[15] Visitor Message vs Zexion (ref: Zhorken)

1 vs 1
DQ: 3 days
Damage Cap: 35%
Banned/Restricted Moves: OHKOs, direct healing, Pain Split, moves that KO the user; Chills are restricted to 3 uses in the match
Arena: Centrico Plaza

Centrico Plaza is the crown jewel resting in the core of Lumiose City. Just the Prism Tower, standing at the very center of it, is already one of the most widely recognized landmarks of the entire region; and even the rest of the location isn't too shabby, with verdant gardens, beautifully patterned cobblestone pathes, the sound of the river running underneath the floor, and a surrounding circle of mid-height Kalosian houses, the splendorous local arquitecture adorning the plaza as a foil. Many businesses have come into being at the ground floors of the area, but today, the world-famous roundway of egg hatching is all Asber's, with barriers sealing off all of the many roads leading into the city's very own hub -- and of course, curious crowds gathering at the edges to watch the competition.

For this round of the tournament, each player has been loaned a fresh Pokémon from Kalos. Battles in this round will not last longer than five rounds; if neither Pokémon has fainted by the end of the fifth round, the winning trainer will be the one with the greatest sum of health and energy remaining on their Pokémon.

Visitor Message's rental Pokémon

female Froakie <Torrent> @ Oran Berry

Zexion's rental Pokémon

male Clauncher <Mega Launcher> @ Oran Berry

Up next:
1.Visitor Message issues commands
2.Zexion issues commands

Alright Froakie, start by creating a Substitute (15%). On the second turn, eat your berry. On the third turn, use Acrobatics. If he tries to use Swords Dance or Double Team, use Snatch. If he protects on the third turn, chill for a bit.

Substitute (15%) / Snatch ~ Consume Berry / Snatch ~ Acrobatics / Snatch / Chill

If they are going to go the defensive route, Clauncher, then we are going to go offensive. Lead with a Crabhammer. If the substitute is broken by the Crabhammer, follow that with a double Dragon Pulse. If it is not broken by the Crabhammer, follow with a Water Pulse and a Dragon Pulse.

Crabhammer ~ Dragon Pulse/Water Pulse ~ Dragon Pulse

Visitor Message (1/1)
Froakie ♀ [Torrent]

Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Status: Off in the clouds.

Zexion (1/1)
Clauncher ♂ [Mega Launcher]

Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Status: Standing at attention, waiting impatiently.


The Centrico Plaza is bustling with energy for the beginning of the tournament. The crowd is growing impatient, not to mention the trainers here for their round one battle, given that it's almost time to start and the ref hasn't shown up yet.

In the meantime, the trainers call out their rental Pokémon to see what's in store for them. The Froakie that VM is paired with for this battle balances on top of her Oran Berry, meditating. Zexion's Clauncher scuttles up, dragging his Oran Berry behind him in his smaller claw. He offers his bigger claw for a sporting clawshake, but Froakie is in another world. Clauncher disapproves.

Finally the ref arrives, hurriedly reads off the rules of today's battle, and swings a flag bearing the emblem of Kalos, signalling the beginning of battle. Froakie returns to earth and hops down from her berry, still taking no notice of Clauncher. She begins leaking froth from her mouth and mooshes it into the vague shape of another Froakie. Her sculpture begins to bubble and slowly smooths out, gaining colour and animation. Its bubbling skin eventually settles down, leaving it nearly indistinguishable from the original. Froakie gives her work a satisfied pat on the head.

Clauncher scuttles up to the twin frogs, undeterred by his opponent's unsettling demonstration. He raises the bigger of his claws, and swings it down on the doll with a satisfying blorp, crushing it back into foam. Clauncher nods approvingly. To think the fool commanding him thinks he should prepare for the event that this blob of scum survives the blow. Nothing can withstand the power of his claw. This is why he was selected for this battle.

Except... it seems he spoke too soon. The foam bubbles back up into shape, and recovers most, if not all, of its lifelike quality. Froakie fails to acknowledge that her creation was ever in danger, sitting calmly a few feet away, trying to figure out how to eat her berry. She settles on making a little hole in the Oran Berry's peel and sucking out the pulp and juice, dribbling it everywhere. Clauncher watches in disgust, yes, absolute disgust that someone has dared to implicitly question the power of his claw.

Perhaps a different — yet still claw-based, clearly — approach will yield superior results. He takes aim at the stubborn thing, and fires at point blank. A spiral of softly glowing ghostly water drills through the effigy, shredding it into a puddle of foam. That should take care of things once and for all. But once again, the foam oozes back into a pile, and then rises into the image of its creator, albeit a lumpier, more washed out version than before.

Froakie tosses aside the emaciated Oran peel and finallyturns to face her opponent. She gives a polite bow and sproings into the air, soaring ridiculously high unencumbered by her fruit, and comes down in a somersault, slamming her startled opponent upside the head with extra force.

Clauncher, having had just about enough, takes aim directly at Froakie and fires a deep purple wave of arcane energy. The frog's wretched double, apparently determined to go out with a boom, flings itself into the beam's path and opens its mouth to swallow the attack. It manages to absorb the entire blast, bloating disconcertingly and beginning to glow as it fills, until finally it bursts, covering the immediate area and both Pokémon with froth. The two of them grin at the mess, both pleased with their work.


Visitor Message (1/1)
Froakie ♀ [Torrent]

Health: 90%
Energy: 85%
Status: Sneaking in a few seconds of meditation between rounds.

Zexion (1/1)
Clauncher ♂ [Mega Launcher]

Health: 89%
Energy: 88%
Status: Dutifully awaiting further instructions.

Notes:

• Sorry the writeup is kind of rushed, hopefully I can get into the swing of a three-day reffing cycle before too long.
• Zexion commands first this round.

Hey now, that isn't any fun! She needs to notice you, baby. Spam some Dragon Pulses this round. If there is ever a sub mocking you, smack it with a Crabhammer. I don't think you'll have too much a problem.

Dragon Pulse/Crabhammer ~ Dragon Pulse/Crabhammer ~ Dragon Pulse/Crabhammer

Alright baby, let's show them who the real star of the show is!

Acrobatics x 3

Visitor Message (1/1)
Froakie ♀ [Torrent]

Health: 90%
Energy: 85%
Status: Sneaking in a few seconds of meditation between rounds.

Zexion (1/1)
Clauncher ♂ [Mega Launcher]

Health: 89%
Energy: 88%
Status: Dutifully awaiting further instructions.


For a moment, everything is still. If you slapped some dramatic lighting on camera angles on the scene, it would probably look like an epic standoff. But without any movie trickery, it just looks like a big frog and a shrimp... crab... lobster thing staring blankly at each other. Traffic noises fill in what could have been dramatic silence. There are no tumbleweeds in Poké-Paris, but some kid's half-deflated Luvdisc balloon bobs by.

And then all hell breaks loose. Or at least a pinch of hell. Dragon Pulses flying everywhere. Froakie flying everywhere. Again, with the proper framing, it could make one kickass action scene, but instead the ref whips out their cellphone to record a hilarious Vine of a frog and a crustacean flipping out. Clauncher keeps dragging his Oran Berry around the entire time, which works perfectly for taking out of context. A few seconds in, a well-timed blast sends Froakie flying, resulting in a hysterical, squealing croak, and then she decides it's necessary to clear the entire distance between her and Clauncher with a single ridiculous leap. Nice. Big Frog vs Shrimp Crab Lobster is sure to be the hottest meme for the next half a week, at least.

As soon as Froakie and Clauncher have gotten in their requisite three swings each, they hop and scuttle off (respectively) in opposite directions, just in time for the six-second mark. Froakie puts her discarded Oran peel on her head to cool down, but unfortunately the ref misses this perfect moment of meme fuel. Neither Pokémon has clearly come out on top, although Clauncher seems a little less tired, thanks to the efficiency of his trusty claw.


Visitor Message (1/1)
Froakie ♀ [Torrent]

Health: 55%
Energy: 64%
Status: Beginning to feel a little worn out, her legs especially.

Zexion (1/1)
Clauncher ♂ [Mega Launcher]

Health: 56%
Energy: 76%
Status: Trying to ignore the soft tingling feeling in his gun claw.

Notes:

• One of Clauncher's Dragon Pulses rolled for a critical hit, but I forget which one. Not that it makes any difference.
• Mega Launcher doesn't raise energy costs, hence the "efficiency" thing, and Clauncher using less energy. I didn't pull that out of nowhere.
• VM commands first this round.

Looks like crits are going to make a pretty big difference here. But our strategy has to stay the same - repeatedly use our most damaging move. Triple Acrobatics supreme. Chill if he protects.

Acrobatics / Chill ~ Acrobatics / Chill ~ Acrobatics / Chill

We're going to have to focus on hitting hard too, Clauncher. Hang in there! Follow with a triple Dragon Pulse.

Dragon Pulse x3

Visitor Message (1/1)
Froakie ♀ [Torrent]

Health: 55%
Energy: 64%
Status: Beginning to feel a little worn out, her legs especially.

Zexion (1/1)
Clauncher ♂ [Mega Launcher]

Health: 56%
Energy: 76%
Status: Trying to ignore the soft tingling feeling in his gun claw.


Froakie and Clauncher dutifully hop/scuttle back to action, but without any of the enthusiasm of the previous round. They churn out their respective moves begrudingly, ready for their jobs to just be finished already. Froakie jumps on Clauncher like a little blue jackhammer; Clauncher takes his beating, then lazily fires off another draconic blast at Froakie while munching his Oran Berry.

Lather, rinse, repeat. Froakie attempts to leap using just her arms, to even out the aching, and while her awkward flip may not look much like anything called "Acrobatics", it's nevertheless just as effective for the purposes of slamming into Clauncher. Clauncher shrugs her off and vacantly fires another shot. Froakie climbs back up and hops up and down a few times; Clauncher shoots her back down.

When all is said and done, the two turn back to their trainers and await commands, though it feels like merely a formality. Clauncher takes a leaf out of Froakie's book, and rubs his Oran peel over his claw to relieve some of the soreness. Froakie croaks sarcastically. Yeah, you think that's making your hide feel raw.


Visitor Message (1/1)
Froakie ♀ [Torrent]

Health: 25%
Energy: 43%
Status: Rolling around in her own froth to try and moisten her skin while giving her legs a rest.

Zexion (1/1)
Clauncher ♂ [Mega Launcher]

Health: 28%
Energy: 64%
Status: Regretting his bright idea to apply citrus to a raw area.

Notes:

• I tried. I cannot make this any more interesting without taking another week.
• Zexion commands first this round.

Dragon Pulse spam? Dragon Pulse spam. If you can't hit her for whatever reason, Chill out.

Dragon Pulse/Chill ~ Dragon Pulse/Chill ~ Dragon Pulse/Chill

I know you're getting worn out, but this will be the last round, Froakie.

Acrobatics x 3

Visitor Message (1/1)
Froakie ♀ [Torrent]

Health: 25%
Energy: 43%
Status: Rolling around in her own froth to try and moisten her skin while giving her legs a rest.

Zexion (1/1)
Clauncher ♂ [Mega Launcher]

Health: 28%
Energy: 64%
Status: Regretting his bright idea to apply citrus to a raw area.


The time has come. Froakie hops to the final confrontation, trying to ignore the aching in her everything. With a deep breath, she vault into the air, manages to perform several perfect flips in a row, and executes a flawless three-point landing square on Clauncher's head., slamming it against the pavement. She holds her position for a few seconds while she processes what she just did. All that and nobody's clapping?! She'll have to take matters into her own hands.

She begins applauding herself. But she gets cut short — Clauncher seizes her by the neck in his gun claw. He lets her dangle for a moment while she struggles — to break free, he assumes, but in reality she's trying to keep clapping. In a last-ditch attempt to turn things around, he fires off another blast of energy without letting go of his target. Indigo sparks fly off to the sides as the buildup of energy seeks to escape. After what seems like forever, the sparks die down and Froakie manages to wiggle free.

Froakie slowly gets back to her feet. At this point, she feels like throwing in the towel. But no. This is her moment and she will not be outdone. Screwing together her remaining willpower, she grabs Clauncher by his goddamn gun claw and swings him into the air. She leaps after her target, catching him at his apogee, and slams him back down with a suplex.

Clauncher lies motionless on the pavement. Froakie lets out a victory croak and hops off to catch a well-deserved rest... but she has made a grave mistake. Clauncher feebly lifts his claw and fires one last shot at Froakie. She turns back at the very last second and gets a faceful of Dragon Pulse, leaving her twitching on the ground.

The ref almost calls victory for Clauncher, but Froakie is not having any of that. She lifts herself up once again, wobbles over to Clauncher, and gives him a good whack. (It's stretching the definition of "Acrobatics" to new limits, but she does not particularly care at this point.) The ref, just to be certain, gives Clauncher a full minute to respond again, but he seems to be out for real this time.


Visitor Message (1/1)
Froakie ♀ [Torrent]

Health: 1%
Energy: 22%
Status: Victory at last! Time for a well-deserved rest (and a moisturizing party).

Zexion (0/1)
Clauncher ♂ [Mega Launcher]

Health: 0%
Energy: 52%
Status: Died a hero's death... or something like that. Still alive. Knocked out!

Notes:

• Clauncher's first Dragon Pulse and Froakie's second Acrobatics rolled for critical hits, using the new crit mechanics. (Not that it made a difference — Froakie would have KO'd Clauncher in three hits anyway, and Clauncher would have needed two crits in a row to win instead.)
• VM gets $10, Zexion gets $5 and a free Clauncher. The db isn't entirely handling tournament prizes yet so you can claim your money in the bank; I'll set up the free Clauncher momentarily, and you can get it through Buy Pokémon.

1% health oh dear you really deserve that rest

Good battle Zexion! Thank you Zhorken for trying to spice up the flavor text even after we started spamming the same moves over and over.

Too close for comfort, but good game nonetheless! Thanks Zhorken and good luck in the rest of the tournament, VM.