Vs Pikachu

Fifteen minutes later, Luigi's break was over. The glove floated in to find the plumber quietly seated on the floor, eyes closed, breaths deep and focused. He appeared to be—sparkling. Tiny, barely visible light green pulses trickled along his body, dramatized by his white shirt and hat. His hands were in his lap, gently clenching and unclenching. The glove could tell that he'd attended to his brown hair in the interval, framing his face like the perfect picture. That post-exertion glow blended with the slight suntan on his skin. Sitting there, he looked quite handsome and quite motivated.

His lips parted, and he was soon breathing through his mouth as he retreated deeper into his thoughts. Now, his core pulsed lightly with his breaths. The pace of the breathing started off almost Lamaze-style, only to grow slower and slower. Luigi's mouth position changed from time to time, as did the rhythm of his breaths. There was so much going on within him, and he needed to get it all in order.

Slowly, the glove floated closer to Luigi until he was a meter away, smelling freshly applied cologne and deodorant. Gently, he tapped Luigi's shoulder with his index finger. "L," he whispered. "Time to come back."

Luigi frowned lightly as he willed himself back to Earth. "Hmm?"

"Sleepy-time's over," said the glove. "Your next opponent is waiting for you."

"And what stunt did you pull this time?" Luigi asked quietly.

"No stunts, I promise. Just a one-on-one match."

Luigi got up, controlled emotion and energy in his eyes. "I'm going to hold you to that."

"What were you thinking about back there?" asked the glove.

"A lot of things," replied Luigi. "Leave it at that."

Accepting an ice-cold sports drink from the glove, Luigi approached the Warp Pipe, but before he leaped in—

"I hope you dreamed up a good explanation to Mario for earlier."

And then he was gone.

A cheery "Pika!" greeted Luigi when the Warp Pipe ejected him at Saffron City. The stage encompassed the roofs of several skyscrapers, one of which had a little garage hidden by a door. Standing atop the hidden garage was the adorable Electric Mouse-type Pokémon, Pikachu.

"Pika, pika, pi!" Pikachu called to his opponent, waving happily.

"Hi, Pikachu," said Luigi. "How's Ash?"

"Pi," shrugged Pikachu.

"Are you sure you have enough electricity to handle me?"

"Pika!" squealed Pikachu, briefly rolling on the ground.

"You are so cute," Luigi told him.

Pikachu's already red cheeks reddened further.

"Pika?" asked the electric mouse.

"Am I ready to battle? You bet I am," said Luigi. "How about you?"

"Pika-pika-pika-pi!"

Pikachu scurried over to meet Luigi in the center of the stage. An eager paw grabbed a gloved hand, and they shook. Luigi then tickled Pikachu behind his ears, making him giggle.

"Just pretend you're fighting another Pokémon," Luigi said to Pikachu. "It shouldn't be hard."

"Pika!" agreed Pikachu. He was really looking forward to this battle.

So was Luigi. This would be quite a symbolic match. The best character in Smash against the worst character in Smash. While the outcome seemed clear on paper, in truth—the iconic electric mouse's opponent was tougher than he looked.

3…2…1…GO!

The polar opposites on the tier list rushed each other, one bearing electricity and the other bearing fire and rock-solid punches and kicks. Pikachu's electric attacks were white hot and made Luigi's muscles twitch for a few seconds. He also attacked with his head and his lightning bolt-shaped tail, as well as a few kicks of his own. Unfortunately, his size made it easy for Luigi to grab and throw him, providing breathing room and combo opportunities. He came at Pikachu mercilessly with his down aerial, his smashes, his up and forward tilts and his dash attack. He tried to lure Pikachu into an up-B, but the electric mouse used his Quick Attack for a clean getaway. Both fighters made use of the crates and barrels falling from the sky, burning each other with Fire Flowers, slashing away with Beam Swords, whacking with Hammers and impeding with Bumpers. They gobbled up Maxim Tomatoes to restore health and used Heart Containers to fully heal them. They leaped from roof to roof, jolting, throwing fireballs and pounding to their hearts' content.

Here was where the garage on the big roof came to good use. Now and then, the door would open, revealing a Pokémon (usually a Legendary) who would unleash an attack on an unsuspecting fighter. Now, Pikachu didn't feel betrayed in the slightest, as he was used to fighting other Pokémon, but when he noticed the door opening, he'd try to knock Luigi directly into its path and watch him take a beating. Rather than discourage him, this made the man in green exert himself harder than ever. He sported slight burns from electricity, Fire Flower assaults and attacks from Fire-types who emerged from that door. There were slashes from the times Pikachu had used a Beam Sword, and his limbs ached from punching and kicking so much. More injuries peppered him, but he could only see the electric mouse in front of him, the proverbial "top dog", waving with a jolly "Pika-pika!" It was the "top dog" vs the "underdog", and today was the "underdog's" time to shine.

Pikachu tried another Quick Attack, but Luigi intercepted his trajectory and landed a few punches at the side. The mouse sent some more electricity at the plumber and kicked at him with his hind legs. Before he could follow up, Luigi did a forwards corkscrew kick, two flip kicks and a downwards corkscrew kick before using the wall of the garage to trap and combo Pikachu.

"Pika!" Pikachu called down a huge bolt of thunder which disrupted Luigi's infinite combo. He then put the man in green on his back and body-slammed him before going at him with tail sweeps, head-butts and more electricity. Luigi managed to grab the ledge and returned to the stage with a good kick attack.

"Pi," Pikachu said softly.

"You really think I'm good? Thanks," said Luigi with a blush. "Now, let's finish this."

Items were all but forgotten as the two threw themselves at each other, giving it all they had left. Luigi using Pikachu's light weight to conquer his supposed disadvantage over him. Pikachu using Luigi's low traction and floatiness to stop combos in their tracks. Both using some Legendary in the garage to turn things upside down, inside out and round and round. Pushing aching and sweating bodies harder and further, refusing to let victory come quickly to the opponent.

Regardless of tier rankings, it was Luigi who ultimately triumphed. As Pikachu teetered on the ledge where he'd been cornered, the plumber hollered and lunged, using his maximum power to Smash the Electric-type out of the arena.

GAME SET!

Back in the waiting area, Luigi quenched his thirst with his sports drink and gave the glove a smoldering look. "Are you sure that tier list was done correctly?" he asked.

"It's meant to be a reference for competitive players," explained the glove. "It doesn't mean that you can't fight. You can knock a few fighters out of the ball park, as you've demonstrated so far."

Luigi flushed deep red. "I'm not finished with them yet, though," he said.

The glove handed Luigi a piece of chocolate cake. "You're going to need all the fuel you can get," he warned. "Your next foe is a giant one. That's the bad news. The good news is that you'll have two allies at your side."

Luigi savored the rich chocolate cake as he listened. "I'm going to eat that one just like I'm eating this pastry," he vowed, his mouth full of the dessert.

Please R&R.