A Smash of Kings

Chapter 3: The Pokemon Problem

A Gerudo soldier in bronze chain mail sat next to a Koopa with a green shell. While the Koopa had heavier armor over his set of bronze chain mail, the Gerudo only had some light armor over top. Lord Bowser had chosen them to keep watch over the cold hours of the night in Hyrule Field; it had been a couple of weeks since the last Hylian-Toadstool attack that drove Bowser's forces away from the Lost Woods. Like the attack before it, the Battle of the Lost Woods saw another deceive victory for the High King. The two soldiers knew that Bowser had been anticipating an attack from the Hylians at least a week after their latest defeat, but it never came. As a result, their Lord and General became extremely rash and defensive. He had finally calmed down when the Gerudo reserves showed up to the makeshift camp a fortnight after their defeat. However, it had been a month, maybe a week or two more, since the beginning of the war, and they were pushing dangerously close to the Gerudo Valley already.

"They say that Lord Bowser has gone mad," the Gerudo muttered while warming her hands by the fire the Koopa had built earlier in the night, "I heard that King Ganon is thinking about pulling him off the front line entirely."

"And replace him with who? One of his sons? Because we all know Ganon won't leave his lavish Keep," the Koopa sighed, "As far as I can tell, those idiots on the King's council are just as bad, if not worse than, Lord Bowser. All they've done is send men to their deaths, at the hands of those damn rebels."

"This fight shouldn't be as hard as it is," the Gerudo shook her head, regretfully and frustrated, "We have more power, more money, better weapons and armors, better horses, the list goes on and on... Yet, they have killed thousands more of us than we have of them! How are they beating us this badly?"

"They have something to fight for," the Koopa suggested, "They have a cause they believe in. It's amazing, really. None of those Hylian-Toadstool soldiers were drafted; they all volunteered."

"I wasn't drafted," the Gerudo grunted as she stabbed her steel sword into the dirt, "I know you weren't drafted neither..."

"But most of our men were drafted. That's my point. I know, and you know, that half of our soldiers don't want to be here. They'd rather be five pints deep in some random tavern or inn in our homelands," the Koopa explained.

Suddenly, they heard a noise beyond their two horses. The Gerudo quickly grabbed her sword from the ground, as the Koopa grabbed his axe and shield. Quickly, they walked towards the sound, both with their hands on the hilt of their weapons, to investigate the noise. When they got to the noise, they only saw three white eggs with green spots. Confused, the Gerudo picked an egg up and inspected it closely.

"What is this...?" she pondered, squinting her eyes.

When the Koopa further thought about the egg, he recognized the unique design, "WAIT—!"

Almost as sudden as the sound a few seconds before, the egg exploded, shattering into pieces in the fiery blast. The Gerudo soldier flopped back, flying onto the cold ground below. As she rolled around in pain, the Koopa held his axe, ready for a fight, but was quickly knocked to the side by a hidden enemy. The Koopa, who was now on the ground from the knock, looked up dazed. When his vision cleared, he saw Link wearing a dirty green tunic and wielding the Master Sword. "No-no, please—!"

A few feet behind Link was Mario, who was mounted on the same green Yoshi. Behind Mario were Sonic, in normal leather armor, a horse-mounted Toad, and the rest of his army. When Link turned back to his High King, he nodded and walked back to Epona. As Link steadied Epona with his sword in hand, Mario looked forward at the camp in the dead of night; the only source of light were a few lanterns scattered between tents. This was their chance.

"For the High King of Smash!" the Toads and Hylians shouted before rushing into battle.

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