Hiikaru vs Eifie

[Zhorken]

Reserved for Eifie!

2vs2 single
Style: Set
DQ: One week
Damage Cap: 30%
Banned Moves: One-hit KOs
Arena: Perfectly Generic Arena

Grassy field with a pond in the center and a cardboard box next to the pond.

Hiikaru's active squad:
Anna the female Charmander <Blaze>
Kiru the female Eevee <Adaptability>


Eifie's active squad:
Ismene the female Torchic <Blaze>
Adelle the female Eevee <Adaptability>
Mimsy the female Sentret <Keen Eye>


Eifie sends out first, then Hiikaru sends out and posts commands, then Eifie posts commands.

 

[Eifie]

Adelle go go go!

 

[Hiikaru]

Kiru, go, you can do it!

Kiru, try getting behind the cardboard box so that Adelle will have to go around to get to you, and then peek out with a Yawn. Keep peeking out and if Adelle tries to come over on your second action, try tipping the box over on her and trapping her there. If not, try crying as loudly as you can to make Adelle feel bad for you for being all on your own over here. Then finish off your turn with a Synchronoise attack.

Yawn ~ tip/Fake Tears ~ Synchronoise

 

[Eifie]

Protect against that first Yawn, then put up a Substitute. 15% should be fine. Then hit Kiru with a Skull Bash, approaching from an angle to get around the box. If you could hit vim with enough force to knock vim into the pond (since vi's so close to it), that'd be great, but hold back a bit if you think you'd fall in yourself.

Protect ~ Substitute (15%) ~ Skull Bash

 

[Zhorken]

Round One​

Hiikaru (2/2)
Kiru ♀

Ability: Adaptability
Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Commands: Yawn ~ [tip]/Fake Tears ~ Synchronoise
Status: Glaring at the box. Who knows what it could do?!

Eifie (2/2)
Adelle ♀

Ability: Adaptability
Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Commands: Protect ~ Substitute (15%) ~ Skull Bash
Status: Poking at the box! Ooh, what's this do!

-------------------------------------​

There is not a lot to be said about this field. There field, there pond. Of much, much more interest is the box sitting on the pond's edge. At first glance, it looks as plain as its surroundings: a corrugated cardboard box in the shape of a cube, four or five breadboxes tall, properly sitting This Side Up with the Up side open. But this box is a mystery. Its origins are unknown. What did it contain? Why is it here? Why was it abandoned? The only indication, aside from "This Side Up", is an ominous warning printed on each side: "DO NOT TICKLE". But whatever ticklish thing it might have contained must long since have disappeared. The box itself certainly can't be ticklish. If it were, it would probably have reacted to the two Eevees nosing and poking at it by now.

One of these vees, a strapping young vee named Adelle, is properly curious, as any vee ought to be. This is an exciting new thing what does it do! Is she supposed to poke it or sniff it or lick it or tell it a password or what? It doesn't seem to do anything, though. Maybe it's just for putting stuff in. Well, that's fine with her too, though it would've been nice if it were a bit more interesting. Kiru, however, is thankful that it seems to be as simple as everything else. Any number of reassurances from her trainer, even the rather high number that vi's already given, can only convince her that it's probably safe to help Adelle test it. And so she's prodding it with her head low and her ears folded as if it might lunge out at any moment.

She would rather leave it alone entirely, of course, but she didn't get much of a choice. Making sure it's probably safe is the best she can do, and once she's as satisfied as she figures she'll ever be, she walks slowly around to the other side. She's just following her trainer's words, as any vee ought to do, or at least any vee with a nice trainer. Hiikaru says it's safe, and vi knows what vi's doing, right? After a few deep breaths, and a few mental repetitions of this thought, Kiru pokes her nose around the edge of the box and manages to give a shaky yawn, barely loud enough that the other Eevee might just hear it.

Unfortunately, the other vee can't hear it. When Kiru disappeared round the side of the box, Adelle promptly surrounded herself in her own little faint green bubble, and she can't hear anything except herself in there. She might not even notice a yawn anyway; she's too busy giving her bubble the same treatment as the box. She's determined so far that it doesn't taste or smell like anything, boringly enough, but it feels like rubber and it stretches like it, too, at least when she pokes it from the inside. This is the most hilarious thing she's discovered today! She busies herself trying to see how far she can stretch it before it sproings back—not far—and after a few tries, she gives up on that and just begins throwing herself against it so that she bounces back. Her third sproing is particularly good; it throws her against the other side so that she gets a second sproing. This is just too much for her, and she ends up laughing uncontrollably on the ground until her bubble dissolves.

Right. Enough of that. Back to business for Adelle. She closes her eyes and concentrates, and a shining white ball of energy appears in front of her. With a bit more focus, she manages to get it to take on the shape of yet another Eevee. This new Eevee stops glowing, and when Adelle opens her eyes to look at her creation, she sees her own face staring back. She noses it, and it noses back. She pokes back, and it pokes back with the same paw. She finds that bit particularly interesting—it's not like a reflection! She nuzzles it to make sure, and when it nuzzles back instead of blocking her, she squeals with delight. This is awesome! She made a friend! Literally! Well, except apparently this one can't make noise, and it won't be very interesting to have a friend who doesn't have any thoughts of their own, but that's okay. They can still be friends.

On the other side of the box, Kiru is worrying that maybe she and Adelle are not friends. Adelle hasn't come to visit at all since Kiru moved. She could go back to Adelle's side of the box to see what's up, but she just got used to being over here! So, plan B it is. Kiru starts wailing at the top of her lungs, achieving an amazing volume despite how tiny those lungs are. She shouts about everything that comes to mind, about how scary and lonely it is over here and how mean Adelle is and how no good vee should leave another vee alone with the pond monster—that last part isn't true, but she figures anything to make Adelle feel sorry works. She can just say the pond monster left or that she got spooked by a fish or something if Adelle comes over and asks about it. Once again, however, the other vee doesn't hear a thing. The substitute Adelle has floated on top of the real Adelle's head, all the while keeping its pantomime otherwise perfect, and is now squashing her ears flat. Its own ears flatten as well, even though nothing's on top of them, and when Adelle tilts her head back, it stays on top of her head, paying no attention to gravity. Weeeeird. This is way, way more interesting than the bouncy bubble.

Kiru is grumpy now. Adelle should have come running when she heard about the pond monster! Pond monsters are a real threat! And yet she left Kiru to fend for herself. She was right about that vee. What a jerk!!! Kiru screws up her face in concentration, thinking really, really hard about mean old Adelle, as hard as she can, channelling all the rage an Eevee can hold into that image of Adelle. The dam bursts, and with a weird ringing sound, all that anger pours out of Kiru in a livid magenta shockwave of psychic energy. It rushes through the box, and nearly hits Adelle, but the substitute floats back down and soaks up all the pink instead. (The box is unaffected—after all, a box so mysterious can't possibly be a normal-type.) Adelle, unaware that Kiru was behind that burst, is completely mystified. What was that? Nothing about this battle is making any sense whatsoever.

Well, time to move onto the offensive. Adelle pads around the box, keeping her head low with her double in tow, and peeks carefully around the corner. Kiru is looking the other way, but she glimpses Adelle out of the corner of her eye and spins around in surprise just as Adelle hurriedly hides herself again. It's too late, though; she's pretty sure Kiru will be coming to investigate any moment, because really what kind of vee could resist investigating. So Adelle bows her head and scampers around the corner, crashing right into Kiru, who is not coming to investigate but is indeed staring warily at the corner. For a split second, Kiru thinks Adelle has come to save her from the pond monster after all, but then it becomes painfully clear that Adelle's just here to be a jerkface again. Kiru whimpers and rubs her nose. She really wants to run away, but she really really doesn't want to turn away from Adelle, and Run Away isn't her ability anyway, so she stands her ground and waits for Hiikaru to tell her what to do next. Vi'll have the perfect solution for sure!

-------------------------------------​

Hiikaru (2/2)
Kiru ♀

Ability: Adaptability
Health: 85%
Energy: 88%
Actions: Yawn ~ Fake Tears ~ Synchronoise
Status: Carefully watching Adelle's every move.

Eifie (2/2)
Adelle ♀

Ability: Adaptability
Health: 85% (+ 8% substitute)
Energy: 81%
Actions: Protect ~ Substitute (15%) ~ Skull Bash
Status: Ignoring Kiru and poking at the water instead. Ooh, maybe there's a pond monster! Pond monsters are exciting and totally real. She knows.

-------------------------------------​

Arena Notes:

• Both vees are right between the box and the pond; they barely fit there without getting their paws wet. (Not that Adelle apparently minds getting her paws wet.)
• The box is as stoic as ever.

Notes:

• Word count: 1324
• When two Pokémon have the same speed, whichever one gets its commands first has a bit more time to think about them and so it does them first. (This is a method I thought up recently, and I'm going to adopt it because predictability is nice; most refs just randomize the order each action or each round.)
• Kiru went second with Fake Tears anyway because she had to wait first and see what Adelle was going to do.
• I couldn't really imagine an angle Adelle could take to knock Kiru into the water without moving the box out of the way.
• The Attacks and Abilities Guide doesn't say anything about it, but I think Skull Bash's defense boost is supposed to disappear after use, since the user won't have its head tucked in anymore. (Plus if it stayed, you could raise your defense to +6 by tucking your head six times in, which would just be absolutely ridiculous I mean you'd end up doing a somersault.)
• Eifie posts first this round.

Energy and Damage:

• Kiru's health: 100% - 15% (Skull Bash) = 85%
• Kiru's energy: 100% - 3% (Yawn) - 3% (Fake Tears) - 6% (Synchronoise) = 88%
• Adelle's health: 100% - 15% (Substitute) = 85%
• Substitute's health: 15% - 7% (Synchronoise) = 8%
• Adelle's energy: 100% - 4% (Protect) - 8% (Substitute) - 7% (Skull Bash) = 81%

 

[Eifie]

Okay! Adelle, get away from the pond a bit and use Yawn! Then if your Substitute's been destroyed, use Substitute again; if it hasn't, wait until Kiru moves and then use Substitute if yours is gone after vir attack. If your Substitute's still intact after, use Charm. If Kiru has a Substitute on your third action, use Skull Bash and then keep your head tucked in after! Otherwise, if vi's fallen asleep, use Work Up; if vi's still awake, use Body Slam. If on any action you can't reach Kiru (due to Protect, Substitute, Dig, etc.), use Work Up instead (with the exception of Skull Bash with just a Substitute).

Yawn / Work Up ~ Substitute (10%) / Charm / Work Up ~ Skull Bash / Body Slam / Work Up

 

[Hiikaru]

Alright, Kiru, Adelle's clearly trouble with all those fail-safes, but we can do this!

First, get a little closer to Adelle before she Yawns and use Protect so that you don't fall asleep. On your second action, you're going to have to destroy the Substitute. A Body Slam should be sufficient. Watch for Adelle's Substitute to attack you, and use another Body Slam right back to destroy her last one for the round and then if you can, try to pin her down while she's still recovering from your attack.

Protect ~ Body Slam ~ Body Slam

 

[Zhorken]

Round Two​

Hiikaru (2/2)
Kiru ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 85%
Energy: 88%
Status: Watching Adelle poking at the water. Does she know something Kiru doesn't? Is there really a pond monster?

Eifie (2/2)
Adelle ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 85% (+ 8% substitute)
Energy: 81%
Status: Getting impatient waiting for the pond monster. Maybe Kiru knows something she doesn't! Maybe there isn't really a pond monster.

-------------------------------------​

Adelle concludes very quickly that the pond is boring and races back around the corner of the box. Then she lays in wait to surprise Kiru with a sneak-attack yawn, her substitute shoved out of the way so as not to give away her position. She has her mouth wide open, poised to yawn All over Kiru when she comes looking, but Kiru steals the initiative with a surprise peek! She peeks around the corner of the box without even taking a full twenty seconds of mental preparation beforehand—she's feeling extra-brave this round—and surrounds herself lightning-fast with a familiar green bubble shield before that no-good vee can make any noise.

But Adelle doesn't care. She instantly forgets about her yawn, because she's thought of a new experiment! She prods the shell with one paw—Kiru draws back despite her safety—and squeals in wonder when it doesn't yield one bit. It's not bouncy at all from this side! How crafty!

Since she can't think of any more experiments to do, Adelle just spends the rest of the time waiting for the bubble to dissolve dancing around with her sub and singing about how great she is. "Adelle is so awesome, Adelle is so smart, Adelle is the best. Adelle is a better vee than any good vee ever. Even herself because she's just that awesome." Wow, she just feels better and better as she prances! This is great.

Kiru doesn't think it's so great. It looks like Adelle is having all the fun with her new friend, and Kiru is burning up with jealousy in her bubble. Once she's free from its nice, safe confines, she bundles together all her courage (which doesn't take long) and charges over to the new friend to give her a piece of her mind! Unleashing her mightiest battle squeak, she throws her full weight against the intruder, all six and a half kilograms of Eevee. And the mystery vee bursts in a shower of sparkles and disappears!

Oh, no. Oh, no no no no. What has she done? She's gonna have to go on the lam now. She's not meant for a life of crime! She's a good vee, honest! But she knows she wouldn't survive a day behind bars, either.

While Kiru tries to figure out if the box would make a good getaway boat, Adelle closes her eyes and calmly makes herself another new friend. The glowing ball of energy snaps Kiru away from her escape plans, and when it turns into another Eevee, she's absolutely dumbstruck. Does... does this mean she's off the hook? She didn't shatter a real Eevee into a million little pieces? All she knows for sure is that she, really, really wants to know how to make playvees like that. This must be what it feels like to be Adelle.

What it feels like to be Adelle at this very moment, though, is really, really cocky. That went perfectly, all thanks to her genius. Oh, the look on Kiru's face was just priceless! And it doesn't end there. She's gonna one-up Kiru at her own game. She charges at Kiru and throws her full weight at her, all six and a half kilos, but with extra vigour after all her dancing around earlier. And she even throws in a much more convincing battle "vuiiiii!" than Kiru's squeak. The force bowls Kiru right over and she slams into the grown at an awkward angle, almost but not quite on her back.

Kiru tries to get up to go smash the new new friend just like the old new one. She's even a little bit confident—she doesn't have to go after Adelle herself, and even if she's not as strong as that brute, a shower of pretty lights will be more impressive anyway. But her hind legs just don't want to move right. They're still all jittery after that slam, like the nerves are all scrambled and don't know which way is which anymore. She does manage so stand up somewhat shakily after a difficult minute, but by then she's lost her chance! Hiikaru says it's already time to talk about next round's strategy. Well, at least she knows vi'll be understanding about it. Adelle is not a good vee, and it's up to them to make sure she doesn't get away with it!

-------------------------------------​

Hiikaru (2/2)
Kiru ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 71%
Energy: 82%
Status: Feeling pretty determined despite her predicament. She has a mission to fulfill, for the greater good! Paralyzed (25% fail chance).

Eifie (2/2)
Adelle ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 75% (+ 10% substitute)
Energy: 68%
Status: Adelle is the best, the best best best best best~ +1 attack, +1 special attack.

-------------------------------------​

Arena Notes:

• Both vees are on the left side of the box if you face towards the pond.
• The box is as stoic as ever.

Notes:

• My reffing scale
• Hiikaru posts first this round.

 

[Hiikaru]

Alright, Kiru, it's annoying, but you have try and get rid of the paralysis! First, if Adelle Yawns at you or uses Swagger, you need to Protect against it. If neither of those happens, just use Heal Bell instead, but if you are Protecting, put your paws over your ears during the Protect.

On your next action if you used Protect last action, try a somersault toward the pond (while still holding your paws over your ears!). If the somersault is successful and you're therefore close enough to the the pond to do so (or if you're close enough for some other reason), take a deep breath, put your head in and use Heal Bell (and then wait as long as you can to take your head back out), but if you're not close enough to put your head in yet (for any reason), somersault again. If you used Heal Bell on the first action, then on the second you should be good to go with a Body Slam, although if Adelle Yawns at you or uses Swagger when you want to use a Body Slam, switch that with Protect (if you're somersaulting, don't Protect, in case that isn't clear).

On the third action if you don't need to somersault or use Heal Bell and something happens that's possible to avoid by using Detect and covering your ears with your paws, do so (as if that happens, you should be faster than Adelle for this round, and so covering your ears should work against something like Yawn).

If on any action you're paralyzed or confused (or both) and using Heal Bell wouldn't get you Yawned or Swaggered at, use Heal Bell (just in case there's something I haven't thought of).

Protect / Heal Bell ~ somersault / Body Slam / Protect ~ water, Heal Bell / somersault / cover ears, Detect

 

[Eifie]

Okay, Adelle! Do you know what move is rather similar in execution to Swagger! Hint: you've already tried it. Why don't you do another braggy prancy Work Up thing! Be super-loud with your Adelle is the best song and make it look like a Swagger so Kiru will be tricked into Protecting! Instead, vi'll use up an action and you'll get yourself some nice stat boosts. Then while vi's somersaulting to the pond, or attempting to, use Tackle.

I know where the box is this time Adelle do you know what that means it means time to push some vees into the pond. Once Kiru gets to the edge of the pond (and puts vir head into the water, if vi can), hit vim from behind with a Skull Bash to push vim to the cap and also into the water! If vi doesn't end up getting there, use Skull Bash anyway, but keep your head tucked in after.

Work Up ~ Tackle ~ Skull Bash

 

[Zhorken]

Round Three​

Hiikaru (2/2)
Kiru ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 71%
Energy: 82%
Status: Going over the first stage of her mission in her head. Paralyzed (25% fail chance).

Eifie (2/2)
Adelle ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 75% (+ 10% substitute)
Energy: 68%
Status: Warming up for another round—of her song, that is. +1 attack, +1 special attack.

-------------------------------------​

Adelle is absolutely thrilled with Eifie's call for an encore. Of course, it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise—with her newfound talent, Adelle's sure to be a rising star. But she doesn't want to let it go to her head too much. After all, if she's not careful, she might end up becoming just another one-hit wonder. So, she decides, she can't just sing a reprise of the same song; that's too predictable. She has to create some new material on the spot. Seems like she's got her work cut out for her.

Thankfully, inspiration strikes, and she launches right into the first verse of her new hit-in-the-making! "I'm so awesome, I'm a star, I'm the best..." Lyrics written from her own perspective! Such a stroke of genius. Since she's so awesome, her audience will love to hear her tell it like she sees it for sure. And she'll make her dancy moves extra fancy-pantsy prancy this time!

Meanwhile, Kiru watches Adelle work on her new routine from the safety of another bubble shield. She's not really sure she needed to hide from Adelle's singing after all, though. It can't be that scary, even if it's as bad as the no-good vee herself, and she's not even trying to rub it in Kiru's face or anything. So what's there to get mad about? It's just Adelle being Adelle.

That dance friend is worth getting jealous over, though. Kiru just has to figure out how to make one of her own. But no, she can't let that get to her right now. Right now, she's got a mission, and she can't let anything distract her from it. Adelle could do much worse than singing, after all—she might try her nasty yawn again! So while she's still got the shield protecting her, Kiru turns towards the pond and curls up into a ball as best as she can, even though her legs still just want to flop around. With her paws over her ears and her eyes shut tight, nothing can get to Kiru!

As soon as she feels the breeze pick up again, she knows it's time to roll. She sets off, but it's slow going and she can't even tell if she's going in a straight line. After just two somersaults, she's starting to wish she could just fix things right there and risk getting yawned on. The pond isn't far, though, so she knows she can't miss it unless she gets completely turned around. This thought perks her up, and she trundles onward with renewed spirit.

But she's not the only one full of spirit. Adelle's full of just as much spirit, and full of herself to boot after her latest concert. She just can't believe Kiru's so determined not to hear her sing, but believe it or not, she can't let it slide. She runs straight for Kiru, which is kind of hard since Kiru isn't going very straight at all, and smacks right into her at full speed. It was only supposed to be a little bump, just to let Kiru know what she thinks of her upstaging her right when she was poised to make it big time, but she's feeling so fired up that Kiru goes tumbling an entire metre. The poor bewildered Eevee lands upside-down with her limp legs dangling over her head. (A metre may not sound like a lot, but it's three or four Kirus.)

Kiru doesn't even think about giving up this time. How could she, when she knows that horrible vee-basher is at large?! With a sigh, she mentally prepares to start her journey all over again. She heaves herself right-side-up, then nearly flips back over in surprise when she gets a cold splash of water in her face. It takes her train of thought a second to catch up. She did it! She made it to the pond! It would've been nice if she could've done it without help from the enemy, but she's not about to complain. After a few seconds to steel herself up and fill her lungs with as much air as she can possibly fit, she flops forward on her belly and plunges her head into the water. It doesn't even feel that bad the second time; her face is already pretty much used to it. And after this she can get back out and get on with justice without her legs being stubborn!

Before she can start focusing on anything, though, something—somevee, no doubt—rams her again from behind. Butts her in the butt, you might say. She goes flying by the seat of her pants into the pond! She nearly loses her head, and her lungful of air to boot, but she remembers her goal just in time. She concentrates as hard as she can and forms a ball of energy in front of her, which quickly takes the shape of... a bell! She made a bell friend! Her new friend begins to swing back and forth, sending its robust chime coursing through the pond. The jelly feeling in Kiru's legs dissolves as the bell's vibrations wash over them; it leaves her feeling tingly and wonderstruck for a moment. Her limited lung capacity snaps her back to reality before too long, though, and she paddles back to the surface with ease. And renewed confidence, too! She'd like to see any of the friends Adelle keeps making do that.

-------------------------------------​

Hiikaru (2/2)
Kiru ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 41%
Energy: 72%
Status: Paddling in small circles. She doesn't want to head right back to shore, just in case she misses commands while she's at it.

Eifie (2/2)
Adelle ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 75% (+ 10% substitute)
Energy: 54%
Status: Relieved to see Kiru surface. After all, how would it look if she drowned her first critic? +2 attack, +2 special attack.

-------------------------------------​

Arena Notes:

• Kiru's in the pond about a metre and a half out and Adelle's on the side to the left of the box.
• Guess how stoic the box is compared to usual.

Notes:

• Protect rolled for paralysis, but since it doesn't require movement, it couldn't get fully prevented. I couldn't really think of a way to just weaken Protect, either, so I just made it take 2% extra energy for extra difficulty focussing.
• Somersaulting took 3% energy.
• Heal Bell didn't really fall under any of Negrek's non-damaging move categories, so I defaulted to 3% base, 2% since it matches Kiru's type.
• Kiru's burning up 1% energy an action treading water. It'll take an action to climb out of the pond, and until she does, she can only hit Adelle with ranged moves.
• Eifie goes first this round.

 

[Eifie]

Start with Secret Power. Sweep it around if for some reason there happen to be clones. Then use two Echoed Voices. If vi tries to duck underwater to avoid them, put your head under, too. If vi tries to use Yawn, Swagger, Fake Tears (maybe?), anything that relies on sound, hopefully Echoed Voice will help drown it out. Also use it to cut vim off if vi tries to Rest. This should mean you'll be going second the last two actions this round, but make extra-sure to do so on the third one. If on your second or third action you'd be able to reach vim with a Natural Gift but not Echoed Voice (Double Team counts), do so. If on the first or second action vi successfully uses Protect or Detect or is otherwise unhittable, Chill.

Secret Power / Chill ~ Echoed Voice / Natural Gift / Chill ~ Echoed Voice / Natural Gift

edit: oh! Also I forgot to mention that Ki and I agreed that we want to raise the damage cap to 50% after this round could we do that Ki will confirm!

 

[Hiikaru]

No I don't agree stop trying to kill Kiru Agreeing to raise the cap to 50%!

Okay, Kiru, you're in the pond now, so the best Adelle can do is projectile moves without getting her own paws wet! Take advantage of the opportunity by making a Wish (but don't tell anyone, or maybe it won't come true). Once you're done with that, climb out of the water, and then curl up next to the pond there and hide yourself with Protect so you'll survive until your Wish goes through!

Wish ~ climb out ~ Protect

 

[Zhorken]

Round Four​

Hiikaru (2/2)
Kiru ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 41%
Energy: 72%
Status: Happily staying afloat.

Eifie (2/2)
Adelle ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 75% (+ 10% substitute)
Energy: 54%
Status: Feeling kind of flustered. +2 attack, +2 special attack.

-------------------------------------​

No. No, no, no, Adelle does not like this plan one bit. Kiru may be a music-hating grumpvee, but no vee, good or otherwise, deserves to get hit by a secret sleep beam in the middle of a pond. What if there is a pond monster? Or worse, what if Kiru snores and gets water up her nose? Or she could drown, but if she manages to sleep through that, that's not Adelle's problem. So okay, Kiru probably won't die. (The worst a pond monster could do is scare the beveepers out of her, since vees are ninety percent fluff and impossible to swallow.)

But still, it'd make Adelle's life way easier if Kiru would just hurry up and make a bubble shield already. But she probably would have by now if she wanted to, and Eifie's getting impatient, so Adelle hurries up already herself and asks the grass to lend her its secret power. "Hi, grass. I need a favour." She knows this part probably isn't necessary, but it makes her feel like a wizard. "I need a sleep beam, but don't make it too sleepy, okay?"

Out in the pond, Kiru has some secrets of her own brewing. Her secret mission is almost ready to begin for real! But first she has a secret plan to help her with it: she shuts her eyes tight and wishes really, really hard for some help. Any help she can get would be good, but it'd be especially great if it meant Adelle could just stop being a jerk so they could have a nice, friendly battle without being too rough.

But, of course, Jirachi grants wishes one way and one way only, and that's not it. Adelle fires her sleep beam right then, a simple gray-green beam of light, and she's reluctant about it all on her own with no need for divine intervention! Kiru doesn't see it that way, though. All she sees is a sleep beam headed straight for her face. She snaps into a ball as quickly (and cutely!) as a Scolipede and gets a nose full of water, even without falling asleep! And the beam still hits her, just not in the face. (Kiru's rear end isn't having a very good time of things today, between being paralyzed, butted, and now secret-beamed.)

Kiru resigns herself to having to do things the hard way. At first, she just gives up entirely on the wish. As she starts paddling back to shore, though, she reconsiders. Being on the move again feels purposeful, and she starts feeling more optimistic. By the time she reaches shore, she's even willing to write the sleep beam off as an attempt at friendly battling by a vee who doesn't know what it's like to get water up your nose. She's even smiling; maybe she's happy to see Kiru paddling back!

That's exactly why Adelle's beaming like her birthday's come early, in fact, and yet Kiru couldn't have more of a wrong impression. She's reached the wrong pole and if she went any further she'd be going right again. It's Kiru Adelle's beaming at, but she's not happy to see her friend, oh no.

Kiru heaves herself up onto the shore and shakes herself off, showering Adelle and the box, and coming dangerously close to tickling the latter. Once Kiru's ears are standing up straight again, Adelle begins belting out the leading verse of her latest number. This one has no lyrics. She's using her voice purely as an instrument, conveying no message but her noise. And what a noise it is! So avant-garde. She's taken all the rules of melody, harmony, even dissonance, and turned them right on their heads.

Kiru's bowled right over. Success! Today's even better than a birthday. She's won over her toughest critic! Eventually, Adelle has to take a breath, and Kiru seizes the opportunity to protect herself with another bubble shield. But Adelle doesn't care. She doesn't even notice. Now that she's seen that Kiru's listening, she turns to wail out verse two to the rest of her audience: the box, and the pond monster if there is one. The second verse is the same as the first, as near as she can make it anyway, but it blends wonderfully with the background noise still echoing around the field. Perfectly. Adelle's a musical genius. But she's not done yet! She's got big plans for a third verse.

-------------------------------------​

Hiikaru (2/2)
Kiru ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 17%
Energy: 36%
Status: Trying to ignore the throbbing of her eardrums, hoping the wish is just taking its time. Wish pending (one more action).

Eifie (2/2)
Adelle ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 75% (+ 10% substitute)
Energy: 38%
Status: Humming excitedly as she brainstorms! +2 attack, +2 special attack.

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Arena Notes:

• The box is looking a little less stoic now that it's been splattered with water.

Notes:

• Echoed Voice is taking 4% base energy. It doesn't make sense for it to take more energy as it mixes with more and more previous echoes, but it also gets *really* powerful, so I don't want to let it sit at 2% base energy. 4% is kind of a happy medium so that it's not *too* punitive if the chain only lasts one or two Voices, but it's also not too amazing if it lasts four or five. I guess it does start being amazing if you keep hitting at 200 power, but I don't think that'll really be a problem...?
• Hiikaru goes first this round. Damage cap's 50% now.

 

[1. Luftballon]

I recall negrek mentioned that energy cost is based on whatever base power it ended up being, regardless of logic for variable-power attacks, but eh.

 

[Zhorken]

I agree, it doesn't make sense to have things like doubled hex damage and so on cost more energy than their base versions. Some referees do, but I don't.

EDIT: And even if neg's changed negs mind as far as negs personal preference goes, I really doubt neg minds if some refs keep doing it this way.

 

[Hiikaru]

Kiru, first, you have to wait for just one more action for your Wish to come true, so be patient! In the meantime, put up the smallest Substitute you can manage (and that will hurt, but then you'll get help), I guess no matter what because Yawn is super-annoying. And you don't want to die just before you get some help! So I guess that gives Adelle a free action but oh well.

If on the second action Adelle broke your Substitute with Echoed Voice and is about to Echoed Voice again, use Detect because ow. Watch out for a pretend Echoed Voice don't let Adelle trick you. Also if the pretend Echoed Voice is a Yawn just Detect anyway (but don't do it if you have a Substitute, obviously). Otherwise (if you don't need to Detect), Body Slam her Substitute away. Whatever you did, cover your ears as soon as possible during or after it (or keep them covered if they already are from Detect).

On the third action if you are now Substitute-less, watch for Adelle trying to Yawn (keep an eye on her so she can't just pretend Yawn). Keep your ears covered and and if she has a Substitute, use Work Up just like Adelle keeps doing, since you should be able to do that with your paws over your ears. If she doesn't have a Substitute, Yawn right back at her. If she doesn't Yawn, Body Slam.

If on the second or third action Adelle does something to make Body Slam impossible (like Protect or Detect or being up in a tree or whatever), switch to Reflect if it's the second action, and Work Up if it's the third..

Substitute (10%) ~ Detect / Body Slam / Reflect ~ Work Up / Body Slam / Yawn

 

[Eifie]

Well, Adelle, you'll just have to be quick. Quick Attack + Retaliate should do it. You'll be a pretty kitty once this battle is over!

Quick Attack + Retaliate ~ yay

 

[Zhorken]

Round Five​

Hiikaru (2/2)
Kiru ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 17%
Energy: 36%
Status: Anxious and excited at the same time for what she's about to attempt. Wish pending (one more action).

Eifie (2/2)
Adelle ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 75% (+ 10% substitute)
Energy: 38%
Status: Skipping in circles, warming up for a victory dance. +2 attack, +2 special attack.

-------------------------------------​

This is it. The wish is coming after all. Hiikaru says so, and vi knows what vi's talking about. That means this next step is absolutely crucial. The biggest test of Kiru's mission... missioning skills she can imagine. Being a tricky vee isn't her area of expertise, but she has to try. So with a deep breath, and a stoic face to rival the box, Kiru marches over to bargain with the enemy.

Adelle zips over to meet her so fast that her feet don't even move. That's pretty weird, but Kiru doesn't have time to wonder about that right now. Time to make her offer.

"Adelle I really, really, really need to know how to make friends like the ones you keep making! Please please please I'll even listen to you sing." Adelle whisks her bodyguard aside, making Kiru jump and then feel pretty silly. "Yes! Like that one. They're pretty convincing!"

Adelle stifles a giggle. "It's easy! Remember that bell you made?"

Kiru loses her stoic face. "How'd you know about that?!"

"Water's see-through, brainiac," Adelle says, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, do that, but make a vee instead." Oh. That's easy. Kiru can do that. "But not right now."

Before Kiru can wonder what that's supposed to mean, Adelle leaps into action, slamming into Kiru at full force and sending the poor vee flying straight into the box.

Whoah. That was an awesome shot, thinks Adelle. It's almost like the box moved to let her score. Adelle is the best vee.

She's barely two prances into her victory dance when a twinkle in the sky catches her eye. Then it grows to a glimmer, then a shine, and finally a blinding yellow meteor headed straight for the field! This is not good. Adelle totally forgets how to do the panic dance Kiru taught her. She decides to improvise and starts running in circles and screaming.

The shooting star isn't headed for her anyway. It's Kiru's wish finally being granted! It lands squarely in the box, sending up a brilliant spray of light on impact.

Adelle blinks. Meteors aren't supposed to splash. She tiptoes over to the box and cautiously peeks over the flap. Kiru's safe and sound, sleeping like a Slowpoke. What a relief! She must've been doing the panic dance in there. Good thing it didn't aim for Adelle.

-------------------------------------​

Hiikaru (1/2)
Kiru ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 0%
Energy: 36%
Status: Unable to thank Jirachi for the wish. It was a good try, but she was too unconscious to appreciate it. Knocked out!

Eifie (2/2)
Adelle ♀ [Adaptability]

Health: 75% (+ 10% substitute)
Energy: 28%
Status: Back to her victory dance. +2 attack, +2 special attack.

-------------------------------------​

Arena Notes:

• The box is standing right where it was and always has been. Because it's a box. A stoic one.

Notes:

• Hiikaru only has Anna left, so we can skip the sending out part; Eifie goes first.

 

[Eifie]

Good work, Adelle! \o/ I expect you're getting pretty tired now, aren't you? Why don't you give 'em a nice, big Yawn! If Anna Protects, covers her eyes and ears, or does something else so that she wouldn't be affected by Yawn, get behind the box (putting it between you and Anna) and just Chill instead. That way if she's closing her eyes, she won't know when to look again; let's see how much she can hurt you like that! Might as well cover your ears while you're there, too. If she's got a Substitute, though, destroy it with Double-Edge.

Next action, if you didn't get to Yawn, try it again. Peek around the box if you need to. Chill again (hiding behind the box and covering your ears if you haven't already) if you can't Yawn or it wouldn't work; Double-Edge to break Substitutes or if Anna's drowsy now, but keep Chilling if she's preparing to Counter (and does not have a Substitute). If you're not using Double-Edge, keep the box between the two of you.

On your last action, Protect if you don't have a Substitute and Anna uses Secret Power or Swagger, unless the box is between the two of you (and you've got your ears covered, if it's Swagger). Don't fall for your own tricks, now; make sure it's a real Swagger. Otherwise Double-Edge if she has a Substitute (go for the Sub directly), or if she's awake and not preparing to Counter. Get behind the box, cover your ears, and Chill if she's got a Reflect up, doesn't have a Substitute, and is not preparing a Focus Punch; she's preparing to Counter (and does not have a Substitute); or it would be really difficult or impossible to attack her with Double-Edge.

Make absolutely sure to move last every action, if you can. You're slower than Anna, so it shouldn't be very difficult. And if you're getting behind the box, stay near a corner so it can't be tipped on you, and try not to look at Anna unless you need to.

Yawn/Double-Edge/Chill (hide behind box) ~ Yawn/Double-Edge/Chill (hide behind box) ~ Protect/Double-Edge/Chill (hide behind box)