16th Spell: [Video/Action for Goldenrod]

[friendyousohard]

[The feed clicks on to show Twilight hugging what looks like a spaceship with eyes. Looks like her Magneton finally evolved.]

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes! Finally, my very own Magnezone!

[She practically giggles in glee, clambering up onto the top of her newly evolved Pokemon with a grin. The Magnezone waits for her to be settled on top of it, and then slowly rises up into the air.]

I am Twilight Sparkle, Captain of the Starship Tesla! Our mission is to search the cosmos for-

For...

Megasoma, Snails, what are you two doing with my gear?

[The feed suddenly clicks off.]

Comments

[video]

[friendyousohard]

Not as much so as their final evolution, Mamoswine, but yes. Yes they are. I don't think I need to elaborate on the implications there.

[video]

[captainash]

Yeah, I can already tell they're painful and bloody.

[video]

[friendyousohard]

Fortunately, AJ's tough. She hasn't gotten more than a bruising from him so far.

But still...

[video]

[captainash]

I'd suggest investing in leg guards before she allows him to evolve again. Or even if she decides to keep him as he is.

[video]

[friendyousohard]

I'll make sure to pass that advice along. Whether she bothers to listen or not is another matter entirely.

[video]

[captainash]

The stubborn type, then?

[video]

[friendyousohard]

You have no idea.

[video]

[captainash]

I can probably imagine. I've met plenty of particularly stubborn people.

[Like his whole family.]

[video]

[friendyousohard]

I suppose there are some people like that everywhere.

Well, I'll tell her, anyway. She does know to listen to me... usually.

[video]

[captainash]

What are the odds this will be one of those times?

[video]

[friendyousohard]

About fifty-fifty, I think.

[video]

[captainash]

Ah, the best kind of odds.

[video]

[friendyousohard]

I prefer if they're leaning my way, to be frank. I'm not much of a gambler.

[video]

[captainash]

Isn't every battle here a gamble, between critical hits and other factors?

[video]

[friendyousohard]

On the contrary, I'd say the vast majority of them are decided before you even start. Luck plays a factor, but between type advantages, level, individual strengths and weaknesses, and strategy, it's relegated to a minor role.

[video]

[captainash]

Even if you have no idea what strategy your opponent will use, or what attacks they know?

[video]

[friendyousohard]

That's why you try to create a team tailored to counter anything that can be thrown at you. If you find something that takes you by surprise, then you simply adjust for that scenario next time.

[video]

[captainash]

And what if you run out of counters, someday?

[video]

[friendyousohard]

... I'm not sure I understand the question. Legendaries aside, there's not a pokemon out there who can't be countered one way or another.

[video]

[captainash]

There are hundreds of Pokémon out there, right? But we can only use six at a time, and train about fifty or so. You'd have to find fifty Pokémon that can counter every single other species between themselves, then.

[video]

[friendyousohard]

Difficult, but not impossible. Many pokemon can learn a wide variety of attacks and techniques, and using TMs can open their possibilities up even further. It's not impossible to have one Pokemon who's versatile enough to overcome each of the seventeen types, at least theoretically.

[video]

[captainash]

And how much would that cost? From what I hear, those TMs aren't cheap.

[video]

[friendyousohard]

True. It's not an insurmountable problem, though. Just a difficult one.

[video]

[captainash]

Spending the next ten months washing dishes isn't difficult. Merely very long.

[video]

[friendyousohard]

There are faster ways to earn money. Do you know how much you get from beating just one Leader?