Character: Joey Wheeler | infernofireblast Badge/Gym Leader: Elite Four - Bruno Team:"Charizard - LV100", "Dragonite - LV100", "Bisharp - LV100" , "Ceruledge - LV100", "Feraligatr - LV100", "Wailord - LV100" Battle Details: As a standard opener, regardless of who he goes up against, Joey would bring in his Bisharp, Legendary Knight Hermos, and throw down a Stealth Rock to start the match off. Depending on what Pokemon his opponent opened with he would then switch-out to it's corresponding counter (With the possibility of Bisharp remaining on the field, of course, should luck of the draw have his preferred matchup come-up first). While this means it might take a hit on the way out it also would mean that just about any subsequent Pokemon Bruno might send out will be getting around a quarter of their health knocked-off on-arrival. With his opener delivered, though, Joey would then change his active Pokemon to reflect the following matchups:
VS HITMONTOP Against Hitmontop Joey would use his Feraligatr, Alligator's Sword. With neither Fighting nor Water-Type having a weakness each other it's pretty much a straight-up brawl, but finally being able to use his Water-Type Moves means he gets to take advantage of the the bonuses granted through Dragon Dance, Rain Dance, Sheer Power, and Life Orb, which decidedly tilt the scales in their favor. With every hit of Aqua Tail hitting at x3.75 in addition to the boost from Dragon Dance what should be an equally matched slug-fest quickly turns into a route, and gives Feraligatr the win.
VS HITMONLEE Against Hitmonlee Joey would send out his Wailord, Fortress Whale. In another case of Water versus Fighting neither Pokemon has a vulnerability to the other in terms of Typing, but the Flying -Type Move Bounce allows him to put out super-effective damage while also removing himself from his opponent's line-of-fire. His Choice Specs Held Item wouldn't boost Bounce due to not being a Special Move, but would still lock him into spamming the same move. Thankfully the damage avoidance he'd get as a result of the move only further compounds the one-sided nature of the battle, and makes it unlikely that the bout would end in anything but a walkover.
VS HITMONCHAN Against Hitmonchan Joey would put-forward his Dragonite, Baby Dragon. With Dragon not having a weakness to Fighting and Flying having a resistance to it Dragonite would be in a good place defensively, while also being well-positioned to do solid damage. With Multiscale halving whatever damage the opponent might open with he would begin bombarding the enemy with salvos of Hurricane. On top of the high attack power each hit would bring with it a 30% chance of confusing the target, which would only dig the hole Hitmonchan was in deeper. With hard-hitting moves, good defenses, and a Typing-Advantage Dragonite should have little problem taking home the win.
VS HARIYAMA Against Bruno's Hariyama Joey would send out his Bisharp, Legendary Knight Hermos. This matchup would be the only one in which Joey's Pokemon was at a distinct disadvantage thanks to Steel's weakness to Fighting. As a Dual-Type, though, the vulnerability is less severe than it would be if he were Mono-Type so he's only receiving x1.5 the damage rather than a full double. In a match as dangerous as the Elite Four, however, such a disadvantage is considerable. Bisharp would be fighting a losing battle right from the off, even with the boost from Sword's Dance. Using Knock-Off would allow him to at least deprive Hariyama of whatever Held Item he might be using as well as doing some non-resisted damage, but all he would have to fall back on is spamming Night Slash. While the damage from this wouldn't be super-effective the boost from STAB and his Dread Plate Held Item would still make it hit harder than normal, and the high chance for a critical hit inherently present within the move itself would also give a chance for some spicy damage. It's unlikely that Bisharp would be able to pull out a win, but he would do his best to inflict what damage he could so that the remainder of the team would be able to have an easy time finishing the job.
VS MACHAMP Against Machamp Joey would use his Ceruledge, Gearfried the Iron Knight. In complete contrast to the previous matchup the battle against Machamp would have all the makings of a walkover. Possessing a complete immunity to Fighting-Moves thanks to his Ghost-Typing while also holding the ability to deal super-effective damage himself Ceruledge would be in a prime position to put the hurt on his opponent. Beginning with Swords Dance before launching into Psycho Cut would be a simple-but-effective combination that would see the damage stacking up while shrugging off nearly everything that might come his way. Though he'd take recoil from his Life Orb Held Item the boost that it would grant his moves would offset the absence of the STAB bonus and mean that every hit would be dealing triple damage against Machamp, in addition to having a high likelihood of dealing a critical hit thanks to the move's innate ability. In a complete reverse of how his fellow Knight's battle had gone the fight with Ceruledge would practically over before it began, resulting in an easy win for Joey's Team.
VS LUCARIO Against Lucario Joey would send in his Charizard, Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Flying-Type's resistance to fighting and Fire's resistance to Steel means that he'd have solid defense pretty much regardless of what Lucario throws at him, while both his Typings are capable of putting-out super-effective damage against him in-return. Opening with Sunny Day to boost his Fire-Type damage he'd then begin bombarding his opponent with Flamethrower. With the combination of buffs he's got every hit would be landing for x4.95 damage in addition to each and every salvo having a 1/10 chance to Burn them as well. Strong a Pokemon as Lucario might be, Charizard would have little problem pulling out the win.
CONTINGENCIES AND AUDIBLES As a standard closer is the idea that plans can certainly go in ways differently than the planner intended and, in cases like these, it’s important to have your ducks-in-a-row so that you’re able to respond accordingly to how the battle goes. Like he always does in these League Battles Joey would have a stockpile of restorative items like Hyper Potions and Full Restores ready-and-waiting to use on his team should they fall low health. With the majority of his matchups favorable towards his team, too, any of his Pokemon that might be unfortunate enough to be knocked-out prior to defeating their assigned opponent would have their matchup subsequently taken-on another of Joey's Pokemon. With the majority of victories looking like they would tidy victories any of the Pokemon tapped to serve as a "Round 2" would almost certainly be in better condition than their opposition. Even if things went quite badly attrition would be Joey's friend, as each Pokemon his opponent lost would tips the scales further and further into his favor. Once the proverbial walls began to close-in on his opponent Joey would be able to control the match more-and-more, making victory all-but-assured.
Elite Four Challenge 3/5 (Divided-Up Due to Text Limits)
Badge/Gym Leader: Elite Four - Bruno
Team: "Charizard - LV100", "Dragonite - LV100", "Bisharp - LV100" , "Ceruledge - LV100", "Feraligatr - LV100", "Wailord - LV100"
Battle Details:
As a standard opener, regardless of who he goes up against, Joey would bring in his Bisharp, Legendary Knight Hermos, and throw down a Stealth Rock to start the match off. Depending on what Pokemon his opponent opened with he would then switch-out to it's corresponding counter (With the possibility of Bisharp remaining on the field, of course, should luck of the draw have his preferred matchup come-up first). While this means it might take a hit on the way out it also would mean that just about any subsequent Pokemon Bruno might send out will be getting around a quarter of their health knocked-off on-arrival. With his opener delivered, though, Joey would then change his active Pokemon to reflect the following matchups:
VS HITMONTOP
Against Hitmontop Joey would use his Feraligatr, Alligator's Sword. With neither Fighting nor Water-Type having a weakness each other it's pretty much a straight-up brawl, but finally being able to use his Water-Type Moves means he gets to take advantage of the the bonuses granted through Dragon Dance, Rain Dance, Sheer Power, and Life Orb, which decidedly tilt the scales in their favor. With every hit of Aqua Tail hitting at x3.75 in addition to the boost from Dragon Dance what should be an equally matched slug-fest quickly turns into a route, and gives Feraligatr the win.
VS HITMONLEE
Against Hitmonlee Joey would send out his Wailord, Fortress Whale. In another case of Water versus Fighting neither Pokemon has a vulnerability to the other in terms of Typing, but the Flying -Type Move Bounce allows him to put out super-effective damage while also removing himself from his opponent's line-of-fire. His Choice Specs Held Item wouldn't boost Bounce due to not being a Special Move, but would still lock him into spamming the same move. Thankfully the damage avoidance he'd get as a result of the move only further compounds the one-sided nature of the battle, and makes it unlikely that the bout would end in anything but a walkover.
VS HITMONCHAN
Against Hitmonchan Joey would put-forward his Dragonite, Baby Dragon. With Dragon not having a weakness to Fighting and Flying having a resistance to it Dragonite would be in a good place defensively, while also being well-positioned to do solid damage. With Multiscale halving whatever damage the opponent might open with he would begin bombarding the enemy with salvos of Hurricane. On top of the high attack power each hit would bring with it a 30% chance of confusing the target, which would only dig the hole Hitmonchan was in deeper. With hard-hitting moves, good defenses, and a Typing-Advantage Dragonite should have little problem taking home the win.
VS HARIYAMA
Against Bruno's Hariyama Joey would send out his Bisharp, Legendary Knight Hermos. This matchup would be the only one in which Joey's Pokemon was at a distinct disadvantage thanks to Steel's weakness to Fighting. As a Dual-Type, though, the vulnerability is less severe than it would be if he were Mono-Type so he's only receiving x1.5 the damage rather than a full double. In a match as dangerous as the Elite Four, however, such a disadvantage is considerable. Bisharp would be fighting a losing battle right from the off, even with the boost from Sword's Dance. Using Knock-Off would allow him to at least deprive Hariyama of whatever Held Item he might be using as well as doing some non-resisted damage, but all he would have to fall back on is spamming Night Slash. While the damage from this wouldn't be super-effective the boost from STAB and his Dread Plate Held Item would still make it hit harder than normal, and the high chance for a critical hit inherently present within the move itself would also give a chance for some spicy damage. It's unlikely that Bisharp would be able to pull out a win, but he would do his best to inflict what damage he could so that the remainder of the team would be able to have an easy time finishing the job.
VS MACHAMP
Against Machamp Joey would use his Ceruledge, Gearfried the Iron Knight. In complete contrast to the previous matchup the battle against Machamp would have all the makings of a walkover. Possessing a complete immunity to Fighting-Moves thanks to his Ghost-Typing while also holding the ability to deal super-effective damage himself Ceruledge would be in a prime position to put the hurt on his opponent. Beginning with Swords Dance before launching into Psycho Cut would be a simple-but-effective combination that would see the damage stacking up while shrugging off nearly everything that might come his way. Though he'd take recoil from his Life Orb Held Item the boost that it would grant his moves would offset the absence of the STAB bonus and mean that every hit would be dealing triple damage against Machamp, in addition to having a high likelihood of dealing a critical hit thanks to the move's innate ability. In a complete reverse of how his fellow Knight's battle had gone the fight with Ceruledge would practically over before it began, resulting in an easy win for Joey's Team.
VS LUCARIO
Against Lucario Joey would send in his Charizard, Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Flying-Type's resistance to fighting and Fire's resistance to Steel means that he'd have solid defense pretty much regardless of what Lucario throws at him, while both his Typings are capable of putting-out super-effective damage against him in-return. Opening with Sunny Day to boost his Fire-Type damage he'd then begin bombarding his opponent with Flamethrower. With the combination of buffs he's got every hit would be landing for x4.95 damage in addition to each and every salvo having a 1/10 chance to Burn them as well. Strong a Pokemon as Lucario might be, Charizard would have little problem pulling out the win.
CONTINGENCIES AND AUDIBLES
As a standard closer is the idea that plans can certainly go in ways differently than the planner intended and, in cases like these, it’s important to have your ducks-in-a-row so that you’re able to respond accordingly to how the battle goes. Like he always does in these League Battles Joey would have a stockpile of restorative items like Hyper Potions and Full Restores ready-and-waiting to use on his team should they fall low health. With the majority of his matchups favorable towards his team, too, any of his Pokemon that might be unfortunate enough to be knocked-out prior to defeating their assigned opponent would have their matchup subsequently taken-on another of Joey's Pokemon. With the majority of victories looking like they would tidy victories any of the Pokemon tapped to serve as a "Round 2" would almost certainly be in better condition than their opposition. Even if things went quite badly attrition would be Joey's friend, as each Pokemon his opponent lost would tips the scales further and further into his favor. Once the proverbial walls began to close-in on his opponent Joey would be able to control the match more-and-more, making victory all-but-assured.