Shantae had made it back to the room where her oddball teammates were, and stretched out in victory, happy that she had defeated her opponents. She saw her teammates going through a round of training, with Ash and Mikey doing a little karate, Twilight doing a little push-ups and Sakura doing shadow boxing.
The genie smiled. “So, by the looks of it, I’d say we won our first matches. Huh?” She asked.
“Oh, you bet!” Ash said as Mikey was kicking the shield mittens that he had on his hands. “I taught Ninja Steel Blue and Chameleon Green a thing or two with Greninja, and they were on the ropes.”
Mikey halted on his punches, and turned attention to Shantae. “Shoutmon, and I took care of RPM and Turbo Red Rangers!” He said excitedly.
“Yeah, and they were left like roadkill!” Shoutmon sarcastically added, as Mikey giggled, petting him.
“Sakura?” She asked.
“Handling the Giant team was tough!” She said, as she threw a few punches to the shadows, before she took her blindfold off. “But, I eventually beat them with my power cards.”
“And, Twilight?” She asked the alicorn.
Twilight refrained from her push ups and turned to her. “Well, it wasn’t easy...” she explained. “But Andros and I took care of the battle really well. The weird thing is we didn’t make the other side explode.”
“WHAT?!” Everyone asked in complete shock and surprise.
“So, how did you win your battle then?” Ash asked.
“Well, we talked about our wishes, about how I wanted my dimension restored, and how Andros wanted World peace.” Twilight explained. “I told him that world piece can’t be achieved through just one person. It has to be achieved through everyone. So, he decided that I should win, and we won on a draw.”
“Wow!” Shantae said in surprise and astonishment. “That was pretty...unusual for your battles.”
“Turns out the magic of Friendship can prove well at some times, like you said.” Sakura said in realization.
“Yep.” Twilight confirmed. “It sure can!” She smiled in relief.
“Man, I wish that I was as smart as you, Twilight.” Mikey said, smirking, as he pointed to her. “This pony can use her head! She used it to grow hair on it!”
Twilight just giggled. “You’re on!” She said, as she and Mikey both threw soft punches. Neither could get to the other. Sakura, Ash, and Shantae all joined in and so far, it was pretty good for sparring training, as they didn’t hurt each other, but also had a good time, and during that time, Twilight could feel the bond she had made with her friends grow a little stronger each time they fought together. She actually felt that this new friendship could grow stronger than ever, since they had helped save each other from Void Knight.
Finally, Shantae easily knocked her teammates down non-violently, as she smirked. “Game, set and match!” She said, happily.
"You know something, Shantae?” Twilight asked, as the genie cocked her head. “Ever since you guys had saved me from Void Knight’s clutches, I didn’t think that we’d be well-known acquaintances. But, after we got chosen and after our fights, I have a feeling that maybe our bond has grown stronger, and that we have become good friends.”
“Y’know, I kinda think that too.” Shantae agreed. “With us saving you and all, and sharing similar interests, it’s no wonder why we both got chosen.” She patted her on the head. “I have a feeling that our friendship will grow stronger, Twilight.” The pony blushed, and smiled.
At that moment, the screen came into view, as they all looked up and saw all the first round matches settled. “Well, it seems that everyone else has completed their first round matches as well.” Ash said, smiling.
“And, from what Shantae and I saw, the Curveball Team’s match was pretty brutal.” Sakura said, as Shantae nodded, as they both saw the brutal victory of the curveball team’s match.
“Now, that was awesome!” Ash said, as he jumped in agreement.
“Aw yeah!” Mikey agreed as well.
“Hey, what about that purple Ranger in that fight?” Shoutmon asked, confused.
Everyone was confused. “Purple Ranger?” Sakura asked. “There is no purple Ranger.”
“There is now!” Shoutmon said, pointing at the screen! “Look!” They all watched the screen, and saw Void Knight beating the curveball team, easily with his own sword.
“Oh, please! I was hoping I’d find someone who’d put up more of a fight that this!” Void Knight sneered on the screen as he left the wreckage of his assault.
“Void Knight?!” The team asked in unison and in shock.
“What’s he doing here?” Mikey asked in surprise.
“Why is he participating???” Ash asked.
“What the heck?” Sakura said. “Then this is no time to be making wishes, right now!”
“I was so surprised to hear that too!” A voice said. They turned to see Rita already in the room with them, as they jumped back in shock. “Sorry, but it seems that Sakura is right...” she said. “Is this true, Princess Twilight?” The others looked at her, as she nervously looked at the game hostess.
“Yes...” she weakly answered.
“Say no more.” She said. “I’ll take care of this right away!” She them disappeared from the room almost quickly!
“Alright!” Shantae said. “Then, we should have no trouble with the second round of our matches!”
“You got it!” Mikey said, as they gave a high five.
Just then, an announcement came in the screen. “Next...the matches for round 2!” she announced, as everyone was astonished by how she appeared suddenly on the screen.
“When did she...?” Ash started to ask.
“Wow!” Sakura squealed happily. “It’s like magic!”
“Magic?” Twilight asked, as she too thought about how Rita could suddenly appear and reappear at the same time. “I guess so...kinda like mine.” She said. The bracket then shown the two teams on the screen: The Beast Team & The Oddball team! Also glowing was the wrestling team as well.
“Alright!” Ash said. “The second round of matches is about to start!”
“So, what are you waiting for?” Shantae asked her friends. “Let’s get to it!”
“Yeah!” They cheered in excitement, as they all left to go to their respective matches. The second round was about to begin, and Twilight would face a rougher, tougher team than last time. But luckily, she could conquer whatever challenge was tossed at her. Even her new friends as well. However, Void Knight appeared in the tournament as well. No one knew why, but unknown to the oddball team, things would start to get much much worse.