Just a little note that while she usually gives verbal commands, if she sees Riku use non-verbal cues for his Pokémon during his Round One match or this one, she’ll switch to Galra sign since she’s been learning from Thace for almost a year now.
Versus Ultima Soooo Aegislash is a Pokémon Allura knows well from her boyfriend and travel partner Keith having one, which is why she knows it’s a VERY bad opponent for Coressa, who has a double weakness to Steel. Yeah no, Allura’s not going to deal with this right now, even if the Lum berry can protect her from Toxic for a while. While watching the fights, she had some time to do some mental math between Roar and switching out… so Allura chooses to switch out for Nara. She knows that Aegislash can learn Pursuit, but even with doubled power it’s still a Dark move, while Roar always goes last and will DEFINITELY leave Coressa open to an attack that might be double effective and knock her out. So immediate switch it is, hopefully Ultima shouldn’t be able to stop her. If the switch out doesn’t work, she’ll go for Roar ASAP, hopefully leading to one of the strategies below if she isn't knocked out.
If switching out works, Ultima will be up against Nara; once again, mutual immunity between Ghost and Normal, and she has a type advantage of Fire over Steel. And depending on Ultima’s gender, Nara might receive a power boost via Rivalry, but even if it’s a decrease, Fire should still work effectively. Allura knows she needs to time her attacks just right to make sure they land on Blade Forme instead of Shield Forme, especially since King’s Shield will lower Nara’s Attack if she uses a contact move, and that Sacred Sword is her biggest worry here, so her strategy is to keep hitting with special attacks from a distance and move out of range when possible. To start, Fire Spin to trap Ultima and add a little extra fire damage per turn. Then Flamethrower and Sunny Day; if Ultima is already in Blade Forme, Nara will use Flamethrower before Sunny Day, but if the Aegislash is in Shield Forme, she’ll take the opportunity to boost her strength and especially that of her Fire moves and then use Flamethrower. Next, Will-o-Wisp to ensure a burn if the Flamethrower’s 10% chance didn’t burn Ultima already, halving Ultima's physical attacks' power and negating Leftovers' healing for whomever's holding it. This should set Nara up nicely to bombard the Aegislash with Flamethrowers and Dark Pulses from a distance, with Dark Pulse again having a 20% flinch chance, refreshing Sunny Day and Fire Spin as needed. If Aegislash does get close enough to land an attack, it’ll be in Blade Forme, meaning it should be open to counters from Fire Fang and Crunch before leaping away again to continue the long-range strategy. If Ultima manages to bring Nara’s health down low enough, she’ll unleash Overheat for a powerful blast of fire at the expense of lowering her Special Attack by two stages.
If Aegislash manages to knock out Nara, Allura will bring in Chumirra since she’s neutral to Steel and has access to Mud Shot, with the aim being to spam that laced with a few Bounces for the paralysis chance and the turn spent up high hopefully being timed so she’ll hit Ultima while he’s in Blade Forme. And during Shield Forme turns, she'll lace the barrage with a Rain Dance to clear out Sunny Day if needed, and Aqua Ring to keep herself slowly but continuously healed.
Versus Crush Now THIS is a much better match-up for Coressa; while Allura isn’t familiar with this Pokémon, she’s been studying other species’ typing at the least, so she likely remembers that Hydreigon has a weakness to Ice and a double weakness to Fairy, and if not, she can at least guess that Crush is a Dragon with those two weaknesses as usual and be pleasantly surprised when Fairy moves do even more damage! Still, she doesn’t fully know its strengths and weaknesses stat-wise, and apparently Crush has some Steel moves in his arsenal, so things could get ugly. So she’ll have Coressa attack from a distance like before, and hopefully the Lum Berry will ward off any status conditions if it didn’t get used up by Ultima. Riku will likely be expecting a set-up move or all-out attack, so her ideal start off with Confuse Ray to mess with Crush’s timing and create a chance for him to hurt himself, Dazzling Gleam for a powerful fairy move, followed by Aurora Veil to halve damage done to her, twoDazzling Gleams to keep from being predictable, then Safeguard to protect against non-volatile status conditions and confusion, Hail for Ice-type boost, extra damage, and activating Snow Cloak, and keep up with Ice and Fairy special attacks like Dazzling Gleam, Ice Beam, and Blizzard from a distance, refreshing Hail, Aurora Veil and Safeguard as needed. If Hydreigon closes the distance for a physical attack, Coressa will counter with Draining Kiss to hit that double weakness AND recover more of her HP before moving away to continue the assault from a distance, and any really troublesome moves can be hit with Disable or Spite. If she's Taunted and can't use set-up moves, that just opens up Crush to a barrage of Dazzling Gleams and Draining Kisses.
If Coressa manages to get knocked out, however, Allura will bring in Chumirra, who’s also part Fairy and much more suited to physical attacks. She’ll start by blasting Crush with Water Pulse for the confusion chance and Scald if it isn’t currently frozen; it may not be very effective, but it does have a 30% of burning the Hydreigon, adding a little extra damage per turn. If Crush is currently frozen from the previous bouts, though, Chumirra will forgo the Scald and go straight to launching at Crush to Play Rough and lace in a few Rock Smashes and an Aqua Ring at some point to keep herself healed.
If for some reason neither Chumirra nor Coressa are on the field (due to a switch move or, hopefully not, two knockouts), Nara will focus on Will-o-Wisp for that burn, Rock Smash and Normal moves like Hyper Voice, chained rounds of Echoed Voice, and Strength.
Versus Enigma Chumirra is also a good opponent against Enigma, so Allura will keep her in if she can. While Water resists itself and Allura’s not very familiar with Greninja outside of the above studying, Enigma is still Dark versus Chumirra’s Fairy. So Chumirra will start with Water Pulse for the 20% confusion chance, then Bounce for the invulnerable turn and the 30% chance to paralyze Enigma (since confusion can stack with non-volatile status conditions), followed by Rock Smash and Play Rough. Still, Greninja is a very powerful attacker, and if Enigma knows Roleplay it can double that already tremendous Attack stat, so if Chumirra hasn’t already been brought out and used it, she’s use Aqua Ring to keep herself healed, and if Chumirra’s HP gets too low she’ll use Superpower. And if Enigma uses Spikes or Dig and turns into a Ground type with Protean, that gives Chumirra an opening to use Water moves like Water Pulse with super-effective damage, Surf, Scald if Enigma isn't already paralyzed, or Hydro Pump. (Chumirra COULD use Future Sight on a Gunk Shot-changed Enigma, but by then he likely would've used a different move to change to a Psychic-resisting type.)
If Chumirra is knocked out/switched out by a move and Coressa’s still in decent shape- or Enigma was brought in with Roar- Allura will bring in Coressa. While Water resists Ice and Enigma has a Fire-type Hidden Power at his disposal, Dark is still weak to Fairy. Coressa will start with Confuse Ray to throw off Riku’s rhythm, followed by Imprison to prevent Enigma (and any of Riku’s other Pokémon, depending on battle order) from using any moves that Coressa also knows. Then a series of Dazzling Gleams with set-up moves alternating them: Hail to Snow Cloak herself and whittle at Enigma’s HP a little more (Roleplay will only copy the evasion bonus and not the protection from hail), Aurora Veil to halve damage done to her, followed by Dazzling Gleams from a distance. If Enigma gets in close, Coressa will counter with Draining Kiss to keep her HP up before gaining distance again. And again, if the Greninja keeps Protean instead of using Roleplay, if he uses a Ghost move, that opens Coressa up to using Dark Pulse or Hex, maybe even Payback if Enigma moves first in the turn, or using Spikes, Dig, or Bounce means Coressa can use Ice moves like Ice Beam and Blizzard, and Gunk Shot would leave Enigma open to Psyshock or Extrasensory.
And obviously Allura’s last resort here would be Nara, which would be very dicey given Water versus Fire, but she does still have Will-o-Wisp to ensure a burn and halve the power of Enigma's physical attacks, a Sunny Day/Solar Beam combo and Rock Smash, and Endeavor once Nara’s HP is low enough. And again, since Enigma has Protean and likely won’t use Roleplay since the opposite genders would lower his power, Nara has Dark Pulse and Crunch to counter Ghost and Psychic, and Ice… well, any of the above changes would open up Nara’s movepool to Fire moves like Flamethrower and Incinerate, but Ice would be VERY bad news for the Greninja.
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Versus Ultima
Soooo Aegislash is a Pokémon Allura knows well from her boyfriend and travel partner Keith having one, which is why she knows it’s a VERY bad opponent for Coressa, who has a double weakness to Steel. Yeah no, Allura’s not going to deal with this right now, even if the Lum berry can protect her from Toxic for a while. While watching the fights, she had some time to do some mental math between Roar and switching out… so Allura chooses to switch out for Nara. She knows that Aegislash can learn Pursuit, but even with doubled power it’s still a Dark move, while Roar always goes last and will DEFINITELY leave Coressa open to an attack that might be double effective and knock her out. So immediate switch it is, hopefully Ultima shouldn’t be able to stop her. If the switch out doesn’t work, she’ll go for Roar ASAP, hopefully leading to one of the strategies below if she isn't knocked out.
If switching out works, Ultima will be up against Nara; once again, mutual immunity between Ghost and Normal, and she has a type advantage of Fire over Steel. And depending on Ultima’s gender, Nara might receive a power boost via Rivalry, but even if it’s a decrease, Fire should still work effectively. Allura knows she needs to time her attacks just right to make sure they land on Blade Forme instead of Shield Forme, especially since King’s Shield will lower Nara’s Attack if she uses a contact move, and that Sacred Sword is her biggest worry here, so her strategy is to keep hitting with special attacks from a distance and move out of range when possible. To start, Fire Spin to trap Ultima and add a little extra fire damage per turn. Then Flamethrower and Sunny Day; if Ultima is already in Blade Forme, Nara will use Flamethrower before Sunny Day, but if the Aegislash is in Shield Forme, she’ll take the opportunity to boost her strength and especially that of her Fire moves and then use Flamethrower. Next, Will-o-Wisp to ensure a burn if the Flamethrower’s 10% chance didn’t burn Ultima already, halving Ultima's physical attacks' power and negating Leftovers' healing for whomever's holding it. This should set Nara up nicely to bombard the Aegislash with Flamethrowers and Dark Pulses from a distance, with Dark Pulse again having a 20% flinch chance, refreshing Sunny Day and Fire Spin as needed. If Aegislash does get close enough to land an attack, it’ll be in Blade Forme, meaning it should be open to counters from Fire Fang and Crunch before leaping away again to continue the long-range strategy. If Ultima manages to bring Nara’s health down low enough, she’ll unleash Overheat for a powerful blast of fire at the expense of lowering her Special Attack by two stages.
If Aegislash manages to knock out Nara, Allura will bring in Chumirra since she’s neutral to Steel and has access to Mud Shot, with the aim being to spam that laced with a few Bounces for the paralysis chance and the turn spent up high hopefully being timed so she’ll hit Ultima while he’s in Blade Forme. And during Shield Forme turns, she'll lace the barrage with a Rain Dance to clear out Sunny Day if needed, and Aqua Ring to keep herself slowly but continuously healed.
Versus Crush
Now THIS is a much better match-up for Coressa; while Allura isn’t familiar with this Pokémon, she’s been studying other species’ typing at the least, so she likely remembers that Hydreigon has a weakness to Ice and a double weakness to Fairy, and if not, she can at least guess that Crush is a Dragon with those two weaknesses as usual and be pleasantly surprised when Fairy moves do even more damage! Still, she doesn’t fully know its strengths and weaknesses stat-wise, and apparently Crush has some Steel moves in his arsenal, so things could get ugly. So she’ll have Coressa attack from a distance like before, and hopefully the Lum Berry will ward off any status conditions if it didn’t get used up by Ultima. Riku will likely be expecting a set-up move or all-out attack, so her ideal start off with Confuse Ray to mess with Crush’s timing and create a chance for him to hurt himself, Dazzling Gleam for a powerful fairy move, followed by Aurora Veil to halve damage done to her, two Dazzling Gleams to keep from being predictable, then Safeguard to protect against non-volatile status conditions and confusion, Hail for Ice-type boost, extra damage, and activating Snow Cloak, and keep up with Ice and Fairy special attacks like Dazzling Gleam, Ice Beam, and Blizzard from a distance, refreshing Hail, Aurora Veil and Safeguard as needed. If Hydreigon closes the distance for a physical attack, Coressa will counter with Draining Kiss to hit that double weakness AND recover more of her HP before moving away to continue the assault from a distance, and any really troublesome moves can be hit with Disable or Spite. If she's Taunted and can't use set-up moves, that just opens up Crush to a barrage of Dazzling Gleams and Draining Kisses.
If Coressa manages to get knocked out, however, Allura will bring in Chumirra, who’s also part Fairy and much more suited to physical attacks. She’ll start by blasting Crush with Water Pulse for the confusion chance and Scald if it isn’t currently frozen; it may not be very effective, but it does have a 30% of burning the Hydreigon, adding a little extra damage per turn. If Crush is currently frozen from the previous bouts, though, Chumirra will forgo the Scald and go straight to launching at Crush to Play Rough and lace in a few Rock Smashes and an Aqua Ring at some point to keep herself healed.
If for some reason neither Chumirra nor Coressa are on the field (due to a switch move or, hopefully not, two knockouts), Nara will focus on Will-o-Wisp for that burn, Rock Smash and Normal moves like Hyper Voice, chained rounds of Echoed Voice, and Strength.
Versus Enigma
Chumirra is also a good opponent against Enigma, so Allura will keep her in if she can. While Water resists itself and Allura’s not very familiar with Greninja outside of the above studying, Enigma is still Dark versus Chumirra’s Fairy. So Chumirra will start with Water Pulse for the 20% confusion chance, then Bounce for the invulnerable turn and the 30% chance to paralyze Enigma (since confusion can stack with non-volatile status conditions), followed by Rock Smash and Play Rough. Still, Greninja is a very powerful attacker, and if Enigma knows Roleplay it can double that already tremendous Attack stat, so if Chumirra hasn’t already been brought out and used it, she’s use Aqua Ring to keep herself healed, and if Chumirra’s HP gets too low she’ll use Superpower. And if Enigma uses Spikes or Dig and turns into a Ground type with Protean, that gives Chumirra an opening to use Water moves like Water Pulse with super-effective damage, Surf, Scald if Enigma isn't already paralyzed, or Hydro Pump. (Chumirra COULD use Future Sight on a Gunk Shot-changed Enigma, but by then he likely would've used a different move to change to a Psychic-resisting type.)
If Chumirra is knocked out/switched out by a move and Coressa’s still in decent shape- or Enigma was brought in with Roar- Allura will bring in Coressa. While Water resists Ice and Enigma has a Fire-type Hidden Power at his disposal, Dark is still weak to Fairy. Coressa will start with Confuse Ray to throw off Riku’s rhythm, followed by Imprison to prevent Enigma (and any of Riku’s other Pokémon, depending on battle order) from using any moves that Coressa also knows. Then a series of Dazzling Gleams with set-up moves alternating them: Hail to Snow Cloak herself and whittle at Enigma’s HP a little more (Roleplay will only copy the evasion bonus and not the protection from hail), Aurora Veil to halve damage done to her, followed by Dazzling Gleams from a distance. If Enigma gets in close, Coressa will counter with Draining Kiss to keep her HP up before gaining distance again. And again, if the Greninja keeps Protean instead of using Roleplay, if he uses a Ghost move, that opens Coressa up to using Dark Pulse or Hex, maybe even Payback if Enigma moves first in the turn, or using Spikes, Dig, or Bounce means Coressa can use Ice moves like Ice Beam and Blizzard, and Gunk Shot would leave Enigma open to Psyshock or Extrasensory.
And obviously Allura’s last resort here would be Nara, which would be very dicey given Water versus Fire, but she does still have Will-o-Wisp to ensure a burn and halve the power of Enigma's physical attacks, a Sunny Day/Solar Beam combo and Rock Smash, and Endeavor once Nara’s HP is low enough. And again, since Enigma has Protean and likely won’t use Roleplay since the opposite genders would lower his power, Nara has Dark Pulse and Crunch to counter Ghost and Psychic, and Ice… well, any of the above changes would open up Nara’s movepool to Fire moves like Flamethrower and Incinerate, but Ice would be VERY bad news for the Greninja.