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TINA's Nuzlocke Series

I continue training for quite a while, but as the first snowflakes start falling and the temperature drops, curiosity gets the better of me and i decide to investigate Team Plasma's ship at the P2 Lab. At the helm, i find none other than Colress. He now sees that Team Plasma's ways were not the best way to bring out pokemon's power, and challenges me to a fight to see how it should be done. He leads with Magneton and i lead with Quake God. Quake God once again proves how awesome Whiscash is by easily tanking a Tri Attack and hitting him down to Sturdy with an earthquake. Colress opts to heal here, but that obviously just wastes time. I knock him down to Sturdy again, then i kill him. Up next is Beheeyem, a job i'm giving to Parhuda. A Spell Tag-boosted Shadow Ball brings him to the yellow, but he sets up a Calm Mind. I bring him to the red with another Shadow Ball, but he just Recovers. He keeps on spamming Recover, so i opt to go for Toxic. I had forgotten about Synchronize though, so i'm now also poisoned as i tank a nasty Energy Ball. I decide it's time to switch for Maria, who eats a Psychic with ease. I set up Light Screen to tank him even easier, then i just start doing chip damage as the poison slowly finishes him off. Once Beheeyem is down, Colress sends out his Magnezone. I opt to keep Maria in for this, and i hit a flamethrower as he paralyzes me. He then starts throwing weak moves at me as i set up light screen again, and a few more flamethrowers kill him. Up fourth is his ace, Klinklang, which is a job i give to Bububui. He sets up a Shift Gear as my Charcoal-boosted Flamethrower brings him to a sliver, and my following Quick Attack finishes him off. It's now time for Rotom, inhabiting a laundry machine. Bambi's the man for this job; two Miracle Seed-boosted Horn Leeches bring it down as it just misses a Will-O-Wisp. Colress is now down to his last pokemon, his Metagross. I opt to give this task to Jonathan, who takes more damage from meteor mash than i'd have thought, but it does less than half so i opt to stay in. This was a mistake. The next Meteor Mash crits and kills my poor mole, raising Metagross's attack stat in the process. Bambi then comes in but cannot kill this thing, so it gets to set up an Agility. This causes it to outspeed and one-shot Bambi with a Meteor Mash. It has only a sliver left, but it can outspeed and OHKO all of my mons at this point. So in a last-ditch effort to still get a victory, i send out Bububui and heal up Parhuda as Bububui goes down to a Rock Slide. This lets me bring in Parhuda for free; she tanks a Zen Headbutt and kills the beast with a Surf.

We may have won, but we lost three valued teammates. Johan and Bambi were pivotal in my victory over the Striaton triplets, and Bububui had only recently joined the team. Rest in peace guys. I make my way back to Accumula to give my fallen soldiers the funeral they deserve, then i decide to just call it a day.
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My current team:

Quake God (Whiscash) lv 72
Maria (Blissey) lv 72
Parhuda (Jellicent) lv 72
 
Foam the Jellicent, Mirabel the Audino and Klootzak the Scrafty will be joining our team. I train these new guys up for a while, then i decide to call it a day.
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My current team:

Foam (Jellicent) lv 60
Parhuda (Jellicent) lv 72
Maria (Blissey) lv 72
Klootzak (Scrafty) lv 60
Mirabel (Audino) lv 60
Quake God (Whiscash) lv 72

Yup, i'm running double Jellicent
 
Taking a break from my training, i decide to head to the scenic Undella Town. However, the moment i step into one of the buildings there, i run into a familiar face: it's none other than Cynthia, the champion from Hokkaido. I tell her who i am, and she asks me to fight her to see how strong i've become. I see no harm in this, so she leads with Spiritomb and i lead with a pre-paralyzed Mirabel. She starts double teaming, but i thought she'd switch to her Lucario so i hit a Fire Gem-boosted Flamethrower. I get fully paralyzed the next turn, but the turn after i manage to hit a Toxic through three Double Teams. I keep missing or getting fully paralyzed until the poison brings Spiritomb into Full Restore range. Cynthia has 6 double teams under her belt now, so she just spams ineffective Dream Eaters as i try to poison her once more. Eventually i hit, and the countdown begins once more. This time no full restore follows, and Spiritimb goes down having done nothing but waste my PP. Lucario is up next, so i send in Quake God. My darling takes way over half from a close combat, but the defense drop allows my gem-boosted earthquake to kill. It's now time for Milotic, so i go for Maria. I set up a Light Screen, then i keep spamming Light Screen until Cynthia is out of offensive PP, healing back most of the damage she does to me with leftovers. Cynthia decides to spam Rest once she can no longer hurt me, so i just keep Light Screening to stall out all her PP for that move. Once she starts spamming attract, it's time for me to actually do damage; 5 hits from Thunderbolt do the trick, though i do set up a new Light Screen before sending the Milotic off. Cynthia's Togekiss is up next, and i give this job to Parhuda. I dodge her Air Slash, but my Ice Beams aren't doing as much as i thought they would. I dodge the second one too though, and though the third one causes a flinch, i can finish the egg-bird off the turn thereafter. It's now time for Glaceon, which means it's time for Klootzak. Glaceon immediately sets up a Barrier, which means my Gem-boosted Brick Break doesn't do a lot. She keeps using Barrier as i'm battering away, but eventually she switches to Ice Beam which does almost half. Two more beams kill Klootzak as Glaceon is left with a sliver. I decide to bring Mirabel back here, and she takes the kill with a Facade. Tast but certainly not least, i have to face off against Cynthia's mighty Garchomp. This is Foam's job; she dodges a Dragon Rush and hits a gem-boosted 4x effective Ice Beam which... doesn't kill. The next turn, she takes massive damage from an earthquake, but that doesn't matter as she finishes the dragon off with another ice beam.

Following this thrilling battle, Cynthia invites me to come to Hokkaido with her, to go on a vacation after all the heroics i performed here in New York. I see little harm in that. At the airport though, i read a news story about a meteor completely destroying all of Kyushu - sorry, "Hoenn". I guess we're at that point in time now. My old mother as well as all the friends i made in that region are now dead. This somber moment gets me to reflect on the deaths we've suffered throughout this journey through New York.

Big Smoke the Koffing. You did great into Roxie, but then you lost your life to a random Psyduck. RIP.

Dro-mAthra the Purrloin. You also did good work into Roxie, but then you were killed as we trained in the desert. RIP.

Johnny the Drilbur. You joined us in the cave in the sewers, and you were great against Colress. Then a foolish mistake of mine cost you your life. RIP.

Luke the Lucario. You joined us almost at the start, and had great potential, proving immensely valuable against Roxie. then one of those Sigilyph bastards claimed your life in the desert. RIP.

Mozart the Cinccino. You were my absolute MVP in the PWT, but then Mistralton Cave's trainers got the better of you. You were the absolute powerhouse of the team while you were with us. RIP

N's Zoroark. You came in to replace Mozart, but Chargestone Cave claimed you pretty quickly. You weren't with us for long, but we did miss you going forward. RIP

Christine the Sandslash. You came in to replace Johnny, and you almost singlehandedly took out Elesa. You were also great against Clay, but one tail slap too many ended up killing you. RIP

Builara the Espeon. You came in to replace Luke, but you were not immediately good due to a lack of special moves. When you finally came into your own though, the Celestic Tower claimed your life, and your ghost joined all the other spirits roaming there. RIP

BZZZT the Galvantula. Replacing Builara, you did amazing against Skyla. Too bad we lost you on the way to Opelucid. RIP

Pringles the Jellicent. After BZZZT's death, you swooped in and took that spot, but you couldn't keep it for long, dying to a trainer's endless stream of Roggenrolas. RIP

Il-il the Unfezant. You were with us from the start and did great work against Cheren as well as Roxie. After that, you mostly played second fiddle to Keese, but you did prove your value against Clay, Skyla and Marlon. Then you bravely sacrificed your life to help us defeat Ghetsis and his evil machinations. RIP

Asshole the Scrafty. We brought you as death fodder a few times, but you eventually got yourself a proper spot. You tried your hardest against Drayden, and you did great work against Team Plasma. Then you fell just before the finish line, on the route before Victory Road. RIP.

Jonathan the Excadrill. You came in after we lost Christine, and were great against Skyla, resisting Swoobat's feminine guiles. You also helped take out Drayden's ace, and killed the monster Kyurem in one move. Your battle prowess against Ghetsis was also commendable, and you proved your valor against every member of the Elite Four. Unfortunately despite your best efforts, Iris proved too strong. RIP

Horny the Heracross. We still appreciate you tanking that Head Charge from Remco, and you did great against the Elite Four and Champion. Then the first trainer we battled thereafter claimed your life. RIP

Marina the Jellicent. You joined us after Pringles left, and immediately proved your worth into Marlon. Your work against Team Plasma and Ghetsis also didn't go unnoticed, nor your work in bringing down Elite Four Marshal and Caitlyn. But then we lost you to another disaster on Route 8. RIP

Keese the Crobat. You joined us in the Castelia Sewers and were invaluable in more fights than i can count. You fought countless gym leaders and were great into the evil team and the league, particularly Marshal. Then we lost you in the Twist Mountain Massacre. RIP

Moon Stone the Lunatone. You weren't with us for long, but we still hated to lose you in the Twist Mountain Massacre. RIP

Manfred the Mantine. You were to replace Marina, but then you died in between the Twist Mountain expeditions. RIP

Abby the Absol. You joined us after the league, but Twist Mountain claimed your life. RIP

Not Zubat the Swoobat. You joined us after the first Twist Mountain expedition, but then you died in the second. RIP

Bach the Cinccino. Like Not Zubat, you joined us after the first Twist Mountain expedition, but you did not live through the second. RIP

Gortwog the Emboar. My starter, you were useful all throughout this adventure, even taking out Burgh all by yourself. It would be impossible to list all your contributions here, so we'll just say you were great against pretty much everything. Right until you lost your life in Twist Mountain. RIP

Mot the Volcarona. You joined us after the Twist Mountain Massacre, but then you died in Pinwheel Forest. RIP

Dragonfly the Flygon. You came in after we beat our nemesis Ghetsis, replacing Il-il. Your work against the Elite Four and Champion is greatly appreciated, and you were the only one to survive both Twist Mountain expeditions. However, that Ludicolo's Ice Beam proved too much for you. RIP

Beethoven the Cinccino. You joined us after Twist Mountain, but a wild Basculin was too strong for you. RIP

Werner the Wailord. After Manfred's death, you took his place as the designated Surfer, and you were one of the two to survive the second Twist Mountain expedition. Then you lost your life in the Massacre at the Striaton Gym, though you were the one to offer the most resistance. RIP

Plat the Stunfisk. Joined us after Twist Mountain, died in the Striaton massacre. RIP

Shang the Mienshao. Joined us after Twist Mountain, died in the Striaton massacre. RIP

Dolores the Audino. You were only with us for one important fight, and it just happened to be the Striaton massacre. RIP

Cloudwing the Altaria. You joined us in Pinwheel, but you left us in Striaton. RIP

Mulan the Mienshao. You came in after the Striaton massacre, but you did not live to see us take our revenge, dying in battle with Remco. RIP

Not Golbat the Swoobat. You helped us get our revenge in Striaton, even if it cost you your life. RIP

Oogway the Carracosta. You helped us get our revenge in Striaton, even if it cost you your life. RIP

Wisp the Chandelure. You helped us get our revenge in Striaton, even if it cost you your life. RIP

Bububui the Flareon. We adopted you into the team after we took our revenge in striaton, but Colress proved too much. RIP

Johan the Excadrill. You helped us tae our vengeance in Striaton, but Colress's Metagross proved too strong for you. RIP

Bambi the Sawsbuck. The Striaton trio stood no chance. Colress, unfortunately, did. RIP

Klootzak the Scrafty. You were only with us for a short while at the very end, but we still value your contributions. RIP

Time to board my plane and head for a new adventure in the freezing climate of northern Japan.
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The winning team:

Mirabel (Audino) lv 74
Maria (Blissey) lv 74
Parhuda (Jellicent) lv 74
Foam (Jellicent) lv 74
Quake God (Whiscash) lv 74

Chapter 16: Platinum will start in not too long
 
Chapter 16: Platinum

Rules for this game will be as follows:
  1. The challenge is complete once i've caught or defeated Heatran
  2. The northern, southern and exterior parts of Mt. Coronet will count as separate areas in terms of encounters
  3. I may dig up one fossil; it will be my encounter for Oreburgh City
  4. I will not be making use of the Game Corner
  5. I may not change the time of day to get certain encounters
Time for the best game in the series. I've been looking forward to this nuzlocke a lot.
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As our plane lands, i part ways with Cynthia, as she has champion duties to perform while i travel the region. So instead of traveling with her, i rendezvous with my mother in the town of Twinleaf, the same place where i stayed in my previous two visits to Hokkaido - sorry, "Sinnoh". It is there that i meet one of the local kids, called Frans. I don't know whether he has any relation to Michael or Max, but he seems just as hyperactive in disposition. I'm sure we can be friends though.

I head into the house and turn on my TV, where i catch the tail end of a broadcast on the Red Gyarados. Immediately after though, Frans comes rushing into my room gushing about how awesome Professor Rowan was in the broadcast, and he insists that we go pay a visit to the professor in Sandgem Town. He thinks the professor will be willing to give us our own pokemon; i've unfortunately had to leave Parhuda and Quake God and the others behind when entering Japan. So i head out, and my mom gives me a final warning not to step in the tall grass without a pokemon. Which of course i already know; i'm no idiot.

I head to Frans's home to see if he's ready; he grabs his stuff and we head off to Route 201. Unfortunately, to get to the professor in Sandgem, we have to pass through tall grass. Frans is not quite a smart as I, and decides it's a good idea to just dash through and hope he isn't attacked. Fortunately, the professor shows up here before Frans can get himself killed, and scolds us for this reckless behaviour. However, the professor is a kind soul, and decides to give us our own pokemon to journey with. We get to choose between the three the professor happens to be carrying with him, which are Chimchar, Turtwig and Piplup. I go for the cutie Turtwig, while Frans picks Chimchar. After the professor heads back to Sandgem, we of course immediately try out our new mons in battle. All Chimchar does is Leer at me, so i easily grab the victory.

Later that day, i'm back at home with my mom, and she tells me i should go and thank the professor for the pokemon he gave me. So i put on my Running Shoes and head off. On route 201, i run into Frans again, who talks about wanting to meet the legendary pokemon said to rest at the bottom of the nearby Lake Verity. Little does he know i've already met Mesprit twice. I've no issue with a little detour, but when we arrive at the lake, i'm shocked to see a familiar face. Cyrus is apparently not in prison, and is spouting some nonsense about space and time. We don't have the power to stop him though, so we just let him go about his business. After he leaves, we actually hear Mesprit's cry, but with no balls to our name, we cannot catch the guy.

So it's time to just head for Sandgem. Upon arriving in town, i'm greeted by the professor's assistant, Lucas. As he's about to take me to the professor though, Frans comes rushing out of the lab. No matter though; we head in and i show the professor the turtwig he gave me. He sees that it's grown attached to me, and allows me to keep it indefinitely. I shall name the little goober Kusagame. The professor also gives me a pokedex and asks me to help him record data on all the pokemon native to Hokkaido. I suppose it's the least i can do after he gave me my cute little Kusagame. So with that, i decide to head out, but the professor comes after me; he has something more for me. it's a TM for the move Return; i'm sure that's gonna be useful. Lucas then shows me around town for a bit; thx dude, but i already know what a pokemon center is. I'll just buy some poke balls and then head out to catch some mons. I head back onto Route 201 and catch a wild Bidoof, which i try to nickname Oscar, but because i'm an idiot i accidentally name it Qscar.

I head back home to tell my mom i'm going on yet another pokemon adventure, when Frans's mom suddenly pops in. It she has something she wanted to give Frans for on his journey, but he had gone off before she could give it to him. So i agree to give it to him when i see him. She thinks he's headed for Sapporo - sorry, "Jubilife City", so i guess that's where i'll head too. First though, i'm making a stop to admire the beauty of Lake Verity and reminisce on my previous journeys through this region, both of which started in this very spot. As i'm doing so, i get accosted by a Starly just like in years past, but this time i have poke balls on me. I catch it and nickname it Noisy, but then it's time to head off.

Frans was headed to Sapporo, so i head through Sandgem on to route 202. On this route, Lucas awaits me so that he can show me how to catch a pokemon. Mate, i already caught 2 since i got here. Whatever, i'll just sit and watch. After he's done, i decide to catch something myself here, and i run into a Shinx. I successfully repeat what Lucas showed me, and now Kiara is on my team. Before i go on though, i should probs train my new guys to a proper level.

Once everyone's at a proper level, i make my way through the route, beating up some trainers along the way. When i arrive in Sapporo, Lucas is awaiting me there so he can show me to the Trainers School, but we run into an old friend of mine there. It's none other than Looker. It's been a very long time since we last met, but i'm glad to see him and he's glad to see me. We catch up on everything that's happened since i reincarnated, but then it's time i called it a day.
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My current team:

Qscar (Bidoof) lv 6
Noisy (Starly) lv 6
Kusagame (Turtwig) lv 6
Kiara (Shinx) lv 6
 
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There's probs nothing the trainers school can teach me, so rather than go there, i opt to head north onto route 204. Here, i get my hands on a wild Budew, which i shall grant the nickname Hana. I proceed northward into a cave, but the cave is blocked off by rocks, so i just catch Meta Knight the Zubat and head back.

I head back to Sapporo and decide to visit the trainers school anyway, since i've nowhere else to go. I run into Frans there, who was studying up on status conditions. I give him his mom's package; seems she packed an extra Town Map, meaning there's one for me in there too. I happily accept this gift, and Frans tells me he's off to Oreburgh City to take on this region's Gym Challenge. It's been a hot minute since i became the champion here, so i might as well join him in this activity.

Frans heads off to the east, but when i try to follow, i get approached by a guy doing a promotion for poketches. If i find 3 clowns around town, he'll give me my very own poketch. I remember it being very useful on my previous journeys through Hokkaido, so i gladly agree to partake. I find the clowns and answer some easy questions, and they give me vouchers to bring back to the promotion guy in exchange for my very own pokemon watch, or poketch for short.

With my new toy in hand, i head east onto route 203, where my friend Frans is waiting for me. He decides to challenge me to a battle because i took so long, and he leads with Starly as i send out Kiara. Intimidate lowers his attack, so he decides to Growl my attack into oblivion; 3 growls in, i get a crit though, bringing him to the yellow. He only decides to attack me once he's in the red, so i can easily finish him off. Frans's other pokemon will be more difficult though. He sends out his Chimchar and i send out Qscar. He sets up a Leer on me, then he crits a scratch to bring Qscar to the red. Now's the time to switch, so i bring Kiara back in for the intimidate. Kiara immediately gets leered into crit range, so she only gets one tackle off before i have to switch in Noisy. The same thing happens and i get leered, but this time i opt to risk it to get another quick attack off. This pays off as he just goes for another Leer, but now i will switch Kiara back in. Kiara comes in on a Scratch, but she gets leered again as she brings the monkey to the red. I opt for another switch, to Kusagame this time. He tanks a weak Scratch, then he gets leered as he kills with Tackle.

Following his defeat, Frans vows to get stronger and challenge the Oreburgh gym, so i guess i ought to do that too. So i catch another Shinx on this route and name it Kovu, then i head onward into the Oreburgh Gate. In this small tunnel, a guy decides to give me HM06 Rock Smash because he can see i love my pokemon very much. Not sure what one has to do with the other, but thx anyway. Can't use this until i beat the gym though. So i just catch another zubat, name it Babette and proceed onward to Oreburgh City.

The moment i set foot in this mining town, some kid decides to show me where to find the gym. Frans's already found it though, and he tells me the gym leader is off somewhere. Guess i'll just go do some touristy things until the guy gets back. There's a great museum here that teaches you all about the mining industry, and they can even revive fossils. I don't have any fossils on me atm, but it's still very neat. I check out all the exhibits, but even after spending hours at the museum, the gym leader still isn't back when i return. So i decide to head up to route 207 and catch myself a Machop, naming it Tateru.

Guess there's nothing else to do than to just look for the gym leader in the mines. Along the way, i run into a Geodude, which i of course catch and bestow the nickname Takeshi. Sure enough, i find the guy working in the mines. This region's gym leaders must get seriously underpaid if one of them has to take up a second job working in the mines. Anyway, after he shows off how one can smash a rock, he agrees to return to his gym. Don't think i'll challenge him just yet though. For now, i'm just calling it a day.
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My current team:

Qscar (Bidoof) lv 9
Noisy (Starly) lv 10
Kusagame (Turtwig) lv 10
Kiara (Shinx) lv 9
Tateru (Machop) lv 7
Takeshi (Geodude) lv 6
 
I get a bit of training in, then it's time to head for the gym. This is a rock gym, so Noisy and Qscar will be sitting this one out. Instead, we're bringing Meta Knight the Zubat and Hana the Budew, as death fodder. There's no puzzle here; i just fight through the trainers to get to Roark. I challenge him, and he sends out his Geodude as i send out Kusagame. I outspeed and bring him to the red as he hits a rock throw, then he heals, allowing me to absorb back to full health as i crit him for the one-shot. Next is Onix, so i opt to stay in. He sets up stealth rock as i absorb him deep into the yellow, then Roark decides to heal again. I just take him down to the red immediately thereafter, and after he hits a rock slide, i kill him. Last is his scariest threat by far: his cranidos. I switch to Takeshi and lower his defense with Rock Smash as he lowers mine with Leer. This scares me, but he knows pursuit, and it's his only non-not very effective move so he's guaranteed to use it if he attacks. I'm basically trapped here. But everything goes fine as he goes for another leer, allowing me to crit him to an early grave. And just like that, i have my 1st badge.

This will allow me to use Rock Smash outside of battle, meaning i can now progress through that cave on route 204. I head west, but just as i'm about to enter the Oreburgh Gate, Frans runs up to me to tell me that the next gym is in Eterna City. You can get there through route 207, but you need a bike, which neither of us have. So we have no other option than to go the long route. So i head back to Sapporo, where i run into Looker again. He tells me there's been shady figures around town, so i should keep an eye out. Anyway, i head north out of town, when i see the professor and Lucas being harassed by two galactic grunts. guess those guys are back. Lucas and i beat them up and they piss off, but it is scary to see these guys operating out in the open again.

After this, i proceed north through route 204 and the cave, but once i reach Floaroma Town i decide to call it a day.
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My current team:

Qscar (Bidoof) lv 12
Takeshi (Geodude) lv 13
Noisy (Starly) lv 13
Kiara (Shinx) lv 13
Kusagame (Turtwig) lv 14
Tateru (Machop) lv 13
 
Floaroma truly is one of the best places in the world to just relax. Nothing beats these endless flower beds. Except if you have allergies i guess. then i imagine its awful. Anyway, I stay here for quite some time, giving my mons some much needed rest. Eventually though we decide that we have to resume our journey to Eterna, so i head east onto Route 205. There, i run into a little girl who tells me that Team Galactic are back to their usual antics, having taken over the valley windworks. Her dad works there, so she asks for my help to save the poor man. I rush to the windworks and catch a Shellos outside, which i decide to name Pinky. I beat up the grunt at the entrance, but he just heads in and locks the door behind him. He did mention some of his colleagues in Floaroma though, so i'm heading back there.

I find them in the meadows, harassing the poor guy who makes the honey here. As i step in though, things go wrong. I wasn't paying attention and didn't notice that Qscar had its defense lowered, which meant that 4 hits from Stunky's Fury Swipes got the kill on him. I do manage to beat both grunts, but this loss weighs heavily on me. I pick up the key they left behind, and the guy i just saved decides to give me some honey as thanks for saving him, but none of that can ease the pain. I give Qscar a funeral here among the flowerbeds, and slather a tree with honey in his name. He'd have wanted that.

Taking Qscar's place on the squad will be Pinky, but we need to do some training before she's ready to barge into the windworks with us. As i'm training everyone up, Noisy and Kiara evolve into Staravia and Luxio, respectively. Some training later, it's time to barge into the power plant and rescue this girl's daddy. I fight my way through the grunts and eventually make my way to Commander Mars. Seriously, why has the government not imprisoned this organization's leadership after last time? Anyway, i challenge her and send out the newly evolved Kiara, so she defends herself by sending out Zubat. One Spark kills the thing though, so Mars sends out her ace, Purugly. I switch to Tateru for this task, but he gets hit by a fake out that brings him into crit range. I see little option but to risk it, and Tateru hits a karate chop that deals far less than i thought it would. I decide now's the time to switch, so Takeshi comes in on a scratch. I hit a Rock Smash that brings her to her Oran Berry and lowers her defense, then i hit another one to bring her to a sliver. I'm in crit range now though, so i switch back to Kiara to get an intimidate in, then i hit a Spark for the kill and the victory.

Mars gets chastized for this loss by another admin, a guy called Charon. Don't remember seeing him before; he must be new. He says it doesn't matter though, as they already have all the power needed for their plans. So he and the other galactics leave; i don't even have to fight this new guy. The day is saved, and father and daughter are reunited once more, but i'm worried about what the evil team is gonna do with all this energy. Maybe i shouldn't have released Dialga and Palkia because they were ugly; now the evil team might go after them once more. Anyway, as i step outside, i find Looker there to greet me. He thanks me for what i did here, but the threat is not over as they also have a base of operations in Eterna. More reasons to head there i guess. So i decide to make my way up route 205, catching Buis the Buizel along the way. I head north until i reach the entrance of Eterna Forest, but then it's time to call it a day.
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My current team:

Kiara (Luxio) lv 16
Tateru (Machop) lv 16
Takeshi (Geodude) lv 16
Pinky (Shellos) lv 16
Noisy (Staravia) lv 16
Kusagame (Turtwig) lv 17

I was really growing attached to Qscar. Really hate the way i lost him.
 
Just as i'm about to enter the forest, i notice that i left my trainer card back in Floaroma Town. Guess i should go back to get it. While i'm there, i go and pay my respects to Qscar's grave, when i notice the tree i slathered honey on is rustling. I go and see what pokemon is disturbing Qscar's resting site, and i catch the perpetrator in my heal ball. It was a male combee, who shall henceforth be referred to as Barry. I then retrieve my trainer card from the lost and found here at the pokemon center, and head back to the forest entrance.

The moment i set foot in Eterna Forest, i'm greeted by a familiar face. Cheryl, the same lady who traversed this forest with me in the past, is once again looking for someone to guide her to the other end. I agree, but we immediately get accosted by a Buneary and a Cascoon. I end up killing the cocoon and catching the bunny, naming it Mimi. Tbh i probably appreciate Cheryl's presence as much as she wants me here; this dark forest is a scary place. Eventually though, we make it through to the end, to the northern section of Route 205. We decide to part ways here as i make my way across the lake and to Eterna.

When i reach Eterna, i find that i cannot reach the Team Galactic building as there are small shrubs in the way. So i instead go and explore town a bit, and i find an old man who gives me a kit to head down into the underground. I of course immediately head down there to catch some pokemon in the various biomes, but to my surprise, these biomes have all collapsed since i last traveled Hokkaido, and all we're left with is tunnels. I mine for a bit, digging up a fossil along the way, then i head back up.

I don't quite feel powerful enough to tackle the gym just yet, so i head for Eterna's other tourist attraction, the statue on the east side of town. As i'm heading there, Frans bumps into me and takes me to the statue, but we find Cyrus examining it. Makes sense he'd like this statue, as he's tried to control both the pokemon it's trying to depict. I send out Kiara to confront him, but he just heads off, not even sending out something himself. That was unsettling, but i guess we'll just have to take him down in his team's HQ later. For now, i'm heading east to admire the magnificent mountain in the center of this beautiful land. On the path there though, i run into a wild Meditite, which i proceed to catch and give the nickname Hotoke. I make a quick trip to the pokemon center, when i run into Cynthia, who asks me whether i've seen the big statue in town. Yes, lady, i have. She does have something useful for me though: HM01 Cut. Too bad i can't use it until i beat the gym here, but a gift's always nice.

I head back to the east and decide to explore the cave systems under the mountain for a bit, where i run into yet another new friend, a Geodude. This guy will be named Brock, but since i already have a Geodude, he's going in the box. I decide to do some training here, during which Kusagame evolves into it second stage, Grotle. I train for a while, then i call it a day.
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My current team:

Noisy (Staravia) lv 18
Takeshi (Geodude) lv 18
Kusagame (Grotle) lv 18
Tateru (Machop) vl 19
Kiara (Luxio) lv 19
Pinky (Shellos) lv 19

My first two attempts at the honey tree resulted in nothing, and when something finally spawned, it was a worthless male combee. I hate these trees.
 
After some training, it's time for the gym. This is a grass gym, so Takeshi and Pinky will be sitting this one out. Instead, we're bringing Barry the Combee and Meta Knight the Zubat, as death fodder. The gym puzzle here revolves around beating all the gym trainers to move the hands on a giant flower clock, and use it to traverse the gym. I manage this, so when i finally get to Gardenia, i send out Noisy and she leads with her Turtwig. A crit Wing Attack gets the one-shot, and next is Cherrim. Noisy stays in for this one, and one-shots it with a non-crit. Now it's time for her ace though, Roserade. She starts off with a Stun Spore that leaves me fully paralyzed, but the next turn i bring her down to her berry as she gets me into crit range. I decide a switch to Kusagame is in order here, but her grass knot does way more than i thought it would and i can barely hurt her. At this point, i decide to sacrifice Barry to get Tateru in, but Barry actually survives no less than two moves and gets Roserade to the red. This was a bad move though, as Gardenia heals while Barry is out. At this point, i see little choice but to heal too, so i bring Noisy back to full HP as Barry goes down. I send Noisy out and hit a wing attack that brings her to the red as she brings me into crit range, then i follow up with a Quick Attack for the kill.

This victory allows us to use HM01 Cut outside of battle, so we can now head into the galactic base. Inside, i meet Looker again, disguised as a galactic grunt. Good to know i don't have to do things alone. He tells me that every floor here has two stairs to the next floor, but one of the stairs is always a dead end, to confuse intruders. As i'm progressing in though, things go wrong. One of their scientists has a Kadabra that he used an X Special on, which let it one-shot Pinky from full health with a crit Confusion. Pinky was my most specially defensive pokemon, so this is very very bad. Noisy gets a quick attack in before dying to another crit, then Kusagame finally takes the beast out.

Rest in peace Noisy and Pinky. Both of you were great. We obviously cannot continue taking down this base with our weakened team, so i head back to the pokemon center to decide who should join. Buis the Buizel and Babette the Zubat will be joining our team, but i'm not training them up right now. Rather, i'm calling it a day.
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My current team:

Babette (Zubat) lv 5
Kiara (Luxio) lv 20
Kusagame (Grotle) lv 22
Tateru (Machop) lv 20
Buis (Buizel) lv 11
Tateru (Geodude) lv 20

This is really bad. Pinky was showing such great potential, and Noisy had just taken out Gardenia almost by herself. They will be missed. X Special Kadabra is insanely powerful for this point in the game; why did they give that to a random NPC?
 
With my training finally done, i make my way up the Team Galactic building to find the guy from the bike shop confronting commander Jupiter on the top floor. I join in; she really needs to return the pokemon she stole. So i confront her in battle and send out Kiara; she responds with her Zubat. One Spark takes the thing out, but now it's time for the real threat: her Skuntank. I switch to Takeshi, but one Night Slash brings me into crit range as i hit a Magnitude 6 for about a third. I think my best option here is to just risk it, so i stay in. This pays off; Jupiter throws a smokescreen my way, but Takeshi powers through and hits a Magnitude 8 for the kill. Victory is mine.

Jupiter then decides to just tell me a bunch of stuff i already know; that her boss is researching the legendary pokemon. Hope i won't have to confront the guy yet again, but seeing how things are going so far, i might have to. Anyway, Jupiter pisses off, and the bike shop owner asks me to come to his shop so he can give me a reward. As i'm approaching the store though, Cynthia suddenly approaches to thank me for what i did. She has an egg that she wishes to give me as a reward, which i of course immediately accept. So with the egg in hand, i head into the shop to receive the owner's reward for what i did: a bike. Eh, i prefer to walk.

With the galactic threat taken care of for now, i decide to go do some more exploration in Eterna Forest. Here, i run into Gardenia, who tells me about an abandoned mansion here that's rumored to be haunted. I decide to investigate, but when i find and search the mansion, i find nothing of note there. Maybe the ghosts only come out at night; will check that later. For now, i'll head back to town.

I take a look at Cynthia's egg and realise it's about to hatch, so i excitedly run all over town until it does. What emerges is a cute little Togepi, whom i shall nickname Oeuf. With that, i'm calling it a day, though i might return at night to explore the mansion.
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My current team:

Kiara (Luxio) lv 22
Babette (Zubat) lv 21
Kusagame (Grotle) lv 23
Tateru (Machop) lv 21
Buis (Buizel) lv 21
Takeshi (Geodude) lv 22
 
Full disclosure, i went back and caught a Rotom last night, but i didn't post about it so i'll just work it into the story of today's play session.
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I stay in Eterna until nightfall, when it's time to head back to the spooky mansion. There's several ghosts wandering these abandoned rooms now; phasing through walls at will. All this is super creepy, but against my better judgment, i decide not to flee and instead to look for the source of all this supernatural stuff. Eventually, in one of the rooms on the top floor, i run into an old TV, one of those CRT things from way back when. It's emitting strange noises, so i decide to investigate. I try changing the channel, but it just keeps giving me the same haze. It's clearly not working properly, so i decide to give the device a smack, when suddenly something comes flying out. I panic and just start flinging random things from my bag at it as i flee the building.

The next day, i decide to go back to collect my stuff; there's no ghosts here in the daytime, after all. However, when i enter the room with the TV, i find that one of the pokeballs i threw now has something in it. It's a Rotom; i nickname it Virus, but it's gonna go in the box.

With that done, it is time to continue my journey. I use the bike that was so generously gifted to me to head south onto Cycling Road. While on this elevated road, i see some interesting places to explore on the ground below, but for now i'll just head south to the city of Oreburgh. I'm specifically heading there to pay another visit to the museum; last time i was there, a guy told me he could revive fossils for me. I have a fossil on me now, so i hand it to him and he revives it into a Cranidos. This guy shall be nicknamed Biden.

After that little excursion to the city, i head back to explore the fields below the Cycling Road. Here, in these pleasant grasslands, i encounter one of Tateru's kin, and i catch it and name it Ricky. Unfortunately, there's a lot of noise here from the road above, so i progress through quickly to explore the caves at the north end of the route. There are two caves here, one under the cycling road and one to its east. I opt to start in the one directly beneath the road; vision's poor at the start of the cave but somehow gets better as you get deeper. However, the indoor lighting is not the best part of this cave tour. As i progress, i run into something truly special: a little sand shark. I hurl many a ball at this little Gible, until eventually it stays put and i give it the nickname Sunasame. I proceed to explore this cave in all its natural beauty, though unfortunately i do need to ride my bike through portions of the cave.

Unfortunately, the other cave does not clear up once you progress through it, and i end up hopelessly lost. In the depths, i encounter another poor soul who wandered into this cave and now cannot get out, so i team up with the girl as we search for the exit together. We're stumbling through complete darkness, but fortunately i have a pokemon with me that does well in such an environment. Babette evolves into Golbat during our exploration, allowing her to use her more powerful echolocation to guide us to the exit. When we finally find the exit because of this, Mira and i part ways and i head back to Oreburgh.

I've not yet had enough of mountains and caves, and there's a particularly impressive one east of here: Mt. Coronet. I travel out there to admire its natural beauty, when Lucas suddenly comes up to me. He has two gifts for me, a VS seeker and a dowsing machine app for my poketch. Not sure why he's randomly giving me stuff, but i'm not one to turn down a gift.

And so, with my new toys in hand and a terrific view to admire, i decide it is time to call it a day.
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My current team:

Tateru (Machop) lv 23
Kiara (Luxio) lv 23
Kusagame (Grotle) lv 24
Babette (Golbat) lv 24
Takeshi (Geodude) lv 24
Buis (Buizel) lv 24

yup, i got the lucky Gible. Really happy about that, though for now Takeshi is still carrying his weight as my ground type.
 
This mountain is beautiful, but so are the caves underneath, so after some time admiring the exterior, i head into the interior. However, while admiring the cave walls, i get attacked. A Meditite springs up at me, so i catch the guy and bestow upon him the nickname Vishnu. With that taken care of, i proceed through the cave, but i'm not the only one here to admire its beauty. Cyrus, that bastard, is also here, ranting about how human souls are imperfect. He leaves before i can stop him, so i guess i'll just continue on my journey.

On the other side of Mt. Coronet, i find myself on the beautiful, scenic Route 208. These riverside cliffs are truly a sight to see if you ever find yourself in Hokkaido. In the grass here, i catch myself a cute little Ralts, which i name Masato. I then proceed onward to the city of Hearthome, where upon entering, a Buneary runs up and bumps into me. Its owner soon follows; she's apparently a judge in the pokemon contests held in this city. Whatever, it's time to visit the city's tourist destinations. I spend some time in the beautiful cathedral built to honour Arceus almighty. Arceus probably isn't real, but i still appreciate that he inspired these great works of art and architecture. I also take some time to have a stroll with Kusagame through the city's park, Amity Square. Kinda offended that Babette wasn't deemed cute enough to gain entry, but i'm a tourist so it's not my place to try and change such things. I'm a guest in these lands, and i should act like one.

After i'm done in the park, i head for the gym. It's closed though; gym leader's off doing contests. I wasn't planning on visiting the contest hall, but i guess i'll do so now. Surprisingly, when i enter the building, i run into none other than my mother. She was apparently a contest star here in Hokkaido, just like my mom from my past life. She tells me i should try them out too, and gives me a dress to wear. So i have Babette partake in a smartness contest to cheer her up after she wasn't cute enough for the park, and she beats it with ease. As i exit the contest arena though, i notice the gym leader Melissa in the crowd, so i head up to her and ask her to go back to her gym so i may challenge her. Unlike the previous two times i traveled this region though, she immediately agrees, and so it's time for me to proceed with the gym.

This is a ghost gym, and Tateru cannot hurt ghosts, so he's sitting this one out. Instead, we're bringing Brock the Geodude, as death fodder. Gone are the math problems of old; instead, i have to navigate a dark room and find a symbol that matches the symbol on one of the doors ahead, then go through that door. I manage this and make my way over to Melissa; she leads with her Duskull and i lead with Babette. Bite does over half and flinches him, so another bite puts the ghost back in its grave. Melissa responds to this by sending out her ace, Mismagius. I switch to Kiara for this task; Mismagius confuses Kiara, but Kiara pulls through and steals Mismagius's Sitrus Berry with Thief. A shadow ball brings me into sitrus berry range, but due to a special defense drop, i have to switch to Kusagame as Melissa heals. Melissa really likes confusing my mons, but Kusagame brings her to half health anyway. A second bite kills the big witch after it brings Kusagame to the yellow with Shadow Ball. That leaves only one opponent: Melissa's Haunter. I opt to bring Babette back for this task; she tanks its hits with ease, and even confusion can't phase her as she delivers the two-shot. Victory is mine. Babette seems so thrilled by this win that she actually evolves into her final stage, the powerful Crobat!

With three badges in hand, my business in Hearthome is concluded, so i head east. In the gates here though, i run into Frans, the kid from Littleroot. He wants to see how much stronger i've become, so he challenges me to a battle. I accept and send out Takeshi as he sends out his Staravia. Intimidate is annoying, as are his double teams, but he cannot hurt Takeshi, so i'm free to fire off rock throws until he's dead. That brings out Frans's second pokemon, Roselia. I send out the newly evolved Babette for this one, and a single Wing Attack is enough. Buizel's next, which is a job for Kiara. Kiara does half with Bite due to a missclick, then the next turn, Spark does the rest. Last but not least, i'm facing Frans's starter, Monferno. Babette comes back out and makes short work of the monkey with two wing attacks, granting me the win. This win in fact granted Takeshi enough experience to push him over the edge and allow him to evolve into Graveler.

Frans mentions he's off to Solaceon Town, so i decide that that will also be my next destination. On my way, on route 209, i catch myself a wild Bibarel, which i shall nickname Xscar in honour of Qscar. A guy here also gives me a Good Rod, but i'll try that out later. For now, i'm calling it a day.
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My current team:

Buis (Buizel) lv 24
Tateru (Machop) lv 24
Kiara (Luxio) lv 25
Kusagame (Grotle) lv 25
Takeshi (Graveler) lv 25
Babette (Crobat) lv 26
 
I press on through this photogenic riverside route into the rustic Solaceon Town. In this rural village, Frans bumps into me something about pokeball seals. I really don't care though. I just came here to heal at the pokemon center before i head back and explore the tower i spotted there. I head back to the tower, which functions as this region's pokemon graveyard, and climb up to pay my respects. Unfortunately, there's a thick fog of incense on the higher floors; this place really should get some better ventilation. This isn't healthy. During my climb, Buis feels inspired by the stories of those who came before and evolves into Floatzel. When i reach the top, the old people there flat-out ignore me because of how annoyed they are with the smoke. Installing a few windows here and there isn't that weird, you know. Anyway, i head back down, catching a Gastly along the way and naming it Casper.

With the tower behind me, i proceed north into Solaceon Town. This town is famous for its Day Care, but i see no reason to entrust my pokemon to someone else. Instead, i head into the town's other tourist attraction: the Solaceon Ruins. There's no pokemon here at all for some reason, so i just head to the bottom floor of these mysterious ruins, where i find HM05 Defog. I'd use it to help out those poor folks in the tower, but i don't have the badges yet, so i'll just head out. On my way though, i get attacked by one of those weird things i saw in the Tanoby Ruins and the Ruins of Alph long ago, so i catch it, name it A, then i hightail it out of there.

My business in Solaceon is concluded, so i trek up north, through the high grass and unkempt wilderness. Here, i find a Geodude rolling around in the grass; i thought these guys preferred to stick to the caves. Anyway, i catch the guy and nickname him ARMS. I continue north, but i find the road to Celestic Town blocked off by a horde of Psyduck. So i relax for a bit at the cafe that's here in the wilderness for some reason. I really don't understand how one can keep a business running here, but whatever.

Unfortunately, the moment i leave to proceed onto Route 215, a rainstorm picks up. I need to get through here to reach the next city, so i just brave the storm and continue on. A wild Staravia attacks me in the rain, so i have no choice but to quickly catch it and proceed onward. it'll be named Gyro. When i finally reach Veilstone City, it's time to call it a day.
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My current team:

Kiara (Luxio) lv 27
Tateru (Machop) lv 27
Takeshi (Graveler) lv 27
Buis (Floatzel) lv 28
Babette (Crobat) lv 28
Kusagame (Grotle) lv 27
 
Before i go and explore the city, i decide to get in a bit of training as the Fighting gym sounds tough. These concerns prompt Tateru to evolve into Machoke, to give me a strong fighting type of my own against the ones in the gym. So with that, i head back into town. While exploring, i find that Team Galactic still operates from their building here, which is as surprising as it is disturbing. Why are they allowed to do this after all the havoc they've caused? I currently don't have the means to infiltrate the building though, so i just head for the gym. On my way there, i run into Lucas, who wishes me luck with my gym challenge as he prepares to head off to the game corner. Didn't know he was a gambler. As we're talking though, Crasher Wake, the Pastoria gym leader, steps out of the gym and recognizes me from Route 18 in New York. He wishes me luck against Maylene, then we all head on our way.

This is a fighting gym, so Takeshi will be sitting this one out. Instead, i'm bringing A the Unown, as death fodder. The gym puzzle here involves pushing punching bags into stacks of tires to clear the way. I manage to make my way through, and eventually i find myself face to face with the gym leader Maylene. When i challenge her, she sends out her Meditite, so i lead with Kusagame. She fakes me out on turn one, then hits a powerful drain punch turn two that takes me into the yellow as i do just less than half. I opt to switch to Babette on another drain punch, allowing Babette to outspeed and kill with a wing attack. Next is Machoke, but rather than counter with my own Machoke, i opt to keep Babette in. My Wing Attack brings him to the yellow, but his rock tomb brings me into crit range and lowers my speed. I'm still faster though, so one more wing attack gets the kill. Last but definitely not least is Maylene's Lucario. This is Tateru's job; Lucario fires off a Drain Punch for some serious damage, but Tateru responds with a supereffective Revenge that gets the OHKO. Four badges in hand

The moment i leave the gym though, i run into Lucas. He tells me that Team Galactic has stolen his pokedex, and he needs my help to get it back from those bastards. So we head over to their warehouse, beat up the guards and plunder the building, finding Lucas's stolen dex as well as HM02 Fly. Looker also joins us for a share of the plunder, telling us to be careful around the team, though he won't tell me why Team Galactic is still allowed to operate from their old HQ.

Using my new HM, i head back to Hearthome, as i have a strange feeling that something good is waiting for me there. This turns out to be true; as i'm wandering around the city, i meet a woman named Bebe, who runs the storage system in this region. She has recently received a pokemon from her friend Bill in Kanto, but she is unable to care for it and is looking for a trainer to take it in. So i take the eevee off her hands, and give it the nickname Buiui. Buiui won't be joining the team though, at least not for now.

Time to resume my journey. I fly back to Veilstone and proceed to head south, catching Darunia the Graveler along the way. I also find a man digging a cave to find Unown. I direct him to Solaceon Town, but on my way out, i'm attacked by a wild Geodude, whom i catch and name Darmani. I proceed to make my way through the fence maze of Route 214 until i find myself in the Valor Lakefront, where i catch Melman the Girafarig before taking some time to relax. However, as i'm hanging out at the restaurant and fighting some trainers there, something horrible happens. A trainer's Rhyhorn manages to hit a Horn Drill on Tateru, killing him instantly. Rest in peace my man, you did great in the gym.

We will be joined by Vishnu the Meditite instead, though i don't feel like training him atm. Instead, i'll just call it a day.
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My current team:

Kiara (Luxio) lv 29
Buis (Floatzel) lv 30
Babette (Crobat) lv 31
Takeshi (Graveler) lv 30
Kusagame (Grotle) lv 29
Vishnu (Meditite) lv 20
 
I don't feel like training Vishnu up yet, so i just give him the Exp Share as i head back to the restaurant for my vengeance. Kiara absolutely goes wild on their weak teams, even evolving into her final form Luxray just to overpower them as much as possible. After some katharsis, we leave the wreckage of what was once the Valor Lakefront and head for a stroll along the beach, catching a Wingull along the way. His name will be Hyoi.

I follow the coastline until it leads me into the next city: Pastoria. The first thing i do upon reaching this placeis go for some relaxation, throwing out my rod and just hanging out by the waterside. This nets me a Remoraid, so i name the guy Gun. This city's main attraction is of course the great marsh, so i give this safari zone a spin and catch Rscar the Bibarel. I honestly don't see the appeal of these marshes though. I don't yet feel strong enough to take on Wake's gym though, so i opt to go and explore the marshes to the city's west. I picked the worst possible time for this, as a rainstorm starts just the moment i enter the route, turning large sections of it into mud you have to struggle to release yourself from. I do catch a Shellos along the way though, naming it Bluey.

I press on, and the rain eventually subsides as i find myself in a beautifully kept garden, a big contrast from the marshscape i was in before. There's a mansion attached to this garden, so i decide to head in and show my appreciation for what they've done with this route. In the mansion, i battle some maids, but i fail their challenge to beat them all in 6 turns, taking 31 turns instead. Oh well. I meet up with the owner himself, who proceeds to brag to me about the rare pokemon in his trophy garden, so i just have to have a look. All i find though is a common Staravia, which promptly whirlwinds me away. After that disappointment, i decide to just call it a day.
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My current team:

Buis (Floatzel) lv 31
Takeshi (Graveler) lv 31
Babette (Crobat) lv 31
Kiara (Luxray) lv 31
Kusagame (Grotle) lv 31
Vishnu (Meditite) lv 29
 
Since I’m not quite strong enough yet to beat Wake, I decide to do some training. During this training, Kusagame decides to show off just how good he’ll be into the water gym, evolving into his final stage, Torterra.

Once my training is done, I head back to Pastoria to challenge the gym. This is a water gym, so Takeshi will be sitting this one out. Instead, I’m bringing A the Unown, as death fodder. Before I can enter the gym though, Frans runs up to me and challenges me to a fight. He leads with Staravia and I lead with Kiara. He double teams to no avail, as Kiara hits a Spark anyway for the kill. Next is Buizel, so Kiara stays in for another OHKO, This brings out his Roselia, for which I’ll send out Babette. I miss a fly and get leech seeded, so I decide to instead two-shot the thing with air cutter. Finally, Frans brings out his ace, Monferno. I opt to fight starter with starter; Kusagame easily tanks a Flame Wheel and retaliates with an Earthquake for the OHKO, winning me the fight.

With that out of the way, we can head into the gym. The puzzle here revolves around pushing buttons to raise or lower the water level, opening new paths while closing others. I eventually manage to make my way to the end, so I can challenge wake to a gym battle. He leads with his Gyarados, so I lead with Kiara. A waterfall does about a quarter to me, but to my surprise my spark does not kill him. It does paralyze though, but wake uses a healing item, so my next Spark just brings him back down to the red. Wake decides that this is a good moment to switch to his Quagsire, which admittedly, it is. Kiara obviously has a bad matchup here, so I switch to the newly evolved Kusagame on a Mud Shot. This lowers my accuracy, but Kusagame pulls through and kills with a Razor Leaf. It’s now time to face off against Wake’s ace, Floatzel. Kiara comes back out and intimidates the beast, but Brine brings me into KO range and my Spark once again does not kill, bringing him down to his berry. I decide that now is the time to switch to my own Floatzel; Buis tanks the Brine with east. His Crunch then brings me to the yellow as my crunch brings him to the red. I thought that would kill, but apparently not. Wake heals as I hit another crunch, then we exchange crunches one last time; I’m now at way too low health for this. The time has come for a sacrifice. I send A in on a crunch, but he fails to tank it and goes down in a single hit. This allows me to bring in Vishnu, but I immediately take over half from Brine as Force Palm fails to get the kill, though it does paralyze. I switch to Babette on another brine, then I finish the thing with a Bite. Last is the paralyzed and severely weakened Gyarados, so I allow Kiara to finish this and earn me the badge.

As I leave the gym, Frans congratulates me on my badge, and Wake also steps out for a bit to greet Frans. Frans tells us about a galactic grunt near the marsh entrance, who was talking about a bomb, so Wake immediately rushes off to deal with the problem. We hear a bang, and a grunt comes running out of the marsh. Hope they’re not playing with bombs again. There’s other ways to get a legendary’s attention than by blowing up a lake. Wake goes off to assess the damage to the marsh, so that leaves me to chase after the grunt. I chase him across Route 213, with my old friend looker joining me in the chase. We chase him to the Valor Lakefront, but unfortunately that is where we lose his trail. I do run into Cynthia again, so I tell her about everything that’s happening with the evil team, but she does not seem all that concerned. Rather, she asks me to go on an errand for her, to give medicine to the psyduck blocking the road on Route 210 and bring something to her grandma in Celestic Town. I don’t feel like acting as her errand girl, so I’ll just call it a day now.
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My current team:

Takeshi (Graveler) lv 33
Vishnu (Meditite) lv 33
Kusagame (Torterra) lv 34
Babette (Crobat) lv 33
Buis (Buizel) lv 33
Kiara (Luxray) lv 35
 
As much as i hate being used as an errand girl, i guess it's not the psyduck's fault that Cynthia can't be bothered to bring the medicine herself. So i head over and give them the meds, when Cynthia suddenly does show up herself. Why the fuck did i have to do this if she has the time to just come over here and do it herself? To make it even worse, she now has another mission for me, to deliver something to her grandma in Celestic Town. I'm heading that way anyway, so i might as well take it along, but she really needs to stop taking me for granted. I proceed ahead, defogging the fog away so that i could appreciate these mountainside grasslands. However, when i enter a double battle here, things go horribly wrong. After the enemies get two leers in, an Ice Fang from the Gyarados straight up one-shots my starter Kusagame. Rest in peace Kusagame, we are going to miss you. You did good.

The free spot on my team will be taken up by Mimi the Buneary. Rather than dedicating a training session though, i think i'll just switch train her against various trainers; exp share won't do bc she needs a Soothe Bell. So i make my way through to Celestic Town, only to find out that Cynthia's grandma isn't home. Guess i'll come back later. For now, i'm just gonna fish up a Goldeen and name it Cleo, then i'm heading west to admire Hokkaido's great mountain from this side. After i spend some time here though, i head back, but the grandma still isn't home. I do notice something though; there's a galactic grunt standing in front of the ancient ruins here and keeping everyone out. Those bastards are always up to no good, so i step in and beat the guy up.

After the grunt fucks off, Cynthia's grandma comes up to me to thank me, so i give her Cynthia's gift. As thanks, she offers me a tour along the ancient cave paintings. We look at the painting of the lake guardians trapping a being that could be either dialga or palkia, or perhaps a representation of both. As we're doing so though, Cyrus comes in and introduces himself as the leader of Team Galactic, which is something i already knew of course. He rants about his desire for a world free of strife, which led him to investigate these legends. Good thing he doesn't know who i am. When i disagree with him though, he challenges me to a battle to see whose convictions are stronger. He leads with his Sneasel and i lead with Vishnu. His ice punch does well over half to me, but in return i OHKO him with a Force Palm. Up next is Cyrus's Golbat, for which i'll send out Takeshi. Takeshi misses two rock blasts, allowing Golbat to get him into the yellow. I opt to switch out to Kiara, who takes next to nothing from rock blast and can bring him to the red with spark, though she does get poisoned by a Poison Fang. Cyrus decides that now is the time to heal, but i crit him for the kill. Last is Murkrow, and i give this job to Babette. She does half to it with a Fly, but this triggers Murkrow's Sitrus Berry as she brings me into crit range. I switch Kiara in for an intimidate, and seeing how little Drill Peck does to her, i decide to stay in. Night Shade brings me to the red, but Spark kills it in return, granting me the win.

This prompts Cyrus to leave; we do not have the manpower to keep him here until the cops arrive. The granny is thankful that i saved these murals from that lunatic though, so she grants me HM03 Surf, which i immediately teach to Buis, allowing me to traverse the seas as i please. When i leave the cave, i spot Cynthia standing there; if you had the time to come here to Celestic Town, you had the time to deliver the gift to your grandma yourself. Seriously lady, do your own chores. I'm not your errand girl. She talks for a bit about how bad Team Galactic's plans are and that there's something about these legendary mons in the Canalave Library, but i honestly don't care. I'm still pissed that she used me like this when she could have just visited her grandma herself.

So rather than head to Canalave, i decide to go surf the rivers north of Floaroma. Here, i find an iron factory called the Fuego Ironworks, so i catch a Magmar outside, name it Burnet and explore the factory's inside. Nice of them that they just let a random girl wander around their factory, though i don't understand how they get any work done with the team rocket-esque spinning floor tiles. Anyway, i make my way through and fight a bunch of the workers who really should be working rather than slacking off and doing pokemon battles, and at the end, the CEO gives me a fire stone as a gift for making it to him. Strange place. Anyway, it's time to call it a day.
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My current team:

Mimi (Buneary) lv 22
Vishnu (Meditite) lv 34
Babette (Crobat) lv 35
Takeshi (Graveler) lv 36
Kiara (Luxray) lv 37
Buis (Floatzel) lv 34
 
For my next expedition, i decide to go surfing south of Sandgem Town. In the waters here, i encounter a Tentacool, so i catch it and nickname it Octo. I proceed further south onto Route 220 and fish up a Magikarp there, nicknaming it Sakana. I proceed east onto Route 221 where i catch another Tentacool and name this one Meh. I eventually hit land and decide to explore, but this is where tragedy strikes. Against a trainer's Girafarig, i miscalculated what a crit Psychic would do and kept Kiara in. The crit did way more than i expected and killed my poor lion. This really hurts. Kiara was one of my strongest and longest-serving teammates, who helped me through many of this journey's toughest battles. She was especially invaluable against Crasher Wake and his water types.

After this loss, i need a break. I cease my exploration of the southern regions, and instead return to Twinleaf Town for some quiet fishing time. I catch a Magikarp here, naming it Pudge. I fish up another karp in Eterna City, naming this one Ugh.

After coming to terms with what happened to Kiara, it's time to look for a replacement. I settle on Kovu the Shinx, though he will require some training. This is probably a good time to get Mimi up to speed with the other guys as well. During this training, Kovu evolves into Luxio. I continue training for a while, then i decide to call it a day.
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My current team:

Mimi (Buneary) lv 30
Vishnu (Meditite) lv 35
Babette (Crobat) lv 36
Takeshi (Graveler) lv 36
Buis (Floatzel) lv 35
Kovu (Luxio) lv 20
 
As i'm training my guys up, something horrible happens. I thought Mimi was at an appropriate level to take on a Bibarel, but she was not. Bibarel crit her and took her out in a single move. Rest in peace, my sweet Mimi.

We will instead be joined by Melman the Girafarig. As we're training, Kovu evolves into Luxray in an attempt to fully replace Kiara on my team; love how he's stepping into her shoes. Anyway, i continue training for a while, then i call it a day.
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My current team:

Kovu (Luxray) lv 33
Babette (Crobat) lv 37
Takeshi (Graveler) lv 36
Buis (Floatzel) lv 36
Melman (Girafarig) lv 33
Vishnu (Meditite) lv 35
 
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