Setting Off a Chain Reaction: A Reborn Mono-Nuclear run/story

CURIE · February 10, 2022

If you're involved enough in the fangame scene to be using this website, you've at least heard of Pokemon Uranium. While I enjoyed the game overall it had some... issues, the biggest of which in my opinion was the gross mishandling of its main "quirk": the Nuclear type. Almost all the Nuclear-type Pokemon are corrupted versions of already existing Pokemon, which sounds kinda cool right? Well too bad because the corruption has driven them mad and they won't listen to you, making them practically unusable. You can "purify" them later on and then they'll obey you, but by "later on" I mean only after you've got ALL the gym badges. By then, you've already got a team set up that you've been playing with the whole game, and with the story almost over you probably aren't inclined to grind up a new member just to try out the new type. There are a handful of "natural" nuclear Pokemon that will listen to you without needing to be purified, but most of them are, you guessed it, only available after you've beaten all the gyms.

But now for some good news: @Fervis has made a badass mod (link here) that adds most of Uranium's fakemon, moves, and of course the Nuclear type to Reborn. And yes, the Nuclear-form Pokemon actually listen to you this time. He even made a bunch of Nuclear forms that weren't in the original, just because he's cool like that. So to make up for how underused the Nuclear type is in it's own game, I'll be attempting the first-ever Nuclear Monotype of Reborn.

The (updated for episode 19) rules are:

1. The energy core that lets me nuclearize Pokemon is available very early on, only behind 3 required trainer battles (5 if you count Victoria and Cain at the start). I make a beeline for it, catch a Pokemon with a Nuclear form along the way, nuclearize that Pokemon, dump my starter in the box, and then the run really begins.

2. Only Nuclear-type Pokemon in battles. I can use other types of Pokemon for sidequests, HMs, breeding, etc. In the original Uranium the nuclear Pokemon were found already corrupted in the wild and couldn't breed, but in this mod you actively turn regular Pokemon into their nuclear forms. That means breeding is actually an option here.

3. The mod has debug enabled for testing purposes, obviously I won't use it.*

*There was one point where a glitch deleted most of my Pokemon. I used debug to replace them. I don't really count that as cheating. I'm sure you'd feel the same way if a glitch deleted most of YOUR Pokemon!

~~4. The mod is an expansion of Plates of Arceus, which has a ton of side content and even its own separate storyline. I'm ignoring it for the most part. This is about Reborn the base game.~~

As of the episode 19 update the mod is no longer an expansion of Plates of Arceus, but its own standalone thing. So this rule doesn't matter anymore.

4. I'll use the weathermod and easyHMs passwords for convenience, but not in any way that would affect the game's difficulty. That is to say, if a boss requires an HM move to reach (with no access to a PC to switch out an HM slave), then someone on my team has to be able to learn that move. Also, I can't set a weather condition that can't naturally occur in whatever area I'm in.

*Bonus Points* I'll TRY to follow these, but if I get completely stuck and HAVE to break one to win, I will.

*1* Play on set mode.

*2* No items in battle.

*3* Nucleon is banned because he's kinda broken.

As of the episode 19 update Nucleon has been nerfed, so he's tentatively unbanned. If he still ends up being too OP I might re-ban him, who knows.

I think that about covers it, so let's begin. I also considered making this one of those "fanfic" playthroughs that are popular on this side of the forums but realized that anything I wrote would probably be cringey and bad.

Then I remembered this is the internet so I don't care!

Chapter 1

Spoiler

...Please, continue.

Right. So, where were we... oh yes, you were just about to tell me about your friends?

I was about to tell you for the fifth time that you have the wrong person.

Mm... about that. Let me introduce you to my friend, Torkoal. He isn't the most patient fella. And when people keep him waiting, he tends to blow a bit of hot air, so to speak. Which brings me to my second point. You know what kind of chair you're strapped in, right?

You're so convinced I'm the bomber that you'd resort to torture? Where's your evidence?

Don't even start with the "you have no proof" talk. Ame says she saw you on the train before it exploded, and she's only still here because she bailed at the last second. No one else survived... and yet when the dust settled you were just standing there! Like nothing had happened!

That's a bit of an exaggeration on her part.

You calling our Champion a liar?

I'm calling her prejudiced against people with funny masks.

Speaking of which, why have you not removed that mask yet?

Uh, right. We were kinda in a hurry to book this bitch while also keeping a low profile... (and I kinda forgot)

Remove it.

I wouldn't if I were you.

Uhuh sure. Hold her down.

NO! LET GO OF ME! (I didn't want it to come to this! Not so soon!)

Wait. Stop.

??

I just got a message from the officers in Peridot. They, uh... they caught the bomber. They know it's him because he has the remote detonator.

...

Well I'm pretty sure we've extracted all the information that suspect had, and none of it involved you. You're free to go... for now. But make no mistake, we WILL be keeping an eye on you.

Just register me for the damn league already.

The league, huh. That's why you came to Reborn?

Yep.

So you're some sort of character actor? That's why you're wearing the space suit?

Exactly. All for show business. (She doesn't seem aware of the incident this suit is associated with...)

So I guess this was all just a... weird coincidence then?

If I'm not a suspect at this time, then stop treating me like I am. Register me for the league.

Fine, fine. Name?

CURIE. Make sure to put it in all caps.

Uhuh. Gender is... female? (the voice sounds like a woman's, but it's CLEARLY being digitally altered...) And lastly I'm gonna need some sort of picture. If you don't have one yourself we can-

My train ticket should be good enough.

I guess that works. Now if you'll give me a few minutes I'll go enter your information and print your trainer card.

It took her more than a few minutes. I'd say around 30 or so, although I wasn't exactly keeping track. I know for a fact it doesn't take that long to register someone for the league, so I can only assume it has something to do with her clearly still suspecting me of being involved with the bombing. She's wasting her time as much as mine, because I actually had nothing to do with it.

Oh right, something mildly interesting happened while I was waiting:

Uhhhhhhh

Can I help you?

...no

I imagine I'll get a lot of similar interactions in the coming days.

I'm back. Here's your starting package. It contains some Pokeballs, a Pokedex, a Pokegear, and of course your trainer card.

I'll be on my way now.

Wait, you don't have any Pokemon, do you? As a league newcomer you're allowed to choose one starter, you know.

I'll get a Pokemon on my own.

But it could be dangerous if you don't already have- aaaaaand she's gone.

(My very first day in the region and the champion is already suspicious of me. Not a great start.)

SHALL WE DETERMINE A NEW COURSE OF ACTION?

(No. She thinks I signed up for the league as an excuse to my suspicious behavior, so she'd expect me to try and lay low. Let's prove her wrong by actually challenging some gym leaders. I was strongly considering it anyway, we need to get stronger. Now, scan the area for wild Pokemon with a rad resistance of at least 400.)

SCAN COMPLETE. 6 CONFIRMED SPECIES WITHIN RANGE.

(Wonderful. Time to begin.)

Some time later

Holy shit lady, calm down! (What the hell is wrong with her Pokemon?)

(They're species I recognize, but there's something... weird about them! And they're absolutely vicious!)

Hand over the Pokemon I paid for. Now.

Dude, just give it to him! This isn't worth it!

I can't! I don't have it anymore, I swear! Some bitch-ass kid pickpocketed me on the way here and nabbed it! He probably took it to the slums in Obsidia!

CONFIRMED: THE MAGIKARP IS NO LONGER ON HIS PERSON.

How do I know you haven't stashed it somewhere?

Please man, you gotta believe me!

This is hilarious

In that case, I'll be taking my money back instead.

Nope, that's where I draw the line. RUN FOR IT!

Get back here you- dammit, I have no chance of catching them on foot.

Maybe if you ditched the stupid Tandor cosplay?

I didn't ask for your advice... but good job being the first to actually recognize the costume.

Don't patronize me, you weirdo bitch. You think you're SO cool with your edgy gimmick and your imported mutant freaks? Even though you just got scammed like an idiot?

(They aren't imported, but that's actually a good cover story if anyone asks)

There's something important you've clearly not learned yet: that I'M the top dog around here. But don't worry, I've got time to teach you that very important lesson!

I won't say no to an opportunity to get stronger.

Spoiler

Unfortunately CURIE doesn't have a backsprite. Anyway, Wing Attack almost kills Budew, and while she gets a stun spore on me I just Quick Attack to make sure I kill next turn.

THIS guy's the problem. Half my team is Poison/Nuclear and therefore quad weak to Sand Tomb, and he gets a Moxie boost if he kills them. That's the real reason I led with Owten, to try and Charm him. I'm playing set mode, by the way. Full disclosure: I'm gonna try to do the whole thing in set mode but if it turns out I NEED to use switch mode to beat a fight, I'm going to. Anyway, I get unlucky with paralysis and he kills me with Sand Tomb before I can use Charm, getting the moxie boost. Flying is Owten's second typing, meaning it got replaced by Nuclear and now she's susceptible to ground moves.

I would feel pathetic for needing to soft reset on the first boss, so I keep going and send out Tonemy since she has Levitate (okay I lied about HALF my team being quad weak). I Poison Gas him, and instead of just using Bite he tries to set up with Leers and Hone Claws. Well he got too greedy because I finish him off before he even uses an attack. Maybe he doesn't have Bite? He's SUPPOSED to have Bite...

Well anyway, I use the same strategy on Snivy except he actually takes Tonemy down after a couple turns. Tancoon finishes him off.

Easy fight even with the bad luck. Beat it first try.

Hah! Way to get lucky. Whatever, unlike YOU I have important places to be. If you're one of those gimmicky character actors, you must be taking on the league, right? How many badges do you have?

...

I'll take that as NONE? HA! Later, loser!

And so he strutted off, with all the swagger of someone who had proven his superiority over a hated enemy... except that we had literally just met, and he had lost the battle. Not that I mind, I got exactly what I wanted out of him. And for the next few days I roamed the lower districts of Rebon City, getting the same thing from anyone who was up for a fight. I also kept an eye out for the little bastard that had stolen my Magikarp, but never found him and eventually gave up. Luckily there were just enough... shall we say, "compatible" species of Pokemon within the area for me to assemble a full team anyway.

Eventually...

So this is the place, huh. It certainly looks like... something Julia would design, from what I've heard about her. Well, I think I'm as ready as I could be-

Oh hihi! You're CURIE, right? Ame told me about you!

(That's... to be expected, honestly) I am, and I've come for your badge.

Aw man, I would love to battle you but it's gonna have to wait; we've got trouble! Did you know that some gang of bad guys boombed Grandview Station a few days ago?

I was there. And it's "bombed", not-

Well Ame found out where their hideout is! But that's not all, she's learned that their next target is MY GYM!

(Right, this gym is also supposed to double as a power plant. Makes sense to target it if you wanted to... uh, what is their motive anyway?)

Nobody booms things without me, least of all MY things! So I'm going to hop over there and teach them a lesson!

Alone?

Of course not, silly! I'm going to have Rini with me! She's really smart and cool, and smart, and she's also a gym leader like me and blahblahblah...

Have fun and don't die. I'll wait here.

...oh and Fern too I guess. *GASP* I just had the bestest idea! You can come too! We can go beat them up together as a warmup!

No. (Hell if I'm running errands on Ame's behalf. Especially ones that put me anywhere near the bombers.)

Aw come on, it'll be fun! Well if you change your mind, meet us at the Mosswater Factory. It's right by the train tracks!

(Wait, THAT building?)

Byeeeeeeeee~

(I've been by that building before and CURIE detected higher-than-usual radiation coming from it. There's likely nuclear fuel sources inside, but I couldn't find a way in.)

...well, it seems I've-

-changed my mind. Let's "teach them a lesson".

YAAAAAAY! I've already found an entrance by the way! ActuallyIblewitup

Julia's and unknown individual's presence confirmed. Likely a member of the agitating organization. Prepare for battle.

Waitwaitwait! This isn't a bad guy! This is CURIE, and she's my new friend!

(WHEN WAS THAT DECIDED?)

CURIE, this is Florinia. Back in school, she was my roommate and BFF~ aaaaaaaaaand this if Fern. Hi Fern. Okay, moving on!

Hah! I get no respect. But it's fine. CURIE and I already met. She's only cosplaying as a terrorist. Supposedly.

Time wastes. Let us proceed.

Yo CURIE, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but it's cool, right? Don't mind my sister, she's kinda weird. People call her "Flobot" because of how she talks.

Well I call her Rini, because she's not a robot! Now come on focusies, we have bad guys to boom! The guy who boomed Grandview Station is with this group called "Team Meteor". Weird name, right? Well if we don't get in there and boom their faces off, they're gonna keep booming everything else! A practice I normally approve of, but not like this. Sooooo, chaaaaarge!

Hold on, am I the only one taking this seriously? These are dangerous terrorists. They might KILL you if they get the chance.

While such concern at Julia's overly cheery disposition is understandable, one must remember that the position of gym leader denotes a capable battler. She and I are, despite appearances, among the most favored individuals to carry out this mission.

Plus, I'M here. We've got this.

This place smells terribadtastic!

The wine hue indicates a high level of pollutants. Estimated toxicity: 90+%.

(CURIE, what about now?)

RADIATION SOURCE IS DISTRIBUTED IN THE WATER. IT IS LIKELY WASTE PRODUCT AND THUS UNUSABLE FOR OUR PURPOSES.

(Well if there's waste here then there must be fuel rods somewhere.)

The path diverges. The most efficient course of motion for facilitation of thorough investigation and reclamation of this property is a similar bisection of the party.

And in english?

She said we should split up. Duhhhhh!

(It seems everyone in this league has their own "gimmick". At least I'll fit right in.)

Rini will come with me! We'll take this wing. CURIE, you go with Fern. Try not to let his attitude get to you~

Proceed with caution.

I always do, sis.

You were not the intended recipient of my previous statement. Permission for you to be life-endangeringly reckless: granted.

...as you can see, she didn't get enough hugs growing up. Not my problem.

Wow, that was... I mean, if she said that in a joking manner I'd get it, but I don't think she was...

Oh, no. She never jokes. Ever. Jokes are "counterproductive".

I'm starting to think you're actually the lesser asshole here.

FINALLY, someone agrees! Anyway, looks like it's just you and me. Try not to slow me down- Oh RIGHT you move like a snail in that heavy-ass outfit, don't you?

Indeed.

UGHHHHHH. Okay, new plan. If any of those "Team Meteor" weirdos jump us, you distract them and I run ahead.

(That's actually good for me) Whatever. Let's just go.

It didn't take long before some "Team Meteor weirdos" jumped us.

Stop right there!

Remember the plan! You got this!

(and he's already gone)

Hey! Get back here!

The others can handle him. You however, will be leaving now. Either by choice or force.

We'll see about that.

One short battle later

So the rumors were true, her Tandorian Pokemon are stronger from the radiation...

That's not fair!

(Actually the effects of nuclerization are mostly negative, these guys are just weak) Now tell me where the fuel rods are.

The what?

The- The nuclear fuel rods! This place is producing nuclear waste, so it must have them!

Uh... I'll be honest with you lady, I've got no idea about any of that. I'm just a grunt. Have fun figuring that out on your own!

Or don't. Just turn around. Seriously, you have NO idea what you're getting into.

They both ran off, faster than I could ever hope to match even if I wanted to give chase. I made my way through the factory, fighting whatever grunts hadn't already been defeated by Fern. Eventually I found out that there simply isn't any usable fuel in this entire building. The waste? It's imported from another Meteor base somewhere else with the express intent of dumping into Azurine Lake. What a waste of my time. But since I'm already here, I should make sure the others are alright before I go.

Oh hey, you're not dead. Took you long enough to get here.

Feeeeeern! You weren't supposed to leave her behind!

I'm fine, don't worry about it. What's the status with the rest of you?

Well after kicking around about half a dozen grunts, we got blocked by this stupid door, and have been waiting for Flobot to computer geek her way past it. She said it'd be easy, but it's been like a million years now!

This building's cyber security is noticeably substandard, but even still it takes time to encode the necessary anti-security program.

And I used the last of my boomies getting in... But come to think of it, if they were planning to do demolitions, they probably have some that they'd let us borrow! If we can get those, I can get us past here no problem-o!

Why is combustion your solution to any obstacle?

Fun for the whole family?

You know, I think I actually agree with Julia for once. Come on you two, let's go find those-

KATHUNK!

Access Granted. Let us proceed.

Awwwwww, I wanted some more boomies...

You must be the leader.

And if I am?

Then we're gonna boom your face off for what you did to Grandview Station!

Amusing. And tell me, what power do you think you have to do so?

A numbers advantage, and the fact that two of us are gym leaders?

It won't matter how many of you there are. Do you really think you got through this place on your own ability?

(The grunts were talking about how their goal was only to slow us down... And Florinia said the cyber security was weak... Was it really intentional or is he just bluffing?)

We have no intention of repelling you, our purpose here is forfeit already. We let you in so that you could attend a demonstration. Aster, Eclipse, deal with the small fries. I can handle the gym leaders.

Hmph. If you say so.

For team meteor!

Spoiler

At first I tried leading with Owten and using Charm since it's worked so well in the past, but she's a speed point or two too slow and gets oneshotted instead. Tonemy is faster, so I lead with her and soft reset so that Poison gas actually hits both Rockruffs. After that, well, it was basically a foregone conclusion that I'd win. Especially after sending in Ekans when Tonemy inevitably died, there was pretty much no way for them to beat me before dying to poison.

So you've lost already? How disappointing. I can take on two by myself easily, but four... Well, it was an amusing diversion. Don't think you've won, though. We've already deleted all mission critical data from the computers here. The real demonstration was that your "victory" won you nothing.

Big words for someone who's cornered in a small room with the only exit blocked. You're coming with us.

You really think we'd corner ourselves so easily? Seviper, return! Aster, now!

Dammit! They really were a step ahead of us!

Regardless of their escape, the agitators have been thwarted for the time being. Cradily, Return.

You too, Electrode! Now I'm gonna go back to the gym and bring back some boomies, and boom this whole place up!

What? No! That's stupid! I know the man said they deleted all the evidence, but they could have missed something potentially important. Also, there could still be physical evidence!

CURIE's assessment is logical. I shall inform the relevant authorities to conduct a more thorough investigation of the premises. Julia, you will not resort to detonation.

OH COME ON!

Despite her protests, we ended up doing exactly as I suggested. I don't know if they found anything relevant in the investigation, and frankly it doesn't really affect me either way. Florinia and Fern went their own separate ways, and Julia returned to her gym. Her despondency over a lack of "booming" didn't last very long, most likely because she intends to make up for it in our battle. I had a quick look through the wing of the factory that the two gym leaders had searched, just in case there was any usable fuel. There wasn't.

Later that day

It's, uh... more crowded than I expected.

This building has recently come under bomb threat. An actual bomb threat that is, not Julia's... usual thing. If you aren't a gym challenger I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave.

I am a gym challenger. Here's my trainer card.

Very well, you're free to continue. You can also use this monitor to obtain information on the leader, just so you know.

Might as well.

Hello? Oh, it's you. Wait, are you- you're at Julia's gym?

I told you I was challenging the league. Why so surprised?

Don't sass me. These monitors allow challengers to get advice from me about gym leaders, but unlike earlier I'm not REQUIRED to help you.

Then it seems I shouldn't have bothered. *CLICK*

Uhhhhh

We got off on the wrong foot. (And I think she's still convinced I'm secretly with Team Meteor, but I'm definitely not saying THAT part in front of a cop) She was probably just going to tell me about Julia's "Electric Field" anyway. I already know all about it, Florinia installed an app for it on my Pokegear.

Um, officer? You're gonna have to step away from the shutter there...

Why?

Well you see, the idea is that the gym challenger is supposed to take a Voltorb and, uh... well...

You can't be serious. We're here to guard against a bomb threat and you're asking this woman to set off a bomb indoors? Isn't there a switch to open these somewhere?

Well there was, but Julia disabled it. Ripped out the wiring and everything.

...Just make it quick, you two. Larry, Keith, we'll need to step outside for a bit.

Well actually, I'm supposed to guard the Voltorb as well. Challenger, you'll have to fight me first.

Wait, I have a question. Exactly what kind of power plant is this? Hydroelectric? Nuclear?

Oh, it's Pokecentric. That means it uses Electric-type Pokemon, in this case Electrodes, to generate Electricity.

(So not Nuclear. Darn.) Good to know, let's begin.

A few easy fights and controlled demolitions later

CURIE, you're finally here! Welcome to the Super-Duper-Ultra-Hyper-Electro-Dazzle-Happy-Boom-Time House of cheer! When word got out you were going to challenge me, a whole bunch of people showed up! You've got fans!

(I wouldn't call them... "fans", more like, "curious onlookers". I recognize most of them as trainers I've defeated in the past few days.)

Oh, and I learned about how you're actually cosplaying as a crazy lady who tried to blow up the whole Tandor Region! That's AWESOME!

(It's concerning that I can't tell which part she's calling "awesome", the cosplay or blowing up the Tandor Region)

Hey, uh, if you win I'll feel less bad about getting trounced by you. So... I guess that means I'm rooting for you.

Anyway, don't think I'll go easy on you just because you helped us out earlier! I have pride to uphold! As former captain cheerleader, the Onyx Trainer School's honor depends on me! Ref, let's get this show on the road!

Very well. This will be a 6 on 6 single battle match. Either trainer is allowed to switch out his or her Pokemon at any time. The battle ends when one trainer's Pokemon are all unable to battle. In addition, both trainers will send out their first Pokemon at the same time. Trainers, do you have your first Pokemon ready?

Yep!

I do.

Then prepare to send them out in 3... 2... 1... GO!

(I replaced the gym leader theme in the files, so consider this the new theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvi7EyNleVA)

Spoiler

Kinetmunk is usually absolute garbage, but in Julia's fight specifically she has some use. She learns Charge, which is usually worthless but in the Electric Terrain gives me +2 Special Defense instead of 1, meaning I take a field-boosted Charge Beam like it's nothing. Julia switches to using Nuzzle after this, but it still does weak damage and Kinetmunk's main attack is Quick Attack anyway. Minun also has Quick Attack and uses it to get one more hit in, but like the other two attacks the damage is low. Now Kinetmunk's in a good position against whatever gets sent out next-

OKAY NEVERMIND. Yeah this mod gives Julia a shiny Galvanize Slothohm who also knows Quick Attack, which is basically a hard counter to my strategy thus far. I'm gonna have to save Kinetmunk for after I kill this thing.

I didn't lead with Tanscure the first time because I didn't want my strongest Pokemon to get paralyzed right off the bat. But after the Kinetmunk plan failed I decided to give it a try in case she was strong enough to oneshot Minun, and what do you know. She is.

Julia sends in her own strongest Pokemon, Electrode, which then immediately explodes! Holy shit that's one way to respond to my strongest Pokenon! Now that I know she'd do this, I COULD reset and switch to someone weaker right before Electrode blows up, but I'm gonna try and see if I can win this attempt. I don't know who she's sending in but I know Slothohm is still alive, so I send in Tofurang.

Nope, it was Oricorio. Intimidate is basically wasted. She sets up Tailwind and I poison her, and we trade blows until one of us goes down. It's her.

NOW it's Slothohm. I would like to try and poison it but I know it has Quick Attack and will just kill me, so I switch to Ekans. Even with Intimidate Slothohm hits like a truck, and Ekans only barely survives two Quick Attacks at 1 hp to get a Screech off before dying. I could switch Tofurang back in for a second Intimidate, but that would risk Julia switching and rendering my sacrifice useless. Instead I go to Costraw.

Julia switches anyway, rendering my sacrifice pointless. Leech Life does a whole lot to Plusle and can kill next turn (Costraw's attack is lower than his special attack but remember this is post-gen 7 Leech Life), but even then I don't see myself beating Slothohm.

I try anyway. First by hard switching to Tofurang for one last Intimidate. She predictably gets wrecked and I send Costraw back in. Now the question is, do I go straight for Leech Life or try and get a Leer in? I end up deciding to go straight for Leech Life. Good thing I did, because Quick Attack does just over half my health, and the Leech Life healing puts me at just enough to survive one more Quick Attack and get in another attack! Slothohm barely survives and kills me next turn, leaving just Kinetmunk and Eshouten. I go for Eshouten.

Eshouten obviously has a higher speed stat so her Quick Attack goes first and she gets a crit! I don't think the crit was necessary actually, He was at such low health I'm pretty sure he would've died despite resisting Normal moves.

Last is Volchik, and... not much to say about it. Eshouten twoshots it. It hits me with Sweet Kiss but even if I had terrible confusion luck and died, Kinetmunk would have finished it off.

Honestly that was more intense than it needed to be, if I had redone the fight and sacked someone to Electrode's Explosion it would've been a Tanscure sweep. I'm glad I did it this way, though, it was more fun.

Poor Kinetmunk, though! The one time she could have been useful outside of Pickup, and she gets cockblocked by a sloth!

Volchik is unable to battle! As such, the winner is the challenger CURIE!

YEAH!

Mrrrr...

Did you see that Tanscure? It was so powerful that Julia sacrificed her own ace, just to get rid of it!

I've never been able to get past that Slothohm, the way she outmanuvered it, TWICE, was incredible!

Whateverrrrrrr, I'm gonna go take a power nap.

Julia, you're forgetting something.

...Hmm?

The badge, Julia. The challenger won so you're required to give her the badge.

Oh, right. Fiiiiiine, take your whatchamacolit badge.

This new protagonist of the Reborn story claims to be merely a cosplayer acting as the original CURIE who almost destroyed the Tandor Region, and she certainly acts like a completely different person. But at the same time she's clearly hiding something, and seems to be on the hunt for radioactive metals like the original CURIE... not to mention that voice inside her head which she ALSO refers to as CURIE. Is she actually the same person? If so, why and HOW is she here in Reborn after what happens to her in Uranium? If she isn't the same person, then who is she and what are her true goals? Is she even a woman at all? How did she survive the train explosion if Ame didn't save her? Will the author actually be able to make it far enough in the game to unlock Nuclear moves? For the answers to all these questions and more, stay tuned to Reborn's First Nuclear Monotype!

And for those of you who care more about the game than my shitty fanfiction, I'll be adding a "gameplay section" to my updates.

Spoiler

First thing I do after grabbing a starter is fight these three guys.

These are the only required trainer fights to reach Fern, but Fern's not why I'm going there. THIS is why I'm going there:

This is what allows us to turn regular Pokemon into Nuclear Pokemon, if they have nuclear forms programmed into the game (and yes, it has infinite uses). They don't learn Nuclear moves naturally though, those are taught by a special tutor later in the game. So until I reach that tutor, my Pokemon have all the downsides of the Nuclear type, with NO benefit. That's why I said at the beginning I was going to "attempt" this, it's probably going to be really hard and there's no guarantee I won't give up.

I just realized I haven't explained Nuclear type for those of you who haven't actually played Uranium. It's simple: It's super effective against every type except Steel and itself (which both resist it), but it's also weak to every type in return, including Steel (actually it resists itself, but since no one in Reborn uses Nuclear types that doesn't matter). Nuclear form Pokemon that were single type become their original type + Nuclear, and those that were dual-typed have whatever their second type was replaced with Nuclear.

Anyway after picking up the Energy Core I backtrack to the Opal Ward and catch an Ekans.

Ekans' ability was actually Unnerve; I used the Ability Capsule you get next to Mosswater Factory to make it Intimidate. Maybe it was a waste but I really liked the nature she had and didn't want to soft reset it away. Arbok may not be the fastest Pokemon naturally, but... well, you'll see if we get that far in the game. I dump my starter in the box, and the challenge officially begins. First thing I do is find a wild Chyinmunk, throw Pokeballs at it, and catch it on the second try at full health.

Chyinmunk is the absolute bottomest-of-the-barrel shitmon in all of Uranium. Don't have any better options though.

Our first problem is leveling up. We have two very low level Pokemon, who are weak to every type, and Ekans' only moves are Wrap and Leer. There are more Nuclear-compatible Pokemon available before Julia, but they're behind trainers we don't stand a chance against. That's why I needed Intimidate on Ekans, it guarantees she'll survive at least one hit from any wild Pokemon bar a crit. By leading with her, getting a Leer in, getting in some Wrap damage if I get the chance, and switching to Cyinmunk before she dies, I can actually win a fight and get xp for both Pokemon... sometimes. Other times it goes poorly and I have to run before I wipe. Wipe to low level wild Pokemon. We're starting at the very bottom of the very bottom of the ladder here, huh. After enough victories, both Pokemon leveled up to the point they can win fights on their own. After yet some more grinding, we were able to get past the trainers that were blocking off new party members.

I catch a Tonemy in the Railnet:

A Tancoon in the alley whose IVs are so good, while ALSO having the ability I wanted, that I accept the bad nature:

And the Gulpin event has been replaced with Costraw.

Oh right, there's also this:

Remember how I said I was ignoring Plates of Arceus content "for the most part"? Well at the very beginning of the game they just give you a plate for free and a merchant who can swap it out for any other type plate you want. I'll make an exception for this since it's free and so easily accessible. Cut me some slack here, I'm weak to every type. Oh by the way, you may have noticed the thing in the top left, it's part of the weather mod that Fervis included. I don't think there's a way to get it to go away, so I've been cropping it out of the pictures in the story segments. You'll also notice that the dates and times are inconsistent between screenshots, that's because time is sped up drastically in the weather mod.

I'm NOT fighting these guys, not yet. They're a surprise tool that'll help us later.

Anyway I also train up a Bidoof to learn Headbutt, because we can find Owten in the trees. Yep, we can.... get an Owten...... any second now.......... over 300 encounters and still no Owten................ Okay finally I got one!

aaaaaaaaaaaand it's complete garbage.

About 150 headbutts later I found a much better one.

Except that she has the worst of the 3 abilities. Oh well.

After training up everyone to around the same level and beating the rest of the trainers, it's time for Fern.

Spoiler

If you already read about the fight in the story segment, this is just a copy of that.

Unfortunately CURIE doesn't have a backsprite. Anyway, Wing Attack almost kills Budew, and while she gets a stun spore on me I just Quick Attack to make sure I kill next turn.

THIS guy's the problem. Half my team is Poison/Nuclear and therefore quad weak to Sand Tomb, and he gets a Moxie boost if he kills them. That's the real reason I led with Owten, to try and Charm him. I'm playing on set mode, by the way. Full disclosure: I'm gonna try to do the whole thing in set mode but if it turns out I NEED to use switch mode to beat a fight, I'm going to. Anyway, I get unlucky with paralysis and he kills me with Sand Tomb before I can use Charm, getting the moxie boost. Flying is Owten's second typing, meaning it got replaced by Nuclear and now she's susceptible to ground moves.

I would feel pathetic for needing to soft reset on the first boss, so I keep going and send in Tonemy since she has Levitate (okay I lied about HALF my team being quad weak). I Poison Gas him, and instead of just using Bite he tries to set up with Leers and Hone Claws. Well he got too greedy because I finish him off before he even uses an attack. Maybe he doesn't have Bite? He's SUPPOSED to have Bite...

Well anyway, I use the same strategy on Snivy except he actually takes Tonemy down after a couple turns. Tancoon finishes him off.

Easy fight even with the bad luck. Beat it first try.

On to Mosswater Factory. Most of the grunts didn't give me too much trouble, but by "didn't give me too much trouble" I mean "took out one or more of my Pokemon and I only won 'easily' because I have a full team". That's how it goes when you're weak to every type.

Kinetmunk was my first evolution at level 14. As Chyinmunk she was absolute garbage, but now she has an electric move in Thundershock that is boosted by the field and deals... still pitiful damage. Partially because she doesn't get stab (she'd normally be part Electric but it was replaced by Nuclear), but mostly because Kinetmunk just suuuuuuuuucks.

Back on track, the final two grunt fights gave me some problems.

If I don't do something about Minior it'll get a Rollout going and destroy us both, but the Pokemon best equipped to deal with it are all quad weak to fighting and get oneshot by Crawbrawler. To make matters worse, Fern's AI will always try to take the Crabrawler down first. Also Minior's immune to status until it's below half health. In the end what I did is led with Owten and get a Charm off before being oneshot, send in Ekans for yet more attack lowering, then brute force the rest of the way through the battle. By the time I won most of the team was dead even with Minior at -3 attack. By the way it's worth noting that the enemy AI almost always attacks me, unless they just happen to have a super effective move against Fern.

Haven't really talked about it yet, but Tancoon is my best Pokemon right now. She's got stab Bite which is boosted by Tough Claws, and I gave her the Dread Plate just for good measure. So she could handle Solrock and Lunatone, right? Wrong, because she's slower than both of them and is put down by two rock throws. Owten can't do much because her only attacks are resisted by Rock, my 3 Poison types all get oneshot by Confusion, and Kinetmunk is a fucking Kinetmunk. To make matters worse, when Budew goes down Fern is effectively just out of the fight. Sandile does nothing but spam Leer, so I guess he really doesn't have Bite. The way I won is by leading with Owten, who outspeeds and gets a charm off on one of them. They both attack me with Rock Throw, and because of Charm it takes both to kill me instead of only one. I expected Fern to go for Mega Drain, but was surprised to see him choose a better strategy: Stun Spore. I send in Ekans next, partially for attack lowering but mostly to predict both enemies attacking me with Confusion. Hard switch to Tancoon. I predicted right, the enemy wastes their turn entirely and Fern tries to Stun Spore the other... but misses. Oh well. I Bite Lunatone, the one who isn't Paralyzed, and it almost kills. Both enemies attack Budew, or I assume they did because Solrock got unlucky with the paralysis. Fern tries again with Stun Spore and succeeds this time.

Tancoon's now faster than both, and she handled the rest.

Aster and Eclipse fight:

Spoiler

At first I tried leading with Owten and using Charm since it's worked so well in the past, but she's a speed point or two too slow and gets oneshotted instead. Tonemy is faster, so I lead with her and soft reset so that Poison gas actually hits both Rockruffs. After that, well, it was basically a foregone conclusion that I'd win. Especially after sending in Ekans when Tonemy inevitably died, there was pretty much no way for them to beat me before dying to poison.

A couple gym trainers and explosions later, and next is Julia. I grind the whole team up to the level cap, which gives us a couple more evolutions:

My strongest Pokemon, now even stronger. And she just looks so badass too.

Her ability changes from Levitate to Intimidate, which... I mean yeah Intimidate is good too, but now half my team actually is quad weak to ground...

I could also evolve Ekans by going 2 levels over the cap and Common Candying back down, but if I find myself needing to employ those kinds of strategies against the first gym then I have bigger problems.

Julia time.