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Oscarus

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Everything posted by Oscarus

  1. Meteor Grunt -> Knight -> Ace Last seen during Meteor Raid on Fiore Mansion
  2. But how does that "kill count" works? Is it just losing on the first try? Or just forcing player to (rage) quit?
  3. If she doesn't, in any capacity... Then I'll take the organs and bones.
  4. That, and the fact Flash has doubled effect on New World. You can blind Lin and Arceus to go through them (at -6, the Accuracy is divided by 3), and count on luck. Is this bullshit? Yeah~, but... who cares? She deserves that - for what she has done to Reborn, for what will she do to our world. For Ame, Taka and Solaris. For everyone she has hurt... Lin shall pay with her soul.
  5. Reuniclus can do the job too. Plus some other slow, very offensive Pokemon like Rampardos
  6. I swear to Arceus, this guy has, like, 200 IQ authentically. If there was made a tier list, listing Pokemon Reborn characters by thier IQ/intelligence, Radomus would have his own tier above all else. From the very beginning, he saw through Elias' lies. No matter when, he knew where we were at the time. From just few pieces of information, he could recognize Noel and Anna as his children even before meeting after such a long time. As expected from chess grandmaster, he's always a few steps before anyone.
  7. I... don't get the last part, but I understand. Yeah, they need to pay - whatever happened to them doesn't justify their actions nor goals. Clear and Kieran are... just humans. They are vulnerable. But when could they be? Actually, I know when. Imagine them being chased by a furious 10ft+ giant, bipedal dragon-like lizard, in the corridors of the base of (other) terroristic organization, where there are deadly traps every five feet. Oh, and Madame X wouldn't help, as she had problems herself - having to face 3 Champion-class Trainers (talented both in Pokemon and hand-to-hand battles) at once, in a room which is too small to send out Yveltal safely and is full of human skulls and bones. If that wasn't enough, the conflict between them was personal, so forget about mercy. Of course, all of the bad guys get away, because plot armor and such... But honestly, that would only worsen the case. Still, if made right, even bullshit as such would make sense
  8. I swear - that thing is in everyone's Top 5 Most Hated Things in Rejuvenation. Alongside that traitous bitch Flora. No. I meant "disguising as the opposite gender" - like... really; being a real agent; masking thier true identity. Also I mentioned Amaria and Cain because this could potentially fall into the LGBTQ+ sphere of things. And this forum forbids saying about it... To some degree, yet I'm afraid so I avoided. To be honest... I have nothing against them. Nothing at all. It's just the topic being fragile, especially in my country, where it is one of the most controversial topics. As of right now, we have even bigger (most of us have), so it went aside. Still, I am worried they're gonna return to the anti-LGBT policy soon. Which I'm very, but really very against.
  9. I've always thought that people were referring to Ace as "him". To be fair, at the beginning I was thinking Adrienn was a girl, so... Yeah, I simply can't recognize non-binary. I just meant from the purely biological standpoint. Nobody said that in case of two personalities/characters they need to have something in common. They can be completely different, from every angle. Excluding potentially non-binary protagonist, yes. Also having two non-binary, considering how many other important characters there are, isn't an overload - especially since Adrienn is more feminine, Ace is more masculine. At least they appear to be.
  10. Maybe let's get back on the track. The most intriguing thing about V19 is that new character... Ace. He's a Meteor Agent, but somehow I think that's his real name; as all codenames in Team Meteor (and Team Meteor Redux in my future Rejuvenation fanfic... Expect one, but that's because of a particular reason; and the person behind the name) are connected to/referencing space, heavenly bodies, or events that happen there and between them. He is described as both tricky, intelligent, cunning but also jovial, goofy and rather likeable. Also, one of the devs was saying that this guy ... or something like that. Now, I wonder... What if that Ace is actually one of the already introduced characters? It's not stupid, if we think about it. First of all, there are a few groups of characters in Rejuvenation which are said to be separate, but are actually (sorta) the same: like Anju and Angie or Melia, Melanie and Marinette. Of course, there are "special conditions" met, but that doesn't disqualify them. Ace could be like that - either an alter-ego, or alternative personality... or main personality. But... who would've that be, if that was the case...? I have two opinions, and both are stupid. But possible: the first is Alistasia; Ringmaster of Agate Circus. I know what you're gonna say: "But Ali's a female, and Ace's a dude". Welp, that isn't a problem - from male to female, or the other way around, wouldn't be out of place in Reborn, considering that we have-... you know... i'd say it but i'm forbidden here from using the specific terms, so~... Okay, I know - in Reborn we have characters like Cain and Amaria, so that situation is possible. Plus, we know next to nothing about her - other than the Circus belonged to her father before his demise (might be a lie, might be not), and that she likes money, Agate Ace Triumvirate and people (with money). Not only that, she wears an top hat, just like Ace (at least.... I think he has one). As I said, if that is the case, I do not know who is the real - Alistalia or Ace, or maybe both (split personality) - but that would have been one hell of a plot twist Speaking of plot twists, the second potential would be everyone's favorite chess player, Radomus. Ace was introduced as someone who can predict (almost) any strategy, and adjust to them. Well guess what, that's how Radomus fights! In lore, at the very least... In addition to that, both have similar (to me) body builts, are males, and wear top hats. Still, who's who in that scenario is even more confusing and hard to decipher, knowing how Radomus loves to complicate everything even further. However, regardless, this would be interesting too; to see what will happen. Of course, there's option Ace is a completely distinct character, that happened to stalk us the entire journey and is interested in us. I just hope he, in that case, won't become a second Hisoka. I know we've gotta wait for the next few months... BUT I CANNOT! This is all too damn good, and even more saddening than it ends. We will have Rejuvenation and Desolation, and other projects too, and also fanmade projects based on it... But dear Arceus, partings are always the hardest.
  11. Shelly is Bugsy's younger sister. In Reborn, she's 12 while in Johto events, Bugsy is around 12 as well (more like 10-12, but still) That means: - during the evens of Johto games, Shelly was a toddler or little child (from a few months to 2 years) - in Reborn, Bugsy must be somewhere around in his early 20s' ...crap... I've made Bugsy in my Reborn fanfic an non-adult teenager, while he's actually older than Oscar (protag, my OC). Of course, that won't stop me from having Oscar bullying Bugsy for him neglecting Shelly and threatening to destroy his entire career. Which he CAN do - being an Ambassador of PWA and Lance's good friend.
  12. Okay... I don't know if it's because I hit the ice rink with my head hard enough, or someone was adding something to my water...

     

    But I got such idea that-... well, another big project demanding big research. 

     

    Why can't I be simple, I often ask myself.

    Well, if I was, I would be as boring as never-changing, predictable TV show airing for 40 years straight which exists purely for nostalgic reasons. 

    Hmph. You can at the very least try to guess what it might be. 

  13. Regardless of what team and sets will she use, one is certain. That battle may be the hardest in the entire plot, and WILL affect not only Reborn, but the entire world. As Raiden from Mortal Kombat once said:
  14. Okay... 

    How in the world have I won 3 days (2 consecutively) doing... the things I usually do? 

    I'm here for just an almost 3 months; with the first created content/post was made around 2 months ago... And somehow I have 3 days won?! 

     

    I mean... I'm not complaining, but after seeing that, and the veterans who are regulars, have - like - only 4 or 5 days won, I feel a little bad for them, honestly. 

    Maybe that's just dumb luck, maybe I'm better than I think, I cannot find the answer. 

    1. Aphelli

      Aphelli

      I’ll be honest: a large part of me wants to answer some cliché comment about “back in my days…” or “some of us have lives…”.
       

      Both would be blatant lies, on my part at least. I’ve (out of procrastination curiosity after seeing your update) glanced at the leaderboard.
       

      As far as I can tell, there aren’t that many ways to get enough reputation points in a day (like, a scarcity reputation economy?) – also, that the bar is high to get a like. I feel that it’s most about standing out in a good way to sufficiently many people. 
       

      Yet many people mostly lurk, only show up on Discord, or focus on subthreads that get few reactions (team advice, trades, bug fixing?).  

       

      I see five ways to manage it: niche, charm, numbers, luck and cooperation. 
       

      “Niche” refers to highly appreciated content that only you (not you, Oscarus, you, a generic forum member) and a few people can deliver: basically the dev blogs, other official announcements, some art threads, perhaps some popular playthroughs? 
       

      By “Charm”, I mean the ability to stand out (somewhat) outside of a niche. If you write a striking (memetic? insightful? merely funny? unexpected? whatever goes!) comment in the E19 hype thread, for instance, and then get a significant reward. Creating your own niche should also count, too. 
       

      “Numbers” is when you get a like per post, but you can make many such posts in a day.
       

      “Luck” is when… well, you’re getting more likes than you usually do, and nobody else is occupying the field. 
       

      “Cooperation” is when you agree with other people to boost one another. I don’t know if there’s a rule about it or if no one cares enough to abuse it. But I expect there are milder forms of cooperation. After all, you need an audience if you build a niche.  
       

      So, niches are few, there are too many people for luck to count much, cooperation is small scale only (and sort of “cheating”), and both charm and numbers require a measure of innate talent and dedication.
       

      If the fun isn’t in the reward, why focus on that? 

    2. Oscarus

      Oscarus

      And I thought I was the one to give expanded answers to simple questions. 

       

      Doesn't mean I disagree. I do agree. It is fun - it gives some boost to morale. 

       

      But still... It's rather unbelievable. 

  15. Theorically yes. It's near impossible to outspeed Choice-scarfer with near maximum Speed, using a Pokemon with almost the same level and Base Speed. Choice Scarf boosts Speed by 50%, so by one stage (but the boost cannot be as easily "erased" as in the case of stage changes). But the only way to quickly increase Hydreigon's Speed is Magical Seed... which causes the recharge - making Hydreigon vulnerable.
  16. Those who seemed... inappropriate. Mainly VS Sprites, like Charlotte holding cigarette between the fingers. Yeah, he was hinted to be smoking... But she's 14, and the game is 13+ - that sprite could unintentionally spread smoking among minors. And nobody wants that
  17. Yeah. Our level cap was on 90, and Hardy's entire team was above it! Too bad he was one of the least challenging Gym Leaders... Mainly due to overall slow team, Rock being full of weaknesses, and the team is not varied - one of the least varied of all of them; and he's the penultimate one! 4 pure Rock and 2 Rock-Flying... Lance, of all, had more varied team in typing
  18. The latter two are basically confirmed. The first... I don't know if that lv 100+ will be just an aesthetic change, or actually benefit the user. If the latter is true, oh boyo, I'm all fired up! Actually, reading that reminded me of one scene from Legends: Arceus That would be basically the same thing.
  19. This... This is the EXACT SAME COLOR SCHEME I've given to Shiny variation of my Sacronian Tyranitar! And it looks so awesome!!! It seems I've made a good choice. And you've made a better job.
  20. ...how have I not noticed that before? Maybe because it's been years since I've played Coliseum, and that was 3D, while Reborn is pixelated 2D game
  21. I'm not. Barely can I hit 1500 Elo on Showdown. I once did... But those fuckers just kept spamming those Landoruses! I had to give Tyranitar Ice Punch to deal with it. Yes, not the most perfect one... But I didn't want to swap any of team. To be fair... That was where I was beginning to play competitive... And all members were fast sweepers, even though some ain't exactly fast. Now I play more smart, still~ I prefer Random battles to learn some interesting moveset and strategies. The biggest "success" of my competitive career is finishing Hardcore Reborn V18. But the cost was huge... The sound of that dreaded piano will reflect that trauma till the end of my days...
  22. The said remake of my first project is here: enjoy

    1. Oscarus

      Oscarus

      That project had some minor mistakes - now they're repaired (I hope) 

  23. In my very first post right here, I created - Ame Liddell Also... Is "Ame" full name, or just a shortage, like "Tania" is for Titania. I know this is a short for "Amethyst", but... Let's be real - point one person in the real world who would call her daughter like that. ...well, now I've realized that this world is full of eccentrics like Elon Musk, who would do that. Heck, one of my closest friend is called "Nike", despite her living in Poland, and having full Polish heritage. But... what do I know? Why am I asking? Because, at some point, I thought to myself that Ame is a diminutive, and had some characters, like Radomus, call her "Amelia". Which isn't bad on its own - it's a beautiful name - but is it lore accurate? If isn't, at least I'll change it. And looking back at it... I'm not really proud of it. While I've really worked on it, with all honest intentions and heart, and didn't intent to fuck this up, I had made a grave error: I had mixed the game and anime logic too much. Like... WAY too much. In short, focusing too much on lore and personality of Ame, both in games and my fanfic (which on its own isn't a bad thing; both can cooperate with each other as there are no major contradictions in neither of them; mainly because Amethyst didn't show much, if anything, of her OC's backstory and daily life), but trying to create a team, which would suit both in games AND anime, and additionally forcing her to have half of her team be in a specific type, when in given type specialty (Dark) there aren't many canon Pokemon which would suit her; the only are Absol and Umbreon (which is both the ace of Luna and Zero, so it wouldn't work out)). If I had access to fanmade Pokemon from other games, I could even create a full Dark team which would be perfect this way and that way. But... I'm pretty limited, so I need to work around those limitations. In summary, that team gamewise was... mediocre at best, and lore wise... wasn't perfect either. And the perfectionist inside was so hurt, that I MUST to repair this!!! How...? I'll give her three different squads! One will be fully lorewise; a 6-Pokemon team that could be used in anime or manga without limitations, because rules of battling there and in games are completely different. The Pokemon I will be using also are without limitation, because in anime in regions we can find Pokemon that aren't even in those national Pokedexes. Plus, unlike in the other two, I won't be bothering about movesets; since those can be easily swapped around, or even consists more than 4 moves at once (which is incredibly rare, but still does exist) The other two will be what could this look like in games, to make the fight both challenging... and fair. Because a team full of Legendaries and Mythicals-; no, that'd be silly. The two because half of my friends and those in the community wanted me to do this "Reborn-style" and the other half more of a "free style". And I couldn't find one arguments stronger than the others, so at least that's more fun for me. Also, as of what Pokémon I'll be selecting from to my second team - Gens 1-7 with Alolan forms (because those are the Pokemon used in Reborn), and for the third, those seen in Reborn, plus those introduced in Gen 8, including Galarian and... Aevian forms. If the last one is a surprise to you, note that Reborn and Aevium are, in some way or other, connected to each other (not like Kanto and Johto, more like Johto and Eldiw), and she might've taken a trip or two there, as "The Calamity" happened 40 years before events of Rejuvenation, when between events of Reborn and Rejuvenation there are around 10 years. I know some of you might ask: "Hey Oscar? Why fanmade Aevian forms, and no canon Hisuian forms?" Well, to put it simply... those are like fossils; "prehistoric", and do not think those could match her style or aesthetics (aside from maybe Liligant and Goodra to some lesser extent). But the other reason... their movesets are somewhat weird, with the Mastery stuff put in, new moves are tad complicated and hard to put into, and the power and accuracy of almost all moves in Legends: Arceus are changed, and some of the changed categories, like Stealth Rock is there a PHYSICAL move? Also... I've never played them on my own, so the moves and Pokemon are alien to me (but the games are awesome and for those who can play, I heavily recommend). I think that's all for the info stuff, so let's dive in... to creating new teams for Reborn's best girl, Ame ANIME I've written this in my first version about this, but I'll repeat it: the first three Pokemon she could use in the anime will be her ace, Absol, then Lopunny and Alolan Ninetales These three Pokemon are the only one she is seen with OR rumored to have in game; as-of-right-now the only canon source. And since in anime world stats, base powers, levels, EVs, IVs, and other mathematical bullshit doesn't exist, we don't have to worry about annoying meta slaves blabbing about how some of these Pokemon are useless in competitive or other illogical statements - as there even Magikarp can be a titan, defeating Champions on its own (it wouldn't make any sense, tho, but with some storyline bullshitting and thick plot armor~...). Also, all of them were seen (or will be seen) in my fanfic: But for the other three... there aren't gonna be any of the other three previously (Bisharp, Krookodile and Keldeo), because the first two were basically "Oh, you're not-completely-mean Dark types? You are coming with me!", and the last because I wanted to give her a Legendary (or Mythical). But for this one, I decided to give her normal Pokemon, which suit her aesthetics, personality, and others. So... The 4th Pokemon will be Vaporeon Amethyst haven't been hiding her fondness of Vaporeon (or was it Sylveon...? i don't remember honestly). And I agree, it's a lovely Pokemon. To be honest, all Eeveelutions are lovely, and if Pokemon existed in real life, I would like to have all Eeveelutions: not bought or traded, but hatched and raised by myself. According to Pokedex, Vaporeon has an unique ability - transforming into water - which can be useful in battle and someone like Ame would definitely make use of that in her favor. Plus... this adorable water fox thing has an usage outside of battle... ... ... Imagine there is a very hot day in Reborn City; so hot that even everyone's favorite Blue Moon Ice Cream melts in literal seconds, and inside Grand Hall there is no air conditioner, only air 'corn'ditioner. Bonus points for those who get the reference Ame has sent all her Vulpixes and Ninetales to help other coworkers, but - being selfless as she is - she forgot about herself. But look, she has her faithful Vaporeon with herself. With their ability to not only turn into water, but also create it, and knowing some Ice moves, Bubble Jet Pokemon can create some cold water, ice cubes or maybe even ice cream to help thier hardworking Trainer survive the heat. What...? Did ya really think I was gonna bring THAT usage of Vaporeon here..? hehehe..hahah...AHAHAAHHAH!!! ...only try, and I'll send you to Distortion World faster than Solaris' Garchomp slashed Kiki's throat...! What Pokemon she could use, which would be a reliable battling ally, but will also see some usage outside of battle? Flyer, of course! Champion of the region should be in touch with everyone, and Pokemon that can carry human being and be a strong warrior is helpful for any Pokemon Trainers, both in games, anime and manga universes. Moreover, almost all canon Grand Champions in games have an ace that could be used to carry thier Trainer around - the only exceptions being Blue (in Yellow), Diantha and Trace, yet all of them still have Pokemon in teams that could theoretically carry them around. So, what Pokemon do I have in mind...? The choice wasn't easy, but I decided to give her Corviknight I wanted to give Ame an intimidating Pokemon, which could symbolize her courage and bravery, and Corviknight perfectly does that. Well, there's also a Braviary, but I think we should give some Reborn people "non-Rebornian" Pokemon. Additionally, those Pokemon are said to be very intelligent and resilient, just like her... And I like Corviknight, perhaps the best regional bird imo. Also... DID YOU SEE THOSE IN THE ANIME!? THEY'RE FUCKING GIGANTIC! I know Pokedex says they are around 7'3'', but holy shit, anime made them EVEN BIGGER! I know I really shouldn't compare sizes in games to those in the anime, since in the latter Pokemon vary in size, height and weight, but those Pokedex sizes says the "average" sizes measurement of a Pokemon. Also, when looking, I think she could be given a shiny version. So, if she would like a Shiny Corviknight, we can give her Shiny Corviknight. A little tip to you, anime creators, if some of you wanted to make a series about Reborn. And the last, but not the least... Primarina Why, you ask? Ame wasn't always the Grand Champion, she was an ordinary Trainer. And like any ordinary Trainer, she must've had her first Pokemon, a starter. I mean-... not every "starter" is a starter. For example, my OC's first Pokemon was (Shiny) Larvitar - given to him when he was an egg, at Oscar's 2nd birthday by Prof. Oak - now Sacronian (Shiny) Tyranitar (well, apparently he also had Reshiram when he was a little kid, but it actually belonged to his father, who'd had befriended entire Tao Trio, and was using only Kyurem, leaving Reshiram and Zekrom to his son, Oscar, and apprentice, Nobunaga). But, I'll be brutally honest, I've had no idea what could I give her that could be thought to be an effective battle in lore and suit her personally, and when it comes to starters, I somehow think Primarina suits her the best out of all of them. Weird that I've dubbed her as a Dark-type specialist, yet she ended up with two Fairy-types and two Water-types and only one Dark-type, huh... Ironic. GAME (REBORN) Reborn, Rejuvenation and Desolation: all three share the same main battle mechanic, Fields. These are far more complicated than the basic Terrains and the ability to use, master, and manipulate the Fields are necessary to complete these games. The most of the teams of Major Trainers are built around specific Fields to make the battle more difficult (not every, as some battles (like those in Factory-like places or final confrontation with Solaris) use "default" Fields) So what Field could Ame use...? ...sigh... I've sworn not to copy anyone but dear Arceus, I have no other choice! The only Field that could press out the full potential out of her is... Starlight Arena I know this Field is basically the "Signature Field" of Elite Four Anna (Fantasia Vanhanen), but what should I do, guys...? That's the Field working the best with the created team AND her personality; enigmatic yet kind. I could create one special Field for her myself (I have some experience doing them), but~ that would not be the same, y'know... That however causes some problem. As one of the "successors" of my idea, TheRK9, claimed: And I must agree with them: especially since I often run different variations of Sandstorm team. I hope Amethyst doesn't get a stroke every time I mention those; I know you hate them... But I love 'em, and use 'em, both in game and in online competitive metagame of Gen 5. So... I'm forced to copy them again - forgive me, but I have no other choice - and stack on another Field under it; the Fairy Tale Field It is possible to stack two different Fields on top of each other, assuming none of them suddenly transform onto the other. And, actually, that is the case for both the Fields: Fairy Tale Field cannot be transformed or destroyed at all, and Starlight Arena can only be deactivated: either temporary or permanently. And the temporal deactivation can be caused by literally any weather in the game (expect wind, but wind apparently can't do much in the battle, and cannot be summoned in battle either). That is why Fairy Tale Field exist underneath it; to provide a support in case player would have some kind of weather team. Also, Magical Seed works on both Fields, so that's a nice addition. I... I wanted to give her a Field which would suit her more... But if you exclude Starlight Arena and Fairy Tale Field, you are left with... Dark Crystal Cavern and... Crystal Cavern... which won't be useful gameplay-wise, and cheesing is more "possible". And I cannot afford this, moreover in case of a Champion. Speaking of Championship battles, both teams will be in Singles format. ...That's pretty straightforward, practically all Championship bouts in all mainline games and vast majority of fanmade games are in Singles rather than Doubles. With exceptions being Kaizo and "Kaizo-like" ROM Hacks... and that one battle in Insurgence against two random League Representatives from other region...but they were boring and easy, and forgettable - Reukra was far superior. Okay, enough fudging, and allow me to present the team picked... mostly arbitrary. Alolan Ninetales Moveset: Aurora Veil Moonblast Freeze-Dry/Ice Beam Extrasensory/Dark Pulse/Nasty Plot/Encore Ability: Snow Cloak Item: Light Clay Spread: IVs: 31/0/31/31/31/31 EVs: 4/0/0/252/0/252 Nature: Timid (Spe+, Atk-) When the Field enables you to use Aurora Veil without Hail, it's pretty obvious you're gonna use it, right? And Alolan Ninetales is perhaps one of the best users of it. Well... Because it also has Snow Warning, being the only Pokemon with that combo before Gen 8 (now also Aurorus and Abomasnow have this combo). But still, I'd say A-Ninetales is perhaps the best Pokemon here, being the second fastest Aurora Veil haver in the game, losing to Froslass and only by a base point. But I picked Fox Pokemon, instead of Snow Land Pokemon for a few reasons: Ninetales benefits more from the field, having more boostable attacks, has access to Nasty Plot in case of making it somewhat reliable special attacker... and Ame has it in my anime version, while Froslass is already an ace of a major Trainer, Ice Leader Serra. As I said, Aurora Veil is a reliable way to reducing damage of allies, in some cases even more than "Double Screen" strategy; also that's why she's holding Light Clay, to extend the duration of Aurora Veil. Yes, it gets destroyed by Brick Break, Defog, Psychic Fangs or when Pokemon with Infiltrator comes in, but honestly - the chances of that happening in the very first battle where player may not expect what will happen, are minimal. Oh, and also I AM aware of the fact Snow Warning will deactivate Starlight Arena, which is something we do not want to do... for now, as Fairy Tale Field does not have the "Aurora Veil is enabled" perk. So I am forced to give this Ninetales her other Ability - Snow Cloak... which is completely useless in that battle, but what else can I do? If I wanted Ninetales to use Snow Warning, I wouldn't have picked the Starlight Arena from the start. And yes, that means if player leads with a weather setter, unless it's a Hail setter, there will be problems. As Ninetales is not nearly as strong on Fairy Tale Field as she is on Starlight Arena. Also, with the Aurora Veil, very boosted Moonblast and either ol' reliable Ice Beam or Water-destroying Freeze-Dry for STAB attacks, and the 4th move slot can either be taken by Nasty Plot to set up, which is risky because of Ninetales' frailty, especially to Steel attacks, Encore to punish any slower-than-Ninetales setter/selfbooster and make them unable to sweep Champion, which would be embarrassing, yet that might backfire if the target cannot be taken out at ease, or Ninetales cannot be switched out while not being able to dish out damage to it, or a coverage move. The problem is that Ninetales' coverage is... not good. The only two special attacks that are reasonably strong, and aren't Normal or STAB, are Extrasensory and Dark Pulse, which are the same but different typings and Dark Pulse having higher chance to flinch. Also Dark Pulse becomes Dark/Fairy attacks which... I'm not sure if I like. Because of the Fairy offense added- yeah, it hits Dark and Fighting Pokemon neutrally, but it also gets resisted by Fire and Steel types, for which I wanted to have something to hit them at least neutrally, so it's risky, as Ninetales has NO effective coverage against them, expect normal Dark Pulse and Hex which is a weak attack if not supported by status conditions. So there are three potential solutions for Alolan Ninetales: setting-up, punishing setters, or just wider coverage. However the first two, plus Aurora Veil strategy, can be easily shutted down by Encore, Taunt or Trick/Switcheroo Choice lock; that is, player needs to know how to do it effectively. But to say it upfront, I recommend the Encore punishing (if they are multiple moves in one slot, those who are bold are those that I would personally recommend; doesn't mean others are bad however) As of why I've decided to run Timid nature instead of Modest, it's because speed matters, as Ninetales HAS TO BE first in order to set-up Aurora Veil (unless the opponent will be faster no matter what, and carries Steel attack or simply it has Bullet Punch, then fox is screwed). Assuming every Pokemon in this scenario has 31 IVs and 252 EVs in Speed, this Alolan Ninetales will outspeed every Pokemon with Speed-neutral nature which has Base Speed of 114 or lower. Between base 109 and 114 there are some dangerous threats that may OHKO, mainly Durant, Archeops, Lycanroc Midday and Dusk, Kartana, Mega Metagross or Mega Lucario. There are more, honestly, but those are the most dangerous to Ninetales. But if Ame's Ninetales had Modest or other Speed-neutral nature, then she gets outsped by any Pokemon with Speed increasing nature that has Base Speed of at least 96! (Base Speed of 95 causes the speed tie, so 50/50). And I won't even enumerate those Pokemon because there's a LOT of them! 84, to be exact! And including base 95s, well over a hundred! That Ninetales has to have Timid nature, in order to have much higher chances of at least setting up Aurora Veil. Unfortunately, Alolan Ninetales doesn't get a pivoting nor a self-KOing move, which would make her either switch out freely to set up Aurora Veil again later or sacrifice herself for the rest of Ame's team to crush your hopes and dreams. Actually, I could've cheated a bit and give her some move in that regard (Spoiler: I will do it for some other Pokemon later), but I don't want to do it because... it wouldn't make any sense. If Alolan Ninetales pivoted or just fucking exploded, even the most casual of players would know something was wrong. Illegal moves are ok, as long as they make some sense both in-lore and/or from mechanical-biological point of view (because... why Gastly and Wooper can know punching moves... not having any hands or arms?). Starmie Moveset: Rapid Spin Surf/Scald Psychic/Psyshock Dazzling Gleam/Moonblast/Signal Beam Ability: Illuminate Item: Magical Seed Spread: IVs: 31/0/31/31/31/31 EVs: 4/0/0/252/0/252 Nature: Timid (Spe+, Atk-) Starmie might be seen as an... "interesting choice", but I have my reasons: Starmie is a star, Ame is a star of the region... it just works! Also... It can really be destructive here. On Starlight Arena; it's a NUKE! Illuminate increases the user's Special Attack by one stage, just like Magical Seed which also applies Lunar Dance effects on the user, which increase both of its' Attacks by one stage. It means that just by entering the battle, Starmie will end up with +3 Special Attack! That is SpA stat of 747, which is equal... to maximum possible score for a base stat of 290! With that offensive power, there's no need to give it a Modest or any other nature! Just give it Timid to outspeed as much as possible, and destroy weaklings! In fact, assuming all opposing Pokemon have neutral nature, as of Gen VII, only 16 Pokemon can outspeed Starmie with 31 IVs and 252 EVs in Speed (Choice Scarf ignored), As they need to have a base Speed of 132 to 100% outspeed that Starmie without boosts. 7 of them are Megas, 5 are Legendaries, Mythicals and Ultra Beasts, and also Mega Legendary of Mega Mewtwo Y. The only regular Pokemon to outspeed it are Accelgor, Ninjask and Electrode ...Let's hope no challenger brings them here. In the moveset, add on STAB moves on your own prefence: for Water either stronger Surf or potential-burning Scald, and for Psychic either good ol' Psychic or Psyshock to counter Special walls, like Chansey, Blissey, Snorlax, Regice, Florges, Goodra, Nililego and so on. The third move is a Dazzling Gleam which is extremely boosted on Starlight Arena, and somewhat on Fairy Tale Field too, to give it a strong, neutral attack. I was thinking about Signal Beam, which actually complements more and Water-Psychic-Bug deal on average better than Water-Psychic-Fairy. But Dazzing Gleam under this, and that Field ends up stronger than Signal Beam (156 vs 112,5 on Starlight and 120 vs 75 on Fairy Tale). But, nevertheless, Signal Beam is still useful in dealing with Grass and Dark types. Also, if you noticed, Moonblast in the Starmie's moveset is in italics. If any move is in italics on this list, that means that Pokemon cannot legally learn the move under Gen VII mechanics. At first I thought Starmie could learn it, but nope - it only can know Dazzling Gleam. I know there are some who strongly oppose illegal movesets, but if Pokemon could learn it, but doesn't, there wouldn't be much of a problem if it did. But tell me, what kind of player would, after seeing one move used by enemy Pokemon, go to Bulbapedia to check if this move is legal or not. However, there is chance that illegal moves might be more of a detriment rather than assistance - I think everyone who knows Twitch Plays Pokemon, know what I mean. So, if you think Starmie can have Moonblast, let them have Moonblast. If not, either just a bit weaker, no secondary effect Dazzing Gleam or supportive Signal Beam The fourth slot will be taken by Rapid Spin - a reliable counter to any entry hazard opponent wishes to cripple you with. Since there are no Heavy-Duty Boots in Gen VII, unless the Pokemon is immune to the effect, it will receive them. And I know that those can really destroy someone's strategy, especially Stealth Rock (one of my favorite strategies). Rapid Spin is the best option to do it. Well... there is also Defog which additionally can erase the screens on the opponent's side of the field, but no Pokemon that I've given to Ame can know it, neither would it make sense. So... oopsie Rapid Spin was not as good in Gen VII as it it in Gen VIII, since now it also boosts user's Speed, something Starmie would REALLY appreciate. But we are limited by the old mechanics, so there's nothing we can do. Still, it's a solid counter to all entry hazards thrown by the opponent. Lucario Moveset (1): Swords Dance Extreme Speed Meteor Mash/Bullet Punch Close Combat/Brick Break/Mach Punch/Vacuum Wave Ability: Justified Item: Focus Sash/Magical Seed Spread: IVs: 31/31/31/0/31/31 or 31/31/31/31/31/31 EVs: 4/252/0/0/0/252 or 252/252/0/0/4/0 Nature: Adamant (Atk+, SpA-), Brave (Atk+, Spe-) or Serious (no stat changes) I know this seems be a little~ complicated; let me explain step by step (and the reason why no move is in bold) Lucario is an fan-favorite (and I'm not suprised, honestly - I do like it too) and a quite effective battle. Not a game breaker, but a solid offensive choice to some teams. Also, Lucario are well known for thier wide Aura-using capabilities, being loyal right to the bone, and being born with natural sense of justice - which is something humans apparently need. Also, if you noticed the moveset and asked that question, the answer is yes; this is the "Extreme Killer" set. Basically Extreme Speed + Swords Dance combo, it can be really destructive if the user is left unchecked and/or you don't have reliable answer like Ghost type or psychically bulky Rock/Steel type. The most prominent user of it is Arceus (Arceus-Normal), and in some gens it was so good that some people were wondering should Arceus be banned from Ubers. The other important one is Dragonite; and expect it to see E-Speed Dragonite on Saphira's team - as Dragon Dance on Dragon's Den is vastly superior to Swords Dance. Lucario ain't Arceus, tho, as Alpha Pokemon has higher Attack stat, far better bulk (3x120 vs 3x70), and Normal typing, which guarantees STAB. Yet Lucario can still pull it off with solid 110 Attack stat, just a bit lower than Arceus' 120. But still, 70/70/70 bulk is far from awesome - one true supereffective strike and Aura Pokemon faints. That's where to play comes Focus Sash. Considering opponent does not bring multi-hit move that could seriously harm Lucario, like Bone Rush, Focus Sash allows it to survive one hit, and use Swords Dance to double (or triple; on Fairy Tale) its Attack. Since with using increased priority, Speed is rarely taken into account (both Pokemon must use the same priority move for Speed to be checked), we can just give it Adamant without any worries. If you wonder why Magical Seed is there as a potential Item, I'll say it upfront - Focus Sash is more reliable anyways; equally effective on both Fields. And Magical Seed is more of a gamble; if Lucario is sent of Fairy Tale Field, it has its' Attack increased by one stage, and activated King's Shield, allowing to set-up Swords Dance, which thanks to the Field will elevate Lucario's Attack to +5, which could in many situations mean "gg well played". But if activated on Starlight Arena, then-yes, it gets +1 Attack but also +2 Special Attack... and nothing else - if opponent runs hyper-offensive team, Lucario is dead. Both items have pros and cons, but I'm leaning more toward Focus Sash. Yet Magical Seed is still there, because Lucario can slap enemies really hard if they decide to have weather set all the time. But, as I said, that's a gamble I don't know if I want to play in. Ability will be Justified, as Dark moves are boosted on default Starlight Arena, and despite Fairy-typing added to it, the move is equally effective (or should I say, ineffective) on Lucario, and Attack boost is pretty nice. Lucario doesn't have eye-popping Abilities anyways. And the two moves are previously mentioned Extreme Speed and Swords Dance. The other two will be taken by powerful STAB moves... and as Anakin Skywalker once said: For both STAB moves, you have two options: give Lucario very powerful, normal STAB attack, or slap on another priority move to fuck with your enemy by making them salty and reminding to bring their own priority moves next time. For Steel, the choices are simple: either traditional Meteor Mash, boosted on both Fields (180 Base Power on Starlight and 135 on Fairy Tale opposed to 90 normally) or Bullet Punch, which is boosted only on Fairy Tale to 60 BP. Maybe if Lucario had Technician... For Fighting STAB, I have more options: Close Combat is definitely the strongest one, but on this specific set, it isn't the best one as this Lucario set focuses more on sheer power, rather than speed. And Close Combat would then be more of a hindrance, but fortunately we do have a high quality alternative in Brick Break which may destroy opposing screens and Aurora Veil - something Rapid Spin would fail to do. It's not that strong but quite solid. And the priority moves in either physical Mach Punch (Lucario can't learn it in Gen 7, but can in Gen 8, so I think it's fair to put it here) or special Vacuum Wave. If you question why Vacuum Wave is here, I have an logical explanation - to counter Rock and Steel walls. Pokemon like Skarmory, Aggron or Regirock are amongst the best ones, but their special bulk is worse, so if opponent thought Lucario would be switched out, and they used the free turn to set up... there would be a pretty nasty surprise for them. Not necessarily KO'ing them, but dealing enough damage, so the enemy will be forced to switch out, with Lucario getting a free turn. I do know that Vacuum Wave wouldn't be extremely strong, and Aura Sphere might be better... But honestly, if you just want a strong STAB, just go for the first two mentioned, as those with this set would ruin the walls' day equally. Also, this is the point when I should explain my choices in EV/IV spreads and natures. So, pay attention: - if you choose Vacuum Wave to the set, Lucario should have 31 IVs in SpA; if not, give it 0 - if going all-out priority, a bulky stat spread would do (252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 SpD); if wanting to use stronger non-priority STABs, then spread of fast sweeper (4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe) - Nature also depends on the set: Adamant for pure physical set, Brave for mixed pure priority set, Serious (or other neutral) for mixed set. It is complicated; but don't worry - this is the only THAT complicated set. Moveset (2): Meteor Mash Close Combat/Brick Break/High Jump Kick Stone Edge Swords Dance/Zen Headbutt/Blaze Kick Ability: Inner Focus Item: Steelium Z/Life Orb Spread: IVs: 31/31/31/0/31/31 EVs: 0/252/4/0/0/252 Nature: Jolly (Spe+, SpA-) There is no point in making bulky set on a Pokemon with mediocre bulk, despite having good defensive typing. That is why Lucario should be Fast Sweeper - in which Smogon agrees with me, apparently. As of moves, definitely Meteor Mash as it's very strong on both fields, and Fighting STAB which can be either: very strong Close Combat which lowers Defenses but Lucario won't be amazed by it anyways, weaker Brick Break to deal with screens on opposing side, or extremely strong High Jump Kick but with chance of massive recoil in case of missing. The other two moves can be taken by Swords Dance which is perfect on Lucario, though and though, and coverage move. Unfortunately, that Lucario suffers from "four moves syndrome", which means we need to know what would work the best. We have 3 potential candidates: Stone Edge - strong but a bit inaccurate, Zen Headbutt - decent coverage, especially on Starlight Arena, and Blaze Kick - not be best but complements nicely with Steel and Fighting. I went on and checked what was the best option, and it turns out it is Stone Edge, as Steel-Fighting-Rock trio is blocked ONLY by Honedge line. That does not mean others are bad - Zen Headbutt in terms of raw stats is better on Starlight Arena, and on Fairy Tale it is at least reliable. And Blaze Kick can caught opponent off-guard. Still, Stone Edge is the defacto choice. But, if you want, you could ditch Swords Dance for the wider coverage. Is it beneficial? I doubt it, but hey - you have more potential options. The Ability will be Inner Focus which prevents flinching from faster Pokemon, to prevent Lucario from embarrassment. As of the held item, either Life Orb for overall higher damage output (it can pair nicely with Drain Punch, but the other moves make it more destructive), or Steelium Z for very nasty Corkscrew Crash which may OHKO otherwise dangerous Pokemon. Also, question - does the boost to base powers of the moves from the Fields affect the power of their respective Z-moves? Like power of Z-Move from Metal Claw is 100, but from Sunsteel Strike which is twice as strong is 180. Does the power increase to Meteor Mash specifically applies to Z-Move too? Or just the boost to the Steel type overall? If it does - give it Steelium Z, and if not - Life Orb seem better Also, I was planning to create a third set, a special one, but... mmmm... then Ame could have 5 Special Attackers, in opposing to one! And that's wrong, this should not happen, there needs to be a reasonable variety! You already have more than you could ask for; let's not overdo it. I've already done it tho... Milotic Moveset: Hydro Pump/Scald Nature Power Recover Dragon Pulse/Ice Beam/Hidden Power (Flying/Rock/Dark) Ability: Marvel Scale Item: Leftovers/Normalium Z Spread: IVs: 30/0/30/31/30/30 (Flying) or 30/0/31/30/31/30 (Rock) or 31/1/31/31/31/31 (Dark) EVs: 4/0/252/252/0/0 Nature: Modest (SpA+, Atk-) or Bold (Def+, Atk-) Milotic - a truly dazzling Pokemon. Since Amethyst seem to favor beautiful, cute and adorable Pokemon, it makes some sense for her OC to use them. And Milotic is dangerous, with or without gimmicks, being the staple of two Grand Champions from the subsequent regions in mainline games. In opposite to other Pokemon given to her so far, Milotic is more of a tanky sweeper/utility, rather than fast and furious. Which is helpful - having only one style of Pokemon on the team is bad. And not everyone is like Solaris, who can still pull it off with the wide variety of strategies. Still, Milotic is dangerous. Marvel Scale is the only Ability that can be boosted on both Starlight Arena and Fairy Tale Field; they cause its' activation. Which means that Milotic will be very tanky on special side. To give you how much: Judgement from Max SpA Arceus-Electric with Zap Plate will do "only" 80,3% of Milotic's HP if it has 0 EVs in HP and Defense, but 31 IVs in both. Heck, even Thunder from Max SpA Xurkitree won't be enough! Competitive is overall better Ability, but since it is Singles, not Doubles, and Marvel Scale can be activated without having status condition, we see the winner. Bulky Milotic all the way. Placement of EVs isn't as obvious as you might think. 252 in the main attacking stat is an essential part, but where should we put the rest. Unfortunately, this is where we have a problem - this ain't Smogon, there's no tiers, and I'm not a competitive expert. So I can't really split the EVs between HP and Defense because there would be more calculations that anyone would like to do, even me. And we can't even say what opponent will bring - the possibilities are limitless. So I decided to pour everything into Defense and the remaining 4 into HP. Is it the best spread...? Honestly, I have no idea. But we need more bulk into defensive stat, because it is what matters. Assuming neutral Def nature, with 252 HP EVs, Milotic will be OHKO'd by Wood Hammer by Max Atk Abomasnow. But with 252 Def EVs, it has 37,5% to survive, assuming there will be no crit. Yeah, it will be a little frailer on special side, but the special bulk is already good enough. And the 4 HP EVs... because to give it anywhere. 4 Speed EVs won't do shit, they can only ensure out speeding (all with no Speed EVs and neutral Speed nature) Gyarados and Monferno and tying with Gabite and Midnight Lycanroc... and in what would that help? The Nature will be either Bold for more tankiness, or Modest for more attacking power. I can see benefits for both. The moveset consists of STAB Scald or Hydro Pump, neither boosted on neither fields - but both are strong and reliable. Next move will be Recover - a nasty move on a bulky Pokemon, which can come in handy. Third slot is taken by Nature Power, which Milotic doesn't learn in Gen VII, but it does learn both Hidden Power and Secret Power, plus Milotic is a Pokemon quite connected to nature, so it theorically works. Nature Power, depending on the Field, can be changed into either Moonblast, or Secret Sword - and both moves are boosted according to the Field, with Moonblast having its' power increased by x1,95, and Secret Sword becoming Steel-type attack, with power increased by x1,5, and hitting Dragon types supereffectively. The fourth coverage move will be either Dragon Pulse or Ice Beam... because those are THE ONLY special coverage moves... except quite inaccurate Blizzard or pathetic Mud Slap. I could chesse and add some illegal one, but from the list of boosted attacks, I don't see which one could suit for Milotic and make sense. Ice Beam hits more for supereffective damage, especially Grass and Dragon types which threaten Milotic, and Dragon Pulse has doubled power on Fairy Tale Field plus it allows to hit most of the Pokemon at least neutrally. I can see both sides of an argument, but I wanna clarify upfront that when comparing, Dragon coverage is overall better addition for Water-Steel/Fairy than Ice, due to having many more neutral capabilities. But honestly, I think there might be a better option - Hidden Power. Hidden Power's typing varies from IVs (that's why the IVs may seem a little weird at first), and it can be any 60 Base Power type, plus it can get boost from Terrain if its' type is boosted on it. As to why I actually have chosen those specific 3 types, because those three work the best with Water-Steel/Fairy coverage, excluding Dragon, and also... Actually no, I won't tell you why. Try to figure it out yourselves. Item given to it could be Leftovers, which give Milotic even more bulk, or Normalium Z - which can become either Corkscrew Crash, Twinkle Tackle, or Breakneck Blitz, depending on what will be chosen. But I must say that if Lucario is holding its' Z-Crystal, Milotic cannot have its' own. Goodra Moveset (1): Draco Meteor Sludge Wave Fire Blast/Flamethrower Thunderbolt/Thunder/Muddy Water Ability: Sap Sipper Item: Choice Specs Spread: IVs: 31/0/31/31/31/31 EVs: 0/0/4/252/0/252 Nature: Timid (Spe+; Atk-) I don't intend giving Ame a Legendary Pokemon... but I haven't said she won't receive a Pseudo-legendary. Yet we were very limited in opinions: Dragonite (the only other adorable Pseudo) is Saphira's ace, Tyranitar is one of Solaris' signatures (and it's too angry for Ame's aesthetics; however would have given it to her, if it made sense), Metagross is Radomus' ace (if you don't think Gardevoir is explicitly his), Salamence is Heather's ace, Garchomp is Solaris' and Terra's ace, Hydreigon is Lin's ace (and giving Ame Hydreigon is the LAST thing I'd wanna do). So, we are left with Goodra and Kommo-o... And Kommo-o being on those Fields is a death sentence to it; so Goodra automatically wins. Goodra isn't the strongest pseudo-legendary , but that's because its' pseudo-friends, particularly Tyranitar, Garchomp and Hydreigon, were terrorizing competitive since their introduction. It is very bulky on the special side - even more than standard Milotic, and also the Pokemon can be reasonably effective if used right. That is why I gave it Choice Specs to boost its' quite good 110 Special Attack. There is one drawback however - locking on the selected move. NPC are not as intelligent as truly experienced players, so there's a chance Goodra might be walled. And when it switches out, the switched-in Pokemon might get hit, or the free turn used to set up may be the beginning of the end. However, I believe that in case of this battle being implemented, the creators will know what to do. But the main reason for the Choice Specs on Goodra, is one specific move - Draco Meteor. This move is disgustingly powerful, with 280 BP on both Fields and STAB, plus Choice Specs. You have to be careful while switching in, otherwise your Pokemon could be blasted into oblivion. Yeah, the Special Attack dropping drawback is bad, but mere switch is enough to both nivelate it, and potentially wall the opponent. As of coverage, Sludge Wave to counter Fairy types, powerful Fire Blast or accurate Flamethrower for Steel and Ice types, and since these three moves are enough to deal at least neutral damage to all Pokemon, add on some additional coverage move like Thunderbolt or Thunder to potentially paralyze or maybe Muddy Water to lower their accuracy. Well... there's also Focus Blast, but-... it's Focus Blast, which is anything BUT Focus. As if it wasn't obvious, Special Sweeper spread and Timid to out speed as much as possible - Goodra doesn't need more power, and the bulk is good enough to guarantee surviving at least one hit. Unless opponent boosted too much or also used the advantage of this field... ooof Moveset (2): Outrage Iron Tail Earthquake/Power Whip Fire Punch/Thunder Punch/Ice Punch Ability: Sap Sipper Item: Choice Band Spread: IVs: 31/31/31/0/31/31 EVs: 0/252/4/0/0/252 Nature: Jolly (Spe+; SpA-) This set is basically the same as special choice sweeper Goodra - Choice item to boost its' attacking stat, Fast Sweeper set, nature increasing Speed, and wide coverage of moves. The only difference is that we are to maximize Psyhical Attack rather than Special. I do think that Special Goodra is a way to go on those Fields, as neither of the psyhical moves boostable on those Fields can be learn by Goodra, not would they make sense, and, abdgdg... Just don't get any boosts other than from the general ones. But that would catch player by surprise, seeing psyhical set on Goodra which is almost as effective as the special one - more equal on Fairy Tale Field; on Starlight Arena special set is superior. But for the sake of consistency, of course we have Outrage as STAB move; the only good Psyhical Dragon attack Goodra learns - and one of the two it can know, the other being Dragon Tail. As of coverage, both Iron Tail and Earthquake can deal with most of the Pokemon roster, especially Fairy, Ice and Steel types - Dragons' biggest enemies. For the final move slot, I'd recommend one of the three Elemental Punches; leaning more toward Fire Punch to deal with the most obvious counters to that Goodra. Also, small add on my side, when choosing Fire Punch, you could replace Earthquake with Power Whip - while dealing with Pokemon overall, both Ground and Grass fare rather equally when adding them to Dragon-Steel-Fire core. Sorry, there... wasn't as much to say here. Absol Moveset: Night Slash/Sucker Punch/Knock Off Psycho Cut Play Rough Leaf Blade/Close Combat Ability: Pressure Item: Absolite Spread: IVs: 31/31/31/0/31/31 EVs: 4/0/0/252/0/252 Nature: Jolly (Spe+; SpA-) Ame's defacto ace - of course it needs to be the most prominent, of course it has to be the most dominant, of course we could break the rules for it if we could but we can't as some would get an ass pain. If someone has an ace, which can Mega Evolve, then it's obvious it should be Mega, right? Despite some Megas being situationally (or flat out) worse than their regular counterparts in competitive, we should grant them Mega Stone, just for the sake of consistency. Fortunately in our case, in-game Mega Absol dominates regular Absol. Though both are frailer than a porcelain vase in your grandma's family house, Mega Absol has a lot of devastating power and sure is fast, but Jolly Nature is more beneficial for it, because of that frailty and Absol already being very offensively potent. If you have problem with me picking mainly Speed increasing natures, then I'm sorry - I pick what I think to be the best option. Also we have only 4 "main" Natures to pick from - Adamant, Modest, Jolly and Timid - those are the most seen in competitive. Also... The Ability doesn't matter - neither of the ones Absol can have, do have the effect on the opponent before Mega Evolving, like Intimidate. Mega Absol's regular Ability - Magic Bounce - isn't helpful for a Pokemon which is the ace of Grand Champion, therefore very often sent last. But on Fairy Tale Field it boosts Special Defense, which is ok. Now I observed that most of Ame's team is more specially bulky rather that physically... happens. Absol's moveset is quite limited, even more in competitive which disqualifies weak and/or too niche moves. But we could pick up something from it and add on some. If you noticed and analyzed, you know that Mega Absol will be much effective on Fairy Tale Field, with most of the moves given there are boosted on it, one way or another, but on Starlight Arena, it can kick some asses too. For STAB move, my main choice is reliable Night Slash - move with a increased crit ratio to screw all setters. But alternatives like Knock Off or Sucker Punch are still there - but Night Slash is the best one; being boosted on both Fields. As of coverage, either Psycho Cut or Play Rough, both of them having increased power on both Fields. For the fourth move we have could have either Close Combat to counter Steel types who resist Dark-type attacks on Starlight Arena due to additional Fairy damage, or Leaf Blade to deal with more Pokemon for supereffective damage, especially very tanky Water and Ground types. And to clarify, because I am obligated to do so, Absol could use Leaf Blade in theory; its' horn is very blade-like, and it was seen in the anime to use it to fire attacks like Night Slash or to be used as a close combating weapon. Also it does learn Close Combat in Gen 8, so it is fair too. So... How does that team fare? First, the defensive coverage of the team: Honestly, it is... very good, actually - none of the types is super effective against half of the team, and some of them are quite effectively walled, like Water, Ice or Steel. Yes, there are some weaknesses - nothing resists Ground, Flying or Fairy, with the last one being the most dangerous. Fighting and Electric also might be a pain, but honestly... I believe this isn't as bad as it seems: -Ground is weak to Water and Grass, which at least half of the team will have -Flying is weak to Ice, Rock and Electric - all of them having at least one user in the squad. -Fighting is weak to Psychic and Fairy, where two Pokemon have STAB attacks and Absol having both in her arsenal -Electric is annoying, being only weak to Ground, which only physical Goodra carries, but it also doesn't have the necessary resists itself to hard-counter Ame's team - Fairy; being the most dangerous to the team, can fall down to Steel and Poison moves that are in the arsenal of some Pokemon. The team defensively isn't perfect or anything, but definitely fares much better than the previous one. Offensively... Yeah, my methods made the impossible to quickly analyze the schemes. So, after quickly checking, I with confidence can say this: team, on average, has at least 2 attacks to deal with the most of the types, with the two exceptions - Normal and Electric. Against Normal there is only Lucario - for the others we have a neutral match-ups. But Electric... There is either none, or only one Earthquake on a Electric-resilient Pokemon... the only comfort is the fact neither Starlight nor Fairy Tale boost Electric type on the board, and unless someone is running a mono-Electric team, that party should be at least a little safe. Individually, usually they cover most (if not all) of the existing canon Pokemon for at least neutral damage; that depends on the picked combination in case of multi-type choice. But there is one Pokemon in particular, that can really mess up with the match. Um... Savage, if you are reading this, skip this part if you wish; that might cause a little PTSD and Vietnam flashbacks. That Pokemon is... Shedinja. I'll say it - even with full team of Shedinjas, you aren't guaranteed to win, as most of the Pokemon carry moves supereffective against it. But that hollow shell still can make a mess and holes in the team. Thanks to its' Ability Wonder Guard, Shedinja will wall: Ninetales without Dark Pulse, Starmie, Extreme Killer Lucario, Milotic without Hidden Power, Goodra without Fire Punch. Yes, it is just one Pokemon and and the other four have to be under certain circumstances, so if those circumstances are applicable, Shedinja will be a real threat. If not, then it's a dead weight... mostly. If any of you want to ask me "If Shedinja can wall most of the team when it has those specific sets, why did you add those sets anyways?", well - the answer is simple: because more sets and more possibilities means more FUN! How would I rate this team...? To be honest, that team is a solid 7/10 - a quite effective, maybe not as varied in typings but much more in their movesets, and on average it is a decent and versatile team, having setters, supports, faster and bulkier attackers. The cons are overall weakness to Electric and Fairy, Shedinja being a potential threat, at some points reliance on the Field, and not using the full potential of Starlight Arena - which is very hard without using specific Legendaries - but I wanted to make a team which is very strong and makes sense lorewise; and not shove 3 random Legendaries down her throat just to add on artificial difficulty to the match - if we wanted to do it reasonably, then just double the possessed EVs to make the faster, bulkier and hitting harder. GAME (REJUVENATION) For a while I was wondering if should I apply the Reborn Fields to that segment, or Aevian ones; knowing that the two same Fields can differ much more than you'd think. After checking... I discovered that Starlight Arena and Fairy Tale Field in Rejuvenation are basically Reborn plus some additions from Gen 8 and Rejuvenation too. So... I don't see the problem to using Rejuvenation field because it won't screw up. I'll be taking into account movesets from Sw/Sh, BD/SP, L:A and Rejuvenation. So... Let's get started. The Pokemon I intend to have them stay will be covered quickly: Alolan Ninetales gets access to Energy Ball, which isn't as helpful as a coverage move to Ice-Fairy Pokemon, but it's nice to say it upfront. Overall, this Pokemon stays the same Milotic gets access to Flip Turn, which a Water-type U-turn. It's a great move for pivoting, which can help in save switching-in against faster Pokemon. In that case, I'm switching Dragon Pulse in Milotic's moveset for Draco Meteor. Despite Milotic not learning that in any way, I think it could, being: quite Dragon-like Pokemon, counterpart of Gyarados (another Dragon-like Pokemon) in Dragon Egg Group also it learns quite a few of Dragon-type moves, and also apparently it knows Dragon Dance....? Wow. So we can give Milotic a nuke to the arsenal, which can savely be reset without having to worry about allies. Oh, and also - instead of Normalium Z or Leftovers - it gets Lum Berry for dealing with bad poisoning or paralyzing. The Z-Crystal and Leftovers will go to other Pokemon. Goodra can learn Stomping Tantrum, useful when Fairy type switches in on its' Outrage - and might be used as a substitute to Earthquake - and Skitter Smack; quite reliable psyhical Bug attack which weakens Special attackers. It gives better coverage overall than Iron Tail, but with Iron Tail countering Fairies, and those resisting Bug, I'm not sure if I recommend the switch. Absol... stays the same; it's perfect; no need to any switches. Despite it learning Stone Edge in Gen 8 as well, I don't think it would match more instead of four moves already given. But two Pokemon... will have to go. They ain't bad, but I have much better options. Corviknight Moveset: Body Press Defog Drill Peck/Brave Bird Iron Head/U-Turn/Iron Defense/Bulk Up Ability: Mirror Armor Item: Leftovers Spread: IVs: 31/31/31/0/31/31 EVs: 252/76/0/0/180/0 Nature: Careful (SpD+; SpA-) Replaces: Lucario Honestly... I didn't expect doing this set to be that hard! Mainly moveset - this Corviknight here suffers from four-move syndrome. Okay, I have to explain... I didn't intend to do the split EVs; I was actually complaining about it previously, but I think I've made quite a good spread - that specific one allows full-health not-weakened Corviknight to survive STAB supereffective Fire Blast and Thunder from any 31 IV, 252 EV, positive nature Pokemon with 130 Base Special Attack... unless it has Choice Specs, any Special Attack-boosting item or something... or simply crit happens. Pokemon with higher base SpA aren't guaranteed to OHKO, but they might, may or even will. In the calculations I didn't include one fact, because it won't always happen; but let's start from the beginning: Mirror Armor is another Ability that - just like Marvel Scale - benefits from both Starlight and Fairy Tale. Actually, while writing this video, I wanted to include Reborn fields in Rejuvenation segment, and for Mirror Armor add the effect of increasing user's Special Defense by one stage upon switching-in on Fairy Tale Field, because Abilities with Armor increase either Defense there, and because "Mirror", like in "Mirror Coat", so Special one. And then I enter Rejuvenation side of the fields... and that's what it actually does. Well, whaddya say? Great minds think alike. Oh, and on Starlight Arena, it additionally works just like Queenly Majesty - quite a nice addition, if I might add. As I said, four-moves syndrome. I WANT Corviknight to have Defog, to deal with both entry hazards and screens - and since Rejuvenation has Arenite Wall, so Sandstorm version of Aurora Veil but better, it will come in handy. But also it has to have Body Press - a move which Corviknight can use very well - together with either Iron Defense of Bulk Up to boost its' Defense to power up that move and make it tougher to take out, also STAB Drill Peck or Brave Bird with eventual Iron Head, or maybe U-Turn for additional pivoting-... ah, for Arceus' sake! It's mixed-up, I know, so let me put it simply... Defog is a necessity, then Body Press to get use of that high Defense stat, add on physical Flying STAB, and either Steel STAB, U-Turn to pivoting, or some move that boosts Defense. It replaces Lucario because it's a psyhical Steel type, so that would cause a little overlap - and Corviknight on the opposing side would easily counter the E-Killer set. Yes, it isn't a classical sweeper as Lucario, but the next one will be... rather. In addition to that, Corviknight gets bonus points for being from her "anime" team. Aevian Lapras Moveset (1): Stone Edge Psychic Fangs/Psycho Cut/Zen Headbutt Drill Run Dragon Dance Ability: No Guard Item: Psychium Z Spread: IVs: 31/31/31/0/31/31 EVs: 4/252/0/0/0/252 Nature: Jolly (Spe+; SpA-) Replaces: Starmie Aevian Lapras isn't a Pokemon that excels on either Fields, but I have to bring it up, since it's a perfect Pokemon for Ame... This is a Pokemon... which shell and body... is made out of amethyst Tell me that this isn't a perfect choice for a OC of a person which nickname is Amethyst. Anyways, this Pokemon - just like Goodra - will be given two sets; physical and special - since in both cases it can find some success; they are just 10 points apart. It has more weaknesses than Kantonian Lapras, yes, but also more resistances (they don't matter a whole lot, but they still are), and the 135/80/85 bulk is pretty solid (pun not intended). Let's start with the physical. Aevian Lapras has three Abilities: Solid Rock, Forewarn and No Guard. Forewarn is... almost completely useless for a NPC, and players tend not to use it, outside of not-completely-randomized Nuzlockes. As of the remaining two, No Guard is a better choice for a psyhical Lapras, you'll see why. The moveset will consist of STAB attacks in form of high crit ratio Stone Edge and either Psychic Fangs to get rid of Screens if Corviknight failed to do so, or the opponent was stubborn (or stupid) enough to set them again, Psycho Cut for more high crit ratio, or Zen Headbutt for flinching which might happen more often that you would think. The third move is Drill Run, another move with higher crit chance, and the combination of Ground, Rock and Psychic is currently-perfect offensive wise. That set was made to fuck will all the stallers. And the fourth move will be... Dragon Dance. ...what...? It's my favorite Status move! And also one of the best; boosting Attack and Speed at once. And trust me, it benefits Lapras incredibly - just one Dragon Dance is enough to elevate this Lapras' Speed enough to outspeed every Pokemon with maximum possible Speed that has Base Speed under 115! Two Dragon Dances, and it only gets outsped by Deoxys-Speed and Regieleki. Also it powers up its' decent 95 Base Attack to the unbelievable heights - being more powerful offensively than Mega Rayquaza after one DD, and Mega Mewtwo X after two! It doesn't get any form of recovery at all, yes, but the sheer power is more than enough to make up for that. Add on Psychium Z for nasty Shattered Psyche or Draconium Z for Z-Dragon Dance which will negate any negative stat changes if opponent wantedit to weaken with Sticky Web, or any stat-dropping Status move, and No Guard so the not-100% accurate moves (which are 50% accurate, in that case), will always hit - and even if Lapras will be always hit back, doesn't matter; that Pokemon was built to last. Moveset (2): Psychic Power Gem Earth Power/Magma Drift Cosmic Power/Dragon Pulse/Flash Cannon/Shadow Ball/Ice Beam Ability: Solid Rock Item: Psychium Z/Magical Seed Spread: IVs: 31/0/31/31/31/31 EVs: 252/252/0/0/4/0 Nature: Modest (SpA+; Atk-) Replaces: Starmie We had fast physical Lapras, so now for bulky special Lapras. I won't go into much of a detail here, because I've described Lapras and its' attributes in the previous point. We have STAB moves, this time in Psychic and Power Gem, and coverage move. As it turns out, Fire is as effective as Ground overall when combined with Rock-Psychic core. So, the third move will be either Earth Power - Ground-type Psychic, basically - or Magma Drift. For those who don't know what it is... it is Surf but Fire-type - power, accuracy, PP, effect, targets... all the same.But Earth Power is preferable due to it lowering Special Defense. For the fourth move, we have either Cosmic Power, so this bulky Pokemon end up even bulkier, especially on Starlight Arena where the effect is doubled, or... literally any coverage move but I'd prefer Flash Cannon for being boosted on both Fields or Dragon Pulse which is deadly on Fairy Tale Field. Ability will be Solid Rock - so this bulky Pokemon with take decrease damage from supereffective hits; something it will appreciate, and it will hold either Psychium Z for Shattered Psyche mega attack or Cosmic Power powering Special Defense even more; or maybe Magical Seed for +2 SpA on Starlight or free turn on Fairy Tale. But Z-Move is more appealing, to say it upfront Moveset (3): Psychic/Power Gem/Sing Zap Cannon Blizzard Focus Blast Ability: No Guard Item: Magical Seed Spread: IVs: 31/0/31/31/31/31 EVs: 252/252/0/0/4/0 or 4/252/0/0/0/252 Nature: Modest (SpA+; Atk-) Replaces: Starmie Wait... have I said two sets...? I think I did... well, whatever This set is the pure definition of "hyper-offense". Despite this doesn't suit Ame... I just need to talk about this because holy shit! That Pokemon, which can have No Guard, learns Blizzard, Focus Blast and Zap Cannon?! That is overkill - dealing neutral damage to all but one Pokemon. And that Pokemon is the one we know... quite well. This time however, there are two ways Lapras can deal with it - either Power Gem to faint it instantly, or Sing to put this rascal into its' place. Sing can annoy any Pokemon, and in the game with no Sleep Cause, if played horribly, that one Lapras may destroy you. But if you are confident opponent won't have Shedinja, you can have Psychic, but I'd recommend Sing. If it wasn't obvious, the Ability will be No Guard. Item will be Magical Seed, as in both cases it benefits Lapras - as said previously, either +2 Special Attack, or free turn. If that version of Lapras would be used, Z-Crystal goes back to Milotic and it will hold the Normalium Z instead of Lum Berry. The set can be either bulky and speedy; in both cases there are pros and cons. Now, for the quick analysis (Solrock is there instead of Aevian Lapras): The defensive match-up may be even better than the Reborn one. We can see that some types - Electric, Fighting and Fairy especially - can make some holes in our team, yes, but this time more Pokemon carries Ground, Psychic and Flying moves to counter the first two. Fairy is still dangerous, but - as previously - most than half of the team carries Steel or Poison attacks to put them down swiftly. Overall, the grade for the team - depending on the picked sets - varies from 8/10 to even 9/10. This team, I feel, has a better balance between Physical and Special attackers, between offensive and defensive Pokemon, between strikers, setters and pivoters... It is overall better in terms of comparability, aesthetics and lore connection. So, there you have it - the upgraded, MUCH BETTER than the previous one, headcanons for Ame Liddell's teams. Ahhhh... finally. According to various writing pages, I've written well over ten thousands words here... Also the seeking, picking and researching took quite a while... being a game designer ain't easy, huh... So~, @Amethyst... I do hope this version is to your liking, and will forget the disgrace that was the previous one. And too y'all, I say, sayonara. Have a nice day, afternoon, night, or whatever you have at the moment.
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