mister Weedle, sir, what are you doing here?" Nori asked, suddenly realizing she had said this into the mic as she quickly set it to the side.

Weedle took a deep breath and replied, "I'm here to prevent foul play, that's what!" the caterpillar barking, "Hey, Golurk, it's against the rules to use the rope as a weapon!"

Golurk's eyes went wide as he turned toward the caterpillar, remarking, "Can it, old-timer! I can do whatever I want!" Weedle remarking, "For your information, I'm forty-seven!"

Machoke turned to Aipom and whispered, "He looks like he's in his sixties to me," Aipom remarking, "Don't be... oh, you're right, he does," the monkey actually snickering as Weedle chose to ignore this.

"Golurk, put her down," Lopunny protested, "I've read the rules and he's right!" Scyther cutting in and saying, "Sorry about this, chairman, but you see, Golurk isn't really knowledgeable when it comes to the rules. Every time we'd have a classroom lecture, he'd doze off, so he never actually picked up on any of that."

"Well, that's even more disgraceful!" Weedle remarked, Golurk grunting, "What are you gonna do about it!?" the caterpillar retorting, "I'll show you, or rather tell you!"

All went silent as the bug added, "Golurk, you are disqualified!" all going silent as Machoke grinned, saying, "Alright, that means we got another win, right?" Weedle turning to the boy and sighing, "I hate to say it, but yes."

However, all went silent when Blaziken exclaimed, "NO!" everyone staring at her as she added, "Look, to me, this is like the matches on Hero Planet! Our instructors never held back because they wanted to give us a sample of what to expect when fighting villains!" Golurk once again ramming her into the turnbuckle as she shook off the pain and added, "I see this as experience, so keep the match going!"

All went silent as Lopunny asked, "Is that allowed?" Weedle sighing, "You've read the rules. If the opponent is okay with the rule violation, the match will continue."

"ARE YOU NUTS!?" Machoke retorted, Blaziken giving him a confident smile as Lucario said, "Oh, I like her," taking a big bite of his popcorn while Aipom gave him an awkward look. What was up with Lucario's attitude toward this?

"Big words from someone in your position," Golurk said, still swinging Blaziken, "but if you ask me, you should have accepted that!" Blaziken remarking, "I plan to win this fairly and I'm going to!"

With that, the chicken finally fought back as she spun her body around, wrapping more rope around her but also allowing her to get close to the golem. Once she was close enough, her head burst into flame as she spat, "FIRE PECK!" sending her beak hard into Golurk's chest.

Despite her opponent being made of stone, the added fire to the attack seemed to strengthen it just enough as Golurk winced, releasing his hold on the rope. This allowed Blaziken to free herself as she proceeded to send a hard kick to his midsection, the crowd going wild.

Machoke breathed a sigh of relief before exclaiming, "ALRIGHT, WAY TO GO, BLAZIKEN!" Lucario looking calm as Aipom thought, 'Did he know she was going to do that?'

Golurk took a deep breath when suddenly, a small crack formed on the spot Blaziken had hit, the crowd staring in shock. Seeing this, Weedle asked, "Golurk, do you wish to continue? It looks like your body's been damaged," the golem shaking his head and remarking, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

While the audience found this rather rash on his part, Blaziken could not help but feel there was more to this. Rock types generally had stronger bodies than real rocks and as such, it was very difficult to put so much as a dent in one. This was shown when Blaziken fought Onix as she had dealt a considerable amount of damage to him but even after his defeat, only a small fragment of him was chipped.

With that, Blaziken frowned and said, "You're hiding something, I just know it," Golurk simply chuckling and remarking, "Well, you seem certain of that. Why not try and prove it?" the chicken retorting, "Gladly!"

As such, the proceeded to send a series of punches to the spot she had struck, the crack getting a little bit bigger. However, Golurk was not going to stand by and let her whale on him as he sent a punch toward her head. However, Blaziken saw this coming as she flipped backwards to avoid the attack, placing her hands firmly against the mat before sending the heels of her feet hard into Golurk's chin.

The crowd went wild as this proved enough to knock the golem on his back, Blaziken quickly flipping him over and wrapping her arms and feet around his leg, squeezing tightly on it while twisting it. Machoke grinned and said, "Wow, I thought Blaziken was gonna lose, but she might just win this after all," Aipom nodding and replying, "Yeah, now that she's freed herself, Golurk can't do a thing!"

However, Golurk did not seem the least bit fazed by this as he sighed, "Is that really all you can do? I expected better from the Texas Phoenix."

"What the hell are you going on about?" Blaziken remarked, "If you're trying to psyche me out, it's not working!" the chicken making her hold tighter as Golurk sighed, "I've heard that this is your family's greatest submission hold and yet I can barely feel a thing from it," Machoke staring in absolute horror and asking, "Is he kidding!? That looks painful as hell!" Lopunny saying, "I can't tell if he's trying to psyche her out or not."

"Wait, if I'm not mistaken, you're supposed to be his ally," Lucario said in response to this, "Shouldn't you know what he's like in battle?" the rabbit replying, "Well, it is true that Golurk is our friend, but he's never really told us much about him. I know he's a bit hardheaded and stubborn, but that's about it."

Blaziken continued to tighten the hold as Golurk sighed, "It's funny, I figured you'd be stronger than your mom but you're nothing more than a pale imitation of her," the chicken fuming before retorting, "I'LL SHOW YOU!" pulling as tightly as she possibly could.

After that, everyone gasped when Golurk's leg started to crack. Soon enough, the part came right off, Blaziken's eyes going wide as she as quickly rose to her feet, dropping the leg and breathing heavily.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, "I didn't mean to go that far!" Weedle barking, "Golurk, I insist that you exit this ring for treatment now!" the golem laughing while sitting there and remarking, "Don't you worry about me, oldie. I'm perfectly fine."

Everyone in the audience stared in absolute silence when suddenly, a set of talons came out from the hole Blaziken's attack had left, a bird's leg covered in white and orange feathers taking its place. As if things could not get stranger, Golurk proceeded to pull off his other leg, that one being replaced by a bird's leg as well.

Lucario's eyes went wide as he subconsciously crushed his cup, uttering, "No, it can't be," Machoke and Aipom staring at him in confusion. Did he know something they did not?

However, things did not end there as the golem stood up, his back coming open as a pair of wings with black feathers on the outer half and orange feathers on the inner half came out, the orange feathers forming an image of a flame. His rear end also cracked open to reveal four black tail feathers with yellow stripes running across the two in the middle.

Golurk also pried off his arms as new ones emerged, these ones looking very similar to his new feet. Soon enough, the rest of him broke apart into small pieces as the audience gasped, the golem now replaced by a falcon with white feathers covering his lower half and orange feathers covering the top.

'No,' Lucario thought, now trembling as Aipom was even more confused.

Machoke simply stared at this and said, "Oh, so he was a bird in disguise all along," the boy then scratching his head and asking, "How the hell was he able to pee with that thing on?" Aipom turning away from Lucario and remarking, "Is that really the most important question on your mind!?"

Scyther and Lopunny both stared at their partner as he smirked, saying, "I knew it would come to this soon enough," before exclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, what you all see before you is my true form! My real name is Fiarrow!" the falcon then giving Scyther and Lopunny each a quick glance before saying, "Sorry for lying to you guys about my identity. I had my own personal reasons for this. Let's just leave it at that."

'He's still lying,' Lucario thought, 'But why is he here? What's he doing in a tournament for heroes?'

Lopunny blinked as Fiarrow added, "Trust me, Lopunny, my reasons were in no way malicious or evil. I promise I'll tell you someday, just not now," the rabbit nodding and replying, "Okay, I understand."

"Wait, hold on," Machoke said, turning to Weedle and asking, "Isn't this against the rules?" Weedle sighing, "Lying about your identity during a match is not against the rules, so this is perfectly acceptable," Machoke groaning, "Just when I was starting to respect you."

"Don't worry about it, Machoke," Blaziken replied with a grin, "New form or not, I can still handle this guy."

With that said, the chicken charged at Fiarrow only for him to propel himself off the mat thanks to his wings. The falcon flapped in the air for a while, saying, "These babies aren't just for show," the falcon then soaring toward the chicken and planting his talons hard into her forehead, knocking her hard on her back.

After that, the falcon knelt down and sent a barrage of punches into the chicken's face. However, Blaziken was more than prepared for this as she sent her legs upward, lashing her feet onto Fiarrow's ribcage. The crowd cheered in response to this as Machoke said, "Alright, with that grip, any move he tries will only hurt him more."

"So you were actually paying attention to the lessons," Weedle stated, Machoke sticking his tongue out at him before exclaiming, "ALRIGHT, BLAZIKEN, KEEP IT UP!"

However, Fiarrow simply ignored this and smirked, leaning forward even more as he sent more punches to Blaziken's face, the crowd staring in absolute wonder, Machoke asking, "That should hurt him more than her, right?" Aipom replying, "You're right, it should, but I get a feeling this Fiarrow is a lot more powerful than he first seemed," Machoke trembling and replying, "And he already seemed powerful."

However, Blaziken refused to let this get her down as she lifted up her arms, grabbing two incoming punches and twisting Fiarrow's wrists. The falcon winced thus giving the bird time to flip herself over, using her legs to throw Fiarrow over her head so his back ended up hitting the canvas.

After that, Blaziken grabbed hold of the falcon's legs and spat, "IF MY REGULAR MOVE COULDN'T HURT YOU, SURELY THIS WILL!" the chicken latching her arms and legs to both of his legs at once. Since they were much slimmer now, it was certainly possible to pull this off. However, despite all of this, Fiarrow acted as if this did not hurt in the slightest.

"You must be really desperate if you're trying that move again," the falcon said tauntingly, "You try desperately to be better than your mother, but you're not even close to her level! Right now, this feels more like a massage than a submission hold!"

"SHUT UP!" Blaziken snapped, "I KNOW YOU'RE LYING!" the chicken adding more pressure when suddenly, Fiarrow rose his wings up, Machoke shouting, "BLAZIKEN, BEHIND YOU!"

Unfortunately, it was too late as Fiarrow bumped the backs of his wings into the chicken's back, resulting in her loosening her grip as the falcon took full advantage of this, throwing his legs backward and flinging the chicken into the turnbuckle. The crowd was truly astounded by this as not only had he gotten out of the hold with incredible ease, he had used his wings as a weapon without harming them in any way.

"I can see you're all surprised," Fiarrow said with a smirk, "See, I've got a lot of muscle in me, and that includes my wings! Normally to have those hit would weaken any bird and stunt his flight, but mine are so strong that it's impossible to pull that off!"

Even Lopunny was afraid right now, but Scyther seemed neutral about this. Not happy, just neutral, almost like she did not even know how to respond to this. On one hand, her ally was winning, but on the other hand, could she even trust him anymore?

Blaziken shook the pain off of her head before shouting, "I WON'T BACK DOWN!" rushing toward the falcon only for him to take to the sky again before she could land an attack. However, Blaziken would not let him use this to his advantage again as she quickly leapt atop one of the ropes and bounced high into the air to where Fiarrow was.

The falcon's eyes went wide when the chicken grabbed hold of his wings and mounted herself onto his back, exclaiming, "GOTCHA!" her feet bursting into flame as she propelled them above him and barked, "BLAZE KICK!"

However, just as her talons were about to collide with the falcon's back, he simply folded his wings inward while keeping the ends flapping so he would still remain airborne. This allowed the wings to block her attack, and despite the incredible force from such a devastating move, the wings had completely prevented Fiarrow from taking in damage.

"I told you, my wings are really strong!" the falcon exclaimed before using them to force Blaziken off of his back. However, before she could land on the mat, Fiarrow performed a U-turn in the air, getting right behind her and wrapping his arms and legs around her.

"BLAZIKEN, GET OUT OF THAT HOLD!" Machoke spat, Aipom biting her lip and whimpering, "I don't think even she can pull that off," and this seemed true when Fiarrow's entire body burst into flame, the bird performing another U-turn only this time, he stopped before positioning himself upright and continued to soar toward the mat, shouting, "OH YEAH, I FORGOT TO MENTION, I'M ALSO A FIRE TYPE!"

All went silent as Fiarrow belted, "FLARE BLITZ!" slamming Blaziken's head hard into the canvas. Machoke stared wide-eyed, his mouth hanging open as Aipom covered her mouth, Lucario wincing at the sight of this.

When Fiarrow released his hold on Blaziken and allowed her to collapse, everyone knew she was not getting up from that as she lay there, her eyes rolled to the back of her head. However, while everyone had actually cheered for Lopunny and Scyther despite them being new, no one even knew how to react to this. Should they be thrilled that such a powerhouse was on their side or should they feel bad that he had acted with such malice?

"And the B block's second match of The Next Gen Battle goes to Go-I mean Fiarrow!" Nori exclaimed, ringing the bell and adding, "Blaziken was the favourite to win, but it seems she could not stand up to this amazing newcomer!"

Lucario simply got up from his seat with a cold look in his eyes and exited the stadium. Just what did he know about this Fiarrow and why was he keeping it bottled up? Was there more to this newcomer than met the eye?

Either way, Machoke was absolutely terrified as a big wet spot formed on his speedo, Aipom too frightened to react to this. Fiarrow simply smirked at Blaziken and said, "You don't deserve to call yourself a phoenix. Just call yourself the Texas Chicken, because that's what you are."

With that, a group of medics raced into the ring and loaded the chicken up onto a bed to carry her to the hospital truck parked outside. No one would have ever expected fights between heroes to be so brutal and yet all four had ended with someone being hospitalized.

When Fiarrow stepped out of the ring he smiled at his team mates, yet shockingly enough, neither looked all too happy about his win. Scyther had her arms folded with a cold look in her eyes while Lopunny looked scared out of her mind.

"Look, as I said, I'm sorry for lying to you guys, okay?" Fiarrow said with a friendly smile, "Again, I have my own reasons and I really will tell you what they are some day! But you seem to forget that we're on the same team! I'm not gonna turn on any of you, alright?"

Lopunny blinked and took a deep breath, asking, "So, you are still our friend?" the falcon nodding as Scyther still had a cold look on her face, Lopunny saying, "Please, Scyther, I know he lied to us, but-" Scyther holding up her hand and saying, "Even if I could overlook that, don't think I'm going to go easy on you during our match."

Machoke blinked and said, "Oh yeah, I forgot, they both won the B block matches," Weedle nodding and replying, "Yep, and that means they're going to face each other in the next round."

Even so, Machoke was still scared. He was all alone against three members of Team Next Gen. Sure Lopunny was at least nicer and less scary than the other two, but she was also very strong and Machoke knew she was not going to hold back.

But of course he could not overlook Fiarrow and Scyther. Both during their matches had proven themselves to be scary. All Machoke had seen from Scyther was how she finished off Gallade in the replay footage, and the fact that she would resort to cutting open another hero was not something to overlook. And of course, Fiarrow seemed incredibly ruthless, willing to resort to any means necessary to win, even breaking the rules.

One thing was for certain. Things would not be easy for Machoke and he would have try harder than ever before if he wanted to remain stationed in Tokyo along with his friends.