The Epic Rivalries: A Fanthology is a collection of mini fanfictions within an anthology, or fanthology as one would like to call it. Each story is split into two parts. The first part is where each hero or tag-team torture trains themselves to the death for the upcoming matches against their respective rivals, while the second part of each story focuses on the actual matches against their rivals. Where most fanfics tend to be either romances, sequels, or what-if scenarios, the collection of mini-stories is more inspirational and based after The Hero's Journey plot device as it involves characters crossing the first threshold into adventure by overcoming themselves through enough torture training to kill an army, before they can go on the actual adventures in the form of their matches against their rivals. And when they win, they come out more powerful than one could imagine, just like in The Hero's Journey.
Stories (spoilers ahead)[]
Kirby and Pokemon Trainer[]
Part 1[]
Kirby travels to Pokemon Trainer's home town of Pallet Town to spar with the young trainer and his pokemon for their upcoming tag-team match against Meta-Knight and Lucario. When he goes up to his room in his house, he discovers that Pokemon Trainer and his three pokemon were watching a match between Lucario, the martial arts pokemon, and a thousand Mr. Game-and-Watches, which Lucario managed to defeat all at once. After watching the match, Pokemon Trainer and Kirby went outside to spar with each other. Pokemon Trainer explained to Kirby that Lucario had two weaknesses: Its aura can be sensed by anyone, and it has a limited amount of aura within its body. Kirby also explained to the young trainer that Meta-Knight will be much faster than Kirby and utilizing his lightweight better than the pink puffball. The two also believed that the only way to defeat them is to change up their fighting styles, which is what their sparring match was for. So, for the next three months, Pokemon Trainer and his pokemon including Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard, and Kirby sparred with each other to the death. They starved themselves, reduced their sleep amounts, and nearly died during their training, as Trainer's mother grew concerned for her son and his pokemon and pink friend. After they collapsed on the ground, Pokemon Trainer's mother took Pokemon Trainer and Kirby to rest in her house. As Kirby rested on the couch in the living room, Pokemon Trainer rested in his bedroom. His mother grew concerned with Pokemon Trainer's safety, as last time he left her he went on a dangerous quest to become a pokemon master and failed, and she didn't want him to go to the Super Smash Bros. arena to die like he nearly did in his previous journey. However, Pokemon Trainer comforted his mother, telling her that he's independent enough to make his own decisions, and that he has his pokemon and Kirby to protect him. After being comforted by her son, the trainer's mother left the bedroom, leaving Trainer to sleep for the upcoming match.
Part 2[]
The next day, Pokemon Trainer and Kirby were at the Super Smash Bros. stadium, prepared to fight Lucario and Meta-Knight. As both sides introduced themselves to each other and the audience, the fight began. Meta-Knight and Lucario began the match by creating a large tornado with the martial arts pokemon's aura spheres spinning around inside it. Pokemon Trainer's Squirtle and Kirby managed to dodge the tornado on time, which shot out aura spheres at the two partners, as Kirby inhaled one of the aura spheres into his mouth and spat it at Meta-Knight and Lucario, creating a huge explosion which the two managed to survive due to Lucario's aura shield. Meta-Knight then proceeded to attack Kirby with his sword, only to be punched back by Kirby's punch. Meanwhile, Lucario fought Squirtle, as both sides traded blows to each other at lightning fast speeds. Around the same time, Meta-Knight explains to Kirby during their fight that he didn't gain his strength from some magic elixir or crystal or whatever ancient artifact, but rather from himself during his sparring match with Lucario for the upcoming battle against PT and Kirby; as long as both sides unlocked the potential to fight within themselves as opposed to rely on some outside source, that's when they'll be equally matched. Meanwhile, Pokemon Trainer, having weakened Lucario's aura, switched out Squirtle for Charizard. Pokemon Trainer knew that Charizard was slower and more predictable, and by reducing Lucario's aura with fighting Squirtle, Lucario would become slower than even Charizard, allowing the trainer and his pokemon to defeat Lucario. The martial arts pokemon then started building up aura within its body despite its waning strength, and knowing this, Pokemon Trainer switched out Charizard for Ivysaur so that he could command the plant dinosaur to absorb the sun's heat to charge up its solar beam. Kirby and Meta-Knight protested to their partners that if they unleash their beams at each other, they'll cause an explosion that could kill them, but to no avail as neither side wanted to give up. The audience, fearing this, ran away for their lives, as Ivysaur and Lucario unleashed their respective energy beams at each other, creating a huge explosion that Kirby and Meta-Knight barely survived due to the spherical knight's cape protecting him and his pink rival. As the explosion cleared, Meta-Knight got himself and Kirby out of his cape and, to their surprise, saw Lucario, Pokemon Trainer, and Ivysaur knocked into a coma. They called the match a draw and decided to take the three to a Pokemon Center for healing, when all of a sudden the trainer, his pokemon, and Lucario slowly got back up on their feet, as the audience went back to their seats to see the two sides struggle to stay up. Despite its courage, however, Lucario's strength gave in, as Lucario fell on the ground before Pokemon Trainer and Ivysaur, declaring the boy and his pokemon the winners as they collapsed second. Meta-Knight surrendered to Kirby due to his condition, so that he and Kirby could end the fight and take Lucario, Pokemon Trainer, and PT's pokemon to a local Pokemon Center, as they said "good match" to each other as a sign of good sportsmanship.
Solid Snake[]
Part 1[]
The legendary super soldier, Solid Snake, and his support team, including Otacon, Mei Ling, and Colonel Roy Campbell, were at the Super Smash Bros. stadium watching a three-on-one match between Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach. The Mario Bros. and their fair princess displayed great teamwork against the blue hedgehog, but despite that, the three lost to Sonic. As Snake and his support team left the stadium, believing that Sonic will be Snake's next opponent, Snake and the others meet up with Mario, Luigi, and Peach, who were signing autographs and taking pictures with children after the match. Otacon suggested that Mario and his friends acted as better, cheaper substitutes for VR training for Snake despite his reluctance. At first Luigi declined, but then Mario had an idea and left the others, as Snake, his support team, Luigi, and Peach followed him to a warp pipe leading them to Bowser's castle. Inside the castle, Mario displayed to Snake what he could do, by beating up Bowser despite the fact that all his attacks had no effect on his arch-nemesis. Basically, what Mario was trying to display is that Bowser is heavyweight, and because he's weighed down by all of his excess gear and weaponry, Snake shares the same amount of heavyweight as Bowser, which is needed to help him fight Sonic besides his ability to plan carefully as opposed to rush into battle and hope it would end, like Sonic. Snake then spars with Mario, Luigi, and Peach for the next three months, utilizing his heavyweight to his advantage as Mario wanted him to.
Part 2[]
Solid Snake was standing in the arena facing Sonic as the hedgehog did likewise with him. Snake remembered his training with Mario and company, and knows he can't show any mercy to that hedgehog anytime he says something stupid or 'edgy'. The match began, as Sonic went into his ball mode and charged his spin-dash, charging at Snake, as the super soldier fired a rocket-propelled grenade at Sonic. Just when the RPG exploded, Sonic disappeared, and revealed to Snake that he was running around in circles at the speed of sound. Unwilling to fall for that trap, Snake timed his attack right and punched Sonic straight in the face, stopping him in his tracks, as Snake lashed out on Sonic like a wild bull, then finished off his combo-attack with an RPG to Sonic's face. As Sonic got back up on his feet, he and Snake started to trade blows at lightning fast speeds. Fifteen-to-thirty minutes into the fight, and Sonic noticed that Snake was slow due to his heavy gear; just because Sonic rushes into battle without knowing the consequences doesn't mean he's stupid, which explains why Sonic was able to notice Snake's slowness. The two sides continued trading blows with each other, until Sonic knocks Snake on the ground, and followed it up with a step on and crushing of his ribs. His support team then contacted Snake on his codec, as Snake answered it and heard from Otacon's voice that he needs to surrender. However, Colonel Campbell and Mei Ling interjected Otacon and ordered Snake to continue fighting, because they had confidence in Snake's abilities. Following orders from his support team, Snake then gets back up as he grabbed Sonic by the leg, slammed him on the ground, crushed his ribs with his elbow, and blew him up with a well-placed grenade. As the smoke cleared, Snake was shocked to discover that Sonic has utilized the Chaos Emeralds' powers to transform himself into Super Sonic. Snake tried all he could to accurately hit Sonic, but to no avail, as Sonic was faster and more ruthless than Snake, frequently dealing more damage to Snake than the other way around. However, despite the blows he gained from Sonic, Snake continued to fight because his support team and Mario and friends were holding on to hope for his victory. Sonic continuously beat up Snake, yet the legendary soldier continued fighting anyway. Meanwhile, Colonel Campbell and Mei Ling pointed out to Otacon that Super Sonic had a weakness: Using the Chaos Emeralds' massive power tires out his body, and eventually Sonic would have to give in and return to his normal form, all heavily fatigued. Back in the fight, Sonic wasted so much power on ruthlessly and thoroughly beating Snake that he converted back to his regular form and unable to continue fighting. Sonic then explained to Snake the reason why he entered Super Smash Bros.: Because his friends were surpassing him and he wanted to surpass them back and be the strongest in the world like before. Snake replied by saying that he had friends that surpasses him as well, yet Snake didn't mind, and that Sonic shouldn't mind either because he should be thankful that his friends surpass him, as that means that they can take care of themselves without Sonic's help. Sonic the collapsed on the ground, and Snake was declared the winner. He then received a codec call from his support team, as a newly-convinced Otacon realized everything about what the Colonel and Mei Ling were saying to him, and compared Snake to the heroes from his Japanese anime. After calling his friends, Snake looked down at Sonic's comatose body and wondered what he should do to help that hedgehog deal with the feelings of inferiority toward his friends. However, those were questions he could ask another time, as he left the arena to reunite with his support team as the victor and heavily fatigued.
Pit and Captain Olimar[]
Part 1[]
A young angelic boy named Pit watches a fight between Link and Ganondorf from his magical fountain in Skyworld. At the end of the fight, Link won, and Pit celebrated like the fanboy he is. Pit was a fan of Link and his work, as he always dreamed of one day fighting Link in the Super Smash Bros. arena and surpassing him. He ran up to his room, which was filled with posters, figurines, and other memorabilia of the legendary Hero of Hyrule. The young captain of Palutena's army then started to fall asleep, dreaming about his battle with Link, as he eventually wakes up to the sound of a crash. He looked outside through the window in his room to discover a crashed rocket ship, as he went outside alongside Palutena to investigate the rocket. Coming out of it were a small astronaut by the name of Olimar, and his army of plant-like people called pikmin, who revealed themselves to the goddess and her captain that they travelled the cosmos searching for Palutena, hoping that she'd train her for an upcoming match against another space explorer, Samus Aran. Palutena denied Olimar's offer, due to her duties as goddess of Skyworld to attend to, but she gave an alternative: Olimar should train with Pit. As Palutena returned to her palace, Olimar explained to Pit that he used to fight Samus and lost, while Pit explained that he dreams of one day surpassing Link. The two then thought of an idea: Why not ask Palutena to schedule a tag-team match between them and Link and Samus? They told Palutena about it, and she reluctantly agreed. The next day, while Olimar and Pit were sparring, Link, Zelda, and Samus came to Palutena's palace because they were invited to her palace in their dreams. Palutena explains to Link, Zelda, and Samus that she's going to schedule a tag-team match between them and Pit and Olimar, and that they should spar with each other for the upcoming match in the next three months. Just when Link and Samus were about to spar, Pit interrupted his own training to have Link sign an autograph as well as marvel at his beloved idol. The two sets of heroes then trained endlessly for the upcoming tag-team match.
Part 2[]
The big tag-team match between Link and Samus, and Pit and Olimar had arrived within the Super Smash Bros. stadium. Pit was about to achieve his long-time dream of fighting Link in the arena, while Olimar trained himself for his rematch against Samus Aran, who intended for Olimar to grow more powerful so that she could fight a stronger opponent. The match then began, as Link and Pit fired their arrows at each other, and then traded blades with each other at lightning fast speeds. Meanwhile, Olimar chucked a purple pikmin at Samus, which she managed to destroy with a missile, only to be swarmed by a vast flock of pikmin, piling themselves on top of her and weighing her down. Samus then curled into her ball mode, dropped a small bomb, and blew up half of Olimar's pikmin army to free herself. Olimar then continuously chucked his pikmin army at Samus, hoping to do damage on the female bounty-hunter. As Link and Pit endlessly traded blows with each other, Olimar nearly ran out of pikmin to attack Samus with, and his throwing arm became numb from all that endless tossing. Samus then charged her cannon's energy and fired a large beam at Olimar, which he managed to dodge in the nick of time at the cost of half his pikmin army. The power of her energy cannon was so strong that it caused her suit to fall apart, leaving her in her zero-suit as Zero-Suit Samus. Olimar, knowing about Samus since his previous fight with her, took out pikmin seeds, spread them around the ground, and watered them with a watering can, as the countless seeds absorbed the water and sunlight to grow countless more pikmin for Olimar's army. The newly-grown pikmin then swarmed all over Samus, as she called Link to help her. Hearing her cries for help, Link abandoned his fight with Pit and charged at Olimar, slashing him in the back with his sword. The sword cut was so massive on Olimar that it nearly killed him, causing the countless pikmin to abandon their fight with Samus and rescue Olimar. However, despite the terrible wound, Olimar didn't want to give up the match, as he got back on his feet and continued preparing himself for battle against Samus. Pit told Olimar that he can't continue fighting due to the heavy cut on his back, but Samus interrupted, saying that Olimar has been the opponent she's been looking for since the beginning. Olimar had all the qualities of a good opponent for Samus, including the inability to give up, and it's that opponent Samus always dreamed of fighting. Olimar then ordered half his pikmin army to attack Samus, only to command his other half of his army to swarm all over Link just when the hero of Hyrule was about to attack the astronaut again. Olimar's pikmin army held Link down long enough for Pit to finish him off with his daggers, knocking him out into a coma. Samus then used her pistol's stun-mode to blast away multitudes of pikmin swarming her, but just when she got up, she quickly gets pierced by Pit and his daggers, knocking her out as well. Pit and Olimar won the battle and surpassed their respective rivals, as Pit carried Olimar out of the arena and thanked him for helping him surpass his beloved hero and idol in battle.
Diddy Kong[]
Part 1[]
At Donkey Kong's house, Donkey Kong lied in a coma on his bed while his nephew Diddy Kong, and the rest of their relatives, including Kranky Kong, Funky Kong, Candy Kong, Wrinkly Kong, Tiny Kong, Dixie Kong, Lanky Kong, Chunky Kong, and Kiddie Kong, watched over him. Before the main events of this story, Donkey Kong battled Wario and lost, nearly dying in the process. Kranky Kong healed DK with as many coconut crystals and golden bananas as possible, but DK wouldn't wake up until four months later. Diddy kept blaming himself for not rushing into the arena to save Donkey Kong, and then vowed to his relatives that one day he would surpass Donkey Kong and avenge his loss at the hands of Wario. Kranky Kong then offered Diddy the chance to train him for battle, so the Kongs travelled to Kranky's house to train Diddy. Diddy spars against Lanky, Chunky, Dixie, Tiny, and Kiddie, with Kranky, Wrinkly, Funky, and Candy watching over their battle. Tried as he might, Diddy couldn't truly knock his five opponents into a coma, because he learns from his battle that his opponent will have limitless willpower, enough to keep fighting until he defeats Diddy. The sparring match's purpose was to build up Diddy Kong's willpower and resolve, as for the past three months Diddy Kong sparred endlessly with his relatives without any breaks for food or rest. By the fourth month, Diddy Kong was finished with his training, but he rushed back to Donkey Kong's house by his side to see how he's doing while he was training. Diddy Kong talked to Donkey Kong's comatose body about having doubts of defeating Wario, but as his uncle woke up, he told Diddy to keep fighting until Wario surrenders. Diddy Kong then hugged newly awoken Donkey Kong while the other Kongs watched over them.
Part 2[]
Diddy and his various relatives were in the entrance to the arena, as the Kongs prepared their young relative for battle. As Diddy Kong and Wario entered the arena, they faced each other. Diddy knew he has to avenge Donkey Kong's loss at all costs, otherwise he wouldn't achieve his dream of surpassing his uncle by defeating the overweight slob that was Wario. Wario then began the match by farting out a smog to blind Diddy, then used his motorcycle to create fire from his exhaust pipes, mixing it with the smog to create a huge explosion that engulfed Diddy. However, despite that, Diddy fired two peanuts from his Peanut Popguns, as Wario ate the peanuts. The young Kong then rushed out of the smoke from the explosion and toward Wario, lashing out on him like a wild animal. Wario then blocked one of Diddy's punches and slowly pushed him toward the ground, as Diddy escaped from Wario by flying with his rocketbarrel pack. Flying in the air with his jetpack, Diddy Kong charged Wario, who proceeded to grab Diddy Kong by his shirt, spin him around, and toss him at a wall, dealing major damage and breaking his rocketbarrels. He then grabs Diddy by his shirt's collar, tossed Diddy on the ground, and proceeded to beat up the poor Kong, who blocked his fists and slowly got back up on his feet. Diddy Kong then headbutted Wario, and fired his peanut popguns at Wario, knocking him backward. As Wario got up, he ran back toward his motorcycle, drove in circles around Diddy, blinded him with smog from his motorcycle's exhaust pipe, and ran over him. As the smoke cleared and Diddy found out that he had tire tracks all over his body, he then saw Wario revving up his motorcycle as he proceeded to drive through Diddy, who dodged his attack. Wario continuously drove his motorcycle at Diddy, hoping to run over him again, as Diddy quickly dodged each attack, only to jump and punch Wario off his motorcycle at the right timing. Wario grew frustrated over how much Diddy has slowly surpassed him and Donkey Kong, so out of anger, he ate garlic and transformed into Wario-Man. His agility, speed, and strength multiplied, he ruthlessly attacks Diddy Kong, beating him up, until Diddy Kong found the strength needed to block his punches. Diddy slowly got back up on his feet, as he took out a banana peel, tossing it underneath Wario-Man's foot as he slipped on top of it. Diddy then karate chopped Wario-Man, who deliberately dodged the attack, and started to trade blows with Diddy at the speed of light. Diddy then poked Wario-Man's eyes out, latched onto his head, and continuously attacked him until he collapsed, as Diddy beats up Wario-Man out of anger and hate. Diddy Kong then stopped himself after learning that Wario-Man reverted back to his normal form and fell into a coma. Diddy was the winner, as his Kong relatives ran up to him and celebrated his victory. Before they could go home, Diddy decided to carry Wario's comatose body back to their island home to heal him as a token of good sportsmanship. Donkey Kong agreed despite the others' reluctance, and Diddy, carrying Wario's comatose body, followed his Kong relatives out of the arena, proud for having surpassed Donkey Kong and avenging his loss.
Ice Climbers[]
Part 1[]
Nana, the female Ice Climber, was cooking fish for herself and Popo, the male Ice Climber, in front of their igloo, waiting for Popo to return with something. In three months was their battle with King DeDeDe, and Popo was supposed to spar with Nana, yet Popo was gone doing something. Just then, Popo returned to Nana with a giant crate, which was supposed to be the answer to their training problems. As Popo opened the crate, outside of it came a robot called R.O.B.. Nana was angry with Popo that he's supposed to spar with her, not buy a playing robot, but Popo argued that he purchased R.O.B. to be their new sparring partner. Nana then thought to herself; she was getting tired of sparring with Popo, and she needed a different, more challenging, and stricter sparring partner for herself and Popo. She then reluctantly agrees, and Popo sets R.O.B.'s training perimeter to level nine, hoping that it would provide them just as much good a challenge as King DeDeDe. And so, for the next three months, the Ice Climbers sparred with R.O.B. to the death, with incredibly few breaks for food and rest, as they needed enough torture training to reach the giant king's level. They were near their deaths, yet neither Eskimo wanted to give up on defeating R.O.B., so with that, they traded blows with the robot, knocking each other down. The heavily battle-fatigued Popo and Nana got back up, as they went to R.O.B. and discovered that it was too heavily battle-damaged to continue fighting the two, so it shut down and went to cool-down mode, congratulating the two for their skills in battle in the process. The Ice Climbers were ready to fight King DeDeDe despite their conditions, as the two took R.O.B. into their igloo home to help it self-repair itself.
Part 2[]
In front of the stadium's audience, King DeDeDe gives out on his microphone a passionate speech about how he always dreamed of one day fighting an opponent that's worthy of his skills (besides Kirby, who was able to defeat him repeatedly). He then introduces the audience to his opponents, the Ice Climbers, who were anticipating DeDeDe just as much as he was anticipating them. The fight then began, as DeDeDe started it by slamming the ground with his backside, hoping to attack the Ice Climbers, as the two dodged it on time. The two Eskimos charged at DeDeDe with their hammers, but not before they get stricken by the king's hammer, knocking them backwards. Just when DeDeDe was about to attack Popo, who was on the ground, suddenly DeDeDe gets frozen in a block of ice, summoned by Nana. Popo gets back on the ground as he tells Nana that their opponent will have great willpower, which is what DeDeDe displayed when he broke free out of the ice block. DeDeDe then sucked Nana into his mouth then spat her at Popo, knocking them backwards, as the giant king jumped high in the air with his hammer, getting ready to slam it on the Ice Climbers, who proceeded to dodge the attack and charge at DeDeDe with their hammers. The two sides then swung their respective hammers at each other at lightning speeds. Thirty minutes into the fight, and already were DeDeDe and the Ice Climbers heavily fatigued from dealing all those blows to each other. DeDeDe then called for two Waddle Dees, both of them part of King DeDeDe's army, as they popped out of the ground like moles and grabbed Popo and Nana's legs, tying them to the ground. Two one-eyed Waddle Doos then appeared and tied the two Ice Climbers with their electric whips, sapping them of their strength, as the two Eskimos were then surrounded by DeDeDe's army of Waddle Dees, each of whom wielding spears. DeDeDe revealed to the Ice Climbers that he brought his personal army with him because the Ice Climbers brought each other to the fight. The giant king then took out two spikey Gordos and tossed them at the Ice Climbers, who proceeded to grab the Waddle Doos' electric whips and toss the Waddle Doos at the Gordos, knocking the spikey balls back at DeDeDe. Freed from the electric whips, Popo and Nana then whacked the underground Waddle Dees with their hammers, freeing themselves, as the two fought hordes upon hordes of King DeDeDe's army for the past thirty minutes. They managed to defeat them all, but DeDeDe revealed to the two that that was the purpose; DeDeDe intended for Popo and Nana to fight his army so that he'd tire them out. He was right, as Popo and Nana struggled to lift their hammers but to no avail, as the best they could do was drop their hammers and fall to the ground, face up, unable to fight. DeDeDe then lifted his hammer high in the air, prepared to attack Popo and Nana. Suddenly, Popo then blocked DeDeDe's hammer with his own, as he reminded Nana that the two shouldn't give up no matter the odds, because they each had each other to protect. Believing Popo's words, Nana lifted her hammer high in the air to help Popo push back DeDeDe's hammer. They then push DeDeDe backward, smack him in the stomach, knocking him down face-up, as the two Eskimos repeatedly attacked DeDeDe's face with their hammers like psychopaths. DeDeDe then grabbed the Ice Climbers and tossed them backwards, as he got back up on his feet. The two sides then charged at each other and whacked each other with their hammers, knocking the Ice Climbers backwards while DeDeDe fell on the ground face-down. The Ice Climbers then got back up and, with their hammers, whacked DeDeDe on the head, knocking him into a coma. The Ice Climbers were victorious, as the two carried DeDeDe's comatose body out of the arena and back to their igloo home for healing as a sign of good sportsmanship.
Ness and Lucas[]
Part 1[]
Ness, his friends including Jeff, Poo, and Paula, his sister Tracy, and his dog King, were watching a match on the television at his house between the leader of the Griel Mercenaries, Ike, and the legendary F-Zero racer Captain Falcon. Just when Captain Falcon was on the ground and Ike was about to finish him off, the TV was shut off by Ness' mother, who ordered him, his friends, dog, and sister to go outside and breathe in the fresh air. Ness and his group walked down the streets of Onette, Ness' hometown, as they discussed how Ness is the "psyking" (the "psy" part referring to his psychic skills, the "king" part refering to his reputation), despite the fact that he lost to too many opponents in his life, including a thousand Mr. Game and Watches, Meta-Knight, and Donkey Kong. Ness' friends, sister, and dog laughed at Ness and his losing streak, as he interrupted his friends and told them that they should head to the park to play baseball, which they agreed to do. When they reached the baseball field, they discovered a blond-haired boy the same age as them, stretching his limbs and preparing for something. The boy overhears their conversation about him, and runs up to Ness and the others to introduce himself as Lucas. Lucas came from Tazmily Village, and travelled long and hard all over Eagle Land to search for a tag-team partner needed for his upcoming match against Prince Marth and Ike, the same person Ness and his group saw fighting Captain Falcon on the television before his mother shut it off. The best he found was Ness, and despite his group's protests about Ness being Lucas' tag-team partner, Ness agreed with Lucas under the terms that the two spar with each other. And so, for the next three months, Ness and Lucas sparred with each other for the upcoming tag-team match against Marth and Ike, while Ness' friends, sister, and dog watched them fight from afar.
Part 2[]
Ness' friends, family, and dog were sitting within the stadium's audience as they saw Ness and Lucas face Marth and Ike, prepared for battle. Ness asked Ike about whether or not he won against Captain Falcon on television, and Ike responded yes, he won against Captain Falcon, meaning that neither he nor Marth will show any mercy to Ness and Lucas. Ness then has Lucas repeat what he learned during his sparring match with Ness: (1) Marth is faster because his sword is lighter, and Ike is stronger because his sword is heavier; (2) Lucas should never give up no matter how many times his opponents get back up and continue fighting; and (3) Lucas can read Marth and Ike's minds, just like Ness, meaning that the two were better off predicting every one of the two swordsmen's moves by reading their minds telepathically. The fight began, and as both tag-teams traded and dodged each other's attacks, all of a sudden Ness and Lucas' minds started to ache painfully, as if a billion needles were piercing their brains. Marth and Ike knew of their opponents' weakness; because Ness and Lucas are psychics, their minds can be read back by anyone, even regular people, just as much as they can read minds, allowing the two swordsmen to attack Ness and Lucas within their minds. The two psychic boys then telepathically pushed back Marth and Ike, and the two pairs were caught in a telepathic deadlock, a deadlock that was so strainious and painful that it caused the four of them to fall into a coma and take their battle within their entangled minds. Ness and Lucas were then in a forest in the middle of night, learning that the strain of their telepathic fight was so stressful and ugly that it caused them to merge each other's minds. They then heard blades clashing, as they hid in a bush and watched Ike's father, Griel, and the mysterious Black Knight, fight each other. Marth and Ike appeared out of nowhere and described to the two boys about Griel and the Black Knight, as they then heard piercing flesh. Ness and Lucas went back into the bush as they saw Ike caressing his dying father, pleading to him not to leave. Ness and Lucas then faced Marth and Ike, as Ike said that he used to unite the humans and shapeshifters against the Black Knight and his master, King Ashnard, and that he entered Super Smash Bros. just to slowly build up the skills needed to surpass his father. Ness and Lucas then turned around and, to their shock, discovered the Black Knight getting ready to pierce his sword at them. The two psychic boys then had a startling realization: Because they and their opponents are trapped in each other's entangled minds, anything they imagine becomes a reality within their minds, which explains why Ike summoned the Black Knight to attack the two psychic boys. Taking advantage of that realization, Lucas focused his mind to transform the Black Knight's sword into a paper fan, then, with Ness' help, knock the knight backwards with his and Ness' psychic powers. They then turned around and discovered that Marth and Ike had ran away, and so the boys gave chase to the swordsmen toward a door leading to a giant Escher-like maze. They got lost for a few minutes, discussing how Marth and Ike trained themselves for this match, studying psychics, and thinking about whether they'll win and how Ness' family and friends are doing. They then discovered another door leading out, and as they went through it, to their shock, they discovered that they were at the city of Fourside, one of the places Ness and friends used to go to when they were questing to defeat Gygas. They discovered Marth and Ike, who disappeared behind a vast crowd, and with his mind Ness made the crowd disappear to reveal to them the prince and mercenary running away. The two boys gave chase to the two swordsmen, leading to the top of a large skyscraper, where surrounding the two boys were Marth and Ike's respective armies. Luckily, they used their minds to make Marth and Ike's armies vanish, leaving the two swordsmen alone. The two sides then used their imaginations to fight each other: Marth and Ike summoned Ness and Lucas' nemesis, Porkey Minch, driving his spider-mech, only for the two boys to make the mech disappear, leaving Porkey alone and vulnerable. The two swordsmen then replaced Porkey with a giant dragon, which the two psychic boys turned into a miniature baby dragon. Marth and Ike transformed their swords into Nintendo Superscopes, which Ness and Lucas turned into the fish pokemon, Goldeen and Magikarp. Ike turns Magikarp into its evolved form, Gyradose, as Ness and Lucas transformed it back into the weak Magikarp. Marth and Ike then imagined their swords back, as they jumped off the skyscraper and grew into giants. Unfazed by the terrible sight of two giant swordsmen, Ness and Lucas jumped off the building and focused their minds to transform themselves into giants as well, and as giants within such a small city, the two pairs charged at each other. Back in the real world, in the arena, Ness' mother grew concerned for Ness' safety, while Tracy, Paula, and the others tried to comfort her. Suddenly, the crowd got up from their seats, as Ness' friends and family discovered, to their surprise, that Ness and Lucas got up from their comas first. Ness and Lucas were declared the winners of the fight, as the two psychic boys, feeling sorry for the two swordsmen, carried their comatose bodies out of the arena, where they would reunite with Ness' family and friends and take the prince and mercenary to a hospital for healing and as a sign of good sportsmanship.
Fox McCloud[]
Part 1[]
Fox McCloud and his team, including Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, Falco Lombardi, and Krystal the blue fox, watched on the giant monitor in their ship, the Great Fox, as Wolf O' Donnell stood on top of a pile of a thousand Yoshis, whom he managed to defeat. They then turned off the TV as Fox vowed to his friends that he's going to defeat Wolf in hand-to-hand combat, and in order to do that, he has to train with Falco while the rest of his friends calls Wolf and schedules a match with him. Fox and Falco went to the training room to spar, while Peppy, Slippy, and Krystal travelled to their ship's bridge. There, they ordered the pilot piloting their ship, ROB 64, to activate communications with Wolf, which he did. A holographic image of Wolf then appeared, as Fox's teammates asked Wolf, who was in the middle of signing autographs and taking pictures with children after his big fight with a thousand Yoshis, if he could fight Fox. Wolf gleefully accepts their challenge, and Fox has about three months to train himself for the upcoming match. The communication link disconnected, as Krystal, Peppy, and Slippy went back to the training room to see how Fox and Falco were doing. The two were heavily beaten to death, yet neither side wanted to give up on training Fox for the upcoming match against Wolf. For the next three months, Fox would train to the death with Falco, with barely any breaks for food or rest, as Fox and Falco were near dying and heavily fatigued from the blows they dealt to each other. Their teammates grew concerned for their safety, as they tried to make them take a break but to no avail, as neither the fox nor the falcon wanted to stop training. Fox and Falco then punched each other in each other's faces, as the both of them fell down into a coma. Krystal orders Peppy and Slippy to take Falco to his bedroom, which they do, while she takes Fox to his. As Krystal placed Fox on his bed, Krystal grew concerned for his safety as he told him that anytime he's about to die at the hands of Wolf, he should surrender to save his own life. Fox denied Krystal's suggestion, as he, in his bed, said to Krystal that he would never surrender or retreat, and that he will defeat Wolf even if it means dying to do so. Krystal then left his room to leave Fox to his rest.
Part 2[]
Peppy, Slippy, Krystal, Falco, and ROB 64 were at the stadium searching for their seats and anticipating the match between Fox and Wolf. As the five found their seats, they discovered that next to them were Wolf's teammates, Leon Powalski the iguana and Panther Caroso the panther. Neither team were surprised to see each other, but Panther, the narcissist that he is, tried to woo Krystal but to no avail. As he got back in his seat while Krystal and the others got into theirs, Panther vows that his and Leon's leader, Wolf, will kill Fox even if it means dying to do so. Fox and Wolf then appeared from their entrances and exchanged words with each other before the match. As the match began, both Fox and Wolf charged at each other and traded blows at lightning fast speeds. Back in the stands, Leon and Slippy said to each other that one of their respective leaders will win. Leon then said that anytime Wolf dies, he and Panther can always recruit a new leader. Falco then elects Krystal as the new leader anytime Fox is the one that dies, but Krystal refuses, saying that Falco shouldn't abandon his beloved friend. Basically, Team Star Wolf's philosophy is that they would sacrifice innocents and allies alike to achieve their goals, while Team Star Fox's philosophy is that they'd never abandon a friend or innocent in need when they're about to go. Frustrated, Falco then said to his friends that anytime Fox is about to die, they postpone the match to save Fox's life at the cost of victory. Back in the fight, Wolf fired his blaster at Fox, who deflected the laser with his deflector. Wolf then summoned his deflector to deflect the shot back at Fox, and the two sides deflected the shot at each other with their respective deflectors, until Wolf was blasted away. Fox and Wolf then continued trading blows after their short tennis match. Meanwhile, back at the stands, Panther makes a bet with Krystal: If Wolf wins, Panther and Krystal goes on a date, and if Fox wins, she's refusing that date and kissing Fox in front of him just to show him how much she hates his narcissistic attitude. Both sides then agreed. Back in the fight, Fox and Wolf were so exhausted from trading blows with each other at lightning fast speeds that they were near their deaths, as the two collapsed on their knees and placed their hands on each other's shoulders. Wolf then confessed to Fox about how he feared the one thousand Yoshis he used to fight, and that his secret to defeating them and his eventual victory against Fox will be that same fear of dying. Fox then describes to Wolf that he also has a fear of dying, as he proceeds to say that what everyone, even Fox and Wolf, feels isn't fear, but rather adrenaline and heightened senses. Fox may be going to die with Wolf, but if he were to die, he'll ensure that he does it not for himself, but for his team, while Wolf proclaims that he's sacrificing his life just to get revenge on Fox. The two sides then wrestled each other on the ground like children for the next five minutes, until eventually both sides collapsed. Fox and Wolf's respective teams prayed for their respective leaders to get up first, when suddenly Fox slowly but surely got back up on his feet while Wolf stayed down on the ground, face-up. Fox was declared the winner, as his and Wolf's teams jumped into the arena to their rescue. Panther and Leon carried Wolf's comatose body on their shoulders, while Falco carried Fox on his. Then, remembering the bet he made with Krystal, Panther watched in horror as Krystal kissed Fox right in front of his eyes. Panther then vows to Team Star Fox that he, Wolf, and Leon will return more powerful than before, as the two teams parted ways and left the arena with their respective leaders.
Pikachu[]
Part 1[]
Pikachu and his companions, including the balloon pokemon Jigglypuff, Chimchar the fire monkey, Piplup the ice penguin, Tertwig the tree turtle, Bunnary the rabbit, Parichisu the electric squirrel, and Plusle and Minum the positive and negative pokemon, travelled high on top of Legendary Mountain, home to the three legendary pokemon Suicune the ice pokemon, Raikou the electric pokemon, and Entei the fire pokemon. As the nine pokemon entered the ruins on top of the dangerous mountain, they encountered the three pokemon, whom they wish to train Pikachu for the upcoming match against Master Hand and Crazy Hand. At first the three legendary pokemon refused, but then they said they were pleased with how Pikachu and his companions climbed up the mountain, nearly risking their lives, to meet them. They then accepted Pikachu's offer, on the condition that he spars with his friends rather than with the three legendaries. Originally, they wanted Pikachu to fight a dark version of himself, but since he brought companions with him, the eight travelling companions will have to do as the alternative. So, for the next three months, Pikachu and his friends sparred with each other, starving themselves, reducing their sleep, and threatening to end their own lives just to prepare for the upcoming match. Eventually, after three months, both sides grew so tired that they collapsed into a coma, as Suicune, Raikou, and Entei placed the nine miniature pokemon on their backs and flew them to the Super Smash Bros. stadium to battle Master Hand and Crazy Hand.
Part 2[]
As Pikachu and his friends woke up, they discovered that Suicune, Raikou, and Entei took them to the Super Smash Bros. stadium to fight Master Hand and Crazy Hand. In front of them was a teleporter leading to the arena in space, the Final Destination, and behind it was a holographic image of Final Destination and, floating on top of it, the two white, disembodied hands, Master Hand and Crazy Hand. At first Pikachu was nervous; once he enters the teleporter to fight the two hands he can't come back unless he either defeats them or comes out a slow-rotting corpse. But he was brave, because he had his friends by his back. Bravely, Pikachu then entered the teleporter and teleported to Final Destination. He and the two hands faced each other as they started to fight each other. The battle lasted for thirty long, painful minutes. Pikachu was near his death, every attack he dealt barely fazed Master Hand and Crazy Hand, and the two disembodied hands were fast and powerful. Yet the electric mouse never gave up despite his friends' protests to rescue Pikachu before he dies. Just then, both Pikachu and the pair of disembodied hands were so exhausted and near their deaths that they collapsed, and as Pikachu's friends and the legendary pokemon prayed for Pikachu to wake up, the electric mouse slowly got back up on his feet and, to his surprise, discovered that Master Hand and Crazy Hand have been knocked out into a coma. Pikachu won the match, as he was teleported back to the stadium to reunite with his friends, as they and the three legendary pokemon took a heavily-injured Pikachu out of the arena and to a local pokemon center to heal him, celebrating his victory in the process.
Themes and Motifs[]
Where most fanfictions tend to be either romances, what-if scenarios, sequels, or just plain mindless fanservice, The Epic Rivalries are more based after Shonen Jump's stories and Star Wars, stories about heroes torture training themselves to reach their respective rivals' levels. All eight stories were success stories, about how each hero or pair of heroes refused to give up on their training and their matches, and utilized their heads, courage, and hearts to win against their respective rivals. And, like the heroes in Shonen Jump, Star Wars, and countless other stories that borrow the same concept of The Hero's Journey from each other, the twelve heroes of each of the eight stories grow more experienced alongside their rivals after each match they win. This theme of self-development reflects humanity's every day lives, when each human in the world grows and learns from everything they see or do. Humans work, they gather experience, they become better suited for even harder jobs, and the cycle repeats itself, just like with the heroes of Shonen Jump, Star Wars, mythology in general, and of course, The Epic Rivalries: A Fanthology.