HOENNWEEN: BOSS BATTLE LOG

[these_balls]

Who: Hoennween Plot Participants!
Where: Tohjo Falls!
When: Thursday, October 30th
Summary: You've taken the Elite Four's estate and reaped the (stolen? borrowed? requisitioned) benefits waiting for you inside it. But come morning, an earthquake signals the arrival of two incredibly belligerent Legendaries and the Team Bosses who've summoned them.
Rating: PG-13 in general; please mark threads that go higher accordingly!
Log:



YOU ARE HERE. YOU'RE FIGHTING THESE GUYS.

THIS IS STILL YOUR BACKGROUND MUSIC, AND THIS IS STARTING TO LOOK LIKE AN EPISODE OF JACKASS.

KEY:

• GRAY areas in the north are a range of mountains that form a natural barrier around part of the Tohjo plain where the Elite Four's resort is located. This is where you will find and battle Maxie, his Team Magma Grunts, and also obviously that sure is Primal Groudon, all right.

• GREEN areas in the southeast and southwest are densely-packed forested areas interspersed by lakes and rivers that seem to be feeding into the main waterway into the area. It is both difficult and dangerous to venture into the woodlands proper, but this seems to be where a lot of the Team Aqua Grunts are stationed now.

• The BLUE area in the south is the massive lake that feeds the eponymous falls that give Tohjo its name. This is where you will find and battle Archie, his Team Aqua Grunts, and also obviously that sure is Primal Kyogre, all right.

• PINK diamonds in the east and west are the sites of massive formations of Mysterious Plot Crystals™ jutting up from beneath the surface; the Grunts will not be found around these today, so if your character is looking for a safe zone well away from the crossfire, they will want to hole up near these.

• The BROWN rectangle dead-center in the map is...the Elite Four's resort. It's even more unfortunately-located today than it was yesterday. However, people willing to risk the crossfire between the Legendaries and get into the house will have access to all of the battle and healing items discussed up here!

A FEW OTHER SETTING NOTES:

• As per Arceus's summon, there will be Gen VI Pokemon joining the battle on their own! You may NPC these Pokemon, within reasonable limits; you may not capture them in Pokeballs, and they are still wild so they will not take commands from characters the way a captured Pokemon would from its trainer. However, they do recognize that the portaled-in humans are fighting on roughly the same side as they are, so they won't attack player characters and might occasionally come to their aid if need be — you're free to NPC them as you like for purposes such as this.

• The aforementioned Gen VI Pokemon can be any Pokemon that swarmed during September, plus any of their evolved forms. They've had several weeks in the wild to get buff and settle in; now you can see what they've got to show for it!

• You may NPC the Team Aqua and Team Magma Grunts as you see fit; either one can reasonably be found anywhere on the map, though they're avoiding the crystals and keeping close to their bosses — that means Team Magma will be more highly-concentrated in the northern areas of the map, and Team Aqua will be staying to the south.

• Due to the nature of the battlefield and the fact that the team leaders are going to be defending their Legendary of choice, if you choose to fight the bosses, please select whether you are going after Archie or Maxie on this particular log - you may go after one but not both.

• However, there is no restriction on how many Aqua and Magma Grunts you may fight!

• You may forego Pokemon battling entirely and simply beat up the Grunts with physical violence yourself. If you KO a Grunt, they will white out and be warped to the nearest Pokemon Center back down in the regions proper, where they will be arrested by an officer of the Kangaskhan Police.

• FOR CHARACTERS INTENDING TO USE HONEDGES LIKE WEAPONS: due to the high volume of questions we have received on this topic (it's a popular inquiry!), we want to clarify for this Pokemon in particular —

If you choose to use a Honedge as though it were a traditional sword, the most that the Honedges will allow might be slapping the grunts with the flat side of the blade. They are still opposed to attacking/killing humans, opponents or not, and if you try to stab an opponent with them, you're going to get a really obstinate ghost sword going incorporeal and ineffectively going through them. There's also the fact that you're grabbing them by the head and swinging them around — they won't like that very much.

PLEASE NOTE: if you intend to use a Honedge in this manner anyway, we may ask that you experience light IC consequences for it later in the plot! We're not barring you from getting your sword skills on with your Honedges; we're simply pointing out that there may be natural outcomes that follow from those choices.

• UPDATE: if you would like to interrogate the grunts, check here for information you can learn from them!

~

☆ THE NUMBER TO MEET OR BEAT IS 37 PARTICIPANTS ☆.

REMEMBER: IF YOUR CHARACTER DOES NOT POST TO THE BOSS BATTLE LOG AT LEAST ONCE
(AS A TOP-LEVEL COMMENT OR IN RESPONSE TO SOMEONE ELSE'S TOP-LEVEL COMMENT)
BEFORE 9:00 PM EST on OCTOBER 30, THEY WILL NOT COUNT TOWARD THE 37-PARTICIPANT GOAL!

~

QUICK LINKS

EVENT LINKS MASTERPOST | THE BOSS BATTLE INFOPOST | QUESTIONS FOR MODS | BOSS BATTLE PARTICIPATION CHECK-IN THREAD

☆ BATTLE THREAD WITH ARCHIE ☆ BATTLE THREAD WITH MAXIE ☆

☆ THE TEAM LEADERS MEET ☆

Comments

Team Magma Boss Battle

[pokestars]

[Today is a good day.

To say that everything has gone as planned would be a gross overstatement, of course, as any rational person would be capable of telling you; there were unexpected factors adding themselves to the equation, and the entire situation had become unstable in ways that were ultimately neither favorable nor ideal – really, any rational five-year-old would be able to tell you that yesterday had not gone well.

But today the earth shakes, and Groudon's power pulses through the land like the world's lifeblood itself, and while the battlefield isn't what he'd expected all those months ago, it's everything he'd hoped for.

Here is where it ends. It's not Kalos, but in some ways it's better. It's closer, more intimate, the way that true rivalries should end; it's surely going to be a shame to crush Team Aqua as thoroughly as he intends to, but some things just can't be helped, and it's hardly his fault that Archie insists on being both objectively and empirically wrong.

He takes a brief while to regard the battlefield, to study it, to get a feel for it (outside of the sheer power of it, the energy, the vibrations of those crystals) before advancing toward it; surely those unforeseen factors will be making themselves known again today, all variables to be resolved, but he doesn't seem troubled by it, speaking to those nearest him as he goes.]

Waste as little time as possible on Team Aqua; ensure that we can keep the high ground, but don't allow yourselves to be distracted too far.

[His words are quiet but authoritative; there's an energy pulsing through them too, strong and jagged as the mountain peaks behind them.]

What we're doing is a magnificent undertaking – for the further advancement of humankind and Pokémon both! Those who would stand in our way, who would oppose such noble goals...teach them consequences. Defeat is their only option – let's give them what they seek, shall we?

[And he's confident in demeanor when he approaches the battleground proper, his strides long and his gestures sharp as he rakes one of his hands back through his hair; when his expression shifts it's equally sharp, the smile closer to baring teeth than anything pleasant as Groudon and Kyogre battle. But then it's gone just as quickly as it appeared, his features shifting into something decidedly more impassive.

His gaze, however, remains bright and alive behind the soft glint of his glasses.

Today is a good day, and it only looks to get better by the end.]

The power of Groudon and the earth itself is with us - nothing will be allowed to stand in our way!

[pipers_son]

Mate, I think a whole fair buncha people 'ave been provin' ya wrong all day.

[Joker's words are accompanied by the heavy wingbeats of Torch the Charizard- he's elected to skip all the Grunts by way of Fly. They had their turn yesterday, and honestly? He's tired of them all, especially since they didn't know as much as he'd hoped.]

[But this guy? This guy has the annoying sort of arrogance Joker is more than a little familiar with, the kind that comes from being in charge and thinking that makes you a little more special than everyone else. There's also the fact that he looks like the prime example of a pencil pusher with that get up, which just adds to Joker's assumption.]

[And if he's in charge, maybe he'll have better answers to questions like "Why the bleedin' hell is my Charizard spikier" and "What the sweet tits is that enormous thing behind you". Especially that last one, as just the sight of it when it had appeared had gotten Joker's heart pumping. Run the hell away had been going through his mind, but yet here he is. Landing down with his feet balanced on Torch's shoulder and arm while his one good hand is gripped tight around her head protrusions. He's not particularly sure of this battle, but he does know one thing: This is his home now and he won't let interlopers fuck it up.]

[He's not afraid to punch a nerd, Maxie, fuckin' bring it. Redhead alliance doesn't count here.]

If I beat ya, will ya tell me more 'bout what the sweet hell is goin' on here?

[And then, with a nod to Torch, the sun's heat seems to get more intense. Hope you wanted a nice Sunny Day for your big battle, Maxie.]

[pokestars]

If you beat me...?

[His gaze flicks up rather pointedly toward the Sunny Day, but if he's bothered he doesn't show it; quite to the contrary, since that's exactly what he wanted.

Perhaps you'll be more easily handled than he'd thought; perhaps not. That's where the interest comes in, and oh, this is looking interesting.

For the time being, however, he finds one of his Pokéballs and tosses it out in front of him; it's either a very idle gesture or a very restrained one, it's a bit difficult to tell for people not familiar with him in the least.]

You'll get exactly what you earn. No more, no less.

[...And that...is a Houndoom you're going to be facing off against, looks like. Seems he's been supplementing his team a bit during the off-season.]

[pipers_son]

[Works out great for everyone then, doesn't it?]

[The appearance of the Houndoom doesn't seem to deter either trainer or Pokemon. In fact, Torch just seems to get more excited, her tail whipping around dangerously behind her. Joker skips away from it casually even as he chatters on.]

Then it looks like we'll have ta work extra hard, eh? Lessee who's more fired up.

[Torch doesn't need anymore prompting than that, opening her maw and spewing out Flamethrower to really light up the field.]

[aufsassig]

[It's October 30th, and by the looks of things, someone's gone to all the trouble of orchestrating the end of the fucking world for Schuldig's birthday. He's almost touched, really, and that's why for a while he doesn't really participate in the battle at all; it's dangerous as hell (and some might say outright suicidal) to be up on the rooftop of the Elite Four's house when the Legendaries make their appearance, but he's got his Alakazam with him and he's tossing one of those pretty little stones from the basement up into the air so it drops straight back down into his palm, and he's never seen anything like these color-coded monsters lurching forth to fill the sky with energy and fire but all things considered, he half-thinks he kind of wants one.

Maybe it's the recognition that no one really dies here that's making him reckless. It's plain to see that a single blast from one of those things would incinerate him in an instant, so why worry? The worst that could happen is that he'd miss out on what's looking to be an incredibly interesting show, and none of this is his battle so he's quite content to remain a spectator and simply watch the cataclysm unfold before his eyes.

Quite content, that is, save one whim that crosses his mind.

Laughing to himself, he rests a hand on his Alakazam's shoulder and directs her with a silent mental order; in a flash, they're gone from the roof, only to reappear a short distance from the man in the hideous turtleneck that would make even Aya Fujimiya cringe. Of the two, the one in blue admittedly seems like he's much more fun — but then, Schuldig's always been a little partial to men in glasses.

Briskly, he digs out his PokeGear with one hand and raises the other in amicable greeting, as though they were standing on a boardwalk and not, you know, hanging out in the mountains with a monstrosity of a hellbeast looming overhead.]

'Scuse me!

[Isn't he charming.]

I can see you're a little busy right now, sorry about that, but would you mind taking a picture for me?

[pokestars]

[...Very charming indeed. What in the world are you - ]

...A picture of what?

[Just let him get the important question out of the way first.]

[aufsassig]

I was thinking this big...what's it called? Your big hulking red thing up here, Super Ultron Lavaburst Kaiju McHellbeast. Maybe me standing next to it?

[He shrugs a little.]

I mean, if that's okay. It won't get scared of the flash, will it?

[unkinder]

[For a while there, it's unclear if Nagi was going to approach either Archie or Maxie at all. He could see Groudon and Kyogre battling one another in the distance- you'd have to be blind to miss that- and that alone is nearly enough to command one's full attention. Not only that, the strange stones from the building had been reacting with the crystals themselves, and now he stands as a pale comparison to the regal Mega Gardevoir standing at his side. Where she once was reeling with discomfort from the power of the crystals, she now seems to hold herself with an air of disdain for everything happening around her, staring up at Maxie with a gaze as hard as her trainer's. The way that Maxie carries himself is familiar in a way that Nagi can't ignore, even if he wanted to.

So he watches him quietly for a while, saying and doing nothing. He has no heroic speech to give to tell him what he's doing is wrong, nor is he sending his Pokemon out to fight him immediately. Instead, his eyes briefly turn to the hulking Pokemon in the distance and remain there as he finally talks, but his attention seems to be on them rather than Maxie himself.]

Those Pokemon. The force of their battling could destroy this place.

Couldn't it?

[Really, if you wanted to be optimistic about total destruction, it's safe to say they could destroy far more than that if left unchecked. But, you know. Gotta start somewhere.]

[pokestars]

No one asked you to be here, boy.

[The response is prompt; the disdain emanating from that Mega Gardevoir is mirrored in his eyes.]

What we're doing is for the benefit of everyone, this region included. You chose to be here, to oppose us. So be it, and as such I won't be blamed for anything that happens to the lot of you today - what we do is for the glory of Team Magma, and for the rest of the world.

[unkinder]

I'm sure.

[He responds calmly, finally looking away from the Pokemon and back at Maxie. The Gardevoir doesn't move, but her expression seems to tighten a bit at his words.]

I suppose we will see how beneficial your being here will be once all of this is over.

[Because, really, nobody asked you to be here, either.]

It seems that you're too busy fighting one another to gain much ground.

[sitdownbecider]

[You know what, Archie? Today is a good day. After a day of thoroughly trashing your underlings, having a good night sleep in the house that you failed to capture, and lifting a fortune's worth of battle items from the stuck-up Elite Four? Applejack is in a particularly good mood. And today? Today she's going to bring down a god.

There's a funny thing she noticed, about Groudon. Everywhere it went, the sunlight burned hot and bright. It was brilliant-- blinding, really, and it was perfect. Perfect for the sweet little smooth-skinned Venusaur that was now collecting that intense sunlight. Her leaves glowed bright, her flower brimming with energy. She stood ready, collecting all her body could hold.]

Alright, Blossom. Give it all y'got!

[With a champion's roar, she unleashed the sunlight with a powerful Solar Beam, the strongest she could muster. She cared little for Archie, he was just another grunt as far as she was concerned. No, this beam was headed straight for Groudon, himself. The energy was resounding, the concentrated sunlight heating the air itself, and for a moment, Applejack thought she felt the stirring of the small round stone stuffed in her pocket.]

[pokestars]

[Well, Archie is technically over there, but either way, Maxie isn't going to be pleased about things assaulting Groudon; perhaps more importantly, Groudon is not going to be pleased about things attacking Groudon, if the sudden harsh shaking of the ground in this immediate vicinity is any indication.

...That said, Maxie is definitely not a grunt, and the fact that he's not even going to question before sending Crobat out to defend his patron deity over there is going to prove that quickly enough.

And that would be Air Slash, Blossom, it's not going to be pretty when it lands.]

[sitdownbecider]

[Oh please, you think she's taken the time to learn your names? Which is totally exactly what happened, yep.

The Air Slash lands on the distracted Blossom, with force enough to stagger her and halt her sunny assault. Applejack is quick to respond, her countless hours training kicking in. However, she does not recall Blossom into her ball. No, she responds by standing between Blossom and the attacking Crobat.]

Last I heard, trainers were supposed t'challenge each other before attackin'.

[soundmind]

[Great, another megalomaniac that thinks what he's doing is for the good of the world.

...How exactly is causing a bunch of earthquakes for the good of the world???]

Okay, back where I'm from this would be defined as "ecoterrorism."

[The Blastoise at her side, not mega-evolved but still ready to scrap, punches its fist into the ground in concurrence.]

I mean, is it all right if I ask what exactly you're hoping to accomplish here? Because it looks like you've just caused property damage and distress for a lot of Pokemon.

[pokestars]

[Yep! Just can't escape them around here, it seems.

However, if she's not going to attack straight-out and wants to ask him questions, he's not going to attack her unprovoked; he at least has the decorum to hold off if she's not actually doing anything of note.]

What we've done to this place is miniscule combined to what we can do for the rest of the world - once Team Magma emerges victorious and the threat of Team Aqua has been nullified, any contributions that have been made by this region, willing or not, will be repaid.

[enjoymyatelier]

[From what Kayneth had observed of Team Magma as he'd fought his way through, his team didn't exactly have an advantage against them; quite the opposite, really. However... even though that was the case, he didn't particularly feel the need to double back to face off against Team Aqua instead, because quite honestly, he didn't feel that either were providing that much of a challenge and he may as well enjoy himself while preventing some sort of catastrophe.

So here he was, flanked by his team of six who only seemed very slightly battered from the trek up and were outfitted with several items he only very slightly shamefully pilfered from the Elite Four's residence along with a shiny stone from the basement that he was keeping on his person in case it turned out to be important. AT... AT LEAST HE INTENDED TO GIVE THEM BACK... HOPEFULLY HE WOULDN'T RUIN THEM

...BUT ANYWAY, he cocks an eyebrow at Maxie, trying to seem very slightly less awed by that huge thing than he actually was. Well, he'd encountered legends before, but they usually weren't quite that absurdly huge... but really, everything had its weaknesses, didn't it?

He would just be as smug and above it all as usual, because that was the El-Melloi way and certainly wasn't a recipe for disaster at all!]

Really, any second-rate hack can summon a being of legend and have a modicum of control over it. It takes genuine talent to be able to actually get anywhere without crashing and burning, and given what I've seen so far, I'd say you're firmly in the ---

[AND THEN HIS AMPHAROS SHOVES HIM ASIDE BECAUSE SHUT UP, BLONDIE, SHE'S FEELING THE MOMENT]

--- Gloria, I swear to ---

[SORRY SHE CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THIS MEGA EVOLUTION

AH, YES, KAYNETH, YOU ARE SPEECHLESS OVER HER GLORIOUS METAL HAIRDO

GAZE UPON IT

GAZE UPON IT, BOTH OF YOU NERDS, AND FEEL INFERIOR]

[pokestars]

[...oh my god.

Well, if nothing else that entire incident is going to get Maxie's attention, that's for sure - both because that certainly is a Mega Evolution, isn't it, and because holy damn sir learn to control your Pokémon, do you have any idea what you're doing - ]

I'd imagine you have plenty of...personal experience with second-rate hacks, wouldn't you.

But if you'd like to doubt my talent, I have no problem proving you both objectively and empirically wrong.

[ossifragant]

Earth versus water, huh?

[The man looks like the sort of person Greed would either hate or push in just the right direction that they would get along perfectly fine. As it is, though... well, if this is going to put his lifestyle in danger, he's not going to stand for it.

If anyone was going to destroy this place, it was going to be Greed himself, not this nerdy looking guy with that... whatever the hell kind of animal that thing is. He's not sure he actually wants to fight it, but if he has to maybe he can at least plink away enough to distract him and his gigantic Pokemon before running the hell away.]

You know, if you wanted to rebuild the world the way you see fit, there are much easier ways to do it than to summon a giant lizard to do your bidding.

[pokestars]

[Maxie is just attracting all the chatty ones today, isn't he - not that he minds, granted, because if you guys want to talk to him while actually battling Archie, he's not going to complain about you people doing the work for him.

...That said. He'll just adjust those glasses a bit while he tries to work out exactly what you're going on about.]

You sound as though you're just dying to share ideas. Are you really going to make me ask?

[lieutenantantichrist]

[There's one rule to a brawl like this: if somebody's giving orders, shut him up.

Blake's eyes gleam and he taps his fist against his other palm, like breaking in a baseball glove. Today has been a lousy fucking day, but he might have the chance to punch an asshole in glasses.]

You. This is all your bullshit, isn't it?

[New vigor flows into his beat and tired muscles. He treads forward, eyes locked on the bastard.]

I don't know what the fuck you did, but you're gonna wish you didn't.

[Blake comes to a stop right in front of him, but he doesn't throw a punch. Instead, he snaps his fingers and points at the monster.

This is the day his water-type's been waiting for since he was a tiny Krabby.]

Get 'im, Omar.

[pokestars]

[Oh, look. Another one who appears to rely on brute strength and very little else; Archie would probably love you, can't you go hassle him for a while?

That said, however, Maxie is quick to send out one of his Houndooms that he's been leading most of his battles with today.]

Thunder Fang.

[Clearly, he's a little unimpressed.]

I'm sorry, but I don't have time to play around with you; the lot of you obviously have no understanding of what you're doing - opposing us is a fatal error for all of you.

[badabooms]

Hey, asshole!

[That sure is an angry ten year old and hus Tyrunt standing in front of Maxie. Challenging the guy with the giant lava-beast at his command is about the worst idea in the world for someone who's strongest Pokémon is about level 20, but never let it be said that good judgment was one of Impmon's better characteristics.]

[Besides, he's totally prepared for this. Both he AND his dino are wearing Rocky Helmets today. There's a keystone tucked into his hat pocket, too, even if he had no idea what to do with it.]

I dunno what the hell you think you're doin', but it's pissing me off!

Runt!

[Impmon holds an arm out, blocking his overenthusiastic dinosaur from playing with charging down Maxie. His other arm brandishes a Pokéball like a hand grenade.]

You're facing my partner. Go! Taiyuki!

Karpkarp karp Magikarp-

[Yes, he did just throw out a Magikarp. There is a very sharp learning curve ahead.]

[pokestars]

[...did you just.

It takes Maxie a while to work out exactly what to do with this; he's been challenged, obviously, and saying no to trainer battles isn't something that one does around here, but at the same time...]

...Really.

[That doesn't mean he has to engage right away, and linefacing is as good a response as any.]

Do put your toys away, will you?

[dreamsofahero]

Normally, Sion and Ryner would be teamed up to double-team (pun probably not intended) their foe. Under the circumstances today, however, with there being two distinct enemies, they eventually decided on the "divide and conquer" approach. Which was why about the same time a certain mage was charging on the back of a mega-absol to attempt to punch out the Aqua leader, Sion was riding on his arcanine, his own absol in mega form beside him, making for the fellow who appeared to be calling the shots for the goons in red.

"Dusk! Now!"

Sion gave the command immediately rather than waste his breath commenting on the villainous rant, and the mega-absol promptly responded by charging straight at Maxie. Either to knock him down with a headbutt or, perhaps, as Sion guessed was more likely, be intercepted by hastily sent out opposing pokemon. Whichever the case, Sion fully intended to keep the initiative as much as possible.

[pokestars]

Maxie can appreciate the strategy involved, if nothing else; due to the way type advantages play out, he's fully aware that Team Aqua usually has the high ground (pun entirely intended) in terms of type advantage and battlefield, and as such he's used to having to pick and choose his battles himself.

He's not quite so given to this battle that he's completely unaware of his surroundings, however; the opposing Pokémon in question is met with what appears to be a...Magcargo? That certainly is a Magcargo.

It seems he's been augmenting his own team lately; he's had a while, and he wasn't about to come into this battle unprepared.

"Earth Power."

That ground beneath your Absol's feet is going to become rather unstable, Sion, hopefully you don't mind.