(no subject)

[meteorman]

✦ Horizon Gym Directory ✦
beyond the horizon, over the next hill

✦ As in, beyond the horizon, or broaden your horizons ✦ Themed around mysteries, cryptids and the unexplored ✦ Located on Route 36 across from the northern entrance of the Ruins of Alph

✦ All winners are entitled to one egg from Ford's breeding projects ✦ Winners against Regular and Elite teams receive the Voyager Badge, a Weakness Policy, and p18000 ✦ Winners against the Junior team receive a sticker version of the Voyager Badge

Museum Hours: 9am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Closed Monday.
Challenges Accepted: Wednesday through Saturday.
All challengers must pass the same test to challenge the Gym Leader. It is a puzzle that plays on the idea of making the familiar strange and it changes weekly. Trainers are presented with a small description of a Pokémon as written by an alien who has never seen it before, parts of which are written in code. Correctly guessing the name of the Pokémon gives the challenger the password up to the battlefield. Trainers can do this by simply going on gut instinct, by solving the coded portions for more information, and/or by beating junior trainers for hints. Working as a group to solve the puzzle is allowed and encouraged but sharing the answer after the fact so that others can bypass solving it is not.

✦ Layout ✦ Teams ✦ Badge Requests ✦

Comments

[meteorman]

✦ Layout & Museum Information ✦

1. Front Stairs   Good for sitting on! 2. Atrium / Lecture Halls   Ground Level: Aurorus and Tyrantrum skeletons   in the center. Stairs around the back lead up to   the battlefield stands; a password-locked elevator   leads up to the field itself.   Basement Level: Two lecture halls, half-circle in   shape, not connected. Can be rented. 3. Battlefield (upper level)   High dome to accommodate flying types, circular   stands all around the edge. Field floor itself can   open and reveal a pool for Water Type usage. 4. Hall of Time   Historical Pokémon timeline with a focus on   discoveries and anomalies. 5. Exhibits   Things like 'How was Golett Animated?' and 'The   Elgyem & Beheeyem Code'. A mix of presentation   of known facts and speculation on what they   might mean.

6. Bookstore   Features a mix of scientific texts, books geared   toward kids, speculative fiction and some   souvenir-y type deals. 7. Courtyard   Benches for sitting and eating, and grass and   trees for chilling. Ringed by a high stone wall. 8. Staff Labs/Storage   Places for staff members to conduct their own   research, and space for housing retired or   off-season exhibits. Off-limits to visitors! 9. Ford's Cabin   Three floors: main floor (kitchen, sitting area),   loft (bedroom + bathroom), basement (research   + storage). 10. Staff Cabins   Made to house two roommates. Two floors: main   floor (kitchen, sitting room, shared bathroom),   loft (two bedrooms + hall down the middle).

Ford's menagerie of Pokémon wander the back grounds; occasionally guests may see them from the courtyard, though they tend to leave Museum-goers alone.

[meteorman]

Junior Trainers

[meteorman]

✦ Junior Trainers ✦

Each Junior Trainer has Pokémon appropriate to the level of the challenger: one for Junior, two for Regular and three for Elite challengers. There's more of them than are technically needed since they can't all be available for challenge/on shift every day, but several do need to be on-call at once every day the gym is open to give out hints. Generally three will be available per day on a rotating schedule.

Marsha | Fire Type A Pokéfan who runs a local ramen shop; her young son just enrolled at the Trainer's School. Junior: Litwik Regular: Braixen, Lampent Elite: Ninetales, Chandelure, Solrock Terrance | Fighting A Biker who's traveled all over the Sevii islands and is an expert in Sevii urban legends. Junior: Croagunk Regular: Toxicroak, Hakamo-o Elite: Chesnaught, Conkeldurr, Kommo-o Nolton | Rock A young Ace Trainer from Blackthorn who hopes to study ancient and Fossil Pokémon primarily. Junior: Kabuto Regular: Sudowoodo, Relicanth Elite: Aerodactyl, Lycanroc Midnight, Bastiodon

Parker | Steel An up-and-coming Steel Type Pokémon researcher who has been published in Pokémon Letters. Junior: Honedge Regular: Doublade, Bronzong Elite: Aegislash, Escavalier, Mawile Olivia | Grass An established Grass Type Pokémon researcher and Legend Seeker who primarily studies Celebi. Junior: Phantump Regular: Trevenant, Nuzleaf Elite: Shiftry, Carnivine, Cacturne Byron | Fairy An established Fairy Type Pokémon researcher and Legend Seeker; you might have read his blog documenting his search for the Tapus. Junior: Cutiefly Regular: Ribombee, Whimsicott Elite: Mimikyu, Gardevoir, Florges

Junior Team

[meteorman]

✦ Junior Team ✦

All Junior Team Pokémon are level 20, and which ones the challenger faces is chosen at random from the pool of twelve below. Junior team matches are two against however many Pokémon the challenger brings. The challenger is allowed to switch and heal their Pokémon during battle; Ford is not.

Minior | Shields Down Hover for Moveset	Spritzee | Healer Hover for Moveset	Klefki | Prankster Hover for Moveset
Shelmet | Shell Armor Hover for Moveset	Lunatone | Levitate Hover for Moveset	Murkrow | Super Luck Hover for Moveset
Yamask | Mummy Hover for Moveset	Foongus | Effect Spore Hover for Moveset	Shedinja | Wonder Guard Hover for Moveset
Pumpkaboo | Pickup Hover for Moveset	Unown | Levitate Hover for Moveset	Salandit | Corrosion Hover for Moveset

This is a highly varied team with a wide variety of potential matchups and each battle is liable to be very off-the-cuff because of it. Because this team is meant to be challenged by inexperienced or young trainers Ford doesn't tend toward intense or aggressive strategy. He'll default to lower-power or lower-accuracy moves more often than not unless his challenger is far above his level, and may choose to use a setup move instead of an attacking move even if it puts him in a vulnerable position.

Regular Teams

[meteorman]

✦ Regular Teams ✦

All Regular Team Pokémon are level 50. There are four teams as shown below:

✦ Team One consists of Sliggoo, Dragalge and Garchomp.
✦ Team Two consists of Sigilyph, Gothitelle and Claydol.
✦ Team Three consists of Pyukumuku, Primarina and Jellicent.
✦ Team Four consists of Sableye, Golurk and Cofagrigus.

The challenger will face one of the four teams at random. Challengers may also request 'partial randomization' where they may choose three of the four teams and face a team made up of one Pokémon randomized from each (ex. the challenger chooses Team One, Team Three and Team Four; they battle Dragalge, Pyukumuku and Sableye). The challenger may also choose 'total randomization' where they may face any three out of the twelve.

Regular team matches are three against three. The challenger is allowed to switch and heal their Pokémon during battle; Ford cannot switch but is allowed a single Full Restore.

Sliggoo | Hydration Hover for Moveset	Dragalge | Poison Touch Hover for Moveset	Garchomp | Sand Veil Hover for Moveset

Weather is what this team is all about. Sliggoo is going to set up a Rain Dance first-thing in order to make use of that Hydration ability, and then focus on wearing down its opponent. It can raise its Defense if it needs to (and it might need to) and also restore its health with a Rest that will immediately heal at the end of the turn it's used, making it a solid opener that can set up and whittle down a challenger's team. Dragalge continues the weather shenanigans by refreshing the Rain Dance. In the rain her high-power Thunder hits with 100% accuracy and all of her Water moves get a boost in power. She can also poison opponents, making her a great threat all around. Finally Garchomp swaps the rain for sand with Sandstorm, boosting her already-high speed thanks to her Sand Veil ability and hopefully doing some guaranteed passive damage to her opponent. Her range of hard-hitting moves means she's got something for most threats a challenger could bring to face her, including some Fire moves for those pesky Ice types and Sunny Day in case she really needs to boost those moves and take them out fast. Unless an opponent can match this team in a weather war they're likely to face some trouble.

Sigilyph | Magic Guard Hover for Moveset	Gothitelle | Competitive Hover for Moveset	Claydol | Levitate Hover for Moveset

This team relies heavily on stat-boosting moves and setup trickery to ensure its offensive moves pack a lot of power. Sigilyph starts off and will always attempt Hypnosis first thing, aiming to take out the challenger's first Pokémon quickly with Dream Eater. If Hypnosis doesn't land the strategy then becomes a combination of restoring health with Roost and setting up Light Screen and Reflect to minimize damage. Once Sigilyph is safely behind its setup, Ford will swap to offensive moves. When Sigilyph faints, Gothitelle will come in. Gothitelle's strategy is more directly offensive. He knows quite a few coverage moves and, more than that, can put a Future Sight in place and then Calm Mind and Protect in between with damage already certain down the line. Gothitelle's role is less about staying in as long as possible and more about hitting as hard as possible and then leaving its opponent in a bad spot: with low health, the inability to heal or badly-lowered stats. Claydol continues this trend with access to many high-power damaging moves, including Dazzling Gleam to deal with Dark Types. A well-timed Calm Mind can make its range of special attacks even more formidable, while Power Trick can render the already-devastating STAB Earthquake even more so. If the challenger has made it as far as the Claydol then they can expect an aggressive reception.

Pyukumuku | Innards Out Hover for Moveset	Primarina | Liquid Voice Hover for Moveset	Jellicent | Water Absorb Hover for Moveset

This team is a setup and stall team. Pyukumuku is out first to set up stat boosts, maybe a Toxic, and then Baton Pass out into one of its teammates. Should the challenger bring a Steel type to deal with Primarina, Pyukumuku will use Soak and attempt to safely Toxic-stall it out of the way if possible before Baton Pass is used. Primarina is the main battler here, packing a decent variety of attacking moves as well as more stalling tactics like Encore and Substitute. When he's taken down Pyukumuku is back in for another round of setup, provided the challenger didn't already knock it out. Of special importance is using Soak on the challenger's Pokémon to make it even more susceptible to Jellicent's Grass-type draining moves. Jellicent, with its access to Recover and along with those draining moves, rounds out the strategy and can also Spite challengers into eventual Struggle defeats in a pinch. If Ford is reduced to just Pyukumuku then it becomes a drawn-out stall battle, with use of moves like Recover, Pain-Split and sparing use of Purify to keep Pyukumuku at full HP while whittling down the opponent with Toxic, Bide and Counter.

Sableye | Stall Hover for Moveset	Golurk | Iron Fist Hover for Moveset	Cofagrigus | Mummy Hover for Moveset

This team is solidly offensive. Sableye's Stall ability may seem like a downside, but it means a guaranteed double power Payback any turn she chooses to use it. She also has a few priority moves to get around the handicap, as well as Poison-type moves to cover her one weakness to Fairy types. Confuse Ray, Toxic and Will-O-Wisp mean she can also leave the challenger with a nasty parting gift once her HP gets low. Golurk is out next, and it has a few tricks up its sleeves depending on what it's facing. Against a Dark type it can break out one of several Fighting moves to try and cover its weakness. It can use Defense Curl and Rollout in combination for increasingly-powerful Rock type damage. Along with some other coverage moves and Stealth Rock, Golurk is meant to hit hard regardless of what's in front of it and put a significant dent in the challenger's team. Should Golurk fall, though, Cofagrigus is there to avenge him. Her first order of business is to set up a Trick Room, and then she can go on the offense guaranteed to move first against all but the slowest of opponents.

Elite Team

[meteorman]

✦ Elite Team ✦

All Elite Team Pokémon are level 100, and there is only one Elite team. Challengers will face six of the twelve, chosen at random, with the only constant being the Abomasnow at the end.

Elite team matches are six against however many Pokémon the challenger brings. Both the challenger and Ford are allowed to switch their Pokémon during battle. The challenger is allowed indefinite use of healing items; Ford is allowed two Full Restores. Mega evolution is permitted.

Gorebyss | Swift Swim Hover for Moveset	Shiinotic | Effect Spore Hover for Moveset	Clefable | Magic Guard Hover for Moveset
Spiritomb | Pressure Hover for Moveset	Musharna | Forewarn Hover for Moveset	Crobat | Inner Focus Hover for Moveset
Silphally | Adaptability Hover for Moveset	Dhelmise | Steelworker Hover for Moveset	Beheeyem | Synchronize Hover for Moveset
Drampa | Berserk Hover for Moveset	Decidueye | Long Reach Hover for Moveset	Abomasnow | Snow Warning Hover for Moveset

Much like the Junior Team, this team has a lot of varied potential. The difference is that with this team Ford assumes you know what you're doing and doesn't hobble his own strategy. He tends toward setup and status infliction, makes ample use of held items, and is general a huge pain to fight. Good luck.

[meteorman]

✦ Badge Requests ✦

To request a badge simply comment here with your character's name and which team you would like to face: Junior, Regular, or Elite. Don't forget to specify what kind of randomization you want if you'll be fighting one of the Regular teams. I will respond with the details of the team your character will be facing, and then you can tell me your character's strategy. Please bear in mind the levels of the team you're facing; don't bring six level 70 Pokémon to fight the Junior team. Make it a fair fight.

Thace | Junior team

[insidegalra]

Thace is more interested in talking and spying listening than the challenge, but while he's exploring the gym, he might as well see if he can hack these gym battles people are crazy about here. He'll have the password solved within an hour of his arrival on 8/1, but will actually put off the battle until he's watched at least one match, talked to everyone, and explored every place he's allowed into thoroughly. And speed-read some of the books, because ~knowledge~. Because he's being polite he won't actually break into anything, so there's that! Right before he finally heads up he'll battle the other trainers, and will say "for the experience" if asked why.

Thace will only battle with the four that (caught themselves) are registered as his team, but he will have the other three with him. If told they can't be present, he'll send them to the stands, but be warned, this will upset the baby the tiny Whismur will start crying if separated from him.

[meteorman]

Thace rolled a 5 and a 2, which means he'll be facing off against Lunatone and Spritzee!

Unfortunately there's not a lot of dark secrets to be found here. It really does seem like a pretty straightforward museum of oddities. The most trouble anyone gives him for poking around is the person manning the bookstore very weakly asking him if he's going to buy the first book he speedreads and then just sort of leaving him to it after that. Knowledge is great, who's going to argue with that?

He is also totally allowed to keep the rest of his team with him on the field so long as they don't actually engage in the battle.

[insidegalra]

Thace tries to only give advice rather than orders. He'll announce typing of the Pokemon and attacks with the help of his 'gear, and he'll say 'switch' anytime one of his needs healing. His Pokemon have been learning strategy along with him, so they're at least a little bit independent in battle! There might be a slip up or two, but only small ones.

Zaivar gets a gesture to go in first after Thace whispers a little bit with them. Crafty Shield goes up first. Metal Sound and Astonish follow after. If Zaivar needs some healing Vrig will come as the backup. She’ll use Autotomize, and hit with Fury Cutter and Night Slash mostly, with Shadow Sneak as a backup attack. If Lunatone doesn’t go down from that and Vrig needs a little healing, Zaivar will go back in. Vrig is on deck for re-entering the fight if Zaivar needs healing again. Then Brodar and Kaltor are on deck if things drag out too much, but Thace will only send them out if Vrig is running low on PP.


Zaivar stays in for Spritzee. Crafty Shield gets used immediately. Torment and Metal Sound will also see some use. Zaivar’s primary attack will be Astonish for the flinch chance. Kaltor is on deck for brief appearances for healing, and he’ll stay in for a little bit and use Growth and Leafage to chip away at HP (or Morning Sun if his is getting low).

Brodar is backup, and starts with Supersonic and Double Team, and then alternating between Wing Attack, and Absorb (for a little healing).

If Brodar starts getting weak, Vrig will come in. She’ll use Autotomise, and then mostly stick with Slash. Kaltor is the last option and would be using Leafage and Tackle and Morning Sun for healing.

If Thace runs out of healing items and all his team are low on HP he will forfeit rather than allow any of his team to faint.

[meteorman]

Given the numbers advantage and type advantage, it's no trouble for Thace to bag a win! Hopefully he enjoys his cute sticker reward and offer of a free egg. And of course he's always welcome to come back at a later date to challenge the Regular and/or Elite team!

[insidegalra]

The Whismur loves her new sticker. Thace makes a cryptic comment about the shape of the ship being familiar.

And then he gets awkward and asks Ford's advice. Which egg would be the best addition to his companions?

Thace | Elite Team

[insidegalra]

Guess who's back! Thace takes a stroll (probably with Steven, let's be real) through the premises and actually buys some books from the gift shop this time, then eagerly absorbs all the exhibits. Finally on to the challenge!

Thace actually helps his Pokemon solve for the password (he probably has it solved for himself in like twenty-forty minutes, especially since he's much more familiar with Pokemon this time around) and so his team might actually need to battle the Junior trainers for hints. They'll battle everyone who's there anyway for fun.

There are honestly probably a bunch of Thace's Pokemon in the stands to watch the battle, including a Silvally and several (wild) Durants. They will probably behave themselves. Probably.