Things could not have looked more difficult for the duo of Talonflame and Lucario right now. The fight had started off heavily in their favour but quickly took a turn for worse when Missingno revealed a number of different types of abilities. It was unheard of for a hero to have more than two types and yet this boy had already displayed a total of seven.

And of course, Absol could not be taken lightly either. With little to no effort, he had already managed to counter Lucario's strongest techniques. All the while, Machoke was unsure of how this would turn out. Should he fight instead of one of the other two or would that even make a difference?

However, it seemed Lucario and Talonflame were not so easy to give up as Talonflame turned toward his partner and said, "Hey, buddy, I don't feel like I really need this, but let's try giving them another taste of teamwork," the dog nodding and replying, "Yes, we should at least focus on taking one of these two down first."

Absol narrowed his eyelids and remarked, "You think I'm going to allow that?" Missingno smirking as he transformed his fingers into vines again.

But just as the two were about to counter, Talonflame quickly took to the air as Lucario performed a somersault toward him, the falcon using his talons to grab the dog's ankles. When Missingno whipped out his vines toward Lucario, the dog allowed them to bind his hands as he asked, "Think you can handle this?"

"You better believe it!" Talonflame replied with a smirk as he lit his body on fire, soaring high into the air. Missingno's eyes and mouth were wide open now as this provided enough strength to overpower his grip, Lucario and Talonflame lifting him into the air.

Absol's eyes widened as Talonflame flew high enough to make a successful U-turn, Lucario's body shifted far enough for Missingno to be flung over the falcon's talons. With that, the boy was sent crashing into his ally as the two heroes exclaimed, "TOWER FLARE BLITZ!"

Talonflame then proceeded to spin his body vertically thus flinging Lucario toward Missingno's back, the dog crossing his arms in front of his face with his wrist spikes facing the boy. He then pierced Missingno's back as the boy cried out in pain, Lucario shouting, "ROYAL JAVELIN!"

Machoke stared in amazement while Aipom grinned and exclaimed, "Wow, those two are so cool!" Gardevoir sporting a light smile and saying, "They might just be able to win this after all."

"Yeah, they're awesome," Machoke uttered, "I wish I could do something like that someday. I've never fought in a team match before."

"It might happen," Aipom replied with a shrug as Talonflame and Lucario refused to let their opponents get up. As such, both sprinted toward their opponents and set up an elbow drop each, Talonflame aiming at Absol while Lucario was headed toward Missingno.

But while the falcon managed to land a perfect hit on Absol, Lucario's eyes widened when what looked like a purple crater formed on Missingno's back. Before the dog could even figure out what was going on, blue flames spewed out as the boy exclaimed, "BACK VOLCANO!" the fire hitting Lucario hard and sending him high into the air.

With that, Missingno proceeded to propel himself up to the dog's level, Machoke and the others staring in absolute horror as the demonic boy once again encased his arms in steel, latching them onto the dog. However, unlike with Talonflame, Missingno saw no need for wings but instead chose to show off another ability.

Talonflame gritted his teeth and spat, "DON'T WORRY, PAL, I'LL HELP YOU OUT!" but just as he was about to take to the sky, Absol grabbed hold of his ankles and grunted, "Where do you think you're going?"

The falcon smirked and said, "You seem to forget how strong I am," only for the wolf's paws to turn black as he seemed to overpower the falcon, leaning backward and shouting, "DARK SUPLEX!" slamming the falcon's back into the ground.

Once again, Aipom could not have been more confused as small holes formed on Missingno's back, water spewing out and forming a waterfall while the boy flipped Lucario head-first toward the ground. With that, he placed his back against the running water and allowed it to pull him down toward the ground as he spat, "WATERFALL DRIVER!" slamming the dog's head hard into the surface before.

Lucario's eyes were wide with shock as he coughed up blood, Missingno releasing his hold with a wicked grin on his face, the dog's upper body collapsing. Talonflame may have been up now, but Absol's attack had provided just enough of a distraction to prevent him from helping.

Missingno laughed and exclaimed, "Oh man, this is the world champion!? I have to admit, I was expecting much more of a challenge!" Lucario currently feeling too weak to retort as Talonflame fumed, Absol sighing, "Yes, and I'm honestly starting to wonder why it took so long for Talonflame to suffer his first defeat. So far, he seems to be an even bigger weakling."

Machoke gritted his teeth and was about to jump to their defence when Aipom said, "Wait, before you continue, I have to know something, Missingno."

The boy rose an eyebrow and smirked, saying, "Well, I don't see any reason to answer your question, but I don't see any reason not to, so go ahead," the monkey nodding and asking, "How are you using all those powers. All beings like us are usually limited to a maximum of two types of fighter and yet so far, I've seen you use nine different types of abilities. How are you doing that?"

"It's because I'm not exactly what you'd call normal," Missingno replied with a bigger smirk, Absol now curious himself as everyone stared silently, the boy then frowning and adding, "That's all you need to know."

"Geez, that wasn't much of an answer," Machoke uttered as Gardevoir stated, "I get the feeling there's more to it than that."

Even so, Talonflame hardly seemed to care as he cracked his knuckles and grunted, "Look, whatever the case, I couldn't care less if you were every type in existence. The important thing is that you're a pain in the ass and need to be dealt with."

Missingno smirked and remarked, "And how are you going to take both of us when just one was enough to keep you at bay?" the falcon retorting, "Like this!" before taking to the sky.

As much as it pained him to admit it, he needed to use serious strategy right now. And since only Missingno could fly, sticking to one opponent would make it easier for him to do so.

"After all that talk, you take the coward's approach," Missingno said before snickering, "I heard you had too much pride for that. Guess I was wrong."

With that in mind, the boy sprouted dark wings from his back again and took to the sky. However, when he reached Talonflame's height, he was shocked when the falcon seemed to have already flown behind him as he sent a kick with both of his talons into the his back.

Unfortunately, it seemed Missingno hardly felt a thing from this as he once again formed a small volcano on his back. But Talonflame knew what was coming as he flew above its range, the falcon then soaring toward the boy with his arm out, hooking the back of his neck. Unfortunately, this seemed to have hardly any effect as Missingno was prepared this time, the boy having encased his neck in steel.

However, it did not end there as he reached his arms back and grabbed hold of Talonflame's wrist, the falcon's eyes widening as the boy's hands were covered in electricity, a surge going up the bird's spine. But there was no way Talonflame was going to let this get to him again as he propelled his legs up and sent a kick into Missingno's back.

Machoke all the while gritted his teeth and groaned, "I should go in there and help," Gardevoir shaking her head and replying, "Not yet," the boy soon seeing what the girl meant as Lucario had finally recovered from the damage dealt earlier, Absol too focused on watching the aerial battle to notice.

With this in mind, the dog sprinted toward Absol from behind, the wolf picking up on this as he turned and aimed a swipe from his paws toward the side of Lucario's head. However, the dog held up his arm as the wolf wound up hitting the wrist spike, his eyes wide as the spike had pierced his flesh.

"Now who's making the amateurish mistakes?" Lucario asked tauntingly before flinging his arm backward and slamming Absol's back hard against the ground.

During this time, it seemed Talonflame did, in fact, need the dog's help as Missingno had once again encased his arms in ice, only this time he created two blades and had stabbed the falcon's shoulders. But just as it looked like he was about to add to the damage, Lucario propelled himself up to the boy's height and wrapped his arms around him, applying just enough force to pry his ice blades out of Talonflame's shoulders.

The falcon blinked as Missingno gulped, uttering, "Oh, when did you get back up?" Lucario flipping him upside-down and saying, "Clearly too soon for you."

He then proceeded to wrap his legs and arms around his opponent, his chest spike piercing Missingno's flesh as Machoke's eyes widened, the boy uttering, "Is he using what I think he is?" Lucario descending toward the ground and shouting, "CANINE HUG SLAM!"

Machoke and the others watched this in shock. Lucario had declared that his match with Machoke was the only time he would ever use his father's finishing moves and yet here he was using just that.

However, it seemed Missingno was not the least bit bothered by this as he pointed his face toward the ground and puffed up his cheeks. However, rather than unleashing poison gas like before, he let loose a blast of dark-green fire from his mouth.

Lucario's eyes widened as this created enough force to send both back up into the air, Missingno encasing his arms in stone before shouting, "ROCK RECKER!" applying just enough force to overpower Lucario's hold and spread his arms out. Then with that, he balled up his hands into fists and sent them both into Lucario's chest, the dog coughing up blood as he let go of the boy.

"I'll admit, that actually kinda surprised me," Missingno said with a smirk as he ignored the big hole Lucario had put in him, "I thought you said you'd never use that again, but clearly it wasn't good enough."

Seeing this, Talonflame spat, "HOLD ON, BUDDY!" but just as he was about to fly in and help his ally, Missingno flew in front of him with his arms still encased in stone.

Talonflame attempted to strike him with both fists only for the boy to cross his arms in front of his face and block the incoming attack. All the while, Absol leapt up to Lucario's height and grabbed hold of him, saying, "Allow me to help you, 'friend'."

The dog's eyes widened as the wolf leaned backward with Lucario's head now facing the ground, the wolf shouting, "HALF-MOON PRESS!" slamming the back of the dog's neck hard into the surface.

All went silent as Machoke blinked and uttered, "Wait, isn't that Riolu's finishing move?" Aipom nodding and asking, "How does he know it?"

Lucario was wondering this himself as he ignored the pain dealt to him and slowly rose to his feet, taking a deep breath and asking, "How are you able to use that move? It was hard for me to figure that one out and yet you've mastered it as if you were a member of my family."

"Oh, it's nothing like that," Absol remarked, "It's just that, unlike you, I spent a great deal of time trying to figure this move out. I may be ashamed of your father for his decision to return to the side of good, but what I saw from his days as a villain inspired me and I'm still a big fan of the techniques that he developed. Like you, I have taught myself every single one of his finishing moves, only it doesn't pain me to use them."

"So the majority of your special moves were stolen from someone else," Lucario remarked while folding his arms, "Sounds to me like someone can't take the time to be creative," Absol growling and retorting, "At least I was passionate about learning these moves! I know for a fact that the only reason you taught yourself these moves was so you could get revenge on the Mach family!"

"I'd almost forgotten about that," Machoke groaned as Aipom sighed, "Well, that was a pretty big deal."

Lucario's eye twitched, not so much because these words got under his skin but deep down, he knew Absol was right. He even stated that he had no intention of using his father's abilities on villains, only Machoke.

"I could even feel it when you attempted to use that move with the stupid name on Missingno," Absol stated, "The only reason you even attempted to use it was because your own signature moves failed you."

Lucario gritted his teeth while Talonflame and Missingno continued to fight each-other. However, unlike the dog, Talonflame had managed to regain the upper hand as when Missingno tried to block another one of his punches with stone-encrusted arms, the falcon redirected it toward the boy's face and hitting him hard.

With the boy distracted, the falcon proceeded to light his body on fire again as he said, "By the way, I came up with a new special move not too long ago. I hope you like it," as he flew toward the demonic boy with his arms and wings forced backwards thanks to the wind emanated by his speed.

Missingno once again held his arms in front of his face to protect himself as Talonflame spat, "FLAME MISSILE!" his beak running hard into the stone.

Missingno seemed fully confident that his defensive manoeuvre would once again work until he noticed cracks started to form. The falcon smirked as soon enough, his beak shattered the rock as Missingno was forced into a land form floating sideways, Talonflame's beak still pressed up against him.

Machoke let out a loud cheer as Aipom squealed with excitement, Gardevoir still a tad worried. Sure, Talonflame had gotten the upper hand, but Lucario seemed unsure of himself as Absol said, "Look at you. You're not as strong as you think you are," the wolf slowly walking toward him and adding, "Let's face it, without your submission holds and your father's slam techniques, you're nothing."

Lucario seemed spellbound by these words, something no one was used to seeing. No matter what his opponents said to him over the past, the dog would never let mere words get him down. And yet it seemed Absol was right. If Lucario could not rely on his finishing moves, what could he do?

Machoke's eyes were wide open as he exclaimed, "LUCARIO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU'RE NOT GONNA GIVE UP JUST BECAUSE OF A MINOR INCONVENIENCE, ARE YOU!?" Aipom biting her lower lip and saying, "Yeah, this doesn't make any sense."

However, Gardevoir seemed rather calm as she said, "Actually, I don't think he's quite given up yet. Look at his eyes," Machoke and Aipom then seeing where the monkey was coming from. In Lucario's eyes was that same glimmer that would always appear when he was just about to make a comeback.

Absol failed to see it as he said, "Just to be nice, I'll finish you off with your father's best technique," Talonflame's eyes widening as he exclaimed, "HEY, LUCARIO, FIGHT BACK!"

But just as he was about to rush in and help, Missingno recovered from the pain dealt to him earlier and transformed his fingers into vines, binding them to the falcon's ankles. To make things worse, the boy proceeded to lift his arms up thus forcing Talonflame's back into the spot of land just above him.

With that, Absol took hold of Lucario and said, "This was the hardest move to learn, and it pisses me off that you were able to figure it out so quickly. But what matters if that I'm gonna finish you off with this."

With that in mind, the wolf took hold of the dog's shoulders and leapt high into the air. Once high enough, he proceeded to flip Lucario over and lower the dog just enough so he was underneath the wolf. Absol then placed his knees up against Lucario's feet and descended toward the ground, shouting, "COLLAPSING TOWER!"

Machoke closed his eyes as he remembered this move well. This was the very technique that ended his match with Lucario. Just seeing it in action brought back painful memories, but the boy knew he had to forget about that.

But while Absol and Missingno were both fully confident that this would have the same result, Lucario seemed to have other plans as he waited just for the right moment, lowering his arms just in time to stop his head from colliding with the ground. Absol's eyes widened as Lucario allowed himself to fall backwards thus causing Absol's back to hit the ground hard.

It did not end there as Lucario used his legs to latch onto Absol's thus catching him in a figure-four leg lock. Machoke grinned and exclaimed, "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Absol groaning, "Why?"

"You may have figured out how to use my father's techniques, but you forgot one simple thing," Lucario remarked, "Those moves are originally from my family, meaning I know exactly how to counter them. And also, you're wrong when you say Collapsing Tower is my father's strongest move."

"I am?" Absol asked, his eyes and mouth wide open as the dog nodded, Machoke saying, "That's right. Riolu's strongest move was the one he never completed."

"It doesn't matter anyway!" Absol retorted as he turned his legs in the direction Lucario was twisting them thus freeing himself, "I still have a move that you can't counter!"

With that in mind, the wolf proceeded to swing his head blade toward Lucario while shouting, "NIGHT SLASH!" only for the dog to throw his arms inward, catching the blade between his palms. Now Absol was frightened as the dog used the horn to lift himself up, mounting himself onto the wolf's back.

"Oh no," Absol uttered, his eyes wide with terror, "How could I forget this of all moves?" Machoke trembling at the sight of this while Lucario took hold of the wolf's wrists, forcing his arms back and pulling on them.

Gardevoir and Aipom cheered briefly before noticing Machoke's expression, and it made perfect sense. The first step to Machoke's defeat was him succumbing to his move, a move that for a long period of time dislocated his arm bones and broke his spine. Even seeing it used on a different opponent brought back even worse memories than Collapsing Tower did.

Even so, the boy took a deep breath and said, "Right, I have to be supportive right now," before exclaiming, "Yeah, you rule, Lucario!" the dog smirking and thinking, 'Thank you, Machoke. I wasn't sure if you had truly gotten over your defeat, but now I can be happy knowing you have.'

However, Machoke's words had gotten the attention of Missingno, his eyes widening as he thought, 'No, it has to be a temporary setback. There's no way Lucario's going to beat Absol, not yet anyway,' the demonic boy all the while blocking another onslaught from Talonflame.

However, it seemed his worst fears had come true when Lucario exclaimed, "RIOLU TORMENT!" Absol crying out in pain as more pressure was added to his arms.

There was no doubt about it. If he could not escape from this move soon, his arms would be temporarily disabled, and to make matters worse, the Riolu Torment was apparently a perfect hold that could not be escaped.

However, there was no way Missingno would allow this to succeed. Sure, the move was perfect in a one-on-one match, but in a team match, there was a chance that the victim's ally could save him. With that in mind, Missingno put on a serious look, Aipom and Gardevoir's eyes widening when they noticed the boy do something he had not done up to this point.

When Machoke noticed this, even he became more and more frightened of the demonic boy when he not only encased his arms in steel but even managed to emit electricity from it, Talonflame staring in utter silence as he said, "I didn't know you could combine powers like that."

"I was saving this for someone more worthy, but I can't allow myself to waste time on the likes of you!" Missingno retorted as he reached his arms around the spellbound falcon. Talonflame did his best to escape, but just like before, not even he was strong enough to overpower solid steel.

As such, Missingno had him trapped as he flew toward Lucario, the electricity coming from his arms making Talonflame weaker as the boy proceeded to use his wings to spin his body around and form a twister around it. The others stared in stunned silence, Lucario turning to gaze upon the swirling wind surrounded by electricity coming right for him.

"THUNDERSTORM TWISTER!" Missingno exclaimed as he rammed Talonflame's head hard into Lucario's cheek.

An explosion formed as a result as both heroes were sent flying away from Absol and tumbling along the ground, Machoke shouting, "LUCARIO!" Gardevoir clasping her hands over her mouth while Aipom bit her lower lip and trembled.

Talonflame and Lucario were both breathing heavily as they lay on the ground, neither seeming to be able to move. All the while, Absol had a look of sheer terror in his eyes as he had felt his life flash before him while stuck in that hold. Not only did he believe he would be defeated, he thought Lucario was going to kill him.

Missingno could see the fear in his partner's eyes and asked, "Um, Absol, are you okay?" the wolf shaking his head and sighing, "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for the save."

However, while Absol and Missingno seemed relieved, Machoke and the others were terrified. Could it be true? Had Lucario and Talonflame actually been defeated? It took Machoke so much effort to defeat Talonflame while even with all of his effort, he still lost to Lucario in the Hero Olympics finals, so there was no way they could go down so easily, right?

Aipom's mind, meanwhile, was focused on more than just the possible defeat of the two heroes. Missingno had combined three elements together to make that attack work. Could it be that he could do this with the other types as well? If so, there was a chance that he could very well be more of a threat than even Giratina.

Absol seemed to calm down when he saw the two lying there, asking, "So, do you think it's finally over?" Missingno replying, "Not sure, but if our suspicion is correct, I call Machoke," the lizard boy tensing up at the sound of that. He had almost forgotten that he was the only hero left who had enough strength to fight these two.

Sure, both Missingno and Absol had taken in a lot of damage, but they still seemed more than capable of fighting Machoke, even if it would be one of them fighting alone. But right now, Machoke wished he could stop feeling frightened of the very thought. He had gone off to train for challenges like this. He had come all this way to help his friends and yet right now, all he could think about was fleeing for his life.

However, it seemed his worst fears might not come true just yet, both Missingno and Absol staring in absolute shock as Lucario's body twitched, the dog slowly rising to his feet. He took many deep breaths and spat out a drop of blood before growling, "Don't count me out just yet! I still have more than enough fight in me to finish you off!"

Machoke and the others would have been happy to see this right now except for two problems, and even Absol and Missingno had seen it as their initial shock became smug confidence. Not only was Talonflame out cold, thus making him unable to help Lucario, but the dog in question looked weak beyond compare. Even with him somehow having the strength to stand, it seemed like even the smallest of hits would be enough to knock him out for good.