Chakra Wizard
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Chapter 12 - Pokemon & Aliens
The first rays of the morning sunlight cast a dim, orange hue across the endless hills, fields, and forests that make up the Smash realm. Levitating in the skies above it was a giant colliseum, which cast a large shadow over much of the land beneath it. Within its walls were the thirty-two brawlers, most of whom had proceeded to start their days off early. Among them, sixteen in particular didn't have time to continue resting, as the second day of the Super Smash Tournament would soon demand their participation in hand-to-hand combat.
The night passed by rather quickly for most of the brawlers, though anticipation for the next day had left some unable to find the sleep that helped it speed by. With the brackets having now been set, those that still remained in the tournament could make a good estimation of when their matches were to begin, allowing them to go about the second day with more freedom than the first. But, even though the matches started at mid-day, the brawlers were well aware that every minute that passed could be used for a much wiser purpose than sleep. Now that the additional elements of the Smash were to begin playing their parts, they would all be forced to think of more complex battle strategies, which would prove even more difficult since some of these elements were kept aside to be gradually inaugurated into the matches. This was, without a doubt, a grand prix event, which gave way to any and all possibilities. The brawlers had to be prepared for all of them.
As mid-day homed in, the numerous fans of the brawlers wasted no time in piling into the colliseum, eagerly waiting for the second round to commence. Much of this excitement was brought on by the addition of the matches' secret element, which they themselves were asked to vote for. The reinstatement of all of the other rules of the Smash filled the onlookers with even more anticipation, as these would only bring more action and possible outcomes to the brawls. It simply went to show that the intensity of the day's matches would certainly make up for what they had lost in numbers after the first round. Within the walls of the colliseum, many of the brawlers would have also agreed. While the tactics and abilities of some allowed them to use the new factors to their full positive effect, many others would find themselves with a slight disadvantage. Some would argue that these elements served only to strengthen some and weaken the rest, but the brawlers themselves knew full well that their true purpose was to seperate the great from the legendary.
From within the corridors, the first two brawlers made their way towards the arena, while Zelda and Peach took their place in the balcony overlooking the colliseum. Beneath the balcony was a small seating area accompanied by a small number of yesterday's unvictorious brawlers, among which were Pikachu, Jigglypuff, their trainer, Roy, and Ganondorf. While the latter remained silent, the trainer and Roy had already striked up a conversation, while the former's Pokemon sat nearby.
"C'mon, you've gotta be the most disappointed of us all. I mean, technically, you actually lost twice yesterday."
Looking back at Pikachu, the young boy turned back to reply.
"I suppose I am in a sense, though I'm sure that we're all disappointed here. But when it comes down to it, I'm not one of you guys. I can't fight on my own, which is why those in my realm use Pokemon to fight for them. I'm just their trainer and that's the only reason I can even say that I lost anything yesterday."
Taking in every word, as well as the truth that resided in them, Roy decided to change the subject, if ever so faintly.
"I suppose. Anyway, I guess this puts you at a dilemma here in the first match, picking your favorite to win."
"How so?"
"Well, Pikachu lost to Mewtwo, so I'm sure he'll root for Samus and vice-versa for Jigglypuff. But, you've actually got somewhat of a tough choice here, in a way."
The trainer thought for a moment, looking out onto the currently barren stadium before replying with a slight grin on his face.
"There's an easy way out of that. I just go with the statistics. My Pokemon understand that I'm not choosing sides. And if I know them as well as I should, they won't, either. They're both good sports...I trained them that way."
He looked over at the two of them as the words left his mouth. Both smiled back at him, though Pikachu's always seemed to be that much more enthusiastic than Jigglypuff's.
"Pika pika!"
Returning the smile, he turned back to face Roy as the latter gave him another question.
"So, going by the statistics, who DO you think is gonna win this?"
Thinking for a moment, the trainer replied with an honest answer.
"Really, that could all depend on what that secret element is. With just the damage count, shield, and mid-air jump, I might have to go with Samus, but nothing's certain here. The other factor could be something outrageous that throws it completely in Mewtwo's direction."
"Hmm...indeed."
As their conversation returned to more casual subjects, the audience around them began to cheer in excitement. Looking around for an explanation, they found an answer on one of the large screens located throughout the colliseum. It seemed Peach was about to begin the second round.
"Welcome back to the colliseum for the second day of the fourth Super Smash Tournament! I am thrilled to see all of you here again. Are you excited to be here?"
The crowd's response was the usual one.
"So are we. Now, let's say we get on with the first match of the day. Mewtwo and Samus Aran, would you please approach the stadium at this time?"
The five brawlers present in the stands leaned in to see their two aforementioned peers enter through the corridor doors. As they took their places, the overlooking brawlers were joined by Captain Falcon, whom Roy was the first to notice.
"Ah, more spectators. Care to sit with us?"
After looking out onto the arena for a short moment, Falcon looked at him and replied.
"Hmm? Oh no, I won't be out here long."
"Just catching some fresh air?"
The captain gave a quick nod and returned his gaze to the arena as the referee began the match.
"So, what's this secret element gonna be?"
"3, 2, 1,..."
Just before giving his signal though, the referee pushed on a small device attached to his waist, which led to the appearance of three identical platforms, arranged in a triangle formation, above the arena.
"GO!"
Somewhat put off by this sudden change in setting, the two brawlers hesitated a moment before beginning to build up energy for their strongest attacks, so that they could be used later on. Being the first to fully charge her attack, Samus began moving in on Mewtwo. Shortly afterwards, the Pokemon finished charging his own attack and proceeded onto the nearest platform, knowing that it would be more formidable to stay on the higher ground. Taking the hint, Samus forged upward as well, not wanting to be at a disadvantage. However, to her surprise, upon landing on the platform, she found herself being levitated in mid-air, only to be dropped to the ground with great force. It seemed Mewtwo had anticipated that she would follow him upwards, so she quickly retreated to the uppermost platform. Knowing that they were now being affected by damage points, she looked at the damage counter that now rested on her wrist.
"Eleven points of damage. In one attack!? I'm gonna need to be more cautious. I can't afford many attacks like that as this match goes on."
Having let her guard down to check her damage counter, Samus narrowly dodged a direct attack from Mewtwo, using the unique properties of the platforms to pass directly through the one on which she was residing. Predicting that Mewtwo would follow her through, she used her attached flamethrower to attack him from below, hoping to inflict as much damage as possible. While she succeeded in inflicting eight points of damage to her opponent, she had hardly dealt enough to make an substantial difference in the strength of her attacks. Having retreated to a different platform, Mewtwo quickly assessed his situation.
"She certainly has the advantage in long-range combat. I won't be able to engage her at long-range until I use my charged Shadow Ball, which I don't intend to do just yet. I'll have to force her into close combat, but how?"
Looking through his highly advanced mind for a useful strategy, his search for one was put on hold as he was forced pass through the platform on which he stood, simultaneously avoiding an incoming missile. Deciding to go off instinct for the moment, he darted in Samus's direction, narrowly dodging anything thrown his way.
"Odd. She's used everything she has at her disposal...except for that one attack. She must be saving her strongest attack, as well. But for what...and for when?"
While Mewtwo found himself unable to answer these questions on his own, he decided it best to keep Samus constantly in his field of vision, as to ensure that she didn't use her attack. His mind returning to his current predicament, he narrowly dodged one more of Samus's missiles before using his psychic abilities to send her flying across the arena, inflicting another fourteen points of damage. As Samus pulled herself back up, she caught a quick glimpse of her damage counter, causing her eyes to widen from within her power suit.
"I'm already at twenty-five percent!? This isn't good. I need to better my performance now before he finds himself tossing me around like a ragdoll."
Returning to her feet, she made another charge towards Mewtwo, who stopped his own movements out of curiosity, though not without preparing to unleash his Psychic attack. To his surprise, however, before entering the attack's range, Samus leaped over him and landed behind him, performing a mid-air somersault as she did. Confused by her actions, the faint ticking sound by his feet caught him completely off by surprise, as did the small explosion that occurred once it stopped. Though, while the damage the bomb inflicted was minimal, the diversion it made was Samus's primary objective all along. Unfortunately, Mewtwo was unable to realize this himself before the fully charged ball of energy made contact, sending him flying off the stadium. The combination of a mid-air jump and his Teleport ability allowed him to return to the arena, but the attack had performed its duty beautifully. The evidence was on Mewtwo's damage counter.
"Fifty-one percent. This is unbelievable! At this level, an attack of only half that magnitude would produce the same effect. Urgh, this is what I get for being careless."
Lifting his head up to face his opponent, his eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of her charging another attack.
"No! I won't let you!"
In a fit of panic, he used the Shadow Ball he was saving in hopes of stopping her, something that caught the attention of the observing brawlers. Captain Falcon, in particular, was most surprised by this.
"What the heck is he doing? That's his strongest attack! And he just wasted it like it was nothing."
The trainer addressed the unorthodox tactic, as well.
"This isn't like Mewtwo. He should've known that was a pointless move."
Roy also jumped in upon hearing his fellow brawlers' comments.
"You think he just lost his cool?"
"Of course he did."
All five of them instantly looked in Ganondorf's direction, as these were his first words in the entire time that he had been sitting with them.
"If anything, he's...unaccustomed, for lack of a better word."
Looking toward his fellow brawlers, their slightly confused faces prompted him to continue.
"It's as he said yesterday, during his match with Pikachu. Statistically, he is the strongest Pokemon and, as such, he's simply not used to losing. He's made it into the semi-finals in both of his previous attendances at this tournament, the first of which took Bowser to stop him, and the second of which took Mario himself. And, if you can remember the former, he's defeated Samus before, so he has every reason to feel the way he does."
Falcon looked back out onto the stadium as Ganondorf finished.
"Is it true, Mewtwo? Can a Pokemon intelligent as you truly lose his cool this easily?"
"Pika pi."
Pikachu and his trainer shared the same thought. Thinking back to the kindness Mewtwo had shown after their match together, they both found it rather difficult to comprehend.
"Do you really hate losing that much, Mewtwo?"
Out on the stadium, Samus cut her charging attack short and released it to collide with Mewtwo's Shadow Ball. The collision caused both attacks to dissipate and Samus wasted no time in advancing on Mewtwo once again. Deciding to risk it all, Mewtwo began to charge one more Shadow Ball, hoping that Samus's fairly slow speed would allow him to complete it in time. While his hopes proved correct, they also proved to be exact, as he was forced to unleash his attack just as Samus's foot collided with his body. The two attacks caused their victims to fly in opposite directions and over the edges of the stadium. While Samus's Grapple Beam allowed her to grab onto the edge and prevent her descent, Mewtwo proved to be less fortunate. The large amount of damage he had previously received had greatly increased the distance he was thrown, rendering both his mid-air jump and Teleport ability unhelpful. Seeing his defeat unavoidable, he closed his eyes and sighed as he past the point of no return.
The crowd instantly burst to life as the long and exciting match came to an end. The referee then confirmed the results.
"Game! The winner is...Samus!"
The brawlers in the small balcony applauded Samus on her victory, while Pikachu proceeded out of his seat and back into the corridors to his trainer's confusion.
"Hey, buddy. Where you goin'?"
Looking over at Roy, who shook his head, he then turned his gaze to Captain Falcon, who nodded his head in the arena's direction to inform him of what Pikachu's intentions likely were. He immediately understood, but chose to remain on the balcony with Jigglypuff until he returned.
From within the corridors, Falcon's beliefs proved to be correct, as Mewtwo and Samus exited the stadium to find Pikachu waiting in front of the doorway. Guessing what he was doing there, Samus decided to proceed to the mess hall, so that the two Pokemon could be alone for a moment. As she left their sight, Mewtwo looked at Pikachu in anticipation.
"Pika pika pi."
A small smile formed on Mewtwo's face. While he had managed to learn the human tongue, he was still a Pokemon, thus enabling him to understand what Pikachu was saying.
"Thank you, Pikachu."
Giving him his iconic cheerful expression, the small Pokemon proceeded to walk with him through the halls, intent on spending some time with his fellow brawler, just as he did with him after his own loss.
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