This is going to be a bit awkward, and also a ton of stat pages. Battle-wise, we've got Noah and Ray's respective Gladions, and also Noah's Hau. In this case, simplicity's sake is that I do Noah first and then Ray. Right... let's get to it.
I do wish PRNDL didn't have to rely on Thunder, but defensively, there is no one better at dealing with Crobat.
Arsena's job is to start fires, nothing more complicated than that. She can clear the Hail or set a Burn if needed, but I doubt they will be.
Kailey's role on the team continues to perplex me, but I seem to figure it out every time I'm called on. Moxie and a weird coverage set does that sort of thing.
Lanz, meanwhile, is an amazing Ice type on the offense and Steel on the defence. And hey, it is hailing out...
Melia is just one massive delete button. She's a little weird as one on Gladion, but she should be able to pull off the trick.
Right then... let's get started.
Sturdy's not going to be much use in Hail, but this isn't an opponent that's going to be trying to break Sturdy.
Double resist or immunity. Crobat's options suck.
The thing about Thunder PRNDL is that it was originally conceived to be paired with Daj. Turns out the whole "rain team" thing didn't turn out the way I hoped. Ah well, it still can hit without rain.
Lucario. That sounds like a good excuse for an Aura Sphere to the face on PRNDL.
Time to set it on fire-
...Hm. That is... that is a number.
And... it outspeeds. This sort of strategy works much less well in Noah's Set rules than Bethany's Switch.
This is where Kailey comes in. Fighting resists Bug, and Kailey has high Def for the low BP Physical moves Kailey doesn't resist.
Which is great, because Kailey may need to take more hits.
Fortunately, it turns out those won't be necessary on Lucario.
It's for the rest of the team.
Oh hey, I was wondering why Taion didn't know that. U-Turn is absolutely fantastic for getting him out of situations he doesn't want to be in, and makes a great fourth move slot. Better than Return, anyway.
Silvally Grass. Stuck with the incredible type combination of Grass, Bug, Dark, Normal- the only one of Silvally's sets to have holes. Now granted, the only real holes are Lucario and Mawile, but we've seen Grass/Bug before on Lurantis, and we've only got better at covering that particular trick.
It did lead to the hilarious situation of both of us X-Scissoring each other, though.
Kailey does it better.
The best part is, Kailey could totally do a +2 Atk Storm Throw here. The problem is that Weavile is carrying Ice Shard. And probably outspeeds anyway.
This is what Lanz is for.
Shoutouts to double-resisting Ice Shard and just casually out-healing Ice Shard with Leftovers. I don't think there could be a funnier outcome here.
Other than Lanz outspeeding thanks to Slush Rush. I don't think there could be anything more demonstrative of Weavile's weak points than this.
We'll be back for you yet, Gladion.
We've just gotta talk to Hau first.
Palossand (Moon): Buried beneath the castle are masses of dried-up bones from those whose vitality it has drained.
Earthwerk has finally evolved and gained a Special Ground move that isn't Sand Tomb! The latter only took the Move Reminder, but whatever, it's about time we saw what this sandcastle could do when the Pokedex wasn't bragging on its behalf.
Arsena, I know Gladion's battle didn't paint you in the best light, but let's try and make something this time...
Why is Noah so bereft of Fighting moves that Cap'n Triton's Brick Break is being used on Komala? The Initmidate is also part of it, but... I joked about using a Lucario to show Gladion how it's done, and I think Noah might actually want a real Fighting type...
Squishy, meanwhile, is starting to let the whole "10% form" thing show. I more hope that I can infuse Squishy with 40 cells to turn it into 50%, rather than know, and don't really want to try when I prefer dog mode. The fact remains, it may be a really good move, but Squishy is only counting on Thousand Arrows.
Here's Mio to deal with Hau's Incineroar. Incineroar lucked out, and we'll need Mio.
If need be, Kailey can probably do the same thing she did to Gladion. I consider it less likely, but with Komala around, I may need to try it.
Hau's not too bad for Noah, but he does have a few tricks that Bethany's Hau kinda didn't.
Ground/Dark might be hard-countered by Focus Blast, but Ground/Ghost only has to fear Psychic. Granted, this is still unresisted STAB, but it means you control exactly what trick Raichu is about to perform.
And if you're halfway decent at taking that hit, you have two STAB moves that can hit right back.
Earthwerk, what did I catch you for?
This is not a situation Earthwerk wants to be in.
...
Hau, did you just predict the switch? Or were you just trying to prevent Earthwerk from finishing the job? You do know you would have beat Earthwerk if you stayed in, right?
The fact remains, this is not a situation Mio wants to be in, so she is going to leave now.
Arsena really not doing too great at this whole "switch in" thing.
Fortunately, Leaf Blade is considered a contact move, and the 30% chance of Burn procs.
This means, even with hail's chip, Arsena is able to take the hit and fire back this time. You go, big girl!
Right. Komala. Comatose means Arsena has no counter-strategy for her, especially since Earthquake is non-contact.
Cap'n Triton's got ya covered!
And he manages to take two attacks. That's less HP than I'd like, but more than enough to fire off one attack.
...Perhaps I should've considered Play Rough. After a point, coverage isn't that much better than STAB, especially if STAB is unresisted.
Kailey, we're crawling back to you.
Kailey does well.
Hm... yes, Fire, Bugs hate Fire, but on the other hand, Incineroar is weak to Fighting thanks to the Dark type.
I had hopes. And that's a heck of a lot more than I'd expect. If all else fails, Flare Blitz will mean he's probably in Aqua Jet range or something.
...Oh. Yeah, sorry, Kailey, but you gave it your best shot and all-
Kailey, you madwoman.
...Oh, right. It's still hailing. Well, that Focus Band was kinda worthless, wasn't it?
Squishy, this is what you're here for. Well, technically, it's what Mio was brought for.
I just think Thousand Arrows is cool.
Oh, right, I forgot about you. At least I'm Ground type...
And am packing Extreme Speed. Priority is so fun to click when the opponent abuses its speed.
I'm sure Squishy has opinions on that turn of phrase. Anyway, Noah's team check.
Honestly, Primarina kinda really liked Icy Wind. Scald has competition, and while it's technically the better option compared to Sparkling Aria, the Sirehound has the option of using it now. Mio will still find her time to shine, though, purely off the back of how good Water and Fairy are on the defence.
I wish you had Thunderbolt. With Lanz around, you're not offering anything but a solid defensive profile- and even then, I'm not sure what Electric/Steel specifically is offering that Ice/Steel can't fake.
For some reason, Mismagius learns what was formerly Delphox's signature move Mystical Fire (75 BP Special Fire, lowers the opponent's Sp. Atk by one stage) as a Move Reminder move. The coverage is welcome, and it's not like it's the only Kalos starter move being redistributed.
And at least it's not a TM yet, like it will eventually become.
I have no idea why Ethel is still rocking Haze. I think this playthrough gave me a love for it that I never had before. At least it's not like there's a move she desperately wants instead.
Melia is a one-trick pony, and while there are still foes for whom her trick works, this isn't RBY anymore. She misses back when the Punches were Special moves.
Nimue, of course, is a one-trick pony too, but her one trick is much funnier.
She could also be using Petal Dance (140 BP, locks you into it for 2-3 turns then confuses you) instead of Giga Drain, but I foresee the leeching coming in handy.
I forgot to bring Gonzales to one of the last two rival fights because I overlooked him being my lowest level team member. With that said, with bulk that high, he can probably pull off something awesome despite his disadvantage.
Sadly, nothing in her Reminder kit proved too helpful for Arsena. She's really helped by having access to the move Thunderbolt, which is not something we've enjoyed.
Despite her performance in the two Rival battles, Kailey is a Pokemon whose long-term prospects are strange. I do have ideas, but somehow, I'm not sure they'll work out.
Taion continues to be fast and unrelenting. Well, until he's hit back, but that won't matter if he wins first.
...Yeah, I'm not sure if Earthwerk's going to pull something out of his hat in the end. Ultimately, that low Speed is going to cost him at that power level.
Lanz got access to an Ice move with an actual BP score from the Move Reminder. He's set so long as he can get the upper hand.
Alexandria kinda gets pigeon-holed, but considering two of her attacks are 1/2 odds of critting, guaranteed if she's holding a Scope Lens? She can be nice to have.
Finally, Dragon STAB! Yeah, Squishy can do a million and one things, but apparently, an offensive portfolio outside STAB isn't one of those things. Oh well, so long as it is good at what it does...
Triton upgraded Payback, but continues to have a weird toolkit. It all comes down to Intimidate, really- Granbull's more of a midgame option you ditch, rather than an endgame option that shores up your team.
I liked Poliwrath enough from my write-up to put one in Noah's team box, but with Daj's stocks doing so poorly and Poliwrath herself lacking a good Physical Water option, I never wound up committing to her. Maybe if Kailey wound up not working.
Daj himself... Daj suffered from not getting Hurricane (110 BP Special Flying, 70% accurate, perfect accuracy in rain, 30% chance of confuse) in a reasonable time (level 55!), and thus having to rely on its... options, for beating out Mio. Maybe if my team relied a shade more heavily on Rain, but I wouldn't like forcing the team into that mould.
Noah didn't wind up with a ton of benches- the only major one outside Daj was Crunch. Remember her? I don't think anyone expected her to last beyond Akala, and honestly, even Akala was an ambitious ask.
Anyway, Ray's Gladion.
Deep Blue is doing the job of dealing with Crobat this time. Should bait out Zoroark early, although whether that's a good idea or not is its own can of worms.
As a Special Attacker, I'm not sure Isabella is the right call. She'll work, but it'll be close.
Theodore: Still Theodore. Both Silvally and Lucario don't particularly fancy being on the receiving end of this.
I gave Gary Flamethrower! This gives him a lot of interesting options in those same matchups, should the tide blow that direction.
Sucker Punch. Of course it's Sucker Punch. Although Earthquake won't be half bad either.
Volty's taking the opposite tack- someone who won't go down as easily as the team member who preceded her. Among other things, Zoroark's name is on that Bug Buzz.
This is why you pack coverage: Otherwise this fight is the same result with different leads. Sturm was kind of the funniest.
Although that is a number. It was a crit, yes, but still.
At least Metagross is still oneshotting. Not that there was much doubt.
On my toes this time. That is the Zoroark.
And it went right for Black Hole Eclipse.
Remember earlier, when I said Isabella should not be made to rely on her Special Defence?
I learned from experience. Times like these I wish Isabella went with Soundproof and not Bulletproof.
Volty, show him that Bug Buzz.
It ably handled Night Daze. Although it does make me suspect she couldn't have handled the Black Hole Eclipse, or a switch-in. I don't think this team packed Dark resists at all outside Isabella.
Oh hey, Silvally. Volty can actually take this with a Bug Buzz, if she's allowed to fire.
And it turns out she is. What's your excuse, Silvally?
Now for the real Lucario. The reason he didn't come out sooner is because Volty resists both of its STAB moves, presumably.
Although at low HP, that's no longer an issue for him.
Yes, Theodore is technically better. But also, there's something fitting about defeating Gladion by using a gigantic palm tree incapable of taking himself seriously.
Gladion went first, but I had the Choice Specs. Gary is absolutely amazing, even if the camera has no idea where to make attacks come from or to.
Except to look at Ray's team.
Yes. Paul is the first Pokemon in join order for Ray. It holds up decent, but benching it wouldn't go too amiss... Really, it's no wonder Ray's earlygame was a bit of a pain.
Candy has all of the Atk, and a Speed score lower than its level. Really, the sand isn't so much for her benefit as it is Dawn's.
Anyway, Dawn. Having both is a bit weird, but Dawn can do Candy's job faster, and means I don't have to worry about Sandstorm after the fact.
Frankly, I'm not even 100% sure Ice Beam is the upgrade to go with here. Guardia's entire job is to be a pain in the neck to Pokemon that think stat buffs are the way to go. Wish he'd be faster, though.
Maybe it's time we put Grandpa in a home. I mean, don't, he's still got some fire left in him, but with just Normal STAB and a general lack of really finishing firepower, Tauros's age is starting to show in the corners.
Stop the presses! Theodore finally learned a new move! Flare Blitz is the best Physical move Fire types get (120 BP), and with Rock Head, Theodore doesn't even have to worry about the downsides.
Alena is actually surprisingly good, but her sole STAB being a 70 BP Grass move and her coverage options all having asterisks is not exactly a ringing endorsement for versatility.
Deep Blue is an endorsement for versatility, though. Look at those stats. It's Budget Solgaleo, but a fantastic one.
I, like many fans of Sinnoh, wanted to like Electivire. Ghondor, like many Electivire, just did not provide good reason. Part of me wonders if I'm really upgrading from Fist Jr. here.
Although it did turn out I was training him in the wrong stat. Oops...
Volty has already forgotten Agility. Air Slash is funny coverage on something that slow, though- what are you flinching?
Terri takes Sue, gives her Moxie, and switches to a better type. Terri is absolutely amazing.
Brave Bernie's divergence from Bernie-Bear has been fascinating, but I think Will-O-Wisp is a move that really belongs in Brave Bernie's kit. Something about it just makes it a right option.
Gary remains the most hilarious party member. I wish there was a place on the final team for him. He will live on in our hearts as everyone's favourite Exeggutor named Gary.
Isabella, meanwhile, really hates that Sp. Def drop she took allowing the option of Clanging Scales. Perhaps that was a mistake, but Deep Blue is really beating her in the 600 club competition.
So yeah, uh... the final Pokemon available in the main story to Ultra Sun (Ultra Moon gives that honour to Drampa), anyone want to see Weavile in actuion? Little weird how she's got no coverage, but Ivy really shows off the idea of just focusing on that whole Atk/Spd thing. Keep away from being hit, though.
Soar's weird. Like Gorg, I wound up evolving it into its final stage early on and taking it out of the maingame rotation. Unlike Gorg, I don't really think of Soar as "benched". Part of that comes down to the fact that Ray is actually missing as widespread access to a postgame mechanic that Noah and Ailey have (and Bethany lacks entirely), and Soar will enable more of it.
The only reason the Sirehound was benched was for a bit. I will admit Ray kinda misses him, but Guardia was more than adequate for the task assigned.
Veeka: Volty but she never learned to fly. Sometimes I wonder if I should've kept them the same party member, but the EVs and Nature...
Penny took way too long to get STAB, and it wasn't even good STAB. Her job was just done better elsewhere.
Fist Jr.: Slow, made of glass, and didn't oneshot when it was his turn. May Isabella claim a better legacy.
You know, Angry Bird probably could've stayed in longer if he wanted. Not sure he's endgame material, but I think there was potential in him being used on Mimikyu or Guzma or someone.
Agnes fell so Ivy could rise. And really, she just had the Fist Jr. problem, but worse. Sure, she can take Special hits, especially with Sandstorm, but her Sp. Atk is just too low.
Next time: The beginning of the end. Of the main story.
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