Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Part 23: Short Update

After much struggling, I found out that flame moves are excellent against Lucario.

I asked Josh about it and he said Lucario was part steel.

Makes total sense.

"...OK. You win." Maylene looked serious as she said it. "That was a tough loss. I learned a lot from it. Please, accept this Gym Badge."

She handed me the Cobble Badge, and I attached it to my trainer card as she explained it.

"I should explain about that official Pokemon League Gym Badge. With it you can use Fly outside of battle. Take this as well." She gave me TM60 (Drain Punch)."

I left the Gym with high hopes, and I run into Dawn.

"Donny! Can you help me? Some Team Galactic goons took my Pokedex away from me. I need your help to get it back. I'll be waiting in front of the warehouse. Please come!"

I watch her run off and then promptly go to the Pokemon Center, and then shopping.

Got 50 Lava cookies for 200 each, which Josh says is a good deal.

---

Gonna do the warehouse stuff a little later, so sorry about the short update. Did update the trainer card though.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Part 22: Gym and Unown

"Hello, I'm pleased to meet you."

The gym had been one long annoying puzzle, shoving punching bags around and getting them to knock down huge stacks of tires.

Insurmountable Waist-High Fence.

Geez.

So I finally am standing in front of the Gym Leader, ready and waiting to take her on.

"I'm Maylene, and I'm the Gym leader. I don't really know what it means to be strong, or how I got to be the Gym Leader."

I am confused. Then what the heck is she doing here?

"But I will do the best I can as the Gym Leader." She continued. "I take battling very seriously. Whenever you're ready!"

I was slaughtered.

Okay, let's go to the Ruins.

*few days later*

I opened up my DS this morning and got letters that showed all that I'd done up to that point. I've never seen that before, it was weird.

So now I'm in the Ruins, let's catch some Unown.

I ran across a trainer, and a few of my Pokemon leveled up.

Then, Josh leveled up to 27 and evolved into a Floatzel! It's cute and fluffy-looking!

Found a large room with a few items in it, one of them was a Mind Plate. "Two beings of time and space set free from the Original One."

Now that I've gotten all the items in this place...it's time.

Time to catch 'em all.

I can't just have one letter, I have to get all of them. *glares at Nintendo*

*A few days later*

So I've gotten all the Unowns and their seals. And now my team's pokeballs are decked out in the most of girly ways. Seriously, the letters are really girly...and yet they're SO CUUTE!

Still have to grind up a few levels. It's been a bit busy here, what with different projects going on and such. Shouldn't be too long to where I'm back in the groove.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Part 21: Veilstone Town

I caught a Scyther and a Chansey on Route 210.

My route to Veilstone City was long and wet and torturous. I almost got killed at the very end by a double battle, my poor pokemon were limping out by the end, it was so bad.

I finally make it into the city and start scouring the town for a Pokemon Center.

Before I could find one, I pass in front of the gym and someone calls my name.

"Donny!"

I turn and see Dawn headed for me.

"Are you going to take the Gym challenge? You keep getting tougher and tougher, don't you?"

I shrug. "I suppose so. But my team is good. What have you been up to?"

"Me? I went shopping at the department store, and...well...I've been working on my Pokedex, but..."

Behind her, the doors to the Gym open and what looks like a wrestler drop out stepped through them. He was singing a raucous tune.

"The ring is my roiling sea. The towering waves shaped me! I'm the tidal wave of power to wash you away!" The man saw us and smiled wide. "Hello, dude and young lady! You're challenging the Gym Leader, are you? Let me tell you, she's young but she's a born genius. I tried training with her and I was stunned by how tough she was!"

I sighed inwardly as he continued to talk. I really wanted to heal my Pokemon.

"I'm the triple-threat Gym Leader in Pokemon, wrestling, and song. I'm Crasher Wake of Pastoria Gym! We'll meet again!"

And with that, he walked off south, leaving me and Dawn to ourselves.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Well, he's kinda odd. Good luck on your Gym challenge, Donny. I've gotta go."

Finally, by myself, I could find a pokemon center.

After healing up my team and giving them a few poffins as a reward, I went shopping and got some healing items as well as a TM called False Swipe. It looks like it might come in handy.

So now we're gonna talk to everyone and see if we get anything. I got another App called a Counter. Looks entirely useless. It counts for you. Whee.

I went into another house and someone had a Pokemon called Porygon that needed taking care of. So I agreed to take it off his hands. Apparently it had run away from the Team Galactic. I nicknamed it Polygon (SO original, I know).

I receive a Coin Case from playing a guessing game with someone. Also got TM63 (Embargo).

I see another building called the Game Corner. It looks interesting.

Okay, the music in this place is EPIC. I start browsing the machines, tried it a few times, but didn't get into the groove of it too much. As I was about to leave, a hand shot out in front of me, startling me.

"Examin, if you will, the reels. The Team Galactic Logo, it is here."

Looker.

"Further investigation is needed, and I'm just the man to do it. Where the masses gather, so too does information." He sighs. "My streak is broken.

I finally wander out and take a look at the Team Galactic building. I had also heard rumors that they had a TM for Fly in there.

I should investigate it...

...next session.

Part 20: Solaceon Town

Okay, I took the suggestion of a comment and had Belle learn Shadow Claw. Should be fun to use, and I do like experimenting with moves and such.

I walk out onto a pier, and talk to a trainer standing there. He turns to me and says that a Good Rod is awesome.

I kinda nod, and then all of a sudden he says that we're of like mind and shoves a fishing rod into my hands.

Well...let me just put that in my pocket here.

While I'm walking along route 209, I come across a broken tower made of stone...and I notice that there's a spot that would be a perfect fit for an Odd Keystone some guy handed to me while I was in Hearthome. I push the Odd Keystone into the stone tower and see what happens.

I notice that the keystone fits perfectly. "Hallowed Tower" is written on it. Unsure of what it does yet, but we'll see.

I finally made it to Solaceon Town, but my rival ran into me.

"Donny! I got something cool. I'll show you as a special favor!" He looked surprised. "Huh? What the...what's this all about? I got some Seals, but I forgot to put them on. Oh...right, it's because I was at the ruins...they're cool, you'll have to check them out. I even found a Hidden Machine, Defog! Anyway, I'll battle you another time, see ya!"

And before I could get a word in, he just ran off.

Sometimes I worry about that boy.

I got into town and talked to a few people, and recieved the Pokemon History App.

Suddenly, I noticed a sign.

"Wanted! Pro Pokemon Catcher!"

I knocked on the door and a man answered it. "HI! You saw the notice outside about us hiring, right?" He pointed. "Is that a Pokedex there? You must know Professor Rowan! You are JUST the Pokemon searching expert we've been looking for!"

He went quiet, then all of a sudden...

"BURMY."

I blink. "Excuse me?"

"I want you to bring me one. You must bring it today, or we're not gonna be able to run our main article. I'll pay you with a Heart Scale and some Poke Balls for it."

I grin. I have one in the PC. I go over to the Pokemon Center and go right back.

"Oh! That's it! BURMY! Thanks, let me get a closer look!" He stared intently at the Burmy. "I see...hmm...that's it! Thank you, now I can write a great article!"

He hands me some Pokeballs and a Heart Scale.

After a bit more exploration, a woman lets me have a Seal Case and some Seals. With a bit of experimentation, it seems it changes the way the Pokemon enter the battle. Just a neat little asthetic change.

The little boy in the house says that if I can find some pokemon that look like letters, he can give me some seals.

I fight a few trainers and also put in a Pokemon into the Daycare center to raise Sheldon a level and also to try it out.

I eye the Lost Tower. This is where departed Pokemon are laid to rest.

I go into the building and an ominous feeling washes over me. The steps creak as I walk up. On the third floor, the fog becomes too much for me to see, and I have to retreat. Instead, I'll go to the Solaceon Ruins.

For now, I have to stop, so more a little bit later!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Part 19: Rival Battle

I step out of the gym and breathe the cool night air. I check my map and eye the east road. That looks like a good way to get to Solaceon Town.

After a stop at the Pokemon Center, I wrap my scarf tighter and continue along the way, coming to the building marking the start of the route. As I walk in, Tim is standing there with his arms crossed and a dangerous look in his eye.

"I've come a long way since I've seen you last. I say we have a battle to see who's Pokemon are best."

I look at my healthy pokemon and grin.

"Let's duel!"

Having a lot of faith in the team, I have a fantastic battle, soundly defeating Tim. At the end, his pokemon unable to battle, he just looked terrible.

"It goes to show my surefire winning strategy doesn't work." He quieted a moment before continuing. "Remember what I told you before? Make sure all your attacks hit! Avoid every enemy attack!"

He let out a sigh. "I thought that was a wicked strategy, but it doesn't work beans. I guess I have to grind it out and toughen up the team a bit at a time. Anyway! I'm off to Solaceon Town! See ya, Donny!" He stuck a thumbs-up pose and gave a wide grin.

"You'll be shocked by my growth the next time we meet!"

And with that, he ran off, leaving me with my own journey.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Part 18: Hearthome Gym

"Thank you for waiting. We've restored your Pokemon to full health. Hope to see you again!"

I give the nurse a strange look. She blinks.

"What?"

"You...want my pokemon to be hurt?"

Her mouth opened in a surprised look. "Uhh..."


So here I am. The battle between me and Fantina. She uses Ghost type pokemon, this much I know.

I step out of the confusing dark hallways of the Gym and into a brightly-lit room with its single occupent: Fantina.

She smiles as I walk in. "Ohohoho! Finally you have arrived!"

She stands and does this weird twirl before landing her hands on her hips in a strong pose. "Since I came to this country, always I try to learn new things. They hold Contests? I say to myself that I will excel. That is why I dress this way."

I look at her purple hair and dress. Hmm.

"C'est une performance! Also, I study Pokemon very much. I have come to be a Gym Leader. And, uh, so it shall be that you challenge me. But I shall win. That's what a Gym Leader does, non?"

We prepared our Pokeballs and I send out Waffle. With a flick of her wrist, a Duskull appears. I grit my teeth.

Time to get my determined face on.

A few Flame Wheels from Waffle take it down easy enough. I switch out to Belle as a Mismagius appears.

The battles goes well and pretty much according to plan. The Mismagius was a bit of trouble, but I had Belle use Hypnosis and then was able to take it down with a few Faint Attack moves. Then, when it fainted, I switched to Starbit and Haunter was taken out with one Bite.

Fantina was shocked. "I am dumbfounded! You...your pokemon! So very strong! I admire your power with this Gym Badge!"

She handed over the Relic badge and explained I could use the move Defog outside of battle. I also got TM65 (Shadow Claw).

End of Gym Status:

Everyone except Waffle is at level 25

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Part 17: Poffins

Spent WAY too much time in the Underground stuffs digging.

Went for a stroll with my Pokemon. I was a little peeved to see I could only stroll with what is deemed a "cute" pokemon.

What, do they not want to SOIL the LANDSCAPE with any of my other pokemon? I was mad when I saw that, I wanted to stroll with Drifloon, who is SUPER cute, and also needs the happiness points, and Glameow is cute too.

I just don't get it, why and what constitutes a "CUTE" Pokemon? >_>

Found TM43

THERE'S SOMEONE WITH A DRIFLOON! I want to stroll with Oswald! D:

*A few minutes later*

Oh, okay, I can choose Oswald, but apparently ONLY Sheldon and Oswald are cute.

*rage* ALL MY POKEMON ARE CUTE! How dare they judge what is cute and what isn't!?

I got something called a Poffin Case from a guy. Poffin is apparently some sort of cake...I dunno, I guess I'll give it a shot.

I'll go ahead and write down what each kind of food my Pokemon likes.

Belle: Eats anything
Starbit: Eats anything
Sheldon: Eats anything
Waffle: Eats anything
Josh: Likes sweet food
Oswald: Likes Spicy food

Okay, so all I have to concentrate on is Josh and Oswald. Now, I did look upo a guide on this, because I have NO idea what I'm doing.

Josh has a hasty nature, so he likes sweet, dislikes sour.

Drifloon has a naughty nature, so he likes spicy, dislikes bitter.

The berries I have that would fit these are:

Sweet:

Pecha
Lum
Bluk
Cornn

Spicy:

Cheri
Razz
Pinap

That should do for right now. Let's go and try this out, shall we?

That was...kinda fun...

My first time I made a Sweet Poffin (Lv. 11)

Must...make....more...

*later*

Okay...I'll stop making them...anytime now...

*later*

WHY IS IT SO ADDICTING?!

Part 16: Hearthome City

 As I exit the route, a Buneary runs into me, and I catch it, noticing the Trainer's mark on it. A girl runs up waving her arms.

"That's my Buneary! Thank you for catching it!"

"No problem." I hand the Pokemon back to her.

"My name is Keira, drop by the Pokemon Contest Center later on, okay?" And she runs off without a word of explanation.

Whew, big city. Hearthome City exploration!

I step into a house next to the Pokemon Center and there's some sort of weird machine in the corner.

"Hi! You're a Pokemon Trainer, right?" A voice says. I look and see a blond haired woman standing there.

"That means you're using Pokemon Boxes! I love meeting end users!"

End users?

"What's up, why with that astonished look?"

I try to say something, but she interrupts me.

"Oh, there I go running my mouth again! My name is Bebe! You know the PC Pokemon Boxes? I'm the system administrator!"

She seems...peppy.

She leans in close and looks around and pulls a Pokeball from her belt. "Do you want a Pokemon named Eevee?"

I glance around at the small room with only us in it. "Sssure..." I reach out to take the ball from her hand.

"Here you go!"

I take Eevee to the PC and put it in there and continue my exploration. Eevee is kinda cute, but...I like my team alot.

I talk to a few other people, a trainer from the Hoenn region, who leads me to the contest hall.

MY EYES! SO MUCH PINK!

*shriveles up*

I hear a voice call out. "Oh! My hero!"

I look through the haze of pink and see...

"MOM?!" My mouth drops.

"Oh, hi, Donny."

Keira looks surprised. "Wait! No! Really?! Johanna is your mom? So you might be a Contest star?!"

"Oh, I don't know about that." My mom says, waving her hand. "I've never spoken to Donny about Contests. I'm surprised you two know each other, though."

What other dark secrets does my mother hold? I brood to myself.

Keira smiles. "Oh, yes, that's right! I need to thank you for earlier. Please, take this."

She hands me a bag of something...glittery and shiny and girly looking.

"It's Glitter Powder!" Her smile was wide.

I looked at the glitter bag in shock. The glitter was loud and gaudy, and I KNOW it came off the set of Twilight.

"You put that on your Pokemon before a Contest."

Over my stone cold dead body I will. I wouldn't subject any of my Pokemon to one of these Contests.

"It will lend a nice touch of sophistication and glamour."

I bite back the words that came to me.

"I'm a Contest Judge, so come join us for a different kind of fun."

I blink.

"If you're unsure of yourself, we also offer practice sessions."

I can't help but crack a smile.

"Thanks...alot." I choke out. Keira leaves to do stuff, and I turn back to mom.

"Were you surprised to see me, Donny?"

"A little bit, mom." I say, tentatively putting the glitter in my Fashion Case.

"I got bored, so I came out here for a vacation."

Just like that, huh?

"I'm surprised to see you here, my dear!"

I was dragged unwittngly by some other trainer.

"Are you serious about entering Contests? Not dressed that way!"

"But..."

"You have to dress up too if your pokemon are dressed up! Put this on for a little glamour!"

She whips out a Tuxedo and shoves it into my arms.

"That'll be perfect! Now go enjoy the Contests!"

And with that, my mom walks off, leaving me standing in the middle of a pink hallway, a tuxedo wrapped around me, and the smell of perfumes and makeup in the air.

Let me die.

I run out of the building immediately, certain that I'll never have to go back.

Part 15: Mt. Coronet

A sad thing has happened. My EXP share was knocked out of Belle's hands...and I don't have a clue how to get another one. I've looked in all the stores I have available...but nothing.

I'm thinking maybe it's an item I can get later on, but for now, I'm sad I lost it, it's very helpful.

I make my way towards Mt. Coronet with my team all healed and happy. A few trainer battles along the way, but nothing terribly spectacular. A couple of level ups in my team.

As the cave entrance to Mt. Coronet comes into view, I hear a shout behind me.

"Donny! Wait up!"

I turn and see Dawn run up to me, panting and out of breath.

"How's your Pokedex coming along?"

"Um...okay." I'm not a huge talker, especially to girls. "How about you?"

"Me? I'm somewhere between fantastic, and..huh..hopeless..." She grows a bit distant, and then seems to snap back into reality. "But this isn't about me! I've got something for you!"

I'm just getting handed stuff left and right. I should have become a Trainer years ago.

"Choose which hand." She sticks out two fists and I blink and point to her left hand.

She opens it up. "You chose the Vs. Seeker. I'm impressed, you know what's important."

I...couldn't see it, so yeah...I don't argue against the childish game and stick the VS. Seeker into my pocket. I put it beside my Map, Journal, Vs Recorder, Pal Pad, Fashion Case, Sprayduck, Works Key, Explorer Kit, and Bicycle....wait...wut...

"Using that Seeker, you can find Trainers who want a rematch with you. Oh, you have a Poketch, right?"

I look down at the five mile wide watch on my arm. I'd say so.

"Cool, you can have this too, then." She opens her other hand and gives me something. "This is a Dowsing Machine. It locates unseeable items. You should touch it often!"

Touching is good.

"It will help you if there is an item that you can't see."

Hence the term "unseen".

"I bet there's something here, even! Try it out! But in the meantime, keep working on your Pokedex, and I'll do the same. Rowan is counting on us!"

As his slave labor. She finally runs off, and I look down at the watch and touch the screen.

It goes off and I walk forward a few paces, lean down and shuffle the dirt a bit. Oh hey, a buried Great Ball.

I make my way into the semi-darkness of the cave. After a few feet, a person steps from the darkness.

It's Cyrus. He starts talking without even a hello.

"According to one theory, Mt. Coronet is where the Sinnoh region began."

His eyes glaze over a bit.

"In a newly created world...a world where only time flowed and space expanded."

I blink, backing up a few steps.

"There should have been no strife. But what became of that world?"

None remain who know.

*Awesome Legend of Zelda theme from Wind Waker*

Oh...wrong game.

"Because the human spirit is weak and incomplete, strife has spread..."

Well...yeah we could all use a bit of work, but still.

"This world is being ruined by it. I find this state of affairs to be deplorable."

And with that, he shoves past me.

A nutcase.

I finally make it through the cave onto Route 208. But that's good for now. Saving and quitting for the moment.

Part 14: Leveling Up Information

Just kind of wandering around trying to figure out where to go next. I'm thinking I need to go back to Oreburgh to go up that slope, but I like exploring a lot. Found a TM12 (Taunt).

Okay, traveled back to Oreburgh City and went up the slope. Let's see what happens now.

I shuffle around in the grass a bit, catch a Chingling (Hamlet) and Bronzor (Cranberry). I also hatched the egg that Cynthia had given me, and a Togepi was in it. It is super cute, but I tried using one in ShinyGold, didn't much enjoy it.

Caught a Nosepass too. Called it GumGum.

Okay, let's try Drifloon out for a bit. It is named Oswald.

*later*

I have decided that Oswald will be good for my team. I enjoy the nature of the Pokemon, and it is cute.

So now I have to grind it a few levels.

*searches Youtube for Pokemon Episodes* There we go.

Just had an unusual battle. A Bidoof took out my Drifloon, but he also KO'd himself at the same time. I didn't get any XP.

Decided to experiment with TMs. I gave Oswald the Return move. I really don't want to look at a guide for everything really, and I'm finding that with Pokemon, it's good to experiment.

Started talking to people to get an idea of what to do next. Received a Friendship checker for my Poketch.

Oh, let's go down Bicycle Road! Okay, after a few trainers later, I had a few of them level up, and Josh learned Aqua Jet.

Huzzah, made it to Route 206. Hopefully more storyline in the next segment.

End of segment Pokemon Stats:

Sheldon: 21
Starbit: 21
Waffle: 21
Josh: 21
Belle: 20
Oswald: 21

Friday, November 26, 2010

Part 13: Struggling Through the Building

So here I am in the Galactic Building. I have to choose a set of stairs.

I start off and choose the left set. I end up in a double battle between two Grunts.

CHEESE STICK ON A PLATE! ZUBATS!

*goes and cries in a corner* I really...hate...fighting Zubats.

*flashbacks of ShinyGold*

Okay, that was a fantastic battle, really. Sheldon learned Bubblebeam, and Starbit learned Bite. They also grew a level.

Here's my Pokemon stats at the moment, by the way. Look at the Trainer card on the right sidebar if you don't remember what kind they are. Their names are on the card.

Sheldon: Level 19
Starbit: Level 18
Waffle: Level 21
Josh: Level 20
Belle: Level 19

Still unsure who I'm going to use as my sixth Pokemon. Drifloon is cute, but I need to try it out on the field after this.

Okay, the right stairs didn't lead to anything interesting other than a battle item which I will sell imediately. At least I got some good XP points though and stuffs.

I go up the left staircase and I'm met with more staircases.

I have a feeling I'm going to get lost. Quickly.

Okay...a trainer has Kadabra. This should be interesting.

*a few minutes later*

STOP USING CONFUSION FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! GAAAAAAAAAAH

Okay, finally took it down with Waffle's Fire Wheel.

*goes to Pokecenter to heal*

Okay, I finally made it to the top floor into this really awesome room with starry wallpaper.

I really want that wallpaper.

I walk past an obvious battle and pick up something called Up-Grade. No idea what it is, but I'm sure someone will tell me in the game.

I walk up to the pink-haired girl.

"What do you want?" She scowls at me.

"Isn't it obvious?" I say, confused.

She folds her arms. "How silly of me to even ask. You want to free the Pokemon."

"Um...actually, I just want to free the bike store manager so I can get a bike..."

She doesn't seem to hear me. "FINE! I, Jupiter, will deal with you."

OHHAI ZUBAT.

Okay, that is taken out easily. What's next?

*stares at Skuntank's sprite*
Someone didn't think that sprite through. Seriously.

STOP WITH THE NIGHT SLASH!

*limps out of battle*

Dear lord...my team...was ripped to shreds by that Skuntank. AND THE STUPID NIGHT SLASH. Either I need to raise speed on my Pokemon, or the game needs to stop doing two attacks in a row, seriously.

I beat the thing, barely. Sheldon was the only one left in my party, not counting the Bidoof because he's only used to get into the building.

"Well aren't you tough?"

I glare at Jupiter.

"It's okay, though. Our official Pokemon-statue investigation is finished."

Orly?

"Mars has collected energy from the Valley Windworks. We're pretty much finished here. I'll let you in on one thing."

I blink, surprised she would be so forthcoming with information.

"Our boss is researching the myths of ancient Pokemon. With the power of mythical Pokemon, he will become the ruler of Sinnoh..."

*snerk*

"I suggest you keep out of Team Galactic's affairs from now on. This is your last warning!"

I'm shaking.

She goes off, and the bike manager runs over to the Clefairy in the room.

"I got my beloved Pokemon back, and it's all thanks to you! But that Team Galactic...they said that Clefairy came from space!"

Wut.

"Their logic baffles me still. It's like THEY are from space!"

Wait...they're nutcases?

NO WAI.

"Anyway, they're gone now, thank you very much! I can't thank you enough right now, but cruise by my Cycle Shop, okay?"

And he VANISHES, oh wait...scene transition.

Okay then. That was a good session. I'll have to level up a bit, but my team did a very good job with the trainers and such.

So let's go heal up, buy some more potions, and then "cruise by the cycle shop".

Oh wait. *saves about three times*

After exiting the Pokemon Center, I am stopped once again by Cynthia.

"There you are! I was looking for you, I have something nice. I wanted you to have this Pokemon Egg. Will you accept it?"

Uh...sure...

*goes to store Bidoof first*

Okay. I've accepted a strange egg. Now GIVE ME MY BIKE.

And now I am happy. I have a bicycle, a strange egg, and a good team. Stopping for now.

Part 12: Go Away Looker

And thus we begin another segment.

I fight all the trainers on the dock at route 205.

SO MANY MAGIKARPS. I about fell asleep fighting them.

In exploring Eterna City, I go south in the transition tunnel and run across some scientist who explains he's Professor Rowan's assistant and Dawn's father.

He gave a smile. "I've come a long way to help you on your adventure at Rowan's request. How many Pokemon have you met?"

I take out my Pokedex. "I have 45 recorded so far."

He smiles again. "Wonderful! Yes, bravo! Rowan should be delighted! Here is something for you." He put out his hand and I took the item.

Unwrapping it, I see it's somethin called Exp. Share.

Somewhat an explanatory item. I try and continue onward, but the lady at the counter stops me and says that Cycling Road is only for Bicycles.

Well then. I head over to the Bicycle shop and there's a kid in there who says that the manager has gone off to the Team Galactic Building.

Okay then, off I go. I really want that bike.

I cut down a few trees in front of the Galactic Building. They really should hire a landscaper. I also find the TM46 (Theif).

I open the front door and step into the lobby area. To my right, a Grunt approaches me and whispers.

"Hello! It's me! I have startled you, yes?"

God. Looker.

"I am, after all, an officer of the International Police."

Why can't he go be international somewhere else?

"It is only natural that I be a master of disguise."

Someone only told you that because they wanted you to go away. Like me.

"You are a first-rate Trainer. Of that, I am very aware."

I'm gonna be the best.

"I therefore think you'll be okay..."

Like no one ever was.

"...but I must warn you to be careful anyway."

To catch them is my real test.

"Also, a word of advice."

To train them is my cause.

"This building, it has two stairs. One of them, a trap must be."

The heck? Why is he going Yoda all of a sudden?

"But the crooks of Team Galctic, they do not appear, how shall I say, smart."

No kidding, Sherlock. You managed to get into their ranks without being noticed.

"There should be an easy way to tell the stairs apart!"

I'll have you test them.

And with that, Looker goes silent. Thank goodness.

And with that I'm going to save and quit for now.

Part 11: The Forest Stuffs

Okay, so I've leveled up my Pokemon up a bit, and have put Pancake in the PC. I'm saving an open spot for any new and interesting Pokemon I run across. I also just finished recording a few segments of Zelda's Birthday, and it didn't go too bad. The miniboss was surprisingly awesome and funny at the same time.

But anyway, onward ho, through the forest.

Wow. Ran across two trainers...I don't remember defeating them at all. I just woke up and they were defeated. Dang.

Okay, took a nap after that and feel better. Was kinda in a weird funk after waking up, had a bit of a bad dream, but ah well. That and I kinda miss my family on Thanksgiving.

I was looking over what my Pokemon liked to eat, and Josh is the only one who likes sweet food. The rest will eat anything. Thought that was kinda funny.

Actually planning to go all the way through the forest this time. Just spotted my first HootHoot.

Yay, made it through the forest! I'm on route 205 now.

Let's explore the city a bit before the grass. I walk into a house and an old lady suddenly says "Hey, I have no use for this anymore. You can have it."

She shoves a TM67 into my hands and I look at it's description.

"The user recycles a single-use item that has been used in battle so it can be used again."

D:

It's gonna make my Pokemon throw up after they eat something. God. This game.

I walk into another house and there's a guy who asks me if I want to be an explorer. Sure, why not? If it gives me free stuff, then I'm okay.

"Well said, my young friend! I will teach you by assigning missions. First, go underground! Going underground is easy, just use the Explorer Kit I gave you."

I look down at the first-aid-kit-sized box I hold in my hands.

Hmm.

"If you accomplish that, I will give you your next test."

Which would be hopefully about what to do if you're stuck underneath the ground. Okay, we might do that later, for now, MORE exploration is in order.

Okay, so all that's left of interest is the Gym. Seems someone is standing outside.

"I'm Gardenia, this town's Gym Leader. My last challenger was a speedy young guy. His name was Tim, he told me about you. You'll have to go through the trainers."

So we start out the battle with Josh, have some difficulty, and then I realize, maybe I should have started with Waffle. So I switch out and dump a few Flame Wheels on the Roselia and then on the last one I switch over to Belle to get some XP for her. I put the Roserade to sleep and then do a few scratches on it. It doesn't really affect it much, but I'm just trying to make the battle more fun.

Finally, I just say "screw it" and put in Waffle after the Roseraid goes through three of my members. I throw a Flame Wheel on it and get it down to...

ONE PIXEL OF LIFE LEFT, GOD!

AND THEN SHE USES A SUPER POTION! *flail*

SO after another Flame Wheel and one Stomp later, the leader has been beaten!

"I might've said it before, but you're really tough. Wasn't it hard for you to raise your Pokemon to be so good? I guess that's a measure of how much you love your Pokemon. In recognition of that, I proudly grant you this!"

She hands over the Forest Badge. She explains that I can now use the hidden Cut outside of battle. She also gives me TM86 (Grass Knot).

I wander outside into the cool night air and breathe deep. My second badge has been acquired and I'm one step closer to the Elite Four!

Suddenly, Tim barrels into me from the left.

"Hey, let me show you the Pokemon statue!"

He leads me to a high hill where a few people are standing around. One person is speaking.

"--Revered in Sinnoh are the Pokemon of time and space. Sinnoh's myth...its truth needs investigation..."

It's the Cyrus guy from the lake at the start of my adventure! He turns and goes past us with nary a word.

Tim gets a wild look in his eyes again. I gulp.

"I have an easy way to become a great Trainer! Make certain ALL your attacks hit! Avoid enemy attacks for sure! Do that and you'll never lose!"

Call the presses, we've got a sharp one here.

He finally bolts out and I am left to my own devices. I check around the back of the statue and find a Draco Plate. It says "When the universe was created, its shards became this Plate."

Well that's assuming an awful lot.

I go to leave the statue area and get a few feet down the road when a woman in a black dress approaches me.

"That device you have...a Pokedex? That brings back memories. What is your name?"

"Donny." I put my hand out in greeting.

She ignores it. "Hello, Donny. I'll be sure to remember that name! I'm Cynthia. I'm a Trainer like you. I've been studying Pokemon mythology lately, just out of curiosity. Here in Eterna City, there is a statue."

"Yeah, I just came from there."

"Oh okay. According to legend, it was an extremely powerful Pokemon. You may encounter something like it. Who knows?" She smiles and hands me something. "Try this, it might help."

I look down and see it's an HM01 (Cut).

I am now going to explore a secret area I can get to. Josh has warned me to stock up on balls and stuff, so off to the store.

Okay, taught the Bidoof I caught the other day the Cut move, and we're off!

BERRIES! *collects*

I talk to someone walking around and they give me a Big Tree accessory.

I find another Honey Tree in this area and take a note.

Finally, in the woods I come across another area. A large house. It's very ominous and creepy, but I enter anyway. A pokemon trainer goes wherever he can for new pokemon.

I run across a lot of Gastlys and make my way upstairs. I open up a small room with a flickering TV in it. Something seems to be moving on the screen. I squint and lean in close, then thump the front of the screen with my knuckles.

With a flicker of the screen, an orange zigzagged-shaped Pokemon leaps out. A Rotom! My fingers twitch instinctively and I throw out Starbit to make sure I don't kill it. One nice battle later, and my new Rotom (nicknamed Vizio) is transferred to the PC.

I never understood how that worked exactly, and why Pokemon are even able to be stored in computers.

So with Vizio caught, I head over to the Plant to catch a and Drifloon.

The battle doesn't go quite as well, and I have to reset about four times because I kept accidentally killing it.

Well, that's it for right now I think.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Part 10: Leveling Stuffs

Awesome things have happened. Mitch traded a Glameow egg and I gave him a Cherubi from when I got it from the Honey Tree this morning.

He said that I would be able to name it and it would listen to me now. So now I can put it on the team if I want to! :D I named it Belle, because it deserves a better name than "ugly". I think it's cute and adorable.

Okay, let's go and level it up a bit.

I'll need to keep an eye out for Teddiursa, which Tim tells me is on Route 217. So that's a while yet, but I like keeping notes on what to look for.

I trek all the way back to route 201 to train Belle by using the switch method of sharing XP. It only has the moves of Fake-Out and Sand-Attack, so I can get in one good hit before having to switch out. She'll learn Scratch at level 5, so that's good. I got the kind that has "Own Tempo" which means it'll never be confused.

Okay, after sticking on Josh's LP of Mario Sunshine, I got Belle up to level 17, and she now knows Fake Out, Faint Attack, Scratch, and Hypnosis (which hasn't hit yet).

I need to work on leveling up Josh and Pancake next. I don't know if I'm going to stick with Pancake now because I like Josh's movesets better, and it's a more interesting Pokemon to look at. I'll start with Josh, and if I see anything in upcoming routes, then I'll probably put Pancake into the PC.

I swear, one Bidoof out of 20 Shellos. SO sick of fighting against Shellos.

Okay, got Josh up to level 15 and going to stop for right now. I'm going to go eat dinner with the neighbors.

I checked on one of my honey trees and got a female Combee. :D

Part 9: Captures Galore

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Okay, with my DSi somewhat charged up, I continue on route 205 and run across a few trainers along the way. Also see a new pokemon called Aipom. It's a monkey.

I really hate monkeys.

I continue along, battling trainers and trying to train Pancake up to a decent level to contend with everything.

And thus, I come to the entrance to Eterna Forest. As I walk into the forest, the air grows dark, and the leaves crunch lightly under my feet, the sounds of the forest growing stronger as I leave the safety of the route before this.

I go a bit farther in, but am suddenly stopped by someone. She is in need of assistance and has heard of Team Galactic. She thinks there would be safety in numbers.

I figure two people isn't going to make a difference...but I agree anyway.

It appears that by being with someone, they automatically MUST be in a double battle with you, and all the pokemon that swarm are always in pairs.

Convenient.

Came across a new pokemon called Buneary. I might try and catch this one.

Well that was unnecessarily tense. Double battles are not the place to try and catch pokemon I suppose. Cheryl has a Chansy who is egg bomb happy. But I was finally able to catch it. I named it Mimzy and put it into the computer.

I'll be taking advantage of this and grinding here as long as I can. Later.

Slathered a honey tree I found in the Flower meadow in Floaroma at 4:35am. I'll check on it at around 10:30am and hope I get something good.

I went to check the trees I had slathered in honey earlier, and went through some grass and came across a Pokemon called Buizel.

OMG OTTER. *captures*

It's actually rather cute and adorable. I decided to name him Josh because it's a bit like a cute baby otter. And baby otters really are the best. And Josh is cute and sweet.

Went through the forest and caught Gastly. Didn't nickname it, I'll probably keep it in the PC.

Checked the tree near the Waterworks and caught a Burmy. Slathered the bark with Honey at 6:36am. Will be done at 12:36pm.

Checked the tree north of the waterworks across the bridge and caught Cherubi. Slathered it with Honey at 6:40am, will be done at 12:40pm.

I wanted to check out the Trading Center in Jubilife to scout out for a Glameow. I found a few being offered, but they're all wanting Pokemon I don't have, like one wants a Ho-oh, and another wants a Pokemon that has to be evolved in a certain manner or something like that. Rather frustrating. So I went to the GameFAQ boards to see if there was anyone there who was willing to do a fair trade with the Honey Tree pokemon.

I hope I can get one at a lower level too, I'm saving a spot on the team for it.

EDIT:

I was offered a Glameow egg from Mitch, that way I can name it and everything. ^_^ I am super excited.

Part 8: Team Galactic

So with the Works key in hand, I head off to Route 205. It isn't long when I run across a little girl in the road, and she appears to be crying. She sees me and tells me her father is being held hostage by Team Galactic.

We'll have to rescue him then. Where are the authorities in all this, seriously?

I continue going right and see a large field of grass, with a Galactic Grunt guarding a door. He sends out a Glameow...I really wish I could find one of those, but I was told it is not in Platinum, which makes me sad. I kind of want one because of it's super cuteness. I defeat it with no trouble, and Waffle gains another level to bring it to 14.

After defeating the grunt, he runs in and locks the door, preventing me from getting further inside.

Since this is a new route, let's do the grass shuffle and see what we get.

First pokemon encountered is a Pachirisu, which I name Pacha. It's cute, I might check it out a bit. The next encounter is a Shellos. It is more interesting than the Pachirisu, but I'm going to try both of them on the team for a bit and see which one feels like me.

Okay, now that I've found all the cute things I think, I go over to the door and use the works key. The guy who ran inside is standing just inside the door. We sorta stare for a moment, and I wonder if he's been standing there the entire time I was shuffling around in the grass. But then he just sorta squeaks and runs off to tell his Commander.

I meet up with the first trainer of this place.

Ohhai Zubat. Haven't seen you before.

I go through two trainers, and at this point, I'm falling asleep at my DS. I need a nap.

Okay, now that I'm awake, I continue on through the building and run right smack into a red-haired guy who says he is one of Team Galactic's three Commanders, but then he hesitates and says there's actually four Commanders.

This guy's name is Mars and he starts to monologue about how they are trying to make the world a better place, but people have shown little understanding about what they do.

No kidding. Maybe it could be your introductory style.

He--oh, now that I see the sprite--SHE challenges me to a battle. If I win, the Galactic Team will leave.

Suuuuuuuuuuuure.

OHHAI ZUBAT.

Beaten Zubat and then this thing called Purugly and OMG IT IS SO FLUFFY-LOOKING and is AWESOME.

I must have this. I will probably find something to trade for it. Perhaps something that is exclusive to Platinum, because Glameow is exclusive to Pearl. That would be a fair trade.

Scyther or something off of a Honey Tree Josh says would be good. Okay.

Alright, had a VERY annoying battle with the Purugly. Sheldon was the MVP for the battle, with Pacha sacrificing himself to heal him. It would use a combination of Scratch, and then I would go and pick a move, and then it would attack me again with Faint Attack. So it basically got in two moves on me.

Sheldon grew to level 17, and Waffle to level 15.

Mars can't contain her surprise at my win, and she grumbles a lot. But she said she enjoyed our battle.

Before I could say anything, someone else speaks up.

"My, my. Lose to a child, will you? But, no matter. We've collected plenty of electricity. With the power we obtained, we can do something quite spectacular." The man steps forward and gives a smug look. "It seems quite obvious to me, Charon, the genius even the boss recognizes." He gives a glance at Mars. "We should be going."

Mars whirls on the man. "SHUT IT! The boss is the only person in the world who's allowed to order me around. You can keep quiet around me! You only joined recently. DON'T think you're important!"

With that Mars turns to me and snuffs. "I guess it's time to say goodbye and leave for the time being."

AND THEY VANISH INTO THIN AIR! No not really, it's just a scene transition.

The scientist who had been huddling in the corner said that Galactic was doing it to create a new universe, or so they claimed.

(And every time I keep wanting to say Galactica. Yay for science fiction shows I've never seen.)

Oh, this is the scientist we were sent to rescue. Completely forgot about him. Huzzah for naps in the middle of a segment. That's the great thing about a text LP.

Suddenly the little girl rushes in out of nowhere and is very happy to see her dad, but calls him stinky and for him to go shower.

Well then. And then she says something stranger.

"I think the balloon Pokemon will come visiting again!"

Wht...wht...wht.

Balloon pokemon?

Josh tells me that I have seen it before, and it's called Driftloon. Oh yeah, I remember that, it's SUPER CUUTE.

So I head outside and see...oh god it's him. Looker.

He says that he's heard that Team Galactic appeared at the power plant and he came running when he heard.

Too little, too late, dude. I'm the hero in this game.

I tell him that I was able to clear them off, but he's going to investigate inside anyway. He runs inside, and I can't move. Two seconds later he rushes back outside and actually believes my story. So now he's going to pursue them.

Yeah...you get right on that. He does give a good tip that he's heard that Team Galactic is in Eterna City, so he's off for that.

Now to slather trees with honey. SO exciting.

I go up and run into a trainer.

OH GOD I HAVEN'T SAVED.

Thankfully, Sheldon was at full health and it's a Ponyta. Easy win. So before I go and walk in front of more people I don't know, let's save and get healed up. Or save and quit, because I have to charge up my DSi. Good segment, got lots done.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Part 7: Honey and Wifi

Yeah, I couldn't stay away from it. So much awesome stuff happened last post I had to keep going. Happy Thanksgiving. I don't have any plans other than eating dinner at my neighbor's house.

I'm headed for the bike shop in Eterna City, but I'm on Route 204 right now. I've gone through a trainer, and I come across this poor kid who says that he's gonna beat me with the Magikarp that his dad gave him.

Either his dad's just mean or has a sense of humor.

I go through the rest of the trainers with no problem, and see a cave looming before me. I let out a huge sigh. I really hate caves.

I glance at the signpost and it says the cave is called Ravaged Path.

Inviting name. HEY GUYS JOIN US ON RAVAGED PATH!

Anyway, there's also a kid standing around out front and he says there are boulders blocking the way inside. Thankfully, I still have the Geodude equipped and am prepared with Rock Smash. But let's hunt for a few Pokemon before going through the cave. See if we get anything different.

After shuffling through the grass for a while, I run across the usual stuff that I've seen so far, and I saw a few Budews, but I'm not entirely interested in getting one of those. So let's go for the cave now.

Right off the bat (no pun intended), I find a potion and TM39 (Rock Tomb). This cave isn't so big either. I go through with minimal annoyance and ran into one Psyduck.

I run into somewhat non-descript trainers, save an annoying double battle with some twins. Noticed an item to one side, and fount out it was TM09 (Bullet Seed).

Finally made it to Floaroma Town. Going under the arch, it is decorated nicely with blue flowers, and there is a field of blue flowers everywhere. A quick heal at the Pokecenter, and I'm going to explore a bit.

Talking to a few people, I learn some interesting things about the town. Floaroma Town was a barren, desolate hill long ago, avoided even by Pokemon, and then people started planting flowers on it because it was such a sad place. But nothing would grow, and no one knew what to do. And then one day, someone expressed thanks for the blessings of nature. Then the whole hill burst into bloom.

There's a little girl in a house who asked me if it was cute that Pokemon plucked berries. I smiled and just agreed with her, and lo and behold, she gives me the TM for the move Pluck (TM88).

Back outside, a villager mentions that the Galactic guys went through the meadow to the north. I'll check that out in a few minutes. There's a cute little shop I go into, apparently they sell berries. I'm given a free sample and also get a free Sprayduck to...water the plants.

I start heading north, and I hear voices yelling.

"Do as we say! Galactic will have that Honey!"

Great. Team Galactic. Suddenly, they notice me, and one of them says that I'm a witness. He throws out a Stunky and I easily beat it with a Spark from Starbit. Right after him, the other Grunt comes forward and sends out a few Zubats. I defeat him easily too, and they run off.

The old man that was there leaned over and picked up something off the ground and handed it to me. He says it's a Works Key and it's probably for the Valley Underworks. The man says they were trying to steal his Honey.

He is happy to be rescued and he gave me some Honey. I turn and as I turn he says to slather it on a tree to attract a Pokemon.

The image of myself pouring honey on a tree to attract a Pokemon makes me laugh.

EDIT

A few hours later, I register my friend Tim's code: 5071.0598.1997

We discovered by accident and with much laughter that the microphones can actually pick up voice and you can voice chat through the DS itself. It was very unexpected.

We did a few battles and used the recorder, I'm going to try and record the battle off the screen with my webcam. It will be awesomely bad quality.

Part 6: Evolutions

So I'm hanging out in Jubilife for a little bit, looking at The Global Terminal for a bit. I explore inside for a bit, but nothing really interests me.

There are a lot of people in the building and I have to sort of struggle my way through the crowd. A giant globe spins in the center, and I walk up to it and register my location, Washington, in the USA, of course.

There doesn't seem to be a lot to do here, though. You can trade with other people, but I don't know anyone, and besides, I wouldn't want to trade anyway--especially this early in the game.

There's another floor where you can watch recorded battles.

Whee.

And another floor where you can look into people's PC's.

Whee.

MOVING ON.

I make the trek back to Oreburgh city, only running into a few random battles along the way, and surprisingly didn't run into any in the short cave.

I roll my eyes as I pass by the sign that's on the Gym building that says "Call me Roark the Rock!"

Subtle.

These vent things scattered around the city...it's weird. I talked to one guy who says they exchange the hot air down below with fresh air outside. What purpose is this used for? I assume maybe it's for the miners working in the hot conditions, but I'm not sure...

So let's go to the Museum.

*One boring tour later* Okay, let's not do that ever again.

I go back over to Route 207 where I first caught Waffle. I need to speak to the guy on the bike again.

I approach him and ask him where I can get a bike like his. There's a slope right in front of us that is too slippery for walking, but apparently a bike can make it.

...logic...there is none. It would take so much more force to actually get a bike up that sort of slope.

Okay, that aside, he tells me that there's a Cycle Shop in Eterna City. I grab my map out and notice that I'll have to go back through Jubilife City from the looks of it to reach there...and Floaroma Town.

Maybe I'll meet some new Pokemon on the way there. I fold the map back up and start on my long walk.

I hit Jubilife City and head north, and I see ahead of me what looks like a group gathering. I see Prof. Rowan and Dawn apparently being harrassed by some mystery man. I duck behind the nearby lampost and listen in.

"-over all your research findings. For free naturally. Failure to comply will result in a painful time for your assistant."

My eyes narrow at these spoken words. What research could possibly cause someone to take that much risk in their actions? I can't hold back anymore, and I go up to the group immediately, hoping to disband the harassers.

Rowan greets me and asks me how the Pokedex is progressing, and notices my Oreburgh Gym Badge. Really, Rowan, is this the time for pleasantries? He compliments me on my success though, and I revel in the praise for a moment, but the mystery man interrupts us.

He tells the professor he is being difficult and that they are only speaking to him on business terms. And that they demand he comply with their demands.

I have to laugh when Rowan turns on them and just flippantly waves them off with one hand telling them to just be quiet. He clears his throat, telling them that, "There are still lessons you need to learn. Don't loiter about, don't interupt conversations, if you don't get your way, don't raise your voice to try and be intimidating, don't think you are strong because you are in a group, and what is with those outlandish outfits you have on?"

I can barely contain my laughter as he tells me and Dawn to not end up like them. But the mystery man doesn't seem to take it so lightly.

"You have forced our hand into making a show of force! We will make you regret insulting Team Galactic!"

Rowan merely sighs and rolls his eyes, motioning to us. "You kids, give these thugs a lesson in civility, please."

I blink as Dawn says for me to battle with her.

Wait...a DOUBLE BATTLE?! D: I don't know if I'm prepared!

Too late, they've sent out Stunky and Glameow. Glameow is kinda cute, I make a mental note to look for that one.

Starbit does a Charge move, and Dawn's Chimchar takes the lead with Ember. After a bit, I have Starbit use spark on Stunky. It goes down easily, and Starbit grows to level 15. Good job, I'm proud of her.

Then, suddenly, Starbit jumps out of my hands and a bright lights surrounds her as we all watch her start the very quick evolution process we've all gotten used to.

At first, I hold my breath, my eyes widening in anticipation as I await to see what Starbit is going to become. There's that moment of hesitation and white light, and I have to close my eyes. When I open them, a beautiful healthy Luxio stands before me, and Starbit just seems to be grinning at me as if to say "Hey, I got this, no need to worry."

With the spectacular change of Starbit, the Grunts seem to be scared off. They retreat for now and run north from here.

I gather up Starbit, who just purrs in satisfaction at her accomplishment and I glance at her.

"I still feed you."

Starbit just sticks her nose in the air and I motion to the pokeball at my waist. With a bound, and a flash of pink light, she dissapears into the ball.

Rowan looks off in the direction the two thugs went. He says they call themselves Team Galactic.

"When Pokemon evolve, they seem to release some type of energy. However, I think it's a mystic power beyond our control. Team Galactic seems to be studying that power's potential, so they can use it for something."

Dawn turns to me. "Donny, did you know? The Professor studies the evolution of Pokemon too. 90% of all Pokemon are tied to evolution. That's probably why they tried to take the research data by force."

Rowan sighs. "Well, it's all over now, and thanks to you two, nothing came out of it. Incidentally, Donny, Kudos to your battling skill."

I glance down at Starbit. It really was her, and then she evolved on top of that. And then all that information about the evolutions and what Galactic wants to do with it! Seeing the raw energy that emits during the evolution really is just awe-inspring, and I could tell that whatever it was, Galactic would use it for their own selfish needs.

A few farewells pass, and they both walk off. Someone else walks up to me quickly, explaining that he is from Jubilife TV. He wants me to have something for the "smashing battle".

A fashion case.

Whee.

But after all that, I'm tired, so I go ahead and save and quit.

Part 5: Oreburgh Exploration

I went north in Oreburgh and walked around in the grass to level up Sheldon and Starbit, and ran across a Ponyta. I really, really like the look of it, so I'm excited to find one. I always wanted to try and use one, so this will be a good chance to try it out.

I was told by Josh that in Diamond and Pearl, Ponyta was the only Fire type you could find besides the starter Chimchar. Platinum added in a few others.

I caught it after a few throws and immediately named it Waffle, keeping up my tradition of dumb horse names. Though, Waffle is named after Epona from Twilight Princess, when me and Josh were playing a bit of it together. I leveled it up to level 10 and saved and quit for the night until I could play with Josh later that night.

So here I am, wandering around in a mine, looking for the leader of the Gym. I finally hit a back wall and turn right, and come across a red-headed man who tells me to stand back.

Then, all of a sudden, the boulder that was in his way is just smashed into dust, and as it clears, my eyes stare at him in a wonderment.

"Fallen boulders need to be smashed so they're out of the way." he says to me. I sort of take it as a well, duh, moment, but his words seem different, more thoughtful.

He says that if I want to do that, I would have to beat the leader at the Gym in town..which just so happens to be him.

Of course it is.

So finally I end up at the Gym, and look up at the imposing sight. So this is where my destiny lies...

...wait...*sigh*...

...why do the Gyms look so much like the Pokecenters?

After a bit of searching to find the correct building, I looked back up at it and grinned. THERE was my destiny.

I went into the gym and saw that I could pass by the two trainers if I wanted to. But...I like free XP, so I go ahead and fight them. They were rather simple, and gave me no trouble, Sheldon wiped the floor with them.

And now for Roark. His first two pokemon are easy and taken down by Sheldon in one go. And then, Roark brings out a new pokemon I haven't seen called Cranidos.

I was still using Sheldon when Cranidos used Headbutt and brought me down to 17 health, then Pursuit right after that when I chose Bubble and then brought me down to 2 health. I then beat it with a critical hit. Was a bit of a tense battle, because Waffle and Starbit probably wouldn't have been able to survive.

Sheldon evolved after the battle, at level 16, into Prinplup. He wants to use the Metal Claw (off the top of my head, I am unsure if I can use that Quick Claw item I got. I sure hope so.) move, and has Pound, Growl, Bubble and Peck. It is a somewhat difficult choice, but I think I'll go with offense. I tend to play with an offensive flair, every now and again I'll use stat damaging moves, but otherwise, I like the quick offensive battles.

Got the badge, Rock Smash (or the ability to use it outside of battle), and TM76 (Stealth Rock).

Met up with my rival, Tim, in my attempt to go back to the cave and use rock smash against the rocks in there to the north. In the cave, I found TM70 (Flash), Big Pearl. I taught Rock Smash to the Geodude I found and showed it to someone, who then gave me a Dusk Ball.

I went back to Jubilife City and once again ran into Looker. This guy is weird and puts me off-kilter very fast. There's something...bizarre about him. Dunno what it is. He's part of the International Police though.

THAT MUST MAKE HIM TRUSTWORTHY. Yes, I did need to shout that.

I go to the new part of town and spend about five minutes staring at the fountains. They are very mesmerizing, and have nice moving animations on them. All in all I'm impressed with the graphics of this game so far.

I'm enjoying the three Pokemon I have at the moment, Starbit, Waffle, and Sheldon. Their strength and weaknesses are interesting, and I always liked flawed characters in some way, mainly because it causes more interesting battles and obstacles.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Part 4: Rival Battle and Oreburgh City

So I now have Starbit and Sheldon, and I always try to level up to at least level 10 before leaving the first town.

Starbit hit level 9 and learned Charge, which is good, considering it IS an electric Pokemon. Sheldon is at level 11, so I'm going to keep him there for right now, but Starbit needs at least one more level before I start heading off to Oreburgh City.

With Starbit now at level ten, I'm going to go ahead and heal up, save, and then head for Oreburgh.

Headed for Route 203 and have run into Tim. And of course, he wants to battle. Not even a hello or anything.

Okay, his first Pokemon is a Starly, and I'm using Starbit. The Starly easily goes down, and then Tim sends out his Turtwig. God, that stupid Withdraw attack. It takes so long to do any damage. Every time I use Leer, it uses Withdraw, and it's very annoying. USE SOMETHING ELSE! Was doing ONE point of damage, until finally got a critical hit. But it survived with one point, and Starbit fainted with one more hit from the Turtwig, but I was able to win it with Sheldon.

So, after heading back to heal, I begin my journey on Route 203. I see an item I might be able to reach, but I have to go through a trainer first. I defeat him with a bit of trouble, he had a Zubat and kept causing confusion on Starbit.

But I was able to get my item. It was a Pokeball, not too bad.

So I run across a few other trainers, this one kid wants to fight against gym leaders, and he sends out a level 8 Machop. Don't think that's gonna go well, kid. But Starbit grew to level 12 with that fight, so that's kinda cool.

The next trainer has a new pokemon I haven't seen yet called Budew. It's somewhat cute. The trainer also sends in an Abra. And for some reason it tried to teleport, and failed of course.

Another trainer caused Starbit to go up another level and learn Spark, so perhaps that charge move will become useful.

Okay, let's see if I can make it through this cave to Oreburgh City. I hate caves. Hate 'em so much.

I walk into the Oreburgh Gate and some guy gives me HM06, which contains Rock Smash. But I can't use it until I get the badge from the city.

Okay, then...that wasn't a bad cave at all. Two trainers and a level up from Starbit later, I find myself in the City, where I will heal up and stop for right now. Catch you guys a little later.

EDIT

Okay, let's explore the city a little bit. I went into the Pokemon Center and got my Friend code for Wi-fi stuffs. Finally found out all that.

I notice my rival, Tim, standing out in front of the Gym, and he says that the leader is really tough, but that he's gone off to the coal mine.

...why?

I'm not told why the leader went there, so I explore the buildings around town. I find someone in the first building on the left at the north part of town who gives me a Dusk Ball.

And there's someone who named their Psyduck "Yellow". Well that's just original.

In another building, someone wants to trade Machop for an Abra, and another guy wants to be shown a Geodude. If I can remember, I can at least try to do the Geodude thing.

Found out the leader's name is Roark, and apparently he went to work in the mines. He uses rock type pokemon, big shock there, so that means Sheldon will be pretty good against them. Might have to level up a bit.

Got a Great Ball from a kid who liked the look of my Pokemon's eyes. Explore a bit more later on.

Part 3: Exploration

So it's 5:30 in the morning and I turn on my DSi to do a little bit of stuff in Platinum.

So let's post up some stats of my Trainer Card. I went ahead and made a Trainer Card for the sidebar of this LP to keep track of changes and such easier. But it just shows what Pokemon I have.

Currently:
IDNo. 31300
Name: Donny
Pokemon: Piplup (Sheldon)

So I step out of the Pokemon center and notice two kids holding what looks like a DS. They are trading with each other. DO THEY NOT KNOW THE EVILS OF TEH TRADING?! Actually, trading is okay with your best buddy I think, not complete strangers though. I move on to explore more of Jubilife City.

Jubilife City is bustling with activity. I see a sign that reads "Population: 68"

Well now.

After wandering around for a while, I learned that Rowan apparently specializes in evolution of Pokemon, and that he conducted research with Professor Oak of the Kanto Region. This is the Sinnoh region.

Walked into the Trainer's School and found an X Attack. Apparently Tim is here too. I delivered a Parcel that was given to me by Tim's mom. I forgot to mention that yesterday. It's a town map, which is useful I suppose. Oh, and there's two. Yay, I get a town map!

Tim says that Oreburgh City is where he's going to be heading next. I continued speaking to the trainers in the building and learned a few interesting things like which types of Pokemon are good/bad at fighting each other. It's basic materials, nothing too terrible to remember.

Okay, here's some good information to remember:

Grass is weak to Fire
Fire is weak to Water
Water is weak to Grass

There is someone to battle here, I'll go ahead and do it to see what it gives me. It is School Kid Harrison and he sends out a Level 6 Starly. I go ahead and use Pound and take off a bit of damage, but Harrison uses an X Attack on his Pokemon, which raises it's attack damage. The Starly is beaten easily with another two Pounds and Sheldon grows to Level 10.

Since I am offered another battle by School Kid Christine, I go ahead and do it for the experience. Was a good battle with a Bidoof, not too difficult, and I got a critical hit too.

Because I beat both of them, I recieved a Potion from Harrison. Okay, let's explore a bit more after healing up at the Pokemon Center.

I tried to go into a part of town, but was stopped by someone who said that I don't have any Gym Badges. That will change soon, I'm sure.

I go north from the Pokemon Center, and am stopped by some guy who says I have no Poketch. What is a Poketch? I'm not really told anything, but I need to find three clowns in Jubilife City, and I can get one.

So...let's go hunting for clowns!

Found one rather quickly right above the Pokemon Center, and he asks me this question:

"Does a Pokemon grow by defeating others and gaining Exp. Points?"

I answer correctly and get my first Coupon.

I'm offered to make my first group. I know nothing of it, so I just opt out at the moment. Will have to ask Josh about it.

Another clown in front of Jubilife TV station. He asks if a Pokemon can hold an item. It can, so I get my second coupon.

Last clown in front of The Poketch Company building. He asks if the moves of Pokemon also have types. I say yes, and get my last coupon. Since that is my last one, and I have all three, I head back to talk to the guy. And I get a Pokemon Watch. Apparently I can add apps to it, and it has a cute picture of a Pikachu on it.

Scrolling through it, it has a clock, calculator, step counter, and current Pokemon in my team. That's kinda cool. The clock will be useful anyway.

I want to go shopping. I sold a few things, and then discovered something interesting. There's something called a Heal Ball, and it restores a caught Pokemon's HP. That's a neat idea, but I don't buy one. There's also something called Air Mail, but I assume it's to send mail to a friend, which I don't have any friend codes, nor even what my code is. I will have to ask Josh how to find it.

Got a free Quick Claw in the Jubilife Condominium building.

That's enough for right now, so I'm going to go ahead and save and quite and continue some more later.

EDIT

Okay, back on route 202, trying to find a Shinx. It is a super cute thing and I want it. Got a free potion from someone who works at a Pokemart. Grew to level 11, learned Water Sport and still looking for the Shinx.

Found a very strange creature called Kricketot. I used Sheldon's Pound move and caught it rather easily that way. It's a bug Pokemon, not my favorite, but I'll give it a try. In a traditional way, I suppose I'll name it Jimminy.

Well, went into battle with it and found out it has Growl and Bide. Not bad, but not the best. I won the first battle with it, but I really want to find a Shinx. I saw one yesterday, but couldn't catch it.

Using the method of putting Jiminy in first then shifting to Sheldon, he grew to level 4. Still want to get him leveled up a bit more. I doubt I'll keep him, I'm not much liking the way it looks, and I'm just not that fond of bug Pokemon.

FINALLY ran across a Shinx. I have to be rather careful to not kill it completely. D: I was gonna use Jiminy, but the Shinx killed it during Bide. I shifted to Sheldon, risked a Pound move and got it into yellow, then was able to catch it.

Ahh, so it's an electric Pokemon. Awesome. I nicknamed it Starbit and now I think I'll head to the Pokemon Center and rest, then save and quit until later.

I like how I run into literally FIVE IN A ROW after I catch one. Geez. But yeah, Jiminy went into storage. Gonna concentrate on Starbit and Sheldon for a bit.

Part 2: I Actually Begin

With the immediate gain of our pokemon, the Professor leaves us with an invitation to see him at his lab in Sandgem town. Dawn leaves with him, and not two minutes later, Tim gives me a wild grin.

"Let's battle together with our Pokemon!"

I am unsure, wanting to bond a bit better with the little Piplup, but I seem to have no choice in the matter.

We both take our Pokemon out, and I see he's chosen the Turtwig. Now, even though I'm new to Pokemon, I know that Water is not the best against grass, and that grass types are somewhat strong against water. It is not a good match. But I continue onward, hoping a first win would grow a stronger bond between me and the Piplup.

It is a very hard battle, Tim constantly using Withdraw against my attacks. I use Piplup's Growl attack a few times, then continue with Pound. I only take off a very tiny amount each time, and do not get lucky with any critical hits. Finally, after a while and only 5 HP left, I win against Tim.

Tim seems to take it well, but starts off back home, claiming he and his Pokemon need some rest. I agree and go back to the house to rest up. Later that day, my mother expresses her concern that we might have been attacked by wild Pokemon, and that it was a good thing that Rowan was there to stop us. She says that I should thank him properly and gives me a pair of Running Shoes. With instructions.

Thanks mom, I know how to run.

She means well, I know. So I head out the door to go towards Sandgem Town.

And once again, Tim is waiting on the road and stops me. He's had a great idea.

Last time his idea got me grounded for two weeks and my neighbor refuses to let me and Tim near his flower garden ever again.

But Tim continues talking about the lake nearbye and how people say there's a legendary Pokemon that lives there. He says that we should catch it and give it to Prof. Rowan.

I just stare at him. He must be an idiot. We have a Turtwig and a Piplup, and once again, even though I'm new to Pokemon, I can work out the basic math that perhaps a level 5 Piplup would not stand well against a very rarely-seen legendary Pokemon.

But before I can protest, he pushes me towards the lake. I finally concede, hoping that maybe I can talk him out of his hair-brained idea.

When we walk into the lake area, I am once again struck by the music and atmosphere of the place. The water is a deep blue, with fantasic ripple animations on the top of it.

There is a man named Cyrus at the lake, and he has blue hair. Need I say more about him? He leaves rather suddenly, passing by us with hardly a word.

Just as we were about to get closer to the lake, a weird cry echoes over everything. We stop in our tracks, wide-eyed. Tim is convinced it must be the cry of the legendary Pokemon.

And then, suddenly, he smacks his forehead and points out we don't have any Pokeballs.

Oh...yeah...that might be kinda helpful in capturing Pokemon. Perhaps Prof. Rowan would give us some.

With a spastic run, Tim leaves the lake front, causing me to lag behind. Maybe now I can walk in peace.

I head out to the main road to Route 201, and come across the first batch of tall grass. I give a deep breath and plunge in. It's not long before I encounter my first pokemon!

The rustling of the pokemon catches my eye, and the little Piplup and I are on guard. And I stare at the pokemon that just appeared with disbelief.

It's...a mouse (Bidoof). The terrible creatures that I was told would rip us apart is a plump mouse. I blink, keeping back the laughter.

The battles go well from that point on, and I meet a few more people on the way, and they give me tips on Pokemon in general. I finally reach town having fought my way through birds (Starly) and mice to get there, risking life and limb and...

...okay, I'm exaggerating slightly. But seriously. Birds and mice were our biggest threats.

I see Dawn at the outskirts of town and she leads me to the Pokemon Research Lab. As we reach the door, Tim bursts out, almost colliding with me. With a quick hello and goodbye, he dissapears into town.

Dawn and I ignore Tim and head into the lab to speak with Rowan. He takes a look at my Piplup and says it appears to be rather happy.

Odd considering I just fought through birds and mice to get here.

Will never shut up about that.

Rowan asks me if I want to give a nickname to the little Piplup. As I usually remember the names I give them better than their species name, I say sure.

After much agonizing, with Josh throwing in the suggestion I should name it "Smoosh" because it is cute and smooshy-looking, I finally end up naming it Sheldon, after my dad's middle name.

After the naming ceremony, Rowan gives me my first Pokedex. This device will record data of every Pokemon I encounter.

He's clearly using me to do his job, but I don't mind.

Rowan gives me one last thing before leaving the lab, a TM27. TM stands for Technical Machine, and this one contains the move Return. These can be used to teach a move instantly to a Pokemon, but that this is a single-use only.

And with that, Rowan slams the door in my face and leaves me to my journey. Dawn shows me around town, introducing me to the Pokemon Center and the Shop. Finally, she has to go, but leaves me with the advice that I should tell my mother I'm being used as slave labor--er...volunteering to help out Rowan with the Pokedex.

With that, she heads north and leaves me to heal my Pokemon. The last thing I want to do is have it be killed by a Bidoof.

And with that, I end my first playing session with Pokemon Platinum. Tomorrow I will continue on with my journey.

Part 1: Starting Out

So when I first started out the game, I heard the somewhat ominous music of the Gamefreak logo, and became somewhat excited. This was my first Pokemon game I actually owned besides Pokemon Yellow way back then, and Pokemon Explorers of Time which I didn't like and had only played maybe two or three hours on. I just didn't get that game, seriously.

So I'm greeted at the intro screen to this floating yellow and red thing. I have no idea what it is, so I ask Josh. I'm told this is Giratina. With a bit of research, I find out that Giratina lives in the Distortion World (whatever that is) where the normal rules of Time and Space don't apply. It is also a ghost/dragon type pokemon. You can first encounter it in Diamond/Pearl versions of the game.

With that out of the way, I press start for a new game. I am greeted by Proffessor Rowan, who reminds me of Professor Oak from the game I played so long ago. I feel somewhat unsure of this Rowan fellow, but he seems to hold the same purpose as Professor Oak, so I continue.

He asks me if I am a boy or girl. It's clearly obvious. I always play as the male avatar in games, so I put my cursor over the boy and choose him. He is wearing a strange beret and a white scarf, but I don't question it, considering I have seen stranger fashion, and the girl's outfit isn't much better. At least the boy is clothed properly.

And now the hard part. A name for myself. I struggle very often with names, but I usually choose a set name for any male avatar I use in games. I pick Donny this time, short for Donatello, which is not only an awesome name, but my favorite Ninja Turtle. I'm sure Donny would be thrilled to know he was named after a giant fictional mutant turtle. Just wait until I have a kid and will want to actually name him Donatello. Hey, it's a cool name.

So, after that, I'm shrunk down into a very disturbing chibi-like human and appear in the top floor of my house. I try to walk to the stairs, but all of a sudden, barreling at top speed, in comes my childhood rival. I had chosen his name as Tim, after a Tim I know who's a bit of a spaz in real life. I figured the name fits well, and the real Tim didn't mind and thought it was kinda cool anyway.

So after spouting something I didn't really catch, Tim bolts down the stairs again and I'm able to follow. When I reach the bottom of the steps, my mother approaches me and tells me that Tim is looking for me. Even though he was just here. Very strange.

I get my first view of the town of Twinleaf. I am excited to see snow on the ground, but Josh tells me that it is not a weather mechanic, but that it's always snowy. The air has a dusk feel to it, being not entirely dark, but not soley day either. The colours are bright and rich, and the music is very fitting for the scenery.

I explore the town, talking to a few people who give me simple tips on the pokemon world. There are three other houses to explore, and I go into two, but gain nothing in items. Don't these people know I'm a starting adventurer and must be given free items at the start of the game? Ah well. Let's meet up with my rival.

I head for the house in the northwest corner of the town and just as I reach to knock on the door, Tim bursts out of the house and thuds into me. He yells something about going to see Proffessor Rowan, and that I should go with him. He takes a couple steps, but then stops, saying that he has forgotten something inside. I follow him in and find him packing up his Bag and Journal, and sees me and gives his goofy grin. He runs off again, yelling that he'd meet me on the road and find me 10 Million if I was late.

Heading out of the house, I still thrill in the look and feel of the town, becoming more excited that my journey has actually started. I head up north, and see Tim standing there waiting for me. He gives me this impatient look and says that we should go see Prof. Rowan in his lab.

However, I see tall grass in our way ahead, and I stall, pointing at it with a frown, remembering the advice my mother had given me. She had said to never go into tall grass without a pokemon of my own, and as I had none, I could not enter. Tim tries to reassure me that it's okay we don't have pokemon, but that if we act quickly enough and dash through, we shouldn't encounter any wild pokemon and make it to Sandgem Town with no problem.

I am skeptical. The boy's a spaz. Seriously.

I watch in disbelief as he backs up preparing to rush through the tall grass we were constantly warned to not go through. I back up a step, preparing to rush back to town and get someone to recover what would be left of him from a vicious attack by the local wild Pokemon.

I then realize it's a sad life when you can't even entire tall grass without fearing for your life. I then wonder briefly if perhaps a lawn mower would do the trick and perhaps prevent everyone from living in fear of the tall grass.

Then, just as Tim was about to throw himself needlessly into the terrible danger, a voice calls out and halts his foolish venture. We both turn and see Professor Rowan walk up. And I feel silly, because he's coming in the opposit direction of Sandgem Town. He must have been at the lake.

He notices we don't have any pokemon between us and scolds us for even thinking of going into the grass without the protection of a pokemon. After a few moments of silence, he looks at us hard, glancing between us. And then I see a glimer of an idea pop into his head, and a wild look appears in his eyes.

I dont't fear the tall grass anymore when I see that look.

He turns away and starts muttering to himself, and I give a worried look at Tim as I overhear Prof. Rowan saying that our world would change if we met Pokemon, and whether or not it would be right for him to put us on that path. Then, with a swift turn, he look at us both and asks us a question.

"You two. You truly love Pokemon, do you?"

Well...do we really have a choice in the matter? Pokemon is a way of life around here, as well as allowing us freedom in walking in any tall grass we so choose.

I really need to bring up the lawn mower idea to the city council next time I see them.

We both nod in agreement to the question. He makes sure of our answer by asking us again, and Tim, in his spastic way says that the Professor could ask us a hundred times and our answer would be the same. Yes, we love Pokemon.

He looks at us both and becomes stern once more. The wild look leaves his eye for a moment. And he says that it worries him what people like us would do with Pokemon, because of our foolhardyness.

Then Tim surprises me. He looks at the professor and stammers a bit, but then points to me. He takes the blame of wanting to go into the tall grass, and that I should not be punished, but even if he doesn't get a pokemon, I should.

I am somewhat touched by this gesture, and it shows me that even through the kid's erratic behaviour, a good human lies underneath all of it.

The Professor seems to think the same, for he lets out a huge grin. "Very well," he says. "I will entrust you two with Pokemon!" He looks to the ground, but then frowns, and glances around as though he has forgotten something.

Behind him a girl approaches, carrying a briefcase, yelling out Prof. Rowan's name. Apparently Prof. Rowan had left his briefcase at the lake, and a thought goes through my mind that we trusted this man with our personal information at the start of all of this.

Prof. Rowan explains to the Dawn, the girl's name, that he was about to entrust us with our first Pokemon. She balks for a moment, whispering under her breath that the Pokemon in the briefcase are crucial and is he sure he wants to give them away.

Rowan gives a hard glance at Dawn and says that there comes a time when people should meet Pokemon, and that there is a world that should be explored together.

I suddenly realize that I've been stuck in a four-house town my whole life and must have not ever seen a pokemon even once.

Laying the briefcase out in front of us, he tells us to choose our first pokemon. Tim lets me go first, because I'm the oldest.

I look at all three of the pokemon. There is a choice between Piplup, Turtwig, and Chimchar. I can tell right away that Chimchar is NOT going to be my Pokemon, because I really doin't like monkeys one bit. Even cute ones are stretching it.

Turtwig is a grass type, and being as Bayleef was always my favorite pokemon, I'm surprised that this one doesn't jump out at me as the right choice. Grass is a good type, and the Turtwig is cute, but the last pokemon catches my eye right away.

It is a hard decision. I am not very experienced with Pokemon selection, and usually go with my gut instinct of it's overall cuteness factor, as well as type.

The little Piplup is super cute and a nice shade of blue. It is a water type. I pick that one up and grin. I now have my first Pokemon.

Introduction

Pokemon Platinum Text LP

Welcome to my first text Let's Play. This will be a journey through Pokemon Platinum with someone who doesn't know pokemon very well. My first game I played was Pokemon ShinyGold, a fan-made romhack of another game.

I was introduced to pokemon through my boyfriend, Josh, who had a passion for the games and wanted to share that with me. I was unsure at first, my last game of Pokemon having been Pokemon Yellow way back on the Game Boy Colour.

He was kind about my rather stupid questions about everything, and provided the ShinyGold romhack and lead me through it nicely, showing me the best types of pokemon, the best way to strategize against the rivals, ect. I can't say I remember everything, but at least I was shown, and he doesn't get annoyed with my questions. I think. :D

So coming up on the end of ShinyGold, I was wanting to get an actual game for my DSi handheld console. I asked him about which one would be best, taking into account that the DSi does not play GBA games, unfortunately. He told me the differences and strong points between Diamond and Pearl, then told me Platinum would be the best choice.

So, On November 22, on the first snow of the year outside, I went and got it at our newly-opened Gamestop down the street, using store credit. It was on sale, thankfully, but being a popular game, was still in great demand, even used.

The first one I picked up didn't actually work in the DS, and I had to take it back. I hoped that this wouldn't be an omen of things to come, but I was able to pick out a nice copy, and brought my DSi with me this time to make sure the game worked. I didn't want to drive in the snow twice, even with it being such a short distance.

So I got my game, no box and no instructions, just with the knowledge that Josh would be able to help me out. I drove home, and impatiently waited for him to show up on Skype, so I could tell him that I got the game. In the meantime, I started it up and erased the old file, which only had two hours on it.

Finally, he showed up. And thus, I could begin my Pokemon Journey.