Fun fact: I was originally writing a different piece, but moved to this one instead as, whilst I'm not too confident in my writing ability for the ones chosen for that one, I do feel quasi-confident in my ability in writing Roy & Pichu. Plus, the world needs more of the purest friendship in Smash. Either way, I felt significantly worse emotionally whilst writing this, so take that as you will. Also I tried (tried being the keyword) to keep Pichu's gender ambiguous. I may just decide on a gender and come back and revise this.

Again, speculation/No spoilers for World of Light (aside from [REDACTED] being a spirit, if you missed the Direct, I guess).

"(Mr. Roy, are you okay?)"

"I'm fine, Pichu."

There was a brief moment of hesitation before Roy had answered. This was not the first time this had happened since Pichu woke up.

Pichu's memories of recent events were hazy. It had been excited to return to the Smash Brothers tournament. It was happy to see Zelda, Kirby and Roy again. It even met fun new friends like the yellow dog lady or the alolan wrestler Inciniroar! But then, they were taken to a canyon because of something that was wrong with the Master Hand. Pichu remembered wondering if he was sick and if they were going to give him medicine and a card. Then, there were plenty of lights and…

Pichu woke up staring at Pikachu and Roy. Both of them were very relieved to see it. Pikachu even cried.

"You got excited and knocked yourself out."

That was what they said when Pichu admitted that it couldn't remember anything.

On one hand, Pichu certainly remembered zapping itself into unconsciousness, but on other… it just couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. That something didn't feel right with that explanation.

Something didn't feel right. That would describe a lot of things about the world since Pichu woke up.

Take the jungle they were currently resting in, for instance. The jungle was where Mr. Donkey Kong lived, and places like this were home to many animals, Pokemon or otherwise. You could always hear something when running around the jungle. But now, there were no noises, and the few times there were, it was a bad trophy trying to hurt them.

"They're all sleeping."

That was what they said when Pichu asked about it. But the forest still felt too quiet for the animals to be sleeping. It was as if they were all gone.

Another thing Pichu noticed was that everyone was sadder. Before Pichu knocked itself out, everybody was happy, cheerful and ready to have a tournament. Even the bad guys like Mr. Ganondorf were happy.

But now, everybody seems more quiet, more sad. Even certain people like Mr. Bowser or that white-haired robe guy who reads books or Pikachu seem meaner than they usually were. Not only that, but some of the fighters aren't here! Where's Miss Zelda? Where's Young Link? Isn't everyone supposed to be here?

Pichu would constantly ask Mr. Roy questions about all of this, but Mr. Roy didn't answer any of them. Usually, he'd explain it away quickly or promise to explain later. At one point, Pichu noticed Mr. Roy talking to a lady with green hair. They seemed to be really excited over a glowing ball for some reason. When Pichu tried to ask what was going on, the women left with the ball and Roy's voice sounded funny.

"Nothing Pichu. Everything's fine."

That was what Mr. Roy said. He was smiling but his eyes were red and puffy, as if he had been crying. Pichu was concerned, but did not pursue the matter beyond that.

And Pichu never asked Mr. Roy a question since.

"(Mr. Roy?)"

"Yes Pichu?"

He sounded so tired. Pichu didn't like it.

"(Why are you a liar?)"

That certainly got Roy's attention. The Young Lion looked at his companion in shock.

"(You won't tell me what's going on at all.)"

"Pichu… it's better that you don't know." Roy said simply. "Just don't worry while we-"

"(But I can't not worry!) Sparks started flying around Pichu's cheeks. "(Why are the animals missing? Why is everybody so sad? Why are people missing? Why won't you tell me Roy…?)"

The young general sat quietly, as if debating with himself whether to tell the truth or not. At last, he sighed.

"Everyone is ...gone. Master Hand made them lose their bodies, and put them into copies of our own." Roy explained delicately.

"(Why?)"

"...It doesn't matter." Roy ignored the annoyed look on Pichu's face. "All that matters is many of the people who aren't involved with the tournament no longer have bodies. That's why I was emotional earlier; One of those was my father, Eliwood."

Pichu's ears drooped.

"(Oh…)" Suddenly a look of determination settled on Pichu's face. "(Then we need to beat Master Hand and save everyone! Then everyone can have fun again!)"

"No."

It was Pichu's turn to look at Roy in surprise.

"My explanation wasn't entirely accurate. We're not even sure if defeating, er, 'Master Hand' will restore everyone's bodies instantly. We may need to do something else with that and you'll have a chance to help then. But right now, you'll need to sit this one out."

"(But why?! I've fought Master Hand before!)"

"It's not just Master Hand we're fighting. And, no offense, but you weren't the most challenging opponent in the melee tournament."

"(But I fought Crazy Hand too! And I helped against Giga Bowser!)"

"This isn't like either of those two! You'll be in serious danger if you try to fight. At least you'll have a slim chance if you hide."

"(And how is it different?! You and Pikachu will be there to keep me safe!)"

"I can't guarantee that and neither can Pikachu. It's not likely that we'll win."

"(But we always win!)"

"No we don't!" Roy had gotten fed up with this argument and he exploded. "This time we lost and Galeem annihilated everyone including deities. That's how I know: Because we lost and we died. And in the end, I couldn't save Marth, I couldn't save you, I couldn't save anybody!"

For a moment, Roy panted breathlessly as Pichu nervously lifted its head from where it was cowering. Roy's eyes began to well up with tears as he repeated his words over and over.

"I couldn't save Marth, I couldn't save you, I couldn't save anybody… I couldn't save Marth, I couldn't save you, I couldn't save anybody…"

Pichu quietly approached Roy and nestled back into his lap. It felt guilty as Mr. Roy began breaking down, but this just made it more determined to help. If defeating Master Hand and the bad guy he's working with will make Mr. Roy and everyone else happy again, then Pichu will defeat them both by itself if it has to!

…

…

What did Mr. Roy mean by "we lost and we died"?

And, as much as Pichu tried, it could not remember.

I hope you feel as bad reading this as I did writing it, because I feel really awful. I should probably just stop since this is clearly the peak as far as my WoL writings will probably go.

Less-Depressing-Note-To-End-On Fact: This is 74 words shorter than "For The Man Who Lost Everything".