"Its short arms stretch when it throws punches. Its technique is equal to that of pro boxers." -Diamond/Pearl/Platinum PokeDex

The bell chimed and the crowd exploded with cheers. "That's a knock out! Brash Braden's Breloom has KOed Huang's Hariyama. The final dance around the giant's seismic toss into the one-two sucker punch attack was so light. If you blinked, you missed it. Let's go to replay to watch that final blow."

Breloom jumped out of the ring and skipped over to Braden's side. He petted the Pokemon's head while watching the replay on the screen above. Breloom glanced up to the enormous screen and joined in with the rest of the crowd as they gawked at the video. He watched himself dive under Hariyama's fat hands and jump around to his back side. Then, he stretched out his two arms into dual sucker punch attacks. The two attacks hit so close in time that they appeared to land at the exact same second.

The announcer's mic switched back on, "Wow, what a lucky hit. Breloom knocked Hariyama out with a dark type move. Folks, that must have been a critical hit or some extreme luck. I say that 'cause last time I checked, dark type moves don't hurt fighting types that much. Especially not one with such a high defense like Hariyama."

The referee in the middle of the ring signaled for Breloom and Hariyama to return to the ring so they could officially declare the winner. Breloom hopped excitedly back over the ropes while Hariyama shuffled along back to his place. When both Pokemon were in their places, the referee said a few official words that kept the audience on the edge of their seats. Finally, he grabbed Breloom's paw and threw it up into the air. Once again, the crowd went wild.

When the applause began to die down, the announcer continued with his monologue. "Now, on to the third and final round! First, let's have a recap just in case any of you viewers at home missed what happened.

"First match pitted Braden against Huang in a messy boxer verses boxer match. Huang barely came out on top, but not without many bruises from Braden's powerful blows. Then, the second match gave us the opposite result. Huang's Hariyama was defeated in a matter of seconds by Breloom in every round. Hariyama was just too slow to keep up with the mushroom Pokemon's fast footwork."

The bell dinged, signaling for the competitors to return for the final match. The announcer began to talk a little faster, "Now, we move on to the tiebreaker match. Both human and Pokemon must enter the ring for the final match up to declare today's winner. Let's go to the ring as the referee explains the official rules."

Breloom snapped his attention from the jumbotron hovering above the ring to the official in front of him. He was explaining something to Breloom's partner and Huang. He then asked to see their gloves to make sure they were playing fairly. Breloom took notice of the glares and cold feeling coming from Hariyama. He stared daggers into Breloom's soul, no doubt still bitter about the last match. Instead of giving his rival the time of day, Breloom focused on the two humans who were now touching gloves. Despite being his opponent, Huang still acted respectfully to Braden, unlike Hariyama.

Then, the referee moved to the two Pokemon. He didn't hesitate to start explaining the rules. "To make sure neither of your human companions get injured, you are not to use any actual moves during this match. No seismic tosses, no sucker punches, no anything. Also, only use fair play. No hitting below the belt, no grabbing, and no pushing. Understood?" Breloom nodded immediately, and Hariyama too after an odd delay. "As long as you two agree to that, you can attack each other or your opponent's human." The two nodded in understanding to this. "Alright, touch fists so we can begin in a sportsmanlike manner."

Breloom offered his clenched paws to Hariyama, but he just stared at it blankly in response. Finally, he thrust his fists forward, but swatted Breloom's hands away when they were just inches from his own. The referee, having none of this, ordered that Hariyama return immediately and start the match nicely or face getting rejected. Not wanting to risk it, Hariyama begrudgingly touched fists with Breloom.

The announcer's voice boomed over the boos and hisses of the audience. "Oh, and Hariyama gives Breloom the cold shoulder. Folks, I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see how this rivalry shakes out."

Breloom retracted his arm and walked back over to Braden's side without taking his eyes off of Hariyama. In return, Hariyama glared at him again. The harsh glint in his eyes sent shivers down Breloom's spine. Forcing himself to take his eyes away from Hariyama, Breloom looked back up to Braden. The boxer was on his toes with his gloves pulled up to guard his face. Taking note, Breloom assumed a similar position.

Time seemed to slow down before the bell rang. Huang and Hariyama stood opposite to Breloom and Braden in a similar defensive stance. Once again, Breloom met Hariyama's glare, and it again sent shivers down his spine. Something seemed to be stirring in his eyes and it caused Breloom unease.

He had stared at Hariyama for a split second too long and had missed the opening shot. The bell had sounded and the boxers were already at it. They wasted no time with idle fake outs and went straight for raw punches. Huang kept his attacks up on the offensive and Braden kept his gloves up on the defensive.

The wasted seconds had costed Braden some new bruises, so Breloom jumped right into the fight to defend his partner. Launching himself at Huang, Breloom extended a paw in an attempt to get a jab in. Hariyama was swift to block it with his hand though, so Breloom brought his other fist in for a hit. Again, Hariyama blocked it. Much to Breloom's surprise, Hariyama had grabbed his paw and pushed him behind Braden. Hariyama lumbered after him refusing to give up the attack.

In between, dodges, Breloom looked to the referee to see if he had noticed the foul. Unfortunately, he was too focused on the action between Huang and Braden. Breloom knew that Hariyama had pushed him and he wasn't just imagining it since he could hear the crowd's cries for justice. The noise was muffled by adrenaline, but he thought that he even heard the announcer call out the action.

Hariyama made another punch at Breloom with his left hand. The punch was half hearted, and took minimal effort to block. Then, as Breloom expected, Hariyama advanced to punch with his

other hand. With his hands still up from the previous block, Breloom was more than ready to defend, then counter the attack. Instead of the anticipated attack hitting him though, Hariyama spun on his the ball of his left foot and punched Braden in the back of the head. He was in perfect position for the shot and Breloom hadn't even noticed.

The unexpected attack caused the boxer to crumple to the ground in a heap of blood and sweat. The referee ordered the other contenders to step away while he examined Braden. He made no attempt to get back to his feet. Hariyama had gotten a clean knock out.

The bell rang signaling for the round to end. Hariyama spun to face Breloom as he backed into his corner of the ring. He had a smirk on his face as he held level eye contact with Breloom. He had planned this as a way to get Braden out of his grudge match. Fire ignited within Breloom as he watched Braden's coach help drag him out of the ring. He had already started to regain consciousness as they set him up in a chair.

He recalled Braden's warning from earlier as he sipped water. "Huang will probably stick Hariyama on you to get you knocked out. Then I'll be all alone out there. Watch your back around both of them, okay?"

Now it was Breloom who was all alone instead of Braden. His prediction had been wrong and it was probably going to cost them the match. The bell rang again, calling everyone back to the center so the next round could start. The first elimination had happened already, it was all downhill for Breloom from there.

The referee checked Huang's gloves as Breloom moved into position. After finishing his check, he shouted a warning to Hariyama and Breloom. "No moves," he reminded them.

The bell rang again, and the three were off. This round began much slower than the first. Huang stepped in slowly while throwing little punches that barely reached out. They were designed to catch Breloom off guard. He twitched his arms a little in case one of the punches ended up being real. Hariyama had yet to actually move from his starting point which was a little unsettling. Breloom couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking.

Finally, Huang swung his first real punch of the round. It was a small jab at Breloom's left side. He easily blocked the brunt of the hit and swung out with a punch of his own. His arm extended from his body so quickly that he could hear the wind hiss around it. The punch connected with Huang's arm, but the second swing easily slipped past his defense. The swiftly moving fist caught him in the side.

Hariyama must have decided it was time to join the fun. He approached the face off slowly but with purpose. His eyes still had a wicked gleam to them as he began to swing at Breloom. The punches were slow, almost like they weren't meant to hurt Breloom much if they connected. He made note of this as he side and back stepped away from the swings. This was how Hariyama got Braden knocked out a round ago. Breloom tried to figure out what his opponent was up to when he noticed Huang following close behind his Pokemon. At any moment, Hariyama might scoot away and let Huang have the final shot.

Now on the offensive, Breloom began to step away from the corner he had been forced into. He advanced one step with every punch. He stepped into a right punch with his right foot, and into

a left punch with his left foot. Hariyama refused to yield to Breloom's punches though. The giant took all of the hits as if they were nothing.

As Breloom had predicted, Hariyama eventually side stepped allowing Huang a shot. The timing seemed odd to Breloom though. Hariyama had moved away as Breloom was mid-punch, an uppercut nonetheless. Huang didn't seem to be expecting such a move yet either. His eyes widened as Breloom's fist approached. The whites of his eyes were visible before the punch connected. This wasn't planned at all.

Time seemed to slow down when Breloom felt his fist on Huang's chin. His flesh was damp with sweat, some of which flew off into the air as he fell backwards to the ground. Like the punch, the fall seemed to happen in slow motion. First his head reared backward, then his legs crumpled while his arms went limp. The thud reminded Breloom of what had happened only minutes earlier to Braden. When the bell sounded, time seemed to speed up to normal again.

The referee moved in to push Breloom and Hariyama aside as he checked on Huang. With some effort, he was on his feet and limping out of the ring in no time. Hariyama followed him, but not without another sinister smile. Breloom tried to ignore it as he returned to his own corner.

The announcer's voice sounded off above head, "After watching that replay, it looked as if Hariyama was working with Breloom there for a second. Almost as if he was trying to get Huang out of the way for this last round."

Braden was on his feet behind where Breloom plopped himself down. "You're doing great, buddy! One more round, I know you can do it." He smiled lopsidedly showing off pearly whites that were surrounded by purpled lips.

In between a sip of water, Breloom returned the gesture. "Bre! Bre bre breloom!" he exclaimed excitedly. Even though he knew Braden couldn't understand him, he was sure the meaning got through. "Thanks for believing in me."

The bell went off again, and both Breloom and Hariyama returned yet again for the final round. Before they were allowed to touch fists and start, the referee interjected with a warning. "I've seen some cheap looking shots and foul play from both of you. If I see anything that looks even remotely unfair, you're out of here." He waved his hands for the two Pokemon to meet in the middle. "Touch fists then get going."

They obeyed then took a few steps back to their respective starting lines. Breloom could hear both cheering. In the confusion, he couldn't tell if the crowd was cheering for his triumph or demise. It unnerved him a tad, so he attempted to block it out. He slowed his breathing and cleared his mind of his surroundings, prepping himself for what was going to be a brutal round between him and Hariyama. This whole match had consisted of him making weak hits on Breloom while making cheap shots at the humans just to hopefully have another round with his rival.

The bell emitted its high pitched ding and the fighters were at it again. Breloom shifted his feet nervously, not knowing which direction Hariyama would strike from. With slow, advancing shuffles, he approached from across the ring. When he was close enough to Breloom,

Hariyama took a step with his right foot and threw out a right hook. Breloom ducked under the fist and put two jabs into Hariyama's fat gut.

This caused Hariyama to recoil a bit, but he advanced again in an instant. This time, he lashed out with a right punch that Breloom blocked, but then followed up with a left jab. The jab caught Breloom off guard and left him open for another hit. Hariyama took advantage of this brief lapse in defense and landed a harsh blow to Breloom's snout. The crowd gasped as Breloom faltered away from the source of the pain and into the ropes.

Hariyama refused to yield his attack though. He kept launching punch after punch, jab after jab, at Breloom. The mushroom Pokemon was in pure survival mode now. Every sense screamed with pain. The lights blared down at him from above, bathing the area with a white light that blurred everything. The noise from the crowd and Hariyama's hits mashed together and assaulted his ears in a loud scream of thuds and cheers. The metallic taste and smell of blood washed over him as it came drooling out of his mouth and nose. The sense of feeling was the worst though. The pain started out sharp and incredible, but dulled with each hit until Breloom felt all of his senses beginning to fade. All of the sights, sounds, tastes, and feelings began to disappear into black nothingness.

Something inside of him refused to yield though. One voice broke through the darkness and gave him a ray of hope. "You can do it Breloom, don't give up!" The familiar tone came from his best friend, Braden. It filled him with new energy. Enough energy to muster one final punch.

He loosed his right, most powerful arm at Hariyama. The fist connected with the side of his head, knocking him off balance to Breloom's left side. Powering through the pain, Breloom unleashed his left arm into Hariyama's jaw. The punch seemed to be twice as effective since Hariyama's inertia had carried him into the hit. The giant was off balance completely now, one powerful blow was all it would take. Collecting the last shred of strength he had remaining, Breloom stretched his elastic arm out to Hariyama, hitting him square in the nose.

This final hit caused Hariyama to stumble and fall to the ground with an enormous and glorious thud. No one dared to cheer until the referee okayed the turn of events that had just played out. Once he gave the call, the crowd's glee came crashing down like a typhoon. Hariyama was legally knocked out, declaring that Breloom was the winner.

Huang and Braden both rejoined their Pokemon in the ring for the wrap up to the match. The official said something that Breloom completely blocked out. All that he cared about in that moment was his fist being held in the air by the referee and the new belt around his stomach. No noise, sight, or sound distracted him from that joyous moment. Not even the glares that Hairyama was casting his way. 

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry it took so long to update. I had a bit of trouble with this chapter. I've never been all that great at writing action scenes, please let me know how I did in the comments. Anyway, this chapter was requested by  @cosmologic They have a really great sounding Pokemon story they're in the process of writing, go check them out! As always, thanks for reading!