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Morning arrived, and so too did the semi-finals of Team Warmachine's competition. The single division would have its match first, giving the teams more time to prepare; the final contestants, battling for the honour of taking on one of Team Warmachine's warriors, were Wade, and Volcan's teammate, Tristan. Tensions were high all across the arena, with everyone watching eagerly for what was sure to be an intense battle.

Even now Team Valiant sat up in the stands to watch the imminent battle between the two strongest fighters in the Single Division, excited to see how it would all play out.

"Alright, the moment of truth has arrived it seems." Luke commented as they waited for Tristan and Wade to arrive on the battlefield. "Will it be brute strength that wins today? Or speed and tactics...?"

"Wade's going to have a hard time overcoming Tristan's defense," Volcan stated. "Plus, Tristan can use even recoil-inducing attacks without any consequence; it's not just brute strength, it's sheer, raw power he's got... Wade takes even one clean hit, and it's over."

"He will not lose..." Kage stated, keeping his eyes forward as he spoke.

"Welcome, spectators!" Leon called as he took his place on the battlefield. "Now the moment you've all been waiting for; the final battle between two fighters of the Single Division is about to begin! I hope you have all rested your eyes, for you will not want to miss one moment of this sure to be spectacular contest with high stakes!"

"Whomsoever claims victory this day will move on to the final round, earning themselves to challenge one of Team Warmachine's reigning champions! Let us find out who among these two amazing warriors will gain this honor!" He pointed his flipper towards one of the entrances even as the audience applied, continuing the introduction. "From Port Azure, we have the young swordsman, Wade!"

This time, rather than walk out toward the arena normally, he appeared in a plume of water, standing tall from where he appeared from, a firm, determined look in his eyes as he waited for his opponent to make their appearance, allowing Leon to continue.

"Quite an entrance," Leon commented before moving on, pointing his flipper to the other side. "And from the West Islands, it's the seemingly unstoppable iron titan, King!"

As Leon finished, the thunderous steps of the Aggron filled the air, and out from his entrance he marched, with slow, focused steps to the center of the battlefield. His metal plates had reformed after the damage caused to them by Rigel the day before, though there were still some dings and scratches left over from the battle. However, it was the look on his face -the drive to win, along with that intimidating jagged grin of his, that Wade would see first, for this Aggron was in it to win, and now Wade was the only one between him and the honour of taking on Team Warmachine.

Wade stared up at the Aggron, still wearing that determined look, his paws clenching at his sides as he did his best to remain calm. He couldn't lose focus now; not after all the progress he'd made so far... But Tristan was not going to make this an easy battle for him; his armour was so thick that it rendered all of Wade's physical attacks completely useless. His scallchops and sword would not serve him against this opponent as it had against Craneo before.

Wade slowly placed his paws together and bowed respectfully to Tristan. "...Whatever the result today...I pray there will be no hard feelings between us..." He said to the Aggron.

"The same for you, squirt," returned Tristan, bowing his head to Wade before proceeding to widen his stance and get ready for the battle ahead. "But know that I've come too far to go light... so I'm afraid this is going to hurt."

"Then I will not let you touch me. I've come too far as well to lose now." Wade returned, leaping back and drawing his blade in a reverse grip.

"Bring it on," Tristan returned, moving back to his starting position, widening his stance and sweeping the ground with his tail as that jagged grin of his widened further.

Seeing both fighters were ready, Leon took up his position as the referee, raising his flipper high and eyeing both fighters briefly before bringing it down "BEGIN!" He called.

As per usual, Wade made the first strike, firing off a powerful Hydro Pump as his opener, letting the kick back push him back even further away from Tristan. The Aggron reacted by using Protect, stopping the Hydro Pump from reaching him, and retaliated by firing a Flash Cannon at the Dewott. Wade cartwheeled out of the way of the attack, and then made a strafing run around his opponent while firing off several Water Pulses from his mouth.

From the stands, Kage gave a small nod of approval. "Good... he understands getting in close would mean a sound defeat." He muttered.

"Tristan also knows he suffers at distance fighting," Volcan pointed out. "And I think he has a means to alter the playing field."

Tristan couldn't avoid the water pulses as they were fired, each one striking but fortunately not dazing him as they were prone to doing. Shaking himself a little, he grinned again. "Okay; my usual approach won't work," he said. "Time for a change in the strategy!" He held out his arms, and his body flashed a brief white, before the metal plates up and down his back began to fall from his body, clattering to the ground as they were shed by the use of Autonomize.

With that, he turned on the Dewott, and began to run after him, able to sprint twice as quickly as he could before; although Wade was still quicker, it allowed Tristan to remain mobile enough to avoid other distance attacks from further away, even firing off more Flash Cannons. Wade was already changing his strategy when he saw Tristan shed his armour, turning and charging right at him while avoiding the Flash Cannons and sliding under him, slicing at his legs with water infused slashes from his blade.

Tristan staggered as his legs were cut, but even without his metal armour, his stone skin was still quite dense, leaving Wade with little more options of physical combat than before. And, unfortunately, he'd brought himself too close; Tristan slapped the ground with his tail, creating a tremor that stumbled Wade, preventing him from sprinting away, and then Tristan spun around and tried to deliver a Head Smash. This time, Wade did dodge, but just barely.

They collided; Wade was on the defensive now, using his sword to try and parry Tristan's oncoming onslaught; as he had in his battle with Rigel, the now faster Aggron was putting pressure on Wade with a series of combos -punches and tail strikes, the same way he had beaten down Rigel in his previous match. Wade, however, had been trained to handle this -especially against physically superior opponents, and when he saw the opportunity, he made his move.

After Tristan threw a right-arm punch, Wade jumped, leaping over Tristan's arm and landing on it only to jump again off of his shoulder, somersaulting through the air and finally finding his opportunity to counter-attack as he arched behind Tristan. Seizing the initiative, Wade began shooting more water pulses at him before firing another hydro pump from above square into his head. Tristan turned around in time to see the water pulses, putting up another Protect to stop them, but it faded by the time the Hydro Pump reached him, boring into his face and making him stumble and gurgle on it.

During the hosedown, though, he fired another Flash Cannon that tore through the Hydro Pump, going right back to Wade; even though long distance combat was not his forte, Tristan was more evolved and therefore naturally more powerful than the Dewott. With this, the Flash Cannon powered through the water stream almost without contest. Wade was forced to cease his attack, leaning back and letting the Flash Cannon pass over him, then be used Aqua Jet to travel back to the ground and landing in a crouch before returning his gaze back to the Aggron.

"Damn, he's more resilient than I thought," he muttered. "Even after shedding his armour he's still able to take a heavy hit."

Tristan then began to charge at him again, crouching low as he ran at the Dewott with a Double-Edge attack, letting out another bellow as he charged. Wade quickly darted out of the way with Aqua Jet, firing more water pulses as he got out of the way of Tristan's double edge. Tristan jumped into the air to avoid the water pulses, arcing above Wade before gravity took effect and he began to drop right at him with a Heavy Slam -even thought Tristan was a lot lighter after using Autonomize, he was still more than 500 pounds heavier than Wade.

"Belly flop!" He bellowed as he fell at the Dewott like a meteor.

Thinking fast, Wade discharged a hydro pump toward the edge of the arena, letting the kickback rocket him back to safety before Tristan could crush him under his weight.

Imminently, when the Aggron hit the ground, the whole colosseum shook and Mikhail's glasses were once again knocked off. Volcan, without even looking, stuck out his talon and caught them, fully expecting it, and offered them back to the Lucario, allowing him to watch with the rest of the awestruck audience to wait for a dust to settle.

Wade panted a bit after narrowly dodging what surely would have been a rather painful defeat, weighing his options before he stood tall once more, sheathing his blade. "Seems I'm left with no choice..."

Tristan began to stand back up, turning towards Wade with that grin still present. "That all you got, small fry?" He asked, chuckling. "I'll admit your Water Pulses and Hydro Pump pack a good punch but they're just not enough to beat me."

Wade looked down to the ground for a moment, closing his eyes as the reality set in; that he just couldn't win the way he was. "...I can't lose." He muttered. "I won't lose," he said in a louder tone. "I've still one more trick to play...and I have a dream to pursue." He said. His body then seemed to pulsate a bit as he tensed up, even flashing for a brief moment.

"Okay kid, if you're not going to attack, I am!" Tristan called, folding his arms over his chest.

Volcan tensed. "Tristan's going to use Metal Burst! If Wade gets hit with that, he's toast!"

Wade then looked up at Tristan with a fiercely determined glare. "I will not let you beat me!" He said, then his body started to shine. "Not until I've become the greatest swordsman that's ever existed!!!" He gave another roar as his body then became enveloped in the shining light, obscuring it from view.

Kage gave a small smirk under his tongue scarf as he witnessed the event taking place in the arena. "So that time has finally arrived..."

"Is he...?" Volcan asked.

In another seat, Sickle's team had risen from their feet, eyes wide as they saw the spectacle down below. Howler and Blaster didn't say anything, but Sickle did -the Grovyle was even grinning. "He's evolving..." he said.

The shining light soon faded, and in Wade's place was not a Dewott, but an abnormally large Samurott. His body was roughly at least twice the musculature of a typical Samurott -rival even to Katsumoto in the audience who was watching with a mix of pride for his fellow swordsman and surprise that Wade had evolved to become so massive. When Wade's eyes shot open, he gave Tristan a fierce glare, rivalling even Katsu's stern squabble quelling glare.

"Sweet Palkia he's huge!" Volcan exclaimed.

"He looks almost as large as Katsu!" Luke exclaimed as well. "And he had to work hard to get as large as he is!"

"Evidence that his true heritage must be of a rather large bloodline..." Kage commented, again still keeping his gaze forward.

Tristan was watching the completed evolution with his eyes wide and focused, taking in what he saw until it brought another grin to his face. "Well colour me impressed," he said. "They say that evolving in the heat of a battle is a sure sign of a great drive to achieve victory."

Wade slowly lifted himself back up onto his hind legs, looking down at is own body, examining its features closely and flexing his body a bit before he turned back to Tristan, a more confident look in his gaze. "...This changes everything."

Tristan let out a chuckle. "Don't be too sure about that," he started. "You put on some muscle but I'm still going strong too."

Wade then weaved a sign and made three more doubles of himself with Double Team. Two of them standing in front of Wade and drawing their now Seamitars while the third stood next to the real Wade.

"We'll see..." He said to Tristan, as the two doubles rushed right for Tristan. While the two doubles assaulted the Aggron, the third double shot a steady stream of water into the real Wade's paws, to which he applied a little Hydromancy to change the water's shape in his paws.

"Don't get cocky!" Tristan bellowed, using Protect to stop the incoming ranged attacks, blocking them. With that, Tristan fired another Flash Cannon, sweeping over the ground and striking the two clones closest to him, causing them to dissolve into puddles of water, leaving only one and the original. "Now... " Tristan said before firing another Flash Cannon at the real Wade. However, the third double stood in its way, taking the Flash Cannon and exploding in a burst of smoke and water, obscuring the Samurott from view within the smoke.

"Just you and me!" Tristan called into the smoke, unaware just what was happening behind the veil.

There was silence for a moment. Then the sound of a torrential current erupted from the cloud of smoke. What followed next was truly a sight to behold. The smoke cleared and Wade stood there, and held high over his head was what looked like a giant curved bladed Water Shuriken in his paw, spinning rapidly in his paw and splattering water all around him.

"What... the...?" Volcan asked.

"Is that a Water Shuriken?!" Mikhail exclaimed. "But...that attack is exclusive to the Greninja line! Wade shouldn't be able to even conjure one, especially one that size!"

"It is not a genuine Water Shuriken..." Kage stated in a surprisingly proud tone. "It's his own adaptation of the attack using a mixture of his water abilities with a little hydromancy to mold the water into the shape you see now...It is Wade's own original technique..."

Volcan stated back down at the arena, letting out a light-hearted chuckle. "That kid never ceases to amaze me," he stated.

Tristan suddenly burst out laughing as he saw the attack. "I never saw this coming," he said. "Well then, big fella; let's have it!"

"You'll regret it." Wade stated, then he reared his arm back, then roared as he hurled the Shuriken as hard as he could, the technique rocketing toward the Aggron.

Tristan once more used Protect to put up a shield between himself and the attack, watching it come and already planning his counter when the shield saved him. However, the Shuriken didn't dissipate from making contact with the shield. Rather, it struggled with the barrier, pushing heavily against Tristan's Protect.

"The f-f-f-fuck?!" Tristan demanded, staring in horror as the shuriken continuously hammered his shield. "Why isn't it dissipating?!"

Wade then brought his arms in front of him and planted his feet firmly into the ground. "Burst..." He muttered. With that command, the Shuriken shrunk in size until it was a small ball of water, then it suddenly expanded greatly, barreling through Tristan's Protect and enveloping the Aggron in the large sphere of water, the torrential currents within the giant sphere of water assaulting him from every angle with no way to defend himself.

"What the hell did he just do?" Volcan asked, gawking in disbelief.

"From what we just saw, he just... made the Shuriken explode into a torrential sphere of water," Katsu answered. "His control over his abilities has risen to unbelievable heights. Not even I or Kage has such precise control!"

Tristan, barraged from all sides by water, could do nothing; despite his bodily mass, the attack was tossing him around like he were as light as a Koffing, assailing him from every angle; he could not even unleash another Metal Burst, so pressured as he was. The attack soon ceased, disappearing almost as quickly as it came, letting Tristan fall back to the ground. Wade shot forward with Aqua Jet, reaching the Aggron before he hit the ground, letting out one last roar as he drew his Seamitars has swung them at Tristan as hard as he could with his newfound physical strength.

Tristan's impact with the ground was like a meteor from the sky, sending up a column of dust that rose up higher than the very walls of the colosseum itself as a beacon even for those not actively spectating the match, which also sent a cloud of said dust out to fill up the interior of the colosseum, forcing everyone to cover their eyes or get sand in them.

Luke and Mikhail were forced to rely on their Aura Sense to see what happened without hampering their eyes from the dust that stirred up from Tristan's impact, while Wade had to shield his eyes and wait for the dust to clear before he could witness the results of his assault. Volcan and a few others coughed as they accidentally inhaled some of the dust, waving at the cloud in a vain attempt to clear it.

Finally, it began to settle, and much to the shock of everyone, Tristan was down, imbedded in a crater in the ground and unconscious, without any sign of movement. Leon came running over from the side, checking him before he stepped back and held up his flippers. "Match over!" He called. "The winner is Wade of Port Azure!"

On came the applause from the audience, blown away by the amazing spectacle they had just born witness to. Even Torolf was standing up from his seat and applauding Wade's victory; many had expected Tristan to win, including himself, as he seemed to have every advantage -fully evolved, impenetrable defenses and ridiculous strength. Yet Wade, through thick and thin, had prevailed, and his name would be cemented into the hearts of these many spectators for years to come.

Wade let out a long sigh, but even he could not contain the excitement and pride he felt from this victory. He had defeated possibly one of the strongest beings to attend this tournament, and to top it off, he was a Samurott now. With a toss of his head, he roared triumphantly into the air while raising one of his blades into the air, joining the roars of the audience before he returned his blades to their sheathes, and dropped back onto all fours, calming himself and letting the audience continue to praise him.

Kage closed his eyes and gave a small nod, his smirk becoming more apparent underneath his tongue scarf. "...That's my pupil...." He whispered quietly.

Volcan looked at Luke. "And to think... that's the same little guy who I saw beat up thugs in Azure, now he just took down Tristan." He chuckled, before getting up from his chair and heading to the stairs. "I better go check on him... he's out of the tournament now, so we don't need to hide his identity anymore -at least for now."

"I'll come too." Luke offered, rising from his seat. "Tristan may not be of my team, but he's still a friend of yours, and far be it from me to not help out any friend of a friend of mine." He added.

"I'm sure Tristan's okay... but you're welcome to come along regardless," Volcan returned, nodding to Luke. "Although... " He looked down in the arena. "Think we have much time before Team Phobia comes out?"

"If we hurry, we should." Luke answered.

"Just want to make sure we're not late is all," Volcan replied. "After all the planning we did last night getting disqualified for missing a match would be a big-time inconvenience."

The Lucario rolled his eyes at the Blaziken. "I think the officials would give us at least some time after the announcement has been made." He assured. "There is such a thing as being too paranoid, Volcan."

Volcan blushed. "Yeah, you're right... sorry. I guess all the pressure's getting to me." He shook his head. "Alright, let's go."

Heading down to the infirmary where Tristan was taken, the two walked in just as the Gardevoir from Warmachine, Gallia, was administering a heal pulse to the now conscious Aggron, who lay comfortably on the industrial-strength bed -meant specifically for very heavy Pokémon like himself. He glanced over as the two walked in, giving them a big grin as they approached.

"Good to have visitors," he said. "But shouldn't you guys get ready for your match?"

"We're here to check on you first," Volcan returned. "We should have time."

Tristan chuckled. "That kid's something else never saw that attack before, and he got me good with it."

"I think we were all as surprised as you when Wade pulled that out of his sleeve." Luke returned. "How are you holding up?" He asked afterward.

Tristan chuckled. "Didn't Volcan ever tell you? I've taken way bigger hits than that," he said, looking up at the Blaziken. "Didn't you tell him about that time I got run into by..." He paused when he saw Volcan's glaring expression. "...What?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, yogurt brain?" Volcan asked, exasperated by Tristan's forgetfulness. "I don't remember_any of our adventures, not even the ones I was involved in." He tapped the side of his head with his finger. "I lost _everything that was up here."

"...You really can be pretty dense you know." Luke commented with a mild grimace.

"Meh," Tristan returned with a shrug. "It'll stick eventually."

Volcan facepalmed. "Eventually, he says."

"Might be too late by then..." Luke muttered, shaking his head slowly.

Tristan looked at them again. "So... what's your plan for dealing with the gruesome six? I heard they made it to the finals too."

"You mean Team Phobia?" The Gardevoir doctor asked. She had stepped away while the three were conversing and was returning with some medicine for Tristan, but now she had joined in.

"The same," replied Volcan.

She let out a long, disheartened sigh. "Every time those ones come to our tournaments, everyone who crosses their path ends up in my ward," she replied. "No one ever gets past them at the semi-finals, and those who try end up hurt; Romulus is absolutely ruthless in battle, and those who fight him are often lucky to be left physically capable when he finishes."

Luke gave her a stern look. "Well that changes today..." He stated firmly, clenching his paws.

"Do you have even the slightest idea how many teams I've heard say that?" She asked. "I'm the doctor; I treat everyone who gets hurt, and that includes those who have to fight Team Phobia. Anyone else can tell you, that at every tournament we've hosted, they've never lost until they made it to us. Although I've seen great potential as I do every year, I've yet to meet one person who looks like they could stack up against Romulus."

"Who's Romulus?" Volcan asked. "I heard Kaen use that name but which one is he?"

She looked at him. "Their Team Captain; the Houndoom. He's been a rival to Torolf for almost ten years now. The only one I've ever met besides that Typhlosion from before who can actually force him to use his Mega Evolution."

"I assume this Romulus is in possession of a Houndoomite?" Luke asked.

"He is," she replied. "And not just him; Phanto possesses one as well, though I've yet to see him use it personally."

Luke then looked to Volcan to gauge his reaction to the news. "What do you think...?"

"The only one among us who can Mega Evolve is you," Volcan pointed out, looking more concerned now than ever. "We assumed the Houndoom -Romulus, might be able to when I was training with Hank and Kage the night before, but we never even _thought_Phanto could. I don't know what to do about him."

Luke rubbed his chin a little. "Perhaps Katsu should take on Romulus after all." He returned. "He's got something to counter mega evolution, but as for Phanto..." He trailed off as he brainstormed possible ideas in his head. "Either way, we're in for one hell of a battle." Luke commented. "We should get ready."

Volcan nodded. "Yes... let's get going."

"Knock 'em dead, Volc," Tristan encouraged as they started to leave. "You've faced worse than anything here."

Volcan grimaced. "I'd feel better if I could recall what those things were..." He whispered.

As they stepped out of the infirmary, they heard someone laughing; they turned, and spotted a familiar-looking Mismagius floating by the infirmary door. They recognized her as Maggie; another member of Team Warmachine -according to Sickle, more of an agent, as opposed to field operatives like Torolf, Kaen or Leon.

But she wasn't alone either; she was with another Pokémon, one whom they hadn't met before now. A dark purple-bodied squid-like Pokémon in a humanoid-esque form, who was also laughing with Maggie. This Pokémon was a Malamar; a Dark/Psychic-type Pokémon, known for mastery of hypnotic power.

"You two, beat Team Phobia?" Maggie asked as she and the Malamar hovered over. "That's the funniest thing I've heard all day."

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" Volcan asked in annoyance.

Maggie laughed again. "As the coordinator of Team Warmachine and this tournament, I'm entitled to go wherever I wish. If I happen to hear something..." she snickered again. "Ridiculous, on the way... well sometimes that's unavoidable."

"We've watched you through this whole tournament," the Malamar stated. "Though you show some skill you pale in comparison to a gold-ranked elite team like Team Phobia. Like the doc said, we host these tournaments every year, and every time it's the same ones to reach us." He gestured into the infirmary with his tentacle. "So you might as well reserve yourselves a spot in there, 'cuz it's exactly where you're heading."

Luke frowned a little in annoyance at the two. "You seem quite confident in Team Phobias abilities..." He stated. "But aren't you being a bit quick to judge the outcome of the fight?" He asked. "I would have thought you'd welcome a different kind of challenge from a separate team, rather than just go through the same old boring procedure over and over." He commented. "Besides, rank doesn't always mean you're the best... given time, there will always be someone who will rise up and surpass you."

Volcan cast a glance in Luke's direction as he noticed the Lucario was actually quoting something the Blaziken himself had said not too long ago. He actually cracked a smile at it.

"If rank doesn't mean you're the best, what does?" The Malamar asked. "Ranking is proof of a team's efficiency, strength, and dedication."

"I know Torolf hopes one day that a new team will make it to face us," Maggie remarked. "But it's not happening in this tournament, especially not by a couple of boys from some backwater on the coast."

Volcan's wrists sparked dangerously. "Keep talkin', lady," he said, stepping closer to her and looking her straight in the eye. "When we meet you in the finals, I will take great pleasure in making you eat your words."

She laughed again. "I'm so sure." And with that, the two of them levitated away, leaving the two to fume over the words they had spoken.

Volcan snorted. "And that's the one who coordinates for Torolf? Didn't think she'd be such a bitch," he stated, distastefully.

"Let it be for now..." Luke calmly said. "We have to stay focused on the matter at hand. Let's hurry back to the arena for our match." Luke urged, turning on his heel and trotting over back to the arena.

"To shut her up? I'll take on Romulus myself."