Pokemon Pearl Journal: Pastoria Gym Battle!
October 15, 2007
The last week has been quite busy with work, especially with having to work at one of our hospitals out in McKeesport (near Pittsburg). I trained with Quagsire, Mr Mime, and Roselia in between as much as possible, getting them in top shape for the gym battle (all 3 = Lv 29). And, after months of delay, it's time for
PASTORIA GYM CHALLENGE: vs. CRASHER WAKE!
It was a 3 on 3 battle, no time limit, substitutions allowed. Up to 2 Super Potions may be used by each side during the battle. Hold items allowed.
Wake ... er, I mean Crasher Wake reminds me off a cross between Chuck from Johto and Watson from Hoenn. Except his choice pokemon type is the Water-type. We choose our first pokemon; Wake starts with Gyarados while I sent out Quagsire. Gyarados? Crap. There goes my idea of utilizing Quagsire's Water Absorb ability, since Gyarados rarely employ any water-type attacks. Oh, and since Gyarados is part flying-type, it makes Quag's Mud Bomb attack useless. Bleah.
And so the battle begins!
Gyarados is the obvious quicker of the two pokemon, so it used Swagger to try and confuse Quagsire, but it missed. I had Quagsire use Tail Whip to lower Gyarados's defense a bit. (Since I have to rely on the horribly inaccurate Slam attack, every little bit of damage counts.) Gyarados landed its next Swagger attack, confusing Quagsire, but greatly increasing its attack power. But wouldn't you know it? I made a good call giving Quag a Persim berry to hold, so it gulped it down, curing its confusion, but keeping the attack boost! Quagsire, Slam! The direct hit sent Gyarados reeling! Wake forfit his next move giving Gyarados a Super Potion to restore its health. I took the oppotunity to have Quagsire use another Slam attack, bringing it right back to where it was. Gyarados used Dragon Rage, doing a predictable amount of damage to Quagsire. One more Slam attack should finish this, but Gyarados dodged the attack, landing a harsh Bite on Quagsire. Quagsire tried to come back with another Slam, but was too shaken by the Bite and missed. I knew Quagsire couldn't take another Dragon Rage attack (metagame translation: 40hp left) so I used a Super Potion to heal Quagsire. It gave Wake the opening to launch another Dragon Rage attack. Quagsire stood its ground, and just as Gyarados hit it with yet another Dragon Rage attack, Quagsire Slam-ed into it, knocking it out! Gyarados is unable to battle, the round goes to Quagsire!
Quagsire can barely battle, so I returned it to its pokeball for a well deserved rest. Next up, maximize Mr Mime! Wake sent out his Quagsire next. Interesting. Let's see what his can do.
I had Mr Mime use Reflect to boost my team's defense. Quagsire used Mud Sport to protect its team against Electric-type attacks. Smart move, except unlike most people, I didn't bring any electric-type pokemon with me. (Of course, unlike most people, I didn't beat the game a week after I bought it, heh.) Yeah, I like doing things my own way. Mr Mime, Psybeam! It landed a good hit on Quagsire, which was trying to use Tail Whip to lower my defense. I bet Crasher Wake didn't expect me to battle with a psychic-type! One more Psybeam, and Quagsire was unable to battle!
Ok, Wake is down to his last pokemon. I called back Mr Mime (who hasn't taken a single hit yet). It all comes down to this, I can taste that fourth gym badge! Go, Roselia, maximize! And Wake's last pokemon: Floatzel. Ok, I think Roselia can handle it. Roselia, Leech Seed! But, Floatzel being quicker (as I expected), it landed a super-effective hit with an Ice Punch first. Dang. Never considered his pokemon would have had ice-type attack, but should have assumed as much. The gym leaders in Sinnoh seem more cleaver like that. Leech Seed did hit as well, so Floatzel's energy will slowly be drained, and Roselia will gain some it back. Flotazel used Brine. Never saw that move before, but it's a water-type attack so Roselia was able to withstand it well. I had Roselia use a move it learned just the other day, Giga Drain, which absorbs half of the damage it does back to the user. Which was needed, because Roselia was still shaky from that first attack. But, Floatzel ate a Sitrus berry, restoring a little bit of its health, and just then, Reflect wore off. Dang. The only thing that probably saved Roselia from being totally knocked out by that Ice Punch was the Reflect wall that Mr Mime set up.
"This is where it gets exciting!" yelled Wake. Yeah, this battle is turning out to be pretty fun. But then again, I'm winning.
I called back Roselia, and sent Mr Mime back out. Wake used to opportunity to use a Super Potion on Floatzel to heal it a bit. That's annoying. Luckily, the Leech Seed from earlier is still slowly working. Floatzel fired a Swift attack at Mr Mime. What, nothing better to handle a Psychic-type with? Heh heh heh! (Insert evil cackling.) Mr Mime's strong special defense held up to multiple Swift attacks, while it used Reflect and then Light Screen to again wall my team, this time from both physical AND special attacks. I called back Mr Mime and sent Roselia back out. Roselia was still pretty hurt, but by this point Leech Seed had drained a great deal of Floatzel's energy. The barrage of Swift attacks kept coming, but the Light Screen lessened the damage. Roselia, let's finish this with Magical Leaf! The flurry of leaves bombarded Floatzel, who was unable to withstand the damage. Victory goes to the challenger, Steve and his Roselia!!
It's been a long time coming! I won, a Fen Badge!
Six months, four badges. Looks like this may take a year after all.
