PulverizeR

PulverizeR (spelt as Pullverizer in Dutch Series 1) was a competitor robot that primarily fought in both series of Dutch Robot Wars. It reached the Heat Final in Dutch Series 1, losing to Twisted Metal, before going on to win Dutch Series 2 after beating Philipper 2 in the Grand Final. As the then-reigning Dutch champion, it also represented the Netherlands in the European Championship and The Third World Championship, but lost in the first round in both of these international championships.

Team P.C.P. were noted for their spirited and charismatic personality, being dressed as convicts wearing orange jumpsuits in Dutch Series 1, and as Elvis Presley in every series thereafter, much to the delight and curiosity of the show's commentators and presenters. Team captain Mischa de Graaf also wore wooden clogs for its appearance in the European Championship, which became the subject of a humorous exchange with Philippa Forrester when the championship was broadcast as part of Robot Wars Extreme.

Versions of PulverizeR
PulverizeR was an invertible, two-wheeled robot with a wide body and a vertical flywheel as its main weapon. In both of its incarnations, it was painted blue, red and black, and its flywheel was capable of causing substantial amounts of damage as well as flipping opponents over.

Pullverizer (Dutch Series 1)
As Pullverizer, the robot featured a more angular body and a pair of rectangular-shaped plates mounted either side of the flywheel. Its wheels were also fully exposed, lacking the hubcaps that it would adopt for later series. While manoeuvrable, Pullverizer particularly suffered from a low top speed in this incarnation, and its wheels were especially vulnerable to getting badly damaged or torn off completely, as its battle with Twisted Metal demonstrated.

PulverizeR
For Dutch Series 2, a new version of PulverizeR was built, featuring a lower, wider and more cylindrical body, new wheels including black hubcaps, and a new flywheel mount which dispensed with the side plates seen in Dutch Series 1. This gave it a passing resemblance to UK Series competitor S3, and the robot now had a higher top speed to circumvent the manoeuvrability issues that affected it in the previous series. This version of PulverizeR would also represent the Netherlands in the European and Third World Championships in a largely unchanged state, although its high ground clearance made it especially susceptible to being pushed around by opponents such as Philipper 2, Razer and Crushtacean.

Qualification
PulverizeR had attempted to enter Series 7 of the UK Robot Wars, but failed to qualify after suffering from transmission problems during the qualifiers. In sympathy, Team KODOX wore PulverizeR t-shirts when they competed in that series with Tough as Nails. "Due to transmitter problems PulverizeR didn't react the way it used to. My transmitter broke down, as later seemed. I was able to borrow another transmitter and reciever to use for the World Championship that same week"

- Mischa de Graaf

In 2016, PulverizeR also applied for Series 8 of Robot Wars, but was not selected to take part, despite its former pedigree in the Dutch series. Team P.C.P. qualified for Series 9 with PacifieR, but ultimately withdrew from Heat 4.

Dutch Series 1
Pullverizer competed in Heat B, and faced RCC in its first round battle. It was slow to get away as RCC rammed into it, and was momentarily pushed by RCC after its flywheel hit the latter’s flipping arm. After a while driving around the arena, Pullverizer slammed into RCC again as it tried to deflect its flywheel, immobilising RCC instantly, and nudged RCC once more before Refbot counted it out. Sir Killalot then carried RCC to the Floor Flipper and the pit, allowing Pullverizer to progress.

In the second round, Pullverizer faced Scraptosaur. It dodged Scraptosaur’s initial charge before turning round and flipping it onto its back with its flywheel. With Scraptosaur unable to self-right, it was counted out and attacked by the House Robots, with Pullverizer advancing to the Heat Final following this swift victory. There, it faced Twisted Metal. Pullverizer was sluggish to drive away as Twisted Metal approached, hitting it with its own disc and immediately disabling one of its wheels. It continued to drive in circles near a flame jet as Twisted Metal continued slamming into its flywheel, before losing mobility altogether as Sir Killalot came out of his CPZ to drag it away from the wall and push it towards the centre of the arena. Dead Metal also proceeded to attack Pullverizer as Twisted Metal ripped its right-hand wheel off, before Pullverizer was counted out and placed onto the Floor Flipper by Sir Killalot. It was thrown across the arena and provisionally eliminated.

Following this loss, Pullverizer was offered a wildcard, which would have allowed it to secure a place in the Grand Final. However, it had sustained too much damage from Twisted Metal, so the wildcard was given to Lizzard instead, and Pullverizer was fully eliminated from the first Dutch series as a result.

Dutch Series 2
A redesigned PulverizeR returned for Dutch Series 2, competing in Heat E. In its first round battle, it faced Bluemax, and started by approaching Bluemax and nudging it as the latter spun around in circles. PulverizeR knocked Bluemax back a few times with its flywheel, not causing any substantial amounts of damage, but appeared to have briefly lost mobility as Bluemax slammed into it side-on. However, it popped one of Bluemax’s balloons in the process, before destroying the other balloon as it chased and tried to slice through its wheels. Eventually, Bluemax broke down near the pit square, allowing PulverizeR to knock it onto its back with its flywheel before Refbot began to count Bluemax out. "Elvis is going strong, return to sender - goodbye Bluemax!"

- Eric Corton as Bluemax is counted out

Bluemax was attacked by Shunt and Mr. Psycho, before being pushed into the pit by Shunt, allowing PulverizeR through to the second round.

There, it faced the shufflebot Scarab. PulverizeR drove towards and around Scarab, hitting it side-on with the flywheel. It then backed into a CPZ and drove around the arena for another run on Scarab, before hitting it again a few more times and nudging it close to the static Floor Spinner. With Scarab struggling to move effectively, PulverizeR pushed it from the side before landing a few more hits on its rear panel, launching Scarab into the air and immobilising it. Refbot counted Scarab out, before it was dragged around the arena by Growler, thrown by the Floor Flipper and pitted. In the Heat Final, PulverizeR faced the three-part clusterbot √3. Mischa de Graaf was aware that √3 was overweight by 10kg, in order to repair damage sustained in its Heat semi-final, but de Graaf consented to battling the overweight machine. PulverizeR immediately charged at √3 as its three sections separated and attempted to push it from all sides, with PulverizeR's flywheel momentarily buffeting ODT-0.33 and Elevation away before it and Elevation pushed each other. PulverizeR pushed S.O.Xbot onto its back as both it and ODT-0.33 drove up against it, before again being shoved by Elevation. It then hit Elevation, almost knocking it onto its side, before flipping ODT-0.33 over and hitting S.O.Xbot a couple of times. The three parts of √3 surrounded PulverizeR once more, with Elevation and ODT-0.33 lifting it off the floor while S.O.Xbot pressed the pit release button. PulverizeR then threw Elevation over with its flywheel as S.O.Xbot pushed it into the latter, and dodged the other thirds' attacks to throw ODT-0.33 over as well. A split-second later, it tossed Elevation across the arena - re-righting it - before backing away and hitting S.O.Xbot's wheel as it and ODT-0.33 again surrounded it. Both ODT-0.33 and S.O.Xbot lifted PulverizeR onto one wheel, almost toppling onto its side, but PulverizeR escaped, tearing into S.O.Xbot's rear panel and ripping one of its wheels off as Elevation and ODT-0.33 tried to disrupt its movements. PulverizeR then flipped S.O.Xbot and Elevation over in rapid succession, with two thirds of √3 now immobilised as Elevation was left unable to self-right. PulverizeR flipped ODT-0.33 again as Mr. Psycho and Dead Metal attacked Elevation, and went through to the Grand Final. In the first round of the Grand Final, PulverizeR faced wildcard entry Twister. It waited in the opening seconds for Twister to approach it, before circling around the arena and attacking Twister from behind, knocking it off-balance as it was sent hurtling towards the Floor Flipper. PulverizeR then charged at Twister’s spinning triangle, knocking itself onto its back, and backed into the pit release button after hesitating to attack Twister head-on. Again, it drove around the arena - at one point driving precariously close to the pit and Dead Metal – to avoid Twister’s blade, before hitting its side, throwing Twister onto its back. It then nudged Twister towards the pit, with Twister’s triangle spinning again and enabling it to spin in circles as it did so. Twister eventually caught the edge of the pit and toppled in itself, with PulverizeR emerging as the winner.

In the Semi-Finals, PulverizeR faced Scrap-2-Saur, which was still suffering from damage inflicted in its previous battle with Meshuggah. It turned round as Scrap-2-Saur charged into it, and was pushed back as the latter attempted to get its flipper underneath it a few times, but missed. PulverizeR spun round to face Scrap-2-Saur again as the two robots collided with each other again, with Scrap-2-Saur flipping itself onto its back as it threw PulverizeR onto the Flame Pit. It was then flipped again by Scrap-2-Saur as both robots recovered, before slamming into Scrap-2-Saur and driving away from it as the pit descended. Scrap-2-Saur charged into PulverizeR as it reversed and chased it into Mr. Psycho’s CPZ, but lost mobility after driving over a flame jet, allowing PulverizeR to escape and slam into Scrap-2-Saur’s side as Refbot counted it out. Growler bit into Scrap-2-Saur and dragged it to the Floor Flipper, where it suddenly regained mobility and backed into the pit to escape Growler. In the Grand Final, PulverizeR faced Philipper 2. It drove away from Philipper 2 in the opening seconds, before being pushed, chased and flipped by the Belgian robot. PulverizeR retaliated by slamming into Philipper 2’s side with its flywheel, only to be flipped again and toppled onto its side close to a CO2 jet, although it swiftly re-righted itself. Philipper 2 again got under PulverizeR, before PulverizeR struck its flipper, knocking itself onto its back in the process. PulverizeR drove over the Flame Pit, before tearing a panel off Philipper 2’s flipper as it was again pushed across the arena. Another charge from Philipper 2 allowed PulverizeR to cause more damage to the former’s sides, before PulverizeR reversed to lure Philipper 2 towards its flywheel, hitting its flipper several times more in the process. After being chased again, PulverizeR turned around and buckled Philipper 2’s flipper even more as the battle drew to a close, and the Jury was called to make a decision. Based on the damage it inflicted to Philipper 2, they ruled PulverizeR as the winner, making it the second – and last – Dutch Robot Wars champion. "Without a little luck, no robot can win Robot Wars. I had the luck of driving with Philipper at a live event before, so I had a little experience. Showing aggression gets you three points, but causing damage gets you four. With that knowledge I got in to this fight, keeping the disc pointing at Philipper and driving backwards long enough to get it up to speed, then just let him come to me. And it worked out the way I thought it would; a Jury's decision on damage."

- Mischa de Graaf

Extreme 2/German Series


As the reigning Dutch champion, PulverizeR represented the Netherlands in the European Championship, broadcast as part of German Robot Wars and the second series of Robot Wars Extreme. In its first-round battle, it was drawn against UK Series 5 champion and double World Champion Razer. Prior to the match, Mischa de Graaf danced with Philippa Forrester, who stood on the team's wooden shoes, while Team Razer read a letter that PulverizeR's team had sent, reading "We're gonna cream your crank!!! With love, PulverizeR". In the battle, PulverizeR immediately drove into the side of Razer to line its flywheel up, only to be pushed back towards the Floor Spinner activation button and chased into Growler's CPZ. Growler came out to ram PulverizeR and bite its wheel as Razer grabbed hold of it with its crusher, before PulverizeR was dragged towards a flame jet by Growler and crushed by Razer as it escaped. "The Razer beak and the Growler jaw, and PulverizeR in between the two. Talk about a rock and a hard place."

- Jonathan Pearce

Razer pushed PulverizeR into the pit release button before letting go, chasing PulverizeR around as it spun and was again grabbed by its chassis. PulverizeR drove away to escape before slamming into Refbot and colliding head-on with Razer, briefly hampering the double World Champion's mobility. However, it then accidentally drove into the pit after circling around it, eliminating it from the European Championship. "...and the Dutch domestic champion, into the pit, our very own, "Heartbreak Hotel"!"

- Jonathan Pearce as PulverizeR pits itself

UK Series 7
After failing to qualify for the main competition of the Seventh Wars due to transmitter issues, PulverizeR competed in the Third World Championship, once again representing the Netherlands. In its first round battle, it fought fellow Dutch series competitor Crushtacean and Swiss representative Snake Bite. While Snake Bite failed to move at all due to hydraulic fluid soaking its tyres and preventing them from gripping the arena floor, PulverizeR immediately approached Crushtacean as it pressed the pit release button, buffeting the South African entry with its flywheel as it pushed it into Sergeant Bash’s CPZ. Both robots escaped, but PulverizeR’s flywheel stopped working after the initial hit, and it was unable to respond as Crushtacean again slammed and chased it across the arena, before grabbing it and pinning it against the wall. Crushtacean pushed PulverizeR into Refbot as he counted Snake Bite out, and continued pushing and grappling with the Dutch machine as Snake Bite suddenly gained mobility and attempted to grab PulverizeR. "Love me tender, there’s no question of that – wh-what is Snake Bite doing? Weren’t they counted out? Go away! Just go away, you’re beaten!"

- Jonathan Pearce as Snake Bite attempts to attack PulverizeR after being counted out

PulverizeR was then simultaneously caught by the crushing weapons of both Crushtacean and Snake Bite, before Sergeant Bash attempted to grip and crush through its chassis. It escaped as Snake Bite grabbed hold of Crushtacean, and stayed out of the action as ‘cease’ was called and the battle went to a judges’ decision. PulverizeR lost the decision to Crushtacean, eliminating it from the Third World Championship.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Dutch Wins: 8
 * Dutch Losses: 1
 * UK Wins: 0
 * UK Losses: 2

Outside Robot Wars
A third version of PulverizeR was built after the original series of Robot Wars ended, which made sporadic appearances at live events. Most notably, it competed in the 2005 European Championship, defeating Snake Bite and Hammerhead to finish fourth overall. It also took part in the 2006 Fighting Robots UK Championships, beating UFO to reach the semi-finals before ultimately finishing fourth overall once again. PulverizeR’s flywheel was rendered largely unusable following regulation changes regarding the use of spinning weapons made in 2006, and thus its appearances at live events remain limited at present.

Team PCP have most recently competed on BattleBots with a heavyweight machine named Petunia. For more information, see PacifieR.

Trivia

 * Along with Razer, Tornado and middleweight competitor Typhoon, PulverizeR is one of four robots to have fought and defeated both a clusterbot (√3) and a walkerbot (Scarab).
 * Like Tornado, PulverizeR's walkerbot victory was in the same series it won.
 * PulverizeR fought both in the same episode, the only one of the four to do so.
 * During the European Championship, the battle board shown after PulverizeR's defeat to Razer showed an Irish flag behind its name instead of a Dutch flag.