Jaku-chara Tomozaki-kun Vol 1 Chapter 5.5

Chapter 5.5
5: When in possession of powerful skills and equipment, it is fun to smoothly advance in an unbelievable way. PART 5

TL: learning2tl
TLC: Kagefij
ED: Fractal

Having no other example I could refer to, it was natural that I made this comparison, but the first impression I got was that compared to Hinami’s room, it was pretty unorganized. That didn’t mean to say it was messy or anything, but there were a number of character stuffed toys that had been placed on the bed, and the top of her desk was crowded with the covers of what appeared to be a row of fas.h.i.+on magazines, such that no matter where I looked, Izumi’s room was bustling and showy. Moreover, all of those characters and magazines were ones even I somehow knew the names of, kind of giving me the feeling that it was a line-up of whatever was popular. Mounted on the wall was an over-embellished pin board, onto which photographs and photo booth stickers taken with the other riajuu in the cla.s.s had casually been affixed. That one over there was probably of the so-called BFF type.

「Tomozaki, you’re staring too much.」

「Ah, sorry.」

Izumi Yuzu came into the room carrying a tray on top of which she had placed a cute mug and a normal paper cup.

When she noticed me staring silently at the disparity, she said 「Be quiet! Don’t complain!」. Hey, I didn’t say anything.

「So…… where should we start?」

Izumi said, grabbing her controller and sitting upright. Her expression while watching the opening scene reflected the seriousness with which she regarded the situation. The game’s screen was visibly reflected from within her large round eyes.

「Let’s see…… then for starters」I sat at an appropriate distance, one where I wouldn’t get suffocated by her riajuu aura, and grabbed my controller.「Shall we have a match?」

「Eh!? That’s impossible! I mean, Tomozaki, aren’t you even stronger than Shuuji!? Then it’s impossible!」

「Well, that’s true but…… see, if I don’t understand Izumi’s current ability, then……」

Right after saying that, I realized that I had been able to nonchalantly refer to her without the use of an honorific. Did this growth occur because of my numerous defeats? Or because we were playing AtaFami? Or because at this point I’d already been hit by her school bag so I really just didn’t care anymore? I couldn’t tell.

「I-Is that why…..? O-okay then.」

Speaking timidly, Izumi seemed nervous. With a jolt, her shoulders rose. Her lips positioned firmly together, her eyebrows tense and serious. The expression on her face suited her strangely well.

On the character selection screen, I chose Foxy, the character Nakamura always uses. In response, Izumi chose the most charming of all the characters. A cute, attractive female fencer.

「Ah, wait a second.」

「Eh? What? Was that a bad choice?」

Certainly, if Izumi’s goal is simply『I want to get stronger because I like AtaFami』, then it‘s best to just let her pick the character she likes the most.

However, Izumi’s goal here is『To become Nakamura’s practice partner』. If that’s the case, then……

「Use this one.」I pointed to Found with my cursor.「Since this is the character I always use.」

「Eh? Tomozaki’s? Is that one better?」

「Not really. I’m suggesting this one because Nakamura is practicing in order to beat me, so he probably wants to come up with a counter-plan to what I use.」

「I……I see.」With a grave expression on her face, Izumi nodded.「Tomozaki, you’re quite smart.」

「Eh? I-is that so?」Being complimented bewildered me.「……Then, shall we begin?」

「Okay!」

The mood had gradually become more relaxed. I was playing my favourite game in a girl’s room. In view of this riajuu-like situation, I strongly felt like I had made some incredible progress.

「……This can’t be real……」

Izumi was in a state of shock.

「I see……which means that the issue here is……」

「……That’s besides the point! What was that just now! Tomozaki’s movements were super gross!?」

We had fought with a stock of four lives each. Forget dying, I hadn’t even taken a single bit of damage. As a result, the relaxing atmosphere from earlier had been completely blown away, as if to say, ‘Progress? Ha!’.

「Let’s see, you have the typical movements of a beginner. You indiscriminately fire off skills that leave you very open to attacks and you aren’t able to follow your opponent’s movements. Those openings mean that on my side of things, I don’t even need a strategy to hit you with my skills.」

Internally adjusting the gla.s.ses on my face, I listed a number of things as a matter-of-fact.

「Eh, what? Tomozaki, you’re acting kind of creepy.」

Ignoring Izumi, who had now started to back away, I continued to mutter the rest of my a.n.a.lysis.

「Surprisingly, you were able to handle the basics such as inputting Strong attacks [1] or re-entering the arena fairly well, so……the problem is how you move around……. Also, since you use too many special attacks, you need to incorporate more normal ones……」

「Um, hey, what’s going on? It’s getting really spooky!」

「Izumi!」

「Yes!?」

Izumi moved nimbly from her cross legged position to a seiza, straightening her back. Her athletic ability seems to be pretty high.

「For the time being, I’ve decided what I’m going to have you do.」

「Eh!? What!?」

Her eyes sparkling, Izumi leaned forwards towards me. Looking at her like this, I realized how dangerous of a situation this was. Her cute face, huge b.r.e.a.s.t.s and pleasant scent were all very close to me. However, since this was a matter concerning AtaFami, none of that entered my field of vision. Only my vision though, so I could still smell that pleasant scent.

I selected Training Mode, and began demonstrating some character controls.

「For the character Izumi used earlier, this is what happens when you perform a jump normally.」

Found made a huge leap. Izumi’s eyes followed the movement intently.

「However, if you only press the jump b.u.t.ton for a very short period of time, this is the result.」

「……Ah, that was low.」

*Pyon*. [2] Found’s

jump only reached about a third of the height from earlier.

「That is called a small jump. You see, if you examine it really closely, AtaFami is a game where you compete by making adjustments to the distance between you and your opponent, and the weaknesses in their movements, constantly a.s.sessing just how low a risk it is with which you can attack. Which is why, when it comes to techniques like this that let you make fine adjustments to the distance, there’s a need to get it right every single time.」

「Wa, wait just a minute!」

Izumi stood up, and quickly moved towards her desk.

「Ow! My leg’s sleeping!」Even as she was tripping over her own feet, she opened the drawer and took out a memo-pad and ball-point pen. She then returned to her original position.「……Any-anything else?」

Izumi, after apparently first writing down what I had said earlier, looked at me with an anxious yet earnest expression. How diligent. She’s still in seiza though, is that really alright?

「Let’s have you try it for a while.」

「Ah, o-okay……」

Receiving the controller with immense care, Izumi gave the jump b.u.t.ton a short press.

「Huh?」

「……That’s correct.」

*Pyo──n*, Found made a big jump.

「Wa, wait! Let me try again!」

*Pyo──n*, *Pyo──n*, *Pyon*, *Pyo──n*, *Pyon*. A success rate of around thirty to forty percent.

「That’s right, it’s pretty difficult. However, if you aren’t able to do this, it’s safe to say that you being able to fight on even footing with Nakamura is out of the question.」

「Out of the que……? ……Th, then, I have to practice!」

「That’s true, but it’s actually slightly different, Izumi.」

「Eh?」

My tongue had begun to cooperate, and I was no longer stumbling over my words. As expected, my princ.i.p.al battlefield is AtaFami.

「As not to waste time in the situation right now where we can play AtaFami, rather than practicing small jumps, it would be better to practice something more hands-on. That way the breadth of growth in your ability will be wider.」

「I, I see. ……Eh, then, what about the little jumps?」

Opening with an ‘About that’, I proceeded to tell her the following.

「Suppose you also want to practice the small jumps. However, at the same time you know it’s more efficient to use the time spent playing AtaFami on more hands-on kinds of practice. So, how to proceed? ……There’s only one answer, right?」

Then, changing my expression, in an imitation of that proud face I had by now become so used to seeing, I said this.

「Then you should just practice it when you aren’t playing AtaFami.」

「……Wh-what do you mean?」

「About that.」From my pocket, I took out something that I had prepared in advance.「You use this.」

「……A stopwatch?」Izumi gazed in wonder.

「That’s right. Observe.」Pressing the b.u.t.ton, I began the timer. Then, with a click, I pressed the stop b.u.t.ton.「See, look at that.」

「……Huh? It’s not stopping. ……But wasn’t there a click?」

「……Okay Izumi, now you try.」

「U, un.」With careful movements, as if handling a precision instrument, Izumi accepted the stopwatch. Then, in sync with her entire body moving up and down, with an ‘Ei’, she pressed the b.u.t.ton to begin the timer, and then, pressed the b.u.t.ton once more.

「……H, huh? ……It’s stopped.」

「That’s right. ……This stopwatch, it’s『just a little』broken.」

Receiving the stopwatch from her once again, I began the timer. And then, *click*, *click*, *click*, *click*. I pressed the b.u.t.ton over and over again while showing Izumi the display.

「Huh? It’s not stopping?」

「Yes. You see, for this stopwatch, if the amount of time you hold down the stop b.u.t.ton is too short, it won’t stop even if it makes the clicking noise.」

「He, heeh. Is that how it is? ……B, but, how is it relevant?」

「It’s simple.」Like a certain someone, I sharply raised my index finger.「From now on every day; when walking to school, when moving between cla.s.ses, or when watching television. In other words, aside from the times that you’re meeting with other people, you are to constantly carry out this b.u.t.ton pressing practice! If you do that, you’ll be able to master the small jumps!」

「EHH!?」

Izumi was left astonished. Likely by both the contents, and the tone in which I had said it. The tone- well, I had slipped up and gone overboard with my imagery of that person. [3]

「You can practice with the stopwatch even while doing other things. Then, when you’re at home and in an environment where you can actually play AtaFami, then you can do some hands on practice. This is the most effective way to practice.」

「I see……! Actually though, what was with that feminine tone just now!?」

As she spoke, Izumi continued to take notes in seriousness. Looking at this simpleton-ness, it was questionable if she really understood what I was saying. Though looking at her expression, for the time being at least, it was one of ‘Wow, I really get it!’. It was pus.h.i.+ng me to the brink of laughter. As for the thing about my tone of voice, just saying「Don’t worry about it, I made a mistake.」, was enough to receive a「Oh, okay.」in response. Excellent, my obedient disciple is making progress.

「Anyway, as for how to go about doing the hands-on practice……that’s simple too.」Izumi gulped audibly.「The answer is memorization.」

「M-memorization?」

「Yes. Have a look at this.」

I set the gamemode to Replay, and from the memory card that I inserted into the slot, selected the recording of a certain battle and began the replay.

「This……is a save of how a battle between two of the game’s top players went.」

「Let’s see, nanas.h.i.+? And NO-」,

「Well, that’s not the important thing here. Both of these players primarily use Found, but in this battle nanas.h.i.+ is testing out Foxy, while the other side is using Found.」

Taken aback, Izumi knitted her eyebrows together.

「……Wow. The same kind of gross movements as the ones Tomozaki was using earlier.」

「That’s right, this Found is super strong and has no wasted movements. Polis.h.i.+ng their control not by use of intuition in the same way that I……uh, nanas.h.i.+ does, but by use of theory. That’s

That’s why, if it’s a reference you’re looking for, this one is the most suitable.」

「……So, what you’re saying is, keep watching this over and over, and memorize it somehow?」

「That’s close, but slightly off the mark.」I handed the controller to Izumi.「……It’s not ‘somehow’. I’m going to have you memorize how this entire match went from start to finish, and become able to perfectly replicate those exact movements with your controller.」

「……Are you serious?」

Super Serious.

「This match had a four-life stock. Neither player really showed any openings, so the match time reached just over ten minutes. That means it’ll be tough to memorize, but at the same time it also means that it’s long enough to be able to cover all the important techniques to be found in this game. In order to explore all the possibilities with Foxy, I……uh, nanas.h.i.+, tests all sorts of tactics, so you can also find numerous variations of Found’s countermeasures against those.」

「I- I see.」

I could essentially hear the circuits in her brain going haywire, though since she seemed to be barely keeping up, I continued.

「Once you’ve committed all of Found’s movements to memory, next up will be Foxy’s. By the point in time at which you’ve memorized both, Izumi should be able to fight with Nakamura on even footing.」

「Re, really!?」

A smile of genuine delight spilled out. So this is the smile of a maiden in love, huh. I nodded in response.

「……But, still,」Izumi’s expression clouded over.「I can’t tell how to operate the controller just by looking at this recording. Like, I can’t tell what skill is being used where……」

Quite so. There’s also situations where you can’t do an imitation even if you want to. ……As for what to do in those cases, it’s simple.

「Yes, that’s why I told you this earlier, right? ──Memorization.」

「Eh?」

Ignoring how unconvinced Izumi looked, I took out my pencil case and some loose-leaf paper from my bag. I then began to draw up a table and some simple diagrams.

「……I’m going to have you memorize this.」

「What is this? A table of… skills?」

「That’s right.」As I filled up the columns of the table, I continued to add to my explanation.「This column labelled『Command』explains what you need to input in order to use a skill. Moving on, this stick-man shows the stance of the character when using that skill. The area outlined in blue is the approximate attack hitbox, while the parts outlined in red are the portions that have invincibility.『Start-up lag』is the time it takes after you’ve pressed the b.u.t.ton for the attack hitbox to appear.」

「Umm……?」She didn’t seem to be following immediately.「……There’s an F written here, what does thatmean……?」

「That stands for Frame. In AtaFami, each frame lasts 1/60th of a second. Well, just think of it as, the fewer the frames, the faster the attack materializes. Anyway, next there’s『Damage Dealt』, which shows the amount damage you inflict on the opponent.『Knockback』indicates how far you can knock your opponent back. There are techniques that only knock your opponent back a short distance despite dealing a lot of damage, and the opposite exists as well, so this bit requires special attention.」

「O……okay!」

She had energy in her words, but her expression reflected that she wasn’t following at all.

「Well, it’s fine if you don’t understand right now. As your memorization of the replay and this table of techniques progress side by side, you should gradually come to understand the special characteristics of each skill, and why a skill was used at a particular timing. If anything, I would like you to memorize them while thinking about those things. ……Well, even if you simply memorize them and commit them to muscle memory, your ability should rise befittingly, so doing that much is fine too.」

「O, okay……」Izumi finished taking her notes.「……Rather, what’s with you, Tomozaki? Did you memorize this whole table? You wrote all of that down without looking at anything……」

「Eh? Ahh, of course.」In response to my words, Izumi gave me an astonished look, but I continued to elaborate even further.「Not just for Foxy and Found, but I’ve also perfectly memorized the skills of all thirty eight characters.」

「……Se, seriously?」

「Yes. Should I write them down and show you?」

Izumi’s facial expression went beyond being one of astonishment to one of being taken aback, and soon surpa.s.sed even that, to being one of admiration.

「Hey, haven’t you been kind of amazing since a while ago?」Izumi said, her expression revealing the questions circulating in her mind.

「Hm?」

「I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s amazing but……by doing all that, you don’t really gain anything, do you? Why are you going so far?」

Just what is this person bringing up so suddenly? Is that an otaku-diss?

「Ha? What do you mean, ‘why’? It’s not like I’m playing ATAFAMI to get more popular with everyone, and I’m not playing it to get praised by people either, you know?」

When I said this like it was natural, with an ‘Eh!’. Izumi’s eyes filled with an expression of wonder.

「Really!? Even though it’s a game!?」

「Well, of course. Just what do you think people play games for?」

Ahh, but come to think of it, it does seem like kids these days play games for the purpose of making friends.

「I mean, if it’s that level of strength, won’t people distance themselves? They may think you’re far too strong, even I was taken aback earlier. Though if you’re only kind of strong, it would be more like ‘Wow, amazing’ or something. If you overdo it, then everyone will be going ‘He’s way too good at this, ew’. That kind of thing, you really don’t have a problem with it?」

A strangely earnest face. Then, at that moment. A recent conversation that resembled this one crossed my mind.

The conversation I’d had with Mimimi when we were on the way back together. This right now was probably related to the same thing.

「It’s not like I’m entirely indifferent to it. It’s just that

just that what I would have a bigger problem with, more so than being distanced from everyone else, is having decided for myself that I want to become stronger, but being unable to attain that goal.」

「Heeh……is that how it is?」

In order to confirm that these conversations had similar origins, I tried asking her a question.

「Are you trying to ask if I don’t care about what people think?」

「Th, that’s right!」

Just as I had thought. Mimimi had said that, for the sake of preserving a situation’s mood or enjoyableness, she would choose to bend into whatever shape she had to. Also, if the current conversation was to be any indication, Izumi and Mimimi were probably similar types in no small degree. Rather than that having become a habit, it might be more accurate to say that it had become their personality. In a game, you might say they possessed the same attribute.

Rather than that similarity being a coincidence, just as Hinami said, it’s probably just that those kinds of people are more in number. No sense of values that they could stick to, harboring some sort of doubt towards their somewhat insecure self, that kind of situation.

「It’s not like I don’t care but……you could say that there are things that I find more important……」

「But you know, isn’t it tough being cut off from everyone? Like, surely the break times won’t be fun and every day wouldn’t be enjoyable. Actually…… I’ve never seen you enjoying yourself at school, Tomozaki.」

「Leave me alone!」

「Ahahaha!」

For a moment the mood became more relaxed. However, it’s true. That’s really quite a serious issue. Probably.

「But I mean, it’s not like laughing together with your friends is all there is to life or anything……」

Keeping in line with everyone, being evaluated by everyone, not being cut off and not being distanced away from. Doing all of this, so as to not be excluded. So as to belong in a group, living while conforming to the sense of values ── basically, the『Mood』, I think Hinami had called it ── that someone had created. For Izumi, her current happiness probably existed in those things, and those things alone.

「He, heeh. That’s amazing. …… that’s a perspective I could never have. I wonder why that is? Even when I wanted to change, I could never push myself to. That’s how it’s always been…… wait, sorry! What am I going on about!? AHH, ignore that, pretend I didn’t say anything! Anyway, there’s all sorts of people, huh! There’s a lot to life!」

Izumi, while flapping her hands, made light of the mood. She was smiling, but her gaze was facing elsewhere, her eyes teary. Her face mainly showed embarra.s.sment but — how should I put it — Izumi’s expression revealed that for her, this problem was not only very real but also very significant.

Then, a single question came to mind. Mimimi and Izumi. Even though both of their worries were the same content-wise, why was it only Izumi who ended up being this serious?

For Mimimi it was, ‘I’ll protect Tama’, ‘It’s better to have fun, so let’s go with this!’- that kind of light-heartedness. However for now, Izumi was this troubled… this serious.

I wonder what the difference between them is…

It could also be that Mimimi is just good at hiding it.

And then, I remembered something. As vague as it was, the sense of discomfort after my conversation with Mimimi still lingered in my mind.

『It feels like Mimimi is the one being supported』. At the time it had seemed like a baseless conjecture.

But now, it felt like I had slightly understood why such an intuition had drifted across my mind.

──As I thought, it really is true that Mimimi is the one being supported. Even more so than Tamchan.

I recalled the incident in the Home Economics Room.

『……Thanks for earlier too, Minmi.』『……For whatー? I didn’t do anything, you know～』

The nature of that relations.h.i.+p.

『Precisely because Hanabi, at any time, says exactly what she thinks, the defenses around her heart are weak. Therefore, if there isn’t anyone around to become her s.h.i.+eld, or to divert the attacks that come flying towards her, then her spirit quickly becomes exhausted.』

That a.n.a.lysis had been Hinami’s. Making inference after inference, I finally arrive at a conclusion.

It was certainly true that Tamchan was being helped out by Mimimi. However, beyond that…

Most likely, Mimimi was finding meaning in protecting Tamchan, an existence she was able to help by her own power. In the same way that having a goal allowed me to continue to play AtaFami, and in the same way that having a goal enabled Hinami to aim for first place in everything, Mimimi had such a goal established internally. In that goal, in those results, she could find a definite meaning. That is why she wouldn’t waver.

It was likely that Izumi didn’t have such a goal. She couldn’t find meaning to support her actions. Without a goal, she was just being swept along with the current. Izumi likely had many friends. However, an existence like who Tamchan was to Mimimi, for whom meaning could be found in the action of giving in for their sake. For Izumi, no such person existed.

It might all be nothing but the a.n.a.lysis of a novice. It might have just a week of sample data. However, based on my own experiences, this was the feeling I got.

Still, I had another thought. This too based on my experiences. It had nothing to do with supporting another person, nor was it about another person supporting you. It was only about yourself. I mean, isn’t it possible to find the strength within you to support yourself?

「It’s not like it’s impossible to change though, right?」

「Eh?」

「I mean, you can start right now. start right now. As long as you want to change.」

「Eh? Change my personality? No way, no way! What are you even saying! I’m already seventeen years old, you know? It’s too late! There’s no point discussing it, this conversation already is over!」

With a perfect artificial smile which couldn’t even be distinguished from a normal one, Izumi tried to downplay the situation. From that expression, it was clear that, even without me noticing it, this was the kind of method she would use to weather the battlefield known as the cla.s.sroom.

──At this point, there were many things I was pondering about; my previous conversation with Mimimi, what I had heard from Hinami about Tamchan’s strengths and weaknesses and right now, Izumi’s glossed-over words that actually exposed her true thoughts. And, at the same time, I remembered a certain something Hinami had said.

『The thing called a conversation is, by nature, exchanging with the other party,  「The thoughts inside one’s head」, you see.』

『It would appear that「Speaking your thoughts are they are」seems to be a strong point of yours.』

Supposing that truly is the case, supposing that is what a conversation truly is, then I think I should try telling Izumi right now,『The thoughts inside my head』. In a super difficult dungeon, if you’re going to fight no matter what, then bring out everything you have and annihilate the enemy. Something like that.

「……Even I, all the way from birth up until now used to have a set personality. Or rather, more accurately, a certain way of thinking.」

「Eh?」

Perhaps being surprised by my suddenly serious tone of voice, her artificial smile crumbled a little. I was consciously trying to speak in the most serious『tone』I could muster. Surprised by the fact that this tone was actually having an effect, however slight, and moreover, on a riajuu, I continued to speak.

「My way of thinking, is that『Life is a kusoge』.『Life』is unreasonable. Kyou-charas benefit, jaku-charas get exploited. There aren’t even any rules that make it worth taking on; it’s just a game of chance. There isn’t any merit to someone to pouring their own pa.s.sion and time into it, and neither is there any need to do so. This is what I think.」

「U, un……」Izumi’s smile slowly began to morph into an expression of astonishment.

「That’s why; even if someone were to suffer losses in the game called Life, even if they get cut off from the others in the cla.s.sroom, even if they can’t get a girlfriend, even if they have no friends, even if their social position in cla.s.s is low, none of it matters a single bit. After all, it’s a kusoge. On the other hand, since AtaFami is a kamige, when compared to winning in life, winning in AtaFami has more merit to it by far, is an incredible thing, and more than anything else, is to me, true happiness, those are the kinds of thoughts I have had. Ever since birth, constantly, up until now.」

Izumi didn’t remove her gaze from me, only staying silent.

「However, by chance I recently met a certain gamer. A gamer who has a bad personality, but is about as good at gaming as I am. They told me this. 『Life is a kamige』. Honestly, I was like, ‘What is this person even saying?’. However, after all kinds of persuasion, I decided to try it. Though I don’t completely believe them just yet, the fact those words were spoken by a talented gamer, convinced me to try a.s.sessing their accuracy myself. ──In other words, to try playing the game called『Life』a little seriously.」

Izumi blinked in surprise.

「Anyway, they taught me things like strategies and where to put in effort, and I worked as hard as I could on all sorts of things. And at some point during that process, I kind of thought this. ……No, it’s frustrating, but it could pretty much be called a confirmation.」

Then, with my feelings more so directed not towards Izumi; but the world’s most hardworking, most self-confident, and most ill-natured gamer, I said the following.

「’I don’t know yet if Life is a kamige or not, but at the very least, it’s a decent game!’」[4]

Izumi’s mouth hung open in amazement. Then, while smiling, she said the following.

「── Not a『kamige』?」

I too, rather than forcing an expression, smiled naturally, and said the following.

「Ahh, well, that’s because I’m yet to actually confirm that. I don’t say things I don’t believe in.」

「……That’s amazing.」

Izumi was still smiling.

「……But for the sixteen years-plus me who had until now thought『Life is a kusoge』, to even start thinking that『Life is a decent game』after just a little push. Don’t you think that’s an incredible change?」

「Ahaha. That’s…… true. Maybe? Ahaha, it’s weird.」

Don’t ‘Ahaha’ me. I haven’t finished what I want to say.

「That’s why it doesn’t matter. A personality that hasn’t changed for many years or anything along those lines, none of that matters.」

Perhaps finally realizing the point I was trying to make, Izumi looked at my eyes in surprise.

「That’s why Izumi, if you want to change, even you should be able to change.」

Then I forced myself to meet Izumi’s gaze.

「……For sure. Even if you start now.」

──Thus, the result of challenging the super difficult dungeon ended up being neither victory nor defeat. Instead, I received the unexpected conclusion『Guidance End』.

Translator Notes:

[1] For more info on tilt attacks (officially known as strong attacks), see https://www.ssbwiki.com/Attack

[2] A *pyon* is something you should immediately recognize as the sound something makes when jumping.

[3] In his speech in the previous paragraph, his speech pattern ends up being very much like Hinami’s (するのよ！なるわ！ etc.). It’s also a distinctly feminine way of speaking j.a.panese. Those kind of small things can’t really be carried over to the English TL very easily, so just letting you know in this note.

[4] The original is actually 良ゲー (yoge), which basically means it’s a good game. The term doesn’t show up very often so it has been localized here.