Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
If you use an @yahoo.com email or any related Yahoo services, they have blocked us also due to "user complaints"
-UE
Pokemon Liveblogs (Or, how can two LP's even fit in one thread?)
So, this is basically a dual-liveblog thread. I will be LP'ing/liveblogging Pokemon Black, and Solstace will be liveblogging Pokemon Heart Gold right alongside me.
We will both be Nuzlocking. Essentially, for those who don't know, this is a regular Pokemon game, but with some added rules;
- If your Pokemon faints, it is considered dead. You must not use it again, and you must release it at the first opportunity.
- You can only catch the first Pokemon you see in an area. Solstace has an advantage on me here, because he can pound trees in towns and get extra Pokemon :V
Other rules may be added. For me, the only other rule I'm adding is;
- You may not catch more than one of any type of Pokemon. If the first Pokemon you encounter is one you already own, you may seek out another. You can only do this twice per route.
Otherwise, I end up with 10 Watchogs by the end of the game.
ANYWAY.
On to the actual liveblogs!
Comments
I'm going to save everyone long-winded recaps of the introduction to Pokemon Black here. I did originally take screenshots up until the end of this first instalment, but there was literally more than 180 pictures by the end thanks to all the exposition, so I'll just summarize.
Essentially, we have three characters:
This is Tempera, the protagonist of the game. (oc dont steal) We don't know much about her past, and we never learn more, as she's kind of a blank slate character. She lives at home with her mother, and we never see her father.
For the purposes of the liveblog, I will be characterizing her, but in the game, she has no character.
This is Cheren. He wants to be the best Pokemon Trainer he can be, the best for the sake of being the best.
This is Bianca. Ostensibly, she wants to explore the world, but...
... personally, I think she just wants to get away from home.
Our Starter Pokemon, this time around, is:
... an Oshawott named Jack!
Really, that's all we need for this instalment. But let's kick off with some screenshots anyway.
Okay, so.
First commenter gets to choose the next pokemon's name, gogogo
Steve
May as well keep an eye on this, as I've never played any of the Pokemon games ever aside from occasionally having a go on my cousin's gameboy.
I'm forced to say Juan
Jim Profit.
Damn.
^^Don't say his name; for all we know he googles it to find where people have been talking about him -_-
Chuggles.
Legionnaire got there first :P
WINNING
So... A nuzlocke challenge, then?
... As outlined in the first post. Yes.
Incidentally, I don't think I'll be able to do more screenshots. I had been using an emulator so I could grab screenshots, but it appears to be unable to open the menu, so I am going to swap over to my physical copy and play it on my DS.
I'll still be able to grab screenshots of everything except the game, like other Pokemon I encounter.
So no shots of Steve the Pokemon, then?
I will be taking some (read: A LOT) of creative liberties regarding what little plot there originally was in this game. I'm not using an emulator, so I'll try to make up for the lack of screenshots with excessive narration.
----
From a large mountain emerged a figure, the power of its steps shaking the foundations of the world.
"Utu."
From its shoulders erupted many brilliant rays of light, reaching to the farthest corners of the world.
"Utu."
The sinners of the world were cut down by his claw, his judgement delivered by a mighty flame.
"Utu."
When his duties were done, he retreated back into his mountain, taking the day with him.
....
"STACEY~!!!!!!"
My nap was interrupted by my mother yelling my name up the stairs. What an interesting dream, too. Well, whatever. Not wanting to be nagged further, I hastily rubbed the sleep from my eyes and made my way downstairs.
"Oh, Stacy! Our neighbor, Professor Elm, was looking for you. He said he wanted you to do something for him."
This was odd. I've only ever met the professor a couple times. He's never asked me to do anything before. Though I suppose he's never had to. He used to ask the other kids in New Bark Town to run errands, but they've all left to embark on the Pokemon Gym Challenge, our nation's inane coming-of-age ritual. I never saw the point, and as a result, I guess I'm the only one left for him rely on.
"Also, your Pokegear is back from the repair shop."
Right. That thing. I never asked for it. It's meant to be a tool for trainers. The most useful function was probably the cellphone, though I never had a reason to use it. The only person in my contact list is my mother. It was lying around my room, and I accidentally stepped on it last week, rendering it unusable. Now it's fixed. How tragic.
Waving off my mother's continued haranguing about my social life, and her sarcastic "Do you even know how to use a phone" comments, I decided the sooner I got this errand out of the way, the better.
I made my way to the largest building in New Bark Town: Professor Elm's lab.
Inside, it was rather stuffy, and obscenely white. I really don't like it here.
"Ah, Stacey! There you are! I needed to ask you a favor. I have an acquaintance, Mr. Pokemon, and he keeps finding weird things and raving about his discoveries. Anyways, I just got an email from him saying that this time it's real. It is intriguing, but my aids and myself are busy with research and can't leave the lab. Could you look into it for us?"
Mr. Pokemon? This guy already reeks of nuttiness. But I don't have anything better to do, and it's an excuse to get away from my mother.
I nod in acceptance.
"Good! I'll give you a Pokemon for a partner. They're all rare Pokemon that we just found. Go ahead an pick one!"
He pointed me over to a machine with three pokeballs in it. The screen attached to it displayed three pokemon, one that looked like a small dinosaur with a leaf on its head, another was a small blue lizard thing with a kind of derpy face, and the third one looked familiar.
My eyes widened as I realized it.
"Utu".
While not quite the same scale of grandeur, this little thing had fire erupting from it's shoulders, and a look of justice in its eyes.
Without a second thought, I picked out its pokeball.
"So you like Cyndaquil, the fire pokemon?"
I nodded again.
"I think that's a great Pokemon, too! Why don't you give it a name?"
As soon as he ended his question, I began my reply.
"Utu. His name is Utu."
Professor Elm smiled at me.
"Mr. Pokemon lives in Cherrygrove, the next city. It's almost a direct route to there. If your pokemon is hurt, you should heal it with this machine over here. And here's my number. Call me if something comes up."
After firing off that flurry of sentences, he hands me a business card, and goes back to his research. K
Kind of a rude send off, but a send off nonetheless.
So my journey with Utu begins.
----
And starting with the next entry, I will begin taking viewer input as to what to name pokemon, and all that. This was a lot to type for about 15 minutes of game, so the next one will likely be more compact, too.
It turns out I forgot that you open the menu with X, not Start :V The XBOX has spoiled me.
So, before we wander into the grass, I should probably show off Jack.
So, with that out of the way and you more aware of the Pokemon, onward into the tall grass we go!
Now, if you remember, I'm Nuzlocking. This means that I have to capture the first Pokemon I see. If I knock it out, I can't catch a Pokemon this route.
So,w ith that out of the way, let's go on. Personally, I'm hoping for a Lillipup, or a Purrloin.
... Goddammit.
Patrat does have some uses, I will allow. Come the second Gym, Steve will be instrumental. But right now, he's just dead weight.
There we go. One Patrat, under our belt.
And look! Stats! And Moves! And Natures! And, uh, stuff...
Anyway!
oh god
its the xtransceiver
Personally, I find this to be the most annoying thing about this game.
Well, now that that's over.
Wait, one last note. I stuck around a bit to train up Jack.
Anyway.
I thought this was a Pokemon Centre. Why would I feel better?
Just like a dog!
If you ever play a Pokemon game, you will come to hate this screen.
But thou must
... Wow, they really don't have much in stock.
:O
Smells like plot
You know what? I'm not going to comment on the following section judge it for yourself.
I wonder how many of those talking are plants.
sorry sorry ill shut up now .-.
I think the one with green hair is a plant.
I THOUGHT YOU ENDED YOUR WORDS
attention whoreee
I seriously think this guy is a pimp. He even has a pimp coat!
oh god its the plant .-.
whatchoo on about
shut up Cheren, the crazy tree man and I are talking
Okay, I figure I should introduce this guy now.
N is a recurring antagonist in Black & White, and may very well be the most sympathetic villain in Pokemon yet. Not that that is saying much, but still.
He is a staunch supporter of Pokemon rights. This is due to his upbringing, in which... well, you'll find out.
Anyway, back to the story.
Uh-oh.
Just a side note, but
N has a really bitchin' theme.
Anyway, Jack kicked his arse easily.
... well, that can't bode well
So. Onwards to Accumula! Ah, next instalment.
First person to comment names the next Pokemon :V
Vociferious is the name I want to throw out. But I think that exceeds the character limit, so just Voci.
I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but there is a ten character limit for names, sorry.
Oh, cool, got my emulator to work. I can do screenshots now! Or not. Seems that Heart Gold and Soul Silver don't like to work with emulators for no reason
Sherlock! Oh no, wait...
Foiled again! >:C
----
Upon leaving Professor Elm's lab, I'm met by Ethan, a boy who left town a while ago. I guess he was in town visiting his mom, or something. He admires my Cyndaquil, as he rightfully should, and then goes on his way. Maybe I'll see him again, down the road. I decide that there is no better time than now to start on my errand, and follow him.
I've never been outside the town before. It's full of long grass, full of wild Pokemon. As a kid, I was always told not to enter the tall grass, or I could be attacked. And I believed it, too. I've heard reports on the local news about kids who ignored their parents warnings, only to come back with bad gashes, and the occasional missing finger, if they came back at all. But now I have a Pokemon of my own, so I should be relatively safe.
I haven't been on the road for very long when a Pokemon lunges at me from just off the road. It's not very large, and is actually kind of cute, save for the rabid look in its eyes. Utu, who had been following me outside of his pokeball, intercepted the thing before it could latch on to me. I knew that every Pokemon could only say its own name, and using that bit of information, I could gather that this one was called Sentret.
I yelled at Utu to scratch the thing, and it obeyed. Fur quickly filled the air, as the Sentret retaliated by tackling my Utu. Another scratch hit the Sentret's weak point, for massive damage. Blood pooled on the ground as the poor thing collapsed.
It was at that point that I realized I taken a living creature under my care. I didn't realize when undertaking this errand, just how much responsibility keeping a Pokemon is. While Utu certainly emerged from that battle in better condition than the Sentret, he was still a little shaken. Maybe this is why my mom never let me have a pet as a kid.
Utu quickly got back to his feet, and I figured it was okay to proceed.
After another encounter with another Sentret, Utu looked a little better. He seemed to stand with a slightly stronger stance, and the flames on his back seemed to be larger, and glow hotter. He opened his mouth, and crowed in triumph, releasing a blanket of smoke.
After one more encounter with a pokemon, this time a Pidgey, I made my way into Cherrygrove. Only a few steps into town, an old man called out to me.
"You're a rookie Trainer, aren't you? I can tell!"
"Um, no sir, I'm not a Trainer, I'm just running an errand."
Ignoring my response, he continued his rehearsed speech. "That's OK! Everyone is a rookie at some point! If you'd like, I can teach you a few things!"
I decided to indulge the old man, as he was obviously lonely. What other reason could possibly spur someone to ambush a young girl the moment she walks into town? I politely followed the old man, letting him inform me about Pokemon Centers, the Pokemart, the sea, the route out of town... Man, this guy must not have much company....
At the end of his tour, he gave me a pair of shoes. Running shoes, so nothing especially girlish. And they are really comfortable. I've been meaning to start exercising, too.
After asking him for directions to Mr. Pokemon's house, I made a quick stop at the Pokemon Center, to have them give Utu a quick check up, and decided to make my way north, to Mr. Pokemon's place.
Just before I left, I was stopped by the old man again. He presented me with yet another gift, a map card for my Pokegear. This second gift is a little disconcerting, I mean, sure it's practical, but it seems like he's trying to groom me at this point.... Creepy old man.
Well, putting that behind me, I get on my way again.
The first pokemon I stumble across this time is a Caterpie. I must say, I've never been a fan of bugs, but Caterpie eventually turn into Butterfree, so I decided to have Utu intimidate it just enough to make our escape. Live and let live.
Off the side of the road, I find an unused potion that someone must have dropped. This will probably come in handy.
A little farther down the road, I find a house, with a middle aged man tending an apricorn tree. I decide to talk to him, as agriculture has always been something that appealed to me. Inspired by my interest, he gave me his spare Apricorn box, so that I can harvest any Apricorn trees I find on my journey. I don't know why I need a separate box for Apricorns, but I thank him for the gift anyway. It was free, so I might as well use it.
When I reach a fork in the road, I find that one of the paths is blocked by a couple trainers battling it out. I don't understand why they'd want to pit their Pokemon against each other. Don't they understand the pain they put them through?
Deciding to avoid contact with them, I take the other path, and progress through a small labyrinth of trees and grass, fighting off a few Pidgey that decide to attack me. I reach a clearing with a house in it. I recognize the address as belonging to Mr. Pokemon, and knock on the door.
A man wearing a cheesy mustache and a brown suit invites me in.
"You must be Stacey."
I nod in response.
He ushers me over to a table, and pours me a cup of tea. Also at the table is a man I recognize as Professor Oak. Maybe this Mr. Pokemon person isn't as nutty as I thought he was....
As I sip my tea, Mr. Pokemon hurries into a back room, and quickly returns.
"This is what I wanted Professor Elm to look at," he says, handing me a large, peculiarly patterned egg.
"A friend of mine from Ecruteak gave it to me. I bet you can't find this kind of egg in Johto."
After rambling on about Professor Elm's greatness (as if I hadn't already heard from his aids
), he offers to let me and my pokemon rest before we leave, an offer that Utu and I gratefully accept.
As I'm about to leave, Professor Oak speaks up. He introduces himself to me, and comments on how close Utu and I seem to have grown. I suppose it's to be expected, when my life is routinely saved by the little guy.
"You seem to be dependable... Say, you would do a favor for me?"
Once again, not wanting to be rude, I nod in response.
"This is the latest version of the Pokedex," he says, handing me a small red tablet, "It automatically records data on Pokemon you've seen or caught. I'm old, and not in as good shape as I used to be, so I need the help of young people like yourself to collect data on every Pokemon."
This seems like... a daunting task, to say the least. Especially considering how expensive pokeballs are these days.
Professor Oak checks, the time, and announces that he's late for a very important date. He also hands me a business card with his number, and makes on his way. I thank Mr. Pokemon for his hospitality and follow.
As soon as I leave,
"I want to be the very best, like no one ever was..."
I recognize my ringtone, and answer my phone.
"H-hello? Stacey?" It was Professor Elm, and he seemed quite shaken.
"It's a disaster! Uh, um, it's just terrible!"
I try to ask him what's wrong, but he ignores me.
"What should I do? It.. Oh, no... Please get back here now! *click*"
And with that surreal phone call, I hurry back to Cherrygrove, on my way to New Bark town. I take as many shortcuts as I can, hopping off small cliffs to avoid grass and save time.
Back in town, I make a quick stop at the Pokemon center, as Utu got pretty heavily injured by a Pidgey on the way back. I used that potion I found to give him some basic first aid, but I just wanted to make sure.
When I got him back, I rushed out and down the patch to New Bark Town.
Just outside of town, I ran into to a boy with red hair. He made his way over to me.
"So you got a Pokemon from the lab? What a waste. That's a Pokemon that's too good for a wimp like you."
I give him a look of stern confusion.
"Don't you get what I'm saying? Well, I too have a good Pokemon. I'll show you what I mean!"
This is not what I wanted.
The kid throws out a pokeball, revealing the blue lizard that was in Professor Elm's lab. Utu quickly comes to my defense. Utu rushes in, fiercely scratching. The Totodile just keeps staring, faking out Utu, before scratching back. Utu tries to get out of the way, but dodges in the wrong direction. He takes a hefty hit, and retaliates.
"You're doing OK for a wimp," remarks the kid. I hate this guy's guts already.
I take a quick moment to bandage Utu's wounds, and then Utu puts the Totodile in critical condition with another two scratches, growing stronger yet again.
"Alright, you won" the boy says, before Utu completely finishes the Totodile off.
"Do you want to know who I am?"
Not particularly.
"I'm going to be the world's greatest Pokemon trainer."
You're off to a great start.
The kid walks past me, heading towards the pokemon center. A card falls out of his pocket. I pick it up, and as I'm looking at it, he runs back and grabs it from me.
"Give it back! That's my Trainer Card!"
Ignoring him again, I run back to the lab, managing to avoid any encounters with wild Pokemon along the way.
Inside the lab, I see a distraught Professor, and policeman talking to him.
"Who are you? We are investigating the case of the missing Pokemon here..." says the policeman.
"Rule number one! 'Whoever did it will come back to the scene of the crime'! So you must be the one that did it!" He shouts with authority.
I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen in real life.
That kid Ethan from earlier bursts in, coming to my rescue.
"Hold on a second! She has nothing to do with it! I saw it, there was a red-haired boy creeping around the building earlier!"
"I just battled a boy like that, actually," I speak up, "He had a Totodile and mentioned the lab..."
The police officer turns red with embarrassment.
"Oh. He must be the one who did it... Did you happen to get his name?"
I think back, trying to remember the name that I saw on his Trainer Card.
----
First one to comment names the rival
Juan!
I approve. Consider it done.
Sherlock it is.
Danke.
Well, unfortunately, it seems my laptop has degraded a bit, and I can't get the emulator to run at a reasonable speed; it's running at approximately five times slower than the actual game. So, I'm sorry; I have to play it on the DS now, which means the LP will be mostly text-based from here. I will also have to give you Jack and Steve's new statspreads and everything.
With that out of the way, here goes.
Jack, the Oshawott. Level 7, Male.
Adamant Nature. He is alert to sounds.
HP: 25
Attack: 14
Defense: 13
Sp. Attack: 13
Sp. Def: 12
Speed: 13
Moves:
Tackle
Tail Whip
Water Gun
Ability: Torrent (The power of Water-type moves will increase by 1.5x is the user has 1/3rd of its' maximum HP or less remaining.)
Oshawott is a fairly good Starter Pokemon. He has a fairly high HP and Attack, and his Special Attack is better than his Attack, with a base stat of 63 and 55 respectively. Not much to say about him until he evolves.
Steve, the Patrat. Level 2, Male.
Rash nature. He is somewhat of a clown.
HP: 14
Attack: 7
Defence: 6
Sp. Attack: 6
Sp. Def: 6
Speed: 7
Moves:
Tackle
Ability: Keen Eye (Prevents your Accuracy from being lowered).
Patrat is the Scout Pokemon. He's kind of useless, for the most part, with a shallow statspread and a bad typing. However, lookit him- he's clearly trying so hard to be a good member of the team, I have to forgive him.
Okay! With that out of the way, onwards to the rest of the liveblog!
After defeating N, Jack, Steve and I went back to see if we had missed anything. We encountered a few Pokemon along the way.
It faces strong opponents with great courage. But, when at a disadvantage in a fight, this intelligent Pokémon flees.
After a while, we had to go back and get Steve and Jack healed. With out fun over, we decided it was time to head over to Striaton City.
I had only barely moved out of the city borders, though, when my mother ambushed me. She insisted I take my pair of Running Shoes with me. Personally, I think she just didn't want to wash them.
Running Shoes are a handy tool for any Trainer. They release blasts of compressed air, allowing you to move significantly faster than normal.
We encountered nothing but Patrat for a while. Even Steve grew bored of seeing them after a while. Well, after the second one; we only saw two. It felt like a million though.
Eventually, we encountered a different Pokemon; a Lillipup.
Sherlock, the Level 4 Lillipup. Male.
Impish nature. Somewhat of a clown.
HP: 17
Attack: 10
Defence: 8
Sp. Attack: 6
Sp. Defence: 8
Speed: 10
Moves:
Leer
Tackle
Ability: Pickup (After a battle, any Pokemon with this ability has a 10% chanced to pick up free items.)
Lillipup has a high Attack and Speed, at 60 and 55 respectively. Eventually, he evolves into Stoutland, who has an impressive statspread of 100 Attack, 90 in both Defences, and 80 in speed. Plus, free items.
We continued along the Route. It was a hard, treacherous journey, filled with a couple of potions and a pokeball many great treasures, a couple of trainers with Level 7 Pokemon some of the toughest fights of my illustrious career, a couple of encounters with some Patrats and an encounter with a Purrloin many encounters with fearsome wild beasts, and walking through some long grass and over a couple of small cliffs many treacherous natural hazards, but I prevailed!
Unfortunately, this is all we have time for today. I am sure many adventures await us tomorrow! New Pokemon to meet, people to befriend, battles to fight, and ideals to spread await us tomorrow, in Pokemon Black!
(First person to comment names the next Pokemon.)
Polo.
Bianca met me just at the outskirts of Striaton City. She asked me for a friendly bout. Never one to turn down a request from a lady, I agreed, and sent out Sherlock to face her Lillipup.
Sherlock, particularly powerful from a confrontation with the Family I won't go into details of right now, had no trouble at all defeating his opponent. Jack had even less trouble facing down the Tepig, already knowing his strengths, weaknesses and battle style.
We won with ease. Bianca was impressed, and vowed to become stronger so she wouldn't lose so easily.
When we entered Striaton City, I made a beeline for the Pokemon Centre. My Pokemon had taken a severe beating in their fights against the many wild beasts of Route 2, and I was not willing to risk them any further.
Once the Pokemon were healed due to the conveniently free and widespread Pokemon hospitals, I decided to set forth. I attempted to leave Striaton City, but was accosted by a man. They were not willing to let me leave, it appeared.
Undeterred by this setback, I started talking to the locals, hoping to get them on my side. I soon started hearing rumours of a place called the Dreamyard. Hoping to find a way to sneak out of the city, I followed the path to the east and entered the Dreamyard.
Several Trainers accosted me on my way eastwards. I bravely fought them all off, taking care not to let my Pokemon's health fall too far.
Eventually, I found a girl walking around. Seeking to gain the initiative for once, I jumped her and started threatening her with my Pokemon.
Imagine my face when it turned out she had been waiting there so she could give people Pokemon.
Flushing, I accepted the Pansear she handed me.
Marco, the Level 10 Pansear
Serious nature. Very finicky.
HP: 31
Attack: 16
Defence: 15
Sp. Attack: 17
Sp. Defence: 16
Speed: 19
Moves:
Scratch
Leer
Lick
Incinerate
Ability: Gluttony (Eats Berries at 50% of health instead of the usual 25%)
The only path I could see before me was blocked by a waist-high tree, perhaps one-third of my width. Blocked by such an immovable barrier, I walked back to Striaton and headed towards the Pokemon Trainer's School of Striaton, hoping to work off my shame helping the children learning more about Pokemon battling.
Cheren was already there, assisting them. I 'assisted' him in his demonstrations of item usage in battle by knocking his Pokemon out in two hits each, forcing him to use up his entire stock of Potions to heal them.
Thoroughly impressed by my skills (and only slightly intimidated by my threats), he handed me three Berries and pushed me off towards the Gym, probably hoping to be rid of me before I took his lunch money.
Nodding to myself, I set off towards the Gym. Perhaps I could temporarily satiate my appetite for wanton cruelty here.
After fobbing off an old man waiting by the door and stealing his bottle of water, I proceeded to examine the Gym. The Gym was laid out particularly oddly; The entire place was a restaurant! Unfortunately, the woman at the front counter refused to serve me, for some odd reason.
I proceeded to step on one of the giant panels laid in front of a curtain blocking me from half the restaurant. The curtains opened, and I spotted a Trainer, disguised as a waiter. A brilliant disguise, really.
He accosted me as I attempted to sneak past him.
He sent out a Lillipup. Smirking, I sent out Marco to fight him; Marco could use the extra training.
The first hit Marco took caused him significant damage, knocking him down to just above half health. I was a little worried, but I delayed for a second, pulling out a Potion to heal him after his next move.
The next round, the Lillipup Tackled Marco once again. Marco let out a single screech of pain as the Lillipup hit him in his particularly vulnerable stomach, then fell to the ground.
I rushed over with my Potion in hand, but it was too late.
Marco was dead.
I sat in the Pokemon Centre waiting room, passing time as Nurse Joy healed Jack and Sherlock.
My hands were numb. I had been sitting for too long.
The clock was too loud. And too slow. Or perhaps that was my heartbeat. Or both? I am not sure. I counted the seconds between each tick. Tick... onemississipitwomississipithreemissi Tock... onemississipitwomississip Tick... onemissi "Excuse me, miss?"
I nearly fell off my chair when Nurse Joy interrupted my from my reverie.
"Yes?" I asked. My voice was hoarse for some reason.
"Your Pokemon are all good to go," she smiled. "You have some fine Pokemon there. I have never seen an Oshawott so healthy."
"Thank you," I mumbled.
"You take good care of them, you hear?" Joy asked, smiling.
I nodded silently, releasing Jack to walk beside me. He tottered along silently.
"Come on, Jack," I muttered. "Let's go back to Route Two and train up some more."
We trained for a while, then headed back to the Gym. Jack still needed to work on his aim, there was water droplets all over my eyes and cheeks, but we'd have time for that later.
I presented myself to the three Gym Leaders (Three on one? Unfaiiiir). They talked amongst themselves, then sent out Cilan, a Grass-type Gym Leader, to fight me.
He started off with a Lillipup. I sent out Jack to fight him. Jack used Tail Whip a couple of times, while the Lillipup used Work Up, then we began pounding on each other.
The Lillipup was significantly stronger. Jack was barely able to take two hits and still be standing, while the Lillipup took six hits and kept going. Luckily, Jack and I had an advantage; lots and lots of Potions.
Eventually, Jack blasted the Lillipup in the face, knocking it out completely. Jack was on his last legs by then.
I recalled him, and sent out Sherlock. Cilan sent out a Pansage. I clenched my teeth.
This battle started out much the same; Sherlock used Leer, and Pansage used Work Up.
Then they began pounding on each other. Sherlock had a slight speed advantage, but neither had very good defences. A single Vine Whip from Pansage was sufficient to knock three-fifths of Sherlock's health off, while a single Tackle from Sherlock was sufficient to knock two-fifths of Pansage's health off.
Luckily, Sherlock had another advantage; one of the Oran Berries Cheren had given us. This restored just enough health for him to survive another Vine Whip, leaving both the Pansage and Sherlock in critical health.
Sherlock's speed advantage was the decisive factor here, as he launched his Tackle first. The Pansage fell to the ground, unconscious, winning us the Gym Fight.
Ignoring the water still dripping from my face, a result of Jack having missed the Lillipup one time no doubt, I accepted the Badge. I didn't deign to say anything as I left.
I attempted to sneak west, to see if I could escape, but Professor Fennel caught me. She dragged me, kicking and screaming, into her house, and told me to go find her some Dream Mist from the Dreamyard.
Biting my lip, I headed back over, whereupon I met Bianca, who had apparently been set the same task as me.
Armed with my new weapon, a fragile computer disc I could shove into my Pokemon's heads, I moved forwards to deal with this fearsome tree.
It was a long and tiring battle I won't describe here, but eventually, Steve triumphed. The tree lay shredded around him as he stood panting.
Bianca ignored my theatrics as she moved in. I followed her, preparing to sneak away, when we heard a low moan.
Looking at each other, Bianca and I rushed forwards.
Imagine our horror when we found two people kicking a poor Pokemon.
When we confronted them, we learned they were from Team Plasma. They were attempting to find the same item we were; Dream Mist. However, they were doing it for altogether less mutualistic reasons; they were planning on using it to manipulate people through their Dreams, into giving up their Pokemon.
They turned and kicked the Munna. When Bianca objected, one of them walked over to her.
Knowing that Bianca's Pokemon were likely still injured from our earlier fight, I commanded Jack to draw her attention. Ignoring Bianca's pleas to not hurt me, the Plasma grunt turned to fight us.
The battle was far easier than facing Cilan had been. Jack defeated them all roundly.
The Grunts turned back to kicking the Muuna. Enraged, but unwilling have my Pokemon attack them, I stepped forwards and
Ghetsis stepped out of the west bridge, a frown plastered over his normally inexpressive face. He
stepped forward from the east, coming towards
us from the north, opening his mouth to say
something
but
i
couldnt
hear
him
the rockets freaked out
that wasnt ghetsis
that wasaw taht
I blinked. Why did the sky look like dirt?
I felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders, and then I was roughly yanked down- no, I was yanked up, I realized as my head flopped forwards, the sky didn't look like dirt, the ground did, silly me.
I felt a sharp pain in my cheek.
"Ow!" I protested.
Bianca slapped me again.
"Ow!" I raised my hand threateningly. "Slap me again, Bianca-"
She slapped me again.
I staggered back a step. "Why are you slapping me?" I scowled, rubbing my cheek.
"I had to wake you up," she said. "The Musharna caught you in its' attack, too. It nearly got me, but... not quite."
I shook my head. There was still some lingering dizziness, but I was no longer as muddled up.
"Musharna?" I asked absently.
"Yeah, the Munna's mother showed up," she replied. "I think it must have heard Munna when the Plasma grunts were kicking it."
"Ah," I muttered. "That explains that then, I guess."
"Yeah," she murmured. "Look, I'm going to go give this Dream Mist to Professor Fennel. I think you should sit down for a while and clear your head."
She left.
I didn't sit down.
Calling Jack out, I decided to wander around for a while, and see what I could find.
I nearly wet myself when a Munna appeared behind me and moaned softly. Jack reflexively hit it with a Water Gun, and I threw a Pokeball at it before it could react.
Traum, the Munna. Level 8, Female. Crake named this one.
Jolly nature. It's a little quick tempered.
HP: 30
Attack: 11
Defence: 13
Sp. Attack: 15
Sp. Def: 14
Speed: 9
Moves:
Psywave
Defence Curl
Lucky Chant
Yawn
Ability: Forewarn (Shows the opponent's move with the highest base power. If two or more moves are of the same base Power, one will be chosen at random.)
Munna is a fairly decent Pokemon. I've never used it before, though, so...
I tried to leave after that. I was accosted by a woman as I tried to leave, though. She insisted that she would help me escape from Striaton if I only helped to lessen the local Audino population. Apparently, they were overbreeding and causing serious harm to local habitats.
I agreed, and spent a few hours beating up Audinos.
Sherlock finally evolved facing down their leader, a large Audino with a twinkle in his eye. I couldn't understand what the Audino said to Sherlock as he slipped into death, but by the way Sherlock plodded heavily back to me and nudged my leg, I understood it wasn't easy on him.
Sherlock, the Herdier. Level 16, Male.
Impish Nature. He's somewhat of a clown.
HP: 47
Attack: 32
Defence: 28
Sp. Attack: 15
Sp. Defence: 25
Speed: 28
Moves:
Leer
Take Down
Work Up
Bite
Ability: Sand Rush (Doubles speed in a sandstorm and makes them immune to Sandstorm damage).
I scratched him behind his ears, returned him to his Pokeball and set off towards the next town.
(As usual, first to comment names the next Pokemon I catch.)
Juan_Carlos and Adam Jensen.
If only one is allowed, Adam Jensen.