Decided to go a step further than MSPaint.
This is the tale of Antleer, mighty Stantler of Route 37, Ghostslayer. When he was found by the traveler
MAJORA, he proved quite a challenging foe. At the time, Poltergas the Gastly was in training, and MAJORA did not expect to any ghost-type Pokemon in the wild, even so close to Ecruteak. Little did he know, the wild Stantler of the area were a goddamn surprising lot. They'd jump out of the bushes at a moment's notice, scare the bajeezus out of you with Astonish, and then simply run away. It was quite an effective tactic against Poltergas, so Dandeflyon the Hoppip was sent in to cull the threat. After a few hard fought battles (Every battle involving Dandeflyon was hard-fought.), MAJORA decided that the next Stantler that attacked would become the sixth member of the much-battered party. After a ludicrous number of tackles, a stun spore, and amazing dodging luck, Dandeflyon had worn down the Stantler enough to catch it. Upon its capture, the Pokedex revealed the source of the constant terror exuded by the deer-creatures: their horns surrounded small spheres that, when combined with the ovoid nature of the horn gaps, resembled eyes. Terrifying ones. And so was the name Antleer bestowed upon this proud creature.
Much time passed, as MAJORA's team wandered the world in training for a confrontation with Morty of Ecruteak. Antleer actually had a difficult time keeping up, as between a mediocre Stomp and a widely-resisted Astonish, there was little he could do to the native Pokemon, especially other Normal types. Everything changed when MAJORA arrived back in Ecruteak and entered the Gym there. He had already used his single credit for the Pokemon Center there, so not all of his Pokemon were at peak strength, though most had rested well at the last Center they'd visited.
It was a foul place, cloudy with some sort of evil mist. Elderly trainers clung to the lit areas along the path, training with their ghostly companions. The first had five Gastly.
Five. And each only a few levels under the average party level. Craquadile was sent out first, and he almost slew one in a single blow. The return shot from the Gastly struck him in a vital place, however, and he was laid low. Bleeding and on the verge of death, another had to take his place.
Their special attacks were too much for Broulder the Mighty, their numbers too risky for Poltergas the Cunning, their speed too fast for Torpir the Torpid, their existence too great for Dandeflyon the Extant. One could lay them all to waste. Antleer leapt into the fray, the ghastly Gastly fleeing in terror from his mighty visage. None could stop him as he literally scared every ghost in the building unto death. Until Morty. Antleer's PP was low, and so he devoured MAJORA's final Leppa berry. It would have to be enough.
It was not enough. Sure, Morty's Gastly went down quickly. The lesser of the two Haunters went down easily enough. The greater, however, was resilient enough to take two attacks, but kept trying to use its ghostly tongue to Lick the oblivious Antleer, who was immune to such attacks. Morty had faith in it, and recovered its health with a potion. Fair enough, both combatants were entitled to three items in a league match. Another Astonish, another Lick. With 5 Astonishes remaining, it seemed Antleer would sweep Morty before him. The lights dimmed, and MAJORA was astonished to see the Haunter driving a nail through its own body. It had laid a Curse on Antleer. In four turns, Antleer would be dead, unless he escaped the battle. He decided to stick around and finish off the Haunter before escaping. Morty's Gengar appeared, its glaring red eyes fixed upon Antleer. Twice did Antleer attempt to scare it, and twice the Gengar remained standing, battered as it was. It was about time for Antleer to get out of there when the worst happened - Gengar used Mean Look. Its terrible eyes gazed into Antleer's, and it was all he could do to keep attacking. But that Leppa berry had not been enough. Rounding errors had allowed Antleer to survive with a single hit point, but he could not escape, and he could not finish the Gengar off. The Curse claimed him.
Dumbstruck, MAJORA had few options. All of the weaknesses his party had against the Gastly would be multiplied tenfold against this monster. It was faster, it was stronger, and it was able to take more punishment than any Gastly ever could. Torpir was simply too slow. The incoming Shadow Ball would have slain him instantly. Broulder was strong, but MAJORA doubted any move asides from Magnitude could seriously harm the Gengar, and it was levitating. No dice there. Dandeflyon was fast, but couldn't actually hurt the damn thing. Craquadile might have been fast enough, but earlier paralysis and his wounds in the first fight of the gym meant he'd be a sitting duck. It would have to come down to Poltergas. At level 24, he was still a Gastly. Not even close to a match for the level 25 Gengar. So it was there a cunning plan was hatched: Dandeflyon would try to paralyze the monster as quickly as it could with Stun Spore, and if it could not move, he would escape so that Poltergas could hammer it before it could strike back. The initial stage went well - the paralysis dust went into effect immediately, slowing down the Gengar's movements... but not stopping them. It lobbed another Shadow Ball at Dandeflyon, who went down as readily as a leaf in an autumn gale. At least Poltergas had a free switch - and with the Choice Specs purchased by MAJORA's mother (using his savings, naturally.), a mighty blow was struck. Antleer's sacrifice had not been in vain, and the Fog Badge was obtained.
Poltergas immediately evolved into a Haunter and learned Shadow Ball from Morty's TM, which made him a lot more useful afterwards.
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Topic: Barbarossa's X-TREME Pokemon Journey - A Close Encounter! (Read 9620 times)