Lucario's Greatest Reversal: A Warstory by SharKing

[SharKing]

This battle came from usual team-testing on ShoddyBattle. I was testing a somewhat-successful Sandstorm team. The Ladder paired me up with this fellow called redbeefbaron. I expected a standard battle at first, a hard one with that Hippowdon lead, but I was completely unsuspecting of one of my greatest battles yet...​

SharKing's Team (Spoilered)

Spoiler

Tyranitar
Adamant / Lum Berry / Sand Stream
- Stone Edge
- Payback
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
252 HP, 32 Attack, 226 Sp. Defense

Gliscor
Impish / Leftovers / Sand Veil
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Roost
252 HP, 40 Defense, 218 Speed

Lucario
Adamant / Salac Berry / Steadfast
- Reversal
- Crunch
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
6 HP, 252 Attack, 252 Speed

Tentacruel
Calm / Leftovers / Liquid Ooze
- Surf
- Sludge Bomb
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
252 HP, 120 Defense, 138 Sp. Defense

Magnezone
Naive / Choice Scarf / Magnet Pull
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power (Ice)
- Explosion
6 Attack, 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed

Gengar
Timid / Life Orb / Levitate
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Substitute
- Pain Split
6 HP, 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed

Rules: Ladder Match, Sleep Clause, Freeze Clause, OHKO Clause, Evasion
Clause, Species Clause, Strict Damage Clause

Turn 1
We both sent out our leads, and I set up Stealth Rock while taking an Earthquake. I figured it would be a hard yet humdrum battle from the start.

SharKing sent out Tyranitar (lvl 100 Tyranitar ?).
redbeefbaron sent out Hippowdon (lvl 100 Hippowdon ?).
Tyranitar's Sand Stream whipped up a sandstorm!
A sandstorm brewed!
Hippowdon's Sand Stream whipped up a sandstorm!
Tyranitar used Stealth Rock.
Pointed stones float in the air around the foe's team!
Hippowdon used Earthquake.
It's super effective!
Tyranitar lost 63% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 2
Here, I saw another Earthquake coming, so I switched to Gliscor.

SharKing switched in Gliscor (lvl 100 Gliscor ?).
Hippowdon used Earthquake.
It doesn't affect Gliscor...
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 3
I moved to Knock Off Hippowdon's item, which I took to be Leftovers. But I was a bit confused to find an Aspear Berry. Meanwhile, I was suddenly surrounded by Stealth Rocks...

Gliscor used Knock Off.
Hippowdon lost 3% of its health.
Gliscor knocked off foe Hippowdon's Aspear Berry!
Hippowdon used Stealth Rock.
Pointed stones float in the air around the foe's team!
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 4
Anticipating a Roar, I just went for it and attacked. I was forced to switch to Gengar, which was advantageous to me, as the next turn proves.

Gliscor used Earthquake.
Hippowdon lost 19% of its health.
Hippowdon used Roar.
SharKing switched in Gengar (lvl 100 Gengar ?).
Pointed stones dug into Gengar.
Gengar lost 12% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.
Gengar is buffetted by the sandstorm!
Gengar lost 6% of its health.

Turn 5
Again, I moved to attack, expecting a Roar or a switch. To my delight, Gengar scored a critical hit!

Gengar used Shadow Ball.
A critical hit!
Hippowdon lost 79% of its health.
redbeefbaron's Hippowdon fainted.
Gengar lost 10% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.
Gengar is buffetted by the sandstorm!
Gengar lost 6% of its health.

Turn 6
I was very happy to have Hippowdon out of the picture. But I know that the time for celebration was short. I just hoped that Heatran wasn't Scarfed; unfortunately, it was.

redbeefbaron switched in Heatran (lvl 100 Heatran ?).
Pointed stones dug into Heatran.
Heatran lost 12% of its health.
Heatran used Fire Blast.
Gengar lost 66% of its health.
SharKing's Gengar fainted.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 7
In my rage, I sent in Tyranitar. I knew he was going to switch, but to what? To be safe, I used Payback.

SharKing switched in Tyranitar (lvl 100 Tyranitar ?).
Tyranitar's Sand Stream whipped up a sandstorm!
Pointed stones dug into Tyranitar.
Tyranitar lost 12% of its health.
redbeefbaron switched in Skarmory (lvl 100 Skarmory ?).
Pointed stones dug into Skarmory.
Skarmory lost 12% of its health.
Tyranitar used Payback.
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 16% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 8
I was further frustrated to find Skarmory. But I expected it to just use Spikes. With that in mind, I went for Stone Edge.

Skarmory used Spikes.
Spikes were scattered around the foe's team!
Tyranitar used Stone Edge.
Skarmory lost 30% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 9
I was disappointed by only 30% damage. But I figured redbeefbaron would tell Skarmory to Roost off the damage. I used Earthquake, hoping it would do over 50% damage. (I don't calculate too well in the heat of battle.)

Skarmory used Roost.
Skarmory restored 50% of its health.
Tyranitar used Earthquake.
It's super effective!
Skarmory lost 44% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 10
I was a bit angry over that. I figured more Spikes were coming, so I mowed it with more sharp stones.

Skarmory used Spikes.
Spikes were scattered around the foe's team!
Tyranitar used Stone Edge.
Skarmory lost 31% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 11
I knew for sure another Roost was coming, so I used Earthquake, hoping for the only thing that could kill it: a critical hit.

Skarmory used Roost.
Skarmory restored 50% of its health.
Tyranitar used Earthquake.
It's super effective!
Skarmory lost 43% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 12
I just continued shaking the Earth, cautiously hoping for that desired critical hit.

Skarmory used Roost.
Skarmory restored 50% of its health.
Tyranitar used Earthquake.
It's super effective!
Skarmory lost 44% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 13
Apart from a little HP gain for Skarmory, nothing changed here.

Skarmory used Roost.
Skarmory restored 50% of its health.
Tyranitar used Earthquake.
It's super effective!
Skarmory lost 44% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 14
I was patiently waiting for a critical hit.

Skarmory used Roost.
Skarmory restored 50% of its health.
Tyranitar used Earthquake.
It's super effective!
Skarmory lost 43% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 15
Who knows how bad the Earth was shaken by now? But it was to be shaken still...

Skarmory used Roost.
Skarmory restored 50% of its health.
Tyranitar used Earthquake.
It's super effective!
Skarmory lost 40% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 16
I knew Skarmory had enough HP to consider laying more Spikes. I used Stone Edge once more.

Skarmory used Spikes.
Spikes were scattered around the foe's team!
Tyranitar used Stone Edge.
Skarmory lost 33% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 17
And this ground-shaking stall war was alive once more.

Skarmory used Roost.
Skarmory restored 50% of its health.
Tyranitar used Earthquake.
It's super effective!
Skarmory lost 40% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 18
I was getting tired of repeatedly using Earthquake, and I once more hoped for the critical hit that would never happen.

Skarmory used Roost.
Skarmory restored 50% of its health.
Tyranitar used Earthquake.
It's super effective!
Skarmory lost 43% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 19
Here, it finally clicked in my brain that I could try trapping it with Magnezone. Feeling stupid, I made the switch.

SharKing switched in Magnezone (lvl 100 Magnezone).
Pointed stones dug into Magnezone.
Magnezone lost 6% of its health.
Magnezone was hurt by Spikes!
Magnezone lost 25% of its health.
Skarmory used Roost.
Skarmory restored 50% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 20
I thought I was finally going to shock that frustrating metal bird out of the game. But to my dismay, it had a Shed Shell...

redbeefbaron switched in Cradily (lvl 100 Cradily ?).
Pointed stones dug into Cradily.
Cradily lost 12% of its health.
Magnezone used Thunderbolt.
It's not very effective...
Cradily lost 11% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.
Cradily's leftovers restored its health a little!
Cradily restored 6% of its health.

Turn 21
I know Magnezone's Thunderbolt would do nothing to Cradily, so I switched to Tyranitar, knowing it would die to entry hazards. I had to see what the fossil was up to...

SharKing switched in Tyranitar (lvl 100 Tyranitar ?).
Tyranitar's Sand Stream whipped up a sandstorm!
Pointed stones dug into Tyranitar.
Tyranitar lost 12% of its health.
Tyranitar was hurt by Spikes!
Tyranitar lost 12% of its health.
SharKing's Tyranitar fainted.
Cradily used Curse.
Cradily's speed was lowered.
Cradily's attack was raised.
Cradily's defence was raised.
The sandstorm rages.
Cradily's leftovers restored its health a little!
Cradily restored 6% of its health.

Turn 22
I was in despair to find a Cursedily. But I saw this as an opportunity to spin the Spikes and Rocks away.

SharKing switched in Tentacruel (lvl 100 Tentacruel ?).
Pointed stones dug into Tentacruel.
Tentacruel lost 12% of its health.
Tentacruel was hurt by Spikes!
Tentacruel lost 25% of its health.
Tentacruel used Rapid Spin.
Tentacruel blew away the pointed stones!
Tentacruel blew away the spikes!
It's not very effective...
Cradily lost 1% of its health.
Cradily used Curse.
Cradily's speed was lowered.
Cradily's attack was raised.
Cradily's defence was raised.
The sandstorm rages.
Tentacruel is buffetted by the sandstorm!
Tentacruel lost 6% of its health.
Tentacruel's leftovers restored its health a little!
Tentacruel restored 6% of its health.
Cradily's leftovers restored its health a little!
Cradily restored 6% of its health.

Turn 23
I moved to slam that thing with water. But I was disappointed by the lack of damage...

Tentacruel used Surf.
Cradily lost 13% of its health.
Cradily used Curse.
Cradily's speed was lowered.
Cradily's attack was raised.
Cradily's defence was raised.
The sandstorm rages.
Tentacruel is buffetted by the sandstorm!
Tentacruel lost 6% of its health.
Tentacruel's leftovers restored its health a little!
Tentacruel restored 6% of its health.
Cradily's leftovers restored its health a little!
Cradily restored 6% of its health.

Turn 24
Absolutely frustrated, I sent more waves of water at that Cursing Cradily.

Tentacruel used Surf.
Cradily lost 11% of its health.
Cradily used Curse.
Cradily's speed was lowered.
Cradily's attack was raised.
Cradily's defence was raised.
The sandstorm rages.
Tentacruel is buffetted by the sandstorm!
Tentacruel lost 6% of its health.
Tentacruel's leftovers restored its health a little!
Tentacruel restored 6% of its health.
Cradily's leftovers restored its health a little!
Cradily restored 6% of its health.

Turn 25
Of course, not much changed here.

Tentacruel used Surf.
Cradily lost 11% of its health.
Cradily used Curse.
Cradily's speed was lowered.
Cradily's attack was raised.
Cradily's defence was raised.
The sandstorm rages.
Tentacruel is buffetted by the sandstorm!
Tentacruel lost 6% of its health.
Tentacruel's leftovers restored its health a little!
Tentacruel restored 6% of its health.
Cradily's leftovers restored its health a little!
Cradily restored 6% of its health.

Turn 26
At the end of this turn, I felt stupid again as I realized that Sludge Bomb would be better, for that chance of poison.

Tentacruel used Surf.
Cradily lost 11% of its health.
Cradily used Curse.
Cradily's speed was lowered.
Cradily's attack was raised.
Cradily's defence was raised.
The sandstorm rages.
Tentacruel is buffetted by the sandstorm!
Tentacruel lost 6% of its health.
Tentacruel's leftovers restored its health a little!
Tentacruel restored 6% of its health.
Cradily's leftovers restored its health a little!
Cradily restored 6% of its health.

Turn 27
Overcoming embarrassment, I started flinging explosive sludge.

Tentacruel used Sludge Bomb.
Cradily lost 11% of its health.
Cradily used Recover.
Cradily restored 40% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.
Tentacruel is buffetted by the sandstorm!
Tentacruel lost 6% of its health.
Tentacruel's leftovers restored its health a little!
Tentacruel restored 6% of its health.

Turn 28
I was irked by Recover, but I continued using Sludge Bomb, hoping for poison.

Tentacruel used Sludge Bomb.
Cradily lost 11% of its health.
Cradily used Seed Bomb.
Tentacruel lost 63% of its health.
SharKing's Tentacruel fainted.
The sandstorm rages.
Cradily's leftovers restored its health a little!
Cradily restored 6% of its health.

Turn 29
The loss of Tentacruel made me very irate. I sent in Gliscor to deal with that insolent fossil, by swatting down its Leftovers.

SharKing switched in Gliscor (lvl 100 Gliscor ?).
Gliscor used Knock Off.
Cradily lost 1% of its health.
Gliscor knocked off foe Cradily's Leftovers!
Cradily used Rock Slide.
Gliscor lost 60% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.
Gliscor's leftovers restored its health a little!
Gliscor restored 6% of its health.

Turn 30
Here, I calculated that I could Roost on another Rock Slide, and Earthquake as he used Seed Bomb next turn (because I predicted that Cradily would have seeds that go boom).

Gliscor used Roost.
Gliscor restored 50% of its health.
Cradily used Rock Slide.
It's not very effective...
Gliscor lost 29% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.
Gliscor's leftovers restored its health a little!
Gliscor restored 6% of its health.

Turn 31
This turn went according to my short-term "plan"...

Gliscor used Earthquake.
Cradily lost 9% of its health.
Cradily used Seed Bomb.
Gliscor lost 62% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.
Gliscor's leftovers restored its health a little!
Gliscor restored 6% of its health.

Turn 32
I thought Gliscor would die here, but luckily, Sand Veil kicked in.

Gliscor used Earthquake.
Cradily lost 8% of its health.
Cradily used Seed Bomb.
Cradily's attack missed!
The sandstorm rages.
Gliscor's leftovers restored its health a little!
Gliscor restored 6% of its health.

Turn 33
Of course, my luck was short-lived...

Gliscor used Earthquake.
Cradily lost 9% of its health.
Cradily used Seed Bomb.
Gliscor lost 24% of its health.
SharKing's Gliscor fainted.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 34
I sent in Magnezone, hoping that a couple of Flash Cannons would finish it.

SharKing switched in Magnezone (lvl 100 Magnezone).
Magnezone used Flash Cannon.
It's super effective!
Cradily lost 38% of its health.
Cradily used Rock Slide.
It's not very effective...
Magnezone lost 51% of its health.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 35
This was my first bit of true happiness in quite a while. Cradily finally fainted.

Magnezone used Flash Cannon.
It's super effective!
Cradily lost 31% of its health.
redbeefbaron's Cradily fainted.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 36
As happy as I was, I still thought I'd lose, since it was 4-2. When Heatran came in, I thought my fate was sealed...

redbeefbaron switched in Heatran (lvl 100 Heatran ?).
Pointed stones dug into Heatran.
Heatran lost 12% of its health.
Heatran used Earth Power.
It's super effective!
Magnezone lost 19% of its health.
SharKing's Magnezone fainted.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 37
I sent out my last Pokemon, Lucario. I was REEEEEAALLY hoping it had just enough Sp. Defense to survive an Earth Power and set up Swords Dance; if not, the fight was over for me.

SharKing switched in Lucario (lvl 100 Lucario ?).
Heatran used Earth Power.
It's super effective!
Lucario lost 95% of its health.
Lucario's Salac Berry raised its speed!
Lucario used Swords Dance.
Lucario's attack was sharply raised.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 38
At this point, fortune smiled on me, and redbeefbaron's advance to victory came to a screeching halt.

Lucario used Reversal.
It's super effective!
Heatran lost 75% of its health.
redbeefbaron's Heatran fainted.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 39
I was a bit worried that Rotom would survive Crunch. But my worry was unfounded.

redbeefbaron switched in Rotom-h (lvl 100 Rotom-h).
Pointed stones dug into Rotom-h.
Rotom-h lost 12% of its health.
Lucario used Crunch.
It's super effective!
Rotom-h lost 87% of its health.
redbeefbaron's Rotom-h fainted.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 40
I was hoping that even Skarmory's Defenses weren't enough to take a Swords Dance Reversal.

redbeefbaron switched in Skarmory (lvl 100 Skarmory ?).
Pointed stones dug into Skarmory.
Skarmory lost 12% of its health.
Lucario used Reversal.
Skarmory lost 74% of its health.
redbeefbaron's Skarmory fainted.
The sandstorm rages.

Turn 41
I was amazed that Lucario completely turned the battle around, going from 4-1 to 0-1. When I saw Tyranitar, I knew I won.

redbeefbaron switched in Tyranitar (lvl 100 Tyranitar ?).
Tyranitar's Sand Stream whipped up a sandstorm!
Pointed stones dug into Tyranitar.
Tyranitar lost 12% of its health.
Lucario used Reversal.
It's super effective!
Tyranitar lost 88% of its health.
redbeefbaron's Tyranitar fainted.
SharKing wins!

Thankfully, redbeefbaron seemed to be a good sport about the whole thing. Normally, I see a ragequit near the end. (Such is Smogon...)

Very good game, redbeefbaron.​

 

[Thundagere]

Brilliant. This match is one of those classic pieces of brilliance that i rarely see on Shoddy. I'm usually up against people who have their team composed entirely of sweepers, and die against a Togekiss o Registeel. Thanks. I think I'm gonna ge a Lucario to finish my eam ow.
If you want to battle me, I'm Magnus Prime on Shoddy too (I know this probably shouldn't go here, but it seems it'd be the apt place to put it).

 

[Cheesus Is Lord]

Timid Scarf Heatran's Earth Power vs Lucario: 93.61% - 110.63%

Funny how one lucky number can end the whole game like that. Good story; I had fun reading it.

 

[coolking503]

pretty good comments, but you were lucky that the opponents had no priority. there were no big mistakes, and suprisingly no Hax. pretty good. 7.5/10

 

[Troggy]

The organization of this Warstory was good, but there were some very questionable sequences. You not only tried to kill his Skarmory with a T-Tar that didn't invest much in attack (Although Stone Edge connecting 3/3 times was pretty amazing, can you pass your skills along to me?), you also let his Cradily get to +6 with Curse. Most of the time mishaps like that will cost you the match. As a side comment, I used to have a very similar Tyranitar as a lead.

I question your opponent using Earth Power on Magnezone instead of Fire Blast. You only had one unknown Pokemon left so I don't see why they would use a weaker move when you are likely to hit their last Pokemon harder with STAB Fire Blast after Magnezone dies. I suppose they were concerned about the accuracy, but if that is the case just run Flamethrower instead. Of course this is all moot if they had just gotten a better damage roll and OHKO'd Lucario.

 

[Our Wasted Years]

Why do you have a Sandstorm team and no status moves? Cradily would have died quicker.

 

[SharKing]

I don't know. The team was quickly assembled. I'm gonna slap Toxic somewhere; maybe over Toxic Spikes on Tentacruel. That sound good? (I almost never get Toxic Spikes up, anyway.)

You not only tried to kill his Skarmory with a T-Tar that didn't invest much in attack

To be honest, I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I was a bit blind with rage.

 

[Troggy]

To be honest, I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I was a bit blind with rage.

lol

You were really fortunate to have Magnezone on your team to make up for letting Cradily set up on you. It's kind of funny you did let it get all those boosts despite having Lucario who easily scares away Cradily (it would take multiple Curses to survive a Lucario CC).

 

[SharKing]

I didn't think of that. LOL, I'm not used to Cradily. They're so rare and NU!

Yeah, Magnezone saved me from that Curse of a Pokemon.

 

[Troggy]

Yeah, I imagine it would be much more common except there are so many Steel/Fighting types that resist both of Cradilys STAB moves in OU (Scizor, Metagross, Jirachi, Heracross, and Lucario to name a few).

From the looks of it this team is pretty weak to Swampert, don't know if you have had trouble with any so far. I would consider packing some extra insurance against the Earthquake / Ice Move combo. Mamoswine can eat a lot of these guys too, basically everything except Gengar @__@ (Ice Shard does ~50-60%)

 

[SharKing]

From the looks of it this team is pretty weak to Swampert, don't know if you have had trouble with any so far. I would consider packing some extra insurance against the Earthquake / Ice Move combo. Mamoswine can eat a lot of these guys too, basically everything except Gengar @__@ (Ice Shard does ~50-60%)

I've only ever taken on two lead Swampert with these guys, and you know what happens in both battles? Ragequits. But yeah, I don't think most of my guys could stand up to it. (Gengar can dent it, but...)

Thankfully, Mamoswine's very rare today.

 

[Troggy]

Probably something you should address

And yeah, Mamoswine needs some more love. That's why I'm breeding Swinub right now haha.

 

[SharKing]

But how to do so...?

 

[Troggy]

Add a Swampert counter ;D

 

[SharKing]

I'm thinking of a Swampert counter that won't imbalance this team.