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Welcome to The Cave of Dragonflies forums, where the smallest bugs live alongside the strongest dragons.
Guests are not able to post messages or even read certain areas of the forums. Now, that's boring, don't you think? Registration, on the other hand, is simple, completely free of charge, and does not require you to give out any personal information at all. As soon as you register, you can take part in some of the happy fun things at the forums such as posting messages, voting in polls, sending private messages to people and being told that this is where we drink tea and eat cod.
Of course I'm not forcing you to do anything if you don't want to, but seriously, what have you got to lose? Five seconds of your life?
It's the second anniversary of the TCoD ASB league's grand re-opening! Unfortunately, there aren't any ASB Awards to announce this year. Also unfortunately, I don't think I actually have the permissions to set up some kind of pokémon giveaway, either. And there's already a tournament underway! (Two of them, even.)
Thankfully there's one constant amongst ASBers: even in the absence of a flashy awards ceremony, even without free stuff, they know how to party. And it wouldn't be an ASB party without suprise natural disasters, traumatized spectators, and a truly spectacular amount of property damage. It's been a while since we've had a metronome battle, hasn't it?
(If you're unfamiliar with the League's proud tradition of mayhem, meteors, and metronome, feel free to peruse some past metronome battles.)
Format: Single-Pokémon Free-for-All Metronome Battle DQ: 72 hours Damage Cap: NONE Banned Moves: COME AT ME BRO (anything besides metronome) Arena: Castelia City Central Plaza
By tradition, the goal of a metronome battle would be to trash ASB Central. However, ASB Central's already trashed--not to mention quiet nowadays. It just wouldn't be a metronome battle without wanton destruction and mayhem, and for that, you really need somewhere a tad more bustling.
Hence the League Association taking out a perfectly innocent battle permit for Castelia City's Central Plaza. The plaza is at the center of a large, circular park nestled in the heart of Castelia City's downtown, a broad, cobbled space with arena boundaries marked off by colored flags. A steady stream of people filters through the plaza, joggers and bikers and strollers alike, all oblivious to the chaos that's about to unfold in the park.
Prizes are standard for a battle of whatever size this one ends up being. Also, pokémon normally receive no experience points for participation in metronome battles, but since this one is special, I'm waiving that restriction. Make me regret my life choices!
A note about the DQ time: normally, the DQ is based on number of hours/days since the last player posted orders in the battle. In order to prevent this battle from taking a thousand years, the DQ time is instead from the time that the last reffing was posted. Thus, everyone needs to post within 72 hours of a reffing or risk disqualification.
Want to play? No need to get fancy; just post below with your pokémon of choice and your first round of commands. This battle will remain open for seventy-two hours or until we get "too many" applicants, where "too many" is completely arbitrary and based what I'm feeling like at the moment, probably fifteen or so.
I will jump on board and enter Jonathon, who will finally get a chance to battle! Let's start by using Metronome once, and then being careful and using Metronome again, and finishing by definitely using Guillotine - via metronome, of course.
Logan, I choose you! We'll start off with a Metronome, follow with Metronome, and finish with a nice Metronome. But if anyone uses Metronome at any point, use Metronome instead.
Start off with a nice, easy Metronome, then follow through with a Metronome. If you've been hit with Metronome, go with Metronome, but if you're Metronomed or Metronomed, use Metronome instead. Default to Metronome if you can't do anything else.
Just a quick request to please put your metronome pokémon into your active squad if you haven't already--this will make it much easier to distribute the correct EXP/happiness when the battle's over and ensures you won't have to wait around for your prizes!
There's a little over a day left now, so be sure to sign up soon if you're interested!
I don't want us to get hit by Metronome, so go for Metronome all three actions, but if your target isn't hittable use Metronome, and just Metronome if you can't do either of those.
It's a gorgeous day in Castelia's Central Plaza. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like these, trainers like us... Should be getting ready to turn this place into metronome hell.
None of that yet, though. The atmosphere is distinctly friendly, with trainers standing around chatting or showing off new pokémon they've caught. A couple have grabbed ice creams from one of the nearby stands. It takes a bit of herding to get everyone together, the pokémon sent out. To someone who didn't know what was about to go on (and wasn't already nervous at the sight of that many battle-ready pokémon in one place), it would no doubt appear that a perfectly normal, indeed innocuous, battle was about to take place.
The pokémon themselves don't seem to be aware of what's in store, either. For most of them, this will be their first time in a metronome battle, their first time in such a large battle. They chatter amongst one another self-consciously, here and there bristling up or conjuring small energy bursts as they try to show off or intimidate their opponents. The three abra are the exception, to a one appearing to doze in the warm midday sun. At least Dreamling is actually alert, though, the link cable around her arm filling her with a weird, electrical buzzing that's halfway exhilarating and halfway alarming.
The Rock is the one attracting the most attention. He seems perfectly at home in the spotlight, flexing and rumbling menacingly and no doubt wishing there were some female geodude around to impress. As it is, USB Charger and Jonathon can't help but be a little intimidated, and they quietly move to put the bulk of the group between themselves and the showy geodude. Goldeneye smiles politely, but overall seems uninterested. Alex, meanwhile, is only incensed by the geodude's display, bouncing on the balls of her feet and snorting to herself. So The Rock thinks he's pretty tough, huh? He thinks he's going to win? That dumb hunk of shale has another thing coming!
One pokémon stands apart from the rest, sharing none of the others' excited chatter, their boasts and eager smack-talk. They're young yet. This is the first battle for many of them. They'll learn.
Random Number Degenerate stares off across the plaza, but he isn't seeing the flowers or the balloon sellers, can't hear the laughing children or cheerful birdsong. Instead his mind's eye is filled with shattered buildings and the screams of civilians, the chirps and flashes of fleeing porygon, the roar of meteors ringed in unnatural fire.
Yes, they'll all learn what battle truly means. It's time to unleash the unholy power of metronome once again.
Kratos Aurion (O)
Random Number Degenerate (M) <Magic Guard> @ Leftovers
Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Commands: Metronome x3
- Random for the random number god.
Keldeo (O)
Alex (F) <Defiant> @ Lucky Egg
Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Commands: Metronome x3
- Ready to take on the world!
With so many pokémon on the field, the start of the battle means a rapid descent into total chaos. One by one fingers start to twitch, ticking side to side, and then all hell breaks loose. USB Charger is first, beating out the worst of the confusion to land a smart cross chop across Logan's broad forehead. The abra tips over on his back, but seems little worse for wear; he doesn't even open his eyes. In fact, the abra is concentrating on an attack of his own, one that's actually quite familiar to his evolutionary line. Across the field, Goldeneye twitches, glancing left and right as the world around her suddenly warps, like she's stepped into some kind of living funhouse mirror. What's near seems far and far distressingly close, so it seems like the sableye could reach out and touch the leaves at the top of the nearest tree. The cobblestone path in front of her skews up at a crazy angle, and some of her opponents appear to be standing upside-down. The sableye knows it's some kind of trick, that a psychic pokémon, no doubt, is having fun at her expense, but there's no sign of the perpetrator anywhere.
And after that there's no time to find one, as the other pokémon start to launch their attacks. Psyfox snaps his fingers, and a pillar of fire leaps up to scorch Alex; Dreamling lifts off, drifting silently across the arena and then smashing her face down on Degenerate's head; and Alex lobs a glowing egg bomb at Goldeneye, only to watch in dismay as its vigorous explosion has absolutely no effect on the ghost.
Now it's Goldeneye's turn to fire back. She lifts her claws, and the cobblestones around her tremble, a ripple of energy sending tremors rippling up and down the path. Most of the other battlers don't notice, and there's hardly time to react, in any case; Goldeneye throws her arms over her head with a swift jerking motion, and the cobblestones rise just as sharply into the air. They hang there for a second, and then Goldeneye pushes her hands forward, sending them whizzing out in all directions. Her aim isn't the greatest, not with psychic distortion still confusing her vision, but she doesn't need to be terribly precise when throwing stones in all directions. In the end Alex is the only one who evades the attack, ducking and dodging while cobblestones smash down all around her. The rock, meanwhile, sits calmly with palms upraised, holding up a powerful energy barrier that repels every stone that comes his way. Once the attack subsides, he lets the wide guard flicker out, then punches one fist into the palm of his other hand, rumbling menacingly. What kind of idiot tries to beat The Rock with rocks?
Jonathon digs himself out as the dust settles--rather slowly, since his tiny limbs don't exactly give him much leverage. The togepi squirms and wriggles his way out from under a pile of smashed-up cobbles, his arms already twitching as the strange power of metronome takes hold. The togepi sets off in a flat-out run, stumbling over scattered cobblestones and down into the pitted ground they left behind, making straight for Psyfox, who looks like he's napping under his own pile of rubble. Jonathon bends down--more or less faceplants, really--and seizes the abra's ear in his very tiny, suddenly very powerful teeth.
Psyfox is up in an instant, letting out a psychic yell that echoes through his opponents' minds. Random Number Degenerate ignores it, already making his slow, toddling way towards USB Charger. This is how it always begins. A few odd attacks here and there, just a little destruction, and the next thing you know you're summoning elder gods and bringing down an entire city. The cleffa skips through his next couple steps, gaining a bit of momentum, then reaches out and deals USB Charger a hearty slap on the back.
The elekid falls flat on his face, but it's not all good news for Random Number Degenerate. His whole body goes numb as soon as the attack lands, the electricity flashing across USB Charger's fur zapping straight up his arm. The cleffa freezes in place, completely paralyzed. He's in no way surprised. This just figures.
USB Charger pushes himself up, letting out a deep, rattling growl that dares anyone else to try messing with him. It's such a commanding noise, and surprising, coming from one so small, that it cuts right through the chaos, giving all the pokémon on the field a moment's pause. The silence is broken by an angry screech from Alex--that little punk thinks he can intimidate her, does he? Huh? Huh??--and then all hell breaks loose once more.
Psyfox finally manages to tear Jonathon off his ear, hurling the togepi away and dabbing gingerly at the wound for a second. He doesn't have long, though; he needs to get in another metronome if he wants to get off an attack before anyone else decides they want to saunter over and bite him. After a brief twitching of fingers the abra raises a paw, releasing a mist of poisonous gases that drifts over to envelop Dreamling. The other abra breathes deep, then chokes and coughs and teleports herself away. After a couple lungfuls of clear air she's ready to try again, and this time she manages an impressive roar--regal, intimidating, and above all loud; loud enough that even Random Number Degenerate, cynical as he is, can't ignore it, and can't help but be a little shaken.
The last abra waves his fingers carelessly, and a glowing split opens up under Alex, pelting the mankey with searing golden energy. The mankey staggers back, hooting in pain and outrage, then charges at Logan and bites down with teeth even he didn't realize he had, crunching through the abra's armor with a powerful bug bite.
Psyfox winces in sympathy--since when did biting abra become so popular?--and as a result doesn't notice The Rock bouncing up behind him. The geodude puts Psyfox in a strangling headlock, then grunts in frustration when the psychic-type gains enough composure to teleport off to safety.
Logan, meanwhile, lies quietly where he's fallen, metronome's power slowly reshaping his body. His brightly-patterned egg turns dull and, and his skin mottles to a pattern of grays and browns that let him blend in near-perfectly with the broken ground around him. His very essence, too, takes on a certain earthy quality.
Meanwhile Random Number Degenerate's tiny paws swing jerkily back and forth, stuttering now and again as paralysis takes hold. The power of metronome is greater than the cleffa's flagging muscles, though. For a moment Degenerate feels fire rise within him, raging to be released, to extinguish everything around him. But alas, he has none of his own fire to give, and the attack fades away to nothing, leaving the cleffa even more out of sorts than before.
And Goldeneye, who's been keeping quiet ever since her rock slide attack, has been steadily gathering power, a blue glow dancing in the depths of her gems. Now she opens her mouth and vomits out an incredibly powerful column of water that catches Logan dead on, so large that it engulfs the abra completely and blasts him into a tree, and then beyond, as the roots give way and the whole thing topples over on its side.
Of course, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and the force of Goldeneye's own attack hurls the lightweight ghost backwards through the air. She describes a lazy parabola and comes crashing down a ways away from the other battlers, landing comfortably in a flowerbed.
USB Charger, who was rather pleased by the effects of his growl last round, is even more appreciative when his metronome calls up a recover, so all the scrapes and bruises he's accumulated so far disappear and he's left swinging his arms cheerfully, sparks leaping between the prongs growing out of his head. He's a little winded, to be sure, but other than that? Couldn't be better.
Meanwhile Psyfox is healing up as well, albeit in a rather more predatory way. When his fingers stop twitching he raises his arms, a rippling green glow surrounding him and Dreamling alike. The other abra shivers, actually drooping as Psyfox leeches some of her strength away. Psyfox stretches luxuriously as his injuries, too, disappear, leaving him feeling refreshed and energetic, ready for another round of metronome madness.
Random Number Degenerate watches this all sourly, having long given up her attempts to attack Psyfox but not entirely over the sense that he missed out on something spectacular. He's not alone in failing to notice Logan, who levitates slowly out of the tangle of fallen branches he ended up in, dripping and miserable-looking but still compelled to attack by metronome's strange power. He drifts silently up behind Random Number Degenerate, and the cleffa lets out a squeak of surprise as the abra's claws seize him and haul him into the air. Logan tosses the cleffa away, and Degenerate bounces to a stop in the grass beside the torn-up remains of the path.
By now Dreamling's shaken off the horrible enervation of the strength sap, though she's still feeling rather sluggish. The abra concentrates a moment, and a blueish shield appears in the air around her, ready to protect him from even the nastiest status attack. Meanwhile Alex shines a bright blue-white, sending a crackling blast of electricity at Psyfox.
When the last of the electricity disperses, Random Number Degenerate begins to creep back towards the path, pausing now and again when paralysis takes hold. Unfortunately the section of path he's set his sights on is currently occupied by The Rock, and more unfortunately still, The Rock has no interest in sharing his spot. The geodude turns slowly, arms crossed, and gives Random Number Degenerate the sternest, most do-not-fuck-with-me look the cleffa's seen in his life.
Random Number Degenerate freezes up, and this time not from paralysis. The Rock glares at him for a few seconds, long enough to be sure the point is made, and then turns away again, abruptly disinterested. About all he's missed is Jonathon sneaking up on Dreamling and bopping the abra with a power-up punch. The Rock laughs as the togepi falls victim to Dreamling's static ability, the same as Random Number Degenerate did earlier, and falls over on his side with a wide-eyed look of shock on his face.
As the immediate moment of terror passes, Random Number Degenerate takes a deep breath and reminds himself that it's only a geodude. The Rock isn't really that scary. Nevertheless, it seems much more difficult to get a metronome going this time. Once the cleffa's arms start swaying back and forth, though, the power of the attack takes over, and he suddenly becomes sharper. His teeth grow out to points, his toes do likewise, and even his ears come to more well-defined corners. The cleffa taps together his paws, which are now more like tiny lances. Next round... next round, it's time to get serious.
Through all this, Goldeneye remains lying on her back, looking serenely up at the sky overhead. Surprise electric shocks excepted, it's so peaceful here. So beautiful. The air is heavy with the scent of flowers, no doubt soon to be burned up/iced over/bulldozed/etc. But for the moment... for the moment, this is nice.
Superbird (O)
Jonathon (M) <Serene Grace> @ Soothe Bell
Health: 95%
Energy: 88%
Commands: Metronome x3
- Lying in the dirt. Camouflaged (ground-type). Paralyzed (severe).
Kratos Aurion (O)
Random Number Degenerate (M) <Magic Guard> @ Leftovers
Health: 96%
Energy: 69%
Commands: Metronome x3
- Now this is more like it! Wary of The Rock. Paralyzed (severe). -1 Attack, -1 Special Attack
Meowth (O)
Logan (M) <Inner Focus> @ Leftovers
Health: 57%
Energy: 87%
Commands: Metronome x3
- Damp and out of sorts. -1 Attack
Terrain Notes
A wide section of the path has been ripped up, and cobblestones are scattered all over the place, many of them broken. A couple of trees have fallen over near the edge of the path, and the area around them is soaked and muddy.
Final Notes
- In summary: part of a walkway destroyed, a couple trees downed. Disappointing. Let's try harder next round!
- Send in your totally creative and original commands. You have seventy-two hours.
Elekid - Psyfox - Logan - Dreamling - Alex - Goldeneye - The Rock - Jonathon - Random Number Degenerate
-- Begin Round One --
The Rock's command: wide guard
Energy:
Base 1% + 3% blocked move = 4% energy
Acc: n/a
Damage: n/a
USB Charger's command: Cross Chop @ Logan
Energy:
Base 6%
Acc: 80%
Roll: 17
HIT!
Crit roll: 5
no crit
Damage:
Pow 100 -> base 10% + 2% stat x 0.67 = 9% damage
Psyfox's command: fire pledge @ Alex
Energy:
Base 4%
Acc: 100%
HIT!
Damage:
Pow 80 -> base 8% + 2% stat = 10% damage
Goldeneye's command: rock slide
Energy:
Base 5%
Acc: 90% - 5% = 85%
Roll: 8, 12, 18, 17, 2, 10, 13
ONE MISS!
!crit rolls: 16, 8, 9, 8, 10, 18
no crit
Damage:
Pow 56 -> base 5.6% + 2% stat = 7% damage USB Charger
Pow 56 -> base 5.6% + 2% stat = 7% damage Psyfox
Pow 56 -> base 5.6% + 2% stat = 7% damage Logan
Pow 56 -> base 5.6% + 2% stat = 7% damage Dreamling
Pow 56 -> base 5.6% = 5% damage Jonathon
Pow 56 -> base 5.6% + 2% stat = 7% Random Number Degenerate
!extra effect: flinch (30%)
Roll: 7, 13
no effect
Jonathon's command: crunch @ Psyfox
Energy:
Base 4%
Acc: 100%
HIT!
!crit roll: 15
no crit
Damage:
Pow 80 -> base 8% x 1.5 = 12% damage
!extra effect: defdown (40%)
Roll: 11
no effect
Degenerate's command: assurance @ USB Charger
Energy:
Base 3%
Acc: 100%
HIT!
!crit roll: 4
no crit
Damage:
Pow 60 -> base 6%
!extra effect: prz (30%)
Roll: 20
!Degenerate paralyzed
(technically Goldeneye should not have used rock slide yet, so no damage on USB charger and no BP boost)
-- End of Round Damages --
Logan: +1% leftovers
Psyfox: +1% leftovers
-- Round One Results --
Jonathon
95%
96%
Goldeneye
100%
95%
RNG
90%
97%
Logan
85%
99%
USB Charger
87%
94%
Psyfox
82%
96%
The Rock
100%
96%
Dreamling
93%
98%
Alex
90%
94%
-- Begin Round Two --
USB Charger's command: growl
Energy:
Base 1%
Acc: 100%
HIT!
Damage: n/a
!extra effect: attkdown all EXCEPT Alex (attkup)
Psyfox's command: clear smog @ Dreamling
Energy:
Base 3%
Acc: 100%
HIT!
!crit roll: 19
no crit
Damage:
pow 50 -> base 5% + 2% stat = 7% damage
!extra effect: stats reset
Logan's command: earth power @ Alex
Energy:
Base 5%
Acc: 100%
HIT!
!crit roll: 18
no crit
Damage:
Pow 90 -> base 9% + 2% stat -> 11% damage
!extra effect: sdefdown (10%)
Roll: 12
no effect
Good job, Jonathon, you seem to be doing all right. Keep on Metronomeing, and try to do something either super destructive or very refreshing and safe for yourself. If you can manage it, try to get yourself healed somehow, whether that means throwing yourself into the path of a Smellingsalt attack or sniffing an Aromatherapy.
Oh, come now, RND. It was Negrek's birthday, and you couldn't even give her a functional burn up, let alone a magma storm or draco meteor? That's just rude, young man, and I won't have it in this house. I raised you better than that, and by better I mean with a greater disregard for the safety of life and property. Make it up to her this instant!
Magma Storm ~ Magma Storm ~ MAGMA STORM
(PS, I think some of RND's information was copied from Goldeneye but wasn't edited? He should be male with magic guard and holding leftovers. Sorry if that changes anything... :( )
