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[09] Negrek vs blazheirio889 (ref: Chiropter)

Okay, Khao, I know you won't like this, but we need to get to Mandarb. Go right up to her, and if you have any time left, heft her out of the water and onto dry land with Strength, doing your best to hold onto her so she can't scamper back to the shallows.

If, on the second action, you haven't dragged her out of the water with Strength, do so now. Of course, do your best to prevent her from re-entering the water. She can't back that far away without drowning, and you can still reach down far enough, so this should work! If you've already dragged her out of the water, use Body Slam to hold her there.

Finally, if she's not pinned underneath you (e.g. you did not use Body Slam last action), then use Flamethrower. Since she should be very close to you, the chances of the attack missing should be reduced a bit (hopefully? :D). Aim for the armour, if possible. If you did Body Slam her, instead torch her with Heat Wave.

Approach Mandarb/Approach Mandarb & Strength ~ Strength/Body Slam ~ Flamethrower/Heat Wave
 
Round 14

Negrek (XO)
Absol
Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 70%
Energy: 41%
Status: Do you know how much this armor costs to fix?!
Chills: 2/3
Direct Healers: 1/1

Blazheirio889 (XO)
Typhlosion
Khao (M) <Blaze>
(Item: Magmarizer)
Health: 54% (10% Substitute)
Energy: 43%
Status: Why did it have to be a swamp… -1 Sp. Attack
Chills: 1/3​

With few options at the moment, Mandarb takes a few cautious steps back into the murky water, moving in until only her head is above the surface. From this vantage point, she watches Khao; the typhlosion, however, is staring not at her, but rather at his trainer in utter disbelief. Surely he had heard wrong… surely… For a moment he takes no action, just stares at the human, as though trying to will the commands he just heard to change (preferably by way of adding an emphatic “DON’T” at the start); then switches to sympathy tactics, widening his eyes and giving his trainer the most pitiable, pleading look he can muster; but, ultimately, he is reluctantly forced to accept that she will not be swayed from these awful tactics.

Grimacing, the typhlosion gingerly steps one foot into the water. He shudders in discomfort, but steels his resolve and forces himself to step all the way in and move on as the water gets deeper, soon becoming immersed almost to his arms. Mud and swamp detritus sucks at his feet with every step, but Khao manages to plow forward, his expression a grim study in discomfort as he tries to keep his focus on the end goal: the absol watching him stonily at the edge of the lake.

Only a few feet away from Mandarb now, Khao roars and splashes forward, wanting nothing more than to get out of the water as quickly as possible - and take Mandarb along with him. The absol grunts as Khao’s strong forelegs suddenly wrap around her, squeezing the air out of her lungs as the typhlosion lugs her out of the water. As soon as his feet leave the water, Khao slams his struggling package to the swampy ground, letting out a cry of relief as his mane flares up again and steam rises off his fur.

Mandarb snarls at her opponent, even as his fiery substitute steps out of the water to take its place in front of its creator, looking to have lost a bit of itself during the trip but still solid enough to be a barrier. Trying to ignore the hail pinging against her armor (and her head), the absol switches her attention once again to the future. Her eyes glow red as she projects her consciousness forward and sets up a nice little time bomb for Khao to run into soon…

The typhlosion still seems preoccupied with drying all the water from his fur when Mandarb’s sight returns to the present, so she quickly prepares her next attack: her focus turns inward, to the attributes that make her unique from all other absol. The particular curve of her blade, her special training to wield the poisonous barb on its tip, all the extra muscle she’s gained from training wearing heavy armor - all these traits and more she holds in her mind and, with that strange, difficult-to-describe-in-a-narrative process utilized by several pokemon techniques, uses them to generate a blinding white energy beam that homes in perfectly on Khao. It even attempts to curve around the substitute standing in its way, though the molten construct moves with surprising speed to intercept its trajectory.

Khao watches unhappily as his substitute crumples apart in front of him, Mandarb’s attack proving too much for it to take. While the heat from his mane has mostly dried his waterlogged fur, his internal fire still feels slightly dampened from his sojourn in the swamp; despite that, he stokes it as much as he can and spews a still-impressive flamethrower at his foe. Mandarb hisses in pain as her armor steams and glows red from the intense heat, cursing it for having pretty much the exact opposite of its intended protective quality…

Negrek (XO)
Absol
Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 48%
Energy: 31%
Status: Negrek, we need to invest in something fireproof.
Chills: 2/3
Direct Healers: 1/1

Blazheirio889 (XO)
Typhlosion
Khao (M) <Blaze>
(Item: Magmarizer)
Health: 51%
Energy: 28%
Status: Mostly dry, but still unhappy with his trainer’s tactics. -1 Sp. Attack
Chills: 1/3​

Battle notes:
Both pokemon are now on the encircling strip of land.
Flamethrower caused slightly less damage and cost slightly more energy due to Khao’s walk through the water.

Terrain notes:
A large pile of boulders sits over a small hole, blocking the exit. Smaller rocks fill the tunnel about halfway down its length. A second, unblocked tunnel leads down to the same hole.
A mound of large blocks of marshy soil and a few heavy concrete blocks sits on the main island.
Spikes are scattered over the main island.
About one-third of the vegetation on the main island has been burned away.
All of the vegetation on one of the surrounding islets has been burned away.
The arena is under the weather effect Hail.
"I seem to have heard something… It may have been whispering..." the Pike attendant repeats, trying to keep up her appearance of uncaring detachment, but looking rather miffed that nothing seems to happen whenever she says that...

Next Round:
Blazheirio889 attacks first.

...Seriously, how is Natural Gift supposed to work?
 
... okay! Man I'm thinking too hard about this D:

Khao, take a moment to Chill, first of all. If Mandarb tries to Snatch it, reward her with a Focus Punch.

Next action, if you didn't Chill before, do so now. Otherwise, use Heat Wave. If she has your Magmarizer, use Focus Blast instead. If she's far away enough so that you doubt Heat Wave will hit/deal a nice chunk of damage, switch to Focus Blast. If she's Protecting, Detecting, Bouncing, or otherwise out of range (Subs should be killed on sight), Chill anyway.

Last action, toast her with Overheat, or Focus Blast if she has your Magmarizer. Chill if she is inaccessible in any way (Protect, Detect, blah blah blah).

Chill/Focus Punch ~ Chill/Heat Wave/Focus Blast ~ Overheat/Focus Blast/Chill

aaa gonna lose
 
((
Chiropter said:
...Seriously, how is Natural Gift supposed to work?
Click to expand...
...the power that's inside? ))

You're doing great, Mandarb, and Khao's looking pretty nervous, isn't he? Should be a nice, relaxing round here... let's take a break while Khao takes his break, though why he wants to do it out under all the hurty hail is beyond me. We'll let the future sight we floated last round bring most of the pain for us this round around.

Dig down, relax for a good long while and then, once Khao's settled in and gotten nice and comfy, pop up with a surprise attack. Shouldn't be hard to out-stall him, since you're slower anyway, but if you're worried he might attack you if you show your face, mail-order him another dose of future dismay.

Dig (down) ~ Chill ~ Dig (attack; wait for Khao to attempt chilling) / Future Sight
 
Round 15

Negrek (XO)
Absol
Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 48%
Energy: 31%
Status: Negrek, we need to invest in something fireproof.
Chills: 2/3
Direct Healers: 1/1

Blazheirio889 (XO)
Typhlosion
Khao (M) <Blaze>
(Item: Magmarizer)
Health: 51%
Energy: 28%
Status: Mostly dry, but still unhappy with his trainer’s tactics. -1 Sp. Attack
Chills: 1/3​

For a moment after Khao’s flamethrower abates, the two pokemon simply stand and glare, each trying to keep the other from noticing their growing exhaustion, though both are breathing heavily. Suddenly, from behind the reeds back on the main island, a soft, melodious chirping reaches their ears. More and more join in from all over the field, each with its own unique tune that somehow blends seamlessly with all its fellows, and both absol and typhlosion feel a warm sense of calm wash over them; they sigh in contentment, forgetting their hard-fought battle for just a moment under the ethereal music of the kricketot.

A purr-like growl rumbles from Khao’s throat as the chirping crescendos, then gently fades away, leaving him feeling relaxed and reenergized - even the continued pounding of hail isn’t bothering him as much. With the kricketot music still gently ringing in his ears, he really doesn’t feel like exerting himself just yet - and thankfully, his trainer gives him exactly that option. Grateful, the typhlosion keeps his muscles relaxed, storing up energy for later.

Mandarb, on the other hand, has been given no such respite; sparing Khao a brief look of disdain, she begins to dig into the ground… But, being entirely unfamiliar with the technique, makes little headway. Mostly, she just gets her claws caked with moist dirt; in the end, all she manages is a rather embarrassingly-small indentation in the ground.

Khao watches Mandarb’s efforts and snorts - that’s the best she can do? Suddenly, he tenses as a familiar humming sound starts coming from every direction… Same as before, a sphere of pure psychic energy appears out of nowhere, exploding in a burst of color and violently throwing the typhlosion to the ground.

Growling, Khao pushes himself back to his hind legs; he sees Mandarb looking far too comfortable, bedded down in her tiny pit and smirking at him. Eager to destroy whatever illusion she has of safety, Khao once again unleashes a roaring wave of heat. The air shimmers between the two as every plant in the immediate area shrivels and blackens; Mandarb howls in pain even as she tries, with little success, to keep her armor from taking the brunt of the attack. Arceus, it’s practically melting now…

For the next few moments, the arena is silent save for the constant patter of hail. Khao simply stares at Mandarb, breathing heavily as he recovers from his last attack and builds up energy for his next… Mandarb, meanwhile, hunkers down in her tiny hole, trying to expose as little of her armor as possible, and casts her sight into the future once more. Once she has another psychic time bomb set up, her attention returns to the present… and to the unwelcome sight of Khao’s mane flaring white-hot, soon followed by a huge column of fire the same color roaring toward her.

This attack is on a whole new level of temperature than any she’s endured yet - for a moment her mind shuts down and all she can process is shear burning agony. Her armor, even without taking the brunt of the flames, actually does start to melt a little at this point. When Mandarb comes back to herself, she finds her armor still glowing a dull red, its edges warped, and her body badly burned all over, much of her fur charred and some patches burnt clean off. The attack seems to have taken a lot out of Khao: the flames on his neck are mostly reduced to sputtering embers, and he’s panting heavily - but with the victorious look in his eyes of a predator who knows he’s got his prey up against a wall…

Negrek (XO)
Absol
Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 13% (capped)
Energy: 46%
Status: In very bad shape, and feeling it.
Chills: 3/3
Direct Healers: 1/1

Blazheirio889 (XO)
Typhlosion
Khao (M) <Blaze>
(Item: Magmarizer)
Health: 38%
Energy: 33%
Status: Not long now… -3 Sp. Attack
Chills: 2/3​

Battle notes:
Absol doesn’t learn Dig. Yeah.

Terrain notes:
A large pile of boulders sits over a small hole, blocking the exit. Smaller rocks fill the tunnel about halfway down its length. A second, unblocked tunnel leads down to the same hole.
A mound of large blocks of marshy soil and a few heavy concrete blocks sits on the main island.
Spikes are scattered over the main island.
About one-third of the vegetation on the main island has been burned away.
All of the vegetation on one of the surrounding islets has been burned away.
The arena is under the weather effect Hail.
"I seem to have heard something…” the attendant repeats, looking slightly cheered that she was actually right for once the last time. “It may have been whispering..."

Next Round:
Negrek attacks first.

Negrek said:
((...the power that's inside? ))
Click to expand...

Oh, duh. Silly me.

Just a heads up: I'll be participating in NaNoWriMo come November (that's the plan, at least), so if I'm taking a while with the next round... well, I have a semi-legitimate excuse now. I do intend to make sure I don't leave you waiting the whole month, though.
 
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Okay, there you go. The final results of the round may be slightly different. Again, so very very sorry for not checking that.
 
(( I was expecting a little more, yeah, since it's BP 100. ))

Well, Mandarb! I made this harder than it needs to be, although you've got to be kidding me--with claws like that, how have you never learned how to dig? No need to panic, though; victory isn't as remote as it appears, and that future sight is going to help us out, I think. We just need to survive this round; we'll see how that goes, shall we? You'll need to stay light on your feet and push past exhaustion, but if you can pull it off, that blazing badger won't ever be able to live his loss down.

Protect, then use a cunning feint to avoid whatever Khao throws at you. Since feint is faster than fast, I think you should be able to jink around even a quick attack rush; just trick him into using his attack and be off in a flash! Do your best; you only need to pull this off once. If he wants to protect or detect instead, of course, you can trick him into letting down his guard before you strike instead. And then protect again.

On the second action, if Khao tosses a swift your way, let him eat hyper beam in return. Do the same if he chooses not to attack, other than to protect or detect. If he uses swift and has clones or is underground/out of reach, swift instead.

If Khao uses a non-damaging attack other than protect or detect on the first or last actions, fry him with hyper beam, or blast him with swift if he has clones. Also swift if he's gone underground or otherwise tried to move out of reach.

Good luck!

Protect / Hyper Beam / Swift ~ Feint (dodge) / Hyper Beam / Swift ~ Protect / Hyper Beam / Swift
 
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Negrek said:
(( I was expecting a little more, yeah, since it's BP 100. ))
Click to expand...

Ah, I see the problem: the ASB Attack Guide has it at BP 80, and apparently I was in a let's-not-bother-double-checking-anything-at-veekun mood while writing this round. Anyway, edited so that Khao took a little more damage.
 
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HURP Change of plans. Hail, why you gotta crash my Double Team party?

Final stretch, Khao! Almost there. If you can push through this (and with the healthy lead you have here, you better!), then we have a pretty good shot at becoming champions! So hang in there.

Let's avoid all that nasty Hyper Beam and just Dig down, shall we? Camp down there for a while. Make sure your tunnel is pretty linear, though, so Mandarb can kinda-sorta see you, and more importantly, target you with Swift. Also don't go too far down; we want to be able to surface as quickly as possible next action, though you need to be deep enough so that Mandarb will indeed use Swift.

Weather out the first Swift. Then, on the second action, she should Swift again. Wait for stars to shoot down your tunnel, then surface quick as you can and bear Mandarb down to the ground in a glorious blaze! That is, Dig + Flare Blitz. Since she's already spent her time attacking you, she can't use that cunning Feint to dodge, and since you're merely delaying your Dig, not using it on the third action, she can't put up a Protect defense in time, either. Should be a clean KO!

Dig (down) ~ wait then Dig (surface) + Flare Blitz
 
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Round 16

Negrek (XO)
Absol
Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 13% (capped)
Energy: 46%
Status: In very bad shape, and feeling it.
Chills: 3/3
Direct Healers: 1/1

Blazheirio889 (XO)
Typhlosion
Khao (M) <Blaze>
(Item: Magmarizer)
Health: 38%
Energy: 33%
Status: Not long now… -3 Sp. Attack
Chills: 2/3​

For a moment, Khao and Mandarb stand still, both with an ear turned closely to their surroundings in case the Pike attendant is right again… but whatever had enticed the kricketune choir to sing earlier has apparently passed, and all they hear is the omnipresent patter of hail.

Khao is the first to take initiative, dropping to all fours and digging swiftly into the ground. Unlike Mandarb, he has some experience with this, and in short order manages to burrow himself several feet below the surface, digs a small turnaround so that he is facing the surface again, and settles down to wait patiently for his next order. While the damp soil pressing around him is uncomfortable, the typhlosion takes some comfort in not having sharp ice chunks dropping on his head every moment.

That comfort is swiftly remedied - literally - as a barrage of star-like energy projectiles shoot down the tunnel Khao had left behind him. He had made that tunnel as straight as he could as per his trainer’s orders - and was rather proud of his work - but now its linear perfection serves only as a clear path for Mandarb to target him through. With little room to maneuver, Khao has to quickly close his eyes as dozens of the Swift stars bear down on his exposed face… but before he can get a foreleg up to provide better protection, one of the stars, flying like a glowing shuriken, stabs directly into his right eye.

Khao ROARS in pain and rage, barely noticing the other stars as they slice a spider web of trimmed fur and bloody lines over his arm and upper body. All he is conscious of is the horrific, stabbing pain in his eye, which jabs through his body and into his very core. His breathing becomes ragged as he is overwhelmed by a wave of nausea and weakness… his rage builds and builds with every jolt of pain… he feels his body temperature rising higher and higher, to the point where steam begins to rise from the soggy soil… and then his internal spark - ultimate source of all his fire attacks - begins to blaze.

Back on the surface, Mandarb is becoming rather concerned with the slowly intensifying fiery glow coming from her foe’s tunnel, especially following that roar. Not to mention that the ground beneath her paws suddenly feels just the tiniest bit warmer… Regardless, the typhlosion doesn’t seem to be coming back up yet, so Mandarb slices her blade viciously through the air, sending forth a second barrage of Swift stars into the tunnel. No earsplitting howl of pain answers her attack like last time, which makes the absol feel, if anything, even more nervous. Each one of an absol’s senses is finely-tuned toward environmental disturbances, and right now Mandarb’s are screaming insistent bloody murder at her… But before she can take any action, the mouth of the tunnel explodes.

Or at least that’s the general effect as Khao bursts from below, every inch of his body shrouded in dancing orange-white flames, his mane blazing like a supernova, generating so much heat that the soil beneath his feet, already charred and lifeless from his earlier attacks, smokes and turns practically molten. Mandarb barely catches a glimpse of the trail of now-dried blood streaming from his closed right eye before the typhlosion is upon her - with tremendous, reckless fury he rams into the absol with a bone-shattering crunch that makes both trainers wince, barreling her over and slamming her to the ground. Glaring down at his foe with his good, albeit bloodshot, eye, Khao keeps Mandarb pinned down, pressing deliberately on her armor and searing it red-hot with his flame-licked paws. Mandarb’s screams are glorious to his ears, but they last only a few seconds more before, finally overwhelmed by her injuries, the absol’s eyes roll back in her head and she falls into unconsciousness.

Negrek (XX)
Absol
Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 0%
Energy: 38%
Status: Knocked out!

Blazheirio889 (XO)
Typhlosion
Khao (M) <Blaze>
(Item: Magmarizer)
Health: 16%
Energy: 20%
Status: Roaring in triumph!​

Even as the referee declares blazheirio the victor, the now-familiar hum of an upcoming Future Sight begins to build… Both trainers quickly recall their respective pokemon, blazheirio just in time to save Khao - who for all his victorious roaring is looking very sick and dead on his feet - from the massive burst of psychic energy that materializes out of nowhere and impacts the spot where the typhlosion had stood just a second before. Wanting to get that eye healed as quickly as possible, blazheirio rushes to accept her prize money and rare candy, shakes hands with Negrek, and then both trainers exit quickly through the curtains, running for the nearest Pokemon Center, while the referee finally brings the round to a close.

Battle notes:
The first Swift was a critical hit.
Khao's Blaze ability activated after the first action.

---

And there we go! I double-checked everything this time, so everyone should definitely be using moves that they actually know… Anyway, prizes! Blazheirio889 wins $30 and one rare candy; Negrek receives $20; and I receive $25. Yoshiya gains 1 experience point, while Yukianesa, Mandarb, and Khao gain 2 experience points each.

Good (if annoyingly long and drawn out, which I take full responsibility for) battle, everyone!
 
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Oh phew, that was one of the most nerve-wracking yet fun battles I've ever had. Really good game, Negrek! Right down to the wire, and I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to hit Mandarb this last round, heh.
 
Indeed, good game, and one I certainly didn't deserve to win given the number of gross misplays I made. I personally would not have let you wait a combo in that manner, though. ;)

See you for a rematch in this year's tournament, perhaps.
 
Naw, I made a bunch of misplays, too - not to mention that if Mandarb wasn't paralyzed when she was supposed to steal the Magmarizer, she probably would've avoided a lot of damage. Anyway, hopefully I won't see you /too/ soon in this year's tournament; I need a break from battling scary people. OTL
 
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