Kusarigamaitachi vs. Full Metal Cookies

Challenge Board said:

For FMC. Only unevolved pokemon permitted.

1 v 1
DQ: One week
Damage Cap: 35%
Banned Moves: OHKO's, Direct Healing, Attract, Weather
Arena: Hangman's Hill

Hangman's Hill is a vast and tall hill outside a now-abandoned town, the gentle slopes covered in grass. Long ago masses of townspeople gathered here to watch the execution of criminals and heretics and traitors. The tall wooden platform brings even more attention to the centrepiece of this display: a triangle supported at each corner, from which multiple people could be hanged.

There is a large design on the platform, created with blood: a game of hangman, with only one arm missing.

The hill has been the site of several recent murders; though the main gallows are untouched save for the blood, fresh corpses hang from recently-constructed inverted L's scattered around the hill. Each corpse is missing an arm, and the stump has been cauterised.

Click to expand...

Kusari's active squad:

[Obsidian] Aerodactyl (M) <Rock Head> - [Backfire] Cyndaquil (M) - [The Desert Spirit] Flygon (F) - [Wraith] Gengar (M) - [Genghis] Kangaskhan (F) <Scrappy> - [Lodestone] Metang (X) - [Channa] Mudkip (F) - [Moth] Nincada (M) - [Ripdile] Totodile (M)

FMC's active squad:

[Roger] Enculli (M) <Mold Breaker> - [Doomsday] Bidoof (F) <Simple> {body mod: Resistance to Criticism} - [Jinkosen] Piplup (M) - [Jin] Bronzong (X) <Heatproof> - [Ganemede] Feebas (M) - [Jewel] Pichu (F) - [Spork] Sandshrew (F) - [Philharmonic] Chatot (m) <Tangled Feet> {body mod: Conductor's Baton - [L'Arc-En-Ciel] Togekiss (M) <Serene Grace> {body mod: Dragon/Flying-type; sig move: Arc of Joyous Colors} - [Edward] Persian (M) <Technician> {body mod: Right Arm of Steel}

Kusari sends out
FMC sends out and attacks
Kusari attacks
I try and figure out where my I-bar cursor went while I was typing this, dammit

I knew I should've gone and bought that treecko. Ah well.

[Ripdile] Totodile (M) <Torrent>

[Roger] Enculli (M) <Mold Breaker>

Bwhahaha.

Ok babe. Start out simple - Swords Dance once and hit with Night Slash, unless prevented from doing that, then Swords Dance some more.

Swords Dance ~ Night Slash/Swords Dance ~ Night Slash/Swords Dance

Well, it doesn't have a set base speed, but... you look faster than enculli? Bah.

Since he's not going to be attacking then, let's start you off with a Focus Punch. Then... eh, I guess you'll have to take those Night Slashes, because we're only going to be focused on attacking this round... but attacking a very specific target.

See those large eyes of his? Hit them, or do your best to hit them, with your next two attacks. As they take up most of his face, it shouldn't be too hard, though try to hit the pupils. One eye for each attack, of course, and... let's have you attack with a nice Dragon Claw so the dragon energy might burn some of the rest of his eyes.

Focus Punch ~ Dragon Claw ~ Dragon Claw

Kusarigamaitachi vs. Full Metal Cookies, Round One


Pre-Round Stats

Team Kusari (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Ripdile (M) [Torrent]
Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Status: Wondering whether he should afraid of the corpses or chew on them
Ripdile's Commands: Focus Punch ~ Dragon Claw ~ Dragon Claw

Team FMC (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Roger (M) [Mold Breaker]
Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Status: Wishing the bloody stumps hadn't been cauterized
Roger's Commands: Swords Dance ~ Night Slash/Swords Dance ~ Night Slash/Swords Dance

Arena: Hangman's Hill

Hangman's Hill is a vast and tall hill outside a now-abandoned town, the gentle slopes covered in grass. Long ago masses of townspeople gathered here to watch the execution of criminals and heretics and traitors. The tall wooden platform brings even more attention to the centrepiece of this display: a triangle supported at each corner, from which multiple people could be hanged.

There is a large design on the platform, created with blood: a game of hangman, with only one arm missing.

The hill has been the site of several recent murders; though the main gallows are untouched save for the blood, fresh corpses hang from recently-constructed inverted L's scattered around the hill. Each corpse is missing an arm, and the stump has been cauterised.


The sky over Hangman's Hill is overcast and bleak, casting a gray pall over the scattering of gallows and congregation of partially dismembered cadavers. Something small, gray and vaguely serpentine skitters through the grass and up the hill, stopping periodically at each makeshift gallows and looking longingly up at the bodies swinging from them before muttering and moving on. Roger the Enculli reaches the top of the hill and pauses near the large, triangular structure that is the main gallows, looking around for some sign of his opponent. Said opponent is not long in coming; a Totodile trots up from the other side of the hill, red eyes darting nervously to and fro as he approaches. He's a little less comfortable here than Roger is; sure, who doesn't enjoy gnawing on a nice leg or face now and then, but all of these gallows are... creepy. This place isn't right...

Round One: Begin!

Ripdile sits down in the grass and closes his eyes, shutting out the mixed feelings of apprehension and hunger so that he might focus better. One little hand curls into a fist and he keeps his attention on it, directing a little more energy into his knuckles with every deep inhalation. Roger yawns. The blue lizard is boring, very boring... he just sits there. Like a thing that... sits there. The Enculli is having a rather difficult time containing himself; all these fresh bodies around, and since they're dead it's not as though anyone would care if he had a little snack... but first he has to get rid of the boring blue lizard. Roger hops up and down, his tiny legs pumping furiously beneath him as he works himself into a frenzy. Around and around in circles he goes, bouncing energetically and enjoying the immediate rush of of adrenaline through his veins. He settles down after a minute, panting, grinning and certain that dispatching Mr. Boring over there will be a piece of cake. Even when Ripdile takes one last deep breath and gets to his feet, Roger isn't worried. He's ready.

In fact, he is not at all ready for the Totodile fist that comes barreling right at his head at top speed. Ripdile's fist contains so much concentrated energy that it appears to be glowing, and he is able to put so much force behind his punch that Roger is knocked completely off his numerous feet and sent tumbling down the hill. The Enculli squealsas he rolls down in a little ball, only coming to a stop when he collides with the base of one of the makeshift gallows.

Slowly, painfully, Roger pulls himself back up to the top of the hill. His face is throbbing horribly and he's cross-eyed from the pain; he isn't feeling quite as pumped as he was before after a blow like that. Ripdile, sporting a very wide crocodile smile, flexes his fingers as he watches Roger climb. Damn, that was cool! He kind of wants to do it again, but the situation currently doesn't call for it. Still stretching his claws he moves forward, looks down over the edge... and gets a chestful of talons dripping with dark energy. Roger's claws score deep cuts in Ripdile's scales, made worse by the fact that he digs them in just a little deeper to give himself enough leverage to pull himself up again. Ripdile's chest begins to bleed as Roger removes his claws and takes a moment to lick them, smirking. A slash from his opponent quickly wipes the smile off of his face, however; snarling, Ripdile rakes his own claws across Roger's left eye. The green fire surrounding them sears the cuts and cauterizes them, not unlike the arms of the victims swinging in the breeze, leaving him entirely unable to see out of the eye.

Screaming horribly from the pain Roger rears up, nearly overbalancing and falling down again, and flails his forelegs wildly. The hit he lands on Ripdile's face is unintentional, but once his claws hit his foe Roger digs in and drags down as hard as he can. This night slash tears a sizeable chunk out of Ripdile's snout, leaving more blood dripping from it. The only way Ripdile can ignore the horrible stinging is to imagine how much more pain Roger must be feeling, especially after he gives the Dark-type another slash across the right eye to match the first. Roger is quicker this time and manages to shut the eye just in time, but the Totodile's claws still slice the eyelid and damage the eye underneath.

Round One: Close

Post-Round Stats

Team Kusari (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Ripdile (M) [Torrent]
Health: 76%
Energy: 84%
Status: Face and chest bleeding

Team FMC (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Roger (M) [Mold Breaker]
Health: 65%
Energy: 91%
Status: Attack +2; in terrible pain and barely able to see, especially out of his left eye

Arena Status: Nothing has changed.


Ref's Notes
-...this is going to be a quick one, isn't it? Any bets on how long it takes for one of these guys to end up like those hanged dudes?
-Kusari attacks first next round.

Enculli's dex link for my convenience; yay for less clicking!


Shame that a tiny little flap of skin prevented you from totally blinding him, but that's okay! Because we still should have an advantage, even with the fact that he's got an obvious way of finding you; just the presence of the eyes, and the fact that they're so large, surely means that he can't properly rely on his other senses.

It also means that we don't have an easy way to get the speed advantage - stupid two points extra. :[

On the first action, if he remains fairly close, enough to pull off a point-blank Hydro Pump, do it. Do this too for any following actions in this situation. Since I expect the first one to push Roger back, it probably won't happen on all three actions unless he's really coming back for punishment.

If not, that means you should have enough distance to pull back and keep out of the way; since he's mostly physical, we can render his Swords Dance useless if he's forced to keep to special moves, and if he comes at you anyway, you've probably got the perfect opportunity for a Hydro Pump. So, if you do have the distance to start with, try to keep far away from Roger, and keep moving so it'll be harder to see - or, well, accurately determine - where you are.

In that case, Ice Beam, quite possibly freezing the water already on him - though ideally, aim for the nose area. If you can't, you can try aiming for the inside of his mouth, if it's available for attacking - that, too, is a fairly large target. It's more important that you just hit him, though, and then move so you're harder to find and counterattack.

If he uses Protect or some other tactic to prevent you from being able to accurately or properly damage him that action, Dragon Dance.

Ice Beam / Hydro Pump / Dragon Dance ~ Ice Beam / Hydro Pump / Dragon Dance ~ Ice Beam / Hydro Pump / Dragon Dance

D: this is not going good, not at all. So let's see if we can keep him from being able to hit you well... Combine Odor Sleuth and Crunch - Sniff him out, and the second you do, latch on! Try to get him on the head or back area so he can't hit you as well. Don't let go, either. Then use Leech Life - it won't do much damage, but it'll recover some health, hopefully. And don't let go!

Odor Sleuth + Crunch (hang on) ~ Leech Life

Kusarigamaitachi vs. Full Metal Cookies, Round Two


Pre-Round Stats

Team Kusari (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Ripdile (M) [Torrent]
Health: 76%
Energy: 84%
Status: Face and chest bleeding
Ripdile's Commands: Ice Beam/Hydro Pump/Dragon Dance ~ Ice Beam/Hydro Pump/Dragon Dance ~ Ice Beam/Hydro Pump/Dragon Dance

Team FMC (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Roger (M) [Mold Breaker]
Health: 65%
Energy: 91%
Status: Attack +2; in terrible pain and barely able to see, especially out of his left eye
Roger's Commands: Odor Sleuth + Crunch ~ Leech Life

Arena: Hangman's Hill

Hangman's Hill is a vast and tall hill outside a now-abandoned town, the gentle slopes covered in grass. Long ago masses of townspeople gathered here to watch the execution of criminals and heretics and traitors. The tall wooden platform brings even more attention to the centrepiece of this display: a triangle supported at each corner, from which multiple people could be hanged.

There is a large design on the platform, created with blood: a game of hangman, with only one arm missing.

The hill has been the site of several recent murders; though the main gallows are untouched save for the blood, fresh corpses hang from recently-constructed inverted L's scattered around the hill. Each corpse is missing an arm, and the stump has been cauterised.


Round Two: Begin!

Stumbling along, almost literally blind, in the gray half-light, Roger tries to ignore his exceedingly painful eyes and instead focuses on sniffing the air and the ground frantically. The odor of death and the beginning stages of decay is very strong, and Roger has a difficult time ignoring all of the very tasty smells around him, but at last he manages to get a bead on Ripdile's scent and plows doggedly toward it. His many little legs do not move him very quickly, but he is still on Ripdile before the Totodile can react and bites down on the first bit he can reach as hard as he can. Ripdile yelps and tries to tug his right leg out of Roger's mouth, but cannot; the Enculli's sharp teeth have sunk in deep and the corrosive black energy dribbling off of them stings his scales and the exposed muscle horribly. Unable to to dislodge his foe after several seconds of uncoordinated hopping, Ripdile tries to get rid of him by force; craning his neck downward and opening his jaws, the crocodile spews a high-pressure torrent of water at his leg. The hydro pump drums mercilessly at Roger's face and body and is extremely painful, but the Enculli manages to hang on.

The blast of water finally ceases when Ripdile cannot sustain it any longer, and so Roger takes the opportunity to strengthen his grip and, hopefully, improve his condition. He digs his teeth even deeper into the wound he has already caused and begins sucking the blood out of Ripdile's leg. With his teeth still largely obscuring the holes he doesn't get much, but he does feel just a little bit better after his snack. Unwilling to put up with the presence of the little parasite Ripdile fires another hydro pump at him; like the first attack, however, this one fails to deter Roger and force him to let go.

Dazed after the repeated point-blank attacks to his head and face, Roger's thoughts are swimming; right now, the only thing he can think about properly is how nice it would be to let go and get away. Ripdile, tiring slightly and feeling as though his inner water sac is a little strained, fires one last hydro pump at his foe. This time Roger cannot hang on and releases his grip, the water pounding him into the ground at Ripdile's feet. A relieved Ripdile shakes his now-freed leg and tries to stand on it, but it's quite sore and painful and he ends up falling over instead.

Round Two: Close

Post-Round Stats

Team Kusari (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Ripdile (M) [Torrent]
Health: 56%
Energy: 69%
Status: Odor Sleuth-locked (4 more actions); face, chest and leg bleeding, limping slightly

Team FMC (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Roger (M) [Mold Breaker]
Health: 30% (CAPPED)
Energy: 83%
Status: Attack +2; almost entirely blind, drenched and bruised

Arena Status: The grass around Ripdile's feet is soaking wet and very slippery.


Ref's Notes
-Ripdile took a little bit of extra damage in the last two actions (1%) while Roger was still biting down on his leg; Roger used 1% extra energy to hang on for those actions.
-FMC attacks first next round.

...well this isn't going well D: Ok Roger, try to waddle a bit away from that meany and hit at him with Dark Pulse. I'm pretty sure you can make it blast outwards in all directions (Going by the game animation. Hey, it's worth a try), so if you can, do that. If he gets close enough, use Crunch.

Dark Pulse/Crunch x 3

Get up, first, putting your weight on your uninjured leg and using your tail for balance if necessary. Maybe even get on all fours, if it'll work. All you need to do is be able to aim, though - you shouldn't have to walk.

Water Pulse ~ Water Pulse ~ Water Pulse

Hopefully we'll manage to get him confused (or get a lucky crit and faint him), but if not, your Torrent should power up the last attack at least, if his attacks hit - and if not, well, you'll still get him next round, probably with enough health so that you can't faint no matter what he does.

Ensure that, you attack last on the third action, if for some reason you otherwise wouldn't - we do want that Torrent boost if at all possible.

Kusarigamaitachi vs. Full Metal Cookies, Round Three


Pre-Round Stats

Team Kusari (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Ripdile (M) [Torrent]
Health: 56%
Energy: 69%
Status: Odor Sleuth-locked (4 more actions); face, chest and leg bleeding, limping slightly
Ripdile's Commands: Water Pulse ~ Water Pulse ~ Water Pulse

Team FMC (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Roger (M) [Mold Breaker]
Health: 30% (CAPPED)
Energy: 83%
Status: Attack +2; almost entirely blind, soaking wet and bruised
Roger's Commands: Dark Pulse/Crunch ~ Dark Pulse/Crunch ~ Dark Pulse/Crunch

Arena: Hangman's Hill

Hangman's Hill is a vast and tall hill outside a now-abandoned town, the gentle slopes covered in grass. Long ago masses of townspeople gathered here to watch the execution of criminals and heretics and traitors. The tall wooden platform brings even more attention to the centrepiece of this display: a triangle supported at each corner, from which multiple people could be hanged.

There is a large design on the platform, created with blood: a game of hangman, with only one arm missing.

The hill has been the site of several recent murders; though the main gallows are untouched save for the blood, fresh corpses hang from recently-constructed inverted L's scattered around the hill. Each corpse is missing an arm, and the stump has been cauterised.


Round Three: Begin!

Roger stumbles backward as best he can, slipping on the wet grass periodically. He can't exactly see where he's going this way--not that he'd be able to see much better if he were facing the other way--but he doesn't particularly care, as long as it's away from Ripdile and his hydro pump attacks. He stops only when one of his rear legs makes a sudden drop into nothing, indicating that he has reached the point where Hangman's Hill begins to slope downward; wincing and hoping that this is far enough away, he lets all of his pain and frustration out in a rush of twisted, negative energy. The wave of malicious thoughts washes over Ripdile, chilling him to the bone and causing him to shiver uncontrollably. It takes the Totodile a minute to regain his composure and stop the shaking. When he finally manages to get himself under control, he retaliates with another blast of water. This one is not as high-volume as the previous three, but it is accompanied by an earsplitting scream that leaves Roger's ears ringing horribly.

Water continues to drip steadily from Roger's body, and he's feeling quite uncomfortable. Once again he spreads the discomfort around, his dark pulse spreading out over the top of the hill and hitting its target cleanly. Ripdile shudders again, growing more and more sore and unsettled by the minute; he doesn't exactly like the way the dark energy feels against his open wounds, either. Still, it isn't quite enough to deter him from attacking with another shriek and gout of water, this one creating quite the mud puddle around the drenched and unhappy Enculli.

Shivering with wet and cold and on his last legs, Roger musters up the strength to try one last dark pulse. His fear and desperation flow out in all directions, and this time they prove to be too much for Ripdile to handle. He simply cannot stop himself from shuddering and quaking with discomfort and nervousness, and so he sits down in the wet grass and hugs himself tightly, wishing for the horrible feelings to just go away.


Round Three: Close

Post-Round Stats

Team Kusari (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Ripdile (M) [Torrent]
Health: 26%
Energy: 65%
Status: Torrent (Water damage x1.5); Odor Sleuth-locked (1 more action); chilled, stinging badly and very uncomfortable

Team FMC (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Roger (M) [Mold Breaker]
Health: 18%
Energy: 74%
Status: Attack +2; soaked and close to blacking out

Arena Status: Much of the grass on top of the hill is wet, muddy and slippery.


Ref's Notes
-Ripdile flinched on the third action.
-Kusari attacks first next round.

Gah... forgot about the flinching. On the worst action to flinch, too.

Well... you still can win, I suppose.

Hydro Cannon until he faints, unless he uses Protect or anything else that guarantees you won't hit - in that case, chill. Widespread Hydro Pump in case of Double Team (don't bother to make it widespread if you hit him first, if you can stop yourself), and just use Hydro Pump if Hydro Cannon is reffed as having a recharge action - no need to gamble that much.

Hydro Cannon / Hydro Pump / Chill ~ Hydro Cannon / Hydro Pump / Chill ~ Hydro Cannon / Hydro Pump / Chill

Would be so much easier if you could move. :[ But let's make them regret activating Torrent, shall we?

Ok, let's pray to the RNG gods, Roger!

Dark Pulse the entire time! Hope for flinching!

Dark Pulse x 3

Kusarigamaitachi vs. Full Metal Cookies, Round Four


Pre-Round Stats

Team Kusari (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Ripdile (M) [Torrent]
Health: 26%
Energy: 65%
Status: Torrent (Water damage x1.5); Odor Sleuth-locked (1 more action); chilled, stinging badly and very uncomfortable
Ripdile's Commands: Hydro Cannon/Hydro Pump/Chill ~ Hydro Cannon/Hydro Pump/Chill ~ Hydro Cannon/Hydro Pump/Chill

Team FMC (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Roger (M) [Mold Breaker]
Health: 18%
Energy: 74%
Status: Attack +2; soaked and close to blacking out
Roger's Commands: Dark Pulse ~ Dark Pulse ~ Dark Pulse

Arena: Hangman's Hill

Hangman's Hill is a vast and tall hill outside a now-abandoned town, the gentle slopes covered in grass. Long ago masses of townspeople gathered here to watch the execution of criminals and heretics and traitors. The tall wooden platform brings even more attention to the centrepiece of this display: a triangle supported at each corner, from which multiple people could be hanged.

There is a large design on the platform, created with blood: a game of hangman, with only one arm missing.

The hill has been the site of several recent murders; though the main gallows are untouched save for the blood, fresh corpses hang from recently-constructed inverted L's scattered around the hill. Each corpse is missing an arm, and the stump has been cauterised.


Round Four: Begin!

Desperate to end this before Ripdile gets any more ideas about forcibly removing his eyes from his sockets, Roger gives the air another good sniff, pinpoints his foe's location and pours every last ounce of terror and distress into his next dark pulse. Ripdile quails as the wave of pure negativity hits him, leaving him feeling worse than ever before. He fights his extreme discomfort as best he can and just manages to marshall his nerves well enough for one final desperate assault of his own. The Totodile takes a deep, shuddering breath, swelling his lungs and internal water sac as much as he can. Roger takes an uneasy step backward, being careful not to lose his balance and fall over the side. He's pretty sure his attack hit, but he doesn't think it hit hard enough to finish him off. All he can hope is that Ripdile will keep cringing long enough for him to get another shot at bringing him down.

Most unfortunately, that chance never comes. Ripdile, feeling as though he is about to burst at this point, forces his water sac to contract so suddenly and sharply that it hurts. A truly frightening volume of water rips out of the reptile's mouth and slams into Roger, more than one would ever imagine a little Totodile could hold inside. Roger is blasted clear off the hilltop and pushed through the air for a good distance, Ripdile squeezing every last drop of water he can out of his body. When Ripdile has finally squeezed himself dry the overwhelming torrent of water cuts short and the Enculli drops to the earth below like a stone. He slams into the platform of one of the makeshift gallows with so much force that the trap door slams open, Roger finally coming to rest when he hits the grass underneath. A few of Roger's legs twitch once or twice, but the bruised and waterlogged Enculli does not get up.

Round Four: Close

Post-Round Stats

Team Kusari (1/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Ripdile (M) [Torrent]
Health: 16%
Energy: 45%
Status: Torrent (Water damage x1.5); upset and completely dried out, too strained to really enjoy victory

Team FMC (0/1 Pokémon Remaining)


Roger (M) [Mold Breaker]
Health: 0%
Energy: 71%
Status: Knocked out!

Arena Status: Much of the grass on top of the hill is wet, muddy and slippery.


Ref's Notes
-I ref Hyper Beam-style moves as forcing all moves taken for a while afterward to cost extra energy, not with a recharge turn. Not that it mattered because it kind of, you know, did 26% damage. (This is a good thing, because I haven't yet figured out exactly how much "extra energy" is other than "um so I guess a lot?")
-Roger fainted on the first action. Your sacrifice did not appease the RNG gods, I fear.
-The match is over and Kusarigamaitachi is the winner. Kusari receives $8 for winning and Ripdile gets 2 exp. FMC gets $3 and Roger gets 1 exp. I get $5 for reffing and can (hopefully well in theory mostly) spend more time on my story now.