Zhorken v. Byrus

[nastypass]

[size=+2]Zhorken vs Byrus[/size]

Format: 2v2 single
Style: Set
DQ: 1 week
Damage cap: 37%
Banned/restricted moves: Direct healing, Pain Split, Encore, exact-damage moves (Super Fang, Counter, et al.), Attract (Cute Charm/Destiny Knot is fine), Trick Room messes with Speed but not command order
Arena: Red Table

A giant, fully-functional replica of the Red Table from Pokémon Pinball. No particular arena effects, but it's all working for the purposes of flavour and creative arena use. All the Pokémon are real Pokémon, too, especially the giant grinning Ditto in the corner. Despite the slope, Pokémon like Voltorb can still control their movement, as evidenced by the bumper Voltorbs.

Zhorken's active squad

Riley the male Lopunny <Cute Charm> @ Big Root (5E)
Ruth the female Deino <Hustle> @ Lucky Egg
Delphi the female Slowking <Own Tempo> @ Wise Glasses
Tetsuya the male Mawile <Hyper Cutter> @ Scope Lens
Pascal the male Zigzagoon <Gluttony> @ Lucky Egg
Ambrose the male Fennekin <Magician> @ White Herb
Lawrence the female Flabébé (Blue Flower) <Flower Veil> @ Eviolite
Clair the male Amaura <Refrigerate> @ Wise Glasses
Lambda the genderless Porygon <Trace> @ Up-Grade
Tango the female Shuppet <Frisk> @ Eviolite


Byrus's active squad

Christy the female Houndoom <Flash Fire> @ Electirizer (7E)
Jonesy the male Skuntank <Stench> @ Black Sludge
Fiver the male Lopunny <Cute Charm> @ Jaboca Berry (4E)
Geier the female Vullaby <Overcoat> @ Lucky Egg
Prospero the male Abra <Synchronize> @ Weakness Policy
Sluagh the male Gastly <Levitate> @ Colbur Berry
The Strand the male Eelektross <Levitate> @ Jaboca Berry
Kevin the male Dratini <Shed Skin> @ Lucky Egg
Valefar the male Eevee <Adaptability> @ Thunder Stone
Beelzebufo the male Croagunk <Anticipation> @ Poison Barb

Zhorken sends out first, Byrus sends out and commands, etc.

 

[Zhorken]

I'm going with Lambda.

 

[Byrus]

Let's go, Prospero!

Start with Psychic, then dish out some Drain Punches. If Lambda is a dark type when you attempt to use psychic, go for focus punch. If it's a ghost, psychic or flying type, use foul play instead of drain punch. If it tries to use Trick to steal away your Weakness Policy, Taunt it.

Psychic/Focus Punch/Taunt ~ Drain Punch/Foul Play/Taunt ~ Drain Punch/Foul Play/Taunt

 

[Zhorken]

Conversion shenanigans were actually exactly why I went with Lambda, hahah. But that's okay! We can still fall back on "do a bunch of plain old damage".

Reflect ~ Skull Bash ~ Skull Bash! (One action per Skull Bash.)

 

[nastypass]

Zhorken [OO]
Lambda (X) <Trace, Synchronize> @Up-Grade

Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Status: Feeling 101%

Byrus [OO]
Prospero (M) <Synchronize> @Weakness Policy

Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
Status: Marveling at the flashing lights.

-BEGIN ROUND 1-​

The Ditto loomed.

This wasn't in itself overly concerning, since it was only a Ditto after all, and Ditto were rather cute, but it was... large. And so it was concerning. The Ditto was not the enemy of the day, however. A series of jingles rang out from the pinball table as the two trainers each shoved their quarters into the slot on the machine. Colourful LEDs lit up by the hole next to the plunger, and the opponents slid in first Pokéballs for launch. Zhorken grabbed the knob, pulled back, and sent the first two Pokémon rolling into the play field. They each bounced around the Voltorb for a moment before the balls burst into a white light and revealed Lambda and Prospero each hovering slightly above the board.

The Ditto remained looming over them, its expression fixed in a blank smile.

The Abra was first to act, setting himself down just below the bumpers and raising a claw toward Lambda. His opponent began to glow a faint blue as his psychic powers took hold. He swiped his arm left, and his target went flying with it. The Porygon slammed hard into a barrier, then into a Voltorb, then another Voltorb, and another, bouncing between them again and again even after Prospero released them. Lambda eventually cancelled out their momentum somewhere just above the flippers, righting themself, and taking in their surroundings. They analyzed each potential avenue for Prospero to reach them, and shifted their position ever so slightly upward to optimise the effectiveness of their next move. They rotated themself along some awkward axis, tilted forward, and suddenly a golden dome of light began to shine around them for incomprehensible reasons.

[Lambda- HP: 89%, PP: 98%] [Prospero- HP: 100%, PP: 96%]​

Prospero paused momentarily, wary of the portents of Lambda's erratic behaviour. He began to think up rude things he could say, in case this was some sort of trick to take his insurance card. These were forgotten quite suddenly, however, as Lambda rocketed into him head-first. The impact threw him backward, slamming him into a barrier just below a Staryu. As he regained his composure, he sized up his opponent, who was still hovering face-down after the attack and refusing to show anything but the top of their head. They seemed quite proud of it for some reason. We'll see how proud they are of their head once I punch the heck out of it! Prospero thought. He drew an arm back and slammed his fist into the Porygon's skull with all the force he could muster... which wasn't much, ultimately, once it passed through the gold dome. Still, it made him feel better.

[Lambda- HP: 85%, PP: 87%] [Prospero- HP: 85%, PP: 92%]​

Lambda shifted themself down the board again, which made Prospero nervous. He stood his ground, awaiting any more tricks, and all the while Lambda kept sliding through the air toward the slingshot at the bottom of the table. Head still in ramming position, they pushed themselves into the slingshot's band, and when they were satisfied with the delta, simply let it launch them. They slammed headlong into Prospero again, sending him rolling up the EVO path, only narrowly avoiding the Ditto's gooey grasp. With a clatter, Prospero rolled back down through the spinner. He got back up, and ran in to punch Lambda again. Lambda didn't mind.

-END ROUND 1-​

Zhorken [OO]
Lambda (X) <Trace, Synchronize> @Up-Grade

Health: 81%
Energy: 76%
Status: Hovering with their nose to the ground. Behind a Reflect (2 more actions, 1% per action).

Byrus [OO]
Prospero (M) <Synchronize> @Weakness Policy

Health: 70%
Energy: 88%
Status: Feels a little better about himself after punching Lambda a bunch.

Numbers:
Lambda- Health: 100 - 11 (Psychic) - 4 (Drain Punch) - 4 (Drain Punch) = 81; Energy: 100 - 2 (Reflect) - 10 (Skull Bash) - 1 (R.upkeep) - 10 (Skull Bash) - 1 (R.upkeep) = 76.
Prospero- Health: 100 - 17 (Skull Bash) + 2 (Drain Punch) - 17 (Skull Bash) + 2 (Drain Punch) = 70; Energy: 100 - 4 (Psychic) - 8 (Drain Punch x2) = 88.

Notes:
-The Ditto looms.
-I'm imagining this as taking place on a real pinball table with miniaturised Pokémon... which leaves that Ditto still being creepily large.
-Lambda received a +1 to Defense on the actions where they used Skull Bash.
-Because I thought it was cool, Drain Punch damage: (7.5-1)*1.5/2 = 4.85% ~ 4%. Well mathed, Zhorken.
-It ended up not mattering too much, but Lambda moved first because Prospero had to wait and see if they would use Trick.
-Pinball trivia: did you know that before 1947, pinball machines didn't have flippers? Wow, what was even the point before then.
-Zhorken commands first.

 

[Zhorken]

First, if he tries to use Taunt, Telekinesis, or Swagger, use Magic Coat; otherwise, make a 15% Substitute. Then use Hyper Beam and Skull Bash. If he's Protecting use Agility instead of Hyper Beam and Double Team instead of Skull Bash; if he has Double Team clones (and isn't Protecting) then use Natural Gift.

Substitute/Magic Coat ~ Hyper Beam/Agility/Natural Gift ~ Skull Bash/Double Team/Natural Gift

(Also psst Walker:)

 

[Byrus]

I love the pinball art. :o I'm glad I choose a gen 1 Poke for this.

Alright, it looks like we should be able to Snatch that Substitute. Then use Protect to trigger Agility, and go for a Focus Punch while your sub is still up and its Reflect is down. Go for Drain Punch if your sub is down for some reason I haven't predicted.

Snatch ~ Protect ~ Focus Punch/Drain Punch

 

[Zhorken]

... I only just realized Agility isn't even going to make Lambda faster than Prospero. Wwwhoops.

 

[nastypass]

... I only just realized Agility isn't even going to make Lambda faster than Prospero. Wwwhoops.

I'd say I could use the in-game multipliers if that's what you'd both prefer/have expected me to use, but it doesn't actually make a difference either way in this case.

I'm busy with homework and research this week so reffing on Sunday prossibly??

 

[nastypass]

Zhorken [OO]
Lambda (X) <Trace, Synchronize> @Up-Grade

Health: 81%
Energy: 76%
Status: Hovering with their nose to the ground. Behind a Reflect (2 more actions, 1% per action).

Byrus [OO]
Prospero (M) <Synchronize> @Weakness Policy

Health: 70%
Energy: 88%
Status: Feels a little better about himself after punching Lambda a bunch.

-BEGIN ROUND 2-​

Prospero took a few steps back after his last strike. Lambda had hardly budged, and was now hovering with their usual blank expression. It was getting nearly as unnerving as the plastic smiles on the Pokémon ornamenting the table. He widened his stance, preparing for whatever nefarious plans the Porygon had in store. As he did so, his shadow seemed to darken and quiver, as if something had built up in it, ready to overflow. Lambda, for their part, gave no impression of noticing. They began to rotate again on strange axes, leaving behind artifacts in the air as reality struggled to keep up with rendering them. Before they could manipulate the glitches into a physical object, however, Prospero's shadow finally burst. Jet black tentacles spread out, ensnaring each of the images individually and reeling them back into one bulbous mass. As the last were collected, the shadow returned to its normal state, revealing an ordinary substitute doll. Prospero glowed with a green aura, and it hopped to life.

[Lambda- HP: 81%, PP: 75%] [Prospero- HP: 55%, PP: 78%, Sub: 15%]​

As the green faded from Prospero's aura, it began to shimmer in a hexagon-patterned dome surrounding him and his substitute. It didn't take much processing power on Lambda's part to see that there was no use trying to fight through it. Perhaps there was a way around it? The Porygon sailed through the air, picking up speed as they went, circling round and round their opponent in search of some crack, some flaw in his tessellation, but there was none. Oh well. Flying around in circles was fun, at least, so they kept at it.

[Lambda- HP: 81%, PP: 72%] [Prospero- HP: 55%, PP: 76%, Sub: 15%]​

The barrier faded piece by piece, and Prospero breathed deep. The air wasn't fresh, it was still the inside of a pinball table after all, but it was still helpful when his concentration was so easily disrupted. He breathed out slowly, shifting his stance to a striking position. Lambda, seeing the barrier was down at last, wasted no time in tipping forward and charging headlong toward the now-vulnerable Abra. Except he wasn't: the substitute doll bounced up, throwing itself in harm's way to block the attack. Lambda struck it with such force that it shattered into the original rendering errors that composed it. Lambda's momentum carried them forward some distance, placing them practically in Prospero's lap. Such a perfect target demanded a strike, and he eagerly obliged. His fist glinted, and he rocketed forward on sheer fighting spirit, punching Lambda with the full might of the ultimate fighting attack.

-END ROUND 2-​

Zhorken [OO]
Lambda (X) <Trace, Synchronize> @Up-Grade

Health: 60%
Energy: 62%
Status: Reeling, but not yet displaying it. +2 Speed.

Byrus [OO]
Prospero (M) <Synchronize> @Weakness Policy

Health: 55%
Energy: 67%
Status: Continuing to boost his self-esteem through punching.

Numbers:
Lambda- Health: 81 - 21 (Focus Punch) = 60, Energy: 76 - 2 (Reflect upkeep, 2 actions) - 2 (Agility) - 11 (Skull Bash) = 62.
Prospero- Health: 70 - 15 (Substitute) = 55, Energy: 88 - 8 (Substitute) - 2 (Snatch) - 2 (Protect) - 9 (Focus Punch) = 67, Sub: 15 - 17 (Skull Bash) = -2.

Notes:
-I LIED
-From now on I'll be handling speed boosts like this: if the base speeds of all Pokémon on the field are within 60 of each other, speed stages are +-10 base. If anyone is 60 or faster than anyone else, I'll use in-game multipliers.
-Speed order: Prospero (90) > Lambda (60).
-Hexagons don't tessellate on spheres, and possibly not on any similarly curvy 3d shape, so the protect dome is actually an approximation made of flat hexagons. The more you know.
-Lambda had a defense boost from Skull Bash on the third action, which eased the Focus Punch a little.
-Prospero's substitute broke on the third action.
-Huh? Where'd that Ditto go...
-Byrus commands first.

 

[Byrus]

Quick question: do you apply the defence boost for Skull Bash regardless of the order commands are executed, or would it not be applied if Prospero was able to land his attack before Lambda could begin Skull Bash?

Hopefully that question made sense lol, will command when I'm not so tired

 

[nastypass]

Quick question: do you apply the defence boost for Skull Bash regardless of the order commands are executed, or would it not be applied if Prospero was able to land his attack before Lambda could begin Skull Bash?

Hopefully that question made sense lol, will command when I'm not so tired

If it's commanded single-action, I grant a defense boost on the action Skull Bash is used regardless of who goes first. Think of it like the "lowering head" portion having priority whereas the attack itself does not. I'll make this more clear in the text of further reffings.

 

[Byrus]

Righto, thanks for clarifying.

It's really difficult to keep up with those high-powered STAB moves, so it looks like Drain Punch is still the best option for now. Go for it right away on the first action, but if Lambda changes to a type that is resistant or immune (flying, bug, ghost, poison) after that, then switch to Psychic. Also go for Psychic if it sets another Reflect up, unless its immune. Use Shock Wave to destroy any Double Team clones.

Also, uh, just toss your item, preferably somewhere your opponent can't get it. I don't think it's going to be much use when Lambda can do more damage with its STAB moves than its SE moves anyway. Weakness Policy is probably better suited against opponents with SE STAB.

Drain Punch ~ Drain Punch/Psychic/Shock Wave ~ Drain Punch/Psychic/Shock Wave

 

[Zhorken]

Uuuugh I left this until the last minute again. There was some reason I didn't go with this two weeks ago, but I forget what it is now and I don't want to push this back any further:

Conversion (Psychic) ~ Foul Play ~ Foul Play

 

[nastypass]

Zhorken [OO]
Lambda (X) <Trace, Synchronize> @Up-Grade

Health: 60%
Energy: 62%
Speed: 60
Status: Reeling, but not yet displaying it. +2 Speed.

Byrus [OO]
Prospero (M) <Synchronize> @Weakness Policy

Health: 55%
Energy: 67%
Speed: 90
Status: Continuing to boost his self-esteem through punching.

-BEGIN ROUND 3-

PUNCH (COMBAT). A STRIKING BLOW WITH A CLOSED FIST. ADDENDUM (LAMBDA, 2015-12-22): these hurt. Lambda had lots of time to make small notes like these all through their local Wiki repository while they waited for the ref to get back up. There was more than a little dread in each of them, because they knew that the instant Meursault rose, Crypt Keeper-like, from her long slumber, it would mean at least one more punch from Prospero. The days were long in the pinball machine, and the Ditto was still nowhere to be seen...

When the time did finally come for Meursault's ref-surrection, it still didn't quite register to Lambda. Prospero, however, was fully prepared, having stayed warmed up all throughout the break. At the sound of the whistle, he darted forward and struck the Porygon with a forceful jab.

ADDENDUM (LAMBDA, 2016-1-8): ouch yeah these still hurt. Lambda hastily withdrew themself to the higher end of the machine. A few flips flopped, some flags were set, and they began to glow a faint pink as psy.conv loaded.

[Lambda- HP: 49%, PP: 57%; Psychic type.] [Prospero- HP: 60%, PP: 63%]​

Prospero hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should pursue his opponent; his trainer hadn't mentioned if they converted to his own type... Ultimately though, he had said to change tactics if Lambda became resistant. Prospero flicked a claw to his side and it began to glow with a blue aura. He raised it toward Lambda, and the aura burst forward in a wave of telekinetic force that rocked the whole machine. The Poké-bumpers rattled in their positions as the attack passed them. Lambda spun through the air a few times, but overall didn't much mind the attack. They beeped out a few taunts and, slowly, hovered their way back toward Prospero, as if deliberately leaving themself open to attack. It was too great an opportunity for him to pass up, and he began walking forward to better strike... when the Bellsprout's roots crept out and swept his feet from beneath him!

[Lambda- HP: 42%, PP: 52%; Psychic type.] [Prospero- HP: 45%, PP: 59%]​

Prospero tried to strike before his opportunity wasted itself, sending another wave of telekinetic force with one hand while merely propping himself off the floor with the other. He muttered in frustration as the attack passed over the Porygon again with minimal effectiveness. It was then that the enormous Ditto wiggled its way out of the floor to check in. It wobbled up to Prospero, and offered a blobby hand to lean on, eagerly accepted.

Even as their opponent carefully helped himself up on the Ditto's arm, Lambda floated up innocently for a casual conversation. With some beeps and chirps, the whole battle was quickly explained as a total misunderstanding you see, and why don't you come with me and watch from your usual wall? At that, the two strolled away cheerily to the back of the board.

Prospero only noticed them going after he reached for one final hoist on an arm that was no longer there.

-END ROUND 3-

Zhorken [OO]
Lambda (X) <Trace, Synchronize> @Up-Grade

Health: 35%
Energy: 47%
Speed: 60
Status: Chatting up the Ditto deceitfully. +2 Speed. Psychic type.

Byrus [OO]
Prospero (M) <Synchronize> @Weakness Policy

Health: 30%
Energy: 55%
Speed: 90
Status: Never accepting a Ditto's help again.

Numbers:
Lambda- Health: 60 - 11 (Drain Punch) - 7 (Psychic) - 7 (Psychic) = 37. Energy: 67 - 5 (Conversion) - 10 (Foul Play x2) = 45.
Prospero- Health: 55 + 5 (Drain Punch) - 15 (Foul Play) - 15 (Foul Play) = 30. Energy: 67 - 4 (Drain Punch) - 8 (Psychic x2) = 55.

Notes:
-Would you believe that I procrastinated this so long that I lost my calculations notes for this battle? ... yeah, probably, I'm a very disorganised person lately.
-I wasn't sure if Prospero should have used Psychic or Drain Punch after Lamba became psychic type, since it's resistant to fighting, but not listed in the parens... For the sake of not writing 3 Drain Punches for the round I went with Psychic.
-The Ditto returns.
-Prospero ditched his Weakness Policy off-stage.
-Zhorken commands first. You're both under the cap - this battle's really heating up!

 

[Zhorken]

Prospero was supposed to ditch his Weakness Policy; is there a reason he didn't or did you just miss that?

EDIT: ... Although I guess it works fine for me either way given that I'm using Foul Play anyway, hahah.

EDIT 2: ... Also I may regret pointing this out, but I'm pretty sure Drain Punch should have done 2% more damage.

(I'll command when I'm home from work, my lunch break is almost done.)

 

[nastypass]

Oh yeah I definitely did miss that. Editing that bit out.

 

[nastypass]

Late DQ Warning for Zhorken. 48 hours.

 

[Zhorken]

Foul Play, then Hyper Beam, then Foul Play again if need be. If he has Double Team clones, or you want to use Foul Play but can't use it or can't hit him with it, use Natural Gift. In case of Swagger, use Magic Coat, but if he decides to out-wait you, just go ahead and attack.

Foul Play/Natural Gift/Magic Coat ~ Hyper Beam/Natural Gift/Magic Coat ~ Foul Play/Natural Gift/Magic Coat

 

[nastypass]

and just as zhorken's warning was late, so too shall be byrus's... 48 hours remain.