[X] Release both your pokemon. Fight them on your own.
-[X] Rush Gligar: Distract with the threat of Maelstrom's Aqua Jet, hit with Fang's Ice Fang.
-[X] Be ready to redirect Malstrom to block their second pokemon
[X] Challenge the man to a real one on one fight. Maybe betting money will make him accept.
-[X] Deploy Maelstrom as you challenge. Let him see your 'useless' pokemon and accept.
-[X] 1,400
Second, to Luxicato, how does this work in practice? This seems like a hugely important setting detail. How does the breaking of rules get reported to the system that manages the money? If the trainer ID is involved, then surely criminals wont use this system?
I've been thinking about that. This is one of the few cases I decided the mechanic before the lore reason. For now let's say that the trainer ID is connected to the pokeball and the pokeballs track your pokemon. Once you declare an official match, the pokeball can detect if a pokemon is doing an illegal move. This includes someone outside the match attacking one of your pokemon.
And yes, it tracks IDs. There are laws to protect peoples identities when battling so the police would have a hard time getting permission to track your battle in the database and check the ID.
Criminals usually don't use their ID's, but you are overestimating these guys professionalism.
Also, something I will add to the notes on mechanics about double combat. Haru can only give at most two orders per round. Two moves, tactics or actions. That means that with two pokemon you will have reduced tactical leeway. Only one move per pokemon.
That said, the battle will turn into a two on two as soon as you release a pokemon if something doesn't stop the woman. You can start using combat tactics then. You don't even know her pokemon yet.
My primary doubt currently is the 14$ offered as the bet. One has to be starving levels of poor (or crazy) to consider 14$ as enough money to negatively affect one's actions while seriously performing a crime. And I don't think they are either that poor or that crazy. They have a two against one situation, which is not worth giving up for that 14$. The only thing Haru gets from proposing an official battle is losing few crucial seconds, while the opponents get ready for a pincer attack.
My primary doubt currently is the 14$ offered as the bet. One has to be starving levels of poor (or crazy) to consider 14$ as enough money to negatively affect one's actions while seriously performing a crime. And I don't think they are either that poor or that crazy. They have a two against one situation, which is not worth giving up for that 14$. The only thing Haru gets from proposing an official battle is losing few crucial seconds, while the opponents get ready for a pincer attack.
Thing is, its a Magikarp. Which basically reads as a kid too dumb to know he's offering free money. Until we HAVE a rep we can exploit that, people will take dumb challenges because they don't think theres any risk
As the person who put down the original bet, I think I was confused about the worth of our money. Are pokedollars about the value of yen? Cause I thought 1,400 was a good number.
As the person who put down the original bet, I think I was confused about the worth of our money. Are pokedollars about the value of yen? Cause I thought 1,400 was a good number.
[X] Challenge the man to a real one on one fight. Maybe betting money will make him accept.
-[X] Deploy Maelstrom as you challenge. Let him see your 'useless' pokemon and accept.
-[X] 1,400
[X] Release both your pokemon. Fight them on your own.
-[X] Rush Gligar: Distract with the threat of Maelstrom's Aqua Jet, hit with Fang's Ice Fang.
-[X] Be ready to redirect Malstrom to block their second pokemon.
Time slows down as you think. A lot can happen. You are not sure about fighting the two of them at the same time. You will not be able to give orders and strategize for both of your pokemon. It's going to be complicated.
Your other options are not much better. Try to overpower a pokemon physically and run away was out of the question. Impossible. Fighting the man one on one would be the safest option but how can you accomplish that? Maybe a bet? Yeah, that would work, and he doesn't seem like a really professional criminal. He might be tempted to accept… but his companion would probably not.
You see no other option so you decide to release both your pokemon as quick as you can. Fang in front of that Gligar and Maelstrom on your other side, facing the two enemies. You were kind of surrounded by them. Your pokemon look ready for anything. Fang catches on quickly and lays closer to the ground, ready to jump at the Gligar in any moment. Maelstrom flops a bit, looking at the two people in front of him. He just… stares. Yeah, he is ready.
The woman was getting ready to release her pokemon but stops when you release yours. Both of them stop and stare. Then the man starts to laugh.
"Oh, man, seriously. You really want to help me with this? And you were even worried about this kid being strong. That's a damn Magikarp!" He said pointing at Maelstrom. The woman didn't laugh but smiled.
"Not a normal one… A golden Magikarp. You know how expensive those things are?" She asked at her companion before looking at you again, still smiling. "We should do more than just erase his memory of this, we should keep that pokemon for ourselves."
You felt a shiver go down your spine. The way she talked, her movements… She was a lot more ruthless than the man. That's for sure. And you caught her interest. For her, you weren't just a nuisance anymore. Something in the way while she does her job.
You were her ticket to be free from all her debts.
With a quick movement from her hand she released a pokemon in front of you and your worst fears about this battle came true.
Roselia ♀
Grass/Poison Type
Rank: D
Ability 1: Leaf guard (Partially resist status conditions when in direct sunlight. If the sunlight is caused by a pokemon, the effect increases in power.)
Ability 2: Poison Point (The spines around her body have a chance of inflicting poison when touched.)
Trait 1: Beautiful (Surprisingly beautiful for her species. Will do better in contests. Moves that use charm like attract, swagger or sweet scent are more powerful.)
Trait 2: Spiny (Has more spines around her body than usual.)
Moves: Poison Sting, Growth, Attraction, Mega Drain, ???
That Roselia is strong. Stronger than your pokemon by a lot. You are pretty sure that Maelstrom will drop in just one hit if it's grass type. Fang would last enough to get a hit in, but you are not even sure if that's enough. Even with a Fire Fang.
The woman keeps smiling, looking how your hope is slowly draining from your face. They plan on beating you and steal Maelstrom. You can't let them do that! You need to do something! You need to…
You hear Fang give a sharp growl. When you look back, you see the Gligar climbing one of the containers quickly. Right. You don't have time to lose hope. You need to fight!
"Fang, Ice fang!" You shouted and your pokemon leapt from the ground as high as he could. Sadly it wasn't enough. The Gligar was in a good position to use her tail to defend herself and Fang had to dive down to avoid being stabbed. Now it was too far up to try again.
"What's the matter, kid. You can't think something better?" Asked the woman with a smile. The man moved to get closer to his pokemon. You were now surrounded by both of them, all hope of escaping was gone. "You think that Magikarp will be able to defeat my sweet Roselia? Let's see how he feels after a MEGA DRA…!"
She was giving an order but had to stop midway. There was music coming from somewhere. You… don't know where. It was soft, not too loud but still there. You looked around. Your two enemies looked around. All the pokemon looked around. It wasn't coming from anywhere. It was coming from inside your own heads.
"Flash, more volume." You heard someone say. A voice you recognized.
The music was now stronger. The music coming from inside your heads. It was disorienting, it was really confusing. You all had to stop whatever you were doing and look up. There she was. The girl and her pokemon. Ready for combat… Posing.
"Like a flash of light above the horizon, like a fire raging inside every pure heart! I can hear the pleas of the innocent in their time of need. I'm their sword, their shield." As she said that, a wind started to blow, making her cape flutter in the air. She changed her pose.
"No wicked enemy from justice will escape from punishment. I'm their hopes, their dreams, your enemy." She took a hand to her belt, grabbing a pokeball. They were normal pokeballs but painted purple.
"I'm the Purple Protector!" She yelled as hard as she could, all in sync with the music. As she did she jumped from the container and landed on the ground. She tried to land with style, and she clearly hurt herself a bit doing it. Her legs trembling after the landing.
"A-and I will defeat you with my trusted companions! Ares, Flash, let's teach these evildoers a lesson!" When she said that, she released a pokemon from her pokeball. A Torchic surrounded by flames that did something like a pose as soon as he was out. He was also wearing a costume.
"Tor...CHIC!" He said, glaring at the stunned villains. But where was…?
"Slow…" Came a voice from a top the container. There he was. Flash. Looking down and making no sign of moving. His eyes bright with power, making sure everyone can listen to the theme song… He was also wearing a costume. So that's why she took so long.
Everyone that wasn't… the Purple Protector, was in stunned silence. This girl was crazy. You are going to be defeated and they are going to take Maelstrom away. At least you think that until you take a good look at her pokemon.
Torchic ♂
Fire Type
Rank: E+
Ability 1: Speed Boost (Increases speed every round.)
Ability 2: Blaze (Increases fire type power for each round lost.)
Trait 1: Hero (Stronger when fighting for something he believes in. Can grow up to EX+ rank.)
Trait 2: Brave (Highly resistant to fear. Immune to moves based on causing fear on the opponent.)
Moves: Scratch, Ember, Growl, Aerial Ace, ???
Slowpoke ♂
Water/Psychic Type
Rank: C+
Ability 1: Oblivious (He is immune to infatuation.)
Ability 2: Own Tempo (He is immune to confusion.)
Trait 1: Barrier Breaker (No matter how strong a mental barrier is, he can surpass it.)
Trait 2: Pacifist (Doesn't like battle. Harder to teach him attack moves.)
Trait 3: Super Speed (Twice as fast as a normal pokemon of his species.)
Moves: Yawn, Slack Off, Rest, Amnesia, Confusion.
Those pokemon look… Actually strong. Flash surprises even you. You never realized how strong he was until now. You can feel his power inside your head, making the music sound as perfect as possible… But something tells you that he will not fight. He is still there, just looking, making sure the music is till up.
But that Torchic… He might be able to defeat the Roselia. You are not sure if Fang could do it on his own.
"Oh, no." Said the man as soon as the shock of her entrance was gone. He seemed pretty irritated by the music inside his head. "This bitch again. Gligar! That Torchic didn't get it the first time. Bulldoze!" He shouted and his pokemon got ready to jump off the container. Her claws shined with a brown light as she dropped from the sky. She was going to hit the ground and probably hit the Torchic and all your pokemon.
But Fang was ready.
He jumped again and blocked the Gligar's path with his Ice fang. It was a risky move, he could get hit, but the Gligar decided to dodge and interrupt the move instead of risking an Ice type attack. Fang was now growling at the Gligar, reminding her who she had to fight.
Ros… The Purple Protector nodded at you and your pokemon as thanks. "Run away now, citizen! They might hurt you if you stay. Ares and I will take care of them!" She turned to look at the woman. Her cape fluttering in the air as she did.
Everyone was now looking at their options. The two enemies wondering if they should keep attacking or run away just in case. Your savior had now a serious face, she was ready to fight until the end. You could escape, but you are not sure that she could really win. They might have more pokemon and you aren't sure if that Slowpoke can actually fight.
It's time to decide. You could use one of your pokemon against the Roselia so her Torchic can take care of the Gligar. You could also take care of the Gligar yourself with one of your pokemon… or both. Yeah, this isn't a legal battle. You could use both your pokemon if you wanted to. It feels wrong but you could.
[] Stay and fight the Gligar
-Pokemon to use
[] Stay and fight the Roselia
-Pokemon to use
[] Run away now that there is a distraction.
First update with art. If you like it we might get more in future updates. All done by my sister Xelta. Yes, even the two pokemon are made from scratch. I told her to just draw some accessories on two official images but she decided to copy them and draw everything so the clothes and accessories fit better.
[X] Stay and fight the Gligar
-[X] Maelstrom
-[X] Fang
-[X] Constantly roulette attacks when it's in range. Only one should ever be attacking at a time.
--[X] Space the two apart so that it can only ever target one, but not so far apart that they can't rush in once it picks a target
---[X] Wait and only attack once it approaches. Make it come to us
----[X] Dodge whenever possible, counter whenever possible.
Preliminary plan right here.
Is the reason she isn't using Flash to keep the music playing? Because that's amazing.
[X] Stay and fight the Gligar
-[X] Maelstrom alone.
--[X] Bounce to get some height and then Harden at the apex and Aqua Jet to do a gravity-boosted impact. Make heavy use of Aqua Jet to avoid any counterattacks.
---[X] "You will nevertouch any of my partners as long as I live!" Haru mad.
Some discussion in discord made me change my mind on whats smarter for this fight. Fang is at a massive disadvantage rn. This update and the art is amazing lux. Slap on that shonen speech for extra goodness.
[X] Stay and fight the Gligar
-[X] Maelstrom alone.
--[X] Bounce to get some height and then Harden at the apex and Aqua Jet to do a gravity-boosted impact. Make heavy use of Aqua Jet to avoid any counterattacks.
---[X] "You will never touch any of my partners as long as I live!" Haru mad.
[X] Stay and fight the Gligar
-[X] Maelstrom alone.
--[X] Bounce to get some height and then Harden at the apex and Aqua Jet to do a gravity-boosted impact. Make heavy use of Aqua Jet to avoid any counterattacks.
---[X] "You will nevertouch any of my partners as long as I live!" Haru mad.
[X] Stay and fight the Gligar
-[X] Maelstrom
-[X] Fang
-[X] Constantly roulette attacks when it's in range. Only one should ever be attacking at a time.
--[X] Space the two apart so that it can only ever target one, but not so far apart that they can't rush in once it picks a target
---[X] Wait and only attack once it approaches. Make it come to us
----[X] Dodge whenever possible, counter whenever possible.
whelp we got a heroine that's all into being a super-hero...we really need to up the ante and get Maelstrom into becoming a FEU water dragon of doom!
I'm of the opinion that we should fight smart here. Let Rose and Ares take care of the mon they have the advantage against. With Bulldoze in its arsenal and its speed advantage, Fang is honestly not a good matchup against the Gligar. But Maelstrom is stupidly fast to start with, and then it gets a massive boost from Swift Swim and Aqua Jet. Plus that fucker called him weak. It'll also show Fang that there's a good reason that we took Maelstrom as our starter, and get Maelstrom more experience to get him that much stronger.
The Shonen declaration from Haru will help unnerve the guy, and it'll help pep up Rose and Ares that we're so angry about the attempt to steal our pokemon.
[X] Stay and fight the Gligar
-[X] Maelstrom alone.
--[X] Bounce to get some height and then Harden at the apex and Aqua Jet to do a gravity-boosted impact. Make heavy use of Aqua Jet to avoid any counterattacks.
Aah, I was crying with laughter. The music and art were also top shelf. Epic stuff all around, thanks for this Luxicato.
Right, to the planning.
If I'm not mistaken, we have a 3 vs 2 situation here, with possible help from Flash. In these kinds of situations, I think it is customary for the advantageous party to take a defensive 1 vs. 1 with the aim of dragging things out, and quickly win the 2 vs. 1 with the numbers advantage, quickly making the whole fight into a 3 vs 1 (or possibly 2 vs 1, because forcing the first 2 vs 1 can often result in a double KO). I don't really see a reason for us tio try to reinvent the wheel here.
It's possible that the woman will get another mon out, but I don't think that changes things too much. It is still crucial that we quickly take advantage of our momentary numbers advantage.
Wait, why is the current vote doing the exact opposite, playing time with Glicar on a 2 vs. 1 and leaving the Torchic alone against the higher ranking Roselia, and possible other mon? Aren't we being a little too lax here?
[X] Stay and fight the Gligar
-[X] Maelstrom
-[X] Fang
-[X] Constantly roulette attacks when it's in range. Only one should ever be attacking at a time.
--[X] Space the two apart so that it can only ever target one, but not so far apart that they can't rush in once it picks a target
---[X] Wait and only attack once it approaches. Make it come to us
----[X] Dodge whenever possible, counter whenever possible.
-----[X] "You will nevertouch any of my partners as long as I live!" Haru mad.
Wait, why is the current vote doing the exact opposite, playing time with Glicar on a 2 vs. 1 and leaving the Torchic alone against the higher ranking Roselia, and possible other mon? Aren't we being a little too lax here?
No, because the difference in strength between Ares and Rosalia is minimal. On top of that, Ares' best attack against her is a ranged one, which negates most of her abilities and traits. On top of that, if we 2v1 the Gligar we're going to get minimal combat training for Maelstrom. At worst we hold Fang in reserve as needed and allow Maelstrom to really strut his stuff against a mon he has some advantages against. If we use the 2v1 plan then we're actually getting minimal gains of any sort for either of our mon.
[X] Stay and fight the Gligar
-[X] Maelstrom alone.
--[X] Bounce to get some height and then Harden at the apex and Aqua Jet to do a gravity-boosted impact. Make heavy use of Aqua Jet to avoid any counterattacks.
---[X] "You will nevertouch any of my partners as long as I live!" Haru mad.