The pressure was on with only a week to go before Machoke and Lucario were to face each-other. However, without Aipom around, Machoke was not feeling all too confident. And after seeing how Lucario defeated Garchomp, the boy was absolutely terrified. Sure, he had talked a good talk, but could he really back it up?

This would have to wait, though, as the following day was a rather exciting one for Tokyo. In light of the upcoming event, a group of heroes from the previous generation had been called to Earth to make special guest appearances, many lined up by the local space station to await their arrival.

And soon enough, a big space shuttle arrived as Nori was standing in front of the area with a camera pointed at her, the woman stating, "I am at the local space station where a spaceship has just arrived from Hero Planet. Coming out will be six of the greatest heroes who used to fight for Earth's safety and needless to say, this is very exciting!"

Many reporters and fans waited outside of the entrance when the door opened up, the guests exiting while the crowd cheered. Specifically due to the fact that their sons were facing off, Machamp and Riolu had of course made an appearance, the two standing next to each-other while waving to the crowd. Riolu had a light smile on his face while Machamp had a big open-mouth smiled, the man waving all four of his arms excitedly.

"It's been so long since people cheered for me!" he exclaimed with a grin as Riolu rolled his eyes, patting him on the shoulder and replying, "Yes, it has certainly been a long time."

Coming up behind them was Bouffalant followed by Greninja, both of course getting plenty of attention as well. Though unlike Riolu, these two were soaking up the applause almost as much as Machamp was. It was like the man had said, cheers like these had been missing from their lives for a long time.

And following close behind was Combusken, the chicken waving happily to all of her fans. Though a part of her was happier to actually have a chance to bond with Machamp after so many years. After all, the two had barely made contact with each-other ever since they started families.

And the last to arrive was a big tortoise with water guns coming from her shell named Blastoise, the crowd cheering for her as well while Nori stated, "Now, Machamp and Lucario have been called in to watch their sons duke it out for the championship title, but the other four are actually going to be special judges for the match! They will be watching to make sure the rules are adhered to. It's also worth note that Machamp, Combusken, Bouffalant and Greninja have a special surprise planned for us, but you'll all have to arrive at the Tokyo Dome an hour before Machoke and Lucario's match to see it."

After more waving, Machamp noticed Keiko in the crowd, his eyes widening as he ignored the cameras and adoring fans and walked over to her, the two holding hands as the man exclaimed, "Wow, Keiko, it's been ages! You barely look like you've aged at all!" Keiko chuckling and replying, "And you look pretty good too."

Combusken and Riolu both stared at this, the two remembering how Keiko and Machamp used to be sweethearts back in the day. Hopefully this reunion would not end up being too awkward.

"You should come by later," Keiko replied, "I still live in the same place, so I know you'll be able to find it," Machamp nodding and replying, "Sure, though it'll have to be later. Combusken and I are gonna spend some quality time at the nearest fast food stand," the woman nodding and replying, "Of course. You know I'd never get in the way of something like that."

"So why didn't he settle for her again?" Bouffalant asked the others, "She's really understanding," Combusken sighing, "It's kind of a long story."

During this time, Psyla and Gardevoir were taking a break from training while breathing heavily, Gardevoir saying, "I feel so much stronger," the wolf grinning and replying, "Yeah, I've noticed great strides, but you still haven't quite mastered control over your powers just yet," the wolf then sitting cross-legged and replying, "But I think you might be ready for the final phase."

Gardevoir stared in curiosity as Psyla added, "Now, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Afterwards, think about nothing but protecting those around you," Gardevoir nodding and doing as told, focusing hard. Thinking about her friends and family was easy enough for her, so this was not too much to ask.

The real challenge was that she would have to remain like this for a while. It could very well take hours or even more than a day. Psyla did not know if it would take the same amount of time for Gardevoir to master the power as it had for her seeing as she had not merged with an earlier stage of the power herself.

During this time, Scyther had finally made a full recovery as Heracross and Lopunny stayed by her side, the insect smiling at them. However, all three were rather surprised to see Reika arrive, the girl smiling softly.

"Oh, hello, Reika," Scyther said, the girl noticing the insect standing and asking, "Are you okay to move?" Lopunny nodding and squealing, "Yes! Scyther's just made a full recovery!" the insect nodding and adding, "We're all gonna be there to cheer Machoke on."

Reika nodded before asking, "Say, you guys have been through a lot and you're only going to be in Tokyo for another week, right?" the trio nodding as the girl bit her lip, adding, "I was wondering if you'd like to hang out," Scyther shrugging and replying, "I don't see why not," Heracross and Lopunny staring in shock. Had Scyther just decided to have fun without being pressured into it?

All the while, Cici had started training at the gym. Since Reika was busy right now, she had turned to Gallade to help her become stronger seeing as he had been helping Gardevoir up to this point. Since his sister was having her own training, the boy gladly accepted and Hitmonchan had even offered to help out. After all, having heard of the existence of Hyun, Cici wanted to be as strong as she had been.

Blaziken on the other hand was not having such a good time right now. She had decided to help Machoke train for his finals match only to find him not home every time she stopped by. She was starting to fear the worst. After all, it was not completely against Machoke's nature to try running away from a match.

After checking for the fifth time that day, the chicken called up the others. She was not going to let Machoke back out of this, not after he had come so far.

Gallade and Cici had been training for roughly an hour when they got the call, Gallade turning to the girl as she nodded, saying, "We should help," the boy smiling and replying, "Yeah, let's go," Hitmonchan suggesting, "We should split up to cover more ground," all three nodding.

During this time, Reika had taken Scyther and the others to the club. Due to recent events, she and the others had not really gotten a chance to hang out here anymore. Lopunny felt rather underwhelmed by the simplicity of the place at first but soon grew attached, mostly after giving the karaoke machine a shot.

Heracross and Scyther were both dominating the pool tables, both of them locked in a heated game with Reika watching them. It was at this exact moment when she got Blaziken's call, the girl nodding in understanding before briefing the others on the situation at hand. After all Machoke had done, Scyther was not going to let him quit and as such, she was more than happy to help look for him.

Blaziken was about to call up Gardevoir as well, but she knew how important the girl's training was. There was no way she was going to interfere with that. Even without her helping out, though, she figured that she and her friends working together would be more than good enough.

And it seemed she had actually made the right call. Machoke had indeed been trying to sneak away while wearing a backpack with his belongings in it, sporting a thick trench coat and a big hat in order to blend in with the crowd. In fact, he had actually managed to stay hidden until the evening just started.

During this time, Machamp had finished catching up with Combusken and the others and was now at Keiko's house. The woman had prepared him a nice noodle dish with tiger prawns, Asian sausage, green onions and a sweet sauce.

"This is incredible!" the man exclaimed, slurping down the noodles at a rapid pace as Keiko smiled sweetly, replying, "Glad you like it."

Machamp then asked, "So how come you're still not married? Any guy would be lucky to have you!" Keiko biting her lower lip as the man panicked, exclaiming, "Sorry! I know how much you'd rather not think about that!"

"It's okay," Keiko replied with a chuckle, "You're sweet, but you deserve Kala. She's a better fit for you," Machamp groaning, "That just makes me feel like more of a bad guy."

"Okay, let's talk about something more positive," Keiko replied, "like your son. He really is a worthy successor, isn't he?" Machamp nodding and saying, "Well, he has certainly kept up my winning streak," Keiko snickering as the man remarked, "What's that about!?"

"Well, if I recall, you lost a total of ten matches back in your prime," the woman stated as Machamp looked down, sighing, "I'd rather not think about that," Keiko shaking her head and replying, "Don't forget, those losses were vital to you getting better."

Machamp was still not looking too comfortable talking about this when suddenly, Keiko heard a brief chime on her phone, Machamp blinking as she took it out, saying, "Oh, Reika must have sent me a text," before laughing and adding, "Whenever she has big plans, she often forgets to tell me for the first hour or so. I wonder what she's been up to."

Keiko looked at the text, her eyes widening as Machamp asked, "What is it?" the woman replying, "Seems like your son's trying to avoid his match with Lucario. Reika and the others have spent the last couple of hours searching for him."

"What!?" Machamp spat as Machoke just happened to be sneaking by this exact house right now. The boy's eyes widened as he could swear her heard his father's voice and of course, when he looked through the window, sure enough his father was there.

"Dammit, I thought he was better than this!" Machamp grunted, folding his arms and sighing, "I wouldn't have run away from my finals match like that!" Machoke thinking, 'Sorry, Dad, but I value my life too much. I hate to duck out after coming so far, but I'll never be a champion like you.'

"Are you so sure about that?" Keiko asked Machamp as Machoke blinked in curiosity, Machamp remarking, "What do you mean by that?" the woman chuckling and replying, "He's a chip off the old block if I ever saw one!"

Machamp gulped and shifted his eyes back and forth, Keiko adding, "Face it, you would have done the same thing if you were in his shoes," Machoke thinking, 'What? My dad trying to avoid the finals?' the woman stating, "Seriously, when a big fight came up, you were one of the biggest cowards in the world."

Machoke could not believe what he was hearing. Whenever people spoke of his father, they always talked about how great, brave and heroic he was, how he was the exact opposite of the boy. Had all of that been untrue?

"People generally don't know about that because only we were around to see you acting like that," Keiko added, "There would be multiple instances where we'd have to force you into the ring," the woman laughing just thinking about it as Machamp sighed, "Dammit, stop reminding me of that!" Machoke thinking, 'So it's true.'

"However," Keiko stated, "when you finally did get into the ring, you were one of the greatest fighters the world had ever seen. Your fear would leave you and you'd fill up with a fiery passion."

Machamp nodded and replied, "I will admit, I owe a lot of that to you and the others," Machoke listening with great intent as the man added, "I hate to sound cheesy, but if it hadn't been for you guys sticking by me and showing your support, I never would have gained the reputation I have today."

Machoke bit his lip, a great sense of guilt filling his heart. He could relate to this so much right now. He owed a great deal of his success to his friends cheering him on and being there for him. And he knew he had a similar effect on the others, especially Gardevoir who would have never been motivated to go the extra mile if it had not been for his influence.

Keiko smiled warmly and said, "If I know your family, Machoke's going to come to his senses. I say we give him time," the boy letting down tears and thinking, 'Reika's mom is smart. She knows exactly what I'm thinking, though eventually may come sooner than she thinks.'

With that, the boy immediately sprinted off toward his home as Keiko could hear rustling in the bushes, the woman looking out the window. Machamp blinked and asked, "What is it now?" the woman smiling and replying, "Just wind."

The others had met up with each-other near Reika's house as Blaziken sighed, "I couldn't find him anywhere," Gallade saying, "No one else seems to have seen him either," Reika noticing someone dressed in a trench coat run by, her eyes going wide when his hat flew off to reveal a familiar set of ridges atop his head.

The others noticed this too as Scyther spat, "HEY, THAT WAS MACHOKE!" the others turning as all of the friends pursued the boy.

Machoke simply stopped in his tracks when he heard their footsteps and turned to them, saying, "Hey, guys, I can't talk right now. I have some serious training ahead of me and I'd like to start now," the boy resuming his run as the others smiled, laughing before Scyther said, "Guess our search was pointless, wasn't it?"

Lucario, on the other hand, had already started training, though this form was a lot different from what Machoke had in mind. He was at a construction site where a big rock was placed atop a wooden board with a crane carrying a wrecking ball located behind it. As for Lucario himself, he was standing atop a big structure made entirely out of girders.

The man operating the crane poked his head out from the door and asked, "Are you sure you don't want to take a break? You've been at this for hours," Lucario remarking, "I need to figure out how to counter that Sunset Slam of Machoke's before our match! I'll do this for the remaining six days if I have to!" the man shrugging and replying, "You're the boss."

With that, Lucario leapt off the girder with his back facing the crane, the wrecking ball then dropped onto the wooden board as the rock was launched hard into his back. This seemed to cause great pain but Lucario ignored it as he ended up flying into another girder right in front of him, falling hard against the ground.

The crane driver winced as the dog slowly rose to his feet, breathing heavily and sporting a creepy smirk, exclaiming, "OH YEAH, I ALMOST MADE A BREAKTHROUGH THAT TIME! LET'S DO IT AGAIN!"

And of course, Amanda was nowhere to be seen. To the best of Lucario and Clauncher's knowledge, she had taken a flight back to London. After all, she did not wish to see her brother like he was right now, and it seemed wise to avoid him as he appeared to be going insane. At this time, all he could think about was revenge on the Mach family and nothing else. He had even forgotten about how much he had scared Amanda the other day.

During this time, Gardevoir had finally finished her training with Psyla as she saw the violet aura surrounding her palms, Psyla smiling and saying, "You've done it. I'm proud of you," the girl smiling bright and giving her aunt a hug.

"Thank you so much," the girl said, her eyes sparkling as Psyla nodded and added, "There is one thing worth note, though. It might be wise to save this power for when you truly need it. Because you went through a different cycle to master it than I did, I'm not exactly sure how it will work for you, so I wouldn't recommend using it throughout and entire match unless you really feel it's necessary."

Gardevoir nodded and replied, "I wasn't really planning on using it like that anyway. The aura's always been a last minute resort for me. Why change it now?"

During this time, Machoke had started his training, planning to keep this up until midnight as he could not bring himself to stay up even a minute past that time no matter how hard he tried. Currently, the boy was sending a series of karate chops into a bag he had filled up with sand.

After sending one into the bag, he uttered, "One-thousand-three-hundred-and-eight," sending another into it and adding, "One-thousand-three-hundred-and-nine," only for the door to open behind him, the boy's eyes going wide as a female voice said, "You're never going to get anywhere putting such half-assed effort into your training."

Machoke frowned and remarked, "Who asked you!?" before turning around and barking, "Who are you, anyway!? I've never seen you before!"

The owner of the voice was a thin girl wearing a blue fighter's outfit. She had long brown air in a ponytail and wore a mask resembling the yin yang symbol with an eye hole on each colour.

The girl simply folded her arms and remarked, "Do you always ask who people are before introducing yourself?" Machoke blinking before bowing his head and replying, "Oh, sorry. I'm Machoke," the boy staring silently for a few seconds before barking, "HEY, YOU SEEMED TO ALREADY KNOW WHO I WAS!"

"Not very quick on the uptake," the stranger replied, shaking her head, "Still, I already know you have the potential to defeat Lucario," Machoke grinning and asking, "Really?" the girl sighing, "But you're going to need a lot of work."

"Then why are you here?" the boy remarked, "Did you just come here to make fun of me?" the girl shaking her head and replying, "No, I wish to fill in for Aipom as your trainer until the Olympics are over."

Machoke stared in silence for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and saying, "I'm sorry, but first of all, you're a complete stranger to me and secondly, I don't think anyone can replace Aipom as my trainer. I'm just going to use what she's taught me over the years and hope it works," the stranger shaking her head and remarking, "Look, Machoke, do you honestly think that's good enough?"

The boy gritted his teeth, remarking, "Well, what makes you think you're capable of helping me win!?" the girl quickly running over to the boy, getting behind him, grabbing his arms and leaning backward, wrapping her ankles around his and pulling hard.

Machoke's eyes widened as he could not believe what he was experiencing. This was Lucario's London Bridge technique to a tee. The only difference was that this stranger did not have a spike coming out of her chest.

"I have a lot of secrets, but for a reason I cannot tell you, I happen to know Lucario very well," the girl explained, "I know his moves inside and out. I know how he fights. If anyone can help you defeat him, I can."

She soon released her hold on Machoke as he took a few deep breaths, turning to face her, his eyes wide open. The boy was still not completely sure, but something in her eyes told him he could trust her.

As such, he asked, "So, you're sure you really know as much about Lucario as you claim?" the girl nodding and replying, "Believe you me. No one knows more about him than I do," Machoke nodding and saying, "Alright."

The boy then held up his hand as the girl reached hers forward, holding onto it as the two shook them. The girl then smiled under her mask and added, "My name's Meisai, by the way," Machoke smiling and saying, "Very nice to meet you, Meisai."