ppe 24: One More For the Road

[xaq_the_aereon]

[BANDITS STATUS]
Atlas, Lv 48
Iceberg, Lv 47
Nebula, Lv 49
Tessa, Lv 52
Dogmeat, Lv 49
Belfries, Lv 52

I have no idea what this gym is going to entail, but the high electricity usage suggests Electric-type, so I put Atlas to the front and head in.

[WHAT THE DEUCE!?]
Wow, he really spruced this place up. It's apparently a gear-path puzzle: the pathway is set atop massive gears with buttons that turn them to open new paths.

...Hang on. *checks statue* Sweet! Clint hasn't beaten me here! Finally took the lead back.

[ABOUT TIME]
Talking to Mr. Cheer at the entrance confirms my suspicion; Volkner does indeed run an Electric gym.

But first, we get to deal with this gear puzzle. And then a Gym Trainer just past it.

[VS. SCHOOL KID TIERA]
[vs. Pachirisu]
It Digs to avoid death by Drill Run, does a smidge of damage, and then gets plastered by Earthquake. Bye!

The next room puts a 3D spin on the gear puzzle by having one standing vertical with a pathway in its center. After spinning my gears for a moment, it leads to another kid Trainer.

[THESE PUNS ARE REALLY GRINDING MY GEARS, YOU KNOW?]
*snrk*

[VS. SCHOOL KID FORREST]
[vs. Mr. Mime]
CLOOOOOWN!!! D: D: D:
Energy Ball wallops Atlas for a KO, driving me to tag in Dogmeat. Shadow Ball does decent damage, while Thunderbolt does a little and paralyzes her. I burn a turn to revive Atlas, and Mr. Mime uses Reflect, after which Dogmeat powers through the paralysis. She fires off another Shadow Ball to reap vengeance.

I move Iceberg to the front after that...would have sworn being Ground-type would make Atlas immune to Electric attacks. Whatever, time to see what this Axl Rose wannabe has to say.

[VS. GUITARIST JERRY]
[vs. Luxio]
Spark does a little damage and primes Avalanche to hit full force, taking most of Luxio's HP, plus a little more from Snow Warning's hailstorm. Giga Drain recovers the damage dealt and scores the knockout. Take a bow, Jerry.

I bypass the kid in the Pikachu costume on principle and head to the next room. This one introduces red switches that rotate the gears 180º rather than 90. No dodging this next Trainer. Dang.

[VS. ACE TRAINER DESTINY]
[Round 1: vs. Kadabra]
Dang, she actually has more than one? Snow Warning fires up, Psychic does some decent damage, and Avalanche hits like...well, an avalanche.

[Round 2: vs. Raichu]
Against my better judgment I tag in Atlas again. Quick Attack dinks off and Earthquake keeps this battle's theme of "death by natural disaster" going.

[DOGMEAT: Flame Charge -> Flamethrower]

Moving on, I see that this is A, the final room and B, HUGE. Oh, and there's another Guitar Center customer in our way. Dang.

[VS. GUITARIST PRESTON]
[Round 1: vs. Luxio]
Wood Hammer nearly flattens the Luxio, who tags out via Volt Switch.

[Round 1.5: vs. Bibarel]
BONK goes the hailstorm. Giga Drain saps Bibarel of all of its HP in one go and restores everything Wood Hammer took and then some.

[Round 2: vs. what's left of Luxio]
Ice Beam wraps the battle up and makes me wonder how Iceberg is so much faster than a Luxio.

A few more spins open the next path; can't quite reach Volkner yet, so we'll have to contend with another green-haired goober first.

[VS. ACE TRAINER ZACHERY]
[Round 1: vs. Steelix]
Bulldoze does nothing more than prime Avalanche to hit hard...and that doesn't do much either. Hm. Giga Drain, however, hits like a ton of bricks and fully recharges Iceberg, while Screech drops her Defense. An Ice Beam wraps this round up.

[Round 2: vs. Medicham]
Fighting/Psychic means Dogmeat is the best matchup here. Beat Up gets the whole team in and takes almost all its HP, while Rock Tomb returns the favor and drops Dogmeat's speed. The hailstorm dings us both, but Shadow Ball wins the day.

I head back downstairs on the flip side to hit the red switch, completely forgetting that I bypassed the Guitar Hero player in front of it earlier. ...Oops?

[VS. GUITARIST LONNIE]
[Vs. Raichu]

Thunder Wave paralyzes her, but Wood Hammer still goes off and scores the knockout. Guess I was worried about nothing?

[I GUESS]

Anyway, with that last switch hit, the path to Volkner is open. I swap Atlas back to the front and move on to claim my prize.

[FINAL GYM BATTLE: VS. GYM LEADER VOLKNER]
[Round 1: vs. Raichu]
It's not an Alolan Raichu, yet it knows Surf, which wipes Atlas out completely. Dafuq!? I tag in Nebula and burn a turn reviving Atlas, letting her deal with a Volt Switch.

[Round 1.5: vs. Ambipom]
Fake Out flinches her, but since she Traced Raichu's Static, Ambipom is now paralyzed. I use a MooMoo Milk to heal her, while Thunderbolt glances off her. Psychic takes most of its HP, and another Thunderbolt fails to do much before one more Psychic puts it down.

[Round 2: vs. Raichu again]
I leave Nebula out, and she gets dropped to half by another Volt Switch.

[Round 2.5: vs. Octillery]
Psychic hits it instead and drops 2/3 of its HP, while Dazzling Gleam takes the rest.

[Round 3: vs. SIT STILL, DAMN YOU]
Iceberg tags in and kicks up an ice storm...and gets Volt Switch.

[OH FOR ARCEUS' SAKE!]

[Round 3.5: vs. Luxray]
Giga Drain dings it and puts Iceberg at about 80% HP...not enough to survive an Iron Tail. Atlas comes back out and barely survives an Iron Tail before bringing the house down with Earthquake and getting KO'd by Iceberg's hailstorm.

Alright you little bastard, no more running.

[FINAL ROUND: VS. A HUGE EFFING COWARD]
Against my better judgment I tag in Tessa. Volt Switch goes off again, but between Tessa's evasiveness and having nobody else to hide behind, does nothing, while Scald puts it deep in the red.

Volkner uses a Hyper Potion just in time to avoid retribution via Surf, which puts it right back where it was. Volt Switch connects this time, but enough is enough. Surf goes off and connects.

[WIPEOUT!!]>

With that, the Beacon Badge is ours, allowing use of the HM Waterfall, and some TM57s for Charge Beam. Honestly, though? I'm just glad to be done with that.

Before I hit the ocean path to Victory Road, I talk to Jasmine again. She congratulates me for winning with some TM99s for Waterfall. Woot!

[VIA TM: TESSA: Metal Claw -> Flash Cannon]
...What? I like Scald better and forgot I had TM91s to spare.

... ...Actually, y'know what? I think I'm gonna call it here. Honestly in a bit of a snit after that battle, don't feel like playing anymore tonight.

[BANDITS STATUS]
Atlas, Lv. 50
Iceberg, Lv 48
Nebula, Lv 50
Tessa, Lv 53
Dogmeat, Lv 50
Belfries, Lv 53

G'night.