Round 5
Red vs Quinn: Bout 1
"The fairy tale is over, kid," Red's voice played on the video screen.
As Red's single sentence interview reverberated up the tunnel in which Quinn stood, the Mii Fighter immediately sat, crossing his legs.
"Good, yeah," Ken said, "Just do what Ryu taught ya."
Quinn briefly listened to his own recorded comments, a rambling diatribe about how good a competitor Red was, but this was his tournament to win, before turning to Ken.
"If I didn't know any better," an uneasy chuckle escaped Quinn, "I'd assume you and Ryu were student and master, not pupils under the same master."
Ken reflexively flipped his hair, chuckling, "That's cause Ryu is the master. I'm the one constantly catching up, even though I've won a tournament or two. For some, there's more to life than being a fighter, and for some, the fight is all."
At that moment, an imposing, heroic acoustic guitar strum echoed through the arena, followed by an electric guitar strummed with the speed and confidence of a banjo player in a bluegrass band, a drum confidently backing it wiht simple beats.
An old cowboy went riding out one dark and windy day
As the crowd erupted in cheers, the duel roar of motorcycle engines could be heard. Glancing back at Ken, his blond second now standing with his arms crossed and lips pouted.
"What's up," Quinn asked as the motorcycles tour down the long aisle to the center of the stage.
"I originally wanted to use Ghost Riders in the Sky for our entrance but somebody must've blabbed."
"Terry?" asked Quinn after a slow inhale and exhale.
"Terry," Ken said flatly, "At least we got my second choice."
At that moment, upbeat base accompanied by a flute began to play.
HUH HUH HA HA!
"We're up," Ken announced.
Quinn stepped out of the tunnel to cheers and boos and equal measure.
PLAYIN', PLAYIN WITH THE BOYS
Quinn shot Ken a befuddled look
"What?" Ken shrugged, "We might as well have fun with this. Follow my lead."
Ken flashed his winning smile when Quinn nodded in agreement. He/ flipped his hair dramatically, strutting out. Quinn mimed the same actions, despite having hair too short to flip.
AFTER CHASIN SUNSETS, ONE OF LIFE'S SIMPLE JOYS, IS THE BOYS!
Spreading their arms wide, Ken and Quinn basked in the mixed reaction of the crowd as they sauntered to the center of the arena, where Red stared them down, his expression as unreadable as ever. Green, bore a barely noticeable grin.
At least this whole thing amused somebody Quinn thought.
Quinn practiced mindful inhaling and exhaling as the introductions began. Red and Green's introductions got mostly cheers, a few Pokemon roars peppered throughout. However, the announcement of his own name brought about a symphony of cheers and boos alike. Without thinking, Quinn cupped his hand to his ear, extending the gesture outward. Ken laughed loud enough to be heard over all the raucous, clapping loudly at the response.
"Please direct your attention to the video board," began Mills Frames, "For the first of two stages to be used for the first bout."
Stages flicked by, the barrage of images stopping at…
"VENOM!" Mills announced, " The second stage will be revealed to you as you fight! Smashers, are you ready?"
Red and Green kissed. Quinn and Red shook hands, all nodding to Mills. With that, the seconds were teleported to the Healing Rooms, while Quinn and Red were teleported to the stage
Stage: Venom/?
Rules: Best of 3, 3-stock, Items High
Music: Venom (Melee)/?
3
"GO IVYSAUR!" shouted Red from his jet-propelled platform, unleashing the flowery Pokemon onto the battlefield.
2
Much like his Street Fighting mentors, Quinn strode casually atop the opposite wing of The Great Fox
1
Quinn assumed his combat stance. Ivysaur gingerly stretched his legs.
GO!
The two charged, but when Quinn jumped over the fin of the Great Fox separating them, Ivysaur hopped into the air, spinning around, slicing the young man with sharpened leaves.
"And that's what you call a veteran move!" shouted Cranky Kong
"BULLET SEED!" Red commanded.
In an instant, Quinn found himself being peppered with the rock-hard seeds, his only saving grace was that one clipped him in a way where he was able to tumble out of the onslaught.
"VINE WHIP HIM!" Red shouted.
Sure enough, Quinn found himself slapped about by vines thick enough to support a human's weight. As Quinn fell to the wing below him, Ivysaur jumped into the air, spinning as he had done to begin the fight. Fortunately Quinn managed to duck the move at the last second. Ivysaur landed on a lower wing, jumping up only to get clocked in the face with a straight punch from Quinn.
"And Quinn adapts," 9-Volt proclaimed.
In a blinding flash of light, Ivysaur was replaced by Charizard. In another flash of light behind him, a Sticky Bomb dropped down. Quinn took off after the item almost immediately. Charizard's wings flapped rapidly, but the Mii had a head start, sliding as he scooped the item into his hand, throwing it at Charizards wing joint.
"And a baseball-perfect pitch may net Quinn a serious damage advantage," 9-Volt explained.
"Bah," Cranky spat, "He couldn't throw a fastball if Santa Claus stopped by,"
Charizard flew towards Quinn, the goopy bomb sticking to him.
"Shit," Quinn hissed in a whisper, "Shitshitshit,"
The bomb began to pulse with light faster and faster. On instinct, Quinn dove for Charizard. As he had predicted, he'd bridged the gap enough to catch the Pokemon in the explosion, seding them both to the Blast Zone!
Red: 2
Quinn: 2
"O dios mio!" 9-Volt cried, "A double knockout!"
Quinn and Squirtle tussled on the way down from the Revival Platform for a piece of the Dragoon, Quinn grabbing it first. The two exchanged rapid fire strikes as the world whitened around them.
NEW STAGE: PAPER MARIO
Music: Tough Guy Alert!
Squirtle jumped as The Great Fox sunk into the Blast Zone, taking Quinn with it!
Red:2
Quinn:1
Ivysaurf fell past the stage's windmill just as the second Dragoon piece spawned. Red sighed, quickly switching to Charizard. The dragon easily claimed the air machine's rainbow feathers as Quinn simply watched on.
"What's that twerp doing?" Cranky snapped.
"Keeping the Dragoon out of play by hanging on to one of the pieces. He's already behind a stock, he doesn't have to make it worse for himself," 9-Volt explained.
Just as Quinn ducked behind the pipe, Red smirked.
"FLARE BLITZ IT CHARIZARD!" shouted the Pokemon trainer.
Charizard erupted into a ball of fire, zooming forward and snapping the pipe Quinn his behind from the ground!
"WHAT?" shrieked 9-Volt.
"Holy banana cannoli," Cranky gasped.
Just as the two rocketed towards the right Blast Zone, the wind began to blow in the opposite direction. Fortunately for Quinn, this halted the inevitable trip to the Blast Zone. Unfortunately for Quinn, it meant more time in Charizard's grasp. The smug dragon knew it too, a satisfied gleam in his eye as he clawed at the Mii Fighter unrelentingly.
"And Quinn's damage climbs up," 9-Volt somberly announced.
Even the change in scene from a grassy meadow to a pirate ship didn't seem to distract Charizard.
"Enough," Red said with an icy determination, "Flare Blitz,"
Charizard once again erupted into a ball of fire, giving Quinn no time to avoid the inevitable collision with the Blast Zone!
RED WINS FALL ONE!
"Wow, what a definitive loss for such a talked about figure," Cranky tutted.
"I mean, I think that Flare Blitz stunt would've taken anyone by surprise," 9-Volt explained, "But now that we know Charizard's a juggernaut in that state, will Quinn find a way around it in the future?"
"For the nerds endlessly squabbling about him online, I should hope so," Cranky laughed, "What will they do with their sad, pathetic lives otherwise?"
9-Volt grunted in confusion.
"I thought you'd like online discourse," he said.
The old ape laughed, "I can't work a computer sonny, but even if I could, I much prefer to start shit in the company of younguns societally obligated to listen to me out of respect."
"Unearned respect," 9-Volt muttered.
"WHAT WAS THAT BOY!" howled Cranky, banging his cane on the desk, "IF IT WEREN'T FOR ME, NONE OF YOU WHIPPERSNAPPERS WOULD…"
"And we just got the cue for the minute break, thank Miyamoto himself," 9-Volt sighed.