Having bested Ghetsis in a harrowing fight and seeing to the end of Team Plasma, we headed to Route 23. Thankfully, an Ace Trainer in the house right at the front healed me. Thank goodness! We got into the trainers, and the few I had to battle actually had some strong stuff. Before getting too far into these trainers, I arrived at the Victory Road entrance, where N talked about his initial beliefs, then gave me HM05 for Waterfall, which is nice even if only Ashigatana and my other Water-types get it. I went through the Badge Check Gates, reminiscing on those battles…
Basic Badge. You were tough, but I had to put the stop down by having my team look cute.
Toxic Badge. You were pretty hard and I had to use the right things for you.
Insect Badge. You were nothing, although admittedly I did get a little lucky with OHKO'ing that Leavanny with a critical hit.
Bolt Badge. You should have been so much harder than you were, but it's telling that I only had two Pokémon left even after you were stupid and didn't use the right super-effective attacks on more than one occasion.
Quake Badge. I would've had you first time if I hadn't mis-clicked. But you're still my favorite Unova Gym Leader, and you did put up a pretty solid fight.
Jet Badge. You were extremely tough. I don't know how that would've went had that Swanna not been fully paralyzed against Circuit, but you were easily the hardest Gym Leader overall.
Legend Badge. You were annoying the first two times, but not terribly difficult once I got around to actually winning.
Wave Badge. You weren't much worth writing home about, but at least I got a chance to use Mirror Coat against a foe, so thanks for that.
Then the gateway to Victory Road was open. Since I was at a Pokémon Center, I bought more Revives (since I was out of them), and decided to put Pesto away for now, as she was the first to reach Level 53, and Brimstone fell behind from not being used at all against the top Team Plasma fights. To think that only now I'm reaching Marlon's levels…
I continued going through the trainers, most of which were admittedly pretty strong. We went into the Cut area, and I swapped Brimstone for Pesto for those trainers. There were some Fighting-type trainers, case in point. Then I went through that nasty Strength puzzle. And with Waterfall in hand, I went back to a few areas that I could battle some trainers in with it.
Then it was time to enter Victory Road, with a team that was a little under-leveled. But first, I went back to the Move Deleter and dropped both Cut and Strength from Ashigatana and Icecap respectively. Then, I ultimately decided to leave Fake Love behind, for good this time. Believe me, I wanted to keep her on the final team, but one of my seven members had to get the cut, and I realized that she is going to be completely deadweight against the Elite Four. It's sad, after everything, but ultimately she wasn't quite what we needed in the end. So, goodbye, Fake Love. You'll at least be missed.
Well, we have to continue. Enter Victory Road! The trainers were big stuff as usual, including a Sigilyph that did hit relatively hard with Psychic, and a Lilligant that hit pretty darn hard with Petal Dance (bringing back bad memories of Lusamine), and I realized that I don't have a lot for Grass-types, really. I also had to teach Strength to Icecap to progress. Then there was a Doctor with a Clefable that had Minimize, but Circuit managed to hit Superpower and finish it before it could get any more annoying (although Sapphire had Aura Sphere, anyway). We also had a Sigilyph that swept Brimstone thanks to Hypnosis, a Galvantula that was somehow OHKO'd with Ashigatana's Surf without a critical hit or even the Mystic Water despite a five level disadvantage, and her friend who was handled by Sapphire. Then he reached Level 55 and learned Close Combat! I still wondered if this over Drain Punch would be pushing it, but for now I decided to drop Force Palm for it.
After (healing), we came to the chump that killed *****. That Gigalith avoided a Power Whip and took three turns to beat, then his Skarmory… Ho boy. He set up +4 Attack but I got in Tickle twice, and even between that and sandstorm damage I managed to survive a hit in the red (did roughly 2/3 my total health) and put him to sleep. I brought in Brimstone again, as odd as it may seem. But he continued to snooze, and after -2 Defense, four hits of Rock Blast finished him. There you go. Revenge for *****.
After making our way through a Backpacker with a Sawsbuck that Circuit OHKO'd with a critical hit, we came to those two Veterans. You know the ones. They honestly weren't that tough for Circuit and Brimstone. After them was a Psychic who Ashigatana handled. He lived his Co***rigus' Grass Knot at +1 from 5/6 HP and 3HKO'd. Cool. Soon after, we had an Ampharos that used Cotton Guard, and with Circuit burned by that dude's Swanna, I couldn't quite finish it with that. Sapphire had to finish him. After was a Darmanitan that used Rock Slide against Brimstone to get me to 3/4, survived two hits of Rock Blast…then used Superpower which I somehow lived with 8 HP.
Then there was an area with Flash. Unfortunately, the two team members I had who can learn Flash both had nothing but level-up moves, so I didn't teach it. Making our way outside, we came to an Ace Trainer who put an emphasis on how serious she is, and used a Vanilluxe that tried to troll me with Acid Armor, but that's literally all it did. The first Veteran right at the very end Pesto and Circuit handled, and the second was swept by Sapphire thanks to OHKO'ing his Golurk with a critical hit Dark Pulse. I could've progressed ahead to fight Hugh, but Icecap was the last one who wasn't Level 56, so I went to the path that leads to N's Castle and fought the Veteran there. His Fraxure and Flygon were both slammed by Icecap's Ice Beam, though the latter scored a critical hit Flamethrower that left me below 10%. For his Zweilous, I switched to Circuit and slammed that with Superpower. And on the way out, we also ran into an Ace Trainer with a Zweilous, but Circuit OHKO'd that with Superpower after Pesto put it to sleep. Then he used a mirror-match, and I lowered his Defense with Crunch, but then he did the same. I got him to 1/3, but he finished me with a critical hit that may or may not have mattered. Ashigatana took it from there. There was one more Pokemon Ranger I fought, who used two Fire-types. Brimstone handled the Magmar, but her Camerupt used Will-o-Wisp and did that in. Pesto finished her off.
I pushed in the Strength boulder ahead of her, went back to the PWT and dropped Strength from Icecap, taught him Blizzard, and prepared myself… I had one thing on my mind here: REVENGE. There were two more trainers, both with Fighting-types, but I decided I might worry about them later.
So… Remember how I said back in Undella Town that I was looking forward to Victory Road? This is why. As I was right near the exit, Hugh approached me, wanting to test me before I take on the league. He began with Unfezant, and I began with Brimstone. He used U-turn, which didn't do much at all, and went to Bouffalant, who took four hits of Rock Blast for just over half. Knowing an Earthquake was coming my way, I switched to Circuit, and sure enough, I was right, and I had Levitate, so his Earthquake failed. I was faster, surprisingly, and then slammed him with Superpower. Nice going, Circuit, thank you for avenging *******.
Simisear came next. His Flamethrower did slightly under half… But it burned me. Darn it! My Thunderbolt did more than half, but thanks to burn, he finished me next turn. I brought in Ashigatana, and took just under 1/3 from Flamethrower… But he burned me again. REALLY DUDE? Even when I'm not doing a Nuzlocke this battle still wants to make my life miserable. Of course it happens when I click Waterfall, but at least it still finished him. Then I grew to Level 57 and got Swords Dance. It may not be in my best judgment, but for now I decided to drop Ice Beam. I might use it, you never know. (Spoiler: I don't.)
Then… Serperior. Oh boy, it's time for some REVENGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wasted no time in switching to Icecap, and his Giga Drain did a little over 1/4. He used Coil, and I went for Blizzard, and it hit. The Ice Gem boosted its power for maximum overkill, and needless to say, it slammed him in one hit. Revenge is a dish best served cold, literally. Good riddance. You totally deserved that. Nice job, Icecap. Very well done having avenged *********. (And ***** as well.)
Last was that Unfezant again, and he used Facade… Which scored a critical hit for almost half my health. REALLY?! I still had 1/4 my health left, but still. And I finished him with Ice Beam. We too fresh. Gotta blame it on Jesus, #Blessed, they ain't ready for me.
There you have it, my revenge is complete. So he thanked me for saving his sister's Pokémon, and gave me TM24 for Thunderbolt, which I guess is okay if I decide during the league I want to drop or re-teach on Circuit. With him aside, it was time for me to become the Champion!
I arrived at the Pokémon League and healed up. Remember how I said that I skipped those Fighting-type trainers? Well, my entire team except Ashigatana was right at the edge of Level 57, except Sapphire, so I went back to take them. Pesto OHKO'd the female's Throh with a critical hit Power Whip, then her Sawk I trolled by using Tickle and putting it to sleep, then Sapphire finished the job. The male had two Bug-types, including a Pinsir that I let Pesto succumb to, but I had the last laugh by getting it to half thanks to the Rocky Helmet and lowering its stats with Tickle. Circuit finished that off after taking 1/5 from Thrash. His Heracross did well over half of Circuit's total health with Close Combat, and wasn't finished off with Spark. Brimstone did him in with the Rocky Helmet, though. Both Circuit and Icecap were literally a hair away from Level 57, so I beat a wild Boldore to get them there. And I took care of two more wild Pokémon to get Sapphire to that point, too. With that, my entire team was Level 57, so the last thing I had to do was adjust my movesets.
Once all my movesets were adjusted and finalized, I returned to the league, the Veteran blocking the entrance stepped aside, and it was time for me to take on some tough foes. I started with Grimsley, seeing as I had the most coverage for him. Let's go!
I began with Brimstone against Liepard, and he used Fake Out, which triggered his Normal Gem - and Unburden, likewise - and caused Rocky Helmet damage, but I flinched. He used Night Slash for less than 1/4 my total health, but Rock Blast had to hit twice and not finish him off, because of course it did. He healed, but I took that as an opportunity to go for Stealth Rock. Then he used Attract…and of course I end up immobilized. He used another Night Slash, which got me to half but had him taking damage, and I was immobilized yet again. As if that wasn't infuriating enough, he scored a critical hit and left me at 3 HP… But I hit through Attract and used Rock Blast, but again it only hit twice and got him into the red. But it was enough for Rocky Helmet damage to finish him off. Okay, not the most ideal start, but at least I got off the Stealth Rock.
I went into Icecap expecting Krookodile, but instead he went to Scrafty. That's not good! He did take a tiny bit of Stealth Rock damage. I wasn't sure what to do, because nothing on my team resists Fighting. After spending over a minute contemplating what to do, I stayed in and used Icy Wind, which did a little over 1/3, and his Brick Break did JUST under half. But he had Leftovers. He lived my Ice Beam with 1 HP, then used Rock Tomb. That did 36 HP while Brick Break did 80, heh. Ice Shard finished him.
Krookodile was next, which would be perfect if I wasn't almost dead. He got off a pointless Intimidate and finished me with Earthquake. I brought in Ashigatana, and his Earthquake did barely under half, while I used Hydro Cannon and OHKO'd him.
Absol was next, and he was faster and used Night Slash to get me into the red as I recharged. He finished me with another hit, but I was alright with that. I used Sapphire, and Aura Sphere slammed him with ease.
Bisharp was last, and somehow faster than me (gosh darn -Speed nature), and Aerial Ace did over 1/4, but I OHKO'd with Aura Sphere for the win.
After he said some stuff, I decided Shauntal would be next in line. This fight I was looking forward to. She was writing about N's story of his truths, and then got to me. Alright, let's get right to it!
I began with Icecap against Co***rigus, and Ice Beam did well over half (had the Icicle Plate) and she missed Will-o-wisp. Alright, no complaints there! Next turn she was easily finished off.
Chandelure was next, though. Oh, dear. I wanted to get Ashigatana in, but I wanted him fully healed because of how strong Chandelure is and how it has the Choice Scarf! After spending two minutes contemplating who I thought would be the least necessary for the rest of her team, I decided my answer to that question was Sapphire, who I switched in and was slammed with a Fire Blast. Then I let Brimstone in, and she used Fire Blast for almost 2/3 despite resistance…and of course Rock Blast only hit twice. Gosh darn it! And she hit with Fire Blast again and finished me. I had to bring in Ashigatana, who also took over half, and Aqua Tail thankfully connected (I was prepared to use Hydro Cannon if Rock Blast had missed). So yeah, I was definitely right to not switch him in there!
Drifblim was next up, and Thunderbolt finished me, but that's alright. I brought in Circuit next, and she used Shadow Ball for 1/3 before Thunderbolt OHKO'd her.
Golurk was next. I stayed in and went for Crunch, which did over half, while her Shadow Punch got me into the red. But another Crunch finished her off.
Banette was last, and she was faster and finished me off with Psychic. I brought in Pesto, and she took a Shadow Claw for a little over 1/4 (and Rocky Helmet damage) before I used Giga Drain, which didn't even get her into the red, and healed me up along the way. She did use Sucker Punch for a bit of damage, but that was nothing in the face of the Rocky Helmet and Power Whip finishing the job (I used Power Whip in case she healed). That finished things here.
She talked about how we all battled well (indeed), and then I progressed through. I decided to go for Caitlin next. She was still in her flower bed, but came out of it, even though she's not Lady Gaga. She was counting on me to show her superb strength. Let's see if I can give her that, shall we?
I began with Pesto against Musharna. I hit with Sleep Powder, and she snoozed. Unfortunately, Power Whip did less than half, so not wanting to get her into healing range I used Giga Drain. It got her near 1/3, but she woke up and hit with Hypnosis. I switched in Circuit, which caused her Dream Eater to fail. Crunch finished her off.
Reuniclus was next. I stayed in and opted for Crunch, which did over half, but so did her Psychic. But even Leftovers wasn't enough to save her from being finished next turn. And Circuit grew to Level 58.
Metagross was after. Ho boy! She finished me with Zen Headbutt. Now it's time for us to get clever! I brought in Brimstone, and she MISSED with Hammer Arm… And I scored a critical hit Bulldoze, which got her to healing range. But Metagross has Clear Body, so that didn't lower her Speed. She healed, and I hit with Bulldoze for around 1/3 or so. She then hit with Hammer Arm, which got me right near 1/5, and she took Rocky Helmet damage AND Life Orb recoil… But even with that, she still had 1 HP left. She used Bullet Punch and finished me, but died to the Rocky Helmet (Life Orb would've finished her off anyway).
I brought in Icecap, and she sent in Sigilyph, who that was perfect for. Psychic did a little less than half, and Ice Beam slammed her with a critical hit that definitely didn't matter. And Icecap grew to Level 58 as a result.
Gothitelle was last. Unfortunately, both my prime physical attackers are out, so I had to hope for the best with this! She was faster, and used Calm Mind, so my Icy Wind was pretty weak, but it did slow her down a bit. Then, Ice Beam got her near 1/3 before her Psychic finished me. I brought in Pesto, hoping for her to get a bit more action, but she snoozed, and Psychic…didn't finish me off. But I snoozed, and she finished me with another hit. I then used Sapphire, and went for a Dark Pulse, which finished the job and won us the fight. And got Sapphire to Level 58.
Well that was interesting alright! I proceeded out, and then it was time for the foe I had a feeling would be the hardest: Marshal. I adjusted my movesets once again, entered his arena, and I actually didn't encounter him on Twist Mountain, but he was quick to see my strength. Let me show it to you at full power, then!
I began with Brimstone against Throh, as odd as it may seem, but I was ready to set the stage. He started with Payback, oddly, and took Rocky Helmet damage, while I used Stealth Rock just because. He had Leftovers, though… Then he used Payback again for some reason, and I still had 4/5 my health while he was taking damage. And with Bulldoze, he was near half. I then threw sand in his face, causing him to miss Bulldoze. I threw more sand in his face, but he hit next turn and got me near half. I skillfully avoided a Storm Throw, then Bulldoze got him near half before Leftovers. I decided it was time for Pesto to come in and do her thing. She avoided a Rock Tomb, and then I unfortunately missed with Sleep Powder, while he did not miss with Rock Tomb. I was still faster and hit next turn, though, and he snoozed but was back up to near 4/5. It was Tickle time next turn, though! I lowered his stats as he continued to snooze. Then a Power Whip did big damage, and Leftovers got him out of healing range, allowing me to finish him with another one.
Mienshao was next. I knew this one was capable of hitting hard, so I was okay with letting someone else take one for the team. I switched in Icecap, as he used… Bounce? Well it did make sense since Pesto was weak to it, but I was surprised he didn't use Hi Jump Kick. He hit with Bounce, which scored a critical hit for half my health, then Ice Beam basically OHKO'd him without a crit (I say "basically" because he took Stealth Rock damage, and I had the Icicle Plate). And Pesto grew to Level 58.
Conkeldurr was next. I went for an Icy Wind to lower his Speed, and get him near half, as he finished me with Stone Edge. The Flame Orb burned him, and that triggers Guts, which is pretty scary! He had a little over half his health left, so I brought in Ashigatana and finished him with Hydro Cannon.
Lucario was afterwards. Oh dear. He set up a Calm Mind as I recharged. I had an idea, but it was pretty bold. I stayed in, and he used Calm Mind again. That was the right call, as I used Encore, which locked him into the move. Perfect opportunity to switch into Circuit, and as he continued to use Calm Mind, I slammed him with Superpower.
Sawk was last up. Stealth Rock broke his Sturdy, and I stayed in. He used Brick Break, which did over 2/3 thanks to Superpower lowering my stats, which was scary. My Acrobatics didn't even get him into the red (he had slightly over 1/3 his health left). But then he used Payback for whatever reason, which still finished me. I had Ashigatana come in, and I took a Brick Break for less than half and finished him with Aqua Tail for the win. That got him 99 EXP from Level 59, which was kinda funny but whatever.
Having recognized my strength, Marshal commended me, and knew that I had become the strongest trainer in this league. Then it was time for me to take on the Champion! I had to make sure everything was set. I checked over everyone's movesets, and got rid of stuff I knew would be unnecessary, had one last look at their items, and then proceeded. Down below the statue led me to a temple with a whole ton of stairs. Climbing up them led me to none other than the Champion, Iris.
She said some stuff about how she had been waiting for this, and I tried to leave. I like her "Whaa?! Where are you going?" response. I think this is the only game where you can do something like that before the Champion fight. xP Anyway, after some talk, Iris declared that she was going to defeat me. We'll see about that! Here we go!
I began with Circuit against Hydreigon. She used Dragon Pulse for over half, and with the Expert Belt, Superpower…left it with around 10%!!! Ahhhhhhh!!! But that wasn't all bad, because she used her Full Restore, so that's good to have out of the way, especially considering it gave me a chance to use Thunder Wave and paralyze her. I then used Superpower again, which…OHKO'd her with a critical hit! Very nice! Unfortunately, that left me at -2 Attack and Defense, which I wasn't thrilled about.
Aggron was next, much to my disappointment. Anticipating me being slower, I used Thunder Wave, but I was in fact faster and paralyzed her, and she missed with Head Smash. I used Thunderbolt and had her around 40%, then she finished me with Head Smash, and scored a critical hit no less. I then brought in Brimstone. Seeing as she was paralyzed and there was no way she was getting me to Sturdy barring a critical hit, I knew I had time to use Stealth Rock, which I did. She then used Head Smash, which did slightly under 2/3 my health. Bulldoze then finished her.
Druddigon was next, and she took Stealth Rock damage then finished me with Outrage, and took Life Orb recoil which got her below 4/5. After considering what to do, I brought in Pesto, despite her only having Grass-type attacks. But she was faster, and Outrage did 2/3 my health on the dot, but she took Rocky Helmet AND Life Orb damage which got her right above half, then she became confused due to fatigue. Then I used Tickle to cut her stats a bit. She hit herself in confusion for a noticeable amount of damage - clearly enough for Power Whip to finish her from a bit over 1/3 and -1 Defense despite resistance.
Lapras was next, and even though she took Stealth Rock damage for 1/4 her health, she hit with Blizzard and finished me. I then brought in Sapphire and slammed her with Close Combat, but that did cut my defenses.
Haxorus was next up, though, but Stealth Rock broke her Focus Sash, which is important. She then used Earthquake, which OHKO'd me, then I brought in Icecap. She used Dragon Dance, which normally would be scary… But I used Ice Beam and slammed her. I guess Stealth Rock wasn't completely necessary everything considered, because even if I had got her to her Focus Sash I would've just used Ice Shard to finish her off.
Oh wait, scratch that, Archeops was last up! And she took 1/4 her health in Stealth Rock damage. I used Ice Shard which got her below half, activating her Defeatist ability, and her Stone Edge missed. Then she used it again, and it did JUST over half my health, meaning if it weren't for that she would've barely OHKO'd me. How ironic. Anyway, I used Mirror Coat, but it failed. Then she finished me with another Stone Edge, which then scored the critical hit on the unneeded turn. So yes, Stealth Rock was necessary to get her to Defeatist range. I only had Ashigatana left, and she used Stone Edge for 1/3. Honestly, there's a part of me that wanted her to get the critical hit right there, because that would've got me into Torrent range, which would have been perfect for dramatic effect. Regardless, I used Hydro Cannon, which finished her off, ending the battle and completing the challenge. THIS was why I brought that move - so I could have my very first Pokémon deal the final blow in the very last battle of the game with the very strongest attack it had. And, I succeeded. And it scored a critical hit. Definitely wouldn't have mattered even if she was at full health, but it does serve as the cherry on the sundae. Oh, and Ashigatana grew to Level 59, too (before that he was a hair away from that point).
Iris thanked me for giving her such an intense battle that allowed us to know each other better than before, and then took me into the Hall of Fame, where my team were recognized as Champions.
