Matt swung the Ultra Hammer at a USA-colored Mario puppet, sending him across the ground and crashing into a tree. The Italian host wiped his hands in satisfaction after the failed sneak attack the puppet tried to do with the Ray Gun item. A lucky Cape Flip allowed the Mario host to stun the puppet for a follow-up.
Stephanie met a purple-dressed Sheik in a stealth battle, effectively using Saria's Song to ensnare the Sheikah puppet in the forest. Meanwhile, Mason clashed his Exalted Falchion with a female swordfighter Mii in a purple ninja outfit. The Mii puppet was also caught in the forest's grasp shortly afterward.
Three Simon puppets hurled many axes but Victor and Violet Pocketed them before hurling them to their throwers as retaliations. The host of Sheik noticed how there were close to a river, so she played Serenade of Water. The melody made the water rise and attack the legendary Belmont puppets before the Villager host duo punched them with a rapid assortment of jabs from boxing gloves.
Four gloomy Villager puppets in the air were being assaulted by Kyle who was using the UFO Copy Ability for Chain Beam. The laser popped their balloons sending them down to the canopy of trees. Seeing as there were no more, the host of Kirby hovered down to the ground and discarded the extraterrestrial ability, meeting up with his friends.
The puppets reverted to their corporal forms: the Mario into Rabid Mario; the purple Sheik and Mii Swordfighter into Shinobu; the three Simons into Bord, Cord, and Barst; and the gloomy Villagers for Balloon Fighter.
"These puppets are quite..." Mason struggled to find the right word for their devotion.
"Mean?" Victor inquired.
"Annoying?" Violet offered.
"Devoted?" Kyle added.
"I think the word you're looking for is vicious," Stephanie offered with folded arms.
"... yes, all are great synonyms," the blue-haired royal concluded.
"Well, we can't just let them get to us," Matt reaffirmed, "We will defeat them, no matter how hard." Everyone nodded at that. The six hosts began to creep around the forest. Stephanie used the tree to her advantage as she scoped out the area with her stealth abilities.
On the ground, each host had their weapons. Mason had his hand rested on his spirit's era Falchion, Victor and Violet grabbed their boxing gloves, Kyle donned the Leaf Copy Ability, and Matt let fire rest in his palms.
They soon came across a clearing: revealing a captured fighter.
"Alright, lesson up!" A pink-haired teenage girl with a ponytail shouted. She had on a pink t-shirt, light pink jeans, pink sneakers, and a tutu. In her hand is a microphone which gave her the appearance of a pop star.
"We have orders from Galeem to keep a lookout for any resistance! So keep your eyes peeled for any hosts! Clear?" Jordan, the host of Jigglypuff, ordered. She received nods from her gathered subjects: a blue-scaled Bowser, a green tunic clad Link, three green-robed King Dededes, and four black and white Marios.
Stephanie leered from her position, counting the odds, while the five other hosts hid in the bushes.
"Well, there's Jordan," Kyle noticed.
"Yeah with a bunch of puppets. No doubt keeping an eye out for us," Mason reminded.
"What's the plan?" Violet asked Matt who was internally thinking. A plan entered the Italian's mind before discussing it with his current allies.
"Now move out!" 'Jordan' ordered. The gathered puppets were about to leave when Kyle appeared. The pink-haired male spun around, sending Leaf Swirl into Leaf Dance. The incoming flora caused the devotees of Galeem to guard themselves.
But that's what the plan was.
Stephanie appeared from her position, using her kusarigama, and attack the Link puppet.
The blue Bowser received a duel Gyroid Ride explosion from Victor and Violet.
The green King Dededes all leaped into the air and came crashing down, only for Matt to appear in the Wing Cap and wailed on the three while they were airborne.
The four black and white Marios threw Beastballs towards the leave cyclone but Mason, with amazing perception, deflected all four with a timed Dancing Blade.
With all puppets occupied, that left Kyle to face down Jordan.
"Tch. Figures I would fight you," 'Jordan' scoffed, unimpressed that she would face the source of the rebellion.
"You could end this right now," Kyle offered, discarding the Leaf Copy Ability for the Bell one. "Or we could do have a sound-off."
"Hmmm... How about," 'Jordan' began before using the microphone, "NO!" sending an enhanced Uproar. The sound-based attack was met with Kyle's Bell Block which redirected the Uproar ten folds towards the pop star.
'Jordan' cast a Light Screen that was able to withstand the double back sound waves of Uproar. The host of Jigglypuff then used Gyro Ball when Kyle ran with Twin Tinker, colliding with one another. With his invincibility, the pink-haired male used this to his advantage to perform Ring-ding-dong, constantly whacking the pink-haired female nonstop. 'Jordan' was able to strike a Punishment on Kyle before using a Dazzling Gleam to blind him. She rammed him with a Double Edge but the host of Kirby retaliated with Tinker Melody, causing the bell projectiles to explode around him.
The energy bells caused a series of explosions on the pop star. She was sent flying in the air but with a quick inflation, 'Jordan' caught herself and descended slowly. Kyle took this chance to use flinging another Twin Tinker which landed on the Balloon Pokémon host. She was able to land but was left open into a Ding Finale. The various sound waves caused her to be knocked back and out.
Kyle wiped his brow, done with the host of Jigglypuff. He admits, Jordan got better and was glad she didn't attempt a Rest on him. With the captured fighter taken care of, all that is left are the puppet fighters.
Stephanie successfully ended the fight with the use of Song of Storms, zapping the Link puppet, and freeing the Fi spirit.
Victor used Timber on one of the natural trees on the blue Bowser puppet, who was blasted by a series of fireworks from Violet. The tree fell directly onto the Koopa King puppet, revealing the Heracross spirit.
Matt wailed on the last green-robed King Dedede with a tail-slap, courtesy of the Super Leaf. The impact made the self-proclaimed king of Dreamland puppet transform into a Yellow Wollywog spirit.
And finally, Mason used Shield Breaker that defeated the last black and white Mario, allowing the Kid spirit to free.
"Any troubles with yours? I had a strong breeze in my face," the royal asked.
"Other than the fact mine preferred to jump, not really," the Italian said.
"The Bowser started to hit hard after a while," the pig-tailed girl said.
"I think the Link's sword had more strength than usual," the transgender noted.
"It seems the puppets have their certain advantages that can take into effect," the 12-year-old boy realized.
"Then we better be careful. How knows what else these puppets can do?" Matt warned. The hosts nodded before Jordan came to.
"Ugh... my head is ringing like a concert..." the pop star groaned before clutching her head. Kyle helped her up before she realized her friends were there. "You're all okay!"
"Thanks to Kyle here," Mason gestured to the star warrior host, who sheepishly smiled.
"Thanks, Ky. So, what happened?" Jordan asked, getting her bearings.
After explaining the dilemma, Jordan nodded along in helping. "Time to rock!"
The group wandered around the forest before coming to a split.
"Looks like we are going to be splitting up," Stephanie realized.
Matt saw one pathway lead to a town while the other one continued through the forest. While he didn't know where everyone could be, he knew they were still out there. "Alright, here's what-a we are going to do..."
After discussing the plan, everyone nodded. Mason, Stephanie, Victor, and Violet would travel through the town while Kyle, Matt, and Jordan would continue in the forest. They parted ways for now but knew they would come across each other again.
The three freed members of Original Twelve traveled through the forest before coming across colorful land. The road seemed to be made of a ribbon-like substance that traveled across different sizes and colored rocks.
"Woah..." Kyle breathed out.
"You can say that again," Jordan chirped.
"While she is evil, you have to give her credit about this environment," Matt commented before he eyed something off in the distance. Looking ahead, it looked like a clinic of some sort. "Is that a clinic?"
The two pink-haired teenagers squinted their eyes at the destination before agreeing, "Yeah... it is?"
"Why would there be a clinic on Ribbon Road?"
"... Did you really call this place Ribbon Road?" Jordan asked Kyle.
"What? I mean it fits the description," the host of Kirby retorted, "and even my spirit agrees."
Jordan refrained from making any side notes before just sighing, "Let's just see if anyone is here."
"Right."
The trio took off and instantly came across a golden-dressed Peach, a pink-furred Donkey Kong, and a small pink-dressed Palutena. "Intruders!"
The Donkey Kong puppet charged forward while the Palutena Warped and the Peach took to the sky, floating in the air with her parasol.
"Never a dull moment here," Matt said before he was taken away by a rainbow blur. Jordan and Kyle blinked before the advancing pink Donkey Kong came upon them and slammed his fist into a Reflect, courtesy from the host of Jigglypuff.
"Dibs on the Donkey Kong!" the pop-star claimed and used Power-Up Punch at close range which blasted the ape back. Kyle just sighed before getting the ESP Copy Ability. The pink-haired male used Psychokinesis on the floating princess before hitting a PK Shift on the pint-sized goddess.
With Matt, the host of Mario was currently getting dragged around at super speed. Which is very painful for him. The pain ended when Matt was set down...
Only to be hit nonstop, back to back. A relentless attack eventually ended as the host got to a knee. But he knew the culprit due to that rainbow streak. "Show yourself... Yen."
The rainbow blur came to a halt as the attacker was revealed. It was a male teenager of Chinese descent with green hair. His posture resembled a raptor and his appearance was different. Lime green scales were dominant on his body, a red shell on his back, orange boots with yellow soles, and a lime green tail.
"I should be so lucky," Yen, the host of Yoshi, sneered as he leaned to the side of a rock. 'Yen' licked his lips before crouching on all fours. He blitzed towards the Italian but Matt shielded himself with a blue shell.
"Since you can roll, let's make this fair," Matt 'offered' before sliding around the grass and striking his possessed best friend in a rapid assortment. 'Yen' grew tired of the shell-based attacks and spat out his elasticity tongue. The prehension managed to grab the freed host and 'Yen' performed Egg Lay, turning the Mario host into an egg.
"Oh, this is rich!" 'Yen' laughed before the egg burst open into flames. Matt broke free from the egg, clearly pissed at the fact he had been eaten. Granted, Yen typically never used that attack during matches unless it was an enemy.
Matt discard his Shell form, swapped to a Rock Mushroom, became Rock Matt, and rolled into the dinosaur host. 'Yen' thought the boulder wasn't too tough so he went for Egg Roll, but the stone bashed through the shell. 'Yen' was in the air but righten himself and used Yoshi Bomb. Matt released his stone-based power up and avoided the incoming rear-end attack.
The possessed host dusted himself off and went for an Egg Throw but the freed host swapped to an Ice Flower, gaining the ability of cryokinesis. 'Yen' ran around, the rainbow streak he emitted present while he utilized his super speed. Not being a stranger to fast foes -as he had dealt with speedsters-, the Italian stomped his foot to the ground, causing ice to form. The ground turned to ice and 'Yen' began to lose his grip. The possessed host began to slip and slide, Matt finding satisfaction in the karma before skating and spinning. The spin sent 'Yen' into the same rock he was leaning on in the beginning and sent him unconscious.
Matt released his current Power-Up and got a 1-Up Mushroom. Opening his best friend's mouth, the Italian popped the 1-up instantly refreshing the dinosaur host.
"Woah! That was tasty!" Yen shot up, reinvigorated from the effects. "Matt? What's going o-" the Chinese paused before noticing the scenery, "... Saving the world?"
"Yep." Matt reaffirmed. Being an Original Twelve, they knew the drill.
"I'm guessing the sun that unleashed those beams?"
"Yessir." Matt continued before seeing another Spirit Pouch. He reached over and picked it up, no doubt thinking it will be helpful in the future. "Yen, eat this."
Yen didn't question it, having the abilities of the Yoshisaurus allowed him to have two separate stomachs. Eating the pouch, the host of Yoshi placed it in a separate tract.
"Let's head back to the others," the Italian said.
"You freed others?" Yen questioned as Matt hopped on his back, "A few. Jordan and Kyle were with me before 'you' dragged me." Yen just nodded before dashing away.
The puppets had gone down easy. The pink Donkey Kong was hit with a Shadow Ball before Thunder fried the King of Swing into a Bewear spirit. The mini Palutena was hit with a Hammer Flip and the golden-dressed Peach got a combo of Flame Baton and Fire Hoop Jump from Kyle's Circus Copy Ability that revealed the former to be Elline and the latter to be Perry the Umbrella.
"Quite the workout," Jordan said, using Heal Pulse on her and Kyle. The psychic energy was soothing and allowed the two hosts of pink puffballs to recover themselves. Yen reappeared alongside them, revealing his blue eyes as he was not under the control of Galeem.
Both pink-haired teenagers were relieved and Matt hopped off his best friend. "What do we have?"
"Bewear, Elline, and Perry the Umbrella from what my spirit says," Jordan informed. Yen burped up the Spirit Pouch allowing the freed spirits to be collected before ingesting it again.
"Where to now?" Yen asked as Matt pointed out their destination.
"There is a clinic up ahead. On those clouds."
The host of Yoshi saw the destination before pounding his fists together. "I bet I know who will be in there." The three other Original Twelve members nodded before heading off and taking care of puppets along the way.
A/N: Jordan's outfit is like the Pop-star job from Miitopia. The microphone is both from the outfit and anime.
Yoshi is typically seen as a Speed type like in Mario and Sonic Olympic Games series and has utilized rainbows before in other spin offs, so that's the reason why Yen/Yoshi is a speedster.