[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

Mason has a shiny Sudowoodo the color of the ancient Ginkgo tree in the center of town, a random Fossil Pokemon of your choice, a mildly hard-of-hearing Tyranitar, and his ace - a new Creshire-only Pokemon called Fishur. It's a teeny-tiny weasel-like Water/Ground Pokemon with the power to cause earthquakes and the ability to bypass defenses. It uses Double Team, OHKO moves, Earthquake, and Muddy Water (well, four of those).

(Gonna color code speech since I put in some trainer banter.  Nathan is red, Mason is brown.)

Nathan stands across the battlefield from the researcher, watching him carefully readying to throw a pokeball.  Mason's the Gym Leader he's done the least research into so far, so he's not quite sure what to expect...yet.  He's formulating a plan on the fly today.  "Alright, ready when you are, Mason."

And onto the battlefield fly the pokeballs!

The Final Gym: VS Gym Leader (No Cheering) - Pokemon Sword and Shield

On one side, an impressive looking Shiny Sudowoodo!  On the other, a tiny, pink blob that's rapidly changing shape!  "Found this little guy in the swamplands near Arrowroot.  As if witnessing the birth of a Ditto wasn't rare enough, I seem to have stumbled upon one whose Transformations are influenced by the stars themselves!  Still not entirely sure what's up with that, honestly..."

Mere moments later, Ditto has turned into an exact duplicate of the pseudo gingko tree.  "I think we both know what we want to do in this situation, don't we, Mason?"

The orders are issued and executed simultaneously by both trainer and pokemon!

"Wood Hammer!"
"Wood Hammer!"

Rock solid branches collide as the two imposters clash!  For just a second, time freezes as the two seem to be at a stalemate...

...until just as suddenly, both slide backwards and away from each other from the force of the collision.  They stare at each other unflinchingly...

...and then both fall to their knees from the Recoil.  Mason's Sudowoodo, however, doesn't stop there, and subsequently falls flat on its face, unconscious.  The Strength and Speed of Nathan's pokemon won out over Mason's Vitality this time.

Nathan then recalls Ditto, not wishing to put the mimic through more stress.  "Good job, buddy.  Get some rest, alright?  You've earned it."  Another pokeball soon zips onto the field, revealing Nathan's next choice.

Sceptile.  And on Mason's side, a massive Aurorus!

Sceptile looks to Nathan, then back at the large Rock/Ice type, unsure of what exactly is being expected of him.

"It's been awhile since you've battled, right, Sceptile?  Go wild, use whatever moves you like.  There's no restrictions here.  I just have one easy to follow condition: no Lethal wounds, alright?"

Sceptile looks back at the Aurorus, a cold, almost emotionless look in its eyes at first.  Nathan issues no specific orders to Sceptile.  He just waits.

...and then Sceptile's eyes light up as he smirks at the dinosaur.  He's going to enjoy this.  Greatly.

One moment, he's standing near Nathan.  The next, he's all but vanished as he dodges an incoming Hyper Voice.  He may be out of practice, but that doesn't mean he's not capable.

Sceptile suddenly reappears behind Aurorus, one arm raised and glowing green as he's about to strike.

Mason's eyes glint as he calls out the attack and his countermeasure for it.  Aurorus is one of his premier Grass type counters.  "Predictable.  Aurorus, Protect."

The Leaf Blade clashes with the energy barrier, Aurorus almost fully protected from its power.  Sceptile backs off planning his next move, though there's a measure of uncertainty that he can pull this off...

Nathan doesn't hesitate, though.  "You have a stronger move that's perfect for this situation, Sceptile.  It's okay to use it here."  Sceptile looks back at Nathan, still with a measure of uncertainty.  Trust is a fragile thing...

...but trust is why Nathan taught Sceptile this move in the first place.  Both Nathan and the gecko think back on what he said at a point prior to this battle. Use this power responsibly.  That doesn't mean don't use it at all, but remember that there are times when it shouldn't be used.  Trust me on that, and I can teach you moves that no Scimitar would have been able to.  Alright?

Nathan nods to Sceptile.  "Go ahead.  No restrictions on what you can and can't do, as long as you mean no harm.  I'm trusting you, as are Mason and his pokemon."

Sceptile takes a deep breath, then turns to face his opponent once more.  No restrictions, huh?  Very well then...

The sequence of events plays out similar to how they did before, but when Aurorus Protects itself this time, Sceptile's strike isn't one of natural power, but rock crushing might.  The barrier shatters, and Aurorus is felled in a single blow as the Rock Smash connects, leaving cracks in the dinosaur's rocky exterior.  Nathan nods once more as Sceptile marvels at the power he now wields.  "Good job.  That's enough for now, though.  Take a breather, and we'll practice that some more later, alright?"  Sceptile carefully considers, then slowly nods.  Right.  That...sounds pretty nice to him, actually.  And he's definitely a little winded after that fight.  He goes to stand by Gallade, who claps Sceptile on the back in a show of camaraderie.  The gecko can't help but crack a small smile.  Maybe he'll find some enjoyment from this after all...

As Nathan prepares his next pokeball, he continues the idle chatter with Mason.  "Sceptile used to belong to the Scimitars.  He's strong, but still getting used to using that Strength himself, unfortunately.  I daresay this was a good chance for him to practice.  Moving on, though, I think you'll find my next pokemon very, very interesting.  Ray, center stage!"

"I'm sure I will.  Of course, entirely for research purposes, I need to test the limits of how strong they are, too.  Tyranitar, crush them!"

The tiny little Primal Bulbasaur appears, undaunted by the massive Tyranitar standing before it.  The Sandstorm that quickly kicks up due to Sand Stream is unusually loud, but Nathan has no doubt that the large pokemon will be able to see Ray's bright flashes of light.

Mason likely recognizes Ray's species, and Nathan has a small smile on his face.  "Found Ray thanks to Professor Laurelin.  Couldn't bring myself to hand him over to her for lab research, though.  Wanted to do some field research of my own, and he's picked up a trick or two that he wouldn't have in a dusty old lab.  Like...these!  Well, not this first move, actually."  Nathan smirks as the bud on Ray's back begins to open.

A bright FLASH immediately follows, blinding Tyranitar!  Struggling with its hearing already because of its own Ability, it has no choice but to either fly into a rampage or clear its vision.  Nathan would be taking a serious gamble here if this was any trainer's Tyranitar besides a Gym Leader's, but he's confident Mason has a handle on the tyranno.

Indeed, Tyranitar recoils back from the FLASH, struggling to clear its vision.  Nathan jumps on the opening.  "Ray, now's the time.  Show them your Primal gifts!"

The bud on Ray's back opens once more, shining with a brilliant, green colored light.  Grass begins growing through the cracks in the floor, creating a lush, green carpet of grass.  And with the Grassy Terrain in effect, Ray's able to fully exploit the power of his other major technique!  Vines grow from the grass, lashing out at Tyranitar just as it regains its sight, entangling it and slowing it down even further!

Sceptile watches that move with intense interest, a tactical play made by Nathan both on and off the battlefield.  "Just one of the techniques you might learn in the future, Sceptile, should we come to trust each other enough.  *chuckle*  Ray, finish them off!"

The vines suddenly grab hold of Tyranitar and bind it as Ray directs them to squeeze, once again with enough force to crush rock.  The extreme pressure causes the Tyranitar to eventually pass out, the Fighting type attack too much for it to handle.

Nathan praises Ray appropriately before recalling him.  "Excellent work, Ray!  Definitely an imprvement on when we used that strategy on Howl's Persian!  You're getting stronger every day!"

The Final Hurdle: Gym Leader's Last Pokemon - Pokemon Sword and Shield

One more pokeball appears in Nathan's hand.  "I have one more pokemon to show you in this battle, Mason, and I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it!  Straight from the stone age, found in the depths of the winding tunnels beneath Creshire's central mountain, and revived courtesy of Professor Laurelin, everyone welcome Sentry!  This Sandstorm's not over yet!"

Mason smiles.  "And I'm sure you'll get a kick out of my final pokemon.  Fishur, let the earth tremble before you!"

The large, wingless Tropius makes her appearance in battle at long last, the grass bending beneath her massive weight!  One sweep of her long tail, and all the dust and sand in the room left in the wake of Tyranitar's appearance becomes a raging Sandstorm once more (though a much quieter one this time)!  This is likely the first time that Mason has seen the majesty of Primal Tropius in person!

And her opponent...a tiny pokemon that bears similarities to a Buizel?  Sentry looks down upon the small, unflinching pokemon.  What could they possibly do to hurt a giant like her?

By contrast, Nathan is immediately cautious.  "Watch yourself, Sentry.  With a name like that, I expect it has at least one cheap shot at its disposal."

"And right you are!  How astute of you!  How about we show them, Fishur?"

The small pokemon chitters and jumps, only for the ground to begin to shake and split open despite how light and nimble it is!  With Nathan's warning, it isn't hard for Sentry to dodge the Fissure attack, but it definitely alarms the large sauropod regardless.  She could have fallen into that hole!  A hole which cleaved the battlefield into two, in fact!  Fishur stands on one side, weaving in and out of the grass, while Sentry stands tall on the other.

Fishur disappears into the grass, only for 10 to emerge moments later!  Mason chuckles.  "If you can figure out which one's the real weasel, you'll win, I'm sure!  Don't expect this to be easy, though!"

The orders go back and forth between both sides.  A FLASH lights the battlefield once more, preventing more Fissures being used and limiting the weasel pokemon's number of actions, but every Fishur stumbles around in the exact same way, making it impossible to determine which one is the real one.  Sentry tries to CUT through a few of them, but they keep vanishing back into the grass and reemerging in different places, making it difficult to keep track of which ones have been hit and which ones haven't been.

All the while, the tiny pokemon keeps chipping away at Sentry's armor, not seeming to care about the Sandstorm.  An Earthquake rocks the room, but the Grassy Terrain holds it together, and Sentry stands firm.  Wave after wave of dirty, dusty water strikes Sentry throughout, seemingly coming from every every Double Team clone simultaneously.  If not for the Leftovers she's holding and the Grassy Terrain's healing abilities, Sentry would have fallen long ago.

The sauropod twists her neck in every direction, trying to determine which of the weasels is the odd one out.  Nathan's wishing that she knew Razor Leaf right about now, as the Grassy Terrain is beginning to recede, and Fishur will easily overwhelm Sentry with this strategy if it isn't stopped.  Think, thiiiiiiiinnnnnnnk...there has to be a way to pick the real one out of the crowd...

Then an idea hits him!  It's fortunate that they haven't used a fourth move yet, for Nathan has the perfect solution!  "Sentry, Rage Powder!  That should draw the real one out of hiding!"

At once, Sentry scatters dust and pollen with a sweep of her tail!  All 10 weasels sneeze and look at Sentry simultaneously, but the dust only settles on a single one: the sole Fishur that isn't an illusion for the dust to pass through.  "Gotcha.  Take 'em down, Sentry!"

The sauropod roars, raises her tail, and with a crash, brings it down on the tiny pokemon with a massive *THUD!*  The Double Team clones all vanish, and when Sentry lifts her tail back up, Fishur is stumbling around in a daze, barely conscious.  Sentry stomps over and wraps her tail around them protectively as they fall unconscious, ensuring that they don't fall into the Fissure that rent the room in twain.

Triumph!: Victory! (Gym Leader) - Pokemon Sword and Shield

And thus, Nathan has defeated Mason!  Rock versus Rock, Grass versus Earth!  Science and nature, at odds yet in harmony!  8 Gyms, 8 attempts, 8 badges!  Few can claim to have defeated every gym, and even fewer still can claim to have bested them all on their first try!

All that remains are the spoils of victory, Mason's thoughts on the pokemon Nathan showed him, and any other benefits the GM deems fit.