[11] Crazy Linoone vs sreservoir

1 vs 1
DQ Time: 3 Days
Damage Cap: 35%
Banned Moves: OHKO's, chills, direct healers
Terrain: Castelia City Square

Castelia City is the gateway to Unova, its port welcoming trainers from around the world. Today those trainers include a fair number from Asber, turned out to compete or spectate on the first round of the League Championship. The city square at the center of Castelia has been reserved for the first round of battle, its broad cobbled expanse providing plenty of room to fight and the central fountain offering a refuge for pokémon that would rather swim than stand. Skyscrapers rise on all sides, framing the scene with the imposing prosperity of Castelia City.

More than just Asber's own trainers have turned out for the battles, though; plenty of curious Castelia residents and tourists mill about the rim of the arena, hoping to catch a few exciting battles. To ensure that they don't go unsatisfied, the regional authorities have generously--and forcefully--provided some of Unova's most powerful pokémon for the trainers to test-drive and show off for the crowd. Unfortunately, with the number of battles that need to be run through before the TCoD League's lease on the square expires, some of the fights might have to be truncated a bit.

For this battle, you will be using a pokémon on loan from the Unova League. Your choices are below. The first player will get first pick of pokémon, and the second will make their pick and then attack as usual. This match will be capped at five rounds. If both pokémon are still standing at the end of round five, the pokémon's health and energy will be added together and the one with the most will be declared the winner.

The pokémon:

Liepard (M) <Unburden>
Garbodor (F) <Stench>
Sawk (M) <Sturdy>
Bisharp (M) <Defiant>

1. Crazy Linoone chooses a pokémon
2. sreservoir chooses a pokémon and attacks
3. Crazy Linoone attacks

Whoa, since when did this get posted?

Anyhow, I chose you, Sawk!

And I will name him Mr. Sparkles for the time being.

then garbodor, of course! and I have no creativity for naming!

spray acid liberally! if mr. sparkles does anything tricksy and you simply can't hit him, make a decent-sized substitute -- 15% ought to be enough. and if even that might be difficult, or useless, just chill.

acid spray / substitute (15%) / chill x 3

DQ warning for Crazy Linoone. Twenty-four hours.

Ahhhh did not see this update

I swear, TCoD is eating posts or something.

Anyhow, those acid sprays are annoying. Dig (down), Substitute (15%), then Bulk-Up because I'm not feeling particularly creative right now.

Dig(down) ~ Substitute (15%) ~ Bulk-Up

The crowd in Castelia square is shifting, some people wandering away, other curious passers-by coming over to see what's going on. There are a few die-hards who have been watching since the very beginning of the tournament, some with folding chairs and big hats to protect them from the sun. This is the last of the battles in the first round of the TCoD League's championship tournament, and both trainers are clearly excited to be in battle at last. They toss their pokéballs into the arena, revealing their pokémon of choice. On Crazy Linoone's side of the field appears Mr. Sparkles, a dapper Sawk who bounces lightly from foot to foot as he awaits his commands. sreservoir's pokémon, on the other hand, is rather pungent, though the garbodor seems good-tempered enough, giving Mr. Sparkles a friendly, gurgled greeting. There's no time for them to get to know one another, though; they have a battle to fight, one that begins at the referee's signal.


sreservoir (O)

Garbodor (F) <Stench>
Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Commands: Acid Spray / Substitute (15%) / Chill x 3
- Excited to be in battle.

Crazy Linoone (O)

Mr. Sparkles (M) <Sturdy>
Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Commands: Dig(down) ~ Substitute (15%) ~ Bulk-Up
- Hoping he won't be asked to make any contact attacks against... that.

Mr. Sparkles' opening command is to get away, and he's only too glad to leave the sentient pile of garbage that is his opponent behind. Reaching down, he tears up a couple of cobblestones, then digs barehanded into the dirt below at a furious pace. In a matter of seconds, the fighting type has vanished into an underground tunnel.

Garbodor knows she can't hit the subterranean Sawk, so she sets up a defense instead. The poison type's body trembles, the garbage that makes up her bulky frame shifting, reassembling, then ejecting a chunk of rubbish onto the ground next to her, which stirs fitfully, then rises up in the shape of a second, rather smaller garbodor.

Unbeknownst to the poison type, Mr. Sparkles is undergoing a similar procedure below, though he's quarrying raw material for his substitute out of the ground around him rather than using some of his own substance. The sawk expands his underground chamber enough that he can crouch comfortably in it, in the process generating a pile of dirt a little smaller than himself. Leaning in close to it, Mr. Sparkles blows out an energy-charged breath that gives it life--a little of his life, to be specific--and entices it to take the shape of a sawk, one with silver-bright eyes and no clothes to speak of, but otherwise a fair likeness. Mr. Sparkles is pleased.

Garbodor, though, is not. Well, she's made her substitute, but Mr. Sparkles is nowhere in sight. She supposes there's not much to do but rest and wait for him to show himself, but some cruel fiend out there seems to have a thing against resting. Every time Garbodor tries to relax, a loud tone blares in her ears, jolting her back to alertness. The poison type glares around the arena, wondering if this is some underhanded trick of her opponent's.

In fact it is not. Mr. Sparkles is oblivious to the happenings up above, focusing his energy and attention inward as he entices his muscles to a burst of startling growth. His lean frame fills out a bit as the sawk abruptly grows more muscular.

Above, Garbodor is still trying to chill and still failing. After a bit more annoyed searching, she realizes it is the referee interfering with her attack, pressing some button on a Wiimote-like device in her hand whenever the poison type tries to chill out. Garbodor catches her eye and the two glower at one another for a bit, each daring the other to try something, just try something, and see what happens.

sreservoir (O)

Garbodor (F) <Stench>
Health: 85%
Energy: 92%
Used: Substitute (15%) ~ Nothing x 2
- Glaring daggers at the referee. Has a substitute with 15% health.

Crazy Linoone (O)

Mr. Sparkles (M) <Sturdy>
Health: 85%
Energy: 88%
Used: Dig(down) ~ Substitute (15%) ~ Bulk-Up
- Pumped up and raring to go. Has a substitute with 15% health. +1 Attack, +1 Defense

Terrain Notes
There is a large hole across the arena from Garbodor, which leads down into an underground tunnel currently occupied by Mr. Sparkles.

Final Notes
- Chilling is banned.
- Crazy Linoone attacks first next round.

Cool beans~

First, Taunt from your tunnel (come up a bit if you must) if the Garbodor is to use any non-damaging moves this round. However, the Garbodor is going to go all-out and attack all three actions, get in another Bulk-Up.

On the next action, Bulk-Up if you haven't already. Otherwise, Dig (up) and smash that Garbodor's Substitute to little pieces.

On the last action, Dig (up) if you haven't already, or Earthquake otherwise.


Taunt/Bulk-Up ~ Bulk-Up/Dig (up) ~ Dig (up)/Earthquake

... I must read the rules description!

protect first -- it's a non-damaging move, right! -- rock polish to be just a bit faster, then haze away those bulk up boosts before it gets to use them.

protect ~ rock polish ~ haze

sreservoir (O)

Garbodor (F) <Stench>
Health: 85%
Energy: 92%
Commands: Protect ~ Rock Polish ~ Haze
- Glaring daggers at the referee. Has a substitute with 15% health.

Crazy Linoone (O)

Mr. Sparkles (M) <Sturdy>
Health: 85%
Energy: 88%
Commands: Taunt/Bulk-Up ~ Bulk-Up/Dig (up) ~ Dig (up)/Earthquake
- Pumped up and raring to go. Has a substitute with 15% health. +1 Attack, +1 Defense

There's really no way for Mr. Sparkles to know what his opponent is doing without having a look for himself, so the sawk begins the round by pushing past his substitute and shimmying back up his tunnel. Garbodor, who has nothing to do but sit behind her protect shield and wait, sees the blue dome of the sawk's head rise slowly from the tunnel, followed by his heavy black brow and the glittering eyes beneath. The two pokémon consider one another for a few moments, Garbodor with bored interest, Mr. Sparkles as he tries to figure out what the poison type intends.

It certainly looks like Garbodor is just going to sit there, which is... probably non-damaging, right? That's good enough for Mr. Sparkles. He pulls himself a bit farther out of his tunnel, enough so that he can sit on its edge, and starts taunting Garbodor with merciless abandon. It's easy--there's plenty of mileage in the obvious "you're made out of garbage, nobody likes you, you sad, sad excuse for a pokémon," after all.

Or there would be, if Garbodor could hear a word Mr. Sparkles was saying. Though invisible, her protect shield is quite enough to block Mr. Sparkles' hurtful words from her ears. Eventually, Mr. Sparkles, though a bit worried that Garbodor doesn't look like she wants to tear him limb from limb, decides that there's not much more he can do in the way of taunting and slides back down into his tunnel, the better to be protected while he bulks up his muscles some more.

While Mr. Sparkles puts on more bulk below, Garbodor is looking to shed some up above. She lets her protect fall, then starts to rock back and forth, moving slowly at first, then faster and faster. Bits of muck and small clots of trash start to fly off Garbodor's body as she sheds unnecessary mass. The crowd around the battlefield is suddenly trying to put as much distance between itself and the Garbodor as possible, lest its members suffer getting hit by one of the airborne bits of trash. Nevertheless, a couple of people do end up getting hit by a rotting piece of something-or-other before Garbodor finishes polishing up.

Newfound initiative leads Garbodor to spray a thick, cloying mist from the vents in her arm while below Mr. Sparkles is only considering his route of attack. He's going to dig up from below Garbodor, and as he starts hacking his way back to the surface he has to stop periodically and listen to determine where his target is up above.

A thick haze has set in over the field, but Garbodor's substitute doesn't need its sight to know that an attack is imminent. It pushes its master gently away, then stands and waits as scraping noises from below announce that Mr. Sparkles is about to make an appearance.

The sawk pushes a couple of cobblestones aside and jumps free of his hole--and straight into a full-body shiver as he hits the haze above. It does steal a little of his thunder, but he doesn't stop for long, lunging at the dark shape of what he presumes is his opponent and dealing it a hefty blow.

Much to his dismay, his arm sinks up to the elbow into the body of his target with a rich squelching noise. He frantically pulls it back, tearing off a considerable portion of the substitute's body as he does so, and stumbles away, waving his arm frantically in an attempt to dislodge the foul ooze now clinging to it. Garbodor's substitute, now in tatters but somehow still standing, watches him go with its one burning eye, while Mr. Sparkles' own substitute climbs up out of the hole, ready to defend its master. What it is not ready to do, apparently, is help its master out by brushing some of the gross stuff off his arm, despite all Mr. Sparkles' attempts to entice it to do so.

sreservoir (O)

Garbodor (F) <Stench>
Health: 85%
Energy: 83%
Commands: Protect ~ Rock Polish ~ Haze
- Hoping she gets to attack soon. Has a substitute with 2% health.

Crazy Linoone (O)

Mr. Sparkles (M) <Sturdy>
Health: 85%
Energy: 80%
Commands: Taunt ~ Bulk-Up ~ Dig (up)
- One arm covered in garbage-juice. Has a substitute with 15% health.

Terrain Notes
A thick haze has settled in over the arena, greatly reducing visibility (3 more actions). There are two holes, one near Crazy Linoone's side of the field and one near Garbodor, in the cobblestones and small bits of trash scattered about the perimeter.

Final Notes
- sreservoir attacks first next round.

... I keep realizing my commands are really stupid after I give them. ah, well.

preferably swagger at, then attract Mr. Sparkles; once sufficiently distracted, drop some spikes around it. if this is ever impossible, just psychic it.

swagger / psychic ~ attract / psychic ~ spikes / psychic

Since the internet's too slow, I'm going to assume that the Substitute will block any attempts at Swaggering and Attracting (this will come back and bite me in the ass).

Low Sweep to save energy, then spam Earthquakes. There's probably a better strategy out there, but arrrrgh interenttttttt

Low Sweep ~ Earthquake ~ Earthquake

*RNGodshrine RNGodshrine RNGodshrine*

... I'm an idiot, why do I not check the descriptions.

but yay attract ignores subs.

sreservoir (O)

Garbodor (F) <Stench>
Health: 85%
Energy: 83%
Commands: Swagger / Psychic ~ Attract / Psychic ~ Spikes / Psychic
- Hoping she gets to attack soon. Has a substitute with 2% health.

Crazy Linoone (O)

Mr. Sparkles (M) <Sturdy>
Health: 85%
Energy: 80%
Commands: Low Sweep ~ Earthquake ~ Earthquake
- One arm covered in garbage-juice. Has a substitute with 15% health.

Exasperated, Mr. Sparkles turns away from his substitute and fixes his attention on dispatching Garbodor's construct instead. He lashes out with a low kick, knocking the base of the substitute out from under it and sending it facefirst into the ground. As the substitute isn't very heavy, it doesn't take a lot of damage simply from toppling, but it was so frail already that the force of Mr. Sparkles' kick alone is enough to do it in. It smashes like an overripe melon upon hitting the pavement, while Mr. Sparkles hops back on one foot, vigorously shaking the one he used to deliver the kick in hopes of dislodging the banana peel now clinging to it without needing to use his fingers.

Garbodor frowns as her substitute meets its demise, but takes the view that it's only a temporary setback. Such confidence is necessary for her to put on a convincing swagger, which she doesn't hesitate to do, belittling Mr. Sparkles' destruction of her substitute, which was so obviously superior to his own. She supposes he should revel in any tiny victory he manages to scrape out, though, considering how much his performance pales in comparison to her own.

As Garbodor goes on, Mr. Sparkles' substitute firmly claps its hands over its master's ears, blocking out Garbodor's words until she finally runs out of steam and her swaggering ceases.

Determined but not enraged, Mr. Sparkles brushes his substitute's hands away, then jumps high into the air. He lands on the toes of one foot, sending a precise pulse of energy racing into the earth below. A few moments later it returns, its strength multiplied a hundredfold, in the form of a localized earthquake.

The trembling of the earth is terribly hard on Garbodor, as it threatens to shake apart the very bits of trash that make up her body. She does her best to hold herself together until the attack ends, then tries a different tactic. If she isn't able to drive Mr. Sparkles into a frothing rage, perhaps she can appeal to his more tender side instead.

Garbodor rummages around in her body until she comes up with a discarded bouquet of roses, quite wilted and a bit gooey, but it's the thought that counts, right? Holding this out before her, she advances on Mr. Sparkles, who watches her with shock. As Garbodor begins to speak, Mr. Sparkles' substitute claps its hands over his ears again, but the mournful expression on Garbodor's face and the beseeching way she offers him the bouquet is enough to guilt the sawk into gently removing his substitute's hands and listening to what she has to say.

It consists, in the main, of the fact that despite their status as opponents, she hasn't been able to ignore how attractive Mr. Sparkles is, nor how competent in battle. In fact, she's quite smitten, and can't bring herself to fight him any longer. The roses are a token of her affection and a peace offering both.

Although he still finds Garbodor quite physically repulsive, Mr. Sawk begins to feel ashamed of his callous attitude towards her. After all, she has feelings just like any pokémon, and it's not like she asked to be born as a walking pile of trash or anything. As much out of pity as anything, he accepts the roses, then stands there awkwardly while Garbodor gushes her thanks.

Mr. Sparkles' new resolve to be kinder to Garbodor is already running up against his trainer's orders, which are, basically, to destroy her by any means necessary as quickly as possible. He doesn't really want to get on his temporary trainer's bad side, but on the other hand, he's not sure he can be so cruel. After a painful internal struggle, Mr. Sparkles decides that he can't show such sudden disobedience to his trainer.

Apologizing profusely to Garbodor and explaining the necessity of his next move, Mr. Sparkles unleashes another earthquake on the arena, then winces and apologizes further after witnessing how it causes several more bits to fall off Garbodor's body.

Garbodor, of course, is inwardly fuming that her prissy opponent wasn't taken in enough by her attract to forgo the attack altogether, but she isn't willing to give up the act yet. Rummaging around in her body for some sharp bits of metal, she comes up with a double glinting handful, which she scatters on the ground around Mr. Sparkles. The sawk looks down curiously at these new gifts. They're an odd collection of odds and ends, but he supposes they are... shiny.

sreservoir (O)

Garbodor (F) <Stench>
Health: 54%
Energy: 77%
Commands: Swagger ~ Attract ~ Spikes
- Trying not to show the extent of her injury.

Crazy Linoone (O)

Mr. Sparkles (M) <Sturdy>
Health: 85%
Energy: 69%
Commands: Low Sweep ~ Earthquake ~ Earthquake
- Inspecting the spikes. Attracted to Garbodor (severe). Has a substitute with 15% health.

Terrain Notes
Fine cracks run all across the square, the result of Mr. Sparkles' earthquakes. There is a small pile of trash where Garbodor's substitute once stood and various pieces of rubbish scattered around the arena. Mr. Sparkles is hemmed in by a field of spikes.

Final Notes
- Crazy Linoone attacks first next round.

Pfffft I knew it *shakes fist* There's probably a giant loophole somewhere in my orders but whatever.

First, Attract back if you can (as in, there's no Protect, Detect, etc). Mr. Sparkles, I know you feel bad about the whole attacking thing, so try to be friendly friends with the Garbordor? If you can't use Attract due to Protect or Detect, Earthquake. Since the Garbordor is Protected anyway, the Earthquake won't deal any damage, so don't feel bad about it.

After that, Dig down and hide if the Garbordor is Attracted to you. Otherwise, repeat the instructions for the first action.

Do the same thing for the third action. If you've done everything and is sitting down in your hole, pretend to chill and try to get over your attraction; that is, do nothing.

Attract/Earthquake ~ Attract/Earthquake/Dig(down) ~ Attract/Earthquake/Dig(down)

DQ warning for sreservoir. Twenty-four hours.

hm, seems I didn't actually manage to make my post. gist of it was to pound the sub once, psychic it, and drop in the hole after the sawk, in that order preferably, but moving on to the next if any is impossible on a given action, probably with more fallbacks, but whatever.

pound / psychic / jump into hole x 3

sreservoir (O)

Garbodor (F) <Stench>
Health: 54%
Energy: 77%
Commands: Swagger ~ Attract ~ Spikes
- Trying not to show the extent of her injury.

Crazy Linoone (O)

Mr. Sparkles (M) <Sturdy>
Health: 85%
Energy: 69%
Commands: Low Sweep ~ Earthquake ~ Earthquake
- Inspecting the spikes. Attracted to Garbodor (severe). Has a substitute with 15% health.

Mr. Sparkles is grateful to have a command that's completely compatible with his current frame of mind. He longs to tell Garbodor just how he feels, and doesn't hesitate to do so. His feelings aren't really all that romantic, but that Mr. Sparkles feels any real respect for Garbodor at all despite her being, well, a garbodor, is more of a compliment than anybody's paid the poison type in years. And who would have thought it would come from somebody she thought of as an opponent? Overcome with emotion, Garbodor isn't able to even think of her commands, much less act on them, sniffling and wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

Mr. Sparkles is overjoyed to see he's made a favorable impression on Garbodor and has no real desire to be running away now. All the same, he supposes he can't be too choosy about following his trainer's orders; after all, at least this one doesn't do anything to hurt Garbodor. The sawk bids his opponent farewell, stating, with complete seriousness, that he hopes they aren't parted for long. Then he attacks the pavement below his feet, ripping up cobblestones and then sending dirt flying as he burrows underground. His substitute stands guard while he works, and the suddenly-heartbroken Garbodor abruptly sees it as the perfect focal point for all her disappointment over Mr. Sparkles abandoning her so quickly. The stupid thing never liked her anyway. Focusing all her wrath on the substitute, Garbodor sends a blast of psychic energy its way, tearing a huge chunk in its earthy body. In fact, it's a wonder that the fragmented creature can still move enough to slide down into the hole after its master.

Bereft, Garbodor hurries up to the hole and peers into it, ignoring the spikes she is forced to step on in order to reach it. Unfortunately, she is much broader a pokémon than Mr. Sparkles--so broad that despite the fact that her body is more amenable to compression than most, there's simply no way she's going to fit down that tunnel. Garbodor is forced to wait aboveground, calling plaintively down to Mr. Sparkles. The sawk does his best to ignore her heart-rending cries as he relaxes at the bottom of his hole. He's doing his best to sort out his feelings for Garbodor, and her wailing is really not helping. In short, neither pokémon seems terribly concerned with reducing the other to little bits, despite the fact that there's but one round left to decide which will be the victor.

sreservoir (O)

Garbodor (F) <Stench>
Health: 53%
Energy: 71%
Commands: Attracted ~ Psychic ~ Nothing
- Feeling a little spurned. Attracted to Mr. Sparlkes (severe).

Crazy Linoone (O)

Mr. Sparkles (M) <Sturdy>
Health: 85%
Energy: 62%
Commands: Low Sweep ~ Earthquake ~ Earthquake
- Doing some soul-searching underground. Attracted to Garbodor (moderate). Has a substitute with 3% health.

Terrain Notes
Fine cracks run all across the square, the result of Mr. Sparkles' earthquakes. There is a small pile of trash where Garbodor's substitute once stood and various pieces of litter are scattered around. There is a ring of spikes around the hole into which Mr. Sparkles has just disappeared.

Final Notes
- sreservoir attacks first next round.

ah, screw it and blow everything up.

explosion / dead x 3

(hey, don't screw this up for me, okay?)

Er okay.

Well, Mr. Sparkles, you kinda still have a Substitute left that will soak up all the damage for you, but for safety reasons, WE MUST GO DEEPER.

Dig down even more and sideways a bit so the ground provides maximum protection when everything explodes around you. After that, sit around and pretend to chill and watch your Substitute disintegrate before your eyes.

Dig down even more ~ Nothing ~ Nothing

sreservoir (O)

Garbodor (F) <Stench>
Health: 53%
Energy: 71%
Commands: Explosion x3
- Feeling a little spurned. Attracted to Mr. Sparlkes

(severe).

Crazy Linoone (O)

Mr. Sparkles (M) <Sturdy>
Health: 85%
Energy: 62%
Commands: Dig (down) ~ Do Nothing x2
- Doing some soul-searching underground. Attracted to

Garbodor (moderate). Has a substitute with 3% health.

Garbodor's piteous cries are really starting to get to Mr. Sparkles. He can't tell whether he finds them heart-rending or annoying; somehow, his goodwill towards Garbodor seems to be fading. He has no problem with digging still deeper, hoping to block out a little more of that terrible noise by putting a few more feet between himself and his opponent. The sawk digs away at his usual superhuman speed, tearing through topsoil and widening the gap between him and his opponent. All the while his substitute slides down the hole behind him, staying just a little above and resolutely between him and the mouth of the tunnel. Once satisfied he's dug enough, Mr. Sparkles settles down and starts trying to wait out his opponent.

Above, Garbodor is in agony. She doesn't want to explode herself and end the battle, on the one hand--it is highly unlikely that she would ever have the chance to see her beloved Mr. Sparkles after the battle ends, and end it certainly would. On the other hand, he's being terribly cruel to her--or at least his trainer is--and she half-wants to just end this fight and put herself out of her misery. As time goes on and Mr. Sparkles continues to ignore her, Garbodor's calling after him grows more frantic and insistent. Her body begins to swell, chemical reactions bubbling deep in the cesspool of her internal trash. Noxious gases are expelled and heat builds until, at last, Garbodor explodes in a spectacular cloud of flame. Deep below the ground as he is, Mr. Sparkles feels little of the heat or concussion of the blast, though it's plenty loud. The battle's spectators are less lucky--even those that aren't thrown off their feet by the shock wave are plastered with the little bits of burning garbage. When the foul smoke clears, Garbodor is a mass of half-melted plastic and still-flaming bits of organic waste, a slim shadow of her former self and definitely unconscious.

sreservoir (X)

Garbodor (F) <Stench>
Health: 0%
Energy: 58%
Used: Attracted ~ Explosion
Knocked Out!

Crazy Linoone (O)

Mr. Sparkles (M) <Sturdy>
Health: 85%
Energy: 62%
Used: Dig (down) ~ Nothing
Victorious!

There's no question that the battle is over. sreservoir doesn't hesitate to recall his fainted fighter from the battlefield, but a few seconds pass before Mr. Sparkles' substitute climbs out of the tunnel, followed shortly by its master. The sawk gazes around at the destruction around him, the spectators being helped to their feet as they retch and delicately pick garbage from their clothing. Mr. Sparkles isn't completely sure what happened, but Garbodor isn't here any more, and that can mean only one thing.

While the sawk shamelessly basks in what attention he can get from the revolted crowd, the trainers meet at the center of the field to exchange post-battle pleasantries and receive their prizes. For Crazy Linoone, these are $10 and a ticket on to the second round; for serservoir, $5; and the referee, $15.