Badge Requests

[indigo_league]

 What does it take? It changes for each gym! Normally, the games increase in difficulty as you progress, but that wouldn't be any fun if characters could just as easily take on the Gyms that are supposed to be for top trainers only. THEREFORE, the gym leaders aren't going to be pushovers like in the games! In order to win a badge, the mods will take into account your current roster and the attacks and advantages to see whether your pokémon is strong enough to win a badge or not.

Each gym leader has a Regular Team of pokemon and an Elite Team of pokemon you can challenge. It's up to a trainer to decide which team to challenge, but if you take on the Elite Team of six level 100 Pokemon, you'll receive double the prize money. The items, however, are not doubled. Excellent for trainers looking for the extra challenge or those looking to make money fast.

!!! Badges must be mod approved. To earn a badge, please comment on this post. Please don't ask for more than two badges to be approved at once!

JOHTO
Violet City Badge: Zephyr Leader: Falkner Team: Noctowl (L: 30) Honchkrow (L: 32) Pidgeot (L: 35) Rewards: [P10,000] TM Roost Can use Fly outside of battle Elite Team: Pidgeot, Dodrio, Swellow, Xatu, Staraptor, Pelipper	Azalea Town Badge: Hive Leader: Bugsy Team: Pinsir (L: 35) Heracross (L: 37) Scizor (L: 40) Rewards: [P12,000] TM U-Turn Can use Rock Smash outside of battle Elite Team: Scizor, Venomoth, Vespiquen, Yanmega, Galvantula, Heracross	Goldenrod City Badge: Plain Leader: Whitney Team: Girafarig (L: 40) Clefable (L: 42) Miltank (L: 45) Rewards: [P14,000] HM Rock Smash TM Attract Can use Strength outside of battle Elite Team: Ursaring, Granbull, Blissey, Exploud, Tauros, Snorlax	Ecruteak City Badge: Fog Leader: Morty Team: Haunter (L: 45) Misdreavus (L: 47) Gengar (L: 50) Rewards: [P16,000] TM Shadow Ball HM Strength Can use Surf outside of battle Elite Team: Drifblim, Spiritomb, Dusknoir, Mismagius, Gengar, Chandelure
Cianwood City Badge: Storm Leader: Chuck Team: Hitmonlee (L: 50) Hitmonchan (L: 52) Poliwrath (L: 55) Rewards: [P18,000] HM Fly Elite Team: Medicham, Machamp, Hariyama, Breloom, Primeape, Toxicroak	Olivine City Badge: Mineral Leader: Jasmine Team: Skarmory (L: 55) Magneton (L: 57) Steelix (L: 60) Rewards: [P20,000] HM Surf HM Whirlpool Elite Team: Metagross, Bronzong, Skarmory, Steelix, Magnezone, Empoleon	Mahogany Town Badge: Glacier Leader: Pryce Team: Dewgong (L: 60) Lapras (L: 62) Mamoswine (L: 65) Rewards: [P22,000] TM Hail Can use Waterfall outside of battle Elite Team: Abomasnow, Dewgong, Glalie, Froslass, Mamoswine, Walrein	Blackthorn City Badge: Rising Leader: Clair Team: Gyarados (L: 65) Kingdra (L: 67) Dragonite (L: 70) Rewards: [P24,000] HM Waterfall Can use Whirlpool outside of battle A reusable ticket for the SS Anne* Elite Team: Aerodactyl, Charizard, Kingdra, Salamence, Garchomp, Dragonite       *For defeating the Elite team only. Three week paid cruise vacation to be taken whenever and as many times as the holder desires. Boat can be caught from Olivine or Vermilion.
KANTO
Pewter City Badge: Boulder Leader: Brock Team: Rhyhorn (L: 30) Golem (L: 32) Onix (L: 35) Rewards: [P10,000] TM Rock Slide HM Rock Smash Elite Team: Rhyperior, Rampardos, Golem, Omastar, Kabutops, Onix	Cerulean City Badge: Cascade Leader: Misty Team: Golduck (L: 35) Lapras (L: 37) Starmie (L: 40) Rewards: [P12,000] TM Water Pulse Can use Surf outside of battle Elite Team: Quagsire, Lanturn, Floatzel, Lapras, Milotic, Starmie	Vermilion City Badge: Thunder Badge Leader: Lt. Surge Team: Electabuzz (L: 40) Magneton (L: 42) Raichu (L: 45) Rewards: [P14,000] TM Thunder Can use Strength outside of battle Elite Team: Manectric, Electrode, Pachirisu, Magnezone, Electivire, Raichu	Celadon City Badge: Rainbow Leader: Erika Team: Jumpluff (L: 45) Tangrowth (L: 47) Bellossom (L: 50) Rewards: [P16,000] TM Giga Drain HM Strength Can use Fly outside of battle Elite Team: Shiftry, Jumpluff, Victreebel, Bellossom, Roserade, Vileplume
Fuchsia City Badge: Soul Leader: Janine Team: Crobat (L: 50) Ariados (L: 52) Venomoth (L: 55) Rewards: [P18,000] TM Toxic HM Surf Can use Rock Smash outside of battle Elite Team: Crobat, Weezing, Toxicroak, Drapion, Arbok, Venomoth	Saffron City Badge: Marsh Leader: Sabrina Team: Espeon (L: 55) Mr. Mime (L: 57) Alakazam (L: 60) Rewards: [P20,000] TM Psychic HM Fly Elite Team: Jynx, Wobbuffet, Espeon, Gallade, Gardevoir, Alakazam	Cinnabar Island (Seafoam Islands) Badge: Volcano Leader: Blaine Team: Magcargo (L: 60) Magmortar (L: 62) Rapidash (L: 65) Rewards: [P22,000] TM Fire Blast HM Whirlpool Can use Whirlpool outside of battle Elite Team: Torkoal, Camerupt, Magcargo, Houndoom, Magmortar, Rapidash	Viridian City Badge: Earth Leader: Blue Team: Exeggutor (L: 65) Machamp (L: 66) Rhydon (L: 67) Gyarados (L: 68) Pidgeot (L: 69) Arcanine (L: 70) Rewards: [P25,000] TM Hyper Beam A reusable ticket for the SS Anne* Elite Team: Venusaur, Blastoise, Charizard, Tyranitar, Pidgeot, Jolteon       *For defeating the Elite team only. Three week paid cruise vacation to be taken whenever and as many times as the holder desires. Boat can be caught from Olivine or Vermilion.

The Elite Four is now distributing Keystones and Mega Stones to promising trainers! Any trainer who has defeated all eight gyms of a single region will be granted a Keystone and one Mega Stone of their choice. No player will be able to have more than one Mega Stone at a time, and those looking to switch theirs out may do so once every four months. Mega Stones may be used in any casual trainer battle, but as far as gyms go may only be used in Elite battles.

The Indigo Plateau is now open to challengers! To qualify, trainers must have all sixteen badges from Johto and Kanto. Every Pokémon they face will be level 100, and the Elite Four and the Champion have heaps of talent and experience. As such, we will be reviewing Indigo Plateau challenges with more scrutiny than we bring to badge requests. A higher level of strategy is required to win on this field. Show us what you've got!

ELITE FOUR
Bede Team: Mawile (L: 100) Sylveon (L: 100) Galarian Rapidash (L: 100) Primarina (L: 100) Tinkaton (L: 100) Hatterene (L: 100) Rewards: [P30,000] TM Draining Kiss Life Orb	Koga Team: Skuntank (L: 100) Venomoth (L: 100) Toxicroak (L: 100) Swalot (L: 100) Crobat (L: 100) Muk (L: 100) Rewards: [P35,000] TM Venoshock Expert Belt	Bruno Team: Hitmontop (L: 100) Hitmonlee (L: 100) Hitmonchan (L: 100) Hariyama (L: 100) Machamp (L: 100) Lucario (L: 100) Rewards: [P40,000] TM Power-Up Punch Protective Pads	Karen Team: Weavile (L: 100) Absol (L: 100) Spiritomb (L: 100) Houndoom (L: 100) Honchkrow (L: 100) Umbreon (L: 100) Rewards: [P45,000] TM Snarl Ring Target
Lance Team: Salamence (L: 100) Gyarados (L: 100) Garchomp (L: 100) Altaria (L: 100) Charizard (L: 100) Dragonite (L: 100) Rewards: [P60,000] TM Giga Impact A Dragon-type egg with one egg move and one TM move of your choice The League Certificate qualifying the winner to create and lead their own Pokémon "Gym." This Gym is part not of the Indigo League, but the Aurora League.	Aurora League Gym Leaders may choose their own battle specializations, as well as. design their own unique Gym (which will take one month to build from the time of request) and Badge (which will be available as soon as the Gym opens). They will be compensated for their work as Gym Leaders with a stipend that will cover building costs, labor (the Leader's and any Trainers they may employ), and rewards for victorious challengers. We ask that Aurora Gym Leaders think carefully about the location of their Gym and the difficulty level they wish to present challengers. We also ask that they create their own Badge Request page like this one so that others can request battles with them. To officially request an Aurora League Gym, fill out the provided template and comment here.

Please use this form to request a badge or a showdown with the Elite Four! Post your request as a comment to this post. Badges will generally be processed once per week, on either Wednesday or during the weekend. Please try not to PM or IM mods about badges (including elite challenges) unless your request has gone unanswered for more than a week.

!!! Please request badges as your character is actually in the general area of the gym!

!!! To preserve the spirit of the game, obtaining badges using recently-inherited Pokémon (ie, Pokemon received from dropped characters) that massively outlevel your own is discouraged. If this happens, you may be asked by the badge mod to revise your team. Inherited Pokemon that your character has had for a while and are the same level as the rest of your character's team are fine to use!

!!! Remember that you must fight all four members of the Elite Four and Champion Lance in a row. You may heal your Pokémon between battles and take a short break, but you cannot leave without ending your challenge.

<b>Character:</b> CHARACTER NAME | <user name="JOURNAL"> <b>Badge/Gym Leader:</b> NAME OF THE BADGE OR GYM LEADER YOU'RE CHALLENGING <b>Elite/Regular:</b> ELITE TEAM OR REGULAR TEAM <b>Team:</b> LINK TO POKEMON ROSTER <b>Battle Details:</b> MISCELLANEOUS DETAILS ABOUT YOUR TEAM/CHARACTER THAT'LL HELP YOU IN THIS BATTLE (recommended!)

「 NAVIGATION 」

Comments

[indigo_league]

Hive Badge approved!

[indigo_league]

Mineral and Storm Badges approved!

[indigo_league]

Zephyr Badge approved!

[indigo_league]

Earth Badge approved!

(It should be noted that using healing items and using moves at the same time is a no-go; Thace's Pokemon should be capable of tanking a few hits as described, but it's something to keep in mind if he wants to tackle the Elite Four!)

[indigo_league]

Earth Badge approved!

[indigo_league]

Sadly, Kiri will not win her badge today. Her swearing at Whitney, however, will make her burst into tears!

[braveloyalhugs]

Character: Scorpia | braveloyalhugs
Badge/Gym Leader: Pryce, Glacier
Elite/Regular: REGULAR TEAM
Team: POKEMON ROSTERLevel 64, unless otherwise noted: Emily (Drapion), Millie (Miltank), Mr. and Ms. Huggles (Bewears), SQUEE (Bewear 67), Flex (Gurdurr 60)
Battle Details:
Scorpia has brought lots and lots of potions and a couple revives! But Ice-types are weak to fighting, and she kinda specializes in the type, so she’s pretty confident. Also most of her team knows Taunt by now, so she’s much less worried about status things.

Vs Dewgong and Lapras
—Emily will come in with Taunt, Toxic, Toxic Spikes. Venoshock if she’s good on HP
—Mr. and Ms. Huggles tag team time! Refresh Taunt as necessary, then spam Hammer Arm until nearly time to switch, then Superpower. Switch, tank for partner to be healed, repeat!
—Flex is on backup duty. He’ll Bulk Up, Focus Energy, Superpower then repeat.
—SQUEE is on emergency backup and will copy the Huggles’ strategy.

Vs. Mamoswine
—SQUEE comes in to Taunt then tank a bit while the Huggles (and Flex, if necessary) get potions and things. She’ll throw out Pain Split before she switches.
—Emily will hope back in to lay in another Toxic if Pryce heals Mamoswine of the badly poisoned, but retreat fast on account of the Ground weakness.
—Mr. and Ms. Huggles tag team time! Refresh Taunt as necessary, then spam Hammer Arm until nearly time to switch, then Superpower. Switch, tank for partner to be healed, repeat!
—Flex will hop in to tank while SQUEE gets healed if the Huggles can’t finish Mamoswine off. If he’s got enough HP after the healing is done, he’ll lay down a Superpower before retreating.
—if SQUEE comes in, she’ll copy the Huggles’ strategy.
—Millie is backup for this one: Charm, Brick Break and Iron Tail, with Milk Drink to restore her health.
—if Scorpia’s fighting types and Millie can’t do it, Emily will come in as a last resort and lay down Fire Fang for as long as she can hold out.

[breakyourlife]

Character: Steve Palchuk | breakyourlife
Badge/Gym Leader: ELITE FOUR
Elite/Regular: Elite...
Team: Here!

Buttsnack (Swampert) [lvl 100 - Torrent/Swift Swim - Swampertite]
Bessie (Miltank) [lvl 100 - Thick Fat - Rocky Helmet]
Other Bessie (Tauros) [lvl 100 - Intimidate - King's Rock]
Creep (Grimmsnarl) [lvl 100 - Prankster - Expert Belt]
Mount Bessie (Camerupt) [lvl 100 - Solid Rock - Metal Coat]
Afro Bessie (Bouffalant) [lvl 100 - Sap Sipper - King's Rock]

[breakyourlife]

Battle Details:

Meant to post this yesterday, but work killed me dead. Pretend this happened then, I guess.

Steve has been training (stressing) for months at this point. Whether or not it's enough remains to be seen, but he's never studied this hard for anything, and of course he's tried to listen to advice from his more strategically minded friends. Shout out to honorary uncles Steven D and Thace! This attempt would be significantly worse without them. He's anxious, and the worse things go for him the more this will show. Still! At least to begin with he's putting on a show of confidence. He's wearing his Miltank hoodie with a very obviously plastic crown. Someone please save this idiot boy from his false ego.

Also worth noting is that Steve has brought along a range of revives, healing, and PP recovery items. He will be using these between battles to heal everyone back up, as well as when noted in the write up.

Will:

Camerupt is coming out first in the fight against Bronzong. Depending on its ability, it could be weak to either fire or ground. Neither one is a problem for Mount Bessie. She'll be starting out with Eruption, then switching to Earthquake if that doesn't work. Ideally she'll also be using Stealth Rock before taking Bronzong out to get a head start on future opponents.

Next up is Creep the Grimmsnarl vs. Jynx. Creep's equipped with Expert Belt to try and get the most of out any super effective moves he uses. He'll be using Confide to drop her special attack a bit, then Bulk Up to boost himself before going on the offense with Assurance and False Surrender. He has some Awakenings on standby just in case Jynx manages to put Creep to sleep.

Ideally he'll be staying out to face off against Grumpig, essentially repeating his tactics from the last battle. He has a Grumpig himself, so his major concern here is Belch. He knows full well that can pack quite the punch even without a weakness to poison, let alone with. If Grumpig at any point consumes a berry then Creep's being called back to be replaced by the unfortunately named Buttsnack. He'll promptly be mega-evolving into Mega Swampert, and even though he doesn't have any moves that Grumpig is outright weak to he does have plenty of powerful moves in his arsenal. Most likely he'll go for Hydro Pump or Surf to try and take it out quickly.

For Slowbro Steve will call on Bessie the Miltank. She's equipped with Rocky helmet in case it uses any contact moves. He'll have her use Toxic before trying his luck having Bessie use Attract, but regardless of if that works she has Charm to dull the effectiveness of any physical attacks. Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball are probably not optimal moves for her to be using given her low special attack, but hey, Slowbro is weak to them. She has Heal Bell and Milk Drink if she's hit by any status effects or her health starts getting too low.

Mount Bessie will make a reappearance against Gardevoir. This is where Metal Coat will come in useful. She's learnt Flash Cannon especially for the occasion, but first things first... she's going to use Yawn to try and avoid its attacks as much as possible.

Finally, Other Bessie (I'm sorry, there are a lot of Bessies here), his Tauros will face Xatu. He also has a King's Rock to try and help with those flinches! He'll be using Payback and Thunderbolt to try and defeat it, and he does have Rest if his health starts to suffer.

He hasn't exactly planned for any other losses here, but he does have Bouffalant (and potentially Mega Swampert) still on standby if things do end up going badly.

Koga:

Skuntank is a Pokémon Steve knows fairly well, often to his own misfortune given Stink Bomb's fondness for mischief. In this case he's grateful though. Although Skuntanks can be great battlers, they definitely have their weaknesses. Most prominently; ground. A typing his other Rocket starter happens to have. As far as he's concerned it doesn't stand a chance against Mega Swampert. The one thing Buttsnack is doing before launching into Earthquake is getting him to set up Stealth Rock.

He will be switching to his Tauros, Other Bessie, for Venomoth. With luck his equipped King's Rock will help land some flinches. He will take a moment to heal up Buttsnack in the event of any nasty surprises in the form of Aftermath or Explosion from Skuntank before getting started. Since Stealth Rock should take a chunk out of its health he's not really worried about losing time here. If it hits with status effects then Steve's stocked up with the remedy for all of them. If not, they're going straight into Fire Blast. It's not the most accurate move, but that power is worth it as far as Steve's concerned. Hopefully after that it won't be too difficult to finish it off with Zen Headbutt or two. If it misses... he'll probably stick with Zen Headbutt anyway unless Venomoth uses disable, then it's back to Fire Blast and hoping for better luck with its accuracy second time around.

Other Bessie will also be facing Toxicroak. The goal here isn't really to win this time, though if he does then that's a bonus! Given its double weakness to psychic types Steve's hoping that Zen Headbutt will take down its health. If that happens to be disabled... well, Earthquake still ought to leave a mark. If Other Bessie goes down then Steve anticipates Buttsnack's Bulldoze should hopefully be able to wipe it out so he can stay out against Swalot.

Once Swalot comes out, Buttsnack is going behind a Substitute to avoid the risk of poisoning. It'll be Earthquake all the way from there until it faints, though of course he will use Awakening if he gets hit by a Yawn.

When it comes to Crobat it's time for Bessie (Miltank flavor) to come on out. First she'll be using Defense Curl to double the power of Rollout which he intends to be her main attack. He'll deal with any status effects or low health using Heal Bell or Milk Drink when Rollout either finishes or fails before he puts her on the offense again.

For the final battle against Muk, Steve will once again switch to Buttsnack. He'll start him off with Supersonic, then maybe a growl or two to drop its attack. His main attack will be Earthquake, but if that's disabled then he has Bulldoze too.

Of course, if his plans fail here he still has Grimmsnarl, Camerupt, and Bouffalant to try and help him steal the win. Camerupt is probably the best back up here since she has a range of moves that will be effective on most of Koga's team, but Bouffalant isn't a bad pick either since she has Earthquake and Rock Tomb.

Bruno:

Now this will be the real challenge. A solid half of the team he's brought along have a weakness to fighting types, so he can't afford to make mistakes here. If he wasn't already sweating before this, his anxieties are definitely going to be on show here. His voice will likely be several octaves higher throughtout this fight. RIP, Bruno's eardrums.

Opening the fight will be Buttsnack, jumping right into mega evolution and using Rain Dance to activate Swift Swim's effect. He'll have him use Toxic to try and wear down Hitmontop's health, then Screech to reduce his defence. From there he's relying on powerful moves like Hydro Pump taking him out, or Earthqauke if Hydro Pump's hits aren't landing. He's going to try and time Stealth Rock for when Hitmontop's health is too low for him to Rapid Spin it away. Another shout out to whichever uncle pointed that out to him in their strategizing sessions, otherwise he would've wasted that move much earlier on. Stealth Rock's not at it's most effective here thanks to all of Bruno's Pokémon resist rock type moves, but at least it's something that will help out throughout the match. Or at least that what Steve hopes.

Before taking on Hitmonlee, Steve's going to take a moment to boost Buttsnack's health back up. He'll use Toxic again, then Supersonic in the hopes that confusion will reduce the hits he takes. Hydro Pump and Surf will be his main offense moves, repeating Rain Dance if he needs to. If Stealth Rock is gone (and Buttsnack's health is up to it) he'll try and put back up before Hitmonlee faints.

Asking even a mega to take down three Pokémon he has no real advantage over is a big ask, but if he's still somehow standing Steve would like Buttsnack to lower Hitmonchan's defence with Screech and inflict poison with Toxic. If not... well, Creep's just going to have to come out anyway. He'll be using Bulk Up on himself, and targeting him with physical fairy type moves like Play Rough and Spirit Break. His Expert Belt ought to help out a fair bit here.

For Hariyama, Other Bessie is playing the part of a sacrificial lamb (or... cow, I guess). He is weak to fighting, but he is also very fast. The hope is that between the little bit of damage caused by Stealth Rock and his Zen Headbutts then maybe they can get it on the ropes before Creep comes out to finish it off since Heavy Slam would probably pulverise him. Of course, Hariyama has a lot of health. A lot of it. If need be Steve will repeat this tactic with Orignal Bessie since she also has good speed and knows Zen Headbutt. Plus she has Rocky Helmet which will mean contact moves will hurt Hariyama too. He hates to see his precious cows dropped like rocks, but he also really doesn't want to lose. No matter whether he uses them both or not, unless this goes a lot better than planned Creep will likely be the one finishing it off.

Creep will also be taking on Machamp. He'll be taking a chance with Flatter to confuse his opponent since Machamp is a physical attacker anyway. He'll then be focussing on Play Rough for his offensive move, hoping that will have the bonus side effect of reducing his attack power. He'll also take the time to heal him when there's chance since there's not a lot of room for flexibility here. He hopes to avoid calling on Mount Bessie to clear the field, but if Creep goes down before his time he plans to have her use Magnitude to wipe it out.

He would much prefer it, though, if Mount Bessie didn't come out until the final match against Lucario. It would be awesome if Fissure could take it out right off the bat, but since the odds of that are low... if that longshot fails, she'll use Eruption. She has an arsenal of fire and ground type moves, so if they make it this far then Steve is pretty confident in an easy match. Finally. That said, he will have her use Yawn if things do look as though they could get worrying.

If he really needs her then his Bouffalant has Earthquake, but that's a very desperate measure.

[breakyourlife]

Karen:

Afro Bessie is Steve's first call here. His Bouffalant has a few fighting type moves up her sleeves. She will use Toxic to start out, then Swords Dance to boost her attack. Being the slower of the two Pokémon, Afro Bessie should get the benefit of using Revenge last. Weavile also knows this move and Afro Bessie is weak to it, but hopefully since hers is only a single weakness and Weavile shouldn't be getting the bonus power of the move his Bouffalant will come out on top.

She will be staying out to battle Absol, once again inflicting her opponent with Toxic. If she has enough health to spare the time she'll drop Absol's defence with Leer before attacking with Revenge once again. When her health starts to get low Steve will have her use Reversal instead.

As Spiritomb only has one weakness, there's only one Pokémon Steve wants to call on here. He'll be using Bulk Up on himself a couple of times before switching to Spirit Break and Play Rough. Since Creep happens to resist all of Spiritomb's moves he's not too worried about this one. Plus, of course, there's his Expert Belt. Thanks, Team Rocket! That reward's really getting some mileage here.

For Houndoom, Buttsnack is coming out to face him. As in most of his matches, he'll be mega evolving right away. From there... well, it's a fire type. He'll be using Rain Dance to start, then it's Surf time! The only moves of Houndoom's that Swampert can't resist in some form are the dark moves, but even so Steve's not expecting much of a fight here. He sets up Stealth Rock, but that's about the only exciting thing that happens here.

Buttsnack will also be fighting against Honchkrow. He'll inflict Toxic and use Supersonic to limit it as much as possible. Then he's hoping to take it down with a few Rock Slides.

If possible, Buttsnack will be staying out for Umbreon. His main goal is to weaken it, so after Toxic he'll be using Hammer Arm. At whatever point he's knocked out then Bessie will be coming in to replace him. Since odds are Umbreon is male she'll be going for an Attract to start things off. After that she'll mostly be on the offense with Seismic Toss, but if she needs to heal herself she has both Heal Bell and Milk Drink to do so.

Ideally Camerupt and Tauros won't be needed here, but if he has to call on them then he will. Both have rock and ground type moves in their roster that could be useful, and Other Bessie has Ice Beam which could be used against Honchkrow.

Lance:

For this match Steve has a specific planned back up Pokémon for each battle. As such, he will be using revives (and heals if possible) on anyone that happens to fall, just in case he does need them.

Opening up against Salamence we have Miltank. Bessie will be setting up Stealth Rock, then Toxic. Her main attack will be Ice Beam, though given Salamence's scary high attack... Steve may have her use a Charm or two to try and neuter that a bit. She has Milk Drink, plus Heal Bell should she be hit with a burn. If she is taken out then he plans to switch to his Camerupt. Mount Bessie will probably use Eruption to start just for the sheer power of it, then Rock Slide to take advantage of Salamence's rock type weakness. He hasn't planned for Dragon Tail forcing a random Pokémon out, but honestly... every member of this team has at least one super effective type move they can use. Hopefully they'll be okay.

Against Gyarados Steve plans to use Afro Bessie. Those Stealth Rocks should be making a pretty decent hit, and he's going to have her boost herself up with Swords Dance. After that... Wild Charge! Which granted will also make a big dent in her own HP. If this is to her detriment, then Other Bessie the Tauros will be coming out to zap it with Thunderbolt.

Creep will be facing off against Garchomp, using Flatter to confuse his opponent. He'll use Power-Up Punch to boost his own power before using Play Rough and Spirit Break to knock it out. Both moves have the side effect of having the chance to knock down its physical and special attack respectively. If Creep doesn't make it through, then hopefully Mega Swampert will be more than enough to finish it off. Buttsnack is ideally a physical attacker, but his special isn't too shabby either. With access to both Blizzard and the more reliable Ice Beam he's more than capable of exploiting that double ice weakness if he's needed.

Other Bessie is coming in to fight Altaria. He'll inflict Toxic, and use Work Up a time or two to boost his attack and special attack. Steve will chance him using an Ice Beam, but in the event his garbage special attack means that even with a double weakness to ice it's not making enough of a dent he'll switch to having him use Rock Tomb. Other Bessie will be using Protect if Altaria starts up a Sky Attack, and Steve will use an Awakening should it use Sing. If that isn't enough then Afro Bessie will be coming in, hopefully to finish Altaria off with Rock Tomb, or perhaps Reversal if her health is on the lower side.

For Charizard he will be sending out Mount Bessie. On the surface a fire/ground type isn't a conventional choice against a fire/flying, but stick with him here. Steve has a plan that he hopes will pay off. Stealth Rock should still be on the field at this point, and given Charizard's double weakness to rock... they're already half way there. She'll start out using Focus Energy to increase the odds of a critical hit, then use Rock Slide until it's down. Should anything go wrong then hopefully by now Steve will have had chance to heal up Bessie enough to bring her out for a Defense Curl/Rollout combo.

Finally, against Dragonite, it's time for Buttsnack to shine. Assuming he hasn't been out already he'll be mega evolving. If he was used against Garchomp already... well, that part's already done. He'll be using Toxic, then Rain Dance to give himself a speed advantage. After that he'll use Supersonic in the hopes that confusion will reduce incoming damage, then go on the offence with Blizzard and Ice Beam. If Buttsnack does faint before taking down Dragonite, Creep should ideally be healed up enough to finish things off with Play Rough.

[fearinahandfulof]

Character: Cassandra | fearinahandfulof
Badge/Gym Leader: Thunder/Lt. Surge
Elite/Regular: Elite Team
Team: Thora the Boltund (with Leppa Berry), Dart the Dragapult (with Lum Berry), Lily the Pikachu (with Lum Berry), Priscilla the Hydreigon (with Lum Berry), Vanita the Scolipede (with Lum Berry)
Battle Details: Cassandra does not have any Ground pokemon. That does not mean she does not have any pokemon who can use Ground moves.

Manectric: Manectric presents a potential problem in that it can potentially have Static as an ability, which means contact moves aren't a good idea, in most cases. Thunder Wave is also a potential problem due to that 90% chance of inflicting Paralysis... which is why Cassandra is deploying Thora the Boltund for this one. As an Electric type herself, Thora is entirely immune to paralysis - and she can learn Dig, which enables her to hit Manectric's Ground weakness, while Manectric has no way of hitting hers. Thora can also use Charm to drastically lower Manectric's attack stat, and Crunch to inflict damage and potentially lower its defense. She's also got a Leppa Berry equipped in case she uses Dig too much, although Cassandra's also got a decent supply of them on hand for this gym battle just in case. She's also going to be liberal with the healing items, because while Thora's resistant to Electricity, Electricity moves aren't all Manectric has. Since Manectric's other potential ability is Lightning Rod, Thora will be avoiding her own Electricity attacks, sticking to Dig, Crunch, and Play Rough.

Electrode: Thora is staying in for this one, at least to start with, to try to take advantage of Electrode's Ground weakness until it uses Magnet Rise (because Cassandra suspects it's highly likely to use Magnet Rise). If by some miracle it doesn't, Thora will be casting Substitute while continuing to hammer it with Dig (which will probably require her to use her Leppa Berry), since she's immune to Static and can safely make physical contact if Electrode has that particular ability. For Thora, the Substitute is quite probably a necessity, since Electrode also has Explosion and Self-Destruct and Thora isn't particularly sturdy. 

Of course, there's another way around Explosion and Self-Destruct. They're both Normal-type moves, which means a Ghost type won't be bothered by them. Dart, as it happens, is part Ghost-type, and as a bonus is speedy enough to blunt the effects of Gyro Ball should Electrode attempt to use it. What Dart can't do is learn Ground moves, but if Electrode is using Magnet Rise, Ground moves aren't going to be useful here anyway. Since it's not immediately obvious whether or not Electrode has Static, Dart is going to come in equipped with a Lum Berry; if he tries a physical move and ends up paralyzed, the berry will cure it, and Dart will know to switch to special moves like Surf and Flamethrower. This does leave Dart open to Mirror Coat, but again, Cassandra's going to be very generous with healing items.

Pachirisu: On the plus side, Pachirisu doesn't have Static or Magnet Rise. It does have Thunder Wave, though, and even more annoyingly Sweet Kiss, which is why Lily is coming in with a Lum Berry and Dig; fortunately, Cassandra's had a lot of time to grow Lum Berries since the Sinnoh trip, so she's got a decent supply if Pachirisu manages to confuse Lily more than once. In addition, Lily also has Sweet Kiss and will probably try to preemptively land it on Pachirisu. Lily can also use Double Team to raise her evasion, although Dig will be keeping her out of Pachirisu's reach at least half the time, and Draining Kiss will let her steal some health from Pachirisu if need be. Of course, Pachirisu does have Super Fang and Hyper Fang, so Cassandra's going to be extra vigilant about Lily's health.

Magnezone: Magnezone has Magnet Rise, which potentially gets in the way of taking advantage of that 4x Ground weakness. Fortunately, Priscilla has Taunt to shut that strategy down, and Earthquake to take advantage of said weakness. It helps that Magnezone has a much lower base speed than Priscilla does, which means Priscilla will likely be able to get that Taunt off first, cutting Magnezone off from all its status moves. That said, Earthquake isn't the only move in her arsenal and Ground isn't the only one of Magnezone's weaknesses she can hit; she also has Flamethrower to hit Magnezone's Fire weakness, and she'll probably use that liberally. Even better, she's immune to Psychic attacks, which means Mirror Coat can't hurt her. There is of course a chance she might end up paralyzed from Magnezone's Electric attacks, but she does have a Lum Berry equipped, and Cassandra has a number of extras plus a number of Paralyze Heals in reserve, in addition to standard healing items, should Priscilla need them.

Electivire: Vanita is up this time, armed with Dig and a Lum Berry. Dig has the advantage of putting Vanita out of attack range for every other turn, and given that her base speed is actually higher than Electivire's, there's a very good chance she'll get to move first. Not that she's going to rely solely on Dig: she's also got Toxic and Venoshock to speed things along, and Electivire isn't immune to either one. Cassandra, of course, will be monitoring Vanita's health closely, and breaking out healing or curative items as needed. Vanita isn't weak to any of Electivire's moves, either, and can use Iron Defense to shore herself up in the face of Electivire's higher attack... assuming Electivire can catch her above ground, at least. If the battle somehow drags on, Vanita also has Earthquake in her repertoire, but as Vanita's special attack is frankly not great it hopefully won't come to that.

Raichu: There's a chance that Priscilla still has her Lum Berry left, which would be helpful if Raichu opens with a status move; otherwise, Cassandra will have a curative handy so Priscilla can hit Raichu with Taunt to seal away its status moves again as soon as possible. Once Taunt is in place, Priscilla will switch to Earthquake, although Cassandra may need to supply her with a Leppa Berry to let her keep going with it; fortunately, Earthquake isn't a contact move, because Raichu almost certainly has Static for an ability. Priscilla is going to be keeping Taunt in place, but otherwise she'll be pressing the attack with Earthquake, while Cassandra keeps her supplied with healing and curative items as needed. Priscilla's not as fast as Raichu, but she does have very good attack and special attack and Raichu's defense is nothing to speak of, so hopefully that will be enough to let her, and thus Cassandra's team, win the day.

[indigo_league]

Badge approved!

[indigo_league]

Badge approved!

[indigo_league]

After a long, grueling set of challenges and several tough battles, Steve Palchuk is named the twelfth Aurora League Champion! As such, you're now entitled to all of the benefits that come with the title, including a special Dragon-type Egg from Lance with a TM of your choice, and permission to build an Aurora League gym anywhere of your choosing! Please think hard on a theme and mechanics for your Gym, and thank you so much for participating! You may submit a building request for your Gym at any time, and it will take approximately one month for your Gym to open for business. Thank you again!

[uncutetomboy]

Character: Akane Tendo | uncutetomboy
Badge/Gym Leader: Lt Surge!
Elite/Regular: ... elite?
Team: G-kun (Golurk), Q-no (Quagsire), S-tan (Sandslash), M-ko (Mudsdale), S-tama (Swinub), and Ryo-ful (Bewear), all of which are level 100
Battle Details: So Akane has five pokemon who are either ground or half-ground and she's got Ryo-ful, who has three ground moves he learned via move tutor or TM. She isn't matching her pokemon to their opponents given that almost all of Surge's have the same weaknesses, but she does have a rough priority order of which Pokemon she'll be putting out and will for the most part use a pokemon until it faints or until it's out of Ground moves.

S-tan is the first in line. She's wearing a pair of go-goggles, for reasons which will become obvious the minute she uses Sandstorm to raise her evasion. She'll be re-upping it whenever it fades away. After that, she'll trap her opponents in a Sand Tomb whenever a new one pops out and use Earthquake and Bulldoze to smack them around.

M-ko, her other pure Ground type, starts out by Mud-Slapping her opponents to reduce their accuracy, before going to High Horsepower and then throwing in some Earthquakes and Bulldozes.

After the pure grounds are out, Akane sends in Q-no, who might be half Water, but is really only vulnerable to Grass attacks and is thankfully still immune to Electric. He fires of Mud Shots which should hopefully reduce speed and sets off Earthquakes for damage.

Next in line is G-kun, who is part Ghost. Only one of Surge's elite team (Manetric) has an attack in their movesets that G-kun is extra vulnerable to, so as long as Manetric's already down he doesn't have anything to worry about. He also Mud-slaps to reduce accuracy, then sets off Earthquakes and smacks things with High Horsepower. If he misses he throws a Stomping Tantrum.

Hopefully Surge's pokemon are all down before she has to bring in S-tama, but otherwise it's more Mud-Slapping to reduce accuracy and setting off Earthquakes to fuck things up.

Last in reserve is Ryo-ful, who isn't even a Ground pokemon. He does, however, have Earthquake, Bulldoze, and can throw Stomping Tantrums, so he'll make use of that as long as he can.

[braveloyalhugs]

Character: Scorpia | braveloyalhugs
Badge/Gym Leader: Clair/Rising (Scorpia's last Johto Badge yay!)
Elite/Regular: REGULAR TEAM
Team: POKEMON ROSTER level 68: Emily (Drapion), Blackie (Boltund), little Frosta (Eiscue), Lady Trembles (Froslass), Cream (Alcremie), Millie (Miltank)
Battle Details:
Scorpia is so excited that Fairy types are immune to Dragons! Cream is going to kick butt (against Kingdra, anyway). She’s brought a lot of potions and some revives for her team, and some status sprays, but mostly she’s just letting her Pokemon do their thing.

Vs Gyarados
—Emily will start with Toxic and Toxic Spikes x2. She’s the backup, so she doesn’t stay in after that.
—Blackie comes in next with Electric Terrain, then Charge + Wild Charge combos.
—If Blackie is getting hurt by the recoil a little too much Scorpia will toss Emily some potions and send her in with Thunder Fang.
—Millie is on standby with Thunder Punch if it’s necessary but probably not.

Vs Kingra
—Cream will jump right in with Misty Terrain. If Kingra is male, Attract! Then she’ll Decorate herself and get to work with Dazzling Gleam and Draining Kiss. She has Recover for when she needs more healing.
—Blackie will get potions and be sent back in with Charm and Play Rough if Cream can’t do it on her own.
—if Blackie is having trouble, well, Scorpia has revives and potions so Emily will tank if necessary until Cream is revived and back in business.
—Millie is around to do backup with Play Rough, if necessary.

Vs Dragonite
—Emily will lay down a Toxic if/when Dragonite gets healed of badly poisoned.
—little Frosta is the first battler! She’ll start with Icy Winds to slow Dragonite down, and then when Dragonite uses a physical move (such as Fire Fang) on her first time (which will break her Ice Face) she’ll do Hail, and then Aurora Veil then Blizzards! Two outright cancellations of Phys damage due to Ice Face, and then halving of all damage after due to Aurora Veil should keep her around long enough to severely damage, if not K.O. Dragonite. She’ll refresh Hail and Aurora Veil as necessary.
—Lady Trembles is next. She’ll refresh Hail and Aurora Veil as necessary and spam Blizzards mostly, with Draining Kiss to keep her health topped off. After any use of Fire Fang, she does have Spite to reduce the PP of it, since it’s Dragonite’s only super effective move against her.
— Millie is backup next! She’s here to Defense Curl and Rollout Dragonite out of the sky. She has Milk Drink and Heal Bell to help out.
—If necessary, Emily will come back in with Taunt and Ice Fang.
—if Dragonite is still kicking, Blackie and Cream will do their best with their Fairy-type attacks, Play Rough and Dazzling Gleam. Since Scorpia has revives and potions, and Dragonite’s level advantage is so slight, hopefully the six of them together can lay waste to the Dragonite.

[copykiri]

Character: Kiri | copykiri
Badge/Gym Leader: Plain, Whitney
Elite/Regular: REGULAR TEAM
Team: POKEMON ROSTER Toucannon 53, Fearow 59, Chatot 42, Skarmory 54, Murkrow 43, Kangaskhan 45
Battle Details:
This time Kiri is prepared. She’s sure of it. She comes in stuffed in the pouch of a very large Kangaskhan because the parent pokemon totally adopted her. She has extra potions and some berries for status and even a couple revives this time!

Held items: Skarmory and Toucannon: Chesto Berries

Vs. Girafarig
—This time Murkrow goes in without any spats or confusion. He leads with Taunt and then switches between Feint Attack and Assurance, refreshing Taunt as needed.
—if Murkrow can’t take Girafarig down alone, Fearow will come in with Focus Energy and Assurance.

Vs. Clefable
—Still no arguments among the flock. Wow! Skarmory flies out fast with an Agility, Leer and some hard hitting Steel Wings. She’s got a Chesto Berry to protect from the first effective Sing, and can switch out for Kiri to give her more.
—if Skarmory needs to switch, Toucannon will come in! He’ll unleash a Super Sonic, Feather Dance, and then start using Echoed Voice. Not super effective, but it increases in power every turn and his Chesto Berry plus Clefable’s hopefully confused status should see him through til it reaches max.
—if Clefable is still around by the second effective Sing on Toucannon, Kiri will give Skarmory another Chesto Berry before sending her back in.
—if necessary, the two will keep switching when Sing does its thing, with added potions with the Berries as necessary.

Vs. Miltank
—the first one out against Whitney’s Rollout queen is… not the Kangaskhan. It’s Chatot with Sing. And Sing again and again until it sticks. While Miltank is asleep, Chatot will try to get Echoed Voice in until it reaches full power. When Miltank wakes up, it’s Roost, Taunt, Chatter, Roost, and so on until Chatot can’t battle anymore.
—Skarmory comes in next, probably not in the best shape, but will lay down as many Sand Attacks as she can before hitting with a Brave Bird and probably getting K’O’d right away from recoil.
—Toucannon will come in with a Supersonic, and Beak Blast (which will inflict Miltank with a burn if her Rollout hits during the charge up!) until he can’t anymore.
—Fearow will come in next, using her new Fly (thanks big brother Steven!) to stay well above the Rollout half the time. It probably only delays the inevitable.
—Murkrow will Taunt and Feint Attack until he can’t battle. The five birds have done their best, and with at least a little strategy employed, maybe they even pull out a win!

—but Kangaskhan is on deck if they haven’t, very fresh, and determined to beat up the cow that’s making her human joey cry. Because Kiri would be crying right now, all angry tears and a hearty “go fuck yourself” or even a “go squat on a cactus” (thank Jaskier for that one) or two while she climbs out of the pouch so Kangaskhan can go at it. Thanks to big brother Steven, she even has a shiny new Drain Punch TM to show off. So she’ll go with Focus Energy and Drain Punch. If Drain Punch can’t keep up, and her HP starts getting low she’ll Endure and unleash the strongest Reversal she can to hopefully take Miltank down for the count.

In the unlikely event that Kiri wins with just her birds, she’ll be very proud of herself. She’ll be kind of angry-happy and a little sniffle-y if she wins with Kangaskhan.

And if she loses, she’ll stand there, angry tears and all, point at Whitney, and shout “I killed people!” (she means ‘I’ll be back to kick your ass’ but, you know. Mimicking and all)

[vrdantwind]

Character: Claude von Riegan | vrdantwind
Badge/Gym Leader: Morty, for the Fog Badge!
Elite/Regular: Regular
Team: Claude's roster, current as of posting!
Battle Details: Claude is going to let a pokémon he's never used in a gym battle before carry him today - Desperado the (shiny) Decidueye! He only got Desperado at Christmas and he's still a solid 20-30 levels behind the rest of Claude's main team, but between some lucky level rolls and the Snorunt blessing Claude received in January, his little Rowlet's all grown up and is 8 levels above even Morty's Gengar. So, despite the fact that Desperado is as weak to Morty's ghost types as they are to Desperado, Claude's counting on his being stronger and faster to wipe out Morty's team before Desperado takes much (or any) damage.

That said, considering the levels of the rest of Claude's team...Desperado's still got a hell of a safety net if he needs to retreat. Blitz the Noivern and Sicily the Sawsbuck both have a Dark-type move in their wheelhouses, and Arbiter the Corviknight can use Hone Claws and Power Trip to make himself a knightmare.

[demonpuppy]

Character: Chip Abaroa | demonpuppy
Badge/Gym Leader: Morty for the Fog Badge
Elite/Regular: Regular
Team: check 'battle' under the teams tab
Battle Details: Chip is, honestly, just going to attempt to bulldoze this. They have a very high level Necro type, who is very tanky, and has a lot of moves that are super effective against Necros. Yeah, they're facing the same weakness back at them, but they're confident that Michelin will pull through! The problem with that is Dusknoir is slow as shit, and doesn't have terribly high offensive stats. And when going up against glass canons, that's...not great, especially when you add on move weaknesses.

So! Michelin goes down despite a very good showing, and Chip defaults to Rocky because of course they do. She is indeed pretty strong, but Chip is choosing Dragon-type moves over Dark-type Crunch, so...there's a good chance that Misdreavus can wear her down with Confuse Ray, Pain Split, and all of that fun nonsense.

By stroke of PURE luck, Chip does not pitch a fit and throw out Sponk to waste literally everyone's time, but instead sends out Lazzo! This isn't the worst decision possible, but Corrosion only does so much when the trainer in question hasn't pieced together the Toxic+Venoshock combo yet and he likely will go down to Gengar. (Probably got a flinch or two in though, thanks King's Rock!) If so, it'll be Espie coming in to finish the fight!

(Don't mind the red nose and sniffling, Morty, Grant promises they're not contagious at this point.)

[amaure]

Character: Emet-Selch | amaure
Badge/Gym Leader: Lt. Surge
Elite/Regular: Elite Team
Team: As if it needs mentioning... but obviously the whole crew.
Battle Details:

Honestly, this is an electric off, with only really Ignis having the advantage over Magnezone (which Emet will absolutely take advantage of). Utilizing Sunny Day to lower the accuracy of Thunder (despite being resistant to it anyway), it will also bolster Ignis' Overheat. Other than that, it'll be a similar strategy of using Will-o-Wisp or trading off the Flame/Toxic Orb to inflict status ailments to bolster up Hex.

With none of Emet's Pokémon being weak to Electric attacks, which is likewise for Lt. Surge's own team, it's a bit of a war of attrition. However, Surge has little defense against ghost, grass, fire, and water type attacks due to electric types taking normal damage from them. Where as Emet's own have some better resistance to the attacks Surge's team has access to. With the culmination of burns, poison, bolstered hex and the use of each Rotom's type-aligned attacks and poltergeist on those who were slipped the specific held items, it'll make for a long and somewhat boring battle that has a higher chance to end in Emet's favor.

Character: Emet-Selch | amaure
Badge/Gym Leader: Erika
Elite/Regular: Elite Team
Team: Same as above!
Battle Details:

With Erika's team being grass type, this means that she has a natural resistance to Electric types, however this is hardly a deterrent for him. Primarily, he will be utilizing Ignis (heat), Pruina (frost), Volatus (fan) for their super effective moves against Erika's team, while the others will work to enfeeble with burn, paralysis, and poison (to those not immune). The only members of Emet's team he has to worry about is Fretus (wash) and Anima (ghost), but with Fretus' natural bulk, chances are it won't crumple immediately. As for Anima, he primarily will be avoiding Erika's Shrifty pairing up with it.

Though, he did come prepared for her own status ailment afflicting moves, and while his team will set up defensive tactics with double team, substitute, and so forth, he has brought with him a fair number of full heals in the case of emergency. Not that he'd like using them, but he's not here to lose, and doing so by refraining from the available avenues presented out of some misplaced idea of honor does not change the end results! Not that he'll try to do some stall out tactic with them, either, seeing as that's more of a strategy to deny the inevitable, than one that lends itself to victory.

He will keep electric terrain up to bolster his attacks, but also to command the weather—while Sunny Day will help Ignis' attack, it will also allow Erika's team to lay down some quick Solar Beams and other similar attacks, likewise bolstering Photosynthesis and the like, and Emet isn't about any of that.

[nastyboy]

Character: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd | nastyboy
Badge/Gym Leader: Morty for the Fog Badge
Elite/Regular: Regular Team
Team: Team of Gremlin the Rattata, Dean the Emboar, Fowi the Luxray, Grindy the Kingler, and Karimala the Lapras
Battle Details: So fun fact here, but Dimitri is going to do this entire battle while holding Grant Araboa's hand and looking like he's just one dropped sandwich away from tearing up. Morty might have seen either or both of them beforehand, because both Grant and Dimitri do their best to attend all of Chip's matches. Even the questionable ones.

He's going to open with Gremlin the Rattata, who isn't the best choice but who really wants to help out here. While the whole typing thing basically takes out the majority of Gremlin's moves, he is left behind with various dark type moves like Bite and, uh.... Bite. This is going to be accompanied by, presumably, a lot of Rattata swearing before Dimitri pulls him out. He appreciates it, Gremlin. He does.

So to finish off Morty's Haunter, he's going to toss out Karimala the Lapras, who's going to just shut down all other moves by using Sing and then just bullying Haunter with Water Pulse and Ice Shard. Before she potentially finishes Haunter off with Brine for double damage after a bit of being mean, she'll set up Mist for the following battle.

Up against Misdreavus, she'll try to do the same, because listen, sometimes you have to make your opponent go to sleep before they Confuse Ray the shit out of you.

In the even that Karimala looks as though she's in danger of fainting, Dimitri will pull her back and out comes Dean the Emboar. Almost immediately, Dimitri busts out Heat Crash. Fun fact, did you know that sometimes Ghost types just don't weigh shit? That weigh difference is what Dimitri hopes will finish up the match against Misdreavus, and he has Flamethrower to finish up if Misdreavus can really take that on after Karimala went after her too.

Whether or not he had to pull back Karimala, Dean is definitely up against Morty's Gengar, where he'll try to open with a Flame Charge to help speed him up a little bit and Odor Sleuth as a set up for a Power Up Punch to make his base attack stronger too when he goes in for a hit. Add in Flamethrower to hopefully get some burn damage in there, and, well, that's the idea. He has plenty of other damage dealing moves (esp. thanks to Odor Sleuth) to clean up.

Yet if things take a turn for the worst, like use of Perish Song or confusion effects, the good news is that Dimitri has other Pokemon to bring victory in (hopefully). Grindy the Kingler is still full of as much murder as always, bringing in moves like Razor Shell and Crabhammer, while Fowi the Luxray will just, as is her way, zap the shit out of everything with Charge and Thundershock. That's not even taking into account Karimala and Gremlin still being on standby in the background.

At the end of the battle, win or lose, Dimitri will thank Morty for a proper match, and apologize for not seeming more energetic. It's just he's kind of planning a funeral, and, uh, Ghost types are kind of not a great thing even without that! He's really sorry. He's sure Morty's companions are lovely. It's him, not them. He does not let go of Grant's hand.

[fearinahandfulof]

Character: Cassandra | fearinahandfulof
Badge/Gym Leader: Marsh/Sabrina
Elite/Regular: Elite Team
Team: Teresa the Dusk Lycanroc (with Lum Berry), Blade the Silvally (with Lum Berry), Violet the Noivern (with Lum Berry), Theodosia the Thievul (with Lum Berry), Licht the Mimikyu (with Lum Berry), Priscilla the Hydreigon (with Lum Berry)

Battle Details: Unlike her last battle, Cassandra actually has a number of pokemon with advantageous types here. The question is how effectively she can deploy them.

Jynx: Teresa has a few points in her favor here. One is that she's faster than Jynx; another is that she can hit two of Jynx's weaknesses, to Dark and Rock. She'll open with Taunt; this won't work if Jynx has the Oblivious ability, but there's no harm in trying. She'll also be coming in armed with a Lum Berry, so if Jynx tries to hit her with a status effect, she'll at least be spared from the first attempt, and Cassandra will have plenty of curatives on hand for subsequent attempts on Jynx's part. Perish Song is a definite concern, so if that first Taunt fails, and if Jynx doesn't open with Perish Song, Teresa will hit Jynx with Throat Chop and commence laying into her with Rock Slide, Sucker Punch, Crunch, and/or Stone Edge. If Jynx does open with Perish Song, Teresa will focus on doing as much damage as possible as quickly as possible in hopes of taking her down before the timer goes out. If Teresa does fall, or is about to, then Blade the Silvally, armed with a Lum Berry, will switch in; Blade lacks Taunt, but can hit at least four of Jynx's weaknesses and will aim to do as much damage as possible as quickly as possible until either the end of the fight or Teresa being sufficiently healed up to send back in.

Wobbuffet: It might seem unfair to send Violet in when he's so much faster than Wobbuffet, but Wobbuffet has a lot of health, and Violet has Super Fang to halve that, repeatedly if necessary. But first: Taunt, to cut Wobbuffet off from its status attacks, especially Destiny Bond. Once that's out of the way, Violet will use Super Fang twice, to bring Wobbuffet's health down to something more manageable, and then switch to Dark Pulse and Bite, with reapplications of Taunt when necessary to keep Destiny Bond at bay. 

Espeon: Espeon is noticeably faster than Theodosia, which as always is a potential problem (and is why Theodosia is coming in armed with a Lum Berry). Theodosia will thus open with Taunt, so that Espeon doesn't get a second chance at a status move. Given Espeon's Synchronize ability, Theodosia isn't going to be trying to land any status effects in turn; instead, she's going to focus on doing as much damage as she can with her arsenal of Dark attacks while continuing to keep Espeon's status attacks locked away behind Taunt. Theodosia being immune to Psychic attacks will help her here as well, although Cassandra will still be watching her health carefully, given that Psychic attacks aren't all Espeon has at it's disposal. Luckily, Espeon can't hit Theodosia's own weaknesses, and Theodosia gets STAB on all of her Dark attacks, which should speed the battle up and hopefully allow Theodosia to take the win. If Theodosia runs into problems, then either Blade or Violet can spell her - probably Violet.

Gallade: Licht isn't as fast as Gallade, but does have Taunt, so they'll be coming in with a Lum Berry equipped and immediately using it to shut down Gallade's status attacks, and then going on the offensive with Phantom Force, Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball, Play Rough, and Draining Kiss to top up its own HP. Being Ghost/Fairy, Licht gets STAB with all of those - and hits two of Gallade's weaknesses at the same time. Licht is also only weak to Ghost and Steel, neither of which weaknesses Gallade can hit, and immune to its Normal and Fighting-type moves, all of which puts Licht in a pretty strong position for this fight.

Gardevoir: Licht is sticking around for this fight as well, opening with Taunt at the earliest opportunity (although if Gardevoir opens with a status attack, Cassandra may have to help them out with status healing items) before switching to Ghost attacks. Draining Kiss will be somewhat less useful as Gardevoir isn't weak to it like Gallade is, but Licht still has STAB, so it won't be completely useless either. Either way, Cassandra will be watching Licht's health closely, and intervening with healing and curative items as needed. If Licht starts to run out of steam, then Blade will switch in, targeting Gardevoir's weaknesses with Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon until the battle ends or Licht can get healed up (including PP).

Alakazam: All but two of Alakazam's moves are Psychic, and those last two are status moves. Which means that Priscilla (armed, of course, with a Lum Berry in case Alakazam opens with a status move), is going to have a field day with this one. Her first move is of course Taunt, after which she'll be switching to Assurance, Crunch, and Dark Pulse, and more or less making Alakazam's life miserable because as a partial Dark-type she's completely immune to Psychic attacks. Alakazam is appreciably faster than Priscilla, but with Priscilla having Taunt and that Psychic immunity, that's probably not going to be as helpful as Alakazam would like.

[indigo_league]

Badge approved!

[indigo_league]

Badge approved!

[indigo_league]

Badge approved!