7-B [Path to the Throne] Tournament: Pupitar vs Minori Rokujou

[GoldenScorpions]

[Path to the Throne] 7-B tournament
Round 1 [REDO]​

Characters	Attack Potency	Votes
Minori Rokujou (Maken-ki!)	31.1 Megatons
Pupitar (Pokémon)	45.88 Megatons	7 (@Psychomaster35, @Ret_of_Guys, @Epiccheev, @DontTalkDT, @Kisaragi_Megumi, @Popted2, @GoldenScorpions)
Inconclusive

• The match takes place at Mont Saint-Michel, during high tide. A barrier seals the island 200 meters away.
• Starting distance is 10 meters, on the sandy part at the bottom of the island town.
• Speed is equalized
• Characters have their standard equipment.
• No knowledge of each other. No civilians or vehicles in the area.
• Stat amps will cap at 100 Megatons. Stat reduction will cap at 6.3 Megatons
• Victory is achieved under what is defined by SBA.
  • Matches have a time limit of 12 hours. Past that, any decisive immobilization or incapacitation for more than 10 seconds becomes a victory condition.

 

[Epiccheev]

Pupitar seems to have better stat amps and more versatility for now

 

[Psychomaster35]

Minori is only slightly stronger and more durable by a few hundred kilotons, but then it just changes once Pupitar applies its stat amps, where one stage alone boosts its particular stat by 50%. And even if we don’t account for Mystery Dungeon in strategizing its abilities, wild Pokémon have been smart enough to apply a stat reduction at some point.

Anyhow, voting Pupitar. Simply put, it is more versatile especially with better stat amps that stack together up to 6 stages at max (While also having options to reduce Minori’s stats), it outranges especially with Earthquake, and being a Rock/Ground type will mean Minori’s fire-based explosions will only be 1/4 effective. Sandstorm would especially make things worse as Minori will be taking bits of damage every turn.

 

[Imaginym]

Minori is only slightly stronger and more durable by a few hundred kilotons, but then it just changes once Pupitar applies its stat amps, where one stage alone boosts its particular stat by 50%. And even if we don’t account for Mystery Dungeon in strategizing its abilities, wild Pokémon have been smart enough to apply a stat reduction at some point.

Doesn't this tournament limit stats to like 53 Megatons or max 7-B, which is 100 Megatons?

Could somewhat contact: @GoldenScorpions ?

Are participants allowed to boost to above the enrollment limit AP?

and being a Rock/Ground type will mean Minori’s fire-based explosions will only be 1/4 effective. Sandstorm would especially make things worse as Minori will be taking bits of damage every turn.

Ground types do not resist Fire. Ground-type moves ARE Super-Effective against Fire-types, but I'm uncertain Minori is innately "Fire-type" like a Pokemon.
Rock-types do resist Fire, though.

 

[Ret_of_Guys]

Pupitar outspeeds, Pupitar's stat amps are better, Pupitar resists Minori's fire attacks and Minori's martial arts open the risk of Pupitar's 33% flinch chance, 12% chance to counterattack and if we include Conquest abilities, 1/8th of HP chip with every attack. Pupitar also outranges and has a large amount of ranged AOE attacks such as Earthquake and Rock Slide, as well as Sandstorm dealing even more chip damage.

Voting Pupitar, this is at least much easier than Tatsumi.

 

[Kisaragi_Megumi]

We should wait for Spinoirr first, i'm sure Minori has something to edge Pupitar here

 

[Spinoirr]

Tbh I have no idea what she can do other then what's on her profile as I just picked her via scrolling through 7-B's

 

[Imaginym]

Tbh I have no idea what she can do other then what's on her profile as I just picked her via scrolling through 7-B's

Doesn't this tournament limit stats to like 53 Megatons or max 7-B, which is 100 Megatons?

Could somewhat contact: @GoldenScorpions ?

Are participants allowed to boost to above the enrollment limit AP?

 

[Kisaragi_Megumi]

Tbh I have no idea what she can do other then what's on her profile as I just picked her via scrolling through 7-B's

Bruh

 

[Epiccheev]

Stat manipulating gas rock FRA

 

[GoldenScorpions]

Doesn't this tournament limit stats to like 53 Megatons or max 7-B, which is 100 Megatons?

Are participants allowed to boost to above the enrollment limit AP?

Yeah, stat amps cap at 100 Megatons and stat reduction caps at 6.3 Megatons. So, within 7-B

 

[Psychomaster35]

Fair enough

Anyways, score is 0-3-0

 

[DontTalkDT]

Oh hey, Maken-ki. Been a while since I thought of that verse. Sadly this isn't best girl Shiria (who would not qualify anyway).
From what I remember (and it isn't much, I admit) Minori was the brute force type. A strong and skilled one, but still.
So I think Pupitar probably takes this due to better techniques or stats. (So I will give my analysis on why Pupitar doesn't spam stat moves another time)

 

[Ret_of_Guys]

Pupitar didn't win to spamming stat moves, Pupitar won due to IQ skills giving it passive +2 which is already near cap and other stuff like that against Tatsumi
Pupitar doesn't even need to stat buff or use IQ skills to beat Minori, it wins by spamming AOE attacks while Sandstorm obscures Pupitar and chips Minori.

 

[GoldenScorpions]

Do Minori's shockwaves require her to hit something for them to generate, or can she cause them by punching the air? If it's the latter, she could potentially block some of Pupitar's ranged attacks from a distance?

 

[DontTalkDT]

Pupitar won due to IQ skills giving it passive +2

Jokes on you, PMD uses different multipliers for stages and a +2 is only a 30% increase. In fact, a +10 (the highest) is just a 85% increase.
(For reference)
One more reason using PMD in composite is bad lol

 

[Ret_of_Guys]

Jokes on you, PMD uses different multipliers for stages and a +2 is only a 30% increase. In fact, a +10 (the highest) ist just a 85% increase.
(For reference)
One more reason using PMD in composite is bad lol

It's not like Pupitar's beating vivi anyways
Also Pupitar had a passive -2 in Defense so it all cancels out in the end

 

[DontTalkDT]

Do Minori's shockwaves require her to hit something for them to generate, or can she cause them by punching the air? If it's the latter, she could potentially block some of Pupitar's ranged attacks from a distance?

Not 100% sure if her punches just generate shockwaves without hitting something, but her explosion stuff should be able to do it.



Here's her fighting in case anyone wanted to see a scene. (Sadly can't find an anime clip)

 

[GoldenScorpions]

That was a good showing. She managed to sneak up behind Ouken and axe-kick him, then used the environment to her advantage to take him by surprise with an impromptu trap.

 

[GoldenScorpions]

Something to keep in mind is the location, and they start next to the water.

 

[Kisaragi_Megumi]

Pupitar FRA then

 

[Ret_of_Guys]

Pupitar really doesn't want to go into the water, so Pupitar probably have to use its jets to propel itself inland before it does anything. Minori might be able to bait Pupitar in the water, if it decides to use Thrash, although that depends on if Pupitar can see Minori through the sandstorm.

 

[GoldenScorpions]

From what I read on the previous Tatsumi match, it was said that Pupitar is likely to try to stat amp itself or something first? Either that or settin a sandstorm. That would take a couple seconds.
10 meters is nothing at MHS speeds, so Minori could in theory get to Pupitar like she did against Ouken, and shockwave him, use fire or launch him into the water. Minori does have superior LS for that.
Also, since Minori is a trained martial artist, wouldn't her physical attacks count as Fighting type, something Pupitar is weak against?
From the video, Minori showed good agility and acrobatics. The location being what it is, it lends itself well to characters with good maneuverability, which Minori probably has more of.

 

[Ret_of_Guys]

Pupitar resists fire, and if the shockwaves are caused Minori punching Pupitar then Pupitar's IQ skills kick in. Minori stands the best chance if she throws Pupitar into the water first, although she might not choose that. Pupitar could get out of the water by using its gas jets, but that would take some time. Also, would Minori count as a Fire/Fighting Type?

The barrier is also a question, how far would Pupitar bounce off it if Minori dodges a Thrash and Pupitar jets itself into the barrier?

 

[Imaginym]

From what I read on the previous Tatsumi match, it was said that Pupitar is likely to try to stat amp itself or something first?

Gonna repost what I said, Pokedex entry quoting included.:

Silver	Even sealed in its shell, it can move freely. Hard and fast, it has outstanding destructive power.
Crystal	It will not stay still, even while it's a pupa. It already has arms and legs under its solid shell.

Ruby	Pupitar creates a gas inside its body that it compresses and forcefully ejects to propel itself like a jet. The body is very durable - it avoids damage even if it hits solid steel.

Ultra Sun	This troublesome Pokémon can't wait to evolve, so it relieves its stress by wildly propelling itself around using compressed gas.
Ultra Moon	This dangerous pupa thrashes about. Its shell is as hard as bedrock, containing its gradually forming new body within.

Scarlet	This pupa flies around wildly by venting with great force the gas pressurized inside its body.

TL;DR - What little of its behaviour is described calls it "troublesome" & mentions it can move freely, even sealed in its shell (& in fact has arms & legs under the shell.), thrashes about, won't stay still, & explicitly can't wait to evolve.

Spoiler: My opinion about what moves are more in-character

Sadly, Pupitar's appearances in other media like the anime & manga are very sparse, with few major appearances, & most of them being trainers' Pupitar.

I could maybe see Pupitar doing Scary Face early on, given its descriptions like: "A horrific look that scares the victim, sharply reducing the target's Speed." & "The user frightens the target with a scary face to harshly lower its Speed stat." & such.

But frankly, given Pupitar being stated to be eager to evolve, dangerous, being stated to thrash about, I doubt it'd sit about glaring very long. It explicitly can't stay still.

Dragon Dance is in character, being that it's described as a "The user vigorously performs a mystic, powerful dance that raises its Attack and Speed stats.", since Pupitar explicitly can't stay still, so it'd probably readily do something vigorous.
Screeching might also be similarly in-character, since it does seem like the sort to express itself so... intensely.

Earthquake might be in-character, especially since Tyranitar casually does them & Pupitar explicitly can topple a mountain with its thrashing, but more in-character moves would likely be Thrash & Outrage. Hyper Beam might also be in-character, but especially Stomping Tantrum.
Notably, the latter says:
"Driven by frustration, the user attacks the target. If the user's previous move has failed, the power of this move doubles."

Stomping Tantrum's power doubling even happens if the previous move simply missed, rather than failing to affect.
1 of Pupitar's move with a similar effect is Payback:
"The user stores power, then attacks. This move's power is doubled if the user moves after the target."

& Earthquake might be in-character if it just wants to hit everything all around it. Sandstorm MIGHT be in-character if it's rampaging mood makes it want to do environmental destruction, but otherwise, unsure why it'd use Sandstorm.

It has other moves like Focus Energy, Iron Head, Crunch, Smack Down, Stone Edge, etc. but it's a little dubious how likely it is to use them.

Pupitar also has several IQ Skills. The ones that I think might be relevant are:

Course Checker Refrains from attacks that would be blocked by walls or allies.
Item Catcher Can catch a Throwing Item and keep it for its own.
Brick-Tough Adds 10 to max HP. Cannot be turned off.
(Presumably, Brick-Tough is analogous to having a small amount of extra Stamina.)
Concentrator Raises Accuracy by 1 but decreases Evasion by 1.
(May help against Tatsumi trying to dodge.)
Practice Swinger Raises Attack and Special Attack by 1 on the turn after a missed attack.
(Any time Tatsumi dodges, Pupitar's next attack will hit harder, & it has several AoE moves.)
Aggressor Raises both Attack stats by 1 each, but decreases both Defense stats by 1 each.
(More offenses. In theory, Pupitar could compensate for this with Iron Defense, but it's skeptical it'd do this.)
Counter Basher Lowers Defense by 1, and sometimes sends the damage taken back to the foe if the foe is adjacent.
(In gameplay, this is a 12% chance to counterattack adjacent foe for 100% of damage taken. Which'd likely hurt Tatsumi a lot.)
Clutch Performer Raises Evasion by 2 when HP is below 25%.
Extra Striker Sometimes strikes again following an attack.
Intimidator Sometimes causes attacking foe to cringe.
(As mentioned earlier, Cringing is the Mystery Dungeon Game's version of the Flinch status, where, in gameplay, the victim takes no action during the turn they were afflicted with the status. Could definitely create an opening against Tatsumi. Bulbapedia says in detail about it:
"33% chance to cancel an incoming close-ranged attack, regardless of the direction the attacker is facing. PP is still deducted from the attacker. Attackers with Inner Focus are unaffected. Does not affect line-of-sight moves, room-range moves, or thrown items. Can affect allies if they target the Intimidator with a close-ranged move for any reason.")

Presuming it's also in IQ Group C in Red & Blue Rescue Team like it is in the later games (It's a little unclear.), it should also have some IQ Skills found in that group in Red & Blue Rescue Team (Or maybe it's not in that game as opposed to Bulbapedia not documenting it?):

IQ

bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

All-Terrain Hiker

The Pokémon gains the ability to walk on water, lava, and clouds.

Super Mobile

The Pokémon gains the ability to walk on water, lava, and clouds. It can also dig its way through walls.

Digging through walls with this skill does not increase belly consumption. Partners will tend to dig their own path so are better suited to All-Terrain Hiker.

Either that or settin a sandstorm. That would take a couple seconds.

Pardon my repeating myself, but:
Sandstorm MIGHT be in-character if it's rampaging mood makes it want to do environmental destruction, but otherwise, unsure why it'd use Sandstorm unless it thinks it needs the cover.

From the video, Minori showed good agility and acrobatics. The location being what it is, it lends itself well to characters with good maneuverability, which Minori probably has more of.

Depending on how the Gen 3 IQ Skills scenario is for Pupitar, it may have some good mobility of its own.
(Plus, Pupitar "wildly" flies about anyway by propelling itself like a rocket using pressurized gas. Honestly, maybe a CRT about it having (Limited) Flight should be done.)

 

[Popted2]

Pupitar FRA

 

[GoldenScorpions]

I'll be voting for Pupitar, as well.

And that's grace.