31 - video/action for Cerulean;

[islandshore]

[Well, after backtracking to Olivine for a few days, Riku and Ven are back in business over in the wonderful land of Kanto. So, today's broadcast begins in the Cerulean Gym, where Riku's poised and ready to go against Misty and her team of water types. He's got six powerful Pokémon by his side, including a Haunter, a Rotom, a Dragonite, a Garchomp, a Lucario, and... a Charizard?

Well, the first Pokémon Riku sends out his his Rotom, surge, while Misty calls for her Floatzel...]

[The Floatzel proves to be a bit of a pain, swimming swiftly through the water, thanks to its Agility. Luckily, Surge has a number of tricks up its sleeve, like nailing the little otter with a nasty Thunder Wave, followed up by a bit of Confuse Ray to really heat things up. From there, it's an all-out offensive strike. Lightning flashes throughout the arena, as Thunderbolts strike at the Floatzel again and again. Its Ice Beams do manage nail Surge more than once, but its repeated use of Double Team combined with the Confusion end up taking their toll on the opposition. Before long, Floatzel's down for the count.

Misty narrows her eyes and tosses out another Pokéball. Judging by the beady little eyes and slick, blue skin, Riku's got a Quagsire on his hands. Shaking his head, he calls Surge back to him, stepping aside so Flare can join the fray.

Misty blinks and raises a brow at the sight.]

A Charizard? Are you serious?

[Riku and Flare both smirk, exchanging quick eye contact.]

Hey, don't count him out just yet...

[Immediately, Flare takes to the air, beating his wings rapidly as glimmers of sunlight shine down on the arena. Quagsire spews water out of its mouth like a barrage of bullets, and though a few do glaze Flare's skin, he's not down for the count just yet. With the sun shining bright, he pulls back his head, takes a deep breath, and unleashes a powerful Solarbeam straight into Quagsire's mouth. Misty lets out an irritated scream, ordering her Quagsire to use Rain Dance. Flare utilizes Sunny Day almost immediately after. The Solarbeams keep coming.

Due to the 4x weakness to grass, it only takes a few hits to send Quagsire packing.

From there on, Riku's team proceeds to plow through the opposition. When Starmie comes out to play, Surge returns for a second helping of electrical moves with a side of ghost shenanigans. Confuse Ray mixed with Toxic strike almost immediately, followed by an assault of Shadow Balls. Once Lanturn appears, it's time for Quake to step in, using his partial ground typing to nullify those electrical moves. To make things worse, he whips out a nasty Sandstorm, boosting his evasion. Throw in a few Double Teams, a side of Toxic, and plenty of Digging to make Misty's life miserable.

When Lapras comes out, Ace the Lucario slips in. Her resistance to Ice gives her a bit of an edge. Combine that with the Aura Spheres she sends flying and the devastating Close Combat, and even Lapras' Perish Song can't hold her back. Chalk up another victory for Riku.

Last comes Milotic, a pure water type Surge could probably handle, if it weren't already worn down from the previous fights. Instead, Draco the Dragonite marches into play, slamming his fists together and letting out a "BaoOOOOoOOoOOOo" in the face of his enemy.

Immediately, he lunges forward, striking at Milotic with a ThunderPunch. However, she utilizes Rest to heal the damage. Despite falling fast asleep, she continues to fight thanks to a little Sleep Talk. Of course, Draco continues his offensive, dropping a Substitue down before exploiting a little Double Team action. From there, he continues to slam his fists against Milotic, making sparks fly. When Ice Beam strikes and the Substitute breaks, he uses a little Roost and drops another one down. Soon, Misty's final Pokémon goes down for the count, and Misty reluctantly hands over the Cascade Badge and the Water Pulse TM.

At that point, the feed ends.]

[The video starts up again outside the Gym, with Riku's Pokémon close by. He holds up the badge for a moment and grins before leaning back against the frame of the door.]

So, that's four Kanto badges down, and four Elite Teams for good measure. Not bad, if you ask me.

[He tosses the badge up and down.]

Anyway, here's a question to you guys. What do you think is more important? Using the right types and powerful Pokémon or using a Pokémon that's important to you, even if the odds are against it?

And what are your thoughts on evolution?

[With that, he'll be exploring the city and gathering supplies. After all, he and Ven intend to hit Mt. Moon before long, which means they'll need to get their act together. It could be a long trip.

Should anyone else be around town, they'll find him surrounded by his team of six, all of which are rather large, except Surge. It's hard to miss a guy surrounded by an oversized Charizard, Garchomp, and Dragonite, after all.]

Comments

[action]

[ex_aeroga402]

[Of course, Ven's been at the sidelines the whole time. Given the arena, his clothes are dripping wet, and Bolt's likewise soaked, trying to shake off little drops of water furiously as Ven trots over to his friend]

That was great, Riku!

[action]

[islandshore]

Thanks, Ven. But it wasn't me who did all the heavy lifting.

[He smirks, folding his arms over his chest. Flare lets out a soft grunt, and the others nod quietly... except for Draco, who marches forward, puffs out his chest, and lifts his nose into the air. Where's his thanks? Huh?

His behavior totally gets an eyeroll from Riku.]

[action]

[ex_aeroga402]

Yeah, I didn't forget. [It's just that he appreciates Riku's attitude about winning. Or rather, his acknowledgement of team effort] I'm proud of you guys.

[He rocks back on his heels, bracing Bolt with a hand when his little friend stumbles]

So, anybody want a victory meal?

[Video]

[ordalias]

Congratulations, Riku!

[ Grin, grin before she think on that question. ] Hmm... Whichever one fits the situation the best? Better to be flexible, right?

[Video]

[islandshore]

Yeah, battles aren't just about plowing down the opposition.

[He smirks.]

But I know some people would probably send out their favorite Pokémon even with the odds stacked against them.

[Video]

[ordalias]

I guess that's a matter of faith in your Pokemon, right? It can't be a bad thing.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo and his team sit and watch the entire battle. The Pokémon are pretty excited as they watch, but Apollo isn't, and he watches intently for a different reason. So this is what a full battle between teams of Pokémon looks like. The Pokémon all seem like they want to fight, even though those attacks have to hurt a lot. He'd like a chance to sit down with all those Pokémon and ask them why they wanted to fight so much, if they all had different reasons or if they all just found it fun and wanted to get stronger. He still wasn't entirely sure what to think about Pokémon battles, but he had a few thoughts already.]

I don't know what types or evolution are, but I think it's more important to let the Pokémon who want to fight the most do the fighting.

[Video]

[islandshore]

Well, every Pokémon's got a different type. Fire, water, that sort of thing.

[As if to demonstrate, Flare opens his mouth and spits out a small flame.

As for evolution... Most Pokémon start out small and change into larger, more powerful forms as they get stronger.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo looks at his team, a Spearow, a Sentret, and a Deerling.]

I don't know what types any of them would be.

You mean like growing up?

[usedshooshpap]

The ones that are important to me know a wide array of moves so there's no reason to worry about shitty things like type advantages. I already have that.

And evolution? I say go for it unless your beast objects.

[islandshore]

Yeah, that's a pretty good point... on both counts. I've actually noticed that plenty of Pokémon can learn moves to cover their weaknesses. Helps when you're up against something unexpected.

[After all, limiting a team to six has its issues.]

[usedshooshpap]

More or less, yeah. I save up money so I can go out and buy TMs just for that purpose. My Haxorus is a dragon type, but it can learn a few fire, grass, and water moves.

Text;

[8etterl8]

Defin8ly type and power, if you have it.
Unfortun8ly the last two gyms I've gone up against I've 8een at a type disadvantage, 8ut certainly not at a power disadvantage.
There's just no point in 8eing sentimental if you have no chance of winning!
I don't challenge gyms for the warm fuzzy feelings, I challege to win!

As for evolution I'm aaaaaaaall for it.
Unless it looks fucking stupid and the Pokemon can stay relatively strong.
8ut if the pros of evolving it outweigh the stupidity of how it looks, 8itch is getting evoooooooolved.

Text;

[islandshore]

Man, that's exactly how I thought of things for the first year or so I spent here. As for type disadvantages, they can be a pain, but there's always a way around.

[After all, he sent a fire type against a water/ground type.]

And I definitely agree about evolution. The only Pokémon I've kept from evolving is my Haunter, and that's because I think he looks cooler that way. Pretty sure he agrees.

Text;

[8etterl8]

I've managed so far.
I heard something a8out elite teams, for 100 level Pokemon, that sounds like a REAL challenge.
May8e when I hit the Kanto serket I'll take up that challenge instead of steam rolling the fuck out of all of them.
Then again, steam rolling is pretty fun. Hmmmmmmmm.

I haven't evolved my Skorupi.
I like her the way she is now. She hasn't put up a fuss or anything like that, so I assume she has no pro8lem with it.

[video]

[paladinlost]

Three? That's not bad at all. As for my team... I use the Pokémon who wish to fight; more often than not, those are the ones with type advantages. ...Though I have to admit, that I tend to use Rosie if I have a free spot.

[video]

[islandshore]

Rosie, huh? She one of your favorites, then?

[That's probably like Riku and Flare. Ironic, since Flare isn't even his starter.]

[video]

[paladinlost]

She's my eldest. She was the one who taught me how to use the Gear, what plants are edible on the road... And she also happens to know some very good attacks.

[video]

[failures]

I like going with type advantage. It's even better when my Pokemon's type doesn't have an advantage over its opponent, but it has a move that does.

Man do I love seeing the face on the other trainer when they get that thrown in their face.

[video]

[islandshore]

See, that's exactly what I did with Misty.

[He snickers.]

Fire type against water? I don't think she expected that Solarbeam.

[video]

[failures]

Nice. Dontcha love when Pokemon learn moves like that?

Like my Dragonair has Thunderbolt for when she's up against Water/Ice type Pokemon. Good luck getting an Ice Beam through her, trainers.

[video]

[will_to_burn]

That was so cool, Riku-kun! You guys did great!

[ Great enough to earn a very enthusiastic round of applause from the redhead. Mokona is perched atop one of Hikaru's shoulders, clapping with just as much enthusiasm. ]

About what Pokémon to use... that's a tough one! My Pokémon are my friends, so they'll all important to me. We're a team. It's my job to know their strengths and weaknesses and keep those in mind when I'm deciding who to battle with. I have faith in their abilities, so... I guess, for me, it's kind of like balancing. If we stick together, I'm sure we'll overcome any obstacle that comes our way, no matter how difficult!

I think evolution is really neat, too, but it's not something I'll force on my Pokémon. Take Mokona, for instance. He doesn't want to evolve, so I don't force him. If he changes his mind, that's okay, too, but I think he's just fine the way he is.

[video]

[islandshore]

Thanks, Hikaru.

[Oh, look at that smug grin from Riku... and his team. Oh, and his Dragonite's beating his fists against his chest and letting out another, "BaoOoOOoOOoo!" Oh, Draco.]

And there's nothing wrong with balance. I guess I'm not as close to some of my Pokémon as others, but it's kind of hard to establish bonds like that when you've got more than twenty Pokémon.

[conduit]

I think using your favorites is better than aiming for power. When you use pokemon you truly adore, your synergy becomes a lot better. If you capture a pokemon just for the power, once they learn or observe it, they can use it against you because it sends a message that you're dependent on them. Not to mention, when you train them juuuuuuust right, they can become stronger than the powerful pokemon anyways~!

[ Rangiku happily answers his question with her honest answer. ]

[islandshore]

Well, I can't fault you for that kind of idealism. I mean, I do use Flare a lot.

[But Riku just isn't super optimistic in everything ever. Give him a second to mull this over.]

Thing is, there are some odds that a powerful bond can't overcome. Strategy helps with tougher opponents, but your opponent might be just as skilled at it. Stat and type differences do have an impact.