Originally Posted by Negrek
All right, time to start up a new challenge.
3vs3 Single
DQ: Standard week
Style: Set
Banned/Restricted Moves: One direct healer and three chills/pokémon
Damage Cap: 33%
Terrain: The Ninja Village
At the heart of a dark, secluded forest, there lies a tiny village passed over by time. Here the way of the (stereotypical anime) ninja is still very much in practice, where young children learn to kill people using nothing but their toes and the village elders haven't been seen since they decided to hide in plain sight a couple of months ago. Life here is untroubled by the bustle of urbanization outside the forest, and those rare travelers who manage to find the place are treated with no more than chilly politeness.
For the moment, though, everyone in the village (so far as you can tell; one of the elders is still AWOL) is off at a seasonal ceremony even deeper in the forest, leaving the place entirely open to wanton destruction in the form of a pokémon battle. The village itself is made up of multiple tiers of construction, with many structures situated high in the boughs of the ancient trees that make up the place. Wooden platforms and tricky, concealed bridges provide means of getting from place to place around the village. The homes themselves are small and sparse, and all locked up tight with their occupants gone--and I wouldn't go trying to force your way in, either. These are *ninja* houses, after all; who knows what sort of booby traps they've laid to prevent prying trainers from breaking in while they're away?
The trees themselves are gigantic, their lower boughs easily large enough for a human to walk out along and their leafy canopy far away overhead. The air is deathly still, dusky, and largely silent; pokémon have learned to avoid this place. However, now and then a weird cry sounds in the distance, and strange, dancing blue lights sometimes float through the murk just beyond the village's perimeter.
The battle starts out on a small platform, about two meters square, that has random boxes and baskets (empty) piled around its edges. A couple of narrow bridges lead off to house-platforms to either side. Your battle can take you anywhere you want around the village, but you'd best be sure not to slip and fall!
Special Rules: Seeing as this is a ninja village, I challenge the opponent to a ninja battle. Sneaky-sneaky like. All this means is that, rather than having commands be posted in the thread, each battler will PM their orders to the referee. The only posts in the thread should be those made by the referee (except when a pokémon faints and another one is sent out; the player who's sending out can post who they'll use to save going through the referee), and each player has seven days from when the last round went up to submit commands by PM. At the beginning of the round, the referee posts squads as normal, then both players send in their pokémon choices by PM. Once both PM's are received, the referee posts the chosen pokémon in the thread and solicits the first round of secret commands.
Kratos barely took any time to consider his next choice. With a completely unreadable expression, he took a Pokeball in his hand and threw it towards the center of the platform. Out gushed the familiar red light, which took the form of a familiar shorebird: Räsvelg. The Pandive stretched his wings and regarded Mandarb warily – he wasn’t exactly in top condition, and he didn’t fancy taking on a Pokemon who was more or less in perfect shape. Mandarb, on the other hand, hissed in delight: yet another half-dead Pokemon for her to throttle. Life was good.
Round Fifteen
Negrek (OOO)
@Reaper Cloth
Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 99%
Energy: 94% | Chills: 0/3
Status: Smirking. Badly poisoned (2% this round, 3% next).
Commands: Sucker Punch/Charge Beam ~ Charge Beam/Shock Wave/Magic Coat ~ Charge Beam/Shock Wave/Magic Coat
Chimchar (F) <Blaze>
Health: 9%
Energy: 24% | Chills: 2/3
(Blaze activated)
Yoshiya (M) <Magic Guard>
Health: 47%
Energy: 10% | Chills: 0/3
Kratos Aurion (xOO)
Räsvelg (M) <Torrent>
Health: 40%
Energy: 41% | Chills: 0/3
Status: Trying to make the best of the situation.
Commands: Roost ~ Chill/Fury Cutter/Aerial Ace ~ Chill/Fury Cutter/Aerial Ace
Räsvelg closed his eyes and took a deep breath. First things first: health. He couldn’t hope to beat Mandarb in his tattered state. He remained crouched on the platform, relaxing his taut muscles and sending his healing processes into overdrive. Vast amounts of energy flowed through him, mending broken skin, replacing lost blood, and snapping dislocated joints into place. The Pandive was surrounded by a white glow as the Roost took effect, and Mandarb frowned. As an experienced battler, she recognized the healing aura, but then she shrugged and began to gather electrical power in her mouth; Räsvelg would no doubt collapse from exhaustion soon after.
Indeed, as soon as the remedial trace faded away, Räsvelg all but fell to the platform as his elbows buckled. His breathing, though rather laboured before, now came in short, quick gasps. Mandarb’s grin returned as she registered her opponent’s fatigue. By now, a small white-yellow orb had formed between the Absol’s teeth. Out of that sphere shot a thin but precise beam which struck Räsvelg squarely in the shoulder, leaving a small scorch mark. The Pandive grunted in pain, but did not rise; he had experienced worse, after all. Eyes closed, he didn’t catch the slight, ominous lifting of Mandarb’s thick fur as it began to accumulate static.
Even though he was a sitting duck for Mandarb’s attacks, Räsvelg had no qualms about staying stationary. In fact, the shorebird went as far as sagging to the ground ungracefully, obviously certain that the recovery of energy was more important than his dignity. Though the wood of the platform was not the most comfortable of materials to rest on, Räsvelg felt so exhausted that he could have fallen asleep.
In the next instant he was reminded why sleeping wasn’t exactly a bright idea. Räsvelg’s ears picked up a crackling noise, and almost immediately he felt a searing pain as another Charge Beam flew into his side. Now that his flying-type had returned to him, the pain was nearly twice as bad. Despite himself, he couldn’t help but let out a screech that was garbled with pain and weariness. Mandarb’s sneer grew ever wider, even as her fur lifted up even more, and a few, small sparks jumped about here and there.
Despite the sting of the hated electricity, Räsvelg stayed slumped on the ground, only rolling over and shifting slightly in an attempt to soothe the discomfort. Mandarb narrowed her eyes. It was vexing, to say the least, that her opponent was doing nothing but sitting there, but if he wanted it to be quick, then so much the better. For the third time the Absol opened her mouth and peeled back her lips as she gathered electricity in her mouth, the residual static running throughout her body making the charging process that much easier. The humming sphere that formed was noticeably larger than the first, but perhaps harder to control as well: instead of flying straight, the Charge Beam veered left, blackening the platform about a foot away from Räsvelg. Mandarb hissed irritably – how had she managed to miss an immobile target? The Absol’s white fur lifted noticeably, both from annoyance and from another rush of leftover electricity.
Unaware of his good luck, Räsvelg slumbered on. Not even his opponent’s snarl of frustration or her barely-audible whimper as poison attacked her insides elicited a response from the shorebird.
Negrek (OOO)
@Reaper Cloth
Mandarb (F) <Pressure>
Health: 97% | Direct Healers: 0/1
Energy: 79% | Chills: 0/3
Status: Exasperated. Badly poisoned (2% this round, 3% next). +3 Sp. Attack.
Chimchar (F) <Blaze>
Health: 9% | Direct Healers: 0/1
Energy: 24% | Chills: 2/3
(Blaze activated)
Yoshiya (M) <Magic Guard>
Health: 47% | Direct Healers: 0/1
Energy: 10% | Chills: 0/3
Kratos Aurion (xOO)
Räsvelg (M) <Torrent>
Health: 72% | Direct Healers: 1/1
Energy: 37% | Chills: 2/3
Status: Bordering on a deep sleep.
Terrain notes
Both Pokemon are on the main platform.
Final notes
All three Charge Beams raised Mandarb’s Special Attack.
Unfortunately, the third Charge Beam missed.