Tournament of Kikai 2 Side Story

by Tinyhammer

FOR THOSE WHO LIKE READING THE MEGAMIX TOURNAMENT, BATTLE OF THE LUMINARIES, OKRON TOURNAMENT AND ESPECIALLY THE TOURNAMENT OF KIKAI, PLEASE READ THIS! It is a recap show where my characters host and introduce the fighters shown in the second Tournament of Kikai in an attempt to gain more voters for that fic. And just like the first recap show, this one will be full of personality!

10. Section Three Part Two

LINK TO SECTION BELOW

The camera then returned to Barry and Rinky. However, instead of looking excited, they looked… Worried.

"...Okay, saying that Xero isn't all there is like saying Bertha is a bully but how could HE forget something so important?" Barry asked.

"Yeah, they are one of the biggest parts of the UVR?" Rinky added. "It would seem weird to have an UVR tournament without them!"

"Ugh, we'll call him when a certain alarm goes off." Barry groaned. "For now, we have a show to do."

"Right…" Rinky sighed. He then grinned before looking at the camera. "Sorry about that, folks!"

"It seems that Xero and Maurice had some… difficulties with the tournament." Barry said before giving a nervous smile. "But don't worry, Monika is on it."

"What are the difficulties?" Rinky asked before frowning. "Well, we will explain later. But for now, let's get over the rest of the fighters. I am sure that we will see a lot of cool fighters!"

DANTE

NODE: PLAYSTATION ALL-STARS BATTLE ROYALE/DMC: DEVIL MAY CRY

ARENA A

Rinky's enthusiasm immediately drained as he slumped in his chair while Barry merely frowned. However, at the same time, he got out his phone before dialling a number. A few seconds later, someone answered it.

"Xero? Maurice? Monika? Whoever is answering this, all I have to ask is this." Rinky muttered. "Why? Just why?"

A nervous chuckle could be heard. "First off, it is me, Xero, secondly, I HAVE to invite him. After all, like it or not, HE was in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale and not the original."

"Okay, let's try it from a different angle." Rinky sighed, getting up. "Why invite Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale back at all? Or at least changed it up like SSBFreak did for the fourth Megamix Tournament?"

"Look, I thought about doing that. Especially since while I DO like SSBFreak's roster, there are a few things I would have changed." Xero admitted. "Aside from the fact that there are other Playstation picks that are left out, I am disappointed that Big Daddy, Toro Inoue and Kat & Dusty didn't make it in."

"So what's the deal?" Rinky asked. "It is not like you are unable to think of your own roster. Despite being one of your greatest weaknesses, your imagination is your biggest strength."

"Ignoring the weakness part for a moment, I don't know what to tell you." Xero said. "While the roster was lacklustre, we actually had fun watching them in combat. Even the extremely-obscure ones. And now that we actually know them a little better, we could do greater things."

"You could do that AND more with your OWN roster." Rinky scolded.

"Perhaps. Look, they didn't do THAT poorly in the last tournament." Xero offered.

"That's because they are people like Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter and Sir Daniel picking up their slack!" Rinky shot back.

"True… But still, I decided to give them another chance." Xero said. "I promise if they do just as lacklustre as in the last tournament, they would either be taken out or I will make my own roster if I did a third tournament."

Rinky let out a sigh. "Okay, fine… But I better hold out on you about this roster doing interesting things."

"Don't worry, if there is one thing I am not, it is someone that makes things boring!" Xero chuckled. "Anyway, gotta jet."

"Okay, lates." Rinky frowned before hanging up the phone. "...Drake and Ashley everyone."

The camera then went to Drake and Ashley with awkward looks.

"...Is it weird that I expected MORE theatrics?" Ashley asked.

"I think he mentally prepared for Dante when he saw the roster for All-Star Rumble was in the cast." Drake said, chuckling nervously. "So anyway, Devil May Cry! It is an action hack and slash video game franchise created by Hideki Kamiya, and developed and published by Capcom."

"It was originally going to be Resident Evil 4, believe it or not." Ashley added. "But don't feel bad for the Resident Evil fans because they got 4 AND many more sequels AND eventually a remake for 4.

"It stars Dante, son of Sparda. Despite being a demon, Sparda was cool and sealed away his fellow demons and saved the human world. However, Sparda died leaving behind his human wife and two half-demon twins, Dante and Vergil." Drake said before looking upset. "However, Eva is soon murdered and Vergil becomes obsessed with power while Dante decides to take up demon-hunting to pay the people who killed Eva pay."

"You would THINK that Dante would be a more-brooding protagonist and admittedly, he WAS in the start." Ashley shrugged. "But eventually he became the pizza-loving half-human half-demon demon hunter anti-hero everyone loves."

"The gameplay involves hacking and slashing, launching people in the air, ground pouncing, ground dash attacks, AIR dash attacks, double jumps and a stance system." Drake smirked. "There is even a Super mode. All used to make the most stylish combos ever. Style is the game!"

"Armed with his sword, Rebellion and his guns, Ebony and Ivory, Dante is ready to take on anything." Ashley added. "The series has spawned five games, with the latter three getting special re-releases, a HD collection and several other genres like light novels, comics, manga and even a board game.

Drake's grin then vanished. "And of course, there is the remake. DmC Devil May Cry takes place in an Alternate version of the world. The gameplay is mostly unchanged and Dante is still a gun-slinging sword-swinging demon slayer, butttttt…"

"...But everything else has changed. Especially Dante himself. For starters, he mostly looks the same." Ashley frowned. "However, instead of a full head of white hair, he has black hair."

"And a 'Please-Punch-Me-In-The-Face' expression on his face." Drake muttered. "Look, there are no mincing words. If the original Dante is naturally cool and knows it, this version tries too hard to act cool while not realising what made the original cool."

"Instead of just telling you why this Dante is inferior, I think it is best to show you." Ashley frowned.

With that, he pushed a button on a tablet. It then showed Dante and a grotesque-looking demon. They then proceeded to say "Fuck you" to each other.

"This is played SERIOUSLY by the way." Drake muttered.

"It is a bit of a pity because I don't think the GAMEPLAY is that bad." Ashley said.

"Yeah, but it is way too edgy for me. And the original Devil May Cry had Vergil." Drake frowned.

"And honestly, I didn't even hate DMC!Dante, anymore." Ashley admitted.

"Neither do I. Most likely because they gave Dante a proper send-off in Devil May Cry 5 AND a future Netflix anime so I don't mind DMC being around." Drake shrugged. "As long as he is nothing more than a palette swap just like in Marvel VS Capcom Infinite. Still, I don't want to deal with him unless helped."

"Well, it can't be helped here and at the very least, he wasn't the last one representing Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale." Ashley sighed. "Back to you guys."

The camera then went to a frowning Barry. "Thanks, guys."

"Ugh, let's get this over with." Rinky groaned. "Just like Drake and Ashley said, gameplay is similar to the original Devil May Cry, this Dante has a big sword and two pistols."

"However, Dante's main weapon is the sword, used for flashy aerial combos." Barry explained. "The guns are more of a secondary long-range option."

"However, swords and guns are not his only weapons, he also has other weapons like scythes and axes." Rinky said.

"He even has his own Devil Trigger that turns his coat completely red and his hair white like the original Dante." Barry offered.

"...I don't know. The most positive I could say about him is that he would be elimination fodder for… Literally everyone else." Rinky frowned.

"Well, he DID manage to save himself from being in the bottom 4 in the last tournament so maybe he will return the streak?" Barry asked with a sheepish grin.

Rinky looked at the camera with an exasperated look on his face.

BIG BAND

NODE: SKULLGIRLS

BIG GUY ALERT!

ARENA 2

Rinky smirked. "Hey, Barry, do you like jazz?"

Barry blinked twice. "I think Drake and Ashley already made that Bee Movie joke in the last tournament."

"Wait, really?" Rinky asked before looking annoyed. "Man, we need more original jazz memes."

Barry chuckled nervously. "But yeah, it is surprising that in a node called SkullGIRLS, they are male characters."

"To be fair, you HAVE to be female to even get close to the Skull Heart so that is why the roster is overrun by women." Rinky shrugged. "Regardless, I think the male characters, especially the ones that made it to playable status are just as iconic as the female."

"Anyway, as evidenced by his large-size, Big Band is a powerhouse." Barry said. "However, he is actually more defensive than offensive."

"From a gameplay standpoint, if he is forced to go on the offensive, he can and WILL do it!" Rinky grinned.

"And while his big body and slow speed makes him a big target, this is balanced out by having super-armour of some of his moves and deceptive range with his weapons." Barry said. "By weapons, I mean instruments you mean the types you see at a jazz band."

"I am sure that he will give us a true performance." Rinky smirked. He then chuckled nervously. "Unlike in the last tournament where he and a certain runner-up got outperformed."

IORI YAGAMI

NODE: KING OF FIGHTERS XV

ARENA A

Rinky raised an eyebrow. "Speaking of jazz, why is Iori happy to not have one of his theme songs and rather generic edgy music?"

"Maybe he didn't want it because it got tainted when he and Homer Simpson had it for their 'dual' introduction theme?" Barry asked, scratching the top of his head.

"Yeah, that makes sense because there was a reason why Iori's theme was playing for Homer." Rinky said.

"Indeed. Surely, no one could mistake it for Iori actually disliking jazz normally." Barry said.

The two then paused.

"Also, despite Iori seeming like a hypocrite for 'copying' Kyo's fighting style, while it is hard to notice some similarities, they are not THAT alike." Rinky noted.

"To be fair, that argument held more weight in the earlier KoFs but after the Orochi saga, Kyo completely ditches the Shotoclone style to become more of a rushdown fighter." Barry pointed out. His face then went solemn. "Probably the side effect of all of the Kyo clones."

"So IORI is the balanced one of the two?" Rinky asked in awe. "That is quite surprising."

"But yes, Iori is somewhat of a Shotoclone with some tricks." Barry said. "His 'Hadoken' is a ground fire wave, his 'Shoryuken' is him spinning around with his flaming arms outstretched and his 'Hurricane Kick' is simply a lunging dive.

"Andddddd he has purple flames!" Rinky grinned. "That is way cooler than generic orange flames!"

Barry chuckled. "Indeed. While Iori isn't exactly… A people-pleaser, I always find his aesthetic more appealing than Kyo.

BARK THE POLARBEAR

NODE: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

ARENA 2

"Huh. Perfect streak, almost." Barry noted.

"Hm. What do you mean?" Rinky asked.

"Well, in the first Tournament of Kikai, Na… Um, Fang was the first one of the Fighters trio to appear in. In the third Battle of the Luminaries, it was Bean." Barry explained.

Rinky's eyes widened. "And now Bark is appearing here."

"Yes. If he appeared in the first section it would be a complete streak." Barry said.

"Ah…" Rinky said before frowning. "But I don't know about him though. In a node full of characters with cool powers and even super strength, thus why the Power-type exists, what makes Bark so special?"

"Now, now, at the end of the day, Bark, along with Bean and arguably Sonic are the only ones with canon experience fighting… Well, fighting game characters." Barry reminded.

"Wait, really?" Rinky asked in awe.

"Yeah, in Fighters Megamix, fighting alongside the likes of Virtua Fighter, Fighting Vipers, the Hornet car from Daytona USA." Barry said, counting off on his fingers.

Rinky did a double-take. "Woah, wait a minute, wait a minute. You can't just spring the last part on me and NOT expect me to question it."

"Too bad, I can and I will." Barry smirked, making Rinky pout. "Besides, between Mighty and Ray showing up in Mania Plus and Fang showing up in Superstars, it seems that the old classic characters are not fully forgotten.

The ghost paused. "True… Plus, he is the only one that has a vocal track remix on their stage in Fighters. Don't know why if they thought he was important enough to get that, he must be worth something."

Barry blinked twice. "I… Always wondered about that."

TREECKO

NODE: POKEMON

ARENA…

"Wait, give me a moment!" Rinky suddenly yelled.

With that, he picked up his PokeDex and figured with it. After a few seconds, some things were changed.

TREECKO

NODE: POKEMON/MYSTERY DUNGEON: RESCUE TEAM DX

ARENA A

Barry smirked before giving a thumbs-up. "Good catch."

"Hey, they're clearly not based on any generic Pokemon you can catch but why not include the subnode that this one is actually one." Rinky winked. He then put down his tablet to pick up his tablet. "And nowwwwww…"

"Treecko. The Wood Gecko Pokemon. Small hooks on the bottom of its feet catch on walls and ceilings. That is how it can hang from above."

"Hey, that is actually a cool description!" Rinky grinned. His face then fell. "But I doubt that she would find much use in the arena."

"Knowing this tournament, she may find a couple of chances." Barry said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, maybe she will use them OUT of the arena, seeing that she is involved in an out-of-arena plot."

"True… But now is not the time to start thinking about it." Rinky shrugged. "Yo, guys. Sudden sub-node."

The camera then went to a grinning Drake. "Leave it to us. Now I think we may or may not have mentioned Mystery Dungeon at least once but this is the first time talking about it."

"That's right. It is created by Spike Chunsoft and one of their many roguelike games. Yes, it turns out that they had games OUTSIDE of Danganronpa. Who knew?" Ashley shrugged.

"Unlike the main games, the world is exclusively full of Pokémon with no humans in sight." Drake noted. "And it is not like they are fully wild. The Pokemon live in towns and cities, run shops, and go on adventures in randomly generated dungeons."

"Unlike the usual 'To Be a Master' and 'Gotta Catch Them All' spiel, the story is more engaging in each entry despite following a similar format in every game." Ashley said. "While humans are not unheard of in Mystery Dungeon, in every game, there is at least one that could be turned into a Pokemon and transported to the world. There, they became friends with another Pokemon and they formed an exploration team."

"What is an exploration team? Well, it is what you expect from a Roguelike, except with battle mechanics loosely resembling those of the main Pokémon series with all 700-plus individual species that you could possibly recruit, all 18 elemental types, moves, abilities, and Status Effects from the main series show up in a manner better suited to the different nature of gameplay." Drake smirked.

"The Mystery Dungeon though WE are focusing on is Red and Blue Rescue Team to be specific its remake, Rescue Team DX." Ashley said. "Why that particular remake? Because the Treecko and her Skitty partner are based on Chuggaaconroy's playthrough of the latter game. Thus despite being referred to by their species name, they still have nicknames. …Never thought I would come across a Chuggaaconroy reference in this tournament that DIDN'T make me cringe."

"As the first game in the series, it is definitely the most bare bones. But there is still enough stuff to keep new players invested, especially in the remake." Drake grinned. "Back to you guys!"

The camera then went to a nodding Rinky. "Cool, guys!"

Barry then held his tablet. "Now normally I would list moves it would do but seeing that this is based on one particular person's Treecko, it is a little hard to pin down."

"Well, let's start with what we DO know and make our way from there." Rinky shrugged. "Treecko, or Willow, has the starting ability, Overgrow. It is your basic Grass starter ability: Powers up Grass-types moves when low on health."

"She also has Dragon Breath as a starting move and something you get at the start, it is quite good." Barry noted. "Not only is it a good long-range attack and could paralyse an opponent, it could also help her beat the final boss when her partner has fallen."

"Its notable moves, at least listed from Chuggaconroy himself is Confide which lowers the opponent's Special Attack by two stages, Attract, that infatuates their opponent REGARDLESS of gender." Rinky said. "And Petal Blizzard which hits the ENTIRE room."

"I don't think she will use that though. Unlike in the Mystery Dungeon games, it is not wise to hit EVERYONE in the arena at once." Barry frowned.

"Yeah, especially when she has a mission to do." Rinky nodded.

THE PANDA KING

NODE: SLY COOPER

ARENA 2

"Ooh, I haven't seen the Panda King for a long time!" Barry winced.

Rinky turned towards Barry with a raised eyebrow. "But you said that your interaction with the Cooper Gang was to a minimum."

"Yes, I do." The bear said. "However, I actually do business UNRELATED to the Cooper gang."

"Wait, really?" Rinky asked.

"Yeah, do you remember that party I held with my mob?" Barry questioned.

Rinky's pupils shrank. "Wait, the fireworks THERE were handled by…"

"...That's right. The Panda King." Barry smirked, crossing his arms.

"Dude, why didn't you tell me that!?" Rinky scolded. "I wanted to use some of his fireworks so much!"

Barry rolled his eyes. "You just answered your own question."

Rinky grumbled as he crossed his arms. "...How does he fight?"

"Well, it is easy to mistake the Panda King for a zoner and he IS, to a certain extent." Barry said. "He could target up to six targets with his fire from his cannon."

"But a bear by any other profession is still a bear." Rinky noted.

"That's right. He has learned Flame-Fu, a self-taught art where uses martial arts and pyromancy." Barry warned. "Whether it would be fire-engulfed punches or kicks or another projectile."

"Woah. Do you think that having an early draw, the Panda King has more drive to last longer?" Rinky asked.

"Perhaps. Once the Panda King sets his mind on something, the only way to deter from it is usually by force." Barry nodded.

HECTOR

NODE: LOONEY TUNES: WORLD OF MAYHEM

"Huh. It seems that both bulldogs from Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes are both here." Barry noted.

"What is Hector going to do?" Rinky asked. "No, really, Hector's main schtick is completely protecting Tweety from Sylvester. If NEITHER of them were in the arena, what would be the point?"

"Yes, it is not like he could try to replicate Spike's strategy because of how poorly THAT worked out for him." Barry frowned. "Still, that is what his variants are."

"Oh, what does he have?" Rinky asked.

"Well, he has Astronaut Hector, Devil Dog, Farmer Hector, Hector, Krampus Dog, Police Dog Hector and Warrior Monk Hector." Barry explained. "He even has a Iron Mutt skin which seems to be a homage to Colossus from X-Men."

Rinky blinked twice. "Wait, he isn't even a main toon and he got THAT much?"

"I think he was released in World of Mayhem's early-ish stages." Barry shrugged. "But at least he should have enough variety to make up for his usual static role, right?"

ARIEL

NODE: KINGDOM HEARTS/THE LITTLE MERMAID

ARENA 2

"Even now, I am still in awe that Ariel didn't make it into the last tournament." Rinky said.

"Yeah, you would think that Xero, the OC of a Disney fanatic, would realise that there was a way for Ariel as a mermaid with Sorcerer's Arena." Barry noted. "Then again, Disney DOES have a lot of games that have gone under the radar even for the most hardcore Disney fan. I think Tinyhammer even found Sorcerer's Arena by ACCIDENT."

"Yeah…" Rinky frowned. He then brightened up. "But better late than never. Drake, Ashley, it looks like you have pretty big boots to fill!"

The camera then went to a smiling Ashley. "Oh, don't worry, there is no way we will half-bake this."

"Under the Sea! Under the Sea!" Drake sang. "Darling, it's better, now where's it wetter, take it from me!"

"The Little Mermaid is the twenty-eighth entry in the Disney Animated Canon. It was written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements in 1989." Ashley explained. "It is a loose adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tale 'The Little Mermaid'."

"Why did Ashley say loose?" Drake asked before frowning. "Well, the original tale is more bittersweet. Basically, Merfolk live for centuries. Our protagonist is a princess and is deeply curious about the world above but isn't permitted to go to the surface until she turns fifteen.

"She finally has her turn when she sees a young prince's sixteenth birthday celebration, and she also rescues him from drowning after it ends." Ashley explained. "She leaves him unconscious on shore near a temple where he can be found, but she has already fallen in love with him."

"Unable to enjoy life below the waves, the mermaid makes a deal with the Sea Witch to become human. The cost is steep: the Sea Witch can grant her legs and inhuman grace, but every step will feel like she is walking on knives." Drake said before wincing. "Yeah, old fairy tales were DARK. The mermaid must also give her voice as payment. And her humanity is only conditional: if she can make the prince fall in love with her and marry her, she can gain a share in his soul and be truly human, but if he marries another, she will die at the next sunrise."

"Needless to say, the Disney version didn't put those dark elements in but still some parts are intact like the mermaid, Ariel, falling in love with the human, Eric, and making a deal with the Sea Witch, Ursula." Ashley said. "And as much as a piece of work she is, Ursula never made her feel like she was talking on knives.

"The Little Mermaid is actually one of Disney's most popular movies." Drake said. "In fact, even on being listed as solely as Western Animation on TVTropes, it also has gotten a FRANCHISE page."

"It spawned a sequel and a prequel, though depending on how good it is depends on the person." Ashley said. "The Prequel TV cartoon was more positive."

"Yeah, there were a lot of cool characters in that cartoon." Drake noted. "Urchin, Lobster Mobster and Da Shrimp, the Evil Manta, even Gabriella, the mute AND deaf mermaid!"

"It also spawned a few games, a musical and… A live-action remake." Ashley said, frowning at the last part.

"Don't… Just don't…" Drake said. "So yeah, the Little Mermaid is a major part of Disney history and even though things may be difficult for obvious reasons, she should have known a way into it. But better late than never! Back to you guys!"

The camera then went to a nodding Barry. "Nice one, guys. I am sure that Ariel will be proud."

"Now despite just being a mermaid with limited combat capabilities in the movies, she actually has a wide pool to choose from." Rinky said. "For starters, do you know that in the first Kingdom Hearts, when Sora, Donald and Goofy need their weapons to fight Heartless, SHE of all people is fighting with her tail."

"Admittedly, her actual physical power is quite low so her main form of offence is in her magic." Barry said. "Which is basically summoning potions that either heal, create a barrier of wind or summon a bolt of electricity."

"Also, in 3, she could turn her entire body into water and splash around the arena while sending orbs of water everywhere." Rinky added. "However, I think that may need a Smash Ball to get into it and I think she may save that for a different form."

"Also, seeing that she has a permanent surge of water around her, it is safe to say that she has her father's trident for long-range energy shots." Barry noted. "Fun fact: Sorcerer's Arena wasn't the first game where she did so. She actually wielded it as a Disney Princess for the Game Boy Advance."

"And of course, how could we forget about her form from Mirrorverse? Where she doesn't need a surge of water to move around." Rinky said. "Furthermore, she is a MELEE fighter."

"She could fight close up unlike Ranged who fights from a distance, Support who focuses on keeping the OTHERS alive and Tank who just takes the attacks." Barry said.

"Yeah, between her large potential for moves and her determination to make up for missing the last tournament, she intends to make up for lost time." Rinky smirked.

GNASTY GNORC

NODE: SPYRO THE DRAGON

ARENA A

"Well, the honeymoon phase is finally over." Rinky shrugged.

"Hm?" Barry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The Spyro characters have been revealed for Crash Team Rumble and they are revealed to be Spyro, Elora and Ripto." Rinky explained.

Barry blinked twice. "Wait, ELORA? Has she even shown ANY combat capability?"

"I don't think so. If she did, Xero would have invited her just like he invited Bianca." Rinky said. "But yeah, Gnasty Gnorc is not the 'main' villain anymore."

"Ah…" Barry said. "Which is weird because he is the FIRST Spyro villain."

"Maybe because he only gets ONE cutscene and a very lame final boss." Rinky muttered. "All he did was shoot magic from his staff and run away like a coward.

"True… Those didn't really help his case." Barry frowned. "But he DID show up in Crash on the Run and while he DOES still technically shoot and run away, he could summon a barrier around himself to protect against attacks. Besides, people use various Crash on the Run abilities in the third Battle of the Luminaries, why not here?"

PERRY THE PLATYPUS

NODE: DISNEY TELEVISION ANIMATION ALL-STARS/PHINEAS AND FERB

TEAM: DISNEY CHANNEL ORIGINALS

ARENA 2

Barry blinked twice. "...So let me get this straight. We have Perry and Doofenshmirtz. But not the titular character themselves."

Suddenly, they heard a phone ring. Barry then quickly answered it.

"Well, Xero?" Barry asked.

"Ugh, look, I WANTED to invite those two. However, I think you already know this but Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law take place in the same universe." The lop-sider groaned.

Barry blinked twice. "Um, yeah?"

"As iconic as those two cartoons are, adding Phineas and Ferb would have taken out two people from the cast." Xero sighed. "And that is simply out of the question."

"Okay, but why not take out Perry and Doof?" Barry asked.

"Well, while two sides of a different coin, they could stand on their own." Xero explained. "Phineas and Ferb on the other hand seems to be more of a pair. You can't have one without the other."

"Timon and Pumbaa." Barry said without missing a beat.

"Yeah, if you have Phineas and Ferb as a pair, you would have him and one more fighter." Rinky added. "Furthermore, why is Timon and Pumbaa the only pair in the roster?"

"Oh, dang, can you guys actually WAIT until we get to Timon and Pumbaa until you rib into me!" Xero snapped.

Rinky rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright."

"Look, if you know Phineas and Ferb doesn't know that Perry is actually a secret agent." Xero scolded. "We can't have all four of them. And honestly, I argue that Perry and Doof are just as iconic as the titular characters."

"True. I can't picture Phineas and Ferb, the show, not the characters without the two." Rinky admitted.

"So yeah, I admit that Phineas and Ferb may be my most shocking omission from the roster." Xero said before sighing. "But that is the consequence of being the OC of a Disney Fanatic. Nearly everyone else would be a sin to omit."

"I admit that there are a couple of eyebrow-raisers in the rosters, but I decided to save that until we get to them." Barry shrugged. "But yeah, I am convinced of Phineas and Ferb being out of the tournament."

"Thank you." Xero said. "I will be back to answer any and all Disney questions. But for now, till then."

Barry nodded as the two hung up. "Well, sorry for the fans of Phineas and Ferb, the characters, but that's how the cookie crumbles."

"For now, let's see if Drake and Ashley could make up with their research segment." Rinky offered.

The camera then went to Ashley. "Don't worry, we will. Though admittedly, we are going to cheat a little by explaining the plot of the show. Right, Drake?"

The vampire gave a smirk. "Right, Ashley."

With that, he took a deep breath.

"There's a hundred and four days of summer vacation till school comes along just to end it." Drake frowned. "So the annual problem for our generation Is finding a good way to spend it Like maybe…"

He then smirked.

"Building a rocket, or fighting a mummy or climbing up the Eiffel tower, discovering something that doesn't exist or giving a monkey a shower, surfing tidal waves, creating nanobots, or locating Frankenstein's brain." Drake sang. "Finding a Dodo bird, painting a continent or driving our sister insane!"

He then chuckled.

"As you can see, there's a whole lot of stuff to do before school starts this fall." Drake smiled. "So stick with us so Phineas and Ferb are gonna do it all!"

Then, a crystal ball floated on-screen.

"Mom, Drake is being lazy and just singing the theme song to explain the plot of Phineas and Ferb." Cacey whined.

"Gotta love theme songs that explain the plot." Ashley chuckled. "But yes, Phineas and Ferb is co-created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh."

"The cartoon is mostly explained except for a few times. Except sometimes they would be joined by Isabella, a member of a girl scout called the Fireside Girls and have a huge crush on Phineas, Baljeet, an Indian nerd and Buford, the latter's bully." Drake explained. He then paused. "Yeah, their relationship is… Interesting. But don't worry, Midoriya and Bakugou interesting!"

"Phineas and Ferb also have a pet platypus called Perry also known as Agent P.. Said Platypus is actually a secret agent, not unlike Secret Squirrel." Ashley explained. "He works for O.W.C.A. which stands for the Organization Without a Cool Acronym. …Wait, wouldn't that make it O.W.A.C.A?"

"Don't be a hater, man." Drake said, rolling his eyes. "Speaking of haters, Phineas and Ferb's older sister is one of the biggest ones I've ever seen! Her main goal is trying to rat out her brothers' plans to their parents for no reason."

"To be fair, what they usually do IS pretty dangerous." Ashley said. "There is a reason why the exchange 'Aren't you too young to be doing this thing? Yes, yes, we are' is a running gag of the series."

"I guess but if that's the case, why not try to tell them what they are doing is dangerous instead of just being a snitch!" Drake scoffed. "I mean sure there are some times where I genuinely feel sorry for her, especially when she is actually doing things OTHER than ratting out her brother but still."

"I guess. And of course, we can't forget about Perry's arch-nemesis and sometimes frenemy, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz where his plans involve… blowing up billboards that are blocking his view of the city skyline, shooting tires at an ice-cream man who ran over his foot or dumping sand on the house of a bully who used to kick sand in his face when he was a kid." Ashley said.

"Needless to say, he is considered a comical character." Drake said. He then frowned. "Then, you see snippets of his childhood and then you also feel sorry for him."

"Yeah, I thought I had it bad with MY partners." Ashley frowned. "Also, he is not irredeemable. He is actually a decent father to his teenage daughter, Vanessa. Also, he genuinely tries to be a good guy in Milo Murphy's Law. …With about the same results as being a hero."

"Ah, yes, Milo Murphy's Law. We WILL talk about it. But because of semi-spoilers, they are in the roster as well." Drake said.

"The show was praised for its running gags, clever writing, and at least one new musical number per episode. It is also one of the first to hit the 100-episode mark." Ashley noted. "In fact, at the start of this year, a REVIVAL was announced for the show."

"So yeah, even though the titular characters are not here, the pair that we DO get should be able to make up for it." Drake offered. "Back to you guys!"

The camera then went to a nodding Barry. "Thanks, guys."

"Now Perry… Is a badass! No, really, despite his size, he is actually a skilled judo fighter!" Rinky grinned. "Also, he joins Cappy from Super Mario Odyssey for the coolest hat in the multiverse

"Indeed. His hat could be used as a chainsaw, a boomerang or just to hold even MORE weapons." Barry said.

"Also, isn't he poisonous? He IS a platypus after all." Rinky said.

"To be fair, he never needed to use it. His strength, skills and smarts are enough to get him through the day!" Barry smirked.

SHULK

NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/XENOBLADE CHRONICLES

ARENA A

Barry's eyes lit up at this. "Well, I didn't expect Shulk AND Pyra & Mythra to show up in the same section."

"To be fair, the same could be said for Mike and Sulley." Rinky said. "That is just how the randomiser goes."

"Well, this should be interesting seeing that Drake and Ashley have just finished explaining Xenoblade Chronicles 2 in the last part." Barry smirked.

The camera then went to a grinning Drake. "I am really feeling it!"

Ashley rolled his eyes. "Of course, you would start with the meme. Well, seeing that we already talked about the basis, we will focus on the first game. IT is about two continent-sized gods whose corpses are used AS continents."

"On each other continent are two types of people: Organic and mechanical people. Though they are at odds with each other." Drake noted. "The mechanical people called Mechons wanted to wipe out the people of Bionis. They caused a war in the past and in the present, they destroyed the hometown of the protagonist, Shulk."

"So that is why he decided to use the Monado. A powerful weapon that could not only slash through the Mechon's tough armour, but also give him the power to see the future." Ashley explained. He then paused. "Though things get a little… Complicated."

"And then some. Regardless, you meet a cast of lovely characters, explore beautiful places and bobbing your head to the music so it will help you get through it!" Drake smirked. "Plus, at the end of the day, all three games are connected so technically Shulk has appeared in ALL of them."

"It is a shame that we didn't have a rep from the third game but it can't be helped." Ashley shrugged. "Well, at least we still have Shulk, Pyra and Mythra."

The camera then went to a nodding Rinky. "Nice one, guys."

"Now Shulk is a swordsman, though his blade arguably has the most range, even more so than Cloud's Buster Sword." Barry said. He then paused. "But don't tell HIM that."

"Yeah, also his main gimmick is the Monado Arts where he could take on a stance where he improves one of his stats but lowers another." Rinky said. "Jump increases his jumping ability at the cost of defence, Speed makes him go faster at the cost of jumping ability, Shield makes him a tank at the cost of speed AND power, Buster makes him attacks stronger, but NOT have more knockback and Smash is opposite of Buster."

"He also has a small heal and also he could see through the future to not only act as a counter but also save him from various events." Barry noted.

"Yeah, there have been so many cases of Shulk stopping so many bad events in the third Battle of the Luminaries where he did decently well, especially in comparison to the last Tournament of Kikai." Rinky noted. "Think he could repeat the same thing here?"

"I mean he is with not only his nodal companions but also his SUB-nodal companions." Barry reminded. "So yeah."

JACK O'LANTERN

NODE: THE GRIM ADVENTURES OF BILLY AND MANDY

BIG GUY ALERT!

ARENA 2

"Oof, you would think that Xero would rig the draws so that he would show up in the Halloween section just like with Mr. Skellington in the last tournament." Rinky said.

"I think he already has his Halloween picks locked." Barry mused. He then rolled his eyes. "You know how much he loves his holiday sections."

"Still, kinda a wasted potential to not have him seeing that he first appeared in a Halloween special." Rinky shrugged. "Especially since his schtick would have been similar to Beetlejuice seeing that he is a callous prankster."

Barry blinked twice. "...You are very knowledgeable about this."

"Well, yeah, someone has to see that it is going to be a main node here." Rinky said, narrowing his eyes.

Barry raised his finger to say something. But then, he closed it. "Okay, fair enough. So what is HIS story?"

"Well, he is a huge prankster and he has a lot of different types of prank items in his burlap sack." Rinky explained. "So expect things like banana peels, whoopee cushions and ice bucket traps."

Barry blinked twice. "Whoopee cushions."

"Trust me, dude, looking at the roster, he isn't the only person to use them in a fighting tournament." Rinky said, waving it off.

Barry paused. "So I guess that he is a tricky fighter in the Power Stone-esque game."

"Actually, no, he is a well-rounder." Rinky corrected.

"...What?" Barry asked.

"Yeah, I don't get it either." Rinky shrugged.

"I-In any case, Jack is going to try his best to make this section a Halloween section." Barry said, chuckling nervously.

E. HONDA

NODE: STREET FIGHTER

BIG GUY ALERT!

ARENA A

Barry blinked twice. "Wait, isn't E. Honda also in the ring at the fourth Megamix Tournament?"

"Yeah, I noticed that too." Rinky noted. "Which is weird because that meant he actually survived the section."

"Yeah, that is a first for him." Barry nodded. "Maybe it is because he is a part of the original eight World Warriors?"

Rinky rolled his eyes. "Yeah, overexposure sounds about right. Make no mistake, they are the originals but at the same time I rather see other Street Fighters get more screentime."

Barry paused. "You DO remember that technically other than Ryu and Ken, also Sagat if you are including the bosses, the World Warriors are NOT the originals like the ones from Street Fighter 1 is."

"Yeah, so?" Rinky asked.

Barry rolled his eyes. "Anywayyyyy, as the first sumo wrestler in gaming, E. Honda is a heavyweight grappler. However, he is not exactly a traditional one."

"Yeah, he is faster than he looks. I think he is the first Ora-Ora-Ora in fighting games with his Hundred-Hand-Slap, he could take off like a missile with his Sumo Headbutt!" Rinky grinned. "He could even jump up before crashing down like Bowser's Bowser Bomb!"

"...I know that everyone and their grandma already already said this but they are NOT sumon moves." Barry said, blinking twice.

"Who cares? They are cool!" Rinky scolded.

"I mean he has gotten himself so far with even an elimination under his belt in the Megamix Tournament sooo…" Barry shrugged.

SHINGO YABUKI

NODE: KING OF FIGHTERS XV

ARENA 2

"Shingo, you have been away from both King of Fighters AND an UVR tournament for far too long my man." Rinky grinned.

"Indeed. It is rather jarring but he has been a lock since 97 but after XI, he just vanishes." Barry nodded.

Rinky's grin vanished. "Though Wolf DOES have a point. Isn't trying to copy someone who has rarely done well at these things a good idea."

"I mean sure, that IS true." Barry mused. "However, Sakura is considered a younger clone of Ryu in some aspects and it is the FORMER who is an UVR tournament."

"True, and it is not like he doesn't have experience under his belt with his reappearance in XV." Rinky nodded. "As you would expect from a superfan of Kyo Kusanagi, Shingo is actually Kyo without the flames."

"However, his gameplay is still solid, being a simple yet effective rushdown fighter with a few command grabs." Barry explained before rolling his eyes.

"And who could forget his SHINGO KICK for closing the distance!" Rinky grinned. "Oh, and he is officially a pyromancer now!"

"Somewhat. Shingo has his mechanic called Critical Hit where on some of his moves, there is a chance that his attacks will be better." Barry said. "And in one of his attacks, Shingo actually emits flames. Albeit a tiny one if you blink and miss it. Even Shingo himself is shocked at this."

"That is really impressive seeing that he clearly doesn't have Kusanagi blood in his veins." Rinky grinned. "Saisyu has been teaching him well."

"But it is all-or-nothing. If Kyo can't get an elimination for the Kusanagi style and obviously Saisyu is the only one here, Shingo may be their last hope." Barry said.

FRANCISCA

NODE: KIRBY

ARENA A

Rinky blinked twice. "They are having the Mage Sisters as separate fighters?"

"Um, that is how you fought them in the games." Barry reminded.

"I mean yeah, but in the DLC where they are playable, they are a switch-out fighter, just like Pyra & Mythra or the Angry Beavers." Rinky pointed out.

"Umm… I think it is because they are the MAGE Sisters?" Barry asked. "You know how much Orange-Ratchet loves his mages."

Rinky paused. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Besides, the Mage Sisters do have an interesting moveset despite boiling down to the basic fire, ice and electricity trio." Barry said. "For instance, Francisca's weapon is an axe shaped like a snowflake."

"Cool." Rinky nodded.

Barry blinked twice. "...Was that genuine or you just wanted to make a pun?"

Rinky smirked. "Yes."

Barry rolled his eyes. "Anyway, while she does have the standard fare like ice shards, she could have her axe float up and turn into a giant buzzsaw to fly around the area."

"She also has a super-soaker that shoots out water." Rinky added. "Sure, that doesn't sound impressive but may I remind you that she is a CRYOMANCER so the water is literally ice-cold."

"Not to mention that she has a cool disposition which makes her hard to anger but also more likely to think of pragmatic ways to get ahead." Barry said, grimly.

Rinky gulped nervously. "Talk about an ice queen."

Then, a certain alarm went off. However, instead of getting excited, the two just frowned.

"Well, it is finally time." Rinky noted.

"Give me a moment, everyone." Barry said, getting out his phone.

Suddenly, it started to ring. Raising an eyebrow, he answered it.

"Oh, Maurice, your timing is perfect." Barry said.

"Yeah, I knew that you would question me or Xero about the Mystery Fighters at least once." The bull said sheepishly.

Barry frowned. "How can I not? What in the world happened? Aren't you guys OCs of Orange-Ratchet? How could you guys FORGET one Mystery Fighter? Let alone two!"

Maurice let out a deep sigh. "I literally have no idea… I can't even chalk it up as 'Well, it's Xero's fault' because I was there when he was looking over the list."

"Then, what the hell happened?" Barry exclaimed. "How could you forget a major important part of the UVR?"

"I don't know." Maurice said. "Look, don't worry, we asked Monika to get two picks for us and knowing her based on a game Orange-Ratchet recently played along with a movie that he recently watched, she should get them easily."

"I should hope so." Rinky said, narrowing his eyes. "I think only the final section should be the only section to not have Mystery Fighters."

"Also, don't hang up just yet." Maurice warned. "I have a feeling that you would want to call us immediately."

Barry and Rinky looked at each other in confusion.

"Umm… Alright?" Barry asked before looking at the camera. "Our first Mystery Fighter and possibly our first last-minute Mystery Fighter since the final four ones in the first Battle of the Luminaries."

OATCHI

NODE: PIKMIN 4

ARENA B

Barry and Rinky rolled his eyes.

"Of course that one of them is a Pikmin one." Rinky snarked. "Of course, of course!"

"Actually, believe it or not, it is all Monika." Maurice said. "If anything, Xero is PISSED about this."

Barry jumped. "W-What? Why? I thought he loved Pikmin."

"He does. But apparently he already has a Pikmin character planned to come out in the same section as Fang the Hunter." Maurice explained.

Barry and Rinky watched with wide eyes.

"...Wait, Xero was planning to have Fang in the same section." Barry said.

"I know…" Maurice sighed.

"...Despite all of the backlash he has gotten from Fang AND Olimar for forcing them to node-hop in the tournament." Rinky added.

"I know…" Maurice groaned.

"...And while obviously not as much as letting Junko and Tsugumi into the security team, he went through a lot of crap from EVERYONE for doing that and yet he was going for Round 2." Barry said.

"I know…" Maurice said, performing the Rule of Three.

Rinky paused, narrowing his eyes. "...Okay, last question. Why is he the main host again?"

"Yeah, you would think that he would be grateful that he has gotten a second chance after all he has caused." Barry said, crossly. "Look, I know that Junko is a dangerous woman and all, but I don't care what anyone says. Her almost taking over the multiverse isn't because of HER strengths but XERO'S faults."

"But instead he just kept making the same mistake!" Rinky agreed. "Even I learned that!"

"I don't know what to tell you…" Maurice sighed. "Look, Xero looks like he is one minute away from taking the phone from me and going on a huge rant."

"Yeah, let's hang up." Rinky said. "If he AND I both sent out our own opinions on the matters, NOBODY is going to be happy."

"Alright, later…" Maurice sighed. With that, he hung up.

Barry just groaned. "...Drake and Ashley."

The camera then went to an exasperated Drake and Ashley.

"...I swear Maurice is WAY too soft on that guy." Drake said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, you know fully well how I would give you hell on earth if YOU did that." Ashley said, sternly.

Drake chuckled nervously. "Sooo, about Pikmin 4, first things first. Pikmin is a Real-Time Strategist video game. Based on the cancelled Super Mario 128. …You know, I know that we never talk about this because it is not relevant but I WAS always curious to see how that would turn out."

"Yeah, I could just see the look of horror on Bowser's face." Ashley smirked. He then stifled a cough. "But yeah, based on that, it also inspired by Shigeru Miyomoto's observations of insects at work, his love of Gardening and basic RTS gameplay."

"You play as an astronaut named Olimar who crash-landed on a strange world that is full of poisonous air and dangerous creatures." Drake explained "However, they also have creatures called Pikmin. Olimar seems to be able to control them and make them help him."

"You could collect differently-coloured Pikmin. Each with their own role like Blue Pikmin can swim and Purple Pikmin are heavy." Ashley explained. "Combined with Olimar's leadership, they set out to find the pieces of his spaceship and escape before the end of the day.

"The game spawned four games, along with spinoffs called Hey! Pikmin and Pikmin Bloom. However, due to Oatchi appearing in the fourth game, we will go deeper on that." Drake said.

Ashley nodded. "Appearing on July 21, 2023, the game opens with Captain Olimar recounting the story of the first game. Even though he doesn't play, Pikmin knows that he never encountered a space dog in that game."

"One thing leads to another, and this time around, Olimar is able to get out a distress signal to get help in the event that he's unable to find all his ship parts." Drake said. "Oh, and get this. You get to create your own character."

"Maybe because the protagonists are so indistinguishable save for appearance. Anyway, they along with the Rescue Corps came in to rescue Olimar." Ashley explained. He then rolled their eyes. "But then THEY crashed and had nearly EVERYONE scattered around."

"...Methinks that the Hocotations should give up the ghost on visiting the Pikmin planets." Drake chuckled nervously. "But yeah, to the shock and no one ever it is YOU who has to find them. Fortunately, this time, besides the Pikmin of course, you are not alone because you have the good boi, Oatchi!"

"There are two new Pikmin in 4. Ice Pikmin that are obviously immune to being frozen and Glow Pikmin that could fight and are immune to all elemental hazards." Ashley explained. He then sighed. "I must say that it is well worth the wait."

"Yeah, I am not surprised that Orange-Ratchet played the game recently." Drake nodded. "Plus, Monika inadvertently saved us from Xero being a biassed jackass like in the last tournament. Back to you guys. I will sending you Oatchi's abilities."

The camera then went to a nodding Rinky. "Thanks, guys."

"Now Oatchi's moves are simple but effective. He could drag objects that are larger than him to the strength of 100 Pikmin, attack enemies with a chomp or a charging ram and even have a healing factor." Barry explained.

"In other words, Unskilled But Strong." Rinky noted.

"Yes, unfortunately, Monika seems to have plucked him and the other Mystery Fighter from their respective nodes so they are completely unprepared." Barry frowned.

"Ouch…" Rinky winced. He then gave a weak smile. "B-But don't worry. This isn't the first time Oatchi was in an unknown and dangerous location."

"I suppose that is true. Especially since there is a no-killing rule in effect." Barry noted. "Still, I hope the little guy makes it, regardless of how well he does."

Then, the alarm went off again. Barry and Rinky raised an eyebrow.

"Huh. Already?" Rinky asked.

"To be fair, after Oatchi, there are only four fighters left." Barry reminded. "And honestly, this is less of the draws and more of the missing Mystery Fighter."

"Oh, right…" Rinky muttered, rolling his eyes. "Well, let's get this over with."

SCRAT

NODE: ICE AGE

ARENA A

Rinky's eyes lit up while Barry blinked twice.

"SCRAT!" Rinky squealed.

"Wait a minute, didn't Maurice say that the Mystery Fighter would be someone from a recent movie?" Barry asked, blinking twice.

"Well, Scrat DID get his own side-series and even an one-off short last year." Rinky shrugged.

Barry did a double take. "Wait, WHAT!?"

"Yeah, but it is not MY place to say." Rinky said. "Yo, Drake, Ashley, do your job!"

The camera then went to a nodding Drake and a frowning Ashley.

"Aight! Ice Age is a computer-animated movie series made by 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios." Drake explained. "Beginning with the release of Ice Age in 2002, it is the series the now-defunct Blue Sky is best known for."

Ashley let out a deep sigh. "The films follow the adventures of an unusual herd trying their best to survive an era of history that always seems to bring catastrophic events. The main trio consists of an emotionally distant yet caring mammoth named Manny, a clueless sloth named Sid and a sabertooth tiger with a sweet spot named Diego, all the while a squirrel named Scrat just wants to eat an acorn."

"The first film was simple enough. There is a human baby that got separated from his herd and now it is up to the unlikely trio to save them." Drake offered. "It is actually a decently good comedy film."

"And then they didn't quit while they were ahead and kept trying to franchise into the ground." Ashley groaned.

Drake frowned. "Aw, come on! It is not THAT bad!"

"Not that bad! The humour kept getting worse in each instalment. Especially with Sid and eventual Crash and Eddie!" Ashley roared. "Plus, they kept giving us too many characters for us to care about! You are NOT Suikoden!"

"Okay, so maybe there is a bit of a rot." Drake said, chuckling nervously. "There have been five main movies, three short films with two starring Scrat and the other one starring Sid, a Christmas AND Easter special, a series of tie-in games, five comic books and of course, a spinoff starring Scrat with another short plus a movie starring Buck Wild. Aka the best Ice Age movie. Fight me."

"Why? Why does Ice Age get this much love!" Ashley said in disbelief. "If it ended in the second movie or even the third one, it wouldn't have been so bad! Out of all the films Orange-Ratchet has to watch, it has to be THAT one! I mean there is Wish, Nimona, Elemental, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken!"

"...Um, THOSE films are polarising in some way or another too." Drake frowned.

"Okay, but STILL…" Ashley exclaimed.

With that, he slumped in his chair.

"...How do you take power away from Xero and STILL give me a headache?" Ashley groaned.

Drake chuckled nervously. "Back to you guys."

The camera then went to Rinky rolling his eyes. "I guess SOMEONE has to be the Primadonna seeing that Catherine is doing the Megamix Tournament recap."

Barry frowned, but for a different reason. "Umm… How are we going to cover Scrat's fighting style? His entire gimmick is chasing after that acorn."

"I think you answered your own question." Rinky said.

"Huh?" Barry asked.

"For better or for worse, Scrat is one of the most determined people in the multiverse when it comes to his acorn." Rinky reminded. "Nothing, and nothing will get him in the way of keeping that cursed thing."

Barry blinked twice. "...Wait, I thought Xero put Tom and Jerry as separate entries to AVOID situations like that."

"Well, Xero didn't 'invite' Scrat. Monika did." Rinky pointed out. "And like I said, it was the last film that Orange-Ratchet watched."

Barry blinked twice. "Then, why not invite BUCK WILD?"

Rinky looked like he had a good response. Suddenly, he paused when he realised that he couldn't think of a good reason. He then paused before shrugging.

"I don't know. For the lulz." Rinky groaned.

Barry let out a deep groan. "...Xero, Maurice, I hope the next time we talk about this, you better have a clearer reason why we have to endure all of this."

TEMJIN

NODE: ART OF FIGHTING

ARENA 2

"Ah, another heavyweight." Rinky noted. "We seemed to have quite a few in this section."

"Actually, he is only 4'11." Barry corrected.

Rinky did a double-take. "Wait, what!?"

"Yeah, that is what his bio says." Barry said, pointing to his tablet. "He only looks large because of his, um, girth."

"Huh." Rinky mused. "Makes sense. We already got a heavyset big guy in Jack Turner."

"Don't underestimate Temjin though. He is still a formidable Mongolian wrestler." Barry warned. "He could piledrive people larger than himself, launch himself like E. Honda's headbutt and even summoned a burst of energy in front of him to act like a wall."

Rinky gave a descending whistling. "Maybe I SHOULD lump him with the other heavyweights."

"And despite being a threat, all he wants to do is open a school in Mongolia." Barry reassured.

"Wait, really?" Rinky asked in awe.

"Yeah, that is his entire reason for entering the tournament in Art of Fighting 2." Barry explained.

"Woah, it is true what they say. You can't judge a book by its cover." Rinky mused.

MICHIGAN J. FROG

NODE: LOONEY TUNES: WORLD OF MAYHEM

ARENA A

Barry blinked twice. "Um, excuse me, what?"

Rinky raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so surprised? Not only is he an iconic Looney Tunes character but he is also the mascot of WB."

"Um, okay, I guess that is fair. If She-Tasmanian Devil could get into World of Mayhem, it only makes sense for the mascot." Barry admitted before frowning. "But am I the only one who DOESN'T see Michigan J. Frog as a fighter."

"Well, maybe his variants will make up for that." Rinky reassured.

With that, he read his tablet with a smile and…

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmm…"

"...He has no variants." Barry sighed.

"FREAKING She-Tasmanian Devil has more than one variant!" Rinky exclaimed. "Why not give the mascot of the WB some respect?"

"You know, the same could be said for nearly most of the Looney Tunes but he is a one-trick pony." Barry pointed out. "And it is not even in a direct combat way."

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, OKAY." Rinky said. "I think I got something. He has one attack. He summons a spotlight on himself and a target and a stage light will fall on top of the latter."

"Um, okay, better than nothing." Barry said.

"Also, it has an effect depending on which form he is in." Rinky noted. "If he is in his showman form, he will give an attack boost to himself or any potential allies. But if he is in his regular frog form, he will give a defence boost."

"I don't know. While he is notorious for mentally breaking greedy men, misusing him for their selfish desires, it is nothing like how Bugs does it." Barry frowned. "The most positive thing I could say is that while there are a bunch of Slice-of-Life Disney kids in the cast so why not?"

Rinky let out a deep sigh. "Look. Michigan is the mascot of WB. I am sure that he has something that we don't know about. For now, just have a little faith."

Barry paused. "...I mean I saw weirder things happen like a certain winner of the last tournament."

PENNY PROUD

NODE: DISNEY TELEVISION ANIMATION ALL-STARS/THE PROUD FAMILY

TEAM: Disney Channel Originals

ARENA 2

Barry's eyes lit up at this. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear!"

"Yeah, because Kasumi, Sakura and Pikachu had early draws in the following tournaments after THEIR wins, it is no surprise that Penny would show up early on." Rinky noted. "Heck, if she didn't traded with Mewtwo, she would have been in the LAST section."

"A lot of things Xero did wrong, but I will not deny that having Penny instead of Suga Mama was one of his better ideas." Barry nodded. "She is truly one of the most important winners of all-time due to opening potential to future UVR tournaments!"

"Yeah, not just for the Tournament of Kikai but she also inspired having Snoopy and reuniting the old A Cartoon's Final Fantasy trio!" Rinky grinned. "Also, she…"

"Shh!" Barry scolded, putting his finger to his mouth. "Dude, spoilers!"

"Oh, right, we are still on Section Twenty in the real world. My bad." Rinky said.

"But yeah, even then you don't have to know what happened in the third Battle of the Luminaries to know that Penny is a valuable member to the winner's circle." Barry nodded. "So let's move over to Drake and Ashley."

The camera then went to a smiling Ashley. "It still feels so surreal. It is almost like yesterday when I was yelling at Xero for inviting a Slice-of-Life teenage girl to such a fighting tournament."

"Yeah, The Proud Family is a Disney animated sitcom and the first cartoon to feature a black family." Drake explained. "The cartoon is about fourteen-year-old Penny Proud, her cool vet mom, Trudy, her overbearing dad, Oscar, their badass granny, Suga Mama, the twins Bebe and Cece and Suga Mama's poodle, Puff."

"...And Penny's friends who I actually prefer SHANNON over them." Ashley muttered.

"At least you more or less know what you are getting into with Shannon but these guys? Ugh." Drake said in disgust. "I can't believe that there was apparently a spinoff subplot of Penny trying to convince her 'friends' and those getting new friends, she still values them. Um, why?"

"Which is jarring because this happened minutes after said 'friends' undermined most, if not all of her eliminations." Ashley exclaimed. "I could somewhat forgive Zoey, even though I wish for once that she could think for what is right, LaCienega and Dijornay are the worst!"

"Ugh, which is weird because while the cartoon has poor morals about friendship, the show usually had a lot of strong morals and were not afraid to tackle subjects like racism and sexism." Drake sighed. "It feels like it appeals to kids, teenagers AND adults!"

"Normally, it is not COMPLETELY grounded. Like Al Roker is a mean-spirited genie and the entire town is run by a rich jock." Ashley said. He then grunted in disgust. "...I can't believe he didn't even get in trouble after that final episode."

"He means the final episode of the reboot. Because the original cartoon had spawned episodes for five years before getting a Series Finale movie and eventually came in 2021 with a comeback and getting with the times." Drake explained. He then frowned. "Nor they seemed to retcon said movie."

"But why though? It was a weird movie but a perfect way to end the series." Ashley frowned.

"Well, at least the spirit of the Proud Family is still strong." Drake shrugged. "Back to you guys. Oh, and make sure that they do a better job than us for Penny's combat capabilities."

The camera then went to a smirking Barry. "Oh, don't worry. Anything else for a champion is unheard of."

"First off, Penny Proud knows karate. Though she is more of an evade-and-counter type of fighter than going full on offensive as evident by her fight against Frankie." Rinky started.

"Next is her superhero persona which she transforms into under the right light of the full moon and chowing down on one of the few Proud Snacks that tasted GOOD." Barry explained. "She transformed into a buffer version of herself with super strength and flight."

"Next is her wrestling skills. Admittedly, she only does this in a very obscure minigame of a GBA game but they are more than enough to give her a lot to work with." Rinky said. "It starts simple with a clothesline and a headlock but then things get crazy when she does a bearhug, she actually turns INTO A bear."

"Also, she could use the Kansas Tornado which is a tornado spin attack, the Slippery Shoes which acts as a teleport and the Frog Splash where she turned into a frog and leapt from a high place onto her target." Barry explained.

"Oh, did we mention that her opponent is her grandmother, SUGA MAMA!?" Rinky exclaimed. "Anyone who could go toe-to-toe with HER has to be strong."

"Makes you wonder why there wasn't much reference to that particular scene." Barry mused.

"To be fair, gameplay for that minigame is quite scarce so it makes sense that it wasn't referenced that much." Rinky shrugged.

"Well, she also has a blaster that she got from her friend, Stitch." Barry added. He then looked grumpy. "I hope that she actually hit the shooting range."

Rinky smirked. "Like you're one to talk."

Barry chuckled nervously with a blush. "Anyway, even though it is impossible for Penny to win, I think she will give her a solid showing just like in the first tournament!"

"Well, that is everyone!" Rinky grinned. "For Arena A, Antonov, King Andrias, Gnasty Gnorc and E. Honda are Big Guys so fourteen fighters will be eliminated."

"As for Arena 2, Hugo, Big Band and Jack O'Lantern are Big Guys so thirteen fighters will be eliminated." Barry added. "Also, the Side Battles are Vector the Crocodile from Sonic the Hedgehog and Baloo Bruinwald from Disney Television Animation All-Stars against Ace and Big Billy from the Powerpuff Girls."

"Ooh, now THAT is an interesting hero pairing." Rinky noted.

"Indeed. Voting ends on the first of December so…" Barry started. He then paused before looking at his phone. "Umm… There may be a chance for Orange-Ratchet to accept late entries."

Rinky chuckled nervously. "Anyway, I…"

"Wait, what!?"

Barry and Rinky jumped before looking off-screen. The camera then shows Drake talking on the phone with an excited look on his face with Ashley looking just as excited.

"Don't worry, Tinyhammer. We are on it!" Drake grinned. "We already dealt with three of the four mentioned fighters so we can focus solely on the last one! Alright, bye!"

With that, he hung up. Then, Barry and Rinky walked over, confused. Same with Cacey.

"Umm, what was THAT about?" Cacey asked.

Drake just looked up with a glint in his eye.

"Regardless of which Ultimate Video Rumble-inspired tournament it is, it is never done."

LINK TO SECTION: /works / 47547247 / chapters / 130567237