Shulk vs Lightning Farron is an episode of SoMaShadow's Death Battles. It features Shulk from the Xenoblade Chronicles video game series, and Lightning Farron from the Final Fantasy video game series.
| Shulk vs Lightning Farron | |
|---|---|
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| Season | TBD |
| Season Episode | TBD |
| Air date | TDB |
| Written by | SoMaShadow |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous TDB |
Next TBD |
Description[]
Xenoblade Chronicles vs Final Fantasy! Spurred by revenge for their lost loved ones, these modern JRPG heroes chose to fight for the freedom of all life from the oppressive reign of the manipulative gods that once controlled them. But when these god-slaying saviours cross blades, which one will emerge victorious?
Interlude[]
Shulk[]
Lightning[]
DEATH BATTLE![]
Conclusion[]
Trivia[]
Shulk vs. Lightning is a What-If Death Battle created by Mrsalt05. This fan-made Death Battle features Shulk from Xenoblade Chronicles against Lightning Farron from Final Fantasy XIII.
Description[]
Whether it's a conflict between two species or between humanity and uncaring gods, these two introspective heroes will always find a way forward, even if they must defy fate itself to do it. But what does fate have in store for them in the arena of DEATH BATTLE?
Introduction[]
Wiz: Fate - a force that determines our every move and thought. Fiction has grappled with it for all of human history as an uncaring phenomenon that can make or break a life.
Boomstick: So a sure sign of ultimate power is breaking out of fate, or even harnessing it to your will.
Wiz: Like Shulk, the heir to the Monado from Xenoblade Chronicles.
Boomstick: And Lightning, the Knight of Etro from Final Fantasy. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Popup: Crossovers like Smash Bros. and Dissidia are non-canon spinoffs and not congruent with either series. Because of this, any feats or scaling from both will be generally excluded from the analysis.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills to find out who would win a DEATH BATTLE!
SHULK[]
Wiz: Long ago, the world was nothing more than an endless sea cloaked in a boundless sky, reaching as far as could possibly be imagined. Then two great titans came into existence - the Bionis and the Mechonis.
Boomstick: For reasons unknown, the two were mortal enemies, and eventually ended up killin' each other at the same time. But on their bodies, life sprang up, and they were enemies too!
Wiz: The ravenous Mechon, an army of man-eating robots, continually streamed forth from the Mechonis, devouring all life they came across. The one weapon they had to fight back with was a mysterious and ancient sword called the Monado, which could cut their impervious armor.
Boomstick: And after the previous wielder of the Monado, Dunban, couldn't wield it in defense of the small human Colony 9, the burden fell to a young engineer named Shulk.
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BACKGROUND:
- Name: Shulk
-Age: 19
- Wielder of the Monado
- Vessel of Zanza's soul
- Likes: Tinkering with machines, yelling
- Dislikes: Vegetables, caterpillars, gorillas
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Wiz: Shulk had been researching the Monado's capabilities for years, but he was never a fighter. So it came as a surprise when he could wield it like a natural and cut down hordes of Mechon, all without the physical damage the Monado usually inflicted upon its bearers. Tragically, however, his newfound ability couldn't save his beloved from a strange Mechon with a face that was impervious even to his weapon.
Boomstick: Poor Fiora. She should've known something was going wrong - piano music in a JRPG never means anything good. So Shulk went out on a quest to destroy all the Mechon and end the fight between the two titans. And man, was he ever equipped to do it.
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THE MONADO:
- Ether blade
- Allows the wielder to see the future
- Arts: Back Slash, Light Heal, Slit Edge, Stream Edge, Shadow Eye, Air Slash, Shaker Edge
- Monado Arts: Buster, Shield, Speed, Purge, Eater, Armor, Cyclone
- Monado II: Stronger, can harm humans
- Monado III: Ultimate form of the Monado with the power of Zanza, can destroy gods
_________________________________
Boomstick: The Monado is far from your everyday sword. It comes equipped with a bunch of powerful Arts that can defend Shulk, enhance his abilities, or attack his enemies. But its most powerful ability is the power to see the future!
Wiz: Shulk's Visions, as they're called, show him important events before they happen. They do this by reading the flow of the ether particles in the air. However, they aren't absolute - knowing what'll happen, he can act to prevent them, which makes it more of an early-warning system.
Popup: Visions don't necessarily have to warn of imminent danger. After defeating Xord, Shulk received a vision of Prison Island, which he wouldn't reach until some days or weeks later.
Boomstick: Sounds handy! Maybe if I had the Monado, I would've been warned that my car would get towed yesterday.
Wiz: There's already an early warning for that. It's called the no-parking sign outside the office.
Boomstick: Hmph. What right does the government have to tell me where I can and can't park anyway, huh?
Wiz: Shulk can make a huge attack with Monado Buster, strip away defenses with Monado Eater, defend against an enemy's most powerful attack with Monado Shield, and speed himself up with... Monado Speed. What's more, its power grew over time, as the bindings of the sword's true power were released one by one.
Boomstick: Eventually, Shulk confronted more Faced Mechon, and found that they were all immune to the Monado like the first one was. That Mechon, whose name was Metal Face, turned out to be sentient, and a huge asshole.
(A clip plays of Metal Face fighting Dunban in Colony 6; as Boomstick finishes his sentence, it transitions to a clip of Metal Face stabbing Emperor Sorean.)
Wiz: The Faced Mechon were created specifically to counter the Monado by the ruler of Mechonis, Egil. He was a member of the Mechonis' real original race, and held a grudge against the Bionis. He created the Mechon to kill its inhabitants en masse.
Boomstick: The Faced Mechon's secret is that they're people on the inside - no, really. Those red lines crisscrossing their armor are veins of human blood! The reason this works is because the Monado is technically forbidden from hurting anyone from Bionis. So Shulk took a trip to see an ancient Giant named Zanza, who unbound the Monado and allowed it to hurt the Faced Mechon. Then, Metal Face stabbed him! Good god, nobody is safe!
Wiz: Shulk fought his way all the way up and down the Bionis, down its arm, and onto the Mechonis' sword, meeting a man named Alvis along the way who claimed to be the Monado's guardian spirit - although he might actually be the sword itself, bear with me. He faced Metal Face one last time, but ultimately decided not to kill the man inside the machine, as that would make him no better than the Mechon.
Boomstick: In response, Metal Face promptly stabbed himself and died. I think he must get off on that shit.
Wiz: Shulk faced Egil, and learned that Fiora was still alive, albeit as a Faced Mechon. After rescuing her from her Face unit, he traveled to the capital of Mechonis and fought the leader of the Mechonis to a standstill - but once again, spared him. With some help from Alvis, he had decided that Mechonis wasn't really his enemy. He wanted to stop the fighting between the two titans.
Boomstick: And then he got shot in the back and died.
(Music abruptly cuts out, fakeout ending on a still of Shulk slumped over on the ground, then the curtains open again)
Wiz: The reason Shulk was chosen to use the Monado is because he was secretly harboring the soul of the dead god of Bionis, Zanza.
Boomstick: The Giant who awoke the Monado? Didn't Metal Face already stab that guy?
Wiz: No, that was a puppet he was controlling. Shulk had amassed enough power in the Monado by that point for his soul to reawaken itself. All he needed now was to escape Shulk's body, which happened when he was shot in the back and killed by a guy... literally named Dickson.
Boomstick: Shulk remained alive thanks to his connection to the Monado, and with the help of his friends, he managed to fight back and defeat Dickson with just a regular sword! He entered Zanza's personal pocket universe, and, let me guess, Metal Face popped out of nowhere and stabbed Zanza.
Metal Face: Like a hot knife through butter!
Wiz: Shulk and his companions fought Zanza to his knees, and with sheer force of will, Shulk reclaimed the Monado and awakened its ultimate form.
Alvis: Shulk, it is time for you to choose. Does this world belong to Zanza, or does it belong to you?
*The "god" kanji glows on the Monado III"
Shulk: That is something... I decided long ago!
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FEATS
- Fought Zanza in a conceptual realm after he had turned into an idea and fundamental force
- Blocked Yaldabaoth's Mechonis blade
- Continued receiving Visions after being cut off from the Monado
- Can both output and survive enough energy to create or destroy a universe
- Moved around the solar system at 100x FTL
_________________________________
Wiz: With the full bear of the Monado on his side, Shulk bears astronomical power. He can kill omnipotent gods such as Zanza, who merged with fate, and wields enough force to reconstruct the universe itself. The Monado III also provides an unlimited number of Visions, allowing Shulk to see all possible futures.
Boomstick: But after kicking Zanza's ass, Shulk decided there was no need for gods, not even him. So he made a new universe, where everyone could live together with no need to fear Mechon or evil gods... or getting shot in the back by Dickson.
Wiz: Selflessly giving up infinite power to accept the future as it comes - such an act proved to be the thing that brought peace to Bionis. Shulk looked out on a new world, with a bright and undecided future.
Shulk: Today, we use our power to fell a god, and then... seize our destiny!
LIGHTNING[]
Wiz: In time immemorial, the god Bhunivelze staged a rebellion against his mother Mwynn, creator of the universe, banishing her to the unseen realm to take full control of the mortal world. But he feared that she would someday find the power to return and destroy everything.
Boomstick: He created three deities to help him oversee existence: Pulse, who was tasked with finding the door to the unseen realm so Bhunivelze could destroy Mwynn once and for all; Etro, who he basically tossed in the garbage because she looked too much like Mwynn; and Lindzei, who became in charge of overseeing the mortal realm while he took a nap.
Wiz: Etro grew distraught at her meaningless existence and killed herself, escaping to the unseen realm. Lindzei collected her blood to create humanity, and used the soil of the world of Gran Pulse to create a paradise named Cocoon for them to live in. Then, Lindzei departed to help Pulse search for the door, leaving behind yet another tier of administrator deities called the fal'Cie.
Boomstick: ...who immediately established a dictatorship across the entire earth, including Cocoon, with the goal of killing enough people to jam the door open themselves and get Papa Lindzei back. So... we've got two dead gods, three alive gods, four tiers of gods, a brutal authoritarian government, and a giant colony full of people floating above the earth. All we need now is some spiky-haired, emotionally frigid young adult... oh, look! The gang's all here, it's officially Final Fantasy.
Wiz: Thank God, my computer was going to die if I didn't close all those wiki tabs.
_________________________________
BACKGROUND
- Name: Claire Farron
- Race: l'Cie
- Age: 521
- Knight of Etro, Savior of humanity
- Last name also means "lightning"
- Similar to Cloud and can't stand Snow
_________________________________
Wiz: Claire Farron, better known simply as Lightning, was a member of the Guardian Corps of Cocoon, a domestic police force. She cared for her younger sister Serah alone, since their father had died at a young age, but her life was thrown into chaos when Serah revealed she had been turned into an l'Cie, a human branded by a fal'Cie from the planet below Cocoon and tasked with trying to destroy it.
Boomstick: Lightning wanted to protect Serah at all costs, so when the Sanctum government decided to round the whole town up and toss them out of Cocoon just to be safe, Lightning fought back, incidentally killing a Sanctum fal'Cie in the process. When Lightning woke up, along with some other survivors of the attempted purge, she was an l'Cie herself.
Wiz: After attempting to return to Cocoon, they learnt the true goal of the fal'Cie, and set out to stop their plan, with Lightning as their commander.
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POWERS AND ABILITIES
- Offensive and utility magic
- Blitz
- Counter
- Mediguard
- Steelguard
- Elemental strikes
- Darkness
- Ashura
- Army of One
- Summon Odin
_________________________________
Boomstick: Lightning's main weapon is her gunblade, the Blazefire Saber, specially customized to be effective at close or long range. It also has an upgraded form called Omega Weapon, which boosts its stats by a lot and can fire electric beams as well as bullets. What's more, she has access to a wide array of offensive magic spells that can make physical or energy attacks with a variety of elements. Her specialty is lightning - well, duh - but she also has access to fire, ice, and wind magic, as well as Ultima, Disaster, and Ruinga, which don't rely on any elemental affinity.
Wiz: Her arsenal also hosts a wide array of utility magic. She can cure her own wounds with Cure and Esuna and speed herself up with Haste, or debuff her enemies with Slow, Curse, Poison or Imperil.
Boomstick: But even without magic, she's got some advanced techniques from her Guardian training to pull out on her opponents - not least of which is her signature technique, Army of One, where she... uh, got a science-word for it, Wiz?
Wiz: Beats the crap out of them?
Boomstick: Sounds good to me.
Wiz: Lightning is a master of exploiting tactical advantages, and can keep the opponent on their back foot with skills like Shadowbind, a strike that can keep a foe in a staggered position for a long time. However, offense is her strong suit, not defense, and a couple of her stronger abilities require sacrificing her health to use, so she ideally wants them on that back foot for as long as possible.
Boomstick: Not that she's any slouch physically - once she and her newfound l'Cie friends got back to Cocoon and fought the Sanctum, they battled against Orphan, a powerful fal'Cie who held the Cocoon in the air with his energy. Given that the Cocoon is confirmed to be the size of North America, her defense is still pretty damn strong. After defeating Orphan, Cocoon seemed sure to fall and end the world, but some of Lightning's newfound l'Cie friends sacrificed themselves to hold it up with a gigantic crystal pillar. Lightning's crusade against the Sanctum was over, and so were her adventures... it seemed.
Wiz: Lightning would later be drawn into another world to serve as the champion of the goddess Etro, who had been secretly been observing Lightning's adventures the entire time. Rather than actually dying when she killed herself, Etro had been drawn into the unseen realm along with Mwynn, who bestowed upon Etro the duty of upholding the balance of the world, which was slowly being subsumed by chaos as a result of Bhunivelze's meddling. She needed to protect herself from Caius Ballad, an l'Cie who was trying to kill her... for objectively dumb reasons.
(A blackboard appears onscreen that says "Caius thinks killing Etro will stop Yeul (the seeress) from endlessly being reborn and suffering, but he also is willing to destroy Cocoon and fuse Gran Pulse with Valhalla, the Chaos Realm, to free them from the endless cycle of rebirth, which would cause quite a lot more suffering, also he knows that the world is going to end in 300 years anyway, so her suffering is not in any way endless, and also this guy can turn into a dragon??????" The last question mark trails off downward and to the right, as though their writer passed out from exertion.)
Boomstick: In the meantime, Serah was stranded on Cocoon. Time paradoxes had erased everyone else's memories of Lightning, so Serah went on a journey of her own to free Lightning from her battle with Caius. She succeeded in defeating him, but mortally wounding Caius allowed chaos energy to escape from his body and infect the world.
Wiz: All seemed lost. Reality collapsed, just as Caius had planned. Etro was truly killed by the strike at Caius' Heart of Chaos, and worst of all, Serah also died in the ensuing upheaval. With her final words, Serah told Lightning to wait for a time when they could see each other again, and Lightning, in desperation, sealed herself in stasis to await this impossible-seeming future. When she woke up 500 years later, the world was being subsumed by the chaos Serah had released - and she was being summoned to renew the world by Bhunivelze.
Boomstick: Huh, so it really does go all the way up to the top. One game for each layer of gods, I guess. But wait, isn't all this chaos leakage and screwed-up cosmology Bhunivelze's fault in the first place?
Wiz: That's right, Boomstick, and Lightning realized it too. She was initially blinded by his promise to revive Serah, but after traveling the shattered new world, seeing her old friends reduced to survival against the apocalypse, Caius somehow even more insane than he was to begin with, and learning that Bhunivelze had lied to her outright, she made up her mind, rejecting the remaking of the world on his terms.
Lightning: This old world is dying, and your myths will die with it! In the new world, we won't need gods!
Boomstick: Instead, she traveled to the realm of the gods and fought Bhunivelze, using the power she was granted as the savior of mankind to rebel against him. And some titanic power it was - had things gone the way Bhunivelze intended, she would've used it to create the new universe, and still have been a god in that universe!
Wiz: As it was, she defeated Bhunivelze, attacking him with such ferocious speed that she pushed him several light-years across the realm of the gods in a fraction of a second, and could dodge his huge barrages of god lasers. She plunged him into the abyss of Chaos devouring the world, releasing the souls of humanity, and created a new world very similar to our own, populating it with the lost souls that still had a will to live. And when it was all done, Lightning let go of her burdens. In the new world, Lightning wasn't the savior; she wasn't a Knight of Etro or an l'Cie, a Guardian, or even Lightning. She was Claire Farron, happy to enjoy the company of Serah and her friends.
Lightning: We hope in the face of despair - that makes us strong!
Battle[]
We open on a wide shot of Bionis' Shoulder, then zoom in to see Shulk walking along a trail. He's evidently on the road to somewhere, and has the Monado II slung casually over his back. He slows down, and we pan in on his back to see a strange woman walking toward him from his perspective. Lightning is dressed in the Savior's attire, and her sword is unsheathed. She calls out to Shulk.
Lightning: Hey! Stop right there.
She thinks to herself, "The feeling I'm getting from this kid... I haven't felt any presence like that since..."
Raising her head, she points her sword at him, asking, "Are you some kind of god?"
Shulk's eyes widen, and he reaches for the handle of the Monado. "You... could say that, yes. How did you know?"
Lightning's expression hardens, and she lowers the point of her blade, tensing herself. Shulk looks confused, then receives a Vision as a flash of blue light covers the screen. Lightning attacks him with a Flamestrike, and he fails to block. We cut away from the Vision, and Shulk prepares for a fight, quickly unsheathing the Monado to block Lightning's advancing strike. He pushes it outward, shoving Lightning away a short distance.
Shulk: Wait! I don't want to fight you.
Lightning: I wouldn't either!
Lightning brandishes her Omega Weapon, firing a volley of electric bolts at Shulk. He touches the Monado, shouting, "Monado, show me the way!", and activates Monado Speed, dodging out of the way of the bolts. He runs toward Lightning, who prepares Thundaga and casts it at him. However, his eyes glow blue, and he dodges out of the way, ending up at Lightning's side. He tries to use Slit Edge, but Lightning jumps back and retaliates with a counter. Shulk's guard is knocked wide open, and Lightning immediately exploits the opening using Shadowbind. She launches a ferocious combo on the dazed Shulk and ends with a Firaga blast, launching him across the plains of Bionis' Shoulder and towards the sheer cliffs of Whisperwind Crossing. He slides along the ground, stabilizing himself by using the Monado as an anchor. Lightning draws closer to him.
Lightning: Ready to give up?
Shulk: Never!
Shulk holds up the Monado and activates Monado Cyclone, obscuring both combatants in a wave of ether. When the dust clears, however, Lightning has activated Mediguard, blocking the attack and regaining some HP. Seeing this, Shulk switches to Monado Purge, firing a wave of ether that cancels her regeneration and blows her back. He then activates Monado Speed once again, running around Lightning quick as a flash. He raises the Monado high...
Shulk: Back Slash!
And brings it down on Lightning's undefended back. She shouts in pain, taking a step forward, as Shulk steps back with an angry expression.
Shulk: I warned you. I don't want to fight, but I won't let you kill me.
Lightning looks back at him, scowling, and stands up straight. Healing magic particles surround her as she clenches her fist.
Lightning: Gods are all the same. Confident they're above mortals...
Shulk suddenly sees a Vision. In the Vision, Lightning shouts, "I don't care what you allow! You're going down!" She then attacks with a sudden stab and performs Army of One on Shulk, which shows up as Lightning's Talent Art: "Army of One XIII." Finally, while he's stunned from the flurry of attacks, she casts Ruinga on him. He snaps out of the Vision.
Lightning: I don't care what you allow! You're going down!
Like in the Vision, she launches herself forward, but Shulk parries the strike. She then performs Army of One, but Shulk activates Monado Shield, deflecting each attack in the chain. Finally, she casts Ruinga. Shulk tries to blast the balls of magical energy with Monado Eater, but they persist nonetheless. His eyes widen as they get closer to him. Suddenly, we change camera angles to focus on the Monado's hilt. Shulk tightens his grip on the handle, and a new symbol appears. The Monado II changes shape into the Monado III, and Shulk holds the sword in front of himself, yelling "That's enough!"
We zoom out as a wave of blue energy emanates from the Monado. First, it encompasses the Ruinga spell, which fades to nothingness. The ground turns a lustrous blue color. The wave crosses over Lightning, then we zoom out even further, to see Bionis' Shoulder consumed by the blue energy: the expanding Memory Space, which Shulk has transported himself and Lightning to. We cut back to Lightning, standing alone in the strange constructed universe. She looks around for Shulk, but sees only planets and stars.
Lightning: Where... am I? The realm of the gods?
Suddenly, bonds of golden light appear around Lightning's wrists and ankles, restraining her in place. We begin to hear Shulk's voice as we cut to a still shot of his left hand, the one not holding the Monado. He sounds regretful.
Shulk: Lightning - no, Claire Farron. That's your name, isn't it?
Lightning struggles against her bonds desperately. Those around her hands begin to unravel.
Lightning: Who are you? I swear I'll destroy you!
Shulk: Lightning, I am Shulk. I am the god of the new world.
Lightning thrashes around, and manages to break the bond restraining one of her hands. We cut back to Shulk; this time we see the Monado, the center symbol glowing.
Shulk: I am Monado. I was here at the beginning, and I will proclaim the end.
We see Lightning's hand break out of her other bond, and she grabs her sword, charging Ruinga. Finally, we cut once more back to Shulk. This time we see his face, his eyes shining a brilliant blue. His voice echoes as he yells:
Shulk: The future is mine! And you will not see it!
We rapidly zoom out to see a wide shot of Shulk standing in front of the Sun in Memory Space, silhouetted by the light aside from his glowing eyes and the light of the Monado. A pulse of energy moves out from the blade, emanating across the universe. It contacts Lightning, and she gasps as first her blade, then her hands disintegrate into ether particles. Finally, the wave crosses over her body. Silently, Lightning is erased from existence.
We cut back to Shulk. His eyes are no longer glowing. He gazes outward for a couple of seconds with a solemn expression, then closes his eyes, saying, "I'm sorry." With a wave of the Monado, he warps out of Memory Space.
KO![]
Boomstick: Well, I think this outcome would've been pretty obvious to anyone who could see into the future.
Wiz: Not to us, though. In fact, Shulk and Lightning had pretty similar stats at first glance.
Boomstick: Both combatants are similar levels of faster-than-light. Shulk drifting through Memory Space's solar system and Lightning's pushing Bhunivelze across the gods' realm achieve similar realms of about 100x FTL, although it is worth noting that the 40% speed buff from Monado Speed could give Shulk a slight edge in terms of speed. And obviously, they both created and destroyed a universe, putting their power at the same level too.
Popup: Supposing that the Monado and the power of the Savior specifically grant the power to create and destroy universes, and don't allow for other uses of that power, Shulk's maximum power and defense feats (wielding the sword of Bionis, a small planet-level feat) surpass Lightning's (taking blows from and dealing damage to Orphan, a moon-level feat).
Wiz: This leaves the problem of comparing their abilities, however, and Shulk's arsenal is ultimately more varied and useful than Lightning's. While she did have some useful defensive abilities, Shulk could remove most of these, and the remainder was mostly different types of elemental attacks. That variety is less meaningful, since Shulk doesn't have any specific elemental affinity or weakness. Even her trump card, Army of One, could be countered by Monado Shield.
Boomstick: On the other hand, Shulk's techniques were so strong and varied that Lightning wouldn't have been able to keep up, especially considering that a bunch of them would act to specifically counter Lightning's. His infinite Visions also gave him a big leg up by letting him predict all of Lightning's offense and gave him time to counter with his own bag of tricks.
Wiz: That's not to mention that Shulk didn't just have the ability to create or destroy universes - he could also control the universe he created.
Boomstick: It's easy to forget, because he quickly voluntarily gave up the ability, but DEATH BATTLE uses characters at the absolute precipice of their strength. Shulk might have only had the Monado III's capability for a short time, but to deny it to him would basically be equal to using Lightning as the Knight of Etro from XIII ~ 2, and needless to say, that does Shulk a lot more favors than it does Lightning.
Wiz: Shulk and Lightning were evenly matched fighters, but his predictive Visions and proactive defense options gave him the power to secure the future for himself.
Boomstick: I'm sure Lightning didn't envision losing, but it ended up being her Final fight.
Wiz: That's an entirely different series.
Boomstick: Nuts.
Wiz: The winner is Shulk.