[09] Negrek vs blazheirio889 (ref: Chiropter)

[Chiropter]

DQ warning for Negrek.

 

[Negrek]

Awright, we'll go with this and hope for the best.

First, flop down on the ground and put your head down--with your armor and breastplate pressed into the mud. While you're lying there, get rid of your reaper cloth--preferably fling it at Khao, but if you can only bite it off or toss it a little ways away, that's fine, too. Just get rid of it.

If you're feeling too paralyzed to move, just protect.

Next up, rush in with a sucker punch/thief combination--sock one to Khao's gut, then relieve him of his magmarizer while he's reeling. Hold it away from your armor and it should suck up that flamethrower and heat wave quite nicely for us.

If Khao has a substitute after the first action, crush it with a rock tomb, then hide in the lee of the stones to protect yourself from the heat wave while losing the reaper cloth. Or rock tomb again if it didn't work previously.

Lie down and Fling/get rid of reaper cloth / Protect ~ Sucker Punch + Thief / Rock Tomb ~ Nothing / Hide behind rocks and get rid of reaper cloth / Rock Tomb

 

[Chiropter]

Round 11​

With a roar and an explosion of flame, Khao the typhlosion erupts from his pokeball. His predatory gaze settles on Mandarb, who stares back impassively, betraying none of her internal concern about her armor‘s effectiveness against this new foe. For his part, Khao bares his fangs at her in a confident smirk, looking cool and unflappable… then without warning a heavy splash sounds from behind, and fire instantly blazes high from his shoulders as he whips around like a startled meowth, looking wildly for the source of the noise…

Oh. Magikarp. His flames die back down to smolders as the moment of adrenaline passes, leaving him feeling slightly abashed but also intrigued; he takes a few steps toward the water, pondering whether charbroiled fish sounds good for dinner… Oh, wait. Battle, right, right. The typhlosion returns his attention to his opponent as his trainer gives him his commands…

Negrek (XO)

Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
(Item: Reaper Cloth)
Health: 88%
Energy: 86%
Status: Success! Paralyzed (mild)

Blazheirio889 (XO)

Khao (M) <Blaze>
(Item: Magmarizer)
Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Status: Maybe some cooked canned absol instead!​

As Khao’s flames begin to slowly grow in intensity as he builds up energy, Mandarb hurriedly drops to her chest, letting her breastplate sink into the swampy ground. Grimacing, she pushes her face down into the ground as well, leaving her back completely exposed but keeping her armor out of sight.

By this point, Khao’s entire body is sheathed in a red aura of intense heat, while the flames on his back blaze almost as high as he is tall. With a tremendous roar, he throws back his head and spews out a massive fountain of molten rock, which rains down over the entire island, setting reeds ablaze and water steaming. Mandarb shrieks in agony as the lava burns over her back, her cries muffled by the soil. Her claws dig furrows in the ground as she endures the pain, and as soon as her trainer gives the all-clear, she thrashes and rolls around wildly, flinging off all the lava still clinging to her. Breathing raggedly, she gets to her feet, wincing at the rawness of her back (she’s sure some of her fur has been seared off), and observing the burning foliage around her - she spots several croagunk, yanma, and assorted other Pike pokemon scrambling and flying away in panic, before disappearing again behind reeds that escaped the rain of lava.

As the small fires burn themselves out, a strange, unearthly humming suddenly fills the arena - coming from no direction in particular and growing steadily louder. While Khao looks around uneasily, Mandarb takes the time to grab her reaper cloth in her mouth and tug it loose, letting it flutter to the ground. Khao raises an eyebrow at this, but is quickly distracted as the humming reaches a climactic volume and, from seemingly out of nowhere, a ball of brilliant, shimmering energy appears, shooting across the water towards him. The psychic blast engulfs the typhlosion in an explosion of starburst colors, its force pushing him back almost to the edge of the island.

Mandarb smiles to herself as Khao regains his balance from the unexpected attack. Keeping a careful eye on him, she crouches down, ready to strike the second an opportunity presents itself. She tenses as flames flare up from Khao’s shoulders again, and fire begins leaking out of his mouth… Now! Go!

…Go!

…Go?

The absol’s eyes widen in horror as she sees Khao breath out a thick tongue of flame at her, his magmarizer still in his possession… and her legs stubbornly refusing to propel her forward to steal it, or unstick themselves from their current positions at all.

Oh please, not now… Mandarb struggles frantically against the paralysis, but the flamethrower is faster. Her steel breastplate begins to glow a dull red with heat as it takes the full brunt of the flames; Mandarb screams as the amplified heat, along with the fire itself, burns all over her body. The flamethrower quickly abates, and her armor’s color returns to normal as it cools down, but the absol remains in pain; she can’t see it behind her armor, but she can feel tender, burned skin rubbing painfully against the inside of the breastplate every time she moves.

Khao wastes no time pressing his advantage; an aura of heat once again explodes around his body, but this time is projected forward as a scalding heat wave. The air ripples and flowers and leaves shrivel in its path, and Mandarb, though she can move again, is too slow to turn her armored side away from the attack. The heat is intense, but the absol just grits her teeth and bears it - her body seems so overwhelmed from the previous two attacks that this one seems mild by comparison. Lacking orders for this situation, she simply turns away from the typhlosion, hoping to keep her armor from taking another hit like that…

Negrek (XO)

Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 53% (capped)
Energy: 86%
Status: Worried and frustrated. Paralyzed (very mild), Burned (3%/round)

Blazheirio889 (XO)

Khao (M) <Blaze>
(Item: Magmarizer)
Health: 89%
Energy: 81%
Status: Confident.​

Terrain notes:
A large pile of boulders (the ice has entirely melted) 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.
Mandarb's reaper cloth is laying on the ground a little ways off from her.
About one-third of the vegetation on the main island has been burned away.
The Pike attendant starts, as though sensing something she hadn‘t been expecting, and mutters in surprise, "Even the air feels like it's holding its breath..."

Next round:
Negrek attacks first.

Ah, well, I guess this wouldn't have been a good birthday present anyway. (Have you been skimping on your sacrifices to the RNG gods, Negrek?) Anyway, I'm going to try to focus a little more on ASB stuff now, so hopefully the next rounds will be slightly more timely.

 

[Negrek]

(I think Mandarb would be at 53% health; the damage cap is 35%, and burn damage is counted towards the cap rather than added on top.)

Well damn. Clearly paralysis is my Achilles' heel.

No need to worry too much yet, though, Mandarb. This battle's only getting started. I think we'll start by going for a little swim--or a little wade, anyway. Back into the water while you give Khao your most vicious snarl, getting in deep enough that only your head is above the surface. It's okay if it takes you more than one action to get that deep; just keep walking and snarling for as long as it takes--and do try to drown out any nonsense that Khao might be talking with your snarls, by the way. Also, walk straight back, since it would've been hard for Yuki to get any spikes directly behind you, and if Khao wants to pursue he's going to have to either run through them or take a roundabout way in hopes of avoiding them.

Once you get passable deep in the water you'll be largely protected from Khao's fire (even if it does up and get all sunny in here *preemptive fistshake*), and you can duck underwater easily enough to avoid almost all of his special attacks, too. Hopefully it'll soothe your burns a little, too. Feel free to do that while you're out there, and just keep snarling. If you're in the water and Khao launches a physical attack, counter it.

If he comes in for a contact attack, take a moment to steal his magmarizer, then keep backing into the water.

Snarl (back into water) / Thief ~ Snarl (back into water if not there already) / Thief / Counter x 2

 

[blazheirio889]

Hmm... Open with a Flamethrower before Mandarb can Snarl at you and lower your special attack. If rain settles in, then oh well, we'll have to settle for Focus Blast (and be sure to aim well!).

Then, create a 20% sub - that should protect us from the next two Snarls.

End with Focus Punch. If necessary, feign doing something else and delay the Focus Punch so Mandarb will Snarl instead of Counter; also be sure not to get too close while focusing so she doesn't back too far into the water - don't want you getting too wet, after all. If Mandarb catches on your game, though, drop Focus Punch and throw a Solarbeam in her direction, or Focus Blast if it's raining or sandstorming; we want that substitute intact for next round. In the case of Focus Blast, get as close as you can while preferably not getting into the water/avoiding the spikes to hopefully increase your aim.

Flamethrower/Focus Blast ~ Substitute (20%) ~ Focus Punch/Solarbeam/Focus Blast

 

[Chiropter]

(Mandarb's damage is fixed - I had thought that burn damage was added on after the cap, sorry. Also, I forgot to take Pressure into account last round, so Khao has lost a bit more energy.)

Round 12

Negrek (XO)

Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 53% (capped)
Energy: 86%
Status: Worried and frustrated. Paralyzed (very mild), Burned (3%/round)

Blazheirio889 (XO)

Khao (M) <Blaze>
(Item: Magmarizer)
Health: 89%
Energy: 81%
Status: Confident.​

A sudden muffled CLUNK followed by a mechanical WHIRRRR from above echo around the arena as the Pike’s hidden weather system activates, causing Mandarb and Khao to hesitate in carrying out their new orders and look up warily - each hoping that chance will be on their side. The air above darkens as heavy clouds form, while the temperature in the arena abruptly drops several degrees; then, without warning, great icy hailstones begin to rain from the sky. Both pokemon yelp in surprise and try in vain to shield themselves from the barrage of sharp ice that rains down on them.

Keeping her eyes on Khao, Mandarb takes a few tentative steps back, becoming more confident as her legs show no sign of freezing up on her again. Khao, snarling from a hailstone to the back of the head, takes a deep breath in preparation for another flamethrower… but is cut off when the retreating absol bares her fangs and snarls viciously at him, letting loose a deep, rumbling growl that sends a supernatural shiver of dread down the typhlosion’s spine. For a moment his limbs feel weak; he’s always considered himself a brave ’mon, but the sound, combined with the ferocious expression on the absol’s face, invokes an instinctive, primal terror from the dark recesses of his brain that he has no defense against.

Slightly less enthusiastic now, Khao nevertheless pushes past the fear and breathes a tongue of flame at the retreating absol. Not having moved far enough to avoid it, Mandarb takes the full brunt of the flamethrower, her armor heating up painfully even with the flames’ lowered intensity. Gritting her teeth, she continues moving back, aiming toward the patter of hailstones hitting the water. She keeps her eyes on Khao as she walks; she tenses as flames dribble from the typhlosion’s mouth again, but he only breathes a small, steady stream of flame straight down into the ground.

After an area about as large as Khao is glowing white-hot, he ends his fire breath and reaches down into the now-molten ground. Moving quickly, he begins to mold the lava like clay, forming a vaguely typhlosion-shaped construct standing in front of him. Silvery lines of energy spread out from Khao’s hands and surround the construct, holding its shape and imparting a portion of Khao’s own life-force into it. Khao pulls his hands out of his substitute just as Mandarb’s terror-inducing snarl rips through the air again - the sound appears to burst against the body of softly-glowing lava, breaking off a few globs of its “skin”, but leaving Khao completely unaffected.

Mandarb scowls, but has no time to dwell on this unwelcome development as her back legs finally slip down into water. She quickly backs herself all the way into the lake, sighing in relief as the lukewarm swamp water seeps into her armor and over her burn, slightly soothing the insistent pain. Her legs move freely underwater, unencumbered by the last lingering strains of paralysis, and she is soon several feet away from the land, only her head visible above the surface.

Turning her attention back toward land, Mandarb smirks as a streak of curses and high-pitched yelps reaches her ears. Khao, only now realizing that the distance between them had become a slight negative factor in terms of dealing mass amounts of damage, had dropped to all fours and rushed to the water’s edge - straight through the spike-strewn no-man’s land courtesy of his fainted teammate. Mandarb snickers as Khao doesn’t quite manage to hold back a piteous whimper as he pulls a spike free from his paw; the typhlosion’s eyes narrow, and he clenches the same paw into a fist, a small trickle of blood trailing down his foreleg. The substitute stares on impassively as its master’s fist begins to take on a soft glow…

Khao tries to clear his mind of all distractions - from the continuous battering of the hail to the uncomfortable notion that he’s going to have to go into the water if he wants to hit Mandarb - concentrating every iota of his focus into gathering energy in his fist. The glow slowly but steadily increases in intensity… but Khao notices that his opponent is taking no action, but watching him with a grin on her face, just waiting… Remembering his instructions for this, Khao immediately and unceremoniously drops his focus, letting the fighting energy he had gathered in his fist drain away; then - feeling incredibly drained - he tries to switch to his alternate tactic, gathering up solar energy in his body.

Between the obscuring hail clouds and the good amount of energy he had just invested in a very intensive attack, Khao can’t manage much; the resultant solarbeam is thin, dim, and decidedly unimpressive. It slices through the water, further muddling its energy, but manages to strike its target. Mandarb winces but, still in her stable Counter stance, easily manages to keep her footing. The beam didn’t hurt that much, the pain from her burn is lessening, and the water has managed to shield her from the largest hailstones for the past few seconds, and so she feels much more confident as she awaits her next instructions.

Negrek (XO)

Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 26%
Energy: 78%
Status: Relaxing underwater. Burned (3%/round)

Blazheirio889 (XO)

Khao (M) <Blaze>
(Item: Magmarizer)
Health: 57% (10% Substitute)
Energy: 59%
Status: Feeling overextended. -1 Sp. Attack​

Battle notes:
Mandarb’s paralysis wore off on the third action.
Because of the nature of the attack, Focus Punch could not be delayed to wait for Mandarb to attack, and requires too much focus for Khao to have feigned something else.
Khao’s Solarbeam cost more energy and dealt reduced damage due both to the Hail and Khao having already used energy to start the Focus Punch.

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.
The arena is under the weather effect Hail.
"Even the air feels like it's holding its breath..." The Pike attendant mutters again, looking surprised.

Next Round:
Blazheirio889 attacks first.

 

[blazheirio889]

Shouldn't Khao have used Flamethrower before Mandarb's Snarl on the first action? From the description it sounded like Mandarb managed to hit Khao first, even though she's paralyzed and Khao is naturally faster.

Edit: Also, iirc, subs still take damage from weather so would Khao's sub be at 10% instead of 13%?

 

[Chiropter]

The way I ref it, slower pokemon can still have a chance to go first, based on the difference between the two speed stats. Mandarb's paralysis had lessened to the point where her speed was high enough to give her that small chance, and she got lucky.

Hmm, I thought substitutes didn't take weather damage. Negrek?

 

[Negrek]

I usually have both the substitute and the pokémon behind it take weather damage.

 

[Chiropter]

Okay, that makes sense. Edited.

 

[blazheirio889]

Hm, right then... Well, we don't have many options while Mandarb is in the water. We'll just have to make do with three Focus Blasts and hope they all hit!

If Mandarb Rests, well, she'll have to get out of the water if she doesn't want to drown. In that case, take a moment to Chill, and if you have an action left, then get in close and give her a healthy Blast Burn.

If you can't hit Mandarb (e.g. Protect, Detect, Bounce - Substitute is not included), then take a well-earned Chill. If you can't hit her with Focus Blast (e.g. Torment), switch to Blast Burn and just hope the sheer force of the attack will allow it to go through the water and deal some damage, I don't know. Mandarb should be in shallow water if she's able to keep her head above the water, so it shouldn't give her complete immunity to such a powerful attack, I think? In a similar vein, if you can't hit her with Blast Burn (such as if she steals your Magmarizer), default back to Focus Blast.

Oh and if Mandarb tries to Flash you, do your best to close your eyes and turn away before the light hits. And if she tries some dodging shenanigans with Quick Attack or what have you, wait for her to stop before you hit her.

Focus Blast/Chill ~ Focus Blast/Chill/Blast Burn ~ Focus Blast/Chill/Blast Burn

Pity that Typhlosion doesn't learn Taunt. Oh and Absol's movepool is horrible to scroll through multiple times )<

 

[blazheirio889]

Invisible post D<

 

[Negrek]

Hmm-mm-mm, barring anything untoward, I think we ought to be okay taking a focus blast before we rest. So let's move into a little shallower water--enough so that you can, like, lie down without drowning--and, yes, rest. Then take a couple chill pills. Pleasant dreams!

Rest ~ Chill x2

 

[Chiropter]

Round 13

Negrek (XO)

Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 26%
Energy: 78%
Status: Relaxing underwater. Burned (3%/round)

Blazheirio889 (XO)

Khao (M) <Blaze>
(Item: Magmarizer)
Health: 57% (13% Substitute)
Energy: 59%
Status: Feeling overextended. -1 Sp. Attack​

“Kekekekekeke…”

As Mandarb and Khao stare each other down, both pokemon suddenly become uncomfortably aware of the sound of… laughter?… coming from every direction. At first all but inaudible over the steady patter of hail, the whispery giggles grow louder and louder, as if their sources are moving closer and closer... Typhlosion and absol simultaneously experience cold chills down their spines as they feel the presence of a dense cloud of invisible somethings swarming all around them, cutting off all avenues of escape. In the dim light, they can make out nothing save an occasional pair of glowing eyes, or glistening fangs, or long slithery tongues… and as the laughter builds to a fever pitch, both pokemon feel a rush of weakness, as some spell woven into the laughter converts their very strength into sustenance for the crowding ghosts.

Satisfied with their meal, the gastly vanish with one last group cackle. Khao, with an involuntary shiver (entirely due to the chill, he makes a mental reminder to insist later), closes his eyes in intense concentration. Willing himself to ignore the energy drain he was just subjected to, as well as everything around him, he focuses solely on his next attack. Golden energy swirls intensely around the typhlosion, building up until he is almost entirely obscured… and then he releases it in a tremendous wave, blasting across the water straight towards Mandarb.

The absol barely has time to wince. The focus blast picks her up and hurls her backwards over the water, as her steel armor yields like clay against the energy. She lands with a splash a few feet from one of the smaller islands surrounding the main one. For a moment, she lays unmoving, and trainers and referee watch carefully, wondering if the battle has just ended… but after a few tense seconds, Mandarb pushes herself painfully to her feet and stumbles through the brackish water toward the islet. Once the water is shallow enough that she can safely lay down without risk of drowning, she collapses, her head flopping on the surface of the islet. Her body burned and broken and her armor cracked from Khao’s attack, she appears to lose her battle with unconsciousness… but Khao, narrowing his eyes to see through the hail, can just make out a slight glow around her sleeping form as her wounds begin rapidly healing themselves.

Growling to himself, the typhlosion sits down and takes a moment to recuperate from his very draining attack - and to prepare for another one. Snarling at the hail still beating down relentlessly, he lets his mane simmer down to just softly-glowing embers in his neck-fur.

When, from what he can see of the absol, Mandarb appears to be the picture of health once again, Khao switches his focus from regaining energy to stoking his internal fire with as much power as it can take. With a sudden WHOOSH!, his fiery mane explodes up from his shoulders, creating a column of steam as hail is instantly evaporated on contact. Small licks of flame shoot from his mouth and nostrils, the tiniest indicator of the immense heat and energy the typhlosion is holding within his body, fighting for release…

Khao takes aim and breathes deeply, and unleashes a tremendous fireball, lighting up the dim arena and sending heat all the way up into the stands. The water beneath it steams as the fireball follows its course, quickly engulfing the oblivious absol and obscuring her from view in a brilliant explosion.

When the air clears, all anyone can see on the islet where Mandarb laid are a few smoldering remains of plant life. The absol, still miraculously asleep, has been thrown all the way to the strip of land that encircles the arena. Khao, breathing heavily as his mane burns low, gives his trainer a look of consternation, wondering how he’s going to reach her all the way across the water. For her part, Mandarb rests for a few more moments before, groaning and wondering why she doesn’t feel as refreshed as she should, she wakes up and gets to her feet. Wincing at her new wounds, she looks down with distaste at her armor - the steel has cracked and bent in several places, looking much less streamlined than it had started out as. Snarling, she stares across the swamp at her opponent, her thoughts beginning to move in the same direction as his…

Negrek (XO)

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)

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​

Battle notes:
Because Mandarb had to be in shallow water in order to Rest, she took full damage from the hail this round.
Mandarb is now on the strip of land surrounding the arena, while Khao remains on the main central island.

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..."

Next round:
Negrek attacks first.

Less than a week. See? Less. Than. A. Week. You sit down and do it, and a round takes less than a friggin' week. Not two months.

Negrek, I think for now I'll try to finish this battle. If at some point I find myself losing motivation again, I'll PM you about finding an e-ref, rather than waiting so long for updates, but I'm feeling okay about continuing right now.

 

[Negrek]

So will Mandarb's armor no longer have an effect on the battle at this point?

About how far away from Khao is she at this point?

 

[Chiropter]

So will Mandarb's armor no longer have an effect on the battle at this point?

About how far away from Khao is she at this point?

Oh, no, I didn't mean to imply that the armor had lost its effectiveness - it's just been really banged up. All its effects are still there.

Hmm... well, Khao is right at the edge of the central island, and Mandarb is all the way at the boundary of the arena... Um, I'm bad at estimating distances, maybe... 10 meters? Ish? Does that seem too far? They're far enough apart that there'll be a slight accuracy penalty for any ranged attacks, at any rate.

 

[Negrek]

Ah, okay. I just saw that her armor boost wasn't there and thought the armor had gotten totally demolished, but I guess the boost wasn't listed in the first place.

10m is fine; I was mostly just wondering whether attacks would reach at all, and roughly how much water there was between the two pokémon.

Attacks soon, then.

 

[Negrek]

Well, he certainly knocked you for a loop, didn't he, Mandarb? Works out just fine for us; he's not going to like slogging through that water to get to us one bit. Move to submerge yourself again to give yourself some protection from his attacks--try to move more sideways than forward if you can to maintain the distance between the two of you, then cook up a nasty vision of his future. Wrap up by sending a natural gift his way, or chilling if he protects himself from it.

Submerge Self ~ Future Sight ~ Natural Gift / Chill

 

[blazheirio889]

Since the water is about a meter deep and Typhlosion is 1.7 metres tall, Khao should be able to wade through it with minimal adverse effects, yes? And I'm pretty sure he should be able to reach Mandarb in one action? Would dashing through the water with Quick Attack reduce adverse effects, if any?

Relatedly, Khao should be able to reach into the water/submerge himself partially with minimal adverse effects, so long as his open flames aren't in contact with water, right?

so many questions

 

[Chiropter]

Since the water is about a meter deep and Typhlosion is 1.7 metres tall, Khao should be able to wade through it with minimal adverse effects, yes? And I'm pretty sure he should be able to reach Mandarb in one action? Would dashing through the water with Quick Attack reduce adverse effects, if any?

Relatedly, Khao should be able to reach into the water/submerge himself partially with minimal adverse effects, so long as his open flames aren't in contact with water, right?

so many questions

1) Yes. 2) Sure. 3) Maybe, maybe not. :evil: 4) Probably.