A lone Fletchling fluttered across the morning forest, looking down upon its fellow Pokémon. It had been some time since numerous Pokémon mysteriously appeared in a place that wasn't their home. The race was adapting… slowly. It would be a while before they could settle. For now, they just needed to survive alongside these other strange lifeforms.
The Fletchling landed in a clearing and hopped around, chirping as it did so. It surveyed the strange, yet beautiful area in front of it… before the bird-like Pokémon noticed a white figure.
The figure had a base where legs would be, two hydraulic arms and a lowered head with black eyes. The Fletchling hopped up to the figure and chirped a tune to it.
The figure didn't respond, prompting the Fletchling to curiously peck at the base. The sound of beak against metal echoed across the quiet forest. When nothing happened, the Fletchling prepared to fly elsewhere…
…when the figure's eyes lit up with blue light.
…
OPTIC CIRCUITS ONLINE. AUDITORY SENSORS ONLINE.
The robot awakened to the sight of a vast forest around it. Trees were in every direction, as well as sheets of emerald grass. It rotated its head with a mechanical whir before its audio sensors picked up chirping noises. It looked down to see a brown bird before it. Its scans however, brought up something different.
FLETCHLING: Normal/Flying-type Pokémon. First discovered in Generation VI of Universe PO-KN.
The robot stared at the Fletchling while trying to comprehend the information in its heads-up display. The amount of information already in its systems told it everything. Within mere seconds, its central computer had obtained all data on the universes, the Subspace Army and the Smashers, which were labelled as targets needed for capture. What the robot didn't understand was; why did they need to be captured? Were they dangerous?
Putting questions aside, the robot decided to test its motion systems. Diverting power to the base, it rumbled forward as the Fletchling chirped again. It flew a few feet ahead of it, catching its attention. It stopped in its tracks, staring at the bird.
It tweeted at it in a tune right before it flew away again. The robot didn't know if it was saying goodbye or if it wanted it to follow. After processing the decision, it accelerated down the path the Fletchling had flown down.
On its journey through the forest, the robot had questions. Diving into its systems, its central computer searched for information about it. It found something useful instantly.
ROBOTIC OPERATING BUDDY UNIT ID: HVC-012
So, it belonged to a robot model called "Robotic Operating Buddies", or "R.O.B." for short. And this one's identification was HVC-012. The robot felt glad for remembering its identity quickly. Now… what else could he find within itself?
MOTION SYSTEMS: FUNCTIONAL
OPTIC SENSORS: ONLINE
AUDITORY SENSORS: ONLINE
VOCAL SYNTHESIZER: ERROR
It could speak? Even if HVC-012 attempted this, it would most definitely could an error message.
MEMORY CORE: 25%
COMBAT SYSTEMS: ERROR
So it could fight too. And it looked like that information it found inside it didn't do enough. There was something it was missing…
As HVC-012 wheeled across the forest, it took in the sights the place had in store for it. Dandelions blew in the wind, making it beep in fascination. Rays of sunlight poured from the heavens and shone through tree branches.
Nearby, a bush rattled, making HVC-012 turn its head towards it. It stared at the bush in wonder… before two small animals leapt from it, tackling each other to the ground. Its systems recognized them to be a Charmander and a Bulbasaur. The two were play-fighting in joy, each one trying to pin the other to the ground.
HVC-012 beeped a greeting, making the two Pokémon freeze in mid-skirmish. Slowly, they turned their heads towards the robot. HVC-012 noticed looks of confusion on their faces… and a hint that they had encountered R.O.B.s like him before. HVC-012 beeped again, trying to tell them it meant no harm.
Instead, the Pokémon shrieked in panic and scrambled away in fear.
HVC-012 whirred in confusion. Why were they afraid of it? Another question it had yet to answer…
It pressed on, traversing over a large log that cross over a small river. A Zoroark passed by, and HVC-012 whistled another greeting. This time, the dark Pokémon just snarled menacingly at the robot before dashing into the foliage. This left it more confused than before. The Pokémon race must not have liked the R.O.B.s so much…
HVC-012 continued down his charted path for a few hours, not stopping to recharge since its power was still at optimal levels. It had now begun to rain, the sight of overhead clouds prompting the robot to glance skyward. The droplets of water did little to affect it. Nevertheless, it was left fascinated by it as it continued onward.
Once the rain let up, HVC-012's navigational systems informed it was approaching the edge of the forest, with just 1.5 miles to go. Acknowledging this, the robot pressed ahead…
…before the roar of a Charizard stopped it in its tracks.
Elsewhere, a fired up Charizard snarled at a challenging Blastoise. Its cannons ready, the Water-type Pokémon bellowed back before spraying two columns of water at the dragon. The Charizard tucked its wings inward to block the attack. Roaring, it retaliated by blasting a jet of flame from its mouth. It struck the Blastoise in the torso, knocking it to the ground.
Taking advantage of its opponent's downed state, the Charizard spread its wings and took to the sky. It dove down, striking the Blastoise headfirst and knocking up dirt. The Blastoise shoved the Charizard off and righted itself, preparing for another attack.
The sounds of the battle were all picked up by HVC-012's auditory sensors… triggering something inside it as its optics flashed red.
COMBAT SYSTEMS: OPERATIONAL
ENGAGE: DIFFUSION BEAM
HVC-012 whirred as it began to transform, folding its arms downward and tilting its head to the side. Now resembling a cannon, its optics began to glow with light…
…before blasting out a huge laser that decimated the forest.
The laser tore through trees like a hot knife through butter, scattering panicked Pokémon and other animals in all directions. The Charizard and Blastoise had to stop their fight, the beam almost taking off the dragon's head had it not ducked in time.
The beam of destruction swept across the area, obliterating everything natural in its path. After a full twenty seconds of the chaos, the beam died down and vanished. HVC-012 transformed back to its normal state as its optics turned blue again.
It beeped in surprise as it noticed the destruction around it. Trees were severed, rocks were in pebbly pieces and blades of grass were charred and burned. Leaves fluttered to the ground as it whirred with sadness…
Its head down, HVC-012 moved out of the forest in shame, ignoring any panicked glances Pokémon brought its way. It did not bother to record the number of casualties, if there were any.
It now knew itself to be a tool, a weapon. A machine built only for war, to destroy any who opposes it. As long as it was in contact with any being, they would not be safe.
In the grassy plains ahead, HVC-012 wheeled to a stop, turning its head to look forward again. Its optics quickly picked up something else… a destroyed R.O.B. chassis with one arm ripped off.
HVC-012 sped towards the chassis and bent itself over to examine the scrapped robot. Its scans told it this R.O.B.'s id was NTD-195, and that it was non-functional. HVC-012 didn't need the latter, as it confirmed it was obvious. Its optics scanned the entire chassis, searching for anything salvageable.
MEMORY CORE INTACT.
The memory core? Of course, it could get more answers from this unit. It activated the download process…
When the download reached 100%, HVC-012 eagerly dove into the memories of NTD-195… only to discover they were everything but pleasant.
…
Once, the R.O.B.s ruled over the entire Isle of the Ancients, with HVC-012 as a "Master Robot". There were no hints on how the R. were manufactured, but that mattered little to HVC-012. Life on the island was peaceful… until the being known as Tabuu arrived.
Through NTD-195's own optics, HVC-012 saw Tabuu force the R.O.B.s to comply to his will after obliterating a large number of the robots. Shamefully, HVC-012 surrendered as Tabuu dubbed him "the Ancient Minister."
Time passed, as Isle technology was used to from weapons of war, including a massive battleship and large explosives. The R.O.B.s were reprogrammed for military purposes, now called the R.O.B Squad. The Subspace Bombs were critical to Tabuu's ultimate goal, but at a supreme cost: two R.O.B. units had to sacrifice themselves for each detonation.
A large number of Subspace Bombs were released across the island, and with each detonation the R.O.B.s' numbers decreased. But a critical moment occurred at the very factory the Subspace Bombs were being produced.
A group of Smashers were preparing to face a large number of R.O.B.s. HVC-012 identified them as Samus, Pikachu, Captain Falcon, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong and Olimar. Behind the Ancient Minister, a red hologram of Ganondorf appeared.
"Ganondorf?" Samus asked in shock as Pikachu's mouth dropped open. "Why would you do this?"
"Because Master Hand has granted me an offer I simply cannot refuse." The warlock answered. "The endless cycle of banishment and rebirth I suffer from will be forever broken if his plan is to succeed. But I fear you are already too late to stop the inevitable."
He raised an arm. "R.O.B.s!" He called, prompting the robots to turn in his direction. "Ready the bombs and seal the fate of these fools."
The R.O.B.s (and NTD-195) complied, moving forward toward the stacked explosives. Immediately, the Ancient Minister sped forward to block their path. "Belay that order." He announced. The advancing robots halted, looking at each other in confusion.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ganondorf growled upon noticing the Minister's actions. "You dare to defy me, Minister?"
"This plan threatens the safety of the R.O.B. race." The Minister spoke up. "Therefore, I refuse to comply."
Ganondorf scowled. "So be it…" Raising an arm, he pressed a button on a device. The R.O.B.s advanced forward with their optics glowing red, detaching the Subspace Bombs from their racks. Not willing to let this happen, the Minister bashed two R.O.B.s away from one Bomb.
"Cursed traitor!" Ganondorf growled as he pressed the button again with great force. NTD-195's systems began to override as the R.O.B.s trembled. At once, they turned towards the Minister… opening fire with their lasers.
"Insubordination. Insubordination. Insubordination." The R.O.B.s beeped, blasting the Minister's robes and setting it ablaze. As it… no, as he watched, HVC-012 could only feel betrayed and saddened at the same time. All he wanted to do was to save his comrades…
The R.O.B.s attached themselves to the bombs as Ganondorf laughed victoriously, the sound echoing across the room. The Smashers watched on, their faces distraught and horrified.
"Come on!" Samus yelled to everyone. "We have to stop them!" Pikachu nodded in agreement as the Smashers raced into the fray. Each of them went for a different bomb in a desperate attempt to disarm it.
Donkey Kong tried to rip one away from one bomb with his immense strength, but the robot wouldn't budge.
As NTD-195 moved towards another bomb, Captain Falcon hoisted it up and threw it to the ground. It barely seemed to notice his interference as it attempted to right itself.
Samus latched another with a grapple beam and tried to wrestle it away. Her efforts were for naught, as the beam broke and she stumbled away.
Diddy Kong was pushing on another unit's head as hard as he could, Pikachu electrocuted another only to get blasted back by his own lightning, and Olimar threw a bunch of Pikmin at another, only for them to gain little advantage…
"Your attempts at resistance are somewhat amusing." Ganondorf stated. "But you will change nothing. The plan will succeed, no matter what you do to stop it." With those words, the hologram caught short as a flock of Auroros flew in to attack.
"Incoming! They're coming in from above!" Samus shouted, diverting everyone's attention to the airborne enemies. Diddy pointed his popguns at the flock, Samus aimed her cannon, Pikachu charged himself up, Donkey Kong braced himself and Olimar readied another Pikmin. The bird-like creatures advanced towards them…
…only for some of them to be blown out of the air by a series of laser blasts.
"What?" Samus asked as her attention turned to the burning pile where the Ancient Minister rested.
The flames extinguished, revealing HVC-012 in all his robotic glory. As he continued blasting the Auroros, the Smashers were completely stunned.
"The Minister…he's one of them!" Captain Falcon realized.
"But why is he helping us?" Olimar asked as Samus looked on.
"Let's save the questions for later, team!" Samus commanded. "For now, let's give him some cover fire!"
Everyone nodded. Soon, peanuts, lasers, Pikmin and electric bolts filled the air. One by one, the Auroros vanished in clouds of flame as the projectiles struck them. Primids raced into the room, charging at the intruders. HVC-012 and Samus redirected fire as Donkey Kong snatched one Auroros from the sky. Roaring, he threw it at two Primids running towards him.
Diddy Kong activated his barrel pack, taking the fight to the air to wrap up the last of the Auroros. Weaving around to dodge their dive-bombs, the monkey gave his friends air support by shooting the incoming Sword Primids and Tickens. Olimar sent his Pikmin friends to attack the weaker, smaller enemies while letting Captain Falcon handle the bigger ones.
Scope Primids crouched to firing positions and took aim. Seeing this, Donkey Kong leaped into the sky. Roaring, he crashed back down with both fists, sending them all flying. Pikachu darted from one airborne enemy to the next, finishing each one off with lightning-quick strikes. He landed with cheeks sparking as the ape pounded his chest.
Captain Falcon rushed up and disarmed one Scope Primid, bashing it with its own weapon before turning it on more enemies. HVC-012 continued to press the attack, targeting systems sweeping over Primids and lasers firing at full force.
By now, the fighting was so intense that elite reinforcements had to be called in. Two Armanks rolled in with claws extended, ready to snap at any Smasher. Leaping onto one, Donkey Kong tore the claw off and swung it at the other, slightly damaging it. Diddy Kong shot the other claw at what he presumed to be a weak point, destroying it.
The chassis of both vehicles opened up, revealing the green gelatinous blobs that resided within. HVC-012 and Samus, now recognizing their main target, dispatched of them with ease. "That's the last of them." The bounty hunter reported as the tank-like vehicles became smoldering ruins. "Now where were we?"
The team resumed trying to separate the R.O.B.s from the now counting-down Subspace Bombs. As Donkey Kong angrily beat one R.O.B. after failing to pull it away, HVC-012 looked as NTD-195 with sorrow.
NTD-195's optics flashed blue once more, along with the one accompanying him. They turned to HVC-012, who whirred out something. "I am sorry. I have failed you all." NTD-195 said nothing as Diddy Kong rushed forward, pointing frantically. HVC-012 refused to move, his head hung in shame.
By now, the bombs were now almost out of time. Captain Falcon was punching something into his glove, presumably coordinates. "Everyone, follow me!" he shouted, running out of sight. HVC-012 still never budged, not even as Donkey Kong scooped him up.
NTD-195 watched as the team left the facility. Closing his optics, his systems completely shut down when the Subspace Bombs detonated all at once…
…
HVC-012 stared blankly at NTD-195's ruined chassis. The Subspace Bomb must have transported him to Subspace, and he must have arrived here when his non-functional state reemerged. His heads-up display informed him of an update in his systems.
MEMORY CORE: 100%
That was it. That was what happened to him.
Realizing something, he ran a search in his database. He was holding onto whatever hope he had left.
REMAINING R.O.B. UNITS
He waited impatiently… and when his answer came, that hope disintegrated instantly.
REMAINING R.O.B. UNITS: 001
HVC-012 beeped sadly, lowering his head and closing his optics. He was the last of his kind. If he fell into non-functionality, the R.O.B.s would be finished for good.
He trudged on across the grassy field, no destination in sight. He was alone now. No hope was left…
His head shot back up. Unless…
He ran an override on his transmission receivers, inputting his next phase of action into his central computer.
OBJECTIVE: REGROUP WITH SMASHERS
…
Hours later, HVC-012 rolled through a path of ruined pillars near a cliffside. His optics were locked on to a bright blue beam of light shining from a small forest. That was clearly his next destination, as he thought it would provide a clue or two on the Smashers' current location…
Something in the background caught his attention. Magnifying his field of sight, HVC-012 detected four aerial craft heading for his position. On the ground below, two blue and yellow streaks zoomed along at high speed, each one trying to pass the other.
Identifying the crafts, HVC-012 raised one arm and waved it in the air to signal them. As the crafts drew closer, they landed right near the ruined pillars. The crew and passengers of each one disembarked, all of them eventually noticing him.
The blue streak launched off of the top of the cliff before landing on both feet, having travelled directly up it at full speed. Before long, the yellow streak followed.
"Ha! Sonic the Hedgehog comes through again!" the source of the blue streak celebrated before turning to the yellow streak. "Not so bad yourself, electro ears." He said, petting Pikachu on the head. "Maybe next time."
"R.O.B.?" Captain Falcon asked as he approached the robot. "Is that really you?" He knocked a fist on HVC-012's head, the action triggering something inside the robot. The heads-up display came up again.
VOCAL SYNTHESIZER: FUNCTIONAL
Whirring, HVC-012 faced the Smashers as they did the same. "Greetings." He began, startling a few of them. "I am Robotic Operating Buddy unit HVC-oh twelve. I am delighted to see you all again."
"We're happy to see you too, buddy." Samus replied, kneeling down to his position. "Where'd you end up to after our battle with Tabuu?"
"Portions of me were left non-functional, Samus Aran." HVC-012 responded. "My vocal synthesizer and combat systems were temporarily left un-operational. Also, my memory core had been depleted until I scanned that of a fellow unit: NTD- one ninety-five."
"Speaking of… and I know this is rather touchy to you…" Captain Falcon brought up. "How do you feel about what happened to the others?"
"I feel 'distraught', as you would call it. Unfortunately, I have discovered that I am the only Robotic Operating Buddy left."
Everyone was quiet for a few minutes before Ike broke the silence. "Your kind has suffered in more ways than I can imagine, machine. I promise you, they will not be forgotten."
"Is it bad that I should be feeling sorry for a robot?" Sonic asked. "Because I'm mostly used to smashing them to metallic bits."
"You're not helping, speedy." Falco shot back, afraid that Sonic might have offended the machine.
"I feel no pain from you, Sonic." HVC-012 assured. "The robots you have encountered, and thus destroyed, have not been my own kind."
He turned his attention back to Samus. "Perhaps you could explain the aftermath of the battle, Aran? And what has become of the Subspace Army?"
"The Subspace Army is no more." Fox told him. "We finished off Tabuu, and without their leader, it's only a matter of time before they fall apart completely."
"Wario, Bowser, and Ganondorf have rejoined us as allies upon learning that there were no rewards for them." Ness said. "They were just being played."
"Do not remind me, child." Ganondorf spat, clenching a fist. "No being shall manipulate me from this point forward. I absolutely refuse it." Bowser and Wario were looking equally displeased at being pawns in this game.
"On another matter…" HVC-012 said to Samus. "You have referred to me as 'R.O.B.'."
"Yes, we have." She replied. "Do you have a problem with that? Or do you want us to keep calling you that?"
"I accept this new identity." R.O.B. answered. "It will serve as a reminder of my kind. As long as I exist, they exist. The race will furtherly rest within my database."
"Very well, then." Samus said as she began to walk down the path ahead. "Let's head on back to the temple, everyone. The Announcer's probably been worried sick about us…"
"Race you guys there!" Sonic shouted, taking off with a blue streak at the speed of sound. As soon as he got his head start, Falco sighed and turned to Fox. "Show off…" he mumbled.
"Don't I know it…" he answered as R.O.B. rolled forward with the rest of the Smashers. Perhaps this "Announcer" could determine the future of all R.O.B.s…