[11] blazheirio889 vs Doctor Richtofen

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:

Reuniclus (F) <Overcoat>
Darmanitan (F) <Zen Mode>
Volcarona (M) <Flame Body>
Audino (F) <Regenerator>

1. Doctor Richtofen chooses a pokémon
2. blazheirio889 chooses a pokémon and attacks
3. Doctor Richtofen attacks

I'm already late. Amazing.

I'll take Darmanitan.

Then I'll take Reuniclus, who shall henceforth be referred to as Mr. Bubbles (I know she's female shut up D<).

Right, Mr. Bubbles! We'll start off simple. 20% Substitute, then Psyshock and Psychic. If Darmanitan ever uses Payback, wait for her to execute the attack before you attack so we don't eat the whole double-power thing.

If you're taunted, alternate between Psychic and Psyshock. If Darmanitan wants to Encore your Substitute, drop that and blast him with a Psychic instead, again alternating your attacks afterwards. Go ahead and Snatch anything you can snatch, barring Substitutes.

If you can't attack Darmanitan on the second or third actions in any way (Protect, Detect, maybe you could try to mentally locate Darmanitan if she's Digging but if you can't that's okay, etc.; substitutes should still be killed on sight, by the way), use Rain Dance. Also use Rain Dance if by some devilry there are clones about.

Substitute (20%)/Psychic/Snatch ~ Psyshock/Snatch/Rain Dance ~ Psychic/Snatch/Rain Dance

Late. Again.

First, if you can nickname them, mine shalt be Cake.

Anyway, Taunt~Toxic~Flamethrower

Even as there must be a first match in any tournament, there must also be a last. Doctor Richtofen and blazheirio889 have been waiting a long time for their fight to get underway, but at long last, it's their turn to take to the battlefield in the closing match of the first round. By now their pokémon choices have long been made, and indeed they've had plenty of time to agonize over what they should have picked, and to wonder whether their opponent has just the pokémon that their own has no hope of beating. When their choices are revealed, though, they're well-matched enough: on Doctor Richtofen's side of the field, Cake the Darmanitan, facing off against blazheirio889's Mr. Bubbles the reuniclus. The pokémon are at least as eager to get going as their trainers, and they barely wait for the last commands to be shouted before getting down to business.


Doctor Richtofen (O)

Cake (F) <Zen Mode>
Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Commands: Taunt ~ Toxic ~ Flamethrower
- Grinning dangerously broadly.

blazheirio889 (O)

Mr. Bubbles (F) <Overcoat>
Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Commands: Substitute (20%)/Psychic/Snatch ~ Psyshock/Snatch/Rain Dance ~ Psychic/Snatch/Rain Dance
- Anticipating a good fight.

Cake looks over Mr. Bubbles with skepticism and doesn't hesitate to make her disappointment known aloud. Just her luck, she finally gets to battle, and as it turns out she's up against some wussy psychic type who managed to get herself laminated somehow. This battle isn't worth her time; why couldn't she have gotten a more challenging opponent, one who would at least give her a decent fight?

Mr. Bubbles, who had been calculating the best way to make an awe-inspiring substitute, finds her opponent's remarks just the slightest bit distracting. Ordinarily, she would find such posturing on the part of a big, dumb ape like Cake pitiful and a little bit funny, but this is a serious battle. She can't just let those sorts of remarks slide! Cake's just asking for a nasty beating, and she's going to get one. Forget the substitute; she's going to start smacking Cake around now, starting with a psychic's signature attack.

Mr. Bubbles' eyes glow blue as she slams a bolt of psychic energy into Cake's body. The darmanitan's rant is cut off as, for a moment, her mind is overtaken by a blast of psychic power that blacks out both vision and thought as it wracks her mind with pain. When the fit passes, Cake is wishing she never tried provoking her opponent, but at this point there's no going back. As a followup, she hacks, gags, and spits up a wad of viscous, acrid-smelling fluid--right at her opponent.

Mr. Bubbles is further incensed as the toxic splatters one side of her face--or rather, splatters her overcoat in that location. It will take a little while for the poison to eat through the protective layer of fluid that surrounds her and actually cause her harm, but she's too enraged at the moment to think about taking the proper steps to prevent that from happening. Instead she throws a more kinetic psychic attack Cake's way, hurling the darmanitan through the air to land practically in her trainer's lap, flailing in panic.

Cake rights herself and warily approaches of Mr. Bubbles. She doesn't like the reuniclus' slightly deranged grin, and by now she's convinced that taunting the psychic was a mistake. Now at last she has the chance to get some damage in on her foe, though, and she cooks up a nasty flamethrower and blows it in Mr. Bubbles' face. The reuniclus doesn't seem all that bothered by the attack, or at least nowhere near as bothered as Cake is when the psychic type slams her with another powerful psychic.

On the plus side for the darmanitan, though, her earlier toxic has by now succeeded in reaching Mr. Bubbles' actual body and is starting to work its nefarious magic, though the reuniclus barely notices it at this point. By now, Mr. Bubbles has had a chance to vent her spleen. Cake is sufficiently chastened, she thinks--another full-out assault like that probably isn't necessary.

Doctor Richtofen (O)

Cake (F) <Zen Mode>
Health: 65% (capped)
Energy: 90%
Used: Taunt ~ Toxic ~ Flamethrower
- Hurting already.

blazheirio889 (O)

Mr. Bubbles (F) <Overcoat>
Health: 90%
Energy: 88%
Used: Psychic ~ Psyshock ~ Psychic
- Satisfied that Cake's learned her lesson. Severely poisoned (2% next round).

Final Notes
- Mr. Bubbles' first psychic was a glancing blow, though it didn't really matter since Cake hit the damage cap anyway.
- Doctor Richtofen attacks first next round.

Meh. Didn't work as well as I was hoping.

Anyway, if taunt is still up, use Swagger first. If not, be a pest and taunt again unless Bubbles Protects, then try Bulk up. After that, use Torment unless Swagger didn't work the first time, in which case you try that again. Chill if Protect is up. Lastly, wait on action three, and if the floating jello is going to attack, Payback when it's done. If Bubbles waits to attack, you wait longer. Substitute (20%) if anything else happens.

Taunt/Swagger/Bulk Up~Swagger/Torment/Chill~Payback/Substitute (20%)

Right, then. Protect first because we don't want to be taunted. Then... since Cake won't use Swagger at all, she should be using Torment, which we don't really care about... Take the opportunity to lob a Psychic at her. Finally we want Zen Mode to activate, so let her set up her expensive subs while we throw up a Trick Room!

Protect ~ Psychic ~ Trick Room

Doctor Richtofen (O)

Cake (F) <Zen Mode>
Health: 65% (capped)
Energy: 90%
Commands: Taunt/Swagger/Bulk Up~Swagger/Torment/Chill~Payback/Substitute (20%)
- Hurting already.

blazheirio889 (O)

Mr. Bubbles (F) <Overcoat>
Health: 90%
Energy: 88%
Commands: Protect ~ Psychic ~ Trick Room
- Satisfied that Cake's learned her lesson. Severely poisoned (2% next round).

Mr. Bubbles crosses her disjoint arms in front of her face, conjuring up a bubble of pure energy to protect her from anything her foe might throw her way. Though the attack is invisible, Cake well knows from the psychic's stance what she's up to. She's secretly relieved that the reuniclus has finally decided to go on the defensive instead of hammering her with more attacks. She's had about enough of that already.

The darmanitan plants her feet firmly and channels energy into her muscles, causing a sudden burst of growth that thickens up her limbs, lending her new power and more bulk to resist attacks. And, as Mr. Bubbles slowly lowers her hands, she's ready to immediately go after the psychic type's insecurities.

Cake smiles broadly, showing a healthy crop of thick, blunt teeth, and lays into Mr. Bubbles with everything she's got. Protecting, huh? Well if that ever weren't a stupid idea. Now all she's done is give Cake the opportunity to stat up in peace, and if she keeps that up, she's going to be in a pretty unhappy place in no time at all. Yes, not a smart strategy at all; she'd better not try it again...

Fortunately, protecting again was the last thing on the reuniclus' mind. She gleefully shuts her opponent up with a merciless burst of psychic power, causing the darmanitan's words to die on her lips as she is momentarily lost in a fit of pain.

More than that, the psychic attack leaves her hovering dangerously near the threshold to her transition to zen mode. Cake's limbs tremble as she fights the transformation, her fur rippling eerily as it threatens to flatten down into a tough outer coat, then smooths itself out again. Her fiery eyebrows flicker and sputter uncertainly. It would be wonderful to just pop out a substitute and let the transition be complete, but she's been commanded to wait, long enough to respond to any attack Mr. Bubbles may be planning.

As it turns out, though, Mr. Bubbles doesn't have more violence on her mind at the moment. She is instead weaving a delicate psychic net, a complicated spell that will warp reality in heinous ways once it is set loose on the arena. As soon as she recognizes what Mr. Bubbles is up to, Cake grateful starts to blow out a stream of white-edged flames. Unlike normal fire, these don't dwindle as they find no fuel to sustain them; instead they build on themselves, swirling up into the form of a darmanitan.

Meanwhile, Cake herself is dwindling, limbs shrinking in on themselves as her body collapses into a rough egg shape, her fur vanishing into a tough, bluish-gray outer armor and her eyebrows shrinking into fuzzy orange tufts above her widened eyes. The growth of the substitute with the shrinking of its master is a bizarre sight to behold, and when both are complete, the substitute stands robust and blazing, in the same standard darmanitan form that Cake was when she began, while the darmanitan herself is curled up in her dormant zen state, like a shadow of her fiery avatar.

By this point, Mr. Bubbles has nearly completed her trick room attack, and she spreads her arms wide, letting the bundle of psychic energy expand, rising above the heads of battlers and trainers alike to encase them all in a bubble of psychic energy and a bizarre space where time flows backwards. The air within is heavily charged with psychic power and ripples subtly, so that distant objects appear weirdly shaky and distorted.

Doctor Richtofen (O)

Cake (F) <Zen Mode>
Health: 31%
Energy: 74%
Used: Taunt ~ Torment ~ Substitute (20%)
- Starting to tire. In zen mode. Has a substitute with 20% health. +1 Attack, +1 Defense

blazheirio889 (O)

Mr. Bubbles (F) <Overcoat>
Health: 88%
Energy: 77%
Used: Protect ~ Psychic ~ Trick Room
- Confident. Tormented (3 more actions). Severely poisoned (3% next round).

Terrain Notes
The arena has fallen under the sway of trick room (5 more actions).

Final Notes
- Doctor Richtofen attacks first next round.

...shouldn't Blazhy attack first?

Trick Room reverses the command order as well as the speed order.

Ah. I didn't know it reversed command order.

Anyway, we're in bad shape about now. Just Chill unless a Taunt or something hits, then Flamethrower. If they Taunt then Protect, just blow a fireball at a bystander or something, just use as little energy as possible.

Chill/Flamethrower/Minimize energy usage if taunted x3

... 'Kay! Chills are banned, so let's just get rid of that sub. A Shadow Ball followed by a Hyper Beam should get rid of it. After that, chuck another Shadow Ball at Cake.

Shadow Ball ~ Hyper Beam ~ Shadow Ball

By the way, Negrek, I want to make sure: a Darmanitan with Zen Mode activated becomes a fire/psychic type, yes? That's what it does in the games, but the attacks and abilities guide doesn't mention it.

Doctor Richtofen (O)

Cake (F) <Zen Mode>
Health: 31%
Energy: 74%
Commands: Chill/Flamethrower/Minimize energy usage if taunted x3
- Starting to tire. In zen mode. Has a substitute with 20% health. +1 Attack, +1 Defense

blazheirio889 (O)

Mr. Bubbles (F) <Overcoat>
Health: 88%
Energy: 77%
Commands: Shadow Ball ~ Hyper Beam ~ Shadow Ball
- Confident. Severely poisoned (3% next round).

Where before Mr. Bubbles' jelly-coated body made her sluggish, with trick room in effect she's suddenly lightning-quick. She rolls a ball of billowing ghostly energy between her disjointed palms, then hurls it at Cake. To no one's surprise, the darmanitan's substitute bounds into the attack's path. A considerable chunk of the fiery spirit's body is blown away as the shadow ball detonates upon collision, but it remains standing as strong as it can, ready to take whatever Mr. Bubbles dishes out next.

Sitting huddled behind his protector, Cake faces a dilemma. So far as she can tell, she's supposed to chill now. Unfortunately, she happens to know that's against the rules. There's really nothing else she can do, though, so she tries to relax just the slightest bit; maybe no one will notice...

An unpleasant jolt from the referee's baton brings him guiltily back to full alertness, and he Cake is left with nothing to do save fidget nervously with her toes and watch as Mr. Bubbles sets out to destroy the substitute completely.

Even with the aid of trick room, it takes Mr. Bubbles a bit to prepare her next attack. Hyper beam is just not an attack that comes quickly, whatever the situation. Cake thinks morosely that the attack is quite pretty and would probably be fun to watch if it weren't aimed for her face. A glowing seed of yellow energy grows between Mr. Bubbles' outstretched hands, illuminating the reuniclus' face in a diffuse golden light. Arcs of energy flare and crackle from the surface of the orb like tiny solar flares, and always it grows larger, larger, until at last Mr. Bubbles releases it. A huge column of burning light erupts from between Mr. Bubbles' fingers and shoots directly at Cake--and into, of course, his waiting substitute. The attack is improperly aimed and only grazes the flaming Darmanitan, but such is its power that it nevertheless consumes the avatar completely.

Cake scrunches down even smaller as the light of the hyper beam fades, and miserably tries another little chill. All it earns her is another rebuke from the referee. And now, of course, she can't even rely on her substitute to defend her against Mr. Bubbles' next attack. The reuniclus burbles cheerfully to herself as she scoops a handful of ghostly power from a neighboring dimension, then molds it into a rough ball. Her aim still proves faulty, though, and the thrown projectiles splatters uselessly on the cobblestones behind Cake.

Mr. Bubbles frowns and resolves not to let overconfidence get the better of her in the future, while Cake rocks back and forth in place, terribly nervous and exposed now that her substitute is gone and still without any clear attack to make against her opponent.

Doctor Richtofen (O)

Cake (F) <Zen Mode>
Health: 31%
Energy: 72%
Used: Nothing x 3
- Terribly worried. +1 Attack, +1 Defense

blazheirio889 (O)

Mr. Bubbles (F) <Overcoat>
Health: 85%
Used: 59%
Commands: Shadow Ball ~ Hyper Beam ~ Shadow Ball
- A bit winded. Severely poisoned (4% next round).

Terrain Notes
The arena has fallen under the sway of trick room (2 more actions).

Final Notes
- Chills are indeed banned.
- Yes, zen mode darmanitan is fire/psychic. I'll edit that in.
- blazheirio889 attacks first next round.

While the miss is a shame, it pretty much just delayed the inevitable... Mr. Bubbles, more Shadow Ball spam. Throw a Hyper Beam in the middle if you're Tormented. Also, use Hyper Beam if there are clones, and sweep them around. Do nothing if you can't attack Cake (Protect, Dig, etc. not including Substitute) to conserve energy.

Shadow Ball/Nothing ~ Shadow Ball/Hyper Beam/Nothing ~ Shadow Ball/Hyper Beam/Nothing

lazy commands are lazy hurr

DQ warning for Doctor Richtofen. Twenty-four hours.

I posted in the Absense Sheet, but am I DQ'd or not?

You're not. Since you're back, you can have three days.

Well, that was plenty more than three days. Doctor Richtofen's out, blazheirio889 advances and gets $10; I get $15.