Dededestroyer Z

"Ha! I've got something special for you up my sleeve. Follow me, Kirby!"

- King Dedede

Dededestroyer Z is a final boss in the Kirby series, debuting in Kirby Battle Royale.

Physical Appearance
Dededestroyer Z is a giant robot built in King Dedede's image. It is constructed of four segments: the Kirby Printer which serves as the core, an inner shell, an outer shell, and a cockpit. The inner shell is blue and serves as the robot's torso. It has missile launchers on its back. The outer shell is red and yellow and resembles Dedede's robe. A giant crank (like the one that was previously on the Kirby Printer) and a mechanical mallet arm are connected to the outer shell's sides.

The mallet is red, yellow, and cyan with a stippled pattern. The hammerhead has massives spikes on its two ends. The cockpit portion is mounted as the robot's head. It is covered by a glass dome. The pilot sits in a large blue chair and uses a computer panel to operate the mech.

Story
King Dedede holds The Cake Royale so that Kirby would be humiliated in front of Dream Land's residents, but the pink puff defeats all the opponents he creates. After losing a final battle, the king challenges Kirby to one last bout and dashes through a doorway. After pursuing him and taking an elevator, the hero sees Dededestroyer Z assemble with Dedede in the pilot's seat. They prepare to fight as crowds watch through electronic screens.

Kirby defeats the robot in battle, causing it to explode. This launches Dedede and the Kirby Printer high into the air. Though it is not shown what happens to the king afterward, the Kirby Printer crashes into the League hub. It explodes and the Kirbys it produced dissipate.

Battle
The battle takes place on a ring (though walls block off half of it). At the beginning, Kirby cannot hit Dededestroyer Z because the robot floats in the middle of a ring. It starts by turning its crank and creating a colored Kirby to fight the hero. Before the battle can properly get underway, it halts abruptly when Bandana Waddle Dee tosses a Cannon onto the stage. From this point on, Kirby can damage the final boss.

Dededestroyer Z uses few main attacks. In addition to producing colored Kirbys, it uses a hammer attack: It homes in on the hero and, after a few seconds, slams its mallet into the platform, temporarily exposing the electrical wires underneath. As the match progresses, it gains two new attacks. Dededestroyer Z reveals a laser cannon from under its cockpit, fires a beam, and swivels so the beam crosses the entire area; Kirby can crouch or jump to dodge it. The robot also covers much of the area in targeting icons before firing eight missiles to detonate on the selected spots.

To defeat the final boss, Kirby must KO the colored Kirbys produced, toss them into the Cannon, and fire them at the robot. Hitting Dededestroyer Z's inner shell or cockpit deals much damage, hitting the robot's outer shell deals a little damage, and hitting the robot's back has no effect. After losing a great deal of health, Dedede is stunned and Dededestroyer Z collapses onto the platform. This is the player's opportunity to wage a heavy assault on the cockpit using Kirby's moves. The robot eventually gets up and continues to attack, but can be stunned and collapsed several times during the fight.

When Dededestroyer Z's health bar is completely depleted, the robot begins falling apart. Dedede panics before being launched skyward by the ensuing explosion.

Etymology
Dededestroyer Z's name is a portmaneau of Dedede, a reference to its design/pilot, and destroyer, a reference to its destructive capabilities. The letter Z in its name may have been included because it is a common ending to titles in Japan, popularized by the Dragon Ball Z franchise.

Related Quotes
"Kirby! Come back! We don't have any idea what's in there!"

- Bandana Waddle Dee

"Defeat the rivals before they beat you!"

- Announcement

Trivia

 * Dededestroyer Z is fought in a similar fashion to Robo Bonkers and its counterparts.
 * The symbols used by the laser and missile targeting systems are those used on Dedede's robe and King Dedede's Castle, respectively.