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TINA's Nuzlocke Series

With my training finally done, i head on through the Poni Grove and find myself in the vast wilderness of the Poni Plains. While i'm exploring, a Fearow swoops down on me, so i catch it and name it Ghana. Anyway, after i defeat all the other trainers sightseeing here, i think i'll call it a day for now.
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My current team:

Sakana (Gyarados) lv 60
Kirintama (Exeggutor) lv 61
Khan (Mudsdale) lv 63
Nigeru (Golisopod) lv 62
Ursula (Tentacruel) lv 64
Berlin (Bastiodon) lv 64
 
I head northwest into a beautiful meadow of hanging flowers. As i stop here to take in the fragrances, i run into an Oricorio, which i catch and name Dancer. I look around the meadow a bit more and enjoy its peaceful, tranquil environment when i spot a cave. Naturally, it piques my curiosity, and i head in. I catch a Golbat there, which i name Count. I look around a bit more and find a bunch of cool stuff, but then it's time to head out. Looking for more hidden gems like the meadow i found, i explore the northeast of Poni Island and find myself on the Poni Coast. On this rugged mountainscape, i encounter a hairy Dugtrio, which i catch and name Mittsugami. I head on and actually run into Mina. She tells me that she's working on a painting, but that she'll battle me if i beat all the other trainers in the Poni Gauntlet (that's apparently what this place is called). So i guess i'll do that. I also run into a Pelipper while i'm here, so i catch it and name it Meh. However, then something horrible happened. A Trevenant outsped Kirintama and used destony bond, taking Kirintama with it as i took it down. Rest in peace friend, you did good work.

To take Kirintama's place, i head to Route 5 and trade Waffel the Lillipup for a Bounsweet named Tariiyo. During training, it evolves into Steenee and then into Tsareena. When i'm done training, i decide to call it a day.
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My current team:

Tariiyo (Tsareena) lv 61
Khan (Mudsdale) lv 64
Sakana (Gyarados) lv 64
Ursula (Tentacruel) lv 65
Berlin (Bastiodon) lv 65
Nigeru (Golisopod) lv 64
 
After defeating every single trainer on the route, i head back to Mina to challenge her. She leads with her Klefki and i lead with Ursula. I set up two layers of toxic spikes while she gets a reflect up. then for some reason she keeps spamming me with not very effective moves while i take her down with a number of scalds. I eventually take it down, and up next is Granbull. I switch for Khan, but a Play Rough hits hard and i opt to switch again after just one Heavy Slam. Nigeru comes in, and immediately leaves again due to emergency exit. Ursula comes back out and finishes it off with a sludge wave. Shiinotic is up next, so i stay in and OHKO with sludge wave. It's then time for her Ribombee, so i send out Berlin and slam it with a steel Z-move, killing it. Last is Wigglytuff, for which i switch back to Ursula. Sludge Wave is enough for the two-shot, winning me the battle.

With that, i don't think there's all that much left to do here on Poni. I think it's time to look into the mysterious letter i got after beating the league. I enter the hotel on Route 8 and find none other than Looker, the detective i met back in France. He and his associate Anabel apparently need help with something. Looker heard that i was in the region, so he sent me a letter to come meet him here. makes sense; i've worked with Looker before and i'm the champion of six regions by now. Anyway, the problem they're dealing with is that several Ultra Beasts escaped through the Wormholes that Lusamine's irresponsible experiment called forth. Anabel doesn't fully trust that i'm strong enough for this task though, so she challenges me to a battle. She leads with Alakazam and i lead with Nigeru. First impression one-shots, and up next is her Mismagius. I swap to Tariiyo, but i'm forced to switch after getting just one trop kick in; shadow ball did too much. For some reason, Anabel switches to her Salamence as i switch to Nigeru, so i have to switch again immediately. Khan comes in on a thunder fang, and manages to 2HKO with Heavy Slam. Mismagius comes back so i switch to Nigeru, who finishes it off with a first impression. Then comes Snorlax, and i send Sakana out to get an intimidate off. Then i launch my water Z-move, which brings him into the red as he yawns. doesn't matter though; the next aqua tail takes him out. Sakana falls asleep, but i don't care; for Anabel's last pokemon, weavile, i switch to Berlin. Brick Break brings me down to Sturdy as Metal Burst OHKOs, bringing me the victory.

My first mission for these guys is to head to the Aether Foundation and get information from Wicke. Wicke expresses her worries about how things are going with Lusamine's health, but there's little we can do at this point; it's in Lillie's hands. We chat for a bit about the affairs of that family, then Wicke takes me to one of the secret labs where they were apparently conducting research on special poke balls to catch these ultra beasts. Wicke hands me some of these balls and i head on my way.

Back on Akala, i head back to the hotel, where Looker tells me that an ultra beast, "parasite", is here on the island. It's in Diglett's Cave; i head there and find one of those Nihilego things; the ones that hurt Lusamine. I catch it in one of these fancy balls and calm it down. crisis averted. but it's ugly so i release it immediately. Anyway, we meet up at the hotel again and discuss the goings-on. Anabel and i talk a bit about her life and memories, but then Looker gets a report that Ultra Beasts have been spotted on Melemele Island. We agree to meat at the Motel on route 2 to discuss our strategy there. When i get there, Anabel has already arrived. We talk a bit about how Looker doesn't seem to trust her with field work, and how she worries that Looker exhausts himself too much. we then get an unexpected visitor; Nanu, the kahuna of Ula'ula island. Anabel seems to know him already; he was once also a member of the international police. he informs us that ultra beasts with the code name "beauty" are indeed on the island. After he leaves, Looker comes barging in and tells us that the ultra beasts are at Ilima's trial site.

I head to the trial site and find four weird cockoach things, which i catch in order to calm them down. But they're ugly so i release them immediately. I think i'll call it a day for now.
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My current team:

Berlin (Bastiodon) lv 66
Sakana (Gyarados) lv 65
Khan (Mudsdale) lv 65
Nigeru (Golisopod) lv 66
Tariiyo (Tsareena) lv 63
Ursula (Tentacruel) lv 66

I should probably clarify that i see ultra beasts as legendary pokemon, so i'm not allowed to use them. not that any of them would still be eligible encounters anyway.

also, don't worry, i didn't forget about Red and Blue over at the battle tree. i just want to deal with all the weaker postgame bosses first.
 
I head back to the hotel to report my progress, and we talk a bit about these beasts. Anabel seems pretty exhausted though, but she assures us she's fine. Looker heads out to get us some food, and Anabel and i talk a bit more. She was apparently found by Looker at some point, with precious few memories of what came before. Looker then comes rushing back with news about more Ultra Beast sightings. We're heading back to Akala for this one; we meet up in the motel where we all first met. When i get there, Looker has already arrived, and Mina is also here for some reason. She apparently spotted the ultra beast here, and can give us information on it. She wants to battle me though, to see how strong i've become. She leads with her Klefki and i lead with Ursula. I set up two layers of toxic spikes while she sets up a reflect and starts spamming me with not very effective moves. By the time i've scalded her to death, the reflect is gone, and Granbull comes out. I switch to Khan, who evades a play rough and can therefore safely two-shot with heavy slam. Then comes Wigglytuff, and i switch to Nigeru. I don't do as much as i expected, while her Hyper Voice deals a ton of damage, so i have to switch to Sakana. Intimidate unfortunately triggers competitive, which i hadn't thought of, and i take so much damage that i immediately have to switch again. This time i go for Berlin, who takes more damage than i expected from a quad resisted hyper voice, so i switch again fearing the flamethrower. Ursula comes back and is brought to about a quarter by the flamethrower, then i switch Berlin back in on a Huper Voice as the Wigglytuff succumbs to poison. It's Ribombee's turn now, for which i keep Berlin in and slam it with a steel Z-move, which OHKOs. Last is the Shiinotic, so Ursula comes back and OHKOs.

With that out of the way, we can get back to the ultra beast business. Looker will be my backup this time rather than Anabel; he wants to give her a break. Our target is the jungle from Mao's trial; i head there and find two creatures that look like bundles of wires. I catch them to calm them down, but they're ugly so i release them immediately. I head back to the hotel to report to Looker, and Anabel also shows up. sitting this one out doesn't seem to have been enough to get her well rested; she's still exhausted. As we're talking about all this, Nanu suddenly comes in unannounced; Looker seems to know him, but no matter. he has information on an ultra beast codenamed Blaster, which is creating some havoc on Ula'Ula.

We decide to meet up at the motel there, so i fly over. Looker and Anabel are already there when i arrive. Anabel asks Looker if she can be my backup again this time, and he gives in. Our target this time is the Malie Garden; the creatures i find here are so weird i don't even know how to describe them. they're some sort of metal trees or something. There's two of them; i catch them to calm them down, but they're ugly so i release them immediately. I report back to the motel, where Anabel and Looker are having some friendly banter. as Anabel leaves to go get food, Looker starts telling me a story about how he found Anabel on a beach here in Alola. She had fallen through an Ultra Wormhole to get here; there's apparently more stories like that here in Hawaii. guess my coming here wasn't necessarily to stop some calamity or something; i was probably also a random victim of chance like Anabel. People like Anabel and me apparently attract the ultra beasts with our scent or something, which explains why they've been so aggressive to me all the time until i catch them. it also explains why Anabel keeps getting so tired; she's a less skilled trainer than i am, so these attacks are harder for her to deal with. Nanu had entered the room while we were talking, and after Anabel returns with the food, he tells us of an ultra beast sighting on Poni Island.

There's no hotels on Poni Island, so we agree to meet up at the seafood restaurant. Looker and Nanu are already there when i arrive; Looker says he already sent Anabel on her way, but that he sent her off to the wrong spot intentionally so she could catch a break. Looker tells me that the only thing we know about Anabel before she fell through the wormhole is that she was from Hoenn, and that she ran a tower there. Sky Pillar? impossible, Higana runs that place. can't think of any other towers there. After this talk, Nanu asks if i'll battle him before we go after the ultra beast here. He leads with Sableye and i lead with Ursula. I set up two layers of Toxic Spikes as he pounds me with shadow ball. I get a scald in after that, but then i'm forced to switch. Khan comes out and finishes the Sableye off with Earthquake, but not before getting hit with Toxic. Krookodile comes out, which is Berlin's job. Earthquake brings me down to sturdy and Metal Burst OHKOs. Nanu then sends out Persian, so i switch to Tariiyo, but he outspeeds and launches a dark Z-move. This doesn't kill me though, so i get to fire back with a fighting Z-move and get the kill. It's Absol's turn next, so i send out Nigeru and OHKO with a first impression. Last is Honchkrow, for which i switch to Sakana and two-shot with Ice Fang, getting me the win. Nanu leaves and looker briefs me about the ultra beast here, "Gluttony". It's apparently in Resolution Cave. Now, i don't have the best sense of direction so i could be wrong, but i think i was heading through the Poni Gauntlet last time i reached that place.

Turns out i was wrong. I end up lost and find myself at some kind of huge tree. i'm just about ready to give up and ask for directions when i run into an old acquaintance: Ben, my rival from back in Kanto. Guy tells me he's now the gym leader of Viridian Gym after Giovanni disappeared. We catch up a bit, and then he challenges me to a battle to see how strong i've become since we've last seen each other. He leads with his Alakazam and i lead with Nigeru. First Impression gets a clean one-shot, and Ben sends out his Aerodactyl. I switch to Ursula and manage to burn him with scald as he does almost half to me. My second scald kills, and Ben's Exeggutor comes out. I switch back to Nigeru for this one and kill it with another first impression. Then comes Arcanine, so i send out Khan, but Khan takes over half from a Flare Blitz and gets burned, so i have to switch. Ben also switches though; Nigeru is now facing his Gyarados. He manages to get a few dragon dances off, then he manages to KO Nigeru without setting off the Emergency Exit. Rest in peace little bug, you did amazing work. I send out Berlin and take out the Gyarados with my sturdy/metal burst strat. Then it's Machamp time; i send out Sakana and slam him with my flying Z-move, which leaves him with a sliver as he bulks up. the following crunch kills, and last but not least, Arcanine comes back out. I send out Tariiyo, who gets taken out by a flare blitz, but the damage leaves Arcanine in the red. Sakana comes back out, and thanks to intimidate, he tanks a thunder fang and kills the thing.

After the battle, Ben points out just how wrong i was thinking this was the way to get to the cave, and points out how i should get there. I don't think i will be replacing my fallen teammates before looking for this monster; there's no time. In the deepest part of the cave, i encounter what seems to be a giant mouth. I catch it and calm it down, but it's ugly so i release it immediately. I head back to Looker to report what happened. Looker and Anabel inform me that that's all the ultra beasts that started rampaging after the Lusamine incident. We agree to return all our remaining beast balls to the aether foundation and call the operation a success. At the foundation, Wicke personally thanks me for everything i've done to help. Looker then comes barging in to inform us about something he saw flying over Melemele island. Anabel says this cannot possibly be an ultra beast, but still asks me to go investigate. The two of them are going to leave the region though, so i don't need to report my findings.

I search around Melemele; in Ten Carat Hill, i find a creature that resembles what Looker described. I send out Sakana and nail the thing with a dark Z-move, but this doesn't kill and he kills Sakana in return. I switch to Berlin, who survives a hit and takes it out with metal burst.

As i take out this unholy demon, i take some time to reflect on my journeys through hawaii, the friends i've made, and those who dies along the way.

Keese the Zubat. You weren't with us for long, and you didn't do anything noteworthy while you were with us, but it was still sad to lose you to Minnie the Rattata. RIP.

Calimero the Vullaby. You weren't with us for long either, and i had actually replaced you already, but you still gave your life to grant us the victory against Hala. RIP.

Modder the hawaiian Grimer. You were with us for most of Melemele and played a role in all the important battles there, then you lost your life against Sina's Glaceon. RIP.

Mickey the hawaiian Rattata. You helped us through much of the early game, up until you lost your life against a random Pikipek while training for the water trial. RIP.

Lobbes the Lillipup. You were never gonna be much, but we still appreciate how you gave your life so we could beat the water trial. RIP

Gomi the Salandit. male salandit aren't all that useful, but Gomi still gave it his all and was instrumental in defeating the fire trial. RIP

Tsutsuko the Trumbeak. The second pokemon i ever caught in this region, you played a huge role in taking out Hala as well as the water trial. Lost his life in the massacre that was the grass trial.

Odori the Oricorio. Odori joined us on Melemele and quickly became a key team member, playing a huge role against Hala and the water trial. Took out the dreaded Lurantis in the grass trial, but was taken down immediately after. RIP.

Sumo the Hariyama. Sumo joined us just before the normal trial and was instrumental in beating it, as well as in the battle against Hala. Died in the massacre at the grass trial. RIP.

Hyoi the Wingull. i caught a lot of wingull, so few were gonna stand out, but that doesn't mean you deserved to die at the massacre in the grass trial. RIP.

Trump the Yungoos. You were with us in the beginning, but you had little to offer, so you were phased out. still sad to see you die against the Lurantis. RIP.

Kyogre the Magikarp. Gave his life to grant us victory over Olivia. RIP.

Kip the Archen. We revived you only to have you die again in the electric trial. RIP

John the hawaiian Dugtrio. Came in as a replacement for Albert and played a key role in the electric trial. sadly lost his life against Acerola's Mimikyu. RIP.

Ingrid the Primarina. My starter, you were crucual in more battles than i can count. You had even mastered your own Z-move, but then you died in the massacre at the Aether Foundation.

Minnie the hawaiian Raticate. You were off to a rough start, killing Keese the Zubat when i tried to catch you, but you made up for it. You came in after Mickey died and took his place on the team, playing a key role in many battles. You were the only survivor of the grass trial massacre, but then you sadly lost your life in the massacre at the aether foundation. RIP

Clara the Toucannon. You joined my team after the Grass Trial Massacre and played a key role against both the electric and ghost trials, despite your weakness to the former. You also helped immensely in the first two battles against Guzma before losing your life in the third battle against him. RIP

Po the Pangoro. Came in to replace John after the ghost trial, but lost his life in the massacre at the Aether Foundation. RIP

Basil the hawaiian Raticate. Came in after the massacre at the Aether Foundation, but then lost his life against a random Drampa. RIP.

Albert the Crobat. this guy served two stints on my team; first he joined us following the massacre at the grass trial, but he had to leave prior to the electric trial. Rejoined the team after the massacre at the Aether Foundation, but then lost his life against the same Drampa that killed Basil. RIP.

Jishingami the Whiscash. I once again failed to protect this adorable little pokemon. He entered my team after the massacre at the Aether Foundation and played a key role against Hapu, but then he lost his life saving the world from Lusamine's insane plans. RIP

Timmy the Hawaiian Raticate. Came in after Basil's death and served admirably against Hapu and Lusamine, but then lost his life against Hau before the league. RIP.

Shirokka the Hawaiian Golem. I traded Eus the Haunter for this guy to replace Jishingami, but alas, he lost his life against Kukui in my first attempt to become champion. RIP.

Hikouki the Skarmory. Joined the team after the massacre at the aether foundation, and played a big role in my strategies for taking down Lusamine and Gladion. Lost his life against Kukui in my unsuccesful championship fight. RIP.

Tajiri the Poliwrath. Replaced Timmy on my team for the unsuccesful league attempt, but died against Kukui. RIP.

Buiei the Leafeon. Came in after the grass trial and was a great help against Olivia. One of the few survivors of the massacre at the aether foundation, he and Arvak managed to take down Lusamine with just the two of them. then proceeded to play a key role against Hapu. sadly, he lost his life against Olivia in the Elite Four. RIP.

Arvak the Mudsdale. Arvak came in as far back as route 4, replacing Modder. Guy was instrumental in way more battles than i can list here, forming the backbone of my team after evolving into Mudsdale. He even managed to survive the massacre at the aether foundation. Even in the champion battle i lost, Arvak was the last one standing. the true MVP of this journey. RIP.

Robert the Crobat. Came in specifically to deal with the totem Kommo-o, and was a massive help there, as well as against Lusamine. Lost his life against Acerola in the Elite Four. RIP.

Meeuw the Pelipper. Came in after the failed champion battle, and gave his life to ensure that the second one was a success. RIP.

Schnappy the Krookodile. Came in after the failed champion battle, and gave his life to ensure that the second one was a success. RIP.

Furuitori the Aerodactyl. guy served two stints on my team; he came in after Albert died and played a valuable role against Hapu, then he was replaced by Robert before the fight with totem Kommo-o. Rejoined the team for the second league challenge and was of great help there, but then he lost his life in the surprise battle against Dexio. RIP

Sankakkei the Glalie. Came in after the league, but lost his life in training. RIP.

MAGA the Gumshoos. came in to replace Sankakkei, but also died in training. RIP.

Kirintama the hawaiian Exeggutor. Joined us in defeating the league, but then tragically lost his life against a random Trevenant. RIP.

Nigeru the Golisopod. You were crucial in defeating Anabel, Nanu and Ben, but you lost your life fighting the latter. RIP

Tariiyo the Tsareena. After Kirintama's death, i traded Waffel the Lillipup for you to replace him. You served admirably in the postgame boss battles, until you died against Ben. RIP

Sakana the Gyarados. came on the team after MAGA's death, and served admirably in the postgame, right until the very end when you were killed by Necrozma. RIP.

With my business in Hawaii now concluded, it's probably time to head somewhere else. It's been a long time since i've spoken to my old pals Cheren and Bianca; since i'm in the US anyway, i might as well head over to New York to hang out with these people.
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The winning team:

Ursula (Tentacruel) lv 67
Khan (Mudsdale) lv 66
Berlin (Bastiodon) lv 68

Chapter 7: White will come in a few days
 
Chapter 7: White

Game-specific rules for this challenge will be as follows:
  1. The challenge is complete once i've arrested the seven sages as well as defeated Cynthia
  2. I will not manipulate the seasons or the time of day to get certain encounters
  3. Zekrom may be used against N and Ghetsis, but not after that. Other legendary pokemon may not be used.
Gen 5 is probably my least played generation. not because i don't like it or anything; i just tend to forget it exists. gen 1-4 is my childhood. gen 6 onward is modern pokemon, with its generational gimmicks that make each game stand out. gen 5 is just... there. as such, i remember broadly what the story's about, but not anything specific. decent chance there will be things that catch me unawares.
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With my business in Hawaii concluded, it's time to head off. I'm eventually going to return to Japan to get back to my family, but since i'm in the US anyway, i decide to head to New York - sorry, "Unova" - to meet up with Cheren and Bianca, two friends i made over the internet. No idea what they actually look like, so i hope that the professor will introduce me. The professor of this region is called Juniper; Kukui has given me her contact info. We chat a bit on my way over to New York, and she actually does introduce me to Cheren and Bianca. The professor was about to give these two their starters, so she promises to send an extra pokemon for me.

On this cold wintry day, i arrive in Nuvema Town, the hometown of my friends. I've rented a room here for the duration of my stay, but the lady here insists that i call her mom for some reason. Anyway, I immediately ask my friends over, and Cheren brings along the package from the professor containing our new pokemon. Bianca arrives a bit later, but when she arrives, it's time to make our choice. My friends allow me to pick my pokemon first, but honestly, none of these three get me excited. i guess the grass-type Snivy is the least weird, so i'll go with that one. Bianca immediately wants to test out her new Oshawott in a battle with me, so i beat the shit out of her mon. Cheren also challenges me with his tepig, so i... also beat the shit out of that. After these battles, i look around and see that we kinda wrecked the room with these battles. oops; i hope "mom" won't charge me extra for this.

she turns out to be totally cool with this, and even gives me something called an Xtransceiver before i head out. we head off to Bianca's house so she can get permission from her dad to go on a journey. Turns out the guy's not cool with it, but Bianca's gonna go anyway. who's he to say a 10yo can't go explore the world on her own anyway? what kind of nonsense rule is that? you're practically an adult by that age. anyway, after that whole debacle, Bianca and me go and meet Cheren at the Professor's lab here in town; he had gone ahead. We head inside and meet the professor here. She asks me whether i wish to nickname my Snivy, so i name it Poison Ivy. The professor then hands each of us a pokedex and tells to meet her at Route 1 so she can teach us how to catch pokemon. I'm the champion of six regions, but sure, i still need someone to teach me this basic shit. Bianca sees this pokedex quest as an endorsement for her journey, so she can just ignore that unreasonable man she calls dad, who thinks it's irresponsible to send children out into the world with no parental supervision. Anyway, the moment we step outside, "mom" shows up and gives us a gift for on our journey: we each get a town map of the region.

Bianca insists that we all step into Route 1 at the same time so that we start out journey at exactly the same time. i've started my journey a long time ago in my home country of Britain - sorry, "Galar", but whatever. the professor shows us how to catch a Patrat. i honestly kinda zoned out, but when she's done, she gives us some poke balls to catch stuff with ourselves. She then tells us to head to Accumula Town up ahead, so we head on. Bianca proposes that we try to catch as many pokemon as possible before we get there, but i only manage to catch a Patrat, which i name Timon. At the end of the route, we compare mons and find that we've all done equally well with catching, but then we suddenly get a call from the professor on our xtransceiver. She's by the pokemon center and wants to meet up. At the center, she decides she should teach me, the champion of 6 regions, how it works here. i try to leave, but the professor won't let me until i've healed my pokemon. whatever; can i go now?

After telling me a ton of things i already know, the professor decides to head home to Nuvema, but not before she tells us to head to Striaton City and meet her friend Fennel there. with that out of the way, i head out of the pokemon center and find that a commotion's going on in the town square. A guy named Ghetsis who belongs to an organization called Team Plasma is asking people to release their pokemon from captivity; to end the cruelty inflicted on them in pokemon battles. bah, don't these hippies know that pokemon are barely sentient beings, only good as tools of war? anyway, after the guy's speech, the crowd disperses, and me and Cheren are approached by some weirdo named N. He seems to agree with at least part of what the hippies were saying, and challenges me to a battle to "hear my pokemon's voice" or something. He leads with Purrloin and i lead with Poison Ivy. He brings Poison Ivy into the red with multiple crits, and i'm forced to switch in Timon even though it has zero training. Timon however doesn't manage to kill it, and both he and Poison Ivy go down. I've lost.
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i didn't expect this to be an easy run, but wiping in my first battle with N isn't exactly what i expected either. guess i'll restart the run next time or something.
 
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After this devastating loss, i head back to Nuvema Town, my dreams of becoming the champion of the New York region lying in tatters. my friends come back with me and try to cheer me up, and even the professor chimes in. After i've fully processed what happened, professor Juniper notes that she actually has another Snivy lying around, and that i can have it if i want. Cheren and Bianca hear this great news, and we all decide to restart out journey and pretend that everything that occured last time didn't happen. We go through all the motions, having mock battles in my room, visiting the professor and heading onto route 1 at the same time. I once again catch a Patrat and name him Timon. This time though, i train a bit before i head to Accumula Town.

When i reach Accumula Town, i find that those team plasma hippies are still campaigning for their foolish nonsenseN is again listening, and challenges me to another battle after the rally, to hear what my pokemon is saying or something. He sends out his Purrloin and i lead with Timon. This time, nothing goes wrong and i manage to three-shot with tackle. After the battle, he blabbers a bit about how pokemon shouldn't be in poke balls, then he heads off. Anyway, it's time to head on to route 2, the road to Striaton City. Just as i walk onto the route, "mom" calls me on my Xtransceiver, to tell me that she's right behind me. She brought a present for me on my journey: a pair of running shoes. great, that'll speed things up significantly. Anyway, i catch myself a Lillipup here on the route and name it Cerberus. At the end of the route, Bianca comes running up to me and challenges me to a battle. She leads with Lillipup and i lead with Timon. I two-shot her as she goes for Odor Sleuth, so she brings out her starter, Oshawott. I switch to Poison Ivy and two-shot the thing with Vine Whip, winning me the battle. Anyway, i head on and into Striaton City.

Before i check out the gym here, i decide to check out the Dreamyard to the east. I get into a conversation with a lady here, and upon mentioning i started out with a Snivy, she offers me her Panpour because it'll help me in the Striaton Gym. Awesome! I name it Louie. Louie's probably going to be on my team for some time. Unfortunately, i can't explore this area any further before i get Cut, so i'm just gonna do some training for the gym. After my training is done, i decide to call it a day for now.
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My current team:

Louie (Panpour) lv 12
Timon (Patrat) lv 12
Poison Ivy (Snivy) lv 12
Cerberus (Lillipup) lv 5
 
As i head for the gym, the guide tells me that the gym leader isn't here, and i should check the trainers school. I doubt i'll learn anything of note, but whatever. I run into Cheren here; he tells me that the gym leader just left. He then asks me for a battle so that he can test what he's learned here, and i accept. He leads with his Tepig and i lead with Louie. a crit water gun one-shots, and Cheren's other pokemon is his Purrloin. I opt to switch to Timon for that one, who takes it down with ease. Victory is mine.

I head back to the gym and find the gym leader standing in front of it. When i tell him i started out with a Snivy, he tells me to prepare for fire-types inside the gym. sure, whatever. I don't have a full team yet, so i just take everyone along. The gym puzzle here revolves around knowing which types work against which other types and standing on the appropriate switches. None of the pokemon the gym trainers use against me are actually fire type, so i have no idea why the guy said that. Anyway, when i reach the end, it's revealed to me that there are actually three gym leaders here, each specializing in a different type. Because of my starter choice, i will be facing the fire-type user, Chili. He leads with his Lillipup and i lead with Poison Ivy. Last i checked, Lillipup isn't a fire type, but whatever. He deals more damage to me than i deal to him, so i wrap him to get a bit more in every turn, but i do eventually have to switch to Timon. Because of a potion used by Chili, i do have to dodge a crit, but Timon manages to take the thing out. Chili's other pokemon is a Pansear, so i send out Louie for a monkey vs monkey showdown. Chili wastes time with work up and can't do anything to me anyway, so i water gun him down with ease. My first American gym badge is in the pocket.

The moment i step outside the gym, a scientist lady comes up to me and introduces herself as Fennel, the professor's friend. She asks me to come to her house, so i do. This lady explains that she's researching dreams or something, then she gives me HM01 Cut. She then asks me to help her with something in the Dreamyard; she wants me to get something called Dream Mist off the Munna there. Well, she was nice enough to give me this HM, so i guess i can do something in return. I head for the dreamyard, and the moment i cut the tree that was blocking my way earlier, Bianca shows up and tells me she's also looking for pokemon here. We head on and find a Munna, but then two of those Team Plasma hippies show up and start beating the pokemon up to get its mist. aren't these hippies supposed to be the ones protecting pokemon? i mean, i'm cool with using them for blood sport, but these people are supposed to love them. When we confront them about this, they challenge me to battles, so i dispatch them.

After the grunts have been dispatched, we all see visions of that Ghetsis dude who gave the speech back in Accumula. He voices his displeasure with the grunts, and they leave. The projection also vanishes, and a Musharna comes onto the scene. Bianca theorizes that the Ghetsis we saw was actually an illusion created by this Musharna to protect its child from these people. Fennel then also arrives on the scene, and Munna and Musharna leave, leaving behind a gift in the form of some Dream Mist. Fennel tells us to come to her house later, but i'm first gonna look around here for a bit. I catch another Patrat, which i name Rioolrat. After finding a few more thingamabobs, I head back to town and to Fennel's place, where she gives me something called the C-gear. I don't really understand what this thing does, but thx anyway. She also tells me something about using the dream mist to connect to trainers' save files. no idea what these save file things are, but it sounds cool. There's also some stuff about pokemon dreams, but that doesn't seem to actually work anymore.

Anyway, it's time for me to head on to route 3. There's a day care on this route, but i'm not going to entrust my pokemon to other people. As i progress through the route, Cheren suddenly comes up to me and demands we do battle to see who's stronger. He leads with his Tepig and i lead with Louie. His oran berry doesn't prevent me from three-shotting while he wastes time with odor sleuth and tail whip. His other pokemon is still a Purrloin, so i switch to Timon and two-shot the thing. After the battle, two plasma grunts come running past, and Bianca comes running after alongside a little girl. Those whackadoodles apparently stole the girl's pokemon. Cheren tells them it's ok; the two of us will get the pokemon back. Before i go after them though, i catch yet another Patrat, which i nickname Blargh.

The crooks ran into a cave here called the Wellspring Cave. I'm not in the mood for encountering any wild pokemon, so i use a repel here. Anyway, Cheren and i dispose of the grunts, they rant a bit about how all trainers abuse pokemon, and then they leave. Cheren then heads out to return the stolen pokemon while i stay here and explore the cave a bit further. My repel wears off while i'm doing this, and i encounter and catch a Woobat, which i nickname Herzball. I head out and back to town to heal, and on my way, Bianca and the little girl await to thank me for what i've done and give me some Heal Balls as a thank you gift.

I let Herzball onto my team and train it up a bit. After i'm done training, i decide to call it a day for now.
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My current team:

Herzball (Woobat) lv 13
Louie (Panpour) lv 14
Timon (Patrat) lv 14
Poison Ivy (Snivy) lv 14
Rioolrat (Patrat) lv 8
Blargh (Patrat) lv 8
 
After training up Herzball, i head south through route 3 and run into Cheren again. Guy explains to me that the pokemon in the dark grass are stronger, then heads off to Nacrene City. I head on after him, and the moment i arrive in town, cheren asks me to come with him. guy feels the need to point out the pokemon center for some reason, then he gives me some berries and advises me on how to take down the gym leader's normal types. He advises fighting types, but i don't have any, so instead of heading straight for the gym, i first go exploring to the west, in pinwheel forest. I encounter a Tympole in this area, which i catch and name Naveen. not remotely what i'd hoped for, but i'll let it onto the team. Then, as i'm exploring the rest of the area, disaster strikes. a trainer's Lillipup gets a critical hit Bite in against Herzball and one-shots her. This is not good. It means it'll be a lot harder to beat Lenora.

In response to this tragedy, i decide it's time to train up my mons a bit more. Cerberus the Lillipup will be joining in this training. Poison Ivy evolves into Servine along the way, but then i make a grave mistake. I wasn't paying attention, so i switch Timon in on a Tympole's Bubblebeam even though i know a crit would kill. it got a crit, and i'm down another pokemon. Sorry Timon, you did good work on the team.

I'm gonna train up Rioolrat the other Patrat to take Timon's place, but for now, i'm calling it a day.
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My current team:

Cerberus (Lillipup) lv 14
Louie (Panpour) lv 16
Naveen (Tympole) lv 17
Poison Ivy (Servine) lv 17
Rioolrat (Patrat) lv 8
Blargh (Patrat) lv 8

not happy with myself right now.
 
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As i continue my training, Cerberus evolves into a Herdier. After i'm done, i clear out the rest of the area. I don't think i'm quite ready for the gym though, so i decide to add a bit more training. After this, it's finally time for the gym. Just as i'm about to enter the building, N comes out and bumps into me. He rants a bit about the ideal of how pokemon should be free and perfect, and asks me if i feel the same. I agree, since they should be made into perfect tools of war, and N decides to challenge me to a battle to see the extent to which i feel this. He leads with Pidove and i lead with Rioolrat. It only takes me two tackles to take the thing down, and next is Timburr. I send out Naveen for this; bubblebeam two-shots as low kick does next to nothing. Last is N's Tympole, so i obviously send out Poison Ivy and OHKO with my second Leaf Tornado after the first one misses. After the battle, N talks about how he needs more power, and he'll get it from something called Reshiram.; one of the legendary pokemon of this region. Guy seems crazy but harmless, so i'll let him go.

Time for the gym. It's inside a museum; the moment i enter, some scientist guy decides to give me a tour. we look at a dragon fossil, a meteor and a random stone before he shows me the way to the gym. This gym's a library; the puzzle revolves around locating specific books. I manage this and one of the bookcases moves out of the way to reveal a secret room where the gym leader waits. I challenge her; she leads with Herdier and i lead with Poison Ivy. Intimidate cuts my attack, but i don't care. Leaf Tornado doesn't do as much as i expected though, so after a leer, take down brings me low in the yellow. I switch to Naveen as Lenora heals. Bubblebeam doesn't do as much as i hoped though, so after another leer, it's time to switch again. This time, i send out Cerberus, my own Herdier. the enemy's take down misses due to an accuracy drop from leaf tornado, and i deal serious damage with my tackles. Just before i take him out though, i opt to switch to Rioolrat. My plan was to have him die from take down recoil, but take down misses and he dies to my tackle, which is even better. Lenora's other pokemon is her Watchog; i send Cerberus back out for the intimidate. I then sacrifice Blargh to take the overpowered Retaliate, and bring Cerberus back for a second intimidate. He hypnotizes Cerberus though, so there's little point in keeping him in. I send out Naveen, who dies to a crit Retaliate the second turn it's out. Rioolrat comes out, but Watchog outspeeds and puts me to sleep. This is getting problematic. Fortunately though, i wake up immediately and get a tackle in before he puts me back to sleep. As he pounds Rioolrat's sleeping body with retaliates, i decide to start using healing items, since i see no other path to victory. Naveen eventually wakes up and this time i put the Watchog to sleep. It stays asleep long enough for me to kill it, which means i won.

I won, but i lost Naveen. a good friend and a good pokemon, lost to that monster's insatiable bloodlust. i hope lenora's happy about the suffering she's caused. We don't have time to dwell on that though, as the moment Lenora gives me the basic badge, the scientist guy comes barging in and tells us that Team Plasma is trying to steal some bones. We rush to the museum and see Team Plasma swipe the skull of the big dragon fossil. We chase them outside, but then we lose them. A suspicious guy then shows up and starts talking to Lenora like we're not in the middle of something. Lenora introduces the guy as Burgh, the gym leader from Castelia City not far from here. Lenora explains what's going on when Bianca and Cheren also turn up. We decide to split up and go look for the criminals; me and burgh are tasked with searching the Pinwheel Forest.

I think i'll call it a day for now.
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My current team:

Poison Ivy (Servine) lv 18
Louie (Panpour) lv 18
Rioolrat (Patrat) lv 19
Cerberus (Herdier) lv 19

i know, i should have used hypnosis way sooner. dunno why i didn't, really.

also, when i booted up the game, it initially didn't see my save file and told me to start a new game, but it did see the file when i rebooted my 3ds. is this a common occurence?
 
Burgh and i meet up outside the forest, then we proceed to explore it together. Burgh goes to look for the hippies along the straight path to the next route, while he tells me to explore the more long-winded route. While i'm looking around, Rioolrat evolves into Watchog, giving me the same kind of power Lenora wields. Sure enough, i come across a hippie pretty quickly. After i dispose of him, he mentions his associates are deeper in the forest, so i look on. There's another hippie a while further, whom i also dispatch. It takes quite a while before i find more of them in this labyrinthine forest, but i eventually find two more, the last of which has the skull. After i take it from him, a guy shows up in weird robes, similar to what Ghetsis tends to wear. He's apparently Gorm of Team Plasma's seven sages. Gorm tells the grunt that this skull isn't actually all that important, as it has no relation to the dragon Team Plasma is looking for.

Just as Gorm is about to try and dispose of me, Burgh shows up along with Lenora. Seeing that he is at a disadvantage, Gorm retreats with the rest of team plasma. The gym leaders opt not to give chase, so i give the skull to Lenora and she gives me a moon stone in return. After that, we all just head out. I head north out of the forest, and find an enormous, beautiful bridge here to the next city. The view you get here over the waters below is just marvelous. If you ever find yourself in New York, i strongly advise planning a trip over this bridge just to take in the view. At the other end, i find myself in the bustling Castelia City. A city of this size reminds me a bit of London, back home in Britain. A guy on a pier here gives me a water stone when i tell him i'm using a Panpour, so i immediately use it to evolve Louie into Simipour. Before i explore the rest of town though, i head north onto the desert of route 4 and catch myself Feuerball the Darumaka. Never knew there was a desert in the middle of Manhattan. Anyway, Feuerball will be joining the team.

I train Feuerball up a bit so that it's on par with the others. When i'm done training, i decide to call it a day.
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My current team:

Cerberus (Herdier) lv 21
Louie (Simipour) lv 21
Rioolrat (Watchog) lv 21
Feuerball (Darumaka) lv 21
Poison Ivy (Servine) lv 21

My game crashed halfway through the forest so i had to redo a bunch of stuff, but other than Rioolrat evolving at a different point, nothing really went any different. playing on a 10-year-old 3DS kinda sucks sometimes.
 
Time to start exploring the city. I find this building called the battle company, and after beating up everyone there, the president gives me an Exp Share. Unlike the previous few i've gotten, this one actually seems to work, so that's awesome. After that, i decide it's time to check out the gym, but just as i'm about to enter, i notice Cheren coming out. Guy's already beaten this gym; after stating his intention to beat all the other gyms too and become champion, he leaves and Burgh comes out. He informs me that my gym challenge will have to wait because Team Plasma has shown up in town. They're apparently at the prime pier; i don't know which pier that is, but after searching a bit i do find it. I find Bianca there together with a girl called Iris; Team Plasma apparently stole Bianca's Munna. We discuss strategy on how to find the plasma grunts, but as we're talking, one of those hippies appears right in front of us. He runs off upon seeing us, so Burgh and i give chase.

We chase the grunt to a building opposite the gym, where they make their stand to try and prevent us from entering. One of the seven sages seems to be inside; after dispatching the guards at the door, Bianca and Iris catch up to us. We all storm the place and find not one but three of the sages inside, including Ghetsis himself. Ghetsis tells us a story about a legendary dragon that helped found this region, and details his plan to use said pokemon to force trainers to release their pokemon. what is it with these terrorist groups and using legendary pokemon to wreck everything? anyway, he also mentions he is not the true leader of this evil team; they apparently have a "king". makes sense that a group of crazy hippies would use medieval bullshit titles like that. Ghetsis does agree to return Munna though, but then Burgh just lets them all get away. we should have arrested them now that we had the chance, but hey, i guess Munna is safe at least.

After all this, Bianca and Iris decide to go do some sightseeing while Burgh invites me to take his gym challenge. This is a bug gym, but i don't even have a full team so it makes little sense to leave anyone behind. The gym puzzle here revolves around walking through walls of honey and pressing switches to open gates. I manage this, and get through to the gym leader Burgh. He leads with Whirlipede and i lead with Cerberus. Cerberus's intimidate means Whirlipede can barely hurt me, so i easily kill it. Next up is Dwebble, so i switch to Louie. My first water gun brings him into the red as he uses sand attack, then burgh decides to waste all his hyper potions as i keep bringing him to the red. Eventually, i kill and out comes Burgh's last pokemon, Leavanny. I send out Feuerball for this and OHKO with fire punch. My third american gym badge is in the pocket.

The moment i step out of the gym, i get a phone call from Bianca, asking me for a battle. She's waiting at the gate to Route 4, so i guess i'll head there and challenge her. We both lead with our Herdier; intimidate cuts both our attack stats. Bianca wastes time with Odor Sleuth on turn one, so i thought i would two-shot with take down with no trouble, but my second take down misses and Bianca almost kills me with a crit take down. Bianca then uses a super potion, but i crit with Retaliate and take her down from full health. Next is Dewott, for which i'm switching to Poison Ivy. Leaf Tornado two-shots after she sets up water sport, and next is the Munna we just saved. This is Rioolrat's job; crunch OHKOs. Last is Bianca's Pansear, so i send out my own monkey, Louie. A crit water gun easily one-shots, granting me the victory. lots of crits this battle, but no matter, i've won.

As i head onto Route 4, i come across Cheren, who also wants to see how strong i've become. So he challenges me to a battle in the sandstorm. He leads with Pidove and i lead with Rioolrat. Pidove gets a crit quick attack in, but i manage to two-shot with retaliate. Next is Pansage, so i send out Feuerball. He goes down in one fire punch, and Cheren's Liepard is up next. This is Cerberus's job; his intimidate cuts the enemy's attack. Retaliate then two-shots, and last is Pignite. Louie comes out and one-shots the thing with another critical hit water gun. Victory is mine. After the battle, we get a phone call from the professor, who says she's waiting for us in front of the gate to Nimbasa City. I get a bit lost though because of the sandstorms obstructing my vision, and i end up in a place called the Desert Resort. Not sure what kind of weirdo would describe this endless sea of sand as a resort, but whatever. I catch a Dwebble here and name it Escargot. Escargot will be joining my team for the coming time, so i decide to train it up a bit.

After i'm done training Escargot up, i decide to call it a day.
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My current team:

Escargot (Dwebble) lv 23
Louie (Simipour) lv 24
Feuerball (Darumaka) lv 24
Cerberus (Herdier) lv 24
Poison Ivy (Servine) lv 24
Rioolrat (Watchog) lv 23
 
I continue wandering around the desert and come across an ancient ruin. Really beautiful; you can see the crafsmanship this ancient civilization put into these stones. It's hard to appreciate from the outside due to the raging sandstorms, but on the inside, it's quite something. i can't describe its location here though, as i'm quite lost. anyway, i catch a Yamask within and name it Koh. Koh will probably join my team once i return to civilization and find a PC. A nice lady here also gives me a Cover Fossil that she found here in this castle; should probably bring this to Lenora's museum when i find my way back.

After some more time of stumbling around in the desert, i find my way back to route 4. I head into the gate to Nimbasa, and meet the professor and Cheren there. She's apparently called us here to give us a bunch of ultra balls. yay, free stuff. After the professor leaves, Cheren tells me that it was actually his and Bianca's moms who asked the professor to give us all pokemon, so that we'd head out on a journey together. He then heads back to Route 4 for some training and i head into Nimbasa, where i immediately run into two of those team plasma crooks harassing an old man. I step in and dispatch the plasma grunts, and they flee into this city's huge-ass amusement park. The old man thanks me and gives me a bike as a reward. Eh, i prefer to walk.

The old man then leaves and Bianca shows up. She tells me she's going to see the sights around the city, then she leaves again. eh, whatever. I head for the PC and take Koh into my team. Sorry Rioolrat, you're out. You did good work, but i can't justify having 2 pure normals on my team and Cerberus has more potential. Rather than going out of my way to train Koh up though, i decide to just slap the exp share on him for a bit. and give chase to the plasmas i encountered earlier. I head into the amusement park, where i run into N again. He tells me he saw the plasma grunts run through, so i follow him to the ferris wheel. He proposes we ride it so we can spot the plasmas from above, which seems like a solid plan.

While i'm trapped in the ferris wheel with him, N reveals that he is in fact Team Plasma's king. I should have seen it sooner; the hippie crap he spews regularly is almost identical to the stuff they always say. Don't these idiots know that pokemon only serve one purpose, to engage in bloody acts of violence for the entertainment of their trainers? Anyway, N's goons show up the moment we leave the ferris wheel, but N decides to distract me with a battle while his goons flee. He leads with Sandile and i lead with Louie. Water gun one-shots, and N sends out Darumaka. I keep Louie out and two-shot with water gun. Then comes Scraggy, so i switch in Feuerball. I bring him into the red with a fire punch, but then he swaggers me so i have to switch. I send out Poison Ivy, who takes a brick break and then KOs back. Last is Sigilyph, for which i send out Cerberus. I have to dodge a crit, but i manage to 2HKO with crunch. getting me the win.

N then reveals his master plan to me: to collect all the badges and become champion, so that he can force everyone to release their pokemon. He challenges me to stop him by getting the badges and defeating the league first, so i guess i now have even more reason to become champion. it's no longer just about becoming the strongest, it's also about keeping my slaves. I don't think i'll challenge this town's gym immediately though; first i'm going to do some exploring to the east, on route 16. I run into a Minccino here, which i catch in one of those ultra balls the professor gave me. I name it Belle, but it's going in the box. As i continue my exploration, i find this spooky, unsettling dense forest. I encounter a Swadloon here, which i catch and name Leafy. There's little of note here though, other than a camper with a woman who doesn't seem to like visitors. eh, guess i'll leave her alone.

The bridge east of Route 16 is closed for construction work, so i guess i'll head back to Nimbasa. Something truly horrible happens on my way back though. I fail to escape from a wild Purrloin, and it manages to kill off Poison Ivy with its pursuit. Rest in peace, Poison Ivy, your contributions will not be forgotten. You were with us from the start of this journey, and you grew to be one of my most powerful teammates. gone but not forgotten. This journey won't be the same without you.

One's starter can never truly be replaced, but i still need someone to perform those team functions, so i let Leafy the Swadloon onto the team. Time for some training now. After i finish up training Koh and Leafy, i decide to call it a day.
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My current team:

Leafy (Swadloon) lv 25
Feuerball (Darumaka) lv 25
Cerberus (Herdier) lv 25
Louie (Simipour) lv 25
Escargot (Dwebble) lv 25
Koh (Yamask) lv 25
 
I head back to town and spot Bianca about to head into the musical building. We decide to check it out together, and a man inside gives us some dress up stuff so that we can participate. I check out how Louie would look in these props, but in the end, both i and bianca decide against entering into a musical. When we step outside, Bianca's dad is there waiting for us. He tries to take Bianca back home, but she refuses. Just at that moment, the gym leader Elesa shows up and basically tells the dad to shove off because travelling around unsupervised is an important life experience for any 10yo. what kind of idiot would think children need adult supervision when raising dangerous monsters for blood sport?

The dad eventually sees reason and allows his underage daughter to travel across New York all by herself. Elesa then tells us to come to the gym, so that's exactly what i'm going to do. This is an electric gym, so Louie is sitting this one out. Instead, Rioolrat the Watchog is temporarily rejoining the team. The gym challenge here revolves around boarding roller coaster carts and leaving them at different stations. I manage this and eventually find my way to Elesa. She leads with emolga and i lead with Escargot. She immediately volt switches to her other emolga as i set up stealth rock. Escargot can't take another hit, so i swap in cerberus as Elesa volt switches back to the first emolga. Yet another volt switch brings the second emolga back out, who takes a heavy retaliate. I switch to Rioolrat as Elesa uses a hyper potion. Another volt switch and her first emolga dies to my retaliate upon switching in. I switch to Feuerball as she sends out the remaining Emolga; she immediately volt switches to zebstrika, who takes massive damage from fire punch. I predict a volt switch and send out Leafy, but Elesa goes for a hyper potion instead. So i send out Koh on a flame charge, then Leafy comes back, but this time Elesa goes for Spark rather than volt switch. This isn't going to plan. Cerberus comes in on another flame charge and intimidates the Zebstrika, then i decide to start using items. I heal Cerberus as Elesa throws a spark at him, then i hit her with a crit retaliate which brings Zebstrika into the red. I got paralyzed by her second spark though, so i opt to switch now, to Rioolrat. I heal Rioolrat up and then retaliate Zebstrika to death after almost dying to a crit quick attack. Lastly, the remaining Emolga comes out, for which i send out Feuerball. She hits a soft pursuit, but my fire punch misses so i have to heal again. A second fire punch does hit and kills the flying not-pikachu, earning me the victory as well as my fourth American gym badge.

My business in Nimbasa is now concluded, so it's time to head onto route 5. The moment i step through the gates, Cheren comes up from behind and challenges me to a battle. He leads with his Liepard and i lead with Koh. Pursuit does just less than half damage to me as i go for a will-o-wisp. I then heal up as he goes for torment, and then finally take the opportunity to switch to Escargot. Bug Bite takes out the big cat, though the liepard does break my sturdy with Pursuit. Pansage is up next, so i decide to switch to Feuerball. Fire Punch one-shots, and out comes Pignite. I send out Louie and three-shot with water gun thanks to a held berry. Last is Tranquill, which is a task for Cerberus. Retaliate two-shots, meaning i got out of this fight unharmed. After we're done fighting, Elesa comes and asks us to follow her to the festival going on nearby. Some guy greets Elesa as we approach; she introduces us, this is apparently the New York champion, Alder. Alder shares some words of wisdom about becoming stronger, and asks me and cheren to have a battle with two preschoolers to show them what battling is all about. In this battle however, things go horribly wrong. One of the preschoolers' herdiers manages to get a bunch of work ups in, and its crunch one-shots Koh. Rest in peace Koh, you weren't with us for long and didn't do much while you were with us, but it's still a shame you had to leave us in this way.

For now, it looks like Rioolrat is getting its spot on the team back. I go explore a bit more of Route 4, and catch myself Koesneeuw the Minccino. I beat every trainer at the festival, then i continue on to the Driftveil Drawbridge, which is currently open. Elesa makes a phone call to someone though and they close the bridge for her. Me and cheren head across, making our way to Driftveil City. Along the way, a Ducklett swoops down on me, which i catch and name Scrooge. In Driftveil, Cheren and i immediately run into the gym leader Clay, who tells us that lowering the bridge allowed some team plasma hippies to escape the city in the ruckus. He tells us that we can only challenge his gym if we find team plasma, which sounds like unfair bullshit, but i guess we'll have to roll with it. I take Scrooge onto the team in Rioolrat's place, and we start looking. I decide to check out the Cold Storage to the south, where i catch myself a Timburr named Beethoven. Cheren had the same idea, so we navigate these frozen floors together. Sure enough, we find one of their sages in a container here, surrounded by goons. We try to take them on, but just as i'm about to grab victory, a critical hit payback from a scraggy takes out Scrooge. We do beat them, but was it truly worth the cost? i don't know. Anyway, Clay and his men come in and arrest them.

We've earned the right to challenge Clay, but for now, i'm taking some time to mourn Scrooge's death. Beethoven the Timburr will be joining us next time for training.
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My current team:

Cerberus (Herdier) lv 28
Escargot (Dwebble) lv 27
Leafy (Swadloon) lv 26
Louie (Simipour) lv 27
Feuerball (Darumaka) lv 27
Beethoven (Timburr) lv 21

not really happy about everything that happened today. losing two pokemon to random trainers sucks, especially after i managed to keep Koh alive in that surprise Cheren battle.
 
As i'm training everyone up for the gym, Beethoven evolves into Gurdurr. When i'm done training, it's time to challenge the Driftveil Gym. This is a ground gym, so Feuerball will be sitting this one out. Instead, Rioolrat the Watchog is temporarily back on the team again, though he won't receive any training. When i finally arrive at the gym, i see a scene where Team Plasma's Ghetsis confronting Clay and using his legion of goons to force Clay into releasing the captive team members. That was really disheartening, having won but then being forced to set them free. No time to sulk though; it's time to challenge the gym. The gym challenge here revolves around navigating a bunch of elevators through a mine shaft. I manage this and make my way down to Clay. He leads with his Krokorok and i lead with Louie. One water gun brings him into the red as he goes for swagger, then he heals while Louie hits himself in confusion. I decide to switch to Rioolrat to get rid of the swagger, and rioolrat takes half damage from a crunch upon switching in. Another crunch brings me to 9 HP, and i decide to switch Cerberus in to get an intimidate off. Cerberus also gets hit by swagger, but he nevertheless hills the krokorok with a take down. Next up is Palpitoad, so i switch to Leafy. A crit razor leaf one-shots as he sets up aqua ring, and last is Clay's Excadrill. This is Beethoven's job; he does get off a hone claws, but that doesn't stop me from killing with two low kicks. Five American gym badges in the pocket.

Clay then asks me to meet him by the cave on route 6, but i think i'll just call it a day for now.
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My current team:

Louie (Simipour) lv 29
Escargot (Dwebble) lv 29
Leafy (Swadloon) lv 29
Beethoven (Gurdurr) lv 30
Feuerball (Darumaka) lv 29
Cerberus (Herdier) lv 30
 
As i'm about to head out to go meet Clay, Bianca comes up to me and challenges me to a battle. She leads with Herdier and i lead with Beethoven. Beethoven wins this matchup with ease, and Bianca sends out her Musharna. I switch to Escargot for this one and two-shot with Bug Bite. Third is Dewott, which is Leafy's job. Razor Leaf gives me yet another 2HKO, and last is Bianca's Pansear. I send out my own monkey, Louie, and water gun brings him to the red while he uses amnesia. Bianca heals, so it takes three more turns to get the victory, but there's nothing Pansear can do. Easy victory; Bianca truly is the weakest of our friend group. As a reward for battling her, Bianca then gives me HM02 Fly, which unfortunately none of my pokemon can use.

With all that out of the way, it's time to head onto Route 6, which is really beautiful in the snowy wintertime; the scenery of the river with the snow falling on it is something to behold. I catch myself a Deerling here, which i nickname Soep. well, i intended to, but i typoed and named it Soeq instead. On the other side of the route, i find a cave entrance that's blocked by some kind of spider web. Clay then comes up behind me and tells me that's the web of a Galvantula; Clay just takes it out with no problem though. He then gives me a TM and heads off, allowing me to head into Chargestone Cave and catch myself Farge the Klink. When i step just a bit further though, two ninjas kidnap me and bring me to N, who was just a few steps further in. seriously, i could have walked this by myself, but whatever.

N tells me that these ninjas are the shadow triad, and that they are the ones who placed the galvantula web so that Team Plasma's activities here go uninterrupted. N geeks out a bit over the stones here, then tells me i've been chosen or something. The shadow triad have apparently been stalking me and my friends, and they determined that because Cheren is the strongest and Bianca is the weakest, that puts me in the middle and thus makes me the most fit for their schemes. They must have been doing a pretty poor job if they think Cheren is stronger than me, i've beaten him in every battle we've had, but whatever. He then invites me to come further and test what kind of trainer i truly am. N then retreats deeper into the cave, but as i'm giving chase, i'm stopped by Bianca who insists on explaining to me how the magnetism here works. The professor is also here it seems. Well, N has already gotten away, so i might as well chat with them. The professor does give me a lucky egg, so i guess it was all worth it, but now it's time to go meet N's challenge.

As i progress, the shadow triad once again shows up and takes me over a bridge i was about to cross anyway, and tells me to head down the nearby stairs where Team Plasma waits. so i head down and indeed i run into the hippies. I fight my way through hordes of them, but eventually i manage to make my way to N. He tells me of his dream of separating people and pokemon, so that each can be distinct. He's wrong, pokemon are tools of war, but i have to admire his dedication to his cause; he really fights for what he believes in. Hope he sees the light before it's too late. Anyway, he challenges me to a battle; I lead with Louie and he leads with Boldore. Two water guns kill him as he sets up iron defense, and Joltik comes out. I switch to Feuerball and try to kill him with fire punch, but Hustle causes me to miss. on turn two though, he gastro acids away the Hustle and i kill him. Klink then comes out and get's one-shot, and the same fate befalls N's last pokemon, Ferroseed.

After i win, Bianca and the professor catch up to me, and N starts berating the professor for her research into pokemon; he apparently detests the very concept of a pokedex. the professor seems unphazed by this though, and just gtells him they should agree to disagree. N refuses and heads off, so i guess i should head on ahead too. I head out of the cave into Mistralton City, where i decide to call it a day.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My current team:

Escargot (Dwebble) lv 31
Cerberus (Herdier) lv 31
Leafy (Swadloon) lv 31
Louie (Simipour) lv 32
Beethoven (Gurdurr) lv 32
Feuerball (Darumaka) lv 32

the fact that not a single pokemon i currently own can learn fly made me realise there is a problem with my ruleset: what if this happens with regards to an HM i actually need to progress? as such, i've decided to update my overall ruleset so that i may use HM slaves if and only if none of my pokemon are able to learn an HM that is required in order to progress. OP has been updated with this rule.
 
As i explore town a bit, some guy randomly decides to analyze my pokedex. Guy then introduces himself as Cedric Juniper, the father of professor Juniper. he offers to upgrade my pokedex; it can now record regional forms. Cedric then introduces me to the lady he's with; this is Skyla, the gym leader here. We all chat a bit and then Cedric heads off. Skyla invites me to come to her gym and challenge her, but only after she takes care of an errand she has to run in the Celestic Tower. I guess i now have time to waste, so i'll head there too. On the way there, on Route 7, i come across an Audino, which i catch and name Dolores. This route has the same kind of long grass seen in eastern Hoenn; they really should do something about it so people can pay their respects at the celestic tower.

As i'm traversing the route, all the love i've shown to Leafy finally pays off and he evolves into Leavanny. This is awesome; i needed some more firepower, even if it won't be useful into the next gym. Cerberus then decides he won't be outshined by Leafy and also evolves, into Stoutland. Very good; Cerberus was already one of my stronger mons, and now it's even better. However, that's where my luck ended. A Gurdurr i encountered along the route got two bulk ups in, and managed to KO Escargot before i managed to take it out. Rest in peace, Escargot. You were essential in defeating Elesa, with your stealth rocks. I do make it to the celestial tower and catch Lumiere the Litwick there, but then it's time to go back and decide on a new party member.

Joining the team is Farge the Klink. It will be given the exp share a bit for now, but i'll probs train it up proper before i challenge the gym. Anyway, i head back to the celestial tower to pay my respects to the deceased and check what Skyla is up to. Wonder if i can get Escargot enshrined here. probably not though. When i reach the top, i find that Skyla has just finished healing the injured pokemon she apparently saw up here; it just flew away. Skyla then explains to me the significance of the bell here; it soothes the spirits of the deceased pokemon and reflects the spirit of the one ringing it. I ring the bell in memory of Escargot and all the others we've lost on this journey. The sound it made apparently reflects that i'm kind and strong or some bullshit like that. Anyway, Skyla then agrees to head back to her gym.

I train a bit, then i head back to town too. Don't think i'll challenge the gym yet though, instead, i'm just calling it a day for now.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My current team:

Farge (Klink) lv 33
Leafy (Leavanny) lv 33
Feuerball (Darumaka) lv 33
Cerberus (Stoutland) lv 34
Louie (Simipour) lv 34
Beethoven (Gurdurr) lv 34

Really hurts to lose Escargot when he was just 2 levels shy of evolving into Crustle. i guess that's just how things go though.
 
As i step out of the pokemon center on my way to Skyla's gym, i can't help but notice the chirping of birds and the scent of newly grown flowers; Spring is in the air. Anyway, this is a flying gym, so Leafy and Beethoven will be sitting this one out. Instead, i'm bringing Koesneeuw and Belle the Minccinos, as death fodder. The gym puzzle here revolves around shooting myself out of various cannons, which doesn't seem remotely safe. Toward the end, i'm even launched directly into a wall, breaking every last bone in my body. I fight the pain and manage to crawl my way to Skyla's location, challenging her to a battle. She leads with Swoobat and i lead with Cerberus. Crunch OHKOs as she wastes time with Amnesia. Next is Unfezant, so i switch to Farge. He manages to get off a leer and brings me to half health with two quick attacks, but my charge beams do take him out. Last is Skyla's ace, Swanna. I'm not sure if Farge can take another hit, so i opt to switch back to Cerberus. She sets up an aqua ring on turn one as i get her into the red with a crit retaliate. Skyla then heals, but two of Cerberus's take downs take her out. I've won. Now to get myself to a hospital. Skyla tells me that she saw Team Plasma heading over to Icirrus City, but i'm in too much pain to care right now.

When i manage to get out of the gym, N is there waiting for me. He talks to my stoutland and is surprised to learn that it likes being a slave for blood sport. N then informs me that Ghetsis is looking for special stones that hold the essence of the region's legendary pokemon, waiting for their hero's arrival. He goes on another rant about why pokemon should be treated well and other hippie nonsense, but he is kind enough to call an ambulance for me.

After i spend several months in the hospital recovering from Skyla's bullshit gym, it's time to continue on my journey. I head through Route 7 to Twist Mountain, but at the base of the mountain i run into Cheren. He challenges me to a battle; i send out Beethoven while he leads with Unfezant. I switch to Farge on a failed Detect and proceed to spam Charge Beam until the dumb bird finally drops. Next up is Pignite, so i switch to Louie. Water Gun two-shots as he misses a take down, so Simisage comes out. I send out Leafy and kill it with two bug bites as he goes for a leer. Last up is Liepard; i keep Leafy in and OHKO with bug bite after he fakes me out. After i win, the champion suddenly appears out of Twist Mountain; apparently he was watching the whole time. He tells Cheren that it doesn't matter much that he lost, and that winning isn't everything, but Cheren isn't having it. He then gives us HM03 Surf and leaves. Cheren also heads off into twist mountain, but i don't think i'm following him in just yet. Instead, i'm going to use my newfound ability to travel over water to explore some areas i couldn't before.

I head back through Chargestone Cave to Route 7, where i find a dark cave across the water. There doesn't seem to be much of note here until i can push these giant boulders blocking the path, but i do manage to catch me a Boldore, which i name NoGraveler. I then check my map and see that there are two water routes west of Nuvema Town, so i decide to head all the way back there, Since i still cannot fly, this is quite a trek. On my way, i catch Past the Frillish in Driftveil City, and i give my Cover Fossil to the Nacrene Museum. They actually revive it for me, into a Tirtouga, which i name Leonardo. I also decide to explore the depths of Wellspring Cave, but there things go horribly wrong. A trainer's Throh managed to OHKO Louie with a critical hit Revenge after a bulk up. To add insult to injury, i also had to sacrifice Beethoven to a Gurdurr that got some bulk ups in. Then that same trainer's Sawk also sets up several bulk ups and sweeps the entire rest of my team. Everyone is dead, to a random trainer in a random cave.

I pick out a new team, but i can't bring myself to train them right now. I need time to mourn.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My current team:

Soeq (Deerling) lv 23
Leonardo (Tirtouga) lv 25
NoGraveler (Boldore) lv 28
Dolores (Audino) lv 28
Past (Frillish) lv 23
Koesneeuw (Minccino) lv 19

This isn't the most balanced team, most of it is weak to fighting, but it's the best i can do atm. going to trade the boldore for an emolga.
 
Last edited:

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