Author's Note:
Ah, feels great to be back in the swing of things...it sure took me a while to rediscover my passion for writing (particularly writing this story), but it feels good to be back.
As some of you might infer by the chapter title, this chapter would've been published on June 19 - the day of Juneteenth - had I stayed on schedule. Part of me wished that they taught Juneteenth in school, rather than having to learn about it later, but it is what it is. Hopefully they can teach Juneteenth in a history class, or something.
But, that's enough from me. Enjoy the chapter, and be good to each other.
(P.S.: There's a great Kim Possible story about Juneteenth, named "Juneteenth June 19". I highly recommend giving it a read, whenever you have the chance.)
Episode 235: Juneteenth
Juneteenth was a holiday that occurred on June 19 of every year, and was known by a few other names - Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, and Liberation Day. It was a day which involved the celebration of the ending of slavery, and the celebration of freedom in general. African American communities primarily celebrated Juneteenth.
Cloud, being the forward-thinker that he was, wanted the mansion to celebrate Juneteenth. Not because he had a black friend in Barret Wallace, or anything like that - he just wanted to do what he genuinely believed was right to do. The swordsman and Link met with Tom Nook outside the mansion, in discussions to make Juneteenth more recognized at the Smash Mansion.
"So, you boys want to make Juneteenth a recognized holiday at the mansion?" Tom Nook spoke with Link and Cloud at the front of the mansion. "What made you come to such a decision?"
"Eh, we just felt like it should've been done before," responded Cloud with a shrug; Link nodded his head, sharing his best friend's casual attitude.
"If Master Hand observes Boxing Day at the mansion...then why not Juneteenth?" asked Link, and you couldn't argue that the Hylian had a good point there. "I mean, at least Juneteenth is an American holiday."
"Yes, yes, you're most certainly right about that..." agreed Tom Nook, as he took a sip from his cup of coffee. Nothing like some coffee to get the tanooki going. "...do you want me to make an announcement to the residents, or do you want to do it yourself?"
"You can go ahead and make the announcement, if you want," replied Cloud; the swordsman wasn't in the mood for announcing stuff, public speaking wasn't his thing. "Link and I will just stand around at your side, or something."
So Link and Cloud followed Tom Nook to the gaming room, the perfect spot for making mansion-wide announcements. The residents in the gaming room were all doing their own thing, until Tom Nook got everyone's attention by clearing his throat loudly.
"Excuse me everyone, I have a big announcement," addressed Tom Nook, as everyone was eagerly waiting for what this big announcement would be. "Do any of you know what today is?"
"Ooh, ooh, do we get candy if we get it right?" asked Pit as he excitedly raised his hand; Tom Nook just stared at the angel, heaving a heavy sigh.
"No Pit, there's no candy involved...just want to see if anyone here knows." Now looking sad, Pit slowly put his hand back down and snapped his fingers in disgust. "Now, does anyone here, anyone at all, know what..."
"I know what today is - Juneteenth!" Doc Louis blurted out, feeling like the proudest man alive after providing his answer. "The day of freedom! Ha ha!"
Doc Louis: I gotta say, it's been a long time coming. I've always wanted Master Hand to recognize Juneteenth, but I could never get him to come around! He was perfectly fine celebrating some holiday that only the British and Canadian people observe, but when it came to Juneteenth, he always kept his lip shut! Got me feeling like Master Hand had some sort of agenda up his sleeve. But, I gotta give credit where it's due. Link and Cloud are real ones - they definitely get an invite to the cookout!
"Ah, yes, the day of emancipation..." said Tom Nook, who was almost having some kind of epiphany. He was getting a little too into it. "...definitely a moment worth celebrating. Link and Cloud here called for recognizing Juneteenth at the Smash Mansion, and with no Master Hand around, I feel like I have the jurisdiction to grant this duo's wishes."
"Quick question: what exactly do we do, on Juneteenth?" inquired Wario, who didn't seem to know much about Juneteenth in general. Doc Louis would be more than happy to educate the fatso, as much as he wanted to.
"I heard that most companies let their employees take the day off, on Juneteenth," replied Fiora, as the thought of not having to do any semblance of work greatly allured Wario. Juneteenth was now one of his favorite holidays.
"So I won't have to do any stinking work? This is the best holiday ever!" Wario was enjoying Juneteenth, but sadly for all the wrong reasons...
"No offense, Wario, but you never do any work to begin with," Leaf pointed out to the fatso, who hissed at the Pokemon trainer for making such a true remark. "Every day is the 'best holiday ever' to you."
"Cilan will be working hard in the kitchen, making meals to celebrate the holiday," Tom Nook informed the residents; some good ol' soul food was about to get served up. "I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day!"
"That went a whole lot better than I expected," Link said to Cloud after Tom Nook was done speaking, with Cloud wondering why Link was expecting some kind of worst-case scenario.
"Not sure how it could've gone worse..." replied Cloud, only to be blindsided by an ecstatic Doc Louis who gave Cloud, Link, and Tom Nook a big group hug. "...seriously, Doc?"
"I don't think I can thank you boys enough!" Doc Louis said to Cloud and company, before releasing them from his hug. Little Mac should run away while he could; he was bound to be hugged by Doc Louis next. "I've been waiting forever for Juneteenth to be a thing at the mansion."
"I'm sure you have, Doc Louis. Just don't go around hugging people, alright? Knowing how strong you are, you could actually crush someone with those arms..."
"You're right, I should just hug Little Mac...he can take it." Better get away while you still can, Little Mac. "Oh, and before I go...does Mario know about the big announcement?"
"Not yet - he and Luigi are still training at the Isle of Armor," replied Tom Nook, who took the Mario Bros to the Isle of Armor through his Nook Airline Services. "We'll let him know when he returns to Seattle later today."
What were Mario and Luigi doing at the Isle of Armor, you ask? Some of you might be wondering, "What even is the Isle of Armor?" It was a large island located in the Galar region, off the east coast of Galar. What was once an inhabited island soon became a hub for aspiring Pokemon trainers to learn more about Pokemon battles.
That being said, it seemed odd that the Mario Bros went to the Isle of Armor, considering that they weren't actual Pokemon trainers. But the main theme of the Isle of Armor was "growth", and so Mario and Luigi went to the island to grow - to become a better man, a better husband, a better father, and maybe even a better plumber. Growth was their end goal, and they both had a Pokemon to help them grow...
"Alright Kubfu, hit-a me with a Rock-a Smash!" Luigi commanded his Kubfu - a Pokemon he received while staying at the Isle of Armor. Kubfu hurled a punch at Luigi, who dodged it in the nick of time. "Ha ha! My reflexes are still-a on point!"
"Kubfu...use-a Aura Sphere!" Mario commanded his own Kubfu, who just looked at the plumber with a confused look. "What are you waiting for? Give-a me all you got!"
"Uh, Mario...Kubfu is more of a physical-oriented Pokemon. Special moves aren't his thing." Kubfu only knew two special moves - Pound and Snore. And depending on who you ask, both moves were pretty useless.
"But he's a fighting-type Pokemon, how can he not-a know Aura Sphere?! Wonder if there's a Move-a Tutor around here...they can show-a my Kubfu the ropes."
Daisy: Peach and I conspired together to send our husbands to the Isle of Armor...and our plan worked like a charm! We have our houses to ourselves!
Peach: Feels bad to send Mario away, but it's worth not having to put up with his constant snoring every night. And his belching. And his farting. And a whole bunch of other bodily functions I refuse to mention.
Daisy: With Luigi gone, I finally got rid of all the hand sanitizer he had bought since the middle of March. I'm almost starting to feel sane again...
"How are you two gentlemen coming along with your Pokemon?" asked an elderly man, in his sixties, who approached the Mario Bros with his hands behind his back. It was Mustard - a former champion of Galar, and a dojo master running things at the Isle of Armor.
"Mustard, my Kubfu doesn't know Aura Sphere," Mario said to the dojo master, stressing the importance of the situation, as Mustard laughed at the plumber. "What's-a so funny? You gave-a me a defective Kubfu, didn't you?"
"Silly Mario - Kubfu can't learn Aura Sphere! He's strictly a physical attacker." Mario finally came to terms with them, as he was now looking greatly disappointed.
"That's what I tried-a to tell him," Luigi said to Mustard, as Mario was now looking at his Kubfu as if he was worthless. All that hard work was all for nothing, Mario thought. "So, Mustard, after we're done-a training up our Kubfus...can we leave?"
"Oh ho ho, not just yet! You still have to beat me in a Pokemon battle first." Beating Mustard in battle was a rite of passage for Pokemon trainers training at the Isle. "Since you both only have one Pokemon, I'll go easy on both of you."
"He's an old guy...should-a be a walk in the park," Mario whispered to Luigi, unaware of how prolific of a Pokemon trainer Mustard was. He was gonna learn real soon.
"Well, I better get going now...my wife is making some dumplings back at the dojo. Might as well get some before my students gobble them all up...hope they remembered to wash their hands this time." Mustard walked away, allowing the Mario Bros to continue their training.
The decision to make Juneteenth a recognized holiday at the Smash Mansion was met with a very warm reception, especially from the mansion. Following up on the mansion's lead, the Assist Tower also recognized Juneteenth, after a meeting involving Serena, Dr. Wily, Dr. Wright, Alucard, Ghirahim, and Mr. Resetti. While the tower denizens were either pleased with the decision, or didn't mind at all, Knuckles was completely over the moon.
"Hey Tiki, have you seen my man Knuckles anywhere?" Sonic asked the Manakete in the middle of the hallway, as he and Crash stopped by the tower to see their friend with Aku accompanying them.
"Last time I saw him, he was hanging out with Tails," replied Tiki, as Sonic was taken back; how could Knuckles be hanging out with Tails, and not invite Sonic? "They were just in the lounge, as I recall."
"Knuckles is just hanging out with Tails...eh, he's probably still mad with me about that whole bungee jumping thing. But why is Tails there, he had a role to play too..."
"Why don't we go look for Knuckles and Tails?" Aku suggested to Sonic, who took up on the floating mask's advice as he and Crash searched for Knuckles and Tails. Eventually, they found the two friends on the balcony with the Squid Sisters, Marie and Callie.
"Yo, Knuckles, Tails!" Sonic called out to the echidna and yellow fox, as Tails turned around and acknowledged Sonic's presence with a smile and wave. Knuckles, on the other hand, didn't react, which concerned Sonic greatly.
"I see that neither of you made a statement," Knuckles discussed with the Squid Sisters, who were chilling at the balcony table and trying to mind their business. "So what's the holdup?"
"Make a statement about what exactly?" questioned Marie, triggering Knuckles greatly with her display of ignorance. Knuckles almost wanted to feel bad for her. "Not like we're stuck in some dumb scandal that we have to apologize for."
"Yeah, we already burnt our bridges years ago," said Callie, before frowning her brow when she had a hunch for what Knuckles was talking about. "Both of us are pretty clean now."
"Well, you two are obviously the biggest pop stars in all of Inkopolis," said Knuckles; Pearl and Marina of Off the Hook would have something to say about that. "With your fame, you could use your platform to speak out on injustice."
"I mean, just because we're entertainers doesn't mean anything..." stated Marie, who was pretty reserved about making big statements. She would usually leave that stuff to Callie. "...we're no different from any other regular Inkling."
"True dat, but then someone will see two of the most popular Inklings speak out, and then they'll be all like, 'Oh man, two Inklings speaking out on human rights! This really is a big deal'."
"Why don't you get some idol singer from Star Records to make a statement instead?" frowned Callie, having enough of Knuckles as she and Marie left the balcony. "They are your fellow employees, after all..."
"I know, I know - I'll get to them later." If Knuckles was going to hound the idol singers, then he's just asking for some trouble.
Dr. Wright: Knuckles has been going around the tower as of late, asking some of us residents to speak out on equality. Don't get me wrong, it's an easy subject to talk about, but some of the statements a few of our residents were forced to make felt...well, pretty forced. Not sure what Knuckles hopes to get out of this.
"Knuckles! Up high!" Sonic said to Knuckles, who was about to head back inside the tower. Knuckles briefly looked at Sonic, before walking back inside as he left the blue blur hanging. Sonic felt some type of way about that.
"That was weird," Aku had this to say about Knuckles' behavior, as Sonic was still holding his hand as if he expected Knuckles to come back and high-five it. Tails looked at Sonic, feeling some sympathy for his best friend.
"Still giving you the cold shoulder, huh?" Tails asked Sonic, who sighed and nodded his head as he put his hand back down. Tails gave a comforting smile, as he patted Sonic on his shoulder. "He'll come around eventually."
"I don't understand, I never did anything to upset the guy! We still talked even after that whole bungee jumping incident. What gives?"
"Don't worry about it too much -just let things play out." Sonic wasn't the kind of person that would let things play out - he was the type of dude they wanted to get to the bottom of things.
"No way, Tails...Knuckles is my friend, so I deserve to know why he's acting so differently around me. Dude better have some explaining to do!"
Minato was still firmly in the race for the man of the mansion gig, and the young man was taking it easy, and one day at a time. He was in the kitchen, observing Cilan as the connoisseur was cooking up some soul food for later festivities.
"I wonder, why do they call it soul food?" Cilan asked Minato out of curiosity, as he was frying some chicken and making some mac-n-cheese. All at the same time. "Is it because black people put more soul in their cuisine than others do?"
"I wouldn't be asking such profound questions like that..." replied Minato, looking around to see if either Knuckles or Doc Louis were hanging around. Didn't want Cilan to catch some hands. "...you should probably keep that to yourself."
"Perhaps I should ask Rodin about it - he's pretty knowledgeable about a lot of stuff." Cilan looked over at the stove, and screamed when he saw smoke coming out from one of the pots. "Eek! The collard greens!"
"Yeah, you go ahead and ask him..." Taking a sip from his glass of water, Minato was about to walk away, only to run into the Inklings.
"Hi Minato, my pal and I have a suggestion for you," the female Inkling said to the young man, who braced himself for whatever this suggestion might be. "It might sound weird, but we think you'll hear us out."
"Well then, let me hear it." Minato laid against the fridge and took another sip from his glass, interested in what the Inklings had to say. "Lay it on me."
"So we were thinking...that maybe Master Hand needs a new name," the male Inkling proposed to Minato, whose eyes went wide with both intrigue - and worry. "We should stop referring to him as Master Hand, from now on."
"And what good would that solve, if we were to do that? How else should we refer to Master Hand, hmm?"
"It's just that...Master Hand's name has some negative connotation to it. Master Hand should adopt a name that doesn't offend anyone."
"Yeah, like Giant Hand!" the female Inkling blurted out, as Minato couldn't help but cringe at the Inklings' weird suggestion. "Okay, it's not as tight, but it still fits!"
Female Inkling: Rumor has it that a bunch of real estate agents down in Houston are no longer using the term "master bedroom"...we're just trying to be ahead of the curve. That's called being woke, isn't it?
"I'm sorry, but I can't sign off on an idea like that..." stated Minato, knowing fully well that the Inklings' idea would be shot down in an instant by Master Hand. "...Master Hand would never approve of such a thing."
"But you can convince him, if you win the man of the mansion job," the male Inkling did his best to entice Minato, who was barely unmoved. "If you get the job, Master Hand would have no choice but to listen to you!"
"That doesn't mean he'll agree with everything I say. There will be limits, you know." No longer wanting to dwell on the subject anymore, Minato walked away. "But I'll think over it..."
"Dang it, I burnt the collard greens!" fretted Cilan as he looked inside his pot of collards, while Minato quietly exited the kitchen. "I thought that was impossible!"
Sonic now had an objective he wished to fulfill today - to find out why Knuckles was acting so distant around him. Accompanying the hedgehog in his mission were Crash, Aku, and Tails, with the latter two only being dragged along for the ride. Sadly they had no choice in the matter.
"You know Sonic, I'm pretty sure that Knuckles is just going through a phase," Tails said to the hedgehog, who was searching around the mansion for Knuckles. "Happens to the best of us."
"What, is he gonna start wearing all black, and listen to My Chemical Romance?" questioned Sonic, as he was slowly approaching the vending machine room. "Also, isn't Knuckles a bit too old to be 'going through a phase'?"
"Maybe he's just thinking. Probably has a lot on his mind. I think you should just lay off on Knuckles for now, and let him clear his head."
"Hold that thought, Tails, I hear him talking..." After silencing Tails, Sonic took a peek inside the vending machine room, and saw Knuckles speaking with Dark Samus. Talk about having a very one-sided conversation.
"You do realize that silence is compliance, right Dark Samus?" Knuckles asked the Phazon, who just stared at the echidna; her lack of response greatly alarmed Knuckles. "I expected a lot better from you...I'm very disappointed."
Dark Samus: *shrugs*
"That Knuckles, he knows that Dark Samus can't speak!" said Aku, only to be quickly shushed by Sonic. Dark Samus nonchalantly left the room, as Knuckles went to one of the vending machines to get a drink.
"Oh who am I kidding...Dark Samus is incapable of speaking anyways," said Knuckles; as the echidna got his drink from the vending machine, Samus came inside the room, and Knuckles quickly noticed. "Hey Samus, how about making a voice thingamajig for Dark Samus?"
"As in, something that would give her the ability to talk?" asked Samus, as she was deciding on which vending machine she should go to. "Why should I even bother?"
"Because we deserve to know what she thinks about certain stuff. About certain issues. And since we're on the topic...what do you think about equality, Samus?"
"Go ask someone else..." Samus proceeded to get a bag of pretzels from a vending machine, before leaving. Knuckles saw Samus leaving the premises without answering his question as a cowardly move.
"Silence is compliance!" Knuckles shouted at Samus, not caring that much if the bounty hunter heard him or not. Letting out a "hmph", Knuckles exited the vending machine room, as he ran into Sonic and company.
"Yooooo, Knuckles...my main man," Sonic greeted the echidna as he clicked his fingers, while Knuckles just stared at him with a bottle of Pepsi in his hand. "What's...what's up?"
"Meh..." replied Knuckles as he walked away while opening his bottle of Pepsi and taking a sip from it. Sonic believed that he and Knuckles made some progress, so far.
"Well he acknowledged my presence, so that's a good start...but there's still something off about Knuckles, just can't put my finger on it."
"Now would be a good time for you to...stop," Tails suggested to Sonic, only for Sonic to walk down the hallway and follow after Knuckles. Tails sighed, as he and the others followed.
The Mario Bros were on the Isle of Armor, training up their Kubfus so that they would eventually evolve and become even stronger Pokemon. But little did the plumbers know that two people were spying on them...two trainers hailing from Mustard's dojo.
The two trainers in question were aspiring gym leaders in Galar, and they both specialized in a certain Pokemon type - Klara, a poison-type expert, and Avery, a psychic-type expert. Both trainers were spying on the Mario Bros from afar, and both of them shared the same contempt for the plumbers.
"Ugh...how could Mustard let those losers in the Dojo?" growled Klara, seething with rage as she watched the Mario Bros with their Kubfus. "Those middle-aged men don't belong here..."
"According to Mustard...they're actually in their early thirties," stated Avery, as a very stunned Klara gave the psychic-type trainer a surprised look. "I know, I was extremely shocked myself..."
"We need to find a way to get those losers off this island. They're going to stand in my way of becoming a gym leader!"
"You mean they're going to stand in our way. I'm just as content about removing those blokes as you are."
"Well do you have any bright ideas, Mr. Smartypants?" Being the smart dude that he was, Avery found himself deep in thought, thinking of a plan that would eliminate the Mario Bros. And the perfect one was formed in his head.
"We do have an abundance of Slowpokes on this island...some of them have the Agility to pull off a heist, if you know what I mean."
"But how would a bunch of Slowpokes help us with..." Klara was at first skeptical of Avery's plan, before her eyes widened when she realized what the trainer had concocted. "...oh, I see! You want to use the Slowpokes to carry those lousy men back where they came from! That's genius!"
"Silly Klara, it's not the Mario Bros those Slowpokes will be after...they'll have a much different target. You'll see eventually..."
Tails, Crash, and Aku followed Sonic to the arcade room, where they saw Knuckles playing one of the arcade games. Knuckles had just set a new high score, and was proud of his accomplishment.
"Hehe, new high score...now that's what's up," the echidna grinned, giddily taking his tokens out of the arcade machine. Pit soon ran up to Knuckles, needing to tell the echidna some big news.
"I did it, Knuckles...I finally ended racism!" Pit announced to the echidna, celebrating as if he had just won the Stanley Cup. Pit was the last person anyone would ever expect to end racism, let alone any other societal issue.
"You ended racism? How?" Wanting to prove that he was telling the truth, Pit took out his phone, and showed it to Knuckles. On the screen was a black square.
"See? I posted this black square! I saw a bunch of other people online doing it, so I got on social media and joined in! Racism is no more!"
"Um, Pit, I hate to break it to ya...but Blackout Tuesday was like a few weeks ago." Pit was now hating himself, as he angrily looked at this phone screen and gritted his teeth. "You're a little too late to the party."
"Dang it! I'm always late to the newest trends." Pit threw his phone on the floor, before pouting and folding his arms. "I guess that racism is still a thing, then..."
Bowser: I was about to say some pretty mean and racist stuff to Doc Louis, but then I saw that Pit had posted a black square on one of his social media pages. Had me feeling all conflicted... *snorts* ...ha, as if! I'm not racist. Sexist, maybe, that's debatable, but racist? That ain't me.
"Say, Sonic, did you ever post a black square on any of your social media pages?" Tails asked the hedgehog, trying to find a reason for why Knuckles was acting so differently around Sonic. Perhaps some of Sonic's actions - or the lack thereof - could provide an explanation.
"I was going to, but I decided against it," replied Sonic; guess he wasn't as devoted to ending racism as Pit was. "Besides, that's too easy."
"Maybe some people just don't want to show any effort," assumed Aku, looking at things from a rather philosophical point of view. "Or maybe they were just pressured into doing something just to prove they're not a part of the problem...or they just wanted to feel good from a moral standpoint and be virtuous, in general."
"Well, Knuckles seems to be going about this whole thing the wrong way...you think he's ticked that I never posted a black square? Seems like a weird reason to give me a cold shoulder, if that's the case..."
The Mario Bros were training their Kubfus at the oceanside, teaching them and helping them grow and all that jazz. Since Mustard couldn't watch over the twin brothers, since he was running things at his dojo, Luigi's pet Rotom had to do the overseeing.
"Rotom, at what-a level can Kubfu learn Aura Sphere?" Mario asked the plasma Pokemon, purely out of desperation. While Mario was fixated on Aura Sphere, Luigi was teaching his Kubfu how to use counter moves.
"Kubfu is unable to learn Aura Sphere at any level, zzrt," explained Rotom, although it wasn't the answer that Mario wanted. Mario refused to stop unless his demands were quickly met.
"Does it have to evolve-a first before Aura Sphere? Or does it only know Focus Blast, but not-a Aura Sphere? Sounds-a backwards, doesn't it?"
"Kubfu is capable of using just two special moves." Mario's mind was made up, the plumber was fully convinced...Kubfu can learn Aura Sphere andFocus Blast, but only if he evolved. Rotom was merely trying to mess around with Mario's mind.
As the Mario Bros continued their training, they heard a loud sound coming from behind them - sounded like a stampede of horses. Both Mario and Luigi looked behind themselves, and saw a horde of Pokemon they least expected.
"SLOOOWPOOOOKE!" Mario screamed, as he and Luigi both jumped out of harm's way. The Slowpokes ran past the Mario Bros, and soon enough, they were gone.
"Slowpoke? More like Fastpoke!" remarked Rotom, expecting a ba-dum-tiss sound of some kind. All the plasma Pokemon got instead was frowns from the Mario Bros.
Rotom: I've been trying to show my humorous side and show that I'm more than just a talking Pokemon, zzrt. Every now and then in the Luigi household, I would tell a joke or two to make the occupants laugh. So far, only Charles and Deanna laughed...the others, not so much. Maybe that's why Princess Daisy kicked me out of the house along with Luigi, zroom.
"Our Kubfus...where did-a our Kubfus go?!" questioned Luigi, as he saw that the Kubfus he and Mario were training with had seemingly disappeared. Nowhere in sight.
"Mama mia, those fast-a moving Slowpokes must've kidnapped-a our Pokemon!" panicked Mario, going hysterical as he was looking around the beach for his Kubfu. "And I had yet to teach-a my Kubfu Aura Sphere!"
"Mario for the last-a time, Kubfu can't learn...oh, who am I kidding?" At this point, Luigi should just let Mario be, no point in fueling his delusions.
"This is not-a good...where could they have-a taken our Pokemon?" As Mario continued to panic, Klara and Avery watched from afar, delighted with the Mario Brios' dilemma.
Sonic and company were still following after Knuckles, as they followed the echidna to the Star Records room. Inside, they saw Knuckles having a quick conversation with Fox, Falco, and Itsuki.
"Just so you know, we've already donated some many to a few causes," Fox explained to Knuckles, who was now beaming with pride. Star Records sure knew to put their money where their mouth was. "And then some."
"Yeah, we also gave money to the small businesses who got looted," added Falco - way to look out for the small businesses. Star Records was unlike any other record label out there. "Helping them rebuild from the ground up!"
"Alright, that's what I like to hear!" Knuckles nodded his head as he clapped in approval of Star Records giving back to the local community. "But about these causes you donated to...who did you donate to, and how much?"
"Knuckles should just be glad that Fox and Falco donated, to begin with," Tails whispered to Sonic and the others, while Fox and Falco told Knuckles whom they donated to. "Why does he need to know so much?"
"Could you imagine if Star Records didn't donate any money?" Sonic whispered back, snickering at the thought of Knuckles holding a grudge with Star Records management. "Knuckles would probably sign with another...record...label..."
Sonic trailed off, when he and the others saw Eleonora...with a bald head. The sight of Eleonora being bald was enough to even make Crash faint!
"Uh...I'll explain later," Eleonora said to Crash and company, walking over the fainted Crash as she entered the Star Records room. Her bald head was more than enough to accrue the attention of Knuckles and the others.
"BALD, BALD, BALD, BALD!" shrieked Fox, completely scared out of his mind as he pointed at the bald Eleonora. It was just like a car crash - you just couldn't look away, no matter how hard you try.
"MY EYES!" shrieked Falco, whose eyes were completely fixated on Eleonora's baldness. "WHY AREN'T THEY BURNING?! THEY SHOULD BE ON FIRE!"
"Nice bald head, Eleonora..." Itsuki chuckled nervously, easily the most tranquil out of the three Star Records heads. "This is a very...unwelcome surprise!"
"Woo, Eleonora, way to go!" Knuckles cheered for the idol singer as he applauded her. Itsuki, Fox, and Falco just stared at the echidna like he was crazy.
"Don't mind if I ask, but...is Eleonora going bald supposed to be a good thing?" Fox asked Knuckles, who was the only person content with Eleonora's drastic change.
"Yup! By shaving off her entire head, Eleonora is admitting guilt due to her heritage. By going bald, she is showing some solidarity with the black community!"
"...that's gotta be the biggest reach I've ever heard in my life," said Falco, although Knuckles was adamant in his belief that Eleonora was doing the right thing.
Eleonora: I'm not actually going bald... *takes off bald cap* ...I'm just wearing this bald cap for a scene in a new music video. Only cost me two dollars!
"I should probably take this off now..." said Eleonora, as she took off her bald cap; Fox, Falco, and Itsuki all let out collective sighs of relief, whereas Knuckles was left in shambles.
"Wait, so you're not ashamed of your heritage?" Knuckles asked Eleonora, like he expected the idol singer to answer yes. "You have no problem with it?"
"I'll let you figure that out yourself..." Eleonora would leave the Star Records room with her bald cap, as she left Knuckles mostly soul-searching. Sonic found the exchange that went down to be amusing...if not a bit concerning.
"Phew, it's a good thing that Eleonora isn't actually going bald..." the hedgehog remarked after Eleonora left, while wiping away the sweat off his forehead. Wasn't that much to begin with. "...but I'm still miffed about Knuckles. I still need to find out more!"
"I would appreciate it if you just went about this all alone," Tails said to Sonic, only for the hedgehog to grab his hand and run down the hallway. "I guess not!"
Lucina was walking through the mansion, passing through the foyer, when she saw Slippy Toad sitting on the windowsill eating an Oreo cookie. Usually, when Slippy ate Oreo cookies, he would remove one of the two wafers just to lick the cream. But instead the frog ate his cookies whole, which accrued Lucina's attention.
"Funny, I've never seen you eat a whole Oreo cookie before," Lucina said to Slippy as he approached the frog, while Slippy casually tossed an Oreo cookie into his mouth. Swallowed it whole, no chewing...talk about a choking hazard.
"Yup, sometimes I would just remove the wafer just to lick the cream..." remarked Slippy, as the thought of licking the white cream put a smile on his face. "...but those days are gone now. The way I ate Oreo cookies before was insensitive."
"Insensitive in what way? I don't see how that would offend anyone." Unless Slippy was deliberately trying to offend someone, by eating cookies. Which would be as hard as finding a single source of water in the sun.
"From now on, I will no longer remove the African-American part of the cookie, just so I could lick the cream filling. I will now eat Oreo cookies exactly how they were intended to be eaten!"
"The African-American part of the cookie...?" Lucina had a funny look on her face, as Slippy happily gobbled down another Oreo cookie. And yes, the frog didn't even swallow...don't act surprised if he choked.
"You should try it, Lucina, if you haven't already. Why don't you do it right now?" Slippy offered an Oreo cookie to Lucina, who instead walked away. She had heard enough. "Welp, more for me I guess!"
Sonic and company were traversing through the mansion, on the search for Knuckles wherever he may be. They eventually came across the echidna in Jacky Bryant's room, where they saw him speaking with Jacky.
"Wait...so you don't feel bad for being a white dude?" a profound Knuckles asked Jacky, who could only chuckle at the question presented to him.
"Um...no?" replied Jacky, as if the answer was obvious and clear as day. "I mean, God made me white, so...there's not much I can change about that."
"Wow I never really thought about it that way..." Knuckles was now deep in thought, seeing things from Jacky's point of view. "...you feel no shame or anything?"
"Nope, not at all! I just accept it, and go about each and every day by being the man that I am! Not a single bad bone in my body, so I have reason to feel shame!"
Jacky: Had a very interesting conversation with Knuckles - the dude kept telling me to apologize, and I was like, what am I apologizing for, what did I do wrong? It really rubbed me the wrong way.
Knuckles left Jacky's room, having learned a lesson or two from Jacky. Upon exiting the room, the echidna looked to his left...and saw Sonic standing by.
"Yo, Knuckles! What's new with you?" Sonic asked the echidna, who didn't respond as he ran down the hallway. "Hey, wait up for me! I need to speak with you!" Sonic would chase after Knuckles, while Tails, Crash, and Aku remained where they were.
"This is getting rather tiresome," remarked Tails, watching as Sonic chased Knuckles down the hallway trying not to outrun the echidna. "You know, now would be a good time to ditch Sonic."
"Wow, I've never seen Sonic run that slow before..." someone remarked, as Tails turned around and saw Silas behind them with Kamui. The cavalier had witnessed Sonic running down the hallway.. "...must be those chili dogs that are dragging him down."
"Woah Silas, what happened to your eye?" Tails asked the cavalier, who had a black eye. Someone really must've given Silas a piece of their mind.
"It was that echidna's doing, Knuckles...he wanted me to apologize for, well, whatever, and I told him that I had nothing to apologize for. That's when he gave me the black eye."
"He was going to ask me as well, but he got angry and stormed off," stated Kamui, as she comforted her optically injured boyfriend. "Guess you could say that I was spared..."
"What did you have to apologize for, Silas?" Aku asked the cavalier, wondering why Knuckles would interrogate Silas of all people. Silas was a good man, who could literally do no wrong. "What Knuckles did to you was undeserved."
"I had no idea, I rarely do anything wrong," replied Silas, as he rubbed his swollen black eye. So many burst blood vessels. "I remember Knuckles going on some kind of angry rant...we just kind of tuned him out during his spiel."
"Okay, Knuckles has completely lost it," said Tails, now committed to putting an end to Knuckles' shenanigans before the echidna ended up hurting more people. "If we don't stop him now, he'll sucker punch someone else!"
"Yeah, you fellas can go right ahead, Kamui and I will leave you at it..." Silas said to Tails and company, as he tried to turn around and walk away - only for Kamui to grab his hand, stopping him. "...what is it, Kamui?"
"You're really going to let Knuckles give you a black eye?" Kamui questioned her boyfriend, giving him a very stern look. "You should go with Tails and Crash, and tell Knuckles how you feel. Don't let him get away with..."
"Fine, fine, I'll be a part of this whole 'make Knuckles have a change of heart' charade..." The more people to reason with Knuckles, the merrier. "...but if I get another black eye, I'll try my hardest not to blame you..."
The Mario Bros frantically searched around the Isle of Armor, looking for their Kubfus which were kidnapped by the Slowpokes. When the plumbers couldn't find their Pokemon anywhere, they ran to Mustard's Master Dojo, to tell Mustard the bad news.
"I had no idea that the Slowpokes were on the loose," Mustard's wife, Honey, spoke with one of the dojo's karate masters regarding the rogue Slowpokes. "My husbands always kept them in their Poke Balls, save for certain situations..."
"Princess Daisy...I-I mean, Honey!" Luigi called out to Honey, mistaking her for his wife as he and Mario ran inside the Master Dojo. "Our Kubfus have gone-a missing!"
"Oh dear! How could that have happened?" Honey looked around for Mustard, who had just entered the main area of the dojo. "Mustard, Mario and Luigi's Kubfus have gone missing!"
"Missing? How?!" questioned Mustard, now wanting answers as he quickly approached the Mario Bros. "You boys better get to explaining!"
"We were just-a training at the beach, when a horde-a of Slowpokes came speeding out from-a nowhere," Mario explained to Mustard, whose eyes went wide; he appeared to know a thing or two about these Slowpokes. "They just took-a our Kubfus, and left!"
"Ah, you must mean the fast-a moving Galarian Slowpokes! I keep them in my Poke Balls, but somehow they must've escaped. And they say that ;Quick Balls; were top quality...bah!"
"What's this I hear? Missing Kubfus?" inquired Avery, sneering as he and Klara entered the Master Dojo. "No point in the Mario Bros being around any longer - the Gravity of this situation cannot be overlooked."
"Yep, since they lost their Kubfus, they lost their privileges of being at the dojo!" smiled Klara, getting all giddy at the sight of the Mario Bros having to head back home. "Sometimes you reap what you sow..."
Avery: Our plan is going along as well as we expected...sooner or later, the Mario Bros will be off the island for good! If only we could just Teleport them away.
Klara: No way are we gonna let those dorky plumbers steal our shine. If they thought they could stand a chance at the dojo, they got another thing coming for 'em!
Avery: With those dastardly brothers gone, the dojo will once again be full to the brim with actual aspiring Pokemon trainers. Not a bunch of posers.
"No, I disagree - there's still some hope left for the Mario Bros," said Mustard, as Klara and Avery both gritted their teeth. "There should be someone on the island who can help them with your plight."
"Ah, yes...Leon should be training at the island, with his Charizard," remarked Honey; thankfully, both Mario and Luigi had lots of familiarity with Leon. "He might know where those Slowpokes ran off to."
"I don't think he can do it," said Klara, as both Honey and Mustard looked towards the poison-type trainer. Klara looked around nervously, with all the attention focused on her. "Because, uh..."
"...because Leon ended up in a horrific Galar Taxi accident, and therefore was unable to make it to the island," Avery would answer for Klara, sticking up for his partner-in-crime. "Which means that no one can help the Mario Bros, and they should head back home."
"Come to think of it, I did see Leon training near the waterfall earlier..." said the karate master that Honey was speaking with; Avery frowned and gritted his teeth, wishing he could give the karate master some Amnesia. "...must be training for his league match against Raihan."
"It was a figment of your imagination," Klara said to the karate master, acting fast and on the fly. "You were only imagining things. Leon wasn't there..."
"Someone called my name?" asked a voice, as both Klara and Avery looked nervous; the two Pokemon trainers turned around, and to their chagrin saw Galar champion Leon, grinning as he stood at the dojo entrance with his Charizard.
Leon: I gotta admit, living the life as a champion is pretty hard. Fanboys asking for your autograph, fangirls asking you to write your phone number on their arm...definitely not the weirdest request I've received, but it's up there. That's why I stop by and chill at the Isle of Armor, to take a break from all the noise. Of course, that'll change when those crazy fangirls learn how to swim.
"Well look who it is - Mario and Luigi!" grinned Leon, him and Charizard walking past Klara and Avery as they came over to greet the Mario Bros. "Heard you guys were at the island. So good to see ya!"
"Still can't go anywhere without-a your Charizard, I see!" Mario teased Leon, who responded with a cheeky grin. Even Leon had to admit that he was too attached to his Charizard.
"Mario and Luigi have a dilemma on their hands, Leon," Mustard said to the champion, whom he trained up to be the Pokemon trainer that he is today. "They were training with their Kubfus, when a horde of Slowpokes snatched their Pokemon!"
"You mean the fast-moving Slowpokes you keep at the dojo?" Leon asked Mustard, as he folded his arms. "Yeah, Charizard and I rounded them all up!"
"Y-You did?" stammered Avery, as his and Klara's plan to sabotage the Mario Bros was being undone thanks to Leon's efforts. "This must be some sort of Trick..."
"Yup! And I even took the Kubfus to the Towers of Two Fists, so they could be trained up by the dojo students there and evolve into Urshifus. Since I had no idea who they belonged to."
"Does this mean...that my Kubfu will finally learn-a Aura Sphere?!" Mario asked Leon, who eyed around the dojo; Mario's ignorance was put on full display.
"Uh...sure." Leon clearly didn't want to hurt Mario's feelings. "...hey, how about we see if your Pokemon have evolved yet? I reckon you fellas have a match against Mustard!"
"Right you are, Leon!" grinned Mustard, who was very much looking forward to his Pokemon battle against the Mario Bros. Wanted to cream them so hard. "I promised that I would go easy on them..."
"Stupid Leon..." groaned Klara, glaring down Leon as a ticked off Avery stormed out of the dojo.
Lucario had just exited the Pokemon sanctuary, having done his daily maintenance down there. Had to make sure that the Pokemon were staying in line, and being on their best behavior. Upon leaving the sanctuary, Lucario would run into Lucina and Minato.
"Can I...help you two with anything?" Lucario asked Lucina and Minato, the aura Pokemon figuring that some bad mojo was taking place at the mansion.
"Is there by any chance that you heard any weird suggestions from the residents today?" Lucina asked Lucario, who thought over any conversation he had with any resident. "Or saw someone doing something they normally wouldn't do?"
"No, not to my knowledge - surprisingly everything has been normal for me. Quite unusual, I'll say, on a Friday. What about you two?"
"Well, the Inklings proposed that we stop referring to Master Hand as...well, Master Hand," Minato said to Lucario, who furrowed his brow as he saw skepticism in the Inklings' suggestion. "And Lucina here told me that Slippy will no longer remove the 'African-American part' of the Oreo cookie, or something like that."
"And what exactly are those things supposed to solve? Sounds like a bunch of virtue signaling to me. I think we should take this up to the search committee."
Leon brought the Mario Bros to the Tower of Darkness, where Luigi's Kubfu trained at. The Kubfu had evolved, thanks to some battles at the tower, as he was now an Urshifu - a Rapid Strike Urshifu, to be exact.
"Here's your very own Single Strike Urshifu, Mario!" Leon said to the plumber, who was presented with his own Urshifu by a dojo student. Mario was smiling at the sight of his Urshifu, which was of the Single Strike variety.
"Ah, my Kubfu's all grown-a up!" gleamed Mario as he gave his Urshifu a hug, before looking at the dojo student and asking: "Did you teach-a him Aura Sphere?"
"I...might've overlooked teaching him that," replied the dojo student as he laughed nervously, before walking over to Leon. "Does he know?" the student whispered to Leon.
"It's for the best if he figured it out on his own," replied Leon, being amused by how much Mario was embracing his Urshifu. That adoration might be short-lived. Soon Mustard showed up, seeing the Mario Bros reunited with their Pokemon.
"Ah, I see that your Pokemon are all trained up, very good!" the dojo master said to Mario and Luigi, holding his arms behind his back like how any dojo master would. "Looks like you're ready for our Pokemon battle."
"Mustard, is that such a good idea?" the dojo student asked the dojo master, not wanting for the Mario Bros to get creamed. "Mario and Luigi didn't train up their Pokemon in the towers."
"They trained their Kubfus long enough, so they will be fine. Besides, they can learn on the fly, like how I once did! The good old days...off to the Battle Court we go!"
Avery: How unfair...those Mario Bros never trained their Kubfus at either of the two towers themselves, and yet they still earned a battle against Mustard! None of the other students could enjoy such luxury.
Karla: Using those Slowpokes to kidnap the Kubfus might've been a bad idea...we should've just tossed Mario and Luigi into the ocean instead, when we had the chance. Some Wailord could save them.
Avery: Is it just me, or are the Wailord at this island bigger than the ones in Galar? How is that even possible...my brain hurts just thinking about it! I need to get some Rest...
Tails and company managed to find Sonic and Knuckles in the lounge. Sonic and Knuckles were seemingly at odds with one another, with the tensity building in the lounge while Zelda desperately tried to play peacemaker.
"Alright you two, don't do anything reckless..." Zelda advised Sonic and Knuckles, wishing that she had either one of Link or Cloud with her right now. They would know how to handle situations like these.
"What's the big deal, Knuckles?" Sonic questioned Knuckles, demanding genuine answers from the echidna at once. No lying, no twisting of words, no holding back - just the pure, honest truth. "Why are you acting so different around me?"
"I...I don't know what you're talking about," replied Knuckles, as he looked away from Sonic; Tails and company saw the echidna's body language, and could tell that Knuckles was hiding something from Sonic.
"I know why you're acting so standoffish...it's because I'm too white for you, isn't it? My white tendencies are what's throwing you off!"
"That's...not really...the reason..." Knuckles was clearly hiding something, seemingly too afraid to tell Sonic how he really, truly felt.
"Yeah, so what if I'm too white? I can't help it! In fact, I'm so white, that during the riots in Seattle, I went out and bought a television!"
"Say it ain't so..." Knuckles clutched his pearls, astonished that Sonic would have the audacity to commit such an unspeakable act. "...how much did you even pay for it?"
"Fifteen hundred dollars...plus tax." This was too much for Knuckles to take in, as the echidna fell down on his knees left in shock.
Sonic: No, those fifteen hundred dollars weren't mine - they belong to Wario. Or to be more specific, on his debit card. Sure, I caused the card to overdraft, but I saved the business that got looted from going bankrupt so it was all for the greater good!
"So what's it gonna be, Knuckles, what do I have to do to make things up to you?" Sonic questioned his best friend, demanding definite answers rather than twisted responses. "Do I have to vote for Joe Biden this fall, to show you how black I can be?!"
"Woah, what's going on in here?" Doc Louis asked Tails and company, seeing them gathered around the entrance to the lounge. He could tell that there were some verbal fireworks taking place.
"Sonic and Knuckles are kinda getting into it," Tails explained to Doc Louis, who found it alarming that two close friends would be quarreling with one another. "We just got here - we can assume that it has something to do with Sonic being 'too white'..."
"Too white? Too white? Just what is that supposed to mean?! Why I oughta..." Doc Louis was now in a sour mood, as he marched inside the lounge to teach Sonic and Knuckles a lesson.
"Doc Louis, I don't think that reasoning with them would be such a good idea..." Kamui said to the boxing trainer, who refused to listen as he grabbed Zelda and pushed her to the side.
"Go away Doc Louis, I got this all under control..." Zelda told the boxing trainer, who was now standing between Sonic and Knuckles. Doc Louis looked ready to spit some game.
"Alright, so what's the big deal between you two?" Doc Louis questioned both Sonic and Knuckles, as he exchanged glances between the two. "Why are y'all beefing so much?"
"You see, Doc, Knuckles refused to speak with me for a while, so I wanted to see what was up with him," Sonic explained to Doc Louis, giving the boxing trainer his side of the story. "I saw him harassing the Squid Sisters, commending Eleonora for going 'bald', asking Jacky if he felt ashamed to be..."
"Hold up just a minute now...why were you harassing the Squid Sisters, of all people?" Doc Louis turned to face Knuckles, who now had no choice but to give clear answers. Especially with a fearsome man like Doc Louis staring at him.
"Because they're popular and could use their fame for good?" answered Knuckles with a smile on his face, hoping that Doc Louis wouldn't beat him up.
"Popular? So what? That doesn't mean a thing! Just because they're big and 'popular' doesn't make their opinion any different from your average Joe. Now if they're actually doing something genuine for the greater good and taking actually meaningful action that's different."
"I'm just glad that Knuckles didn't get to his Star Records pals yet," remarked Sonic, thankful that the only idol singer that Knuckles had an encounter with was Eleonora.
"Would've led to a whole lotta virtue signaling! Never got the whole point of virtue signaling anyways. Just a phony way to pretend like you're supporting a good cause, just so you could feel better about yourself and get some validation! Where's the effort, for crying out loud?"
"Oh, and Knuckles also wanted Jacky and Silas to apologize." The more Sonic ran his mouth, the more ticked Doc Louis grew.
"Apologize for what, for not doing anything wrong? That's nothing worth apologizing for! Unless they actually did something wrong, an apology isn't worth it! What did they have to apologize for, Knuckles?"
"Uh...for...being themselves?" Knuckles nervously replied, fearing that Doc Louis would just give him another angry stare. Instead, Doc Louis just laughed out of disbelief.
"Let me tell ya what you should do, Knuckles - just judge people by the content of their character! Granted many people sadly don't do it, but it won't hurt if you try, right?"
"That sounds pretty easy to do. Yeah, I should just do that! I was doing it before, but I guess I got carried away somehow..."
"Here's some more words of advice - always hold yourself accountable. Hold others accountable too, when the moment calls for it. Never see yourself as a victim, don't play the victim card. Then, and only then, can you find true success!"
"So if I do that, I can become an even more successful rapper?" Knuckles seemed to like the sound of that, as he smiled and rubbed his chin. "That's what I like to hear!"
Doc Louis: The things I told Knuckles are the same things I tell Little Mac every now and then, just to keep his head up. Sometimes, you just have to do your part. Everybody's gotta do their part, you know what I'm saying?
"Now, I reckon that you oughta owe your friend an apology..." Doc Louis said to Knuckles, who looked up at Sonic. Sonic was very open for an apology, with an accepting smile on his face.
"You're right..." Knuckles agreed with Doc Louis, as he approached Sonic ready to make his apology to the hedgehog. "Sorry for how I was acting towards you, Sonic...guess I just got too worked up from all the hoopla going around."
"Apology accepted, my man!" replied Sonic as he shook hands with Knuckles, with Doc Louis looking on and smiling like a proud papa. "No hard feelings, right?"
"No hard feelings! I should probably just lay off on the social media and other stuff, before it starts making me go insane. So, uh, wanna play some games in the arcade?"
"You bet! Last one there is a rotten Eggman!" Sonic would get a head start, speeding out of the lounge and down the hallway. Knuckles smiled, as he did his best to keep up with Sonic.
"All's well that ends well," smiled Kamui, watching Knuckles chase Sonic down the hallway, before looking at Silas. "And you didn't even have to do anything, Silas!"
"Told you we should've let Sonic's pals deal with Knuckles themselves..." responded Silas, before Doc Louis appeared and wrapped his arms around Kamui and Silas. "...oh dear."
"Now that's what I like to see...people being together in harmony!" grinned Doc Louis, as he wiped a tear from his eye. "If Little Mac and I can do it, then so can everyone else! Others should learn from our example!"
"You're kind of...squeezing my neck..." Kamui said to Doc Louis, who eventually let go of the princess and Silas. Doc Louis was so happy right now, he could just hug anyone in sight.
Lucina, Minato, and Lucario had a word with the search committee at the living room. There, the three told Tom Nook and Isabelle about the weirdness displayed by the residents.
"So what do you want us to do about it?" Tom Nook asked the three candidates, after he heard Lucina and Minato's stories. "Ban virtue signaling?"
"...I guess that would be a start," replied Lucario, before looking at Lucina and Minato and seeing what they thought. Both Lucina and Minato nodded their heads.
"Alright then, I'll make it official - no more virtue signaling in the Smash Mansion! Should be an easy rule to enforce - can't see anyone breaking it."
"Tom Nook, shouldn't the Mario Bros be back from the Isle of Armor by now?" Isabelle asked the tanooki, who glanced at his watch; Tom Nook's eyes suddenly went wide.
"Would you look at the time! You're absolutely right, Isabelle - I promised Peach and Daisy that their husbands would be back home around this time. Orville and Wilbur are both off today, so..."
"I can head to the Isle of Armor if you want," volunteered Lucario; only fitting that he would be the one to retrieve the Mario Bros. "I'll get somebody to get the teleportation device up and running."
Mario and Luigi were at the Isle of Armor's Battle Court, with their Urshifus - Mario with a Rapid Strike Urshifu, and Luigi with a Single Strike Urshifu. The twin brothers were up against Mustard, who was battling with a Luxray and a Lycanroc. Leon, Honey, and Rotom were spectating the battle.
"Are you sure we're even allowed to be here?" Mega Man asked Lucario, as he and the aura Pokemon arrived at the Battle Court. "I feel like we're trespassing..."
"I don't see anyone stopping us," replied Lucario, before coming to a stop when he saw the Pokemon battle take place between the Mario Bros and Mustard. "Ah, there they are."
"Lycanroc, use Accelerock! Luxray, use Wild Charge!" commanded Mustard, as his Lycanroc and Luxray ran towards Mario and Luigi's Urshifus at high speed.
"Urshifu, counter with Aura Sphere!" commanded Mario, as his Urshifu...did nothing. Lycanroc smashed into Mario's Urshifu, giving the wushu Pokemon a little bit of damage.
"When-a will you ever learn..." Luigi shook his head at Mario, as he had no choice but to show his brother how things were done. "...Urshifu, Surging Strikes!" Luigi's Urshifu struck Luxray with a few flowing strikes, sending the gleam eyes Pokemon away.
"Better watch out, Lucario - Mario might ask you to be his move tutor," Mega Man teased the aura Pokemon, nudging him at his side; seeing what was coming for him, a mortified Lucario walked away. "Lucario, where are you going?"
Lucario: If I ever go insane, in the next couple of weeks, you'll know who to blame...
Mario: They saw that the Isle of Armor is all about-a growth...do you think we grew any during our-a stay, Luigi?
Luigi: I felt-a like I grew a couple of inches. But that could-a just be a symptom of me being tall. Other than that...eh, probably not that much.
Mario: Maybe because we aren't full-a fledged Pokemon trainers, we didn't grow as much as we hoped. Our Kubfus did-a most of the growing.
Luigi: I'm planning on donating my Urshifu to the Pokemon-a sanctuary. What about you, Mario? Doing the same?
Mario: Eh, I might as well...seeing that my Urshifu won't even learn-a Aura Sphere...
Lucario: I'm no move tutor, I'm just a Pokemon with telepathic skills. Mario comes to me about teaching some Pokemon move, I'm making this island my new home.
Upon returning to Seattle that evening, the Mario Bros went over to the mansion to donate their Urshifus to the Pokemon sanctuary. Afterwards, they and their neighbors were invited for dinner at the dining room, which was littered with red, yellow, green, and black balloons. Cilan provided some soul food for everyone; the connoisseur was worried that everyone would hate the food, but to his surprise, everyone was a fan.
"Doesn't this put a smile on your face?" Doc Louis asked Byleth and Beleth, the two professors standing at the dining room entrance and observing everything. "Seeing all these people embrace, in unity and harmony?"
"Are you...about to cry, Doc Louis?" Byleth asked the boxing trainer, seeing how emotional he was getting. "Think I saw a tear, running down your eye."
"Oh no, my eyes were just getting watery." Doc Louis rubbed his eye, which didn't do much to lower Byleth's suspicions. "But I'm good, I'm good..."
Knuckles: Man, I don't know what went over me! Got no clue as to why I was so all up in my feelings...perhaps I should start watching less television, or mainstream news in general. That might do the trick.
Doc Louis: A wise man once said, "you can't clean up somebody else's house if your own house is dirty". So if you wanna keep that house nice and tidy, then you gotta stick together! We might be different, but we're all one of the same. And as long as we embrace one another and come together, and work together, we can't be stopped!