Super Smash Bros. For Wii U and 3DS: The Glory of Custom Moves
Pikachu's Power Punch (Lodestar Give Us Strength)
Prism Tower, a shining beacon in the region of Kalos, serves as many, many things in the world of Pokémon. Far across the land and sea, many visitors come to visit this beautiful landmark towering high atop the city of Lumiose. It serves as the city's stunning achievement in technological advancement, lighting up the night of Lumiose City, while simultaneously providing experienced Pokémon Trainers a chance to prove their worth against a force comprised of Electric-Types.
In the world of Smash Brothers, however, Prism Tower serves as a backdrop to the action. High above the tower, there was a metallic platform, where two contenders stood head to head, landing blow against blow. Sparks flew, and thanks to the artificial light the platform provided, one could watch the battle from their seats below.
Wiping his forehead clean of sweat, with a dignified posture, a man in blue, blue hair, a regal cloak and outfit raised his slender sword, a red gem in the middle glowing bright as he swiped to and fro, landing a blow after blow, making it look like an elegant dance as he swung his sword. In the history books of another realm, he is known as the Hero-King. Marth was his name, and using the bright tip of his sword, he knocked his opponent backwards towards the other platform, dusting off his cloak, a few scratches and scorch marks on the fluttering cape.
Sent spiraling through the air, his opponent gripped the flat platform, shaking its head. Sparks flew from its rosy cheeks, two black eyes staring back, a nose and yellow ears twitching restlessly. It appeared as though an untapped energy glowed throughout the animal's body, its fur rising somewhat as it twitched.
"Pika..." It huffed, panting somewhat.
The yellow mouse, Pikachu, stood its ground, eyes sparkling with intensity, cheeks buzzing with energy. It stared back at Marth, who brandished his sword in the air, where, despite the night sky above him, glinted with light. Setting his sword down, Marth began sprinting, aiming his sword to take down the rat. Bristling, Pikachu set its cheeks down to the floor, where a spark of electricity rolled out, crawling across the floor like a snail. The current passed through Marth, staggering him for a split second, who continued pushing forward despite the hair on his head rising ever so slightly. Shaking its head, Pikachu continued setting charges, hoping to keep the swordsman at bay.
It turned out to be a failure, as Marth slashed straight through the electricity, launching Pikachu into the air. The electric rat grit its teeth, spinning back around to face his opponent, back on the side of the stage. Pikachu was hardly a strategist, but an idea was already brewing back at the edges of the mouse's mind.
Pikachu had been a veteran of the fighting tourney for quite a while, along with others like Ness and Luigi. However, Smash was not its only journey into the fields of battle. There were certainly opportunities back in its own world, but it had also partaken in battles in another tournament altogether. There was a certain tournament revolving solely around Pokémon once upon a time. Pikachu had used different moves there, wanting to bring variety to the table.
But with all this talk of variety, there seemed to be a flu of customization passing from Smash fighter to fighter. Around the grapevine, the mouse had come across a blue frog, who spun his own tale of fighting a boy with a bicycle. Specifically, how embarrassing it was that it was practically roadkill. So, by that logic, if everyone else could bring something new to their battles, why not Pikachu?
An idea popped up in Pikachu's head. Grinning, the electric mouse began gaining speed as it dropped out of the sky. Watching carefully, the Hero-King readied his blade, glaring at Pikachu suspiciously. As Pikachu began to get close, Marth thrusted his sword upwards, the air spinning past his sword strike. Unfortunately for him, the air was the only thing he caught. Grunting, he turned around to meet his foe. He was greeted with Pikachu grabbing his face, much to his shock, and getting kicked straight up into the air. Shaking his head, Marth attempted to swipe his sword again, pausing only when he saw the mouse's erratic movements beneath him.
Jagged trails of light resembling lightning bolts followed Pikachu as it sped through the sky, aiming for Marth. Suspended in the air and with his opponent hurtling towards him like an asteroid, all Marth could do was brace for impact, steeling himself for the incoming attack. The mouse raised its paw, aiming to punch, and dashed straight through Marth. Grunting, the swordsman felt like he was punched in the gut by a lance. Pikachu left through the other side with a large fist, flying back to the platform below.
"Aaaaaaaahh!" Marth yelled as he was flung over Prism Tower, vanishing into the night sky as his opponent slammed back onto the platform below.
GAME!
Back in the celebration area, Pikachu laid on the floor, light streaming down on him, crowning him as the victor amidst a ruin of broken columns.
"Pikachu!" The announcer finished, followed by the clapping on the mouse's swordsman rival.
Just behind Pikachu, Marth congratulated him on a good game, applauding for quite a while, before the both of them were spirited away, leaving the ruins empty behind them.
Appearing in the lobby with a light encapsulating the two of them, Marth stretched, satisfied with the events of the match. Turning to leave, he almost did not notice the strained grunts behind him. Turning back, he noticed the only other living entity in the room was Pikachu. But something was definitely strange. The mouse struggled, attempting to leave the room, but could not, almost as if it were weighed down by something. Walking over, Marth eyed him curiously.
His face curled up in a mixture of puzzlement and slight disgust at the bizarre appendage size. While Pikachu's finishing move was over and done with, his fist's size was not. Now a masculine hand replaced the mouse's paw, looking like a giant yellow glove curled up to strike someone. It apparently acted as an anchor for poor Pikachu, who just sat there, sighing. Frowning, Marth sheathed his sword by his belt, crouching down by the supercharged rat, who stared at him hopefully. Taking hold of the fist, Marth struggled and grunted, but managed to drag it, slowly but surely. Sighing, Marth shook his head, murmured something in a foreign language, and began hauling Pikachu out of the room, already beginning to sweat from the effort.
"Now, I don't think we were on that island for an entire day, but it felt like a week." Robin sighed, shaking his head.
By his side, Lucina, her Falchion blade hid in its sheath, listened to each word. "Sounds like a nightmare, but don't you think you've told this too many times now?"
Both Robin and Lucina made their way towards the Smash Brothers lobby, walking past portraits of fighters on a lavish rug. They passed by multiple rooms, labelled from "For Fun" to "For Glory", all packed with a whole bunch of contestants ready to test their might.
Robin sighed, nodding. "I suppose. Wasn't even that traumatic, we had so many hogs-"
He paused, glancing to the side, a noise becoming increasingly apparent. Both he and Lucina noticed the sound of something dragging, and judging by the blue haired swordsman and yellow mouse, they were spot on. They looked on, not sure what to think of Marth dragging along an electric rat. As he passed by, Marth took the time to adjust the headband he wore atop his blue hair, waved politely, and continued on his merry way, with Pikachu uttering a simple but jolly, "Pika!" as they went, ruffling up the carpet somewhat as they dragged along.
Lucina rubbed the back of her neck, sighing. "That was my ancestor."
"Well, I can see where you and Chrom inherited your resolve." Robin smirked, eliciting an eyeroll out of his swords-woman companion.
After a tedious hour of dragging along, Marth was practically ready to throw in the towel and just let the mouse sit on the sidewalk or something, having finally reached the doors to the outside, only to realize that he was getting almost nowhere. Sighing, he set down Pikachu's sore tail, and stared at the rat. It frowned, poking its enormous hand almost sadly. It felt as though it should have never even tried in the first place. Eventually, sadness overtook the small rat, who buried its face into its overgrown fist, whimpering. Marth sighed, apologizing in his native tongue, patting Pikachu behind the ears. The mouse ceased its whimper, staring back up at the blue swordsman with eyes that resembled pools of caramel. Looking about, he bit his lip, finally giving into the spell, reassuring Pikachu that it would be fine, and walked off, leaving Pikachu to contemplate its life choices that led up to its paw growing ten-feet tall.
Glancing around, Marth ran about the premises of the Smash tournament's entrance building, looking for any assistance. It was mostly just trimmed hedges and statues placed in symmetrical rows, leading up to a staircase. He sighed, jogging about briskly, an idea hatching in his mind. As he ran, he caught wind of a white coat in the distance, climbing up the steps. Breaking into a sprint, Marth ran up to the man in the coat, shouting to catch his attention.
Turning around, the man in the coat blinked, brushing back his mustache, a stethoscope dangling from his neck. A doctor's head mirror was strapped around his forehead under his brown hair.
This man was Mario, only instead of his regular red and blue overalls and cap, he was a doctor for... Puzzle game reasons.
Mario blinked back at Marth, giving him a curious look. Stopping next to Dr. Mario, Marth began explaining that a yellow rat needed assistance with its fist. A normal doctor would immediately prescribe therapy, but this plumber was no ordinary doctor. Nodding, Dr. Mario followed Marth, who started off, with a strange sense of urgency despite the simplicity of the problem.
A doctor and a swordsman walk up onto a sidewalk looking for a yellow rat, and what do they find? Much to their confusion, nothing!
Marth's mouth gaped open. Neither head, tail, nor fist of Pikachu could be seen. Behind him, Dr. Mario crossed his arms, giving Marth a look. The Hero-King turned around, raising a finger as if to say something, but not before hearing an ever familiar, "Pika!". Both of them shot stares in the direction it had come from, their eyes popping open upon noticing there was something awry. They began jogging down the sidewalk of the strange realm, eventually finding out where Pikachu was. It was falling.
The sidewalk, while mostly sparse of passerby aside from excited spectators that hail from who knows where, had a new attraction. The sidewalk had dipped into a decline, and while it was not steep, that combined with gravity was enough to send Pikachu and his fist rolling down, the mouse yelping as it fell. The two heros looked on in horror, glancing at each other. Suddenly, they both nodded, and began dashing down the asphalt covered hill. After all, you cannot cure something that is rolling around at the speed of sound.
Walking about the sidewalk, a blue hedgehog wearing red sneakers glanced up at the sky with a frown, then instinctively hit the deck as Pikachu rolled by.
"Whoa." The hedgehog blinked, feeling the need to applaud as he watched Pikachu roll down, with both Marth and Mario chasing after the out-of-control mouse.
The mouse spinning rapidly practically bowled over anyone brave enough to roam the sidewalk. People resembling mushrooms were squashed, others were knocked out of the way. An unlucky Mii walking about was smacked to the side by the enlarged fist, crashing into a storefront. All the while, Marth and Mario dodged the carnage, ducking and diving as civilians flew overhead. As they ran, they noticed that there was a problem ahead. Mainly that they were running out of ground.
A pier, a wooden platform rising out of the sea hosting a whole bunch of ships carrying passengers excited to visit the Smash tournament laid ahead. Problem was, there was nothing keeping Pikachu at bay, so it was free to dash forward, and drop into the water. Having an innocent mouse sink to the bottom of the ocean was definitely not something Marth wanted on his conscience, so he pushed forward, the idea of more bystanders getting crushed just as bad. Running faster and faster, he held his hand on his sword, with barely an inkling of an idea in his head. Nevertheless, if he wanted to stop this once and for all, he would need to do something.
Despite Pikachu's tumble, the flat ground ahead managed to slow his roll down, just barely enough for Marth to get ahead. Onlookers leaving the ship and entering the dock glanced on in sheer terror as Pikachu appeared to launch in with a punch ready. In reality, Pikachu had just tripped over a thin opening in the sidewalk, and the momentum had launched it into the air. Luckily for everyone involved, it seemed that they would all live another day. Stopping in front of the pier, Marth readied his sword, holding his ground with a glint by the sheath.
As it appeared Pikachu collided with Marth, all that triggered was the Hero-King's counter. Swiping his sword up, he nullified Pikachu's accidental attack, spinning him around in the air, when he finally hit the ground, eyes rolling around dizzily. Sighing, Marth sheathed his blade, the cheers of the bystanders erupting in the background, despite the many others in the background looking completely knocked out or flattened. Passing by a sentient mushroom with a vest, or a Toad, the doctor gazed at the fist, frowning. The blue swordsman gave him a look, to which Dr. Mario began thinking, staring at the downed mouse with his gloved hand on his chin…
Sitting besides an operating table, Marth stared as Dr. Mario began the procedure, staring down at Pikachu's hand, sweat illuminated on his face by a lamp above them. Marth was on the edge of his seat, staring intently at the operation. Pikachu laid down on the counter, shivering somewhat. With a reassuring word or two from Marth, Pikachu nodded, and closed his eyes. Reaching behind him, Dr. Mario pulled out a menacing instrument, glaring down at Pikachu, the beads of sweat intensifying as he reached up into the sky, shoving it down. Marth's eyes expanded.
Mario shook a pill container open, the lid popping off, yellow colored pills dropping into the oversized hand. As they dropped into the fist's grip, Dr. Mario set down the pill bottle and dusted his hands off. The procedure now done, he wiped his forehead clean of sweat, only bewildering Marth more.
"That was all you needed to do?!" Marth asked in a language that under normal circumstances might need a translator.
Dr. Mario shrugged, taking off his doctor's mirror, placing a red cap with a large "M" on his noggin. "It's-a finished. We just gotta wait for the swelling to go down."
The two stared at Pikachu's fist. Already, it seemed as though it were shrinking right before their eyes. Gawking at the fist incredulously, Marth sighed, shaking his head.
"Medicine is absolutely astounding. I doubt I will ever fully understand how healers are able to perform such miracles." The Hero-King spoke, staring at the recovering mouse.
Mario grinned. "All's well a end's well, right?"
Unbeknownst to the three, there were now at least a dozen people stuck in a hospital somewhere, slowly being rolled out and pumped with air to restore three-dimensional status to the flattened patients.
AN: If anyone's played Pokkén Tournament and used Pikachu's Burst Attack, then you'll get this chapter immediately. I thought it was funny that his fist would enlarge and automatically shrink for the sake of an attack, but would it work as well in Smash as soon as the game ends? Well, that's what inspired this chapter.
Also, I kinda wanted to avoid having Marth talk too much considering most of the time, he speaks in Japanese. And I don't wanna get accused of being someone who gets Japanese wrong if I use Google Translate or something, no siree.
Thanks XShinkuKikinX for reviewing! Yes, I suppose Duck Hunt isn't exactly the most fun to play against all the time. Thanks for your suggestion, I actually haven't played Twilight Princess yet, but I'll see what I can do if I ever get around to it.
Thanks for reading, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, off to finish The Shower Room in Pikmin 2, see you.