Throwing In (Round 2/Astrid)

[Sonia Strugatskaya]

It was finally Sonia time to step into the arena. The first round, the girl was seeded straight into the next round, but now it was time for her to finally battle. The girl's actual battle experience was a bit lacking, only managing a few battles. At least they were all victories. Sonia had considered watching her opponent's battle, but instead opted to take a nap. She would be fine, right? Alright. Let's get to battling, shall we? The girl entered the arena and sent out a Pokemon that was good for any opening.

Tossing a ball, the girl's Eelektross Loki appeared, floating around without too much of a care. She would be testing the waters with Loki to get a better idea of what she was up against. When going up against an opponent blind, it seemed to be smarter to test things out before diving in. Sonia was dense, but she wasn't an idiot.

Action: Sent out Eelektross

[Astrid Sherinian]

No, Astrid wasn't nervous. No way. Perish the thought, and similar outdated expressions. She just knew that, where her next opponent was concerned, there were only two possibilities. Her opponent looked like she was just barely old enough to be in the academy. The fact that she'd signed up for the Expert Tournament meant either that she was completely full of herself, or extremely good. Now she'd just have to find out which of those it was.

Astrid slowly entered the arena, and watched the girl send out an Eelektross. So she had some idea what she was doing, at the very least. "Here's to a good match!" Astrid called out, twirling and sending out a Pokemon of her own. "Murphy, center stage!" she called as her newest, a Rotom now possessing an old washing machine, materialized and began floating over the field.

---

Sent Out Rotom-W

[Sonia Strugatskaya]

Sonia was surprised by the Pokemon that the opponent sent out. It was a floating washing machine monster? How odd. Then again, who was she to say anything? She had a floating eel. A good match indeed. Loki, get ready. The girl took a second to analyze her opponent. Just what was this thing capable of? Alright, use Crunch! Sonia decided to start with something basic. She needed to gauge her opponent's capabilities. Was this thing going to be a huge pain in the ass? Or would this be a quick flop in her favor. Either way, things didn't seem too bad off right from the start.

Action: Crunch (80 BP)

Roll to lower defense; (1-5) 1 = success

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[Astrid Sherinian]

The girl started off careful, opting to have the floating eel use Crunch. The technique hit, dealing manageable but not completely insignificant damage. Astrid closed her eyes, thinking for a few seconds before deciding on her own first move. She hated to rely on anything of less than perfect accuracy, especially given her embarrassing display against Crispin, but at the moment she had little choice. "Alright, Murphy, let's see what that washing machine can do. Hydro Pump!" Astrid called out, making a dramatic sweeping gesture before pointing towards the Eelektross. The Rotom gathered swirling water within the washing machine body, and started to vibrate from the pressure. Then, the lid burst open and it all came spraying out in a high-pressure stream at the floating eel.

---

Action: Hydro Pump - 110 BP + STAB off 105 base special attack. 80% accuracy
Accuracy Roll - 1-8 for success:
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[Sonia Strugatskaya]

After a simple attack, Sonia watched as a powerful blast of water came at Loki. It was strong, no doubt. Loki was able to take the hit, but he probably wouldn't take more than a few in total. It didn't seem like many of the attacks she could use would work. Crunch was the safest option, but in the end, it seemed to be her best option as well. Alright Loki! Same plan! Keep using Crunch on it! Zooming over at the washing machine, Loki went in for a strong bite, hoping to crush the enemy in a bit. This would be a match of endurance it seemed.

Action: Crunch (same as before)

Chance to decrease defense: 20%

1-5 roll; 1 = success

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[Astrid Sherinian]

Hah! Direct hit! And it seemed to hit pretty hard as well, although Astrid wasn't sure exactly how much mileage Murphy had gotten out of it. Would the floating eel be down in one more? Would it hang on? Or would something more annoying happen? She couldn't be certain. This was looking like a match of endurance, but there were still too many factors to call it purely that. And meanwhile, the enemy went for another Crunch attack.

Hmm...

"Keep up the attack! Hydro Pump again!" Astrid called. Murphy's lid snapped shut as water flowed into and swirled around the washing machine body once more. Pressure built up to the point where it started shaking violently, then the lid burst again, releasing another pressurized water attack.

---

Action: Hydro Pump - 110 BP + STAB off 105 base special attack. 80% accuracy
Accuracy Roll - 1-4 for success:
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[Sonia Strugatskaya]

That wasn't good. Not only did the attack manage to go through, but it hit hard. Loki was shot back once more, only barely holding his ground. He wouldn't be getting out of much more than a hit. What could he do then? Thinking over what moves the eel was capable of, Sonia quickly called out a move that she remembered. Loki! Use drain punch on it! This would at least ease his wounds while hopefully allowing him to survive any bad attacks. Then again, just how much of a beating had both of them taken? Sonia would have to see what happened as a result.

Action: Drain Punch 75 BP (Heals for 50% of damage output)

Sleep Roll (Amount of turns asleep)

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[Astrid Sherinian]

By now, the Eelektross was only just barely hanging on. Astrid couldn't be relieved just yet, but the tension of the moment had eased just a little bit. Her opponent was certainly capable, that much was certain now that the eel had withstood the first two attacks. For her own lot, Murphy was still in much better shape. Possessing an appliance, apparently, made it much sturdier than it was on its own. It could still take a couple hits, and was definitely hitting harder, but the match wasn't over just yet.

The girl's next move certainly didn't help things. Astrid was passingly familiar with drain punch. It would heal the floating eel for part of the damage dealt, but mercifully, that was even less than what its biting did. At this rate, she may still have the advantage. At this point, though, she was taking an even bigger risk by continuing to rely on inaccurate attacks. "Shadow Ball this time!" Astrid called out. Murphy's lid snapped shut again, but this time when it reopened a mass of shadows came spilling out, coalesced into a single ball as it flew at the Eelektross.

---

Action: Shadow Ball - 80 BP off 105 base Special Attack with a 20% chance of lowering special defense.
Stat Drop Roll - 1 for success:
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[Sonia Strugatskaya]

Another attack made contact, yet it still wasn't enough to take down that washing machine. Would one more have done it in? Even worse, Loki was hit once more. This time, it was enough to do him in. Loki, return. Roundabout come on out and use Spore! This thing was a water type. That much the girl could assume. She wasn't about to take any chances though. She needed to drop this thing to nothing before her team took any more hits. Realizing this, the girl opted to put the enemy to sleep. She wasn't sure how effective it would be, but hopefully it would work long enough for her to get back the ground that she had lost.

Action: Spore; 100% chance to put to sleep.


Sleep Roll (Amount of turns asleep)



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[Astrid Sherinian]

Astrid let out a heavy sign of relief once the eel went down. Even having no idea what the rest of the girl's team would be, she'd gained the advantage. Now all she'd have to do was keep it. That was all well and good, but the next thing the girl did was to send out a living mushroom thing with an odd name. What was 'roundabout' supposed to mean? Whatever it was, it was trouble. The mushroom immediately put Murphy to sleep with fungal spores, causing the whirring washing machine to go silent and the electrical ghost inside to become unresponsive.

---

Action: Asleep

[Sonia Strugatskaya]

Sonia wasn't sure what she could do now. The enemy was asleep for however long it was. But what next? Another Pokemon would be sent in and take down her little Breloom. Roundabout wasn't the sturdiest Pokemon around. She needed something big that could take a hit before she could send out anything else. Roundabout, return! Belka, come out! Rather than finishing off the enemy, Sonia decided to use this opportunity to keep the Roundabout in for another fight. It was all that she could hope for right now. Things weren't looking so good right now. She could turn things around, sure. But that would rely on her and her team.

Action: Switching out Breloom for Tyranitar

Sand stream whips up a sandstorm! Rotom begins to take damage each turn!

[Astrid Sherinian]

Instead of finishing Murphy off, the girl opted to recall the mushroom Pokemon. In its place, she sent out a giant kaiju-looking Pokemon made of rock. It was big, it was angry, it...was probably vulnerable to water. But at the moment, Murphy was still asleep. Probably dreaming dreams of conquering the world's electronic infrastructure, or whatever a Rotom dreamed about. Either way, it wasn't much help. Astrid wanted to switch, but doing so would put whoever she sent out in the way of the next attack. She couldn't afford that. She still had the advantage, even if Murphy was knocked out. If she switched now, she'd risk giving that up. So for now, all she could do was nervously wait for either Murphy to wake up or for the girl to make her next move. "Come on, wake up soon..." she said under her breath.

---

Action: Still asleep.

[Sonia Strugatskaya]

Sonia seemed to have a stroke of luck. The enemy was still asleep. Sonia knew that sleeping effects had a maximum effectiveness duration. During this time, she needed to maximize her defenses to the best of her ability. Belka! Iron Defense! Make sure you're ready for what might come! The large green Pokemon held its ground and began to solidify in hopes of surviving. It was worth a shot. Afterwards, Sonia could only hope she was prepared for the other two Pokemon the enemy had in store. Belka, you got this! Just hold on for just a bit more. Afterwards, we'll knock em down!

Action: Iron Defense (+2 modifier to defense)

[Astrid Sherinian]

Even now, Murphy continued to sleep. Her luck, which had been fantastic against the Eelektross, seemed to have reversed. Her opponent had still not finished her off, but was setting up for once she did. This time, she'd boosted her defense, automatically eliminating one of her other possible options. For the moment, that was fine. She still had other things she could do. But she was starting to run short on viable strategies. And the sand blowing about everywhere certainly wasn't helping matters. At this rate, even a tap from the Tyranitar would probably finish Murphy. Luck or not, this girl was definitely good.

---

Action: Even more asleep.

[Sonia Strugatskaya]

Sonia knew that the maximum duration of the spore was about to kick in. She needed to end this before the washing machine got an opportunity to get a hit in. Sonia wasn't about to tray and get greedy with her allotted time to prepare. Belka, get it with Dark Pulse! The killing machine stopped its preparation to begin its spree of destruction. Sonia could only hope that spree would last longer than a few turns. Honestly, if things were up to her she was hoping Belka could beat down all the enemies in one hit. But things aren't always that easy, as Sonia was beginning to notice. Sending out a pulse of Dark Energy, the mass began to collide with the sleeping Pokemon.

Action: Dark Pulse; 80 BP + STAB

20% chance to flinch

1-5 roll; 1 success

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