Capture Contest: DoH

Post #1

*~~~~~~~~~*

You enter the Valley and discover a cave not far from your position. Before you can head over and discover what lies hidden within the depths, a Wynaut jumps from the brush nearby. Judging from the determined look on it's face, the creature wants to fight.

*~~~~~~~~~*

Current Stats:

Sigilyph: 100%

Wynaut: 100%

MCR: 0/4000

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @Dog of Hellsing
Pokémon Encountered: Wynaut
Pokemon Captured: N/A

Bold Male Sigilyph (Regalia)
Ability: Wonder Skin
TMs/HMs: TM Substitute ; TM Attract ; TM Psych Up ; TM Hidden Power [Ground]; TM ; TM Calm Mind ; TM Shadow Ball ; TM Energy Ball ; TM Ice Beam ; TM Flash Cannon
BMs/MTs/SMs: BM Roost

Items:

3x Park Balls, 2x Super Balls, 1x Hyper Ball, 2x Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 Pokedoll

 

Saundra Blake​

I grinned as I entered Meteor Valley, cracking my knuckles in preparation for the Event that had been set up by the Park Staff. It was basically like the Park Catching Contest that happened in Johto from time to time, only on a much larger scale. I would have been lying if I had said I wasn’t excited; in fact, my chosen Pokemon for this run was as giddy as I was. That was only expected, seeing as how Regalia was a Psychic Pokemon.

The colorful Sigilyph hovered above my head after I released him from his PokeBall, humming merrily and floating in circles as we headed into the valley before us. We didn’t get far before a Wynaut appeared before us, an oddly determined expression on its face. Perhaps it was young, striking out on its own and wanting to prove it could stand against enemies. Maybe we were in its territory. Either way, despite how interesting a Pokemon its evolved form could be, I wasn’t really that interested in a Wynaut. I smiled at it and made a motion with my hand; it was a signal I used when I wanted Regalia to try and fill an area with soothing energy. The Sigilyph’s humming grew softer as he started to radiate mental energy designed to make Wynaut feel less combative. Hopefully the smaller Psychic would allow itself to be calmed instead of resisting and pressing an attack.

@Akinai

 

Post #2

*~~~~~~~~~*

The Wynaut, lulled by Regalia's soothing melody, appears to think twice about it's prior actions. Giving one last cry as if to say “I'll deal with you two later,” the small Pokemon waddles off.

The cave, even this close, has lost none of its mysterious aura. There is a dim glow emanating within, the source unknown but allowing enough of a glow to see with. You don't get far, only a mere few minutes in, before you are greeted by yet another Pokemon. A low growl echoes off the walls, so you hear the creature before seeing it up close. As it steps forward, familiar black and gray markings on the Pokemon's body reveal it to be a Mightyena. It looks at Regalia, and begins to growl louder.

*~~~~~~~~~*

Current Stats:

Sigilyph: 100%

Mightyena: 100%

MCR: 0/15,000

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @Dog of Hellsing
Pokémon Encountered: Wynaut, Mightyena
Pokemon Captured: N/A

Bold Male Sigilyph (Regalia)
Ability: Wonder Skin
TMs/HMs: TM Substitute ; TM Attract ; TM Psych Up ; TM Hidden Power [Ground]; TM ; TM Calm Mind ; TM Shadow Ball ; TM Energy Ball ; TM Ice Beam ; TM Flash Cannon
BMs/MTs/SMs: BM Roost

Items:

3x Park Balls, 2x Super Balls, 1x Hyper Ball, 2x Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 Pokedoll

 

Saundra Blake​

I rubbed my hands together at the sight of Mightyena stepping from the shadows. The wolf clearly didn’t like our being here, but since it was discovered they were capable of having the Moxie Ability, I’d decided to try my hand at catching one some time ago. Now I had the chance to add one to my team and I wasn’t going to just pass up the opportunity.

Of course, Regalia was at a type disadvantage here, so we had to play our cards carefully. The first thing to do would be to try and disarm Mightyena as much as possible. Studying it, I was glad to see luck was with us; it was a female. I smiled a little and snapped my fingers to get Regalia’s attention, waiting for his acknowledging trill before giving him his first set of orders.

“Regalia, we need to play this carefully. Mightyena’s best attacks are physical and she can’t really reach you to use them if you stay out of her range, but she can still pack a punch with some of the special attacks she might have, so keep a sharp eye on her. We’re going to try and make it hard for her to stay focused on the fight, which should help keep you out of harm’s way while we wear her down. Start with an Attract and then move in for a Hypnosis!”

Regalia hummed briefly in response before rapidly flying towards Mightyena, staying out of reach but in sight as he began to bob and weave in the air. He fluttered his wing and tail feathers, using his Psychic powers to make the illusion of multi-colored sparks drift from his body. His movements, coupled with the pretty sparks, certainly looked enchanting to me, but it didn’t matter at all if Mightyena didn’t feel the same way.

While he tried to work his charms on the darkly wolf, the ancient Pokemon focused his keen gaze on the wolf, locking gazes with her and modifying his dance just enough to not only keep Mightyena (hopefully) enthralled, but also to lull her into a slumber that would give Regalia a chance to strike without fear of instant retaliation. With any luck, Mightyena would become infatuated before falling asleep and stay that way even after waking back up, which would only serve to give Regalia more time to chip away at her health.

As he floated about over Mightyena’s head, doing his best to woo the other Pokemon and get her to fall asleep, Regalia swerved back and forth amongst the large stakes of rock hanging down from the cave’s low ceiling. I smiled a little at his forethought; if Mightyena did launch any long-distance attacks and they shattered the stone, it could prove useful in doing minimal damage in the form of falling debris. Still, I knew the main reason the Sigilyph was moving around the hanging stones pieces. He was Bold and had a habit of using the surroundings around him, usually in an effort to show off how daring he was. In this case, the danger lied in his being too focused on Mightyena and flying smack into one of the rocks. There wasn’t a very large chance of it happening, since his psychic powers served as a sort of intangible sonar to warn of physical obstacles, but if he was too busy concentrating on Mightyena, it was still a possibility.

@Akinai

 

Post #3

*~~~~~~~~~*

Seeing Regalia making her move, the Mightyena sprung quickly into action. In a vain attempt to interrupt the entrancing move, the wolflike Pokemon begun to kick sand directly at the Sigilyph, slightly blinding the Psychic type. Due to being focused towards the ground, Hypnosis' power was deemed useless. While Mightyena readied her next attack, however, she appeared to stop in place, looking at Regalia with an adoring expression.
*~~~~~~~~~*

Current Stats:

Sigilyph: 100% ACC-1

Mightyena: 100% ATR

MCR: 3,111/15,000

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @Dog of Hellsing
Pokémon Encountered: Wynaut, Mightyena
Pokemon Captured: N/A

Bold Male Sigilyph (Regalia)
Ability: Wonder Skin
TMs/HMs: TM Substitute ; TM Attract ; TM Psych Up ; TM Hidden Power [Ground]; TM ; TM Calm Mind ; TM Shadow Ball ; TM Energy Ball ; TM Ice Beam ; TM Flash Cannon
BMs/MTs/SMs: BM Roost

Items:

3x Park Balls, 2x Super Balls, 1x Hyper Ball, 2x Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 Pokedoll

 

Saundra Blake​

Hypnosis had missed and Mightyena had managed to get in a Sand-Attack, but the main part of my plan had worked. Mightyena appeared to be completely infatuated by Regalia for now, and I wasn’t about to let the chance to get my Pokemon back in the game go to waste.

The first thing we needed to do was take care of Regalia’s decreased accuracy. Thankfully, there was a move that would not only cancel out the effect of that move, but also make it possible for Regalia’s Psychic attacks to actually be useful against the Dark-typed wolf we were facing. After taking care of that issue, it would be time to try and slow Mightyena down some. There were a few ways we could do that, but there was one choice that would probably be best for the situation at hand.

“Regalia, time for a magic trick, and once you’re done do a bit of terraforming to slow Mightyena down!” I called to the Pokemon hovering motionlessly above us. After having a fair amount of sand kicked into his face, he had simply stopped moving, not clearly able to see what was going on. Bold he was, but not stupid; he wasn’t about to keep flying around blind and risk impaling himself on one of the sharp stones hanging from the cave ceiling. Now that he had his orders, though, he was quick to go about carrying them out.

The first thing the Sigilyph did was close his eyes and focus on his “third eye”, the seat of psychic power and intuition in all things, but most powerful in Psychic Pokemon. This was his Miracle Eye, codenamed “magic trick” because it was like magic how he could track things without seeing them with his physical eyes. With his physical sight impaired, the next best thing would be to use his psychic abilities to attune to Mightyena’s aura, the energy she radiated, and track her that way. So long as nothing happened to break his concentration, he would be able to follow Mightyena and “see” her in order to attack, as well as amplifying his awareness of his surroundings so as not to crash into the ground or something equally disastrous. Not only would it bypass his lowered accuracy, it would also allow him to modify the telekinetic force of his Psychic attacks, making them able to affect and damage the wolf. It took a few moments for the Pokemon’s third eye to open fully, but hopefully he’d be done with that in just a few seconds.

His next order was to use his Hidden Power, codenamed “terraforming” because the typing for his power was Ground. Focusing his energy into the ground, he could cause a variety of effects depending on the situation. He could make the ground tremble like an Earthquake, or cause spikes to jut out of the earth to jab at the foe. In this case, he would be turning the ground beneath Mightyena into something akin to muddy quicksand. The cave floor would give enough to suck at the wolf’s paws and make it harder to move, but remain solid enough that she didn’t actually sink enough to be in danger.

The main point of all this was to keep Mightyena distracted long enough to try another Hypnosis later, because despite all these tricky ways Regalia had of fighting, it would still be in his best interest to try and make the wolf he was fighting fall asleep. Once she was dreaming, he’d be able to attack without worry of Mightyena dodging or countering and making him waste his energy. Not only that, but his Bold nature sometimes made him take unnecessary risks; if Mightyena was asleep, there would be fewer chances for the Sigilyph to get himself into trouble by being flashy and overly brave.

===

OOC: I'm assuming that for the Park, Miracle Eye actually negates the target's evasion as well as any impaired accuracy the user might have suffered. Just makes sense that way lol.

@Akinai

 

Post #4

OOC: Keeping posts short is harder than I thought it would be...

*~~~~~~~~~*

Regalia's Miracle Eye appeared unfazed from Mightyena's sand assault, allowing the Sigilyph to begin charging up his Hidden Power technique. Adamant upon getting an additional hit in first, the Mightyena leaps and strikes forward with an Iron Tail before landing in the trap caused by Hidden Power. Furious upon being unable to move, the Mightyena shouts obscenities at Regalia, using Taunt to trick the Pokemon into sticking with damaging attacks. Seeing her enemy now thoroughly angry, she begins to charge up energy for a Dark Pulse, glowing with a ebony light.

*~~~~~~~~~*

Current Stats:

Sigilyph: 75%, TNT

Mightyena: 100% ATR, snared.

MCR: 6,640/15,000

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @Dog of Hellsing
Pokémon Encountered: Wynaut, Mightyena
Pokemon Captured: N/A

Bold Male Sigilyph (Regalia)
Ability: Wonder Skin
TMs/HMs: TM Substitute ; TM Attract ; TM Psych Up ; TM Hidden Power [Ground]; TM ; TM Calm Mind ; TM Shadow Ball ; TM Energy Ball ; TM Ice Beam ; TM Flash Cannon
BMs/MTs/SMs: BM Roost

Items:

3x Park Balls, 2x Super Balls, 1x Hyper Ball, 2x Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 Pokedoll

 

Saundra Blake​

Regalia made a musical sound, which I knew was his version of a laugh, as Mightyena flung a series of short barks and snarls at the Psychic Pokemon. Apparently the wolf wasn’t very happy about being trapped and was trying to trying make Regalia angry enough to only use his attacking moves. Well, that was all good and well. Even though he was laughing at her, I could tell by his subtle body language that he was actually somewhat irritated. His nature prevented him from showing it, though, and I nodded once. Hopefully Mightyena would be fooled into thinking her Taunt hadn't been effective; if she became angered enough, there was a good chance she would make mistakes, mistakes we could take advantage of. Of course, it looked like that might not be the case, as she was beginning to charge up a Dark Pulse. I could only hope that she might become hesitant so long as Regalia kept up the air not being affected by the wolf's Taunt. If we were lucky, she might stop her attack before releasing it, or it might not be as strong as normal if she were uncertain.

For now, Regalia wouldn’t listen to orders if they weren’t strict attacking moves, but we could still work around that. Now that she was stuck, at least for now, the Mightyena would have a hard time fighting back with her stronger physical moves, and it would be harder for her to dodge as well. Even her special ones, like that Dark Pulse she was working on, might be dodged if she couldn't move around properly to aim right. It was a good time to start chipping away at her HP, especially since the softened ground would eventually return to it normal state. When that happened Mightyena would have full mobility again, so we needed to act quickly before that happened.

“Regalia, light the place up a little and then cool things off!” I ordered, falling back to using code names in place of the actual attack name. Even though Mightyena wouldn’t be able to move around too well unless she got clear of the sandy, soft portion of the cave floor, she could still counter if she knew what to expect. Giving Regalia his commands in this manner would make it harder for her to come up with any kind of plan until after the attacks were released. That hesitation could score us a solid hit and make Mightyena less likely to strike back in return, which was always a good thing considering Regalia had already taken a solid hit, and if we didn't act quickly, might be taking another.

The first course of action was a Flash Cannon. The idea of this was to try and blind Mightyena for a few moments for the next attack, which would be an Ice Beam, to strike, as well as disrupting her Dark Pulse or, at the very least, fouling her sight enough to where it either missed entirely or just clipped Regalia. Even if we didn’t score a Freeze on the wolf (which would be quite the boon for this battle), it would also hopefully serve to slow her down even further. Coupled with the momentary blindness from Flash Cannon and the silt-like consistency of the cave floor, being chilled by an Ice Beam could only serve to further protect Regalia from any devastating Dark attacks Mightyena might try to use on him in retaliation.

Regalia let out a sigh as he began to gather energy, focusing it into the eye patterns on his belly. These started to take on a glow, soft at first, then growing in strength until the light was intensely bright. Flash Cannon was a pretty move, but in a dark place like this, it was also a very effective one; outside during the day, the natural sunlight tended to diminish the effect of the attack, but in darker places or at night, the intense white light was much more noticeable and could leave those simply seeing it with watering eyes. Thus, despite my desire to watch the attack, I averted my gaze to Mightyena instead. Unless she managed to release her attack first, in just a few minutes the energy Regalia was focusing would be released as twin beams of brilliant light, trailing red and gray streaks as they moved through the air. Wherever they struck, large sparks of multi-colored light would burst forth with hissing cracks; these sparks would sparkle and sizzle for a moment before petering out.

After using his Flash Cannon, if Mightyena was indeed temporarily sightless from the attack, Regalia would use his Psychic influence to draw heat from the air, drawing the chilled air into a compact sphere. He would grab water vapor from the surroundings as well, which would cause the area to become rather dry and devoir of humidity; this vapor would be injected into the condensed orb of cold air, where it would freeze into a solid sphere of crystal-clear ice. A quick test to make sure it was of the proper temperature and consistency, and Regalia would then warp the ice sphere into a beam. This would be fired at Mightyena; even if the attack somehow missed, the air the beam moved through would become very cold. It would be best if the attack were to strike Mightyena, but even just slowing her down a bit because of the cold would be helpful.

@Akinai

 

Post #5

*~~~~~~~~~*

Due to being unable to fully see thanks to Flash Cannon, Mightyena pauses a moment until she can fully see her enemy. This gives Regalia time to fire off Ice Beam, and the two attacks collide with one another. While this weakened both attacks, they managed to hit their mark nonetheless. In order to slow her enemy Mightyena glares at Regalia with a murderous look in her eye, slowing the Sigilyph down.

*~~~~~~~~~*

Current Stats:

Sigilyph: 41%, TNT-1, SPD-2

Mightyena: 49% ATR

MCR: 11,685/15,000

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @Dog of Hellsing
Pokémon Encountered: Wynaut, Mightyena
Pokemon Captured: N/A

Bold Male Sigilyph (Regalia)
Ability: Wonder Skin
TMs/HMs: TM Substitute ; TM Attract ; TM Psych Up ; TM Hidden Power [Ground]; TM ; TM Calm Mind ; TM Shadow Ball ; TM Energy Ball ; TM Ice Beam ; TM Flash Cannon
BMs/MTs/SMs: BM Roost

Items:

3x Park Balls, 2x Super Balls, 1x Hyper Ball, 2x Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 Pokedoll

 

Saundra Blake​

Mightyena wasn’t taking kindly to Regalia’s efforts, and it seemed like her anger was preventing her from becoming infatuated. She used a Glare technique to slow Regalia down; even though his eyes were closed and he was operating via his sixth sense, it didn’t matter when it came to the sheer vehemence a Pokemon radiated when using Glare. That malice would be washing over Regalia in waves, and that, not the actual expression itself, was what caused Regalia to lose some of his natural confidence and bravery. Like I said, he wasn’t stupid, and when a creature was giving off the kind of bad vibes pouring from Mightyena, one didn’t just rush headlong into battle with it.

Mightyena was starting to lag, though; I could see it in the way her body sagged a bit as she glared up at the Sigilyph hovering over her head. This would have normally been something to be pleased about, had circumstances not caused Regalia to lose a fair chunk of his own HP as well. I watched the Sigilyph with a sharp gaze, watching the way he cautiously moved around the sharp stones jabbing down from the cave ceiling. He was moving very slowly now, as if hesitant to leave the cover of a stalactite when behind one. As he moved, a plan started to form in my mind. I moved my attention to the stalactites, then peered at the cave floor beneath Mightyena’s paws. It wouldn’t be much longer before the ground returned to its normal solid state. If everything was timed right, we might be able to catch Mightyena off-guard and wrap this battle up with a few well-placed attacks.

I focused back on Regalia, quickly going over the consequences of what I wanted to do and hammering out the best course of action. After several minutes I nodded, set in my decision, and focused on Regalia with all my willpower. Now, I was no Psychic by nature, no Medium with powers over the intangible world of psionic energies and forces, and what I was trying to do now, I’d only attempted a few other times in the past. The task was one I hadn’t perfected by far, but it was getting just a little easier each time I tried. Closing my eyes to block out visible distractions, I “shouted” Regalia’s name with my mind, thinking it as hard and loudly as I could manage. Because of his Miracle Eye, perhaps, the Pokemon seemed to notice my mental call quicker than he normally did. I felt a hesitant tendril touch my awareness; when I offered no resistance, it gently worked its way deeper into my mind, wrapping and folding itself as it became stronger, more vibrant. After a few moments a deep, rich voice flowed through my mind.

=You must have something devious planned to try this,= the Sigilyph said telepathically, and I chuckled a little as I opened my eyes. Now that the mental connection was established, there was no fear of distraction breaking it. Only if Regalia fainted or terminated the link himself would the connection be lost, and I wasn’t planning on letting anything of the sort happen. =What’s the plan?=

=Can you focus enough on Mightyena to maintain the link?= I asked, first wanting to make sure I wasn’t putting any undue stress on the Pokemon’s resources. Normally we did this when he wasn’t using his Miracle Eye to “see” his foe, so I didn’t know if the move was helping with this or hindering it. A wash of reassurance rolled over me, completely squashing any misgivings I had about the issue.

=I will be fine,= he replied stoutly. =What do you have in mind?=

=Well, for starters, if we communicate like this, Mightyena will have nothing to go on in terms of counter attacks. Best to keep her guessing for now. Also, your Hidden Power’s effect will be ending soon,= I said, and a sense of agreement filled me momentarily. =I don’t want you to take any other hits if we can help it, so use your Psychic powers to break one of these stalactites apart and fling the pieces at Mightyena. Do your best to make sure only one or two hit her; I want her distracted from the ground beneath her feet, not to take actual damage from the stones. With any luck, while you’re playing sharpshooter, the ground under Mighteyna will become fully solid and throw her off balance. When that happens, use the released energy and gather it into an Energy Ball. That should hopefully keep her from not only hitting you with another strong attack, it will make her weak enough to catch. Oh, and if you see an opening after that Energy Ball, try to hit her with another Hypnosis; otherwise, don’t worry about it.=

=Very well,= Regalia replied. =Do you want to leave this link in place?= He sounded a bit worried here, and a feeling of concern tugged at my mind. Normally, we would put the link in place long enough for me to give the Pokemon his commands and then sever it, since not only emotions and thoughts, but sensations as well were passed through the bond between us. We had learned this the hard way the first time we’d tried it; Regalia had been fighting a Wild Rhydon, and with the link between us, had taken a nasty Take Down attack. I had felt the pain of the blow and it had been enough of a shock to make me pass out for a few seconds. The Sigilyph was clearly worried about me going through another incident like that one. I pushed away his budding concern with some effort, not used to overriding another’s emotions, and was glad when he let it go with little resistance.

=Leave it in place, I’ll be fine,= I assured him. =After all, what better way of making sure I don’t push you too much, hm?= Already I could feel Regalis’a flagging energy, even though I personally wasn’t actually losing any strength. It was an illusion, an effect of the bond. Just like I could feel what he did, his physical state felt like it was mine. Right now it was just a faint feeling of fatigue, easily ignored for the time but threatening to become worse if ignored.

Regalia seemed glad that I was going to stay with him for the remainder of the battle, as it were, and released a series of Psychic threads. These he weaved together into a visible maroon whip, which he lassoed around the nearest stalactite. The whip then spread into a sheet that squeezed around the sharp rock, tighter and tighter until, with a resounding CRACK, the rock was broken free from the ceiling. Several more echoing cracks filled the cave as the large piece of rock was broken into smaller pieces. These Regalia then heaved at Mightyena, and at that exact moment a rush of excitement jumped from him to me.

=Perfect!= he exclaimed, more to himself than me, and I felt him reaching out with his mind to gather up the energy from his earlier Hidden Power, energy that had been keeping the ground soft and silt-like. Imbued with Psychic power, the Ground-typed energy morphed and warped, becoming pure Nature energy. In layman’s terms the energy was now Grass-typed, in this case becoming an Energy Ball attack. This Regalia sent flying at Mightyena as well, and all the while I could sense him closely tracking the wolf, waiting to see if there would be a chance to use his Hypnosis move again. If he got the chance, the lulling energy would be released from the eye patterns on his belly, like his earlier Flash Cannon had been.

I pulled a Super Ball from the basket of Items I’d received before entering the Park for the Event, watching anxiously to see what the outcome of all this would be. I felt a sense of strain settling over me, knowing that Regalia had used quite a bit of energy for his last two attacks, given his current state. I could only hope this would bring the battle to a close and net me a strong ally as well. Whether or not Regalia had a chance to use Hypnosis, whether or not it worked, so long as Mightyena lost enough HP with this combo, I would be attempting a catch. There was no other choice, since Regalia wouldn’t be able to carry on with this for much longer.

@Akinai

 

Post #6

*~~~~~~~~~*

Regalia lowers down and manages to strike true with one of the broken-off stalactites, causing the wild Mightyena howl with pain. While she manages to stumble a bit on the quickly-hardening ground, the Dark-type manages a clumsy Tackle in retaliation. Before she can take advantage of the Sigilyph's lowered speed however, Mightyena is immobilized by Attract once more. This leaves Regalia with a clear shot, striking his target dead-on with Energy Ball and causing the wild Pokemon to collapse.

The thrown Superball sucks in the wild Pokemon and rocks back and forth a moment before letting up a resounding ping. As you walk over to the sphere to pick it up, another Pokemon runs forward from it's hiding place- a Mime Jr. Apparently it thinks the capture device is a toy, and an invitation to play.

*~~~~~~~~~*

Current Stats:

Sigilyph: 29%

Mime Jr.: 100%

MCR: 0/15,000

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @Dog of Hellsing
Pokémon Encountered: Wynaut, Mightyena, Mime Jr.
Pokemon Captured: Adamant Mightyena (F)

Bold Male Sigilyph (Regalia)
Ability: Wonder Skin
TMs/HMs: TM Substitute ; TM Attract ; TM Psych Up ; TM Hidden Power [Ground]; TM ; TM Calm Mind ; TM Shadow Ball ; TM Energy Ball ; TM Ice Beam ; TM Flash Cannon
BMs/MTs/SMs: BM Roost

Items:

3x Park Balls, 1x Super Balls, 1x Hyper Ball, 2x Lava Cookies, 2 Energy Powders, 1 Pokedoll

 

Saundra Blake​

The battle was over and Mightyena was captured. I grinned as I walked over to pick up the Super Ball, pausing when a Mime Jr. came into view. When it spotted the Super Ball in my hand it smiled widely, clearly expecting some kind of game to start. I sighed as I straightened, staring at the little Pokemon. I wasn’t in the market for a Mime Jr., and I really didn’t want to use the PokeDoll I had nestled in the basket. Instead, I motioned for the Mime Jr. to wait and then waved of Regalia to join me. Once he was in front of me, I dug an Energy Powder from the basket and opened the packet.

=That was a pretty tough dog, eh?= I said, holding back the urge to sag. I was feeling exhausted now, a clear indication that Regalia needed some tending to. His only reply was a sense of acknowledgement as he snared the packet with his Psychic, drawing it to himself and guiding the powder inside towards his beak. Within a few minutes he had ingested the contents of the package, and almost immediately I felt a rush of strength flood my body. Regalia, too, looked much better, his wings no longer drooping. He blinked as he finally opened his eyes, ending his Miracle Eye now that the battle was over.

=Ah, I can see normally again,= he said. He seemed much more confident now as well, an indication that Mightyena’s Taunt had worn off. Most likely the ancient bird was feeling a bit righteous about the whole thing, and smug as well. I chuckled and gently patted his stomach, then nodded towards the Mime Jr. that was standing not far away.

=I really don’t want to fight it,= I told him. =See if you can convince it to let us pass. If it refuses, be ready to strike with a Shadow Ball. If we’re lucky we can stun it and get away without having to knock it out.= Regalia responded with a mental wave of agreement, floating over to the other Psychic Pokemon and engaging it in friendly conversation. Thanks to the mental bond between us, his words were translated as he spoke.

=Hello there little one. Might we be able to pass for now? If you like you can tag along and when we’re done with our task, we can take a bit of time to play with you. We may even have a toy for you afterward.= Regalia was, of course, referring to the PokeDoll I had. I smiled a little and reminded myself to give Mime Jr. the PokeDoll if I still had it at the end of the event.

@Akinai

 

Post #7

*~~~~~~~~~*

The Mime Jr. appears to be thinking hard about something for a moment then gives a small nod, suddenly shy. It makes no movement to attack, happy to take Regalia's offer to simply tag along.

As you travel deeper in the cave, the Mime Jr lets out a happy cry and points dead ahead. A Mr. Mime walks out of the shadows, clearly confused at what it sees.

*~~~~~~~~~*

Current Stats:

Sigilyph: 79%

Mr. Mime.: 100%

MCR: 0/25,000

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @Dog of Hellsing
Pokémon Encountered: Wynaut, Mightyena, Mime Jr., Mr. Mime
Pokemon Captured: Adamant Mightyena (F)

Bold Male Sigilyph (Regalia)
Ability: Wonder Skin
TMs/HMs: TM Substitute ; TM Attract ; TM Psych Up ; TM Hidden Power [Ground]; TM ; TM Calm Mind ; TM Shadow Ball ; TM Energy Ball ; TM Ice Beam ; TM Flash Cannon
BMs/MTs/SMs: BM Roost

Items:

3x Park Balls, 1x Super Ball, 1x Hyper Ball, 2x Lava Cookies, 1 Energy Powder, 1 Pokedoll

 

Saundra Blake​

I flashed Regalia a thumbs-up and a wink when he managed to convince Mime Jr. to simply tag along. The ancient Pokemon responded with a flush of pride, and I held back a laugh, not wanting to seem strange for laughing at seemingly nothing.

We continued on, with Regalia keeping Mime Jr. occupied so the Baby wouldn’t get bored and get into mischief. However, it wasn’t long before the little Pokemon gave a joyful cry pointed at something before us. It turned out to be a Mr. Mime, and by the perplexed look on its face, it was obviously quite bemused with the whole situation.

I paused and scowled, unsure if this Pokemon was related to Mime Jr. or not. It could be a mess if they were indeed family, but it might also wok to our advantage. Even if they weren’t relatives, perhaps the presence of Mime Jr. would make this particular Mr. Mime affable enough that we could pass by unmolested. The irony of running into a Pokemon I wasn’t interested in when having just encountered its previous evolution wasn’t lost on me; I sensed that Regalia felt the same way and bit back yet another laugh.

=Regalia, can you please find out if these two are related? If they are, let Mr. Mime know that we don’t mean it or Mime Jr. any harm. If it’s not related just let it know we’re passing through and don’t mean to cause it any trouble. Either way, hopefully it'll listen.=

@Akinai

 

Post #8

*~~~~~~~~~*

After a moment of communication the Mr. Mime points towards the Mime Jr.. insinuating that the baby Pokemon is its child. After a stern talking to, the younger Pokemon sadly nods and follows its parent in the opposite direction. Thankfully, the Mr. Mime expresses no ire in Regalia and leaves you two without a challenge.

You have finally reached the and of the cavern, a round room unnaturally cut into the cavern walls. In the center lies a Hypno, lightly dozing. While you may be able to leave it be, something tells you that your Run will come to an end soon after...

*~~~~~~~~~*

Current Stats:

Sigilyph: 79%

Hypno: 100%

MCR: 0/25,000

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @Dog of Hellsing
Pokémon Encountered: Wynaut, Mightyena, Mime Jr., Mr. Mime, Hypno
Pokemon Captured: Adamant Mightyena (F)

Bold Male Sigilyph (Regalia)
Ability: Wonder Skin
TMs/HMs: TM Substitute ; TM Attract ; TM Psych Up ; TM Hidden Power [Ground]; TM ; TM Calm Mind ; TM Shadow Ball ; TM Energy Ball ; TM Ice Beam ; TM Flash Cannon
BMs/MTs/SMs: BM Roost

Items:

3x Park Balls, 1x Super Ball, 1x Hyper Ball, 2x Lava Cookies, 1 Energy Powder, 1 Pokedoll

 

Saundra Blake​

By a strange twist of fate, Mime Jr. did indeed turn out to be Mr. Mime’s child. I felt a little bad for the poor thing, watching as it was given a firm lecture. Most likely it was being told how dangerous it could be to wander off, which was of course true. After all, I’d just captured a Mightyena that might have seen Mime Jr. as a light snack. In the long run, hopefully the little Pokemon would learn to not go off on its own and possibly end up getting hurt.

Regalia and I continued on, and with a start I realized that I was coming up on my last encounter. The others had quite literally flown by, and even the battle with Mightyena seemed to have taken less time than it had immediately afterward. I wondered how the other Trainers were doing, what kinds of Pokemon they had run into and captured. Mightyena wasn’t much of a catch in terms of the event, as rarer Pokemon were worth more points, but even if she wasn’t enough to win it for me, she was still a strong Pokemon herself and I wouldn’t regret running into her.

=Do you think any other Trainers caught something like an Alakazam?= I asked Regalia, striking up a conversation as we made our way through the twisting cave.

=Honestly, I would think people would avoid tangling with the stronger Pokemon like Alakazam,= Regalia replied. =Look how tough that Mightyena was. Granted, I have an inherent weakness to Darkness,= and here he ruffled his brilliant feathers in disdain before continuing, =but even with a Pokemon who had a type advantage, something as strong and experienced as an Alakazam would most likely not be worth the effort to most people. Something not quite as rare but still rather uncommon, like an Absol, would probably be what most people are aiming for.=

=That’s a good point,= I said. =If I ran into an Alakazam I would probably chuck the PokeDoll at it so fast the thing would hit mach speed, and me too.= Regalia laughed at this and I lightly flicked his side. =But yeah, I’ll be impressed with anyone who snags something rare like a Clefable. Anyone with the ability to do that deserves to win so I won’t even be angry if they did.=

=Come now, we certainly have the ability to bring down something like an Alakazam,= Regalia reprimanded. =It might take some doing and trickery, but we could pull it off. Nothing on this island could walk away if we really put our minds to catching it. And I mean that quite literally.= A wave of encouragement flowed through me, making me smile and feel more confident about whatever was waiting for us.

Of course, that feeling was replaced by mirth when, distracted, I stepped on a loose stone and nearly fell flat on my face. I pulled a fan free from its sheathe on my back and waved it with mock anger at Regalia as he laughed again. He then abruptly fell silent, and a pulse of alert urgency came to me through the mental link connecting our minds. I nodded once and together we moved forward, quickly but quietly. After a few moments we reached the end of the path we were on, coming into a wide cavern that looked far too smooth and even to have been carved out by nature. However, my attention was immediately drawn to the sole occupant of the “room”, for better lack of a word. It was a Hypno, in a light slumber from the look of it.

=I sensed its resting brain waves a moment ago,= Regalia said, his voice soft. =How ironic. Here we are, talking about rarer Pokemon, and the last one we come across is indeed one of optimal rarity. What should we do? If we play this out carefully, I might be able to actually put it into a deep slumber that would allow me to attack once or twice without worrying about getting struck in turn.=

=That’s a good idea, but this thing might have the Insomnia Ability. If it does, it’s not going to fall into a sleep any deeper than what it’s already in. Set up a Cosmic Power first to buffer your defenses in case this doesn’t go as planned, then moved in with your Hypnosis.= Regalia nodded and closed his eyes, focusing on the ancient energy flowing through his body. This energy was then directed outward, forming a sort of barrier that would boost the bird’s defenses. This way, if Regalia’s Hypnosis proved ineffective, at least he would have some protection in place in case Hypno tried to counter.

After he was done doing that, I could “hear” the Pokemon’s stray thoughts as he plotted how to use his Hypnosis. He planned to radiate that soothing energy, slowly drawing up on Hypno and increasing the strength of the hypnotic influence as he did to lull Hypno into a deep sleep. With any luck, this particular Hypno would either have the Forewarn Ability or the super-rare Inner Focus Ability; otherwise, Regalia’s efforts at using Hypnosis would be for nothing.

As the Sigilyph readied himself for the coming battle, I found myself reminiscing back to when I had owned a Hypno named Jashen. I had gotten him as a rescue, taken from someone who hadn’t felt he was very strong and acted cruelly towards the Psychic Pokemon. Not only that, but because of the fact that some of them tended to be…well, kidnappers is a strong word but they did pretty much lure children away…Jashen’s old Trainer had never let the Pokemon around anyone he might steal away. No matter that only Wild Hypno did that, and that it was simply their nature to hypnotize people of any age in order to feast on their dreams. It had been saddening and infuriating listening to a recount of Jashen’s life, relayed by Medium because at that point in time, I hadn’t been at all skilled in telepathic communication.

Jashen had, understandably, been unsure of me when I opted to become his Trainer. He had a deep distrust of humans, bordering on hatred, but with a great deal of patience and nurturing, I had managed to win his trust. Better than that, I had won his friendship.

I had been so surprised the first time Jashen had battled for me, how quickly and easily he had beaten his opponent. He had seemed shocked as well, but after the initial surprise, I came to a conclusion. Jashen’s old Trainer had treated him with little more than disdain and dislike, and Jashen, being a Psychic Pokemon, had been especially affected by those negative emotions. It had been enough to unconsciously make him weaker, putting up emotional and mental barriers that turned his pathtic Trainer’s beliefs into reality. I, however, had done nothing but encourage and support the Pokemon, treating him with kindness and respect. Again, he had picked up on these mental cues, and it had helped him break down those barriers without either of us even knowing.

After that pivotal battle, Jashen and I had become quite close. I had assumed we would be partners until the end, but then a friend of mine had become very ill. His name was John, and I had remembered how he always said how much he wanted a Hypno, about how jealous he was that I had become the Trainer for such an awesome and powerful Pokemon. He had always been frail, though, and sick with one thing or another thanks to an immune deficiency, so he had been unable to become a Trainer himself.

It had been to everyone’s surprise when Jashen had indicated he wanted to stay with John after we learned of the young man’s sickness. John had been completely overwhelmed by the Pokemon’s show of compassion and companionship, and it had been quite a revelation for me just how far Jashen had come from that untrusting, mistreated Pokemon he’d been when I first called myself his Trainer.

John had recovered a few years later, and in that time he and Jashen had become as close as the Hypno and I had been. It had been better for John, though; his time around the Pokemon had helped him build up a rather strong immune system, thanks to Psychic influence from Jashen. At twenty years old, John had finally been given the clean slate of health he needed to become a Trainer. I had been a bit sad to see Jashen go, but I hadn’t hesitated when I agreed to sign the papers to officially make John the Hypno’s new Trainer.

The memories had only taken a few seconds to relive, and I returned to the present to find myself feeling nostalgic about those days I’d spent with Jashen. I didn’t know if I would ever have such a tight bond with another Hypno, and I certainly wasn’t trying to replace Jashen with another of his species, but having another Hypno on my team was something I suddenly found myself looking forward to. We might not ever have quite the same connection Jashen and I had shared, but I’d darn well do my best to be as good a Trainer as I could for a Pokemon as powerful as a Hypno.

@Akinai

 

Post #9

OOC: Hypno gender?

*~~~~~~~~~*

As Regalia readies Cosmic Power, the wild Pokemon is alerted to your presence, Hypno begins to charge a Future Sight attack, promising pain for the Sigilyph in the future. Before it can get another attack off however, Regalia's Hypnosis manages to hit it's target this time around; the Hypno falls into slumber.

*~~~~~~~~~*

Current Stats:

Sigilyph: 79%, DFN+1 SDFN+1, SIGHT-1

Hypno: 100%, SLP

MCR: 8,590/25,000

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @Dog of Hellsing
Pokémon Encountered: Wynaut, Mightyena, Mime Jr., Mr. Mime, Hypno
Pokemon Captured: Adamant Mightyena (F)

Bold Male Sigilyph (Regalia)
Ability: Wonder Skin
TMs/HMs: TM Substitute ; TM Attract ; TM Psych Up ; TM Hidden Power [Ground]; TM ; TM Calm Mind ; TM Shadow Ball ; TM Energy Ball ; TM Ice Beam ; TM Flash Cannon
BMs/MTs/SMs: BM Roost

Items:

3x Park Balls, 1x Super Ball, 1x Hyper Ball, 2x Lava Cookies, 1 Energy Powder, 1 Pokedoll

 

Saundra Blake​

=She is sleeping,= Regalia told me after a moment, and I grinned at the news. Success! It seemed this Hypno didn’t have the Insomnia Ability, which was a stroke of good luck for us. I was a bit surprised to hear Regalia refer to the Pokemon as a “she” though; for some reason, I had already been thinking of it as male. The thought was cut off when Regalia added, =She managed to use Future Sight, though. We should do our best to end this quickly, or else it might become unpleasant.=

Future Sight. I sighed a little at that, my earlier feeling of victory dampened a bit. The attack was a bizarre one; the user would employ their innate psychic abilities to force a moment of precognition, predicting an attack that would take place against the foe in the near future. If no physical incident occurred, such as the foe tripping and injuring themselves on a steep fall, then the energy generated by the move would itself injure the target, making certain that the predicted event took place. It was very difficult to understand the concept of it, and only after numerous patient hours of explaining had Regalia finally been able to make me get the gist of it.

We would need to act quickly. I didn’t know if we would be able to take down Hypno’s HP enough to catch her before she woke up, let alone before the Future Sight took effect. Normally, we could draw battles out with Regalia’s wide array of status moves, bolstering his defenses with things like Cosmic Power, Reflect, and Light Screen, healing away damage done with Roost and generally letting the foe wear themselves down. Outright attacking wasn’t something Regalia was really cut out for, but we were on a bit of a time limit here. At any rate, the suppressor that had been placed around the bird’s neck prevented him from healing himself, so our normal method of battling wouldn’t be very useful in this case anyways.

I mentally ran through the list of attacks and move Regalia knew, trying to think of a strategy that could get this over with as quickly as possible without knocking Hypno out or letting Regalia absorb too much damage. He was like a small feathery tank once his defenses were boosted, but one of the judging criteria for this event was how much HP the Pokemon used had left over. Even if it wasn’t, I never liked my Pokemon taking damage.

=Regalia, you’re not under the effect of Mightyena’s Taunt any longer, so take this time to set up a Substitute. That way it can soak up some damage for you and take the brunt of any status moves Hypno might try to use when she wakes up. Because that’ll take a fair amount of strength, I’m going to give you this other Energy Powder after that. That way you’ll be ready to take that Future Sight. Finally, once your HP is back up, go in for a Shadow Ball. With any luck Hypno will stay asleep through all this so you can use your Shadow Ball without worry of your Substitute getting attacked first.=

Substitute was a wonderful move for situations like this. I was worried about another Taunt hitting Regalia; it had been somewhat disastrous the last time, and we couldn’t afford that sort of thing with a Pokemon like Hypno. More worrisome was the threat of Hypno unleashing a Hypnosis of her own, lulling Regalia into a peaceful slumber before attacking him while he was incapacitated. There were other things Substitute could block, all of them things that could quickly shut Regalia down if not prevented in the first place.

Basically, a Substitute was like a marionette, a decoy created by the user sacrificing a chunk of their HP. This energy not only formed the Substitute, it would make it possible for it to move around and for the user to channel their attacks through it, thus letting them stay hidden and out of harm’s way until the Substitute’s energy was depleted and it broke. Any defensive stats put in place by the user would be transferred to the Substitute as well by the link between user and decoy, so Regalia’s earlier Cosmic Power would offer the Substitute a bit more staying power, which could only help us in the long run.

=Sounds like a plan,= Regalia replied after getting his commands. He retreated to a shadowy section of the room, focusing his energy and then pushing it outwards. It formed into a hazy reddish-purple cloud, but within a few moments it had taken on the shape of a Sigilyph. Using his Psychic powers, Regalia manipulated the doll towards the middle of the room, where it would be easily visible once Hypno woke up. Once it was in place it began to slowly wave its wings, hovering in place with its blank gaze focused at Hypno.

With that part of the plan done, I dug the other Energy Powder from my basket and opened the packet. After a moment it was snagged from my hand by an invisible force, drawn to Regalia by his telekinetic abilities. It only took a few moments for him to eat the powder inside the little paper packet; once the powder was gone, he crumpled the packet into a tiny paper ball and threw it towards me. I easily caught it and put it in a pocket, as neither of us were keen on littering, and watched as Regalia focused for his next move.

A dark, inky energy began to cover the Sigilyph, starting with the tips of his wings and flowing down his body like thick oil. Once he was completely engulfed in it, he snapped his wings forward. In a rush, the energy around him cascaded to his wings, then slid from them to form a sphere the size of a basketball. This hung motionlessly in the air between Regalia’s wings before abruptly vanishing a second later. When it came back into view, it was between the decoy’s wings, which had folded forward as well. Flicking its wings apart and back, the decoy launched the Shadow Ball at the slumbering Hypno.

As all that was going on, I was busy planning what kind of moves to use after this. I was also trying to counter things Hypno might try to do. There was a chance, albeit a very slim one, that it might know how to use the Sleep Talk move, which would let it use one of its attacks at random while it slumbered. It could also know Snore, but again there was a very small chance of that. More likely was that Hypno would wake after sleeping for only a few moments and counter with an attack once she had come around.

Hypnosis was, of course, the biggest threat Hypno could pose. If she managed to knock Regalia out, she could not only drain his HP and restore her own with with Dream Eater, she could warp his dreams with Nightmare, causing him to have terrible visions that would steal away his health. There were other dangers, though, other things people may not associate with a Hypno. They could create a poisonous vapor and expel it as a Poison Gas attack. The cloud of gas was slow moving and usually easy to avoid, when not fighting a Pokemon that could hold you in place with a psychic grip that would make a Machamp jealous.

There were other things Hypno could do as well, as if putting Regalia to sleep or poisoning him weren’t bad enough. She might know Thunder Wave, which used weak bursts of static electricity to paralyze the targets muscles and impede their movement; sometimes, the victim’s entire body would lock up and prevent them from moving for several seconds.

Granted, Regalia was lucky enough to carry the Wonder Skin Ability. He constantly exuded a passive Psychic energy that had a fifty percent chance of negating moves like Hypnosis, Poison Gas, and Thunder Wave. However, this Hypno could know other moves that would be unaffected by the Wonder Skin Ability. ThunderPunch, Fire Punch, and Ice Punch were all moves Hypno were capable of learning, and each had the ability to inflict their respective status on the target, though the chance of the effect was thankfully quite minimal.

Even if Regalia was lucky enough to avoid major status conditions, Hypno could still use other things that could prove equally catastrophic for the Sigilyph. Skill Swap would take Regalia’s Wonder Skin while giving the bird whatever Ability Hypno had, neither of which would be nearly as useful. It would also make it much harder for Regalia to put Hypno back to sleep if it came to it. She could use Swagger, making Regalia’s ego swell dangerously and leaving him bemused; in such a state, he might do more harm to himself than to Hypno. Disable could temporarily erase Regalia’s memory of a specific attack, and if it was something useful like Shadow Ball, it could make the battle draw on much longer than was good for Regalia.

@Akinai

 

Post #10

*~~~~~~~~~*

As Regalia prepares Substitute, Hypno lets off a loud snore to damage her opponent. Fortunately, due to using your last Energy Powder and the protection of Substitute, Future Sight simply breaks the placed Substitute. However, Hypno awaken shortly after Shadow Ball hits, and is clearly unhappy. Her eyes glint with a sinister light, preparing to Snatch something.

*~~~~~~~~~*

Current Stats:

Sigilyph: 100% DFN+1 SDFN+1

Hypno: 68%

MCR: 17,077/25,000

*~~~~~~~~~*

Trainer Stats:

Trainer: @Dog of Hellsing
Pokémon Encountered: Wynaut, Mightyena, Mime Jr., Mr. Mime, Hypno
Pokemon Captured: Adamant Mightyena (F)

Bold Male Sigilyph (Regalia)
Ability: Wonder Skin
TMs/HMs: TM Substitute ; TM Attract ; TM Psych Up ; TM Hidden Power [Ground]; TM ; TM Calm Mind ; TM Shadow Ball ; TM Energy Ball ; TM Ice Beam ; TM Flash Cannon
BMs/MTs/SMs: BM Roost

Items:

3x Park Balls, 1x Super Ball, 1x Hyper Ball, 2x Lava Cookies, 1 Pokedoll

 

Saundra Blake​

So far, so good. Regalia was at full health and still had his defenses in place. Hypno had indeed known Snore, but it hadn’t been strong enough to shatter Regalia’s Substitute. That meant it had still been in place when Future Sight had struck. That had been enough to take out the decoy, but better it get lost than any of Regalia’s recently-restored HP.

Now Hypno had found Regalia and focused on him with a baleful glare. The subtle way her body tensed was enough for me to know what she was planning; she was intent on stealing one of Regalia’s moves, but not just any move would do. No, she was waiting for him to use something beneficial, perhaps another Substitute or Cosmic Power. She was readying a Snatch, and most other people wouldn’t have noticed the body language that advertised the move. A crafty one, this Pokemon. Most likely she had made good use of the maneuver before with less experienced Trainers, using their strategies against them. Well, two could play that devious game!

=Regalia, Hypno is getting ready to use Snatch,= I told the Sigilyph. A sense of agreement met my words; it seemed Regalia had noticed Hypno’s stance as well and recognized it for what it meant. =Let’s try giving her a taste of her own trickery, eh? Start using a Reflect, but the minute Hypno moves in to take it, hit her with an Air Slash! With any luck she’ll Flinch before she can counter. If she does Flinch, another Shadow Ball should take her down enough to be captured. If she doesn’t be ready to counter with another Hypnosis.=

Regalia gave a mental nod, which was one of the strangest sensations in the world, and folded his colorful wings around his body. He then started to gather psionic energy, focusing it outside of his body. Under normal circumstances, Reflect would form a translucent shield of energy that would hinder any physical attack striking it, taking away the attack’s momentum and thus making it weaker. In this case, though, it was simply a ruse. Regalia wasn’t actually gathering energy, but by manipulating particles in the air, he could make it appear as though he was actually getting ready for a Reflect.

If Hypno fell for the ploy, she would have to move in close enough to attempt her Snatch. That proximity would put her smack in the path of a nice Air Slash. Because it would be such a sudden change in what she was actually expecting to happen, there was a good chance that Hypno might be momentarily startled when Regalia struck. Air Slash being used normally was a somewhat unnerving move to see bearing down on you; I knew that from personal experience. One time I’d been watching a flock of Swellow, when one of them had gotten the idea that I was some kind of threat even though I’d been happy enough just watching them dip and dive in the sky. The angry bird had dove at me, snapping its wings down and sending twin blades of visibly displaced air flying towards me. Luckily I was rather agile and had easily jumped clear of the attack, which had continued on and neatly sliced a large bush behind me in half. Needless to say I had been shaken enough to move on and leave the birds to their devices.

If luck was with us and Hypno not only fell for Regalia’s little trick but also Flinched from his Air Slash, a Shadow Ball would take advantage of her momentary surprise and should be strong enough to take her to the red, but not enough to knock her out. Even though Sigilyph had relatively high Special Attack scores, Hypno had equally impressive Special Defense stats. In cases like this, such an even match in offensive and defensive abilities was a boon. It meant I could safely calculate roughly how much damage would be done by Regalia’s attacks. Barring any unforeseen critical hits, there should be no danger of Hypno getting knocked out by this combo.

In all honesty, it would have probably been a better idea to lead with another Hypnosis right after Air Slash instead of going for Shadow Ball, but I didn’t want to use it unless forced to. Regalia had just used the attack a short time ago, after all, and I didn’t want to use it so much that Hypno either became wise to it and expected it, or the attack simply missed. It wasn’t very accurate, after all, and unless we had to rely on it, I didn’t want to push our luck. Better to chip away at Hypno’s HP with a few solid hits and make her catchable as quickly as possible than waste time with moves that might not hit. The faster I caught the Hypno the better it would be for Regalia.

Of course, it might seem odd as to why I was considering Hypnosis at all with the kind of reasoning I’d laid out, but it was actually easy to explain. If Air Slash didn’t make Hypno Flinch, she’d probably be hell-bent on attacking Regalia after tricking her into a useless Snatch. If she was coming right at him, there’d be less of a chance for Hypnosis to miss. It would be used practically in her face, and with such suddenness that she would (hopefully) not have enough time to counter properly before getting knocked out cold.

A series of unpleasant possibilities paraded through my mind as I waited anxiously for the next few moves to be performed. Hypno might not be fooled by Regalia’s Reflect; if she wasn’t, the Sigilyph would be smart enough to just go in for his Air Slash and take it from there. She might dodge Air Slash and follow up with a nasty counter before Regalia could react. A critical hit might, by sheer bad luck, land from Shadow Ball and knock the Hypno out, making her unfit for capture. She might become mad enough by Regalia’s ruse and simply Teleport away.

There were many things that could go wrong, but I know it was just my nerves getting to me in the heat of battle. It happened enough for me to recognize it and push the troubling possibilities away. The chance of those things happening was there, but the likelihoods were minimal, and even if they did happen, fretting about it wouldn’t help matters at all. What would happen would happen, and the only thing I could do was be prepared to go with it and make the best out of whatever turns the battle took.

I decided to take my own advice and rifled through the basket containing my remaining Event items, finally uncovering the Hyper Ball. It had been hiding under the individually-wrapped Lava Cookies, and a sudden funny memory struck me as I gripped the Ball and held it tightly, ready to throw it in case Regalia managed to get off his Air Slash-plus-Shadow Ball combo.

It had been about a year ago, and I’d been vising Hoenn to try and catch some unique Pokemon. I’d went to Mount Chimney for a little sight-seeing and met the world-famous old woman who handed out Lava Cookies. I’d gotten several in preparation for my trip up the mountain and through its caves, wanting to be prepared for any Burns the volcano’s inhabitants might inflict on my team. The irony that “lava” cookies would be used to heal a Burn hadn’t been lost on me, and in my moment of good humor, I had randomly decided to try one of the Lava Cookies. I had been expecting it to be like a dog biscuit; not awful, but rather bland and dry and certainly not something I’d want to eat unless I was starving and had no other source of nutrition. I had been pleasantly surprised to find it more like a ginger beard cookie, slightly spicy and rather flavorful. The old woman had seemed amused by my shocked approval of the cookie’s taste, and she’d offered me a few more to snack on myself. I had felt somewhat embarrassed to take them for my own consumption, but darned if they weren’t tasty!

I realized at some point I started tossing the Hyper Ball up and down, catching it over and over as I focused on the battle before me. I didn’t know why I was getting so nostalgic on this trip, but then again, there had been a lot of things that had simply struck me about a particular event in my past. It was actually kind of nice to relive some of those old memories, but there were better times to reminisce than in the middle of a battle where decisive moves were about to be employed. I shook my head and pushed aside all other thoughts, promising myself that I’d dwell on them in more opportune times. For now, I had to remain focused on the task at hand.

===

OOC: If Air Slash doesn’t Flinch Reglia is using Hypnosis and I’m NOT throwing the Ball. If Air Slash does Flinch, Regalia will use Shadow Ball and then I’m throwing the Park Ball, hopefully before Hypno Explodes or something XD. Also, I did some calc’ing in the ref calc; I’m hoping I did everything right, b/c I get those two moves leaving Hypno with the perfect amount of HP to try a capture ^_^.

@Akinai