[Mari]

(( fznt85Zip_1d2 Popple's Poppers are pitching first! Please refer to the bottom of event thread for the rules on how you do thing, especially the post order. You only have 1 week to post once it becomes your turn, with a 3 strie policy before you're disqualified. Do whatever you need to do to coordinate who is doing what in terms of field positions, pitching and who's batting in what order.))

An empty field and a softly rumbling crowd awaited both teams. The field was covered in pretty green astroturf. Clay lanes created the famous baseball diamond around the pitching mound, which awaited the first pitcher. The umpires were already on the field, watching as stadium staff watered the clay lanes to soften them up a little and dragged specialized brooms across them to remove any pits from practice earlier. It was time for each team to take the field. They had only to decide who would be doing what first.1d2

[Mari]

Several thunderous footsteps could be heard as a large and strikingly familiar figure trotted his way across the field. Certain members of Bowser Jr's Rookies might find him intimately familiar. It was...

...

Bowser! The crowd errupted in a storm of boos and roars and screams of terror.

"Grahahaha!! That's right. This field belongs to me now! And as my first act as King of Diamonds, I'm going to use the field as a burial ground for whichever sucker is brave enough to step onto home plate. Who's it going to be?? I can't wait!" Bowser gloated and roared, oblivious as to who he was facing.


Popple's Poppers Roster
Pitcher: Bowser
Catcher: Donkey Kong
1st Base: Kodomo Dragon
2nd Base: Boshi
3rd Base: Flandre Scarlet
Outfielders: Amy Rose, Atlas, Popple

[heirtothemonado]

A confident Bowser Jr stepped on to the field, waving to the gigantic crowd. After his woeful practice in the Mirage Portal, Jr realized just how out of shape he was, but  a couple days of playing Wii Fit later, and he was fit as a fiddle again. (Well, almost. If one looked closely they could see a small yellow strip of Jr's stomach poking out a bit from beneath his shirt,  but it was mostly unnoticeable.) With his newfound fitness and confidence, he stepped up to the home plate. Before he could prepare for the pitch, however, he heard some...very familiar roars from the pitcher's mound.

"P-Papa?" Jr. stuttered in disbelief. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing, but there he was. His father, who he'd seen neither hide nor hair of since getting to the this planet, was standing right in front of him. Tears of both joy and relief started forming in his eyes, but he forced them back. he wasn't going to cry now, not when there were so many people watching him. Not when his team was watching him. Instead he got a hold on his feelings, and got into a proper batter's stance. There was plenty of time to catch up 'with his father after the game. Right now, there was a game to play, and he was going to win.

[Mari]

"Bwahaha--Junior??" Bowser blurted out, his jaw dropping for a moment in disbelief as the familiar voice of the first up batter caught his ears and earned a glance from him. Bowser was stumped. Why, this wasn't what he was expecting at all! What was his son doing here?? How did he get into the stadium before he got home?? Everyone knew where he lived, didn't they?! Surely there were rumors about the great koopa king's evil run down mansion in the middle of nopeville, The Black Market. ...Or maybe he didn't for exactly that reason. Because the Life Sphere liked to forget he existed. Bowser sighed regretfully. So much for his showboating.

"...Junior! Great to see you again. I want you to make papa proud by scoring a run for him. Alright?" Bowser instructed, his tone changing radically to one of encouragement. One could observe Popple scowling from deeper in the field, none-to-pleased with the death of Bowser's competitive spirit. With only a moment's further delay, Bowser pulled back and lobbed the ball to Junior!

wvyOPx6kp_1d20-2 (Bowser's Pitching Accuracy)
p_1d20+4 (Bowser's Pitching Strength)1d20-2·1d20+4

[heirtothemonado]

Jr smiled as his father addressed him, encouraging him to do his best. "Thanks Papa! I'll make you the proudest Koopa in the Life Sphere" he replied. Nothing meant more to him then making his father proud, and that thought gave him the resolve to knock this one out of the park!

NzQd60JZp_1d20+2 (Jr's Accuracy Check)

Unfortunately, Jr's enthusiasm caused him to swing around a bit to wildly, causing him to not only miss the ball, but to also miss the area of the plate entirely. Noticing he was going a little wild with the bat, Jr calmed down and sheepishly grinned toward his father.  "Eheheheh. Sorry about that. Let's try that again."

---

Bowser Jr
Strikes: 1
Balls: 0
Outs: 0

1d20+2

[Mari]

"Grahaha, I'm playing ball with my boy again. This is the happiest I've been since I last got to spend quality time with The Princess." Bowser chortled gleefully, catching a new ball thrown to him by Donkey Kong. You'd almost think that guy should be pitching. "You've got plenty of chances to hit it, so take your time." Bowser instructed before pulling back and tossing his second pitch! The ball soared across the arena without any of the silly antics he'd had planned. Maybe he'd show his spitball to someone else, or maybe he'd just save it for another game. It involved fire. Lots of fire.

xsBu1Tr5p_1d20-2 (Bowser's Pitch Accuracy)
p_1d20+4 (Bowser's Pitch Strength)1d20-2·1d20+4

[heirtothemonado]

As per his father's instructions, Jr took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. He was just playing ball with his father again, that was all. Nothing to lose your head over. He smiled again at Bowser, more cheerful then he'd been in a long while, as he waited for him to pitch the next ball.


OaXXWIy2p_1d20+2 (Jr's Accuracy Check)

Slow and steady proved to be the better strategy. Bowser's pitch sailed wide, and this time, Jr didn't attempt to swing at it. He was going to do this properly, and that required Jr to have a cool head on his shoulders. 

---

Bowser Jr:
Strikes: 1
Balls: 1
Out: o
1d20+2

[Mari]

Had that been a bad pitch? Bowser normally would've leered at the Umpire for insinuating he couldn't pitch, but given the circumstances he was inclined to exercise some grace. "Alright, Junior, here comes the pitch!" Bowser instructed, telegraphing his pitch this time. Man, if he could beat up the umpires and give the kid a tee to hit from he probably would. But that wasn't how this was going to go down. Not today anyway.

bi8jGTE9p_1d20-2 (Bowser's Accuracy)
p_1d20+4 (Bowser's Strength)1d20-2·1d20+4

[heirtothemonado]

The ball came down the pitch once again, but it look quite a bit slower this time. Maybe this was the was the one! "This one's for you, Papa!" Jr yelled, before swinging the bat with all his strength.

VcQAKJEEp_1d20+2 (Jr's Accuracy Check)
p_1d20+1 (Jr's Strength Check)

"I hit it! I actually hit it! Did you see that, Papa?" Jr celebrated, turning to Bowser with pride. That is, until a few seconds later her remembered: Oh yeah, he was supposed to run! Hoping his little celebration wouldn't ruin his chance, he started running quickly, though a little awkwardly, to first base. Too bad he couldn't have his Clown Car for this.

(Jr's running to first)
1d20+2·1d20+1

[Mari]

"Bwahaha, you sure did Junior! Now go! Run, before they catch it!" Bowser cheerily replied and encouraged, reminding Bowser Jr. that there was still a second part of this game. Just like there was a boy rushing to catch the ball he'd hit! Atlas dashed across the arena like a trained soldier sprinting for the trenches, performing a slide and staining his clothes with astroturf as he--he!!

vDb2wu39p_1d20+1 (Atlas's Catch!)

... just barely missed the ball, enabling Bowser Jr. to take first base! Atlas stood up and pitched the ball back to Bowser. "I was this close, but close doesn't cut it in baseball anymore than it does in war." Atlas remarked rather bitterly, drawing Kodomo Dragon's attention. "...Are you a girl?" the boy and his tiny dragon, maybe twice the size of Spyro, asked, picking up on Atlas' voice. "Yeah, what about it??" Atlas replied somewhat confrontationally, not having any of this conversation. "...Wow! I've never seen a girl with sideburns before!" Kodomo Dragon replied with envy, earning himself a bewildered look from Atlas. "Keep your itty bitty heads in the game, you couple of schmucks!" Popple irately scolded. ...Actually had Atlas been a girl when he recruited her? He was pretty sure she'd fooled him too. Ah well.

Bowser softly growled at all the shouting before pounding the ball he'd recently caught into his free hand, matching Donkey Kong's stupid grin with a glare as he waited for the next batter to step up to plate. "Who's next?" Bowser challenged, a bit more relaxed than before. Seems Bowser Jr.'s rookies had caught him in a good mood.1d20+1

[Coolshaymin]

Father vs. Son was a sight Metal Sonic was paying close attention to in his green shirt as he observed the light hearted moment... His mind briefly wandered to the fact that the closest thing he had to a father was Eggman... And he treated him like a toy... He kind of wished he had that fatherly care... No, now was not the time for that. The robotic clone of Sonic the Hedgehog stood up from the benches. "I shall be the next to confront King Koopa," the robot stated directly and firmly, little emotion but plenty of authority as he grabbed a blue metal bat. It was made to withstand his... rather crushing grip in the off chance Eggman wanted him to play ball.

He stepped up to base and stood firmly and ready, before glancing at the field. "... Hello, Amy. Fancy seeing you on their team," the robot stated, not quite sure how this team possiby came about. He then turned his attention back to Bowser. "Hello, King Bowser. Eggman is curious to if you enjoyed his... Cooking we sent to your base," Metal Sonic greeted, not really enjoying being a delivery boy, but not wanting to put any hostility on. He chose this activity to relax and focus his processors.

[Mari]

" Hi Metal~! ...Hehe, yeah. I wanted to share a team with my friends, but apparently hammers don't count if you want to join the spellblades. Looks like we both wound up on a team of misfits, huh? I'm just glad I wasn't too late to get on a team at all. Playing against my friends is kinda fun too! I just have to hope we can win so that I get a chance to play them! "

...It might occur to Metal that Amy was apparently chasing someone other than Sonic for once. ...Weird. She waved eagerly from her position in the outfield. Bowser ground his teeth slightly, looking at the bucket of --...metal servant of Eggman that approached him. Huh. This must be a team of villains! He was so proud of his son. "Gyahaha, always!!" Bowser spiritedly replied. Sending food was always a gesture that was very much appreciated by the koopa king. He'd shared it with some of his koopas, many of which did not have the food to survive. They were on the sharp edge of the famine like that. "How's The Doctor doing anyway? Is he in the crowd?" Bowser asked before winding up and tossing a pitch.

U_CQUTeup_1d20-2 (Bowser's Accuracy)
p_1d20+4 (Bowser's Strength)

...A distracted Bowser is an easy Bowser. The throw was awkward and off center, not helped by the restricted movement of his arms. It was amazing anyone let someone like him pitch, honestly, but at least his raw strength made for a fast ball to hit when he got it over the plate.1d20-2·1d20+4

[Coolshaymin]

"I chose Jr. of my own accord. Still, a team is better than no team. Still, I plan to win," Metal stated simply as he kept a trained optical sensor on Bowser. He noted Amy was mentioning friends on the Spellblades. Did she find a new crush than his blasted 'original'? There was no telling what went through such a fan girl's mind but even she probably saw error in his actions. That said, Bowser appreciated Eggman's gesture. Eggman, his troops not really needing food, made it a regular occurence to help Bowser and his troops when possible. After all, in these times you had to keep your alliances strong. "Negative. Eggman is working on a project while maintaining the Life Sphere's defenses. He says that you have to always be ready for an attack, even if it's quote: 'time to play sports.'" Metal answered, with a bit of spite clear in his otherwise robotic tone.

POAmKCcfp_1d20+2(Perception for that ball)

Metal was quick to notice the ball's... rather large flop. It... didn't even really reach home plate and was more in his direction. Yeah, that was certainly a ball, besides, he wanted better to test his abilities. "Retry that with more feeling. I want to truly test my power against yours," Metal stated as he observed Bowser. He wanted this to prove to be more of a struggle facing the rival and friend of his creator. His ego might be getting the best of him.

Metal Sonic Strikes:OOO Balls:XOOO Outs:OOO Base:Batting

1d20+2

[Mari]

"More feeling??" Bowser replied in disbelief. What was this masochistic garbage can going on about? Was he asking for it? Because it kinda sounded like he was asking for it. Maybe you shouldn't taunt the thousand pounds of spikes and muscle there, brobot. "...Ehehe, tossing the ball is no test of power. You'll have to wait until I'm running the bases for that!" Bowser replied, deflecting the taunt. Do you want to try and get in his way when he's running for first? ...Assuming he can hit a ball with those stubby arms of his? Speaking of arms, he tossed a much harder ball this time, half granting Metal's wish.

JKlCOf6pp_1d20-2 (Bowser's Accuracy)
p_1d20+4 (Bowser's Pitch Strength)1d20-2·1d20+4

[Coolshaymin]

"... Duly noted. You are quite lacking at pitching. It is hardly a challenge. I hope your batting suffices," Metal Sonic replied... playing a bit too much with fire as his competitive drives were starting to kick in. This ball was thrown much harder with more speed, but Metal read it like an open book. Hard to be subtle when you tower above most and are so heavy in build... Though Metal was not one to point out heavy frames. Metal Sonic waited for the perfect moment, him being so fast a fast ball was no match in speed for him as it approached, he dropped the bat... a bit pre-emptively and instead delivered a rather strong roundhouse to send the ball flying... Hey, if records say that Donkey Kong was allowed to punch the baseball, he's allowed to kick it. And the batting strength of that kick was nothing to scoff at as he nailed it quite well and began his fast paced jog.

ZX_IoPt8p_1d20+2(Metal's on point accuracy)

p_1d20+5(Metal's all star batting strength)

1d20+2·1d20+5