Individual RP: DrStubbsberg

I carefully considered the advantages of adding a Gengar to my team, but decided against it; they had a reputation for being a bit unruly and I couldn't risk that in a warzone. I was about to suggest we skirt around it when I recalled our earlier encounter with Cofagrigus and how tenacious it had been in pursuing us, it was better not to take the risk.

"I think I'll pass on this one," I said, releasing Zuse from his Pokeball again, "Zuse, use Psychic to scare it off; try not to hurt it too much."

Zuse quickly bobbed the front of it body up and down in a gesture I recognised as nodding and then stared hard at the Gastly. Psychic energy begun rapidly building up within Zuse causing his eyes to grow a bright blue and begin to lose their focus, the pupils drifting upwards as he tried to get a telekinetic hold on Gastly’s gaseous form.

@AmericanTreeFrog

 

OOC: @DrStubbsberg
Ranger: Gaius Tyrannius
Trainer: Bellerophon Dounias
Area: Meteor Valley
NBP #6
/--\

Roph seemed to think over catching the Pokemon before finally making up his mind. “I think I’ll pass on this one,” he said, pulling out another Pokeball. “Zuse, use Psychic to scare it off; try to hurt it too much,” he ordered the Psychic Pokemon when it appeared.

Metagross seized hold the Gastly using its Psychic powers and tossed the Pokemon away from us. We waited a moment to see if the Pokemon would come back to challege Metagross but it never did so I figured it would leave us alone.

“Let’s leave this area, it might come back with a Gengar or something,” I said. It couldn’t hurt to be cautious.

But as I moved to led Roph elsewhere a shadow passed overhead. When I looked up it was a Deoxys flying above.

“Ah, a Deoxys. You want to take a picture of it?”

//==\\

Trainer Info

Name: Bellerophon Dounias
Location: Meteor Valley
Trainer Items: 2 x Parkballs, 3 x Superballs, 3 x Hyperballs, 2 x Soothing Fragrance Super, 3 x Lava Cookie, 3 x Energy Powder Plus, Camera
Area Effects: 11 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: ??? Cofagrigus ??? | [F] Wynaut ??? | ??? Gastly ??? | Deoxys
Pokemon Captured: [F] Wynaut [Bold]
CC since last encounter: 0,000 | 0,000

Pokemon Stats:
Hardy Male Castform @ Forecast w/ EMs: Hidden Power (Fire Type), Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Solarbeam, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Return, Energy Ball, Substitute, Flash | 88.95%

Docile Genderless Metagross @ Clear Body w/ EMs: Flash, Iron Head | 68.13%​

 

I couldn't believe the luck of encountering a Legendary Pokemon, combined with the good fortune of actually having a camera with me to document the event. I briefly considered asking Zuse to throw an attack in Deoxys' direction to provoke a response for an action shot, but quickly disabused myself of the notion. Zuse, familiar with the way I think after our long years together, gave a subtle shake of his head to indicate that he disagreed with my idea, so I simply pulled the camera out of my bag and snapped a few long-distance shots of the Legend.

"Good eye Ranger, guess its not every day something like that shows up, eh?"

@AmericanTreeFrog

 

OOC: @DrStubbsberg
Ranger: Gaius Tyrannius
Trainer: Bellerophon Dounias
Area: Meteor Valley
NBP #7
/--\

“Good eye, ranger,” Roph said to me, glancing up and admiring the view of the Deoxys. He pulled out a digital camera and started to snap some picture, he did so until the legendary Pokemon had flew away. “Guess it’s not every day something like that shows up, eh?”

“Somedays, it’s the second legend I’ve seen in this area since I started rangering.”

I continued to lead Roph along the valley floor, hoping to find some more Pokemon as I knew some liked to look around here for food. About ten minutes after we had seen the Deoxys I heard the faint sound of snoring along a rocky ledge. I indicated for the trainer to follow me and crept towards the sound.

“Wow, another legend,” I whispered, studying its blue and white plummage. “You might want to take a picture of this Latios also.”

//==\\

Trainer Info

Name: Bellerophon Dounias
Location: Meteor Valley
Trainer Items: 2 x Parkballs, 3 x Superballs, 3 x Hyperballs, 2 x Soothing Fragrance Super, 3 x Lava Cookie, 3 x Energy Powder Plus, Camera + $2,000
Area Effects: 10 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: ??? Cofagrigus ??? | [F] Wynaut ??? | ??? Gastly ??? | Deoxys | Latios |
Pokemon Captured: [F] Wynaut [Bold]
CC since last encounter: 0,784 | 0,000

Pokemon Stats:
Hardy Male Castform @ Forecast w/ EMs: Hidden Power (Fire Type), Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Solarbeam, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Return, Energy Ball, Substitute, Flash | 88.95%

Docile Genderless Metagross @ Clear Body w/ EMs: Flash, Iron Head | 68.13%​

 

Amazing, this Ranger seemed to have only encoutered a few Legendary Pokemon in his time at the Park, and here was my second within ten minutes. I dropped to my belly and cautiously slid myself as close as I dared before letting rip with my camera once again. I managed to score a couple of good close-up shots before my hand slipped and activated the flash; I quickly begun shuffling back as fast as I could before Latios could react to the flash, hoping that its gentle reputation was well deserved.

@AmericanTreeFrog

 

OOC: @DrStubbsberg
Ranger: Gaius Tyrannius
Trainer: Bellerophon Dounias
Area: Meteor Valley
NBP #8
/--\

Roph dropped to his belly and began to snap pictures of the sleeping Latios. The Pokemon woke up a moment later and flew off immediately when it realized what we were doing.

“You must be lucky to see two legends on one run,” I said Roph. “You can have the money for the pictures once we get back to the gate. But for now let’s continue along this ledge.”

The ledge was only wide enough for two people so I had us proceed single file in case a wild Pokemon showed up. A few minutes later I spotted a Murkrow sitting on a branch of a dead tree. The Pokemon was sitting stoically watching the valley below for movement.

“Well, you want a Murkrow?”

//==\\

Trainer Info

Name: Bellerophon Dounias
Location: Meteor Valley
Trainer Items: 2 x Parkballs, 3 x Superballs, 3 x Hyperballs, 2 x Soothing Fragrance Super, 3 x Lava Cookie, 3 x Energy Powder Plus, Camera + $4,000
Area Effects: 9 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: ??? Cofagrigus ??? | [F] Wynaut ??? | ??? Gastly ??? | Deoxys | Latios | ??? Murkrow ??? |
Pokemon Captured: [F] Wynaut [Bold]
CC since last encounter: 1,284 | 9,000

Pokemon Stats:
Hardy Male Castform @ Forecast w/ EMs: Hidden Power (Fire Type), Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Solarbeam, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Return, Energy Ball, Substitute, Flash | 88.95%

Docile Genderless Metagross @ Clear Body w/ EMs: Flash, Iron Head | 68.13%​

 

I had a look at the Pokemon before me and carefully considered my options. We were quite high up on a narrow ledge, but both my Pokemon were capable of limited flight, so their mobility wasn't restricted; but if attack came the way of me or Gaius then we didn't have a lot of room to maneouvre. In terms of strict combat capabilities, Zuse was fairly evenly matched Type-wise, the disparity of Psychic->Dark weighing up against the resistance of Steel, and simply in terms of raw power he had the upper hand. However there was still the risk that he could sustain more damage in the conflict, especially as Flying-Types were notorious for travelling in flocks that could gang up to cause a serious head-ache. Given that there were still a couple of Pokemon further into Meteor Valley that I had my eye on, I decided that it wasn't worth the hassle.

"We'll try and go by unnoticed for now, I'd rather not deal with a potential flock up here."

@AmericanTreeFrog ((OOC: Flee attempt))

 

OOC: @DrStubbsberg
Ranger: Gaius Tyrannius
Trainer: Bellerophon Dounias
Area: Meteor Valley
NBP #9
/--\

Roph’s eyes darted around the landscape as if he was studying before a battle. “We’ll try and go by unoticed for now,” he spoke after a few moments. “I’d rather not deal with a potential flock up there.”

I was surprised by this because Murkrow and its evolved form of Honchkrow were in high demand. But if the man didn’t want them he obviously had a reason for doing so, even if I didn’t know it.

“No problem, it’s still no looking our way so we can just skirt around it.” We moved slowly and quietly and the Murkrow payed us no heed. It just sat there scanning the valley below.

After we cleared the ledge the path continued to spiral up the valley flanks, leading to a mountain peak. I was going to take Roph up there, some of the rare Pokemon tended to frequent the place when they got bored.

Not two minutes after running into the Murkrow a small pink Pokemon came bouncing around chatting to itself. The Pokemon beamed up at a showed a dazzling smile. “Cleffa,” the Pokemon announced.

“Cute,” I said.

//==\\

Trainer Info

Name: Bellerophon Dounias
Location: Meteor Valley
Trainer Items: 2 x Parkballs, 3 x Superballs, 3 x Hyperballs, 2 x Soothing Fragrance Super, 3 x Lava Cookie, 3 x Energy Powder Plus, Camera + $4,000
Area Effects: 8 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: ??? Cofagrigus ??? | [F] Wynaut ??? | ??? Gastly ??? | Deoxys | Latios | ??? Murkrow ??? | ??? Clefa ???
Pokemon Captured: [F] Wynaut [Bold]
CC since last encounter: 0,000 | 4,000

Pokemon Stats:
Hardy Male Castform @ Forecast w/ EMs: Hidden Power (Fire Type), Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Solarbeam, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Return, Energy Ball, Substitute, Flash | 88.95%

Docile Genderless Metagross @ Clear Body w/ EMs: Flash, Iron Head | 68.13%​

 

"And possibly just the thing I need," I declared, taking Caliban's Pokeball out and releasing him. "Caliban, I want you to meet this Cleffa," I said, patting the cute little pink blob gently on the head, "it is a bundle of pure innocence and a brilliant example of the carefree life that you should have had the opportunity to live."

Caliban turned towards the Cleffa with a look of disgust, saying something in PokeSpeak to it that I presumed was either rude or shocking based on Cleffa's expression. My first instinct was to step in and admonish him for taking that attitude, but I held back in the hope that something in the way Cleffa dealt to him would would get though to his stony heart. I had tried pretty much everything in my power to try and reach him, but all the Pokemon I owned had also seen too much of the dark side of existence and lacked a certain quality that this Cleffa may well possess.

@AmericanTreeFrog ((I'm happy to have some none-battle interaction between Caliban and Cleffa for a while if that's all right with you))

 

OOC: @DrStubbsberg
Ranger: Gaius Tyrannius
Trainer: Bellerophon Dounias
Area: Meteor Valley
NBP #10
/--\

“And possibly just the thing I need,” Roph said to me, grabbing the Pokeball that contained his rare Castform. “Caliban I want you to meet this Cleffa,” he said to the Pokemon when it appeared. He patted the Cleffa on the head and continued to address his surly Pokemon. “It’s a bundle of pure innocence and a brilliant example of the carefree life that you should have had the opportunity to live.

Caliban turned to Cleffa and spoke a slew of words and the wild Pokemon. The Cleffa stared at Castform and waited for him to finish speaking. When he was was finished, she smiled at him and started to talk right back in an excited manner. Castform looked at her once more before turning away and ignoring the Normal Pokemon. But Cleffa just continued to talk away, intent on getting through to him.

I was hoping it would the other Pokemon some good, as it seemed to be carrying a lot of dark baggage around with it. “Why don’t you stick around with us for a bit?” I said to the Cleffa.

Cleffa bounced excitedly and started to talk faster at Castform. I patted the baby Pokemon on the head and continued forward, I wanted to finish this run by nightfall. I picked up the pace and in a short amount of time we had hiked halfway up the ledge and we were almost to the plateau right below the peak. We were stopped short, though, when a long sinewy, purple cat jumped down from a tree and hissed at us.

“Huh, a Liepard. And one that doesn’t look to happy. You’re going to have to battle it or give it a doll.”


//==\\

Trainer Info

Name: Bellerophon Dounias
Location: Meteor Valley
Trainer Items: 2 x Parkballs, 3 x Superballs, 3 x Hyperballs, 2 x Soothing Fragrance Super, 3 x Lava Cookie, 3 x Energy Powder Plus, Camera + $4,000
Area Effects: 7 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: ??? Cofagrigus ??? | [F] Wynaut ??? | ??? Gastly ??? | Deoxys | Latios | ??? Murkrow ??? | ??? Clefa ??? | ??? Liepard ???
Pokemon Captured: [F] Wynaut [Bold]
CC since last encounter: 0,000 | 15,000

Pokemon Stats:
Hardy Male Castform @ Forecast w/ EMs: Hidden Power (Fire Type), Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Solarbeam, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Return, Energy Ball, Substitute, Flash | 88.95%

Docile Genderless Metagross @ Clear Body w/ EMs: Flash, Iron Head | 68.13%​

 

I looked back at Caliban, who had fallen just behind us. Cleffa seemed to be wearing through his defences and he clearly looked more uncomfortable with its presence, which was a nice change from the earlier disgust. He would probably jump at the chance to throw down with a wild Pokemon right now, but I didn't think it was a good idea to break the hold that Cleffa seemed to have over him.

Whilst it would put me at a disadvantage, I decided to go with Zuse; he may not be able to bring the power of his mind to bear, but there was more than enough in his body to compensate for the loss. "Zuse, battle time," I yelled as I threw his ball, making a concerted effort to ignore the daggers that Caliban was glaring into the back of my head.

"Liepard's principally a Physical close-combatant - shore yourself up with Iron Defence and then slam him with Hammer Arm when he gets close."

Zuse planted his back legs firmly into the ground to take up his defensive stance in preparation for Liepard's attack. An intense silvery glow begun eminating from his metallic skin as it hardened, fading until it left only a faint sheen across his body; only his right-front arm retained the glow, which softened to the white light of Zuse's Hammer Arm.

@AmericanTreeFrog

 

OOC: @DrStubbsberg - Remember to add some lenghy posts.
Ranger: Gaius Tyrannius
Trainer: Bellerophon Dounias
Area: Meteor Valley
BP #1
/--\

Roph thought for a few seconds before he reached down and pulled out the Pokeball containing Zuse. “Zuse, battle time. Liapard’s principally a physical close-combatant,” Roph said when the Metagross appeared. “Shore yourself up with Iron Defense and then slam him with Hammer Arm when he gets close.”

The Liepard crouched lower to the rocky earth and hissed madly at the hulking Metagross. Metagross stared unflinching at Liepard and no emotion spread to his features. The gray body of the Psychic-Steel type began to glow a harsh white as Metagross started to strenghen his steel with a coat of iron.

But as he did so, the body of Liepard also began to glow the same color. The iron that had been spreading around the body of Metagross aburptly vanished and appeared on Liepard now.

The Pokemon flash at feline smile and leapt at Metagross, its claws bared and glowing a dark color, as if they were part of the night. Metagross waited until the cat scratched at him with her claws before he swung one bulky arm up and swatted the Pokemon aside.

Liepard fell back hissing, her eyes filled with anger. Her movements became more cautious as she started to slowly circle her target.

//--\\

Battle Stats

Metagross 57.41%[-1Spd]{Used Hammer Arm}
VS
Liepard 78.61%[+2Def]{Used Snatch | Night Slash}

//==\\

Trainer Info

Name: Bellerophon Dounias
Location: Meteor Valley
Trainer Items: 2 x Parkballs, 3 x Superballs, 3 x Hyperballs, 2 x Soothing Fragrance Super, 3 x Lava Cookie, 3 x Energy Powder Plus, Camera + $4,000
Area Effects: 7 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: ??? Cofagrigus ??? | [F] Wynaut ??? | ??? Gastly ??? | Deoxys | Latios | ??? Murkrow ??? | ??? Clefa ??? | ??? Liepard ???
Pokemon Captured: [F] Wynaut [Bold]
CC since last encounter: 1,235 | 15,000

Pokemon Stats:
Hardy Male Castform @ Forecast w/ EMs: Hidden Power (Fire Type), Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Solarbeam, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Return, Energy Ball, Substitute, Flash | 88.95%

Docile Genderless Metagross @ Clear Body w/ EMs: Flash, Iron Head | 68.13%​

 

Damn, she was craftier than I'd anticipated; I've spent too much time fighting people who focus on straight attacking at the expense of Status moves. I'd have to throw everything I had at Liepard to take it down now.

"Zuse, try and crack it with your Meteor Hammer combo," I called out; I knew that we hadn't perfected a simultaneous slam of Meteor Mash and Hammer Arm, but we had had some success and a heated battle was probably the best place to work on it.

Zuse nodded briefly before his eyes glazed over as he focussed on channelling the additional energy required to pull off the attack. Within a few seconds his right-front arm glowed a blazing white, whilst the end of his left-front took on a yellow shine as it begun trailing stars; he leapt forward with a surge of speed - impressively fast but still showing the side-effects of his earlier Hammer Arm.

@AmericanTreeFrog

 

OOC: @DrStubbsberg
Ranger: Gaius Tyrannius
Trainer: Bellerophon Dounias
Area: Meteor Valley
BP #2
/--\

“Zuse, try and crack it with your Meteor Hammer combo,” Roph called out to his Pokemon.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise at the use for force by Roph. While Liepard had plus two defense on its side, the Dark Pokemon still had a weakness to Fighting moves and its defenses weren’t exactly high with the boost. Another concern of mine was that by using such powerful move Metagross could knock out Liepard. If he knocked out Liepard the National Park Rules stated that a person couldn’t capture that Pokemon. So if Roph wanted to catch this Pokemon he would have to dial down the power he was using.

Meanwhile, the right arm began to glow a fierce white in color, while the left arm took on a yellow hue. The intensity of both grew in tandem until I could no longer stare at each. With sufficient energy now charged, Metagross leaped forward, his large claws tearing up clumps of earth easily. Around the left arm the light formed into streaking stars that trailed after Metagross.

But before Metagross could strike at Liepard, the cat Pokemon’s two front paws turned a dark hue and the feline Pokemon rushed at Metagross. From the two dark paws a large fist appeared at hammered at Metagross. The sudden onslaught from Liepard didn’t do much to stop the charging Metagross.

Roph’s Pokemon held steady through the attack, he then brought both thick limbs down upon the back of Liepard. The cat howled at Metagross and bounced away. When it felt enough distant had passed between it and its foe, the Pokemon turned and Snarled at Metagross.

“I don’t think this battle is going to plan,” I said to my Alakazam.

<True, he needs to regain control before things get out of hand,> the Alakazam replied telekinetically.



//--\\

Battle Stats

Metagross 39.01%[-2Spd][-1SpcAtk]{Used Hammer Arm | Meteor Mash}
VS
Liepard 42.46%[+2Def]{Used Sucker Punch | Snarl}

//==\\

Trainer Info

Name: Bellerophon Dounias
Location: Meteor Valley
Trainer Items: 2 x Parkballs, 3 x Superballs, 3 x Hyperballs, 2 x Soothing Fragrance Super, 3 x Lava Cookie, 3 x Energy Powder Plus, Camera + $4,000
Area Effects: 7 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: ??? Cofagrigus ??? | [F] Wynaut ??? | ??? Gastly ??? | Deoxys | Latios | ??? Murkrow ??? | ??? Clefa ??? | ??? Liepard ???
Pokemon Captured: [F] Wynaut [Bold]
CC since last encounter: 2,091 | 15,000

Pokemon Stats:
Hardy Male Castform @ Forecast w/ EMs: Hidden Power (Fire Type), Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Solarbeam, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Return, Energy Ball, Substitute, Flash | 88.95%

Docile Genderless Metagross @ Clear Body w/ EMs: Flash, Iron Head | 68.13%​

 

Zuse looked like he was starting to flag a little, the damage and capability reduction both stacking up against him. I was fairly certain I caught a whiff of concern from the Ranger, but whether for my Pokemon or the wild one I wasn't certain. I begun a casual review of the battle so far, and realised that without a major change of tactics, Zuse was likely to be brought down, or at the very least severely wounded; however I also knew that attempting to withdraw him for Caliban would open him up to a slam from Pursuit, assuming this Liepard knew the attack. So unless I was going to try and capture it, something I had little desire to do, then I would have to take the risk...or I could try and play the system a little.

I pulled a ParkBall from my backpack and slung it at Liepard, trusting my aim to be accurate as I begun issuing orders to my Pokemon; assuming the ball struck Liepard then I would gain a short respite from battle whilst it struggled to escape the ball. ((Use ParkBall)) "Zuse, pull back, Caliban, you're in. Give me a Rain Dance and then douse Liepard with a Hydro Pump the second it breaks free."

Zuse floated himself back from the conflict as Caliban eagerly floated in (although whether eager to engage or simply be away from Cleffa, I wasn't sure). A blue light started shining from within Caliban's body, whilst his eyes became glazed over as he focused on manipulating local atmospheric currents. The light intensified and thin wisps of mist developed in the air, slowly circling around Caliban and then heading skywards where clouds were beginning to coalesce.

The small patch of thin clouds thickened and darkened, beginning to unleash a steady flow of rain as they expanded to cover the area above us. Caliban's light faded, leaving him looking quite different to before; his head was now encased within a large blue water-droplet and the two bulbous protrusions were joined by a fringe around his entire lower half that made it look as if he was floating on a cloud. Almost before the glow had faded Caliban was already looking towards his target and inhaling the air he needed to generate Hydro Pump's phenomenal pressure.

@AmericanTreeFrog

 

OOC: @DrStubbsberg
Ranger: Gaius Tyrannius
Trainer: Bellerophon Dounias
Area: Meteor Valley
BP #3
/--\


I could almost see the gears working in Roph’s head as he realized his current tactics to bring down the Liepard weren’t working very well. When he made up his mind or came to a decision, he reached into his pack and withdrew a Parkball from it.

This surprised me, and by the look on the face of Liepard, I had a feeling that the Wild Pokemon agreed with me. Roph took a quick look at Liepard and chucked the capture device like a fastball. The Dark Pokemon howled in alarm and gracefully leapt clear of of the Parkball.

But as the Pokemon tried to escape the path of the Parkball, Roph was issuing new orders to his Pokemon. “Zuse, pull back, Caliban, you’re in. Give me a Rain Dance and then douse Liepard with a Hydro Pump the second it breaks free.”

It was a good way to distract Liepard for a brief moment of time while Zuse tried to disengage from the battle, but the plan had backfired when Liepard had dodged the Parkball easily enough. But Castform was too busy to notice the change of the events. The Normal typed Pokemon had carefully got away from the friendly Cleffa and moved forward to engage the sturdy foe.

Almost immediately the white body of Castform began to glow a turquoise blue. First the eyes of the Pokemon changed, then thin trails of mist and moisture began to materialize around Caliban. Suddenly, a small shaft of light pooled around the head of Caliban and shot skyways, drawing all the moisture up like a coat of liquid. This didn’t seem to faze the tenacious Liepard who darted forward and Slashed at Caliban with his claws. Caliban paid no heed to the attack as the Pokemon was fully concentrating on manipulating the weather.

A moment later dark thunder heads and storm clouds appeared over the valley which quickly began to dump copious amounts of rain upon the entire ravine. When the rain struck Caliban his body shone a brilliant bright blue that shielded him from prying eyes. When the light faded Caliban no longer looked like himself. His ‘legs’ had been replaced with a cloud-like appearance and his body was an ultramarine in color while a large drop of water encased his head.

When his transformation was complete, Caliban turned to Liepard and began to draw in water for his Hydro Pump. A small whirlpool formed on the droplet of Caliban as the Pokemon pulled in water from the rain. When he collected enough, the Normal type fired a long, rotating stream of water at Liepard.

The feline Pokemon tried to dodge the Hydro Pump, but the attack was too fast and struck Liepard right in the hind quarters. The force of the boosted Hydro Pump drove Liepard into the ground. When the last of the Hydro Pump faded away, Liepard was on his feet quick as could be and blurred towards Caliban, striking it with such speed that I almost missed the attack. But it came at a price, Liepard was quickly losing strength and wouldn’t be able to fight much longer at the rate it was taking damage.

//--\\

Battle Stats

Castform 65.11%{Used Rain Dance | Hydro Pump}
VS
Liepard 20.67%[+2Def]{Used Slash | Aerial Ace}

//==\\

Trainer Info

Name: Bellerophon Dounias
Location: Meteor Valley
Trainer Items: 2 x Parkballs, 3 x Superballs, 3 x Hyperballs, 2 x Soothing Fragrance Super, 3 x Lava Cookie, 3 x Energy Powder Plus, Camera + $4,000
Area Effects: 7 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: ??? Cofagrigus ??? | [F] Wynaut ??? | ??? Gastly ??? | Deoxys | Latios | ??? Murkrow ??? | ??? Clefa ??? | M Liepard ???
Pokemon Captured: [F] Wynaut [Bold]
CC since last encounter: 4,248 | 15,000

Pokemon Stats:
Hardy Male Castform @ Forecast w/ EMs: Hidden Power (Fire Type), Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Solarbeam, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Return, Energy Ball, Substitute, Flash | 88.95%

Docile Genderless Metagross @ Clear Body w/ EMs: Flash, Iron Head | 39.01%​

 

((sorry this is going to be a short post, but my brain isn't in gear tonight))

I would hardly say the battle was all going my way, but a good look at Liepard told me that he probably wouldn't hold up for long. Then again the damage was starting to stack up on Caliban as well, so I couldn't exactly afford to be blasé about this engagement. Perhaps a change of strategy would be in order, changing to a more defensive style.

"Caliban, launch a Water Pulse at him and then hold back, I want to see how he responds."

Caliban didn't seem to like the idea of a change of pace, I knew he preferred an all-out attack, but a pure offence would result in a costly victory. He opened his mouth wide and launched a ball of water at Liepard.

 

OOC: @DrStubbsberg - No need worrying about how fast you post, just get some good quality posts in to meet the length.
Ranger: Gaius Tyrannius
Trainer: Bellerophon Dounias
Area: Meteor Valley
BP #4
/--\

“Caliban, launch a Water Pulse at him and then hold back, I want to see how he responds,” Roph said to his Pokemon.

The Castform turned to give Roph a sullen look, the Pokemon clearly didn’t want to hold anything back. That wasn’t the nature of this Pokemon, nor the inclination it learned through its upbringing. But Caliban could sense that is had no other option to obey. Caliban opened his small mouth as wide as it could go. From his mouth he launched an orb of cobalt blue water at Liepard.

The liepard was clearly slugglish in its movements due to the damage it had taken, but it wasn’t just going to lay over and take it. The Dark Pokemon closed it eyes, and a moment later a cyan colored shield surrounded the form of the feline. The Water Pulse struck the energy shield and shot skyward, where it expode in a cascade of rain drops.

When the Protect faded away Liepard sagged to the ground. It’s energy was clearly nearing zero. The Pokemon looked around, and using the last of its strenght, it jumped to a tree and scampered up into the canopy. A moment later I could hear soft snoring coming from the tree.

“Well, it must have used Rest,” I said to Roph.

//--\\

Battle Stats

Castform 65.11%{Used Water Pulse}
VS
Liepard 100%[Slp0][+2Def]{Used Protect | Rest}

//==\\

Trainer Info

Name: Bellerophon Dounias
Location: Meteor Valley
Trainer Items: 2 x Parkballs, 3 x Superballs, 3 x Hyperballs, 2 x Soothing Fragrance Super, 3 x Lava Cookie, 3 x Energy Powder Plus, Camera + $4,000
Area Effects: 7 Encounters Remaining
Pokemon Encountered: ??? Cofagrigus ??? | [F] Wynaut ??? | ??? Gastly ??? | Deoxys | Latios | ??? Murkrow ??? | ??? Clefa ??? | M Liepard ???
Pokemon Captured: [F] Wynaut [Bold]
CC since last encounter: 4,897 | 15,000

Pokemon Stats:
Hardy Male Castform @ Forecast w/ EMs: Hidden Power (Fire Type), Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Solarbeam, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Return, Energy Ball, Substitute, Flash | 88.95%

Docile Genderless Metagross @ Clear Body w/ EMs: Flash, Iron Head | 39.01%​

 

Damn, I cursed, this Liepard was really beginning to piss me off, and though I’d spent far too much time and effort trying to get rid of it there was no way I’d let it get away this easily. I was about to order Caliban back to work when it hit me that it had been a long time since I’d had a battle like this; Liepard and I were each spending considerable effort trying to predict and outmanoeuvre each other and he was definitely besting me. More than that, however, was the sheer thrill and satisfaction of the battle, particularly without the threat of imminent death or the pressure of people to save.

Liepard had definitely proven himself a worthy opponent, and would probably make a valuable asset if I can tap into his devious nature; Zuse’s clinical analysis was always useful, but an alternate angle of thought from Liepard could really tip the balance against less straight-forward and predictable enemies. It was decided then, despite my earlier thoughts on the matter, I would try to capture Liepard.

Given that Liepard had Rested, I would need to do considerably more damage to ensure a capture; hitting it with a Status Affliction would help as well, but I had no such moves to rely on against a Dark-type and I would be unable to do it at all whilst he slept. This would require some delicate timing to even have a chance of Afflicting him without missing the opportunity for some damage.

I pulled a small metal canister from my bag, quickly unscrewed the top and withdrew a glass vial from within. Discarding the protective packaging material, I lightly threw the bottle of Super-strength Soothing Fragrance up in the air once or twice to get a feel for it. It felt similar in weight and balance to a Molotov cocktail, so I was fairly confidant I could land it on target, as I had plenty of experience with that kind of improvised incendiary.

“All right, Caliban, as soon as this bottle shatters against that tree, I want you to fire another Water Pulse at Liepard; listen carefully and you should be able to target it by the snoring.” I didn’t wait to check whether he was on-board with my plan; I had already wasted too much of my opportunity in planning. I threw the bottle through the air, aiming to hit the branch just above Liepard and catch him with some of the liquid before it vaporised; the liquid would stick to him like glue and there was no way he would be able to avoid catching the scent.

The second that we heard the characteristic tinkle of shattering glass, Caliban propelled a fresh ball of clear, blue water in the direction of the tree. The orb went sailing through the air, crashing into the foliage that was shielding Liepard, as predicted; if everything went to plan the orb would be partially broken up by the leaves and the slightly more diffuse strike would soak Liepard with water and prepare him up for the next blow. That water ought to Freeze up quite nicely once Liepard awoke and I ordered Caliban to use Ice Beam.

@AmericanTreeFrog ((OOC: Using Soothing Fragrance, Super – also just note I’m not actually using Ice Beam yet, just making it clear where I’m going next. Also, also I’m going away over the weekend and probably won’t be able to post until about this time next week))

 

OOC: @DrStubbsberg - Sorry, I didn’t know you weren’t trying to capture the Liepard at first. In the future, just make sure I know if it’s a capture attempt or you’re just trying to knock it out.
Ranger: Gaius Tyrannius
Trainer: Bellerophon Dounias
Area: Meteor Valley
BP #5
/--\

Roph looked up at the tree where Liepard was sleeping for a few seconds before he seemed to make up his mind. He reached into his bag and withdrew a small silver canister, no bigger than a soda can. He hefted it, testing its weight, then turned to Caliban.

“All right, Caliban, as soon as this bottle shatters against that tree, I want you to fire another Water Pulse at Liepard; listen carefully and you should be able to target it by the snoring.”

By using the Soothing Fragrance on Liepard, Roph would make the Liepard more prone to getting captured once it had low enough health. However, if Roph could get the Liepard down to low enough health he could capture the Pokemon while it was sleeping. If he managed to do so it would heighten the chance of capturing the Pokemon. But, that would depend on Roph strategy, and what the Liepard did.

After Roph issued his command to Castform, he launched the canister of fragrance at the sleeping Pokemon. A sound of shattering reached us a moment later. Not even a second had passed before Caliban fired an orb of water at where he thought the sleeping cat lay sleeping. The ball of water grew in size as it passed through the rain and crashed into the tree. The ball of water exploded, showering the area with droppets of water.

“Nice shot,” I addressed Caliban.

//--\\

Battle Stats

Castform 74.39%{Used Water Pulse}
VS
Liepard 100%[Slp1][Con0][+2Def]{Sleeping}

//==\\

Trainer Info

Name: Bellerophon Dounias
Location: Meteor Valley
Trainer Items: 2 x Parkballs, 3 x Superballs, 3 x Hyperballs, Soothing Fragrance Super, 3 x Lava Cookie, 3 x Energy Powder Plus, Camera + $4,000
Area Effects: 7 Encounters Remaining | Raining
Pokemon Encountered: ??? Cofagrigus ??? | [F] Wynaut ??? | ??? Gastly ??? | Deoxys | Latios | ??? Murkrow ??? | ??? Clefa ??? | M Liepard ???
Pokemon Captured: [F] Wynaut [Bold]
CC since last encounter: 7,856 | 13,000

Pokemon Stats:
Hardy Male Castform @ Forecast w/ EMs: Hidden Power (Fire Type), Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Solarbeam, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Return, Energy Ball, Substitute, Flash | 88.95%

Docile Genderless Metagross @ Clear Body w/ EMs: Flash, Iron Head | 39.01%​