Immediate Notes: Due to prior gym battles/watching the tournament, Emporio has a general idea of movesets/held item/tactics going in. He equips Oxy with the Eviolite.
STRATEGY: Oxy's opening move depends on if Jean switches in the first turn.
If Jean does not switch, or use Substitute; Oxy opens with Mean Look.
Follow with Hypnosis
If successful, use Hex until awake, refresh Hypnosis. See below if at any time Hypnosis fails.
If Hypnosis misses; repeat unless Mamoswine has used Hail. In this scenario, Oxy will instead use Shadow Ball, followed by Shadow Punch to bypass evasion in the event Shadow Ball can no longer be used/misses twice in a row.
If Hypnosis cannot be successful for any visibly persisting reason on the field; Oxy will make certain Confuse Ray is refreshed as needed, and otherwise use Shadow Ball.
If Jean switches to send out Gyarados; Oxy opens with Hypnosis.
If Successful, and Jean does not swap out or use Substitute, Oxy will follow with Mean Look, and then Confuse Ray, before refreshing Hypnosis. Assuming success, Oxy will then use Hex repeatedly.
If Unsuccessful, and there is no visibly persisting reason for Hypnosis to fail, Oxy will repeat Hypnosis until it sticks. If Jean swaps at any point during this, see the applicable pokemon's strategy.
If Oxy cannot use Hypnosis any longer; she will switch to using Sludge Bomb until either Gyarados faints, or becomes Poisoned. If poisoned, she will switch to using Hex.
In the event Sludge Bomb cannot be used, and no non-volatile status condition is in play; Shadow Ball will take priority, followed by Night Shade.
If Jean switches to send out Hydreigon; Oxy opens with Hypnosis.
If Successful, and Jean does not swap out or use Substitute, Oxy uses Mean Look, followed by Confuse Ray if Hydreigon is still asleep, Hypnosis until successful if Hydreigon wakes. Emporio then switches to Presto. If Jean swaps at any other time (as Hydreigon has U-Turn), see above strategies.
If Unsuccessful, and there is no visibly persisting reason for Hypnosis to fail, Hypnosis will be repeated until it sticks. Otherwise, she will use Curse, followed by Confuse Ray if her HP is not yet below 50%, Destiny Bond if it already is (see below note for clarification). If Jean swaps at any other time, see the applicable pokemon's strategy.
IN ALL ABOVE CIRCUMSTANCES; if Oxy's HP loses the equivalent of 50% or more in one hit, or her HP has been reduced to 25% within three or less turns, she will use Destiny Bond. If Destiny Bond fails, and Hypnosis has not been blocked for visibly persisting reasons, she will cycle between Hypnosis and Destiny Bond until one or the other succeeds.
In the event Hypnosis is successful during this scenario; Oxy will use Dream Eater until above 50% health, and continue with the 'Healthy HP' strategy instead of re-using Destiny Bond. The only exception is against Hydreigon- in this situation, Oxy will instead use Sludge Bomb, followed by Destiny Bond, repeating the Destiny Bond-Hypnosis alternation with this move added in during sleep periods.
IN ALL ABOVE CIRCUMSTANCES; if Jean uses a Substitute before Mean Look has been used, skip to Hypnosis in the strategy; Mean Look cannot bypass a Substitute, but Hypnosis can. Continue the strategy as noted above, using Mean Look as soon as the Substitute is broken if the opponent remains asleep.
In the event that Oxy defeats her opponent;
If Mamoswine was defeated, and Oxy has 30% or less HP, Domino takes priority against Gyarados. If Oxy has 50% or less HP, Presto takes priority against Hydreigon. - If Gyarados was defeated, Oxy remains on the field unless she has 30% or less HP; in this situation, Domino takes priority against Mamoswine. If Oxy has 50% or less HP, Presto takes priority against Hydreigon.
If Hydreigon was defeated, Oxy remains on the field unless she has 25% or less HP; in this situation, Domino takes priority against all opponents.
Above priority is followed in the event Oxy faints.
In any scenario where Presto is sent to battle Hydreigon; Presto uses Dazzling Gleam until either Hydreigon is defeated, or Presto has fainted.
In the event that Presto is unable to use Dazzling Gleam, she will first use Reflect for the sake of the next pokemon, and then if still unable to use Dazzling Gleam, use Psychic Terrain. Priority then moves to Kinesis until she has fainted, unless she regains access to Dazzling Gleam.
In the event Mist has been established on the field; Presto will not use Kinesis.
For all other opponents; Presto opens first with Hypnosis, re-using until successful unless there is a visible persisting reason for Hypnosis to fail OR it is hailing and Mamoswine is on the field.
In the event Hypnosis cannot be used, Presto will instead use Reflect, followed by Psychic Terrain and Psychic on repeat.
In the event Hypnosis is successful, and Jean has not swapped pokemon out, Presto will first use Recover if her HP is below 50%; she follows with Reflect and Psychic Terrain, refreshing Hypnosis as needed. Psychic is then used on repeat, with Reflect and Psychic Terrain refreshed as needed. Follow the loop, Recover note included, until one or the other faints. If Jean has swapped pokemon, repeat strategy as applicable for the pokemon.
NOTE: Inner Focus will prevent flinching. Psychic Terrain will leave Presto immune to increased priority moves. In the event Jean has formed a Substitute; continue the strategy as normal, as Hypnosis will strike behind a Substitute, and remaining field effects in the cycle are otherwise unaffected.
In the event Presto can no longer use Dazzling Gleam against Hydreigon; follow the strategy as noted for Mamoswine and Gyarados UNLESS it is only for one turn- in this case, use Kinesis and then proceed as normal according to the strategy. In the event Presto cannot use Psychic; switch to Psybeam, and return to using Psychic unless Psychic was permanently disabled. In this case, replace instances of Psychic in the above strategy with Psybeam permanently.
For each 'field set up' move (Reflect, Psychic Terrain); if Presto is permanently unable to use these moves, skip them in the strategy loop.
In the event Presto defeats her opponent;
If Hydreigon has been defeated, and Presto has 30% HP or less; Oxy takes priority against all opponents unless she has 25% HP or less. Domino takes secondary priority.
If Gyarados has been defeated, and Presto has 30% HP or less; she remains on the field to face Hydreigon. Otherwise, Oxy takes priority unless her HP is lower than 25%- in this situation, priority moves to Domino.
If Mamoswine has been defeated, and Presto has 30% HP or less; she remains on the field to face Hydreigon. Otherwise, Oxy takes priority unless her HP is lower than 25%- in this situation, priority moves to Domino.
If Domino enters the field;
Open with Foul Play against Mamoswine and Gyarados, and repeat until either side has fainted.
If Domino's opponent is placing a substitute; persist as normal, unless the Substitute somehow prevents Foul Play from functioning. In this case, use Earthquake against Mamoswine, Rock Slide against Gyarados, until the Substitute breaks.
Open with Sandstorm against Hydreigon, and follow with Rock Slide repeatedly until either side has fainted. This does not change if a Substitute is formed.
If Domino is unable to use Foul Play any longer for whatever reason; prioritize attacks according to the Substitute response. If Domino is unable to use Earthquake and/or Rock Slide; prioritize Iron Tail against Hydreigon, Crunch against all others.
In the event Domino defeats his opponent;
If Mamoswine has been defeated, and Domino has more than 50% HP, he takes priority against Gyarados and remains on the field. Otherwise, Presto takes first priority against Hydreigon, followed by Oxy in all other cases.
If Gyarados has been defeated, and Domino has more than 50% HP, he takes priority against Mamoswine and remains on the field. Otherwise, Presto takes first priority against Hydreigon, followed by Oxy in all other cases.
If Hydreigon has been defeated, and Domino has more than 50% HP, he takes first priority and remains on the field. Oxy takes secondary priority, followed by Presto.
BONUS PROSE: Compared to the last battle, Emporio goes into the fight for third feeling a lot better about things. He's not overconfident- Jean is still a hell of an opponent after all, he got here too. But he at least doesn't feel like this is a fight where a loss is all but inevitable. He can relax! ...Sorta.
(And honestly, Jean may well feel the same after...That semi-final nonsense.)
Ultimately Emporio goes down knowing a good amount- and Jean ought have similar. Pretty much every strategy he could have ever had, Dazzling Gleam included, is now on the board for Jean to know.
So let's have a good, clean match...right?
(Oh, the field is going to be Messy.)
Fans watching for 3rd are getting a show dammit, because the battle for third is just as worth it as the battle for second and first!
If there's one thing that Emporio knows of Jean, it's switching. Which is why once again, just as he's sure Jean has the Expert Belt on Gyarados (it's a smart call!), the Eviolite is on Oxy...
And Oxy is opening with Mean Look.
Probably anyway. There's a chance of course, just a small chance y'know-
(Insert laugh track here,)
-that Jean just might swap out. Mamoswine's ground type! Oxy has Levitate! Between that and everything else it could go either way on if he wants to stick around and do field set up or risk a sleeper in the next turn. And that is, naturally, exactly what he risks. If Jean swaps Mamoswine out? Oxy's first move is going to be Hypnosis, and short of anything cropping up on the field to make Hypnosis impossible, she's going to use that until whatever's in front of her is sleeping.
What she does next of course comes down to who's here- thanks to his last fight, Emporio knows now that Presto doesn't even need Protean to do damage against a x4 weakness. She just has to be on the field. And in this precise scenario, where Jean's sacrificed his Stealth Rocker for a 'Hard Rocker'? (apologies of course if dear Trio isn't into those tunes)
Presto's coming out with a blast once Oxy makes sure the dragon sleeps, as Emporio tells her the SHOW MUST GO ON!
Presto launches Dazzling Gleam as many times as it takes to be rid of the offending dragon on the field, and with any luck she'll have the time for it too. All she'll need is two hits, maybe even one if she's lucky- and even if she goes down in the process, it's going to make things all the more easy when one of the less-than-ideal match ups takes her place.
If Tusk was swapped for Finn however, Oxy's standing firm after getting this big boy to sleep. Gyarados is a big beefy menace despite lacking STABs, but if anyone stands the strongest chance of holding their ground against 'm, it's her- especially if Emporio was right about who's holding the mystery belt. Ain't no one got time for a super effective hit from THAT.
(It also means Oxy better get REAL lucky with her initial Hypnosis, but hey.)
Assuming Hypnosis lands, Oxy immediately follows with Mean Look just to keep Jean from getting tricky- provided of course the Gyarados is still on the field for it. Assuming he is, Oxy then adds a Confuse Ray just to sweeten things, and refreshes that Hypnosis best as possible. Hopefully without getting Oxy destroyed.
If all goes well though and the sea serpent slumbers once more, it's time to start hitting home with HEX! And if that fails? Well Sludge Bomb still does fine enough, and as a bonus might just give Oxy the window to use Hex anyway. Great right?
But let's roll back to the beginning for a sec. If Jean actually left Mamoswine out there, Jean's not getting that 'm back. Once Mean Look hits, Oxy's Hypnosis-Hex strat reigns supreme until the big guy tries a Hail dodge strategy, at which point Emporio is stuck having Oxy take pot-shots with Shadow Ball. And if Shadow Ball starts to fail, Emporio manages to show off one teensie tiny little trump card left-
Right in the eyes!
-the move Shadow Punch, which bypasses all evasion stats. Flimsy, but if Shadow Ball can't surpass that little boost of acrobatics the mamoswine is pulling off, it may well be necessary to get in there.
With any luck though, Hex will reign supreme- that or a last minute Curse and Destiny Bond combo, with the former move in the set especially vital if poor Oxy is stuck fighting against that Hydreigon. It's not as if fighting that thing went well for Oxy before after all, and it likely won't again!
Still- the fact that Emporio's trying his best to shut down the switcheroo line as much as possible aside (not to mention avoiding his own swapping wherever possible, given those Stealth Rock risks that could come down), it's unlikely that Oxy is solo-ing this fight. And when Oxy has to take the bench, that's when the other two get to shine.
In Presto's case, literally; we already know how she's handling Hydreigon if possible. But what about the others? Well first of all if you knew what to expect from Oxy, it's no surprise to see her open with Hypnosis- whether the opponent is swapping or not, Presto's squishy, and she's not taking those chances. But if Mamoswine comes in and it starts hailing- or even if it's already hailing- she'll skip over the Hypnosis spam and get herself a Reflect up instead, followed by Psychic Terrain. She might not be able to get a super effective bonus in, but she can at least get a good STAB!
With Reflect cycled alongside Psychic Terrain (and Hypnosis for that matter, assuming the move has been landing), and a bit of Recover in there as needed, Presto will start slapping down with Psychic until either the opponent goes down, or she goes down trying. Psychic Terrain will keep her safe from things like a pesky Ice Shard thanks to the priority, so she just might stay standing long enough to succeed!
...Maybe. Maybe?
Obviously if she doesn't, or if she only takes down so much of the opponent, someone else will need to step up to the plate, and that someone happens to be little Domino.
And honestly? Domino has had a ROUGH TIME. In pretty much every fight after his first real one he's had few options save picking a move and hoping for the best! It's something that hasn't even changed here- if Presto somehow fails to clean up that Hydreigon after all, it's all that Domino can do to toss Sandstorm before following with as many Rock Slides as possible and hoping for the best!
But in Domino's defense, it really is true what they say- The bigger they are...
...the harder Foul Play hits, when it turns out that stat raises or otherwise, a STAB using their own attack stat hits a hell of a lot harder than a STAB using Domino's. Especially since it means that Intimidate Finn had going for him does...Nothing. The only way they're getting Domino down without a scratch is if they manage to nail an OHKO- because while Domino might be slower than the two, he's still giving it all he's got.
So here's to a climactic finish! Whether with a repeat of ghostly curses, a dazzling show of lights and sparkles, or even an underdog finish from the little guy, let's hear it for Emporio vs Jean! Ultra-swap vs Hyper-sleep! WHO WILL WIN!
slides under the character limit wire like,
STRATEGY: Oxy's opening move depends on if Jean switches in the first turn.
IN ALL ABOVE CIRCUMSTANCES; if Oxy's HP loses the equivalent of 50% or more in one hit, or her HP has been reduced to 25% within three or less turns, she will use Destiny Bond. If Destiny Bond fails, and Hypnosis has not been blocked for visibly persisting reasons, she will cycle between Hypnosis and Destiny Bond until one or the other succeeds.
IN ALL ABOVE CIRCUMSTANCES; if Jean uses a Substitute before Mean Look has been used, skip to Hypnosis in the strategy; Mean Look cannot bypass a Substitute, but Hypnosis can. Continue the strategy as noted above, using Mean Look as soon as the Substitute is broken if the opponent remains asleep.
In the event that Oxy defeats her opponent;
- If Gyarados was defeated, Oxy remains on the field unless she has 30% or less HP; in this situation, Domino takes priority against Mamoswine. If Oxy has 50% or less HP, Presto takes priority against Hydreigon.
Above priority is followed in the event Oxy faints.
NOTE: Inner Focus will prevent flinching. Psychic Terrain will leave Presto immune to increased priority moves. In the event Jean has formed a Substitute; continue the strategy as normal, as Hypnosis will strike behind a Substitute, and remaining field effects in the cycle are otherwise unaffected.
In the event Presto can no longer use Dazzling Gleam against Hydreigon; follow the strategy as noted for Mamoswine and Gyarados UNLESS it is only for one turn- in this case, use Kinesis and then proceed as normal according to the strategy. In the event Presto cannot use Psychic; switch to Psybeam, and return to using Psychic unless Psychic was permanently disabled. In this case, replace instances of Psychic in the above strategy with Psybeam permanently.
For each 'field set up' move (Reflect, Psychic Terrain); if Presto is permanently unable to use these moves, skip them in the strategy loop.
In the event Presto defeats her opponent;
If Domino enters the field;
If Domino is unable to use Foul Play any longer for whatever reason; prioritize attacks according to the Substitute response. If Domino is unable to use Earthquake and/or Rock Slide; prioritize Iron Tail against Hydreigon, Crunch against all others.
In the event Domino defeats his opponent;
BONUS PROSE: Compared to the last battle, Emporio goes into the fight for third feeling a lot better about things. He's not overconfident- Jean is still a hell of an opponent after all, he got here too. But he at least doesn't feel like this is a fight where a loss is all but inevitable. He can relax! ...Sorta.
(And honestly, Jean may well feel the same after...That semi-final nonsense.)
Ultimately Emporio goes down knowing a good amount- and Jean ought have similar. Pretty much every strategy he could have ever had, Dazzling Gleam included, is now on the board for Jean to know.
So let's have a good, clean match...right?
(Oh, the field is going to be Messy.)
Fans watching for 3rd are getting a show dammit, because the battle for third is just as worth it as the battle for second and first!
If there's one thing that Emporio knows of Jean, it's switching. Which is why once again, just as he's sure Jean has the Expert Belt on Gyarados (it's a smart call!), the Eviolite is on Oxy...
And Oxy is opening with Mean Look.
Probably anyway. There's a chance of course, just a small chance y'know-
(Insert laugh track here,)
-that Jean just might swap out. Mamoswine's ground type! Oxy has Levitate! Between that and everything else it could go either way on if he wants to stick around and do field set up or risk a sleeper in the next turn. And that is, naturally, exactly what he risks. If Jean swaps Mamoswine out? Oxy's first move is going to be Hypnosis, and short of anything cropping up on the field to make Hypnosis impossible, she's going to use that until whatever's in front of her is sleeping.
What she does next of course comes down to who's here- thanks to his last fight, Emporio knows now that Presto doesn't even need Protean to do damage against a x4 weakness. She just has to be on the field. And in this precise scenario, where Jean's sacrificed his Stealth Rocker for a 'Hard Rocker'? (apologies of course if dear Trio isn't into those tunes)
Presto's coming out with a blast once Oxy makes sure the dragon sleeps, as Emporio tells her the SHOW MUST GO ON!
Presto launches Dazzling Gleam as many times as it takes to be rid of the offending dragon on the field, and with any luck she'll have the time for it too. All she'll need is two hits, maybe even one if she's lucky- and even if she goes down in the process, it's going to make things all the more easy when one of the less-than-ideal match ups takes her place.
If Tusk was swapped for Finn however, Oxy's standing firm after getting this big boy to sleep. Gyarados is a big beefy menace despite lacking STABs, but if anyone stands the strongest chance of holding their ground against 'm, it's her- especially if Emporio was right about who's holding the mystery belt. Ain't no one got time for a super effective hit from THAT.
(It also means Oxy better get REAL lucky with her initial Hypnosis, but hey.)
Assuming Hypnosis lands, Oxy immediately follows with Mean Look just to keep Jean from getting tricky- provided of course the Gyarados is still on the field for it. Assuming he is, Oxy then adds a Confuse Ray just to sweeten things, and refreshes that Hypnosis best as possible. Hopefully without getting Oxy destroyed.
If all goes well though and the sea serpent slumbers once more, it's time to start hitting home with HEX! And if that fails? Well Sludge Bomb still does fine enough, and as a bonus might just give Oxy the window to use Hex anyway. Great right?
But let's roll back to the beginning for a sec. If Jean actually left Mamoswine out there, Jean's not getting that 'm back. Once Mean Look hits, Oxy's Hypnosis-Hex strat reigns supreme until the big guy tries a Hail dodge strategy, at which point Emporio is stuck having Oxy take pot-shots with Shadow Ball. And if Shadow Ball starts to fail, Emporio manages to show off one teensie tiny little trump card left-
Right in the eyes!
-the move Shadow Punch, which bypasses all evasion stats. Flimsy, but if Shadow Ball can't surpass that little boost of acrobatics the mamoswine is pulling off, it may well be necessary to get in there.
With any luck though, Hex will reign supreme- that or a last minute Curse and Destiny Bond combo, with the former move in the set especially vital if poor Oxy is stuck fighting against that Hydreigon. It's not as if fighting that thing went well for Oxy before after all, and it likely won't again!
Still- the fact that Emporio's trying his best to shut down the switcheroo line as much as possible aside (not to mention avoiding his own swapping wherever possible, given those Stealth Rock risks that could come down), it's unlikely that Oxy is solo-ing this fight. And when Oxy has to take the bench, that's when the other two get to shine.
In Presto's case, literally; we already know how she's handling Hydreigon if possible. But what about the others? Well first of all if you knew what to expect from Oxy, it's no surprise to see her open with Hypnosis- whether the opponent is swapping or not, Presto's squishy, and she's not taking those chances. But if Mamoswine comes in and it starts hailing- or even if it's already hailing- she'll skip over the Hypnosis spam and get herself a Reflect up instead, followed by Psychic Terrain. She might not be able to get a super effective bonus in, but she can at least get a good STAB!
With Reflect cycled alongside Psychic Terrain (and Hypnosis for that matter, assuming the move has been landing), and a bit of Recover in there as needed, Presto will start slapping down with Psychic until either the opponent goes down, or she goes down trying. Psychic Terrain will keep her safe from things like a pesky Ice Shard thanks to the priority, so she just might stay standing long enough to succeed!
...Maybe. Maybe?
Obviously if she doesn't, or if she only takes down so much of the opponent, someone else will need to step up to the plate, and that someone happens to be little Domino.
And honestly? Domino has had a ROUGH TIME. In pretty much every fight after his first real one he's had few options save picking a move and hoping for the best! It's something that hasn't even changed here- if Presto somehow fails to clean up that Hydreigon after all, it's all that Domino can do to toss Sandstorm before following with as many Rock Slides as possible and hoping for the best!
But in Domino's defense, it really is true what they say- The bigger they are...
...the harder Foul Play hits, when it turns out that stat raises or otherwise, a STAB using their own attack stat hits a hell of a lot harder than a STAB using Domino's. Especially since it means that Intimidate Finn had going for him does...Nothing. The only way they're getting Domino down without a scratch is if they manage to nail an OHKO- because while Domino might be slower than the two, he's still giving it all he's got.
So here's to a climactic finish! Whether with a repeat of ghostly curses, a dazzling show of lights and sparkles, or even an underdog finish from the little guy, let's hear it for Emporio vs Jean! Ultra-swap vs Hyper-sleep! WHO WILL WIN!