Pokemon Variants

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff (?) Part 1


Isn't it ironic that the censor wouldn't let a girl name her character Violet in Pokemon X and Y?  And here we are.  One of the main installments is named after an obscene word according to GameFreak now.  To spite the developers, I made a female character named REDACTED and gave her Violet colored "Space Buns" hair.  She registered at the Uva Academy.  Pretty clever of GameFreak here, since the region of Paldea seems to be based on Spain, and grapes can be red or purple.


The intro scene showed the old Director Clavell talking about the region, and a clip showed a black Tauros fighting a Grimer.  When I gained control of REDACTED, I had her look at the TV, where it displayed a program called Ciudadventures that promised an episode about Mesagoza, home of Uva Academy.  REDACTED walked so slowly at the beginning of the game that bad memories of Phantasy Star 3 were returning.  Was she secretly part Orakian royalty?    REDACTED would eventually run, much to my relief.  Even in real life I walk faster than REDACTED did in the first few minutes.



The three starters were Sprigatito the Grass cat, Fuecoco the Fire crocodile, and Quaxly the Water duck.  Instead of picking one right away, the game made REDACTED saunter to Nemona's house and watch the three starters play.  Sprigatito frolicked in the flowers, Quaxly bathed itself, and Fuecoco burned a fruit by breathing fire on it.  Nemona was the "friendly rival" of Pokemon Violet.  Although she was a Champion class trainer, Nemona wanted to be even with REDACTED while battling with her.


I chose Fuecoco as a formality because it had the funniest scene, and fought Nemona's Sprigatito on the beach by casting Ember several times.  Clavell and Nemona talked to REDACTED and the Pokedex app was added to her Rotom Phone.  Clavell was so ancient that he remembered when researchers made a Pokedex with "ordinary paper and handwritten notes".  Who writes the digital Pokedex entries then, and why are they so inaccurate?  Maybe Pokemon research has decayed since Clavell's youth?


Paldea really was based on Spain since Nemona had a maid in her house.  If there's one constant in telenovelas, it's that there are always maids.  Poco Path was the first "route" of the game.  There was a mix of old and new Pokemon here:  Lechonk the Normal pig, Tarountula the Bug spider, Hoppip, Fletchling, Pawmi the Electric mouse, and Scatterbug.  It makes sense that some returning monsters would be from Kalos, since Paldea is also a "European" region.  As for Hoppip, its inclusion is justified because it's spread by wind throughout the warmer regions of the world.


I settled on Hoppip because it's annoying and can fly.  The perfect Pokemon to irritate my readers and possibly online players with!  Hoppip is the same Grass/Flying type as always, as opposed to a regional variant.  Paldea's Hoppips are more fortunate than the original Johto Hoppips because they actually start with an attacking move.  It's sad when you're glad that your solo monster has Tackle.


The stats at Lv 4 as seen in one of my Switch screenshots:


HP:  17
Attack:  8
Defense:  9
Special Attack:  8
Special Defense:  10
Speed:  9


Ability:  Leaf Guard


The first battle was a loss to a Lv 3 Lechonk, after a few rounds of Tail Whip + Tackle.  It wouldn't be a good solo challenge without a few defeats.  Hoppip persevered and replaced Splash with Fairy Wind at Lv 8.  Pokemon Violet doesn't seem to use the harsh diminishing returns for experience as seen in Pokemon Moon, so a solo seems viable. 


Pokemon Violet claims to be an open world game, so some features are different from previous installments.  All Pokemon are apparently found on the map, and the grass is more like decoration than the source for random encounters.  You can throw out a Pokemon with the R button for auto-battles, which can quickly dispatch weaker enemies for experience similar to Earthbound's auto-win.  You still have to fight Pokemon the usual way when you're trying to catch them.


REDACTED fell off a cliff close to the local lighthouse and found an injured legendary Pokemon being menaced by Houndour.  She had to give it a healing item, and neither a Potion nor a Revive worked.  What she really needed to give it was the Sandwich from the Key Items.  The legendary Pokemon returned the favor by smashing through rocks and scaring away Houndour in Inlet Grotto.  The wild Pokemon here were Yungoos and Diglett.  Players have been wondering since Pokemon Moon where Yungoos's native region was, since it was stated to be an invasive species in Alola.  Maybe Paldea is the answer?


A Lv 40 Houndoom instantly defeated Hoppip with Crunch, though this was functionally a cutscene rather than a real battle.  The legendary Pokemon picked up REDACTED and jumped out of Inlet Grotto to meet Nemona.  Nemona thought the Pokemon was similar to Cyclizar, a monster I'd never met.  She gave REDACTED a TM for Swift, and warned her that TMs could only be used once.  So the infinite TM experiment started in Pokemon White is dead at last.  Perhaps the developers thought it would make the story mode too easy?


Arven was set up to be the "jerk rival", which hasn't been seen in a Pokemon game for a long time.  He was the son of Professor Turo, but didn't appreciate Nemona bringing up that fact.  Arven was on the "humanities track" which makes me wonder how you would study Pokemon History or Pokemon Philosophy.  Arven knew the legendary Pokemon was called Miraidon, and the version that REDACTED saw in Inlet Grotto was its battle form.    


Before Hoppip battled his Skwovet, Arven said "These memories are leaving a bad taste in my mouth-and I want it gone!"  Lv 8 Hoppip defeated the squirrel from Galar with about three Fairy Wind.  Skwovet attacked with Bite, but was too weak to be a threat.  Arven regretted fighting REDACTED with a Pokemon he had just caught, though he was at least generous enough to give her Miraidon's Poke Ball.


At the top of the lighthouse, Nemona pointed out the city of Mesagoza, and recommended that they stop at the town of Los Platos.  Youngster Elian was the only enemy trainer on the next route, and fought against Hoppip with a Lv 5 Tarountula.  Tarountula used String Shot and Struggle Bug, but Hoppip's level advantage and Tackle crushed Youngster Elian.


The next wild Pokemon here were Psyduck, Ralts, Igglybuff, and Fidough the Fairy dog.  REDACTED couldn't swim when I tried to make her enter a pond to see what Pokemon she could catch.  "You managed to scramble back out of the water!"  At Lv 10, Hoppip had a major upgrade when I could choose between the three "powders".  Sleep Powder was the obvious decision.


The Pokemon Center in Los Platos was a kiosk in the open air rather than a building.  A new feature in Pokemon Violet is TM crafting, which can be done with LP and materials gained from wild Pokemon.  More TMs will become available over the course of the game, but here are the ones listed so far:


Charm
Mud-Slap
Protect
Fire Fang
Ice Fang
Thunder Fang
Low Kick
Struggle Bug
Psybeam
Disarming Voice
Metal Claw
Swift
Air Cutter
Rest
Helping Hand



Hoppip Lv 10

Ability:  Leaf Guard (prevents status ailments when Sun weather is active)
Nature:  Relaxed (+Defense, -Speed)
Characteristic:  It likes to relax!


HP:  30
Attack:  14
Defense:  16
Special Attack:  14
Special Defense:  18
Speed:  15

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff (?) Part 2


The region near Mesagoza felt much more like an open world than the previous areas.  The Wild Area in Sword and Shield was probably a rough draft for Violet.  REDACTED wasn't as nearsighted as her Galar predecessors, so the Pokemon could appear from farther away.  Many of them were small enough that I accidentally bumped into a few that I'd already caught for Pokedex purposes.  Each kill still gave some experience.


Trainers had Pokemon that were lower level (5-7) than some of the wild monsters.  Pere the Student was the most pathetic of the lot with his pre-fight quote:  "I got two whole Pokemon!  Am I cool or what?"  They were a Lv 4 Azurill and a Lv 5 Houndour.  Hoppip was already Lv 11 at that time. 


Wild Pokemon making their first appearance:  Sunkern, Bonsly, Azurill, Paldea Wooper, Skwovet, Shroodle.  Wooper in Violet replaces its Water/Ground type with Poison/Ground.  Shroodle is a new Poison/Normal type which almost killed Hoppip.  A wild Lv 5 Shroodle cast a super effective Acid Spray and dodged Sleep Powder, so REDACTED had to run away and heal Hoppip with a Potion before returning to catch it.  Violet retains the Sword and Shield convenience of sending Pokemon to boxes without having to visit a Pokemon Center.


Winning all those trainer battles in Area One of South Province gave REDACTED a Thunder Wave TM as a prize.  Nemona was the only serious trainer threat to Lv 12 Hoppip.  She sent out her Lv 8 Sprigatito that took less than 1/4 HP bar damage from Fairy Wind.  Tackle scored a lucky critical hit, while Sprigatito retaliated with Scratch and Bite.  When Sprigatito finally died, Hoppip was at only 15/36 HP.  Lv 9 Pawmi was next, and Nemona Terastallized it.  This caused Pawmi to have a shining crystalline appearance and grow a light bulb on top of its head.  Hoppip's Sleep Powder and Bullet Seed machine gun destroyed Pawmi before it could try anything, however.


Terastallizing is Paldea's battle gimmick.  Kalos had Mega Evolution, Alola had Z Moves, and Galar had Dynamaxing.  Terastallizing seems milder than earlier gimmicks on the first impression.  It changes your Pokemon's type to whatever the Tera Type is, and gives moves of that type a same type attack bonus.  Hoppip's Tera Type is currently Flying, so it could be used to blunt some Grass weaknesses.


In Mesagoza, Hoppip bought a Miracle Seed at Delibird Presents to enhance its Bullet Seed.  Two Team Star Grunts were trying to convince a girl wearing an Eevee backpack to join them and meet their quota.  The fact that they were wearing silly bicycle helmets probably did not help their recruitment drive.  The first Team Star Grunt attacked Hoppip with a Lv 8 Shroodle.  Knowing the danger, I tried Sleep Powder right away, but Shroodle woke up soon.  It only used Scratch for some reason instead of Acid Spray, so Grunt #1 was an easy foe.  Nemona gave REDACTED a Tera Orb so she could try out the transformation against Grunt #2's Lv 9 Yungoos.  Bullet Seed perforated the enemy.


In Mesagoza, a woman read my Pokemon Sword or Shield save file as a past life memory.  Nemona informed REDACTED that Pokemon battles couldn't occur in the entrance of Uva Academy.  Clavell told her the Eevee backpack girl was probably Penny.  Mr. Jacq the homeroom teacher asked REDACTED what her favorite thing about Pokemon was:  "I like battling with Pokemon".  Nemona asked her what her goal was:  "I want to be a strong Trainer".  In the Cafeteria, Arven revealed he wasn't a bad guy after all.  His desire was to create health food for picnics, which could only be made with Herba Mystica.  The catch was that Herba Mystica was protected by Titan Pokemon that had resemblances to familiar monsters like Donphan.


The five Titan lairs were added to the map:  False Dragon (Dragon), Quaking Earth (Ground), Open Sky (Flying), Lurking Steel (Steel), and Stony Cliff (Rock).  All were far away from Uva Academy's position in the south central region.  A woman called Cassiopeia hacked REDACTED's Rotom Phone to tell her about the plan to permanently disband Team Star.  I'm guessing she's the real villain of the game, and Team Star will just be misunderstood.


"Classes" at Uva Academy were like the trainer school tutorials in older games.  Some information is relevant to long time players, such as the role of cheering in Tera Raids and the fact that eggs come from picnics.  Besides the "humanities track", there was also a "STEM track".  That acronym irritates me.  STEM sounds like a marketing term that appeared out of nowhere.  Uva Academy was founded 805 years ago, and I have no idea how this specific date will be relevant to the plot.


The most potentially interesting character in Violet so far is unseen:  Ryme the MC of RIP.  This rapper resurrected her Puppy Pokemon as a Ghost type, and most of her songs are about death.  One student had a horrible idea:  sending Pachirisu to fetch books from a tall shelf!  A squirrel Pokemon would be more likely to chew on the books than retrieve them intact.


Nemona was talking with a woman called La Primera, who has a 99% chance of being Cassiopeia.  Nemona told REDACTED to gain the eight Gym Badges, since they were part of the school's Treasure Hunt.  Their locations were listed with symbols scattered throughout the map like the Titan Pokemon.  Now I'm wondering if there's level scaling after you beat each one.  (Don't answer that question!  This is a blind playthrough.)  Glaseado will probably be saved for last since its symbol looks like Ice, certain death for a Grass/Flying type.


Professor Turo talked to REDACTED via the TV.  He specialized in research in Area Zero of the Great Crater.  He knew about Miraidon since the Poke Ball was his.  Miraidon is too weak to fight now, but can assist with transportation.  A montage of days passing played when REDACTED rested in her dorm because there was probably no way to make sitting in class for days interesting enough for a video game.  It's funnier to take the scene literally and assume that the Poke-Earth is rotating rapidly like in a Superman movie.  The Great Crater was forbidden territory, so of course REDACTED is going to travel there.  Her name may even be rubbed out in Paldean declassified documents with a black sharpie by the time her adventure is over.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff (?) Part 3


Cassiopeia called REDACTED to tell her about the five squads of Team Star.  Their bases represented five types:  Fairy, Fire, Fighting, Poison, and Dark.  It seems all antagonist teams require Poison and Dark in their lineup.  Arven and Nemona tried to convince REDACTED to leave through the east and west gate respectively.  What she did instead was to take a few classes on History and Home Economics. 


History was about how the Great Crater was 2 million years old, and how a Paldean emperor tried to search for its treasure 2000 years ago.  Raifort the professor was dismissive of spiritual and occult phenomena, despite living in a Pokemon game where Ghosts, Psychics, and Fairies were commonplace.  "People back then were far more likely to believe in mysterious legends, magic. . ."  None of the emperor's explorers succeeded.  Saguaro's Home Economics course was about Meal Powers.


Since the eastern gate sounded more difficult, REDACTED traveled there first and explored South Province Area Three and a bit of Area Five.  It was an arid cliff landscape, and Miraidon's jumping ability was essential.  REDACTED faced the most dreaded obstacle in any open world game:  invisible walls!  There was only one in this session, but it prevented her from making what should have been an easy jump to an item.  Nintendo sometimes hires Monolith Soft to assist with their Switch games, but in this case I think they gave Bethesda a contract.


Wild Pokemon:  Happiny, Spoink, Rookidee, Makuhita, Nacli, Skiddo, Charcadet, Klawf


Nacli was a Rock type Pokemon with the ability Purifying Salt, which granted immunity to status ailment and reduced Ghost damage by half.  This Pokemon's evolution may find a place in competitive battles with a passive that good.  You'd think Purifying Salt would protect against Fairy moves instead, since fairies are repelled by salt in some stories.  Charcadet was a Fire type, and one Lv 13 specimen killed Hoppip with its Fire Spin.  Klawf held a funeral Hoppip in a Rock Tomb.  This was a Rock type crab with the ability Anger Shell, which functioned as half a Shell Smash when under half HP.


REDACTED participated in two Tera Raid battles against Nymble the Bug type and a Petilil.  Nymble's Tera Type worked against it since it was now weak to Bullet Seed.  Against Petilil, the best tactic was to cheer "go all out" three times to increase the AI partners' attack power.  Tera Raid battles yielded experience candies which could be used as in Sword and Shield.  Besides Tera Raids, Hoppip caught a special Lv 14 Jigglypuff by spreading Sleep Powder, then shooting Bullet Seed until its HP dropped below a threshold. 


One item was an "ominous black stake driven into the ground".  Nothing happened when REDACTED pulled it out, but I suspect it has something to do with catching Spiritomb.


Severino the Office Worker had the honor of slaughtering Hoppip twice.  His Lv 17 Jigglypuff could be beaten with Bullet Seed.  His Lv 17 Skiddo was sturdy enough to take many hits of Tackle or Fairy Wind, and its Grass type prevented Sleep Powder.  If I were using a solo Butterfree, there would be no problem as Bug/Flying is the bane of Grass types.  Severino also equipped Skiddo with Leftovers, as if he had been reading Smogon strategy articles.  Catching a Klawf raised Hoppip to Lv 18, evolving her into Skiploom.  Skiploom's Attack and Special Attack were still too feeble to overpower a Skiddo.


Skiploom Stats Lv 18

Ability:  Leaf Guard
Item:  Miracle Seed

HP:  53
Attack:  25
Defense:  30
Special Attack:  25
Special Defense:  33
Speed:  35

Bullet Seed
Tackle
Sleep Powder
Fairy Wind

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff (?) Part 4


Skiploom was unlikely to even reach the Rock Titan, let alone battle it.  Besides Severino the Office Worker stonewalling it with a Skiddo, the wild monsters were up to Lv 21.  Even a solo level advantage wasn't enough.  Instead, REDACTED took Nemona's advice and returned to Mesagoza's west gate to pursue the Gym challenge.


It should be noted here that route trainers are much less aggressive in Violet than in earlier games.  So far they've only battled REDACTED when she talked to them, instead of following the "attack on sight" tradition.  They can still be an indicator that an area is too tough for your chosen solo.


Backpacker Alex sent out Growlithe and Sableye, both Lv 12.  REDACTED Terastallized her Skiploom to change it into a pure Flying type that would take neutral damage from any Fire moves.  Sableye couldn't boast of having "no weaknesses" since Pokemon X introduced a new type.  Skiploom took advantage of that by blowing Fairy Winds in its direction.


REDACTED found a Grassy Terrain TM, which was useless for Skiploom because it was Flying rather than grounded.  Maschiff was a new pure Dark type dog to compete with the likes of Poochyena.  I was expecting it to be a Fairy/Dark evolution of Fidough when I first saw it. 


The town of Cortondo was home to the first Gym, which specialized in Bug despite its gimmick revolving around an olive festival.  In a game with a Grass/Normal monster called Smoliv.  GameFreak's translators missed an opportunity to make a pun based on the Spanish words "aceite" (oil) or "cosecha" (harvest), and must have settled for a name based on "cortar" (to cut).  REDACTED picked up a Big Root in town and checked out the Gym tower. 


Instead of having the Gym Test inside the building, REDACTED was supposed to visit an obstacle course north of Cortondo in South Province Area Two where she had to push a giant olive to the goal.  Two trainers protected shortcuts.  Gym Trainer Esmerelda sicced Dantski's favorite Pokemon Kricketune on Skiploom, which wasn't much trouble at all. 


Far more annoying was Gym Trainer Antonio's Lv 13 Venonat, which confused Skiploom with Supersonic and Disabled her Tackle for much of the fight.  Skiploom was reduced to turning its red eyes black with Sleep Powder, then casting half damage Fairy Winds until Tackle was restored.  After Venonat fainted, Skiploom was given a move that was both essential to acquiring the first badge and a potential hindrance later in the game:  Leech Seed.  Without any better ideas, Skiploom was forced to abandon Bullet Seed.
     

Gym Leader Katy (from "katydid"?) led with a Lv 14 Nymble.  Skiploom Terastallized itself immediately to resist any Bug attacks, and this lasted for the whole fight.  Nymble used a decent tactic to make up for its disadvantage by unleashing Struggle Bug repeatedly.  Struggle Bug cut Skiploom's Special Attack so much that Fairy Wind was no longer an option.  Skiploom Tackled Nymble until a Lv 14 Tarountula came out to avenge it.  Tarountula attacked with the Dark move Assurance, and Skiploom responded with Tackles. 


Gym Leader Katy's last Pokemon was NOT the Vivillon from the previous cutscene, but a. . .Lv 15 Teddiursa?  This seemed almost as random a decision as the lineups of Pokemon Pearl's Gym Leaders and Elite Four, but Katy clarified her intention when she Terastallized Teddiursa into a Bug type.  Teddiursa started with a three hit Fury Swipes, and REDACTED was worried that her plant would die of a thousand cuts.  The solution was to make Teddiursa inhale Sleep Powder, cover its body with parasitic Leech Seeds, and then Tackle while its HP slowly drained away.  Teddiursa awoke just in time and scratched Skiploom with a feeble Fury Cutter.  Teddiursa perished and REDACTED was rewarded with a photo "CORTONDO GYM DEFEATED!  VICTORY ROAD".  Katy's TM was Pounce, a 50 power physical Bug attack that reduced Speed.  Skiploom couldn't learn it.


The Pokemon Center recommended pursuing the Rock Titan now, but this was probably a bad idea when Skiploom lacked a Grass attack and would be subject to super effective stones.  REDACTED explored some of West Province Area One instead.  One new Pokemon was Tadbulb, a pure Electric flying tadpole.  It was implied to have an Electric/Water evolution. 


After running low on supplies, REDACTED returned to Cortondo and talked to the Pokemon Center reward guy to receive an Aerial Ace TM.  Skiploom could actually learn an attack with both same type attack bonus and Terastallizing potential.  Terastallizing can't be abused as much as Mega Evolution or Z Moves since you have to return to a Pokemon Center to recharge it.  I'll save it for tougher battles.  REDACTED finished this session by buying a Sharp Beak to enhance Aerial Ace's power.  Move relearning isn't done as casually in Violet as in Sword and Shield as I learned the hard way, so I'm concerned about finding a Grass attack now.


Wild Pokemon Seen:  Shinx, Litleo, Stantler, Mareep, Combee, Vespiquen, Pikachu, Maschiff, Smoliv, Kricketot, Gastly, Rockruff, Tadbulb

Tera Raids and random Terastallized monsters:  Murkrow, Kanto Meowth, Shroomish, Bounsweet



Skiploom Lv 21 @ Sharp Beak

HP:  61
Attack:  29
Defense:  35
Special Attack:  29
Special Defense:  38
Speed:  40


Leech Seed
Aerial Ace
Sleep Powder
Fairy Wind

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff (?) Part 5


REDACTED climbed an old tower and fought a Lv 10 Gimmighoul, a kind of treasure chest Mimic.  Unfortunately, I didn't catch it.  Capsakid the new Grass type probably evolves into a chili pepper based on the pun.  A Sunny Day TM found lying on the ground may be useful if Jumpluff ever needs to use Solarbeam.  Flittle was a tiny pure Psychic type.  Some wild monsters such as Dunsparce were best avoided because of their super effective Rollout combo.  Most in these West Province areas were around Lv 19.


One path to the southwestern region of Paldea was blocked by a river with a waterfall.  Hiker Carla even complained of this dead end before challenging Skiploom with a Lv 20 Numel that prompted REDACTED to Terastallize her monster.  If anyone is considering a Dragon type solo, look out for the Dragon Claw TM close to Hiker Carla's waterfall.


After REDACTED found the next Pokemon Center kiosk, she flew back to Severino the Office Worker and obliterated both his Jigglypuff and Skiddo with Terastallized Aerial Aces just to humiliate him.  Back in West Province, Lv 23 Skiploom defeated Cabbie Oriol's Corvisquire.  This raised Skiploom to Lv 24 and taught her Mega Drain.  What a relief to have a Grass attack again, even if a mediocre one!  Cabbie Oriol's Lv 20 Squawkabilly nearly defeated the Terastallized Skiploom due to its Intimidate ability that weakened Aerial Ace.  REDACTED had to rely on Sleep Powder tactics to survive.


Maren the Student had the most advanced tactics of any trainer so far.  Her Pikachu paralyzed Skiploom with what must have been Thunder Wave.  Skiploom made a point of NOT Terastallizing until she Mega Drained Pikachu to death, as Grass/Flying was neutral to Electric.  Her Misdreavus followed up the paralysis with Confuse Ray, Growl debuffs to Attack, and Astonish flinch attempts.  Skiploom left the battle victorious with enhanced Aerial Aces.


The sign at one cave entrance said "To Alfornada (You won't make it on foot!)"  A better deterrent to would-be travelers was the random wild Lv 38 Meditite at the beginning.  Lv 25 Skiploom shrieked in terror and fled the southwestern region of Paldea.  The best place to go next seemed like the mountain that was home to the Open Sky Titan who was sending bouncing boulder bowling balls at passerby.  Miraidon leaped on top of a Pokemon Center just because REDACTED could.  There was no reward.      


Another monster that Skiploom had to run away from was a Lv 50 Terastallized wild Jolteon.  Alejandra the Dragon Tamer bragged about her Pokemon's type, but her Lv 16 Dreepy fainted with a Fairy Wind breeze.  Since REDACTED had already beaten 13 trainers in West Province Area One, she received a Clear Amulet.  This was an held item equivalent of the Clear Body ability that prevented stat debuffs.  Useful for any physical Pokemon that's annoyed by Intimidate!  That alone will probably give it a use in double battles, if those exist in Pokemon Violet.


REDACTED avoided the boulders and their cheap graphics and reached the boss, Bombirdier the Open Sky Titan.  This stork did not carry a human baby as in Yoshi's Island, though it held what looked like a diaper in its mouth.  Because it was clearly a Flying type, Skiploom Terastallized to make its main attacks neutral.  Bombirdier avoided multiple Sleep Powders since Skiploom lacked Compoundeyes for reliable status ailments.  And the Sleep Powder that did work had a short duration.  Although Pluck was normal power now, Bombirdier still had a double damage Rock Throw.  Aerial Ace + Terastallize tore away around 1/3 of Bombirdier's HP bar per use, though one last Pluck sent REDACTED back to the Pokemon Center.


On Take 2, Bombirdier used both Wing Attack and Pluck.  Skiploom didn't bother with Sleep Powder and Aerial Ace slashed the stork until its HP dropped below the threshold.  What I didn't realize was that Bombirdier had a second phase with a special Meal Power, and Skiploom only had 6/72 HP left.  The true heroes were Arven and his Lv 19 Nacli.  Skiploom's Sleep Powder succeeded, and Nacli took revenge for Bombirdier's boulders with its own Rock Throw.  Bombirdier spent one turn Tormenting Skiploom so she couldn't use Aerial Ace consecutively.  When it was at red HP, Bombirdier Plucked Skiploom to death.  But it was not technically a defeat because Nacli's Rock Throw took out the last of Bombirdier's HP that round!  Tera Battles have a similar quirk where a defeated Terastallized opponent can use a move on the round after its HP reaches 0.


Arven retrieved the Bitter Herba Mystica and made it into a sandwich.  He was irritated that Miraidon ate it instead of REDACTED, but this food was meant for Pokemon and so Miraidon gained the ability to cross water.  Professor Turo called REDACTED to tell her about the new ability.  Meanwhile in the darkness, Arven said "OK.  The coast is clear" and sent out an unknown Pokemon.  Maybe it's the Pokemon Scarlet legendary?


Skiploom Lv 25 @ Sharp Beak


HP:  72
Attack:  34
Defense:  40
Special Attack:  34
Special Defense:  45
Speed:  47


Mega Drain
Aerial Ace
Sleep Powder
Fairy Wind  

      
Wild Pokemon Seen:  Gimmighoul, Phanpy, Misdreavus, Capsakid, Flittle, Chewtle, Toxel, Dunsparce, Deerling, Numel, Marill, Riolu, Meditite, Swablu, Toxel


Tera Raids or random Terastallized monsters:  Buizel, Jolteon, Toxel

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 6


Riding Miraidon on water replaced both Surf and fishing.  At first, REDACTED explored mostly South Province Areas Two and Four.  Youngster Julen paralyzed Skiploom with Spark from a Lv 23 Tadbulb and Charged to increase Special Defense.  It took many Mega Drains, plus an Aerial Ace once Tadbulb's Special Defense was too high.  All his Eevee could do, however, was to use Baby-Doll Eyes to try to weaken a Terastallized Aerial Ace.


Miraidon began to chart the West Paldean Sea.  Pokemon weren't usually picky about the distinction between fresh and salt water, but there were some monsters that couldn't be seen in rivers or ponds.  It took 9 generations of games for GameFreak to create a dolphin:  Finizen the pure Water type.  I may have to use one in a future solo!  It was clear that Skiploom should not stray too far from the mainland, as wild monsters like Kilowattrel or Bombirdier were in the Lv 39-42 range.  Closer to shore, they were about Lv 15.


After catching a Basculin in a river, Skiploom grew to Lv 27 and finally evolved into Jumpluff.  The (?) in the post titles came from my suspicion that Hoppip would have some regional variant evolution.  Jumpluff is the same Grass/Flying type as always, and its 2 foot 7 inch height and 6.6 pound weight are sure to cow any foe.  Its Pokedex entry says "Beware its cotton spores.  If you accidentally breathe them in, you'll be racked with coughs and itchiness".  Instead of battling the other Pokemon, Jumpluff should aim straight for the enemy trainer and give them allergies.


Jumpluff may have been fully evolved, but she was still vulnerable enough that a Whirlpool casting wild Lv 20 Gyarados was a viable threat when I was trying to catch one.  Jumpluff climbed a watchtower and caught a Gimmighoul, which turned out to be pure Ghost rather than something like Ghost/Steel.  She Terastallized to beat Adam the Courier's Lv 16 Cufant.  The average Grass type struggles with Steel monsters in general since they tend to lack super effective or even neutral attacks.  Pokemon such as Torterra or Breloom are the exceptions to the Grass rule.


Tinkatink at West Province Area One Watchtower was a Fairy/Steel creature rather than Ghost/Steel like I'd expected.  Falinks was also here.  I'm glad GameFreak decided to bring back some of their more unusual designs.  Falinks, for those who ignored Sword and Shield, is a Fighting type that looks like a caterpillar from the front, but is really a formation of tiny soldiers.


Cassiopeia called REDACTED as she was approaching the Dark type Team Star base.  When Clive showed up to say he was a "pal of our mutual friend", REDACTED shouted "We're not pals!"  Cassiopeia's evasive answer about her connections was "Team Star and I. . .share some history".  REDACTED wondered if Clive was really Clavell with a ridiculous wave haircut before I did.  One Team Star Grunt at the entrance of the base attacked Jumpluff with a Lv 19 Murkrow.  After that, Team Star prepared for the invasion.


Team Star bases don't function like the usual onslaught of single battles against weak Pokemon.  Instead, the player has to pick three Pokemon, then send them to auto-battle Team Star's monsters within a generous time limit.  Tarountula and Scatterbug were the token teammates that were sent to die, though Tarountula at least killed a Stunky before going down, and Scatterbug killed a Zorua.  Once Tarountula and Scatterbug had fainted, REDACTED could send out Jumpluff as much as she wanted.  Team Star also liked Sableye, Pawniard, and Sandile.  Pawniard the Steel/Dark type gave Jumpluff no more trouble than the others.


Giacomo the Boss of Team Star's Dark Crew wasn't as tough as his Baten Kaitos namesake, but he was more than enough for Jumpluff.  DJ Vice led with a Lv 21 Pawniard that took about three Aerial Aces to kill.  Pawniard gashed Jumpluff with Metal Claw.  Giacomo's ace Pokemon was a Lv 20 Revavroom, aka Segin Starmobile.  A giant gaudy boombox truck justified the Intimidate passive.  Intimidate combined with a Special Attack lowering Snarl attack rendered Jumpluff unable to kill Revavroom.  To make the situation even worse, Revavroom was immune to Sleep Powder.  Snarl sent Jumpluff to the Pokemon Center after Revavroom had fallen to around 40% HP.


It seemed best to continue with the dry cliffs of South Province Area Three.  Catching a Wattrel in a Tera Raid battle revealed both it and its evolution Kilowattrel to have an Electric/Flying type, not that it was much of a surprise.  The Rock Titan was a giant Klawf that was underleveled compared to Jumpluff.  One Mega Drain sent it to red HP and activated Anger Shell.  Titan Klawf wasted an opportunity by using the Normal type Vise Grip instead of a Rock move.  In Phase 2, Mega Drain absorbed around 1/3 of Klawf's HP bar.  Arven brought his Shellder, and stole the KO with a Water Gun!  Is every Titan battle going to come down to Arven taking the glory?


Arven and REDACTED got the Sweet Herba Mystica, which gave Miraidon the ability to dash.  Besides going a little faster, dashing is equivalent to Headbutting trees in Johto games.  Arven said ". . .And Bob's your uncle!", proving he wasn't a true Poke Spaniard.  (Then again, much of what makes Spain Spanish distinctive would not be allowed in a children's game.  It mostly involves shouting "Communion Host!" as a swear, or pooping in milk.)


Arven wasn't concealing a legendary Pokemon at all.  Instead, the motive for his quest was to heal a Mabosstiff that was injured too severely for Pokemon Center treatment.  He thought that feeding Mabosstiff all the Herba Mystica would make it go back to normal.


I looked in the Pokedex to find out what type Bombirdier was, and it was Flying/Dark.  Never would have guessed the Dark type from its appearance or moves.  Paldea was home to random Alola Pokemon such as the Fire form of Oricorio.  Another Pokemon that was clearly meant to help players take on the Grass type Gym in Artazon was the Normal/Flying Squawkabilly.  Squawkabilly had no evolution since it was 113 in the regional Pokedex, and Misdreavus was 114.  Perhaps it's for double battles because it has Intimidate?


Brassius the Gym Leader was also an artist.  Some of his works were Sunflora sculptures, but the rest were abstract works that none of the residents could make any sense of.  REDACTED ordered Alfajores not for the food benefits, but because I was reminded of an Argentine telenovela.  Rebelde Way has a scene where Felicitas says "A falta de amor, alfajor", which translates roughly as "To the lack of love, an alfajor".  She was eating one to ignore her romantic problems.


The Gym Test in Artazon was Sunflora Hide-and-Seek, which consisted of finding 10 Sunfloras throughout town.  There weren't any underling trainers to fight, but Jumpluff did have to Aerial Ace a Lv 13 Sunflora to convince it to join REDACTED. 


Brassius's team was as trivial an obstacle as you'd expect for a Lv 29 Grass/Flying solo.  Lv 16 Petilil and Smoliv both went to pieces from Aerial Ace.  Lv 17 Sudowoodo was going to become a real tree at last after over 20 years of waiting!  "I will call it. . .'Truleewoodo".  Or at least grow a few flowers on its head and Terastallize into a Grass type.  Jumpluff anticipated this type change and slashed it down to 1 HP with Aerial Ace.  Sudowoodo was allowed to make one move due to its Sturdy ability and picked Trailblaze, a 50 power physical Grass move that increased Speed.  It's the Grass equivalent to Flame Charge.  Brassius furiously shook his head and scratched his scalp upon being defeated.  Jumpluff made use of her new Trailblaze TM since it was 10 base power stronger than Mega Drain. 


Inside the Gym tower, Hassel informed REDACTED that he was both an Elite Four member and Uva Academy's art teacher.  When asked about her motivations for collecting badges, REDACTED said "For fun, I guess. . .?".  In language class, language teacher Salvatore asked what meaning the words "Gracias, merci, xièxie, arigato, danke" all had in common.  I knew "gracias" at least!  REDACTED answered with a "oui" instead of "yes" to another question.  I'd think the students would have more to gain by concentrating on one foreign language instead of learning "thank you" in five, but then again I don't live in a world where shooting children at steel walls in cannons passes safety regulations.  (I'll never let that point go, Skyla!)


In Hassel's art class, REDACTED said beauty was in "The eye of the beholder", instead of a more honest answer like "I don't know".  "Professor Gible" was introduced as an "assistant lecturer".  It Terastallized into a Grass type to teach players how to tell which Tera Type a Pokemon was.  Grass type is represented with flowers, while Jumpluff's own Flying type uses balloons.


The next stop will be Cascarrafa Gym because it specializes in Water types, the perfect victim for Jumpluff. 


Jumpluff Lv 29 @ Sharp Beak


HP:  94
Attack:  45
Defense:  59
Special Attack:  45
Special Defense:  69
Speed:  71


Trailblaze
Aerial Ace
Sleep Powder
Fairy Wind
 

-Sleep Powder is more of a last resort than a primary strategy, though it is useful for the Pokedex.  I already appreciated Butterfree's Compoundeyes in Moon, but this playthrough is such a contrast that I notice the difference more now.  Fairy Wind is only 40 power, and is used for either catching wild Pokemon or maybe finishing off a weakened opponent.  Aerial Ace is the go-to move unless the enemy resists Flying.


Wild Pokemon Seen:  Magikarp, Arrokuda, Salandit, Gible, Shellder, Qwilfish, Finizen, Bombirdier, Kilowattrel, Tynamo, Basculin, Houndoom, Staravia, Scyther, Hatenna, Goomy, Barboach, Gyarados, Tinkatink, Bronzor, Falinks, Wattrel, Oricorio (Fire), Squawkabilly

Tera Raids or random Terastallized Pokemon:  Lechonk, Skiddo, Wattrel, Surskit

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 7


REDACTED was barred from entering Cascarrafa until the Dark Crew of Team Star was defeated, as they had set up a checkpoint on the road.  The other possibility for Team Star was the Fire Crew in East Province, an threatening name for a Jumpluff.  REDACTED instead spent the session exploring the other parts of East Province, mainly catching Pokemon and fighting trainers on the grassy fields and in the sea. 


Spidops was the pure Bug evolution of Tarantoula, which I suspected bud didn't know until seeing its position in the Pokedex.  It had Insomnia, which I found out by trying Sleep Powder.  It seemed overall like a Pinsir that stayed up at night.  Oinkologne was the evolution of Lechonk, and was still pure Normal in spite of its dark coloring.  Its Lingering Aroma ability functioned like Cofagrigus's Mummy, and overwrote Jumpluff's ability when she struck with Trailblaze. 


Paldea's version of Tauros was pure Fighting, and was said to be the Combat Breed in the Pokedex.  Catching Paldea Tauros grew Jumpluff to Lv 30 and taught her Acrobatics.  A 110 base power Flying move was an excellent tradeoff for giving up held items. 


Felix the Student was the most obnoxious route trainer in this session, with the tongue twister "Sunflora flood the floral fiefdom in formation!" catchphrase.  His Sunflora was an early victim of Acrobatics.  Saul the Waiter said "To be a waiter is to wait".  Kefka should have made a cameo just to retort "Wait, he says.  Do I look like a waiter?"


Jumpluff managed to catch a Lv 37 Terastallized Toxapex in the wild, but that was probably because it used Body Slam instead of a Poison move.  Veluza in the East Paldean Sea was a Water/Psychic type with Mold Breaker.  Since Bruxish was mentioned in the Pokedex, that means there are two Water/Psychic physical fish competing for attention.  One island in East Paldean Sea had the TMs for both Hyper Beam and Giga Impact, which Jumpluff had no use for, but perhaps some Normal type could use in desperation.  Grass Pledge was only for starters, to Jumpluff's irritation.  Lokix seemed to be the evolution of Nymble based on its appearance.


REDACTED entered Levincia by seaand made a stop at the Pokemon Center.  A Pokemon Center reward guy in East Province gave her Loaded Dice, which could raise the number of hits for multi-hit moves, like an item version of Skill Link.  Jumpluff might have use for this. . .


With Acrobatics, Jumpluff returned to Giacomo and defeated him.  Due to Intimidate and low offense stats, this wasn't an overwhelming victory.  Pawniard took two Terastallized Acrobatics to kill, while Revavroom the Segin Starmobile required four.  Revavroom usually used Snarl, though it tried Metal Sound to lower Jumpluff's Special Defense.  It still outsped Jumpluff.  Was that due to the Relaxed penalty, or was Revavroom just that fast?  Trailblaze could have been an option while Pawniard was out, but Jumpluff conquered with 47/103 HP at Lv 32.


When he surrendered, Giacomo gave REDACTED a Foul Play TM.  Cassiopeia rewarded her by unlocking more TMs at the Pokemon Center, giving her crafting ingredients, and providing some LP.  A flashback scene played a year and a half ago about Giacomo's leadership.  Team Star's leader (Cassiopeia?) had abandoned the group at this time, and Giacomo was formerly known as a student council president who enacted excessive rules, like "Male students' hair must stray no further than 1.8 inches below the nape".  Giacomo established a more lenient code for Team Star, which meant he had to honorably resign and disband the Dark Crew when defeated.  Giacomo taunted Clive's haircut, which I learned was called a pompadour.


Cascarrafa was a shopping town filled with white buildings with blue roofs, and had several elevators.  REDACTED purchased and put on the most ridiculous items I could find, such as Fingerless Gloves, a Cool Helmet, and Flip-Flops.  All were purple to fit the Violet theme.  (Who even came up with the idea of fingerless gloves, anyway?)


Cascarrafa's Gym Leader Kofu ran off to Porto Marinada without his wallet, and REDACTED would have to give it to him.  The catch was that Porto Marinada was on the other side of the Asado Desert to the west.


Jumpluff Lv 32 @ Nothing


HP:  103
Attack:  51
Defense:  66
Special Attack:  49
Special Defense:  76
Speed:  78


Trailblaze
Acrobatics
Sleep Powder
Fairy Wind

 

Wild Pokemon Seen:  Venonat, Spidops, Teddiursa, Shuppet, Oinkologne, Mareanie, Veluza, Sandygast, Slowpoke, Lokix

Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon:  Bounsweet, Toxapex, Starly

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 8


Asado Desert was an appropriate name in Spanish:  "grilled" or "roasted".  The topography was mostly a large expanse of sand with few obstacles or points of interest.  Luis the Student must have been studying at Santa Royale Community College instead of Uva Academy, since he said "I've got twenty years of study at the academy under my belt".  So did Dawn Weston, and her number of failed summer romances rivals the amount of Pokemon in existence.


Jumpluff had a challenging battle against a Lv 38 Espathra with Pluck and managed to capture it after making it breathe in Sleep Powder.  Espathra was a pure Psychic ostrich that seemed to be the evolution of Flittle.  Espathra's ability Opportunist was an automatic Psyche Up.  For those who don't remember overly situational Pokemon moves, Psyche Up copies stat boosts that the opponent has.  Tinkatuff the hammer wielding Fairy/Steel type was the evolution of Tinkatink. 


Rellor the dung beetle (?) was pure Bug and its Pokedex entry said it was preparing for its evolution.  It'll probably become the Bug/Ground type that Ninjask and Shedinja never were.  Bramblin was a Grass/Ghost tumbleweed with Wind Rider, an ability that blocked and raised Attack when hit by "wind moves", as Jumpluff found out when she tried Fairy Wind.  Wind Rider also gains an Attack boost from Tailwind, so be sure to integrate it into your doubles team.


Ironically, a Rain Dance TM was found by the desert's fallen watchtower.  That raises the question of whether Rain Dance creates rain clouds, or merely diverts them to the summoner's area.  If the former, it's a wonder there are any deserts remaining on Poke Earth.  


At first, I took Toedscool for a weird regional variant of Tentacool, but it was actually an unrelated Ground/Grass monster.  It was found in a Tera Raid.  Looking at the bottom section of the Pokedex gave me many prizes at once for reaching milestones, from different types of Pokeballs to Stardust to evolution stones.


Iron Treads, the Donphan-like Ground Titan, outsped Jumpluff and knocked her down from 105 to 23 HP with a single Iron Head.  Trailblaze dealt very little damage, and Acrobatics was equally worthless.  Knock Off punted Jumpluff back to her Poke Ball.  Iron Treads will have to be saved for much later in the game, and proves Pokemon Violet still has challenge even for evolved solos.


West Province Area Two on the other side of Asado Desert was another grassy region, filled with Girafarigs and Cyclizars.  Cyclizar was a Dragon/Normal type that was the usual mount for trainers in Paldea.  REDACTED was so special she had to ride a legendary instead.  Grimer was also here for some reason, even though the area didn't seem polluted.  The local lighthouse had no rewards worth mentioning for Jumpluff.


Poke Lisbon, or Porto Marinada, was home to the Gym Test for Cascarrafa.  First, Jumpluff had to beat up Gym Trainer Hugo's Lv 28 Floatzel and Clauncher to even talk to Kofu.  Jumpluff had a secret weapon:  Loaded Dice + Bullet Seed!  Turns out remembering moves is easier in Violet than in Sword and Shield:  go to the summary's move page.  This also works with forgotten TM moves.  Loaded Dice didn't guarantee 5 shots, but Jumpluff got at least 4.  Kofu wanted to spend his money on an auction for Hoenn wakame seaweed, and so REDACTED bid 35,000 Poke Dollars to get it.  Porto Marinada's non-Gym-related auctions expected passerby to bid 1,200 Poke Dollars for 40 Fresh Waters.  Who buys bottled water at an auction, anyway?


One item in Porto Marinada that was irrelevant to Jumpluff but possibly relevant to other solos was the Assault Vest, which granted extra Special Defense but forbade status moves.  Poison Jab and Surf TMs were also available.  Surf, the once-great HM, was demoted to lying on a random boat at the edge of town.  The reward in Cascarrafa for fighting the route trainers in Asado Desert was an Earthquake TM.  For Poison, Ground, and Water solos, my advice is "Go west, young Pokemon!"
 

Cascarrafa's version of Delibird Presents sold different items, including Leftovers, Light Clay, and even Normal Gems.  One person offered to trade a Johto Wooper for a Paldea Wooper.  The chain named Veracidad specialized in ripping off trainers:  the price for a backpack was 50,000 Poke Dollars.  Maybe they also own the bike manufacturers.


Nemona insisted on a "pre-Gym warm-up battle" since Cascarrafa would be REDACTED's 3rd badge.  She led with a Lv 21 Rockruff that was peppered with Bullet Seeds.  Lv 21 Pawmi died the same way.  Lv 22 Floragato, the evolution of Sprigatito, was bipedal much to the dismay of Pokemon art enthusiasts.  It was a pure Grass type.  Floragato Terastallized into its own type, which couldn't save it from Terastallized Acrobatics.  (Acrobatics is 55 power with an item equipped.)


Gym Leader Kufo led with the Lv 29 Veluza from his catchphrase.  The disparity between his levels and Nemona's made me wonder if I was fighting the bosses out of GameFreak's intended order.  Veluza succumbed to Bullet Seed, and a Lv 29 Wugtrio perished in a similar machine gun burst.  Wugtrio looked like a sort of Dugtrio variant, but was actually pure Water.  Lv 30 Crabominable could have smashed Jumpluff with an Ice move, but instead Terastallized into a Water type and whiffed with Slam.  The first Bullet Seed only shot 4 times, but wouldn't have killed even with 5.  Jumpluff emerged unscathed at Lv 37 and won the TM for Chilling Water, a move that lowered Attack (?) if it hit. 


Geeta, the "chairwoman of the Pokemon League" was my most likely candidate for Cassiopeia's identity.  REDACTED took a Flying Taxi back to Levincia to take on Gym Leader Iono immediately.  One item in town was Wise Glasses, which would give a minor boost to Special Attack if equipped.  Hassel introduced his fellow Elite Four member, a woman named Rika. 


Levincia's Gym Test was the most loathsome yet:  participating in Iono's livestream!  Iono was desperate for attention, and she had the personality of a YouTube who was desperate for subscriptions to please her algorithm god.  Iono's personality aside, the Gym Test was an easier version of Where's Waldo where REDACTED had to spot Clavell.  These rounds were interspersed with battles.  Gym Trainer Marti sent out a Lv 22 Luxio, and Gym Trainer Michael had Lv 22 Tynamo and Flaafy.


Iono's first monster was a Lv 23 Wattrel, and Jumpluff rolled a 5 hit Bullet Seed with her Loaded Dice.  Lv 23 Bellibolt was a pure Electric monster I hadn't seen before.  Its ability Electromorphosis charged it up with each hit of Bullet Seed, which sounded worrying.  Bellibolt attacked with a paralyzing Spark before being perforated with the next Bullet Seed.  Lv 23 Luxio was the Intimidate version, and Bullet Seed was physical.  -1 Attack was still good enough to KO with one round of Bullet Seed.  Lv 24 Mismagius was the last monster, and changed into an Electric type.  Its Hex exploited Jumpluff's paralysis, and she conquered Levincia's Gym with only 37/118 HP remaining.  Iono's team outperformed its levels, that's for sure.  I think the developers intended for players to go to Levincia before Cascarrafa.



When REDACTED jumped down into Team Star's Fire base in East Province, a Grunt acknowledged it:  "Back up, kid!  You can't just casually waltz in here like you're one of us stars that run the joint!  If you want in, ring the bell over by the entrance and storm the base like a decent person!"  Clive said Team Star's bullying had caused many students to drop out of Uva Academy, and that its members were always truant.


The Team Star Grunt at the entrance had only a Lv 25 Houndour, which had no Defense against Acrobatics.  To honor the Team Star code, REDACTED withdrew the two ceremonial Magikarps from the box and sent them to auto-battle the Fire types with Jumpluff.  The Magikarps actually defeated a few enemies by flopping at them, proving the auto-battle system had no resemblance to turn-based combat.  


Mela the Boss of the Fire Crew, however, constructed the ultimate anti-Jumpluff team.  She led with Lv 27 Torkoal, and not just any Torkoal.  It had Drought for 5 turns of sunshine.  Torkoal itself wasn't bad as it died to two Acrobatics and dealt mild damage with Flame Wheel.  Jumpluff didn't know the meaning of pain until Lv 26 Revavroom drove into the arena.  Unlike Giacomo's Revavroom, the Schedar Starmobile Lv 26 version was Fire type and had a move called Blazing Torque.  Acrobatics drained less than 1/3 of Revavroom's HP bar even when Terastallized.  The worst news was when Revavroom revealed its Speed Boost ability.  Even a Jumpluff couldn't outpace this, and Speed was its one decent stat.  Revavroom also had to kill the two Magikarps for the battle to end, and it turned out that the truck knew Overheat too.


REDACTED's next plan was to try to reach Alfornada and its Gym via the Alfornada Cavern.  The cliffs were too high to reach.  The next best option was to go through Casseroya Lake.  Catching monsters was out of the question when they were Lv 50.  Flamigo the flamingo was a Flying/Fighting type, and Tatsugiri the Dragon/Water monster was in its Stretchy Form.  Going south from there into West Province Area Three, however, was safe because the trainers were only Lv 29.  Pokemon Violet follows the Dragon Quest 1 rule of "beware of crossing bridges".  REDACTED's next stop is Medali, home to the Normal Gym Leader.

 

Wild Pokemon Seen:  Silicobra, Rufflet, Cacnea, Cacturne, Donphan, Espathra, Tinkatuff, Rellor, Bramblin, Chansey, Hippopotas, Hippowdon, Girafarig, Grimer (Kanto), Shellos, Wingull, Crabrawler, Swalot, Gulpin, Flamigo, Tatsugiri

Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon:  Barboach, Toedscool, Cyclizar, Drowzee, Gothita, Zorua

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 9


Medali's Gym Test was to order the secret item on the menu in Treasure Eatery, as this city was food-themed.  REDACTED started with one clue and had to get the others by defeating other challengers.  Adara the Student was more than a match for a single Lv 38 Jumpluff.  Her Lv 34 Gumshoos used Super Fang to cut Jumpluff's HP in half, then her Greedent Countered an Acrobatics for the kill. 


Santiago the Student had a Lv 34 Dunsparce, which Jumpluff put to sleep to avoid Rollout combos and finished off with Acrobatics.  Jumpluff learned her lesson from the last encounter with Adara the Student and made sure to spread Sleep Powder on Greedent before attacking the fat squirrel.  Gisela the Student had a Lv 34 Ursaring that used Sweet Scent instead of attacking.


The secret menu item was Grilled Rice Balls, Medium Serving, Extra Crispy + Fire Blast Style, and Lemon garnish.  Gym Leader Larry turned out to be an ordinary Office Worker, but his team was anything but boring.  He started with a Lv 35 Komala that was immune to Sleep Powder due to its Comatose status.  Komala Slammed Jumpluff down to 85/124 HP and fell to Acrobatics. 


Larry's 2nd Pokemon was the Lv 35 pure Normal Dudunsparce.  Maybe GameFreak didn't want to be upstaged by the Pokemon Uranium fangame giving Dunsparce an evolution.  Dudunsparce didn't stay asleep for long, and its Glare paralyzed Jumpluff.  A move called Hyper Drill pierced Jumpluff down to 36/124 HP.  Jumpluff lost one turn to paralysis but re-cast Sleep Powder and defeated Dundunsparce with Acrobatics.  The cooks and customers motivated Larry to Terastallize his final monster, a Lv 36 Staraptor.  Jumpluff was already wounded and stunned, and Staraptor's Intimidate was the last insult.  Staraptor's Facade sent her crashing to the ground.


It was time for an alternate route, as Jumpluff could not win the Normal badge without more levels.  I wondered if Iron Treads gave a useful Miraidon ability, and designed a new moveset specifically for the possible Donphan evolution.  The first attempt at Lv 39 was promising.  Jumpluff launched 5 Bullet Seeds with one move, and Leech Seed parasites slowly reduced the sleeping boss's HP.  But Knock Offs plus an improved Rapid Spin sent Jumpluff to the Pokemon Center.  A wild Lv 55 Braviary also killed Jumpluff with one Aerial Ace after a failed escape attempt.


Mega Drain replaced Bullet Seed, and Synthesis was added just in case extra healing was necessary.  Synthesis was never used.  Leech Seed + Mega Drain kept Jumpluff healthy for much of the fight, but an Iron Head upon awakening bludgeoned her down to 58/125 HP.  Knock Off was only at moderate power in both attempts since Jumpluff didn't have an item equipped.  Phase 2 did not immediately follow Phase 1 because REDACTED had to chase down Iron Treads out of combat.  This gave me the opportunity to restore Jumpluff's HP.


Arven joined the fight with a Lv 44 Scovillain, indicating that I should not have fought Iron Treads until later in the game.  Jumpluff used the Sleep Powder + Leech Seed combo again, but Arven was the hero as always.  Scovillain cut Iron Treads's Speed with Scary Face, and bit the Titan to death with Fire Fang.  The Sour Herba Mystica gave Miraidon the power of gliding, though not so well as Spyro the Dragon.  Iron Treads turned out to be Ground/Steel as predicted.  Youngster Beltran in Asado Desert was the designated "shorts boy" of Pokemon Violet.


REDACTED explored the Paldean Sea to look for items, Pokemon, and a route to another Gym.  I looked up Lokix in the Pokedex and found out it was Bug/Dark.  Several Ice type monsters like Bergmite and Eiscue were found here at Lv 39-41, since GameFreak wasn't going to break the tradition of "Ice Pokemon only appear late in the game".  Someone on the staff loves Lumineon, a monster that probably tops most "bland Pokemon" lists.


South Province Area Six had a long and narrow landbridge leading to the "detour" (i.e. main route) to Alfornada.  Trainers here had monsters around Lv 38.  A selfie-obsessed trainer had a Beartic that used a new move called Snowscape.  Wonder if this is a replacement for Hail, or an entirely separate weather condition.  One trainer said Tulip the Gym Leader of Alfornada was a Psychic specialist.
   

Alfornada Cavern did not have Zubats or even Woobats.  Guess GameFreak was finally sick of the usual cave monsters.  One opponent had a Rabsca, a new Bug/Psychic which was an obvious anagram for "scarab".  Jumpluff learned Giga Drain in a battle against Eloisa the Student, and had to use Sleep Powder + Leech Seed to beat a Calm Mind Gardevoir once her Acrobatics PP ran out.  Hiker Daniela had a day form Lycanroc who outpaced Jumpluff and buried her in a Rock Slide.  Izan the Courier defeated Jumpluff with an ordinary Revavroom, which was a Steel/Poison type when Team Star wasn't tinkering with it.


Alfornada was inspired by the cities of al-Andalus, and had Arabic sounding music.  A Substitute TM in town might be useful, considering the history Grass types have with Substitute + Leech Seed. . .


Jumpluff returned to Mela of Team Star's Fire base and defeated her custom Revavroom this time, but survived with only 42/136 HP.  Screech + Blazing Torque nearly flattened Jumpluff under Revavroom's wheels.  Her TM was Flame Charge.  I may have forgotten to mention this:  Iono's TM was Volt Switch.  One new TM is Ice Spinner, an 80 power physical move that destroys terrain.  Looks like Ice teams in doubles are way to go for anyone sick of the Tapu legendaries.


Close to the Pokemon Center in East Province Area Two was a Psychic Terrain TM.  Not any good for Jumpluff, but a future solo might use this.  After catching a Kricketune in a Tera Raid, its Pokedex entry said "There is a village that hosts a contest based on the amazingly variable cries of this Pokemon".  Probably Dantski's hometown.


Revavroom was an evolution of a Pokemon called Varoom, which I didn't see until a trainer battle in East Province.  Wiglett, the first form of Wugtrio, was caught in a Tera Raid.  Wiglett's family is unrelated to Diglett's except for the appearance, like Toedscool's relationship with Tentacool.  Wiglett's ability is Rattled, which gives +1 Speed if either Intimidated or hit with a Dark, Ghost, or Bug type attack.
 

Wild Pokemon Seen:  Braviary, Bruxish, Bergmite, Eiscue, Finneon, Lumineon, Magnemite, Drednaw

Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon:  Litleo, Kricketune, Morgrem, Wiglett

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 10


REDACTED rode Miraidon around West Province Area Three to begin the session.  There was a new twist to catching Pokemon:  some were Zorua or Ditto in disguise, and the only way to find out.  The only way to figure out if, say, a Tropius was real was to enter combat.  Naclstack was a pure Rock evolution of Nacli.  Komala was so difficult to capture that I had to throw a Timer Ball.


Jumpluff tried to fight Larry again at Lv 44.  Komala barely survived Acrobatics and Yawned in boredom.  Dudunsparce almost knocked out Jumpluff with repeated Hyper Drills, though Jumpluff was able to use Giga Drain and make it snooze with Sleep Powder.  Dudunsparce awoke and Glared at Jumpluff for her impudence.  Staraptor's Facade gave Larry another victory.


REDACTED went through Dalizapa Passage next and battled the local trainers.  The strange-looking Cetoddle was a pure Ice "Terra Whale" species.  REDACTED took the road to Zapapico to the east rather than Glaseado Mountain Path to the north.  To defeat Andre the Courier's Corviknight, Jumpluff used Sleep Powder + Leech Seed and Terastallized.  Can't be too careful when dealing with Steel/Flying monsters as a Grass Pokemon.

 
Although Dragons were traditionally weak to Ice in the Pokemon series, that didn't stop Bagon from hanging around in a cold area like Dalizapa Passage near Snorunt.  Frigibax the Dragon/Ice monster defeated Jumpluff with a combination of Ice Fang, Bite, and Dragon Claw while I was trying to catch one.  Scovillain with red and green pepper heads, as seen in the Iron Treads battle was the Grass/Fire evolution of Capsakid.  And the obvious choice for the first Grass/Fire Pokemon would have been a burning bush. . .


After reaching a Zapapico Pokemon Center for Flying Taxi purposes, Lv 46 Jumpluff returned to Medali to try her skill against Larry.  One Terastallized Acrobatics was sufficient to destroy Komala, so she was making a bit of progress.  Jumpluff must have been jinxed while fighting Dudunsparce, since Sleep Powder failed and she was Glared again.  Jumpluff barely failed to defeat Staraptor, and Facade prevented her from earning another badge.


REDACTED flew to Alfornada to see what Tulip's Psychic Gym was like.  This Gym Test was the Emotional Spectrum Practice (get it?), a sort of very easy rhythm game where I had to press X, Y, B, or A depending on what the instructor said the right emotion was.  After each round, Jumpluff fought a trainer.  Gym Trainer Emily used a Lv 43 Gothorita and a Lv 43 Kirlia.  Gym Trainer Rafael had a Lv 43 Grumpig, a Lv 43 Indeedee, and a Lv 43 Medicham.  Jumpluff needed to Terastallize to beat Rafael.  (It's surprising that GameFreak reused so many obscure Galar Pokemon in Paldea. . .)


At Lv 47, Jumpluff. . .lost to Larry again.  This time REDACTED had the courtesy to use the new Substitute tactic, but Larry wouldn't play along.  His Dudunsparce broke the Substitute with Hyper Drill instead of failing a Glare like REDACTED had hoped.  Jumpluff was paralyzed and shown the Facade of a Staraptor as always.


Tulip led with Lv 44 Farigiraf, a Girafarig evolution that wasn't the one everyone including myself thought of.  No two-headed "push me pull you" monster here.  Instead, GameFreak placed the tail head as a sort of hood over the main head.  I also appreciate that they preserved the palindrome:  my proposed Girafarig evolution would have been called "Okapako".  Jumpluff spread Sleep Powder on Farigiraf, though it woke up after surviving a Terastallized Acrobatics and whiffed with Zen Headbutt.  Gardevoir was a light sleeper and endured the combo of Leech Seed and Acrobatics to drive Jumpluff mad with Psychic.


After all these failures, REDACTED returned to Zapapico, which got its name from the Spanish word for pickaxe "pico".  It was a mining town in the desert, and had the Rocky Helmet lying on the ground.  One resident wanted to trade a "curio with a . . .dark past" for 10 Sinistea Chips.  Probably one of those stakes REDACTED had been pulling out of the ground throughout the game.


I stopped the session in East Province Area Three.  REDACTED will probably look for the Titan in the region next time.


Jumpluff Lv 47 @ Nothing


HP:  151
Attack:  79
Defense:  96
Special Attack:  74
Special Defense:  110
Speed:  116


Giga Drain
Acrobatics
Sleep Powder
Leech Seed


Wild Pokemon Seen:  Vigoroth, Sudowoodo, Tropius, Naclstack, Komala, Sawsbuck, Ditto, Persian (Kanto), Cetoddle, Bagon, Snorunt, Frigibax, Scovillain, Gogoat, Pyroar, Sneasel


Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon:  Mankey