[Meta thread] Iron's PokeRole Adventure: The Skull Ruins

[Dragonstrike]

Well, let's see...what could decrease a Trainer's stats?  Hmmm...

Well, taking Lethal damage might, for starters.  Those injuries aren't life threatening for nothing.  Receive an injury that cripples your movement?  There goes Dexterity or Strength.  Lose an eye?  Insight might go down.  Raked by Skuntank's poisonous claws?  Might harm your Vitality. Of course, that would probably only affect the trainer in the end, and leave the stats unaltered for the pokemon.  And Lethal damage doesn't always have to be crippling, either.  Well, unless you specifically command a pokemon to use a Lethal move on a particular area and score enough successes to hit it...  

To actually lose experience value outright though would probably have to be supernatural or divine influence (or time travel shenanigans).  Not something to be taken lightly.

Fun fact: Ventus used to have 3 STR, 2 DEX, and 4 VIT before his run in with Skunktank. Given the toxins screwing with his bodily function and the sheer amount of damage and surgery he was subjected to, everything but Insight got a massive drop. He's only now beginning to recover from that encounter, as his journey through Cheshire turns out to be extremely good Physical therapy for him! Of course, he still needs to stretch regularly and not overwork himself, or he could collapse again...

Well, I guess it makes a lot of sense considering his field work background, so...and if he hasn't really raised pokemon before, that's probably why it uses the 'new' stats as opposed to the 'old' ones, since the pokemon aren't familiar with that old strength.