Another Monogen: Starring Red

[Drymus]

I decided to do a run of a generation no one seems to have covered yet, and decided to go back to the original set, mainly because Pokemon Yellow was the first video game I ever cleared. Also, for me, Pokemon must EARN their nicknames.

Protagonist: Red, former champion of Kanto, has taken a vow of silence since he was 10.

Post 1: Kanto Champion Red would like to battle!

Chose Bulbasaur as my starter, since he resists electric and double-resists grass type attacks. Cain missed twice, meaning it was an easy first battle.

Red was offered a Magikarp for $500, but declined, remembering how much work it was to switch level a Magikarp to 20. Also, he was getting strange looks from a guy across the room.

Red went outside and immediately caught Pidgey, Ekans, Meowth, and Rattatta. Ekans and Meowth would later be banished to the box.

Acquired the Old Rod, caught a Lightningrod Goldeen and an average Grimer.

Caught a Caterpie.

Fern: Pidgey, Bulbasaur, and Rattatta each took down one of Fern's Pokemon.

Team Meteor Factory: Primarily used Goldeen and Bulbasaur/Ivysaur, but Caterpie/Metapod/Butterfree saw some action. The fight with Aster and Eclipse was trivialized by Goldeen's Lightingrod boosting his special attack three times. Magby did not take the Water Pulses well.

Saved an Igglybuff. With Competitive. And Perish Song. Took some time to evolve it.

Julia: I think Butterfree put some stuff to sleep. Ivysaur brought down Helioptile. Goldeen took down Emolga. Blitzle may have been taken down with Rattatta/Goldeen combo. One of the Voltorbs blew up Rattatta as I switched, not sure who beat the other one. Jigglypuff used Persh Song on Electrode, then switched out. A few turns later it fainted.

Post-Julia Screencap:

After the battle, nicknames go to:

Ivysaur >> Houseplant

Jigglypuff >> Demonslayer

Goldeen >> Shocked

Butterfree >> Somno

Edited December 9, 2015 by Drymus

[Shad_]

Damn, i miss the times of Fire Red and Leaf Green, this sprite takes back a lot of memories

GL for your run anyway!

[Dragon116]

You should replace one of the leaders with Blue's sprite too. I think that would be hilarious.

[Lord Chespin]

You should replace one of the leaders with Blue's sprite too. I think that would be hilarious.

No, Blue should be Fern. We all know that Blue should be Fern.

[Genesis]

Wow that sprite takes me back to the glory days. Can't wait to see as you progress to Terra

[Drymus]

I should do that! Will do that after I post part 2.

(I apologize for the change in writing style, let me know which style you think is better)

Update 2: Beware of Demonslayer

When we last left Red, he was off to Obsidia Ward to fight the demon plants. But first, he helped a hiker he recognized from Kanto find a home in Reborn, and said hiker lent him an Onix for his journey. After assessing the situation in Obsidia, Red determined that the cause of the emergency was only accessible by going through the slums. Ignoring Victoria's warnings, Red pressed onwards. While in the slums, Red caught a Mankey and stumbled upon a Drowzee egg.

It amused Red whenever a Pokemon would use Sand-Attack or Growl against his Demonslayer, as it truly only hastened their demise. After clearing out a gang of Scraggy and Scrafty, he emerged.

While waiting for permission to access the park, Red explored Coral Harbor, encountering Cain and the Reborn water leader, Amaria. After a quick spar involving all of Cain's poison types falling to Somno's Sleep Powder + Confusion combo and his Oshawott falling to Housetank, Red returned to Obsidia with Amaria. The culprit was an entity named Zel, controlling a massive Tangrowth, threatening to crush anything that got in its way. Demonslayer, however, didn't care. (Perish Song) Zel fled immediately afterwards.

Red then went to the local Pokemon Center. He noticed the region's daycare right next door, and went inside to ask about rates. After being refused service, he went to the casino to forget about the experience, winning a Facade TM in the process. Chatting with one of the locals, he discovered many people were having issues with the daycare, particularly getting their Pokemon back. Remembering what the Team Meteor agents had said when he saved Demonslayer, Red realized the daycare couple were fakes. He unmasked and defeated them, and successfully released the true daycare couple. As thanks, he was given a Seel egg a trainer had left behind. He also found a lost Happiny in the warehouse the daycare couple was trapped in, and took it to the Pokemon Center to be transferred to Pallet Town.

Red advanced to the Onix trainer school, and Florinia's gym. His path was blocked, however, by Fern, who locked the door. Red's mind, sharpened from his time infiltrating Team Rocket bases, was able to infer that Fern had forgotten to lock the front door. After defeating Fern's underlings and then Fern himself, Red took a quick brake on a nearby rooftop. There, he found a Spearow and a Venonant. As he was about to leave, something black and blue tried to steal his lunch. Red reflexively threw a nest ball at it. He was truly surprised when he found out what it was.

Red boxed his Grimer and Shocked in favor of his newly captured Spearow and Mankey. He purchased two Super Potions, abiding by the league's rules limiting potion use on either side. Finally, he entered the battlefield. Neither he nor Florinia spoke. The two simply waited for the judge to signal the start of the match.

Red led with Somno, which was able to deal significant damage to Florinia's Maractus with Supersonic and Gust. Florinia used all of her potions to try to keep it from fainting, but a critical from Somno was all Red switched to his Mankey. Although five levels lower, Mankey was able to bring Ferroseed down to the verge of fainting, and Demonslayer was able to easily finish it. Red switched back to Somno as Florinia sent out Breloom. One Gust later, Florinia sent out Cacnea. Two Gusts later, Cottonee was sent out, and Red responded with his newly evolved Raticate. Several turns later, Cottonee used Poisonpowder, and was flattened by a mighty Facade. However, Florinia had one Pokemon remaining. With Mankey fainted, Red had no way of dealing super-effective damage to Florinia's ace. Florinia was set to sweep the remainder of Red's team with the monster known as Cradily.

Demonslayer, however, didn't care. Shortly afterwards, Red accepted his badge and the TM for Nature Power from Florinia.

Nicknames Awarded:

Mankey >> Valour

Raticate >> Yang

Edited December 9, 2015 by Drymus

[Hiroki Tatsumi]

i love the idea, please grab a Jynx D: I love Jynx D:

[Drymus]

I'm sure I know of someone that will be able to fight that Beartic when the time comes...

[Dragon116]

I like the second story style more. Also, you keep saying Demonslayer didn't care. What does she have that makes her able to kill these behemoths?

[Fumble]

I like the second story style more. Also, you keep saying Demonslayer didn't care. What does she have that makes her able to kill these behemoths?

Perish Song too op pls nerf

[Drymus]

Update 3: Just another walk in the woods...

On recommendation from Florinia, Red began making his way to Jasper Ward to assist the investigations regarding Team Meteor's PULSE weapons.

He met with the Chief of Police, and discovered that five of the seven members of the police force stationed in Jasper Ward had gone missing. Red agreed to keep an eye out for them as he made his way through the ward. In exchange, the police chief told Red that the disaster appeared to have originated from Malchious Forest, a park on the edge of the ward.

Red fought through the vines and trees swaying and growing at an impossible pace. When he finally made it into the forest, he was ambushed by a group of Meteor Grunts. After beating them all, he managed to get the exact location of the PULSE from one of them. He took a break in the local Pokemon Center, which had somehow sustained no damage whatsoever, although there was one man running against the wall.

Red advanced through the forest, dodging vines and berserk wild Pokemon. Noting some familiar species, he caught a Tangela, a Beedrill, a Bellsprout, and a Venomoth. He finally made it to his destination, and saw a blond man wearing a scarf. The man introduced himself as Taka, and claimed that he would like to set the Tangrowth free, but was unable to due to his orders. He revealed that he was a member of Team Meteor, and challenged Red to battle.

Red, noting that Taka had 2 Pokeballs in his belt, was hoping he could knock out all of Taka's members so that he could send Demonslayer to destroy the PULSE.

However, Taka's Lileep was proving to be too much for Red's Mankey, even with Mankey's super-effective critical Karate Chops, especially after Lileep used Ingrain. Red was forced to send in his trump card, Demonslayer, to take out Lileep. Rather than sending in his second Pokemon, Taka ordered the Tangrowth to attack. Red sent out Pikachu, who managed to paralyze the Tangrowth, but he was obviously outmatched. Red switched to Somno, who was able to confuse the Tangrowth and whittle its HP down with his Psybeam. However, Somno fell to a lucky hit by the Tangrowth, and as Red switched in Yang, Taka used a Super Potion on the Tangrowth. However, with the combined effects of paralyzation and confusion, Yang was able to survive long enough to lower its defenses with Crunch and finish it with Hyper Fang. The plants began to recede, but Taka was not finished yet.

Red switched to his Drowzee to buy some time for Yang to recover. Taka sent out a Chatot. It seemed harmless enough... Until it caused Drowzee to faint from a single Chatter. Red tried to use Somno to put Chatot to sleep, but he was too slow and was instantly knocked out by the small bird's Chatter. Red sent out Pikachu, hoping to defeat it with a type advantage. Pikachu managed to survive Chatot's next Chatter and paralyze it, but looked unsteady. Pikachu did manage to hit Chatot with a Charge Beam, but fainted to another Chatter. Red sent out Yang to finish Chatot off with Hyper Fang, since much of Chatot's speed had been lost. After the bird went down, Taka left, but informed Red that there was another PULSE in Beryl Ward, right beside the old mansion.

Red started to leave, but a girl named Heather stopped him, yelled at him for destroying the machine before she did, threatened him, told him to let her take care of the other machine, and flew off on a Salamence.

Red reported back to the police station, and found that two officers had returned after the plants wilted away. Red then journeyed to the Jasper Ward. He freed a woman who had been trapped in her apartment, and found a Metronome (Not really, I bought it just before fighting Corey, but that wouldn't fit in the story). The direct path to Jasper was blocked, so Red tried to go through the jungle to find another way in. However, it was too dark to properly see, and Red tripped and fell down a pitfall. He landed in a cage made of sturdy wood and vines. Fern showed up, and offered to free Red on the condition that he get on his knees and beg to be released. Red refused, and Fern left.

Red sent out Yang, and the two started chewing on the bars. However, the door to the cage suddenly swung open. Red heard a shrill voice say "Free Red! Free Red!" and saw a small bird fly off into the distance.

Puzzled, Red emerged from the cage. He saw a policeman in a nearby cage and let him out. The policeman returned to the station, but Red continued onwards. Red saw another Policeman tied up, with a Meteor Grunt standing guard. Red had Somno put the Grunt to sleep, and freed the policeman. He too returned to the station. Red finally arrived at the mansion, and was able to see the PULSE machine, but was unable to reach it due to a barricade. Not seeing any other choice, Red entered the mansion, hoping to find a way around. He encountered a survivor, who healed Red's Pokemon. Learning that the way was relatively clear, the survivor departed.

Red crawled over toppled bookshelves and trees, looking for something useful. He came to a room with a single Growlithe in it, looking down a hole. It noticed Red and started barking at him. Red looked down the hole as well, and saw torn scraps of a police uniform and a motionless human hand buried under a pile of broken boards from the floor above. Red, feeling somewhat sick, led the Growlithe out of the room.

The Growlithe burned down the barricade outside. Then Red gave it a note to the police chief, and it ran off. Red stepped over the charred barricade... and was immediately attacked by a Glaceon and a Lileep. In a panic, Red sent out Pikachu and Drowzee, his two weakest Pokemon with him at the moment. Red noticed Zel and Taka commanding the two Pokemon. In the background, Heather seemed to be fighting a hooded man using a Crobat. Pikachu managed to use Thunderwave and Drowzee managed to use Hypnosis before they were beaten down. Lileep, being asleep, was temporarily out of the battle, and Red was able to use Demonslayer and Valour to bring down Zel's Espeon and Glaceon. However, the tables turned when Taka switched to Chatot. Zel sent out Umbreon, and both Valour and Demonslayer fell. Red sent out Somno and Yang, his last two Pokemon. Yang was able to take a hit from Chatot and bring it down with Hyper Fang, while Somno put Umbreon to sleep. Taka unleashed the PULSE Tangrowth. Raticate and Somno were able to bring down Umbreon and take a chunk out of Tangrowth's life, but Yang fainted. Somno was eventually able to bring down the Tangrowth with a combination of Supersonic and Psybeam. Taka sent out his last Pokemon, Lileep, which was still almost at full health.

However, Somno had learned Silver Wind over the course of the battle, and had gained sufficient boosts from using it to have a definite edge over the Lileep. Taka and Zel retreated. Seeing, this the hooded man also started to flee. Red and Heather ran to pursue him.

The man was about to get away, but as he turned a corner, he ran into the entire police force. The chief pulled down his hood, revealing that he was Corey, the Poison Gym Leader and Heather's father. Heather yelled at him and flew off on her Salamence. Corey ran past the police, telling them that he would be waiting in his gym.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Drymus

[Hiroki Tatsumi]

I love the way you're writing this, it looks like a pokemon fanfiction but with realistic battles *-*

Cant wait to see a giovanni-esque battle between Red and Corey *-*

[Drymus]

Update 4: The traitor's venom

Pre-battle team:

Red arrived at the Corey's gym. The chief stopped him outside, telling him that the other officers were inside, but that a strange gas had been released, and all of the policemen, aside from the chief, had fallen into a kind of trance. Also, the policemen had searched the entire gym, but Corey was nowhere to be found, even though multiple witnesses claimed to have seen him run into the gym. Putting a cloth over his mouth and nose, Red entered the building. He had Pidgeotto clear away some of the lingering gas.

The room had six columns, three red and three blue, each attached to a control panel. The policemen slowly moved towards Red, arms outstretched as though they were zombies in a horror movie. Red was easily able to avoid them, and came to the base of one of the red pillars. He placed his hand on it, and the colour changed to blue. The two adjacent blue columns turned Red. Within minutes, Red had turned all of the columns blue. A panel in the wall slid to the side, revealing a hidden room. Red cautiously entered. Corey was waiting for him. Corey walked out the door, telling Red to come to the gym's arena so that he could make Red suffer.

Red entered the arena. The air was thick with a purple mist, and Red could vaguely make out Corey's outline on the other side of the room. Red still was breathing through a cloth, but Corey seemed to either be immune from long term exposure, or to no longer care what happened to his body. There was a coat rack with several gas masks on it. Red put one on and took his place on the battlefield.

Corey spoke. He claimed that Red had destroyed the fragment of a life that he had worked so hard to create. His daughter, all he had left, would never return now that his true alignment was revealed. Red, however, was unmoved. He had seen the destruction caused by the PULSE machines. If Corey was seeking remorse, he would have to look elsewhere. Corey said that if he was going down, he would take Red with him. Corey sent out his first Pokemon, a Skrelp. Red responded by sending out Yang.

Yang used Hyper Fang, dealing a massive amount of damage to Skrelp and bringing it close to the point of fainting. Skrelp used Venom Drench, causing Yang's attack power and speed to drop. Yang also took in some poison from the field. However, that was all according to Red's plan. Yang's next attack was Facade, which easily finished off Skrelp. Yang had the Guts ability, which more than made up for the power loss caused by Venom Drench. However, Yang also seemed to be a bit slower. As Corey sent out his next Pokemon, Red recalled Yang to give her a chance to recover, and sent out Somno. Corey had sent out a Croagunk. It went down to a single Psybeam from Somno. However, Somno also took in poison, and he had no benefit from status conditions like Yang had. Red recalled Somno and sent Yang back out. Corey sent out Skuntank in response. Yang took it out with a single Facade, but took severe damage from Skuntank's Aftermath ability. Red sent out Pidgeotto to buy time to heal Yang. Corey sent out a Nidorina. Pidgeotto used a Sand-Attack, but fell after taking 3 hits. Red, however, had managed to bring Yang back to full health in that time by using a super potion and a potion. Nidorina immediately fainted to Yang's Facade. Corey's next Pokemon, Grimer, was also knocked out before it could attack Yang. However, Corey and Red both knew that those two Pokemon were merely meant to be used to stall Yang. Although the poison boosted Yang's power, she was not immune to the damage it gradually caused. Corey sent out his final and strongest Pokemon, Crobat.

Crobat spewed a Venoshock at Yang. Yang cried out but was able to pull through and execute a Facade. Both Pokemon were now at their limits. The next blow would decide it. Red's initial plan had been to try to have Pikachu paralyze Crobat or have Somno put it to sleep, but after seeing its speed and power, Red knew that those options were no longer available. If Yang was unable to bring down Crobat, it would surely destroy the remainder of his team. Yang might be able to outspeed the Crobat by catching it off guard with Sucker Punch, but if Corey chose to hold back on the attack to try to heal Crobat instead, the Sucker Punch would fail and Yang would faint from her poisoning. On the other hand, if Yang used another Facade, the metronome Red had given to Yang would boost Yang's Facade high enough to deliver a one-hit KO to Crobat. However, if Corey chose to attack, Crobat would be faster than Yang, finishing her off before she could attack. If Red guessed Corey's move incorrectly, defeat would follow immediately afterwards.

Corey sprayed a super potion on Crobat... right before Yang slammed into it with Facade, knocking it out completely.

Red recalled Yang, and turned to face Corey. Corey told Red that he would give Red all of the answers he wanted if he came to Beryl Bridge, and ran out the door. Red ran after him.

The policemen outside watched as Corey and Red ran past. However, since they were recovering from the gas attack, they were unable to follow. When Red arrived at the bridge, he saw Corey releasing all of his Pokemon, and throwing his Pokeballs over the side of the bridge.

He then turned to face Red, and explained how Team Meteor had killed his wife in order to obtain her ruby engagement ring. He told Red that the reason why he began working for them was the condition that he be allowed to keep the ring. He then told Red that his daughter currently had the ring, and that Team Meteor would hunt her for it. He asked Red to protect her, and began walking towards the edge of the bridge. Red moved to stop him, but was pushed down. He watched as Corey climbed over the railing, and fell into the ward below.

Red returned the police station and gave a report on what had occurred on the bridge. The chief said that from the position Corey was in, he would have fallen into Lapis Ward, and that death was certain from that height. Seeing Red's expression, he changed the subject. He expressed his gratitude to Red for saving the members of the police force and the entire Jasper and Beryl Wards themselves. He then said that he didn't feel right about giving the Growlithe belonging to the deceased officer to a new recruit, and asked Red to take it with him. Red accepted.

(Mystery Egg was Azumarill, unfortunately).

Red began walking in the direction of Lapis Ward. Suddenly, he heard an explosion. It seemed to be near the Grand Hall. Red took off at full speed.

Nicknames Awarded:

Pidgeotto: Breeze

Pikachu: Stun Gun

Edited December 9, 2015 by Drymus

[Dragon116]

LMAO Stun Gun. I claim police brutality, or at least 10 year old Kanto Champion brutality

[Drymus]

(Apologies for the delays/ potential parts missing/ lack of detail, I lost the video I took of this portion. Hopefully I can find photos soon...)

Update 5: Blowing up the stairway to nowhere

Red pushed through the crowd of people, trying to get a glimpse of what the situation was. The police were trying to hold the crowd back, but they were outnumbered so badly that they might as well have been ants trying to stop the ocean's waves. Red saw a massive hole in the staircase, with a huge crowd gathered around the edge.

^{_{(Or at least, there WOULD be...)}}

Not wanting to add to the chaos, Red pushed his way back out of the crowd and continued on his way to Lapis Ward. However, a similar scene was waiting for him there. The crowd was gathered around a corpse. Red felt sick looking at it, and, although barely recognizable, knew it was Corey. He noticed Victoria and a purple-haired girl watching. Victoria noticed him and told him that the girl was Shelly, the Bug-type gym leader, and that Victoria had been about to challenge her when they noticed someone fall outside of the gym.

Red felt someone watching him. He turned around and saw Aster and Eclipse, the Meteor grunts who had faced him and Fern at the factory. They saw that they had been noticed, and ran off. Red noted that they seemed to be headed in the direction of the Grand Staircase. He heard the crowd gasp, and turned to look. He saw a figure dressed in all black floating above the scene. Shelly explained that it was Shade, and that he was also a gym leader. Without a word, Shade descended, gathered Corey's corpse, and flew up above the bridge.

Red and Victoria took Shelly back inside. Shelly revealed that she had known the man, as he had been Shelly's best friend's father. Victoria took Red aside, and said that the two of them should probably leave Shelly alone for a while. Red told Victoria about seeing the Meteors, as well as the crater in the Grand Staircase. The two made their way down to the staircase, and slipped down the hole when no one was watching. They landed in an enormous cavern. They were ambushed, however, by Aster and Eclipse, who dragged Victoria deeper into the cavern. Red ran after them, but was slowed down by wild Pokemon. He caught a Geodude and a Diglett while he was running.

He eventually came to a large door. A man in a brown coat was looking at it. The man explained that behind the door was the very heart of the region, and that the people were fools to bury it beneath the city. He explained that the door would only open if one had the four keys, sapphire, emerald, ruby, and amethyst. The man told Red that the reason he was telling Red this was because he wanted more people to know. He left, telling Red that he and Victoria were free to go, and that she was being held by Aster and Eclipse a little further down the cave.

Red went, and the two Grunts tried to team up on him, sending out a Lunatone and a Solrock.

Victoria, however, was able to get around and join forces with Red, sending out Emboar(maybe) while he sent out Yang. The grunts sent out Electabuzz and Magmar afterward, but they too fainted. The grunts retreated, and Red and Victoria returned to the gym to check on Shelly.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Drymus

[Dragon116]

Dang, it sucks that you lost the video. I'm still waiting to see who gets the Blue sprite.

[Drymus]

Update 5.1: Error 404: Story not found

So... I still haven't found the video, and I'm too lazy to run through this episode again.

Here's a brief list of accomplishments that weren't in the last episode:

-Joined Team Aqua

-Saved a Ponyta from an abusive owner, and acquired a water stone

-Get Bicycle

-Beat Victoria

-Beat Shelly with major help from Growlithe's Flame Burst and Geodude's Stealth Rock

Post Team pic:

Nicknames Awarded:

Growlithe > The Arsonist

Geodude > Geodette

Will go back to usual writing style next time.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Drymus

[Drymus]

(Note: My mystery egg has been changed from Azumaril to Staryu)

Update 6: Chance meeting in the cemetery

On the recommendation of Shelly, Red returned to the Grand Hall to let Ame know about Corey's incident. When he arrived, he saw that Fern had beaten him to it. Fern smirked and told Red that he would have a hard time getting the poison badge now, since the new poison leader was stationed in the wasteland, and only those who had the key could get in. He then revealed that he had a key, and that he would tell Red where he found it if he could beat him, saying it was impossible.

After Somno, Yang, and the Arsonist plowed through Fern's team, Fern gave a description of the guy who gave him the key, and left. Red knew the description could only match Cain. Red wandered off, knowing he would probably encounter Cain eventually. He left the Arsonist at the daycare, along with an overleveled male Mankey that he had forgotten he left in the first place, thinking he didn't want to deal with an enraged fighting-type at the moment.

While exploring the cave under the staircase, Red freed a hiker with Stun Gun's newly acquired Rock Smash. As a thank you, the hiker gave Red a free mining kit. After testing out the kit on the walls, Red found a fire stone, two moon stones, two max revives, some plates, and some weird shards, among other various items. He also found a Dome Fossil. which brought back memories from eight years ago, when he had first traversed Kanto holding a Helix fossil to his ear half the time. He suppressed the urge to withdraw and overlevel his Pidgeotto in the PC. He instead went to fetch the Arsonist, and found the daycare couple also had some eggs for him. He left the Mankey. Seeing the Arsonist seemed to be tired of battling after facing Shelly, he transferred her to Oak's lab via the PC and started carrying one of the eggs instead. It later hatched into a baby Growlithe.

Red made his way over to the Beryl Ward, where repairs were slowly being made. He wandered into Corey's old gym and into his secret room. He noticed a silver ring on the ground. Without thinking, he slipped it on. There was nothing else in the room except for a locked door with a card scanner. Red began exploring some of the nearby caves. There was a strange stone on the ground with a cable pattern on it, and Red put it in his bag to investigate later. He also found a grey Nidorina, which he recognized to be Corey's from their battle. The Nidorina recognized the ring Red was wearing, approached, and bowed its head. Sensing its thoughts Red drew out an empty Pokeball and caught it.

Red emerged from the cave at an old graveyard. He noticed Cain and walked over. Cain was staring at a newly dug grave. It was marked with Corey's name. Cain noticed Red. He explained that he was worried about Corey's daughter Heather, since he knew what it was like to be on his own.

When Red asked for the key to the Wasteland Cain told him he could have it if he could beat Cain in a battle.

Red led with Somno, while Cain sent in Dewott. Somno put Dewott to sleep, then hit it with Silver Wind. With the leftover power drawn in from its attack, Somno's battle capabilities rose. Cain tried to use a Super Potion to save Dewott, but Somno's next attack knocked it out. Somno proceeded to singlehandedly sweep Cain's entire team, only running into slight trouble when Cain sent out Nidoking.

Cain was about to give Red the key, but he noticed something behind Red. Red turned and saw Heather. Cain tried to get Heather to stop running from everyone and make some friends. When she yelled she already had one, Shelly, Cain suggested she go see her. Heather flew off on her Salamence.

Cain and Red hurried over to the Lapis Gym, where Heather and Shelly were. Heather became angry, and told Shelly to tell them to leave. Cain suggested that Heather stop bossing her friend around. Heather stormed out in response. The three followed behind. They saw that Heather had been captured by orderlies at Doctor Sigmund's orphanage. They moved to help her, but Sigmund stopped them, telling them that interfering with his orderlies could be grounds for arrest. They could only watch as the orderlies dragged her into the orphanage by force.

At Shelly's gym, the trio was trying to decide what to do next. Red was telling Shelly and Cain what the orphans had told him about the doctor's treatment when they heard a scream. Shelly identified it as Heather's. The three decided there was only one option, and ran towards the orphanage.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Drymus

[Dragon116]

Damn Staryu is going to be OP once you get to the Circus. For now it should serve as an annoyer with Confuse Ray.

[Drymus]

(A thing I forgot to mention in my last post: Beat Savage Beartic, got a Smoochum)

Update 7: Out of the frying pan...

Cain tried the door to the orphanage. It was locked. While the trio were trying to figure out their next move, someone from the inside unlocked and opened the door. It was Anna, one of the orphans, saying she opened the door because of Red's "glowiness". Charlotte and Noel were also by the entrance. Cain and Shelly explained that they were there to save Heather. Cain also offered to take the other orphans along as well, and retrieve their confiscated Pokemon. Charlotte agreed, and went to distract some orderlies. However, the trio was soon spotted anyways by three orderlies. Cain, Red, and Shelly each faced one orderly.

Geodette was easily able to defeat the orderly's Klink, and leveled up to 34, learning Earthquake. Red then switched to Yang, who demolished the orderly's Slowpoke and Elgyem. After the battle, Geodette evolved into a Graveller. Red looked and saw Cain and Shelly had defeated their opponents as well. The orderlies ran off to warn the others. Noel told Cain to block the door to the basement, as many orderlies would try to attack from that direction, but would be forced to fight one at a time in that position.

Two orderlies came from upstairs and dragged Noel away. Red and Shelly ran after them. Many orderlies tried to halt their advance, but Geodette and Heather, Shelly's Yanmega, were able to take them down. However, a steel gate was soon placed in their path instead. The duo returned to the main floor, fought their way into a laboratory, hacked into a computer, and disabled the door lock. Red also grabbed a computer chip off of a desk, hoping to use it as evidence of the orphanage's misconduct. They returned to the upper level, freed Noel and some other orphans from their jail-type cells, and were met with another locked door. They returned to the main level. Cain had pushed back the orderlies, giving them access to the basement. Red freed Charlotte, and then he and Shelly defeated the last of the guards blocking the way to the storage room. Charlotte collected the 4 sets of Pokeballs and the key to the door to Sigmund's treatment area. The group then rushed into the room and surrounded Sigmund, who was supervising his Electrivire while it electrocuted Heather.

Heavily outnumbered, Sigmund released Heather, but warned the group that he had already contacted the police about the breakout. They scattered, agreeing to meet in the abandoned railway tunnel.

When they all arrived, Charlotte explained that she and her sisters had a small, hidden house outside of the city that they could hide out in, and that the tracks should lead directly to it. However, their progress was halted by a metal door, connected to an inactive control panel. Shelly said that it was probably controlled by the old power plant station. Anna remembered that it was Shade, or "Mr. Shadow", who was living there now, and told Red he should go ask him to turn the power on, and get a badge while he was at it.

To prepare for the coming battle, Red trained his newly-hatched Growlithe by taking it to the cave under the Grand Staircase and teaching it how to read with the Unown floating around. After he was satisfied with the training, he gave the Growlithe his fire stone he had mined up earlier, causing it to evolve into a mighty Arcanine. He also gave Geodette the stange cable stone after learning it was a new stone developed by Silph Co to evolve Pokemon that would normally only evolve after being traded away. Geodette was now a Golem.

Red returned to the Beryl Ward and walked through the doors to the old power plant. The lights occasionally flickered on, but were off most of the time. In the darkness, there were four screens. One showed Carey jumping off of the bridge. One showed Amaria falling off of something, and an unknown redheaded woman behind her. Another depicted a woman being decapitated by a Garchomp. The last showed a woman with green hair exploding. Each one made Red feel uneasy. Red finally reached the end of the hall. Shade's black, levitating form could just be made out in the darkness. The two locked eyes, and wordlessly, the battle began.

Red sent out Yang. A Gengar came out of a nearby wall and floated on the other side of the battlefield. Yang seemed to recognize it from somewhere. Red heard Shade issuing commands to it, using the nickname "Corey". Red wondered if Shade was using that name just to distract him, but it was hard not to compare the shape of the Gengar to Corey's head. Red noticed Corey charging up electricity, and quickly ordered Yang to attack. Yang struck hard with Sucker Punch, taking moderate damage in return from Corey's Thunderbolt.

Shade used both of his Ultra Potions, with Corey taking a Crunch from Yang after each one. Corey had no choice but to attack, and was finished with a second Sucker Punch.

Red switched out Yang for Geodette, and a Doublade emerged from the wall. Geodette hit Doublade hard with an Earthquake, taking little damage from Shadow Claw. A second Earthquake finished it. Red again switched, this time to Arcanine, as a Trevenant emerged. It fell to a single Heat Wave. A Banette appeared next. It snuck up on Arcanine with Shadow Sneak. Arcanine responded with Crunch, dealing almost enough damage to knock out the Banette. However, Banette's Cursed Body sealed Arcanine's Crunch. Banette slipped back into the wall, and a Rotom emerged, just in time to be blasted by the Heat Wave Arcanine had aimed at Banette. A second Heat Wave finished it.

The Banette returned, and was greeted by yet another Heat Wave, knocking it out. Banette's disabling wore off as Shade's final Pokemon, Chandelure, descended onto the battlefield. Arcanine used Crunch. Dazed from the attack, Chandelure used Energy Ball. Chandelure ate its Sitrus Berry as Arcanine rushed to attack again. It just barely survived Arcanine's second Crunch, and knocked out Arcanine with a Shadow Ball, drawing in the darkness. However, it stood no chance as Yang crashed into it with a Sucker Punch.

Shade gave Red the Omen badge, as well as the TM for Shadow Claw. At Red's request, he turned on the power. Then he turned on a surveillance screen, showing the tracks where Cain, Shelly, and the orphans were waiting. The door opened, and Team Meteor agents ran through and grabbed Shelly and the orphans. They went after Cain as well, but Cain had his Nidoking collapse the tunnel between them and ran off.

Shade told Red not to let the sacrifices be in vain, and faded from view.

Post Battle Team:

Nickname awarded:

Arcanine > Blaine

Edited December 9, 2015 by Drymus

[Dragon116]

Good job on Shade! Only used 3 pokemon, which is impressive.

[Drymus]

Update 8: Death flags everywhere...

Red rushed back to the train tunnel on his cycle. He found Victoria, staring at a massive wall of rubble that had not been there during Red's last visit. She explained that Cain had collapsed the tunnel in order to escape, and that now, getting through to the other side was currently impossible. She then said that a Pokemon could move the rubble with the HM for strength, and that Kiki, her teacher, had some that she gave to her graduating students. She then said that Cain, feeling guilty for sealing off the orphans, had run down to Coral Ward to try to get to Apophyll Island, where Kiki taught.

Red cycled away to Coral Ward just in time to see Cain hop on his Muk and Surf away. Red wanted to follow, but he had no Pokemon that knew Surf, he didn't have the badge authorizing him to use Surf, and the toxic lake would have seriously harmed his Pokemon. Red started walking around the harbor, trying to figure out his next move, when a nearby warehouse opened and Amaria walked out. She noticed him, and explained that she had just tracked down the source of the pollution. She invited Red to come along as backup.

He followed her to Blackstream Factory. The door was locked, but she had her Lapras, Deliverance, create a staircase with Ice Beam to the roof of the building. The two entered through a vent, surprising two Team Meteor guards. They sent out a Lairon and a Golbat, while Red sent out Demonslayer. Then Amaria sent out Deliverance, and the battle was concluded shortly afterwards.

Red and Amaria continued to make their way through the factory, but were surrounded by grunts in an ambush. Amaria created an opening for Red to escape, but he was chased into a room. The floor opened beneath him, and he fell into a room full of cages with Pokemon in them.

He was able to escape, and made his way through the factory. He finally slammed open the door to the last room, and saw Zel and the man from under the stairway surveying a PULSE machine connected to a Muk, pouring waste into the water. Zel seemed to panic when he noticed Red, while the other man seemed mildly amused. He congratulated Red for making it this far, and invited Red to take a closer look at the machine. Red heard the door behind him lock. Not seeing any other choice, Red walked up. He heard something behind him, and the cry of a Pokemon.

He turned and saw a Garchomp, frozen solid, its claws mere centimeters from his head. Seeing the Garchomp made Red remember the screen in Shade's gym. Perhaps it had not been a psychological tactic, but a genuine warning instead? Amaria rushed into the room with Atlantica, her Kingdra, and placed herself between Red and the man. She told Red to destroy the machine while she held back the man. The man seemed to want to ignore her, but then noticed something on her wrist and decided to do battle anyways.

Zel stepped in the way, sending out Glaceon. Red responded by sending out Blaine. Blaine knocked out Glaceon with a single Heat Wave. Red swapped in Yang as Zel sent out Espeon. Espeon hit Yang hard with a Psychic, but fell to Yang's Crunch. Red then sent out Blaine once more, knowing Zel's final Pokemon. Umbreon did minimal damage with Quick Attack, and was nearly knocked out in return by Arcanine's Close Combat. Desperate, Zel used an Ultra Potion. It became pointless, however, when Blaine's next attack was critical. Zel ran off, while Red turned to face the PULSE.

It seemed to be in pain. Red knew the most humane thing to do now would be to put it out of its misery. He sent out Magnemite, hoping to take a hit with Sturdy and paralyze it with Thunder Wave. Muk turned dark brown, and fired off a Mud Bomb, almost knocking Magnemite out. However, Magnemite's Thunder Wave had no effect. Red realized that it must have Protean as an ability, and adjusted his strategy accordingly. He sent out Somno, putting it to sleep. Somno also got a few Silver Winds out, but was not boosted by any of them, and fainted when Muk woke up, turned yellow, crackled with electricity, and fired off a discharge. Red sent out Geodette. Muk, sensing that it could be free of its pain, turned back to its original purple, fired off a Sludge Wave, and was destroyed by an Earthquake.

The man noticed the PULSE was destroyed. He sent a message throughout the factory, saying that it was time to retreat. However, as Amaria lowered her guard, the man's Tyranitar hit her hard with a Superpower, and she went flying. The man then left to join his subordinates.

Red went to check on Amaria. She was obviously in a lot of pain, but she was able to walk. She said she was going back to her cottage in Ametrine, where she and her lover, Tania, lived. She said that Red could borrow her boat to get across the lake, and tossed him the key to her warehouse before slowly limping away.

Red arrived on Apophyll and met up with Victoria. The two of them went to meet Kiki and ask for the machine. Red froze when he saw Kiki. It was the exact same woman as the one on the screen. Red knew he had to keep her from encountering the Garchomp, which most likely belonged to the man from before.

Kiki heard their circumstances, but said it would be disrespectful to the alumni of the school to give Red, an outsider, the machine for Strength. Victoria then announced she would like to apply for graduation. Kiki, however, knew that Victoria would be unable to use the machine, and would therefore pass it off to Red. Kiki said that they would both need to pass a test for Red to receive the machine. She then sent Red to the top of Pyrous Mountain to battle her student, Cal. Victoria seemed to blush when Cal was mentioned.

Red reached the top, and found Cal meditating. Cal noticed Red's presence. After learning Red was there to face Cal as a test from Kiki, Cal accepted, saying he hadn't had a real battle since he resigned as gym leader, and that while he was a leader, he was only trying to be better than his brother. He also said that he had trouble dealing with his anger before, hurting Shelly in the process. He then said that he would give Red the battle he came for, and find a new center in the process.

Cal led with Infernape, while Red sent out Geodette. Infernape used Swords Dance, but was knocked out immediately by Geodette's Earthquake. Red then switched to Blaine as Cal sent out Typhlosion.Blaine used Close Combat, took minimal damage from a Hidden Power, used Close Combat again as Cal used an Ultra Potion, and finished off Typhlosion with a third Close Combat. Red then switched back to Geodette as Cal sent out Charizard. Geodette survived a Dragon Claw, then knocked out Charizard with a Smack Down. Geodette stayed in as Cal sent in Magmortar. Magmortar tried to charge up a Solar Beam, but fell to a single Earthquake. Geodette also took down Cal's Blaziken with an Earthquake after taking a Double Kick. Red then switched over to Yang as Cal sent out Delphox. A critical Crunch from Yang ended the battle. Cal told Red to go on ahead, saying there was something he needed to finish.

Red returned to the school. Kiki said Victoria had also passed her test, and that she would give the machine to Red if he could beat her in a gym batle. Red accepted. On his way to the arena, Victoria stopped him, saying that Kiki had not given her a test at all, and that she had just told her how to run the school. Victoria was worried that Kiki was dying, and didn't want Red to fight her, challenging and losing to Red in a battle. Red wanted to make this as quick as possible for Kiki's sake, so he tried to formulate a strategy.

(Soft-resets required: 7. I really didn't want to grind Staryu and Drowzee to level 40.)

Red sent out Somno against Kiki's Machamp. Somno used Sleep Powder, putting Machamp to sleep. Somno then Quiver Danced twice, and blasted Machamp with a Psybeam. Kiki sent out a Gallade. Somno used Sleep Powder, then Quiver Dance, then Bug Buzz, very nearly knocking it out of the battle. Kiki used an Ultra Potion as Somno used Quiver Dance again. Somno's next Bug Buzz knocked out Gallade, and Kiki sent out Toxicroak. Somno used Sleep Powder again, then Quiver Dance, then Psybeam. The result was obvious. Kiki's Hitmonlee was not put to sleep. It was simply knocked out with a Psybeam. (Somno hit level 46 here... I was fortunate enough to not have him ignore me for either of the last two attacks.) The same thing happened to her Lucario. Kiki's ace, Medicham, stood no chance against Somno's Bug Buzz, giving Red the victory.

Kiki moved to give Red the badge, but collapsed in the middle of the battlefield.

Post Battle Pic:

Edited December 9, 2015 by Drymus

[Dragon116]

What's the red thing in the top right corner of the team snapshot?

I like your take on these events. I'm very curious how to handle Solaris and the Garchomp.

[Drymus]

I took the screenshot while I was still videotaping from my battle with Kiki.

And I have a plan to deal with Garchomp without using my Focus Sash...

PS:

And if someone could comment by tomorrow evening so that I won't be double posting, that would be great...

Edited December 2, 2015 by Drymus

[Genesis]

I am curious to see how you handle it without using your focus sash