Orasha's Rock Monotype! (Episode 16 Complete)

[RhythmMelody]

14 hours ago, Jess said:

Apart from the fact that you now have a pun competitor in the face of Hardy.

 Casanova Gibson in the Grand Hall (Sunday NPC) uses rock puns too  

[Orasha]

On 8/6/2017 at 5:37 AM, RhythmMelody said:

 Casanova Gibson in the Grand Hall (Sunday NPC) uses rock puns too  

Next time I'm playing on a Sunday I'll have to give him some real PUNishment 

 

Expect an update later tonight! Though I must admit I didn't get that many screens against Serra (you'll see why)

[Orasha]

Chapter 10: Que Serra Serra

 

With Strength in hand, its time to head back to the railnet. Cain's there, and he'll be cemented to us for a bit. He seems pretty happy about it, at least. 

Spoiler

 

Together, we ascend the decrepit building, encountering, surprise surprise, more Meteors. At the top we have a choice that you're probably familiar with: do we stop Sigmund, or go upstairs and face Sirius? Generally I like to face Sigmund, even though his team is designed for doubles and the field favors him more (plus Cain is bloody useless), and it always feels weird to just walk by Heather. However, I also like to keep Saphira from killing an excessive amount of people, so we let the Doctor do his thing and go on to face Team Meteor's most cartoonishly evil villain. 

 

My team: 

Spoiler

 

VS SIRIUS

Didn't get the versus screen, oops. The screenshots in the chapter are a little dicey.

Spoiler

So I uh... apparently didn't write a summary for the Sirius battle. I dunno if I was rushing or just got lazy, but here are the screens: 

 

 

As you can see, it really wasn't that hard. Sure, I grinded up to be at a better level to face him, but some of it was experience from the grunts. I distinctly remember Cain's AI making okay decisions, too!

 

Sirius and I don't see eye to... eyes. Cause he only has one eye

 

Sirius takes the pendent and runs, so really we only defeated his resolve and will to live. I'd imagine being beaten by two teenagers at something you're supposed to be good at can't be good for the ego. I find the railnet key, and so our motley band of orphans run through the sewers. 

 

With the railnet, we get access to a TON of useful stuff, but let's talk about Aron first. I could never really find a place for him in my Gen III teams, but Aggron is pretty cool. Certainly a better Steel type for our purposes than Bastiodon. Its normal movepool is somewhat shallow, but it learns some good moves from breeding. One of its best attacks, Superpower, can't be learned until after the return to the Reborn, though. Still, it's nice to have some offensive steel moves in my toolbox. If only I had picked Totodile as my starter...

 

There's another department store sticker, which lets me purchase type berries. They're useful on runs in general, but especially so since most of my pokemon have 5 or more weaknesses. 

 

Most importantly of all (in the long run at least) we can finally open the Move Relearners house and get her services. With that, I decide to do some breeding that I procrastinated on by putting Shuckle with the same Drapion that fathered Kusanagi (I named him Typhon, btw, after a monster from Greek mythology said to be the father of many foul creatures. @JessI'm pretty sure that's right) so my Shuckle-spawn will know Knock Off. Her attack stat is SO awful that it won't be KOing anything with it, but Knock Off is still a great utility move. 

 

I'm a bit torn with Shuckle's 4th move, though its really only a placeholder until we can teach him Stealth Rock. Eventually I settle on Encore, Bide, Knock Off, and Sticky Web. Encore is slightly less useful against the AI since they rarely set up (and I swear it reads inputs sometimes and likely wouldn't set up if you used Encore anyway), and Bide is really the only way Shuckle can do any damage. I name her Shell Squire. 

Spoiler

I also thought of a very silly novelty strategy for Shuckle: Suicide lead with Trick Room Carbink and send in Shuckle. Use Power Trick to swap def. and atk., and then sweep. Sturdy ensures that, under most circumstances, Shuckle will get off Power Trick, and at 5 speed, nothing is slower than shuckle (especially with low IVs, a hindering nature, and no EV investment). The only thing that fucks this up is how long it takes, and that Priority will probably destroy it. But still, a very silly idea that can only really be done in Reborn thanks to Amplifield Rock. 

 

After grinding up my new additions, this happens: 

Spoiler

Neat. 

 

So after all that, its time to go back and help the kids escape. As we head through Tanzan mountain, and Anna gets sicker, I come across a Solrock. Solrock is... kinda trash. The only move that excites me is Will-O-Wisp, but other then that, Lunatone basically has its niche covered. He will be boxed indefinitely. 

 

I also pick up a Roggenrola, who is also underwhelming. Gigalith is interesting since it can have Sand Stream (which makes Cradily an even better tank), but its speed is so low. The only way I could justify it is if I used Trick Room again, but I don't think I'm going to. Looks like the weird lil rock is gonna stay boxed as well. 

 

When we arrive in Tanzan Cover, Anna becomes very sick, and we're given the next part of our quest: 

Spoiler

 

Things in Spinel town and Chrysolia Forest aren't good, as something nefarious is lowering the frame rate teleporting everything around. When we reach the Pokemart, it simply vanishes, winding up on the mansion's roof. With nothing better to do, I decide to challenge the gym leader of said mansion, Serra. While there, I meet a totally rational and well-meaning man:

Spoiler

My Lords are better. 

 

But before we can get the badge, I decide to head the the museum. Team Meteor is there too, of course, and after defeating them I'm given a choice between Archen and Tirtouga. I take Archen, obviously. Carracosta is slow as heck and yet another Rock/Water type, and I already have 3 of those. Archeops also helps us check Grass, and more importantly: FIGHTING. 

 

I decide to procrastinate even more by picking up a Remoraid from a teleported fountain, and then going back to Reborn City to do even more breeding. Remoraid knows Aurora Beam, which I can breed onto an Omanyte. Since Ice Beam isn't an available TM yet, this will have to do. I also breed my Archen (who I made sure was female) with my Corsola to get a baby that knows Earth Power. After tons of grinding, meet two new party members!

Spoiler

 

With all that nonsense out of the way, I make my way through the gym and finally face Bennett. I'm quaking in my boots  

 

VS BENNETT

Spoiler

I lead with the Boulder, who sets Stealth Rocks. After an inefficient Strength, he uses Earthquake, KOing Larvesta and destroying the field, dealing heavy damage to himself. 

 

Dustox KOs with Giga Drain, which is fine. 

 

Let's rock. 

 

Yeah I'd say I'm more advanced then someone whose only strategy is Quiver Dance. 

 

Maybe you could "adapt" some different Bug pokemon or "adapt" better movesets. 

 

After watching Bennett get effortlessly destroyed thanks to Stealth Rock, type advantage, and the hilarity of Acrobatics, El decides that he should join the Elite Four. Bennett says it better then I do: 

Spoiler

 

With that out of the way, I can take on Serra. 

 

VS SERRA

Spoiler

Alright I'm gonna be honest here, Serra really gave me a lot of trouble and I thought I was going to lose, so I didn't screenshot as much as I should have. I was so convinced that I would lose that I didn't even write a detalied summary. Here's what I remember, and the few screens I do have: 

 

The Boulder sets up Stealth Rock without a hitch and gets 2HKOed. 

 

Lava Plume doesn't do much, and Flash Cannon 2HKOs Vulcan. 

 

Kusanagi is brought to critical HP, but Knock Off KOs Cryogonal. 

 

Kusanagi gets KOed before he can move. 

 

From there, I brought out Steelie, and basically everyone got wrecked. I was down to Dame Helix, who ended up sweeping at the end by outspeeding Serra's mons and OHKOing or 2HKOing with Ancient Power.

 

I mean theoretically you could melt the ice and refreeze it in the same mold and it would be perfect again but I understand you're sad. 

 

Serra needs a big ol' hug. 

 

And that's it for this time. I was pretty scatterbrained when I played through this part, so sorry for the crappy screenshots. The next installment will be much better  

[Jess]

1 hour ago, Orasha said:

I named him Typhon, btw, after a monster from Greek mythology said to be the father of many foul creatures. @JessI'm pretty sure that's right

Yes, this is right. Son of Gaia and Tartarus, even though it is ambiguous (disputed by other sources). But it is mythology anyways  

Here's source. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhon

 

I had named Typhon my Trubbish/Garbodor in my Poison monorun too! Proved to be of great help and assisted in most battles till accessing Agate Circus, where he got underlevelled and didn't catch up again, since the battles weren't helping either with his moveset...

 

1 hour ago, Orasha said:

I also thought of a very silly novelty strategy for Shuckle: Suicide lead with Trick Room Carbink and send in Shuckle. Use Power Trick to swap def. and atk., and then sweep. Sturdy ensures that, under most circumstances, Shuckle will get off Power Trick, and at 5 speed, nothing is slower than shuckle (especially with low IVs, a hindering nature, and no EV investment). The only thing that fucks this up is how long it takes, and that Priority will probably destroy it. But still, a very silly idea that can only really be done in Reborn thanks to Amplifield Rock. 

This is plainly put, terrifying. Even though I always carry some priority, I doubt Reborn leaders do (with few exceptions). So, give it a try... I'd love to see a Bug sweeping everything!  

 

1 hour ago, Orasha said:

Yeah I'd say I'm more advanced then someone whose only strategy is Quiver Dance. 

And he just swallows El's bullshit about him being Elite 4 material. When all that Bennett is, is someone who has a team with zero coverage of his weaknesses, with his only strategy being Quiver Dance and Field boosted Signal Beams.

He doesn't even have a Flying type attack! Or he does have 1, maybe...

 

Finally, Serra's team has legit every fast Ice type mon that exists, and it makes her very troublesome, since, if you miss once with accuracy debuff/evasion buffs, you're screwed. Good job on defeating her  

 

Keep going @Orasha!

[Orasha]

Quote

Yes, this is right. Son of Gaia and Tartarus, even though it is ambiguous (disputed by other sources). But it is mythology anyways  

Here's source. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhon

 

I had named Typhon my Trubbish/Garbodor in my Poison monorun too! Proved to be of great help and assisted in most battles till accessing Agate Circus, where he got underlevelled and didn't catch up again, since the battles weren't helping either with his moveset...

I remember him mating with Echidna to produce monster babies, which is why I chose it  Drapion and Corsola are the unsung MVPs of the run. I have a soft spot for Trubbish since early game Toxic Spikes helped me immensely with Julia my first few runthroughs. 

Quote

This is plainly put, terrifying. Even though I always carry some priority, I doubt Reborn leaders do (with few exceptions). So, give it a try... I'd love to see a Bug sweeping everything! 

If I hadn't relied heavily on Trick Room last game, I would totally do it here. Maybe for someone like Terra and her Garchomp...

Quote

And he just swallows El's bullshit about him being Elite 4 material. When all that Bennett is, is someone who has a team with zero coverage of his weaknesses, with his only strategy being Quiver Dance and Field boosted Signal Beams.

He doesn't even have a Flying type attack! Or he does have 1, maybe...

 

Finally, Serra's team has legit every fast Ice type mon that exists, and it makes her very troublesome, since, if you miss once with accuracy debuff/evasion buffs, you're screwed. Good job on defeating her  

 

Keep going @Orasha!

Bennett is so socially inept that it doesn't surprise me, but it is disappointing.

 

I kinda want to do a "lepidopterist run" where I only use Pokemon based on butterflies and moths, just to show Bennett that his specialty has more depth then Quiver Dance (namely, Wormadam forms and Forretress), but I'm not sure if it would even be doable. Would be a fun challenge though  

[Orasha]

Chapter 11: Just Another Normal Battle

 

After we defeat Serra, Bennett and El leave, leaving Serra to say one of biggest understatements of all time:

Spoiler

Also, the PokeMart has miraculously been teleported off the top of the mansion. Convenient. Anna pours the medicine we get all over her doll, but gets better anyway. Convenient. She's real hype about us battling Noel, but when we take our place, Saphira swoops in with some bad news! Convenient. 

 

Sigmund and Sirius have teamed up to bring the orphans down, and we're left to defend the house. Since we faced Sirius before, we get to trash Sigmund this time. 

 

VS SIGMUND

Spoiler

I led with Shuckle, even though I don't have screenshots for this part cause I suck. I figured I'd try out Sticky Web against Sigmund, since his team is super-friggin fast. Jolteon's Signal Beam confuses Shell Squire, and she hurts herself. She fights through it to lay some webs, and manages to get paralyzed from Thunderbolt. Jolteon's luck with these status effects was intense. I think I kept Shuckle in until it fought through paralysis and confusion to Knock Off Jolteon's Bright Powder, not that it was super important. 

 

I send in the Boulder, who manages to set Stealth Rocks and KO Jolteon with Earthquake with only 8 HP left. Sigmund decides to bring out Lanturn. 

I guess I could have let the Boulder suicide, but I decide to switch in Root Jr., absorbing Bubble Beam. 

 

Giga Drain takes Lanturn to critical HP thanks to the Storm Drain boost and a Grass Gem, and its Discharge really doesn't dent the defensive monster that is Cradily. Sigmund uses up a potion, but its useless and Root Jr. KOs the electric fish with another Giga Drain. 

 

Electivire is scary. It has elemental punches and Low Kick, which can really do a number on my team, since Rock monsters tend to be heavy. I suppose I could have brought Sudowoodo along as a nuke, but oh well. Electivire decides to use Ice Punch instead of Low Kick, which allows Root Jr. to survive and hit with Giga Drain. Eventually, Giga Drain spam brings it down. Root Jr. is a pretty great tank, but my win in this matchup was mostly due to the AI (though Root Jr. was left at critical HP) 

 

Figuring that Luxray will through an electric attack, I switch to Rhino Knight.

 

Sure enough, Rhino Knight switches in to a useless Discharge. Crunch does okay damage, but Luxray is easily KOed by Earthquake. 

 

Sigmund sends out Eelektross, but Rhino Knight perseveres to eventually defeat the levitating lamprey with Stone Edges and Strengths. 

 

In a piece of dialogue I didn't screenshot, Sigmund tells us that, "Your silence does not eclipse your ignorance," possibly referencing that we're a silent protagonist. Neat! 

 

Rotom KOs with Ominous Wind. It's okay, Rhino Knight, you performed admirably. 

 

Rotom is basically the only reason I brought Barnacle Boy along, since I taught him Shadow Claw. Ominous Winds aren't enough, and Rotom is 2HKOed. 

 

For a doctor, Sigmund looks surprisingly beefy. 

Sirius drags himself in, since the rest of the Meteors have been killed by Saphira. Huh. Gonna have to watch out for that one. He vows to check upstairs, but we're staying and keeping an eye on Sigmund. Saphira comes back and is very threatening, before pulling a Solaris:

Spoiler

If I could attack trainers, Team Meteor would be defeated already.

Saphira is basically the same kind of person as Solaris, except she's on our side for now. There's probably a deeper meaning here about how the ends don't justify the means, even if they're the ends you want. Titania sort of brings that point home as well, though I think she's more of a mirror to Sirius or Lin.  

 

Sirius comes in and knocks Saphira out with his Seviper, and apparently he defeated Laura easily. How he did that is a different question, since his team didn't seem that strong when we faced him with Cain, and Laura is like a member of the Elite Four... I guess it would effectively set Sirius up as a badass, but we already defeated him so... All this does is kinda make Laura less threatening.

 

Sirius basically dares us to come after her

Spoiler

and then Laura decides to give us some sass

Spoiler

But MOOOOMMM, it was Saphiiiiraaaaaa~

 

She decides to go rescue her sister, and we follow along cause why not. This'll be the team we're rolling with for the time being:

Spoiler

When I got to go up against a bunch of mooks I prefer type coverage to entry hazards.

 

Since we got Saphira kidnapped, significantly less Meteors die (well, at least initially. I'm not sure if the grunts or scientists in the base die when she destroys it with Steelix. It makes me feel better, that's all). 

 

When we finally get there, it turns out Saphira has escaped all on her own:

Spoiler

I know she probably used her Pokemon, but I like to imagine Saphira ripping the bars off with her bare hands. 

 

After getting to the end of the base, Sirius, ZEL, and Sigmund aren't exactly having a fun time. In a twist, it turns out that Solaris isn't even the real boss of Team Meteor: its actually led by someone named Lin. Neat. (This sort of feels like a later addition to the story, since everything before this sort of set up Solaris. I don't really know that much about the development of the game so I could be wrong) 

 

Anyways, Abra teleports Laura and me into the depths of Tanzan Mountain, where something is NOT HAPPY. Eventually we contact Saphira, and then face the BIGGEST BOY.

Spoiler

Yeah I'll get right on it. 

 

VS BIG OL' STEELIX

Spoiler

Steelix is super bulky and Sitrus berry makes it pretty annoying. Kusanagi leads and Knocks Off the berry before being OHKOed by Iron Head.  

 

I bring in Plume Knight (who I might rename to Plume Knave later, since its Defeatist ability isn't really indicative of a knight), who hits with Earth Power before being OHKOed as well. I send out Rhino Knight, but he's actually slower than Steelix, and is OHKOed. Oops. I bring out Root Jr., but he's also slower then Steelix. HUH. Root Jr. manages to survive a hit thanks to its stats and EV training, and gets of a single Giga Drain before being taken out next turn. This manages to bring Steelix to half HP or a little bit below, so I send out Dame Helix. Thankfully she's faster (I invested in speed so if she wasn't I would be shocked), and KOs thanks to Brine's boost.

 

Really not that difficult, I was just surprised by how slow Rhino Knight was. 

 

Despite being a little kill-happy, Saphira proves to be a badass and rides the damn thing

Spoiler

I could give ya something to ride, if yaknowwhatImean this joke brought to you by Terra

After escaping on a giant Steelix, Saphira instructs me to take on the Meteors and Abra, which is fine. Abra is being a real pain for ZEL, and they want us to take it out too. They don't even stand in our way or use their other Pokemon. 

 

VS ZEL PULSE ABRA

Spoiler

I lead with Vulcan, but he's outsped and OHKOed by Dark Pulse. Maybe I should invest in some Speed EVs...

 

Its up to Root Jr. now, and boy do I love that Abra design. Its obviously meant to evoke Mewtwo's focusing and restraining armor, which makes sense given that Team Meteor is trying exploit its teleport power. Presumably the armor is what gives him a partial Steel typing, and that's super cool. My only complaint is that the skin changes color from blue in its shiny sprite to standard Abra-yellow in its PULSE sprite. Anyways, Root Jr. is able to take a Dark Pulse and shoot it back with Mirror Coat, OHKOing Abra. 

 

Mewtwo's armor, for anyone that needs a refresher:

Spoiler

 

I mean you basically begged me to defeat it, but I guess maybe Lumi is sorry and Zero isn't...

After handling that, Sirius brings some bad news: Lin is here! I'm supposed to pretend to be a new recruit, but it doesn't fool the green-haired girl for a second: 

Spoiler

Everyone involved might have died, Saphira starts attacking the base. Lin goes out to stop her, in an epic showdown: 

Spoiler

 

After sort of making friends with Lumi, we head out of the base and back to the orphans. Understandably, they're worried about Saphira, and there's a whole lot of plot exposition. The different stones, which were already macguffins, are actually keys, something which Solaris basically told us back underneath the Grand Staircase. It's nice that everyone else knows this now, though. 

 

Since we finally have some downtime, Anna wants us to battle Noel again. This time, the plot doesn't decide to intrude, so its another gym battle!

 

VS NOEL

Spoiler

I had plenty of options going in, and really the only Pokemon I was scared of were Swellow (thanks to Steel Wing) and Cinccino. I ended up losing on my first try, though really it was my fault as I had some serious misplays (one being putting a type berry on Plume Knight since I expected him to counter Swellow, and then having Kusanagi KO Swellow, neutering his most spammable attack). 

 

The first time, Kusanagi had great luck with Paralysis. This time, not so much. Cross Poison spam eventually burned through Noel's potions and poisoned Wigglytuff, but Dazzling Gleam KOed Kusanagi on the same turn poison took out Wigglytuff. It also took a ton of turns thanks to paralysis. 

 

Not knowing what to expect, I send out Rhino Knight, and Noel responded with Cinccino. Great. I switch out to Root Jr., who eats some Bullet Seeds. Eventually Giga Drain spam takes out the chinchilla, after some flinch hax, a lucky miss, and overall some great tanking. 

 

I have Root Jr. use Ancient Power, but Swellow U-turns out to Porygon-Z so the attack doesn't do much. Porygon-Z also gets a Sp. Atk boost thanks to Download. Eek. 

 

I don't want to risk a Mirror Coat and then just get KOed the next turn (either by Porygon, or by a speedy Pokemon like Swellow), so I use recover. Porygon-Z hits with Psychic first, of course, but it isn't enough to KO. Two Tri-Attacks and 2 Mirror Coats later, and the weird birb is defeated. 

 

I decide I'm at low enough health to Recover again, and Swellow just U-turns into Girafarig so it was a pretty good idea. 

 

Girafarig starts out with Hidden Power, and thanks to cheating the (now somewhat outdated) boss list, I know that its Hidden Power is Fire. It doesn't do much, meaning that Mirror Coat doesn't do much either. A reflected Psychic does do good damage, however, bringing Girafarig to low HP. After tanking another Psychic, Root Jr. tries to KO with Giga Drain... only Girafarig has Sap Sipper, and I'm stupid. Another Psychic KOs.

 

Plume Knight gets an easy revenge kill with Acrobatics. 

 

Its bird vs bird, as Noel finally decides to not U-turn into something else! Unfortunately for him, Archeops with full speed investment easily outspeeds Swellow, OHKOing it with Rock Slide before it has a chance to move. 

 

Who's they?

Anyways, Plume Knight hits with Acrobatics, but a Moonblast carries it into Defeatist range. I decide to U-turn out to Steelie, who takes a Moonblast pretty well. 

 

I forget if I EV trained Steelie, but I think I must have because she outspeeds Clefable and KOs with Iron Head. 

I probably could have beaten him on my first try if I didn't put an item on Archeops and didn't have a misplay with Cradily. Speaking of, Cradily is proving to be a vital Pokemon, thanks to Storm Drain and its incredible bulk. I don't know where I'd be without it  

 

That's all for now! I'm not sure how long it'll take for the next part to come up... the Route 1 puzzle always makes me procrastinate... 

[HongaarseBeer]

Defeatist has to be one of the shittiest abilities around... Other than that, I'm still enjoying your run, keep it up!

 

And good luck on the dreadful puzzle...

[Gentleman Jaggi]

23 hours ago, HongaarseBeer said:

Defeatist has to be one of the shittiest abilities around...

Weird thing is that Archeops isn't even overly powerful like Slaking or Wishiwashi; its stats are very lopsided towards sweeping, but it's not like it's the only Pokémon with specialised stats like that.

I always felt that poor Archeops got unfairly gimped - not because of the negative ability (it's really frail, so Defeatist will come in less often than Archeops just plain going down in one hit), but more because it can't have any actually useful Abilities.

[RhythmMelody]

15 hours ago, Gentleman Jaggi said:

Weird thing is that Archeops isn't even overly powerful like Slaking or Wishiwashi; its stats are very lopsided towards sweeping, but it's not like it's the only Pokémon with specialised stats like that.

I always felt that poor Archeops got unfairly gimped - not because of the negative ability (it's really frail, so Defeatist will come in less often than Archeops just plain going down in one hit), but more because it can't have any actually useful Abilities.

 

I can't really agree with that. Archeops is surely no god-like pokemon, but it is seriously powerful as proven in my flying-monorun. Most of the time you don't even have to worry about defeatist or a 1HKO, because it outspeeds and 1HKO almost everything itself. Even if defeatist gets activated, it still deals quite the damage thanks to 155 BP Acrobatics and with Rock Slides flinch it can win deal some extra damage with a bit of luck. I'll agree that Archeops isn't suited for pvp where there are only Pokemon with monstrous stats, but in Reborn Archeops easily becomes one of the strongest Pokemon I've ever used.

[Gentleman Jaggi]

11 hours ago, RhythmMelody said:

 

I can't really agree with that. Archeops is surely no god-like pokemon, but it is seriously powerful as proven in my flying-monorun. Most of the time you don't even have to worry about defeatist or a 1HKO, because it outspeeds and 1HKO almost everything itself. Even if defeatist gets activated, it still deals quite the damage thanks to 155 BP Acrobatics and with Rock Slides flinch it can win deal some extra damage with a bit of luck. I'll agree that Archeops isn't suited for pvp where there are only Pokemon with monstrous stats, but in Reborn Archeops easily becomes one of the strongest Pokemon I've ever used.

Sure, Archeops is powerful, but attacking is the only thing it's good at. Compare that to Slaking; the negative Ability here is justified because it has a monstrous Attack along with deceptively high Speed for its appearance and strong bulk, all combining to a stat total that rivals the various cover Legendaries.

Archeops is powerful, but it's not like other Pokémon with comparable offense all get shafted with a negative Ability.

[Orasha]

Yeah, I don't really think Archeops deserves its ability. Its a Pokemon with great stats but like... not to the extent where it warrants an ability like that. 

[Orasha]

Chapter 12: Heresy Everywhere 

 

After defeating Noel, he implores us to look for Saphira, even though he doesn't think she survived. Unfortunately, all suspense is lost as we run into her, and she gives us the Ruby Ring and Amethyst Pendant. Through the cave is a vast forest, and we run into Fern again. For once in his life, Fern isn't the worst part of this area. 

 

VS FERN

Spoiler

Aurora Beam is simply too much for Fraxure, and he's OHKOed. 

 

Fern sends out Roserade, and I'm slightly worried, but not as much. Dame Helix is able to do good damage with Aurora Beam, but is OHKOed by Giga Drain. Since Fern decided to bring out one of his big guns so early, I respond with an even bigger gun:

Acrobatics OHKOs. Roserade isn't as scary anymore. 

 

Fern sends out Ferrothorn, so I switch to Vulcan. Gyro Ball doesn't do much too him. 

Lava Plume is a OHKO, even though its raining. 

 

Fern brings out another heavy hitter, Serpior. I leave Vulcan in, and he takes a Giga Drain and is brought to critical HP. Lava Plume does okay damage to the grass snake. Dragon Pulse next turn is a KO, so I send out Plume Knight once again. 

 

Acrobatics revenge kills the snake. 

 

Shouldn't I be making that pun about you? 

I decide to switch out Plume Knight for Kusanagi, mainly to spread EXP around. 

 

Kusanagi takes a slash to OHKO with Smack Down. 

 

Shake those rocks outta your head and make a better team, Fern. 

 

Route 1 is, by far, my least favorite part of the game. I don't even consider it to be a puzzle, really. But I'd rather not write a huge paragraph complaining about something that I'm pretty sure everybody else also dislikes. 

 

The only notable things to happen on Route 1 are our first introduction to Titania: 

Charming

And some hilarious passive aggressive graffiti:

 

After making our way through hell, we reach a small maze and a large castle. Here we're introduced to Luna, Radomus, and his talking Gardevoir who is also a newscaster. Gossip Gardevoir... makes me a little uncomfortable 

Spoiler

 

I'm only trusting you because of your good taste in hats.

We learn a little bit more about the ~drama~ surrounding Radomus, El, and Luna, and then Cain shows up! He's not dead! Of course, since this is Pokemon, he wants to battle, and he has some new tricks. 

 

VS CAIN

Spoiler

I decide to have fun with Sticky Web, and then use Bide. Unfortunately, Shell Squire's massive defenses and Muk's great HP mean that Bide does basically nothing. I switch out for Stargazer. 

 

Stargazer takes a Sludge Wave and retaliates next turn with Psychic, KOing Muk. 

 

Cain brings out Nidoking, who will always be scary thanks to Double Kick. Psychic takes him to critical, but Nidoking KOs Stargazer with Megahorn. 

 

Cain heals, but Dame Helix's Brine KOs him anyway. 

 

Gengar is Cain's scariest member, with amazing stats and Focus Blast. Speaking of, Focus Blast OHKOs Dame Helix before she can even move.

 

I bring out Root Jr., who does the standard Mirror Coat trick and gets rid of Gengar. Cain brings out Galvantula, so I switchin Rhino Knight, who eats a Signal Beam on the switch. 

 

Another Signal Beam takes him to 3 hp, and Rhino Knight responds with Earthquake. Unfortunately, it only brings Galvantula to yellow HP.

 

I switch out to Barnacle Boy, who takes heavy damage on the switch. Cain uses his milk, and I misplay and have the barnacle use Shadow Claw when I really should have used Stone Edge. Next turn I correct the mistake and Barnacle Boy outspeeds the electric spooder, KOing with Stone Edge. Cain brings out Samurott, so I switch, and Root Jr. takes a Revenge on the switch. 

 

Root Jr. uses Giga Drain and then takes some heavy damage. He's about to finish Samurott off, when Cain switches out for Absol. After using Recover, Root Jr. tanks all of Absol's hits to eventually KO with Giga Drain Spam. Samurott comes out again. 

 

Personally, I'm feeling pretty whelmed by this battle. 

Samurott falls to Giga Drain after Root Jr. recovers. 

 

I don't really have a sassy retort for this. 

 

After the battle, El kidnaps and ransoms Gardevoir, leading to a long chase through a secret sanctum under Reborn. This is honestly one of my favorite parts of the game and I'm not going to ruin it by backtalking everyone with rock puns. Eventually, El is cornered and has his Ditto turn into Arceus, which sounds broke af. 

Spoiler

 

VS EL

Spoiler

This one is pretty simple. Focus Sash and Mirror Coat easily eliminate this false god. 

 

Turning Ditto into god was a valleyiant effort, but it won't be enought to stop me. 

 

With El defeated and the mystery solved, Adrienn ascends and discovers things aren't quite the way he left them. 

Gardevoir continues to be a little bit cruel:

Spoiler

But overall, Adrienn takes it well. He resolves to fix Reborn City, and everyone else heads back to the castle to get the gym challenge underway. 

 

My team for Radomus: 

Spoiler

 

Everyone's pretty self-explanatory. 3 of Radomus' Pokemon carry fighting moves, so that's what all the Chople berries are for. Root Jr. has a Grass Gem to hopefully OHKO Slowking. 

 

VS RADOMUS

Spoiler

Plume Knight starts off, and a gem-boosted Acrobatics easily OHKOs Gallade. Barnacle boy brings Reuniclus to critical HP with Shadow Claw, which allows the little fetus to use Trick Room. Oh well. Radomus wastes no time and brings out Metagross, easily his most threatening Pokemon. 

 

Reuniclus gets healed, and Metagross OHKOs Plume Knight with Meteor Mash. Barnacle Boy does good damage to Reuniclus with Shadow Claw yet again, ensuring Radomus only gets one move next turn. I send in Mimic Knight. 

 

Radomus uses his other potion, and Mimic Knight Sucker Punches Metagross for good damage, before being taken to 1 HP by Meteor Mash. Barnacle Boy brings Metagross to critical HP with Shadow Claw. For whatever reason, the chess master switches Reuniclus for Malamar (maybe I'm too stupid to grasp his strategy), and Mimic Knight KOs Metagross with another Sucker Punch. Barnacle Boy hits Malamar with Shadow Claw, but it doesn't do much. To replace Metagross, Radomus sends out... none other than Reuniclus. Wut. 

 

Mimic Knight hits Reuniclus with yet another Sucker Punch, dealing one last blow before being KOed by Psychic. Malamar hits Barnacle Boy with a neutered Superpower (thanks, chople berry!) and the Barnacle Megazord KOs Reuniclus. Radomus brings out Slowking, and I decide on Kusanagi. 

 

Slowking KOs Barnacle Boy with Psychic and some chess pieces. Malamar hits Kusanagi with Psycho Cut, and he retaliates with X-scissor, KOing the cephalopod. Radomus brings out his ace, the dreaded Gossip Gardevoir, and I send in Root Jr. 

 

Root Jr. absorbs Slowking's Scald, and Kusanagi strikes him with X-Scissor for the KO. Gardevoir KOs Kusanagi with Psychic, and Root Jr. fails to use Mirror Coat. I bring out Rhino Knight. 

 

Rhino Knight hits with Megahorn and Root Jr. uses Giga Drain, bringing Gossip Gardevoir to a magic pixel of health. Rhino Knight gets hit hard with Psychic and Trick Room ends, allowing her to KO Rhino Knight next turn. Its okay, though, since Root Jr. finishes her off with Giga Drain. 

 

Indeed it is. 

 

Ehhh, that could have definitely gone better. If I had put a Ghost Gem on Barnacle Boy he might have been able to OHKO Reuniclus, allowing Archeops to be more effective throughout the match. However, it was extremely convenient that Radomus potioned for two turns in a row and then switched the turn after that, which basically gave me 3 turns of a two on one. I lost a lot of Pokemon, but that's fine since this isn't a Nuzlocke. And I beat him on my first try, too. 

 

All in all, much easier then when I faced him with Fairies. Metagross is a monster to my team as well, but I had less effective ways of dealing with it back then. 

 

Well, that's all for now! Tune in next time when we face the Mistress of Darkness herself! (And possibly Samson). 

Edited August 17, 2017 by Orasha

[St0mpa]

6 minutes ago, Orasha said:

Well, that's all for now! Tune in next time when we face the master of Darkness herself! (And possibly Samson). 

Being a little bit pedantic here but it would be Mistress of Darkness rather than master.

[Orasha]

3 minutes ago, St0mpa said:

Being a little bit pedantic here but it would be Mistress of Darkness rather than master.

Oh yeah, you're right. Oops  I'll go fix that right now...

[HongaarseBeer]

This was an entertaining chapter. Interesting battles overall

[Orasha]

Chapter 13a: Breaking Bennett

After defeating Radomus and getting our badge, plus Trick Room, all the lights go out. 

Spoiler

Elias offers us an escape route, but to the surprise of no one it's a trap. Cain offers to stay behind and sacrifice himself, partially because our Pokemon are still weak from the gym battle, and partially due to his low self-esteem: 

Spoiler

You're gonna make me tear up  

 

Radomus has escaped as well, and creates a path that lets us walk on top of the hedge maze, avoiding capture. How the Meteor Grunts don't see me is another question. Maybe Radomus hypnotized them... He also says that we should look for Luna at 7th street. 

 

7th Street is kinda weird to me. Like I get having an underground black market and giving it a cool name, but the streets really do skip 7th Street, so was it intended? Did the 'real' 7th street get destroyed or something? I have questions. We run into Bennett, who offers us to lead us into the cultists lair. Of course, he's wearing robes now, so... this is an obvious trap. Our only move? Spring Rock the trap. 

 

Before going after Luna, however, I decide to get some more grinding and breeding out of the way. Rather than do the sidequests for the Helix Cultists (a group which, back when I was trying to have this be a RP playthrough, I claimed to be a part of), I just cheat generate them with Sandbox mode. Maybe my cultist buddies just hooked me up. Tyrantrum is really great, with access to Rock Head Head Smash, and can run a variety of sets. I decide to go for the Dragon Dance one, mostly because I have other people to provide type coverage. 

 

In order to breed a Tyrunt that knows DD, I have to get an Altaria. Rather than run around headbutting trees for a Swablu, I cheat save time generate one at the level it knows Dragon Dance. Also, its shiny sprite is AWESOME:

Spoiler

Reborn's custom Shinies are seriously one of my favorite things about the game. 

With that, I can breed, and after some grinding, this happens!

Spoiler

I named him after a Roman Emperor who was famous for being a horrible person. 

 

After waiting for it to become nightfall, I also train up my Amaura so this happens: 

Spoiler

Half of the reason I want to use Aurorus is this amazing sprite. He's named after Frieza's father from Dragon Ball Z (and also fits into the knight/noble names I've been using). 

 

As for sets, King Cold is using a somewhat suboptimal one of Hidden Power Ground (a stand-in for Earth Power), Frost Breath, Freeze Dry, and Nature Power. Nero is using Dragon Dance, Dragon Claw, Head Smash, and Earthquake. All in all, it looks pretty good. 

 

It's at this point that I realize I have far too many Pokemon in rotation, even though I generally only use a select few. So I decide to retire some of them. My new rotation consists of Root Jr., Dame Helix, Plume Knight, Rhino Knight, Kusanagi, Nero, King Cold, the Boulder, and Shell Squire. I'm actually surprised with how much type coverage my team has, and despite their many weaknesses, they check each other very well. 

 

Anyways, back to the plot. We follow Bennett in, and it was a trap. How surprising!  

Spoiler

No, you're dumb for assuming I couldn't tell you were leading me into an obvious trap. 

 

So we get put in prison, and thanks to a friendly Klefki we're able to escape. There's an interesting stealth segment (did you ever expect a stealth segment in a Pokemon game?). After reading some Arceus lore and completing a puzzle, we get to shake up the ritual a bit. Luna is rescued, Bennett is further humiliated, and everyone escapes. After Radomus and Gardevoir teleport away, Luna invites us into her dark caverns...

Spoiler

Geologists do it in the dirt, don'tyaknow  

 

As we make our way through Iolia valley, Bennett follows us. Rude. At least he stopped wearing his cultist robes. 

Spoiler

Just let it go dude. Obsession isn't cool, yo. 

 

In the caves, we find a Protector, allowing us to evolve Rhino Knight into:

Spoiler

 

Bennett eventually finds Luna thanks to us, and apologizes and asks her out in the most cringeworthy way possible. She rejects him, and he... doesn't take it very well. 

Spoiler

Eh, just a little bit. 

He decides to take his anger out on us, so its time for another battle! 

 

VS BENNETT

Spoiler

The Boulder sets Stealth Rocks against Larvesta, and I think he takes a Bug Bite. An Earthquake next turn is a OHKO, and shatters the field into a cave. 

 

Yanmega comes out, and is OHKOed by Stealth Rocks. I guess the field must double their power... hilarious. Butterfree suffers the same fate.

As does Scyther

 

Dustox only takes half HP from the rocks, but is KOed with an Earthquake. 

 

Just let it go, man. Rejection is a part of life. 

 

I decide to switch to Rhino Knight, since another Earthquake will KO the Boulder as well. Rhino Knight takes some Signal Beams but KOs the moth with Stone Edge. 

 

Rock beats bug. That's it.

 

So I looked it up after the battle, and a regular cave field does in fact double the effectiveness of Stealth Rock. So... that was a pretty easy battle. I KOed half of his Pokemon without even using a move. This was possibly the most hilariously one sided battle of the whole game so far  

 

Bennett does some self-reflection, and decides to go back to Elias so that he'll get stronger and make Luna jealous by being the Best There Ever Was. This also makes Bennett one of the few bad guys in Reborn to actually have an on-screen arc. Neat. 

 

After healing my Pokemon, we meet up with Luna and exchange pleasantries 

Spoiler

Oh, so that's your name for it?  god i really am turning into Terra

 

VS LUNA

Spoiler

I'm leading with the Boulder once again, who sets Stealth Rocks and tanks an Iron Head from Carpenter the Bisharp. Earthquake is a OHKO, and turns the field into a Cave, which benefits all of my team and gets rid of the Dark Crystal's boosts. 

 

The Boulder OHKOs with Earthquake. 

 

If I use another Earthquake, the cave will collapse, so the Boulder Explodes, taking Humpty Dumpty with him. 

 

I bring out Rhino Knight, who is outsped by Jubjub Bird. Fortunately, he's a Physical tank, so it doesn't do much, and he retaliates with Stone Edge, KOing her bird easily. 

 

March Hare is specially offensive, so I switch Rhino Knight for Root Jr. He takes a Dark Pulse on the switch. 

 

After several Dark Pulses, Ancient Powers, and one potion, March Hare is taken out by rock moves. 

 

I think there's concrete evidence of that. 

Root Jr. gets poisoned by Toxic and Recovers, and then Umbreon confuses him. Great. I have a misplay and keep trying to use Mirror Coat, until it actually works but it doesn't hit since its a Psychic move. Oops.

 

I switch to Plume Knight, who eats a Dark Pulse on the switch. He then U-turns out to Rhino Knight, who's hit pretty hard by another Dark Pulse. 

 

Another Dark Pulse brings Rhino Knight to critical, and he hits with Hammer Arm. Next turn, another Dark Pulse KOs him. I bring out Kusanagi.

 

First order of business is to use Knock Off, getting rid of Cheshire's annoying Leftovers recovery. Then its just X-Scissor spam until the little fox goes down. 

 

I don't know what that even means. 

 

Oof, that one was more annoying then I thought it would be. To be fair, I went to fight her immediately after Bennett and was pretty far underleveled, but still. I had several misplays with Umbreon, mainly the Mirror Coat one, but I could have brought Kusanagi out sooner. All in all, not that difficult. Destroying Luna's field makes the battle a cavewalk. 

 

 

Chapter 13b: The Terra Begins

After stocking up on important items like Type Gems, Type Berries, and healing, its time to head into Agate City!

Spoiler

 

 

Things in Agate are weird, and everything starts to get dark as we're overcome with sleepiness. And then... the nightmare begins.

Spoiler

Maybe this is just a bad dream

Yes, its none other than the Queen of B00ty herself, Terra. I just... what do I even say about her that hasn't been said? I get that she's supposed to be ridiculous and be comic relief, but she kinda ruins the mood and tone of the game. Also, apparently she's a lion tamer, even though none of her Pokemon are lions and I'm pretty sure there are only like 2 lion Pokemon. 

 

So while Aya got hit into the Circus, Hardy went somewhere on Route 2. It's up to us to grab him, which leads us to the Fiore Mansion. There we're reunited with Amaria and...

Spoiler

The girl who was talking to a grunt on Route 1. Huh. 

 

In a great comedic moment (contrasting the weird comedy of Terra), Titania wakes up her brother, a Rock specialist, with a super-effective Fighting move: 

Spoiler

Seriously an amazing moment.

Titania and Amaria have Surf, which we need pretty badly, but they won't give it to me until I defeat Samson. I really don't know why. They do give me a battle pass though, which is convenient. 

 

Back at the circus, we get some foreshadowing about Titania's personality:

Spoiler

and get to face Samson, after a ton of dialogue. 

 

Here's my team: 

Spoiler

 

Lots of type berries. In hindsight, Wide Lens on Rhino Knight isn't that useful. Metronome on Plume Knight allows us to just break the field super hard. 

 

VS SAMSON

Spoiler

Hariyama is faster, no surprise there, and hits Shell Squire with Knock Off. The weird turtle bug uses Encore, locking Hariyama into a move that doesn't do that much damage, allowing him to safely set Sticky Web next turn and hit with Bide before being KOed by the final Encored Knock Off. 

 

Plume Knight comes out, and gets a super easy revenge kill on Hariyama. 

 

Samson brings out Lucario, who has a Focus Sash. Rather than risk getting hit and going below 50% HP, Plume Knight U-turns into Rhino Knight. Lucario boosts with Swords Dance, giving him a safe switch. 

 

Lucario hits with Brick Break, doing a little less then half HP (it was at this point I realized I hadn't Ability Capsuled Rhino Knight to have Solid Rock), but is KOed by Earthquake. 

 

Mienshao is next, which is easily Samson's scariest Pokemon (though Hawlucha is pretty tough too). Rhino Knight is outsped and KOed, so I send out Plume Knight again. Thanks to his higher base speed, sticky web, and EVs, Plume Knight outspeeds Mienshao to OHKO with Acrobatics. 

 

Second verse, same as the first: Blaziken is outsped and OHKOed by Acrobatics. 

 

Hawlucha has a higher base speed and isn't effected by Sticky Web. I decide to gamble and use Acrobatics, and Plume Knight miraculously outspeeds the luchador for another OHKO. 

 

I'd imagine Position 52 with Terra was MUCH worse.

Conkeldurr is slow as heck and was made even slower by Sticky Web. I decide to just spam Acrobatics again, which is yet another OHKO thanks to the field boost and boosts from Metronome. 

 

What an odd thing to say. I guess you didn't expect to fall to my all-out basalt.

 

That was much easier than I anticipated. Samson may have field hacks, but I took advantage of them as well. Even with a massive type disadvantage, I was able to take him out on my second try (the first time I didn't Encore Hariyama, and didn't know Lucario had a Focus Sash so it didn't go as well). I'm pretty pleased with how that went, all things considered. 

 

Since we've defeated the Big Man in the Big Top, I think that's all for today! See you next time! 

[St0mpa]

4 hours ago, Orasha said:

If I use another Earthquake, the cave will collapse, so the Boulder Explodes, taking Humpty Dumpty with him. 

It would have been safer to earthquake as colapsing the cave doesn't remove the field (at least for this battle).

 

 

4 hours ago, Orasha said:

Tyrantrum is really great, with access to Rock Head Head Smash, and can run a variety of sets.

As Aggron gets it as well via breeding when you get a chance try this set out.

Aggron @ Choice Band  

Ability: Rock Head  

EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Def  

Adamant Nature  

- Head Smash  

- Elemental Punch  

- Iron Head  

- Earthquake  

(I am pretty sure you can't get choice band so any item works)

That this hits so hard its just unreal. It is also kinda tanky so it can easily be swaped into a not very effective physical move and be pretty much unharmed.

 

 

4 hours ago, Orasha said:

Spoiler

 

Geologists do it in the dirt, don'tyaknow  

 

 

And that is why Cain is my second favorite character in this game.

Edited August 20, 2017 by St0mpa

[Orasha]

8 minutes ago, St0mpa said:

It would have been safer to earthquake as colapsing the cave doesn't remove the field (at least for this battle).

Huh, didn't know that. I learn new things about this game all the time  

 

10 minutes ago, St0mpa said:

As Aggron gets it as well via breeding when you get a chance try this set out.

Aggron @ Choice Band  

Ability: Rock Head  

EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Def  

Adamant Nature  

- Head Smash  

- Elemental Punch  

- Iron Head  

- Earthquake  

(I am pretty sure you can't get choice band so any item works)

That this hits so hard its just unreal. It is also kinda tanky so it can easily be swaped into a not very effective physical move and be pretty much unharmed.

I'll have to try it out when I get back to Reborn. I imagine it'll come in handy for Adrienn. 

 

13 minutes ago, St0mpa said:

And that is why Cain is my second favorite character in this game.

Who's your favorite character? 

[St0mpa]

7 minutes ago, Orasha said:

Huh, didn't know that. I learn new things about this game all the time

The only reason I know is that when I did a cheat run (a large pile of legends) I had Groundon spam EQ to completly remove the field and when the cave colapsed the field didn't dissapear.

 

9 minutes ago, Orasha said:

Who's your favorite character? 

You will have to wait and see when I get to her (yes a hint) in my Dark playthrough.

[HongaarseBeer]

I'm impressed that you managed to beat Samson on your first 'real' try

[Orasha]

18 hours ago, St0mpa said:

The only reason I know is that when I did a cheat run (a large pile of legends) I had Groundon spam EQ to completly remove the field and when the cave colapsed the field didn't dissapear.

 

 

You will have to wait and see when I get to her (yes a hint) in my Dark playthrough.

 Well, its still a good thing to know  

 

Hm, well since you just beat Aya, I have a few ideas of who it could be.

8 hours ago, HongaarseBeer said:

I'm impressed that you managed to beat Samson on your first 'real' try

Me too  I was definitely worried about him.

[St0mpa]

21 minutes ago, Orasha said:

Hm, well since you just beat Aya, I have a few ideas of who it could be.

Hmm and you do you think it might be?

[Orasha]

Chapter 14: Squashing the Firebug

 

Since we got the Badge, its time to go back to Fiore Mansion and get our HM. On our way there, we spot an ominous Pokemon...

Spoiler

 

Well, we all know what that's about. Titania and Amaria have a falling out, and and then literally fall down a Waterfall. Titania basically forces us into rescuing her eventually, but when I do it'll mostly be for Amaria. 

 

The path forward is blocked by an enormous ice wall, so Hardy, Cain, Aya and I decide to go to Calcenon instead. Due to plot contrivance Team Meteor's assault, we get separated, so Aya and I end up facing Team Meteor on our own. And by accident, too! Eventually we have a rematch with our old friends, Aster and Eclipse. Eclipse seems... less enthused then she used to be. Huh. 

 

VS ASTER AND ECLIPSE

Spoiler

I decide to focus down Eclipse's Pokemon, since Vileplume and Milotic are big threats. Maybe I should have done Aster instead, since his team worried me less, and it would have allowed me to double team Eclipse not like that, but oh well. Lunatone and Solrock move first, hitting with Blizzard and Bulldoze. Kusanagi OHKOs Lunatone with X-Scissor, and Dragalge hits Solrock with Thunderbolt. Eclipse brings out Magmortar, who is also dangerous thanks to Focus Blast (and I'm pretty sure it has a Life Orb too). 

 

Magmortar KOs Dragalge with Hidden Power, while Solrock and Kusanagi both miss their attacks. Aya brings in Drapion. 

 

Aster uses his potion on Solrock, and Magmortar strikes with Heat Wave. Luckily, Kusanagi dodges it. The same can't be said for Drapion, who is hit pretty hard. Drapion Crunches Solrock, and Kusanagi KOs Magmortar with Rock Blast. In response, Eclipse brings out Milotic. 

 

I switch out Kusanagi for Root Jr. while Drapion KOs Solrock with Crunch. Root Jr. absorbs Milotic's Scald, and Aster sends out Rhyperior. 

 

Drapion tries to Cross Poison Rhyperior, but it does almost no damage, while Milotic uselessly attacks Root Jr. with another Scald. The AI apparently can't tell Storm Drain makes it ineffective. Rhyperior KOs Drapion with Rock Wrecker, so Aya brings out Tentacruel. 

 

Milotic wastes another Scald on Root Jr., and the AI flubs again as Aya uses Muddy Water, which picks up Electricity and thus doesn't work on Rhyperior. I can at least forgive Aya for that, since I'm pretty sure I make the same mistake later, but Eclipse's AI is just being atrocious. I guess it ties in to her not trying anymore, but still. Muddy Water does hit Milotic and takes her into the red, and Root Jr. finishes it off with Giga Drain while Rhyperior recharges. Eclipse sends out Aromatisse. 

 

I switch out Root Jr. for Kusanagi, since he has a Poison attack. Tentacruel hits Aromatisse with Slude Bomb, and then is immediately OHKOed by another Rock Wrecker. Aromatisse hits Kusanagi with Thunder, bringing him into the red, and Aya sends in Nidoqueen. 

 

Kusanagi thankfully outspeeds everyone to KO Aromatisse with Cross Poison, which causes Nidoqueen to hit Rhyperior with Sludge Bomb instead. It doesn't do much damage. Rhyperior is busy recharging, and Eclipse sends out Vileplume. 

 

Kusanagi outspeeds everyone again to hit Vileplume hard with X-scissor, while Nidoqueen strikes Rhyperior hard with Earth Power. Unfortunately, it still doesn't do much damage thanks to Rhyperior's massive defense and Solid Rock ability. Vileplume hits Nidoqueen with Petal Dance, and Rhyperior misses with Rock Wrecker. Kusanagi KOs Vileplume with another X-scissor and Nidoqueen repeats her last turn, hitting Rhyperior with Earth Power again. Rhyperior succeeds with Rock Wrecker, KOing Kusanagi, so I bring out Dame Helix. 

 

Now its a 2-on-1. Dame Helix KOs Rhyperior with Hidden Power Grass, so Aster brings out Golurk. 

 

Dame Helix smashes her shell and Golurk hits with Bulldoze, bringing Nidoqueen to basically one HP and doing heavy damage to Dame Helix. Dame Helix tries to Surf, but just like Aya I forgot this field makes Water attacks part Electric, so it doesn't hit Golurk or damage Nidoqueen. This allows Golurk to KO both with Bulldoze. Oops. 

 

Golurk can't withstand an Earthquake followed by a Shadow Ball. 

 

Another Earthquake and Shadow Ball take Electivire down before it can move. 

 

Vespiqueen gets rocked by Head Smash. 

 

I guess that's why you wasted 2 Scalds on a Storm Drain? 

 

Eclipse has a change of heart, and deactivates the PULSE Clawizter for us. She and Aster argue about Team Meteor's goals, and Eclipse's father being in the firing line has changed her mind. The ends justify the means no longer.

Spoiler

Eclipse is about to spill the beans about Lin and how she made things worse, when Sirius shows up and sends her soul to the shadow realm. 

Spoiler

Later Pokedex entries say the soul is cursed to wander the land, so maybe we'll be able to cure Eclipse after all. 

Sirius attempts to kill us too, but Aya pushes us out of the way. Luckily, she doesn't touch Chandelure, but Sirius ends up taking her hostage and retreating. With that finished, we can get to Calcenon!

 

In the gym, Laura runs out, distressed over something. Charlotte informs us that:

Spoiler

I'm assuming Bennett took her place. Guess we can look forward to that match. Maybe he'll have a strategy other than Quiver Dance by then. We tell Cain and Hardy the bad news, and Hardy doesn't take it well, and the wall around Calcenon erodes his patience. While we're here, we also reunite with the orphans, and our favorite character of all:

Spoiler

 

So Fern has joined Team Meteor, to the surprise of no one. There's some further drama about Heather's Ruby Ring and the absolute faith the Belrose sisters have in each other, and then its time to take on Charlotte. 

 

This is my team: 

Spoiler

Pretty simple movesets. Plume Knight's Rock Gem is to make his first Rock Slide hit super hard, while Lord Helix's Water Gem will hopefully allow Surf to still do good damage. 

 

Charlotte gives us a speech about how she feels no guilt for her parent's deaths, and I'm not sure if she's mildly sociopathic, just blocked her feelings due to trauma, or what. Its a shame Sigmund appears to be the only psychologist in Reborn, cause she should probably talk to a professional about this. 

 

VS CHARLOTTE

Spoiler

Plume Knight outspeeds everything, and a Gem-boosted Rock Slide OHKOs Darmanitan and Typhlosion both. Holy crap. The Boulder sets up Stealth Rocks, ensuring that Volcarona and Rotom take heavy damage as they come in. 

 

Charlotte uses one of her potions on Volcarona, but its a wasted effort as Rock Slide OHKOs Volcarona despite its type berry, and takes out Rotom too. Oh. My. God. I'm cackling. 

 

I decide to switch the Boulder out for Nero just for fun, and Plume Knight spams Rock Slide again. Delphox avoids it, but Ninetales is OHKOed. Hilarious. Delphox hits with Heat Wave, burning the field and bring Plume Knight into defeatist range. 

 

I decide to switch Plume Knight out for Rhino Knight, so he gets hit with Psyshock, and Nero KOs Delphox with Head Smash. 

 

I would be too.

 

Four turns. FOUR. TURNS. I am ugly laughing over here. This is better than when I broke her with Trick Room. Charlotte is also the first gym leader to be fully EV trained, so its not even like my Pokemon had an unfair advantage. The only advantage they had were a few levels, but even then... that was ridiculous. At the end of the day, I did have a type advantage over her, but I wasn't expecting it to be so... easy. I never thought I would say that Charlotte was easy. My god. 

 

 

Well, after that, I don't think there's anything else I can do but end the installment. See you next time! 

[Orasha]

28 minutes ago, St0mpa said:

Hmm and you do you think it might be?

I'm gonna say Luna. You did say Dark was one of your favorite types, after all  

[St0mpa]

3 hours ago, Orasha said:

I'm gonna say Luna. You did say Dark was one of your favorite types, after all  

Maybe.