I am not a serious player. Come to that, I'm barely a competent one. From that we can extrapolate that this attempt at a warstory will be very unlikely to cut the muster; it's less a warstory and more a few confused themes wrapped up in an inane anecdote.
In any case, scanning my post history will allow you to discover that on these forums I've acted as kinduva twit: I have absolutely nothing to lose.
So without further unnecessary preamble, I present for your reading pleasure,
A cautionary tale.
Necessary preamble:
I tend not to make choices based solely on a Pokémon's abilities and suitability for a role, but rather on the more nebulous scale of "awesomeness" and what ought to be suited. It is in this frame of mine that I decided to build a drought team, despite the fact that the prevailing wisdom of the time suggested that drought teams were largely overshadowed by drizzle teams, starved for Pokémon choice and sucky. Drought teams ought to work, and they are very "awesome".
So, my team ran as follows,
Ninetails provides Drought and irritation. Will o' Wisp to mess with physical attackers, coupled with a mix of Overheat and Power Swap to upset Calm Minders. Magnezone dealt with Skarmory (sometimes Scizor if the gods were with me) and could boost its SpAtk with Charge Beam against a helpless Forretress or Ferrothorn). Snorlax served as a special sponge, and used Pursuit to trap all manner of goodies (Latios, Starmie, occasionally a battered up weather-inducer). Lilligant and Sawsbuck used Chlorophyll to smash folks from the special and physical side respectively.
And then there was Glisgor, my brand new toy. I'd never used a Gliscor before but I'd needed something with both power and physical bulk. Flygon was a bit of a terror (effectively, STAB on Outrage, Earthquake AND Fire Punch) but using one left me wide open to a whole bunch of threats. Gyarados was a fun gimmick, but Waterfall tends not to work so well in the sun and Bounce was too darn unpredictable. So, Gliscor.
This was my first battle with Gliscor, already christened "Morris", and I was determined to put him to good use no matter what. Determined.
The actual point:
The opening of the game went a little like this:
Midgame:
The fun started when Heatran bit the dust. Morris had been able to score an Earthquake on the switch in (some convoluted mindgames led to that) which made me very happy. He sent out Landorus. Does this thing have HP Ice? Oh, god, I don't want to lose my Gliscor!
I sent out Magnezone to soak up the hit while I pondered my next move, and he U-Turned. Lame. He sent out Rotom-W. Okay, I can blast this thing...but what if it has HP Fire? Oh god, I don't want to take that risk!
I did, he didn't. He Volt Switched back to Landorus (a Thunderbolt bounced off his skin). Again, lame.
With the sight of a Steel-type crushed to little bits by Earthquake still fresh in my memory, I switched to Morris, allowing Landorus' attack to swish harmlessly below my feet.
It is at this point that I actually look at Morris' moveset. It was running with Poison Heal and clutching a Toxic Orb so we were okay for Hit Points. But while it had plenty of bulk on the physical end, a single HP Ice would finish it, full health or not (or so I'd assume; damage calcs are for people who actually intend to win more than they lose). Earthquake, Ice Fang, Swords Dance and Protect...Ice Fang ought to finish off that Landorus (or so I'd assume)...I just needed to know if it had HP Ice. If only there was a move that would let me see what attack he would use without actually taking damage from that attack.
In my defense, I'm new to Gliscor.
I used Protect, but this scouting attempt was foiled by Landorus attempting to U-Turn outta there. Lame. At this point my options were fairly bleak. I was pretty sure I'd need Sawsbuck (it can take a +2 Ice Shard, right? Right?) to deal with that Cloyster if it ever got a Shell Smash off, so I couldn't justify switching him in. It was Morris versus the Landorus that may be able to totally instant-kill him, and I had very few options.
So, partly because my alternatives sucked, partly because of the novelty of it all, but mostly for the goshdarn heck of it...I used Protect again. It worked. This elicited scorn from my opponent, who assured me that I did not understand how to play (or so I'd assume (not because I'm too lazy to use damage calcs, but because he used a blend of txtspk so dense that it was functionally indistinguishable from random, vowel-free gibberish)). The upshot of this was the revelation that Landorus did indeed have HP Ice. Crap. I panicked and switched to Magnezone. Out came Rotom-W. Off went Rotom-W, but this time I had the forethought to send a HP Fire after it. It did surprisingly (to me, anyway) good damage, more than half his remaining health. I switched Gliscor to avoid another EQ, for you see, I was determined.
I used Protect, he used U-turn.
I used Protect, mostly just to annoy my opponent, and he used HP Ice. Then Morris bounced over an Earthquake presumably meant for 'zone, and bit off Landorus' head with an Ice Fang. Funny how that happens.
End game:
He sent out Rotom-W. I can't touch that with Gliscor, so I switched to 'zone. Unfortunately, 'zone's time spent getting nailed by U-Turns and Volt Switches had finally caught up with it, and it was crushed to bits not with an Earthquake, but a Thunderbolt. Out went the crippled Lilligant, who Leaf Stormed Rotom-W for an instant kill and promptly collapsed of Life Orb damage. The end was in sight.
Cloyster could probably be pretty soundly dealt with by Sawsbuck, especially if it tries for a Shell Smash before hitting hard but you may recall I was rather determined to used Gliscor, so I sent him out instead.
Acting on whim more than anything else, I used Sword Dance. Cloyster Smashed its Shell and burned its bridges. One prediction gone well.
I used Protect (if had worked so well in the past) and Cloyster tried to spear me with Icicles. Now here's the really tricky part...
I didn't use Protect, but Earthquake, and Morris slammed that double-Shell Smashing bivalve right in its smug little face.
In conclusion:
If I had been in the Cloyster's shoes, I wouldn't have gone for the second Shell Smash. +2 Attack would have been enough to take down both of my Ice- weak Pokémon, and to repeatedly pound Morris with Icicle Spears until one busted through would have been the most logical strategy. The only explanation that I could think of was that my opponent was determined not to win the game, but to conclusively demonstrate that he was better than me. I, for my part, was motivated less by a desire to win the actual game and more by wanting to understand how best to use Gliscor. Players aren't always motivated simply to win, especially when things get personal. The last few turns are not a demonstration of the best, most effective way to act; they show how two people tried to one-up each other to boost their egos.
That's all, really.
If you've got any comments about how I may improve either this post, or my playstyle, don't hesitate to chime in. 'night, all.
In any case, scanning my post history will allow you to discover that on these forums I've acted as kinduva twit: I have absolutely nothing to lose.
So without further unnecessary preamble, I present for your reading pleasure,
SCRAWLY VERSUS COMMON SENSE
A cautionary tale.
Necessary preamble:
I tend not to make choices based solely on a Pokémon's abilities and suitability for a role, but rather on the more nebulous scale of "awesomeness" and what ought to be suited. It is in this frame of mine that I decided to build a drought team, despite the fact that the prevailing wisdom of the time suggested that drought teams were largely overshadowed by drizzle teams, starved for Pokémon choice and sucky. Drought teams ought to work, and they are very "awesome".
So, my team ran as follows,
Ninetails provides Drought and irritation. Will o' Wisp to mess with physical attackers, coupled with a mix of Overheat and Power Swap to upset Calm Minders. Magnezone dealt with Skarmory (sometimes Scizor if the gods were with me) and could boost its SpAtk with Charge Beam against a helpless Forretress or Ferrothorn). Snorlax served as a special sponge, and used Pursuit to trap all manner of goodies (Latios, Starmie, occasionally a battered up weather-inducer). Lilligant and Sawsbuck used Chlorophyll to smash folks from the special and physical side respectively.
And then there was Glisgor, my brand new toy. I'd never used a Gliscor before but I'd needed something with both power and physical bulk. Flygon was a bit of a terror (effectively, STAB on Outrage, Earthquake AND Fire Punch) but using one left me wide open to a whole bunch of threats. Gyarados was a fun gimmick, but Waterfall tends not to work so well in the sun and Bounce was too darn unpredictable. So, Gliscor.
This was my first battle with Gliscor, already christened "Morris", and I was determined to put him to good use no matter what. Determined.
The actual point:
The opening of the game went a little like this:
- I was up against a sandstorm team. Hippowdon, not Tyranitar. An offensive core of Landorus and Rotom-W. Some other rubbish, a Heatran and a Cloyster. Lovely.
- Through cunning offensive maneuvering, I managed to knock the stuffing out of his Hipowdon while leaving my Ninetails intact. The weather was mine. Muahaha.
- Through careless defensive maneuvering, I'd managed to lose Snorlax and reduced Lilligant to like three hit points.
Midgame:
The fun started when Heatran bit the dust. Morris had been able to score an Earthquake on the switch in (some convoluted mindgames led to that) which made me very happy. He sent out Landorus. Does this thing have HP Ice? Oh, god, I don't want to lose my Gliscor!
I sent out Magnezone to soak up the hit while I pondered my next move, and he U-Turned. Lame. He sent out Rotom-W. Okay, I can blast this thing...but what if it has HP Fire? Oh god, I don't want to take that risk!
I did, he didn't. He Volt Switched back to Landorus (a Thunderbolt bounced off his skin). Again, lame.
With the sight of a Steel-type crushed to little bits by Earthquake still fresh in my memory, I switched to Morris, allowing Landorus' attack to swish harmlessly below my feet.
It is at this point that I actually look at Morris' moveset. It was running with Poison Heal and clutching a Toxic Orb so we were okay for Hit Points. But while it had plenty of bulk on the physical end, a single HP Ice would finish it, full health or not (or so I'd assume; damage calcs are for people who actually intend to win more than they lose). Earthquake, Ice Fang, Swords Dance and Protect...Ice Fang ought to finish off that Landorus (or so I'd assume)...I just needed to know if it had HP Ice. If only there was a move that would let me see what attack he would use without actually taking damage from that attack.
In my defense, I'm new to Gliscor.
I used Protect, but this scouting attempt was foiled by Landorus attempting to U-Turn outta there. Lame. At this point my options were fairly bleak. I was pretty sure I'd need Sawsbuck (it can take a +2 Ice Shard, right? Right?) to deal with that Cloyster if it ever got a Shell Smash off, so I couldn't justify switching him in. It was Morris versus the Landorus that may be able to totally instant-kill him, and I had very few options.
- Switch to Sawsbuck? I was pretty sure I'd need Sawsbuck to deal with that Cloyster if it ever got a Shell Smash off. It can take a +2 Ice Shard, right? Right?
- Switch to Lilligant? That thing's nearly dead, and would be for certain if I switched her in.
- Switch to Magnezone? Either he uses Earthquake and 'zone gets crushed to little bits, he uses U-Turn and then Volt Switch ad infinitum till 'zone is crushed to little bits or he uses HP Ice or Stone Edge or something...and then Earthquake to crush 'zone to little bits.
- Ice Fang him in the throat? Sounds fun, but what if he had HP Ice? Even Stone Edge, I'd only just remembered Stone Edge, could've knocked me to bits (or so I assume). Morris...!
So, partly because my alternatives sucked, partly because of the novelty of it all, but mostly for the goshdarn heck of it...I used Protect again. It worked. This elicited scorn from my opponent, who assured me that I did not understand how to play (or so I'd assume (not because I'm too lazy to use damage calcs, but because he used a blend of txtspk so dense that it was functionally indistinguishable from random, vowel-free gibberish)). The upshot of this was the revelation that Landorus did indeed have HP Ice. Crap. I panicked and switched to Magnezone. Out came Rotom-W. Off went Rotom-W, but this time I had the forethought to send a HP Fire after it. It did surprisingly (to me, anyway) good damage, more than half his remaining health. I switched Gliscor to avoid another EQ, for you see, I was determined.
I used Protect, he used U-turn.
I used Protect, mostly just to annoy my opponent, and he used HP Ice. Then Morris bounced over an Earthquake presumably meant for 'zone, and bit off Landorus' head with an Ice Fang. Funny how that happens.
End game:
He sent out Rotom-W. I can't touch that with Gliscor, so I switched to 'zone. Unfortunately, 'zone's time spent getting nailed by U-Turns and Volt Switches had finally caught up with it, and it was crushed to bits not with an Earthquake, but a Thunderbolt. Out went the crippled Lilligant, who Leaf Stormed Rotom-W for an instant kill and promptly collapsed of Life Orb damage. The end was in sight.
Cloyster could probably be pretty soundly dealt with by Sawsbuck, especially if it tries for a Shell Smash before hitting hard but you may recall I was rather determined to used Gliscor, so I sent him out instead.
Acting on whim more than anything else, I used Sword Dance. Cloyster Smashed its Shell and burned its bridges. One prediction gone well.
I used Protect (if had worked so well in the past) and Cloyster tried to spear me with Icicles. Now here's the really tricky part...
I didn't use Protect, but Earthquake, and Morris slammed that double-Shell Smashing bivalve right in its smug little face.
In conclusion:
If I had been in the Cloyster's shoes, I wouldn't have gone for the second Shell Smash. +2 Attack would have been enough to take down both of my Ice- weak Pokémon, and to repeatedly pound Morris with Icicle Spears until one busted through would have been the most logical strategy. The only explanation that I could think of was that my opponent was determined not to win the game, but to conclusively demonstrate that he was better than me. I, for my part, was motivated less by a desire to win the actual game and more by wanting to understand how best to use Gliscor. Players aren't always motivated simply to win, especially when things get personal. The last few turns are not a demonstration of the best, most effective way to act; they show how two people tried to one-up each other to boost their egos.
That's all, really.
If you've got any comments about how I may improve either this post, or my playstyle, don't hesitate to chime in. 'night, all.
