Disclaimer: The show Clauncher refers to, Futurama, is an animated comedy series made by Matt Groening and not something I made up for the fic.

Tensions were high as Metang and Lucario stared each-other down, both waiting for the bell to ring. Sure, these two had no personal qualms with one-another, but at the very least, Metang had wanted to face Lucario for quite some time.

Clauncher simply whistled with her big claw up against her lips when she did so, the lobster exclaiming, "YEAH, SHOW HIM WHO'S BOSS! YOU'RE THE MAN, LUCARIO!" Amanda turning to her and smiling sweetly before exclaiming, "Yeah, kick his shiny metal ass, bro!" Clauncher asking, "Are you a Futurama fan?" Amanda blinking and asking, "What's Futurama?"

Machoke at least knew Lucario, so a part of him was supportive of the dog. After all, he had helped him defeat Talonflame, so the boy saw no reason to resent him. Even so, Lucario had been freaking him out since his match with Primeape.

One audience member who definitely wanted to see Metang win was Starmie. After being defeated and even having been taught a lesson about her fighting skills by him, she wanted to see him at least make his way to the finals.

With that, the bell was finally rung as Lucario wasted no time sprinting toward Metang, the cyborg unable to respond as the dog leapt up over him and planted his feet hard into his skull. The British fans broke out into heavy cheering while Lucario sent various rapid kicks into that same spot, Metang groaning from the pain. Sure, he may have been made of steel, but that did not mean he could not feel pain when a powerful move was used on him.

"Don't think for a minute that I wasn't paying attention to your match with Starmie," Lucario said, "Her lack of skills cemented your victory, but if she had more up her sleeve, you would have lost for sure," the starfish looking down and wondering if that was true, the dog adding, "What I mean is that while you are physically strong, you are also quite slow and thus you are an easy target."

"Maybe you should pay more attention to the fight instead of your bragging," Metang retorted, Lucario's eyes going wide when he noticed the cyborg was now holding onto his ankles while adding, "You got after me for my speed, but you didn't even think to prepare yourself for this?"

The dog had to admit he was feeling a tad embarrassed not to have seen this coming but he certainly had no time to think about this as the cyborg proceeded to swing him downward, slamming his back hard against the mat. The Croatian fans cheered as Amanda and Clauncher both face-palmed simultaneously.

Before the dog could get back up, Metang proceeded to grab onto his head before spinning his arm around, shouting, "ULTIMATE WINDUP PITCH!" hurling the dog face-first into the turnbuckle.

Machoke winced and uttered, "Okay, Metang might actually have a chance," Aipom sighing, "Well, he was certainly right with what he said earlier. Lucario's carelessness put him in that spot."

And while Lucario was certainly aware of this, too, there was no way he was going to beat himself up for it. As such, the dog waited for Metang to get close before slowly rising to his feet. However, before he could do a thing, the cyborg locked his arms around Lucario's shoulders, the dog's eyes widening.

"LUCARIO, YOU CAN GET OUT OF THAT!" Amanda exclaimed, Clauncher adding, "YEAH, I'VE SEEN YOU DEAL WITH WORSE!" the sister turning to the lobster as she added, "We fought in a team match to stop a pair of criminals," Amanda sighing, "So that's why he looked so beat up when he came home."

However, it seemed Lucario had allowed himself to be captured by Metang as before the cyborg could connect a suplex, the dog latched his legs right up against the sides of his head seeing as Metang did not have a neck. The cyborg's eyes widened when Lucario also managed to grab hold of his ankles. Since Metang had the dog too close to the ground to stop himself in time, he ended up flipping himself over thus allowing Lucario to connect a frankensteiner.

The British fans went wild as Nori exclaimed, "That is quite possibly one of the most creative counters I've ever seen! Lucario really is a force to be reckoned with!" Reika uttering, "I don't think I've ever seen someone pull off something like that."

"Well, that was a risky move on Lucario's part," Aipom replied, "Metang is much heavier and stronger than him, and with Lucario holding onto his ankles and head, Metang certainly would have at least slipped forward. However, if Lucario had not applied so much force with his legs, Metang could have fallen right on top of him and dealt even more damage than that suplex would have done. Needless to say, none of us should underestimate Lucario."

"That was awesome!" Clauncher exclaimed, Amanda applauding her brother with a big smile on her face before breathing a sigh of relief.

However, it seemed that move had actually taken a bit out of the dog as he was breathing a bit. Even with his strength, it took a lot of effort to make that move work. And to make matters worse, Metang was still in good enough condition to rise to his feet with ease, once again wrapping his arms around the dog, only this time he had locked his arms in place.

"There," Metang said with a sigh, "Now you can't use that countermeasure of yours!" the cyborg lifting Lucario up as Amanda and Clauncher both stared in horror, Lucario knowing better than to try locking onto his head again due to the possible results Aipom spoke of, the dog's head hitting the canvas hard while the Croatian fans cheered.

"You're not the only one who can learn about his opponents from watching them fight," Metang said, "I barely saw a thing from you before, so I was unprepared for those two moves you managed to hit me with. However, after seeing how you countered my suplex, it was obvious how I could prevent that from happening."

The British fans along with Clauncher all looked concerned now as Metang proceeded to kneel down, slamming his knee repeatedly into the dog's side. Lucario was trying his hardest to get up but was having trouble. After all, Metang may have been slow, but he was still at least twice as physically strong as Lucario so it was hard to ignore the pain he was feeling right now.

Amanda's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "COME ON, LUCARIO! YOU'RE LOOKING PATHETIC RIGHT NOW!" the dog's eyes widening as one member of the audience remarked, "Still thy tongue, lady! He's trying his best!"

Amanda shook her head and retorted, "He's my brother! I know he's capable of better than this!" the dog uttering, "Yes, you're right, I am."

With that, the dog rolled to the side to avoid the next knee kick, Metang sighing, "That's not gonna help," before leaping toward Lucario, hoping to plant his feet into his back to stop him from rolling.

However, Lucario was ready this time as he smirked and pushed himself off the mat, flinging himself to the side and avoiding the incoming move. The crowd stared in absolute bewilderment as the dog flew over to the ropes and propelled himself off, sending both of his feet hard into the cyborg's gut.

"I was so intimidated by how strong most of your body is that I tricked myself into thinking your knees were actually strong!" Lucario stated, sending a low kick into the cyborg's shin.

Metang's eyes widened as Lucario raced around him and delivered a kick to his other shin while adding, "But there is a big flaw in your design. While your forearms and feet are big and powerful, your arms and shins are thin and therefor easy to exploit!"

The British fans cheered wildly as Aipom asked, "He didn't catch onto that right away?" Machoke replying, "Even I figured his legs might be a weak spot the moment I first saw him."

Metang fumed and swung his arm at Lucario's head only for the dog to duck under it, lifting up his arms just in time to latch onto that very spot. He then proceeded to lift himself up, wrapping his legs around the lower half of the arm and holding on tight, the British fans even more excited now.

Metang's eyes were wide open. The cyborg could not believe how much this hurt. He was made of steel and yet this simple submission hold was actually dealing great pain.

However, while he thought of a way to get out of this, Starmie exclaimed, "COME ON, METANG, YOU'RE MUCH STRONGER THAN THIS! DON'T LET HIM GET TO YOU!" the cyborg's eyes widening as he could not believe his last opponent was actually cheering him on. Sure, he was used to support and cheers from fans but never from those he had fought before.

With that in mind, the cyborg narrowed his eyelids and said, "It might harm me a bit, but I think I'm gonna try a little something I learned from watching Garchomp fight Gardevoir," Lucario's eyes going wide as the cyborg spread out his knee so it was under his arm then proceeded to lift it up.

Unfortunately for him, Lucario had seen this coming a mile away and released his hold on the cyborg thus causing him to ram his arm into his knee. His arm took in a bit of pain from this but what ended up making things worse was when the dog proceeded to deliver a drop kick into his skull.

Amanda took a deep breath, saying, "He's doing really well now," Clauncher patting her on the shoulder and replying, "You gave him the motivation he needed."

"What a comeback, folks!" Nori exclaimed, "Things were looking really bad for Lucario but now he seems unstoppable! Let's see if this can keep up!"

Metang took a deep breath, ignoring the pain to his head as he said, "Now that's more like it," the cyborg turning his attention toward the dog and adding, "I was beginning to wonder how your family has such a strong reputation and now I can see why. You've got some great speed and even a good amount of strength, but most of all, you seem capable of getting out of tough scrapes when the time comes. But even so, I'm still going to win this!"

With that, the cyborg rushed at Lucario again, the dog once again getting ready to dodge. However, when he did so, Metang seemed ready as he shouted, "GYRO SAUCER!" the cyborg then lifting up his arms and spreading them outward, his head with his arm attached spinning around like a buzz saw.

Lucario had no time to react as he took in five blows to his face before leaping backward, taking many deep breaths as his eyes were wide open with shock. The cyborg refused to let up, though, as he proceeded to walk toward the dog, Amanda and Clauncher not even sure what he could do about this.

Blood was now dripping from the dog's snout as he took a deep breath, thinking, 'Okay, he's moving his arms really fast,' waiting for the cyborg to get close as he ducked down, sending a roundhouse into Metang's side. However, this proved ineffective as the cyborg lowered his body while his arms were still spinning, Lucario taking in another hard blow to the face and flying away from him, the back of his head hitting the turnbuckle hard.

However, the dog then remembered something about Metang and smirked, now ignoring the pain coursing through him as he simply stayed there, Amanda trembling as Machoke asked, "Is he giving up? I didn't think he was the type to do that," Blaziken shaking her head and remarking, "No, look at his eyes."

At that moment, Machoke and the others including Clauncher and Amanda could see it. Lucario had that glimmer in his eyes that formed when he was facing Primeape. The other members of the audience did not notice this, but even so, Lucario was not going to sustain another hit.

And it certainly seemed so as when Metang got close enough, the dog held up his arms only this time, he pointed the back of each paw out as the cyborg's incoming arm rammed right into them. As a result, the spikes on those very spots were now lodged into the cyborg's forearm as the dog clung on tight, allowing Metang to carry him.

"NICE EFFORT, BUT THAT'S NOT GONNA DO A THING TO HELP YOU!" Metang spat as he took full advantage of this, running Lucario's back into the turnbuckle repeatedly. However, it seemed the dog had allowed him to do this as he ignored the pain to his back completely before noticing Metang stop his attack, breathing heavily.

Everyone stared silently as Lucario smirked, lifting up his legs and locking them onto Metang's arm again. What happened next was different though as he proceeded to pull backward, the cyborg's eyes going wide as Lucario had managed to pull him backward, slamming his back hard against the mat before removing his spikes, a bit of blood mixed with oil coming from Metang's forearm.

"Something I remembered from your match with Starmie was that when you used your Rocket Punch technique, you seemed to lose quite a bit of energy," Lucario stated while folding his arms, "I figured it was only a matter of time until this move took a similar toll on you," the cyborg's eyes wide open as the dog added, "Let me guess, you were actually hoping to finish me with that, weren't you?"

With that, Lucario proceeded to amaze the crowd even more as he wrapped one arm around Metang's head and proceeded to drag him toward the ropes, everyone staring at this in confusion as the dog added, "I think it's high time I had a little fun!" Amanda then noticed that same powerful aura that had appeared when he regained his strength during his match with Primeape.

"Look at that!" Nori exclaimed, "Metang should be too heavy for Lucario to lift up and yet here he is doing just that!" Clauncher cheering before noticing that Amanda did not look so happy, the girl uttering, "That's because this isn't really him."

Once the two were close enough to the ropes, Lucario rested Metang's head right up against them before running sideways, dragging the cyborg's head against the material as everyone gasped, Nori stating, "Lucario's now using a move that could possibly cause brain damage. For humans, this would be against the rules. That's how serious this move is."

"Is that true?" Machoke asked as Aipom nodded, Cici uttering, "But then why would Lucario use it? He knows this is a fight between heroes, right?" Reika shrugging and replying, "Well, he wouldn't be the first one to resort to extremes throughout this tournament."

However, Amanda looked nowhere near as accepting as she could not help but wonder what her brother was thinking. Sure, Metang was strong, but that did not excuse him resorting to such a tactic. She saw him as an awesome fighter who did not need to rely on such tactics.

After a while, Lucario stopped his attack and surprised the crowd even more by lifting Metang up by the arm and slamming his skull hard into the canvas, not even giving him a chance to get up before stomping on his face. Weedle stared at this and said, "Okay, I know his family is strong, but he wasn't able to pull off moves like that before."

Clauncher simply looked at Amanda's expression and asked, "What's wrong? He's winning," Amanda remarking, "Look at his face," the lobster turning and staring in shock as she saw it clear as day. Not only did Lucario have a serious look in his eyes, but he was smirking right now.

Blaziken noticed this too as Machoke uttered, "Did he snap or something? I've never seen him with this expression before," Blaziken's eyes wide open as she uttered, "I think he's going back to the time he used to serve evil," the others staring at her save for Aipom who nodded and replied, "I don't think that's too far from the truth."

"I have to admit," Lucario said while keeping Metang's head under his foot and rubbing it against the skull, "I've actually been holding back up to this point. Because this has been a fight between heroes, I haven't been giving it my all, but clearly I need to go to more extreme measures if I'm to defeat you."

The crowd was restless now as Nori stated, "Well, you heard it from Lucario. He really means business and he'll resort to under-handed tactics to win!" but just as she had said this, one of the British fans spat, "Nonsense!"

Another member of the crowd added, "He must be bluffing! Lucario may have been evil once, but he's honest and true now! He sacrificed a secret to save Tokyo!" another exclaiming, "That's right! Lucario is a true warrior of peace!"

"Would you all shut up!?" Lucario retorted much to everyone's shock, Machoke blinking as the dog sighed, "Make no mistake! I am still on the side of good and nothing is ever going to change that, but I also believe in doing my absolute best to succeed and represent this country! I'm still following the rules, so it's not exactly fowl play, is it!?"

The crowd simply nodded as he actually had a good point. However, Amanda was absolutely horrified as while Lucario had said this, his aura had gotten bigger. Just where was this coming from? She had never seen it before his match with Primeape and as if that was not enough, she seemed to be the only one who noticed it.

Clauncher noticed her expression and said, "I know you're disappointed in Lucario, but he's doing this to bring glory back to your family," Amanda biting her lip and nodding her head in silence, though deep down inside, she was starting to lose interest in the family honour. She could tell that her brother was not himself right now and that something was going on.

Even Machoke was feeling uneasy as Blaziken nodded, saying, "I can see why you're so tense, Machoke. Something isn't right. I may not know Lucario that well, but I detected a lack of sincerity in his voice," Aipom not saying a thing right now as the chicken had taken the words out of her mouth.

Reika and the others were now concerned, hoping this did not go beyond the point of just winning when Metang slowly pushed himself up, glaring at Lucario, his eyes glowing briefly. The Croatian fans were confused, not that they had never seen this before. It was the fact that Metang's eyes only glowed when he was faced with a really dangerous villain.

The cyborg took a deep breath and uttered, "You're wrong," the dog asking, "Are you insinuating that I'm not following the rules?" Metang retorting, "No, I mean your ideals right now make no sense!"

All went silent as the cyborg added, "You say you're reformed, that you're on the side of good, but right now, I'm not buying it!" Lucario remarking, "What are you talking about!? Are you saying that just because we're heroes, we have to hold back against everyone!?" the cyborg grunting, "YOU SOUND JUST LIKE TALONFLAME RIGHT NOW!"

Most of the crowd gasped in response as Clauncher groaned, "Oh, that was cold," Lucario gritting his teeth as Metang added, "Everyone knows of that match between Machoke and Talonflame, how you exposed that monster's secret to the world! I actually looked up to you when you did that, and yet right now, you're fighting in a similar fashion to how he would fight! You're trying to win with as much malice as possible and all the while, you hide behind some false morality to justify your actions!"

Amanda bit her lip. Her mind was telling her not to believe a word Metang said and just trust her brother's judgement but her heart was telling her otherwise. However, Lucario seemed not to think that way at all right now as he sighed, "All that matters right now is that you're standing in the way of victory and as long as we're in this ring facing off against each-other, we're enemies."

With that, Metang charged toward the dog with his arm back, his hand clenched into a fist and glowing as he spat, "METEOR MASH!" sending his fist forward only for Lucario to throw his arm toward it while barking, "FORCE PALM!"

Both hands collided with one-another as an explosion formed around the two. All went silent, Machoke in absolute panic, the boy scared to face either one of these two in the finals.

But when the smoke cleared, the Croatian fans gasped in absolute terror when they saw Metang standing there with an entire forearm missing. The reason for this became clear rather quickly when everyone noticed the fragments on the canvas right in front of the cyborg, the cyborg's eyes wide as the rest of his arm started to twitch.

Surrounding the scattered remains and pouring from a hole on the end of his arm was blood and oil. The crowd could not believe it, the British fans even having trouble supporting this. Lucario had just destroyed one of his opponent's body parts and worst of all, he acted as if this meant absolutely nothing.

Beedrill turned to Weedle and asked, "Isn't that against the rules?" Weedle sighing, "Unfortunately, in a battle between heroes, no, especially with a cyborg as he can be repaired. Even so, had he gone so far as to behead him, that would have been going too far."

Machoke could hear this as he groaned, "Seriously, what else is legal in official matches? We have rules and yet just about everything is deemed acceptable," Aipom sighing, "Well, rules that apply to humans don't really apply to heroes as, well, heroes recover much more quickly than humans do," the boy retorting, "That hardly sounds like a good excuse!"

Blaziken sighed, "I agree, but this is reality. Right now, Lucario may have resorted to underhanded tactics but he is yet to break a single rule. It's just like Metang said. He's fighting like Talonflame did, resorting to dirty tactics while using the logic that villains also fight like that as an excuse. It's almost like he's transformed into the villain he used to be."

Metang's entire body was now twitching as his head made a three-hundred-and-sixty degree turn, the cyborg shouting, "I WON'T LOSE!" before sending is fists forward at rapid speed and exclaiming, "BULLET PUNCH!"

The cyborg managed to land two strikes with his remaining fist until Lucario spat, "FORCE PALM!" sending his palm hard into said body part and blowing the forearm into fragments.

The Croatian fans all stared in absolute horror at the sight of this as Lucario sighed, "You might have gotten results if you'd done that when both hands were still connected," Metang uttering, "You're evil."

The dog simply ignored these words as he raced behind the cyborg, Clauncher and Amanda now scared as he proceeded to latch onto the cyborg's shoulders, leaning backward and setting himself up in a bridge formation thus pressing Metang up against his chest spike. Just like when Primeape had fought him, his spike had gone a little bit further than usual to the point where blood and oil was pouring out of the cyborg's back.

"And with that, Lucario has connected his strongest move!" Nori exclaimed, "I think I can safely say this match might just be over!" the dog releasing his hold on Metang after a few seconds, kicking him in the back to force him off and onto his side before getting up and breathing heavily.

Beedrill started up the ten count as Weedle shook his head, directing the wasp's attention to Metang's eyes. Each one was now an X. This was a sign that Metang was unconscious but thankfully not dead.

As such, Beedrill rang the bell and exclaimed, "AND THE WINNER OF THE FINAL MATCH OF THE SECOND ROUND IS LUCARIO!" all going silent as Lucario rose his arm in triumph, the British fans going wild. Sure, the dog may have scared them for a while, but he had assured them he was on the side of good and that was enough for them.

Unfortunately, while even Clauncher was applauding him, Amanda looked angry right now. It was not that she was unhappy that her brother had won but rather she was disappointed by how he had done it. She had heard that Riolu back in the day was arrogant before his loss to Machamp but it had never gone on record that he was incapable of showing mercy on his opponents.

Many staff members had to carry Metang toward the stretcher due to his weight while gathering up the remains of his forearms, Lucario sighing, "He had the balls to call me evil, but I didn't deal that much damage to his arms. I left the fragments big so he could be repaired. No sense putting a fellow hero out of commission for personal gain, right?"

Reika nodded and said, "That is a good point," Aipom sighing, "Well, there is one thing to remember, Machoke, Lucario is truly a force to be-"

The monkey turned and noticed the boy trying to flee for his life from the bleachers, Reika holding onto the back of his speedo to keep him from getting away as the monkey face-palmed. Cici and Tsuya both shielded their eyes for obvious reasons.

Amanda continued to stare silently at her brother as he did not even cast a glance her way. It was as if he forgot she and Clauncher were there and as such, she got up and walked out of the area with a cold look on her face.

"And that wraps up the second round," Beedrill stated, "Like before, the heroes will have a three-day recess to ready themselves for the semi-finals, but be sure to join us at another stadium made specifically for the Olympics tomorrow," the wasp pointing out the location on a big map as all became clear.