Round 1-I
Event 29: Dog Grooming
Almost anyone can, with a bit of time and effort, wash a dog. In fact, a lot of them can get downright agreeable about it once you actually get them in the water and soap them up. What not everyone can do is take an utter mess of a dog, and turn them into a beautiful specimen that is a delight to behold and at home in the most fashionable of kennels. Today, that is the trial we put or contestants through.
Our first contestant may not have much in the way of grooming skills, but that will make no difference for Gai Daigouji will groom with the BURNING PASSION OF A MAN'S SOUL!!! Yes, this Aesti Valis pilot will show that hot bloodedness can be used for more than just piloting robots! Against this we have the more level headed Ruby who has the advantage of out powering the dog by a lot as one of the four divine dragons of Althena. Of course, Ruby also spends a lot of her time as, well, something really resembling a cat. Which means even if she is hot about the grooming aspect of all this, she may go about it in a way wholly unacceptable to a dog. Which, seems like the wild card of this match. Can Ruby be more competant than Gai's Gekigan-Grooming?
Event 30: Mecha Piloting
This is pretty much just a duel, except that instead of personally duking it out, both competitors have to get into mecha in order to do it. Both competitors can use whatever mecha they can get their hands on, and if they can't then a mass production Gespenst (with no stat boosts purchased) will be loaned to them. Fighting must be done only with the mechs, and the last mech standing is the winner.
Our first competitor likes fighting AND gears, but sadly we don't ever get to see him pilot one. That said, fan favourite Big Joe takes to the stage, and given his ability to get his hands on high quality Zeboim parts, it shouldn't be too surprising if this guy manages to get a standard model gear and soups that thing up as well as it can be souped up. The only question then is, how well can he fight? Given that his fans probably will have gears or other mecha of their own, their reaction to the fight will be legal. Meaning that this is a battle that will be exciting and dynamic! His competitor is a bit of a conundrum. Samus takes to the stage, but there's two options for her. First, she's from a world that's advanced enough, and she's had enough training that she can probably get and use some pretty decent mecha. But, if we use the Super Robot Wars precedent, then she's really not that different from Tekkaman Blade who also uses a suit of powered armour pretty similar to Samus' Gravity Suit. Which means that she's got the option to pick any of her suits that aren't the Zero Suit (and really, why would she want that one?) and go to town with them.
Event 31: Hide and Seek
Every child and person who once was a child knows this game. In this case, we're going to go with two versions. One where they each have a turn at finding each other, and then one where they take turns at finding a dozen children in a nice, safe, forest. Lowest combined time wins.
Both of our competitors this week have some special skills that are very relelvant to this hunt. Our first competitor is Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He brings to the table considerable amounts of psychological knowledge combined with a ruthless hunter's intensity and attention to detail. If there is something to find, he WILL find it. Aaaaand, we have a team comprised of Yuri and Terra to take custody of the children once they are found so there's no 'accidental' dippings. Against this we have Stocke, who is not just a secret agent, but a time-travelling secret agent, which I am told is, after James Bond, the best kind of secret agent. And his time travel is the sort where he can use his secret agent skills to find everyone, then go back in time to before the contest starts and restart everything with knowledge of where they all are.
Event 32: The Metal Gear Challenge
Lots of games seem to have these. Stealth sections where, for whatever reason, weapons simply aren't useful and getting caught will kick you back to the start of the section. Or, if it's a less good game, will simply kill you. Regardless, we've stuck a macguffin in the centre of a secure facility with a few hidden key cards that make it less secure and the traditional man sized air ducts perfect for climbing around in, and then we stuffed it full of guards of dubious intelligence. First one out with the macguffin wins.
Our first competitor is more of a fighter than a sneaker, but this won't be the first time he's had to learn a skill on the fly. That's right, we have Ichigo Kurosaki, noted for being that rare beast, a mortal Shinigami. His combat skills are top notch and he's hot headed enough to use them often, so this'll be a challenge for him. Fortunately for him, he's learned how to harness his spiritual powers to do things like run on air and use the incredibly useful Flash Step technique which lets him move from place to place without really having to cover the ground inbetween. Against this he's facing Seto Kaiba, specifically the Abridged version of Kaiba who has access to tons of high tech gadgets (though they're all oddly meant for playing a children's card game) and has so much money that he can screw the rules. But will rule screwage be a useful ability here?
Team Event 4: Airship Combat
Ah, airships. Such wondrous creations of artifice and magic, allowing people to soar in settings where airplanes are just plain anachronistic. And, of course, there is one thing that comes to the minds of most people when considering these majestic crafts: making them fight each other. So yes, each team is going to get an Arcadian Battle Airship, complete with the need for only four people to man them, and the ship that stays aloft longer wins. So, what are the roles these teams have? Well, there's five roles. First up we have the captain, a mostly informal role that's meant for the team leader and can be used concurrently with any other role. The other roles are Pilot, Engineer, Gunner, and Repairman. Each of these is pretty simple, but let's go over them. The Pilot's role is to steer the Airship, trying to get into a good position for their gunner to fire while avoiding the guns of the opposing ship. The Engineer is responsible for keeping the engine running, and making sure the power is moved to the different engines and guns as the others need them. The Gunner has control over the different batteries on the ship, being able to fire the guns at their opponent. And the Repairman has the job of fixing any damage to the ship, as well as being able to assist the Engineer or Gunner if there is no damage. As for the field, it's just above a mountain range with a valley halfway through the combat zone, complete with it being partially cloudy so there is some cover to take advantage of.
The first team will likely end up with Gary Oak as its captain. Mostly because he's the only one to be that eagre to be in charge. But it's not like he's that terrible a choice, since he's generally pretty competant. Odds are good he'll probably end up at the guns, using his Pokemon to give him an edge there. Their weakest link will probably be Fox Mulder who, despite being fairly creative and capable, is something of a loose cannon and doesn't have any special skills for this competition. However he will probably be put either on the wheel or in the engine room, both places where he should be competant. Next up is the heart of the team, Michael Carpenter, a man colloquially known as the Fist of God. Sadly, outside of being under some divine protection and his knack for being in the right place at the right time, his divine and combat powers will be mostly useless in this contest. On the other hand his mundane powers, being charismatic and inspiring and being really good at building and fixing things, will make him a shoe-in for the role of Repairman. And this brings us to the best asset Team One has, the brain of the outfit, the Sleeping Dragon of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang. The best strategist in a work full of brilliant strategists, he even manages to turn his own death into a tactical advantage. So, yeah, he's the guy the Suikoden writers were thinking about when they wrote down the Silverburgs. Heck, he's even reknown as an inventor, so he can probably fit as either the Engineer or as the Pilot in order to best use terrain and timing. Regardless, if cleverness can come into play, he's got a good chance of using good tactics to his team's advantage.
The second team is coming into this almost a man down. This isn't to say that Morte is going to be dead weight. He's got a sharp brain on him, and he'll do the best he can to help. But unfortunately, his best weapon here, his taunts, are going to be going up against a team where half of its members will be resistant to them (Michael Carpenter is just that humble, while Zhuge Liang also excels at them.) That said, he may still be able to work the helm or engine room, especially given who he has as backup for advice if he needs it. One of the best people you could have on your team for an Airship Duel, it's Bacchus D-79, who is both an Engineer by trade and skilled with cannons, making him a perfect fit for two of the positions on his ship. Backing up these two, is the noted hero He-Man, who is taking a break from saving Eternia to join this crew, and with his strength, he'll probably be in charge of the repairs, being able to easily manhandle broken parts back into place. And finally, on the helm is that famed Pokemon Gangster, Mirror B. If he wants his pokemon in play, he'll probably be in the Engine Room where they might help boost power. And if not, his having a body means he'll probably prove better on the helm than Morte.
Regardless, these teams both have a shot depending on what will win the battle. Will Zhuge Liang and his superior tactics take the day, or will Bacchus D-79 and his superior ability to operate an airship prove the deciding factor?
Quick Vote Form
Event 29: Dog Grooming
Gai Daigouji (Martian Successor Nadesco) vs. Ruby (Lunar: Eternal Blue)
Event 30: Mecha Piloting
Big Joe (Xenogears) vs. Samus
Event 31: Hide and Seek
Judge Doom (Who Framed Rodger Rabbit) vs. Stocke (Radiant Historia)
Event 32: The Metal Gear Challenge
Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach) vs. Seto Kaiba (YuGiOh: Abridged)
Airship Combat
{Zhuge Liang (Romance of the Three Kingdoms/Dynasty Warriors)/Michael Carpenter (Dresden Files)/Fox Mulder (X-Files)/Gary Oak (Pokemon)} v. {Morte (Planescape Torment)/He-Man (Prince Adam)/Mirror B (Pokemon)/Bacchus D-79 (Star Ocean: The Last Hope)}
