The blue sky of spring shines over Cosmo City. Zelda Grahame, on her way to her afternoon shift at Ceres Cafe, gazes at clouds overhead as she walks the familiar streets.
Zelda
(That one looks like a building! Ooh, and that one's a cookie. And... hmmm... oh, that one's a potion bottle! It's even got a little trail of fumes coming off it.)
Her reverie is interrupted as she approaches a building that pierces into her view of the sky. On it, an electronic billboard plays a broadcast.
Zelda
(Oh, looks like there's an exhibition match on.)
On the screen, a digital battle plays out. Polygonal robots decorated in royal blue face off against hordes of giant insects. Each time a robot defeats an insect, it disappears, and a counter in the corner of the screen goes down. In the center of the screen, one robot recoils from an attack.
Announcer
Ouch! Shepherd tanks a hit. They're shrugging it off, though--and there's Raz ducking out from behind with some of their signature acrobatics! Now that's skill.
In front of the action, an animated announcer commentates the scene. He and his desk are all just as digital as the game, superimposed over the corner of the screen. A name plate reads "Jii."
Zelda's walking slows as she watches the broadcast. Others on the street have stopped entirely, to the annoyance of those with places to go. It may only be a game on the screen, but it's a game that everyone in the city is invested in.
Zelda
(The animation on these broadcasts seems like it gets crazier every time I see one. It's hard to believe that that's a game someone's playing. I wonder if they give the tournament players special equipment.)
Jii
Tabuu is in the thick of it! Looks like they're trying to get closer to the insect queen... Are they taunting her? No way! And it works! The queen's rampaging towards them! Shepherd's commanding them to fall back--Did Tabuu get in over their head?
Her eyes stay on the screen as she ducks into Ceres Cafe. The billboard is still visible through the front window. Even as she puts on her apron and takes her spot at the register, she watches the game.
Jii
Every member is taking shelter... Is the queen that fearsome? I thought top players would be better than this! Hm...? Oh? Oh! Cr33per is taking out a detonator! While the others were fighting, they must've been planting bombs around the battlefield! 3... 2... 1...!
An explosion covers the screen. Jii reels back, as if he were there on the battlefield--his hair even flies away from his face with a gust of wind. When the dust settles, not even the insect queen remains. The counter in the corner reads "0".
Jii
And they've done it! That's a fantastic showing in the Extermination Game from Impyrator. Will they bring this skill to the tournament? I guess we'll find out in two weeks! Keep playing Galactica Garden, and maybe you could be the one playing against them! Bye for now!
With the broadcast over, and the billboard back to displaying its usual ads, pedestrians along the street begin to move again.
Zelda
(So cool... Impyrator have gotta be shoo-ins for the winners of the upcoming season, right? I don't think any of the exhibition matches I've seen from other teams were anywhere near that good. DaisyPop had no skill, Nebula couldn't work together at all, and F.O.X.T.R.O.T. fought with each other as much as they did the game. I guess it all depends on the game modes they play, but I can't imagine Impyrator being bad at any of them.)
Zelda
(Wait, was there a fifth team...? There were five last year, so maybe they'll add one before the tournament starts.)
Zelda
(...Ahaha. I know so much about this game, but I don't think I've even played it in weeks. That's what happens when I see the billboard all day at work, I guess!)
After a long and uneventful shift, Zelda is closing the cafe for the day. The dim orange sky filters through the windows of the empty cafe as she cleans.