Meursault vs. Keldeo

Meursault vs. Keldeo: Round 4


The rulebook sits heavy in my lap. It’s a used copy, an ugly yellowed thing – the sides are all frayed, and some of the pages seem dangerously close to coming loose as I leaf through them. A previous owner’s illegible scribbles litter the margins.

“So, about these rules... They’re more like guidelines than actual rules, right?”

I look expectantly at the two senior referees. Keldeo doesn’t seem to be listening; she’s busy mouthing the words to “Egg Bomb”, but with the chorus replaced with “You’re my Stored Power”. River nods in response.

“They’re not immutable”, says Meursault, raising an eyebrow. “But don’t improvise too much before you’re approved.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” I put on a big grin. “Anyway, if you’re both done with your commands, I think it’s about time…”


Audience Status:
Tension in the air. This round or the next, someone’s getting knocked out. But who will it be?

Arena Status:
Has had a tunnel dug through it; the tunnel is shaped almost like a U-bend, with both exits right next to each other.


A few bright spots still dance around the periphery of Ringi’s vision, but she feels mostly recovered from last round’s ordeal. No more of this intangible mental nonsense – it’s time to bring out the fireworks!

She takes a deep breath, aims carefully, then spits out a massive gout of white-hot fire towards River. The fireball arcs across the arena like a comet, air shimmering with heat in its wake. River tries to shield herself with her arms, but to little avail – the blast hits her head-on and explodes into the shape of a giant 大, engulfing her in searing flames and scorching the grass under her feet.

The fire dies out quickly, leaving billows of black smoke and an odor of singed hair hanging about River. She steps away from the burning patch on the ground and pats out the last embers still clinging to her, but the pain seared into her skin lingers. A few more blasts like that and she’ll be done for… The next attack has got to count.

With a few complicated gestures, she conjures up a small sphere of psychic energy. It hovers before her, glowing a vibrant purple. All it needs is a bit of charge. She draws on every ounce of residual energy she can find within her, pouring all of her willpower and even the last traces of electricity still coursing through her body into the sphere; in response, the sphere grows larger and denser and hums with power. By the time she’s satisfied that she can feed it no more, it has grown into a veritable cannonball. With a hand wave, she sends it barreling towards Ringi.

The blast strikes Ringi in the chest, exploding into a shower of sizzling violet sparks and throwing her away. Her back slams painfully into the ground. With a groan, she hoists herself up on her feet. Her entire body hurts, but at least the impact seems to have knocked the last hallucinations out of her; her eyesight is back to normal and the dizziness is gone. Now nothing will distract her from her next move – it’s time to bring out the fireworks!

She takes a deep breath, aims carefully, then spits out a massive gout of white-hot fire towards River. The fireball arcs across the arena like a comet, air shimmering with heat in its w – hang on.

“Wait, wait. This isn’t right.” I scratch my head in confusion.

“Well, it’s too late now”, says Meursault.

“No, no, I mean, we did this already!”

Keldeo gives me a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“… Nothing. It’s nothing”, I sigh. “Let’s just get this over with.”

The fireball arcs across the arena like a comet, air shimmering with heat in its wake. This time River barely has time to react before the Fire Blast strikes her right in the face, exploding into another 大. Sparks of fire burn her eyes and, for once, she loses her usual composure and screams in pain – she throws herself out of the blaze and rolls around in the dirt, doing her best to extinguish the flames. When the worst is over, she staggers to her feet, body trembling with pain.

She’s on the verge of unconsciousness now. Her heart pounds, her ears ring, her eyes dim – in all likelihood, she won’t last the round. But she can at least go out in style. With shaking hands she summons another sphere of energy, channels her remaining strength into it, and pushes it away. Fuelled by the last of River’s willpower, the sphere jets towards Ringi, leaving purple sparks in a trail behind it. Ringi manages to cover her face just before the blast strikes her in the head; it shatters into a cloud of psychic particles and almost knocks her over again, but this time she’s able to brace herself against the ground and is only pushed back a little.

She regains her balance quickly. Throbbing bruises have formed all over her body, but she’s got some fight left in her, enough to finish this. She inhales deeply, gathers as much fire in her throat as she can muster, and breathes out one last spout of white flames; the fireball rockets straight into River and detonates loudly, setting her body ablaze and scorching the shape of a 大 into the ground. She shrieks with pain and falls face-first into the burning grass.

Seconds pass, but River doesn’t get up. She lies motionless in the center of the smoldering 大 seared into the turf beneath her. Finally, after a long and uneasy silence, I make the announcement.

“It’s a KO! River is out!”

The audience erupts into wild cheering.


Audience Status:
Screaming their approval. That was a spectacular round! Fire Blast sure is a flashy move. Fun fact: many people believe that 大 is the character for fire. In fact, it is the character for “big”! The festival that inspired Fire Blast is called 大文字, which literally means “big character”. (It can also mean “capital letter”, fittingly.) Yet another curious example of how Pokémon and their abilities seem to be affected by human culture.

Arena Status:
Distraught. Has had a tunnel dug through it, shaped like a U-bend. Three 大 have been scorched into the grass near each other. The ashen symbols are eerily beautiful.

Calculations:

Other Notes:

• Sorry about the late reffing! I’ve had tons of paperwork to sort out this week and it’s just been a mess.
• If you want to end this battle in a tie, I think now would be a good time to call it quits.
• If you want to keep going, Keldeo sends out and commands first next round!

I'm not sure whether Meursault would like to end it here or not, but I have a few (unofficial, as always) comments on the round:

-Ringi's Blaze should have been activated by River's last Stored Power, and its activation should also be listed somewhere in her end-of-round status. However, Fire Blast 3's is the same as Fire Blast 1's.
-Fire Blast 2 should have done 17% damage if you're going solely by the DEG, as extra damage is rounded down. (Is the 18% damage because you calculated the critical hit as bypassing defense boosts, as it does in the game? The DEG says only that critical hits provide the damage boost, with no alteration to the actual damage of the attack, but I think that's a good call.)
-I would say that the second Fire Blast was a crit somewhere in the Notes section, or in the end-of-round stats (i.e. Fire Blast ~ Fire Blast (crit) ~ Fire Blast) because otherwise the trainers wouldn't know unless they looked in the Calculations section, which is hidden. I think this is mostly a matter of ref preference, though.
-Otherwise, your numbers and rolls look good, and your prose is great as well. You did a good job handling the repetitive round and Stored Power's variable energy cost.

If we're going to keep going, I'll use Kiel! Which is a royally bad idea, but he does need the experience.

Oh, you're completely right about Blaze! I forgot that. Drat! Fortunately it doesn't change anything, but that could have been a big deal. I'll fix it now.

As for the critical hit, that's because I don't round down until the very end of all calculations. A regular Fire Blast lands at 12.75% damage, and the critical hit adds 5.5% damage, which adds up to 18.25%. Round down and you get 18%. I'll wait and see what Meursault says, then I might change it.

of course we're continuing, I ain't through with you yet! D< keldo, get out there and march your kn-kn-

sharp thing

to its fiery doom.

Music Dragon said:

As for the critical hit, that's because I don't round down until the very end of all calculations. A regular Fire Blast lands at 12.75% damage, and the critical hit adds 5.5% damage, which adds up to 18.25%. Round down and you get 18%. I'll wait and see what Meursault says, then I might change it.

Click to expand...

that's sound.

Excellent! Waiting on your commands, Keldeo.

Fair enough! Alright, Kiel cutest chessmon, start with a Sucker Punch if Ringi's preparing a damaging move or a Rain Dance if she isn't. Try to outwait her if she's not going to do something damaging, but use a delayed Payback on the first action if she Taunts you. Then use Knock Off, and finish with Foul Play. If she has clones or is unhittable, bar Substitute, use Rain Dance. If it's already rainy and she's either unhittable at any time or itemless on the second action, boost up with a Hone Claws on the second action or a Swords Dance on the third. If you're Taunted and this interferes with your commands, or you otherwise can't use whatever move for whatever reason, default to your damaging option for that action.

Sucker Punch / Payback (wait) / Rain Dance ~ Foul Play / Rain Dance / Hone Claws ~ Knock Off / Rain Dance / Swords Dance

Just to be clear, Keldeo, you do want Knock Off on the second action and not the third, yes?

okay. okay we're fighting a bunch of knives now. keep cool. keep cool! i'm cool. yeah. definitely. gotta keep a calm, level kill it with fire kill it kill it

head.

Ringi, open up with a Will-o-Wisp. The rain is going to be a little unpleasant, but we just want to punch the thing anyway I think. Uh, b-be careful when you're doing that, though. Don't hurt yourself now dear! Um, wrestle him to the ground with a Submission, and then, since we're actually pretty good on energy, Rest.

Will-o-Wisp ~ Submission ~ Rest

Music Dragon said:

Just to be clear, Keldeo, you do want Knock Off on the second action and not the third, yes?

Click to expand...

Yes, that's what I meant.

Meursault vs. Keldeo: Round 5


Solemnly, Keldeo withdraws River into her Pokéball. The audience waits with bated breath as she selects her next sendout. After some deliberation, she throws the eighth ball on her belt; it opens to reveal… Kiel, the Pawniard! This one looks sharp! Haha! Knife to meet you, Kiel! Let’s hope this battle takes a turn for the stabby! Ah, that last one’s not a pun. But still it’s good! Ha! Meursault, why are you not laughing?


Audience Status:
They seem pretty excited. I think sending out a Pawniard was a good call; it’s a very menacing-looking species. Comes with the promise of a good show, you know?

Arena Status:
Has had a tunnel dug through it, shaped like a U-bend. Three 大 have been scorched into the grass near each other.


Kiel inspects his surroundings. It’s always tough being sent into a battle in medias res, but fortunately there’s not much to take in. His opponent, a badly bruised Chimchar, is staring him down from the other side of the arena. She looks tough, despite the wounds. Best not to underestimate her.

His first order is to bring some rain. Luckily, dancing happens to be a specialty of his. He takes a few hesitant steps forward, trying to get a feel for the rhythm, then segues into dance. His movements are slow at first, but as he picks up speed they become sinuous and fluid, and his feet soon stamp out a complicated beat. As if on cue, a mass of thick, dark clouds roll in over the arena; before long, rain is pouring down on the stadium and the people in it, muddying the turf and flushing water into the tunnel.

With her opponent distracted, Ringi sees a perfect opportunity to attack. She cups her hands and breathes a tiny stream of ghastly blue fire into them, gathering it in a single glowing flame. The fire flutters and hisses with each raindrop that strikes it, as if it had a life of its own. Carefully, she molds it into an orb; soon she has a fully formed will-o-wisp dancing and shivering in her grasp, a thing of beauty and mischief. She releases it, and it instantly flies away into the rain, seeking its victim.

The ghost fire weaves its way through the storm, heading towards Kiel. He doesn’t seem to notice it approaching, engrossed in his dance as he is, until it is almost upon him, and by then it is too late. Before he can step out of the way, the will-o-wisp connects with his left-hand blade and seeps into it. A horrible burning sensation shoots through his arm and he screams in pain; the metal in his hand glows blue, then catches on fire, and he watches in horror as the blade melts into a droopy lump. When it finally stops burning, he is left with a deformed chunk of blunt metal for a hand and a stabbing pain in his arm. He clutches his wounded blade and mutters under his breath. Son of a bitch, he thinks. Where’d she go?

Someone taps him on the shoulder.

He turns around and comes face to face with Ringi. She grabs him by the neck and lifts him up, dangling him in the air, but he looks her in the eye and manages a nervous smile.

“Why are you smiling?” says Ringi.

“Because I know something you don’t!” says Kiel.

“And what’s that?”

“I am not left-hand –“

She punches him in the gut, winding him before he can finish his sentence. In an instant she swings around him and grabs him in a chokehold, crushing his throat with her elbow. Kiel flails and struggles, swinging his arms around wildly, but they don’t reach very far back; he only manages to scratch her face lightly. He catches sight of something hanging on her right hip: a discreet item pouch attached to a light belt, not unlike his own. He bends his arm back as far as he can and makes a clumsy swing at the pouch. The blade cleanly severs it from its belt and cuts a deep gash in Ringi’s side; in response, Ringi tightens the grip on Kiel’s throat. Desperately, he digs his blades into her forearm, but even then she refuses to let go; her submission hold is completely unyielding.

“You know –” she says, her voiced strained with exertion “ – I’m actually – not that great at grappling –“

Kiel gargles something incoherent in response.

“ – if you trip me up now – I’ll probably lose my grip… ”

Thinking fast, Kiel reaches back with his leg and awkwardly hooks it around Ringi’s. Then he jerks his body to the side and lets himself fall, pulling Ringi with him and forcing her to finally let go. He drops to the ground with a thud, landing on his stomach, with Ringi ending up on top of him. Before he can get up, she grabs his right arm and pins it down, pressing him into the dirt. He tries to wriggle out of her hold, but finds to his alarm that his torso is stuck too: his stomach blades have lodged themselves in the turf! Well, shit. She tricked me.

Ringi grabs Kiel’s head by the blade – it cuts deep into her palm, but she ignores it – and slams his face into the ground repeatedly, each blow punctuated by excited gasps from the audience. After about a dozen pounds, she finally lets go and backs off, satisfied with the face-shaped imprint left in the dirt.

Gingerly, Kiel heaves himself up. A few fractures have formed on his metallic hide and his face is soiled with mud. Can’t wait to bait her into attacking me again, he thinks. Well, orders are orders. He looks around anxiously, and spots Ringi standing a few feet behind him; curiously, her eyes are closed and she seems to be… sleeping. But Kiel isn’t about to get fooled again.

“Hey you”, he shouts. His voice comes out sounding a lot more cracked than he was expecting. “Why don’t you get back here and, uh… beat me up again? Huh?”

Ringi doesn’t move. On closer inspection, she seems enveloped by some sort of aura; it’s barely visible in the rain, but a shimmering green light ripples across her fur.

“H-hey! I’m talking to you!” Cautiously, Kiel approaches her and prods her with his good hand. No response. He turns to Keldeo and shrugs. “It’s no use, boss! W… what do I do?”

Keldeo makes punching motions in the air.

“Oh! Right! Right.” He raises his blade and swings at Ringi, slashing her across the face. The impact knocks her over like a ragdoll, but even then there is no reaction; her motionless body just flops to the ground. Unsure of what to do next, Kiel retreats, clutching his damaged arm and awaiting next round’s commands…


Audience Status:
As it turns out, most people brought umbrellas and raincoats! I guess they’re seasoned enough to know what to expect from battles like these. The few who didn’t bring anything are desperately trying to hide under banners, foam fingers and jackets.

Arena Status:
Rain is pouring down (6 more actions). Water is slowly collecting in the tunnel. Three 大 have been scorched into the grass near each other. An item pouch containing a Lucky Egg lies on the ground.

Calculations:

Other Notes:

• Ringi and Kiel are almost evenly matched in speed. In a clutch, Ringi will outspeed.
• To pin Kiel to the ground, Ringi used a standard aikido technique known as the ikkyo pin. This isn’t actually a submission hold (and therefore is never seen in MMA), but it does happen to be a very useful pin against opponents with bladed weapons. As for the face-slamming, I reserve judgment on that one. There are, after all, some pretty huge differences between ASB and MMA.
• The bonus damage on Knock Off did not increase its energy cost, since it’s a one-time effect.
• Rest was used when Ringi had 16% health remaining, so it will restore 84% health over three actions.
• Apparently, direct healing moves have recently had their energy cost increased. But I have a policy of not enacting such changes mid-battle, so I’m sticking with the old cost for now.
• Foul Play relies on goading the target into attacking first, but Ringi was asleep, so the move did not benefit from Ringi’s attack boost.
• Meursault commands first next round!

an excellent reffing, as usual. not changing rules mid-battle is a sound policy, but I would caution against sticking too rigidly to that. I'd personally go by updated rules if they wouldn't have affected earlier reffings, and didn't happen between a relevant command being issued and being reffed (in this case, the direct healing cost was updated between my commanding rest and you reffing it - so you made the right call).

if we're going by the database numbers, knock off's energy cost is wrong. as far as i'm aware, the extra effect energy is taken into account in the cost listed there, so it should have simply cost 2%. looking back at earlier reffings, you did the same thing for iron tail and had it cost 1% extra. your gunk shot number, however, ended up equaling the one listed in the database anyway, so something's definitely screwy there. buuuut that's a pretty minor difference, and looks like a mistake i made when i got back to reffing post-database, so i wouldn't sweat it too much.

consider yourself approved, go yell at zhorken and demand your novice badge.

ringi, let's chill through the rest and then brick break when you wake up. if he's protecting when you wake up, keep chilling. and uh, t-try not to touch the blades this time. o~o

Chill ~ Chill ~ Brick Break/Chill

Congratulations, MD! Very well-deserved.

In any case, Kiel, this situation doesn't look too grate. It sort of works? I guess? Get close to her, since she's sleeping and won't run away, and disrupt the hell out of her Chills with Metal Sound, or Snarl if your blade's burnedness would hamper Metal Sound in any way. If she hasn't energy-fainted yet on the last action, give her a Taunt; if she's down, Swords Dance, I guess? edit: wait, Chills are Snatchable, so Snatch them instead of trying to disrupt them! Wahahaha! Incidentally, MD, how much would Ringi recover from the Chill if Kiel used Metal Sound or Snarl?

Snatch ~ Snatch ~ Taunt / Swords Dance

Thanks, you two! I couldn't have made it without you. Now get back in the ring and fight each other.

Meursault said:

if we're going by the database numbers, knock off's energy cost is wrong. as far as i'm aware, the extra effect energy is taken into account in the cost listed there, so it should have simply cost 2%. looking back at earlier reffings, you did the same thing for iron tail and had it cost 1% extra. your gunk shot number, however, ended up equaling the one listed in the database anyway, so something's definitely screwy there. buuuut that's a pretty minor difference, and looks like a mistake i made when i got back to reffing post-database, so i wouldn't sweat it too much.

Click to expand...

I do all my calculations manually. I suspect the Database and the Damage and Energy Guide contradict each other, then. Here's what I get:

Iron Tail's base power is 100, so the base cost is (100+20)/20 = 6%. The secondary effect then adds another point, totalling 7%.

Knock Off's base power is 65, so the base cost is 65/20 = 3.25%. It has a secondary effect, which adds one point; but it also gets stab, which removes one point. This lands you at 4%.

If I were to guess, I'd say that the Database lists a lower Iron Tail cost because it doesn't add extra energy to a move with 100 base power, whereas the Guide does. Similarly, I think the Database counts Knock Off as having base damage 6% and thus base cost 3%, as opposed to having base power 65. Let me know if you think any of that's wrong.

Keldeo said:

Incidentally, MD, how much would Ringi recover from the Chill if Kiel used Metal Sound or Snarl?

Click to expand...

Hmm! Chill restores 10% by default. For a typical damaging move I'd shave off one or two points, so I guess it would restore 8%. If you'd used a move specifically designed to interrupt, like Astonish or Roar, it would restore 5%. That being said, Ringi is also asleep, which complicates matters a bit. First things first: I need to determine how to deal with the Rest Chills. I'll get back to you after I get that sorted out.

Music Dragon said:

Thanks, you two! I couldn't have made it without you. Now get back in the ring and fight each other.


I do all my calculations manually. I suspect the Database and the Damage and Energy Guide contradict each other, then. Here's what I get:

Iron Tail's base power is 100, so the base cost is (100+20)/20 = 6%. The secondary effect then adds another point, totalling 7%.

Knock Off's base power is 65, so the base cost is 65/20 = 3.25%. It has a secondary effect, which adds one point; but it also gets stab, which removes one point. This lands you at 4%.

If I were to guess, I'd say that the Database lists a lower Iron Tail cost because it doesn't add extra energy to a move with 100 base power, whereas the Guide does. Similarly, I think the Database counts Knock Off as having base damage 6% and thus base cost 3%, as opposed to having base power 65. Let me know if you think any of that's wrong..

Click to expand...

Duly noted! This is a minor enough difference to let by as a ref quirk, I just wanted to confirm it wasn't a mistake.

If I may, Iron Tail's energy cost might have been lowered due to its poor accuracy.

Lord of the Fireflies said:

If I may, Iron Tail's energy cost might have been lowered due to its poor accuracy.

Click to expand...

Nah, it's just a mistake in the database for attacks with exactly 100 BP. I knew I was forgetting something when I was fixing energy costs...

Meursault vs. Keldeo: Round 6


I stare in awe at the little plastic card resting in my palms. Finally, after all these years, the ref license is mine! I’ve been approved! Today, my new life as a referee begins! I sniff the card gently, letting the sweet aroma of plastic lamination waft into my nostrils, and sigh dreamily. It smells just like I dreamt it would.

“… which you’ll get back at Headquarters”, Meursault continues. “There’s some paperwork to fill out, but your license should be ready t – why are you smelling your credit card?”

I furrow my brow and put the card back into my wallet.

“I was having a moment.”

“Right… well, let’s move on, shall we?”

“Yes, yes…” I wave a hand dismissively. “Round five, begin!”

“Six.”

“Six! Whatever. Begin!”

In my mind, I am already far away, nestled in bed with my referee license, caressing its smooth, shiny surface…


Audience Status:
Huddled together under their umbrellas.

Arena Status:
Rain is pouring down (6 more actions). Water is slowly collecting in the tunnel. Three 大 have been scorched into the grass near each other. An item pouch containing a Lucky Egg lies on the ground.


Kiel watches his slumbering opponent with suspicion. This could be another ruse, but she really does seem to be genuinely asleep. He could go on the offensive now – Ringi’s left herself wide open to attack, after all. But last round’s beating is still fresh in his mind, and they do say not to wake the beast that sleeps. In any case, his trainer seems to have a different plan, and he can see where it’s going.

He lets a veil of translucent Dark materialize around him, barely visible in the rain. A long, snakelike tendril sprouts from it and latches on to Ringi, its murky black color trickling like ink into her green healing aura. It pulsates morbidly, sapping energy from its victim and pumping it into Kiel. A sense of calm washes over him, soothing his tensed muscles; Ringi, on the other hand, shudders in her sleep.

Moments later, the tendril fades away, leaving behind an unsightly tear in Ringi’s aura. Kiel waits, half expecting her to wake up and beat him into the dust again, but she doesn’t seem to be moving. Encouraged, he summons up another tentacle of Dark – it lashes towards Ringi and attaches itself to her, leeching more energy from her motionless body.

After a few seconds, Kiel becomes aware that something has changed: he can no longer feel any energy being fed into him. He dispels the Dark with a hand wave and cautiously steps toward Ringi. On closer inspection, her healing aura seems to be gone. Very carefully, he prods her with a blade. No reaction.

“D- did I do it?” He looks around anxiously. “Is she…?”

“Eh.” I shrug. “Good enough for me. It’s a KO! Ringi is out!”


Audience Status:
That was probably the least spectacular KO possible, and what with the rain pouring down on them, people are clearly not in a good mood right now. Maybe the next sendout will change that?

Arena Status:
Rain is pouring down (4 more actions). Water is slowly collecting in the tunnel. Three 大 have been scorched into the grass near each other. An item pouch containing a Lucky Egg lies on the ground.

Calculations:

Other Notes:

• Sorry about this reffing! I would have worked more on it and finished it faster, but I've got a lot going on right now.
• Only two actions passed this round.
• I’d prefer not to allow Chilling while Resting, but I’ll go with the official ruling. Not that it would have mattered much here.
• Meursault sends out, then Keldeo commands. Choose wisely.

Let's go, Berlin! I don't know enough German to make the appropriate jokes here, but hopefully Keldeo or MD will!

Unfortunately, I don't know any German either, but let's see what we can do here anyway, Kiel. To defeat Larvitar, you must become Larvitar, right? So start with a Role Play, but if he protects or detects use Iron Defense. On the second and third actions: If you have not successfully used Role Play and you can use and hit with it, use it. If you have successfully used Role Play, use Iron Head. If you can't use or hit with whatever move, use Iron Defense until you can. If you're Tormented, alternate Iron Head and Iron Defense. If you're Taunted, just spam Iron Head.

Iron Head / Iron Defense / Role Play x3

So they want to steal your Guts, eh? Who even cares, not me certainly, they can have your cockiness for all I care. Power-up with some Punches, and then bring down the house with an Earthquake.

Power-Up Punch ~ Power-Up Punch ~ Earthquake