The match between Metang and Starmie had begun as Starmie immediately rushed at Metang. There was no way she would give the cyborg a chance to beat her even if she was only half his size. But when she got close, Metang simply rose his right foot and sent it toward her.

The starfish took in the heavy blow to the face while the Croatian fans went wild, Metang staring at his opponent as she got up, breathing heavily and exclaiming, "Oh, man, I really should have seen that coming!" rubbing her top star tip before shaking herself like a head and saying, "Alright, I need another strategy, and I know just the one."

"Why do I get the feeling this is gonna be a short match?" Machoke asked as Aipom hushed him, remarking, "Starmie may be shorter than Metang, but that doesn't mean she's out. Remember how well Lairon fought against Garchomp?" the boy shivering and replying, "Oh yeah. That was terrifying."

With all said and done, the starfish performed a series of back flips toward the ropes before bouncing off of one, turning her entire body backwards and spinning like a frisbee. The Brazilian fans went wild as Starmie closed in on Metang and shouted, "RAPID SPIN!"

The cyborg simply held up his arms in defence, asking, "Is that really the best you got?" only for the starfish to swerve to the right, ramming herself hard into the side of his head.

The Brazilian fans were cheering even louder now as Metang's eyes widened, Starmie coming back to him and ramming into the back of his head. With that, she continued to back away after each hit and come back from a different angle, hitting a different part of Metang every time.

The cyborg fell to his knees when she rammed into the back of each leg and started holding his arms up when she continued to wail on his head, Nori saying, "Like with Lairon, Metang has a strong, steel body, but it seems even he can't handle the force of Starmie's Rapid Spin!"

The Brazilian fans continued to cheer as Machoke exclaimed, "Oh god, that Starmie's incredible! Despite her small stature, she's really hurting him!" Reika nodding and replying, "It just goes to show that size isn't everything."

However, Metang was starting to get frustrated as he thought, 'Alright, enough is enough. There has to be some way to hit her before she strikes me again,' before noticing her coming at him from right in front of his face.

The cyborg needed a way to hit her before she could make contact with said spot, and he had only one move in his arsenal that could pull that off. As such, the cyborg rose his fists shouting, "BULLET PUNCH!" sending an onslaught of punches toward the starfish at rapid speed when she got close enough.

Everyone stared in shock as Starmie took in a huge onslaught of punches, Metang forcing her into an upright position with an uppercut before sending more punches. After delivering thirty, he sent one last punch, this one stronger than the others, and sent her flying into the turnbuckle.

The Croatian fans cheered wildly as the cyborg took many deep breaths, thinking, 'The only downside to this move is that it takes a lot of power to use. I just hope Starmie doesn't catch onto that and start using Rapid Spin again. There's only so many times I can counter with this one.'

Starmie slowly pushed herself back up only now the gem on her face was blinking, but only once every five seconds. Even so, this was still alarming to her as Metang blinked and asked, "What's with the stone thingy on your face?"

"That's a good question," Beedrill said, "I don't know what this is about either," Weedle nodding and replying, "Well, it's something she and her brother, Staryu, share," the caterpillar then looking through the crowd while thinking, 'Funny, I thought he'd be here to see his sister compete.'

Starmie took a deep breath and explained, "Well, I hate to give you a sense of confidence, but alright, I'll explain it. See, this gem is something that's been a part of our family for years. It's not just an accessory. It's part of my body," everyone rather intrigue by this, Machoke saying, "I wish I had a gemstone on my body," a big grin on his face as he added, "Then more girls would probably like me," Aipom and Reika once again smacking him on the back of the head.

"So why's it blinking?" Metang asked as the starfish sighed, "It blinks when I take in a lot of damage. When it stops glowing, it means I'm unconscious," the crowd rather fascinated by this as Metang asked, "You sure you're not a cyborg like me?" the starfish replying, "Positive."

With all said and done, Starmie took a deep breath before trying to come up with something else. Luckily for Metang, she did not realize how little he could punch at that speed, so she figured she needed a new strategy to catch him off-guard again.

She then remember one other move she could try, a similar move that contained more power. With that in mind, the starfish rushed at Metang, the cyborg simply aiming his foot at her again. However, Starmie was prepared as she leapt over the incoming foot and started spinning again.

Metang gulped, figuring the starfish was going to try her Rapid Spin. However, she instead soared passed him and into the rope before forcing it far back, flinging herself off of it like a slingshot and spinning once again. And with the speed she was moving at, it looked like a giant yellow star had encased her body.

Metang was unable to respond to this as the starfish spat, "SWIFT!" ramming hard into his chest as he backed up, his eyes wide open as he tried his best to ignore the pain. Once again, he may have been made of steel, but Starmie was a lot tougher than she looked.

Seeing as this had dealt some damage, Starmie decided to try again while the Brazilian fans cheered wildly, the starfish running over to the ropes and applying as much force as possible before shouting, "SWIFT!"

However, when the star got close, Metang knew it was coming this time as he spun his body around, swinging his forearm hard into his opponent's side as the star itself vanished, Starmie taking in the fierce blow and falling hard on her back. The Croatian fans were cheering now as Nori said, "Just as Starmie had found a new means of harming Metang, the cyborg responds with a powerful blow to her face! How can she possibly recover from that!?"

Metang did not wish to find out as he lifted her up, sending her back down into the canvas with a chokeslam, the gemstone blinking a bit faster now. The cyborg did not consider this fast enough, though, as he realized he could easily finish her at this exact moment.

With that in mind, Metang knelt down and wrapped his claws around Starmie's upper tip, saying, "It's a shame that our match has to be the shortest, but I don't mess around," before flinging her high into the air, holding back a fist, his arm vibrating.

"Alright, he's going to use his best move!" a Croatian viewer exclaimed, another shouting, "Yeah, cream her, Metang!" the crowd chanting his name as Machoke gulped, "Now I'm afraid of what he's going to use," Metang's fist glowing now.

Once Starmie was close enough, the starfish too weak to save herself, Metang sent his fist hard into her back and spat, "METEOR MASH!" sending her flying hard into the turnbuckle as her gemstone was no longer glowing red.

Beedrill remembered what she had said earlier and as such, he knew a countdown would not be necessary as he rang the bell, exclaiming, "AND IN A RATHER SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, METANG HAS TAKEN THE FINAL VICTORY OF THE FIRST ROUND OF THE HERO OLYMPICS!" the Croatian fans going wild as the Brazilian fans simply shouted encouraging words like "You did your best!" and "Don't think you disappointed us, because you didn't!"

Metang on the other hand was not feeling so sportsmanlike as he glared down at the starfish, sighing, "I'm not sure you can hear me in your unconscious state, but if you can, let me give you a bit of advice! Before you face someone bigger than you, learn more techniques otherwise getting around your abilities will be way too easy!"

Machoke all the while was thinking about how little he wanted to face either Lucario or Metang in the finals. After all, both had defeated their opponents so quickly and after having such poor starts too. That terrified him beyond belief, and he was even dreading the time he would inevitably watch them face off against each-other.

"And that concludes round one," Beedrill stated over the microphone, "We will take a three-day break so that those advancing may rest up and ready themselves for the matches yet to come! We only hope they get more and more exciting as the tournament progresses!" the audience clapping as Lucario shot a glare at Metang briefly, the cyborg looking up at him.

And of course there were others just waiting for the chance to pummel their opponents into the ground and advance to the semi-finals. Ninetales and Scyther both gave each-other a cold glance before getting up and heading out of the area in silence. Garchomp turned to Gardevoir and gave her a smirk as the girl gulped, feeling nervous but knowing she had to to her best.

Though naturally, Machoke had chills down his spine when Golduck shot him a smirk, holding up her finger and making a neck-slitting motion with it. His match with Barbaracle was difficult enough. One could only imagine how much tougher Golduck would be especially with the way she had defeated a vampire to make her way to the second round.

Reika and Gardevoir simply patted him on the shoulder as he took a deep breath. He had to remember this was a fight between heroes and his life was not on the line.

Even with that in mind, Machoke still wanted to celebrate. However, his friends decided it was too early and chose to train when they felt they were ready.

Scyther of course started training with Scizor for her match with Ninetales immediately, Heracross helping her out while Lopunny would be cheering from the hospital for sure. And of course Lucario had gone off to train, though his training was in the mountains.

Before he set off, Amanda approached him and asked, "Lucario, do you want me to help you train?" the dog sighing, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to decline," his sister folding her arms and pouting before remarking, "Is it because I don't have powers like you?"

"What!? No!" the dog retorted, Amanda tapping her foot and waiting for an explanation as he sighed, "Look, I'm going to be training in a very dangerous location. If you got hurt because of that, I could never forgive myself," Amanda letting out a sigh and smiling before nodding her head.

With that, the two gave each-other a hug before the dog set off. However, not long after he had left Amanda's view, something strange had come over him. For some reason, he felt this sudden urge to start running up the mountain and smash every rock he saw. This would not have been so strange as breaking rocks did make for good strength training except that he seemed to get a strange thrill from it.

All the while, Scyther was in a secluded area in a forest with Scizor as the two sat cross-legged, Scizor saying, "You've done very well to make it this far, schuler, but your next opponent is a strong one," Scyther nodding and asking, "How do you suggest I start the match?"

Scizor thought about this and replied, "Well, the main thing you need to look out for is her tails. They seem to be her strongest weapon. So, you'll need to do something about them," Scyther's eyes widening as her mother added, "I would suggest cutting them off, but she is not a villain. However, you do not need to disable them but rather use them against her, and I know how you can do that."

Scyther nodded in understanding, listening with intent. Whatever Scizor had planned, her advice almost always seemed to work, so she would certainly follow through with it.

Gardevoir was training at the gym as usual, Machoke actually deciding to join her for a change. Even Reika and her friends were there, though Tsuya was simply standing by the sidelines to watch while Reika tried to help Cici find the right weights to start training with. After all, Gardevoir's matches had inspired the blue-haired girl to start working out so that maybe she could one day be strong.

Aipom was simply relieved to see Machoke lifting weights as well, though at the same time she was standing on the sidelines telling him what to do. She would also give him water whenever he felt exhausted. After all, she could not allow the boy to overwork himself.

Gallade would have joined his sister as always if he was not currently on a date with Hitmonchan. As for where they went, Gallade really had no plans as he was new to this, so he simply took her wherever he felt was nice, Hitmonchan enjoying the entire experience.

Starmie all the while was headed to a plane to head back to Brazil after recovering from her match with Metang. One big advantage her family had was that whenever they were knocked out, it only lasted two hours. In a sense, the gems were partly responsible for this as they simply had the ability to recharge during that time.

But before the starfish could get on a plane, she pulled a cellphone out from a backpack she had with her and dialled up some numbers, thinking, 'I know this is going to cost me, but I don't care,' holding it up to her side as a voice from the other end said, "Hey, sis, what's up?"

"Hi, Staryu," Starmie replied, "You saw my match, right?" a light-brown starfish with a round gemstone for a face replying, "Yeah, about that, don't let it get you down, okay? You made it to the fighting tournament. Mom and Dad are proud enough of you for pulling that off."

Starmie nodded and replied, "You're right. Thanks, bro," Staryu asking, "Are you by chance heading home?" the starfish going silent as her brother added, "If there's something our parents have always taught us, it's good sportsmanship. Walking out and not even staying to see how the rest of the tournament goes seems a little immature, don't you think?"

Starmie took a deep breath and replied, "You're right," before nodding and adding, "I'll see just how Metang does against Lucario. Instead of resenting him, I should support him and hope my loss isn't in vain," Staryu replying, "That's the spirit."

In fact, most of the other losers had planned on sticking around to see how the rest of the tournament played out as well. Sure, Hippowdon was still in the hospital after getting stitches, but he had no intention of leaving when he had finally recovered. Of course Lopunny would never consider leaving as her friends were still competing and she loved watching matches between comrades no matter how intense they got.

Houndoom decided to stick around as well, though unlike Starmie, he was more neutral and was simply curious as to whether Golduck or Machoke would advance. Barbaracle on the other hand did want to see Machoke win, especially after he had just recently gained respect for the boy.

Roserade did not take kindly to Gardevoir, so her reason for sticking around was to watch Garchomp wipe the floor with her. She had no way of knowing whether or not that would happen, but she still hoped it would. And of course Primeape was going to stick around as well.

The only loser who had not decided to stay in Tokyo was Lairon. It was not that he was spiteful toward Garchomp. If anything, he was thankful for her exposing his true self and teaching him a valuable lesson. He simply wanted to use that lesson as soon as possible and start improving himself.

The next two days went by rather quickly as it was time for the Olympics to resume. Beedrill had announced that the first match would take place in a training dojo. Scyther was especially happy with this arrangement as she knew there would be equipment for her to prepare herself with.

And she took full advantage of this by preparing herself in a separate room, Reika walked down the hall to where she was training and took a deep breath. All the while, she bit her lip, thinking, 'I'm just going to go in there and wish her good luck, nothing more. After all, she's my friend so it only makes sense that I would care about her well-being, right?'

However, just as she was about to do so, she noticed Machoke headed for the room and panicked, hiding from his vision. All the while, she had no clue why she had just reacted like that. After all, he would have nothing against Reika wanting to wish Scyther luck, right? So why had she panicked and why was she still hiding from his view even with that knowledge in mind? She was so confused right now.

Machoke noticed Scyther had finished training and was simply gathering strength and energy for the match, the boy saying, "Hey, Scyther," the insect looking up and smiling before replying, "Guten tag, Machoke. What brings you here?" the boy replying, "Just wanted to wish you the best. Your opponent's really scary."

The insect snickered and replied, "Well, I don't get intimidated by foes like that. I see them as a good challenge," Machoke sighing, "God, am I the only sane hero in this universe?" Scyther laughing when Machoke suddenly noticed a box next to Scyther.

"What's this?" Machoke asked as Scyther replied, "It's a box of sausages. I always bring one with me before matches. I find eating a few gets my spirits up," Machoke grinning and replying, "Well, eating before a match would certainly get me going, that's for sure."

Scyther nodded and pulled one out, taking a bite out of it and asking, "Would you like some?" Machoke's eyes sparkling as he asked, "Can I?" the insect nodding as the boy replied, "Thanks, I think I'll just take a few," the boy pulling out ten before stuffing his face full of them, exclaiming, "Wow! These are the best sausages I've ever had!"

Scyther snickered and replied, "Danke. I made them myself," Machoke staring as she added, "It's a secret family recipe. I don't know whether or not they actually make me stronger, but they always make me feel stronger."

"Funny," Machoke replied, "You don't seem the type who would actually need reassurance before a match," Scyther nodding and saying, "I can see why you'd say that, but it's true. Even I need that little bit of reassurance."

"Well, do your best out there," Machoke replied, holding out his hand and adding, "Maybe we'll face each-other in the semi-finals," Scyther nodding and stating, "I'd like that," shaking his hand.

Reika had overheard the entire conversation and smiled a bit. It always amazed her when Machoke could muster up legitimate caring for what was going on when he could be such a child a lot of the time. And on that note, the girl simply headed to the bleachers, still unsure about herself right now.

Soon enough, the bleachers were filled as the area was full of excitement, Heracross deciding to watch Scyther's match this time. Lopunny figured the insect would need him there for moral support and he saw where she was coming from.

"Welcome, everyone, to the beginning of the second round of the Hero Olympics!" Beedrill exclaimed as the crowd clapped and cheered, the wasp adding, "The first round brought us some really intense matches, but today is certain to bring us even more excitement! Will Nori announce the participants?"

Nori nodded and exclaimed, "In the red corner, representing North Korea, a fiery fox who has beaten Lopunny to make her way to the second round, the beautiful and powerful Ninetales!" the Korean fans along with some other members of the crowd going wild when suddenly, a light came from the Western entrance. A silhouette of a fox with a sun behind it appeared when soon enough, the light faded to reveal this was of course Ninetales with her tails spread out in a sun formation.

"And Ninetales treats us to a simple but still very effective entrance," Nori stated, Machoke simply folding his arms and grumbling, "What was so special about that? Anyone can just pull off a light show and make shadow images," Aipom shaking her head, not even wanting to respond to this.

"And in the blue corner," Nori stated, "hailing from Germany, having defeated Hippowdon, the meat cutter from Berlin, Scyther!" the German fans going wild along with Scyther's friends when the insect simply walked toward the ring with Scizor by her side, Nori adding, "And as always, Scyther is joined by her trainer and mother, Scizor."

"Turn her into mincemeat pie!" Heracross spat with a big grin on his face.

Even Gardevoir was wearing a T-shirt with Scyther striking a cool pose and shouting, "YEAH, SCYTHER, KICK HER ASS!" everyone staring as Gallade asked, "Did you just say what I think you said?" the girl blinking, her cheeks turning pink as she squeaked, "Yeah I did."

The boy grinned and ruffled his sister's hair, exclaiming, "You really are growing up!" said hair quickly returning to normal. Even ruffling could not change it for long, Reika and her friends looking envious.

Ninetales simply looked at Scyther when she entered the ring and bowed her head, saying, "I've been looking forward to facing you," the insect frowning and remarking, "If you think I'm going to take you lightly, you're mistaken," the kitsune blinking and replying, "I wouldn't dream of it."

With that, Beedrill added, "One last thing to note before we kick off!" Weedle sighing, "Better late than never," as the wasp explained, "Since there are less matches today, we will be switching locations after every match as opposed to every second match, meaning you we will be relocating immediately after this one," the audience shrugging and nodding in understanding.

With all said and done, Beedrill rang the bell and exclaimed, "And on that note, begin!" Scyther immediately sprinting toward Ninetales, the kitsune waiting for her to get close so she could attack. However, Scyther seemed to surprise her when she swerved to the right after almost getting close enough to hit her.

The German fans went wild as the insect dashed behind Ninetales and stretched out her arms wide enough for her wrap them around her tails, the crowd gasping as Nori exclaimed, "In a shocking starting tactic, Scyther has grabbed onto Ninetales' nine tails! Wow, that sounded redundant!"

And it did not end there as Scyther started swinging the kitsune around with the intention of sending her into the turnbuckle, Scizor nodding and thinking, 'Good job, Scyther. Just like we planned,' Machoke grinning and exclaiming, "ALRIGHT, WAY TO GO!"

Aipom blinked and uttered, "You do know you'll have to face her if she wins, right?" Machoke narrowing his eyelids and remarking, "For someone who likes to preach politeness, you seem like a bad sport."

The monkey's cheeks turned pink as Reika laughed nervously, replying, "I hate to admit it, but he has a point," Blaziken adding, "Yeah, just be glad our friend is doing a good job."

However, it seemed Scyther was not doing as well as she thought when Ninetales simply sported a small smile, saying, "I'm impressed you actually managed to pull that off, but I have a method for getting out of this," the kitsune balling up the ends of her tails before shouting, "KITSUNE BARRAGE!" sending a series of punches into Scyther's back, the insect's eyes widening as she released her hold on the tails.

Scizor stared in shock, uttering, "How did I overlook the possibility? She uses her tails as her ultimate weapon and I never thought she could use them for that purpose."

As if that was not bad enough, Scyther would soon be taking in more pain to her back as Ninetales wrapped two tails around her legs, two around her arms and two around her torso. One was used to trap her neck in place while the last two added to the pressure by pulling up on her chin, Ninetales placing the insect against her back and shouting, "KITSUNE BACKBREAKER!"

The Korean fans cheered wildly as Scyther's friends stared in horror. The insect had fallen victim to the very move that had started Lopunny's downward spiral from success, her eyes and mouth wide open while her back was being bent.