Shenanigans Update 4:
The first order of business was to figure out who the next gym leader would be. The in-game TV suggests Shade, the Ghost-type Gym Leader. Not sure where he would be. I didn't see any Wards he might be hiding in. Someone at the Grand Hall in the Opal Ward might know. Since Shade might be outside the city, I got a bit of FOMO. Thus I decided to join Team Magma.
Easy enough when you had The Mountain.
First mission was to steal a 'mon from the rich fucks and prevent Team Aqua from getting it. Octavia the Decidueye made short work of a grunt and I picked up a Buizel. Unfortunately male, so no breeding yet.
Next mission, the boss, who totally wasn't inspired by Maxie from Hoenn, decided we should kick Aqua out of Lapis Ward. I smashed my way through the bouncers, opening the doors for the rest of Team Magma. However, I got bitchslapped by Team Aqua Boss Archie's level 45 Sharpedo. I decidedly noped the fuck out of there. They could battle on their own for a few days...
In the meantime, I went to the Grand Hall. There I met Fern, my frenemy. Based on what he told me, I guessed Shade would be out in the Byxbysion Wasteland. Bit of a trek, since I'd need a key that only my frenemy Fern knew where to find.
Once again, he flexed his bedroom Dom in the middle of the Grand Hall. He'd only tell me if I beat him up. I had been planning on doing some training to scout out any potential from the PC Battle Box, so I got caught a bit flatfooted with my Beta team.
I took the L the first time.
Second time I came prepared and whooped his ass. Fern had been learning, though. I would need to watch out.
Either way, I got told I needed to go back to Beryl and ask someone for the key.
Before heading out though, I figured I'd do some theorycrafting. Using what limited 'mons at my disposal at the time, I had come up with a team involving Octavia the Decidueye (dicey with that Ghost-typing), a scrappy Stoutland in case of Ghost/Dark bullshit, a Luxray for type coverage, Ampharos with Iron Tail for an unholy Ghost/Fairy, Arbok for Ground coverage and Iron Tail, and Stolas the Noctowl Prince in case of Gengar or other Ghost/Poison type.
Unfortunately, that plan would require having an Aron, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to acquire one at this stage. I knew from the Pokédex that Aron would be in the Undeground Railnet, which I had access to thanks to the new badge letting me use Rock Smash.
Either way, I was certain I would need a scrappy Stoutland at least. And off I was to breed a horde of Lillipups.
Again, I would've preferred to only breed for a 2IV/16+, since IVs would only be able to give so much edge. Unfortunately, the Speed IV was being a bitch and I ended up going for a perfect 6IV anyway. In hindsight, it would probably be a good idea anyway since the Lillipup line was in the Field egg group, which had great connectivity to other egg groups. This would make breeding 5IV/16+ so much easier.
The Mountain the 6IV Graveler, would have a similar effect for the more isolated Mineral egg group.
In any case, 520 eggs and crippling debt later (thank Arceus for Pay Day), Hircine the Jolly Lillipup hatched. Threw on an Ability Capsule to get Run Away. Also picked up five shinies, two of which were rather good.
(https://i.imgur.com/y9wEZpU.png)
For EVs, I prioritized Attack and Speed, as well an equal split on Defense and Special Defense. Playing around with the calculations, I found HP EVs had little practical effect, so I left that at zero. Special Attack was pretty much worthless given Hircine's moveset. For moves, I planned to have Crunch, Retaliate, Ice Fang (egg move from event), and Rock Smash (Reversal, later?). For now, I preferred to not make Chip the Bibarel the stereotypical HM slave--her IVs are decent enough to be useful.
(https://i.imgur.com/GXbguXE.png)
I reasoned that Hircine would be chonky enough to tank a hit or two from Shade's 'mons, maybe even be faster for some of the slower ones.
Dusclops/Dusknoir would scare me, though.
Either way, I now wanted to make sure if Aron would be catchable at this stage. I smashed my way into the Underground Railnet and found myself besieged by bats and gear heads. Caught myself a Klink (and a shiny one), as well as breedable pairs of Mawiles and Skorupi.
I liked the smell of options.
I also found a Dull Key (sadly, not the Move Relearner's). No Aron, though. That bugger seemed to be deeper underground than I could reach. Shame, really.
I figured I'd do some more exploring before going back to the drawing boards. I lugged the Dull Key over to the Obsidia Slums, since I remembered there was a locked gate. Lo, the gate opened, and I found a group of Scrafties getting harassed by a group of Pangoros. It was going to be one of those, huh? I ran after them, picked up some garbage, and went up against one of the Pangoros.
I was still training at this stage with Hircine, then the Herdier, and the Beta Team. Beta Team quickly got kicked in the ass. I had a backup, just in case, in the form of Octavia the Decidueye. Being Grass/Ghost though against a Fighting/Dark level 45 Pangoro... Yeah I took the L.
Figured I could come back later.
Instead I went north, to Beryl Ward. Still on the Beta Team, still with Hircine the Herdier, I headed for the Cemetary where I would find the person with the key to the Byxbysion Wasteland. There I met Cain, another frenemy. Well, maybe less enemy, more flamboyant and flirtatious. I figured he would probably battle me as well (aha!) and quickly swapped in some Alpha members. Kept Hircine, though.
I started with Hircine, if only to make sure he got some experience. He held on long enough against Cain's Brionne, but had to swap him out with 5 HP left. I sent in Octavia the Decidueye who mopped up Brionne.
Cain then sent in his Alolan Marowak. I wasn't sure on the typing, but I figured Alolan Marowak was at least part Ghost. Maybe Octavia could handle Marowak, but I decided not to risk it. Instead I sent in El Capitan the Persian. A couple of Bites later and Marowak was down. El Capitan leveled up and I took the executive decision to replace Pay Day with Slash. I would need to train one of the Meowth garbage collectors anyway.
Up ahead was Cain's Alolan Grimer. This one I now knew was Poison/Dark, so I sent in The Mountain the Graveler. The Mountain butchered Grimer with a single Bulldoze.
Not even Cain's Nidoking lasted long either against the Bulldoze. The Double Kicks barely even registered.
Victory was acquired.
But we got a surprise visit by Heather (come to visit Daddy Corey's grave?). Cain actually managed to talk some sense into that child. Huh. She took off to see her friend Shelly--
"Wait, where are you going Cain?" I cried. "We had a deal, Cain. The key for a victory. Cain? We had a deal!"
And off he ran, to go after Heather. Fine, he could wait. I had a cave to explore.
I smashed some rocks and entered Beryl Cave. I was told there would be some "rare" 'mons here by the in-game TV.
The cave was dark. Fortunately, I had an answer. I went back to the Pokécenter, swapped to the Beta Team again but also grabbed LÄMP the Morelull. Armed with Hircine the Herdier, Octavia the Decidueye, Scatman the Grimer, Hyacinth the Trubbish, Vaernima the Munna, and LÄMP, I returned to the cave.
Only to find out I can't use Flash without a badge. "It's a god damn flashlight, LÄMP, geez."
Fuck.
Whatever, I continued on in the dark. Thank fuck for mental cartography. None of the wild 'mons caught my fancy. I already had the unevolved forms. I did find, however, a Nidorina, stuck in a cage. In the adjacent cage was a lever. Expecting a trap, I pulled the lever.
Huh, I wasn't trapped in the cage. Oh well. Meeting up with the Nidorina, I learned the Nidorina belonged to Corey. It responded to a Silver Ring I had nicked from Corey's room. Nice. Now I had a breeding set of Nido's. I sent LÄMP back to the PC and replaced her with Elizabeth the Nidorina (working title, Elizabeth is already taken by a Combee).
Following the cave layout, limited by HM as I was, I exited the cave and found a Nuzleaf village or sacred ground, led by a Shiftry. I expected a battle, but I figured what the heck.
First up, level 20 Nuzleaf. Hircine the Herdier easily Ice Fanged it. And then came--
Level 55 Shiftry.
Oh boy.
Hircine valiantly tried to get an Ice Fang in but he went down to a Leaf Storm. In a Forest Terrain. A Forest Terrain that boosted the damage. I responded with Octavia, hoping beyond hope that Shiftry did not have a Dark move.
He didn't, but he did have a fucking Hurricane. Fuuuuck.
I sent out Vaernima the Munna, for shits and giggles, and Moonlighted the fucker. She took a Leaf Storm to the face and went down.
Scatman? The level 23 Grimer? Hurricaned. Elizabeth the Nidorina? Leaf Stormed.
I was down to Hyacinth the Trubbish. I had pretty much given up and was ready for the L. I vaguely gestured for an Acid Spray.
Shiftry Leaf Stormed.
Hyacinth survived.
"Say what now?" I flabbergasted.
"A level 30 Hyacinth against level 55 Shiftry? Are you on drugs?
"You should be dead, eviscerated, recycled. Why weren't you--"
Oh. Right. Leaf Storm.
Leaf Storm lowered the user's Special Attack.
Leaf Storm was Special. So was Hurricane. Shiftry was Grass/Dark. Hyacinth was Poison...
Holy shit.
I could win this. And I had the ultimate weapons!
Soda Pops, Lemonades, and Acid Spray!
"You hear that, Shiftry? Hyacinth can chug and spray faster than you can kill her!" I taunted.
And boy did she chug and spray. It took some time, but another Leaf Storm was all it took before Shiftry's Special Attack was a hollow husk of its former self. Enjoy those 6k+ experience points, Hyacinth!
After that, the battle was laughable. Level 20 and 25 Nuzleafs coming to avenge their leader, but they stood no chance against Hyacinth.
Glorious victory.
And then I got to hear the lamentations of the Nuzleafs' females as I snagged the survivors and put them in a box.
Feeling adventurous after that victory, I decided to head east to the Abandoned Power Plant across the Beryl Bridge, just in case there were any changes. I immediately spotted the cave accessed by Rock Smash: Citrine Mountain.
This one was full of snow and salt! Did I smell Ice Pokémon?
Why yes I did! The place was a maze of stairs, but I quickly got accosted by an Alolan Sandshrew. Certainly looked like an Ice-type. So I caught it.
I also caught a breeding pairs of Swinubs and Cubchoos, and gained a breeding pair for the Phanpy line by catching a female Donphan. I was still missing an female Alolan Sandshrew.
Traversing the mountain, I found a Field Read-out about Short-Circuit Terrain. Interesting. I also found a Croagunk. I suspected it was Corey's, and lo, it responded to the Silver Ring. Welcome to the team, Croakie, and enjoy the PC. I might bring you out for breeding better Croagunks.
Mmm... options.
I went back to the Pokécenter and healed up. I couldn't progress further east on the mountain without Strength, so I wanted to check a cavern near the bottom.
Ah, that was a Beartic attacking a Smoochum. Time to rescue Miss Popo.
"Let me guess, level 50ish? 57? How nice," I said.
I started with Hircine the Scrappy Stoutland. I tried Rock Smash. Made a dent, but not much else. Beartic responded with Hail. I guessed she had Slush Rush, since Hircine wasn't fast enough the second turn when he took a Blizzard to the face.
One of those, huh?
I sent out Octavia the Decidueye, for the lulz. She got a Blizzard.
The whole team got Blizzards. Except the last 'mon, who got a Flail.
There was the L.
Still... I could smell a potential victory in the air.
I tried again with the Beta Team.
Same as before, started with Hircine. Only this time, I sacrificed everyone but Octavia to eat up the Blizzards.
Blizzard only had 5 PP. That was five 'mons sacrificed to Blizzards.
Up was Octavia the Decidueye. Any damaging Dark or Ice move could probably end Octavia, or any strong damaging move in general, I supposed. I knew Beartic had Hail, Blizzard, and Flail.
Blizzard was gone.
Flail wouldn't work thanks to Octavia's part Ghost typing.
So I had Octavia wail on Beartic with Spirit Shackle.
No damaging move came. Not one.
Oh you sweet summer child--
Beartic used Rest.
You annoying fucker. That would be what, a PP of 10? 15? Octavia could barely damage you, and now you pulled this asshole move? Ugh.
So, it had come to this.
A battle of attrition. Who would Struggle first?
I had Octavia switch to Razor Leaf, healing every now and then with Synthesis. When that dried up, she moved to Pluck.
Eventually, we got Beartic to run out of Rest, and then killed it with a Spirit Shackle.
Beartic was defeated, and Miss Popo the Smoochum joined the ranks. I sent an unconscious Scatman the Grimer to the PC just so I would have a second conscious 'mon on the team.
I exited the cavern and made my way towards the mountain exit, but I was accosted by an Alolan Sandslash.
A level 42 Alolan Sandslash. And it was a female, which would give me a breeding pair.
Octavia went out and sent out a Spirit Shackle. Thankfully didn't kill the Alolan Sandslash, but the latter retaliated and knocked out Octavia with an Ice Ball.
I was now down to nothing more than a level 20 Miss Popo. The Alolan Sandslash was level 42 and could probably instakill. It was in the orange.
Even with Speed, Miss Popo wouldn't stand a chance...
"Fuck it," I said, and threw a Dusk Ball. It shook three times, then went silent. I raised my arms in relief.
From there, I managed to sneak out and heal up.
Now was probably a good time to check up on Cain in Lapis Ward, but I took a detour to a local café, where I haggled with explosives and gold to buy some drinks for the team.
I visited Cain at Shelly's, where naturally Heather blew a fuse and ran out. Only to be caught by Creepy Child-Torturer from the Orphanage. I was surprised Heather (supposedly a Champion) didn't just blast him with her Salamence, especially when he tried to rules-lawyer his way to "protect" her.
Naturally, Cain and Shelly did nothing, at first. If I had Alpha Team, I probably could have taken him on myself...
We regrouped at Shelly's, only to hear Heather's electrified scream echoing through the moonlit Lapis Ward.
"We're doing a rescue mission, aren't we?" I surmised.
I was already a hardened criminal. Breaking and entering? Pfft. I could go straight for murder at this point.
So, we were doing it. We were going to break into the Orphanage and rescue Heather. To prep for this, I assembled Alpha Team.
My prior experience with this house of horrors suggested electric types. I thus led with The Mountain the Graveler, who wielded the Rock Incense. Following up was Octavia the Decidueye with the Rose Incense, Hircine the Stoutland with the Black Belt, El Capitan the Persian with the Silk Scarf, Hyacinth the Trubbish with a Quick Claw, and Pacha the Pachirisu with another Quick Claw.
Approaching the door to the orphanage, I found the rest of the squad. The door was apparently locked. We had no key, but we had Creepy Kid Anna on the inside. She must have noticed us and opened the door.
Unfortunately, Heather had been taken to the top of the orphanage. Arceus knew how many orderlies would be ready to bumrush us. Not just on the upper floors too, but the lower ones as well. Fortunately, Tough Kid Charlotte made a distraction. She really liked her cigarettes.
This brought some orderlies out, some of whom grabbed Charlotte. Others, we battled. Hircine probed around a Wynaut to avoid a Counter KO, and swapped around to avoid a Destiny Bond. He then proceeded to Ice Fang a Petilil, missing the first time--a OHKO when it hit the second time.
A Bruxish was then sent out. This one was new for me. Based on the design, I initially guessed it was Water/Dark. Thus I had Hircine probe for Dark type with a Rock Smash. The Bruxish resisted, implying possibly Fairy or Psychic. I made the decision to swap in Octavia, who promptly Razor Leafed the Bruxish after taking an Aqua Tail to the face.
Having beaten the orderlies to a bloody pulp, we watched as they retreated. While we took stock of the situation, Anna mentioned that she could see me "glowing". Some kind of goddamn friendship empath, I assumed. I could see why she was at the orphanage that also served as a mental asylum.
With the distraction, Cain took up position at the doorway, through which Charlotte was taken, and brought out his Nidoking, blocking the passage.
Meanwhile, more orderlies stormed out from above and smashed and grabbed normal kid Noel. "Lovely," I deadpanned. "They keep throwing shit at us." Now there were three we had to rescue.
Shelly teamed up with me and we rushed up the stairs after Noel. Surprise, surprise, there was a Double Battle.
And let's just say mistakes were made. The initial rounds were chaotic as I stumbled and swapped to match types. Octavia got hit with Toxic from a Toxapex, and then Confuse Rayed by a Shiinotic. The Mountain accidentally Bulldozed a Levitating Tynamo and instead just hit Shelly's Anorith.
Yeah.
Shelly did most of the damage. Fortunately, she was also kind enough to be a walking PokéCenter.
Still on the first floor, we met another pair of orderlies, who opened up with a Shellder and a Clefairy. The Mountain was told to setup Stealth Rock, but due to being The Mountain, was slow as fuck. He took a Razor Shell to... well, his head. He easily survived the physical Water move.
And then Clefairy Metronomed a Roar of Time at him.
"You what?" My jaw dropped.
I had Hircine shore up the hole in time. He Crunched a Blitzle to death, Rock Smashed a Klang with a boost from his Black Belt, and Crunched a Golett to dust. Meanwhile, Shelly's Yanmega went down to a Power Gem from a Persian.
With the orderlies defeated, our path was clea--they sealed the path with a gate. Those fuckers. I tried prying information out of the orderlies, but got little out of it. I did learn one of the orderlies was beginning to have second thoughts about working at the orphanage of horrors.
Back to the ground floor we went, regrouping and reanalyzing. Asking Anna, we learned that we might be able to open the gate from the lab. We had a target.
The lab could be accessed straight through the lobby. Along the way, I found the Doc's office, with a locked library and more orderlies. We were greeted with an Alolan Diglett and a Lombre, whose enthralling dance would give The Mountain nightmares. So I had him swapped out for Hircine, and good too since the Alolan Diglett had an Earth Power ready.
Meanwhile, Shelly's Yanmega went on a killing spree, killing the Diglett with an Air Cutter and sucking the last dregs of life from a Corphish using Giga Drain. Hircine had fun Crunching a Chinchou, Rock Smashing a Magnemite, and devouring a Hypno with Crunch.
Coming out of the office, I stumbled upon a stark discovery. Ame, one of the Pokémon League officials working out of the Grand Hall in Opal Ward, had a terminal at the orphanage! Contacting her, I learned an Arena had been installed at the orphanage. Many of the kids were prodigies, and probably were battling here. Though Ame didn't seem to know the full extent of the madness going on around here.
I did learn that Noel was a Normal-type Gym leader that I would be fighting one day. Good to know, might need a few Fighting-types later.
Nearby, I also found the restrooms. Obviously, I checked them out, for science. "Don't you question me, Shelly," I replied to Shelly's question. "Yes, I know it's the girls' restroom. This is for science!"
She held her silence, and doors refused to open. A sad day for science.
Once we found the lab, we were beset by another pair of orderlies. A Piplup and a Pikachu were summoned out of their balls. The Mountain survived a Brine with Sturdy and Bulldozed in return. Pikachu and Piplop were down; in their stead cam Magnemite and Prinplup.
I promptly had Hircine swapped in. He Rock Smashed the Magnemite while Shelly's Yanmega went down to a Bide from Prinplup. Hircine Retaliated against a newly swapped in Elgyem, testing both the move and his Scrappy ability at the same time. It was an instant kill.
Hircine delivered a final Rock Smash to a Nosepass's nose, crumpling it, and Shelly's Masquerain finished it off with an Energy Ball.
Searching the lab, I found a Data Chip. No idea what it does, but it supposedly can crash systems. "How convenient." Either way, I found the system controlling the gate lock and opened the gate.
We quickly rushed back into the lobby. Cain was doing his best at the hot gates. Up the first floor and onto the second, we found Noel. We also found out the Orphanage got even darker. It looked like the kids were kept in cages. Glass-framed cages with beds, granted, but a cage nonetheless. One appeared to have bloodstains on the wall.
We naturally stumbled upon more orderlies, who promptly told us they weren't allowed to question the torture. "What is this, a fucking cult?" I asked, but got an Eelektrik and a Kadabra in my face.
Ah, we meet again. Same strategy as before, The Mountain Smack Downed the Eelektrik and Bulldozed it. Shelly's Yanmega got fucking murdered by... a Yanma's Ancient Power. "Shelly, come on..." I lamented. Meanwhile, The Mountain held on with Sturdy after getting hit with a Flash Cannon from a Magneton.
I swapped in Hircine, hoping to finish this quickly. The Magneton survived a Rock Smash by Hircine, while a Venomoth was crushed by a Rock Slide from Shelly's Anorith, who was promptly Flash Cannoned into the afterlife.
The incoming Elgyem got sent right back with a Retaliate from Hircine, while Magneton rusted away from a Bubble Beam from Shelly's Araquanid.
Victory, at last--
"Wait, why is there a Slowpoke on the field?" I looked on confused. "That's a seventh 'mon." I doubled checked my counting. "Wait. That's illegal."
At which point Shelly kicked my leg.
"Oh... right. Hircine, Crunch it."
With that out of the way, I found a control panel to open the cells. Naturally, I started looting. Unfortunately, our ascent was blocked by another gate. Noel believed there would be a key in the locked library. To open that, we would need to rummage through the storage down below.
Returning to the lobby once again, I noticed that Cain must have pushed the orderlies back. Following through, I found Cain in battle and Charlotte in a cage. I promptly went up to them and said hi. After some chastisement, I rescued Charlotte and pushed onwards after Cain was done and tired.
Up ahead was a pair of orderlies near the storage. Their Klink and Elgyem were promptly Bulldozed to death. Their replacement, Cryagonal and Claydol, slayed Shelly's Yanmega with an Ice Beam and an Extrasensory. Cryagonal then went down to a Rock Blast from The Mountain.
Shelly's Araquanid didn't last long against an Eelektrik's Discharge and Claydol's Extrasensory. Eelektrik, however, had to deal with a Smack Down/Bulldoze combo. Shelly's Illumise could then finish off Claydol and a Drowzee with Struggle Bug.
With the orderlies beaten, Charlotte added insult to injury by threatening their lives by dropping my name so that they would open the storage. I approved.
Well inside, Charlotte grabbed the 'mons stored, her cigarettes, and handed me the key to the library. My Gamer Sense tingled, though. With a bit of sniffing, I pilfered an Odd Incense from the Storage.
Returning to the library, I found the lack of evil books disappointing. I found a control panel and opened the gate on the upper floors. The Doc was going down, once and for all.
Rushing up, we entered the torture chamber. "Oh hai, there Electivire. Fucking called it." I took a look around the room, seeing the kids around with their 'mons out. "Doc's fucked," I summarized. I then asked Charlotte for a second opinion.
"Royally fucked," was her response.
The Doc was surrounded, but he seemed unfazed. Charlotte took that as an invitation to give the Doc a new tattoo with her cigarette. Nice.
The Doc promptly gave up and let us take Heather, who was rather silent. I got a bad feeling about that. Either way, it was time to book it before the fuzz got here.
Lo, our group of misfits and ne'erdowells gathered 'neath Opal Bridge. The plan was to use the Underground Railnet to escape to the Chrysolia Region. This escape path went through the ruins of the Yureyu building. Unfortunately, our path was blocked by another goddamn locked gate. Worse, the locking mechanism needed power from the Abandoned Power Plant.
Where Shade apparently lived. Looked like I would be fighting him after all.
Meanwhile, Arceus decided to grant me temporary clairvoyance, giving me the ability to see events happening outside my normal senses. The Doc had anticipated our escape and was met by a mysterious figure with a red eyepiece. Oooh, collusion...
I decided not to mention it. There was enough crazy in this group.
Off I went, to the Abandoned Power Plant. Only to scout out the place, of course. I was not prepared yet for Shade. Given that it was a power plant, I decided to frontline Pacha to tank any Electric moves.
It was dark as fuck. Literally. You could barely see anything. Occasionally, the lights would flicker. There was an eerie sound in the air, reminiscent of horror games. Walking around, I briefly saw Shade flicker in and out of existence. Creepy shit was going on here.
I encountered some 'mons, naturally. Some Klinks I had seen before in the Railnet. I did catch a female Duskull, named Spooky. I then decided I had had enough, and went outside waiting for daylight, hoping the place would be brighter.
Spoiler alert, it wasn't.
Back into the breach, I caught Yaman the male Yamask. It seemed the path forward was blocked by more fucking gates. The paths to the left and right, however, were open. So I took a left and found a control panel. Toggling the panel, I had a vision. Just a glimpse, wasn't sure of what, but there was someone in it.
I continued finding more control panels and getting more visions. I was fairly certain I was seeing people dying. One man fell, another was cut by a Gabite or Garchomp. One had Corey falling to his death, another had a person utterly disntegrated or sliced into pieces.
It seemed that the battle field would also randomly start as either Short-Circuit Field or Factory Field. Interesting.
Either way, I managed to add Skeletor the Male Duskull to the ranks. Matryoshka the Voltorb was caught with a critical capture, followed by Katamari, a rare male Togedemaru.
After this, I went out and purchased plenty of Burn Heals and drinks. The power plant was swarming with Will-o-Wisps.
With the gates finally opened, I reached the back of the plant. There, I found Shade, who was being creepy as fuck. At this time, I still wasn't sure if it was actually Shade, or an urban legend called The Savage. The Savage was a nutter who repeatedly went up against Shade and may have killed the original.
Perhaps it was just Shade's ghost?
Either way, Shade and the group of misfits could wait. I needed to prepare. From the TV, I knew Shade had a Mimikyu with a Disguise. I had the vague recollection from what I thought was a Generation reveal of Mimikyu being some sort of Pikachu-looking puppet. Not sure about Disguise, though. It probably made Mimikyu less likely to hit or behaved like Zoroark's signature ability.
If this turned into parafusion evasion madness, I would be so pissed.
I decided to linger around the plant, catching any stragglers. Isis the female Yamask was the first. After putting on some tunes to drown out the oppressive nature of the plant, I found a Shiny Voltorb.
It Self-Destructed.
Press F to pay respect.
Finally, I found Damacy the female Togedemaru. Now, it was time for the drawing board.
(https://i.imgur.com/HP9muNT.png)
I believed I had come up with a suitable Anti-Ghost team, limited as I was. It had decent type coverage, suitable abilities, and type advantages.
Octavia the Deciduye, would be a bit of a double-edged sword, what with being part Ghost. But she would bring Grass, Ghost, and Flying moves to the table.
Hircine, as before, would be my Ghost/Dark slayer. Sableyes and Spiritombs, beware of the Scrappy Dog bringing Rock Smash to your faces. The addition of Ice Fang, Crunch, and Retaliate would also be useful. Ice Fang, in particular, in case of Ghost/Dragon.
Mightyena, initially, was just to have a Dark type on the team. Then I considered the possibility of a physical Ghost tank. In such a scenario, having a special Dark move could be useful. Unfortunately, Snarl was all that was available. Still, it would lower Special Attack, as a bonus. The cream of the crop, however, was the Moxie Crunch Metronome combo. If I started out with Mightyena, I would be able to setup a massive sweep. Ice Fang and Fire Fang would serve as type coverage.
Camerupt would be my answer to Gengar. Because, surely, Shade would have a Gengar. I ran the numbers. A perfect 6IV Special Sweeper Gengar (Gen VII, so no Levitate), could not kill a Defensive Sweeper Camerupt in one hit with a Shadow Ball unless it was a crit (or had a Short-Circuit boost). Earth Power, however, would be OHKO. Additionally, Camerupt would serve as an answer to any unholy Ghost/Fairy type by bringing Iron Head. Rock Slide and Lava Plume would serve as type coverage.
Luxray would be my answer to Jellicent and Drifblim. Luxray would be able to bring them down with Thunderfang and avoid Aftermath et al. with Charge Beam (and possibly setting up a sweep in the process). Fire Fang and Crunch for type coverage.
Stolas the Noctowl Prince was just there to plug any holes.
Thus, I had a plan. That plan would require money, however. So I took out my garbage collectors and trained one of them to insure income with Pay Day. After that, it was time.
(https://i.imgur.com/sFl0C90.png)
First I would need a reliable source of Fire Fang. Fortunately, I had a female Growlithe named Mildred. I bred a few with Vortex the Poochyena, but because Fire Fang wasn't an Egg Move, I needed to train them. I also got them Flamethrower while I was at it for the future *cough* Arcanine *cough*.
(https://i.imgur.com/UU2gdv3.png)
In the process, Hyacinth the Trubbish the evolved into a Garbodor, into uselessness after gaining the Weak Armor ability. "Trading away Defense for Speed when hit? You joking?" Having only Poison moves didn't help things either.
I also evolved Duckbane the Yungoos into a Gumshoos. Despite the unfortunate new appearance, I was first happy. Then I was stricken by disappointment. See, I had trained Duckbane into a physical sweeper based on the stats. Even had the amazing Adaptability ability, practically guaranteeing 2x damage against all but Rock or Steel with Odor Sleuth. Even the nature and IVs were decent. Upon evolving, however, Duckbane's Speed was unchanged. In fact, the base stat was the same for Yungoos and Gumshoos at a paltry 45. The stats had made a complete reversal from sweeper to tank. "Damnit, Duckbane...
"Fine, you're retired."
Either way, I now had Fire Fang and was ready breed it onto Shinx.
I got five shinies and two 2IVs from the first 15 eggs. What.
Breeding onwards for 5IVs using Hircine the Stoutland, I got a Jolly female 6IV from the first egg. That was like, what, 3 in 640? Jolly wasn't bad, but it wasn't Adamant. The ability was also wrong, but I didn't want to spend another Ability Capsule without a steady supply of it.
Second batch of eggs had a male 6IV, this time with Lonely and Rivalry. Wrong nature and ability, but extremely useful for IV seeding.
(https://i.imgur.com/IfjN5UG.png)
"RNG please, you're giving me heart attacks. What the hell are you planning?"
After 145 eggs, I finally hatched a candidate 5IV Shinx. A total of seven shinies and two 6IVs.
(https://i.imgur.com/x6PW6Rj.png)
Next up was the Poochyena. Fortunately, the male 6IV Shinx had retained Fire Fang and Ice Fang, and had the Adamant nature. So I bred it with Lupa the Poochyena. This allowed me to skip the Lillipup stage in the breeding chain. While the eggs were brewing, I collected some more money and garbage.
After 30 eggs, I hatched a candidate Poochyena. No shinies, but one 6IV with the wrong ability.
(https://i.imgur.com/doDnbAp.png)
Next up was Numel. I needed to get Iron Head onto one. Fortunately, I had Snowball the male Alolan Sandshrew. I bred him with Magmatrotter the Numel.
In hindsight, I probably should have checked Magmatrotter's moves. Magmatrotter was an event 'mon, and they tended to have egg moves. Breeding with Snowball probably was unnecessary.
Continuing on with the breeding, the only hatched Numel with the Relaxed nature was a shiny. I loathed breeding it since it would lose Iron Head in the process, but I needed the nature. Once done, I swapped in the 6IV male Shinx from before for IVs. Bootstrapping time.
After 145 eggs, I hatched a candidate Numel. No 6IVs but two shinies.
(https://i.imgur.com/590X2Ax.png)
Welcome Moxxie the Poochyena, Hime the Shinx, and Krakatoa the Numel. Prepare for EV training around Obsidia Ward.
Once done with EV training, Moxxie and Shinx both got an Everstone to hold so they would learn Crunch early. We trained for experience around Citrine Mountain and the Abandoned Power Plant. Eventually, the moves were acquired, and the new members evolved into their final forms.
In the process, I also evolved Scatman the Grimer into a Muk. May he be useful once more. Hopefully. I hated the base stats.
Oh, and I caught Voltron, the Shiny Voltorb. One day I would throw it at a legendary, mistaking it for an Ultra Ball.
With the training complete, it was time to gear up for Shade. After getting some money, I bought a Metronome for Moxxie, and Krakatoa and Hime got their Quick Claws.
(https://i.imgur.com/RCDvbGG.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/7rYhtiX.png)
"Here we come, Shade!"
It was time exorcise this fucker. Approaching Shade, I receive a creepy murder smile.
Right. Totally not a Ghost Pokémon. Looked like Gengar's smile.
And lo, he opened up with a Gengar. No worries, I had a Moxxie. It was time to see if Moxxie could withstand the sweeper and setup his own sweep. Gengar, naturally, moved first and struck with a Thunderbolt.
I missed TM breeding.
Moxxie survived and Crunched in response. A OHKO, nice. Unfortunately, Gengar had Cursed Body, and disabled Crunch. That fucker put a stop to Moxxie's sweep! Clever bastard.
Next up was Mimikyu. Huh, so it was the Pikachu-looking puppet. Fine, no Crunch, but Moxxie still had Snarl--
Mimikyu used Play Rough.
Play Rough is Fairy (and super effective).
Is Mimikyu Ghost/Fairy, the unholiest of unholies?
With Moxxie down, I sent in Krakatoa. "Iron Head!"
Disguise was broken (a one-time Substitute?) and Mimikyu Swords Danced. But I was pretty sure I heard the super effective noise!
I FUCKING CALLED IT.
Krakatoa tried to Iron Head again, but was cut in line by Short-Circuit-boosted, Swords-Dance-boosted Shadow Claw. Krakatoa was down!
I responded with Hime. The intimidate nullified the Swords Dance. A Thunder Fang finished off Mimikyu.
In return, Shade sent out a Rotom. A FUCKING ROTOM. Last I checked, that was a legendary or pseudolegendary.
Hime gave it a Crunch and ate a Shadow Ball. Rotom was a fucking tank, so I decided to heal up Hime, while she ate another Shadow Ball. Another Crunch sent Rotom into the red. That was when Shade decided to use a Hyper Potion. At least I baited it out? Hime gave it a few more Crunches while Rotom gave a parting Discharge gift.
I was pretty sure it was a gift since it shifted the Short Circuit field into a Factory Field. No more Ghost boost, and Electric boost was no longer random.
Rotom was repliced with Dhelmise. This was a new one. Given its looks as a decaying anchor, I assumed it was Ghost/Steel or Ghost/Water. Two of Hime's Fire Fangs were enough to knock it out. I guessed it was part Steel.
(In hindsight, it was Ghost/Grass.)
In came Banette with a Synthethic Seed, boosting Special Attack and giving it Laser Focus. Its next move would be a guaranteed crit, if I recalled correctly. Hime was faster though, and Crunched Banette in half before Banette could do anything. A OHKO. Cursed Body disabled Crunch, though. Fuck.
Shade's final 'mon was a Doublade with another Synthetic Seed. A Ghost/Steel type with high Attack and Defense. If that thing Swords Danced, I would be in a lot pain. Moxxie was supposed to deal with it, but he... well, he got Mimikyu'd. I let Hime give it a shot with a Fire Fang. I didn't expect it to kill, but it did cut off a chunk of Doublade's HP. Doublade responded with a crit Shadow Claw, which finally finished off Hime.
In return, I sent out Hircine. Hircine opened up with a Crunch, which brought Doublade into the red. Doublade responded with a Gyro Ball that sent Hircine into the yellow. Either one could kill the other. But Hircine was faster with a Crunch and Doublade was no more.
(https://i.imgur.com/Re1eRYZ.png)
Shade was beaten. The battle was intense, didn't go as I planned, and that Discharge from Rotom almost certainly helped. I named Hime as the MVP.
Shade was still being creepy, but he gave me the Omen Badge, which looked like a skull. "Am I the baddy?" I asked.
The badge raised the obedience level cap by another five levels and gave me a license to Flash people. Yaaay...
Shade also gave me a TM for Shadow Claw. Finally, something useful.
Once all the gifts had been handed out, Shade magically turned on the power plant. And on the monitor I could see a view of the Railnet and the group of misfits. The gate was opened and Creepy Red Eye appeared with a squad of Meteor goons.
I was shocked, shocked, to see that the Doc would be working with Team Meteor.
Creepy Red Eye ordered the kids to be taken. Again! Cain managed to escape and had his Nidoking seal off the tunnel with an Earthquake. As if Obsidia Ward hadn't had enough of those. Fucking hell, Cain, now I couldn't access the Aron or get to the Chrysolia Region! Not without Strength at least, and Arceus knew where that was.
At least I caught all the 'mons in the area--thank Arceus for that.
So... From one rescue mission to another, huh? Or was it time for the Byxbysion Wasteland? Fern was there, so my Gamer Sense tingled.
What a fucking rollercoaster.
So I figured I should probably check up on Cain. He should be near Opal Bridge. But before that, I took a detour to Beryl Cave, and spelunked it properly with Flash using LÄMP the Morelull.
It was empty. Mental cartography won again!
Fine, Cain then. Upon reaching the Railnet, I didn't see Cain. I did find Victoria in quite the distress. Apparently, Cain was rushing to get Strength from Victoria's sensei Kiki, in the Apophyll Academy across the polluted Azurine Lake. However, it couldn't be used without the Blight Badge from Aya the Poison Gym Leader in the Byxbysion Wasteland and Cain's sister.
Thus the plan would be to get to Apophyll, get Strength, and then get the key from Cain to get to Byxbysion, where I could get the Blight Badge.
Yay, more poison. Though it would give me an opportunity to train a few more Psychic, Steel, and Ground types.
Cain would currently be in the Coral Ward, seeking passage across the lake. I could go there now, but I had a few loose ends to deal with.
Namely, Team Aqua. They had been fighting Team Magma in an alley for a few days now.
I reordered the Anti-Ghost team to have Hime in front and rushed to Lapis Ward. In Aqua's hideout, I found Archer.
"We meet again," I said.
Archer opened up with a Pelipper. I figured I would try to setup a Charge Beam sweep. Hime the Luxray promptly OHKO Pelipper. Huh.
In came Sharpedo. Hime Charge Beamed the shark into the red, while eating a Crunch into the yellow. Hime tried to get another Charge Beam off but was cut off by an Aqua Jet to the face and went down.
Hircine the Stoutland was sent in as a replacement. He ate a crit Crunch into the yellow, but Retaliated Sharpedo into oblivion. After that, it was a Wartortle left.
Hircine's Crunch wasn't enough and he went down to an Aqua Tail. On a gamble, I sent in Octavia the Decidueye. Ice Fang was a worry, but Octavia was faster and killed Wartortle with a Razor Leaf.
With Archer defeated, Team Aqua left the area. Maybe even disbanded. And now there was a clean pool of water to deal with. A new fishing area, what would I find here?
I went to the PokéCenter and swapped in the Beta Team: Vaernima the Munna, Hyacinth the Garbodor, Pacha the Pachirisu, and Moonshine the Swoobat. Stolas the Noctowl Prince and Moxxie the Mightyena got to stay.
Fishing in the new pool, however, I found only Barboaches. Not great, not terrible. At least, it had given me options. Now, the Pokédex suggested there were also Carvanhas in the area. I didn't see any though, so that would require either surf or a better fishing rod.
With nothing better to do, I decided to see Maxwell just in case. While leaving the alley, however, I stumbled upon a wild female Alolan Rattata. Welcome to the ranks, Mustaschia. May you breed well.
Meeting Maxwell, I was met with acknowledgment of my dominance and was given a not-too-shabby female Houndour, which I named Deville, as an initiation rite. Magma For Lyfe. I also possibly earned the right to call Magma in at some point. Gang favors and all that.
With the loose ends dealt with, Cain was all that was left. In case he, for some reason wanted to battle, I swapped back in the Anti-Ghost team. A couple of trainers accosted me in Opal Ward but they were no biggie. Clean sweeps.
I found Cain at the Coral Ward piers, looking gloomily out at sea. Apparently he was on a mission, since I barely got a word in edgewise before he zoomed out on his Alolan Muk. Didn't even get the key.
That fucker.
Worse, I couldn't traverse the lake without Surf. And boats apparently couldn't deal with the acidity and toxicity of the lake. So, now what?
Upon leaving the piers, the answer miraculously appeared from the harbor: Amaria the Water Gym leader. Apparently, she had been working with Ame on tracking the source of the pollution: Blacksteam Factory in Peridot Ward.
Clearly, I was going to have to become Captain Planet or something.
Fix the pollution, get a boat, get Strength from Kiki in the Apophyll Academy, get the Byxbysion key from Cain, get the Blight Badge from Aya in the Byxbysion Wastaland, and finally save the group of misfits.
"Why does this remind me of 'One Small Favour' from RuneScape?" I wondered.
Fucking wild goose chase.
While running halfway across the city, I wondered if the Blacksteam Factory was a runaway factory or the Team Meteor National Convention center. Meeting up with Amaria at the factory, we found the door locked. Amaria had an idea though, and sent out Deliverance the Lapras. By combining Waterfall and Ice Beam, Deliverance created an ice staircase to the roof.
"The fuck do we do when it melts?" I gestured profusely at Deliverance's creation. "This ain't Portal!"
Either way, I frontlined Krakatoa the Camerupt and carefully ascended the slippery stairs. Entering on the second floor, I discovered that yes, this was indeed the MNC. Naturally. I tag-teamed with Amaria against a pair of surprised goons and--
Deliverance was level 87.
Oh.
Well, those guys were fucked. Golbat and Lairon? Ice Beamed and Earth Powered, respectively. We moved down a floor and were embraced by a bumrushing gang of Meteor goons coming out of the woodworks. Heavily outnumbered, Amaria asked if I trusted her.
The answer was obviously no.
Amaria had Deliverance clear a path with Ice Shard and then promptly yeeted me through gap before pulling out her Atlantica the Kingdra.
"... You deal with that then." I candidly muttered.
It was time for me to Captain Planet this thing. Fuck me. Ducking and weaving through corridors, avoiding swarms of Meteor goons rushing towards Amaria, I came across a side passage, with an obvious trap and a totally-concealed man.
(https://i.imgur.com/3urlth5.png)
Only one way to go... The man turned out to be the mysterious Meteor boss. A quick chat later and tumbling down the trapdoor I went.
(https://i.imgur.com/2t0cD8m.png)
...How original. Stolen 'mons from the Day Care. And one of them was a Jigglypuff.
A singing Jigglypuff.
Fortunately, it couldn't draw anything on my face. Still, Gamer Sense told me this was a resting spot. Getting out of here didn't seem so straightforward, though.
"Methinks it's a puzzle," I uttered.
Nothing a bit of plain ol' physics couldn't handle. I managed to break out, beat up the guard, and escape. Now I was at a crossroad. I could go down into the darkness, or up into the light.
Seeing as LÄMP the Morelull was not with me, I chose the light. Which had more Meteor.
I sighed.
Of note, one of the Techies had a Zorua. The Pokédox knew not its nesting location. Drats.
Feeling gripped by FOMO, I turned around and headed for the darkness. Good thing, too! I found a Pulse Dex readout on a Protean Muk. Super high Special Defense and pure Poison. Good thing I brought loads of physical attackers. One another note, I also found a Psych Up TM and some Magnet Powder. No idea what the powder did.
The Darkness had loot and intel, the Light had only war. I was a fool.
Welp, here I went killing again. Krakatoa went on a roll, steamrolling over the grunts. Apparently, Team Meteor had Knights with wierd arm contraptions, and Dames that looked like butterflies. Practically halfway to being Team Plasma at this point.
I found a control panel to open the front door. As expected, the ice staircase had melted. How fortunate that I found an exit.
Deeper into the factory, I found a path to an Atrium. Unfortunately, it was blocked by gates. One control was nearby, the other I had to hunt down. Up another floor, past Amaria's last known position, I found a Thunderstone and the final control panel.
It was at this point I started having second thoughts. I was uncertain if Krakatoa would be up to the task of beating the Protean Muk. Krakatoa uses Earth Power, which was a Special Ground move. The Muk had super high special defense.
I retreated out of the factory and swapped out Moxxie the Mightyena for The Mountain the Graveler. The Mountain's Earthquake would surely be killing blow, possibly after a sacrificial play.
I prepped for battle and entered the Atrium. More goons, ZEL and the boss man, was all I saw. No Amaria, huh? The boss man invited me forward--and dear Arceus would someone put that Muk out of its misery?
(https://i.imgur.com/nWQscdv.png)
The boss went on about the Muk and, while my back was turned, tried to have Garchomp murder me. Amaria came in with a saving Ice Beam, though, from Atlantica.
Cue ecofascist monologue... subverted with pollution? Pollute and ruin the city so everyone would leave, bringing the land back to its natural state to take over the city.
Okay, boss man. While he and Amaria battled wits, he took an interest in Amaria's sapphire bracelet. It may be related to the plot device underneath the Grand Stairway.
Either way, Amaria would battle the boss man while I would battle ZEL.
ZEL opened up with Glaceon while I opened up with Krakatoa. Krakatoa's Lava Plume was a OHKO for Glaceon. Espeon replaced Glaceon, and brought Krakatoa into the yellow with a Psychic. Unfortunately, Earth Power could only do the same. Espeon was faster and took Krakatoa down with another Psychic.
I sent in Hime, who proceeded to Crunch Espeon after its Morning Sun was not good enough to save it. Next up was Umbreon, though. I swapped Hime out for Hircine the Stoutland, who took a Confuse Ray. Hircine proceeded to Rock Smash through it and killed Umbreon with a crit.
And then it was just the Protean Muk left. Hircine opened up with a Crunch but it wasn't enough. Muk turned Electric type and used Discharge. Huh. The field also changed to Short Circuit. I figured I'd try Hime again, who took another Discharge.
Hime tried another Crunch without killing. Surprise, Muk turned Ground type and used Mud Bomb. I gambled and swapped in Octavia the Decidueye. She was one of my hard hitters and she took a Sludge Wave to the face. Thank fuck for part Ghost typing, as she was brought into the yellow.
Octavia fired a Spirit Shackle which took Muk into the red, though Muk recovered with Leftovers. Muk, however, responded with another Sludge Wave, and Octavia came in with a clutch 2 HP survival!
(https://i.imgur.com/YABrNbS.png)
Octavia fired off another Spirit Shackle, but ZEL used a Hyper Potion! You bastard!
A final Discharge finished off Octavia, and the world cried out.
The Mountain, enraged, came out of his ball, jumped into the air and avoided the Mud Bomb, and landed with a massive Earth-shattering Earthquake.
Muk was no more.
In hindsight, I probably could've healed Octavia and not have done so much probing, but eh... Hircine probably also wasn't necessary. Hime could've held up against Umbreon.
Either way, ZEL, in her shock, namedropped Solaris as the name of the boss, whom Amaria had defeated. The arrogant bastard didn't see it as a loss though and took the opportunity to have his Tyranitar Superpower Amaria.
Like, punched her unconscious. As in, attempted murder.
He and the rest of the gang promptly ran away.
Once Amaria woke up, she noted that the city's water treatment facility ought to be able to clean up the pollution in due time now that the source was gone.
I, however, still needed to cross the lake, and Amaria had the idea of giving me the keys to her boat in the Coral Ward.
It was going to sink, wasn't it?
I ran over to Coral Ward, but barged into a house to watch TV.
The TV had not failed me yet, okay?
From the TV I learned that the next Gym Leader would probably be Kiki, the Fighting Gym Leader in Apophyll Academy.
The boat might sink though, and the day care was in Obsidia Ward.
Would the devs be so cruel as to deprive me of my access to my breeding grounds?
Would they be so cruel to strand me away from the city?
Would they be so evil?
...
They had better have some choppers at the Apophyll Academy. How else would they get non-polluted food?
Was this long form of writing too tiring or repetitive? Or should I stick mainly to main battles and plot?
Welp, here went nothing. The plot demanded a sacrifice. All aboard S.S. DOOM.
...
I made it! And would you look at that, the ship seemed intact. I was now on a funky beach. I presumed it was banded with magnetite sands and quartz sands and such. Looked like it, anyway.
It seemed the boat could still make a journey back, so that was good. Well then, it was time to search for more 'mons, fight trainers, and get that badge. Lots of trainers around here, training both Pokémon and themselves. Also fishermen... fishing in the toxic Azurine Lake. Guess they really liked those Grimers.
Further up the beach, in a little nook beneath Pyrous Mountain, lay the Apophyll Academy. An Eastern-looking wooden structure, presumably on stilts. Basically a large bungalow with an open, sandy atrium in the middle. And on these sands I found some interesting, hitherto unknown to me, 'mons. Say hello to Muikku the female Pyukumuku, and Radagast the female Sandygast.
With the immediate surroundings lightly explored, I began ransa—ahem, searching the academy. Looking around, I was beginning to think Cain might be at the volcano. It certainly would be a Cain move.
One of the students on the roof—or perhaps a wall, I don't know this architecture well—was kind enough to give me a Pokémon! Say hello to Ahsoka the female Meditite. She might be useful, if I wanted to copycat Kiki. Then again, her IVs weren't great, so she would be more like a child factory. She does have Draining Punch, an egg move—and not an easily acquirable one. I hadn't seen any Mienfoos around.
Continuing my search, I found another Black Belt, and was given a Pure Incense. I also found a readout on the Ashen Beach Field. So it was ash on the beach, naturally. And the Ashen Beach Field was looking scary as fuck: 'Mons with certain abilities (including Pure Power) would ignore accuracy and evasion checks; Fighting Pokémon would be unable to become confused; increased stage changes for Calm Mind, Meditate, et al.; all Special Flying moves and several other similar moves would stirr up ash and make you lose accuracy; Aura Blast, Zen Headbutt et al. have increased damage etc.
"Really stacking the deck there, huh?"
On the upper floor, I found the TV to be rather... loose. Yes... loose. Apparently a Nature Girl didn't appreciate my messing around with that. But boy, would she change her tune if she could get a TV into her own room. Let me just... yoink that thing and somehow slip it by everyone. How I managed to not get caught, would remain a mystery. Maybe the TV was one of those hand-portable ones. Oh well, I got a sticker for my Silph Department Store membership card from her roommate!
Quick! To the boat! To the mainland! Silph called for me!
Still surprised by the integrety of the boat, I made my way to Obsidia Ward. On the path, I found a Spoink, but it fled upon meeting it. Lo, the hunt was on! At some point, anyway.
I burst through the sliding doors into Silph, barged into the elevator, shoved my membership card into the lift operator's face. And what did I find on the new floor? GREAT BALLS. FINALLY. Only have like 47 of 'em. What else... Super Potion? Meh. Full Heal? Yay? Vitamins?! Oh my poor wallet, it would not survive.
Bit of a disappointment, but oh well. Progress!
Back on the boat, I sailed back to Apophyll. I decided to do a bit more of a thorough search of the area. Good too, I found a Wave Incense in a ravine. Fishing revealed nothing new, just more and more Grimers. I did catch White Castle the male Sandygast. And in a rock, I found a Telluric Seed.
Yeah... not using that until I have a replenishable source.
North of the Academy, along a narrow beach, I found a cave opening. Apophyll Cave it was called. Inside, I found a Revive, nice. I also caught Drunk Judy, a female Crabrawler. I swore, Crabrawler's typing was cursed. I kept forgetting what it was. Further exploring was blocked by a Strength requirement, AKA boulders.
West of the Academy, lay Pyrous Mountain. It had an entrance. "Care for excess lava!" read a sign. Nice. What a perfectly safe spot for a person to be.
Given the lack of security, Reborn City had to have really gone to hell.
Bloody hot, inside the volcano. Near the entrance, I found what I could only call the Pillars of Plot. Apparently, I could Rock Smash these things. Definitely saving that for later.
(https://i.imgur.com/NEqZW8O.png)
Elsewhere, there lay a lake of magma. It looked like you were supposed to surf on the magma, but I wasn't sure. Physics in a Pokémon universe was more of a suggestion and all that. Delving further, I found more Pillars of Plot.
I also found some 'mons! Joining my army was Hawk the male Sawk, Lannister the female Alolan Dugtrio, and Urist McSlug the female Magcargo. Finally a breeding pair for Slugmas. This was also a decent training spot, if your 'mons could handle the heat and punishment. Hircine the Stoutland leveled up to level 43 and learned Reversal. Had to replace Rock Smash, unfortunately, but I was sure I could find a replacement auxilliary 'mon.
Leaving the volcano for later, I searched the ravine south of the Academy. There I found Kiki, who was giving a lecture. The usual Ki stuff, and what seemed to be a bit of critical thinking. I think?
I'm getting enrolled, arent I? I thought.
We then returned to the Academy. When I entered, Victoria stormed in behind me. And aw yiss, I have street cred from knowing Kiki's personal student! Anyway, I apparently need to graduate to get Strength from Kiki. I also learned that something may be wrong with Kiki. Sick, maybe? I overheard that her "condition" seemed to be getting worse. Either way, I wasn't allowed to battle Kiki just yet. First, I had to reach the peak of Pyrous Mountain and defeat one of Kiki's finest students. Who that was, I wasn't allowed to know. Victoria seemed to know, but was stopped by Kiki.
How mysterious. Perhaps it was Cain? Whoever it was, they had better not stand in my way.
The Academy had a little mini-Pokécenter and a supplier. With Alpha Team rested up, I went to the PC and switched Hircine for Hawk. I figured a Fighting type would be useful, and Hawk could learn Rock Smash. He also had decent IVs. As if by fate, I also had a Black Belt for the appropriately-dressed 'mon.
Leaving the Academy, Victoria stopped me. Finally out of earshot, she namedrops the student. Cal, was his name. He used to be a Fire-type Gym Leader. Lovely. She also told me that the Pillars of Plot can be used to drain magma from the chambers, that the rocks are basically clogging the pipes. Huh. This volcano is very strange. Anyway, back to Pyrous Mountain!
It was a bit of a puzzle, working out when and where to drain the magma. In the process, I caught Thror the male Throh. Got in quite the exercise running up and down the volcano to clear the magma. Either way, I found a path to the peak. There stood Cal at the edge.
He sounded depressed. As I conversed, he told me he had had a rage against his brother—Blake, I thought it was. He came to Apophyll to prove himself better. To get out from living in the shadow of his brother. And maybe escape the love triangle he seemed to have been in with Shelly! Shelly had been trying to gain Blake's love. She had said something that Cal took wrong and he had attacked her.
"Tough, but I must break you." I told him.
The battle was on!
I started out with The Mountain the Graveler. Cal sent out Barbaracle, a monstrous barnacle. The barnacle was faster and managed to Scald The Mountain, leaving The Mountain burned with 1 HP! All the Mountain managed to put out was a single Stealth Rock. Damn. The Mountain was out.
In response, I sent out Hime the Luxray. Hime got one Thunderfang in on the Barbaracle, who went into the red and Stealth Rocked. As I told Hime to Crunch, Cal switched out his Barbaracle for his Turtonator. I guessed Turtonator was a Fire-type, maybe part Ground-type. He took the Crunch.
On the second round, I had Hime scout out with Thunderfang. It was half effective, so not a Ground-type. Possibly Fire/Steel. Turtonator got soaked with a Hyper Potion. Hime scouted out with Fire Fang on the third round, and the result was identical. Perhaps Fire/Electric, then? It would match the color scheme. Turtonator responded with a Flamethrower, burning Hime! Hime then went for the Crunch while getting blasted in the face with another Flamethrower.
At this point, I was getting annoyed. I readied up my super soaker and drenched Hime in a Full Restore. Apparently, Cal had the same idea and gave a Hyper Potion to his Turtonator. Tactical baiting of items, totally planned. Hime duked out with Crunch while eating Flamethrowers, one of which was a critical hit. After a Hyper Potion, Hime gave one final Crunch that destroyed that damn turtle.
Next, Cal sent out Typhlosion. Ah... nostalgia. Hime Thunderfanged Typhlosion into the red as it began charging for a solar beam. Big mistake. A single Crunch finished off the nostalgia trip.
Out came Hakamo-o. I was so jealous—I wants it! It was part Dragon, last I checked. Hime gave it a Crunch. Half effective? So Fire/Fighting? Hakamo-o was not impressed and landed a Dual Chop, bringing Hime into the yellow. Hime then took another Dual Chop whilst sipping on some Lemonade. Rude! Hime retaliated with a Charge Beam, half effective. The hell? Dragon/Fighting? Hakamo-o responded with a Sky Uppercut, which sent Hime back into the yellow. They went back and forth with Lemonades, Sky Uppercuts, and Charge Beams until at last a final Charge Beam finished off Hakamo-o.
The sweep was on. Cal sent in Magmortar. Killed in one shot. Barbaracle? Dead. Charizard? Stealth Rock took half of its HP, Hime took the rest. The battle was over.
In the aftermath, I concluded that the battle was won in part because of the super soaker, in part because my Pokémon were in the low 40s while Cal's were in the high 30s. The early Stealth Rock certainly helped as well. Turtonator was a big unknown, which I spent a great deal of effort probing. In hindsight, the design should've made it obvious. Then again, the color palette was similar to Heatmor's.
I could also only conclude that Hakamo-o was Dragon/Fighting. What an odd choice for a ex-Fire Gym Leader. Ultimately, the Charge Beam sweep sealed Cal's fate. I named Hime the MVP.
Following the battle, I learned that Blake was an Ice trainer and possibly Gym Leader. Cal told me had "things to finish". I hoped he hadn't any suicidal thoughts.
I hiked back down the mountain and returned to the Academy. Kiki wasn't looking good. Did she suffer from some kind of muscle atrophy condition? Either way, Kiki was willing to battle me.
As I attempted to leave the Academy to prep, I was ambushed by Victoria! She said Kiki was dying and was setting Victoria up as Kiki's successor. Victoria didn't like to hear that and challenged me to a surprise battle.
Unprepared battle, oh boy!
I sent out The Mountain and Victoria sent out Pangoro. Lovely. Pangoro opened up with a Bullet Punch, while the Mountain setup Stealth Rock. As The Mountain ate another Bullet Punch, he proceeded to rock the Academy with an Earthquake, sending Pangoro into the yellow. A second Earthquake finished off Pangoro, who got in a parting Bullet Punch.
In came Gallade. I switched out the Mountain and sent in Octavia the Decidueye, who nommed a Leaf Blade. Gallade deftly moved in and Night Slashed Octavia into the red! Shit. Octavia responded with a Spirit Shackle and sealed Gallade's fate. Begone, Thot!
Victoria sent out a Mienfoo. Octavia was drenched in an Ultra Potion while Mienfoo dropped a Rock Tomb, slowing down Octavia. Mienfoo was now faster and got in a second Rock Tomb before getting Plucked into the red by Octavia. This triggered an Eject Button!
With Mienfoo ejected, Victoria sent out Incineroar. Lovely. I switched out Octavia for Krakatoa the Camerupt, who ate a Darkest Lariat. On the second round, Incineroar was faster with another Darkest Lariat, sending Krakatoa into the red, but Krakatoa overpowered Incineroar with an Earth Power and KO'd the big cat.
In response, Victoria sent out an Alolan Raichu. Electric/Psychic, if I recalled correctly, and possible Levitate. I gave Krakatoa an Ultra Potion during a Psychic attack. Krakatoa returned with a Rock Slide, sending the Alolan Raichu into the red, while getting Psychiced into the yellow. Another Ultra Potion, and final Lava Plume, the mouse was squashed.
Mienfoo was all that was left. It Faked Out a flinch, and got in a Drain Punch, but met a Vesuvian end with a Lava Plume.
"Damn it, Victoria, don't surprise me like that! I was going to redo the team!" I yelled.
With 'mons in the high 30s, I had to be laser focused. Stealth Rock wasn't as instrumental, unsurprising. Eject Button, however, sure was a novelty. Either way, Krakatoa was the MVP.
In ceterum censeo Galladem esse delendam.
Anyway, where was I? Right. I skipped past Kiki, for I had prep work to do.
First I needed a census. I put Krakatoa on vacation, and brought out Vaernima the Munna. She needed some love. Then, I went out smashing rocks for 'mons.
Out and around the Academy, I caught quite a few Pokémon. In total, I got a breeding pair of: Krusty (M) and Karen (F), the Krabbies; Knuckle (F) and Buckle (M), the Shuckles; Corpsman (M), Undertaker (M), and Skar (F), the Corphishes; and Barney (M) and Poker (F), the Binacles.
They were nothing terribly useful at first glance. It was time to sit down on the beach by the whiskey keg and put on the thinking hat.
By the time I sobered up, I had finally assembled a list.
(https://i.imgur.com/LiDnVnZ.png)
The risky plan was risky, but it could work. It was something new, something I hadn't tried before. I figured it would depend on who Kiki was sending out first. But dear Arceus was it going to be a pain to breed.
I had considered alternative teams, primarily focused around flyers. But what I had access to seemed to suck. Remember the Ashen Beach Field hell? The flyers would have to hit hard and fast. The problem, of course, was that Special Flying moves were a bad idea. There were terribly few birds with Keen Eye and good Special Flying moves and suitable base states. Usually, the stats or movesets sucked.
Other possibilities were Ghost-types for that Fighting immunity. Or perhaps a Waterfall Seaking—Waterfall would get a damage boost on the Ashen Beach Field.
(https://i.imgur.com/sFl0C90.png)
To Obsidia Ward!
I started with Meowstic. I brought Time Bomb the female Espurr and threw her in the daycare with S39 the 6IV male Shinx. Over the course of 20 eggs, I got one shiny Espurr and two 6IVs! The 6IV Espurrs lacked the wrong ability, but I wasn't going to use what few Ability Capsule I had on them. Into the Spares box they went. In total, there was one candidate.
(https://i.imgur.com/xpPuB4h.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/mEjlroS.png)
Next up, it was Fearow.
As Spearow was in the Flying egg group, I first had to breed an IV donor. For this, Woobat would do. I grabbed Lovebat—previously W8 from hunting Woobats—and threw her into the daycare with S39 the 6IV Shinx. After 20 eggs, I had the IV donor. No 6IVs or shinies, though.
Then it was time for Spearow, but I didn't have a non-shiny female! To Beryl Ward with some weaker mons in the hunting party! There I caught Zero, the female Fearow. She was thrown into the daycare with the IV donor.
In hindsight, I probably should've have bred a Nature donor first. Oh well. After 125 eggs, I finally had a single candidate. Nothing else.
(https://i.imgur.com/tggV8fh.png)
Then it was time for Mawile. And probably some money making with the Pickup squad.
First I needed to breed the nature. Fortunately, I had Bun Bun the Sassy male Buneary. I threw him into the daycare with Hunger the female Mawile. Once I had a Sassy Mawile, I bred it with S39 the 6IV Shinx. After 55 eggs, I had one candidate and nothing else.
(https://i.imgur.com/h4qoFKW.png)
Next on the list was Ariados, arguably the longest breeding chain.
For this, I needed Ledyba as an Egg Move donor. Unfortunately, the move Baton Pass is learned at level 26. So I took out TwilightBane the male Ledyba and went training.
While training back at Apophyll, I came across a Corsola on the beach. It was seeking shelter from the lake. With a bit of Pokésnax, I welcomed Reefer, the female Corsola with Hustle and Head Smash. Supposedly a competitive combo, but the IVs sucked. Anyway, TwilightBane learned Baton Pass and evolved into a Ledian.
Now, I didn't want to breed Mephala, the shiny female Spinarak, so I had to catch a replacement. Say hello to Broodmother the female Spinarak. I also needed a Nature donor, and an IV donor. The closest Nature donor I had was Dumle the male Purrloin. S39 the 6IV Shinx was the closest IV donor. Fortunately, the breeding chains joined up damn early.
So first I threw SPHER the Spheal into the daycare with Dumle. I took the first female Nature Spheal donor and bred her with S39 the 6IV Shinx. I saved at least one Spheal to keep the Signal Beam egg move.
After 40 eggs (no shinies or 6IVs), I had the male 5IV/Nature Spheal donor that then bred with Avril the Surskit.
After 45 eggs (no shinies or 6IVs), I had the male 5IV/Nature Surskit donor.
After that, I bred Broodmother with TwilightBane. I took the first female Egg Move Spinarak and bred her with the male 5IV/Nature Surskit donor. Finally, after 46 eggs and three shinies, I had one candidate.
(https://i.imgur.com/BE5ipbB.png)
Finally, it was time for Medicham, plus another round of with the Pickup squad. Breeding was expensive, yo.
I needed a Nature donor and an IV donor. Fortunately, the egg move was easy: I had Ahsoka the female Meditite that I got from a student at Apophyll Academy.
Lovebat would provide the nature. Unfortunately, she was female. So I had to breed a male one. After five eggs, I had a Naughty Nature donor.
I had to pass the nature through Buneary. Haru was the only female Buneary I had. Unfortunately, she was a shiny, and I didn't want to breed that. So I had to catch another: Bnuuy the female Buneary. I threw Bnuuy into the daycare with the male Nature Woobat. After the first female Nature Buneary, I threw in S39 the 6IV Shinx.
After 45 eggs, one shiny, I had a male 5IV/Nature Buneary donor that I then bred with Ahsoka.
And after 35 eggs, no shinies or 6IVs, I had one candidate.
(https://i.imgur.com/Yllctjj.png)
Auxilliary Breeding:
(https://i.imgur.com/NSCRric.png)
Woobat
(https://i.imgur.com/tU7X8PF.png)
Spheal
(https://i.imgur.com/pC5PCcc.png)
Surskit
(https://i.imgur.com/08BFsNb.png)
Buneary
I now had all my candidates.
My PC was getting rather full though, so I decided to empty my dump box on the Wonder Trade. Most notably I got Coleslaw the female Comfey. Based on the Pokédex, I would be unable to catch one until much later in the game. Other than that, I got: Kbuntu the male Patrat; Nordkoff the male 4IV Koffing; Gutterbug the male Venonat with egg move Giga Drain; Electrosoap the female Pachirisu; Edgeful the female Stufful, making the breeding pair; Toothache (M) and Caries (F) the Swirlixes; Narcirat (M) and Henritouille (F) the Rattatas; Scynthesis the female Bellsprout; Cyberdoof the male Bidoof; Auditioner the male Meowth; EnsignWesley the male Pineco; and Cappuccino the female Minccino.
(The Pokémon arrived nameless, except for Scynthesis which had a blank space for a name. Hence I renamed them.)
With more trainer IDs, I tried my luck at the lottery. I won third prize: a Max Revive!
Either way, the breeding was complete. I named my new team members: Flint the Espurr, Viggen the Spearow, Tatzlmon the Mawile, Ungoliant the Spinarak, and Ohm the Meditite.
Now it was time for EV training!
I brought Octavia the Decidueye with me as backup. Sweepers and Setup Walls would get their EVs.
While EV training, I came across a pair of Mightyenas in a back alley in Obsidia Ward. They were accosting what looked like an Elektrike. One moment, back to PC... switching out some EV trained 'mons and switching in Moxxie the Mightyena, Hawk the Sawk, and Hircine the Stoutland.
Rescue time!
"Show them who's alpha, Moxxie!"
We faced down two level 25 Mightyenas, a male and a female. Moxxie and Hawk both got hit with a double Intimidate on the get go. So Moxxie Fire Fanged the male Mightyena and Hawk finished it off with a Brick Break. KO!
The female was clearly shocked and retaliated with Assurance. Moxxie then got in and cooled her down with an Ice Fang. Meanwhile, Hawk was being a wingman and started flexing with Bulk Up. The female Mightyena continued hitting with Assurance. They went on for a while until finally the female was down.
As a reward, Piezo the male Elektrike joined our pack.
On a whim, I looked around Coral Ward. More event mons had popped up, so I revisited areas. In a warehouse, I found the Spoink. Say hello to Baby the female Spoink. Too late to make any changes to the team.
Following that, I continued the EV training until it was done. Then it was just XP training for levels, moves, and evolution. Not easy, given that Ungoliant was not allowed to evolve until it had learned Poison Jab at level 43. Thank Arceus that Bug-types are quick learners. I also trained some older 'mons as backup. I chose Pyrous Mountain as a suitable location.
There I also caught Gaiden the male Shiny Sawk, and Beetroot the male Shiny Alolan Diglett.
As XP gain was dwindling, I decided to check out a rumor. Supposedly, there were trainers in the Grand Hall that you could battle. And what do you know, there was a Casanova in the Grand Hall.
You could rebattle him over and over.
AND EARN XP AND MONEY.
That would've been good to know way back. Got some good practice in for the strat, though. Never been a fan of Baton Pass.
"Oh, there are multiple trainers in the Grand Hall. Nice."
Some time later, the training was complete! I handed out the requisite items and went to Apophyll.
I WAS READY.
(https://i.imgur.com/r4ZWxNU.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/asQUa5e.png)
The plan was for Tatzlmon the Mawile and Ungoliant the Ariados to setup. Primary objective was for Tatzlmon to raise Defense with Iron Defense. Intimidate would lessen any physical blows, and Iron Head could be used for support. Raising Special Defense with Stockpile was a secondary objective. Then Tatzlmon would Baton Pass to Ungoliant. Hopefully, Ungoliant could now survive any Rock moves or a Fire Punch. Ungoliant would raise Speed with Agility then Baton Pass to Viggen the Fearow. If needed, Psychic or Poison Jab would be used. Ungoliant is a Sniper, just in case.
Once Viggen is out, she would immediately use Focus Energy. On an Ashen Beach Field, Focus Energy raises the critical hit ratio by three stages, which under Gen VII rules means every move is a critical hit. Sniper would then boost the damage even further. Drill Peck would take care of most Fighting-types. Drill Run would deal with any Lucario or Rock/Fighting types. In case of any accuracy shenanigans, Aerial Ace would never miss.
I did not know if Kiki's Medicham would Mega evolve, but with Baton Pass, Viggen should survive even a Rock Slide. My main fear was a Mega Medicham with Meditate-boosted—or regular Medicham with Laser Focus—Hi Jump Kick with Pure Power. I guessed Medicham would have a Telluric Seed. Either way, hopefully, Viggen could sweep. I had played around with Ariados Swords Dance, but I wasn't sure if Ariados could survive long enough.
Should the sweep fail, I had three backup plans. First was Flint the Meowstic. She was an Arceus damned Special Attack powerhouse. Armed with Psychic, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, and Charge Beam, she had plenty of type coverage. Infiltrator in case of Light Screen. Shadow Ball in particular would be useful against Medicham. The trouble was that I knew that Medicham could be taught Shadow Ball as a TM. If that happened, Flint could be in trouble.
The second backup plan was Octavia the Decidueye. With part-Ghost typing, she can avoid Fighting-moves and thus most STAB moves. She had Leaf Blade for a powerful STAB move that replaced Razor Leaf. Pluck would be super-effective against most Fighting-types. Spirit Shackle would be super-effective STAB against Medicham. Synthesis was there in case needed. Shadow Ball would still be a problem, though, and Decidueye wasn't the fastest.
Last backup plan was Ohm the Medicham. He would be my final "FUCK YOU". With Pure Power, and Meditate, I could setup a sweep. With Pure Power, Hi Jump Kick would never miss on the Ashen Beach Field. Drain Punch would come in handy for healing. Confusion was there as a last ditch effort to get something super-effective. Kiki's Medicham would still be a slugfest.
It all depended on what would be sent out first.
I entered the atrium. Everyone was watching—students and Victoria—to see who would win. Me or Kiki?
LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!
I sent out Tatzlmon, Kiki sent out a goddamn Machamp. Probability of No Guard? Zero. Machamp most likely had Steadfast for that Ashen Beach Field synergy. Machamp started out with three Meditates, Tatzlmon with two Iron Defenses and a Stockpile. Machamp then opened up with a Strength, which under the Ashen Beach Field would do Fighting and Psychic damage with 50% extra power.
Tatzlmon held firm and Stockpiled. Next round, Machamp delivered another Strength attack, while Tatzlmon Baton Passed to Ungoliant. So far, so good. As Ungoliant tried to raise Speed with Agility, Machamp rained down a Rock Slide that flinched Ungoliant! Ungoliant did better on the second round but was hit with another Rock Slide.
Feeling to close to the wire, I loaded up my super soaker and drenched Ungoliant with an Ultra Potion as Ungoliant got hit with a Payback. Ungoliant proceeded getting two more Agilities in amidst a rain of Rock Slide and some Lemonade. Health was still a bit low, though Ungoliant was faster. Unfortunately, Machamp was at max Attack. A wrong Baton Pass and Viggen would be meeting a rain of Rock Slide. I wasn't going to chance it. So I loaded up one more Ultra Potion followed by another Payback. Ungoliant then unloaded a Psychic bringing Machamp into the yellow, while taking another Rock Slide. Machamp's Leftovers brought back into the green. After another Rock Sliding Ultra Potion, Ungoliant finished off Machamp with a Psychic.
First one down. Kiki replaces Machamp with Lucario. I suspected she had one. Ungoliant Baton Passed to Viggen, while Lucario Calm Minded. On the second round, Viggen Focused Energy while Lucario Calm Minded again. I feared an Aura Sphere was coming. Here I hoped three Agilities would be enough. Viggen was faster and launched a devastating Drill Run with a critical hit. A one-hit KO!
Next up, Kiki sent out Hitmonlee. A Hi Jump Kick was possible now. Hitmonlee got out a Normal Gem-boosted Fake Out, resulting in minor damage and a flinch. On the second round, Viggen Drill Pecked a hole in Hitmonlee. A critical OHKO.
Followig that, Kiki sent out a Toxicroak. Sucker Punch was a possibility. And lo, Toxicroak got one off, causing minor damage. In return, he got a critical Drill Peck OHKO. And Viggen leveled up in the process. I doubted the level cap would cause an issue mid-battle.
And out came Kiki's Medicham with Telluric Seed. So Laser Focus, then. Unfortunately for Kiki, Viggen was faster. Another critical Drill Peck OHKO! The sweep is real!
(https://i.imgur.com/oD20uO0.png)
Kiki's last Pokémon was a Gallade. It did not survive the critical Drill Peck.
Victory was mine!
So the setup was messier than expected. I was never a fan Baton Pass, so this was a first. Ungoliant did not like those Meditate-boosted Rock Slides! I was hoping six stages of raised Defense would protect more. Oh well. In 20/20 hindsight, perhaps I should've started with Ungoliant. Get one Agility in then Baton Pass to Tatzlmon. Then again, I didn't know Kiki's team.
I had got to say, though, that Viggen's sweep once realized was glorious. I would guess the key to Baton Pass strategy would be to find a decent opponent to setup the sweep on. The fact that this required two support Pokémon was a downside. They were decent walls, of course, but there were better walls out there albeit without Baton Pass. Tradeoffs, tradeoffs...
Poor Octavia, Ohm, and Flint never got any action! This would have to be rectified at some point. I would blame the super soaker spam.
In conclusion, I name Ungoliant the MVP.
"Now... GIMME THE BADGE AND HM! IT'S BEEN MONTHS!" I yelled.
I probably should'nt have done that. Kiki collapsed in the atrium! Was she dying? Victoria rushed in and carried Kiki inside.
Upon entering myself, I saw Kiki had come back. A faint attack, I presumed. Mentally, she wasn't doing well. I suspected her condition had weakened her self-esteem and confidence. The whole training at Apophyll had to have been a mental crutch, and her loss had removed it from under her. Kiki now feared for her reputation, of all things.
"Your reputation ain't worth your life, darling," I said. "Care for yourself first."
She was really depressed by the fact that her "body [was] killing itself."
Victoria then ran out. At first I thought she didn't like Kiki's defeatist view, but perhaps she just wanted to give Kiki some space.
Anyway, I went to talk to Kiki to get my dues, and she told me to fucking leave!
Dude, what about my badge?! My HM?!
I left in disbelief and Victoria approached me. She was definitely understanding of Kiki's situation, and would be caring for her. And hey, she would fetch my HM and badge!
UNLESS KIKI DIED! "If she doesn't make it, that badge would be reset," Victoria said.
"Better hurry up, then!" I responded. "Why are you talking about Cain? Sure, he's not here... and he does have the key I need..."
Kiki had claimed she never saw Cain.
Where the fuck was he?
Victoria thought he might be lost at Azurine Island, an island between Apophyll Academy and Coral Ward.
... Are you sending me on another fetch quest detour?
He had the key to Bysbyxion...
... You're sending me on another fetch quest detour.
Give me my badge, woman.
GIVE IT TO ME.
...No?
"ARCEUS DAMNIT!"
So... Here would be a little recap of my Sisyphean task.
Supposed Champion Heather et al. had been kidnapped by the Psycho Doc, in allegiance with Team Meteor, in the Underground Railnet. To save them, I would have to get past the locked gate down there. Unfortunately, I would need Strength for this. To get Strength, I would need to beat Kiki at the Apophyll Academy. I would also need the Byxbysion Gym Badge from Cain's sister Aya to use Strength.
Cain had had the Key to Byxbysion Wasteland. Cain had also bolted at the Coral Ward without giving me the key—little bastard. He hadn't even had the decency to give me a ride across the extremely polluted and toxic Azurine Lake. Coming to my rescue had been Amaria, the Water Gym Leader. She had promptly then volunteered me for some Team Meteor bashing at the Mosswater Factory in Peridot Ward. At least I had been rewarded with a fancy boat, though, and this Captain Planet T-shirt.
The fancy rust bucket had then somehow made it across to Apophyll Beach, and had been thankfully still intact. At the Academy on the Beach, I had found Victoria and Kiki, and had been told to find Kiki's mysterious student. I had then promptly raided a volcano, and had fought mysterious student Cal—a Fire ex-Gym leader—at the peak. Afterwards, I had wanted to fight Kiki, but had to fight Victoria first.
I had then proceeded to drink far too many kegs of whiskey on the beach. I had been blackout drunk for months until one day I had suddenly sobered enough to setup a eugenics program. I had bred and trained for days.
I had fought Kiki.
I had beaten Kiki.
But what had I had to show for it? Not a single badge! Not even an HM! Just like bloody Corey...
Afterwards, I had learned that Cain had never showed up at the Apophyll Academy. And now I would need to find him at Azurine Island so I could get the key. Then hopefully I could get the HM and badge from Kiki, so I could go to Byxbysion to get the badge from Aya, so I could then get past the gate in Underground Railnet. All so I could save Heather et al. from Psycho Doc et al.
Honestly, Heather et al. would be fucked at this point. Thankfully, I knew a whiskey supplier.
Now, unfortunately, most of Alpha Team were at the level cap. We would have to go with Beta Team, maybe Gamma Team even. Who knew at this point? So I walked over to the PC, and grabbed a few Pokémon that weren't completely rebellious: Chip the Bibarel, Hawk the Sawk, Moxxie the Mightyena, Scatman the Muk, The Mountain the Graveler, and Hircine the Stoutland. They weren't the best—and some would need some levels—but they were barely passable for a team, coverage-wise.
And lo, I stepped out of the Academy and found... nothing. No interruption, no screaming, and not even an Earth-shattering kaboom.
Huh.
I had honestly expected to be bumrushed by some maniac wanting to battle, followed by another detour.
Wait... the TV! The News! I rushed back inside to catch some glimpse of hope, of freedom. I barged into a student's dorm room, knocked the occupant over, battled for the remote, and switched channels.
I could see my deeds in Mosswater had not gone unnoticed. That was nice. I didn't get any credit, though, but at least Team Meteor was taking the fall. The reporter said the pollution hadn't gone away though. Perhaps there was another source? It seemed likely. Team Meteor almost certainly had backups.
Surfing the channels, I found an interview with Titania, the Steel Gym Leader. A rather stoic one, that one. She had no comments, apparently, and the reporter had a massive fit. Heh. Poor Gardevoir.
And finally, a program about Aya. What's your secret? I wondered. Well, apparently, she favored double battles. Her flagship was a Dragalge. which based on my shoddy memory I would guess was a Dragon/Poison-type or Water/Poison-type. Dragalge's signature move was to "throw all the [...] poison across the field at once." That made me think of Toxic Spikes or Sludge Wave. Pecha Berries now seemed like a good investment. And to make matters worse, her Dragalge also had Adaptability.
Fuck. I remembered that my Duckbane the Gumshoos had it. STAB moves effectively became super-effective: a 33% increase in power.
In other news, there were reports of Nidorans in Byxbysion. I already had a breeding pair, so I wasn't that interested. Elsewhere, there was some kind of "apparition" in Byxbysion. I would guess that that was Ghost-type of some form. Lastly, in Azurine, there was some kind of "spirited" Psychic-type in a tree. Chip now had a job.
I guessed I had better get going. I figured I should train Chip and Hawk just a little bit, and I knew just the place.
To the Grand Hall!
Where the trainers did in fact change. There was just one trainer now.
And he had a team of Teenage Mutant Ninja Squirtles! Well, a Squirtle, two Wartortles, and a Blastoise. Specifically, they were all shinies and above level 45. And Blastoise was level 52!
Oh shit, oh fuck.
"Load the super soakers!" I yelled frantically.
The Squirtle and Wartortles, I could somewhat manage. But Blastoise? That hellish hell beast from hell that was armed with Leftovers and had a Rain Dance Rain Dish combo? It wouldn't die.
"We will Struggle you to death if we have to! We have the technology!" I boasted.
Once the Blastoise had Skull Bashed himself to an early Parkinson's disease, and ran his Hydro Pump dry, I could finally get to work.
"Hawk, get in there, flex your shit and break his!" I ordered.
The Struggle was real, but the victory was mine.
...
Alright, so the Grand Hall was a terrible idea. I would not be returning to this silly place for a while. I reasoned that perhaps Pyrous Mountain would be better. So I hopped on S.S. DOOM, and disregarded the non-existent safety precautions when entering the volcano. There, the team trained. And in the process I caught Blueshift, a shiny female Magcargo.
After training, I went back to the main land to stock up. Potions and balls, who knew how long I would be stuck on Azurine. I also bought some Common Candies, just in case.
I didn't have much time to marvel at the durability of the S.S. DOOM as the shores of Azurine Island approached. It looked surprisingly green at first glance. This was quite odd for an island in a lake of toxic sludge. At least the boat was still intact.
There was no civilization in sight. Swamps, yes, but civilization? All I found nearby was a Potion.
(https://i.imgur.com/I5lRjQP.png)
I immediately started hunting for Pokémon in the nearby trees and grass. It was night, so I presumed I only caught a portion of what was available. All in all, in the first round I caught: Palpatine the male Palpitoad, Godot the female Golbat, Quagmore the female Quagsire, and Amoggus the female Foongus.
Some of the balls around here were also masquerading Pokémon. Sneaky little buggers they were. But good news, in a nearby pond I found one of Cain's earrings. So I guessed he was here somewhere at some point in some condition.
Elsewhere, I found a Great Ball and TM88 for Sleep Talk. But that was as far as I could go as it looked like I would need Cut to continue. I finished up my hunting, catching Beckham the male Foongus—with a critical capture to boot—then went back to the mainland for some quick healing and stocking up on balls. I also switched out Hircine the Stoutland for El Capitan the Persian, so I could have Cut on the team.
Back on Azurine Island, it seemed I had walked into quite the wilderness and a swampy maze. Yet signs of people were afoot in the form of lost Antidotes. I also found some Tiny Mushrooms, and a Resist Wing!
But then, I hit a Ledge of No Return! I guessed there was only one way to go, so down the Ledge I went. There I found a Synthetic Seed. Lots of things in bushes were to be found.
On a hunch, I tried catching one of the sneaky Foonguses. I thought they might have had an egg move or something. And so, Mycorrhiza the male Foongus joined our ranks. Also found a Shiny Stone.
Further down the path, there was a part of the Azurine Island that needed Rock Climb. I guessed I would be coming back here. Continuing past another Ledge of No Return, I found a Swift Wing, as well as a readout on the Swamp Field. The Swamp Field would turn out to be nasty with Poison moves, Sleep would cause damage, among other things. I could see why Sleep Talk was here!
There seemed to be no end as I picked up Tiny Mushrooms, a Great Ball and a Dusk Ball. But at last, I thought I could see a building! Like a little hut or shed, maybe. I could only see the roof, so maybe it was part of a larger settlement. But I was going to ignore it for now as I had more exploring to do.
Approaching a hill, I found a Magical Seed as well as an Escape Rope—how convenient. I could also see another Ledge of No Return that would bring me back to the start—how convenient!
Don't mind if I head back and heal up...
After a quick trip to the mainland, and returning back to the path, I found a Dusk Ball and a Green Shard. At this point, I thought I had found everything, and spearheaded my way towards the building. It looked like a small lodge, though it had some metal beams going into the ground on the side so I didn't rule out an underground portion.
The convenient one-time heal right next to it was also convenient.
Entering the place... well it turned out to just be one level full of sciency stuff.
And Meteor. A pair of grunts were guarding the place: Eclipse and Aster. They sounded familiar, and apparently we had met before. I wouldn't know, it had been months with periods of blackout drunk in between. But, stooges being stooges, they proceeded to tell me they had captured Cain and had taken him somewhere.
And before I had a chance to grumble at another detour, I was faced with a double battle!
From the get-go, they sent out a Lunatone and a Solrock. My top two picks where Chip the Bibarel and Scatman the Muk. Fearing a possible Earthquake or Psychic, I immediately switched out Scatman for Moxxie the Mightyena. Chip blasted Solrock with a Water Gun, which like a water gun didn't do much. Lunatone decided to Psywave Chip, while Solrock dropped a Rock Slide on both of my Pokémon. Chip was now down in the yellow.
Now was the time to be careful. On the second round, I had Moxxie Snarl at the opposing team. Solrock dipped into the red, while Lunatone took a critical hit and was sent into the yellow. Chip could then follow up with a Water Gun on Solrock, knocking it out. Lunatone continued to Psywave Chip into the red.
With Solrock out, the grunts sent out Passimian, a monkey-looking thing. From its grassy appearance, I guessed it was at least part Grass-type. Thus, I gave Chip a break and switched back in Scatman. Moxxie proceeded to Crunch Lunatone to death, but had to tank a Bulldoze from the Passimian.
Shit, and I had just sent Scatman back in.
Lunatone was replaced by a Midnight Lycanroc.
Oh shit! Ground and Rock!
Lycanroc dropped a Rock Slide, avoiding a Mud Bomb from a flinched Scatman. Scatman endured but was now in the yellow. Moxxie held on in the red, barely, but was chopped by a Brick Break from Passimian.
I had to counter this, so I sent in Hawk the Sawk to replace Scatman. Hawk managed to break Midnight Lycanroc in half with a Brick Break, a one-hit KO. Passimian let loose a Brick Break of his own on Scatman, who held on with what little life was left. Scatman himself was aiming a Mud Bomb at Midnight Lycanroc, but with the wolf down it was aimed at Passimian.
It missed. Because of Levitate.
Say what?
So that was a thing... I had to have missed something. Either way, Midnight Lycanroc was replaced by Midday Lycanroc. Seeing this, I remembered that Eclipse and Aster were from the Grand Stairway underground. I proceeded to hand out some Lemonade to Scatman, just in time for an Accelerock from Midday Lycanrock.
"I had just healed him, you fucker!"
Hawk wouldn't let such rudeness stand and broke Midday Lycanroc in half as well with a one-hit KO Brick Break. Passimian joined in with another Brick Break on Scatman, to cover for the entry of Oranguru—a bloody ape.
I figured Oranguru was related to Passimian, maybe a Fighting-type. Scatman got another Lemonade while eating Passimian's Bulldoze. Hawk was pissed and was Brick Breaking Passimian into the red. Meanwhile, Oranguru was Foul Playing Scatman.
What is this double teaming bullshit?
Scatman was once again in the red, so I switched him out for El Capitan the Persian. Passimian managed to get in a parting Bulldoze before succumbing to the Brick Break from Hawk, while El Capitan ate Oranguru's Foul Play.
Victory was near. I had El Capitan Slash Oranguru before she got Nature Powered with a critical Tri Attack KO. Hawk avenged her with a Close Combat KO.
And so, the stooges were beaten and I stole their wallets. Nasty little fight, with a bit of probing. But Hawk proved himself by pummeling the opponents. MVP right there.
Afterwards, I could continue grumbling about another detour until Aster decided to be a gullible fool. She revealed that Cain was hidden somewhere in the lodge!
(https://i.imgur.com/z0DuqI5.png)
He couldn't possibly be behind that box in the back? In the vent?
Never mind, it turned out there was a basement hidden behind a science gizmo. And they had a field Pokécenter down here, complete with a PC! How foreboding...
I'm just gonna go and... heal up real quick.
The basement was a corridor with the field Pokécenter to the side. Up ahead were more Meteor goons. Taka too. They were doing something to a Camerupt. And would you look at that, Cain was here in a cage.
"Oh hai, Cain. How are you doing? I'm just... gonna take my time here..." I deadpanned.
It turned out that Cain had just been sailing by the Island when he had gotten captured. Taka had just been tying some old threads by mere chance, huh?
"I am but a damsel, imprisoned and distressed!" Cain yelled.
"You sure are, Cain. You sure are." I sagely nodded.
"Edelweiss, save me, my darling prince!"
I furrowed my brows at him. "Dude... I don't swing that way."
I was told that Meteor was setting up a breeding program for Pokémon on Azurine Island in time for repopulation. They could've just asked me. I had been breeding for months. I could've dumped my dump box on them!
Now what were they up to? Why yes, they were planning to attack Apophyll. And with a PULSE Camerupt to boot.
"Shit... not my badge! You motherfuckers! You're not taking this shit from me! Not again!"
The madmen were planning to blow up the volcano! Wipe Apophyll Academy and my badge off the map! Not on my watch!
"Oh, you have orders to capture me? I think you'll find that I'm a slippery bastard!" I yelled to Taka.
Taka opened up with a Klefki, while I sent in Chip. I was guessing Klefki was a Steel/Ghost-type, so I had Chip Crunch Klefki while Spikes flew all around him. The Crunch was half effective.
Shit...
So perhaps it was just a Steel-type then. I switched in Hawk while more Spikes rained down. This was going to hurt. I had Hawk respond with a Brick Break, which did send Klefki into the yellow. It was not, however, super-effective. Klefki, on the other hand, recovered some HP with a Draining Kiss, which left Hawk below half HP. Thus I reasoned Klefki was Steel/Fairy-type. On the next round, Hawk knocked out Klefki with a Brick Break. In response, Taka sent out Gligar.
Ground/Flying-type, nice.
I switched out Hawk for The Mountain the Graveler. Gligar, predictably, had counted on Acrobatics. It was not so useful against Rock-types. Still, I feared a Ground-move and now The Mountain had no Sturdy protection. On the second round, Gligar U-Turned into Alolan Exeggcutor, who ate a Smack Down.
Shit... Is it time to sacrifice the Mountain so I could get Moxxie in with full HP?
I figured, yes, it was time. The Mountain didn't get much of a choice as the Alolan Exeggcutor dropped a Wood Hammer on him, knocking him out. The Alolan Exeggcutor then gloated by eating a Sitrus Berry to recover from the recoil, that bastard. Well, either way, Moxxie was now in battle. However, a Fire Fang proved to only cause normal damage.
This confused me. I was under the impression Alolan Exeggcutor was Grass/Steel-type. Was it in fact a Grass/Rock-type? Meanwhile, the bloody tree dropped another Wood Hammer, sending Moxxie into the red, and then eating another Sitrus Berry.
Recycle, I believed that ability was called. Or was that a move?
An Ice Fang put an end to that nonsense, and now the Metronome Ice Fang Moxie was a go. Out came Gligar again. Unfortunately for Moxxie, Gligar was faster with a Night Slash. Moxxie was out. So I sent in Chip. Her Water Gun brought Gligar down about a quarter of its HP. Meanwhile, Gligar chipped Chip down to less than half HP with an Acrobatics.
Hoping that it was just the Spikes' doing, I loaded up an Ultra Potion and healed Chip to full health. Unfortunately, Acrobatics was still enough to send Chip into the yellow. This meant trouble. So I switched out Chip for Scatman. He too couldn't eat more than one Acrobatics.
"Stall time..." I murmured.
Knowing Scatman was as good as dead, I popped a Revive on The Mountain. But luck was on Scatman's side as he ate another Acrobatics and held on with a sliver of HP! Thus I popped another Ultra Potion on Scatman, who took one more Acrobatics into the yellow. Hoping beyond hope, Scatman survived one more Acrobatics before getting in a critical Gunk Shot, shedding half of Gligar's HP! I gave Scatman another Ultra Potion, when Gligar decided to Roost.
"Oh hell..."
It was a battle of attrition. My Ultra Potions vs Gligar's Roosts. I was fairly certain I had more, but damn would that be pyrrhic. Scatman battled with Acrobatics twice as he let out a Gunk Shot and a Sludge Wave to finally bring Gligar into the yellow. At this point, Scatman was in the red, and I expected Gligar to Roost once more. So I took the opportunity to switch in a revived The Mountain.
Gligar used Acrobatics.
"Motherfucker."
As I Ultra Potioned the Mountain, only then did Gligar decide to Roost. I had yet to see a Ground-move so I figured I would be safe. Gligar U-Turned once more into Chatot, Taka's last Pokémon. The little birdie ate a three-hit Rock Blast that eviscerated a Sitrus Berry and reduced the bird to dust.
(https://i.imgur.com/uobGHvN.png)
Gligar came out again. He delivered an ineffective Acrobatics, and was pounded with a two-hit Rock Blast into the yellow. Gligar then Roosted himself back to health as a five-hit Rock Blast battered him. Unfortunately, Roost meant he lost the Flying-type, so the Rock Blast was only half effective.
At this point, I was balls to the wall. Gligar Roosted a second time as it took a Smack Down. Then on the next round it delivered another Acrobatics, while The Mountain delivered an Earthquake. An Earthquake that didn't affect Gligar, because apparently Roost cancels out Smack Down.
I facepalmed and groaned. Furthermore, the Earthquake triggered a Field Effect change into the Short-Circuit Field. Guess who that benefitted? Not me. The Mountain tried another Smack Down after taking a boosted Night Slash to the face. As The Mountain ate a Chocolate Ice Cream to recover, Gligar Roosted.
And so it went. The Mountain carefully Smacking Down and Earthquaking Gligar, while the bat Roosted and Night Slashed. Once, I got the bat down to the point where if it didn't Roost it was dead, and if it did, it would take an Earthquake.
Taka used a Hyper Potion.
"I have more items than you, I can outlast you!" I angrily yelled.
My main worry was running out PP at this point. I started counting Roosts to see how many were left. I baited out any remaining potions, and I made sure to heal before going for the kill. Eventually, Gligar couldn't withstand a final three-hit Rock Blast.
(https://i.imgur.com/dyCOOxA.png)
And so, the Battle of Titans was over.
I had won.
Dear Arceus, this team was so baaaaad. I guessed The Mountain was the most critical one.
With Taka defeated, Team Meteor retreated. Naturally, they were bringing Camerupt with them.
"Arceus damnit, not my badge!" I yelled after them.
Cain tried to console me, but I wouldn't have it. "Fuck off, Cain! They're gonna blow up my badge! My HM!
"If you had just given me the key—if you had just given me a ride—we wouldn't be in this situation!
"This. Is. Your. Fault."
I calmed down. Cain was still talking.
"Oh sure, it was all a damsel act, Cain. Suuuuuure..." I sighed. Months of items were wasted. All for you, Cain. All for you. And what did I have to show for it, huh? Not even a badge.
At least I could get the PULSE Dex entry. The PULSE Camerupt seems to be heavy on the HP and Special Attack. It was super slow, though. Its Defense and Special Defense were decent. I probably would need a Water type for this one, or Ground.
Welp, I guessed I had to stop that Camerupt. Poor sod was gonna die.
Team Meteor would suffer fate worse than death, though.
Boarding S.S. DOOM, I returned to Apophyll Academy. Victoria was there to greet me.
"Do you have my badge? My HM? No?" I asked.
...
Well at least Kiki wasn't dead, yet. Back to Kiki, I supposed.
I barged into her room and yelled, "Where muh badge at?!"
She was only interested Meteor stuff.
"Fine! What's the plan?"
Team Meteor had already passed by and were climbing the mountain. According to Kiki, Apophyll Beach and Reborn City were in balance with one another—an eruption would disrupt it. Apparently, our only hope right now was that Cal could hold them off for a while.
"Right..."
It's gonna be up to me in the end, won't it? I mentally grumbled.
Kiki couldn't talk for long, it seemed. Victoria would be keeping Kiki cared for, while Cain and I would be climbing the Mountain of Conflict.
"I said conflict, not music, Cain! No singing! It'll alert our enemies."
Leaving for prep work, I noticed that no-one was even evacuating. That was what would happen when you didn't have air transport!
Now, what team would I bring...
Something daring, I hoped: Hyacinth the Garbodor, Palpatine the Palpitoad, Quagmore the Quagsire, Hircine the Stoutland, Moxxie the Mightyena, and Chip the Bibarel.
Palpatine and Quagmore would have protection against Camerupt. They could also deal twice super-effective moves. Their inaccurate moveset was a weakness, though. Additionally, Camerupt's potential Solid Rock would cut the damage multiplier down to 3x. The Field effect could potentially reduce it even further, but it should still be more than 1x.
Hyacinth's Acid Spray would weaken Camerupt Special Defense further. Special Attack was key, I thought. Special Defense was Camerupt's weakest defensive stat. Palpatine and Quagmore would need some training first, though.
I was thinking of training at the volcano. I was sure no-one would mind. Cain was already down there, facing off a grunt. Hilariously, the grunt was trying to rules-lawyer Cain—he wouldn't move out of the way, nor would he send out any Pokémon.
Cain's Nidoking pushed him down a ledge! Hah!
Once inside the Volcano, Victoria entered. Kiki had made her leave. I guessed we were double teaming.
"'Kay," I said.
And apparently, all the Pokémon had already fled! No wild encounters. Clever bastards.
"Yeah, that's right, Victoria." I told Victoria. "I'm turning back. It's... very important."
We have all the time in the world...
So Apophyll Cave it was! I managed to catch Stunner the female Stunfisk while training there. Palpatine evolved into a Seismitoad, and I gave him a Damp Rock. Palpatine had only Special moves, as well as Rain Dance and Aqua Ring. On the other hand, Quagmore had physical moves, and Amnesia and Yawn.
It was time to test the team at Pyrous Mountain. I returned, and picked up Victoria. We hurried to the peak and would open up hostilities with a double battle.
...
Victoria seemed able to handle most of it. Quagmore was a little miffed about the limited use of Earthquake. Victoria's Incineroar didn't like that! Oh well, the XP was needed. It was also nice to have a mobile Pokécenter.
For the second double battle, it was very unfortunate for me to switch Hyacinth to the starting position. She had to face off a Skuntank and a Metang! At least she got off some Toxic Spikes, before reminding me just how much I hated Weak Armor.
Up we went, to the second level! And lo, now there were 'mons! For the third double battle, Hyacinth finally learned Toxic! Might be useful. I replaced Clear Smog, though. We also missed out on the last XP from a Liepard.
The fourth double battle was a battle with Dames! They opened with a Delcatty and a Tsareena.
The fuck is a Tsareena?
I didn't like it. It was a Grass-type from the look of things. They later swapped in Lunatone and Houndoom, followed by a Heliolisk too. Apparently Muddy Water was not so good inside volcano. The steam it produced lowered everyone's accuracy. Finally, they had a Serperior too!
To the third level! It was empty apparently. So we skipped straight to the fourth level, which was the peak. Exiting the tunnels, we were met with an Absol out of nowhere!
Wait... Realization dawned one me. Shit. NO NO NO NO! I sense betrayal and that means—
"I don't care about your crush on Cal, Victoria." I interrupted. "My badge is in danger!"
We approached the magma-filled caldera. Cain was here, as was Taka, Cal, and Solaris. Cal was out of the picture. He had been beaten. So no betrayal, phew. Still, Absol...
We learned that Camerupt was building energy in the PULSE machine.
And I learned that Taka was Solaris's son. Well, I would file that away later as motherfucking Solaris was taking me on with a motherfucking level 75 Garchomp!
(https://i.imgur.com/TsbQvjU.png)
A 30+ level difference! I was supposed to beat that?! Oh boy. Well Hyacinth, it was up to you.
"Toxic that fucker—wait, you're already dead to an Earthquake. Figures.
"Hircine, Ice Fang—he got you too, huh?
"Moxxie—I see you barely had time to land from coming out of the ball...
"Palpatine? Are you playing dead, or... Nope, definitely dead.
"I know it's not your forte, Quagmore, but at least try to look scary! No? Shit.
"Chip? You know what, let's just take the L and go home."
Yeah...
That went well!
I just forgot my cheese knife, that was all.
For all the cheese I would've needed to beat Solaris.
But seeing as I wasn't at the Pokemon center, I guessed I was meant to lose. Victoria seemed surprised.
I furrowed. "Oh don't act surprised, Victoria. It was a level 75 Garchomp! I ain't beating that without some serious prep work!" Had I known what was coming, I would've loaded up on Intimidate, Stalls, and Walls.
Oh hey, here comes Kiki! I'm surprised she managed to get up here.
I yelled at her, "Where muh badge at—
...
"Stand back?" I stood surprised. "Woman, my 'mons are an inch from death. What the hell are you planning?"
Wait... I thought grimly.
"Don't you fucking dare sacrifice yourself! I need that badge!" I yelled.
Oh, she was just sending out Medicham to destroy the PULSE machine. Smart—
"Cal! Stop her!" screamed Solaris.
Wait, what? Betrayal! I knew it!
(https://i.imgur.com/vHhMaR7.png)
Medicham tried to deliver a High Jump Kick and... was caught by Magmortar.
And then Medicham was thrown into the fucking volcano!
"Holy shit!" I screamed.
Solaris gave the order, "Execute."
I watched in horror as Garchomp swung at Kiki. I fell to my knees, as the badge crumbled in front of me.
...
As I sobered from the horror, I heard that Cal didn't like that murderous act.
A bit late for second thoughts, don't you think? Traitor.
But then Taka namedropped Cal's brother Blake, and called Cal weak. And it had lit a fume.
Yes... Destroy the machine, Cal. Do it! Dew it! So I can fuck you over later myself!
But Cal tried to rein in the fury, going through the stages of grief.
"Well it's good and all that you're accepting your weakness and admitting it like a man..." I glowered at him. "But the volcano is going to kill us all if you don't do something!"
And so, Cal ordered Magmortar to destroy the PULSE machine. Thus, with the PULSE machine gone, Solaris and Taka retreated.
But not all corpses were buried yet. Cal was trying, and failing to console Victoria.
"Yeah, Victoria's right, Cal. What were you thinking!?" I screamed. I guessed that concluded Victoria's crush.
But more importantly... Kiki was dead!
MY BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADGEEEEEEE!!! NOOOOOOO!!!
...
And so we climbed down the mountain back to the Academy, with heavy hearts and empty badge slots. We entered Kiki's room. Finally, Victoria recognized my feats and as Kiki's successor gave me the HM for Strength, at least.
"Give me my badge, Victoria. It's mine. I won it. Give me muh badge!"
...
"No? OH COME ON!"
Victoria told me Ame would fetch a reserve leader. Meanwhile, Victoria would remain at Apophyll as the Academy's leader.
Son of a bitch.
Walking out, trying to smother my rage, I noticed the Academy students seemed to be in mourning. But otherwise they were continuing on as usual. First order of business... Strength. Quagmore seemed suitable. It was a better Slam.
No badge meant Alpha Team was still in the PC. I guessed I was stuck with... Delta Team?
Now, I remembered seeing a movable boulder in the volcano. Unfortunately, I had no badge for that. So Byxbysion it was. I also needed to check out Azurine in the daytime.
To Reborn City!
Leaving Coral Ward, I saw Cain at the Byxbysion gate.
"Hi, Cain." I greeted with a toxic sweetness. "Can you pweeeeaaase open the gate? For once."
...
"Yes. You've stalled this long enough, Cain! Open it!"
Wait... a battle? OH COME ON!
Cain opened up with an Alolan Marowak, facing off Hyacinth. Hyacinth threw in some Toxic Spikes while eating a two-hit Boomerang. With the Toxic Spikes in place, Hyacinth's sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. She set up a second Toxic Spikes before getting knocked out by Shadow Bone.
In return, I brought out Palpatine. Palpatine Aqua Ringed while eating a Shadow Bone. On the second round, he missed a Muddy Water. An Ultra Potion brought Palpatine back to full health before getting hit again and having his Defense lowered. Palpatine tried to Muddy Water again but Cain switched out his Alolan Marowak for his Primarina, who was badly poisoned.
Right. I forgot.
I switched Palpatine out for Chip, who ate a Disarming Voice. A Hyper Fang brought Primarina into the red, but it knocked Chip out with a Sparkling Aria. Moxxie would have to deal with this. He Crunched Primarina to death and set up the Metronome Crunch Moxie.
Out came an Alolan Muk, who promptly absorbed the Toxic Spikes.
"Motherfucker."
Moxxie tried to Ice Fang the Alolan Muk, but got his faced reamed with a Gunk Shot. Trying again, he brought the Alolan Muk into the yellow, but was knocked out with a Knock Off.
So in Moxxie's stead I sent Hircine, who Retaliated and knocked out the Alolan Muk. The Alolan Marowak was out again. This time, a Crunch nearly finished off the Alolan Marowak. Unfortunately, Hircine was burned by a Will-O-Wisp.
Hircine was given a Burn Heal while Cain luckily gave the Alolan Marowak some Chocolate Ice Cream. Immediately, Hircine Crunched but was burned again. I had to administer another Burn Heal while under fire from a two-hit Boomerang. A final Crunch finished off the Alolan Marowak.
Next up was Cain's Nidoking. Hircine Ice Fanged, and Nidoking Thrashed. Both were in the yellow. Hircine could not afford to miss. He gave a final Ice Fang with critical damage, knocking out Nidoking.
After this, there was only a shiny female Meowstic left. A Crunch brought it into the red, as a Psychic did the same for Hircine. It was down to the wire, but Hircine was faster and finished off the shiny female Meowstic with a Crunch.
(https://i.imgur.com/dw46Qzj.png)
I missed Alpha Team. I was really hurting here. Hyacinth! You would be avenged! At least you were instrumental in dealing with Primarina.
And that fucking Muk! It ruined Moxxie's Metronome Crunch Moxie! I should've used Ice Fang. Hircine had to come in and save the day, so I named him MVP.
Badly damaged, my team needed to heal. On my way to Obsidia Pokécenter, I got interrupted by Cal the Badgebane.
"What do you want, Badgebane? You think explaining yourself is gonna make things better?!"
...
"You joined Meteor because you wanted to change?!"
It turned out that Cal had set up the PULSE. He also claimed to have secretly sabotaged it...
"Well there's no evidence of that, now is there? No, I don't believe you, Badgebane. Goodbye."
And so we parted ways. Would we meet again? Only time could tell.
Now, then... Where was I? Right, heal then Byxbysion.
"Here we go!"
And lo, I stepped outside the city for the first time.
On the mainland, that was.
The Byxbysion Wasteland.
The land where Bison wear pants, hah!
A little pun for the homies.
Well it certainly looked like a waste, maze-like too. The people at the gate claimed the waste was weird. Objects from all over the city were displaced there. Immediately I found a Blue Shard in some debris. Furthermore, I could see some evidence of a PULSE machine having been used. Plants sticking out of the ground like in Obsidia. Perhaps they were remnants.
Walking around, I thought I found Corey's gravestone. Far away from Beryl, it was. I dodged as a Pokémon jumped out of a tree! A male Venipede! Ah, I remembered the glory days where I steamrolled a League with a Scolipede. So I caught and named it Roll Thunder.
Up ahead, I saw that there were Ledges and Steel Beams of No Return! And more Pokémon: Fury the female Venipede, and Inky the male Inkay. The latter I caught in a tree. I guessed this was the one mentioned in the TV news.
I also found Kiki's gravestone, as well as a Genius Wing and an Ultra Ball. Lots of shit were around here.
In the northern wall, I could see what looked like a hole. Perhaps I could enter it, at a later time. Lurking in the grass were Skorupis, but also Cubones. Matricide the female Cubone quickly joined our ranks.
The plants were getting on my nerves though, always blocking the path. So I went back, switched out Hircine the Stoutland and Moxxie the Mightyena for El Capitan the Persian and Hawk the Sawk, for the HMs.
But that might have been pointless, as I later learned that the plants couldn't be cut. Oh well. What was inside the hole in the wall, anyway? A path to a cliff, it seemed, alongside a Strength blockade.
Someone had left some cotton candy in a barrel on the cliff, though, next to a locked door. Noted.
Scattered throughout the place, I could see Corey's Poison Pillars were back. I could also toggle at least some of them. I wondered if they would do anything.
At a lower elevation, I could see another hole in the northern wall. Moving onwards, I found some X Speed and X Defense lying around, alongside a Hyper Potion and a Poison Barb. I also caught Patricide the male Cubone, giving me a breeding pair.
I came across a terminal near some buildings. It... unlocked something? It seemed broken. In one of the buildings, there was an old man. Apparently, the Byxbysion Wasteland seemed to be cursed. It used to be part of the city, but filth kept reappearing. And even when the filth was removed, it would quickly return. Hence the walls were for containment purposes.
Out and about, I found a Field Effect readout on the Wasteland Field! Ground moves were seemingly non-viable. Earthquake would deal a quarter of the normal damage. Mud Shot would deal Poison damage but at 50% more power. Earth Power was unaffected, though! Poison Moves were boosted, naturally. Some got a 20% boost, others would give a random status, including Frozen! And Venoshock was always active!
Moving along, I caught Rage the shiny female Venipede. I also found Black Sludge at a destroyed statue. Entering the other hole in the northern wall, I found a dead end. Inside, I could see another hole on the other side of an immovable rock, though. I believed you would need Strength for that, somehow.
Carrying on, I found a Lax Incense, a Ground Gem, an Ether, and an Ice Heal, before coming across the Wasteland Hideout. An apartment block ruin was what it looked like. Inside was Lana, Aya's mother. She was a bit miffed that the living room was now a gym! There was also a field Pokécenter here, courtesy of the Ame and the League. Self-service only.
From the look of things, Aya was already battling another trainer. I was curious, so I healed up and went in to check. And oh look, it was Fern. Typical. And while we were chatting, Lana called in that another trainer had just arrived. A red-haired fellow, one who seemed to know Fern.
His name was Hardy. He was a Rock Gym Leader, and apparently Fern's classmate! They did not like each other.
Yes... keep fighting.
Apparently, Fern had already beaten Aya, and now he was challenging me with an unavoidable battle. Terrific.
He opened up with a Rhyhorn against El Capitan. El Capitan lacked any useful moves, so I swapped in Palpatine the Seismitoad instead. He had to eat a Stone Edge, though. Muddy Water, however, made short work of Rhyhorn.
But then came Roserade...
I swapped out Palpatine for Hyacinth the Garbodor, who ate a Giga Drain. Hyacinth managed to setup Toxic Spikes but was nearly killed by an Extrasensory. A parting Sludge Bomb was all she could muster before being Giga Drained of the last of her energy.
Back to El Capitan, I went. El Capitan Slashed Roserade into the yellow, but it recovered back into the green with a Giga Drain. Trying again ended up only poisoning El Capitan through Poison Point and then Giga Drained to death.
I sent in Hawk the Sawk. He survived one Giga Drain and delivered a powerful Close Combat, nearly killing Roserade. But it was not enough. A final Giga Drain finished of Hawk. From there on, it was game over, as Chip the Bibarel, Palpatine the Seismitoad, and Quagmore the Quagsire were Giga Drained out of existence.
I took the L.
Welp. That happened. I hated those unprepared battles.
Alright, then. Delta Team was done for now. It was Modified Alpha Team time. I guessed I would need those Common Candies after all.
Fern: take two!
I started off with Tatzlmon the Mawile against Rhyhorn. Tatzlmon Iron Defensed while taking a Drill Run from Rhyhorn. Defenses were holding. Tatzlmon did this once more, followed by three Stockpiles. The Drill Runs never stopped. I gave Tatzlmon a Lemonade and prepared for the Iron Head. And lo, Fern had to have realized something was going on, as he switched in Roserade, who took the Iron Head instead.
Roserade missed a Sleep Powder while almost dying from an Iron Head. Leftovers bought it some time, followed by an accurate Sleep Powder. But a simple Awakening solved that. Not even a super-effective Hidden Power was stopping this train. A final Iron Head killed Roserade.
Out came Krookodile. At once it Dug, but Tatzlmon Baton Passed into Hircine the Stoutland. Hircine was faster and thus missed the Ice Fang while eating the Dig. But the second one Krookodile had to take. Its futile Crunch did little damage but lowered Hircine's Defense.
Fern then switched out Krookodile back to Rhyhorn, who took two Ice Fangs without contest before getting knocked out. Then he sent out a Decidueye. It managed to Swords Dance and Sucker Punch, but two Crunches ended that bird. Krookodile was immediately sacrificed to the Prince of the Hunt.
Finally, Fern sent out a Scyther. It got a single Wing Attack amidst two Ice Fangs.
Victory was mine.
That went much better. I had level advantage and type coverage. I set up a sweep with Tatzlmon. Fern didn't stand a chance. Tatzlmon was the MVP. I was starting to get a feel for Baton Pass suddenly. Perhaps Tatzlmon would be joining Alpha Team on a more permanent basis.
I still wanted to explore a bit more before fighting Aya. And maybe do some prep work. It depended on what Pokémon I had available. So I took out Delta Team again.
There wasn't much left that I could see in the Wasteland. A Heart Scale in a rock was it. So I ran down to Coral Ward and hopped on S.S. DOOM to Azurine. Hopefully, I would find more 'mons in the daytime. And boy did I: Sheldon (M) and Ellos (F), the Shelloses; and Jamie (M) and Brienne (F), the Shelmets.
Other than that, there wasn't much I could think of. So I stocked up and prepped for Aya. I decided on the following team: Tatzlmon the Mawile, The Mountain the Graveler, Krakatoa the Camerupt, Flint the female Meowstic, Hime the Luxray, and Hircine the Stoutland.
(https://i.imgur.com/Me4q2Qw.png)
I decided to give Pecha Berries to Krakatoa, Hime, and Hircine. Tatzlmon would hold a White Herb, The Mountain a Rock Incense, and Flint an Odd Incense. Common Candies were given where necessary.
The plan was to have The Mountain try to set up Stealth Rock while Tatzlmon set up Flint for the sweep. Krakatoa would fend off any Poison/Dark-types with Earth Power, while Hime and Hircine would act as backup and potential anti-Dragalge. The Pecha Berries were there for potential Poison status effect, or Toxic.
Items were given, prep was done. I was ready for Aya.
Fern wasn't sure who he wanted to lose more. Fern was really toxic, I'd say.
Why thank you.
Aya felt inexperienced. Insecure, even. She didn't even want to do this.
Well, we were doing this. I wanted my bloody badge.
Tatzlmon and The Mountain faced off against a Toxapex and Nidoqueen. Tatzlmon got off an Iron Defense while Nidoqueen unleashed a surprise Stealth Rock. Toxapex brought down the chills with an Icy Wind, bringing The Mountain into the yellow. Finally, The Mountain Stealth Rocked Aya's team. As far as The Mountain was concerned, he was done.
The Wasteland proceeded to eat up the Stealth Rock and attacked the teams. On the second round, Tatzlmon and Nidoqueen repeated themselves. Toxapex brought down another Icy Wind, bringing The Mountain into the red. Meanwhile, The Mountain blasted off a five-hit Rock Blast into Toxapex's bloodied face, almost killing it.
The Stealth Rock finished off The Mountain. In his stead, I sent in Hircine. Hircine Ice Fanged Nidoqueen beyond the halfway point, while Tatzlmon Iron Defensed again. Then Nidoqueen Stealth Rocked again. I guessed that would work. Toxapex chose to Recover, getting back into the green. The Stealth Rock brought Tatzlmon down into the yellow.
In the next round, Hircine dealt a second ice cold Ice Fang on Nidoqueen, gritting through the Poison Point as the toxins coursed through his veins. He chewed up his Pecha Berry while watching Nidoqueen struggle to stay alive. Tatzlmon began Stockpiling under the rain of even more Stealth Rock from Nidoqueen, while Toxapex blasted the field with a Sludge Wave. Hircine held on in the yellow—Tatzlmon was immune due to part Steel-typing—but Nidoqueen took some friendly fire and finally succumbed. But it seemed the Stealth Rock wasn't finished, as Hircine took a parting hit, putting him dangerously close to a knockout.
Next up, Aya sent out her Salazzle, which did not take Stealth Rock damage! Perhaps I had misunderstood what Stealth Rock did on the Wasteland Field. I would have to assume then that Stealth Rock would only trigger on the same turn it was used. Either way, Salazzle—and the Salandit line—I had heard about, but I wasn't sure on the type. It looked like a potential Poison/Dark-type, which meant it was time for Krakatoa. However, seeing as Flint wasn't out yet, I figured I could wait a little.
This would be a poor choice. As I healed up Hircine and Tatzlmon with a Hyper Potion and Lemonade, respectively, Salazzle unleashed a terrifying Heat Wave! Both Hircine and Tatzlmon were battered into the yellow under the heat. Salazzle had to have been a Poison/Fire-type. This was bad news for Tatzlmon, who was quadruply weak to Fire-moves. Toxapex was of course not finished and unleashed another Sludge Wave, but Hircine held on.
At this point, it was evident I could no longer afford to set up any longer. However, I didn't know how fast Salazzle was. Assuming the worst then, Hircine spent his turn healing Tatzlmon so that she would survive the incoming Heat Wave from Salazzle. As the heat became unbearable, Tatzlmon was burned, and Hircine barely held on in the red. Unfortunately, a Sludge Wave from Toxapex finished off Hircine. Fortunately, this allowed for Krakatoa to switch on Hircine's knockout, and Flint to switch in on Tatzlmon's Baton Pass.
And as was now expected, there was no Stealth Rock to greet them. Salazzle managed to eek out with speed one Sludge Wave that Poisoned Toxapex somehow, but otherwise was lackluster on Flint and Krakatoa. In return, Flint knocked out Toxapex with a Psychic, and Krakatoa crushed Salazzle with a Rock Slide. Both opponents were out.
With a clear field, Aya sent out both Drapion and Dragalge. This had me worried. If Dragalge knew a Water-move, and Drapion a Dark-move, they could do serious damage to Krakatoa and Flint respectively. Thus I had to hope that the Solid Rock ability would save Krakatoa, and Tatzlmon's buffs would save Flint.
Drapion was faster and dropped a devastating Aqua Tail on Krakatoa, nearly killing him! Flint nearly finished off Dragalge with a Psychic, while Krakatoa buried Drapion with a massive Earth Power. Dragalge clearly wasn't happy, and took aim with a Hydro Pump.
And fucking missed!
I breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. Once Aya sent out her last Pokémon, Venusaur, I knew the battle was won. Flint took out Dragalge with another Psychic, while Venusaur was faster than Krakatoa and took him out with a Stomp Tantrum. Regardless, Venusaur would not survive the combined assault of a switched-in Hime's Fire Fang and Flint's Psychic.
Victory was mine. The badge was mine, at last!
(https://i.imgur.com/mpbgvw9.png)
So it turned out The Mountain was not as was not as useful as I hoped. I thought Stealth Rock would stick around on the Wasteland Field. I guessed I was wrong on that.
Now, Salazzle made it dicey as Tatzlmon could no longer spend time setting up. It forced my hand as I had to sacrifice Hircine to ensure Baton Pass. Fortunately, I got Krakatoa out of it at the same time as Baton Passed Flint.
And that super lucky Hydro Pump miss. Holy shit. Follow that with Krakatoa surviving Aqua Tail, and killing Drapion before Dragalge could kill him? Priceless. Drapion probably could've killed Flint as it was a powerful Poison/Dark type! I named Krakatoa the MVP.
After the battle, Aya was just happy to be done with me.
"Now, where muh badge at?!" I yelled.
And Fern could go suck a dick! He was such a trash talker. Now I just hoped Aya didn't have any hard feelings. New on the job, immediately two losses... and she was being quite the reluctant Gym Leader. Apparently, she didn't like her brother, Cain. She claimed he had dumped this job on her by running away. He had said no goodbyes and hadn't even grabbed his Pokémon.
He was supposed to be the replacement leader!
Trouble at home, eh Cain?
At least Hardy was being a bro, consoling Aya.
"Yes... listen to Hardy. Give me my badge," I concurred.
And so, the Blight Badge was mine! The level cap was raised to 50, I could finally use Strength outside of battle, and I got TM34 for Sludge Wave! That was not a bad TM!
(https://i.imgur.com/SMSex25.png)
As I prepared to leave, Hardy dropped a few tidbits. He would be up at Agate City, where his Gym was.
Would he be the next Gym Leader? I would have to find a TV to find out.
And I would need to do some exploring. I feel I would need to tie up some loose ends, before saving the kids. They could wait, after all. They had waited this far.
How bad could a little bit more time be?