With four hours to spare before Scyther and Fiarrow were to square off, everyone decided to make the best with the time they had. In fact, this was an especially good time for a break as this match was taking place in a theme park that had come to Tokyo. The owner of the park had agreed to make this a special event in an area specifically preserved for live shows such as clown acts and the like.

Aipom decided to let Machoke have a little fun as a reward for his two victories. She also figured she may as well take a break from trying to nurture him as well, the monkey actually acting like a real kid. Sure, she tried to think about important matters and stick to her guns, but after a few minutes in the theme park, she was having fun.

The first thing she did was buy herself banana flavoured cotton candy, munching it down without any concern for how much of it got on her face. Afterwards, she decided to try her hand at the hammer machine, of course using her tail hand to hold the object in question. Despite her short stature, that tail hand of hers was tough and as a result, she managed to get to the bell with ease, winning herself a stuffed toy of her self. Needless to say, seeing that she was popular enough to have merchandise based off of her was much more exciting than winning the prize.

After that, she simply took a seat on a bench, hugging her new plush toy and squealing, "Alright, Aipom Two, what would you like to do today!?" the monkey then using only one half of her mouth to reply, "I suggest coming up with new ways to train Machoke," before adding, "Oh, that's what I was thinking!"

"Oh my god, this is just precious," came a familiar voice from behind Aipom, her eyes going wide as she turned and noticed Keiko there, her eyes darting back and forth before she whistled innocently, Keiko laughing and saying, "Oh, come on, you're ten. There's nothing wrong with acting like it."

"I know," Aipom replied with a sigh before adding, "It's just that, well, I've always been mature for my age," Keiko shrugging and replying, "If it helps, this day and age is different. Nowadays, it's considered acceptable for people in their thirties to collect toys," Aipom's eyes widening.

Keiko then proceeded to take a seat next to the monkey, saying, "You know, I think you've done a good job training Machoke. He's certainly doing a good job," Aipom saying, "Thanks, but I did next to nothing in the matches so far."

Keiko simply shrugged and replied, "You still gave him some useful advice. At least that's something."

Aipom nodded before saying, "Still, I really hope Scyther ends up being his opponent in the finals," Keiko raising an eyebrow as the monkey added, "I don't know what it is, but there's something about Fiarrow that really rubs me the wrong way. It's normal for Machoke to be scared of an opponent, but that guy even terrifies me. After seeing his match with Blaziken, I'm not even sure if I know a surefire way to beat him."

"Well, I'm sure even if you can't think of something, he might," Keiko replied, rubbing the monkey's head and adding, "Just because you can't give him advice all the time doesn't mean you're helpless," Aipom smiling and replying, "Thank you so much, Keiko."

All the while, Machoke was walking around the park looking for Reika, sighing, "Well, great, I'm in a theme park and have no one to enjoy it with," Lopunny noticing him and waving with a big smile, Machoke walking over and asking, "Hey, Lopunny, have you seen Reika?"

"Can't say I have," the rabbit replied as Machoke groaned, "Aw, man, I wanted to invite her on a ride through the tunnel of love," Lopunny staring silently as she asked, "Oh my god, you have a crush on Reika?" Machoke nodding.

With that, the rabbit put on a serious look before exclaiming, "Alright, I now have my mission for the next hour! I will help you and Reika hook up!" Machoke smiling and replying, "Thanks. You're a real pal," the two pounding their fists together.

During this time, Fiarrow was looking around, thinking, 'Scyther and her mommy have probably gone off to train somewhere. Well, I'm not wasting this opportunity,' the falcon noticing a big elevator ride as he spied a couple of girls standing in line, figuring this might be a good opportunity to earn himself some popularity.

"Hey there, ladies," he said as the girls turned, one of them saying, "Oh, you're that guy who beat Blaziken yesterday, right?"

Fiarrow nodded and asked, "Do you girls wanna go on that ride?" the two blinking as he added, "Cause I got some extra tickets and I don't think it would be fair to let you waste yours like that."

Needless to say, this was more than enough to get the girls to come with him as he paid for all three to go on, the owner saying, "I am required to warn you that despite the simple concept, this has been regarded as the scariest ride in the park," Fiarrow laughing and remarking, "Please, I laugh at fear!" the man shrugging and letting them on.

The elevator very slowly rose to the very top, which was one-hundred-and-ninety feet above the ground, Fiarrow gulping a bit as the elevator dropped, the falcon actually more terrified than the others riding with him, which was especially strange seeing as he could fly. However, when the elevator finally stopped, he had his look of pride back on, exclaiming, "You call that scary!?" one of the girls whispering, "He was totally freaked out of his mind," the other replying, "So I wasn't the only one who saw it."

However, while Fiarrow walked off to do something else, a certain dog wearing street clothes was standing next to a wall, watching the falcon who seemed completely oblivious to him being there. Just what was it about this guy that made Lucario act like he did around him?

Machoke and Lopunny had been searching for a while when they finally noticed Reika with her friends, Lopunny smiling and bounding over before saying, "Hey, guys!" the three turning as Cici said, "Oh, hi Lopunny," Machoke walking over and asking, "What are you gals up to?"

"We're gonna try our hands at the dart game," Reika replied, "Cici really wants that stuffed panda," Machoke seeing an opportunity as he grinned, thinking, 'Darts? This should be easy for a guy as awesome as me. I'll win the prize and Reika will love me,' the boy volunteering as they decided to give him the first go.

The owner of the stand happily thanked him for his ticket as the boy sent his first dart forward only for it to miss. The second one ended up missing as well as he fumed, thinking, 'Alright, I'm totally going to hit one of these targets, or so help me God!' the boy actually managing to hit one as the girls clapped, Machoke raising his arms in the air and shouting, "I DID IT!"

"Congratulations," the owner replied with a big smile before handing him a plush toy of Aipom, the boy blinking and asking, "Wait, Aipom's popular?" the man nodding as the boy barked, "Hey, wait a minute! Aren't I supposed to be able to pick my own prize!?" the man pointing at a sign next to him stating that only those who hit three targets could choose. One or two resulted in an Aipom plush.

Reika patted Machoke on the shoulder saying, "There, there," before stepping up and hitting three targets with ease, Cici and Tsuya applauding her as she gave Cici the panda she wanted.

Machoke held his Aipom plush up to his cheek and asked, "What do you think of those rules?" before saying in a bad attempt at a female voice, "Well, I think he's an honest man doing his job," then sighing, "You're such a goody-two-shoes," Lopunny snickering at this.

After that, Machoke was about to suggest the tunnel of love when Reika noticed a big roller coaster, her eyes sparkling as she exclaimed, "Let's all go on that!" Cici trembling as Tsuya sighed, "I think Cici would rather sit this one out."

Reika nodded and replied, "Okay, but who's gonna use the extra ticket?" Lopunny bounding over and squealing, "Me!" then looking at Machoke, she added, "He's coming too."

With that, Lopunny and Tsuya were in the back seat, Tsuya asking, "So, any reason you specifically chose to sit next to me?" Lopunny hushing her and pointing at Machoke and Reika next to each other, Machoke saying, "This is gonna be so much fun. I love roller coasters."

Shortly after the boy said this, he thought, 'Oh god, I'm totally going to die!' the car slowly rising up the ramp as his mind added, 'Hey, this actually isn't so bad. Maybe I should go on these more-' only for his train of thought to end when the car reached the top and started going down the railway, Machoke crying out in terror.

The others were screaming with delight as a swarm of flies just happened to come by and fly into Machoke's mouth, the boy quickly spitting them out only for them to fly back in. Needless to say, this was not a fun experience for him, but hopefully this would help him win Reika's heart.

After that, the group headed off to find more rides seeing as they still had time to enjoy themselves, Aipom noticing them along the way while Machoke tried his best to hide how terrified he was after going on so many. The monkey waved happily with her tail hand, still holding her plush as the others came over to her.

"Oh, you got an Aipom plush too?" Machoke asked, holding his up as the monkey blushed, asking, "What did I do to get so famous?" Machoke remarking, "You said it, not me."

"We've been going on rides for the last little while," Reika said, Cici uttering, "Except me."

Reika rolled her eyes and asked, "You wanna join us, Aipom?" the monkey's eyes sparkling before she looked at a pocket watch she had brought with her and sighed, "Can't. We only got an hour left," Machoke replying, "That sounds like plenty of time."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I want me some good seats," Reika said as Tsuya and Cici nodded, Machoke sighing and following close behind, disappointed not to have gone with Reika through the tunnel of love, though a part of him felt like she would have declined anyway.

With all said and done, the group headed to the area where all the shows took place, luckily being the first to show up. It seemed Reika and Aipom had the right idea for as soon as they entered, more people arrived.

The person taking tickets smiled when he noticed Aipom, Machoke and Lopunny before saying, "I know who you three are. You and a total of three guests of your choice get free admission and front-row seats," Machoke blinking and saying, "Wow, that's convenient," Lopunny shrugging and gladly accepting the offer.

While heading to the area where the seats were, Lopunny briefly noticed Scyther training in an area usually meant for performers to rehearse, the rabbit smiling and waving as the insect briefly turned to her and gave her a quick smile. However, she was too focused on her training to do much else while Scizor was giving instructions.

"If you don't mind me asking, how are you and Scyther friends?" Reika asked, Lopunny turning to her with confusion as the girl added, "She hardly ever talks to you or even spends time with you," the rabbit replying, "Well, it's because we both helped each-other out once."

Lopunny remembered a time when she was not much of a fighter. Despite all her best efforts, she could not do a thing. Because of this, she felt like she would never graduate and would be stuck taking the same lessons for the rest of her life. In fact, the only one who ever talked to her was Heracross and every now and then, he would try to help her improve, but unfortunately, he was not particularly good at this so it was not as helpful as both would have liked.

All the while, Scyther was performing excellently and was the envy of the class. Even Fiarrow, back when going under the alias of Golurk, saw her as an equal and even challenged her to sparring matches, the insect seeing him as the only other student who could give her a decent workout.

However, one night when it was very late, Scyther broke her leg while practising on her own. While this was nowhere near final exam time, she did not wish for the other students to see her in this state. And that was when Lopunny just happened to be in that very area, the rabbit quietly sobbing.

Scyther overheard this and tried to slink away undetected only for her leg to let out as she fell hard on her face, Lopunny looking up and blinking. The rabbit turned and asked, "Who's there?" wiping her tears away with her ears to hide the fact that she had been crying.

Scyther's eyes were wide open as Lopunny ran over, immediately asking her what was wrong. It took a while, but the insect came to trust the rabbit when she promised not to breathe a word of her injury to anyone. And as it just so happened, the rabbit knew of a way to mend a broken leg as she simply snapped the bones back into place.

After that, the two were seated together on a bench as Scyther said, "I notice you've been struggling a lot in class," Lopunny sighing, "Yeah, I think the academy made a mistake when they picked me for this job."

The insect shook her head and replied, "Nein. I've seen those ears of yours in action and I think they could make for a very useful weapon," the rabbit's eyes going wide as the insect added, "I normally try to focus on my training only, but you saved me from embarrassment, so I owe you one."

"She trained me during free time," Lopunny explained with a small smile on her face, "She was a very good teacher, and now I know why she knew so much," Aipom nodding, knowing exactly what the rabbit meant as she added, "In no time at all, I was a pro, actually able to fight on her level. I felt honoured to be her first real friend."

"So how is she friends with the others?" Tsuya added, the rabbit replying, "I think I had some sort of influence on her because she became much more social after spending time with me," Machoke smiling and stating, "And all this time, I thought Scyther was a robot," Reika smacking him on the back of the head.

"Still, I find it odd that Scyther would be so mad at Fiarrow," Reika said, Machoke suggesting, "Probably because he lied, right?"

Lopunny shook her head and replied, "I don't think she's really made at him. I think she's just focused on the match," Machoke remarking, "Better tell that to Fiarrow, because after that outburst of his, I don't think he feels the same."

Lopunny shook her head and explained, "Even when he was known as Golurk, he's always been kind of hot-headed. I think he was just serious about the match too. He just doesn't know how to express it, you know?" Aipom replying, "Well, if you say so," the monkey still getting bad vibes from the falcon.

Soon enough, the group came to the event location as the seats were filled. Lucario was among the crowd this time around, only he was seated way in the back in the hopes that no one would see him there. But if he knew something important about Fiarrow, why did he not tell anyone yet?

Whatever the reason was, it would have to wait as Nori was once again seated, only since this was a theme park, she was announcing from an area high above the ring protected by a big glass window, the woman exclaiming, "Welcome, everyone, to B block's second round of The Next Gen Battle! This time, both competitors are representing Team Next Gen, and whoever wins this match will face Machoke in the finals!"

The crowd was restless now as the woman exclaimed, "In the red corner, weight fifty-six kilograms and hailing from Germany, the strong and fast daughter of Scizor, Scyther!" the crowd going wild when the insect once again performed some aerial ballet with the help her her wings and landed against the ring with one knee down, a fierce look in her eyes.

Scizor stood on the side of the ring with her arms folded, a smile on her face. She was truly confident that her daughter could win this.

"And in the blue corner," Nori stated, "a very surprising opponent indeed! We once thought he was a slow but powerful golem, but now he's a fast and ferocious falcon! Having lost a lot of weight from removing his disguise and now weighing at twenty-four-and-a-half kilograms, Fiarrow!"

All went silent when they noticed a silhouette of the falcon high above the ring and flapping in front of the sun's gaze. This was good timing as it would only be an hour or so until the sun started to set, Fiarrow spinning like a drill while flying down toward the ring. After some more impressive stunts, he landed gracefully on the turnbuckle with only one foot, the crowd applauding him while some girls in the crowd squealed excitedly at such a cool entrance.

"Well, I'm glad you at least decided to show up," Fiarrow said with a smirk, Scyther giving him a cold look while saying nothing, Fiarrow adding, "Oh, by the way, I thought it would be fun to add a little something to up the stakes a bit," then turning to Weedle and adding, "that is if it's alright with you, Oldie McOldstein."

"I wish you'd stop calling me that," Weedle grumbled, "but fine, as long as it's not another violation of the rules," the falcon smirking and replying, "Oh, don't you worry, Pops. I actually studied the rulebook prior to this match and I know for a fact that this sort of thing is allowed."

At that moment, everyone stared in confusion as a group of mechanics entered the area, Fiarrow saying, "That's right, boys, remove all the turnbuckles," all going silent as Scyther asked, "What are you doing?" the falcon remarking, "Oh, you'll see soon enough. It's a surprise so incredible, it's shocking."

"Is it just me or did he just make a bad foreshadowing pun?" Machoke asked, Aipom replying, "That's the impression I got too," Lopunny uttering, "Surely it can't be anything too extreme. I mean, this is a fight between friends, right?"

After the mechanics removed the turnbuckles, they left the ropes in the ring before bringing in four replacements. However, these poles were blue and had what looked like big light bulbs on the tops of them, the mechanics attaching the ropes to these new ones. Fiarrow grinned as one man pressed a button, the bulbs lighting up as a sound entered the area, the sound of electricity flowing to be exact.

"Wait, I don't get it," Machoke uttered, "All of this was for a light show?" Scyther blinking and saying, "I know you're big on theatrics, but I find it hard to believe even you would go this far," the falcon chuckling and remarking, "Do you honestly believe that's it?" before pointing at one of the mechanics and saying, "You, touch it," pointing at the rope as the man gulped.

"Remember, I'm paying you guys to do whatever I want, so go on!" the falcon exclaimed, the man turning to his co-workers, all of them shaking their heads and signalling him to do it as he slowly made his way over to the side of the ring.

The man took a deep breath and slowly reached for the rope, gently touching it with his finger when suddenly, a burst of electricity came out, the man backing up and breathing heavily as he felt lucky to be alive, his entire hand now covered in burn marks. Fiarrow simply laughed, more amused than anything else as he scoffed, "Some people will do anything for money! It's priceless!"

Now the crowd was actually shocked and even a bit frightened. Machoke just about wet himself as he whimpered, "This guy's a monster!" Lopunny barking, "Fiarrow, why would you endanger your own ally like that!?" the falcon remarking, "Relax, we heroes can handle this sort of thing better than humans."

While that was certainly true, this was still going too far. Even Scyther looked scared, though she quickly covered it up by making it look like she was okay with it. However, her look of confidence faded when she heard the sound of someone whimpering behind her.

The insect turned, her eyes going wide when she noticed that someone was Scizor. The insect was trembling all over, Scyther asking, "Lehrer, what's wrong?" Aipom's eyes widening as she gasped, "Oh my god, I think I just figured out Fiarrow's plan!" Lopunny asking, "What?"

The monkey took a deep breath and explained, "See, long ago, before Scizor and Greninja became allies, the two of them fought in a legendary match. The gimmick was that the ropes were releasing electricity so whoever touched them would get a bad electric shock through her veins. Scizor did her best, pulling out all the stops, but just as it looked like she was going to win, Greninja managed to force her into the ropes. At that moment, it was all over. Scizor could do nothing while Greninja wiped the floor with her."

"So Fiarrow knew that Scizor would get scared," Reika uttered, "thus rendering her unable to give advice."

"FIARROW, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" Lopunny snapped, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE OUR FRIEND!" Fiarrow remarking, "Just cause I'm your friend doesn't mean I'm not gonna take this match seriously! I wanna be the one to face Machoke in the finals, and if I have to resort to dirty tactics to do it, I will!"

Even the girls he had treated to a free ride earlier looked absolutely offended by this as the falcon added, "There's a reason I fight so aggressively, and it's because villains fight aggressively. If we weren't willing to fight dirty every now and then, they would walk all over us! They wouldn't stop to think about the rules and how their tactics are wrong! They'd go through with it because it's getting them results!"

The crowd was now at a crossroads. On one hand, such a tactic really was deplorable, especially with the way this seemed like a method of which to bully Scizor, but on the other hand, he was right. Most villains did not fight fair and heroes had to do whatever it took to beat them.

Even so, Lopunny was still angry at the bird right now. She may have forgiven Heracross for his selfish views earlier, but she could not forgive Fiarrow for something so mean-spirited, so evil. She could no longer regard him as a friend no matter what happened.

'Dammit,' Lucario thought, shaking in his seat, 'Is there any level you won't sink to, you bastard?'

Even so, Weedle simply cleared his throat and stated, "Well, I already gave my approval, and like he said, this is not against the rules! As such, this shall be an electric ring match!" Scyther taking a deep breath as Scizor was still trembling, her student smiling and saying, "Don't worry, lehrer. I can hold my own."

With that, the bell rang as Scizor immediately sprinted toward Fiarrow without a moment's hesitation. The falcon's eyes went wide as the insect proceeded to tackle him hard, trying to shove him into the rope as he laughed, saying, "Oh, you don't mess around, do you?"

With that in mind, Fiarrow simply spread out his legs, holding his ground before adding, "Unfortunately for you, I'm a lot tougher than my weight would have you believe," the bird then gripping Scyther's shoulders and flapping his wings, taking to the air and carrying her toward the ropes on the other side.

However, Scyther was ready for this as the two closed in, the insect quickly twisting her own arms, freeing herself from Fiarrow's hold. The falcon's eyes went wide as she grabbed onto his shoulder, propelling herself over him and getting behind him. With that, the bug kicked him hard in the back and sent him flying belly-first into the ropes, a burst of electricity covering his body as he cried out in pain.

The crowd went wild as Nori spat, "FIARROW SET UP THE ELECTRIC RING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SCYTHER, BUT IT SEEMS HIS SECRET WEAPON HAS ALREADY BEEN USED AGAINST HIM!" Machoke shouting, "WAY TO GO, SCYTHER!" Lopunny adding, "SHOW HIM WHO'S BOSS!"

Fiarrow fell forward onto the mat when Scyther proceeded to crawl onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling hard on him. So far, things were looking really good. It was just as Nori said. In no time at all, Fiarrow's secret weapon was already being turned against him.