Dracula (Galactic Battle)

Dracula (ドラキュラ, Dracula), full title Count Dracula Vlad Ţepeş (ドラキュラ・ヴラド・ツェペシュ伯爵, Count Dracula Vlad Tepes) is the main antagonist of the Castlevania franchise.
He is loosely based on the historical figure Vlad the Impaler, as well as the titular antagonist in the Bram Stoker novel Dracula.
Dracula reprises his role in Super Smash Bros. Galactic Battle as a boss in both Classic Mode and Story Mode.
==Origin==
Dracula is a vampire who commands an army of monsters and is the lord of a haunted castle in Transylvania. He has a variety of magic at his disposal, such as teleportation, conjuring projectiles, and transforming into different beasts, which he frequently does when he's nearly defeated. He is primarily opposed by the Belmont clan of vampire hunters. Though the Belmonts and other heroes repeatedly kill him, Dracula typically revives alongside his castle once every century, though his followers have also resurrected him prematurely.
Although Dracula debuted in the original Castlevania, his origins lie in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, where he was once a Crusader and partner to Leon Belmont named Mathias Cronqvist, but becomes hateful and declares war on God for the sudden death of his wife Elisabetha. In 1094, Cronqvist takes control of the Crimson Stone and becomes a vampire, eventually changing his name to Dracula Vlad Ţepeş. Dracula would later end his war against God in 1455 when he meets and eventually marries Lisa Farenheit, having a son named Adrian. In 1475, after Lisa is burned at the stake by paranoid witch hunters, Dracula declares war against humanity, unaware of Lisa's final plea to Adrian to not hate humans. A year later, he is defeated by Trevor Belmont's group, including his son, who now goes by Alucard.
Nearly two hundred years later, Dracula returns from the grave but is defeated by Simon Belmont. In his dying breath, Dracula curses Simon to be slowly killed from the inside-out, which Simon later learns of and undoes by reviving Dracula and destroying him once more. A century later, Dracula is revived twice by the Dark Priest Shaft but is defeated first by Richter Belmont, then by Alucard five years later, who tells him the last words of his wife.
Since then, Dracula is repeatedly revived by his loyal followers before a final battle breaks out in 1999, where he is permanently destroyed by Julius Belmont. Portions of his power were passed down to those who were born on the day of his death, and Dracula himself reincarnated as Soma Cruz in 2017. Soma learns of this when the castle manifests in a solar eclipse over Japan in 2035, but he resists Dracula's influence, making Julius promise to kill him should he become the evil count. One year later, Soma stops a cult that sought to resurrect Dracula through those who had inherited portions of his power. An alternate "what if" scenario has Soma being corrupted into becoming Dracula, forcing Julius, Yoko Belnades, and Alucard to defeat him.
Since Castlevania, Dracula transforms into his second form when his life bar is depleted. The shape his second form takes varies by game: examples include a giant bat, a devil, or simply his humanoid form with enhanced abilities.
Dracula has made a few playable appearances. His reincarnation Soma Cruz is the protagonist of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow, and is also playable in Harmony of Despair. In the Lords of Shadow rebooted series, protagonist Gabriel Belmont becomes a vampire and comes to be known as Dracula. Dracula himself is a playable character in the fighting game spin-off Castlevania Judgment.
===As a stage element===
Dracula appears as a background character on Dracula's Castle. When the moon disappears and bats gather around Dracula's coffin, lightning will flash and reveal Dracula's shadow in one of the windows.
===As a boss===
Dracula appears as a boss in Classic Mode once more, appearing in the Ultimate Style Classic Mode as he did previously. Luigi, Pac-Man, Simon, and Richter each face off against him in their Classic Mode routes once more as they did previously in Ultimate. Mappy, one of Galactic Battle's newcomers also faces off against Dracula in his Classic Mode route.
Dracula begins the fight in his regular humanoid form, based on Ayami Kojima's artwork for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The battle opens with Dracula on his throne holding a glass, which he tosses aside as he gets up, then warps onto the stage to start the fight. Like in his own series, Dracula moves about the stage by teleporting in a beam of light. Dracula only takes damage when hit in the head, which has traditionally been his weak point since his first appearance. Attacking any other part of his body creates a small mist effect, which resembles Alucard's mist transformation.
When his health bar is depleted, Dracula will transform into a large winged demon, as depicted in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. His health is fully restored, and he uses an entirely different set of attacks. Unlike his first form, Dracula's second form may be damaged by hitting any part of his body and will walk and jump instead of warping to move.
===Role in The Galactic Battle===
Although Dracula has been confirmed to make an appearance as a boss in the Galactic Battle, it's unknown what role he will have in the game.
==Moveset==
===First Form===
 	Damage	Description
Hellfire 	 	Dracula takes a step back and wraps himself in his cape, then flings it open to launch a spread of three fireballs forward. This first appeared in the original Castlevania.
Dark Inferno	 	Dracula takes a step back, then holds out his arm as he launches a series of large dark fireballs forward. The fireballs alternate between being just above the ground and at about Dracula's height, which is high enough to miss short or crouching characters. This originates from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.
Magic Orbs 	 	Dracula wraps himself in his cape, then flings it open and holds his arm out to his side, launching multiple sets of red and blue magic orbs. These orbs either revolve around him with sets flying in an alternating clockwise and counter-clockwise fashion as they spread outward, or fly straight with sets alternating between all cardinal and diagonal directions. The red orbs are more powerful than the blue ones, but both types can be absorbed. This move resembles one used by Graham Jones in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, which used Dark Inferno's fireballs instead of orbs.
Fire Pillars	 	Dracula raises his arm, and harmless flames appear on the ground, either with many appearing at once or in a sequence. After a moment, these flames erupt into tall fire pillars that hit multiple times. At low health, he combines it with one of the above three moves. It resembles a combination of his primary attack in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Dario's fire pillars in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, and one of his attacks in Castlevania: Harmony of Despair.
Bat Moon 	 	Dracula thrusts his cape upwards, then transforms into a swarm of bats and rushes ahead to deal darkness damage. This originates from Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.
===Second Form===
 	Damage	Description
Ghost Chaser 	 	Dracula spits a series of three spirits, which initially float up in front of him before flying towards the player's current location. They disappear upon reaching their destination. It originates from Portrait of Ruin.
Fire Burst 	 	Dracula charges up, then spits a wide spread of three fireballs aimed at the player, which explode on contact. It originates from his triple fireball attack in Castlevania.
Electric Wave 	 	Dracula charges up, then spits an electric wave forward, which is nearly as tall as him. This was one of his primary attacks in Rondo of Blood.
Claw Swipe 	 	Dracula swipes in front of him with his claws. He may either perform it in place or while taking a step forward. This attack may inflict the poison status.
Claw Combo 	 	Dracula performs a series of three claw swipes while stepping forward with each swing. The final swipe deals darkness damage.
Dark Claw 	 	Dracula does a wide overhead swing with his claws, which deals darkness damage and can meteor smash. He may either rear back and perform it in place or take a step forward.
Jumping Slam 	 	Dracula jumps to a different spot on the stage. His landing deals damage.
Shockwave Punch	 	Dracula jumps, then slams his fist into the ground, producing a shockwave that moves to both ends of the stage. The initial jump, falling punch, and shockwave all deal damage.
==Spirits==
Dracula Phase 2 SSBU.png|Dracula (Phase 2)
Soma Cruz.png|Soma Cruz
Category:Characters
Category:Bosses
Category:Castlevania Characters
Category:Super Smash Bros. Galactic Battle
Category:Evil Characters
Category:Villains
Category:Antagonists