animegamefanatic
"Ibáñez" is derived from the personal name "Ibán", a variant of "Juan". And "González" means "castle" in Spanish.
breath20k
Not just more excitement; more money with it!
LiamTheYoshi
Unfortunately, King K will not be coming back to the Glitz Pit.
mariobroultimate
We'll find out what the Mini-Yoshi's name and color are very soon.
Mario bros fan4ever
Thanks for the offer, but I prefer not to do crossovers.
Nataly Guardado
Mario: Mr. Grubba is coming up with these weird conditions just to throw fighters off and cause them to lose. But not me and Luigi. We're on pace to make it to the top. I'm very sorry you got scared of the X2 roller coaster and were laughed at afterward. You didn't deserve to be treated that way. If I was able to go back in time, I would've helped you be brave before the ride. But what's done is done. *sighs* I'm so sorry, Nataly.
...
Chapter 25: The Major League
The time is 11:55 AM with the major league qualification match about to begin. When Mario and Luigi reserved the match, they were not given their opponents' names, but they were given the following conditions, "No weapons, no jumping."
"And now...today's ultimate main event!" Grubba announced. The audience was cheering louder than the last several matches the Mario Bros participated in.
In addition, all three of the Mario Bros' partners; Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie stood near the bottom end of the ring. They would root for Mario and Luigi at that spot for the rest of their time at the Glitz Pit.
"The major league awaits the 11th-ranked Great González and Incredible Ibáñez... But only if they can beat two 10th-ranked powerhouses. First, it's my honor to bring in to you folks...the Merciless and Superstar Executioners...the GREEEEAAT GOOONZÁLEZ and the INCREEEEDIBLE IBÁÑEZ!"
The audience stood on their feet as Mario and Luigi entered the ring. While Luigi was eager to get the battle going, Mario's heart pounded fast and his forehead was sweating a bit.
Please let our opponents be simple... Mario told himself.
"Hoooooooooo-WEEEEEEEEEE! The Great González and the Incredible Ibáñez!" Grubba said as he entered the ring too with a microphone. "How're you two feelin'?"
"To be honest, I'm nervous on a whole 'nother level," Mario answered without hesitation despite his nervousness.
"Me? ¡Siento que este partido va a ser una brisa! (Me? I feel like this match is going to be a breeze!)" Luigi exclaimed in Spanish.
"Whoa, nelly! You heard 'em, folks!" Grubba told the audience. "They're obviously itchin' to mix it up some! And coming in from the east end are...the Iron Adonis Twins...with intense nerves of steel...the ARRRRRMORED HARRRIERS!"
Two Iron Clefts loudly marched into the ring since they weighed more than Cleftor and his Punk Rock allies.
"Hyuk hyuk! Your challengers are really confident, boys! Yep. Talkin' trash, indeed," Grubba said to the Armored Harriers.
"Yo, stinkwads!" the first Armored Harrier addressed Mario and Luigi. "You're gonna regret opening your yaps, pals! See these bods? Solid iron. See these spikes? Yeah, they penetrate any substance."
And potentially kill us, Mario said to himself. He wiped his brow and stared at the Armored Harriers.
"So, basically, what we're telling you is that whatever you try will be completely useless. Think that over in the very short time you have left with a functional brain," the second Armored Harrier added in.
"Three minutes to enter the major league, two teams facing each other, one step closer to the highest rank...GO!"
Right as the bell rang to start the battle, the Armored Harriers charged forward with their spikes aimed at Mario and Luigi.
Since they had no weapons, all Mario and Luigi had with them were their Star Spells. They quickly dodged the Armored Harriers, who bounced back from the ropes.
Next, the Mario Bros used their Clock Out spell to freeze their opponents. To their surprise, the magic reflected off the Armored Harriers' bodies; the Armored Harriers remained active. At this point, their Star Power were at one unit each and it would take a little over a minute to refill to full capacity. But the clock was ticking quickly with two and a half minutes to go.
"What do we do?!" Mario panted.
"I don't know! We might have to do a last-minute finisher!" Luigi replied. "Keep dodging!"
...
"Come on, guys!" Goombella called out. "You got this!"
"Knock them over!" Flurrie chimed in.
Koops stood silently and kept his eye on the Mario Bros.
...
Suddenly, the Armored Harriers leaped a few feet up and hit the ground hard enough to knock over Mario and Luigi. The Armored Harriers charged forward and pinned them by their chests, making it hard for them to breathe.
"Get...off...me..." Mario grunted while trying to push one of the Armored Harriers off him.
"You... You're crushing..." Luigi gasped between breaths.
The referee immediately ended the match, not wanting Mario and Luigi to be crushed to death. The Armored Harriers stepped off their opponents the second the bell rang.
"GODDAMMIT!" Mario yelled with frustration, clutching his chest.
Luigi picked himself up and helped Mario on his feet even though his chest was also hurting.
"Bluh huh huh huh huh... How'd you like that? We tried to tell you, but nooooooo..." the first Armored Harrier taunted.
"If you want another piece of pummel pie, have a bath and come on back! Punks!" the second Armored Harrier agreed.
"The Armored Harriers win!" Grubba announced amongst the audience booing and murmuring. "Congratulations to you two!"
Mario glared at the Armored Harriers once more as the security guard led him and Luigi back to the locker room.
Mario went straight for the bench while Luigi checked the match results. Both didn't win anything and remained at Rank 11.
"We can't even beat them..." Mario groaned while facepalming himself. "There's literally no way..."
"I know. It sucks," Luigi agreed. Just then, he noticed the rainbow-spotted egg wasn't on the bench anymore.
"Huh? Where'd the egg go?"
Mario looked to his right and became shocked. "Wha- How did it hop away?"
"Yo!" a teenage male voice called out from the quarters.
Mario and Luigi entered the quarters and saw a green Mini-Yoshi standing in front. He had a red mohawk and orange shorts with white spots.
"González! Ibáñez! Check me out! Thanks to you, I hatched safe and sound!" the Mini-Yoshi exclaimed.
"Where did you hatch?" Mario asked.
The Mini-Yoshi pointed to a pile of eggshells on the far bunk bed on the left row. "I'll clean that up later. Now, you guys wanna be champs, right? You want a Crystal Star?"
"That's why we're here," Luigi answered.
"I heard all about it while I was in the egg! Yeah!" the Mini-Yoshi beamed. "Anyway, I gotta repay you for saving me from that son of a gun out there, so I'll fight for you!"
"How about with us?" Mario requested.
"That's what I mean."
"Do you have a name or something?" Luigi asked.
"Hmm... Lessee..." The Mini-Yoshi took a few seconds to think. "I just came outta that egg, so I guess I don't have a name yet. How about you give me one? It's gotta be a unanimous decision."
"Okey-dokey," Mario replied. He walked with Luigi back to the bench to privately discuss what the Mini-Yoshi's name should be.
"What do you think, bro?" Luigi asked.
Mario thought it over for a short while before coming up with a name. "'Jeremy'."
"Why?"
"Uh... I don't know. It's the first thing that came to me," Mario replied. "How about you?"
Luigi took his turn to think of a good name. "Okay... My choice is..."
After about a half-minute, Luigi made his decision. "'Brandon'. Remember my roommate?" He was referring to his former college roommate Brandon Gayne.
"I do, but I prefer 'Jeremy' better."
"All right-y. Then we'll go with it," Luigi said.
The Mario Bros walked back to the Mini-Yoshi, ready to name him.
"We got the perfect name for you, kid," Mario said with a smile. "How about 'Jeremy'?"
"Hmm..." The Mini-Yoshi took a few seconds to process the name. "'Jeremy', huh? Why?"
"It sounds like a cool name for a Yoshi like you," Mario replied.
"Not too bad, dude. I love it!"
"Say, Jeremy, ¿hablas español? (Say, Jeremy, do you speak Spanish?)" Luigi asked in Spanish.
"¡Sí! (Yes!)" Jeremy exclaimed.
"Yay!"
Luigi high-fived Jeremy, thrilled that both can speak the same language.
Oh, that's so cute, Mario said to himself. His smile grew bigger when Luigi and Jeremy high-fived each other.
"What other languages do you speak?" Jeremy asked.
"Only one other: Italian. González is fluent in Italian too," Luigi answered.
"L'hai sentito, mi amico, (You heard him, my friend.)" Mario agreed in Italian.
"All right! Let's get out there and do some damage!" Jeremy said with glee.
Before Luigi could go to the computer to reserve for a rematch against the Armored Harriers, Mario blurted out, "Bro, wait! We might have to ask Mr. Grubba if Jeremy can fight with us."
"Don't worry. I'll talk to him."
Luigi proceeded to reserve the rematch at 12:20 PM. The conditions remained the same.
...
"Ladies and gentlemen! Newsflash coming in now!" Grubba announced back in the arena. "The Great González and the Incredible Ibáñez have opted to do a rematch for the major league title! What strategies have they come up with this time around? Let's find out!"
With that, Grubba did his intro spiel for both the Armored Harriers and the Mario Bros. This time, Jeremy walked alongside Mario and Luigi into the ring.
"Wait! Hold on a second!" Grubba exclaimed, having noticed Jeremy in the ring. "Who are you, little one?"
"Name's Jeremy!" Jeremy answered with determination. "Ibáñez wants to know if you'll let me fight with him and González."
"Um..." Grubba stopped to think, puzzling the audience.
...
"That must be the creature from that colored egg," Flurrie whispered to Goombella and Koops. "He was about to get eaten at the Hot Dog Stand."
"Well, thank God Mario and Luigi saved him," Goombella remarked.
...
"You know what? I'll give you one shot, Jeremy. If you and your fellow fighters win, you'll officially be their third team member," Grubba stated.
"Thank you so much!" Jeremy thanked Grubba while the audience applauded. "We're gonna take these punks this time!"
"Bluh huh huh huh huh... Stinkwads are challenging us again. They never learn!" the first Armored Harrier said.
"Looks like they brought some new, shrimpy partner...as if that's gonna help them!" the second Armored Harrier chimed in.
The bell rang to begin the major league qualification once again.
"Watch this!" Jeremy told Mario and Luigi.
As soon as the Armored Harriers charged forward, Jeremy ate the first one and spat it at the second one, knocking both on their spiked heads.
Mario and Luigi then used their Earth Tremor spell to further immobilize both Armored Harriers. Once the spell ended, the referee finished the match and the audience gave the Mario Bros and Jeremy a standing ovation.
"Ooooooooooooorg..." the first Armored Harrier groaned.
"Do we have to go back to the minor league now...? I think I'm gonna be sick..." the second Armored Harrier asked in a weak voice.
"Coooooooooongratulations! Great González and Incredible Ibáñez! With this win, you made the major league! And your friend Jeremy can now join your team!"
"Oh yeah!" Mario shouted. He and Luigi Spin Jumped and high-fived each other while Jeremy pumped his arms up with victory.
"Now, that, folks, was what I called a wiiiiiild an' wooly fight! A diggety-damn doozy!" Grubba announced. "You three keep it up 'cause you're goin' places, I can tell! Hoo-wee!"
The Mario Bros and Jeremy waved at the audience as Grubba wrapped up his closing spiel.
"C'mon, now, folks! Give it up! We got three new major-leaguers! LET'S HEAR IT FOR THEM!"
The audience cheered louder than earlier, making the whole arena vibrate from the large sound waves.
...
Back in the minor league locker room, Mario pulled up the fight results on the computer. He loudly gasped at how much money he and Luigi won. Both each received 300 Coins, putting their totals at 1,520 Coins on top of them being at Rank 10.
"Check this out!" Mario cried.
Luigi and Jeremy looked at the results too and also became surprised.
"Look at all the money you've won!" Jeremy said. "How did that happen?"
"It just did," Mario replied.
Just then, Jolene entered the locker room. "Mr. González, Mr. Ibáñez, and Jeremy. Mr. Grubba wishes to see you in his office. Follow me."
Jolene led Mario and friends to Grubba's office and stepped in first. "Mr. Grubba... I've brought Mr. González, Mr. Ibáñez, and Jeremy as you requested!"
"M-Ms. Jolene! You mind yer manners now! We knock 'round here, missy!" Grubba retorted.
"Yeah, missy!" Jeremy butted in to Jolene's shock.
"Shut up, Jeremy!" Mario told Jeremy.
"Sorry."
"I apologize, Mr. Grubba," Jolene apologized.
"Don't you worry yer pretty li'l head about it none. Now, what'd I want again? Somethin' 'bout González, Ibáñez, and Jeremy..." Grubba wondered. "Oh yeah! Come on in, you three!"
Mario, Luigi, and Jeremy walked inside and approached Grubba's desk.
"González, Ibáñez, and Jeremy! You ol' so-an'-sos! Lemme congratulate you, sons! Major league already, huh? I had a feelin' you were goin' places, and damn, I love it when I'm right!"
"Thank you, Mr. Grubba," Mario responded with a smile.
"You just keep on puttin' asses in them seats! I'm countin' on you, sons. And with that, I got a special li'l somethin'-somethin' for you."
"What do you have?" Luigi asked.
Grubba took out three cheques worth 50 Coins each with their names on them.
"Bonuses for making it to the major leagues!" The group took their cheques. "Just take 'em to the bank once you're finished here. Simple as that!"
"Thank you so much!" Jeremy thanked Grubba with enthusiasm. "You da man!"
"Hehehe," Grubba chuckled. "So, yeah, somethin' else that's been on my mind... Yer costumes ain't cool."
"Why? We've always worn these outfits our whole lives," Mario said.
"No big deal, son, but hey. Someday, if you three become champs, I'll get you new ones. Somethin' hot pink, maybe with some frills or somethin'."
"Save that for the girls, Grubba!" Jeremy blurted out. "Boys don't wear pink!"
"Uh, yes they do," Luigi corrected Jeremy. "I have a pink outfit in my closet, you know."
"Whatever, dude," Jeremy grouched.
"You know what? That's somethin' fer another day, pards. Take a powder, okay?" Grubba asked.
"Mr. González, Mr. Ibáñez, and Jeremy. Please follow me, if you would," Jolene said. She proceeded to lead the group down the hall to a door that had the sign "Major League" above it.
Inside was a sporty-looking locker room even larger in size than the dingy minor league version. There were twice as many shower stalls and bunk beds within the room and various higher-ranking fighters were pacing around. Finally, a red computer was mounted to the left of the door.
"Looks nicer and cleaner than the minor league room," Mario remarked while scanning his surroundings.
"This is the major-league locker room. You will use this room from this moment on. The match system is the same as the minor league...but the bouts are harder," Jolene explained. "Try not to get completely destroyed out there, okay?"
"Don't worry about us, Jolene," Luigi said. "We'll be fine."
"All right, then."
Jolene exited the locker room while the group expected the other fighters to notice them. However, everyone continued to go about their businesses.
"What's the deal with those guys?" Jeremy asked. "Would it even kill to show a little friendliness?"
"Not if they're focused on the Champ Belt like us," Luigi answered.
"Hey! Coming through here!" a loud voice called from the hall, startling the Mario Bros and Jeremy. Next, the door swung open and Rawk Hawk marched inside.
"Listen up, losers!" Rawk Hawk began. "I've been hearing about some rising stars tearing up the league..." He noticed Mario and friends out of the corner of his eye and faced them. "It's you, isn't it? Yeah! You fit the bill, skinnts! Two mustaches named González and Ibáñez! Man, I came all the way over here for you?!"
"Uh... Yes. I guess so," Mario hesitated.
Just then, Luigi noticed the Crystal Star on Rawk Hawk's Champ Belt. "Jeremy," he whispered. "That's the Crystal Star right there."
"Is that so? Lemme check," Jeremy answered quietly.
While Rawk Hawk talked to Mario, he suddenly saw Jeremy stepping in front. "Hey! You! Get too close to the Hawk and you might get rawked!" he threatened Jeremy.
"Oh, we'll see about that!" Jeremy lunged for the Champ Belt only for Rawk Hawk to grab him by the neck.
Mario immediately ran up to stop the confrontation. "HEY! LET HIM GO!" he roared as he tried to pry Rawk Hawk's hand off Jeremy.
"Help..." Jeremy gasped.
Finally, Rawk Hawk let go of Jeremy, who fell on the floor, coughing like crazy.
...
"What was that about?" a Fire Bro wondered out loud; all the major league fighters overheard Mario and friends confronting Rawk Hawk.
"Who are those people?" a Shady Koopa asked.
...
"What did I tell you? No one charges the Hawk!" Rawk Hawk boomed.
"You okay?" Mario asked Jeremy, helping him on his feet.
"Kinda," Jeremy panted.
"Hold on a second," Luigi butted in, having scanned the Crystal Star on the Champ Belt. "That Crystal Star doesn't look real! It's not even shining!"
"Excuse me?"
"Your belt's fake, Rawk Hawk!" Luigi reiterated.
"Really? You think you can just smack-talk the Rawk Hawk? I DON'T THINK SO!" Rawk Hawk exclaimed. "You wimps got some guts calling my belt a fake. Didn't your momma teach you any manners?!"
"Jeremy just got too excited. Please forgive him," Mario requested.
"Never! You're alive only 'cause we ain't in the ring right now! If I see you under those lights, I'll tear you apart! Remember the RAWWWWWWK!"
All the major league fighters cheered in agreement as Rawk Hawk left the room.
"Don't do that again, please," Mario told Jeremy. "He could've killed you if you were by yourself."
"I'm so sorry, González," Jeremy apologized.
"So, if the Champ Belt has a fake Crystal Star on it, where's the real one at?" Luigi asked.
Before anyone could answer, Mario and Luigi's phones went off. Both saw a mysterious group text was sent to them.
"iF yOu WaNt ThE cRyStAl StAr, HeEd My InStRuCtIoNs. FrOm X."
"Who's 'X'?" Mario wondered out loud. "Does he really know about the Crystal Star?"
"I don't know, bro," Luigi replied. "One thing's for sure; this deal is just as weird as the fighting conditions."
Without hesitation, Mario reserved the next match at 12:45 PM against The Tiny Spinies: two Red Spike Tops. This time, he added Jeremy's name to his team. The conditions listed were, "Defeat opponents in two turns or less, call out any attack used."
The fight was simple enough; Mario hammered the ring's floor, flipping the Tiny Spinies on their spikes, and Jeremy ate one of the Tiny Spinies before spitting it at the second one. Mario and Jeremy shouted each of their attacks while executing them.
After the match, the Mario Bros and Jeremy each won 315 Coins, putting them at Rank 9. Not including their 50 Coin bonuses, Mario and Luigi's banks each had 1,835 Coins while Jeremy's bank only had 315.
Next, the group signed up to face The Poker Faces, two Bristles, at 1:10 PM. The only condition listed was to use a special move at least once.
In the ring, Mario and Luigi used a brand-new Bros. Attack called Jet-Board Bash. The attack called for Mario summoning a rocket-powered skateboard from out of nowhere, which Luigi rides on his stomach. With Mario standing in the back, the skateboard fired forward and he swung his hammer hard enough to shatter both Bristles into pieces.
Jeremy stood in shock as the Mario Bros did the Jet-Board Bash attack. How did they do that...?
...
The resultant victory awarded Mario and friends 330 Coins each and placed them at Rank 8. The Mario Bros each stood at 2,165 Coins with Jeremy's total being 645.
"I know it's crazy the skateboard just appeared," Mario explained to Jeremy. "But it's one of many attacks Luigi and I-" Suddenly, he stopped himself, having accidentally revealed Luigi's real name.
"'Luigi'?"
"That's my real name. González's name is actually Mario," Luigi said.
"Can I still call you two by your ring names?" Jeremy asked.
"Um... Sure," Mario replied. "I don't mind."
Just then, another group text was sent to Mario and Luigi, "SmAsH tHe BlOcKaDe In ThE minOr-LeAgUe LoCkEr RoOm. FrOm X."
...
AUTHOR'S NOTE
This will be the last chapter I'll post in the year 2020. Hope you all have a happy New Year! Let's hope 2021 will be a better year for us.