Dark Sage vs. Master of Paradox, Round Twenty-Two

Pre-Round Stats

Team Sage


Blast (M)
Health: 61%
Energy: 70%
Status: Glad that he isn’t soaked
Dark Sage’s Commands:
Brick Break ~ Dragon Claw ~ Metal Claw

Team Paradox


Pudge (M)
Health: 62%
Energy: 69%
Status: Protect sucks.
Master of Paradox’s Commands:
Shadow Ball ~ Water Pulse ~ Hyper Beam

Arena

Zepp Junkyard

As the name implies, this place is a mess. It's an arena of about a square mile, penned off by chain link fencing. Despite its appearance, the fence is indestructible - they build them sturdy in Zepp. Piles of scrap metal and broken machinery abound, some still throwing off sparks, but there's enough clear space for a good fight. (It is possible to Dig into piles of junk.)

Over on the far eastern side is a giant robotic claw, perpetually sorting through deliveries of scrap; anything it deems dangerous is dropped onto the conveyors and delivered to the compactor. If any non-Steel-type Pokémon makes contact with the claw, it grabs them and rejects them. Rejection involves getting hurled back into the arena, which may cause damage at the referee's discretion. Steel-types are dropped onto the conveyor.

On the far northern side is the compactor and conveyor system. Anything that gets put on the conveyor will end up here in about the space of two actions. Getting dropped into the compactor is obviously a bad idea.

This junkyard is a very busy place. Every fifth round, a zeppelin will pass overhead and drop a new delivery of metal garbage onto the field. This is, in effect, a Hail that ignores types - even a Steel or Rock Pokémon can't avoid getting banged up when a compact car falls on their head.

Round Twenty-Two: Begin!

Satisfied that he’s perfectly safe and dry, Blast dashes forward with a little fist raised in the air. Or, at least, he tries to dash forward. What he actually manages is a hasty and clumsy scramble over several trash piles before he reaches Pudge, slightly tired out. It takes Blast a moment to catch his breath; Pudge purrs at this nice little window of opportunity and takes the chance to fire off a Shadow Ball. Every shadow in the area rushes forward, finally forming a vaguely sphere-shaped amalgam in front of the Persian’s gem; the seething bundle of darkness surges forward and hits Blast hard before it dissipates and the shadows return to their respective places. Blast staggers, but recovers quickly enough to sock Pudge in the face with enough force to Break Bricks.

The Charmander’s claws glow a bright green as draconic energy surrounds them; with as fierce a roar as he can muster, Blast jumps forward again to score Pudge with his Dragon Claws. Summoning a torrent of water is not as easy for a Normal-type as it is for a Water-type, and so Pudge, doing his best to ready a second Water Pulse, does not have time to react; his face is torn up by the Charmander’s tiny talons. Furious, Pudge finally manages to let loose the stream of water, screaming as he does so; Blast has no time to prepare a protective shield this time, and the water hits him full force. The horrible noise, combined with the pain and chill of the rushing water, ends up messing with Blast’s head, effectively confusing him.

Soaking wet, ears ringing and head spinning, Blast tries his best to keep his cool. He knows he’s supposed to attack the cat in front of him… the only problem is, there are about eleven cats moving in and out of focus over there, all looking superior and rather amused, and he’s not quite sure which one he should be going after. A temporary inability to think rationally finally has the salamander convince himself that he can take all of them down with just one attack because he’s that awesome, and so his claws shimmer with Steel energy and harden again as he stumbles to the attack. Pudge laughs to himself as Blast spins and slashes at the empty air on either side of him; as such, he fails to notice that Blast’s last swing is right on target and yowls angrily as the Metal Claws cut into his flank. The Persian has just about had it with this wretched little orange lizard ruining his beautiful coat, and so he takes a step back to give himself room for his most powerful assault yet. Blast is too busy congratulating himself on defeating all thirty-seven nasty fat Persians (the original eleven called their friends for backup, of course) to see Pudge’s gem sparkle violently with a bright, blinding white light. Without warning, a massive beam of energy shoots out of the gem and at the swaying Blast, punching into his little chest and sending him flying backwards. Blast plows right through a pile of trash before his momentum slows and he slams into a second, sturdier mound, finally slumping to the ground. The powerful Hyper Beam was incredibly taxing to execute, and Pudge sinks to the ground himself, panting heavily.

Too tired and achy to worry about the weather, Blast and Pudge simply lay on the ground and allow the last few hailstones to bounce off of their bodies. The junkyard owner frowns. It looks like these two oddball animals are growing tired, but the raw power of that cat-thing’s last attack has him worried…

Round Twenty-Two: Close

Post-Round Stats

Team Sage


Blast (M)
Health: 22%
Energy: 55%
Status: Moderately confused; O.o …brain huuuuurts… so much paaaaaiin…

Team Paradox


Pudge (M)
Health: 38%
Energy: 48%
Status: Tiring, but pleased.

Arena Status

Hail: Dissipated

Zeppelin: Four rounds until arrival

Some rocks, most of them shattered by Atlas, Thunderclap and Kandy’s Rock Smashes, litter one side of the field; far more plentiful, however, is the scrap scattered around by the zeppelin’s visits. On top of all of that, the junk that Pudge caused to cascade over the field makes it nigh impossible to move around this particular area. Some of the ground and the piles of scrap are icy; some areas of the ice have been shattered somewhat by the falling junk. Golf ball-sized hailstones are all over the place, but the hail has finally let up.

Ref’s Notes
-Due to Blast’s erratic flailing around, he used a bit more energy and did a bit less damage while using Metal Claw. (+1% energy, -1% damage)

-Blast took extra damage from flying through/slamming into the trash mounds (+4%).

-Master of Paradox attacks first next round.