Battle Breakdown: Sam vs. Drayden, Duel of Dragons!
(Video Id: A noivern hopping back from the camera. “Finally got it in one. Hello! Welcome back to battle breakdown! I’m Mordred and in this series I break down the tactics, strategies, and techniques used in battling. This time, a head on clash and object lesson in how to handle super-effective matchups, my trainer, the Dragon Witch Samara, vs. the Spartan Mayor, Drayden!”
“Now, for a bit of context, Sam’s actually been training with Drayden for a while. As they’re both dragon-type trainers, Sam’s been fairly eager to learn with him over the past bit. With that in mind, each one of them knows the other’s tricks, at least somewhat, and we’ve also seen some changes to Sam’s team, plus Drayden’s bringing out an unusually strong one for the seventh badge. Let’s get into both.”
The screen cuts to Sam’s trainer card, displaying a Noivern, Deino, Goodra, Garchomp, Flygon, and Tyrantrum. “So, Sam’s not going to be using me in this battle, as I’m still thirty levels higher than the rest of my teammates, and she won’t be using Arthur either, since she’s too low level and trying to push her up to the level of the rest of the team would drop her squarely into the Zwielous evolution. We’re saving that trouble for a dedicated space, and even then, against Drayden’s team, she’d still fall behind, so really, Sam’s working with a team of four, but four fairly strong ones.”
“First off, Gawain the Goodra. You’ve probably seen him turning the Mistralton city gym into a slimy mess. Excellent special attack and nearly unbreakable special defense, including with his Assault Vest. He also boasts Scald for hampering physical attackers using a Burn, Ice Beam for freeze, Sludge Bomb to poison and deal with fairies, and Draco Meteor for when something absolutely needs to go down, but he’ll need to switch out after that. A well rounded moveset supplemented with Scald-Derived pseudomoves, he’s an excellent teammate, although he remains vulnerable to physical attacks.”
“Next, Percival the Tyrantrum, making the most of his Strong Jaw and exceptional physical attack stat with Fire, Thunder, and Ice Fang, along with a brutal STAB head smash. He’s the one member of the team without a Dragon-type move, but he brings excellent coverage, boosted even further by Strong Jaw and his Expert belt. A pure physical attacker and a straightforward combatant, but he boasts decent physical defense alongside murderous physical attack.”
“After him, Lancelot the Garchomp. Percival makes the most of his abilities and item to provide great coverage and maximizes his damage outside of that. But in terms of pure physical offense, Lancelot runs away with superior Attack and Speed, leaning fully into it with STAB Dragon Claw and Earthquake, alongside Iron Head to shatter physical defenses. Unlikely that he’ll need it though, because he wears a Focus Sash to help safely set up Sword Dance. While the Garchomp line doesn’t get the crucial speed boost of Dragon Dance, they make up for it with the sheer overwhelming power of Swords Dance. If Lancelot gets tat off, he’s going to one-shot everything on Drayden’s team.”
“Finally, Bedivere, the Flygon. The Flygon line is interesting. While they’re not as bulky as Goodra, or as offensively strong as Garchomp or Tyrantrum, they’re instead a very well rounded, decently fast, decently strong physical attacker. They can fill a wide variety of roles, but I’ve found in working with Bedivere that his mind is his strongest asset. While a Trapinch might be dumb as a post, Vibrava and Flygon think nearly twice as fast as humans, however they think smaller thoughts. This is a neurological adaptation necessary for processing information from their compound eyes and operating their complex wings. Flygon aren’t rocket scientists, but their ability to think quickly makes them highly adaptable. Beyond this, Bedivere has taken to pseudomoves like a fish to water, developing several from a unique moveset of Steel Wing, Dig, Earthquake, and Dragon Claw.”
The screen cuts back to the noivern, who has a proud expression. “Overall, these four have each become excellent Pokemon, each in their own unique way. Gawain’s cool head and sheer bulk, Bedivere’s quick thinking, Percival’s natural combat instinct, and Lancelot’s more refined technique, all are valuable assets to their trainer, and with their full evolutions, they’re now reaching the point where they can fully express their talents. However, it won’t be easy in the slightest. Drayden’s team is every bit as strong, and he’s got a two mon advantage.”
The screen sweep cuts to Drayden’s gym card, showing a team of 6. Dudgrion, Flygon, Altaria, ???, ???, and Haxorus. “Drayden isn’t messing around. Even with her previous training with him, Sam’s got an uphill battle against his team. She’ll need to pick up two KO’s just to even the odds, and none of Drayden’s team are weak. Let’s address them one by one.”
“Druddigon. Sheer force boosting the damage of attacks by 30% if they would normally have another effect makes Druddigon an excellent offensive threat, but also slightly limits their movesets. Regardless, an excellent offensive Pokemon, though I’m not sure they make the best leads. Dragon Tail and Rock Slide both heavily benefit from his ability, as does Crunch since it can flinch. However Revenge would likely be better on a Rough Skin Druddigon.”
“Flygon. As discussed with Bedivere, these guys are versatile, tricky fighters. However, one thing that’s true of both Flygon and Garchomp, and also Tyrantrum, is that they suffer from an exceptional x4 weakness to Ice. Any hit from an Ice-type move is going to be extremely dangerous for them, and so both sides will need to be very careful to keep away from the opponent’s Ice Fang users. Interesting mixed set on his, Rock Slide, Earth Power, Dragon Tail, and Crunch. Able to outspeed and deal decent damage to most opponents, or send troublesome ones away with Dragon Tail.”
“Altaria. Those of you who saw Sam’s battle with Skyla know that these guys are pretty well useless when they’re soaked, but that weakness is no reason to underestimate them. They can be impressively bulky with all that fluff, and boast offensive firepower in their own right. There’s a reason Sam’s plan revolved around neutralizing Skyla’s, but there won’t be an option for that here. Not only does Drayden know that trick, unlike Skyla he’s smart enough to not fall for it in the first place.”
“Hydregion. Dragon types are known as special attackers, and Hydregion is the strongest of them all. A Pseudo-Legendary with a temper the power that kind of a description warrants. Thankfully this one isn’t packing Nasty Plot. I’ve seen that set tear through Sylveon in one hit, and I don’t just mean a knockout. Dark and Dragon Pulses for STAB effectiveness, Flash Cannon and Flamethrower for coverage. If I had to guess, Drayden’s sticking with these in favor of Fire Blast and Draco Meteor to avoid causing permanent injury, or maybe he just prefers the consistent accuracy, can’t say I blame him. Either way a pure special attacker and a serious threat to everyone on the team. Even Gawain’s not going to be able to take more than two hits from him.”
“From an offensive threat to a defensive one, Turtonator. The fire/dragon type gives him a distinct advantage against teams that would normally rely on Ice and Fairy moves to deal with dragons, along with STAB coverage against them, along with excellent physical defenses. This combines nicely with Shell Trap to punish moves that make physical contact if the opponent tries to close the distance. An excellent mixup for Drayden’s team. Flamethrower, Dragon Pulse, Shell Trap, and Shell Smash. Those latter two certainly can lead to some interesting mind games. If Drayden anticipates a switch to a pokemon who can safely avoid Shell Trap, he can get off Shell Smash and suddenly turn his tank into a major offensive threat.”
“Finally…” Mordred takes a deep breath, before addressing Drayden’s ace. “Belisarius. Drayden’s Haxorus. These guys scare me in general. Belisarius in particular terrifies me. We have… history. Nothing fancy about them, they’re just some of the most lethal pokemon in Unova by simple physics. In terms of their offensive firepower, practically unmatched. Other dragons might technically have higher Attack, but that’s only half the story. Those axe blades of theirs concentrate the sizeable mass and speed of their heads into a very small point. Quite simply, anything they hit with those has a good chance of going down. It doesn’t matter how much HP you have, how much defense, a direct hit from their Guillotine will put you down. Even outside of that, Earthquake is no joke, and Mold Breaker means Levitate offers no defense against it. Dragon Claw is actually accurate and more than sufficient to cleave through most things, and Dragon Dance can push his attack and speed into truly terrifying levels. He is without a doubt the strongest Ace in Unova, and he is a nightmare. Well, there’s one stronger, but given he’s her father and thirty years older, I don’t think the right hand of the Champion being stronger than him is much of a mark against the old executioner.”
“With each one of these powerful contenders laid out, you can see that this is going to be a truly earth shaking clash, and should have noted one other thing. Every single Pokemon here, no matter which way they’re paired up, is super-effective against one another, and most of those are STAB besides. Now, while having two entire teams lined up this was is rare except for when dragons duel, the situation where each side has a STAB move that’s super effective against the other, or even just both have SE moves, aren’t that uncommon. In particular at higher levels, coverage moves mean that SE on both sides isn’t that rare. Now normally this can lead to a switch and the complex psychology of reads involved in that. This battle doesn’t have that, so instead it’s going to be an excellent showcase of dealing with this sort of high stakes situation in a variety of different ways, besides just being one of the most spectacular battles I’ve seen in quite some time. Let’s get into it.”
The video cuts to a recording, as Drayden and Sam stand opposite each other atop the black and white dragons of Opelucid City. The crowd goes silent as the two approach one another, and bow deeply, before returning to their positions. “Samara. Show me what you’ve learned.” Drayden calls out as he turns.
“It will be my honor Drayden-Sensei!” Samara replies, and the two send out their first Pokemon. Samara sends out Gawain, Drayden his Druddigon, and the crowd begins to cheer. Druddigon barrels forwards to use Dragon Tail, but Gawain uses Ice Beam, covering the arena in frost. The Goodra uses the force of his own attack to push himself away on the rapidly growing ice, while the Druddigon stumbles briefly on the suddenly slick surface. Gawain takes advantage, and blasts Druddigon with Draco Meteor to KO him. The video pauses.
“So, for Showdown maniacs, one might assume that just outspeeding your opponent to land your Super-Effective attack first would be enough. Well, not necessarily. Even with a speed disadvantage, ranged attacks have the advantage of easier spacing. You have to be in melee to hit with a melee attack after all. Always remember, the accuracy numbers of any attack are listed within their optimal range, and when your opponent is too far away to hit, the accuracy is always zero. In this way, better spacing through the use of ranged attacks and controlling the environment are extremely useful in these sorts of clashes.”
The video resumes. Sam sends out Bedivere, her Flygon, and Drayden sends out his own. “A mirror match. In this case, there’s a crucial gamble to be made. Which one has the higher speed? You don’t know your opponent’s IVs or EVs going in, and even if it’s the same, it can be a fifty/fifty, while both sides may be capable of one-shotting the other with a good hit. So, how does one react with the same capability on either side of the field?” The video pauses. “There are three options. Firstly, you can gamble that you will outspeed your opponent. If you both do this, fifty/fifty odds of winning the trade. Secondly you can defend with moves like Protect or a defensive pseudomove, this costs your opponent power points. Useful if your opponent is using low PP moves like Fire Blast. Third, you can switch, and refuse the mirror, but will give your opponent a free hit if they chose to attack. Or, you can find a way to do both.”
The video resumes. “Bedivere, Advancing Guard!”
“Interesting. Dragon Tail.” Drayden muses.
The two flygon move forwards towards one another. Bedivere coats his wings in steel energy, and then stops beating them, positioning one wing forwards like a shield, the other ready for a counterstrike. His opposite number advances, and swings a tail infused with energy against the shield. This drives Bedivere back, but inflicts little damage due to the shield. Bedivere holds on as long as he can, but ultimately only manages to deliver a counterstrike before being forced back into his ball. The video pauses. “In this case, Drayden refuses the mirror match by using Dragon tail to force a switch, and still also manages to attack, so a partial gamble, and partial refusal. Sam meanwhile used a pseudomove, a variant on Steel Wing, to try and attack and defend at the same time, though doing so means Bedivere still took damage and was forced out, and only inflicted minor damage.”
The video resumes, and Sam sends out Percvial. The Tyrantrum lands between Flygon and Drayden, obscuring the old trainer’s view of the battlefield. “Thank you very much for the free switch, Drayden-Sensei!” Sam offers, tone teasing but still ultimately respectful. “Now then, Percival, Ice Fang!”
Percival goes for the ice fang, but instead of biting down on a relatively fragile Flygon, he instead strikes the hot, hard shell of a Turtonator, with minimal effect. He leaps back like he’s just bitten a hot stove, and regards the dragon turtle very carefully. Each trainer stares at the other with careful intent, before they move again. Percival uses Head Smash, successfully KOing Turtonator, before being taken out in turn by the detonating spikes. The video pauses.
“No, this isn’t telepathy, it’s contingency. Sam and Drayden have battled each other a few times while she was training under him, and each one knows what the other can do. Drayden knows that Percival has no moves that avoid contact, and so any move other than a switch is going to result in Shell Trap being triggered, meaning that if Sam wants to keep Percival in, she has to switch. That would imply that Shell Smash would be the right play. However, if he does that and Sam keeps Percival in for a Head Smash, then he’s down a pokemon for no benefit. If Sam switches and Drayden goes for Shell Smash, she now has to deal with the possibility of being swept by a Turtonator of all things. So, having already considered possible strategies, the option which consistently offers the highest reward results in the trade. All planned out before the battle even began, since this isn’t the first time Percy has eaten a Shell Trap to the face.”
The video resumes, and both trainers bring out their Flygon again. The two trainers smile at one another slightly, before issuing orders. “Dragon Claw!” Sam roars.
“Dragon Tail!” Drayden replies.
The two flygon rush at one another, but this time Bedivere pulls a trick. He drops out of the air and begins running along the ground, slipping under the increased reach of Dragon Tail before springing back into the air to uppercut his opposite number with a powerful Dragon Claw, knocking the other Flygon out. “As I always say, never sweat the intangibles.” Mordred says, beaming with pride.
As quickly as the sense of triumph comes, it passes in the face of dread as Drayden sends out Hydreigon. Bedivere and Sam both visibly narrow their eyes at the sight of the immensely powerful pseudo-legendary. The crowd stills slightly, as Drayden nods, and issues an order for a dragon pulse in his usual calm, stern manner. Sam withdraws Bedivere, and quickly deploys Gawain instead. The attack impacts on the slime dragon, and pushes him a step back, before he finds his footing and repulses it. Gawain’s expression is unusually serious for a normally rather silly looking Goodra. Sam has begun to visibly sweat, the strain of the intense battle clear on the rookie trainer’s face, only amplified further by the clash against one of Drayden’s most powerful pokemon.
“Alright. This is all I need from you and then you can rest Gawain. Draco Meteor!”
“Don’t allow it. Dragon Pulse, again!” Drayden orders, and the Hydreigon complies, firing off another blast. The powerful energy washes over Gawain, the impact blowing Sam’s hair wildly as purple flames blaze around her. Then they begin to blaze with even brighter light, as Gawain conjures an orb of similar energy between himself and the incoming attack, fueling it with his own power, and sending it hurling back at the Hydreigon. The dragon pulse’s beam is pushed aside by the significantly more powerful attack, and the huge ball of draconic energy explodes in the hydra’s face, sending it crashing back towards Drayden. The old trainer, unphased by three hundred and fifty kilograms of dragon hurtling at his face, simply raises his hand and recalls the incoming pokemon midflight.
The video pauses. “Of course, this is the simplest strategy for dealing with an opponent where you both have Super Effective moves against each other. If you have the HP and defensive stats to take a hit, you can trade hits, provided you can also bring enough firepower to lay your opponent low faster than they can defeat you. This can wear you down over the course of a long battle, but it’s not the worst short-term strategy.” The video resumes, and as if to prove this point, Gawain falls to a knee, breathing heavily, before struggling back up onto his feet. Sam recalls him with a smile. “Could have put that on Saturday morning cartoons Gawain. Good job.”
Drayden sends out Altaria, and Sam sends out Bedivere, her flygon, in response. Drayden orders a Dragon Pulse, and Sam, curiously, orders Dig. Bedivere vanishes under the ground in a sudden spray of basalt dust, leading Drayden to raise an eyebrow. “Dragon dance.” He orders, clearly expecting the move to not affect his Altaria. “You’re up to something, aren’t you Samara?”
“Well, I couldn’t show you all my tricks during training. What do you think Mordred and Bedivere were up to off on their own? Show them what you figured out Bed, False Precipice!” The ground begins to shake, and suddenly stalagmites erupt from the ground underneath Altaria, catching the Flying pokemon off guard and leaving it hanging limply among the jagged rocks. Bedivere emerges from the ground, clearly bruised. The video pauses.
“So, a bit of explanation here. First off, another excellent way to not get hit by a super effective attack is to simply be unable to be hit, either by manipulating your opponent’s accuracy, or using a move like Fly, Dig, or Phantom Force that takes you off the field to “dodge”’ an attack. Bedivere pulled this trick here, and then supplemented it with a Pseudomove we’ve labeled “false precipice” as it holds a passing resemblance to Precipice Blades. As it turns out, if you use Earthquake on the bedrock of an arena directly, you can create this effect. Of course, this requires you to be underground, so it takes up two move slots, requiring dig and earthquake, and also causes recoil damage. In exchange, you get a single target rock-type earthquake. Excellent for catching flying types off guard. It’s a costly move, but grants Bedivere a powerful mix-up out of Dig and a counter to otherwise troublesome Flying Types.”
The video resumes, and each trainer withdraws their pokemon. “You know what’s next, of course. And saved him for it.” Drayden notes, and reaches for an old acorn-made Hisuian Pokeball. “It’s time. Show me the height of your strength. Belisarius, THE TIME HAS COME!” He roars, sending out his Haxorus. The venerable pokemon is covered with the scars of a lifetime of battling, but still stands proudly, his blades sharpened by uncountable victories.
“You heard the man Lancelot, let’s do this!” Samara roars in reply, sending forth the young Garchomp in response. The two pokemon, young and old, face one another. Lancelot takes a step forwards, and raises his arms, displaying his bright red belly and flaring his wings. Belisarius in turn shakes his head from side to side, scraping his head blades along the stones until they spark and shine. “The height of power, eh? Swords Dance.”
“Dragon Dance.” Drayden responds. His Haxorus brings his foot down, as a cloud of black and purple sweeps around and into him, making his old scars glow with pure energy, and lighting dances along his blades. In contrast, Lancelot stands square, feet under shoulders, and brings his claws together in a manner almost mimicking prayer. Energy blazes along his talons, wings, and fangs, sharp and bright. He puts one foot forwards, and the ground shakes.
“Once, long ago, men called the power of the dragons “the color of kings”, for their power was enough to conquer nations, and the ability to control these incredible pokemon was considered a sign of a divine right to rule.” Drayden considers. “This was such a limited understanding of what it is. Each energy wielded by Pokemon is part of the fundamental nature of the world, but that of Dragons is poorly understood. It is not the power to rule the world, but instead the power to conceive the world. To imagine what might be, what should be, what must be. To define truth and embody ideals, to dream and then make that dream a reality. That is the power of the dragons. They are the guardians of Arceus’s dream of how the world should be, the lords of fantastic places born from imagination. Those who are attuned to them, we are those who dream most deeply, and make the imaginary real, potential into action. Conquerors, artists, inventors, and teachers. This is what it means to embody that power. So then, Samara, you who carry the shadow of the fantastic alongside me.” Drayden points a challenging finger. “Show me the power of your dreams!”
Samara smiles, proudly. “Thank you for showing me how. Now then, Lancelot, shake the heavens and the earth!”
Both trainers break into grins like madmen. “Earthquake!” They roar, and the two dragons answer. A wave of black basalt in hexagonal scales roars forth from Sam’s position, met by a moving mountain of marble. The two dragon statues seem ready to tear one another apart as the shockwaves strike one another with the force of moving mountains.
“Lancelot, move through the stone and strike them down, Dragon Claw!”
“Cleave.” Drayden replies, a single and a singular word, answered with a singular strike. Lancelot dives into the freshly formed mountain and begins digging his way through, just in time for the mountain to be cut in half. The top part of the rock formation goes flying, cut apart like butter by a single strike from the Haxorus’s blades. “Now, Earthquake.” Drayden continues, and the lower half of it is reduced to rubble.
But no Garchomp is found in the rubble, as Lancelot leaps from the flying upper half, crashing into battle to deliver a devastating blow across the whole of Belisarius’s body, the impact sending the elder Pokemon staggering back, the shockwave ripping two massive gouges in the arena on either side of him. But as Lancelot catches his breath, the massive titan still stands, and now brings his massive axe head down, wreathed in murderous energy.
Lancelot takes a step back to brace himself, and blocks with both arms and all the force he can muster. The clashing energies ripple off one another in terrible bolts, making the arena shake. Neither dragon actually makes contact with one another, the energies radiating off their natural weapons repulsing one another like potent magnetic fields. Lancelot is clearly struggling though, against the overwhelming mass and leverage of his larger opponent. Then Belisarius brings his foot down. The earth shakes.
Lancelot stumbles.
A blow like the sword of an angry god scythes through him, leaving a single, gaping chasm that Sam must dodge to avoid falling into. Lancelot staggers back, eyes rolling back in his head, ready to fall.
And then he brings his foot down.
Lancelot’s head snaps forwards, his eyes shark-black. As the Haxorus tries to raise his head for another swing, Lancelot meets it with a counter, and the terrible clash of dragons resumes. But now Lancelot has the leverage, and the weight of Belisarius’s head works against him. The crowd is going insane, as Belisarius brings his foot down, and Lancelot matches. The shockwaves of the two earthquakes ripple off one another, sending ripples through both of the dragons, black basalt shooting up and out like glitching textures, and white marble splintering into spiderwebs. Even with all of this, even with the leverage and gravity on his side, Lancelot is still not able to break through Belisarius’s dragon claw.
He brings his foot down again, and the crowd goes silent. A slash cleaves through empty air. Lancelot is now above his venerable foe, one arm raised high and blazing with power. Then he brings it down, with a sound like thunder, and drives Belisarius into the ground, knocking the elder dragon off his feet and smashing his face into the stone with enough force to leave an imprint.
Then it gets back up.
The massive Haxorus pulls itself back to its feet with seeming ease, shaking off chunks of stone like a dog shaking off water. Then it bows again to Lancelot, and walks back to Drayden. Lancelot watches him silently, and then sits down like he never wants to get up again. “Congratulations Samara. Well done.” Drayden says with clear pride. “Though next time we battle, it will have to be elsewhere. I do not think my gym will survive when I face you without limiters.”
Sam looks mildly ill at that suggestion, but manages to make her way across the broken ground to shake Drayden’s hand and claim her badge, though she does so without saying much of anything. At least not loudly enough for the cameras to hear.
“I didn’t comment much through that section I admit.” Mordred comments. “Because quite frankly it would take away from things, and on some level, that’s not the kind of thing where trainers can necessarily have as much impact. The rest of this battle was between Sam and Drayden. That last round was Belisarius testing Lancelot. When it comes to a clash of true power like that, grand strategies start to break down, save for Lance’s focus Sash, or else that would have been over the moment he took that Dragon Claw. Ultimately, no matter what kind of battle it is, you eventually do need to be able to trust your Pokémon, in the training before hand, understanding of technique, and a million other factors that ensure that battling is always unpredictable. Duels between dragons are always brutal, and while we’ve covered many ways to deal with these kinds of high stakes matchups, from speed, to toughness to strategy, trades, handling mirrors, there are still things that you can’t boil down to simple science.”
“Here there be dragons, so be bold and be ready, because the maps won’t ever cover everything. Much as I make this series about understanding the strategy and tactics of a battle, don’t make the mistake that you can win just by thinking, because some things you can’t think of until you see them. Until next time, I’ve been Mordred, this has been Battle Breakdowns, thank you very much, and goodbye.”