Vs. Lurantis

Against a Bug and grass type, there is no shelter from my team.  Go Team Foul Wing!

Vs Lurantis: The Hedge Trimmers

I led with Sludj as I always go, spreading poison to Lurantis--and then to its ally partner Trumbeak.  The fact that the mantis pokemon summoned Trumbeak should have been my firs cue that the battle was going to be longer than I expected, but I didn't get the memo.

See, my squad is so strong against grass that I actually started writing this post before I even started the battle.  The original transcript read simply as:

"It was easy and I won easily."

I could not have anticipated that the pokemon would have Synthesis.  Stalling does not work, at the most fundamental of levels, against an opponent that can heal itself. Grimer was able to injure the two, but Lurantis healed itself and Trumbeak took out my lead.  

I switched to the more direct approach.  I sent in Sassy Sally and used the Fire Z-move "Inferno Overdrive".  Against a bug/grass type (even a bug/grass type that is several levels higher) this would be an easy KO.  Apparently however, Lurantis is only grass-typed, and so Inferno Overdrive mortally wounded it.

And then Lurantis just healed itself.

Solar Blade is basically Lurantis
calling upon Divine Intervention.

Obviously this wasn't working; I wasn't losing yet and none of its moves were hurting my pokemon much, but I couldn't keep this up.  Its second ally summon pokemon, castform, had used Sunny Day--thereby making Synthesis doubly effective.  I turned my attention towards the castform and took it out handily enough--but lost Sassy Sally in the process.

I sent in Ori-chan and ate a move called Solar Blade.  Seemingly, this is a two-turn charge move like Solarbeam, but dealing physical damage.  I used Feather Dance and Feather Dance again, then baton-passed out to Trumbeak.  The Feather dances were to weaken that Solar Blade attack.  The baton pass was to ensure that Lurantis' move would target Ori-chan before it switches out so that Trumbeak would enter the battle undamaged.

I knew I had the eventual win at this point.  Trumbeak has Pluck, Flame Charge, Roost, and Work Up.  I could boost my attack and speed and heal off the damage I took with roost--and then take out Lurantis with one attack.  

I'm not going to lie, I felt pretty good about myself after this win.

VICTORY!!

2-0

Mashing Mallows: The Lush Jungle Trial

Anticipating a grass trial, I started putting together my team of lawnmowers.  I was surprised at how strong my team is against the "grass" type.  This should be a cinch.

Battle Squad 5: Hedge-Trimmers

Despite the fact that I always choose water, I never really ever manifest a weakness to the grass type. Partly this is because I love the poison type (I have three separate poison pokemon on my team already in Grimer, Salandit, and Mareanie).  I suppose the other "part" would be how much I love birds.

I like to play this game with people I meet where I bait them into asking me what my top five favorite animals are.  I suppose I derive some sick pleasure in forcing conversations to follow the paths that are most convenient to me.  As it were, those five are the Crimson Shrike, the Toucan, the Cardinal, the Bone Vulture, and the Pangolin.  Four of those are birds.  I have issues.

"What's that, Sport?! Timmy's in the well again?"

I met Captain Mallow with my two poison pokemon and my two birds and set to completing her task.  I was to find four herbal ingredients in the jungle by using Stoutland to sniff them out.  I found the tiny mushroom easily.  When I picked it, I was attacked by a disturbingly gangly pokemon called Shiinotic, which may be based on the shititake mushroom.  I find it kind of funny how these trials are all about doing things other than battling--and then battling anyways.

Along the way, I fought plenty of the pokemon Fomantis, and sadly no Vitreebel.  I always envisioned Victreebel to go really well with Jungles, so this was a legitimate hole in my world view.

Thanks Obama.

I've found that I really like using these small teams for the trials.  It makes the experience really personal.  It's about you and your four mates.  Counting on your pokemon--making sure that they stay healthy.  I guess this is what being a real pokemon trainer would feel like.  Right now I'm on a safari in a jungle teeming with life and I'm having a personal adventure with Sludj, Ori-chan, Sassy Sally, and Pip Pip.

"God damn it, Sludj, stop dying on me!"

After recovering the final ingredient, I regrouped with Mallow at the entrance to the jungle.  Lana and Kiawe were both there for the grand finale where we would summon the totem pokemon with the herbal cooking--but not before Mallow came on to the three of us in the weirdest way possible: pleading with me to pound the ingredients with my stiff bone (Editor's note: the "rare bone" is, indeed, an item in the pokemon series, but the author has left this information decidedly ambiguous for the purposes of comedy and because he's an asshole in general).
_______________
THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR SEX PUNS

Uhm, I know she likes Grass pokemon, but a little bit of a trim on that underbrush might help us both out...

Sigh...if I must...

_________________
Ultimately, though...

Would this five-star recipe turn out to be a recipe for disaster?!

Tune in next time to find out!!

Ben Builds a Grass Gym

I got ready for my gym battle by depositing Ivysaur and bringing-in Kirlia again.  Ivysaur's current role in my squad is as a support/stall-er and he would be walled-out by a strong grass type.

Gymkiller Squad #4: The Lawnmowers

So, I entered the gym to challenge Ramos for my fourth badge...

And I came right back out about 5 minutes later after earning it...huh...that was WAY too easy...

I feel that this time around, the game-designers forgot how to make decent gym challenges, and the proof of this can be found in Ramos' pokemon selection.  His squad lacked focus and coherence--and failed to capitalize on any of the strengths of a Grass-Typed Pokemon.

Ramos' problems all stemmed from him using Grass types to try overpower me rather than outsmart me.  You see, the grass type is not a pure might type.  Ground, Rock, and Steel Types are the physical defensive types, the Psychic type is typically made up of strong special attackers, Fighting pokemon are generally strong physical attackers, but the Grass and Poison types are mostly meant to be tricky stalling or support pokemon.  For evidence, just look at all the grass pokemon out there--the only pokemon that are straight-up attackers that I can think of off the top of my head are Sceptile, Roserade, and Torterra.  Oh, and Breloom, but I am STILL trying to forget about Breloom...too many nightmares...

Even among these we see a lot of chicanery coming in--Breloom is only really threatening with leech seed and spore, which are moves meant to harass you, not beat you outright. 

Ramos was running a Jumpluff that kept attacking with Acrobatics, a Weepinbell who used Acid (heh, heh), and a Gogoat who kept trying to use Take-Down.  This made the fight easy since these grass types are known for neither their strength nor their resilience. 

On the other hand, I recall Erika from Pokemon Red--now that fight was DAMN annoying.  Case and Point: Victreebel with Sleep powder and Wrap ("Victreebel's attack continues...Victreebel's attack continues!"  I still have nightmares about this). 

You can't run a successful grass gym that ignores all the strengths of the grass type: status effects, Growth, health recovery, and other chicanery.

So, I will now adjust Ramos' team to be a REAL grass gym.

Have him lead with Jumpluff as before, but have that Jumpluff run Leech Seed, Poisonpowder, Sleep Powder, and Mega Drain.  This makes it a good harassing lead--status effects, health re-absorption, and all going off Jumpluff's admirable speed stat.  Plus, it is not overpowered since, well, since it's Jumpluff and the only thing Jumpluff fears more than fire is a soft breeze or a Ratatta's Tail Whip or really anything in the world at all.

Next, keep Weepinbell...actually, evolve it into Victreebel...Erika was the fourth gym too and if she
can have a Victreebel, so can Ramos.  Have Victreebel focus less on attacking and more on harassing--give it Stun Spore, Stockpile, Grass Knot, and Acid (if you're so damn attached to the Acid anyways).


Finally, Gogoat is dumb--I know we want to include one of the new guys, but I think someone like Roserade or Leafeon (if you're feeling spicy) would fit best here.  The last one on the Grass Team is the cleaner: while the previous two pokemon are meant to wear teams down, this guy is supposed to finish-off the job. 

A gymleader is meant to yield to a trainer of sufficient skill--but only if they possess the skills necessary to move on.  After battling Ramos I didn't really feel that I had learned anything new since Korrina, I just felt disappointed...and a little bit hungry.

Current Squad:

FROGADIER/Froakles/lvl.28
IVYSAUR/Ivy/lvl.28
FLAERON/Hotfoot/lvl.28
FLOETTE/Pixie/lvl.26
SCRAGGY/Scrappy/lvl.28
AERODACTYL/Scarydactyl/lvl.29

On Rotation: Kirlia, Hippopotas, Pikachu, Lucario