Dragon’s Table
Pt. 1: Undergoing restorations
You shield your eyes with your hand, wary of the light breeze that keeps blowing sand in your face. As you stop to look around, the jagged peaks of southern Sinnoh’s Mt. Coronet range greet you with a hostile stare; you are an intruder in this ancestral valley, an outsider in a secluded dale where few are welcome and even fewer dare speak of.
Behind you lies a wide, solitary plain; before you, a red-haired young man stands, his hands deep inside the pockets of his jet-black coat. A Pokémon with spotless fur and vulpine features sits on either side of the young trainer: to his left, a nine-tailed Pokémon with gold-white fur and burning orange eyes growls softly; to his right, a white-furred Pokémon with a dark-grey horn and menacing red eyes glares into the distance. Behind him, an ominous-looking structure projects a dark silhouette onto the star-filled sky.
With the sun having set several hours ago, you have a difficult time trying to make out the large building behind the trainer. It seems to be a large complex, rather than a single building: remnants of tall ramparts and sandstone obelisks are visible on either side of a wide, low-rising staircase. Beyond the staircase, however, lies an imposing structure, its tall windows and wide halls giving the impression of an arcane, age-old temple. The fractured ruins of ancient pillars lay about, but a single, unbroken spire rises taller than all the others on the opposite side of the building. On the far side of the temple, an imposing altar is visible through its open gates, adorned with the massive sculpture of an ancient deity. Behind the draconian figure, a sandstone icon with its wings spread wide, sits a wide window through which the night sky shines clearly.
“First of all, thank you for coming all the way out here. We are aware that this site is anything but accessible, but you’ll see soon enough why we decided to put the gym in this place.” It seems the young trainer is the Gym Leader you’ve been searching for, even though he looks far too young for the position. "I guess—” The leader is cut off by a loud snarl from the Pokémon to his left. "Zelda, what are you doing?" The young trainer struggles with its Pokémon, who continues to snarl at you from behind its bared fangs. Barely able to hold the vulpine back from charging at you, the Leader finally recalls the Pokémon back to its ball, but not before taking a couple of nasty scratches.
"Well, that was embarrasing. That hardly ever happens." The red-haired trainer catches his breath while brushing the Pokémon's golden fur off of his trenchcoat. "Where were we? Oh, right, the introduction. I guess you’re wondering what this place is, and why I made you travel all the way here.”
“This is The Dragon’s Table.”
“Centuries ago, this place used to be a place of worship for a religious sect who gathered here in hopes of summoning a dark, powerful creature. You can see its image inside the temple, on the altar—to be precise, this whole place is an altar. This Fell creature could absorb the life energy of other living things, so it was both feared and worshipped by some. It crossed the sea from a distant region once in a blue moon and came to perch north of here, on the peak of Mount Coronet itself. So, this cult gathered here and tried to gain the creature’s power by making sacrifices—human sacrifices. And these were massive sacrifices, with hundreds or thousands of victims at a time. So yes, some truly horrifying things happened here. What we’re trying to do now is to preserve the site, so that it serves as a memorial to all those lives that were lost. We’re trying to restore the spires, starting with these on the south side—”
Suddenly, the Leader stops mid-sentence. “Oh, I apologize. I’m rambling again, and you came here for a gym battle! I didn’t even introduce myself, did I? My name is Silver, and I’m indeed the Dark-type Gym Leader for some reason. Now, you’ll notice that the gloomy temple back there and the cult’s dark magic have had some pretty weird effects over this place, so let’s go over them before we get started.
a) You’ll notice that some of the dark magic that was cast here remains, and it tends to affect the vitality of both people and Pokémon. This means that draining moves have their healing effects nullified, since Pokémon have trouble tapping into others’ life energy. I have a feeling that the Fell creature for which this temple was made would have no trouble draining others’ vitality, though.
b) You’ll also notice that this dark magic tends to strengthen Pokémon with powers over the occult, especially those who rely on things like toxins and mind control. This tends to make Poison- and Psychic-type moves more powerful.
c) As I said earlier, artifacts can be found lying around; this is a battlefield, after all. This means that you may find some useful items around here, so trainers may use items that they haven’t purchased.
d) However, please bear in mind that this is a historical site undergoing a heavy restoration effort. We would appreciate it if Pokémon didn’t knock these relics around mid-battle, so please treat Pokémon as if they had the ability Sticky Hold.
As the Leader grows silent, you wait for him to continue. His gaze moves to a single, darkened cloud overhead, behind which a sliver of the full moon is visible. As the soft breeze carries away its lone companion in the clear sky, the moon shines over the valley, illuminating you and your opponent in a pale, white light. The Leader turns to the temple behind him, as moonlight slowly crawls up through its sandstone walls and reflects off of its shattered windows. Finally, as the clear light of the moon reaches the top of the structure’s tallest spire, you see a faint gleam, as if the Dragon’s Table were set for the upcoming battle. The Leader turns back around towards the battlefield, a slight grin on his face. “Midnight”, he remarks. “We may begin.”
Arena effects
a) All Pokémon gain the ability Sticky Hold on top of their regular abilities.
b) Moves that drain HP in addition to dealing damage have their healing effect nullified. The move Oblivion Wing is exempt from this restriction. [Full list: Absorb, Drain Punch, Draining Kiss, Dream Eater, Giga Drain, Horn Leech, Leech Life, Leech Seed, Mega Drain, Parabolic Charge]
c) Trainers may use items that they have not purchased.
d) The Base Attack Power of Psychic-type moves is boosted by 2BAP, and the Base Attack Power of Poison-type moves is boosted by 1BAP.
Codifications:
a) Camouflage turns the user into a Ghost-type
b) Nature Power calls Confusion
c) Secret Power has a 30% chance to lower the target's Special Attack by one stage