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The next day, the group awoke bright and early to make their way to the ship where they would meet Team Warmachine and the many other contenders of their competition. Volcan and Luke, after the events of the night before, had actually been the last to wake up -which was unusual for them, but it was quickly rectified when Eagle Eye came piping at their door, rousing them and telling them to get a move on.

After making themselves presentable they joined the group for a hearty breakfast, once more going over their plan for the day. When all was said and done, they thanked the Innkeepers -a pair of Kecleon twins, both greens, hence the name of the business the Green Brother's Inn- for their hospitality, and left the Inn to make their way over to the docks where the ship awaited, following the signs that had been set up through town to guide contenders to the boat.

Nothing could have stopped them from gawking what they found.

The vessel was a large cruise ship, easily able to house at least a hundred Pokémon all with their own accommodations, and that wasn't even including the crew quarters that probably held several dozen employees themselves, located on the higher decks above. The sides of the ship were freshly painted, with the ship's name in blue lettering on the side; Kyogre's Rest.

A flag with Team Warmachine's emblem, two red, crossed arms with hands clenched into fists and a yellow shield with a spike behind them on a black background, decorated both corners of the stern, and the bow, as well as two more on top of the ship's bridge and apartments, which were actually in an unusual place for a ship; while normally the living areas and bridge would be found in the middle of a ship, on this they were closer to the front of the vessel, necessitating an angular design so as not to focus too much weight on the front. As a result of this intricate and clearly custom design, the rest of the ship was largely wide open, though what else awaited them the team could not see from on the pier.

"Hoooooly shit!!" Hank exclaimed once the team had assembled at the docks and were gawking up at the large ship before them. "A freaking cruise ship?! How much does this team make?"

"Clearly... they do very well for themselves," Volcan remarked, quoting possibly the biggest understatement of the century.

"It's a very impressive ship regardless." Wade commented, admiring the ship and its craftsmanship.

"I second that." Mikhail stated. "A lot of work must have gone into just making the design and the frame."

Kage merely scoffed. "Clearly they're compensating for something...."

Eagle Eye looked over to Kage. "Duuuude... that can be mistaken so many ways..."

"Well if part of the tournament is to be held on this ship," Volcan observed. "I imagine they'd need it to be big so that there was enough space for everyone. Or, maybe they also have a cruise business on the side; who knows? Either way, we're going on that boat like everyone else." He pointed towards the gangplanks, where the other rescue teams and the spectators were boarding the vessel.

"Best we make haste and join the queue." Katsu pointed out. "The line looks rather long, and I'd rather not risk getting left behind."

"They won't leave anyone that's competing behind, Katsu." Luke pointed out to the Samurott. "That said, I do want to get aboard as soon as possible, so let's head on over." He added, stepping toward the line of Pokémon boarding the ship.

They merged with the rest of the line, which went along surprisingly quick. At the bottom of the gangplanks were two hired hands - a pair of Kadabra, who took the names of the teams and used Mind Reader to make sure they were telling the truth before sending them aboard, hastening the process. Each passenger was also directed to head for the stern for a special welcoming ceremony to start off the tournament. Luke spoke to them first, giving them his name, his team's name and other information the Kadabra would require to allow them to board the Kyogre's Rest.

Shortly, the rest, following right behind him, climbed the gangplank and followed the crowds towards the rear of the ship. Now that they were on the deck, they got a better look at the layout of the ship. First, they passed a large swimming pool, currently unoccupied, and attended by two Golduck lifeguards, followed by a couple of basketball courts, surrounded with cage fences so that the balls couldn't go over the sides of the ship to be lost in the ocean.

But beyond that was what appeared to be a large arena, rising up as a single marble dais on the deck, and with high-rising bleachers for spectators to watch from surrounding it; they hadn't noticed it before, but the setup here likely is what counterbalanced the ship itself, making it safer to sail as most of the structural weight was at the front.

Regardless, approaching the ring or finding seats in the bleachers, Team Valiant saw possibly the largest Swampert any of them had ever laid eyes upon standing on the ring, reared up on his hind legs with his forelegs/arms crossed over his chest. Not only was the Swampert big, but to Luke who triggered his Aura Sense to get something of a read on this individual, the Aura of the Swampert was massive! One of the largest Aura's he had ever seen in his entire life, like staring into a contained, raging inferno waiting to be let loose upon the land to consume all in its wake, and yet at the same time he could still sense a feeling of justice and honour as he stared at the Swampert, with no apparent malice to be seen.

"Holy son of a..." Volcan breathed. "That guy is huge!"

"His Aura is huge as well!" Luke added. "He's almost as powerful as Nido... Whoever that is must have one hell of a training regime!"

"That," a voice chimed in from their left, and they turned to see the familiar, amiable face of the Grovyle they had met the other day -Sickle, if memory served, standing at the end of the bleachers and leaning against it. "Is the big man himself, literally." He snickered at his own with slightly. "Sorry; that sucked. Anyway, that's Torolf, Captain of Team Warmachine."

"That's their team captain?" Eagle Eye said in disbelief. "That guy looks like he could beat everyone on this ship by himself!"

"I know right?!" Hank added in. "Seriously does that guy take steroids or something?!"

"Nope; just challenges really big game," another voice spoke as a Blastoise stepped into view to stand beside Sickle. The red shell of this Blastoise bore the mark of many battles, as did his face; his blue skin was marred with claw or blade scars, adding to the veteran feeling radiating from this turtle Pokémon. "Torolf there is Warmachine's most powerful fighter, and easily the most famous -owed to his crowning achievement; he actually fought Groudon -doubt I even need to tell any of you who that is- to a standstill during an incident a few years back."

The entire team, save for Kage and Wade, was completely awestruck by that bit of information, all of them turning their heads back down toward Torolf, just staring down at him from where they stood. "And we gotta fight that guy....?" Hank muttered, giving a nervous chuckle. "...Suddenly I'm not really liking my chances."

Kage scoffed. "Every defense has a fracture." He plainly stated.

"Indeed." Wade added. "It's merely a matter of finding it, then exploiting it."

"Easier said than done." Hank grumbled. "We just heard this guy fought the God of the Continents and lived to tell about it."

"Sickle," Volcan began, before looking at the Blastoise. "And... uh..."

"Blaster," the Blastoise replied. "Unoriginal, I know, but it suits what I'm best at."

"Okay, Blaster... why was Torolf fighting Groudon, and how did he actually fight him to a standstill?" Volcan asked.

"Well, the story goes that some idiots on an unranked Rescue Team bit off more than they could chew," the Blastoise began. "They went into Groudon's Cavern hoping to challenge him; ended up waking him from his slumber, and you can bet he was a little cranky." He added with sarcasm. "Groudon went on a rampage, and the first one to respond to the disasters his presence caused -intense sunlight because of his Drought ability, for example- was Torolf.

"He went to take on Groudon himself, Mega Evolved to stand against him and the two beat the crap out of each other, until Groudon came to his senses and eventually returned to his rest. This last part's unconfirmed, but it's said that despite being battered up from the fight, Torolf literally walked all the way right to the nearest town, not even stumbling."

"He was still able to move despite his injuries?" Mikhail exclaimed. "That's... that's impossible! Fighting a Legendary of Godly status such as Groudon would have him riddled with more than just cuts and bruises!" He explained. "Frankly I know of only one other that's done that, and it was only because of his sheer determination that he was able to still walk after a fight with Groudon!"

"Who was that?" Sickle asked, curiously

Mikhail turned to look at Sickle. "My mother's husband, Nido."

Sickle chuckled. "Imagine him and Torolf duking it out; the whole world would shake," the Grovyle commented.

"In a fight between Nido and Torolf, the latter would lose..." Luke stated with a surprising amount of confidence. "Nido's by far the most powerful Nidoking I know; he's taken on much bigger challenges and still come out on top."

"Still, as Blaster said, that last part's probably exaggerated, but there's enough people who saw Torolf fighting Groudon that at least that much is fact; whether or not he walked home or dragged himself back on his knuckles is something only Torolf himself could really answer. We may never know," Sickle said, shrugging. He suddenly looked behind him, where an Arcanine was poking him from behind. "What's up, Howler?" He asked. "Oh you want through; sorry." He stepped aside, letting the Arcanine step forward.

A very sleek-looking one at that; while most Arcanine were muscular and thick with fur, this one had actually trimmed down his mane and tail a little, and his fur was a little shorter as well, giving way to the agile, slim-figured canine form underneath. Just looking at this Arcanine had everyone thinking 'speed demon'; any Arcanine was known to be fast, but something about this one suggested he would put even _them_to shame.

Luke took note of the Arcanine's slim figure and trimmed fur, but made no comment about it, instead turning his attention back to the Swampert down at the arena below. He kept his gaze at him, already imagining meeting him in the ring and estimating how tough the Swampert could potentially be...It made him shiver in both anticipation and nervousness...

Torolf was not alone on the stage either. A Mismagius hovered just above him, bobbing side to side as she studied the contenders and spectators filling the stands. On Torolf's right was Leon, standing with his flippers crossed, and past him was a Scizor -a very frightening looking one at that, covered in many battle scars, including chips in his metal claws. To Torolf's left was a Haxorus that although stood taller than him was nowhere near as big in girth, and finally a Ninetales that sat silently, wrapped in the many appendages growing from her hindquarters as she waited.

All of them had powerful Auras and the looks of experienced fighters -except the Mismagius. Much to Luke's surprise, she was actually the weakest among them, barely even a candle compared to the infernos of the Swampert below her. In fact, even Eagle Eye's Aura was much stronger than her own; compared to the 'big five' she was on the ring with, she paled in comparison. Luke's attention became more focused on the Mismagius than everyone else, wondering about her. He looked back to Sickle. "I'm guessing that Mismagius serves a purpose other than fighting for Team Warmachine?" He asked.

Sickle followed where Luke was looking, and let out an "Ah" as he found who he was referring to. "That would be Maggie; rumor has it she and Torolf founded Warmachine together, after they both escaped from their old hometown of Blackcoast. She's the team coordinator and manager; she handles setting up their missions and even organized this tournament, but she's apparently got no stomach for fighting."

Blackcoast... an infamous location known to all corners of the region as a cesspool of crime, cruelty and villainy. Ruled over by everything from Renegade Rescue Teams to career gangsters, it was one of the biggest stains on the known world, making it all the more shocking to learn that Torolf -and somehow the weakling Ghost Pokémon floating over him, were from there, when now they were the head of one of the biggest names in the field of Rescue Teams. Suddenly, Torolf's strength made more sense; it was very likely that he had been fighting his entire life just to survive. At least until he became ridiculously wealthy.

Still... something about Maggie seemed... off. Not just because she looked out of place among a whole group of powerful Pokémon , but just the sensation of her Aura; the feeling of wicked intent permeating from her. Luke stared towards Maggie long and hard, his eyes narrowing somewhat as he felt the sinister feeling to her aura.

"For whatever reason, I don't trust her." He muttered softly.

Finally it was time for Torolf to make his announcement. "Welcome, one and all" he began, "to the Fifth Warmachine Challenge competition. I imagine my team and I need no introductions for some of you, but for those of you who are new here, I am Torolf, Captain of Team Warmachine and the owner of this ship, aboard which I hope you will all enjoy your stay... for those of you who will be staying. For you see in our final count of the teams attending we find we have an uneven number of competitors on both the Teams and the Singles.

"For this to be done in true, tournament fashion, we will be introducing a series of opening elimination rounds, where we will test your abilities to determine who among the challengers may stay aboard this ship; the others will proceed back down the gangplank and try again next year. So now, by order of arrival we will test Teams first, and then move on to the Singles division; teams, choose who among you will represent you, as to hurry this along we need to settle for just one at a time. When your team name is called, send your challenger up to the arena. That will be all for now; once again, welcome aboard..." He held out his arms. "The Kyogre's Rest!"

The crowd applauded the Swampert's speech, and as they cheered his name, he stepped off the ring accompanied by his team, leaving everyone else to wait and determine who they would send forth.

"Quite the motivational speaker." Katsu commented as everyone began chanting Torolf's name after he finished his speech. "Though that's not to say you haven't given your fair share of similar speeches in the past." He added, looking down to Luke.

The Lucario glanced back to Katsu for a moment. "Maybe, though not quite in the same league as Torolf, and for purposes other than getting others riled up for a competition."

"How many teams do you think will _survive_this whole Elimination session?" Volcan inquired. "Especially if they have to take on members of Team Warmachine themselves."

"I imagine not very many, if the tests are standard one on one matches." Luke answered, then looked to the large Samurott next to him. "If that's the case, looks like you'll be getting quite a challenge."

Katsu scoffed and beat his chest proudly. "I welcome it. A fight is no fun if there is no real challenge."

"As much as I agree with that, let's just hope you don't get squashed," Volcan remarked, though the wry smile he wore suggested he was joking. He had faith in Katsu's strength, and was certain it would see him through.

Katsu saw the smile and began chuckling. "The only ones who will be vanquished will be my foes. I have no intention of letting my team down." He said with a confident smile of his own.

One by one, names of teams were called, and various members of Team Warmachine stepped up on the stage to test the chosen representatives of those teams. However, none of the five who had been on the stage with Torolf were among them; instead, for each new fighter, another one from Warmachine would present themselves, none anywhere near as powerful as Torolf; the members of Warmachine were almost numerous enough to be their own Guild. Maybe something Torolf was considering in the near future.

Before long, Wade's name was called, and the one to step onto the ring to face him was a Bug-type Pokémon ; a Ninjask, which flitted to and fro as it flew over the ring, waiting for the Dewott to come and meet him.

Wade stepped forth once his name was called, standing on his spot on the arena and looking at the Ninjask carefully, silently sizing him up before he put his paws together and bowed to the Ninjask in respect.

The Ninjask regarded him for a moment before he landed and bowed his head back to Wade with equal respect, until he returned to the air, waiting for Leon, serving as referee, to give the signal to begin.

"Elimination match number eight; our own Fuma vs. the young Dewott from Azure, Wade," he called, raising a flipper into the air. "Ready?" He paused for effect, before lowering his raised flipper. "Begin!"

Wade reacted the second Leon gave the signal, quickly weaving a seal before discharging several Water Pulses from his mouth like speeding bullets toward the Ninjask as his opening attack.

The Ninjask suddenly banked to the side to avoid the first, before scattering into four copies of himself, all of which flitted off into different directions. The move was easily recognized as Double Team, but unfortunately Fuma's wings were so quiet, it was hard to tell which was the real one, especially as he continuously flitted side to side, occasionally passing his copies and leaving it all the more confusing.

Wade calmly darted his eyes back and forth, knowing that attacking each one separately would be a fruitless endeavour. He then smirked to himself and weaved another seal, then three splashes of water suddenly erupted from around him, and there were now four copies of the Dewott instead of one. In a quick instant, all four of them used Aqua Jet to home in on each Ninjask, striking at them with Razor Shell attacks from their Scallchops.

The real one successfully blocked his attack with his forelegs, the two clashing in midair. Although he had successfully broke Ninjask's illusion, unlike the insect Pokémon , wade could not fly; Fuma easily backed away from him, and spat six Leech Life needles at him. Wade was not helpless even off the ground, though; he parried the needles with his scallchops, and still managed to land gracefully on both feet.

He retaliated back with a searing hot Scald attack, sweeping the stream of boiling hot water in a wide arc. Fuma banked to the side again, avoiding Scald, and this time he tried moving in close, attacking with a Fury Cutter from his right foreleg. Wade raised his scallchops to counter the attack, however, instead he dodged out of the way as one of his clones landed on his back and forced the Ninjask into the ground.

Wade then zoomed toward the downed bug type, getting in as close as he could before stopping right in front of Fuma, his scallchop pointed right in between his eyes. The weapon was so close that the Ninjask could almost feel the shell beginning to cut him. "....Yield."

"Not yet," he whispered, before he flitted away again in a blur with Agility, appearing some distance away from Wade, but surprisingly, he proceeded to land on the ground, facing the Dewott and elevating his back.

"I get the feeling the ace in the hole is coming," Volcan remarked.

"Whatever attack he has, Wade will be prepared for it..." Kage stated firmly, keeping a stern gaze down at the arena below, watching as Wade prepared for whatever attack Fuma had planned.

And then, Fuma began rubbing his wings together, slow at first, until suddenly they began to rub in a rapid blur, and as they did, the air was suddenly filled with horrendous buzzing, screeching sound that had everyone in the audience covering their ears, groaning in protest as Fuma filled the air with that horrid sound. Bug Buzz, it was; a potent way to cripple an enemy by overwhelming the sense of hearing.

Wade cringed and held his ears as the screeching filled the air, taking a few steps back and doubling over a little. Clearly he was in pain and unable to move at the moment, leaving him open for attack. Even for Fuma, though, they didn't seem to be quite enough, as he amplified the shrieking sound by directing it straight at Wade, turning it into a Screech to lessen his defenses further. Wade cringed even more, then managed to peek his eye open and discharge another flurry of Water Pulses to disrupt the Ninjask's concentration and halt the screeching.

It worked; Fuma was hit directly in the face by one of the Water Pulses, dazing him. This was Wade's chance to finish him off despite the ringing in his ears; he had to take it before Fuma recovered! Fighting through the fog in his eyes, Wade charged forward with Aqua Jet once more, zig zagging quickly left and right before he tackled the Ninjask and threw him to the ground. Wade the drew his Scallchops once more and held them right where Fuma's neck would be.

"I said...yield." Wade said in a low, calm tone.

This time, Fuma said nothing to him, simply laying there and eventually shutting his eyes. At that, Leon put up his fin, and called, "Fuma has ceded victory to Wade; he will continue into the main of the tournament!"

Wade stepped off of Fuma and placed his shells back on his hips, then he extended a paw down to the Ninjask to help him back up on his feet. Fuma placed one of his forelegs into Wade's paw, letting him help him back up before taking flight again and hovering in front of him, giving him a nod of his head before leaving the battlefield, to allow the next contender to take part.

"Got to hand it to Wade; he's a tough little guy," Volcan commended the Dewott, nodding in approval.

"Indeed. Wade is a skilled combatant for one his age." Katsu stated. "And yet, despite his skills, he still maintains a gentle, warm heart."

"I can admire that," Volcan agreed.

Katsu smiled a little. "That boy is well on his way to becoming quite possibly the greatest swordsman alive." He commented. "I remember back when he was just a young Oshawott orphan...Luna took him in as his own child and taught him the importance of having friends in his life." He then jerked his head to the Greninja next to him. "Kage here then took him under his wing and trained him in the art of ninjitsu, and trained him harshly to hone his swordplay."

"Well it certainly shows," Volcan stated. "Hmm... I guess we're going to be up soon ourselves."

"In that case, I should go prepare." Katsu said, rising up out of his seat and weaving along the stands to make his way to the arena below.

"Good luck, Katsu.' Luke bade him, to which the Samurott nodded back to the Lucario.

One more round later, and finally Team Valiant was called; Katsu's opponent was an unusual choice however. The one who stepped up onto the arena was a Charmeleon; a Fire-type, which was -for obvious reasons, a very unusual choice to pit against a Water-type. But he stepped into the ring without any concern apparent on his face, standing with his arms crossed as he regarded Katsu with a confident grin.

"Well, you certainly look imposing," he said. "Let's try to keep this clean and sportsmanlike, eh?"

Katsu nodded to the Charmeleon and gave him a low bow. "I expect the same from you as well." He said before taking a few steps back and standing up on his hind legs. "Let's see what you are capable of."

The Charmeleon nodded back to him, before shifting to a sideways stance and uncrossing his arms, waiting for Leon to begin the match. "Team Warmachine's Kaen vs. Team Valiant's Katsumoto!" He announced. "Ready?" He raised his flipper, affording brief glances to both fighters, before he swung it down again. "Begin!"

Katsu's eyes widened, and then within a second, his Seamitars were already drawn and he unleashed a double Water Pulse from his blades. Kaen's reaction was swift, spitting a Flame Burst at the oncoming Water Pulses; he only hit one of them, but the heat was enough to evaporate it, and then he simply leaned out of the way of the second, dodging it and letting it hit the arena behind him. At that, his grin widened.

"My turn," he said, before he breathed in and launched several Flame Burst attacks at Katsu, barraging him with exploding fireballs.

The Samurott scoffed as he saw the exploding fireballs approach him. "...That's it?" He said, to which he firmly planted his feet into the ground and flexed his body. The Flame Bursts made direct contact with Katsu, exploding upon impact and leaving behind a thick smoke after they all exploded on the Samurott, which did not take long to clear. Katsu stood, seemingly unharmed, exactly where he had been before.

"...Is that it?" He asked, almost nonchalantly. "You'll have to hit me harder than that if you wish to cause even a speck of damage to me."

"Funny you should mention that," Kaen stated as he raised his arm and suddenly lunged for Katsu, the fist of his right claw glowing a bright yellow; while Katsu's vision had been obscured by the smoke of the fireballs, Kaen had charged up another attack, and with surprising speed he crossed the arena to Katsu' location and delivered a mighty Focus Punch. Once more, Katsu took the hit, and it hit HARD.

He recoiled from the punch to his jaw, making his head jerk to the side. However, he skidded a little after the punch connected, stopped, then slowly turned his head back to face Kaen once again, a small dribble of blood present from his lower lip, to which he slowly wiped away on his kimono sleeve.

"...That's better." He said, then cracked his neck a little. "Come. Throw another at me."

Kaen looked at him blankly. "...Are you offering me a free hit?" He asked, blinking in confusion.

"I'm telling you to hit me as hard as you can." Katsu returned in a much more stern tone, giving him that squabble quelling glare of his. "Otherwise I will just end this fruitless conflict."

Kaen cast a curious glance over at Leon, but the Empoleon just shrugged helplessly, unsure what to tell the Charmeleon. Volcan looked at Luke with a confused expression. "What is Katsu doing? He does realize that if Kaen can actually knock him out, we're out of the tournament, right?"

Kage spoke up. "It's because he knows Kaen won't be able to knock him out..." The Greninja said sternly. "You forget what kind of Samurott Katsumoto is..."

"What Froggie said." Hank added. "Guy's about as tough as a Rhyperior and as stubborn as a Steelix."

"But isn't assuming your opponent isn't strong enough to beat you called... underestimating them?" Volcan inquired.

"Don't worry Volcan." Luke said to the Blaziken in reassurance. "Katsu may be stubborn, but he's not stupid. He knows what he's doing."

Volcan mumbled something under his breath watching in silence as the events began to unfold, seeing the skeptical Charmeleon asking Katsu once more if this was what he really wanted. "You sure about this, man?" Kaen asked, preparing Focus Punch.

"Do not make me repeat myself, young one." Katsu returned. "I want you to hit me with all you have. That way you'll have no regrets as a warrior."

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you," Kaen said, his fist glowing as he charged. "Here it comes!" He said, running faster than before and lunging right at Katsu.

Katsu clenched up his body, ready to take the hit once more. It landed, HARD, once more on his cheek, but this time Katsu was actually sent off his feet despite being prepared for it. He landed on his front with a heavy thump, laying there in short recovery before groaning a little. In a moment, he slowly pushed himself back up on his feet, cracking his neck again and sighing as he turned back to Kaen, looking disappointed.

"...I suppose this is the extent of your power." He said as he turned back to face Kaen. "You're strong, but sadly you are not powerful enough to defeat me." He stated. "Forfeit this match, and walk away with both your body and your pride intact."

"If you know something about pride, friend," Kaen said. "Then you know I can't just forfeit here, in front of all these observers -not to mention my own team. Your two free hits or not, they'd never forgive me for it." He resumed his stance. "This fight is still on, even if I'm now unsure of how it'll go."

Katsu closed his eyes for a moment. "So be it..." He returned. "Know that you fought well, Kaen." He said, then in a flash, he Aqua Jetted over to Kaen at almost breakneck speeds, jamming the pommel of one of his Seamitars into Kaen's sternum.

Kaen exhaled sharply as he was hit, stumbling backward and clutching his chest, coughing hoarsely as he tried to get air back into his lungs, actually falling onto one knee. "Ow... okay... didn't see that one coming," he rasped before collapsing onto the arena.

With that, Torolf climbed up onto the ring and rushed over to Kaen's side, checking him as Katsu stepped out of the way to let Warmachine's captain check on his teammate. "You okay?" He asked the Charmeleon, picking him up with one hand.

"I'll let you know," the Charmeleon started, pausing to cough. "...In a sec."

Torolf looked at Kaen for a moment, before raising his gaze to look at Katsu, their eyes meeting but no words were exchanged. Torolf's gaze then drifted towards the rest of Team Valiant, seemingly staring right through them. "You have potential," he commented, before he put up his hand. "Kaen is unable to battle; the match goes to Katsumoto of Team Valiant; bring on the next round."

With that, he turned away, carrying the hurt Charmeleon in his arm and over to a Gardevoir standing on the edge of the ring, gently passing him to her, before he looked back at Katsu one more time. "Anyone who can take one of Kaen's Focus Punches is certain to keep this tournament interesting," he said, nodding to Katsu.

Katsu gave Torolf a nod back in acknowledgement, watching as Torolf hopped off of the stage, and then swung his Seamitars once each before slowly sheathing them back into his forearm guards in typical Samurai fashion. Then he made his way out of the arena and headed back up to the stands to rejoin his team.

When he rejoined the others, Sickle chimed in as Howler went up to represent his own team. "I don't know whether to say you're bold or crazy," he said to Katsu. "I mean, I felt that punch all the way from back here and yet you just stood there and took it? What were you trying to prove?"

The Samurott glanced down to Sickle for a moment. "I was gauging that Charmeleon's strength. That is all."

"Dude, you kind of had us a little worried there when he actually managed to knock you off your feet." Eagle Eye stated.

"...My apologies." He returned, wincing a bit as Mikhail came over to check his wounds.

"So, how's Howler doing?" Volcan asked, looking at Sickle.

Almost as if on cue, they heard a startled yowl, and looked up to see a Persian go flying over their heads, trying to land on her feet but not able to correct herself before hitting the deck. Only seconds had passed since Leon had called the match to begin, and just like that, while their heads were turned, Howler had won.

"Uh... what just happened?" Volcan asked, deeply confused. "I barely even heard Leon declare the match to start."

Sickle chuckled. "That's Howler for you," he said. "Silent, but violent. Not to mention quicker than the blink of an eye."

"Damn." Hank said, whistling before looking back down at Howler as he stepped off the arena, then smirked and looked to Luke. "Methinks you got some competition in the speed department." He said with a snicker.

"Perhaps. I won't know until I face him." Luke replied. "Assuming I ever will."

The last contenders were due to step up, but then a rather loud and obnoxious voice bellowed out from the stands, turning all eyes to an Ursaring storming down from the stands following the conclusion of the battle, looking very displeased. "Two of Team Warmachine's so-called 'elite' members, beaten by a bunch of nobodies from the boonies? These guys are frauds! I want to fight a real member of Warmachine!" He leapt onto the ring, and pointed right at Torolf. "You and me, boss man!"

"Is he serious?" Blaster asked, looking at the Ursaring in disbelief. "This is going to be slaughter."

"Indeed..." Katsu agreed. "That fool is biting off more than he can chew."

Much to the surprise of the crowd, Torolf actually climbed onto the arena, facing the Ursaring. "You are aware that if I beat you, you're out of my competition, right?" Torolf reminded.

"Yeah, but if I beat you here and now, my team and I practically win by default," the Ursaring shot back, slapping his paws together as he faced Torolf.

Torolf arched one eyebrow. "Is that really what you think?" He asked, staring at him with skepticism. "Fine, then; I'll humour you. Just remember... you asked for this." He began to walk to the side, leaving his spot and moving to a different a spot of the arena, looking past the Ursaring as if searching for something.

"What're you doing?" The Ursaring asked.

"Just getting to a better position," he replied. "For safety reasons."

The Ursaring growled. "You really think you're that big of a hot-shot?" He demanded. "Alright; when I'm done with you, you'll be handing me that prize and begging for mercy."

"Whatever," Torolf replied, before looking back over his shoulder at Leon. "Ready."

"Does he really deserve this?" The Empoleon asked.

"He wants it, he gets it," Torolf returned. "If she's done with Coal, tell Gallia to get ready. We might need her."

"Understood," Leon replied, before he signalled to the Gardevoir that had taken Kaen earlier; she had placed the Charmeleon onto a deck chair where he could rest, and when she saw Leon's flipper raised, she nodded back, and then the Empoleon glanced at the Ursaring, waiting for him to take his stance.

Volcan looked at the Ursaring carefully, grimacing. "Well that guy's big... but I don't think this is going to go his way."

"You can say that again," Sickle stated. "That's Morif from Team Ursa; a Bear-themed team with him, a Bearctic and a Pangoro. They're only a Bronze-rank team, and though all three of them are known to be really strong in body, they're a bit..." He tapped the side of his head, "Thick up here. They have a satisfactory record but only just barely; most of their successful jobs are just things that required heavy lifting or battling something as brawny as they are; all brawn, no brains between the three of them."

"Strength isn't everything." Wade commented. "A sharp mind always beats big muscles." He commented.

"Try telling that to these guys," Blaster chimed in, shaking his head and sighing. "You'd have about as much luck as persuading a Snorlax to go on a diet."

"Then that's their own fault for not learning from their mistakes." Kage added sharply. "A good team must learn to adapt and be open to change...otherwise they are doomed to fail."

Eagle Eye looked to Kage. "Dude, I swear you've got knives on that tongue of yours, cause that was pretty scathing..."

"It's the cold harsh truth." The Greninja retorted.

"Well, we're about to see firsthand," Sickle commented, pointing up at the arena as the fight began and Morif ran straight for Torolf. "Probably better I didn't bring any popcorn; this is going to be short," he added in jest.

The huge Ursaring charged at the Swampert, fist raised high to unleash a mighty Hammer Arm on Torolf as he closed the distance from him. "Take... this!" He bellowed, lunging at the Swampert to deliver his attack.

Torolf made no move either to stop the attack or dodge it; he let it connect with his cranium, the initial impact the only thing making him even flinch as his head bobbed down slightly, but otherwise he seemed more or less unaffected. Morif's jaw hung slack, staring down at Torolf in disbelief, barely able to comprehend how ineffective his attack had been.

"Done?" Torolf asked as the Ursaring took two steps back in shock. "Good..." And with a single sharp twist, he reared back one of his arms, clenching his hand into a fist, and delivering a powerful punch to the Ursaring. The brown bear Pokémon was a blur as he went flying through the air, soaring between the bleachers and the basketball courts before finally slowing down enough to fall into the pool, sinking below the waters and prompting his teammates to run out of the gathering to go and retrieve him.

"Make sure they're escorted off the ship," Torolf stated to Leon, who nodded back to him.

Volcan was just as shocked as the rest of the crowd when he saw the Ursaring go flying as if he had been propelled by a rocket, before he stared straight ahead blankly. "Okay... now I'm nervous," he said. "It's one thing to beat an Ursaring but to send 'em flying like they were a Koffing, that's something else."

Hank, Eagle Eye and Mikhail were completely awestruck and horrified by the display of strength Torolf had just shown. "....And he wasn't even using a portion of his full strength." Mik whispered.

"Show of hands, how many of you guys wanna NOT fight that guy?" Hank said, raising his claw. Eagle Eye followed suite by raising his wing.

Katsu on the other hand was smiling. "A powerful opponent indeed..." He said softly. "Truly the rumours about him are not exaggerated; I look forward to facing that one, be it in this tournament, or in another match at another time."

Kage remained silent, as did Wade. Both of them looking in Torolf's direction as he began walking off the arena as if they were studying him. Luke though, had a mixture of anticipation and nervousness in his gaze. He'd seen similar displays of power before in his life, but somehow they always managed to surprise him, even just a little bit. Torolf was no exception, facing an uppity Ursaring and knocking them out with no effort; he might have been the strongest Swampert Luke had ever seen in his life.

"Well... this is surely going to be interesting..."

~~~~~

The test of the team matches was finished, and the elimination rounds were concluded with a few rounds from the Singles Division. Among the matches was Rigel, who was pit up against a Snorlax. Despite the obvious difference in size, Rigel had the advantage in typing, speed and distance combat, and overtime he overwhelmed the Snorlax with speedy punches and, as a final, an Aura Sphere right to the gut that caused the Snorlax to tumble over the side of the ring.

Two matches later, the elimination matches were concluded. With the ceremony finished, the Team Leaders, including Luke and Sickle, were asked to line up by the ring where they were handed a collection of keys to their cabins; there was enough for everyone to stay in their own room, and they put in close proximity so that every team member could find one another when they wanted to. With that, they were permitted to leave, given directions to where the living areas could be found, before the next keys were passed on to the Single warriors, such as Wade and Rigel.

Rigel caught up to Luke and Mikhail after they each received their keys, meeting with them outside their respective rooms. "So Mikkie, ya just couldn't pass up the opportunity to compete could ya?" He asked with a grin.

"Y-You wish! I'm here as a personal medic to Luke's team, in case one or more of them get injured." He retorted. "Besides, you know I don't like fighting."

Rigel laughed heartily. "I know, I know; I kid man, relax." He said, crossing his arms and looking to Luke. "Gotta hand it to yer brawny guy. He knows how to take a hit." He commented with a nod. "Maybe he shoulda joined the singles division, so that I could have my shot at him."

Luke chuckled a little. "Next time, Rigel." He returned. "Though I wouldn't relax; one of your possible opponents is Wade, and we both know how poorly you fare against tactical fighters."

Rigel scoffed. "Please. Like I'm going let him outsmart me."

"...I outsmart you all the time." Mikhail pointed out.

Volcan failed to suppress a snicker. "Wade said that too," he pointed out.

Rigel looked at Volcan with a warning glance, but before he could speak, Luke spoke up once more. "I'm actually surprised you joined on your own." He said. "I would have thought you'd bring Trish with you." He stated.

Rigel sighed. "Ehh...about that." He said, blushing and scratching the back of his head. "She's...not really in any condition to fight at the moment."

"Oh? Did she get injured?" Mik asked.

"Noooooot exactly." Rigel said, then looked to the both of his brothers. "She's...erm...she's pregnant."

"WHAT?!" Both Luke and Mikhail exclaimed simultaneously.

"Who's Trish?" Volcan asked, somewhat lost as until now he had not heard that name.

Rigel looked to Volcan. "My girlfriend... and one fine lookin' Blaziken I might add."

"Oh," Volcan said.

"How long has she been pregnant?" Mikhail asked.

"Bout maybe... three months now." Rigel answered. "She was complaining about pains and aches and feeling sick every morning, so we headed on over to the doc to get her checked out, and well... turns out she's expecting a baby." Rigel said with a soft sigh. "I swear, one of the happiest moments of my life."

Volcan put a hand to his chin in thought. "Three months," he said. "Then she's not far from laying an egg; bird-like or Reptilian Pokémon don't nurture as long as Mammals do. She could have it within the next week, even." Even though he wasn't actually a doctor, being a Blaziken himself, he knew at least something about their own definitive facts of life.

"If that's the case, then shouldn't you be at home with her?" Luke asked.

"I told her that I should be staying with her, but she was adamant I come here to compete." He explained. "She's a tough gal, I know she'll be fine, but still... Kind of want to be there for when she does lay the egg though."

"Well Volcan is right about bird-like Pokémon . They don't take very long to incubate the egg within them." Mikhail pointed out, tipping his glasses. "After she lays the egg, it'll take another three weeks to a month for the egg to hatch, so you should still make it in time to witness your child hatching."

"Either way, we're happy for you Rigel." Luke added with a smile and a nod. "Though you do realize being a parent is a full time commitment, right?"

Rigel nodded. "Yea I suppose. Maybe that's why she insisted I compete... I get the feeling she knew this would probably be my last chance before having to settle down."

"Well... good on you, man," Volcan stated. "You and I may not be friends, but you have my congratulations."

Rigel nodded back and smirked at Volcan. "Thanks. Appreciate it." He returned, then started hopping on the spot a bit. "Welp! I got a bit of energy left in me ta burn. Might go take a jog around the ship before calling it a night."

"You NEVER run out of energy." Mikhail pointed out. "Honestly you might as well just stay up all night.." He paused. "N-Not that I would recommend that, of course."

Rigel laughed and slapped Mikhail's back gently. "Bro, you need to chill. I'll be fine." He said, then casually saluted to the three of them. "Later peeps. See ya tomorrow." He bade them, and then started jogging down the hall, making his way out of the to go about his jog along the deck.

Volcan turned to look at Luke and Mikhail. "I guess you two are going to be uncles soon, eh?" He asked, smiling.

"It'll be a new experience..." Mikhail returned, blushing and tapping his paws together timidly. "I just hope I'll be able to live up to the role."

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Mikhail." Luke assured him. "Frankly I'm more concerned about Rigel... I never imagined he'd be the fatherly type."

"Well first time for everything, Luke." Mikhail responded. "I mean...no one would have guess you'd be father material until you took in Striker as your own, and you were much younger at the time."

"You have another kid?" Volcan asked, looking at Luke with some surprise; the Blaziken knew about Luke having a son with his previous one, but he heard that one by the name of Jin, not Striker.

Luke looked back to Volcan. "Well... I adopted him yes." Luke returned. "He's a full grown Tyranitar by now." Luke added before shifting his gaze a little. "I was rather young when I found him. He was in an abandoned nest with many other eggshells. I couldn't just leave him to starve by himself, so I took him in, named him, and raised him the best I could."

"Why was he left by himself; where was his mother or father?" Volcan asked, curious.

"I never really found out." Luke answered. "Striker doesn't remember either. He was an infant Larvitar after all." He then sighed. "To be honest, I don't think he'd want to remember such a traumatic experience..."

Volcan lowered his gaze slightly, his eyes narrowing. "I can sympathize with that much, at least."

Luke looked up to Volcan and cringed a bit. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up..." He said apologetically.

"It's okay," assured Volcan.

Mikhail cleared his throat. "Well in any case, I'll retire to my room and catch up on my notes." He said, turning to his room. "You two take care." He bade as he unlocked the door to his room and stepped inside, bidding them good evening before closing it behind him.

"I think I'd like to watch the ship's launch," Volcan stated. "I may have come off of a boat but I don't think I've ever seen a big ship as it leaves port before."

"Mind if I join you then?" Luke asked. "I've never really been on a ship myself. I'm curious to experience a ship leaving port myself."

"Sure, you can come; let's head up to the bow and watch from there," Volcan returned, happy to have the company.

Luke smiled and nodded back to Volcan. "Well then let's go." Luke said with a bit of excitement in his tone, already leading the way through the hallway to head out for the bow of the ship, with Volcan following close behind.

From the very foremost point of the ship, they could see as the boat began to push away from the harbour, and watched with intrigue as they left the city of Westport behind, drifting out into the bay before the engines took over and the ship began to move, the hum of the engines felt through the boards beneath their feet. Many of the disqualified contestants were still watching, disgruntled, from the shore as the ship left, envious of those who had proven their worth to stay an compete -they could even see Morif having an argument with his two teammates by the docks until they were further out.

When the city began to fade away, the two of them left to retire to their rooms. They would need their rest for the competition; already the day had been exciting, and yet the tournament was only just beginning...