Darksong vs. Superbird

Darksong said:

3vs3 single
Style: Switch
DQ: Standard week
Damage Cap: 25%
Banned Moves: OHKO's, direct healing moves; Chills limited to 5 per Pokémon
Arena: Skyarrow Bridge

The road on Skyarrow Bridge has been closed off for this battle, so nobody has to worry about cars coming their way. Connecting Pinwheel Forest and the giant Castelia City, Skyarrow Bridge is definitely a sight to behold. It has an elevated center walkway for pedestrians, and two roads located below the center walkway, on each side. Bordering the bridge are large support structures similar to the ones on Brooklyn Bridge in New York City or Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo. Far below the roadway is the estuary that leads from the ocean into the heart of the Unova region. At this time of night, the view is stunning. The bridge is similar in color to diamond, an elegant bluish-white. You'd better be careful; sometimes it can get windy.

Other: Only baby or basic Pokémon are allowed. Also, it's nighttime, so Sunny Day won't work.

Click to expand...

Pokémon

Darksong's Active Non-evolved Pokémon:

Superbird's Active Non-evolved Pokémon:

Attack order:

1. Darksong sends out Pokémon
2. Superbird sends out Pokémon and gives commands
3. Darksong gives commands
4. I ref

OK then, I get to send out first? Yay, my first ASB battle in a long time!
I choose Echo the Cubone!

Oh crap am I above my battle limit or something

All right. Drillbud, gogogo!

Okay. You've got the type advantage here, it really can't do much to you. So here's what I want you to do. First, set up a Leech Seed, keep using that until it works. Then, start wailing away with Energy Ball. If it protects at any time, use Hone Claws instead. And if it makes a substitute on action one, then first destroy it with Energy Ball, then use LEech Seed once the Sub is down.

Leech Seed/Energy Ball/Hone Claws x3

Whoa, Ferroseed is Grass-type? O_O Oops.

Okay, so. Since Dig is impossible, let's just try to work this out without it. Start out with a Swagger, to see if you can make the enemy hurt herself in her confusion. Then use Double Team and create 3 clones. Finally, finish off with Flamethrower for the sake of a type advantage.

Swagger ~ Double Team (3 clones) ~ Flamethrower

Pre-round

Superbird walked rather casually down the wharf of Castelia city and into the gate leading to the Skyarrow bridge. Inside, there were more people than normal, most quite unhappy about how the road was closed. He made his way to the front of the crowd, where the currently 2nd most hated person in the Unova region stood, barring access to the bridge at the busiest time of day. Superbird smiled at him, flashing his id and badge, and walked onto the marvel of architecture, while being hit by an overripe tomato.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bridge, Darksong was appreciating the view of the ocean. She took a look at his watch, and decided that it was time to proceed onto the bridge. The Pinwheel Forest side of the bridge did not have as many people waiting to get across. She flashed her ID at the ever-present gatekeeper, who let her on.

Bulbasaur flew in onto the centre of the bridge, and seeing the two present, signaled for them to send out their Pokémon. Darksong took out a blue and red ball, and threw it up, the path of the ball taking the form of a parabola. A brown biped emerged and automatically took up a defensive stance, then, seeing no opponent, relaxed a little.

Superbird thought for a bit, then threw a universally-recognized red and white Pokéball. An iron pinecone emerged in midair with a flash, then dropped to the ground with a soft thud. The Ferroseed eyed her opponent suspiciously and shied away from the Cubone.

The referee walked over to each of the trainers, asking them for anything he should know before the battle started. Darksong said that it could get windy on the bridge; Superbird scoffed, asking her, "You call this wind?" The two Pokémon waited patiently while the referee climbed onto a platform, then pulled a cloth flag from his pocket. He held it with arms parallel to the ground, and the Pokémon suddenly tensed up and got ready for the round. The second seemed to last forever as all eyes were concentrated on the flag waving in the strong wind. Then, he dropped the flag, and the round began.

Pokémon

Darksong

Echo
♀ Cubone with ability LightningRod
Health:100%
Energy:100%
Status: Eyeing the opponent carefully.
Swagger ~ Double Team (3) ~ Flamethrower


Superbird

Drillbud
♀ Ferroseed with ability Iron Barbs
Health:100%
Energy:100%
Status: Enjoying the view of the skyline.
Leech Seed/Energy Ball/Hone Claws~Leech Seed/Energy Ball/Hone Claws~Leech Seed/Energy Ball/Hone Claws

Round 1 begin!
Being the faster of the two, Echo went against her nature and walked arrogantly up to Drillbud, singing about how wonderful she was and how much better she was compared to him and how she won the Nobel prize in Peace, Literature, Chemistry, Physics, and medicine, and how --

Drillbud couldn't take it any longer. She wanted to hit her, hard, but she remembered her orders and tried to fire some seeds at the still talking Echo right in front of her. They bounced off of her bone and struck the confused Drillbud. Though they could not latch on to the part grass-type, they struck her hard.

Echo then dashed around the already-confused pinecone with a boost of speed, creating the illusion of being four Pokémon at once. The poor Drillbud fired off some more seeds from its reserve. Miraculously, it hit the right clone. The seed opened and grew into a network of roots, strapping on to Echo's back, siphoning energy from the Lonely Pokémon in a green, translucent stream.

Echo prepared her Flamethrower, but first aimed it at her own back to see if she could burn up the roots on her back. No use. Sighing, she directed the stream of flame to the Thorn Seed Pokémon. It hit her, quite directly, and left her covered with a black soot. Even though metals retained heat rather well, it did not leave her burned. Still, in a lot of pain, Drillbud was furious. She produced a green ball of power and shot it towards the Cubone her three clones. It went right through a one, which promptly disappeared, then struck true in Echo's face, rather prettily from the referee's point of view. Echo the Cubone fell back on her bum, skidding a bit. Deciding that this would be the end of the round, the referee held the flag high in the air, arm perpendicular to the ground.
Round 1 end!

Damage and Energy Calculations
Swagger:3% energy
Hitting self in confusion:4% energy, 4% damage
Double team: 3% energy
Leech seed: 4% energy, 1%+1% damage, 1%+1% healing
Flamethrower: 6% energy, 18% damage
Energy ball: 5% energy, 15% damage

Pokémon

Darksong
Active

Echo
♀ Cubone with ability LightningRod
Health:83%
Energy:88%
Status:Feeling like she's off to a good start.
Condition: Seeded, 2 double team evasion Clones.

Swagger ~ Double Team (3) ~ Flamethrower

Superbird
Active

Drillbud
♀ Ferroseed with ability Iron Barbs
Health:80%
Energy:87%
Status: Somewhat frustrated.
Condition: Confused (Moderate, 20%, 2 more rounds), Attack +2
Confused~Leech Seed~Energy Ball

Notes:

• I assume the Double Team was made for the sake of increasing evasion.
• No hits were critical
• Flamethrower did not burn Drillbud
• Energy Ball did not lower the defense of Echo

Postround:
Drillbud looked at the ascending moon. The golden glittering Castelia skyline and the silver full moon looked perfect together. All of the photos in the world of this oft-shot scene didn't compare to seeing it in person. She wanted, all her life, to be a pilot. To see scenes like this, from all over the region, from all over the world... That was her dream.

Echo looked down at the water. It was very windy, so there were many ripples on the water. She let a tear slide from her eyes and watched it fall down into the bay. The Lonely Pokémon watched it hit the water, but couldn't make out the concentric ripples. It looks just like my long lost friend, she thought, thinking back to a few years ago, when she had to part with her best friend in the world...

Next round:

1. Darksong commands
2. Superbird commands
3. I ref

Sorry in advance if you're unhappy with my portrayal of your Pokémon, and just tell me I misrepresented your Pokémon if you don't like how any of the postround story turned out. Also sorry for the late reply; it was Easter and I had to go to church.

Let's just go for attacks this round, Echo. Begin with Screech, then use Flamethrower, and finally Bonemerang to take advantage of the Defense drop. If the opponent protects at any time, then go ahead and use Swords Dance.

Screech/Swords Dance ~ Flamethrower/Swords Dance ~ Bonemerang/Swords Dance

Shouldn't the clones be gone, now that I hit Echo with an attack? Also, shouldn't Drillbud's Attack be raised 2 levels from Swagger?

All right, Drillbud. First, let's use Iron Defense to cancel out that Defense drop. Then, take your boosted attack and Seed Bomb that thing's heart out. If it still has clones, aim for the one with the Leech Seed on it.

Iron Defense ~ Seed Bomb ~ Seed Bomb

Hmm... You're right, the clones would have no effect. I'll let that simply disappear during the next round. And also, yes, the atack would be raised two levels. I'll fix that in a moment.

Defense drop? What defense drop?
EDIT: :sweatdrop: Right, the eventual defense drop.

Pre-round

Echo stopped maintaining the clones; there was no use for that now as she had a distinctive feature on her back which separated her from the clones. She looked up at the moon and down at its reflection one last time before turning her focus on her opponent.

Drillbud wobbled slowly to her position. The night was quite chilly and the wind was blowing hard. He made eyesight with Echo, who turned slightly away. Both trainers gave a nod, and the referee signaled for the round to begin.

Pokémon

Darksong
Active

Echo
♀ Cubone with ability LightningRod
Health:83%
Energy:88%
Status:Relaxed
Condition: Seeded.
Screech/Swords Dance ~ Flamethrower/Swords Dance ~ Bonemerang/Swords Dance

Superbird
Active

Drillbud
♀ Ferroseed with ability Iron Barbs
Health:80%
Energy:87%
Status: More relaxed than before.
Condition: Confused (Moderate, 20%, 2 more rounds), Attack +2
Iron Defense ~ Seed Bomb ~ Seed Bomb


Round 2 begin!

The wind howled as Echo opened her mouth and let out a high-frequency scream. The wailing wind just made the screech more painful for Drillbud, who, while having no ears, could hear the terrible sound loud and clear. Not to be outdone, Drillbud added an extra layer of iron onto her body, negating the temporary effects of Screech with a permanent Iron Defense.

Echo sighed. Such was the way of life - what one did would always be destroyed. She produced a river of flames and aimed it in Drillbud's face. The shiny new layer of armor was again blackened as the flames singed the organic parts of the Pokémon and blackened the metallic components. Angered, Drillbud produced some seeds, compacted it into a highly unstable ball, and threw it right into Echo's stomach. Even though the landing surface was soft and cushiony, it was enough to trigger the explosion of the bomb, knocking Echo down and making her skid a couple of metres and scattering seeds everywhere.

Echo couldn't take it any more. She threw her bone in frustration, against the wind. Drillbud tried to dodge it, but what could he do with such a low speed? It hit her hard twice, and, course miraculously unaltered, was caught by the satisfied Cubone. Upon examination, she found two dents in the bone. Thank goodness that wasn't her.

Drillbud again launched a ball of seeds bound by energy and launched it at the Cubone, who, although anticipated this, was unable to dodge or block it. She could see clouds rolling in while she was on her back; although they were not storm clouds, they fully obstructed the moon. Deciding this was approximately one round, the referee raised the flag into the air.

Round 2 end!

Damage and Energy Calculations
Screech:1% energy (lowered because of the assistance of the wind)
Iron defense:3% energy
Flamethrower: 18% damage, 6% energy
Seed bomb:16% damage, 5% energy
Bonemerang: 12% damage, 7% energy (raised because of the hindering of the wind)
Seed bomb: 16% damage, 5% energy
Leech seed: 1+1+1% damage, 1+1+1% healing

Pokémon

Darksong
Active

Echo
♀ Cubone with ability LightningRod
Health:58%
Energy:74%
Status:Dismayed at the dented bone.
Condition: Seeded.
Screech~Flamethrower~Bonemerang

Superbird
Active

Drillbud
♀ Ferroseed with ability Iron Barbs
Health:55%
Energy:74%
Status: Happy with the progress she's making.
Condition: Confused (Light, 10%, 1 more round), Attack +2, Screeched defense -2 (2 more rounds), Iron armor Defense +2
Iron defense~Seed Bomb~Seed Bomb

Notes:

• Damage sustained by both parties hit the Damage Cap
• No hits were critical
• Flamethrower did not burn Drillbud
• Why does the RNG say "33" a lot?
• There are a few seeds left on the bridge from the seed bomb, that weren't blown away by the wind.
• Why do I have a feeling that I'm missing something?

Postround:
The wind was calming down, but the clouds were as thick as ever. The next day promised to be a particularly fine one, but cold, as the layer of frost on the bridge indicated. Drillbud looked at the numerous buildings in Castelia City. Lights were being shut off one by one, but there were quite a few that remained on. On the bridge, the mercury vapor lamps turned on, their greenish glow illuminating the surface of the bridge eerily. She looked at the sky, seeing an aircraft about to land on the airport for which Superbird was commemoratively given her.

Echo continued piecing her history together. Her mother had gone one day and never came back. Fortunately, she was old enough to gather food herself. In that way she lived for a few months - until her cave was discovered by a Pidgey, slightly older than her...

Next round:

1. Superbird commands
2. Darksong commands
3. I ref

Hmm...that could work...Okay, Drillbud. How about this. Start out with Solarbeam. If the Cubone protects, use Iron Defense instead and use Solarbeam the next time it doesn't protect. If you've already used Solarbeam, then use Iron Defense. If you've used Iron Defense thrice total, including last round, including last round, switch to Rock Polish.

Solarbeam/Iron Defense/Rock Polish x3

Question before I post commands, so I don't mess anything up... if Solarbeam takes a turn to charge, shouldn't the charge take up one action during the round?

ASB two-turn attacks, unless otherwise specified, only take one turn—but get a lower priority.

Looks like you can't do anything to prevent the Solarbeam, but at least it's getting cloudy. I think you should continue with this fiery stuff, but... just Chill first. Then use Rock Tomb to see if you can get the Ferroseed to stay still. Finally, draw closer and use Fire Blast; hopefully being nearer to your opponent will help the attack's accuracy.

Chill ~ Rock Tomb ~ get closer and Fire Blast

is editting commands before a reffing allowed, as long as I'm commanding after my opponent?

Click to expand...

Yes, but you should be warned that if your referee has already started working on the round, they'll probably just ignore your edits. So if you feel you need to edit, do so quickly.

Pre-round
With the clouds blocking the moon, Echo was even colder. She was chilled to the bone (quite literally, as a thin layer of frost had formed on the now slightly damaged bone), and shivered a bit. She looked on her back. The Leech Seed was quite affected by this cold, apparently; although it did fulfill its function, it had not grown bigger during the past rounds. She tried beating it with her bone. No use.

Contrastingly, Drillbud didn't feel all that cold. The iron was still a bit warm from the flamethrowers. She looked up at the sky and saw another airplane. It soared just above the bridge, making a loud sound and creating a bit of wind. The referee talked casually to each of the two trainers, then stood upon his platform. He held up a flag, longer than usual to tease the two tense Pokémon, then dropped it dramatically.

Pokémon

Darksong
Active

Echo
♀ Cubone with ability LightningRod
Health:58%
Energy:74%
Status:Dismayed at the dented bone.
Condition: Seeded.
Chill ~ Rock Tomb ~ get closer and Fire Blast

Superbird
Active

Drillbud
♀ Ferroseed with ability Iron Barbs
Health:55%
Energy:74%
Status: Happy with the progress she's making.
Condition: Confused (Light, 10%, 1 more round), Attack +2, Screeched defense -2 (2 more rounds), Iron armor Defense +2
Solarbeam/Iron Defense/Rock Polish~Solarbeam/Iron Defense/Rock Polish~Solarbeam/Iron Defense/Rock Polish

Round 3 begin!

Echo stretched and then just lied there, trying to relax while Drillbud charged the very powerful grass attack. It was a long wait, and when the iron thorn Pokémon finally released the beam, it wasn't all that powerful, without sunlight or even moonlight to help. But it hit on target. At least Echo wasn't cold anymore.

Echo grunted and got up; having been through several Solarbeams during her life, this was definitely one of the weaker ones. She looked at the bridge. As they were on the automotive level of the structure, she couldn't just take out the asphalt and concrete from the bridge, as that would mean her own death. She came up with an idea - but not before Drillbud added another layer of armor to her shell. She tried to jump up, using her bone, onto the passenger deck, but couldn't as it was far too high. Sighing, she just stared at Drillbud, who smiled at her, inviting her to bring on what she had.

And that she did. Full of frustration, she ran within a foot of Drillbud and let out a huge blast of fire, surprising even herself with its intensity. It, of course, struck right on target and left the poor Drillbud as black as the asphalt they were on. Thankfully, the blast didn't melt any of the armor she had on. The referee walked over to Drillbud,feeling the radiating heat emanating from the Thorn Seed Pokémon, applied The Magic Power That Only Referees Have, and reduced the damage to the damage cap. He then pulled out the flag, waving it high in the air.

Round 3 end!

Damage and Energy Calculations
Chill: +11% energy (Recovered more energy than usual because Echo was waiting for Solarbeam which, under these conditions, would take a long time to charge)
Solarbeam: 10% damage, 10% energy (added 3% energy and reduced damage by half because it's night and clouds cover the moon; also took off a point of damage for low special attack)
Attempt at Rock Tomb: 1% energy
Iron Defense: 3% energy
Fire Blast: 36% damage, 9% energy (critical)
Iron Defense: 3% energy
Leech Seed: 1%+1%+1% damage, 1%+1%+1% recovery
Burn: 1% damage

Pokémon

Darksong
Active

Echo
♀ Cubone with ability LightningRod
Health:42%
Energy:75%
Status:Pleased at how the Fire Blast turned out.
Condition: Seeded.
Chill~Failed~Fire Blast

Superbird
Active

Drillbud
♀ Ferroseed with ability Iron Barbs
Health:32%
Energy:58%
Status: In incredible amounts of pain.
Condition: Attack +2, Screeched defense -1 (1 more round), Iron Defense Defense +6, Rock Tomb Speed -1, Severely burned, up to two more rounds {3% damage/round, speed -1, attacks requiring moderate movement take 2% more energy, attacks requiring vigorous movement inflict 1% damage on the user and do 1% (absolute) less damage, attacks putting any amount of pressure on any part of Drillbud's body do 2% (absolute) extra damage.
Solarbeam~Iron Defense~Iron Defense

Notes:

• Damage sustained by Drillbud hit the damage cap
• Fire Blast was critical.
• Interesting strategy there, Darksong; when I reffed it, it didn't increase accuracy, but increased the chance and severity of the burn. I allowed this strategy because of the huge speed difference between the two.
• Or rather, it would have been, if Rock Tomb had worked. I figured that Echo would not have wanted to suicide.If you paid close attention to my postround texts, you would have figured out that we were battling on the lower level.
• Fire Blast burned Drillbud severely. I gave it a 2/3 chance of a severe burn. I'm also reffing this severe burn more severely because of the heat retaining properties of metal. I'll deviate from the standard here (did I just make a math pun?) and reduce this to moderate in a round or two because of the cold.
• There are a few seeds left on the bridge from the Seed Bomb, that weren't blown away by the wind. Some of them are charred.

Postround:

A breeze started to pick up again. The clouds were moving slowly North. A lone Pidgey was perched on a tower. Drillbud did not appreciate any of these things, with the possible exception of the breeze. These, however, caused Echo to remember part of her chronology.

Echo lived in the North. Spring was slowly turning into Summer, and the snow on the ground had completely melted. That day the Pidgey discovered her, she was singing a tune her mother had taught her.

In golden sun, or silver moon
At dark midnight, or bright noon
From Dewford, to North, true,
I'll always be there for you.

The Pidgey peeked in. "Hi," he said. "Your singing's real nice. You ought to teach me this song."

Echo paused for an awkward moment before saying, "Thanks".

And so a friendship began. Pidgey and Echo played together every day, sometimes playing tag, sometimes swimming, and sometimes just sitting together, without a word. Although they had no romantic feelings towards each other, they were very close.

Summer came and went, as did first frost, and, finally, first snow. Echo saw Pidgey and his family go. Pidgey left, but not without the promise that as soon as Spring arrived, he would come back.

--

Next round:

1. Darksong commands
2. Superbird commands
3. I ref

That was quite interesting; I didn't realize that Rock Tomb required actual rocks on the field.
It looks like we're winning slightly, Echo, but let's keep our thinking level. Let's try something new, now that the Ferroseed is burned. How about you start out with Focus Energy. Then use Double Kick, and finish off with Flamethrower. And like before, if the enemy Protects against either of your attacks, use Swords Dance instead.

Focus Energy ~ Double Kick/Swords Dance ~ Flamethrower/Swords Dance

All right, Drillbud. First, create a small Substitute. That should withstand both Double Kick and Flamethrower, if I've calculated correctly. Then, Seed Bomb, since you don't have to move to use it. Finally, wait until the Substitute is broken on Action 3, and make another. Unless your first one isn't broken, in which case Seed Bomb again.

Small Substitute ~ Seed Bomb ~ Small Substitute/Seed Bomb

Pre-round
Everyone, excluding Drillbud whose iron coating still burned him severely, felt cold. The Royal Unova passed underneath. Some passengers, who had to resort to taking the ferry across the inlet, threw tomatoes at the battlers. Fortunately, as the bridge was located very high above, none hit the mark. Feeling sorry for the commuters, the referee decided to start the round immediately, lest this battle take until sunrise and bring with it another angry round of travelers.

Pokémon

Darksong (OOO)
Active

Echo
♀ Cubone with ability LightningRod
Health:42%
Energy:75%
Status:Preparing herself for the following round.
Condition: Seeded.
Focus Energy ~ Double Kick/Swords Dance ~ Flamethrower/Swords Dance

Superbird(OOO)
Active

Drillbud
♀ Ferroseed with ability Iron Barbs
Health:32%
Energy:58%
Status: In incredible amounts of pain.
Condition: Attack +2, Screeched defense -1 (1 more round), Iron Defense Defense +6, Severely burned, up to two more rounds {3% damage/round,attacks requiring even moderate movement do 2% (absolute) less damage}
Small Substitute ~ Seed Bomb ~ Small Substitute/Seed Bomb

Round 4 begin!
Acting first, Echo focussed and calmed her mind down and stopped think about her past, at least for a while. She felt time slow down and her mind as sharp as a razor. Meanwhile, Drillbud channeled health and energy into a likeness of herself. There new stood two Drillbuds, but one could easily distinguish between the two. It was really quite simple as the real McCoy was completely black, while the doll was shiny chrome.

Echo aimed for the charred doll, quickly gaining momentum. However, she could see that she wouldn't be able to hit the original, as the damn copy wouldn't get out of her way. Sighing and bracing for the pain that would inevitably come of striking a spiky iron ball with three extra layers, Echo saw a thin area in the defense of the doll. She jumped quite high and kicked twice, then retreated when she saw Drillbud behind with the all-too-familiar green ball. She couldn't run fast enough, though, as the ball struck her in the back, causing her to fall and tumble over.

Echo turned around and let out a stream of flames; they hit the doll, disintegrating it. But right after she couldn't let out any more flames, Drillbud made another one of the annoying dolls, shiny and chrome, just like the other one. Again, she thought, Whatever one did would always be destroyed.

Round 4 end!

Damage and Energy Calculations
Action 1
Focus Energy: 2% energy
Substitute: 10% health, 5% energy
Burn: 1% damage
Leech Seed: +/- 1% health.

Action 2
Double Kick: 6% damage on Substitute, critical (Drillbud has very high defense), 4% energy, Damage to Echo due to Iron Barbs: 2%(I calculated this recoil as physically hitting Drillbud once as opposed twice like what Double Kick actually does)
Seed Bomb: 15% damage, 5% energy
Burn: 1% damage
Leech Seed: +/- 1% health

Action 3
Flamethrower: 4% damage on Substitute (would have done 18), 6% energy
Substitute: 10% health, 5% energy
Leech Seed: +/-1% health
Burn: 1% damage

Pokémon

Darksong
Active

Echo
♀ Cubone with ability LightningRod
Health:22%
Energy:63%
Status:Angry at how much energy she wasted
Condition: Seeded.
Focus Energy~Double Kick~Flamethrower

Superbird
Active

Drillbud
♀ Ferroseed with ability Iron Barbs
Health:12%
Energy:43%
Status: Thankful he didn't suffer the flamethrower
Condition: Attack +2, Iron Defense Defense +6, Moderately burned, up to two more rounds {3% damage/round, attacks requiring vigorous movement do 1% (absolute) less damage}, Substitute - 10%
Substitute 10~Seed Bomb~Substitute 10

Notes:

• Fire Blast was critical.
• Is this how Substitute would be reffed? (Lack of reffing experience, sorry XD)
• There are a few seeds left on the bridge from the Seed Bomb, that weren't blown away by the wind. Some of them are charred.
• Sorry for the late reffing - I screwed up once and had to re-write it.

Postround:
Even though the burn had become less severe, Drillbud was still in agony. The iron pinecone couldn't move, yet couldn't stay still (Am I the only person that has that feeling when in pain?). She could, therefore, only roll around on the road, while Superbird looked in disbelief (Am I the only one who rolls around when I have a really bad stomachache?).

Darksong couldn't help but laugh at the scene, and Echo allowed herself a smile, too. She walked over to the pinecone and tapped her with the bone. A metallic F-sharp resonated. She sighed and sat on the curb while the referee was busy with his calculations. She allowed her mind to drift out of focus and into her past.

That winter was the longest winter she had ever been through. It was harsh, it snowed so much that she had to clear the snow in front of her cave entrance so that she could keep a fire going in it, she went hungry most of the time. Through this, she clung onto the promise that Pidgey had made her.

It was July by the time the last patches of snow cleared. It seemed like it would be a nice Summer, at least, until Pidgeot came.

Towering outside her cave, he asked, "Have you seen Pidgey anywhere?"

At that moment, Echo knew something was wrong. "No," she said. "Why? Is she lost?"

Pidgeot nodded gravely. "We'll keep you informed of any developments," he said, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Echo yelled. Pidgeot turned back. "Could I come with you?"

Pidgeot thought for a moment, then said, "I don't see why not. After all, you are his best friend. Here. Climb onto my back."

The following days, Echo couldn't sleep, with worry. She found out that a late snowstorm had separated Pidgey from the rest of the group.

They scoured all around the land, from the Orange Archipelago to Lake Acuity. They found no sign of the Pidgey.

--

Next round:

1. Superbird commands
2. Darksong commands
3. I ref

All right, Drillbud. There's a reason I've never counseled you against suicide, and it's this. Suicide bomber strategy!...except if the Cubone protects successfully then save your Explosion until it stops and Chill instead. Otherwise, get as close as possible and blast the **** out of that Cubone, with your Substitute covering you. Oh, and if it uses Substitute, then Seed Bomb the same action to get rid of it, then save Explosion for the next action.

Explosion/Seed Bomb/Chill x3

Let's see if you can just endure this. Start with a Rain Dance -- maybe it will mimic the effects of Damp, at the cost of halving the damage of Flamethrower. If your enemy is still there, just get it (or the Substitute first) with Double Kick and then Brick Break.

Rain Dance ~ Double Kick ~ Brick Break