A/N: Quick content warning for character death for this chapter.
Universe: Smash Theory Universe
Samus flipped through her phone as she walked down the hallways of Smash Mansion. She had come back from a weeklong pursuit of a dangerous criminal and was planning on enjoying a well-earned day off.
She caught a yellow spot out of the corner of her eye and looked over to see Pichu standing on a bench, staring out the window.
"Hey Static. Whatcha looking at?"
"Sparky's been standing out there for a while. Is he ok?" asked Pichu, pointing at something in the distance.
Samus crouched down behind Static and looked in the same direction that he was pointing. Past the pool but in front of the forest's edge, she saw the Pikachu standing in front of a small memorial.
"He's fine, Static. Don't worry."
"But, why's he out there?" asked Static.
"That's…. do you have time for a story?" asked Samus.
"Uh… sure!" said Static.
Samus nodded, "Ok. So…. a long time ago…"
Several Years Ago…..
Sparky looked around at the group of gathered Smashers.
"Everybody's here, right?" asked Mario from somewhere in the front of the crowd.
There was a chorus of cheers.
"Hey, you doing all right?"
Sparky looked up behind him to see Samus towering over him.
"Uh… yeah! Of course! Why not?" asked Sparky.
"Listen, you're a brave Pichu, I'll give you that. But this is going to be a very dangerous fight. It's not going to be like the other ones. Tabuu is on a completely different level."
"I'm not going to give up! That jerk threw me and Voltaire in a machine and tried to use us to power his stuff! I'm gonna zap him just like we did to Ridley!"
Samus shook her head. "Just stay behind me kid, ok? You'll have more chances to zap Tabuu if you take cover behind me, all right?"
Sparky nodded. "Yeah! Thanks!"
"Anytime, kid."
"I'll accompany you!" said Voltaire next to him. The Pikachu took a fighting stance. "We shall strike this foul monstrosity down together! Remember, keep your Smash Pendant on you, that's what turns you into a trophy should you take fatal damage, all right?"
"Of course! I got it right here!" said Sparky. He adjusted his Smash Pendant around his neck.
"Very good, my boy!" said Voltaire.
"All right everybody!" said Mario loudly. "Everything's ready and we're going to move out. Remember the plan!"
"Last chance to back out," said Samus.
"No! I'm coming to fight!" said Sparky.
"I'll watch over him, Samus," said Voltaire, "Tabuu won't get the drop on us again."
"All right. Just be careful," said Samus.
"We will!" said Sparky cheerily with a salute.
Voltaire shook his head. "All right now, let's not get too excited….."
A little bit later…..
Pichu held his ears flat against the top of his head and peeked over the top of the final stair step, trying to avoid giving away his hiding place.
Dedede, Ness and Luigi stood tall and proud on the platform in front of him.
"KNOCK KNOCK TAB-BLUE!" bellowed Dedede into the multicolored void. "C'mere, I got a present for ya!"
Pichu noticed Luigi's leg shaking a little. Was he all right?
"YO TABUU! TAB-BLUEEEEE!" bellowed Dedede. "Come out and fight us, ya coward!"
"What he said! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!" shouted Ness. "Also, YOUR MOM!"
"Maybe he's not home right now?" asked Luigi. "Did we just come all the way here for Tabuu to be out?"
"EY TABS YA BIG FAT UGLY TECHNOCOLOR CRASH TEST DUMMY THING! GET OUT HERE!" roared Dedede.
There was a moment of silence as Dedede's challenge echoed over the endless void of Subspace.
"Maybe he's asleep?" wondered Luigi.
"Not after that he's not!" said Ness.
"If he has earplugs, maybe he didn't wake up," said Luigi.
"Does Tabuu even have ears?" asked Ness.
"I mean, how else does he hear us?" asked Luigi.
"He might be using telepathy," said Ness.
"HEY TAB-BLUE, I'M MENTALLY PICTURING YA GETTING THROWIN IN A DUMPSTER, GET OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME!" boomed Dedede.
"I don't think it's helping, Dedede," said Luigi. "Maybe we need to come back later….."
Suddenly, a massive form shot up in front of the platform in front of them. Luigi jumped with surprise, as Ness quickly brandished his bat. Dedede glared up at Tabuu defiantly.
"TOOK YA LONG ENOUGH TO GET HERE YA OVERSIZED BLUE NUTCASE! NOW I GOT SOME THINGS TO TELL YA, SO CLEAN OUT YOUR EAR WAX AND LISTEN UP CUZ I'M NOT BEING PAID BY THE HOUR HERE!"
"Dedede. I don't suppose you're going to tell me how you managed to avoid trophification. Bowser reported that you were crushed in the rubble of your own castle," said Tabuu.
"THAT TURTLE AINT GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO BEAT ME, YA HEAR WHAT I'M SAYING!? I OUTSMARTED THAT DUMB FIREBREATHIN TORTISE CUZ I'M BETTER! HE FIGHTS A LITERAL PLUMBER, MAH NEMESIS TAKES ON ELDRICH HORRORS CUZ THEY KNOCKED HIS CAKE OVER AND IT HAPPENS EVERY OTHER WEEK! MAH BRAIN'S TEN TIMES THE SIZE OF THE TURTLE'S, YA HEAR ME? NOW YOU LISTEN UP HERE AND LISTEN GOOD CUZ I AINT REPEATIN MYSELF, I'M GONNA STICK THIS HERE HAMMER SO FAR UP WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE DAT…."
"ENOUGH OF THIS DRIVEL!" boomed Tabuu. "OFF WAVES!"
Tabuu materialized butterfly wings behind his back, and began to bring them back, charging energy as he did.
Suddenly, a blue blur rocketed off of some of the floating landmasses above their platform and shot straight through Tabuu's wings, fracturing them into pieces.
"YEAH!" shouted Ness with excitement.
Sonic came to a running stop in front of the trio. "You're too slooooow!"
"NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING BOUT!" boomed Dedede. "ATTACK HIM YALL!"
Suddenly, Mario jumped overhead, as Yoshi, Link, Pit and Kirby rushed past him to the left. To his right, Marth, Ike, the Ice Climbers, Lucas and Red rose to their feet with a collective war cry. Lucario whizzed straight up to Tabuu and landed a powerful kick, a moment before Meta Knight warped in front of the villain with his cape and landed a mighty slash.
"That's our cue!" said Samus.
DK stood up behind them and pounded his chest in defiance as Diddy whipped out his popguns and began to shoot alongside Samus as Captain Falcon took off towards Tabuu, fists already blazing.
Voltaire began to charge a bit of electricity and gave Sparky a reassuring smile.
"Let's do this, my boy!"
Sparky nodded and took off running towards Tabuu with Voltaire and the other Smashers.
And immediately had to jump aside as a massive blade whizzed past where he was a moment prior.
"Careful, Sparky!" called Voltaire.
"I'm being careful, don't worry!" shouted Sparky back to him.
Tabuu let out a roar of frustration as a ball of PK Thunder slammed into his gut.
"That's for Ness!" shouted Lucas.
Tabuu's eyes widened and he jumped aside as a second PK Thunder whizzed uncomfortably close to his nether regions.
"And that was for good measure!" shouted Ness as three arrows, two physical and one made of light struck Tabuu in the arm, followed by a hail of lasers.
"Keep on shooting!" shouted Fox.
Sparky charged energy in his cheeks. Time to help!
And with that, he zipped off into the fray.
In the present…
"So wait, he got to fight just like that? Why didn't you let me come fight Galeem and Darkrhon?" asked Static.
"Sparky specifically asked that we keep you out of it," said Samus.
"But why?" asked Static.
"Let me finish the story," said Samus. "So, we were all fighting Tabuu, and….."
Sparky unleashed another bolt of lightning at Tabuu, striking him in the hand and forcing him to drop Ike, who tumbled to the ground with an unceremonious thud. The giant slashed at Ike as he scrambled to his feet, but the swordsman was faster.
"Gotcha!"
With a blaze of fire and a mighty clang, Tabuu's blade of Subspace energy was sent flying into the void.
"Falcoooooon….."
Tabuu warped away suddenly, leaving Captain Falcon to punch the ground where he'd been standing a moment prior.
"Where'd he go?" shouted Mario.
"Behind!" shouted Link, taking shelter behind his shield. "Get down!"
Sparky whipped his head around wildly, desperately looking for the blue titan.
"Over there!" shouted Falco. "Incoming!"
Tabuu roared, and swung his arm in a wide arc, shooting arrows of Subspace energy in a wild spread around himself.
Sparky turned his head towards Tabuu, and had only a split second to dodge as the arrow whizzed passed him.
There was a whoosh past Sparky, and then two clangs.
Sparky looked down to see that his Smash pendant was on the ground, the chain around his neck severed.
"A close shave," said Voltaire after a moment of silence, holding up his own severed Smash pendent. "Let's get out of here, the others can take it from here."
"I'll cover you!" said Samus, walking up next to them, continuing to shoot her arm cannon. "Go! You'll be safer behind the stairs!"
"C'mon, Sparky, let's go!" said Voltaire.
Sparky needed no further encouragement, and quickly made a beeline away from the fighting, dashing around DK and Game and Watch, before leaping swiftly to the side to avoid Yoshi.
The stairs were right there. They were just a little farther….
Suddenly, something caught his foot, and Sparky went sprawling over the prismatic, multicolored floor. Sparky looked back. It was a stone…. Where had that come from? Pichu looked up to see one of the worlds sucked into Subspace, encased in a glowing orb, being drawn closer to the platform they were on, dropping clumps of dirt, stones and dust as it moved. What was Tabuu doing?
"Sparky, watch out!"
Sparky looked up to see Tabuu floating in the air, firing Subspace arrows. One of them was shooting towards him. He froze.
"Sparky, MOVE!"
Panic flooded his entire mind. He needed to do something, anything. And yet…. his body wouldn't move.
He closed his eyes, bracing for impact.
It hit like a train….. but from the wrong angle? And… it didn't hurt that much…..
"VOLTAIRE!" screamed Samus.
Sparky opened his eyes and whipped around. His eyes widened in horror.
"Sparky…. My boy….." coughed Voltaire.
"Vo…Voltaire….? You…."
"Don't worry….. you…. are my successor….." gasped Voltaire. "I'm… proud of you…. It's time….. for me…. to hand….. the spark….over…to you…."
Voltaire collapsed as the Subspace spear disintegrated into a pool of his own blood.
"Sparky! spark….." shouted Samus, but Pichu didn't hear her. All he could see was Voltaire.
The Pikachu who had taken him in after he'd stumbled into him during a Smash event in Saffron. The Pikachu who had taught him how to fight, how to stand up for himself, how to be his own Pokemon. The Pikachu who had given him a family in the Smashers. The Pikachu who brought him cookies after he won matches and soup when he was sick.
The closest thing he had…. to a dad.
Pichu looked up to see Tabuu fighting some of the other Smashers. After all they'd been through…. Being captured….. stuck into an electricity draining tube….
No….. he couldn't stand for this. He couldn't let Voltaire down like that.
Sparky began to charge electricity.
"Pi… chu….. Pi…. Chu…..
Electricity began to gather around him. And gather. And gather.
Pichu's hair began to stand up on end.
"Pi…. Chuuu…. Pi….. Chuuuuuu…"
Faintly in the background Sparky heard Samus shout in alarm and yell something to the other Smashers. Good. They wouldn't be in the way.
"Chuuuuuuuuuu….."
The electricity was starting to hurt him. Pichu clenched his teeth. This was nothing. This was for Voltaire.
Suddenly, he felt it. A surge of new energy. Calling to him. Beckoning. Sparking with more electricity.
Sparky closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and seized the new energy.
The electricity didn't even hurt anymore, he had so much now that he was practically glowing. Sparky opened his eyes, and saw a clear path between him and Tabuu.
With a mighty cry, he charged as thunder hounded his every step.
"PIIII KAAAAA CHUUUUUUUUUU!"
"And then what happened?" asked Pichu.
"Well, Sparky's Volt Tackle did so much damage, that it knocked Tabuu down for long enough for me to land my Zero Laser."
"Whoa, he was able to zap him for that long?"
"Yeah," said Samus with a smile. "And after that, the rest of the Smashers were able start landing their Final Smashes. It's what won our fight against Tabuu."
"Wow….. so you wouldn't have beaten Tabuu without Sparky?"
"More or less." said Samus. "Tabuu was a lot faster than we all realized, and you know Sonic doesn't hit that hard just by himself."
"Sparky's so cool!" said Pichu.
"Yeah, he is," agreed Samus. "But let's leave him be, it took Voltaire's sacrifice to trigger his evolution, so this is real personal for him."
"Yeah, I bet…." said Pichu. "I hope it doesn't take something like that to help me evolve."
"I hope so too. Say, do you want to go get some ice cream from the cafeteria?" asked Samus.
"Sure!" said Pichu.
"Oh, you should have seen the look on Ness's face when it was announced that Samus was getting telekinesis in her new game. Looked like he'd sucked on a lemon!" said Sparky. He sighed and then said, "Shoulda seen the look… wish you were still here."
Sparky leaned back and looked up at the sky, a solid wall of clouds blocking any view of the setting sun.
"I…. I know I don't say this often, but…. thank you. For…. everything. I just wish…. wish it didn't cost you everything, you know? I miss you…. you always knew what to do. You always had something good to say, all the time. I should have asked you for more stories of when you were a Pichu. I really wish I had, the ones you told me were pretty awesome.
I wish I could go pick tomatoes with you one more time. Wish that you'd bring me one more random coin you found for my coin collection. Crud, I miss going out to get fries with you, even when you drowned them in too much ketchup…"
Sparky trailed off.
"But I know that's not how it ended."
Suddenly, the intercom turned on. "The evening round of matches starts in 30 minutes. All Smashers scheduled for matches tonight, please proceed to the locker rooms. Again, this is your 30 minute warning. Thank you," said Master Hand.
"ANYBODY WHO IS LATE WILL BE FED TO MR. SNUGGLETON THE BULBORB!" yelled Crazy Hand in the intercom mic.
Master Hand just sighed, and said "Ignore that, just be there," before cutting the intercom.
Sparky paused. "I should get going. Uh…. see you later, Voltare. But again, thanks for everything."
He paused for a minute.
"I don't know how to end this properly, but uh…. yeah, gotta go for my match. Uh…. see ya later."
And with that, Sparky turned on his heel and began walking back towards the mansion.
This one was inspired by an old Brawl theory that Brawl Pikachu was actually Melee Pichu. I ended up kinda combining it with a sort of passing the torch idea, and that's what made this chapter come together. I've actually had this fic concept in my mind for a real long time so I'm glad to finally be able to post a version of it.
Thanks for reading and here's hoping it doesn't take me another 6 months to post something new again!