The stadium was abuzz with anticipation while Aurin and Luna waited patiently for the match to begin. Gardner on the other hand was hammering his fists on his knees in anticipation, unable to sit still.

“How can you two not be more excited?” he asked, bouncing ever-so-slightly in his seat. “This is the sort of match you only see once a year if you’re lucky.”

“I am excited,” said Aurin, “I can just control myself.”

Luna giggled. “It’s going to be good, we’re just calm.”

Gardner scoffed. “You two need to work on your ability to get hyped for big events. I know you prefer being in the fight yourself, Aurin, and Luna…well, you only want to watch Aurin’s matches, but we’re talking the current national champion battling against a former champion. That hasn’t been seen since Tobias dethroned him a few years ago.”

Shamtile was juggling rocks on the ground for Innogon’s amusement. Innogon thought it would be funny to shoot a water jet at one of them, but it whizzed over the crowd and knocked a grumpy-looking man on the head. Aurin quickly sent Shamtile back to the ranch until the man stopped looking for the culprit, then he brought him back.

“Will the pair of you behave,” he scolded them. “We don’t want to get kicked out, but I think Gardner might snap if he gets thrown out with us.”

“I’ll deny even knowing you,” confirmed the nature and plant tamer.

Suddenly, the lights shone directly onto the stadium ground. Unlike the grassy terrain of the Hazelton stadium, the St Michael’s Stadium in Ludonia was barren and dry. It was marked with white lines signifying where the tamers stood and had the names of sponsoring companies painted, but something told Aurin these needed touched up between matches.

“Welcome, one and call to St Michael’s Stadium,” called the announcer; it was voice of the same man who gave commentary in Hazelton. “Today we have a special exhibition match lined up for you ahead of our annual national championships.”

The crowd roared with applause. Most of the audience here were going to be watching the national championships. It was made up mostly of people from Bretonia, but there was a sizable minority of international fans who had travelled here for the tournament.

“That’s what I like to hear, folks. Now let’s go over the rules, shall we? Both Tobias and Byron have three Minakai they can use, all of which can be switched mid-battle at any time they please. Once all three of a tamer’s Minakai have been knocked out, the match is over. I’ve spoken to both tamers backstage, and Byron means business today. Luckily for Tobias, the national title isn’t on the line today. Now, let’s bring out the former champion of Bretonia, Byron!”

The black-suited Byron walked out to cheers, and he waved to the crowd with a big smile on his face. He was a tank of a man—bald man in his forties—who looked like he could take on more than a few Minakai in hand-to-hand combat. He was renowned for being tough as nails and specialising in warrior-type Minakai.

“And now for the reigning champion of Bretonia, who needs no introduction. It’s Tobias!”

The applause for Byron was huge, but for Tobias it was stadium-shaking. Shamtile encased his head in stone to drown it out while Innogon filled his ears with water. The blonde Tobias walked out in a brown leather jacket. It seemed to be a running theme that champions of Bretonia could double as professional wrestlers, but Aurin just chalked it up to them training with their Minakai.

“He’s so cool!” said Luna much more excitedly. “I wonder if we can get an autograph after the battle?”

“I doubt we’ll be able to get within thirty feet of him when all the fangirls start swarming,” said Gardner.

Aurin was staring at Tobias, there was something familiar about him. He obviously knew him to see him from the television, books and wherever else his face cropped up, but seeing him in the flesh, he exuded a recognisable aura even from a distance.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked Gardner, noticing the look on Aurin’s face.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Aurin, not wanting to sound crazy.

“Let the fight begin!” boomed the announcer.

Byron summoned a Hogannon to begin the fight, while Tobias summoned his Grakadon. It was at that moment that Aurin knew exactly where he had seen him.

“Luna, it’s the same Grakadon!” he yelled over the roaring crowd.

“It couldn’t be…” muttered Luna before her eyes suddenly nearly burst out of her head. “It is the same Grakadon!”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“What are you two talking about?” asked Gardner.

“We fought Tobias in the Battle Underground when we first got here,” said Aurin.

“Don’t be silly,” said Gardner, “it must have been somebody else with a Grakadon.”

“Aurin’s right,” said Luna, “it’s the same Grakadon. Tobias was in disguise and going by the name Sir Mask. I’m certain that it’s him too.”

Hogannon was trying to blast Grakadon out of the sky with its cannon arms, while the earth dragon weaved between the fireballs shot at him. He was toying with his opponent, aggravating Byron. Hogannon began rapidly firing smaller fireballs, forcing Grakadon to swoop down lower.

The dragon sank his claws into the ground and effortlessly pulled a large chunk out. He threw it across the stadium, at his opponent, but flew forwards and charged through, breaking it into dozens of smaller chunks. Hogannon blasted each apart, but Grakadon flew into the air while his opponent was distracted. He then dove down quickly and tackled the bipedal pig to the ground.

“Look how powerful he is,” said Luna. “I’m telling you, Gardner, it was Tobias.”

“Alright, alright,” said Gardner. “I wasn’t saying you two were lying, I just thought you were mistaken. That’s all.”

The three tamers had looked away for a second and by the time they turned back to the action, Hogannon was out for the count. Grakadon roared mightily and flapped his wings to the applause of the crowd.

Byron didn’t look deterred and summoned his next Minakai into the stadium, an Angree. It beat its chest, pumping itself up, then charged towards the dragon. The two punched, kicked and headbutted each other in a chaotic close-combat skirmish.

After thoroughly roughing each other up, the pair backed off. Angree swung its fist into the air, conjuring vines from the ground to hold Grakadon in place, but Grakadon flew upwards and pulled the ground with him. He did a mid-air somersault and slammed the chunk of earth into his opponent, but the Angree brace himself and weathered the attack.

“Byron’s Angree took that attack like a champion!” called the announcer. “Did you see that folks? That’s no ordinary Minakai, that’s a Minakai trained by an unbelievably talented tamer.”

Grakadon upwards, but Angree conjured a vine and whipped it around the dragon’s leg. He pulled himself upwards and onto Grakadon’s back as it flew around the arena trying to shake him off. Angree pummelled the back of Grakadon’s head relentlessly, before knocking it out. The two fell down and crashed into the ground, both now defeated.

“Byron’s down to his last Minakai while Tobias has two remaining. Which monsters from the pair’s famous teams will we see tonight?”

The two tamers summoned their Minakai at the same time. Tobias’s Minakai looked a lot like an Arium, except larger and with four fists instead of two. Aurin hadn’t seen this monster before, nor had he seen Tobias’s next Minakai. It had the form of a large, humanoid, but it was made of a swirling purple gas. On its face was a metal mask with a hooked nose, while on its hand it wore metal gauntlets and on its feet, metal boots.

“Byron’s rapid-strike Zenoman against Tobias’s undead giant, Titamet!” called the announcer.

“This is going to be good,” said Gardner, standing up and clapping. He was in the zone, but the audience member behind him asked him to stop blocking his view. The tamer apologised and sat down, looking embarrassed.

“Have you ever seen these two?” Luna whispered to Aurin.

“I know the names, but I’ve never seen them,” he said, looking at the two Minakai in awe as Zenoman threw his fists at his opponent using his psychic powers while Titamet blocked with his steel gauntlets.

“I feel very out of the loop.”

“I know what you mean. We need to hit the books once we’re back in Hazelton. No more surprises for us.”

“Agreed,” said Luna, nodding fervently.

Titamet seized one of Zenoman’s fists from the air and hurled it back at the golden alien, who blocked it with another of his own fists and then winced in pair. The gaseous undead ran forwards and launched itself at its opponent, who held it back with his telekinetic powers.

The bulky Titamet blew a cloud of purple gas at the Zenoman, causing the little alien to cough and splutter and thus dropping Titamet. The undead picked up its opponent and threw it into the air. It flew high into the sky and fell down at a high-speed. A split second before it hit he ground, Titamet punched the Zenoman and it skidded across the ground, its skin being heavily grazed as its four fists fell limp.

“And Tobias has just proven why he’s the reigning champion,” said the announcer as the stadium filled with cheers. Even Byron was smiling and clapping along, clearly impressed by his successor.

The two legendary tamers met in the middle of the stadium and shook hands, before the announcer joined them with a microphone in his hands. This was Aurin’s first time seeing the man with the curly blonde hair and glasses, but he looked more or less what Aurin had imagined him to.

“What a battle that was, am I right folks?” the announcer asked the crowd. “Byron let’s hear from you first. How do you feel about the fight?”

Byron leaned towards the microphone. “I think that’s the final humiliation at this man’s hand, I should just retire now,” he said, prompting everyone to laugh, including Tobias. “In all seriousness, it was a good battle, but I can see where I let myself down in a few areas. I’m shooting for the finals again this year, and I will get another rematch. I’m coming for you, bud.”

Tobias smiled confidently at Byron as the announcer moved the microphone to the champion. “How about you, Tobias?”

“I have the utmost respect for Byron, as I’m sure you’re all aware,” said Tobias, gesturing towards his predecessor, “but if he can’t defeat two of my Minakai when the stakes are low, I’m not sure how he’s going to be able to defeat five when the stakes are high.”

Byron cackled, then signalled that he’s keeping a close eye on Tobias. Everyone in the stadium was as fired up as they were during the match.

“Is there anything you’d like to say ahead of the national championships?” the announcer asked.

“Just a few things,” said Tobias. “First, I hope it’s a great display of why we all love battling with our Minakai. Secondly, I know there are a lot of new tamers here for the first time this year and I can’t wait to see what they have on offer. And lastly, I just want to reiterate that whoever comes first place and gets a chance to battle me is going to lose. I’ll still be the champion for at least another year.”

Aurin and Gardner looked at each other with confident grins. They both hoped to be fighting each other in the tournament, each of the young men with their eyes on a shot at facing Tobias for his title. With only days to go, their anticipation was reaching its peak.