Chapter 74: C074 - Jasmine vs Bugsy
"Semifinalist Jasmine certainly has her work cut out for her fighting two airborne bug pokemon with her ground pokemon lineup," Whitney said into her microphone when the introductions were over.
"Sure, but we've seen both her Excadrill and her Donphan use rock type moves to great effect this tournament. And, the heavy sandstorm they will likely use in the battle means her opponent Bugsy will have to be smart about finding the correct openings. After all, his pokemon are less tanky than Jasmine's," Clair countered with her opinion.
Pete stayed quiet at that because he was here more for colorful commentary than analysis. He had a critical eye for moves, so he could name them right when they are used, which a lot of commentators with lacking experience struggled with, and he knew a lot about pokemon abilities and typings.
"And the battle starts. Looks like Clair's insight was spot on, Donphan immediately used Sandstorm. Excadrill's Sand Rush and Sand Force abilities kicked in, and it immediately used the multi-attack Rock Blast in an attempt to catch Bugsy's pokemon off-guard," Pete said into his mic.
"Expecting such a move, Beedrill used Agility right off the bat and increased its speed enough to dodge. Scyther, however, seems to want to evasion tank the ranged attacks and used Double Team. We can see two after images in addition to the real pokemon. Bugsy is certainly a very promising trainer," Clair added.
"Oh, I hope Scyther can keep such a draining move up long enough for it to make a difference. Hopefully, they aren't on the backfoot for too long," Whitney said in worry.
"Oh? It looks like Beedrill has fallen back and uses Harden in rapid succession to bolster his defenses. Smart use of the battle start when Donphan and Excadrill aren't close yet," Pete described. "Oh? That gleam in its eyes looks like it used Laser Focus to increase the chances of a critical hit. Beedrills do have access to the ability Sniper for increased critical damage, so that move also made a lot of sense. Let's see why Jasmine's pokemon allowed Beedrill so much time for setup."
"'Seeing' is good. The Sandstorm increased in density and makes it very hard to see what Donphan and Excadrill are up to," Whitney complained.
"So they likely both used Sandstorm now," Clair added her opinion.
"Well, we're still seeing Rock Blasts coming out of the storm, but Scyther is doing an amazing job with the dodges. Not one hit yet."
"Is it smart to use the move while hidden in the sand? Scyther and Beedrill can pinpoint their location with that, defeating half the purpose of the storm," Whitney asked as she turned to Clair.
"Hmm, we've seen Jasmine's Excadrill use the dark move Fling with a jagged rock laying about in the arena earlier. It's reasonable to believe that it knows Hone Claws then and is currently setting up itself. With its secondary steel typing, it should have access to other setup moves like Iron Defense, too."
"And there it is, the first melee! Excadrill cut its setup short and used Dig to appear right below Scyther. With a big leap, it's aiming a Metal Claw aaaaaand misses!"
"The Rock Blasts have not stopped! It looks like Donphan is keeping the move together with Sandstorm, astonishing how well it uses rock type energy," Clair comments in admiration.
"Oooh, Scyther uses Air Slash, one of the few ranged attacks it probably knows to counter the exposed Excadrill in the air and lands the hit! It looks like it barely did any damage, though, because of the typing advantage. Excadrill lands and goes right back underground," Pete explained.
"After using Harden, Agility, and Laser Focus, it looks like Beedrill is out for some blood as well. It's rising high into the air above the Sandstorm and starts glowing a little," Whitney chimed in.
Seeing as she didn't seem to know what move the bug pokemon is about to unleash, Pete chimed in with, "Looks like this Beedrill knows Aerial Ace, certainly not a move any random Beedrill knows."
"Ah, while we were watching Beedrill's flight, Scyther was using Double Team with two afterimages and simultaneously used Laser Focus. Are they trying to use a pincer move on Donphan?"
"Nice bug pun, Clair," Whitney quipped with a giggle.
"And there they go! Beedrill dives down, and Scyther shoots forward!"
Most people in the audience held their breath, but just as Scyther reached the edge of the storm, Excadrill revealed itself from a hidden hole with a readied attack.
Pete was awed by Excadrill's wit and shouts, "Oooh, a boulder the size of Scyther itself shoots forward hidden from Beedrill's view! A point blank Rock Slide with no way to dodge! Excadrill follows up with a second Rock Slide on the flinched bug pokemon and Scyther faints!"
"Meanwhile, Beedrill lands a Poison Jab on Donphan together with the Aerial Ace move! It looks like the ground pokemon used a last second Defense Curl to avoid a critical strike to its face! The Sandstorm lessens and grants us visibility, but Beedrill already took plenty of damage, it looks like," Clair commented.
"And it won't let up on the curled up Donphan delivering what looks like the bug move Fell Stinger with its sting on the abdomen and the move Poison Sting with both arms," Pete added.
Whitney looked to him in contemplation as Beedrill flew back up to avoid a few Rock Blasts coming from Excadrill, "How do you know it was Poison Sting and not another Poison Jab, Pete? It looked the same to me."
"Poison Jab is more forceful, more physical. It's much faster in execution, and Poison Sting actually drips poison energy as it happens. The sting is more deliberate, as if calculating where best to poison the opponent."
Clair looked at Pete with an appreciative nod, and Whitney just smiled. She knew the difference but couldn't have put it as eloquently as Pete. But as the color commentator, she was doing rather well to have Pete explain the more technical aspect.
Clair lifted a brow at the happenings on the battlefield, "Oh? It looks like Donphan is angry at getting peppered with so many attacks and started Rollout! It's slowly picking up more speed as the Sandstorm, too, picks up speed again, concealing the movements of Donphan. Are Excadrill and Donphan planning to ground Beedrill to land the Rollout?"
Beedrill flew away from the Sandstorm and kept a decent distance from the ground to avoid the powerful moves of the two opponents. Things were looking dire for the bug pokemon, but it didn't admit defeat just yet.
All of a sudden, though, the ground shifted and formed a ramp pointing at Beedrill's location. It was a testament to the typing energy training the pokemon do on Pete's farm on a daily basis. Before Beedrill could react, Donphan shot out of the Sandstorm. It hit the ramp, and, like a car sized bullet, hit the bug pokemon flying in the air.
Both pokemon crashed on the ground as Donphan stopped the Rollout and looked to Beedrill, who was trying to beat its wings but failed with a pained screech.
Whitney, who should have been impartial, was over the moon for her friend's success and shouted into the microphone, "What a crazy combination! It looks like Beedrill's wings are no longer able to support flight! Bugsy forfeits, and the match is over! Jasmine Feelgood advances to the finals with a crazy doubles attack I have never seen before!"
As cheers rang through the stands and the two trainers balled their pokemon, a team of construction workers entered the battlefield to get rid of all the damage and sand this battle brought to it. It would take a while, so both trainers were invited to the commentators stand for an interview after the two took care of their pokemon with the help of a Nurse Joy who was attending.
Before Pete could congratulate his girlfriend on her victory, Bugsy shot forward with shining eyes and greeted the assistant professor on the stands, "Ah! Professor Lang! I wanted to speak with you for such a long time! I read your papers on the Yanma evolution and your 'move compendium'! I discovered the bug move Fury Cutter, which seems to be a signature move of my Scyther, and I was wondering if you could help me publish the discovery!? I would love it if we could share it with the world through TMs!"
"Hey, not a professor yet! Tell me about the move," Pete answered with a good natured chuckle.
All three women looked at the enthusiastic young man in wonder. He had just lost quite hard and was out of the tournament, but it didn't look like he minded much. The complete opposite was the case as it increasingly looked like Bugsy attended the tournament just to have a chance to meet with Pete.
The two completely forgot the interview and instead talked about bug pokemon and bug moves for three minutes before Clair coughed in her hand, "And congratulations to Jasmine for advancing into the finals."
The crowd laughed and cheered as Bugsy stiffened completely and turned to the giant screen that showed him talking to Pete like an excited kid. He forgot about the microphones and cameras and showed his nerdy side, which he usually hid.
Pete didn't mind, though, and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about them. Your knowledge on bug pokemon is worlds ahead of most. I'm sure if you keep it up, it isn't impossible for there to be a Professor Bug Bugsy in the future," Pete whispered while covering the mic and giving him a wink.
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