nothing fearless ☆

As you can see, we took a beating in our last fight.

Thankfully, we’ve got a stockpile of healing items, and everyone is right as rain soon. Estelle, our hero against Agatha, is set to be our star once again against Lance’s entourage of flying dragons. Lisette is finally going to take the stage, too.

I have heard of you too. I am deathly afraid of you.

That’s what I’m worried about!

It’s time to fight the demon himself!

Estelle is out first against arguably the easiest for her to take down.

He starts off with Dragon Dance, and suddenly I’m not feeling so sure about Gyarados.

What was I worried about, though? Estelle, the champ that she is, kicks that thing to the curb without breaking a sweat.

Still, Lisette emerges to subdue Aerodactyl, who would probably kick Estelle to the curb right back.

Lisette, I knew I was right to drag you all the way here! 

oh shit.

This spells out bad news. We’ve gotta kill it, and FAST.

IT’S NOT ENOUGH

NO

SHE TAKES THE BOOSTED ANCIENTPOWER, SOMEHOW!

I MISSED THE SURF, BUT SHE DID IT!

It’s time to get Lisette the hell out of here. Injured or not, she’s a risky play in the best of times with her special defense stat. I switch out for Estelle as one of the two Dragonite on his rematch team comes out. Lance means business. It’s time to pull out all the tricks up my sleeves, cheap or not.

I was afraid of this...

...but she isn’t quite taken down to yellow, and gets off Static!

That renders my move useless, however.

Estelle uses Double Team and gets off scott-free.

We go for another, just in case. It’s looking like Outrage will be a 3HKO, but one Crit, and she’s in trouble.

Outrage lands, but it does the expected damage, and the chance to set up for the rest of the fight proves worth the risk.

With Estelle brought back up to full health, we’re finally ready to live dangerously.

Dragonite is no longer locked into Outrage, and Lance is an enigma again. It’s time to hope that Thunderpunch does the damage we need it to.

It looks like, instead, we’re in it for the long haul. As long as the Paralysis and Double Team keep working against him, she should be okay!

One more free Punch. if we could just get lucky one more time....

Dragonite gets off an attack and misses, but it doesn’t matter. Lance is bound to heal, now.

Luckily, I predicted this.

Using Thunderpunch is only going to get us locked back into the cycle of triggering the AI to heal, but doing too much damage will cause the same problem. Switching will render Double team null-and-void, so the only choice is to hope that Body Slam will do more than Thunderpunch, but not enough to put Dragonite in the yellow. The gamble pays off, and Dragonite’s HP ticks to just about half full.

With much relief, it’s back to Thunderpunching.

Unfortunately, it’s been taking its toll on Estelle’s PP, and we have to sacrifice a turn to get it back up.

We trade another set of moves, and...

...the big bad dragon goes down!

Unfortunately, the battle against these beasts is not yet won.

IT’S TIME FOR A HEART ATTACK.

Thank goodness she survived, because we need Estelle to take this thing down. Lisette would be dead in seconds flat.

I used my turn to paralyze him.

Then, it was time to heal back up--but probably not for long.

Double Team paid off again, and Thunderpunch did just enough. I was going to hope that it would do the right amount of damage again.

It brought Dragonite right into the low end of yellow--perfect!

But no--Lance decided to heal. I guess it was too close for his comfort. Now it’s getting too close for MY comfort.

Thunderpunch didn’t do nearly what it needed to, and Earthquake must have missed, because Estelle is still kicking, somehow.

I decided to heal her up again, but I know...we can’t keep stalling the inevitable forever. I’m not ready! We can’t throw in the towel for Estelle yet!

Last time I thought Estelle was done for, she pulled off a miracle. We have to try again. If I really can’t stop it, I can try and push it off just a little bit more. We’re going to go down swinging, Estelle!

The killing blow misses. Estelle magic strikes again! Please, Estelle! Please pull this off somehow!

If she can just survive a little longer...

...she might have a chance. Please.

No.

NO.

YES!

YES!!

PLEASE, PLEASE, RNG, MAKE THIS A CRIT! DON’T KILL ESTELLE!

Nooooooo no no no.

Goodbye, Estelle. You did amazing.

Claudia comes out next, thirsty for vengeance for her fallen teammate.

And the last of the evil Dragonite is down.

I keep her out to take down Kingdra.

The stat boosting is an unpleasant start to the fight. Claudia’s got to get that thing out of here.

Return does quite a bit of damage, but Kingdra is going to get the first move, and with its boosted attack, I’m worried.

For some reason, it goes for surf. Um, okay. Claudia’s got surprisingly high special defense. She will take that like nobody’s business.

Return hits hard, and the last dragon is down!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

All thanks to our sweet Estelle. She was the spearhead of this battle.

Amazing.

Such shock. Much unexpected. Wow.

Guess it’s time then, guys. Time for the next and final fight...

...but one of our friends won’t be coming with us.

Maybe I shouldn’t have left you out. Maybe I should have sent in Claudia to take care of it. But hindsight is 50/50, and what’s done is done. All we can do now is move forward towards the end.

Rest in peace, Estelle. We’ll finish this for you.

Our team bulldozed through Bruno’s without him being able to land a single hit, so hopes are high. Her Moemon worry me, though. I don’t exactly recall what she’s packing. My only plan is to scout with Claudia, and stick with the two who have the highest special defense--Estelle, who has a pretty mean attack stat and a chance for some paralysis hax, and Ruth, who has the bonus of spamming Solarbeam if the going gets tough.

We know who we’re NOT using, too. I’m sorry, Lisette and Cecil, but your Special Defense stats would leave you bleeding on the floor in two seconds flat.

This statement alarms and concerns me

So what, you’re interested in him? Are you jealous of me?

Sure sounds like jealousy.

How about, as long as no one is doing them harm, people just do what they want with their own Moemon and we all just mind our own business?

Aw man, here we go!

I send in Claudia first, but I doubt she’s a match for a Gengar with just Faint Attack to deal damage. Time for a switch.

Estelle makes her Elite Four debut with a Thunderpunch, and Gengar’s HP bar begins to tick down. Whatever it did on the switch, it seems to have had little effect. Its HP falls below half.

Unfortunately, it retaliates with Hypnosis, which hits. Estelle is in a bind, but with limited healing items, I figure my best bet is to let her tank a couple of hits and see if she wakes up.

After taking two Psychics and somehow getting confused while asleep, Estelle is still snoozing away. Enough is enough.

Now we’re back in the game.

Wow, another Psychic? Who could have predicted that? Estelle eats that right up.

We must be speed tied, because Gengar moves first in the next round and takes Estelle down to about half her HP.

But that’s no big deal--Estelle’s fists take him down.

I switch in for Ruth when she sends out Arbok. This thing doesn’t stand a chance.

That doesn’t hurt too bad.

And boom goes the dynamite!

With Crobat out, there’s really only one logical choice.

Sludge Bomb brings Estelle just a few measly hit points away from the red. Luckilly

Luckily, Crobat doesn’t Poison, and he’s dispatched quickly.

Our hero gains a level as well.

Ruth comes back out to deal with the second Gengar.

Psychic shaves off about a third of her HP, but I think I’ve got this in the bag...

...until I realize, too late, that Gengar has Levitate! 

Psychic, which is clearly Agatha’s favorite move, puts Ruth into the yellow.

I’m not taking any chances.

Two more Psychics later, that stat decrease convinces me it’s time to switch out.

With both my star players injured, Claudia needs to take one for the team.

She handles the attack better than I’d thought she would, but it still brings her down to almost half her health. This is the critical moment. She’s got to get this thing down to manageable health, or we are in trouble. Come on, Claudia, take that Psychic!

An unexpected turn of events, and at a fourth of her health rather than nearly dead, we might be able to call this a success after all. It’s time to see if she can do enough damage.

But, no--it’s not enough. Even if I healed her, a crit Psychic would take her out fast, and she’d be down to half health anyway from just a regular one. Using an item on someone else isn’t an option, either. The only way I could heal someone else would be to sacrifice Claudia, and I suspected I would need her later down the road.

Time for a switch. Someone’s got to take this hit like a champ so we can heal. And with two of our choices best served in “FRAGILE, DO NOT DROP” boxes, there’s really only one option.

It’s do or die here! Alistair has proven that he can handle himself, and with Ruth’s Drought still in effect, Synthesis ought to be helpful in case of a crit.

He takes the hit and is still in the green, but not by much.

Finally, we get a chance to heal, and Estelle is back in the game.

Gengar pulls off a Poison move, something I was almost convinced he lacked. Alistair just barely hangs on, and with his purpose fulfilled, it’s time to get the heck out of here.

Our star player is back on the battlefield. Time to play the speed tie game.

It’s a sickening realization: this is Estelle’s last stand. One more Psychic will probably take her down, but our options are limited. Lisette and Cecil would be slaughtered, and our other choices are the walking wounded who probably couldn’t handle the switch. The only way we can win this is if she moves first, and the damage calculator goes our way.

Estelle, I’m expecting this to be the end, and if it is, it’s been a great run.

In what could be the cruelest stab in the back ever from the RNG, she got to move first.

BUT HOLY CRAP, RNGSUS SMILES UPON US AND SOMEHOW, SHE PULLS IT OFF!

THERE’S NO WAY WE COULD LOSE AFTER THAT! IT’S TIME TO TAKE THIS UP A NOTCH!

With a last-minute heal and Misdreavus doing minimal damage with his first move...

...Ruth makes a strong start with a Solarbeam...

...and he retaliates with a Psychic that brings her down to a little over half health.

Unfortunately, the RNG doesn’t favor us for the next Solarbeam, and Misdreavus is left at one HP.

Agatha behaves as expected.

Our free Beam hits.

Probably from a Crit I missed, Misdreavus is at one HP again and gets off a Psychic that brings Ruth a little closer to the red, but not quite there yet.

This is the anticipated reason why I wasn’t celebrating.

Two more Solarbeams, and...

BANG! IT’S OVER!

THE VICTORY BANNERS WAVE ABOVE OUR HEADS, ALL DISPLAYING ESTELLE’S GLORIOUS FACE

We lived to fight another fight, but it’s the Dragon master himself up next. Will the RNG gods keep Estelle, the warrior of all warriors, in their favor? Stay tuned to find out next time in Part 4 of the Finale!

Before we go into this, I’d like to remind you of our team:

We made it through Lorelei without a single casualty, and everyone has been healed and prepared. Cecil is to be our MVP with Drill Peck, but Lisette is our Steelix-slayer.

'Sup.

You don't say?

why do you know my name. we’ve never met before.

I feel uncomfortable

Dude, you are way too muscular for a guy who sits around in a room all day.

Since I remembered Bruno’s Steelix lead, I counter him by sending in Lisette first!

We start off with a Surf...

...and down goes Steelix with barely a twitch.

Hitmonchan makes an appearance next, and I switch Lisette for Cecil.

Will a super-effective Drill Peck do the job?

Heck yes it does. Another Moemon down in one hit.

His brother emerges, out for revenge...

...but we can’t let that slide, now can we?

He’s off to join him, instead.

Machamp is our next challenger, and I’m starting to get worried. Is Cecil’s luck about to run out? Or is he making up for his lack of it back in the Sevii Islands?

It’s the latter.

Another Steelix, and to no one’s surprise, Lisette is out again.

This is the moment of truth. Will Lisette pull this off?

And that’s what I call a clean sweep.

I was filled with DETERMINATION.

And with that, we have defeated two out of the Elite Four.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this long-delayed epic, which will be going up not long from now!