The hero is N? No, the hero is YOU! Let's Play Pokemon White!

[Crosspeice]

Pokemon... it's still going... maybe one day I'll be free...

Pokemon Black and White are yet another generation in Pokemon and definitely one of the best, the formula was starting to wear a little thin, so one solution to solve this was do a soft reboot, distance the region from the others and have a whole host of new Pokemon, exclusively in fact, until the postgame! It didn't work, these are the worst selling paired games in the series, USUM is a third version, it doesn't count, but goddamn are these games absolutely amazing.

You know how this goes, I'll be showing off every damn thing I can, mainly because there's a lot of mechanical differences compared to Gen 4, so there's a lot to talk about. Otherwise it's pretty standard fare, go around the region, collect Gym badges, fight bad guys and fight the Champion. Hmm, but maybe this soft reboot might do something different, we'll see.

Ah, but I'm being coy, Spoilers are A-OK!, while this game does have a much more interesting story than other Pokemon games, I'm pretty sure most viewers will know about it by now, this isn't some obscure side game, the lowest selling paired games is still over 10 million, for crying out loud! Let's go in a straight line, humour the hero N, become a hero ourselves and not fight the Champion Alder, at least not immediately. Let's just jump into it, welcome to AMERICA, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!

I also have a lot more LPs than I probably should if I had my life at all on track, but hey peep the archive to read them all, reading Platinum will definitely get you up to speed with how Pokemon works!

Updates

Part 1: Welcome to the World of FREEDOM!
Part 2: Triple Tactics
Part 3: Meet the Team
Part 4: The Curator
Part 5: Glistening Forest
Part 6: Sights of Castelia City
Part 7: Bad for Team Plasma!
Part 8: Evenin' Desert
Part 9: King for a Date
Part 10: Riveting Switch Gameplay
Part 11: Cold Heart Reception
Part 12: Digging for Deer Life
Part 13: Charging Our Dreams
Part 14: Sky High Spirits
Part 15: Lonely Island
Part 16: What a Twist! Heh. Get It?
Part 17: Spiralling Down
Part 18: Moor of Plot
Part 19: Done Symbolism? Nein!
Part 20: It's Pretty Black or White
Part 21: All Fifth Roads Lead to Victory
Part 22: Fun Dressup With Some Elite Fights
Part 23: Truth or Ideals
Part 23: Black or White
Part 24: Please Stop Kicking My Ass
Part 25: East Coast Represent
Part 26: Little Fish, Big Pond
Part 27: Bridged the Gap
Part 28: Round Region Roundup
Part 29: Okay, NOW We're Ready
Part 30: Not So Fresh
Part 31: First Time Champ
Part 32: Two Years Until New Events

Side Notes

01: Experiencing Change
02: Let's Play Trivia Party
03: Critical Catching Changes
04: Mr Ferris's Wild Ride

[Crosspeice]

Part 10: Fun Switch Gameplay

Part 10: Fun Switch Gameplay

Route 16 Summer



Man five seconds and we're already facing the fucking fuzz.



Nothing scares me when I patrol with my Pokemon!







So here's the ugly duckling, doesn't really look that ugly, but anyway it's pretty useful in battle. It's has mediocre attacking stats but gets the right moves, so it's all okay! It starts off with Aerial Ace and Bubblebeam, though it gets Air Slash pretty quickly. It has alright defenses so you can use Featherdance and Aqua Ring to stall, especially when you get Roost later, but otherwise it's a perfectly alright mon that'll do you just fine. It gets Scald and Surf and Fly soon, so it has utility, nothing amazing, but definitely okay!



If you ride a Bicycle, you zip along! If you are with Pokemon, you can do many things. It's fun to do things you can't usually do!



This route is definitely frontloading its fights...



Do Pokemon also feel calm in nature? Or do they also enjoy the glitz of cities?






Thankfully you don't have your HA or these animations would take forever! Minccino is designed around its HA for the most part and is pretty mediocre otherwise. Tail Slap is a pretty alright move, it's a boosted Doubleslap and has around 80BP on average, but it only has 85 accuracy and that will screw you eventually. But after learning that it's free to evolve whenever, though you can wait until 31 when it learns Wake-Up Slap for some coverage I guess. Of course, you can slap Return on it and have lots of special moves, it'll be just fine, but it's missing a lot of potential without its HA.


"They greet one another by rubbing each other with their tails, which are always kept well groomed and clean."

Woahhhhhh, HMs, been a while!



Off the cheery side road and into the creepy forest!

Lostlorn Forest



Hmm, got a waterfall here, but that HM is usually far into endgame, oh well.



Some people enjoy things you might not think are fun... having lots of different values in the world makes it a richer place. That's what I think anyway. I really enjoy traveling around the world and talking with different people, but the woman who lives here seems to think living quietly by herself is important.



Hmm, this seems familiar. Well I'm sure it's not important. Let's catch some Pokemon, fuck yeah!


"It can return to its Trainer's location regardless of the distance separating them."

There's a couple of Pokemon that can't be found on the nearby route here, so it's pretty important! Though important is not the best descriptor for this mon...


"Forests where Swadloon live have superb foliage because the nutrients they make from fallen leaves nourish the plant life."




Gurl, same. I hope you got what you needed from Sewaddle, as Swadloon learns Protect and that's it! Still, what it had is enough to carry it... to a point, but it can learn TMs just fine and as it gets more and more friendship, Return pays more dividends. It doesn't do much else, could use Payback I guess, but the earlier you get it, the better, since happiness evolutions are always a pain. While it's a big toasty cinnamon bun, it doesn't have any new tricks or excel in any way. The perfect millennial.






Another one, we're done with the forest, so let's see what else is here. You are seeing that right, it already has 105 SpAtk at base, at the expense of basically every other stat. That makes it perfectly usable since it hits REALLY HARD. Unless you catch it in the dark grass, however, it won't have anything to use it with except Hidden Power, but it very quickly learns Psyshock, a fantastic move it'll have for the entire game. It can be pretty survivable too, starting off with Recover, and will even learn Future Sight as it evolves. It definitely needs something to hit Dark types, so uh, hope you got a good Hidden Power! Seriously, it gets sweet fuck all for special coverage cause it's all locked lategame, the earliest is like Flash Cannon before Gym 7, not fun! But if you need a Psychic nuke that is slow and can't take a hit, here's an absolute monster!


"They drive away attackers by unleashing psychic power. They can use telepathy to talk with others."


A journey to find something new! That is my goal. For example, that big rock! You can push it with the move Strength!

"and I win Pokemon battles!"


Just because you have Protect doesn't mean you have to use it every other turn, I say to myself every single Pokemon game.



Most people don't know this, but coming to Nimbasa and riding a Bicycle is very popular.



Boy I hope we don't have to wait 20 updates to cross this!



Mmm, permanently solved Strength puzzles gives me life.



Curses, my one of many weaknesses!



I keep traveling to forget my sadness... but the sad memory returns every time a season passes.



Woah, some Dark STAB for Liepard, amazing. Speaking of seasons, yes we are now in summer. We were last update, I'm sure you noticed, I definitely didn't!



Ah dammit I need both of these. But of course I'll pick YA BOY first.


"Inhaling the gas they belch will make you sleep for a week. They prefer unsanitary places."




Score, it's even got a Black Sludge for Milli. So here's the trash bag with eyes, what a fantastic concept, I love it. However this guy does have a few problems in this special-based Sludge Bomb world. Indeed, the first physical STAB it'll learn is level 54, so I hope you like... Take Down? Fuck. It evolves kinda late for its stats, so I hope you like base 60 SpAtk, cause it'll be using Sludge Bomb even if it doesn't want to. Still, for physical coverage it has Return and Payback and... that's about it. Early Sludge Bomb will do some damage, even with low SpAtk and Body Slam from the relearner after evolving helps too, so it's passable, but boy is it just on that edge.


"These Pokémon vanish and appear unexpectedly. Many Trainers are drawn to their beautiful form and fur."

Here's the other mon or whatever. That's all we can catch here...






Unless we run up and down like idiots for 10 minutes. Now, hey, I can see the fear in your eyes, I know you don't want to be reminded of this mon, but you have to face it eventually and see that it's pretty good, even if its average mixed stats don't carry it all the way to the end. Shock Wave is a good start, and Electro Ball does the same damage if the enemy is even one point slower than it, so that's nice. Then it gets Acrobatics at 30 and that's when things start cooking, it's always a great move to spam. Otherwise there's not much, Volt Switch later on doesn't work too well in SP, but it has its occasional uses, while Discharge is a great endgame alternative to Thunderbolt. If you were expecting much else, coverage only goes to Pokemon that already have lots of moves already, so Return and U-turn are your best bets, maybe Charge Beam if you're feeling cheeky. And that's all she wrote. Well not me, I'm a he, but it's just a turn of phrase and furthermore


"The energy made in its cheeks' electric pouches is stored inside its membranes and released while it is gliding."

Ah damn I didn't have one of those berries! Oh well, if you want some interesting picks, then get used to running around lots for shaking grass. Of course Audino is the main attraction, but Emolga is a 10% encounter and if you want to save a Shiny Stone, then Cinccino is 5%. This also applies to Lostlorn Forest, where you'll find the damn monkeys again, as well as Unfezant! Leavanny! And Audino... at a paltry 45% rate due to how crowded that place is, you're pretty likely to stumble onto something different at least.






So what does this one do in comparison to le blob? Well it's not as strong, which is a negative, granted, but it can at least take a hit and do alright damage back. They have very similar movesets, so an early Psyshock will help a lot, but instead of Recover we get Embargo, hrrrmmm. But coverage in Faint Attack! It's not much, but it's there! It'll be pretty similar, though it trades Flash Cannon for Thunderbolt. Either version has their Psychic option, it just depends if you want the bulky one or the nukey one. I know what I'd choose...




That's Route 16 done, pretty small, but hey, do you want to see ANOTHER Relocator event???



Uh, okay, no one taught me how to fight an actual person. Like I'm active, but I'm still a weak nerd.






Man, another Fire legendary already. Entei is a pretty powerful mon, but while Victini has event locked moves, Entei doesn't get much in the way of physical STAB, it only-






NANI?! Well you've done some dumb events, maybe you brought over time fairy or glitter dog, but what is your reward? Well it has all the stats in all the right places and immediately get Night Slash, neat! It doesn't get Night Daze until 64. Not neat! As a fragile Dark attacker, Zoroark is perfectly fine and will trick the AI for years to come, but as far as moves go, it has a fair few issues. It gets Focus Blast soon enough, but Flamethrower and Shadow Ball are far away and that's about all it gets. It can definitely run physical, and it will for most of the game, Aerial Ace, Return, it'll even get Swords Dance. In the postgame. It has the stats to cause a stir but not the moves to do so, and that was something Lucario never had a problem with, so it fell into obscurity, some wondering how the heck it ever got a movie. Shame it's a pain in the ass to get, but that's what sequels are for!


"Bonds between these Pokémon are very strong. It protects the safety of its pack by tricking its opponents."

Alright, we're finally done with Relocator events. If you transfer over one of the shiny beasts that were given out to promote Movie 13, they do nothing in HGSS, then you can get a Zoroark, so hey it's another way to get this line if you didn't get Celebi. You can't get any of them now so the point is moot, but the shiny beasts are interesting in their own way. And hey free shiny, why not.



Zoroark was using its illusion to trick people and Pokemon. It wanted to keep people away from its lair. I heard this place was suspicious, so I came to have a look, but it looks like I was tricked as well. Zoroark really reacted strongly to the Pokemon you have with you... there must be some history there. A quarrel, or something. Such a beautiful field, in a place like this... it's almost as if this lovely scenery is the illusion!



Yep, if you do this event the back half of the area completely changes. There's no items or anything, it just looks nice, like Route 224.




Woo wild Pokemon. So the legendary beasts were available from Jun 18th to Aug 31st 2010 in Japan and Jan 3rd-9th 2011 in NA for Raikou, 17th-23rd for Entei and Jan 31st to Feb 6th for Suicune. All were shiny to promote the 13th movie and all had fully unique interesting movesets. Let's start with Raikou, who got Zap Cannon, Aura Sphere, Weather Ball and Extremespeed. All moves it didn't have before, and the last three it still uses to this day. Amazing coverage, cheeky weather abuse and fantastic priority. One issue though is that the beasts were nature locked, so Raikou, even if it only wanted Aura Sphere, and it really, really did, would be stuck with Rash, +SpAtk, -SpDef. Mints in SWSH solved this, but if you want to use previous generation Pokemon in official competitions, you need to wipe their moves, so it's a moot point overall. Huh I said that earlier...

ANYWAY, Entei got the absolute fucking payload with FLARE BLITZ, which was the best physical STAB it got that wasn't fucking Fire Fang until Gen 6 with Sacred fucking Fire. It's been a long road, but this event was the best luck it'd gotten in nearly a decade. Uh, right, so it also had Howl, Crush Claw and EXTREMESPEED. Okay they all got that, but damn this was amazing for Entei, two crucially important moves that no longer made it an absolutely joke. It was Adamant locked, but ohhhhh noooooo, how terrible. Lastly, Suicune didn't need much help and it didn't really get any, with Sheer Cold, Air Slash, Aqua Ring and Extremespeed. The middle two were nice, but not a necessity, it only got Gust and Tailwind otherwise, so some nice coverage was, uh, nice, while Aqua Ring was nice recovery if you didn't go RestoChesto Calm Mind Scald route. It was Relaxed locked, +Def, -Spd. So yeah, uh, Zoroark was a cool bonus or whatever.



Enough with the side stuff, we've got to meet our maker.

Pokemon Gym



Would you ever have guessed that this Gym is a roller coaster? OK, let me fill you in... and take this, too!



In this roller coaster Gym, the first step is to get in the car. Next comes the platform! There, you can change where the coaster is going! Sometimes you continue by riding the cars of opponents you defeat. That's how you aim for the Gym Leader! By the way, Electric-type Pokemon don't do well against Ground-type moves...




WHEEEEEEEEEEEE! So time to use our Ground types!



Just kidding, this is hell and there's no escape. If you came here with a Drilbur or Sandile expecting an easy time, well it still will be, Emolga only has Pursuit to do damage, but you'd best use the, ugh, Rock Tomb TM if you want to deal with these bastards, Palpitoad has Bubblebeam so it doesn't care. Double Team and Static will not make this easy for you though.



Thankfully they don't know Electro Ball to completely demolish us. Yet.



Gamera does a lot of damage so he can help out since he's not getting hit by Electric moves. Yet.



Elesa controls an elegant Gym in elegant Nimbasa City. She has an essential elegance. You should be her fan, too!



Two gyms in a row pushing buttons, huh. WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!




Only other mon in this gym is Blitzle who doesn't know Spark at least, so shouldn't have too much trouble. Yet.



I was aiming for a fighting style that overwhelms you with speed... if I can move faster than my opponents, I will get the upper hand.



GAH!



When you ride a roller coaster, the speed can make you dizzy. I'm going to make your head spin with a Pokemon battle that's just as intense!



Uh, okay.



Your way of battling... it's elegant! You've got style! Even compared to Ms. Elesa! If you press the switches the roller coaster's path will change.



Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh... WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!



GAH!



But if you don't beat me, you won't get to meet Ms. Elesa. I'm also a Pokemon Trainer who was toughened up by Ms. Elesa. I'll show you power and style befitting this Gym.



Boy am I glad the AI is still random!



It pleases me to be the opponent of a strong and honorable Trainer like you! If you maintain your calm and don't get flustered by this Gym's gimmicks, you'll be able to defeat Ms. Elesa... and any other Trainer, as well!



WHEEEEEEE- hrm, I'm actually not a big fan of loops. I love roller coasters, but I do prefer the level ones.



My beloved Pokemon will be the next one to make your head spin!

Gym Leader Battle





Elesa: The Shining Beauty
From electric and Tesla.
Kamitsure: Shining beauty.
From 加密列 kamitsure (chamomile) and 雷 kaminari (thunder).





Boy oh boy here's a battle a lot of you were waiting for, me included. Volt Switch in the name of the game, letting her deal big damage while constantly switching out. Still, despite all 5 of my team being weak to either Electric or Flying, something I didn't plan for, trust me, I have an idea.



The Emolga are pretty speedy, so cutting their Speed will help a lot. Of course, she could be switching into her ace and have things get out of hand very quickly, but it was still early enough that I believed she would go to her, identical, other Emolga.



Perfect, now for step 2 of the plan, have something Flying weak so she doesn't switch to Zebstrika. Milli is the best candidate to do this since he's pretty tanky and heals with Black Sludge, but they will be tempted to Volt Switch on occasion even when they could spam Aerial Ace.



Alright nice, I'd say we're in a good position, especially if she wastes healing on this and not Zebstrika. We're gonna get paralyzed a lot through Static, so I won't bother healing it off. It's slow, but I've got plenty of healing and Revives, so I'm not worried.



And off it goes, since I tagged both Emolga with paralysis by tempting them with an early Flying type, it means I'm taking less damage when they can't move, though I still need to heal on occasion. This isn't even with Eviolite and Milli is taking hits like a champ!



Wow, what fun. But she's out of healing so it's only a matter of time.



But eventually, we take them both out, whew what a pain.

Leader's Last Pokemon






The last hurdle and it's a real doozy. Zebstrika is your classic glass cannon, it does well with both sides and will usually go before your opponent. Its moves is where it falls short, it has to manage with Spark for a long while, with Wild Charge at 47, though Discharge at 36 will be your best option. Sure, your SpAtk is lower, but a physical Electric type always struggles, so take what you can get. Flame Charge and Stomp will be your best coverage until you get Overheat in the postgame, with Return and maybe even Giga Impact being options. As you can see, it's not much, it makes Zebstrika hard to use, but it has enough to be usable. Faint praise I know, but at least it's fast!!!



So our team can handle Zebstrika fine, but if it came out too early and got enough Flame Charges off, it would've easily outsped everyone and sniped with Volt Switch to not take any retaliation. It would've been a tricky situation since the Emolga would've also still been around, but by making sure Zebstrika never come out, it worked pretty well.



Hamlet gets a bit unlucky with Spark, but Tristan could've taken a couple of hits at least, so that's that! Definitely a tricky battle due to how fast the opponent is and how free Volt Switch usually is, but even with Aerial Ace, Emolga still don't do much against Ground types, and the team is pretty fragile overall. It's definitely tough, but a well played plan and plenty of healing will get you by just fine.



My, oh my... you have a sweet fighting style. I mean, you're a great Trainer! Excuse me, I... uh... oh, here! I want you to have this!



If you have four Badges, including this Bolt Badge, Pokemon up to Lv. 50, including traded Pokemon, will obey you. Also, here's this move I like. Feel free to use it, um, if you want to.



Volt Switch lets the Pokemon switch with a different Pokemon after attacking. Of course, if you don't have another Pokemon in your party, you can't switch. You're going to Driftveil City next? Of course. There is a Pokemon Gym there, after all. Oh... I bet you won't be able to get there. You know what? I'll fix it so you can cross. Wait for me on Route 5.



Man, four badges already. If we do this any faster we'll have to go on an incredibly boring island adventure at the end!



WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!



But the combination of you and your Pokemon was even more impressive! It was... it was... an emotional roller coaster!



We're nearly done in Nimbasa, so to do the last couple of things, our shiny needs to evolve. Might as well top a couple of the team off with levels, I feel like the difficulty has been pretty good so far.



Goddamn, what a great shiny. And it's our new team member! Ah, just kidding, got your hopes up there lol. I have thought about it, a fair few were wanting to replace Tristan with Camellia, but I decided against it because Lilligant is a pretty boring Pokemon to use in the story. It has godawful coverage, way worse than Simisage, and will barely change for the rest of the LP. So... nah.



But anyway, time to take on Musicals. Not in this update, god now, I don't want to go over it yet.





Wow that was so fucking boring. Anyway through Global Link you can download some cool shit like C-Gear skins and Pokedex skins. Oh and additional Musicals, but that's not content. Since we're on the topic of C-Gear, now that we're in the middle ring of Unova, here's a button we can now press.



WOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

Entralink



Hm? Judging by the look of you, you don't seem to know where you are. This is an island called the Entralink. It's located in the center of the Unova region. The Entralink is a mysterious place where you can connect with someone's world. If you go to someone's world but passing through this island, you will be able to meet an adventurer in the world. And you can help that adventurer. Yes! If you want to help, cross a bridge in this island and go to someone's world. There must be someone who is waiting for you there!



Alright! Here's another outdated feature that has lots to do and barely anyone played! You can still do this mode at least, since it requires local multiplayer, and will be another thing we can't do! You head to another person's Entralink through these walls and accept missions from their Entree. Then you go into the ring of locations around the Entralink and complete those missions. When you complete a mission, you obtain Pass Orbs which can be used to buy Pass Powers which you can use in the Tag Log to give bonuses to yourself and others nearby locally. It is a pretty big mode and by completing missions in a player's Black or White game, your Entree gains Black or White levels, which determine which Pass Powers you have access to. By unlocking and buying all the Pass Powers, you earn a Trainer Card star. We're gonna do none of that, but I will do my usual writeup going over the specifics!



People say dreams come true here. When your Pokemon wakes up from a dream, please come to this forest.



The other important location is the Entree Forest. Pokemon you meet in the Dream World will be available to catch here, in the 6 different sections of the forest, though some specific event Pokemon will appear in a specific place. The Deepest Clearing is where Pokemon go if you choose not to catch them, so you can make room for other Dream World Pokemon, though your forest will grow larger to accommodate new Pokemon. You can use any Pokeball to catch a Pokemon here, but a Dream Ball, a Master Ball skin, will appear in your bag and will disappear if you don't use it. Every ball is an instant catch, so use whatever. Of course the Dream World is dead and so is this area, so let's never talk about it again. Also items you got in the Dream World are given by a boy to the left of the entrance.

Someone's Entralink



Anyway I used an AR code to max out my tree, letting me complete this side mode without ever being able to access it! Neat! It's an interesting enough mode and the Pass Powers are fun bonuses, though you can play the game just fine without them. Here's a video going over everything if you want to see this mode in action.



Farewell, Entralink, let's not return any time soon.



I say Trainer Star but those aren't a thing anymore, you just get a different colour, so yeah, nice and easy to get, totally legit and that, whatever. There's only 2 different Pokedex skins so we'll show them both off eventually. There's a LOT more C-Gear skins, so I'll take suggestions as to which ones I'll have. Like the Poketch colour, it doesn't really matter to you guys but it's really cool to have these skins since the default is empty.



With that we're all done with Nimbasa. We'll return a bit later for Musicals and the regular lines of the Battle Subway, but I hope there's no rival battle coming up!

Cheren Encounter



You've got a Bolt Badge... I've got a Bolt Badge... let's test who's stronger--you or me! This time, I'm going to win!

Rival Battle



What fun, Cheren is 4 levels higher than last time, but until the postgame his team won't change, which is pretty lame.



Only other difference is the monkey now has the type boosting item.



That was some nice experience for Tristan. Oh this wasn't a regular trainer battle?



You have Silver syndrome in that your team kinda sucks ass.



That's nice, how you're helping each other get better by competing. OK, let's go.

Alder's Theme



Who is this man?

This is Alder, the Unova region's Champion.

Champion?! Why would the Champion be goofing off in a place like this?

I heard that remark. You're quite a judgemental young person, are you not? My name is Alder. I'm the Unova Pokemon League's Champion. Pleased to make your acquaintance. For your information, I'm not goofing off. I'm on a voyage. I know every corner of Unova.

Um. I'm Cheren, from Nuvema Town. My goal as a Trainer is to become the Champion.

Hm. Traveling with a goal in mind is a commendable thing. And what do you plan to do after becoming the Champion?



What else is there other than striving to become stronger? The strongest Trainer--that's the Champion.

Hmm. Becoming stronger... becoming stronger, you say... is that alone enough of a goal? Hmm. It's not that I'm trying to say your way of thinking is wrong... in my travels, I've helped many people learn to love Pokemon. I think that's important, too. If you play with these children, you might gain more of an understanding. Will you two have a Pokemon battle with those two? Hey, you two. Come here for a moment.



But, before that... you need healing. OK, let's battle.



This will be a bit of an uphill fight due to double Intimidate and having a Liepard as a partner.



That's one issue out of the way!



Nicely done! You didn't win, but that was a good battle. Your Pokemon looked like they were having fun.



there are also people who are happy just being with Pokemon. There are many different people and many different answers. When it comes to what a Champion should be, you and I may hold differing views, but so be it! Give it some thought.

Let's roll. The Driftveil Drawbridge is just ahead.

The Champion is the strongest of the strong! That's all there is to it.



It's tremendous that people and Pokemon, each so different, can acknowledge each other and be together!

Cool words, still gonna beat you up later. Next time, we've got a bridge to cross, I hope the next Gym Leader is this friendly!

[Crosspeice]

Side Notes 02: Critical Catching Changes



Well doesn't this look familiar? The catching formula is the same as Gen 3 and 4, though there are some important new mechanics to go over. Otherwise, refer to my Gen 3 catch rate formula writeup for all the juicy details.

First, a small, but important thing is Sleep and Freeze are now x2.5, making them even better, if still unreliable. The formula also rounds itself down to the nearest 1/4096, so it has a fair bit of accuracy now. Pass Powers are a new factor that gets multiplied to the end, the Capture Power has 3 tiers, which boosts the final rate by x1.1. x1.2 and x1.3, respectively. Technically it's 110, 120 or 130 divided by 100 but it's the same thing.

Next up is a very sneaky one, the grass modifier. This is at 1 in every wild encounter EXCEPT for dark grass, where it's determined by how many Pokemon you've registered in the Pokedex. No matter how many you've caught, the value will always be 1 at max, meaning all it does is reduce your chances of catching something unless you have over SIX HUNDRED REGISTERED. Bit annoying but this is why I've only been catching stuff in dark grass if I happen to encounter it. There's no difference between grass colour, for the most part, aside from levels, so it's usually not worth it early on. If you've caught less than 30, then it's a 0.3 reduction, 31-150 is x0.5, 151-300 is x0.7, 301-450 is x0.8, and 451-600 is x0.9. A super pain, but this is plugged into the formula before most things are divided by 3 x Max Health, so it's cushioned somewhat, status and pass powers are outside of this, so they have the biggest impact.

Lastly, there's a few changes to Pokeballs, though not much. Quick Balls, which were ridiculous before, and now even more ridiculous, being 5x rate on the 1st turn of battle and 1x otherwise. They're basically the best Pokeball in the game now. Timer Balls are also way less shit, having a new formula of 1 + (number of turns passed in battle * 0.3), maximum 4. This caps out on turn 11, so they become better than a Dusk Ball very quickly, amazing for longer Legendary encounters. Also the Nest Ball now caps out at 4x rate instead of 3.9x, which makes things much smoother.

Alas, the Apricorn Balls are not programmed into these games, but the icons are still there, so a Pokemon transferred from HGSS will have those Pokeballs displayed. The only new Pokeball introduced is the Dream Ball, which is only usable in the Entee Forest, acting like every other Pokeball in there and instantly catching the Pokemon. They can be hacked into the bag and act like normal Pokeballs.

Now for critical captures. They work in a similar fashion to the Grass Modifier, so become more likely the more Pokemon you've registered in the Pokedex, they have the same boundaries, even. When this occurs, the Pokeball makes a high pitched whistle when thrown, shudders in midair, then shakes just once before the Pokemon is either caught or escapes. How crit catches are calculated is from the modified catch rate at the end of the formula, a, then multiply it by the following number: 0 if less than 30 Pokemon have been registered, 0.5 for 31-150, 1 for 151-300, 1.5 for 301-450, 2 for 451-600 and 2.5 for 600+. Divide the result by 6 and round down, this is c. Then a random number between 0 and 255 is generated and if less than c, a critical capture will occur.

Let's put it in perspective, a 255 modified catch rate, the max, becomes 21 if you have 31 registered Pokemon, making it an 8% chance of a crit catch being triggered. Similarly, even when you get a higher multiplier, because it works on the modified catch rate, even 3 catch rate Pokemon have a low chance of a crit catch, with 5% rate being the best you'll probably get if all the factors are in your favor.

But anyway, the Pokemon is in the crit catch ball, since it only makes one shake check, it has a very high chance of succeeding, again the shake check formula is the same as Gen 3's, so refer to the earlier link. On average, the chance of a crit catch shake check is the cube root of the original shake check, so it works much more effectively for lower chances, as a 5% regular shake check becomes a 37% crit catch shake check. However, since crit catches are pretty rare, don't count of them, you're more likely to catch a Pokemon regularly than with a crit catch.

Finally, there was a small, weird tweak in how shake checks were done for regular catches. There are now only 3 shake checks compared to previous gens' 4, meaning a Pokemon now never breaks out after 2 shakes, only 0, 1 or 3. I don't really know why, but since this only matters when you didn't catch the Pokemon anyway, it doesn't really matter. And that's everything different. Well, not really different, but there are some important new mechanics to go over, they'll be mostly important going forward.

[Crosspeice]

Alright we're all set up here. Hi, if you don't know me, I'm Crosspeice, the guy doing all the Pokemon games for some reason please help. Very happy to make my LPs more accessible, especially to those who aren't interested in a paywall and other horrendous baggage.

To sweeten the deal, I'll even have exclusive audience participation here, here's the list of C-Gear skins, this isn't a vote, simply pick one you wouldn't mind me using and I'll pick like 10 or whatever.

[BlazeEmblem]

To sweeten the deal, I'll even have exclusive audience participation here, here's the list of C-Gear skins, this isn't a vote, simply pick one you wouldn't mind me using and I'll pick like 10 or whatever.

Go with the white hero skin. Normally, I prefer Zekrom, but this is the better skin between the two.

[Jadecore]

White hero. I'm a Reshiram fan anyway.

[Haifisch]

Crustle skin. Seriously, just look at that fucker.

[TracerK]

Crustle skin. Seriously, just look at that fucker.

I just did and I agree; Crustle skin is fantastic.

[Thundersword]

I'll vote for the Charizard Skin because I am a basic bitch, also cause it looks cool.

[Black Robe]

I like Venusaur.

[Slaan]

Crustle skin seems nice

[beru04]

Ducklett Friends, just look at them lovelies!

[Leraika]

Duckletts!

[AradoBalanga]

So that's what the weird lady in the trailer was supposed to be. Never found out what she did in my time playing Black, so I'm so glad to hear it was tied to an event item. Wait, no I'm not.

Also, voting for the Venusaur skin.

[blaziken386]

I'm voting for pleasant piplup, because look at it, it's adorable. :3

[Verant]

Gonna vote for Zekrom, what a cool dragon.

[Crosspeice]

Part 11: Cold Heart Reception

Part 11: Cold Heart Reception

Route 5 Summer



Welcome back to the clack, let's see what Route 5 has to offer.



I get on well with my Pokemon, and we bake bread together. It's so much fun! I don't mind getting up early every day.



My master has a big heart to match his big belly. He's a gourmet! So I am looking for ingredients that will make his heart jump for joy! Sniff, sniff... sniff, sniff... oh, that aroma! It smells so gourmet! Do you have a wonderful ingredient in your Bag? Would you consider selling it to me?



Oh hell yeah, that hidden Balm Mushroom from Striaton City can't be sold usually, but this woman will take a variety of food related items and sell them for a much higher price. We won't have to worry about money for a long time now and there's no worry, we'll get another one... eventually. She offers 30k for the incredibly rare Lansat, Starf, Enigma, Micle, Custap, Jaboca and Rowap berries, though since you can't use the Dream World to grow berries anymore, you're forever limited on how many you can reasonably get. She also offers 10k for Rare Candy and 5k for Big Mushrooms, can be worth your time.



Bit of a walk, but worth it.



I lost, but now I have more things to add to my bag. I'll tell you a secret. The things I put in the bag are memories of my journey! The things you can't see are very heavy!



This route is short and has the same wild Pokemon as Route 16, including the rustling encounters.






Tympole started off with some fine moves but needed to be carried a little towards the end, so how does Palpitoad fare? Due to its very even stats, it does fine, but doesn't excel either. It gets Muddy Water pretty quickly, but Scald is upcoming and that makes any Water type incredibly good, they just can't stop winning. That's nice because it learns Rain Dance and then it evolves, that's it, so it needs all the moves it can gets. If you grinded a little BP Sludge Wave is a great move for it and Bulldoze is nice if you got a more physically oriented one. It will get a lot more TMs when it evolves but for now it's perfectly fine. Hopefully it learns Earthquake soon after evolving, or it's gonna be a long wait for some good Ground STAB! Haha...




Mmm, good stuff, but that's exploration done, now it's just a bunch of trainers.



We do want to catch a second Minccino at least.



Turn around, turn around, turn around... it's difficult to have a battle while tapping my toes. But I am a Dancer! It is natural to dance!




I am so tired of Whirlipede vs Whirlipede.



Sometimes a battle is so beautiful that it takes your breath away. Ours was such a battle!




I think ours got thrown off. In battling you, I came to understand... you're the best! Here! This is for you!



Oh hell yeah, can't believe one of the minigames later on is Rock Band Unova... wait why is this made out of foam?



...oh. It continues to infect us everywhere we go, there's some Props we can only get in specific places, and boy will I not care when I collect them. Also, hoped you like the Musician class, the only other time you'll see one is in the SPORTS COURTS in the postgame. Same goes for the Policeman on Route 16, typical fucking pigs. The Baker nearly fell into this category, but we fight another in a postgame area.



The Artist is another class like the Baker, would be SPORTS COURTS otherwise if not for one postgame area appearance. It's 4 in the morning, why on earth would I write this kind of trivia? Because I've lost control of my life.



The reason why there are so many colors in this world... white, black, red, green, blue, yellow... is that they can be mixed to create an explosion of new color! Boom!



It's me, Elesa. Please lower the drawbridge. I have a couple of Trainers who want to challenge you. OK... thanks. Now, watch this!




Bridges. Fuck yeah.



The Gym Leader of the next town may take some getting used to... do your best, both of you.

What I am is a Trainer. I prove I'm right by getting stronger and winning in battle--even against the Champion.



Interesting idea, but what if those in power just kept putting up walls? Sounds crazy, but Guyana will pay for it.

Driftveil Drawbridge



Pretty intense song for a straight line. Relatively often shadows will spawn where you can get a variety of wings. These boost a Pokemon by 1EV in that respective stat, but don't have the 100 cap the drinks do. Now you don't really want to use 508 of these things on one Pokemon, but it can help top off a Pokemon that's close, or if you want 4EVs to quickly round something off.



Now, can you see the shadow?



While the wings are nice, the encounter is what I'm here for.



Good time to get Flyer, for sure, but that's the only thing to find.



Full set of wings, the Pretty Wing does nothing, it just looks... pretty. Like you.

Driftveil City





Driftveil City: A City of Billowing Sails[/b]
From cloud drift and velum, sail-shaped clouds.
Hodomoe City: Ship sails and swirling water.
From 帆巴 hodomoe, a swirling pattern that resembles sails in a circle.



I'm Clay. I'm the Gym Leader 'round these parts. Don't be expectin' no welcome, now. 'Cause when we lowered that bridge, the Team Plasma guys we'd caught done escaped in all the ruckus!

What a bother. We're grateful that you lowered the bridge, but how is it our fault that they escaped?

Ya can say whatever ya want. But what's important is y'all showed up, and then Team Plasma escaped. Maybe it's a little heavy-handed, but you oughtta start lookin' for Team Plasma, too. Yer both talented Trainers, aren't ya? Tell ya what... if ya find Team Plasma, I'll let ya challenge my Gym! Life's all about give and take!

Well, I suppose that's fair. But really, we would have looked for Team Plasma even if he hadn't asked. I can get stronger while beating that bothersome bunch... Touya! I'll go on ahead.



First stop is the center, gotta get that MAIL, but there's a fair few important things to do here.



Repeat Balls make it easier to catch the same kind of Pokemon you've already caught before!



Larger houses have stuff in them, the others can be ignored like the useless trash they are. Because they wasted time on NPCs that don't give you items, we didn't have time for a Battle Frontier, fucking cheapskates.



The professor gave you a Pokemon to start your journey, right? If that Pokemon is still with you, and if you two have a strong bond, there's a special move it can learn... want me to teach it a battle combo move?



Eww! The pledge moves are pretty garbage, they're supposed to be doubles moves that create different effects when you use them with another, but because they're weak and starter locked, no one used them. Now they did get buffed in Gen 6, they're pretty good STAB for specific mons, cough, Treecko, cough, but otherwise Water Pledge is always overshadowed by Surf, Fire Pledge usually contends with FIRE/FIGHTING and Grass Pledge... actually has some use due to Grass starters having terrible level up moves and Giga Drain and Energy Ball being the only competition, with the latter usually postgame. Since it's 10BP more than Ember, yes really, might as well I guess, somewhat useful for high Def mons.

As for their effects, by themselves they're just sad, but can combine for interesting effects. Important to note that this combination move is the only move that occurs between the two Pokemon, and it's a specific move that the ally going second will use, so you'd want the slower Pokemon using that move to get STAB from it, though the moves aren't affected by gems, just in case you wanted them to be even slightly more useful. Anyway, when Grass and Fire Pledge are used, the ally moving second will use a 150BP Fire Pledge, even if they don't know Fire Pledge, to a single target that envelops all enemies in a sea of fire that do 1/8 damage at the end of the turn for 4 turns. Grass and Water Pledge combine to make a 150BP Grass Pledge that creates a swamp that quarters all enemies' Speed for 4 turns. Finally Fire and Water Pledge combine to make a 150BP Water Pledge that creates a rainbow on the user's side that doubles all secondary effect chances for 4 turns. Does not stack with Serene Grace.

These are interesting enough effects, but since they're starter locked it means they usually don't have too much competitive value, especially since the good starters have much better things to do, and the effects themselves aren't that amazing, the swamp is probably the best one for speed control. Since they got buffed, they have seen some use, but not enough to make it an actual strategy.



How many Pokemon have you found? Hoo ha! You've found 50 or more! Now we're talking! This is for you!



A Pokemon holding a Shell Bell recovers its HP a little bit if it inflicts damage during a battle. But what's more important is this. Have you shown the Pokedex to a professor?



Neat, since we haven't gotten a fishing rod yet for whatever reason, Water types are a little hard to come by.



I'll raise the Pokemon you traded me! If you become extra strong, I just might let you have a battle with me!




This is a Red Basculin in Black and a Blue one in White which is the version they are predominate in, though we can obtain the other later. This trade is super interesting since this Blue Basculin comes with Rock Head, an ability it doesn't have. So either this was a bug in the trade, or in the form entirely, because Blue Basculin get Rock Head instead of Reckless in B2W2 as a standard ability. It doesn't really matter, but the forms aren't very different otherwise. Both come with a Sitrus Berry and 31IV in Attack, 20 in everything else.


"Red and blue Basculin get along so poorly, they'll start fighting instantly. These Pokémon are very hostile."




Here comes a big one!!! While we can't get Basculin for a little while yet, it's pretty damn good and the traded one will serve you well. Adaptability is an amazing ability to have, though you'll have to survive with Aqua Jet until... Aqua Tail. Eh, could be worse, Waterfall isn't too far away and it becomes a monster with that, especially if it outspeeds. Since it has good SpAtk as well, its Scalds and Surfs also really hurt, but it doesn't learn enough special moves to lean into that, with Round or Uproar and then Ice Beam in the postgame. It doesn't get enough physical either, with Crunch being its best coverage move, its TM list is pretty pathetic, but I guess it is a literal fish. You also have Take Down, but Return or even Chip Away can be fine if you don't want your red fish, blue fish dying in two hits. Overall, strong Pokemon, but isn't very interesting.




And this is basically the same, the other reason to specifically choose blue over red is for traded Rock Head. Reckless is better, but it makes you take more recoil since you do more damage and that's a dangerous line to toe with a fragile fish like this. Can be worth it, but Adaptability is just so fucking good! And that's Rock Head's issue, Basculin gets TWO moves to use it with, Take Down and Double-Edge. So one, because Double-Edge is pretty amazing without recoil. Still, is being able to hit Water resists for big damage better than hitting everything else for big damage? Well it's up to you, but at least it has more going for it than other identical forms. Who knew I could write this much about a fucking fish.



That Charles guy bought everything I had.



He's a hearttaker it seems. Man this market is great, while we do have the money, for once, Revival Herbs are a little overkill this early, but oh baby I can't wait to shove them into my Pokemon's faces, especially the one that relies on high happiness for Return!



And some easy Moomoo Milk, god I love this item so much, Super Potions have been falling behind since Nimbasa, so I might've slightly bought 36. We'll be good for a while!



I wanted to get the attention of a girl I like, so I learned a new style of Pokemon battling. Its name... Triple Battle! Want to learn about it? I'm a heartbreaker... my name... Charles. Hey! If you're a Trainer, how about a Triple Battle? You've got a good attitude, don't you! I'm a heartbreaker... my name... Charles. I'm always at full throttle.



Three of them. Two new battle modes were introduced in Gen 5, Triple and Rotation, and they lasted exactly two gens before they were removed due to how they murdered the 3DS RAM. Triple battles are, well, doubles battles but again. There are some interesting differences, but these were just two side modes that didn't get too much focus, let alone moves for them, so anything that works for double battles works here. Mostly. As Krokorok's Intimidate shows, because it was sent out in the middle, which is the 2nd slot of the party, it tags all 3 of us with it, whereas if it was on the left, 1st slot, or right, 3rd slot, it would only tag the two on that side. Or the opposite side for us, you get what I mean.



Being in the middle is a slight issue for Hamlet since he can get wrecked by everyone, but Tristan is in the right place to nearly OHKO Basculin.



Woo Fire Pledge. Also no point worrying about the Swagger since Aqua Jet knocks me out next turn anyway.



Bit of a pain, but only Zebstrika is left.



And since Tristan is at the far side, he doesn't have a move that can hit Zebstrika, some moves are tagged in that they can hit far end mons like this, double battle moves that hit everyone do the same for triples if they're in the middle.



Sheesh. That's embarrassing. Getting schooled when I was planning to teach. Still, you have potential! You have to understand your Pokemon to win in a Triple Battle. If you want more Triple Battles, you should go to Opelucid City. I'm a heartbreaker... my name... Charles. Riding a bike and becoming the wind fits a bad boy like me.



Don't forget about this little thing! Like double battles in RS and... well, pretty much every game after Emerald, triple and rotation battles are pretty rare, you can't even use them on the Battle Subway.



Now let's go over Rotation battles. Been a little while since we saw Touko, but the version differences in this game are... backloaded, to put it lightly.



Now that's trippy. You still use 3 Pokemon, but as Krokorok will wonderfully demonstrate, abilities and moves will only affect the lead Pokemon, it's technically 3 single battles, just with instant switch ins.



You can choose to attack or to switch left or right and attack with that mon instead. It can be a bit of a mess, but it's pretty damn fun psyching out your friends to see what they'll go for. I assume, since I didn't have friends that played these games and you can clearly tell that I'm totally not bitter about it because I keep mentioning that fact.



Oh shit, the AI knew what I was gonna do and predicted my move! Or it went for Pursuit on Nanna because it doesn't have Flame Charge.



Uh, okay, it went for Aqua Jet on Sheldon. I hate fighting in-game Rotation battles, the AI is so fucking random and it'll fuck you up.



Oh now it goes for Spark on Nanna, but outplays me and gets Flappy BOI instead. He only survived due to the Eviolite because he's -Def +Spd lmao. Still, I have an Archen and he will take names even if I have to rely on, ugh, Rock Tomb sometimes. It's not a big deal, it only missed 5 times in a row on Route 5!



That's enough of that, thank you.



We'll see Touko pretty soon, but we will be able to try out the other battle mode... later.



Ooh, you have a Pokedex! It's so marvelous! I wonder if you'd please do me a favor. I would like to see a Pokemon that has learned a move called Torment.

Out of the moves you have TMs for, if you show a Pokemon with it to this lady she'll give you a Heart Scale daily, pretty cool!



We could go to Route 6 now, but I don't think it's orange enough for that.



Now this looks like an important building!



Oh great it's full of fucking liberals holding hands and chanting "Better things aren't possible."



No time for that, there's criminals to apprehend!



Let's go to the first place we'd look, the Cold Storage.



I am close to my Pokemon, and we all cooperate happily!



Fire Pledge helps me avoid contact I guess...



It never occurred to you that the Pokemon you find around containers came here from another place?




From unnerving tics to shiny hermits, Bug type has everything.



I have Pokemon battles with my dad, too. My dad and I are quite evenly matched!



It's good to let your Pokemon have one, too!



If you let a Pokemon hold a Rocky Helmet, the foe will also be damaged if that foe's move makes physical contact.



I got my PP Up from GARBAGE DAY!



Chilly? I feel the shiver pass along my spine. There are a lot of Trainers even in the Cold Storage.



Oh hey, a slightly better yet slightly specific Net Ball. Sigh...



Oh just let me KO you already.


"It has black, cape-like fur that is very hard and decreases the amount of damage it receives."

Gooder boy, we could get the goodest boy in the rustling grass, but we can wait for that. Well I could.






Ow, ow, ow, fuck, I don't remember Avalanche looking so cool. Here's an ice cream with eyes... what a great design I love it, such a cutie! This slow but hard hitting Ice type is a good pickup... later. Right now the only move it really has is Avalanche, which is fine, but isn't great if you outspeed. We catch it a little late for Icy Wind but it'll get some good special damage in... Mirror Shot? Ah, hm, it's usable sure, but it's a while until it evolves and you can catch it later at a higher level to save the hassle. It'll learn Ice Beam just before it evolves at least but it gets godawful coverage, it is a literal cup of ice cream after all, but aside from Mirror Shot, you've got... Round and then Flash Cannon before Gym 7. It'll be real strong later on, but right now it's definitely a tub of ice cream with eyes on it.


"The temperature of their breath is -58° F. They create snow crystals and make snow fall in the areas around them."

If this little cutie had some better moves right out the gate, I would've considered it, but I've got another cutie in mind anyway.



Do you think Team Plasma could be in there? I don't like cold places, but we have to check what a bother. All right, Touya. Let's get this over with.

Cold Storage



Well... still. Is there anything more important than strength for Trainers, like the Champion said? Oh, I'll never understand just by thinking about it. What a bother. Let's hurry up and check the inside.



Ice puzzles, can't miss these! Though there is one very important diversion.



Earthquake used to be the best move in the series due to how ubiquitous and useful it is, but Scald has taken its throne, what a ridiculous move that gave all Water types a massive buff they already didn't need. It completely replaces Surf due to how it boosts your Def when you land the burn, and you usually will, and can often be the single move a Pokemon can know. After all if your entire team is burned, how do you get past a +6 Calm Mind Jellicent with Recover? You don't, that's how good this move is, even though Gamera doesn't have great SpAtk, Scald will still be an amazing way to deal with Def monsters and make him a bigger Def monster.



I haven't worn clothes in 2 months.




Stop pretending you have Simple!!!



I'll tell you something clever. If you use a Fire-type move on a Pokemon that is frozen solid, the ice will melt!



At least I'm not wearing a skirt... or shorts. I dunno how girls do it, but for older ones I believe the answer is alcohol.



I am storing thick fat to resist the cold. ...I didn't just get fat. Please don't get me wrong.



Crazy that you can get pretty cool perspective even in a place like this.






Brains and brawn?! Gurdurr might be as far as you can go if you can't trade, and that's fine, it'll do ya. While you suffer somewhat with Wake-Up Slap as your best STAB, Payback and, ugh, Rock Tomb give you some nice coverage that will slap with that Atk. Still a few levels from Rock Slide, but hey how about Dynamicpunch as your next STAB? No? What about Hammer Arm? Okay you'll get Brick Break before Gym 7, so picky. Add in Poison Jab and Strength and you'll be... fine. You really want to evolve, but if you can't then the lite version is missing that physical oomph, but works fine if you're watching your calories.



Some Pokemon grow stronger when they get colder, while some Pokemon love hot places. That's right! Everyone is different! Every Pokemon is different!

"That's me!"


Gonna turn this into a Milcery.



The Gym Leader in Icirrus City uses Ice-type Pokemon! If you train your body and mind there, you'll be fine with cold!



Hah, you better have Ice- ah it doesn't sound as good.



It's alright mate, we've all had to deal with 0-Point.



...I'm sh-shivering! ... ...kn-know what? ...th-this place is cold!



Shall we go, then?



It's a bother, but if you're cold, shall I show you outside?

Pokemon are our king's friends. While we're taking care of them, we can't let any harm come to them here. Everyone, drive these intruders away!

Understood, Zinzolin of the Seven Sages! Put 'em up, 'cause here we come!



Achoo! Why did I end up here when I'm allergic to the cold!

Um. Running into the Cold Storage, thinking it was a regular container... how cold life can be...



I hope you're ready for 4 Plasma Grunts for no real reason!



The Pokemon that work with people may look like they're having fun, but the truth is they're suffering. There's no doubt about it!



I mean Hamlet's having a good time.



In the middle of the night, we gathered all the Pokemon we stole in front of the container, so we could transport them all at the same time. Then Clay, that old guy, found us. We had been captured!



Hamlet does not care.



Hmm-hmm... I wonder why... I'm getting sleepy for some reason.



FIRE! No not the type... oh whatever.



S-s-so cold... how can I win when I'm shivering so hard?



Hidin' in a chilly old place like this... you guys take these Pokemon robbers!

Roger!




Yup, a promise is a promise. Come on an' challenge my Gym!



Separating people and Pokemon... it's exactly the same as not having Pokemon in this world at all. That bunch is a waste of oxygen. Touya... it's cold, so I'm getting out of here.



Agreed, I hate ice... it's cold, it's slippery, and it's gets on my ice cream tub. Next time, we're gonna go down under!

[Crosspeice]

We've had suggestions for Reshiram, Crustle, Charizard, Venusaur, Ducklett, Piplup and Zekrom, so if you want to throw your hat into the C-Gear skin ring, please do suggest one!

[The Golux]

My favorite is Victorious V-Sign but I can vote for something else if no one else likes that one.

[Greener223224]

Klink

[Crosspeice]

Part 12: Digging For Deer Life

Part 12: Digging For Deer Life



You, great! Take this!



Should have something at level 30 by now, so this is a great pickup. Let's see if we can't make Zinzolin talk.

Ghetsis Encounter



I am Ghetsis, of Team Plasma. I've come to pick up my associates who are in your care.

I don't need no thanks, now. Yer buddies were tryin' to steal some folks' Pokemon.

What's this? It seems as if there has been some misunderstanding. We only free Pokemon from wicked people.

Well, that sounds real nice, if it's true. I may not talk purty, but at least I'm an honest man. You talk real nice, but what yer sayin' kinda sounds like lyin'. So tell me plain, what are ya tryin' to say?

Team Plasma also has an interest in Driftveil City. And we have many, many more members besides those who are here...

...well, I can't tell if yer lyin' or not, but I reckon you've won this without a fight. Hrrmph. Fine. Take 'em and git!

A decision worthy of a businessman called the Miner King. Your grasp of the situation is outstanding. Well then, we will be taking our colleagues off your hands...



Don't worry, my fellow servant of the king... we are two of the Seven Sages, are we not? Well then, everyone, I expect that we will meet again somewhere.



Say, why don't we cheer ourselves up with a Pokemon battle? Don't keep me waitin'!

Well, we avoided a fight in the middle of the city, anyway. Still, I can't help but think Ghetsis isn't just an ordinary person. I'm off to go make my Pokemon stronger. I really don't want to lose to that Clay guy. Actually, I'm going to win my Gym Badge in a flawless victory!

Pokemon Gym



Hell yeah, 5th Gym, we're blazing through these. Now don't compare my team's Ground/Steel matchup in the same way you did my Electric/Flying matchup!



For now, I'll just give you this!



The Gym Leader Clay uses Ground-type Pokemon! Well, just between you and me, Ground-type Pokemon aren't good against Water-type attacks. Kinda makes me wonder why Clay is living next to water.



Let's go down under.



Get on the elevators, and go down and down! A Trainer's spirit means take it as far as you can!



Well since this guy walked on we'll bring him with us. Yay companionship! At the proper distance, of course.



When the elevator goes down, my spirits fall... if you want to know why Clay is at the bottom, defeat me!



Ah dammit of course the Dark type has STAB.



Clay is waiting at the bottom because... he wants to remember that he was at the bottom in the past.



Sometimes that's what I do in this Pokemon Gym.






Time for the second crafty croc, you won't have this for too long, but it has enough Atk and Spd to leave its mark, especially since you just learned Crunch. While Dig isn't great, you get Bulldoze from this very Gym so that'll do you very nicely until you get some extra in Foul Play before evolution. Otherwise there's not much else, there's Low Sweep and, ugh, Rock Tomb as coverage options, or you could go classic and use Return. Due to how fragile and how many weaknesses you have, it can start falling behind but if you're able to rip and tear, there should be no issue. Truly the duality of man, it's pretty damn great when there's not Grass, or Water, or Fighting... or Ice... or Bug...



When we lose, I apologize to my Pokemon... it is important for our future, and it helps me grow strong!



Due to a couple of immediate dead ends, it's a very easy Gym to get through, none of the puzzles in this game are massively difficult and I guess that's fine? The less Veilstone and Snowpoint, the better.



Case in point, this immediate clerk pickup, I hope his rates are good.



Oh, no... I've found someone who's out of my league!



AWW YEAH, the beauty of having a cocoon Pokemon that doesn't suck is it's fun to use but still evolves early! Man bugs are good in this game. So Scolipede is a fast little-


"With quick movements, it chases down its foes, attacking relentlessly with its horns until it prevails."




Uh, no, stop acting like your have your Gen 6+ HA, it's pretty busted! So Scolipede is a fast little bugger that also takes some physical hits and gets a nice variety of moves to work with. When we get to the Move Relearner, eh, somewhat soon, then it can learn fuckin Megahorn. Poison Jab, while definitely not on the same level, is still a great move we'll be getting somewhat soon. Otherwise it gets some great stuff like Earthquake, Rock Slide, Double-Edge, and even some weird stuff like Rock Climb, Swords Dance and Solarbeam. Its higher stats let it carry Bug Bite and the like a little further until we get to the good stuff, but with Bulldoze soon and Megahorn later, this is a big bug you can't ignore.

"And he scolds me all the time."


Peaks a bit early, but those are stats that can carry for the rest of the game, no doubt.




Agh, so frustrating! Maybe I'm not skilled enough... I started Pokemon battles after I grew up, but I got so into it!



Alright, just the leader left, so down we go.



And down...



And down... okay we're here.



Think it's about time to see fer myself what it is about yer skills that made a Gym Leader like Elesa take such a shine to ya.

Gym Leader Battle





Clay: The Underground Boss
From, uh, clay, finely grained soil containing aluminium that develops plasticity when wet.
Yakon: Underground boss
From yacón, a root vegetable, and 坤 kon, a trigram in I Ching that represents earth.





Good start, I don't mind using whatever for the first two mons since I'm not that worried about them. It's the last mon I'm slightly terrified of, but we'll see how it goes.



Swagger is annoying, but Gamera doesn't mind Bulldoze much since Aqua Jet ignores it.



Milli is the first heavy Pokemon we've encountered, if it weighs more than 150kg, it'll crash into battle with a heavy thud. There are two other sounds for Pokemon lighter than 50kg and then one inbetween, but they're less noticeable. A Pokemon holding an Air Balloon make no such effects, which is weirdly cool.






Time to die it seems. Excadrill is probably one of the most terrifying mons in the series, it might not look as much, but it uses its Sand Rush/Force abilities to become a brutal sand sweeper that's been banned in some gens due to how oppressive it is! Sand Rush is the same as Swift Swim, making it a ridiculously fast mon to pair with its ridiculously high Atk, while Sand Force isn't as terrifying, but still boosts the power of Rock, Ground and Steel moves, effectively giving Excadrill a lite third STAB to work with. The former is used a lot more and with Swords Dance, Earthquake and Rock Slide it's hard to see why Sand Force isn't as useful. Oh yeah I guess it has Steel moves, but it prefers to use its typing defensively, it could only get Metal Claw until B2W2 tutors blessed it with Iron Head. But outside of sand, it's much more manageable, even if it's still scary as hell.

Getting Earthquake for free 5 levels after evolving is pretty damn nuts and Swords Dance right after makes the rest of the game a breeze, even with its lower defenses, since its high HP give it a bit more bulk than your opponent would like. It doesn't get many more tools until later, but it got all it needs in the space of 10 levels so if you want to add on some bonuses like Shadow Claw, Brick Break and Aerial Ace, feel free to. Drilbur starts off pretty rough, but with enough care and it being found as a high level very soon, you can have a pretty strong mole that can tear up the scene if you want to teach it Sandstorm. Maybe later we'll find a Pokemon that creates sand when it enters the field, but that sounds a bit overpowered, right?



Alright that's my counter to Excadrill OHKOed, so what exactly am I supposed to do here?



I can start chipping it down since I can outspeed it in some ways, but if your main counter gets hit by one Bulldoze, it's usually getting outsped immediately and becomes a lot less useful as a counter.



I wanted to use up both potions before this, but it gives me a free turn for Lick to work its magic, there's a reason I still have this move! Being immune to Thunder Wave and Toxic makes something way harder to deal with, but I suppose you could use Stun Spore?



But with some luck and a few neutral hits, it goes down. Oh boy that was scary, especially because Hone Claws makes Rock Slide much more accurate, it doesn't even need a Steel move with how deadly it can be! Still, your team should be forming nicely and you should have an answer or two, they did give you Revival Herbs and Moomoo Milk for a reason!

Pokemon Gym



Fer such a young 'un, ya have an imposin' battle style. I know ya got people who can dig up yer potential. Mrmph. Here! Take this!



So this is yer fifth Badge, huh? If that's so, Pokemon up to Lv. 60 will obey ya. Also, I'll give ya this TM. ...well, that was the plan, but I just remembered there's somethin' I want. Wait in front of the cave at the end of Route 6, wouldja?


"remember the battle!"

Slight pain, Milli could really use that TM, but we'll get it pretty shortly, so it's not a big deal.



With 5 badges we've unlocked most of the shop inventory, only thing missing is Max Potions at badge 7 and Full Restores at badge 8, meh. Gimme those repels!



Oh, hey! That's Driftveil's Gym Badge! Oh, that's totally cool. That's amazing. No, no, no! I can't get distracted being all impressed with your shiny new Badge! I'm also a Trainer! At times like this you battle, right?

Rival Battle



Alright, time for our eleventh rival battle! Don't believe me? This is our fourth Bianca battle and we've faced Cheren four times and N three times, he's a rival, no further questions.



Boiling hot water doesn't care about Intimidate.



They didn't even give our rival's starters the pledge moves? Probably for the best.



Again these fights are so whatever, just some bonus exp I guess.



Of course.






Here's sleepy moonpig, like most stone evolutions, Musharna is tricky to use since it doesn't learn anything, so the best time to evolve it was when it learned Synchronoise at 25? You can see what it does with its stats, so Psybeam will ddo some damage at least, but unless you carry a Munna all the way to level 37, you won't get Psychic until postgame. Hell, there's a lot you won't get, Shadow Ball is lategame and Energy Ball and Psyshock are also postgame, so yeah, that sucks a lot! It has a high enough SpAtk that it can work with the weaker moves until then, but I'd advise just using something else instead, it's pretty miserable. At least with Moonlight and Charge Beam you can slowly but surely overcome your opponent, but with how slow it is and how mediocre it is for most of the game, can't recommend.



I haven't had a Pokemon battle with you in a while, Touya. You've become totally strong, huh? I'm not that strong, so I don't know how to say it, but I think you're way tuned in to how your Pokemon feel! Oh, you know what! I want to share this HM with you, Touya!



My papa gave it to me after he tried to take me home that time. I'm sure it's so I can come home anytime he wants, though... oh, hey, I have to share this with Cheren, too... see you, Touya! Buh-bye!



Ah it's good to finally have fast travel, hi mom, bye mom. We won't go back to many places since we're missing Surf and we only had the one Strength boulder to go back to, so we'll just quickly pop back.

"have for us next time she comes home."

All you need is a hot model to say some vague platitudes and a staunch boomer will completely change his way of thinking! That's how it works!



Protect is a move that completely prevents an attack from hitting! Well, there are a few exceptions. Some moves, like Feint, can still hit even if Protect is used. Keep up the good work!

Route 6 Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter



It's a new route and some new music that barely changes with the seasons!


"The color and scent of their fur changes to match the mountain grass. When they sense hostility, they hide in the grass."




Deer oh deer, here's a new mon that has more to talk about than it needs to. Deerling isn't too impressive statwise, but has some interesting moves to keep it afloat. It has some cool coverage in Faint Attack and Jump Kick, letting it do a lot of overall damage and works great with Take Do- I mean, Return, obviously. Ahem. It doesn't get physical Grass STAB until a bit until it evolves, but you're not using this form for long, so it's a relatively smooth path to then. As a Normal type it gets a bunch of TMs but most of it is special garbage like Shadow Ball and Grass Knot, pfft, whatever. Like most forms it's completely cosmetic so go with whatever deer you fancy.



Finally, I can use more Net Balls even though a Quick Ball is way better!


"These mysterious Pokémon evolve when they receive electrical stimulation while they are in the same place as Shelmet."




Not all Gen 5 bugs are created equal. Now don't get me wrong, Karrablast is pretty good, but it does have a few things setting it back. Firstly, trade evolutions are only so good when you can do them, and it requires a specific Pokemon that won't be around for a while, Gym 7 in fact. This works against it since you would prefer to evolve it asap as its stats are pretty freaking bad, and evolving it before level 37 nets you Iron Head, saves a Heart Scale at least. What it gets is also at odds since its main STAB is Bug Buzz, which while good, it also isn't with those stats, so you'll be relying on Slash or Return. Thankfully it gets some useful moves in X-Scissor, Poison Jab and Aerial Ace in short TM succession, so I can recommend it easily enough, but because it slows right the heck down, and you can evolve its counterpart as soon as you get it, this becomes a trickier mon to recommend, even if there's really not much stopping you from using it.



What exciting experiments are occurring on this route?



When the wind blows, seeds fly. When seeds fly, flowers bloom. When the flowers bloom, we'll get seeds. Everything is connected!



Boy do I want Surf soon.




Oh thank the lord. Fire Pledge was useful for like 3 fights, so we'll get a better move instead. Or, well, it'll get much better in 5 levels when anything lighter than 75kg will take more damage than Flame Charge, but it's nothing too exciting.




You hear the sound of breathing Pokemon and plants.



Ah, hear the sad melody of a total defeat... Rain is a wonderful melody that nature plays! [musical note.dll]



Ah geez what are all these nerds doing outside, don't they know the only thing to do out there is Go.



Why don't you go discover something else?



Are you ready to learn about how much seasons affect gameplay?



Consider the Pokemon called Deerling, which lives in this forest. Its appearance is said to change according to the season. This characteristic is of great interest to us. We want to research this Pokemon and observe its seasonal changes. That's why we developed a marvelous climate-control system that transcends the seasons and allows us to freely adjust temperature and humidity! Up to this point, everything has been fine... but we are very busy, and we haven't really had a chance to catch many Deerling to study. So, this is what we would like to ask you. First, please capture a Deerling. Then, when its appearance changes, could you bring it to the lab? Then, when we've confirmed the change to the Deerling you bring us, we will also go search for that season's Deerling. How about it?



That sounds like an investment, so let's start right away, changing the seasons is pretty easy, you just change the DS clo- I mean, uh, patiently wait an entire month. That's why this update took half a year to make or whatever.



The mechanism of rain, and the science of changing seasons... nature is full of wonders.

Any trainers with Deerling and Sawsbuck will update their look with the season, and ones in your party will change if they're in your party when a season changes. So keep them in the PC to keep a specific form.






Anyway let's catch all 4 Deerling, because I made these templates and dammit I'm gonna put them in! It's kinda cool that it changes with the seasons, but since this feature was immediately dropped in Gen 6, it's a little harder to justify when wild Deerling will forever default to Spring. Also they don't put it in the games so they don't have to think about it, cause Summer Deerling in Alola would've been fun, then Autumn Deerling in Galar and Winter Deerling in Crown Tundra would've been a way around it. Maybe? Oh whatever.






This is a form you're likely to see since Winter is the important season with the other 3 having little gameplay impact otherwise. Of course each area changes somewhat with each season and it's really cool, but I understand why they absolutely would not make 4 maps for every single area for future games and stick to biomes.






And then the basic one, there's lots of subtle differences in each area in each season, like sometimes it snows or rains and sometimes not, it would be nice to show what each area looks in each season, but no one's really made full maps of each area like that. I could've done a season forecast but, one, I just thought of that, and, two, I'm too deep in that I can't be bothered. Anyway, that's all four deer or whatever.



The luster of its body and its coloring is like a thicket in summer! The scent emanating from it is also very fresh and green.

The luster of its body and its coloring is like a tree-lined road with falling leaves dancing down! The scent emanating from it also like dry leaves.

The luster of its body and its coloring is like the slope of a mountain! The scent emanating from it is also like fresh snow.



Thanks to you, we've caught all the Forms of Deerling. Now we can thoroughly study the relationship between Pokemon, seasons, and climate. Thank you very much. This isn't much, but please accept this.



This is the only place in the world where you can see Deerling's four seasonal Forms at one time. They've kind of become our mascots!



Well that was kinda fun, I guess, but I spy a lot of items in the upcoming field. Since we're over halfway with our adventure, we're halfway through the seasons. SEE WHAT I'M DOING?! It also puts me on a slight timecrunch to put these out, but I have a bit of leeway to when it'll be Winter.






NANI?! Well we've found a cute mimic and it's pretty alright. Evolves a little late for the stats it has, but it's a relatively even spread and it's about to learn Giga Drain and Toxic to pull weight. It's not very interesting, only learning a few TMs, but once you get Sludge Bomb it'll be much easier to use, though since that's still a while away, it might be better to catch it later. It has Faint Attack and gets Clear Smog just before evolving but otherwise is a relatively tanky mon with Synthesis and Toxic, it's passable.


"It lures people in with its Poké Ball pattern, then releases poison spores. Why it resembles a Poké Ball is unknown."

That's about it for mons on this route, though we can get Unfezant through rustling grass, as well as Leavanny.




Aquatic sports with Pokemon! Nothing is more fun than that! It's 100% impossible to live without Pokemon.



Oh neat we- hey wait a minute we just got one of these! And Pansage is the only Pokemon that evolves with this, goddammit!!!



NANI?! 2



Where there's one ranger, there's another nearby to give you the same item.




When we are surrounded by green, we feel more energetic. Don't you think? Thank you, Mother Nature!



Let's keep winding around this river we can't cross.



Know what? When I gave my Minccino a Shiny Stone, it evolved and became a different Pokemon!



Free healin', we're gonna need it cause it's cave dwelling time!



Don't know why there's a nest here, but if there are folks havin' problems, th' Gym Leader's th' one ta fix it. Krokorok! Take it out!



And this here TM's yours. It's my favorite TM, so ya can teach it ta all of yer Pokemon!



It's called Bulldoze. This move does damage and lowers the Speed of any Pokemon it hits. Some Ground-type Pokemon move a little slower than ya'd like. If ya use Bulldoze right, ya can cover that weakness! I don't know how good you really are, but if ya think ya can go, go wherever, and if ya think ya can do somethin', keep doin' it. Do things how ya want! Decide yer own limits.



Let's head in before we end the update, oh hey is that- GAH! The hell is going on?!



...I mean since N is right there I can give it a shot.



Did you really need to drag me 4 spaces?

The One Who is Captivated by Equations



Ah, yes. That was the Shadow Triad, just now. Ghetsis enlisted them in Team Plasma. Apparently, they were the ones who prepared the Galvantula nest at the cave entrance.



Formulas express electricity and its connection to Pokemon... if people did not exist, this would be an ideal place.



Right now I feel more like the frozen one! Haha... that doesn't make any sense.

Of course. Such news should be a surprise. I told Ghetsis about you and your friends. After I did, he apparently used the Shadow Triad to find out about you. Cheren is pursuing the ideal of strength. Poor Bianca has faced the sad truth that not everyone can become stronger. And you are not swayed either way--more of a neutral presence. Which is apparently a good thing. Team Plasma will be waiting for you ahead. Ghetsis wants to see what kind of Pokemon Trainer you really are.



You still have more to say, N?! And have your voice become shrill and higher pitched like someone I kn- oh hey Bianca.



The floating stones move when you touch them! Right, Professor?

Juniper Encounter



This place is always charged with lots of electricity that Pokemon like! The electric charges react from one stone to another, and that's why some of the stones are floating! But not all of the stones can be pushed.

My father asked me to research Klink, which is a Pokemon that looks like a gear, because I'm researching the origins of Pokemon and the era they appeared. He knows how to get what he wants from people, but I was already interested in this anyway, so it's a lot of fun! Oh, yeah! Touya, this is for you!



Giving that Lucky Egg to a Pokemon to hold increases the amount of Exp. Points received in battle by a lot! Having strong Pokemon will make it easier to fill your Pokedex pages! Touya! Are you working on your Pokedex? Keep encountering lots of Pokemon, so you can keep filling in those pages!

I'm the professor's bodyguard! Well, that's probably not necessary, but you have to protect important things!



Researching Klink, eh? Well ain't that a Klinkidence! That's our next team member!


"The two minigears that mesh together are predetermined. Each will rebound from other minigears without meshing."




Gear. There are some other interesting critters in this cave, but since I've got Milli I won't choose Joltik, otherwise I probably would've. So Klink isn't really all that great due to being two gears that got barely any moves and only does one thing. It does that thing well at least, Gear Grind is a great move that unfortunately has 85% accuracy, but it's effectively 100BP since it always hits twice. That's the only good move it really learns and it keeps getting special moves because Game Freak are morons.

It'll have Return and Flash Cannon through TM and that's about it, if this was B2W2 it could also learn Wild Charge, but there's a million better options in that game. Klink evolves late for its stats and then very late for its stats and even then isn't that great, mainly due to godawful coverage, but I like using Pokemon people don't like so I can rub it in their dumb face how much they're wrong. In any case it does get more interesting later, but I've basically gone over everything you need to know about it.




Got a sweet nickname by Blaziken386, though it'll be a while before it'll be able to Shift Gear, as it were, but maybe we can turn on the radio. With 15/21/20/28/12/27, it has ridiculously good IVs compared to the rest of my team and it'll use special attacks just fine right now. Next time, we'll take our new PRNDL for a spin and explore this shocking cave!

[Crosspeice]

Side Notes 04: Mr. Ferris's Wild Ride

You know, catching all these Deerling is taking a while, I do have to wait an entire month after all. I need a break... or... a date. I'm sure we'll have some different bachelors if we're a different gender, so let's have Touya and Touko have fun and talk to lots of people. Let's go to the Ferris wheel!

Spring/Haru - Male - Lass Maya/Miharu



Hey, want to hang out for a while? If you have time, we could have a battle. Sound good? All right! Lucky me, meeting a cool dude like you here. Let's battle right now!



Since you can do these fights pretty shortly after Nimbasa they're no challenge, but doing it around the Deerling collection is two Pidove, one Roggenrola.



Wow! Touya, you are so good at Pokemon battles! I want to ask you something else... will you ride the Ferris wheel with me? I bet I get just as nervous asking a guy as a guy would asking a girl... you're OK with that, right? Good! C'mon!





Woo, that was fun! I've been wanting to ride this Ferris wheel for a long time. But you have to have two people, and I worried that if I went with my friend, she'd see how scared I was. Embarrassing! Then you came along! How lucky is that? OK, I'm still scared of heights, but... with you, it was a little bit easier. Um... want to ride it again?

Well wasn't that sweet, these conversations are pretty cool and we'll be going over each one. You can face the same person again the next time the season rolls around, but because you can repeat that as many times as you want and because the dialogue on the wheel itself is the same, there's no real closure. I will talk about any translations from the original since there's a few differences here and there, and one proper rewrite, but they're mostly the same, they can just fit more words in due to how katakana works. So yeah, Miharu in Japanese is basically the same just a little more nervous and apologetic at the end, standard stuff. Second time around she tries to act all cool but while she's still scared, she feels safe with you, same in the Japanese version.

Spring/Haru - Female - Dancer Dirk/Haruo



Oh, hey, do you have a minute? I want to ride the Ferris wheel, but it's two at a time, so I can't go by myself. You don't mind riding with me, do you? I don't have anything to give you in exchange, but I've got a great Pokemon I've been raising, so we could at least have an awesome battle. You serious? Aww, thanks! You're awesome! Let me introduce my Pokemon. It rocks!



Ow ow... how is it you're so strong? Er, Touko? Did I get that right? You rocked the house! I know I might not look it, but among my crowd, I've never lost a battle! Here I was thinking you're just cute, and then, seriously, you ruled the battle! That's even cooler! Right! Let's go and ride the Ferris wheel!



Oh! Come look here! Look! Ulp, I'm not feeling so good... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Wh-what? Why are you asking if something's wrong? I'm OK! I'm OK! It's all... good. Anyway, thanks, Touko. I figured the Ferris wheel was kid stuff. The view was great... gave me the shivers... I guess this ride is not too bad once in a while. In face, let's ride it again sometime! See ya, Touko!

Hmm, get used to this scenario. Very similar translation, it's nearly identical, in fact. Second time around Haruo is more nervous to begin with and is clearly infatuated towards the end. Again, very faithful translation. So let's get into what you're here for, the main rewrite.

Summer/Natsu - Male - Hiker Andy/Natsumi

Hi, Trainer. Enjoying the summer? It's sure hot today. That's summer for ya. What? You wanna ride the Ferris wheel? It's for two at a time, so take a friend. What? You want me to ride it with you? Sure, I guess. I'll ride with ya... but you gotta win a Pokemon battle! Sure enough. A little battle practice is a good way to spend a summer's day.



Hey! Your team is strong! Nice job. I'm impressed. You and your Pokemon make a great team. Thanks, that was fun. See ya! What? That's not what I promised? You still want to ride the Ferris wheel? OK, sure enough, I guess...



Luckily, I'm not scared of heights. That would not be cool for a Hiker. I'm gonna stay cool. Feel cool on the inside, look cool on the outside.

It... uh... it was fun... yeah, great view... what? I wasn't looking at the view? I was looking at my feet the whole time? What are you talking about? You think I'm scared of heights? Nah. That would be lame. I hike on mountains way higher than a silly little Ferris wh-wheel. C-catch you later, Trainer!

Hm, that was pretty tame, wonder what the hubbub was all about. Well of course that wasn't the original conversation, we'll go over the entirety of it in just a second. For the second time around Andy is still pretending not to be scared of heights but this time he faints in the car, but pretends he was getting gum off his shoe afterwards. It's pretty funny, but his constant repetition does get a bit old.

Whew! You there, boy! How 'bout this humidity, day after day! Can't help but make the best of a summer like this! Eh? So hey! How 'bout you take a ride on the Ferris wheel with me! For free, of course! All I ask is you go up against my best Pokémon, boy! Really now! Boy! You've got promise, I tell you what! Well, instead of a greeting, let's go headfirst into battle! Oho! Boy, boy! Your Pokémon are ripped! Whew, great! Boy! You and your Pokémon are splendid! Wonderful! Can't get enough of 'em! So, now... We've warmed up both our bodies and souls, so... let's head into the Ferris wheel! Come along, boy!

Ho ho... sure is humid... like a sauna, boy, I tell you what! Ahhh, it's so hot... you're really sweatin', boy... By the way... boy... you ever had a lover?

Man, that thing was way more hot and humid than I was expecting! But I think I gotten to know you a little better, boy! Y'know?! I'm planning on loitering around and about for a while longer! Whenever you feel like improving your understanding, don't be shy, come by and holler! Right! Okay, see you again, boy!

...well, that's different. It's the complete opposite situation and considering all the others are just light infatuation or delve into a deeper topic, this... isn't subtle. Good that they changed it, but of course, there's the second conversation as well, let's go over it.

Hey, you came, boy! Summertime doesn't last! Enjoying it? If you're not enjoying quite enough, how 'bout you and I make a summer memory on the Ferris wheel! Really! Oh, really! Boy! I think we're gonna make some big progress in our relationship here! Well, first, in place of a greeting, let's charge into a Pokémon battle! Boy, your Pokémon sure are sturdy! They're fine, they are! I believe there'll be a lot of growth and possibilities ahead of you, boy! Well then, better get on with it... Time for today's main dish! We're heading into the Ferris wheel! Let's roll, boy! Come on!

Our shirts are soaked with sweat, but it tells the story of the time we passed, boy! And with this, we've developed a deeper understanding! Our summer vacation together will never end! Well, see you again, boy!

What a passionate time we've had, let's never mention it again.

Summer/Natsu - Female - Ace Trainer Austin/Natsuki

I can't believe how hot it is! Can you? Say, are you interested in the Ferris wheel? I'm here for the same thing! The Ferris wheel seats two people, so, unfortunately, you can't ride alone. Let me think. Say, why don't you have a Pokémon battle with me? If you win the battle, I wouldn't mind riding with you. What do you say? Battle on? Sure, sure... I'm interested in you because you seem to be so drawn to the Ferris wheel. That being said, I am an Ace Trainer. I won't compromise in battle.



...what? Gah. I hate to admit it... Losing to you is a complete surprise. Sigh... Looks can be deceiving, so they say... Fair enough. As I said earlier, I'll ride the Ferris wheel with you. Actually, it's my first Ferris wheel ride.



Oh! Don't move! We'll fall! Do... not... move... eep... I can't take it. This is my limit. W-w-will you hold my hand?

I had no idea. Call me stupid, but I didn't know how scary altitude could be. And...now I know. Thanks to you. I mean, thank you. Thank you for staying calm. Let me ask you something... Let's keep the whole altitude thing between you and me. And then, if you really want to ride the Ferris wheel again, I'll ride with you. Being an Ace Trainer means finding a way to conquer my fear.

Strange they rewrote the Hiker scene but left in the absolutely DISGUSTING handholding scene, think of the children! Otherwise yeah similar to the original, though he's a lot more terrified and demanding you stay still. Then he does the classic take responsibility trick so you ride with him again. Second time around he's nonchalant about his fear, wanting to conquer it, but of course doesn't. In the original he's still determined to conquer it even if he thinks we're laughing about it... when the time comes.

Autumn/Aki - Male - Clerk F Trisha/Chiaki

It's autumn already. Summer goes by so fast... Do you know what I mean? See the Ferris wheel? I've ridden it so many times, but now, summer's almost over and everyone's gone away... Gone to school, gone on journeys. And I'm still here, all alone. I'd like to ride one more time, but I need a friend to ride with. Do me a favor and ride with me? In return, I'll do my best in a Pokémon battle. Aww. Ha ha. Thank you, young man. You have a kind heart. Well, let's have a Pokémon battle! Look out! I'll show you how it's done!



Oh, hee hee hee... you're so strong. Whoops... That seemed like an easy win! I did my best, though. Ha ha. Thanks for the lesson! It was fun. Well, now... Ready to ride the Ferris wheel?



I'm not crying. I'm not... sorry... can I sit next to you? Just... just until we start to descend... please... stay...

Boo-hoo... This view reminds me of so many things... Sniff... Oh... I'm fine, I'm fine... Oh... I don't even know your name. Well, do you mind my asking...? Your name is Touya... Nice name. I'll be around here for a while. If you don't mind, I'd be happy if you rode the Ferris wheel with me again.

Ah, such a tearful one, I too understand being somewhere that everyone you know has already left. No matter, similar to the original though she refers to herself as lady more to accentuate the age gap. But the second time is different in a couple of ways, she is grateful for your company, like you're a little brother she never had. That's... not in the original. See, you gave her your name before and using first names is a big step in friendship, especially for opposite genders, you've probably seen this all the time in those animes. So she makes a point to refer to you by name from the outset and also laments afterwards that she's middle aged and you're... you. Subtle. Of course middle aged in this context means she's like 25 or something, but hey, that's the best part.

Autumn/Aki - Female - Waitress Aurora/Akira

It's kinda getting cool... I betcha it's gonna get cold soon. Are you here to ride the Ferris wheel? Me, too. But you've gotta have two people. What do you wanna do? How about we have a Pokémon battle? Win, and I'll ride the wheel with you. Just like that, you say yes? You're kinda confident, hey? Whatever... One battle will show what's what. Let's see what you got on your plate!



Ouch... I'm so uncool... Whew... I was no match for you. Guess I was the one who was kinda more confident than I should have been! I figured I knew my Pokémon battles, but you showed me what is really what! OK, like I said, one ride on the Ferris wheel--over easy.



Um-hm... that's right... no way! Then... um-hmm... yes, yes... um-hm... said... I like you... such a lie. It turned out there was... uh-huh...

Haah! It was so relaxing to talk with you! It felt great to really let my hair down and have some girl talk for a change. That's what I think--sometimes you need another girl to talk to, and that's that. Hey, I'm gonna hang out here for a bit! If you feel like it, stop by and we'll talk some more!

Ooh, fwend. Always good to have two girls shoot the shit. Uh, not that I really know what that entails. So long as it's not two girls talking about a guy, which fails a super hard to clear test, apparently, it's all good with me. Similar translation though it doesn't imply she was asked out, just a generic "I liked him." But since it's vague in the localised version, it can go either way! Second time is two friends hanging out, it's nice, though after beating her again she says she's jealous of your smarts, looks and manner and she doesn't have many friends. Same with the original though she talks about how your Pokemon are prettier and slimmer than she is? I think that's a pronoun mistranslation, they're pretty damn common so I don't begrudge them. Also she's "not the type to have a whole lot of friends", implying she's happy as she is, or just accepts the reality of it.

Winter/Fuyu - Male - Preschooler Winter/Fuyuka

It's already cold out. It would be so fun if it snowed. What's the matter? Do you wanna go for a ride? Oh, I get it. You can't ride 'cause you're all by yourself! They don't let you ride this Ferris wheel by yourself. Hey! I know what! I thought of something! I don't have anything to do until my dad comes back... We could play and have a Pokémon battle, if you want? If you play with me, then we can both ride the Ferris wheel! You do? You want to play with me? Hee hee! I'm happy! Fun! Fun! Let's battle!



Yay! Hooray! Awesome! You're so strooong!! That was fun! Thank you! I knew you'd be strong 'cause you're big! My dad is very strong in Pokémon battles, too! But, he's been busy working, so he doesn't play with me. But you're gonna play with me! Next, let's ride the Ferris wheel!



Yaaaay! So high up! Up in the sky! Hee hee. It's fun! Look how far we can see! Look! Please, Trainer?

Yay! That was cool! Did you have fun? It's been a while since I had fun. My dad doesn't take me anywhere lately. He just comes home and sleeps. So, I try to have fun here by myself until my dad comes back. Let's play some more!

A classic story of a dad working too hard to give his kid attention. In the original this young girl, of course, referred to you constantly as Onii-san, or big bro, as well as actually talking like a young girl, which these games sometimes don't do. Also she asks if she can sit on your lap during the ride, which I think barely toes the line on whether it should be kept. Second time is a little dark since she admits she doesn't like her dad because even though it's just the two of them and he's working hard, he never spends time with her. Like, damn gurl, cut him some slack, even if he is at fault. She's not quite so savage in the original, but she literally says "I love you, big bro!", so extreme feelings either way. She also thinks you're stronger than her dad, and that's the important part.

Winter/Fuyu - Female - Rich Boy Martin/Fuyuta

Hi... Pretty chilly out, don't you think? Er... Well... I was wondering if you'd think about... Actually, this is the first time I've been out of the house in a long time. Since I'm out anyway, I want to get some exercise for my Pokémon. And I want to ride the Ferris wheel, too. So... Want to keep me company? Really? Yes? OK! Thanks! You seem like a nice person. Let's start by giving our Pokémon a little warm-up battle for exercise.



Pant, pant, pant, pant... Pant, pant... I'm crushed! It's been way too long since I got enough exercise. But... It was fun! My Pokémon also looks pretty happy, thanks to the exercise. Thank you for having a battle with us. Now, shall we ride the Ferris wheel? I've been looking forward to this for a long time.



Krrf! Krrrf! Krrrf! Sorry... it's a bit chilly for me... I think I'm finally warming up. I'm feeling better. Thanks for the company.

Touko, thank you. I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble. I don't get out much. My health has never been strong. It's been tremendous hanging out with you today... So, thanks again, Touko. When I feel well enough, I'll be back. I'd love to hang out with you again.

Ah, poor kid, looks like he has deadly television cough. It's never specified what's wrong in either version, though he mentions in the original he "just wasn't born with a very sturdy body." Glass bones and paper skin it seems. Big difference is in the car: "Cough! ...Hack! Cough! Sorry... I'm getting a little chilly... Huh...? Thank you... it's warm... You're such a... kind person..." Oh myyyyyyyyyyyyy. Second time around he says he's feeling stronger but can't keep up in physical strength during a battle, and mentions he feels better when he's with you, even sounding forlorn when you part ways, aww. He's much more polite in the original as well, calling you Miss or maybe even -san? The translation doesn't specify honorifics, do Pokemon even use those? ANYWAY, since he says he had fun, he's not feeling so bad.

And that is all the Ferris wheel conversations. In this game. Sigh... hope you enjoyed this look into a weird but interesting character spotlight and always ask yourself... have you ever had a lover?

[Crosspeice]

Part 13: Charging Our Dreams

Part 13: Charging Our Dreams

Chargestone Cave



Welcome back to an electrifying update, here's some ducks that peeps at the LP Beach suggested I use.



With the Lucky Egg we just got, getting PRNDL up to speed will be a breeze, especially since it has Rock Smash for coverage! No, I'm not joking...



We can also take a moment to appreciate this place, damn it looks good and has some fun light puzzle aspects.

"The electricity is charging me up!"


Yowch, a lightning spark! The sources of my energy are my precious Pokemon! This has been scientifically proven!!



Aww, a cute little bug LET'S GRIND IT UP


"Joltik that live in cities have learned a technique for sucking electricity from the outlets in houses."




A tiny terror, at 4 inches tall, Joltik is one of the smallest Pokemon, but you better not underestimate it! Gen 4 is when Bugs got good, but Gen 5 is when they got GREAT, its got a great STAB combination and comes with Bug Bite and Electroweb, with Electro Ball and Signal Beam just up ahead. It does evolve a little late for its stats, what doesn't in this game, but it can very easily fit onto a team and quickly Volt Switch in a bad situation. Not much else to say since it's pretty close to evolving and you've got all you need immediately, so definitely recommend, especially with Compound Eyes!


"to aim for the Pokemon League!"

It doesn't show in images but the small crystals wiggle when you run under them, hours of fun.



Hrm.



They say that there is a strong Champion in the Pokemon League. Someday, I will be able to challenge the Pokemon League!






LET IT RIP! Ferroseed is a slow defensive mon that dies to any Fire attack but it's perfectly usable due to its higher than average Atk stat. If you want Steel STAB then this is your mon... since it learns no physical Grass STAB until it evolves just a little later than you'd like. It's not all bad though, this is an excellent wall against some tough cookies and can very easily wear them down with little trouble. Its main issue is its movepool, surprise surprise, since it has to use Gyro Ball or even Metal Claw for a wee while, with Poison Jab, Return or Rock Smash as your coverage options. Once it evolves this mon has no issue tearing through stuff while taking nothing in return, but it's the 10+ levels of mediocrity until then. At least it gets more moves than Klink!



"When threatened, it attacks by shooting a barrage of spikes, which gives it a chance to escape by rolling away."
"When it overflows with power, the orange crystal on its body glows. It looks for underground water in caves."

That's all the Pokemon I expect to find, we might need to go deeper for another one.



I think we're just about done collecting data. This cave has been around since the distant past, but... data to prove that Klink existed more than a hundred years ago can't be fonnd. So that must mean... Klink suddenly appeared a hundred years ago! Where Pokemon came from and there they are going... if we learn that, I believe we can get along even better!

Know what, Touya? Pokemon are mysterious! I wonder why these amazing little guys stay by our sides. I plan on staying here and catching Pokemon! Traveling is about encounters, you know!

"and the difficulty of Pokemon battles."


After doing the Ferris wheel conversations I just can't stand Hikers anymore.



So long as PRNDL is alive it gets exp.



In the caves... Pokemon lurk in the piles of dirt!



Man this bridge seems long, if only I didn't have to walk across- GAH



Okay.




Okay.



I wonder where Ghetsis finds all these strange, lost childs.



Aha! That made a light bulb go on in my head! When a person moves, electric signals travel in the body! Also, when a person has an inspiration, electric signals travel to the brain!



Going down.

Deeper Chargestone Cave



And I am the little brother of the Nugget brothers!

Glad you showed up! I want to give you this.



I want to give you this, too.



That's a Nugget! How'd it get so golden without deep-frying? Trade secret!

Nuggetaboutit!



Man this place is weirder than I was expecting.



Team Plasma's up ahead, but I'm not feeling my best, what if I happened to find a free full heal nearby?



However! Let me challenge you to a battle first!



No wait you need to do that on me.



Now, as I promised, I will make your Pokemon healthy. To make people healthy, Doctors go where they are needed.



Alright let's throw ourselves into the collection of Plasma grunts. What would that be called, hmm, a paywall of grunts?



Believe me, I wouldn't fight a ton of you if I had a choice.



Ghetsis of the Seven Sages supports our king, and Ghetsis has three subordinates... they are the Shadow Triad!



PRNDL is never gonna need the weight loss and Shift Gear will cover Speed increases. Also, ew, setup moves, who has time for that garbage.



I don't understand... your Pokemon seem to be happy next to you.

"Because they are free from people."


It's bad for ordinary Trainers like you to use Pokemon. It's good for us members of Team Plasma to use Pokemon!



My lord N grew up with Pokemon... he thinks about Pokemon more than anybody else!



What do you fight for? No, what do you live for?



Ah geez there's still more...



Don't worry, you're not missing anything.



The hope of Team Plasma! We know our king will lead us. He will free the Pokemon! You! Release your Pokemon and stop being a Trainer!



Because they use Pokemon, people hold competitions to sort out the strong from the weak... is this fair? Is this right? Are Pokemon just the Trainers' tools?

Deepest Chargestone Cave



We're near the end, but we'll head to the deepest level for a bit more.



Fuck yeah coverage.



Some Pokemon like to live in this electrified cave... don't you think that people should stay out?



Uh, thanks for another one.



Finally, now I can tackle the Battle Subway!




Neat, Corazon is finally good again.






Oh hey, this thing, we have this thing! So Lilligant is a pretty alright Grass type and it doesn't do much else. If you evolved it before 28 then it gets Quiver Dance and becomes monstrous with its Grass STAB and... that's it. Now, if you get enough boosts, even Own Tempo Petal Dance won't really care about resistances, but you've got to luck into a real good Hidden Power to get any kind of mileage. Like you've got Round? Dream Eater? Its special coverage is absolutely pathetic and it just doesn't do anything else. You can get Sleep Powder as a Petilil for some guaranteed turns of Quiver Dance and try your luck from there, but if you were hoping for a mon that does something aside from click Grass move, this ain't it. Still really good though.



Bits of knowledge about electricity! An electric current runs from plus to minus, and an electron runs from minue to plus.



Can't forget the hidden items in the walls.






That took its time, Tynamo is a little more common on this floor and... it's one of THOSE Pokemon, that gets no moves until it evolves, oh how wacky. Well let's see what it gets: Tackle, Thunder Wave, Spark and Charge Beam. FOR TWELVE LEVELS!!! This could work in a game where it isn't in this form for long, but uh, this is really, really not the moveset or the stats to be babying for another 2 Gyms. The end result is worth it, of course it fucking has to be with this garbage, but you have no outs in the slightest, it doesn't learn TMs or Egg moves so it is pretty miserable to actually train. Sure, you can have it cook in the back to eventually become usable, but while Spark and okay Atk would've kept you afloat early on, we're nearly at the sixth Gym, this thing is SHIT!!! It gets so much better when it evolves, but that's because the bar is twice as low.


"While one alone doesn't have much power, a chain of many Tynamo can be as powerful as lightning."

That's it for downstairs, so back to the top floor we go.



All the mysteries! In the world! For that purpose! I will keep fighting!



The poor saps in here keep trying to make Klink good. It'll never be good.



I don't think I can solve all mysteries by myself! However! If I can discover something new and help someone, I will be satisfied!



Don't forget about hidden items behind floating crystals. We've got a crossroads and of course since right is the right way we'll ignore it as long as possible.






Mistakes have been made. So for evolving Cottonee before 28 you get... Tailwind. Not as impressive as Quiver Dance, let's be honest, but due to alright offensive stats, Whimsicott is carried, heh, by Prankster. Now most of the time it will outspeed, but you can never go wrong with priority, Leech Seed, Taunt, Swagger, of course Tailwind, it's pretty great in VGC! Oh, how does it do in single player? Well it can work out, it can use Growth and even has a thing called coverage, crazy! Hurricane, Psychic, Shadow Ball, U-turn, Giga Drain from Cottonee, it can work very well, even better than Lilligant in some aspects. But that isn't its main focus, so it probably won't impress as often. Still, if you want some tricky fun before your get stuck in the competitive scene then this is a fine choice, if you can get some Growths up.



I feel down only briefly! I am a Trainer. If I give up, my Pokemon cannot do anything! Right?



Alright, this isn't exactly where I was imagining a second date, but it's still pretty good.

The One Who is Captivated by Equations



That is unforgivable! I will separate Pokemon and people, and black and white will be clearly distinct! Only then will Pokemon become perfect beings! Yes, that is my dream! That is the dream I must fulfill!



You have a dream... that's wonderful. I'll learn just what kind of dream you have--in battle!

Plasma King N Battle



As always, let's see what he has.



Sturdy that, bitch.



You can tell a lot from someone by what Pokemon they have. Your ever shifting team doesn't so much, but also says everything you need to know.



Worth the Iron Barbs damage.



Is it impossible for me to win while feeling bad about being a Trainer? As if I could pursue the truth with something as meaningless as a battle! As if that could make me worthy to become friends with the legendary Pokemon!



Bianca, you have good ears. I can't believe you heard Touya's voice from that far away.

Touya, who is this Trainer?



You appear to have no qualms about the relationship between Pokemon and people. You put Pokemon into categories using arbitary rules and think you can understand them like that... the very idea of a Pokedex revolts me. What do you have to say for yourself?

Oh, my. Looks like you're not my biggest fan. Your opinion is understandable. It happens to be different from mine, which is equally understandable. How about if all people get to decide for themselves how to relate to Pokemon?

You're saying I should just allow people to think whatever they want, no matter whether the Pokemon suffer? I refuse to tolerate the existance of a world like that!



But I hope he'll spend a little time trying to understand how others feel. Now, then... I think I'll go collect a little more data. For Pokemon and people to get along better, we need to take steps to learn more about them!

Umm, Touya! I'm gonna go with Professor Juniper now 'cause I'm her bodyguard!

Mistralton City





Mistralton City: Strewn with Windblown Leaves
From mistral wind, a strong, cold, northwesterly wind; alto, prefix for mid-level clouds, and the suffix -ton.
Fukiyose City: The city where the winds gather the flowers.
From 吹き寄せ fukiyose, a pattern based on flowers and leaves blown and gathered by the wind.



That cave sure was an adventure, but we've made it to the next... city. Well, runway, two houses a city does not make. We could spend most of our money on weather TMs, but this isn't Orre, doubles is a meme format!

"what type that move will be!"

Ooh, ooh, let's see if we get anything interesting!



Hey, not bad Corazon, but I think you'll be fine without it, after all he doesn't tell you what BP it'll be, and that's also important!



Now on to one of the most important houses in the game.



One day I can get rid of Cut. One day.



While most of our team isn't fully evolved there are a couple of interesting moves to "relearn".



OH YEAAAAAAHHHHHHH! Milli is gonna love this, though he'll keep Bug Bite since Megahorn is a great nuke, but overkill for most battles.

Juniper Sr. Encounter



Let me see your Pokedex for a moment. What do we have here? So, you've found 74 Pokemon, eh? Staggering! You've seen a Klink! You're becoming quite the Trainer. Excuse me! I was a little excited and forgot my manners. My name is Juniper, too! Cedric Juniper. Heh! The professor who gave you the Pokedex is my daughter! That girl has told me a lot about you. It really makes my day to meet you! In honor of our meeting, I'm going to upgrade your Pokedex!



Some Pokemon can change forms even when it's the same individual. If you have already seen a form, you can check it with this whenever you want. I also added a function to make searching easier.



Oh! I forgot my introductions! Skyla, this is a friend of my daughter's. Touya is traveling around Unova to complete the Pokedex.

Oh, I see! So that means you'll be challenging the Gym! Oh boy! I'm really looking forward to it!

That's right, Touya. You should challenge this Gym! If nothing else, this Gym is really out there! See you, Skyla. If something comes up again, I'll let you know!

Professor, my plane is a cargo plane! It carries cargo, not people! And you're talking as if places like Kanto and Sinnoh are right around the corner!

Aww, Skyla. If you keep frowning, your face might freeze like that, and that'd be a shame. People and Pokemon, we all have to help each other out! See you later!



It's hard to believe a happy-go-lucky guy like that could be a world-renowned Pokemon professor. Heads-up, Touya. As a Gym Leader, I'd be happy to have you challenge the Gym, but there's something I need to take care of first. Just now, as I was flying the cargo plane, I saw something on top of the Celestial Tower. I'm sure that it is a sick Pokemon! If it is, I can't just leave it there! I have to look into this right away. I'm leaving for Route 7's Celestial Tower. You can come along if you want.




Sure, sure, next update, but I need to show off the new shiny thing! We can cycle through various forms and what you stay on will be what the icon will be in the Pokedex, if it has one. It records any Shiny Pokemon, but they don't have menu sprites, so you'll only see you kept it as the shiny when you highlight it in the dex.



And of course it's useful to keep things proper for the opposite game, if the default dex form is the wrong one. Also, it's that time of the show where I give random facts about Cedric Juniper, aw yeah! He has unique dialgoue if you haven't seen a Klink, but that's impossible without cheating since N uses one. "Staggering! You haven't seen a Klink yet?" When he appraises your Pokedex when you first meet him, he actually notes how many National Pokedex mons you've seen, which you could get from trading or the Relocator. Finally, Cedric is a complete fabrication, he's called Dr. Araragi, same as Aurea Juniper, both their first names are made up in the localisation. And that's all we have for this segment, tune in next time!



Sniff, sniff, hmm, very important, smells like coverage for those desperate for it.



The entrance might look like a window, but don't forget to come here.



If a Pokemon holds an item called Sharp Beak, its Flying-type moves will be powered up!



If you are a great match, you can get sweet on Sweet Heart! Meltingly sweet Sweet Heart! If you bring a lot of Sweet Heart pieces, I will trade you for something happy!

Uh, yeah, that. One of the IR features is seeing how compatible you are with someone and from that grade out of 100, you get 1-3 Sweet Hearts. Trade 10 to this woman to get a Heart Scale, otherwise they restore 20HP. Neat, but there's way better ways of getting Heart Scales that this isn't worth it. Mainly because you can only do IR related stuff in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, but I digress.



Well since this runway takes up a large portion of the city, is it interesting?




Nnnnnnnot really...



OH, uh, in Black these are greenhouses instead of empty patches of dirt. Yay version differences! I promise they'll start ramping up and I'm not just playing the game a second time in tandem for the fucking laughs.



Here's a move that's banned in competitive cause it lets you remove an opponent in doubles for the rest of the game if you use Gravity after this move. That's it, next time it's a spooky time, just in time for Halloween! ...you mean to say that 2020 isn't at that point yet even though it's been going for 84 years?!

[Crosspeice]

Part 14: Sky High Spirits

Part 14: Sky High Spirits

Route 7 Autumn



You're quite the Trainer. I like you! Take this TM!



When a Pokemon uses Charge Beam, sometimes its Sp. Atk goes up. If you're lucky, the power will just keep going up!



On to a new route and a quick beeline to something before we actually go into the grass.



Yes we- wait, hang on.



Obviously I'm not a monster, also keeps continuity for the sequel because I apparently care about that?



Oh! Oh! What a cute Pokemon! Please cherish Emolga, too. Trading Pokemon lets you get to know other Trainers!




Surprised he didn't mention he got a Gigalith, you're welcome btw, but at least we got a second copy of a Pokemon I'll never use! 20IVs in everything but max in SpAtk, and that's the last trade before the postgame! Wow!



Now we've dumped the pete, we've got our full team and ready to explore a route.



Our team is shaping up pretty nicely so we'll tackle anything in our way!



I will grow better and better by fighting Pokemon in the tall grass!


"They have lightning-like movements. When Zebstrika run at full speed, the sound of thunder reverberates."

Seeing more evolved mons in the grass as well, it's why I haven't been in a rush to evolve stuff. Also we have PLENTY of time to fill the dex out, this game is pretty big.



Ohhh? What?! That's not a Pokemon, just an ordinary Trainer!



Mistakes were made.



Have you heard that when tall grass waves in the breeze, a rare Pokemon jumps out?


" When they see an enemy, their tails stand high, and they spit the seeds of berries stored in their cheek pouches."

Like this? Ah, I'm just kidding, but this route is a slight exception to all the fun stuff you could encounter from rustling grass. Audino, of course, but there's also Unfezant and Emolga, but the former isn't around for Winter, not very exciting.



Don't stand still for too long or you're going down! Well, we have repels, but it's the principle...



I will overpower you with my perfect combination and overwhelming attack power!




Oh hey it's that other battle. This is a Rotation Battle in Black with the same trainer and team and this Swoobat is about to kick my ass.



Ah, that 95% accurate Air Slash, gotta love it.



The balance of three Pokemon... each with its own role... I still have to do more research.



The tower is just ahead, but a free heal is this way!



99% of the playerbase doesn't give two shits about the Pokedex. Honestly I only do it so there's something to do along the way, otherwise the game would be a little dry sometimes.



I've heard that both Professor Junipers were Backpackers when they were young.



I could walk around these relatively uninteresting trainers, but the content!



What do you let your Pokemon have? What is their style?



First, we'll create our own style! Because I am hopeless at social niceties and fashions!



Who's that Pokemon? It's the Lorax!



Give that cutie a little nose kiss.



This is what a tree gave me!



It's a slow business, growing a tree. No need to rush. Raise strong Pokemon slowly.



Here's the tower. But first...






Aw how cute, but also how gross. Know what else is gross? This mon's moveset. Unless you relearn Icy Wind, you won't get any STAB until you evolve, though thankfully that'll be Icicle Crash. It's a weirdly alright mixed attacker that gets Brine and Slash to work with along with various TMs, so it's perfectly fine, but we've got a little bit to go to evolution. Its main issue is being relatively slow and fragile, not great for a mixed Ice attacker, but between, ugh, Rock Tomb, Aerial Ace and Shadow Claw, you can make something work. Also you get a mon that's just like you, gross and isn't bothered by it!

Celestial Tower


"When it is not feeling well, its mucus gets watery and the power of its Ice-type moves decreases."

Still gross. Now that we have a freer camera, we can actually have spiral buildings and cool looking staircases, only took 14 years!



But of course these places contain weird people with weird Pokemon.






Ayyyyyyy, it's an alien. How many extra terrestrial Pokemon are there? Well as far as this one goes, it's pretty okay, I've used one before, its just awfully slow. It has pretty balanced stats which work badly with its late evolution level, but it also learns Psychic before it evolves, which is something a fair few other Psychics cannot compete with. But that's really about it, there's Headbutt, Hidden Power and Zen Headbutt, so off to TMs we go... again. Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, hey these are pretty good. And pretty late! Okay, Thunderbolt isn't that far away so I hope you're not looking for much else and it has some Atk to its name, so Rock Slide and Return could be fine, but this is a Psychic nuke and for a good chunk of the game, that's about all it does.



A lot of energies are swirling around in the world, including hopes and dreams.



The madlads finally put catgirls into Pokemon, we're doomed.



Meow, meow, meow! I am copying the Pokemon I used to live with.

"engage in a Pokemon battle, don't we?"


An Emolga shouldn't be too bad, it's not like it's gonna get to +6 evasion and get constantly healed.



Perhaps I meet people here because of guidance from my Pokemon.




Poor Swadloon never stood a chance...



...the Pokemon is no longer with me. ...that's not true. As long as I remember, it will be with me forever.



Packed first floor, but so long as it's not possessed weirdos screaming at me...


"Litwick shines a light that absorbs the life energy of people and Pokémon, which becomes the fuel that it burns."




Aww, it's an adorable burner of souls. Litwick has great things ahead but for now it's pretty okay. It starts off fine enough with Flame Burst and Hex, as well as Will-O-Wisp for Hex, but it's a little smol and fragile for this late in the game. Thankfully it doesn't evolve toooo late and learns Inferno just before then, even if it's a terrible move, but because it's a stone evolution and Lampent puts the good moves even further away, it'll need some TM help to catch up. Thankfully Fire Blast and Shadow Ball are all it needs and you get both around the same time, so if you stick with the little candle, it'll impress later on. It is a bit tricky getting to that point though, but we have an Ice Gym soon enough!



Woah, you must be psychic!



Everyone can make the effort to understand their opponent.




When I come here... at Celestial Tower, strangely, I feel the urge to fight. Does that prove I am alive?



Only second floor, but these fights have been tough! Oh, uh, you might think this is the third floor, as an American, but of course I use the ground floor system, which is the one that actually makes sense. Uh, most of the time.



A heart shaped fish?! Hmm, have I seen something like that before? ...nothing's coming to mind, oh well!



OK! Then... time to give your Pokemon some energy! It's wonderful that each Pokemon and each person can do something special! Me, I know how to make Pokemon healthy!



Neat, here's where I'd give this to my Ghost team member. IF I HAD ONE! If Tepig hadn't been the choice, of course I would've used Litwick, I'm not crazy!



If you like every Pokemon you're already enlightened.






Dammit Air Slash! Well you kept Solosis around for a while but now you've got a super nuke on your hands, that SpAtk stat is crazy. Now if only it had anything to use it on. There's Psyshock and Future Sight, I guess, but it's still a few levels from Psychic, at least it gets that before it evolves, and that's about it. Thunder, Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon are pretty great moves, but we're, as I keep mentioning, a while from them yet. Still, we're inching ever closer and with that SpAtk, type resistance is more of a suggestion. Otherwise this mon is still slow as shit and will remain pretty similar throughout, boy doesn't that sound familiar.



People, Pokemon... even if the world is gone, that is not the end. I feel sure of it.



Lemme breathe a sec... the spirits have calmed down a bit. In a way... the Celestial Tower is a space full of desires to live.



Oh thank-fucking-finally, some physical coverage. Tristan's gonna love this!

"both rest here quietly."





A step down from the nuke we just went over, but balanced stats can work just as well. Again it faces the same issues as Duosion but doesn't have the nuke potential to get past it. So it has Psyshock and even Charge Beam to work with initially but will need more past that. Still, Thunderbolt is upcoming and, uh, it gets Grass Knot? Shadow Ball will have to do and it'll get some well needed stats when it evolves, but it's perfectly fine as is.



Pokemon that grew up in Unova and Pokemon that grew up elsewhere--all are precious Pokemon...



I guess? It's called タワーオブヘブン Tower of Heaven in the original, so I'm sure there's some perfect meaning that gets lost in translation.






Similar beard to my grandad, aye laddie. This hard hitting Return doggy will do you well, having well balanced stats and a good variety of moves. Fully evolved, it can get the elemental fangs from the reminder so get what your team is missing, though you can never go wrong with any of them. It has a pretty expansive movepool but can't really use the special half, so other coverage options can include, ugh, Rock Tomb, Aerial Ace and even Wild Charge and Giga Impact. It'll learn Reversal soon if you want to try that out, but otherwise this cutie might not be so cute anymore, but it's still very effective.



Of course, you're either perfect, or you're not me.



"It uses its strong psychic power to squeeze its opponent's brain, causing unendurable headaches."

That about wraps up this tower, so let's grab an ayyyyyyy and get to the top.



I was right. What I saw was a hurt Pokemon. Don't worry, though! It's fine now! I gave it a Max Revive, then it felt better and flew away! Hee hee! Don't I have great eyesight? No matter how far away things are, a Pilot's eyes can see them! Oh, that's right! Since you've come this far, why don't you ring the bell? Celestial Tower's bell is for soothing the spirits of Pokemon. Also, the character of the person ringing the bell is reflected in its sound. Come on, don't be shy!

Celestial Bells



What a pretty sound. Touya, you are a kind and strong person. It's that kind of sound. I'd like to introduce myself again! I'm Skyla, the Leader of Mistralton's Pokemon Gym. I use Flying-type Pokemon. When you are ready, please come to the Gym. I'll give you a big welcome!



Alright, let's take down the Gym, uh, now, the tower didn't really take that long.

Pokemon Gym



Just between you and me... Rock, Electric, Ice... Flying types have more weaknesses than people know about. If you use Pokemon and moves of those types, victory is practically yours! By the way, to proceed in this Gym, you climb in the cannons to move forward. The cannons go up, down, left, and right. You can get in them from anywhere!



Alright, being fired out of a cannon, I'm sure it won't be so baaaaaaaaaaaaad!!!



I'm okay, I'm okay! This is kinda fun actually.



Isn't it great that you can experience how flying Pokemon feel?



I'll be stronger if I fight while thinking about Pokemon! Victory will come my way!



Jump good can yield great results.



Trainer! Do you remember what you were told in the beginning? "The cannons go up, down, left, and right. You can get in them from anywhere!" How about that? I am good at imitating him, aren't I?



Hmm, wonder why that guy mentioned that. Probably not important.



I am extremely strong! Bring it on!



Another battle of the birds. Well, these aren't really birds, I suppose...



I became a Pilot, making the dream of my younger days a reality... the weight is quite comfortable.



Woah, going the only way I can see makes me land in this red square, whatever can I do?



I guess I'll have to go up, since they just mentioned I can enter cannons through simultaneous different ways, even if it's the only time in the Gym it comes into play.







Hrrrrrrmmmmmm, okay, here's a mishmash of weird choices. A clearly physical Flying type with its best Flying STAB being... Sky Attack. That does 70BP over 2 turns, which barely beats out its second best Flying STAB of Aerial Ace/Pluck. No Acrobatics, no Brave Bird and you're not even getting Sky Attack until level SIXTY SIX, so you'll use Return and, uh, that's it?! U-turn is your best physical coverage move, why doesn't this damn bird learn any physical moves? Uh... uhhhhhhh... Quick Attack! Hm. You've got Air Slash shortly after evolving, Razor Wind... Round! What the hell is going on, why is this bird so godawful? STAB Return with that Atk is really the only thing going for it, it gets practically no coverage, no real Flying attacks and slim pickings for Normal attacks. This is just sad.



We can depend on a move that hits without fail when it counts. For example, Aerial Ace and Swift are both surefire moves!



Must... win... the high ground!



Check after check after check! Complacency leads to accidents!



I've heard of jumping through hoops but this is ridiculous!



Oh hey this wall is coming towards me at alarming- ow...



Did you enjoy flying with the help of the Mistralton Gym cannons? They're my pride and joy! This time, let's try something else!

Gym Leader Battle







Skyla: The Highflying Girl
From, uh, sky, la. As well as skylark, a genus or birds, as well as various planes and rockets of the same name.
Huuro: The heavens' flying-high girl.
From 風露草 fūrosō (geranium) and 風 fū (wind).

"it's like I'm walking on air!"

Well Amnesia makes this mirror a little tricky, but maybe we can get past this.



Aaaaaaany minute now.



Oh what, you could've used Acrobatics the entire time?! Well thankfully Tristan has an invisible Focus Sash, no problems.






Wow, one of two lines in the game to have a gender difference! I don't know why they bothered, especially for a mon they screwed over this much. Better hope for a Modest one if you want to use its, snrk, extensive special movepool.






Well, those are some big pecks. If you decided to crunch your surfer and your flyer into one role, then hey it worked out pretty well, eh? With balanced, reasonably alright mixed offenses and a movepool to back it up, Swanna is pretty alright. Surf is so close, while Air Slash is always excellent, but it doesn't learn too much aside from that, since it gets a lot of status moves before Brave Bird and Hurricane in the lategame, pretty nice. You can make it somewhat physically bulky with Scald and Aqua Ring, but it'll likely drop to any Electric attack and won't get nice coverage in Ice Beam for a long time yet. Still, learning mostly Flying and Water moves don't hurt it in the slightest and it has great HM utility, so if the other glut of Water types don't take your fancy, hey why not.



Well I was expecting Gamera to faint and have Milli lower its Speed with Bulldoze, but apparently Gamera is a fucking Quick Claw madlad and takes all the glory. I love it!

Pokemon Gym



My Pokemon and I are happy, because for the first time in a while, we could fight with our full strength. This is an official League Gym Badge. I think it will good on you.



With that many Gym Badges, Pokemon up to Lv. 70 will obey you. Wow, hot stuff! Also, as thanks for a Pokemon battle that made me very happy, I want you to have this TM.



My present to you is Acrobatics. If the user doesn't have a hold item, its power doubles. It's a pretty technical move. Be sure to compensate for the lack of held item!

By the way, when I flew over Twist Mountain on the way to Icirrus City... Team Plasma--is that the name? Anyway, they were heading for the city. What kind of people are they? Icirrus City, where you'll find the next Gym, is past Route 7, just after you cross Twist Mountain. It's a hop, skip, and a jump when flying, but it's a really challenging walk. Heads up! Make sure you're ready for it!



You make it look easy! And congratulations on your victory against the Gym Leader.



Not a massively challenging battle, we had the right tools for it, even if I wasn't intending to use them all the way. No matter, six badges is pretty crazy this early, but there's still plenty of game to go!

The One Who is Captivated by Equations



GAH! It's an enemy ambush!



Am I the only one who finds this terribly painful? Whatever... I'm going to talk to your Pokemon. I've been living with Pokemon since I was born, so it's easier for me to talk with them than with people. ...because Pokemon never tell lies.



: In another few hours the sun will rise!

OK, OK, got it. So Touya was born in Nuvema Town, lives with Mom, and was given the Pokedex to start off a journey to see the world. Still, this Simisage trusts you for some reason. That's good! If every person and Pokemon cared about one another like you two do, I could watch over the future of people and Pokemon without having to liberate Pokemon from people who just use them. Ghetsis is using Team Plasma to search for some special stones--the Light Stone and the Dark Stone... These stones hold the essence of two legendary Pokemon. It is said that when they lost their physical form, they fell into a slumber and were transformed. Now, they wait for the hero's arrival... I shall resurrect a legendary Dragon-type Pokemon from one of these stones, and become its friend. That will show the world that I am the new hero. Everyone will follow what I say!



My vision is to change the world without using force. Trying to change the world by force will just make others resist. If people resist, the ones that will be hurt are the innocent Pokemon used by foolish Trainers. You understand. Pokemon are not just tools for people to use! As a result... Pokemon and Trainers who care about one another, like you and your Pokemon, will be separated. And that does break my heart a little.



We left our treasure at the edge of the runway!

Ruuunwaaaay! Ruuunwaaaay! A Technical Machine on the ruuuunwaaaay!



Found it!

Just kidding. We don't have a Pokemon, so we planned to hide this TM until we got one. But that would be a waste, so--here! You can use it! We'll get another one from Skyla.

Yoooo-ooou can uuu-uuuuuse it!

See you! Bye-bye!



Hmm, this seems familiar, but with some excellent physical coverage and a new badge, it's time to finally move past this place. Next time we'll head to the next city! Ah, jk, we're getting Surf next so there's lots of backtracking to do!

[Greener223224]

Now I must ask you a question, what do you call a tiny tusked terror?

Brunswick. But if you’re using Haxorus and not Beartic, I’ll probably need to suggest an alternative, like Polly or Paola.

Actually, that could work. Brunswick if male, Polly/Paola if female.

Also, how would you feel about collapsing your posts on this forum?

[Leraika]

I'd love Forseti after the god with the golden axe.

(don't count this twice, since I also posted it on SA)

[Greener223224]

I'd love Forseti after the god with the golden axe.

I am not supporting a name used by FE13. Holsety was perfectly functional, and changing it feels like a gunshot to my childhood.

[BolticThunder]

Ir we're gonna do Fire Emblem references, how about Helswath? Jugdral's legendary axe sounds like a good name for a Haxorus.

[Greener223224]

Ir we're gonna do Fire Emblem references, how about [REDACTED FE13 NAME]? Jugdral's legendary axe sounds like a good name for a Haxorus.

What's so wrong with the name "Swanchika"? We could make more Swanna jokes if we used that name.

[Crosspeice]

Part 15: Lonely Island

Part 15: Lonely Island

Route 7 Autumn



This is your mom. How are you doing? Wow, you're already on Route 7? You've gone quite far! Say, how are your Pokemon? You can't get that far all by yourself, you know? It's all thanks to your Pokemon. Don't forget to take care of them! Am I being too serious? Well, take care! "Senior Trainer Mom," signing off!



Isn't it nice to have a mother that wants to keep in contact. Have you talked to your mother recently? You should. Unless she's a prick, in which case isolation is the best answer.



It's good to swing wildly on a walkway!



Aww hell yeah, this just makes Milli better and better.



At least we don't have to bother with repels, we're still on Route 7 so the Pokemon are unchanged, but we'll be soon heading to new locales!



If you walk on a raised walkway, you can move without encountering wild Pokemon. But if you stop to rest for a while, you'll fall!



Since we both hold the Jet Badge now, let's see which of us is stronger!

Rival Battle



Oh hey our sixth Cheren battle. Now be fair, it has been 5 updates since we last fought him, that's 2 whole badges!



Roost stall? Ugh, get outta here.



Oh hey dumping boiling water on a monkey works just fine.



Not sure why he used Revenge, but Cheren's team is starting to shape up. They're not really any good, but it's nearly fully evolved!



I'm sure we'll see some slight progression when we fight him after the seventh badge.




Good thing this universe doesn't have fall damage.

Alder's Theme



...and, honestly, it bothers me when you call it a fine battle despite that.

Oh, honestly, Cheren. Just accept the compliment without the stinging remark. I've asked you this before, but what do you plan to do after becoming strong?

If I get strong and become the Champion, that will be the reason for my existence. I want to prove that I'm really living.

Hmm... you remind me of Marshal. But what is even more important is what you do with your newfound power. Anyway, take this! Here--you, too.



If you use the move Surf, you can travel over water. I shall see you again, young Trainers. Don't forget about the needs of the Pokemon at your side!



I don't know that answer yet. First, I want to become a strong Trainer so everyone will acknowledge that power! Touya... next time, I will win!



Ahh, to finally get the Surf HM, it has been too long. Of course we'll go splashing in the waves but there's a mountain right here!



You conquered a B-list mountain. That B-lister is me! Hikers aim at summits. Pokemon Trainers aim for the Pokemon League!

Surf



But even though there's a mountain right there, we were just in a cave, so let's do something different and go back and get all the cool things we've missed by not being able to swim. There's some real important stuff to find, uh, current image excepting.


"With its thin, veil-like arms wrapped around the body of its opponent, it sinks to the ocean floor."




Finally going on water means finally getting Surf encounters. Frillish has a gender variety, depends on if you prefer makeup or pringles and is a great choice for your Water slot if you're just having something fill in while you Surf. It starts off with Water Pulse and Ominous Wind and while you can upgrade to Surf or even Scald, it'll be a while before you get a Ghost upgrade, in either Hex or lategame Shadow Ball. Still, being a Ghost has its advantages in expanding its TM list, letting you try out Psychic, Ice Beam and Energy Ball all in the postgame! Haha, wait... honestly though Scald is all you need to patch up the lower Def and while Frillish is another mon that evolves a little late, with Recover, and Sludge Bomb from a later TM, it can fit in quite nicely.






And the other one, there's no difference between them, but Unfezant and this evolution line are the only ones in this gen with gender differences. Considering they introduced this concept last gen, you'd think it'd last a little longer than this...



If we move around long enough, we can find rippling water, which is like a grass shake but bloobaloob. There's some slight differences between river and sea encounters, but this won't be exciting for a fair while.


"The special membrane enveloping Alomomola has the ability to heal wounds."




<3 This completely unique fish I've never seen before is a pretty good wall that uses its ridiculous HP to overcome its alright Def and awful SpDef. Like most tanky Water types, all it needs now is Scald and then a bunch of support moves to make it nigh unkillable on the physical side. It's really weak to special attacks but with a combination of Soak, Toxic and Wish, there are no physical walls it cannot outstall. Oh, for story? Well, not really, cause they gave it 75 Atk for whatever reason. So, uhhhhhhh, Waterfall? Wake-Up Slap? Facade? Hmm, that's not too bad for coverage but why did they give this mostly special mon such awful SpAtk? Well, to be fair, it does only just need Scald and not even really the damage, so it's whatever. But it's a bit tricky to suggest otherwise.



Oh wow another move for Milli! There's plenty of new areas we could go to with Surf, this region is linear, but it still has plenty to explore. But we'll start by avoiding Twist Mountain and go... to another cave, but there's a really good reason for that.



Yep, the other Basculin isn't version exclusive, it's rippling water only, and it's our next team member! Okay, not really.




Ah fuck I need Flash. At least it's a TM that I can interchange with other TM moves!

Mistralton Cave



Better, but considering Rock Smash is no longer a thing, was anyone really gonna miss Flash?

"And fun battles!!"


Drilbur learns EQ a little early for my liking...



Your team is strong! But my Pokemon were also quite good, weren't they?



GAH! After the ferris wheel stuff the last thing I need is a Hiker ambushing me from the dark.



I am looking for a legendary Pokemon said to be hiding in this cave. Yes, it's true! Men are suckers for adventure, no matter how old we get!



And that was all the trainers in here, what fun. Since it's difficult to tell with the lower visibility where we are, I'm just running in a spiral to reach the staircase.



Thankfully the boulders that are shortcuts back will remain as such! I've missed this so much.




Good to loot the place of its worth, we're starting to get some pretty nice items.



Eh, mostly.






And hiding in the depths of an optional cave, it's a rough and tough Dragon, and our 7th team member. Axew is a Dragon that you can actually get pretty early and it doesn't evolve ridiculously late? Well, okay, 48 is nearly Salamence, but that's on par with a fair few other mons we'll be seeing... sooner rather than later. Still, when do you get a chance to find something like this in the midgame? Gible in DP was the same way, but anyway, Axew will mainly be using Dragon Claw and Dragon Dance, since it needs that power to overcome its frailty. That's gonna be the main challenge, aside from Atk, its stats are pretty poor for up to level 38 and it doesn't get many moves to help with that. It's got some good options like X-Scissor, Poison Jab and, ugh, Rock Tomb, but that still doesn't stop it getting walled by Steel. Rock Smash? Regardless, it shouldn't be in this form for long and if you can keep it alive, it just needs to keep spamming Dragon Claw.


"They use their tusks to crush the berries they eat. Repeated regrowth makes their tusks strong and sharp."

Now this Dragon will evolve into a fierce killer that will leave terror in her wake. Indeed, this female Axew will be called... John, by werbear. Hey, I don't judge, they vote on a name and I give it to the first one that has the right ability, what do I care.




Holey moley a Brave nature is insane, hell any +Atk is insane. At least we have Dragon Dance to overcome the slight Speed reduction, but I think we'll be just fine. With 6/28/23/6/7/5, she'll take some physical hits but will be outsped and oneshot by Ice moves, most likely. Still, that's why I got her, so we're gonna have some fun very soon.



Monsters aside, this is the main reason to come here, when John evolves, she can use this to great effect!



And now to the final floor.



Maybe you're the one... hmm... it may be possible... how about it? Will you listen to an old man's story?

In the distant past, when Pokemon and people lived in different worlds, a war between people started an intense fire in a forest where many Pokemon lived. The Pokemon were surrounded by smoke and flames. They were in big trouble. And then, the legends Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion appeared! Terrakion used its amazing strength to destroy rocks blocking the escape route. Virizion used its quick movements to protect Pokemon from looming flames. And Cobalion led the frightened Pokemon out of the burning woods. The people who started the war were routed by the power of the legends. Because of Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion, the war was ended. When people fight, there's no peace for Pokemon, either. The three legends learned that the deeds of humans could lead to dire consequences for their world.



No one saw much of them after that, and the three faded into myth... I've been searching for them for decades, and I finally figured out that one of them was deep in this cave. But the legendary three do not trust people. If people approach, they bare their fangs and attack. It can't be helped, because they only know the old world... they still don't know the world has become a place where people and Pokemon try to understand and help each other. You seem like you might be able to show them that people and Pokemon can trust each other and live together. If they take another look at people, I think they will stop hiding from us... it's not just about bonds between people and Pokemon. Having all living things appreciate and trust each other would be best.



Well that was a long justification for why I can catch these deer things. Ooh nice, Dusk Stone, gonna need that eventually.




The deepest part of the caves have the best stuff, and one of the best things is a legendary. We're much better equipped for it than Victini.

Legendary Pokemon Battle







Here's a legendary Pokemon, it's good, what a surprise. Cobalion is the most defensive of the four three muskedeers and can use its Justified to great effect. It starts off with Iron Head and Sacred Sword, so it's pretty equipped for the rest of the game, you knew that, so let's not go over story too much. It doesn't have quite the oomph for it in pvp, especially with a million scary Fighting types around, but it can help against the million scary Dragon types around. It's pretty well balanced, so can go with Flash Cannon and Focus Blast, as well as Volt Switch and... okay that's about it, but more than you expected. Since it has balanced offenses, it can't really overwhelm, but it's surprisingly speedy and can Swords Dance into relevancy very quickly. From there, you can Close Combat, Stone Edge, hell even HP Ice, or go the slow approach with Stealth Rock, Toxic and Volt Switch. It's surprisingly versatile, but there's a lot of scary Fighting types out there.



Ah this is the life. Corazon is a good fit to fight this thing, want to last as long as possible.



It takes a little convincing, but legendaries hide in caves for a reason, it makes them really easy to catch in Dusk Balls! I'm sure there's other reasons or whatever.


"This legendary Pokémon battled against humans to protect Pokémon. Its personality is calm and composed."

It's a world where people and Pokemon help each other and live together. I believe Cobalion wants to remain with you and travel by your side. The fact that you battled Cobalion and you related to each other should be easily communicated to Terrakion and Virizion because of the close bond between the three. I'm sure they will also give you a chance to prove your worth. The obstacles that separated Terrakion and Virizion from people are probably gone now. Whether you want to search for those two is up to you, but they are definitely waiting for you...



Well that's the gauntlet thrown down, of course the next thing we're gonna do is find the other two legends right?



There really are lots of Pokemon in the Unova region and the rest of the world!

Surf



Well we'll find the other two, but we have Surf and Strength, let's go explore what we missed and go back through the region again. Or, well, go to this large side area that takes up the rest of the update. But NEXT TIME, we'll go back through the region. Ahem.




But more importantly, we need to see how John fares in her first battle!



Ah, uh, maybe she should have the Eviolite instead of the Lucky Egg. Trainers actually scale properly in this game, who knew.




From today to tomorrow... people, Pokemon, and the world... I love this connected feeling...



Now one thing I do want to note is, of course, we now have seven main team members, so we won't have them all in the party from this point on, we'll have 4-5 and rotate on occasion, should be fine. Of course we'll have our newer members like Gamera and PRNDL, but it'll depend on HMs and, as you saw with Hamlet, how close they are to certain levels. As we get more and more, we can have votes and that, but for now, with exp flowing free and lots of Pokemon to choose from, sticking with only 6 is something I wanted to shake up.




John has some catching up to do, but she'll be fine.



The dangling of the fishhook. I am just watching it. Yes, in life, even meaningless things can have meaning.

"as quickly as I can!"





Ah, quit it. OW, quit it! GAH- thanks for letting me live. So you can evolve Minccino at level 31 for Wake Up Slap if you want, but Cinccino just loves reminding you of its HA, since the main moves it can relearn is, of course Tail Slap, along with Bullet Seed and Rock Blast. Damn, those would be great moves... with a HA. But, that's not available right now here in 2010... a decade ago... oh god, but due to being a speedy Normal type with high Atk, it's perfectly fine to use. Tail Slap is still risky, so Return is preferable and U-turn pairs nicely with Wake Up Slap as the only real physical coverage it gets. Do... we count Dig? No. Maybe? It has a bunch of special moves you can try it with that aren't very exciting with that stat, but Grass Knot and Thunderbolt give it something else. It doesn't even get the Thief TM until B2W2 and that was coverage some Pokemon got back in Gen 2! It's usable, but they could've made it easier, right?



On second thought maybe throwing John into the deep end wasn't the best idea.




Run and run in cities and on mountain paths! Run and feel the world around you with your whole being!



Well that was a fun little escapade in Route 1... but wait, there's more.

"pitch black. Kind of refreshing, isn't it?"


The completely optional Routes 17 & 18 are some pretty gnarly stuff, currents and islands and untamed wilderness, definitely worth your time.



And of course plenty of trainers to keep up with the curve.



The flow of water here on Route 17 is very wild. If you don't tap into it well, you cannot go where you want!

"I will show off its strength!"


John seems to be settling into the team quite nicely I feel.



I'm a girl with everything... well, everything but a place to put my Pokeballs!



The trick with these currents is not being able to see where you'll end up and landing one tile before getting carried away by another current. Anything's better than Hoenn's currents, that was a nightmare to plan out.

"And, of course, Pokemon battles!"


Even if Basculin are scary, John can take some resisted hits. Some. With Eviolite.



Shall I practice my swimming? Or shall I train my Pokemon? Hmmm, it's hard to decide, so I will swim with my Pokemon!



Land ho, we'll weave back to Route 17 soon enough.




Sheesh finally, I've been waiting for Dark coverage for ages!






Heh, stone home. So Crustle has an interesting typing and not a lot of Spd and that can work, it can take some physical hits, but it has a weird issue in that it doesn't really resist much. It doesn't have many weaknesses, but it only resists Normal and Poison and that's weird for a slow wall. However, shortly after evolution you get both X-Scissor and Shell Smash which, well, doesn't really help your Spd or your defensive options, but it makes your Rock Slide hit really hard. Swords Dance can also work out, along with Shadow Claw, Aerial Ace and Bulldoze, fun stuff like EQ and Stone Edge come later. It can definitely tear up, but hopefully it can survive the setup to let it, since it'll have to take some hits to get started.


"the closer we get to the sky!"

About time Hamlet joins the fully evolved club in our team.



"It can throw a fire punch by setting its fists on fire with its fiery chin. It cares deeply about its friends."

Finally, my fire pig can spit scalding water on the enemy. I could go over the 3 starters right now, but please, as if your Servine is level 36 at this point. There's plenty of downtime next update.



Aren't your Pokemon a bit tired? Here, don't be shy! Let them rest! Your Pokemon are so energetic!



The sparkle in your eyes... I feel your kindness toward Pokemon! I have decided! I will entrust the Egg I found in the Relic Castle to you! Would you like to receive this Pokemon Egg and raise it? Yes! I'm counting on you.



Pokemon Eggs hatch when you carry them with you. Being around healthy Pokemon helps them grow!



Ooh, a Mysteryegg. What's inside? Well whatever it is, it would making hatching its own egg much faster, so make sure you don't miss out!



You know how Pokemon like to hide behind stones or rocks, yeah? Sometimes they hide cool stuff, too. If you find something cool behind a rock, you should bring it to me. I'll make it worth your while.

Uh, sure, shady guy. This is worded, or even translated, a bit weirdly, this guy will give you a nice chunk of cash for Rare Bones, 10k to be precise. How do you get Rare Bones? Well you get one for completing the Gym Leader survey, or from an NPC in a later locati- oh wait that place is empty already, never mind. What he's actually referring to is the 1% chance a Dwebble or Crustle in dark grass will hold a Rare Bone. Yes there's rare dark grass hold items, we'll talk about it LATER. So yeah, best of luck.



With everyone fully refreshed, and John's Dragon Claw PP is restored, let's continue on.




There are Pokemon Trainers across the water, too. I wonder what kinds of Pokemon and Trainers live there...



Maps are good. They tell you a lot of things!



Be weak to Steel already! John's mostly caught up, so let's make other members of our team evolve for once in their goddamn life.



Where shall I go next...? I use the Town Map to decide!



Weird, this scale doesn't do anything, wonder why they put it in the game.



Anyway here's a freakin HM, which we can use right away. On the one waterfall before the postgame. Hmm. Well, Gamera will love this.







Two fire trucks face off. Darmanitan has a massive Atk stat, high HP so it takes more recoil and just enough Spd to start wrecking with little issue. That's all it really does, but that's all it needs to do. Zen Mode? Uhhhhh, HA, not in this game, moving on, with Flare Blitz, Superpower and Rock Slide, you're pretty sorted. Sure you'll die a lot but this is story, just heal it back up and then oneshot the final boss, who knew this game was easy??? If you don't like the look of what you're up against, happens rarely, you can U-turn out, otherwise wreck with EdgeQuake later on. It's Darmanitan, let's go crazy.



On a small rise of land... what am I seeing...? So many Trainers I faced before... how many more Trainers I can fight... I will cherish every battle.



Alright that was Route 18, we'll be back.



Here's Route 17 again.



And there was Route 17. Let's enter the creepy laboratory.

P2 Laboratory



"My lord N apparently rejected my research... but my research is necessary for Team Plasma to reach its goal... the strongest Pokemon..." The rest of the memo is torn and impossible to read.



Did you come with the lab?



Thinking about being happy and making happiness a reality... this is also science.




Ah, my garbage child. A nice physical Poison type that gets its first physical STAB at... level 54. SIIIIIIIGH. So enjoy Body Slam, you'll be very well acquainted, but at least you get Sludge Bomb? What about coverage? Well there's, uh, Smack Down and Payback. Ooh, there's also Thunderbolt, Psychic, Focus Blast, goddammit they did it again!!! I can understand your gripes with this mon if you want to use it in game, but this cutie isn't at fault when GF give it fuck all to work with until postgame.




We're nearly done with this fully optional area but Thunderbolt is another great reason to come here. If only someone could use it. Oh wait I keep adding physical attackers to my team, never mind.

"Are you riding high?"


Hey only I can do that.



If you can surf calmly through the rough waters of your life, you'll be riding high!



It's pretty small, but the Itemfinder is just great in this game.

"Let's enjoy it as much as possible!"


I'll tell you why I was taking a break. I have trouble with my bikini. It could be washed away...




I think we'll be good on relearner moves for a while.




For John's first outing, she did pretty well even if she nearly got oneshot by everything.



I am living with so many rhythms! My rhythm, the Pokemon's rhythm, and nature's rhythm...



...hmm that TM wasn't worth the journey, but hey we can find Crustle in the dark grass, so we'll call it even.


"Competing for territory, Crustle fight viciously. The one whose boulder is broken is the loser of the battle."

Please stop spread moving my ass.



And that's the end of an unprecedented island adventure. Next time there's more Surf stuff or whatever.

[Trivalon]

With 6/28/23/6/7/5,

????

[AweStriker]

With 6/28/23/6/7/5,

????

I think those are John’s IVs.

This legendary theme is the basis of one of my favorite actually-high-quality SiivaGunner jokes; it’s great.

[Carbon dioxide]

You know, IVs might also not be very clear if you're just a casual pokemon fan and never dove into the hidden depths of the game.

Basically, every pokemon has two sets of normally invisible values: IVs and EVs.
IVs, or Individual Values are a value for each of the main stats (attack, defense, sp. attack, sp. defense, speed and HP, although I'm not sure if I listed them in the right order) that are set when you first encounter a pokemon and can never change. They basically decide the stat growth per level for a pokemon. For instance, having a high IV in attack means that attack will grow faster than average for that pokemon, and the stat will be higher than average for that pokemon at any given level. IVs go from 0 to 31.

You can estimate IVs by looking at a pokemon's stats when you catch it and using a formula, or use a 3rd party tool to look into a savegame and see them.

Speedrunners tend to restart their pokemon game a lot of times until they get a starter pokemon with good IVs.

The other hidden values are EVs, Effort Values. Those also exist for each start and basically give your pokemon an additional bonus for that stat. Differently from IVs, EVs start at zero and you can increase them. This can be done by giving your pokemon certain rare berries, by training (every pokemon you fight will increase a specific EV, but you need to check an online guide to find which pokemon increases which EV because there's no logical connection there), or by doing some other game-specific things. The thing is that the total number of EVs a pokemon can gain is limited, so if you want to minmax your pokemon you have to choose which stats you think are most important to them and focus your EV training on those.

Similarly, you can find the current EVs of any pokemon by looking into a savegame with a tool, but there's also some NPCs that give rather vague hints about EV or IV values if you show them your pokemon.

I wrote this down without actually double checking things so pardon me if I got details wrong.

[Trivalon]

I know how IVs work, I just forgot that they existed and thought that Crosspeice was calculating base stats from nature.

Speaking of which, how do base stats work?

[The Golux]

I know how IVs work, I just forgot that they existed and thought that Crosspeice was calculating base stats from nature.

Speaking of which, how do base stats work?

The numbers called a pokemon's "base stats" in the fan community (not the "Base Stats" in game terms, which fans call EVs) are about equal to that pokemon's stats at level 50 minus IVs, EVs, nature effects, and for HP some other addition that is based on the level. At 100, stats will be roughly twice the base stats plus the same modifiers. I don't think they're exactly 2% of base at level 1 but there's some kind of linear scaling going on.

EDIT: Grabbed the actual formulas from bulbapedia:

[Crosspeice]

Part 16: What a Twist! Heh. Get It?

Part 16: What a Twist! Heh. Get It?




Welcome back to the surf, where we're still surfing the surf.

Wellspring Cave



Don't forget about the water in Wellspring Cave, it's in the name after all. It's also been 13 parts since we were here, so it's fine to have forgotten.



Oh goody, Flash again. Thankfully it'll be a long while before we need it again.



We could surf on the left side and skip most of the cave, but curse prevents it, sorry.




Thanks, Solid Rock...




So against these 3 fighting users, am I using a mostly Fighting weak team? Well, maybe.



But there was one level up in there that was important.



Going slowly is fine. If I train every single day, I will be strong someday!



"They can live both in the ocean and on land. A slap from one of them is enough to open a hole in the bottom of a tanker."




Return of the turtle. Carracosta has a lot of weaknesses, but has high Def as well as Solid Rock to ensure it'll stick around for a bit. It already has great STAB in Waterfall and Rock Slide and will get even better in just a few levels with Shell Smash. It won't do much for its Spd, like Crustle, but makes its Atk and even SpAtk a force to be reckoned with. Indeed, you can go special with Scald, Blizzard and... Ancientpower? Focus Blast? Okay maybe not, but Shell Smash doesn't change your high Def boosted by Solid Rock too much, so it's a great option. Along with EQ and Stone Edge later on, as well as Aqua Tail if you fancy missing, Carracosta is a slow but very potent threat.




If you have Tirtouga at level 37, then you have Archen at level 37. Archeops is still saddled by a godawful ability, but with those offensive stats, you don't really care, hell, it might still deal a ton of damage even in Defeatist. Acrobatics just became an even bigger nuke and you have Crunch and Rock Slide in case you don't want to OHKO your opponent twice over. Shadow Claw and later Dragon Claw are also interesting coverage options, but Acrobatics is just too good man! Still, you learn U-turn at 45 specifically to help you out, so it helps you stay healthy while still dealing good damage in times when you don't want to heal. Archeops has a literal albatross around its neck, but it still nukes foes from orbit with little difficulty, great mon to use.

"Either way, have a battle with me!"


Even if you forget about this battle, I will never forget this!




That's everyone who could stop us, let's pick the place clean!



Hmm, risky, but worth it.



And that's another cave over with, gotta give these places 2 years to regrow their TMs and various trinkets.



Alright we're nearly done with the bodies of water. Of course you remembered this one on Route 3, right?




Monkee...




Thank you very much. I learned a lot about how I should train my Pokemon from battling you.



Very nice, though due to power creep, I don't see the need in using these EV drinks anymore.

Pinwheel Forest



Old man is out of the way, so there's a whole other section! There's even different Pokemon in the dark grass, though it's evolved mons we already have from areas like Lostlorn Forest, so it's whatever.



Meh. But hey here's a river, that item on the other side has been taunting us for a while. It better be good!



Meh.




Well here's what we actually came here for. Guess the third legendary will be next update, right? Right?

Legendary Battle




Siiiiiigh...






Alright, finally, Verizon Communications is... oh, Virizion is a speedy, specially defensive mon that is weak to a million things and doesn't like physical attacks. Its offenses are similarly pretty alright, such is power creep, but it can dish out some damage in a pinch. It comes out swinging pretty well with Giga Drain and Sacred Sword, but prefers the later Leaf Blade and Close Combat and can boost those very easily with Swords Dance. Its typing also don't offer much coverage, but can work well with Stone Edge, Focus Blast and even Calm Mind, though will need Hidden Power to help with special coverage. It works really well, but you must tread carefully around its crippling Flying weakness and lack of Def.


"This Pokémon fought humans in order to protect its friends. Legends about it continue to be passed down."

And hey, another easy catch, hope the many, many more legendaries in this game are easy too.



Last stop on this whirlwind tour and then we're going back to whatever it was we were doing, do you remember?



Neat. By this point if you've been going about doing everything you can, surely by now your starter is fully evolved, so let's cover them as I make my third trek through Route 7, this time with progress!




It's been a gruelling road, but finally you've reached the pinnacle of Contrary Leaf Sto- oh, that's next game? Shit. So Serperior has passable offenses, but boy are they looking a little weedy compared to the other heavy hitters. Coil will be a great way to boost up everything you need, as Slam needs that accuracy! But really, Leaf Blade and Giga Drain are good mixed options to go with Return. Now what about coverage? Uhhhhh, there's Aerial Ace, and even Dragon Tail before the postgame! I know it's not much and the main reason to use this mon is with its HA but being a speedy tank ain't a bad thing, you can setup screens or Toxic and can even take a few hits while you Swords Dance, it's not all bad! But for a starter it could be so much better.




So... Fire/Fighting. For the third time in a row. Like, why? Still, Emboar is different to Blaziken and Infernape, in that it's worse. Well, it has some terrifying power and can do some mixed sets, but it's steered towards the recoil section of moves and those can work out, but also make this slow, fragile mixed attacker in a tricky position. Sure you OHKO something but then you get revenged immediately, not too fun. Still, using Emboar in the story can be trickier due to how far away moves like Head Smash or Flare Blitz are, let alone any good Fighting move beyond Brick Break or Focus Blast, though you can get Hammer Arm from the relearner. Still, it gets great coverage that it can use really well, like Solarbeam, EQ and even freaking SCALD. What about Gyro Ball, Grass Knot or Wild Charge? This thing is nuts! Past its glowering coverage, it's still weak to a lot of things and recoil moves can be pretty unappealing if you don't want to do a lot of damage... and take a lot too.




Finally, the medium between the two, having similarly good mixed offenses, but also doesn't die to a stiff breeze. Samurott might look awkward, but has good tools to keep it competitive. Uh, mainly Scald but it can go any way you really choose. It doesn't get great coverage, but it gets enough, like Blizzard, X-Scissor, or even Megahorn through relearner, Slash, Aerial Ace, Waterfall and Grass Knot. Not bad, it even gets Swords Dance at 57 for those postgame challenges and does pretty alright at being an alright Water type. Uh, there's not much else to say, it doesn't have any glaring weaknesses and it does fine enough in anything you want it to do. This batch of starters are... weird, and don't exactly work as well as previous incarnations, but they're all perfectly fine. Perfectly. Fine.



Phew, we made it, we're switching back to not-Winter for the time being and there's a hidden Ultra Ball in the pond down there or whatever. Let's continue the plot!

Twist Mountain



Th' two of ya seem a bit more rugged than the last time I saw ya. A li'l bit, anyway...

Is that so.

By th' by... you folks seen that Team Plasma crowd lately? After all the trouble, we Gym Leaders met up and had a chat. But we've got no clue where they are. It's like they hidin' under a rock. Well, not much to do but wait for 'em to move. Anywho, this's none o' yer concern. Squirts like the two of ya should just enjoy travelin' with yer Pokemon. Twist Mountain's a fine place to explore! You'll have some fun if you just leave this here path... weeell... better ya just see it yerself, 'stead o' listenin' to me yammer. Be seein' ya, sprouts! Feel free to train yerselves on my mountain fer as long's ya like.

I thought he was going to get us involved in all that bother again, so I was bracing myself before I knew it. I'm going in first, but I'll be seeing you.



So the tweeeeest of this place is that it's hollow, so it's like a... Reverse Mountain? Well we'll start from the top and make our way down. What fun.



Not much in the outside area, so gotta duck into these caves.




My spirits rise and fall. I'm just charmingly unpredictable!



A few new mons to catch here, but caves don't offer too much variety.


"This Pokémon is so muscular and strongly built that even a group of wrestlers could not make it budge an inch."

Why don't we test whether that is true?






Who knew ice cream was so dangerous? If you want to use this proper cone, around now is a great time since it'll come with Ice Beam AND Mirror Shot, without you having to suffer with only the latter. And hey you can toss Flash Cannon onto that and... well, that's about it. Turns out ice cream gets fuck all for coverage, who knew, and it won't get any better when it evolves! Still, it has barely passable Atk so you can give it some physical moves like Return and... that's it, but if you want to use this, you better be prepared for nothing exciting!



If my Pokemon don't want to fight, I will quit being a Trainer. Because there are a lot of other things I can do with my Pokemon.



Some of the outside areas are just dead ends, so back in we go.



Tristan is going nuts today, it's almost like Acrobatics is a crazy move.



When you train every day, your body moves as you like. It feels really good!




Well, well, I guess I'll go back to work. 'Cause my precious Pokemon are better at work.



Good to dig through mounds to find goodies, I tell you, diving right into large tracts of land is great fun.



GAH



From now on, I will be the number three Trainer on Twist Mountain. For your information, the number on is Clay!



GAH 2 HUH 2



Go easy on... a grown-up?! This old man likes winter. Snow on Twist Mountain... has an indescribable beauty.



Back outside.



And back inside. Just like we're doing now, eh? Haha, pandemic joke that is nearly a year ongoing...



Weird, I expected that pile to have someone in it. Well, better let my guard down.



GAH 3: Guardian Signs



Oh nonono, you stop that.



This Worker is happy to have a job that lets him be with his favorite Pokemon!



If you can win against me, I'll make your Pokemon healthy!



Our team is doing pretty alright so we don't need this guy, but I won't say no.



After a Pokemon battle, let them recover slowly. Health is always crucial! It really is.



Neat.



Your past experience... is that the source of your strength? The more you fight, the stronger you'll be. The more you dig, the bigger the hole will be... if you have a purpose, there's no wasted effort!



It's true, all you need in life is "..."



Though people and Pokemon cannot communicate with words, we can communicate with our hearts!



GAH 4: The Last Revelation



You got me! My Pokemon thinks so, too!



If a Pokemon eats the ore inside a mountain, a hole grows, and our work speeds up! People and Pokemon work great together!



"By changing the direction in which it rotates, it communicates its feelings to others. When angry, it rotates faster."




You wait for evolutions and three happen in the space of an hour. Klang won't be around for too long, but it does more of the same. Gear Grind is a still a great move and Discharge is slightly more interesting than Thunderbolt due to the paralysis chance, but when it evolves it can't be an alright mixed attacker, a shame since it'll only learn special moves through level. But aside from Return or Rock Smash it... really doesn't get much. So Gear Grind will have to do, sigh. Still, for this time, you can use Flash Cannon and even Volt Switch for some fun, and that's about it. Aren't you glad I chose this mon? Had to pick one of them.



Ground floor, too bad there's not much here.



Remember this guy in like 15 updates.



Nice rock. If only we could do something with it...



Gonna ignore that for as long as possible.



Ah. Crap. Well to the plot we go!



But you're only strong because you Trainers are controlling Pokemon!

So if you want to set Pokemon free... if that's what you want, you should start with your own. But taking people's Pokemon by force is not right. That is not real strength!



We found that thing we were looking for. We should head for the tower now! Get this! Team Plasma has obtained the power to change this world and end people's control over Pokemon.

That's right! We must use force in order to right the wrongs of the world. Now, let's gather around our king! Our lord N!



mile to gain power and cause trouble. What a bothersome bunch... Touya... I'm going to stay here for a while. I want to think a little bit about what the Champion asked me... what do I want to do with my power after I get strong? And why do I want to be strong in the first place?

Juniper Encounter



Ah! This Axew has really taken a shine to you. The Pokedex is important, but time spent having fun together is also important.



You think I actually read the map my mom gave me???

Eh... I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. OK. Give this story a listen. Dragonspiral Tower is said to be the Unova region's oldest building. Stories say it's the place where legendary Pokemon came to life or where they remain in deep slumber. I know it's just past Icirrus City, but that's all I know about it. That's all anyone knows, because no one has ever been inside. My daughter has wanted to investigate that tower for a long time. "What! There's something I don't know?!" That kind of feeling is pure adventure. And I'm not too old for some adventuring. Away I go to have a look at Dragonspiral Tower! Catch you later!

Icirrus City IcirrusCity





Icirrus City: Sky Glittering with Flowers of Snow
From ice, icy and cirrus clouds, which contains high concentration of ice crystals.
Sekka City: Flowers of snow glittering in the sky.
From 雪花 sekka, snowflakes, and 雪華文様 sekka-mon'yō, a snowflake pattern.


"Light Screen."

Tee hee hee. Are you surprised? I may not look like it, but this old lady used to be a Battle Girl!



Aww hell yeah the best Ice move until postgame. We'll also pick up Fire Blast, uh, when we can afford it, it's always a great move to have.



Ah of course. We'll do the Gym next update, after all I don't think it's nearly cold enough.



Oh, my. Your Axew... it is a little friendly to you... that's what I'm getting.



I am the chairman who loves Pokemon the most among Pokefans in the entire world! If you are a Trainer, will you show me how you are raising your Pokemon with loving care? Oh! Which Pokemon will you show me? Oh! This Simisage was level 10 when you met, but now it's level 38! You've raised it well. You must be affectionate.



Thanks, I think? There's 3 different items he can give us depending on how many levels past 25 we've raised a Pokemon since it was met in a Gen 5 game, I hope the 99 reward is worth it!!! We'll be back.



From far in the past, before Unova was founded, it still stands tall today. On the top floor, so it's been told, the legendary Pokemon is waiting for a person seeking the truth to appear.



All very interesting, but I bet it doesn't hold a candle to this house!



Wye: Today's challenger is--this person!

Aha: Hiya, welcome! "Pep Quiz" starts NOW! Answer lots of questions, and watch your brain get brainier! Let's start...with...a question!

Ditoh: Good luck!

Aha: A question! What is the Electrified Pokemon that discharges electricity from its mane?

Wye: Oh, my! It's tremendously difficult! Can the challenger answer this?

Ditoh: H-i-n-t! H-i-n-t!

Aha: Oh-oh. The audience is asking for a hint!

Wye: OK. I'll give you a hint! Hint! It's not a Thunderbolt Pokemon!

Aha: Ha ha, this is a good hint! Challenger, please answer! What is the Electrified Pokemon that discharges electricity from its mane?



This is a tough one. However, I've played this game once or twice, I think I know what a majestic mane this Pokemon has. Easy.



Wye: Aww... sadness...

Ditoh: Good hustle! Gustle! Gustle!

Aha: Yeah, you gustle! Here ya go... take this memento. It's a Paralyz Heal! Exciting! Thrilling! Zippy! Chilling! That's "Pep Quiz"! See ya tomorrow!



...right, so anyway. Let's see what the east side has to offer.






A cheeky little smile that charmed its way into our hearts. Stunfisk is flat, pretty defensive, and can dish out special damage with aplomb. It doesn't really excel in anything, but it does fine enough, with Discharge, Mud Bomb and Muddy Water, it has a pretty alright start. It can have Scald, Sludge Bomb and Thunderbolt to give it a bit more kick, but that's about it. It doesn't resist a lot, but has a nice STAB combo to usually get the upper hand on whatever it fights, so enjoy this flat mon, don't pass it over just cause you didn't notice it!


"Its skin is very hard, so it is unhurt even if stepped on by sumo wrestlers. It smiles when transmitting electricity."

This is the main thing in the water, but I guess there's other encounters too.



You got two great balls.



Hmm, can't go to that house right now, but we found a toad, so I guess it evens out.


"When they vibrate the bumps on their heads, they can make waves in water or earthquake-like vibrations on land."

Crit captures are only gonna get more common from here.


"When attacked, it defends itself by closing the lid of its shell. It can spit a sticky, poisonous liquid."




Ah here's the second piece of the Karrablast puzzle. Good to get this mon now since you want to evolve it asap with those pretty mediocre attacking stats, since Accelgor gets U-turn at 40 and that's its main gimmick. Of course sticking with the Karrablast you've been using for a while works too. It depends which evolution you prefer, Escavalier is pretty cool too, though it needs to evolve before 37 to get Iron Head. In any case, you can pull the trigger when you want and I'm not talking about Shelmet in this much because it gives mediocre defensive moves to its evolution, like Yawn and Guard Swap. Can be nice, but it's best to evolve this... you do have a local friend, right?



That's all we can do in Icirrus City for now, but if we just waited a little bit, I'm sure we could find something more. Next time.

[Crosspeice]

Thanks for sticking with, we're nearly at the second page! ...this place is 40 posts per page, right?

[Trivalon]

Thanks for sticking with, we're nearly at the second page! ...this place is 40 posts per page, right?

Yep.

As for the new team member, I'll go with Luggit. Kinda corrupting Golett and Golurk's Japanese names to make that.

EDIT: Actually, looking at the names again, I think Barnabas would be a better name.

[Crosspeice]

Part 17: Spiralling Down

Part 17: Spiralling Down

Icirrus City. Clap clap.



Yo look at that the seasons actually affect gameplay. Indeed, Icirrus City is one of TWO cities that change depending on the seasons. Wow, what a great mechanic.



"They migrate according to the seasons. People can tell the season by looking at Sawsbuck's horns."




lol nice. We'll immediately start with some new Pokemon above the Gym, we can catch some of them in the outside area of Dragonspiral Tower but now is fine. In any case, since you can only get here during Winter, of course we can only find the Winter form of Sawsbuck. It's pretty alright and will change with you more visibly as you go through the game, gets Horn Leech shortly after evolving, has Return for the big hits and Jump Kick for coverage. It's got a bad defensive typing but they're still good to use, it'll even get Wild Charge before the postgame, but not much aside from that. It's, well, a deer, so not much to talk about tbh, but it works perfectly fine in-game.



Here's some more Pokemon, so let's try get the rarer one first.


"It can make its breath freeze at will. Very able in the water, it swims around in northern seas and catches prey."




Ah, a slow Ice type with a terrible frozen cold, a classic. Beartic does have a few points going for it, check that fur tuft for one, hell yeah, but it does learn Icicle Crash when it evolves, so that's your reward for slogging with Cubchoo for a bit. It also gets Superpower from the relearner and then has a whole host of TMs to keep up, Rock Slide, Shadow Claw, Brick Break, Aerial Ace, Surf, Grass Knot, Focus Blast, wait we're getting off track here. While it'll get outsped and hit for a lot of damage, it can at least do some damage back, and that makes it pretty okay. Hell, you can even predict that you'll nearly get OHKOed and use Rest to heal all the way back to full! Okay there's not much else, but it'll take some neutral hits and do you just fine, even if a Water or Fighting type would've done wonders for it.


"In fights, they dominate with onslaughts of flowing, continuous attacks. With their sharp claws, they cut enemies."




Ooh, a lategame Fighting type, maybe this is something we could- oh, never mind it evolves at the same level as SHELGON. This is a little much for something with these stats, since we're honestly not that far from the end of the game. It can keep itself competitive with Drain Punch and Jump Kick, as well as Acrobatics and Rock Slide, but in about 5 levels you're gonna see this mon fall short in all kinds of ways. Will the grind be worth it? Well, kinda, but GF kinda overestimated what level you might be at the end of the game and it kinda shows, even with a pretty good sized postgame. Still, you can use Lucky Egg and U-turn to at least keep it up in levels against opponents you know will flatten it with those godawful defensive stats. It's probably easier catching the evolution in the postgame, it'll be useful even then!


"Snowy mountains are this Pokémon's habitat. During an ancient ice age, they moved to southern areas."

Good to wait and get slightly easier to use evolutions. Now hey, Vanillish doesn't evolve until 47, and PRNDL won't reach its final form until level 49, so surely Eviolite Mienfoo should be fine, right? Well, yes, but it's also a basic stage and those tend to have lower stats even if it does evolve around the same time. It's a problem a lot of Pokemon have in the lategame and that's something that'll count against them when I talk about them.



Alright, let's see what the rest of town has to offer. And by that I mean one house.




This better be worth the wait!



But Team Rocket bye-bye a go-go. I my region went home. Make new Team Rocket, I did! So myself I pledged! But now I married am. Now for Team Rocket, there is no time by me. But happy family is big hooray!



Hey! I have a lot of souvenirs that my sweetie's old coworker gave me. I don't mind giving you one.



I heard that the RageCandyBar is the favorite of my sweetie's old coworker.



Well this is nice, but I don't wanna think about how this messes with the timeline. So I don't think this guy would've gotten immediately married, so let's be generous and say 2 years since he left Kanto. Now he has a goddamn kid, who's of the School Kid class, so we'll be generous and again say he's like 7, assuming they had the kid AFTER they got married, in which case add another 9 months. So it's been 10 years since the last games, give or take. Will this end up mattering? NOPE! Of course, we can go deeper, he did marry but she already had a son, and being the standup guy he is, he took him in as his own, so as far as the kid is concerned, that is his dad. That greatly shortens the time between games and that's what I'll stick with.

Twist Mountain



It's not just the town that's different, Twist Mountain has a different appearance in Winter. Like this cone. Neat.



The inside is filled with snow so it's a lot easier to traverse, making it relatively open ended, which is why I wanted to do it otherwise to make it easier to follow.



And of course plenty of little areas we can now reach since sliding down a sloped surface is a bit too extreme for these games.


"When its body temperature goes up, it turns into steam and vanishes. When its temperature lowers, it returns to ice."




And of course angery snowflakes are, along with Cubchoo, much easier to find in Winter. Cryogonal is very interesting due to its stat spread, making it a speedy Spdef tank like Virizion, that also cannot take a physical hit. Bit of an issue due to its typing, but thankfully it can hit back kinda hard. Up against neutral special hits, it does really well, but then it gets melted by Fire and shattered by Fighting, Steel, Rock, man Ice types are so bad... Still, it gets Ice Beam and screens pretty early so it makes it more survivable, as well as Flash Cannon and even Solarbeam later on. It struggles for coverage, but thankfully it can learn Night Slash and Acrobatics, even if it doesn't help it at all. It's not a great mon, but under the right circumstances it can do some work.



Secret tunnel!



Oh yeah, we're late enough in the game that Drilbur found here are pretty close to evolving, which makes them a great pickup. Sniff, they've come so far from Wellspring Cave.



This is the only Winter exclusive trainer so might as well get some last minute training.




Everyone's getting up to level 38. You know what that means.



Twist Mountain looks complicated, but basically, it's a single road. Keep cool and move forward! That is the trick to reach the goal.



"Since a broken tusk will not grow back, they diligently sharpen their tusks on river rocks after they've been fighting."




Wow what a great TM or whatever, Fraxure is much the same but a little more survivable to a pretty high evolution level, even if PRNDL will just beat her out. It'll learn Swords Dance just as it evolves so there's nothing interesting along the way and it learns all the interesting TMs when fully evolved, mainly stuff like Rock Slide and EQ, so while I really like its design, it's not too notable over Axew. We're on our way to the pain train, all aboard!



That's enough messing around, we've got yet another badge to get!

Pokemon Gym



Ice can be melted with Fire or shattered with Fighting. Or you might want to smash it into dust with Rock or Steel.



Little tricky to screenshot, but the curved wood sends us, well, curving and spinning into the blue stop pads.

"I will stand in your path!"


We've done some team switching again so no one is too far behind, but I've got plenty of Ice weak mons to bring to this Gym, gonna be a great time!



Being fired into the air by cannons and spinning on the ice many times... it's difficult to get Badges.



We'll hit the switch, spin to win, and on to another trainer. Thankfully these ice puzzles won't be complicated, no time for that.



Hey now I can't OHKO you!



Engage the switches and start from the defined position. If you try all the combinations, someday you'll find the right one!



I wish the Pokemon world had OSHA...



Hey now I can't OHKO you!



Being calm and having no emotion are different. Brycen rejoices quietly, and he grows quietly in rage...

"It's whether you will battle or not."


Endure that, suckah!



When you're not sure if you'll succeed, build momentum and take a leap! It's fine, because your Pokemon are always with you!




Wow, what a brainteaser!



You know what would help with icy floors?



HARD ROLLER DA!!! Okay well it's not exactly the same, and it's weaker than X-Scissor, but like with Mawuh and Octazooka, if there's a unique move, I gotta use it. Okay also Golem can learn it, but I don't know what that is, so it's okay.



Brycen slides on the frozen floor all the time, so it's worn down, and it looks like you can see the path... but maybe I'm imagining it.



Up and left, then down and left. We can only go left.



But hey this Gym isn't interesting anymore, so let's skip this trainer. Collision bugs are pretty rare but they're fun to point out.



Ah, but I can't skip this trainer, because then the curse kills me.



Aww, it's an adorable snotty bear. KILL IT!!!



I am from a fighting dojo in Kanto!! This is my global debut, so to speak!



A whip around, a nae-nae around, whatever that is, and we're at the leader.



Uh, right, okay. Shit, did I save? I'm used to meeting the leader at least 5 times before fighting them...

Gym Leader Battle





Brycen: Ice Mask
From nice brice price, Brycen baby.
Hachiku: Ice mask
From 淡竹 hachiku, black bamboo, native to Hunan Province, China. Thanks, Bulbapedia.





Fighting Ice types is always weird, either we take super effective damage or we dish out super effective damage.



We don't have too much to fear, especially because Brycen's first two members aren't very threatening. A Steel type shuts down Vanillish completely and I was never worried about it to begin with.



And he has to go out to his ace because it has Brine, the only way his team touches Steel types. Of course it's pretty scary, but you'll usually outspeed and deal massive damage.



Ah damn, 3/5ths of my team are weak to Ice, whoops, let's just deal with this threat nice and easily, gives an evolved PRNDL a little more spotlight as well.



Hmm, that wasn't Frost Breath so it's pretty likely John can take a hit. How about we weaken it first and let her have another-



Oh. Well that works too.

"What a beautiful friendship!"

A weird fight, but hey, that's how it goes with Ice sometimes.




You have seven Badges. That means Pokemon up to Lv. 80 will obey you. This TM will convey my regard for your accomplishments.



No matter how many battles I fight I don't know what strength is. Perhaps you can find the answer.



Ah shit there's only one badge left. How did we go through the game so quickly? We need some major plot to detour us, but what are the chances of that?



Make sure to collect the Blubimbly Fruit along the slide to complete the level, if you miss one you have to restart from the last checkpoint!



Yeah.

Icirrus City. Clap clap.



Since we left Nuvema Town, has something about me... changed? Thinking about what I want to do... thinking about what I should do... it felt like there was nothing... have I really become stronger? Or is it just my Pokemon that have? I don't know anymore!

Hey, hey. Cheer up, Cheren... isn't it nice to see everyone?! Touya! Know what? This time, I'll go the Pokemon Fan Club. I'm really searching... for what I want to do and what I can do!



Who? Us? I'm Bianca, and this is Cheren...

I know you are there! Why don't you show yourselves?



... Impressive, Gym Leader of Icirrus City. We, the Shadow Triad, are beings of the shadows... and not easily noticed.

Our mission was to speak only with Touya, but so be it. Ghetsis has a message for you: come to Dragonspiral Tower.

It is there that our lord N waits for you. ...now, our mission is complete.

Dragonspiral Tower?! What's going on? Hey! Tell me...



Now, hang on. Young man, if you're here for a Gym challenge, hang on for a bit. I've got to head to Dragonspiral Tower!

I'm going too. Dragonspiral Tower is to the north of here, right?



F-for now, I have to go to Dragonspiral Tower... OK! I'm heading north!



Let's get that third date!



And you must be Bianca. I'm the other Professor Juniper. The Professor Juniper who gave you the Pokedex is my daughter.

Nice to meet you, professor! Thanks to Professor Juniper, I got to go on a journey and start figuring out possibilities in my life. I'm very, very grateful to her!

Is that right? Grand, grand. Actually, we should chat later. Touya, Bianca, here's the situation. Some members of Team Plasma--quite a large group--broke through the tower wall and went inside. Brycen and that young man--I believe his name is Cheren--the two of them went after Team Plasma, but...

Professor, what's the Dragonspiral Tower?

Ha! I guess you would be curious. Well, I'll explain briefly.



On the top floor, the legendary Dragon-type Pokemon waits for a person seeking truth to appear... that's what is said. Are you going to go after Team Plasma like your friend did? It's admirable of you to join the fight against Team Plasma, but it's risky, too.

Don't worry! Touya and Cheren are both really, really strong, and they've beaten Team Plasma before. But... I'm not that strong, actually. I admit it. I'm not very strong, so I was thinking... it would be nice if, maybe, I could... stay here and be your bodyguard?

... Why, thank you! That makes me feel much safer! Well, Touya! It's up to you! Climb the tower! This is all I can give you, but it might help you rest!



Still... what could Team Plasma be after?

Touya... please don't do anything crazy.

Dragonspiral Tower



I hope you're ready for lots of Plasma grunt fights, but there are a couple things to do before then.



There is the outside area to explore but there's something very important.


"It warms its body by absorbing sunlight with its wings. When its body temperature falls, it can no longer move."




Well here's one since we found it and it isn't in the grass outside during Winter. Druddigon is interesting because it's a relatively easy Dragon to use during the main story. It starts off pretty well with Dragon Claw, Chip Away and Revenge, so you can use its Atk pretty well, as well as Night Slash shortly after catching. It won't change much but it's pretty tanky and while it will take a hit due to its low Spd, it's definitely reliable. Like usual it learns an annoying amount of special moves, but Rock Slide, Shadow Claw, EQ and even Superpower later on in levels make it pretty varied. If you usually shy away from the stupidly strong Dragons then this is a good middleground and even if it's not that amazing, it's a type that really needs more of these.






Come to me, golem child, I will make you mine. It's time for team member number eight, we've nearly got everyone! Golett has some pretty cool things in its future, but starts pretty badly. It's not too long until it evolves, since it'll gain levels pretty quick on the team, but it definitely needs some help to get going. It'll start with Magnitude and Night Shade for STAB, as well as DynamicPunch, which is pretty dreadful, its entire moveset needs to be overhauled with Bulldoze and Brick Break, along with Shadow Punch from the relearner.

Now that might not be too impressive, but that's why you should get Iron Fist, not only does it make Shadow Punch into a reasonable attack, it'll boost Mega Punch and later Hammer Arm. Unfortunately that's about it, elemental punches are sequel tutors, so it can work there, but you only have a few to work with here. It's not a big deal if you get Klutz, Lucky Egg and Amulet Coin will work fine, but I was gonna try for an Iron Fist one to make it a little easier to use. It's slow and has a fair amount of weaknesses, but robot go punch, what more do you need?



"The energy that burns inside it enables it to move, but no one has yet been able to identify this energy."

As a, uh, big mecha fan I of course knew that this was referring to the anime series The Big O, and the titular character therein, ahem. This was suggested by Blueberry Pancakes and after most of the votes came in, I had no idea what the fuck anyone was talking about.




MODEST?! Ah man, well it has the right ability, so it'll do. We'll mostly change the moveset though, it's pretty shocking.



It's time for some training!







Now this is a good opponent. Galvantula might struggle against Golett, but it's a very dangerous threat otherwise. With Thunderbolt and Signal Beam, it usually deals a lot of damage and while it's quite fragile, it'll definitely leave a dent with that Spd. And that's it, it doesn't really get any other moves, not that it really needs much, unless you get lucky with Hidden Power. Its Atk is barely passable so it can use Sucker Punch or Poison Jab, but it'll be a long while before it gets some needed utility in Energy Ball in the postgame. Such is life, but until then, while it might start falling behind later on, it's a very dangerous bug. If you feel fancy, you can drop some CompoundEyes Thunder, as well as fully accurate Hyper Beam? Well, it works better when you don't have to restore PP all the time.



Like with John, Big O will take a bit to get going, but it hopefully shouldn't take long.



Someday, your existance will shake this Unova region! My loss looks more impressive if I praise you as a hotshot.



catching them, and overtaking them! You're strong! I'll overtake you at all costs!



Oh no, no, no, you stop that right now.



No time to feel down after a defeat! If moaning over a loss made me strong, I would bemoan a loss forever, though.



There's 3 more Pokemon to find in the grass, but we need different seasons for that.






Of course it's the other three Sawsbuck and of course I'm gonna talk about them! Well, I do wish they were more than cosmetic, I wish a lot of forms had a little more to them, but I'll collect them all the same. So let's talk about a slightly different topic.






I miss summer already... One thing I did want to talk about was the team rotation, I think it's worked really well! Especially since I didn't want to restrict myself to just 6 this time. We'll soon be having votes and the like and everyone's keeping up, I'm even ahead of some battles despite the constant switching! Definitely gonna continue this into further games and maybe expand it when dex sizes start getting a little... massive. Hmm, something to think about.






Out of all the Sawsbuck I guess Summer is my favourite? Maybe I'm just biased. Also, thinking about it, have I used a Pokemon with a form yet? I feel like I should get round to that one day. Anyway, it's been 3 months, I guess we should go up the tower...



Is... my character having sentient thoughts? Let's not make a habit of that.




Oh damn he was right. Though with the Strength boulder right there there's never a need to?



If we wanted a Golett, they're the only encounter in this room and this is the last room with encounters, so fuck off repels, don't need you for once.



Woah look at all this THREE DEE!!!



Distinct lack of Plasma so far.



You go on ahead!

This is nothing! But there sure are a lot of them... oh, what a complete bother!



True, but I will talk to anyone anyway.

Why do you make that extra push? What is the source of that strength?

No one! I won't let anyone get in our way!

This strength... could it be equal to the Seven Sages?

So this is the true strength of a Gym Leader!

Yeah, all right. If I have to lose, at least it's to a Gym Leader.

Right now, our king is upstairs... there's nothing you can do!

Why do you get in our way even though you don't understand our sublime goal?!

So young, but so tough!



Oh, you can't touch a Ghost type? Well isn't that interesting.



Why are you and the Gym Leaders against us? I just can't understand it at all.



You, before you came here, how many Pokemon did you hurt?

"and came here."


Ah dammit, one of my many weaknesses!



If the king of Team Plasma rules the world, Trainers will disappear, and disputes the end!



Get that move outta my face!



Because there are nights, the sun is beautiful. Because we exist, our king shines...

"hyper I am, the faster you'll go down!"


Still, this is a great tower. I feel not only its history but also its awe-inspiring power.



Considering how they started in DP with some light 3D dabbling, Pokemon has come a long way. It's not flashy, but it's much better imagining this world in a 3D space.




Around and around we go, where we'll stop, we know, cause it's here.




So this is rare, a mistranslation. It was just the legendary cry onomatopoeia in the originals, but here it implies this is N making a bad pun. My boy doesn't do that so I won't take such slander.



What?! Someone made it clear up here?! Now! Stop that Trainer! For our lord N!



Use all your powers to take them out!

No one can interfere with Unova's new dawn!



Big O is gonna be caught up sooner than you thought, yay padding...



Sheesh... losing to a kid... but Team Plasma is more than one person!

Our dream is about to come true! No one will be able to stop us!



You may have stopped me, but my teammate will stop you here!

Here I come! Plasmaaaa!!



Damn Stench! Also I've fought 3 Liepard and this is the first one that actually attacked me!



Our king will create a new world.

Bring it on! Can you take four in a row?



I don't understand... why do you keep trying so hard? W-well, we'll let you through for now!

So your Pokemon have gotten used to being your weapons...

The hero will open up the way to a new world! Which means you Trainers can all prepare to lose your Pokemon!



Hah, like N is gonna be the hero, there's no way the legendary Pokemon will join him.

Tower's Top Floor





Oh. Oh shit.

[Crosspeice]

Part 18: Moor of Plot

Part 18: Moor of Plot

Dragonspiral Top Floor





How do you like the beautiful form of the Pokemon who appears and fights beside the hero that will lead the way to a new world? Now, Reshiram and I will head to the Pokemon League and defeat the Champion! This will be the last of the Pokemon battles that hurt Pokemon so. A world for Pokemon alone... it's finally going to be a reality.



That's right! When Reshiram's counterpart, Zekrom, recognizes you, we will finally be even, and then you can try to stop us! Well, what will you do? My prediction... if the future that I see is true, you will meet with Zekrom. The Pokemon with you believe in you so strongly... will you be the one who interferes with my formula for changing the world? If you want to protect the bonds between Pokemon and people, you must search for Zekrom! I'm sure it is waiting for you in the form of the Dark Stone.



How could this happen?

Why? That was that guy N, right? Why was he with the legendary Pokemon? He couldn't really be the hero, could he?! Also, did I hear him tell you to search for the other legendary Pokemon?

Calm down! First, we go back! It's more important to decide what to do next than analyze what just happened.



I never would have imagined the legendary Dragon-type Pokemon would return now...

That guy called N... Team Plasma's boss apparently reawakened the legendary Pokemon. He told Touya to look for the other legendary Pokemon, then flew away...

Huh? There are two legendary Dragon-type Pokemon?

Alder Encounter



No time for chitchat! That fearsome column of fire that shot from the tower... that Pokemon has the power to destroy the world! If it's on Team Plasma's side, and Team Plasma tells everyone to release their Pokemon... no matter whether it comes from fear or admiration... the world can't help but change. It will become a world where we are separated from Pokemon...

Right... moreover, the boss of Team Plasma, N, who awakened Reshiram, apparently said to look for the other Pokemon, Zekrom.

If I remember the myth, Reshiram's fiery breath, along with the other Pokemon, devastated ancient Unova in an instant. Even knowing that, N is still wanting to awaken the other?!



Isn't it dangerous to bring back a Pokemon that powerful?

Miss, you are a very kind person. Still, I don't know if other Pokemon will be able to stand up to it. Because, no matter what, it is a legendary being... I don't like the idea of taking orders from N, but searching for the dragon--the stone--might not be a bad plan. We certainly can't let Team Plasma reawaken both of them! Since I've traveled all over Unova, I have an idea of where it might be. Let's head to the Relic Castle. Touya, everyone, I'm going!

I see. We'll leave that to you. I'm going to investigate the tower. Hopefully, I'll find something.

Then, I will go with you.



Being able to do something for Pokemon--for somebody at a time like this--is strength... I'm sure of it. And my strength is something that is given to me by Pokemon. OK, Champion, let's hurry!



So confusing... I dunno what to do... are you gonna go to the Relic Castle, Touya? Past Route 4, in the Desert Resort... I hear that's where the Relic Castle is...



If you want someone to investigate the origin of Pokemon, she's the best.

So, this is Dragonspiral Tower. There's a certain heaviness to the air. Did Reshiram, who woke up here, see something in N?



Weird, usually we stop the evil plans between the 7th and 8th Gym, but this time the villain succeeds and is gonna become the Champion?! Shit's wild man.



That's the entrance to the Relic Castle. You're impressive, Touya, making it here before I did. Dealing with the Desert Resort's Pokemon took longer than I would've thought. I only made it all the way out here thanks to my Pokemon. Alder went on ahead. Let's hurry.

Relic Castle



Does... Cheren not use repels? This conversation would make way more sense for when we reach the bottom of the area, but down we go.



We will see if you can defeat Team Plasma! Go! Hurry and fall through the flowing sands!



Ah, Fighting STAB on Hamlet. We're ahead of the curve, especially when it comes to Plasma grunts, so it's gonna be a quick trip down.



To get to a lower level, stand still in the midst of quicksand. I'm not being kind... my companions will defeat you.



"They live in groups of a few individuals. Protective membranes shield their eyes from sandstorms."

Since we're in a new area we can catch some new Pokemon. And by some I mean two. And by two I mean the only two we'll catch this update.






And there's the second one, Cofagrigus is okay now if you thought Yamask was a little too painful to carry around for 20 levels. It has great defensive stats brought down by its godawful HP and mediocre defensive typing, as well as an alright SpAtk brought down by its Spd. It'll get Shadow Ball pretty quickly but since it got fuck all as Yamask, it'll get fuck all here. Its coverage is pretty shocking, only really having Psychic and Energy Ball to work with which are both, you guessed it, still postgame. Lame. Still, with Curse, Protect, Will-O-Wisp and Toxic, it can be a pretty good physical wall, even with its mediocre overall bulk. It wasn't a great pick when we last came here, but now you can give it some tools to be pretty effective.


"It has been said that they swallow those who get too close and turn them into mummies. They like to eat gold nuggets."

Nice to go 5 steps and get what you need, now I don't have anything to break up all the Plasma fights! Shit.



Because of you, my Pokemon lost! Don't you feel sorry for them? Besides, you are just depending on your Pokemon for strength.



We're trying so hard to change the world because nobody else is trying. Yet... that's right! You! Can you understand our lord N's feelings?



Aww yeah, this can go on... Corazon, since he's the only special attacker on our team. I did not plan this out well.



Thankfully going down the wrong hole is only required the once for some items. Well it's not required since we don't need any of this, but I'm required to do it, so it's required.



Hop up the stairs and back down to B2F.



How dare you interrupt us without understanding us?



Man it's really hard not to run across these things.




Me, lose? Here I am, covered in sand, throwing everything I have into it, and I lose? Am I that much of a loser? It should be your loss. And that's an order!



And we're at the end already. You know, compared to other teams, we honestly don't fight Team Plasma that much. There's definitely parts where they're in the way, but usually it's just N and Ghetsis encounters. That is not the case for the next game...



Everything changes. Unova will also be born again. Why don't you admit that?



I repeat! We won't tolerate people who have different ideas! Your friends are waiting below--now get out!



Oh goody, Ghetsis was down here.



It seems you are working hard to resurrect Zekrom, the other Dragon-type Pokemon, aren't you? But it appears the Dark Stone you seek is not here. Well then, congratulations are in order! Touya, you were chosen by our king. If you truly desire to keep the world as it is, where Pokemon live alongside people, you must bring the other Dragon-type Pokemon spoken of legend and battle with our king. Otherwise, Team Plasma will steal every Pokemon from every person in the world and release them all!

Release them, you say? Do the Pokemon who live with their Trainers actually want that? Is the liberation you talk about really just stealing Pokemon from people?



Champion Alder, even though illness took the Pokemon that had been your partner for many years, and you haven't had a serious battle in all that time... even you, who ordered the Elite Four to protect the Pokemon League and left to wander the Unova region alone... even a Champion like you now wants to protect a world where Pokemon and people live together? Team Plasma's king will show the people of Unova that he is stronger than a Champion who keeps Pokemon bound! And just like the hero who founded Unova, he will be accompanied by the legendary Pokemon.



For this, we have prepared a suitable castle for the legendary Reshiram and our king!

I won't lose! I'll fight for all Trainers who love their Pokemon, and for all Pokemon who believe in their Trainers!

Our king has no interest in you. He has already determined that victory against you is assured.

So you stayed behind just to tell me that? Just to make a fool of me?

Of course not. I'm doing this out of kindness. Yes, kindness. I'm making sure the Champion doesn't get hurt for no reason. Granted, the moment when someone loses all hope... I really do love watching that moment. Well then, farewell.



Hmm... it seems my only choice is to return to the Pokemon League and battle N. But it bothers me to do exactly what Ghetsis wants... more importantly what should we do about the Dark Stone?

Alder... why don't we go outside for now?

Yes... that's a good idea. It's hard to breathe in here!



What could that guy called N possibly want? Could he be trying to prove he is right by winning the battle of the two dragons?



Touya!! Hello? Touya!! Oh! You picked up! Hey, Touya. Come to the museum in Nacrene City immediately! Right away, got it? I mean right now!

I could hear Professor Juniper's voice from clear over here! Seems like something big is happening. I wonder what is waiting at the museum in Nacrene City. I'll go on ahead!



I don't want to believe what that Ghetsis says... you should head for the Nacrene City Museum.

Nacrene City



Alright, I'll get my fingers ready, it's time for more talking! Again!




Yes, that's right, but is this really a Dragon-type Pokemon?

Surely... when I investigated Dragonspiral Tower, I found elements that were dated to the same era as this Dark Stone!

...I looked into that.

Impressive as always.

But, you know, we're lucky... 'cause what if Team Plasma, like, noticed that old stone that time...

It's clear to me that they were trying to steal the Dragon Skull so they could revive the legendary Dragon-type Pokemon. If you would, Touya, take this...

Wait a moment, Touya! If you take this Dark Stone, that means you'll be the one to battle N if anything happens to me.



You're the Champion, do your damn job and stop the legendary wielding young adult from tearing through the game and then complaining on the internet how easy a game for children was!

So, you're just going to allow N to fulfill his plans for a new world? A world where Pokemon and Trainers are separated?

Yes.

Still, I must ask you... sincerely I must ask you... take this stone. Just in case it's needed!

God, fine, MOM, you're not my real dad!



This world of ours, where Pokemon and people live together... please... if anything happens to me, protect it!

...I see. If things don't go as planned, you'll use this Dark Stone. You'll protect the ideal future for us and Pokemon. Touya, we're counting on you. Please take care of yourself.



We got the oooooooorb!



That's it! We've got them, don't we?

Ah-hah. We've got those two. Touya! Go to Opelucid City. The Gym Leader of that city uses Dragon-type Pokemon. The Gym Leader could know something. I'll go ahead and wait for you there! Until then!



That's right! Opelucid City's Iris might know something!

Hey, Touya. Never forget that you always have Pokemon right by your side.

I'm going to head back to the lab and do some research... I'll see if I can uncover what kinds of beings these legendary Dragon-type Pokemon are and if there is any way to awaken them...

Don't worry! If we have something for you, we'll come running to find you!



Touya, do you know Opelucid City? When you leave from Icirrus City and, like, cross the Tubeline Bridge, it's on the other side. Umm... I'm not that great with directions, so if you need more, check your Town Map, OK?

Route 8 Spring



Boy that was a lot of talking, so let's change our C-Gear screen, suggested by Haifisch, and head out into Spring, a short and sweet route is just what we need.



That's something I cherish!




Nature changes, and Pokemon evolve... how can people change?



As if Milli needed more buffs, but he has Poison Jab so it's not really needed.

"So cute!"


Ah shit, but since it doesn't have Water Absorb I can go for Sca- oh it has Recover, alright, let's switch.



According to footstep fortune-telling... those whose footsteps make a splish and a splosh are Trainers that Pokemon like.



This place is cool in Spring, like with Icirrus City it gets iced over in Winter but unlike there, there's no real reason to do so, since it just prevents you from getting some items and that's about it.



See the strength of my Pokemon!



Why does this move hit every goddamn time...




There is nature and there are cities, and it's lovely to have the choice. Both people and Pokemon can choose their favorite places!

Moor of Iccirus



Route 8 is a little short, but if you wanted Moor then, heh, here's the Moor. Wait, shit, I already used that joke in the title.



Like with Route 8 this places freezes over in the Winter and is also just as pointless, like this item getting locked off.



We're doing this now?! Good, this egg was taking its time.








Child of the sun, the last regular evolution line in the dex, is it any good? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA no. Larvesta does not have the stats to reach LEVEL FIFTY NINE and since you can only get it in an egg, you're not intended to train it through the game to reach its evolution. It becomes amazing when it evolves and, honestly, its passable Atk makes it fine to use when you train it up immediately when you first get it. Its main issue is it learns a move every 10 levels, so you're stuck with complete trash moves for a long time, like Flame Charge at 30 and Bug Bite at 40. Wow. Acrobatics will only take you so far. No, this thing is hot trash and it should get some Elite Four grinding in the postgame if you hatch a good one. Otherwise just catch the postgame Volcarona and get this neat dex entry.


"This Pokémon was believed to have been born from the sun. When it evolves, its entire body is engulfed in flames."

At least this can hatch eggs faster... even if it's the only egg mon we'll need to complete the dex. But! Nah, I got nothing.



Because they may show me Water-type Pokemon I've never seen.



If I find water, I drop in my fishing line. Because even with a puddle, there may be Pokemon that I've never seen.



btw, the Pokemon we can find in the puddles is the same as Icirrus City as well as Route 8, though we have a small chance of finding Seismitoad in rippling water. I'm alright.



Oh yeah, Soak. Shit.




Stay still and listen carefully! Hear the sounds of nearby Pokemon... the breath of trees and swamps.



Neat hill.



Since we got Sludge Bomb outside, there's nothing close to a good TM here.

"That's a Ranger!"


Thank you for not using Ice Beam.




I'm researching what kinds of Pokemon live around here. That way, I can plan which Pokemon I should take along.



Woo, Strength.




You're right! If I have a battle, they may get even dirtier!



I would feel sorry for boots if I cared about them getting dirty. Pokemon are the same. Right? I feel sorry for them getting hurt, but it makes them stronger.

Route 8 Spring



Alright, onto the actual straight line, though I can use my Town Map in case I get lost!



Facade! Facade! When the user's poisoned, paralyzedd, or burned, its attack power doubles!



A few peeps clumped up at the end of a small route.



How do I know that real Fishermen are so impatient? Because we change places frantically if we cannot catch Pokemon!



Ack... come on! On rainy days, use a parasol, wear a coat, or get wet. Do as you like!



I find rocks, and then I give them to people... that's my simple life. You rock... Here, I'll give you the Heat Rock I found this afternoon.



Yeah, yeah... if you like rocks, come back tomorrow... roll in at a different time, if possible. I'll be here, I pumice.



We've been followed, let's leave it on a totally suspenseful cliffhanger, I pumice.