Kirby slowly opened his eyes as he picked himself up off the ground. The last thing he remembered was... Well, the pink ball didn't even want to think about it. He knew he was the only survivor though. And as he looked up, the first thing he saw was the one who did all of this. Galeem was visible over the horizon, granting light to a brand new world, one compromised of pieces of individual lands. Kirby wasn't sure how he would solve this, but his heroic instinct told him he had to try.
The puffball turned around and walked down the hill he was on, only to find a seemingly endless field in front of him. It seemed so empty, it gave the hero an unsettling feeling, knowing things weren't right.
As he walked along though, Kirby heard something rustling around in the grass. He looked around, not seeing anything immediately. Suddenly though, it jumped at him: a large frog-like creature that seemed to be leaking something from its body. Kirby jumped out of the way just in time. And it was a lucky thing, as the spot that the creature landed on was now covered in a strange, poisonous looking puddle. The monster jumped again, but Kirby was ready for it this time. He drew out his hammer and whacked the attacker on the head. The creature fell to the ground, and when it got up it was no longer violent. In fact it barely even acknowledged Kirby's existence now.
Within seconds though, the thing transformed, turning from a physical creature into small orbit, confusing the hero to no end. Once the process was finished, the ball circled around him, making the pink one feel more powerful somehow. Kirby wasn't one to question random occurrences, so he went on without complaint.
He continued on the path, now on guard in case any more monsters appeared. Eventually, he did come across another type of monster. An almost pocket-sized monster was running around the field, though it didn't seem to notice Kirby. The pink ball recognized it though, it was Eevee, a pokemon that was able to be summoned during fights. It was fierce in battle, but always seemed gentle outside of the area. Surely it would recognize the hero and offer help? But no, as soon as Kirby approached, the small creature turned toward him, it's eyes glowing red. As soon as it noticed the threat, three figures materialized behind it, appearing like three large Eevees with elemental abilities.
One of the evolutions, surging with electricity, quickly lunged at Kirby. This time the ball could not dodge in time and was immediately zapped, sending him to the ground. The two others, one of water and one of fire, ran toward him, likely to finish him off. The water-type attacked first, shooting a concentrated blast of water from its mouth. Kirby acted quickly though, opening his own mouth you catch the stream and immediately blasting it out at the fiery one. The creature fell to the ground stunned, allowing the hungry warrior to quickly inhale it, gaining it's fire power in the process. He dodged another shot of water, sending a fire ball toward the electric fox. It tried to move out of the way, but the blast hit it right in the chest, taking it out of commission. Lastly, as the remaining threat shot one last blast, Kirby drew his cutter blade, throwing it so it would cut through the water and hit the final creature. Kirby turned back to Eevee, who appeared to be freed from its trance, as its eyes returned to normal and it ran over to the puffball in gratitude. At the same time, the other attackers disappeared, along with Kirby's fire, revealing themselves to have been fakes, likely created by whatever possessed the smaller one. Shortly after, Eevee transformed the same way the first monster did, becoming and orb that gave the star warrior another surge of power. He now realized, if he could defeat more powerful opponents, Galeem wouldn't be able to stand a chance.
With his current revelation in mind, Kirby set off again, eventually seeing a temple of sorts, with a large staircase leading to the top. Kirby expected more tough opponents would dwell there, but he was taken aback by exactly who he had to fight. At the base of the temple stood Mario himself. Every other time worlds crossed, the plumber was one of his closest allies. Now though, they would be forced to fight beyond a friendly match.
Mario ran forward to confront Kirby, sending a flying kick straight at him that knocked the pink ball back, taken off guard. He was ready now though, taking out his hammer and swinging it with all his might at the man in red. Mario dodged, but just barely, and sent a fireball directly at Kirby. He braced himself, but ended up taking far less damage than he anticipated. The puffball's theory was right: the opponents he defeated were giving him power. Kirby ran at Mario, turning to stone at the last moment in order to knock his foe down, drawing his cutter quickly afterward to land a finishing blow.
Mario was finally defeated, his eyes normalizing again and the damage he took healing up.
"Where... What happened..." Mario looked around, finally remembering his situation, "that's right, Galeem... He captured us and brought us here, right?"
Kirby nodded in confirmation, before briefly explaining how this world works, which was difficult without words.
"You... Beat the monsters, then get stronger? I'll have to see that to believe it..." Fortunately, or unfortunately, for the duo, they would be able to test the process very shortly. They heard the sound of metal clashing against stone, and when they turned, the saw a hulking metallic monster