You asked, and I’ll deliver. Today we’ll look at the bespectacled cutie of the Unova Elite Four.

Shauntal and Chandelure

In-game description: While she is one of the Unova Pokémon League's Elite Four, she is also a novelist who sometimes uses Trainers who challenge her as material for her books.

Shauntal serves as one of the four ghost type Elite Four member to be in Pokemon Masters at launch, alongside Agatha, Phoebe, and Acerola. She has her signature red notebook and ink pen with her, just like her appearance in the Unova games. Her quotes are littered with references to her being a writer. As stated in the games, she prefers to write stories about trainers’ interactions with their Pokemon, and often draws inspiration from the trainers she has battled. She has an over-active imagination and will sometimes do things that seem questionable just because she thinks it might make for a better story (this is most prominent in the manga). As far as I know, she has never appeared in the anime.

One of the most interesting aspects of Shauntal in the mainline games is that she has a lot of different variants to what she says when she is challenged to a rematch in the Elite Four. She will always deliver a quote from one of her novels, but which quote she uses will change each time. In BW, most of her quotes are fairly generic, but in BW2 all of her random quotes are references to other well-known trainers. Most of these trainers are not mentioned by name, but she drops enough descriptions to accurately guess who she’s referring to. She has been known to reference N, Agatha, Bertha, Volkner, Alder, Looker, and perhaps most relevant to PM, Flint.

Shauntal‘s sync partner is the most obvious choice for her: Chandelure, her ace in every single team she’s ever had across BW and BW2. While Cofagrigus and Golurk have also always been present on her team, Chandelure is always the last and highest leveled Pokemon on her team. In all the Unova games, Shauntal is battled in a spooky library with ghostly flames flickering about and a single purple lamp hanging overhead, resembling a Lampent, the pre-evolved form of Chandelure. The solitary lamp even moves on its own in BW2!

Hex

• While Shauntal’s Chandelure has never known Hex, this move is a major part of the Litwick line’s repertoire. Both Litwick and Lampent learn Will-o-wisp followed not too long by Hex for the obvious combo. After evolving with a Dusk Stone, this is the only ghost-type damaging attack that Chandelure can learn via the Move Relearner.

Shadowball

• This is Shauntal’s Chandelure’s bread-and-butter ghost type attack in the games. It knows it in every incarnation of the battle in both BW and BW2.
• Shadowball is such an ubiquitous ghost-type special move that Shauntal has no less than 5 Pokemon with it during all of her rematch battles in both BW and BW2. Only her Golurk lacks Shadowball, being a physical ghost type and all.
• Shauntal seems awfully fond of damaging attacks that have a chance of lowering the target’s special defense. She uses no less than THREE on her Chandelure during her rematch battles in BW2: Shadowball, Psychic, and Energy Ball.

X Special Attack

• Chandelure has monstrous special attack for a non-Mega Pokemon, both in the original games and in Pokemon Masters.

A Tale of Triumph!

• The effects of this skill are likely a reference to the fact that in BW2 Challenge Mode, Shauntal’s Chandelure is always holding a Choice Scarf, which raises its speed. The massive speed and evasion boost provided by this trainer skill also come with a drawback, just like how Choice Scarf offers a speed boost in exchange for a drawback.
• Chandelure is naturally more closely affiliated with the burn status effect, being a Ghost/Fire type and all. It learns Will-o-wisp naturally at a low level, and gets Flame Body as one of its abilities, which inflicts burn on contact moves. Shauntal’s Chandelure has always had the Flame Body ability. Ironic though that this time around she’s burning herself!
• One of Shauntal’s after-battle quotes in BW2 states that she believes pain is inevitable in Pokemon battles, but by understanding the pain felt by her Pokemon, the bond between trainer and Pokemon grows stronger.
• Shauntal does say she prefers happy conclusions to her stories.

Passive: Unhindered

• This passive lets Chandelure ignore damage-reducing effects like Light Screen. This is effectively identical to Chandelure’s hidden ability in the mainline games: Infiltrator.

Passive: Power Reserves

• This passive increases damage when low on health. This may be a reference to the move Payback, which Shauntal’s Chandelure originally had in BW.
• Interestingly enough, Shauntal’s Chandelure shares this passive with Flint’s Infernape. The two partner up in the Pasio League.

Sync Move: Dark Tales of the Shadowball

• The background of the attack features the dark and spooky library that Shauntal uses for their Elite Four battle arena. The attack itself also has pages scattered about just like those seen floating around in BW2 when you first enter her room.
• Shauntal calls out “Inspire me!” during the attack. She states she gets the inspiration for her books from the trainers she battles.
• See above for how Shadowball is basically Shauntal’s signature move.

A Day with Shauntal

• The episode begins with Shauntal quoting one of her novels, just like how she does when the player challenges her as an Elite Four member.
• Shauntal asks if she could use the player as a character in her novel, just like she does in BW and BW2 when you challenge her for a rematch.

Story Chapter: Candle and Flame

• Yet again, Shauntal shows up quoting one of her novels (multiple times).
• Shauntal and Flint address each other like long-time friends. As it turns out, they do know each other canonically in the games! In BW2, one of the novels that Shauntal may quote when challenged for a rematch mentions a trainer with crazy hair who commands a Pokemon to use Overheat. Since Shauntal gets the inspiration for the characters in her novels from the trainers she has battled, it’s safe to say she’s met Flint before.
• If we want to go one step deeper on the Shauntal/Flint rabbit hole, Shauntal may know Flint through Cynthia. Shauntal is friends with Cynthia and can be found visiting her villa in BW2. Both Cynthia and Flint are members of the Sinnoh League.
• When fought as a boss in the story, Shauntal’s Chandelure only uses Flamethrower, Overheat, and Heat Wave instead of any ghost type moves. Oddly enough, none of these are used by Shauntal’s Chandelure in the games. It always has Fire Blast in BW and BW2.
• Almost all of the side pokemon in the co-op version of this battle are packing Will-o-wisp, a signature move of the Litwick line.

As Shauntal would say, we’ve turned the page to the epilogue of this story. Tomorrow I’ll try to tackle a certain memetic character and his very questionable choice of a sync partner.

(Previous sync pair: Koga and Crobat)