17th Spell: [Video/Action for Ponies] (Forward dated to Saturday morning)

[friendyousohard]

[The gear clicks on in the middle of a room in the Pokemon Center. Someone's clearly using it, since the sheets are rumpled and the monitoring gear seems to have seen recent use, but no one's in the bed at the moment.

There's a splashing sound nearby, muffled by a door. The gear is moving very, very slowly towards that door.]

Mmmmmmffff... huh?

[Someone appears to have just woken up behind said door, as well.]

A-AJ...?

Um... h-hey there, Sugarcube. You sure had one crazy sleep, didn't ya?

I did...? Where am I? What's going on...?

[The gear is about halfway to the door at this point.]

You passed out on us right 'bout the time we got into Celadon. We were all real worried about you.

Passed out...? The comas!

[Twilight's voice suddenly gets much stronger and there's the sound of a sudden splash, as though she's just moving around in a pool of water.]

I had one! I went back home! Well... sort of. You know what I mean, right?

I... think so?

I saw so much... My brother, and Cadence, the Crystal Empire, even Discord, there's so much to... Um, AJ?

Discord? What in tarnation's he doin' back? We sealed him up for good!

I'll explain that in a moment, but first... what were you doing just before I woke up?

... Givin' you a bath.

[The gear has almost reached the door, when suddenly a large yellow foot slams down in front of it. It wobbles and falls to the ground, showing an Alakazam glaring down at a Slowpoke, which was carrying the gear.]

And what do you think you're doing?

[The gear floats up into Starswirl's hand...]

Apologies to any who saw this and wanted to speak to my trainer. She is currently occupied, but will be with you shortly.

[And clicks off.]

A few moments later...

[The gear clicks on to show a wet haired and slightly bedraggled Twilight.]

Ah, hello everyone. It seems I've encountered one of those week-long sleeps that we go into on occasion, and gotten some new memories of home. Honestly, it feels a bit strange to be back here... but I'll adjust soon enough. If anything important has happened in the past week, I'd appreciate it if somepo- someone could let me know.

... Also, if anyone has any ideas as to how to curb the tendencies of some Pokemon to abscond with peoples' gear and pull, or try to pull, obnoxious pranks on their trainers and others, I'd love to hear them.

Comments

[friendyousohard]

Unfortunately the same can't be said for my house.

[Pulls her head away because honestly, her nose is starting to itch from that.]

[bestofthebest]

Ha, come on! Spike did much more damage to it than I ever caused. You know, like a dragon-sized hole...?

(Smart thinking! Rainbow was considering scratching her friend's nose and after a moment of contemplation does just that.)

[friendyousohard]

Well, yes, but we weren't talking about Spike- hey, what are you doing?

[That feels weird, Rainbow.]

[bestofthebest]

Uh, it's called scratching your itch. Thought you might need a little help with that.

(She scratches both sides for a moment before pulling back. Done!)

[friendyousohard]

[Huh, now she's blushing. Weird. She rubs her nose with the back of her hand.]

Well, thanks... how'd you know my nose itched though?

[bestofthebest]

(Rainbow thinks for a moment, shrugs and laughs sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head.

Ha, lucky guess! Didn't really know it needed itching, but anytime. Couldn't do much for you while you were out; Fluttershy and Applejack had the tougher jobs, so I just sat by you every night and day.

[friendyousohard]

[Awwww, that's sweet. Her mouth turns up in a sheepish little smile.]

You know that's enough for me, right? I mean... that's your whole day spent looking after me.

[bestofthebest]

...Yeah, but I'd do this for any of you guys. (Rainbow's face shows slight embarrassment; she would deny admitting this upfront!)

Besides, who else is gonna be all 'Rainbow Dash, don't get a big head just because you've won your first 2 badges back-to-back; Whitney and the other Gym Leaders will be much stronger!' when we're back on the road?

[friendyousohard]

Applejack, probably. She'd just say it, though, I'll explain what you need to know to deal with it.

[bestofthebest]

Haha, yeah she definitely would!

(A beat, and she blinks a few times.)

...So, how do I take care of Whitney? She's got some super-strong Pokemon, right?

[friendyousohard]

Well, your first problem is that you don't have any Fighting-types. Those are the only things Whitney's Normal-types are weak against.

Since you won't have a strong Fighter when you go up against her, you're going to have some trouble, especially against her Miltank. Miltank is tough, hard to damage, and can heal itself in combat, plus its Rollout attack is something Blaze will not appreciate.

[bestofthebest]

(Through that entire explanation? Dash's eyes glittered with excitement and anticipation. And, she's totally planning on sending Blaze to face Miltank when the time comes.)

She's that tough to bring down? So. Awesome~! I can't wait to face her!

[friendyousohard]

Yeah, I'm not surprised you feel that way. Her others aren't so difficult... Girafarig is a Psychic-type in addition to a Normal, though, so watch for that. And Clefable's metronome can be a bit surprising since it can literally pull out just about anything. Basically, take her down fast if you can, because she has a tendency to pull out surprises.

[bestofthebest]

Hmm...might need a Psychic to take a Psychic...ha, if I can get him to take his training seriously, Ditzy would be perfect! And maybe Tank could handle that Clefable...

What kind of surprises did she pull on you, Twilight?

[friendyousohard]

None. I have Megasoma. None of her Pokemon lasted more than a single round.

[bestofthebest]

...Really? Just one Pokemon?!

(And her eagerness to face Twilight in battle only increases.)

[friendyousohard]

Megasoma is a Bug/Fighting type. Normal types are weak to Fighters, as I just mentioned, and Psychic types are weak to Bugs. In addition, Megasoma has some very strong attacks and is very focused on physical attack power. In many ways he was the ideal Pokemon to use against her team, it's no surprise he did so well.

[bestofthebest]

(Typical Twilight - always knowing just what type was effective in battle.)

You know one day, a type advantage won't always be enough?

[friendyousohard]

[She can't help but laugh.]

Yes, I knew that, Rainbow. There are, in fact, many, many factors that go into this. Level and type? That's just the beginning.

[bestofthebest]

(She's totally gonna regret asking, but...)

Like what?

[friendyousohard]

Well, there's how much damage a Pokemon can tank before they faint, commonly referred to as "health". There's how much damage they dish out with physical attacks as well as special attacks, and how well they resist those types of attacks as well. And then there's speed. Those all combined make up a Pokemon's "statistics", and as I'm sure you can guess, each Pokemon species has different levels in each of them.

For example. Charizards like Blaze are quite good at using special attacks, and pretty fast. They're also decent at resisting special attacks and at using physical ones. They aren't so good at resisting physical attacks and their health is so-so, though. You have to take all that into account, plus type, plus level, plus the attacks they and your opponent know.

[You literally asked for this, Rainbow.]

[bestofthebest]

...Riiiiiiight.

(She's trying not to fall asleep, really she is!)

[friendyousohard]

And then of course there are all sorts of other things to consider, like status effects, entry hazards such as Stealth Rock, even the weather can make a huge impact! Even the smallest detail can decide the outcome of a battle.

... Rainbow, do I see your eyes starting to close?

[bestofthebest]

...No no, not at all! My eyes are totally open, Twilight.

'Gotta consider status effect, Stealth Rock, the weather making a huge impact and deciding a battle.' See, haven't missed a thing!

[friendyousohard]

Well, at least you heard what I said. Whether you actually got it all...

Alright, let me give you a hypothetical situation. You've trained Blaze to level one hundred. He's the last Pokemon you've got and you're up against a Blastoise, also level one hundred. How do you win this fight?