Hello, hello, everyone! How's it hanging? Ready for me to continue this story? Well, let us begin.
As you've likely guessed from the title of this chapter, this will be dealing with Classic Mode, specifically, the Wii U version of it. Or at least, me attempting to recreate the Wii U version of it. As I stated in the last chapter, this will be a 3-parter. I really didn't feel like squeezing all 7 battles into one chapter.
The way I prepared for this chapter was by going through Classic Mode, writing down who I fought and where, then doing the fights again as a regular Smash and recording those, since you can't save replays of Classic Mode run-throughs. In other words, it took some time. Also, I recorded the battles with me actually playing against level 9 CPUs, not all CPUs playing like I normally do with my battles in this story. I hope you enjoy.
Althea Sirius: It's possible some Spirits might make it as the DLC characters. I know you're rooting for Shantae. Me personally, assuming Rex is out of the picture, I would like to see either one of the Champions from Breath of the Wild, or a character from the upcoming Fire Emblem: Three Houses. And before anyone says 'The game's not even out yet, it's not going to happen', tell that to both Roy and Corrin. They both got into Smash before their respective games were released. They were both put into Smash as a means to promote their then upcoming games.
And yes, I did hear about Stan Lee. I was devastated when I heard the news. He did so much for the entertainment industry with his creations. His greatest creation, Spider-Man, was one of the first superheroes I was introduced to, and I loved him so much I went as him for Halloween when I was 6. I also went as Captain America when I was 16, and as Dr. Strange last Halloween. Stan's cameos in the Marvel movies always brought a smile to my face. I know he managed to film them for Captain Marvel, Avengers 4, and possibly Spider-Man: Far From Home, before his passing, but after that, the Marvel movies will feel like they're missing something without Stan's humorous appearances. I think my favorite cameo was the 'Tony Stank' bit from Captain America: Civil War. It's going to be painful for me to see the words 'In loving memory of Stan Lee' at the end of the next few movies. He did so much work with his near 100 years of life, and he really put the 'excel' in 'excelsior'. I thank him for creating so many timeless characters, and I will dearly miss him.
Rest in peace, Stan Lee. December 22, 1922- November 12, 2018.
Blackhawks8: I'm very glad you liked the chapter. It's true you can't escape the past, all you can do is not let it get to you. Good job on spotting the quotes from Xenoblade Chronicles I put in, by the way. Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one who was upset that Rex didn't make the cut. Still, at least we have the story mode to raise our spirits.
3 Question Marks: As for how or even if World of Light will feature in this story, cutscene included, you'll just have to wait and see. I enjoy my surprises. But I will say that despite the whole Final Smash meter thing, I still do not intend to include Final Smashes in this story. If that disappoints anyone, I'm sorry.
Now that I've gotten all that out of my system, let's get this party started!
Super Smash Bros. © Nintendo/Masahiro Sakurai.
*Smash Mansion auditorium*
*11:00 AM*
All of the Smashers in the mansion were gathered in the small auditorium that sat on the ground floor of the mansion. Master Hand had called them there for an announcement. Shulk and Lucina sat next to each other as they waited for Master Hand to begin speaking. They were both certain what Master Hand was going to say. Though, there had been rumors floating around that Master Hand was going to end the 4th Smash Bros. Tournament soon and start a 5th one right after. It had been nearly 4 years since this Tournament started, after all, so perhaps it was time for a new one. Still, the two destiny changers didn't think that's what this meeting was about. Once all the Smashers had made it to the auditorium, Master Hand began speaking.
"May I have your attention, please? I'm sure some of you are wondering why I have called you all here. Well, it is because it is once again time for our monthly Classic Mode run." Master Hand explained.
Both Shulk and Lucina looked at each other as they both knew they were right about why Master Hand called everyone together.
"As you all know, Classic Mode is when one of you will face a series of battles against your fellow Smashers before going up against a squad off Miis then facing me in battle personally. I will now open up the floor to anyone who wishes to participate in this month's Classic Mode. Any volunteers?" Master Hand asked.
"I'll do it." Shulk said as he stood up.
A small gasp arose from within the crowd of Smashers. Hardly anyone ever willingly volunteered to go through Classic Mode. None of the Smashers really felt like going through so many battles in a row without a break. Since no one ever really volunteered, it often fell to Master Hand to choose a victim from the crowd of Smashers to go through Classic Mode.
Shulk was about to head down to where Master Hand was when Lucina stopped him by grabbing his wrist.
"Shulk, why are you doing this?" She asked.
"No reason. Just thought it'd be fun." Shulk said as fiddled with something in his pocket.
Shulk then walked down to the front of the auditorium and stood in front of Master Hand.
"Very well, then. As you're probably aware, this event is pay to play. You can wager up to 2200 Smash Coins. The more you wager, the more difficult the battles, and the harder your fight against me will be. Should you wager enough, I might summon my brother to fight with me, or even something else. But, you will also get greater prizes should you succeed. You will also be assigned a rival to fight at the halfway mark. Defeating this rival personally will also entail you to additional prizes. With all this in mind, how much would you like to wager, Shulk?" Master Hand asked the boy.
"I'm going all the way." Shulk stated.
This caused an even louder gasp to come from the Smashers. Only twice before in this Tournament had a Smasher wagered the maximum 2200 Smash Coins for Classic Mode. Not only had both of them failed, but everyone had seen what awaited them in the final battle should they wager that much and get that far. No one really wanted to go up against that, but Shulk seemed determined. Still, many of the Smashers, particularly Lucina, couldn't help but look at Shulk with concern. None of them wanted to see him try to fight what would be waiting for him at the end of this.
"Very well. Do you have the required Smash Coins on you?" Master Hand asked.
In response, Shulk pulled a sack full of Smash Coins out and handed it to Master Hand. The giant floating hand quickly counted it before turning back to Shulk.
"Alright, everything seems to be in order. Let us begin. The rest of you can stay here. Those of you who are not participating in a battle can stay and watch the battles play out. Remember, should you go into battle, your primary goal should be to knock Shulk out of battle, though you are allowed to fight any others who are present." Master Hand stated.
With that, a teleporter, not unlike the ones inside the Transporter Room, rose from the ground. Master Hand only used the teleporters inside the auditorium during Classic Mode or during the occasional All-Star Mode, where fighters had to fight everyone in the mansion. Shulk stood on the teleporter and was instantly zapped away.
"Good luck, Shulk." Lucina whispered to herself as her boyfriend was teleported away.
Shulk now found himself at the center of a large stadium that appeared to be in midair. All of a sudden, life sized statues of many of the other Smashers fell from the sky and landed on different parts of the stadium, many of them clustered together in groups. Below each grouping of Smashers, Shulk could make out the image of one of the many stages, indicating this is where the fight would take place.
Shulk knew what he was supposed to do. He was supposed to go up to one of the groupings and touch one of the statues in said grouping. Upon doing so, he would fight every Smasher in that group. He saw a group in the corner consisting of King Dedede, Sheik, Lucina, Captain Falcon, Palutena, and Kirby. They appeared to be standing on an image of the Windy Hill Zone, an area from Sonic's home. Shulk decided to make this his first battle. He went up and touched the statue of Lucina, and suddenly, he was teleported to the stage.
"Shulk vs.: King Dedede, Sheik, Lucina, Captain Falcon, Palutena, and Kirby." Cried the battle announcer.
Shulk geared up for the first fight as his opponents did the same.
"Ready? GO!" The announcer yelled.
Captain Falcon immediately charged toward Shulk and tried to land an attack, but Shulk used his Air Slash move, catching Falcon, Dedede, and Palutena in the move. Dedede recovered and spun his massive hammer at Kirby. Falcon also recovered, got behind Shulk, then grabbed him and slammed him into the ground. Once Shulk got to his feet, his eyes began to glow as he had a vision of the future. Once the vision ended, he jumped out of the way of a sword swing from Lucina and counterattacked, hitting both his girlfriend and the king of Dreamland. As the two of them got back on the stage, Shulk dodged a few sword swings from Lucina before parrying and knocking her to the ground.
"No hard feelings, right?" Shulk asked.
"That depends on how hard you fight." Lucina replied before swinging her sword at Shulk again.
The pair then traded a few more weapon blows before Dedede jumped between them and started attacking Lucina.
Shulk ran for the opposite end. He grabbed Captain Falcon by the shirt, hit the racer with the Monado's handle, then threw him forward and hit him with the Monado's energy blade. Shulk then swung his massive sword at the ground, knocking Palutena off her feet.
King Dedede swung his hammer at Lucina, knocking her off the stage. Ultimately, she was unable to recover, and was KO'd. Kirby landed a powerful kick on his opponents, and everyone caught in it was thrown back. Shulk pointed his Monado forward and hit Palutena and Falcon with his blade. They were both thrown away from Shulk, but then King Dedede ran up, grabbed Shulk, threw him up, then hit him with the hammer. Before Shulk even hit the ground, Captain Falcon hit him and Sheik with a powerful kick upwards. As Shulk fell downwards, he cycled through his Monado Arts until a red symbol appeared in his sword. It was his Smash Art.
Shulk ran forward, hoping to use his current Art to knock someone off the stage, only to be caught in a flurry of punches from Kirby. Once Shulk escaped from Kirby, he ran toward Palutena, but the goddess avoided each of his attacks, before knocking him toward Dedede. While this was happening, Sheik was trying to attack Dedede, but Falcon came up behind the ninja and sent a knee to the back. Sheik was thrown across the stage and KO'd. Dedede then grabbed Shulk and tried throwing him off the stage, but Shulk recovered. As this was going on, Palutena launched beams of light from her staff toward Kirby, but the puffball dodged them before sending a strong kick toward the goddess. Once Palutena came back on the stage, Kirby tried inhaling her, but the goddess counted on this and stayed out of his reach. What she did not count on was Captain Falcon coming up behind her and readying his most devastating attack.
"Falcon Punch!" He yelled as he sent a fiery punch at the goddess.
Palutena was then KO'd by the attack. By then, Shulk's Smash Art had worn out, but he didn't care much. Just then, Captain Falcon was launched toward Shulk, courtesy of an attack from Kirby. Before either of them hit the ground, Shulk swung at the captain with his Monado, which resulted in Captain Falcon getting KO'd.
Now, only Kirby and King Dedede were still in Shulk's way. Shulk jumped up and tried to land his signature Back Slash on Kirby, but it missed. Dedede came up behind him, grabbed him, and threw him upward with his massive hammer. Shulk was almost KO'd by the attack, but fell back toward the stage. The Monado wielder quickly activated his Shield Art to lessen his chances of losing the battle. He tried landing a few more attacks, but both Dreamland residents danced around them before Dedede brought down his massive hammer on both of his opponents. Shulk would have been KO'd if not for the Shield Art. When Kirby landed, he somehow grabbed Dedede with his fingerless hands, punched him twice in the face, then jumped up and brought the hammer wielder down with him. The force of the impact almost knocked Dedede out of the fight. Kirby then moved to attack Shulk, but the blonde pointed his blade upward and activated the energy blade. Kirby was hit, thrown upward, and KO'd. Only King Dedede remained now. The fat king tried to grab Shulk, but Shulk dodged and counterattacked. He stabbed Dedede with the Monado, then brought out the blue glowing blade. The force of both hits caused Dedede to fly off the stage, resulting in a KO. Shulk had won his first battle, but there were still more to come.
"This is a good result!" Shulk said as he left the Windy Hill Zone stage.
Shulk was brought back to the flying stadium he had started this whole thing on. He saw that the statues of all the fighters he had just faced were gone, as were the statues of several other fighters, leaving some smaller groups made up of those that were left.
Shulk found a grouping of 4 fighters and a picture of Hyrule Castle underneath them. He decided this would be his next battle. He went up and touched one of the statues of the Smashers and was again brought right to the stage.
"Shulk vs.: Dr. Mario, Falco, Luigi, and Little Mac!" The announcer called.
Once all the aforementioned fighters made it to the stage as well, the fight began.
"Ready? GO!" Screamed the announcer.
Dr. Mario landed the first move by using his large prescription paper to reflect a move from Luigi. Both of them were both hit by a spinning uppercut from Little Mac. Falco then landed his own spinning attack against Shulk. The future seer then got up and landed an attack on Luigi.
"Air Slash!" Shulk yelled.
Dr. Mario then landed a few punches on Little Mac before performing his tornado attack on both Mac and Falco. Falco managed to get away from the doctor and ran for the opposite end of the stage, where Shulk and Luigi were duking it out. Eventually, Dr. Mario and Little Mac made it over there as well. Everyone began trading punches until Shulk landed a Back Slash, knocking everyone but Little Mac back. The boxer was then punched by the doctor while Shulk swung his Monado at Falco. Dr. Mario threw a few pills in Shulk's direction, but none of them hit. But an attack from Falco did. Shulk was thrown away by the attack and almost didn't make it back on the stage.
On the opposite end of the stage, Little Mac swung a fist upward, knocking both Luigi and Dr. Mario into the air. When Dr. Mario landed, he grabbed Little Mac and swung him around a few times before releasing him and sending the boxer flying. Shulk tried landing a Back Slash on Falco, but the bird dodged before grabbing Shulk. He then threw Shulk to the ground before shooting him with his blaster a few times. Shulk retaliated by hitting the space pilot with a powerful swing of the Monado. Shulk then grabbed Falco and threw him forward with another Monado swing. Falco was almost thrown off the stage, but used his Fire move to get back on. The blast also hit Luigi, who was thrown from the stage and KO'd.
Each of the remaining fighters landed several blows on each other. Falco landed a spinning move on Dr. Mario, almost knocking the doctor off the stage. The doctor managed to stay on, however, and began attacking Falco.
"Shame there's not more than one doctor at the mansion, 'cause you're gonna need one when I'm through with you." Falco taunted.
They kept going at it until a powerful punch from Little Mac blew them all away. This punch also resulted in the KO of Falco, leaving only the doctor, the boxer, and the Monado wielder. While Dr. Mario was thrown to the other end of the stage, Shulk and Little Mac danced around each other for a few seconds before Mac managed to grab Shulk and punch him in the gut a few times until Shulk got away.
By now, Dr. Mario had caught up to the fight, only to be hit by Little Mac's most powerful punch. The doctor was instantly KO'd. However, while Little Mac had his back turned, Shulk jabbed the Monado in Mac's direction. The boxing champion was instantly knocked off the stage and KO'd, ending Shulk's second battle.
"I've got a good rhythm going." Shulk said to himself as he was returned to the floating stadium.
Shulk now noticed there was only one group of fighter statues left, sitting at the center of the arena. All the others had disappeared. With nowhere else to go, Shulk approached these statues and touched one of them to begin his third battle. He noticed that one of them had a blue glow surrounding it. Shulk knew that this meant this fighter was his designated rival.
Upon touching one of them, Shulk was taken to the stage called Peach's Castle. Once he arrived, he heard the announcer call out his opponents.
"Shulk vs.: Lucario, Bowser Jr., Mario, Zero Suit Samus, and Mewtwo!"
Shulk prepared himself for his third fight in a row as the announcer began the fight.
"Ready? GO!"
Shulk initiated the fight by trying to land a Back Slash against Lucario, but missed. Shulk then ran forward and swung his Monado, knocking back both Lucario and Bowser Jr., who was his designated rival. Samus, who was no longer wearing her bulky Power Suit and now fighting in a skintight blue jumpsuit, jumped up and tried landing an attack on Mewtwo, but missed.
Shulk then managed to hit Mewtwo with a jab of the Monado's energy blade, only to turn his back on the psychic type Pokémon and focus on Samus. With his back turned, Mewtwo landed an attack that swept both Shulk and Bowser Jr. off their feet (or propeller, in Jr.'s case). Shulk attempted to land an attack on Samus, but she dodged and jumped downward to go for Lucario. Shulk then attempted to grab Bowser Jr., but was hit by a boxing glove that suddenly spouted out of the Koopa Prince's Junior Clown Car. Shulk was knocked upward and hit a bumper that was floating above the stage. Shulk was instantly thrown downward, but landed on his feet. He then swung his Monado in a circle around his feet, sweeping up Bowser Jr..
Samus then activated the light whip on her blaster, zapping both Mario and Mewtwo, before the latter was hit by an upward attack courtesy of Lucario. Shulk then ran to join that fight, landing a hard hitting attack against the Italian plumber.
"Back Slash!" Shulk yelled as he attacked Mario.
Shulk was about to land another attack on the fighters in front of him, but a wrecking ball that suddenly came out of Jr.'s vehicle hit Shulk in the back. The Bionis resident retaliated by swinging the Monado behind him, knocking Jr. a fair distance away from him. Shulk then swung the Monado around his feet, knocking Lucario, Mario, and Samus off of theirs. Mewtwo tried to approach Shulk, but Shulk saw this and jabbed the Monado upward, hitting Mewtwo with the energy blade. The Pokémon was thrown into the air, only to by hit across the stage by Mario.
Lucario ran to attack Shulk, but Samus jumped between them and sent a jet powered kick to Lucario's face. She almost hit Shulk with the same attack, but a vision warned him beforehand, and he dodged the attack. Shulk then jumped up and landed another Back Slash against Mario, throwing the red clad hero more than halfway across the stage. But while Shulk was facing Mario, Bowser Jr. came up behind him and attacked Shulk with twin drills that came out of the Junior Clown Car. Shulk was thrown a fair distance away while an attack from Mario sent Lucario flying a similar distance in the opposite direction.
Mewtwo jumped up and tried to use a psychic attack on Mario, but the attack missed and Mario retaliated by grabbing Mewtwo. He then threw the Pokémon upward, and Mewtwo hit the flying bumper, knocking him up even more, then KO'ing the Pokémon. Mario then ran toward Shulk and Bowser Jr. knocking both in opposite directions with a spin attack. But then Lucario came up and hit both Mario and Samus with an Aura attack, throwing both Smashers backwards. Shulk was about to initiate a Back Slash on Lucario, but was caught up in another Drill attack from Bowser Jr.. This attack almost launched Shulk off the stage. Samus then came up, grabbed Jr., then sent him away with a jet kick. She then sent a sweeping kick underneath Lucario, knocking the blue Pokémon off his paws.
Bowser Jr. managed to get back on the stage by ejecting from his vehicle and letting it self-destruct. As soon as he landed, another Junior Clown Car instantly spawned out of nowhere, for some reason. Shulk then ran right back into the fray, but not before activating his Shield Art to protect himself. He landed a few attacks on his opponents before being kicked away by Samus. The female bounty hunter then swung her light whip upward, zapping Mario and sending him flying into the floating bumper, where he was thrown even higher into the air and almost KO'd. Bowser Jr. then used his Drills on Lucario, sending him flying away, only for Samus to take the Pokémon's spot and use her whip on both Jr. and Shulk, who had jumped up in an attempt to KO Jr..
Once Shulk recovered from Samus's attack, he retaliated by swinging the Monado under her feet. But then Mario, who had finally made it back on the stage after Samus's attack, hit Shulk with a few punches and kicks. But then Jr. came up and hit Mario with his Drills. This, combined with an attack from the Monado, sent Mario flying until he was KO'd. Lucario then turned his attention to Shulk by hitting him with a strong Aura attack. Shulk was thrown upward, but was saved by his Shield Art. Samus then sent a powerful attack at Bowser Jr., KO'ing the Koopa.
Shulk knew he had now lost his chance at getting bonus prizes, but he really didn't care. A few bonus rewards were of little consequence to him. There was something else he was hoping to get when this whole thing was over. Something far greater than any sort of reward that beating his appointed rival could have given him.
By now, Shulk's Shield Art had deactivated. It was now down to him, Samus, and Lucario. The Aura Pokémon sent a large blue ball of Aura toward Samus, but she dodged by jumping downward toward Shulk. She landed a few powerful punches on Shulk, but he managed to stand his ground and keep fighting. Samus then grabbed Shulk, kneed him in the face a couple times, then threw him behind her, hoping he would fall off the stage. She had no such luck as Shulk managed to make it back on the stage. Even more unlucky for her, Lucario snuck up behind her and landed a devastating Aura attack, sending her flying off the stage until she was KO'd.
Now only Shulk and Lucario remained. Shulk landed an Air Slash on Lucario before running to attack the Pokémon when he landed. When he did, Shulk grabbed Lucario before throwing him forward with a swing of the Monado. Shulk then activated one of his Arts, hoping to end the fight.
"Smash!" Shulk yelled.
When Lucario got back on the stage, Shulk jabbed him with the Monado, sending his opponent flying, only to have him be saved by a floating piece shaped like a triangle. Lucario got back on the stage and started charging up an Aura sphere, only to have Shulk Back Slash him before it could be unleashed. With the help of the Smash Art, Lucario was thrown from the stage and KO'd ending the fight.
Shulk was now at approximately the halfway mark of Classic Mode. Three battles down, three to go, then the final battle against Master Hand. He hoped he would actually make it that far. He knew what would be waiting for him if he did. Still, he was ready and willing to face it.
"It's time to move on." Shulk said to himself as he prepared for the next set of battles.
I think this might be the fastest I've ever gotten a chapter out. Go figure.
Also, yes, this will be what the next two chapters are like. Lots of fighting with little in the way of story. Rest assured, I do have something resembling a payoff going in at the end of this arc. I can only hope it will be worth it.
Those of you who have/had Smash for Wii U should know what's coming next. At 9.0 difficulty, this mode doesn't play around. I've played it at that difficulty numerous times, and more often than not, that last battle has kicked my ass 6 ways to Sunday. And despite that, I'm very much looking forward to putting words to that final battle. Still, I have three more battles to write out before I get there. I promise to do everything in my power to make that last battle as exciting as possible. But as for those of you who have only played the 3DS version of Smash, let me tell you, the final battle is different in the Wii U version. How different? Well I suggest you either watch a playthrough of Wii U Classic Mode on YouTube, or wait until I get there myself.
Still, what were your thoughts on this chapter? What do you think of my personal interpretation of Classic Mode? Or the fights themselves for that matter? I know they were fairly short, but what can you do when each character only has one stock? If this was somewhat disappointing to any of you, I'm sorry. But I assure you that very shortly, I will be returning to more story based chapters, rather than just mostly fighting. There will still be fights, yes, but they won't take up the majority of the chapter like they did here or in the next two chapters. Still I ask that you all refrain from leaving unnecessarily hurtful comments. I don't need any more negativity in my life, I'm dealing with enough crap as is, trust me.
Coming up next: The next three battles of Classic Mode.
Until then, so long and farewell.