Before Roger could issue another command to Sandshrew, Saber had struck its oponent square in the chest. Sandshrew rolled backward and laid on the ground, breathing heavily. "Well, guess that's it then. Nice battling."
Congrats, you beat Hiker Roger! Saber gains +5 experience, and you receive 200p
Josh had to try four times to recall the raging Saber before a success, just as the Pokémon started pummeling the Sandshrew while it was still down. "Sorry, Roger--he seemed to flare up on us. I'll give him a talking to, for sure. Thanks for the battle--it was a close one."
The Gym had a fully-equipped, Pokémon League-level technology suite--electronic scoreboard, panels for team selection, elevated trainer's boxes...the works. Once the two trainer's boxes raised the trainers to a height of approximately twelve feet above the arena floor, Josh input his team selection--Bladestorm in the #1 slot, Saber in the #2 slot. The scoreboard lit up with the teams and their life totals--but not necessarily the order in which they came out.
NAME HP PP STATUS STATUS PP HP NAME
Josh 606 615 Ronin
|
Bladestorm 361 64 | 31 210 Mankey
Saber 245 49 | 44 405 Phanpy
"Bladestorm, you wanted your first opponent to be a challenge...well, you got it!" Josh cried, the Skarmory letting out a great battle screech as he released him into the arena below. The closest thing he could think of was the scratching of metal against a chalkboard. (Leer on whatever comes out.)
Ronin threw out a pokeball, and Mankey appeared in the arena. "Strike!" As Mankey endured the sound, it ran in and tried to shut the Skarmory's mouth with a karate chop across the beak.
The Mankey succeeded in closing Bladestorm's mouth, but it barely made a dent in the bird's metal armor. Knowing that Mankey meant business, Josh's Pokémon took to the air and circled the arena once. "You were once the scourge of Russetton--show everyone here why! Air Cutter!" Showing off his blasty speed to both Ronin and Josh, the Skarmory created a circular blade of air from the rotation, launching it right at the Leader's Pokémon.
NAME HP PP STATUS STATUS PP HP NAME
Josh 555 615 Ronin
|
Bladestorm 310 62 | 28 210 Mankey
Saber 245 49 | 44 405 Phanpy
"Toss it out!" Mankey took the brunt of the air cutter, if only to move closer to Skarmory and attempt to grab it and use seismic toss to throw it out of the ring.
What tactics. Josh knew a Gym Leader wouldn't be easy. They were used to overcoming weaknesses with solid tactics--he had to use sound tactics of his own. The Mankey was just too close for Bladestorm to get away. Once the fighting-type launched Josh's Pokémon, it put on a burst of Agility to keep from going out of bounds...crashing into the arena floor. Shaking his head, the metallic avian took to the air again. "Don't let it get the best of you! Show them how fast you can dive!" (Peck)
NAME HP PP STATUS STATUS PP HP NAME
Josh 411 535 Ronin
|
Bladestorm 166 53 | 21 130 Mankey
Saber 245 49 | 44 405 Phanpy
"Hold, then kick when it's close!" Mankey stood watching the attack closely, but it was a bit difficult keeping up with the speed. As Skarmory closed, Mankey rolled with the momentum of the attack, and used its spin to attempt a low kick at Skarmory's legs. (hp red, by the way)
Ronin's Pokémon kicked upward at the Skarmory, trying to trip him on the way back up. The smaller Pokémon's leg connected, the feisty Pokémon finding himself on the arena floor again. Neither Pokémon appeared to be in very good condition. Josh thought he heard a cry of anguish from his foe--could the Mankey have brushed the bird's talons during the attack?
After a taste of the fighting-type's blood, Bladestorm wanted more. He took back to the air for another dive. (Peck, if necessary.)
NAME HP PP STATUS STATUS PP HP NAME
Josh 329 420 Ronin
|
Bladestorm 84 49 | 17 15 Mankey
Saber 245 49 | 44 405 Phanpy
As the Skarmory took to the air, Mankey was not mobile. Ronin recalled it, and tossed out his second pokeball. "Phanpy, smell it out." Phanpy stood with its little trunk raised in the air, sniffing for something.
Bladestorm was eager to continue--he wanted to brag that he was able to take down an entire Gym all by himself. Without Josh's command, the bird entered a steep dive. "Wait!" Josh cried. "Hold off, Bladestorm--it's a trap!" No use--the vicious winged predator had his sights on that Phanpy. Nothing was going to get it to abort the dive now. (Peck)
NAME HP PP STATUS STATUS PP HP NAME
Josh 329 405 Ronin
|
Bladestorm 84 43 | 17 0 Mankey
Saber 245 49 | 44 405 Phanpy
"Take it, now!" Phanpy took a partial hit as the little elephant wrapped its trunk around Skarmory's body, and brought it down in an impressive take down that would even make a fighting-type pokemon proud of what it had done.
The Skarmory had fallen into the Phanpy's trap, doing his best to turn the dive into a kamikaze. Josh couldn't see a thing through the smoke of the impact. His skin was tingling, nervous about whether Bladestorm overexerted himself. When the smoke cleared, his Pokémon was motionless. "You did a great job!" Josh complimented, recalling the steel-type. He took a look at the scoreboard before releasing Saber, finding it to be almost even. This would be a close finish no matter what happened. "Saber, Bladestorm did a lot of your work for you. Let's clean up!" The electric-type let out a battle cry to try intimidating the Phanpy. (Howl)
NAME HP PP STATUS STATUS PP HP NAME
Josh 245 279 Ronin
|
Bladestorm 0 37 | 17 0 Mankey
Saber 245 45 | 35 279 Phanpy
"Curl up, and prepare!" As Saber began to howl loudly, Phanpy just curled up defensively and rested in place, waiting for the Electrike to make a move.
In a normal situation, given Saber is much faster, I'd wait to attack until Howl reached +6 or Phanpy attacked, whichever comes first. But for the sake of moving the battle along, let's cut to the chase, shall we? I'm sure the trainers would get bored watching Saber howl and Phanpy stay curled up in a ball, all frightened.
"Looks like a race...this battle could even draw. That'd be awful." The electric-type circled his foe like a lion finding an opportunity to attack. Josh saw large sparks falling around Saber's legs. "Saber, that's not going to work! Just ram into it!" Snapping out of his trance, Josh's Pokémon kept one eye on Phanpy and one eye on his trainer. Once Josh gave the nod, Saber launched forward with the speed of a lightning bolt. (Quick Attack)
NAME HP PP STATUS STATUS PP HP NAME
Josh 245 279 Ronin
|
Bladestorm 0 37 | 17 0 Mankey
Saber 245 42 | 33 279 Phanpy
"Use the momentum, and keep rolling!" Phanpy took the hit from Saber's quick attack, and instead of rolling away, it turned sharply and started rolling towards the Electrike, and was picking up speed as it went.
(Rollout, the bane of trainers everywhere)
"Oh, no!" Josh cried as the Phanpy bowled clean over Saber. "Saber, you need to finish this quickly--we're on borrowed time! Try to time your charges as to hit Phanpy back!" Josh crossed his fingers, hoping the sheer speed behind the Quick Attack would be enough to deflect the rolling attack headed Saber's way.
NAME HP PP STATUS STATUS PP HP NAME
Josh 215 202 Ronin
|
Bladestorm 0 37 | 17 0 Mankey
Saber 215 39 | 29 202 Phanpy
Assuming my scoreboard is correct, there are about three rounds of combat remaining (including this round.) Assuming normally distributed damage, there is a 67% chance Saber will strike the finishing blow before Phanpy will deliver a lethal rollout it's locked into. Phanpy's Rollout has a 27% chance of missing at any point before the lethal strike, in which case Saber will definitely win. If my math is correct, Saber will win in this situation approximately 75% of the time. This is under the assumption that Saber's Quick Attack strikes before Phanpy's Rollout.
If the attacks strike simultaneously, the odds for Josh are as follows: 27% to win, 49% to tie, 24% to lose. So Josh is a slight favorite, but it's WAY too close to call. I'm going to do this in an unbiased manner through dice rolls. On a roll of 91 or higher, Rollout will miss.
Dice Roller1 D100 rolled
90
"Don't back down, Saber! I know it's hard for you, but you're almost there!" And Josh was right--the impact of the Quick Attack definitely hurt Saber more than it did the Leader's Pokémon. Unrelenting, the brave Pokémon continued its lightning-fast strikes. "This battle is WAY too close! Please, Saber..." The challenger couldn't help but bite his nails out of nervousness. (Quick Attack)
NAME HP PP STATUS STATUS PP HP NAME
Josh 154 133 Ronin
|
Bladestorm 0 37 | 17 0 Mankey
Saber 154 36 | 26 133 Phanpy
As the Phanpy careened toward Saber, the next three seconds seemed to transpire in slow motion. Sparks flew from the electric Pokémon's legs as he leaped from the arena floor. Up and up the Electrike went as his foe put on extra speed in its Rollout. Collision in three...two...one...then the only sound was from the Phanpy. Saber had sailed clean over the Leader's Pokémon! Josh pumped his fists, then let out a cry of joy for his Pokémon. "Finish it, Saber!" he shouted in tears. (Quick Attack)
NAME HP PP STATUS STATUS PP HP NAME
Josh 154 65 Ronin
|
Bladestorm 0 37 | 17 0 Mankey
Saber 154 33 | 22 65 Phanpy
While still rolling, Phanpy didn't have time to react to the attack. Saber knocked it off course, and the little pokemon was about to carom directly into a wall when Ronin recalled it. "Well fought. Congratulations."
Congrats, you defeated Gym Leader Ronin! You receive the Obsidian Badge, 1000p, and Bladestorm and Saber each receive +6 experience.
As the trainer's platforms descended back to the arena floor, Josh couldn't help but shed tears of joy for Saber. "You did it!" the trainer hugged the battered Pokémon after it jumped into his arms, knocking him over in his exhaustion. He turned to the Leader. "That was just as intense as the battle with the Skarmory I used against you today. What an incredible match." He took one more look at the scoreboard to assure himself of his victory--straight zeroes on Ronin's side. "At some point in the future, I'd love to have a rematch with you."
Once the young, wandering trainer caught Josh's eye, he had Ixion slow to a stop. Dismounting, he greeted Esmeralda with a request for a quick battle. "Great opportunity for you to practice, Ixion," he pat his Ponyta gently.
Esmerelda smiled. "Well, let's get started then. Leafeon, prepare for a quick attack when the opponent tries to do something!" Leafeon stood, poised to strike at the first signs of movement; it looked incredibly fast.
Congrats, you beat Hiker Roger! Saber gains +5 experience, and you receive 200p
==>
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
The Gym had a fully-equipped, Pokémon League-level technology suite--electronic scoreboard, panels for team selection, elevated trainer's boxes...the works. Once the two trainer's boxes raised the trainers to a height of approximately twelve feet above the arena floor, Josh input his team selection--Bladestorm in the #1 slot, Saber in the #2 slot. The scoreboard lit up with the teams and their life totals--but not necessarily the order in which they came out.
"Bladestorm, you wanted your first opponent to be a challenge...well, you got it!" Josh cried, the Skarmory letting out a great battle screech as he released him into the arena below. The closest thing he could think of was the scratching of metal against a chalkboard. (Leer on whatever comes out.)
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
After a taste of the fighting-type's blood, Bladestorm wanted more. He took back to the air for another dive. (Peck, if necessary.)
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
"Looks like a race...this battle could even draw. That'd be awful." The electric-type circled his foe like a lion finding an opportunity to attack. Josh saw large sparks falling around Saber's legs. "Saber, that's not going to work! Just ram into it!" Snapping out of his trance, Josh's Pokémon kept one eye on Phanpy and one eye on his trainer. Once Josh gave the nod, Saber launched forward with the speed of a lightning bolt. (Quick Attack)
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
(Rollout, the bane of trainers everywhere)
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
If the attacks strike simultaneously, the odds for Josh are as follows: 27% to win, 49% to tie, 24% to lose. So Josh is a slight favorite, but it's WAY too close to call. I'm going to do this in an unbiased manner through dice rolls. On a roll of 91 or higher, Rollout will miss.
"Don't back down, Saber! I know it's hard for you, but you're almost there!" And Josh was right--the impact of the Quick Attack definitely hurt Saber more than it did the Leader's Pokémon. Unrelenting, the brave Pokémon continued its lightning-fast strikes. "This battle is WAY too close! Please, Saber..." The challenger couldn't help but bite his nails out of nervousness. (Quick Attack)
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Phanpy continued to roll. Ronin watched as the battle would be decided by the current attack pattern.
As the Phanpy careened toward Saber, the next three seconds seemed to transpire in slow motion. Sparks flew from the electric Pokémon's legs as he leaped from the arena floor. Up and up the Electrike went as his foe put on extra speed in its Rollout. Collision in three...two...one...then the only sound was from the Phanpy. Saber had sailed clean over the Leader's Pokémon! Josh pumped his fists, then let out a cry of joy for his Pokémon. "Finish it, Saber!" he shouted in tears. (Quick Attack)
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Congrats, you defeated Gym Leader Ronin! You receive the Obsidian Badge, 1000p, and Bladestorm and Saber each receive +6 experience.
==>
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Once the young, wandering trainer caught Josh's eye, he had Ixion slow to a stop. Dismounting, he greeted Esmeralda with a request for a quick battle. "Great opportunity for you to practice, Ixion," he pat his Ponyta gently.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya