Earth's Protectors

by nld200xy

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

57. Chapter 57

Things had certainly taken an unexpected turn as Ninetales was revealed to have been evil this whole time. However, while Machoke felt more than ready to continue the match now, Ninetales was still standing there in utter silence, her eyes and mouth wide open. It was as if she herself was unable to believe what she had just heard even though she had certainly performed the act.

Everyone watched as Tsuya groaned, "God, she's creeping me out," Cici nodding and adding, "I think she might be at war with herself right now," Blaziken asking, "Seriously, when did you become so insightful?"

As Ninetales stared at Hana, she once again saw Hyun standing there in her place before letting out a low growl, clenching her fists as her body shook. Machoke stared and asked, "Aipom, should I be taking advantage of this?" the monkey replying, "I don't know. This might be an act."

After a few seconds of staring, the hallucination giving the kitsune a cold stare, Ninetales gritted her teeth and let out a light growl before her look of anger turned into a smirk. She then started to snicker, everyone staring at her as that light snicker grew into heavy laughter, a look of insanity on the kitsune's face as she laughed for a good fifteen seconds.

The laughter soon died down as she took a deep breath, a smile still on her face as she turned to Machoke and said, "Thank you for letting me get away with being a villain in a tournament for heroes. Now I have no reason to hold back," the boy's confidence immediately leaving him as she added, "I guess I should also thank you for exposing me," turning her attention to Hana, the girl's eyes wide with shock.

"I'll admit, when I heard that my parents were evil and that they wanted me to be evil, I wanted to follow in their footsteps!" Ninetales explained, "I claimed to have never shed a tear when I discovered their graves, and that's true, but only because I knew they wouldn't want me to cry!"

Scizor stared in absolute shock as the kitsune added, "Scyther believes I didn't honour or love my parents, but I did. I would have loved to have actually gotten to know them! But even so, I still wanted to fulfil their dream! That's why I waited until my training ended before killing Hyun! I deliberately let my secret slip, knowing she would engage me in battle right then and there and allow me to get her out of the way quickly!"

Chung-Ho and Jae all stared in horror as Ninetales explained, "However, I went into a state of denial, but not right away. I figured my training with Hyun was only a small stepping stone, so with the world believing that I wanted to be a hero, it was only a matter of time until I was accepted into Hero Planet for more training from them. Once I was in, I knew I would be an even more formidable force soon enough!"

Everyone continued to stare as the kitsune stated, "During my time on Hero Planet, I started getting along with the other students. At first I simply pretended to be friendly with them as a means of getting them to trust me but then it started to become legit. I started to believe that I had always intended on being a hero and that I never wanted to be evil in the first place, and since that day, I've been at odds with myself, not knowing whether to show mercy on my opponents or not. Should I hold back or should I kill someone?"

Hana bit her lip as Ninetales turned to her again, smirked and added, "Now that you've reminded me of my initial plan, I no longer have a reason to hold back," Machoke crying out in terror as a small wet spot appeared on the front of his speedo.

With all said and done, Ninetales rushed toward the boy as he held up his hands defensively. However, the kitsune saw this coming and leapt over his head before landing behind him. Once again, Machoke tried running forward only for Ninetales to run backward, keeping up with him while wrapping his tails around him, the boy letting out a terrified cry while trying to flail his arms. There was no doubt about it, she was going to set him up for her backbreaker now.

Aipom bit her lip, still trying to figure out a way for him to escape from the hold without straining himself what with him not having blades to cut himself free. However, Ninetales did not set him up for the move everyone was expecting as she said, "This is my first time fighting for the side of evil since my enrolment. I think I'll try enjoying this while it lasts," the kitsune once again spinning the boy around before shouting, "KITSUNE BOWGUN!" launching him off of her tail.

To make matters worse, she was not aiming for the turnbuckle this time. As such, Machoke ended up flying hard into the spiked stone, crying out in pain as Nori exclaimed, "Ninetales is really going all-out now that her secret's been exposed! Not only has Machoke taken in her devastating bowgun technique again but he has also made contact with the spiked stone!"

Beedrill winced at the sight of this as Weedle thought, 'Dammit, why did I have that thing installed? If I knew Ninetales was evil, I never would have thought of such a horrible gimmick! Even when I'm not chairman I'm still screwing things up!'

Everyone stared in concern as Machoke backed away from the stone, breathing heavily with a look of agony on his face. The boy fell to one knee and tried desperately to remain focused only for Ninetales to trot over to him, turning around and smirking.

"MACHOKE, BEHIND YOU!" Aipom barked as Ninetales spat, "KITSUNE BARRAGE!" forming fists with her tails and sending them rapidly into the boy's backside, making sure to hit every spot repeatedly.

After delivering forty hits, she proceeded to have the tails swirl around each-other and form a spike before shouting, "KITSUNE SPEAR!" ramming the tail spike hard into the boy's back.

This actually caused a small hole to form as Machoke coughed up blood. As if that was not bad enough, he was once again sent flying forward into the stone, now spewing blood from his mouth as the holes on his body got bigger. If the spikes were not so small, he would have certainly died from this by now.

"Seeing as you're okay with me violating the 'no villains in the Olympics' rule, I'm sure you'll be content with me breaking the 'no killing' rule as well," Ninetales stated, "Any objections?" Machoke too weak to respond as the blood loss was starting to take its toll, the boy falling backward and collapsing.

"NO!" Aipom screeched, "MACHOKE, GET UP!" the others staring in absolute horror as Nori said, "It seems all those hits from the stone have made Machoke incredibly weak. Is this it?"

Beedrill trembled and gulped, "We really should disqualify her," Weedle groaning, "I know, but Machoke already sealed his fate! If there's one thing I'll give him credit for, it's that his heart is in the right place!"

"At the very least, I should start the countdown before she actually decides to murder him," Beedrill remarked as Ninetales said, "Oh no, if you two know what's good for you, you won't do a thing," the kitsune grinning wickedly at them, the two trembling.

"This is terrible," Chung-Ho uttered, Jae nodding and sighing, "Maybe we were wrong to expose her secret," Hana shaking her head and saying in a quiet voice, "No. Ninetales would have eventually turned back to the dark side anyway. I think it's better that she's exposed now before she gets even more experience in combat."

Unfortunately, it was still looking bad as Ninetales looked down at Machoke's unconscious body, asking, "Now how should I kill you? Should I snap your back in two? Maybe I can slam your head hard into the floor outside the ring," the audience trembling as she smirked, adding, "Or I could kill you with something no one has seen before."

Gallade gritted his teeth before barking, "MACHOKE, GET UP!" Hitmonchan rising up from her seat and adding, "YEAH! YOU'RE MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!" Golduck exclaiming, "YEAH, SHOW THAT FURBALL WHO'S BOSS!"

All the while, Ninetales had climbed to the top of the turnbuckle with a big smile on her face, the kitsune stating, "You're wasting your breath. He's never going to get up," Reika shouting, "NO! IF THERE'S ONE THING I KNOW ABOUT MACHOKE, IT'S THAT HE NEVER GIVES UP!"

Tsuya nodded and added, "Machoke may be weird at times, but he's also really cool! He's one of the greatest heroes I've ever met!" Cici nodding and squeaking, "He may not always have his head in the game, but when push comes to shove, he always pulls through!" Blaziken nodding and adding, "He acts scared at times, but he shows true heroism when the time is right."

Aipom's eyes sparkled as one member of the Japanese fanbase pumped his fist up and down, saying, "Machoke. Machoke," another joining in and chanting, "Machoke! Machoke!" more and more joining in until all of the Japanese fans were cheering for him. Various other members of the crowd joined in as the area was erupting with cheers for the boy.

Ninetales simply ignored this while spiralling her tails around to form a spike once again. However, her ears twitched and her eyes widened when she heard something shocking. She looked around before noticing her fears were true. The Korean fans were now chanting Machoke's name, hoping he would get up and defeat Ninetales.

As if that was not enough, even the kitsune's former training partners were cheering for him, Hana using the loudest voice she could muster. Even Scizor was chanting his name as Heracross exclaimed, "COME ON, MACHOKE, STOP LYING THERE ALREADY!"

What shocked Ninetales the most, though, was that this was actually getting to her. But why? She was evil. If anything, it was only natural that her fans would have lost respect for her by now, so why was she feeling so upset by this?

She simply shook her head and thought, 'You've chosen your path in life! Now take that one step toward glory!' the kitsune leaping high into the air and lifting up her legs, holding them in place with her arms while aiming her tails toward Machoke.

Everyone continued to chant Machoke's name was Ninetales spun around, shouting, "KITSUNE DRILL!" now descending toward the boy. However, just as she was about to make contact, Machoke's eyes widened as he rolled to the side, Ninetales landing hard against the canvas and managing to put a big hole in it.

Aipom took a deep breath and fell on her rear end, letting out more breaths, just imagining what would have happened if Machoke had been hit by that instead of the mat. All the while, everyone was cheering wildly, Nori exclaiming, "YEAH, YOU GO, MACHOKE! I KNEW IT WASN'T OVER YET!" before clasping her hand against her mouth, knowing it was her job to be neutral.

But it seemed her fears were pointless as Weedle was jumping up and down in his seat with excitement, exclaiming, "YES! YES! HE'S UP! HE'S ACTUALLY UP!" Beedrill staring at the caterpillar as he cleared his throat, resuming his usual composure and saying, "Thank goodness."

However, while Machoke was standing, he was still feeling weak, the boy breathing heavily as he fell to his knees. Everyone stared silently, hoping he would be okay when the boy suddenly felt weight on his shoulders. He turned his head, his eyes going wide as he saw Scyther standing right behind him, but how? She was still in the hospital.

The insect smiled and said, "Come on, Machoke. You've gotten up from worse," the boy sighing, "I don't know. After losing so much blood..." Scyther rubbing his shoulders and remarking, "I know you can do it. Let's take this demon out together," the insect standing tall and holding her hand out, Machoke lifting up his hand to take hers as she pulled him back up to his feet.

Many stared in confusion at this, Aipom asking, "Why does he have his hand up like that?" Ninetales' eyes widening as he pointed, shouting, "HEY, BEEDRILL, HE'S BREAKING THE RULES! HE'S GETTING OUTSIDE HELP!" the wasp blinking and replying, "Sorry, Ninetales, but I don't see anyone else in the ring," the kitsune's eyes widening as Blaziken asked, "Any idea what she's talking about?"

"I do see someone else in the ring," Reika replied as the others stared at her, Gallade asking, "Are you sure about that? I don't see anyone besides Machoke and Ninetales," the girl giving a warm smile and replying, "Scyther's in there helping him out," the others shrugging and not even questioning this.

Scizor understood entirely, though, as she nodded and thought, 'Scyther's sent her spirit into the ring. This might be for the best. In his condition, I'm not sure Machoke could defeat Ninetales by himself.'

Ninetales fumed and tried charging at Machoke, her eyes going wide as she noticed her tails were stuck in the canvas. The kitsune gritted her teeth, grumbling, "Dammit! What was I thinking!?" Heracross laughing and shouting, "NOT SO CALM NOW, ARE YOU LASSIE!?"

Machoke and Scyther's spirit turned to one-another and nodded before rushing toward Ninetales, both sending a two-legged flying kick into her face. While technically only Machoke was doing it, it seemed as if Scyther was adding to the force as the move ended up dealing twice as much pain as it normally would have, the crowd going wild as Ninetales groaned in pain.

After that, Machoke ran behind Ninetales reached his arms around her with Scyther's spirit standing in front of her and doing the same, both prying her tails out of the mat. However, this seemed like a bad move as Ninetales smirked, getting ready to wrap her tails around Machoke only for her eyes to widen again when she found herself unable to spread them out, and this was due to Scyther's spirit wrapping her arms around them and holding them in place.

The crowd went wild as Machoke lifted Ninetales high above his head, letting out a loud battle cry and leaning backward, planting her head hard into the mat with a brainbuster. Ninetales winced in pain before clutching onto her head and rolling around, Machoke flashing a toothy grin at Scyther who gave him thumbs up.

"Think you can handle the rest on your own?" she asked as Machoke nodded, replying, "Thanks, buddy," the insect vanishing as Nori said, "I have no idea what just happened, but Machoke has finally gotten the advantage back."

Unfortunately, Ninetales had managed to recover quickly from the head blow as she slowly rose to her feet, taking deep breaths and saying, "You should have kept her around. Those two hits were like paper cuts compared to what I'm gonna do you to you!"

Machoke winced briefly but shook his head and sported a more serious look, sighing, "You don't scare me anymore, Ninetales! You may seem tough, but all I see when I look at you is a scared and lost child with no idea what to do with her life!"

The kitsune gritted her teeth and retorted, "What was that!?" Machoke remarking, "Think about it! The only reason you decided to become evil was because your parents wanted it! Are you honestly telling me all that time spent with Hyun and the others was pointless!?"

"Yeah, he's got a point," Chung-Ho remarked, "We were best friends growing up! Did that mean nothing to you!?" Jae adding, "Yeah, we always looked out for each-other! No matter what happened, we were always there for one-another!" Hana nodding as Ninetales' eyes widened, the kitsune now standing still with no idea what to say to all of that.

"You see that?" Machoke asked, "They still remember all the good times you had and those moments mean a lot to them. Are you really going to throw that all away just because of some twisted plans your parents had for you?"

Ninetales' body started to twitch as a grin forced its way onto her face. Her eyes were wide open as she clutched onto her head, breathing heavily with the grin still on her face. No one knew what to make of this but unfortunately, it seemed Machoke and the others' words had not meant much as Ninetales turned to him with a smirk, saying, "My plan is to serve evil and that's what I intend to do and no one is going to stand in my way!"

With that in mind, the kitsune gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, everyone staring in shock as blue fire surrounded her. Suddenly, her tails started to get longer until they were twice their original length, Machoke staring in shock as his jaw dropped, his confidence starting to leave him. As if the tails were not bad enough before, now they were long enough to reach in front of Ninetales' body.

"Can someone explain to me what just happened?" Nori asked as Ninetales swished the tails in front of her with a devious smile, saying, "I didn't know I could do this," Aipom saying, "Don't be intimidated, Machoke. You can still win this," the boy nodding and holding up a defensive stance as the kitsune charged toward him.

Machoke braced himself for an attack only for Ninetales to screech to a halt, the boy unable to react in time as she had her tails go in front of her and latch onto the boy. However, due to the fact that only a third of each tail was able to reach him, she would not be able to use her abilities to their full effect. As such, she used this chance to grab hold of him with her paws and lift him up, moving him toward her back so now her tails were fully securing him in place.

The crowd was getting restless now as Ninetales laughed, shouting, "I LOVE THIS!" before applying pressure to Machoke's back and belting, "KITSUNE BACKBREAKER!"

The boy cried out in pain. Due to the added length of the tails, the pressure being applied was even greater than usual, so this was the worst pain any opponents had ever dealt with from this move since Ninetales had applied extra force when using it on Hyun.

Aipom was in full panic now. She still had no clue how Machoke could get out of this without expelling too much energy. And to make matters worse, he was fighting alone now, meaning Scyther could no longer help him.

"Hey, where's your guardian angel?" Ninetales asked tauntingly, "Oh, that's right, she's not here!" Reika gulping hard, not sure how to feel right now. It really did seem hopeless now as people could hear Machoke's back starting to crack, the boy crying even louder now.

Beedrill was trembling as he uttered, "Dad, I'm scared," Weedle nodding and replying, "Me too, son," while Nori uttered, "And thanks to Ninetales' sudden tail growth, it seems Machoke is in a horrible spot with no way of escaping. This could very well be it, folks."

During this time, Psyla had been very busy training Gardevoir, the girl currently sending a series of palm punches into a rock as the wolf smiled, saying, "You're getting there," noticing small cracks forming as Gardevoir squeaked, "Wow! I never thought I'd be able to pull off something like that!"

However, her joy turned to uncertainty as Psyla asked, "What's wrong?" the girl whimpering, "I feel like Machoke really needs my support right now," the wolf blinking and sighing, "Well, it's too late to head to the arena right now, but there is something I can do to help. We'll have to put off training for a while, though."

"I'm okay with that," Gardevoir replied, bowing her head as Psyla smiled and said, "Alright, get into a meditative position," the girl nodding and sitting on the grass, folding her legs and closing her eyes. Psyla proceeded to close hers as well as she placed her pointing and middle fingers against the girl's forehead, Gardevoir's eyes shooting open, now bright purple.

Meanwhile, Machoke was still suffering as Ninetales laughed, saying, "Well, this has been fun, but I think I'll finish this right now," the boy looking at his friends in the crowd and uttering, "Sorry, guys. I failed," his eyes widening once more when he noticed Gardevoir sitting right next to Gallade, the girl gasping and getting up, belting, "MACHOKE!"

Ninetales' eyes widened as she gritted her teeth, growling, "Another one!?" Gallade turning next to him and asking, "When did you get here, Gardevoir?" Hitmonchan asking, "Who are you talking to?" Gallade blinking and groaning, "Man, this is really confusing."

Machoke then let out a sigh and groaned, "Sorry, Gardevoir, you could have come at a better time," the girl taking a deep breath and squealing, "Don't give up, Machoke! You've been in horrible spots like this countless times and always managed to get out of them! I may not know everything that's happened during this match, but I know you can get out of this hold!"

"But look at this," Machoke uttered, "Her tails are longer thus making them tougher to get out of, and Lopunny almost expelled all of her energy when she escaped from this hold. What can I do?" Gardevoir retorting, "Machoke, you're the strongest and most creative person I know! If anyone can find a way out of this, it's you!"

Machoke gritted his teeth, grunting, "You're right! I can't just let myself lose, not after all of this!" Ninetales smirking and remarking, "Too late!" applying even more pressure.

However, the crowd was shocked when Machoke acted as if he was taking in no pain to his back whatsoever, Aipom's eyes widening as she thought, 'Could it be?'

Machoke took a deep breath and smirked, saying, "Funny thing to note about my family, Ninetales," the kitsune narrowing her eyelids and asking, "What?" the boy replying, "It's been a known fact that we can expand our muscles every now and then. It takes a lot of energy, so we don't do it often. Right now, I'm putting all my might into my back so your precious backbreaker can't hurt me anymore."

The crowd went wild as the boy added, "Also, I know how to get out of this hold. It's the second technique I ever used in a fight and it helped me greatly," Beedrill asking, "He's not referring to that move, is he?" Weedle giving his son a strange look as Machoke proceeded to plant his feet against the mat and leap backward toward the turnbuckle, slamming Ninetales' face hard into it as she winced, gritting her teeth and tightening her grip, shouting, "NO! I WON'T LET YOU WIN!"

"She's persistent," Reika uttered as Blaziken spat, "That was a good try, Machoke! Keep it up!" Ninetales exclaiming, "You won't get that chance! If I can't break your back, I'll just take you out the same way I took down Lopunny and Scyther!"

The crowd gasped, knowing exactly what was coming as the kitsune proceeded to leap high into the air, using her tails to flip Machoke upside-down so his head was facing the mat. All went silent as Ninetales had his skull pointed at the top of the stone. There was no doubt that this move would kill him as she laughed hysterically before saying, "I have to thank you, Weedle. This spiked stone of yours was your greatest idea yet. I've really enjoyed using it to pick apart this moron, but now my fun must come to an end with this one last use."

"She's not really going to kill him, is she?" Weedle asked as Beedrill sighed, "Honestly, I don't even think she cares if we disqualify her from the finals. She just seems intent on ending Machoke's life no matter what."

Everyone else stared in silence, tears welling up in their eyes as Gardevoir's spirit squeaked, "MACHOKE, I KNOW YOU CAN GET OUT OF THIS!" the boy taking a deep breath and thinking, 'No, there is a way out of this that doesn't involve me using too much energy,' the boy smirking before managing just enough strength to move his head forward before reeling it back, sending it hard into the kitsune's shin.

Ninetales' eyes widened as this actually caused just enough pain for her to loosen her hold on him. After all, his skull was thick and her shins were skinny so it made sense, the boy freeing himself and grabbing onto her ankles with his arms and using his feet to lock her arms in place.

Ninetales growled and spat, "YOU THINK THAT'S GONNA HELP YOU!" the kitsune immediately wrapping her tails around him again as the boy smirked, saying, "Actually, yes!" before applying just enough strength to start spinning the kitsune around like a wheel while shouting, "INCOMPLETE SUNSET SLAM!"

The area went quiet as the two descended toward the stone, Machoke ramming Ninetales' belly hard into the stone, her eyes going wide as she coughed up blood. As if that was not enough, the force of the move had actually caused the stone to crack a little bit as Machoke proceeded to free himself from her tails once more, placing a firm grip against the back of her head and ramming her face into the hard material.

This caused a series of cracks to move along the stone before covering it, the structure starting to crumble as Machoke grabbed hold of one of the kitsune's tails and leapt off of the stone just in time to avoid having her take in more pain from the spikes. After all, he already knew he had done enough damage to end the match, the boy taking a deep breath and setting her down, the kitsune lying there.

Beedrill wasted no time starting the ten count as Aipom bit her lower lip, a smile crossing her lips as light tears rolled down her eyes. Reika simply took a deep breath, sighing, "Leave it to Machoke to worry us every now and then," Gardevoir breathing a sigh of relief and vanishing while Machoke thought, 'Thank you, Gardevoir. You're a real pal.'

Soon enough, Beedrill counted to ten as he rang the bell, exclaiming, "And the hero advancing to the finals is Machoke!" the crowd breaking out into heavy cheering, heavier than ever before. Machoke fell to his knees, a light smile on his face as Aipom leapt into the ring, hugging his face and squealing, "OH MY GOD, YOU MAKE ME SO PROUD TO BE YOUR TRAINER!" the boy rolling his eyes and saying nothing in response to this.

Chung-Ho and Jae both breathed sighs of relief while Hana simply looked down, uttering, "I hope that taught her a lesson," Heracross exclaiming, "YEAH, WAY TO GO, LAD!" Golduck shouting, "YOU'RE THE MAN, MACHOKE!"

Reika simply took a deep breath, thinking, 'I bet Scyther is really happy now,' Scizor folding her arms and thinking the same thing before heading out of the arena, thinking, 'I don't think I have any reason to stick around anymore.'

In the hospital, Scyther was finally resting soundly again, a light smile on her face. All the while, Lopunny was wide awake with only a couple of hours left before she could finally leave the hospital as she squealed, "I KNEW IT! I KNEW HE'D WIN!" a nurse poking her head into the room, saying, "I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it down," Lopunny uttering, "Sorry."

Soon enough, the cheers died down as Weedle took a deep breath, making his way out of his seat and crawling onto the ring before saying, "Machoke, once again, I have to thank you," the boy blinking as he added, "You have stopped another villain from ruining a tournament. I have to admit, I've been a fool for looking down on you for so long. Everything I've done was my attempt at making sure you lost," the boy sighing, "Well, at least you're admitting it now."

Beedrill blinked, asking, "Is this true?" Machoke's friends barking, "YOU MEAN IT WASN'T OBVIOUS!?" as Weedle nodded and sighed, "I've done a lot of stupid things as chairman, and this was another major blunder. I think retiring was the right choice. At least my son didn't think up something like a stone covered in spikes," the caterpillar bowing his head and saying, "So yes, laugh it up if you'd like, but I apologize for all the shit I've put you through over the past."

Machoke grinned childishly and replied, "Well, since you gave me permission," the boy pointing at him and breaking out into hysterics only to stop when he noticed Ninetales' paw twitching, her eyes opening.

However, she was still down with no intention of getting back up as Machoke trembled, unsure of whether or not to walk over before noticing tears running down the kitsune's cheeks. Everyone else stared as she slowly turned her head toward her former training partners.

All three stared at her in silence, Hana looking calm while the others looked more defensive, Ninetales crying out, "I'M SORRY! ALL THOSE YEARS SPENT TRAINING WITH YOU MEANT A LOT TO ME! I SHOULDN'T HAVE THROWN AWAY OUR FRIENDSHIP LIKE THAT! I HOPE THAT MAYBE SOMEDAY, YOU CAN ALL FORGIVE ME AND TAKE ME BACK AS YOUR ALLY!"

That statement was more than enough to expel whatever energy the kitsune had left as she closed her eyes, all going silent as Machoke uttered, "Um, would I be disqualified if she died after my victory was announced?" Weedle sighing, "No, but that hardly matters because she's not dead," everyone noticing her belly rising and falling every few seconds while light breathing was coming from her. The kitsune was now taking a nap as medics were called in to help her onto a stretcher.

"Remember, once she's healed, she's going straight to prison," Weedle said before turning to Beedrill and adding, "Unless you think she deserves a second chance," Beedrill replying, "Well, she does seem to have learned her lesson, but you're right. She still has to serve time for the death of Hyun."

All the while, Chung-Ho simply let down light tears, sniffing, "It's nice to know she's at least turned over a new leaf," Jae adding, "Yeah, I was worried we'd lost her forever," Hana smiling lightly and saying nothing. The trio would have a difficult time getting over how she killed their master, but they were happy to know she had learned her lesson.

And with Machoke's match coming to a close, there was only one left to decide who would face off in the finals. Would the boy face Garchomp or Lucario?