The VSBA: Maxie Vs Cynikka

“For pride and avarice and envy are the three fierce sparks

 that set all hearts ablaze.” - Dante Alighieri

Maxie: The Leader of Team Magma from Pokémon

Cynikka: The Queen of Infernus from StateSMP

From the volcano comes smoke, fire, magma and destruction. A volcanic eruption is a natural disaster feared by all. To these factions the destruction they face is not something to fear, but a resource for them to change the world, and in their skewed worldview, maybe even save it. Can Infernus stand the heat or will Team Magma boil over, find out in this inferno of a DEATH BATTLE!

Before we begin…

This is a fight between two factions, Team Magma and Infernus. With both having access to all their resources and anything they would need to win a war.

For Team Magma we will be limiting our research to just the Gen 3 games. Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Omega Ruby, and Alpha Sapphire. Maxie himself appears in more, however limiting the media simplifies the analysis significantly.

For those unaware, Infernus is a faction from the video “1000 Players Simulate Civilization: Rich & Poor” by Ish. It was a video following a storyline from a 2 week minecraft roleplay server. The video is excellent, we really recommend watching it before reading this. We will be using Primarily the main video, alongside player POV’s that have been shared, interviews with Ish and the players, and any statements from Cynnika herself. While it may be Minecraft, general Minecraft scaling doesn't apply although the way things work are bound by its mechanics. The Members of Infernus will be everyone residing within the Ashen Bastion prior to The Battle of Infernus.

Seb did some sick ass art for this, you should pay him to make you art on his Kofi

Credit to Toxin’s Katsuki Bakugo vs Eustass Kidd (Don’t worry about this)

Background

Team Magma

"Now then. I believe it is time we begin. The time for the purge has come. I do believe

that I made myself quite clear when we were last in Slateport. I warned you that

 any fool standing in our way would be met without mercy!"

The balance between land and water is crucial to the ecosystem of the world, however to Maxie, he saw it more as a limitation. A roadblock stopping the evolution of humans and Pokemon. To fix this Maxie assembled a criminal organization called Team Magma, and hatched a plan to fix this “imbalance”. The way he would do this would be with an ancient power, the Legendary Pokemon Groudon. Using its flowing Magma to create more landmass and the sun it brings to dry up the world seas. Of course there would be many obstacles on his route to this. A team that foiled Magma, Team Aqua, sought to stop Maxie and do the opposite, increasing the sea level with more ocean for Pokemon to thrive in. Despite that, a young boy or girl who just had moved to Hoenn would be his greatest challenge. The Trainer’s first encounter with Magma saw them foil the plans of a grunt that had stolen an old man’s bird, and soon after theTrainer would stand in their way in the Oceanic Museum. Maxie threatened them but this would not be their last encounter. Team Magma would kidnap Doctor Kozmos and steal the Meteorite. At the top of Meteor falls, Maxie would battle the trainer, but lose. Still he revealed his plan. Using a machine, he would harness the power of the Meteorite and turn it into a Mega Stone, but with this loss he gave the meteorite up stating he had a better plan. The next step for Maxie saw Team Magma head to the Weather Institute, where Team Magma found more than they had bargained for, which led them to Mt. Pyre. Maxie had come into possession of The Red Orb, which he sought to use to awaken Groudon. Team Magma commandeered a Submarine and took it into an Underground Cavern. While The Trainer tried to stop him, Maxie succeeded in his plan to awaken Groudon. This success however would be the extent of it. Groudon did not obey Maxie, and its might was far greater than expected, it would not just increase the world's landmass but bring an end to all life on the planet, boiling its oceans and spreading its Magma endlessly. Faced with the threat of extinction Maxie and his team had to unite with Team Aqua and The Trainer to stop Groudon, giving them the Magma Suit and Blue Orb, the counterpart to the Red Orb. The used The Suit and rode Groudon though its immense heat and defeated it, stopping Team Magma’s great mistake. Good intentions blinded

Infernus

“We could've had Island 1 at peace and world peace. And we still can, really.

But over my grave, he will not be a part of it.”

1000 players were divided up between two enormous islands. Island 1, Ygrassdril and Island 2, Pandora. Dropped with no guidance and left to their own devices what would these people do, form government, declare war? These Islands had two clear differences. While Island 2 was a glistening paradise, rich in all the resources a growing society could desire, Island 1 was a desolate wasteland primed for death and famine. Among Island 1’s undesirable features was a massive Volcano that spread lava through the underground and boiled all the water on the island. While most people sought to get away from this island, one nation sought not to fear what it may become, but to protect what it was. This Nation was Infernus. Led by a Queen by the name of Cynnika, Infernus settled in a fortress suspended above the Volcano’s centre called The Ashen Bastion. While Infernus lived above the Volcano, a small group had also settled within it, the Lingulini Mafia. Led by Linguili, who is literally just Marip, The Mafia volunteered themselves to serve as Infernus’s mining force, trading the resources they dug up for food. Deep within the mines of the Volcano, Linguli found a resource unique not just to Island 1, but something even Island 2 did not have access to: Netherite.

Over on Island 2 a variety of other factions formed, relevant to Infernus would be Luminara, who sought to unite both islands and cause world peace, a goal their leader 3BelowZero had meticulously planned for. 3BelowZero’s Second in Command Fluxion, however, thought this idea completely foolish and when he went to a meeting in 3BelowZero’s place, he attempted to prevent peace talks and instead prepare for an invasion by Island 1. This went against not just what Luminara wanted, but the entirety of Island 2 and thus the Island’s leaders voted against this. Back in Luminara 3BelowZero was furious at this betrayal, demoting Fluxion from his position, meanwhile Fluxion enraged at what he perceived as incompetence, hatched a plan that he believed would save Island 2 from Island 1’s Invasion, starting a conspiracy with likeminded players to remove the failures for leaders Island 2 had. Among these players was Seraphim, who was the 2nd in command of another nation, Tricolour. As the conspiracy’s first act to save this Island, Seraphim assassinated the leader of Tricolour and immediately the entire island was put on lockdown. Causing an emergency meeting to be called, hosted by Fluxion’s friend Saparata. While Saparata was gathering the island's leaders for a meeting, Fluxion trapped the meeting room, and then activated the trap during the meeting, framing Saparata for the murder of many high ranking leaders.

Back on Island 1 The Mafia had decided to not uphold their end of the deal and provide Infernus with the resources they said they would. Infernus decided not to take action but when a member of Infernus accidentally leaked that there was Netherite in the Volcano, a rumour that spread across Island 1 to a faction called The Covenant, a brutal warrior cult who then sent a mining exhibition and to the volcano and confirmed this. Out of fear of The Covenant wiping Infernus out with their greater strength, they allowed The Covenant to mine in The Volcano. When other nations asked however, Infernus denied. An Island-wide meeting was called over this, in hopes that Infernus could be strong-armed into giving more nations access to the Volcano. Because the  Lingulini Mafia had not held up their end of the deal with Infernus, Infernus had grown very poor. Infernus, while open to trade, did not want to give out mining rights for the laughable 10 iron they had been offered. Lingulini disagreed with Infernus, and decided to open up mining with their own territory, another betrayal Infernus was not happy about. The meeting ended with tensions high Cynikka stormed out of the meeting.

Back on Island 1 Saparata was seeking to prove his innocence however Fluxion rigged the trial, in hopes that any chance of him getting exposed would die with Saparata. Forcing Saps to flee his own execution. Meanwhile the barrier between the islands finally came down and Lingulini moved the Mafia off Island 1 for fear of Infernus retaliating. Rightfully slow as suddenly a Covenant hit-squad was sent after them, slaughtering the Mafia and Mario himself. Turns out this was at the order of Infernus, rightfully angry at the repeated betrayal. This info was eventually leaked to the press by another leader who had approved the hit with hopes it would unite the island who then killed himself. In response to the island wide outrage, Infernus held a ceremony with the Covenant where they paraded Lingulini’s head around and then threw it into the Volcano. The rest of Island 1 decided to put Infernus and The Covenant, a chaotic trial that did not accomplish much, and was cut short when The Leader of The Covenant was killed, leading Infernus to walk out of the Trial, and assimilate the remaining Covenant Members into their ranks.

Saparata would actually manage to prove his innocence as other members came across evidence supporting his story, causing the attempted arrest of Fluxion who escaped, killing many innocents in the process, and where did he flee to… Infernus of Course. Similarly, another nation less relevant to this story, called the Commonwealt,h was forced to disband and flee to Infernus after their hunt for Saparata nearly sent them into war with Westhelm, the largest nation on Island 1. Now basically everyone was united against either Infernus or people they had harboured within their ranks, and thus came war. Nearly everyone across both Islands attacked the Volcano, making their way up through the Lava pouring down the sides of the volcano, a into The Ashen Bastion, with a Final confrontation between the leaders of Infernus and the forces of good, ending in the death of the leaders, and finally uniting the world as a single entity. Infernus was a nation with good intentions, however in response to their situation they had to hold their ground, leading them to go from a poor nation seeking to simply settle and thrive within their sacred land, to a feared force harbouring some of the most feared criminals the islands had ever seen.

 Skill & Experience

Team Magma

Maxie is a great scientific mind and solid leader. His Genius is what led him to hatch his great plan to save the world. He created a machine to amplify the power of the meteorite, to the point it would cause volcanic eruptions. Potentially his greatest creation, The Magma Suit is “The height of Hoenn’s technological prowess”. In a region where scientists can create entire new Pokemon and revive Pokemon from fossils. He also of course Awakened Groudon which is something no one had done in thousands of years. The rest of Team Magma are no slouches, but where they stand out is how well they can rob people, stealing Pokemon, robbing stores, and snatching the Meteorite. The Team is quite well coordinated, with the team able to almost instantly pass information through their ranks. This coordination all falls back to their genius leader, Maxie. Maxie is also quite an elite Trainer, having access to Mega Evolution, something only seen among the best Trainers in a Region.

Infernus

Infernus is a nation with a strong military, but also a strong leadership. Before they found themselves in conflict Cynikka was noted as a strong leader who warmed the hearts of her people, uniting them as one with the flame, so loyal they would take blame for murder she committed. Her diplomatic skills led 2 other another nation's leaders to go to bat for them despite the international backlash that would later lead them both to kill themselves. Cynikka herself was notably not a very good fighter, however, that did not mean the rest of the nation was incompetent. During the Battle of Infernus SirEzran led a squad of 15 soldiers that is credited with over 150 kills, a massive 1-10 Ratio. Infernus also had access to the most skilled army in the world among their ranks, the Peacekeepers (previously the Covenant). This is not to mention The Conspiracy, who managed to assassinate half a dozen world leaders and blame it on an innocent man, and then escape persecution multiple times. While creating a variety of expertly crafted traps.

Equipment

Team Magma

Super Potions

A mid level healing item that when used by a trainer heals a Pokemon by 50-60 HP.

Cameruptite

When held by Camerupt it allows it to tap into the phenomenon of Mega Evolution. Mega Evolution massively increases its stats and grants it access to a new ability

Mega Keystone

"What's that you say? You're in awe of my magnificent Mega Glasses?

It appears you have very good taste."

In order to access Mega Evolution, a Trainer must possess a Mega Keystone. Maxie’s Keystone is embedded within his glasses, a very stylish choice.

Blue Orb

Like a Dumbass, in “Pokemon Ruby” Maxie used the wrong orb to awaken Groudon and is unable to control it. Also used to power the following Magma Suit

Red Orb

The Red Orb is a powerful ancient artifact that awakens Groudon from its slumber. If held by Groudon it unlocks its Primal reversion. Even though it's the Correct orb this time it still can’t control Groudon.

Magma Suit

A suit powered by the Blue Orb, the height of Hoenn’s technological prowess, said to be capable of surviving any impact. Allows the wearer to pass through magma, even with its amplifications at Groudon’s hand. It has built in radio and can also allow the wearer to breathe in space

Infernus

Netherite

Infernus has access to massive amounts of Netherite, the sole resource the Volcano provided that could not be found anywhere else. Netherite is an incredibly strong and durable material that most of their members used to make their weapons. It also does not burn in Lava.

Swords

The primary Weapon wielded by everyone, it deals consistent damage in a sweeping motion.

 Axes

Axes are a more specialized Weapon, dealing slow, sluggish blows with the upside of massive damage and the ability to disable shields.

Bows

The Classic Bow and Arrow, long range, fast arrows.

Armour

Armour is the greatest defence a warrior can have, protecting them from all types of damage. If it's covered in Netherite it also reduces knockback.

Shields

A shield lets the user block a variety of attacks, tanking strikes, deflecting arrows and even absorbing explosions.

Lava & Water Buckets

Buckets are one of the most crucial pieces of utility. Lava is a brutal offensive option to burn foes to a crisp. Water serves not just to extinguish these flames, but it can also soften the impact of falls. Water is also boiled when in the vicinity of The Volcano, making it a double-edged sword.

Pointed Dripstone

Dripstone is one of the most lethal items there is. When used as a part of a trap it is capable of killing basically anyone in a single hit, either by dropping it from a great height on an unsuspecting target or by dropping them down a pit onto its sharp point. Both result in a brutal impalement.

TNT

It's a Bomb, just a cubic metre of explosives. Good for traps

Golden Apples

When a Golden Apple is consumed the user is granted 5 seconds of increased regeneration and 2 minutes of a 20% health bonus, allowing weakened fighters to quickly heal themselves in a pinch

Members

Team Magma

Maxie

Maxie is the Leader of Team Magma, and its best trainer. The mastermind behind all its plans and the one directing Team Magma. In his possession he has The Red Orb, Blue Orb, Magma Suit, and Camperuptite. He tends to stay back and let his Team do the work unless a foe has proven too much for Grunts and Admins.

Maxie is the one in possession of nearly all of the team’s notable equipment, with both the Red and Blue Orbs, Mega Stones, and Magma Suit. He additionally has 2 Super Potions.

His Team consists of Mightyena, Crobat, Weezing, and Mega Camerupt. He leads off with Mightyena in a battle and saves his Ace, Mega Camperupt for last.

Courtney & Tabitha

Courtney and Tabitha are the Admin’s of Team Magma, answering only to Maxie himself and tasked with managing many of the Organization's doings. Courtney has access to Mega Evolution with her own Keystone and Cameruptite, which she obtained during the Delta Episode

Courtney’s team is made up of Mightyena, Weezing and Mega Camperupt.

Tabitha’s Team is made of Numel, Mightyena, Golbat and Camerupt.

Grunts

The Grunts make up the bulk of Team Magma, very much quantity over quality. Going through the various battles against Grunts, the game in which they have the most fights is Omega Ruby, which shows that there is at most approximately 46 Members (38 different fights, 2 of which are groups of 5) who in total have 7 Poochyena, 18 Mightyena, 13 Numel, 1 Camerupt, 1 Zubat, 9 Golbat, 6 Koffing, 6, Weezing. While in Emerald there is also an additional 6 Baltoy.

Numel and Camerupt

   

“Camerupt has a volcano inside its body. Magma of 18,000 degrees F courses through its body. Occasionally, the humps on this Pokémon's back erupt, spewing the superheated magma.”

The Numel Line are the Signature Species of Team Magma. Volcanic Camels that thrive in the heat, and have Magma flow through their bodies. Across all Team Magma’s battles, they have shown the following abilities and moves.

Abilities

Oblivious

Numel

Prevents attraction. (No Rizz)

Simple

Numel

Doubles all stat changes, positive and Negative

Magma Armor

Camerupt

Prevents freezing

Solid Rock

Camperupt

Reduces the damage of Super Effective Attacks by 25%

Sheer Force

Mega Camerupt

Removes all secondary effects of attacks, but increases their power by 30%

Moves

Tackle

Normal

Its Tackle

Growl

Normal

Lowers the target's attack by 33%

Focus Energy

Normal

Increases the Critical Hit chance on the following attacks

Ember

Fire

Shoots fire, may Burn the target, which halves their attack and deals damage over time

Magnitude

Ground

Creates an Earthquake of varying power, magnitude 1-10

Take Down

Normal

A brutal tackle that deals recoil damage to the user

Amnesia

Psychic

Raises the user's Special Defense by 100%

Rock Slide

Rock

A wide spread of rocks that hits multiple targets and may cause them to flinch

Earthquake

Ground

It's an Earthquake, massive damage hitting enemies and allies

Flame Burst

Fire

Bursts Fire Outwards with a chance to Burn adjacent Pokemon

Lava Plume

Fire

A burst of Lava, may Burn the target, which halves their attack and deals damage of time

Earth Power

Ground

Makes the ground erupt beneath the target may lower the targets Special Defense by 33%

Curse

Ghost

Lowers the user's Apeed by 33% but increases their Attack and Defence by 50%

Yawn

Normal

Puts the target to sleep on the following turn, can be cancelled if they switch out

Fire Blast

Fire

A massive blast of blazing fire, may Burn the target, which halves their attack and deals damage over time

Eruption

Fire

An Eruption of fire and lava, dealing more damage the more health the user has.

Flash Cannon

Steel

A blast of light that may lower the target's Special Defense by 33%

       

Poochyena and Mightyena

“Mightyena gives obvious signals when it is preparing to attack. It starts to growl deeply and then flattens its body. This Pokémon will bite savagely with its sharply pointed fangs.”

The Poocheyena line are a staple among the criminals of Hoenn, Dark Type Dogs with a great ability to follow orders. Across all Team Magma’s battles they have shown the following abilities and moves.

Abilities

Run Away

Poochyena

Makes it easier to run away from battle

Quick Feet

Poochyena Mightyena

Increases Speed by 50% while Statused

Intimidate

Mightyena

Lowers Enemies' Attack by 33%

Moves

Sand Attack

Ground

Lowers the Accuracy of Target by 33%

Bite

Dark

Its a bite, may cause the target to flinch

Odor Sleuth

Normal

Odor Sleuth allows the target to always hit their next move, even allowing Normal Type moves to hit Ghosts

Roar

Normal

Switches the opposing Pokemon out and forces another to come in

Swagger

Normal

Increases The Opponents attack by 100%, but makes them confused, giving them a chance to hurt themselves

Howl

Normal

Increases Attack and Special Attack by 50%

Scary Face

Normal

Lowers the Speed of Target by 50%

Take Down

Normal

A brutal tackle that deals recoil damage to the user

Taunt

Dark

Prevents the Target from doing non Damaging Moves

Assurance

Dark

Deals double damage to the target if they have already taken damage this turn

Snarl

Dark

Lowers the Special Attack of all enemies by 33%

Embargo

Dark

Prevents use of Items

Crunch

Dark

Bigger bite, can lower defense by 33%

Sucker Punch

Dark

Has priority but only works if the Target was attacking

Zubat, Golbat and Crobat

“If this Pokémon is flying by fluttering only a pair of wings on either the forelegs or hind legs, it's proof that Crobat has been flying a long distance. It switches the wings it uses if it is tired.”

Another classic Pokemon used by criminals, The Zubat line are small, Poison/Flying Type Bat Pokemon, that do pretty typical Bat things. Across all Team Magma’s battles they have shown the following abilities and moves.

Ability

Inner Focus

All 3

Prevents Flinching

Moves

Supersonic

Normal

Confuses, giving them a chance to hurt themselves

Astonish

Ghost

May cause the target to flinch

Bite

Dark

It's a bite, may cause the target to flinch

Wing Attack

Flying

Hits the Target with their wing

Confuse Ray

Ghost

Confuses, giving them a chance to hurt themselves

Air Cutter

Flying

Blasts razor-like air, more likely to be a critical hit

Mean Look

Normal

Prevents the Target from fleeing

Swift

Normal

Sprays star-shaped rays that never miss.

Poison Fang

Poison

A bite that may Poison the target

Acrobatics

Flying

Deals double damage if the user is not holding an item

Haze

Ice

Clears all stat changes

Cross Poison

Poison

A slashing attack with a poisonous blade that may also poison the target. Critical hits land more easily.

Brave Bird

Flying

A powerful move that causes the user to take lots of recoil damage

Super Fang

Normal

Deals half the current health of the target

Roost

Flying

Heals 50% of the User's Health

Koffing and Weezing

“Weezing loves the gases given off by rotted kitchen garbage. This Pokémon will find a dirty, unkempt house and make it its home. At night, when the people in the house are asleep, it will go through the trash.”

Floating Balls of Pollution and another staple of Pokémon’s Criminals. Poison types that spew smokes aimlessly. Across all Team Magma’s battles they have shown the following abilities and moves.

Abilities

Levitate

Both

Grants immunity to Ground type attacks

Moves

Haze

Ice

Clears all stat changes

Double Hit

Normal

Shit it's in the name

Sludge Bomb

Poison

A blob of poison with a chance to Poison the target

Clear Smog

Poison

Clears the stat changes of the target

Sludge

Poison

A blob of poison with a chance to Poison the target

Explosion

Normal

Yes Rico, Kaboom

Assurance

Dark

Deals double damage to the target if they have already taken damage this turn

Sludge

Poison

A blob of poison with a chance to Poison the target

Self Destruct

Normal

Also Kaboom

Belch

Poison

The user lets out a damaging belch at the target. The user must eat a held Berry to use this move.

Gyro Ball

Steel

Deals more damage the slower the user is

Destiny Bond

Ghost

If the user faints on the same turn this is used, the attacker is brought down with them

Baltoy

Baltoy moves while spinning around on its one foot. Primitive wall paintings depicting this Pokémon living among people were discovered in some ancient ruins.

A small spinning top clay doll was used only a couple of times by Team Magma. A Ground & Psychic Type. Across all Team Magma’s battles, they have shown the following abilities and moves.

Abilities

Levitate

Baltoy

Grants immunity to Ground Type attacks

Moves

Ancient Power

Rock

Launch rocks at the target, with a chance to increase all the users' stats by 50%

Imprison

Psychic

Prevents foes from using moves known by the user.

Cosmic Power

Psychic

Increases the user's Defences by 50%

Extrasensory

Psychic

The user attacks with an odd, unseeable power. This may also make the target flinch.

Earth Power

Ground

Makes the ground erupt beneath the target may lower the target's Special Defense by 33%

Groudon

Groudon has long been described in mythology as the Pokémon that raised lands and expanded continents. This Pokémon took to sleep after a cataclysmic battle with Kyogre.

Team Magma’s goal is to use the Red Or Blue Orb to awaken the Legendary Continent Pokemon. It’s mere presence raises the Temperature of the planet as it passively spews magma all around it. Despite Team Magma’s ability to awaken this Super Ancient Legendary, they are incapable of controlling its immense strength or predicting the scope of its destruction

Abilities

Drought

Groudon

Creates Harsh Sunlight, increasing the power of Fire moves and decreasing the power of Water moves by 50%

Desolate Land

Primal Groudon

Creates an even Harsher Sunlight, increasing the power of Fire moves and completely nullifying Water type moves.

Moves

Bulk Up

Fighting

Increases the user's Attack and Defence by 50%

Earthquake

Ground

The user sets off an earthquake that strikes every Pokémon around it

Hammer Arm

Fighting

The user swings and hits with its strong, heavy fist. It lowers the user's Speed by 33%

Fissure

Ground

30% chance to just kill the target

Fire Blast

Fire

A massive blast of blazing fire, may Burn the target, which halves their attack and deals damage of time

Precipace Blades

Ground

The user attacks opposing Pokémon by manifesting the power of the land in fearsome blades of stone.

Type Chart

Type Charts determine how the various Pokemon Types interact with each other.

Infernus

Cynikka, Harvest, Ezran & Infernus

Cynikka is The Queen of Infernus, not much of a fighter but an incredibly smart leader who unified her people to great effect. She served as the public face of the Nation while Harvest ran things behind closed doors. Cynnika herself has shown an oddly consistent ability to frankly rizz up women.

Harvest is the King of Infernus and initially its main ruler before Cynikka was elected to mellow him out. was the brains behind Infernus and while he served a less public role than Cynnika, he was doing plenty behind the scenes. He ran the defence at the Battle of Infernus.

SirEzran was The Prince of Infernus, one of its only members to survive The Battle of Infernus. He was charged with leading a strike force to kill the Emperor of Westhelm, Schpood. While unsuccessful they are credited with 150 Kills from this effort.

Infernus has many less relevant members that are, luckily well documented and can be mentioned by name. There are various rankings of Infernus’s people as follows, totalling 28 people.

Lords: KingABass, RebelPongo, Erictafoya11, PlebCS, GoofyGeek, Wilkman, Zoqfot, Yummy_Twinkies

Knights: DarkWolfD, The_franChise, DefendingStar, Dizhewk, CryosXp, benJammin__

Citizens: JamesPlaying, Luigi_Corp, XxPandaLuvxX, Klankk0, ZimZolly, Joshza6, Eyesnov, McFlyingFury, Snailpusher, XPX_gamer, BaconEnjoyer, Nauotitco, Radiant_Blaze, Wrdnae

Fluxion & The Conspiracy

The Conspiracy were a group from Island 2 that believed war with Island 1 was inevitable and that instead of preparing for peace, they must prepare for war. After it all fell apart, the 5 remaining Conspiracy Members took refuge in Infernus on the condition they built traps to defend the Ashen Bastion. The Traps The Conspiracy have used include Falling Dripstone Traps, Moving Dripstone Spike Pits, and explosives.

SitzKrieg0 & Ex-Commonwealth

One of the five original leaders of the Commonwealth, SitzKrieg the leader of Mykonos, was the only leader to stay in their position after the multiple assassinations and the fumbling of Saparata’s trial. In search of the traitor Saparata they got into a conflict with Westhelm as they had been housing a traitor of their own. The Commonwealth killed one of the high ranking members of Westhem and dissolved the nation before joining Infernus. Roughly a dozen Commonwealth members joined Infernus

Peacekeepers (Ex-Covenant)

When Turntapp was assassinated at the Trial of Infernus, many of their remaining members took refuge in Infernus for the remainder of the Event. Known for their great skill in combat. Lead by Zynrr, There are 18 Peacekeepers in total, and are ranked in terms of their combat skill with 3X being their highest rank

Bases

Team Magma

Team Magma Hideout

Team Magma have established bases in a few different caves, either on a small island just outside Lilycove City, or within The Jagged Pass. Furnished with a variety of machines and living quarters

Infernus

Ashen Bastion

A massive fortress suspended above The Volcano, built of Materials designed to survive a potential eruption. It held off the forces of Westhelm, The Cass Coalition and many other Nations. In order to reach it attackers must travel across the open Volcano with the risk of falling in. The Base is also armed with a variety of traps created by The Conspiracy.

Feats

Team Magma

Overall

  • Led by one of the world’s greatest scientific minds
  • Robbed and raided many people’s, businesses, and scientists
  • Have Multiple members with access to Mega Evolution
  • Awakened The Super Ancient Continent Pokemon Groudon
  • Assisted Brendan/May to stop Groudon from destroying all life on the planet

Power

Speed

Durability

Infernus

Overall

  • Built a massive fortress inside a Volcano
  • Became one of the most powerful nations in world.
  • Wiped out The Lingulini Mafia
  • Harboured The Greatest Villains in the world
  • Held their own in the Battle of Infernus despite a massive number disadvantage.

Power

Speed

Durability

Scaling

Team Magma

Pokemon

Pokémon frequently battle against each other and consistently show similar levels of power to each other, provided they are at similar levels of an evolution chain.

Legendary Pokemon

Groudon and The Magma Suit are clearly on the level of certain Legendary Pokemon. Groudon has fought the likes of Kyogre and The Magma Suit survived the destruction of the Grand Meteor Delta.

Infernus

Other Players

There are a great many other Characters in the world, not a part of Infernus. The forces of Infernus did war with many of them, or even were responsible for their deaths so they all scale to each other.

  • This Nuke supposedly blew up The Aculon Empire

One Piece (Inapplicable)

THE ONE PIECE IS REAL!

The Pirate Republic was literally just One Piece, with their leader “The King of The Pirates” directly comparing a member of their crew to Zoro. This however doesn't mean the scaling makes sense nor is there any reason to believe they are comparable in more than a thematic sense.

Weaknesses

Team Magma

Team Magma don’t have any super exploitable weaknesses or anything, but they have some flaws. Maxie is fairly arrogant and has gone through with plans he doesn't fully understand. Most of Magma’s Grunts are also kinda just normal people.

Infernus

Infernus does not necessarily have any blatant, exploitable weaknesses. Their poor economic state makes it hard for them to keep up with larger nations. Cynikka herself is notably incompetent on the battlefield but beyond that there is little of note.

Before the Verdict

Can Trainers Scale to Pokemon?

Within the specific media focused on, Trainers do not have any showing of surviving attacks from Pokemon, beyond what Brendan and May do with the Magma Suit. There’s not enough evidence to scale people even in Durability to Pokemon. However if you look outwards into other games even a little you immediately find pretty blatant showings of Trainers getting smacked around by some top tier Pokemon. Most notably a Team Rocket Grunt getting Hyper Beamed by Lance’s Dragonite. A Team Rocket Grunt is something Team Magma would scale to as another evil team. There’s also the entirety of Pokemon Legends Arceus where Rei and Akari are trading blows with some incredibly top tier Pokemon. Even in just the games it’s fairly consistent but it requires you to look beyond just RSE and ORAS.

God Mod Scaling

Within days before this was released, a new video dropped which provided significant feats for Ish and His mods. Making the existing Schpood feat of duelling Ish incredibly notable. Both feats would get somewhere in the Star Range, similar to where Groudon could likely be placed.  I believe there are some narrative inconsistencies with scaling with this line of scaling, however. Schpood and Ish’s duel was very much not serious in nature, requiring him to be in survival mode to allow Schpood to even hit him. There’s also issues in the line of thinking that players could scale to weird The Moderator’s cosmic spike things. In that very scene someone has very clearly been killed by them and the threat of such power puts SitzKrieg0 on his knees. It's also kinda just an outlier; these characters never do anything of the sort on their own.

Verdict

When breaking down Team Magma and Infernus, it's pretty clear that 3 Categories summarize what's at play: their Stats, Skill/Leadership, and Arsenals.

Stats

While Stats are fairly clear-cut, it's still worth going into the ways they line up against each other.

Let's start by taking a look at Speed. Team Magma and Infernus had almost identical speed arguments between Maxie running away in the blink of an eye and a player dodging a Warden’s Sonic Shriek. Both feats come in at around Mach 0.3, with Maxie’s feat being marginally faster to a negligible degree. Team Magma’s Pokémon themselves have attacks that move as fast as light and can scale to Pokémon capable of flying at speeds exceeding Mach 1. Infernus is incapable of matching that in any way, meaning Team Magma takes a solid edge in Speed.

Team Magma physically really can't hold up against Infernus on their own. Brendan and May’s 3000 Joule fall doesn't begin to stack up to the immense 12.9 Kilotons Infernus lives with constantly. Where things turn around is when considering what Pokémon can do. Some of the strongest Pokémon around, like Tyranitar, can destroy mountains. While Tyranitar is stronger than the average Fully Evolved Pokémon as a pseudo-legendary, it’s certainly not to the extent where they are unable to downscale it, while Mega Camerupt would potentially even upscale the feat. Even some of the weaker Pokémon, Not Fully Evolved Pokémon, should be comparable to Magneton which can’t put out 861 Tons of TNT. If Team Magma’s stronger Pokémon can scale far above Infernus, what does that mean for Infernus themselves? Well when you look at other games, you see than even similar evil team grunts can take hit from a Champion’s Dragonite’s Hyperbeam. Dragonite is a Pokémon exactly on the level of Tyranitar so they can absolutely scale to the mountain-busting. But what if you’re strict and keep it to the Gen 3 Games? While Team Magma has one clear way of keeping themselves safe: The Magma Suit. The Magma Suit withstood the destruction of The Grand Meteor Delta. This Destruction comes out at a massive nearly 900 Zettatons of TNT. While you would have to account for Surface area for how much of it hits the suit, it’s not gonna be enough for Infernus to have any shot of breaking through the suit.

Now what about Groudon? While Groudon’s Presence made the Sun bright enough to dry up the Ocean, coming in at 74 Zettatons of TNT. This is also far more than what Infernus can handle, by several orders of Magnitude in fact. This is also a low end interpretation, similar feats using different calculation methods get more towards the Yottatons-Ronnatons Range.

Now in theory if you bought God Mod scaling, Infernus would also get to the Star range and hold a sizable stat advantage over Team Magma bar Groudon (who they’d match) however, that scaling is not bought, so it can’t really be considered.

Overall, Team Magma holds a fairly modest speed edge but an incredibly significant Power and Durability Advantage. Team Magma takes Stats 

Skill & Leadership

In an army fight, teamwork is key and the teamwork falls to the leaders. Team Magma clearly runs a tight ship, they are fairly skilled trainers capable of communicating really well, especially for a bunch of Criminals. Comparatively, Cynikka’s leadership, and communication were world renown. In the face of conflict, her people would take credit for murder she committed, and her allies would support her even if it was against the wishes of their nations. Cynikka’s relationship with her people goes much deeper than Maxie’s with Team Magma.

In a similar vein Infernus’s ranks are composed of more skilled warriors. Team Magma has some solid fighters, but the nature of their battling requires much less actual fighting themselves, and a 1-10 K/D is much beyond what they have shown. To put it simply Infernus killed hundreds in a war as they defended their home but lost, Team Magma, along with nearly every other trainer in the region lost to a child repeatedly (though this child is just built different) This all being said Maxie is far smarter than anyone else in the fight, his scientific prowess is far more impressive than even Fluxion’s plans to take over the world.

Maxie may be a smart, skilled, strong leader, but Cynikka’s ability to unite her people in a much more meaningful way, with many more skilled warriors means heart beats brains, and Infernus takes Skill & Leadership

Arsenals

These are two sizable groups with quite a lot of stuff to throw at the board, so let's compare what they bring to the table.

Let’s start with the numbers game. Team Magma has Maxie, Courtney, Tabitha, and somewhere in the range of 46 Grunts without accounting for the possibility of each grunt accounting for multiple battles. Totally just short of 50 people with 49 members. Infernus has Cynikka, Harvest, Ezran, 28 other members, roughly 12 Commonwealth members, the 5 members of the Conspiracy, and the 16 Peacekeepers. This totals 71 members. It is possible that these numbers are slightly off, but it would likely only increase the advantage towards Infernus. This, however, doesn't account for Team Magma’s many Pokémon. These add 78 additional numbers to Team Magma’s side. Infernus may have more people but the Pokémon mean they are not holding an advantage in the numbers game.

In terms of sheer versatility, Team Magma also has Infernus beat. Their Pokémon can shoot Fire and Lava, create Earthquakes and call down rockslides, fire blasts of light. Lob poison and blast blades of air. They can amplify their own stats and lower their opponents. Inflict status in the form of Burns, Poison and Confusion. Or even heal themselves with Roost or their trainer’s using Potions.

In comparison, Infernus has access to a good kit of weapons and equipment. Swords and Arrows allow them to engage in combat at a variety of ranges. Shields can also let them block projectiles. While they actually have better healing options with Golden Apples, that's hardly enough to keep them in the game. Even their Buckets and explosives are pale imitations of a move like Eruption. Infernus’s best shot would be Dripstone. Even with an immense stat advantage difference, the threat of a sharp ass rock sticking you in the neck or falling into a pit of them is very real.

This actually goes into another advantage, which is how much better The Ashen Bastion is as a base than Team Magma’s Hideout. The Ashen Bastion proved an incredible asset in a war while Team Magma’s hideout got raided by a child. The Ashen Bastion's variety of traps have a great chance of taking a few people out on their way in, though flying Pokémon should bypass this to some extent.

There's also the ever looming threat of Maxie just awakening Groudon. The Ashen Bastion is actually designed to defend against this type of thing, meaning it could let Infernus wait it out as a god destroys the rest of the world. It however, would be extraordinarily unlikely that Maxie would awaken Groudon before even breaching the walls of The Ashen Bastion at all.

While also unlikely, Cynikka under certain circumstances may have a chance to use her “Rizz” to sway some female grunts or potentially Courtney to her side. This however, wouldn't do much to mitigate the huge numbers’ disadvantage.

The Ashen Bastion’s defences could keep them safe for a time but the overwhelming variety and numbers advantage Team Magma has would let them breach its walls, even if the traps might take a few people with them. Arsenals go to Team Magma.

Overall

To put it simply, Infernus’s advantages only serve to delay the inevitable. The massive power disadvantage means they have to stay on the defensive, and as great as the Ashen Bastion is, it's not enough to deal with well over 100 people and Pokémon. And even if they are better fighters, they are not prepared to deal with everything Pokémon can do. 

Summary

Team Magma

"I'm Maxie. I stand at the head of Team Magma to propel humanity to greater heights of progress and evolution."

Advantages

  • Pokémon are far stronger and more durable than Infernus
  • Stronger and more durable with Trainer-Pokemon scaling
  • Greater Numbers when accounting for Pokémon
  • Pokémon are far more versatile
  • Magma Suit completely Stonewalls
  • Fucking Groudon
  • Comparable Speed

Disadvantages

  • Less Competent Fighters
  • Far Weaker without Trainer-Pokemon scaling
  • Need to avoid getting stabbed by Dripstone
  • Worse Base
  • Fewer non-Pokemon Fighters

Infernus

“Let this be a lesson - shame to those that disrespect our volcano”

Advantages

  • More skilled fighters and better leadership
  • Might be able to get a lucky kill with Dripstone
  • Ashen Bastion protects them from dying immediately, even to Groudon
  • Cynikka might be able to Rizz up Courtney
  • More people in their forces
  • Comparable Speed
  • Would probably win if they scaled to Mods

Disadvantages

  • Far less Powerful and Durable
  • Slower than Pokémon
  • Way less versatile
  • Outnumbered by Pokémon
  • No way to get past Magma Suit
  • Got fucked over by Mario

While Infernus may have been able to hold down their fort, Team Magma left them in ashes

The Winner is Team Magma

Next Time

Shoutout to Seb and Saul for being around for the ride on this. For now this blog is gonna just be solo and/or duo/small group projects where I work at my own pace. Don’t expect anything until probably the new year, but I plan on putting out a banger when I get some time.

Turnip Boy VS Kril

(Turnip Boy Vs Another Crab's Treasure)

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