Author's Note: I decided to post another chapter today (according to my place's timezone) because apparently, the 3DS Direct gave out a reveal. Keep in mind that I'm only familiar with some characters that appear in this series, and whenever I have to involve certain characters, I'm only trying my best to avoid them being completely out-of-character. Also, because of this, combined with me not bothering to research (I hate to admit) the source material, I might make mistakes. Lots of mistakes.

Chapter 4: The Incredible Shulk

"Hey! What's going on?" Zelda questioned as several fighters are rushing through the corridor leading to The Gathering Point. Luigi is the only one responding to her, but all he can say is random gibberish. Without hesitating, Zelda follows the other fighters.

"It's… real…" Pit said, his eyes focusing on the video projected in the middle of the chamber.

When Zelda arrives, she's pretty surprised at what she's seeing. A newcomer. But, he's first seen in the leaked photos and video that Dedede brought several days ago. Everything about him matches his appearance in the leaked media.

"This cannot be real…" Zelda thought.

"Yes. Yes, it's real…" Marth said.

"That Shulk person… he's now part of our crew." Samus said.

"I guess Dedede is right, after all. Now I'm feeling sorry for him." Pit felt guilty.

While everyone else is still staying in awe and waiting for Shulk to come to The Gathering Point, Meta Knight quietly leaves the chamber.

At The Great Creator's Hall, Dedede is in the middle of a rather disturbingly silent conversation. No other voice except Dedede's is heard.

"Y-You sure about this, Sakurai?"

Silence, as usual.

"Okay, then! I'm going to tell everyone! Thanks for still being kind!"

Filled with joy, Dedede runs out of the hall and goes through the main corridor, only to bump into Meta Knight on the way. "Ouch!"

"Hmph. What a surprise it seems."

"Hey, Meta Knight! Call everyone else! I…"

"No! You don't need to!"

"Eh?"

"They're already gathering."

"…Could it be?"

"Yes. It turns out that you are correct after all."

"Not what I'm expecting, but… r-really?"

"Yes. See for yourself."

Meta Knight then escorts the penguin to The Gathering Point. The other fighters are greeting the newcomer. When the two finally arrive, Pit is the first to notice this, and promptly dashes to Dedede.

"Dedede! I'm sorry for doubting you! I'm sorry that I'm not taking you seriously! I'm so, so sorry that I thought the leak was just another one of your jokes! You were serious after all!"

"Heheh, Pit! It's okay! People doubt me all the time, anyway!"

"Seriously, you being serious like that doesn't look like your usual self! By the way, here's the newcomer that is part of the leak! Shulk!"

While Dedede goes with Pit to greet the newcomer, Meta Knight just stands there, thinking, "Hmph. I already know that this will eventually end up like this. After several debatable leaks and sudden matching announced newcomers, they still haven't learned. Well, it's not my business anyway." Meta Knight then leaves the chamber instead of greeting Shulk like the others.

After all the meeting and greeting, Dedede then stands in the middle of the chamber.

"Ehem. Now that the leak has been proven, well, partially, I think it's about time that I'm going to tell you something."

The entirety of The Gathering Point is now silent. Then, Dedede begins talking.

"Okay, our new pal Shulk may not know this, but remember when I suddenly said something about The Great Creator's secret?"

"Huh. Most of us don't care about it anymore." Wii Fit Trainer said.

"But I do!" Pit exclaimed.

"Hehe… About that secret… actually, I want to tell you something important. Usually, The Great Creator will not allow me to say anything related to this, but he's now okay with that!"

"You sure about that?" Lucina doubted.

"Yeah, I'm sure! Do you realize that The Great Creator hasn't punished us in any form yet? And, no. No talking about the pictures. It's up to him. And I know that he did it just to unleash something surprising."

"When you said that way, I think you're right." Peach said.

"Huh. But how do you know all that? Why do you assume something like that?" Ike asked.

"Ah. My wanted questions… Now, I'm going to explain. You see, The Great Creator also needs an assistant to keep track of every training. Normally, this is used to also keep track of who is absent during that session. That assistant is also unaffected by the memory wipe done by The Great Creator."

"So… are you saying that his assistant is you?" Pit asked.

"Why, yes! Yes, I am! But w-wait! Before you begin doubting, do you know of anyone else who blurted out about The Great Creator's memory wiping ability? No one else, right?"

"It's true, but… Dedede, you're usually, er, no offense, not that trustworthy. I always think that The Great Creator would rely on someone more reliable. Why did he pick you? Also, the whole assistant thing is new to me. I never knew about it until right now." Pit said.

"Why he picked me… actually I have no idea either. But no, the assistant thing does exist, still. It has actually existed… since the preparation time for the X Tournament."

"Whoa! I never realized that!" Pit is surprised.

"You see, The Great Creator never publicly stated that he has chosen an assistant for him. Only the chosen one was notified. In other words, only me. So, why I decided to talk about it is because The Great Creator no longer wants to cover the whole assistant thing. I think, after all those leaks, he seems to be aware of our confusion the whole time. He wants to make things easier, I guess. I mean, I'm the only one who still remembers several more secret trainings. Yes, I do remember seeing Shulk in a training session. I forgot with whom, though. I can't really remember everything, but I remember seeing several more unconfirmed fighters and newcomers practicing, who then had their memories of the training removed. Keep in mind that back in the X Tournament days, there were also leaks, remember? Some turned to be true, some ended up being false. The current preparation for the tournament is just the same, but distinguishing between real and fake is now tricky."

"Dedede. That doesn't sound like you, but I think I understand what you mean." Pit said.

"Hm. Speaking of the previous tournaments and leaks…" Samus said, causing the other fighters to pay their attention to the bounty hunter.

"…Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Link, Falcon, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu… Remember our first preparation for the Smash Tournament, the very first tournament we were having? Also, the others who joined the crew for the Deluxe Tournament, remember about the preparation back then? Keep in mind that both of those situations lack leaks like this. In case of the latter tournament, it's simply false rumors, but there were no such thing as fake roster photos… well, except for something related to Sonic and that mushroom-headed thing, but both are still part of the false rumors. I think the reason The Great Creator asked for a special assistance is to combat against leaked information. Dedede, I think that's not simply a matter of being absent or anything, it's something related to leaks."

"…I think you may be right. I mean, I first joined this group during the X Tournament preparation, so I can't really conclude that."

"The Great Creator does not want us to get information we shouldn't have yet. Too much information will spoil a lot about the tournament. Wouldn't it be dull to have a tournament where everything is easily predicted? The tournament wouldn't be as exciting if we know everything already. For example, there are still battle arenas that we don't know yet. It'd be better if certain arenas remain secret. I mean, we don't have to learn every stage. Remember, all we need during tournaments is pure skill."

"Huh… You've explained quite a lot, Samus, but why didn't The Great Creator choose you instead of me?"

"Yeah. I think Samus is more suitable for his assistant." Pit said.

"I think The Great Creator considers you special." the bounty hunter replied.

"What? What's so special about me? All I have is my hammer… right now, at least."

"No. I think The Great Creator chose you because even though you may not look like a reliable person, you can still prove yourself as one. I mean, think about yourself. You never spill any info regarding the secret training. You never reveal the whole roster list. Some of us may end up spoiling all those valuable information anyway."

"…I think you're right."

"Hey, are you serious about the whole secret training stuff? I thought every training is the same." Lucina said.

"Lucina, I think the memory wipe did a lot more to you than usual. Some of us might still retain the idea of secret training." Samus said.

After all that explanation, Shulk walks up to Dedede.

"That was a lot of explanation. I don't understand what's actually happening here, but I guess you've just cleared yourself from troubles." Shulk said.

"Thanks, newcomer. Call me King Dedede!"

"Aw… Dedede being his usual self again… It's okay, Shulk. He's actually pretty arrogant, if I do say so myself." Pit said.

"Oh, you…" Dedede grumbled.

"So, I guess I'm still fine calling him just Dedede, right?" Shulk said.

"No! That's King Dedede! King! Dedede!"

Hearing that outburst, everyone else just laughs.

"Hehe. Now that everything's cleared up, let's have some special dinner to celebrate!" Palutena said.

"Yeah!" everyone said in unison. And then, they all leave The Gathering Point.

However, in the waiting room, things don't seem to be well…

Ganondorf, who has been peeking through the tiny hole, can only frown in disbelief. While deep inside he's actually glad to have another worthy opponent to fight against, he's still disappointed that no veterans are announced. However, he and the other veterans also heard Dedede's truth, and so, some of those veterans begin to plot a scheme.