Chapter 30:

In a realm separate from the Nintendo Universe, the War Council of the Magic Lords gathered in their palace to discuss the events surrounding the death of Aizen. The death of one of their own at the hands of a mortal was hard enough to bear. But given the fact that it was Aizen who died made things even worse for them, especially so soon after the deaths of two other members of their kind on the same world. Eleven Magic Lords, the strongest of their kind, gathered around the table in the main hall of the palace. There were males and females present, as well as the Lords having a variety of skin, hair, and eye color, each dependant on their own whims. Mostly, they looked like Aizen, who had looked like a Tolkienesque Elf with the traditional long, pointed ears, tall figure, and chiseled face. Some, however, took to looking more like a cross between a humanoid and a dragon, having scaly skin and horns, but having two arms and two legs. Each one wore a unique set of armor and also carried swords that were unique to the individual. They carried swords of all kinds, from broadswords, to short swords, to long swords, each one made from a different type of metal. At the center of the table was a silver bowl. The atmosphere around the table was a somber, which was a rarity for a species as powerful and proud as they were. However, they had a good reason to be somber, and also gravely concerned for their future plans.

Once the council was gathered, one of the Magic Lords, a male with blond hair and green eyes stood up to address the rest of the council. "We have all gathered here today due to alarming news coming from Earth. By now, I am certain that you all know this council's leader and the strongest of our people, Aizen, has fallen in battle. He was killed while fighting an enemy known as Mewtwo despite his newfound ability to resist psychic powers and attacks. Mewtwo was a psychic enemy with powers similar to the humans that made up the Chosen Four. It is almost certain that Aizen was attempting to avenge the deaths of his children, Aglara and Aramon, the former of which he had to absorb her power and knowledge into himself, killing her, so that it would not be lost when she succumbed to her injuries. We all know what Aizen had managed to acquire with the absorption of the powers and abilities of Aglara. He was the key to the creation of the new Dark Dragon! Without him, the entire project is in peril. The new Dark Dragon would have the same weaknesses as the old one, which was defeated by a handful of human psychics. Yes they were stronger than normal human psychics, but the Chosen Four were the main force behind the Dark Dragon's defeat. And the Dark Dragon had access to the Star Rod, something we no longer have."

"Perhaps we should have assisted him in his attempt to get revenge against Mewtwo and Samus Aran for the deaths of Aglara and Aramon," a female Magic Lord with black hair and black eyes commented sagely.

"Such a plan would have been fraught with risk," a second male Magic Lord countered. "Aizen was the only one who had managed to overcome our extreme weakness to psychic powers and the Light. Any attempt to support him could have resulted in even more losses, which would have jeopardized our plans."

"Aizen was the backbone of our plans. Without him, we're practically back at Square One!" the female Magic Lord countered.

"Enough!" the first Magic Lord boomed. "This bickering will get us nowhere. What we must do now is focus on our future."

"But Aizen was our future," a fourth Magic Lord, this one a male who looked like a cross between a human and a dragon, interjected. "With his death, all of our plans must be put on hold."

"We must go to Earth and avenge the losses of Aizen and his children. If enough of us go, we may be able to kill this Mewtwo!" the female Magic Lord blurted. "He is dangerous enough that the cost in life would be well worth the gain if we can get some of our servant races to pick up some of the slack. We could eliminate a great threat and show the rest of the universe the price for killing one of our kind."

"So we could all join Aizen in death?" the third Magic Lord retorted. "How do you intend to get down onto the planet so we can kill Mewtwo? That planet has a defense grid that could destroy a small stellar empire! And that's before we end up having to deal with the various Legendary Pokémon, many of whom are psychic, and now the Chosen Four! Cyrus's attack on Earth showed just how difficult and costly an attack on that planet is, and in the end, he lost the planet, and his life in that battle. The only reason Aizen was able to make any moves on Earth at the time was because he was already on world when the Federation in Exile and United Earth forces retook the planet from Cyrus and the false Federation!"

"As of right now, a direct attack on Earth is out of the question," the first Magic Lord, and the de facto leader of the council declared. "It would just be too costly, even with our servant races picking up much of the slack. And there is still the very real chance that our attack would fail."

"But we can't just let Mewtwo's defeat of Aizen go unchallenged!" the female Magic Lady insisted. "We have to do something!"

"And we shall when the time comes," the council leader assured her, as well as the others who thought like her. "Mewtwo and Samus will pay for the deaths of Aizen, Aglara, and Aramon. And Earth shall also be dealt with, eventually. But right now, we must turn our attention towards more pressing matters. While the avenue of using Aizen to make the new Dark Dragon immune to psychic powers and the light has been thwarted, there are still other options that we can search for. As it is right now, we must focus on other sources of potential resistance and alternative methods to neutralizing our weakness to psychic powers and the Light, so that when we create the new Dark Dragon, it will not have the same vulnerabilities that the previous one did."

The rest of the council then took their seat again and listened to the latest reports from other areas of interest such as Hylia, Pop Star, and other worlds that held their interest. Still, the pal of Aizen's death hung heavily over them and suddenly, despite their bluster when speaking about their plans and how they had not lost anyone on any of the other worlds…yet, they were no longer so certain of the supremacy of their power, not after having lost their strongest member, along with two adolescents that were as strong as some of the stronger Magic Lords from the pre Dark Dragon days less than three months apart. Their aura of invincibility was now gone, both to them and to their enemies. And that frightened them more than anything.

On Smash World, innumerable light-years away from Earth, Ganondorf made his way up a long set of stairs in a narrow, gray corridor not too far away from the base's main control room. The stairs led to a separate sector of the base where the leader of the Subspace Army, Master Hand, resided. The path was lined with a red carpet, and there were numerous statues of various robotic figures with square bases with treads, a square head with two eyes and two arms on the body. He scowled at the sensors, wanting Master Hand to know his displeasure at having to report on the latest events on Earth. He ignored the Primids, dark-skinned beings with dark purple blobs of energy leaking from various parts of their body dressed in green uniforms and hats, as well as the Fire Primids, who were identical to their normal Primid brethren save for their red uniforms and hats, and were capable of breathing fire, as he made his way up the stairs. The Primids made no moves as Ganondorf ascended the stairs on his way to see Master Hand. They could see the scowl on his face and did not want to provoke his wrath. While they had not known what had happened to make Ganondorf so angry, they suspected that something had gone wrong on Earth once more and that the Gerudo King would have to make another report about it to Master Hand.

Eventually, Ganondorf reached the top of the stairs and saw a large metal door standing in his way. Standing, or rather, sitting in front of the metal door, were two powerful robot soldiers known as Galleom and Duon. Galleom was a large gray and purple robot with simian features that had thick arms and thinner legs that could transform into a tank. It also had a two missile launchers on its back that could fire volleys of missiles at its target. It was extremely strong in close combat, but it was devastating at range, especially in tank form. The second robot, Duon, was a two-sided robot on top of a set of two large wheels. One half was pink while the other half was blue. The pink half had a head cannon and two arm cannons, while the blue half had two arm swords and a curved blade on the top of its head. Each half also had exhaust pipes that were capable of shooting either missiles or mines.

The robots stared at him, preparing to fire a volley of attacks should Ganondorf not provide the proper proof of identification. Ganondorf shrugged. He could have destroyed both of the robots with little more than single attacks if it suited him. However, they were resource intensive to build and highly valuable to Master Hand. Besides, they were valuable soldiers that could take the pressure off some of the more powerful generals when the time for fighting really came.

Stepping forward, he declared, "I am here to see Master Hand."

The robots' eyes glowed as they scanned the Gerudo King in order to make sure that it was really Ganondorf and not an impostor that was talking to them. The Gerudo King grimaced, not thinking that all of these security precautions were necessary, but Master Hand had felt that it was better to be safe than sorry. After the scan was complete, they bowed before the general in a non-threatening manner and stepped aside, allowing Ganondorf access to the Subspace Army leader's chamber. The Gerudo King approached the doors and when he arrived, he threw them open and went on in.

Inside the chamber, he saw a large white gloved right hand floating above the floor at the end of the chamber. Other than that, the area was sparsely furnished, with only a few seats and a table for the human(oid) guests that would gather there for a meeting with him. Ganondorf scowled as he saw a human figure standing near the hand. As he approached, he saw that it was John Ketchum, the human recruit that Master Hand had personally recruited to the Subspace Army, himself. The presence of the human did nothing to lighten Ganondorf's spirits. Once he went up to the hand, he looked over at John and demanded, "What are you doing here?"

"I am making my report to Master Hand as to the events that recently occurred on planet Earth," came the human's answer.

Ganondorf's eyes went wide with surprise. "Then why was I summoned here?" he demanded.

"I want to hear your own analysis as to what happened," the deep voice of Master Hand answered.

Ganondorf scowled as he made his report. "Team Rocket went to attack some of the Chosen Heroes, among them Ash Ketchum, Mia Ketchum, Ash's Pikachu, and Pokémon Coordinators May and Dawn. The attack ended in failure and the group pursued them back to their base, where the Pokémon League assisted Team Rocket in stopping the heroes for a time and capturing all but Ash and Pikachu. Mia then escaped and came into our possession for a time but the plan to use Team Rocket to gain a Pokémon army failed and Mia was freed from our control during Ash's attack on Pokémon League Headquarters." Ganondorf gave a pause before continuing. "During my time on Earth, I witnessed the battle between the Chosen Heroes and Team Rocket that took place at the hotel as well as having participated in later battles against Mewtwo. There were two instances that jumped out at me. First was the fact that Domino, an Elite Rocket Officer, had been killed after she had gained leverage of the Chosen Heroes that would have allowed them to be captured or killed, specifically by threatening a woman named Delia Ketchum." He then cast a dark glance at John. "Second, and this one took place in the final battle, was the shooting down of the helicopter that contained Giovanni as a passenger, its downing killing him in the process." Turning to John, Ganondorf pointed at him. "I believe that you were the one who shot him down!" he accused.

Surprisingly, John made no attempt to deny it. He simply returned Ganondorf's glare. "And if you had been paying attention to the situation at Pokémon League Headquarters, rather than fighting Mewtwo, against Master Hand's orders may I remind you, you would have learned that it was a good thing I did!" he retorted.

"What do you mean?" Ganondorf demanded, surprised by John's admission, but remaining skeptical.

The human took out a silver datapad and activated it. The images of all of the Subspace Army commanders and leaders appeared on the screen. He tapped an image of Ganondorf and immediately, all of the information that the Subspace Army had on the Gerudo King came up: everything from his physical appearances, feats, to strengths and weaknesses. John then tapped another image and the data for a Pterodactyl-like creature known as Ridley appeared. The data also seemed to point out the Space Dragon's capabilities, along with his strengths and weaknesses. "And that's not all," John continued. Pushing another button, the images of people of interest appeared on the pad, too, along with their data. He let the impact of what he had shown hit Ganondorf, as well as Master Hand, before speaking again. "I found this inside the downed helicopter. It was in Giovanni's hands. He was clutching it before I finished him off. In addition, before the battle, I had noticed that Giovanni had plans to go after a large number of Legendary Pokémon. That was what drew our attention to him in the first place. Our hope was to use these Pokémon to create more powerful cannon fodder soldiers. The replica of Rayquaza just isn't enough for what is to come. As I was saying to Master Hand before your arrival, during my time on Earth, I also noticed that a non-human was working with Team Rocket. At first, I thought it was a Hylian, but I eventually discovered that this person was, instead, a Magic Lord."

"It is easy to mistake the two since they look so similar physically," Master Hand interjected, as if explaining why John would be investigating the appearance of a Hylian or Magic Lord.

"Yes," Ganondorf nodded. "That Magic Lord drew my attention, too. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on what else you may have, he was defeated by the Psychic-type Pokémon Mewtwo, another Chosen Hero, albeit one that currently does not have a trophy here on Smash World since the trophy was destroyed before the Great Trophy Rebellion."

"Then you wouldn't miss anything," Master Hand interjected. "We already know that the real heroes are almost always stronger than their Trophy counterparts, some them tremendously so. Given that Mewtwo is a psychic and that he defeated a Magic Lord, I would think that the pathetic Trophy Mewtwo was nothing like the real one in power and capacity."

"Thank you, Master," John said to Master Hand, bowing. "Getting back on topic, there was a very real possibility that Giovanni knew that we were the ones funneling weapons and information to him and that he was preparing for an attack on us, or at least planning to threaten us so he could gain leverage over our forces. He did, after all, launch a raid on Goldenrod City's Radio Tower that, had he been successful, would have allowed him to transmit a code that would have taken control of all Trainer owned Pokémon in Japan. With them, he would have had a powerful army that could rival everyone save maybe you," he concluded, indicating Master Hand.

"Yes, but you stopped them before they could transmit the code and we could hijack it to take control of the Pokémon!" Ganondorf retorted.

"Giovanni's forces were too close to success and would most certainly have used the Pokémon against us," John countered. "Giovanni was this close to forming an army to use against us and potentially launch a very damaging attack on us. With Giovanni's death, a potentially serious threat has been dealt with and we also have more information on the Chosen Heroes."

"Did you make sure to destroy all traces of data or technology on that downed helicopter before Chosen Heroes came to investigate?" Ganondorf asked harshly.

John nodded. "I did and more. The only piece of data remaining from the helicopter was this. In addition, the data inside the base was wiped clean. I think that Giovanni had been concealing his true plans from his subordinates."

Ganondorf cast a skeptical glance at the human. He then turned back to Master Hand. "Do you believe him?" the Gerudo King asked. It was obvious that Ganondorf had his misgivings.

"I see no reason not to," Master Hand answered. "After all, I was the one who sent him to investigate the situation in the first place, as well as to destroy the code if we could not use it for our objectives."

This admission shocked Ganondorf. "What?" he blurted. "Then why not tell me? You told me he was there to secure troops!"

"It was necessary to keep this investigation quiet until it was finished," the hand answered. "The investigator had to be human as well, so that Team Rocket, and Giovanni, would not have suspected anything. He may have even been listening in on you, as well. Passing John off as a Pokémon League investigator or as an independent Pokémon Trainer would have been easy. That would not be the case with you. Besides, Giovanni may have used his Psychic-type Pokémon to try to scan you. There was a small chance that they would have been successful if they were smart about going about the scan and/or if you were arrogant and had your mental defenses lowered. That would not have been the case with John, who is merely a mundane human and always has his mind on guard."

"Then why did you send me to Earth in the first place?" Ganondorf asked.

"To keep an eye on John," the hand answered. "If, by some small chance, he did plan on betraying us, you would be the perfect person to deal with him since he has nothing that can hurt you. And to get him out of there if things went wrong."

"I see," Ganondorf answered, seemingly satisfied with Master Hand's answer. Still, he cast a suspicious glance at John. Turning back to Master Hand, he asked, "Will that be all?"

"Yes," Master Hand answered. "Unless there is something else you wish to add."

"There is," Ganondorf answered. Going up to the hand, he got in close and whispered, "Don't keep John in the loop as to our full plans for the Heroes."

"Why not?" Master Hand whispered back.

"Because I don't trust him. What he said about Giovanni may be true, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was. But in taking down Giovanni, he also saved his own children. In addition, there is the fact that an Elite Rocket Officer was killed by a Ray Gun and that her death saved not only his children's lives, but also that of his wife as well. I think that he has an attachment to his family and if he finds out our plans, he'll betray us."

"I see," Master Hand said. "I'll take what you said under advisement."

"Thank you, Master," Ganondorf said, bowing. "Will there be anything else?"

"Yes," Master Hand answered. "There is another set of invitations to the upcoming Super Smash Brothers Tournament. I need you and some Subspace Army agents to deliver them to the proper recipients."

"It shall be done, Master Hand," Ganondorf replied, bowing. The Gerudo King then rose and departed from Master Hand's chamber. As he left, he gave a sly grin. Now all he had to do was to start making plans of his own. He had sown the seeds of mistrust towards John. It would not be long before he did so towards the other general as well, should it be necessary. While he would have no problem serving Master Hand for the time being, especially if it would get him a battle against Link, he would be ready to take over the Subspace Army and make it his own when the time came.

Back inside the chamber, John breathed a sigh of relief when Ganondorf departed. As soon as the doors closed, Master Hand turned to him and said, "That was a close one." Looking sternly, or as sternly as a gloved hand could look, he asked, "Are you sure that no one else saw you shoot down the helicopter or create the data?"

"I'm positive," John answered. "Everyone will think that any data that finds its way into the hands of the Heroes would have originally been gathered either by Aizen or by Giovanni."

"Did you make sure to put the datapad where your children would see and retrieve it?"

"Of course," John answered. "And I'm happy to say that they took the datapad and received the message."

Master Hand gave a sigh. "You were right. The recent turn of events is quite fortuitous. Aizen has been killed, which means that the Magic Lords' plans have been dealt a severe setback, if not outright crippled or beaten. This will allow the heroes on Earth to focus their attention on dealing with the Subspace Army. Still, be careful of Ganondorf. He's getting suspicious of you. He told me that I should not trust you."

"I'd be wary of trusting him, in turn," John told Master Hand. "If I remember correctly, Trophy Ganondorf intended to usurp your command of the Subspace Army during the Trophy Rebellion. I wouldn't be surprised if the real one tried something like that here, too."

"I am well aware of his plans. But he has his 'uses', for the moment. No," the hand said, shaking in the negative. "We can't move openly against him, or the rest of the army yet. As it is, though, we won't be focusing on Earth for a while, so you won't be heading back there anytime soon."

"I understand." John then focused on Master Hand. He then said, "Master Hand, ever since I was recruited, you have been the face of the Subspace Army and its leader. However, if you were its leader, would you not simply order the army to not attack the rest of the universe or the Chosen Heroes and, instead, protect it? Surely the army would listen to and obey your orders."

"It's not that simple," Master Hand lamented.

"I know," John said plainly. He then gave a pause. "So who is the real leader of the Subspace Army?"

The question took Master Hand off guard. He cast a glance down at the human and answered, "I cannot reveal that information yet."

"But there is someone above you, isn't there."

Master Hand shook up and down in affirmation. "No one knows that there is someone else above me in the army. Whatever you do, you cannot tell anyone what I have told you just now, not even your own children should you come across them. Protect your thoughts carefully John. Ganondorf knows that we are close and that I have confided in you, just as I have confided in him as well. He will likely try to scan your mind to learn of any weaknesses that I may have."

"I'll be careful." After a pause, John asked, "Will there be anything else?"

"No. You may go."

After he had been given leave to depart, John went over to the exit and walked through the doors. As he made his way through, Master Hand wondered if he had revealed too much information to John. While John was a good person and loyal to his family, he was also only a normal human. He did not have the same mental defenses that someone like Ganondorf did. Carrying the information that he did would be a great burden, especially if Ganondorf had more missions for him.

Back on Earth, a week had past since the death of Giovanni and the fall of Team Rocket. The Pokémon League, those that had not been part of Mercier's plan, had taken the survivors of Team Rocket, including Archer, Ariana, Petrel, Proton, Jessie, James, Meowth, and the few other Grunts that had not been killed during the fighting, into custody and were about to put them on trial. Many considered the trial to be a mere formality, for while they would let the judicial system take its course, there was more than enough evidence to send the Executives to prison forever, if not have them be outright executed for their crimes. The Team Rocket Trio, however, would fare better since they had not actually killed anyone, or tried to do so, either. As for the Grunts, they, too, were facing charges and would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Not only that, but Archer and Ariana had quickly turned on all Pokémon League officials that had sided with Team Rocket, those that were still alive, and the League was cleaning house with great prejudice. For all intents and purposes, though, the fall of Team Rocket was complete. With only a few surviving Grunts and all of the surviving Executives arrested, the threat of Team Rocket was now over. The bigger question would be what would happen with the Pokémon League.

The World Pokémon League had lost Jean Mercier as its President, as well as all of the Council members when Giovanni had rigged the fake Badge Amplifier to explode. That left a massive power vacuum in the Pokémon League. Many wanted Charles Goodshow to take the reins again and become its President, but he had refused, citing that he had reached his term limit. However, not many others wanted the post given how Jean Mercier had sullied the Pokémon League's reputation. Some wondered if it was time to abolish the World Pokémon League in its entirety. Others did not want to be so hasty and believed that the League could still be saved. There was still one more concern that was on the League's mind: United Earth.

With the scandal rocking the Pokémon League, United Earth was taking a keen interest in the activities of the Pokémon League and was taking this opportunity to investigate the World Pokémon League, as well as the smaller Leagues. They had already requested talks with Ash, Mia, May, Dawn, Lance, and Cynthia to get their take on what had happened since they had been on the front lines of the battle. They all agreed and had given depositions to the investigators, including Looker, who was also investigating on behalf of both United Earth and the honest World Pokémon League.

Ash set down the newsletter and looked over at Pikachu. He had been trying to decide what to do with himself now that he had accomplished the goal he had set for himself ever since he was young. He was finally a Pokémon Master. And while he was thrilled to have accomplished his life's goal, the title did not seem to have the same ring right now that it had when he was younger. Perhaps Mia's talk from when they had met at the Pokémon Center just after the Championship battle was rubbing off on him. Though, the events surrounding the death of Giovanni and the fall of Team Rocket also played a role. He had seen the dark side of the World Pokémon League, who had been willing to enslave every Trainer-owned Pokémon in order to take over the world just so they would not have to adapt to the times where Pokémon were being seen sentient beings and equal to humans in rights. Even though the Pokémon Masters that he had met had been good people who treated their Pokémon well and even as equals, he wanted to show the world that humans and Pokémon could work together as equals, not merely as master and servant.

He soon heard a clank outside the house, the unmistakable sound of the mailbox clanging shut. Looking at the time, it read twelve fifteen in the afternoon. It was relatively early for the mail to come but he decided that he would go out and check it anyway. As he went to get up, he saw a blur of motion come down the stairs as Mia rushed outside to get the mail before he had finished rising. Her haste piqued his curiosity and he quickly rose to follow her. Pikachu quickly jumped up onto his shoulder as they followed the girl outside. As soon as they got outside, Mia was already heading back with a small number of envelopes. She approached Ash and Pikachu, holding out two envelopes. "Here," she said, tossing both of them an envelope. "It looks like you both got mail."

Ash was quite surprised that not only he, but also Pikachu, had received mail. "Both of us?" he asked, perplexed that Pikachu would also receive a letter. He did not even know if Pikachu could read human writing.

Mia nodded. They both took the letter and examined the envelope. They both had the home address of Ash and his family, but no return address at all. Looking ever at Mia, he noticed that she, too, was examining her letter. Her letter also had an identical envelope as well. He then opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. He opened the letter and began to read it. It read:

Dear Ash Ketchum:

Your daring exploits and feats have not gone unnoticed throughout the universe. As a result of your tremendous feats of not only becoming the World Pokémon League Champion, but also defeating Team Rocket and its leader, Giovanni, you are cordially invited to participate in the first ever Super Smash Bros. Competition that will begin starting in May of next year. The Super Smash Bros. Competition is where the greatest of heroes from all around the multiverse assemble to see just who among the best is the best. There are many competitions ranging from fighting, to breaking the targets, to homerun contests, to stamina matches, and more. There is an attached pamphlet to further explain the various contests you may partake in in the Super Smash Bros. competition, as well as a return envelope for you to mail your response in. Please send us your response by the thirty-first of December of this year if you plan to attend. Should you wish to attend, we will mail you all the information regarding the location of the competition. Should you wish to attend, your family will be automatically allowed to attend the competition as spectators, those who are, themselves, not participants. We hope that you will attend this prestigious event and bring your skills to this challenging competition.

from,

The Super Smash Stadium

Ash proceeded to fold up the letter as he finished reading it. The invitation to the Super Smash Brothers Tournament that his father had warned him and Mia about had come. Looking back at Pikachu, and then at Mia, he quickly saw that they, too, had received invitations to the Super Smash Brothers Tournament, evidenced by the expression on their faces and their glances back at him. His return glance told them everything they needed to know. Mia quickly folded the letter and put it back in her envelope. They faced each other for a second before Mia eventually broke the silence. "Well, this came sooner than expected."

Ash and Pikachu both nodded in agreement. They, too, were surprised at how quickly the invitations had come. Mia handed her letter over to him and he took it and read it, seeing that the writing was almost identical to his, save for the fact that the writer used her name, rather than his. Reading over Pikachu's version, he found that it, too, was written the same way, almost as if they were being mass-produced. He was surprised that he could read Pikachu's letter and he suspected that there was something special about the letters or the paper they were written on that would allow Pikachu to read them. He looked back at Mia and quickly realized that she was thinking the same thing. This Super Smash Brothers Tournament was going to have a lot of participants. They figured that it would not be out of the realm of possibility that at least a few dozen participants could enter into the tournament, with there likely being as many as sixty-four, possibly more. All three of them glanced at each other and nodded. They would heed the warning that their father had left them in the letter and would not accept the invitation, unless the situation changed so that they could be in the position of strength when they went.

After a few seconds, they heard the voices of May and Dawn call out to them, "Hey Ash, Mia."

The twins looked out at the sidewalk and saw May and Dawn waving and coming over to them. "May, Dawn," Ash called out in surprise as he went over to meet them. "What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to check in on an old friend," May answered.

"Me, too," Dawn echoed. "And besides, we're going to participate in a new Contest Festival in a few weeks, along with us modeling a new fashion collection."

"That's great. Good luck to both of you," Ash congratulated.

May and Dawn beamed back at him and smiled kindly towards Mia. They quickly noticed that Mia was holding onto a letter. Looking over at Ash and Pikachu, they also noticed that they were holding onto letters. "Wow, did you get invitations to the Super Smash Brothers Tournament too?" Dawn asked.

Ash, Mia, and Pikachu's eyes flashed with surprise at the mention of the tournament and that they knew of it. "Yeah," Ash answered for the other two. "How did you know about it?"

The two girls reached into their backpacks and pulled out invitations of their own. "We got our invitations this morning. We're planning on going," Dawn told him.

"Don't," Mia warned succinctly. "It's a trap."

May and Dawn looked at her with surprise. "A trap? What makes you say that?"

"When we found Giovanni's helicopter, we saw a datapad that had information that told us that the tournament was an elaborate trap by an enemy force to bring Chosen Heroes together so they could all be dealt with at once," Ash answered. He knew that his father had not been that specific, but he could extrapolate what the plan was. He did not want to go into detail with May and Dawn just yet, but figured that they needed to know.

"Ash and I have already decided not to go," Mia told them.

"There's more," Ash told them. "But I don't want to discuss it out here. We should talk about this inside."

"Okay," the two girls said waveringly as they glanced at one another, concerned at Ash's newfound serious personality, and went to follow Ash and Mia into their house.

Just as they were about to head inside a flash appeared in front of them and a tall bipedal cat-like Pokémon appeared directly in front of the group. Ash immediately recognized the Pokémon as Mewtwo. "Mewtwo!" he blurted in surprise. "This is unexpected. What are you doing here?"

Mia looked over at Ash and was surprised that he knew the Pokémon but smiled all the same. "You know it?" she asked.

"This is Mewtwo," Ash told her, motioning towards the psychic cat-like Pokémon. "We've met twice before the battle against Team Rocket and have gone on an adventure both times," he told them.

"I am an enemy of Team Rocket," Mewtwo said, bowing before the humans. May and Dawn knew this but Mia was unfamiliar with him. Still, from what she was hearing, she liked him already. He calmly stepped forward, approaching them, smiling gently. "I must say you did excellent work against Team Rocket."

"Thanks," Ash responded, blushing with embarrassment. Mia, May and Dawn also gave shy smiles.

Mia gazed intently at Mewtwo. She had heard of rumors about Mewtwo but had never met him before, though she had encountered a Mew before. She pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon. The scans of Mewtwo's power readings came back and her eyes went wide as they were off the scale. They were far superior to any Legendary Pokémon that she had ever encountered before. "Wow, what is a Pokémon with your power doing talking to normals like us?" she asked.

Mewtwo then produced an envelope and held it out in front of him. "I am a friend of Ash's," he answered. "And I also recently received this invitation from a place called the Super Smash Stadium to the Super Smash Brothers Tournament. I could not help but notice that the five of you also received the same invitation."

He showed them the letter and when they read it, they noted that the only difference was the fact that it mentioned that he had defeated a being known as a Magic Lord, as well as having faced down and beaten two Magic Lords previously, Dark Arceus, and helped Samus Aran against a Dark Arceus trophy along with a fabricated Dialga and Palkia. Upon reading the letter, Ash asked, "What's a Magic Lord?"

"An enemy of incredible power," Mewtwo answered cautiously. "Aizen would have been far out of your league had he seriously come after you, which it appears as if he did not. I must say that while Aizen and the Magic Lords were the main reason I came to talk to you, since he was also working with Team Rocket, it appears as if it is not the only reason this meeting is as fortuitous as it is."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

Mewtwo motioned towards Ash's invitation to the Super Smash Brothers Tournament. "You're not the only ones to receive invitations to the Super Smash Brothers Tournament. At first, I was merely curious about whether or not you had been invited as well, with you having played pivotal roles in Team Rocket's demise, but now, it seems as if this tournament is not all it seems. I am planning my own investigation into it."

"But why come to talk to us at all?" Ash asked. "What can we do that you can't?"

"Sometimes, the one who makes all the difference is the one normal that no one would expect," Mewtwo answered. He then looked at them sternly. "Things are happening. Plans are being set in motion both by the Subspace Army and the Magic Lords. The Magic Lords have an extreme vulnerability to psychic powers. From what I can gather, Aizen was supposed to be the answer. His daughter, Aglara, had managed to gain resistance to psychic powers and a power known as the Light. Aizen absorbed it after Aglara was fatally injured at the end of the Galactic Federation Civil War. With him dead, their plans have hit a large snag, but they are not finished. However, for the moment, I think the Subspace Army is the more pressing threat. That said, though, we all need to work together. The Magic Lords will watch what happens in this next year with keen interest. In addition, we are not the only Chosen Heroes of Earth. We must all assemble and keep in contact with each other. I have a feeling that it will be essential for us to deal with the threats that are coming."

Ash, Mia, and Pikachu nodded sagely. "I think I may know who some of them are," Ash volunteered. "Come on," he offered. "It looks like we all have a matter to discuss."

"I also know a few," Mia volunteered. "Also, according to my father, the Super Smash Bros. Tournament is a trap."

"Then, indeed, we will have much to discuss."

"We'll also want to spread the word about the tournament," Ash added.

"That won't be a problem," both Mia and Mewtwo stated in unison.

With that, Ash and Mia headed into their home, followed by May, Dawn, and Mewtwo. Once they were inside, they proceeded to discuss the information that John had passed on to them, telling them everything.

Meanwhile, in a universe separate from the normal Nintendo universe, a male Dark Elf with fair skin but black hair and black eyes gazed into a crystal ball and watched the scene on Earth as Ash and Mia headed inside their house, followed by May, Dawn, and Mewtwo. As soon as the Psychic-type Pokémon had entered the house, the house went blank to their magical senses. "I can no longer see Chosen Heroes Ash Ketchum, Mia Ketchum, May, Dawn, and Mewtwo," the male said, looking into the ball and seeing only static.

"It is likely that the psychic Pokémon is blocking any scanning attempt," came the reply from a female Dark Elf, who had fair skin, like the male, along with black hair and gray eyes. She came over to the ball and chanted a magical spell in order to try to regain the picture. For a brief moment, the image came back, but soon, it dissolved into static once more. "Indeed, we are being blocked."

"But how can a psychic block us?" the male asked.

"He's likely merely set up a psychic energy field that disrupts any magical attempt to spy on him," the female answered.

"That's not the issue right now," the male said in a worried tone. "The issue right now is that a large number of Chosen Heroes have met and are gathering in a single place."

"But things have greatly changed," the female countered. "Aizen is dead. The only Elvanheim that had resistance to psychic powers is dead. The last of Aizen's family is dead. The Elvanheim have lost their most powerful and important member."

"Yes, but what about the Subspace Army? Even if the Magic Lords plans have suffered with the loss of the Council's leader, the Subspace Army is still building its forces," the male said. "They could become a significant threat."

"Perhaps," the female said thoughtfully. "But I don't think that the Subspace Army will be the real concern. It is powerful on the small scale, but it lacks the numbers and power to threaten the great galactic and universal superpowers. Chances are that the Chosen Heroes will be able to defeat it. The issue there is the prospect of the Magic Lords taking advantage of the Subspace Army's presence and launching a surprise attack on the Heroes."

"That is an issue," the male agreed.

"Then our next course of action is clear. We must ensure that the Magic Lords are unable to plan an attack on the Heroes," the female concluded.

"So when do we reveal ourselves to the Heroes and inform them of the Elvanheim's threat?"

"When the time is right," the female answered.

The male nodded and the two gazed into each other's eyes. Speaking a single alien word, the crystal ball went blank and the two Dark Elves retreated behind a curtain and into the back room, feeling a sense of calm that they had not known in over a thousand years. For the first time in a long time, there was hope, both for the former slaves of the Magic Lords, as well as for the rest of the universe.

Meanwhile, in the bowels of a castle in a dark, fiery land outside of the Mushroom Kingdom, inside a secret chamber that even Bowser, the King of the Koopas, did not know about Kamek stood before a golden bowl, the center of which was shadowy image that resembled a massive turtle. Giovanni lay on a shiny gray table not too far away, easily visible to the figure in the image. The figure did not seem to have too much of an interest in the dead boss of Team Rocket as he listened to Kamek's report.

"Master, it would seem as if Team Rocket has been destroyed practically in its entirety. It also appears as if Giovanni was killed in an explosion, however, he had an energy blast wound in the head right between the eyes. Reviving him will be difficult."

"Can it be done?" the figure in image in the bowl asked in a deep, gruff voice.

"I don't know," Kamek answered. "The damage his body suffered was extensive, but the worst was the headshot he suffered. If he suffered too much brain damage, we'd only be reviving a zombie. We could clone him, but there's no guarantee that the clone would be like him in temperament."

The figure gave a mix between a sigh and a grunt. "Anythign else, Kamek?"

"Well, we were able to identify several Chosen Heroes, included among them are Ash and Mia Ketchum, the boy's Charizard, Greninja, and Pikachu as well, along with Mewtwo, May, and Dawn."

"What of the girl?" the figure asked.

"Which one?" Kamek asked. "There are several."

"Mia Ketchum," the figure replied. "How is our progress coming with her?"

"I don't know," Kamek answered. "Mia was taken over by Shadow Bugs and in her battle against Ash, she was hit by a Thunderbolt that was powered by a Light Ball. The Light from that attack may have dispelled the effects of the Song of Darkness that we planted into her at that concert five year ago. And even then, Mia's own mental strength was strong, greater than I have seen in a normal before, matching that of Mario and Donkey Kong. Her own mental strength allowed her to resist the song's effects. Had she not been so strong, she would already be our slave. Still, there may still be hope. Chances are that she'll be invited to the Super Smash Bros. Tournament. If we can get in, we may be able to begin our plan once more."

"We can't rely on that," the figure barked. After a short pause, he gave another grunt. "So Giovanni may be our only play here."

"Possibly," Kamek answered. "However, it was not all a loss. The Pokémon League has been crippled by the scandal of working with Team Rocket and the Pokémon League Council is now dead. That is one enemy we can cross off the list."

"Which does nothing to the Federation or United Earth," the figure countered. "They're the real danger, here."

"True, but something is better than nothing," Kamek responded, trying to stay positive, though he knew that his master was right. It was a silver lining to a great defeat, even though they had not expended any resources into the battle.

The figure then gave a chuckle. "It's ironic. For how badly Team Rocket failed here, perhaps it was poetic justice. After all, we hired them to kidnap the girl in the first place. Their own greed and lust for her skills is what denied her to us. And now, she was instrumental in their downfall."

"Yes, Master," Kamek answered. "I must say I did get a sense of satisfaction seeing the girl wail on them. And, indeed, if we can either seduce her or control her via another Song of Darkness or some other means, she could be of great service to us if she can be directed to work for us."

"If you can do so, can you make it so she will retain her personality and skill, with the only difference being her allegiance?"

"I should, Master Kamek answered.

"Excellent," the figure rumbled with satisfaction. "Anyway, you should get back to Bowser," the figure told him. "We can't afford for him to become suspicious of your true motives."

Kamek bowed. "Yes, Master," came the Magikoopa's answer. Turning back to the figure, he finished with, "He does not deserve to have your name, Master."

"Yet he is the ruler of the Koopa Kingdom and I am still here, trapped in the Dark World."

"Not for long, Master," Kamek replied with a bow.

"Still, we need him for the moment. You must serve him well. If he can accomplish some of our objectives before I free myself, so much the better."

"Understood, Master," Kamek finished. And with that, Kamek departed the chamber as the image of the mysterious figure vanished.