Mike Pious

* Normal
* EX

Mike Pious is a parody of previous US Vice President, Mike Pence. He is the eighth opponent in Election Year Knockout and the penultimate battle (excluding the Justin Turbeau, Kim-Jong BOOM, and Vladimir Bootin bonus fights).

## Fighting Style

Mike Pious fights using holy powers. He levitates above the ground at almost all times and sends his quick punches flying in with floating jab and uppercut attacks. He is able to create shields which the player must break in order to punch him. He can also shoot out lasers from his hands which the player must avoid or deflect. His defence is considerably stronger than the previous opponents, with him blocking more effectively and his shields also helping. He doesn't have any majorly exploitable weakness and is an all-around jack-of-all-trades type fighter.

## Attacks

* **Floating Jab:** Pious flies towards with a fast diagonal jab. The timing is tricky, but it can be countered.

* **Floating Uppercut:** Pious ducks to one side, and throws a uppercut in a similar fashion of Great Tiger from Punch-Out!! (Wii), requiring you to dodge in the same direction where he winds up from.

## Specials

* **Magic Charging:** Most of Pious's attack requires magic, and of course it has to be charged. Its way of charging depends on the mode: In normal mode, his magic charges by blocking punches and doing hits on you. In EX mode however, It also builds up as time goes, making magic attacks more common.

* **Holy Fist:** Pious raises his hands up, and summons a giant fist which deals great damage. The attack flashes red just before the hit, which can be intercepted.

* **Holy Lazer:** Pious steps back to the right, and charges up a lazer beam. The lazer beam also deals great damage, and is a instant OHKD in EX mode. However, it can be deflected at him for a stun, and the stun time gets even longer when deflected with a haymaker.

* **Hellfire Heal:** The move is only used when Pious's health goes below 50%, and it heals him for a good amount of health. He also uses it in the beginning of a new round. Can be intercepted with a punch or a haymaker.

* **Supernatural Shield:** Whenever Pious's magic is charged, the next block will summon a shield that requires 2 punches to destroy. In the EX mode however, Pious will also create a huge shield that is much more durable and more protective after each knockdown(up to the 4th knockdown), which can be destroyed by landing 10 punches or instantly with a haymaker.

* **Taunt:** Pious does a pose to charge the magic, then immediately unleashes a move with his magic. It can be any move from a Holy Fist to a Hellfire Heal, so be prepared.

**NOTE:** If you get into a situation where you can defeat EX Pious by KO, NEVER knock him down with a normal punch, as he will just get up at 9, and use the Hellfire Heal to heal himself to 50% HP in exchange for his shield. Instead, use a haymaker to make sure he stays down for good.

**NOTE2:** In EX mode, the special Pious uses with his magic depends on how you react to the move before the special. Dodging the attack will make him use the Holy Lazer, otherwise he'll just use the Holy Fist. And remember, the Hellfire Heal can happen anytime as long as he is at 50% health or lower.

## Maverick's Advice

 "If this were a video game, I bet you could reflect that giant laser beam with your fists."

 "I'm practicing so I can do that laser thing myself. Right now I can only play with cats, but I'm getting better at it."

## Infractions

1. Mike Pious is way too old.
2. He uses improper attire.
3. His gloves are too big
4. He has loose parts of attire
5. He uses magic. (I'm gonna give a infraction for each one he uses, So that's 4 in total)

Mike Pious has 8 infractions.

## Trivia

* His religious, "pious" Christian demeanour is a reference to the traditional, Christian family values the Republican Party espouses.
* He is the only fighter in the game that has the block shifting mechanic, or to be specific, you can only block his jabs by holding both fingers at the upper half of the touchscreen.
* In his EX fight, Pious makes several nonchalant references to the Star Wars franchise:
	+ The black and red outfit he wears are colors commonly associated with the villainous "dark side of the force", hence him addressing his turn to the "dark side" during intermissions.
	+ One of his potential lines of dialogue, "I find your lack of faith disturbing" is an obvious reference to Darth Vader's iconic line from *Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope*.
* His Punch Out!! equivalent is said to be Mr. Sandman as both have no real exploitable weaknesses, and that both are the penultimate boss of their games.
* He is also comparable to Great Tiger's TD fight. as both use more complete versions of magic.