Capture Contest: AmericanTreeFrog

Post #1

~~~~~

You enter the Valley and begin descending down the main path. It's not long before you hear an ominous howl. You look up and see a Zoroark perched high up on a cluster of rocks, watching you carefully. It jumps down and lands in front of you, causing the ground to shake.

~~~~~

Current Battle Stats:

Carracosta: 100%

Zoroark: 100%

MCR: 0/35000

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @AmericanTreeFrog
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Zoroark
Pokemon Captured: N/A

Careful Male Carracosta
HM/TM: Surf , Waterfall , Icebeam , Blizzard , Earthquake , Bulldoze , Sandstorm , Stone Edge , Rock Tomb , Rock Polish , Toxic , Substitute , Swagger , Focus Blast
BM/SM/MT: N/A

 

OOC: @ChainReaction01
--

I came awake with a start as my alarm clark shrilled at me. I groaned at it and turned over on my side, trying to escape the noise it was creating. A minute later the alarm was still making noise and wouldn’t leave me alone. I threw the covers back and hit the silent button on my morning nemesis.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and glanced at a nearby window, and was startled to see that the sun was just beginning to come over the horizon. I was confused for a second as to why I had set me alarm at such an early time. I grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand, turned it on, and checked the date on it. It was February fifth.

I took me a minute to search my mind, but then I remembered that I had to be somewhere two hours from now. With a jolt I remembered that a special event was taking place in the National Park today and that I had signed up. I had to be at the park gates by eight this morning, two hours from now.

I shredded my clothing, grabbed those I planned for the day, and made a beeline for the shower. Fifteen minutes later I exited the bathroom fresh scrubbed and cleaned. The weather report from last night said it was going to be a bright and sunny day, but I chose my usual outfit of tan cargo pants, and a light blue t-shirt. I tossed my dirty clothes into a hamper by the door and headed to my kitchen.

The digital clock on the microwave said that it was twenty after six, meaning I had forty minutes before I had to leave. According to the rules of the event I would have two hours to find a capture a Pokemon, which would then be judged by a couple of the elite rangers and a winner would be determined. Two hours wasn’t that long, I would have to be quick and ready if I was to win.

For breakfast I had chosen a bowl of oatmeal, two scrambled eggs, an orange, and I would wash that down with some water. Twenty minutes later I was done and heading to my rather small back yard. My back yard was about twenty by twenty with a quarter of that being a wooden deck. Seven of my forty plus Pokemon were lounging around or sleeping. I had seven because I normally carried six, but I had chosen to take someone I normally didn’t use along for this trip.

That Pokemon happened to be my Carracosta. Carracosta was a large blue turtle, it easily reached my height. Carracosta were a Water and Rock type Pokemon, meaning that Grass typed attack did a fair amount of damage to him. To counter that, my Pokemon had high defense and the ability Solid Rock, which reduced the damage it took from super effective attacks by twenty five percent. The only problem was that Carracosta was a super slow Pokemon, it outsped few Pokemon, and they could easily be a problem.

The Pokemon had folded his appendages and head into his shell and was snoozing in a corner. I nodded at those Pokemon who were fully awake and strolled over to the large turtle. I placed a hand on the spiky shell and started to speak. “Hey, Ozark, time to get up,” I murmured softly. I felt the Pokemon stirring in the shell, but he didn’t come out. “Come on, it’s a big day for the both of us. We only have a short amount of time to get on the road.”

This time the Pokemon did get up. He stretched his head out and yawned at me. I petted his head then returned to the kitchen. In the kitchen I spent the last few minutes of my free time preparing the various meals that each of my Pokemon liked. I usually gave them fruits, vegetables, and meat, with a scattering of Pokeblocks. It took two trips to bring all the food to the Pokemon, but when I had done so I walked to my car and turned it on to let it idle before I left.

Five minutes later Carracosta walked up to the car, I placed him inside his Pokeball, and hopped on the highway to the National Park.

I reached the gated park ten minutes before eight. I grabbed my bag I had packed the night before, Carracosta’s Pokeball, and my service pass. The park was encircled by fifteen foot tall steel fence that was monitored twenty-four seven by a dedicated tech staff. The gate was both to keep the Pokemon inside, and to protect the Pokemon from poachers.

I drove my car up to the parking lot and locked it up tight before I made for the front office. The front office was a large building situated at the entrance to the park. If you wanted to access any of Pokemon areas you would have to go through it. The front of the building contained the reception parlor, while the back was devoted to the rangers. The reception area pretty much resembled that of a government setting. Chairs, and a few tables, took up most of the free space, while a long counter ran the length of the room. It was to this counter that I walked.

A brunette called out for the next customer, and I walked over to her station. “I’m here for the special event,” I said, flashing her my service card.

She returned the smile and snagged the card. She took a few moments to enter the information into her computer before looking up to me. “Very well, proceed through that door and await for further instructions. Have a nice run.”

“Have a nice day,” I replied as I headed for the next area.

The next room was a smaller version of the room I had just left, but there was no reception counter. A ranger, identified by his orange vest, walked over to me and placed out a white gloved hand. “Hello, trainer. Before you proceed I’m going to need to check your items and Pokemon. While I do that please step forward.”

Although I couldn’t see anything I knew that a x-ray had just scanned my body to make sure I wasn’t trying to hide anything. The ranger passed my items to a fellow ranger, who took my stuff to another room to paw through them. I placed myself in an empty chair and proceeded to wait. I was the only one there, but presently a few other trainers entered, and the ranger repeated the process. I nodded my greeting at a few who I recognized, but kept to myself as I tried to concentrate on the task ahead of me.

It was ten after eight when a group of rangers walked into the room, I noticed there was one for each trainer. One of the ranger stepped forward and proceeded to explain the rules. I had already memorized them when I signed up, so I tuned him out. When he had finished his little speech he had our items returned.

“Now,” the ranger started, follow us to the shuttle cars that will take everyone to Meteor Valley.”

I followed the ranger who beckoned to me out a side door. The door led directly outside where the ATVs the rangers used were parked. I climbed on one and I got on the back of the vehicle. After we had secured my items the ranger started up the ATV and we were off for Meteor Valley.

The ride only took a scant five minutes before the pair of us reached the Meteor Valley range. Meteor Valley was named because it was obvious a large valley, but instead of lush forest and green grass, it was an area filled with caves and rocks. There are thick groves of trees on the flanks, and knee-high grass on the valley floor, but it was most distinguished by its craggy surface.

I scanned the area briefly before I reached to my belt and pulled out Carracosta’s Pokeball. I depressed the button that released my Pokemon, and the Ancient Turtle Pokemon appeared by my side with a red flash.

“You ready?” I said to my faithful companion. The Pokemon gave me a look that said, That’s a dumb question. “Just checking.”

The ranger motioned us forward and our mission run started. We only had two hours to find a Pokemon so I decided to start by going down the main path, that cut right across the heart of the valley. I figured we would find some nice Pokemon here.

We had only gone about thirty yards, with the ranger trailing about ten behind us, when a howl rent the air. I instinctively crouched while Carracosta snapped his jaws and looked about for the disturbance. Another howl filled the air. This time I heard the direction it was coming from. I looked up and to the left to see a large black wolf sitting on a cluster of rocks looking at us. The Pokemon snarled then jumped down to land directly in front of us.

It was black all over with the exception of its claws and mane, which all happened to be red, creating a most fiercesome sight. I did what any good trainer would do, I whipped out my handy Pokedex.

“Zoroark, the evolved form of Zorua. Zoroark is a Dark type Pokemon that is known for being rare and its unique ability,” the device droned. I highlighted the ability portion and waited. “Illusion, copies the image of the last Pokemon that Zoroark has encountered. Illusion fades when Zoroark is hit by an attack.” I waited for the device to finish before I scrolled to the part that would tell me of the Pokemon capabilities. The Pokemon had high speed, high attack, and high special attack, but it suffered in both special defense and defense. This meant that Zoroark could hit hard, but it couldn’t take too many hits before it was knocked unconscious. I would have to tread carefully if I wanted to capture this Pokemon.

My first order of business was to up the stats of Carracosta so my Pokemon could better protect itself. I had a good area of moves to change the defense stat of Carracosta, but nothing that would raise his special defense save one move.

“Carracosta, we’re going to start with Sandstorm and follow that up with a Curse move.”

Sandstorm would serve two purposes for Carracosta. One, it would increase the special defense because Carracosta was part Rock. Second, it would do a small amount damage to Zoroark every turn. Curse on the other hand would increase my attack and defense by one stage each at the cost of dropping my speed. Curse was obviously the riskier move of the two because it dropped Carracosta’s speed. But at the same time it wouldn’t effect Carracosta that much because the Pokemon was one of the slowest in the game. It would take a move like Rock Polish or Agility to supersede the speed of Zoroark. Normally I would have liked to have greater speed, but I didn’t have much choice when I chose to take Carracosta into the park.

Now, Carracosta had to begin the combo with Sandstorm. Almost every Pokemon could summon a weather storm, but Carracosta could summon two types and both would benefit him greatly. Rain Dance would increase the power of Carracosta’s water moves, so that made it really useful. But the Sandstorm would work better in this case because Carracosta didn’t need the extra water boost to knock the Dark type down a stage or two.

To summon the Sandstorm Carracosta would have to focus on his Rock side. This would only take a second or two, and from there he would either place part of his body in the earth to summon the wind and sand needed, or he would cry out and create the storm himself, which used slightly more energy.

After he did that, he would focus on the Curse. Curse had two different applications in its use. The first use could only happen when it was used by a Ghost type Pokemon. The said Ghost Pokemon would cut its energy in half to create a ‘spell’ that would place a curse on the opposing Pokemon. By giving up half its health, the Ghost Pokemon would cause its foe to lose a quarter of its health after every exchange. Curse was pretty much a desperate move for Ghost types. But when a non-Ghost type used Curse it would increase the attack and defense while lowering speed. To achieve Curse, Carracosta would have to focus on his energy and manipulate to the extent that he transferred the energy from his speed to his attack and defense.

Whether the two moves worked or not depended on Zoroark. I would have to wait and see what the Pokemon would do.​

 

Post #2

~~~~~

The Zoroark valiantly ignores the Sandstorm that Ozark creates by using a Calm Mind. However, when the Carracosta is busy cursing, the Illusion Pokemon lets loose a mighty roar with such inherent power that the ground beneath it cracks and Ozark recoils in pain.

~~~~~

Current Battle Stats:

Carracosta: 85.22%, ATK+1, DEF+1, SPD-1 (used Sandstorm, Curse)

SAND-2

Zoroark: 87.5%, SATK+1, SDEF+1 (used Calm Mind, Round)

MCR: 11622/35000

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @AmericanTreeFrog
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Zoroark
Pokemon Captured: N/A

Careful Male Carracosta
HM/TM: Surf , Waterfall , Icebeam , Blizzard , Earthquake , Bulldoze , Sandstorm , Stone Edge , Rock Tomb , Rock Polish , Toxic , Substitute , Swagger , Focus Blast
BM/SM/MT: N/A

 

OOC: @ChainReaction01
--

No sooner had the command left my mouth did Zoroark make its first move. But to my surprise it wasn’t an attacking move like I expected. Instead of launching a salvo, the Wolf Pokemon dropped to a crouch and closed his eyes.

As he did that, Carracosta started his first move also. Carracosta opened his wide jaws and called to his Dark foe. As he did so he lifted a thick leg and slammed it into the ground. For the first few seconds nothing happened, then a lot of things started to happen at once. A stiff breeze sprang up from the north first, and that wind quickly filled the valley with howling as it whipped past. Two seconds after that, the once bright blue sky started to glow dark as an object started to block out the sun. I lifted a hand to shield my eyes, and sure enough a large dark brown cloud was coming towards the valley. In only five seconds the cloud of sand descended upon the valley like a locust horde.

The coarse sand irritated my uncovered skin, but I had no choice but to endure the discomfort that it caused. Because of the all the sand my range of sight was effectively reduced to about thirty feet in front of me, a stark contrast to what it was. But fortunately I could still see my Pokemon and the enemy Zoroark.

By now Zoroark had completed its move, which I guessed to be Calm Mind. Calm Mind wasn’t one of the worst moves Zoroark could have used, but it wasn’t one of the best either. Calm Mind allowed the Pokemon to quiet the inner thoughts and doubt that normally raged through a Pokemon during battle. If a Pokemon was successful in using Calm Mind that would Pokemon would gain an additional boost to both its special attack and special defense due to the inner tranquility. The special defense boost didn’t bother me that much as I didn’t plan on using any of Carracosta’s special moves. I didn’t plan on using them for two reasons; the first being that Carracosta’s attack was naturally higher, and secondly because I would be boosting it with Curse. That special attack increase on Zoroark did worry me, though. Zoroark already had high special attack, and by boosting it further the Pokemon was making itself that much more deadly that it was previously.

As soon as the Calm Mind was completed, Zoroark launched into motion. The Pokemon, whose color was now obscured by the whirling sand, jumped to his feet and snarled at my turtle. Zoroark then turned to Carracosta and roared loudly, a terrible sound that rent the air and was easily heard over the sandstorm.

But a second before Zoroark could launch its attack Carracosta’s blue and gray body had already started to glow a muted white, indicating the Curse move had been successfully completed. And a moment later the attack from the wild Pokemon hit.

Carracosta stumbled back a couple steps from the force of Zoroark’s move, but quickly regained his balance and planted his legs firmly. But despite the fierce blow from Zoroark Carracosta had completed his Curse move and was that much stronger because of it.

I only had to think of a strategy to combat the Dark Pokemon I was facing. Besides being a fierce opponent on the battlefield, the Pokemon was also known to be clever. Probing an enemy for weakness then delivering a quick and efficient strike. This all meant that Zoroark’s move pool was mainly focused on offense, but at the cost to its defenses. I knew that was the Pokemon’s weak point, the only question I was pondering was how to take advantage.

Thanks to the advantages afforded to my Pokemon with Curse I knew I could easily knock out Zoroark with two move or so. But that didn’t help me because I wanted to catch the Pokemon, not crush it, because then I couldn’t catch and keep it ot submit it to me judged. The rules to this event clearly stated that I could only take out two Pokemon from my run; one to keep, and the other to submit. If I did that then I would have to return one Pokemon to the wild. Since I already owned a Zoroark I didn’t want another, but I also had to take this event into account. The rangers would judge the caught Pokemon based off numerous factors, one of those being rarity. Zoroark was one of the rarest Pokemon around and highly desirable, meaning that I could pass the opportunity up to catch one. If I did catch this Pokemon then I would finish me run and try to find a different Pokemon who I would keep. But if that didn’t work then I would just keep the Zoroark and find someone who wanted to trade.

Thinking of trading Zoroark caused my mind to wander to the time when I obtained my current one. It had only been a scarce month or two that I got the Pokemon. I hadn’t planned on getting one of the rare Dark types, well I did, but not at that time. It all started during a run to the National Park. I liken myself to a Water type collector, and it was my first time to the Park. Naturally I decided to enter the Great Lakes region, a place in the park where Water Pokemon dwelled in vast numbers, both common and rare.

Because it was my first run, I didn’t know what to buy. So naturally I spent money on items I thought I would need, but it turned out I didn’t need most of the items, and I also found that I should have brought a camera. The reason I didn’t buy the camera was because of the price, a solid seven thousand. I had enough money, I just balked at the idea of handing over that much money, especially when I could buy a TM or two, or a Pokemon if I so desired. Anyway, I began my adventure into the park with a couple of my trusty Water types. The first few Pokemon I ran into were mostly basic Pokemon that I already had or didn’t want. But after a few Pokemon had passed I ran into a Pokemon I did want, a Psyduck.

I wanted Psyduck for a couple of reasons; its abilities and its movepool. While Golduck didn’t possess in the way of firepower, it more than made up for that with its non-attacking moves. Two of which caught my interest; hypnosis and Encore. Both of those moves could greatly influence the outcome of a match if utilized correctly. Hypnosis put Pokemon to asleep, and it had a decent chance of hitting, pretty much second only to Spore. That only made it worth catching, but with Encore I had no choice. While Encore on the surface seems like a stupid move. I mean who figures that a move that forces a Pokemon to repeat its move for three turns unless it switched out? Well, it just so happens that if the foe Pokemon uses a move that isn’t very effective or uses a non-attacking one, then by using Encore you force the opposing trainer’s hand. Once the enemy is encored and forced to use a bad move than they must switch out or endure the consequences. Either way that would allow your Pokemon to use a timely healing move or set up a stat to hit hard. So I resolved to catch the duck Pokemon,

But misfortune soon settled on my run when my ranger had to leave the Park just as I was about to battle the Psyduck. It was a tense few minutes as I had to wait for another ranger and hope the wild Psyduck didn’t decide to wander off, causing me to miss my chance. As luck would have, one of the elite rangers came along to relieve the other ranger and I got on with my battle. I managed to catch the Psyduck and we continued on with the run.

After a few lame encounter we came across the very rare Alomomola. At first I didn’t want to catch the Pokemon because it was effectively useless in head-to-head battle. But when I tried to escape from the Pokemon it simply followed along. I grudgingly decided to battle the Pokemon. And after a long and drawn out battle I managed to add the Water Pokemon to growing team. I then found out I was the only trainer to have one in the entire region, and the only caught in the National Park. But the buzz ws quickly doused when the rest of the run turned out to be a dud Pokemon wise, with nothing that caught my eye.

No sooner had Alomomola settled in my stats, was I approached by a Pokemon collector. I of course knew the trainer because he was well known in the region, and because he had more Pokemon than any other person. He had over three hundred completed dex entries, and he had one hundred and fifty Pokemon in his possession. It just happened that he wanted to add Alomomola to his impressive collection. He offered a Zoroark for the rare Pokemon, he had two, and I decided to think it over. After a day or two of thinking it over I decided that I would trade him the Pokemon. So I bought a few TMs for Alomomola and sent her over to him and got my Zoroark in return. I still haven’t got a chance to use Zoroark in battle, but I felt it was a good trade nonetheless. Which all amounted to the fact that I didn’t need another Zoroark, even if it was rare.

This also happened to be only my second encounter with the Pokemon, so I didn’t know what strategies I could use that often worked. That was coupled with the fact that I had only obtained Carracosta in a trade for a Durant, just a few weeks ago. So I was on unfamiliar ground against a dangerous opponent.

What I wanted to do was lower both the attack and special attack stat of Zoroark at least a stage, to give my Pokemon a better chance. But even though I had the best trained Carracosta in the region, my Pokemon didn’t possess moves that would for sure bring the stats of Zoroark down, and I didn’t possess Taunt on top off all that. So it wasn’t a good start to begin with, and that Calm Mind only made things worse.

All this stuff told me that I had to bring the Dark type down fast, and hard, if I wanted a chance at this without injuring Carracosta too much. I could only heal Carracosta with two items that the ranger staff gave me, as move like Rest and Drain Punch were forbidden.

Thanks to the Curse boost, hitting Zoroark with a powerful attack would be easy enough. I wanted this battle to last no more than two turns from now, any longer and I risked damaging Carracosta too much. I reached for my dex in my back pocket and pulled the handy device out. I only had a small window to find a strategy to use on Zoroark.

I plugged in a few numbers and waited for the device to the approximate the date. It took only a second before I was able to plug in attacks and see how they did. Just as I suspected, coupled with the sand, if I hit Zoroark more than twice then the Pokemon would faint and I would be out of luck. After plugging in a bunch of details and going over many possible combinations I finally found something that might work. If I screwed up even a tiny bit, then Zoroark would faint. This plan required a tight window, nothing less would work.

My plan involved two moves during this phase, Smack Down and Toxic. Toxic was the riskiest of the moves. It alone could knock out the Dark type if I messed up. But besides that threat, Toxic also had a chance to miss. if it missed, my plan would probably fall apart as the Toxic was critical in lowering Zoroark’s health to the right level. But I would cross that bridge if I had too, worrying about it now wouldn’t do me any good.

Smack Down was a move that had an excellent chance of hitting, it was one of those that rarely missed. Smack Down was a Rock type attack that had a base power of fifty. Next to Rollout it was the weakest of my Rock moves, any stronger and it was too risky. But Smack Down was weak for a reason, it had a secondary effect that could be very useful.

If Smack Down connected with the opposing Pokemon then that Pokemon would lose any immunity to ground attacks. Obviously that didn’t apply to this battle, but it was still a good thing to have.

Everything ready, I called out to Carracosta over the roaring sand. “Alright buddy, time to hit back. Start things out with your Smack Down move and then follow that up with your Toxic move.”

All thought it didn’t make that much difference to which attack I used first, I wanted Smack Down to be used first but it might temporary disorient Zoroark enough that it wouldn’t be able to dodge the Toxic move.

I had never seen Smack Down in action, but I knew from second hand reports that it could work a few ways. One way was when my Pokemon launched his body in the air and he would come down on the foe. Another way was that it could manipulate the forces in the earth to create a stone column that would crash down upon Zoroark. I was personally hoping for the latter, because that would be awesome, but I had no idea which Ozark would choose to use.

Like Smack Down Toxic had a myriad of ways it could be used. I had seen so many different variations that it would hard for me to predict which method my Pokemon would use.

The similarity between this battle caused me to think of the first real battle that I used Carracosta in. It was a gym battle, as I am the gym leader of Cerulean, and it was against an up and coming challenger. It was a long battle with each of us using six Pokemon. The battle had drawn out to two hours before we both achieved a break through. We were each down to two Pokemon; I had Carracosta and Floatzel left while he had Gallade and Jolteon left. I had lost the lead early in the match and I had been fighting back hard since. I had Carracosta in and he had Gallade in. My guy was at full health while his was around fifty percent. The last turn came down to who could counter their opponent’s move the best.

I could knock out Gallade with one Waterfall from Carracosta, but the Jolteon would finish me off with a Thunder, causing Floatzel to come back. Because of the rain this normally wouldn’t be a problem as Floatzel had Swift Swim. The problem was that if Carracosta didn’t do enough damage to Jolteon then the Jolteon would come in a knock out Floatzel with a Quick Attack. Gallade was slower than Carracosta but it had a wide array of moves to choose from. One of these moves was Encore, one of the trickiest in the game.

If I was able to use my Shell Smash move then the battle would be over, Carracosta would be able to clean house. After weighing my options, I hedged my bet that the trainer would think I would use something besides Shell Smash and attack me, giving me the window I needed. But as fortune would happen the trainer at the last second decided to use Encore, which sealed my fate. Seeing no possible way to win, I was forced to throw in the towel. It was my second loss in a roll, and each time it had come down to a final move. While those make the best matches, they also make the bitterest defeats, to come that close then fall at the end, with victory just outside your grasp.

I could only hope that this situation didn’t turn out to have some outcome.​

 

Post #3

~~~~~

Ozark's Smack Down attack is successful, but the Zoroark's retaliation is swift - a super-vicious Snarl that strikes fear into the Carracosta. However, the follow-up Toxic splatters all over the Dark-type's face, and in a fit of rage, the Illusion Pokemon runs close and starts swiping angrily at Carracosta with its sharp claws.

~~~~~

Current Battle Stats:

Carracosta: 38.63%, ATK+1, DEF+1, SATK-1, SPD-1 (used Smack Down, Toxic)

SAND-4

Zoroark: 29.93%, SATK+1, SDEF+1, TOX-1 (used Snarl, Fury Swipes)

MCR: 26201/35000

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @AmericanTreeFrog
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Zoroark
Pokemon Captured: N/A

Careful Male Carracosta
HM/TM: Surf , Waterfall , Icebeam , Blizzard , Earthquake , Bulldoze , Sandstorm , Stone Edge , Rock Tomb , Rock Polish , Toxic , Substitute , Swagger , Focus Blast
BM/SM/MT: N/A

 

OOC: @ChainReaction01

Carracosta moved first with his Smack Down move. He took one of his long, angled flippers and pushed into the ground, hard. He imbedded it until it was about four inches deep, then looked at his wolf opponent. Although it wasn’t physically possible with Carracosta’s jaws, it seemed like my Pokemon smiled at Zoroark.

Suddenly the ground trembled, as if a small earthquake had just occurred. As the rumbling continued, a large column, in the form of a flipper, sprang up from the earth right in front of Zoroark. The sand obscured the stone somewhat, but its sheer size caused it to resemble a large dark statute.

Carracosta manipulated his flipper in the earth and the stone came crashing down right on top of the wild Pokemon. My Pokemon withdrew his flipper, and the stone he had summoned simply melted back into the earth from whence it was born.

Zoroark was going to let that attack go unpunished. The Pokemon quickly regained his feet, coming up Snarling. Carracosta stumbled back, as if he was recoiling, and I didn’t know why.

I did a mentally search through Zoroark’s moves and came up with only one; Snarl. Snarl was exactly what its name said, but it had the extra effect of lowering the target’s special attack by one stage, but at the cost of power. While it wasn’t that good a move for Pokemon like Carracosta, who weren’t naturally inclined to use special moves, it could work wonders on special sweepers, those who possessed high special attack.

While Snarl did do damage and lower Carracosta’s stats, it came at the price of fixing Zoroark in one spot. Carracosta took this window of opportunity to spit a thick glob of poison at Zoroark. The mass of noxious material struck the wolf right in the face, eliciting a roar as the poison entered his system.

Deep in a rage, the Illusion Pokemon rushed Carracosta and leapt at him, striking Carracosta repeatedly with his sharp claws. Carracosta stepped back to try and escape the sudden onslaught, but held his ground right after until the wolf finally backed down.

At this moment in time both Pokemon were panting heavily from the exertion both were using. It was a pitched battle, and both Pokemon were paying the price of the combat. Zoroark was worse off than Carracosta, because it had taken damage from the Toxic, the Sandstorm, and the Smack Down. While the Sandstorm was buffeting Zoroark and dealing steady damage, Carracosta was safe from the sand, and it was as natural to him as the water.

Carracosta on the other hand was taking a good amount of damage for the relentless onslaught of the Dark type. I knew Ozoark couldn’t take much more punishment, and as it was I was going to have to heal him after the battle anyway.

I pulled at my Pokedex and did a quick scan of both Pokemon, hoping to find out the approximate health of the Pokemon. It took a couple seconds, but it spat out some numbers that put Carracosta just under forty, and Zoroark just under thirty. I was hoping for Zoroark to be a bit lower, so I had a higher rate of capturing it, but thanks to the Toxic damage Zoroark could only stand two turns, max, no more than that. So I had one more turn to damage Zoroark, but after that I would have to try and capture the Pokemon no matter what.

Now, I knew I had a few options considering my choice of what move to use, but those options were few in number. Any attack i used had to leave Zoroark with enough health that it could still survive the double whammy of Toxic and Sandstorm.

I knew any physical move I used would automatically end Zoroark once everything was taken into account. That left only my special moves as possible attacks. I had Surf, Icebeam, Blizzard, Focus Blast, Water Gun, Ancient Power, Brine and Hydro Pump. Even with Carracosta’s special attack lowered, and Zoroark special defense increased, I knew that any move I used that had STAB would not allow the wild Pokemon to live, Water might be an exception. That eliminated all but Icebeam, Blizzard, Focus Blast and Water Gun. I did a quick calculation and saw that with the exception of Water Gun, all left Zoroark dead.

This gave me a dilemma. I could either use Protect and save some health, but leave Zoroark with more health. Or, I could use Water Gun with the risk of knocking the wolf out, along with me sustaining more damage. I mean damn, it was a tough decision to make no matter what I did. I knew I couldn’t leave such an important decision up to chance.

With that in mind, I plugged in some more numbers to see what health Zoroark would be around. After getting a number from the ‘dex, I plugged all the available data into a new application I had downloaded from the official ranger website, and waited for the results to come out. This application could give the user an approximate number of what the chance was for the wild Pokemon to break free of a capture device. While it couldn’t take into account things like will power or determination, it was still was relatively accurate. So I waited for the number to be regurgitated, and I was surprised by what they said. The amount between both options was negligible, only about five percent difference between the two. With this information my mind was made up.

“Carracosta, you’re doing great. I couldn’t be any prouder. But now, it’s time for us to finish this battle and move on. I want you to go with Protect.”

With all my attacking options taken, Protect would save my Pokemon from most damage, while allowing the Sandstorm and Toxic to work some more on Zoroark.

By in far, Protect was one of the best moves in the game, which explained why it was so rare. It protected the user from any attacking move save Feint, which nullified the move and did damage. Naturally as that thought ran through the connections of my brain I immediately turned to my dex to see if Zoroark happened to learn the move. I sighed when it didn’t, as that would be embarrassing on my part to overlook such a critical move. With that out of the way, I was confident Carracosta would remain with a good chunk of health still intact.

Protect worked by the user creating a shield of energy that dissipated attacks that came its way, but by using Protect a couple of things could happen. One, the opposing Pokemon would have no choice but to attack; or two, the Pokemon would use a move that increased some of its stats or use Substitute. Knowing how devious this Pokemon was, it could easily use one of the second options, making it that more dangerous a foe to deal with.

But if all went to plan, then anything Zoroark did would not save it. But in reality that didn’t mean nothing. As my father used to say, “When you assume you make an ass out of you and me.” Wise words, but still annoying because it’s hard to not assume in certain cases.

If everything worked, big if, then I would be able to throw a ball at Zoroark next turn and move on with run. But if it didn’t work, then I would need a backup plan. The bad news was, I didn’t have an inkling of a backup plan. After this turn I knew I was probably going to throw the Pokeball, but if it broke then I was practically screwed. The Toxic would KO Zoroark, even with Sandstorm ending, and I would have waited Carracosta’s effort. It was a close line I was treading, but I saw no other choice.​

 

Post #4

~~~~~

A white shield covers Ozark, rendering him impervious to damage for a short time. The Zoroark narrows its eyes angrily and conjures several blue swords which sway through the air. It's pretty clear that the Zoroark intends to do murder, and now that the sandstorm has faded away there's almost nothing stopping it.

~~~~~

Current Battle Stats:

Carracosta: 38.63%, ATK+1, DEF+1, SATK-1, SPD-1 (used Protect)

Zoroark: 11.18%, ATK+2, SATK+1, SDEF+1, TOX-1 (used Swords Dance)

MCR: 33477/35000

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @AmericanTreeFrog
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 1 Hyper Ball; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Zoroark
Pokemon Captured: N/A

Careful Male Carracosta
HM/TM: Surf , Waterfall , Icebeam , Blizzard , Earthquake , Bulldoze , Sandstorm , Stone Edge , Rock Tomb , Rock Polish , Toxic , Substitute , Swagger , Focus Blast
BM/SM/MT: N/A

 

OOC: @ChainReaction01 - Throwing Hyper Ball
---

Well, things worked exactly like I wanted too. Nothing happened out of the ordinary and I wasn’t screwed over by the Zoroark. Carracosta completed his Protect move perfectly. He withdrew all his limbs and head into his solid, spiked shell. Zoroark stood staring at my Pokemon, jaws agape, a snarl masking his snout.

The Sandstorm had died down and I could clearly see that the Dark type was very angry at me. Which was understandable, I had just foiled any attacking move. Zoroark stood rooted to the spot and stared at my Pokemon for a good two seconds. Then a very wolfish grin slowly spread across his face.

I felt a sinking feeling from that look and wondered what the Dark Pokemon had in store for me. That look could have sent a Salamence ducking for cover, it was not a good feeling to be on the receiving end.

That multicolored energy shield shimmered over Carracosta, and after a few long moments my Pokemon poked his head out the shell. He was just in time to see Zoroark’s next move.

Zoroark pointed his limbs out, and suddenly several blue swords of energy materialized around him. The swords weaved about in a clockwise manner as the Pokemon manipulated his remaining energy. Both of us recognized the powerful move, Swords Dance.

If a Pokemon wanted to raise his attack stats fast, the Pokemon usually opted for Swords Dance. It was a common enough move that raised the stats of the user Pokemon by two stages. In the right hands, with plus two attack some Pokemon would be almost unstoppable and hard to put down.

If all my luck played out, then it wouldn’t be a problem for me to deal with. But if my plan failed, woe unto me. I reached into my pack and rummaged around for the item I would need to catch this Pokemon. It took me a few tries, but eventually I pulled out the forest green Park Ball, with the bolded ‘H’ on the top that signaled this was a Hyper Ball.

By this time the Protect around Carracosta had worn off, I had to work fast. I checked my aim, and chucked the capture device as fast as I could at Zoroark.
​

 

Post #5

~~~~~

You throw the Hyper Ball at the Zoroark as it runs towards Ozark. The capture device struck the Dark-type on its bushy tail. The Zoroark fought valiantly, but in the end was overpowered by the device. You pick up the ball and stash it away before continuing down the path. A chirping distracts you and you look up to see a small green-and-red bird watching you with one beady eye.

~~~~~

Current Battle Stats:

Carracosta: 38.63%

Natu 100%

MCR: 0

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @AmericanTreeFrog
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 2 Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Zoroark; Natu
Pokemon Captured: Rash ??? Zoroark @ 35523MCR

Careful Male Carracosta
HM/TM: Surf , Waterfall , Icebeam , Blizzard , Earthquake , Bulldoze , Sandstorm , Stone Edge , Rock Tomb , Rock Polish , Toxic , Substitute , Swagger , Focus Blast
BM/SM/MT: N/A

 

@ChainReaction01 - Flee
--

My aim was true. Zoroark saw me getting ready to throw the Hyper Ball, and charged Ozark, his claws stretched forward. The ball sailed towards the Dark type and struck the wolf Pokemon on its tail. The area lit up with a brief red flash as the Zoroark was sucked inside. The green ball wiggled furiously as the Pokemon tried to escape, but fortunately the ball held and it sounded off with a ding, signaling a capture. I walked over to the now still Hyper Ball and placed it inside my park.

Next, I walked over to Carracosta. "Good job, you couldn't have done better." The Pokemon nuzzled my hand with his strong jaws at the praise. "Time to heal you though."

I reached into the pack and pulled out a small brown bag, containing a healing powder. I fed the Energy Powder to him and continued down the path, Ozark at my side. We hadn't gone very far when a chirping could be heard to my right. I looked at the direction and saw a small green bird staring down at me.

"Natu," I said to nobody in particular. "Sorry, I don't want to battle you," I addressed the little Flying and Psychic Pokemon.​

 

Post #5

~~~~~

The bird seems about as interested in you as you are in it. You walk onwards only to have a green gelatinous Pokemon bar your way. It makes a loud noise that is clearly a challenge.

~~~~~

Current Battle Stats:

Carracosta: 88.63%

Duosion 100%

MCR: 0/15000

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @AmericanTreeFrog
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 2 Lava Cookies, 1 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Zoroark; Natu; Duosion
Pokemon Captured: Rash ??? Zoroark @ 35523MCR

Careful Male Carracosta
HM/TM: Surf , Waterfall , Icebeam , Blizzard , Earthquake , Bulldoze , Sandstorm , Stone Edge , Rock Tomb , Rock Polish , Toxic , Substitute , Swagger , Focus Blast
BM/SM/MT: N/A

 

@ChainReaction01
---

I calmly walked past the small bird and it made no move to follow, which was good as I didn't want to waste health or the Pokedoll on the Pokemon. We continued to walk down the path some ways when a green glob came to block my path. It took me a few moments, but I eventually recognized it as a Duosion, a Psychic Pokemon. It was the evolved form of Solosis and the pre-evolved form of Reuniclus. It was a decently rare Pokemon, not many people possessed this Pokemon. It was a very tempting offer, I only had four Psychic types, and only one of those was a pure type.

I pulled out my Pokedex and did a quick search on the Pokemon, checking its stats. It had pretty high special attack, but very low speed and low attack. Its defenses weren't particularly high, and that was surprising for Psychic types. I gave the Pokemon another quick look and made up my mind.

This wasn't the Pokemon for me. Now to see if the little guy would leave us alone.​

 

Post #6

~~~~~

The Duosion makes the noise again - clearly it wants a battle from you. You try to move around it but it bounces in front of you. You're not going to get away that easily.

~~~~~

Current Battle Stats:

Carracosta: 88.63% (escape failed)

Duosion 100%

MCR: 948/15000

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @AmericanTreeFrog
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 2 Lava Cookies, 1 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Zoroark; Natu; Duosion
Pokemon Captured: Rash ??? Zoroark @ 35523MCR

Careful Male Carracosta
HM/TM: Surf , Waterfall , Icebeam , Blizzard , Earthquake , Bulldoze , Sandstorm , Stone Edge , Rock Tomb , Rock Polish , Toxic , Substitute , Swagger , Focus Blast
BM/SM/MT: N/A

 

OOC: @ChainReaction01
---

I tried to walk past the green Psychic Pokemon, but it made a odd sound and bounced directly in front of my path. I gave the Pokemon a cool look, but it matched my gaze evenly, not showing any signs of fear at all. I released a sigh, this little guy wanted a fight, and it would try its hardest to get one, even if I didn't want one at all. I motioned Ozark over to stand beside. "It appear this girl doesn't want to let us pass, but I really don't want to fight it. So, our plan is that we're going to try and get past one more time. And If it doesn't let us go by then then we are going to have to fight it. If it comes after us strike out with your Crunch move."

I wanted Crunch to be used because of its high power and damage that it would do against the Duosion. If it came to a fight I was confident that I would be able to finish the fight quickly, with only a turn or two of attacks.
​

 

Post #7

~~~~~

You try to run past the Duosion again, and it goes to jump in front of you but slips on some pebbles and goes sliding into a wall. Because of this spot of luck, you're able to escape from the persistent Psychic-type. It's not long before you encounter another, however - a Wynaut sitting on top of some rocks barks out a happy greeting to you.

~~~~~

Current Battle Stats:

Carracosta: 88.63%

Wynaut 100%

MCR: 948/15000

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @AmericanTreeFrog
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 2 Lava Cookies, 1 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Zoroark; Natu; Duosion; Wynaut
Pokemon Captured: Rash ??? Zoroark @ 35523MCR

Careful Male Carracosta
HM/TM: Surf , Waterfall , Icebeam , Blizzard , Earthquake , Bulldoze , Sandstorm , Stone Edge , Rock Tomb , Rock Polish , Toxic , Substitute , Swagger , Focus Blast
BM/SM/MT: N/A

 

OOC: @ChainReaction01
---

With that said, we took off running, hoping to flee the Duosion. Unfortunately the Duosion had other plans and came right after us. We hadn't been running far when I knew the jig was up, we would have to fight the Psychic type. Just as I was about to give the order for Ozark to execute the Crunch, the Duosion slipped on some loose rocks and fell head-over-heels into a rock face. I could barely contain my whoop at this flash of luck, but I knew I had to put some distance between out two parties.

A short time after escaping the Duosion we came to meet a friendly Wynaut sitting atop some boulders. It waved a small hand at us in greeting and made a sound.

"Hey, cutie," I said, waving back. "Let's go, Ozark"

The little guy was friendly, but I had no need for a Wyanut, or its evolved form.​

 

Post #8

~~~~~

The Wynaut seems pleased by your friendly reply, and allows you to continue along your path unmolested. Your luck doesn't last for very long, though - a Beldum hovers into your field of view, and it doesn't look very happy about you being in its territory.

~~~~~

Current Battle Stats:

Carracosta: 88.63%

Beldum 100%

MCR: 0/15000

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @AmericanTreeFrog
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 2 Lava Cookies, 1 Energy Powders, 1 PokeDoll
Pokémon Encountered: Zoroark; Natu; Duosion; Wynaut; Beldum
Pokemon Captured: Rash ??? Zoroark @ 35523MCR

Careful Male Carracosta
HM/TM: Surf , Waterfall , Icebeam , Blizzard , Earthquake , Bulldoze , Sandstorm , Stone Edge , Rock Tomb , Rock Polish , Toxic , Substitute , Swagger , Focus Blast
BM/SM/MT: N/A

 

OOC: @ChainReaction01
--

The Wynaut gave me a smile and left us alone as we walked by, it was a very friendly Wynaut indeed. If I wasn't in a hurry or didn't need one then I might have been tempted to catch it. But I still had one encounter left and not much time left before the event ended, only a few hours according to my watch. Ozark and I continued to walk down the path, which would take us to the front gate, when I heard a slightly humming noise. I turned to see a floating Beldum hovering nearby, its gaze fixed at us in anger. I knew we must have been on this powerful Pokemon's territory.

"Well, Ozark, I think it's time for us to leave." I pulled out my one Pokedoll to give to Beldum, and withdrew my remaining Energy Powder to heal Ozark after we had escaped. ​

 

Post #9

~~~~~

You throw the PokeDoll towards the Beldum and flee. It's not long before you end up at the entrance again, and you feed your last remaining Energy Powder to Ozark.

~~~~~

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @AmericanTreeFrog
Items: 3 Park Balls; 2 Super Balls; 2 Lava Cookies
Pokémon Encountered: Zoroark; Natu; Duosion; Wynaut; Beldum
Pokemon Captured: Rash ??? Zoroark @ 35523MCR

Careful Male Carracosta
HM/TM: Surf , Waterfall , Icebeam , Blizzard , Earthquake , Bulldoze , Sandstorm , Stone Edge , Rock Tomb , Rock Polish , Toxic , Substitute , Swagger , Focus Blast
BM/SM/MT: N/A