LINK TO SECTION BELOW
We now return to Drake and Ashley. However, they were smiling nervously.
"And we are back!" Ashley greeted.
"Just in time to apologise and clear up something." Drake said. "It seems that we jumped the gun and thought that this would be THIS section where we will have three Reserve Mystery Fighters."
"To be fair, this IS the case. In the NEXT section aka the second-to-last one." Ashley explained. "But for now, there is only one Reserve Mystery Fighter."
"Regardless, that is no reason NOT to get hyped!" Drake corrected. "First off, the following Reserve Mystery Fighter has been suggested by supernova_hearts. Congratulations on having your Mystery Fighter suggestion in the tournament."
"Xero also told us who else had their Mystery Fighter suggestion in the next section." Ashley said. "Herosue, Mr. X and Mystery Mage! Congratulations!"
"Sorry to y'all who suggested Mystery Fighters, but fail to get them in." Drake frowned. "Y'all had some good ideas. Maybe there is next tournament."
"But let's not focus on that and focus on the future!" Ashley smiled. "Let's cover the new fighters, but first go over the surviving ones!"
BUBBLES
NODE: CARTOON NETWORK: PUNCH-TIME EXPLOSION/THE POWERPUFF GIRLS
ENTERED IN: Section 15; Number 306
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 9
"Even now, Bubbles still continued to stay in the ring, managing to tie with Luna Loud for the MVP of the most eliminations! With her eliminations offff…." Drake said before taking a deep breath. "Link and Mario from Super Smash Bros, Ed and Kolin from Street Fighter V, Batman and the Martian Manhunter from DC Comics, Gulp from Spyro the Dragon, her own nodal companion, Father and now Sho from Battle Arena Toshinden!"
"There is still the question of if she would be able to BEAT Luna's record now." Ashley added as Drake took a drink of water.. "However, she is now in an alliance with three other fighters! So if it holds up, they will help her! One of said fighters is…"
ISABELLE
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/ANIMAL CROSSING
ENTERED IN: Section 19; Number 387
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2
"...Isabelle! Fitting that Bubbles would team-up with the Badass Adorable girl of Nintendo!" Ashley smiled.
"Admittedly, her start isn't as explosive as Bubbles." Drake confessed. "But with her eliminations of Waluigi from Super Mario Bros and Benimaru from King of Fighters XIV under her belt, it is nothing to scoff at!"
BUGS BUNNY
NODE: LOONEY TUNES
ENTERED IN: Section 19; Number 390
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 4
"But what IS an explosive start is that Wascally Wabbit, Bugs Bunny!" Drake grinned.
"Indeed. Whether it would be literally or by other means, Big Band from Skullgirls, Donald Duck from Kingdom Hearts, Happy Child from Tokyo Mew Mew and now the Panda King from Sly Cooper learned the hard way not to mess with him!" Ashley noted. He then paused. "...Okay, that last one was literally GIVEN to him, but the point still stands."
MICKEY MOUSE
NODE: KINGDOM HEARTS/CLASSIC DISNEY SHORTS
ENTERED IN: Section 19; Number 395
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 3
"And if you have the face of Looney Tunes AND Disney appear in the same section together, you can't expect to have without the other!" Ashley noted.
"Yeah, admittedly he is going a little slower than Bugs, but his eliminations of Earthworm Jim, Roll from Megaman and now his nodal companion, Xigbar is nothing to sneeze at!" Drake nodded.
SHEEP MAN
NODE: MEGAMAN
ENTERED IN: Section 20; Number 398
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Showing off his disdain for the Spyro the Dragon node is Sheep Man!" Drake grinned.
"Really? You are going to introduce him THAT way?" Ashley asked, rolling his eyes. "But yes, he was mostly focusing on fighting the Spyro fighters with his first elimination of Sheila and it looks like he isn't going to let up anytime soon."
TARZAN
NODE: KINGDOM HEARTS/TARZAN
ENTERED IN: Section 20; Number 400
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Okay, so his elimination of Gorilla Grodd from DC Comics is more of a team effort with Bugs and the Panda King, but that doesn't mean you should count out Tarzan just yet." Ashley warned.
"Yeah, they still call him the King of the Jungle for a reason!" Drake noted.
SAMURAI JACK
NODE: CARTOON NETWORK: PUNCH-TIME EXPLOSION
ENTERED IN: Section 20; Number 402
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2
"Going from one badass to the other, we have Samurai Jack!" Drake grinned. "He dominated Keith from LiEat I!"
"He was also brainwashed by Gorilla Grodd to eliminate Turbo Man from Megaman so he is already starting half-good, half-bad." Ashley frowned. He then brightened up. "BUT he DID get the top slot for a reason so he could easily remedy this."
MS. FORTUNE
NODE: SKULLGIRLS
ENTERED IN: Section 20; Number 404
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Scratching her way while losing her head literally AND a hurricane of puns is Ms Fortune!" Ashley noted.
"Not only did she manage to overtake THE Mulan from Kingdom Hearts, but she also managed to get a Smash Ball!" Drake grinned.
ZAKURO FUJIWARA
NODE: TOKYO MEW MEW
ENTERED IN: Section 20; Number 408
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2
"Continuing the streak of the Mew Mews getting eliminations is the cool beauty, Zakuro!" Drake introduced.
"She is off to a surprising start with her elimination of Yoshi from Super Smash Bros and her friend, Miss Piggy from the Muppets!" Ashley nodded.
ELLIS
NODE: BATTLE ARENA TOSHINDEN
ENTERED IN: Section 20; Number 410
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Finally getting another elimination for her node and also somehow surviving is Ellis!" Ashley smiled. His face then faltered. "Unfortunately, her elimination of Prince Phillip is kinda clumsy as Monokuma inadvertently interrupted the latter's Limit Break with Sho."
"But it is alright because she is part of the new alliance too!" Drake reassured. "So she may have a decent shot to be the sole MVP for her node! Speaking of alliance…"
PENNY PROUD
NODE: THE PROUD FAMILY
ENTERED IN: Section 20; Number 411
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"...We have the final one, right here! Penny Proud!" Drake grinned. "Against all odds and expectations, even by herself, she managed to take down Kat & Dusty from Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale!"
"Four girls who are looking unlikely picks to make it to the final section. Realising that and banding together." Ashley nodded. "I know I shouldn't show bias, but I am voting for this alliance!"
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
NODE: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
ENTERED IN: Section 20; Number 412
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Anddddd rounding out the surviving fighters is Sonic the Hedgehog." Ashley frowned. "Ironically with the slowest start of said fighters."
"Yeah, he had to eliminate PaRappa from Playstation All-Star Battle Royale because the latter got sick from their rap battle. Long story." Drake sighed. "But yeah, maybe the next section will be better for him. Let's find out when we introduce them!"
SNAKE MAN
NODE: MEGAMAN
Ashley blinked twice. "So Sheep Man ISN'T the first animal-based Robot Master?"
"Yeah, and they both appeared in the same section. Weird." Drake noted. He then brightened up. "But that is distracting us from the main fact! Snake Man is awesome!"
Ashley chuckled nervously. "I suppose he DOES have that intimidation factor to him."
"Also, he is one of the few Robot Masters that got his own image song and it is just as badass and creepy as he is!" Drake grinned.
"Um, what is good to hear." Ashley said, blinking twice. "So what is his weapon?"
"Well, his weapon is the Search Snake, a weapon that fires… Well, Snake weapons that travel across the ground." Drake explained. "It could even travel up walls. Granted, that feature is useless in a tournament like this, but still!"
"No, no, I could understand how beneficial a weapon like that could be." Ashley nodded.
"Also, being a Robot Master based off of a snake, he is an intelligent, tenacious and cunning hunter." Drake noted.
"Not surprisingly, but how does that translate to a tournament fight?" Ashley asked.
"I don't know, but I am sure that we are going to find out!" Drake grinned.
FO FAI
NODE: BATTLE ARENA TOSHINDEN
"And here we have the old master of Battle Arena Toshinden!" Ashley smiled.
"Um, yeah, about that." Drake chuckled nervously. "Fo Fai may be the token old fighter, but he also ticks the boxes of ANOTHER fighting game trope."
"Um, and what is THAT?" Ashley asked.
"The token killer." Drake answered.
Ashley's eyes bugged out at this. "Wait… What!?"
"Yeah, he may present himself as a kind Chinese magician, but you see those claws, they are not for show." Drake frowned. "He is a sadistic killer who entered the tournament just to kill!"
Ashley gulped nervously. "First, Boyd and now him. If I had a dime for every dangerous killer that posed a kindly old man at this tournament, I would have two dimes. Which isn't a lot, but still weird it happened."
"True dat…" Drake chuckled before reading his tablet. "So besides the lethal and long-range of his claws, his magic isn't 100% to fool people. He could send out a giant orb of magic forward or even ride one like a circus performer."
"I know that Battle Arena Toshinden needs the eliminations, but I don't think it should be from THIS guy." Ashley frowned.
"...You are just saying that you don't like people who misuse magic for crap like this." Drake scolded.
Ashley crossed his arms. "Yeah, so?"
CAPTAIN K'NUCKLES
NODE: CARTOON NETWORK: PUNCH-TIME EXPLOSION/FLAPJACK
Ashley blinked twice. "Oh, right. I have forgotten that there was a second Flapjack character in the cast."
"Which is kinda weird when you think about it." Drake noted. "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and Chowder only have one character and you don't even see any sign of Courage the Cowardly Dog or Ed, Edd & Eddy."
"Huh. Weird." Ashley said. He then paused. "Considering Xero and Maurice's reaction to you, is K'nuckles a joke character?"
"Maybe in the show, but surprisingly not in CN: PTE." Drake offered. "Apparently, he is actually a decent threat."
"Really?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah. Not only does he not have any glaring weaknesses, but he has a lot of tricky movies." Drake explained. "He could send up a sand decoy that instantly dizzies fighters that attack it, he could spin forward Psycho Crusher-style and go through most attacks in the game. Even his 'joke' move of a dash attack of him stumbling forward goes a long distance!"
"Woah. He actually sounds like one that is hard to take down." Ashley mused.
"Especially since Xero more or less gave him motivation to show off his stuff."
JEAN BISON
NODE: SLY COOPER
BIG GUY ALERT!
"Ah, here we have the final Klaww Gang member. At least in the roster." Ashley mused.
"Not going to lie, compared to the rest of said gang, he actually stands out the least for me." Drake noted.
"Ouch…" Ashley frowned.
"To be fair, it is not for lack of trying." Drake offered. "First off, the Sly Cooper gang didn't finish him off directly, but rather by having Bentley run around while Sly activate some traps at the turtle's command."
"Ah, in other words, he is just as bulky as he looks." Ashley noted.
"Also, not only did he manage to knock out all three of the Cooper trio at the same time, but also found their hideout and stole and sold all of the Clockwork Parts." Drake added.
"Oh, he is smarter than he looks!" Ashley said.
"Indeed." Drake nodded. "I think the issue is that we had some strong villains. Rajan, the Contessa and of course, Dimitri. If anything, he is just overshadowed, but for no fault of his own."
"Oh, I see." Ashley noted. "Well, all three are long gone so maybe this could be his chance.
BIG DADDY
NODE: PLAYSTATION ALL-STAR BATTLE ROYALE/BIOSHOCK
BIG GUY ALERT!
Ashley watched the scene play out with wide eyes. He then growled before pushing a button on his phone and waiting for someone to answer.
Then, Xero answered with a long sigh. "...Yes?"
"Have you been dropped your head as a kid or are you really THAT stupid?" Ashley challenged.
"Aw, come on! Big Daddy is a part of the roster!" Ashley insisted. "I HAVE to include him!"
"Dude, I think he was talking about the Little Sister." Drake said.
"Of course!" Ashley roared.
"Aw, come on! Even someone who isn't into BioShock should know that the Big Daddies and the Little Sisters go hand-in-hand!" Xero scolded.
"But unlike the likes of Cheese the Chao and Tinkerbell, she has no way to fight for herself!" Ashley snapped. "Even Timothy rode in the safety of Dumbo's hat!"
"Look on the bright…" Xero started.
"Xero, if you finish that sentence, I WILL neuter you with my electricity when we finally meet!" Ashley countered.
The rabbit yelped. "Didn't you used to be the non-confrontational one!?"
"Well, Tiny never wrote to us in a story with YOU!" Ashley spat. He then turned to Drake. "Going back to neutering, I will do the same to you!"
Drake jumped. "What did I do!?"
"Nothing. YET. If you do ANYTHING Xero would act at the Battle of the Luminaries 3, I'll make you wish that you aren't immortal." Ashley said, darkly.
Drake gulped nervously. "Yes, sir…"
"Heh. I am actually inspired, Ashley." Maurice piped up. "Could you give me some pointers to deal with Xero?"
Ashley immediately brightened up. "Sure, I could even give you a couple right now. First off…."
"THIS PHONE CALL IS OVER!" Xero roared before hanging up the phone.
Ashley winced before looking at the phone. He then shrugged. "Ah well. I could do it when I meet Maurice at the dome."
Drake just groaned. "Just cut to Wally and Catherine…"
The camera went to a sheepish Wally and Catherine.
"...Fer him complaining about a horror-like monster, he is actually MORE scary than half of them." Wally winced.
"It is always the quiet ones." Catherine sighed, shaking her head. "Anyway, let's do our job! BioShock is a video game series developed by Irrational Games, which used to go by 2K Boston for some reason before changing it back."
"It is a Spiritual Successor to the System Shock series. It was a groundbreaking First-Person Shooter and Immersive Sim mixture with elements of Survival Horror and RPG Elements." Wally explained.
Catherine raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah. If System Shock is SO groundbreaking, why didn't we hear of it before looking up BioShock?"
"Ta be fair, the first game didn't do well in the sales, but it was still influential and spawned one of the most memorable video game villains of all time." Wally explained. "Ta the point it spawned a second game."
"...Still think that if they were so memorable, we would have learned about them." Catherine muttered. "Regardless, even though we should cover the bases, we shouldn't spend TOO long here."
"Aye, fair enough. Anyway, BioShock has a similar gameplay. The series takes place in alternative histories builty heavily on Bio Punk and Diesel Punk and resides in a corrupt city underneath the rule of a tyrant with a God complex." Wally explained. "Said cities and characters are all written in a book."
"The games seems like your textbook male power fantasy, but there are actually a lot of interesting subjects like the ethics of gene editing, objectivism versus collectivism, the dangers of extreme ideologies, forgiveness, redemption, free will, American Exceptionalism, interventionism, fundamentalism, secularism and many more things." Catherine explained.
"The series has spawned three games, two DLC campaigns for the latter two, two novels and even a tabletop game." Wally explained. "There was actually supposed ta be a fourth game, but we have ta wait and see. Back ta ya guys!"
The camera went back to a nodding Ashley. "Thanks, guys."
"So yeah, Big Daddy is your standard juggernaut in a horror game. Similar to Nemesis from Resident Evil and Death from the third House of the Dead game. Though he has to be provoked to become that…" Drake said. He then frowned. "Buttttt Jean did that by attacking the Little Sister."
"You know what? Despite what I yelled at Xero, I blame SSBFreak more. Seriously, Pyramid Head, Nemesis, Hell's Chef AND Nightmare to the same tournament!" Ashley said in disbelief.
"...Nightmare is not a horror villain." Drake scolded.
Ashley growled. "No, but he has the potential to be one. Like me if I hear one more smart comment from you OR Xero!"
"INFINITE!" (StH)
Drake immediately groaned as he slapped his forehead. "Really? I mean, REALLY?"
Ashley frowned. "He is THAT bad?"
"That bad? He is probably the worst-written Sonic character in videogame history!" Drake countered. "No, really, he may SEEM like a badass, but after beating Sonic ONCE, he proceeded to lose to him. Hell, he HAD a chance to stop Sonic, but doing so because 'he was not worth his time'. Dude, how arrogant could you get?"
Ashley winced. "So basically he is a Bond Villain."
"Pretty much. But being a Bond Villain isn't why he is here! Hell, Eggman could be a Bond Villain and he still has fans!" Drake scolded. "What's the problem with Sonic Forces' DLC? Instead of fixing him, they made him WORSE! Apparently, he was always this cocky son of a bitch who I kid you not, threw a hissy hit only Shadow kicking his ass and calling him weak!"
"So wait, he acted like how Tinyhammer usually portrays Jet and/or Wave?" Ashley asked.
"Way to bite the hand that feeds you, but still." Drake sighed.
CLICK!
Wally frowned. "Sooo Drake told me that he has something else to rant about. Turns out he just copied and pasted the Sonic the Hedgehog roster from the Tournament of Kikai. Thus why we didn't get any new additions. He thought about rounding it out to thirty just like he did with Crash Bandicoot."
Catherine raised an eyebrow. "The Sonic roster had twenty-eight characters. What would have been the two ones?"
"Gemel and Zavok." Wally explained.
Catherine blinked twice. "Okay, I could understand Gemel because Tiny grew up with the Game Boy Advance games, but Zavok? Really?"
"Like him or not, Sega seems to want to force him on the 'regular' Sonic. Drake even thought of adding Zazz if he is just going ta invite Zavok." Wally admitted. He then paused. "Then again, ya can't go wrong with the crazy one, but still."
"Okayyyyyy, but what does this have to do with Infinite?" Catherine asked.
"What does this have ta do with…" Wally asked before slapping his forehead. "It seems that Drake had snubbed two or three characters because of his hesitation and still kept Infinite! Seriously, say what you say about the Deadly Six, name ONE positive thing about Infinite!"
"Umm… His name is extremely fluffy?" Catherine answered.
Wally blinked twice before looking at the camera in exasperation.
CLICK!
"Alright, alright. Tell me about his powers." Ashley groaned, rolling his eyes.
"Well, according to Sonic, Infinite has a fake Phantom Ruby. Despite it being a fake, he is still able to do a lot of the things that he could do with the REAL Phantom Ruby." Drake explained. "Float, teleport, send out waves of Phantom Energy to literally disorientate his enemies."
"That sounds… Scary." Ashley said.
"He also has a sword from his time as a mercenary." Drake explained. He then shook his head. "So his fighting style isn't the problem. It is his attitude. Say what you want about the Babylon Rogues and the Deadly Six, but they were never this suicidally overconfident."
"I suppose that it is true that the biggest enemy for you is yourself." Ashley mused.
THE JOKER
NODE: DC COMICS
"Now THIS! This is a villain!" Drake noted, jerking his thumb.
"Um, Drake, I know what you are trying to say, but I don't think that is a compliment." Ashly frowned.
"True… It is clear that you are NOT meant to root for the Joker." The vampire mused, rubbing his chin. "Not only is a remorseless psychopath around the same levels as JUNKO ENOSHIMA, but he is a domestic abuser. But I can't help it. He is too iconic to hate."
"In other words, the comic book version of Sephiroth." Ashley said, rolling his eyes.
"No, that is completely different." Drake corrected before wincing in disgust. "Or at least I HOPE it is completely different."
Ashley paused. "...I am going to pretend I don't know what that means. So despite being a monster on the inside, the Joker is just a normal human. Well, not normal normal, but…"
"No, I get ya. But the Joker has a lot of weapons and gadgets under his belt!" Drake offered. "A crowbar, a flower that spits out acid, several bombs and a lethal electric buzzer to name a few."
Ashley gulped nervously. "But it's fine, right? Villains like him always get booted early on."
"Most villains, but the Joker is different. There is a reason he and Harley Quinn lasted so long in the third Megamix Tournament." Drake frowned. He then smirked. "However, there IS a silver lining now that I mentioned her, but we'll see how it worked out."
"Y-Yes… After all, Miss Decibel already had HER revenge so her friend should get the same treatment." Ashley said.
BIRDIE
NODE: STREET FIGHTER V
Drake smirked. "Fun fact. Birdie holds the record for the most drastic change in appearance in Street Fighter?"
"Of course. Even I know that Birdie didn't used to be fat." Ashley muttered, rolling his eyes.
"I mean, yeah, but did you know that Birdie used to be Casuasian?" Drake asked.
Ashley paused. "...What?"
"Yes, in the very first Street Fighter game." Drake explained.
"I-I didn't even know he was there, period!" Ashley insisted. "When did they change his skin colour?"
"Beats me. Apparently, the in-game reason is because he was sick when he entered the tournament." Drake said.
Ashley blinked twice. "...What kind of disease literally whitewashes you?"
"Buddy, you do NOT want to get ME started!" Catherine shouted from off-screen.
Drake rolled his eyes. "Anywayyyyy, Birdie may see like a slob. And he is. But he is more technical than he looks."
"Really?" Ashley asked, intrigued.
"Yeah, his chain is not for show. He gives him a long-range grab." Drake explained. "He also got a lot of little tricks. He could eat a banana and get it down for a trap, same for a rolling soda can, blow a giant bubble made out of gum to block him from certain attacks and even eat a pepper to make his attack stronger."
Ashley blinked twice. "...What?"
"I said a lot of LITTLE tricks. Granted, he DOES find a way to make them work sooo… Good for him." Drake shrugged.
CLICK!
"Okay, how much did Drake tell you about his roster?" Catherine challenged.
Wally blinked twice. "Um, only a little. Why?"
"Then, maybe you could tell me why BIRDIE is on Drake's Battle of the Luminaries roster?" Catherine asked, annoyed.
Wally narrowed his eyes. "If ya tried ta play the first Street Fighter, ya would know that there weren't that many picks ta choose from. Besides the usual Ryu, Ken and Sagat, the only ones that appeared out of their game besides him are Gen, Adon and Eagle."
"Then why not have Eagle!?" Catherine scolded.
"Because Eagle never appeared in an official Street Fighter. Just a port of Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Capcom VS SNK 2." Wally countered. "At least Birdie was in the Alpha series from the start!"
"Y-Yeah, but…" Catherine frowned.
"Besides, Drake also invited Rufus, Necalli and F.A.N.G." Wally retorted. "It is clear that he is following the mindset that a negative reputation is better than no reputation at all."
Catherine just groaned.
CLICK!
Then, the Mystery Fighter alarm went off.
"Ooh, here we have our first Mystery Fighter of the section!" Drake grinned.
"It may not be the Reserve one, but it will deserve some praise!" Ashley agreed.
FRED FREDBURGER
NODE: THE GRIM ADVENTURES OF BILLY & MANDY
Drake and Ashley both paused with blank faces.
"...Okay, there is a lot to pack in." Drake said, raising a finger. "Ashley, care to start us off?"
"I want to, but there is nothing I could say that Maurice didn't already say!" The wizard exclaimed. "I could understand trying to think up characters at the last minute, but Fred Fredburger when Hoss Delgado and Eris, from Xero's eyes, are RIGHT there!"
Drake just sighed. "Also, apparently Billy & Mandy had a Power Stone-like game. You think that Wally and Catherine would have told us about it."
"Hey! Cut us some slack!" Catherine scolded. "We covered the show all of the way in Section ONE! We were still finding our wings at the time!"
"Alright, alright…" Drake said, rolling his eyes. "Also, I am stunned that Xero wants to invite BILLY AND MANDY as a node at the NEXT tournament."
"Said the guy that wanted to invite SHREK to the third Battle of the Luminaries." Ashley said, crossing his arms with a raised eyebrow.
"Hey, at least Shrek Super Slam had a competitive scene!" Drake scolded.
Ashley paused. "...What?"
"Ugh, let's just find out about Fred's abilities from said Power Stone game." Drake groaned before researching on his tablet. "So what little I could gather on such short notice is that he is somewhat of a Stone Wall. He is slower than the others, but his belly could be used for defence."
"Okay, he is not THAT heavyset, but obviously fair enough." Ashley shrugged.
"Also, he attacks with his trunk, belly and a frying pain." Drake explained. "He could also eat his trademark favourite food for a potential Final Smash and… Somehow summon a giant box of nachos on his victims."
"...What?" Ashley asked.
"I don't know, man. I never got into the show. If he could do that one on the show, maybe, but still…" Drake shrugged. He then chuckled nervously. "Well, at least the Reserve Mystery Fighter will get all of the hype."
ROCK HOWARD
NODE: KING OF FIGHTERS XIV/FATAL FURY
"And here is the face of the next generation of Fatal Fury!" Drake grinned.
"Until SNK decided to discontinue the story and retconned it so he was only a few years younger than his surrogate father, Terry." Ashley muttered.
Drake's grin vanished. "Oi…"
"But real talk though. It is nice to see Rock in XIV AND XV, albeit as DLC." Ashley mused.
"Maybe they were testing the waters to see how many people would be pissed if Rock showed up in his Mark of the Wolves age even though he showed up as a child in one of his win poses." Drake noted.
Ashley jumped. "Say what?"
"Yeah, unless you are part of the current arc, King of Fighters doesn't care about continuity." Drake muttered.
Ashley just groaned. "Sooo Rock is a mixture of Terry Bogard and Geese Howard?"
"That's right. He shares a mixture of their moves." Drake nodded.
"Okay, but why would Rock use GEESE'S moves? Doesn't he hate his biological father?" Ashley asked.
"He does. But apparently Geese's moves have transferred over to him from blood." Drake explained. "It is evident by how he still has trouble using the Raging Storm."
"Oof. Must be tough being reminded of the blood that you are forced to share." Ashley frowned.
"Don't worry. He is the main protagonist of Mark of the Wolves for a reason." Drake reassured. "He may angst about it, but it never stopped him from kicking ass!"
URIEN
NODE: STREET FIGHTER V
"Heh. How ironic." Ashley mused. "Gill appeared in the very first section and here is his brother showing up in the THIRD-to-last section."
"Considering how opposite those two are, maybe it ISN'T ironic as they are literally worlds apart." Drake sighed. "Well, Gill WANTS to do good, but in extreme ways, Urien is having none of that and is a full-on asshole."
Ashley gulped nervously. "How charming. So does Urien wield two elements like Gill?"
"Well, yes and no. He could wield electricity and metal." Drake explained. "The electric part is more obvious because he has that for a projectile and the Aegis Reflector, one of the best reflectors in video game history."
Ashley raised an eyebrow. "And the metal part?"
"Well, he could encase his skin in metal to give himself more endurance." Drake explained. "That is when you could see clangs whenever someone punched him while he was blocking."
"Wow. He sounds like a wall to take down." Ashley frowned.
"Also, after using his Critical Art, he loses his clothes." Drake explained.
Ashley jumped. "What…?"
"Just thought I should bring it up because despite being a snazzy dresser, he also likes to fight in a thong." Drake said. "Well, at least he has the bod for it."
Ashley paused.
Then, the Mystery Fighter alarm went off.
"Saved by the Mystery Fighter alarm!" Ashley said, sighing in relief.
Drake chuckled nervously. "Let's hope that this next one isn't as controversial!"
RANNO
NODE: RIVALS OF AETHER
Drake and Ashley's eyes lit up. Drake then excitedly pointed at the node name with Ashley nodding, silently confirming that he sees it.
"Well, THIS is a pleasant surprise!" Ashley smiled. "The node of one of the latest Mystery Fighters is one of the ones Drake picked for the third Battle of the Luminaries!"
"This is perfect! I was worried that Rivals of Aether may be the Kizuna Encounter of the tournament so this is the perfect way to know what they are getting into!" Drake grinned.
"AND Ranno is one of the best representatives to use for Rivals of Aether!" Ashley smiled.
"Yeah! Yo, Wally, Catherine, you may be potentially helping new viewers to get into this node!" Drake grinned. "Can I trust you to give an 100%?"
The camera then went to a grinning Wally and Catherine.
"A node about solely animals? Do you even need to ask?" Catherine smirked.
"Rivals of Aether is an Indie platform fighter developed by Dan Fornace!" Wally grinned. "But first, a somewhat detour. You see, first, Dan created a demake of Super Smash Bros. Fer those who don't know what a demake is, it is when you tell a game and put it on an older gaming platform. In this case, the Game Boy."
"As you could enter, it didn't have too much. In fact, it only had SIX characters. Mario, Link, Pikachu, Kirby, Megaman… And for some reason, Vapoeron. Don't get me wrong, I am all for less-represented Pokemon getting love, but Vaporeon?" Catherine asked, confused.
"The reason we are telling ya this is because this demake became the basis for Rivals of Aether. In terms of the gameplay and characters." Wally explained before pausing. "At least the starting roster."
"The story takes place on the planet, Aether, where four warring nations are based on the classical elements of wind, water, fire and earth." Catherine said before pausing. "Kinda off-topic, but isn't one of the OTHER nodes Drake selected is Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl?"
"Aye, aka the one with AVATAR characters! Ah was thinking that as well!" Wally admitted before stifling a cough. "But aye, the first six characters are based on an element. The aforementioned four along with smoke and nature that go hand in hand with fire and earth respectively."
"As we said, the game is a platform fighter. However, there are no ledges, no items, no shields and no grabs." Catherine said. "There IS a parry system that is hard to do, but rewarding when pulled off. That is why it gave a competitive gaming following."
"The game was fully released on Steam in March 2017, but soon found its way on the XBox One and the Nintendo Switch." Wally explained. "It also got an April Fools Dating Sim that is more popular than it has any right ta be, a free-to-play Card Battle and a comic series written by THE Ian Flynn!"
"Orcane, despite not being the main character, even showed up as the mascot, appearing in Indie Pogo and Fraymakers!" Catherine smiled. "It even has a create-your-own character mode with four designs that people liked SO much that the people asked the creators to have them! In other words, it is Najd! Times four!"
"Basically, it is the Super Smash Bros Melee of Indie Games, thus the huge hype behind it!" Wally nodded. "Back ta ya, guys!"
The camera then went back to a grinning Drake. "Thanks, guys! I knew that you would kill it on this!"
"So may I have this one?" Ashley asked. "I have been researching said nodes so I wanna know if I could understand how Ranno fights."
"The floor is yours." Drake offered.
"Now Ranno is called the 'Poisonous Pacifist'. In other words, he is a poison dart frog version of Dhalsim." Ashley explained.
Drake chuckled. "So far, so good."
"Despite his conflicting title, he uses his abilities as a poison frog to move around the stage like a ninja and throw poisonous… Well, darts inflict damage over time." Ashley continued. "He could also send out giant poison bubbles that trap people in them and use his tongue to grab and suck people in Yoshi-style before sitting them out in ANOTHER poison bubble."
"So basically he is Sheik as a poison dart frog." Drake chuckled.
"...I must admit, even though I said that Ranno will be a good representative for Rivals of Aether, I don't think he will set out when he THINKS he is going to do." Ashley frowned.
"Eh. As long as he is showing off what Rivals of Aether could do, who's going to be complaining?" Drake asked. "Certainly not said Rivals of Aether cast."
Ashley let out a deep sigh. "Very well…"
BENTLEY THE YETI
NODE: SPYRO THE DRAGON
"I say, it seems that the next representative out of the franchise of Spyro the Dragon is the cryptid from the realm of frost, Bentley!" Drake smiled. "It is a shame that he has to attend the section as the vengeful, robotic sheep so he will not have a tranquil time, but I am here that he is aware of the consequences of entering a tournament like this."
Ashley paused. "...Please don't tell me you will be talking like that the entire segment."
"I hope so not! That was actually harder than it looks!" Drake frowned.
Ashley shook his head. "So yes, as you could see, Bentley is smarter and more sophisticated than he looks."
"Even still, he still decides to make the best of his abilities and fight by smashing people with a club." Drake added.
"Also, he is a skilled boxer." Ashley explained. He then scowled. "Or he BETTER be considering what he, and by extension, the player has been put through."
"Oh yeah. Apparently the reason why he was doing the challenge wasn't good either." Drake frowned.
"Yes. Bentley's annoying younger brother, Bartheolow lost his ball and thought that another yeti stole it so he made Bentley beat up said yeti in a boxing match!" Ashley explained. "Turns out, he had the ball the entire time, but just misplaced it!"
"Ouch…" Drake winced.
"Granted, he DID get a dragon egg out of it, but still, the whole thing was a slog to go through!" Ashley groaned.
"...Well, you know what they say, whatever kills you makes you stronger." Drake offered.
"Indubitably." Ashley sighed.
PEACOCK
NODE: SKULLGIRLS
Drake's eyes lit up. "PEACOCK!"
Ashley chuckled at this. "Should have known that you would fall head-over-heels to the living homage to the old-time cartoons."
"How could I not!? Especially since the majority of this roster, at least compared to other UVR rosters, are more focused on cartoons, she fits in perfectly!" Drake grinned.
"Do you think she will do well?" Ashley frowned. "She DID get eliminated in her first section at the first Battle of the Luminaries."
"To be fair, I think it may be because Skullgirls was still somewhat niche at the time." Drake shrugged. "But seeing how many characters have gotten an elimination, it is clear that she has a better chance here than she did at the previous tournament."
"Anyway, along with being a cartoon character, Peacock is also a zoner." Ashley explained.
"But not just ANY zoner, she is THE zoner of zoners!" Drake grinned. "Bombs, bullets, falling objects, it is all fair game to Peacock!"
"Adding to the fact that she could more or less TELEPORT and you got an irritating girl to fight against." Ashley explained.
GNASTY GNORC
NODE: SPYRO THE DRAGON
BIG GUY ALERT!
"And here we have the first Big Bad of the Spyro the Dragon series!" Ashley smiled.
"Though you wouldn't know that given how much people gave their attention to Ripto and the Sorceress!" Drake noted.
Ashley glared at Drake. "Drake!"
"Aw, come on! I am not wrong!" The vampire scolded. "Even Bison thinks so, which is why he ended up with Cruella and Hyena!"
"Okay, fair, but things are a little different this time." Ashley added. "First off, he showed up in both Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled and Crash on the Run. Ripto and the Sorceress WISHES they had that privilege."
"Okay, fair, I don't see him as much of a fighter. Even YOU can't defend his 'final boss fight' in the first game." Drake pointed out.
"Yes, there is no defending… THAT. But like I said, he showed up in Crash on the Run." Ashley reminded. "And he is actually quite difficult to take down."
Drake's eyes widened at this. "No lie?"
"No lie." Ashley reassured. "Along with sending giant orbs of magic forward and sending shockwaves across the ground, Gnasty Gnorc surrounds himself with a barrier that Crash and Coco have to take down first."
"Woah, why is the sudden love for Gnasty Gnorc all of a sudden?" Drake asked.
"Like I said, it is more the fans that prefer Ripto and the Sorceress only him. The people at Toys for Bob probably realised this and wanted people to realise why HE is the main villain of the Spyro series." Ashley pointed out.
"At the very least, he doesn't have to worry about being persuaded by a secondary villain group and inadvertently making everything worse for heroes and villains alike!" Drake smirked.
Ashley frowned. "Hey! It is not HIS fault! Hell, it is not even 100% CRUELLA'S fault!"
"Maybe. But if it wasn't for her, they wouldn't have ruined the second Battle of the Luminaries." Drake admitted before growling. "There is NO forgetting that."
Ashley shrank back, unnerved by this.
DUCK HUNT DUO
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/DUCK HUNT
Drake blinked twice at this. He then put his hand to his mouth and snickered.
Ashley also blinked twice for different reasons. "I think you are doing that laugh wrong."
Drake looked at Ashley confused. "What do you mean?"
"For one thing, I do not feel a violent compulsion to shoot you in the head." The purple-haired man admitted.
Drake let out a hearty laugh. "Fair enough! Fair enough! Okay, it is your turn again you two!"
The camera then went to a grinning Catherine and a… Frowning Wally.
"Well, we may not have a big thing to talk about, but we will still try to make due with what we can!" Catherine offered.
"Um, right." Wally said. "Duck Hunt is a shooting game for the NES. It usually comes with Super Mario Bros. Or even Super Mario Bros AND World Class Track Meet. It started as a projector-and-light-gun toy before Nintendo's video game-making days."
"There are two games. A simple clay pigeon shooter." Catherine explained before grinning. "The second is here you play as an asshole man who hunts innocent ducks while taking advantage of his dog's blind loyalty to them to act like an unwitting accomplice."
Wally paused before looking at Catherine with an exasperated face. The latter just looked at her co-host still grinning. She knew what she was doing.
"Right…" Wally muttered. "Anyway, the gameplay is simple. You have two ducks fly away and three shots to kill one or both of them. As the levels go on, the ducks get faster."
"Regardless of the blatant Designated Hero, the game is remembered for being a game that uses the Zapper Light Gun, setting the standard for other light guns!" Catherine smiled.
"Oh, sure! It is all fine and dandy!" Wally pointed out. "But let's not forget the moment of betrayal!"
Catherine frowned. "Oh no, here we go."
"Okay, here is the deal. Ya are out with your doggo mate. Ya are trying fer best ta get the high score!" Wally explained. "Ya think that ya have someone supporting in yer dog. But no… When ya miss both ducks. He laughs… He laughs at yer misery. He is like those fake friends we talk about with the Proud Family."
"Um, okay, I think you are overreacting a lit…" Catherine started.
"Ah am NOT overreacting!" Wally roared. "Sure, the game may be simple, but do ya know how difficult the game gets! When that happens, Ah could understanding the dog looking sad or disappointed, but no, he is a fucking griefer!"
Catherine nervously looked back and forth.
"He just laughs and laughs and laughs until ya are completely going insane!" Wally groaned before gripping his head. "STOP LAUGHING!"
Then, Wally collapsed in his seat backwards with his feet pointing up. Catherine blinked twice before looking back at the camera with a sheepish smile.
"So because the dog and by extension, the duck came from a Light Gun game, their moveset in Smash is based on said games." Catherine concluded. "Back to you guys."
The camera went to a nervous Drake and an exasperated Ashley.
"...It IS be off to have a Duck Hunt Duo without THAT." Drake mused.
Ashley just groaned. "...So I suppose if what Catherine says is true, the Duck Hunt Duo are a zoner duo."
"Pretty much. Despite it being called a Duck Hunt DUO, it is actually a trio." Drake corrected.
Ashley jumped. "Really? Who is the third member?"
Drake smirked. "The player."
At first, Ashley was confused. Then, his eyes bugged out. "You mean the one holding the Light Gun?"
"That's right! He shows up in the Smash attacks and to also shoot the clay pigeons and cans, the dog will send at the enemy!" Drake explained. "And that's not all! The dog could summon 8-bit Wild Gunmen to show up and shoot for MORE zoning options!"
"Wow. And what does the dog do?" Ashley asked.
"Well, he does have a few physical attacks. Same as the dog. But like true zoners, they let their projectiles fight for them." Drake offered. "Though the duck CAN carry the dog out of the way just like a Sonic Heroes Fly Formation."
"Wow, they sound… Annoying to fight." Ashley frowned.
"What do you expect when one third of the team is the Duck Hunt Dog?" Drake challenged, rolling his eyes.
THE GURU
NODE: SLY COOPER
Drake paused. "Oh, right, I have forgotten that the Guru was a part of the Sly Cooper gang."
Ashley gasped. "Woah!"
"Don't get me wrong. It is not that he isn't a badass, but it is just that he is the ONLY one in Thieves in Time WITHOUT an arc." Drake frowned. "He hardly showed up outside of his missions."
Ashley winced. "Ouch."
"Yeah, and honestly, his moveset is somewhat limited." Drake explained. "He could hijack people's minds and ride them around!"
"To be fair, while limiting, it could be adventurous in certain scenarios." Ashley offered.
"Indeed. Gorilla Grodd more or less demonstrated that." Drake said, rolling his eyes. "Also, that staff is not just for casting spells, but to also give an enemy a good whack!"
"...Regardless, this is not the best showing for Sly Cooper, is it?" Ashley frowned.
"To be fair, I would take Jean Bison and the Guru over Sir Rayleigh and Penelope any day of the week!" Drake offered. "So we could definitely do worse. But I guess Sly Cooper already had all of their heavy hitters arrive earlier, huh?"
Then, the alarm went off.
"Oh, cool! The next Reserve Mystery Fighter is here!" Drake grinned. "Let's end on a positive note!"
"Indeed! Let's see what Orange-Ratchet chose for supernova_hearts!" Ashley smiled.
GARNET
NODE: STEVEN UNIVERSE
Drake and Ashley's eyes lit up at this. "GARNET!"
"She is SUCH a badass!" Drake grinned.
"I know, right? And yet she is also a cool mom!" Ashley agreed. "Xero really picked a good one!"
"Also, her, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Bugs Bunny and even Tom & Jerry?" Drake asked. "Even though the game hasn't come out, it is clear that this tournament is setting up for Multiversus perfectly!"
Ashley chuckled. "Indeed. Well, Wally and Catherine. Remember, this is a RESERVE Mystery Fighter so we expect the best from you two!"
The camera then went to a frowning Catherine and a… Still unconscious Wally.
"Oh, sorry. I have forgotten that Wally fainted." Drake said from off-screen.
"Um, it's fine. I could go solo from here." Catherine offered.
"You're sure? Steven Universe is a big node to cover." Ashley warned.
"It's fine. I have… A lot of opinions on Steven Universe, anyway." Catherine frowned.
"Hoo boy." Drake muttered.
Catherine narrowed her eyes. "Just hear me out!"
With that, she took a deep breath.
Steven Universe is a show created by Rebecca Sugar, someone who not only worked on Adventure Time, but also the author of Pug Davis, a comic about a pug-headed astronaut. It is the network's first series to be created and led by a woman and an openly LGBT individual. So in other words, the first time that things are changing."
Upon saying that, Catherine grinned.
"The series is about a young boy named Steven Universe. Someone who is half-human, half-Gem. Gem-like aliens that despite them being non-gender are usually presented as female. Steven is raised by three Gems. Garnet, a cool buff mom, Pearl, a worrying mom and Amethyst, the fun mom. Or aunt."
Catherine giggled.
"The show went on different adventures and what started as a simple coming-of-age story, slowly turned into much adventure. As it goes on, we learn more about the main four and the world and we start to love the characters and the story.
She then breathed in and out with a frown.
"Okay, here is the thing. First off, there have been SEVERAL hiatuses. And not just between seasons, but between EPISODES. There is a reason why these are called STEVEN Bombs."
She then growled.
"Oh, and there is this whole redeeming of every and any enemy! I could understand Peridot and maybe Lapis, but the Diamonds? You know the genocidal dictators! I am all for having all-loving heroes, but having them forgive EVERY enemy they come across!"
She then let out a mirthless laugh.
"Oh ho ho. Do NOT get me started on Future. It turned one of the purest cartoon protagonists in history into a Bakugou-lite! Everyone else seemed out-of-character too! And the ending is the worst!"
She then groaned.
"It is not like I WANT to rant on this show! There are a lot of awesome ideas! Some fantastic, some that need tweaking and some that are just… Why? I LOVE the cast! I love the worlds that the Crystal Gems explore! The songs are banging! They had a LESBIAN couple for crying out loud and don't you DARE try to tell me otherwise! How could they mess them up!?"
Catherine then breathed in and out.
"But yeah… I have VERY mixed feelings about the show. But I could understand why people still love it. After all, it got a movie and a crossover with… Uncle Grandpa of all things. Garnet even showed up in Ok Ko Let's Be Heroes. TWICE! There is a lot of love, but… I am just glad that they are going with the original version of Steven in Multiversus and not the Future one… Back to you guys. And sorry for ruining the mood."
The camera went to a frowning Drake. "Dracula, Catherine…"
Ashley chuckled nervously. "Let's end this on a high note."
"Yeah, alright." Drake sighed. "Garnet is the strongest AND toughest of the Crystal Gems. She could dish out as much as she could take! Also, she has her future vision, but it doesn't happen all of the time."
"Still, it is next to have. Especially this late in the tournament." Ashley nodded.
"Yeah, and it is not like relevance is a problem for her, thanks to Multiversus as we said earlier!" Drake agreed. "Garnet may have seen a lot of ups and downs, but she overcame them all!"
"Well, that is everyone. Now Jean Bison, Big Daddy and Gnasty Gnorc are Big Guys so eighteen people will be eliminated!" Ashley explained.
"Also, once again, there are NO Side Battles." Drake added. He then smirked. "But don't think this section will be basic! These fighters will show that they are stronger than you!"
CLICK!
"...Remind me never ta faint when we are doing a job together." Wally muttered.
"Hey, at least I TRIED to say positive things about it!" Catherine insisted. "It is not like I WANTED to be ALL negative!"
"Ugh, whatever… So about that side story." Wally sighed.
"I am stunned by how much Orange-Ratchet is dedicated to bringing the ending of V3 into the canon of Fictograph City." Catherine nodded.
"Ah know right! I could understand giving Maki more urgency, but having Shuichi and Himiko be involved?" Wally asked. "It is nice ta see them though."
"Same here!" Catherine nodded. "Also, I WAS wondering why we had that Side Battle with Bowser and Haohmaru so late in the game. It is a way for Asgore to confirm to Shuichi and the others that the Sans we were with is not the REAL Sans."
"That's… Actually pretty clever." Wally noted. "But now what?"
"Hm?" Catherine asked.
"If Tsumugi is captured, what are the heroes going ta fight?" Wally asked.
Catherine's eyes widened in realisation. "That's… A good question. Especially since the Justice League is also on the case and the original villain group gave up the ghost."
"Ah guess we would have to find out the next section." Wally mused.
"Until then, we could look forward to the 13th." Catherine offered.
Wally blinked twice. "Umm, why? What is happening on the 13th?"
"Easy!" Catherine smiled. "We are having another Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl reveal!"
Wally's eyes bugged out at this. "Really!?"
"Really really." Catherine smirked.
"Oh, cool. Who will we get?" Wally asked.
"Beats me. I just hope it will be worth the wait!" Catherine nodded before looking to the camera. "But for now, we are going to watch Drake and Ashley get ready for the next part of THEIR tournament! Stay tuned!"
LINK TO SECTION: archiveofourown / works / 25531129 / chapters / 97186713
