This is going to be a bit irritating because of how it shakes out. This update will have Noah's Grand Trial, and all three kids' Ancient Trials.
Mio still carrying Sparkling Aria and not Scald. I've been a bit hesitant on that one, but with the Will-O-Wisps I have, I should probably consider switching. Still, though, Mio is a great choice for this fight, with her Fairy moves covering Flygon.
This is The fight Nimue was built for, and she is going to rock it. Honestly, she could probably do decent if it was just her, the problem is mainly Dugtrio being a slightly awkward lead.
Lanz has a major issue: He's a Steel type. He's my backup option for Flygon, but he's probably not going to succeed even if he gets a free switch. And we are not sending him against Mudsdale.
Will-O-Wisp and Levitate, an amazing combo for Mudsdale.
Ethel can clean out Stamina buffs, and also has the Flying type to avoid all the Ground moves. Crobat makes a surprisingly cool Hazer.
Kailey... well, she resists Ground, and Moxie and Storm Throw are great. Past that, she doesn't really have much in the way of strategy.
Let's see what we can do, though.
Fortunately, Dugtrio is actually weak to Water.
Mio's type matchup against it is a little weird, because of the Fairy type, but Earthquake was probably the better move for it anyway. Higher BP and all that.
Although I guess Iron Head had a flinch chance...
One thing Sparkling Aria does have is that I love Mio's pose while she's doing it.
Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense- Gastrodon and Flygon are terrible choices both matchup-wise and because Mio is good at Sp. Atk.
Well, this is why we have Eunie. Now then, time to Burn-
This... this was a misclick. I intended to click Will-O-Wisp and missed. This is going to set us back.
A lot.
I have... a plan here. I can't verify it was a good one. But it was a plan.
I probably should've considered a Swords Dance before going for Storm Throws, but I thought Metronome would help. The plan here is that Storm Throw crits don't care about Stamina.
Kailey is... not as good at this as I expected. Pinsir is supposed to be decently good at physical bulk, but Mudsdale just wanted it more.
Alas.
I guess we're getting hit by Tectonic Rage today.
I do love the fact that Mudsdale uses its "kick with hind legs" animation here. But Tectonic Rage is an attack that kinda didn't properly sell itself as I shot it here.
What's happening here is that Mudsdale is driving us so deep into the earth's crust that we're hitting the mantle. Heatran says hi.
Regardless of whether this was a Ground move or a Fire move, Pinsir did not have enough HP to take it. On the plus side, we no longer have to worry about it for anyone else.
To be honest, I probably should've done this sooner. Ah well. Live and learn.
Time for Nimue's shenanigans.
Sleep Powder -> Quiver Dance won't protect us defensively, and is really just here so Nimue can handle Flygon.
Got some decent stacks up, but after the one hit, I've got no real way to take a second.
The Giga Drain was never in doubt.
I just need those Sp. Def stacks and HP for Flygon.
And speak of the devil!
Fortunately, I have enough stacks to outspeed Flygon (fun fact- Nimue is so fast that she can accomplish this at +1), so I can get to work on Sleep Powder and Leech Seed. Just getting some insurance in case of failure.
With the Big Root, Leech Seed is good insurance.
Really getting the most of these Quiver Dances I can. Flygon terrifies me.
Although it's moments like this that confirm this is a good strat to have picked.
That, especially. One more Quiver Dance and my passive regen is outhealing.
And, of course, Giga Drain was still neutral here. The defence is always harder than the offense.
Absolutely no idea, game.
Not. One. Clue.
Shame about the misclick, and Kailey isn't exactly impressing, but I'm glad Nimue did her part.
That's two of these kids out of the way. Onto other matters.
Ray does actually have a blow-by-blow of the fight with Veteran Eric, if not what I had packed.
One thing Ray has over Ailey is Dawn. Dawn is just as capable of throwing heavy rocks down as Nemo and Sue, but actually has the sort of Speed that expects to outspeed opponents like this.
She actually dispatches this Noctowl without any worry about Tailwind or Reflect.
This tempts Eric into using Flygon second. The datamine lists his team in the order "Noctowl > Gengar > Slowking > Flygon", but Eric is smart enough to send his Pokemon out to counter what he sees, and it is unlikely you will defeat Noctowl with a Pokemon that Eric wants to counter with Gengar.
Flygon is not the sort of Pokemon you switch into. Dawn sets up Rocks, mostly because that will actually mean something.
So long, Dawn.
I think one of the reasons Mimikyu stood out to so many places, once they gave it its chance, was that Disguise makes it serve as an incredible counter to these incredibly powerful Trainer Pokemon scattered throughout the Alola games.
Strictly speaking, Brave Bernie can't expect to take an Earthquake. But with Disguise, that's a free Play Rough.
...Well, it is when it lands.
Somehow- I have no idea how- Brave Bernie managed to successfully take an Earthquake even without Disguise, and land that Play Rough. Dawn totally could have switched out, if Brave Bernie landed the first one.
Well, that wasn't much. Also, Gengar is totally outspeeding Brave Bernie.
Terri can afford to switch in, though. Unlike with Flygon, Gengar can be resisted, just by being a Dark type.
Well, that is unfortunate.
Terri probably could've taken Slowking, too, had it still had Crunch.
As it is, the moves Terri has left are not the sorts of moves that can oneshot a Slowking, and Slowking has Scald.
That's why I brought Gary, though!
We call that a double resist.
Leaf Storm is a 130 BP, 90% accurate Special Grass move that inflicts -2 Sp. Atk on the user after it is used. If that sounds like Draco Meteor, that's because it is. Gary learned this during Vast Poni Canyon, and as funny as it is that Gary has both of its STAB types using the "same" move, I might replace this with Flamethrower and stick to Energy Ball as Grass STAB.
I am somewhat proud of the fact Ray was better prepared to handle Eric than Ailey.
The Ancient Trial has, from a visible perspective, not changed one bit. You still have the same fight with one Jangmo-o, one Hakamo-o, leading up to the Totem fight with Kommo-o. Kommo-o's kit and backup has been shuffled, of course, but apart from that, this Trial is exactly as you remember it.
We'll see about that one.
Shiva was the correct choice from the word go, with both Ice and Psychic to deal with both of Kommo-o's types. Her job is a bit different this time, though.
Crysantha was a natural pick, now that she has a Fairy type move worth writing home about. Kommo-o is a bit more prepared for her, but I have a plan in return.
Consilia'll try to get Tailwind up, as usual, and can also throw out SE hits on Fighting moves while she's out there.
Ridley's plan is to make the most out of Draining Kiss's draining abilities. I have all the faith and none of the confidence.
Moss drew "dealing with Scizor" duties. And it let the starter play a role, too.
Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o have the same, barely worth mentioning kits they did in SM, although they have had their Atk IV fixed at 31 and gained fixed Natures- the Jangmo-o is Naughty (+Atk/-Sp. Def) and the Hakamo-o is Brave (+Atk/-Spd). Both make them easy pickings, just as they were before.
This is still Dragon Claw, of course.
I was surprised to find that these two have a chance of dropping Heart Scales. They are technically visible encounters, but Trial Pokemon don't typically work like that.
Anyway, time to meet the new, improved-
...Well, OK, clearly "improved" is a technical term. What kind of rallying cry is "Sound!" anyway?
Totem Kommo-o's new investments give it 31/1/31/1/31/31 IVs, an EV spread of 120 in HP, 138 in Def and 252 in Sp. Def, and a Calm Nature (+Sp. Def/-Atk). Observations of note: USUM's Kommo-o is +11 HP, equal in Def, +55 in Sp. Def, and now has 154 Speed without modifications. The Atk is lower, but the moves are less so.
- Its Dragon move is now Dragon Claw, hitting Physically and no longer worrying about the Def penalties from Clanging Scales. Considering it's not getting offensive investment, I'm ambivalent on it, but it is now more in line with my expectations.
- Its Fighting move is now Drain Punch, a 75 BP Physical Fighting move that restores 50% HP to the user. Despite technically being weaker than Sky Uppercut, this one feels a lot more dangerous.
- Its Fairy coverage is now Poison Jab- 80 BP Physical Poison with a 30% chance of inflicting Poison. The difference between Poison and Steel is relatively academic, although I suppose the big thing it has in mind is now being able to hit Primarina SE.
- Its fourth move is now Thunder Punch- 75 BP Physical Electric with a 10% chance of paralysis. I imagine this is for Flying types- Oricorio chuckles at your naivete- but Water types with Ice moves probably feel a mite sheepish too. Ultimately, it remains the least impressive move in its kit, although I sure spend a lot of time tip-toeing around it for that.
- Its hold item is now a Roseli Berry, halving the damage of the first Fairy move performed on it. Between this and the fact USUM does not have access to Fairium Z, this minimises the odds of just deleting it in one action.
- Still Soundproof for the Ability. The math hasn't changed on that.
Let's see if we can't get Tailwind up this time.
Yes we can. Excellent. This was pretty mandatory.
Noivern (Ultra Sun): Although it has a violent disposition, if you give it a nice ripe fruit that it loves, Noivern will suddenly become tame.
Kommo-o's high HP summon has been replaced by the Dragon/Flying type Noivern, the evolved form of Noibat that we are on the cusp of having enough EXP to get ourselves had we put it on our team- and even then, only Ray is starting to get level 48 Pokemon. This Noivern is itself level 48, meaning it is to be taken as a legitimate threat, has flat 31 IVs, the Infliltrator Ability (Screens and Substitute are meaningless), and the moves Boomburst, Dragon Pulse, Air Slash and Screech. Boomburst is a 140 BP Normal move that hits all opponents on the field, breathing new life into Kommo-o's Soundproof Ability. It has a Timid Nature, too, raising its Speed to 150. This thing is fast- nothing Ailey has outspeeds it without Tailwind, and Ridley and Moss don't do it with.
Consilia isn't lasting long, so I had her go for a Sp. Def drop on Kommo-o. Didn't get it, but the damage was nice.
Shiva's one job is simple: Clip Noivern's wings. This was a target begging for a good Ice move.
...Wow, that Drain Punch did big numbers.
So much for Consilia's damage. Ah well, Shiva did what she came for.
It is time for Hawkeye to deal with Kommo-o the way it knows how:
HIYAA! Sadly, Kommo-o uses Dragon Claw, not Thunder Punch- I have a suspicion that the AI can read when you're holding a type-effectiveness Berry like Wacan.
...Well, that is unfortunate. Had to happen, but...
Scizor has seen some proper refinements to make it a suitable ally. It is now level 46, has a Brave (+Atk/-Spd) Nature, and carries the moves X-Scissor, Bullet Punch, Pursuit, and Light Screen. Bullet Punch is the favourite Scizor Technician move, allowing it to have a functionally 60 BP priority move. Light Screen is here to deal with its own Fire weakness and Kommo-o's various Special weaknesses, and while you'll probably outspeed it if it tries, you still have to be aiming at it.
Scizor showing Hawkeye it means business with that Bullet Punch. Pity it's postgame locked.
Another bit of an unfortunate situation for us:
That's Hawkeye's damage healed. It was worth it, though- we got Scizor to come out of its hidey-hole.
And Moss has made sure it's not going to be a problem for Crysantha and Ridley.
Those are our only two options left, though. Not that Moss had much to use on Kommo-o himself.
Ultimately, it makes more sense for Crysantha to go first, mainly because one of them is getting the Roseli Berry, and if Ridley gets it, her strategy becomes that much less reliable.
Crysantha successfully managed to take a Poison Jab, with her high HP, and also lands in Petaya Berry range. It feels great to have this on my side now.
Pity about how much damage was lost for Dazzling Gleam. I think it's for the best that I did this, although perhaps Ridley could've got rid of the Berry and Crysantha could've oneshot. Looks a bit too close for that, though.
Not that this is any more encouraging.
Ridley is outsped. It all comes down to how much Draining Kiss heals. And deals.
The damage looks good.
And so does the HP!
That cut it fine. A close win feels great, but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence you had the right strategy.
I will say I enjoyed getting to use Gorebyss some, though. It's exactly the right stats to impress.
There's Ailey's Dragonium Z. Ailey's still got a Dragon type in her future, but judging just by the Pokemon I possess now, I think Ailey was the least likely person to use it. Not that Noah's Squishy was exactly known for Dragon moves.
Here's hoping that the next situation works just as well.
Anyway, Noah's turn. This is going to be a bit special, since Noah's going to get to fight Kommo-o twice.
...Proof of concept, SM has the Heart Scale drops too, that was just random. Anyway...
As I alluded to in the USUM description of Kommo-o, SM gets the Fairium Z and USUM does not. Let's see what happens when we actually use it.
"Cap'n Triton's got ya covered!"
As seen in Bethany's attempt, this isn't as good as it would be had this been the USUM Kommo-o.
Particularly since Kommo-o's only option for dealing neutral or better to Triton is Flash Cannon, a Special move. Anything weak to Fighting in Noah's pocket might've liked it, though.
Ah. Hm. This is one of the few cases I've seen where the Z-Pose actually changes based on the gender of the Trainer. When Bethany, Ailey and Mina perform the Z-Pose, they bend their elbows more on the final bit. It's supposed to be that little "I dunno" thing you do with your hands, and it looks more like it on the female version.
Now then, let's see what Kommo-o has to say about Twinkle Tackle.
The user summons a void of stars and pink, and then flies around the target in a spiralling fashion.
They then slowly approach the target, gently touch them, and send them flying. Yeah, as weird as it is that Fairy's Z-Move has a physical theming for a predominately Special typing, this is exactly what it needed to look like.
As long as you outspeed or tank the Flash Cannon you get in return (something both Primarina and Ninetales can do with ease), Twinkle Tackle makes an already easy boss into even more of a chump.
Although you don't have the option of using Twinkle Tackle, USUM can still use a Fairy Z-Move with Mimikyu's unique Z-Crystal. The Roseli Berry covers it for that, and if you did lead with it, Kommo-o is about to summon a Scizor with Bullet Punch. I imagine SM was planning for that to work, but forgot how close to oneshotting Fairy moves that haven't used a Z-Crystal are to functioning in that purpose. And also forgot to give Scizor Bullet Punch.
Now then, who wants to see Noah pick apart Kommo-o the old-fashioned way?
Taion is taking the lead, because screw switching it in. Taion is, unfortunately, less well equipped for not using its Babiri Berry with this strategy, so here's hoping it sticks to Flash Cannon and not Clanging Scales.
Mio, as you might recall, is neutral to Flash Cannon. Could a more perfect Kommo-o counter exist? Not in the Alola Pokedex, although you can get an Aegislash with Island Scan.
Ethel can either Haze away Kommo-o's aura or use that Liechi Berry to buff her own Atk. Considering her Speed, she can even do both!
Melia is, of course, fast, strong, and hits Kommo-o SE with her STAB. It has few alternative options, and does not desire them.
Jokes about Twinkle Tackle aside, Triton is genuinely in the rotation, not that he needed much EXP with his high join level. He's only gained one level up. The moves are also not quite as great as I remember- I may partially be thinking of using it in Pokemon Colosseum, which is back when Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball were Physical moves. It doesn't really seem to have replaced that kind of coverage.
Arsena, of course, is setting fire to Scizor, Burning and/or clearing Kommo'o, and in general just standing in Kommo-o's way. It doesn't have an offensive strategy, but there are worse things to do than to set it on fire and wait.
This might just be the first time Noah's team has been all Xenoblade references. I'm optimistic the final boss team will be the same way.
Now then, let's have a real fight, now.
As absolutely goofy as Taion manages to look in freeze frame. I'll have you know it doesn't look any better in motion.
Huh. Strange decision, but if it works for you.
Let's see what options this enables for him.
Not 100% sure why I thought Kommo-o was going to outspeed- probably thought it was faster than it was seeing it outspeed Shell Smash Jigsaw. I'm also not sure Pluck would've done more damage.
Huh. Sky Uppercut oneshot. That's not what I was expecting.
That leaves Jangmo-o free to Autotomise.
Might as well send in Mio. As part of my "give Kommo-o a fair shake" thing, I am not going to use Moonblast on it.
Even though I have ample opportunity to do so.
I guess Hakamo-o wants more Atk for when it starts attacking?
Yeah, I've got enough of you.
Going for the switch in to Arsena, mostly because sacrificing Mio without using Moonblast will take too long.
Yee-ow, yeah, Arsena is turning around and going back to start. It's actually only a few points shy of the outspeed.
This seems like a more productive plan of attack.
There's a successful Haze.
...And a not-quite so successful hit.
Ethel is still holding that Liechi Berry. Running the numbers... 1/4 of Ethel's HP is 38.5. Ethel has taken the maximum amount of damage it is possible to take without eating that. The worst part is, there's no way Ethel can take another Clanging Scales without being KOed.
Well, OK, it gets worse. Ethel started the turn with 127 HP from the switch-in. In order for Kommo-o to deal exactly 88 damage with a critical Clanging Scales, Kommo-o had to have rolled a -Sp. Atk Nature and the 1/16 low damage roll. (I suspect this Kommo-o is Adamant, because 27 damage on Sky Uppercut is an ambitious number, although with the maximum Atk IV and damage roll, it is possible with neutral).
Let's simplify the numbers a little bit. Melia, what can you do?
Still tank, clearly. It's not as Specially bulky as it was in Gen 1, when its colossal Sp. Atk was also its Sp. Def, but it can do the job if necessary. Especially if it's not a weakness.
And apparently it's not just Fairy moves that can do that sort of damage. Yeesh, the only thing I hit you with before that was Taion's Acrobatics.
Melia continues to be an absolutely hilarious party member on all accounts.
That went quite well. Aside from the complete failure to eat Berries, that was less fortunate.
So then, how about Ray?
Guardia is using that Wacan Berry entirely defensively- he doesn't care whether or not he eats it. It's just Haze and Icy Wind until it can't.
Metagross (Ultra Moon): It analyzes its opponents with more accuracy than a supercomputer, which enables it to calmly back them into a corner.
Deep Blue has achieved its final form, Metagross. Look at that bulk! Look at that Atk! This thing has chosen to specialise, and does it well. It'll be 600 club vs 600 club with this thing on the case.
I have a lot more faith in this thing than it probably deserves. It's not getting sent out if Kommo-o or Scizor is on the field- she'll be wiped by Drain Punch and Bullet Punch. Still, gotta try with Freeze Dry.
One of these days Theodore will learn a new move. One of these days it'll need one.
Alena is planning to do what Ethel did, but properly. She's also got Trop Kick in the meantime.
Oh, you have enjoyed your time thus far. I'm also mainly planning on having Will-O-Wisp be Brave Bernie's contribution- don't want to run roughshod with Play Rough.
There is a certain irony in the fact that the USUM Kommo-o doesn't know any sound-based attacks.
Right, Guardia, you're up.
Predictably, Kommo-o reads Guardia's Wacan Berry and uses Dragon Claw instead of Thunder Punch. I'm not sure how OK with this I am.
Anyway, that's the aura killed. I think I like having Disruptive Wave on my side for once.
Noivern, of course.
Demonstration of Boomburst not hitting Kommo-o despite targeting him.
And demonstration of the fact that Guardia can take Boomburst like a champ. Granted, it's not running on STAB, but he's good at Special Attacks.
Less good at Physical attacks, though. I had hopes.
Now, see, what I should've done was send in Brave Bernie, for a few reasons. This will be irritating for me later in the fight.
Theodore takes both Dragon moves, although it does use up a lot of his HP.
I only sent him out here to Will-O-Wisp. Brave Bernie could have accomplished the same goal, and Theodore's the only one who can hit Scizor SE.
...And then I send in Brave Bernie. Sometimes I wonder what my past self had in mind.
Although I do love this perfect call that resulted. If this turn was anything like last turn, I was taking two Dragon moves, so why not send in the Fairy?
Well, that's helpful. Not that I was too fussed about Brave Bernie's HP, but every bit helps.
Play Rough getting rid of the Noivern. Mimikyu really picks up steam when she finally gets Play Rough.
Dodging the earlier Air Slash means Brave Bernie can take this hit with Disguise.
I see Poison Jab, and I call Deep Blue's turn. Why not, it's a Metagross now.
I'd say "because Kommo-o reads Drain Punch as its best option", but look at that damage.
It's draining nothing.
Did you notice Zen Headbutt was SE on Kommo-o? Yeah, this fight is very much in Deep Blue's favour.
Especially when you remember that.
This will be a little trickier to plan around, although Deep Blue continues to not be particularly scared. X-Scissor is neutral, but still.
Its HP remains high.
Went for Meteor Mash. Did not get the Atk up, but I gave it a try.
Oh yeah, that's SE, too.
Not that Deep Blue was reduced to yellow HP, but perhaps a little scarier than advertised.
OK, now you're just showing off.
See, that is something I should really be getting Deep Blue back to safety over.
Theodore takes another attempt at being out to Fire Punch that Scizor.
That would be the Drain Punch...
Dang. Combination of X-Scissor and Bullet Punch. This is why Mimikyu should've done the Burning.
Alena's turn. Why Alena? Acrobatics and Trop Kick.
With the Burn in account, she's got nothing to fear from Poison Jab.
Giving Alena plenty of time to Trop Kick this Scizor into not hitting me quite so hard with those Bullet Punches.
Kommo-o finally went down to Burn damage. There were more dignified ways to go.
With Kommo-o down, I decided to try giving the KO on Scizor to something more effective. It turned out Alena was sufficiently effective.
Not who I was expecting to defeat Kommo-o. Honestly, I had my doubts Alena had much of a life past Gary's join time. Guess there's still some tricks in her left.
Let's see if Gary ever winds up doing the Devastating Drake.
Next time: Chasing down Lusamine.
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