3... 2... 1... Go!
That's how it went down. The first match of the Super Smash Bros. Tournament On Mushroom Kingdom, with a raging plumber on the left side and one amped-up animal on the right. There were no items in this match, and, dare I say... no mercy? Well, that sounds about right, because these two were bringing on the brouhaha straight from the previously-mentioned word "Go!"
Mario (a.k.a The Italian Stallion) was the one to make the first move, but he didn't strike first blood. When he jumped high through the air to bring down the pain, Pikachu (a.k.a. Jiggawatt, or at least that's what I call him in Blue Version) just sat there and waited for him. See, before Mario could even lay a hand on Pikachu, he got smacked upside the chin by the Pokémon's backflip tail whip. Good way to start things off; he let Mario know there wasn't any smooth sailing whatsoever in his immediate future. But Mario was ready for a full three rounds as well, and quickly regained his focus to counter with an air kick followed up by a coin uppercut.
Mario landed from his attack just right of the Pirana Plant, with his back to the rat, and already Pikachu had shot off a spark of pure blue electricity from the higher of the two platforms on the right of the level. Deftly, the jump master leapt right over it, and flew through the air towards Pikachu. The cunning little rat tried to trap Mario again by calling down a Thunder special attack, but even before that lightning bolt reached him or Mario, Pikachu was feeling the business end of Mario's boots. The blow had knocked Pikachu down off the platform and onto the precarious scales in the middle of the level. Then, just for good measure, Mario drill kicked Pikachu down into it, which severely unbalanced the scales and sent both elevators and both combatants dropping into the pit. At this point Mario seemed to be very much in control of the match, with only 9% to Pikachu's 50%.
The good times didn't last for the mustachioed marvel, because as soon as Mario hopped out of the pit and made it back to the steady ground below the two platforms on the right, Pikachu was on the ambush. He came out of the crevasse just after Mario had, and landed on top of him with a downward head slam that knocked Mario to the dirt. While Mario was recovering from the attack, Pikachu repeated it and sent him right over the pipe near the very edge of the level on the right. They bobbed and dodged and exchanged light hits, both percentages climbing steadily while they scuffled dangerously close to the edge. Mario put an end to the grappling and uppercut Pikachu high into the air, at which point he gave a taunt to tease Sparky the Squirrel.
When Pikachu fell from the attack onto the top platform, Mario looked like he wanted to put an end to it right there. He unleashed a flurry of air attacks with a jumpkick, a dropkick, and a coin uppercut... all of which Pikachu skillfully dodged. When the plumber hit the ground, Pikachu taught him some respect by head-slamming him again, knocking him back near the edge, and then started up the scuffling once more, bringing Mario up to 78% to nearly match his own 80%.
After a few seconds of fisticuffs, Pikachu had his back to the wall, and like any animal with their backs to the wall, Pikachu was looking for space. To get himself that space, the little bugger charged Mario and headbutted him over to the scales. Before either elevator could even sway an inch, Mario was back into the air and on his way back into the thick of the fight. He jump kicked Pikachu before shooting off a fireball that clashed mid-air against Pikachu's spark. The two combatants exchanged air hits and then Mario stole more of Pikachu's loose change with an air uppercut that brought the mouse to 128%, while Mario himself was just ahead with 112%
Unfortunately, Mario's uppercut landed himself right onto a snapping Pirana Plant. No luck for that guy, geez. The bite lobbed Mario into the air, and Pikachu took the pitch to knock Mario out of the park and into the right edge, big leaguer style. Well, minus the bat. He actually kicked him in the back. Regardless, Pikachu had scored the first K.O. and himself was standing at 112%
Before he could celebrate, Mario came back like a cannonball. It was incredible. If I didn't know any better, I'd think Mario had taken it personally, because holy dang. He descended onto Pikachu where the poor little guy was still standing, just to the right of the pipe. From there he smote the heathen rat with a devastating combo, starting with his hurricane special attack, continued with a hit square in the face with a fireball and a brutal drill kick into the ground, and polished off nicely with a mighty uppercut that sent Pikachu flying into the wide blue yonder, all in a matter of seconds.
Then he grew nice and big so that Pikachu could see his smug smile from way off in the distance where he was falling. Classy. Effectively, Mario had tied it up.
1 | 2
