So... Here would be a little recap of my Sisyphean task.
Supposed Champion Heather et al. had been kidnapped by the Psycho Doc, in allegiance with Team Meteor, in the Underground Railnet. To save them, I would have to get past the locked gate down there. Unfortunately, I would need Strength for this. To get Strength, I would need to beat Kiki at the Apophyll Academy. I would also need the Byxbysion Gym Badge from Cain's sister Aya to use Strength.
Cain had had the Key to Byxbysion Wasteland. Cain had also bolted at the Coral Ward without giving me the key—little bastard. He hadn't even had the decency to give me a ride across the extremely polluted and
toxic Azurine Lake. Coming to my rescue had been Amaria, the Water Gym Leader. She had promptly then volunteered me for some Team Meteor bashing at the Mosswater Factory in Peridot Ward. At least I had been rewarded with a fancy boat, though, and this Captain Planet T-shirt.
The fancy rust bucket had then somehow made it across to Apophyll Beach, and had been thankfully still intact. At the Academy on the Beach, I had found Victoria and Kiki, and had been told to find Kiki's mysterious student. I had then promptly raided a volcano, and had fought mysterious student Cal—a Fire ex-Gym leader—at the peak. Afterwards, I had wanted to fight Kiki, but had to fight Victoria first.
I had then proceeded to drink far too many kegs of whiskey on the beach. I had been blackout drunk for months until one day I had suddenly sobered enough to setup a eugenics program. I had bred and trained for days.
I had fought Kiki.
I had beaten Kiki.
But what had I had to show for it? Not a
single badge! Not even an HM! Just like bloody Corey...
Afterwards, I had learned that Cain had never showed up at the Apophyll Academy. And now I would need to find him at Azurine Island so I could get the key. Then hopefully I could get the HM and badge from Kiki, so I could go to Byxbysion to get the badge from Aya, so I could then get past the gate in Underground Railnet. All so I could save Heather et al. from Psycho Doc et al.
Honestly, Heather et al. would be fucked at this point. Thankfully, I knew a whiskey supplier.
Now, unfortunately, most of Alpha Team were at the level cap. We would have to go with Beta Team, maybe Gamma Team even. Who knew at this point? So I walked over to the PC, and grabbed a few Pokémon that weren't completely rebellious: Chip the Bibarel, Hawk the Sawk, Moxxie the Mightyena, Scatman the Muk, The Mountain the Graveler, and Hircine the Stoutland. They weren't the best—and some would need some levels—but they were barely passable for a team, coverage-wise.
And lo, I stepped out of the Academy and found... nothing. No interruption, no screaming, and not even an Earth-shattering kaboom.
Huh.I had honestly expected to be bumrushed by some maniac wanting to battle, followed by another detour.
Wait... the TV! The News! I rushed back inside to catch some glimpse of hope, of freedom. I barged into a student's dorm room, knocked the occupant over, battled for the remote, and switched channels.
I could see my deeds in Mosswater had not gone unnoticed. That was nice. I didn't get any credit, though, but at least Team Meteor was taking the fall. The reporter said the pollution hadn't gone away though. Perhaps there was another source? It seemed likely. Team Meteor almost certainly had backups.
Surfing the channels, I found an interview with Titania, the Steel Gym Leader. A rather stoic one, that one. She had no comments, apparently, and the reporter had a massive fit.
Heh. Poor Gardevoir.And finally, a program about Aya.
What's your secret? I wondered. Well, apparently, she favored double battles. Her flagship was a Dragalge. which based on my shoddy memory I would guess was a Dragon/Poison-type or Water/Poison-type. Dragalge's signature move was to "throw all the [...] poison across the field at once." That made me think of Toxic Spikes or Sludge Wave. Pecha Berries now seemed like a good investment. And to make matters worse, her Dragalge also had Adaptability.
Fuck. I remembered that my Duckbane the Gumshoos had it. STAB moves effectively became super-effective: a 33% increase in power.
In other news, there were reports of Nidorans in Byxbysion. I already had a breeding pair, so I wasn't that interested. Elsewhere, there was some kind of "apparition" in Byxbysion. I would guess that that was Ghost-type of some form. Lastly, in Azurine, there was some kind of "spirited" Psychic-type in a tree. Chip now had a job.
I guessed I had better get going. I figured I should train Chip and Hawk just a little bit, and I knew just the place.
To the Grand Hall!Where the trainers did in fact change. There was just one trainer now.
And he had a team of Teenage Mutant Ninja Squirtles! Well, a Squirtle, two Wartortles, and a Blastoise. Specifically, they were all shinies and above level 45. And Blastoise was level 52!
Oh shit, oh fuck."Load the super soakers!" I yelled frantically.
The Squirtle and Wartortles, I could somewhat manage. But Blastoise? That hellish hell beast from hell that was armed with Leftovers and had a Rain Dance Rain Dish combo?
It wouldn't die."We will Struggle you to death if we have to! We have the technology!" I boasted.
Once the Blastoise had Skull Bashed himself to an early Parkinson's disease, and ran his Hydro Pump dry, I could finally get to work.
"Hawk, get in there, flex your shit and break his!" I ordered.
The Struggle was real, but the victory was
mine.
...
Alright, so the Grand Hall was a terrible idea. I would not be returning to this silly place for a while. I reasoned that perhaps Pyrous Mountain would be better. So I hopped on S.S. DOOM, and disregarded the non-existent safety precautions when entering the volcano. There, the team trained. And in the process I caught Blueshift, a shiny female Magcargo.
After training, I went back to the main land to stock up. Potions and balls, who knew how long I would be stuck on Azurine. I also bought some Common Candies, just in case.
I didn't have much time to marvel at the durability of the S.S. DOOM as the shores of Azurine Island approached. It looked surprisingly green at first glance. This was quite odd for an island in a lake of toxic sludge. At least the boat was still intact.
There was no civilization in sight. Swamps, yes, but civilization? All I found nearby was a Potion.
I immediately started hunting for Pokémon in the nearby trees and grass. It was night, so I presumed I only caught a portion of what was available. All in all, in the first round I caught: Palpatine the male Palpitoad, Godot the female Golbat, Quagmore the female Quagsire, and Amoggus the female Foongus.
Some of the balls around here were also masquerading Pokémon. Sneaky little buggers they were. But good news, in a nearby pond I found one of Cain's earrings. So I guessed he was here somewhere at some point in some condition.
Elsewhere, I found a Great Ball and TM88 for Sleep Talk. But that was as far as I could go as it looked like I would need Cut to continue. I finished up my hunting, catching Beckham the male Foongus—with a critical capture to boot—then went back to the mainland for some quick healing and stocking up on balls. I also switched out Hircine the Stoutland for El Capitan the Persian, so I could have Cut on the team.
Back on Azurine Island, it seemed I had walked into quite the wilderness and a swampy maze. Yet signs of people were afoot in the form of lost Antidotes. I also found some Tiny Mushrooms, and a Resist Wing!
But then, I hit a Ledge of No Return! I guessed there was only one way to go, so down the Ledge I went. There I found a Synthetic Seed. Lots of things in bushes were to be found.
On a hunch, I tried catching one of the sneaky Foonguses. I thought they might have had an egg move or something. And so, Mycorrhiza the male Foongus joined our ranks. Also found a Shiny Stone.
Further down the path, there was a part of the Azurine Island that needed Rock Climb. I guessed I would be coming back here. Continuing past another Ledge of No Return, I found a Swift Wing, as well as a readout on the Swamp Field. The Swamp Field would turn out to be nasty with Poison moves, Sleep would cause damage, among other things. I could see why Sleep Talk was here!
There seemed to be no end as I picked up Tiny Mushrooms, a Great Ball and a Dusk Ball. But at last, I thought I could see a building! Like a little hut or shed, maybe. I could only see the roof, so maybe it was part of a larger settlement. But I was going to ignore it for now as I had more exploring to do.
Approaching a hill, I found a Magical Seed as well as an Escape Rope—how convenient. I could also see another Ledge of No Return that would bring me back to the start—how convenient!
Don't mind if I head back and heal up...After a quick trip to the mainland, and returning back to the path, I found a Dusk Ball and a Green Shard. At this point, I thought I had found everything, and spearheaded my way towards the building. It looked like a small lodge, though it had some metal beams going into the ground on the side so I didn't rule out an underground portion.
The convenient one-time heal right next to it was also convenient.
Entering the place... well it turned out to just be one level full of sciency stuff.
And Meteor. A pair of grunts were guarding the place: Eclipse and Aster. They sounded familiar, and apparently we had met before. I wouldn't know, it had been months with periods of blackout drunk in between. But, stooges being stooges, they proceeded to tell me they had captured Cain and had taken him somewhere.
And before I had a chance to grumble at another detour, I was faced with a double battle!
From the get-go, they sent out a Lunatone and a Solrock. My top two picks where Chip the Bibarel and Scatman the Muk. Fearing a possible Earthquake or Psychic, I immediately switched out Scatman for Moxxie the Mightyena. Chip blasted Solrock with a Water Gun, which like a water gun didn't do much. Lunatone decided to Psywave Chip, while Solrock dropped a Rock Slide on both of my Pokémon. Chip was now down in the yellow.
Now was the time to be careful. On the second round, I had Moxxie Snarl at the opposing team. Solrock dipped into the red, while Lunatone took a critical hit and was sent into the yellow. Chip could then follow up with a Water Gun on Solrock, knocking it out. Lunatone continued to Psywave Chip into the red.
With Solrock out, the grunts sent out Passimian, a monkey-looking thing. From its grassy appearance, I guessed it was at least part Grass-type. Thus, I gave Chip a break and switched back in Scatman. Moxxie proceeded to Crunch Lunatone to death, but had to tank a Bulldoze from the Passimian.
Shit, and I had just sent Scatman back in.Lunatone was replaced by a Midnight Lycanroc.
Oh shit! Ground and Rock!Lycanroc dropped a Rock Slide, avoiding a Mud Bomb from a flinched Scatman. Scatman endured but was now in the yellow. Moxxie held on in the red, barely, but was chopped by a Brick Break from Passimian.
I had to counter this, so I sent in Hawk the Sawk to replace Scatman. Hawk managed to break Midnight Lycanroc in half with a Brick Break, a one-hit KO. Passimian let loose a Brick Break of his own on Scatman, who held on with what little life was left. Scatman himself was aiming a Mud Bomb at Midnight Lycanroc, but with the wolf down it was aimed at Passimian.
It missed. Because of Levitate.
Say what?So that was a thing... I had to have missed something. Either way, Midnight Lycanroc was replaced by Midday Lycanroc. Seeing this, I remembered that Eclipse and Aster were from the Grand Stairway underground. I proceeded to hand out some Lemonade to Scatman, just in time for an Accelerock from Midday Lycanrock.
"I had just healed him, you fucker!"
Hawk wouldn't let such rudeness stand and broke Midday Lycanroc in half as well with a one-hit KO Brick Break. Passimian joined in with another Brick Break on Scatman, to cover for the entry of Oranguru—a bloody ape.
I figured Oranguru was related to Passimian, maybe a Fighting-type. Scatman got another Lemonade while eating Passimian's Bulldoze. Hawk was pissed and was Brick Breaking Passimian into the red. Meanwhile, Oranguru was Foul Playing Scatman.
What is this double teaming bullshit?Scatman was once again in the red, so I switched him out for El Capitan the Persian. Passimian managed to get in a parting Bulldoze before succumbing to the Brick Break from Hawk, while El Capitan ate Oranguru's Foul Play.
Victory was near. I had El Capitan Slash Oranguru before she got Nature Powered with a critical Tri Attack KO. Hawk avenged her with a Close Combat KO.
And so, the stooges were beaten and I stole their wallets. Nasty little fight, with a bit of probing. But Hawk proved himself by pummeling the opponents. MVP right there.
Afterwards, I could continue grumbling about another detour until Aster decided to be a gullible fool. She revealed that Cain was hidden somewhere in the lodge!
He couldn't possibly be behind that box in the back? In the vent?Never mind, it turned out there was a basement hidden behind a science gizmo. And they had a field Pokécenter down here, complete with a PC! How foreboding...
I'm just gonna go and... heal up real quick.The basement was a corridor with the field Pokécenter to the side. Up ahead were more Meteor goons. Taka too. They were doing something to a Camerupt. And would you look at that, Cain was here in a cage.
"Oh hai, Cain. How are you doing? I'm just... gonna take my time here..." I deadpanned.
It turned out that Cain had just been sailing by the Island when he had gotten captured. Taka had just been tying some old threads by mere chance, huh?
"I am but a damsel, imprisoned and distressed!" Cain yelled.
"You sure are, Cain. You sure are." I sagely nodded.
"Edelweiss, save me, my darling prince!"
I furrowed my brows at him. "Dude... I don't swing that way."
I was told that Meteor was setting up a breeding program for Pokémon on Azurine Island in time for repopulation. They could've just asked me. I had been breeding for months. I could've dumped my dump box on them!
Now what were they up to? Why yes, they were planning to attack Apophyll. And with a PULSE Camerupt to boot.
"Shit... not my badge! You motherfuckers! You're not taking this shit from me! Not again!"
The madmen were planning to blow up the volcano! Wipe Apophyll Academy and my badge off the map! Not on my watch!
"Oh, you have orders to capture me? I think you'll find that I'm a slippery bastard!" I yelled to Taka.
Taka opened up with a Klefki, while I sent in Chip. I was guessing Klefki was a Steel/Ghost-type, so I had Chip Crunch Klefki while Spikes flew all around him. The Crunch was half effective.
Shit...So perhaps it was just a Steel-type then. I switched in Hawk while more Spikes rained down. This was going to hurt. I had Hawk respond with a Brick Break, which did send Klefki into the yellow. It was not, however, super-effective. Klefki, on the other hand, recovered some HP with a Draining Kiss, which left Hawk below half HP. Thus I reasoned Klefki was Steel/Fairy-type. On the next round, Hawk knocked out Klefki with a Brick Break. In response, Taka sent out Gligar.
Ground/Flying-type, nice.I switched out Hawk for The Mountain the Graveler. Gligar, predictably, had counted on Acrobatics. It was not so useful against Rock-types. Still, I feared a Ground-move and now The Mountain had no Sturdy protection. On the second round, Gligar U-Turned into Alolan Exeggcutor, who ate a Smack Down.
Shit... Is it time to sacrifice the Mountain so I could get Moxxie in with full HP?I figured, yes, it was time. The Mountain didn't get much of a choice as the Alolan Exeggcutor dropped a Wood Hammer on him, knocking him out. The Alolan Exeggcutor then gloated by eating a Sitrus Berry to recover from the recoil, that bastard. Well, either way, Moxxie was now in battle. However, a Fire Fang proved to only cause normal damage.
This confused me. I was under the impression Alolan Exeggcutor was Grass/Steel-type. Was it in fact a Grass/Rock-type? Meanwhile, the bloody tree dropped another Wood Hammer, sending Moxxie into the red, and then eating another Sitrus Berry.
Recycle, I believed that ability was called. Or was that a move?
An Ice Fang put an end to that nonsense, and now the Metronome Ice Fang Moxie was a go. Out came Gligar again. Unfortunately for Moxxie, Gligar was faster with a Night Slash. Moxxie was out. So I sent in Chip. Her Water Gun brought Gligar down about a quarter of its HP. Meanwhile, Gligar chipped Chip down to less than half HP with an Acrobatics.
Hoping that it was just the Spikes' doing, I loaded up an Ultra Potion and healed Chip to full health. Unfortunately, Acrobatics was still enough to send Chip into the yellow. This meant trouble. So I switched out Chip for Scatman. He too couldn't eat more than one Acrobatics.
"Stall time..." I murmured.
Knowing Scatman was as good as dead, I popped a Revive on The Mountain. But luck was on Scatman's side as he ate another Acrobatics and held on with a sliver of HP! Thus I popped another Ultra Potion on Scatman, who took one more Acrobatics into the yellow. Hoping beyond hope, Scatman survived one more Acrobatics before getting in a critical Gunk Shot, shedding half of Gligar's HP! I gave Scatman another Ultra Potion, when Gligar decided to Roost.
"Oh hell..."
It was a battle of attrition. My Ultra Potions vs Gligar's Roosts. I was fairly certain I had more, but damn would that be pyrrhic. Scatman battled with Acrobatics twice as he let out a Gunk Shot and a Sludge Wave to finally bring Gligar into the yellow. At this point, Scatman was in the red, and I expected Gligar to Roost once more. So I took the opportunity to switch in a revived The Mountain.
Gligar used Acrobatics.
"Motherfucker."
As I Ultra Potioned the Mountain, only then did Gligar decide to Roost. I had yet to see a Ground-move so I figured I would be safe. Gligar U-Turned once more into Chatot, Taka's last Pokémon. The little birdie ate a three-hit Rock Blast that eviscerated a Sitrus Berry and reduced the bird to dust.
Gligar came out again. He delivered an ineffective Acrobatics, and was pounded with a two-hit Rock Blast into the yellow. Gligar then Roosted himself back to health as a five-hit Rock Blast battered him. Unfortunately, Roost meant he lost the Flying-type, so the Rock Blast was only half effective.
At this point, I was balls to the wall. Gligar Roosted a second time as it took a Smack Down. Then on the next round it delivered another Acrobatics, while The Mountain delivered an Earthquake. An Earthquake that didn't affect Gligar, because apparently Roost cancels out Smack Down.
I facepalmed and groaned. Furthermore, the Earthquake triggered a Field Effect change into the Short-Circuit Field. Guess who that benefitted? Not me. The Mountain tried another Smack Down after taking a boosted Night Slash to the face. As The Mountain ate a Chocolate Ice Cream to recover, Gligar Roosted.
And so it went. The Mountain carefully Smacking Down and Earthquaking Gligar, while the bat Roosted and Night Slashed. Once, I got the bat down to the point where if it didn't Roost it was dead, and if it did, it would take an Earthquake.
Taka used a Hyper Potion.
"I have more items than you, I can outlast you!" I angrily yelled.
My main worry was running out PP at this point. I started counting Roosts to see how many were left. I baited out any remaining potions, and I made sure to heal before going for the kill. Eventually, Gligar couldn't withstand a final three-hit Rock Blast.
And so, the Battle of Titans was over.
I had won.
Dear Arceus, this team was so baaaaad. I guessed The Mountain was the most critical one.
With Taka defeated, Team Meteor retreated. Naturally, they were bringing Camerupt with them.
"Arceus damnit, not my badge!" I yelled after them.
Cain tried to console me, but I wouldn't have it. "Fuck off, Cain! They're gonna blow up my badge! My HM!
"If you had just given me the key—if you had just given me a ride—we wouldn't be in this situation!
"This. Is. Your. Fault."
I calmed down. Cain was still talking.
"Oh sure, it was all a damsel act, Cain. Suuuuuure..." I sighed. Months of items were wasted. All for you, Cain. All for you. And what did I have to show for it, huh? Not even a badge.
At least I could get the PULSE Dex entry. The PULSE Camerupt seems to be heavy on the HP and Special Attack. It was super slow, though. Its Defense and Special Defense were decent. I probably would need a Water type for this one, or Ground.
Welp, I guessed I had to stop that Camerupt. Poor sod was gonna die.
Team Meteor would suffer fate worse than death, though.
Author
Topic: Da Nang's Pokémon Reborn Playthrough (Mostly Blind Breeder Challenge) [Spoilers] (Read 10705 times)