Challengers of Soccer
Chapter One: To Form a Team
Shell the Koopa flicked off the T.V. He had just finished watching his favourite video on the 2007 Soccer World Championships for the umpteenth time. The Mario Heroes had defeated the Wario Garlics 3-2 in Sudden Death to capture the title. Every time Shell saw the excited look on Mario and his teammates' faces, he couldn't help but imagine himself standing on the world stage, hoisting the Striker Cup.
"Maybe someday." Shell sighed, and stood up off of his bed. He lived in a one bedroom apartment on the east side of Koopa Village. All his life, Shell had played soccer. He loved to just head out to the park and practice with his friends. However, he kept his dreams of entering the Striker Cup secret. He didn't want his friends to laugh at him.
Until today.
Today was the day. Shell had read a pamphlet on the village news board that the Fire Cup was opening up in a few weeks. Teams of five could sign up to compete, and the top two teams had a chance to compete in an international level. Shell was going to ask his friends to join him in forming a team.
He could see it now…The five of them would sign up and wow the audiences. With their combined talent, they would ace through the competition and instantly become famous.
He could see it now.
--
Are you kiddin' me?" Spin laughed.
Shell took a step back. All four of his Koopa friends were laughing at him.
"Well, don't you think we could do it? I mean, we're all great soccer players!" Shell protested. He had thought for sure that his soccer-mania friends would agree.
"Hey man, we're good, but not that good! We couldn't compete with some of these teams!" Koopfrey scoffed. The burly Koopa held up his hands in disbelief. "Were you serious about this?"
"Yeah I-"Shell started, blinking back tears. He was interrupted by another round of boisterous laughter from his friends.
"Well, I'm not going through with this. I don't want to be slaughtered." Koopel shrugged, and picked up the soccer ball he had been playing with.
"Sorry, but I'm out too." Spin said, and jogged over to Koopel. Koopfrey smiled sadly, and followed the other two.
"Well Kooplie? Are you with me?" Shell asked desperately. He knew he could count on Kooplie, his closest friend.
"You're out of your mind, man. C'mon, let's go play a scrimmage." Kooplie suggested, and walked over to his other friends.
Shell frowned. "Guys, I thought that you wanted a challenge. I thought that you wanted to test your skills. I thought…" He stopped. They weren't even listening. They were out on the field, playing soccer together.
"Fine, I'll find a new team. We'll be able to do it. Guys, you'll see." Shell smiled sadly, but clenched his fist together.
So his friends didn't want to be a part of his team. That was all right. He would find a group that wanted a challenge.
That wanted to compete.
--
The Fire Cup opened in two weeks. Registration was in one week. Seven days to find four teammates. A challenge, for sure. But Shell had a plan.
He posted flyers all around the village, and even in the nearby, but larger, Toad Town. Anyone who thought they had what it took could contact him, but no one replied.
After two days, Shell started to give up. There was no one who wanted to join his team.
--
"It's over. Maybe next year." Shell bit his lower lip, and stared sadly at his World Championship Posters, all over his walls. His dream…
Shell snapped out of his thoughts as the phone rang. The Koopa ran over, and picked it up delicately.
"H-Hello?" He asked shakily. A small voice was on the other end, and apparently was just as nervous as he was.
"Hello, I-I'm here for, for the soccer registration. I saw the pamphlet, and I'd like to think of myself as a decent soccer player. M-My name is Goomchard. I'm a Goomba, so I'm not very big, but I am determined, and dedicated."
Shell smiled, and almost laughed. This was great news!
"OK, that's great. My name is Shell, the Koopa. Where do you live?" Shell asked politely. He didn't want to offend Goomchard, and lose the only one interested in his team.
"Well, I live on the outskirts of Toad Town. I know that you live in Koopa Village, so it'd take me just a few minutes to get to where you live." Came the reply.
"Right, well, why don't you come to Koopa Village? We should meet each other in person. I'll be waiting by the front gate." Shell suggested.
"S-sounds good. I-I'll be there shortly!" Goomchard hung up, and Shell jumped in the air.
"Yeeaaah!" He laughed, punching the air with his fist. One down, three to go.
After about five minutes, Shell saw a tiny Goomba rushing along the path to Koopa Village. As the Goomba came closer, Shell could make out a pair of thick glasses resting on the Goomba's face.
"H-hello… I… Am Goomchard." Goomchard panted. He was pretty tiny, even for a Goomba.
"Hey there, I'm Shell." Shell smiled, extending a hand. "Welcome to the team! Before we assign positions or anything, we need to find three other members. Any ideas?"
"W-w-well I do know of this one guy up the r-road from here. He's a great dancer. I-I have seen his footwork; it's a-amazing!" Goomchard adjusted his glasses.
"Yeah… He could be a great soccer player if he has some nice footwork. Especially if we get in some practice!" Shell said excitedly. Goomchard smiled nervously.
"B-but what if he d-doesn't want to be on our team?" He quivered.
Shell shrugged, not paying attention. His mind was already awhirl with possibilities.
"OK Goomchard, let's go see this guy."
After a short time, Shell and Goomchard reached a little hut on the side of a lake. As Shell walked up the steps to the front door, he could hear music coming from the inside.
Goomchard ran up to Shell. "I-I-I don't think t-this is s-such a great idea. What if he gets mad?"
"Relax man. Ya never know." Shell reassured his tiny friend, and knocked on the door. The music stopped, and the door slowly creaked open.
A Shy Guy poked his head out of the door curiously, and saw the two.
"Can I help you?" He sniffed.
"Yeah, uh, my name's Shell, and this is Goomchard. We've learned that you're a pretty good dancer." Shell started.
"A bit of an understatement, no?" The Shy Guy scoffed, and stepped back into his home. He turned on a radio, and began tapping and sliding across the floor to the beat. The Shy Guy's legs worked faster and faster, dancing, hopping, and running about, until the music stopped.
"See?" The Shy Guy asked proudly.
"Yeah, that's great… Anyways, we've come to ask you something." Shell paused for a minute, and smiled at Goomchard. "We'd like to enter the Fire Cup, and we need a few teammates. With your fancy footwork, we thought for sure you'd be a great addition."
The Shy Guy's mask almost fell off of his face. "You must be kidding. Me? A Dancer? Play…Soccer? No, no, no! I couldn't! I-"
"With a bit of practice we'll be great. What do you have to lose?" Goomchard spoke up. Shell smiled, glad to know the Goomba was sticking with him.
The Shy Guy sat down on a couch, and rested his head in his hands. "Everyone said that I wasn't strong, or brave, because I wanted to dance more than play sports. Is that the kind of guy you want on your team?" He was practically shouting by the time he had finished.
Shell took a step forward. He placed an arm on the Shy Guy's shoulder. "I don't care what anyone else said about you. Everyone likes and is good at something different. Don't you want a chance to prove to those guys, to prove to them that you are strong and that you are brave?" Shell spoke slowly, to let the words sink in.
The Shy Guy sat up. "Yeah, I do! I want to show everyone what I can do! Yeah, thanks Shell! You too, Goomchard. I'm tired of hearing from everyone that I'm weak."
Shell shook the Shy Guy's hand, and Goomchard bobbed up and down excitedly.
"Welcome to the team, uh…"
"Guy. The name's Guy." Guy the Shy Guy smiled. He stood up, and followed Shell and Goomchard out the door.
--
"G'morning guys!" Shell rolled off of his bed. Goomchard and Guy groggily shook themselves out of their sleeping bags. They had all decided to stay in Shell's house for the night. It was a little crowded, but they managed.
"Four days left. And we need two more teammates." Shell spoke to himself as he stared out of the window.
"Why don't we walk around town, and see what we can do? It's better than thinking in here." Guy suggested. It was worth a shot.
The three friends left Shell's house, and walked down the dirt path. They passed by a few houses, but no one they asked was willing to join their team. After a good hour and a half of searching, Shell plunked himself down on a park bench.
"Well, that didn't work." He frowned.
"W-well what about Toad Town? There a-are more people there." Goomchard suggested. "I mean, if y-you want to…" He smiled sheepishly as the other two looked at him.
"No, that's a good idea. There's bound to be someone in Toad Town who wants to join us!" Shell jumped off of the bench. "C'mon guys!"
--
The small group walked under the archway leading into Toad Town. Unlike the peaceful and quiet Koopa Village, Toad Town had citizens bustling about, always heading somewhere. A train chugged along in the distance, and there were many different conversations surrounding the group as they walked through the town.
"Well, where do we head first?" Guy asked, and he and Goomchard turned to Shell, their undisputed leader.
Before Shell could speak, though, his stomach rumbled loudly. "Uh, maybe we should head over for something to eat." He asked, pointing to a nearby restaurant.
When the three of them had been seated, and they all were munching down on their respective meals, Shell spoke up, "OK, I say that we just head around town, maybe go door to door, and ask if any of them are interested in our group. That's the only thing I can think of." Shell swallowed some more eggs as he talked.
"I bet we'll find someone eventually. I mean, it's a huge city; of course there are going to be some soccer-lovers." Guy stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Excuse me, but I couldn't help but overhear." A Toad with red and white spots poked his head out from behind a booth. Goomchard shrieked in surprise.
"Sorry 'bout that. I heard something about you needing a soccer player?" The Toad asked.
"Yeah, we're thinking about entering the Fire Cup. My name's Shell, this is Guy, and that's Goomchard. We need two more members." Shell told the wide-eyed Toad.
"Well, my name's Toaduel. I'd like to join, if I could. I play in a league here in Toad Town, and I am pretty good." Toaduel opened his arms wide, waiting for an answer.
Shell smiled at Goomchard, and the Goomba nodded back. Guy wrapped his arms around the two. They had found a fourth teammate.
Shell, Goomchard, Guy, and Toaduel walked out of the dark restaurant.
"Hey guys, I've just got to head over to my work, and let them know what's going on. Want to come with me?" Toaduel asked.
The three agreed, and they all walked over to a mechanics workshop. Toaduel stepped inside, and walked through a back door. "Stay outside." Was what Toaduel had asked of them.
"Hey boss, I-" Toaduel was interrupted by his boss, a big Toad with a bushy mustache.
"Toaduel, you're late again! How many times is that? Five? Six?" The man roared. Toaduel seemed to shrink.
"Sorry but I-"
"No buts! You remember what I told you, right?"
Toaduel was almost in tears. "I-"
"Toaduel, YOU'RE FIRED! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU WALTZING IN, TEN MINUTES LATE, LIKE NO ONE'S BUSINESS! I'VE HAD IT!" The Toad roared.
"Fine, but I was going to quit anyways! I'm going to make it big as a soccer player!" Toaduel narrowed his eyes, and stormed out the door.
"Let's go guys." He shook his head. Shell could hear his boss laughing coarsely at the notion of Toaduel becoming a great soccer player.
"You didn't have to quit your job to-" Shell was cut off.
"But I want to. I live for soccer. We'll prove 'em wrong, right?" Toaduel was completely serious about this. Shell smiled, and nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah we will."
The four friends walked out of the mechanics shop, and into the crowded streets of Toad Town.
"So what do we do now?" Guy asked. Shell shrugged.
"Any ideas?" The Koopa asked his group. Toaduel shook his head, and Goomchard adjusted his glasses, thinking.
"W-well, we still have three days left, after t-today. I-If you don't mind m-me saying, maybe we should t-try to a-a-advertise some more." Goomchard spoke up in a small voice.
"Yeah, like posters and stuff. Good idea." Shell smiled.
The group headed over to the Toad Town General Store, and bought some paper, markers, and tape.
"So why don't we all make a few posters, and meet back here tomorrow at noon to post 'em?" Shell suggested. The others agreed, and with that, the group disbanded.
"This is going great! Pretty soon, we'll have a whole team. I just know that we're gonna do this. I can feel it!" Shell thought optimistically as he trudged home.
When the ambitious Koopa returned home, he found his Koopa friends waiting in his front yard.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Shell asked.
"Where've you been? We want to head down to the park." Kooplie said. The others all murmured their agreement and nodded.
"Sorry guys, I've got to make some advertisements. We already have four members to our team, and we're looking for one more player." Shell shrugged, and stepped into his home.
"Wait, you actually found someone who'll go along with you?" Spin asked in disbelief.
"Well, I've found three guys, and they're all really nice and dedicated." Shell felt proud of his team and his accomplishment.
"I can't believe you, Shell. How could you…you…abandonus like that? How could you go along with this stupid dream of yours?" Spin asked. He then turned around, and left.
"Wait guys, I-" But his other three friends were following Spin.
Shell slammed the front door. "If my friends won't understand my dream, then they're aren't great friends, are they?" He steamed.
The Koopa thought of Goomchard, Guy, and Toaduel, and how each of them had made a sacrifice for what they believed in.
"I guess this is mine, then. I guess this is mine."
The next morning, Shell met his team in Toad Town, at noon, just as planned. Shell had made four posters for advertisement and his friends had all made three.
"Good work guys." Shell grinned as he took a look at the posters.
"I forgot about the posters until this morning, so mine are a little bit rushed." Toaduel admitted.
"At least we all have ours." Guy grinned, and they set about putting the advertisements up on the News Board, and all over town.
Throughout the day, Shell started to get a better idea of his three new friends' diverse personalities.
Goomchard was quiet and shy, not really having much confidence in himself. However, what he didn't realize was that he had no reason to be so nervous all the time, and should believe in himself more.
Guy came across as uptight at times, almost snooty. However, if you got to know him better, like Shell was, you realized that Guy was really nice, and very clever.
Toaduel seemed a little impatient and irresponsible. He also seemed to be a little forgetful, but he had a good heart.
Shell was extremely happy throughout the day, as the small group got along and had a great time.
However, after two days, nothing happened. No one else had called. Shell was growing more and more worried by the minute. There was a day left until registration, and still no one had replied.
It wasn't until 6:30, on the second-last day, that someone called back. Shell and his friends were sitting around in his home, discussing game plans and strategies, when the phone rang.
"I'll get it!" Shell called out as he jumped over to the phone. This was it. The moment of truth.
"Hello?" He asked nervously.
"Hello! If you have ever had your windows washed, then you'll-" Shell hung up the phone in disgust, and disappointment. It had been an automated message.
Just as Shell was about to tell his friends what it was, the phone rang again. Shell hurriedly picked it up.
"Hello?"
"I saw the advertisement on the Toad Town News Board." Shell pumped his fist in the air, and his friends silently celebrated.
"Great, we still need a fifth member." Shell told the caller.
"Yeah, and I understand that the Fire Cup registration is tomorrow. You can meet me in the Toad Town back alleys tonight, at nine."
The phone clicked, and the line was dead.
Shell glanced over at his friends.
"Well?" Toaduel breathed impatiently.
"Nine O'clock tonight." Shell began, and told his friends what the caller had said.
The four friends headed over to Toad Town at 8:30. They didn't want to risk being late. Toaduel led the way into the back alleys, as he knew the town better than any of the others.
"OK, I think it should be about nine by now. Where is he?" Guy frowned.
"Or she. W-well-" Goomchard was cut off by a voice.
"Ah, so you have come." The voice came from the left. Shell squinted at the darkness, but he couldn't see anyone.
"Is all of this drama really necessary?" Shell asked, staring around at where the group was.
Goomchard whimpered softly.
"Yes, yes it is. You see, I like to make a grand entrance. I am willing to join your team. Are you willing to accept me?" The voice asked.
"For sure." Shell breathed.
The figure stepped out from the shadows. Shell, Goomchard, Guy, and Toaduel held their breath.
As a Mole appeared from the alley.
"My name is Marty…Marty the Mole." Marty stroked his chin.
"Welcome to the team." Shell stared at the mysterious creature.
"What is our team called, anyways?" Toaduel asked.
Shell thought for a second.
"Well, it should say something about us…" Shell thought.
"I-I think it s-should be about how we've all h-had to stay strong willed and d-d-dedicated." Goomchard stammered.
Then, the idea hit Shell.
"Guys, we are now… The Challengers."
--
Hey guys, this is Cranihunt here. After every chapter of "Challengers of Soccer", I'll be writing a little summary of my thoughts and ideas here. Sorta like an author's note. Well, I guess this is an author's note. Whatever. Anyways, this is a little side-story I'll be writing when I'm not in the dramatic mood to write Pokemon Topaz. It's pretty much based off of Mario Strikers and Mario Strikers: Charged.
In this chapter we've met our five heroes, but we haven't learned a lot about any of them, especially Marty. Don't worry, while this story won't be as deep or dark as Topaz, it'll definitely have some story behind it. So yeah, that's about it for now. In Chapter Two, the gang will sign up for the Fire Cup, but things won't go as smoothly as planned. Do they ever…? See you all later!
-Cranihunt
P.S. I think I might start this for Pokemon Topaz too. It's kinda cool to relay my thoughts after writing a chapter. Look for this sort of thing in Chapter Four of Topaz!