RespectTheBlade vs Dar

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Format: 3v3 single
Style: Set
DQ: 10 days
Damage Cap: 35%
Banned Moves: OHKOs, Moves requiring a large body of water.
Arena Description: Arena Ferox - A large colosseum with ample room for even the largest of pokemon. The arena is circular, and is surrounded on all sides by walls of cheering Feroxi.

Additional Rules: To spice things up, pokemon in this battle can be paired up, similar to the support system in Fire Emblem Awakening. The pokemon currently on the field is the active pokemon, and at the cost of forgoing a round of actions the active pokemon can be paired with one of the remaining secondary pokemon. Secondary pokemon do not battle, do not lose energy, cannot be targeted, and instead have a 40% chance to perform a support action that round.

If the support pokemon acts during a round, there is a 25% chance that the pokemon will perform a guard action, halving the damage that the active pokemon takes over the course of the round. In return, the support pokemon will take 5% typeless damage.

The remaining 75% of the time, the support pokemon will perform an attack action, which replaces the last commanded action its trainer gives that round. The attack acts similar to assist, and is a random damage-dealing or status-inflicting move from the support pokemon's movepool.

If the active pokemon is knocked out, then the support pokemon becomes the new active pokemon. Additionally, although the support pokemon cannot be targeted, moves that encompass a wide area of affect have a 50% chance to inflict 5% typeless damage to a support pokemon.

Support pokemon cannot be switched out or unpaired once they have been sent out.

Click to expand...

Addendum on Experience: Like in Fire Emblem Awakening, if a support pokémon gets a KO by means of its support action, the active pokémon will get the credit for that KO.

RespectTheBlade's active squad
Thuban - Dragonair (♂) <Shed Skin> @ (EXP: •••••)
Rastaban - Trapinch (♀) <Arena Trap> (EXP: •••)
Orion - Kirlia (♂) <Synchronize> @ (EXP: ••••)
Vega - Elgyem (♂) <Analytic> (EXP: •)
Polaris - Chinchou (♂) <Volt Absorb>
Alsafi - Bagon (♂) <Rock Head>
Altair - Fletchling (♀) <Gale Wings>
Deneb - Amaura (♀) <Refrigerate>
Hatsya - Honedge (♀) <No Guard>
Sol - Larvesta (♀) <Flame Body>

Dar's active squad
Katrina - Absol (♀) <Pressure>
Dundee - Krokorok (♂) <Moxie> (EXP: •••)
Mr. Cuddles - Bachuru (♂) <Compound Eyes> @
Marina - Horsea (♀) <Sniper>
Cypress - Phantump (♀) <Harvest> @
Fine and Dandy - Furfrou (♂) <Fur Coat>
Argentavis - Aerodactyl (♂) <Rock Head>
Ajatar - Ekans (♀) <Shed Skin>
Lisa - Ponyta (♀) <Flash Fire>
Envy - Weedle (♂) <Shield Dust> @

To start the battle...
~RespectTheBlade sends out an active pokémon
~Dar sends out an active pokémon and issues commands
~RespectTheBlade issues commands
~Round One, Begin!

Time to get myself a Gallade. It's only taken, what, four years?

Let's go, Orion.

Okay, I'll start with Argentavis.

Let's start out simple. Use a Fly on the first two turns, and follow up with a Reflect.

Fly (two turns) ~ Reflect

Hm. Might as well do this to see how well it works out.

Pair up Orion with Hatsya

The stadium was filled to capacity. Flavia sat back and counted all the money, while Basilio watched intently as two seemingly normal people walked out onto opposite sides of Arena Ferox. Well, their dress was a bit strange and their outfits don’t really conform with any of the classes anyone in the crowd was familiar with (one of them had a sword kind of like a Myrmidon, but seemed to be completely lacking the stance or agility necessary for the role), but at least they were humans and not Risen, right?

Curiosity increased as the two trainers each took a red-and-white sphere from their belts, and deftly threw that sphere into the arena. The poké balls bursted open in a flash of light, and from them emerged two monsters. The first was a little less than a meter tall, that resembled a small human girl in a white dress with greenish skin and piercing red eyes. The Fighters, Barbarians, and Mercenaries in the crowd laughed, wondering how the creature could possibly survive a fight when it looked weaker than a low-level Mage, and wasn’t even carrying a tome to boot. This reaction intensified as a large, gray, pterodactyl-like creature appeared from the other side of the arena, startling a couple of onlookers so much that it had to dodge a couple of badly-aimed hand axes as soon as it came into being.

But the two pokémon immediately focused on each other, ready and waiting for their commands and for the battle to begin.


The bang of a huge gong reverberated around the arena, to signal the beginning of round one, and Argentavis immediately flew into action. Somewhat literally - he rocketed into the sky, escaping from the view of some of the vision-impaired spectators. The action took a little while, and in the meantime, the trainer who was carrying a sword released a second pokémon - a literal sword, this time, that seemed eerily sentient and carried an evil smile. RespectTheBlade talked to the Honedge and his Kirlia, and explained to them both how the rest of the battle was going to work for them.

In the meantime, Argentavis came down, a bit too soon. Orion’s trainer urgently cut off his explanation upon seeing the descending pterodactyl pokémon, but it was too late - the Aerodactyl swooped down and struck the Kirlia directly. Orion was sent flying backwards, landing on the ground only a few meters shy of the coliseum’s edge, and immediately began to gracefully run back, showing the onlookers that he at least had spirit. He would be prepared for the next attack, he resolved.

In the meantime, Argentavis gave a loud roar of triumph, and at the same time began to briefly glow in a faint purplish aura, which appeared to the Generals in the crowd similar to that which they gained when they used their Pavise skill. As he and Orion stared each other down, it became evident that this was all that was going to happen this round.


Arena Notes
~Dar’s side of the field is protected by a Reflect barrier for four more actions.

Referee Notes
~Fly was a critical hit. We must remember that the presence of the Random Number God is equally strong in Ferox as it is in Asber.
~Short first round is short.
~RespectTheBlade commands first next round.

Lead off with Thunder Wave, and then use Calm Mind, followed by Thunderbolt. If he uses Taunt, use Charge Beam twice, and end with Thunderbolt.

Thunder Wave/Charge Beam ~ Calm Mind/Charge Beam ~ Thunderbolt

Alright, start off with a Protect to block that Thunder Wave, then use a double Iron Tail to knock down his health as much as possible.

Protect ~ Iron Tail x2

The gong rang out to signal the start of round two, and Orion wasted no time in generating a small wave of static electricity in his hands and thrusting it towards his flying opponent, as Hatsya patiently watched and waited for the right time to act. Argentavis was prepared for the attack, and as the Kirlia launched the attack, he roared again and a mysterious translucent greenish barrier appeared in front of him. The Thunder Wave dissipated harmlessly against the shield, but that didn’t stop the audience from wondering how Orion could cast Thunder without a Thunder tome in hand. Everyone knew you needed a tome for magic to work, right?

Unconcerned with the ripple of confusion that spread through the crowd, Argentavis did his best to keep his momentum. As soon as his opponent’s attack disappeared, he let down the shield he’d made, and let himself fall through the air. As he approached the ground, he spread his wings wide, and began to fly towards Orion. The skin on his tail began to morph into what looked like steel, and as the Aerodactyl flew past Orion, he whipped his tail towards the Emotion pokémon.

But Orion showed no fear as his opponent approached; rather, he closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply, concentrating and calming his mind. He wasn’t going to get anywhere in this battle with a hot temper, after all. And it proved to be the right move - Argentavis’s tail missed his head by about an inch, and he barely noticed. Had Orion tried to dodge, he might have been hit.

Argentavis let out a shriek of annoyance, and executed a brilliant half-cuban, his tail once again covering itself with a metallic sheen. He was a bit lower this time, taking less of a chance to miss. But this time, Orion was completely ready for the attack. His eyes snapped open as the Aerodactyl rushed towards him, and in a single graceful motion, sidestepped the pterodactyl pokémon completely. Focused and calm, Orion grinned smugly as his hands once again began to generate electricity. This time, the beam of electricity was much larger, and resembled the Arcthunder spell as it flew towards Argentavis. The Aerodactyl, caught from behind with no time to execute an evasive maneuver, was struck directly by the attack. Electricity coursed through his body, and immediately he fell almost to the ground, only barely catching himself before impact. But it became clear that all was not well as he came to land on the ground in front of his trainer, his movements less acrobatic than before. It seemed like the pterodactyl pokémon was having trouble controlling his muscles, which were still crackling with electricity. With difficulty, Argentavis turned around and glared at his opponent, ready to take revenge as soon as possible.


Referee Notes
~Both Iron Tails missed, and Thunderbolt hit the paralysis. Someone’s been building shrines, it seems.
~Argentavis’s paralysis will fade one level per round - each level will decrease the speed drop slightly, and lower the chance of full paralysis by 5%.
~Dar commands first next round.

...Well, that could have gone better. I guess take full advantage of your paralysis, and use a Facade. If you were paralyzed while doing that, use it again, but otherwise take out your Frustrations on it. After you've gotten all that out, use Confide. Kirlia's special attacks are more dangerous than his physical ones.

Facade ~ Facade/Frustration ~ Confide

oops should have paid attention to this two days ago

DQ Warning for RespectTheBlade. I'll give you 48 hours.

Also, why did Hatsya take damage? And why didn't Orion lose energy?

RespectTheBlade said:

Also, why did Hatsya take damage? And why didn't Orion lose energy?

Click to expand...

Because line breaks.
(fixed it. I confused the second percentage in my word processor for Orion's energy, when it was really Hatsya's health)

Orion’s opponent was down, and that put him in a good position. Still wanting to get back at the Pterodactyl pokémon for what he had done the first round, he got ready to launch another Thunderbolt, until his trainer told him to use Reflect instead. Not really strapped for time, Orion let out a long sigh, and then nimbly balanced on one leg as he waved his hands in a symmetrical motion. A bluish aura began to envelop him, as one had his opponent a few rounds ago, and the audience began to rumble in confusion about a mage using the Pavise skill. It shouldn’t be possible, they were saying, it’s not even an armored fighter, much less a promoted unit!

Maybe Orion shouldn’t have spent so much time putting up that barrier, because in that time Argentavis managed to fling himself into the air again and glide towards his opponent. Just as Orion had finished his action, Argentavis’s head slammed into his stomach, knocking him down and leaving the Aerodactyl on top of him. They exchanged a momentary glance - Orion’s eyes showed surprise, while Argentavis’s were filled with rage and determination. He would not be held back by this paralysis, and he would win this battle against this smug opponent. With those thoughts of determination fueling him, the Aerodactyl began to pummel his target with his wings and tail for a few seconds before the Kirlia exhibited a somewhat impressive show of muscle power and threw him off before Hatsya had a chance to intervene.

Now would be a great time for a follow-up attack, definitely, but like last action, maybe Orion was being too hotheaded. Instead of attacking his downed opponent, the poor Aerodactyl struggling to get up and attack again, Orion closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his psyche and cooling his head a little bit. Now wasn’t the time to be prideful, he remembered, it was the time to be intelligent. If he acted rashly he could throw this lead he’d gotten out the window.

But he also knew that he needed to maintain that lead, and so as he opened his eyes, Orion’s fists began to crackle with familiar electricity, and after a short bit of charging he released another Thoron, which, just like the last one, struck the Aerodactyl squarely. But, however frustrated he might be, or perhaps because he was so frustrated, Argentavis refused to give up. With a little difficulty, he pushed himself back up from the ground, and came close to Orion, leaning in and beginning to say something. The audience got quieter as they tried to hear the Aerodactyl tell his secret about how he had been the oldest Aerodactyl in his family yet he couldn’t fly when he first left the nest and was later humiliated when his younger siblings soared on their first tries, but he spoke softly enough that they couldn’t make out a word (not that they would have understood pokémon speech even if they’d been able to hear it anyway). Orion, though, was somewhat bewildered and didn’t know what to do about the information his opponent had just confided in him. He didn’t know why, and his mind became a little bit less calm as he tried to figure out his opponent’s motivation. Argentavis just forced a smug smile, and hopped back to his side of the field, putting some distance between him and his opponent by the end of the round.


Referee Notes
~Argentavis was fully paralyzed action 2.
~Argentavis will be faster than Orion by round 6, unless something changes the rate at which his paralysis heals.
~RespectTheBlade commands first next round.

DQ Warning for RespectTheBlade.

Whoops ok.

Argentavis is still a threat. Those Iron Tails will sting. To fix that, lead with Charm, and then use Charge Beam followed by Thunderbolt. If he Protects during any action, use Misty Terrain, or Calm Mind if you've already used it.

Charm/Misty Terrain~Charge Beam/Misty Terrain/Calm Mind~Thunderbolt/Misty Terrain/Calm Mind

Alright, we have to take care of that Charm, so start with Protect. Follow up with a Sky Drop so only one of those attacks hits.

Protect ~ Sky Drop (2 turns)

The gong sounded to begin the fourth round of battle, and Argentavis immediately sized up his opponent. The Kirlia, though looking a bit bewildered, still definitely had a hint of aggression in his eyes, and those electric attacks were painful. Best to wait it out, as his trainer called for him to do. He roared, stretching out his wings, and around him arose a familiar, grainy translucent greenish barrier. Go on, he taunted his opponent in his mind, attack me. It won’t work! Wanting to see the Kirlia’s dejected reaction when his attack didn’t work, he smirked when his opponent took a powerful step forward.

But it soon became evident that this step wasn’t aggressive at all. As he landed, Orion released his other foot’s grip on the ground, twirling a full circle and stepping to the side once more. Following this odd set of steps, he slowly extended his arms, and as he did so a veil of mist began to appear around his feet, quickly spreading to encompass the entire arena floor. As it passed underneath Argentavis’s feet, he felt at ease, somehow, protected - what a pity that this had not preceded his paralysis.

The Misty Terrain distracted Argentavis, noticed the carefully-observing Hatsya, and the Aerodactyl didn’t seem to notice Orion smirking and putting his hands together in front of his face. Though his hands were still crackling with electricity, the pose was entirely different this time, and instead of just charging electricity in his fingertips, Orion was instead creating a small orb of electricity in front of his forehead. As soon as Argentavis released his Protect, Orion released the Charge Beam with a smile, watching with obvious satisfaction as linear bolts of lightning sped towards his opponent, showering the poor Aerodactyl with even more electric sparks, and feeling stronger still as some of those loose sparks returned to him and his body absorbed their energy.

Argentavis couldn’t just let that fly. So, ignoring the tension in his muscles and silently praying to the Random Number God for it not to hinder him any more, at least for the rest of the round, he lifted himself off of the ground and glided, with altogether unprecedented speed, towards Orion. The Kirlia was unprepared for the advance, and this time found himself unable to dodge the Aerodactyl’s talons, one of which grabbed onto his hair spike and the other of which grabbed his hair itself. And then, the ground was fading away. The crowd watched in awe and fear as Argentavis lifted his struggling opponent into the air far higher than the coliseum.

And their stupefaction was further intensified when someone pointed back to the sword-like pokémon on the ground, who was actually no longer on the ground any more. Hatsya ascended rapidly, a dark power that looked similar to the Flux spell seeming to be the source of her ascension. And though the crowd could barely see when it happened, it was only a few seconds before the Honedge caught up with Argentavis. She looked Orion in the eye, and nodded to her, before gathering up an orb of darkness at the end of her blade and slashing at Argentavis’s legs.

The Aerodactyl winced in pain, not expecting to be attacked at this height, and by instinct his talons opened, freeing Orion. The Kirlia smiled at his teammate for a moment, before realizing his situation, at which point he began to scream as he plummeted from the air. By all rights, the impact of the fall took much less out of him than it would have a normal human, or any of the spectators, but he still felt a bit dizzy as he pushed himself off the ground to glare at the more slowly descending Argentavis. Hatsya, having made it down safely, probably thanks to the same dark power that got her up there in the first place, called out words of encouragement to her partner as the end of the round approached.


Arena Notes
~Misty Terrain is in effect for 3 more actions (i.e., the next round)

Referee Notes
~Charge Beam raised Orion’s Special Attack
~Hatsya used an offensive support action the third action - namely, Pursuit. Though Orion would have been unable to act, it made sense for Pursuit of all things to pursue Argentavis into the air (and even if it wouldn’t have worked, Hatsya probably just would have waited for Argentavis to descend anyway)
~Sorry if I made it sound like Sky Drop did more damage than usual in the description. It didn’t.
~Dar commands first next round

Alright, that was annoying. Let's just go back to using Iron Tail, but if he protects, use Hone Claws. Follow up with a Mimic of Thunder Wave, and if he uses Protect this turn, use Hone Claws again. Finally, use another Iron Tail, but if he used Protect or was guarded by anything before, use Mimic again.

Iron Tail/Hone Claws ~ Mimic (Thunder Wave)/ Hone Claws ~ Iron Tail/Mimic (Thunder Wave)

DQ Warning for RespectTheBlade. You have 50-ish hours.