Let's Play! Jordan Plays Pokemon Omicron (In Blackfist City)

[jordanthejq12]

I've only ever played one fan project in my entire life, and this is it, and I've thought about picking it back up for this community. So let's do it.

Some notes before we begin

• This is actually NOT a romhack. It's developed in RPG Maker using Pokemon Essentials. This toolkit has been used for several other fangames, including Reborn, Empyrean, and Insurgence. This allows for a much wider array of features than would be available basing a game off a ROM. Some of these features are really cool. Others...not so much.
• This game does have some problems with its level curve, level of mature content, and programming. Fair warning.
• Two of this game's developers, lead dev thesuzerain and LunarDusk, went on to lead/help develop Insurgence, which I have not played, but would not doubt is a better game overall.
• There are two versions! With cover legends! This is the opposite of Zeta Version, which has version "exclusives" and a different cover legend and evil team. Regardless, every Pokemon up through Unova plus several alternate forms and original designs can be obtained in both versions (the exclusivity dictating how and/or where).
• I'll be playing with Set Mode on and minimal item use in battle (though not no items, you'll see why). Aside from that, this is a standard casual run. I will attempt to show everything there is to show, although there is a LOT.
• EDITED TO ADD, 11/24/20: I also adopted what I call a "soft catch-em-all" challenge for this playthrough: I'll attempt to catch every non-rare encounter on each route (rare defined as an encounter rate of 9% or less). In-game trades and evolutions of non-team Pokemon will come at a later point.
• My ability to maintain this playthrough will depend on my patience with the level curve, the level of interest in this thread, and general IRL stuff. Again, fair warning.
• I refer to myself as "we" a lot, just so y'all know.

Without further ado, let's get started with...

Part 1

Note: This game comes with a built-in screenshot key. Nice! Unfortunately, the screens are saved as .bmp files, which Smogon cannot handle natively, so I have to open each screen in Paint and save it as a .png. Not nice.

Anyway:

Look at that, a proper title screen with a cover legendary! We're off to a great start! Zeta Version uses Jirachi as its cover legend. I'll be using a to note version differences.

The title screen plays a MIDI-ified version of the Gold and Silver title theme. I'll note music used in specific points whenever I know what it is.

Also, I'm trying to balance readability with these screens, so that they're big enough to be readable but not so large that they take up half a page. Let me know if they're too small.

[in Control Panel.]

Okay, lemme do that real quick. When we return, even after installing the Power font and several variants thereof found in the game's filesystem, the error persists. Let's just continue.

We go into options to turn Set style on. Notable additions include an Insane text speed, the option to use any of the three Generation III font styles (Emerald [default], Ruby/Sapphire, or FR/LG), and 28 distinct Frames and 24 Speech Frames. I'm sticking to defaults unless requested otherwise.

Also, this is a thing:

We'll be using that. Save often and in different slots, y'know.

We select New Game and...

[Hello.]

[My name is Professor Oak. People call me the Pokemon Professor.]

Well damn. I say again, we're off to a great start.

Music is the Hoenn iteration of the usual "Welcome to the World of Pokemon!" music you hear here. And, in a problem which I genuinely can't tell is a limitation of Essentials or a developer error (probably the former, I think), it does not loop. Considering I have to spend several minutes in this sequence screening, typing, and then advancing the game to get to the next screen, this is a bit of a PITA.

That's nice. A controls option exists in the main menu as well; to summarize:

We are fully optimized for computer play here. Also, the first screen resembles FRLG's controls. We're using Johto title music and either a Hoenn or Unova legendary with either Hoenn or Kanto text, Hoenn music, and Kanto's professor. This is quite the potpourri of Pokemon we have here. All we're missing is something from Sinnoh.

The "adventure" option begins a "pre-recorded message" that is similar to the FRLG blurb. Paraphrased: You're about to go on a journey! You'll meet a bunch of people "with different worldviews and beliefs". Some people are good, but some are eeeevil. Sometimes obstacles and puzzles will be in your way. Other times, you'll be challenged to battle. Most importantly, grow and learn from the opinions of others!

The extent of "different worldviews and beliefs" will be apparent shortly. Anyway, selecting "No info needed" continues the story with the usual spiel about Pokemon: We live with them, we support each other, we play with them, we battle with them...

...uh-oh.

(And there's the Sinnoh representative. We have officially included content from five different regions in the introduction. I love this game.)

This is how the game integrates the initial character setup. Character designs are shown here:

The FRLG designs, except in black 'cause it's e d g y or something, IDK. I am a dude IRL, but I generally like playing as a girl in Pokemon, so we'll do so here. We then get the option to name our protagonist. The advantage of having a gender-neutral name is that I can name my female characters Jordan, too, which we do:

Sure, we'll go with that.

Now this is a neat option (note that No is the default here). Selecting Yes brings us to this screen:

We can pick from any or all of the following challenges:

• Nuzlocke: Every mon must be nicknamed, and a mon that faints can no longer be used. The "only the first mon on each route/area" rule is not enforced by the game (presumably to avoid the problem of having to program Dupes Clause or Shiny Clause).
• Randomizer: Randomizes every wild and Trainer encounter from the GameFreak-created mons available in the game.
• PP Challenge: Pokemon Centers won't heal PP.
• Solo Run: Only one Pokemon can be used. When the time comes, you can select any first-stage, non-Legendary mon to use, and you'll also get access to several items that allow you to bypass the usual problems of solo runs (such as HMs). You can also catch mons, but they are sent directly to the PC, which is inaccessible. This option can be forfeited and also does not last the entire game; when it ends either in completion or forfeit, the PC becomes accessible.
• Mystery Challenge: Mons appear as ??? sprites with hidden names until caught.
• Non-Technical Challenge: TMs cannot be used (HMs still can).
• Anti-Ante Challenge: Trainer battles have zero cash prizes, forcing you to rely on selling items to make money.
• Bravery Challenge: You cannot run from wild Pokemon, ever. I normally play like this anyway for "natural grinding", but I do like having at least the option to run.

Pressing Cancel or OK with no boxes checked backs out and begins a normal playthrough.

We have a jerk rival in this game and the option to make him even more of a jerk. We'll turn that off, but I will try to show what swag dialogue looks like in one or two spots.

With the setup process finally complete (it is longer than a normal Pokemon game, plus the process of writing this post), we can get into the game proper:

[Escape Route.]

Yeah, it's that kind of game. We begin having survived a terrorist attack. We're also told we can get a Pokemon in the Escape Route if we'd like to help.

Here's the first version difference: In Omicron, we're battling the Greek-themed Team Olympus, while Zeta players will battle the Norse-themed Team Asgard.

The pre-recorded message ends, and with that, I think we've hit a good stopping point. This intro is, to put it lightly, a lot.

Next time: We run for our lives, and pick up a partner to help us along the way (or maybe more than one!).

This is my first time doing anything like this, so any and all feedback is very much appreciated.

Index

Hidden to Avoid Spoilers

:
Part 1: Introduction (This post)
Part 2: Escape Route, Zarivar Town
Part 3: Route 301, Naragex Forest, Superior City
Part 4: Cave of Wonders, Superior Gym
Part 5: Route 302, Route 303, Midnight Way, Midnight Mansion (Exterior), First Rival Battle
Part 6: Onega Town, Safari Zone 1, Onega Town Museum, Onega Gym
Part 7: Shadow Path, Fianga City, Route 306
Part 8: Route 307 and the Destruction of Nyasa Town
Part 9: Pokehadron Collider, Route 308
Part 10: Kariba Town, Route 308.5, Second Rival Battle, Agassiz Town
Part 11: Secret Base
Part 12: Psychic Temple, Agassiz Gym, Fianga Gym
Part 13: Police Missions 1 & 2
Part 14: Route 309, Turkana Town, Route 310, Kivu Town
Part 15: Cut Backtracking, Onega Hidden Grotto, Ranger Mission 1, Kivu Gym
Part 16: Surf Backtracking, Route 307 Hidden Grotto, Mega Evolution Showcase, Police Mission 3, Ranger Mission 2
Part 17: Route 311, Ladoga Town, Ladoga Shrine
Part 18: Cinnabar Island Event, MISSINGNO Showcase, Route 312, Third Rival Battle
Part 19: Route 313, Route 314, Treader Town, Game Corner, Treader Gym
Part 20: Team Olympus Base
Part 21: Police Mission 4, Ranger Mission 3, Brief Backtrack to Route 303
Part 22: Mt. Press, Part I
Part 23: Mt. Press, Part II
Part 24: Route 315, Thunder Underroute, Blackfist Residential District
Part 25: Blackfist Department Store, Safari Zone 2

 

[ZettaiRyouiki]

This actually looks interesting. Looking forward to seeing more.

 

[Buzzer_Error]

[in Control Panel.]

Okay, lemme do that real quick. When we return, even after installing the Power font and several variants thereof found in the game's filesystem, the error persists. Let's just continue.

Just FYI, this can be fixed by using the "Run as administrator" or "Install for all users" function to launch the game - once you complete this screen in that mode it'll lock it in permanently.
Have fun with the playthrough! Looking forward to updates

 

[jordanthejq12]

Alright, let's keep this going.

EDITED to fix several missing screenshots from the beginning of the game.

Replies

ZettaiRyouiki: Much appreciated. I hope you have fun with this!

Buzzer_Error: I did eventually figure that out. It only took me a couple of hours pissed off because the screen comes up when the game is launched and then again when a save file is loaded.

Corrections from Part 1

As it turns out, you cannot save one game to multiple files. Three save files lets you run three different games, though. To start a new game without overwriting an existing one, select "Load File" and then an empty slot.

Part 2

I spent an entire part on just the intro. Now let's actually play some Pokemon.

I hope so. She looks around a bit more before summoning a Lucario and instructing it to:

Whoever this Wilson guy is, he's got a lot to answer for.

Noooo it's at least level 65 why are you sending it away

Oh yeah, should mention learnsets. Mons use their BW2 learnsets, except for Kalos mons, fakemons, and our starter options, which we'll get to momentarily.

By the way, there is no music playing here. The silence sets the mood quite well.

[want.]

We don't know anything about who "they" are, except that they named themselves after the home of some mythological pantheon and that they've killed a bunch of people. That's really all we need to know.

[Pokemon.]

Helluva time to grow up. She notes that there are Pokemon stored here in case of emergencies (which this very much is) and that we might as well take one.

[ever was!]

Of course I will. I'm the protagonist, doncha know?

She wonders why the team attacked Nyasa Town (that's our hometown, BTW, except there's no Nintendo system, movie reference, bedless mom, or Potion in an item PC to take out). Still no music yet.

"Hey!" yells a voice.

We thus learn:

• This game is using the speech coloring convention established in FRLG, where men/boys speak in blue text and women/girls in red.
• Professor Oak, as he is, is an actual character in this story.
• Our mother's name is Aria, and apparently she was an active and quite skilled Trainer.
• We gotta go. Now.

Oak asks Aria to help hold Olympus off. She then instructs us to follow Oak to the nearby town of Zarivar, where he has a lab. And then this:

[Be safe.]

Damnit, right in the feels. Right in the feels. I wasn't prepared to feel this emotionally affected fifteen in-game minutes into a fan project because it has such a simple thing as your mother telling you she loves you!

She leaves. Don't worry, we'll see her again.

Indeed they do. Oak explains that it's normally his job to give aspiring Trainers their first Pokemon and start them on their journeys, but he seems a bit hesitant in this case.

[ever met.]

This man has raised one of the greatest Trainers in Pokemon history (Blue) as well as started the protagonists of the Kanto and Johto games, so at minimum two other Trainers even more talented. This is high praise indeed. He calls us "surprisingly mature for our age" and takes us to get a Pokemon.

And here, at last, we can finally control our character. So this is what the Alola games feel like... (/s) (Also, this may partially be because of the process of composing an LP, involving a lot of screenshotting and typing and opening files to save them in a different format.)

Let's save and take a look at a couple of things:

Here's our Trainer Card. A couple of notes: First, in-game time is paused while the game is tabbed out (which I obviously had to do to write this; I'm typing as I play here). Second, next to the IGT is the current version of the game.

We have the Generation IV iteration of the Bag, with Berries, Battle Items, and Mail getting their own pockets. With those done, we climb the ladder down into our first proper map.

We've taken our first steps into a larger world.

We are greeted by Professor Oak nearby and the mildly-pleasant sounds of GSC's Dark Cave theme. The MIDI-ified iteration of an otherwise perfectly fitting musical choice doesn't quite achieve the same effect, but "I love you. Be safe." has bought this game enough goodwill for me to give it a pass.

The trip down the ladder is one-way; should we attempt to retreat back up, we're blocked:

(Also, our speech is in black.) We reach Oak ("Jordan! This way!"), who leads us up the stairs and west. We reach an intersection ("Almost there!") , continue west, turn down some stairs, and settle here:

]

And now, get ready for the first of many, many surprises this game has for you:

Your starter choice, compared to the extent it would in the main series, doesn't matter.

Your rival of course picks the starter strong against yours, which in turn dictates his squad. But in terms of "pick one because the other two aren't obtainable until late/at all", that is completely untrue. If you'd like, you can have a Fire/Water/Grass core of these three starters as early as--no joke--the fourth gym. Admittedly, the fourth gym is a ways off.

So let's meet our starters. They are Kanto starters. But not the Kanto starters.

Waaaait a minute.

Before we continue, let's review these particular three-stage lines and how you would raise them normally:

Bellsprout Line (Grass/Poison, Chlorophyll):

• Bellsprout: 50/75/35/70/30/40, evolves at level 21 into:
• Weepinbell: 65/90/50/85/45/55, evolves by Leaf Stone into:
• Victreebel: 80/105/65/100/60/70. Note that as this is a Gen V game, Victreebel would not have the +10 SpD boost it received in Gen VI.

Magby Line (Fire, Flame Body):

• Magby: 45/75/37/70/55/83, evolves at level 30 into:
• Magmar: 65/95/57/100/85/93, evolves when traded holding a Magmarizer into:
• Magmortar: 75/95/67/125/95/83.

Horsea Line (Water [Water/Dragon for Kingdra], Swift Swim/Sniper [Poison Point/Sniper for Seadra]:

• Horsea: 30/40/70/70/25/60, evolves at level 32 into:
• Seadra: 55/65/95/95/45/85, evolves when traded holding a Dragon Scale into:
• Kingdra: 75/95/95/95/95/85.

That's two trade-holding-an-item final evos and a stone, one mon originally conceived as a single-stage that had its line built around it, and a Dragon-type starter. That's a lot to balance. This game elects to do so via stat and movepool tweaks, fairly typical for a fan work, but for GameFreak's creations, Abilities, typings, and (except for these nine) BSTs are consistent with canon. That's fairly restrained compared to some projects which go ham with retyping and stat rebalancing and such.

So say hello to your new starters! Although the following link contains MASSIVE SPOILERS, The game's wiki has a page dedicated to the retooled starters and their stats and movepools; here's the basic rundown of what you'll be getting:

• Bellsprout Line (Grass/Poison, Chlorophyll):
  • Bellsprout: 62/77/37/57/32/42, evolves at level 16 into:
  • Weepinbell: 65/90/50/85/45/55, evolves at level 38 into:
  • Victreebel: 80/105/65/100/60/70.
• Magby Line (Fire, Flame Body):
  • Magby: 50/65/64/44/48/43, evolves at level 16 into:
  • Magmar: 50/80/62/85/60/78, evolves at level 38 into:
  • Magmortar: 74/94/66/124/94/82.
• Horsea Line (Water [Water/Dragon for Kingdra], Swift Swim/Sniper [Poison Point/Sniper for Seadra]:
  • Horsea: 40/49/70/70/35/60, evolves at level 15 into:
  • Seadra: 50/60/90/90/40/80, evolves at level 38 into:
  • Kingdra: 74/94/94/94/94/84.

That's better. Mons like Horsea and the entire Bellsprout line have been stat buffed, while Magmar, Magmortar, and Seadra have been toned down, to bring each stage in line with each other.

I'm almost never pick the Fire starter in a Pokemon game, but I'm feeling a bit adventurous here, so I'm going to choose Magby. This gives the rival the best starter (IMO; it's Kingdra for chrissake) as well as giving me an early Fire-type, which are otherwise hard to come by. Nicknamed Newt, a type of salamander, as Magby's kind of this weird duck/salamander hybrid.

The obligatory "Wow you look so good with Pokemon!" comment. Oak tells us he'll be waiting for us in the Zarivar Lab, which is on the other side of the Escape Tunnel. Also, little Newt will be following us. The lead mon in the party always does so by default; you can press O to put it back in the ball, but this seems to be a one-way street. If you want your follower back out, you can press P to reset the map, although doing so may cause issues.

BTW, I'm soft resetting for a non-SpA-lowering Nature and an at least passable SpA IV. The ability to press one key (F12) is offest by the need to select a save file to load, so it takes a similar amount of time. And how exactly would I know when I have a usable specimen?

Let's take a loot at the status screens:

There are six screens in total. These are your usual information. The very last screen is for Ribbons, which are a thing in this game, apparently. And now for the biggest change:

IVs are on the right. All three offensive IVs in the twenties and a neutral nature is just fine. The major feature here is of course visible IVs, but having your exact EVs visible as well is extremely helpful as well.

We can press C/Space/Enter to interact with our following Pokemon. This doubles as a Friendship checker, this quote here--

[not.] --is what you'll see at the starting Friendship of 70.

Anyway, enough infodumping. We proceed back to the previous intersection and--

Nice job with those speech bubbles, game.

This is Jeremy, one of Oak's assistants, and he's got a little something for us: Five Poke Balls and a quite through explanation of catching, including the existence of multiple types of balls with varying effectiveness. Also this:

Whereupon we finally launch into a battle.

The battle interface. Not shown: We're Intimidated. Animations are generally very speedy, so this battle goes very quickly. Jeremy's Snubbull has Growl, Tail Whip, and maybe an attack? I never saw one. This is a case of a modified moveset, as Snubbull would otherwise have the elemental fangs to ruin the other two starters' days, and we can't have that, can we? A couple of Embers takes it down easily.

"Wow! You're pretty good!" Jeremy says, having never used a single attack. He entreats us to visit the Lab and then leaves. We proceed to another intersection. Going to the left is the way out, so we head to the right to check on another refugee.

It's not quite the right shade of purple, but the intent is clear. Also, Kids are Mean.

Further along this way, we run into an older gentleman:

Swinging back the other way, we get our hands on:

[moving to run, or something like that. I missed the next screen.] We can also tap S to autorun, which is generally a Good Thing. With that, we exit and enter...

Hop the ledge and the game begins proper. Let's talk to some people.

...yeah, the kid's right.

[hard!]. Good for you!

[invasion? Can't blame you.] Yes, indeedy.

In the house next to the lab:

Remember that we have a jerk rival in this game (and the option to make him more of a jerk!). Jake is said rival. Also, we can find a second Potion here in a trash can.

Over on the southwest side of town is a Trainer's School. We can actually meet Jake here.

For the moment, Jake is an options switch in human form. As long as we haven't spoken to Oak to advance the plot, we can toggle swag dialogue on or off at will. Also, Jake will be using HGSS Blue for his character artwork. My original plan was to save here, toggle swag on, save to a different file slot, then play with that for a bit to show what swag dialogue looks like. Alas, the game doesn't support such a function natively.

Interacting with the other kids:

Well, screw you, too.

[other kids like me.] Oof, I felt that one. At the front is the teacher:

Okay then.

Both PCs in the corners are usable. The Bag has eight pockets and infinite space, but the Item Storage still exists. I like this despite the redundancy. Stashing items you won't be using for a while/at all in the PC helps you organize what you are using better, I find. The blackboard does not have the usual list of non-volatile status ailments, and the laptop and both notebooks are un-interactable as well. These usually have basic information aimed at beginners--which we can safely assume the typical player of this game is not--so it's not a big deal.

Moving on into the lab (which plays Elm's music despite belonging to Oak):

To summarize the infodump that follows, Oak doesn't know exactly where Aria is, but he does know she's recruiting allies to fight Team Olympus and he promises to find a way to keep us in touch. In the meantime, he asks us to fetch Jake, who is starting an internship at the lab.

Jeremy, meanwhile, sees that we selected Magby as our starter and...

When I said why I wanted to pick Magby, I may have withheld a detail. Basically, you don't choose which starter you want in the Escape Route. You choose which starter you don't want. Jeremy will give you the mon your initial starter is weak to, which is also the mon your rival will get. Bellsprout is complicated to raise due to having several moves exclusive to certain pre-evolutions. Magby does have a couple, while Horsea has one, and it's a TM in this game so it matters basically not at all.

Named Tatsu, short for the Japanese term tatsu-no-otoshigo, which translates to "illegitimate child of a dragon". It may be a bit of a mean inspiration, but rest assured, Tatsu will more than pull her weight on this team.

I will be taking wilds as they are, but gift 'mons I am 100% SRing for. My criteria are strong offensive IVs (whichever attack stat is being used and Speed), a Nature that doesn't lower that attacking stat, and the more consistently useful Ability unless the other is needed for a specific point (as Tatsu's Swift Swim will be). Eventually:

-Spe Nature isn't the best, but peep that SpA IV, and besides, I have Swift Swim. (It'll be a little while until we get the TM for Rain Dance, but there is one specific battle I absolutely want Swift Swim for.)

Aside from that, only the three Poke Balls on the table are interactable. They'll come into play in a little bit.

We don't need to heal, but let's check in at the Pokemon Center. A Black Belt tells us that yes, there is a Gym Challenge. The Ace Trainer by the counter says:

We thus learn that 1) at least two main-series protagonists exist in this universe, confirmed, and 2) law enforcement is both present and not entirely incompetent. Healing here, by the way, is pretty much instant--no need to wait for each ball to be loaded onto the machine one at a time.

There is also a Mart in town; just Poke Balls and Potions available right now. We'll grab a few of each.

Back to the Trainer's School:

You're Jake, right? The professor sent me to come get you.

Hey. Not cool. I say it again: Kids are Mean. Jake is flustered by this exchange, before he continues:

Wait. Champion?

Okay, that's actually really sweet.

That is not so sweet.

As we see, this jerk rival isn't nearly the jerk you probably thought he was. He's closer to Barry than Silver. Which is fine--there's no need to write a rival so mean he ambushes you while you're trying to save the world or thinks anybody who doesn't treat their team as tools of war and nothing else are weak. I very much approve of the not-entirely-a-jerk rival.

Back at the lab, Jake is going full kid-on-Christmas-Day over getting his first Pokemon.

I wonder if he reminds you of someone, Professor. Someone you're quite familiar with?

Eventually, he picks:

I usually move the mon with the fewest XP on my team to the front. Right now that's Tatsu, since Newt fought the tutorial battle. Doing so after picking up your second starter from Jeremy leads to this unintentionally hilarious moment where Jake selects not only the starter strong against yours, but a starter you have.

Starters are awarded already having a STAB move. Modern games get around that by removing the STAB from the rival's moveset for that battle. The alternative, which Z/O takes, is simply delaying the fight until the player (and rival) has options.

Let's hope so.

We get the Pokedex, which Oak would love for us to fill out. Certain Pokemon are enemy-exclusive, so a "true" 100% dex is impossible, but there are still close to 700 mons for us to obtain. And we can get all of them. We won't, but we'll get quite a few. He also mentions that balls can be bought at the Mart in town.

"Team Olympus has attacked Nyasa Town, leaving few survivors." Lives have been at stake. This may be understatement of the century.

And so we shall. But first, you may have noticed that Ranger standing outside the lab. What's his deal?

Once upon a time, this game had dedicated online servers, including a Mystery Gift service. These were in time shut down, so this NPC exists to unload the several gifts available over the service all at once. Well, not exactly all at once. He must be spoken to for each gift individually, which is a PITA, but little more. First up:

So a couple of notes about Mega Evolution. There is no Key Stone item in this game, meaning we have the ability to Mega as soon as we can match a Mega Stone to its holder. The XY Megas are all implemented as they are, and there are several OC Megas as well, including different versions of Mega Sceptile and Swampert. Aerodactyl must be revived from an Old Amber, but there is a way to get one (more than one, actually).

These are Key Items associated with specific sidequests. We'll see what they do in due course. Now for the gifts we can use immediately:

We won't run out of things to spend money on in this game. To make it easier to afford the extra items we'll have access to and need, we get this.

I have three mons before I've even thrown a Poke Ball at anything. This one starts with a moveset of Detect/Tackle/Hone Claws/Karate Chop. Named Libre, because luchador and all.

The eventual winner is shown below.

Hell. Yes. I'd actually prefer Limber for consistency's sake, as it's going to be a while until we can reliably abuse Unburden, but just like with Tatsu's Swift Swim it'll be well worth the wait. And we're not even done yet:

Make it four. This one was previously distributed as an Egg; it always comes with a starting moveset of Screech/Supersonic/Tackle/Leech Life. Also, this is the overworld screen at night. Apologies for the poor visbility. Our fourth gift mon of the episode will be named Echo, meaning I will need a different name when I inevitably catch a Zubat.

The winner of the Reset Contest:

After a ton of plot and four separate resetting sessions, I feel like this is a good stopping point. I realize we've had two full updates and not even left the first town. I hope to pick up the pace in future updayes

Next time: Let's get down to business. We head south to find Team Olympus and what they're up to. Also, something about a gym?
Current Team:

• Newt (Magby): Lv. 7, Fire, Flame Body, Ember/Tackle/Leer
• Tatsu (Horsea): Lv. 7, Water, Swift Swim, Bubble/Pound/Smokescreen
• Libre (Hawlucha): Lv. 7, Fighting/Flying, Unburden, Karate Chop/Hone Claws/Detect/Tackle
• Echo (Noibat): Lv. 7, Dragon/Flying, Infiltrator, Tackle/Leech Life/Supersonic/Screech

Click here to return to the Index.

 

[ZettaiRyouiki]

This is what we call "talking out of your ass".

And hey, nice of them not to discontinue the gifts!

 

[jordanthejq12]

Here's part three. Hopefully we'll be able to move through this part of the game a bit faster. Alternatively, would y'all prefer shorter but more frequent updates? The entire point is to show this game for you, and I want to do so in whatever way works best for the readers. Let me know.

Replies

ZettaiRyouiki: I am glad they continued the gifts. The events we can eventually trigger would be otherwise unobtainable. Also, this will be my first time using a Hawlucha, and I've heard it has a tendency to break whatever game it's in, so we'll see if that applies here.

Part 3

We've received two Pokemon from Professor Oak and his crew, and two more from a mysterious benefactor. With our new squad ready to go, we set out to the south, on our way to Superior Town in pursuit of Team Olympus' whereabouts and a Gym Badge. Not necessarily in that order.

I'll make the screens bigger to compensate for decreased visibility. The day/night cycle makes it obvious what times I'm playing particular segments. Oh well.

Anyway, we're greeted by a few squares of grass we can use to grind and catch, a Camper waiting to bring us to battle, and the (again, MIDI-ified) trumpets of Hoenn's mid-game route theme. (This one, the one you first hear leaving Slateport.) I've always associated it with celebration and HOENN CONFIRMED!!!, not the beginnings of a journey starting with fleeing a terrorist organization. But there's something oddly fitting about it. We have a team, we have a goal, and we're getting ready to strike back.

Also note the route numbering here. Unova reset the numbering to 001 instead of taking the 300s, so Versyn decides to do that itself.

Pokemon available here: Caterpie (4-5), Pidgey (4-7), Rattata (4-6), Wurmple (4-5), Starly (4-7). Your usual assortment of early-game derps, including Starly which of course grows up to be anything but a derp. I intend to catch one, but as you can see I have very little room to manuever before this Camper spots me. After about a minute of running around, I realize it'd probably be better to find my next team member in the grass to the south. Oh well, time to bite the bullet.

So be it.

Aiden has a level 5 Wurmple and a level 7 Pidgey. Tatsu handles the Wurmple easily, but then gets smacked around by the Pidgey before Libre comes in to finish it off. Smokescreen is a great early-game tool but gets hard-stopped by Keen Eye, and STAB Tackle even from Pidgey hurts.

Of course I am. I'm the protagonist. But also, thank you.

We can run up fifteen steps to heal and then resume the trip. With more room to hunt, let's find us a Starly. One thing to note about wild encounters is that when running, the check is rolled instantly. The pause you typically have before "Got away safely!" isn't there. I'll definitely put this to good use.

On only my second encounter:

Level 6, too, not bad. They can appear at up to level 7. As I said last part, I am going to just take the wilds as they are. I don't have the money to burn through 15-20 balls just so I can get Adamant 31 Atk/31 Spe, even with the Amulet Coin.

(That's its Diamond entry, reused in X and OR.) Named Cheeky, after her base animal, the white-cheeked starling. IVs: 1/20/6/22/26/16, Sassy. Not half-bad for a wild catch.

The team when Cheeky catches up:

One thing to note is that I'm organizing my team by total experience, not by level. That's why Cheeky is a level ahead of everyone--she's in the Medium Slow group while everyone else is in Medium Fast. They'll catch up in time. Other team notes: Lucha is probably going to carry this squad for the next little while because Hawlucha, while Echo is going to be a huge pain to train. She won't get a special move until level 11, and that's Gust. STAB at least, but that still feels like an eternity.

Continuing on, we run into a second Trainer.

Aaron has a Wurmple and Caterpie, both level 6. Cheeky takes them both out easily, gaining a level in the process.

Exhibit A on why Starly is in a class above its peers.

He done messed up. Also, sudden capitalization. What is this, a Frank Miller comic? The sign there is interactable, giving directions: Zarivar to the north, Superior to the south.

Last trainer on this route:

Poor guy. I assume home is not right up the road. Jacob has a Weedle (5), Wurmple (6), and Caterpie (6). Echo makes her debut here, and she does get through the Weedle, but ends up poisoned for her trouble and can't get by the Wurmple. Libre once again flies in to save the day.

No blue text there, or are we talking to him? Probably not. Poison is a PITA since the Zarivar Mart doesn't sell Antidotes, but fortunately this is the gen where poison goes away after leaving its victim with 1 HP. After doubling back to heal, we proceed into...

For a game that starts with us fleeing a terrorist attack that legitimately killed people, the early route progression is surprisingly...normal. The Route 1 with bugs and birds to catch and Bug Catchers/Campers/Youngsters to fight. Now the forest maze that splits a route in half.

There aren't any Trainers to battle (at least outside), but we can catch: Paras, Hoothoot, Ledyba, Pineco, Shroomish, Kricketot, Petilil (all 4-5), and, as rare encounters, Butterfree and Beedrill (10-15). Forretress and Breloom are both worth having, so we'll try to snag both of those.

First encounter! Named Puff, short for puffball, a fungus that may be Shroomish's creature of origin. IVs: 30/26/13/10/15/11, Sassy, Effect Spore. He'll stick around awhile. We now have a full team of six.

Shroomish catches up to the squad at level 9, a function of belonging to the smallest and most frustrating experience group, Fluctuating. These mons grow extraordinarily quickly at first, then slow down over time until finally taking an eternity to reach level 100. A couple of happenings while training:

Oh hey, wild Double Battles. This can happen in any grass, unlike in the main series. In doubles, the mon you're targeting will flash on the screen.

Neat. Nobody outside wants to battle, but there are a couple of miscellaneous NPCs.

Eh, not much to be worried about, except running into a Beedrill.

I say again: Be careful around Beedrill.

There's a house in the north; going into gives us a Poke Ball as well as this elderly couple.

Celebi? Ooh, tell me more!

Hey look, it does the thing it does in canon. Admittedly, I'm not terribly hard to impress in this respect.

Long ago, huh? Remember that. It will be important later. Let's talk to her husband.

I'm the protagonist. If I wasn't powerful, I'd have some serious problems.

I'd be happy to.

Matthew's lone partner is a level 7 Rattata. Tail Whip stacking gets scary, but Puff Stun Spores and Absorbs its way to victory.

That's with the Amulet Coin equipped, of course. I've never seriously used one before, since you're usually sitting on significant cash reserves by the point you get one (unless you go ham on vitamins, I assume; I haven't in the past). Having it this early is amazing.

We also get this as a prize; Matthew explains the higher catch rate. Even though fangames typically attract a playerbase with a higher base level of knowledge of the franchise, there's still value in explaining some concepts. Even if the player knows all of this, the character doesn't.

Heading back outside and a ways further into the forest:

Youngster Ben here won't challenge you; he's solely here for the reference.

[301?] I'd recommend the Bugs, what with both of your birds being Normal-type and thus taking neutral damage in return. Butterfree and Beautifly in particular are helpful for their double-resists. Or are they?

A few steps north of the Ace Trainer and we can grab...

The soil here can be used for growing as well if you're into that.

[battle?] Best of luck to you, kid. Try for a Shroomish or Pineco! Speaking of Pineco, no luck yet. Heading north, we run into a lonely Pokemon.

She'll be important later. Unlike most of what I've said that about, we won't have to wait long to see what that is. In fact, we'll get to it in this update.

The corner here has the shrine where Celebi is said to have resided, but we can't do anything with it yet. There's also an NPC that we can do something with:

We've found a Move Tutor, and a very useful one at that, as he is repeatable. Tatsu, Newt, and Puff can all pick it up, and so they do. This is a dead end; on the way back:

Named Psych, short for Psychidae, the family classifcation of the bagworm moth, Pineco's base creature. Since she is catch/giveaway number seven, she will be the first denizen of the PC.

Of course, Headbutt is a perfectly solid move (especially at this point in the game), but there's usually a reason beyond in-battle use to make it available this widely. That reason is, of course, the ability to use it on specific trees.

Mons that can be found this way are: Pineco (5-7), Ferroseed (5-7), Hoppip (5-7, rare), and Mankey (5-12). If you can find a good tree, the level ranges make it a primo grinding spot. In the meantime, let's see if we can find a Ferroseed:

Named Durian, after a fruit native to Southeast Asia covered in thorns. (It is also known for its pungent odor.) It, too, heads to the PC.

We make it out of the forest and back onto the second half of Route 301. Just outside the exit, we find:

A few steps later we finally reach:

As the first proper city in Versyn, Superior has a lot to do. The first order of business, as always, is to heal the team and see what people have to say in the Pokemon Center.

Well of course, I'm the protag--nah, I'm not making that joke to a kid. Thanks, hon.

[Snorlax is very strong!] Hmm, I wonder why that might be?

Outside the Center is our first available in-game trade:

If you can get the 1% Beedrill in Naragex Forest, you have little reason not to make this trade. The eventual Snorlax you'll have will be much better for you in the long run. The Munchlax you receive will be at equal level to your Beedrill and be named MunchMunch.

At the PC, we check the stats of our two boxed mons. Psych the Pineco has a rough stat spread: 22/0/6/30/16/19, Lax. Durian the Ferroseed also comes with a difficult: 17/4/31/23/9/20, Timid. Granted, both of these are defensive mons, which lessens the impact of poor attacking stats, but still, Timid Ferroseed. Yeesh.

At the Mart we can buy Antidotes, and we'll want to grab one, for west of the Mart stands this NPC:

Giving him one rewards us with:

Huh? Of all the changes to make, swapping Toxic for this move? (As a refresher, Acid is a special Poison attack, 40 BP and 100% accuracy, with a 10% chance to drop the opponent's SpD.)

An even bigger huh? is its compatibility, shown with my current squad here:

Um, okay then. I'll give it to Tatsu (replacing Pound), Newt (replacing Tackle), and Puff (replacing Tackle). Newt doesn't need it since he already has anti-Grass coverage in the form of STAB Ember, but there's no harm in him having the move. Let's talk to some more people around town.

...should we tell him?

Simple gift here: Pick a type, get a Stone. Of the available evolutions to trigger, the one I'd want to use the most is probably Starmie, so I pick Water.

There's a tower on the east side of town, and an old man would be happy to tell us about it:

Turn back the clock, huh? Remember that. It will be important later.

Talking to NPCs is fun, but we have to progress. Heading directly for the Gym results in this:

Can't leave town to the east, either, as there's a Strength boulder blocking the way. A Strength boulder in the second town? Fascinating. There's a cave on the north side, also blocked--

This is where we ultimately need to go. Finally, there's a building in the center of town that's also blocked; the Scientist doing so wants to find the Legend Researcher, saying a package is waiting for him.

The key ultimately lies in the southwest of town. The old man in here:

HELL. YES. The Changer can also explain what IVs are (another tutorial probably unnecessary for the player but useful for roleplaying purposes), then makes the offer. Should you ask:

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Note that unlike Bottle Caps, IV Stones will directly modify the Individual Value itself, which of course matters for Hidden Power calculations. This is by far the most exciting thing to find in this house, but it's not the only thing. See that potted plant in the corner there?

This is another sidequest item; we'll see what it does--you guessed it--later. There's a man on the other side of the house.

So we just run back to the forest and talk to that Hypno, right? Not quite. There's one more building to visit, between the IV Changer and the Mart. In its southwest corner is the final piece of the city's puzzle:

We thus confirm that our first HM is not the usual Cut, but in fact Strength. We live in the age of reusable TMs, but prior to that point, Strength was considered a battle-usable HM alongside Surf and Fly. There's a reason you usually get those three later in the game. And to this point, we have seen one Normal resist in the entire game, Ferroseed.

So what is this place, anyway?

The woman on the left also complains about the eternal match; the two opposing Trainers both tell you about the IV Changer. Bottom-right here is the only other person with something interesting to say:

Ooookay then.

We've come pretty far in this update; the plan is to get through Wonder Cave and the Gym, then call it there. Back to the forest to tell the Hypno that her kid's safe:

The Drowzee line isn't exactly known for its telepathic prowess, but it just makes sense that a Psychic-type could do that, so we'll roll with it. (Then again, forgetting where your kid is isn't exactly something I'd associate with a Psychic-type, either.)

This is why we wanted to visit the Battle Club before talking to Hypno: If we didn't, the conversation would stop here and we'd have to come back here. Narratively it might have been better to show that, but taking shortcuts that make little narrative sense to save in-game time is a time-honored tradition. At least it is for me.

Obviously we'll need a Badge to use this in the field, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, heloooo 80 BP move before the first Gym! And as if Libre needed to prove himself the MVP of our team any further, he (unfortunately) turns out to be the only mon on our current team that can learn it. It replaces Tackle. (Psych can also learn it; I'm undecided on if I want to swap him in or not.)

We'll head back to town and save the exploration of Wonder Cave for the next episode.

Next time: We go spelunking, and then challenge the Gym.

Current Team:
Newt (Magby): Lv. 7, Fire, Flame Body, Headbutt/Ember/Acid/Leer
Tatsu (Horsea): Lv. 7, Water, Swift Swim, Headbutt/Bubble/Acid/Smokescreen
Libre (Hawlucha): Lv. 7, Fighting/Flying, Unburden, Strength/Karate Chop/Hone Claws/Detect
Echo (Noibat): Lv. 7, Dragon/Flying, Infiltrator, Tackle/Leech Life/Supersonic/Screech
Cheeky (Starly): Lv. 9, Normal/Flying, Keen Eye, Wing Attack/Tackle/Quick Attack/Growl
Puff (Shroomish): Lv. 9, Grass, Effect Spore, Headbutt/Acid/Absorb/Stun Spore

Click here to return to the Index.

 

[ZettaiRyouiki]

....Did Hypno steal the HM?

Anyway, good update. Hawlucha is one of my favorite Pokémon so glad it's getting good use.

 

[jordanthejq12]

Hello again! Part four incoming. I spent a bit of time grinding before the first Gym--perhaps a bit more than was necessary, which is the only time in this game that will be a true statement.

Replies

ZettaiRyouiki: Probably. I don’t know if we want to know what happened off-screen. And I’m glad to see you’re enjoying this! Libre has been the MVP of this squad thus far and I don’t see that changing for a while.

Part 4

I do want to start stretching these episodes longer, again unless you would prefer the shorter and more frequent updates. The mistake I’ve made with the previous three is trying to compose them entirely in the website text editor instead of copy/pasting from an external program. The advantage this offers is that I can better see exactly where my screenshots will be going and can better work with the layout. However, this process takes a lot of time, and the editor wiped out several of my early screens in both parts two and three, forcing me to redo them. That takes a lot of extra time.

Before we proceed to Wonder Cave, I made a decision to go on a bit of a catching spree, just for funsies (and maybe to pick up an underutilized species or two for the team). Thanks to having both the Amulet Coin and grinding spots within ten seconds of a Pokemon Center, I can afford a few more Poke Balls, so why not fill up the boxes a bit?

The few tiles of grass outside the city are counted as part of Route 301 and have its encounter tables, so I don’t need to go all the way back to Zarivar to get the other derps.

Named Rumble, after the side game in which it is the only available starter. BTW, Puff is great for capture duty with Stun Spore and Effect Spore.

Named Hungry, after the Very Hungry Caterpillar. (Fits lorewise, too.)

Replaces Detect.

Named Sandy, a reference to Sand-Attack, and the most normal-sounding name so far.

Named Swallow, short for swallowtail and a reference to the Wurmple of Team Tasty from Mystery Dungeon: Explorers, afraid that his Swellow partner would eat him. I got a 25 SpA IV and Timid Nature on this one; if Dustox and Beautifly weren’t, y’know, Dustox and Beautifly, I’d seriously consider using him.

That does it for the Route 301 encounters; back into Naragex for those encounters:

Named Tochu, short for tochukaso, the Japanese and in-universe name of the parasitic mushroom that grows on this line. English-speakers would know it as the caterpillar fungus. The Tiny Mushroom he brought with him will be a nice infusion of cash. 30 Attack and 30 Speed IV (for whatever the latter is worth on as slow a species as Parasect) and Dry Skin. I eventually elect to add him to the team for now, replacing Echo. Noivern is cool, but not "Fight through forty-some levels of poor stats including a -Attack nature" cool.

Named Lily, the flower family on which the line is based. I’d love to use her (Get ready for Lily the Lilligant! Such creative naming!), but she just has no coverage at all.

While training, Echo (before I replaced her) missed Supersonic over nine consecutive turns. The odds of this are less than one tenth of one percent. Yippee.

Named Xylo, short for xylophone, as Kricketot is mentioned in several Dex entries to make similar sounds.

Named Red ‘cause she's red.

Named Mrs. Owl as a reference to the Tootsie Pop commercial, but this Hoothoot is female. This concludes the Naragex grass encounters (minus the 1% Butterfree and Beedrill).

Named Fawful because HE HAS FURY. Mankey’s actually not a bad Pokemon to have right now at all; if Libre wasn’t here, Fawful would have a slot.

With my catching spree finished (for now), we can finally move the plot again.

Anyway, here we are in the Cave of Wonders. The wiki and NPCs refer to it as Wonder Cave, but in-game location data calls it the Cave of Wonders, so we’ll elect to go with the programming and the Aladdin reference and henceforth know it as the latter.. The Gym Leader as well as a researcher friend can be found here. We hop down the ladder and...

..well, crap.

The good news is that the cave layout actually isn’t that difficult to navigate. The bad news is you’re still forced to navigate a required dark area without Flash, which…

(Checks Bulbapedia since I have never played a Unova game and haven’t played Sinnoh in forever)

...is never required of you in the main series. (It's actually not that bad at all, especially since this isn't Gen I/II complete darkness. I just think this should not be a thing a game forces you to do, as a matter of principle.)

Pokemon available in this basement:

• Makuhita (4-8)
• Geodude (4-8)
• Roggenrola (4-8)
• Cubone (4-8)
• Whismus (4-8, rare)
• Riolu (4-8, rare, probably the most valuable catch here)
• Onix (4-8, very rare)

Remember the problem with Trainer battle starvation we’ve had? Expect that to change.

I had the game muted and just saved. The tune I was listening to was a piano rendition of Wally’s battle theme from ORAS. I’d like to think Puff liked it, too. Anyway, a few steps around the edge of the cave and:

The Tyrogue uses Helping Hand twice, allowing Newt to easily muscle past him. Good to know some things never change in this franchise.

Indeed there are, as we’ll see.

STAB Uproar is no joke. This is the gen Uproar was first buffed to 90 BP, and Whismur still has it at level 5. The result is a 3HKO on Puff, the most defensive mon I have, and even Libre gets chunked switching in.

geddit it’s because Jeremy uses the Hiker sprite

This is the seventh Trainer battle we’ve had and already we’re running into Ace Trainers.

Tatsu has a rougher time against this Roggenrola, which does not have a double weakness to exploit and does have Sand Attack. She does get consecutive Speed drops, which does come into play. The duel comes down to the last hit, but without a guaranteed hit, the odds are against her. Tochu rotates back in, benefiting from Roggenrola’s -2 Speed to finish her off.

e d g y

Holy cow, this is my first encounter in the cave. I wish I could have this kind of luck Nuzlocking. Good thing we have a Dusk Ball. Riolu’s catch rate is 75, far from impossible, but we take no chances here.

Named Anubis, after the Egyptian god. Checking its stats back in town reveals a Modest nature, which isn’t ideal for a mixed attacker that leans heavier physical as a Riolu.

We’ve picked up some Friendship on the squad. We won’t see Return for a while and nobody on this team evolves with it, but it’s nice to see everyone getting along.

[natural habitats.] The Rangers are very much A Thing in this game; we’ll see more of them both as individuals and as an institution later.

Make this Riolu eat her wings, that’s what Cheeky will do.

Damn right you can’t. I’m the protagonist. (That's not something you'll have to worry about, though. I'm not a villain protagonist.)

That sounds worth our time. Kivu Town’s a ways away, though.

After fighting her, we return to the top floor. Encounters here:
• Geodude (4-8)
• Makuhita (4-8)
• Cubone (4-8)
• Whismur (4-8)
• Roggenrola (4-8)
• Machop (4-8, rare)
• Onix (5-9, very rare)

And on a plateau not far from us:

And not even an HM, either.

[the way!] And you can use it in battle as a version of Sand Attack, too! Let’s see who can use it:

Sigh. Tochu takes it, replacing Poison Powder. It’s the most expendable moveslot I have between the two, and even that I liked using to wear down opponents. Moving to a plateau to the north:

Now we’re talking. I’m already thinking about which IV I’m going to use this on. Puff has the lowest Speed IV (11), and while that’s not a big deal right now, he’ll very much appreciate it as a Breloon. Alternatively, I could use it to whip an otherwise mediocre reserve into shape...

Physically cringing right now, both at the stereotypical “Watchaa!” and the lack of a battle sprite (geddit 'cause he's invisible). Let’s get this over with.

Oh God, I don’t want to activate Guts. Even without that, Vital Throw 2HKOs. Holy cow. Once again, it’s Libre from the top rope. I have not led Libre in a single battle thus far outside of grinding sessions; his entire use so far has been bailing the others out of trouble.

And he promptly disappears.

Deja vu all over again. Newt has a much easier time. Turns out all you need to do to get past these ninja Makuhita is flinch them to death. Newt gains a level in the process.

Nice find! Named Orphon, the species’ originally-planned name, as revealed in the Red & Blue beta.

There are several Strength boulders throughout the cave, with a couple blocking the way to items. We’ll definitely be revisiting this place after we beat Devon. Back in the basement:

That’s it? That’s all the visibility we get? Better than what we had before, but that’s still disappointing.

[girls!] Does that include me?

Puff wins a 1v1, finally. Levels up in the process.

[Have you seen her?] Indeed we have.

Tochu’s got this. Low Kick does two (yes, two) damage thanks to the resist plus Paras’ low weight. Enjoy the level-up, buddy. Second mon is a level 8 Geodude; Tochu did take two Leers fighting the Machop, so he switches out for—you guessed it—Libre, who snags a level.

Thanks.

Named Rocky because I am utterly uncreative. Potential team member what with STAB EdgeQuake and solid Defense and possibly Sturdy. He’d replace Tochu, who I am honestly less than impressed with. I have Libre as a Fighting resist.

Tatsu handles this easily, nabbing a level in the process.

Not much I can say to that, honestly.

I get it. When you’re trying to do good in the world, the last thing you need to deal with is relationship drama.

This is NOT as much of a wrap as you might think. Level-up.

Some do, some don’t. Listen, I’d love to stay and offer some relationship advice, but I got a cave to explore.

We return to the upper floor and…

Time for plot.

Devon showing himself a model Fighting Gym leader.

I dunno, man, I just got here.

Oh, um...okay.

Because of course we do. What could go wrong?

This encounter can legitimately be scary. For example, I have Puff out, and this Unown could have a Hidden Power of any of its five weaknesses. Or just STAB HP Psychic. Unown has base 72 SpA, which is actually pretty meaty for this point in the game, especially with a two-level advantage.

Sure enough...this is the second turn of the encounter. I have a non-zero chance of being 2HKOed by an Unown.

That does narrow it down (Fire, Bug, or Ice). I elect to use the Great Ball here, as I want this finished as quickly as possible.

Oh, thank God. Named Spell, referencing their appearance as letters, which spell things, and the third movie, Spell of the Unown, in which the species played a central role.

Now, Unown will be important later. There is a particular trait this Pokemon has in the main series that is not true in this game. We’ll see what that is in due course. For now:

Well, there is one spot in Johto where they’re actually pretty easy to find.

Of course I do. I’m the protagonist. (I need to be careful not to run that joke into the ground.)

Well, I needed to find Devon because I’m on the run from a terrorist organization that destroyed my hometown and killed a bunch of people, but I can’t go to the next town because there’s a boulder in the way and I need his Gym Badge to use the HM Strength to move it. Also, you have a package.

Wilson. Where have we heard that name before?

Devon is impressed at our ability, and suggests that we go to the Gym, though he warns:

We’re then teleported...back into the previous room. We’ll have to climb out ourselves. On the way out:

Named Geode, ‘cause she’s a geode, a type of hollow rock that crystals can form within.

As we return to town to lick our wounds and grind like hell, and with an IV Stone in hand to give any subpar catches a fighting chance, I decide to make a team change. There are a couple of rules I like to follow when teambuilding:

• Three physical attackers, three special attackers. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be. I just like the symmetry.
• Minimal, or if possible zero, type overlap. This I’m less strict about (particular in the games with three Water HMs), but I’ve always loved the idea of maximizing STAB coverage.

With those in mind, I swap my two existing Grass-types out. Cheeky and Libre are going to share a Flying typing, but I don’t mind that for now. For now:

Welcome Rocky and Lily! Lily is a special Grass-type to complete the FWG core with my two starters. Rocky has the usual traits that endear his species to me: Strong Attack and Defense, Normal and Flying resists, and, of course, STAB EdgeQuake. They replace Puff and Tochu. Puff in particular sucks to box—I have used Breloom before many times in this game—but he just isn’t providing enough oomph right now.

I like my team, so when even better options become available and I’ll have to make even more cuts, it’s going to be painful.

That’s a problem for future Jordan to deal with. For now, let the grinding commence! First going back into the Cave of Wonders to catch the remaining non-rare encounters, than into Naragex Forest for levels. The Mankey can be as high as level 12, which means if you can find a tree, you’re golden.

Highlights:

Named Brawly, after the Gym Leader who made the species famous as his ace. (I captured this before making my final team decision, hence why Puff is sitting victorious here.)

There’s a good argument for conserving IV Stones, namely that if I find a better mon later who could use the boost, not having that available would suck. We will get more of them, however, and Rocky has an Attack IV of 3 with a -Attack nature. The Geodude line, which is probably one of my most-used lines, will not be the defensive backbone of this team in the long run. But at least for now, Rocky needs all the help he can get.

(Also, yet another example of a well-placed speech bubble.)

To use the IV Changer, pick the stat, then pick the mon, confirm, and voila!

Still have the deal with the Nature and not having Sturdy, but that’s much better.

Last catch in the Cave of Wonders. Named Aster, after Zinnia’s companion.

Replaces Mud Sport. Rocky’s setting up for a nice RP + 3 attacks set.

Lily’s more offensively-oriented than Puff, but she’ll still get good use out of Leech Seed.

Named Breezy, referencing the line’s association with the winds.

Replaces Tackle. Strength is still a stronger move against neutral targets, but STAB is STAB.

Replaces Leer.

Replaces Growth, which I haven’t used.

Replaces Bubble.

Well, that’s a pleasant surprise. Less pleasant were the four balls required to bring her in. Named Python ‘cause she’s literally a rock python.

Here’s the roadblock beating Devon will allow us to clear.

Another optional-but-would-be-very-useful-in-the-main-series tutorial on using field moves.

Replaces Growl.

The team after I realize we’re running on scaled experience and getting vastly diminishing returns from grinding. There will be plenty of opportunity for grinding, but that day is not today, not any longer. To the Gym!

We’re invisible. This is the Gym puzzle. It’s easy enough to navigate thanks to our follower always being right behind us, but we can’t battle Devon until our sprite reappears. The Gym Guide explains:

[Best of luck!] There’s one further wrinkle he doesn’t mention: Should you leave the Gym to heal, the puzzle resets. Onward. Rocky will have to sit this one out for obvious reasons.

The traditional Gym theme does not play here. If you'd like, play it yourself.

Its replacement is perfectly fine, but this is a Pokemon game.

Lily’s SleepSeeding efforts are frustrated, but ultimately only delayed, by Sand Attack.

Meditate is not nearly as scary due to Meditite’s lack of any physical attacks to use with it. Meditite attacks Lily exactly once, and even though it takes her several tries to hit a single Leech Seed, only one is needed to finish the match. Enjoy the level-up.

Indeed you could not.

Yeah, well, we’ll just see about that. To his left:

We’ll need to fight the second Gym trainer to get this second flower.

Eh, having the following Pokemon as a reference makes things a bit easier.

I wish I was joking or I had made a mistake. The second Gym Trainer is an exact copy of the first. Same mons, same levels, same moves (obviously). Cheeky’s going to play a bit of a different strategy than Lily did: She’s going to press the C button two times. (It’s more like ten when mashing through text boxes, which includes her level-up.)

Well, at least he has different text.

LET’S GOOOOO

In addition to the stat boosts, Cheeky picks up Intimidate to provide the squad some defensive utility.

Well, that part isn’t different.

You can see where the other three flowers are; it’s pretty trivial to pick them up. Libre will be our lead mon for the Gym battle ahead, with Cheeky (who lacks a Fighting resist due to her Normal typing) flying backup. Let’s do this.

He’s exactly what you’d expect from a Fighting Gym Leader. I would have liked it if he’d acknowledged that we’d met before, but hey, what can you do.

Nice banner for the boss battle (also, that face of perpetual worry is me IRL). Devon will have two Potions available to him. The awesome Hoenn Gym Leader theme (RSE edition) greets us.

Machop’s moveset: Focus Energy, Karate Chop, Low Kick, Leer. Libre barely misses the KO, allowing Machop to Leer him. Next turn, Devon heals, but this isn’t enough to prevent Libre from taking the easy KO and a level with it.

Replaces Hone Claws. I tend to be more of the “hit it until it dies” type of player, which means I often plumb forget to set up, and I am trying to run this itemless, so Roost will be a great help.

Moveset: Confusion, Detect, Meditate, Bide. Held item: Sitrus Berry. The Berry is typically saved for the ace, which means whoever comes out next has a trick up their sleeve. I swap to Cheeky for this, since Libre probably will miss the OHKO here and that will mean trouble for him, as Meditite Detects. He uses Bide on the next turn, but Cheeky blows him away, ignoring the Berry, Devon’s Potions, and any Bide shenanigans.

(The music doesn't actually change. I inserted that myself.)

Here’s the ace. Moveset: Quick Attack, Rock Throw, Counter, Endure. Held item: Focus Sash. Riolu can not legitimately know Rock Throw (although Rock Tomb might have been too mean).

If this isn’t designed to counter (pun intended) as much of its counterplay as possible, I don’t know what is. Just clicking Wing Attack will get you Countered for your troubles. Switching in another Flying-type means you eat a Rock Throw. The bugs have Confusion or Gust to bypass Counter, but they’re also weak to Rock (in the case of Butterfree and Beautifly, doubly so). The good news is that this Riolu has no Fighting attack. Nuzlockers beware: If you’re not prepared, you will lose a Pokemon to this guy.

I go to Rocky on the Rock Throw, then pivot into Lily to bait the Counter and get her in cleanly. Lily can then SleepSeed her way to victory, aided in part by Riolu’s decision to use Counter against a special attacker. Rocky’s pivotal contribution (unironically; Lily was 3HKOed by Rock Throw and needed the clean switch in case of a Sleep Powder miss) nets him a level, and the first Badge is ours!

I agree! The Sash/Counter/Rock Throw trick can be a bit mean, but knowing how to pivot around it made for a satisfying first boss fight.

You’ll have to play this for yourself, the game doesn’t:

Alright, so what’s the TM? Low Sweep? Bulk Up?

We already have Strength, might as well. After Devon explains what a TM is and that this one “breaks through many defenses” (that is, screens), we’re teleported outside the Gym. We have but one more thing to do--

--and with that, we’ll call it an update.

Next time: Time to move some boulders.

The Squad:

• Newt (Magby): Lv. 11, Fire, Flame Body, Brick Break/Headbutt/Ember/Smokescreen
• Tatsu (Horsea): Lv. 11, Water, Swift Swim, Headbutt/Water Gun/Acid/Smokescreen
• Libre (Hawlucha): Lv. 12, Fighting/Flying, Unburden, Brick Break/Wing Attack/Strength/Roost
• Lily (Petilil): Lv. 12, Grass, Chlorophyll, Acid/Absorb/Sleep Powder/Leech Seed
• Rocky (Geodude): Lv. 14, Ground/Rock, Rock Head, Strength/Brick Break/Rock Throw/Rock Polish
• Cheeky (Staravia), Lv. 14, Normal/Flying, Intimidate, Wing Attack/Tackle/Quick Attack/Double Team

Click here to return to the Index.

 

[ZettaiRyouiki]

Cool seeing Petilil and Geodude, was hoping for both to see some action.

Here’s the ace. Moveset: Quick Attack, Rock Throw, Counter, Endure. Held item: Focus Sash. Riolu can not legitimately know Rock Throw (although Rock Tomb might have been too mean).

*Gen 2 Lance's Rock Slide Aerodactyl intensifies*

 

[TerrickTerran]

Shenanigans. Also agreeing Petilil and Geodude in action are good things.

 

[jordanthejq12]

This is not an update to advance the story, but rather a meta announcement. (Part five should be coming later today.) I've added an Index to the bottom of the opening post on this thread, which will be behind a hide tag to avoid spoiling new readers, and each update will include a link to the Index. I'm doing this because this is a very, very long game. This project will likely take months at minimum, so with the Index, anybody who wants to go back through the thread and find specific parts will have an easier time.

Might as well do replies while I'm here

Cool seeing Petilil and Geodude, was hoping for both to see some action.



*Gen 2 Lance's Rock Slide Aerodactyl intensifies*

Shenanigans. Also agreeing Petilil and Geodude in action are good things.

I have a certain fondness for Geodude in in-game runs, mostly because of STAB EdgeQuake and the Normal resist. I probably won't be using Lily for very long, but she did play such a pivotal role in this Gym battle that my opinion of Petilil and Lilligant has markedly improved. I just hope the line gets some actual coverage. The only non-Grass attacks it has ever gotten are the various Normal moves (including Hidden Power) and, finally in this gen, Pollen Puff.

As for Devon's Riolu, I have no way of knowing this, but I do have to wonder if the devs intended for it to have Rock Tomb--which Riolu can learn via TM--but scaled back because Rock Tomb's extra 10 BP and Speed-lowering effect would be overwhelming. It could also have been an oversight, devs not realizing Riolu does have access to a Rock move, or a programming error (oops, wrong move). Or maybe they just didn't care.

 

[jordanthejq12]

Hey, y'all. Apologies for being late on the update. Here is part five.

Part 5

With our first badge in hand, we are free to leave Superior City at long last. We kick the boulder aside and off we go!

...well, after a trip back to the cave. Tochu has Flash, so Ill give him one last hurrah as a flashlight.

Were gonna save that one. Actually not for very long, as we’ll see shortly.

Named Muscle, after the trade Machop who saved so many players from the wrath of Whitney’s Miltank.

Hello, Dolly.

This is the first instance of an HM Item. These are Key Items designed to mimic the functions of various field moves, allowing the party to proceed without tying up a moveslot. With this, I could dump both Libre and Rocky in the box and still move boulders around. They’re placed in such a way that the move will still be needed for some period of time at minimum, enough to get the item but no longer after that point.

The game will still prefer a mon to use Strength if one can, meaning that the Dolly doesn’t mean much for us until we get to the Move Deleter.

There's an additional note with these: If you select a Solo Challenge, the game will give you every HM Item before leaving the Escape Route, allowing you to keep your solo and only your solo with you.

Our Badge also allows us to buy Great Balls, Super Potions, Repels, and the full slate of basic status healing items. I mainly focus on Great Balls for now.

There’s a gate as we leave town:

So in true protagonist fashion, lets run directly into the problem by traveling down:

There are time-based and version-exclusive encounter tables on this route. First, the creatures of the night: Gastly (7-9), Purrloin (7-9, Omicron exclusive), Poochyena (7-9, Zeta exclusive), Clefairy (7-9), Bulbasaur (7-9), Rattata (7-9, rare), Shinx (7-9, very rare), Pidgey (7-9, very rare).

When the sun comes up, we can catch Blitzle (7-9, Omicron exclusive), Ponyta (7-9, Zeta exclusive), Hoppip (7-9), Pidgey (7-9), Purrloin (7-9, Omicron exclusive), Poochyena (7-9, Zeta exclusive), Bulbasaur (7-9), Shinx (7-9, very rare), and Rattata (7-9, very rare).

Took three balls to bring in, good Lord. Named Wisp, as in will-o’-the-wisp, and added to the team. Three immunities combined with strong attacking power as a Gastly are too good to pass up. Lily has served us well, her contributions against Devon invaluable. I am sad to see her go.

I’ve found the Gastly stage to be a massive PITA due to it getting no good special moves naturally until Shadow Ball. But that TM-that-shouldn’t-be-a-TM we have?

Yep, Gastly can learn it. And so Wisp will have a move that takes advantage of its base 100 SpA--even if it is only 60 BP with a poor offensive type--without needing to wait twenty levels. It replaces Spite.

Unfortunately Wisp has a problem. His SpA IV is a flat zero. So Ill have to spend the IV Stone I just recovered. We will find more of them, but well also find more good Pokemon.

So this is a thing. Although the Fairy type is a thing with its type interactions programmed in correctly, mons that would become Fairy type in Gen VI (Clefairy, Mawile, Marill, Snubbull, etc.) retain their original typings.

The eventual catch will be named ET, referencing the anime explicitly declaring Clefairy as having extraterrestrial origin.

Replaces Mean Look. Wisp catches up to the team the following level.

Named Tux, short for tuxedo cat.

Named Leo for the obvious lion connections.

Named Sterope (meaning Lightning), one of the horses of the sun Titan Helios.

I needed, like, eight or nine balls--Great Balls, mind you--just to get one. 45 catch rate before Ultra Balls is no fun. Named Bulbfrog, as it sounds like bullfrog and Bulbasaur is basically a frog with a bulb.

With almost everything caught, we proceed.

[Its an exciting job!] Oh? Daycare access already?

God, Flame Wheel hurts like a mother...Tatsu, you wanna take this?

That is the second Trainer to hit on us this journey.

In a little bit. Gotta go heal first. After that, there’s an Ace Trainer across the road.

Alright, we back here, its primetime battling. I guess I’m the challenger in this scenario.

I, like Supa Hot, am not a rapper. So I’m not going to embarrass myself for the sake of the reference. Brick Break 2HKOes, Sand Attack be damned.

Newt Brick Breaks and does little (thanks, Intimidate), while Spark 3HKOes. This is why we have Rocky, who gets in cleanly and promptly wipes the floor.

And you're not much of a Trainer, either. (Insert the OOOOOOH! clip every Anime Roasts compilation feels the need to insert after literally every line.) He says the same thing after battle. Next Trainer, please. (I imagine that I left him reduced to a sputtering wreck, unable to say anything other than repeating "I'm not a rapper...", unable to fully process what just happened.)

Never mind, time for plot.

Were they also a protagonist? Probably.

Foreshadowing, question mark?

[hands.] Oh, most definitely. We protagonists tend to attract it.

Um, thanks. You as well...hey, waaaait a minute...anyway, lets talk to this guy.

Can’t say that I have, but I know you’ll give me something, so I’m just gonna mash through this. Y’all know what we get here.

Magikarp and Qwilfish (both 7-12) are available on this route. To the west of the grass on 301 is a small pond; you can find Goldeen (7-12) there alongside Magikarp.

We have three slots to register items and can pick which key to bind the Rod to. Let’s use the pond here.

Qwilfish have a 5% chance to hold a Poison Barb in the wild. Accordingly, this one is named Barb. (She did not have a Poison Barb.)

Qwilfish are really good for grinding due to their level range and base XP yields, and unlike in some other games where the Old Rod splits are 85 or 90% in favor of Magikarp, the fishing here is a comparatively generous 70/30. So whereas fishing would be a last resort for grinding elsewhere, it works perfectly well in this game.

I misclicked Curse, LOL. Named Sale, in reference to the Magikarp Salesman. Magikarp is a little less painful to raise here due to coming at higher levels.

Alright, lets go.

The battle background changes depending on the time of day, which is a really nice graphical touch. I’m fighting this battle at what would roughly be dusk. Wisp has to deal with Sleep Powder, but eventually powers through.

Replaces Curse.

Acid 2HKOes.

And thank you for the money and XP!

Second Bug Catcher of the journey, let’s see what he has…

Holy cow, he’s actually competent. Rock Throw of course OHKOs, but it’s good to not have to deal with a piss-weak Caterpie at this level.

Replaces Brick Break, the only expendable moveslot.

This Beedrill doesn’t fare any better. Rocky levels up twice off this Beedrill alone. Three levels in a single fight normally (as opposed to power-leveling an underleveled mon).

Variety is the spice of life, kid. Even with bugs. Trust me on that.

[Of all time!] Imma let you finish, but you almost certainly don’t.

Thank God for Smokescreen. This Rattata has Pursuit, which makes switching a risk. Fortunately, Tatsu pulls through, earning herself a level.

Okay, so I think she can survive a Pursuit…

She could not. Thank God this isn’t a Nuzlocke, I would be pissed. Fortunately, Cheeky banishes this Rattata to the Shadow Realm to avenge her fallen comrade.

Serious props, this Juggler took a mon off me. First faint of the playthrough.

Y’know, I like to see this. It’s a nice counterbalance to the so-called “old souls” who populate the YouTube comment sections of classic rock songs.

Me having last used a Bulbasaur in Yellow with its craptastic movepool: IT GETS TAKE DOWN NOW WTF? The combination of a clutch Flame Body activation and Take Down recoil allows Newt to, well. take him down.

I can also appreciate a good pun and diverse musical tastes. We thus reach the end of this route and another gate.

There are quite a few captures available here:

• Omicron exclusives, daytime: Zigzagoon, Blitzle, Purrloin, Pidove (all 7-10)
• Zeta exclusives, daytime: Ponyta, Hoothoot (?), Poochyena, Bidoof (all 7-10)
• Available in both, daytime: Abra, Patrat (rare), Shinx (very rare), Spearow (very rare) (all 7-10)
• Omicron exclusives, nighttime: Purrloin, Pidove, Blitzle (all 7-10)
• Zeta exclusives, nighttime: Ponyta, Drowzee, Hoothoot, Poochyena (all 7-10)
• Available in both, nighttime: Abra, Gastly, Spoink (all 7-10)
• Fishing: Magikarp, Goldeen (7-12)

We need to grind, plus there are some new captures available, so let’s show that off. But first, a couple of other things:

This is a side route that’s basically a dead end. There is a small island offscreen that may or may not have something for us once we can Surf, but other than that, there isn’t anything for us.

Named Smash, referencing its appearances in that series, as well as its propensity to hit things with its horn. He’ll be the inaugural denizen of Box 2.

Here’s the Day Care; standard rules apply. These two gentlemen look like they have their hands full, so we’ll leave them be.

Also, shoutout to the inclusion of a gay couple that is clearly trusted enough in-universe for several Trainers to leave their Pokemon with them. Versyn has some things figured out.

Named Heart, referencing the species’ friendliness as well as the literal heart on its body.

Named Scout ‘cause she’s a scout. (Will need a different name for a Sentret.)

Named Tanuki, in reference to the Japanese raccoon dog, which the species resembles.

Named Passer, the genus of birds the Old World sparrow belongs to.

Named Edgar. Abra’s Japanese name is Casey, derived from Edgar Cayce, an early twentieth-century psychic and trance reader from the States.

Replaces Smokescreen. Newt leveled up soon after; his level 14 move is Fire Spin, which we’re not taking. The team’s looking in much better shape now, so let’s move on.

I got your birdie right here!

Cheeky sets up a Double Team and easily handles this Pidgey.

Wing Attack crits and one-shots.

Ooh, nice ace. She gives Cheeky all she can handle, but our starling emerges victorious nonetheless, leveling up as a reward for her perseverance.

To be fair, I did have a bird behind me.

There’s a plateau in the northwest corner of the route, where this is. It leads us into…

This is a side area that ultimately leads to a dead end—for now. However, there are Pokemon we can get in this simple maze: Diglett (very rare in Zeta, common in Omicron), Geodude, Cubone (very rare), Nosepass (Zeta exclusive), Gible (Zeta exclusive), Roggenrola, and Axew. All are encountered at levels 8-11.

Named Whac, after Whac-a-Mole, which Diglett specifically references in Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team. (Also, Arena Trap is Whac, pun intended.)

Named Iris, after the Unova Champion who made the line famous as her ace. There are several catches in the next area, so I need some cash. Let’s fight someone.

I do not. Let’s see who’s right.

I do not have a Psychic switch-in. Um, Cheeky?

She almost does it. Almost. Takes a Confusion switching in, gets outsped, takes another one and Wing Attacks back. But alas, she gets confused, and with the chance to Quick Attack and win, she knocks herself out instead. Libre is my fastest mon, but even he is outsped—but he survives and avenges Cheeky.

The wiki page for Route 302 specifically says to be careful of this fight. We can see why. Levels for Wisp and Libre.

[I was wrong?] Yes, yes it is.

[I’m near you.] Geez, sore loser much?

This next area has overworld rain, which Tastu is going to love. The interior of Midnight Mansion will open to us much later, but for now, we can pick up a couple of items and a couple of new friends.

Roaming the grounds of this place are Murkrow, Houndour, Poochyena (Zeta exclusive), Stunky, Purrloin (Omicron exclusive), Munna, and Zorua (all 8-12). If you need to pick up a Dark-type—and based on our earlier battle, I absolutely do—there are several options to choose from here.

Named PU, because it literally stinks, and in reference to the Smogon tier (the depths of which Skuntank only reached once, in Gen VII).

First item.

Named Carrion, after the specific type of bird that serves as the creature of origin for the species. I almost added this to the squad, but while Murkrow can hold its own as a Murkrow for a time, it’ll be doing so for a long time.

Named Cerberus, after the gate guardian of the Greek Underworld.

Remember that the starters have had their evolution conditions modified. Tatsu will lose Swift Swim as a Seadra, but that’s a small price to pay.

Back on 303 there’s a Trainer to fight:

At least name him Jon or something. Brick Break OHKOes, and Newt levels up, although he has to wait another level to evolve.

Brick Break OHKOes this as well. I love having Brick Break this early.

Holds up spork

This is a Double Battle, but the two individual characters are out of sync. Nice visual storytelling. (The spinner is uninteractable.)

Both of my Fire resists against two Fire Pokemon. This should be very fun. Less fun are the multiple Tail Whips and Leers they both take. Rock Throw and Water Gun carry the day.

Rocky’s now double-Intimidated. This Herdier is legit scary. At -3 Defense, it really isn’t safe for Tatsu to stay in, so I go into Wisp while Rocky uses Magnitude. Three Ground immunities really synergize well with that, and the duo closes out the battle.

It certainly is unique, I’ll say that much.

Returning to get our remaining captures. Named Koro, after a Japanese incense burner.

That’s nice to find.

Named Kitsune, after the shapeshifting fox of Japanese mythology. That’s everybody for this area; let’s continue down 303. From the plateau, there’s an exit to the west, down some ledges, into this pond area.

[They say it’s possessed!] Oh, now I definitely want to stay away.

This is an easy set-up-and-sweep deal for Rocky.

An interesting decision. We’ve all been terrorized by Rollout at least once in our lives, but the lock-in seems less appealing. Considering I have Magnitude as a consistent STAB option and I’d primarily be using Rollout to sweep Flying or Bug teams, I have no problem taking it over Rock Throw.

Magnitude 2HKOes.

Right you are.

There are a couple of Berry trees across the bridge, and a gate. As we head west:

There’s my jerk rival.

And here. We. Go. Moveset: Scratch/Growl/Smokescreen/Leer. Players who selected Bellsprout in the Escape Tunnel would instead face a Treecko (Quick Attack/Leer/Pursuit/Absorb), while those who chose Horsea would face a Totodile (Water Gun/Leer/Bubble/Smokescreen).

Acid 2HKOes. Hooray for proper leveling!

Oh, you’re more right than you realize. Moveset: Water Gun/Leer/Smokescreen/Bubble. Bellsprout moveset is Vine Whip/Growth/Poison Powder/Wrap (Wrap is illegal in this game, although it wouldn’t be normally), while his Magby will have Fire Spin/Feint Attack/Ember/Smokescreen.

Acid 2HKOes. God, I love Gastly.

And of course, the sorest of losers.

The next town is going to be plot-heavy, so we’ll call it an update here (I’m also a day-plus late with this one as it is).

Next time: We finally take the fight to Team Olympus.

The Squad:

• Newt (Magby): lv. 15, Fire, Flame Body, Brick Break/Headbutt/Ember/Smokescreen
• Libre (Hawlucha): lv. 15, Fighting/Flying, Unburden, Brick Break/Wing Attack/Strength/Roost
• Tatsu (Seadra), lv. 15, Water, Poison Point, Water Gun/Acid/Headbutt/Focus Energy
• Cheeky (Staravia), lv. 17, Normal/Flying, Intimidate, Wing Attack/Tackle/Quick Attack/Double Team
• Rocky (Geodude), lv. 18, Rock/Ground, Rock Head, Strength/Magnitude/Rollout/Rock Polish
• Wisp (Gastly), lv. 18, Ghost/Poison, Levitate, Acid/Night Shade/Hypnosis/Lick

Click here to return to the Index.

 

[かたわれ時]

That is the second Trainer to hit on us this journey

And the first decidedly LGBTQ one

 

[ZettaiRyouiki]

Gastly's cool. I have no objections.

*rimshot* This trainer is weird.

 

[King Feraligatr]

I've played this game before. Well, Zeta, but there's little difference. Got done with Vesryn, but.... yeah. Never thought I'd see someone play this game here, but here we are. Good luck with the edge, weird level curve, and nice features should be the games proper.

 

[jordanthejq12]

Part six, here we go!

Replies

And the first decidedly LGBTQ one

The Versyn Day Care, the most LGBTQ+-friendly location in Pokemon history. You love to see it.

Gastly's cool. I have no objections.

*rimshot* This trainer is weird.

That's less "weird" and more "LOL so random". Hence the holds up spork reference. And yes, Gastly is cool. I think Wisp is going to be a permanent team member.

I've played this game before. Well, Zeta, but there's little difference. Got done with Vesryn, but.... yeah. Never thought I'd see someone play this game here, but here we are. Good luck with the edge, weird level curve, and nice features should be the games proper.

Thank you and welcome! We'll be getting to the first of the real edge...maybe next update?

Part 6

The team’s in pretty good shape so far. What do you have to say, Newt?

Aww! Our squad’s been through quite a bit together.

The gate is empty, so we can just proceed into…

Welcome! This update will focus entirely on the happenings in and around this town. The first order of business is always to heal, and second, to chat with some of the locals.

Good thinking! Just be careful of the random Rock/Fire/Flying move I’m almost certain the Gym Leader has.

Not necessarily! Magikarp takes a lot of patience to raise properly (slightly less in this region where it can be caught well above level 5), but the reward is very much worth it.

I see you liked Diglett before it was cool.

We learn some more about the Gym Leader.

Every region’s gotta have a museum, and here is Versyn’s. As you can see by the two Grunts standing guard, this is the other major objective in the city. We’ll be back here shortly.

This path here is the way out of town once the museum and Gym are cleared. Meanwhile, we get our regional PDA equivalent in the third town. At present, we only have one Card for our Pokegear.

Here’s the regional map. A nice thing to note is that we can use the arrow keys to scroll freely instead of needing to tab through one area at a time. Each town marker also includes any noteworthy landmarks in said town. This includes towns we haven’t visited yet.

While we got access to the Map this late, there’s also apparently access to the Safari Zone this early. We’ll be sure to check that out in due course.

The roadblock should you attempt to bypass Onega entirely.

Another Legendary reference. Remember that.

Um...sure?

I was prepared for the Sash Counter/surprise Rock move shenanigans, but I could easily see a less-prepared player being caught off guard.

Three guesses, first two don’t count.

Here’s the thing: The other two Pokemon he had were bog-standard. (Granted, Brick Break on all three would probably murder a typical opponent at similar level.) His ace didn’t even have a Fighting move. Instead of Endure, why not Force Palm? Endure exists, in theory, to prevent a quick pick-off after a successful Sash/Counter, but it would only prolong the inevitable.

But he certainly is memorable, and he forces players away from the standard “click the super-effective move” play. There are critiques, but it was a very different battle than one might expect, so kudos there.

We get more than a penny for our thoughts. This is given regardless of your answers.

Here in the northwest corner we see a currently-inaccessible area and the region’s Berry field. If you’re into Berry growing, here’s the place to do it. Total yields: 14 Oran, 6 Chesto, 4 Persim, 2 Figy, 2 Iapapa, 2 Pecha, 2 Aguav, 2 Mago, and 2 Wiki. Keep in mind the Figy, Iapapa, etc. Berries work under pre-Gen VI rules, so they only heal one-eighth of a mon’s HP and will confuse certain mons depending on their Nature.

Shhh!

Hmm...I wonder if this will be important later?

To the northeast is the Safari Zone. Rules: $500 for 30 Balls and 600 steps, same Ball/Bait/Rock minigame as the olden days.

Here we are. There’s just a single area to this park, with no items to be found. To maximize encounters, just head into the nearest patch of grass and circle it. We’ll be exploring to find NPCs.

Indeed. And just what are those Pokemon, exactly?

• Common encounters: Venonat (15-18), Exeggcute (15-18), Rhyhorn (16-18), Cottonee (15-17), Aipom (14-17), Girafarig (16-17)
• Rare encounters: Tauros (15-16), Heracross (15-17), Scyther (16), Pinsir (16), Chansey (17), Kangaskhan (19)
• Fishing: Magikarp (17-21, always). We have not found a Rare Candy yet, so the immediate Gyarados should you find a sufficiently-leveled ‘Karp will require battling or the Day Care.

Those questions are better suited for Congregation of the Masses. This is Orange Islands. ;)

Fancy meeting you here! Jeremy doesn’t have anything else for us.





(40-42)

Whoa, whoa, no need to yell--

Did...did he just…

This build of the game, the absolute latest this NPC could have been added to the game, was released in 2017. Is this meme really that old?

Checks Know Your Meme

Holy cow, it actually is. May of ‘17, to be exact. Probably showed up in isolated cases earlier.

Y’all, I am shooketh. Bonus points for a years-old meme reference that actually isn’t horribly dated.

(45)

Much appreciated, though there are several things I’m looking for.

Named Wendy due to the species riding the winds and that being an actual name that sounds close to “wind”. Note that Cottonee is not a Fairy-type in this game.

I hope you can too, buddy.

Named Eyes due to multiple associations (both primary Abilities, physical design, Dex entries).

What a catch! Named stag, after a stag beetle.

Wow, the game straight-up tells us there’s a Legendary here. We can’t catch it yet, obviously.

Okay, that is not the kind of person I want to see in scientific fields.

Best of luck to you, too. There’s a lot of cool ones to pick from.

Named Two-Brains ‘cause it has two brains.

Chansey, Girafarig, and Cottonee being among them.

The official motto of the Safari Zone. I cannot even tell you how many balls I lost on the third shake. It’s infuriating.

Named Grace, after the XY player character’s mother, an accomplished Rhyhorn racer. Rhyhorn has no good STAB until level 23 in this game, so Rocky will not be facing competition for his party slot just yet.

So there are multiple Safari Zones? And each one has a Legendary? We’ll have to keep that in mind.

I hope your daughter likes bugs, those being the most common mons here. We’ll see Fianga City soon. This woman is the last NPC we’ll see in the area, so we’re free to park ourselves in a grass patch and toss the last of our balls away on a Scyther or something.

Named Hatch because that’s what eggs do.

Named Albo, after Gold’s Aipom from Adventures.

We lose the last of our balls on a Tauros. We’ve gotten all the common encounters and a Pinsir on top. A solid session, all things considered. We have just one more place to visit, a house in the southeast.

Foreboding.

Second of these.

OH GOD IT’S ALIVE!

Yet another “lie to advance the plot” scenario. The TV calls your bluff.

Well, we don’t have an Odd Keystone, I have a Gastly in my party already, and Chandelure is way too strong to be available this early...guess Rotom it is, then.

I’d like to see you try.

And so it does.

SAVE BEFORE ENGAGING THIS ROTOM. IT WILL NOT RESPAWN IF YOU KNOCK IT OUT.

And we got it. Named Pulse, short for Pulseman, a 1994 action platformer also developed by Game Freak. Notable alumni who went on to work on Pokemon include Satoshi Tajiri (co-director and co-designer), Junichi Masuda (programmer), and Ken Sugimori (who directed and designed alongside Satoshi).

Interacting with the TV with Rotom in the party allows you to swap forms freely. Rotom’s ability to swap forms and plug holes in the team is very nice. However, I don’t really have an open teamslot. The most replacable is Newt, but he technically is my starter, and that’s not a move I want to make unless his replacement is permanent. Plus, most of the special moves aren’t ideal for longer battles or routes.

There’s also a house in the west, which has nothing but people. Let’s pop in and chat.

That’s really cute.

HEY LET’S GO TEAM BULBASAUR! (In a game with better Poison TM access, I’d have no problem using my Bulbasaur on this team.)

Looks like just the one kid (yellow cap) running around. What does he have to say?

Oh, he’s doing it on purpose. Little brat.

Nothing left to do but go fight some people. We can head right for the Gym—and between Newt, Libre, and Cheeky we have plenty to handle it—but we have a museum to liberate, and more experience couldn’t hurt.

Here’s Team Olympus, unable to prevent me from just walking in. Both Grunts say the same thing.

And here’s the museum. If you’ve never visited a museum in the main series, especially in a newer game, pay the 50 yen and do so. You can actually learn so much.

Alas, these displays are oriented towards in-universe information. Specifically, each display is a different Fossil.

Um, do you know what game you’re in?

Rather than having fixed teams, the Grunts’ Pokemon are randomly chosen from any of these five: Pawniard (13), Shelmet (14), Karrablast (14), Riolu (13), or Zorua (13).

Easy money. Brick Break OHKOs.

Yeah, yeah, next Grunt.

Terrorist attacks resulting in the deaths of untold numbers of innocent people. You don’t get a pass just because you like fossils.

No Defiant on this one, so Cheeky can actually handle this Pawniard, leveling up in the process.

We don’t need Endeavor. Grunts really don’t say much after being defeated.

Make me.

Wing Attack OHKOs, though Libre takes a Quick Attack first.

Good.

I have been restraining my profanity in this playthrough, but dude, fuck off.

Another Pawniard. Water Gun 2HKOs. He says nothing in defeat.

You’ll get your ass handed to you in four.

Wing Attack OHKOs. Libre levels up.

Replaces Wing Attack. The loss in PP will be more than compensated for by the ability to swiftly terminate any Evasion shenanigans.

Hans...are we the baddies?

Oh, try me.

This one does have Defiant. However, Cheeky has Double Team. Even a single Evasion boost is enough to handle even a +1 Pawniard.

Again, try me.

There are Grunts on both sides of the museum. For extra experience, let’s swing over and fight the other ones. Leave none standing.

His “new, super-awesome rare Pokemon” gets 2HKOed effortlessly. Newt levels up, which means…

Magmar has been nerfed relative to the main series, but in exchange, we get it fourteen levels earlier.

Tatsu 2HKOes and levels up to mow down yet another Grunt.

No, it means we will defeat you.

Insert Social Distancing joke here Rocky handles this without a problem.

Low bar to clear considering you embarrassed me not at all.

Cheeky vs. Pawniard is a matchup that’s happened three times this dungeon. This one doesn’t have Defiant, so with a Double Team setup to be safe, she has no problem handling him.

After a quick trip to the Center to heal, we go to see what the commotion is.

The way following Pokemon are programmed seems to result in several sprite glitches, such as this one.

Here’s our first battle against a team Admin. You can probably guess the theme in naming here: The Olympus Commanders are all named after the gods of Greek mythology.

Zeta players will see a similar theme with Team Asgard, whose Commanders are all named after Norse deities. You will be facing Frejya.

Moveset: Peck, Hypnosis, Uproar. Frejya leads with the exact same Pokemon. Tatsu just barely squeaks by this mon. It has STAB Uproar. STAB Uproar hurts.

Moveset: Feint (which it almost certainly will use because priority pickoff), Endure, Force Palm, Counter. Frejya also has this same Pokemon. We go to Wisp, who the Riolu literally cannot touch.

A resist switch! Unfortunately, Athena’s ace cannot touch Wisp either. This Mienfoo has Fake Out, Double Slap, Meditate, and Detect. Frejya’s ace is instead a Beldum. Yes, a Beldum. Take Down/nothing else.

Wisp levels up off the Mienfoo and then easily handles the Riolu coming back in. Full disclosure, my original plan was for him to be replaced in a little bit, but I’m having too much fun with these immunities.

Replaces Lick.

Two Pokemon who literally cannot touch a Ghost? Let's finish mopping her up.

Time Caller? That doesn’t sound good.

Oh, damn. We’re teleported outside of town.

I mean, dude could just wipe the floor with me right now, but he wants to play Bond villain and show off.

OSHIT

(142-146)

Wow. These folks came to play. Dude just casually has time travel and a Master Ball.

Well, the Elite Four usually sit on their butts for the entirety of a game until the player challenges them, so Olympus won’t have much of a reason to fear them.

Well, I didn’t so much rid you of them as they won, albeit while taking casualties, but I appreciate the gesture. There’s a second NPC in the southwest who says the same thing. So with the museum plot resolved, there’s only one thing left to do. Let’s challenge Gideon and at least get something out of this.

(150-155)

Apparently this Gym Guide is a proper employee of the Gym? Okay then. Also, nice callout of the type’s numerous weaknesses. We’re plenty covered between our four Grass resists, all of whom have super-effective STAB.

No Gym Trainers here—hence why it’s optimal to do the museum first—but there is a teleporter maze. The solution is as follows:

From the entrance, take the left portal.

From that portal, take the portal in the very southeast.

Take the lone portal available here.

At the fork, go east and take that portal.





(160)

And here we are. We see a Nuzleaf in the overworld, who will be the ace of this team. (Sidenote: I like when games show important NPCs with their partners at their side. Let’s Go did this nicely with Lorelei’s Lapras and Lance’s Dragonite.) We’re set up fairly nicely, with Libre leading and three other Grass resists standing by in case of trouble. Let’s do this.

Ah, Jake’s been here, hasn’t he? Just a lovely guy.

Well, it does build your character. We have a sense of who Gideon is—admittedly it’s not the best character work I’ve seen in a Pokemon game, but solidly above-average for his role in the story. But yes, let’s battle. Characters are always swearing you learn more from battling than talking.

Here’s his lead. Moveset: Headbutt, Razor Leaf, Synthesis, Poison Powder. Headbutt is not in Chikorita’s level-up movepool, but since it can learn the move through Gen IV Tutors, presumably Gideon went to the Move Tutor in Naragex Forest. Additionally, Gideon has four Potions to use.

Chikorita is bulky enough to take an Aerial Ace and poison in return before falling.

From the department of “Mons That Would be Much Scarier if They Came at a Higher Level”. Moveset: Grass Whistle, Razor Leaf, Quick Attack, Grass Knot. Leafeon cannot have Grass Whistle at this level—it would learn it literally the next level.

Leafeon is a bulky boi indeed, requiring three Aerial Aces to bring down. Quick Attack and poison damage bring Libre low, but with Leafeon in the red and almost certain to take a Potion, we take the opportunity to use Roost. Next turn, Libre just barely misses the KO, and Leafeon doesn’t heal. Attempted Roost-stalling fails and Libre finally just has to take the KO.

The ace. Moveset: Razor Leaf, Fake Out, Nature Power, Grass Knot. I think the level curve was intentionally softened for this battle, as Nuzleaf has Fake Out two levels early. I don’t think 16/17/19 is terribly unreasonable for a second Gym, but that could just be me.

I know we’re getting Faked Out, so I go to Newt to fish for a burn. Actually, Nuzelaf uses Razor Leaf (does it outspeed Libre or did we miss the chance to complete the sweep?). Two Brick Breaks later and we have our second Badge.

I mean, you run a Grass Gym. I’m sure she knew how this would end. Lord knows it’s happened to her enough times.

So that’s the second Gym. Not as threatening as the first; Chikorita’s Poison Powder plus the other two having priority being the most consistent threat to your Grass resists. Basically, bring a second Grass check (or an Antidote/Pecha Berry if you’re into that) and you should be absolutely fine.

Father Time is undefeated, and he does come for us all. No shame in that.

Fun fact: Nature Badge remains unique relative to the main series as a Badge name. Ramos and Milo took different names from this, even though it fits the type perfectly.

One thing Gideon does better than Devon (though I concede this may have been done for balancing purposes; remember that Devon gave out Brick Break): His mons actually use the TM move he gives out. He goes on to explain the weight-scaling of the move, before leaving us with some words of encouragement and a warning:

You can tell he’s bitter, that he hasn’t fully come to terms with his changing role in the world.

And so we come to the end of this update. It’s been a pretty eventful one despite being contained to this town.

Next time: Our first real city, and more.

The Squad:

• Newt (Magmar): Lv. 16, Fire, Flame Body, Brick Break/Headbutt/Ember/Smokescreen
• Tatsu (Seadra): Lv. 16, Water, Poison Point, Water Gun/Acid/Headbutt/Focus Energy
• Libre (Hawlucha): Lv. 17, Fighting/Flying, Unburden, Brick Break/Aerial Ace/Strength/Roost
• Rocky (Geodude): Lv. 18, Ground/Rock, Rock Head, Strength/Magnitude/Rollout/Rock Polish
• Cheeky (Staravia): Lv. 18, Normal/Flying, Intimidate, Wing Attack/Tackle/Quick Attack/Double Team
• Wisp (Gastly): Lv. 19, Ghost/Poison, Levitate, Acid/Night Shade/Hypnosis/Confuse Ray

Click here to return to the Index.

 

[かたわれ時]

Frejya’s ace is instead a Beldum. Yes, a Beldum. Take

Zeta players will have a hard time when it evolves to Metagross

 

[jordanthejq12]

Zeta players will have a hard time when it evolves to Metagross

Spoilers for Later

She actually drops the Beldum completely. In fact, she and Athena become direct mirrors of one another, fulfilling the exact same role in the plot with the exact same battling teams. Metagross would be terrifying if she had it, though.

 

[ZettaiRyouiki]

Oh yeah, now I remember hearing this game had bizarre NPCs. The Safari Zone fellows prove that.

 

[jordanthejq12]

Oh yeah, now I remember hearing this game had bizarre NPCs. The Safari Zone fellows prove that.

There's a reason this LP is so NPC-dialogue-heavy. It's one of my favorite things about the game, actually.

And with that, part seven, coming up!

Part 7

With Team Olympus at least knowing who we are and the Nature Badge ours, we’re free to leave Onega Town. Well, after shopping and another thing.

Only Libre on our current squad can learn Grass Knot. Frowny face.

We have twenty-two thousand yen, a result of equipping the Amulet Coin to my lead each battle. We haven’t actually been to the Mart yet, so let’s do that.

I’ve been there. Loneliness fucking sucks. (Especially nowadays.) No change in Mart inventory, so after loading up on Balls and healing supplies, and for once having cash left over, we depart to the west.

Talk about Shadow. There are no Trainers in this cave, so we can go back and get Tochu for this. Our available catches are:

• Common encounters: Diglett (12-14), Roggenrola (12-14), Dwebble (12-14), Pawniard (12-14)
• Rare encounters: Karrblast (12-15), Shelmet (12-15). This is intentional, as we'll see momentarily.

The cave isn’t terribly difficult to navigate, actually. But before we get much further…

Oh hi, N. What are you doing here?

Wait, where are you going? I already took care of the museum!

Named Hermit because of the whole dwelling theme and because I am generally uncreative.

Rare encounter plus critical capture equals a lot of good luck! Named Carabus, short for Carabus smaragdinus, a species of beetle.

The lone item in this cave. This game has been very stingy with items so far.





The remaining captures because I derped out and deleted the screens before I converted them to PNGs: Shelmet (named Scaly, short for scaly-foot-snail, as well as a reference to its armor) and Pawniard (named Georgia, after an anime trainer who used the species). With our captures complete, we exit the cave and enter...

We’re already in the next town. There’s a lot to do here. As usual, our first stop is the Pokemon Center.

This, as the kids say, is praxis. The Grunt, meanwhile, pleads for peace:

There’s also a Hiker with an interesting perspective:

I also appreciate the contrast.

Create his own moves? Oh, we gotta check that out.

Heading outside, we see that Olympus has indeed established itself in town:

Another Grunt on the west side says similar things. Briefly popping into the Mart:

Whoa, TMI there.

Illicit Egg dealing? Oh dear, I don’t want to think about how that works…

I’ll just spoil this since I won’t be getting it, at least right now: The dude is in the northwest part of town, and in series tradition, the Egg hatches into a Togepi. Togekiss (Normal/Flying, remember) wouldn’t actually be a terrible Pokemon to have, but I can’t afford to have a dead teamslot to hatch an Egg right now. We could come back for it later.

Good on you to see through the lies.

I guess that means we’ll be seeing him. Quite a bit later on, Blackfist is a ways from here.

Wow, excellent game design here. (Though the two kids could of course trade with each other.) The two species are rare encounters, but if you’re willing to hunt one down, you can immediately have yourself an Escavalier and/or Accelgor.

On the subject of traded mons, this would be a good spot to talk about Obedience. Gym Leaders never specify in their post-battle spiels what levels they allow, so it's actually unclear what levels each Badge allows. However, since IRL trading is disabled (including between your own save files) and in-game trades always come at the same level as the outgoing mon, I would ascertain it's unlikely to be an issue in an average playthrough.

I probably have tripped over Rocky several times by now. But nonetheless, screw you too.

Thanks! Best used on a Clefairy or Munna right now, although there are a couple of mons you could use it on in the coming routes.

Fianga is the first location we’ve visited to feel like a proper city. So much so that I'm actually not showing some NPCs so as to make this update not go forever. (You won't miss much from them. It's usually comments that are inane or repeat information we've already learned that I opt to cut.)

The third trade available in just this town. If you know how to set up a proper Smeargle, go for it. I don’t.





(53-57)

There’s our next hint. We can’t attack through the front door, since this Grunt does properly block us. There is a Gym here, but it’s blocked by Cut trees, so all we can do is head to the north.

...well, after we start barging into other peoples’ houses uninvited, of course.

Well, let’s visit this place first. This is the Wireless Communication Center, a place which held much more importance when this game actually had functioning servers. The building includes a healing spot and a sales clerk, redundant when the city has an actual Center and Mart, but this way you don’t have to leave the building.

We can’t (nor shouldn’t) attempt that for a long while. Basically, we’ll be back for most of this content.

Thanks, game, you made me think about how the Move Deleter actually works. So while Libre and Rocky having Strength aren’t exactly dead moveslots (80 BP Normal move with no drawbacks), I haven’t actually used Strength in a while since they both have their STABs. Thus:

But the Move Deleter isn’t the only important NPC you can find in here.

Early Name Rater and early Move Deleter, I like this a lot. Next to him is this guy:

We cannot use this man’s services. But, if for some reason you felt the need to go Hard Mode in this already-more-difficult game, he will have some stuff for you. The main attraction is the Nuzlocke Ball, a ball roughly midway between a Great Ball and Ultra Ball in effectiveness, for 600 yen. If for some reason I elect to start a new save file and play a Nuzlocke to this point, I’ll show what he has.

That poor woman, doomed to spend the rest of her working life standing guard at a post that nobody will visit. Finally, the policeman in the center:

We do not want to take this on—yet. But let’s see what we’re in for:





(76-77)

These trainers, representing members of the development team (as the name implies), have teams in the high 60s and low 70s. I do want to show this, but obviously not with a team merely in the high teens.

Upstairs we can see what the Simulation Challenge:

However, as we see, we can’t even attempt it yet even if we wanted to:

Blackfist is on the other side of the region. So, now let’s actually go barging into peoples’ houses. First, the southeast:

Sigil Halls? Fifth? Huh? Yeah, when I said this was a long game, I meant a long game. I wouldn’t even call it a “postgame”, the traditional name for anything that goes on while the player holds the title of Champion.

The Youngster acts as a tutorial NPC. We know what Gyms are, we know what a Pokemon League is, and we’ve found out what the Simulation Depot is. So what are these Sigil Halls, exactly?

Okay, and the fifth?

What, who’s that? Red? Anyway, there’s a dude with a Bonsly, let’s talk to him.

Damnit. Of course it can’t be that easy. His wife is sitting down, she doesn’t really have anything for us. The daughter, though?

Sure, why not? Named Crier, as it does cry a lot. Now for the house east of the WCC:

Thanks!

Thanks, pal! You, too. Oh, I love the kindness here.

So here’s the third starter just lying around here for you. This will be the starter weak to the one you picked in the Escape Route. You can, if you wish, roll with a full trio of starters. Named Pitch, short for a pitcher plant.

On the opposite side of the WCC:

Very important information about Team Olympus and their organization. Yes, the entire management is run by people naming themselves after Greek gods. And yes, Zeus does now have a Legendary.

“Evacuated”, riiiiight. (Or if they did evacuate the town they took over, that would be worrisome.)





(115-118)

YESSSSSS. GameFreak has actually passed this game in accessibility in this regard, since Nature Mints are now a thing, but this is still nice. This one goes to Cheeky. Sassy is -Speed, so not particularly good.

West of the Mart:

I mean, would I be playing a fangame for the non-competitive section of a competitive site if I didn't?

“Lie to Advance the Plot” #3, as you’re about to see. I choose Seviper.

Named Dr. Claw because claws (and the Inspector Gadget reference, of course). That makes two gifts, two trades, and an Egg, for a total of five free Pokémon in just this city, plus a capture.

South of the Pokehadron Collider is a police station, with the following offer:

Me IRL:

Me in-game:

So, what are we doing becoming an amateur cop? The Police Club is one of two joinable organizations—the Rangers are the other, and they do not conflict—which offer a series of sidequests. Each Gym Badge unlocks a new mission, and the questlines culminate in the chance to snag a Legendary.

We can’t actually take a job here yet; the officer in charge tells us:

The Diamond Badge is this city’s Badge. Remember that the Gym is locked behind Cut. Suffice it to say we’ll be back. We can, however, talk to the other cops.

Hey, it’s a start. It’d be unique, if nothing else.

In the far western house:

Another Move Tutor! This one is not repeatable.

...hold on, Gastly can learn Uproar? Alright, let’s go 90 BP!

We replace Acid with Uproar. Acid is already NVE against Rock, Steel, and Ghost.

Yeah, screw you too, buddy.

Inside the very south house is our second overworld Shiny. But that’s not what we’re here for.

Sounds like petty theft, but okay. It’s not like that’s an RPG staple or anything.

Number three. With everything done in Fianga for the moment, we head north to:

• Common encounters: Poliwag (14-17), Aipom (14-17), Plusle (14-17), Minun (14-17)
• Rare encounter: Pikachu (14-17)
• Fishing: Magikarp (7-12), Goldeen (7-12)

The level curve is catching up to us, so we need to grind a bit.

When wilds are threatening KOs consistently, there’s a problem. Named Tad, short for tadpole. The good news is that the Center is just a few steps away.

Named Proton, after a positive charge. Minun, of course, will be named Electron.

Let’s go 5% encounter! Named Ash because come on. Ash becomes the inaugural resident of Box 3.

During the grind-and-catch, Cheeky (twice), Rocky, Newt (twice), Tatsu, and Wisp all leveled up.

The highest Friendship threshold. It corresponds to about 210 Friendship, so you aren’t necessarily at the Evolution threshold of 220 should you see this message, but you are at least close.

Finally. Okay, let’s move on.

Heck yeah, let’s go! It’s legit been so long since we’ve battled anyone.

Aw, it sets up Rain Dance during the stage I don’t have Swift Swim. That’s mean. Acid is a 3HKO with a crit, and Tatsu levels up.

Replaces Water Gun. Tatsu finally has a decent STAB.

(I don’t screen his after-battle quotes, because it’s at this point I realize that trying to show every single last bit of dialogue is putting a lot of unnecessary work on me. He says “Losing’s not the greatest thing, isn’t it?” or something in that general vicinity when defeated, and “Maybe another time…” after battle.)

Game hanging a fat lampshade on stationary Trainers.

Levels 15 and 17, respectively, against Cheeky and Libre. Libre annihilates the Skitty, the bigger threat here, while Cheeky sets up a Double Team.

The ace, level 17. Libre wrecks the Aipom, leveling up, while Mienfoo Detects. But this only prolongs the inevitable. After-battle quotes are identical to Bee’s.

Level 16, meaning it has Tackle...against Wisp, who DGAF. Second is also a level 16 Magikarp.

No, it really wasn’t. At least it was over quickly.

Both level 14, against Rocky and Newt. Newt Brick Breaks the Zigzagoon, who has Sand-Attack and could be annoying, while Rocky Rock Polishes to get a Rollout going.

Level 17. Rollout could be a problem. Sentret, for his part, whiffs consecutive Fury Swipes. He is not having a good day. Bidoof just barely survives a Brick Break, but Rollout does very little and Newt finishes him off.

Level 17, against Rocky. Aipom can Sand-Attack and Tickle all it wants, he is not getting by this rock.

Oh, come on, don’t give up like that! You can do both!

The second attempt to pastiche Youngster Ben, and I like it more than the kid in Naragex Forest. This one will actually battle us, too.

Level 15, facing Tatsu, who nearly OHKOes with her new Bubble Beam.

1. I’m pretty sure baseball teams are named after Pokemon. At least they are in the anime.
2. Mariners fan, big oof.

Don’t hit on me, please.

Level 16, facing Wisp. Uproar is nuking everything in sight.

Yes, you will.

I’m holding you to that!

This is the second of ten Fishermen in this area. All of them have two identical Water-types at level 16. As we'll find out, this is intentional.

Finneon attempts Attract (whiffing due to Double Team), and rain-boosted Water Gun stings a bit, but Cheeky prevails. The second Finneon Rain Dances with rain already up, and Cheeky gets past it and levels up.

Level 16, facing Newt. Brick Break carries the day, although the second Goldeen requires a bit more effort.

Level 16, facing Libre. I will say, at least, that the Fishermen are hitting us with a variety of species. Brick Break OHKOes both this one and the Carvanha (level 16) that follows. This is legitimately the most bored I have ever been route-clearing in a Pokemon game.

You have two Luvdisc. You’re not even worth my time. You are worth a level for Wisp, though.

Level 17, against Rocky. Finally, a worthy opponent! This one falls to Tatsu, who first-turn-wakes against Hypnosis twice to secure the victory.

Feebas. Rocky can take this, leveling up in the process.

Ah, so that’s what this is. So which one do you have?

More Feebas? Alright, Tatsu, you’re up. And so is your level.

Sigh. Cheeky takes them both out easily.

I would love to see how that works, mechanically.

That could be trouble, especially for Newt. Smokescreen causes the Remoraid to whiff twice, however, and Newt takes the first one out, leveling up.

Not enough power, although the utility would be nice. Newt survives two Water Guns to take out the second Remoraid.

Libre destroys these two Finneon, leveling up.

Y’know, wouldn’t it be better if you were at the southern end of the route?

So that was the Fisherman’s Challenge. You must have picked up the Old Rod from Route 302, and you actually do swap Rods: The Old Rod is removed from your inventory and replaced by the Good Rod, which has to be re-registered. But once you have it, you can bag the following encounters:

• Zarivar Town pond: Shellder (16-19), Krabby (15-16), Barboach (17-18)​
• Routes 301, 303, and 304: Goldeen (7-12), Magikarp (7-12), Finneon (7-12)​
• Route 302: Magikarp (12-18), Qwilfish (12-18), Mantyke (12-18)​
• Route 306: Goldeen (12-18), Magikarp (12-18), Remoraid (12-18)​

Here’s a Remoraid. Named Ocelot because of its precision shooting and its revolver-esque appearance.

We’re going to call it here. The next route is very plot-heavy, and we then have the liberation of the PokeHadron Collider to look forward to.

Next time: Shit’s about to go down.

The Squad:

• Newt (Magmar): Lv. 19, Fire, Flame Body, Brick Break/Headbutt/Ember/Smokescreen​
• Tatsu (Seadra): Lv. 19, Water, Poison Point, Bubble Beam/Acid/Headbutt/Focus Energy​
• Libre (Hawlucha): Lv. 19, Fighting/Flying, Unburden, Brick Break/Aerial Ace/Roost​
• Cheeky (Staravia): Lv. 21, Normal/Flying, Intimidate, Wing Attack/Tackle/Quick Attack/Double Team​
• Rocky (Geodude): Lv. 21, Ground/Rock, Rock Head, Magnitude/Rollout/Rock Polish​
• Wisp (Gastly): Lv. 21, Ghost/Poison, Levitate, Uproar/Night Shade/Hypnosis/Confuse Ray​

Click here to return to the Index.

 

[ZettaiRyouiki]

You can make moves? Think Uranium has something like that too.

 

[jordanthejq12]

Part eight. It will be shorter, but very plot heavy.

Replies

ZettaiRyouiki: Indeed you can! Well, it's a bit limited. But we'll see how that works in due course.

Part 8

• Route features: Permanent rain; Headbutt trees; long grass; two sections, which affect Headbutt encounters only.
• Common encounters: Pikachu, Oddish, Burmy, Chatot, Tranquil, Deerling (all 14-18)
• Rare encounters: Nidoran-M, Nidoran-F (both 14-18)
• Fishing: Goldeen, Remoraid, Carvanha (all 12-18)
• Headbutt: Scyther, Ledyba (first section only), Hoppip (rare), Pineco (rare in second section), Cherubi (second section only), Timburr, Foongus (all 15-18)

There’s a Trainer right at the foot of the route; it’s probably better to just get by him before going for catches.

Probably a lot of things, but I couldn’t tell you what those are. I do feel this, as somebody who hasn't had much of a chance to put my own degree (history and political science) to much use as of yet.





(5)

Level 18, facing Rocky. It has Magnet Bomb, but Rocky survives two, sets up a Rock Polish, and wins.

And it’ll have Gear Grind...thanks to the Rock Polish, Rocky outspeeds and Magnitude KOs. Rocky levels up.

Replacing...nothing, thanks to the move deletion.

Again, don’t give up. One loss does not a failed career make. Now, let’s go catching.

Needed three Balls, good Lord. Named Quaver, the British term for an eighth note, which the shape of its head resembles.





(11)

Named Cheryl, after the Gen IV trainer, whose anime incarnation owned several of the species. (Chansey is a 1%, Safari-exclusive encounter, so I won't need a new nickname for one unless I go back to complete the Dex. And even then, I'd name it Joy after the nurses.)

Named Emily, another anime reference: Specifically Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?, the Romeo & Juliet send-up. (Naming the Nidorans Maria and Tony feels a little too on-the-nose, so I’m opting for Emily and Ralph, the names of their Trainers.)

Named Drake, short for mandrake.

Don’t really need it.

Damn thing took Wisp down before going in. Named Sika, after a sika deer fawn, the base creature for the species. Also, Autumn Form, nice. (I took some time to theorymon several versions of my final team, and I legitimately considered using Sawsbuck (replacing Cheeky as my Normal-type as well as filling the usual Grass-type niche). I don't think I will, but it's certainly something I've considered.)

Replacing nothing.

Named Kenji, after Japanese novelist/poet/activist Kenji Miyazawa, whose utopian world known as Ihatov is possibly referenced in the species’ Japanese name (Hatoboh) and Dex entries.

Level 17, facing Cheeky. Seems like a “set up a Double Team and sweep” kind of battle.

His other two Pokemon are no problem, and Cheeky levels up, declining to learn Whirlwind in the process.

Your mons are fine (minus the Ledbya), you just lost on matchup.

Level 19, facing Libre. One Brick Break later and it’s over.

This may be a problem. Into Rocky, Rock Polish, get outsped even at +2, Magnitude.





(28)

Rock Blast needs but two hits to kill. Rocky levels up.

Excuses, excuses. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Found a good Headbutt tree not far up the route. Named Gates, after the third Mystery Dungeon game, where several of the species serve as recurring characters.

Named Bugsy, after the Johto Gym Leader who uses the species as his ace.

You are not gonna believe what this guy has. I’m serious. You won’t.

Level nine. Not ninteeen. Nine. Nice programming there. This isn’t even worth covering. Next Trainer.

Seems a liiitle late in the game for Oran Berries, but maybe that’s just me.

Level 18, facing Libre. Libre takes a Thundershock and Sturdy-2HKOs with Brick Break, leveling up.

The game crashed. Yaaaaay. It is nice that the game tells you “This is a crash, here’s what may have caused it, would you like to save?” rather than just locking up and then Windows spitting an error message at you. So we redo the battle, and Magnemite doesn’t even use Thundershock.

Brick Break OHKOs both. Libre becomes the first team member to 10,000 XP.

Now that’s an ethos I can get behind.

Oh God, I might have to worry about Storm Drain and rain-boosted Water Pulse actually stings. Tatsu does eek out a victory and level up.

She is not living a Thundershock. Into Rocky, who handles this Pikachu easily.

Rock Blast OHKOs. We move on from the Ranger, and just a bit to the north…

Hi, Mom.

This cutscene doesn’t start automatically. You have to very specifically talk to Professor Oak to begin it. Talking to Aria, N, or Cyrus will force-reposition your character behind Oak.

I also want to take note of the battle line here. The good guys consist of Professor Oak, your mother, N (whose presence makes sense here, being a Pokemon liberationist and all)...and Cyrus. Now, I haven’t played Sinnoh all the way through...at all, but if I’m reading plot synopses correctly, Cyrus seemed quite content being locked in the Distortion World at the end of Platinum. Are we to believe that he not only escaped Giratina’s realm, but did so a changed man? And enough of one for Oak and N to trust him enough to stand side-by-side with him?

Or maybe this is an aide/sidekick character using Cyrus’ sprite. Or maybe I’m just overthinking things. I have no idea. Anyway, let’s start the cutscene.

This is what we call “dramatic irony”: Information known to the player (/reader/viewer) but not to certain characters (Oak and allies). That’s an actual storytelling technique.

I love how none of them noticed me come up behind them.

Okay, please notice this. The follower doesn’t actually physically occupy a tile. I’m not sure what the technical language for that is, but because of that, Aria and Newt are overlapping. (And Newt has Flame Body. I’m so sorry, Mom!)

I’m afraid so, Mom. Don’t be afraid. We’ll get through this.

Seems these folks have a history together. Makes sense that Zeus would want someone like Aria on-side.

I feel like Shaymin is a little ways down the Legendary power rankings. However, the symbolic value of the Pokemon of purity and gratitude being in the hands of such greedy and impure people as Olympus is not to be underestimated. Also, I think Shaymin is in Sky Forme? Where’d he get a Gracidea?

I have to imagine Aria crumpled on the ground, a complete wreck. Perhaps Newt is trying to comfort her as best he can (without burning her, of course). I mean, if the game gets to make Cyrus a good guy, I can make up stuff too.

N, remaining in his canon character, is not having any of this.

I am still unsure why you’re here. But something something strange bedfellows.

And so the scene is set. We shall face them down at the Pokehadron Collider.

Master of understatement there, Oak.

I mean, you do have Protagonist Power on your side. But even that couldn’t stop them from getting the Time Caller.

This is the character who went into the Cave of Wonders with Devon.

Okay, but like...that’s, what, three towns away? And we have no method of fast travel.

Team Olympus has attacked Nyasa Town, leaving few survivors. There are canonical deaths in this game already. Zeus has time travel powers. That’s pretty dangerous!

The battle line blocks further progress up the route. N and Aria simply tell you to do what Oak says. Cyrus has something for us, however:

I omitted an explanation of how Protect actually works, which he gives before handing the TM over. Battling wild Pineco that pulled off double Protects so many times made me doubt the move was coded in correctly, but it is.

We begin the long trek south…

...and the game teleports us, saving us several minutes of frustration. We are inside the lab in the center of town, northwest of the Pokemon Center. Which we can visit right now, BTW—we need to do things in the lab to advance the plot, but are free to move around town before doing so. It’s a good idea to heal and shop before proceeding, so we’ll do that.

We’ll need to check the open book on the right table to proceed. Nothing else is interactable. Let’s see what it says. Get ready for the Big Lore Dump:

Well, the game can’t tell the entire story at once. Nonetheless, we see that we’re dealing with an Arceus-heavy story. After finishing, the Researcher approaches us. He actually forgets we’ve spoken to him already (you only have to read the book to advance the plot, talking to him first is optional), so we pick up with:

...uh oh. I mean, free time travel is pretty bad as it is, but how much worse can we get?

Relative to my team at the time, certainly, but in the grand scheme of things...not really.

And that’s before any of the Legendaries introduced in the 3D era. This dude would crap his pants if he saw Primal Groudon or Ultra Necrozma.

Well, once they find them, of course. The Time Caller doesn’t manipulate space.

Hoo boy.

Y’know, that is a good question.

Yah, that would be bad.

He directs us to report back to Oak. We turn and leave…

...and are promptly teleported back. The gang has split up, presumably to fight Olympus elsewhere (or in Aria’s case, pull herself together).

Suddenly, the screen is rocked by an explosion!

...I’m not kidding. That actually happens. We’ve already seen in-universe deaths, now here is the destruction...





(154)

...and now profanity. To the game’s credit, its first instance of foul language is appropriately timed. It fits what TV Tropes would call a Precision F-Strike: A single cuss word used by a character not known for them to mark the severity of a situation.

Shouldn’t it be “Oh my Arceus”? And yes, I am 100% going to take the piss out of this.

e d g y

(Our character is probably devastated, since that is our hometown, but nonetheless, e d g y)

(Also, how would one destroy an entire town? A bunch of Pokemon using Explosion simultaneously? Do conventional explosives exist in this world? I kinda want to find out.)

Thanks, I guess.

So. We’ve escalated from lethal terrorism to the destruction of a locale with a side helping of time travel. Sure, you have BW2 and Ghetsis threatening to freeze all of Unova, the Hoenn games with extreme and extremely rapid environmental destruction, and whatever hellscapes the Rainbow Rocket Admins call their home timelines. But maybe it’s just me, but what we have here in Versyn seems a liiitle much for a Pokemon.

This is a short update in terms of physical distance traveled, but due to the plot intensity, let’s call it here. The liberation of the Pokehadron Collider will be featured, for sure, in the next update.

Next time: Vengeance.

The Squad:

• Newt (Magmar): Lv. 20, Fire, Flame Body, Brick Break/Headbutt/Ember/Smokescreen​
• Tatsu (Seadra): Lv. 21, Water, Poison Point, Bubble Beam/Acid/Headbutt/Focus Energy​
• Libre (Hawlucha): Lv. 21, Fighting/Flying, Unburden, Brick Break/Aerial Ace/Roost/Encore​
• Cheeky (Staravia): Lv. 23, Normal/Flying, Intimidate, Wing Attack/Tackle/Quick Attack/Double Team​
• Rocky (Geodude): Lv. 23, Ground/Rock, Rock Head, Magnitude/Rock Blast/Rock Polish/Rollout​
• Wisp (Gastly): Lv. 23, Ghost/Poison, Levitate, Uproar/Night Shade/Hypnosis/Confuse Ray​

Click here to return to the Index.

 

[かたわれ時]

I find it rather interesting how the game is increasing the tension to climax levels so early in the game. Makes me wonder how the real climax will feel like
I really like this world, lots of lore and effort put into building it, with funny characters and an interesting plot.
Also that was a good place to stop, kind of like the end of a chapter in a book

 

[jordanthejq12]

Part nine coming up!

Replies

かたわれ時: Oh, the actual climax is wild. I do think that there's something to this game plot-wise, and that's why I wanted to play through it for OI. There's a lot of effort that went into this (although more effort could have gone into, say, programming), and even if it falls into a lot of the pitfalls fangames are known for, I feel there is something that separates this from the pack.

Part 9

Our hometown has been destroyed. This update, we seek vengeance.

Oh great, we have that HM to worry about. In exchange for the HM Items, there are a lot of necessary field moves. We won’t have it for a while.

And here we are. As stated, we don’t need a field move to climb the rocks here and only here, although we do have to answer the prompt to climb every single rock in either direction.

To the east, we find a cave entrance leading back into the room in which we started the game. It’s a good moment to reflect on how far we’ve come and process our grief.

And here was home, at the very north end of town. We will return to this spot. Remember it.

In roughly the center-north of the ruins is an entrance to this tunnel. This is a point of no return. I neglect this, and will pay the price shortly.

Deny, deny, deny.

Wait, what now? Yep, we have Fakemons in this game.

And a very powerful one at that. Time travel in your pocket is really friggin' scary.

Well, you did burn your Master Ball on Shaymin, so good luck with that.

That’s what I’m here for. Protagonist to the rescue!

Bring it.

Full disclosure: I did not remember this area completely, and was expecting to fight through a building full of grunts a la Silph Co., not to immediately be dropped into a boss fight. So I am a bit underleveled. I will pay for my insolence.

Zeta players will face a Commander named Thor.

Moveset: Will-o-Wisp, Flame Burst, Quick Attack, Confuse Ray. From here on, I’m going to underline illegal moves, because the game relies on those a lot. In this case, Vulpix is too low for Wisp (level 26) and Flame Burst (23).

Thor’s lead is an Elekid, with Ice Punch/Fire Punch/Thunder Punch/Brick Break. This is technically legal but Thor would be reliant on Tutors or breeding to get the Elemental Punches.

I’ve opted for Persim Berries on Newt and Rocky, and the Amulet Coin on Cheeky. Brick Break nearly 2HKOes, but Newt gets confused despite the Berry. Fortunately, he’s able to break through confusion to deliver the finishing blow, leveling up.

Right for the ace, I see. Moveset: Psybeam, Rock Slide, Fire Spin, Rock Polish. Solrock cannot learn Psybeam at all.

Thor’s ace is a Luxio, with Ice Fang/Wild Charge/Superpower/Crunch. Crunch is too early (38) and Luxio doesn’t have Tutor access to Superpower (Luxray does, though).

Psybeam is going to hurt, and while Rocky resists everything else, I need him healthy for the third mon. I opt for a pivot play: into Cheeky for Intimidate and the Amulet Coin proc, then into Tatsu. Tatsu is outsped and 2HKOed, but does chip Solrock enough for Libre to finish it off, earning a level.

Moveset: Swagger, Facade, Wild Charge, Flame Charge. Item: Toxic Orb. This moveset is perfectly legal thanks to the magic of TMs (and also Ponyta gets Flame Charge at 21), so it’s definitely the fairest of these three mons.

Thor instead has a Carvanha, with Ice Fang/Thrash/Surf/Bite. Fully legal (Thrash by breeding).

Hoo boy. Libre does outspeed and take half its health with Brick Break, but falls to a Wild Charge. Time for Rocky to bring it home, and he does, taking a Flame Charge and retaliating with Magnitude to finish the match.

Christ. That was way too close. Protips: Grind before this, and bring a Dark-type.

Crap. That’s actually clever story-wise. I do not have the resources to fight this battle twice.

A new face!

The Elite Four getting off their butts for once!

“This is Katana. She’s got my back. I would advise not getting killed by her. Her sword traps the souls of its victims.”

I mean, come on. You can do better.

Wilson’s intervention saves our bacon.

I’ve done it twice now.

Um...isn’t that cheating? I kinda feel like that’s cheating.

Yeah, I’m down to two Pokemon and I don’t think Wisp and Rocky could 2v3 that one. (The Solrock being the problem. Psybeam beats both of them, Wisp for obvious reasons and Rocky because Levitate nullifies his ability to trade hits effectively.)

Indeed, I was sent here.

Oh?

And so, with our next objectives in hand, we can explore the lab a bit. First, though, we desperately need to heal.

Hey, a competitively-viable held item!

After running to heal (the WCC is closer), we can talk to some scientists.

You're not gonna give me an item or a Pokémon? Oh, okay.

Now that's more like it!

This is a one-time Tutor, but don't worry, the TM is not too far away. Cheeky will take the Tutoring, replacing Tackle.

There's more for us upstairs.

Be glad you don't know.

To make this trade possible easily, just get a Pokemon poisoned by a wild and run around with it until it auto-cures at 1 HP.

Wilson seems reasonably well-liked around here.

So that's a thing in this universe.

Sure, a gift would be cool--

Welp.

As with all static encounters in this game, save before engaging, because if you faint it, it's gone.

So that's another programming error. Fortunately, Transform does function correctly (as can be seen on the right screen; Ditto has an assigned gender even though it's normally genderless) . We are able to catch it, and we name it Duplica, after an anime character who owned one and serves as a counterpart for Kanto's Copycat.

Because it is. It's literally a Pokémon, a living creature.

We're done here. With the Collider liberated, we can now leave Fianga to the south.

Available to catch: Poliwag, Espurr, Helioptile (all 14-17). This is the first route on which we can throw Balls at Kalos mons, and we are once again ahead of the wild level curve.

But first, this Trainer. Protip: Don't use Sleep Powder while Uproar is active.

Wartortle has Bite, so after calming down, we go to Tatsu. Wisp levels up.

Charmeleon has Dragon Rage. I have to let Tatsu faint, because no way is anyone other switching in safely. Even Libre, with 72 HP, is 2HKOed. Rocky comes in for the revenge kill and levels up.

Yes, you are. That was actually a challenging fight. Now let's catch a couple of things.

Named Alexa, after an anime Trainer who owned one.

Named Lacy, also after an anime owner (sadly deceased). Let's move on.

Yes, very funny.

Brick Break 2HKOs, with Newt getting paralyzed for his troubles.

He actually has an Unown, neat. Newt unfortunately can't handle it. Libre has the highest SpD on the squad, and Hidden Power is NVE against it (Fighting or Dark, as it was neutral against Newt). Aerial Ace cleans up, and Newt levels up.

Very long overdue. Replaces Ember.

I'll give him credit, he does stick to the joke.

Gorgeous and powerful she may be, but the Power of Friendship (TM) does not care. Cheeky levels up.

Cheeky prevails again, albeit with a few nicks.

Wow, sore loser.

Sure I can. This Wooper does not have Water Absorb, and thus gets OHKOed by Bubble Beam.

Neither does this Quagsire, but it does have Mud Shot, which 2HKOs. I go to Wisp, who it turns out completely walls this (Mud Bomb/Slam/Mud Shot/Mud Sport). Easy money. Tatsu levels up.

I have what I came here for. You are free to fish.

Very true. Newt gets beaten by Psywave + being Encored into Smokescreen, forcing a switch into Wisp. Soundproof being a thing, Night Shade carries the day here, albeit barely.

Gotta go to Libre for this one. Aerial Ace 2HKOs.

Well, I have to save the world, so you'll have to figure that out.

Bullet Seed, oboy! Into Newt, who gets paralyzed, but prevails.

Pursuit makes switching out dangerous, so Newt has to stay in. Flame Burst 2HKOs and Newt levels up.

Gust hits surprisingly hard, but Flame Burst is a clean one-shot, leveling Newt up again.

He's not kidding. I'm expecting Dragon Rage, but nooooo, let's Bite flinch! Cheeky proceeds to:

• Switch in on a Bite, which thanks to Intimidate doesn't do very much
• Survive the following Dragon Rage on one HP
• Crit Return to knock Gyarados down to a sliver
• Crit the Quick Attack to finish it off (probably unnecessary, but why not show off a bit?)

And so, we win one of the most dangerous battles in the game to this point with no casualties. Level-ups for both Rocky and Cheeky.

Rock Blast does more even with variance. (Probably should've replaced Rollout. Oops.)

Honestly, dude, I don't know either.

LET'S GOOOOOOO (Also, I'll get another crack at Smack Down in two levels.) But as it turns out, Rocky isn't the only one to get a power spike. Two wild battles later:

EVEN BETTER!

Replaces Confuse Ray. Hypnosis is actually more reliable on a rate basis (50% self-damage rate vs. 60% hit rate), so might as well take the perfect accuracy to combat Evasion shenanigans.

Bubble Beam OHKOs on a crit. So much for him wiping the floor with us. Tatsu levels up.

Replaces Focus Energy as our setup move.

Another Bubble Beam crit for the one-shot.

No crit this time, but Bubble Beam 2HKOs anyway, giving Tatsu a second level.

Believe it, pal.

I don't remember Red being a Ranger, but okay.

Oh, you're Blue. Can't say I remember him being a Ranger, either. Anyway, bad matchup due to Feint Attack and Psybeam. I opt for Rocky, who OHKOs with a Magnitude crit.

Same deal here, though no crit needed.

One-hit, but Rocky misses the level-up by just a sliver of XP. Sigh.

I could conceivably be confused for Leaf...

Nice job! Let's see how they battle.

Not well enough to avoid dropping to a Wing Attack, as it turns out.

The same goes for this Parasect. Cheeky levels up.

That's...what happens in Pokemon battles, buddy.

We find this not far from him. We've actually missed a Trainer, so let's backtrack a bit and find them.

Oh, great. Smeargle could literally have anything. Well, anything except enough HP to survive Wisp. Her second Smeargle fares no better.

Again, that's what happens in Pokemon battles.

Another nice find.

Backtracking, we find ourselves at the end of the route and on the outskirts of another settlement. We'll explore that place and beyond in the next update.

Next Time: Return to normalcy.

The Squad:

• Libre (Hawlucha): Lv. 23, Fighting/Flying, Unburden, Brick Break/Aerial Ace/Roost/Encore
• Newt (Magmar): Lv. 24, Fire, Flame Body, Flame Burst/Brick Break/Headbutt/Smokescreen
• Tatsu (Seadra): Lv. 24, Water, Poison Point, Bubble Beam/Acid/Headbutt/Agility
• Wisp (Haunter): Lv. 25, Ghost/Poison, Levitate, Uproar/Night Shade/Shadow Punch/Hypnosis
• Rocky (Graveler): Lv. 25, Ground/Rock, Rock Head, Magnitude/Rock Blast/Rock Polish/Rollout
• Cheeky (Staravia), Lv. 26, Normal/Flying, Intimidate, Return/Wing Attack/Quick Attack/Double Team

Click here to return to the Index.

 

[かたわれ時]

I like all the references in here. SCP (which stands for Secure Contain Protect) is a fictional organization which tries to secure contain or protect people against weird horror monsters.