First started on September 23rd, 2014.
Replaced on July 12th, 2016.
This pair was inspired in Shulk's Famitsu scans where Shulk was posing with Little Mac.
Shulk wandered alone in the halls, heading back to his room since his eyes felt heavy. As he walked closer to the Wii Fit Studio, he could hear male grunts from inside. The door was slightly opened, and Shulk curiously decided to enter to see one lone boxer in front of the giant mirror: Little Mac. From Shulk's point of view, it looked like Mac was posing.
First, Mac was throwing several punches in the air, as though he was warming up. Next, he was making some gestures with his arms. Finally, he threw his left arm in triumph. Due to the giant mirror, Mac already saw Shulk entering this room. Shulk walked up to Mac as the two faced each other.
Heartbreaking – Looks Like We Don't Have A Choice!
"What are you doing, Mac? It looked like you were posing."
"Hey, Shulk." Mac wiped a sweat from his forehead. "I'm doing my taunts."
"Taunts?"
Mac blinked his eyes. "Oh yeah... You don't know about this. When I played the role as an Assist Trophy in the past, one of the things I learned was the fighters taunting their opponents. And since I'm officially a fighter, I need to pump up for this!"
"What? Why would we taunt?"
"Taunting is used to annoy, provoke, mock, or celebrate yourself... Wait a second!" Mac looked straight at Shulk's face. "You came just in the right moment! You're a newcomer, and you don't have any taunts!" He smiled. "Why don't we work on your taunts?"
Uh-oh... What should I do? Shulk contemplated for a few seconds. "I don't know about this."
Four small hearts lowered
Mac gawked. "What? Why?"
"I'm...just not the person to taunt my opponents." Shulk scratched the back of his head. "I don't want to anger my opponents. It's not like me."
Mac crossed his big muscular arms in disappointment. "Shulk, you are in a fighting tournament. Eventually, your opponents will taunt you, so you should taunt them back once you get your revenge. I'll even taunt you if I do knock you out of the screen."
Shulk sighed. "Guess I can't get out of this one. All right, I give in. How about one taunt for now since it's pretty late?"
Mac smiled with a big nod. "Yeah! That's the spirit, Shulk!"
"So...what kind of taunts I should use?"
"Hmm... How about you say one of your quotes? A good quote that makes your opponents tick!"
"One of my quotes... Hmm..." Shulk thought about it for a moment. "Looks like we don't have a choice!"
Four small hearts lowered
Mac raised an eyebrow. "I...guess that could work. What's the origin of that quote?"
"It's a rare occasion, but I say it when my friends and I are about to fight a very powerful opponent at the start of the battle."
Mac nodded. "That makes sense. Here, all the fighters are strong. Stronger than the boxers I fought. Okay, Shulk, say that quote in front of the mirror!"
"Uh..." Shulk faced the mirror, thinking of a pose before doing his taunt. He decided to do like his past and difficult battles. Before that, he imagined a very powerful opponent like the Gogol called the Territorial Rotbart or the Immovable Gonzalez. He took the Monado out of his back, activated the Monado's beam, and narrowed his eyes at the mirror. "Looks like we don't have a choice!"
Mac grinned. "Ooh... Nice! That will work."
Hmm... Feels a bit off. Shulk put the Monado on his back.
"Shulk? Something you want to say?"
"Oh, nothing. So are we done here? I actually need to sleep now."
"Yup. But next time we get a chance, we're working on more on your taunts. Try to think more taunts in your sleep, okay?"
One big heart raised
"I guess I don't have a choice." Shulk smiled a bit. "I'll think up a better quote, Mac."
Net Loss/Gain – This is the Monado's Power!
"What are you doing, Mac? It looked like you were posing."
"Hey, Shulk." Mac wiped a sweat from his forehead. "I'm doing my taunts."
"Taunts?"
Mac blinked his eyes. "Oh yeah... You don't know about this. When I played the role as an Assist Trophy in the past, one of the things I learned was the fighters taunting their opponents. And since I'm officially a fighter, I need to pump up for this!"
"What? Why would we taunt?"
"Taunting is used to annoy, provoke, mock, or celebrate yourself... Wait a second!" Mac looked straight at Shulk's face. "You came just in the right moment! You're a newcomer, and you don't have any taunts!" He smiled. "Why don't we work on your taunts?"
Uh-oh... What should I do? Shulk contemplated for a few seconds. "I don't know about this."
Four small hearts lowered
Mac gawked. "What? Why?"
"I'm...just not the person to taunt my opponents." Shulk scratched the back of his head. "I don't want to anger my opponents. It's not like me."
Mac crossed his big muscular arms in disappointment. "Shulk, you are in a fighting tournament. Eventually, your opponents will taunt you, so you should taunt them back once you get your revenge. I'll even taunt you if I do knock you out of the screen."
Shulk sighed. "Guess I can't get out of this one. All right, I give in. How about one taunt for now since it's pretty late?"
Mac smiled with a big nod. "Yeah! That's the spirit, Shulk!"
"So...what kind of taunts I should use?"
"Hmm... How about you say one of your quotes? A good quote that makes your opponents tick!"
"One of my quotes... Hmm..." Shulk thought about it for a moment. "This is the Monado's power!"
Four small hearts raised
"Ooh... Nice!" Mac grinned and nodded. "That does strike fear in your opponents. Even I know your weapon is powerful and scary. What's that from?"
"I say that quote before I use one of my Monado Arts."
"In that case, show me how it's done!"
Shulk smirked. "Right. I won't let you down." He pulled out his Monado and faced the mirror. He gripped the handle in front of him. "This is the Monado's power!" The Monado's beam came out as the ether flowed out of the blade.
"Yeah! You're looking pretty cool, Shulk! However, how about we make that taunt even cooler?"
"Huh? How?" Mac walked up to him and carefully positioned Shulk's arm and the Monado. The result was the Monado slightly pointing down to the ground at an angle.
"Now say that quote again, but in that pose!"
"Uh, all right..." Shulk glared at the mirror. "This is the Monado's power!"
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" After that, Shulk deactivated the beam and sheathed the Monado on his back. "Now we just need to come up with more taunts in the future. You up for it, Shulk?"
One big heart raised
Shulk smirked back. "Like I said before, I won't let you down."
Net Gain/Loss – Now It's Shulk Time!
"What are you doing, Mac? It looked like you were posing."
"Hey, Shulk." Mac wiped a sweat from his forehead. "I'm doing my taunts."
"Taunts?"
Mac blinked his eyes. "Oh yeah... You don't know about this. When I played the role as an Assist Trophy in the past, one of the things I learned was the fighters taunting their opponents. And since I'm officially a fighter, I need to pump up for this!"
"What? Why would we taunt?"
"Taunting is used to annoy, provoke, mock, or celebrate yourself... Wait a second!" Mac looked straight at Shulk's face. "You came just in the right moment! You're a newcomer, and you don't have any taunts!" He smiled. "Why don't we work on your taunts?"
Uh-oh... What should I do? Shulk contemplated for a few seconds. "Okay, let's do this."
Four small hearts raised
Mac grinned with a fist pump. "All right! Now we're talking! Let's start off by you saying a quote!"
"A quote, huh?" Shulk put his hand on his chin. "I'm thinking more of the lines of not intimidating my opponents."
Mac raised his brows. "What? You should do the opposite!"
"Hang on! You haven't even heard of what quote I'm about to say!"
"Well, what quote is on your mind?"
"Now it's Shulk time!"
Four small hearts lowered
Mac tilted his head. "Huh? That's...an odd quote."
Shulk chuckled. "To be honest, it's a catchphrase from my best friend: Reyn. It's actually, 'Now it's Reyn time!' He actually does this to taunt monsters so that the aggro is focused on him instead of me."
"So, in other words, you stole your best friend's catchphrase, and now you're gonna steal his taunt?" Mac could not contain his smirk.
"I don't think Reyn will mind. In fact, I think he'll just laugh in a good way. It'll be like using his name for a pun."
Mac laughed a bit. "Well, if you say so. Go on and say it in front of the mirror!"
As Shulk faced the mirror, he recalled of how Reyn did his Talent Art called Mad Taunt. Normally, no one but Reyn can use Mad Taunt, but Shulk can do Reyn's pose. Once Shulk remembered, he bent forward and down slightly, then he lifted up his left fist before imitating Reyn's voice. "Now it's Shulk time!"
Mac awed. "Whoa! It's like you're a different person! All right! I approve of this! How about we call that for the day and resume another day?"
One big heart raised
"Yeah. Saying that quote makes me think Reyn's spirit is with me." Shulk smiled. I wonder how Reyn is doing. I hope he really doesn't mind if I use his catchphrase.
Heartwarming – I'm Really Feeling It!
"What are you doing, Mac? It looked like you were posing."
"Hey, Shulk." Mac wiped a sweat from his forehead. "I'm doing my taunts."
"Taunts?"
Mac blinked his eyes. "Oh yeah... You don't know about this. When I played the role as an Assist Trophy in the past, one of the things I learned was the fighters taunting their opponents. And since I'm officially a fighter, I need to pump up for this!"
"What? Why would we taunt?"
"Taunting is used to annoy, provoke, mock, or celebrate yourself... Wait a second!" Mac looked straight at Shulk's face. "You came just in the right moment! You're a newcomer, and you don't have any taunts!" He smiled. "Why don't we work on your taunts?"
Uh-oh... What should I do? Shulk contemplated for a few seconds. "Okay, let's do this."
Four small hearts raised
Mac grinned with a fist pump. "All right! Now we're talking! Let's start off by you saying a quote!"
"A quote, huh?" Shulk put his hand on his chin. "I'm thinking more of the lines of not intimidating my opponents."
Mac raised his brows. "What? You should do the opposite!"
"Hang on! You haven't even heard of what quote I'm about to say!"
"Well, what quote is on your mind?"
"I'm really feeling it!"
Four small hearts raised
Mac grinned. "Yes, that's the one! I can feel that quote, all right! Where does that come from?"
"I say it when I'm feeling focused in battle. There's also another quote when my tension is very high."
"And what's that?"
"'Nothing's gonna stop me.'"
"That's perfect! Say these quotes in front of the mirror! Go!"
"Uh...okay," Shulk felt apprehensive of doing this. It sounded a bit silly and out-of-character to taunt his opponents in this world. Then again, his friends back home yelled out a lot of iconic quotes during battle; Shulk was no exception of this. Shulk spoke firmly. "I'm really feeling it."
Mac frowned. "C'mon, Shulk! You can do it better than that! Again, but louder this time!"
Shulk yelled just like his past battles in his world. "I'm really feeling it!"
"Louder! Stronger!"
Shulk let it all out of his lungs. "I'm really feeling it!" He put his left fist in front of him with a menacing glare while gripping the Monado's handle with his right hand.
Mac also joined in with his volume. "Yeah, Shulk! Get it stuck in! Scream with ll your heart and soul!"
"I'm really feeling it!"
"I'm really feelin' it!"
"I'm really feeling it!"
Mac leaned his head to Shulk's ear. "Are you feelin' it now, Shulk?!"
"I'm really feeling it, and nothing's gonna stop me!" Shulk slowly began to pant after all that shouting, then he and Mac started to chuckle uncontrollably. After around 15 seconds, they slowly stopped chuckling. "You know, Mac, that felt...pretty good."
Mac smiled with pride. "See? What did I told ya? It really makes you pump up in battle."
"Yeah, you're right."
"I can't wait when we use our taunts in a team battle. We should sign up when we get the chance. What say you, Shulk?" Mac raised his right fist in front of Shulk.
One big heart raised
"With you and me, they will know our names!" Shulk raised his right fist and connected it to Little Mac's right fist.
Shulk [Blue Circle Affinity] Little Mac
Really feeling it!