Pokemon Conquest, Conquest Five: I Hope I’m Not Bugging You (6/7)

No explanation is forthcoming however... just a brief weirdspasm from Yoshimoto.  Then ‘That Thing That Goes Doink’ (go look on TVTropes) goes ‘Doink’, apparently causing a huge medicine ball to drop from the sky and clutter up the gravel garden even further than the three weird balls that are already there.

Your first turn comes, and with it, the opportunity to attack.... a Pokemari ball.  Your opponent is too far away for that, slow down, Skippy.  More importantly, that Pokemari ball is in the way.  When you attack it, though, it doesn’t just disappear- it bounces straight in the direction you were attacking until it hits the end of the map or an object no pokemon can pass through.  With the Pokemari ball sent flying, it then dissipates once it can travel no further.

This is the unique trait of Chrysalia’s battlefield: Pokemari balls.  When you strike one, it not only travels in the direction your attack was going, it also damages any Pokemon it hits as it travels.  Every turn or two, one or two more Pokemari balls will show up in random parts of the gravel garden- so be on the lookout.  The computer isn’t very careful about clumping up its Warriors, so it’s often fairly easy to mash one or two with a Pokemari ball to rack up some long-distance extra damage.  Just be careful- while it’s possible to constantly position all your Pokemon in ways that stop them being hit by flying Pokemari balls, it takes a bit of attention to battlefield location- effectively serving as a very good way of practicing your tactical maneuvers to avoid enemy area attacks.  Keep in mind that only the large rock, the trees, and the Things That Go ‘Doink’ will stop Pokemari balls before they reach the edge of the map, and place your party members accordingly.

The other danger here is the random chunks of fencing that will pop out of the gravel in some locations, pinning a Pokemon in place after it moves, but before it gets the chance to attack.  These are thankfully not in easily Pokemari’d locations for the most part, but they are just as aggravating and debilitating as the pit traps you’ve encountered elsewhere.

Beware of the two Bug Biters here- generally you’re best off not bringing Potions to this battle at all, as the computer is very good at targetting potion-toting pokemon with Pineco and Sewaddle, prolonging the fight rather severely and probably straining your resources in two directions at once while doing it.  Also, lots of Poison is likely to happen, between Poison Point and Poison Sting- make sure that if you have Rikyuu in your army, you bring him- his Detox ability is very useful here.