[Meta Thread] Dragonstrike's Pokerole Test Game: Mount Coronet Mystery

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Okay, so the book isn't exactly very clear on whether Evasions can be performed multiple times per Round.

It does, however, clearly say that the Clash action can be used multiple times per Round.

Clash requires the use of a Move, though, which means you can't use that specific move again during the same Round (which is a rule definitely listed in the book)

Interestingly, I also found a noteworthy restriction on clashing: Support moves (obviously), moves that ignore defenses, and moves that do a set amount of damage cannot be Clashed.  But that's besides the point.

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I think the key wording here in the book is that Moves can only be used once per Round, and Evades are a maneuver, not a Move.

Given the nature of Evades, Strikes, Knockdowns, Grapples, etc. all being basic maneuvers that every character can do, I'm inclined to say that they can all be used multiple times per Round.

Particularly since Strikes and Knockdowns are basically a character's only means of damaging self defense if they get dragged into a battle and have no more moves left to use .  Mostly looking at human characters in this instance.  If they were limited to using only Strike and Knockdown once per Round, they'd only have 2 damaging attacks per Round to use, period.

That, and if a human character gets targeted by a pokemon's attack, I think you'd be inclined to get out of the way of it if you can, and probably do so more than once if necessary.

...I consider this a bad ruling for Pokemon (Not Humans), as this creates a rather nasty dynamic when it comes to DEX vs any other Attribute Pokemon. With the 'No Spam' Rule re-implemented, The '4 Move Limit' that League Battles have, the Action Cost being flat instead of incremental, and No Healing allowed in League Battles for the Trainer, a High DEX Pokemon can just repeatidly use Evade to easily Dodge out of a opponent's first 2-3 Attacks, then get to attack them with complete impunity while the opponent can do nothing. If you can Spam Evade, Strike, and/or Knockdown and they don't count towards the 4 Move Limit, then what's stopping anybody from using it to replicate the Move Spam that is in Iron's Game?

If they do count towards it, then even in that case an DEX Opponent can effectively get twice or more Actions with their 4 Moves vs their foe, depending on how many attacks the foe used. For example, if a target has 2 Damage Moves, and 2 Support for the target, and Evasive foe with the same amount of Damaging Moves + Evasion and Random, then the Evasive Foe can Dodge Twice (Which it's liable to do successfully, unless the target is also DEX/Evasive Focused), then get to use its Attacks. Foe effectively and actually gets twice the Actions as a target due to Evasion Spam, while the target can only get two unless those Support Moves can constantly be useful (Which they usually can't be), and that disparity only increases from their the more Moves the foe has avaliable. I think you can see how ruinous getting effectively twice Actions for minimum cost in a No Spam 4 Move Limit Battle, as a quick enough foe can effectively be not only invincible, but an utter bane to anything's existence unless said existence is fast/faster than they are to keep up if they can just Evade and use up a target's alotted attacks for a Round, then casually pick them apart or set up themselves.

Such has been demonstrated with Weavile vs Stymph, and I'm frankly surprised she survived that Round, as the odds HEAVILY favored her to be chumped , but Dice Luck saved me there, thankfully.

That's why I think that Maneuvers for Pokemon should be hard limited to one under the No Spam policy, as its (No Spam) has a highly unfavorable interaction with the 4 Move Limit and the dynamic I outlined above in League Battles, and even Wild Battles to a lesser extent. Humans don't have to fall under it, as I think they can be afforded certain privileges/exemptions from the No Spam system, since they can't be good combatants unless you give players Weapons that can deal damage on par with Pokemon Moves and their inherent humanity could allow them to KNOW how to bypass such limitations. 

If you disagree, then at the very least make it so that Evasion and Maneuver Spam have an HIGH cost to them after the first time they are used (Like + 2/3/4 for each Evasion after the first, making it so that can't entirely avoid ALL the Damage after the first Evade, or Spamming Evade lowers the Attacking/Support Move you/the foe can use by 1 in a Round each time they're used [< -I like this limitation the best] ) AND make them count towards the 4 Move/Maneuver Limit (Except maybe in the 1 for 1 Trade Limitation's case), as otherwise it'll make DEX/Evade Class Pokemon an utter NIGHTMARE to deal with unless you have a specific counter class against such cheese.

Finally, I'd say that regardless of the final fate of this ruling, since it happened DURING Ran's Gym Match, it should not be used for it, as that constitutes as a difficultly I could in no way account for until after the fact. And in an already tougher than usual Gym Fight, that little added difficulty could be severely costly.