11.22.15 -- We are approaching the holiday season very rapidly. I understand that things get busy around this time of year, just try and make sure that you don't forget about us! And, because winter is coming, things in Rakuen are about to change! Our winter event will be starting on December first so keep your eyes peeled for it and be sure to participate. You won't want to miss out. Enjoy the last little bits of your fall!
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Post by Ryusuke Ugumi on Sept 8, 2015 20:50:04 GMT -5
Tear up this future; The story's sequel starts!
Deep breath in, deep breath out.
He had this. Two days spent prepping, both his nerves and his battle strategy. Two days spent going over every Dark type known to man using the Pokemon Center's resources, and while Ryusuke knew he couldn't account for everything the blonde felt that he had prepared for this more than any of the other challengers who came before him likely had. Fours years of experience under all of that, and nearly as long for most of his Pokemon, discounting Grovyle and Charizard - this time, though, the former wasn't by his side, having elected to stay at the Pokemon Center and relax once it became clear that others were likely better suited to this fight than he was. All that was left was to walk through the building's front door - having finally donned the red duster that had been with him since his journey's start, Ryusuke was more than aware that he stuck out like a sore thumb in the shadows surrounding the building, and in hindsight that was more than enough reason to get a move on. Reaching out, the trainer's gloved hands would touch on the door's handle just long enough to open it, Ryusuke stepping through to let the entrance close shut behind him and plunge everything into pitch black darkness.
Well, almost everything. If the flickering candle counted, but Ryusuke honestly wasn't in the mood for games. He was well aware that most Gym Leaders used puzzles of some sort to separate the smart from the incompetent early on and by extension ensure that only the capable trainers reached them, but that required time and effort. Ryusuke, meanwhile, had a shortcut of sorts, and as his hand casually dipped down to his belt a flash of light would signal the release of the trainer's Charizard. Rolling his shoulders now that he was finally out, the reptile's tail did provide a bit more light to work with but it still wasn't quite what Ryusuke had in mind.
"Sunny Day, please." Ryusuke asked, already beginning to walk ahead on the dimly lit path and closer to the shadows as the draconian Pokemon looked after him - while admittedly confused as Charizard was under the impression that he had no part in this Gym challenge, the Fire type would merely shrug. Taking a moment to focus, a bright orange sphere would erupt into being above both trainer and Pokemon, almost instantly dispelling the shadows and clearly lighting the path ahead as Ryusuke continued onwards. Charizard, technique completed, would move to follow the human as he sustained the orb of light above them both.
"Hello? Anyone there? I came to challenge this Gym's Leader." Ryusuke called out, hoping to get at least some response now that any element of a "maze in the darkness" scenario had been thrown out the window. Cheap, maybe - Ryusuke could definitely see some calling it that - but really no different than using a nocturnal Pokemon to guide the way. Hopefully the Gym Leader would see it as such... if not, this would be a rather awkward way to start things off.
There was a noise above her as a challenger entered the room above. The first step in challenging the gym leader was to get past her obstacles that she had set. Suddenly a light began to shine through the floor boards as if someone had figured out how to turn on the lights that did not exist. A yellow light should not be in her gym. Senka stood from where she had been seated. If her challenger did not wish to perform in the puzzle but rather jump ahead to the battle then she would give them a battle. She stood on the platform that existed directly below the candle on the floor above. Once situated the platform began to rise through the floor, the candle remaining suspended in the air, eventually making its way into her hand as she rose up.
A Charizard and his trainer stood before her, casting sunny day on the void room. "Don't like the dark, eh?" She asked as she touched the single flame of the candle. Purple flames erupted from the floor, outlining the battle field as well as the designated areas where the two trainers were to stand. More flames began to rise in the pillars around the room. If there hadn't been a sunny day in effect from the Pokemon, everything would have been clearly lit by that point. "I ask that you put out that light. There is plenty of light now for us to use." The gym leader gave a small nod before walking to the semi-circle marked in fire where she was supposed to stand at the edge of the arena.
Once in her area, she turned to face the challenger again. "My name is Senka and I am in charge of the Crystal City Gym. It will be a simple battle using at max two Pokemon. You have eight turns to defeat me and you can switch out your first Pokemon whenever you so choose. Once a Pokemon is removed from battle you cannot call on it again. I will be using my Bisharp and Houndoom against you. Are you ready to prove your strength and knowledge to me trainer?" Senka sent out her Bisharp first who stood with bent knees and arms forward, ready for a fight.
Post by Ryusuke Ugumi on Sept 10, 2015 22:11:56 GMT -5
Tear up this future; The story's sequel starts!
Of all the responses Ryusuke could've gotten, the Gym Leader actually jumping straight to the fight hadn't been one that the trainer had expected. Maybe being told to leave and do the puzzle right, perhaps silence, but with the sound of something moving back towards the entrance got the blonde's attention - and, on turning around, someone who hadn't been there before, a young woman that looked to actually be about his own age, stood holding the candle that Ryusuke had walked by not moments ago. And, judging from her initial words of greeting, more likely than not the Leader of Crystal City's Gym.
"More developed than anything, honestly. Never got along well with Ghost and Dark types in the past." Ryusuke answered, detaching Charizard's ball from his belt to recall the Pokemon at the Leader's request as flames not of his making began to light the edge of the Gym, outlining the battlefield that had been hidden before. An honest enough answer - Ghost types around Lilycove tended to be largely harmless, but the rumors and legends concerning the Pokemon weren't entirely baseless. While Ryusuke had no issue with Shuppet, their evolved forms as well as the Duskull that inhabited the area had a reputation - not entirely baseless and undeserved - for occasionally crossing over the line from simple mischief to outright malevolence. As for the Dark types.... admittedly somewhat Ryusuke's fault there, or rather more specifically Grovyle's, but when you were on the receiving end as a child the "why" didn't really tend to matter as much.
That didn't concern Ryusuke as much as the Leader's conditions for the fight, though. Eight turns... a lot could happen in that time, and while Ryusuke would've been fairly confident with Grovyle's help the Pokemon did need a day off every now and then, especially considering that he'd likely be carrying a lot of weight later on. Still, against a seasoned opponent trying to end a fight in that much time would be a challenge, especially against someone League certified. At the very least the Pokemon that the Leader choose were fairly run of the mill for typing. As expected, both were the Gym's signature type, and likewise complimented each other well.
The Steel typing, normally, would make the Bisharp an issue as they were fairly resistant to most forms of attack, and the dual Dark typing granted it resistance against both other Dark Pokemon as well as Ghost types that bypassed the Steel resistance. Houndoom was another fairly standard choice, as Fire was a great attack type, strong against a number of different opponents and what it was weak to, Steel generally handled well... save for Ground and a couple of others. The Houndoom, normally, would present a bit of an issue given the Pokemon Ryusuke had picked ahead of time, but at least one of them had likewise been trained to counter opponents they would normally be weak against, and more specifically had grown a great deal in the last half year.
"Understood. Considering I'm the one challenging, take the first move." Ryusuke said, backing up until he was a fair distance away and leaving most of the battlefield clear for the two Pokemon about to fight it out. Clipping Charizard's ball back to his belt and hoping that they'd prepared enough that the Fire type wouldn't be needed, the blonde would deftly pluck a different orb from beside it and toss the Pokeball out onto the field ahead of him. Bouncing once before popping open, the purple flames from around the edge of the Gym would dimly glint off of the polished carapace of the Heracross that now stood ahead of its trainer.
"Quick question. Gym's policy on collateral damage to floors and walls?" Simple enough, but Ryusuke figured he might as well ask. Given that the platform that the Leader was standing on clearly came from some level below them the last thing Ryusuke wanted was to collapse the floor by accident, and on top of that some Leaders tended to be less than pleased by the prospect of Gym repairs, regardless of how much it restricted the fight and available tactics.
The trainer allowed Senka the first move as they often did. Some of them still wanted to get their strategies together while others simply wanted to see how hard she was about to fight and plan accordingly. Just as she was about to get the ball rolling, the challenger asked a question. What was the policy on damage. It caused her to pause for a moment. The last time she had been asked that was over a year ago when a trainer absolutely destroyed the gym. She since then renovated everything to withstand even the most intense battles.
The gym leader straightened herself out before answering. "Almost everything in the gym is reinforced with steel plating. The platform at the center is a weak spot as well as to your right there is bullet proof glass where people can observe the battle. Most of the time it is fine but if you plan to be rough, avoid those areas so that no major damage is done." She gave a small nod before bending her knees and matching the attack stance of the Bisharp.
Senka had the first move. The ball was in her court to get the game rolling. She was in charge. The first thing she needed to do was get in the mind of her Pokemon. The matching stances helped, but they were against a Heracross now which shook things a little. This wasn't the simpleton trainer that came running into her gym ready to prove themselves with their starter Pokemon. No this would be someone who knew there stuff. Well, unless the labs had suddenly started giving out the bug type for starters. That would really throw the region into chaos. She shook her head, she was getting distracted. So Heracross. That meant her move pool was limited and she would be required to rely on her Bisharps steel trait rather than his dark typing. He would also need to seriously increase his defenses in order to not be destroyed by the creatures attacks.
Well then, the strategy would be fairly simple. "Iron Defense. Metal Sound." The Bisharp nodded as it clinked his forearms together, suddenly glowing blue for a moment before his entire body glistened in the light of the fire. Next he began to rub his arms together as Senka covered her ears. The disturbing sound of metal scraping against metal screeched across the room. The sound continued to echo out until the Pokemon decided everyone had heard enough of the unnerving sound.
Post by Ryusuke Ugumi on Sept 11, 2015 23:42:23 GMT -5
Tear up this future; The story's sequel starts!
Okay, so far, so good. The fact that this Gym was reinforced enough to be able to withstand full force attacks from Pokemon known for their physical strength was a relief, and it gave them plenty of room to work with. Even better, though, was that a fair number of Ryusuke's initial suspicions were confirmed.
The other trainer was leading with Bisharp, a Pokemon not exactly known for faring well against Fighting types. Bugs, maybe, but Heracross's secondary typing changed that - by their own Gym rules, she could switch right from the start and lead with another Pokemon far better suited to dealing with the Bug, and hope to outlast Ryusuke's second Pokemon for a clean win with one knockout to her name. So, the main question had been why wasn't she? Off the top of his head Ryusuke didn't believe that Bisharp, on its own, posed much of a threat, and it didn't have moves well suited to lowering the stats of other Pokemon. Swords Dance wasn't a concern as Heracross knew Iron Defense, but as the Leader gave her first commands the woman's thinking was clear enough.
The Houndoom, on its own, was a credible threat. Any trainer who knew how typing worked understood that, and Metal Sound only made it even more dangerous as Fire types were generally special attackers and ranged fighters. So, the plan was that - soften Heracross up with Metal Sound, then likely switch out before Heracross could finish the Steel type and mop up with Houndoom. After that, play for time until the battle was over. It made sense, and in all honesty Charizard's typing wasn't the best for handling the other Pokemon if it had Flash Fire... but for Ryusuke, it didn't change much. He'd gone into the Gym expecting either Psychic, Fire, Rock or even Flying type counters to deal with the Fighting and Bug weaknesses of Dark types, and Heracross was prepared accordingly. All Ryusuke had to do was hope that the beetle had absorbed enough of the last six months' training for it to make a difference.
"Keep your distance, set up early. She's either going to switch to the Fire type or try and get Bisharp into your blind spot." Ryusuke called out - and to Heracross's credit, the Bug didn't even start to glance back for confirmation as he used to. Yellow eyes locked onto the Steel type across from them as it glinted and a sharp screeching sound rang out, Heracross' own carapace would seem to sharpen in color and glint in much the same manner as Bisharp's had. Rather than returning with another horrible sound, however, the beetle would instead widen its stance and raise its arms slightly, horn lowering in preparation as it used Swords Dance - with any luck, making any attempt at close quarters combat a suicidal proposition for the other team.
So, two choices for the other trainer - try and risk it with Bisharp, or take the obvious route and switch to the Houndoom for an attempt at a quick knockout with a Fire attack, something that Ryusuke was certain that Heracross would be more than prepared to deal with. Teeth unclenching from the earlier screeching, the trainer kept his own eyes on the Gym Leader rather than her Pokemon - Heracross had that covered, and trainers gave tells in advance just as often as their Pokemon did.
Summary: Heracross hit by Metal Sound, Special Defense lowered two stages. Iron Defense and Swords Dance used.
Heracross: Stamina: 100% +2 Attack, +2 Defense -2 Special Defense
Senka grinned as the trainer retaliated without attacking. Instead he was raising his stats, preparing for a fight, obviously. He called out to his Pokemon two strategies that she might be using. Yes, it was possible for both of those to be true. The Houndoom could easily tear his Heracross apart or she could have been trying to aim for a blind spot. The trainer really knew what he was doing, that was good to know. It would be an entertaining battle for once instead of simply crushing those who rushed into the challenge.
The gym leader, still standing in the stance of the Bisharp had to think quickly. She needed something that would catch him off guard. "Leer. Fury Cutter." Her Pokemon threw a glance at her in confusion but knew that she right. He moved forward, stepping a few inches towards the Heracross before lowering his head, his eyes sharpening in a nice Leer. He gave a wink before he jumped forward, His powerful back legs caused him to soar through the air effortlessly. Without landing he was upon the bug, arms stretched out as the began to leave streaks of blue light behind him. He then began to swing wildly, his arms slashing in a crazed state of mind.
Senka leaned back to watch her work that only took a few seconds. Heracross was strong against bug type moves. Even with the lowered defense the attack did not pose a threat to the enemy at all. In fact, the defense lowering had only put the opponent back on the same level he had been before he mimic'd the Iron Defense. She wondered how the challenger would react. Would he take the fall or make a quick counter? Really, both options would probably doom his first Pokemon in only a few more moves.
Post by Ryusuke Ugumi on Sept 13, 2015 15:58:15 GMT -5
Tear up this future; The story's sequel starts!
That..... came off as mildly unsettling. While Ryusuke understood full well that every trainer tended to approach battling with a different mindset, there were still a few common archetypes here and there, traits shared across certain types of trainers. Recognizing that fact was one of the first things Ryusuke had made an effort to do when he'd first left home as his Pokemon weren't heavily trained during that first year or two - rather than raw power, Ryusuke and his team had instead relied on skill and playing things smart. Thus the moment the blonde saw the Leader's grin something clicked inside his head - despite being at a rather terrible disadvantage on the surface, she still felt confident, either through faith that her abilities would carry the battle or simply due to not giving a damn. Ryusuke was familiar enough with both types of trainer, but how you dealt with each one was very, very different.
The first, you generally let run themselves down with their own attacks - bait and switch, let their overconfidence win the battle for you. The second, however, was far more troublesome, and the very kind of trainer his mother was. They were the trainers who would throw their Pokemon at seemingly impossible odds, either just for the challenge of it or because they had a very specific idea on how to deal with a given threat, often unconventionally. There wasn't much of a trick to dealing with them - you just had to play it safe and not give them a chance to use the moves they wanted, and to try and figure out what their game was before the battle was moving too quickly to do anything about it. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of a way to tell the two kinds of trainer apart unless you knew who you were dealing with on a personal level, and it was in realizing that fact that Ryusuke immediately saw the potential danger here and now. Given what Ryusuke knew of Steel types in general, though.... Bisharp. It knew Metal Burst, didn't it? Generally a move that tended to turn a fighter's weaknesses against the attacker, but there were ways to deal with that, moves that Heracross knew which could minimize the potential backlash.
"Counter, Arm Thrust!" Ryusuke called out - a fairly unusual thing for him to do as the blonde preferred to let his Pokemon call the shots in a fight, but the very fact that the trainer was bothering to give specific orders immediately clued Heracross into the idea that other moves were likely a bad idea in this case. Sheen slightly fading from his shell as Leer took effect, Heracross merely held his stance as the Dark type leaped into the air and came down swinging. At that exact moment, however, one of Heracross's arms would snap up to take the initial swing from Fury Cutter, merely scratching the carapace on the Bug's arm. Even before another swing could be made, the Fighting type's other arm would move in a blur to grab Bisharp's other arm before it could cut again, intending to flip the Pokemon around and slam it onto its back against the floor with Counter. Other arm drawn back, Heracross would then begin raining blow upon blow against the hopefully stunned and immobilized Steel type's torso with Arm Thrust.
Summary: Heracross hit by Leer, Fury Cutter lands a successful hit. Counter used (avoiding possible Metal Burst) to return double the damage by slamming Bisharp into the ground and on his back, followed by Arm Thrust rolled for 4 hits, average damage calculated at a total of 114.2 - 148.5% of Bisharp's health (only first hit returnable by Metal Burst).
Heracross: Stamina: 95% +2 Attack, +1 Defense -2 Special Defense
It did not take more than half a second for the trainer to call out his next set of moves. Counter. Senka frowned. She should have seen that move coming and accounted for it by giving her Bisharp more instructions. She had not bothered to let the name of the second attack reach her ears before she was readying her voice. By this point in time the Heracross understood his orders and had already flipped her Pokemon over, sending him crashing into the ground, preparing the next attack. "Faint, finish him," she shouted out rapidly as soon as she heard the thud of her Bisharp hitting the floor.
The creature did not have time to second guess his trainer. As the first arm thrust hit he knew he was doomed to stay there. The flames flickered for a moment as a gust of wind blew through the gym. Just as the second arm thrust was preparing to make contact with the Bisharp's back he was gone. After the flames settled themselves it was clear as to where the Bisharp had gone. His usage of the Feint Attack was spot on, causing the Pokemon to reappear above the bug-type. His feet were firmly pressed into the back of the Pokemon as his arms raised, swinging down in the blink of an eye. His first attack, used as a dodging maneuver for the arm thrust had put him into the perfect position that he needed to execute the finishing move for the first part of the battle.
Continuing with the story of the longest four seconds of that battle, the Bisharp stood on the Heracross with his arms swinging downward. As they began to arc inwards towards where the head and body of the bug met, his hands began to faintly glow blue. His arms were practically around the opponents neck in the full swing of his Guillotine attack. His trainer had no need to tell him what move was meant to be the finisher. They had often used the combination of feint attack and guillotine in battle simply because it made the move almost impossible to dodge. It also left most opponents at a loss for what was happening due to the fact that if they blinked they would completely miss the moves all together.
Senka let out a wicked laugh and a grin. "No need to fear fainting. I don't think I've seen reactions that fast!" Her voice echoed out over the last second of the guillotine move. He was good. And he was fast. The trainer had a very large amount of potential bundled up inside of him. It probably ran deep in his family and had been cultivated for years. She had never met someone as young him be able to pull off a battle like that. In fact she was in her mid-twenties and still only just beginning to master the skill of speed battling and reaction times. It had taken a year of practice to shorten her commands to something that lasted less than a second. This truly was what a gym challenge was all about.
Post by Ryusuke Ugumi on Sept 14, 2015 17:31:46 GMT -5
Tear up this future; The story's sequel starts!
Shit. Ryusuke would've sworn that the combination of Counter and Arm Thrust would've ended things on that note with the head on charge that Bisharp took, but it had never occurred to the trainer that the Steel type might've actually been fast enough to escape the barrage of blows - hell, even Grovyle would've been hard pressed to use Substitute in time in that situation. Still, it did give a bit of valuable insight. Grapples wouldn't be of much use here, which meant that Heracross's only real option would probably be to finish the other Pokemon with a single attack - hit it hard enough and fast enough that it fainted before getting the chance to use Metal Burst. As the Bisharp suddenly disappeared into thin air, however, it at least put both trainer and Pokemon on guard enough that both were ready when the Steel type seemingly popped back into existence above the Bug Pokemon.
While the movements were too quick for Ryusuke to get a word in edgewise, the Leader's instructions had been clear enough - more specifically, the words that she had used. While dodging might've been a viable option, Heracross wasn't able to see the other Pokemon, only feel it land on his back, and without knowing what he was dodging or if moving would even be an effective option the insect instead resorted to his panic button. Bisharp's arms swinging down, Guillotine would hit exactly where it was aimed - rather than fainting, however, Heracross would instead remain standing as the Steel type's chopping blow came to a hard stop against the Pokemon's carapace, bouncing off with a spark. Instantly moving to follow up the failed attack and hopefully catch the opponent off guard as Guillotine normally spelled the end of a fight, Heracross's feet would move to rapidly turn on a dime, arm swinging out and up as he spun with the intent to catching Bisharp across the neck and clotheslining the smaller Pokemon into the floor with ground shattering force.
"We've been practicing a long time, and I'll admit to having a bit of a head start over most other trainers." Ryusuke replied, relaxing as the Guillotine failed and speaking only once it was clear that Heracross was still in the fight. That was close, way too close. Guillotine in the region's first Gym on the circuit? Ryusuke had to be honest, he'd assumed going out the gate that Rakuen's League would be closer to Tokai's as far as quality was concerned, a far cry from Kanto, Johto and Hoenn. It was a very, very good thing that he'd taken the precautions to go in with their guard up from the start anyways - had he gone with the initial assumptions, this fight would've been over in two moves. That definitely cemented this trainer into the second of the two categories Ryusuke had been thinking about earlier, though, and with any luck it would make her a little bit easier to beat now that he knew how she thought - the only trick now would be figuring what came next if Close Combat didn't end the first round here and now.
Summary: Endure used, Guillotine nullified. Close Combat used at point blank range to try and catch Bisharp before the Pokemon could react to Guillotine failing (calc'd at 234.2 - 277.1% with a successful hit).
Heracross: Stamina: 95% +2 Attack -3 Special Defense
The trainer did not even proceed to call out a next series of moves before the Heracross was already enduring the Bisharp's attack and countering it. He was using close combat, something that could easily destroy her Pokemon. She would not give him the chance. "Bisharp, withdraw," she shouted as she pulled the Pokeball and returned the creature to his tiny home.
"Your Pokemon has some talent and guts to move like that. I congratulate you." Senka smiled and gave a small bow. Next up was her Houndoom, something that could trash the Heracross in a moment. It was his second Pokemon that might prove to be a challenge just as the first round had been. The first thing that had to happen before the second Pokemon was released though was the issue of leveling. A swift tap of the foot to a secret button did the trick. The two small areas where the trainers were standing began to lift upwards until they were a few feet off of the ground. "Sorry if the movement shocked you. My Houndoom has a few moves that can put our lives in danger if we are on the same level as the Pokemon."
The gym leader gave a small nod before she placed the Bisharp's ball on her belt before removing the Houndoom's. She gave the button a click, causing a red flash of light to appear. The Pokemon landed on the ground below the trainers, a fierce look in his eyes as he sized up the competition. Now came the difficult part. How did she take down the Heracross in a swift move without allowing the opponent to dodge or counter it. The hound on the ground below let out a howl, informing his trainer that he intended to start the battle whether she was ready or not. Senka quietly cursed the rebellious creature. "Light 'em up."
The small sentence was enough to inform the eager Houndoom what he was supposed to do. He lurched forward across the battle field, rapidly changing directions when he was halfway to the opponent. With plenty of momentum behind him as he ran to the left, the Pokemon jumped up, bouncing off of the pillars that lined the battlefield before flipping in the air. His mouth opened as he was upside-down releasing a mountain of fire onto the ground. The flames covered the entire floor, licking up to the feet of the trainers on the platform. After the flames had finished coming from his mouth during his flip, they lingered on the ground for a moment. The Houndoom himself came closer to another pillar that he used as a rebound board to center himself on the battlefield again. Once landed, he took a moment to search for his opponent, eager to know if his inferno had done the trick.
Post by Ryusuke Ugumi on Sept 20, 2015 16:13:41 GMT -5
Tear up this future; The story's sequel starts!
As powerful as any move might be, it didn't matter much if your opponent wasn't there to be on the receiving end of it - and for a moment, Ryusuke was worried that this was a repeat incident of the last attack as Heracross's arm swung over and downwards. A brief flash of light and the Bisharp was suddenly gone, the Steel type no longer within the line of Heracross's attack as the arm swung down to impact with the Gym's floor. Reinforced or not, the results of the move were undeniable - Heracross, as a species, had always been well known for their raw physical might, and with a Swords Dance behind the Close Combat technique the floor noticeably shook as the Bug's fist impacted, leaving a small crater of sorts as the floor dented beneath the Pokemon.
"I'll take the compliment. For a moment I wasn't sure if your Bisharp was pulling the same move it did before." Ryusuke replied, only realizing what had happened after the Gym Leader spoke to him again. She'd recalled her Steel type, rather than risk it taking the full brunt of Heracross's attack. A move, honestly, that most trainer's might've taken issue with, but Ryusuke personally understood the sentiment all too well. If anything it was for the same reason he'd outright tried to avoid battling in his first couple of years as a trainer unless money had become a real issue, but that was neither here nor there. With the Gym Leader releasing her second Pokemon the blonde trainer's expression would finally shift - having been the very image of cautious observation for most of the fight up to that point, the grin that replaced his earlier expression may have looked completely out of place, particularly when Ryusuke wasn't entirely fazed by the platforms lifting him and the Gym Leader up above the battling floor. The platforms had moved already, what was to stop them from doing it again?
This, though. This was what they had planned for.
The Bisharp, if anything, had been the problem, the one deviation that Ryusuke hadn't accounted for, but things were back on track. Murkrow, Houndour, Sableye, Inkay, Spiritomb.... it had been those specific evolutionary lines that the trainer had kept in mind on deciding to challenge the Gym. Out of the Dark types likely available to the Gym Leader, those were the ones that post the biggest threats to either Bug or Fighting types, both of which were common counters to Dark Pokemon and obviously the ones that the Gym Leader would be keeping in mind when she built her team. Ironically the others like Bisharp had proven to be the bigger threat in that Ryusuke hadn't counted on its involvement and by extension hadn't come up with a specific plan for dealing with it, but Heracross had thought on his feet surprisingly well and avoided the early KO. From this point on, things were looking up.
"Oh, I know. We've fought Houndoom before, and we came more than prepared." Ryusuke answered back, and with the Gym Leader's command to the Fire type both Pokemon would move, Heracross seemingly of his own accord. Even before the woman had finished her three words the Fighting type had drawn an arm back and formed the two claws on his hand into a fist - within that same moment, driving it into the same floor he had struck earlier, the Brick Break allowing the Pokemon's fist to penetrate the floor material, whatever it was, with relative ease. By the time the Houndoom had opened its mouth the Bug had already moved onto the next part of the counter, using Strength to peel back the floor material with a horrible screeching sound - in the process, however, creating a makeshift shield against the flames that rushed his way, the fire taking the path of least resistance around the fire resistant material to create a small safe zone behind it where Heracross stood, unharmed.
Summary: Brick Break used to create a hand hold in the floor, Strength used to rip up a shield against Inferno.
Heracross: Stamina: 95% +2 Attack -3 Special Defense
Senka leaned forward eagerly as the fire cleared only to see that the floor had been peeled back to create a shield. That was smart thinking to create a natural barrier instead of avoiding the attack. It only meant that the next few moves would be more difficult. While the barrier had impressed the gym leader, the Pokemon only became infuriated by the failure. The Houndoom snarled, letting his mouth open slightly, a purple mist beginning to spew forward and surround the metal shield. One touch and the bug would feel a small sting of poison.
The defender moved without any hesitation, hoping that the Heracross would remain behind the barrier long enough to be hit. Houndoom seemed to multiply as it ran forward before all of them launched onto the torn flooring. Together the Houndooms began to crush into the metal, all of the pounding their feet with all of their might. Their teeth snarled as they ripped at the metal. The weight of the creatures combined with the sheer force they were exerting began to crush the metal inward. Either the Pokemon would be flushed out into the poison or he would take the blunt force of the flooring crushing him into the ground. Regardless, the enemy would be pinned or out in the open, both were good options for the dog.
The gym leader herself leaned back, a little confused as to what the dog was planning by not attacking the Heracross itself. Regardless he was in a fit of rage and her commands would be ignored. He had a plan and he was sticking to it. Senka frowned slightly, a little upset that she had been a third party for most of the battle and that would not change. She squatted down, looking down on the battlefield for a moment before shifting her gaze to the trainer, watching his reactions as he took in what was happening.
Attacks; Smog, Beat Up Turn 5/8 OOC// Sorry it is so short and shoddy.
Post by Ryusuke Ugumi on Oct 23, 2015 1:53:53 GMT -5
Tear up this future; The story's sequel starts!
Despite the additional height that came with the platforms the Leader had placed both trainers on, the change in perspective did little to obstruct Ryusuke's view of what happened below. Rather, it gave a much more impressive visual instead, Heracross remaining unmoved behind his makeshift shield, bracing the slab of metal in place as the torrents of flame struck and flowed around off to the sides. Even with the plan having been made ahead of time, though, Ryusuke had to let out a small breath of relief on seeing the beetle still in the game and largely unharmed. That trick with the shield had been a gamble at best - betting on the idea that the Gym Leader would make her Gym fireproof if she was going to bother using a Fire type to counter a common weakness. They'd gotten lucky, especially in light of the fact that the material had actually held up against Inferno of all moves. There wasn't a guarantee that it would work again, and that meant this needed to be ended quickly.
Turning his attention back to the opposing Pokemon and trainer as the light and heat from the flames faded, once more allowing an unobstructed view across the room. What Ryusuke saw, though, wasn't the same as before. Where the Bisharp had been just as calm and collected as his trainer had been when things went south, the Houndoom seemed to be a different matter. The Fire type didn't appear to be at all pleased by the outcome of his last attack, and it was at that point that something seemed to subtly shift as the Pokemon suddenly acted without an order from his trainer - which, in and of itself wouldn't have been a big deal, save for the rest of the fight before this. A purple cloud bellowing forth to envelop Heracross's side of the field, once again hiding the Bug type from view, Ryusuke's golden hued eyes would snap back to the Gym Leader as the Dark type followed up the first move with a physical blitz.
She wasn't smiling anymore, that much was obvious, and it was something that honestly came off as somewhat disconcerting to the blonde. Had she, a League certified Gym Leader, lost control of her Pokemon? The idea in and of itself seemed a bit ludicrous, but as the Gym Leader mirrored Ryusuke's own actions and met his gaze from over atop her own platform the Hoenn trainer's own eyes would narrow a bit in suspicion. Regardless, Heracross was going to take a hit one way or another, and that earlier use of Close Combat wasn't going to help with his ability to cope with what Ryusuke was guessing to be Smog. Not breaking eye contact with the Leader, the trainer would calmly reach back to place a hand on one of his other Pokeballs - he had a couple of Pokemon left to choose from, and as things were he was still in the game even if Heracross was down when the smog below cleared.
The Bug type, for his part, literally didn't see nor expect the Smog that suddenly rushed in from around the shield he had leveled against the incoming flames from before. There had been no warning of sorts from the Houndoom's human, and the fact that Ryusuke hadn't called it out meant that the blonde had likewise been caught off guard by the sudden attack. The end result was fairly predictable as Heracross inadvertently took in a shallow breath of the poisonous fumes, an action that was met with a bout of severe coughing as the Fighting type's lungs tried to expel the toxins only to inhale more in the process. Soon enough there wouldn't even be time for that, though, as the first blow against Heracross's shield rang out with a very loud and noticeable metallic clang, something that acted to crystallize the Bug type's focus even in spite of his labored breathing.
The first blow would almost instantly be followed by additional ones. The shield, still connected to the floor where it had been peeled upwards, would be torn free on the third or fourth strike, the fifth knocking it up and to the side and for the briefest of moments allowing Heracross a clear view of his opponent - opponents. That wasn't right. Double Team didn't create solid copies. Even as the thought went through the Bug's head, however, the sight of one of the hellhounds rushing the brief opening had Heracross instinctively yank the shield back into place again with Strength. The end reward for his effort being what was definitely another solid blow, one that would have hurt - as it was the sixth strike was enough to finally rip the barrier free of Heracross's grip and to throw it off to the side and out of immediate reach.
Heracross himself was knocked onto his back foot and off balance, if only for a moment before the beetle's carapace popped open and a loud buzz made itself known, Smog clearing away from the gusting wind as the Bug made use of his wings. They weren't powerful enough to create enough lift for flight, but they were good enough to push Heracross forward and into a respectable stance again - and more to the point, on the offensive, a new gleam that wasn't in the Pokemon's eyes before now more than visible to his opponent as the Bug hopped forward once. Fist raised at the height of the jump, it would at first appear to be another jab at the floor... at least until the limb made contact. Suddenly it wouldn't matter how many copies of Houndoom there were as the sound of tearing, rent metal filled the Gym, the shockwave from the Earthquake - powered by Swords Dance, boosted by Guts of the Houndoom's own doing - shaking the entire building as it rippled out from the point of impact, the wave of force creating a visible wave in the flooring that tossed everything up and outwards from the Pokemon that had used the technique.
Summary: Smog hit, Poisoned (rolled 6 out of 100, 40% chance to Poison). Guts activated. Strength used to use the shield to continue blocking Beat Up, shield knocked away by the attack. Earthquake used (calculated at 309.9 - 364.9% damage should it hit).
Heracross: Stamina: 71% Guts Active +2 Attack -3 Special Defense
There was a clear moment while the smog was still in play that the coughing from a Pokemon could be heard. Senka let her face twitch into a small grin for a moment, pleased that her Pokemon had managed a play like that. Personally she wouldn't have thought of using the poison to distract the opponent or flush him out, but hey, rash and angry thinking did. The beat up that followed also seemed to remove the shield that had been previously procured from her floors. That would be something she would be spending some time fixing. Senka watched from above as the battle continued onward.
Her Houndoom jumped backwards a little as the Heracross got away, clearing the smog and preparing for his next attack. The duplicates from the beat up faded away into the thin with the smog. It was a maneuver that she was quite proud of for inventing. While for beat up most users just released their entire team, league battles prohibited extra Pokemon from entering the playing field. She had spent weeks training her Houndoom to use the move Mimic on himself in order to create more. The mirror entities only lasted a few mere seconds but it was always enough to perform the attack with full force while avoiding any rule breaking.
The Houndoom himself stood back, his rage calmed as he decided what to do next. Did he attack without command again or wait for Senka to order him? There was no time to release a full debate in his mind for the Heracross was already moving and moving fast. It appeared as if he was creating another barrier. Strange. The thought echoed between both the Pokemon and trainer's mind. No, he wasn't making a barrier, he was attacking. That was clear as the shockwave started to roll out. "Feint, counter," the gym leader's voice called out as loud as she could. There was a great amount of concern in her words as the earthquake rolled forward.
The canine knew that tone of voice well. It was the 'Do this or die' voice. He gave the commands no second thought as the lights flickered and his body disappeared from sight. While he was existing in the shadows, the league official fell to her knees; the attack was definitely on the extremely powerful side. The Houdoom reappeared after a second of being gone, his position directly above the opponent with his face aiming downward. His jaws opened wide as a powerful flamethrower released itself, hopefully onto the Heracross. The force of the fire was enough to push the falling Pokemon upwards, giving him momentum to change his direction in the air, landing him safely behind the opponent. Even though his safety was only going to last a few seconds.
Post by Ryusuke Ugumi on Oct 26, 2015 0:08:33 GMT -5
Tear up this future; The story's sequel starts!
Ryusuke had been wondering when Heracross was going to pull that trick out of the bag as per the original plan, but to say that he was surprised with the result was something of an understatement. With the smog around the two Pokemon clearing from the Bug's balance restoring maneuver just long enough to show the move, the blonde was nearly knocked off his platform by the sudden, violent shaking of the ground that gripped the building. The Fighting type had never really shown anything akin to that kind of destructive potential during their earlier training sessions, and even with Swords Dance it was uncomfortably close to what her Metagross was known to be capable of. Did he get in another Swords Dance before using it, while the haze was still blocking Ryusuke's sight? Unlikely. Unless it was the smog itself - Heracross had Guts for an ability, and going off of that coughing earlier... they'd need to finish this quick. Being Poisoned did give Heracross enough of a power boost on top of Swords Dance that they only needed a single hit to land, but the flip side of that coin was he needed to stay in the fight long enough to do it.
Shockwave subsiding as the attack finished, Heracross would begin to stand upright again before a powerful cough would wrack his body, the poison inhaled earlier taking its toll. With the cloud left by the airborne toxin cleared by Earthquake, though, the Pokemon was finally free to locate his opponent through sight..... only to see no immediate sign of the other Pokemon on the field. Had he overdone it? The Fighting type certainly hadn't meant to cause the resulting mess of the destroyed Gym floor. That said, plenty of shields around should he need one, but first Heracross needed to know where the Fire type would attack from - and as if on cue, the Houndoom would appear directly above, mouth already opening in mid air.
"Twelve high!" Ryusuke shouted out - something of a departure from his usual style, but as the Fire type was likely well outside of his own Pokemon's view, probably something that would save it. And save it the warning did - not even bothering to turn and look, Heracross would seem to simply disappear in a blur of motion before skidding across the floor a fair distance away as Flamethrower lit up where the Bug had been standing not a moment before. One hand braking against the floor to pivot Heracross around as he came to a stop - and in the process turning the Fighting type around to face his opponent again - the other arm would come down in a second ground pound, floor tearing itself apart as Heracross tried to time the attack for the moment Houndoom would land. There were many things that you could control in a fight, but gravity tended to be a bit more difficult than most.
Summary: Hurt by Poison. Aerial Ace used to dodge Flamethrower, immediately followed up with a second Earthquake (309.9 - 364.9% damage).
Heracross: Stamina: 59% Guts Active +2 Attack -3 Special Defense
Senka watched as the canine landed. She had observed the opponent calling out to his Pokemon to warn him about the incoming flamethrower. A smile crossed her face. She knew that they were a strong pair and quite an adversary. The gym leader had planned for another few attacks though before the battle was done, but, by the time her Pokemon had landed the Heracross had sent out another earthquake, practically just as strong as the first if not more so. Her Houndoom didn't stand a chance and she knew he had no time to react. The speed of the bug was far too great.
The fainted Pokemon stayed on the floor for a moment before Senka recalled it, "You did well Houndoom." She stared at the Pokeball for a moment in a somber silence. Slowly, a small smile crept onto her face. "You are so much stronger than the average trainer. Honestly, I'm so used to kids who don't know what they are doing that it was a pleasant change to lose." She gave a laugh as the platforms lowered. Once they were settled as best as they could in the destroyed gym flooring, Senka began walking to her opponent. Her hand fished in her pocket for a moment as she searched for the gym badge her challenger had earned. "I never caught your name. Regardless, here is the shadow badge, something you have rightfully earned. I am going to warn you, the other gym leaders deal with more seasoned trainers so it won't be so easy. I think you'll great though. See you later future champion." She gave a wink as she handed over the small grey badge. With a final laugh she walked towards the back of her gym to the secret door that led to her private quarters. She had to make a few calls in order to be ready for the next challenger.
