Bethany Plays: Pokemon Ultra Sun Bonus: Fairium Z & Groundium Z

Ray's got a lot of fights to do today, some of which Ailey didn't do. No better time to get started!

Unlike Ailey, Ray has a few more options to deal with Fairies. Paul and Deep Blue stand tall, although Ray doesn't seem to have a Poison type in his pocket. Potentially alarming, but I'm sure we can manage.

I love Mina's response if you say no to her Trial, by the way. Just the way she seems to not be too fussed about the matter at all, merely confused.

First stop, the Mina battle.

One thing Ray does not have is a wealth of Special attackers. This is going to make Intimidate a bit of a problem, but I have a plan for that.

Paul starts on Mawile, taking that Sucker Punch like a champ.

And manages the oneshot on -1 Atk. Wow, Mawile's got issues...

Anyway, with Granbull out and Paul at -2 Atk, all we need to do is switch.

Now you are the one who is Intimidated!

Wiingo doesn't oneshot, but he does twoshot, and that's all I ask of him.

Particularly since I can take an extra Earthquake.

Not taking anything Ribombee throws. That falls under Deep Blue's purview.

Despite being neutral to Bug, Deep Blue proves his metal.

That's foreshadowing for later.

Oh the irony. I prefer Rock Slide's accuracy, as poor as it is.

Ray's got his duckletts in a row.

There's something kind of amusing about the Incineroar approach. Honestly never seen the Primarina one, though, I'm curious how she shimmies.

I'd start by recommending you choose better Normal types, like Tauros, Kangaskhan, Stoutland, or Oranguru.

Meanwhile, I don't think I've used Isabella in a battle that got shown off yet. Now seems like an excellent time to start, even if this technically a Fairy Trial.

You've seen Deep Blue as 600 club rep, but here's the Alolan variety. I feel a little awkward about the fact Ray's been collecting them, but Noah and Ailey'll get the last laugh come postgame.

There's that Def investment coming out well for him.

And there's that high base Def stat coming out well for her. Isabella can spend her time investing in real stats with those sorts of numbers.

And going for some accuracy. Sky Uppercut's got imperfect numbers, and just needed to make sure.

Smeargle. The extra great thing about Isabella is that, as a Dragon type, she resists all three of Smeargle's coverage moves.

And considering their stats, she might as well resist Extreme Speed.

You have now been introduced to Isabella. Way more comfortable than Fist Jr.

OK, you have Sucker Punch and a Z-Move. Isabella could probably take him fresh, but with her damage, I'm slightly concerned.

Candy seems like a good strategy.

This time, the Z-Move is going to land.

Komala literally bum-rushing us. You'd think the log end would go first.

That's a very nice amount of damage. Now, to launch-

...Oh right. It has Wood Hammer too. I forgot that was an issue.

Sorry, Candy...

Ghondor could handle things with a fresh start, though.

Remember way back when Ray first fought Ilima, back before he even had Fist Jr.? Yeah, I think he deserved the easy win.

Side note, I love the fact that the first party member Ray obtained that's still in rotation is Paul. Technically, I guess you could say Veeka and Volty are the same party member because they're the same evolutionary family, although that mess is a nightmare to disentangle. (If Paul gets benched, I believe the next party member in line is Dawn, so Ray's not completely abandoning Melemele, although I'm getting close.)

You can turn down the teleports, although Ilima will still tell you where the next plot flag is. It's also marked on the map, but it can be easy to lose those on the Glide menus.

Somewhat ironically, Alena and Ghondor would be valid choices if Ray were about to fight Lana, too. That is not the case, however.

In Ultra Sun, instead of Lana immediately challenging you to a battle to keep you silent, Mallow instead asks whether you think she can relax.

It's worth mentioning that she takes both answers as sarcasm.

Also, unlike Lana, there are two dialogue branches in the Ultra Sun version, in comparison to the Ultra Moon version where Lana just went right for the throat.

Mallow's absolute petulance at being forced to hold up and wait for you to prepare. Amazing.

...OK, seriously, is this actually supposed to be the joke answer? You can't keep referring to it like that if you're trying to get away with something slightly more ESRB-friendly.

Oh dear, Mallow. It looks like your secret might be out…

Incidentally, if you refuse Lana's battle, Lana gives this line, with all the air of someone who couldn't care less about this development.

Anyway, time for Mallow proper. Mallow... has a particularly defensive team.

Defensive is not the reputation I'd give Trevenant, though. 30/25/30/25/30/25 IVs, 252 EVs in Def/Sp. Def, Serious Nature, and the moves Horn Leech, Shadow Claw and Leech Seed. I imagine those defensive EVs are there to permit Trevenant to land a Leech Seed, because I sure don't see them doing much else.

Natural Cure for the Ability. This at least does something for Mallow, not that she switches regularly to benefit.

We're fighting Mallow again? Sounds like a perfect excuse for more Theodore! Remember when having Theodore represented us absolutely breaking the game here?

Theodore is starting to show his age. His move options haven't improved, yes, but that's not his problem- his problem is his Speed. That healthy Def is pulling through, though.

Plus, the Thick Club is always a good thing to be carrying. Sure, Theodore might like to consider other items, but it's not that dire yet.

30/25/30/25/30/25 IVs, 252 EVs in Def/Sp. Def, Serious Nature, Moonblast, Giga Drain and Spore for the moves. Unlike Trevenant, Shiinotic has business being defensively tuned, even if Mallow has elected not to pack the moves that make Shiinotic as terrifying as it might otherwise me. Still, Spore and Giga Drain should not be underestimated.

That's why I'm using someone with high Sp. Def and an immunity to Spore. Grass types are amazing when you know spores are going around- but it does depend on the Grass type's ability to fire back.

Yeah, that'll help.

Fortunately, Alena is much more effective in reverse. Shiinotic also has the Effect Spore Ability, but this also doesn't affect Grass types. Which is good, because Alena does not like being hit by Poison, Paralyse or Sleep.

...You're going to have to do better than that. Endeavour is best on something with speed- and they don't tend to take hits to get their HP low.

Mallow's own Tsareena. 30/30/25/25/25/30 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk/Spd, Serious Nature, and the moves Trop Kick, Low Sweep and U-Turn. Not sure who she's U-Turning into, but she does have Grassium Z for a Bloom Doom. Strangely, she's using Leaf Guard as her Ability- why not use the unique, especially if you have no way to get Sun up?

Worrying, but I can just U-Turn away and-

I have got to learn that mirror matches are more than likely going to end with me losing the speed toss.

Oh well. Volty should be the right opponent.

She seems a bit strapped for options.

So much for her Sp. Def bonus for using a Tsareena!

I do like that my team is making better use of my ingredients than Mallow is. Mallow's issues feel a lot like her trusting her ingredients to carry her dish and not the other way around.

Careful, Mallow. Mina's already got the job of spacey Trial Captain occupied.

The petal thing is the same, including the reasoning and the order.

If you choose not to go to Mallow and Lana, she says this line, which honestly just kinda vindicates the decision not to go? Of all the moves to use in this line, I do not want it to be the move that causes the target to faint if they defeat the user. Destiny Bond isn't even a red-string-of-fate joke in JP, it's outright "I'm taking you with me!"

You're both scaring me, Lana. You do know "quite the catch" isn't really a fishing pun when used on people?

Next up, Kiawe. Candy is, of course, the Queen of dealing with Fire types, and Guardia and Terri are no slouches. Ray has a lot of choices, though- pros of carrying a bunch of sandstorm-friendly Pokemon.

David really doesn't seem to react to your response. Maybe if you tell him "you're the best", but that doesn't strike me as likely.

Kiawe is so offended if you turn his battle down.

David has this line both before and after battle, and it's really highlighting his lack of interest in being anything other than himself. Which, fair, is really important to him, but still.

Anyway, Ray's turn fighting Kiawe. This shouldn't be too tough, but you never know.

I dunno, I think I came out of this matchup better.

Wow, Candy's bulk is awesome. She could stick around quite a bit here.

...Well, if it wasn't for that.

Stealth Rocks up. Talonflame is going to hate this.

Did stick around for a layer of Bulldoze, mainly because Arcanine is so fast that some Speed control could come in handy.

I went with Guardia as the switch-in. The resist struck me as the most important thing to have when Flare Blitzes are flying around.

Although Arcanine's taking a lot of recoil...

Scald is more than ready to deal with this.

Nailed it.

The Guardia switch is actually because Guardia is carrying the Amulet Coin and I need her ready for David more than anything. Although since Physical is Guardia's off-bulk, odds are she won't appreciate a Brave Bird.

Or... a Quick Attack? What was the endgame here?

The Brave Bird wasn't much better for Talonflame against Dawn, but it's not like Guardia resists Flying.

Pity about the lack of Accelerock, but they can't all be K9.

Time for Marowak.

...In hindsight, I don't know what the plan was with Drill Run. Rock Slide would've been fine, if slightly less accurate. Maybe I just wanted to be sure I'd hit.

Things did not go as planned.

Although the Sandstorm came close.

Strangely, I don't have a shot of what I used. Looks like Paul's Sucker Punch, though.

After Ray's match with Kiawe, David takes a bit of a gentle touch.

Especially since I need to switch in Guardia, and probably switch it immediately back out. Amulet Coin really doesn't pair well with direct sequence battles.

...OK, that is promising, but I'm probably not outspeeding or breaking Confusion.

So, remembering it used Lava Plume in Ultra Moon, I pack Agnes for the extra Sp. Def she has for being an Aurorus and being in Sandstorm.

"You're telling me it has Fire Punch now?"

At least Agnes has reasonable bulk and a neutral to Fire. Still, though, you can really see Agnes's type working against it. There's a reason Aurorus doesn't see much benefits.

Now you try Lava Plume?

Hm. Slightly annoying, but Agnes is a Special attacker.

And... Agnes had to rely on sandstorm chip to finish the job...

Dangit, Agnes.

I'll take your word for it. With my leftovers, I was a bit worried about that matchup.

Kiawe is significantly less interesting if you turn down the teleport.

Anyway, now for the Sophocles fight. Strangely, ditching Paul entirely, although I've got some counters prepared for some of the coverage Sophocles packs.

The battle justification offered is that Molayne wants to see the fruits of your experience, and also wants Sophocles to have a bit of a last showing before he goes. Feels particularly appropriate, given where he's going and also to give Sophocles a good going away present.

That, I believe he did. It really does reinforce how Sophocles makes the better opponent from a story perspective.

Molayne's comment if you stall long enough to get a conversation with him. Sophocles will just be content to wait.

In addition to being a more fitting fight for the story, Sophocles is also a completely novel fight thus far. Ilima and Nanu fought us during the story in both games, so their encounters have only one new Pokemon, and the teams of Lana, Mallow and Kiawe match their teams in the battles available in SM. While Sophocles (and Mina) were battleable in SM, they only challenged you in postgame, with a team of five. Seeing what they tech down to has its own matters.

I believe this makes it such that USUM's new Totems are 4-for-4 on being Pokemon owned by their Trial Captains in SM, although unlike Araquanid, Marowak and Ribombee, Togedemaru is not Sophocles's ace. It's 30/30/25/25/25/30 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk/Spd, Serious Nature, and has the moves Zing Zap, Fell Stinger and Spiky Shield. Given the lack of Iron Head, I'm liable to call it worse than the Totem, although do try not to let him benefit from Fell Stinger.

Thankfully, Terri wasn't planning on doing a contact move, but that's still frustrating. (It has Iron Barbs, so that would've done damage via contact regardless of whether the protect happened.)

Ew, that's slightly frustrating. Fell Stinger, incidentally, is a 50 BP Physical Bug move that, if it happens to be the finishing blow on your opponent, will bestow +3 Atk on the user. It's one of those moves that you laugh at until it works.

I have better ways of upping my Atk stat by landing finishing blows.

...Huh, his ace is coming out second. Golem has 25/30/30/25/30/25 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk/Sp. Def, Serious Nature, and the moves Stone Edge, Steamroller and Thunder Punch. Steamroller is a 65 BP Bug move with a 30% chance of flinch that, given Golem carries the Sturdy Ability, was probably the reason it was sent out to deal with Terri.

Guardia can take the Bug move. I'm sending it out less because of a resist (if I wanted a resist, I'd probably send in Isabella, actually), and more because I want it to use its Z-Move.

Now seems like the perfect opportunity to try out Motor Drive Ghondor.

I love the timing on when they show this. Because moves that hit into immunities don't animate, this is the expected timing, but it still adds a certain insult to injury that you get the "charging up" bit.

...Not want you want to see.

And that is the story of why Electivire hasn't enjoyed the same success Magmortar has. Being a Physical Electric and thus not having amazing moves is only half the story.

Gary resists Electric, he should do fine cleaning up here. And less fine against the next guy, but that's part of the idea.

Oh, even better.

25/25/30/30/30/25 IVs, 252 EVs in Def/Sp. Atk, Serious Nature and the moves Flash Cannon, Discharge and Tri Attack. Quintessential Magnezone here, and another Sturdy Ability means that fighting Sophocles is an exercise in frustration with his defences. Despite the fact that he's an Electric type Trainer, a type famous for its frail speedsters. Guess that gives him something unique compared to his predecessors.

Gary is sticking in largely to break Sturdy and give a better chance to something I'd rather be fighting it.

Although given I was planning on giving Gary Flamethrower, I probably should've done that by now. Must've slipped through the cracks somehow.

Gary gets some amazing placements on where attacks come from and go to in its animations, since its head and centre are so much higher than most Pokemon.

Wound up switching Isabella in anyway. Probably better to stick with the "free switch" strategy.

Especially since Isabella is much less fond of taking Special Attacks. Ow.

That's just insult to injury. This is kind of a bad Sophocles fight in general...

Oh well. When it works, it works. Maybe I should've stuck to Paul.

You did an impressive job, considering your team was entirely quad-weak to Ground. I'd probably consider fixing that hole next time, though.

That is an amusing comparison, given what Molayne's character has been thus far. This is valid praise, though, Molayne's expertise does have a bit more than him being a Steel-type dabbler.

Speaking of, Ray hasn't fought you yet, has he... perhaps we'll meet again in time.

Molayne leaves now, which kinda gives Sophocles a bit of a one-two punch of the last thing he saw being Sophocles losing a battle. In retrospect, maybe not the best sign?

He'll pick himself up, at least. I hope.

I never want to go back to Aether House. I'm not sure I trust an orphanage funded by a woman who can't even raise her own kids.

Nanu's justification for not fighting you in Ultra Sun is exactly what you'd expect Nanu to say: "Too hard, didn't bother". Not only is it in character, technically speaking, there's no reason we should expect to fight someone for a Petal if the Captain isn't around. Then again, that's probably just on Mina not thinking the logistics of her Trial the whole way through. The idea is sound- it's the execution that needs work.

Time for us to head back, then.

Although, in talking to the kids this time, I found this absolutely adorable line from one of them. The kids are currently just fine. It's just their situation that bothers me.

...I don't actually have Nanu's dialogue for refusing on hand. Although I can imagine the gist of it from personality alone.

Now then, for Totem Ribombee. The team:

Yes, Rock does not resist Bug. But Agnes's high Special bulk will give her an opportunity to set up Light Screen for sure, and Ancient Power and T-Bolt will be good to throw back if she's still around. I think Light Clay was the better option, but it can't hurt.

I don't think you need to be told why I've brought Guardia to a Totem fight. Haze is the funnest button to click ever.

Volty can T-Bolt, but her real ambition is Flash Cannon on Ribombee. I'm not sure why I brought her and not Paul, but Volty is much more likely to take a hit.

Deep Blue will do Shade's job, and it will teach Shade true power.

In case of emergency, Ghondor will punch Pelipper in the face. Blissey, too- annoying thing about actual Fighting types is that they're weak to Fairy. Would not recommend bringing Fist Jr. or Isabella to this fight.

Brave Bernie gets a free turn, which she can either use Will-o-Wisping for the passive damage or landing her Z-Move. I also have hope she can benefit from her strangely high Sp. Def for a second turn, too.

Here's hoping this goes better than it did for Ailey. My hopes were not high, considering what Ailey had to deal with.

This is, how one might say, not encouraging.

Still, the Screen is up, Agnes did her job.

Yeah, I should've stuck to the Light Clay.

Time to Haze.

Ribombee and Pelipper see Vaporeon, an opponent they might struggle against (Pelipper has Seed Bomb, admittedly) and decide to raise their stats in preparation.

Yeah, how about no?

(Haze would have cleared Light Screen if this was RBY, but it has since been nerfed to only clear stat stages.)

I would rather not spend Guardia's entire HP bar Icy Winding, as much as that strategy might actually be a good idea, just to not deal with extra Quiver Dances.

You can really tell the difference not having to deal with Quiver Dances makes.

Stockpile setups are a different bonus from the stat stages- in RSE, Stockpile did not have a Def/Sp. Def buff, making it only used to calculate the damage of Spit Up and the healing power of Swallow. It's worth mentioning that, should it actually use either of those moves, this Pelipper will still suffer -2 to Def/Sp. Def for losing its Stockpiles, despite the fact I Hazed those buffs away rather than debuffing them directly.

This is all theoretical, because Ghondor is still able to OHKO Pelipper with a +1 Def buff up. That Quiver Dance is bad news, though.

Well, I gave it a shot. A +1 Sp. Atk and a -1 Sp. Def can't have been good.

Now then. Deep Blue's turn.

Deep Blue is neutral to Bug Buzz, but since Light Screen is still up, I think, Ribombee tries to get back to its +2 Sp. Atk/Spd bonuses.

This does not give her the Def bonuses.

So, uh... yeah.

I know Metagross is a member of the 600 club, but still. See what having a Steel type that isn't Mawile does for Ribombee? Any Steel type you can reasonably expect to possess other than Metagross and Bisharp resists both of Ribombee's damage types, and with a good Iron Head, you should be dealing big chunks of its HP in return. Pelipper's Scald can threaten them (especially the Rock/Ground ones like Dugtrio), but Deep Blue and Shade are so far along either end of the spectrum that Ray and Ailey's respective fights really changed as a result.

I will appreciate that a) Guardia actually did something to make Deep Blue so much more effective than Shade and b) that Mina actually acknowledged a Pokemon that participated in the Totem fight this time.

Fairium Z acquired. Not sure if Ray will ever use this, the Mimikium Z strikes me as superior.

Also, Mina does the tucked-in elbows despite Ray using a different Z-Pose.

Going right ahead to the Grand Trial, then...

Guardia is on the team for Scald this time, not Haze. It should suit him just fine.

Gary is going to hit as hard as possible against a target of his choice, and if he uses Energy Ball, he might be able to carry it past his first target. Flygon's the only Pokemon on Hapu's team that might be able to take that.

If Alena is needed for Mudsdale or Golurk, their Atk stats will be dropped. Strictly speaking, Gary hits harder, but sometimes you need a little security.

Even if you'd expect Alena to be the attacker and Gary to be disruptor.

Isabella drew the "deal with Flygon" card. It'll be a bit ambitious- maybe I should've stuck to Adamant and abandoned Clanging Scales. Either that, or remember to treat Isabella as "should not risk taking Special hits".

Brave Bernie is the backup Flygon counter. She can also Wisp Mudsdale, if I need it.

Volty is outright copying Guzma's Vikavolt. Hey, if it works, it works.

Refusal dialogue. Glad one of us is packing Exeggutor.

This team doesn't have an Ice type, and only has one Water type. Two Grasses, but it's a far cry from Ailey's far superior "two Water, one Ice, and one Fairy pretending she's a Grass". Combined with Set, this should be a bit trickier.

The only Ice type on Ray's team is part-Rock and slow, making her a non-starter in a Ground type boss fight. Even on Switch, I'm not sure Agnes could actually do anything against anyone except maybe Flygon.

Anyway, Guardia's attempt at dealing with Golurk.

I do have a few runs that actually attempt the outspeed- particularly if my team is vulnerable to Rocks (I know Volty, in particular, will hate them). Don't know why I didn't bother, although it's not like I'm actually carrying many Pokemon that strike me as particularly capable other than Shiva, who doesn't have access to Subzero Slammer yet.

Clearly, Guardia wasn't even doing slow-but-sure. Icy Wind might've been nice, but Burn odds were pretty good too.

Besides, Guardia could handle an Earthquake.

Although we're gonna need something a bit more than Leftovers to take a second hit.

Especially from that. Yeah let's not even let him try.

Well, I think a Ground attack is incoming (Guardia resists Heavy Slam), so Levitate seems the correct call.

And it was.

Huh, neat. Volty also resists Heavy Slam and Double Kick, so Mudsdale's resorted to Payback to deal some damage.

And Volty is going second. That low Speed coming in handy!

You make it sound like this is going to make my job harder the second time around.

If anything, I think I hit a range. Not that it'd really matter either way.

Ambitious, but it would be something. Volty with Speed is the stuff of nightmares, I'm just not sure it's worth taking the time to gain some.

In hindsight, I have no idea why I switched Volty out when she has Energy Ball. It probably comes down to me thinking of Gastrodon as a Specially bulky opponent- a correct assumption normally, with pure base stats taken into account.

Plus, Alena resists this. Not necessarily a guarantee Volty could've taken it- and she would have, Gastrodon's not that slow.

Trop Kick secured victory. This would've been a range if Gastrodon had 252 EVs.

Looking closely at Alena's HP following that Muddy Water she took (101 HP left over), I think Gastrodon does actually still have the 252 Sp. Atk EVs listed for SM, with the USUM listing a typographical error. After Stealth Rock, Gastrodon would have to deal 42 damage to Alena, something impossible for a 0 EV Gastrodon, but realistic for a 252 EV one. The extra damage isn't high enough for it to be a 0 EV Gastrodon doing a crit, either. I wish I had a reliable resource for IVs and EVs too.

That is also an excellent move to have on Alena's kit. I've spent a lot of team-building time thinking Alena had a Fighting-type move when she doesn't, and I'm starting to get sick of it. I think Ray could use the extra Fighting hands, too.

Or, well, feet.