Part 19: Checkmate

Imakuni...?



Oh? Who am I, you ask? Don't you know me? 'Tis I, the Super Musical Star, Imakuni?! What? You say Imakuni? wears black? No way! Don't you know anything? I'm the one and only Imakuni?, and you can clearly see I wear red. You're saying you've seen a black version of me? Preposterous! I'm red! Don't try and dispute the facts! What? Would I like to play cards with you? Sure thing kid! I'm just itching to duel 'em all! 6 prize cards! I don't like short duels!



To challenge the ultimate being, we've created the ultimate deck! Now you could put all 4 Legendary cards in your deck and not use them, but where's the fun in that, so we're use two versions of each Legendary, should be pretty wonky, but you can spend some time to build them up since they're pretty bulky.



As you'd expect, Imakuni? uses some... interesting cards you can only find on GR Island, but I don't think we'll have too much trouble.



Chad Imakuni? card versus Virgin Bill card.



The Legendary play from hand effects will be pretty helpful. You know, if they work.



We're basically set up here, so let's go to town. We need 3-4 energies for our attacks, so it's gonna take a while, but once we get rolling, it's very difficult to stop.



Hey he got a prize card! Good for him!




Raging Thunder: Flip a coin. If tails, this attack does 30 damage to 1 of your Pokémon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance.)

Thunder Crash: Flip a coin. If heads, this attack does 20 more damage. If tails, this Pokémon does 20 damage to itself.

One of the new cards we'll be seeing is Vending Zapdos, which does a lot of damage, potentially to both sides! Takes a bit to get going, but can be more reliable than the actual Legendary card, you know, if you can survive the onslaught it can potentially deal back.

Red Imakuni?'s deck is similar to Black Imakuni?'s deck, y'all. All Psychic aside from Golduck, this time Dark Golduck, as well as some Colorless, in this case Meowth. His main draw is through Computer Error so he can get stuck very easily, but if he gets his Mr. Mime and Dark Hypno set up, he can do damage to all kinds of decks. Or confuse himself and get clowned on, either or.




Eh? I lost? Well... take this, then. When you see me next, I'll be even redder than I am now! I'm off to continue my vacation! I just love traveling, see you!

GR Castle



No more distractions, onto the Castle! Like his Black counterpart, yo, you can fight Red Imakuni? a few more times for more Promo cards, such as his Imakuni? card after 6 and 9 battles, getting you 4 copies, nice. Defeating him 3 and 6 times results in the Amnesia Slowpoke that we got trading unused energy in the last game, so not really worth it.



Ooh, you're hard, we'll be using the Legendary deck for the rest of the update, though it's kinda close to the Zapdos Scoop Up deck suggested by Chamale. It had no energy and had you playing Zapdos and Articuno over and over again to paralyze/do lots of damage to whatever unfortunate Basic is on the field, letting you win some games on the first turn, wow! Moltres is too good to have otherwise since I can usually procure energy for it, since we have to use it, but it was a cool idea regardless!




Poke Power: Aurora Veil: As long as this Pokémon is your Active Pokémon, prevent all effects of your opponent's attacks, including damage, done to each of your Benched Pokémon. This power cannot be used if this Pokémon is Asleep, Confused, or Paralyzed.

Ice Beam: Flip a coin. If heads, the Defending Pokémon is now Paralyzed.

Yeah get used to that... we're starting off with this Promo Articuno, which I transcribed anyway since the only English scan is a little blurry. Indeed, this was originally a Vending card that was translated into a Promo in official July 2002 Pokemon Leagues. being updated to just include "Special Condition" since Burn was now a thing. It's a nice bench blocker and can attack with enough coaxing, but it's honestly just worth its Poke Power alone.



I like to start off building up a Moltres since I can get energy for it, which isn't guaranteed for the other 3, to then start building the others up as I get Energy Search and Bills and whatnot.



Well this is miserable, let's switch, it's not like the opponent is really doing all that much.



We're 3 battles from the end of the game, but it seems the opponent loves getting stuck and unable to evolve things.



Looks like Moltres can sweep from here, but come on, where's the fun in that?



We'll use Legendary Articuno which does 40 damage to a random opponent, not consistent, but I need some variety, using the same Pokemon against poor dumb AI is just sad.



Oh hey he's able to whittle me down and get a prize card, nice!



Alright you've forced my hand, I'll use Legendary Zapdos, which does 70 damage to a random Pokemon on the field, also not very consistent, but we're so far ahead I can be a little frrrrrrisky.






Now that could've gone very poorly, but you just needed to believe in the liver of the Kuriboh or whatever and you'll be just fine. It's not too surprising Clay wasn't able to do much, since he has 4 different types and barely enough energy to go around, with 4 Bills and 3 Oaks he could probably get them easily enough, but it's having the right cards to get Dark Gloom, Dark Charmeleon, Dark Golduck or Dark Slowbro, the latter of which could've really helped him early, especially since its attack isn't all that. It can be a tricky deck to prepare for with the Legendary albatross around your neck, but the AI really struggles with more than 2 types of energy.



I won't lie. Whelp... I admit that you do have some strength. You may have won against me... but Allison is still here!! There's no way you'll beat her. You'll never make it to Villicci! Go on! It's time to fight Allison!

Clay, please step aside. Everything rests on my shoulders now.

Ahh...



The first rule is "Tough Escape". All Pokemon retreating to the bench pay 1 extra energy card to do so. As such, Pokemon normally paying 1 energy to retreat must now pay 2.

My second rule is "Black Hole". All cards placed into the Discard Pile are removed from the game.

Finally, I may implement the "Low Resistance" rule. The reduction that resistance has on attacks is -10 instead of -30. When you duel against me, one of these 3 rules will be in effect. That said, will you fight me or will you withdraw?



All Pokemon must pay 1 additional energy card to retreat. Let's get started with our 6 prize card duel!



Phew, we didn't get Black Hole. That rule is so much worse than the other two it's actually funny, my standard strategy would completely fall apart if I couldn't regain stuff from the discard with Nightly Garbage Run. The other rules are so whatever, I hardly ever retreat since I run 4 Switches and the resistance rule doesn't matter if you're not hitting for weakness, which I try to avoid to make this even slightly challenging.



Looks like I'm using Dragonite this battle. Woo. Early paralysis helps a lot to stop Scyther from murdering me, though it's still a couple turns from Slash.



Of course I'll be powering up a Moltres in the back, and also energy for Dragonair helps too. Unless you need the heal, there's not much point evolving to the Legendary Dragonite since it has the exact same Slam attack. At least Fossil Dragonite let you switch it in after you evolved it and its Slam did 10 extra damage.



Stalling with Hyper Beam is also very useful if your opponent can't attack with their Active just yet, mills their energy something fierce.



But hey, if you keep rolling double heads, then maybe this Dragonite ain't bad at all. (It's still bad).



Alright that's enough of that garbage for a lifetime, let's freeze some fools.





Good thing I got a second Dragonite, we might need it. Dark Muk is pretty scary if you don't have Switch, though I don't know why you wouldn't. This is when the rule actually becomes a little tricky since now we need SEVEN energy to retreat our big birds, which is pretty insane. Guaranteed Poison means you also do 40 damage for 2 energy, which is nuts! It's pretty damn fragile, but will happily trap that big Basic the AI just loves throwing down.



Okay phew, landing both coins was instrumental in doing enough damage to knock it out. Now to clean up with... what mon do I have left to attack with?



Hmm. Hmmmmmmmmmm. This might be a problem. At least you can use it in this deck due to all the high HP Basics.




Phew, that got a little scary, but that deck was a lot of fun to dance around. Of course she has a different deck for each rule, so let's go over them. The only mon we didn't see from this one was the Neutral Mr. Mime, not that you'd use a Fire deck anyway since all but Scyther are weak to Psychic. She has a couple Full Heal Energy so you can't disable Dark Muk's ability too easily with status, as well as Gust of Wind and Defender to have you slowly die from Poison with little recourse.

For her Low Resistance deck she uses some real hard hitters of Base Hitmonchan and Mewtwo, oh and Wall Mr. Mime so your increased damage against her will get blocked instead! Evil fucker. I guess Fossil Sandslash is here too, but whatever, her layout is otherwise pretty similar, with Potions instead to heal that pitiful 20 damage, along with more Energy options due to using two types.

Finally, her last deck is the most delightfully devilish, having SEVEN Super/Energy Removal to really ensure you can't attack, since it's all completely gone. She has 4 Bills, 4 Oaks and 4 Bill's Teleporters to make sure she can draw as much as possible before you can discard it, as well as Gust of Wind to force you to retreat. Oh and the cherry on top is Base Blastoise, letting her put down a lot of energy before you can do anything about it. And she has Hyper Beam Golduck as well, just in case you didn't hate this deck enough. Do not fight her under these conditions, she will do everything she can to make your life miserable.



It's no surprise that you've won against both Clay and me. You have some very unique and cunning tactics indeed. Since you've defeated us both, it's time for you to meet Villicci. Please follow.




Hoho, so you managed to best both Clay and Allison, I see. The time has come for you and I to have our decisive card battle. Clay! Allison! Begone!

When you lose miserably to Villicci, you'll come to understand his power. You'll find out the hard way that Team GR is in the right.

I'll be pleasantly surprised if you can defeat Villicci.



It is under this philosophy that I have founded Team GR! What's the point in collecting cards if they are not useful in battle? They must be used, I say!



I have invented new ways to battle, putting those wasted cards to use! This is the ultimate for of devotion towards Pokemon cards! They are not meant to be stashed away like our foes do with them! Only one with the upmost respect for cards can be a master of them. I will never be defeated by a simpleton who merely collects them! But the time has come! Have a seat, I shall destroy you in a fiery duel!



Of course, you will have the chance to do the same with your decks, too. Let us begin our decisive battle. The first player to gain 2 total wins will be declared the victor. Set aside 6 prize cards. Now, which deck shall I use?

Team GR King Duel





Minto... I feel this is the final stage of our fight against Team GR... but I've already lost... it's all up to you now! Please, Minto! Defeat King Villicci! Stop Team GR! Use your amazing cunning to utilize the full power of your cards!! I beg of you, Minto... heed the boons of my final scouting mission well. I was completely overwhelmed by the Team GR Executives... because of that, I couldn't gather much information about the GR King Villicci. I do know that he has 4 different decks, though! Moreover, a battle against Villicci is a long ordeal to say the least. You need to beat him 2 times, and he switches deck for each match! He'll switch freely between his 4 powerful decks, so stay alert! Make sure you use your most reliable deck and play carefully! Hang in there, Minto!! Ronald (O__O)



Here's what we've been building up all LP, not off to a great start, but I gotta say, after everything we've heard, seeing his intimidating artwork, yes that's the best quality we have, his in-game portraits are absolutely hilarious and completely undercut the tension! But maybe that's the point, let's see how our Legendary deck fares!



We've got an early lead due to some lucky Ice Breaths, but hitting the solid wall in front of us would be nice.



Oh now you hit it, after he switched it out.



Still, the Legendary Moltres is here to beat you up.



Uh, most of the time. That's what the Dragonite is here for!



Well that was... anticlimactic, at least there's a second fight. As the name implies this was SUPPOSED to be a Dark Machamp deck, but that's a little difficult when I snipe your Machop and only leave you with barely benign big Basics. Also included Dark Clefable so you couldn't deal with Dark Machamp before it could throw out half of your squad, along with copious amounts of Defender and Gust of Wind to stick around and get rid of the most dangerous members of your team. Again, like I say for MOST opponents, in theory. Evolutions are a big pitfall in the TCG and sniping those poor wee Basics makes his strategy that much weaker. Oh well, next!



You are free to change your decks. What will you do? Good... then let us begin the next battle! Set aside your 6 prize cards and we'll start the competition.



Alright at least this way he can get some cards to start off with. But what's with that deck name, what Pokemon could he use that would make him say RIP?



Oh. OHHHHHHHHHH FUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK. This might be a problem.



At least we're able to deal with this immediate issue, but that still doesn't solve the Dark Dragonair, Dark Venusaur combo.



Who has two thumbs and doesn't have any Full Heals, this fucker.



Well ain't that just fucking great. Paralysis is a death since it 2HKOs everything with Poison. Sure I'm relying on getting through Confusion in order to attack, but that's all I have.



But hey even with Poison I can now survive a Horrid Poll- OH COME ON!!!



But hey that's... that's one down... If you were wondering what the opponent could use so I finally have a rough time, this is definitely one of them. Thank god this is 2 outta 3.



Okay let's switch and regroup. If we could just ignore Dark Venusaur that'd be great...



Okay, we've got Articuno on deck, if it could hit the Dark Venusaur that'd be great... but I won't say no to another prize card.



Please stop kicking my ass... Still, since he KOed a weak mon, we get a turn to attack. If I hit it or something weak in the back with an Ice Breath, we'll be through!



We broke through Confusion and hit Mr. Mime twice! That's a baseball!




Fuck me, what a way to end this game. Still, that's what makes it fun! I still had the deck out option in case things went super south, even Dark Venusaur couldn't chew through all of my team in 4 turns. Maybe. We saw his whole strategy and how it nearly worked, he'll use his 3 Traders to get Dark Dragonair, AI likes using that card, and will shore up his Dark Venusaur with Pluspower and Gust of Wind to kick your ass.

GR Castle



How could I have been defeated in a card battle against you... twice? Yet I had insurmountable fun in these duels... how could this be? My heart... it's still beating so fast! I've never had such fun playing the Pokemon Card Game before! This is the first time I've ever lost playing the Pokemon Card Game. Do you remember what I said before? "Cards are only meant to be used". I thought cards were only useful when they brought power to a deck.



No matter how you use your Pokemon cards, you must enjoy yourself! You made me realize this during our card battles! Minto... thank you very much! I give you my word that we shall stop stealing cards from innocent people. Pokemon cards ought to be in the hands of the people who love them. If I've learned anything from my cards, it's the value of friends. Here, take the insignia of my friendship now!



I'll also give you this very rare card as a gift from Team GR.



That resolves our dispute, then! Don't you agree, Minto? Let's both continue on, sharing passion for our Pokemon cards!

Credits



Well, uh, that's one way to stop an evil king, steal his heart of the cards! That was a damn fun game, won't spend much time on the credits, we're all eager to move on.



Thanks for joining me on these 2 gems. Well, the second game is definitely great, but the first one should be appreciated so you can get a hang of things. These games aren't difficult in the slightest, there's a few tricky spots, losses mainly due to a bad opening hand, but thanks to everyone submitting decks to make this a really amazing sandbox LP, I had an absolute blast, like always!



Of course we're not done just yet, there's a little more to go over, just a bit more than the first game, look forward to the Sealed Fortress, spooky!