Pokemon Variants

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

As soon as the postgame began, Norman showed up, gave May the SS Ticket, and then left home again.  She’s the only player character who has a dad in the whole Pokemon series, and he never stays home.  Even May’s mom comments on it!  The SS Ticket grants entrance to the Battle Tower, a facility where level 50 and level 100 Pokemon can try for winning streaks against powerful AI trainers.  Unlike later games in the series, there’s no temporary level scaling, so NOWEAKNESS couldn’t participate unless I decided to level him to 100.  I’m not going to do that, since it took the entire playthrough plus Rare Candies to get to the late 70s. 


 
There remained four non-roaming legendaries for NOWEAKNESS to kill, so May took her Wailord and Relicanth out of the PC for the first and last time.  A Dive point concealing a mysterious cave was west of Pacifidlog Town.  This cave had inscriptions written in Braille, and fulfilling their very specific instructions unlocked the Hoenn legendary trio.  The first required placing Relicanth and Wailord in the first and last positions of the party.  Other instructions told May to wait in place for two minutes, use Fly in the middle of a room, or move in a certain direction and use Strength.  The buildup to fighting Regirock, Regice, and Registeel was more difficult than the battles.  All three were only level 40.  Regirock and Registeel had high Defense, requiring two Brick Breaks.  Regice specialized in Special Defense instead, and only needed one Brick Break.
 


Pokemon Sapphire’s postgame final boss was Rayquaza at the top of the Sky Pillar east of Pacifidlog Town.  Sky Pillar is the most annoying dungeon of the game because you have to steer the Mach Bike through cracked floors, and it’s easy to fall to a lower floor if you don’t have perfect reflexes. 


Rayquaza itself was the only legendary to pose a threat because it was level 70.  Its first attack Fly made NOWEAKNESS lose over half his health, making May use a Hyper Potion.  A critical hit from Fly could have easily ended the battle.  Instead, the wild Pokemon AI kicked in and Rayquaza tried useless Normal type Extremespeeds on NOWEAKNESS.  When Rayquaza was low on health, it used Rest to fall asleep and recover all its health.  Rest has a specific sleep counter unlike enemy-induced sleep moves such as Spore.  That meant enough free turns to hit Rayquaza with Shadow Balls to kill it for good.


 
What’s left for May and NOWEAKNESS?  Being the Pokemon League Champion isn’t enough for her.  Pokemon Contests are a minigame unique to the Hoenn games that’s sort of like a dog show or a talent contest.  First, 4 Pokemon are shown to the judges, and receive points based on the stat relevant to the contest type (e.g. Beauty, Smart).  Pokemon gain these stats based on Pokeblocks made from blended berries.  The second round involves the contestants taking turns using moves to appeal to the judges and receive “hearts”.  Turn order is important here, because it’s possible to intimidate the other Pokemon into losing hearts or their next turn.  If the audience is excited enough, a move will gain extra hearts. 
 


NOWEAKNESS has a Mild nature most suited to Beauty contests, but its Ghost and Dark moves fall into the Smart category.  So May stuffed her Sableye with Bitter Pokeblocks to increase his Smart stat and headed off to Verdanturf to dazzle the judges. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

May and NOWEAKNESS the Sableye's adventures have come to a satisfying end.  It's less depressing than Firestorm the Butterfree's failure at the Battle Tree at least!


Before starting the first Contest, I replaced Brick Break with Calm Mind to have a fourth Smart move.  There aren’t any more battles for NOWEAKNESS to fight anyway.  The other contestants tried to impress the Verdanturf judges with a Shroomish, a Zubat, and a Whismur. 

Shroomish spent most of its time trying to sabotage other Pokemon with moves like Mega Drain.  Zubat was similar, but also used Confuse Ray to alter the turn order.  Whismur also messed around with the turn order with Uproar, and startled everyone on the last round with Screech.  NOWEAKNESS took advantage of Faint Attack’s point bonus when he moved first, and got even more when the crowd’s excitement level reached the maximum.   On one turn when he moved last, NOWEAKNESS got another crowd approval bonus when he used Night Shade to startle his competitors.  Calm Mind prevents enemy Pokemon from startling the user once, and that helped a bit.  NOWEAKNESS won the Normal contest easily in both rounds.  May told the interviewer COME ON when asked about the Contest.  He called it an “edifying comment”.   
 



Fallarbor Town had the Super Rank Contest featuring Roselia, Doduo, and Trapinch.  Doduo seemed to think it was in a Cool Contest instead of a Smart one, because it kept using Peck and Fury Attack.  Roselia should have been in the Beauty Contest, since Petal Dance would have made more of an impression there.  Trapinch was the most formidable opponent.  Its appeals won many points, and Dig prevented the competitors from startling it.  Ultimately, NOWEAKNESS achieved victory in the first round’s stat check instead of his appeals.    


      
                                                                                                                      
As I found out at the end of Appeal Time, NOWEAKNESS didn’t have a Smart stat advantage for the Hyper Contest in Slateport.  Sableye was up against a Ninjask, a Mightyena, and a Seaking.  All had strong appeals.  Ninjask startled the contestants with Sand Attack and Fury Swipes.  Mightyena copied its opponents’ appeal score with Thief, but did it too often and lost points for using it twice in a row.  Seaking’s Supersonic scrambled the turn order, and its horn moves got combo bonuses.  In the end, Faint Attack and a lucky crowd bonus with Calm Mind gave NOWEAKNESS another ribbon.


 
NOWEAKNESS’s final challenge was the Master Smart Contest in Lilycove.  Wobbuffet, Pichu, and Delcatty appeared to challenge him.  I wasn’t optimistic when I saw no hearts appear above the audience in round 1.  Having a Beauty nature for a Smart Contest is a major disadvantage.  Then again, not being controlled by the atrocious AI helped NOWEAKNESS a lot!  Wobbuffet made a grand appeal with Destiny Bond. . .a move that prevented it from acting in the later rounds.  Delcatty’s Tail Whips and Attracts failed to impress.  Pichu often went last and got a bonus from Tail Whip, but the AI’s insistence on using it so often bored the judges.  NOWEAKNESS often went first, and Faint Attacks and Calm Minds made him the smartest Pokemon in Hoenn!
 



As a suitable finale for the playthrough, NOWEAKNESS’s appeals impressed a Lilycove artist so much that he made a painting of Sableye, which was featured in the local museum.  NOWEAKNESS isn’t just the greatest combatant in Hoenn, but also fine art.


 
Solo Sableye was far easier than the Simipour and Butterfree solos.  NOWEAKNESS never died, in fact.  My Mudkip’s inability to hit Brendan’s Treecko with Tackle is to blame for the one Death Count.   The old experience formula is generous to solo characters, and I can see why GameFreak wanted to change it when developing the Unova games.  Having a Ghost/Dark defensive typing with no weaknesses and 3 immunities makes up for the lack of any base stat over 75.  My next playthrough will be Pokemon Pearl.  It’ll be interesting to see how the maligned 4th generation holds up.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

The 4th generation brought many improvements to the Pokemon series.  Physical and special moves were no longer based on type.  This was especially good for Water types like Gyarados and Feraligatr that had much higher Attack than Special Attack.  Gengar could finally use Ghost type moves effectively.  Tyaranitar’s Crunch had more bite.  Some older Pokemon got much-needed evolutions that allowed them to be viable in multiplayer, like Sneasel and Togetic.   Diamond and Pearl were also the first online Pokemon games, allowing players to play competitive matches and trade Pokemon without having to attend tournaments or hunt down someone with a link cable.


 
However, there were also some unpopular elements in these games.  Players now dislike the Sinnoh games for their excessive use of HMs, a low amount of new Pokemon, and introducing Stealth Rock via a TM.  The last point is more relevant to multiplayer, because Stealth Rock is an entry hazard move that is affected by the enemy Pokemon’s resistance or weakness to Rock.  Poor Charizard loses half its health upon switching in!   It’s easy to set up because it only has to be used once to be at its strongest, unlike Spikes or Toxic Spikes. 
 


Sinnoh itself is one of the less popular regions.  I’ve played Pokemon Pearl more than probably any other game, yet I’ve almost forgotten its locations entirely.  A lot of that was because I played many Wifi matches at the time, but perhaps some of that is the fault of the game design.  I thought it was time to revisit Pearl and see if the region is unfairly criticized.
 



An old man named Professor Rowan greeted me on the first screen, and asked me to pick the male or female trainer.  I picked the girl and gave her the official name of “Dawn”.  As soon as the game began, the rival Barry was hasty and charged around everywhere.  Both Dawn and Barry had seen a news report about the Red Gyarados at the Lake of Rage, and Barry thought he might find a similar rare Pokemon there.  This is a reference to the Johto games, and confirms that Pearl takes place at the same time as Gold, Silver, and Crystal.  Lake Acuity didn’t have anything that Barry was looking for, but it did have a briefcase with 3 Poke Balls.  You can probably guess what was inside. 
 


While they were looking, Starlys attacked, so Dawn and Barry were forced to use the Pokemon in the briefcase to defend themselves.  I chose the Water type Piplup to make the first Gym easier, like I did in Pokemon Sapphire.  A few Pounds knocked out the Starly, and Professor Rowan agreed to let Dawn keep Piplup.  Barry charged off to Jubilife City, and Dawn received her Running Shoes.  On Route 201, Piplup beat up a few Bidoofs and Starlys to level up.  Piplup’s level up moveset is a bit weird, and it didn’t learn a Water type move until level 8. 
 


Jubilife leads to many locations in Sinnoh, and it’s a surprisingly large area for the early game.  I tried going north to find my solo Pokemon, but it turned out the northern half of the route was sealed off until I found the Rock Smash HM. 
 



Looking around the routes near Jubilife made me think that the Pokemon selection for the early game is quite good.  Starly’s final form Staraptor would make a solo too easy!  It has Close Combat, a base 120 physical Fighting attack, and Brave Bird, a base 120 physical Flying Attack.  Bidoof makes a good HM Pokemon, but also evolves into the Normal/Water Bibarel.  Normal/Water is a good offensive combination, and Bibarel can have the ability Simple that doubles the effect of stat buffs.  Shinx is an early physical Electric that can eventually learn a wider variety of moves like the elemental Fangs and Crunch.  Zubat, Psyduck, Geodude, and Onix can be found in early caves.  None of these were exactly what I was looking for.
 


The inventor of the Poketch asked Dawn to talk to 3 clowns scattered around Jubilife, who all gave basic combat tips.  He gave Dawn the Poketch after she did this.  The Poketch takes up the bottom screen of the DS, and has features like a 4 function calculator, a clock, and a Daycare watcher.  Its appearance reminds me a bit of an old green screen Game Boy.
 



Barry said that the next destination was Oreburgh City to fight Roark, the first Gym Leader.  Guess what type Roark uses based on the name.  Barry challenged Dawn to a battle on the route east of Jubilife, but Starly and Turtwig was no match for an overleveled Piplup.  It didn’t even have a Grass move!  Oreburgh City was a coal mining town, and had a distinctive appearance.  The city’s economy was so lopsided that the museum only had coal mining exhibits.  Roark was working in the local mine, so Dawn had to put up with an annoying random encounter rate to find him. 
 



Roark’s Gym was similar to Brock’s in Kanto and Roxanne’s in Hoenn.  His subordinates used Geodude and Onix, which Piplup eroded with Bubble.  Roark’s first two Pokemon were Geodude and Onix too.  Onix got in a Rock Throw due to its high Speed, but that part of the fight was easy.  Cranidos took more effort.  It was a pure Rock type, and therefore didn’t have the double weakness that the Ground type added to the first two Pokemon.  Cranidos’s base 125 Attack (!) made its Headbutts hit hard.  To put that in perspective, 125 Attack is only 5 less than Garchomp, the endgame Dragon type of Sinnoh.  Piplup had to drink a few Potions to make it through that fight.  It leveled to 16 after the fight and evolved into Prinplup.    

  
 
Roark awarded Dawn with a Stealth Rock TM and the ability to use Rock Smash outside of combat.  Now she could get past the Ravaged Path cave and go to the flowery town of Floaroma.  Team Galactic was attacking Professor Rowan and the Valley Windworks, and Dawn had to stop their legion of. . .Wurmples.  Yes, they seriously thought they could stop me with Wurmples, Silcoons, and Cascoons.  Not a Beautifly or Dustox in sight. 



 
Commander Mars was the only competent member up to this point.  Her Zubat knew Toxic, so I had to use an Antidote before the poison got out of hand.  Metal Claw of all attacks was the strongest technique Prinplup had at this point.  Remember when I said Piplup had a weird level up moveset?  Purugly was second, and it was quite durable for an early game opponent.  I used an X Defend to ensure the lack of a Death Count, and Prinplup chipped away at Purugly with Metal Claw.  An Oran Berry dragged out the fight a bit, but Prinplup won with the aid of a few Potions.  Team Galactic fled, and the scientists told Dawn that there was a “balloon Pokemon” that appeared on a specific day of the week.  They were referring to Drifloon, a Pokemon with a then-unique Ghost/Flying type.


 
Defeating Team Galactic let Dawn go onto Route 105, where she caught her solo Pokemon. . .Pachirisu!  It’s one of many “Pika clones”, but has a better design than Dedenne, Plusle, or Minun.  Pachirisu is a pure Electric type with the abilities Pickup (get a random item after the battle ends) and Run Away (guaranteed to run away from wild Pokemon).  Its base stats look like this:
 
HP:  60
Attack:  45
Defense:  70
Special Attack:  45
Special Defense:  90
Speed:  95
 
Pachirisu is somewhat fast, and can take special attacks decently well.  Its Attack is on par with. . .Butterfree, and its Special Attack is equally abysmal.  Expect me to rely on items this playthrough!  Dawn’s Pachirisu is a male with a Quirky nature and the “Strong willed” and “Happily eats anything” characteristics.  I named him SEJUNPARK in honor of the Korean player who used a Pachirisu effectively at a Doubles tournament.

[Dantski]

Hah and I was convinced this was going to be a Kricketune playthrough

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Hah and I was convinced this was going to be a Kricketune playthrough

Why did I have the suspicion that the readers wanted to make me use Kricketune?  

I already did a Bug type playthrough with Firestorm the Butterfree, a Water type one with SeeNoEvil the Simipour, and a Dark/Ghost one with NOWEAKNESS the Sableye.  It was time for a different element, so "weak Electric type" was the way to go.  Base 45 attacking stats will make for a high Death Count, trust me.

[Dantski]

Hah and I was convinced this was going to be a Kricketune playthrough

Why did I have the suspicion that the readers wanted to make me use Kricketune?  

I already did a Bug type playthrough with Firestorm the Butterfree, a Water type one with SeeNoEvil the Simipour, and a Dark/Ghost one with NOWEAKNESS the Sableye.  It was time for a different element, so "weak Electric type" was the way to go.  Base 45 attacking stats will make for a high Death Count, trust me.

If you're inclined to do so, you should keep a paralysis count. It would be interesting to see how good your luck is with that 25% chance.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Hah and I was convinced this was going to be a Kricketune playthrough

Why did I have the suspicion that the readers wanted to make me use Kricketune?  

I already did a Bug type playthrough with Firestorm the Butterfree, a Water type one with SeeNoEvil the Simipour, and a Dark/Ghost one with NOWEAKNESS the Sableye.  It was time for a different element, so "weak Electric type" was the way to go.  Base 45 attacking stats will make for a high Death Count, trust me.

If you're inclined to do so, you should keep a paralysis count. It would be interesting to see how good your luck is with that 25% chance.

Pachirisu can learn Discharge, a move with a 30% chance of paralysis.  I may consider using it instead of Thunderbolt for that reason.  Discharge can also hit both enemies in a Double Battle.  Charm will probably remain on SEJUNPARK's moveset throughout the game.  -2 Attack will help more than X Defends, and AI Pokemon rarely switch out.

One thing I should mention is the fact that the Double Battle AI trainers are much more hostile in Sinnoh.  In Sapphire, they only challenged you if they talked to you.  In Pearl, if you have your HM MULE with you, they'll attack just like any other trainer.

(HM MULE is Bidoof this time.  I'll probably replace it with a wild Bibarel later on.)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Misadventures of Dawn and Pachirisu Part 1:  Even Butterflies Are Stronger Than Squirrels



Pachirisu was only at level 9, and I needed to get him to 13 before he could learn his first Electric move.  That meant fighting a few trainers that I skipped.  Most were simple, if slow because base 40 power Quick Attack didn’t do much with base 45 Attack.  Then SEJUNPARK had a nasty encounter with a Machop in Oreburgh Mine.  It started the fight with Focus Energy to buff its critical hit rate.  Remember that critical hits ignore defense buffs and attack debuffs.  Pachirisu could Charm to reduce Machop’s Attack, and then a critical hit Rock Smash made Dawn “black out”.

 
Death Count:  1
 
SEJUNPARK got his revenge on the second try against the miner’s Machop.  The trainers didn’t give enough experience, but slaughtering the Route 205 Buizel population taught Pachirisu how to use Spark, a base 65 physical Electric move.  It was a step up from Quick Attack!
          


Hiker Daniel was the first major obstacle for Pachirisu to deal with.  He was a mandatory battle, and had two Geodudes.  If you ever try to kill a Geodude with Bide, you’ll wonder if the trainer AI is super-intelligent or acts randomly.  Geodude kept using Defense Curl or Rock Polish instead of Rock Throw while SEJUNPARK was storing energy, and it used Rock Throw when I wasn’t using Bide.  The battle ended as well as you’d expect.
 


Death Count:  2


 
I was in such a desperate situation that I used the Hidden Power TM from the Trainer’s School in Jubilife.  Hidden Power:  The last refuge of the Electric type.  Electric types in general have awful type coverage, so they often resort to Hidden Power even in competitive battles.  If SEJUNPARK’s IVs aligned correctly, it could save me, but if the Hidden Power type turned out to be Electric or something, this would be far more painful than the Butterfree playthrough.
 
Testing out Hidden Power on Hiker Daniel’s Geodudes was a success!  They died in one hit, making me suspect the type was Water or Grass.  It definitely wasn’t Fighting, because it hit Bidoof for neutral damage.  Now I had something to deal with pesky Ground types.  So far, I like this playthrough.  Having bottom-tier stats forces you to be a bit more creative.
 


(Correction:  Hiker Daniel is a “spinner”, meaning he can be avoided.  SEJUNPARK would have to defeat Ground types eventually, so it was nice to find a solution now.)


 
Using Hidden Power against a wild Buizel proved it was Grass type.  Ice would be good for a certain Pokemon at the end, but Grass will do.  Spark paralyzed Picknicker Siena’s Shinx, and it failed the roll to attack that turn.


 
She also had a Pachirisu with Spark at level 12.  Maybe she bred it to get that move?  Hidden Powers and Sparks finished off the rival squirrel, and SEJUNGPARK received a surprisingly high amount of experience.
 

A trainer named Cheryl wanted another trainer’s protection in Eterna Forest.  She claimed it was because of Team Galactic’s presence, though she should have mentioned al l the aggressive Double Battle trainers.  Most of them used various Bug types like Kricketune, Dustox, and Beautifly.  One unfortunate Cascoon couldn’t move for a turn after a Spark paralysis, but its Shed Skin ability cured it quickly.
 

Cheryl had a Chansey, which was weak but at least did her job of taking hits for SEJUNPARK.  Cheryl was courteous enough to heal Pachirisu after every battle too.  Was she the character who started the “medic NPC” trend found in the later Pokemon games?

 
Eterna City had background music that sounded almost as if it were from a Western.  Team Galactic worked openly here, and one Grunt said “Team Galactic is so stinking rich that we can have one built instantly!”  He was referring to a building that had a sign saying “Team Galactic Eterna Building:  We Want Your Pokemon!”.  It also has spikes jutting out of the side, in case you didn’t know they were evil.  Police barely exist in the Pokemon world, so I guess Team Galactic can get away with advertising its crimes.  Then again, Team Galactic often uses cocoon Pokemon that only know Harden, so I’m not sure how they can rob the average trainer.  The mysterious trainer Cynthia appeared and said she was interested in Pokemon myths.  She handed Dawn the Cut HM and walked away.


 
Inside the Gym, Gardenia told Dawn she wouldn’t accept challenges until all her trainers were defeated.  So much for speedrunners!  The advisor in the lobby recommended using Fire types, but there’s a bit of a problem with this advice.  There are only two Fire type lines in Sinnoh before the postgame!  If you didn’t pick Chimchar at the beginning, you’ll have to settle for Ponyta.  Perhaps the advisor should have mentioned the Grass type’s Bug and Flying weaknesses instead, because they’re much more common than Fire.  Gardenia had a forest inside her Gym, making me think the ceilings were extremely high.  The first trainer’s Cherubi Leech Seeded Pachirisu, which was annoying.  Having an enemy steal 1/8 of your health per turn is much worse in a solo run where you can’t switch!  Fortunately, a Spark made Roselia stiff and unable to move for a turn.

 
It still wasn’t enough to overcome Leech Seed healing and Mega Drain absorption, and Roselia stalled out SEJUNPARK.  The lack of Hidden Power Ice really hurts right now.
 

Death Count:  3

 
Cherubi took 3 hits to kill with Spark on take 2.  The second hit prevented it from moving.  It still managed to launch Leech Seed on turn 1.  Only a critical hit Spark could save SEJUNPARK from Roselia, and he succeeded the turn before he would have died.  When an underleveled Roselia is a serious threat, you have problems.  The other trainers had Budews and a Turtwig.  It’s nice to see random enemy trainers with starter Pokemon.  A level 17 Roselia could have been trouble, but it kept missing with its attacks, and it even lost a turn once.
 

Gardenia led with the dreaded Cherubi and its Leech Seed.  A protracted battle involving not very effective Sparks ensued, and then Gardenia sent out Turtwig.  Its Reflect and Withdraw were too much for Spark, so I tried Bide against the Razor Leafs.  It didn’t work out well.
 
Death Count:  4
 
It may take a bit of level grinding to get through this Gym!  It's obvious level 23 isn't going to work with a moveset that bad.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Misadventures of Dawn and Pachirisu Part 2: Smogon Should Ban Leech Seed


At level 25, Pachirisu replaced Bide with Sweet Kiss, so I tried again.  Of course, the confusion attempt failed on Cherubi, so Leech Seed came next.  Turtwig’s Razor Leaf and Leech Seed draining meant Dawn would black out once again.

 
Death Count:  5



Sweet Kiss was much more useful on the next attempt.  Cherubi was confused, and used Safeguard and Growth instead of Leech Seed for once.  Spark killed Cherubi after a few strikes.  Pachirisu kissed Turtwig after that, and the grass turtle even knocked itself out while confused.  Gardenia’s final monster was a level 22 Roserade, a Pokemon good enough to compete in Smogon’s “Overused” tier during the 4th generation.  After it missed once, Roserade paralyzed SEJUNPARK with Stun Spore.  SEJUNPARK paid in kind with a Spark paralysis late in the fight.  Sweet Kiss combined with critical hit Sparks forced Gardenia to concede the badge and a Grass Knot TM!
 


The Gardenia fight required luck more than skill, and I’m relieved it’s over.  Grass Knot may eventually replace Hidden Power Grass.  It’s a move that can have up to 120 power if used on heavy Pokemon, and most Rock and Ground types are fat enough to make Grass Knot worth considering. 


 
Now that Dawn could use Cut outside of battle, she ordered HM MULE to slash the trees in front of the spiky Team Galactic building.  The Grunts clearly spent more on hair dye and haircuts than Poke Balls, because the best Pokemon they had were Wurmples, Glameows, Zubats, Silcoons, and Cascoons.  Some of them bragged about how they stole these Pokemon from weak trainers, making me wonder why they didn’t mug someone on one of the eastern routes instead. Several of the Grunts talked about how they were loyal to Team Galactic’s plans, even though they didn’t understand any of them. 
 



Commander Jupiter was on the top floor, and sent out a level 18 Zubat first.  One Spark could kill it even with base 45 Attack.  Her final Pokemon was a level 20 Skuntank, a Poison/Dark type that was only weak to Ground.  It wasn’t immune to confusion, so Pachirisu kissed it.  Skuntank Night Slashed SEJUNPARK and lowered his Defense with a harsh Screech.  I thought for a bit that a lucky Night Slash would get a critical hit and add to the Death Count.  Fortunately, a Spark eventually paralyzed Skuntank, and it killed itself while confused.   


 
After defeating Commander Jupiter, Dawn freed the Bicycle man.  He talked about how Team Galactic demanded that he hand over his Clefairy because it “came from space”.  Team Galactic members weren’t the sharpest pencils in the pack.  Dawn received a Bicycle as a reward, and could now move through Sinnoh more quickly.  Beating up the trainers on Cycling Road and the surrounding routes leveled SEJUNPARK to 29, and now I could replace Spark with the superior base 80 power special move Discharge.


 
Mt. Coronet’s caves split the Sinnoh region in two, which I thought was an interesting concept.  In Japanese, it’s called “Tengan Mountain”, hinting at magnetic properties that evolve Magneton and Nosepass.  Inside, a strange man talked to Dawn about how the universe began and how human nature corrupted it.  He left Dawn perplexed, and then took the western exit.  On the east side of the mountain, there were several Hikers that SEJUNPARK defeated with Hidden Power.  Is it just me, or do more trainers carry Rock and Ground types in this game?  It fits the mountain theme of Sinnoh. 



 
One martial artist gave Dawn an “Odd Keystone” and said “Go to Route 209!  Go underground!  Listen to the stone pillar!  Talk to people underground!”  He’s referring to Spiritomb, a rare Ghost/Dark Pokemon that’s unlocked through a tedious multiplayer feature.  Most players got it through online trading instead, because Spiritomb can be bred.         



 
Hearthome was the first major city on the east side of Sinnoh.  Remember how I said Contests were exclusive to Hoenn?  Well, that’s not quite correct.  Sinnoh has Super Contests, but they’re much different.  They involve a rhythm minigame and dressing up your Pokemon.  The Cool, Beauty, etc. stats still exist, and are increased with Poffins instead of Pokeblocks.  Making Poffins is a good way to murder your touch screen, so I probably won’t do it.  Super Contests seem like a bizarre transition between the Hoenn Contests and the Pokemon Musicals of Unova, and I never played much with them. 



 
An interviewer in the Fan Club asked Dawn about her time with Pachirisu, and she said “DIFFICULT”.  Dawn likes to shout at NPCs like her Hoenn counterpart May.  On the second floor of a nearby building, a woman handed Dawn a spare Shell Bell.  May couldn’t get this in Sapphire because the “Berrypocalypse” stopped time and the tides, but Dawn could simply get a Shell Bell from a midgame city.  The Shell Bell restores some HP in proportion to the damage you inflict, allowing Pachirisu to survive longer.  It’s not often used in competitive formats except for certain gimmick strategies, but it might come in handy here.
 


Hearthome also had the only cathedral in the Pokemon series, though the people inside gave cryptic statements.  I wonder if they were more overtly religious in the Japanese version.  One girl outside said “I’d like to live in Hearthome when I get married.  But my boyfriend wants to live in Veilstone ‘cause of its Game Corner. . .”  Dawn couldn’t tell her “DUMP HIM NOW”, so she simply listened and walked away.


 
Amity Square, a park available only to “cute” Pokemon was on the north side of Hearthome City.  No, it’s not based on the “Cute” stat.  Rather, it’s restricted to several Pokemon with overworld sprites, and Pachirisu happens to be allowed!  SEJUNPARK took a stroll with Dawn through the park, and found the Attract and Secret Power TMs there.  One martial artist at the entrance said “I’m appalled!  They refused entry to my Pokemon!  Oh, my poor GYARADOS and STEELIX!  This is discrimination!”  I have to agree with him.  Any Pokemon can raise its Cute stat with the right Pokeblocks/Poffins, so why not let in his Steelix? 
 


Another Jubilife TV interviewer was in the same room, and asked for Dawn’s opinion about her walk with Pachirisu.  She responded “LET ME THINK”, which the interviewer appreciated.  Several other houses in Hearthome had elevators but no stairs.  Do safety codes even exist in the Pokemon world?  Then again, the Gyms require you to shoot yourself out of a cannon and slide on ice over bottomless pits, so chances are the Pokemon government is too corrupt to notice.


 
Fantina, the local Gym Leader, refused to challenge me until I became stronger.  Barry volunteered to fight me instead in his usual hasty manner.  His team was a joke even when I severely handicapped myself by using Pachirisu.  SEJUNPARK was at level 30, and his highest level Pokemon was 21 or so.  Starly, Buizel, and Ponyta all fell to Discharge without much trouble.  Grotle resisted Discharge, but a combination of Sweet Kiss confusion and Discharge paralysis prevented it from attacking SEJUNPARK at all. 


 
The next few routes were bland grasslands with some occasional rainy spots.  Areas like this made me miss the colorful GBA graphics of Sapphire.  Most of the trainers were easy, and a detour into the Lost Tower had someone who gave Dawn the Strength HM for climbing to the top.  Discharge took out the trainers, along with HM MULE in Double Battles. 
 


Veilstone City had the Game Corner and another Team Galactic building with spikes on the side.  Dawn investigated Team Galactic, and the Grunts said they were developing new energy sources.  Spikes on the side of a building have to be inefficient no matter what new technologies you develop.  Maylene, a Fighting type specialist, was the local Gym Leader.  You’d think it would be a Ground or Steel Gym based on the “meteorite” and “stone” theme of the city, but I guess they need someone who can use Rock Smash.

 
 
To prepare for the Gym, Dawn went south of Veilstone and mugged most of the trainers nearby.  Except for one who had a level 22 Roselia.  Yes, you read that correctly.  SEJUNPARK at level 39 was stalled out by a Roselia 17 levels lower.  Leech Seed is the devil if you’re using a Pokemon with attacking stats as low as Pachirisu, and Mega Drain doesn’t help either.  Super Fang couldn’t overcome its healing, and Discharge failed to make it lose more than 1/3 of its maximum health or so.
 

Death Count:  6

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Misadventures of Dawn and Pachirisu Part 3: Uninspired Gyms and Even Less Inspired Villains


SEJUNPARK later beat Collector Douglas and his rascally Roselias with lucky Discharges. Other trainers on the outskirts of Pastoria and Veilstone were experience point fodder who only had Pokemon in the low 20s. Sinnoh is perhaps the last Pokemon region to allow some freedom regarding Gym order, so I could choose to take on either Maylene or Crasher Wake first.


Crasher Wake specialized in Water, one of the few types Pachirisu had a decisive advantage over. Dawn headed over to Pastoria and electrocuted all the Buizels, Wingulls, and Marills in its Gym. A few carried Water/Ground Barboaches, but SEJUNPARK had Grass Knot to trip them up. A lot of those trainers looked a bit young to work in a Pokemon Gym, but then again there were Preschoolers in the postgame Battle Tree in Moon.



Crasher Wake led with the Water/Flying Gyarados, a Pokemon with a critical weakness to Discharge. SEJUNPARK didn’t care about Intimidate’s Attack debuff because both Grass Knot and Discharge were special. Next, he sent out the Water/Ground Quagsire, a Pokemon which could have been annoying. . .if Grass Knot didn’t make it fall in one hit. The last Pokemon was a level 30 Floatzel, a pure Water type. I thought at first Discharge wouldn’t take it out in one hit, but I shouldn’t have doubted a level 44 Pachirisu.



Crasher Wake surrendered a Brine TM and the ability to use Defog outside of battle. Defog is widely considered the worst HM in the series, because Pokemon Pearl came out before Defog acquired its ability to remove enemy entry hazards like Stealth Rock. (And even then, nobody cares about Stealth Rock and Spikes in the main story.)



The level advantage gained from fighting Pastoria trainers helped out a bit against Maylene’s Fighting Gym in Veilstone. All the “Karate Quad” trainers had Machokes and Meditites. At least the inner tube kids in Pastoria had a little more variety! Maylene herself wasn’t much better. Two of her Pokemon were Meditite and Machoke in about the late 20s level range. Machoke was also the last Pokemon she sent out for some reason. Her second Pokemon and star of the team was level 30 Lucario, a Fighting/Steel type often used in competitive matches. A Sweet Kiss confused Lucario and made it hit itself once, allowing SEJUNPARK to finish it off with two Discharges.



A Bibarel was needed to learn several HMs that Bidoof couldn’t, so Dawn caught a wild one near Pastoria and named it HM MULE 2.



Maylene gave up the Drain Punch TM after her defeat, as well as the ability to use Fly outside of battle. When Dawn left the Gym, Lucas appeared and told her Team Galactic stole his Pokedex. Pokedexes are considered rare items in this world for reasons unknown to me. The Team Galactic Grunts decided using evolved Pokemon was a good idea, so they threw Dustox and Beautifly at Dawn and Lucas. Lucas had a Clefairy who used Gravity, an interesting field move that increases the power of Ground moves and enables them to hit Flying types. SEJUNPARK didn’t use Ground moves, and Bug resists Ground anyway, so Clefairy was useless.


Discharge friendly fire took out Clefairy, and Lucas sent out Kadabra next. No matter what Lucas did, SEJUNPARK won the fight alone. The Grunts blurted out their evil plans for Pastoria, and they left their Fly HM in the warehouse. Dawn then caught a Staravia named HM BIRD and taught it Defog and Fly. The fight with the wild Staravia came close to a Death Count, because it had Endeavor. Endeavor reduces the target’s HP to the user’s current HP. Combined with a Focus Sash, Endeavor enables a level 1 Pokemon to take out much stronger Pokemon, but this is a gimmick strategy that often fails against human opponents.



While chasing after Team Galactic, Barry interrupted Dawn with a battle. He still didn’t evolve his Pokemon, since he was stuck with Grotle, Starly, Buizel, and Ponyta. At least get a Floatzel and Staravia, Barry! Concerning the Team Galactic member, he said “If you’re not a Pokemon, and you run like that. . .you’re a bad guy”. Wouldn’t that make YOU a bad guy, Barry? His main personality trait is running around everywhere. . .



Cynthia showed up near Lake Valor and gave Dawn the item necessary to make the Psyducks on Route 110 leave. After that, she told Dawn to deliver an item to the elder of Celestic Village. Getting through the routes to Celestic Town was irritating because I kept running out of PP for Discharge. A Team Galactic Grunt threatened to destroy the town because it was useless. Team Galactic is probably second only to Team Magma/Aqua in the “blandest villains” category, and things like this are the reason why.


The Grunt had a Beautifly and a Croagunk which were easily defeated. The elder thanked Dawn and gave her a Surf HM, but she couldn’t use it outside of battle until Fantina bothered to appear in her own Gym in Hearthome. Dawn learned a few myths about Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, and then Cyrus showed up and made a few cryptic comments about creating a world “without strife”.