The second day brought with it the semifinal round of The Master Tournament. Zax was extremely nervous as he and Alpha arrived at the battlefield. The Zangoose would be up against Jason, a legendary fighter who had won many of the tournaments in the past.

The best Zax had going for him, was that he'd watched the hero fight many times. So, he had a vague idea of what to expect. It was nothing good, however.

Still, he would give it everything he had. They were first up today, so Zax walked onto the field before long and faced down the Gallade.

"I think I've seen you around in the audience before," Jason recalled. "You're in the Guild now?"

Zax nodded. "Y-yeah! I'm Zax and I'm a member of Team Instinct!" The little formality before the battle calmed his nerves slightly.

Jason smiled. "Alright, Zax. I'm looking forward to our match! Good luck!" Pink energy channeled into his arms and fired across the field at Zax.

The Zangoose sprung into action, speeding across the ground and dodging the energy blasts as they crashed into the field around him. Zax tackled his opponent and then spun around to face him.

"Nice speed! But let's see what you can do about this!" Jason's showmanship made for an entertaining match to watch, but also made his moves pretty easy to counter. His arm started to glow and he swung the blade at Zax.

The Zangoose channeled dark energy into his claws and they extended outwards. One claw blocked the Gallade's attack, and the other was jammed into the attacker's chest.

Jason flew back but got right back to his feet. "You're clever, but how clever?" Duplicates of Jason suddenly appeared en masse and surrounded Zax.

One of the Jasons lunged from the crowd and slammed his arm into Zax. The blow was powerful and swift. The army of Jason clones fired psychic energy blasts at Zax which blew him away.

A few more hits like that, and it would be over. Zax looked up to see all the Jasons lumbering over with their fists on fire. He needed a play and fast.

The Zangoose channeled electricity into his right paw and slammed it onto the ground. The electric energy exploded around him and dissipated all the false copies of Jason.

The real one was flooded with electricity and stunned. Zax pushed to his feet, and raked his claws across the Gallade's body. Jason flew back and winced.

"Jeez, those claws of yours are no joke." His eyes snapped open. "Let's finish this!"

The two Pokémon ran at each other with their arms bared for a collision. Zax noticed electricity course through Jason's body and he was slowed down. It was time to strike.

The Zangoose maneuvered around Jason and slammed his claws into Jason. The Gallade tumbled over and seemed to be down.

Zax held his breath while everyone looked on in shock. Friction made the call, and the match was over. Zax had WON.

After the battle, Jason came up to Zax and Alpha. "That was a great fight! Short and intense, just how I like them!"

Zax nodded. "It was awesome! You hit really hard!"

"Would've been over if you hadn't been paralyzed." Alpha chimed in.

"Don't sell your friend too short." Jason corrected. "It was a combination of good strategy and luck. But you earned the win. Even a hero can be taken down!"

Some of the Mismagius drifted up to the group. "Excuse us, but you are the 'hero' Jason, correct?"

The Gallade's head bobbed up and down. "Sure am! What can I do for you?"

"There are legends of a blade to be wielded by a true hero that rests in the heart of the Guardian Forest." She explained. "If you're a hero, I recommend undergoing this trial."

Jason pondered the thought for a moment and then perked up. "A sword, eh? I could use that! It'd help with the range problem for sure. Thanks for the advice! Sorry to cut our conversation short, you guys, but I'm going to run."

Zax and Alpha said their goodbyes and then shrugged at each other. They had never heard anything about a treasure in the Guardian Forest, it was supposedly a sacred site from ancient Malenans.

It wasn't long before the second semi-final round was set to begin, this time it would be Omega against Genji. Zax was interested to see how the Durant would fight, and now that he was in the finals, he wanted to see who he's be up against.

The tiny metal bug stared up at the massive ghost before him, and Zax was fairly confident that it wouldn't go in his favor. Friction did her announcements before the battle and the match began.

Purple balls appeared in Genji's hands and he threw them at Omega. The Durant dove underground to evade the attack. A few moments later, he erupted from the earth and sunk his pincers down onto Genji's hand.

Omega had a surprising amount of strength and flung Genji away. The ant scurried across the ground to follow up on the attack, but Genji disappeared into the shadows.

The ghost emerged from Omega's shadow and swung a flaming fist into his opponent. Genji then launched Shadow Balls into Omega to follow up.

Zax winced as the blows were delivered into the tiny Pokémon. The Gengar channeled a blast of electricity out of his body and directly into Omega.

Three attacks in a row, and the Durant was looking pretty worn down. "Come on Omega! You can do it!" Jet cheered.

The Pokémon was shaking but charged ahead. Omega's body turned grey and he launched himself through the air. The attack was surprisingly fast and he slammed into Genji.

The ghost got back up and slammed his fist into Omega again. The critical blow knocked the Pokémon down and it seemed to be over. Genji summoned a Shadow Ball into his hand in case the match wasn't over.

Friction prepared to make the call, when Omega's eyes suddenly snapped open. He seemed to have a tinge of red in his eyes as he jumped up and bit down on Genji's other arm.

He threw Genji into the air and then dove underground with incredible speed. Genji floated in the air, assuming he was safe, and Omega burst from beneath him and sped through the sky.

The Durant rammed directly into Genji. The two Pokémon started to fall down and Omega slammed his arms into his opponent. The Gengar sped down through the air and crashed into the battlefield.

Omega landed next to his foe and seemed to be shaking. The Pokémon began to breathe very deliberately, but stopped himself from attacking.

The sudden outburst faded away as Friction announced that Genji was unable to battle. In an unbelievable twist, Omega had won. Which meant Zax and Alpha would be up against Jet and Omega.

Alpha and Zax returned to their dorm a little bit later to discuss plans for the final round. "We've fought them before, we can win this." Zax said. "You could beat Omega in your sleep!"

Alpha was looking off into space. "Didn't something seem off in his battle today? It's like he... almost snapped. I wonder if that's what my parents talked about before?"

Zax raised an eyebrow. "What, the Wild Pokémon stuff again? I'm still pretty sure they're off base about that one."

"Something's wrong with him, and I'm going to prove it." Alpha swore. "I've gotta, after what happened to my Grandpa. And what they've done to us! People see ME as the violent one!"

Zax rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I know. Given I associate with you."

"I'll prove it. I know I can. I've gotta look into some of their missions." Alpha got up and started to leave the dorm.

Zax jumped in his way. "Hold on! Don't do anything that'll reflect poorly on us! Let's win tomorrow and you can do your 'investigating' later! We have to get some rest."

Alpha shook his head. "I'm going to do what'll protect all of us from him. And I don't need rest, I didn't have to battle today. Don't worry about it." That was a great way of making Zax worry more. Alpha stormed out of the room and left.

The next day rolled around, and Zax was eager for the battle to begin. Alpha wasn't telling Zax anything about his 'plan.' And so Zax was just praying to Arceus that he wouldn't embarrass them both.

"We have two brand new teams in this Guild in today's finals!" Friction announced. "Team Instinct, featuring Zax and Alpha! And Team Exploration, with Jet and Omega! You all know the rules so it's time for the final match in the Master Tournament to begin!"

Zax ran across the field while Alpha set up a Sunny Day in the back. Jet slithered over to Zax while Omega burrowed underground. Jet swung his tail into Zax's claws and the two were locked in a clash.

Omega burst from the ground beneath Zax as he started to gain ground, and rammed into the Zangoose.

A Solarbeam from Alpha rocketed into Omega and Jet which knocked them away. Zax got back up just as Alpha launched a Fire Blast at their opponents.

The attack scored another direct hit, so Zax was able to follow up with his Night Slash. The claws dragged across Jet, but bounced off of Omega's metal body.

The tiny Pokémon jumped out from the flames and rammed into Zax again. Each blow was like getting hit by a truck. Alpha punched Omega off of his friend, only to be jabbed by Jet's poisonous tail.

Zax threw an electric fist into the Seviper's face. The attack made contact, but Jet recovered and unleashed a massive blast of fire that was boosted by the sunlight.

Alpha jumped into the fire and roared with glee. The Heatmor returned Jet's attack with an even stronger Fire Blast. The titanic move hit the Seviper dead on and knocked him over.

One down. One to go. Zax was about to wonder where Omega had gone, when the ground beneath him suddenly caved in and he fell down.

Zax stood up in the hole and looked up. Omega was standing above him and the Zangoose realized he had been trapped. Omega jumped up and slammed his head into Zax's.

The powerful blow was enough to knock over Zax, and he crumbled against the wall of the pit. He was barely conscious but he couldn't see what was happening above him.

There was a flash of bright light and then Omega groaned. "A-alright. I-I-it's over." He conceded.

Zax forced himself up so he could see what was going on. Alpha was lumbering over the Durant with glee. "Oh come on, don't give up so soon. We both know you've got something in you! Something primal!" He goaded.

Omega was shocked by this display and Zax nearly shouted for Alpha to stop. "Oh what? Am I not appealing to attack like that Honchcrow whose wing you ripped off?"

The Durant's eyes widened and Alpha grinned. "Please, I know all about your family's dirty secret. Come on you freak! Show everyone what I've been saying for years!"

Zax peaked at the crowd and saw everyone was appalled. Alpha was doing the exact thing that Zax had told him not to do. "Leave him... alone!" Jet spat out, rising up. "This is over!"

"Shut up! You know I'm right!" Alpha countered. "You were there! You saw this freak in action!"

"Oh what? You went and tracked down some evil Pokémon because of your weird vendetta against Omega and then took his word for it?" Jet pressed. "He was EATING POKÉMON."

"Mhm, so that means we should be just like him." Alpha replied. "That's what a Primal Pokémon would do."

"Alpha, that is enough!" Friction yelled. "You leave Omega alone! This match is over because you are disqualified!"

The Heatmor seemed to erupt with fire. "No! Listen to me!" He turned back to Omega and glared at the Pokémon.

"No, why should anybody listen to you?" Jet countered. "You're just some crazy moron like your parents!"

"Jet! Stop instigating right now!" Friction ordered.

Alpha glared at the Seviper. "You take that back. Take it back now! I'm trying to protect everyone!"

Jet rolled his eyes. "Doing a great job at that, doofus. Everyone's scared of YOU."

Omega was shaking and clearly panicking. The Pokémon's eyes were darting around, trying to find somewhere to look. But all he could see, was Alpha standing over him and now staring down his friend.

Omega lunged into the air and his eyes suddenly turned red. The Pokémon sank his pincers down on Alpha's fist and flung the Pokémon away.

Alpha rolled across the ground and Omega chased after him. Townsfolk started to murmur as Omega leaped up to attack Alpha again.

The Heatmor's eyes snapped open and he prepared to launch a fireball in retaliation. Zax braced for the worst but suddenly, both Pokémon stopped moving.

A blue outline surrounded them and Friction floated between the two Pokémon. "Like I said. This. Is. Over."