Bethany Plays: Pokemon Alola Bonus: Dexio

Rather than fighting us on Ancient Poni Path, Dexio will fight us before we get into Poni Meadow. Nothing else has changed about the event, but this does prevent us from unlocking the only Glide point out here until we can beat him. At least we've had the chance to soak up EXP from Poni Plains!

You'd be surprised how little faith I have in Nemo, despite the fact that Dexio doesn't really have a plan for him. Power Gem from Slowking, and of course he should be kept at a distance from Metagross, but otherwise, that Speed and Sp. Def don't inspire confidence.

Justy will be utterly fantastic on the right opponent, especially if he makes that opponent Metagross or Raichu.

Genevieve will be hoping to slow an opponent down, or maybe deep-fry the Slowking. Either is good.

Sue can probably snap up a surprising amount of damage on the power of Strong Jaw Crunch. Not that I expect her defensive typing to be important.

Hey, do you know what the best possible button to click in this situation is? Sucker Punch!

This will be really ambitious, but if Robin can get a Moxie sweep going, it will be really funny.

The following is an exhaustive list of changes between the SM Dexio fight and the USUM Dexio fight:

All of Dexio's IVs have been normalised to 30 flat.
Dexio has lost a level on each Pokemon.

This Espeon is still going to blast us three different ways unless it decides to click Power Swap for no good reason.

Fortunately, it turns out that Ailey's level gap is low enough that Espeon can't rely on STAB to carry the day.

Nemo proves a little more capable.

...Dexio knows full well that Nemo is hard-walled by Metagross. Well then, time to deal with this now.

Fortunately, Justy is ready to throw hands. These two feel like a battle of destiny.

Alas, it was not to be.

Bullet Punch wasn't even needed- Metagross was faster anyway.

Ah well, two can play at that game.

Sure, that sucks, but that's hardly going to make a difference.

Sucker Punch outspeeds even Bullet Punch.

Yeah, not risking Shade yet. I still need her for Alakazam.

...Slowking. We need to talk.

...Wait, this is a good thing, never mind.

Time to deal with Raichu. This is an unfortunate time for that.

Now Alakazam is going to benefit from the screens.

Robin was the one to draw the battle with Raichu, mostly in the hope that she would be able to do something with Moxie.

I mean, she's got that going for her.

Here goes nothing.

Another reason to have Robin coming in: Moxie is absolutely useless to Alakazam.

Robin took that Thunderbolt like a champ, but when it comes to Mega Alakazam, it may as well be 1 HP.

Especially when it lands the Focus Blast!

Such is life. Let's see if we can't find some other way to slow it down.

...Guess not.

Oh, thank you Sue!!

...Reflect is doing a lot for it here. Getting Raichu last was awful.

Fortunately, that won't be a problem a second time!

Less fortunately, Sue only got the Focus Miss a single time. Funny, you usually see a lot more of those...

Now it's time for Sucker Punch. If this failed, I didn't really have any Plan Bs, so I really wanted to kill the Reflect, no matter how hard a time the rest of the team had doing that.

Even here, where the odds are less in your favour, that remains true.

We still get the Key Stone here. Anyway, it's Noah's turn.

Melia is the only person or Pokemon in the SM pairs who is excited by this battle. She's going to get that Alakazite once we're done!

Earthwerk... well, Shadow Ball might work, and I'm sure Raichu'll hate him, but I am not switching him in.

This fight is looking mighty fine for Alexandria and her Sucker Punch.

If Robin was an ambitious Moxie sweep, Kailey is that, but more so. Frankly, I'm not even 100% certain what single opponent she's picking off.

Squishy is here to click Extreme Speed. And, if it's lucky, Dragon Dance.

Eunie is needed for her muscle. In fact, she's so necessary that Noah wound up realising Eunie had to play lead.

It was only when I tried it with Noah that I realised the SM fight was skippable, that's how new it was. To be fair, this stretch of area looks like going from the Ruins of Hope side will open up the trigger.

Eunie is going to demonstrate her new toy, and Espeon is actually going to have good reason to click Power Swap.

...Er, no, not yet. Let me actually get my attack off first!

Mystical Fire is a 75 BP Special Fire move that will always land a -1 Sp. Atk drop on landing. I had wanted it most of the game as Fire coverage, to expand Eunie's portfolio, but today, I am using it for the purpose of being a means of inflicting -1 Sp. Atk. You learn to treasure those.

Espeon does actually have something to gain from clicking Power Swap this turn- it's passing that -1 Sp. Atk debuff I just inflicted back to me. It is cruel, unusual, and actually surprisingly clever as an option that isn't "just get rid of the Mismagius".

I went for Shadow Ball, trying to score my own KO, and fell short. Thanks, -1 Sp. Atk debuff of my own creation. And now Espeon will outspeed, delete both Eunie and the debuff, and I have new problems to deal with-

...We're talking about the dorks who decided the way they were going to combat their boss's fascist sympathies was to dress up in superhero costumes here. I don't think I ever knew what they were thinking.

Eunie wins without losing a single point of HP.

...I turn my nose up, but Storm Throw is starting to outlive its usefulness. Now, granted, I think I have better ways of inflicting Fighting type damage in my future, but Kailey is going to have to make a note of it.

Trick is one of those moves I wish I used more, but never seems to come up. Now, it won't work if she's holding an Alakazite, so it's probably a good idea to abstain.

Good, early Raichu this time.

Also it's the Light Screen that went up. This works out better for me.

Sure, Eunie hates it, but it's not Eunie who I'm putting my hopes of a sweep into.

...Although Eunie seems prepared to attempt to prove otherwise.

Eunie took out two Pokemon, this is great news!

...Slowking. This is probably better than the Metagross, honestly.

Means I can do this. Although that damage is sad.

Who's next, then?

Alexandria looks at this situation, with a -1 Sp. Atk Pokemon who wasn't all that offensively impressive and slow, and spots a golden opportunity.

Swords Dance time? Swords Dance time.

That was pretty close to bad, but as long as it didn't Burn, that is workable.

I think it goes without saying that was a crit. A crit was the only possible outcome.

Metagross provides us with some pause, but Alexandria has an ace up her sleeve.

The only possible moves Metagross can make can be pre-empted by Sucker Punch, which means Alexandria has a free pass to unleash a +2 STAB SE priority move rated at 80 BP.

If you know ahead of time that the only possible thing an opponent can do is attack, Sucker Punch is an amazing tool. It probably could've handled Slowking, but I wanted to be sure, and Night Slash is strictly superior. Well, half the time- Sucker Punch still has a 50% crit rate right now, and I did roll a crit here.

Anyway, time for us to deal with Alakazam.

That... is unfortunate, and will be bad news should Alakazam ever be lucky enough to fire an attack.

Fortunately, that was not a problem.

...Razor Wind is an 80 BP Special Normal move that takes two turns to attack. It does have a high crit rate, but do you see anything on that list of properties that mesh with Alexandria's talents?

Noah actually played an impressive hand. That Mismagius was a nightmare to find a good opening gambit against, though.

It's relatively important to make a note of the fact that Espeon's Dazzling Gleam and Raichu's access to non-attacking moves render Alexandria's tactic much less effective on them.

Melia thanks you for your contribution.

Now then... Ray.

Ray brought a team of almost exclusively Pokemon good at handling Psychics to the Elite Four, so we're going to be seeing a lot of high-level Pokemon here. Ivy is going to be pulling her weight in spite of appearances.

Worked great on Bethany's Alakazam, probably going to do well here. Pity about Set making that bit harder, though.

Now this is a Moxie sweeper with chest hair.

Paul is here to Sucker Punch things. And also to be something to hold the Lucky Egg.

...I imagine she's just here for Slowking. This is not a set that inspires confidence in the rest of the party.

Frankly, I'm not so sure about this one. Slow and not that Specially bulky is not a winning combination. There is the Metagross, I suppose.

Let's see if this works, then.

Ivy will be taking point.

And at this point, I started to get genuinely concerned we were doing this song and dance again.

Metagross seems a bit too risky. It has Bullet Punch!

...O...K? Does this mean Bullet Punch wasn't a guarantee? This makes Theodore a fantastic call, but it does make me wonder if Ivy could've done Beat Up.

OW, Zen Headbutt is doing plenty too. I guess that Def isn't that much better...

At least Flare Blitz works as intended.

This is the part where I fully comprehend that Slowking doesn't have a Water move. Now, if it did have one, the obvious play is to switch Theodore out.

Imagine my surprise to not come out and take a resisted hit. Now, granted, that Power Gem isn't exactly winning any awards for damage multipliers, but still. I thought that was going to be even more embarrassing.

That Trop Kick was, though. Alena's got her work cut out for her.

In light of that lack of Water move, plus the incoming Fire or Ice move for Alena, I switch back to Theodore. Maybe I should've been Theo the whole time.

Perfect.

OK, at this point, I'm either showing off or setting up for a Moxie sweep. Or really not confident in Theodore's ability to outspeed a Slowking.

This switch in is mainly so Terri can do a Moxie sweep for Alakazam.

The Moxie is in place, but the problem was elsewhere.

Namely, somewhere around the point where I'm deploying a Pokemon that Raichu has no choice but to set up Screens on.

I really should've packed Brick Break, this is like the perfect situation for it...

Here's hoping. And here's not thinking there's much in it.

At least we gave it Moxie again. It could've been worse- could've got Queenly Majesty.

Worst part is, Energy Ball probably could've done the job. The Focus Blast was just for show.

Anyway, time for Brave Bernie to do her Disguise thing.

...Oh yeah. Reflect.

Oops.

All right, let's try outspeeding.

The fact Ivy was unable to outspeed is a terrifying prospect.

Fortunately, Reflect is down.

That went much worse than it ought to to have.

I'll say.

Still, that's a Key Stone for Ray. Time will tell if he even uses this.

While we're here, there's one more thing I want to show off- Ray's fight with Cole.

I think this is a good fight to show off Isabella's new toy, don't you?

As a side effect, this is also our first time seeing the pose for Dragon-type Z-Moves with anyone. The Ancient Trial didn't show it to us on account of its Captain not existing, and opposing Devastating Drake users don't show it off.

I was honestly a little confused about what Kommo-o's Z-Move is, but that's because it's still around, of sorts.

Clangorous Soulblaze is an 185 BP Special Dragon Z-Move that is powered off Clanging Scales. This is equal in power to a Devastating Drake with Clanging Scales as the basis, which clues us in to the fact that this move has a secondary purpose.

Kommo-o does a series of poses, each accompanied by the jingling of its scales. All set to the background of its Vast Poni Canyon home.

At which point it leaps into the air and lets out a blast of sound.

I was actually under the impression that Clangorous Soulblaze was a Status Z-Move, and wouldn't deal damage. This has basis in precedent- or, well, post-cedent.

In addition to dealing damage, Clangorous Soulblaze will grant Kommo-o an omnibuff, no strings attached. Of the Z-Moves, this is the only one to still exist in games following SM, albeit with a twist. Kommo-o learns a new signature move "Clangorous Soul", that gives the omnibuff in exchange for taking 33% of its maximum HP in damage, like a sidegraded Belly Drum. I had recognised this move, but did not recall in exactly what way Clangorous Soul was a "weaker" Clangorous Soulblaze.

With that said, Clangorous Soulblaze does have a quality to set it apart from other Z-Moves exclusively in this game- it's actually a spread move, even if Clanging Scales is not.