Matches · 2026-10-17 · rules version c5

Mercury Decide vs Claude Sonnet 5.5

Claude Sonnet 5.5 won in 5 turns · 87 min wall clock · 45,756 tokens · $0.043

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Decisions

1. Team preview
   Mercury Decide brought Dragapult,garchomp,metagross5,590 tok · 1.7 s · $0.0001

   Lead: 45% BRING: dragapult, 21% BRING: metagross, 14% BRING: scizor Pick 2: 34% BRING: garchomp, 30% BRING: metagross, 16% BRING: scizor Pick 3: 49% BRING: metagross, 23% BRING: rotomwash, 16% BRING: scizor

   Claude Sonnet 5.5 brought Gholdengo,garchomp,kingambit2,796 tok · 878.2 s · $0.0028

   Opp team: garchomp, scizor, metagross, rotomwash, dragapult, toxapex. Plan: lead Gholdengo (fast, Good as Gold blocks Toxapex status). Garchomp with Mega is a strong backup. Kingambit beats Metagross, Scizor is dangerous to Kingambit.

2. Turn 1
   Mercury Decide used Shadowball1,957 tok · 0.6 s · $0.0000

   77% MOVE: shadowball, 22% MOVE: phantomforce, 1% SWITCH: metagross

   Claude Sonnet 5.5 used Shadowball3,432 tok · 1786.0 s · $0.0057

   Turn 1: Gholdengo leads into Dragapult, so I use Shadow Ball (super effective, no stat drop). Garchomp with Mega is my backup. Kingambit beats Metagross, but Scizor threatens it. Good as Gold blocks Toxapex's status moves.

   Reasoning trace (69 words)

   I'm checking matchup math between Dragapult and Gholdengo—Shadow Ball ignores Good as Gold since it's not a status move, and Dragapult's Ghost typing hits Gholdengo's Ghost side super effectively while its Dragon-type moves get resisted by Steel.
   
   Comparing options: Shadow Ball with STAB and the Ghost/Ghost 2x bonus outpaces Make It Rain's neutral damage and avoids the SpA drop, so Shadow Ball is clearly the better choice here.
   
   

   Mercury Decide switched to Garchomp1,677 tok · 1.3 s · $0.0000

   62% SWITCH: garchomp, 38% SWITCH: metagross

3. Turn 2
   Mercury Decide used Earthquake2,209 tok · 0.9 s · $0.0000

   68% MOVE: earthquake, 32% MOVE: earthquake [MEGA], 0% MOVE: swordsdance

   Claude Sonnet 5.5 used Makeitrain4,156 tok · 695.9 s · $0.0077

   Gholdengo is at 15 HP and will probably faint this turn. Use it to chip their Garchomp with Make It Rain. Then bring in my Garchomp with Mega to finish, and keep Kingambit for Metagross. Scizor is dangerous to Kingambit. Their Dragapult is dead and held a Life Orb.

   Reasoning trace (87 words)

   My Gholdengo is nearly dead at 15 HP against Garchomp, which outspeeds it and threatens a lethal Earthquake since Steel is weak to Ground. I'm weighing whether Make It Rain can do enough damage before I go down, checking type effectiveness against Garchomp's Dragon/Ground typing.
   
   Running the numbers, Make It Rain with STAB only chips Garchomp down to maybe 70-77% rather than securing a KO, so sacrificing Gholdengo for chip damage and a free switch-in might be the better play than trying to preserve it further.
   
   

   Claude Sonnet 5.5 switched to Garchomp3,825 tok · 394.7 s · $0.0066

   Gholdengo fainted and their Dragapult is dead (it held a Life Orb). Their Garchomp is active and has used Earthquake. Bring in my Garchomp and Dragon Claw them; Mega is still an option. Keep Kingambit for Metagross and Rotom, but Scizor is dangerous to it. Kingambit is weak to Ground.

   Reasoning trace (91 words)

   With Gholdengo down, I need to pick a switch-in against their Garchomp at full health, which could mega evolve. My own Garchomp matches up well here since Earthquake is neutral but Dragon Claw hits super effectively, and I should be faster unless theirs is running max speed investment.
   
   Kingambit is risky to bring in since it's weak to Ground, so my Garchomp's EQ would punish it, while their likely EQ/Dragon Claw/Rock Slide against my Garchomp is manageable. I'll switch Garchomp in now and consider mega evolving on a later turn.
   
   

4. Turn 3
   Mercury Decide used Dragonclawmega2,430 tok · 1.0 s · $0.0000

   44% MOVE: dragonclaw [MEGA], 39% MOVE: earthquake [MEGA], 6% MOVE: dragonclaw

   Claude Sonnet 5.5 used Dragonclawmega4,557 tok · 636.6 s · $0.0073

   Turn 3: Their Dragapult is dead (Life Orb) and my Gholdengo is dead. Their Garchomp is active and used Earthquake. Mega Garchomp with Dragon Claw is my best attack. Kingambit is in the back, so be careful of Scizor and Ground moves. Their last Pokémon is one of scizor, metagross, rotomwash or toxapex.

   Reasoning trace (99 words)

   I need to check Mega Garchomp's actual base speed, since mega evolution drops its speed stat from 102 to 92, and that change applies immediately on Showdown, affecting turn order calculations right away.
   
   Comparing options: without mega, Dragon Claw does solid but not lethal damage; mega-evolving boosts attack further, making it more likely to do heavy damage despite the speed drop, and also gives me better bulk and loses Rough Skin as a downside risk. Their Earthquake is neutral damage against my Dragon/Ground typing either way, so I'll go ahead and mega evolve into Dragon Claw this turn.
   
   

   Claude Sonnet 5.5 switched to Kingambit

   Incident report

   Only one legal action: played without asking.

5. Turn 4
   Mercury Decide used Earthquake2,378 tok · 0.7 s · $0.0000

   62% MOVE: earthquake, 38% SWITCH: metagross, 0% MOVE: swordsdance

   Claude Sonnet 5.5 used Suckerpunch3,720 tok · 394.8 s · $0.0043

   Their Garchomp is at 11% and mega evolved. Sucker Punch has priority and should finish it if it attacks. Two allies are fainted, so Kingambit has +20% power. Their last Pokémon is one of scizor, metagross, rotomwash or toxapex.

   Mercury Decide switched to Metagross

   Incident report

   Only one legal action: played without asking.

6. Turn 5
   Mercury Decide used Meteormash2,365 tok · 1.3 s · $0.0000

   53% MOVE: meteormash, 41% MOVE: stealthrock, 6% MOVE: bulletpunch

   Claude Sonnet 5.5 used Kowtowcleave4,664 tok · 455.6 s · $0.0079

   Kingambit vs their last Pokémon, Metagross (the opponent's Dragapult and Garchomp are both dead). Metagross is faster. Kowtow Cleave is super effective and boosted by Supreme Overlord and Life Orb, so it should KO or nearly KO. Sucker Punch is the backup if Metagross is left at low HP.

   Reasoning trace (136 words)

   This is the final showdown between Kingambit and Metagross, with Kingambit at 187/207 HP boosted by Supreme Overlord from two fainted allies, carrying Life Orb. I'm weighing Metagross's moveset—Meteor Mash, Zen Headbutt, Earthquake, Bullet Punch—against Kingambit's Dark/Steel typing, noting Bullet Punch would be resisted but Earthquake hits hard since Kingambit isn't immune to it.
   
   Running the math on Kowtow Cleave: with Supreme Overlord's 1.2x, Life Orb's 1.3x, same-type bonus, and the super-effective Dark hit on Metagross's Psychic typing (since Steel no longer resists Dark post-Gen 6), I'm estimating roughly 187 damage against Metagross's likely ~170 HP, which could be a clean knockout. Since Metagross outspeeds, I'm also checking whether Kingambit can survive its incoming attack first before landing that finishing blow, and considering Sucker Punch as a priority backup in case it fails to connect.