James vs Pokemon X

[Smiley Jim]

I just bought Pokemon X, and I decided to chronicle my adventure through the game. Before I get started:

READ THIS OR DIE:

This playthrough is meant to be a blind run of the game. Now, what I know is the stats/typing/etc of some of the Pokemon and the gym leader and elite four's types, but nothing else. Here is a full list of what I DON'T know.

- The overall layout of the routes and cities.

- The actual teams of Pokemon the Gym Leaders and Elites use.

- ANYTHING about Team Flare, outside of pre-release stuff.

- The Rival's parties and where you find them.

- TM and HM locations.

Anything in that list is considered a spoiler, so don't tell go blabbing your face off.

Also, do not, and I repeat, DO NOT give me suggestions. I want to experience this game in my OWN way, not by doing what others tell me to do. I will create my team as I go, and I have a vague idea on what I want on my party anyway.

So, without further stall, let's party.

- C. J. Williams (a.k.a Senor Android)

Edited October 12, 2013 by General James

[IceBrand]

I'll stick around and see how this goes. Party hard?

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 1: The Beginning

After booting up the game, I'm greeted with a language select screen. Wow, that's new. I'm guessing that since this is going to be a global release game, they decided to allow the player to choose his language. Anyway, since I'm an English speaker, I decided to go with the English setting. Note that once you choose your language, you CANNOT change it.

The intro. One thing I really like about this intro is the X that comes out of the void, followed by a 3D render of Xerneas that plays for 5 seconds before cutting off to portions of the gameplay. Upon pressing Start, I get this image of a Pokeball coming into view and falling into Professor Sycamore's hand, who then tells me the same stupid bullshit introduction speech that we've heard like over 9000 times already. Apparently, his first name is Augustine, and the Pokemon he sends out is a Skiddo. Cool. The intro also now has a mural of a landscape with multiple Pokemon from previous generations to go along with the opening speech. The music here is also quite catchy too. Even more so than the other Professor themes in the game.

Also, the character select screen. I do kind of like the fact that you do get some choice in how your character looks now, instead of using the same sprite over and over. It's a shame you can't customize him like you can with the FE13 Avatar (all you get to do here is change his hair/eye/skin color, his model stays the same), but for a Pokemon game, this is a start. Oh, and your character's name can now be composed of 12 characters instead of 7. Great for people with longer names such as Alexander or Christopher.

Afterwards, it cuts open to a scene of a Fletchling flying up into a staircase and into the player's room, circling around a few times and violently waking him up with a peck. That... I didn't see coming.

After setting up my, well, settings, and explored my room a little, checked my PC (which explains the rules of the game and doesn't give me a free Potion), I get greeted by the player's mother, who tells me to get my ass upstairs and change out of my night clothes. That was also new. Anyway, time to explore this dump.

Vaniville Town:

Upon leaving, I get greeted by two girls, one blond, the other a brunette, who tell me where I am, and introduce themselves as Serena and Shauna, respectively. They tell me to go to the next town over to get a Pokemon from Professor Sycamore along with them and two other kids. Also, is it just me, but does Shauna remind me a lot of Rosa?

I first check out the Rhyhorn in my yard. I walk up to it and... I jump on it without any confirmation if I want on or not, though, unfortunately, it's asleep and won't move. Also, running shoes at the start of the game. I'm already loving this game. After snooping around the houses and talking to each of the NPC's, I head north.

Aquacorde Town:

The music here sounds a lot like some Gen I town, but I don't remember which one. Ah well.

Upon entering the town, I head west after Serena tells me to come that way, and I'm greeted with my other two rivals, Tierno (fat kid with black hair) and Trevor (small brown haired kid). The first thing they do is ask if they can call me by a nickname. After their pep talk, they then give me the choice of 'J-Meister', 'Li'l J' or 'Big J', or be called a different nickname. I decided on 'Android'.

After that, I finally get to choose my Pokemon. While all three of them are rather interesting, I ultimately decide on Froakie. I decided to name him Crazy Frog, after the annoying singing frog.

Hm... it seems as if Shauna has the starter weak to yours and Serena takes the one strong against yours.

And Trevor also gives me a Pokedex and Tierno gives me a letter to mom. That one... I was actually surprised by. Doesn't the professor usually do this crap at the start?

[spoiler=Froakie's Stats]

Level: 5

Nature: Hasty

Characteristic: Likes to fight

HP: 19

Atk: 12

Def: 9

SpA: 11

SpD: 10

Spe: 13

Knows: Pound, Growl, Bubble

Ok, checking out my starter. I lucked out with my nature and got Hasty (+Spe -Def). if you want to reset for the nature or gender of your starter, make sure to save before hitting the cafe. Also, Bubble got a 2x increase in BP over the generational shift. That should come in handy.

After that bit of plot exposition, I decide to explore the town. As usual, there's a shopkeep who will give you a free Potion, as well as two shops selling only Potions and Balls. So they've decided to split the shops into two types. Ones that sell balls and ones that sell potions. Ok, fair enough. Also, instead of a Pokemon Center, this town has a 'healing house'. I try to go north, but a hiker blocks my way, saying that I need my parent's permission to leave town. And since my character is like... 10, and not 21 (my age IRL), I have to go back home.

Upon leaving the town, Shauna runs up to me and immediately challenges me to a battle. It's basically her fire against my water, and unlike in previous gens, it's basically skewed in your favor as you start with a STAB move. And I've gotta admit, the trainer intro when you first engage in battle looks cool, and really shows what the 3DS is capable of.

As far as this first battle went, Shauna's Fennekin outspeeds my Froakie (it turns out it was a speed tie later on in the fight), but it does like 4/19 damage with Scratch, while I do almost half its HP with Bubble. Two more Bubbles seal the battle in my favor. I gained 64 exp here, more than enough to level me up. And I received $500 in cash earnings. An honest day's work, I must say.

After the battle, Shauna heals up my Pokemon and I head back to Vaniville Town.

Vaniville Town:

Going back to my house, Mom notices the letter in my back pocket, and... claims it to be a love letter. How creepy. She then goes upstairs and gives me a change of clothes, as if I needed that, as well as a town map. And even if you say yes to her question about how to use it, she still has the nerve to tell you anyway.

Upon leaving the house, the Rhyhorn that was sleeping finally wakes up. I jump on its back and ride it for a few second, then jump off again. I then head back to Aquacorde Town.

Aquacorde Town:

Uopn returning and going back to the spot where the hiker blocked my way before, he stops me again to tell me some bullshit that I already know. I then head off into Route 2... except that I forgot to buy Pokeballs. Shit. After an anticlimactic battle with a Pidgey on the outskirts of town as my Route 2 entrance, I head back and buy 5 Poke Balls as well as 3 more potions.

After making my preparations, I head on to Route 2. Good god, that was long. Hopefully, Chapter 2 will be a bit shorter. Peace out and I hope you enjoy this run.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name        Nature   Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Froakie     Hasty      6  21  13   9  12  11  15  Pound, Growl, Bubble

Edited October 13, 2013 by General James

[Sylphid]

Definitely following this!

Doesn't the professor usually do this crap at the start?

I was pleasantly surprised they changed it. Gave me a pleasant, false sense of freshness!

Upon leaving the house, the Rhyhorn that was sleeping finally wakes up. I jump on its back and ride it for a few second, then jump off again.

Wait, you can ride that thing!? O__O

I thought it just roars at you and that's it O___O time to backtrack to home town

[DodgeDusk]

Definitely following this!

I was pleasantly surprised they changed it. Gave me a pleasant, false sense of freshness!

Wait, you can ride that thing!? O__O

I thought it just roars at you and that's it O___O time to backtrack to home town

I don't think you can ride and move around on that specific Rhydon (but you can ride and move on one later in the game)

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 2: The Forest

Route 2:

Upon entering the route and not encountering another wild Pokemon, I meet up with Serena and Shauna, who force me into the obligatory catching tutorial. I know there's going to be some newer players to the series, but to a vet like myself, shouldn't there at least be an option to skip it or something? After the tutorial, I get 10 Pokeballs. Ok, I could say I have wasted some money on those last 5, but anyway.

Ok, time for the Pokemon rundown on this route. The first thing I find on this route (for real this time, as that Pidgey didn't count), was... a Scatterbug. I decide not to catch it, since it was only at Lv2. That and I remember from previous generations that earlygame bugs tend to suck. Moving on. Among other things, you can find Bunnelby and Zigzagoon on this route. I decide to kill it (I'm most likely going to stick with Kalos 'mons, with one or maybe two exceptions.)

After that, I come across what I assume to be a trainer guarding the entrance to a forest. And sure enough, I was faced with my first trainer battle. Austin. Have I ever seen a Youngster with that name before? Well, all he had was a Lv5 Zigzagoon, fairly easy if you ask me. Killing it almost gave me a whole level, too.

I decided to stick around a little bit, seeing what I could find on the route, then headed into the woods. I managed to find a Bunnelby, which I tried to catch, but critted it instead. Ah well, at least the level up was worth it. And hey, Crazy Frog learned Quick Attack.

It was at this time I also decided to check was 'Restore' did. Turns out it brings you to the Potion bag. How convenient. Granted, it isn't terribly time consuming to just go to the bag and grab a potion.

Santalune Forest:

I walk into the forest to read the sign, but Shauna tails me and asks me to let her walk with me. She even offers to heal my Pokemon. To the east of the sign is a Potion. I like how the player now actually grabs the ball off the ground. Nice how the game puts so much detail in the player's actions now.

Grass time. The first thing I see on this route is... a Pikachu. Yay. I've always been a fan of the Chu line... not. And oh, it has its cry from the anime. I actually decided to catch the one I found, and... I still gain exp for catching it. I decided to name him 'Yellow Rat', because of my contempt for this thing.

[spoiler=Pikachu's stats]

Level: 5

Nature: Hardy

Characteristic: Good endurance

HP: 15

Atk: 8

Def: 8

SpA: 8

SpD: 8

Spe: 11

Knows: Tail Whip, Thunder Shock

Neutral nature. I have no comment. This thing will work until I find a better electric type.

After healing up my Pokemon, I headed west, if only to find more Pokemon and/or items. Among the things I found were a Weedle, a Caterpie, a Scatterbug, a Pansage, a Pansear, and I believe you can find Panpour here too. No good flying types yet. I also found a Potion at the end of the grass patch as well as an Antidote to the very southwest of the map.

After backtracking to the eastern part of the trees, I run into Serena and the others. Serena goes deeper into the woods while Tierno and Trevor are busy doing a battle and research, respectively. Anyway, right before I can go any deeper, Shauna stops me and finds a hidden item in the grass, which turns out to be a Paralyze Heal.

Ok, trainer time. Ok, first youngster (his name is Joey. Where have I heard that one before?) has a Lv3 Scatterbug and a Lv3 Fletchling. Not much challenge, even for my base level Pikachu. As I'm going through this forest, it'd becoming clear to me that this place has a similar layout to the Viridian Forest of olde. I move up a little further and meet up with Serena, who gives me another Pokeball. Next up is a lass with a Lv5 Pikachu. Even with a clear type advantage, it was still no match for C.F, who reached Lv9 here (Pika reached Lv6, learning Growl in the process.) The second lass was even more poorly equipped, having a Lv2 Weedle and Lv4 Bunnelby. I then picked up the Pokeball that the lass was guarding.

Moving on, I find a potion just west of the second lass, then head on north. So my rivals all catch up to me, and we all head out of the trees.

Route 3:

Upon leaving the woods, me and the rivals discuss what we want to do next. Apparently, Trevor and Tierno are interested in catching things, while Serena is a more combative type. I'm also given a booklet on Adventure Rules. I opened it up and it, well, teaches you the basics of the game. A nice touch for beginners of the game if you ask me.

More trainers. The first preschooler on the route is just as poorly equipped as anyone else. Lv2 Caterpie and Lv4 Azurill. The second one wasn't much better with her Lv5 Pichu. And Crazy Frog reaches Lv10 here, and wants to learn Lick. I decide to forgo Pound for it, since QA has the same BP, but has priority. Pika also reaches Lv7 and learns something called Play Nice (it's basically a Growl clone.)

The stuff you can find in the grass... is nothing special. I swear, Pikachu are as common as rabbits are IRL. And here I thought they were supposed to be kinda rare. I also managed to find a Bidoof, an Azurill, and a Dunsparce here. Moving on.

After failing to find anything useful, I go west, only for some guy to speed past me. Totally not going to be important later on. And I can't get that item because of a tree. Hm... I wonder where the Cut HM is... it's most likely close by. At any rate, I move south, battling a schoolgirl with a Lv6 Bidoof. A little harder than the two preschoolers, but still rather easy thanks to my Lv10 starter. I drop down the ledge past her to find... a super potion. Quite helpful, as 50HP healing at a point in the game where you have ~25HP is quite ridiculous. On the way out, I battle a schoolboy with Lv3 elemental monkeys. I then head into Santalune City...

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature   Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Froakie    Hasty     11  31  20  14  19  16  24  Bubble, Growl, Quick Attack, Lick
Pikachu    Hardy      8  24  15  13  13  14  21  Thunder Shock, Tail Whip, Growl, Play Nice

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 3: The Bug-Eyed Photographer, Viola

Santalune City:

I love the music here. It sounds very... southern-y, if you know what I mean. The best way I can describe this place is that it has a somewhat old-timey look to it. It also has a fountain in the middle with a Roselia statue mounted on top, as well as the obligatory Trainer's School and the first gym.

Upon entering the Pokemon Center, Tierno comes in behind me and gives me a tutorial on how Pokemon Centers work. Uh, ok. Thanks. I didn't need your help, I can figure shit out myself. What is new, though, is the changing room to the right hand side of Nurse Joy (her right, not yours), which lets you change your character's clothes.

As usual, go into every house and talk to every PC in this town, thy usually give good advice or give items. For example, the house next to the Pokemon Center is a hat shoppe. Probably going to come back later to buy that $3100 black cap. Too bad they don't have any bowler caps with razor brims. In one of the southwestern houses, you can find the friendship checker. A boy in one of the houses will give you a great ball, which is certainly a better haul than the 'gifts' that Shauna and Serena gave me in the woods. And lastly, there is a hiker that will trade his Farfetch'd for a Bunnelby.

Heading to the gym now. Unfortunately, it's being blocked by some bimbo wearing roller skates, who challenges me to a battle for some roller skates. Rinka is a little bit tougher than the trainers I've faced thus far, with a Lv7 Zigzagoon, but was still felled in 3 hits by Pika's Thunder Shock. My prize for winning: roller skates and access to the gym.

Next up, the trainer school. The teacher in the school gives me 3 each of X Attacks and X Defends, while the kids gave me some advice on type matchups, STAB, and the new capture exp mechanic. There is also NPC waiting just outside of the west exit out of Santalune City, who will tell you to go seek out her sister if you want to better yourself. Riiight, let's head on to the gym.

Santalune Gym:

Type Specialty: Bug

Recommended Types: Fire, Flying

Unrecommended Types: Grass

By the way, the gym theme is pretty kickass. I forget what kind of remix this constitutes as, but I like it. It sounds like the gym theme in HGSS, at least to me.

Too bad Clyde doesn't give you a fresh water like he did in Black and White. He also tells me this is a bug gym.

As far as the gym puzzle is concerned, what we've got is an artificial web maze. It looks pretty cool, and is certainly a lot less creepy than the gym puzzle involving cocoons and clowns.

Our first opponent up is a youngster carrying a Lv10 Ledyba. Ok, I may be slightly underleveled for this area, but I think I should be ok. Ledyba is kind of weak anyway, though it was getting like 5HKO'd by Bubble or some shit due to its high SpD (I ended up using QA due to it hitting Ledyba's softer defense.) The next trainer up has a Lv10 Spewpa, again, not too tough. And the lone lass who makes a spider web joke carries a Lv7 Kakuna and a Lv9 Combee, the latter of which can be somewhat dangerous with its STAB Gust, but still nothing Crazy Frog couldn't handle.

As for the gym leader herself, she's introduced as an expert photographer who never lets things get off camera. She also may or may not be really hammy.

Anyway, let's battle.

[spoiler=Vs Viola]

Viola's Party:

Lv10 Surskit(knows Bubble, Water Sport, and Quick Attack)

Lv12 Vivillion(knows Tackle, Harden and Infestation)

Healing Items: Potion x1

Difficulty: 3/10

Also, gotta love the new Vs Gym Leader opening. And the music? Kick-fucking-ass.

Ok, I open up with Pikachu as she sends in Surskit. Ok, this could be somewhat threatening, as we both 3HKO, but she outspeeds. Viola uses her potion just as I was about to heal Pika, and in the end I take it out on just 1 HP. Pika levels up here.

Next up, Vivillion. Pika was obviously on very low HP, so I swapped out to Crazy Frog, who admittedly was doing rather poor damage with Bubble (on the plus side, he was getting 5HKO'd by Tackle). Then she busts out her signature move, Infestation. Thankfully, it doesn't do a lot of damage (it like 6HKO's Froakie), but it has a Wrap effect where it causes chip damage and traps the target. I decide to use Lick in the hopes that I would paralyze it, making the battle easier. However, Lick didn't paralyze, and I was forced to use two Potions to stay alive. Eventually, I got sick and tired of waiting for paralysis to kick in and just KO'd it with Bubble (I forget if I critted or not. All I know was that it took it out on the HP range it was at.) Crazy Frog leveled up here and learned Water Pulse, forgetting Bubble.

[spoiler=My Advice for the Gym]

Unless you chose Chespin, this gym is rather easy. I should warn you though, that Surskit is a somewhat unpleasant surprise for those who think they can sweep this place with Fennekin. Also, underestimate Vivillion at your own peril. While Infestation has pathetic base power, the residual damage from being trapped adds up fast (turns out damage from partial trapping moves now does 1/8 of your HP instead of 1/16), as I found out in the fight.

If you caught a Pidgey or Fletchling on the previous two routes, or a Litleo on Route 22, USE THEM!

And with that, I win $1920 and, most importantly, the Bug Badge. I also get TM83 Infestation, and get reminded again on how TMs can be used ad infintum. Best change brought over from BW, I tell ya. There was nothing I hated more than to get a TM containing a good move, but I had to choose carefully who got it since they were single use (By the way, Infestation is a bug typed Wrap clone.) She also opens up the tent to reveal a shortcut back to the entrance.

Back at the entrance, Clyde commemorates me over the badge I just got, and tells me to seek out Professor Sycamore in Lumiose City. Hm...

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature   Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Froakie    Hasty     14  37  24  17  23  19  29  Water Pulse, Growl, Quick Attack, Lick
Pikachu    Hardy      9  26  16  14  14  15  23  Thunder Shock, Tail Whip, Growl, Play Nice

Edited November 15, 2013 by General James

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 4: The Road to Lumiose

Before leaving town, I decide to check up on the shoppes to see if they had anything new, and sure enough, they now sell super potion as well as great balls and repels. I decided against buying stuff for now.

I first decide to go east, just to see what the path was like.

Route 22:

Hm, so most of the route is blocked off by ledges, meaning that the only access point is north. In any case, first trainer I come across... Rising Star. Never heard of that class before. Back on topic, Lv6 Psyduck and Lv7 Litleo. She also mentions Viola, who I just beat already. The lass to the east of her is similarly easy with a Lv6 Goldeen and Marill. Pika reaches Lv10 and learns Quick Attack, replacing Growl.

After the battle, I talk to two NPCs standing in front of what appears to be a racetrack, one of whom tells you how to raise scrubs. I then face another Rising Star, this time a male with a Lv9 Riolu. Yeah... This one was actually rather tough due to its highish level. Two more trainers were on this route; a schoolgirl with a Lv8 Bunnelby and a lass with a Lv8 Flaébé. I took them out with Pika, gaining another level in the process.

Victory Road Entrance:

Hm, Victory Road is rather close to an earlygame town like it was in RBY. However, not much I can do here, as I don't have enough badges to go into VR itself and a lass won't let me past the east gate, most likely because I still suck ass.

Route 22:

I hop down some of the ledges and grab a super potion on the way down. I also take the time to look in the grass, and found some rather interesting things, such as Litleo, Psyduck, and Farfetch'd. I also failed to notice the schoolboy in the grass, so I took him out too (he has a Lv7 Pidgey and Lv5 Metapod.)

Santalune City:

Nothing much to see here. All I did was find a hidden Super Potion by a cafe and heal my dudes. Unfortunately, as I leave town, I get stopped by Viola's sister, who introduces herself as Alexa. She then gives me an Exp Share and leaves for Lumiose City.

Route 4:

Wild Pokemon time. Some of the things you can find on this route include Combee, Budew, Ralts, and Flaébé. I decide to catch a Ralts here, just for the sake of catching something on this route. Also, I found out that the Exp Share grants exp to the whole party even if it's not held. In fact, it's no longer a held item, it's a key item you can turn on or off.

[spoiler=Ralts' Stats]

Level: 8

Nature: Hardy

Characteristic: Somewhat vain.

HP: 23

Atk: 9

Def: 9

SpA: 13

SpD: 12

Spe: 12

Knows: Growl, Confusion

Again, not beneficial or detrimental nature. K then. Also, this thing is psychic/fairy now. I named him Bridget after the crossdressing character from Guilty Gear.

Anyway, back to the route. I check the hedge maze area for some items, finding a repel and antidote on the west side as well as a super potion and great ball on the east side.

Ok, trainers. There is a gardener to the west of the hedge maze who has a Lv10 Corphish, which was comparatively difficult for Bridget, but still buckled in 2 hits to Pika's Thunder Shock. Fun stuff. I also take the time to battle the two bladers circling the fountain to train up Bridget, the male having a Lv10 Pidgey and the female having a Fletchling of the same level.

Ok, the north side maze. As I enter the maze, I encounter a PokeFan with 3 Lv7 Burmies, followed by a preschooler with a Lv9 Magikarp, and another one with a Lv9 Budew. Bridget finally reaches the LV10 benchmark from this string of battles and learns Double Team. Last up were the two gardeners on either side of the maze, and a PokeFan (he had a Lv7 Pichu and a Lv9 Pikachu). Pika reached Lv13 and learned Thunder Wave, forgetting Play Nice. As for the items I found on the ends of the mazes on the north end of the route, the east side has an ether and the west side has a net ball.

It is worth noting that Crazy Frog reached Lv16 after the PokeFan battle, and evolves into Frogadier. The evolution screen looks really cool as well.

Ok, plot time:

Right as I enter the gate to Lumiose City, I get stopped by two trainers named Dexio and Sina who give me a pep talk about Fairy types, as well as give me directions to the lab. Inside the reception gate, Dexio gives me the TM for Return. And oh god do I love early Return. Not as early as when you get it in Pokemon Platinum, but still early enough. Next time, I enter Lumiose City in all its glory. I'm leaving it for next chapter because I don't like writing huge walls of text.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature   Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier  Hasty     16  46  29  22  33  25  42  Water Pulse, Growl, Quick Attack, Lick
Pikachu    Hardy     13  33  21  18  19  19  31  Thunder Shock, Tail Whip, Growl, Thunder Wave
Ralts      Hardy     10  26  10  10  15  14  15  Confusion, Growl, Double Team

Edited October 14, 2013 by General James

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 5: Professor Sycamore

The first time I laid eyes on this city, I was like... wow. How big is this city anyway?!

In any case, before I can access more of the city, Dexio and Sina halt my progress to show me the way to Sycamore's lab, which is a little ways to the west of the city gates.

Sycamore Lab:

After a brief take with Sina detailing that Sycamore is on 3F, I decide to explore the lab. It's here I found out that Sycamore, much like Rowan from Sinnoh, is interested in Pokemon evolution. Hm, interesting. Be sure to visit the second floor and talk to the NPCs there, as one of the scientists will give you 5 luxury balls, while another will tell you that his machine isn't yet ready and I need to come back later.

On the third floor, I finally meet up with Professor Sycamore. You know, I think this is the first time you don't meet the professor at the very beginning. I also talk to an NPC who gives me TM54 False Swipe since I've collected data on at least 30 or 35 Pokemon. As for Professor Sycamore's speech, he comments on my Pokedex completion so far, and even offers me a new Pokemon after telling me he would only take in one child as his apprentice. He also adds more than a few French terms into his speech, which is an interesting touch and only solidifies the point that this region is based on France.

After Shauna and Serena enter the building and say hi, Sycamore decides to challenge me to a battle. Wait... what? The professor of this game... challenging me to a battle? How absurd! Professors generally speaking never do that! Anywa, let's cut to the chase:

[spoiler=Vs Sycamore]

Sycamore's Party:

Bulbasaur Lv10

Charmander Lv10

Squirtle Lv10

Healing Items: None

Difficulty: 2/10

So, Sycamore is busting out Kanto starters... interesting. In any case, he isn't too hard seeing as his party is all Lv10 when you should be ~Lv14 by this point. As an example, I was able to handily take out his Bulbasaur with my almost newly caught Ralts, and sending my other two Pokemon out against him would've been a copout in my favor.

After the battle, Sycamore finally decides to give you a Kanto-based starter. Now, since my team doesn't deal with grass types very well ATM, I decide to go with Charmander.

[spoiler=Charmander's Stats]

Level: 10

Nature: Mild

Characteristic: Alert to sounds

HP: 30

Atk: 18

Def: 12

SpA: 18

SpD: 17

Spe: 21

Knows: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen

Hopefully, the lowered defense doesn't come to bite me in the arse later on.

I decided on the name 'Natsu' after the fire dragon slayer from Fairy Tail.

And along with my starter, Sycamore gives me my first Mega Stone, a Charizardite X. Tierno and Trevor turn up after I make my choice and both Serena and Shauna are about to make theirs, after which Sycamore simply gives us some words of encouragement as well as bringing up the concept of Mega Evolution. After Shauna asks about it some more, he tells us to head off to Camphier Town for more information. After saying some more shit that isn't important, I finally leave the lab.

Well, except when I return to 1F, a conversation between Sina and some guy who looks like Ganondorf with a really bad hairdo is commencing. This man introduces himself as Lysandre, and notices my potential as a trainer as well as my holo caster. And he keeps going on and on about how he desires a 'better world'. Reminds me a lot of Cyrus.

And on and on with the talking. Shauna talks about going somewhere, while Serena tells me to meet her at some place called Café Soleil. After Tierno and Trevor give their piece and give me some directions, I leave to explore the town.

Ok, this city is so big that this update is going to be rather large. So get cozy.

South Boulevard:

The first building I go into explains to me about the transportation system in this city, which include Gogoat riding and the Lumi Cab service, but unfortunately, neither is accessible due to a power outage in the north end of the city. She also talks about the TMV high-speed train, which will take me to Kiloude City, but it likely isn't open at this point in the game. Unfortunately, there isn't anything of note on the second floor.

The cafe just across the street has NPCs that talk about the wireless features of this game, including Wonder Trades and Pokemon-Amie. Still no items, though.

Ok, this next building is kind of weird. Shauna says it's some kind of movie studio, so I decide to check it out, just for kicks. Other than the receptionists, the pink haired woman in the filming room gives me a Lens Case, which allows me to change my player character's eye color.

As for the Pokemon Center, there's a man inside who will trade Poke Miles for items. I currently only have 6, but it's possible to trade in points for really good items here, such as rare candies and PP ups. Also, the Poke Mart here sells TMs. The TMs you can buy here are as follows: Bulldoze, Struggle Bug, Swords Dance ($10K each), Sunny Day, and Rain Dance ($50K each)

The building just next door from the cafe that Serena is at is a hair salon. There, you can have your hair color edited as well as have the style changed. As for the joint west of the cafe, the customers there are all camera fanatics who give me some tips on how to set a good picture, but I didn't get a camera yet.

As for going east or west of South Boulevard, forget it. Every exit outside of Vernal Ave is blocked off by a construction worker who says there's a blackout on the north side of town and I can't enter. And there's something telling me that there's something I really want on the other side of those blockades.

Vernal Avenue:

There's a shoppe here that will sell evolutionary stones. Inside, there's an NPC that will sell me a Blastoisinite... for the low, low price of $1M. Obviously, I don't have that kind of money at the moment. There is also another NPC that will pawn off your ores for a higher price than you will ever get from a Poke Mart. The shoppe next door sells herbs, which like always, are very bitter. And I'm not shoving bitter shit into my Pokemon's mouths.

The two shoppes after the herb shoppe are another salon, this time for Furfrou, as well as a cafe whose customers are Furfrou fanatics. I don't have a Furfrou ATM, so I can't access the salon. Not that I'm ever catching one.

Going across the street, the cafe across from the dog loving one gave me some hints on places that sell more clothing to customize my character. And the shoppe next door kicked me out because I'm not 'stylish' enough.

Ok, back to South Boulevard.

South Boulevard:

Ok, I enter the cafe that Serena led me to, where she gives me some exposition on Lysandre. Apparently, he's the one who created my Holo Clip. We are also introduced to Diantha, a movie star. The following conversation starts taking on a creepy tone with Lysandre talking about keeping the world unchanging and preventing it from getting uglier than it already is.

Back on topic, Diantha is a hotshot trainer just like me and Serena. I wonder if she's gonna be the league champion in this generation? Naaah... The odds of that happening are 3720 to 1. The same as successfully navigating an asteroid field.

Serena: 'Never tell me the odds.'

After that short conversation, Serena decides to challenge me to a battle. Or not. Still, not a bad idea to prepare, eh?

As I prepare to skip town, hy Holo Chip goes off, and Tierno calls to tell me to get my ass over to Route 5 and catch some new wild Pokemon. And when I enter the gate, I'm once again stopped by some guy named Mr. Bonding (I wonder, with a name like that, is he into rope bondage?), who brings up something called 'O-Powers'. Apparently, these are strange powers that can give the player positive effects like strengthening the Pokemon or getting more cash. He gives me two such powers 'Attack Power' and 'Defense Power'.

As I exit the gate, I get stopped by a Lucario, who gets scolded by its trainer. She also takes the time to tell me that Luke can read Aura (something I already know Luke can do) and it has taken a liking to mine. The gym leader introduces herself as Korrina, the Shalour City gym leader. After the brief intro, she leaves.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name        Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier   Hasty    17  48  31  24  34  26  45  Water Pulse, Growl, Quick Attack, Lick
Pikachu     Hardy    14  33  23  19  20  20  33  Thunder Shock, Tail Whip, Growl, Thunder Wave
Ralts       Hardy    11  28  11  10  16  15  16  Confusion, Growl, Double Team
Charmander  Mild     10  30  18  12  18  17  21  Scratch, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen

Edited October 14, 2013 by General James

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 6: Pokemon Hordes 101

Time to explore Route 5. The first thing you'll notice on the route is a skate park. Coming here and jumping on the railing at full speed will net you a super potion. Ok, wild Pokemon. Currently, I found that Abra, Doduo, Bunnelby, Furfrou, Skiddo, Plusle, Minun, and Pancham appear in this grass. Probably not going to catch anything here right now, though Pancham might be useful if like a Steel or Rock gym turns up or something.

Anyway, on to the next part of the route. There are a pair of twins guarding the staircase (they are probably there just to showcase double battles to newbies), who have a Lv11 Plusle and Minun. At this point in the game, these Electric/Fairy hybrids are fairly specially bulky, not to mention quite fast. They're also worth quite a bit of exp, seeing how Natsu got almost 3 levels here. Bridget also reaches Lv12 and learns Teleport.

After the twins, I'm greeted by Tierno and Trevor, who are talking about Pokemon hordes. Tierno notices me and immediately challenges me to a battle!

[spoiler=Vs Tierno]

Tierno's Party:

Lv12 Corphish

Healing Items: None

Difficulty: 1/10

This is easily pathetic. He only has one Pokemon, and it falls in two hits to Pikachu's Thunder Shock. I get $1200 for my troubles.

After the battle, Trevor hands me some Honey and explains Pokemon Hordes in a little more detail after Tierno gets into a rant about dancing. In any case, how Pokemon Hordes work is that you slather some Honey in tall grass, and 5 wild Pokemon appear. However, you still bring only one Pokemon out, so the chance of death is significantly higher as the wild Pokemon can and will gang up on you.

Right. Continuing on, the next trainer up has a Lv13 Kadabra. This thing is actually really dangerous to fight as it has massive 120/105 offenses at a point in the game where most Pokemon have stats that average around 60-80. I was pretty much forced to fight it with Crazy Frog as Natsu was almost OHKO'd. And if it means anything, my entire party leveled up fighting this thing (gotta love retooled Exp Share.) You can also find another super potion if you skate down the railing east of the porn star.

Also, gotta give the game designers credit for making an actual incline in a Pokemon game. I've... never seen that happen, and it really goes to show what the 3DS is truly capable of. After climbing the hill, going down the shortcut, and climbing it again, I head into some purple flowers, and run into a horde of Scraggies. I decide to battle the whole horde, just to see how far that'd take me. It didn't end well. Even with a 9 level advantage, they nearly wiped me out by virtue of sheer numbers. But I mostly came for the X Attack hidden past the grass anyway. Continuing onwards, I headed north, riding the rails into some more purple flowers. I jumped on some more rails after getting out (this time by complete accident), and stumbled across a yellow Poke Ball, which turned out to be the TM for Hone Claws. Yes, my friends. GameFreak is now distinguishing TMs from items when they are on the ground. I decide to teach this to Natsu, replacing Growl.

Ok, back to trainers. The porn star I skipped has a Bidoof and an Oddish, while the two skaters have a Bunnelby/Skiddo and a Doduo, respectively. Moving along, I encounter a backpacker with a Sentret (how many previous gen Pokemon are in the Kalos Dex, anyway?!) and a Youngster (who turns out to be the 'shorts are comfy' Youngster) in some more purple flower patches who has a Pansage. Natsu reaches Lv16 and learns Dragon Rage, replacing Smokescreen. He also evolves into Charmeleon after the battle.

At the end of the route are some more Cut trees I can't do anything about right now. Oh well, we made it to Camphrier Town.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name        Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier   Hasty    18  50  32  25  36  27  47  Water Pulse, Growl, Quick Attack, Lick
Pikachu     Hardy    15  37  24  20  21  22  36  Thunder Shock, Tail Whip, Growl, Thunder Wave
Ralts       Hardy    14  33  12  12  19  18  19  Confusion, Growl, Double Team, Teleport
Charmeleon  Mild     16  49  30  22  34  29  35  Scratch, Hone Claws, Ember, Dragon Rage

Edited October 15, 2013 by General James

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 7: Parfum Palace

Is it just me, or does this place remind me of Pewter City in any way?

I've barely taken 2 steps into town, and I get a Holo Clip message. Don't know waht that was about, since all it did was thank me for using a Lysandre Labs product.

Hm, the Poke Mart here seems to only have the guy who sells the usual stuff. I wonder where the specialty guy is? The Name rater can also be found in this Pokemon Center. The guy standing just outside the Pokemon Center gives you an ultra ball.

At any rate, the houses. The house near the town entrance is home to Cassius, the programmer of the PC system in Kalos, and one of the many, many programmers who worked with Bill. He mentions some new box mechanics, including the ability to move entire boxes of Pokemon at once. I also talked to one of his two groupies and got the TM for Thief out of it. And it seems that Thief got its power boosted from 40 to 60 and had its PP count raised too. I decide to teach this move to Crazy Frog, replacing Lick.

As for the other houses, the one directly west of Cassius's joint gives you a sweet heart, as well as an item that I'll receive if I show him a dragon typed Pokemon. Directly below this house is the Camphrier Hotel. Here, I acquired a full heal from a porn star on the ground floor, as well as a shock ribbon from a girl scout on the second floor. I also find Mr. Bondage in the room next door from the girl scout, who is still going on and on about O-powers. After telling him to fuck off, he gave me the Sp. Attack power. I also found some items lying on the ground here, including an X Attack just SW of the hotel (drop down from the ledge south of the Sweet Heart house to get it.) and a star piece at the end of a secret passage south of town.

As I try to leave town from the west, some douchebag stops me and tells me to go visit Shabboneau Castle, since apparently, it's the town's main attraction. Something's telling me that I need to go and do some plot-related stuff in that castle first.

Shabboneau Castle:

Upon entering the castle, I meet up with Shauna, who is talking to a black belt who's telling us the history of this castle. Apparently, some noble family lived in the castle, and at some point, the family gave away most of their crap to the people, hence why it's very empty. Shauna then asks the guide about Mega Evolutions, and well... the guide has no fucking clue what she's talking about. But then we get interrupted by some clown who tells us there's some crazy shit going on at Route 7.

As far as I know, there's nothing interesting on the first floor, but you can find an escape rope between the bookshelves on the second floor. I also checked the master bedroom, and found, well, nothing.

I decided to leave the castle and head on over to Route 7.

Route 7:

Ok, a fork in the road. I decide to first check out the area to the immediate south of the route. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a berry farm, and I got duped into becoming a farm hand. In any case, I'm given a Sprinklotad, 5 Oran and Pecha berries, and some instructions on how to grow and tend to berries.

After planting one of my Oran berries and watering it, I checked out the compost stand. Here, you can make Mulch. What this shit does is that it influences berry growth. It also seems that there are some new mechanics in regards to berries, such as weeds and bug infestations.

Anyway, back to business. Continuing westward, I stumble across the two clowns from before, staring at a sleeping Snorlax that's blocking the bridge, and the guide doesn't have a Poke Flute on him. Thankfully, he DOES tell me where the Poke Flute is, which is in the Parfum Palace on Route 6. I then backtrack to the start of the fork and head the other way, towards Route 6.

Route 6:

Taking to a backpacker at the start of this route, he tells me that this route has two very distinct paths, one of which is much harder and I'll need to experience when I get back from the palace. I'm not going to let that bother me now, and go west to pick up an X Sp. Atk.

The trainers here aren't anything special. Both tourists have 3 Pokemon each, all at Lv11. The first trainer packs a Pikachu, Pidgey, and Psyduck while the second trainer uses Zigzagoon, Gulpin, and Ralts. While neither trainer was particularly difficult, the second tourist kept spamming Yawn, prompting me to switch repeatedly. Ah well.

Parfum Palace:

I have a feeling that this palace bears a similarity to some other palace IRL. The exterior just SCREAMS Buckingham Palace. The music here is also very regal and elegant, quite fitting for a royal palace.

Nothing of note on the exterior of the palace, outside of an Oran Berry a tourist gave me, as well as an Ether lying just outside the west side of the fence.

Ok, the palace itself. As I approach the gate, I get stopped by the guard, who tells me that we need to pay $1000 to enter. Unfortunately, I don't have much of a choice, even though Shauna does bitch about it, claiming that the owner is a greedy bastard. Anyway, we pay our fee and enter the palace.

Once inside the palace, we get greeted by some guy pacing back and forth looking for his Furfrou. And being the good Samaritan she is, Shauna forces me to help her look for the fucking pooch.

Well, time to explore the palace. The first guy I talked to sang a ballad about the Kalos war and I gave the guy a pity tip. Well, there goes another $1000. And another guy told a bad joke (and I mean 4Kids bad) about not sleeping in the king's bed. As for the rooms on the ground floor, the only thing of note I found was that the king's bed heals your Pokemon. On the second floor, some more bad jokes, a pretty cool bird's eye view of the palace courtyard, and an Amulet Coin in the palace library (westernmost room on 2F.)

After finishing up any business I had in the palace, I entered the courtyard. The first thing I see there are two statues of Reshiram and Zekrom, likely indicating a relation between Unova and Kalos. And found mostly nothing of note outside the hedge maze (outside of a Guard Spec on the NW perimeter), though inside the mazes, I managed to find another super potion as well as the HM for Cut inside the SW quadrant of the maze. The other quadrants were... less interesting, the SE quadrant containing an antidote and the NE quadrant only containing some kid who wishes she was a princess. And the NW quadrant... has a Furfrou standing in front of the maze.

Wait... didn't Shauna tell me to find a Furfrou? In any case, this little bastard runs away and Shauna gives the suggestion of splitting up and forcing it into a dead end. It took me several tries of maneuvering, but the trick is to have Shauna wait at the very southern portion of the maze, then approach the Furfrou from the east or west. After which you want to have Shauna wait on the side opposite of the Furfrou, forcing it to run into the dead end. The owner then tells me to head to the balcony for a 'fireworks display'. Ok...

I backtracked to the balcony and talked to Shauna. What I saw next... blew my balls off. Let's also just say I'm going to ship Male Player x Shauna from now on.

After the fireworks show, Shauna asks the Furfrou guy about the Poke Flute, who then gives it to us, and also tells us to come back with it once we are done with it. She also asks the butler about Mega Evolution, and the butler gives me the TM for Protect.

Let's cheese it already.

Route 6:

I decide to check out the grassy fields in this section, mostly to find some new Pokemon. I should also tell you that there are trainers hiding in this grass, such as this backpacker near the entrance who has a Lv14 Fletchling,

Ok, Pokemon. This tall grass marks the first place you can find Honedge, a steel/ghost sword. Beyond this, I also encountered Espurr, Sentret, Nincada, Oddish, and Kecleon.

I decided to search the grass here for a Honedge, and I managed to catch one after about 10 minutes of searching.

[spoiler=Honedge's Stats]

Level: 11

Nature: Naughty

Characteristic: Scatters things often.

HP: 32

Atk: 26

Def: 28

SpA: 14

SpD: 11

Spe: 11

Knows: Tackle, Swords Dance, Fury Cutter, Metal Sound

As far as names went, I eventually settled on the name 'Durandal'. A reference to Roland (and Eliwood's) sword.

After healing him, I had him take on the other two trainers here, both of whom were tourists with a Volbeat and an Illumise. And thanks to being ghost typed, they couldn't do much besides Confuse me and lower my attack, respectively. Basically, a free 2 levels. Well, almost 2 levels.

As for the items here, nothing really noteworthy except for the Venoshock TM.

On the other side of the route, I face a Poke Fan couple with two Furfrou. Something is telling me I'm going to be facing this thing a lot in this game. Durandal reaches Lv14 and learns Pursuit, replacing Metal Sound. Crazy Frog reaches Lv20 and learns Smokescreen, replacing Growl. Next trainer up was a beauty with an Espurr and a Butterfree. Pika reaches Lv18 and learns Electro Ball, forgetting Tail Whip. The youngster at the SW corner of the route packs a Venipede and a Scraggy. More food for Honedge.

As for items on the left side, I found a super repel, an awakening, and an Aguav berry tree.

Route 7:

Returning from the Pokemon Center after a healing session, I head hack to the bridge with the Snorlax. I take a trip down the beaten path and find a heal ball, then prepare to face the beast known as Snorlax. I head back to the Pokemon Center to sell the star piece and buy 20 Great Balls. After that, I talk to the man, who then plays the Poke Flute...

The wild Snorlax found here is Lv15 and knows Tackle, Amnesia, Defense Curl, and Lick.

My strategy for catching this colossus was to use Honedge to bring it into the red, then have Pika come in and paralyze it. Surprisingly, it only took one great ball to actually catch it. Maybe I just got lucky.

It's also here I find out that steel has indeed lost its resistances to ghost and dark, as Lick was hitting Durandal super effectively.

[spoiler=Snorlax's Stats]

Level: 15

Nature: Sassy

Characteristic: Strong-willed

HP: 74

Atk: 41

Def: 28

SpA: 21

SpD: 46

Spe: 15

Knows: Tackle, Defense Curl, Amnesia, Lick

Probably not going to use this thing, but hey, it does have a good nature, as well as a useful ability in Immunity.

After catching or killing Snorlax, you are then treated to the Parfum Palace owner coming back to reclaim his flute, but after the musical performance that the guide displayed, he lets the guide keep the Poke Flute with no hard feelings.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier  Hasty    21  57  37  28  42  31  55  Water Pulse, Smokescreen, Quick Attack, Thief
Pikachu    Hardy    18  42  28  23  25  25  42  Thunder Shock, Tail Whip, Electro Ball, Thunder Wave
Ralts      Hardy    17  38  14  13  23  21  22  Confusion, Growl, Double Team, Teleport
Charmeleon Mild     19  56  35  25  40  33  41  Scratch, Hone Claws, Ember, Dragon Rage
Honedge    Naughty  16  43  36  39  19  14  14  Tackle, Pursuit, Fury Cutter, Swords Dance

Edited October 15, 2013 by General James

[DodgeDusk]

You named Honedge Durandal like me we're besties now

Sweet LP so far

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 8: The Battle Chateau

After catching the Snorlax and healing up my party, Tierno and Trevor stop by and direct me to the Day Care. As per usual, you can leave up to two Pokemon here, and if the two Pokemon are of opposite genders and are of compatible egg groups, they have a chance of leaving behind an egg. However, I don't be doing any breeding in this run. Not ingame at least. Also, the Day Care couple are a lot younger than the ones in previous games, another case of the series breaking the mold.

Right then, wild Pokemon. In the grasses south of the day care, you can find Roselia, Ducklett, Hoppip, Illumise, Volbeat, and Flaébé.

Going westward, I see Trevor run away, then talk to an artist painting what appears to be a river landscape. Hm, Smeargle is in the Kalos dex, too? God, at this rate, the Kalos Dex will compose of all 649 older Pokemon. I then talk to Trevor, and we compare Pokedex completion numbers. Even though I won, I didn't exactly get anything from him. Immediately after this, I run into an artist double battle.

Battle Chateau:

After a bit more walking, I run into some strange building, which Trevor describes as the 'Battle Chateau'. I enter the building, and just by sheer coincidence, Viola is also visiting (or is she a member?) She explains to me how members of the Battle Chateau have titles associated with battle prowess, then another member named Hennessy effectively knights me and grants me the title of baron.

Now that I'm here, let's do battle. The first trainer I come across in this area has a Lv15 Ralts. Again, fairly easy, though I had a brain fart and pressed Pursuit thinking it would be super effective (to be fair, Pursuit still OHKO'd after a +3 attack boost). The baroness in one of the side rooms has a Spoink, which Honedge easily disposed of. Inside the hallway, I challenged two more barons, these two having a Fletchling and a Riolu, then finally challenged the two baronesses in the room leading out from the middle of the hall (They have a Burmy and a Bidoof.) Of course, other trainers do come in every once in a while, so I take the time to take them out, too.

I forget how many levels I gained here, but Honedge tried learning Automatize at Lv17 and Charmeleon tried learning Scary Face at Lv21. I declined both.

For my hard work battling 8 trainers here, I was granted the title of viscount.

Route 7:

After leaving and defeating another artist (and returning to the Pokemon Center due to low PP count from all those battles), me, Tierno, and Trevor meet up with Serena, who decides it would be a good time to have a multi battle between the four. The way she paired up the match is that Tierno and Trevor go up against me and Serena, which makes quite a bit of since since we're neighbors. That and shipping, I guess.

[spoiler=Vs Tierno and Trevor]

Tierno's Party:

Lv16 Corphish

Trevor's Party:

Lv14 Pikachu

Lv14 Flaébé

Serena's Party:

Lv15 Fletchling

Lv18 (???) Starter

Healing Items: None

Difficulty: 2/10

This fight isn't too difficult in and out of itself, even though Tierno's Corphish went up 4 levels. In any case, Bridget wasn't doing that much damage, so I had Pika sent in to take out Corphish. Fletchling proved to be rather incompetent, though it managed to survive the battle.

After the battle, I headed further west, towards Amberitte Town. Btw, just south of Serena and the others is a PP Up. I also found a Persim Berry tree on the road there Also, Smeargle can be found in the grass here, just saying.

Since I now have Cut, I decided to go catch something that can learn it, because I don't want to be stuck with Cut on one of my good Pokemon for god knows how long, and I also want to get some items behind Cut trees. I managed to catch both a Flabébé and a Roselia, the latter when I found out the former can't learn Cut.

I went back to Route 5 to cut some trees to collect a few things I missed, though one of the trees here was hiding a youngster. The north tree was hiding a Sharp Beak, though. As for the tree on Route 7, cutting that led me to a path that led me to a Silver Powder.

Even though I'm supposed to head to the cave to Amberitte City first, I decided to enter the Cyllage City shortcut first.

Crossing Cave:

A little bit after entering this cave, I run into a Pokemon Breeder using 4 Pokemon all at Lv12 (Ducklett, Litleo, Oddish, Pikachu), and almost gain enough exp for Ralts to evolve (Pika and Frogadier also tried learning DT at Lv21 and Round at Lv23, respectively, which I declined.) However, that's as far as I'm going, due to a strength boulder not being pushed in. I decided to kill a wild Pokemon to gain the level Bridget needed to evolve.

After healing up, I head over to the Amberitte Shortcut.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier  Hasty    23  62  41  31  46  34  60  Water Pulse, Smokescreen, Quick Attack, Thief
Pikachu    Hardy    21  48  31  26  28  29  49  Thunder Shock, Tail Whip, Electro Ball, Thunder Wave
Kirlia     Hardy    20  47  20  19  34  32  30  Confusion, Growl, Double Team, Teleport
Charmeleon Mild     22  56  40  28  46  38  48  Scratch, Hone Claws, Ember, Dragon Rage
Honedge    Naughty  19  49  41  46  21  17  17  Tackle, Pursuit, Fury Cutter, Swords Dance

Edited October 15, 2013 by General James

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 9: Ambrette City

Crossing Cave:

Ok, let's check wild Pokemon here. As you might expect, this place is full of Zubat. I have also found Meditite, Whismur, and Axew.

Anyway, moving on. Can't take the north fork due to a hole in the way. Looks like I have to go west and battle the scientist... or not. Turns out she is a healer. And the cave is depressingly short anyway.

Route 8:

I've been standing here 2 minutes listening to the music, and I'm already loving the OST of this game.

The instant I go down the stairs, I get stopped by Dexio and Sina, who update my Pokedex so that it can record data on coastal Pokemon. As for the grass patch Pokemon, I managed to find Mienfoo, Spoink, Wingull, Inkay, Absol, Seviper, Zangoose, and Bagon here.

This route is an intricate maze of ledges that you must traverse to progress through the route. Taking one such path will lead to an HP Up item. Ok, only one trainer here, a porn star with an Axew. This is probably the first time you've faced a dragon type, so I should probably tell you how to adequately deal with them. Fairies. That's all I have to say. Durandal reaches Lv20 and finally gets Shadow Sneak. I decide to replace Pursuit, seeing as ghost hits the same shit SE as Dark, but Ghost isn't Fighting or Fairy resisted.

There is also a strength boulder here, but I don't have Strength right now. May need to come back later.

Ok, I lied, there's another porn star, this time with a Pancham, Goldeen, and Skiddo. And absolutely loving Shadow Sneak. Bypasses Durandal's low speed and does a lot of damage. Also, is just me, but does this guy's name remind me of Rhys from FE9/10? I hope not.

Ok, another fork in the road. I first take the path without grass, and all it leads to is a dead end with a Black Belt waiting for me. After healing up my party, I headed back towards the grass patch and towards a mudpit with stepping stones. It's a little awkward to navigate, but do make sure to take a detour midway and pick up the leaf stone sitting on the ledge.

After a few more steps, I made it to Ambrette Town.

Ambrette Town:

Ok, getting stopped by Serena, who tells me to make my way to the Fossil Lab. But first, exploration time. First off, at the Pokemon Center, I decide to retire Pika once and for all. The NPC outside the Pokemon Center gives me the TM for Rock Smash. I decide to teach this move to all of Crazy Frog, Natsu, and Durandal, replacing their normal type damaging move (Got rid of Smokescreen on Crazy Frog seeing as QA is actually useful.)

Further down is a guy who will trade in your Poke Balls for Dive Balls. The house next to him gives me nothing particularly interesting. As for the hotel here, that place does have some interesting items, including the TM for Nature Power that you can get from a woman on 1F. And Mr. Bondage is here again... who gives me an O-power for Spec D.

Ok, the aquarium. Talked to most of the NPCs, who obviously only give you jack shit. The only person of note is a fisherman who gives you an Old Rod. There is also an exit to Route 8 if you are so inclined.

Route 8:

Ah, the sweet smell of the sea. It brings back memories. When do I get Surf? And no, do NOT tell me. Unfortunately, a swimmer is blocking the path onward due to her dropping a fossil in the water. Other than this, there's a few smashable rocks and a Mago berry tree.

Ambrette Town:

Ok, time to visit the Fossil Lab. Serena pops by to ask the lead scientists in the lab about Mega Evolution, to which the scientist replies; 'Sorry bitch, all I know is that it has to do with some mysterious rocks.' However, he does give me some tips about fossils and where to find them. Well, let's head on over to Glittering Cave.

Route 9:

Make sure you talk to the woman inside the toll booth. She gives you a rocky helmet. This thing, well, hurts to touch. Stack it with Rough Skin, and contact move users will really be in for a world of hurt.

Ok, the route itself. The majority of it is covered in rocks that make crossing on foot impossible. Thankfully, there's a Rhyhorn that you can grab and unlike Grace's Rhyhorn back in Vaniville Town, this one isn't sleeping.

It is possible to step on Hippopotas here, and like before, they pack Sandstream. While battling it, I found out that ability-based weather effects only last 5 turns. Is this going to change how weather is used in competitive play? Yes. Yes it will. Beyond this, I have also found Sandile and Helioptile.

I decided on catching a Helioptile here, mostly to replace Pika.

[spoiler=Helioptile's Stats]

Level: 16

Nature: Modest

Characteristic: Quick tempered

HP: 44

Atk: 18

Def: 17

SpA: 30

SpD: 21

Spe: 31

Knows: Thunder Shock, Tail Whip, Charge, Mud-Slap

Wow. Modest nature. Cool beans. Went with the name Laxus after the Lightning Dragon Slayer from Fairy Tail.

There are also rocks blocking your path. You can have Rhyhorn break them to pass. I also found an X Defend and a Paralyze Heal here. At the very end, the items were a little more high end, including a dusk ball and fire stone.

After Teleporting back to the Pokemon Center to heal and restock, I finally make it to the Glittering Caves.

Glittering Cave:

Wow, it's getting dark here. Natsu, use your tail as a torch! ... Or not.

Ok, after some walking, made it to a fork in the road. I decide to take a right here. Oops, dead end. I prepare to go the other way, and get ambushed by a Machop. I get ambushed again (by a Solrock) after taking a left turn at another fork. Another dead end. At least I got a hard stone out of this. Cool. The third Pokemon ambush in this cave... is a Cubone. The third fork in the road lead me to a TM... the one for Shadow Claw.

Eventually, I make it to the end of the cave. Once inside, I get confronted by a guy in a red suit who introduces himself as a Team Flare peon. His lineup is that of a Houndour and a Zubat, both Lv18. I then follow the trackway to fight another grunt. Gulpin and Electrike. Ok, fair enough, though I find out here that electric types no sell paralysis after an Electrike Thunder Waved Bridget and Synchronize went off. Laxus reaches Lv17 and learns QA in place of Tail Whip.

Hm, you can find some items by smashing rocks. Too bad all I got were hard stones.

At the end of the cave are two grunts. Serena catches up to me and she tells me to get ready for a multi battle. I switch out Laxus on the spot and sub in Natsu seeing as both grunts use fighting types (a Craogunk and a Scraggy). I also found out here that Faint Attack is now called Feint Attack.

Anyway... at the end of the cave is a scientist who will give you the choice of one of two fossils. You can choose either the Jaw Fossil, which can be resurrected into a Tyrunt, or a Sail Fossil, which can be resurrected into an Amaura. I chose the Jaw Fossil because Rock/Dragon is at the very least not 4x weak to anything.

I decide to use an Escape Rope+Teleport to make my way back to Ambrette City.

Ambrette City:

Headed to the Fossil Lab and had that Jaw Fossil checked out. And I was given a Tyrunt.

[spoiler=Tyrunt's Stats]

Level: 20

Nature: Sassy

Characteristic: Takes plenty of siestas

HP: 59

Atk: 46

Def: 41

SpA: 28

SpD: 31

Spe: 26

Knows: Bide, Stealth Rock, Bite, Charm

Let's just say that it took me like 10 resets to get a Tyrunt I wanted. Because almost all of them had Bold, Modest, Calm, or Timid natures.

BTW, the name 'Sharptooth' is an obvious reference to The Land Before Time. Had I chosen the other fossil, I'd have named him Littlefoot.

Anyway, that's a wrap.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier  Hasty    23  62  41  31  46  34  60  Water Pulse, Rock Smash, Quick Attack, Thief
Kirlia     Hardy    20  47  20  19  34  32  30  Confusion, Growl, Double Team, Teleport
Charmeleon Mild     22  64  40  28  46  38  48  Rock Smash, Hone Claws, Ember, Dragon Rage
Honedge    Naughty  21  53  46  50  23  18  18  Rock Smash, Shadow Sneak, Fury Cutter, Swords Dance
Helioptile Modest   17  46  19  18  33  22  33  Thunder Shock, Quick Attack, Charge, Mud-Slap
Tyrunt     Sassy    20  59  46  41  28  31  26  Bide, Stealth Rock, Bite, Charm

Edited October 16, 2013 by General James

[Tamanoir]

I don't think you can ride and move around on that specific Rhydon (but you can ride and move on one later in the game)

Guess I'm not as original as I thought... But since it had a bad Nature, I captured another one... A female, Adamant, named Excalibur.

And I also ship MP X Savannah.

And the castle is more likely more influenced by Versailles. Especially the gardens.

Edited October 16, 2013 by shyteddie

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 9: Grant the Boulder

Quick intermission before I go forward with the playthrough. I decide to backtrack to Lumiouse City to buy some TMs, specifically, the Bulldoze TM (I also bought Swords Dance and Struggle Bug.) I then taught Bulldoze to Sharptooth, forgetting Bide. This should tide him over until Earthquake is available, if that even shows up before the credits.

Route 8:

After exiting the aquarium, I head back to the beaches. After refusing a sky battle(largely due to my lack of a flying type ATM), I return to the swimmer from before, and this time, she gives me a dowsing machine. How it works in this game is that you equip it, then walk around holding it. If you stumble across a hidden item, two blue bars will shoot out of the device and will change color as you get closer (from green, to yellow, to red.) Furthermore, the range of the two beams will widen as you get closer, until they cross each other at red. Pretty cool, but it does take a while to get used to. I combed the southern beaches for items, and found a heart scale, a stardust, a pearl, and an ultra ball.

Ok, trainer time, and since they all use water types, this is a pretty good place to train up Laxus. The first trainer we come across here has a Wingull and a Psyduck. Not too hard. Oh, and is it just me, but do female swimmers remind me of those stereotypical California blondes? Back on topic, there are two fishermen here, one of which has 3 Tentacool, the other having a Shellder and Staryu. Unfortunately, I underestimated how much damage that thing would do with Icicle Spear and lost Laxus, so I had to go back and heal. So I teleported back... and ended up back in Lumiose City. So I had to so some running around just to get my ass back over. I came back to fight the swimmer pacing between some rocks. Lv22 Masquearin. Next.

Cyllage City:

Finally, a city with a gym! Also love the Vice City-like music.

Ok, Poke Mart stuff. This one sells Net Balls, Nest Balls, and Dusk Balls. There is also a sporting chap in the Pokemon Center who would trade away his Luvdisc for a Steelix. ... What? How doesn't he know that's a really bad trade off? At least Steelix is useful for tanking purposes. Luvdisc? Luvdisc is beyond useless.

Let's see what the houses contain, shall we? The first house I passed contains a Whipped Dream. I can only assume it's an evolutionary item, seeing as it's 'loved by a certain Pokemon'. The massage woman can be found in a house next door to the Pokemon Center.

Next up, the bike shoppe. So I enter the shoppe, expecting to have to pay $1M for a bike like the days of olde, but the guy gives me a free bike for being the 10,0001st customer since the shoppe opened... except that I have to answer a quiz in order to get it. All he asks though is if bikes come in different colors. Answer yes, and he will give you a choice of either a yellow or green bike. Be careful here, as unlike with Gen III and the Mach/Acro Bikes, you CANNOT change your bike's color after choosing.

Ok, back to houses. The house north of the Pokemon Center has a woman who gives you a quiz on the Confusion status, to which you get some Persim berries after answering her questions correctly. The next house I visited... was another clothes shoppe. Eh... I bought myself a new hat. No real reason why, though. Now, where's my bowler hat with razor brim?

After visiting the cafe for... nothing, I entered the hotel. The tourists in the SW corner of the hotel gave me the TM's for Rest and Sleep Talk. I also received a Destiny Knot from a maid on the second floor, as well as a new O-power from Mr. Bondage, this time the Prize Money Power. It's also a shame that he didn't also present me a bound and ball gagged Shauna.

Now that I have my bike, let's go up to check out the bike races... or I would, if a guy with crystal hair ornaments didn't tell me that it was over. Ah well, he gives me the Strength HM as compensation. After collecting some worthless crap, I headed on over to the Cryllage Gym.

Cryllage City Gym:

Type Specialty: Rock

Recommended Types: Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, Steel

Unrecommended Types: Normal, Fire, Flying, Ice, Bug

This is a weird feeling. There's a rock gym in this game, and it's NOT the first? Talk about breaking the mold.

In any case, the gimmick behind this gym is that to get to Grant, you must climb up rock walls similar to the ones you see in rock climbing, in order to scale a rock formation, of which Grant is at the summit of. And I have to admit, that rock formation gimmick looks kind of cool.

I climbed up the wall facing the entrance first and battled a porn star with a Dwebble and a Relicanth, the latter at Lv23. Ouch. I actually nearly got my ass kicked by this thing, and only won because Durandal was bulky enough to take 2 Water Guns without dying. The next thing you want to do is take a left and climb the wall, head back to face the S wall, and climb down. If you want, you can also climb the S wall to face a hiker and his Roggenrola, but you want to face the N wall and deal with another porn star with a Solrock and a Lunatone. Sharptooth was able to take out Solrock, but got killed by the Lunatone because I underestimated how strong Psywave could get. Anyway, after healing up, I climbed the N wall, turned right, climbed another E wall, and challenged another hiker, this time with a Rhyhorn, Nosepass, and Onix. After that, all that needs to be done to get to Grant is climb up the topmost S wall.

Alright, time for battle. As far as Grant goes, he's an avid fan of extreme sports such as bike racing (not stuff like the Tour de France) and rock climbing, and this is demonstrated in his gym puzzle.

[spoiler=Vs Grant]

Grant's Party:

Lv25 Amaura (Knows Take Down, Thunder Wave, Aurora Beam, and Rock Tomb)

Lv25 Tyrunt (Knows Bite, Rock Tomb, Stomp, and ???)

Healing Items: Hyper Potion x1

Difficulty: 6/10

Grant leads with Amaura, and I lead with my Tyrunt. However, seeing as how badly ice types fuck up dragons, I switch to Durandal, hoping for a better matchup. And... wow. Even with a resistance and high defense, Take Down is still like 4HKOing him. I set up a Swords Dance as he uses Aurora Beam for almost a clean 2HKO on me despite the resistance. I am now kind of regretting that -SpD nature... Continuing my sorrows was a crit and attack drop. Thankfully, I survive the second hit after healing and OHKO it with Rock Smash after setting up another SD due to the attack drop.

Next up was his Tyrunt. Since my Honedge was weakened from his tussle with Amaura, I took the time to inflict some chip damage on it using Shadow Sneak before dying. Sending in Sharptooth, I use Charm to drop its attack stat, followed by Bulldoze to cut its speed. After only 2 hits from Bulldoze, Grant's Tyrunt died.

it should also be known that Durandal learned Aerial Ace upon reaching Lv22, replacing Fury Cutter. Also, from a failed run, I found out Grant uses Hyper Potions.

[spoiler=My Advice for the Gym]

Pay attention to Amaura and Tyrunt's secondary typings and abilities! Amaura has an ability called Refrigerate that will turn any normal type move it uses into an ice type move and boosts its power by 30%, effectively giving it normal type STAB and a life orb boost on top of this. This combined with Take Down's high base power makes it a dangerous move to go up against, despite Amaura's poorer attack stat. It also likes to lower your speed with Thunder Wave and Rock Tomb. As for Tyrunt, one needs to take into account its dragon typing, which means that water and grass type counters aren't as effective. However, fairy and ice type counters are extremely effective against it. It also packs the Strong Jaw ability, which powers up biting moves by 50%, effectively gives it STAB on Bite.

My winnings, besides the Cliff Badge, were $4K in prize money ($8K thanks to the Amulet Coin) and the Rock Tomb TM. Rock Tomb was another move that was buffed over the generational shift, going from 50 BP with 80 accuracy and 10 PP to 60 BP with 95 accuracy and 15 PP, making it significantly more useful. I decided to teach this move to Tyrunt, replacing Charm.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier  Hasty    24  64  42  32  48  35  62  Water Pulse, Rock Smash, Quick Attack, Thief
Kirlia     Hardy    20  47  20  19  34  32  30  Confusion, Growl, Double Team, Teleport
Charmeleon Mild     23  66  42  29  48  40  50  Rock Smash, Hone Claws, Ember, Dragon Rage
Honedge    Naughty  22  56  47  52  24  18  19  Rock Smash, Shadow Sneak, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance
Helioptile Modest   20  52  23  20  37  25  38  Thunder Shock, Quick Attack, Charge, Mud-Slap
Tyrunt     Sassy    22  64  50  45  30  34  27  Bulldoze, Stealth Rock, Bite, Rock Tomb

Edited November 15, 2013 by General James

[Tamanoir]

Ok, Poke Mart stuff. This one sells Net Balls, Nest Balls, and Dusk Balls. There is also a sporting chap in the Pokemon Center who would trade away his Luvdisc for a Steelix. ... What? How doesn't he know that's a really bad trade off?

He probably wants to create auvdisk Army to take over the world. He'll replace Team Flare in X2/Y2...

Seriously,besides Luvdisk,is so easy to find.

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 10: Team Flare

Hm... So, I leave the Pokemon Center and it's raining outside. Nice to know that weather patterns are back. I head on back to that cave I passed while collecting items, since I clearly have nothing better to do.

Crossing Cave:

Shit. Gotta teach Strength to something. I decide on teaching it to Frogadier for now. I then push the rock by the cave's entrance into the hole, allowing me to claim the TM for Aerial Ace. Heading on down, I talk to an NPC who's apparently blaming me for blocking the path, and gives me the Frustration TM. I ten take the time to push the other two rocks into their respective holes.

Anyway, we are now off! Android... AWAY!

Route 10:

First thing I come across... a berry tree. Yay. As for the fauna here, you've got things like Snubbull, Houndour, Golett, and Eevee. Also, when it rains, the touch screen actually has a wet texture. Something I didn't realize until now. The touch screen in this game is affected by weather conditions.

To the north of the Iapapa tree is a strength rock hiding a strength puzzle. In order to get the TM that lies beyond that hole, one must push the second rock 2S, 3E, 2N, 3E, 1N, and finally 5E. The reward is the Thunder Wave TM.

Alright, only two trainer in this area, and this first guy has a Lv22 Solosis. And ... wtf? The guy makes an obvious over 9000 reference after defeating him? The next trainer here has a Skiploom, Azumarill, and Dunsparce. Bridget gains two levels here and learns Magic Leaf, forgetting Growl.

Ok, this next area kind of confuses me. There's this collection of tall rocks that form a maze, and I have to say, this actually looks kind of cool. Anyway, found a mind plate in the very southeast corner of the compound. And as I enter the north end of the maze...

Hey, it's that guy in the red suit (and no, I do NOT mean Santa Claus) from the Glittering Caves. He tells me the rock formation here dates back to about 3000 years, then battles me out of pure vengeance. What a wimp. He still has the same shitty team from before, just with slightly higher levels... and his Zubat seems to have evolved. Laxus reaches Lv22 and learns Razor Wind, to which I get rid of Mud-Slap. And... it stopped raining after the battle. And it seems the peon has a Holo Caster too. I wonder if he has any relation with that Lysandre guy?

Only one trainer to deal with in this dump... a psychic with a Meditite and a Kirlia. And he was guarding a Thunder Stone. Ok. If only I was still using Pika... And for the love of Christ, another Team Flare peon? Again, she has the same shitty team as before. And just when I thought they were done, another one, this time with a lone Gulpin. And ok, I lied. There's another tourist here, this time with a Drifloon, Hippopotas, and Pachirisu. Also, can safely confirm that Pachirisu hasn't been retyped like the Hoenn rats (Rock Smash had normal effectiveness.)

Ok, just found out you could get Hawlucha in this grass. I would've caught it, had I not had a full team. Also confirming Sigilyph can be found on this route.

Geosenge Town:

Went into the Pokemon Center and talked to a man just outside the changing room. He gives me the TM for Payback. It's likley not too useful with my team setup (in fact, no one in my party can learn it), but it's a generally good move for slugs. And... wow. Just... wow. You can buy HYPER POTIONS, SUPER REPELS and REVIVES after the second gym? Hallelujah! Except... hyper potions are kinda overkill at this point in the game. Not to mention expensive. I stock up on super repels here, as well as buy 5 revives.

Ok, that's weird. Some clown from Team Flare is fascinating about rocks. Ah well, time to explore the town, and let's see what the hotel has this time. Unfortunately, no new TMs, just a Speed Power from Mr. Bondage. And no tied up and gagged Shauna either... I suppose a timer ball that was behind the hotel can serve as consolation for a lack of TM and bound chick. And some soft sand behind the rock formation west of the Pokemon Center will also work I guess...

Alright, houses. The house just north of the Pokemon Center contains an everstone, and going east to find that some clowns are blocking the path... like every other fucking NPC that does this shit.

Before I head over to the monolith, I take the westmost path over to where the Team Flare goon ran off to. He then tells me that he and his friends are going to fuck with some rocks on Route 10, then off they go. And of course, where Team Flare appears, Serena isn't far away. And she isn't here for a battle. You'd think that the more combative rival would actually pop by to battle you every once in a while (and also show off their girth), but not in this game, I guess.

In any case, checked the monolith. Nothing special there nor in the house NW of the formation. I decide to do some fucking around with the camera guy. Kind of cool to bring his ugly face back from HGSS.

After all that shit, I head on over to where the Team Flare clown ran off to. And it... leads to a dead end. So I decide to skip town, and what happens next is that Korrina shows up to battle me. Wait... what? Since this isn't the official gym battle, I won't be getting any badges, but I should get something out of it, right?

[spoiler=Vs Korrina]

Korrina's Party:

Lv25 Lucario x2

Healing Items: None

Difficulty: 5/10

Ok, Luke #1. I swapped Laxus out for Crazy Frog, knowing that (Laxus) would get assraped if he stayed in. The Luke uses something called Power-Up Punch as I'm coming in, which didn't hurt too much initially, but it raises Attack. Knowing that repeated uses of that move would wipe my party, I switched to Durandal. I manage to take him out with two Rock Smashes plus a Shadow Sneak while he couldn't do much outside of Metal Sound. The second Luke was also walled by Honedge, but this one has Swords Dance, making him more of an immediate threat.

After the battle, I get... jack shit. Well, time to move on after I heal up and buy some more superfluous shit.

Route 11:

Time to head on over to Shalour City. And first trainer on the map has a Solosis and a Sigilyph. Oh, and by the way, hidden super potion found inside of a geyser (or is that a crystal?). Next up is a battle girl with a Lv28 Mienfoo. Ok, the levels here are starting to get dangerous. Then again, it may be due to me using a lot of Pokemon. My team may need to be put back on Exp Share life support.

Ok, there's another double battle ahead, and... oh christ, the holo caster is going off again. At least Sycamore gives me some information that may or may not be relevant later on. Now to take on these clowns... Lv28 Machoke and Lv26 Mr. Mime. Laxus reaches Lv25 and learns Parabolic Charge, replacing Thunder Shock.

Right then, wild Pogeys. I managed to find some interesting stuff, like Sawk, Staravia, Nidorino, Hariyama, and Stunky.

By the way, you need Cut to explore this place fully, so I went back to grab my Roselia. I cut down the tree, and followed the path to get the Rock Polish TM.

Join me next time, for we enter... another cave.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier  Hasty    26  69  45  35  52  38  68  Water Pulse, Rock Smash, Strength, Thief
Kirlia     Hardy    24  55  23  22  40  38  35  Confusion, Magical Leaf, Double Team, Teleport
Charmeleon Mild     25  72  45  32  52  43  54  Rock Smash, Hone Claws, Ember, Dragon Rage
Honedge    Naughty  26  64  56  61  28  21  22  Rock Smash, Shadow Sneak, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance
Helioptile Modest   25  63  27  24  46  30  47  Parabolic Charge, Quick Attack, Charge, Razor Wind
Tyrunt     Sassy    25  72  57  50  34  38  31  Bulldoze, Stealth Rock, Bite, Rock Tomb

Edited October 17, 2013 by General James

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 11: The Cave of Mirrors

Hm, this is interesting. They don't allow bikes or roller skates in this cave? But for what reason?

Ok, wild Pokemon time. The stuff you can find on the first floor include Mime Jr and its evolution, Roggenrola, Carbink, Sableye, Solosis, and Chingling. Also, Woobats can swoop down from the ceiling.

I encounter the first trainer by what appears to be a mirror. Eh, Lv27 Linoone. Next. And I declined learning Heal Pulse (Lv25) on Kirlia, just because. Also, the mirror gimmick in this cave is actually pretty cool, now that I think about it. Going north after the first fork will net you a Nest Ball, while an alcove near the entrance to the dead end (go south, then east into another alcove, and climbing the stairs will reveal a smaller alcove behind the rock formation) hides a Revive. At the end of this corridor is a battle girl with a Throh and a Hawlucha. Let's just say I sorely underestimated this trainer and lost 3 Pokemon (2 of them due to crit hax). After going back to heal, I backtracked to the spot I battled the battle girl, and took a left.

Ok, there's a trainer blocking the way here, but thankfully she's looking the other way. Turns out she actually turns around to challenge you (I later find out it was because they can see you in their reflection), and that she is not a lass, but an ace trainer. Yeah, the sprites for the lass and female ace trainer do look kind of alike. As for her party, she carries a Doduo, Helioptile, and a Granbull. I take a left turn here, but the way is blocked by another hole. Before going down the stairs, I check out the area south of the ace trainer, and picked up a Moon stone.

B1F:

Ok, found a Pokemon Breeder, but she's not here to battle. Just like the scientist inside of the Crossing Cave, she's a healer. At any rate, come to another 4 way fork and in order to go anywhere but north, I needed to fight a tourist. Thankfully, her only Pokemon is a Lv26 Nidorina. After the battle, I headed east to claim a black belt, and going north leads to a one way ledge. However, going south leads me to Tierno, who surprisingly doesn't want to battle, but instead gives me the Flash TM.

Right. Heading east now, I grab an escape rope that's sitting on the ledge, much like every other item here, and take out the karateka pacing around the ledge. Unfortunately, like with the judoka I fought earlier, his Lv28 Sawk was tearing my party apart left and right. I basically had to have Sharptooth sac itself to lower Sawk's speed just to kill it(I had doubts if Charmeleon could outspeed.) And now Crazy Frog wants to learn Fling (Lv27), but I decide against it, as always. Hopefully, a useful move like Night Slash will turn up soon.

After healing, I continued down another corridor with mirrors, and ran into another psychic, this one with a Chimecho and a Golett. And wow, this corridor is quite long. At the other end is another tourist, this one with a Nidorino. Sharptooth reaches Lv26 and learns Ancient Power, forgetting Stealth Rock. After grabbing a hyper potion from another alcove, I had to battle some honeymooners carrying a Combee and a Vespiquen. After that, I found another ace trainer, this one having an Absol and a Pinsir. One again, underestimate at your own peril. Before climbing the stairs, I picked up an iron and went back to heal.

B2F:

There really isn't much to do here. The stairs leading to another cave network is blocked, forcing me to go north. I comb the northern part of the floor for swag, finding an earth plate nestled inside a foxhole (go as far north as possible, climb the stairs, then go down into the foxhole.). Well, time to backtrack and head on over to 1F again.

1F:

I talked to the hiker sitting near the exit, and it turns out that he's a trainer. Sandile, Diggersby, Dwebble. Natsu reaches Lv28 and learns Fire Fang, forgetting Ember. I also got REALLY unlucky with accuracy hax with his Diggersby and the only reason I killed him was due to Take Down recoil killing him. I then leave the cave for Shalour City.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier  Hasty    28  74  49  36  55  41  73  Water Pulse, Rock Smash, Strength, Thief
Kirlia     Hardy    26  59  25  23  43  41  38  Confusion, Magical Leaf, Double Team, Teleport
Charmeleon Mild     28  79  50  36  58  47  60  Rock Smash, Hone Claws, Fire Fang, Dragon Rage
Honedge    Naughty  27  67  58  63  29  22  22  Rock Smash, Shadow Sneak, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance
Helioptile Modest   25  63  27  24  46  30  47  Parabolic Charge, Quick Attack, Charge, Razor Wind
Tyrunt     Sassy    27  76  61  54  37  40  34  Bulldoze, Ancient Power, Bite, Rock Tomb

Edited October 18, 2013 by General James

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 12: Korrina and the Mega Evolution Battle

Is it just me or does the music in this city sound like it came from an Oriental themed movie?

Anyway, found another place that sells TMs, this time selling Dig and Poison Jab at $10K each, Safeguard at $30K, and Hail and Sandstorm at $50K each, once again. I decide to buy Dig and Poison Jab here, then taught the former to Charmeleon and Frogadier, replacing Rock Smash on both. I also replaced Bulldoze with Dig on Tyrunt.

Also, Mr. Bondage is in the Pokemon Center for some reason. He gave me the Critical Power skill. And I'm still waiting for my Shauna shibari.

Time to check up on houses. The two houses directly west of the Pokemon Center contain 5 Stardusts (given to you if you have a flying or psychic type in your party) and a Soothe Bell (if you have a Pokemon with high enough happiness.) You can also find the level checker in the Stardust house. And a guy in the house next door to the Pokemon Center gives you an Eviolite if you have ~50 Pokemon registered as seen in the Costal Dex. I decide to give the Eviolite to Durandal for now.

I decide to check out the staircase east of the Eviolite house, but some hiker is looking for something. Some excuse that is. Almost as bad as that guy in B/W that wouldn't let you go east of Opelucid because 'something came up'.

So I take the west staircase, but then I get stopped by those two clowns Tierno and Trevor. After comparing Pokedex numbers, they remind me that I need to visit some Mega Evolution guru. And NOW that dude stops blocking the path. Anyway, back to houses. The house on the eastern side of the beach path has nothing of note, but the western side has a guy who will trade Sitrus berries for Leppa berries. And the Gym is blocked due to Korrina being at the Tower of Mastery.

Right then, the next course of action is to check out the beach path. But first, Tierno comes down and asks if I want to see something cool. As it turns out I get an Intriguing Stone. Wonder what that does? I don't know, and the way shit's been going down lately, I don't want to find out. I then follow the yellow brick road beach path to Emerald City the Tower of Mastery.

Tower of Mastery:

Ok, that closeup of the Lucario statue WAS kind of cool.

In any case, I enter the green door at the base of the statue, and run into some guy looking like he's wearing a Furfrou skin hat. After Tierno and Trevor come in after me, he introduces himself as the Mega Evo guru and asks about my Intriguing Stone. It doesn't matter what answer you give him, in all honesty. He tells me that the stone I have is useless, then tells us all to come outside.

So now that everyone's here, the Mega Evo guy gets into a pep talk about evolution in general, then explains that Mega Evolution is an evolution process that allows a Pokemon that is otherwise fully evolved to gain a surge in power for a single battle. And it requires a Pokemon and the trainer to be carrying an item and that the bond between the Pokemon and trainer must be strong enough.

Since the Guru only has one Mega Ring on him, he decides to make the five of us fight amongst ourselves for it. In any case, Tierno declares that battling isn't his strong suit, Trevor wants to fill the Pokedex, and Shauna is, well, Shauna. Which leaves me and Serena. To decide who gets to keep the ring, Serena challenges me to a battle. Oh FINALLY we battle:

[spoiler=Vs Serena]

Lv28 Meowstic

Lv28 Absol

Lv30 Quilladin

Healing Items: None

Difficulty: 4/10

Ok, first battle with Serena, and she sends out a Meowstic. After I get Faked Out, she proceeds to use a Light Screen as I charge up. I use Parabolic Charge as she uses something called 'Disarming Voice'. Don't know what that does. I charge up some more to make Psybeam hurt a little less, then spam Parabolic Charge. Eventually, I take it out with a charged Parabolic Charge after being left on 2HP. Laxus reaches Lv26 here.

Next up is Absol. I send in Sharptooth, knowing that he can take a beating while causing good damage in return. Thankfully, Rock Tomb is an easy 3HKO and it also lowers speed. However, Bite is still almost a 2HKO on him, and I got flinched, forcing me to use a potion. In the end, I KO it using Dig.

Finally came Quilladin. I sent in Natsu, and used Hone Claws followed by Fire Fang, an easy 2HKO. I finished it off with Dragon Rage. Easy peasy Japanesey.

I like how Serena facepalms after she loses.

Now that I have beaten Serena, I'm now ready to receive my Mega Stone... or I would if I didn't have to challenge Korrina first. And I can't climb the tower just yet because I'm not 'worthy'.

After healing at the Pokemon Center and changing into less shitty clothes, I head on over to the gym.

Shalour City Gym:

Specialty: Fighting

Recommended Types: Ghost, Flying, Psychic, Fairy

Unrecommended Types: Normal, Rock, Ice, Dark, Steel

Gotta love how Clyde calls you 'Hitmonchan'. Kind of reminds me how I'm called 'Roy' IRL because I look like Roy Orbinson...

Anyway, the gimmick here is that this is a skate park, and you gotta challenge the skaters moving about in the room to get to Korrina. I decide to run around a little bit, if only to get what the layout looks like, then started challenging the trainers. First up is Skater Kate and her Meditite and Mienfoo, both at Lv28. Next to her is Shun with a Pancham, Throh, and Machoke. I ended up losing Laxus here and Bridget survived his tussle with Throh on only 1 HP because the fucker was spamming Seismic Toss. After doing my healing routine, I engaged Rolanda. She carries a Sawk and Throh, and I must say, I really, REALLY ended up having some issues with her, seeing as Sawk was able to almost OHKO Crazy Frog and Bridget was OHKO'd by Smelling Salts. And lastly, Rolando who has a Lv30 Heracross. Not wanting to take any risks with Bridget, I sent in Durandal, who 2HKO's his ass with Aerial Ace.

Jesus Christ that was tough. Need to buy more potions. Unfortunately, super potions aren't really all that powerful anymore seeing as a good chunk of my party has HP in the high 70s to low 80s. Not to mention that they are a complete ripoff.

[spoiler=Vs Korrina]

Korrina's Party

Lv29 Mienfoo (Knows Power Up Punch, Fake Out, Double Slap, and ???)

Lv28 Machoke (Knows Power Up Punch, Leer, Rock Tomb, and ???)

Lv32 Hawlucha (Knows Power Up Punch, Hone Claws, Flying Press, and ???)

Healing Items: Hyper Potion

Difficulty: 7/10

Ok, I lead off with Kirlia as she sends in Mienfoo. Overall, I have the advantage right now. But damn, Fake Out alone is a 3HKO on me. Thank god she can only use it first turn. However, she starts using Power Up Punch, raising her attack stat. Ok... Thankfully, Confusion is a 2HKO. Then she uses Double Slap, hitting twice and KOing Bridget. Ok, plan B. I switch in Crazy Frog and use Water Pulse, doing about 45% to it. And I also get Confusion hax. Thankfully, it hits itself and dies.

Next up is Hawlucha. I make the mistake of sending in Laxus, thinking that his electric type would win the day. Bad move. I get OHKO'd by Power Up Punch. I then send in Durandal and set up a Swords Dance as he uses Hone Claws, boosting attack and accuracy further. This could be a problem. I use Shadow Sneak twice as he sets up fruitlessly, then I set up another Swords Dance and KO its ass with another Shadow Sneak, preventing her from healing Hawlucha. In hindsight, I could've just SD'd twice, then used Aerial Ace for a OHKO.

As for her last Pokemon, Machoke, this one was a lot easier than I thought. All he could do is spam Leer, as I OHKO his ass with a +4 Aerial Ace.

[spoiler=My Advice for the Gym]

Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT let her Pokemon spam Power Up Punch! Despite having a fairly crappy base power for this point in the game, this move raises attack every time it's used successfully. If used constantly, her Pokemon can easily snowball their attack up to +6, at which point, YOU. ARE. FUCKED. While using a psychic, flying, or fairy type does help, ghost types like Honedge basically trivialize this fight by virtue of being IMMUNE to fighting. And while I didn't get their entire movesets (and I doubt I will for quite some time), I highly doubt anything on Korrina's team can even hit ghosts anyway, seeing as they just spammed non attacking moves against Durandal.

Right then, I receive the Rumble Badge, $5,120 in cash, and the Power Up Punch TM. She also tells me that we'll need to battle again at the summit of the Tower of Mastery.

Tower of Mastery:

After doing some healing, I head back to the tower. The Mega Evo guy tells me to scale the tower and face Korrina... again. After the karateka verifies my identity, I climb the ramp all the way up to the top. But first, side rooms. The first side room reveals that the Mega Evo guy's real name is Gurkinn as well as more exposition on mega evolutions, the second room gives more or less the same, but the third side room contains the TM for Low Sweep.

At the top, I get greeted to a cutscene where I get my Mega Ring, and what happens after this... well, the game sends you into a THIRD battle with Korrina, this time, you're given a Lucario to use against her own.

[spoiler=Vs Korrina]

Korrina's Party:

Lv32 Lucario (Knows Power Up Punch, Metal Sound, Swords Dance, and Bone Rush)

Healing Items: None

Difficulty: 2/10

This battle is just to get you accustomed to mega evolutions. If you notice on the touch screen, below Luke's moves is another button called 'Mega Evolution'. Press it. Once activated, choose Power Up Punch. If done right, Luke's Lucarionite should activate, causing him to mega evolve. Thankfully, my Lucario is likely faster, so victory was admittedly quite easy for me.

In the end, I was given the Lucario that I used in this fight.

[spoiler=Lucario's Stats]

Level: 32

Nature: Hasty

Characteristic: Alert to Sounds

HP: 88

Atk: 83

Def: 48

SpA: 86

SpD: 55

Spe: 79

Knows: Power Up Punch, Swords Dance, Metal Sound, Bone Rush

Hasty nature... interesting. Very interesting indeed.

Also note the very high base level this thing has. As of right now, he's higher leveled than the highest leveled dudes in my party.

I may or may not use it. If I do end up using it, I'll probably go with the name 'Skywalker', in reference to Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars Original Trilogy.

Annnnnnnd... that's a wrap. Hopefully, next few chapters will be shorter.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier  Hasty    29  76  51  38  57  42  75  Water Pulse, Dig, Strength, Thief
Kirlia     Hardy    27  62  26  24  45  42  40  Confusion, Magical Leaf, Double Team, Teleport
Charmeleon Mild     29  82  52  36  59  49  62  Dig, Hone Claws, Fire Fang, Dragon Rage
Honedge    Naughty  29  71  62  67  31  24  24  Rock Smash, Shadow Sneak, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance
Helioptile Modest   26  65  28  25  48  31  49  Parabolic Charge, Quick Attack, Charge, Razor Wind
Tyrunt     Sassy    27  76  61  54  37  40  34  Dig, Ancient Power, Bite, Rock Tomb

Edited November 3, 2013 by General James

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 13: Surf's Up!

Ok, time to skip town, but first, Serena stops me and gives me... the Surf HM! Hallelujah! Teaching this to Crazy Frog... wait WHAT? Laxus can learn it too?! I decide to teach it to him as well, forgetting Water Pulse and Quick Attack, respectively. Also, one of the NPCs in the toll booth is talking in moonspeak.

P.S: They now sell Ultra Balls, Max Repels, and Full Heals here. I wonder when they'll start selling Ultra Divine Water?

Route 12:

On the road once again, but first, wild Pogeys. Ok, found Slowpoke, Chatot, Exeggcute, Pinsir, and Miltank. On the water, I found Tentacool.

The first NPC I come across on this route isn't a trainer, but rather, a guy who gives you a free Lapras. I accept, if only to get Lapras's data in the Pokedex.

[spoiler=Lapras's Stats]

Level: 30

Nature: Docile

Characteristic: Takes plenty of siestas

HP: 127

Atk: 62

Def: 59

SpA: 62

SpD: 68

Spe: 47

Knows: Water Pulse, Body Slam, Rain Dance, Perish Song

BTW, this Lapras comes with a predetermined set of IVs. I did some calculations on Showdown, and the Lapras you receive from the breeder has the following IVs: 31 HP/20 Atk/20 Def/20 SpA/20 SpD/20 Spe.

Not using it because I already have Frogadier. However, it is still a VERY appealing option at this point, seeing as it comes at a high base level, is water typed, and has good IVs.

By the way, went back with Cut and followed the path beyond the Cut tree for... an Aspear tree...

And now... time to Surf. And it seems like that they used a soft remix of the Kanto Surf theme. Cool, but I liked the Hoenn Surf theme the best.

Well, time to fight some swimmers, shall we? First swimmer has a Qwilfish and a Biancle. And forgot the former knew Revenge. And lost Helioptile... again. After healing my team for the upteenth time, made it across the river and tackled a backpacker and his Linoone. Also found out here that Sport moves now wear off after 5 turns. And found a star piece under a cracked rock. Cool.

Ok, there's a farm on this island? And this farm is full of Skiddo? And you can actually ride the damn things? This. Is. Awesome! And at any rate, these little bastards can jump up otherwise impassable ledges, which is the only way to get a few items here, such as a shiny stone found on the very NE edge of the island, and a whipped dream, found near the entrance.

Inside the house itself, there is a TM waiting for me... Attract. And there's an item behind the shack that requires Cut to access. What you get is... a sachet. Exploring the area outside the ranch, I found another path that also requires Cut. Following this one leads to the Leftovers item. Isn't it great that this game hands you good shit early on? At this rate, they'll probably hand out the Earthquake TM early too. And battled a breeder, this time with a Seviper and Miltank. And good god that Miltank was tough. Thankfully, I was able to stop its Rollout snowballing by Digging, and both CF and Salamander reach Lv30.

Ok, went back to heal up my team and reorganize my party, and now fighting another youngster. Yanma, Whirlipede, Mothim. Soon after this, I fight the breeder's male counterpart (he has a Zangoose and a Tauros.) I also find the Magikarp trainer on this island.

Time to go Surfing again. I made my way down to where the solitary white rock was on the ranch, and found myself a water stone. I head up a little further, to Azure Bay.

Azure Bay:

Ok, time to explore this dump. First thing I run into is another guy wearing a speedo. Poor bastard has a Remoraid, Skrelp, and a Wailmer. Sharptooth reaches Lv30 and learns his first dragon move, Dragon Tail. Decide to forgo Ancient Power for this one. Even if it has negative priority, any dragon move is better than none. Well, except against fairies. Heading west, I have a tussle with another swimmer, this time with a Slowpoke.

After heading a little further north, I run into an NPC who sees my mega ring and gives me an Ampharosite. By the way, the guy next to him has a Clauncher and a Carvanha. And starting to run out of Parabolic Charge PP.

Anyway... headed to another little landmass and found some grass and a big pearl. In this grass includes Inkay, as well as most of the crap I saw on the other route. Ok, more trainers. After some more getting lost, I came across another swimmer. This one's no different from the other 500 swimmers I've faced. Lanturn and Corsola. Yaaawn...

After this, I headed north again. I made a 180 turn and landed on another island. Here, I found a deep sea tooth and a deep sea scale in some grass. And a hyper potion hidden under a rock. At the end of the island was the TM for X-Scissor.

Ok, time to keep moving. Now's as good a time as any to check out the island in the middle of the bay. Turns out it doesn't contain jack shit. Well, ok, I found a splash plate outside the cave, but the interior is empty.

After going as far north as I could go, I head back to Route 9, picking up a dive ball on the way back. And checking my supplies, I'm going to need to buy more super repels.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier  Hasty    30  79  52  39  59  43  79  Surf, Dig, Strength, Thief
Kirlia     Hardy    28  64  27  25  47  43  41  Confusion, Magical Leaf, Double Team, Teleport
Charmeleon Mild     30  84  54  38  61  50  64  Dig, Hone Claws, Fire Fang, Dragon Rage
Honedge    Naughty  30  73  64  70  32  24  24  Rock Smash, Shadow Sneak, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance
Helioptile Modest   29  72  32  27  52  34  55  Parabolic Charge, Surf, Charge, Razor Wind
Tyrunt     Sassy    30  84  68  59  41  45  36  Dig, Dragon Tail, Bite, Rock Tomb

Edited October 19, 2013 by General James

[Tamanoir]

Lapras have a special apearence whenyou read it. That's the main reason to use it.

Edited October 19, 2013 by shyteddie

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 14: Green Thumbed Ramos

Hm, port town. I wonder if I can find the SS Orca? Oh, Holo Caster went off. And it's another battle request from Serena. That was all.

And it seems that I'm having some difficulty finding the Pokemon Center. Eh, I'll first check the houses here, I guess. Anyway, you can find the silk scarf in a house next to the lighthouse. As for the guy standing just outside that house, I thought he sold hot dogs, but turns out he's an opium incense dealer.

The fisherman in the middle of the harbor gives you a good rod. Now you can catch things that aren't Magikarp.

Going north a little further, I eventually run into a dead end where I encounter an ace trainer who's willing to part with a TM if I answer a quiz. By the way, the answer to her question is 'Confide', which is the TM you get. And she has more of these things. I'm probably going to clock reset to get the others.

EDIT: Found out I can't clock reset like I could in DPPt. I really do have to wait 24 hours.

Ah well, time for the hotel. Right... I got a lucky egg here for not treating my starter like shit. This item, my friends, will make most of my leveling issues disappear, considering that my party is kind of underleveled right now. I also got a smile ribbon and another O-Power from Mr. Bondage... wait, Mr. Bondage isn't here? Instead, the game director is in his place. He tells me to go fill up the Pokedex, and he'll give me something nice. Yeah, all you get out of that deal is a Diploma.

Well, I think it's about high time we take the rails and head on over to the Pokemon Center to heal. But before I can do that, Professor Sycamore decides to waste more time telling me about shit I already know. Oh, and Diantha is here too. And apparently, Mega Evolution is a phenomenon exclusive to Kalos for... some reason. Annnd... I get the HM for Fly. Too bad I don't have any, like, flying Pokemon at this current time, nor do I have the badge I need to use it.

And I have to say that that scene with the monorail was somewhat ok. Not as good as the one in HGSS, but still. Anyway, one of the attendants on the other side gives me a Metronome.

Now that I have access to the Pokemon Center, I can finally heal my d00ds after the gauntlet I went through. And it seems that Mr. Bondage now hangs around in Pokemon Centers. He gives me the Befriending skill. And STILL no tied up Shauna. Yeah, I know this is becoming a recurring joke now.

Alright, more houses. Ok, this first house is useless. All it does is talk about some shit I'm not interested in, and the second house is also uninteresting. The third house, on the other hand, plays the sadness theme from Black and White. On the 3DS, it sounds pretty awesome. I also get a Poke Toy. I went north towards the gym and reach another dead end. There, I find a sky plate as well as a pretty damn good view of the harbor.

Right then. The instant you go up to the gym, Serena will race up to you and challenge you to a battle. Didn't say she didn't warn you.

[spoiler=Vs Serena]

Serena's Party:

Lv31 Meowstic

Lv31 Absol

Lv33 Quilladin

Healing Items: None

Difficulty: 3/10

Ok, sending in Frogadier as she goes into Meowstic. I switch in Kirlia, if only to avoid Fake Out damage and get some exp. I switch back into Frogadier as it uses Light Screen, then start to use Thief on it. And wow. Just... wow. Thief is only a 4HKO on this thing. And Psybeam is almost a 2HKO on me. After making a tactical switch to heal, I take it out with two more Thieves. Kirlia reaches Lv29 here.

Quilladin was a joke. Hone Claws x2, then Fire Fang. Surprised that wasn't a OHKO at that amount of Atk, and Needle Arm did a surprising amount to Natsu despite the resistance to grass. Ah well. One Dragon Rage was enough to kill it at the HP range it was at anyway.

Absol was dealt with in the same way I dealt with before. I sent in Tyrunt, only to get met with a critical hit from this thing's Bite. After healing up, 3 uses of Rock Tomb was enough to kill it. Frogadier reaches Lv31 thanks to the lucky egg.

Also, it's quite funny of her to say that I'm stronger than her when her team is slightly higher leveled than mine.

Anywya, after healing, I head onward... to the Gym!

Courmaine City Gym:

Specialty: Grass

Recommended Types: Fire, Flying, Bug, Poison

Unrecommended Types: Water, Ground, Rock

This gym's gimmick is that you need to climb up vines to get to the top of the tower, where Ramos is. There are also nets that you need to swing over. The west fork is a dead end, but the east end leads up to a trainer. Hm, it seems that Rangers are back, and this one has a Simisage. Thankfully, Fire Fang is a clean 2HKO, but I end up missing once and eating a +2 Seed Bomb (well, I was at -2 Def, but the point still stands). Natsu reaches Lv31.

Upon climbing to the next tier on the tower, Surprised to find no trainers here. Just jump the two nets and move on to the next vine. Here, I go west and climb down another vine, running into another ranger. And the female rangers don't look like Carmen Sandiego anymore (By the way, Roselia and Wormadam. Next.) Oh, and CF also gains another Lucky Egg induced level.

After climbing the next vine and jumping two eastward nets, I ran into another ranger, this time with a Gloom and Exeggutor. Natsu reaches Lv32 and learns Flame Burst, forgetting Dragon Rage, but ends up getting killed by the Exeggutor's Psyshock. Crazy Frog also reaches Lv33 and tries to learn Smack Down, but I decline the offer. I head back down to heal up, fighting one last Ranger I missed. Ferroseed, Lombre, Carnivine. Natsu reaches Lv33 and CF reaches Lv34.

Anyway, from the last ranger, it's a simple matter of jumping two more nets to get to Ramos. Ramos seems to be an architect who specializes in making greenhouse towers. Supposedly. He also speaks with a Scottish accent.

[spoiler=Vs Ramos]

Ramos's Party:

Lv30 Jumpluff (Knows Grass Knot, Acrobatics, ???, and ???)

Lv31 Weepinbell (Knows Grass Knot, ???, ???, and ???)

Lv34 Gogoat (Knows Grass Knot, Bulldoze, Take Down, and ???)

Healing Items: Hyper Potion x??

Difficulty: 5/10

Right. Lead with Bridget to get some more exp for him, then switch into Natsu as I get by Acrobatics, an almost clean 2HKO. Thankfully, I OHKO its ass with a Blaze boosted Flame Burst.

Next up, he sends in Gogoat. I send in Laxus to serve as death fodder so I can heal Natsu. Seeing as it's grass, I should- ok, this thing knows Bulldoze. I need to be careful with sending Natsu in if I don't want him going splat in 2 hits. I decide to send in Sharptooth and start lowering its speed with Rock Tomb. After sending in Bridget for some exp (and surviving Bulldoze with like 2HP, may I add), I send in Natsu (who gets hit by a Take Down crit and somehow survives) and finish the job with a Flame Burst. Natsu, Sharptooth, and Bridget reach Lv34, Lv31, and Lv30, respectively.

You know what? His Weepinbell isn't worth talking about. Flame Burst OHKO's its ass.

After the battle, Bridget FINALLY evolves into Gardevoir. His days of suck are mostly over now.

[spoiler=My Advice for the Gym]

The main threat in this fight is Gogoat. Not only does this thing have good stats for this point in the game, it also has a good moveset. Bulldoze may have only 60 BP, but it is easily capable of 1-2HKOing most fire type counters. It will also hit steel type counters super effectively, should you want to try using them. It has a massive HP stat (base 123), but surprisingly low defense (base 62) and speed (base 68), though the latter is mitigated somewhat by Bulldoze speed drops. Honestly, your best bet here is to use a flying type like Fletchinder, unless I find later down the road that thing also has Rock Slide.

Jumpluff's Acrobatics is also painful, despite its attacking stats being garbage. You don't fuck with 110 BP coupled with STAB.

Ok, the spoils. $5440 in cash, the Plant Badge, and the TM for Grass Knot.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Frogadier  Hasty    34  88  59  45  66  48  88  Surf, Dig, Strength, Thief
Gardevoir  Hardy    30  86  47  44  86  82  62  Confusion, Magical Leaf, Double Team, Teleport
Charmeleon Mild     34  94  61  43  69  57  73  Dig, Hone Claws, Fire Fang, Flame Burst
Honedge    Naughty  30  73  64  70  32  24  24  Rock Smash, Shadow Sneak, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance
Helioptile Modest   29  72  32  27  52  34  55  Parabolic Charge, Surf, Charge, Razor Wind
Tyrunt     Sassy    31  87  70  59  42  46  37  Dig, Dragon Tail, Bite, Rock Tomb

Edited November 10, 2013 by General James

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 15: The Power Plant

Leaving town, since I have to wait until tomorrow to get another TM from that ace trainer. And what's this? Another Holo Clip? Who the fuck is it this time... Oh, it's Ganondorf. He goes off into a rant on how I now have the power of Mega evolution and how he's going to change the world into something that's more 'beautiful'.

Inside the gate, got myself a Black Sludge from a punk kid. Too bad it's kind of useless for my party seeing as they aren't poison typed. And those two scumbags from Sycamore's Lab show up to tell me that the gate connecting Lumiose City and Route 13 is closed off due to a blackout, and then proceed to upgrade my Pokedex to include Mountain Pokemon.

I hope I never see them again...

Route 13:

Welcome to the Badlands. Here, you will likely find more fossils. Nihahahahahahaha, just shitting you.

The gimmick behind this area is that there is a strong gale blowing eastward, making it hard for you to move west. Also, there are Pokemon digging underground here, and if you run into any moving dirt mounds, you will be forced into a battle. And as far as I know, the Pokemon found in those dirt mounds are Trapinch and Dugtrio. Both of which can have Arena Trap. Which means that half the time, you have to fight these bastards, unless you have a flying type/levitator (neither of which I have.)

Time to navigate this place. Starting from the west side of this desert, there is a railing that you can cross with the skates. Going west, then north will lead to a solitary rock with a PP Up hidden inside it. South of the railings is a cracked rock that guards a burn heal, as well as a scientist. Below this guy is a question mark shaped railing, which if traversed will lead to a sun stone. I also saw a Team Flare goon blocking a steel bridge. We'll deal with him later. Another bridge leads to a shack with a locked door. And I need a pass to get in. Which I don't have. You can also see the power plant in the distance from this shack.

Also, let it be known I hate these dirt mounds. Dugtrios are assholes. Also found out you can find Gibles here, albeit rarely.

Ok, time to explore the east. At the very northeastern corner of the route, you can find a smooth rock. Further down are three more shacks with locked doors. Just outside the third gate lies the flame plate.

At the very southern edge of the map is a sign that says 'Electric mons are immune to paralysis.' If players didn't know this before, they know of it now. And there's a guy who's blocking the way to Lumiose City, no doubt due to a blackout.

Ok, time to deal with the Team Flare goon. And it seems he has evolved his Houndour now. Laxus gains two levels and reaches Lv31 here. I decide to forgo Charge for Thunder Wave. Hopefully I don't regret it.

After I beat his ass for the upteenth time, he mentions that he dropped his Power Plant Pass, and that it is under a rock nine squares east of his current location. Counting nine squares east, the pass is found inside of the large rock just eats of the bridge. Also, went back to heal. CF reaches Lv35 as I kill yet another Dugtrio. I sell some stuff and buy 28 Hyper Potions and 14 Revives, then head back to the area which the grunt was guarding.

Power Plant:

The music here can be best described as very similar to the Plasma Bridge theme from B2W2, but with a higher pitch and a more techno feel.

After going through a VERY long hallway, I enter the next room, where a Team Flare goon is standing guard. He runs up to me while yelling 'knock knock' and challenges me like any grunt would do. His loss.

Anyway, the room behind the first purple-framed door is a rest room with some scientists and a guy that sells fresh waters for 50% more than usual. There is also a zap plate hidden in the cubby hole next to the guy who got stuck. Left to go north and challenge another grunt. Croagunk, Golbat. No real issues here, but Acrobatics hurts like a bitch.

In the next room is the power generator. However, before I can get even near the thing, a goon ambushes me and sends out a Lv34 Mightyena. Again, not too hard, except for the Swagger hax. Ah well, moving on... except that the grunt is a persistent bastard and won't move from his spot. Time to go left, I guess. The next grunt up was similarly easy, packing a Scraggy and a Golbat. I was actually surprised he didn't have his Golbat use Acrobatics on Bridget instead of Swift, but then again, villainous team goons are known fro being retards.

Grunt #3 rambles on about how cool the shades that go with his outfit are. Yeah no. Also, let it be known that Team Flare's outfits and hairstyle make them look retarded. I'm dead fucking serious. Moving on.

Fourth grunt up was apparently a cheerleader in high school and starts flamboyantly cheering for Team Flare. Don't know what that was about. Anyway, her Swalot was a lot bulkier than I thought, facing only a 3HKO from Dig while it managed to paralyze Tyrunt and he gets FP'd on the same turn. I healed off the paralysis only to get hit with Toxic. This is why I hate these assholes.

As for number five, she has a Liepard as well as another god damn Swalot that gets 3HKO'd by Dig. And wait... what? Toxic can hit through Dig?! Ok, that's something I didn't know. Ok, last grunt. Croagunk, Scraggy, Liepard. No problem here either.

Well, time to climb the stairs, and wait... who's there?

Ok, there's a guy in a white suit and a woman in a red dress talking about powering up some doomsday device, something I don't rightly know about. Once they notice me, one of the admins tells the other to remove me from the area.

Ok, this is actually quite easy, seeing as the admin only has one Pokemon, a Lv36 Houndoom. I send in CF and KO his ass in 2 hits using Surf. Very easy stuff.

After the battle, the scientist will walk over to you and request a battle with her. She introduces herself as Aliana and that she's a Team Flare scientist. She also tells me that Team Flare is doing something that, apparently, I can't understand. Anyway, battle time.

[spoiler=Vs Aliana]

Aliana's Party:

Lv38 Mightyena

Healing Items: None

Difficulty: 3/10

As you can tell right now, she is significantly tougher than the other grunts you've faced by far. However, she still only has one Pokemon, and thankfully, it isn't particularly strong. It's more annoying than anything, preferring to use Scary Face followed by Swagger, which is what she did to Crazy Frog. Even so, it fell in 2 hits from CF's Surf. CF and Natsu both reach Lv36 and evolve into Greninja and Charizard, respectively. Upon evolving, Natsu learns Wing Attack, replacing Fire Fang and I decide not to have CF learn Water Shuriken, seeing as Surf is just flat out superior.

Anyway, after the battle, she and the admin leave, and now I can finally be at peace. Except that Sina and Dexio waltz in wearing these masks and scarves, and because they didn't get there before I did, they take the time to heal my party. Dexio also gives me some Full Restores.

I headed back into the prisoner's room and talked to the first worker again, who gives me the Flame Charge TM as thanks. I also get a magnet from one of the scientists. Cool beans.

Route 13:

Back on Route 13, I decide to check the other shacks, just to see if I can get in those ways as well. Turns out I can't. In any case, I head back to the staircase that the worker was blocking and descend. And... who's this guy? This man, wearing a red hat and black trench coat, starts talking about a flower Pokemon that gives eternal life. Don't know what he's talking about, though. An alcove to the east of the gate hides a rare candy, though you need Rock Smash to get it.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Greninja   Hasty    36 105  86  56  85  62 114  Surf, Dig, Strength, Thief
Gardevoir  Hardy    31  88  48  45  88  85  64  Confusion, Magical Leaf, Double Team, Teleport
Charizard  Mild     36 114  79  58  96  74  91  Dig, Hone Claws, Wing Attack, Flame Burst
Honedge    Naughty  31  73  67  72  33  25  25  Rock Smash, Shadow Sneak, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance
Helioptile Modest   31  76  34  29  57  36  59  Parabolic Charge, Surf, Thunder Wave, Razor Wind
Tyrunt     Sassy    33  92  75  65  44  48  40  Dig, Dragon Tail, Bite, Rock Tomb

Edited October 20, 2013 by General James

[Smiley Jim]

Chapter 16: Return to Lumiose City

Alright, time to explore the north side of Lumiose City now that the power's back. But first, Shauna runs up to me and apparently, she's puzzled as to who brought back the power. After I confirm it, she points me into the direction of the Prism Tower, which may I remind you, is a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower in the IRL Paris.

Unfortunately, I can't explore this place at all until I see the tower, so I may as well do it.

Magenta Plaza:

Well, there's not much to see here and- wait. What's a Team Flare goon doing here? She talks about how the cafe they are at is perfect for hot young stars like them, who spend time having debates on how they're going to make a better tomorrow. 'Hot young stars?' Cut me a break.

There's also another Pokemon Center on the north side of this city. Yeah, this City is so big they needed two Pokemon Centers. And Mr. Bondage is nowhere to be found.

Moving on. At the base of the tower, we're waiting for the lights to go off, when Shauna notices a blond man in a blue jumpsuit alongside a girl of about ~7, also with blond hair. And apparently, these two know Shauna. The man is introduced as Clemont, the gym leader of this joint, as well as one of Ash's traveling companions in the anime. After a bit of fucking around, he finally activates the lights on the Prism Tower.

The following scene that entailed... wasn't nearly as cool as the fireworks display me and Shauna were treated to 9 chapters earlier, but hey, we got to see another 3D scene. And I'm going to assume that Shauna and Calem made out here.

After the lights on the tower were reactivated, Clemont remarks on how his lighting system worked, much like the rest of his inventions, which, if I may recall, didn't do jack shit. Anyway, the tower itself is the gym. But before that, time to explore this place a little further. Be prepared, this is going to be LOOONG, as again, Lumiose City is about as big as Paris IRL.

Heading back to South Boulevard and working clockwise from the Route 5 gate, I head on down to the North Boulevard.

North Boulevard:

The first building I enter... happens to be a deserted restaraunt. Not much to see. The building on the other side though... happens to be hosting a huge party or some shit like that. Actually, they're doing a shoot with a model and a Mamoswine. I really should get Shauna and Serena to come here at some point.

Next up is a shop that sells galettes. I don't know what the fuck they are, but I decided to buy one, and it turns out they're cheaper full heals. Also, you can't buy them in bulk. Next building has a kid who will end up giving me something if I have something with over 100 attack. Probably not going to happen until Tyrunt evolves. Ok, second floor...

Except that upon entering the second floor of this building, the music stops and a mysterious woman spawns behind me, like a poltergeist or something. She walks away from the elevator slowly and tells me 'I'm not the one'. What the fuck was that just now?! Anyway, the third floor is a fighting dojo run by a karateka from Kanto. Talking to the beauty a few steps east of the elevator gave me an expert belt, and the judoka near the right side of the room gives me a protein.

I hope I never see that ghost again...

Continuing my exploration of the city, I head into the Route 14 gate, but apparently, some power lines are fucking up the gate and I can't pass. Oh, and look, another god damn Pokemon Center. How many of these things are there in this city?

Entering the museum now. They are offering audio services explaining each painting for $200. Eh, why not. Not like I'm going to be here for long anyway. The paintings on the east side depict areas in the land of Kalos, such as Parfum Palace, Glittering Cave, and the Gym in Laverre City. Apparently, the gym there is fairy typed. On the west side are paintings of areas from other regions. And an ace trainer from Opelucid gives me the Dragon Tail TM for not being a Kalos native.

Second floor. More or less the same shit, except all of the paintings on the east side depict the power plant and the factory. The third floor depicts some history on Kalos, as well as the Battle Subway. Right, I'm leaving now.

Next up is another hotel. But... this one is a lot fancier than the hotels I encountered while on the west coast of Kalos, largely because they charge $100,000 per night. And guess who I found here: Mr. Bondage, again. He gives me the Bargain Power. And too bad I didn't bring Shauna with me, otherwise I could have asked him to take her to his filming shoot. The second floor only has some guy who's overworked and an elderly couple who are celebrating their 50th anniversary. Noting interesting on the third floor either, well, outside of some kid who's sliding on the floor because it's smooth and shiny. As for the fourth floor, I encounter that strange woman I encountered in the fighting dojo. She really doesn't want to talk to me. There was also a strange employee on this floor trying to drink from a vase. Weird...

And the fifth floor... Oh holy god the fifth floor. The suites here are VERY high class. They have it all: ensuite, dining area, king-sized beds. I could never afford this on my income. Nothing special in the west suite, but the east suite has a lady that gave me the Echoed Voice TM.

The building next door from the hotel is home to an office cafe. While I didn't get anything special on the first two floors, I received a prism scale from a kid on the fourth floor. Across the street is yet another cafe, where there's yet another kid who will read you a book on super training, and how Pokemon that are subjected to it tend to be stronger than those who haven't gone through training... In fact, the entire restaurant is obsessed with super training for whatever reason. And apparently, Clemont was the one who invented it.

Ok, going into this next cafe was a little weird. There's an NPC who can apparently read your aura and gives you quotes to use in PR videos. Talking to the NPCs here reveals that this cafe is a film making fanclub. A.K.A, don't care. As for the cafe next door to that one, it's home to four karatekas that give some advice on how to battle more effectively. They talk about things like contact abilities and priority moves, as well as using items with detrimental effects to your advantage. Across the street from this cafe is the Battle Institute. And I can't access it yet until I defeat the champion, whoever he is.

The last thing of note on the boulevards is the Lumiose Station. Here, you can access the TMV to take you to Kiloude City, but unfortunately, I don't have a pass right now so I can't access the side city just yet. On that topic, doesn't this remind me of Anville Town and how you get there by taking a subway from Nimbasa City? I dunno.

In order to save space and not turn this post into a wall of text, I'm splitting exploration of this city into two parts. because there's THAT much shit to do here.

[spoiler=My Party]

Name       Nature  Lvl MHP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe  Moveset
Greninja   Hasty    36 105  86  56  85  62 114  Surf, Dig, Strength, Thief
Gardevoir  Hardy    31  88  48  45  88  85  64  Confusion, Magical Leaf, Double Team, Teleport
Charizard  Mild     36 114  79  58  96  74  91  Dig, Hone Claws, Wing Attack, Flame Burst
Honedge    Naughty  31  73  67  72  33  25  25  Rock Smash, Shadow Sneak, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance
Helioptile Modest   31  76  34  29  57  36  59  Parabolic Charge, Surf, Thunder Wave, Razor Wind
Tyrunt     Sassy    33  92  75  65  44  48  40  Dig, Dragon Tail, Bite, Rock Tomb

Edited October 21, 2013 by General James