Bethany Plays: Pokemon Alola Bonus: Ultra Space

Two different setpieces, but we'll be seeing them both here. First, of course, Noah handling Lusamine.

Lanz doesn't need Corkscrew Crash to make an example out of Clefable. Plus he's also good as a backup plan for Lilligant and Mismagius, if necessary.

Ethel taking a lesson from Dottie and taking no chances on going down like a chump to Lilligant. And even then, I'm not sure...

How does Noah deal with a Ghost type faster than Eunie? A Dark type with priority! Alexandria is a much safer prospect for dealing with Mismagius on multiple levels.

Nimue still drew the Milotic card, but fortunately, Milotic doesn't have a meaningful counterstrategy either. We should be able to pull off the same sort of thing in this fight as we did in that one.

Hey? Hey Lusamine? This is how you use a Mismagius with Pain Split. Granted, I don't think I've actually clicked Pain Split that often, but my point stands.

(The Kasib Berry is in case of Mismagius switching in shenanigans.)

It just made sense to pack Squishy as my sixth slot. Zygarde's here to protect Alola from its invaders, and what better time to be at the ready than with Lusamine bearing down on us all?

Here's hoping this goes well.

Well then.

As good omens go, that is certainly one of them.

No Metronome shenanigans for you.

Same Bewear switch in, same Eunie switch in.

This time, Bewear seems less interested in switching out to Mismagius, instead throwing out an onslaught of Pain Splits.

And just enough proof of concept that Bewear does, in fact, know other moves.

I think I'll take the fractional damage. Also the Atk drop, just in case Bewear changes his mind.

That does not seem to be an issue.

Honestly, this screenshot is a bit of evidence that Pain Split was a fairly terrible idea on Bewear from the word go. Consider the fact that Bewear and Eunie currently have an equal HP number, and disparate HP percentages.

This makes me wonder if Pain Split in general should be retooled in some way, but I'm not sure if making Pain Split set equal percentage values is really a solution here or Bewear's just a bad user.

That next Psychic was more than enough.

Even with the Kasib Berry, I'm not sure Eunie can take Mismagius on her own.

...Totally forgot the Amulet Coin doesn't do anything, old habits die hard.

What do you mean, you were going to land Pain Split on Eunie? That's nothing but good news for you!

Pain Split again? What's the point of doing priority if you're not even going to bother to spend your turn reasonably?

There we go. Seriously, Nihilego is screwing with your thoughts in more ways than one.

Now then, let's hope this goes well this time...

Significantly so.

Although she outspeeds, for some reason. Probably because Ethel isn't specced for Speed. Turns out investment would matter.

...Hm. That's alarming.

There's a reason Lanz is on backup duty, clearly.

She missed this time! Score.

...Fortunately, it turns out that was a high roll, and if my Sp. Def is where I think it is, there was 0% chance of that oneshotting. Still, though, that was terrifying.

Went with Leech Life, for the safety of accuracy. Not taking any new hits with that HP, though.

Right, this whole matchup.

...Well, that's a nice opening move. No Sleep Powder, but it does basically give me a free switch.

This remains a bit of an alarming number, but I should be fine.

Especially with that HP leech from Leech Seed.

And yes, Safeguard doesn't even block Leech Seed. Leech Seed is powerful. Probably the only reason it hasn't been nerfed is because both Smogon Singles and VGC Doubles have better things to be doing with their time than setting it up.

Probably didn't need to do that, but it did come in handy.

But now my victory is nice and secure.

Yes, yes, I know my win isn't free. That's why I'm bothering with the extra Quiver Dances.

It's not the Sp. Def bonus I'm after, it's the Sp. Atk.

I think it says a lot when, strictly speaking, I think this boss was easier than the one without the Totem buffs. Lusamine sure does know how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Anyway, as for Noah's version of the Nebby fight...

Lunala (Moon): Said to live in another world, this Pokémon devours light, drawing the moonless dark veil of night over the brightness of day.

Lunala takes on a similar role to Solgaleo, having an identical stat spread. HP and Spd are the same, but Solgaleo's massive Atk and Def are now massive Sp. Atk and Sp. Def stats. Lunala is a Psychic/Ghost type, enjoying its available STAB options more, and its more unique typing gives it more of a place in many teams- sure, Solgaleo is better Metagross, but not by enough to devalue the option of just using Metagross instead. I maintain a personal preference for Solgaleo, but Lunala puts up a good argument.

Lunala's sole Ability is Shadow Shield, making attacks deal half damage while it is at full HP. Like Full Metal Body, this Ability (a clone of Multiscale) cannot be ignored by Mold Breaker. Unlike Full Metal Body, the player is more likely to see cases where this extra bonus comes into effect- Mold Breaker Pokemon seldom use their powers to inflict stat drops, while all Pokemon are hampered by Shadow Shield. Lunala's two weaknesses- Ghost and Dark- are both double weaknesses, too, so Shadow Shield is a key factor in not immediately rolling over.

I don't really get much chance to see Lunala in action, but wow that wing effect. It looks a lot better in the art than it does in game, doesn't it?

Ooh, Moongeist Beam immediately! As one might expect, this is a 100 BP Special Ghost move that ignores the opponent's Ability. Ghost doesn't enjoy a specific advantage over Steel for having this effect, though.

Although, uh... it does mean PRNDL's going down without a free Sturdy.

Cosmic Power, huh?

D'oh. So it turns out that me never really getting to see Lunala in action means I don't actually have the fact its Ability is Shadow Shield in mind. I saw the first hit do about 1/3 HP and thought I was much safer launching the same attack a second time.

Oh well, we just get told to retry. If we win the fight, though, we don't get a free heal for the next fight. That can be a bit unfortunate.

Turns out PRNDL can handle itself if it's not a crit.

That makes my job loads easier.

Even got off a Flash Cannon thanks to the Speed drop!

Did the rest of the chip with Aqua Jet.

Lunala doesn't know a Psychic move to start with. It has the weird kit of Moongeist Beam and Shadow Ball, along with a semi-signature move Night Daze. Night Daze is an 85 BP Special Dark move with 95% accuracy that has a 40% chance of lowering accuracy on hit, striking all opponents on a Doubles field. Before SM gave the move to Lunala, it could only be found on Zoroark before now.

The idea of giving Zoroark a signature move strikes me as a bit foolish, but what do I know? It's probably too late to act on the information if you see it using it.

Fortunately, Lunala didn't take too long to catch.

Despite the very speedrunner-like single character name, A is named after the Xenoblade character- as one would expect in Noah's party. I mainly gave it the nickname to test if Lillie ever uses it in dialogue- if she does, it'll be easy to spot.

Scoffs Adamant. Of course. A is just here for the Pokedex entry- sorry, Noah's-version-of-Lillie. He's just happy with his team the way it is.

~~Although Earthwerk is hardly the most inspiring Ghost type around.~~

Anyway, Ray's turn. I did prepare his team appropriately, but kept to just showing the fight for him.

Necrozma's fusion with Solgaleo looks a heck of a lot less natural.

Dusk Mane Necrozma (Ultra Moon): This is Necrozma's form while it's absorbing the power of Solgaleo, making it extremely ferocious and impossible to control.

With that said, Dusk Mane Necrozma has the more fearsome reputation. A perfect counterpart in Dawn Wings in every way, the benefit to Dusk Mane is that Prism Armour complements the Steel-type Solgaleo far better than it does the Ghost-type Lunala, and Full Metal Body was an easier Ability to lose. Dusk Mane's four weaknesses are reduced to x1.5 damage each, and on a type with nine resists and an immunity, that is a much more terrifying prospect than Dawn Wings's two x3 weaknesses, two resists and two immunities.

This Necrozma is presumably identically statted to Dawn Wings (with the exception of maybe being Calm instead to let its Physical moves be buffed)- I don't have its stats- and it carries the moves Sunsteel Strike, Psycho Cut, Night Slash and Morning Sun. Night Slash actually covers one of its weaknesses, which is more than can be said of Dawn Wings's Power Gem, but the fight is otherwise the same.

I decided Theodore was the way to go- all three of its moves are SE on Dusk Mane.

And Burn is also the best way to lower its Atk. I had forgotten it lost Full Metal Body, so Atk downs like Intimidate were viable, but it went for Psycho Cut first anyway and not Night Slash.

Which is good, because Psycho Cut did loads. I'm worried about what would've happened if Night Slash came out instead.

Sure. You do you.

Considering the lack of Full Metal Body, this was probably the correct time to use Shadow Bone, since that has a chance of lowering Def. I'm just used to Theodore being on the field because I want to be doing Fire Punch.

Well, that's an encouraging outcome after a Burn. Probably means Psycho Cut and Night Slash wouldn't have dealt too drastically different numbers.

Clicked Shadow Bone the second time, just in case of Morning Sun. It was not a worry that amounted to anything, though.

Good boy, Paul! That'll come in handy. Although not for Necrozma...

Anyway, let's go over Ray's anti-Necrozma strategy. He doesn't have a Zoroark, so he'll be relying on actual counterplay.

Mimikyu is probably the best Pokemon for fighting Necrozma on its terms you can pick. Both Shadow Claw and Play Rough are SE on it, it has the option of clicking its signature Z-Move without argument thanks to Disguise, and it can even do some kind of buff or debuff with that time. It can be argued that the only reason Necrozma has Smart Strike is for Mimikyu. I decided on Light Screen being the move that Brave Bernie would be doing with its time- Mimikyu is a great choice, but one I've used plenty.

That is because today, I want Guardia to Haze that Totem Aura away. Icy Wind and Scald will also be great options, but it turns out that Guardia can't reliably take a Photon Geyser on its own.

Paul's job is Sucker Punch. And maybe Tangling Hair, if I can get Necrozma to hit it with Smart Strike.

Terri has what was formerly Robin's job, and hopefully Guardia can set it up to perform it.

The interesting thing about Necrozma's move choices is that it does have a hole- Necrozma has no way of dealing anything except NVE damage to most Steel types. Both Paul and Deep Blue are such Steel types, and both are carrying moves to be able to hit Necrozma SE.

Necrozma can hit Shade neutrally with Smart Strike.

Candy has no illusions about its job. Set up Sand Stream for chip damage. It probably won't even get to enjoy the Sp. Def boost, since it's weak to Smart Strike.

So then... let's see how Ray handles this.

Don't worry, Bernie! You can do it!

I love Disguise. No wonder I've got two Mimikyu.

About time I found a good chance to deploy a Screen. I've been feeling like I've been underusing these.

Shame it didn't help Bernie take a Smart Strike, though.

Right. Guardia, this is your time to shine.

Photon Geyser has a unique effect where it has a tile pattern underfoot, but I'm not sure if that's a thing Photon Geyser does or that special effect only happens on Megalo Tower. Still, though, there's Guardia taking Photon Geyeser with less than half her HP remaining. Without Light Screen, that would have been a oneshot.