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The time for Wade's battle had come, and his first opponent in the arena was a Glalie, who floated out into the arena to meet his opponent for the upcoming match. Although Glalie was little more than a floating head with horns and a mouth, this one in particular did not have the marks of many battles, clearly not quite a veteran -or he was just very skilled at avoiding taking damage. He hovered there, watching as Wade entered the arena himself.

Wade's eyes were on the Glalie the whole time he stepped forward into the arena, silently assessing his adversary in his mind and mentally deciding which plan of attack would work best against him. He stood face to face with the Glalie, then put his paws together and bowed toward him.

"Let's have a good match." He said calmly with a small smile.

"Same to you," the Glalie returned in a sportsmanlike manner, the two of them waiting as Leon announced the match.

"The number thirteen fighter from the ice peaks, Tundra, vs. fighter number fifteen, the Dewott Warrior from Azure, Wade!" The Empoleon called. "Ready...?"

Tundra hovered up a little further, clicking his teeth together in readiness for the battle, waiting for Leon to give the signal, while Wade quickly hopped back and drew his Scallchops in both his paws, then did something else rather unorthodox. He touched the blade sheathed on his back, to which it then sprang out of its sheath, twirling in the air before Wade caught the handle of the blade in his mouth, then assumed his stance.

"Begin!" Leon called.

Tundra started the match by letting out a powerful roar towards the sky as gray clouds began to form above, and hail began to rain into the stadium, showering the battlefield -but thankfully not the bleachers, with pellets of ice, which upon contact with Tundra's body, seemed to be absorbed into him. This immediately alerted Wade to his opponent's secret power; the Ice Body, which would allow him to heal himself during a hailstorm...

'Hail; not bad...' Wade thought to himself, then started started zigzagging his way toward Tundra, grasping the gauze trailing off of his scallchops and twirling them around him like a double figure eight to deflect any ice pellets that would get in his way. He then craned his neck back and spat out his blade toward the Glalie, following up with a Scald attack right after.

Tundra promptly used Protect to block Wade's oncoming Scald attack, and when the force field that saved him waned, he fired back another attack, opening his mouth and exhaling what at first Wade thought was Icy Wind, until the attack actually washed over him... and in an instant he realized it hurt!

He was confused at first, until he remembered one move his sensei had told him about -something to be wary of when facing Ice-types. An attack called Freeze Dry, which bypassed a Water-type's natural resistance to Ice to deal full damage to them, and it appeared this Glalie knew it.

He shut his eyes, calming his nerves as he prepared himself. "...Remember Shishio's training..." He muttered to himself.

And then, he flashed his eyes open again and weaved a sign to create some doubles of himself with Double Team, four of them to be exact. Two of them fired off rapid fire Water Pulses at Tundra while the other two rushed in with Aqua Jet, readying their Scallchops for a combo Razor Shell attack.

Tundra laughed again, and much to the surprise of most of the spectators, he too split into several copies of himself, repeating Wade's use of Double Team and creating four clones of his own, each one rushing at one of Wade's themselves, disappearing as they collided with one another, except for the real ones of both. Wade felt the one charging at him disappear, only to see the real Tundra fly past him on his left.

Tundra wheeled around, and soared at Wade from behind, attacking with a Headbutt. Wade grunted as he took the hit, but spun with the momentum of the attack and swung his Scallchops back at the Glalie in a wide arc, landing his Razor Shell clean along his head before he skidded back and handsprung away from his opponent. Unfortunately, even though Razor Shell could be used to weaken the defense of an opponent, it was still a Water-type attack, and didn't affect Tundra very much

"Tch...That could have worked better," mumbled Wade.

Tundra readied his next attack, forming an Ice Shard between his horns before launching it at Wade point-first. Wade weaved a sign, and then he charged forward once more, weaving around the shard and countering with some rapid Water Pulses as he began circling around the Glalie with his Aqua Jet. The Glalie hovered away, focused on keeping his distance from an opponent he knew was focused on melee combat. As he flew backward, he fired an Icy Wind at the ground, coating it in a thin layer of ice and weaving side-to-side to spread the ice sheet across the ground in an effort to limit Wade's movement.

Wade frowned, seeing his tactics weren't working. Distance combat wasn't really his forte, but the Glalie had covered his bases well enough to make getting in close almost impossible. He then halted and began charging forward toward Tundra head on this time, no zig-zagging or anything.

"A direct approach? Doesn't seem like you," the Glalie called, certain Wade would be slipped up by the ice on the ground, but just in case, he readied another Ice Shard to launch at him if, somehow, he crossed it without difficulty.

As soon as Wade came close to the ice floor, Wade then leaped up into the air, weaving a sign and making more doubles of himself with Double Team, all of them shooting right for Tundra from above and firing Scald attacks as they fell. Tundra dropped his Ice Shard, switching instead to Protect, though a little water splashed over the top of the barrier and landed on him, making him wince, though it was quickly solved by the Hailstorm he had conjured before.

He dropped the Protect, and tried to use Freeze Dry again. Wade was hit by the Freeze Dry, hollering in pain as he felt his fur freeze up and his flesh feel dry. However, he then disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing a Poké Doll in his place.

"What the...?!" Before the Glalie could even react, Wade was behind the Glalie, and already lashing out with a new move, slicing down the Glalie's back with Iron Tail. "Urgh!" Tundra bellowed, tumbling out of the air and crashing into the ground, skidding the dirt a short distance before trying to right himself, hovering back into the air and looking at Wade again.

"Iron Tail... did not expect that," he admitted, wincing. "Nor that little Substitute trick; I didn't think any Pokémon of the Samurott line used such tactics."

Wade was then right in Tundra's face as he turned around, slashing at his face with a combo of Fury Cutters before spinning in the air and finishing off with another Iron Tail. Failing to bring up Protect in time, this seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Tundra, reeling from the Fury Cutter onslaught before he was knocked down into the ground by Iron Tail again, the floating head Ice-type Pokémon rolling around in the soil a little before he went still, eyes shut and mouth hanging open to release a long groan, followed by what sounded like an 'Ouch'...

Leon put up his flipper. "Tundra is unable to battle," he called. "The winner is Wade from Azure! Wade will advance to the second round!"

Wade heaved a sigh, then he put his scallchops back on his waist and bowed to the downed Glalie. "That was a good fight...Thank you." He said respectfully, then he went over to retrieve his sword, sheathed it back in its scabbard, then headed off to make way for the next set of competitors to have their matches.

Upon his return back up to the bleachers, he was then met with the rest of Team Valiant, who were swarming him and praising him with congratulations and what. "Way ta knock em flat, kiddo!" Hank stated, giving him an a-ok signal with his claws.

"Yea, you wrekt his shit with that Iron Tail! I didn't know you knew such a move!" Eagle Eye added.

Wade was blushing a little bit. "Erm...Sensei helped me learn it before I signed up for this tournament." He explained. "It's not quite perfected yet, but..."

"You did well either way, young Wade. My congratulations." Katsu said with a nod. Wade smiled brightly, bowing back to the Samurott in return.

"Agreed," a voice chimed in, and the group turned to see Sickle approaching. "That was a good fight there; I've seen Tundra fight before, and that guy's pretty tough. But you outmaneuvered him and nailed it." He gave Wade a thumbs up. "Way to go."

Wade looked to Sickle and smiled even more. "Thank you." He said happily. "Your praise means a lot to me, especially since you're a respected team leader as well."

"Well, at one point I did the whole solo fighter thing too," Sickle admitted. "You're definitely way better at it than I was. Truth be told, I got my rear end kicked a lot until I formed Team Kama."

"Really? The way you fought against that Seviper made me think otherwise." He returned. "You're an exceptional combatant on your own."

"Over the last six years, I've learned some tricks," replied Sickle, shrugging. "But it wasn't until I was trained up a bit by Blaster and Howler that my wins outnumbered my losses. It was a rough start, but I learned; as they say, experience is the best teacher, and Blaster already had experience to share, so it all worked out."

As they talked, the next match was already beginning to start; an Alakazam was marching out into the arena, walking slowly and placing each step thoughtfully as he stepped into the light to wait for his challenger.

"And the #16 fighter, the burning warrior Sol!" Leon called.

The entirety of Team Valiant's collected blood went cold at the sound of that name...

"SOL'S HERE?!?!" Hank and Eagle Eye hollered out in horror.

"Oh no..." Katsu shuddered a little on the spot. "This is bound to bring about bloody results...." He added grimly.

"What? What's wrong?" Sickle asked. "Who's Sol?"

This time Kage spoke. "He is the younger brother of the renowned Hero of Azure, Luna." He explained. "However, despite them being brothers...they couldn't be any more different if they tried..."

"Yea. Luna's probably the kindest, caring Zangoose in the fuckin world." Hank added. "Sol? He'd rip your arms off and shove them down your throat just for looking at him the wrong way!"

"Geez, he's as bad as all that?" Sickle asked, heading over to the railing to look down and watch as Sol stepped out of the hallway and into the arena.

"Just....watch him fight, and you'll see what we all mean." Hank stated, watching the unusually large Typhlosion make his way toward the arena.

His body was incredibly well defined, and he had a menacing, brutal look in his eyes. What stood out most about him though was a stone embedded into his chest. It looked almost like a mega stone, but it was more rocky in nature rather than jewel like. The Typhlosion stood at his spot in the arena, keeping that brutal gaze in his eyes as he stared on at his opponent.

"...Okay. I've seen the guy for about three seconds, and I'm already scared of him," said Sickle. "Should we be worried about him?"

"For now, there's nothing we can do... He is here to compete, and he has entered as per the rules and regulations, which is a rarity for him." Katsu stated. "Still...we should be wary of him. He has been known to... snap, at random."

"The match between Orion and Sol will be begin anon!" Leon called, raising his flipper.

The Alakazam adjusted his mustache as he regarded Sol. "Let's put on a good show for the spectators, shall we?" He asked before he shifted to a ready position, keeping his eyes on the Typhlosion.

Sol scoffed. "I couldn't care less about putting on a show." He said in an abrupt tone. "Just don't fucking bore me. I came here for a challenge, not an easy streak..."

The Alakazam arched an eyebrow. "Not a sporty type, are you?" He asked, before shrugging. "Very well, have it your way."

"Begin!" Leon called.

Orion made the first move, but subtly, using Mind Reader to try and predict Sol's first move. However, Sol just stood there, arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently. "...So you gonna attack or just stand there and just stare...?" He asked, furrowing his brow angrily.

"A wise man told me that to dive in head first is to dive in brains last," the Alakazam remarked. "In other words, never to be quick to make the first move, or you shall regret it."

The Typhlosion snorted. "Then I'll save us both the trouble..." He growled, taking a deep breath and unleashing a huge Flamethrower from his mouth. However, the fact the stream of flames was so huge, it was almost like an Overheat attack rather than a Flamethrower.

Orion formed a wide Light Screen in front of him, stopping the flames from reaching him but still feeling the sweltering heat from them as it passed through the barrier, making him sweat. He waited until Sol stopped to breath before crossing the two spoons in his hands in front of him and firing a Psybeam at the Typhlosion, launching a multi-coloured ray of concentrated psionic energy from the crossed spoons.

Sol scoffed, not even making an effort to try and dodge the attack. He took it square on in the face, making his jaw recoil and jerk his head back from the impact. After a few moments, Sol slowly lowered his head and glared back at Orion, not so much as a mark on his body. "....That all you fuckin got?" He asked lowly.

"You actually just stood there and let that hit you?" Orion asked, confused.

Sol didn't even reply to the question, simply charging forward with a Flame Charge. Orion teleported out of the path of his attack, firing a more powerful Psybeam at Sol after reappearing behind him, striking him square in the back. This time, Sol actually flinched from the attack, a small mark showing on his back.

He seemed to shudder for a moment, and then in a quick flash he turned and let out a furious roar as he released a full power Eruption from all around him, sending large burst of flames and flaming rocks all around him in a wide swath, literally coating the battlefield with them.

Orion held up his arms, catching some rocks with his Psychic powers to keep them from landing on him, spreading out his arms abruptly and pulling the rocks into fragments before using them in a Psyshock, barraging Sol with the Psychic-infused stones, letting out a grunt of effort. Sol exhaled another cone of fire at the rocks in retaliation, actually melting them before they could reach him, where they fell to the ground as molten heaps of liquid, sizzling against the sandy floor.

"Can't you do anything else?" Sol asked. "Because you're boring the fuck out of me..."

This time it was Orion's turn to glare. "Dirty mouth," he said, and with a wave of his hands, Sol's lips suddenly shut together, and he could not open them. "So, at the risk of sounding immature... shut your pie hole, brat,"

And with that, he thrust his other hand forward, attacking with a concentrated Psychic attack and slamming Sol full-force with the strongest attack he'd used yet. Sol felt the force of the Psychic wave being slammed into him, making him skid back a bit. Sol shot Orion an angry glare as he slowly started to step closer toward the Alakazam despite the amount of force being shot against him.

"Stubborn boy!" He bellowed before he changed his attack choice, conjuring an orange sphere between his fists and hurling it at Sol; a Focus Blast.

Sol quickly cupped his paws together, then began spreading them wide as he too created a Focus Blast in his paws. Though rather than hurling it, he thrust it at the oncoming attack, skidding back a bit again before regaining his footing. He then roared and actually started pushing the attack back with his own, taking quicker steps as he began to break into a trot toward Orion.

"Why will you not stay down?!" The Alakazam demanded as he attacked with Psychic one more time, this time putting everything he had into it, so much power that the veins of his skull visibly throbbed and the air throughout the entire colosseum shimmered with the discharge of power that slammed into Sol with the force of an immaterial avalanche.

Sol kept on pushing through, his neck flames now igniting and burning wildly broke into a sprint, getting in close and thrusting both Focus Blasts back into the Alakazam despite still getting bombarded by the Psychic attacks.

Orion tried to charge another attack, but he staggered, grabbing his head in pain. "Damn it...!" He growled, trying to fight off the headache that the overexertions had caused him, raising his arm defensively, only to be blown backward as Sol struck him, sending him flying through the air and slamming into the wall with bone-breaking force -literally.

The sound of some bones actually breaking were heard as he hit the wall, his eyes shooting wide open with agony before he fell to the ground, fighting off the urge to scream as he writhed in the dirt. "Hrrrrgh...!"

"Enough!" Leon called. "The battle is over; the winner is -wait, stop!" He shouted as he realized Sol was not listening to him.

The Typhlosion was storming over to the downed Alakazam, leering down at him before yanking him up by his mustache and leering in his eyes. "...Weak... just like the rest." He growled, then he uppercut his Solar Plexus HARD to knock the wind out of him, then he headbutt him as a finishing touch before callously tossing him out of his way.

"Where's the fucking challenge here, huh?! Gimme something tougher!!!" He outright demanded, screaming at the crowds around him, and it was then the members of Team Valiant watching him knew that things were about to go downhill...

Leon rushed over to the side of Orion, kneeling down and checking him before he called for the medics, standing up to get out of their way before he leered at Sol. "You!" He growled. "That was beyond necessary; you had already won when you knocked him out of bound; the fight was over!"

Sol leered at the Empoleon angrily. "...You got a problem with the way I fight...?" He asked. "If so, then why don't you come and say it to my face...."

"To hell with you!" Leon bellowed. "Get out of this colosseum and don't even think of coming back; you are disqualified!"

Sol scoffed. "You want me gone?" He asked, crossing his arms. "Then bring me a real fucking challenge..."

Up above, in the stands, the rest of the team was watching the moment as it continued to intensify, a bead of sweat running down Sickle's face as it appeared Sol was about to let loose on Leon. "This is bad," he said. "The guy's totally lost it! What do we do?"

"Saying he's lost it is putting it mildly." Wade commented. "Not even Sensei could tame his brutal personality... To him, strength is the only thing he values..."

Sickle looked at Wade, seeing from the look on his face the Dewott knew what he was talking about, before he turned to look back down into the arena again, as it looked like Leon and Sol were about to collide...

~~~~~

A few minutes earlier...

"And that's all," Volcan concluded, finishing the explanation to Tristan. It had been a long, drawn-out conversation, as he and Luke had found themselves forced to repeat themselves or tweak their explanation several times until Tristan finally had a grasp on the situation. "Do you follow now?"

"Yep, I think I do," replied Tristan. "After the whole catastrophe on the island, you lost your memory, ended up adrift, and now work with this guy's team," he gestured to Luke. "But... how did you remember me then if you didn't even remember your own name?"

"A photograph we found on the boat," Volcan replied. "I can put names to faces now, but..." He shook his head. "Everything else is still a blank. So... I've been struggling to find answers, to try and uncover my past. I didn't know when I might've found you or one of the others..."

"And since I've taken Volcan under my care, I've been working along with him to help regain his memories." Luke said with a nod. "Honestly, we were hoping you'd have some answers for him..."

Tristan rubbed his chin as he considered how best to answer. "So... you only remember a little," he asked. "How much do you recall about yourself, exactly?"

Volcan let out a sigh. "Not much... All I've relearned so far are my fighting skills and attacks, but I don't recall where I learned them."

At that Tristan chuckled. "Well, Minato always did say your muscle memory was scarily accurate," he returned. "But I'm getting off topic. Honestly, Volc, I only know a wee bit about your personal life myself, but I _can_recount some of our missions together on Team Phalanx."

Volcan smiled. "It's a start," he said. "Tell me ab-"

He paused as, very suddenly, a bright light caught their attention; the three of them turned, and saw a massive flare rising up from the colosseum and lighting up the sky with its brightness, followed shortly by a column of smoke that climbed into the sky and blotted out the setting sun with its density.

"What the fuck?" Volcan demanded.

"The hell was that?!" Luke demanded as well.

"I think we better go find out!" Volcan returned, bolting for the door without a second through, practically knocking it off its hinges as he ran out of the dining hall, with Luke hot on his heels.

"Wait for me!" Tristan called, running after them, but completely without any hope of catching up to them as they out onto the deck, with Volcan taking a shortcut off the side and jumping to the shore instead of running down the gangplank, resuming his sprint as he returned to the path.

Luke was right alongside Volcan as they ran toward the colosseum. Deep down, he had a bad feeling within his stomach, as he only knew of a few Pokémon that were capable of displaying THAT much power...He sincerely hoped he was wrong in who he thought it was...

They probably broke a new speed record as they reached the colosseum in time to see several of the other contestants fleeing out of the building, accompanied by a cloud of smoke that billowed out, leaving some of them coughing. On the way in, they found the Flygon from Team Drake running out, trying to fan away the smoke with his wings and coughing hoarsely.

"Hey!" Volcan called. "What's going on in there?!"

The Flygon coughed again. "This insane Typhlosion in the tournament nearly killed his opponent and then went berserk when Leon tried to disqualify him!" He returned. "They're throwing down right now and wrecking the whole place!"

Luke froze. "...Oh Arceus no..." He muttered softly, actually quivering in fear after hearing that description. "Sol's here?!?"

"Yeah I think that's what they said his name was," the Flygon replied. "But I don't care what his name is; that guy needs to be put on tranquilizers at least!" He coughed again and walked away, heading to see if anyone needed help.

"Who's Sol?" Volcan asked.

"He's one of Nido's sons....and he quite possibly THE most brutal Typhlosion on the planet." Luke said. "Normally Typhlosions are known to be temperamental, but Sol takes even THAT to a whole new level. Once he snaps, there's almost no stopping him."

"And now Leon's fighting him?" Volcan demanded. "We have to get in there!"

Luke nodded. "Agreed. We have to at least try to calm him down!" He said with a nod. "Come on!"

The two of them ran inside, moving and dodging others that were struggling to get out of the colosseum, until they eventually made it to one of the access hallways to the battlefield, down which they charged, emerging back into the open and coming to a grizzly scene.

The entire battlefield was in ruin; covered in flaming rocks and cracks into which the sand that formed the top layer was flowing, and the walls and even some of the bleachers had been wrecked by the calamitous Typhlosion. Even as they stopped to gawk at the damage, they saw Leon go flying through the air, the Empoleon, battered and bruised, hitting the ground hard and letting out a groan as he skid, resulting in him being covered in ash and soot.

Luke went over to Leon and knelt next to him. "You alright?" He asked him, then looked over to the rampaging Typhlosion over on the battlefield, hearing his demands for a proper challenge.

"So... powerful," Leon groaned, trying to push himself up. "I've never... seen anything like it..."

"Don't try to get up!" Volcan urged. "You've been hit pretty hard!"

Sol kept on rampaging about, shooting more bursts of fire into the air. "CMON!! BRING ME SOMEONE FUCKING WORTHY!!!" He roared out angrily.

"SOL!!" Luke roared over to the Typhlosion, making him actually stop and slowly leer over his shoulder to the Lucario.

"Oh....it's you..." He said with a growl, turning fully to face Luke. "Lemme guess... gonna try and stop me?" He said. "You're more than welcome to fucking try. I don't care if you're my Dad's best friend, I'll incinerate you on the spot!"

Volcan tensed, standing at Luke's side as he watched the Typhlosion. "Shit, this guy really looks powerful," he muttered, admittedly not even sure he would be able to last even a minute against him.

"He IS powerful..." Luke returned. "He's got enough power to rival even the Gods of Truth and Ideals. In fact, that stone in his chest?" He said, pointing to Sol. "That contains Reshiram's Godly Blessing. He _literally_has the power of a god within him."

"Why in the hell would Reshiram give her power to someone like this?" Volcan asked, eyeing Luke with a bewildered stare. "You might as well feed a fucking bomb with explosives!"

Luke gave Volcan a grim look. "The truth is... it was forced upon Sol... he had no choice in the matter."

"Forced by who?" Volcan asked.

Luke closed his eyes. "...By Nido's brother, Razor."

Volcan let out a long groan. "Great... story for another time, I guess," he said, looking back at Sol. "I think this guy wants to rumble now..."

Luke nodded. "Long shot... but do you have a Blazikenite?"

Volcan looked at Luke incredulously. "I think we'd know if I did," he said.

"Was worth a try..."

"Not gonna make the first move?!" Sol demanded, then he crouched low and began charging at them with Flame Charge once more, winding back for a Mega Punch to the both of them. Luke took his stance, preparing to dodge the attack as Sol rocketed toward them. Luke summoned his Bone Rush as Volcan prepared a Thunderpunch, ready to face the Typhlosion even if neither one believed they could beat him...

Suddenly, a huge form dropped down in front of them, startling them both as it intercepted Sol, who was seized in midair by a massive hand. His eyes widened with mild surprise, and met those of a very angry-looking Swampert, who applied pressure with his hand and forced some of the air from the Typhlosion's lungs just by the strength of his grip, speaking to him in a low tone.

"You and I are about to have some harsh words, boy," he said, before he drew back his arm and threw Sol across the battlefield like a rag doll.

Sol cried out as he was hurled into the air, then he corrected himself before landing on the ground, glaring back at Torolf angrily before flinching, getting a good look at the Swampert. A grin started forming on his lips as he stood tall. "...Well well, so there IS a worthy opponent here after all," he said, actually chuckling. "It's about time."

Torolf slowly rose up on his hind legs, staring at Sol as he sucked in a deep breath. "Leon," he said. "I leave for ten minutes to go for a dip, and you manage to wreck my colosseum?" His voice was obviously meant to be a jest, although with how deep his tone was it was hard to tell.

"Careful, Torolf," Leon rasped. "This kid's stronger than he looks."

"I know," replied Torolf, still not taking his eyes off of Sol. "You two... get Leon out of here and to the medics." He dropped back to all fours again. "This one's mine."

Luke nodded softly, looking to Leon for a moment, andthen back to Torolf. "Good luck Torolf. You're going to need to fight with everything you have against Sol."

"Don't worry about me," he stated. "Just get moving. This is going to get messy."

Luke nodded, then turned to Leon and gently lifted him back up to his feet. "Lend me a hand, Volcan." Luke said to the Blaziken.

"I'm with you," Volcan replied, taking Leon's other arm and hoisting him up, the two of them dragging him towards the doors while Torolf stepped forward.

"Alright... 'Sol' wasn't it?" Torolf asked. "I hope you intend to compensate my team for what you did to our colosseum."

Sol scoffed. "I came here for a fucking challenge, and so far you're the only one that looks like they can at least make me work up a sweat," he retorted. "So give me a good fight, and MAYBE I'll consider it."

Torolf narrowed his eyes, grunting with disapproval. "Some attitude you got there," he said. "You know, I've heard of your dad; the famous Nido, isn't it?" He chuckled. "Kind of wish he was here, actually, competing, so I'd get my own shot at taking him on." His smile faded. "Instead I'm stuck with his over-emotional brat kid who thinks he's the worst thing since the last clash of the Weather Trio."

Sol actually twitched at that remark. "..Buddy... I'm a LOT stronger than my Old man ever dreamed he'd be..." He growled, actually getting quite angry at that remark.

Torolf grinned. "Let's see you back that up," he stated, lowering himself slightly on his arms, narrowing his eyes at the Typhlosion again. "Show me what you've got, brat."

Sol growled, dropping back down on all fours, his neck flames flaring up again and burning wildly behind him. Torolf inhaled sharply before blasting a stream of water at the ground, mixing it with the dirt before, with an upward turn of his arms, he sent a Muddy Water tsunami right at Sol, dousing the burning embers littering the battlefield in its path.

Sol scoffed. "Fucking child's play..." He said, leaping up and over the tidal wave of water. As he fell back towards the ground, he angled himself forward, drawing back both fists and struck the ground with them, unleashing a powerful Earthquake attack.

Torolf could not dodge in time, feeling the tremor shaking him up from beneath, but despite it, he held his ground unyielding, glaring back at Sol. "You call that an Earthquake?" He asked, his voice shaken by the tremor. "Let a pro show you how it's done boy!" He raised both of his arms, bringing them down with enough force the ground seemed to split beneath his fists, and a more violent quake shook the entire colosseum, a whole chunk of earth rising up towards Sol like a tidal wave in the water, like a landslide in complete defiance of gravity

Sol stumbled as he felt the ground shake, then grinned when he saw the tidal wave of dirt, sand and mud coming his way from Torolf's Earthquake, putting up his arms to protect his face as he was showered with earth, never losing that smile even as the attack subsided, blanketing him with dust. Second later he uncovered his head and bellowed. "_Now_we're talking!"

He was actually startled when Torolf seemed to explode from the dust cloud, the smile fading as he was stricken with a Power-Up Punch. Sol took the hit, wincing, and then wound back his arm for a Mega Punch, roaring out furiously as he swung his fist, meeting Torolf's second attack head on. The resulting effect was a powerful shockwave that was set loose after their attacks landed, and despite the amount of power Torolf put into his attack, Sol still stood there, his fist connected to Torolf's, not budging even in the slightest.

Torolf snorted. "Pretty strong for having such short arms," he stated.

Sol scoffed. "There's a reason why I'm the biggest, baddest Typhlosion around..." He growled, then he withdrew his fist, making Torolf stumble forward, then Sol wound up another Mega Punch and slammed it into Torolf's sternum. Sol then grabbed at Torolf and lifted him up over his head before hurling him away as hard as he could, then let out a furious roar and tensed his body.

The resulting roar caused the sky above to brighten up and increase in temperature, indicating Sol had used Sunny Day. The Typhlosion wasn't finished there. He then held his paws out and started gathering a large amount of yellow energy in his paws. "...Try and withstand THIS!!" He roared out, discharging a beam of yellow energy right toward Torolf.

Torolf, being so well-travelled and experienced, recognized the attack instantly. "Dammit...!" He exclaimed, hurriedly backing up to get out of the way.

Sol unleashed the mighty Solarbeam, exhaling a powerful stream of energy. Torolf could not evade in time, the beam striking him even as he backed away and taking significant damage from the Grass-type attack that sent him boring through the ground. Torolf grit his teeth as he was blown back, pushed by the beam until he finally managed to wrench himself to the side and get out of its trajectory, collapsing to the ground and gasping for breath. He had only narrowly held on against that attack, but still he was up, and able to continue.

Sol scoffed. "Huh...yer pretty fucking strong for a Swampert." Sol commented, crossing his arms, a small smirk crossing his face. "Taking a Solarbeam like that with a double-weakness to it; that's pretty good."

"It's becoming pretty clear to me now, you might still be a little stronger than me," the Swampert stated, his eyes narrowing. "At least... as I am now. It seems against you I can't hold anything back." He rose up on his hind legs again, bringing his hand down to his belt and tapping the shiny stone imbedded in the clasp. "So I won't," he stated as he became enveloped in a glowing, crystalline sphere.

Sol uncrossed his arms, his smirk widening into a grin as he saw Torolf undergo his transformation. "Oooohohoho...now things are getting interesting," He said, then be began to tense his body even further, the neck flames behind him raging even harder. The air around Sol began to heat up to almost searing hot temperatures, and his neck flames slowly changed from red to blue.. "COME ON!!!" He roared out, pounding his chest a few times.

As Torolf emerged from the sphere, his change was not only obvious, but the power he emitted could be felt. His forearms had swelled to become massive and round, with an odd pattern of skin, almost like vents, having grown into the outside of his forearms, and his torso had become thick and triangular with muscle growth. The ridges growing over the top of his head had become shorter and denser, with two more growing in between them. He dug his fists into the ground to balance his top-heavy body, glaring at Sol.

Seconds after his transformation, Torolf struck the ground with his fist, sending a powerful tremor through the floor of the colosseum towards Sol. Sol leapt over the tremor this time, powering up a Focus Blast in his right paw as he spun and dove down at Torolf. The focus blast he had in his paw though looked like it was on fire, as even Torolf could feel the heat emanating from both the attack and from Sol's body. Torolf wound back his other fist for a Power Up punch, but just as he started to swing, there seemed to be an explosion behind his arm that propelled his fist forward with every greater force, meeting Sol head-on as he neared.

Sol's flaming Focus Blast connected with Torolf's punch, the force of two wrecking balls colliding in midair clashing once more as the two struggled. Sol let out another furious roar, pushing harder and harder into Torolf's arm as he tried to overpower the Mega Swampert. Torolf growled angrily as he and Sol battled for control, before he brought around his other arm and delivered a Rock Smash, using the added strength from Power-Up punch to amplify the defense-shattering Rock Smash, striking Sol in his exposed side.

He grunted and was sent tumbling for a bit, then he rolled back to his feet and rubbed his side a little. "...That actually hurt." He growled, then he took a deep breath and discharged a massive Fire Blast at Torolf, the blue star shaped attack rocketing over to Torolf at literally blazing speeds.

But Torolf didn't even try to dodge it. Instead, he fired a Hydro Cannon from his mouth, expelling a stream of water so massive it completely encompassed the Fire Blast and doused it, before the attack continued on and headed straight for Sol.

Sol moved out of the way of the attack, narrowly dodging it as the cannon rocketed past him. The Typhlosion leered back at Torolf angrily. "So we're resorting to the big guns are we...?" He asked.

Torolf didn't answer, but kept his eyes on Sol, knowing he was about to do something. Sol glanced down at his chest for a moment, debating on whether or not to really spice things up or not. Torolf was really giving Sol a run for his money, quite possibly the best fight he'd had in a long time.

"...I won't lie, yer fucking strong...Can't remember the last time I had to actually sweat against any opponent..." He said, then he let out a sigh. "Right...then I guess you've earned yourself a treat." He said, slowly lifting his paw to over over the stone in his chest.

"That's not a mega stone... what exactly are you up to?" Torolf asked, suspicious of the Typhlosion and that strange rock seemingly imbedded into his ribcage.

Sol then touched the stone on his chest, and immediately streams of white hot flames began shooting out of the stone and circled around Sol. The Typhlosion cringed as he felt he flames begin to circle around him, and then started to mold into shapes on his body. His forearms became alit with flame like claws going up to his forearms, and flame like wings began growing out of his back and flapping once.

Sol's eyes shot open and he leered at Torolf with a death glare, slowly becoming aloft in the air with the help of his newly acquired wings. "...Yer right...it ain't no mega stone pal..."

"That power..." Torolf whispered. "That feels like the essence of the gods; I felt it before..." He narrowed his eyes. "What the hell are you?"

"I'm a guy imbued with the powers of a fucking god..." Sol retorted. "Ya should feel pretty humbled pal...yer only the second Pokémon I've used this form against..."

Sol then reared his head back and took a deep breath, then he unleashed a mighty cone of white hot flames in the form of another powerful Flamethrower, the heat emanating from them was even hotter than Sol's berserker state, even melting the ground below him. Torolf fired another Hydro Cannon at the flames, the two attacks colliding in midair and sending a steam cloud billowing outward to fill the entire arena, the moist, hot mist blinding both Torolf and Sol, but not enough to hinder their attacks even when they could no longer see each other until both had to stop, blanketed in the white, muggy steam.

Sol then shot down toward Torolf from the side, slamming his flank and grabbing him in a bearhug and taking off into the skies. Once he felt he was high enough, Sol then raised Torolf over his head and roared, hurling him back down to the ground as hard as he could before he tilted his head back and began accumulating copious amounts of white hot flames into his mouth, then began to compress the flames into one tiny ball of white hot flames. Then he ingested the flames and began rearing his head back.

Torolf landed on the ground, breaking his fall with his powerful arms and panting before he looked back up, seeing what Sol was doing. "This isn't good..." He muttered, thinking fast about what to do.

Sol then lurched his head forward and spat out the heavily condensed attack, the small fireball rocketing down to Torolf in a zig zaggy motion. "Better think fast before I turn you into a roast Kipper!!" Sol hollered down arrogantly at the Swampert.

Torolf raised his fists again, before he hurriedly punched the ground repeatedly, sending a cloud of dust up in Sol's face as the Typhlosion dropped, evidently trying to give himself some cover with the dust, but what he was actually doing was using Dig, tunnelling beneath the safety of the soil just in time.

Thankfully the Swampert managed to get underground before the small bullet of flames hit the ground. What ensued afterward was a spectacle that even the other teams and contenders could see even from the Kyogre's Rest, as a_humongous_ explosion of white flames shot into the air in the form of a large fiery tower. The flames were hot enough to incinerate anything that they came into contact with.

When the dust cleared and Sol stood straight up, he found himself standing over a hole, but not one he had made, and it was only then he knew what the Swampert had done; he had tunneled away to safety, disappearing beneath the earth. The Typhlosion snarled angrily, believing his opponent had run away from the battle, but he quickly changed his mind when he heard rock breaking behind him, and looked over his shoulder too late.

Torolf sprang up behind him, arms held out wide and casting the Typhlosion in shadow but rather than try to strike him, he actually grabbed Sol in a vice-like grip, holding him tightly. Even with his body sizzling on account of Sol'sburning wings, the Swampert held firm and then his arms glowed brightly, a stream of white light flowing along his limbs and straight into the Typhlosion. Sol struggled, not knowing what Torolf was doing, but he soon found out when his wings suddenly dissipated, and his body began to feel like it was made of iron.

When Sol felt his power leave his body, he groaned, his eyes half lidding shut and wobbling a bit even in Torolf's grasp. "What the fuck...?" He demanded. "What... what did you just do?!"

"My secret... to how I defeated Groudon," Torolf retorted, panting for breath as he let Sol drop onto his belly. "When he smashed me so hard that my legs were broken. It's an attack called 'Endeavor'; turns all of the damage you inflict on someone right back at you, all at once, so every hit you landed on me -including that Solarbeam, I just sent right back into you."

"This... pain... and weakness," Sol rasped. "If this is what I did to you, how are you still standing?!"

Torolf's eyes narrowed, glaring deeply at Sol. "I've been taking hits like this since before you were born, kid. I'm no stranger to pain!" He swept his arm at Sol, smacking him hard and sending him flying through the air, where Torolf used all of his remaining strength to blast Sol with a Hydro Cannon, exhaling a powerful current of water that struck him in midair.

Sol was sent careening toward the nearest wall with incredible force, knocking the wind out of his lungs from the impact. He was pinned there, unable to move or even breathe for that matter, until the Hydro Cannon ceased. Sol then fell forward onto his front, barely conscious as he looked up at Torolf with a defiant gaze... Then he started to smirk, and then chuckle a little before his consciousness started fading.

"...Heh... hehe... haven't...felt like this...since the last time I squared off with my brother......" He said as his eyes lidded shut. "Good... fight..." Were his last words before he slipped from consciousness, and lay silently in the dirt.

Torolf was standing over the Typhlosion as he gave the Mega Swampert his last words, before he let out a long sigh and fell to his knees, holding himself up with his massive arms as he devolved back to his regular self, gasping for breath. "One powerful runt, I'll give you that," he muttered.

At that moment, two figures emerged from the corridor; a Haxorus and Scizor, the same ones who had been with Torolf on the day the tournament began. "Torolf! Are you okay?" The Scizor asked, heading over to check on his leader while the Haxorus stood over Sol, watching him in case he were to stand back up and attack again.

"I'll live," the Swampert replied, leaning on the Scizor for support as he was helped back to his feet, and then he looked down at the Typhlosion. "Put this kid on the speedboat and get him off our island. Take him to the Siphon Prison; it's the only place that can possibly hold him."

"Sure you don't want me to just dump him in the ocean?" The Haxorus asked, which earned a glare from Torolf.

"We don't do that," he stated firmly with a hint of warning in his tone. "Now, take him."

"Y-yes... boss," the Haxorus replied, reaching down and picking up Sol and carrying him out of the colosseum.

The Scizor looked around the ruined arena, narrowing his eyes. "What do we do about this, though?" He asked. "We cannot finish the tournament in a destroyed Colosseum."

"Let me deal with that," replied Torolf. "For now, tell the contestants that the tournament is postponed until further notice."

"There's going to be some disgruntled fighters you know," the Scizor warned. "Not to mention the bad rep."

"Leave that to Maggie," Torolf replied. "For now, we've got other work to do."

~~~~~

Moments earlier, on the Kyogre's Rest...

"HOOOOOLY SHIT!! PLEASE tell me you guys saw that huge pillar of white fire!" Eagle Eye hollered, the team watching the colosseum intently from the ship, beating his wings frantically as he struggled to contain his horror, heart thundering in his chest.

"You'd have to be fucking blind not to see it!" Hank retorted. "That kid's outta control! Seriously! The hell does Luna even see in that kid?!?"

"Do you guys think Torolf's okay?" asked Sickle, who had been waiting with them ever since the team had returned to the ship.

"Let's hope so..." Katsu said grimly. "Sol is not one to be trifled with. His power does indeed rival that of the gods..."

They waited a while longer, and things had seemed to finally calm down in the colosseum. No more explosions or crashes to be seen or heard, and it seemed as though the fighting had stopped... but who had won? All of them wanted to know; several thought about going to the colosseum to check, but their feet -or wings- would not carry them there.

And then came their answer; off to the left of the ship's bow, they saw someone heading down the path towards the docks. Team Warmachine's Haxorus fighter, whose name they had not yet heard, carrying an unconscious Typhlosion over his shoulder as he made his way across the island.

"Is that...?" Volcan asked.

Luke's eyes widened in bewilderment. "I don't believe my eyes. Torolf... actually beat Sol?"

"Unless that's another Typhlosion... I think he did!" Volcan replied. "Torolf actually beat him!"

"Hot Dayum! That Torolf guy really did it!!" Eagle Eye exclaimed happily. "No more crazy Typhlosion! That guy's da bomb!!"

"I guess that's what happens when you mess with a guy who fought the Lord of Continents and lived to tell about it," Sickle commented. "So where are they taking him; will they lock him up?"

"A guy that powerful, it better be a really thick cell," Volcan remarked.

Kage scoffed. "There is no cell would be able to hold him... It's best they send him far away and leave him to his own problems, as far from civilization as possible."

"Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Sickle asked. "What if he hurts someone?"

"In a fight against someone as strong as Torolf, he won't be leaving unscathed... As you can see for yourself." Kage stated, pointing to the beaten and battered up Typhlosion.

"I'm not blind, pal," Sickle returned to the Greninja, somewhat annoyed. "I mean after he heals. What's stopping him from going on another rampage against the first thing he sees?"

"That's beyond our power." Kage plainly stated. "Once Sol has awoken, he'll be too far away for us to do anything about it..."

"I'm... afraid Shishio is right. Even if we wanted to stop him, we couldn't. Killing him is not an option, but we can't just leave him here..." Wade pointed out.

Sickle looked at all of them one at a time, a look of disbelief and confusion on his face. His eyes eventually fell upon Volcan, who looked equally perturbed by this, and unsure of how to react.

Sickle's claws clenched, his teeth grinding as he spoke, harshly, to the group "Are you guys kidding me?" He asked, pointing at the colosseum. "Look at what he did to that place; if Torolf hadn't stopped him, where would he have been satisfied; incinerating this whole island?! Or maybe blowing up this boat with all of us on it! He's a dangerous lunatic and you want to just drop him off in the wilderness somewhere and hope he doesn't come back?!"

"No. The fact is we're not alright with just letting him wander about on his own." Luke answered, crossing his arms. "We've tried Sickle.... we've tried everything to stop him. He broke out of every cell we put him in and he refuses to listen to reason; we can't stop him, and we refuse to kill him; I'll never resort to that."

"I'm not saying kill him," Sickle said with a sigh. "But someone like that doesn't just vanish, Luke. You guys claim to have tried to stop him, now you're all standing here telling me you won't keep trying to find a way? That you've all just given up?" He turned away, a disappointed look on his face as he regarded Team Valiant. "Seems I may have over-estimated you guys; you're not who I thought you were," was the last thing he said before he left the group behind, not looking back as he walked along the deck until he disappeared around a corner.

The team just stood there after Sickle left, his last words leaving quite an impact on them. "...Wow... that... really cut deep," Hank said, breaking the silence.

"What more could we say?" Katsu asked. "As Luke said, we've tried everything in the past... Torolf is the only one we've ever seen actually manage to stop him; none of us, not even together, have ever been able to defeat him."

Luke lowered his head a little, Sickle's words affecting him the most. A look of disappointment was present on his face as well, but more at himself than anything else... The most painful fact of all was that Sickle was right; they had given up on ever being able to stop Sol. It wasn't that they didn't want to put an end to his rampage, it's that they didn't know how.

"There has to be something," Volcan said. "I mean... there have been beings as powerful as Sol before; there has to be a way to contain him..."

Luke sighed. "....I wish I knew....." He said sadly, shutting his eyes slowly before he began to walk away, ears flat against his head as he walked, slowly, across the deck, gaze only on the boards he stepped across as he wandered away, feeling a deep pit in his stomach that made him sick.

Volcan was about to call after him, but the words died in his throat, watching after Luke until the Lucario vanished from view. He turned to the others, seeing that all of them were off in their own worlds, lost in thought. Volcan shared Sickle's belief that a problem like Sol wouldn't just disappear, but unlike his newfound friends, he believed that there was always a way to stop someone, no matter how dangerous they were. His gaze drifted back to the Haxorus carrying away the Typhlosion outside, wondering if perhaps Team Warmachine knew such a way...

If they did, it appeared he was the only one willing to find out.

Volcan left quietly, leaving the rest of Team Valiant to their thoughts. Having seen how powerful Sol was, Volcan did indeed believe they were telling the truth -that all of their attempts to stop him had simply proven fruitless. Even the most determined hero might give up if there was no end in sight -it was hard to fight a battle that seemed unwinnable, but as said, Volcan did not believe such a thing existed.

Striding down the gangplank, he ran across the field towards the docks, arriving just in time to find the Haxorus dropping the unconscious Sol into the back of a boat. "Hey," Volcan called, getting his attention. "What're you going to do with him?"

The Haxorus looked at him, before snorting a puff of smoke from his nostrils. "If it were up to me, I'd drop him into the sea and let him drown," the Haxorus replied. "But since that's not how we do things, Torolf tells me to take him to a prison on the mainland, not too far away from our island."

"A prison, you say? I heard he's been in one before and just broke out; will this one be able to keep him?" Volcan asked.

"They have these items called Siphoning Chains there," stated the Haxorus. "They only use them for the most dangerous Pokémon but they've yet to fail at their job."

"What do they do?" Volcan asked.

"As the name implies, they siphon the powers of the Pokémon they're used to bind," replied the Haxorus as he climbed into the boat. "Believe me; they'll be enough to stop this hothead. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a delivery to make -preferably before the 'goods' start thrashing again."

With that, he seated himself at the boat wheel, starting the engine and pushing the throttle forward, racing off without another word and heading back towards the mainland. Volcan stared after him for a while, considering what the Haxorus had told him, and actually smiled slightly. "Siphoning Chains, eh?"

This was just the news to help Luke cheer up.

~~~~~

Luke was over at the stern of the ship, lost in his own thoughts as he stared down at the water below. He had a grim, disappointed look in his eyes as he stared down at his reflection in the water below, wishing that he could punch the reflection and give himself a black eye. He then reached into his scarf and held up the Lucarionite he kept hidden within its confines. Sickle's words once more echoed in his mind, making him clench his paw around the mega stone.

"...I have all this power, I have a group of Pokémon by my side to help me through anything... and despite that, I still fail," He said with a low growl.

A short while later, he heard someone speak his name, and turned to see Volcan walking up to him, joining him by the railing and leaning on it, looking at Luke briefly before staring out into the water. There was a brief silence between the two, before the Blaziken finally spoke "I know what Sickle said was a painful blow..." He said. "But... hopefully he'll come around." He waited for a reply, but when there was none, he carried on. "So... they have somewhere to hold Sol. One of Torolf's guys are taking him there now."

Luke's ears did perk up when he heard that bit of news. "...They do?" he asked. "But... there's no prison I'm aware of that could hold someone as powerful as Sol," He stated.

"I didn't catch a name," Volcan admitted. "But that Haxorus said they use something called 'Siphon Chains' to restrain their prisoners; apparently the chains drain their strength, making them too weak to break out. The place is meant to house even some of the most dangerous rogues; I think, maybe, they may just be able to keep him under wraps, until something can be done."

Luke stood, aghast, staring at the Blaziken until he grabbed his head with both paws, gritting his teeth and feeling like slamming his head against the railing. "How come I wasn't even aware those existed?!" He exploded with frustration. "If we had known about that, we would have restrained Sol using those and then sent him away to prison!" He slammed his paws down on the railing, clenched tightly. "Damnit! All that effort trying to stop him when the answer was so simple...!" He trailed off and his look of disappointment returned in his gaze.

"Hey, hey," Volcan urged, putting his hand on Luke's back. "You guys live in a pretty remote area, in your defense... you probably just hadn't heard about 'em yet." He then scowled, letting his hand slide off Luke's back. "That's... probably not helping, is it?"

Luke gave a heavy sigh. "You're only just trying to help," he said softly, his gaze lowering back down to the water and looking back into his reflection on the water's surface. "...You're probably right. After all, Team Warmachine is world famous and prior to this competition I hadn't heard of them. I guess Port Azure is not a high traffic place for gossip."

Volcan nodded. "But at least now, you know that there was an answer; a lesson for the future, there is _always_a way. Someone just has to find it," he replaced his hand on Luke's shoulder, moving a little closer to him. "And, you can finally rest easy, knowing Sol will cause no more harm."

Luke slowly lifted his paw up and gently rested it over Volcan's hand, then he turned his head to look up at the Blaziken, still disappointed in himself, but at least he was now aware of a way to restrain later criminals he and his team would encounter, and it allowed him to show a small smile to his friend. "You're right," he said, and then let out a light chuckle. "That makes twice now; I said I'd take care of you, but here you are raising my spirit when it's low."

Volcan chuckled gingerly, patting Luke's back as he stepped back from the rail. "Anytime," he said, smiling back at his friend. He then turned to look at the ruined colosseum across the way from where they stood. "I know this is kind of a low priority but... I wonder what's going to happen now?" He asked. "They can't really finish the tournament if the colosseum's destroyed."

"To be honest, I'm not sure. The tournament could get cancelled or perhaps they'll try to repair the colosseum." Luke answered. "In any case, I feel maybe we should help them repair the stadium. Sol used to reside in Azure before he went rogue. In a way, it's my responsibility."

"Luke, you can't feel responsible for what Sol does," stated Volcan. "The power he has may have been forced on him, but he let it corrupt him, not you."

"Maybe, but I still think I should," Luke reasoned. "...I'm going to talk to Torolf and offer to help reconstruct the stadium."

"Probably not a good time," Volcan pointed out. "The guy's bound to be pretty banged up after that battle. We should wait until tomorrow, let everyone sleep off today's incident, and see if there's an official decision or something tomorrow; if they decide to repair the colosseum, then by all means we can offer to help. 'Till then, though... I think it's been a long day for all of us."

Luke nodded. "Yes, you're right." He returned. "Let's retire to our rooms for now..." He offered, leaning off of the railing and turning on his heel to head away toward the cabins.

Volcan continued to stare out at the colosseum for a little longer, and then in the direction he had seen the Haxorus taking Sol away from the island, letting his mind wander for a bit before he decided it was time for him to head to his room too, following after Luke and making his way to the cabins, wondering just what lay in wait for the Typhlosion in his new home...