That should be everything for the plan it just kind of sucks that the use of Dragon Tail to counter Sabrina's strategy means the fight is going to have to pause pretty much immediately to come back to another vote since we'll be facing a randomized opponent but that's worthwhile to get hazards on the field.
I will say that one thing that helps is that this does almost entirely remove Alakazam from play due to the combination of Alakazam being rather vulnerable to physical moves and Dratini being able to hit surprisingly hard with Dragon Tail. As it is, I'm expecting Alakazam to immediately be taken down to something like 37% of their HP. Although as you mention, this is going to be a very rapid exchange between the two of you. Even if it does cause quite a bit to change.
I will say that one thing that helps is that this does almost entirely remove Alakazam from play due to the combination of Alakazam being rather vulnerable to physical moves and Dratini being able to hit surprisingly hard with Dragon Tail. As it is, I'm expecting Alakazam to immediately be taken down to something like 37% of their HP. Although as you mention, this is going to be a very rapid exchange between the two of you. Even if it does cause quite a bit to change.
It's good to know that this effectively removes Alakazam from play well Dratini and Pineco are on the field on account of him losing enough HP that both Outrage, as well as Bug Bite, should knock him out if they can connect on the swap in since I hadn't considered that. Although I suspect we'll be forced to swap to Magnemite or Chansey at some point giving up that advantage but even when that does come to pass we'll still have a nice tempo advantage from Alakazam being forced to always use its first move on Recover unless it's going for a one for one trade on a low health Pokemon.
But yes it's a short exchange where if we do manage to land everything we're left with quite a decisive advantage but the odds of that happening is like thirty-nine percent between Stealth Rock probably having a DC of 35 since Chansey's Life Dew had a 25% chance of working when it was in the high C's IIRC, and the around 60% chance of Dragon Tail landing versus Alakazam accounting for us taking the Aggressive stance in both well Alakazam uses the Standard stance.
Presuming we don't land Stealth Rock things are still to our advantage but notably less so, and if we don't land Dragon Tail things go very, very badly very, very quickly as +2 Special Attack Alakazam demolishes Dratini the next turn.
...Hey, wait a minute wouldn't a successful feint raise the chance of Dragon Tail hitting? That makes the linchpin of the plan significantly less risky but what move should I feint with? It can't be Outrage because that would change their planning, Protect as well as Agility are out since those look illogical in that situation, and so does every attacking move except potentially Bind since the move we're faking needs to look highly trained to make it believable we're willing to trade off the extra damage of Outrage for higher accuracy from another move.
Thunder Wave is probably the most believable move though since it'll appear as if we're trying to lower Alakazam's evasiveness before swapping to Chansey so that we're more likely to hit Sing. I think I'll go with that then since it makes more sense than using a move like Bind when it'll do so little damage before dispelling when Dratini swaps out.
Thanks for the unintentional planning help Daemon.
Wait I completely misread how much this would hurt Alakazam. It takes him down to 37% HP? Jesus I read it as doing 37% which I just accepted since everything seems to be bulkier in this quest than it is in the games. It's probably just outright worth it to go for the Outrage here then since if it hits it's a guaranteed KO, and it has a 5% higher chance of hitting than Dragon Tail.
The only issue is that upon seeing Dragonite be swapped in she might abandon her plan completely to swap in Alakazam, and instead keep the winning match-up of Mr. Mime versus Dratini making Dragon Tail the safer option since if she does that even though it won't do damage Dragon Tail will still force a swap if it hits Mr. Mime. Hm, decisions, decisions... I think I'll stick with the Dragon Tail plan, and just add in a quick conditional to use Outrage instead of Dragon Tail under the same feint if Alakazam is swapped in.
Edit: Nope Dragon Tail doesn't force the swap out if she keeps Mr. Mime in as he's immune to all parts of the move not just the damage but he shouldn't have any recovery moves, and he's pretty much free to swap into with Magnemite so the plan is fine a conditional just needs to be made where if Mr. Mime doesn't go for the swap we'll need to have Violet read that and throw Magnemite in to attempt to knock Mr. Mime out with Flash Cannon.
The updated fight order should now look something like this.
Turn 1: Alakazam swaps with Mr. Mime. Pineco uses Stealth Rock.
Turn 2: Pineco swaps with Dratini. Mr. Mime uses Calm Mind gaining +2 Special Attack.
Turn 3A: Mr. Mime uses Baton Pass to pass on the +2 Special Attack to a team member. Dratini feints Thunder Wave but actually uses Outrage looking for an OHKO.
Turn 3B: Dratini swaps with Magnemite. Mr. Mime uses Calm Mind or an attacking move.
Turn 4: Mr. Mime uses Baton Pass, Calm Mind, or an attacking move. Magnemite uses Flash Cannon looking for an OHKO on Mr. Mime or severe damage on whoever takes the hit for Mr. Mime.
I will say that one thing that helps is that this does almost entirely remove Alakazam from play due to the combination of Alakazam being rather vulnerable to physical moves and Dratini being able to hit surprisingly hard with Dragon Tail. As it is, I'm expecting Alakazam to immediately be taken down to something like 37% of their HP. Although as you mention, this is going to be a very rapid exchange between the two of you. Even if it does cause quite a bit to change.
Quick question Daemon. Did Alakazam going down to 37% HP from a 90 Power Dragon Tail take into account the 12.5% of its HP it would lose presuming Stealth Rock was successful? I would assume not but if it did that's relevant for a modification to the plan I just thought about. Namely, if Alakazam loses 63% of its HP to a 90 Power Dragon Tail then it probably loses notably more than that to an effective 180 Power Bug Bite even with Pineco having three stages lower Attack than Dratini.*
This means there's no need to swap in Dratini to threaten the OHKO when Mr. Mime uses Baton Pass to transfer +2 Special Attack to Alakazam which has multiple benefits the first of which is that Sabrina is more likely to follow her stated plan with us having no apparent reaction to it, second Bug Bite is 5% more accurate than Outrage bringing our base chance of hitting up to 70%, and lastly it gives us an extra turn to set up hazards.
The only question is if Pineco does enough damage to OHKO Alakazam with Bug Bite raw or if she needs the chip damage from a certain number of hazards to do so. Would you mind clarifying how much damage Bug Bite would do to Alakazam raw Daemon?*
Presuming it OHKOs though the fight sequence would now look something like this...
Turn 1: Alakazam swaps for Mr. Mime. Pineco uses Stealth Rock.
Turn 2: Mr. Mime uses Calm Mind gaining +2 Special Attack. Pineco uses Spikes.
Turn 3: Mr. Mime uses Baton Pass to swap Alakazam back in and transfer the +2 Special Attack to it but loses between 0%, 12.5%, or 25% HP depending on how many hazard moves were successful. Pineco uses Bug Bite with a 70% chance of hitting looking for the OHKO on Alakazam.
*In the actual games Bug Bite would do notably less coming in at ~50% of Alakazam's HP, and even lower if that 37% was including chip damage from Stealth Rock but the quest, and the games don't operate the exact same hence me seeking clarification.
Quick question Daemon. Did Alakazam going down to 37% HP from a 90 Power Dragon Tail take into account the 12.5% of its HP it would lose presuming Stealth Rock was successful? I would assume not but if it did that's relevant for a modification to the plan I just thought about. Namely, if Alakazam loses 63% of its HP to a 90 Power Dragon Tail then it probably loses notably more than that to an effective 180 Power Bug Bite even with Pineco having three stages lower Attack than Dratini.*
This means there's no need to swap in Dratini to threaten the OHKO when Mr. Mime uses Baton Pass to transfer +2 Special Attack to Alakazam which has multiple benefits the first of which is that Sabrina is more likely to follow her stated plan with us having no apparent reaction to it, second Bug Bite is 5% more accurate than Outrage bringing our base chance of hitting up to 70%, and lastly it gives us an extra turn to set up hazards.
The only question is if Pineco does enough damage to OHKO Alakazam with Bug Bite raw or if she needs the chip damage from a certain number of hazards to do so. Would you mind clarifying how much damage Bug Bite would do to Alakazam raw Daemon?*
Presuming it OHKOs though the fight sequence would now look something like this...
Turn 1: Alakazam swaps for Mr. Mime. Pineco uses Stealth Rock.
Turn 2: Mr. Mime uses Calm Mind gaining +2 Special Attack. Pineco uses Spikes.
Turn 3: Mr. Mime uses Baton Pass to swap Alakazam back in and transfer the +2 Special Attack to it but loses between 0%, 12.5%, or 25% HP depending on how many hazard moves were successful. Pineco uses Bug Bite with a 70% chance of hitting looking for the OHKO on Alakazam.
*In the actual games Bug Bite would do notably less coming in at ~50% of Alakazam's HP, and even lower if that 37% was including chip damage from Stealth Rock but the quest, and the games don't operate the exact same hence me seeking clarification.
For that, I was taking into account the 12.5% HP lost from Stealth Rock (although for this I round up to 13% to avoid fractions of a percent). The use of 90-power Dragon Tail takes off 50% of Alakazam's HP in this case. As for the 180-power Bug Bite, that'd take off around 76% of Alakazam's HP.
For that, I was taking into account the 12.5% HP lost from Stealth Rock (although for this I round up to 13% to avoid fractions of a percent). The use of 90-power Dragon Tail takes off 50% of Alakazam's HP in this case. As for the 180-power Bug Bite, that'd take off around 66% of Alakazam's HP.
Of course, it lives on 8% HP even with both hazards up. We'll just have to stick with the present plan then since it should leave us in a better place on average than with a 1 HP Pineco, and a knocked-out Alakazam if things go perfectly with the modification.
Of course, it lives on 8% HP even with both hazards up. We'll just have to stick with the present plan then since it should leave us in a better place on average than with a 1 HP Pineco, and a knocked-out Alakazam if things go perfectly with the modification.
Ah, I actually made a miscalculation originally before editing it to the correct value. As it is, both hazards are just enough to knock it out if Bug Bite lands.
Ah, I actually made a miscalculation originally before editing it to the correct value. As it is, both hazards are just enough to knock it out if Bug Bite lands.
Hm, I'm torn about which way I should take this then. I think I'll go with the modification though since there's a decent chance our reaction would spook Sabrina out of her stated planned maneuver with the original plan so the odds of us getting off Outrage rather than being punished setting things back to neutral or to a slight advantage for Sabrina aren't great.
By contrast, the modification has a decent shot of going overwhelmingly well for us, good odds of it going well, and low odds of it going poorly as there's a fifty-fifty shot we land both hazards roughly from what I can tell, and then a seventy percent chance of landing the Bug Bite although probably more than that with a feint. So there's a one-in-three chance at worst we get a free OHKO plus two hazards on the field.
And, the other two-thirds of the time are split between an 85% chance of knocking Alakazam out with Self-Destruct well leaving Pineco on 1 HP or knocked out, and a 15% chance of him knocking out Pineco. Meaning in absolute terms there's an at least 34% chance of an overwhelming victory, a 56% chance of a positive outcome in our favor, and a 10% chance of a negative outcome.
Edit: Uh, hey Daemon Hunter is Sabrina capable of having Alakazam stance switch well he's being swapped in using Baton Pass? I'd hate for the plan to go perfectly only for Sabrina to stance-switch Alakazam to Turtle before Bug Bite hits so that it lives the hit.
Edit: Uh, hey @Daemon Hunter is Sabrina capable of having Alakazam stance switch well he's being swapped in using Baton Pass? I'd hate for the plan to go perfectly only for Sabrina to stance-switch Alakazam to Turtle before Bug Bite hits so that it lives the hit.
Hmm, I would presume that Violet isn't yet skilled enough to integrate a defensive, and offensive set of stances for her plans yet then if it's in the category of tricks Sabrina would use only if she was going all out. Especially since this is her first time utilizing feints which will probably stretch her capabilities as a trainer by itself let alone if we attempt to use it in concert with any additional new tactics.
Hmm, I would presume that Violet isn't yet skilled enough to integrate a defensive, and offensive set of stances for her plans yet then if it's in the category of tricks Sabrina would use only if she was going all out. Especially since this is her first time utilizing feints which will probably stretch her capabilities as a trainer by itself let alone if we attempt to use it in concert with any additional new tactics.
Pretty much, as it is you can think of feints as something that skilled trainers are capable of (Violet is marked as Novice, but will be Skilled when this fight starts). Integrating a set of stances that Pokemon can switch between is above that in terms of difficulty due to the complexities involved with that level of reaction.
About "[] An Uncomfortable Situation" I just doubt that a feint would work against someone actively reading our mind, pink elephant bullcrap wont work while we are actively planning, basically as long as it's in the plan Sabrina knows about it. Honestly I think one of the best ways to go about planning around a psychic is to make the plan like Sabrina can read the plan to. That means that lines like "Feint using Spikes" let Sabrina know we're just feinting, for a battle like this the plan needs to not be affected by her knowing about it. Of course I might have missed a Word Of God about her not using her mind reading for this fight because its a 3 badge?
About "[] An Uncomfortable Situation" I just doubt that a feint would work against someone actively reading our mind, pink elephant bullcrap wont work while we are actively planning, basically as long as it's in the plan Sabrina knows about it. Honestly I think one of the best ways to go about planning around a psychic is to make the plan like Sabrina can read the plan to. That means that lines like "Feint using Spikes" let Sabrina know we're just feinting, for a battle like this the plan needs to not be affected by her knowing about it. Of course I might have missed a Word Of God about her not using her mind reading for this fight because its a 3 badge?
And, if we reach the point where this comes to pass I was straight up planning on just telling our Pokemon to do their own planning from there to avoid mind-reading unless I could implement a plan without counterplay.
Alright, I'll be closing the vote here. Looks like An Uncomfortable Situation wins rather handily. And it wound up working rather well overall with you getting both hazards out onto the field along with removing Alakazam from the battle. Now you have a Mr. Mime who is looking a good bit less confident based on what just transpired.
Health: C
Stamina: C
Attack: D++
Defense: C-
Special Attack: B--
Special Defense: B+
Speed: C++
Evasion: B--
Moves
Mimic: E++
Baton Pass: B--
Copycat: D++
Encore: C+
Guard Swap: E++
Pound: D++
Power Swap: E++
Quick Guard: C++
Wide Guard:
Confusion: D++
Role Play: D++
Protect: C++
Recycle: E++
Psychic: C
Calm Mind: B--
Special Skills
Soundproof
Round 1 Alakazam: Mr. Mime switches in for Alakazam.
Round 1 Pineco: Pineco used Stealth Rock (DC30: 48). Pineco laid a field of stones!
Round 2 Mr. Mime: Mr. Mime used Calm Mind (DC15: 75). Mr. Mime's Special Attack increased from C++ to B-.
Round 2 Pineco: Pineco used Spikes (DC30: 74). Pineco lays a trap of thorns on the field!
Round 3 Mr. Mime: Mr. Mime used Baton Pass. Alakazam took his place. Alakazam's Special Attack is now S–. The rocks hurt Alakazam. Alakazam loses 13% of his HP (87%). The thorns dig into Alakazam. Alakazam loses 13% of his HP (74%).
Round 3 Pineco: Pineco feinted Spikes (DC??: ??). Alakazam fell for the feint! Pineco used Bug Bite (DC50-15=35: 36). Alakazam lost 74% of his HP (0%). Alakazam fainted!
Sabrina sent out Mr. Mime. The rocks hurt Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime loses 13% of his HP (87%). The thorns dig into Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime loses 13% of his HP (74%).
Scheduled vote count started by Daemon Hunter on Aug 2, 2024 at 9:30 PM, finished with 19 posts and 6 votes.
Damn, we had some good luck in hitting the one-in-three best result outcome.
The DCs are a bit weird though with Spikes being two stages more developed than Stealth Rock yet they both have the same DC so there's something special going on there with moves that don't target the opponent. We already knew they worked differently of course from our experience with Chansey, and her move Life Dew but this gives us some insight into the accuracy scaling of such moves.
Which appear to only improve upon full letter upgrades potentially? There's no other way I can think of to pattern out the DC reductions after all that fits the trend of a C-- rank move having a DC of 30, a C rank move having a DC of 30, and a B-- rank move having a DC of 25. Buffs also appear to be in an entirely separate category to hazards, and healing moves with lower DCs overall considering the DC of Calm Mind is 15 at B-- rather than the 25 we'd expect.
And, for some reason, Bug Bite had a base DC of 50 to hit when previous experience has shown us that per stage of Evasion surpassing the stage of the opposing move, you add +5 to the hit DC meaning the DC based on what we know of the system should have been at most 35 presuming our accuracy bonus from Aggressive was countered by Evasive so something is going on there as well. Alakazam was utilizing a more developed version of or some type of derivate version of the Evasive stance perhaps then?
Regardless, none of that is quite relevant for the fight at hand so I'll think it over further later, and focus on the present for now... Wait how does this Mr. Mime exist? It doesn't know Mimic, and that's the condition for Mime Jr. to evolve into Mr. Mime. Uh, ignoring that for now this thing is just like Alakazam namely about one badge over-leveled for the present fight but at least it doesn't have any TM moves like the last bastard so silver linings, and all that.
Mr. Mime also notably is immune to Dragon-type moves so sending in Dratini is out immediately, and Chansey is out immediately as well since she lets Mr. Mime freely set up using Calm Mind due to her lack of damage before using Baton Pass to put one of Sabrina's presently two unknown Pokemon in the position to potentially sweep. And, well Pineco is viable into Mr. Mime she would be liable to only force a trade as she would have to knock herself with Self-Destruct after hitting 1 HP with Sturdy to take out Mr. Mime.
This leaves Magnemite as our best option on account of his resistance to Psychic-type moves which are the only offensive moves that Mr. Mime possesses, and Mr. Mime's weakness to Steel-type moves despite Mr. Mime having high Special Defense. He would most likely only take chip damage from Mr. Mime if it were to stay in but his return attack if it wouldn't outright OHKO Mr. Mime would leave it barely hanging on.
The only issue is that there are several safe Kanto Psychic-type as well as Bug-type Pokemon for Sabrina to swap in well Magnemite is on the field due to various such Pokemon possessing both Steel and Electric Type resistances although thankfully the only Pokemon she could have on her team resistant to both is Parasect who she's unlikely to utilize to be frank.
But this issue could be solved with a conditional to utilize Flash Cannon or Thunder Shock depending on the Pokemon that's sent in. This leaves the next few turns of the battle looking something like this.
Turn 4: Sabrina sends out Mr. Mime. Violet returns Pineco and sends out Magnemite.
Turn 5A: Mr. Mime stays in or swaps out for a Pokemon weak to Steel-type moves or neutral to both Electric and Steel. Magnemite looks to OHKO with a Wreckless Flash Cannon or deal severe damage.
Turn 5B: Mr. Mime swaps out for a Pokemon weak to Electric-type moves. Magnemite looks to deal severe damage with a Wreckless Thunder Shock.
The DCs are a bit weird though with Spikes being two stages more developed than Stealth Rock yet they both have the same DC so there's something special going on there with moves that don't target the opponent. We already knew they worked differently of course from our experience with Chansey, and her move Life Dew but this gives us some insight into the accuracy scaling of such moves.
Which appear to only improve upon full letter upgrades potentially? There's no other way I can think of to pattern out the DC reductions after all that fits the trend of a C-- rank move having a DC of 30, a C rank move having a DC of 30, and a B-- rank move having a DC of 25. Buffs also appear to be in an entirely separate category to hazards, and healing moves with lower DCs overall considering the DC of Calm Mind is 15 at B-- rather than the 25 we'd expect.
Just added some clarifications to the Mechanics page, but the DC for the initial Stealth Rock was DC35-5 (Aggressive Stance)=DC30, at the moment further hazards are harder to add in, hence why the C rank move also had the same DC of 30. This may change in the future based on how works out, but for now, each successive hazard adds 10 to the DC for the next hazard.
Similarly, Mr. Mime's Calm Mind DC was DC25 - 15 (3 ranks above C) + 5 (Evasive) = DC15.
And, for some reason, Bug Bite had a base DC of 50 to hit when previous experience has shown us that per stage of Evasion surpassing the stage of the opposing move, you add +5 to the hit DC meaning the DC based on what we know of the system should have been at most 35 presuming our accuracy bonus from Aggressive was countered by Evasive so something is going on there as well. Alakazam was utilizing a more developed version of or some type of derivate version of the Evasive stance perhaps then?
Regardless, none of that is quite relevant for the fight at hand so I'll think it over further later, and focus on the present for now... Wait how does this Mr. Mime exist? It doesn't know Mimic, and that's the condition for Mime Jr. to evolve into Mr. Mime. Uh, ignoring that for now this thing is just like Alakazam namely about one badge over-leveled for the present fight but at least it doesn't have any TM moves like the last bastard so silver linings, and all that.
Just added some clarifications to the Mechanics page, but the DC for the initial Stealth Rock was DC35-5 (Aggressive Stance)=DC30, at the moment further hazards are harder to add in, hence why the C rank move also had the same DC of 30. This may change in the future based on how works out, but for now, each successive hazard adds 10 to the DC for the next hazard.
Similarly, Mr. Mime's Calm Mind DC was DC25 - 15 (3 ranks above C) + 5 (Evasive) = DC15.
It... Should be fine? Hazards went from overpowered to a relatively balanced* part of the game via the introduction of Heavy-Duty Boots but items aren't made available to trainers taking part in the Kanto League within the quest until at least the fourth badge or potentially even later based on what you've shown us. So hazards not having one hundred percent accuracy, and it not being viable to stack all the hazards early on in a journey is fine as it prevents them from being overpowered and requiring every team to possess a Rapid Spin or Defog user rather than just the teams that really enjoy having them like our own.
As long as by the time items are allowed to be utilized in Kanto League battles, the hazard teams have been given enough time to develop their skills such that hazards are freely stackable with little difficulty the mechanic is balanced in the same way it is in the modern metagame where there's a seesaw like effect between hazards, and Heavy-Duty Boots. Otherwise, though the moves would be underpowered enough to see little to no use.
*This is debatable but to my knowledge on the general opinion of high-level players it's generally held that hazards were over-nerfed by the introduction of Heavy-Duty Boots but the overpowered status of hazards made the game unfun enough that it was a good move regardless in order to shock the community out of spamming them, and the counter-play to hazards should just be reworked now instead of there just being a singular held item that makes the user immune to them.
It... Should be fine? Hazards went from overpowered to a relatively balanced* part of the game via the introduction of Heavy-Duty Boots but items aren't made available to trainers taking part in the Kanto League within the quest until at least the fourth badge or potentially even later based on what you've shown us. So hazards not having one hundred percent accuracy, and it not being viable to stack all the hazards early on in a journey is fine as it prevents them from being overpowered and requiring every team to possess a Rapid Spin or Defog user rather than just the teams that really enjoy having them like our own.
As long as by the time items are allowed to be utilized in Kanto League battles, the hazard teams have been given enough time to develop their skills such that hazards are freely stackable with little difficulty the mechanic is balanced in the same way it is in the modern metagame where there's a seesaw like effect between hazards, and Heavy-Duty Boots. Otherwise, though the moves would be underpowered enough to see little to no use.
*This is debatable but to my knowledge on the general opinion of high-level players it's generally held that hazards were over-nerfed by the introduction of Heavy-Duty Boots but the overpowered status of hazards made the game unfun enough that it was a good move regardless in order to shock the community out of spamming them, and the counter-play to hazards should just be reworked now instead of there just being a singular held item that makes the user immune to them.
That I can confirm is the case, at the moment I plan to start having items in use following the 5th badge fight by which point you will almost certainly have hazard moves improved to that level.
Send out: Pineco
Stance: Aggressive (-5% chance to dodge, +5% chance to hit)
Turn 1: Use Stealth Rock.
Turn 2: Use Spikes.
Turn 3: Feint using Spikes again but use Bug Bite instead.
If Mr. Mime attempts to stay in rather than using Baton Pass to get Alakazam back in then swap with Magnemite who will use Flash Cannon Recklessly. If one of Stealth Rock or Spikes doesn't succeed use Bug Bite Recklessly instead of Aggressively, if neither succeeds use Self Destruct Recklessly, if Bug Bite misses then feint going for another Bug Bite but use Self Destruct Aggressively if both hazards succeeded, and Self Destruct Recklessly otherwise instead.
It wasn't a great situation, Violet mused. Buying time to think by slowly pulling out Pineco's Pokeball, she had an idea of what would be needed.
Any plan that didn't involve preventing an Alakazam boosted by Calm Mind from remaining was doomed to fail, and so that had to be her first priority. Tossing Pineco onto the field, Violet loudly told her what was needed, "Pineco," she forced out, pitching her voice so both the audience and Sabrina could hear. "As soon as the battle starts, use Stealth Rock."
The gym leader clamped down on her reaction, flicking her eyes to one of the Pokeballs Violet could tell there was a faint grimace. Good, that meant her assumption of the fourth Pokemon being a Bug-type was accurate. Glancing at the attendant who had begun the countdown, her mind raced as she tried to determine what was best.
Dragon Tail was her first idea, timing it carefully so that Dratini could force a switch just as Alakazam hit. Considering the Psi Pokemon's frailty, a crit may even knock him out of the match. Letting a hand drift towards his Pokeball she then recalled teaching Dratini Outrage for this very reason. A single hit with that would remove Alakazam from play. But what if he missed?
There wasn't a good backup in that situation, and it'd force her to improvise while facing a buffed Alakazam that could one-shot everyone besides maybe Chansey. A second before the battle began, Violet was still trying to figure out a plan.
Then she heard simultaneous sounds, one of which was much louder than the other. "YOU GOT THIS VIOLET!!!"
Flinching at the sheer volume from Tetsuya, Violet glared at the display before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. Turning towards the second sound, she locked eyes with Pineco who had voiced her confidence in handling the Pokemon before her. Both trainer and Pokemon nodded simultaneously as a plan fell into place within both their minds at once.
"Let the battle begin!" The attendant declared as a red light turned green. Immediately Pineco jumped into the air, throwing out dozens of floating rocks into the air while Sabrina switched in Mr. Mime.
"Spikes," Violet intoned in a serious voice, her mind focused entirely on the Barrier Pokemon as she waited to see what he would do. As expected, Mr. Mime closed his eyes and concentrated, allowing a field of thorns to coat Sabrina's side of the arena. Then the Pokemon opened his eyes which glowed with power.
"Keep it up Pineco," Violet said as she pitched her voice oddly. To a stranger, it would have sounded nervous, a very understandable situation thanks to Mr. Mime mining a bow, exiting the stage using Baton Pass, leading to an extremely dangerous Alakazam returning to the field.
Buffeted by Stealth Rock and wincing from the Spikes, the Psi Pokemon appeared to be bursting with Psychic energy. Loose rocks floated in the air at will, Violet's hair stood on end as her skin began to crawl with goosebumps. Her throat turned dry as Alakazam stepped forward, attempting to avoid being struck by a second set of Spikes.
Yet, it was all a bluff on the part of Violet and Pineco. The Bagworm Pokemon shifted, turning the use of Spikes into a lunge as her mouth glowed with Bug-type energy. Too late, Alakazam shifted trying to close the hole opened in his guard by the cunning feint.
With a thunderous crash, Pineco struck the Psi Pokemon, tearing into his frame with the super-effective move. Alakazam bounced once, landing in a heap on the floor as the power gained from Calm Mind vanished.
Struggling to stand, the Psi Pokemon managed to use his arms to force himself into a crawling position before the damage truly claimed him. Falling to the ground, Alakazam's eyes glazed over as he fainted.
And on the other side of the arena, Pineco began to glow a blinding white as her body began to morph. Her frame seemed to almost split, pine bark turning into a white ceramic while a strip of red appeared in the middle. Four protrusions emerged from the red strip as the Pokemon grew taller, stronger, and heavier.
When Violet blinked the stars from her eyes, she saw a Forretress where Pineco once was and grinned widely. This battle was hers to lose!
*Pineco evolved into Forretress*
*Forretress improved Health to B*
*Forretress improved Attack to B*
*Forretress improved Defense to A-*
*Forretress improved Special Attack to C*
*Forretress improved Special Defense to B--*
*Forretress improved Speed to D--*
Health: C
Stamina: C
Attack: D++
Defense: C-
Special Attack: C++
Special Defense: B+
Speed: C++
Evasion: B–
Moves
Mimic: E++
Baton Pass: B--
Copycat: D++
Encore: C+
Guard Swap: E++
Pound: D++
Power Swap: E++
Quick Guard: C++
Wide Guard: F++
Confusion: D++
Role Play: D++
Protect: C++
Recycle: E++
Psychic: C
Calm Mind: B–
Special Skills
Soundproof
Violet's Thoughts: A fast Pokemon whose evasiveness when combined with Calm Mind makes them very hard to face in extended battles. He cannot be allowed to set up. Starting off already injured does help, however.
Violet's Perceptive Trait Kicks in!
Mr. Mime will use a Stand-off stance throughout the fight and will do whatever he can to avoid entering a close-ranged fight. He will use Calm Mind twice before switching to an Aggressive stance and using Psychic.
If Forretress stays in and uses Spikes in Round 5 and 6, Mr. Mime will use Protect instead of Psychic due to expecting her to use Self Destruct in Round 7.
If Magnemite switches in during Round 4, he will forgo using a second Calm Mind and rely on staggered alternations of Protect and Psychic to try and win the ranged duel assuming Magnemite uses Flash Cannon continuously. During this fight, he'll use an Evasive stance.
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Send out: Forretress
Stance: Aggressive (-5% chance to dodge, +5% chance to hit)
Round 5: Spikes
Round 6: Spikes
Round 7: If Spikes failed once, use Spikes again. Otherwise, use Curse.
Round 8: If Mr. Mime's Protect works a second time, use Curse. Otherwise, use Self Destruct. Repeat as needed.
Send out: Magnemite
Stance: Aggressive (-5% chance to dodge, +5% chance to hit)
Round 5: Thunder Wave
Round 6+: Thunder Wave if it missed, otherwise use Flash Cannon
[] Write-in
Round 1 Alakazam: Mr. Mime switches in for Alakazam.
Round 1 Pineco: Pineco used Stealth Rock (DC30: 48). Pineco laid a field of stones!
Round 2 Mr. Mime: Mr. Mime used Calm Mind (DC15: 75). Mr. Mime's Special Attack increased from C++ to B-.
Round 2 Pineco: Pineco used Spikes (DC30: 74). Pineco lays a trap of thorns on the field!
Round 3 Mr. Mime: Mr. Mime used Baton Pass. Alakazam took his place. Alakazam's Special Attack is now S–. The rocks hurt Alakazam. Alakazam loses 13% of his HP (87%). The thorns dig into Alakazam. Alakazam loses 13% of his HP (74%).
Round 3 Pineco: Pineco feinted Spikes (DC??: ??). Alakazam fell for the feint! Pineco used Bug Bite (DC50-15=35: 36). Alakazam lost 74% of his HP (0%). Alakazam fainted!
Sabrina sent out Mr. Mime. The rocks hurt Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime loses 13% of his HP (87%). The thorns dig into Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime loses 13% of his HP (74%).
