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[delphonso]

Pokemon Conquest Introduction



What is Pokemon Conquest?

Pokemon Conquest is a crossover game between Koei Tecmo (Tecmo-Koei?) and Nintendo's The Pokemon Company - this deal with Nintendo would later result in Hyrule Warriors. Koei Tecmo brought forward their renowned series "Nobunaga's Ambition" (Nobunaga no Yabou) and mixed in some Pokemon. Originally, this was supposed to be a Musou crossover - like Hyrule Warriors, but Koei Tecmo wasn't willing to risk their biggest money maker on this handheld Pokemon gamble. Nobunaga's Ambition is a series of admittedly boring strategy games where you meticulously control lords, supplies, taxes and the like set in Sengoku-jidai Japan. There was at least one on the DS, and one released the same year as this on PS Vita - I haven't played a Nobunaga's Ambition game since the Gameboy Advance's day. This game was released in 2012 for the DS and seems to have been poorly advertised in the US, as I didn't know about it until 2016.
EDIT: This was my bad research - Nobunaga's Ambition has been re-released on handhelds several times, and with about 15 games in the series, there are plenty of versions to play. The 2012 release was actually 2013 for the PS3 - Nobunaga's Ambition: Spheres of Influence. It is widely considered the best in the series. The modern games play somewhere between Total War and Crusader Kings. I'll be trying them out and might post comparisons in the thread.

The game itself is a grid-based tactics game (such as X-Com or Final Fantasy Tactics Advance) and kingdom management sim. Aiming at a younger crowd than Nobunaga's Ambition, the management sim aspects of the game are somewhat simple, and at a certain point, completely automated. You control a group of humans, who each control one Pokemon. The combat relies on gimmicks for challenge, which makes it pretty engaging to play actually.

It's about a 15 hour play - longer if you do more grinding/optimizing - and has the goal of the game set up pretty quickly. There are 17 cities, and if you conquer all of them, you get to meet God. I'm not joking.

Why should you play this game?

Well, it's pretty fun. It's easy, as all Pokemon games are, but has more going on in it than the usual Pokemon combat. I personally got sick of Pokemon around Diamond and Pearl and this game re-ignited my interest in Pokemon after a few years of not playing any at all.
It's also a genuinely weird game. Straight up historical figures are here covered in Pokeball designs and eating "Ponigiri." Not to mention the insane technological dissonance - there's a Japanese castle shooting lightning bolts out of Tesla coils...which Nobunaga is trying to capture...Nobunaga, who in real Japanese history was the progenitor of stone defensive walls. The equivalent would be like having George Washington with an AR-15 as a Digimon. Anyway - if you're familiar with Pokemon, and like it at all, this game is pretty cool. It weighs heavily on the original pokemon, and mixes in the newer ones (up to Gen 5, I think) in a not off-putting way.

Also, the only games I like are apparently grid-based tactics, so...here I am, I guess.

So what's this LP?

I'm going to try to do a straight screen-shot LP. I can't find a proper game script, so this might end up...being abandoned if it's too much frustrating work. If that happens, well, at least here's a short advertisement for a game I like. The main character in this game is criminally mute, but there's enough going on for some entertaining commentary. I might also drop in some info on the actual historical figures, if it comes up.

Note: all my Japanese history knowledge comes from drunkenly walking through museums and castles in Japan, many of which didn't have English information - so I'm practically an expert.

As I mentioned, this game re-ignited my love of Pokemon, which means a lot to me. I also lived in Japan for a couple years, and have a healthy interest in their military history. This history, I wager, was never studied by the people who made this game.

What about us, the readers?

Well, weirdly, every character in this game is already named and designed - Pokemon cannot be nicknamed either, so I can't hand out nicknames for you. There are some weird design decisions that were made in this game. At a certain point, warriors can choose Pokemon of their own preference, and since the game is pretty easy, that choice isn't pivotal, and could be up to you guys who the "main team" is. The game includes about 300 Pokemon, but there's a fair amount of randomness as to which ones are available. But...we'll get into that later.

The amount of randomness makes the game pretty replayable - if you want to play along and give some commentary on your own game, feel free. I'm sure a copy of this can't be that expensive.

(Okay, I just looked on Ebay and a mint version of the game is over 300USD. What is wrong with people? It's readily available for emulation, or check your local used game store.)

-=-=-=-

Index:

Part 1: Pallet Town Aurora
Part 1.5: Route 1 Aurora Training
Part 2: Cinnabar Island Ignis
Part 3: Viridian Forest Greenleaf
Part 4: Cerulean City Fontaine

[delphonso]

Part 1: Aurora

Music: Main Theme



The game opens on the main screen, with Nobunaga looking pensive behind some sort of Dragon Pokemon. We see a few legendaries around the edge with their respective trainers. Oh, also a little girl with an angry pink ball.
When you choose to start a new game, if there is already data on your DS cartridge, the game will inform you that you can start a new game, but cannot save data. This is annoying, as the only way to delete data is hidden inside the game manual - a "feature" Pokemon games have starting on the DS and going onward. I suppose this is to stop younger siblings from accidentally deleting save data...which I did to my big sister on our one copy of Pokemon Red.

But I'll tell you - my sister kicked my ass and I never made that mistake again.



Anyway, to delete data, when the game is on this screen, press and hold A+B+X+Y, a prompt will come up asking if you really want to delete the data. This seems finicky, as even I, a mostly-operational adult had to try 3 times to get it right.




When you get started, you get the option of choosing a male of female protagonist and naming them. I'll leave that to you guys - or we'll continue with my test character: Male Bay12-sama.



The game opens on Aurora - the starting town kingdom.







I screenshotted these to let you know that these are the first lines of this game. I don't know if this is the translation team's fault, or what - but boy... Best writing awards must have filled their mail-box to bursting.

This game does not have voice acting, as some DS games did. I don't know if the Japanese version did or didn't. The music is...interesting. A bit cacophonous, but I appreciate the effort to mix traditional Japanese instruments in with a modern soundtrack. Anyway, back to the riveting dialogue.








((We see a party move from the northern city to the southern city))

: ...?!





: ...!

Well, that's enough world-building for us. Time to fight, I guess.



We get a preview of the party strength of each team. According to this, we should be able to beat Koroku and Nagayasu. Oddly, their team is named Hideyoshi's Army - which we'll get into later.



They drop their units on the far end of the field. A Tepig and a Bidoof.

Aurora's Combat theme starts!



I just want to note that these are the first words our protagonist says.



Your Eevee is dropped on the field - you do not get to choose where your units start. Also, the Warrior who controls the Pokemon appears like a Stand behind them for a second.

: Heh! There's only one of you! This is gonna be easy!
: Aurora's as good as ours!

: Please, wait!



What's this? An angry pink ball?

: I'll fight with you!

: ...!?
That's my line...
: Well, the more the merrier...
: Join forces if you like - it won't make a difference!
Now would be a good time to mention that these two Pokemon are literally the weakest you will ever face in the game.



Oichi (the girl with the Jigglypuff) runs you through a quick tutorial. A to select, then move and press A again. Your options are "Fight" and "Wait". We're forced to select Wait here. There's not much to say. We walk forward and they don't even get a chance to attack. The controls and visual feedback are satisfactory.



: Well, I feel sorry for you, having just become a Warlord and all... But you're going to have to leave that castle in Aurora before you can settle in!

Before we send them to an early grave, Koroku gives us some awkward words.

: If these people take our castle, the people of Aurora will be...

Under the control of someone who can speak.





: I'll remember this, you know! Don't think I won't!
: Huh? What!? I'll remember this, you know!

What is this threat?

: Aurora castle belongs to us!

: Y-you're strong... Much stronger than they said you'd be...
: What are we gonna do now? Lord Hideyoshi is going to be mad...
: Never mind that! Let's just get out of here!

: Your link with Eevee, Lord Bay12... It's already so strong... You might just be the one...

So Link is effectively the level of your Pokemon in this game. The higher the link, the better the Pokemon's stats are. There are "Perfect Links" such as Bay12's Eevee and Oichi's Jigglypuff which put the cap at 100% (effectively, level 100.) Most NPCs have an imperfect link with their Pokemon, capping them at 70% or 54%. We'll explore that more later - but after each battle you see a screen which reports how much your Link increased.




You get a hefty boost from the first fight. Usually, fights result in about 1% increase. This is related to the number of successful take downs the Pokemon gets. So if Jigglypuff took out both enemies, they'd increase a lot more than Eevee.

: You're a natural in battle, Lord Bay12!



: I've been on a journey with Jigglypuff here... B-But... Umm, i-if you don't mind...
I'd like to join your army, Lord Bay12! Would you be willing to have me?

If you stop using so many fucking ellipses, sure.

The game gives you a false option here - if you say No, she just asks again.

: Th-thank you! As a warrior, I'll give my all in your service. But it is a worry... It seems the flames of conflict have finally reached Aurora as well...



Oichi dumps the plot on us here.

The Ransei region...
An area inhabited by Warriors, those privileged few capable of communicating wordlessly with Pokémon
In Ransei, there is a tale of yore, passed down from generation to generation: If any one Warlord can conquer all 17 kingdoms of Ransei, then the Pokémon that created Ransei shall reveal itself.
The Warriors of the land all believe that this tale is true; indeed, it is what drives them all.
And as a result, countless battles are fought for control of the kingdoms of Ransei.

Ransei is a clever name - it means "Time of troubles" in Japanese

: Lord Bay12, if we are going to help you defend the kingdom of Aurora... Then Jigglypuff and I are going to have to become much stronger!



The game then teaches you how to save the game.
Congratulations, we've managed to protect Aurora - and thus, have secured one of the 17 kingdoms. Literally on our first day as Warlord, someone tried to kill us.

Next time, we'll learn how to fight and then go murder those Ignis fools.
Chuck a name suggestion in the comments. The protagonist is limited to 7 characters for a name (I said 8 before).

[Remalle]

ptw

[Haspen]

PTW also.

[King Zultan]

PTW, and Lord Bay 12 seems like a good name to me.

[EuchreJack]

I too support naming our protaganist PTW!
A truly inspirational name that shall lead to great glory!

[delphonso]

I too support naming our protaganist PTW!
A truly inspirational name that shall lead to great glory!

This was too good to pass up. I was trying to fit "Bay12" in Japanese phonetics into the 7 letter limit. Baejyouni or Baetuerubu. I was going to go with Baejoni - but my dyslexia kept reading it as Bon Jovi. Anyway, here's Pitiwu-sama:

I decided to stick with the male protagonist, since the female one looks a bit too similar to Oichi.


About this update:
This will hopefully be one of only two half-updates. I want to start each update with a castle battle, but there's a bit of tutorial to blow through. Looking at it now, it's a bit too much to shove in front of Ignis Castle, so I'll go through it quickly now in this short update.

Part 1.5: Auroraoraoraora



We now have free access to the world map. The world map updates and uncovers more cities as you conquer your neighbors. You might notice a little farm icon on the bottom right of the top screen - this indicates a location in Aurora. That location has a little Pikachu on it, meaning there are Pokemon to murder encounter there. We also get access to the Gallery in the Start menu - which lets us get a closer look at our Warriors.



So there's a bit going on here that the game has not yet explained to the player. Among the odd decisions which make up Pokemon Conquest, fully explaining anything is not done at least until a third of the way through the game. Luckily, you have me to help you out with that. Pitiwu and Oichi both have "Ranks" - these are reached by having a powerful enough link with their Perfect Match Pokemon - or, in some cases, story progression. We won't be reaching a higher rank in a long time, but it does unlock a different costume for your character, and that's fun.

Y will cycle through about 5 images showing different emotions - we've seen these in dialogue screenshots already, but it's real useful in an LP to grab your preferred face. Pitiwu will, from now on, be portrayed with this doofy shocked face. Power, Wisdom, and Charisma all have minor effects on their Pokemon, and come up when doing jobs in town, which we'll get to later. Warriors also have Warrior Skills, which we get into later in this update - since they're locked at this point in the game.



Let's get into Aurora and progress the story. The Equip option is what it sounds like - Warriors can carry an item which can be used on that Pokemon's turn - in this play through, it will almost always be Potions because most of the other items suck.



: Ooph!

Who is this mysterious young bully? Could it be...Nobunaga himself?!
: I-I'm sorry...
: There's a Farm not far from here, Lord Pitiwu. I'm sure there'll be some wild Pokémon there... Let's go do some training!



We're once again given "control" over the game, however there is only one thing to do. We get a preview of the Farm. It has a Bidoof and a Starly - two Gen 4 Pokemon. The white square next to both of them represents Normal type, and the Blue square on Starly shows it's Flying type. Later, we'll be able to catch these guys, but we need to defeat...4 kingdoms to do that. For now, the farm needs fertilizing with blood.

: You're the Warlord of this kingdom, Lord Pitiwu. Jigglypuff and I will follow your orders! So, what do you want us to do? Try to work together to claim victory!

Up to this point, Oichi had been controlled by AI. Now, you can order Jigglypuff around as you please. This map is basically a square with two enemy Pokemon. This is still a tutorial, so there's not much to talk about. You move Eevee forward, then Jigglypuff does the same.



The battle screen gives us information on whatever is hovered over - so we see Jigglypuff's attack, link level, HP, mood, and ability all on the top screen. Attacks are pretty basic at this point, and you'll recognize them if you played any Pokemon games. Eevee has Quick Attack - doing damage to one square in front of it. Jigglypuff has Doubleslap - doing damage multiple times to a square in front of it - just like the main games, it hits 2-5 times.



Oichi, you know I don't. It's literally my second day here.
: Eevee has one called Celebrate... And Jigglypuff has one called Lullaby...
You can learn more in the Gallery or the Info page - it's pretty easy to find out what these moves do. Celebrate (or, as I know it, Grim Harvest) allows you to take another turn if you kill an enemy, unfortunately, limited to one extra turn. It's probably the best ability in the game. Lullaby will randomly put enemy Pokemon to sleep if they're within a certain range. It's a nice debuff. Some other Abilities are straight out of the main games - Shed Skin (lose status ailments), Jagged Edge (do slight damage on physical attacks) and Static (paralyze on physical attacks) are all in here somewhere. They are all passive.




Eevee kills Starly, activates the ability, then moves to Bidoof, leaving it at 1 HP. Jigglypuff cleans up the scraps.



The game gives us a quick tutorial on Link. It's just their level. It's straight strength.

: The more time they spend together, the stronger this link becomes. This will make the Pokémon more powerful as well.
You and Eevee must be tired after that battle, Lord Pitiwu... And Jigglypuff is looking pretty worn out, too. I think we should take a break. A Warrior can only do battle with their Pokémon or take them to visit a location once in a month. When all the Warriors in your army have moved, select Next Month to advance to the next month.



This screen is the most common one in the game. Get used to seeing it. As you gather more Warriors, you can do more in each month - each Warrior gets one action, whether that's a battle, shopping, or digging for gold. After 3 more kingdoms, we can delegate those tasks out and don't have to directly control each Warrior. This also ensures that the first part of the game is the most exhausting part. GAME DESIGN! Anyway, the camera goes to Ignis after we finish our turn.


: Losing against a complete beginner like that... They need to get their act together! I'm not letting them mess things up for me now! I've got to make the kingdom of Aurora mine!

On that empty threat, the game moves to the next season. Hideyoshi is a supremely important figure in Japanese history, and here, he's portrayed as a petulant child... Well anyway, let's kill more Pokemon since we literally can't do anything else.

Spoiler: Hideyoshi's History Lesson (click to show/hide)

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the second of the three Great Unifiers of Japanese history, the other two being Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Unfortunately, their histories are so intertwined, that it's nearly impossible to talk about just one of them. In 1582, when Nobunaga was killed, Hideyoshi took up the reigns of power, then spent 10 years marching all over Japan and finalizing the unification that Nobunaga started, although only in a tenuous peace. He had been a soldier in Nobunaga's army, and had risen through the ranks thanks to his competence and skill. His military achievements are frankly too numerous to list.

Hideyoshi was a peasant - not a samurai. For a brief period, he was the most powerful man in all of Japan, and reached the highest Imperial Nobility rank available. He put forward laws which would persist through the Tokugawa Shogonate (ending in 1868), including laws such as only born samurai were allowed to carry weapons. His impacts on Japanese culture persist today in popularizing the tea ceremonies and Noh theatre. Late in his life he adopted the title Taiko, and after his death there was a supernatural air about him and his name. A mere peasant was almost Shogun - the supreme dictator of Japan. Tokugawa would later take up the true Shogunate, but Hideyoshi is probably the most favorably looked upon of the three Unifiers because of his common birth.

Nobunaga is known for his ambition, but Hideyoshi attempted to conquer all of Korea and then push on toward China in the later years of his life. This was largely unsuccessful, often attributed to attrition after decades of fighting in Japan.

And here, he's an idiot who looks to be 13 years old.

: That place looks like it'd be full of wild Pokémon! It might be a good idea to do a little training.



We get a new location: the waterfall. We can see there'll be a Wooper and Meowth there.


I just said that.
: If I recall correctly, Woopers have the Water Gun move. Some moves, like Water Gun, allow you to attack a wide area. Each Pokémon has a set move that they can use, so be sure to think about your tactics before entering battle!

Pokemon only come with one attack, and that attack has a certain range. Some hit 3 squares in a line in front of them, others hit one square 4 spaces away. They are varyingly useful. This is once again a tutorial battle, so I just rush the Meowth, and get hurt.

: Are you all right, Eevee?
Lord Pitiwu, at times like this you should select the Warrior option. You see, battles aren't just about telling your Pokémon where to move and when to fight. It's a Warrior's job to help out their Pokémon on the battlefield. You can use items... And you can use Warrior Skills... You may not be fighting yourself, but you and your Pokemon are a team. Working with your Pokemon in battle is what it truly means to be a Warrior.
My Warrior Skill is Sweet Song. It can be really helpful when you're in a bind. Warriors can help their Pokémon in battle by using their various Warrior Skills. Warrior Skills can only be used once each in every battle or training session.

Thanks for the wall of text, Oichi. So before you move, you can open the Warrior menu and activate Warrior skills or use items. Each skill can only be used once per encounter, and items can be used as long as you have them. Items can be picked up and equipped if they show up on the field. Breaking items and killing Pokemon drops items sometimes. Oichi's healing ability is great. Pitiwu's ability is also good - called Top Speed, it just lets Eevee move a couple extra squares. What I like about these is that they happen before movement, so you still have a complete turn with your Pokemon if you've used a Warrior ability or item.



My screenshots on this were terrible. I kill the Wooper and then Celebrate by killing the Meowth. Since Eevee downed more enemies, you can see Eevee's Link goes up significantly more than Jigglypuff's.






I'm certain we've already talked. Or...you talked to me, at least.


: Come on, Kiyomasa! We need to have a word with these guys, or they won't know what they're doing!
Oh, trust me. Pitiwu will still not know what they're doing after this.
: Yeah... We hear that you're training your Pokémon a lot... But what for? What can you two hope to achieve?
: I-I...!
: Well, they're right, you know. You have to do more than just train. Eventually, you need to challenge another kingdom to a battle. If you win that, you can get some more Warriors and Pokémon to join you.
: Strengthen your army, and win battles. Those are the tasks of a Warlord. But I'm sure you know that much, right?
: Uh... Well, I... Lord Pitiwu... If we really want to become stronger, we're going to have to challenge other kingdoms to battle. I think the time have come for us to make our move.

Spoiler: This Boner-squad's History Lesson (click to show/hide)

Mitsunari, Masanori, and Kiyomasa were three people I had to genuinely look up. They were generals all present at the Battle of Sekigahara - which was the decisive battle which put Tokugawa on top and basically started the 260 year-long Tokugawa Shogunate. These three were in support of Tokugawa, which suggests that Pitiwu is actually Tokugawa. Notably, Masanori was part of Hideyoshi's mounted vanguard. That's pretty neat.

Alright! Showdown at Ignis next time! Thanks for reading!

[King Zultan]

Seems kind of weird that they use actual people for a game about pokemon.

[delphonso]

I really wonder what happened to make this deal come through. Nobunaga's Ambition is a relatively serious kingdom sim. I might crack open one of the newer ones and see if they went fully Dynasty Warriors in absurdity, but the old one I played was just...boring. The Sengoku-jidai historical figures like Hideyoshi have been mangled by modern media, so their unusual characterization isn't SO strange, but like...yeah, why are they here with Pokemon?

This same game concept could have been achieved either by having no humans (Pokemon fighting over territory) or having an entirely made up cast of humans. The weirdness of this game's design decisions are what make it stand out to me.

It's hard to think of anything similar. I guess Assassin's Creed made some weird leaps, though.

[EuchreJack]

Pretty sure it comes down to Dynasty Warriors (RTK characters) and Samurai Warriors (Nobunaga's Ambition characters) vastly outselling the historical strategy games, so Koei decided to try and cash in with a Pokemon-Nobunaga crossover.

The last Nobunaga's Ambition that I read about did seem a bit more absurd.

If we're supposed to be Nobunaga, then Hideyoshi could very well be a 13 year old.  But it looks like you meet Nobunaga later in the game.

[chaotick21]

PTW

[delphonso]

If we're supposed to be Nobunaga, then Hideyoshi could very well be a 13 year old.  But it looks like you meet Nobunaga later in the game.

I'm pretty sure we're Tokugawa. Nobunaga is in the game as the final boss. Again, weird decision said don't mention him in the game until about 1/3 through it - even though it's in the Japanese title ("Pocket Monster + Nobunaga no yabou")

That's a good point about Samurai Warrior's art style and game direction outselling historical strategy. The characters in this game have the same costumes as Samurai Warriors 3. I'll post some comparisons later.

[delphonso]

Part 2: Ignis

Music: Ignis Theme

Time to go to Ignis and get revenge for their terrible attempt at conquest.



We get a quick overview of Ignis and Hideyoshi's forces. Two fire types and a Bidoof. Chimchar is the Gen 4 fire-type starter and Tepig is the Gen 5 fire-type starter. Bidoof is the Ratata of Gen 4 and I hate him with all my heart.


Look at this stupid fuck.





We have the option of getting more info - we can look at the enemy Warriors' abilities and the attack their Pokemon have. Hideyoshi seems surprised that we've figured this out. Warrior abilities are exclusively Active - so although this sounds like a Passive ability, he'll have to activate it for it to start applying. Anyway, let's get this show on the road!



Later, when we have more castles and warriors, you can send two groups of warriors from two different castles to a fight, as long as they don't exceed 6. It's neat.


:  I never thought I'd see you over here... Well, two can play at that game! If it's a battle you want, I'm ready!
: Fine! Then a battle it is! But Lord Pitiwu is going to win!
((Why does she should like this wasn't exactly what we were coming here to do?))
: Ho ho! Aren't you a cutie? I could do with someone like you in my army...
: Don't call me "cutie"! I would never fight for someone like you, anyway!
((Hideyoshi: misogynist. I love the implication here - Pitiwu is someone she WOULD fight for, probably because he never says anything, while everyone else is an insulting petulant child.))


Oh...Fuck yes.

: Alright, I think it's time for a battle, don't you?


This is a pretty even match as far as fighting strength goes. Thanks to the action economy, this gives Hideyoshi a slight advantage, due to having 3 fighters. We, however, are playing a game for children - so we'll be fine.


We also have 20 turns to finish this fight. This game's turn counter is pretty generous, as most fights end in 4 rounds or 8 at the most. If you run out of rounds, the player loses.


: The pillars of fire and magma will stop you from getting near me... But my Chimchar isn't bothered by things like that!



Here's the battlefield. Those treasures on the top right are inaccessible the whole fight - I don't know if it's possible at all to get them, because you can't have fire Pokemon at this point in the game. Fire Pokemon can move through the magma and flames. You can see a blue pool of hot water on the top - that onsen will heal the Burn condition and recover some health. That is most of the gimmick of this fight.


The best place for us to fight is on this side of the map, so I position the Pokemon to look longingly at those treasures and end my turn.


Tepig and Chimchar are unbothered by the magma, so they run across it into the welcoming arms of death. Bidoof is useless so it has to navigate the top part of the map.


: Before long, all the kingdoms will be mine!
((It's called Nobunaga's Ambition, not Hideyoshi's Ambition.))


: It seems there are times when the pillars of fire disappear. Eevee and Jigglypuff can move across the area safely then.

Although this is true, the timing of the pillars is either way too slow or way too fast, so we'll just never deal with it. Instead, I bait the enemies toward the onsen.


Chimchar and Tepig have the same attack: Ember. It does fire damage 1 square away, and can cause burning - it does exactly that to Jigglypuff. Bidoof is pretty far behind because it can't walk on magma.


At the end of the enemy's turn, we get this message which doesn't tell us what is going to happen. Rocks will now fall from the ceiling randomly - they mostly hit around the magma pool and deal some fire damage.


yo

The game now tells us that onsens cure burning. The game doesn't tell you that you will expend its usage if you do - and enemies can as well, which is why we make a move for it first. They replenish after like...5 turns or something.


Just look at how happy Jigglypuff is.
Eevee comes around the south and deals some damage to Tepig - he should be able to finish him off next turn and then Celebrate.


Thank you! Nagayasu, do you want to join up?


Easy to say when you have a ball of pure anger that puts everyone to sleep.


HOLY SHIT. I didn't catch it in a screenshot - but that damage is from a falling volcano rock. It did Bidoof's entire health bar and knocked him out of the fight!


A rock just misses Eevee and hits Tepig - since the rocks are fire damage, Tepig isn't bothered by it too much, but it puts him down to only 2 HP.

Then Jigglypuff puts him to sleep anyway. Insult onto injury. Eevee finishes him off easily.


What is this threat?!


Things have swung drastically in our favor. Only Hideyoshi is left, and at low health. I have Oichi give us some healing just in case both of us miss. Jigglypuff does some damage and Eevee moves in for the kill.




That was...surprisingly dignified.


We get the gold from that treasure box and then the Victory screen. Eevee is getting a bit far ahead of Jigglypuff - since Oichi is required to bring to some battles, I'll make sure Jigglypuff gets the kill more often.


Oh good, there's that indignant Hideyoshi I know and love.
: But I have made a vow! I will be the one to find the Legendary Pokémon! And that means I will be back!
((To reiterate - that's God.))


Hideyoshi's army has been defeated and has been forced to retreat.
((Obviously, such an important person as Hideyoshi will return later in the game.))

: Congratulations, Lord Pitiwu! Your second castle... I'm sure we'll start making allies before long. The only thing is...I don't know how...


((This must be another of Hideyoshi's cronies. Sick him, Eevee!!))
: ...?!
: I watched your battle in Ignis. You're impressive for one so young. But if you don't even know how to make allies... Then I guess you've got a way to go before you can be considered a real Warlord.


((I didn't see YOU just double your territory.))


((I will admit, I really like that the game shits on you after your first victory and then is like "Haha, I'm just kidding!"))
: Tell you what, I'll teach you how to make new allies, all right? My name's Keiji, by the way. Just come to Ignis Castle when you're ready to learn!

Here, the game saves and moves forward a month. We re-enter Ignis.

Spoiler: Keiji's Buff History Corner (click to show/hide)

Maeda Keiji had a reputation as a wild-man and free spirit. How much of this is truth and how much is war legend is unclear. What is known about Keiji is that he was a competent warrior, and although he had a reputation for being "wild", he upheld family duty well. Keiji seemed to have always been an oppositional force during the end of the Sengoku-jidai - generally siding against the current unifier, or supporting the losing side.
One of my friends in Japan can recount his family history back to the Maeda clan - something he was very proud of.

Okay, can we talk about this guy's abs?
: Oh, that's right! I was going to teach you how to make new allies. Well, it's pretty easy... Not all Warriors are part of an army, you see. There are plenty of free Warriors around as well, ones that are unattached. For example... Um... Ah, I know! Go and have a look in that Cave!

The implications here.

: There's probably one or two in there. Start by seeing if you can recruit them. Hm? Me? Nah. I'm a bit of a free spirit, so I'm not keen on staying in one place for too long. And anyway, I've got some things I need to buy in the Shop. See you later, Pitiwu!
: ...He's gone. Where did he tell us to go again? The Cave, was it?
((Oichi and Pitiwu, mesmerized by Keiji's abs, fail to grasp anything he says.))


We get a preview of who is in the cave - that'll be Rikyu, the first recruit. Among the odd design decisions, this is one of them - Rikyu is a pre-made character. He is also entirely generic. All of the generic characters in this game are not randomized. They have specific starting Pokemon, names, locations, and art-work, although the art-work is shared among multiple characters. Why they didn't just randomize this, I have absolutely no idea. There are non-generic Warriors (Oichi and Pitiwu being the first two), which we will recruit later. For now, we just need fire pokemon, so we're going to recruit whoever we can.


Rikyu is the fucking best, honestly. He has Darumaka who has a great attack and ability combo. Rikyu's ability cures poison+paralysis, which is nice too. We'll be keeping Rikyu with us for a good portion of the game.


Look at this cutie.

Here's Rikyu in detail.



Goodnight.


The game informs us how recruitment works. The game says "You can recruit warriors by defeating them in 4 turns, defeating them using a supereffective(sic) move, or defeating them without any of your allies suffering damage. There are, however, some free Warriors who can only be recruited by fulfilling certain other special conditions."
Defeating them in 4 turns is the usual way this happens - 4 turns is a short time frame, as the first turn is wasted walking toward the enemy. Certain Pokemon (such as the maligned Bidoof) can cause flinching or paralysis and slow down this process.
Defeating them using a super effective move is the most reliable method, but isn't always possible, depending on what Pokemon are available.
Defeating them without any damage...I've never seen that happen. This is basically impossible.
The special conditions are almost always "be defeated by Pitiwu". Usually that's fine - but depending on type advantages, this can get tricky.
Since Rikyu was alone, we easily defeated him within 4 turns. Then, some plot happens!

: Our army is growing nicely. I think things are looking up, Lord Pitiwu!


: Oh, you again...
: I hope you're not resting on your laurels just because you've conquered Ignis!

((Why is he so surprised by this? Also why is everyone such a dick? WE JUST DOUBLED OUR TERRITORY AND IT'S BEEN LIKE TWO DAYS))
: Because Aurora is surrounded by other kingdoms... And there's still Greenleaf and Fontaine to go.
: You know, the Warriors of Ignis... They mostly use Fire-type Pokemon, right? Strong against Grass, weak against Water... Heh. Everybody knows that, of course.
: Anyway, I hear that the Warlord of Greenleaf uses Grass-type Pokemon.

((Pitiwu kills Masanori, mistaking him for a wild Pokemon))
: You know, I don't think the Warlords of either Greenleaf or Fontaine have any interest in trying to conquer other kingdoms. I reckon now's your chance to make a move.
: Come on. We don't have time to stand around here chatting. We've got to get to the Ponigiri Shop and increase our Pokemon's Energy.
: ... It sounds like there's just no way of avoiding battle...
((Oichi, he literally just said that they aren't interested in battle. We are the antagonists. Are you even listening?))



: The more kingdoms you conquer, the more places you'll be able to travel to. You'll meet new Pokemon too. And each kingdom will have all sorts of interesting new locations to visit. Select a castle belonging to Pitiwu's army to command your Warriors to move. You won't send me off on my own anywhere, will you? I'd like to stay with you, Lord Pitiwu, if that's all right.


We now have access to the March option - Marching does not use a Warrior's action, so you can shuffle people around to your heart's content. Each castle can only hold 6 Warriors, so our effective army limit is 12 right now. Since Ignis mostly has Fire Pokemon, I send Rikyu down to Aurora for training.


There's a new recruit available in Ignis's Cave. There are also Wild Pokemon there - who we will have to kill. Wild Pokemon are on the same side as Free Warriors - for some reason. You only need to take out the Warrior's Pokemon within the 4 rounds, then can deal with the wild ones after.


This is sometimes an issue when they do turn-delaying effects. Luckily, I had already knocked out Charmander at this point.


There are often items hidden on the map - this little hill can be dug up by a Pokemon and an item can be found. These trees can also be attacked and sometimes give you an item.


There's something hilarious about the word "disappeared" for knocking down a tree. I recruit a couple more Warriors over the next two months.




Every 3 months, your Pokemon's Energy will go up or down. Energy is a small modifier to all stats, and also improves Link growth. Since our Pokemon are a little low energy, I go to the Ponigiri shop (a pun on onigiri, which have existed in some form throughout Japanese history since at least the Nara Period (710 to 794)) Energy isn't supremely important, but hey - you might as well manage it while you've got the time. The game explains that you can visit these and look at what is available without spending the action of that Warrior - however, if you buy anything, it counts as an action and they can't do anything else that month.


Right now, there's nothing complex here. It just increases Energy slightly.



And with that, we're up to 5 Warriors. 3 of whom have Fire Pokemon. We could go attack Fontaine if we wanted, but we'd just end up with Water Pokemon who are weak to Greenleaf's Grass types. Next time: Let's burn Greenleaf to the ground!

[King Zultan]

Burn those hippies down!

[Haspen]

Currently it seems like easy conquest but I bet later on we will have mixed enemy squads.

Burn the leaf, overgrow the fountain!