Hey everyone, this is Kidogo with my first warstory. Most of you probably don’t know me, but I play a lot of DW and wanted to share this great match I had. This was in the finals of a tournament on smogon, so I was pretty nervous. It showcases a somewhat underrated set and was a very fun battle to play. It also has been one of my closest battles, ending with one Pokémon at 5%! So without further ado, onto the battle!
Battle between [RS]Kidogo and [RS] Winning started!
Tier: Dream World OU
Mode: Singles
Rule: Unrated
Rule: Sleep Clause
Rule: Freeze Clause
Rule: Species Clause
Rule: Wifi Battle
Rule: Self-KO Clause
THE TEAMS: (sorry for no pictures, 100 pic limit :( )
My Team
Terrakion / Deoxys-s / Latias / Skarmory / Tyranitar / Excadrill
His Team
Tyranitar / Celebi / Aron / Excadrill / Rotom-w / Scizor
Well, team preview tells me we’re both running sand teams. Interestingly, his combines sand offense with volturn, which isn’t seen nearly as much in DW as it is in Standard OU. Unfortunately, my team is pretty weak to volturn, so getting stealth rock up ASAP is my top priority, so I choose you tyranitar!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Tyranitar!
[RS] Winning sent out Scizor!
Tyranitar's Sand Stream whipped up a sandstorm!
Well, that worked out…terribly. I suppose he knew I would lead with tar, as it’s a very common stealth rocker, and sent out scizor to get his chain started. I definitely don’t want to sacrifice tar, and need to get rocks up, so I’m gonna switch to save him. Skarmory is a perfect answer to scizor and will take nothing from u-turn, so skarmory it is.
Start of turn 1
[RS]Kidogo called Tyranitar back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
[RS] Winning's Scizor used U-turn!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 28 HP! (8% of its health)
[RS] Winning called Scizor back!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(100%) -->
(92%)
(100%) -->
(100%)
Of course, skarmory is total rotom-w bait. Skarmory is way too valuable to sacrifice, so I’m gonna have to switch out again. Although I could go to excadrill on the predicted volt switch, I saw leftovers so unfortunately it’s not choiced, meaning I would have to switch out right after. Instead, I’ll go to my rotom-w check, latias. Now, this may seem like a perfect invitation for scizor to switch in and continue the chain, but my latias carries the unusual Hidden Power [fire], so I should hopefully be able to both break his volturn chain and nab a surprise KO here.
Start of turn 2
[RS]Kidogo called Skarmory back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Latias!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W used Volt Switch!
It's not very effective...
Latias lost 33 HP! (9% of its health)
[RS] Winning called Rotom-W back!
[RS] Winning sent out Aron!
The sandstorm rages!
Latias is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Latias restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(92%) -->
(91%)
(100%) -->
(100)
Well, I feel like I’m in a spy movie or something, where no matter what I, the courageous hero, do, he, the ruthless enemy, is always one step ahead. He got to the crazy nuclear weapons scientist before I did, then made it though the airport checkpoint just before I got up to him, and now he’s about to go and blow something up or whatever the villains usually want to do. And I, the heroic defender of justice, am powerless to stop him.
Or something like that. More specifically, he didn’t bring in scizor, as I had planned. I’m really not sure what to do here. I’m trying to track down the legendary golden city, and there’s not even some ancient artifact written in the lost language that my mother just happens to be an expert on (national treasure anyone?). What I mean is, I don’t really know what to do here. I haven’t fought many aron, but I know its general endeavor + shell bell strategy. I make a huge mistake here, mistakenly thinking that leftovers will activate before sandstorm, and decide to paralyze the aron and then stall it out with recover on latias.
Start of turn 3
Latias used Thunder Wave!
[RS] Winning's Aron is paralyzed! It may be unable to move!
[RS] Winning's Aron used Endeavor!
Latias lost 307 HP! (87% of its health)
The sandstorm rages!
Latias is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Latias fainted!
(fainted)
(100%, paralyzed)
And I realize my mistake. I’m really in trouble here. Not only am I down a Pokémon and he’s untouched, but I’ve lost my best volturn check. I decide that, since volturn will wear me down pretty quickly, getting rocks up is my top priority. I go to ttar, who also has the bonus of not taking SS damage and thus not dying immediately to aron.
[RS]Kidogo sent out Tyranitar!
Start of turn 4
Tyranitar used Stealth Rock!
Pointed stones float in the air around [RS] Winning's team!
[RS] Winning's Aron used Endeavor!
Tyranitar lost 387 HP! (96% of its health)
The sandstorm rages!
(4%)
(100%, paralyzed), stealth rock
All right, that turn went as expected. Now, my ttar carries stealth rock, crunch, pursuit, and superpower. Any of my attacking moves would easily KO aron, so superpower would just lower my stats unnecessarily, and I doubt he would switch out given that I have rocks up, rendering his aron next to useless, so I’ll just go for the crunch.
Start of turn 5
[RS] Winning called Aron back!
[RS] Winning sent out Scizor!
Pointed stones dug into [RS] Winning's Scizor!
Tyranitar used Crunch!
It's not very effective...
[RS] Winning's Scizor lost 20% of its health!
The sandstorm rages!
(4%)
(100%, paralyzed) -->
(68%), stealth rock
In hindsight, I guess I should have used pursuit there, just in case he switched. Even superpower would have worked out better. One thing this does tell me though is that his excadrill is pretty much guaranteed to have rapid spin, as otherwise there would be no reason to save aron. That means skarmory will probably have an easier job walling it, if it should come down to that. At this point though, I’m really in trouble. I figure ttar may come in handy later, especially as he doesn’t have any hazards up, so I’ll save him and go to skarmory to take the hit.
Start of turn 6
[RS]Kidogo called Tyranitar back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
[RS] Winning's Scizor used U-turn!
It's not very effective...
A critical hit!
Skarmory lost 63 HP! (18% of its health)
[RS] Winning called Scizor back!
[RS] Winning sent out Excadrill!
Pointed stones dug into [RS] Winning's Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill is floating on a balloon!
The sandstorm rages!
(4%) -->
(74%)
(68%) -->
(97%), stealth rock
Well, this confirms my suspicion that excadrill is a rapid spinner. There’s nothing I can do to stop him from spinning my rocks away, so I’ll just try to rack up some damage on excadrill, as getting him down will be critical in order to get some hazards down to try to stop this volturn chain.
Start of turn 7
[RS] Winning's Excadrill used Rapid Spin!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 7 HP! (2% of its health)
[RS] Winning's Excadrill blew away Stealth Rock!
Skarmory used Brave Bird!
It's not very effective...
[RS] Winning's Excadrill lost 22% of its health!
Skarmory is hit with recoil!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill's Air Balloon popped!
The sandstorm rages!
(67%)
(75%)
Well, a switch is almost guaranteed here. I could brave bird again, but rotom is almost certainly coming in and that won’t do much against him. I could whirlwind, but as I now have no hazards up that would be pointless, so I’ll jus use this turn to lay some spikes, preventing him from volturning too much and guaranteeing another 12% on excadrill.
Start of turn 8
[RS] Winning called Excadrill back!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
Skarmory used Spikes!
Spikes were scattered all around the feet of [RS] Winning's team!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(67%)
(75%) -->
(100%), spikes
Well, he did bring rotom in, but I’m now stumped. I could go to excadrill on the predicted volt switch, but I have no one to take the hydro pump afterwards now that latias is gone. All right, I guess this is a good time to make use of my death fodder. Sorry tar, it’s your time.
Start of turn 9
[RS]Kidogo called Skarmory back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Tyranitar!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W used Volt Switch!
Tyranitar lost 12 HP! (3% of its health)
Tyranitar fainted!
[RS] Winning called Rotom-W back!
[RS] Winning sent out Celebi!
[RS] Winning's Celebi is hurt by spikes!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Celebi restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Terrakion!
Terrakion is floating on a balloon!
(67%) -->
(fainted) -->
(100%)
(100%) -->
(88%), spikes
So he brings out celebi for the first time. Celebi is gonna be a real problem to take down since neither of my main sweepers can get a super-effective hit on it, and celebi even resists excadrill’s main stab. At this point, I’m hoping I can sacrifice terrakion, one part of my offensive core, to hopefully weaken his defensive one. I run a double dancer, although setting up would be silly with scizor still around. The best I can do is SD and go for a kill, possibly coming back later to RP and attempt a sweep.
Start of turn 10
Terrakion used Swords Dance!
Terrakion's Attack sharply rose!
[RS] Winning's Celebi used Giga Drain!
It's super effective!
Terrakion lost 176 HP! (54% of its health)
Terrakion had its energy drained!
Terrakion's Air Balloon popped!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Celebi restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(46%, +2 attack)
(100%), spikes
Wow…that did WAY more than I expected (terrakion is surprisingly bulky, especially with the SS boost). I guess that means this is an offensive celebi. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to survive another hit, but I’m pretty sure this also means he won’t be able to take a +2 stone edge either. Regardless, something is going down now!
Start of turn 11
[RS] Winning called Celebi back!
[RS] Winning sent out Tyranitar!
[RS] Winning's Tyranitar is hurt by spikes!
Terrakion used Stone Edge!
The attack of Terrakion missed!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Tyranitar restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(46%, +2 attack)
(100%) -->
(93%), spikes
Well…it missed. Fortunately, he brought in a Pokémon slower than terrakion, meaning I can just go for the CC now. Unfortunately, his darn celebi is still alive and unharmed, meaning it will be a pain to take down later.
Start of turn 12
Terrakion used Close Combat!
It's super effective!
[RS] Winning's Tyranitar lost 93% of its health!
[RS] Winning's Tyranitar fainted!
Terrakion's Defense fell!
Terrakion's Sp. Def. fell!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning sent out Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill is hurt by spikes!
(46%, +2 attack)
(fainted) -->
(63%), spikes
Well, I got my first kill! Of course, it was also on a Pokémon OHKOed by both my set-up sweepers, deoxys, and tyranitar…but still a kill! At this point, I’m really not sure what to do. Terrakion doesn’t quite have the health to set-up again and attempt a sweep later, so I figure I might just have to sac him. Well, I can always hope. Maybe he’ll predict a switch to skarm and go for the rapid spin?
Start of turn 13
[RS] Winning's Excadrill used Earthquake!
It's super effective!
Terrakion lost 148 HP! (45% of its health)
Terrakion fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
(fainted) -->
(67%)
(63%), spikes
Guess not. I guess it was pretty obvious I wouldn’t switch, as terrakion was pretty much fodder at that point. It’s pretty likely he’s going to use rapid spin again, as those spikes really hinder his volturn strategy as well as aron. Accordingly, I’ll just brave bird to try and get some more damage on his spinner. Yeah, I’m really grasping at straws here.
Start of turn 14
[RS] Winning's Excadrill used Rapid Spin!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 8 HP! (2% of its health)
[RS] Winning's Excadrill blew away Spikes!
Skarmory used Brave Bird!
It's not very effective...
[RS] Winning's Excadrill lost 25% of its health!
Skarmory is hit with recoil!
(51%)
(37%)
The sandstorm rages!
He’s pretty much guaranteed to switch now. At this point, things are looking terrible for me. It’s 3-5, I’ve lost my only switch-in to rotom, have no hazards up, and have no control of the momentum. If I’m going to have any chance of winning this game, I need to make a plan right now and execute it perfectly. Well, I doubt excadrill is gonna be able to sweep, given celebi and rotom which it probably can’t even 2HKO. Skarm’s not gonna be sweeping for obvious reasons, so my only hope lies in deoxys. I run a mixed offensive set with superpower / psycho boost / ice beam / hidden power [fire]. In this situation, this set is my best hope, as it can 1HKO everything on his team except for celebi, which it 2HKOs with ice beam, and rotom, which psycho boost barely misses the KO on if it’s a bulky spread, which it seems to be. Right now though, it seems likely he will go to rotom to fire off another volt switch. I could go for spikes, but that would mean sacrificing someone, something I absolutely cannot afford at this point. So I’ll go to deoxys, which can at least threaten rotom and hopefully make it switch out.
Start of turn 15
[RS] Winning called Excadrill back!
[RS] Winning sent out Aron!
[RS]Kidogo called Skarmory back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Deoxys-S!
Deoxys-S is exerting its Pressure!
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
(51%) --> (93%)
(37%) -->
(100%, paralyzed)
Unfortunately, he doesn’t do that…and instead goes to aron. Great, now something will be brought down to 12 HP. Oh well, skarm, you’re immune to sandstorm and might find a time to roost later, I’ll go back to you.
Start of turn 16
[RS]Kidogo called Deoxys-S back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
[RS] Winning's Aron is paralyzed! It can't move!
The sandstorm rages!
(93%) -->
(51%)
(100%, paralyzed)
I catch a lucky break here with the full paralyze, the only remnant of latias’s short time in this battle. Since volturn is going to destroy me, spikes is once again the best option to try and wear him down.
Start of turn 17
Skarmory used Spikes!
Spikes were scattered all around the feet of [RS] Winning's team!
[RS] Winning's Aron used Endeavor!
Skarmory lost 159 HP! (47% of its health)
The sandstorm rages!
(3%)
(100%, paralyzed), spikes
Well, I’m not really sure what to do. Excadrill is probably coming in to spin away those spikes, so I should get more health…but then, I have to remember, each time rotom comes in on skarm is a free kill for him, meaning maybe I should switch to deoxys…even though he can’t OHKO him…yeah, I’m that desperate. Well, my opponent has been very conservative so far this game, bringing in exca to spin instead of just volturning. So I’ll rely on his doing the same now, and roost up to some good health.
Start of turn 18
[RS] Winning called Aron back!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
Skarmory used Roost!
Skarmory landed on the ground!
Skarmory regained health!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(53%)
(100%, paralyzed), -->
(100%), spikes
#@^#UO^&@. My mantra for the past few turns has been “don’t allow rotom any free switches against skarm, and look what I just gave it. Someone is guaranteed to die now, and with three pokes left this will leave me crippled no matter who I sacrifice. I almost wonder if there’s still a point trying…oh well, guess I should stick it out till the very end. Anyway, what to do? No one on my team can survive a hydro pump, which he has probably noticed, so he’ll probably do that…but then again, he has been very cautious so far this game, so he might just go for volt switch. In that case, excadrill gets a free switch in, even if I have to take the hpump afterwards.
Start of turn 19
[RS]Kidogo called Skarmory back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W used Volt Switch!
It had no effect!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(53%) -->
(100%)
(100%), spikes
Well, he did use volt switch, so I have a spark of hope. If I can flinchax rotom to death with rock slide, I might have a chance to win this game! What, you were expecting an actual plan? Or even something with more than a 2.9 % chance of succeeding? Yeah…I’m in trouble.
Start of turn 20
Excadrill used Rock Slide!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W lost 45% of its health!
Excadrill is hurt by its Life Orb!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W used Hydro Pump!
It's super effective!
Excadrill lost 325 HP! (90% of its health)
Excadrill fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Well, I guess that was silly to hope for. Rock slide does a measly 45% (coming off of 405 attack not factoring life orb), confirming that this is indeed a bulky spread. The score is now 2-5, and not in my favor. I don’t think I have ever had a game where I was this far behind and managed to pull off a win. Again, I almost think about giving it up…but something stops me. All right. At least with excadrill’s sacrifice, rotom is now actually in deoxys’s kill range, and I’d never switch skarm into rotom regardless, so deoxys it is.
[RS]Kidogo sent out Deoxys-S!
Deoxys-S is exerting its Pressure!
(fainted) --> (93%)
(54%), spikes
Well, he’s probably going to switch, so psycho boost might not be the best option…but then again, he doesn't know if this is an attacker variety, or if I can KO rotom, so he might just stay in, and deoxys is the one thing I absolutely CANNOT afford to lose, so psycho boost it is.
Start of turn 21
[RS] Winning called Rotom-W back!
[RS] Winning sent out Aron!
[RS] Winning's Aron is hurt by spikes!
Deoxys-S used Psycho Boost!
It's not very effective...
[RS] Winning's Aron lost 91% of its health!
[RS] Winning's Aron fainted!
Deoxys-S's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
Deoxys-S is hurt by its Life Orb!
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
FUCK SHIT STACK is watching the battle.
[RS] Winning sent out Scizor!
[RS] Winning's Scizor is hurt by spikes!
(78%, -2 SpA)
(54%) -->
(fainted) -->
(55%), spikes
Well, he makes a good move and sacrifices aron. It was just an invitation for skarm to come in, and he could just heal off afterwards, and with the spikes it was almost useless. However, he now sends in scizor. This gives me a ray of hope. If he had sent in rotom, he would have won, as -2 psycho boost wouldn’t have made the KO given his health. Nevertheless, scizor absolutely has the potential to finish me off here. If he bullet punches deoxys, I’m dead. But if he u-turns as I switch to skarm, I’m dead again, since rotom can just volt switch me to death. However, he doesn’t know I have HP [fire], as many deoxys carry thunderbolt or shadow ball over it. He has played pretty conservatively so far this match, but that thinking got me into trouble last time. Either way, if I make the wrong prediction here I’m dead, but…I think HP [fire] is the right move.
Start of turn 22
Deoxys-S used Hidden Power!
It's super effective!
[RS] Winning's Scizor lost 55% of its health!
[RS] Winning's Scizor fainted!
Deoxys-S is hurt by its Life Orb!
Well, I’m extremely relieved that I predicted that one correctly, that just made this game a bit easier to win.
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning sent out Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill is hurt by spikes!
(61%, -2 SpA)
(fainted) -->
(24%), spikes
He sent out excadrill though, who I’m glad to see instead of rotom, even though it outspeeds deoxys and easily finishes him off with eq. This is starting to make me wonder if perhaps his rotom is a physically defensive variant, such that a -2 psycho boost would in fact finish it off at this point. That would explain why he’s not switching it into deoxys directly. The second reason I’m happy is because, as you will see, spikes damage ends up being crucial in this game, and it’s always nice to rack up some more. At this point though, I’m not sure what to do. True, he could go for the eq, but he might also predict my switch to skarm and go to rotom, meaning game over. However…he’s played conservatively all match, only just breaking from his pattern. So now, I’m guessing he’ll try to double-bluff me and do the predictable play, meaning so should I. That makes sense…right?
Start of turn 23
[RS]Kidogo called Deoxys-S back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill used Frustration!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 37 HP! (11% of its health)
The sandstorm rages!
(61%, -2 SpA) -->
(42%)
(24%), spikes
Well, I did predict right that he just attacked there. It is interesting that he used frustration though, as if he almost did predict my switch. Although, frustration was probably a better overall move, as it would have still finished deoxys (or brought him into LO + sand kill range) as well as still doing some damage to skarm. And actually…skarm is at pretty low health now, just low enough that I’d be tempted to roost…which would give rotom a perfect switch-in, which was perhaps his plan all along. Given this, I’m going back to deoxys.
Start of turn 24
[RS] Winning called Excadrill back!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
[RS]Kidogo called Skarmory back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Deoxys-S!
Deoxys-S is exerting its Pressure!
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(42%) --> (55%)
(24%) -->
(54%), spikes
Well, that worked as expected. Yet again, I’m not sure what to do though. He has rotom, excadrill, and that darned celebi I tried to get rid of earlier in the match. While I could just go for the psycho boost, which would take down rotom and excadrill if it switched in for some reason, I have a feeling he’s going to go to celebi. Furthermore, deoxys is at dangerously low health, so I can’t afford to waste an attack. Given that, I’m going to go with ice beam to try and catch the celebi switch-in.
Start of turn 25
[RS] Winning called Rotom-W back!
[RS] Winning sent out Celebi!
[RS] Winning's Celebi is hurt by spikes!
Deoxys-S used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
[RS] Winning's Celebi lost 56% of its health!
Deoxys-S is hurt by its Life Orb!
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Celebi restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(38%)
(54%) -->
(31%), spikes
I get a satisfying hit on it, putting it easily in KO range for another ice beam. I doubt he’ll try to save it at this point since it’s pretty close to dead, although LO recoil is really hurting deo at this point so I can’t afford a mispredict. Whatever, I’ll just go for another ice beam.
Start of turn 26
Deoxys-S used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
A critical hit!
[RS] Winning's Celebi lost 31% of its health!
[RS] Winning's Celebi fainted!
Deoxys-S is hurt by its Life Orb!
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning sent out Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill is hurt by spikes!
(22%)
(fainted) -->
(11%), spikes
Taking celebi down was a huge step, and victory is almost in reach. It’s still anyone’s game though. Excadrill had around 24%, 12.5% of which was just taken off by the spikes. If he attacks with excadrill and I stay in with deoxys, he wins. If I switch to skarmory, I win, as excadrill can’t afford to come in again given the spikes. If he switches to rotom while I go to skarm, all he has to do is hpump skarmory and let rotom die to deoxys, with deoxys dying from it’s LO + sand recoil, winning with excadrill despite its inability to switch in again. But if he switches to rotom while I attack with deoxys, I win. So it all comes down to this. I decide that he will once again go with the predictable move as he has most of the match, playing off the fact that I’ve been very risky with deoxys, so he might expect me to play riskily with it again. I type my thoughts in the chat, only to be surprised at his response:
[RS]Kidogo: ok
[RS]Kidogo: here we go
[RS]Kidogo: if you kill deo
[RS]Kidogo: you win
[RS]Kidogo: if I switch to skarm I win
[RS] Winning: heh
[RS]Kidogo: but if you switch to rotom while I switch to skarm
[RS]Kidogo: you win
[RS] Winning: i win
[RS] Winning: or i just win lol
[RS]Kidogo: but if you switch to rotom while I stay in with deo
[RS]Kidogo: i win
[RS]Kidogo: huh
[RS] Winning: watch
[RS]Kidogo: 4 possibilities
[RS]Kidogo: uh oh
[RS]Kidogo: you win either wy?
He has obviously thought if something I haven’t which is making me very nervous, especially since I don’t have the slightest idea what it could be. Regardless, I’m sticking with my decision.
Start of turn 27
[RS]Kidogo called Deoxys-S back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill used Rapid Spin!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 8 HP! (2% of its health)
[RS] Winning's Excadrill blew away Spikes!
The sandstorm rages!
(22%) -->
(40%)
(11%)
I see now. That was actually a really good move on his part, as rapid spin actually would have done enough to finish off deoxys if I had stayed in, while giving him leeway to switch back in with exca. This way, even if I predict his rotom switch and go to deoxys, he’ll just go to exca, letting it die and deoxys faint to LO + SS, and finish off skarm with rotom. I’m just typing in “gg” when I realize something. He probably thinks I’ll either brave bird to finish exca or switch to deoxys. Either way, the best switch would be to rotom. But that means…I look very closely at excadrill’s HP bar. It says 11%, and I see a glimmer of hope. I’m not sure if this will work though, and he might even have thought of this, so for now I’ll act like I’m certain he’s won (which he may very well have).
[RS]Kidogo: oh
[RS]Kidogo: uh oh
[RS]Kidogo: oh darn
[RS]Kidogo: gg lol
[RS] Winning: gg
Start of turn 28
[RS] Winning called Excadrill back!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
Skarmory used Spikes!
Spikes were scattered all around the feet of [RS] Winning's team!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(40%)
(11%) -->
(54%), spikes
So I made my move, predicting his switch. All that’s left to do is trust that the damage display was right and hope…
Start of turn 29
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W used Volt Switch!
It's super effective!
Skarmory lost 134 HP! (40% of its health)
Skarmory fainted!
[RS] Winning called Rotom-W back!
[RS] Winning sent out Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill is hurt by spikes!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS]Kidogo: omg
[RS]Seed Bomb.: shittt
[RS] Winning: noooooooo
FUCK SHIT STACK: dayum
Those comments pretty much sum it up. My heart was beating at a million miles an hour there. I also got totally scared when he sent excadrill out, as its HP display had somehow changed from 11% to 12%, but it ended up fainting to spikes by less than 1%. Guess that residual damage earlier in the game was pretty important, huh? All that’s left to do now is hope psycho boost hits!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Deoxys-S!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
Deoxys-S is exerting its Pressure!
(fainted) --> (22%)
(54%) -->
(fainted) -->
(54%), spikes
Start of turn 30
Deoxys-S used Psycho Boost!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W lost 54% of its health!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W fainted!
Deoxys-S's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
Deoxys-S is hurt by its Life Orb!
[RS]Kidogo won the battle!
[RS]Kidogo: wow
[RS] Winning: great game
[RS]Kidogo: most intense battle of my life
[RS]Kidogo: yeah, really gg
[RS]Kidogo: :)
[RS] Winning: :)
End Result:
(5%)
(fainted)
And that’s the match! Although I played horribly early on, I think I redeemed myself somewhat in the endgame. This was one of the closest games I’ve ever had, and probably the most fun, with lots of predicts, not too many silly plays, and some long-term planning. Thanks a lot Winning for a great game!
Battle between [RS]Kidogo and [RS] Winning started!
Tier: Dream World OU
Mode: Singles
Rule: Unrated
Rule: Sleep Clause
Rule: Freeze Clause
Rule: Species Clause
Rule: Wifi Battle
Rule: Self-KO Clause
THE TEAMS: (sorry for no pictures, 100 pic limit :( )
My Team
His Team
Well, team preview tells me we’re both running sand teams. Interestingly, his combines sand offense with volturn, which isn’t seen nearly as much in DW as it is in Standard OU. Unfortunately, my team is pretty weak to volturn, so getting stealth rock up ASAP is my top priority, so I choose you tyranitar!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Tyranitar!
[RS] Winning sent out Scizor!
Tyranitar's Sand Stream whipped up a sandstorm!
Well, that worked out…terribly. I suppose he knew I would lead with tar, as it’s a very common stealth rocker, and sent out scizor to get his chain started. I definitely don’t want to sacrifice tar, and need to get rocks up, so I’m gonna switch to save him. Skarmory is a perfect answer to scizor and will take nothing from u-turn, so skarmory it is.
Start of turn 1
[RS]Kidogo called Tyranitar back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
[RS] Winning's Scizor used U-turn!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 28 HP! (8% of its health)
[RS] Winning called Scizor back!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Of course, skarmory is total rotom-w bait. Skarmory is way too valuable to sacrifice, so I’m gonna have to switch out again. Although I could go to excadrill on the predicted volt switch, I saw leftovers so unfortunately it’s not choiced, meaning I would have to switch out right after. Instead, I’ll go to my rotom-w check, latias. Now, this may seem like a perfect invitation for scizor to switch in and continue the chain, but my latias carries the unusual Hidden Power [fire], so I should hopefully be able to both break his volturn chain and nab a surprise KO here.
Start of turn 2
[RS]Kidogo called Skarmory back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Latias!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W used Volt Switch!
It's not very effective...
Latias lost 33 HP! (9% of its health)
[RS] Winning called Rotom-W back!
[RS] Winning sent out Aron!
The sandstorm rages!
Latias is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Latias restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Well, I feel like I’m in a spy movie or something, where no matter what I, the courageous hero, do, he, the ruthless enemy, is always one step ahead. He got to the crazy nuclear weapons scientist before I did, then made it though the airport checkpoint just before I got up to him, and now he’s about to go and blow something up or whatever the villains usually want to do. And I, the heroic defender of justice, am powerless to stop him.
Or something like that. More specifically, he didn’t bring in scizor, as I had planned. I’m really not sure what to do here. I’m trying to track down the legendary golden city, and there’s not even some ancient artifact written in the lost language that my mother just happens to be an expert on (national treasure anyone?). What I mean is, I don’t really know what to do here. I haven’t fought many aron, but I know its general endeavor + shell bell strategy. I make a huge mistake here, mistakenly thinking that leftovers will activate before sandstorm, and decide to paralyze the aron and then stall it out with recover on latias.
Start of turn 3
Latias used Thunder Wave!
[RS] Winning's Aron is paralyzed! It may be unable to move!
[RS] Winning's Aron used Endeavor!
Latias lost 307 HP! (87% of its health)
The sandstorm rages!
Latias is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Latias fainted!
And I realize my mistake. I’m really in trouble here. Not only am I down a Pokémon and he’s untouched, but I’ve lost my best volturn check. I decide that, since volturn will wear me down pretty quickly, getting rocks up is my top priority. I go to ttar, who also has the bonus of not taking SS damage and thus not dying immediately to aron.
[RS]Kidogo sent out Tyranitar!
Start of turn 4
Tyranitar used Stealth Rock!
Pointed stones float in the air around [RS] Winning's team!
[RS] Winning's Aron used Endeavor!
Tyranitar lost 387 HP! (96% of its health)
The sandstorm rages!
All right, that turn went as expected. Now, my ttar carries stealth rock, crunch, pursuit, and superpower. Any of my attacking moves would easily KO aron, so superpower would just lower my stats unnecessarily, and I doubt he would switch out given that I have rocks up, rendering his aron next to useless, so I’ll just go for the crunch.
Start of turn 5
[RS] Winning called Aron back!
[RS] Winning sent out Scizor!
Pointed stones dug into [RS] Winning's Scizor!
Tyranitar used Crunch!
It's not very effective...
[RS] Winning's Scizor lost 20% of its health!
The sandstorm rages!
In hindsight, I guess I should have used pursuit there, just in case he switched. Even superpower would have worked out better. One thing this does tell me though is that his excadrill is pretty much guaranteed to have rapid spin, as otherwise there would be no reason to save aron. That means skarmory will probably have an easier job walling it, if it should come down to that. At this point though, I’m really in trouble. I figure ttar may come in handy later, especially as he doesn’t have any hazards up, so I’ll save him and go to skarmory to take the hit.
Start of turn 6
[RS]Kidogo called Tyranitar back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
[RS] Winning's Scizor used U-turn!
It's not very effective...
A critical hit!
Skarmory lost 63 HP! (18% of its health)
[RS] Winning called Scizor back!
[RS] Winning sent out Excadrill!
Pointed stones dug into [RS] Winning's Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill is floating on a balloon!
The sandstorm rages!
Well, this confirms my suspicion that excadrill is a rapid spinner. There’s nothing I can do to stop him from spinning my rocks away, so I’ll just try to rack up some damage on excadrill, as getting him down will be critical in order to get some hazards down to try to stop this volturn chain.
Start of turn 7
[RS] Winning's Excadrill used Rapid Spin!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 7 HP! (2% of its health)
[RS] Winning's Excadrill blew away Stealth Rock!
Skarmory used Brave Bird!
It's not very effective...
[RS] Winning's Excadrill lost 22% of its health!
Skarmory is hit with recoil!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill's Air Balloon popped!
The sandstorm rages!
Well, a switch is almost guaranteed here. I could brave bird again, but rotom is almost certainly coming in and that won’t do much against him. I could whirlwind, but as I now have no hazards up that would be pointless, so I’ll jus use this turn to lay some spikes, preventing him from volturning too much and guaranteeing another 12% on excadrill.
Start of turn 8
[RS] Winning called Excadrill back!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
Skarmory used Spikes!
Spikes were scattered all around the feet of [RS] Winning's team!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Well, he did bring rotom in, but I’m now stumped. I could go to excadrill on the predicted volt switch, but I have no one to take the hydro pump afterwards now that latias is gone. All right, I guess this is a good time to make use of my death fodder. Sorry tar, it’s your time.
Start of turn 9
[RS]Kidogo called Skarmory back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Tyranitar!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W used Volt Switch!
Tyranitar lost 12 HP! (3% of its health)
Tyranitar fainted!
[RS] Winning called Rotom-W back!
[RS] Winning sent out Celebi!
[RS] Winning's Celebi is hurt by spikes!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Celebi restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Terrakion!
Terrakion is floating on a balloon!
So he brings out celebi for the first time. Celebi is gonna be a real problem to take down since neither of my main sweepers can get a super-effective hit on it, and celebi even resists excadrill’s main stab. At this point, I’m hoping I can sacrifice terrakion, one part of my offensive core, to hopefully weaken his defensive one. I run a double dancer, although setting up would be silly with scizor still around. The best I can do is SD and go for a kill, possibly coming back later to RP and attempt a sweep.
Start of turn 10
Terrakion used Swords Dance!
Terrakion's Attack sharply rose!
[RS] Winning's Celebi used Giga Drain!
It's super effective!
Terrakion lost 176 HP! (54% of its health)
Terrakion had its energy drained!
Terrakion's Air Balloon popped!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Celebi restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Wow…that did WAY more than I expected (terrakion is surprisingly bulky, especially with the SS boost). I guess that means this is an offensive celebi. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to survive another hit, but I’m pretty sure this also means he won’t be able to take a +2 stone edge either. Regardless, something is going down now!
Start of turn 11
[RS] Winning called Celebi back!
[RS] Winning sent out Tyranitar!
[RS] Winning's Tyranitar is hurt by spikes!
Terrakion used Stone Edge!
The attack of Terrakion missed!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Tyranitar restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Well…it missed. Fortunately, he brought in a Pokémon slower than terrakion, meaning I can just go for the CC now. Unfortunately, his darn celebi is still alive and unharmed, meaning it will be a pain to take down later.
Start of turn 12
Terrakion used Close Combat!
It's super effective!
[RS] Winning's Tyranitar lost 93% of its health!
[RS] Winning's Tyranitar fainted!
Terrakion's Defense fell!
Terrakion's Sp. Def. fell!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning sent out Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill is hurt by spikes!
Well, I got my first kill! Of course, it was also on a Pokémon OHKOed by both my set-up sweepers, deoxys, and tyranitar…but still a kill! At this point, I’m really not sure what to do. Terrakion doesn’t quite have the health to set-up again and attempt a sweep later, so I figure I might just have to sac him. Well, I can always hope. Maybe he’ll predict a switch to skarm and go for the rapid spin?
Start of turn 13
[RS] Winning's Excadrill used Earthquake!
It's super effective!
Terrakion lost 148 HP! (45% of its health)
Terrakion fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
Guess not. I guess it was pretty obvious I wouldn’t switch, as terrakion was pretty much fodder at that point. It’s pretty likely he’s going to use rapid spin again, as those spikes really hinder his volturn strategy as well as aron. Accordingly, I’ll just brave bird to try and get some more damage on his spinner. Yeah, I’m really grasping at straws here.
Start of turn 14
[RS] Winning's Excadrill used Rapid Spin!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 8 HP! (2% of its health)
[RS] Winning's Excadrill blew away Spikes!
Skarmory used Brave Bird!
It's not very effective...
[RS] Winning's Excadrill lost 25% of its health!
Skarmory is hit with recoil!
The sandstorm rages!
He’s pretty much guaranteed to switch now. At this point, things are looking terrible for me. It’s 3-5, I’ve lost my only switch-in to rotom, have no hazards up, and have no control of the momentum. If I’m going to have any chance of winning this game, I need to make a plan right now and execute it perfectly. Well, I doubt excadrill is gonna be able to sweep, given celebi and rotom which it probably can’t even 2HKO. Skarm’s not gonna be sweeping for obvious reasons, so my only hope lies in deoxys. I run a mixed offensive set with superpower / psycho boost / ice beam / hidden power [fire]. In this situation, this set is my best hope, as it can 1HKO everything on his team except for celebi, which it 2HKOs with ice beam, and rotom, which psycho boost barely misses the KO on if it’s a bulky spread, which it seems to be. Right now though, it seems likely he will go to rotom to fire off another volt switch. I could go for spikes, but that would mean sacrificing someone, something I absolutely cannot afford at this point. So I’ll go to deoxys, which can at least threaten rotom and hopefully make it switch out.
Start of turn 15
[RS] Winning called Excadrill back!
[RS] Winning sent out Aron!
[RS]Kidogo called Skarmory back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Deoxys-S!
Deoxys-S is exerting its Pressure!
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Unfortunately, he doesn’t do that…and instead goes to aron. Great, now something will be brought down to 12 HP. Oh well, skarm, you’re immune to sandstorm and might find a time to roost later, I’ll go back to you.
Start of turn 16
[RS]Kidogo called Deoxys-S back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
[RS] Winning's Aron is paralyzed! It can't move!
The sandstorm rages!
(93%) -->
I catch a lucky break here with the full paralyze, the only remnant of latias’s short time in this battle. Since volturn is going to destroy me, spikes is once again the best option to try and wear him down.
Start of turn 17
Skarmory used Spikes!
Spikes were scattered all around the feet of [RS] Winning's team!
[RS] Winning's Aron used Endeavor!
Skarmory lost 159 HP! (47% of its health)
The sandstorm rages!
Well, I’m not really sure what to do. Excadrill is probably coming in to spin away those spikes, so I should get more health…but then, I have to remember, each time rotom comes in on skarm is a free kill for him, meaning maybe I should switch to deoxys…even though he can’t OHKO him…yeah, I’m that desperate. Well, my opponent has been very conservative so far this game, bringing in exca to spin instead of just volturning. So I’ll rely on his doing the same now, and roost up to some good health.
Start of turn 18
[RS] Winning called Aron back!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
Skarmory used Roost!
Skarmory landed on the ground!
Skarmory regained health!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
#@^#UO^&@. My mantra for the past few turns has been “don’t allow rotom any free switches against skarm, and look what I just gave it. Someone is guaranteed to die now, and with three pokes left this will leave me crippled no matter who I sacrifice. I almost wonder if there’s still a point trying…oh well, guess I should stick it out till the very end. Anyway, what to do? No one on my team can survive a hydro pump, which he has probably noticed, so he’ll probably do that…but then again, he has been very cautious so far this game, so he might just go for volt switch. In that case, excadrill gets a free switch in, even if I have to take the hpump afterwards.
Start of turn 19
[RS]Kidogo called Skarmory back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W used Volt Switch!
It had no effect!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Well, he did use volt switch, so I have a spark of hope. If I can flinchax rotom to death with rock slide, I might have a chance to win this game! What, you were expecting an actual plan? Or even something with more than a 2.9 % chance of succeeding? Yeah…I’m in trouble.
Start of turn 20
Excadrill used Rock Slide!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W lost 45% of its health!
Excadrill is hurt by its Life Orb!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W used Hydro Pump!
It's super effective!
Excadrill lost 325 HP! (90% of its health)
Excadrill fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Well, I guess that was silly to hope for. Rock slide does a measly 45% (coming off of 405 attack not factoring life orb), confirming that this is indeed a bulky spread. The score is now 2-5, and not in my favor. I don’t think I have ever had a game where I was this far behind and managed to pull off a win. Again, I almost think about giving it up…but something stops me. All right. At least with excadrill’s sacrifice, rotom is now actually in deoxys’s kill range, and I’d never switch skarm into rotom regardless, so deoxys it is.
[RS]Kidogo sent out Deoxys-S!
Deoxys-S is exerting its Pressure!
Well, he’s probably going to switch, so psycho boost might not be the best option…but then again, he doesn't know if this is an attacker variety, or if I can KO rotom, so he might just stay in, and deoxys is the one thing I absolutely CANNOT afford to lose, so psycho boost it is.
Start of turn 21
[RS] Winning called Rotom-W back!
[RS] Winning sent out Aron!
[RS] Winning's Aron is hurt by spikes!
Deoxys-S used Psycho Boost!
It's not very effective...
[RS] Winning's Aron lost 91% of its health!
[RS] Winning's Aron fainted!
Deoxys-S's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
Deoxys-S is hurt by its Life Orb!
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
FUCK SHIT STACK is watching the battle.
[RS] Winning sent out Scizor!
[RS] Winning's Scizor is hurt by spikes!
(78%, -2 SpA)
Well, he makes a good move and sacrifices aron. It was just an invitation for skarm to come in, and he could just heal off afterwards, and with the spikes it was almost useless. However, he now sends in scizor. This gives me a ray of hope. If he had sent in rotom, he would have won, as -2 psycho boost wouldn’t have made the KO given his health. Nevertheless, scizor absolutely has the potential to finish me off here. If he bullet punches deoxys, I’m dead. But if he u-turns as I switch to skarm, I’m dead again, since rotom can just volt switch me to death. However, he doesn’t know I have HP [fire], as many deoxys carry thunderbolt or shadow ball over it. He has played pretty conservatively so far this match, but that thinking got me into trouble last time. Either way, if I make the wrong prediction here I’m dead, but…I think HP [fire] is the right move.
Start of turn 22
Deoxys-S used Hidden Power!
It's super effective!
[RS] Winning's Scizor lost 55% of its health!
[RS] Winning's Scizor fainted!
Deoxys-S is hurt by its Life Orb!
Well, I’m extremely relieved that I predicted that one correctly, that just made this game a bit easier to win.
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning sent out Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill is hurt by spikes!
(61%, -2 SpA)
He sent out excadrill though, who I’m glad to see instead of rotom, even though it outspeeds deoxys and easily finishes him off with eq. This is starting to make me wonder if perhaps his rotom is a physically defensive variant, such that a -2 psycho boost would in fact finish it off at this point. That would explain why he’s not switching it into deoxys directly. The second reason I’m happy is because, as you will see, spikes damage ends up being crucial in this game, and it’s always nice to rack up some more. At this point though, I’m not sure what to do. True, he could go for the eq, but he might also predict my switch to skarm and go to rotom, meaning game over. However…he’s played conservatively all match, only just breaking from his pattern. So now, I’m guessing he’ll try to double-bluff me and do the predictable play, meaning so should I. That makes sense…right?
Start of turn 23
[RS]Kidogo called Deoxys-S back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill used Frustration!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 37 HP! (11% of its health)
The sandstorm rages!
(61%, -2 SpA) -->
Well, I did predict right that he just attacked there. It is interesting that he used frustration though, as if he almost did predict my switch. Although, frustration was probably a better overall move, as it would have still finished deoxys (or brought him into LO + sand kill range) as well as still doing some damage to skarm. And actually…skarm is at pretty low health now, just low enough that I’d be tempted to roost…which would give rotom a perfect switch-in, which was perhaps his plan all along. Given this, I’m going back to deoxys.
Start of turn 24
[RS] Winning called Excadrill back!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
[RS]Kidogo called Skarmory back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Deoxys-S!
Deoxys-S is exerting its Pressure!
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Well, that worked as expected. Yet again, I’m not sure what to do though. He has rotom, excadrill, and that darned celebi I tried to get rid of earlier in the match. While I could just go for the psycho boost, which would take down rotom and excadrill if it switched in for some reason, I have a feeling he’s going to go to celebi. Furthermore, deoxys is at dangerously low health, so I can’t afford to waste an attack. Given that, I’m going to go with ice beam to try and catch the celebi switch-in.
Start of turn 25
[RS] Winning called Rotom-W back!
[RS] Winning sent out Celebi!
[RS] Winning's Celebi is hurt by spikes!
Deoxys-S used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
[RS] Winning's Celebi lost 56% of its health!
Deoxys-S is hurt by its Life Orb!
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Celebi restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(38%)
I get a satisfying hit on it, putting it easily in KO range for another ice beam. I doubt he’ll try to save it at this point since it’s pretty close to dead, although LO recoil is really hurting deo at this point so I can’t afford a mispredict. Whatever, I’ll just go for another ice beam.
Start of turn 26
Deoxys-S used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
A critical hit!
[RS] Winning's Celebi lost 31% of its health!
[RS] Winning's Celebi fainted!
Deoxys-S is hurt by its Life Orb!
The sandstorm rages!
Deoxys-S is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning sent out Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill is hurt by spikes!
(22%)
Taking celebi down was a huge step, and victory is almost in reach. It’s still anyone’s game though. Excadrill had around 24%, 12.5% of which was just taken off by the spikes. If he attacks with excadrill and I stay in with deoxys, he wins. If I switch to skarmory, I win, as excadrill can’t afford to come in again given the spikes. If he switches to rotom while I go to skarm, all he has to do is hpump skarmory and let rotom die to deoxys, with deoxys dying from it’s LO + sand recoil, winning with excadrill despite its inability to switch in again. But if he switches to rotom while I attack with deoxys, I win. So it all comes down to this. I decide that he will once again go with the predictable move as he has most of the match, playing off the fact that I’ve been very risky with deoxys, so he might expect me to play riskily with it again. I type my thoughts in the chat, only to be surprised at his response:
[RS]Kidogo: ok
[RS]Kidogo: here we go
[RS]Kidogo: if you kill deo
[RS]Kidogo: you win
[RS]Kidogo: if I switch to skarm I win
[RS] Winning: heh
[RS]Kidogo: but if you switch to rotom while I switch to skarm
[RS]Kidogo: you win
[RS] Winning: i win
[RS] Winning: or i just win lol
[RS]Kidogo: but if you switch to rotom while I stay in with deo
[RS]Kidogo: i win
[RS]Kidogo: huh
[RS] Winning: watch
[RS]Kidogo: 4 possibilities
[RS]Kidogo: uh oh
[RS]Kidogo: you win either wy?
He has obviously thought if something I haven’t which is making me very nervous, especially since I don’t have the slightest idea what it could be. Regardless, I’m sticking with my decision.
Start of turn 27
[RS]Kidogo called Deoxys-S back!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Skarmory!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill used Rapid Spin!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 8 HP! (2% of its health)
[RS] Winning's Excadrill blew away Spikes!
The sandstorm rages!
(22%) -->
I see now. That was actually a really good move on his part, as rapid spin actually would have done enough to finish off deoxys if I had stayed in, while giving him leeway to switch back in with exca. This way, even if I predict his rotom switch and go to deoxys, he’ll just go to exca, letting it die and deoxys faint to LO + SS, and finish off skarm with rotom. I’m just typing in “gg” when I realize something. He probably thinks I’ll either brave bird to finish exca or switch to deoxys. Either way, the best switch would be to rotom. But that means…I look very closely at excadrill’s HP bar. It says 11%, and I see a glimmer of hope. I’m not sure if this will work though, and he might even have thought of this, so for now I’ll act like I’m certain he’s won (which he may very well have).
[RS]Kidogo: oh
[RS]Kidogo: uh oh
[RS]Kidogo: oh darn
[RS]Kidogo: gg lol
[RS] Winning: gg
Start of turn 28
[RS] Winning called Excadrill back!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
Skarmory used Spikes!
Spikes were scattered all around the feet of [RS] Winning's team!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W is buffeted by the sandstorm!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
So I made my move, predicting his switch. All that’s left to do is trust that the damage display was right and hope…
Start of turn 29
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W used Volt Switch!
It's super effective!
Skarmory lost 134 HP! (40% of its health)
Skarmory fainted!
[RS] Winning called Rotom-W back!
[RS] Winning sent out Excadrill!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill is hurt by spikes!
[RS] Winning's Excadrill fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
[RS]Kidogo: omg
[RS]Seed Bomb.: shittt
[RS] Winning: noooooooo
FUCK SHIT STACK: dayum
Those comments pretty much sum it up. My heart was beating at a million miles an hour there. I also got totally scared when he sent excadrill out, as its HP display had somehow changed from 11% to 12%, but it ended up fainting to spikes by less than 1%. Guess that residual damage earlier in the game was pretty important, huh? All that’s left to do now is hope psycho boost hits!
[RS]Kidogo sent out Deoxys-S!
[RS] Winning sent out Rotom-W!
Deoxys-S is exerting its Pressure!
Start of turn 30
Deoxys-S used Psycho Boost!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W lost 54% of its health!
[RS] Winning's Rotom-W fainted!
Deoxys-S's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
Deoxys-S is hurt by its Life Orb!
[RS]Kidogo won the battle!
[RS]Kidogo: wow
[RS] Winning: great game
[RS]Kidogo: most intense battle of my life
[RS]Kidogo: yeah, really gg
[RS]Kidogo: :)
[RS] Winning: :)
End Result:
(5%)
And that’s the match! Although I played horribly early on, I think I redeemed myself somewhat in the endgame. This was one of the closest games I’ve ever had, and probably the most fun, with lots of predicts, not too many silly plays, and some long-term planning. Thanks a lot Winning for a great game!