Srs business

[aquaboss]

[Normally Archie would be by the beach training his Pokemon, but his life has been anything but normal for the past few days. He's finally decided that it's time to seriously train his Pokemon, and that is why he's in the Aurora Forest today, with all six Pokemon out and spread out in a circle around him

Comments

[aquaboss]

[Archie doesn't reply, though Maxie makes it almost painfully clear that he wasn't really talking to Archie anyway, and then releases his Pokemon. There's that fucking Swellow again, but it vanishes into the air quickly. Archie nods to Crobat and the bat Pokemon takes off after it.]

[The two Houndooms and Magcargo are familiar, but that last one? Archie hasn't seen the Ninetails before, but there's no reason to believe it's any less powerful than the rest of Maxie's Pokemon. The fact that he released the Pokemon so close to Archie clearly indicates that it's up to something--]

[Oh shit, that is not good.] Protect! [Cloyster is the closest to Archie, and he throws up the barrier in time to block the Fire Spin attack. It's rather clear that the poor Cloyster hasn't forgotten his humiliating defeat at your hands, but using defensive moves seems to be a good bet at the moment.]

Tentacruel! Surf! [And then there was water everywhere. None of Archie's Pokemon are fazed by it, and two Waterfalls from Sharpedo and Poliwrath quickly accompany Tentacruel's Surf. While Surf swamps the battlefield, both Waterfalls are aimed at Ninetails. It's the closest Pokemon, not to mention the one that attacked Archie rather than his Pokemon.]

[Gyarados launches a third Waterfall attack, though this one isn't aimed at Ninetails - he instead goes after one of the twin Houndooms.]

[oceansbane]

[Maxie laughs again, stepping back to avoid getting hit by the majority of that himself; as though his Pokémon don't know what to do when the battlefield gets flooded abruptly?

Light Screen.

Sunny Day.

Despite how much the water attacks' power will be cut, Ninetales is going to take some serious damage and Maxie knows it; regardless, he's serving his purpose as an amazing distraction rather well. Maxie remembers that Poliwrath, as well as the fact that at least one of your Pokémon has Ice Beam; he's not about to let you Brick Break that Light Screen, nor does he seem too inclined to allow anything to attempt taking out Swellow in one go. However, since Tentacruel and Cloyster are both preoccupied...

Maxie has no doubt that Crobat is going to prove problematic eventually, but that disappearance earlier was in preparation for Fly. A divebombing for you, Poliwrath; enjoy it. And Gyarados? Enjoy that SolarBeam now that you're in such close proximity.

As for you, Archie? Once that Protect is down, you're immediately getting another column of flame shot your way - another Fire Spin. Clearly, Maxie intends to keep you busy over there.]

[aquaboss]

[The Light Screen and Sunny Day combination isn't unexpected by any means. Archie gives Cloyster his orders - Rain Dance. The Cloyster is perfectly fine with defensive moves; Archie gets the feeling ordering him to attack would probably end badly. His type advantage will keep him alive longer than the others, along with his incredibly high defense. He's not worried about Cloyster - it's the others he has to keep an eye out for.]

[Poliwrath doesn't wait for his orders - once his Waterfall attack is completed he charges toward that Light Screen with the Brick Break attack prepared. No, Maxie, you are not going to keep that up this time. The Swellow comes flying back down from the sky, but sheer dumb luck seems to be on Archie's side today; Gyarados is close enough to jump in the way of the attack at Archie's order, effectively keeping Poliwrath from being knocked out in one hit. A hit like that - even from a Swellow - really will take Poliwrath out. That means the Swellow's got to go.]

Tentacruel, Ice Beam! [Oh look, it's his best friend overkill again. Except this time Archie isn't going to let Swellow live - remember Crobat? Yeah, he's aiming his Fly at that bird too. Maybe you're fast enough to dodge it, Swellow?]

[He's been so focused on taking care of that damn bird that he doesn't even see the Fire Spin coming. Again sheer dumb luck seems to be on his side - Sharpedo hasn't made a move. The shark notices the attack and immediately throws up his most recent attack to protect himself and his trainer. Sharpedo's Rain Dance has been replaced with the far more useful Protect. Sorry about that, Maxie, but he's not taking any chances with you.]

Shit, that was close. [At least he still has Cloyster should Sharpedo faint - but it's obvious that Maxie is actively aiming at him.]

[oceansbane]

[Use Rain Dance all you want; he's not about to let that cut down on his Fire moves.]

Ninetales - Flamethrower...!

[Archie, for once, Ninetales' attack isn't aimed at you; rather, Maxie is commanding for it to be aimed at one of his own Pokémon - one of the Houndooms at his side, the female. The male immediately kicks up another Sunny Day.

Cloyster may be high in physical defense, but its Special Defense is notoriously shit - and due to the water/ice combination? Fire will at least do neutral damage. Sorry, Archie, but that Cloyster needs to go - and the way Maxie figures it, if you Protect, you can't fire off another Rain Dance; if you don't protect and try to cut the power of his fire moves, Flash Fire will compensate.

So much Flamethrower aimed at that Cloyster. So much Flamethrower.

And seriously, damn that Gyarados to hell. Between the SolarBeam and taking that Fly attack, however...]

Magcargo!

[The command doesn't even need to be vocalized - suddenly it is raining rocks. Gyarados and Crobat can enjoy that; meanwhile, Swellow is...well, doing what Swellows are most suited for and being unconscious, apparently. Damn it - Maxie recalls him, finding another one of his Pokéballs at his belt after he's done so, though he doesn't send it out just yet.]

[aquaboss]

[Oh shit - why do you have to do this to him, Maxie? Force him to choose between rain or Cloyster's health? Well, he's sure as hell going to need Cloyster, so he'll just be protecting himself now. But what are you doing to that Houndoom-- Flash Fire. Right. Shit. That is going to hurt like a bitch in a few minutes, isn't it. Okay, okay, we can still make this work. Just got to focus on taking out that Houndoom now. The Ninetails has been spamming Fire Spin, admittedly at Archie, but it's not the biggest threat here.]

[Oww, yeah, Gyarados was barely standing before that Magcargo attacked, but he's out now. Archie returns him - so he's down to five against Maxie's-- Wait a second, he's missing one. There's the two Houndooms, the Magcargo, the Ninetails, and the Swellow-- Oh never mind, that thing's unconscious...]

[...It's worth noting that Archie looks particularly vindicated about that one.]

[Anyway, Camerupt isn't even out. Dammit, Maxie, what the hell makes you think you can win without even using it, huh? Fine - your damn Houndooms are going down now, that'll get rid of the Solarbeam threat.]

[Cloyster can't use Rain Dance again so soon, so Sunny Day is now in effect. Water-type moves aren't going to do all that much, but you're going to have two Waterfalls and a Surf all aimed at that one Houndoom. Crobat isn't aiming any physical attack though, instead Archie gives him a different command.]

Confuse Ray! [That's aimed at your Magcargo - that damn thing won't do much damage to itself, but all of Archie's Pokemon rely on physical attacks, so it's better than nothing. Besides, Crobat won't be able to take another move like that. Better to be safe than sorry. Hell, Archie doesn't even think he stands a chance here - though knocking that Swellow out was sweet revenge.]

[oceansbane]

[Great, now Magcargo is derpier than usual and that is a lot of water approaching his Houndoom rather quickly; at the same time, you aren't the only one who teaches your Pokémon obnoxious defensive moves for no real reason - for example, the male? The one not loaded up with Flash Fire, that you aren't aiming at? He'll just be throwing up a rather abrupt Protect and shielding his partner from the hit.

As for the partner in question, she'll be shooting off another Flamethrower toward that Cloyster. Go on and keep Protecting if you like. See what it gets you. Ninetales, in the meantime, will be sending off a Flamethrower of his own - toward Crobat this time. Damn thing has been enough of an annoyance.

Maxie snaps out an abrupt command for Magcargo to use Amnesia, hoping she won't just effectively punch herself in the - ...okay, apparently she just wants to effectively punch herself in the face, whatever.]

[aquaboss]

[...Well that was a waste of attacks, wasn't it. Dammit, Maxie, of course you'd spam Protect to keep your Houndoom alive. Tch, be that way.]

Again! [That's right, you try throwing up that Protect again and you'll-- Oh wait, it seems you're doing that to Cloyster right about now. Well, Archie's not an idiot, he knows Cloyster can't use Protect again so soon. Instead, he'll order another Rain Dance. That Flamethrower does a lot of damage, but thankfully Cloyster isn't out just yet. One more hit and he will be though.]

[Have another volley of Waterfalls and Surf. Crobat seems to be the most annoying Pokemon on the face of the planet though, because that Confuse Ray is getting aimed at your male Houndoom this time. Let's see if you can keep Protecting without smacking yourself in the face like a certain derpcargo is doing over there. He would laugh at it if the situation were any different.]

[oceansbane]

[You've actually solved the problem for him by confusing his male Houndoom, Archie; he'll let him take the hits while ordering the female back. It's a spectacular example of overkill on the male, obviously, and he recalls it quickly once it faints; he isn't about to waste the effects of Flash Fire, however.

He shoots a rather pointed look at Magcargo - are you feeling a bit less like...no, no, you're still failing over there, good job - and turns that Pokéball between his fingers again, though he still doesn't send it out; he'll continue to work with what he has for now.

And for now, what he has is a Ninetales that knows Sunny Day.

You were mentioning SolarBeam being less of a threat earlier, weren't you, Archie? Let's see if Poliwrath thinks so once Sunny Day kicks in.]

[aquaboss]

[...Alright, he wasn't expecting that, but it was a smart move. Still, as long as that female Houndoom is out there, he's going to be abusing those same moves. He has the advantage in numbers, but that really doesn't mean much considering just how tough Maxie's Pokemon are. At least with Magcargo confused Crobat is free to keep doing his thing - he'll be attempting to confuse your Ninetails now, Maxie.]

[Alright, time to once again overkill on that Houndoom--! ...No, wait, there goes Poliwrath. Ouch, that Solarbeam was definitely too much for him to handle. Okay, Archie's down to four Pokemon. This is still workable - Maxie's only got one Houndoom, Ninetails, and Magcargo on the field. Sure, he's got Camerupt in reserve, but if Archie can at least finish off these guys...]

[Cloyster could use Protect again, but it seems that Ninetails is focusing on using Sunny Day again, Magcargo is still derping over there, and Solarbeam just took out Poliwrath. Sure, it's risky, but Archie will just have him use Rain Dance again. With Poliwrath gone, Sharpedo is the only one left unleashing Waterfall on that Houndoom, but it's quickly followed by Surf from Tentacruel. Hopefully Crobat can confuse that Ninetails and keep it busy for a little while.]

1/5

[oceansbane]

[Rain Dance, then. Since Cloyster isn't protecting, it's susceptible to attack, and the Ice should render it weak to Rock...and then Crobat, obviously...both of them are injured...

Magcargo, he swears to fuck if you hit yourself in the face again - ]

2/5

[oceansbane]

[...and then it was once again raining rocks.]

3/5

[oceansbane]

[Holy...shit. It actually worked. Questioning whether he actually hit anything is secondary, right now he's focusing on the fact that that actually fucking worked.]

4/5

[oceansbane]

[WELL DONE, DERPY!]

5/5

[oceansbane]

[...but Maxie is a serious villain that engages in serious villainy and so he will be regaining some dignity long enough to figure out what to do, because that stupid shark and the tentacle beast have managed to take out his remaining Houndoom.

Leaving him with derpcargo and a confused Ninetales. Awesome. But if that's how we're going to play it, fine. He activates the mechanism on that Pokéball he's been holding, releasing Camerupt.

The firecamel looks none too pleased about the rain, shaking himself off as soon as he's out of the Pokéball and realizes that he's getting...kind of soaked out here; he seems more displeased than usual at being summoned out, but that doesn't mean he'll be disobedient, and Maxie immediately sets him to work with Amnesia.

Your move, Archie.]

[aquaboss]

[The funny thing about confusion is that your opponent can still hit you. Yeah, it's been awhile since he's used Crobat in battle and it is definitely the weakest member of his team. Those rocks take him down immediately. Cloyster is already severely weakened and there really isn't anything that can be done to save him now. Archie does wince as Cloyster goes down - but he was pretty damn useful this time around. Instead of getting knocked out in two hits by a Swellow...]

[He returns both Crobat and Cloyster, which now leaves him with Tentacruel and Sharpedo. They're the strongest two on his team, but they don't stand a chance against Maxie's remaining two Pokemon, even if Ninetails is confused and even if it's still raining.]

[But then Maxie lets out Camerupt, and that's the point when Archie knows he's at least done some damage.]

[Okay, Ninetails can still use Sunny Day which he can no longer counter. Magcargo is probably still confused, but that should wear off soon. Camerupt is... well, Camerupt. Sharpedo really only has Protect and Waterfall to spam, since Crunch and Earthquake won't really do much. Tentacruel is close enough to Archie to cover him with a Mirror Coat if need be, but Ninetails was the only Pokemon Maxie actually had attacking him. There really isn't any way he can win this one, but like last time, he has no intention of giving up.]

Surf! [Instead of having Sharpedo use Waterfall, he calls the shark back. Sharpedo throws up a Protect to cover the three of them while Archie attempts to come up with some sort of solution.]

[oceansbane]

[...okay, blatant action-bracket failure on exactly how useful Earthquake can be aside, Archie does have a point about confusion. Sheer stupid luck seems to be on Maxie's side for once here, as he manages to get Sunny Day working well enough to cut the power of that Surf; unfortunately, Ninetales is already injured from the earlier instances of the attack, as well as the Waterfalls it took earlier - he goes down immediately after managing that Sunny Day.

This would be why Camerupt was let out, Archie.

On the other hand, Magcargo is not pleased but still derping about over there; Amnesia is doing its job, and after a sharp glance from Maxie, Camerupt repeats the move. His defense is naturally high, but that Tentacruel will prove to be a problem for Camerupt and Magcargo both.

So let's make it a bit less of a threat, hm?]

Light Screen.

[After all, with Protect up, attacking would be pointless. So let's just increase defenses for now.]