Amethyst

What Dom' said. XD However, formalities: Contest closed; thanks to all that entered. Bullet and Slut, post your picks, I'll take care of the prize money~ The random draw winner is... Bullet! Because he didn't have enough money already! And of course, I am going with AZ's entry because, wow. It's perfect. XD

Both Genders- Mask of the Fool Male- Ren's Hair (Black, Red)

I never stay down too long... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Day 10 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DaQiao the Quilava- 24 Turquoise the Vaporeon- 25 Repentance the Gloom- 24 Mina the Golbat- 25 Snickety the Quagsire- 24 Emerald the Poliwag- 24 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contuing the chronicles of the sruf quests, I've chanced upon the meeting place of two sisters, who are currently engaging me in a double battle... At which point I realise, with Emerald and PerSnickety in the front, There's a very big advantage to half of my team having Water Absorb SURF SPAM GOGOGOGOGOGO Flawless victory. Now for the eldest sister... Emerald's up against her level 28 Cloyster... Ugh. And yet. Hypnosis~ Puts it to sleep. Emerald tries a surf, but despite Cloyster's low special defense, it does almost nothing... Right then. Rain Dance, and then SURF. What, Rain Dance? I noticed Poliwag had the move when I caught it... I was wondering if I could find some way to use it. With Rain in Play the surf attack does nearly quarter damage to Cloyster with each hit. But it wakes up! Emerald isn't very defensive... This could be bad. What will Cloyster do... ... Spikes. Klol. Cloyster goes down~ Emerald levels up. What? Emerald is evolving! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And since I think the Surf's Up, at least for today, time to head onwards to Olivine Cit- HOLYWAT ENTEI APPEARED Quick Attack! Entei Fled! YEAHYOUBETTERRUN. Bitch. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Route 39... The time of Pokemon Hunting is uponus. inb4raticate. Another Magnemite. Well, at least it's not a Rat, but... Sigh... Letting it go. And by that I mean brutally murdering it with Flame Wheel. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Good Rod, GETTO. And I have plans to put it to use right away~ I know what I'm pulling for too; let's just see if I get lucky... The Olivine City Catch of the Day- (you're now wondering, what, you're really going fishing, after you have how many water tpes?) Isssssssssss- >Magikarp. ...Much as I'd like to catch another Magikarp to replace Sauria, uh, no. Plus this one is level 20, meaning it would only have Tackle for a very long time. ._. It's okay! I have another shot, with Route 40! Of course, I've looked up the numbers now and there's only a 10% chance of finding what I'm hoping for.... Sigh. D: Magikarp, here I come. OMGFGNFGNDFGDNFGDFGNDFJGKNDFKNVGDKGDNFGKDFNGDKFGNDFKGDNFKGDF <333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333 3333333333333333333333333333333 FOUND IT FOUND IT OMG <3333333333333333333 butisweartogodificritandkillitimgoingtogoresignmychallengetakesauria, reviveher, levelheruptolevel100, teachhergigaimpactandhyperbeam, andgoonamassrattatagenocideslaughtermassacrethinginallofjohto. That's right, Youngster Joey. You better hope I catch this. Start with a Quick Attack... Its counter attack is harmless. That didn't do tooooo much, so we'll go for a Flame Wheel with DaQiao... Flame Wheel- burns it. Well, shit, the clock is ticking. Lure Ball, go! Shakes once... Twice... Three times......... Staryu was caught! <3 Of course... Those of you who saw my post... Remember what my Starmie has become... Broken Opal. And I am getting evil, Evil ideas in my head now~ Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~ Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~ Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~ Unfortunate, I won't be able to implement said evil ideas until... Wednesday!? Well, damn. But this will be fun indeed~ [scroll] Newbark Town- DaQiao the Quilava- lv 25 Route 29- [s]Sentret[/s] Route 46- [s]Rokurolla the Geodude- lv 18[/s] Cherrygrove City- [s]Sauria the Gyarados- Lv 24[/w] Route 30- #27 the Pidgeotto- lv 29 Route 31- TopPercent the Raticate- Lv 25 Dark Cave- Violet City- Emerald the Poliwag- Lv 25 Sprout Tower- [s]Rattata[/s] Route 32- Snickety the Quagsire- Lv 25 Ruins of Alph- Serenity the Natu- Lv 22 Union Cave- [s]Geodude[/s] Route 33- [s]Rattata[/s] Azalea Town- Stricken the Fearow- Lv 24 Slowpoke Well- [s]Soma the Zubat- Lv 21[/s] Ilex Forest- Repentence the Gloom- Lv 25 Route 34- [s]Rattata[/s] Goldenrod City- Turquoise the Vaporeon- Lv 25 Route 35- FemmeFatale the Nidorino- Lv 18 Route 36- Moon'sDoom the Noctowl- Lv 21 National Park- Paperweight the Caterpie- Lv 14 Route 37- [s]Pidgey[/s] Ecruteak City- [s]Pineco[/s] Burned Tower- [s]Rattata[/s] Route 42- [s]Mareep[/s] Mt. Mortar- Mina the Golbat- Lv 25 Mahogany Town- Route 38- Lithion the Magnemite- Lv 24 Route 27- [s]Tentacool[/s] Route 39- [s]Magnemite[/s] Olivine City- [s]Magikarp[/s] Route 40- Broken Opal the Staryu- Lv 20 [/scroll]

Oh, right. Male- Vest (Red) Female- Skyla's Hairbow (Lavendar) Neutral- Distant Darkness Background Lightning Background

To be honest, I've actually moved into liking water types more than my usual dark/ghost/psychic. >> Not that I don't still like those as well. But~ Sigh. Now let's surf around the world Oh I'll surf round the world [s]I'm a little wolf inside a girl, you say[/s] And off I'll go (I can not stay) Oh surfin' round the world Let's surf round the world Surf round the world [$R100 to anyone who can guess what song I'm killing without cheating. >> <<] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Day 9 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DaQiao the Quilava- 24 Turquoise the Vaporeon- 23 Repentance the Gloom- 23 Mina the Golbat- 24 Snickety the Quagsire- 23 Sauria the Gyarados- 24 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Detouring across, I'll try my luck to see what Tohjo Falls wants to give me Wild Pokemon appears... It's... ... RATTATA. aRFnhdskfjhbdskv dfgdfbgjderfg dfg dfgdf hgf hdtftgwesdf vdf vdf bdfwhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Surfan' thru Violet City to get the Rare Candy lying across the water- and, what, a Poliwag? Aaaand since I was only gifted Adirael, this is my first encounter of the area, meaning, Pokeball go! (because I didn't have enough water types) Caught! Although I know I won't be able to evolve her into Politoed... The name has to be obvious, right? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Okay, class, today we're going to visit the Ruins of Alph! But so that we can get something OTHER than Unown, we go the roundabout way. Yayyyy~! Coming out of Union Cave, I have reached the grass of the Ruins. There's one trainer here; may as well fight him to get it out of the way. ...Except he has a Girafarig that's not only a higher level than any of my Pokemon, but than even Morty's Gengar. Well, shit. Emerald's in the lead... She tries a hypnosis, is some how faster, but misses, and takes a psybeam. She can't take another, so, switch to DaQiao. He beasts one, gets off a Flame Wheel that does- ...not that much. Takes a second in critical condition. Well, shit. Switch to Sauria. Sauria takes one on the switch, another on the attack, and then Bites, bringing Girafarig down to critical health... How is this thing so bulky? >.>; One more should do it... Girafarig uses Psybeam. Sauria survives in critical health, and- ...is confused... Sauria hurt itself in its confusion! Sauria fainted! ...fuck. you, girafarig. Emerald finishes it off with Body Slam, and levels up. But blah. Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahrgrhgagahghghaghgahgahga, all_of_my_raeg.tif ...Meanwhile, in the tall grass, a wild Pokemon that's NOT RATTATA was found! Emerald uses Hypnosis, and make short work of her. Pokeball, go~ Natu was caught~! ...because I didn't have enough flying types- Pidgey, Zubat, Spearow, Gyarados, HootHoot Golbat and Natu. ...then again I also have a million water types- Wooper, Gyarados, Vaporeon, Poliwag... OH BUT WAIT NOT GYARADOS ANYMORE. NOPE. SAURIA CAN BEAST THROUGH WHITNEY'S MILTANK AND MORTY'S GENGAR BUT ALONG COMES RANDOM PSYCHIC'S GIRAFARAG AND SHE KEELS RIGHT OVER TO CONFUSION ...Of course, this rage could be the very same that caused Sauria to hurt and kill herself. So... Natu's name is... Serenity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alright, so here's the plan. Serenity doubley resisting Fighting will make Chuck easy, so level up Serenity, evolve her into Xatu, and own stuff. Oh. Wait. No. It's funny really. Serenity doesn't have a single attacking move! Not only that, but it doesn't learn one until leve 42, and even then it's FUTURE SIGHT. Get in that box, and stay there. D: Fortunate, we do have Emerald, but she can hardly be an ace-in-the-hole against Chuck... What to do, what to do... I was going to use Sauria, but... /die [scroll] Newbark Town- DaQiao the Quilava- lv 24 Route 29- [s]Sentret[/s] Route 46- [s]Rokurolla the Geodude- lv 18[/s] Cherrygrove City- [s]Sauria the Gyarados- Lv 24[/s] Route 30- #27 the Pidgeotto- lv 24 Route 31- TopPercent the Raticate- Lv 25 Dark Cave- Violet City- Emerald the Poliwag- Lv 22 Sprout Tower- [s]Rattata[/s] Route 32- Snickety the Quagsire- Lv 24 Ruins of Alph- Serenity the Natu- Lv 22 Union Cave- [s]Geodude[/s] Route 33- [s]Rattata[/s] Azalea Town- Stricken the Fearow- Lv 24 Slowpoke Well- [s]Soma the Zubat- Lv 21[/s] Ilex Forest- Repentence the Gloom- Lv 23 Route 34- [s]Rattata[/s] Goldenrod City- Turquoise the Vaporeon- Lv 25 Route 35- FemmeFatale the Nidorino- Lv 18 Route 36- Moon'sDoom the Noctowl- Lv 21 National Park- Paperweight the Caterpie- Lv 14 Route 37- [s]Pidgey[/s] Ecruteak City- [s]Pineco[/s] Burned Tower- [s]Rattata[/s] Route 42- [s]Mareep[/s] Mt. Mortar- Mina the Golbat- Lv 24 Mahogany Town- Route 38- Lithion the Magnemite- Lv 16 Route 27- [s]Tentacool[/s] [/scroll]

Suicune- Most walls can be out-stalled by something else, particularly Chansey if they're special set up like the average Suicune is, so that's not really anything new... On the other hand that doesn't change the fact that Suicune is already capable of walling a good number of OU threats as is, and it'll only be more of a problem in lower tiers... Swampert- Agreed Ditto- Agreed Meloetta- Relic Song has only 10% chance of sleeping, and that aside, I've never really seen this do anything terribly useful. BL or UU would be alright Zoroark- Agreed Venusaur- It's not the best chlorophyll user in the first place, but it is well-rounded, and decent at anything. BL would probably be okay. Virizion- Never really seen this do anything useful... I say that excepting the one time I got swept by it... Kay, nevermind, agreed. Lapras- LU does look like a better match for it without Rain... Amoongus- Again, this can tank out a lot of OU threats really well, despite a common and meh typing. UU. Starmie- I'd say BL at most, definitely not OU. Also Dusknoir- Hasn't really done much for OU lately, it's a mediocre tank now. I'd say BL at best. Bronzong- Set options as prevalent as ever, but it also doesn't seem typical to OU. BL as well. Jellicent- This is BL, really? Something as useful as this should probably be OU... [i][color="#800080"]Hijacking this because I don't have much to say myself; Meloetta's ability is Serene Grace, so it's actually 20%... Not great but not bad either. Bronzong, with its typing and ability choices, only ever has one weakness at any given time; Combine with dual screens and natural bulk and... Yeah, I have to disagree with that one, sorry~[/color][/i]

I mentioned this before Nyunyu, though a long time ago, but can we get a section for Gender-neutral items as well? The subsections would also be different though, for now Backgrounds and Pokedolls.

Batman is someone else, Mael. XD

The original plan was to use Stricken, TopPercent and Moon'sDoom with their Dark and Psychic attacks to over power Morty's ghost types while using their normal typing to avoid Shadow Ball. While I could that, and probably win easily, well, where would be the fun in that? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Day 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DaQiao the Quilava- 24 Turquoise the Vaporeon- 23 Repentance the Gloom- 23 Mina the Golbat- 23 Snickety the Quagsire- 23 Sauria the Gyarados- 23 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This Is the coolest gym Ever. It's all foggy and dark and kinda pretty really, and then hello morty. M: It's good of you to have come. A: Finally, a gym leader with some CLASS! M: Here in Ecruteak, Pokemon have long been revered. It's said that a rainbow-hued Pokemon will come down to appear before a truly powerful trainer. I believed that tale, so I have secretly trained here all my life. A: Wait, secret...? In... an official gym in the middle of the town in the middle of the whole region? M: As a result, I can now see what others cannot. A: I mean, if you're going to be in secret, then you should at least- waitwhat. M: I see a shadow of the person who will make the Pokemon appear. A: ...Woah. And who is it...? M: I believe that person is me! A: ...Ah. So you saw your own shadow. Greaaaaaat. Was I wrong about the class thing... M: You're going to help me reach that level! A: ...Sigh, he was -almost- all right, too. Well. Here goes! Morty sends out Gastly. Go, Mina (Lv 23 Golbat!) I did my homework. This Gastly uses a Curse and Mean Look combo. But Mina should have no problem getting the jump on it with her speed. Use Bite! It's super effective! A OHKO! Mina levels up! Morty sends out Haunter! Judging by the level of this Haunter, it uses a Hypnosis and Dream Eater Combo... Right. Mina stays in and goes for another Bite! Haunter survives in critical health and fires of Hypnosis! ...But it misses! Perfect~ There's a chance that Morty will use a Potion, so we're going full strength. Morty used one Hyper Potion! Mina used Bite! Haunter is right back to critical condition! And one more finishes the job~ Morty is about to send in- Gengar. Hmph. This Gengar's attacks include... Right. Mina, come back! Go, Sauria! (Lv 23 Gyarados) Intimidate lowers Gengar's attack. That's what I wanted, because now even Sucker Punch will be no threat. Sauria, use Bite! But first, it's a Mean Look from Gengar! Gengar takes around 2/3s damage, and recovers with a Sitrus berry.... Sitrus, huh? That's bad; that means it can use Curse now. But if it does, it'll be KO'd anyway. Pick your poison, Gengar, and no pun intended. Gengar uses Hypnosis! okaynowaitthatsaproblem. I'd forgotten about that thanks to the lack of Dream Eater on Gengar, but this... Let's hope Sauria wakes up fast. Gengar uses Shadow Ball! Sauria takes it in the green... And wakes up right away! Bite attack! Gengar is in critical condition! Gengar uses Sucker Punch! Sauria takes all of 11 damage, lol~ Gengar faints from a final Bite attack! Sauria levels up! One last Haunter. This one, like Gastly, attacks using Curse, so Mina is the best way to go still. M: No, it's not over-- not yet! A: Not yet, but just about~ M: I still believe we can do it! A: Belief huh? It's true, I do believe in ghosts. But NOT you~! Mina uses Bite! Haunter uses Curse! It cuts its own health in half! ...Haunter was KO'd by its own attack! M: How is this possible... A: Simple. Golbat > You~ Amie is the victor! M: I don't think our potentials are different. But you seem to have something more than that... A: A Golbat? Shame, too, I was hoping she would evolve after this battle... M: So be it. This badge is yours. Amie received the Fog Badge from Morty! A: Yay! See, you can be cool when you want to be! Done, and without a hitch~ [scroll] Newbark Town- DaQiao the Quilava- lv 24 Route 29- [s]Sentret[/s] Route 46- [s]Rokurolla the Geodude- lv 18[/s] Cherrygrove City- Sauria the Gyarados- Lv 24 Route 30- #27 the Pidgeotto- lv 24 Route 31- TopPercent the Raticate- Lv 25 Dark Cave- Violet City- Adirael the Togepi- Lv 8 Sprout Tower- [s]Rattata[/s] Route 32- Snickety the Quagsire- Lv 23 Ruins of Alph- Union Cave- [s]Geodude[/s] Route 33- [s]Rattata[/s] Azalea Town- Stricken the Fearow- Lv 24 Slowpoke Well- [s]Soma the Zubat- Lv 21[/s] Ilex Forest- Repentence the Gloom- Lv 23 Route 34- [s]Rattata[/s] Goldenrod City- Turquoise the Vaporeon- Lv 23 Route 35- FemmeFatale the Nidorino- Lv 18 Route 36- Moon'sDoom the Noctowl- Lv 21 National Park- Paperweight the Caterpie- Lv 14 Route 37- [s]Pidgey[/s] Ecruteak City- [s]Pineco[/s] Burned Tower- [s]Rattata[/s] Route 42- [s]Mareep[/s] Mt. Mortar- Mina the Golbat- Lv 24 Mahogany Town- Route 38- Lithion the Magnemite- Lv 16 [/scroll]

Second one's already started...

Do keep going~

Both Genders- Articuno Wings (Blue, Gray)

>mfw selfdestruct: http://myfacewhen.com/10/ http://myfacewhen.com/4/ http://myfacewhen.com/37/ http://myfacewhen.com/378/ And now. http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/194/a/6/Epic_Pose_by_Samuraicore.jpg Sacrifices must be made. There will be no regrets. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Day 7 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DaQiao the Quilava- 21 ??? the Eevee- 5 Repentance the Gloom- 21 #27 the Pidgeotto- 20 Snickety the Quagsire- 20 Sauria the Gyarados- 20 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fortunately, there's no shortage of new areas open to me, having passed Sudowoodo. Ecruteal city was so much of a blast, (see what I did there? Yeah, this is me trying to have a sense of humour about it, and failing) let's go for the burned tower. And the winner is- ... ANOTHER FREAKING RATTATA BURN. DIE. SUFFER. *cough* Excuse me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Because I do NOT want to fight my Rival again just yet, we're going to skip the commercials and go straight to Route 42 and Mt. Mortar Interesting to note, Mt.Mortar will contain both species of my fallen. Yet, I probably will not replace Rokurolla if I find a Geodude. Soma, however... As I say this watch me find a Machop. No. Watch me find a Rattata. Here we g- ...Get Strength out of nowhere. I don't remember that... HERE WE GO. Hm... Success. Mina the Zubat was caught. For those who never caught the original reference, Soma is the main character of Castlevania, Aria of Sorrow, who goes on to inherit Dracula's Powers. Mina, however, was his girlfriend. Hopefully she'll do better... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...Just got a phone call from the Day Care man... Apparentlt the two Pokemon I had in the day care had an egg together. ._. Uh... Is that cheating Nuzlocke? I didn't even mean to. However, I'll just leave it there for the time being... ...*awkwardly looks around* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Travelling through Mt.Mortar, just to pick up some items and train... Out of nowhere, this Trainer shows up with full out Nidoking and Nidoqueen duos. Faaaaantastic. Well, PerSnickety handles the Nidoking like a boss. Then it's just Sauria and the Queen. A few Bite attacks show Nidoqueen she isn't all that, but unfortunately due to the Poison Point ability Sauria gets poisoned... NOT. GOOD. I'm too far into Mt.Mortar- that to go back would actually take longer than to try and make it to Mahogany town... Well, here goes. Battle the trainers I have to with everyone but Sauria, and mind none of them are in great shape... I can get around this Hiker by going into the grass, but if I find a wild Pokemon, it'l be the first for route 42. Let's just hope I don't. I did. Really not good timing, Wild Brokemon. I guess I'll let Eevee handle this. She's the one I've been training, so she's at full health. Tackle... Tackle. One more hit brings it into Red... CRITICAL HIT. Mareep faints. Sigh. ...Eevee levels up! Which means, she's reached the level I decided to evolve her at. Fortunately, I picked up the Stone from the Pokethalon the day before. So~ What? Turquoise is evolving! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AND SO, I made it to Mahogany Town~ Time to check the trees here, with every intent to RUN if we see a Pineco. ...There are exactly 5 trees I can reach in this town, one of which I mysteriously cannot headbutt. The other four a proving to be fruitless... ...After ten minutes of repeated headbutting, I'm throwing in the towel for finding Mahogany Town's wild. ...At least for now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Made it back to Ecruteak~ Mina and Turquoise are looking good. Some people might question my decision to choose to Vaporeon out of any of the evolutions, especially given that I already have two water types... However, Vaporeon and Umbreon are about as defensive, and in a case like this, Vaporeon has the better offensive capabilities... Although I have two other water types, PerSnickety is immune to electricity, and literally the entire rest of my team resists and it super effective against grass, in two cases doubley. Plus Sauria isn't weak to it either. So on the whole... It doesn't worry me in the least~ So here we are on the other side of Ecruteak, Route 38! The big winner issssssss? Two water guns and a Pokeball later, CAUGHT. Magnemite joins the party. Adding an electric- and more importantly, a steel type, could be great down the road... As for a nickname, via a very long, drawn out train of thought that no one except myself will probably understand, I've chosen Lithion. Useful as it is, it's going in the box for now though, because I like my current party. In fact, time to charge forth with them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Revenge. Let's begin. Paul has been sighted in the burned tower. It's time to call him out for what he did to Rokurolla. A: Paul. We finally found you. P: ............... ......Oh, it's you. A: It's me. You're in my way, and I couldn't be more glad. P: You must be here to catch the legendary Pokemon to make yourself look strong. A: Big words from someone who lost! I'm only here because the gym leader won't do anything unless I clear those guys of the basement. You just happen to be in my line of fire, so I'll just take you down too~ P: That is only a dream. A: Well then welcome to your nightmare. Paul sends out Gastly! Amie sends out DaQiao! (Lv 22 Quilava) DaQiao gets the jump on Gastly with a Flame Wheel. Looking to set up a Curse, it uses Mean Look. But it's too slow! Flame Wheel takes Gastly down without a hitch~ Paul sends in Croconaw. He's not messing around? Well neither am I. I'm going to make this thing suffer. Sauria (Lv 22 Gyarados) switches in~ Intimidate lowers Croconaw's attack! Switch to PerSnickety (Lv 22 Quagsire), who takes an Ice Fang like a champ. Croconaw uses Scary Face, which is worthless because Snickety's speed is already low. Snicket gets off a Mud Bomb, but no accuracy drop. That's fine. Switch back to Sauria! Intimidate lowers Croconaw's attack to a ridiculous level~ Scary Face, but it's not a problem. Croconaw deals a second Ice Fang, making Sauria flinch. Then yet another Scary Face, because the first one clearly wasn't enough. And then a third. Paul's just killing time as chow down on his Croconaw. Now he should use a potion though, soooo~ ...No? Paul withdraws Croconaw from critical condition and sends out Magnemite. At the same time, Amie withdraws Sauria and sends out Repentence (Lv 22 Gloom)! Got the jump on you there, still~ Repentance gets off a sleep powder, so switch back to Snickety with no threat of pesky early-game Sonic Boom, or Thunder Wave. One Mud Bomb later, Magnemite bites the dust. Guess who's going to be my star player for Jasmine~? But for now, Croconaw is back out. We're gonna try and take it down quickly! Amie sends out Turquoise (Lv 22 Vaporeon!) Croconaw is already in critical condition, and Turqiuoise can take anything it can dish out, and then some~ But let's try to avoid that. Quick Attack! ...Croconaw barely survives! ...But uses Scary Face. Quick Attack again! Crash and burn, Croconaw. That one's for Rokurolla. Paul sends out Zubat! ...Zubat, huh? If that one was for Rokurolla, this one is for Soma! Turquoise, switch out! Go, Mina (Lv 23 Golbat)! P: Out of desperation, weak people sometimes do okay at fighting back. A: Out of desperation, foolish people sometimes try to hide their own weakness behind insults. Mina uses Confuse Ray, something that Zubat doesn't have yet! Zubat hurts itself in its confusion! Next a Wing Attack! Zubat survies with a single health and pulls off a supersonic. Mina is confused! P: Don't you get that I'm going easy on you? A: Easy? Paul, my team is virtually untouched! With all those Scary Faces, I'd almost believe it, but this is pathetic through and through. Mina, finish him off~ Mina hurts herself in her confision, and Zubat gets off a wing attack. But it does only of a fraction of the damage Mina's did. In truth, there's no hope left for Paul. Mina snaps out of confusion, and KOs Zubat with an over-kill Wing Attack! Amie wins the match! P: ...Humph! A: What do you have to say for yourself now~? P: I'm not fighting with another weakling every again. It's just too much playing around. A: Ugh, hide behind your lies all you want. It doesn't make you any stronger itself. You. Still. Lost! P: ...Aw, whatever. A: Now out of my way. P: You would never be able to catch a legendary Pokemon anyway. And with that, he shoves ME out of the way and is off. I'd be more steamed, but the fact is... He got toasted~ Effortlessly, at that. Morty, you're next. [scroll] Newbark Town- DaQiao the Quilava- lv 22 Route 29- [s]Sentret[/s] Route 46- [s]Rokurolla the Geodude- lv 18[/s] Cherrygrove City- Sauria the Gyarados- Lv 22 Route 30- #27 the Pidgeotto- lv 24 Route 31- TopPercent the Raticate- Lv 25 Dark Cave- Violet City- Adirael the Togepi- Lv 8 Sprout Tower- [s]Rattata[/s] Route 32- Snickety the Quagsire- Lv 22 Ruins of Alph- Union Cave- [s]Geodude[/s] Route 33- [s]Rattata[/s] Azalea Town- Stricken the Fearow- Lv 24 Slowpoke Well- [s]Soma the Zubat- Lv 21[/s] Ilex Forest- Repentence the Gloom- Lv 22 Route 34- [s]Rattata[/s] Goldenrod City- Turquoise the Vaporeon- Lv 22 Route 35- FemmeFatale the Nidorino- Lv 18 Route 36- Moon'sDoom the Noctowl- Lv 21 National Park- Paperweight the Caterpie- Lv 14 Route 37- [s]Pidgey[/s] Ecruteak City- [s]Pineco[/s] Burned Tower- [s]Rattata[/s] Route 42- [s]Mareep[/s] Mt. Mortar- Mina the Golbat- Lv 23 Mahogany Town- Route 38- Lithion the Magnemite- Lv 16 [/scroll]

Deleted for being completely off topic, mind.

Oh, Ikaruuuu~ Both Genders- Enkindler Gunblade (Red/Gold, Blue/Purple) This was actually really easy to sprite, much to my surprise...

[quote name='Kimiko' timestamp='1310121112' post='17457'] Well as I said recreation of my post, had to work with what I could remember if you'd like to chime in on exactly what you might like to call a viable definition for a counter then I'll put that instead. As well while you have given a few examples of things that work around the un-ability to switch, you didn't give counters to it.[/quote] And how could I without defining it? Although I also don't have a stellar definition myself, it's not my responsibility in this rhetoric to provide one. The burden of proof lies on he who makes the claim, or she in this case. Moreover, failing to define and defend a definition as such your argument based on the premise of its counters is logically moot. [quote]he punches large holes in teams that his 5 compadres can easily exploit. That's the key factor of Shandy, I never said it can win one alone that's not it's job, it's job is to make holes and deal with something you may not have been able to take normally.[/quote] We agree on this much. [quote] As well I'll also give it does over centralize things as you have to have X and Y for it, while it's not enough for it alone to banned it does give it cause to look at it heavily. [/quote] And so here we are, not banning it and looking at it heavily! But I'm not sure what the purpose of this line is. On one hand you've just conceded your entire aim... On the other hand you're still saying that it over-centralises things... Which is contradictory in itself. The statements that it "over-centralises" and yet "is not enough alone for it to be banned" directly contradict each other if we're going to assume that over-centralisation is cause enough for a ban. Perhaps this simply a grammatical miscommunication though. [quote] The biggest check is still rain, but if it takes an entire style of play to beat out one poke that's a bit much. [/quote] Rain itself is far from necessary in order to beat Chandelure. All of the water types on my team can actually take a Chandelure very easily, even without rain. Even more, Whimsicott can easily deal with it if it has a sub up when Chandelure comes in, and even if not, assuming Overheat, I still stand a chance, if by the chance of misses, or the special attack drops. Again, that's without rain. Now I know that not every team is going to have four water types. But my point is that just about any decent one is going to be able to break Chandelure, rain or not (maybe not in sun, but that's to be expected.) Is Chandelure going to run away? Definitely. In Sharpedo's case, that means getting the first Speed Boost. For Vaporeon and Politoed, Scald could burn whatever comes in- or Vaporeon/Kingdra could set up. It's very easy to predict the switch and turn that into forward momentum. Again, I'm only speaking from experience, and considering the various parts of my team individually, not assuming they're with each other. These are typical water types, and I see little reason that other waters shouldn't be able to handle it as well. The bulk of your last post is organised data and logical counter-arguments regarding Counters (could the wording get anymore confusing?). However, all of it is largely irrelevant to the main course of discussion until you can connect a lack of counters to necessitating a ban. And that of course, requires an operative definition. Otherwise, it's just evidence that it's good: [quote] It may be a one trick pony but it can do what it does WELL and leave holes in teams you may have 100% needed other wise you'd lose. [/quote] Not necessarily ban-worthy.

I think that on the whole you've missed my point. I know that none of the specific examples I listed, Magnet Pull, Mean Look, etc, have any real gravity. I was simply drawing out the slippery slope to illustrate that something like Shadow Tag is not black and white- that nothing can switch in/out. Things can switch in circumstantially, meaning by your definition, it can still be countered. If you want to account for those circumstances in the consideration of what is worthy of a ban and what isn't then your definition becomes much more complex, round-about and generally muddled. Hence my suggestion to change that definition's premise. I also acknowledge Gothitelle poses little threat to the general metagame. Again, I only brought it into this for you to make the distinction that Shadow Tag is not the defining factor alone, and therefore that the issue was not with what could or could not switch in or out of it. Because to me it seems like you've tried to slip out of discussing what can actually counter it by focusing instead on the circumstances in which the match up occurs. That is a matter of how the Pokemon are used, not what they are themselves. To make my meaning clear... You argue that anything sent in to KO Chandelure is effectively useless, because Chandelure will simply run away. Correct, it will, assuming the player is intelligent and able to maneuver in such away. That's what it does. That's how it's supposed to work. Is that unfair? It's no different than any other Pokemon. You've just KO'd something with Machamp. Your opponent sends in Alakazam. You gonna stay in with Machamp, or switch to something that can handle the hit? Assuming you have something to do so, it's common sense to switch. So I don't really see how it matters that Chandelure can just run away. In fact, if you can predict that, then the battle can still shift in your favor. However, that's an aside again. You finally did reach my main point at the end of your post... Redefining a Counter. We're making a distinction between the normal denotation, and the connotations as applied to this metagame. The most relevant denotations read: [quote]1. To meet or return (a blow) by another blow. 2. To move or act in opposition to; oppose. 3. To offer in response:[/quote] The fact is, this is a very difficult question to answer. The metagame as a whole would be much more settled if an answer could be easily decided on, but nothing is going to be quite adequate. I can't even say... something to the effect of, "A counter is a Pokemon capable of KOing another Pokemon" because [i]everything[/i] is circumstantial. The aforementioned Alakazam is not capable of countering an average Machamp at low health thanks to Bullet Punch. Does it no longer apply? It's even more difficult to set up a vacuum in which these things can be tested because to do so is in itself a fallacy. For instance, to say, if both are at full health, can X KO Y? Or, in a 1v1 setting can X KO Y. Those circumstance will seldom occur in a typical battle, and are therefore diminished in utility. The only accurate thing to do is examine their place in a full team. The problem is in order to accurately analyse this, you would, paradoxically, have to have an 100% understanding of all possibilities and outcomes in a metagame, which is not only unreasonable, but very probably inhuman. And thus is created this big rats nest of a strategy game we're all trying to figure out by playing it. And yet, therein is the key, I think, for this case: Chandelure's place in a team itself. Although it may be good, very good, at taking down individual Pokemon itself, perhaps only because it is most often only placed into circumstances where it is able to do so, it does not take whole teams out, or over centralise them. If there was any doubt about this Reborn's battling environment itself should belay it. I cannot recall a time where a regular here has reported that they consistently have trouble dealing with Chandelure across a variety of teams, and very rarely that Chandelure breaks even one of theirs. Occasionally we get, "yeah, this team is very Chandelure-weak." But then, every team has its threats. Is it breaking our metagame? Not at all. I view Chandelure as a check to stall teams, largely, and some other peripheral situations. Just like Ditto is a check to set up. We know to play these games with the fact in mind that, "Oh, if I dance up to +6, Ditto could come in and wipe me out." An example provided by Geo previously: We send in Scizor, and know that the opponent may switch from Tyranitar to Chandelure. Use Night Slash instead of Bullet Punch. Simple. It's the game. Play smart. I do concede this... Chandelure tips the scales. It's easy and simple to use, with great utility. It makes it easy for a player to control the flow of a battle. But not impossible for a skilled opponent to deal with. Often not even difficult.

This is even better planned out than I thought; well done. However, to start, I'd like to contest your definition of a Counter. [quote]Defined as something that can switch in take a hit, or two if needed, and return fire KO'ing the poke it was sent against.[/quote] Firstly, return-fire KOing implies offense over defense. I honestly don't think you meant to exclude stall tactics with this wording, but the connotations of return-fire seem to lie more with offense. Just clearing up that stalling them out would also be successfully countering the Pokemon. Correct me if I'm wrong, there. That's an aside though. The part I take issue with is "can switch in." As you say, Shadow Tag obviously prohibits [i]anything[/i] from switching in. However, if we then go by your definition, Shadow Tag Gothitelle would also be considered a Pokemon that has no counters, because nothing can switch into it. Yet, I think there are few people who suppose that Gothitelle should be ubers. Again, if you disagree, please say so. Therefore, we must distinguish between Gothitelle and Chandelure. The obvious answer? The great offensive capability. Granted. But in making that distinction, it stands to reason that your definition of a counter is either unsatisfactory, or that a Pokemon having no counters is not reason enough to ban it to Ubers. On a completely different tangent however, I'll contest what even I've said here: [quote] Shadow Tag obviously prohibits [i]anything[/i] from switching in. [/quote] Though I phrased in that way for the sake of simplicity, that is actually a very inaccurate statement. Shadow Tag prevents nothing from switching in, but [i]most things[/i] from switching out. Shed Shell users and other Shadow Tag users can freely switch out, also meaning that under those circumstances [i]anything[/i] can switch in, and that opens up a whoooooole range of what could be a counter. Moreover, the ability Arena Trap has the same effect on a smaller scale. Only ungrounded Pokemon are unaffect. Even beside that, Magnet Pull does the same to steel types, meaning that if a Magnet Pull Magnezone is sent out against your Skarmory, at that time the Magnezone, by your definition would effectively have no counters. To take it even further, the moves Mean Look, Block, and Spider Web all also would induce a counter-less status on that Pokemon when used, and even [i]further than that[/i] things like Whirlpool, Fire Spin, Clamp, and WRAP. All of this is just as conditional as Shadow Tag is. For these reasons, I lean towards the former option in my above-stated logical fork-in-the-road: That the definition is flawed. Before getting any further, I'll allow you to answer to this point.

Both Genders- Saxophone Chain (Gold)

If you don't want to sprite, how about just doing an epic comic-book style animation of the attack?

We put the Hell in Hello! But yeah, hai, and yay for being around moreness~

Oh yeah. Forgot to say Both Genders- Honchkrow's Hat (Blue, Purple)

I managed to pass Whitney unscathed, but it's a very short trip from here to Ecruteak, and the level increase is sudden and steep between the leaders. The truth is, it only gets worse from here. But... It's fine. I have a plan for the next battle as well~ Was that convincing? 'Cause it was a total lie. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Day 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DaQiao the Quilava- 20 Soma the Zubat- 20 Repentance the Oddish- 20 #27 the Pidgeotto- 20 Snickety the Quagsire- 20 Sauria the Gyarados- 20 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It really doesn't take Repentence long to KO that Sudowoodo. For a moment, I regretted catching FemmeFatale in this area, denying my chance at Sudowoodo, but then I realised I'd be more likely to use Nidoqueen anyway. That said, Route 37 is just around the corner~ Literally. ...Pidgey. Sigh. I'm close enough to replacing #27 as is; I don't need another one. GTFO. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are a number of doubles battles on route 37, that number being 2, but that's all it takes for me to figure out that Repentence is a boss at doubles. Acid hits both opponents, something I didn't know, and if that wasn't enough, his Sleep Powder more than did the trick. After teaming up with DaQiao to take down a powerpack of Wigglytuff and Clefable, Repentence gets the level up~ And what? Repentence is evolving! Repentence evolved into Gloom! As for the matter of Bellossom vs Vileplume... Hm, I hadn't thought about it... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Remembering the notes from a penpal, Knight, who's travelling in the Sinnoh region at the moment, I got curious and looked up the natures of all my Pokemon as well. Sauria is Hardy, no change. That's okay; that's good. #27 is Brave... Increased attack, also good. DaQiao is Docile.. Huh. But that's neutral too. PerSnickety is... Jolly. Huh. Well, that's not too good. A +Speed nature on something as slow as Quagsire... And - Special attack, when most of his attacks are special... Oi. Repentence is Docile as well. Neutral is effectively a win. ...And then Soma. Oh boy. We already knew that he was my S&M boy. But. Nature: Naughty Ahaha... >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After returning to Goldenrod City and depositing #27 into the box, I notice something interesting... TopPecent has disappeared from its box... And... So has Stricken, the Spearow I caught in Azalea town. FemmeFatale, Moon'sDoom, Paperweight, Adirael, and the corpse of Rokurolla all remain but... Where have the others gone? It could be a glitch, but I cannot consider the box a safe place anymore... Wait, no... Stricken and TopPercent didn't disappear, what am I thinking... I left each of them in the day care so they could still grow while I was wandering around. If we revisit them now... "By level your TopPercent has grown by about 13" "By level your Stricken has grown by about 17" obaby. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bill has kindly passed onto me an Eevee friend, whom anyone who knows me can already assume will become a long-standing favorite in this team... What to name it... Well, I won't say just yet, not until I've evolved. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile in Ecruteak, it's time to claim this area's catch. Headbutt in Azalea did me more good than I thought, so let's see what turns up this time. OKAY WELL THAT TOOK FOREVER I was beginning to doubt if there WERE any Pokemon in the trees in Ecruteak, but after about the 20th try, I found a Pineco. Soma's my lead, looking to evolve him into a Golbat soon, and then a Crobat soon after. However, can't really go full power, so we start with an Astonish. Pineco protects. Whatever, try again. Astonish. SELFDEFUCKINGSTRUCT ........................................................... ...fuckmylife. Before that just happened... I was GOING to challenge Morty tonight... But now, no. Stay back. Regroup. Ugh. RIP, Soma. S&M boy4lyfe. [scroll] Newbark Town- DaQiao the Quilava- lv 21 Route 29- [s]Sentret[/s] Route 46- [s]Rokurolla the Geodude- lv 18[/s] Cherrygrove City- Sauria the Gyarados- Lv 20 Route 30- #27 the Pidgeotto- lv 20 Route 31- TopPercent the Raticate- Lv 25 Dark Cave- Violet City- Adirael the Togepi- Lv 8 Sprout Tower- [s]Rattata[/s] Route 32- Snickety the Quagsire- Lv 20 Ruins of Alph- Union Cave- [s]Geodude[/s] Route 33- [s]Rattata[/s] Azalea Town- Stricken the Fearow- Lv 24 Slowpoke Well- [s]Soma the Zubat- Lv 21[/s] Ilex Forest- Repentence the Oddish- Lv 20 Route 34- [s]Rattata[/s] Goldenrod City- ??? the Eevee- Lv 5 Route 35- FemmeFatale the NidoranF- Lv 12 Route 36- Moon'sDoom the HootHoot- Lv 12 National Park- Paperweight the Caterpie- Lv 14 Route 37- [s]Pidgey[/s] Ecruteak City- [s]Pineco[/s] [/scroll]