Pokemon Trial Draft Now Open -- Winner: Specterace

Actually, I think it's single-elimination because it's a mini-draft. If it weren't, then it'd defeat the whole point of having a mini-draft in the first place. Speaking of the rules, I've got a list of possible changes that I think could make this whole thing a lot easier to put up once it's over.

Houndoom Prepped with Karen vs. Charizard

It's Charizard's physical attacks that are going to take the win here. Houndoom has a very low defense, and Charizard equals or exceeds him in every other stat category. Because it's not a wide-open space, Charizard is going to be on the ground from the start, which means sooner or later he's going to get in close with Houndoom. Probably going to be a tough match, but I don't see Charizard losing here.

Crobat vs. Raikou

Ouch. The territory does favor Crobat, but Raikou's fast enough to keep up with him and take him out.

Hitmonlee Prepped with Bruno vs. Mew

Double ouch.

Machamp vs. Typhlosion

A closer match than it first appears, actually. The thing that settles it for me is that Machamp's Pokedex entries really make it out to be a monster. If Typhlosion gets close, he's not going to last long. Could go the other way, though.

 

Agree on all but the first match. Houndoom's defense... Well, it sucks, and charizard may be able to take advantage, but I don't see Karen letting that happen, especially when houndoom has that pretty good electric attack in close range. And I think charizard won't be able to fly well and while I'm sure it's capable of better ground movement than zapdos, the advantage is houndoom's imo, and the elite trainer really puts it over the top for me.

 

Interesting calls judges, very interesting.

 

i dont think machamp would be shut out by fire as hard as typhlosion would be shut out physically. gg 2-4.

 

I put no effort into that last call, yeah. I did look at stats after, briefly. I knew machamp was a beast but typhlosion is also very impressive. I don't think there's a wrong call there.

 

i really would like to plead my case for an earlier match again... i think i got robbed in that dugtrio magneton brawl..... *sulk*

 

Houndoom, especially with Karen as its trainer, is going to take full advantage of its type. Being part fire means some of Charizard's best attacks won't do as much. Does Houndoom get Thunder Fang? If so, then Charizard will be in trouble being part flying. The interior also doesn't give Charizard much of an advantage, although his flight is still a factor. But with Karen coaching on the mut, I really cannot see Charizard being able to best Houndoom when its at its best.

 

If Chim could hold off for a bit, I'm reconsidering the steelix vs. kingdra match.

 

If you don't mind my asking, could you perhaps explain why? I thought that was one of the clearer ones, myself.

 

Sure. When I look at the match closer (and I just got a good look at the city's layout last night) I see kingdra probably being in the water, and steelix on land. The only thing I was really thinking about when I looked at it the first time was how steelix would fare against a water pokemon in the water. Obviously steelix doesn't wanna go in there. But neither is kingdra gonna go on the land, so it becomes a sniper fight. And while I think kingdra with its better special stats is gonna have the advantage normally, the fact that Giovanni is there is gonna help steelix by directing him to use his most effective attacks, such as dragonbreath, with maximum efficiency. So with that I think the fight pulls much closer to even. Plus with the blowing sandstorm that I think Giovanni would open up with, there'd be alot less accuracy and steelix would have 2 sets of eyes with Gio watching as well. Without Gio there, it's easily kingdra but I don't like to underestimate the presence of a good trainer. So, it's pretty tough for me now.

 

Seems reasonable enough, though there are a few points I want to bring up. Problem A for Steelix is that Sunyshore City is excellent territory for Kingdra. Not only can he sit in the water and snipe, but he can go underwater to dodge and return fire from there. Steelix, being as massive and heavy as he is, will have serious difficulty in navigating the bridges/walkways of the city to get from island to island. Also, while Steelix will be able to use Sandstorm, Kingdra has the ability to use Twister, which would probably make a good counter to a move like that.

 

I'm trying to find out how smart kingdra is...

 

I'd think it's fairly intelligent. Just my opinion, but I consider most Pokemon to be pretty clever, and we are considering them to be at their best (100) level here.

 

Well, I'm considering them to vary greatly in intelligence, from the faster-than-a-supercomputer thought of alakzam and metagross, to the more genius level human intelligence of Mewtwo, to... Dumb ones. Like, say, steelix, that really think like wild animals and do need trainers to strategize for them. Right now I'm putting kingdra at decent intelligence, but I don't think it's human level at all.

 

Well, yes, that's along the lines I was thinking. I'm just not considering them all as being at "thoughtless attacker" level. If I had to compare, though, I'd put Kingdra as being smarter than Steelix as well. Neither at human level, I'll agree.

 

I really don't like making this call, as it's so close. But from the now-extensive research I've done, kingdra's power is clear. Just its awakening causes small natural disasters. Not that steelix couldn't easily withstand that, but when I think of what its concentrated attacks could do to the landscape, I think steelix may actually be in danger because kingdra could destroy a large section of the battlefield and leave steelix in the water. One thing steelix is not is fast. And yeah, kingdra could hide low in the water and attack, as that's its natural habitat anyway. So, yeah, gonna stick with my original call. But despite how I made it sound I'm not sure if the battle would actually go down like that with Giovanni there. I mean, I can't see Giovanni losing much against wild pokemon, but this is kingdra, and one reason I can't see Giovanni losing like that is b/c he'd be smarter than to use steelix in the first place.

 

Been out for a while. The place I went to had a very bad connection, so I just got on about a few hours ago.

So I guess that gives me four wins, and the match then? Cool.

Good match, Prenn. Had me worried for a long time there.

Specterace

 

And with that we have the closing of the first round of this, our Poekmon Trial Draft. And that means... it is time to say goodbye, surprisingly, to a couple of our GMs. Prenn, blackdog, Kiwi and chaotic thank you for playing guys! Seeya next time, and I promise it will be better organized and run.



Round One
The Rated R Pokestars (4) vs. Prenn's Puppets (2)
Sea Electric Air Land Squad (SEALS) (4) vs. Snorlax Battles the Pink Robots (2)
Apathetic Attempt(1) vs. Dismay's Rangers (5)
The Job Factory (2) vs. Kyp's Kids (4)

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So for our Round II match-ups we have...

[b]
[u][color=red]Round Two[/color][/u]
[color=royalblue]The Rated R Pokestars[/color] vs. [color=orangered]Sea Electric Air Land Squad(SEALS)[/color]
[color=goldenrod]Dismay's Rangers[/color] vs. [color=green]Kyp's Kids[/color]
[/b]


So Specterace, RX, BaSSiL and Kyp same drill as before. You have another 24 hours to get your numbers in to me. Seeya guys soon!

 

Ok somehow, even though I am a day or two late with posting this up, I still had to sim one team and I never expected it to be that team. Oh well, on with the show.



Round Two
The Rated R Pokestars vs. Sea Electric Air Land Squad(SEALS)
Dismay's Rangers vs. Kyp's Kids

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First number called is, [b]TWO[/b].

[b]
[u][color=red]Round Two[/color][/u]
[color=royalblue]Blastoise Prepped with Lorelei[/color] vs. [color=orangered]Raichu (Prepared with Ash Ketchum)[/color]
[color=goldenrod]Skarmory[/color] vs. [color=green]Dragonite[/color]
[/b]

[b]Location: Celadon City Gym[/b]

 

Blastoise Prepped with Lorelei vs. Raichu (Prepared with Ash Ketchum)

Seems pretty clear to me, Raichi is smaller, faster, and has a sizable type advantage.

Skarmory vs. Dragonite

Somewhat less clear, as Skarmory is resistant to most of Dragonite's attack types, but Dragonite is larger, faster, and stronger. Plus he has a couple of Electric type attacks to neutralize Skarmory with and stop his movements.

 

I'd like some argument on both those matches. Not that I don't have my own opinions but neither is set.

 

No arguments huh? Well then, I'll go with what I've been leaning towards.

Agree

 

Round Two
The Rated R Pokestars (0) vs. Sea Electric Air Land Squad(SEALS) (1)
Dismay's Rangers (0)vs. Kyp's Kids (1)

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Order up. [b]SIX[/b].

[b]
[u][color=red]Round Two[/color][/u]
[color=royalblue]Houndoom Prepared with Trainer Karen[/color] vs. [color=orangered]Aerodactyl Prepared with Trainer Gary Oak[/color]
[color=goldenrod]Mew[/color] vs. [color=green]Jynx Prepared with Trainer Sabrina[/color]
[/b]

[b]Location: Safari Zone[/b]

 

Houndoom Prepared with Trainer Karen vs. Aerodactyl Prepared with Trainer Gary Oak

Aerodactyl will be resistant to Houndoom's Fire attacks, and Houndoom won't be able to hit with most of his Dark attacks. Houndoom won't even be able to hide in the long grass because of Aerodactyl's bird-eye view of the battlefield, and Aerodactyl's Rock attacks will come in handy here.

Mew vs. Jynx Prepared with Trainer Sabrina

Tough match here. Neither side really has any major advantages over the other. However, Mew is higher across the board, and possess a Rock type attack which will be quite effective against Jynx. Another big plus for Mew in this fight is Metronome, just about anything could come out of that. I think Mew just has more versatility and power in this match.

 

What kind of utterly ridiculous numbers are these?!?!

I mean, I knew luck could turn on me badly, but this is just too much...

Specterace