[15] Eifie vs JackPK (ref: Superbird)

[JackPK]

(Another thing I just noticed as I was perusing your reffing quirks document, Superbird: shouldn't Pokey's paralysis have improved to the harsh/bad level by now?)

Hmmm, anything we haven't already done would be pretty nonoptimal (Facade is locked away; Uproar and Natural Gift are no better than Sludge Bomb and would waste your Normal-type option; Bide when commanding first is inherently stupid), so unfortunately this round is gonna be pretty boring unless Eifie decides to take advantage of your conditionals somehow.

Under paralysis, you're slower than Cool Beauty, so you'll have no problem waiting to see what she does before you act. If she tries to wait for you, wait her out — better to let your paralysis and imprisonment fade a bit than to act rashly and be taken advantage of.

If she tries to Attract you back or use Confuse Ray, Telekinesis or Zap Cannon, Protect against it.

If she's Protecting or preparing Me First, or if you just can't hit her for whatever reason (other than a Substitute), let's go with a Sandstorm because why not.

Otherwise, or if you're taunted, just lob Sludge Bombs at her.

If you're both taunted and tormented, I sure would rather you use Struggle than do nothing, but I can't use a conditional on it so I guess Superbird might just pretend this paragraph doesn't exist if that's the case? Oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Protect/Sandstorm/Sludge Bomb x3

 

[Eifie]

Excellent work, my lady. I knew all those hours of forcing you to gaze upon your own temptation in the mirror would pay off!

Now, however, I would like you to study your opponent closely. You may give in to temptation just a tiny bit. Recall how he pulled off that elegant Sludge Bomb, see if you can replay that scene in your mind's eye only. While you're studying your dashing opponent's tactics, surely it will not look like you're attacking! Widen your eyes and stare at him very hard, which I'm sure you'd like to do anyway, and let him think you're trying to outwait him. Hopefully we can waste his entire action this way! If not, well, his attack will wipe out the rest of your infatuation anyway. If you can't Mimic his attack without any visible signs of you doing it, just send a Confuse Ray at him to force him to spend an action Protecting.

If you've managed to successfully immerse yourself in Pokey's ways, Sludge Bomb him in the face now, and then quickly Imprison the attack away (which is allowed!). Otherwise, let's take advantage of his paralysis with two Hexes.

Mimic (Sludge Bomb) / Confuse Ray ~ Sludge Bomb / Hex ~ Imprison / Hex

 

[Superbird]

Round 4

Eifie (OO)

Cool Beauty Violet Temptation – Mismagius (♀) @ Eviolite
Health: 51%
Energy: 55%
Ability: Levitate
Type: Ghost
Condition: Torn about how to act.
Status: Mildly infatuated (12%) with Pokey. Speed -1.
Commands: Mimic (Sludge Bomb) / Confuse Ray ~ Sludge Bomb / Hex ~ Imprison / Hex

JackPK

Pokey – Diglett (♂)
Health: 56%
Energy: 61%
Ability: Arena Trap
Type: Ground
Condition: Pretending to love his tricky opponent.
Status: Harshly paralyzed. Special Attack -1. Imprisoned (7 more actions).
Commands: Protect / Sandstorm / Sludge Bomb x3​

After hearing his commands, Pokey understood that he should give up on trying to attract his opponent. But still, it was important to keep track of his opponent, so instead of forming the attack that he knew was necessary, he gave Cool Beauty Violet Temptation a careful glance. The Mismagius was staring straight at him, her eyes unmoving. For a moment neither of the battlers moved at all, as Pokey stared into his opponent's eyes, feeling more and more awkward. He shifted to the side a little. His opponent took half a second to catch up to him. And suddenly, all became clear - she wasn't really paying attention to him, just trying to intimidate him. He saw her twitch a little, as if she were experimenting with some sort of new movement. Well, he'd show her what he thought of that with a Sludge Bomb, which he whipped up and launched before his opponent snapped out of her trance. Before she could dodge, she was hit.

Cool Beauty Violet Temptation, though she recoiled from the attack, appreciated the example and, after seeing how the attack worked, decided to imitate it. At least for a little while, she understood how to transform Toxic into this new attack – somehow, she coughed up a bit of bile in her throat and imbued it with poison, releasing it through the air so that it landed right on Pokey. The Diglett was not amused, and struck back with the same attack. And once again, Cool Beauty Violet Temptation was pushed back, but this time she had retaliated against her opponent. The battle was looking up.

Pokey knew his opponent was tiring. One more Sludge Bomb would push her into the red zone, he was sure. But first, what was that she was doing? That thing from last round – concentrating, and smirking. All of a sudden, he felt his mind harden. The attack he was preparing, what was it? Sludge Bomb, right? He tried frantically to generate the sludge he needed, but he couldn’t. The poison, he could manage, but that wasn’t all he needed. He needed to try a different strategy then, if he couldn’t hit with Sludge Bomb. Narrowing his eyes, Pokey started to prepare a Sandstorm attack. But he was too late – Cool Beauty Violet Temptation cackled ominously as the referee raised his flag in the air to call the end of the round. Alas, Pokey’s revenge was to wait until next round.

End of Round 4

Eifie (OO)

Cool Beauty Violet Temptation – Mismagius (♀) @ Eviolite
Health: 27%
Energy: 42%
Ability: Levitate
Type: Ghost
Condition: Torn about how to act.
Status: Sludge Bomb Mimicked. Speed -1.
Actions: Mimic ~ Sludge Bomb ~ Imprison

JackPK

Pokey – Diglett (♂)
Health: 44%
Energy: 49%
Ability: Arena Trap
Type: Ground
Condition: Pretending to love his tricky opponent.
Status: Moderately paralyzed. Special Attack -1. Imprisoned (8 more actions).
Actions: Sludge Bomb ~ Sludge Bomb ~ Nothing​

Referee Notes
~Pokey was Imprisoned on Action 3, and couldn’t use Sludge Bomb. Had he had a fourth action, he would have defaulted to Sandstorm.
~Subsequent use of Imprison reset the move’s duration.
~Pardon the terrible writing. I’ve been bad at that lately, and am recovering from writing a 13-page paper in a week.
~Eifie commands first.

Spoiler: Action Log

Action 1
~Cool Beauty Violet Temptation uses Mimic, for 1% energy
~Cool Beauty Violet Temptation learn Sludge Bomb!
~Pokey uses Sludge Bomb, dealing 12% damage for 6% energy
~Cool Beauty Violet Temptation is no longer infatuated.
Action 2
~Cool Beauty Violet Temptation uses Sludge Bomb, dealing 12% damage for 7% energy
~Pokey uses Sludge Bomb, dealing 12% damage for 6% energy
Action 3
~Cool Beauty Violet Temptation uses Imprison, for 5% energy.
~Pokey cannot use Sludge Bomb.
~Pokey is imprisoned for 8 more actions.

 

[Eifie]

You didn't include a note on it, but should Cool Beauty Violet Temptation have used Confuse Ray on the first action since she couldn't use Mimic invisibly?

 

[Superbird]

Well, she used Mimic basically without moving (at least, how I interpreted it when doing calcs. keep in mind the calcs and the writing for this were done about a week apart, which contributed to the fact that I completely forgot flavor when writing the latter).

For something like Sludge Bomb, mimicing without moving would definitely be possible. But at some point it would become pretty obvious that she wasn't attacking anyway. Cool Beauty Violet Temptation would likely not realize how obvious she was being, in the same way a preoccupied human wouldn't, but it would be obvious enough to Pokey that he would attack in the last parts of the action. Forgive the flavor text, I'll fix it if you want.

 

[Eifie]

Sorry to be a bother, but could I take you up on that offer to redo the flavour for that part? Pokey was commanded to wait for Cool Beauty Violet Temptation even at the cost of losing an action, so I'm not quite getting how that went down. (It is possibly very important.)

 

[Superbird]

All right, done.

 

[Superbird]

DQ warning for Eifie.

 

[Eifie]

I posted in the Absence Sheet, but as it happens, I've been working on these for the past little while anyways...

Well, Cool Beauty, that certainly didn't go well. It's really time we stop fucking around, haha.

Start off by Hexing your opponent. If he's Protecting, go ahead and Chill. Also, if you see a Double-Edge combo coming at you, Protect from it.

Next, unless your opponent used some combo attack, you're going to have to watch what he's doing very, very carefully. You couldn't get away with tricking your opponent into thinking you were waiting, so he shouldn't be able to, either. If he targets you with some attack, immediately Protect from it. If he's Protecting or Biding, just Chill. Otherwise (i.e. his move isn't targeting you, or he used a combo last action), try Hexing him again. If you've been waiting and really, really can't bear to wait any longer (I would really prefer both of you to miss an action than for you to give in and move, though), just put up a Protect.

Finally, if he's been Biding this whole round, Protect yourself now. Otherwise, please use a one-action Phantom Force to dodge whatever he may throw at you this action and strike back after. Really take your time in materializing back; he can't possibly outwait that! He doesn't have any negative priority moves! If you didn't Protect last action, though, follow the same conditionals as then about Protecting if he targets you with something, Chilling (rather than Hex) otherwise.

pls don't die, Cool Beauty, you're already dead :'(

Hex / Chill / Protect ~ Protect / Chill / Hex ~ Protect / Phantom Force (one action) / Chill

 

[JackPK]

We're gonna start with a combo, alright. Not a Double-Edge combo, but a combo nonetheless. Pokey, I want you to use the power of your emotions — either Return or Frustration, whichever you're feeling more — to put some extra oomph into the weak-spot-targeting, critical-hitting technique of Slash. If you can't combine those, just use the emotional move on its own.

Now, if your combo worked, hooray! Just Protect against the second Hex and you'll be good to go — take a nice union-mandated break on the third action as reward for your combo.

If you were fully paralyzed on the first action, oof. Tough break. I really don't think there'll be a way to recover from that flub, so we'll have to cut our losses as best we can and wait her out on the second action to force a Protect, then I guess set up a Sandstorm because we really don't have many good moves that don't target the foe.

(Return/Frustration)+Slash ~ Protect/nothing ~ nothing/Sandstorm

cue Eifie pointing out in my VMs that there's some massive flaw in these commands that I didn't notice

 

[Superbird]

Round 5

Eifie (OO)

Cool Beauty Violet Temptation – Mismagius (♀) @ Eviolite
Health: 27%
Energy: 42%
Ability: Levitate
Type: Ghost
Condition: A little more confident.
Status: Sludge Bomb Mimicked. Speed -1.
Commands: Hex / Chill / Protect ~ Protect / Chill / Hex ~ Protect / Phantom Force (one action) / Chill

JackPK (OO)

Pokey – Diglett (♂)
Health: 44%
Energy: 49%
Ability: Arena Trap
Type: Ground
Condition: Apprehensive and antsy.
Status: Moderately paralyzed. Special Attack -1. Imprisoned (8 more actions).
Commands: (Return / Frustration) + Slash ~ Protect / nothing ~ nothing / Sandstorm​

Cool Beauty Violet Temptation, now that her opponent is prevented from using his most damaging move so far, knows that it’s time to attack. She neglected to do so far too much last round, and she took the damage to show for it. She definitely doesn’t feel at her best, but she feels perfectly fine for attacking her opponent. With a cackle that starts half-hearted and gains steam until it’s strong and loud, she begins to use her Ghost-type powers to their maximum potential, casting a violent hex on her opponent – perhaps the most dangerous type of magic. The attack is terrifyingly effective. Pokey immediately begins to shudder violently, shutting his eyes as hard as he can. He’s in terrible pain, feeling in a single action the retribution for all the pain he cause his opponent over the course of the last round.

But that pain was justified. He felt that pain and he let it push him forward, opening his eyes and displaying the most determined expression any Diglett has ever worn, and using what was left of his Speed stat after his paralysis he rushed forward. He’d gotten pushed around enough this battle, taking attack after attack, taking even a Zap Cannon, and enduring that paralysis and getting attacked even more harshly for it. And he was fed up. The dirt around his underside followed him as he leapt upwards, readying his head for an impact. And, imbuing his attack with as much frustration as he could manage, he swiped against Cool Beauty Violet Temptation in one huge attack.

It was a Normal-type move. Cool Beauty Violet Temptation wasn’t prepared for this at all. Her trainer had told her to be wary of something involving Double-Edge, but she didn’t see any Double-Edge in this attack; she had no way to defend herself, and, in fact, neglected her defense perhaps a little too much. Her opponent, using the Inverse Battlefield to its full potential, swiped through her body, cleaving a massive gash in her ghostly robe, and causing her to let out a bloodcurdling, ghostly scream, and limply drop to the surface of the bridge. Pokey spun a couple of time in the air, but was perfectly-aligned when he landed back on the bridge. He glanced around, and, seeing his successful attack and defeated opponent, smiled with joy. But his opponent wasn’t done for yet, and Pokey hardly had time to throw up a desperate Protect shield before Cool Beauty Violet Temptation threw out another attack in revenge. But rather than doing so, the Mismagius decided to take a little break. She lifted herself off of the bridge, but rather than attacking she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, restoring her energy – if she was going to win this bout, she would need to.

When Pokey let down the Protect barrier, he was absolutely exhausted. A combo attack and then a Protect was something that wore on a pokémon. But really, it wouldn’t have mattered if he’d Protected again, because Cool Beauty Violet Temptation didn't even attack at all. Instead, she continued to rest, rejuvinating herself and psyching herself up for the next round. The Diglett and the Misdreavus sat facing each other for the remainder of the round, both feeling wear from the long battle so far, both knowing that the next round would be the last of their bout against each other. They were both ready.

End of Round 5

Eifie (OO)

Cool Beauty Violet Temptation – Mismagius (♀) @ Eviolite
Health: 3%
Energy: 56%
Ability: Levitate
Type: Ghost
Condition: Very cautious, but determined.
Status: Sludge Bomb mimicked; Speed -1.
Actions: Hex (crit) ~ Chill ~ Chill

JackPK (OO)

Pokey – Diglett (♂)
Health: 21%
Energy: 36%
Ability: Arena Trap
Type: Ground
Condition: Stressed, but not unsure of himself.
Status: Mildly paralyzed. Special Attack -1. Imprisoned (5 more actions).
Limitations: 1/3 Normal Moves left
Actions: Frustration + Slash (crit) ~ Protect ~ Nothing​

Referee Notes
~Hex was a critical hit.
~Frustration (80-ish BP) + Slash was scored as a 120-bp Normal-type attack with a high critical hit ratio. The RNG decreed that it should also be a Critical Hit.
~JackPK commands first.

Spoiler: Action Log

Action 1
~Cool Beauty Violet Temptation uses Hex, dealing 13*1.25+7=23% damage (critical hit) for 6% energy
~Pokey uses Frustration + Slash, dealing 12*1.5+6 = 24% damage (critical hit) for 9% energy
Action 2
~Pokey uses Protect, for 4% energy.
~Cool Beauty Violet Temptation chills, restoring 10% energy.
Action 3
~Cool Beauty Violet Temptation uses Phantom Force, dealing 9*1.25=11% damage for 8% energy.

 

[Eifie]

Loathe as I am to point this out after you went and rewrote the whole thing, apparently I somehow screwed up and edited out the clause I wrote to account for Jack being able to choose the combo's rest action (boooooo), so from my somewhat butchered commands it looks like Cool Beauty should have used Hex and then Chill on the second and third actions. Please don't worry about actually rewriting the flavour for that though, omg. (also I probably don't need to send out a replacement)

 

[Superbird]

Loathe as I am to point this out after you went and rewrote the whole thing, apparently I somehow screwed up and edited out the clause I wrote to account for Jack being able to choose the combo's rest action (boooooo), so from my somewhat butchered commands it looks like Cool Beauty should have used Hex and then Chill on the second and third actions. Please don't worry about actually rewriting the flavour for that though, omg. (also I probably don't need to send out a replacement)

No worries, I rewrote the whole thing mostly because game mechanics issues would have completely changed the outcome of the match. Sorry about misinterpreting your commands; it is now as you claim it here to be, which, now that I reread your commands, makes sense.

Sorry, I've been tired lately and NaNoWriMo has been a little stressful.

 

[JackPK]

WHOOPS I meant to write commands ages ago but I contemplated and second-guessed so much that I forgot to actually post anything and I don't think I have any clever plan that Eifie will be unable to exploit, oops

So I guess let's just, uh, Aerial Ace since it can't miss? If you believe you can reasonably target her, go ahead and do this as fast as you can, but if she's untargetable (Protect, semi-invulnerable turn, something else that doesn't require an action, idk, etc.), wait for her to act and:

If she is trying to Telekinesis you again, or Zap Cannon shenanigans, or Hex, then Protect against it.

If none of the above is applicable, start with a Sandstorm to whittle her down, then idk Hone Claws and finally throw down a Stealth Rock or something.

Aerial Ace/Protect/Sandstorm ~ Aerial Ace/Protect/Hone Claws ~ Aerial Ace/Protect/Stealth Rock

 

[Eifie]

Heeheehee... That combo demands some Cruel Retribution...

Guess what's not banned? No matter how fast Aerial Ace is, it can't be fast enough to bypass speed order, especially when not specifically commanded to try and cut you off, so, do enjoy yourself, my spooky lady. You've done an excellent job.

Destiny Bond ~ Destiny Bond ~ Destiny Bond

 

[Superbird]

Round 6

Eifie (OO)

Cool Beauty Violet Temptation – Mismagius (♀) @ Eviolite
Health: 2%
Energy: 38%
Ability: Levitate
Type: Ghost
Condition: Very cautious, but determined.
Status: Sludge Bomb mimicked; Speed -1.
Actions: Destiny Bond ~ Destiny Bond ~ Destiny Bond

JackPK (OO)

Pokey – Diglett (♂)
Health: 10%
Energy: 37%
Ability: Arena Trap
Type: Ground
Condition: Stressed, but not unsure of himself.
Status: Mildly paralyzed. Special Attack -1. Imprisoned (5 more actions).
Limitations: 1/3 Normal Moves left
Actions: Aerial Ace / Protect / Sandstorm ~ Aerial Ace / Protect / Hone Claws ~ Aerial Ace / Protect / Stealth Rock​

The bout was nearly over, and both battlers knew it. But both of them were also on their last legs, and either could knock out the other with just a single attack. Pokey was determined to be the first, to get that one attack off, however, and so he surged forwards, fire in his eyes, leaping gracefully into the air towards Cool Beauty Violet Temptation as the dirt covering his abdomen flew with him. But he was too late – or more accurately, he wasn’t quite fast enough to stop Cool Beauty Violet Temptation from chanting one arcane incantation. It didn’t stop him, though. He tore through his opponent, glowing with the white light of Aerial Ace, and landed on the ground triumphantly. But as Cool Beauty Violet Temptation fell to the ground, shrieking, Pokey, too, crumpled down, his eyes closing and his mind losing consciousness. ‘Twas a double knock out. The battle would come down to the second matchup, and tension began to build as the battlers carefully chose their next pokémon.

End of Round 6

Eifie (ØO)

Cool Beauty Violet Temptation – Mismagius (♀) @ Eviolite
Health: 0%
Energy: 28%
Ability: Levitate
Type: Ghost
Condition: Unconscious.
Status: Knocked Out!
Actions: Destiny Bond

JackPK (ØO)

Pokey – Diglett (♂)
Health: 0%
Energy: 34%
Ability: Arena Trap
Type: Ground
Condition: Unconscious.
Status: Knocked Out!
Limitations: 1/3 Normal Moves left
Actions: Aerial Ace​

Referee Notes
~Sincerest apologies for the delay. School and NaNo and Super Mystery Dungeon have been taking up unreasonable amounts of my time. But I’m done with NaNo now so here, take your reffing. You’ll continue to be given first priority in the future, as this is a tournament battle.
~Everything was relatively straightforward this round. And the battle is now a 1v1. Get ready.
~According to official VGC rules, Cool Beauty Violet Temptation fainted first, so Eifie should send out first.

Next Round
~Eifie sends out
~JackPK sends out
~Eifie orders commands
~JackPK orders commands

Spoiler: Action Log

Action 1
~Cool Beauty Violet Temptation uses Destiny Bond, for 4% initial energy
~Pokey uses Aerial Ace, dealing KO damage for 3% energy
~Pokey is dragged down by Destiny Bond (5% energy)

 

[Eifie]

Awww man, I should've let someone else have the exp. :C Ah, well. Let's go, Adelle.

 

[JackPK]

Ugh, another mage with a huge movepool. Well, I guess we'll just have to counter with Gwen for her defensive advantage, even if she doesn't have super-effective STAB. I am only being mostly sarcastic when I say I hope being doubly weak to 20-power Grass Knot won't be too troublesome for us.

 

[Eifie]

... why did I send out Adelle, my plan from like the beginning of time was to send out topping percentage if Pokey was out of the way??? and somehow I was in so much of a hurry when I made that post that I forgot??? wow I'm actually so dumb. poor topping percentage :C you shall have your glory another day...

Well, Adelle, you're no cute Paras, and if you make me lose I shall turn you into a catmerang! >:( We shall just have to take a leaf out of Cool Beauty's book of MYSTERY. I want you to start with Telekinesis, then Zap Cannon, then Swagger. If you can't Telekinesis her the first action, set up a Future Sight. If she's not under the effect of Telekinesis, use Dazzling Gleam on the second action and Signal Beam on the third.

If you can't hit her or use your move, use Focus Energy if it's the second action and Reflect if it's the third. If there are clones, though, Dazzling Gleam is fine on the second action, and sweep Signal Beam on the third. On the third action, if you're meant to use Swagger but it wouldn't confuse her for whatever reason (Substitute or something) but you could still hit her, use Signal Beam instead if you can.

... omg Adelle you're so not fun. :( I want my cute little scuttling mushroom. Why aren't you a cute little scuttling mushroom?! You continue to disappoint...

Telekinesis / Future Sight ~ Zap Cannon / Dazzling Gleam / Focus Energy ~ Swagger / Signal Beam / Reflect

 

[JackPK]

Um, so this is kind of going to depend on how you ref the flavor of Telekinesis, Superbird.

If it's reffed as a "bubble" of psychic energy that holds its contents prone in the air, as I ref it and typically see it reffed:

Spoiler: commands

Gwen, we're gonna play things a bit risky but with the hope that it pays off. Let Adelle lift you with Telekinesis, and then use the telekinetic version of Psychic to drag her into the Telekinesis bubble along with you, so she can't move either. Try to get her in there as close to you as possible, with no empty space between the two of you, so that hopefully she can't reasonably use Zap Cannon without its unstable nature causing some kind of backlash or splash-damage explosion towards her as well. Sit on her back or something. Look cute.

Then, ideally, either you'll both have been paralyzed by Zap Cannon or neither of you will have been. I'm not sure what to do on this action, so let's go with a targeted-mental-pain version of Psychic for the damage output, I guess.

Finally, we don't want to get confused, so watch for whether she appears to choose between Reflect and Swagger. Protect against Swagger (and also Protect if it turns into a waiting battle), but if she goes ahead and tries Reflect, then I guess use Toxic if she didn't use Zap Cannon, or another targeted-mental-pain Psychic to keep the damage-output pressure on her if she did use it.

Psychic ~ Psychic ~ Protect/Toxic/Psychic

If Telekinesis is reffed in some way that I can't get Adelle into the bubble too, or if for some reason Gwen wouldn't plausibly believe she could drag Adelle into the bubble with Psychic:

Spoiler: commands

Well, this puts us in a tougher position. If we can't drag her into the bubble to try to cripple us both equally with the Zap Cannon combo, there's no way I'm willing to allow it to go through, but if we block Telekinesis, Adelle will just pummel us with super-effective attacks. So I guess let's just hit her with Toxic, then Protect against the Zap Cannon and finally use a targeted-mental-pain Psychic. If you can, wait her out on the second action to try to lure her out of using Focus Energy.

Toxic ~ Protect ~ Psychic

Overall command string: Psychic/Toxic ~ Psychic/Protect ~ Protect/Toxic/Psychic

(really boring, repetitive command string for what I expected to be much more complex and interesting commands when I started contemplating them)