Summershine Cup Round 1 - Missingno. Master vs Raves

[MarbleZone]

The very first match of the opening round was here. Summershine Cup was about to begin!

As fate would have it, the inaugural bout would pit two veterans of the Fizzy Bubbles world against one another. Whereas Keith's recent accomplishments were a matter of public knowledge, Alex had remained mostly away from prying eyes in his later years, revealing very little about his progress, leaving many to wonder just how powerful the Trainer had become overtime.

Levin and Zion the Metagross took center stage and greeted the two combatants. He was just as thrilled to get started as anyone else - the amount of battle knowledge he'd amass with this competition dwarfed anything he'd ever been involved in previously!

- Thank you for coming guys, and best of lucks to you both. Ready to start? Here we go!

-----

- 1v1 Singles match
- Arena - Cloud Garden's Stardust Fields: Gently rolling fields spanning as far as the eye can see. This battlefield is a 50m x 50m section of the large grassy plain with one lone Cherry Blossom tree standing in the centre.
- DQ Time: 5 days
- Held Items: No
- Other Items: No

Rules:
- RNG determines who goes first
- First round is reffed
- Orders are reversed after each reffing
- Leave a link to your Profile in your first reply
- You can order up to 3 moves/actions each round; dodging or moving count as 1 action
- Battle ends when either Health or Energy reaches 0%
- Evolutions aren’t allowed for the duration of the Tournament
- For official attack descriptions, look here. Actual outcomes may vary based on ref discretion
- PM me any questions you may have at any point

Coin flip determined Missingno. Master goes first.

Keith G. Masters vs Alex Blackhall

VS

BEGIN!

[Missingno. Master]

(Profile link)

Here it was, the Summershine Cup! It was being held in a rather appropriate place for such a summer-themed tournament, as well- the Cloud Garden's Stardust Fields. Keith had battled here in the past, his Ivysaur going up against a Druddigon, with the two of them ending up falling in love over the course of the fight. But now, there were spectators and TV cameras, makeshift stands crafted to contain the crowds who had come to watch the battle unfold, and Keith Masters was now stepping out onto the battlefield, his trusty Meowth on his shoulder.

~~~

Meanwhile, at Keith's Secret Base, a Dusclops was sitting on the couch, shoveling popcornn into his black hole of a body, watching the TV intently. And then, as the commercial for Pansear Pizza Parlor gave way to the live coverage of the Summershine Cup, his eye lit up. "Hey!" Peeves called out. "It's on! And Keith's in the first round!"

A bunch of Pokémon raced over to the TV as an announcer introduced both Trainers who were to battle each other in the first round- Keith Masters, of course, as well as Alex Blackhall.

"Hey!" exclaimed the Dragalge who had used his fins to "walk" over next to the couch. "That guy Keith's gonna battle- that's my original Trainer!"

"That's nothing," scoffed a Scraggy currently seated on one of the arms of the couch. "Neville, you see the referee, that guy with the Metagross? That's my original Trainer. At least I don't gotta choose which one to root for," he smirked.

"Ohh... can't I just wish them both luck?" asked Neville.

"That works," Peeves nodded. "Anyone else want popcornn?"

"About friggin' time you asked!" exclaimed Bart, the Scraggy. He eagerly pulled the bowl towards him and started shoveling the snack into his mouth.

"Take it easy, Bart," Hermione advised him, the Weedle cleverly suspending herself from the ceiling in a hammock made from String Shot. "I can always make more, we have plenty for everybody."

"Hey, tell that to the living black hole," Bart retorted, pointing at Peeves, who rolled his eye in response.

~~~

This was it. Keith stood on one end of the battlefield, and Alex on the other end. Alex had sent out his Pokémon- it was a Lunatone, but not like any Lunatone Keith had ever seen. Indeed, this Lunatone was a vibrant shade of orange! Keith pointed his Pokédex at the creature, though the picture it displayed was that of a normal Lunatone.

"Lunatone, the Meteorite Pokémon," said the Pokédex. "Lunatone was first discovered living near the site of a meteor crash, and is said to have come from outer space. It becomes especially active and powerful on the night of a full moon."

"Rock and Psychic, huh?" Keith murmured, glancing at the readout his Pokédex was giving him. "Well, I ain't worried," he added, giving Meowth a confident grin. "Meowth, let's do this!"

"Yeah!" Meowth exclaimed, jumping down from Keith's shoulder. He ran out onto the battlefield and faced Lunatone, his claws extended.

~~~

As Alex sent out his Lunatone, Bart burst into uproarious laughter. "Ha ha haaaaa! I guess the moon really is made of cheese!" the Scraggy laughed.

"Bart, will you be nice?" Peeves asked.

"Oh, come on," chuckled the Scraggy. "It's not as though some loser with no life is typing up everything we say and posting it for everyone to read, up to and including that guy with the Lunatone. Right?"

As they continued to talk, none of the Pokémon noticed the dark grey Scolipede looking in through a window. As Salazar's blood-red eyes fell on the orange Lunatone, he couldn't help but feel that he and that Lunatone had something in common...

~~~

Back at the Stardust Fields, the battle was preparing to get underway. Keith had already mentally reviewed Meowth's attacks, and was starting to piece together a strategy.

"Go, Meowth! Hypnosis!" Keith ordered. "Then power up with Work Up, and follow it up with Water Pulse!"

[Raves]

<Profile here.>

He hadn't much knowledge of the Cloud Garden outside of the mountainous Delibird Ridge, but one look around the Stardust Fields had Alex's mind buzzing with interest. Gently rolling fields everywhere, with the sun above shining down upon one field in particular where he stood against his round one opponent, who he had heard much about given the recent exploits of said trainer.

***

The cavern hadn't been touched in a while from the outside, and on the inside the azure rock and furniture had accrued a layer of dust, but for the observant eye one would notice a plushie just out of place. When straightened out, the observer would discover a hidden passage dimly lit, then find themselves in a more upkept chamber. Within said chamber, designed to be easy to defend, resided Alex and his team, currently in hiding. The Spovelli Rockets had became more reckless in their hunt, and precautions had to be taken.

At the moment the human was waiting by a poster, when a flutter of wings signalled the presence of a pokemon. Three intermittent taps followed by a scratching, and the poster rolled up allowing Fragarath entry into the hideout. On the back of the Honchkrow was a knapsack with some supplies, including a newspaper to Alex's surprise.

"Nothing followed. There's a rather...intriguing arti-caww in the paper you might wanna look at," the crow crooned in perfect english before hopping over to the centrepiece of the room, a sizable crystal that lit the chamber up, keeping the group in fair condition. The crystal itself seemed to exude a strange energy, but Alex couldn't put his finger quite on what the energy was. Blinking, he lifted the paper and his brow rose as he saw the front page article.

'ADURO SILENCED BY HERO'

Reading through the story, he was indeed interested at the tale one Keith Golbatson Masters had to tell of the Cascadia volcano, of the legendary pokemon vanquished within who held the island under a literal iron fist, of the Heatmor who stood up to said legendary, and of the loss of life the trainer had witnessed in the journey. Reading through it, he sighed.

"...and Volcanity did a good job covering up our exploits against the Rockets..."

***

Gazing towards the individual before him as he held the Moon Ball in his hand, he knew this Keith person had ingrained himself into the history books as an ace trainer, and the confidence he held was in stark contrast to Alex's own wariness of his surroundings. With the referee and his Metagross in the area, he hadn't much to be concerned about, as the species was renowned for their power, and only a complete imbecile would dare interrupt a fight such as this to kill him.

"Alright, Nuhuko, take to the field and keep focused."

With a flick, the orb sailed through the air and split open to reveal the pumpkin moon, the Lunatone raring to go. For too long they had kept away from others when in fact the trainer really should have lived as normal. He had already toppled Spovelli's personal team of fully evolved dragons, that was as good as the Rockets would have given outside covert assassination, and with four psychic pokemon, good luck infiltrating the base.

With Keith ordering first, Alex pondered the battle plan. While the Lunatone lacked any abilities to exploit the Meowth's Normal typing, he was larger and more resilient than the speed-based Scratch Cat, and being a psychic type, Alex knew that Hypnosis would require greater exertion to bring the Meteorite down., though there was the concern of movepool. Normal types were known for their varied movepools, and Meowth was no exception, with an order of Water Pulse: his foe sought to keep Nuhuko down and wear him out with type advantage.

Alex closed his eyes, before nodding to the Lunatone. Type advantage means nothing if you can't make full use of your own strengths.

"Nuhuko, while Meowth focuses on you with Hypnosis, dazzle him with Flash, then put a timer on the fight with Toxic. Follow up by launching a Charge Beam while he goes on the offensive to try and stop that pulse."

[MarbleZone]

ROUND 1

Keith's Meowth is almost as well-known as the the veteran himself, whereas the potential of Alex's Lunatone is, much like the Pokemon itself, shrouded in mystery. Both Trainers understand the importance of the first round and how preparing adequately in the early stages can determine the outcome of the entire match, and so each approaches the initial clash with a strategic touch.

Meowth looks to put Nuhuko to sleep, which provides an obvious advantage; a slumbering Pokemon is the absolute easiest of targets, making Sleep the preferred condition of many Trainers to try and inflict as soon as possible. The feline firmly locks eyes with his foe, exerts his psychic pressure... and quickly realizes the difficulty of beating a Psychic-Type at its own game. Rather than succumbing instantly, the Lunatone takes advantage of Meowth's intense stare to immediately unleash a blindingly-powerful Flash before the hypnotic effects of the move manifest themselves!

Irritated by the obvious setback, Meowth starts to get Worked Up and ready to pummel Nuhuko with brute force if that's what it takes. His offensive prowess increases as a result, but Alex opts for a different route and orders Nuhuko to spit out a blob of venom against its foe. Meowth is drenched in the vile poison and starts coughing and shivering, indicating the toxins have entered his blood stream and will soon begin to exert their terrifying effect - Meowth is Badly Poisoned!. Poison like this can be deadly if given time to act, which puts that much more pressure on Keith to find a way to victory!

Just as Nuhuko is done, Meowth goes on the attack, taking advantage of his superior speed - the quickness with which he shoots his orb of water is too much for the Lunatone to match, and despite the annoying speckles of light that cloud his vision, the feline's aim is good enough to ensure the Pulse finds its mark! Boosted by his Ability, Meowth's attack proves highly effective against the Rock-Type, and furthermore, the meteorite seems to have become completely dazzled as a result - Nuhuko is Confused!

However, the Moon Pokemon doesn't stand idly and is quick to mount its comeback, focusing enough to accurately shoot Meowth with an electrically-charged beam of energy. Unfortunately, it fails to store any excess energy in its own body, but the attack hits home regardless and further injures Keith's partner!

The match has just started and already the intensity from both parts can be felt. What do these Trainers have in store next?

Health: 90%
Energy: 80%
Stats: Atk +1; Sp.Atk +1; Acc -1
Badly Poisoned


Health: 74%
Energy: 79%
Confused

Next orders: Raves

---

As always, PM me any questions.

[Raves]

With the battle starting off, Alex remains stony faced as Nuhuko's opponent opens with hypnosis. While the move would be effective, against a pokemon who associated with the moon and a natural psychic type, the Lunatone resists before releasing the flash as expected, the Mewoth's large eyes and focus ensuring the technique landed. Under fire and with aim reduced, Mewoth then started to work up the power to strike, which had Alex concerned: knowing the many weaknesses to exploit, a boosted hit from anything would spell trouble, even if Meowth was on a timer.

The troubles would only be confirmed when the water pulse flew and struck Nuhuko, boosted by technician and giving Alex all the information he required for his next plan...until the Meteorite seemed dazzled, no, confused, but still focused enough to launch the charge beam at the feline for respectable damage. However, Alex knew that if Nuhuko's foe got close, he would be in trouble...unless he couldn't get close for a start.

"Nuhuko, focus! Erect a wall around yourself with Rock Tomb, the calm your mind to try and overcome the confusion before hardening yourself."

[Missingno. Master]

Keith grimaced as the round progressed- not only did Hypnosis fail miserably, Meowth was now poisoned. And not just poisoned- badly poisoned. Specializing in the Poison type, Keith knew the Toxic attack very well. The damage the poisoning would deal to Meowth would start to build up over time, escalating to ridiculous levels. Alex had just put a time constraint on the battle in a big way- every single move Keith would call out had to count in a big way.

~~~

"Arceus damn it!" swore Bart as the televised coverage of the Summershine Cup showed the battle going on between Keith and Alex. "I thought Meowth had that chunk of moon cheese good and hypnotized for sure!"

"They gotta be careful now," Neville remarked, the Dragalge watching the fight intently. "Meowth won't hold up under Toxic forever-" At that moment, however, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, good, the pizza's here," Peeves said, the Dusclops getting up off the couch. "I got it."

A teenage boy stood just outside the front door of Keith's Secret Base, carrying a large stack of pizza boxes. The door finally swung open, and the boy opened his mouth to introduce the man who answered the door, except it was in fact a Dusclops who answered the door. This threw him somewhat.

"Uhh... Pizza delivery for Keith Masters?" the boy finally said.

"Yeah, Keith can't come to the door at the moment," Peeves replied. "This is his Dusclops. This should cover it, right?" he added, indicating the wad of Pokédollars clutched in one of his hands.

"Uh... sorry," the boy replied. "Pansear Pizza Parlor company policy doesn't allow us to deliver to Pokémon."

Peeves closed his eye in exasperation. "Seriously?" he replied. "I'm clearly more civilized than the sort of Pokémon they undoubtedly had in mind when coming up with that policy."

"I don't disagree, but my hands are tied," the boy replied apologetically. "I'm on thin ice as it is- my boss hears that I let a Pokémon take a pizza delivery, I am so fired."

"I got it, Peeves," came a voice from behind the Dusclops. The Ghost-type stepped aside to reveal... Keith?! Peeves's eye widened, but he didn't question things. "Keith" took the wad of cash from the Dusclops's hand, handed it over to the delivery boy, and took the pizzas. "Thanks," he added. "Keep the change."

As soon as the door was closed, "Keith" walked into the living room and placed the pizzas down on the coffee table. And then, honce he had let go, he glowed brightly, lost all shape, and shrunk down.

"Nice one, Jack," said Peeves as he re-entered the living room. "Though maybe fill me in on the plan next time so I don't look so surprised?"

"Noted," replied the Ditto, who was now on the table, shoving a slice of pepperoni pizza into his mouth. "So, how's Keith doing?"

"It's a pretty rocky start," said Neville. "Meowth's dealt a lot of damage to Nuhoko, but he's also badly poisoned."

"Yeesh, that ain't good," frowned Jack. "They gotta finish this fast, then, or they're finished."

~~~

"Oh, yeah, Hypnosis, dat was a real good idea!" Meowth exclaimed sarcastically.

"I know, I know," sighed Keith. "Look, you still got the upper hand for now- you got in that Work Up, you didn't take as much damage as Lunatone, and it's even confused- we gotta keep calm and try and keep the advantage while we still have it."

"Ya got any ideas, I'm all ears," Meowth replied.

"I do indeed," Keith nodded. "Move in for a Bite attack before it can get off that Rock Tomb. Then as long as you're in such close proximity, hold onto Lunatone and use Thunderbolt at point-blank range. And once it's got off those stat-boosting moves, let's try a Punishment attack."

[MarbleZone]

ROUND 2

Meowth is quick, one of the nimblest Pokemon out there - but the distance between himself and Nuhuko is still considerable. While Alex plans on creating an impenetrable line of defense, Keith's plan is to breach that line before it's even built. But who's gonna gain the upper hand this round?

The Lunatone is confused, but still more capable of focusing than the majority of Pokemon in such a dazzled state, courtesy of its superior mental prowess. Alex's orders reach the living meteorite, who processes them... and is fit to carry them out! Its eyes glow briefly, indicating the Rock Tomb is on its way - and that's Meowth's cue! He leaps forward and dashes full-speed ahead, trying his best to ignore the several speckles of light that blur his field of vision. He keeps gaining momentum, trying to outrun the wall...

But Nuhuko isn't only a Psychic-Type; it also has complete control over all manner of minerals, courtesy of its Rock-Type half. Erecting a Rock Tomb comes very easily, and a massive tower emerges from the depths of the earth to surround the Lunatone in the blink of an eye; Meowth is just about to reach his foe when he collides with the materializing boulders, falling short of covering all that distance by an inch!
Nuhuko is now encased in a protective cocoon of stone, and proceeds to sharpen its mental acuity... successfully once again! It becomes even more in tune with the universe around it, and in doing so, all traces of confusion fade. Meanwhile, Meowth resorts to doing the only thing it can - he drops a pwerful Thunderbolt on the pillar, whittling it down somewhat, but not enough to make the tower crumble...

Nuhuko takes the welcome opening to solidify its structure, now enhancing its physical resistance along with its already heightened state of mind. Meowth has had enough of the Lunatone's consecutive achievements and looks to bring it all crashing down by capitalizing on Nuhuko's own boosts, looking to Punish the Psychic-Type for seeking such an advantage! He charges straight at the Rock Tomb with claws enveloped in pure darkness... and misses the tower completely!!

The feline stops to contemplate the extremely unfortunate round, with considerable energy expended and no return whatsoever, not to mention his body is starting to hurt from the poison... On the plus side, his eyesight seems to be getting clearer, but not just yet - that was a pretty terrible Flash. Alex, meanwhile, has to be pleased with the way things went, and the merit is his in large part - his sound strategy has placed Nuhuko in a more comfortable position, physically and mentally stronger, and still protected by a partially-weakened Rock Tomb. How will each Trainer react now?

Health: 87%
Energy: 65%
Stats: Atk +1; Sp.Atk +1; Acc -1
Badly Poisoned


Health: 74%
Energy: 66%
Stats: Sp.Atk +1; Sp.Def +1; Def +1

Next orders: Missingno. Master

---

As always, PM me any questions.

[Missingno. Master]

Keith grinned as Meowth took a running start. He knew Meowth was fast, very fast. Just how fast Lunatone was, he wasn't sure, but he was pretty damn sure that it was at least slower than Meowth!

Alas, Keith had failed to reckon with Lunatone's natural affinity with the Rock type. Due to Nuhoko being part Rock, it was able to summon a big pillar of stone all around it. Meowth lunged desperately, only to collide pitifully with the Rock Tomb. "Owieeee..." he groaned.

~~~

"No!" Bart exclaimed as he watched this unfold on the TV. "How the hell did that happen? Meowth's faster! He's gotta be!"

"But Nuhoko's a Rock-type," Neville pointed out. "And Rock Tomb being a Rock move, it wouldn't take it very long to get such a move going."

"They better act fast, though," Peeves added, the Dusknoir (he was a Dusknoir since the beginning of the fight, and totally not only just retconned into being one now due to a trade evolution taking place during the fight. What continuity?!) watching Meowth's attacks chip away at the Rock Tomb. "That Toxic's gonna start wearing Meowth down pretty quickly, and if they can't even touch the opponent..."

~~~

"Meowth, how's the accuracy situation?" Keith asked after Punishment missed its mark.

"Gettin' better," Meowth reported. "I'm still seein' spots, just not as many no more."

"OK, that's something," Keith sighed. "We can't afford to lose our cool, Meowth. We gotta break through that Rock Tomb! Blast it with Water Pulse, and follow up with Iron Tail. If the first doesn't break through, the second one will for sure. Either way, follow up with another Punishment attack!"

[Raves]

Things had went from problematic to positive on Alex's side. Nuhuko's psychic affinity allowed the processing of the orders to execute almost perfectly, the tomb surrounding Nuhuko keeping him defended from Meowth's assault, even with the Thunderbolt, and with the Punishment failing completely, that was a chunk of Dark energy burned up, one less danger to the Meteorite. However, the next set of orders wasn't as he had expected: trying to break through the Rock Tomb, even weakened, would only buy the Lunatone extra time, but the fact that Iron Tail was another move in the repertoire of his foe didn't surprise him.

After all, that article did report that very same Meowth playing a vital role in the fall of Aduro's tyrant, and as this event occurred, so too did something rather important to Alex.

"Nuhuko, that wall won't hold forever and our oponent's utilising his ability well. Take to the air with levitate to keep out of general melee range and out of the tomb, then fire off a tri attack down before lobbing him into what's left of the wall with a blast of psychic force. Enough preparation's been done."

The Lunatone hummed in response, and though Alex couldn't tell from within the walls, Nuhuko was pumped. It had been too long since he had a serious battle, and this Meowth reminded him of the day he fought Alex's starter, a Chimchar, and subsequently lost due to the monkey's tricks. This Meowth was a cunning opponent.

[MarbleZone]

ROUND 3

Alex realizes the urgency of changing tactics, having been successful is his setup but knowing that Keith isn’t a Trainer who makes the same mistake twice. The Poison-Type expert, in turn, knows he can’t afford to give Nuhuko any more time to set up, and that Meowth needs to amp up the pressure to keep up with the Lunatone.

Meowth moves first; disposing of that tower is the number one priority, and he’s got just the move to do it. With no shortage of style or pop culture knowledge, he brings his palms to the side of his body and charges up his water devastation wave, if you know what I’m sayan... The Water Pulse is soon formed and propelled right at the Rock Tomb’s weakest spot, courtesy of Meowth’s Technician senses. The pillar of rock shakes after the pressurized water blast, then with a thunderous ruckus, collapses on itself entirely, leaving behind a sizable mountain of rubble… but Nuhuko is not among the debris!

In fact, while Meowth attacked the Tomb, the Lunatone took to the sky with its Levitating capabilities, the wingless flight allowing it to dodge the cave-in! While Meowth takes a while to understand Lunatone is in fact overhead rather than beneath the stone tower he brought down, Nuhuko capitalizes and shoots a triplet beam of fire, ice and lightning from up above! The feline is caught and ravaged by simultaneous feelings of burning, freezing and shocking, and as if that weren’t enough, his muscles start cramping up randomly as an after-effect… Meowth is paralyzed!

Keith’s partner isn’t one to take this kind of things lying down, and decides to bring the pain to Nuhuko in retaliation. The Lunatone is up high and out of reach for now, but there’s one way to carry out the Poison-Type expert’s instructions and the cunning Meowth sees it. He starts dashing towards the pile of rubble, climbs all the way up the boulders – thanking Arceus his muscles don’t lock up mid-way, and that his vision has been completely restored by now – and uses the extra height to leap up and reach the floating Nuhuko! An acrobatic somersault later, and his glowing steel-hard tail is driven straight into the Rock-Type for impressive damage!

But Alex isn’t one to waste opportunities either, and he placed that Rock Tomb there for more than one reason. Dutifully following his orders, Nuhuko’s eyes glow blue and the airborne Meowth is enveloped in Psychic aura, then forcefully propelled all the way down into the collapsed tower several feet below! As it turns out, despite Keith’s planning, it is now Meowth who finds himself half-buried in the remains of Lunatone’s Rock Tomb… Try as he might, the combination of Paralysis, the increasingly toxic substances running through his body and the fact that Nuhuko is still way up high make it impossible to deliver any sort of Punishment right now…

Another exciting round between two evenly-matched Pokemon, although Nuhuko seems to be in control right now… Who’s going to take the upper hand?!

Health: 40%
Energy: 49%
Stats: Atk +1; Sp.Atk +1
Badly Poisoned; Paralyzed


Health: 46%
Energy: 53%
Stats: Sp.Atk +1; Sp.Def +1; Def +1

Next orders: Raves

---

As always, PM me any questions.

[Raves]

Things had went well enough, given the situation. With the wall crumbling as expected, Nuhuko's natural ability served him well enough to allow a dead-on strike with Tri Attack, with the added bonus of paralysis, which would be a certain advantage. Despite this, the limber cat still utilised the rock to land a respectable blow with Iron Tail, yet from a glance he could tell Meowth had taken significant damage from the psychic blast, with Nuhuko having some form of advantage.

However, with Meowth being half buried, Alex knew the Meteorite had to exploit this before he got himself free, and thankfully he knew the perfect plan.

"Nuhuko, help him out of there with an earth power, then slam him down with a burst of secret power, before going for broke with rock slide. Push while he's down."

[Missingno. Master]

Keith gritted his teeth- Meowth was trapped in the Rock Tomb, this was not good! Especially on top of everything else that was going wrong in this battle, with the poison and the paralysis... If he didn't think of something to turn this around, and fast, they were going to lose in the very first round! He wanted Meowth the hell out of those rocks, but the Lunatone's Earth Power was not the solution he had in mind.

And then he remembered. He'd been in a similar predicament some time ago, hadn't he? Another of his Pokémon, trapped in rock, in the heat of an intense battle. And more to the point, Keith remembered the measures he'd taken to free his Weezing from the rock back in Mt. Aduro. He grinned now- this was doable, and doable now, by the very Pokémon who was trapped to begin with.

"Meowth, use Swift on the rocks!" Keith exclaimed. "Free yourself, like you did for Gemini and Mustard back in Mt. Aduro! Then hit Nukoho with a Water Pulse, and follow up with Punishment!"

[MarbleZone]

ROUND 4

Nuhuko hovers ominously above the downed Meowth, like the Moon approaching Termina before Link’s eyes. The beginning of the round comes down to the difference in speed between the two combatants, the naturally nimbler cat being plagued by Paralysis to even the odds against the otherwise much slower Lunatone.
Meowth feels the ground around him begin to rumble, which is neither his own doing nor a good sign… he knows he needs to get the hell out of this pile of rubble, but his body hurts and tingles all over! Perseverance wins out, however, and the cat overcomes his numbness to unleash a spiral of golden stars that shatter the remnants of the Rock Tomb, grinding them to near dust!
Unfortunately, disposing of the rocks and dodging the incoming Earth Power are two entirely different actions, and although Meowth is no longer encumbered by the boulders, he can’t evade the spire of consolidated earth that sprouts directly behind him. The move still hits every bit as hard as it always does, making Keith wonder if there was any actual benefit to focusing his efforts on the collapsed tomb, and the already battered Meowth is left in an even worse predicament…

Pain courses through Keith’s partner, but so does a burning desire for retribution. His feline eyes firmly locked on the hovering foe, Meowth channels water energy into his right paw and shoots a Pulse that travels across the air and hits Nuhuko hard! The Technician-boosted orb explodes on contact and causes the Lunatone to lose height, who in turn fires back with a barrage of pink-glowing leaves – the manifestation of Secret Power on this particular landscape. The leaves pelt Meowth over and over again, further whittling away at his health… but finally the Scratch Cat sees his opportunity to go for broke!

Darkness surrounds him and concentrates on his claws, turning them into blades of shadows ready to feed on Nuhuko ‘s own energy and slice it up for good! Meowth overcomes his paralysis once again and leaps toward the Lunatone, who is now in range. He is so severely damaged that his eyesight blurs, he feels about to pass out but hangs in there for one final charge – he must, or else either Nuhuko’s next move or even his own poisoning will cause him to faint! The Lunatone finally comes into melee range mid-jump, and three slashes later – one for each of Nuhuko's boosts -, the amount of damage dealt to Alex’s partner is so severe that the Psychic-Type actually stops levitating altogether!

Both Meowth and Nuhuko hit the floor at the same time… but while the latter still has one move lined up to be fired, the Rock Slide never comes – Lunatone is knocked out!
“Nuhuko is unable to battle! The winners, and moving on to the next round, are Keith and Meowth!”

Health: 1%
Energy: 23%
Stats: Atk +1; Sp.Atk +1
Badly Poisoned; Paralyzed


Health: 0%
Energy: 39%
Stats: Sp.Atk +1; Sp.Def +1; Def +1


RESULT: WINS

---

I was admittedly surprised at the result here! I thought we were gonna go for another round, but both of you went really aggressive here! In the end though, Lunatone’s typings make it a bad match-up against Meowth’s movepool – there was no working around a Worked Up 90 BP Water Pulse + 120 BP Punishment both hitting weaknesses, and no defensive orders from Lunatone to offset them. Had the round gone to a close Toxic would’ve knocked out Meowth for a draw, but with Nuhuko fainting mid-round MM’s partner hangs in there with a mere 1% left! I redid the maths 3 times and I always get the same result! So congrats to both of you, it really could’ve gone either way. It was a fun match to ref!

[Raves]

He knew how tricky Meowth was, yet as the boosted Swift grinded at the stone, Alex knew ther wasn't any dodging this attack, and as the ground erupted behind him, properly freeing the feline, Alex remained a blank slate, for the Water Pulse that struck Nuhuko knocked him down a peg or two, and a second glance revealed the Lunatone was now within reach of Meowth.

However, Alex knew all either side needed was one good strike to finish the job, and as the Lunatone took on a pink glow, Alex watched, as did Keith and what seemed to be a different ref for some reason, as Nuhuko slammed forth with...leaves?

Then it struck Alex that his lack of training with Nuhuko and Secret Power told him that the technique changed according to the surroundings. Rather than a rocky slam with his base, this was a barrage of leaves, not unlike Magical Leaf.

"Oh, crap..." he muttered loudly to himself: one small mistake had likely cost him the match, and as Meowth muscled through the poison, the paralysis, wavering on the edge of unconsciousness, he could only watch as their foe took one great leap, and with one, two, three swings of darkness imbued claws, both dropped like rocks, literally in Nuhuko's case.

And yet, as Meowth launched through the leaves, Nuhuko wasn't upset or angry, simply staring the approaching feline dead on, and shifting what little conscious energy he had before the fateful flourish into a telepathic message to his opponent.

'What I wouldn't give for Focus Blast right about now. Well fought.'

Meowth landing lightly and Nuhuko hitting the grass with enough force to bury himself a few inches into the turf, the call was made that Nuhuko was unable to battle, as Alex looked over the situation. Yes, he had lost, but Meowth was so weak that a gust of wind would likely knock him out, and was just as incapacitated as the pumpkin Meteorite. Giving a few seconds for Keith to register what happened, Alex closed his eyes and gave a respectful smile before recalling the Lunatone.

"I'm surprised you held on that long without a surefire method to hit him at his weakest. We'll need to work on your capabilities a bit more though, I think I know a guy who can help bring out some untapped potential."

"As expected from someone who brought a god to their knees, Keith. Good luck with next round, I've got some things to plan," he called to his opponent before procuring a second ball from his belt now the fight was over officially, releasing his Garchomp and walking outside with the dragon, as enigmatic as his entry to the tournament.

OOC: And this is when I can finally update Nuhuko's movepool to ORAS standards and slap Game Freak for not giving him a fighting move. I saw me losing this one to be fair, normal types are pretty damn OP in these sorts of things due to movepools out the wazoo and only one weakness.

[Missingno. Master]

The match was getting intense! Bart, Peeves, and the others, their eyes were glued to the TV as they saw Meowth make a bold move in attacking the rock around him with Swift, freeing himself. "Holy shit!" the Scrafty exclaimed. "That was awesome!"

"A clever move indeed," agreed Hermione.

"Yeah, but- ooh," Peeves winced as the Earth Power struck. "This is gonna be a close one."

~~~

Meowth was still standing after that Earth Power, but he wasn't doing too hot. But Keith couldn't dwell on that- they had a battle to win! "Use Water Pulse!" Keith ordered.

"Yeah!" Meowth exclaimed. He charged up a sphere of water between his paws, and heaved it at the Lunatone, striking it dead-on for super effective damage. Nuhoko retaliated with Secret Power, the oddly orange Lunatone unleashing a barrage of mystical glowing leaves... but once the attack concluded, a battered and beaten Meowth was still standing. He turned to grin at Keith- down to his last hit point, but by no means willing to squander it!

Nor was Keith. He grinned back at Meowth, but they both had to hurry- at this rate, Toxic would finish Meowth off! While he was still able to, Keith knew he had to make one final, desperate bid at victory, and he knew just what it would be. No way for Nuhoko to block this one, no defenses to set up, and Meowth wasn't trapped or stuck. This was their best hope and they both knew it. "Alright!" Keith exclaimed. "Finish it, Meowth! Use Punishment!"

Meowth extended his claws, which glowed with intense Dark energy. He lunged. Nuhoko was ordered to use Rock Slide, but there was no way it'd get that move off in time. Meowth swiped repeatedly at the Lunatone, turning the Rock/Psychic-type's own stat boosts against it. Finally, Meowth landed on the ground, with the Meteorite Pokémon crashing down behind him. And what was more, the referee spoke up at that moment, declaring Nuhoko unable to battle!

"YES!" Keith cheered, as the crowd went wild. He ran out onto the battlefield and scooped up Meowth in his arms. The two of them hugged, both of them thrilled with the outcome. Then, Alex called out to Keith, congratulating him on his victory, and wishing him luck in the next round. "Thanks," Keith replied. "It was a great battle, Nuhoko's really good."

~~~

"YEAH, BABY!" exclaimed Bart, cheering as the outcome of the match was broadcast through television. "That's what I'm talking about!" He wasn't the only one celebrating, either- Peeves was exchanging a high-five with a grinning Gengar; Jack seemed to have transformed into a miniature fireworks display that was somehow not setting the house on fire; and in another part of the room, an ecstatic Blastoise kissed a nearby Feraligatr, much to Gold's surprise and delight.

"...Meanwhile, we've just gotten word that another Round 1 match has been concluded," the commentator was saying. "Jake Eclair has won by default, and he and his Corphish will be moving on to the second round, where they will face off against Keith Masters and his Meowth!"

"So, they're facing Bubbles next," Rubeus murmured, the white-finned Stunfisk watching the TV broadcast. "They better give it all they got- that girlfriend of mine is no pushover."