Breaching the Fortress - A Suspect Warstory

Legacy Raider

sharpening his claws, slowly
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hey guys.
Before you begin this warstory I want to warn you that this is a very long battle. And when I say long, I'm talking about 50 turns, so if you much prefer to read fast paced quick battles between two offensive teams then maybe this isn't the warstory for you. However, there are great predictions throughout the game and there aren't really large chunks of stallwar. Just thought I'd give a heads up before you dedicate yourself to reading this monstrosity of a warstory.

Back on track - the suspect ladder is really fun =P. Imo Latias is a great addition to the metagame and generally I enjoy playing on suspect more than standard. Problem is, there are usually very few people who play suspect regularly, so you do end up facing the same people many times over. This battle against Sitzmark is one such case - we had both battled each other with these teams at least 5 times in the past, so we had a very good idea of what the other person's team was. You could say that this would make the battle boring as there would be no element of surprise. Truth is, our intimate knowledge of each other's teams simply meant that the level of prediction in this battle was exceedingly high. The entire battle we both try to find holes in the other's defenses, ducking and weaving to try and get in a favourable position to exploit weaknesses and do critical damage to the opposing team.

Anyway, on to the battle. Let's go.
____________________

Legacy Raider's Team:



And since i pretty much knew it all, it would be no good to keep you in suspense:

Sitzmark's Team:



You can see that both our teams are well suited for the other, meaning that neither of us was overly domineering in the battle. (As a side note, for those people who say that Latias centralizes the game around Steel and Dragon, take a look at Sitzmark's team. He has no steel types and a lone Dragon, and yet he is 10th on the suspect leaderboard. Just goes to show that you can be successful without having to run multiple dragons and steels on the same team).
____________________


  • Ladder Match
  • Sleep Clause
  • Freeze Clause
  • Species Clause
  • OHKO Clause
  • Evasion Clause
  • Soul Dew Clause

- Nicknames will be omitted.
- Leftovers will be mentioned at first instance and then omitted.
- Sandstorm will be omitted.
- Score will be mentioned after every KO (Legacy Raider - Sitzmark)
- Because it is such a long battle, I'm going to give a status report once in a while to give you a quick overview of the states of the teams:



- Battle text will be in bold.
- My commentary will be in blue.
____________________



Legacy Raider. sent out Yanmega.
Sitzmark sent out Salamence.
Salamence's intimidate cut Yanmega's attack!


vs


We both start off with our standard leads. Now generally, Salamence will never stay in on Yanmega because I can 2HKO with Air Slash. I basically have 3 choices here - I can Air Slash to get some damage on Salamence; I could Hypnosis predicting a switch to a counter; or I could Protect to ensure I get my Speed Boost, and am fast enough to deal with both Salamence and whatever is going to come in. I go with Protect as it is the safest option for me, and won't do me any harm if Salamence decides to stay in and go for a Flamethrower.

Sitzmark switched in Blissey.

Yanmega used Protect.
Yanmega protected itself!
Yanmega's Speed Boost raised its speed!


vs


Yanmega - 100% (+1 Spe)
Blissey - 100%

It seems Sitzmark wants to play it safe as well and goes for the risk-free Blissey switch in. I Protect to gain the speed but it of no use, as I plan on getting my Machamp in early to do some decent damage quickly.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Machamp.

Blissey used Seismic Toss.
Machamp lost 26% of its health.


Machamp's leftovers restored its health a little!
Machamp restored 6% of its health.

vs


Machamp - 80%
Blissey - 100%

Machamp eats a Seismic Toss coming in and his Leftovers activate, replenishing a fraction of his health. Now Blissey is almost guaranteed to switch - it is far too important a pokemon to Sitzmark to leave in on a Machamp. I am tempted to Dynamicpunch to get the confusion on whatever is coming in, but I can vaguely remember Sitzmark having a ghost type. I finally decide to go for a simple payback. Since Blissey will switch it will double in power and hit the incoming pokemon hard, and if I predicted right, super effectively.

---

Sitzmark switched in Cresselia.

Machamp used Payback.
It's super effective!
Cresselia lost 39% of its health.


Cresselia's leftovers restored its health a little!
Cresselia restored 6% of its health.

vs


Machamp - 86%
Cresselia - 67%

Well it wasn't a ghost, but I still get a strong super effective smack on Cresselia as it switches in. I'm not too keen on letting Machamp take the incoming Psychic, so this is a good time to switch out to something that can take Cresselia on a bit better. Namely Metagross.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Metagross.

Cresselia used Psychic.
It's not very effective...
Metagross lost 9% of its health.


vs


Metagross - 91%
Cresselia - 73%

Metagross gets in easily on the 4x resisted Psychic. Now I perceive no immediate threat from Cresselia so I'm going to take this opportunity to set up some Stealth Rock. SR is very important when facing a team like Sitzmark's, as it means that he can't simply switch around and wall my attackers all day. It also means that his Salamence won't be quite so scary an offensive threat when it is losing a quarter of its health on every switch in.

---

Cresselia used Reflect.
A barrier was formed!
Metagross used Stealth Rock.
Pointed stones float in the air around your foe's team!


Metagross - 91%
Cresselia - 79% (Reflect)

I get my Stealth Rock up without taking any more damage, but Sitzmark also decides to do some team supporting and sets up a Reflect. I'm heartened to see Cresselia gain Leftovers recovery at the end of the turn, as it tells me that he is not running Light Clay. Screens really hinder my bulky offense team so it's good to know I only have to deal with 5 turns of Reflect rather than 8.

---

Cresselia used Psychic.
It's not very effective...
Metagross lost 8% of its health.
Metagross used Meteor Mash.
Cresselia lost 17% of its health.


Metagross - 83%
Cresselia - 68% (Reflect)

We both take a turn to use a STAB move in the odd chance it catches a counter coming in. Both attacks do laughable damage to ther other. The waffling around in this turn good for me though, as it means I 1 less turn of waiting for Reflect to run out. I go for another Mash, just to get damage on something.

---

Sitzmark switched in Rotom-c.
Pointed stones dug into Rotom-c.
Rotom-c lost 12% of its health.

Metagross used Meteor Mash.
It's not very effective...
Rotom-c lost 13% of its health.
Metagross's attack was raised.


Rotom-c's leftovers restored its health a little!
Rotom-c restored 6% of its health.

vs


Metagross - 83% (+1 Atk)
Rotom-c - 81% (Reflect)

In comes his ghost type which I couldn't quite remember, and it turns out to be a Rotom-c. Nice to see a lawnmower instead of a bloody toaster for once =). Now, having seen his un-toasty ghosty, I remember that it packs Will-O-Wisp. I don't let Metagross' attack raise entice me into staying in, and instead go straight to my status absorber - Latias.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Latias.

Rotom-c used Will-o-wisp.
Latias was burned!
Latias was hurt by its burn!
Latias lost 12% of its health.


vs


Latias - 88% (Burn)
Rotom-c - 87% (Reflect)

I was right in switching Metagross, and Latias takes the burn for him. I don't remember having used Latias' secret weapon in any of our previous games, so I can safely assume that Sitzmark is not seeing it coming. I have, however, used Latias' awesome Draco Meteor on him before, and he knows better than to leave Rotom in on what could potentially KO him there and then. So I don't need to fear a Shadow Ball, and can be comfortable in knowing that whatever he switches in will get a nasty surprise.

---

Sitzmark switched in Blissey.
Pointed stones dug into Blissey.
Blissey lost 12% of its health.

Latias used Psycho Shift.
Blissey was burned!

Blissey's reflect wore off!
Blissey was hurt by its burn!
Blissey lost 12% of its health.


vs


Latias - 88%
Blissey - 82% (Burn)

Blissey comes in and gets a burn handed to her, all wrapped up nice. Now that she is statused and I can no longer shift status to her, I predict Sitzmark to go for the Toxic to get some further damage on Latias. If I can get Machamp Toxiced then I will have nothing left to fear from his Rotom. Seeing this as a great opportunity to get Machamp in and send some pokemon flying, I call Latias back.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Machamp.

Blissey used Flamethrower.
Machamp lost 19% of its health.
Machamp was burned!

Machamp was hurt by its burn!
Machamp lost 12% of its health.
Blissey was hurt by its burn!
Blissey lost 12% of its health.


vs


Machamp - 74% (Burn)
Blissey - 76% (Burn)

Fuck.... that just wrecked Machamp.

There's not much more to say really. I just have to try and do as much damage with Machamp as I can before he dies now. A simple overprediction on my part, expecting Toxic, but there was really no reason for Sitzmark to use Flamethrower over Seismic Toss. I guess he must have thought I predicted Toxic and would switch to Metagross, and so he wanted to get some super effective damage on it. Oh well. This battle just became all that much harder for me to win, with Machamp crippled.


---

Sitzmark switched in Rotom-c.
Pointed stones dug into Rotom-c.
Rotom-c lost 12% of its health.

Machamp used Bulk Up.
Machamp's attack was raised.
Machamp's defence was raised.

Machamp was hurt by its burn!
Machamp lost 12% of its health.


vs


Machamp - 67% (Burn)
Rotom-c - 75%

Rotom comes in on the predicted Dynamicpunch, but I'm not going to give him the luxury of a free switch. I use Bulk Up, preparing Machamp to go on a suicidal rampage.

---

Rotom-c used Shadow Ball.
Machamp lost 30% of its health.
Machamp used Payback.
It's super effective!
Rotom-c lost 48% of its health.

Machamp was hurt by its burn!
Machamp lost 12% of its health.


Machamp - 30% (Burn)
Rotom-c - 33%

What a beast Machamp is - even when burned he hits Rotom for nearly half damage. But there's nothing more he can do, as Rotom's next attack will take him out.

---

Rotom-c used Shadow Ball.
Machamp lost 30% of its health.

Legacy Raider.'s Machamp fainted.


- vs


Machamp - 0%
Rotom-c - 40%

Machamp finally succumbs to Rotom's shadow balls, and we have the first kill of the game. This is how the teams are standing as of now:



---

Legacy Raider. switched in Latias.

vs


I bring in Latias to threaten the Draco Meteor, but I have no intention of staying in. I am simply using Latias as a lure so that Sitzmark is forced to send out Blissey...

Sitzmark switched in Blissey.
Pointed stones dug into Blissey.
Blissey lost 12% of its health.

Legacy Raider. switched in Metagross.


vs


Metagross - 83%
Blissey - 70%

...And I go straight to Metagross as the Blissey comes in. This is good, I am now in a favourable position to launch an attack. He has no Reflect and a very weak Rotom, so something or other is going to take a big hit.

---

Sitzmark switched in Salamence.
Pointed stones dug into Salamence.
Salamence lost 25% of its health.

Metagross used Meteor Mash.
Salamence lost 41% of its health.


Salamence's leftovers restored its health a little!
Salamence restored 6% of its health.

vs


Metagross - 83%
Salamence - 40%

Salamence eats a solid Meteor Mash on the switch in. From its Leftovers, and the fact that Meteor Mash did less than half (when normally it would KO with SR) tells me that I am facing a bulky Salamence. Now there are two things Sitzmark could do here - he could try and Roost off the damage and hope I either switch or miss with a subsequent Meteor Mash; or he could use Earthquake or Flamethrower to try and get some damage on Metagross. Either way, it means I can bring use Metagross' natural synergy with Latias and give her a free switch in.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Latias.

Salamence used Roost.
Salamence restored 50% of its health.


vs


Latias - 88%
Salamence - 96%

I was right in predicting the Roost, and Latias comes in without taking a scratch. Now once again I am threatening a KO with Draco Metoer. However, the previous two times I threatened his Rotom, I in actual fact didn't go through with the attack and instead made strategic switches. I don't want to risk Sitzmark calling a bluff and hitting Latias with his own Dragon attack, so this time I decide to actually use the Meteor.

---

Sitzmark switched in Blissey.
Pointed stones dug into Blissey.
Blissey lost 12% of its health.

Latias used Draco Meteor.
Blissey lost 30% of its health.
Latias's special attack was harshly lowered.
Latias lost 10% of its health.


vs


Latias - 78% (-2 SpA)
Blissey - 34%

Hoping that Salamence would stay in was pushing my luck a bit, I guess. Blissey comes in to take the impeding Draco Meteor, but not before it takes an impressive 30% of her health. Latias gets a little damage from her Life Orb. Now that Blissey is so low on health, and is practically forced to Softboiled, I can bring in my most dangerous pokemon, and what I think is the key to winning this match - Tyranitar.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Tyranitar.
Tyranitar's Sand Stream whipped up a sandstorm!
A sandstorm brewed!

Blissey used Softboiled.
Blissey restored 50% of its health.


vs


Tyranitar - 100%
Blissey - 84%

Blissey happily swallows the last bit of her egg, looks up, and gulps as she beholds the monster standing before her. Tyranitar is essential for me winning this match. I am using the deadly Dragon Dance set, so if I can weaken Sitzmark's team some more I will be able to DD up and have a clean sweep. I remember, however, that Sitzmark packs a Machamp of his own for the very purpose of stopping Tyranitars. Tyranitar enjoys taking a Dynamicpunch to the face no more than Blissey does, so I need to get as much damage as I can on the brawling pokemon. I choose to get a decent powered neutral hit with Earthquake on Machamp since it resists both my STAB attacks.

---

Sitzmark switched in Cresselia.
Pointed stones dug into Cresselia.
Cresselia lost 12% of its health.

Tyranitar used Earthquake.
Cresselia makes ground moves miss with Levitate!
Tyranitar's attack missed!


vs


Tyranitar - 100%
Cresselia - 56%

Sitzmark makes an excellent prediction there and switches in Cresselia... into a Tyranitar of all things! But it was a very intelligent play - he managed to work out my entire thought process from the turn before, predicted my Earthquake and made the smart switch. Now, although I am 99% sure that he is going to switch, I don't want to go for the Earthquake again in the off chance he outpredicts me and gets up a Reflect. That would be devastating for my team right now. I don't want to give Machamp a free switch into Crunch either, though. So I decide to switch Tyranitar out now and go to my bulky, reliable Metagross (<3). He can threaten massive damage on whatever wants to come in, and spread more residual damage throughout Sitzmark's team.

---

Sitzmark switched in Machamp.
Pointed stones dug into Machamp.
Machamp lost 6% of its health.

Legacy Raider. switched in Metagross.


vs


Metagross - 83%
Machamp - 82%

In comes the Machamp, as per expected. I doubt Machamp will stay in either, but I opt to go for the double bluff once again, and get Gyarados in for free. Either that or I get an Intimidate on Machamp and Gyarados gets to come in on a resisted attack. Win win situation for me, as no matter what I am going to be causing him to take more SR and sandstorm damage.

---

Sitzmark switched in Salamence.
Pointed stones dug into Salamence.
Salamence lost 25% of its health.

Legacy Raider. switched in Gyarados.
Gyarados's intimidate cut Salamence's attack!

Gyarados' leftovers restored its health a little!
Gyarados restored 6% of its health.


vs


Gyarados - 100%
Salamence - 71%

The two titans face off against each other. I am running an extremely bulky Impish Gyarados, and his Salamence is Intimidated, so once again the switch is nigh guaranteed. I plan on going back to Metagross, as if Salamence does choose to use a dragon attack then Metagross will resist it. If it switches out, it simply means taking another quarter of its health the next time it decides to come in.

---

Sitzmark switched in Vaporeon.
Pointed stones dug into Vaporeon.
Vaporeon lost 12% of its health.

Legacy Raider. switched in Metagross.

Vaporeon's leftovers restored its health a little!
Vaporeon restored 6% of its health.


vs


Metagross - 83%
Vaporeon - 88%

Ah, Vaporeon. That tells me that Gyarados won't be getting too much sweeping done this match. Vaporeon takes SR and SS damage this turn, weakening it ever so slightly to give Tyranitar an easier time breaking through when the time for the final sweep comes. I decide to stop switching around repetitively and just go for a strong Earthquake to get some damage on Vaporeon.

---

Sitzmark switched in Rotom-c.
Pointed stones dug into Rotom-c.
Rotom-c lost 12% of its health.

Rotom-c makes ground moves miss with Levitate!
Metagross used Earthquake.
Metagross's attack missed!


vs


Metagross - 83%
Rotom-c - 33%

Rotom gets a free switch in on my Earthquake. I fear the Will-O-Wisp again, so I switch back out to Latias. Rotom outspeeds Metagross, and Metagross won't be KOing Rotom while its burned anytime soon.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Latias.

Rotom-c used Rest.
Rotom-c fell asleep!
Rotom-c restored 67% of its health.


vs


Latias - 72%
Rotom-c - 100% (sleep)

Sitzmark takes the free turn to heal Rotom back up to full health. Latias comes in to threaten it off with a Draco Meteor, but I am wary of how quickly Life Orb and Sandstorm damage is going to add up on her. Normally I don't bring Tyranitar out until the very late game, so I usually don't have to fight against the Sandstorm. In this battle my hand was forced, and Sitzmark's team isn't doing too good against the sandstorm either.

Since Machamp fainted I have covered a lot of ground in this battle, and in comparison to Sitzmark's team I have lost a very small amount of health in the turns since:




---

Sitzmark switched in Cresselia.
Pointed stones dug into Cresselia.
Cresselia lost 12% of its health.

Latias used Surf.
Cresselia lost 30% of its health.
Latias lost 10% of its health.


vs


Latias - 56%
Cresselia - 16%

Instead of switching straight to Blissey, Sitzmark tests the waters to see if I make a predictive switch by sending in Cresselia first. I'm assuming that Cresselia was simply death fodder, as the Draco Meteor that should have been launched at Rotom would have killed Cresselia. Cress served its purpose by setting up Reflect and walling Machamp. Sitzmark can tell that it won't be helping too much in the rest of the battle, especially since its Moonlight has been slashed by Sandstream.

---

Sitzmark switched in Blissey.
Pointed stones dug into Blissey.
Blissey lost 12% of its health.

Latias used Surf.
Blissey lost 14% of its health.
Latias lost 10% of its health.


vs


Latias - 40%
Blissey - 56%

But nevertheless, Sitzmark decides to save Cress for later now that he's determined I'm set on attacking. He gets a free switch in to Blissey, and Cresselia is left with just enough to survive SR on its next switch in. The Life Orb and Sandstorm are starting to hurt Latias quite a bit though, and so I Recover up so that Latias can continue to rout his team for the rest of the battle.

---

Latias used Recover.
Latias restored 50% of its health.
Blissey used Softboiled.
Blissey restored 44% of its health.


Latias - 84%
Blissey - 100%

Blissey takes the turn to recover up too. Now begins a small stall fest between Blissey and Latias, by the end of which I manage to Psycho Shift Blissey's Toxic back at it, although Latias is quite dangerously low on health.

---

Latias used Surf.
Blissey lost 13% of its health.
Latias lost 10% of its health.
Blissey used Seismic Toss.
Latias lost 32% of its health.


---

Latias used Recover.
Latias restored 50% of its health.
Blissey used Toxic.
Latias was badly poisoned!

Latias is hurt by poison!
Latias lost 6% of its health.


---

Latias used Psycho Shift.
Blissey was badly poisoned!
Blissey used Seismic Toss.
Latias lost 32% of its health.

Blissey is hurt by poison!
Blissey lost 6% of its health.


vs


Latias - 32%
Blissey - 81% (badly poisoned)

I finally get a safe switch in now that Blissey is poisoned. Metagross can come in on the Toxic and wreak havoc.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Metagross.

Blissey used Toxic.
It doesn't affect Metagross...

Blissey is hurt by poison!
Blissey lost 12% of its health.


vs


Metagross - 83%
Blissey - 69%

Gross comes in on the immunity. Now this is once again a favourable position for me. It also shows the very reason I hate using Blissey on my teams - sure, it can wall all special attackers to hell and back, but it just gives the opponent so many free switch ins and opportunities to set up. Now that Metagross is in he can throw a Meteor Mash at whatever is coming in. I fully expect it to be either Cresselia (as death fodder) or Rotom to resist the attack, but I don't want to risk switching Tyranitar into a Toxic if Blissey stays in.

---

Sitzmark switched in Rotom-c.
Pointed stones dug into Rotom-c.
Rotom-c lost 12% of its health.

Metagross used Meteor Mash.
It's not very effective...
Rotom-c lost 25% of its health.


vs


Metagross - 83%
Rotom-c - 63%

Seems like Sitzmark isn't quite ready to give up his death fodder quite yet. He lets Rotom take the SR damage and the attack, bringing it down from full health to 63%. Now, seeing Rotom's sleeping sprite on the screen, I suddenly have a hunch. I decide to play what would normally be a very risky move, but if my hunch is correct I can force Rotom out.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Gyarados.
Gyarados's intimidate cut Rotom-c's attack!

Rotom-c is fast asleep!
Rotom-c used Sleep Talk.
Rotom-c used Shadow Ball.
Gyarados lost 25% of its health.


vs


Gyarados - 75%
Rotom-c - 63%

And my hunch is proven correct =). Rotom is not running Thunderbolt, but Sleep Talk instead, meaning that my ResTalk Gyarados can take whatever it has to throw at it. Ironic, but then so's life. Sitzmark realises that Rotom can't do anything to Gyarados, so I'm willing to bet that a switch to Vaporeon is coming (who incidentally completely walls Gyarados as its only attack is Waterfall). I decide to take advantage of this predicted switch and bring in Latias to force Vaporeon back out, weaknening his team overall as well as giving my Latias an invaluable opportunity to recover her health back up.

---

Sitzmark switched in Vaporeon.
Pointed stones dug into Vaporeon.
Vaporeon lost 12% of its health.

Legacy Raider. switched in Latias.

vs


Latias
- 28%
Vaporeon - 75%

---

Sitzmark switched in Blissey.
Pointed stones dug into Blissey.
Blissey lost 12% of its health.

Latias used Recover.
Latias restored 50% of its health.


vs


Latias - 72%
Blissey - 57%

My ploy to get Latias healed up goes without a hitch, but I'm getting rather tired of seeing that fat gelatinous blob come in and wall my Latias over and over again. And I'm sure you're getting quite tired of it too. In my haste to get rid of it I don't really think through my next few moves. First of all, I predict that Blissey will try to Toxic Latias here instead of going for the obvious Softboiled. I choose to keep Latias in to try and pass the Toxic back to Blissey on the subsequent turn, but instead I am just left feeling silly as I lose health to Life Orb and Blissey heals itself back up.

---

Latias used Surf.
Blissey lost 14% of its health.
Latias lost 10% of its health.
Blissey used Softboiled.
Blissey restored 50% of its health.


Latias - 56%
Blissey - 94%

I predict the Toxic coming once again, and instead of sticking around with my low health Latias I decide to go straight to Metagross to absorb it.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Metagross.

Blissey used Flamethrower.
It's super effective!
Metagross lost 43% of its health.


vs


Metagross - 40%
Blissey - 94%

And Metagross gets scorched by Blissey's Flamethrower on the way in. My train of thought must have been very obvious to Sitzmark as he made an excellent prediction there and halved my Metagross' health. I am being outplayed here quite severely, not having put much thought into my last couple of moves. Now, the obvious move here would be for Metagross to Explode, or for me to use Meteor Mash to get some good damage on the Blissey. Both are excellent opportunities for Rotom to come in and use Rest again to heal itself back up. Predicting the Rotom switch in, I decide to go straight to Tyranitar and slaughter it with Crunch.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Tyranitar.

Sitzmark switched in Salamence.
Salamence's Intimidate cut Tyranitar's attack.
Pointed stones dug into Salamence.
Salamence lost 25% of its health.


vs


Tyranitar - 100%
Salamence - 46%

Once again Sitzmark makes an excellent play, and instead of facing a sleeping lawnmower my Tyranitar ends up staring down an all too alert dragon. Intimidated and fearing some god awful attack from Salamence's massive movepool, I have little choice but to switch Tyranitar out. I need Tyranitar to be at full health for when it has to take that attack to DD up in what I hope will be a decisive late game sweep. I plan on switching in Gyarados now to get an Intimidate on Salamence.

---

Sitzmark switched in Cresselia.
Pointed stones dug into Cresselia.
Cresselia lost 12% of its health.

Legacy Raider. switched in Gyarados.
Gyarados's intimidate cut Cresselia's attack!

vs


The sandstorm rages.
Cresselia is buffetted by the sandstorm!
Cresselia lost 3% of its health.

Sitzmark's Cresselia fainted.


vs -

Gyarados - 75%
Cresselia - 0%

5 - 5

Finally, Sitzmark decides to use his Cresselia death fodder. I realise now, after it happening for the second time, that the reason his Salamence is repeatedly switching out of my pokemon is not because of a prediction on his part, but rather because he has no super effective attack to hit Tyranitar with! It is good to know, because it means I have one less obstacle to plough past with Tyranitar when the time comes.

Now, a plan is beginning to formulate in my head on how to finally win this battle. Up until now, following Machamp's early demise, I have been playing extremely conservatively, as I'm sure all the good battlers among you will have noticed. I've been trying to preserve my pokemon at all costs, worried that if I lose one more pokemon then I will no longer have the means to outlast Sitzmark and win the battle. Well no more. I realise that if I have any chance to win this I am going to have to use some pokemon as death fodder. Otherwise, Sitzmark has the resources to outstall my team, and he will. I see the Vaporeon coming from a mile away, and realise that now's a good a time as ever to start this end game plan.


---

Sitzmark switched in Vaporeon.
Pointed stones dug into Vaporeon.
Vaporeon lost 12% of its health.

Legacy Raider. switched in Latias.
Vaporeon used Ice Beam.
It's super effective!
Latias lost 43% of its health.


vs


Latias - 6%
Vaporeon - 62%

I had a hunch I would survive that, and survive it I did. Latias is on its last legs now. While I can Recover up and try to keep it alive for longer, that is the very mistake I have been making for the last goodness knows how many turns. In order to break through his defensive fortress I am going to have to make some sacrifices. Cheesy as fuck I know but that doesn't make it any less true. With its last breath, Latias launches a final Draco Meteor.

---

Sitzmark switched in Blissey.
Pointed stones dug into Blissey.
Blissey lost 12% of its health.

vs


Latias used Draco Meteor.
Blissey lost 31% of its health.
Latias's special attack was harshly lowered.
Latias lost 6% of its health.

Legacy Raider.'s Latias fainted.


- vs


Latias - 0%
Blissey - 49%

4 - 5

Perfect. Blissey fell for the bait, and came into absorb that final attack. It is weakened now and is not given a chance to Softboiled back up on the switch, as by fainting Latias has granted me one free turn.

I realise that this is an excellent opportunity to bring Tyranitar in. Not to set up yet, but to wear away at his team for one last time with unboosted attacks. Looking at the state of his team, something or other will have to be sacrificed to Tyranitar;




---

drum roll....

Legacy Raider. switched in Tyranitar.

vs


Sitzmark switched in Machamp.
Pointed stones dug into Machamp.
Machamp lost 6% of its health.
Tyranitar used Earthquake.
Machamp lost 43% of its health.


vs


Tyranitar - 100%
Machamp - 32%

To my delight, it is his Machamp that Sitzmark decides to sacrifice. He expected me to use Crunch or Stone Edge and for Machamp to come in on a resisted hit and force Ttar out, but instead I hit him with a nice solid Earthquake. My Tyranitar is Jolly with max speed, meaning that unless his Machamp is scarfed (which we have already found out is not the case) he cannot possibly outspeed me. Tyranitar is ready to take his first kill.

---

Tyranitar used Earthquake.
Machamp lost 32% of its health.

Sitzmark's Machamp fainted.


vs -

Tyranitar - 100%
Machamp - 0%

4 - 4

Machamp goes down to the thing it was meant to counter, all thanks to Latias' sacrifice. It is a great relief to me to know that Sitzmark's last real answer to my Tyranitar is down, meaning that in a couple of turns I should be able to pull off a Dragon Dance without punishment. The game is coming to its final stages now - with the first stone removed from the dam the surge is about to follow in its wake.

---

Sitzmark switched in Rotom-c.
Pointed stones dug into Rotom-c.
Rotom-c lost 12% of its health.

Legacy Raider. switched in Gyarados.
Gyarados's intimidate cut Rotom-c's attack!
Rotom-c is fast asleep!
Rotom-c used Sleep Talk.
Rotom-c used Shadow Ball.
Gyarados lost 20% of its health.


vs


Gyarados - 55%
Rotom-c - 50%

Rotom comes in to wall Tyranitar, or at least that's what Sitzmark thinks. Remember, as of yet I have not given any evidence to contradict that I am simply a CB Tyranitar heavily EVed in speed. There has been no Life Orb recoil and I have not switched moves while Tyranitar has been in. This has been to lull Sitzmark into a false sense of security that I am locked into Earthquake right now. However, I let the illusion last a little longer by switching to Gyarados - not because I cannot swap attacks to Crunch, but rather because I don't want to risk Tyranitar getting a Will-O-Wisp sleep talked onto him.

I'm sure we all know this game by now: Gyarados is in, so what is Sitzmark going to do?


---

Sitzmark switched in Vaporeon.
Pointed stones dug into Vaporeon.
Vaporeon lost 12% of its health.

Legacy Raider. switched in Yanmega.


vs


Yanmega - 94%
Vaporeon - 50%

Yes, Vaporeon will come in. I immediately switch to Yanmega as the Vaporeon comes in. My forgotten lead is ready to dohis bit to pave the way for Tyranitar to come. Vaporeon may survive a Bug Buzz at this amount of health, but Sitzmark may not want to risk it and could instead switch to his all purpose special wall, Blissey. To all effects, I am guaranteed that Sitzmark will not use Surf - he will either Ice Beam trying to survive the Bug Buzz, or switch to Blissey. The guarantee of not having to come in on a Surf is all that Tyranitar needs to come roaring straight back in.

---

Legacy Raider. switched in Tyranitar.

Vaporeon used Ice Beam.
Tyranitar lost 16% of its health.


vs


Tyranitar - 84%
Vaporeon - 50%

Perfect =). I think I may, just may, be able to pull this off. Not bothering with a damage calculator, I hope that Tyranitar's sandstorm bolstered SpD can take Vaporeon's Surf, giving him a chance to Dragon Dance up. Tyranitar is a beast, true, but Vaporeon has base 110 SpA, STAB, and its super effective...

---

Tyranitar used Dragon Dance.
Tyranitar's attack was raised.
Tyranitar's speed was raised.

Vaporeon used Surf.
It's super effective!
Tyranitar lost 51% of its health.


Tyranitar - 33% (+1 Atk, +1 Spe)
Vaporeon - 50%

Yess! Tyranitar you beast. It Dragon Dances up, comfortably living Vaporeon's Surf with a third of its health to spare. Now if this all goes according to plan, I should be able to take out the majority of his team here and now :D. In the end it all came down to not preserving your pokemon needlessly, and taking a risk in order to ultimately gain a greater reward. Tyranitar begins to plough through Sitzmark's team.

---

Tyranitar used Crunch.
Vaporeon lost 50% of its health.

Sitzmark's Vaporeon fainted.


vs -

Tyranitar - 33%
Vaporeon - 0%

4 - 3

Tyranitar takes out Vaporeon without trouble. At this point I am thinking to myself- 'in that last turn I might just have managed to breach Sitzmark's fortress. I might just have managed to break his team.

---

Sitzmark switched in Salamence.
Salamence's Intimidate cut Tyranitar's attack.
Pointed stones dug into Salamence.
Salamence lost 25% of its health.


vs


Sitzmark sends out Salamence into Tyranitar, using it Intimidate to lower my attack as much as possible. Stealth Rock is really taking its toll, though, and Salamence won't be able to survive another switch in.

Sitzmark switched in Rotom-c.
Pointed stones dug into Rotom-c.
Rotom-c lost 12% of its health.

vs


Tyranitar used Crunch.
It's super effective!
Rotom-c lost 38% of its health.


vs -

Tyranitar - 33% (+1 Spe)
Rotom-c - 0%

4 - 2

Even at the end, when the chances of him winning are faint, Sitzmark holds on and goes for the smartest, most effective strategy he can. If that means sacrificing all his pokemon to let Salamence get 2 Intimidates on me, that's what he is going to do. That is the mark of a true competitive battler - not giving up without a fight, even when the odds are stacked unanimously against you.

---

Sitzmark switched in Salamence.

Salamence's Intimidate cut Tyranitar's attack.

Pointed stones dug into Salamence.
Salamence lost 17% of its health.

Sitzmark's Salamence fainted.


vs -

Tyranitar - 33% (-1 Atk, +1 Spe)
Salamence - 0%

4 - 1

And Salamence comes in to give one last Intimidating glare at Tyranitar, reducing its Atk down to -1. Sitzmark is doing all this sacrificing in order to let Blissey, his final pokemon, have a possibility to survive Tyranitar's final attack.

Sitzmark switched in Blissey.
Pointed stones dug into Blissey.
Blissey lost 12% of its health.


This is it - the last attack. With a -1 Atk stat, I'm not convinced that Crunch will be able to KO Blissey at 34% health, so I decide to take a risk with the Stone Edge's 80% accuracy. If I miss or if it doesn't kill, then Blissey can proceed to Softboiled back up and Seismic Toss me for the KO. I click the button to select Stone Edge.

Tyranitar used Stone Edge.
Blissey lost 34% of its health.

Sitzmark's Blissey fainted.


vs -

4 - 0

Legacy Raider. wins!

Sitzmark: gg
Legacy Raider.: gg

The 4-0 score in no way reflects how close this game was. Maybe not at the end after Tyranitar got his Dragon Dance off, but all the way leading up to that we were lunging and riposting to try and find a gap in our opponent's guard. If it had been the other way around, and Sitzmark's had Salamence got off that all important DD, then the score could easily have been 0-4.

Oh by the way: Ttar's -1 Stone Edge vs 80/252 Blissey: 32.8 - 38.9%. So there was a possibility for her to survive, but the odds were slightly in my favour.

Very good game, Sitzmark.
____________________

Props:
  • Excellent prediction from both sides, especially Sitzmark. We were both playing pretty much at the top of our game, and the game was decided by just one small lapse of concentration that let a weakness be exploited.
  • Blissey, for walling the crap out of my Latias =/.
  • Vaporeon, for walling the crap out of my Gyarados =/.
  • My Gyarados, for walling the crap out of Rotom of all things =P.
  • Tyranitar, for pulling through for me in the end.
  • Sitzmark, for being an excellent opponent and friendly guy in this and every other one of our matches.

Slops:
  • Machamp, for not wearing sun block.
  • How well we were matched... 50 turns is far too long for a battle to last.
____________________



Finally, I'd like to thank you, the reader, for taking the time to read through the entire warstory. It took me aages to write so I really appreciate it =). If you have any comments or criticisms then I'd love to hear them.

Thanks,

LR.
 
Good battle. Lol, I saw your profile saying you were posting a thread on Stark, and I'm like waiting to see the thread since your posts are always good and like 3 hours later, it's finally up!

Well, anyway, great game! I love the scoreboard.

Gotta' try the suspect ladder.

EDIT: Too bad there was no Forretress, or it could be Breaching the Forretress! Haha! Yeah I know it's not funny...
 
Holy shit, nice format. I didn't read this yet but I just saw the sprites and the table and I have to give you props for the nice display. I'm going to edit this in a few mins after I finish reading it lol.

EDIT: Damn that was a long warstory lol. Great battle LR, I really enjoyed your commentary as well as your poetic analogies, "with the first stone removed from the dam the surge is about to follow in its wake." (I particularly liked this one lol). The table outlining the health of you and your opponent's pokes was very pleasing to the eyes too. :D

Reading this has actually finally brought another Shoddy error to my attention. On Wifi, when you switch in Salamence/Gyarados and it dies due to SR, Intimidate doesn't activate.

Oh btw, where did you get your sprites?
 
I cannot begin to realize how much time and effort you put into making this warstory. Excellent Read, deserves a spot in the archive.
 
I read the whole thing. The predictions were incredible, and the format was superb. The pictures made it more enjoyable to read as well.

Great lategame DDTar sweep, overall an excellent match. Awesome log.
 
Just asking, but what was the complete Latias set you were using? It was your status absorber but at the same time so was Machamp but well played match, the synergy between Latias and Machamp is pretty astounding if you think about it. I agree with Olie though, this deserves a spot in the archives, and that Gyarados sprite is amazing.

4.7k post
 

macle

sup geodudes
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Wow great match and a great read. Looking forward to reading more warstories from you.
 

Broken Wings

Guest
Wow. This is one of the best warstories I have ever seen. I loved every moment of the match. Just excellent 10/10 :toast:
 

Jibaku

Who let marco in here????
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Two-Time Past SPL Champion
I looked down and I saw 4-0. I was disappointed....



I went and read the story. I was soon captivated by it and read the whole thing, as well as admiring the amazing effort you put into it.

Excellent job!
 

Legacy Raider

sharpening his claws, slowly
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Thanks for all the amazing comments guys =). This was probably one of the best games I have ever played (and this was only last night lol), so I really wanted to do the warstory justice.

nyczxjay said:
Great battle LR, I really enjoyed your commentary as well as your poetic analogies, "with the first stone removed from the dam the surge is about to follow in its wake." (I particularly liked this one lol).
Haha my poetic analogies... well I do try =P.

nyczxjay said:
Oh btw, where did you get your sprites?
Er... I found them at random places around the internet, saved them onto my computer, then uploaded them onto photobucket lol. Sorry I can't remember exactly where but I think I got quite a few of them from pokemonelite.com.

Sikh Assassin said:
Just asking, but what was the complete Latias set you were using?
Latias @ Life Orb
Modest
40 HP, 252 SpA, 216 Spe

- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Recover
- Psycho Shift

Based on a set RaikouLover recommended me. It works really well, and 2HKOs Tyranitar and Scizor switchins.

MS said:
***** is all I have to say, I loved it :).
Thanks so much for the 5 stars, MS!

Jibaku said:
I looked down and I saw 4-0. I was disappointed....


I went and read the story. I was soon captivated by it and read the whole thing, as well as admiring the amazing effort you put into it.

Excellent job!
Thanks, yeah I was afraid the 4-0 might be construed as being too one sided, especially as it was with me winning (albeit my first warstory win lol). But the truth is it really wasn't one sided at all, with excellent predictions all around, and the only reason I won really was because I managed to set up TTar before he could his Mence.

Gen. Empoleon said:
I think you mean Surf.

Great read LR!
Gotcha lol. Thanks.

Thanks everyone for the comments!

LR.
 
Manly Machamp run Ice Punch :X

Either way it was an excellent read, and as you stated, despite the length I really did enjoy this. It was well written with a nice balance of all the elements that make a good warstory. Most importantly of all, perhaps, is the fact that people can easily learn something from this game. Well writeen, congratulations.
 
I'm really impressed at how much effort was put into this post. Detailed comments at every turn, and an incredible battle. Probably one of the best (if not the best) warstories I've read.
 
Not only was the battle good itself, but the layout and format was brilliant too.

There needs to be more 'making you sit on the edge of your chair' warstories like this out there.

5 stars, awesome warstory.
 

Eo Ut Mortus

Elodin Smells
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Loved the warstory; the formatting is great and it was an excellent read. By the way, I am Sitzmark. I didn't know our battle lasted THAT long.

A few thoughts: In hindsight, Salamence should have been my first switch in to Tyranitar, since it was the most disposable member at that point. Salamence's full moveset is Roost/Wish/Flamethrower/Draco Meteor, so it was pretty much ineffective in stopping Tyranitar, and all your other Pokemon could be dealt with by some other means. I would have to make some amazing predictions to prevent Tyranitar from switching back in, though. Also, by the way, my Machamp, which, ironically, never attacked, was CBed. Not sure if you ever caught onto that since it never really did unbelievable damage in any of our battles.

My reliance on Blissey sort of hurt me in the end. Almost every time Tyranitar switched in, it took advantage of its lack of offensive abilities. Perhaps sacrificing it would have been a better idea, but I wasn't sure if Rotom could hold its own against Yanmega. It also hurt that my team both did not have a very good Tyranitar counter and was not offensive enough to prevent it from switching in and setting up.

Anyway, great game, LR, and great warstory.
 

Legacy Raider

sharpening his claws, slowly
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Loved the warstory; the formatting is great and it was an excellent read. By the way, I am Sitzmark. I didn't know our battle lasted THAT long.

A few thoughts: In hindsight, Salamence should have been my first switch in to Tyranitar, since it was the most disposable member at that point. Salamence's full moveset is Roost/Wish/Flamethrower/Draco Meteor, so it was pretty much ineffective in stopping Tyranitar, and all your other Pokemon could be dealt with by some other means. I would have to make some amazing predictions to prevent Tyranitar from switching back in, though. Also, by the way, my Machamp, which, ironically, never attacked, was CBed. Not sure if you ever caught onto that since it never really did unbelievable damage in any of our battles.

My reliance on Blissey sort of hurt me in the end. Almost every time Tyranitar switched in, it took advantage of its lack of offensive abilities. Perhaps sacrificing it would have been a better idea, but I wasn't sure if Rotom could hold its own against Yanmega. It also hurt that my team both did not have a very good Tyranitar counter and was not offensive enough to prevent it from switching in and setting up.

Anyway, great game, LR, and great warstory.
Really, man? So you were Sitzmark all along lol. Thanks for the positive comments. Yeah, that was a pretty amazing match we had, so I didn't want to taint the quality of the battle with bad formatting and commentary.

Wow that's a relly unique Mence moveset. I was always fearing a Brick Break or Earthquake whenever Mence was anywhere near my Tyranitar. And lol I never did figure out that your Machamp was CB, although I did wonder that one time when it Close Combatted my Metagross instead of Dynamicpunching =P.

Really good game man, hope to see you again on ladder.

LR.
 

reachzero

the pastor of disaster
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Your formatting was awesome. I felt the battle really turned on the fact that you got Stealth Rock on and your opponent didn't. All that switching, and no rocks?
 

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