So, this one was an unrated random battle, one of those fun formats that normally produce the most meaningless battles that count for absolutely nothing, but this battle had a collection of what I consider incredibly close saves that let me come back from a 2-5 deficit (facing several powerful sweepers and support mons) despite some early misplays on my part. It's a bit long, and there aren't many really punchy turns that take one's breath away, but I'm proud of it none-the-less.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7unratedrandombattle-970675175
Turn 1: Anticipating the Jump Kick, I switch to Golurk. He goes into Primal Groundon, one of my least favorite mons to face.
Turn 2: Fortunately, I've got Earthquake that can hit him, but I need to speed up first. I see the Swords Dance and guess that he's got Double Dance. I don't have any mons on my team that can counter Primal Groundon once it's at +2/+2, so I stick with Golurk and get a +2 speed.
Turn 3: I've got a speed leg up, so I go for Earthquake, barely not knocking him out. He gets his own +2 speed, and my team is totally bereft of priority. This is a problem.
Turn 4-13: I try to use Archeop's resistance to Fire Punch to get him with a Head Smash, but I miss. Hindsight: I should have used Tailwind to let another Mon take him out. Got greedy. Not really sure why I sent out Galvantula. I should have switched to Steelix, forgone the Mega evolution to use Sturdy to take a hit and then counter. So, I basically threw away two mons for nothing. Slobro kills the Steelix, and I get a toxic off, but now I've got two Mons, neither of which is well-suited for killing an entire team, half of which is still hidden. I do scout out Talonflame, who incidentally could OHKO both my remaining Mons. Nice.
Turn 14-22: I use SubSeed stalling to take out Slowbro, but don't have a sun up to help me defend against Talonflame and set up another SubSeed stall. However, my opponent decides to use Roost, probably anticipating a switch. I know my last Mon is just as bad against Talonflame, so I go for a Sleep Seed, and (mercifully) get it. Then it's stalling until my opponent decides to switch out instead of wasting more time, even though he could probably outlast my stall.
Turn 23-35: I somehow stall out both Raichu and Wheezing. It's even, but he still has a nice leg up. However, his Talonflame is still asleep.
Turn 36: I need to get my speed up to beat his Dodrio and Talonflame, so I Shift Gears, and the sleep holds for one more team. Taking out the Talonflame basically seals the game for me.
Anyway, not a perfect game on either of our parts, but I did manage my best comeback to date. I'm proud of what I managed, and that we both had the patience to wait out stalls. In Unrated RandBats, it's easy to forfeit when frustrated by a stalling opponent. He was also a good sport about the whole thing, suffering my stall in stoic silence. Good job, Guest 4049621.
