Bug Monotype run of Reborn (Latest Defeated Leader: Amaria)

[Jess]

26 minutes ago, RedAlert said:

Do it!

 

I just started playing it recently, and I gotta say it's pretty fun

Haha, I will, it's a promise! And I tend to keep promises (even if Arwen kept getting critical hit... )

[Jess]

Also mandatory post to prevent it from getting archived (again). A million thanks to Ame, who was kind enough to open the topic again for me  

I will update this as soon as spoiler lock is lifted!

[Jess]

CHAPTER 35: Teamwork and iron will!

 

*Frantically undusts the topic...* "A...a...aaaaAAAAAAA CHOOOOOOO!!!!" *Notices the crowd laughing watching.

God damn it! Happy New Year everyone! Been such a long time since I last updated my Bug monorun! But I'm excited for this! Episode 17 and new places to explore! 

After defeating Adrienn, the first place we visited was the renovated Grandview Train Station, hoping that no psycho tries to blow it up again! The inscription said that it was open for places outside Reborn City as well... This place turned out to be Tourmaline Desert! I am not sure at all that I want to go through a desert, but, given the fact that Titania's Gym is there and she took the Sapphire Bracelets and went to hide them from Team Meteor there, makes it a necessity to do so...

So, rather unwillingly, I decided to hit the road, embark on a train and visit the desert with my Bugs for my only companion.

And my flying Rufflet. In my second trip there.

 

Long story short, in my first trip to the desert I took no Pokemon that can learn Fly with me. Because all Bugs do Fly, but apparently they aren't since only Volcarona can learn Fly. Because a tiny Rufflet can carry me on its back and fly anywhere, but a huge Yanmega can't. Anyways, Pokemon logic is the reason. And, also long story short, I got lost. BIG TIME! South, West, East, North, I could not find the platform back to Reborn for the life of me. Eventually (an hour later) I did. So, I'd not make the same mistake twice! Always take a flier to Tourmaline Desert with you people.

 

The second visit, with me resting assured that I could Fly back anytime, went better. I found the R2D2/C3PO (or whatever it's called like) Scrapyard and started smashing rocks. And riding trains. And crashing and destroying engines. It was like being in a Luna Park! Hmmm, I wonder when we will meet Luna, Radomus and GG again, btw... And Bennett, the new E4 memberahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Anyways, after some wondering around, and riding trains, we found our way to the north, into the base of the Scrapyard. And, while we were expecting to find Anakin Skywalker at his original house, since the place was very Tatooine-like, we found... Bouffalant Bill. That was a disappointment. But, all the people we met there are strangely very willing to help us and offer accommodation! We even found a couple that was rescued from the desert, and an ex-Sigmund orderly, who fled and came to work there!

 

Spoiler

 

 

Soon enough though, we left and headed East, and after passing through like a million train wagons, we were in... Paradise? Well, a looping paradise as it proved to be, until we found a staircase... The staircase to heaven?! Weird things were happening... The Heaven world turned out to be quite confusing, and showed me a shiny Druddigon, in my first encounter, which got brutally murdered (for warm-up) by a Megahorn from Honesty, my (also shiny) Scolipede. On the top(?) of the staircase there was a Fairytale Castle! We entered it (rather cautiously) and spoke to Adrienn, who gave us (?) advice on how to beat Titania. Well, he wasn't really helpful by the way, but warned us about Stance Change and (practically) about facing Titania in a Field that turns Aegislash into an OP (Anything-Goes level of OP) beast. Good to know. As we advanced we learned two things. 1) That Titania is a feminist and dislikes the Fairytales that show women as helpless beings who wait for the knight to save them by the Dragon who keeps them captives (Since she says clearly that the only one who can slay the Dragon is the one to whom the beast has its back turned to, aka the imprisoned woman herself), and 2) (quite more useful) that Lin is there. And keeps being weirdly friendly to us. Hmmmm...

So, after defeating Knights Xander, Asmus, Isadan, Lancelot and others, we face Knight Rylin (ryLIN) who has Ame's stolen Alolan Ninetales. We defeat it quite easily (not really, this thing took out my Volcarona and gave me a taste of what this field can do, as Heat Wave gained the secondary Dragon typing and did nothing to A-Ninetales... After defeating her, Lin reveals herself and puts us in a cradle. Shouting that "IT IS NOT MY BEDTIME!" I get up, read some more feminist side of a fairytale, climb some books, then climb some (probably poison) ivy that is holding tightly on the castle walls and end up high... Climbing another staircase... Where I finally met Titania. I admit that, even though I find all the murders of hers unnecessary, I trust her. She'd not stay with Amaria or give Meteors false intel if she was on the enemy's side. So, she gives me the Sapphire Bracelets, and climbs up... And I enter the Dragon's Den, where I fight a Zekrom Stature, which kinda was brought to life!

 

Facing Zekrom was a massacre, since I wasn't prepared for this. The bloody thing took out 4 of my 'mons before my Volcarona dealt the killing blow! But, at least it was gone now, so I guess that brute-forcing it kinda worked, on first try too.A bit deeper into the Dragon's Den, armored Lin has ambushed me. She demands that I hand her the Sapphire Bracelets, asking whether I think I can defeat her, after having witnessed Amethyst's fate...  Of course I believe in myself, no way I'd lose to Lin. But Titania jumps behind her and Aegi-slashes her up! A move I 100% approve of, against Lin. Then, with Lin presumed dead, since she isn't responding, Titania invites us to a Gym Battle, with the winner to keep Sapphire Bracelets, having proven that xe/she is the stronger trainer among the two!

 

Spoiler

 

 

Some quick testing of the waters revealed how hard the battle would be. But soon enough, I had a plan! Using brute force wouldn't give me the win. She is far too strong in that field. Also, Slush Rush Alolan Sandslash hits quite damn hard. Fire wouldn't help. Klefki is 100% countering Volcarona in this field, since it resists Hurricane two times and Bug Buzz 4 times, while Heat Wave gains Dragon typing, blah blah blah, Fairies are immune to Fire here! So, teamwork would be my way!

 

VS TITANIA

 

The team I used to face Titania was the following!

 

Valor, the Forretress (Male)

Careful/Sturdy (Item: Iron Ball)

• Toxic Spikes
• Gyro Ball
• Payback
• Spikes

 

Seduction, the Illumise (Female)

Bold/Prankster (Item: Magical Seed)

• Infestation
• Charm
• Wish
• Baton Pass

 

Optimism, the Volbeat (Male)

Relaxed/Prankster (Item: Leftovers)

• Double Team
• Tail Glow
• Confuse Ray
• Baton Pass

Honesty, the Scolipede (Male)

Adamant/Speed Boost (Item: Black Sludge)

• Megahorn
• Rock Smash
• Iron Defense
• Baton Pass

 

Gaia, the Galvantula (Female)

Modest/Unnerve (Item: Metronome)

• Sticky Web
• Hidden Power Ground
• Discharge
• Bug Buzz

 

Sir Galahad, the Heracross (Male)

Jolly/Moxie (Item: Black Belt)

• Megahorn
• Close Combat
• Bullet Seed
• Rock Blast

Yes, versus a Steel Gym without Volcarona. Nothing strange here.

So, battle started... And it is hailing (of course) and the Slush Rush Alolan Sandslash comes in. I start with Valor setting up 3 layers of Spikes. I will need this because I'd hate it if she had some kind of Focus Sash granting her 'mons a free Swords Dance. Not that it is impossible to happen otherwise... Regardless, All the extra damage I can get is good, I believe... Alolan Sandslash sets up Aurora Veil (damn this move) and then proceeds to KO Forretress with a combination of Earthquakes and Iron Heads.

So, I send in Seduction, my Illumise. The Magical Seed grants it a King's Shield and boosts my Attack (which might be useful, or not...). Sandslash thankfully tries an Iron Head and gets -2 in Attack and Sp. Attack, while Seduction uses Infestation, preventing Sandslash from switching and ruining my set up chain. In the next two turns, Sandslash gets its Attack to -4 by a Prankster-priority Charm, and Illumise also sets up a Wish, as Sandslash keeps using Iron Head.

A priority Baton Pass then brings in Optimism, my Volbeat, who tanks another Iron Head and Hail damage before getting back to full HP by Wish. Volbeat uses Double Team as Sandslash sets up Aurora Veil again... In the next two turns, Sandslash hits 1/2 Iron Heads, as Optimism sets up two(!) Tail Glows, maximizing his Sp. Attack. This is followed by another Double Team, a Confuse Ray and two missed Iron Heads on behalf of Sandslash! Things were looking good, since Titania was too arrogant to swap, and fixated into her brute-forcing tactics. A third Double Team happens as Sandslash hurts itself in confusion and then a priority Baton Pass to Honesty, my Scolipede!

Honesty tanks an Iron Head with half HP (damn, even at -4 Attack, Sandslash hits hard with Field-boosted Iron Head) and gets a Speed Boost. Three turns later, Scolipede has set up 3 Iron Defences, has gotten 3 more Speed Boosts (now outspeeding Sandslash) and all Sandslash has done is miss 2 more Iron Heads and set up for another time the Aurora Veil (which is a bit concerning). Then, Honesty Baton Pass'ed into Gaia, my Galvantula. And all the magic happened!

Galvantula first took out Alolan Sandslash with a Discharge (through Aurora Veil).

Then, Excadrill came in, and it was holding a Magical Seed... So, I took the time to set up a (pointless, since all her 'mons are slow and she relies on priority attacks to cope) Sticky Web, since I wasn't sure whether King's Shield was broken enough in this Field to drop my stats even if I tried a non-contact attacking move... Excadrill set up Sandstorm though, which doubles its Speed, cause Sand Rush. But all the Speed Boosts that were Baton Passed worked, Gaia outsped Excadrill in Sandstorm and OHKO'ed it (after Spike damage) with HP Ground.

It was the turn for Mega Scizor. It tried a Bullet Punch, which nearly scratched Gaia (with +6 Defense), who in turn proceeded to OHKO Mega Scizor with Discharge.

Klefki came in, and plan works, because it can use Thunder Wave on an Electric type 'mon! So, it gets also taken out by yet another Discharge!

Empoleon at this point was only a joke, even with Defiant giving it a +2 in Attack due to Sticky Web. Another Discharge, another OHKO, right after Aurora Veil expired. Even an Aqua Jet wouldn't have KO'ed my Gaia with +6 Defense. After Empoleon goes down Sandstorm subsides too. However, all the damage over time with Hail/Sandstorm plus Bullet Punch have gotten Gaia to a third of her HP. 

And Titania sends in Aegislash. It has Magical Seed, so I just use Sticky Web again (could've used the turn to heal, but fuck that, I like suspense-still unsure whether that shield in that field reduces stats even if you use a non-contact move on it...). Strangely, Aegislash goes for King's Shield on its free turn. I think that this would drop my Sp. Attack 4 times if I had attacked, but no idea if those 2 shields stack up. In the next turn, Aegislash uses Shadow Sneak (at +2 Attack, since Seed gave a +1 on entrance and the broken field-Stance Change gave another +1), and Gaia survives with 2 HP, and OHKO'es the sword with Discharge!

 

Battle coverage!

Spoiler

 

 

After this exceptional win, we get our 15th Badge, the Alloy Badge, and the TM fr Flash Cannon! Also, we get to keep the Sapphire Bracelets. But also, we get rejoined by Lin, who is alive... Which stuns Titania, and confirms the hypothesis that she isn't human... Or, at least, not entirely human... She insinuates that me and Team Meteor work together to cloud up Titania's judgement, and tosses a threat for Amaria's life... So, Titania runs to Fiore Mansion, inviting us there, after warning us not to backstab them...

 

So, all we can do is follow her, and see what happens... In the next chapter!

Till then, enjoy everyone!  

[St0mpa]

Yay lots of broken fun with baton pass chains. Though reasonable due to how broken her field is.

[Azeria]

You could've also used a Shedinja with Safety Goggles and the WoW TM from Mirage Tower to hardstop everything but Aegislash. Interesting strategy none the less.

[Jess]

18 minutes ago, St0mpa said:

Yay lots of broken fun with baton pass chains. Though reasonable due to how broken her field is.

Come on, she gets a free Swords Dance on her Aegislash with Seed+Stance Change... Plus, I didn't use any good Baton Passers, apart from Scolipede. Volbeat and Illumise are really below mediocre 'mons and I managed to defeat her without changing the field as well...

I don't think Baton Pass is broken, as long as it isn't combined with Speed Boost 'mons. You just have to have Taunt to counter it. Or Encore. Or haze. Or Roar. Or Whirlwind.

@Azeria I still haven't explored around, so no idea about us having access to Will-O-Wisp! But I was planning to use it in my main run to counter her team, with Ninetales. 

Did entirely different stuff on my Poison mono though.No Baton Pass used there!

[St0mpa]

9 minutes ago, Jess said:

Did entirely different stuff on my Poison mono though.No Baton Pass used there!

That is impressive I look forward to see how you do it there without baton pass.

[Jess]

13 minutes ago, St0mpa said:

That is impressive I look forward to see how you do it there without baton pass.

I still don't know whether your first comment about "lots of broken fun with Baton Pass chains" was ironic or not... 

It really isn't broken... 

[St0mpa]

2 minutes ago, Jess said:

I still don't know whether your first comment about "lots of broken fun with Baton Pass chains" was ironic or not... 

It really isn't broken... 

It can do some absolutly broken stuff to the point it got a compelte ban in gen 7 but there are plenty of ways to deal with it. I personally never had a problem but then again in the group that I play with have several very good baton pass users so I am used to it. But with double team it is kinda silly and the long chains can be over the top.

[Jess]

1 minute ago, St0mpa said:

It can do some absolutly broken stuff to the point it got a compelte ban in gen 7 but there are plenty of ways to deal with it. I personally never had a problem but then again in the group that I play with have several very good baton pass users so I am used to it. But with double team it is kinda silly and the long chains can be over the top.

With Double Team it is silly, so Titania had Smart Strike on her Excadrill. Didn't change into it. Not my problem.

We aren't in competitive now, it's just a playthrough, so complaining about something being broken is silly, especially with the kind of advantages Gym Leaders in Reborn get. Being called out like this for using something (that you consider) "broken" in a monorun feels bad.

Also, Baton Pass chains can be stopped by about a million ways. I forgot to mention Circle Throw, Dragon Tail, Leech Seed, Toxic, Clear Smog, Fake Out/priority moves, counter-setting up and Will-O-Wisping physical attackers as methods of countering it, together with Taunt, Encore, Haze, Roar and Whirlwind.

 

Plus, as we all know, if you keep complaining about something at Smogon, you will get it banned eventually. That's the story behind Baton Pass.

[St0mpa]

1 minute ago, Jess said:

With Double Team it is silly, so Titania had Smart Strike on her Excadrill. Didn't change into it. Not my problem.

We aren't in competitive now, it's just a playthrough, so complaining about something being broken is silly, especially with the kind of advantages Gym Leaders in Reborn get. Being called out like this for using something (that you consider) "broken" in a monorun feels bad.

Also, Baton Pass chains can be stopped by about a million ways. I forgot to mention Circle Throw, Dragon Tail, Leech Seed, Toxic, Clear Smog, Fake Out/priority moves, counter-setting up and Will-O-Wisping physical attackers as methods of countering it, together with Taunt, Encore, Haze, Roar and Whirlwind.

 

Plus, as we all know, if you keep complaining about something at Smogon, you will get it banned eventually. That's the story behind Baton Pass.

I'm not complaining that it is broken. This is reborn where you need to do some borderline broken things to overcome the broken things the AI is set up to do with their fields. If I wasn't ok with broken stuff I wouldn't have abused shelly so hard with the field in my dark run.

 

With smogon yeh I agree that baton pass can be broken but it is part of the game so alot of them need to learn how to deal with it and stop just bitching about it. As you have pointed out there are so many ways to deal with it. Imo it should have some limitations on it like in past gens but the full ban was way over the top.

[Zargerth]

Now I actually want to see the AI use Baton Pass team, maybe even have a field that helps with it.

[Jess]

5 minutes ago, St0mpa said:

I'm not complaining that it is broken. This is reborn where you need to do some borderline broken things to overcome the broken things the AI is set up to do with their fields. If I wasn't ok with broken stuff I wouldn't have abused shelly so hard with the field in my dark run.

 

With smogon yeh I agree that baton pass can be broken but it is part of the game so alot of them need to learn how to deal with it and stop just bitching about it. As you have pointed out there are so many ways to deal with it. Imo it should have some limitations on it like in past gens but the full ban was way over the top.

Exactly. If something is part of the game, let people use it. It has so many counters that if you have none of them in your team, then it is your fault that you can't stop it and you need to adjust your team.

But smogon players are kinda allergic to new things, different things plus anything that their already-planned teams aren't capable of countering as they are.

 

@Zargerth Me too! Insurgence already had a Baton Pass user as an E4 member, so why not here as well? Especially with a field that helps that! Would be fun to try and defeat that!

[St0mpa]

Just now, Zargerth said:

Now I actually want to see the AI use Baton Pass team, maybe even have a field that helps with it.

It would be easy to make field effects that help that.

-stopping taunt

-stopping forced swap moves

-buff buffing moves

 

TBH I want to see it as well it would be so cool. But I don't think that it would work for a gym leader cause I think that type diversity would make it much better.

[Jess]

@St0mpa Yes, it is kinda tricky to create good Baton Pass chains using only 'mons of one type...

[St0mpa]

14 minutes ago, Jess said:

@St0mpa Yes, it is kinda tricky to create good Baton Pass chains using only 'mons of one type...

I'm not saying its impossible. As you proved it can work quite well but I was thinking that baton pass doesn't really fit a theme of any type without something else going on and for a very powerfull boss to properly abuse it it would need to have type variation to fully abuse it. An example is having pokemon with large weaknesses and others that have immunities to then baton pass into giving the baton pass user a 'free' swap. With being limited to a single type that is much harder to do.

[Zargerth]

@St0mpa That's true. However, it also depends on how early or late in the game the Baton Pass team appears. In the early game when you have less options and overall weaker mons Baton Pass team is more dangerous. The user of Baton Pass team doesn't necessarily have to be a Gym Leader, though. They could even be a character in a sidequest or so.

[St0mpa]

1 minute ago, Zargerth said:

@St0mpa That's true. However, it also depends on how early or late in the game the Baton Pass team appears. In the early game when you have less options and overall weaker mons Baton Pass team is more dangerous. The user of Baton Pass team doesn't necessarily have to be a Gym Leader, though. They could even be a character in a sidequest or so.

That is kinda what I was thinking not a gym leader as they are restricted to one type but still a boss of sorts like a boss in a side quest or something like that. With the early game thing the problem with making a very threatening batton pass AI is that they need a certain ammount of ways to abuse the move to be strong so it can't be too early game but as you said it can't be too late cause then the player has too many ways to deal with it unless you use/make a field to prevent the player from stopping it. So there is a fine line between making it too abusive with absolutly no way to deal with it and being a laughable challenge by haveing too many easy ways to deal with it.

[Jess]

CHAPTER 36: Never get drowned in sorrow

 

So, after Lin planted her seeds of discord between Titania and I, we both set off to Fiore Mansion to protect Amaria from the imminent danger that approaches, as Lin threatened. There, I have to get Respect, my Squirtle again, because, in order to find Amaria I had to use Surf, Dive AND Waterfall and find my way in the underwater chambers of the maze she calls a Gym. People with claustrophobia or thalassophobia are advised to leave the room. And, of course, I was dumb enough to not realise that you can Dive up into the arena of her Gym and talk to Titania before going to look for Amaria. So, enjoy 23 minutes of pure agony as I struggled to find... Well, nobody underwater.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Anyways, soon this was out of my way, and I met Titania. She explains how she just argued over... I don't know, maybe who will have the last croissant in breakfast, with Amaria and she swam off. And, after some whining, she tells us to go find her in the "underwater playground" of hers. I'd not call it that, but whatever. I'm off. Soon, I find Amaria, who now "remembers" me, but only through the things Julia told her about me... Then, she gives me a lesson about how fragile people are and how she longs for that lucky mistake that will fill her lungs with water while she's swimming. I've had depression for like 10 years and I'm not going full melodramatic. She says that our Gym battle must have to wait till another time, because it is pointless to battle, cause humans are... fragile (logic) and then, she swims away and I have to track her down for the second time. When I (re)find her, she apologises for what she said and explains that she doesn't want to die, but she'd not mind if that happened. More timid now, but fully on the dark side of the moon, she says that Titania would probably be better off without her (she knows that Tania doesn't love her, just keeps living her dream because she has convinced herself that she can't live without Titania). Finally, she instructs me not to bother with her. And swims away again... Yet again, I (re)(re)find her... And she reveals that Titania is the only one who kept supporting her through her hardships... She keeps coming back, and she just "can't" say no to Titania, when she returns... If I wasn't a mute, I'd tell her that there is no such thing as "can't", there is only "I don't want to". But, before Angel managed to say a word, she swam off to the arena... God damn, nobody pays attention to me, even when I want to be supportive and help... *Sigh...*

 

At the arena, I rejoin Titania and Amaria. Titania informs her of the danger, Amaria says it's OK that I'm keeping the Bracelets (it really isn't, I have a tendency to lose those things) and Titania decides to stay and protect Amaria... I don't know who is weaker among those two. They could (just a suggestion) both head to Calcenon and fight Team Meteor together. Amaria needs someone to explain to her how strong she is and how many people care about her and rely on her. Titania needs to get explained that Amaria isn't a baby to treat her like one. And, frankly, the Reshiram Route in which they break up in bad terms and Titania just leaves without caring is the other extreme. Our choices are 1) (Taka dies), Titania stays with Amaria and they are both unhappy or 2) Titania doesn't even try to show Amaria the truth, that she isn't in love, but she cares for her, like numerous other people, and just dumps her like a piece of garbage. CAN I HAVE CURTAIN NUMBER 3 NOW?! WHERE IS MY KYUREM ROUTE?! *Sigh again...*

 

Spoiler

 

 

Anyways, after all this show, we have to battle Amaria... After reassuring her that we don't think any less of her (I truly don't she can't think clearly and nobody offers her ACTUAL help, not even Titania, regardless of what she thinks. She is probably the person who drains Amaria of her last ounces of confidence and self-esteem by her attitude.) we get to battle her! In doubles! Because single battles are too boring (I do prefer doubles in-game, much more fun and add variety!) and I truly loathe Rotom-Wash! And, after some testing of the waters (literally this time), realising that stalling will only result to my death by drowning loss, I came up with the winning strategy! (Going for a full stalling strategy was destined to fail, the damage boost from her field is too much, plus, you can't hold your breath for too long).

 

VS AMARIA

 

The team I decided to use for this battle was the following:

 

Affection, the Leavanny (Female)

Jolly/Chlorophyll (Item: Scope Lens)

• X-Scissor
• Leaf Blade
• Razor Leaf
• Swords Dance

 

Optimism, the Volbeat (Male)

Relaxed/Prankster (Item: Heat Rock)

• Sunny Day
• Tail Glow
• Confuse Ray
• Baton Pass

 

Ecstasy, the Yanmega (Female)

Modest/Speed Boost (Item: Insect Plate)

• Struggle Bug
• Air Slash
• Ancient Power
• Detect

 

Courage, the Armaldo (Male)

Jolly/Swift Swim (Item: Rock Incense)

• Aqua Jet
• Rock Blast
• Knock Off
• Struggle Bug

 

Gaia, the Galvantula (Female)

Modest/Unnerve (Item: Metronome)

• Bug Buzz
• Discharge
• Hidden Power Ground
• Sticky Web

 

Patience, the Dustox (Male)

Calm/Shield Dust (Item: Black Sludge)

• Infestation
• Toxic
• Protect
• Moonlight

 

So, I started off with Affection, my Leavanny and Optimism, my Volbeat. Amaria sent in her Vaporeon (Cirrus) and her Seismitoad (Cumulus) (damn, this thing's scary). Seismitoad has Swift Swim, which is activated on this field. So outspeeding it is a lost case. But outspeeding ANYTHING would be a lost case, since every grounded pokemon that isn't a Water type or a Swift Swimmer gets its Speed halved. So, in the first turn, Volbeat uses a Prankster priority-boosted Sunny Day to 1) Nullify the damage boost that Water type moves gain by the field, and 2) Activate Leavanny's Chlorophyll, making it have its actual speed stat, which is quite decent! Both Seismitoad and Vaporeon go for Surf, Leavanny survives with about 1/3 of her HP and Volbeat with just a tiny bit of his HP! Sunny Day definitely mattered here! Then, Leavanny uses Razor Leaf, getting Vaporeon to just above half HP and Seismitoad in red!

In the second turn, Amaria uses Ultra Potion on Seismitoad like I had predicted (thank God, because otherwise it would've outsped Leavanny with its Swift Swim and maybe KO her), so Volbeat uses a priority Confuse Ray on Vaporeon. Leavanny KO'es Seismitoad with another Razor Leaf, which also brings Vaporeon in red HP. Then, Vaporeon hurts itself in confusion, but its pitiful Attack stat isn't enough to KO it as well.

In the third turn, Amaria sends in her Gastrodon (Maelstrom). Optimism, my Volbeat uses another priority Confuse Ray, on Gastrodon this time, and Leavanny uses Razor Leaf, KO'ing Vaporeon with a critical (which didn't really matter), but missing Gastrodon. However, Gastrodon hurts itself in confusion, so everything is working well so far!

In the fourth turn, Amaria sends in her Quagsire (Mr. Slick). Again, you know the drill by now, Volbeat uses Confuse Ray on Quagsire this time, and Leavanny uses Razor Leaf. Razor Leaf scores a critical on both Quagsire and Gastrodon, leaving the former in red HP and OHKO'ing the latter! Then Quagsire hurts itself in confusion as well, KO'ing itself in the process. 4 down, 2 to go, without losing a single one so far!

In the fifth turn, Amaria sends in her last two 'mons, her Lapras (the almighty Deliverance) and her Lanturn (Nimbus-Harry Potter's broom?!). Lapras' Elemental Seed boosts its Sp. Defense and gives it a free Aqua Ring (which is quite broken, but I should be OK). However, Deliverance is scary, so I command Volbeat to priority Confuse Ray it, and Leavanny uses Leaf Blade on it, trying to OHKO it. Leaf Blade scores another critical, but Lapras survives in red HP! Damn, this thing is bulky! Lanturn's Surf crits on Affection, bringing her in red HP and KO'es my Volbeat, which help immensely in yet another big battle! Then, Lapras breaks through confusion, uses Surf too and KO'es my Leavanny, ending her run.

In the sixth turn, I send in Courage, my Armaldo and Ecstasy, my Yanmega. This was me, attempting to nullify the Speed problem that the field inserted. Yanmega isn't grounded, hence unaffected, and Armaldo has Swift Swim, so the field is a double-edged sword for him; boosts Water type attacks, which is his weakness, but doubles his Speed. I gambled a bit there. Amaria uses an Ultra Potion on Lapras, which isn't good at all, because it is really bulky. Armaldo uses Rock Blast on Lapras, but it only hits twice and Lapras survives with about 20% of its HP. Then, Yanmega uses Struggle Bug in an attempt to cripple both Lapras and Lanturn in terms of their Sp. Attack (-1 to both). But then, Lanturn decides to go full ham, using a water-conducted Z-move known as Gigavlt Havoc on my Yanmega! Well, OHKO it was.

So, in the seventh turn, I send in Gaia, my Galvantula to finish off what the others started! Lapras is confused but pulls through again, using Protect, and saving itself from my Armaldo's Rock Blast! Then, Lanturn uses Surf... Armaldo miraculously survives with about 1/4 of his HP! Sunny Day has saved the day! Galvantula also tanks it easily with over half of her HP. Then, Gaia Bug Buzz'es Lanturn, getting it to yellow HP.

In the eighth turn, Armaldo outspeeds and KO'es Lapras (finally!) with a Rock Blast which connected three times! Then, Lanturn uses Surf, knocking out my Armaldo, but Gaia survives with just 8 HP (that Sp. Attack drop by Yanmega's Struggle Bug definitely mattered here, together with Sunny Day!) and KO'es Lanturn with another Bug Buzz! We have defeated Flotsam Amaria!

 

Battle coverage!

Spoiler

 

 

And, for this, we earn our 16 Badge, the Torrent Badge, which enables Rock Climb outside of battle! And we also get the TM for Scald, which might come in handy for my Araquanid!  

After that, Amaria thanks us and leaves... As we try to leave the Gym, Julia comes in and informs us that "Rini-Dingi-Dinger" needs our asstistance at Calcenon City. Since Titania can't go and Julia must stay away or she'll blow up the entire Labradorra City, it is our duty to go save the day!

And this, sadly, concludes E17 of Pokemon Reborn... Leaving us wondering, who are the three people to whom the spoiler refers to... "I will always love you more than she, or anyone else, ever could..." With dashed out letters, making me think that, maybe, it's some sort of radio transmission and the sound gets broken out momentarily... We'll have to wait to find out!

 

Leave down your comments everyone! Questions, enquiries... Anything  

Thank you for following my run!

And, till the next time... Enjoy!  

 

Edit: After all, Seismitoad had Water Absorb and not Swift Swim like I thought! So, in the second turn, even if Amaria hadn't healed it up and went to attack my Leavanny, Leavanny would've outsped it thanks to Chlorophyll and KO'ed it> Just realised it and adding it here for completeness reasons!  

 

[Zargerth]

Good job on beating Titania and Amaria! Kinda surprised to see Dustox used so late in the game, but I guess it shows that even mons that are generally considered weak can be viable in a game known for its difficulty.

Edit: aaand I just realised you didn't even need Dustox against Amaria.

Heracross could easily OHKO A-Sandslash and smash Aurora Veil with Brick Break, but I think you didn't go for it for two reasons:

1. It's too easy way out for you

2. It's easy to set up on A-Sandslash

 

Araquanid is really good against Amaria, I'm a bit surprised you didn't use it. Even though it can hardly hit any of her mons with Water STAB (because of Water Absorb or Storm Drain), Araquanid tanks hits like a champ.

Edited January 2, 2018 by Zargerth

[Azeria]

Tbf they barely needed anything other than Shedinja here lol, Shedinja hard counters Amaria's entire team and a good majority of Titania's

[Gentleman Jaggi]

Interesting tactic here, your Leavanny sure seems to be going strong even this late into the game.

 

I wonder, did you know that Amaria has multiple teams? Because I sure didn't until just know.

In my fight she had Blastoise and Primarina instead of Gastrodon and Quagsire, so the team you got was overall weaker to Grass. Deciding factor seems to be that I told her that I think less of her, because we both went Zekrom route and Doubles.

 

Does anyone know if Singles gets different teams too? Or if Reshiram route has the same teams?

Also does she ever use Mega Evolution?

 

@Azeria: Yeah, that's pretty damn funny, but also not all that interesting to watch/read about. "And then Shedinja stalled everything to death."

 

 

Edited January 2, 2018 by Gentleman Jaggi

[Azeria]

@Gentleman Jaggi

As of public release; Amaria has Megas on the Reshiram path only. Her teams got changed from Community; which is where Jess seems to have beaten her in.

 

And yeah, watching Shedinja stall her to death isn't really interesting, but it's super satisfying considering what she tries to do moments prior in the Reshiram path. She deserves it.

[Gentleman Jaggi]

7 minutes ago, Azeria said:

@Gentleman Jaggi

As of public release; Amaria has Megas on the Reshiram path only. Her teams got changed from Community; which is where Jess seems to have beaten her in.

Oh, that's how it is. I forgot Jess always does these ahead of time. |D

 

Mh, guess I really should do the Reshiram path next time. Hopefully the tactic I thought of for my Fire Monotype will still work out even against a different team.

[Jess]

@Zargerth Thank you! I hope it was fun for you to read, as I tried to be a bit anti-conventional with my teams!  Yes, plan with Dustox was to use in a combo with Galvantula to Protect/Discharge, Toxic/Infestation Lapras if I had to and Moonlight when necessary to regain HP, since it restores 75% of max HP with Sunny Day active! But the battle turned out to be easier than I thought!

Edit: In all honesty, I thought about Brick Break Heracross, but dunno why I didn't try it after all. Maybe I was afraid that Heracross wouldn't have been able to complete the sweep, by getting crippled/hard countered by Klefki and Prankster-Thunder Wave/Foul Play. So, I quickly abandoned that thought. When it comes to Araquanid... GOD DAMN! A max HP and Sp. Defense one with Toxic, Infestation, Stockpile and Aqua Ring, on top of Leftovers. In singles, that would've been pretty much a 1v6 against Amaria, bar Rotom-Wash.

 

51 minutes ago, Azeria said:

Tbf they barely needed anything other than Shedinja here lol, Shedinja hard counters Amaria's entire team and a good majority of Titania's

That would've been pretty cheap to do... And pretty boring to watch... Plus, I already cheesed ZEL's PULSE Magnezone with Shedinja in this run!  

Thank God it had HP Ice and not Fire!

 

47 minutes ago, Gentleman Jaggi said:

Interesting tactic here, your Leavanny sure seems to be going strong even this late into the game.

Yep, Leavanny is pretty damn strong! Has been very good throughout the run actually! Especially mid game, when it is your only way to counter Rock types, together with Masquerain's Hydro Pump.

 

43 minutes ago, Azeria said:

@Gentleman Jaggi

As of public release; Amaria has Megas on the Reshiram path only. Her teams got changed from Community; which is where Jess seems to have beaten her in.

I can confirm that I defeated her in Community release. Now I feel bad, since I kinda abused her triple 4x weakness to Grass, even though I came up with the Razor Leaf thing before actually noticing that she has 3 Water/Grounds.

But when I think of that, if she had her other team I could've abused the Galvantula Discharge, together with Dustox Protect. So, regardless I don't think I'd have too much trouble.

So, she has different teams in singles/doubles AND Zekrom/Reshiram route that got changed between community/public release?! This makes 8 God damn teams in total! xD

Jokes aside, can someone tell me what she had in Community and Public release, for Singles/Doubles in each route? I'd like to know  

Also, did Titania's team change too in Public release?

 

33 minutes ago, Gentleman Jaggi said:

Oh, that's how it is. I forgot Jess always does these ahead of time. |D

 

Mh, guess I really should do the Reshiram path next time. Hopefully the tactic I thought of for my Fire Monotype will still work out even against a different team.

I kinda didn't wanna/couldn't wait  

I'd like to try the Reshiram route, but I'm morally against it... For reasons I can explain again, for those who haven't seen that text sheet already