A TEST OF POWER

SYPNOSIS

“FERNANDO SILPH,” is a name that needs no introduction. despite this, the slateport gym goes through all the standard procedures. plain and simple, untainted by the many decorations and gimmicks that other gyms pride themselves on.

“a trainer with five badges is quite the accomplishment,” he states. “i look forward to seeing what you can do.”

solemn words that undercut the pokeballs that sit in each of his hands. with a soft lob, they populate his side of the field with a RHYDON and SPECTRIER.

“battle routine set!”

he spares not even a moment before trying to steal the tempo of the battle. his pokemon reflect that, with the RHYDON satisfied with its positioning, and the SPECTRIER raring with a stomp of its hooves.

“execute!”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Aaron Toral

The man was professional. Ace expected that...Fernado was many things, once a Council member, CEO, and who knows what else. Still, it also excited him that the man wanted to see what he could do as well. The first Pokemon the man sent was a Rhydon. Lightning Rod would be a troublesome thing to deal with, assuming it had it. The problem was the unknown Pokemon the guy sent out. Taking out his Pokedex, Aaron identified it as a Spectrier, a ghost-type Pokemon. That...was one he needed to get in his team. Both of Fernado's Pokemon were ready, and as soon as it was a go, Aaron started his opening gambit.

"Flash Cannon that Rhydon. Dragapult, Dragon Dance." It was a slight deviation, but best to take out that Rhydon as soon as possible so he could use Zap Cannon. The Kanto Pokemon's defenses were notoriously good, and hit hard. That one he knew some about. The Spectrier was a mystery to him. If he could paralyze it, it would give him a distict advantage. The speed and power boost from the Dragon Dance was sure to come in handy. Magnazone fired off a silver-white ball of energy that was Flash Cannon while Dragapult danced with a brownish-maroon aura around her, slinking her way closer to the rock-ground type. He kept an eye on the ghost horse. Ace hated not knowing at least the basic capabilities of the species, but there was little to do besides react when it made its move.


FERNANDO SILPH

A TEST OF POWER

SYPNOSIS

THE RHYDON STAYS ITS PLACE. a torrent of water pools into the pokemon’s hand. primed, it launches a SURF to intercept the MAGNEZONE’s FLASH CANNON. the pokemon is no stranger to the beams potency, having practiced with fernando’s own MAGNETON many times before.

their attacks equalize and the RHYDON staggers back, preparing for retaliation, and prepping a successive ranged attack of its own.

like the DRAGAPULT, the SPECTRIER looks to attack the opposing attacker: MAGNEZONE. it gallops forward, speeding up as it tries to BULLDOZE right into the electrical type.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Aaron Toral

Rhydon weren't known to be special attackers, despite their huge movepool. The Surf wasn't wholly unexpected, but odd all the same. If the Flash Cannon and the Surf were equal in power...of course it would be Fernado Silph who would force him to use Steel Beam again. "Dragapult, intercept the Spectrier, use Protect." The dragon zipped around, using her enhanced speed to block the path and put up the Protect barrier, stopping the horse-like Pokemon in its tracks. Until that Rhydon was finished, Dragapult would have to be Magnezone's defense. Or hopefully at the least, garner the unknown Pokemon's attention.

"Magnezone, Lock-On to that Rhydon, let's make this next attack hit." The huge magnet analyzed the Rhydon's movements, and lack there-of, and any kind of readings it could get to make sure the next attack would hit. With any luck, it would be a one hit KO. But this was also Silph he was talking about.



FERNANDO SILPH

A TEST OF POWER

SYPNOSIS

BING! the SPECTRIER runs full speed into the PROTECT, bouncing off the barrier without putting so much as a dent into it. familiar with the SLATEPORT GYM’s signature attack, the pokemon shakes off the minor dizziness with a stomp of its hooves. another buck turns it into a STOMPING TANTRUM as the ground quakes around the SPECTRIER’s wild kicks.

untouched, the RHYDON has no concerns with either of its opponents. it maintains a distance, swapping to its other arm as it fires a volley of ROCK BLAST at the DRAGAPULT that’s now in front of MAGNEZONE.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Aaron Toral

The Spectrier didn't move much, and immediately went to attacking. He had hoped not to do this yet and leave Magnezone by his lonesome, but best do it. "Phantom Force." Dragapult slipped into a portal before the Stomping Tantrum could hit the dragon. The purple ghost zoomed past as the Rock Blast headed towards the Magnezone. "Steel Beam." It was a last resort type of move for Aaron, and he hated to use it. But to make any kind of progress, he had to make some big plays. The silver UFO shaped Pokemon pointed its magnets towards each other and fired off a silver beam of energy, glowing more molten silver itself. The beam obliterated the Rock Blast mere feet away from the Magnezone, and kept going straight towards the Rhydon. The attack was much stronger than Flash Cannon. But it also did damage his magnet friend as well, breaking the Sturdy ability, and certainly allowing that Spectrier to finish off the Magnezone.

Two ground type moves, one of which lowered speed of those hit. And if the previous move failed, the other one's power doubled. That Stomping Tantrum is still going to be scary at this point...


FERNANDO SILPH

A TEST OF POWER

SYPNOSIS

RAW SILVER VAPORIZES EVERY STONE IN ITS PATH. with the accuracy of MAGNEZONE’s LOCK-ON, a pokemon of RHYDON’s agility has no quarter to escape. its large body tanks the raw energy head on, sizzling as stone gives way to molten metal. steam rises from the chemical reaction, clouding the pokemon in the moment.

it fades when the attack concludes, reavling the RHYDON is still standing. but is it conscious? it’s impossible to tell when it remains motionless, lifeless eyes staring off into the distance. another moment, and the RHYDON fumes, raising one leg to shatter the arena with an erratic EARTHQUAKE.

the SPECTRIER leaps after the first tremor, shielding itself in a PROTECTIVE barrier.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Aaron Toral

It took what felt like minutes for the smoke to clear to show a steaming Rhydon...still standing and lifting a leg?! Ace's eyes widened with shock. His Magnezone was no slouch, and Steel Beam was its strongest attack. And it was a super effective hit! Maybe...he should have thrown Trevenant in instead. With clenched teeth, Aaron watched at the beast used Earthquake, and the ghost horse use Protect to defend itself from its ally's attack. The tremors increased, and the earth shattered, flinging Magnezone close to his side with a hard smash. Amber eyes locked onto the dust cloud, waiting to see the results. Surely it didn't tank that, especially after Steel Beam...right?

The Magnezone lifted through the air, clearly hurt and barely floating! One last hurrah! "Tri Attack!" Silph would probably just use Surf to counter a Flash Cannon. Tri Attack at least had three beams. One red, one yellow, and one cyan colored beams of energy fired out to attack the Rhydon once more. As a normal type attack, it wasn't very effective. But the gamble was in the secondary effects if it didn't just finish off the rocky monster. And there was one other thing left. A portal opening inside the protective barrier formed, and out zoomed the Dragapult to complete her Dragon Dance enhanced Phantom Force, sweeping at the legs!


FERNANDO SILPH

A TEST OF POWER

SYPNOSIS

CONTRARY TO EXPECTATIONS, the RHYDON does not counter with a ranged attack. instead, it charges with DRILL RUN, starting with a slow lumber in MAGNEZONE’s direction.

the electrical beam of TRI-ATTACK homes in onto its LIGHTNING ROD but the other two attacks path as fired. the timely arrival of DRAGAPULT’s PHANTOM FORCE effectively ram the RHYDON off course, tripping it in an opportune spot. thrown off balance, the pokemon is struck twice, FREEZING it in ice.

largely ignored, the SPECTRIER remains focused, charging back in to BULLDOZE the MAGNEZONE with its full body.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Aaron Toral

NOTE: RHYDON will faint in my next post.

The Rhydon used Drill Run instead? And intercepted Dragapult by sheer chance! As it got knocked off course, Magnezone's Tri Attack came at it. As expected, the electric part didn't do a thing. But the other two beams landed true, freezing the rocky beast! "Steel Wing!" The sides of the Dragapult's head glowed white as she zoomed towards the frozen Rhydon with the hope of finishing it off. That would just leave one left. "Zap Cannon." With the timing, he hoped either Rhydon would be knocked out or the Spectrier would be too close. Either way, the attack wasn't the most accurate. But he also didn't have time to use Lock-On first.

But if it did hit, it was a powerful attack that always paralyzed. That was the hope anyways. The Bulldoze still smacked the Magnezone and sent it outside the ring. With the announcement, he returned the fainted Magnezone, leaving his Dragapult to deal with the mostly unknown horse.



FERNANDO SILPH

A TEST OF POWER

GYM BATTLE

STEEL CUTS THROUGH ICE. rock too, evident in the way the DRAGAPULT rams into the RHYDON with impunity. still FROZEN, fernando ultimately recalls the pokemon, well aware that it’s no longer able to battle.

MAGNEZONE’s parting gift strikes true as the SPECTRIER is held in place by the residual static. it can hardly turn in place as the pokemon struggles to buckle.

it neighs in protest, eyes on the only pokemon left.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Aaron Toral

Steel Wing struck true, and Fernando returned the still frozen Rhydon, knowing that it was unable to continue the battle. What surprised him was the Magnezone's Zap Cannon hitting true! Paralyzed, the Spectrier barely turned to face Dragapult. Time to hit it where it hurts! "Dragon Darts!" Doing a short backflip and supporting herself with all four legs on the ground, Dreepy loaded in her wings, Dragapult fired them! Dragon Dance enhanced, and that Zap Cannon hopefully did a lot of damage...with any luck, this will go down swiftly now.

But a cornered opponent is also when they're at their most dangerous. More so with an unknown species. He was ready for a counter attack when it came...


FERNANDO SILPH

A TEST OF POWER

GYM BATTLE

RESIDUAL STATIC FADES as the pokemon regains some semblance of its motor skills. it starts to approach the DRAGON DARTS, charging head first into danger until the attack pelts it with its countless projectiles. the explosion shrouds the pokemon in dust and smoke but a tinted green barrier peeks out from underneath.

the slateport gym’s signature TM, PROTECT, is used to allow the pokemon to close the distance for close combat.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Aaron Toral