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It was time...

   Team Valiant left the stands, each member descending to the corridors of the Colosseum one at a time and following them to their starting position within the arena. The air among them was tense, even for the most stone-faced among them -namely Kage- as they headed for what might be one of their most important battles of all; to save a fellow Rescue Team from one of their own members...

   They reached their starting position, and waited. The wait was sadly short, as from the hall on the other side of the arena, the six fighters who would be their opponents emerged, starting with Torolf, who was down on all fours, moving slowly and staring straight ahead, in the same way the group had seen Gallia, their medic, moving the day before; a completely blank, unthinking expression plastered across his face.

   Standing on the Swampert’s back was Razorwing; it was harder to tell with him at first as his metal face was not as capable of showing expression as the rest, but as they drew closer the same look was visible in his eyes as well. Lined up behind the two was the rest of the group; Kari, Leon, Shamshir and Timber, all walking the same way; slow and unfocused, as if their minds were elsewhere, and having that same mindless, tired look on their faces.

   “There they are,” Volcan said, cringing when he saw their faces, “Arceus, they look like zombies.”

   “A grotesque sight to behold, but we need to focus on the main objective,” Kage muttered, his gaze just as stoic and cold as ever.

   “Alright… but first the official meet at the middle,” said Volcan. “You’re up Luke.”

He nodded, taking a small breath before he started walking toward the center of the arena to meet with Torolf. The Swampert, with Razorwing now off of his back, approached the center of the battlefield. When he and Luke were barely a few paces apart, he could see the bags under Torolf’s eyes; he had not even slept while under Bialo’s control, truly little more than a puppet on a string at that moment, and that string was probably all that was supporting him in his current state.

‘...Torolf…’ Luke thought to himself, feeling pained just looking at him in this condition. He clenched his paws tighter at his sides, struggling to hold his composure.

Oceania used her tail dexterously to flip over a card on the table next to her, studying it. “The match will be… last team standing, Elimination style. Each fighter who wins their battle will be able to carry on to the next one or swap out at the end of each. You may not trade places mid-battle.”

Without saying anything, Torolf turned away from Luke, his eyes staring straight ahead even as he began to turn around, and began to make his way back over to his team. Luke stared on after him as the Swampert headed back to his side, then closed his eyes and turned away himself to head back to his own team, still wearing that pained expression.

“Teams, choose your first combatants!” The Milotic called.

At that, Leon stepped forward from Team Warmachine’s side, marching out to the center of the field slowly and clumsily; Oceania, if she didn’t suspect something was off before, might have now. She took note of how the Empoleon was moving, perturbed by his manner but said nothing about it. Kage narrowed his eyes, saying nothing as he stepped up to the ring to meet with the Empoleon. Once there, he just stood there, arms crossed and still wearing his stoic expression, appearing almost as emotionless as Leon.

“Combatants ready?” Oceania asked as she raised her fan-like tail high over her head, peering between the two as she assessed them. When neither one responded, she took a guess that they were ready, and brought her tail down to signal the start of the match. “Go!”

Leon remained still, those emotionless eyes watching Kage… or rather just staring off into space as it was not his eyes being used now. It seemed Kage had the first move. However, he too stood there motionless. He knew he had to make a move, but in reality, he was scanning the audience, looking for any sign of the Malamar before he'd make his first attack.

   His hesitation proved costly though, as Leon unexpectedly lurched forward and fired a Bubblebeam at hit, the swift-moving stream of bubbles successfully striking the Greninja and coating him in a sticky residue, making it slightly harder to move. He scoffed, jumping away and discharging a smokescreen back at Leon, enveloping him in thick black smoke, allowing Kage precious time to try and rid himself of the gunk before making clones of himself while cloaked in the smoke with Double Team, striking at the Empoleon from every direction before retreating and allowing the next to strike.

When the clones started attacking, Leon put up his flippers defensively; Kage was at one large disadvantage as the unique typing of Empoleon made him resistant to half of the existing Pokemon typings, with his only weaknesses being Ground, Electric and Fighting-type attacks. Kage’s attacks did little damage to him, and he did not seem to even try to dodge.

Kage ceased his assault and scoffed. “Biding his time,” he muttered.

Kage could only remain in place as Leon finished charging, and unleashed the energy of the previous attacks inflicted on him earlier, sending a shock wave invisible to the eye with a swing of his flippers. Kage's clones were eradicated utterly by the blast, but the real Kage easily moved out of the path of it, having expected the attack, before he rushed forward to attack again, remembering that Water and Steel types had no resistance to Ghost or Dark-type moves; this gave him a few options to use against Leon.

As before, Leon stood his ground, letting Kage come at him, and suddenly Kage realized that fighting Leon at close range was a mistake, and stopped his advance. If Leon continued to use Bide, up close Kage would never get out of the way in time, even with his speed. The energy burst had a wide range, and it'd be too risky to test it; he resorted to keeping his distance, hurling Water Shurikens at Leon to minimize the effect of Bide as Leon stood his ground, and as soon as he wasted the attack upon him, Kage fired a Shadow Ball, which sent Leon stumbling.

“Yea! He's getting him!” Hank exclaimed from the sidelines, pumping his claw a bit. “Cmon Froggie! Lay the smack down on him!”

Leon's tactics changed; he fired an Ice Beam -not at Kage, but at the ground itself, spreading a thick sheet of ice that formed over the sand. Kage was forced to jump up to avoid having his feet frozen to the ground, landing on the ice and nearly slipping, but he managed to keep his balance, and waited. Leon stepped forward and then hopped onto the ice. His webbed feet offered little by way of grip on the ice, but it seemed that was the plan, as he began skating over the ice on his webbed feet, moving much faster than he would have otherwise and sliding at Kage, the metal-clad edges of his flippers glowing as he swung at Kage with Metal Claw.

Even on ground with no traction, Kage managed to avoid the attack, sending Leon skating past him, but the Empoleon used Ice Beam again to form a ramp that let him turn around and glide straight at Kage again, still using Metal Claw. Kage saw the attack with barely enough time to use his sword to block it the swinging flipper from Leon, but the momentum and greater weight of the Empoleon sent both of them into a slide, and Kage's feet could not grip the ice.

The two went into a duel; Kage was at a disadvantage. Any swordsman knew from basic training to watch their opponent's eyes and face to read their intentions, allowing them to predict their opponent's next move. But Kage had no such luxury here; Leon wasn't even looking at him, just staring straight ahead, and his attacks, however clumsy they were in the end, could only be read by how he moved and not his facial expressions, which gave Kage less time to react.

Suddenly, he had an idea, and after taking a full swing from Leon, let himself go sliding back along the ice, waiting until he stopped, and jumped just in time to avoid another attack from Leon. The Empoleon turned around after stopping, but did not press the attack while Kage was airborne; Volcan noticed this even from the sidelines, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, but then turned his attention back to Kage as the Greninja fired a Scald straight down at the ice, spewing boiling hot water from his mouth to wash over the shiny surface and fill the air with steam.

When the cloud had cleared, the battlefield was drenched; sand had turned to mud, and Leon could no longer use his skating trick to make up for his lack of speed. Knowing that the Empoleon might try again, Kage moved in quickly to attack, creating two more doubles with Double Team, both of them moving in and either Shadow Sneaking or Night Slashing the Empoleon from both sides while the real body crouched low, as if preparing to leap.

Leon could not dodge the strikes, taking them without so much as a grunt, and when it looked like he was ready to fall, Kage charged forward and grabbed Leon and carrying him into the air before leaping off of him. Kage then disappeared and then Leon was bombarded by a series of nigh instantaneous slashes all over his metal body.

Then as if by magic, there appeared three of the Greninja, poised to strike simultaneously at the helpless Empoleon. “...Ragnarok…!” He muttered, slicing at him before he vanished again, landing in a crouch and returning his blade to his sheathe, clicking it back in right as Leon hit the ground. “Mission Complete…” He muttered after.

Volcan cringed when Leon’s unconscious figure hit the muddy ground. “Was that really necessary?” He asked aloud, though not directed at anyone as Kage was too far to hear.

“Knowing Kage, he wanted to make sure he stayed down; probably to be certain if Bialo could or couldn't force Leon back on his feet like an actual zombie,” Luke answered.

And it worked. Though Leon's body continued to move and his eyes stared off into space, the Empoleon could not get up. It was possible for one's will to overcome the wounds of the body to keep fighting, but it was not Leon's will that was leading his body now; wherever Bialo was, Leon was not responsive, and suddenly the Empoleon seemed to slip out of consciousness, laying flat out on the ground as if suddenly put to sleep, and Oceania called the match.

Leon was soon picked up by medics as Kage returned to the rest of the team, and in his place, Razorwing took flight, gliding out to the center of the battlefield before landing in the starting spot, clicking his beak dangerously.

“Guess it's my turn,” Eagle Eye then flew out as Kage came back, landing in front of Razorwing.

“Careful Eagle Eye,” Volcan muttered. “This guy looks lethal,”

When Oceania signalled the match to start, Razorwing opened his two blade-like wings and took to the air, climbing with startling speed even for a Skarmory as he flew above the battlefield. At the same time, Eagle Eye took off, and the two crossed paths at the middle of the battlefield; this would be the first dedicated air battle that would be witnessed at this tournament between two bird-like Pokémon, and was sure to be quite intense.

The two fliers circled each other, both trying to flank the other, but Eagle Eye was more agile and lighter, and was able to get behind Razor first. He unleashed a flurry of Embers at the Skarmory. Rather than try to dodge, Razorwing whipped around and, with a flap of his wings, sent an Air Slash in Eagle Eye’s general direction, which was so powerful it actually ripped its way through the Embers as it raced towards him, choking them out.

Eagle Eye performed a barrel roll to evade the Air Slash, zipping past Razorwing, Koiogran Turning and zooming back to the Skarmory, this time with a Flame Charge that almost made its mark, but Razorwing banked out of the way just in time to send Eagle Eye soaring past him harmlessly. Both fliers circled around and it was Razorwing who attacked first this time, his wings glowing with a Steel Wing attack and soaring straight at Eagle Eye.

“NOPE!!” Eagle Eye hollered in defiance, once more dodging the attack; Razorwing was fast, but Eagle Eye was indeed faster and much more agile, allowing him to maneuver better than the Skarmory.

As if Bialo had realized the futility of the exchange, Razorwing changed his strategy now, and his body began to glow brightly as he began to U-Turn. Metal fragments fell from his body, and when the glow faded, he seemed to have become slimmer and more aerodynamic.

Volcan recognized the attack instantly from when his teammate Tristan had used it before. “He used Autotomize!” He exclaimed.

“So? Birdbrain’s got Tailwind and Flame Charge.” Hank returned.

   “Remember how much of a speed boost it gave Tristan?” Volcan pointed out. “He still weighed five-hundred-plus pounds even with that and he was able to keep up with Wade; a Skarmory doesn’t even weigh half that. This guy may have just tripled his speed.”

   “He's got this. Relax.” Hank replied, continuing the watch the match.

   Hank would soon be eating his words, though, as Razorwing finished his U-turn and shot towards Eagle Eye as though he had been fired out of a cannon, delivering a Steel Wing that knocked Eagle Eye off balance, sending him careening towards the ground. Fortunately, he landed inside the ring and not out of bounds, but the hard landing stunned him, and he lay in the mud, dazed and disoriented, trying to collect himself.

   “Or not...” Hank mumbled.

   “I told you!” Volcan snapped at the Zoroark, making Hank flinch.

   “Eagle Eye, move; quickly!” Luke called.

   The Talonflame snapped out of his daze in the nick of time. Razorwing was diving towards him, talons raked forward to attack. The Talonflame couldn't get up fast enough, and had to breath a Fire Blast at Razorwing to force him to bank out of the wave, but the Skarmory was persistent in his attack and took a direct hit from the Fire Blast, launching him backward and suffering catastrophic damage, but it was enough to buy Eagle Eye the precious seconds he needed to get back on his feet and take flight again.

   Razorwing was quick to follow, chasing after the Talonflame. Eagle Eye half-looped back towards the Skarmory, and both of them raced at each other; Eagle Eye with Flame Charge, Razorwing with Iron Head -ascending at Eagle Eye with his metal head leading, both of them raking their talons forward and tearing at each other in midair.

   As they locked talons, Razorwing reared back his head and then clamped his iron beak over Eagle Eye's shoulder, biting hard onto his wing. Eagle Eye hollered in a mix of surprise and pain at the underhanded move, and ignited himself with another Flame Charge to try and force Razorwing off of him, but the Skarmory was non-reactive to pain at that moment, as his mind was not the one in control, and now the two were rapidly losing altitude with Eagle Eye stuck underneath the Skarmory.

   Thinking fast, Eagle Eye knew he was in an all-or-nothing scenario as the ground drew closer. He ignited himself once more, but this time with an even more powerful attack -Flare Blitz, and blasted himself out of Razorwing's grip, suffering some tearing at his shoulder but with a quick turn he managed to pull himself into a glide while Razorwing fell like a brick out of the ring, landing on the muddy ground with a wet splat.

   “See? Nothing to worry about,” Hank commented to Volcan.

   The Blaziken slapped himself in the forehead, not even bothering to mention to the Zoroark how many ways that maneuver could have backfired -or how Razorwing was not actually the one in control of himself at that moment, and just kept his beak shut as Eagle Eye landed in the ring, looking towards at the downed Skarmory before he spoke.

   “Doesn't matter what team you're on; the Red Talons will always be the best damn fliers in the world!” He announced with pride.

   The crowd applauded him as Oceania called the match, allowing the Talonflame to return to the group; his wing was too hurt to fly back so he resorted to hopping over to them. Mikhail met him once he was outside of the arena, and helped tend to his wing, while Volcan turned his gaze to Team Warmachine, going over in his head how the two battles had progressed. He was surprised that they had won, two times in a row now with only minor complications.

   He studied the four remaining, zombie-like Pokémon, all of whom were standing completely deadpan; Bialo wasn’t even making an effort to try and make them appear to be strategizing. Their techniques had been effective, but throughout both battles they had fought directly and failed to adapt -he had seen it first with Leon, when he had the perfect opportunity to hit Kage while the Greninja was airborne with an Ice Beam or Bubblebeam, both of which could have slowed the Greninja to a crawl and left him wide open for Leon to defeat but the Empoleon -or rather Bialo- had not done so. If Leon was the master of strategies for Team Warmachine, surely he would have thought of such a thing if Volcan could, and he wasn't even in the battle!

   And then there was Razorwing. Though his direct attack patterns had left Eagle Eye wounded and, at one point, wide open for a very painful attack when he had been on the ground, but deliberately threw himself directly into harm's way twice in that battle, and the Blaziken refused to believe that Razorwing would do so. Eagle Eye and Razorwing both came from former teams that were sworn enemies of one another -it stood to reason that the Saberwings might at least try to train their members to take on their rivals, not the least of which to deal with that type advantage the Red Talons had over them, so why in the world would Bialo throw his own team member into harm's way like this?

   After some careful thought, a thought occurred to the Blaziken. “You know, I think I’ve discovered a weak link in this chain,” He said to Luke.

   The Lucario looked up at him, eyeing him quizzically. “A weak link?” He repeated, and then his eyes narrowed. “Go on...”

   “Bialo’s able to control the minds of these guys,” explained Volcan “But he can’t think like them; we’d never have this easy a time against the real Warmachine fighters -not in a hundred years.” He smiled. “But Bialo is unknowingly making our job easier by controlling their minds; he can’t make use of their strategies because he doesn’t know them all, and doesn't know how each one would adapt to our changing tactics.”

“Hey you're right!” Luke returned, realizing that Volcan had a point; if Bialo were in this battle himself it would be a different kind of match, and he could change his own style to match his opponent but without knowing his teammates right down to their very cores, he was throwing his puppets in between a rock and a hard place. “This could really work in our favour, but we can't ease up just yet. After all... you never know what a cornered Raticate can do.”

   “The cornered Raticate will bite the Persian, right?” Volcan asked.

   “Right on the money,” Luke answered with a nod. “And if Bialo realizes this as well, we just might feel that bite soon enough.”

   The next one to step up was Timber, the Haxorus, stepping across the field to take his position while using his front claws to sharpen the edges of his axe-like tusks, digging at the ground with his foot as he waited for his opponent. Volcan frowned, seeing Timber was acting with the same mannerisms he had that day he'd taken Sol to prison -either Bialo knew more about Timber's behaviour than he did the rest... or...

   “I'm up then,” Katsu stated, stepping up to the arena to meet with Timber.

“Good luck Katsu,” Luke bade him as the Samurott walked into the ring.

   “Something's wrong here...” Volcan muttered, earning another questioning glance from Luke, but said nothing as Oceania announced the match as Katsu took his position.

   “The third round begins now!” She called. “Our living forest-wrecking warrior, Timber, versus the mighty Katsumoto of Team Valiant! Axe will meet sword in this battle of the titans; combatants, steel yourselves and prepare to fight!”

   Timber growled audibly, once more digging at the ground with his foot and lowering his upper body into a deep slouching position, his red eyes narrowing. Katsu drew forth his Seamitars and adopted a sideways stance, his glare meeting that of Timber's as they waited for the match to start.

   Oceania called for the match to begin, letting out a loud “Go!” before retreating to the sidelines to get out of their way. They charged, meeting in the center, and axe-tusk met Seamitar, ringing through the air as loudly as any metal blades as the two clashed. Timber swung his head side-to-side, striking at Katsu repeatedly; Katsu blocked each attack, but Timber was proving to be quite strong, using every muscle in his upper body to add force to his swings, so heavy that even Katsu with his tremendous might could feel every hit.

   When Katsu finally got his chance to counter-attack, he thrust his sword forward, aiming for Timber's chest. The Haxorus side-stepped out of the way, turning about and swinging at Katsu with his tail. The Samurott dodged, and then struck back, this time landing a strike to Timber's side, but his dense hide withstood the strike and forced Katsu to dodge again as Timber chopped at him, forcing him back only to suffer a sideways kick to his chest that sent Katsu flying backwards. He stuck one of his swords into the ground, sending plumes of mud to the sides but managing to stop himself as he landed back on his feet.

   “Timber's fighting pretty damn well for a puppet,” Volcan stated, narrowing his eyes further. While it wasn't unlikely Bialo knew Timber's fighting style at least somewhat, the technique that the Dragon-type was displaying was well-coordinated and not as clumsy as Leon or Razorwing. “Wait… could it be?”

   As Katsu and Timber clashed again when the Haxorus attempted to Headbutt him, Katsu blocked with his swords, landing them at the roots of the axe-tusks protruding from Timber's mouth, and he saw his opponent's eyes more clearly. He saw rage, deeply seated but visible -the battle rage of a dragon, clear as day, was coming from those eyes, and the look he gave Katsu was not the look of a puppet...

   Katsu’s eyes widened as he came to that realization what that look meant. “You...!” He began. “You're not being controlled at all!”

   Volcan hadn’t heard the Samurott, but suddenly the same idea seemed to dawn on him. “Timber’s with them!” He exclaimed suddenly.

    The dragon grinned at Katsu. “Well, I guess the Liepard is out of the bag,” he snarled before he thrust forward with all the strength in his legs, forcing Katsu back. “I never was much of a faker.” But before the initial surprise passed, Timber made his move; he stomped on the ground, and from underneath the Samurott, roots exploded, immediately going for his limbs and coiling around his legs and body, restraining him and leaving him unable to move.

   Katsu was too late to avoid the Grass Knot attack, and grunted as he was coiled up in the roots, struggling heavily for a bit before he glared back at the Haxorus. “Have you no sense of honour?! Your team is being made to do things out of their control, and you allow that Malamar to get away with this?!”

    “I’d love to chat, but I’ve got a battle to win!” Timber bellowed as he lunged forth and swung his whole body around with all of his might, slamming Katsu full-force with a Dragon Tail, snapping the roots that bound him and sending Katsu flying once again, soaring out of the arena and slamming into the faraway wall like a missile, the impact knocking the wind out of Katsu and rendering him unconscious; he fell to the sandy ground, which caked the mud covering his torso, exhaling deeply as blackness took him.

“Out of bounds!” Oceania called with some reluctance as Volcan and Hank ran to help Katsu. “The winner… is Timber!”

“Bring on your next!” Timber taunted the rest of the team. “Come on! I’ll send every last one of you packing myself!”
“I don't believe my eyes...” Volcan muttered as Hank and Mikhail ran over to Katsu to assist him, leaving Luke, Kage and him to take in what they had just seen. “Timber's in on this entire thing?”

“This is a disgrace! How can he side with that misguided pair like this?!” Luke demanded.

Kage narrowed his eyes, uncrossing his arms and stepping out silently back into the ring to face Timber, silently eager to put him in his place. Luke and Volcan watched as the Greninja moved out to battle for the second time, but said nothing to him, as at that moment they didn't feel like arguing.

The Haxorus growled as he saw Kage returning, staring at him and barely able to contain his rage.“I’m going to stomp you flat, froggie” Timber growled. “You mighta beat Leon, but you won't be so lucky against me.”

“You can try…” Kage returned.

“Go!” Oceania called, signalling the match to start.

Timber charged him, attacking with a Dual Chop that Kage was easily able to avoid; now that he was up against an opponent that was not being puppeteered, he could reach his opponent's expression as well as his movements. Kage had little intention of taking much of an offensive against Timber; he could fight the Haxorus if he wanted to, but he had a different plan in mind for this brutish Dragon Pokémon.

Kage subtly reached behind him and tapped something on the back of his belt making an effort to make it appear as though he was reaching for a weapon. “I wonder what Torolf will say when he discovers that you, Maggie, and Bialo are trying to sabotage this tournament?” He asked before hurling a Water Shuriken at the Haxorus.

Timber ducked his head down, letting the shuriken splatter against his armoured hide without doing much damage, and then snarled at Kage. “When I throw your broken body into the ocean he’ll never know!” He called. “He’ll wake up in his room tomorrow morning and we’ll tell him you forfeited and left!” He followed this by firing a Dragon Pulse at the Greninja.

“And what of your cohorts who likely have already begun to suspect?” Kage pressed further, seeking to agitate the Haxorus even more. “Such as the one who witnessed the strange behaviour of your team throughout this battle?” He gestured at Oceania. “Or maybe, I should go talk to Aegis; I'm sure he would love to hear about what his cohorts Bialo and Maggie have been doing behind his back.”

    “We didn't bring Aegis in because Maggie was pretty sure he'd be able to handle that punk kid on his own; seems she underestimated the runt, given that Aegis apparently lost to him.” He scoffed. “If the kid had picked me it'd be a different story.”

    “And what do you gain from all this?” Kage asked. “Your team, mind-controlled by one of their own, forced to fight as puppets? Does she have so little faith in you all that she doesn't think you can win on your own without her intervention?”

    “Torolf's a misguided idiot,” Timber retorted. “These tournaments are a chance to show the world that we are the best of the best, and we've done that every year. That needs to keep happening; we lose our rep, we lose everything. Bialo's making sure that doesn't happen; we need to win, and fightin' dirty is the only way that's going to happen; Bialo will see to that.”

    Kage scoffed. “Listen to yourself; doesn't that sound like a bit of a stretch even to you?” He asked. “Or are you as small-minded and naive as you're making yourself sound? If your team is really so powerful, then they would've been more than capable of handling us by themselves. As it stands now, you've all proven to be quite easy.”

    Timber hesitated slightly, visibly pausing before shaking his head and snarling at Kage. “You talk too much!” He bellowed before he charged forward and swung his head at Kage for a Slash attack, but Kage dodged the attack easily once again, landing on Timber's head and hopping off of him as he skidded to a stop.

    “Perhaps the reputation of Team Warmachine is a bit overblown,” Kage commented without even looking at Timber. “Or at the very least, maybe putting you as one of their elites is.” He looked over his shoulder. “You're quite a fool for a Dragon-type.”

    “Shut your mouth!” Timber roared as he ran to attack Kage again, but the Greninja felt only satisfaction and not concern; he had received everything he needed to from the Haxorus, and now that Timber was completely ignoring everything around him, his only focus on Kage, he could end this match now.

“It is you who talks too much, fool,” he said in a low tone, then fired the hottest Scald he could conjure, aimed right between the eyes.

Timber clenched his eyes shut as he felt his face burning, the momentum of his running carrying him forward, closer and closer the edge of the ring, which he could no longer see. With that, Kage unfurled his tongue from around his neck and snapped it forward like a whip, hooking around the front of Timber's legs and tripping him as he yoinked it back, sending the dragon face-first into the mud with the upper half of his body outside of the line.

“Out of bounds!” Oceania called, this time without hesitation. “The winner is Kage!”

Timber, hearing those words, sat up, staring at the white chalked border of the fighting ring. “No!” He growled, looking at Kage. “You were baiting me all along!” He shot to his feet, and was about to run at the Greninja, no longer caring if he was disqualified.

Volcan, seeing what Timber was about to do, sprang into action, leaping through the air and somersaulting forward until he landed in the path of the Haxorus, forcing him to grind to a halt. “It’s over, pal,” he stated. “You lost, now let your next fighter step up.”

Timber glared into Volcan’s eyes, though his own vision was foggy from the scald. “Get out of my way before I squash you.”

“Go ahead,” Volcan retorted, returning his glare. “You've still lost, and if you attack me now, this fight's going to become two on one.” At that, Kage stepped out from behind the Blaziken, as if to emphasize the Blaziken's point.

For a moment, it looked like the infuriated Haxorus was still going to attack them, but then Timber grabbed his head in pain, growling as some unknown ailment befell him. Volcan and Kage glanced at each other briefly before looking back at him again, wondering what was wrong with him, but whatever was happening, even Kage couldn't find out with Mind Reader -a much more powerful Psychic power was blocking him.

A moment later, he looked at Volcan again, giving the Blaziken a warning look before he stormed away, where both he and Kage watched the Haxorus leave, and the next combatant, Kari the Ninetales, was due to step up. With that, Kage walked past Volcan as he stepped off the ring, looking to the Blaziken and turning his body a bit to show the Blaziken the playback device hidden in his belt, giving him a nod before returning to his team.

Volcan smiled. “Sly as a Zoroark,” he whispered. “And, speaking of which…” He muttered as he saw Hank stepping up.

“Alright! Time to kick some ass and chew bubblegum!” He said as he stepped past Volcan, smirking arrogantly. “And I'm all outta gum…”

Kari took her spot on the field… and sat down. Just like that, she seated herself in the sand, staring ahead at Hank with that blank stare that had permeated the other mind-controlled members of Team Warmachine. Hank felt disappointed knowing he wouldn't get to test himself against Kari as he hoped, but it was his round now; the team had been stalling as much as though could allow -especially Kage against Timber, and hopefully Sickle was close to finding Bialo.

Even when Oceania announced the match and introduced the two fighters, Kari remained stoic and unmoving, her many tails remaining upright behind her as she continued to star... but then she blinked, and Hank noticed something; life seemed to return to her eyes for an instant, and she seemed to be trying to turn her head as if to shake it, but her movements were stiff, and she couldn’t quite manage, as though some other force was stopping her.

Hank didn't even react as Oceania called for the match to start. He watched Kari, narrowing his eyes and cautiously approaching her. “...You feeling under the weather little missy?” He asked, keeping an illusion at the ready just in case.

He saw her mouth moving… she was trying to say something, but no words were coming out, and while the rest of her body was trembling, her lips were steady as she spoke, allowing Hank to somewhat read her words…

‘He… knows… tactics… be care… illusions… won’t work on me… only I… will see… but won’t stop him...’

    It hit him at that instant She was fighting Bialo’s control, and warning Hank his illusions wouldn’t help him; even if she could see them Bialo would not, and it would not hinder her so long as Bialo could still see the battlefield… which meant he was without a doubt somewhere he could still see them both. But that also meant Wade and Sickle's team hadn't found that damned Malamar yet, Hank frowned deeply, flexing his claws and keeping his guard up to still look ready to fight while he gazed around her and to the rest of the team, seeing if he could find Bialo in that general area. But there was nothing that stood out… where could that Malamar be hiding?

    Still, Kari's warning raised a valid point. Hank could cast Illusions all he wanted at the puppeteered Ninetales but without them specifically targeting Bialo they would do little to stop him, and without knowing where he was, Hank couldn't project something to hinder him regardless, which means Kari could keep attacking as long as Bialo himself remained unfazed. There was only one choice; he had to fight Kari without using his illusions.

    “Tsh, man I hate hitting a lady,” He muttered, preparing a Shadow Claw and grinning, putting back on the facade that he intended to fight her like he meant it. “Ladies first, sweetheart.”

    At that, Kari fanned out her tails, and at the end of one of them, a blue fire appeared; lifting away from the tips of her tails and dancing in a circle around her until her eyes flashed, and one of the nine flames launched at Hank, lashing out as suddenly as an Arbok striking an enemy, followed by the rest of them in consecutive order.

    “Ooooh no ya don't!” Hank stated, backing up and jumping up into the air, twisting and angling his body just right to avoid the flames of Will-o-wisp that would have left him with quite a nasty burn if he had not dodged.

    Landing back on the ground, he then snapped his claws and ensnared her legs with Grass Knot before moving in with Shadow Claw. She did not even try to move as the grass knot ensnared her legs, anchoring her in place even if she were to attempt to move, yet she remained non-reactive to what was happening. Hank carried on his assault, jumping up into the air and discharging a Night Daze down at his opponent before the fires could nail him.

    Her eyes flashed, and a Protect barrier formed between her and Hank; the Night Daze struck it and withstood the attack easily, giving her the opportunity to strike back. She splayed out her tails once more, another one glowing, before a ray of light struck Hank from above, disorienting him and sending his mind swimming while he was still airborne Onlookers recognized it as Confuse Ray, driving him into a state of confusion. He landed on the ground and kept trying to shake his head in vain, growling as he stumbled about.

    While he was disoriented, Kari fired another Will-o-wisp, and this time Hank's mind was too fogged by the Confuse Ray to see the attack coming; he felt it hit him, and threw back his head to yelp in agony as it burned his back. The shock of it snapped him out of his confusion, and he slapped at the burned spot with his claws instinctively as it felt like there was still fire burning, though it had gone out upon contact.

    And that is when things took a turn for the worse. Another tail flicked; Kari's eyes glowed, and Hank doubled over as his burned back seemed to explode with white hot agony, feeling like liquid-hot magma was being poured all over him. He hit the ground, writing in agony. He couldn't even think through the pain filling his entire body, and though he was trying not to scream, it eventually forced its way out as he continued to Hex him.

    From the sidelines, the rest of Team Valiant could barely watch the torturous situation that their teammate was in; Hank could not even stand without his back searing because of the hex; an ordinary burn would never stop, but when amplified by such an attack it was made all the more agonizing. Kari had barely moved a muscle

    “She's fucking torturing him!” Volcan exclaimed. “Torolf said Kari was a trickster, but I’m seeing a long range fighter that is maiming her target!”

    “I-I can't watch this anymore!” Eagle Eye stated, covering his eyes with his wing.

    Luke was visibly trembling, clenching his paws tightly as he watched Hank get tortured by a Pokemon with no control of her actions; it was not her doing, it was Bialo who was inflicting this sadistic pain upon Hank; it made him sick to his stomach, and it visibly showed, but without knowing where Bialo was, there was nothing they could do without being disqualified!

    He couldn't stand it anymore. “I’m not letting this continue!” He yelled, beginning to run around the field, heading over to Oceania, intent on pulling Hank out of the battle to save him; Kage could surely pick up for him again and take on the Ninetales...

    Time was running out for him too... Kari stepped towards Hank, rearing back her head to unleash another Flamethrower to let the cruelty continue, flames crackling between her jaws with only seconds before she would unleash it, Oceania looked ready to intervene, as it appeared to her that Hank had had enough and the battle could be called in Kari's favour...

    But just before she could make a move, Kari suddenly threw her head to the side, sending the flamethrower into the wet sand instead of at the Zoroark, drying the water from it and scorching the surface of the sand with its intensity; her sudden change gave Luke and Oceania pause, both of them stopping in their tracks. She let out a snarl, swinging her head around. Kari was trying to regain control, trying to protect Hank from her powers. Her eyes were clenched tightly, and she

    Hank looked up at her, seeing her fight against her controller. Despite his wounds, he forced himself to his feet. “That's it lady; c'mon, fight that shithead!” He managed to say between clenched teeth. “Don't let him control ya!”

    She hissed, shaking her head around and barely managing to stop herself from another attack. Her expression changed, looking at Hank with a desperate, pleading look; she couldn’t break Bialo’s hold, only delay it, and that face told Hank what she wanted from him.

    He had to knock her out.

    Hank sighed, nodding a bit as he reared his claw back for a Shadow Claw. “...Sorry, sweet cheeks.” He muttered, then he swung as hard as his burnt body would allow, striking her clean across the face.

    That one strike was all it took; she went down, hitting the ground with a dull thud, and let out a long release of breath as she slipped away…

    Oceania froze. Luke stood absolutely still, halfway between his team's area and the Milotic with the sudden turn of events. The audience shared in their stunned pause, unsure of what to make of what they had just seen.

    When the initial shock had finally passed, Oceania collected herself and raised her tail once more as she made the announcement. “And match over!” She called. “The winner is Hank of Team Valiant!”

    The audience's applause was delayed and rather short-lived, as many of them were becoming increasingly unsure about this battle as a whole. Their applause ended when Hank suddenly collapsed from his injuries, and Volcan, in reaction, ran out onto the battlefield to retrieve his teammate.

    “Damn it Sickle, hurry up!” The Blaziken whispered before he reached Hank’s side. “Are you okay man?” He asked, eyes filled with concern.

    “Never mind me.” Hank said through grit teeth, turning his gaze towards Kari. “I'm more worried for her.”

    Volcan looked over at Kari, seeing the medical teams approaching to pick her up now that the battle was over. “Her? She barely has a scratch on her; you knocked her out with a single hit,” he said before looking back at Hank, where he then proceeded to bring Hank’s arm around the back of his neck and hoisted him up to carry him towards Mikhail, trying to be gentle so as not to aggravate his burns. “How did you get her anyway? When I last looked she was roasting you like a fish.”

    “It's not the physical wounds that leave a lasting mark,” Hank said in a melancholic manner, and then looked to the Blaziken. “To answer yer question, well... She was actually fighting her mind control. She let me KO her.”

    Volcan looked in Kari’s direction. “She was fighting Bialo?” He asked. He watched as Kari was carried away on a stretcher, narrowing his eyes in curiosity. “If she's able to resist him...” he muttered, before he resumed bringing Hank back to the team to let Mikhail take over, who gingerly took Hank from Volcan and brought him over to the side to treat him.

    Volcan turned to Kage and motioned him over. The Greninja approached him, and listened as Volcan spoke in a hushed tone to him. “Kari was resisting Bialo,” he told the Greninja, visibly getting Kage's attention. “If you follow the medical team, can you add your strength to hers and maybe break his control? With her word and ours, we can put a stop to all of this.”

    He nodded to Volcan, stepping away from the rest of the team and making his way over to the infirmary to carry out Volcan's idea, leaving the rest of the battle to fight the remaining two members of Team Warmachine.

    Meanwhile, Luke was watching as Kari was carried out, and out of the corner of his eye, his gaze fell upon Oceania again. She had seen enough at this point that she was questing the validity of the battle; he could see it in her eyes. She knew something was afoul; if he went to speak to her now, she could surely help them put an end to this. Her position as the referee would give her the power to call off the match.

    Luke took a step forward, but that was all he could muster; he felt something grip his entire body; a Psychic force that seized him like an invisible vice, and he felt a presence in his mind. 'Can't let you do that worm,' a voice spoke to him. It sounded like Bialo -even without hearing his voice with his ears, the mental voice of the Malamar was still the same as Bialo's spoken voice.

    'I'm putting an end to this madness right now!' Luke defiantly growled in his mind, trying to take a step forward, but his body just refused to respond to his commands.

    'You will do no such thing; this match is not over yet,' replied Bialo. 'Now return to your position; no need to bother Oceania with your lies.'

    'You cannot keep up this facade forever, Bialo!' Luke roared at him. 'Your actions have made your team weak! You cannot win!'

    'Oh I can, and I will,' retorted the Malamar. 'Now... away with you.'

    At that last word, darkness fell across Luke's vision, and suddenly the world seemed to vanish around him...

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It was time...

   Team Valiant left the stands, each member descending to the corridors of the Colosseum one at a time and following them to their starting position within the arena. The air among them was tense, even for the most stone-faced among them -namely Kage- as they headed for what might be one of their most important battles of all; to save a fellow Rescue Team from one of their own members...

   They reached their starting position, and waited. The wait was sadly short, as from the hall on the other side of the arena, the six fighters who would be their opponents emerged, starting with Torolf, who was down on all fours, moving slowly and staring straight ahead, in the same way the group had seen Gallia, their medic, moving the day before; a completely blank, unthinking expression plastered across his face.

   Standing on the Swampert’s back was Razorwing; it was harder to tell with him at first as his metal face was not as capable of showing expression as the rest, but as they drew closer the same look was visible in his eyes as well. Lined up behind the two was the rest of the group; Kari, Leon, Shamshir and Timber, all walking the same way; slow and unfocused, as if their minds were elsewhere, and having that same mindless, tired look on their faces.

   “There they are,” Volcan said, cringing when he saw their faces, “Arceus, they look like zombies.”

   “A grotesque sight to behold, but we need to focus on the main objective,” Kage muttered, his gaze just as stoic and cold as ever.

   “Alright… but first the official meet at the middle,” said Volcan. “You’re up Luke.”

He nodded, taking a small breath before he started walking toward the center of the arena to meet with Torolf. The Swampert, with Razorwing now off of his back, approached the center of the battlefield. When he and Luke were barely a few paces apart, he could see the bags under Torolf’s eyes; he had not even slept while under Bialo’s control, truly little more than a puppet on a string at that moment, and that string was probably all that was supporting him in his current state.

‘...Torolf…’ Luke thought to himself, feeling pained just looking at him in this condition. He clenched his paws tighter at his sides, struggling to hold his composure.

Oceania used her tail dexterously to flip over a card on the table next to her, studying it. “The match will be… last team standing, Elimination style. Each fighter who wins their battle will be able to carry on to the next one or swap out at the end of each. You may not trade places mid-battle.”

Without saying anything, Torolf turned away from Luke, his eyes staring straight ahead even as he began to turn around, and began to make his way back over to his team. Luke stared on after him as the Swampert headed back to his side, then closed his eyes and turned away himself to head back to his own team, still wearing that pained expression.

“Teams, choose your first combatants!” The Milotic called.

At that, Leon stepped forward from Team Warmachine’s side, marching out to the center of the field slowly and clumsily; Oceania, if she didn’t suspect something was off before, might have now. She took note of how the Empoleon was moving, perturbed by his manner but said nothing about it. Kage narrowed his eyes, saying nothing as he stepped up to the ring to meet with the Empoleon. Once there, he just stood there, arms crossed and still wearing his stoic expression, appearing almost as emotionless as Leon.

“Combatants ready?” Oceania asked as she raised her fan-like tail high over her head, peering between the two as she assessed them. When neither one responded, she took a guess that they were ready, and brought her tail down to signal the start of the match. “Go!”

Leon remained still, those emotionless eyes watching Kage… or rather just staring off into space as it was not his eyes being used now. It seemed Kage had the first move. However, he too stood there motionless. He knew he had to make a move, but in reality, he was scanning the audience, looking for any sign of the Malamar before he'd make his first attack.

   His hesitation proved costly though, as Leon unexpectedly lurched forward and fired a Bubblebeam at hit, the swift-moving stream of bubbles successfully striking the Greninja and coating him in a sticky residue, making it slightly harder to move. He scoffed, jumping away and discharging a smokescreen back at Leon, enveloping him in thick black smoke, allowing Kage precious time to try and rid himself of the gunk before making clones of himself while cloaked in the smoke with Double Team, striking at the Empoleon from every direction before retreating and allowing the next to strike.

When the clones started attacking, Leon put up his flippers defensively; Kage was at one large disadvantage as the unique typing of Empoleon made him resistant to half of the existing Pokemon typings, with his only weaknesses being Ground, Electric and Fighting-type attacks. Kage’s attacks did little damage to him, and he did not seem to even try to dodge.

Kage ceased his assault and scoffed. “Biding his time,” he muttered.

Kage could only remain in place as Leon finished charging, and unleashed the energy of the previous attacks inflicted on him earlier, sending a shock wave invisible to the eye with a swing of his flippers. Kage's clones were eradicated utterly by the blast, but the real Kage easily moved out of the path of it, having expected the attack, before he rushed forward to attack again, remembering that Water and Steel types had no resistance to Ghost or Dark-type moves; this gave him a few options to use against Leon.

As before, Leon stood his ground, letting Kage come at him, and suddenly Kage realized that fighting Leon at close range was a mistake, and stopped his advance. If Leon continued to use Bide, up close Kage would never get out of the way in time, even with his speed. The energy burst had a wide range, and it'd be too risky to test it; he resorted to keeping his distance, hurling Water Shurikens at Leon to minimize the effect of Bide as Leon stood his ground, and as soon as he wasted the attack upon him, Kage fired a Shadow Ball, which sent Leon stumbling.

“Yea! He's getting him!” Hank exclaimed from the sidelines, pumping his claw a bit. “Cmon Froggie! Lay the smack down on him!”

Leon's tactics changed; he fired an Ice Beam -not at Kage, but at the ground itself, spreading a thick sheet of ice that formed over the sand. Kage was forced to jump up to avoid having his feet frozen to the ground, landing on the ice and nearly slipping, but he managed to keep his balance, and waited. Leon stepped forward and then hopped onto the ice. His webbed feet offered little by way of grip on the ice, but it seemed that was the plan, as he began skating over the ice on his webbed feet, moving much faster than he would have otherwise and sliding at Kage, the metal-clad edges of his flippers glowing as he swung at Kage with Metal Claw.

Even on ground with no traction, Kage managed to avoid the attack, sending Leon skating past him, but the Empoleon used Ice Beam again to form a ramp that let him turn around and glide straight at Kage again, still using Metal Claw. Kage saw the attack with barely enough time to use his sword to block it the swinging flipper from Leon, but the momentum and greater weight of the Empoleon sent both of them into a slide, and Kage's feet could not grip the ice.

The two went into a duel; Kage was at a disadvantage. Any swordsman knew from basic training to watch their opponent's eyes and face to read their intentions, allowing them to predict their opponent's next move. But Kage had no such luxury here; Leon wasn't even looking at him, just staring straight ahead, and his attacks, however clumsy they were in the end, could only be read by how he moved and not his facial expressions, which gave Kage less time to react.

Suddenly, he had an idea, and after taking a full swing from Leon, let himself go sliding back along the ice, waiting until he stopped, and jumped just in time to avoid another attack from Leon. The Empoleon turned around after stopping, but did not press the attack while Kage was airborne; Volcan noticed this even from the sidelines, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, but then turned his attention back to Kage as the Greninja fired a Scald straight down at the ice, spewing boiling hot water from his mouth to wash over the shiny surface and fill the air with steam.

When the cloud had cleared, the battlefield was drenched; sand had turned to mud, and Leon could no longer use his skating trick to make up for his lack of speed. Knowing that the Empoleon might try again, Kage moved in quickly to attack, creating two more doubles with Double Team, both of them moving in and either Shadow Sneaking or Night Slashing the Empoleon from both sides while the real body crouched low, as if preparing to leap.

Leon could not dodge the strikes, taking them without so much as a grunt, and when it looked like he was ready to fall, Kage charged forward and grabbed Leon and carrying him into the air before leaping off of him. Kage then disappeared and then Leon was bombarded by a series of nigh instantaneous slashes all over his metal body.

Then as if by magic, there appeared three of the Greninja, poised to strike simultaneously at the helpless Empoleon. “...Ragnarok…!” He muttered, slicing at him before he vanished again, landing in a crouch and returning his blade to his sheathe, clicking it back in right as Leon hit the ground. “Mission Complete…” He muttered after.

Volcan cringed when Leon’s unconscious figure hit the muddy ground. “Was that really necessary?” He asked aloud, though not directed at anyone as Kage was too far to hear.

“Knowing Kage, he wanted to make sure he stayed down; probably to be certain if Bialo could or couldn't force Leon back on his feet like an actual zombie,” Luke answered.

And it worked. Though Leon's body continued to move and his eyes stared off into space, the Empoleon could not get up. It was possible for one's will to overcome the wounds of the body to keep fighting, but it was not Leon's will that was leading his body now; wherever Bialo was, Leon was not responsive, and suddenly the Empoleon seemed to slip out of consciousness, laying flat out on the ground as if suddenly put to sleep, and Oceania called the match.

Leon was soon picked up by medics as Kage returned to the rest of the team, and in his place, Razorwing took flight, gliding out to the center of the battlefield before landing in the starting spot, clicking his beak dangerously.

“Guess it's my turn,” Eagle Eye then flew out as Kage came back, landing in front of Razorwing.

“Careful Eagle Eye,” Volcan muttered. “This guy looks lethal,”

When Oceania signalled the match to start, Razorwing opened his two blade-like wings and took to the air, climbing with startling speed even for a Skarmory as he flew above the battlefield. At the same time, Eagle Eye took off, and the two crossed paths at the middle of the battlefield; this would be the first dedicated air battle that would be witnessed at this tournament between two bird-like Pokémon, and was sure to be quite intense.

The two fliers circled each other, both trying to flank the other, but Eagle Eye was more agile and lighter, and was able to get behind Razor first. He unleashed a flurry of Embers at the Skarmory. Rather than try to dodge, Razorwing whipped around and, with a flap of his wings, sent an Air Slash in Eagle Eye’s general direction, which was so powerful it actually ripped its way through the Embers as it raced towards him, choking them out.

Eagle Eye performed a barrel roll to evade the Air Slash, zipping past Razorwing, Koiogran Turning and zooming back to the Skarmory, this time with a Flame Charge that almost made its mark, but Razorwing banked out of the way just in time to send Eagle Eye soaring past him harmlessly. Both fliers circled around and it was Razorwing who attacked first this time, his wings glowing with a Steel Wing attack and soaring straight at Eagle Eye.

“NOPE!!” Eagle Eye hollered in defiance, once more dodging the attack; Razorwing was fast, but Eagle Eye was indeed faster and much more agile, allowing him to maneuver better than the Skarmory.

As if Bialo had realized the futility of the exchange, Razorwing changed his strategy now, and his body began to glow brightly as he began to U-Turn. Metal fragments fell from his body, and when the glow faded, he seemed to have become slimmer and more aerodynamic.

Volcan recognized the attack instantly from when his teammate Tristan had used it before. “He used Autotomize!” He exclaimed.

“So? Birdbrain’s got Tailwind and Flame Charge.” Hank returned.

   “Remember how much of a speed boost it gave Tristan?” Volcan pointed out. “He still weighed five-hundred-plus pounds even with that and he was able to keep up with Wade; a Skarmory doesn’t even weigh half that. This guy may have just tripled his speed.”

   “He's got this. Relax.” Hank replied, continuing the watch the match.

   Hank would soon be eating his words, though, as Razorwing finished his U-turn and shot towards Eagle Eye as though he had been fired out of a cannon, delivering a Steel Wing that knocked Eagle Eye off balance, sending him careening towards the ground. Fortunately, he landed inside the ring and not out of bounds, but the hard landing stunned him, and he lay in the mud, dazed and disoriented, trying to collect himself.

   “Or not...” Hank mumbled.

   “I told you!” Volcan snapped at the Zoroark, making Hank flinch.

   “Eagle Eye, move; quickly!” Luke called.

   The Talonflame snapped out of his daze in the nick of time. Razorwing was diving towards him, talons raked forward to attack. The Talonflame couldn't get up fast enough, and had to breath a Fire Blast at Razorwing to force him to bank out of the wave, but the Skarmory was persistent in his attack and took a direct hit from the Fire Blast, launching him backward and suffering catastrophic damage, but it was enough to buy Eagle Eye the precious seconds he needed to get back on his feet and take flight again.

   Razorwing was quick to follow, chasing after the Talonflame. Eagle Eye half-looped back towards the Skarmory, and both of them raced at each other; Eagle Eye with Flame Charge, Razorwing with Iron Head -ascending at Eagle Eye with his metal head leading, both of them raking their talons forward and tearing at each other in midair.

   As they locked talons, Razorwing reared back his head and then clamped his iron beak over Eagle Eye's shoulder, biting hard onto his wing. Eagle Eye hollered in a mix of surprise and pain at the underhanded move, and ignited himself with another Flame Charge to try and force Razorwing off of him, but the Skarmory was non-reactive to pain at that moment, as his mind was not the one in control, and now the two were rapidly losing altitude with Eagle Eye stuck underneath the Skarmory.

   Thinking fast, Eagle Eye knew he was in an all-or-nothing scenario as the ground drew closer. He ignited himself once more, but this time with an even more powerful attack -Flare Blitz, and blasted himself out of Razorwing's grip, suffering some tearing at his shoulder but with a quick turn he managed to pull himself into a glide while Razorwing fell like a brick out of the ring, landing on the muddy ground with a wet splat.

   “See? Nothing to worry about,” Hank commented to Volcan.

   The Blaziken slapped himself in the forehead, not even bothering to mention to the Zoroark how many ways that maneuver could have backfired -or how Razorwing was not actually the one in control of himself at that moment, and just kept his beak shut as Eagle Eye landed in the ring, looking towards at the downed Skarmory before he spoke.

   “Doesn't matter what team you're on; the Red Talons will always be the best damn fliers in the world!” He announced with pride.

   The crowd applauded him as Oceania called the match, allowing the Talonflame to return to the group; his wing was too hurt to fly back so he resorted to hopping over to them. Mikhail met him once he was outside of the arena, and helped tend to his wing, while Volcan turned his gaze to Team Warmachine, going over in his head how the two battles had progressed. He was surprised that they had won, two times in a row now with only minor complications.

   He studied the four remaining, zombie-like Pokémon, all of whom were standing completely deadpan; Bialo wasn’t even making an effort to try and make them appear to be strategizing. Their techniques had been effective, but throughout both battles they had fought directly and failed to adapt -he had seen it first with Leon, when he had the perfect opportunity to hit Kage while the Greninja was airborne with an Ice Beam or Bubblebeam, both of which could have slowed the Greninja to a crawl and left him wide open for Leon to defeat but the Empoleon -or rather Bialo- had not done so. If Leon was the master of strategies for Team Warmachine, surely he would have thought of such a thing if Volcan could, and he wasn't even in the battle!

   And then there was Razorwing. Though his direct attack patterns had left Eagle Eye wounded and, at one point, wide open for a very painful attack when he had been on the ground, but deliberately threw himself directly into harm's way twice in that battle, and the Blaziken refused to believe that Razorwing would do so. Eagle Eye and Razorwing both came from former teams that were sworn enemies of one another -it stood to reason that the Saberwings might at least try to train their members to take on their rivals, not the least of which to deal with that type advantage the Red Talons had over them, so why in the world would Bialo throw his own team member into harm's way like this?

   After some careful thought, a thought occurred to the Blaziken. “You know, I think I’ve discovered a weak link in this chain,” He said to Luke.

   The Lucario looked up at him, eyeing him quizzically. “A weak link?” He repeated, and then his eyes narrowed. “Go on...”

   “Bialo’s able to control the minds of these guys,” explained Volcan “But he can’t think like them; we’d never have this easy a time against the real Warmachine fighters -not in a hundred years.” He smiled. “But Bialo is unknowingly making our job easier by controlling their minds; he can’t make use of their strategies because he doesn’t know them all, and doesn't know how each one would adapt to our changing tactics.”

“Hey you're right!” Luke returned, realizing that Volcan had a point; if Bialo were in this battle himself it would be a different kind of match, and he could change his own style to match his opponent but without knowing his teammates right down to their very cores, he was throwing his puppets in between a rock and a hard place. “This could really work in our favour, but we can't ease up just yet. After all... you never know what a cornered Raticate can do.”

   “The cornered Raticate will bite the Persian, right?” Volcan asked.

   “Right on the money,” Luke answered with a nod. “And if Bialo realizes this as well, we just might feel that bite soon enough.”

   The next one to step up was Timber, the Haxorus, stepping across the field to take his position while using his front claws to sharpen the edges of his axe-like tusks, digging at the ground with his foot as he waited for his opponent. Volcan frowned, seeing Timber was acting with the same mannerisms he had that day he'd taken Sol to prison -either Bialo knew more about Timber's behaviour than he did the rest... or...

   “I'm up then,” Katsu stated, stepping up to the arena to meet with Timber.

“Good luck Katsu,” Luke bade him as the Samurott walked into the ring.

   “Something's wrong here...” Volcan muttered, earning another questioning glance from Luke, but said nothing as Oceania announced the match as Katsu took his position.

   “The third round begins now!” She called. “Our living forest-wrecking warrior, Timber, versus the mighty Katsumoto of Team Valiant! Axe will meet sword in this battle of the titans; combatants, steel yourselves and prepare to fight!”

   Timber growled audibly, once more digging at the ground with his foot and lowering his upper body into a deep slouching position, his red eyes narrowing. Katsu drew forth his Seamitars and adopted a sideways stance, his glare meeting that of Timber's as they waited for the match to start.

   Oceania called for the match to begin, letting out a loud “Go!” before retreating to the sidelines to get out of their way. They charged, meeting in the center, and axe-tusk met Seamitar, ringing through the air as loudly as any metal blades as the two clashed. Timber swung his head side-to-side, striking at Katsu repeatedly; Katsu blocked each attack, but Timber was proving to be quite strong, using every muscle in his upper body to add force to his swings, so heavy that even Katsu with his tremendous might could feel every hit.

   When Katsu finally got his chance to counter-attack, he thrust his sword forward, aiming for Timber's chest. The Haxorus side-stepped out of the way, turning about and swinging at Katsu with his tail. The Samurott dodged, and then struck back, this time landing a strike to Timber's side, but his dense hide withstood the strike and forced Katsu to dodge again as Timber chopped at him, forcing him back only to suffer a sideways kick to his chest that sent Katsu flying backwards. He stuck one of his swords into the ground, sending plumes of mud to the sides but managing to stop himself as he landed back on his feet.

   “Timber's fighting pretty damn well for a puppet,” Volcan stated, narrowing his eyes further. While it wasn't unlikely Bialo knew Timber's fighting style at least somewhat, the technique that the Dragon-type was displaying was well-coordinated and not as clumsy as Leon or Razorwing. “Wait… could it be?”

   As Katsu and Timber clashed again when the Haxorus attempted to Headbutt him, Katsu blocked with his swords, landing them at the roots of the axe-tusks protruding from Timber's mouth, and he saw his opponent's eyes more clearly. He saw rage, deeply seated but visible -the battle rage of a dragon, clear as day, was coming from those eyes, and the look he gave Katsu was not the look of a puppet...

   Katsu’s eyes widened as he came to that realization what that look meant. “You...!” He began. “You're not being controlled at all!”

   Volcan hadn’t heard the Samurott, but suddenly the same idea seemed to dawn on him. “Timber’s with them!” He exclaimed suddenly.

    The dragon grinned at Katsu. “Well, I guess the Liepard is out of the bag,” he snarled before he thrust forward with all the strength in his legs, forcing Katsu back. “I never was much of a faker.” But before the initial surprise passed, Timber made his move; he stomped on the ground, and from underneath the Samurott, roots exploded, immediately going for his limbs and coiling around his legs and body, restraining him and leaving him unable to move.

   Katsu was too late to avoid the Grass Knot attack, and grunted as he was coiled up in the roots, struggling heavily for a bit before he glared back at the Haxorus. “Have you no sense of honour?! Your team is being made to do things out of their control, and you allow that Malamar to get away with this?!”

    “I’d love to chat, but I’ve got a battle to win!” Timber bellowed as he lunged forth and swung his whole body around with all of his might, slamming Katsu full-force with a Dragon Tail, snapping the roots that bound him and sending Katsu flying once again, soaring out of the arena and slamming into the faraway wall like a missile, the impact knocking the wind out of Katsu and rendering him unconscious; he fell to the sandy ground, which caked the mud covering his torso, exhaling deeply as blackness took him.

“Out of bounds!” Oceania called with some reluctance as Volcan and Hank ran to help Katsu. “The winner… is Timber!”

“Bring on your next!” Timber taunted the rest of the team. “Come on! I’ll send every last one of you packing myself!”
“I don't believe my eyes...” Volcan muttered as Hank and Mikhail ran over to Katsu to assist him, leaving Luke, Kage and him to take in what they had just seen. “Timber's in on this entire thing?”

“This is a disgrace! How can he side with that misguided pair like this?!” Luke demanded.

Kage narrowed his eyes, uncrossing his arms and stepping out silently back into the ring to face Timber, silently eager to put him in his place. Luke and Volcan watched as the Greninja moved out to battle for the second time, but said nothing to him, as at that moment they didn't feel like arguing.

The Haxorus growled as he saw Kage returning, staring at him and barely able to contain his rage.“I’m going to stomp you flat, froggie” Timber growled. “You mighta beat Leon, but you won't be so lucky against me.”

“You can try…” Kage returned.

“Go!” Oceania called, signalling the match to start.

Timber charged him, attacking with a Dual Chop that Kage was easily able to avoid; now that he was up against an opponent that was not being puppeteered, he could reach his opponent's expression as well as his movements. Kage had little intention of taking much of an offensive against Timber; he could fight the Haxorus if he wanted to, but he had a different plan in mind for this brutish Dragon Pokémon.

Kage subtly reached behind him and tapped something on the back of his belt making an effort to make it appear as though he was reaching for a weapon. “I wonder what Torolf will say when he discovers that you, Maggie, and Bialo are trying to sabotage this tournament?” He asked before hurling a Water Shuriken at the Haxorus.

Timber ducked his head down, letting the shuriken splatter against his armoured hide without doing much damage, and then snarled at Kage. “When I throw your broken body into the ocean he’ll never know!” He called. “He’ll wake up in his room tomorrow morning and we’ll tell him you forfeited and left!” He followed this by firing a Dragon Pulse at the Greninja.

“And what of your cohorts who likely have already begun to suspect?” Kage pressed further, seeking to agitate the Haxorus even more. “Such as the one who witnessed the strange behaviour of your team throughout this battle?” He gestured at Oceania. “Or maybe, I should go talk to Aegis; I'm sure he would love to hear about what his cohorts Bialo and Maggie have been doing behind his back.”

    “We didn't bring Aegis in because Maggie was pretty sure he'd be able to handle that punk kid on his own; seems she underestimated the runt, given that Aegis apparently lost to him.” He scoffed. “If the kid had picked me it'd be a different story.”

    “And what do you gain from all this?” Kage asked. “Your team, mind-controlled by one of their own, forced to fight as puppets? Does she have so little faith in you all that she doesn't think you can win on your own without her intervention?”

    “Torolf's a misguided idiot,” Timber retorted. “These tournaments are a chance to show the world that we are the best of the best, and we've done that every year. That needs to keep happening; we lose our rep, we lose everything. Bialo's making sure that doesn't happen; we need to win, and fightin' dirty is the only way that's going to happen; Bialo will see to that.”

    Kage scoffed. “Listen to yourself; doesn't that sound like a bit of a stretch even to you?” He asked. “Or are you as small-minded and naive as you're making yourself sound? If your team is really so powerful, then they would've been more than capable of handling us by themselves. As it stands now, you've all proven to be quite easy.”

    Timber hesitated slightly, visibly pausing before shaking his head and snarling at Kage. “You talk too much!” He bellowed before he charged forward and swung his head at Kage for a Slash attack, but Kage dodged the attack easily once again, landing on Timber's head and hopping off of him as he skidded to a stop.

    “Perhaps the reputation of Team Warmachine is a bit overblown,” Kage commented without even looking at Timber. “Or at the very least, maybe putting you as one of their elites is.” He looked over his shoulder. “You're quite a fool for a Dragon-type.”

    “Shut your mouth!” Timber roared as he ran to attack Kage again, but the Greninja felt only satisfaction and not concern; he had received everything he needed to from the Haxorus, and now that Timber was completely ignoring everything around him, his only focus on Kage, he could end this match now.

“It is you who talks too much, fool,” he said in a low tone, then fired the hottest Scald he could conjure, aimed right between the eyes.

Timber clenched his eyes shut as he felt his face burning, the momentum of his running carrying him forward, closer and closer the edge of the ring, which he could no longer see. With that, Kage unfurled his tongue from around his neck and snapped it forward like a whip, hooking around the front of Timber's legs and tripping him as he yoinked it back, sending the dragon face-first into the mud with the upper half of his body outside of the line.

“Out of bounds!” Oceania called, this time without hesitation. “The winner is Kage!”

Timber, hearing those words, sat up, staring at the white chalked border of the fighting ring. “No!” He growled, looking at Kage. “You were baiting me all along!” He shot to his feet, and was about to run at the Greninja, no longer caring if he was disqualified.

Volcan, seeing what Timber was about to do, sprang into action, leaping through the air and somersaulting forward until he landed in the path of the Haxorus, forcing him to grind to a halt. “It’s over, pal,” he stated. “You lost, now let your next fighter step up.”

Timber glared into Volcan’s eyes, though his own vision was foggy from the scald. “Get out of my way before I squash you.”

“Go ahead,” Volcan retorted, returning his glare. “You've still lost, and if you attack me now, this fight's going to become two on one.” At that, Kage stepped out from behind the Blaziken, as if to emphasize the Blaziken's point.

For a moment, it looked like the infuriated Haxorus was still going to attack them, but then Timber grabbed his head in pain, growling as some unknown ailment befell him. Volcan and Kage glanced at each other briefly before looking back at him again, wondering what was wrong with him, but whatever was happening, even Kage couldn't find out with Mind Reader -a much more powerful Psychic power was blocking him.

A moment later, he looked at Volcan again, giving the Blaziken a warning look before he stormed away, where both he and Kage watched the Haxorus leave, and the next combatant, Kari the Ninetales, was due to step up. With that, Kage walked past Volcan as he stepped off the ring, looking to the Blaziken and turning his body a bit to show the Blaziken the playback device hidden in his belt, giving him a nod before returning to his team.

Volcan smiled. “Sly as a Zoroark,” he whispered. “And, speaking of which…” He muttered as he saw Hank stepping up.

“Alright! Time to kick some ass and chew bubblegum!” He said as he stepped past Volcan, smirking arrogantly. “And I'm all outta gum…”

Kari took her spot on the field… and sat down. Just like that, she seated herself in the sand, staring ahead at Hank with that blank stare that had permeated the other mind-controlled members of Team Warmachine. Hank felt disappointed knowing he wouldn't get to test himself against Kari as he hoped, but it was his round now; the team had been stalling as much as though could allow -especially Kage against Timber, and hopefully Sickle was close to finding Bialo.

Even when Oceania announced the match and introduced the two fighters, Kari remained stoic and unmoving, her many tails remaining upright behind her as she continued to star... but then she blinked, and Hank noticed something; life seemed to return to her eyes for an instant, and she seemed to be trying to turn her head as if to shake it, but her movements were stiff, and she couldn’t quite manage, as though some other force was stopping her.

Hank didn't even react as Oceania called for the match to start. He watched Kari, narrowing his eyes and cautiously approaching her. “...You feeling under the weather little missy?” He asked, keeping an illusion at the ready just in case.

He saw her mouth moving… she was trying to say something, but no words were coming out, and while the rest of her body was trembling, her lips were steady as she spoke, allowing Hank to somewhat read her words…

‘He… knows… tactics… be care… illusions… won’t work on me… only I… will see… but won’t stop him...’

    It hit him at that instant She was fighting Bialo’s control, and warning Hank his illusions wouldn’t help him; even if she could see them Bialo would not, and it would not hinder her so long as Bialo could still see the battlefield… which meant he was without a doubt somewhere he could still see them both. But that also meant Wade and Sickle's team hadn't found that damned Malamar yet, Hank frowned deeply, flexing his claws and keeping his guard up to still look ready to fight while he gazed around her and to the rest of the team, seeing if he could find Bialo in that general area. But there was nothing that stood out… where could that Malamar be hiding?

    Still, Kari's warning raised a valid point. Hank could cast Illusions all he wanted at the puppeteered Ninetales but without them specifically targeting Bialo they would do little to stop him, and without knowing where he was, Hank couldn't project something to hinder him regardless, which means Kari could keep attacking as long as Bialo himself remained unfazed. There was only one choice; he had to fight Kari without using his illusions.

    “Tsh, man I hate hitting a lady,” He muttered, preparing a Shadow Claw and grinning, putting back on the facade that he intended to fight her like he meant it. “Ladies first, sweetheart.”

    At that, Kari fanned out her tails, and at the end of one of them, a blue fire appeared; lifting away from the tips of her tails and dancing in a circle around her until her eyes flashed, and one of the nine flames launched at Hank, lashing out as suddenly as an Arbok striking an enemy, followed by the rest of them in consecutive order.

    “Ooooh no ya don't!” Hank stated, backing up and jumping up into the air, twisting and angling his body just right to avoid the flames of Will-o-wisp that would have left him with quite a nasty burn if he had not dodged.

    Landing back on the ground, he then snapped his claws and ensnared her legs with Grass Knot before moving in with Shadow Claw. She did not even try to move as the grass knot ensnared her legs, anchoring her in place even if she were to attempt to move, yet she remained non-reactive to what was happening. Hank carried on his assault, jumping up into the air and discharging a Night Daze down at his opponent before the fires could nail him.

    Her eyes flashed, and a Protect barrier formed between her and Hank; the Night Daze struck it and withstood the attack easily, giving her the opportunity to strike back. She splayed out her tails once more, another one glowing, before a ray of light struck Hank from above, disorienting him and sending his mind swimming while he was still airborne Onlookers recognized it as Confuse Ray, driving him into a state of confusion. He landed on the ground and kept trying to shake his head in vain, growling as he stumbled about.

    While he was disoriented, Kari fired another Will-o-wisp, and this time Hank's mind was too fogged by the Confuse Ray to see the attack coming; he felt it hit him, and threw back his head to yelp in agony as it burned his back. The shock of it snapped him out of his confusion, and he slapped at the burned spot with his claws instinctively as it felt like there was still fire burning, though it had gone out upon contact.

    And that is when things took a turn for the worse. Another tail flicked; Kari's eyes glowed, and Hank doubled over as his burned back seemed to explode with white hot agony, feeling like liquid-hot magma was being poured all over him. He hit the ground, writing in agony. He couldn't even think through the pain filling his entire body, and though he was trying not to scream, it eventually forced its way out as he continued to Hex him.

    From the sidelines, the rest of Team Valiant could barely watch the torturous situation that their teammate was in; Hank could not even stand without his back searing because of the hex; an ordinary burn would never stop, but when amplified by such an attack it was made all the more agonizing. Kari had barely moved a muscle

    “She's fucking torturing him!” Volcan exclaimed. “Torolf said Kari was a trickster, but I’m seeing a long range fighter that is maiming her target!”

    “I-I can't watch this anymore!” Eagle Eye stated, covering his eyes with his wing.

    Luke was visibly trembling, clenching his paws tightly as he watched Hank get tortured by a Pokemon with no control of her actions; it was not her doing, it was Bialo who was inflicting this sadistic pain upon Hank; it made him sick to his stomach, and it visibly showed, but without knowing where Bialo was, there was nothing they could do without being disqualified!

    He couldn't stand it anymore. “I’m not letting this continue!” He yelled, beginning to run around the field, heading over to Oceania, intent on pulling Hank out of the battle to save him; Kage could surely pick up for him again and take on the Ninetales...

    Time was running out for him too... Kari stepped towards Hank, rearing back her head to unleash another Flamethrower to let the cruelty continue, flames crackling between her jaws with only seconds before she would unleash it, Oceania looked ready to intervene, as it appeared to her that Hank had had enough and the battle could be called in Kari's favour...

    But just before she could make a move, Kari suddenly threw her head to the side, sending the flamethrower into the wet sand instead of at the Zoroark, drying the water from it and scorching the surface of the sand with its intensity; her sudden change gave Luke and Oceania pause, both of them stopping in their tracks. She let out a snarl, swinging her head around. Kari was trying to regain control, trying to protect Hank from her powers. Her eyes were clenched tightly, and she

    Hank looked up at her, seeing her fight against her controller. Despite his wounds, he forced himself to his feet. “That's it lady; c'mon, fight that shithead!” He managed to say between clenched teeth. “Don't let him control ya!”

    She hissed, shaking her head around and barely managing to stop herself from another attack. Her expression changed, looking at Hank with a desperate, pleading look; she couldn’t break Bialo’s hold, only delay it, and that face told Hank what she wanted from him.

    He had to knock her out.

    Hank sighed, nodding a bit as he reared his claw back for a Shadow Claw. “...Sorry, sweet cheeks.” He muttered, then he swung as hard as his burnt body would allow, striking her clean across the face.

    That one strike was all it took; she went down, hitting the ground with a dull thud, and let out a long release of breath as she slipped away…

    Oceania froze. Luke stood absolutely still, halfway between his team's area and the Milotic with the sudden turn of events. The audience shared in their stunned pause, unsure of what to make of what they had just seen.

    When the initial shock had finally passed, Oceania collected herself and raised her tail once more as she made the announcement. “And match over!” She called. “The winner is Hank of Team Valiant!”

    The audience's applause was delayed and rather short-lived, as many of them were becoming increasingly unsure about this battle as a whole. Their applause ended when Hank suddenly collapsed from his injuries, and Volcan, in reaction, ran out onto the battlefield to retrieve his teammate.

    “Damn it Sickle, hurry up!” The Blaziken whispered before he reached Hank’s side. “Are you okay man?” He asked, eyes filled with concern.

    “Never mind me.” Hank said through grit teeth, turning his gaze towards Kari. “I'm more worried for her.”

    Volcan looked over at Kari, seeing the medical teams approaching to pick her up now that the battle was over. “Her? She barely has a scratch on her; you knocked her out with a single hit,” he said before looking back at Hank, where he then proceeded to bring Hank’s arm around the back of his neck and hoisted him up to carry him towards Mikhail, trying to be gentle so as not to aggravate his burns. “How did you get her anyway? When I last looked she was roasting you like a fish.”

    “It's not the physical wounds that leave a lasting mark,” Hank said in a melancholic manner, and then looked to the Blaziken. “To answer yer question, well... She was actually fighting her mind control. She let me KO her.”

    Volcan looked in Kari’s direction. “She was fighting Bialo?” He asked. He watched as Kari was carried away on a stretcher, narrowing his eyes in curiosity. “If she's able to resist him...” he muttered, before he resumed bringing Hank back to the team to let Mikhail take over, who gingerly took Hank from Volcan and brought him over to the side to treat him.

    Volcan turned to Kage and motioned him over. The Greninja approached him, and listened as Volcan spoke in a hushed tone to him. “Kari was resisting Bialo,” he told the Greninja, visibly getting Kage's attention. “If you follow the medical team, can you add your strength to hers and maybe break his control? With her word and ours, we can put a stop to all of this.”

    He nodded to Volcan, stepping away from the rest of the team and making his way over to the infirmary to carry out Volcan's idea, leaving the rest of the battle to fight the remaining two members of Team Warmachine.

    Meanwhile, Luke was watching as Kari was carried out, and out of the corner of his eye, his gaze fell upon Oceania again. She had seen enough at this point that she was questing the validity of the battle; he could see it in her eyes. She knew something was afoul; if he went to speak to her now, she could surely help them put an end to this. Her position as the referee would give her the power to call off the match.

    Luke took a step forward, but that was all he could muster; he felt something grip his entire body; a Psychic force that seized him like an invisible vice, and he felt a presence in his mind. 'Can't let you do that worm,' a voice spoke to him. It sounded like Bialo -even without hearing his voice with his ears, the mental voice of the Malamar was still the same as Bialo's spoken voice.

    'I'm putting an end to this madness right now!' Luke defiantly growled in his mind, trying to take a step forward, but his body just refused to respond to his commands.

    'You will do no such thing; this match is not over yet,' replied Bialo. 'Now return to your position; no need to bother Oceania with your lies.'

    'You cannot keep up this facade forever, Bialo!' Luke roared at him. 'Your actions have made your team weak! You cannot win!'

    'Oh I can, and I will,' retorted the Malamar. 'Now... away with you.'

    At that last word, darkness fell across Luke's vision, and suddenly the world seemed to vanish around him...