On a remote, uncharted, unknown island in the middle of the Atlantic a camera crew reached the shore in several boats and began destroying the beautiful jungle for their television show. The host of the show, a large, floating white glove named Master Hand, floated off of the boat and hovered beside it. A large camera was planted a few feet away by an exhausted Hammer Bro. It aimed the camera at the host and motioned for a similarly overworked Koopa to stand beside him. The Koopa was struggling to hold comically enormous cue cards, wobbling slightly in a continuously failing effort to keep them above his head.
"Welcome," Master Hand began, trying desperately to ensure that his deep, booming voice overwhelmed the sounds of chainsaws and shouts of "TIMBER!" in the background. "To Super Smash Bros: Survivor! This is a reality show where forty - that's right, forty - famous characters from the history of Smash Bros will attempt to survive the environments and each other. They will compete in challenges, they will fight, they will argue, and every two days, they will eliminate each other off the show and, at the very end, one will win one million dollars!
"Four tribes of ten predetermined tribe members will soon dock their boats on four corners of this island. Once they have landed, the game will have begun. 'How long will the game last?' You may ask." He paused, and his eye would have twitched if he had one. "Far too long."
The camera then zoomed in on the first of the four boats. The ten people had separated, keeping themselves evenly placed around the desk. What was immediately obvious was that many of them weren't dressed in their usual attire. It being early summer and the island being extremely hot and humid at times, most of the cast had stripped to summer versions of their typical garb. Only the most precious extraneous items – signature hats, jewelry, birth sigils – were worn. A single member wore a golden scarf stitched with a red N, an article of clothing that signified her as the leader of the tribe.
Samus, the leader, Yoshi, Jigglypuff, Sonic, Roy, Captain Olimar, Captain Falcon, Wario, Zelda, and Falco were the members of this tribe.
As the island approached, many of them had silently moved to the railing to watch. Captain Falcon in his eagerness was leaning dangerously over the edge, and he lost his slight grip on the slippery railing. He fell forward, gasping in surprise, only to feel a hand grab his shorts and pull him back to safety. He tripped over himself and collapsed, safe from the ocean but forced to endure the laughter of his new tribe mates. He looked up to see even his savior grinning.
"You alright there, Captain?" Sonic asked, extending a hand.
Captain Falcon muttered a thanks and took his hand. He let himself be pulled up by Sonic and looked around at the boat. His eyes fell on Samus, giggling in her hand, and felt his heart plummet.
Sonic noticed where his gaze had fallen and nudged him, his grin turning mischievous. "Don't let that get you down. Honestly, it'd be worse if you actually fell in."
Captain Falcon barely heard him. He tried playing it off as a joke and grinned back at Samus, but that was the very moment she lost interest and turned back to the island.
"First impressions are everything, you know," said Roy, before he too turned to the island.
"He's right," Falco chimed in. "You basically ruined any chance you had."
"Be nice, guys," Samus chuckled. "The game hasn't even started."
"Peh," Wario scoffed. "Game started when we got onto this stinking ship."
"It's clear to everyone why you think this ship stinks," Zelda replied in disgust.
Wario glanced at her, shrugged, and farted. Zelda rolled her eyes and moved to the other side of the boat.
"He is right," Olimar said. "We've been sailing for nearly an hour, and nobody has said a word."
"We know so much about each other," Yoshi reminded him. "We can't really introduce ourselves."
"I'm too nervous," Roy admitted. "I feel like I'm going to throw up. This ship's rocking isn't helping."
"We're nearly there," Samus said encouragingly, patting him on his back. "Just hang in there for a little longer."
Roy smiled back at her, enjoying the touch. Captain Falcon eyed the pair enviously, stepping forward to interrupt. He was immediately pulled back by Sonic, who saw no good coming from this. Jigglypuff – unable to speak and only able to watch – deflated in disappointment, having wanted the drama to begin immediately.
A short while later, the boat slid onto the beach. The ten survivors jumped out and stared at their new home. It was a modest-sized beach that sat between the ocean and a large tropical forest. They spread apart, enjoying what little free time they had before the game truly begun.
The camera then switched to the second boat which was heading to the southern beach. This tribe's leader was wearing a blue scarf stitched with a dark green S.
Link, Metaknight, Toon Link, Lucario, Peach, Donkey Kong, Mr. Game and Watch, Pit, Pichu, and Fox were the members of this tribe.
When all of them had first stepped on the boat and had their blindfolds removed revealing their tribes, two particular members were completely surprised to see one another. Link and Toon Link immediately broke into wide grins and hugged each other, completely oblivious to everyone else on the boat.
They had isolated everyone, standing at a corner and whispering to one another while the others looked on. Nobody had spoken, not that all of them could. Mr. Game and Watch and Pichu had the unfortunate disadvantage of not being able to speak English, and as a result could only sleep and wait.
As the island approached, Peach gasped in excitement and ran to the rail. She pointed at the island and exclaimed, "Look! It is so beautiful!"
Fox smirked. "Yeah, Peach, it's a fantastic island."
"I truly hope it is," Peach agreed, oblivious to the sarcasm. "I hope we experience a wonderful game together."
"I like that excitement," Pit grinned. "It makes me excited too!"
"Then come join me, everyone," Peach motioned them forward. "It is such a wondrous sight!"
Lucario walked over to the rail and stood beside her. "It is quite the sight," he noted. "We will never get a view like this again."
"I'm convinced," Fox shrugged, and he joined them.
One by one, the members of the tribe crowded around the railing until only the Links remained. "Link, Toon Link," Donkey Kong said loudly, and the pair stared at him in confusion. "Would you like to join us?"
"Oh, of course!" Link said, getting to his feet. "Sorry, everyone, we didn't know you were doing something."
"Our bad," Toon Link grinned guiltily.
"Of course you wouldn't know," Metaknight replied accusingly. "You have been lost in each other's eyes the entire journey."
"Alright, Metaknight, we get it," Toon Link shrugged. Metaknight's eyes narrowed in response. "We'll be part of the tribe, now."
"It might be too late," said Fox. "We already know who an alliance is. You're the biggest threats."
Link's face paled. "We aren't a threat!" He said quickly. "We didn't… the game hasn't…"
Pit laughed. "Don't worry, Link, we know. We're just kidding."
"Everyone!" Peach shouted in joy. "We are about to land!"
And as soon as she finished speaking, the boat came to a halt. The ten of them exited and watched as the boat sailed off into the distance, resting until they were called.
The boat heading to the eastern beach was easily the most tumultuous even before the game truly began. There was a clear and intentional split in the tribe. The leader of this tribe was wearing an orange scarf stitched with a black E.
Mario, King Dedede, Diddy Kong, Wolf, Ganondorf, ROB, Lucas, Mewtwo, Ike, and Pokemon Trainer were the members of this tribe.
Ganondorf, King Dedede, Wolf, and Mewtwo sat on one side of the boat in silence. On the other side of the boat were the other six members. The two groups spoke quietly to those within, trying their best to avoid the eye of the opposing side.
"They're so scary," Lucas whispered in a panic, having mistakenly looked up out of curiosity and seeing Wolf's frightening scowl. "What if they attack us?"
"They wouldn't dare," Ike reassured him, patting his sword. "We would defeat them easily."
"We have the great Mario on our side as well," Diddy Kong added. "We'll be fine!"
"Oh stop, Diddy Kong," Mario said, unable to help smiling. "There's no need to worry about them, Lucas."
"I hope so," Lucas whispered, feeling only the slightest bit better.
"Honestly, I'm not feeling too confident about them either," Pokémon Trainer added.
"We outnumber them, at the very least," said Ike. "We will have no trouble overwhelming them."
"But until then…" Pokémon Trainer argued.
"Until then, we keep together and keep strong," said Ike.
ROB nodded happily in response, silently knowing it would not be as simple as Ike claimed.
Meanwhile, Wolf snarled quietly. "Of course they outnumber us. Why make this stupid game easy for us?"
"We're going to need a plan eventually," said King Dedede.
"Both of you keep quiet," Ganondorf muttered. "We'll make a plan when we need it. Just be glad we don't have to face more of these heroes."
"We have a powerhouse on our side," King Dedede nudged Mewtwo and smirked. "But I stand by my point."
Mewtwo stared at him silently, and King Dedede suddenly felt weak and vulnerable. He muttered an apology and went back to staring at the boat. Mewtwo was in fact reading his mind, reading the torrent of thoughts of regret rushing through him. He smirked in amusement but decided not to let him know of his power.
Due to the divided nature of the boat, neither side went to the railing as their boat reached the island. They sat in silence until they stopped, and then they jumped off different sides and swam to their beach. They kept in their groups as they reconvened and simply waited for the game to begin.
The fourth and final boat was heading towards the west side of the island. The leader of this tribe was wearing a black scarf stitched with a bright yellow W.
Solid Snake, Luigi, Kirby, Bowser, Ness, Marth, Young Link, Pikachu, Popo, and Nana were the members of this tribe.
The Ice Climbers were another pair that made their friendship incredibly apparent immediately; they whispered happily to one another and kept apart from the others. The complete antithesis of them were Bowser and Luigi, who while on opposite sides of the boat managed to singlehandedly raise the tension significantly. Anytime Luigi so much as breathed loudly, Bowser's eyes shot daggers at him, and he snorted a scalding cloud of steam out of his nose. When Luigi tried to join in on the others' conversation, Bowser growled loudly, and he recoiled in fear.
Young Link, Ness, and Kirby sympathized with him, but they didn't stand up to Bowser out of fear. They spoke quietly amongst themselves.
"I wish we could do something," Kirby whispered. "He looks so sad."
"Pretty sure all we have to do is vote Bowser out," Young Link said. "I don't think this is much of a problem."
"It's a problem because he isn't the only one we have to worry about," Ness replied. "He's just the most obvious."
"Who else?" Young Link chuckled. "This game won't be hard at all."
Ness didn't bother with a response. He kept his gaze fixed on Snake, who aside from offering a cigarette to Marth – which he declined – had done nothing but observe the others. Although Marth was closing his eyes and relaxed, Snake was alert and observing everyone.
"I don't like that I can't hear you," Kirby said, patting Pikachu's head. Pikachu tilted his head, enjoying the pet, but he couldn't respond. "Why can't you talk, little buddy?"
"Pika," Pikachu replied uselessly. "Pika pi!"
"I hear you," Kirby nodded, understanding nothing.
As the boat landed, Luigi immediately leapt out, fell face first into the sand, and sprinted to the safety of the forest. Bowser followed, chuckling to himself and creating a cloud of dust as he landed, causing the others to cough and sputter. He turned to watch, enjoying their suffering, and then chose a comfortable spot on the sand to lay.
"This looks beautiful!" Nana exclaimed. "I'm so excited!"
"It's going to be great, Nana!" Popo replied. "We're going to have so much fun together!"
"Absolutely!" Kirby said, running up to them and grinning brightly. He held up his hand. "High five, guys!"
Nana and Popo glanced at each other strangely, and then they shrugged and high fived him.
"This is going to be the best game ever!" Kirby laughed.
Master Hand turned to the camera as the scene faded away from the Western Tribe. He cleared his imaginary throat and said, "You have just met the forty competitors in this reality show. Of these forty, only one shall win. Cheer for your favorites, but do not get mad if any of them are eliminated, for it is simply in the nature of the game. Very few people understand the true nature of the game as of now, but very soon they will learn, and then the real fun will begin.
"I am Master Hand, and I am ending this pre-game introduction. Best of luck to the competitors, and with this: Let Super Smash Bros: Survivor begin!"