Monotype [PLACEHOLDER TITLE] Shiva's White 2 Bug Monotype - Chapter 10 up! Tales of Elite 4 and champions! COMPLETED RUN!

[WindriderShiva]

Hello everyone! I'm back! And y'all know what that means: I'm running challenges again!

It's about time I got back to this. I did try to stream a couple of Nuzlockes, which have failed, but I've been missing documenting and sharing stuff on forums. This time, I'm giving a shot at another monotype, a Bug-type run, on Pokémon White 2. A game I've never finished, but hopefully I will this time around.

Rules having changed since the last time I posted something, the actual challenge's first chapter will be posted tomorrow. So yep, intro post.

Oh also... there will be puns.

Spoiler: RULESET

1. Once you choose a type, you need to stick with it for the whole playthrough!
   
   
2. You can't use two Pokemon from the same evolution family. If you use Poliwhirl, you can't also use Poliwrath, etc.
   
   
3. This is less of a rule, but be sure that the type you choose is realistic for the game you choose. For example, Sinnoh has a lack of fire types, so doing a fire monotype in Diamond might not be the best decision.
   
   
4. If a Pokemon is not currently the type you chose but will be in the future, you can still use it. This means that if you're doing a fire monotype, you could use Fletchling because it will become a fire type when it's fully evolved.
   
   
5. Dual types are allowed!
   
   
6. If your starter isn't viable for you to use, you can use it until you're able to catch a Pokemon for the type you chose. After you catch that Pokemon, your starter needs to be put away and not used again.
   
   
7. You are allowed up to two trades total for your challenge. This includes trading eggs or Pokemon you normally couldn't get and in-game trades. You may evolve a Pokemon via trade as many times as you would like.

Spoiler: CHAPTERS

Chapter 1 - May I offer you an egg in these trying times?
Chapter 2 - Veni(pede), Vidi, Vici
Chapter 3 - A Badge and a Beat down
Chapter 4 - Vengeance with a side of Badge
Chapter 5 - Drifting to a better team
Chapter 6 - This pain was brought to you by: EVERYTHING
Chapter 7 - Short but packed in badges, I guess
Chapter 8 - </teamplasma>
Chapter 9 - Victory Road or Bust
Chapter 10 - <13374> Elite 4 </13374>

Spoiler: CATCHES

Lady - Leavanny (female)
Caught at: Level 3, Route 20
Nature: Bashful
Ability: Chlorophyll
Characteristic: Loves to eat.

Atlas - Scolipede (male)
Nature: Jolly
Caught at: level 10
Ability: Swarm
Characteristic: Good endurance.

Marbles - Crustle (female)
Nature: Adamant
Caught at: level 20
Ability: Sturdy
Characteristic: Quick to flee.

Victoria - Vespiquen (female)
Nature: Quiet
Caught at: level 22
Ability: Chlorophyll
Characteristic: Mischievous.

Lemmy - Pinsir (male)
Nature: Mild
Caught at: level 24
Ability: Mold Breaker
Characteristic: Sturdy body.

Lena - Karrablast (female)
Nature: Docile
Caught at: level 26
Ability: Shell Armor
Characteristic: Highly persistent.

Ira - Accelgor (female)
Nature: Impish
Caught at: level 26
Ability: Shell Armor
Characteristic: Somewhat vain.

Mia - Galvantula (female)
Nature: Mild
Caught at: level 26
Ability: Compoundeyes
Characteristic: Often scatters things.

Allison - Scyther (female)
Nature: Sassy
Caught at: level 1 (Egg hatched)
Ability: Swarm
Characteristic: Highly persistent.

Tina - Skorupi (female)
Nature: Mild
Caught at: level 31
Ability: Battle Armor
Characteristic: Likes to thrash about.

Sol - Volcarona (female)
Nature: Bold
Caught at: level 35
Ability: Flame Body
Characteristic: Highly curious.

Jules - Shuckle (male) *incomplete info, not at the PC in-game*
Nature: ????
Caught at: level ???
Ability: ????
Characteristic: ???

 

[SAF]

So you're going to record the bugs' life in Unova, eh? Let's hope they won't be bugged by whatever's thrown at them.

 

[Calaf]

The Unova region has some great Bug types, so this should be fun! Good luck! :)

 

[WindriderShiva]

And here's the first chapter in this saga, but first, replies!

@sanianisa: Pretty much! Let's hope I don't bug out on this, hehehe.
@Calaf: Thanks! I was looking into what was viable in Gen V, and through discussion and some research, I decided to go along with this. They did get diversified a bit in Gen V, so I'm looking forward to some fun.

CHAPTER 1 - MAY I OFFER YOU AN EGG IN THESE TRYING TIMES?​

Spoiler: 3, 2, 1, oh wait-

My first move was to... check all my quick options of getting a Bug-type egg on physical media, because I have even less on emulation, believe it or not. Since I had a Scizor in my party on Diamond, I transferred him over to Black, where I bred him with a Ditto to get a Scyther egg using my DSLite. Meanwhile, on my 3DS, I started my actual journey.

My character is so named Jira - and no, it's not based on Japanese. JIRA is a database used to keep track of software development, either for tasks or to report issues...

In other words, it's... a bug database.

My rival is TTP.

... I had the opportunity, I took it.

After naming the two kids, I talked to Jira's mom and got the go to meet up with Bianca on top of the hill, where I got my starter, Oshawott, who's not a Bug but it'll do until I can trade. I faced TTP in a battle, which I won because TTP's Snivy decided to throw in one Leer in there, instead of keeping the advantage it had on Oshawott. Smrt AI, lemme tell ya. I shouldn't whine, I mean, I won.

Bianca took me the Pokémon center, then I got the Running Shoes from mom and the Town map from TTP's sister (must be called TTP 2013). I also snagged a Potion from the guard right outside.

To get an egg to hatch, I needed to keep one Pokémon, so I needed to catch a second one. I caught a Patrat, and continued on my merry way. Well, merry should be in quotation marks. I forgot exactly when I can trade, but I don't have access to the Union room.

And that's when I bothered actually looking things up.

My first legitimate catch is a level 3 female Sewaddle! Which I named Lady. My first solo fight was a disaster, and my poor gal got KOed. I respawned and went right back at it. I picked my fights a bit better this time around, and got her to level 10 before I moved on to Floccesy Ranch.

POKÉMON RANCHER

Rival fight
That Snivy stood no chance. It got KOed first turn to Lady's Bug Bite. It only got an attack off, but to be honest? I wasn't watching what.

Jira gave TTP a town map. The owner of the ranch and his wife dropped by, had a nice little chat with us, gave us a Potion each, with the promise to heal our team if we got too low on health. As long as we found their missing Herdier.

It's not like he was two towns over. Then again, that area is pretty large when it comes to Pokémon. TTP and I found the Herdier near a Team Rocket Galactic Flare Plasma member. Whose butt was thoroughly kicked.

I sent Jira back to Floccesy town, and battled Alder's pupils - who had a Pansear and a Pansage. The former took a couple Tackle attacks, but the Pansage got KOed in one Bug Bite. This triggered a rundown on types, which I'm going to half-disregard during the run. Or take advantage of somehow.

I'm planning things. I'm running Bug, which isn't the sturdiest type ever, but there's gotta be some fun to have.

Going out of the training school thingie, I got the Medal Box from Mr. Medal. I forgot they tried the achievement system in Gen V.

Then, I tried to exit Floccesy without raising too much fuss. But the ever watchful Alder caught me escaping. I did get some Oran berries from a reward, but it came with another speech about Gyms and Badges. I reached Aspertia, went to the Center, healed, and finally entered the first Gym.

ASPERTIA GYM

On arrival, I... actually had to check if it was, indeed, the Gym. I haven't played much in B2W2 and the building interior kinda threw me off. Well, I'm at the right place. I got a Fresh Water as a souvenir, then met ???. Well, Cheren.

He made me go through his two trainees, a Youngster with a Patrat and a Lillipup, and a Lass with the same setup. The first Patrat got OHKOed, both Lillipup got one attack in each, and so did the last Patrat. All around I took 17 points of damage. Lady is level 14. I'm not gonna risk it still. I healed her, gave her an Oran Berry, and initiated the fight.

Aspertia Gym Leader Cheren
Patrat: Thing is 11. I attempted a String Shot to see if it would help, and it did. I took a Tackle in before gaining a speed advantage, was able to get two Bug Bites to KO Patrat. Lady went up to level 15!
Lillipup: Level 13. I think I forgot the levels. I used String Shot... first, so I kinda lost a turn. Lillipup used Work Up. I got a Bug Bite off, it used Work Up again, and got KOed the following turn by another Bug Bite.

Basic Badge Get! TM83 (Work Up) Get!

TM27 (Return) Get! Well that one I wasn't execting. Got that from Bianca when I left the Gym. I also got people to add to my Xtransceiver. It immediately rang, pulling Jira into a 4-way call between Juniper, Cheren and Bianca. TTP joined us for about 2 seconds, before Cheren invited him over inside the Gym. Gift-giving wasn't done, so I got the C-Gear, which means I can transfer my Patrat over for the Scyther egg.

I also found the USB charging cable for my DSLite. I can now trade without wondering if my poor, poor battered down battery can handle being online for more than 10 seconds without blinking red.

This makes a good post, I think, so I'm gonna end this one here, gonna start working on the next, and will update tomorrow.

Spoiler: TLDR

- Messe around around IRL, namely with DS units, to find a suitable Bug egg to transfer.
- Found a Scizor, transfered over from Gen IV to V, bred him...
- ... while starting my journey on the other unit.
- Named my character Jira, named the rival TTP.
- Talked to mom, TTP, his sister, and took off to find Bianca.
- Chose Oshawott, I might as well get a Surf-able Pokémon right off the bat.
- Caught a Patrat to trade in for the Scyther egg...
- ... and was unable to transfer the egg because no C-Gear. GO ME! Go, literally, I pushed on forwards.
- Kept on with Oshawott, through Route 19 and Floccesy town, until reaching Route 20.
- Alder popped up somewhere in there.
- Caught a level 3 female Sewaddle, named Lady.
- Dropped the Oshawott and the Patrat into the PC.
- Leveled Lady to 10 before going forward.
- Reached Floccesy Ranch.
- Battled with TTP and won, of course.
- Found the missing Herdier and kicked Plasma butt.
- Exited Floccesy Ranch into town, met Alder (again).
- Kicked more butt, this time trainers at his school thingamajig.
- Left the town, Alder handed me some berries.
- Back in Aspertia, went to the Gym.
- Battled the kids.
- Battled Cheren, with an easy win. Got my first badge, the Basic Badge. (Brb, I need Ugg boots and a pumpkin spice latte.)
- Got a couple TMs, the Xtranceiver, the C-Gear...
- ... And got to the end of this update!

Spoiler: THE TEAM

View attachment 1290
Lady - Sewaddle (Bug/Grass) @Oran Berry
Level: 15
Nature: Bashful
Caught at: level 3
Characteristic: Loves to eat.
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moveset: Tackle, String Shot, Bug Bite, Razor Leaf

 

[Kaori]

Wow.

Here I thought Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/Moon have you wait ridiculously long before you can trade but I totally forgot that B/W and B/W 2 made you wait even longer! > <

At least you could catch an actual Bug type by then and she rocked that first gym. Can't wait for Lady to become a beautiful Leavanny.

 

[SkylarAlpha]

That first gym went by easy. Good luck on the rest of your run! (And getting the team together)

 

[Typhlosion]

Hello! Great first update, can't wait for more.

It's pretty funny that you naturally found a Bug-type before you were able to trade the one you wanted to start with. Do you intend to use the Scyther Egg anyway, even though you don't need the Scyther anymore?

 

[Pendraflare]

Well, that's a good way to start this off! Sewaddle is nice to have on the team, especially since it gets good attacks early on despite all those weaknesses. Looking forward to you getting a Venipede.

 

[WindriderShiva]

Woohoo, managed another update. Thanks for all the comment folks! o/

@Kaori: Yup! I was dreading to not get a Bug before the first Gym, but it worked out. And I'm glad to report Lady's indeed on her way to become a Leavanny~
@SkylarAlpha: Team's kinda slow to build up, but at least I don't have 50 Pokémon just pending leveling XD.
@Typhlosion: I'm planning on eventually transferring the Scyther egg - it used to be my fav Pokémon around Gen I and II - but I don't know when it'll happen.
@Pendraflare: That moment has come, mwahaha. I like Sewaddle, but I'm not super looking forward the cocoon phases/evos...

CHAPTER 2 - VENI(PEDE), VIDI, VICI​

Spoiler: Now that I have my first badge...

I can move out of Route 20!

Actually no, not yet. I still need to be stopped in my tracks by Bianca. I'm thinking "Bianca" doesn't mean "white", but means "interrupting teenaged assistant". It was for a good cause, since I got an upgraded Pokédex. ... Which I won't make much of a use of?

I couldn't one-shot Hiker Jerome's Riolu, but that's alright. Making it past him enables me to go into dark grass. TTP and I got some Pecha berries from Cheren, which might come in handy depending what I'm gonna do with my team. Venipede has a chance of spawning in dark grass... which was, indeed, my first encounter. I tried to lower its HP with Bug Bite, but it wasn't too much. It used Poison Sting, poined me, so I used Tackle - and KOed it with a crit. The next encountered Venipede used Rollout, nailed every single one, and I got KOed.

Oh now I remember what annoys me about Gen V: the lack of berries without Pokémon Global. Means I gotta be careful because I can't rely on Leppa and Sitrus berries, q_q.

Anyways, I'm now the proud trainer of a level 10 male Venipede named Atlas! I really like Scolipede, and he's a nice addition to my one-woman team.

I got a bunch of Great Balls from one of the guards/greeters before entering Virbank. And a call from mom.

VIRBANK CITY

I leveled up Atlas near the Complex a bit, but when I gave it a shot at the Gym - against the drummer - it wasn't really enough. It's a Poison gym so I can't rely on Lady this much, typing and all. She did get a crit, but finished with 11 HP and poisoned.

So I went back to leveling my two-Poke team, using Audino spawns to boost up quickly. I took them to level 20, so I got Lady to evolve into Swadloon, and enough levels to get Poison Tail for Atlas. Having Atlas will make it so I can't get poisoned, it's not Gen VII, and Lady... well... she might have to chill for this Gym.

VIRBANK CITY GYM

There's two fights here, three with the leader. I've already done through one, and the second one, against the guitarist, was done in three Rollout turns.

Virbank City Gym Leader Roxie
With Atlas leading, I used Screech to wear down that Koffing a bit. It used Assurance, managed to crit, and I got my Rollouts. It hit 3 times before Koffing got KOed, and instantly KOed Whirlipede. Wham bam, thank you ma'am. Not gonna lie, I got scared because poor Atlas was down to 7 HP, but as long as Rollout was gonna hit, I knew I was gonna OHKO Whirlipede.

The Toxic Badge is now mine! And TM09 (Venoshock).

Not even out of the Gym that someone approached Jira to meet them at Poké Studios. Which is, y'know, my favorite part ever.

By the way I meant this with extreme sarcasm.

I absolutely loathe Pokéstar Studios.

JUST END THIS ALREADY

Pokéstar Studios is, by far, the worst of all side missions. I liked contests, Pokémon Musicals were alright, but Pokéstar Studios can kiss my redacted. Because it's not just a side mission, nope; they make this part mandatory. It's a slog, it's boring, there's a ton of text, and I cannot stress this enough, you can't skip it. It's like Mantine Surf in USUM.

Look, I don't care for the movies. I care even less when I'm forced into them. I can't even use my own Pokémon, because I gotta use the stupid rentals first.

Did I mention I do not give a crap about this in the first place?

WTB instant text speed. Please, please, Game Freak.

So I'm sent on a green screen WITH NO WAY OF CANCELING ANY OF IT, as "Riolu kid", with a Pokémon I already don't care much about. I'm not a big Riolu line fan. It's my Pikachu of Gen III. I shot the entire thing, and then made the huge mistake of saying I didn't want it released, because I expected to at least let me get away with it.

BIG EFFING NOPE. I had to reshoot the thing, selected Ice Punch instead of Force Palm, and that went by faster, if anything.

Then I had to get my butt to the theater, and watch the stupid movie I just shot.

Yes, yes, it's a flop. I'm fine with that.

DONE WITH THE STUDIOS

Finally. Geez. I hate this place so much. It's so incredibly frustrating because it's a stack of mechanics I hate (unskippable minigames, forced gameplay time stretch, on rails, text-based), with a flavor I really don't care about (superheroes, Riolu, kitsch movies). So now that's it over, well, my guy Jira has to backtrack.

I was making my way to the docks when Team Plasma came in to cause some trouble, and stole a Pokémon. So I backtracked all the way near Floccesy, foung the Team Plasma member, kicked them, made my way back to Virbank, and everything got in order.

And now I'm able to go to Castelia by boat!

CASTELIAAAAAHHH ZUBAT AND RATTATA

Just by this title? Yep. Straight to the Gym, then the sewers. Plot-wise anyways, considering I went and prodded around Route 4 before doing anything. I also an into a guy looking for his sunglasses, and he handed me the... thing for Flash. Anyways, nothing for me to catch on Route 4.

So yep, the Gym. It's closed, because the leader ran off... somewhere. Something about Team Plasma causing more trouble around. Or just an artist block - I feel that though. Anywhoo, the Gym assistant guy introduced me to Iris, who led me to the docks, where TTP and I banded together. We made it through with just one or two encounters in between, leading us to the missing leader: Burgh. Team Plasma were pushovers, TTP went off on his own, and I got to see Colress for like two text boxes.

Guess this concludes this update!

Will I go beat the Bug Gym? Will I grind? Will I trade myself this Scyther egg? Find out next update!

Spoiler: TLDR

- Got the Pokédex upgrade, a surely needed addition in a monotype.
- Made it past Route 20, after beating Hiker Jerome.
- Caught a male Venipede: Atlas!
- Reached Virbank City.
- Met Roxie, the local gym leader, mad at her dad who went off to become an actor.
- Tried at the Gym, but the win was a little tight.
- Went to grind a bit around the Complex.
- Lady reached level 20 and evolved into Swadloon!
- Went back to the Gym, and obliterated everything.
- Got the Toxic badge and the TM that came with it.
- Was abruptly taken from the Gym, and forced into Pokéstar Studios.
- Screwed up the movie, but don't care.
- Watched the movie. Ew.
- Caught sight of Roxie's dad, who kinda got over his acting career.
- Guess I'm getting a ferry to Castelia after all!
- Lulz no, Team Plasma stole a Pokémon and guess who has to fetch it?
- It's me. All the way down Route 20, near Floccesy.
- After kicking some ass, I managed to get my ferry after all.
- Reached Castelia City. Finally.
- Ran past a guy who handed me the Flash TM? HM? I forgot.
- Checked around Route 4, nothing for me yet.
- Went over to the Gym. Gym closed. Leader gone.
- Learned of apparent trouble around a shady place.
- The shady place is sewers, and yes, Team Plasma is around.
- Teamed up with TTP and reached a weird, exploded area in the sewers...
- And Burgh. Burgh was around.
- And Team Plasma. Not anymore.
- A dude named Colress came out of the opening, and disappeared after sounding kinda ominous.
- Left the sewers, in preparation of a potential Gym battle next update!

Spoiler: THE TEAM

Lady - Swadloon (Bug/Grass)
Level: 20
Nature: Bashful
Caught at: level 3
Characteristic: Loves to eat.
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moveset: Tackle, Protect, Bug Bite, Razor Leaf

Atlas - Venipede (Bug/Poison)
Level: 21
Nature: Jolly
Caught at: level 10
Characteristic: Good endurance.
Ability: Swarm
Moveset: Protect, Rollout, Poison Tail, Screech

 

[Typhlosion]

I was wondering how you were going to handle the Gym, but I forgot about Rollout. Good job! What did you mean by that bit about Venipede not being able to get Poisoned since it wasn't Gen VII?

 

[WindriderShiva]

So I'm finally able to update. The week was pretty rough, but I'm finally able to recover. Yay for weekends! Hopefully this week'll go better so I can shoot up an update.

@Typhlosion: Yep, I had Rollout. Came in real handy. And what I meant was that Gen V doesn't have a mechanic to poison Poison types, unlike Gen VII which has the Corrosion ability. ... That I remember anyways.

CHAPTER 3 - ONE BADGE AND A BEAT DOWN​

Spoiler: At least the start was fine!

I forgot how much the Gym was annoying. It changes between the good kinda challenging, and the Protect spam annoying. At least it has a good track. After two trainers, I decided it was for the best if I backed out and bought some supplies; a couple of Super potions, regular potions, and antidotes. Never know when Lady can get poisoned.

After taking care of a couple battles, Lady is now a Leavanny! She even reached 23 just before the leader.

Castelia Cit Gym Leader Burgh
Dwebble: Went by easily, despite use of Hyper Potion by Burgh. I mostly spammed Razor Leaf, while tanking Smack Down like a pro. Lady even gained a level from it. Also used a Super Potion.
Leavanny: His started with Struggle Bug, and it's the only thing he used. It actually came pretty close; Lady finished the fight with 6 HP, but with a level. I needed to a Super Potion to make it through this one as well. At least there was no Protect spam! It was an enjoyable battle.

Soooo I have my third badge, the Insect Badge, TM76 (Struggle Bug), and a couple levels. Yep, that was nice.

BUG OFF, CRUSTLE

A thing I forgot about, because I didn't get very far on Route 4, is that it's actually blocked by a bunch of Crustle. Well, not anymore. Thanks to Colress.

Pokémon Trainer Colress
Magnemite: A... Magnemite. Despite Razor Leaf not being very effective, it still took about half of his HP. Magnemite paralyzed Lady with Thunderwave, then used Magnet Bomb. The next couple of Razor Leaf hit, but it wasn't enough to KO it, and Colress healed it with a Super potion. Razor Leaf hit again, then missed after another Magnet Bomb. At this point the Magnemite did have a speed advantage, and Magnet Bomb left Lady in the red. I healed her, Magnet Bomb hit, along with Sandstorm's buffett, aaaand Lady was too paralyzed to hit back. She finally brought it down with another Razor Leaf.
Klink: Gear Grind missed, but Razor Leaf isn't doing a lot of damage. I healed her again, Klink used Charge, which buffed his SpDef. Gear Grind hit twice, Bug Bite took out more HP than Razor Leaf. It used Charge again, buffed his SpDef again... and Bug Bite left it juuust above the KO line. Another Charge, another buff, but Lady KOed him.

Well that wasn't annoying at all, nope. To not help, I moved on without healing prior, and came across one of those Twin girls trainers. Good news, I have Bugs. That fight was a mess - for them, because it was super easy on my end.

So what did I do when I made it to Nimbasa? I went to level Atlas a bit, then went back down to Route 4, and into the Desert Resort. I caught a level 20 female Dwebble, Marbles, who's next in line to kick some Electric behinds soon enough. Means I had to level her up a bit, and I ended up getting the whole team to 27.

I narrowly avoided the Musicals. It's not that I don't like them, but I didn't wanna get them done now. I went for the Gym, but the leader wasn't there and I completely forgot where to go.

OH NO! I'M IN THE WRONG GYM!

So huh yep, I was just in the wrong Gym. smrt i am. I went through the coasters, tried to get the end girl to reveal where the leader was, nothing. I ended up going back to run a Musical because I couldn't figure out where to go still; had Lady kinda cute-looking up on the stage, and that's literally all that happened in there. I wandered around Nimbasa, found Yancy's C-Gear, then decided to challenge the Gym.

Terrible mistake.

The trainers went okay. Wasn't anything too annoying, save for paralysis. Elesa though... well...

Nimbasa Gym Leader Elesa
Did I mention I hate Volt Switch? This Gym just abuses of it. Like I am not ready for this Gym. Emolga came out first, hit Marbles with Volt Switch, retreated to switch to Flaffy, who Volt Switched out to Zebstrika. I had swapped to Lady, and she got KOed by Zebstrika's Flame Charge + Quick Attack. Sent Atlas, Zebstrika used Volt Switch, Flaaffy replaced him - almost downed it with Poison Tail, but Elesa healed it with a Hyper Potion, before abusing of Volt Switch again. To Zebstrika, who finished him off. And also KOed Marbles.

Yeah, no, this Gym is gonna suck.

~

After getting my butt kicked, I took a small break, and went to grind. Lady and Marbles are both 31 as I write this - Atlas evolved into a Scolipede, and is now 30. I'll be giving a shot at the Gym again later today, so part of the next update.

Spoiler: TLDR

- Got ready for the Castelia City Gym fight.
- Got through the Gym with not so much as a stuggle, but an annoyance for Protect.
- Beat Burgh and acquired the Insect Badge! Second badge wooh!
- Went further on Route 4.
- Ran into Colress again and beat his team.
- Colress got the Crustle blocking the road to move!
- Reached Nimbasa!
- ... and went back to the Desert Resort on Route 4.
- Caught Marbles the lv20 Dwebble!
- Went back to Nimbasa and Route 5 to grind.
- Got the team to 27 and went at the Gym.
- ... The old Gym. Completely forgot where Elesa is.
- Did a round of Pokémon Musical. Think I placed 4th.
- Wandered around town, and picked up Yancy's C-Gear.
- Finally found the new Gym...
- In which I destroyed the trainers with no actual struggle...
- But I wiped at Elesa. Hardcore wipe.
- Went back to Roue 5 to grind further. Team now averaging 30.
- Atlas evolved into a Scolipede!

Spoiler: THE TEAM

Lady - Leavanny (Bug/Grass)
Level: 31
Nature: Bashful
Caught at: level 3
Characteristic: Loves to eat.
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moveset: Slash, Protect, Bug Bite, Razor Leaf

Marbles - Dwebble (Bug/Rock)
Level: 31
Nature: Adamant
Caught at: level 20
Characteristic: Quick to flee.
Ability: Sturdy
Moveset: Slash, Faint Attack, Smack Down, Rock Polish

Atlas - Scolipede (Bug/Poison)
Level: 30
Nature: Jolly
Caught at: level 10
Characteristic: Good endurance.
Ability: Swarm
Moveset: Iron Defence, Rollout, Poison Tail, Venoshock

 

[SAF]

What the... You got me scared there. I thought it was over for you, well, until I remember that this is not a Nuzlocke. Silly me.

 

[Pendraflare]

Haha, yeah, that Zebstrika is not easy for a team of Bug-types! The only saving grace is that the Emolga, bizarrely, doesn't have any Flying-type attacks on Normal Mode in this game. If this was Challenge Mode it'd have Aerial Ace, but this isn't, so you're a little more off the hook with this one. Would definitely recommend you go get Pinsir in Lostlorn Forest, that would be a good heavy hitter!

 

[DeepSeaPrincess]

Those puns are great, I'm lovin this playthrough!

Zebstrika is not an easy opponent for bug...Hopefully you can get through easier next time. I agree with Scott about Pinsir, that might be a really good addition with how hard it hits!

 

[WindriderShiva]

When I was last weekend I was getting better? I lied. Figures I caught a bug - specifically, a virus that messes with inner ears and causes vertigo. So I spent a very meh week, with Monday off to get a diagnostic, and Wednesday off because of my contract type. I do think I'm getting better, but we'll see as time goes by.

@SAF: Nope, it's not a Nuzlocke! Else I'd have had failed it before, lol. I kinda got scared myself because I do run Nuzlockes often...
@Pendraflare: I'm not gonna spoil it in this reply, but I did heed your words!
@DeepSeaPrincess: Thanks! Happy you're enjoying it, along with my puns!

CHAPTER 4 - VENGEANCE WITH A SIDE OF BADGE​

Spoiler: How many attempts do I need to beat this?! FIND OUT HERE!

Nimbasa City Gym Leader Elesa, attempt #2
Lady got the first hit on Emolga with a Slash, but static paralysed her. Emolga used Pursuit, then Volt Switch. Zebstrika was sent out, Lady couldn't move, and I sent in Marbles. Volt Switch hit again, sending Flaaffy out, and Marbles also got Static'ed. Volt Switch happened - Marbles can barely handle any sorta SpAtk, and nearly got KOed. I healed her twice, and she's just not made for it. I sent Atlas out, while the extremely stupid Volt Switch crap went on. Zebstrika was able to 2HKO him, while raising its speed, Flame Charged Lady, then Marbles.

Defeated again, I sought out alternatives. I went to Lostlorn Forest and came across a Combee... that got KOed. This would pretty much set the pace for the next hour, where I tried to capture the two Bugs I didn't have: a Pinsir and a Combee. Kinda felt bad setting to capture a female Combee, but if I wanted the full evolution line, I needed to.

I did get both though! A male Pinsir name Lemmy, and a female Combee named Victoria. I legitimately tried to avoid queen names, but like THE GAME or any try not to think of something, it became the only thing I had in mind.

AUDINO POWDER
I started grinding again. Victoria evolved into a Vespiquen, and Marbles into a Crustle; Lemmy got his Thrash. I left Lady at 35 and Victoria at 30, then went back to the Gym.

Time be wack. Apparently I've played for over 140 hours, and even though this is what the grind feels like, it's nowhere near that.

Nimbasa City Gym Leader Elesa, attempt #3
Whoops, left Victoria on lead. I subbed her for Marbles, while Elesa started her little Volt Switch game. I used Rock Polish, Flaaffy used Volt Switch, and Emolga was sent out. Smack Down OHKOed it, so that's that. I used Slash and got paralysed against Flaaffy, but tried to power through. Volt Switch came up, Zebstrika came out, ate a Slash, recovered its health with a Sitrus berry. I healed Marbles with a Super Potion, Zebstrika used Pursuit twice before Marbles countered with Smack Down, for Elesa to heal Zebstrika. Then Marbles couldn't move, Zebstrika used Quick Attack, Smack Down connected for half of its HP, another Quick Attack happened, and finally I was able to KO Zebstrika. With only Flaaffy left, even Volt Switch spam wasn't enough, and Smack Down KOed it.

Marbles FTW! Just took me 3 attempts, but I got the Bolt Badge and... TM72 (Volt Switch).

Team Plasma tried to prevent TTP and I from leaving the town, but huh, nope. I'm not having it.

Motorcyclist Charles
He opened with Tirtouga's Wide Guard, because of course, and then used... something to dish out some pain on Victoria and Lady. I forgot what. Kinda spaced out on the fight, to the point where I had to stop and take a nap. When I came back to it, one of my Pokémon had been KOed. Lady brought down Tirtouga with Leaf Blade, and Atlast KOed Archen with Rollout.

The crowd dissipated and I was able to move forward, through Driftveil Bridge, and finally, reaching Driftveil.

NOT HEARING THE N OF IT
Team Plasma, for once, didn't cause trouble... to me. Not directly so anyways, but rather, through a bunch of ex-Plasma members who found a new call. Or almost. They've established a new thing on a hill in Driftveil - a house where they take care of the stolen Pokémon who haven't been given back to their trainers. Two of them were discussing on the bridge, and TTP came in right at that time. He chased one down, whie Jira went to the place the ex-Plasma guys opened. Rood, an ex-Sage, greeted me, and eventually asked me for a battle.

Rood
Herdier: it started Work Up, and Victoria Bug Bite. She missed the Herdier's first Take Down, used Bug Bite again, and KOed it after taking the Take Down.
Swoobat: Imprison didn't block any of Victoria's moves, and Power Gem put it down to very very low health. Swoobat used Air Cutter, and got hit by Victoria's Gust, for another KO.

TTP rushed back after the battle, and we all went inside the house. TTP's beef with Plasma is centered on his sister's Purrloin, stolen by a Plasma member two years ago. That Purrloin isn't under their care, and is still used by a Team Plasma fellow, somewhere. Feeling rather bad, or at least looking like it, Rood offered a Zorua to Jira, which I declined because it's not a Bug type.

Talking about bugs, Route 6 houses more of them - namely Karrablast and Shelmet, neither of which I have. Rather, none of which I had. I caught a female Karrablast, Lena, then I started the hunt for a Shelmet. I caught Ira the female Shelmet way later. Next session will likely start by evolving them!

Spoiler: TLDR

- Gave another shot at the Gym...
- ... And failed again.
- Went to Lostlorn Forest.
- Caught a level 24 male Pinsir, Lemmy!
- Also caught a level level 22 female Combee, Victoria!
- Grinded the ever living crap out of Audino.
- Victoria evolved into a Vespiquen!
- Marbles evolved into a Crustle!
- Went back at the Gym...
- ... And finally beat it. All thanks to Marbles, actually.
- Got the Bolt Badge and the Volt Switch TM!
- Along with TTP, got intercepted by Team Plasma.
- Kicked more butt.
- Faced the Motorcyclist heartbreaker Charles right outside.
- Was an annoying fight, but in the end I kicked even more butt.
- Entered Driftveil Bridge.
- Nothing exciting happened on it, but hey, Driftveil.
- Ex-Plasma shenaningans with two dudes arguing: learned more ex-Plasma guys set up in Driftveil.
- So I went there, and got to defeat Rood.
- Learned that TTP's sister's Purrloin was still being held by a Team Plasma member.
- Declined to Zorua offered by Rood... which is kinda rude on my part, but it's not a Bug.
- Caught Lena, a level 26 Karrablast.
- Hunted a solid 45 mins for a Shelmet: finally obtained a female one, Ira. Level 23.

Spoiler: THE TEAM

Victoria - Vespiquen (Bug/Flying)
Level: 34
Nature: Quiet
Caught at: level 22
Characteristic: Mischievous.
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moveset: Heal Order, Guest, Bug Bite, Power Gem

Lady - Leavanny (Bug/Grass)
Level: 36
Nature: Bashful
Caught at: level 3
Characteristic: Loves to eat.
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moveset: Slash, Protect, Bug Bite, Leaf Blade

Marbles - Crustle (Bug/Rock)
Level: 36
Nature: Adamant
Caught at: level 20
Characteristic: Quick to flee.
Ability: Sturdy
Moveset: Slash, Faint Attack, Smack Down, Rock Polish

Atlas - Scolipede (Bug/Poison)
Level: 36
Nature: Jolly
Caught at: level 10
Characteristic: Good endurance.
Ability: Swarm
Moveset: Iron Defense, Rollout, Poison Tail, Agility

Lemmy - Pinsir (Bug)
Level: 36
Nature: Mild
Caught at: level 24
Characteristic: Sturdy body.
Ability: Mold Breaker
Moveset: Harden, Thrash, Brick Break, Vital Throw

Lena - Karrablast (Bug)
Level: 26
Nature: Docile
Caught at: level 26
Characteristic: Highly persistent.
Ability: Shed Skin
Moveset: Fury Cutter, Fury Attack, Headbutt, False Swipe

 

[Pendraflare]

Wow, 45 minutes??? They are 5% though. You're gonna have quite the team next update, though, so much power. Nice to see you finally get past Elesa, though. x_x

 

[WindriderShiva]

@Pendraflare: Oh yeah, it took forever. Was a pretty long catch... I'm afraid to struggle against Skyla the same way I struggled against Elesa, but I have counters. ... I hope they work out!

CHAPTER 5 - DRIFTING TO A BETTER TEAM​

Spoiler: Not that my team was bad at first!

I started off by killing 3 birds with one stone. ... Well, with like, a couple trades. I traded Lena for the Scyther egg I kept on Black; then I traded Ira for Lena. And finally, the Patrat I caught on White 2 for Lena.

So there we go, got 3 new Pokémon with minimum shuffling: a Scyther egg, Lena the Escavalier, and Ira the Accelgor.

Which meant I needed to rework my team temporarily. I removed Lady and Atlas for a bit, they need a well-deserved break, and I could use some diversity. I kept the egg to hatch, and put both Ira and Lena in their stead. Eventually I'll get a Scyther, which I may evolve into a Scizor. ... Then I realized what I was about to face, and put Lady back on my team instead of Marbles. Because Marbles, as useful as she was in the previous Gym, will get absolutely destroyed here in Driftveil.

I've never had an Accelgor on my team; then again, I've never really gotten too much into Gen V. Which is something I'm trying to remedy. The good thing being that I'm rather self-sufficient in terms of games. I've had an Escavallier in a Wondertrade challenge, and it was one - if not the best - team member I had on that run. Got it at level 52, so I had to wait quite a while to use it, but it was so worth it.

So I kinda poked around the Gym. I was overleveled, technically, for the Nimbasa Gym, so I might be able to take this down. Keyword: might. In any case, this could be some more levels for my lower ladies. Especially if they keep feeding Baltoy and Sandile to Lena.

Unfortunately it didn't turn out to be that of a level gain, and I feel, at the moment, fairly confident in taking down the Gym with Lemmy and Lady. It could turn messy, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Driftveil City Gym Leader Clay
Krokorok: Torment? I'm fine with that. I used Bug Buzz and nearly KOed it, but Clay used a Hyper Potion. I had Fury Cutter lined up, but that might have been for the best all along. Krokorok used Crunch, I laughed, and KOed the croc.
Excadrill: This one, not gonna lie, I was fearing a bit. I swapped Lena for Lady, and Excadrill used Slash. Leaf Blade dished out over half damage, but it recovered some with its Sitrus berry. Rock Slide came up, left Lady quite low, and Leaf Blade wasn't enough to KO it. I gambled on speed, Rock Slide hit abd got Lady to faint. Whoops. Lemmy out, Brick Break, done.
Sandslash: Thrash, Metal Claw, Thrash, KO. That quick.

The Quake Badge is mine! And TM78 Bulldoze.

TTP and Clay started chatting outside of the Gym, and I agree with what they were saying; the whole thing about not always rejecting all opinions but your own. Clay's got a point on this one. I also see TTP's issue with Team Plasma...

So I'm just gonna go claim my rightful title of Pokémon World Tournament champion. Not by choice, but still.

AND THE WINNER IS...
Cheren, TTP and I registered for the Tournament. I'm mostly forced into it, but eh. I entered Lady, Lemmy, and fetched Atlas from my PC to enter him as well. My first opened is TTP.

Round 1: TTP
Servine: I overlevel it by 11. Atlas's Poison Tail was an insta KO.
Simisear: Yeesh. Rollout, Flame Burst dealt half of Atlas' HP... twice... so I sent Lemmy and his Brick Break. Yep, KOed that one.
Tranquil: Thrash seemed the best option, and it was, because it was a OHKO.

Round 2: Cheren
Stoutland: Rollout spam, vs. Work Up spam. If Rollout can keep hitting, this won't be a problem. Of course, it failed after two hits, so I just started using Poison Tail. Done.
Watchog: Atlas went first with Poison Tail, Watchog used Work Up, and a second Poison Tail took it out of the competition.
Cinccino: Lather, rinse, repeat: Poiton Tail, Work Up, Poison Tail.

Round 3: Colress
Magneton: Swapped Atlas for Lemmy. Magneton used Thunder Wave and paralyzed Lemmy, then Supersonic, which didn't hit. Lemmy won with Brick Break.
Elgyem: I sent Lady for that one. It used Heal Block, and Lady retaliated with Bug Bite.
Klink: Back to Lemmy, despite paralysis. Klink used Charge, used it again, and Brick Break broke it all.

In their defenses... I was overleveled. In my defense, my team was very appropriate. Therefore Jira won 1 (one) whole BP. Even Roxie showed up... to say 1 (one) line. I put the Scyther egg back, letting Atlas rest some more, and went on my merry way. Or at least tried to. Cheren humoured us for a bit, saying he barley recognized us, that we had changed, then Team Plasma had to ruin the moment by running by. Colress objected to it, but whatever. Cheren ran after him, and Jira ran after both.

AFTER BOAT, I SHOULD SAY.
The boat is none other than Team Plasma's base. And there's a lot of them. But there's 3 of us, so they don't have a chance. While I appreciate their trusts into their Trubbish and Koffing, Lena is a whole lot better, and we make a quick work out of all the grunts.

It takes Zinzolin and his Shadow Triad to get us out there, so y'know. We're not doing bad.

Back to the daily programming: Route 6 awaits again. Cheren led Jira to a bunch of scientists, where I got HM03 - Surf. Shortly after, I met Cobalion, of the famous Three Musketeers legendary trio, consisting of Terrakion, Cobalion and Verizon Virizion.


CHARG-EH-STONE CAVE
Chargestone Cave hosts one more Pokémon fit for Jira's team: Joltik! Can't wait to add one to my team because Galvantula's a fun Pokémon, and I'm gonna need one of those for the Flying Gym. Soon enough, I caught a female Joltik named Mila, but since I don't wanna go back out... she's gonna be in the PC box when I get there.

It was a long area, to be honest. I did have weaknesses all around, and I couldn't hit too well except with Lemmy and sometimes Victoria.

But the most painful thing was that Triple Battle near the end of it. It left me with Lena ALONE, with 8 HP left at the end of it. This is where I also found out I have no Revives, and no Escape Ropes to go back. Made it out by the proverbial skin of my teeth.

I huh... stocked up when I reached Mistralton. I'm not letting that happen again.

GIRL POWER
I needed to level Mila up, so I went around the areas, see what was up. I've gone in the tower for a moment, but the Litwick were kind of annoying with my team. Outside was annoying too, because of the Tranquil and Zebstrika spawning so often. Starting around 29, Mila was strong enough to deal with most Tranquil, helped by Electroweb. Still took a while to evolve, but eventually Mila became a Galvantula.

With all this grind, my egg hatched into a female Scyther, which I named Allison. It's funny how I wound up with mostly female Pokémon!

Now I'm just hoping to bring down the Mistralton Gym without too many issues...

Spoiler: TLDR

- Traded the Scyther egg on Black for White2's Karrablast
- Traded the Ira the Shelmet for the Lena the Karrablast. Both evolved!
- Traded the Patrat I caught on White2 for the newly evolved Accelgor.
- Started the Driftveil Gym;
- Ended with a nice win, the Quake Badge, and TM78!
- Caught up with TTP again, who's still mad at Team Plasma.
- Wound up doing the Pokémon World Tournament. Didn't really have a choice.
- I... won the tournament? Okay. Cool.
- More of TTP vs. Plasma stuff...
- Boat timez: found Team Plasma's boat base.
- Wasn't there too lon, just to kick some butt.
- Before we got thrown out by Zinzolin's Shadow Triad.
- Got HM03, Surf, mostly because Cheren dragged me over to scientists.
- Met Cobalion on Route 6
- Entered Chargestone Cave. I wasn't ready enough.
- Caught a female Jotlik, Mila!
- Won that Triple Battle fight with only Lena left... at 8hp. Came this close to wiping. Was not a fun one.
- Still managed to make it out of Chargestone.
- Refueled at Mistralton though.
- Went to the Pokémon Tower place thing, eh.
- Grind on Route 7, until Mila evolved into a Galvantula!
- The Scyther egg hatched! I welcomed Allison the Scyther in my team.

Spoiler: THE TEAM

Mila - Galvantula (Bug/Electric)
Level: 34
Nature: Mild
Caught at: level 26
Characteristic: Often scatters things.
Ability: Compoundeyes
Moveset: Electroweb, Signal Beam, Gastro Acid, Slash

Marbles - Crustle (Bug/Rock)
Level: 38
Nature: Adamant
Caught at: level 20
Characteristic: Quick to flee.
Ability: Sturdy
Moveset: Slash, Faint Attack, Smack Down, Rock Polish

Lena - Escavalier (Bug/Steel)
Level: 38
Nature: Docile
Caught at: level 26
Characteristic: Highly persistent.
Ability: Shell Armor
Moveset: Fury Cutter, Fury Attack, Iron Head, Bug Buzz

Lemmy - Pinsir (Bug)
Level: 38
Nature: Mild
Caught at: level 24
Characteristic: Sturdy body.
Ability: Mold Breaker
Moveset: Harden, Thrash, Brick Break, Vital Throw

Victoria - Vespiquen (Bug/Flying)
Level: 38
Nature: Quiet
Caught at: level 22
Characteristic: Mischievous.
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moveset: Heal Order, Air Slash, Bug Bite, Power Gem

Allison - Scyther (Bug/Flying)
Level: 1
Nature: Sassy
Caught at: level 1 (Egg hatched)
Characteristic: Highly persistent.
Ability: Swarm
Moveset: Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, Leer, False Swipe

 

[Typhlosion]

I'm still here for every update! Bug is one of my favorite Pokemon types, so it's nice to see you getting good use out of such a variety. Probably fortunate that B2W2 don't feature a Fire-type specialist! I'm especially exited to watch the growth of that Scyther, so I hope you plan to use her!

 

[WindriderShiva]

I got some stuff done this week! I had a couple days off so I made slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

@Typhlosion: Haha thanks for sticking around! I'd gladly see them being of more use too, so I'm happy to run a game where I can appreciate them a bit more than, well, anything before Gen V. ... And maybe IV. Scyther's coming along well too!

CHAPTER 6 - THIS PAIN WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: EVERYTHING​

Spoiler: My everything hurts after this...

So I took my team through the Gym, Mila leading through trainers. I wanted her to get some exp.

She plowed through everything. There's only one Sigilyph she couldn't OHKO, and that 'mon's attack failed. I made to Skyla with a grand total of 0 HP lost.

Mistralton Gym Leader Skyla
Swoobat: It used Acrobatics first, and Mila didn't KO it instantly. Skyla used her Hyper Potion on it. With its speed down two, Mila was able to KO it.
Swanna: Electroweb OHKOed it.
Skarmory: Used gastro Acid on it to remove whichever ability it had, which I suspected was Sturdy. It used Steel Wing, was not very effective, but wasn't enough to OHKO it. Skarmory retaliated with Air Cutter, so I sent Lena out, got hit by a Steel Wing again, used Iron Head, and KOed it. That's how little HP Skarmory had left.

And just like that, Jira got his Jet Badge and TM62 (Acrobatics). Oh, and the ability to use Fly. This whole Gym was a whole, whole lot easier than Elesa's. Mila's a great addition to the team, but I'm kinda feeling bad for the rest of Pokémon.

Talking about flying, I have no Pokémon that can learn it. So I snagged a Tranquil while I had access to a Flying-type, and flew out... back to Floccesy. Why there? So I can level up the Scyther, Allison, and gain some EVs while I'm at it. Vacuum Wave makes it easier to deal with what's around. I made my way back up, grinding around areas, until she hit 33. She's not far below the rest of my team, so I can make up for it as I press forward.

BELLS-A-RINGING
I packed up on Burn Heals and potions before climbing. Too many Litwick for my party's tastes, but it wasn't too bad. Gained a couple levels on Allison, since she has Wing Attack and Fury Cutter. Rang the bell, went back down. Nothing special happened, unfortunately.

In other news, I'm so sick of this Yancy Xtranciever sidequest. Always interrupting me running around... much like Gen II's worst feature: trainer calls. I got a call on my way to the control tower, to catch a flight to Lentimas. "Oh, you like this kind of music? Yeah I like it too. Oops I gotta jet!" ... Interruptions like that for 3 whole lines of half-dialogue huh... nope.

Anyways, Jira got ultimately tasked to go to Opelucid, speak with Drayden about Dragon-types. But right now, I need to get him to Lentimas, and probably observe the volcano or something.

VOLCANOPE
Outside of Lentimas, I found... a new Bug! ... That doesn't evolve into a Bug. Skorupi is Bug/Poison, but Drapion is Poison/Dark. The chance that I fit this Skorupi in my team are close to null, and yet. I caught the Skorupi I could, a level 31 female (??!!) named Tina. Only catch out there for me, so into the volcano I go.

Double battles have started again. I whipped Lady out for this - she's fast, and has access to Grass attacks. The problem is that Excadrill's Rock Slide attacks just nailed her every time. To the point I went back to Lentimas and grabbed Lemmy, which I swapped Mila for. I slogged my way through the thing, skipping a lot of the later fights, partially because Bianca's AI is meh, leading Musharna to pull off the wrong moves, and my terrible, terrible weakness to both Flying, Rock and Fire. Becausee Camerupt, Boldore and Swoobat are super common. The exp isn't very worth it anymore on top of everything. But I did reach Undella, and went to the Pokémon center before exiting.

Or rather, trying to exit. I got ambushed by TTP.

Pokémon Trainer TTP
Unfezant: Seriously, an Unfezant... I tried Rollout, which was okay as it used Taunt, but was followed by Air Slash, KOing Atlas. I resorted to sending Lena out, got "hit" by Taunt, and KOed Unfezant with Iron Head.
Simisear: Are you... Flame Burst hit and KOed Lena. I sent Lemmy out, Simisear responded with Leer. Thrash hit, but that wasn't enough; Flame Burst KOed Lemmy. Victoria's turn, FLAME BURST AGAIN, but hey... it didn't KO her. POwer Gem sure did take care of Simisear though.
Serperior: I used Heal Order, but Slam came out first. Not a waste though. Serperior used Coil, taking a Bug Bite with ease, but Victoria's Air Slash dented it quite nicely. TTP used a Hyper potion to just drag the hell out of this fight, Air Slash took Serperior past half HP... it used Slam again, before Victoria KOed it with Air Slash.

That was pretty painful, to be honest. I wasn't ready, but my team pulled through.

Not much for Jira's party on Route 13. Current goal is hitting the next town and finding a place to grind. Goal that was achieved relatively fast, since I hit Lacunosa without too many issues.

FIXING A LACK-UNOSA OF STORY PROGRESSION
... kinda. On my arrival to Lacunosa, both Juniper and Bianca dragged me to speak with an elderly woman about the Giant Chasm. Apparently a meteor once hit that region, and whatever Pokémon that came out of it was so cold that everything started to freeze. They built a wall to prevent it from strolling in town, and instilled a curfew.

And something I despise about Pokémon's general... everything:
Bianca: "Hey, you remember that story about Reshiram?"
Player: Why yes, yes I remember! *hits Yes*
Bianca: "WELL LEMME TELL YOU ABOUT IT AGAIN." *Takes a deep breath*

I'd have said storytelling but this also applies to tutorials. You know the thing, "but allow me tell you again ANYWAYS" crap they pull off in case you hit the wrong option and have no clue what you're doing.

As usual, the moment I try to leave, something happens. This time, it's TTP after Team Plasma, and Zinzolin showing up because someone has to. He goes about wanting to rid humanity of civilization, and since Pokéballs are product of civilization, well, they gotta go, and he wants to enjoy it. Here we go again for another double battle.

Team Plasma Zinzolin and Team Plasma Grunt
I'm not sure I'm ready for this, but let's do this regardless. Serperior used Coil, Atlast's Rollout on Golbat missed, Cryogonal used Barrier, and Golbat did a thing that nearly KOed Atlast. I swapped Atlas for Lemmy. Serperior KOed Cryogonal with... I guess Slam, Air Cutter hit Lemmy and Serperior. Snealed tried to Snatsh something, Lemmy and Serperior got hit by Air Cutter, Serperior KOed Sneasel with Leaf Blade, and Thrash KOed Golbat. Garbodor was sent out, I changed Lemmy for Lena, Serperior's Slam hit, followed by Garbodor's Clear Smog which hit Serperior and removed his stat changes. Serperior used Slam, Garbordor KOed him with Sludge Bomb, and Lena got rid of Garbodor with Slash.

I really need to level up.

TTP ran after Team Plasma, leaving me alone in Lacunosa. I healed, saved my game (286 hours????!! That timer... what even...) and went out to Route 12. Need to gring a bit before hitting the next city. Thankfully there's a bunch of Grass and Bug types that I can deal with. Aiming for 40-ish, maybe 42 if I start grinding on Audino again. We'll see where I wind up next update!

Spoiler: TLDR

- Entered Mistralton City's Gym.
- Absolutely steamrolled through with Mila. And by that I mean a single Sigilyph got an opening, and failed its attack.
- Kept on the streak by destroying Skyla.
- Got the Jet Badge and TM62 (Acrobatics)!
- Caught a Fly HM buddy, a Tranquil.
- Leveled Allison from 1 to 33, in various places.
- Got back up to Mistralton, went to the Celestial Tower.
- Climbed up all the way to ring the bell.
- Went back down and took the plane to Lentimas.
- Headed out towards the Reversal Mountain.
- Caught a level 31 Skorupi, Tina, on my way to Reversal Mountain!
- Struggled through the entire volcano, even with Bianca. Ugh.
- Finally made it out to Undella.
- Faced TTP in battle and won, but that was painful.
- Exited Undella, towards Lacunosa.
- Heard a couple stories, mostly centered around a mysterious Pokémon that brought cold. The other was Juniper reminding me about Reshiram.
- Was about to exit when TTP rushed to me, asking about Team Plasma.
- And LOOK WHO SHOWS UP ON CUE: Zinzolin and a Grunt!
- Teamed up with TTP to win that battle. It was meh.
- Grinded a bit before pushing this update. Not done grinding though.

Spoiler: THE TEAM

Lady - Leavanny (Bug/Grass)
Level: 38
Nature: Bashful
Caught at: level 3
Characteristic: Loves to eat.
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moveset: Slash, Protect, Bug Bite, Leaf Blade

Lemmy - Pinsir (Bug)
Level: 39
Nature: Mild
Caught at: level 24
Characteristic: Sturdy body.
Ability: Mold Breaker
Moveset: Harden, Thrash, Brick Break, Vital Throw

Lena - Escavalier (Bug/Steel)
Level: 39
Nature: Docile
Caught at: level 26
Characteristic: Highly persistent.
Ability: Shell Armor
Moveset: Fury Cutter, Slash, Iron Head, Bug Buzz

Atlas - Scolipede (Bug/Poison)
Level: 39
Nature: Jolly
Caught at: level 10
Characteristic: Good endurance.
Ability: Swarm
Moveset: Iron Defense, Rollout, Poison Tail, Steamroller

Victoria - Vespiquen (Bug/Flying)
Level: 39
Nature: Quiet
Caught at: level 22
Characteristic: Mischievous.
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moveset: Heal Order, Air Slash, Bug Bite, Power Gem

Allison - Scyther (Bug/Flying)
Level: 38
Nature: Sassy
Caught at: level 1 (Egg hatched)
Characteristic: Highly persistent.
Ability: Swarm
Moveset: Fury Cutter, Slash, Double Team, Wing Attack

 

[WindriderShiva]

Oh boy, almost 2 weeks without updates! Time to rectify that with this one. I'll likely play more today and update again either tomorrow or Friday/Saturday. I'm hyped about finishing this playthrough! Not because I hate it, it's the opposite: it's super fun. I'm just planning more challenges.

CHAPTER 7: SHORT BUT PACKED IN BADGES, I GUESS​

Spoiler: I am not ready ready for this

I AM NOT READY FOR THIS.

At least I have Allison with Double Team. She's still not enough though, as she got OHKOed by a Dragon Claw - powered up by several Dragon Rage moves. Lena, however, fared much better, a good thank you to Steel. And after the Rotation battle, Lena was clearly my best choice for this... for now.

Opelucid Gym Leader Drayden
Druddigon: I started up with Iron Defense, in case, and it with Slash X-Scissor, followed by Revenge. then a Slash and another X-Scissor. Druddigon hung around at very very little HP, and before making my next move, I'm calling it: it's Hyper Potion time. And I was right. This is fine. I kept spamming X-Scissor, and critted to KO Druddigon.
Flygon: Iron Head, followed but its Dragon Tail. Lady was forcefully dragged out, and Rock Slided. She flinched. Another Rock Slide, which KOed her. I sent Lemmy out, prepped up Thrash, got hit by another Rock Slide, and it wasn't enough to KO it. The next one was, and also confused Lemmy.
Haxorus: Haxorus got swapped in before I could withdraw Lemmy. I sent Lena back up, and went back to X-Scissor spamming while Haxorus used Dragon Dance. It ate its Sitrus Berry, Slashed, got Lena down to 9HP. Haxorus got KOed following suit, by X-Scissor.

Okay, that went much, much smoother than I thought it would. I'll take it. I'll also take my 7th badge, the Legend Badge, and Dragon Tail.

ICING ON THE CAKE
I healed up and followed Drayden for more details about this legend. TLDR, Reshiram and Zekrom were once the same Pokémon, and they split off to help two brothers. Near the end of the story, Jira and Drayden heard a BOOM, and good ol' team Plasma showed up on their airship. They literally froze Opelucid in order to get Drayden to fork over the DNA splicers.

The grunts were pretty easy overall. Didn't struggle at all.

Team Plasma Zinzolin
Cryogonal against Lemmy... it used Ice Cream, Lemmy used Brick Break. Instantly down. So he sent another Cryogonal, used Light Screen. Not only Brick Break broke the screen, but OHKOed Cryogonal. Weavile was sent out, used Night Slash, KOed Lemmy. I sent Allison, gt hit by Ice Shard, used Double Team, got hit by another Ice Shard, and got KOed. Time for the big guns. It used Night Slash again... against Lena, and got OHKOed by X-Scissor.

That one was a bit of a struggle, but it's done.

Instead of keeping the splicers safe, Drayden handed them to Jira. The Shadow Triad popped up at the same time, and you can see where that's going. Drayden mentions Humilau, up north of Undella, and that's where I went.

OUT OF THE FIRE ICE AND INTO THE FRYING PAN WATER GYM
There's really not much to do in Humilau. Well, there is, but I'm not ready for any of it. I gotta grind. I was making it in terms of level at Drayden's Gym, but I'm not ready for this one. Again.

So I grinded some. Wasn't a bad grind at all, team at 47, probably could've gone higher but I'm impatient. I'm expecting Mila and Lady to do rather well here, but I have backups because it can't be this easy.

I fought trainers on my way to the leader, got both Allison and Mila to 48, the rest remaining at 47.

Humilau Gym Leader Marlon
Carracosta: Well I had Lady up lead, so Leaf Blade nearly destroyed it. It only lived because of Sturdy. It used Smack Down on Lady, which connected, and left Lady somewhere in yellow bar. I think around 28-30. Marlon used a Hyper Potion, I hit Leaf Blade again, Sturdy kicked back in... so I used it again, and KOed Carracosta. Ding, 48.
Wailord: Swords Dance, followed by a Bounce. I healed Lady in case - I'll probably get OHKOed... and I didn't. Left with 4 HP, I attempted Leaf Blade, and OHKOed Wailord.
Jellicent: Leaf Blade? OHKO. It didn't even make a move.

So huh... it was that easy in the end. And that's a tad underleveled, considering that Jellicent was 51 and Lady was 48. So this makes it my second - and last! - badge, the Wave Badge. And T55 (Scald).

All 8 badges obtained! WHOO!

Next goal: Route 22 to hunt down Team Plasma some... because I can't face the Elite 4 this fast. I gotta go through story a bit. Or something.

Spoiler: TLDR

- A general state of unreadiness. Even with the grind.
- Entered Opelucid's Gym.
- Fought Drayen and won!
- Got the Legend Badge and the Dragon Tail TM.
- Team Plasma attacked Opelucid! Ice, ice and more ice!
- And Zinzolin. Wasn't easy, but I won that.
- And the Shadow Triad. Way easier. I won that too.
- Something about DNA splicers getting stolen.
- Was told to reach Humilau from Undella, so I went back to Undella and took the tunnel to Humilau.
- Place is real pretty, not gonna lie.
- Reached Humilau, along with TTP who insists on me getting my next badge before Team Plasma butt-kicking can happen.
- Back to the ol' grind. Got the team to 47.
- Hitting the Gym with Lady and Mila squarely in my party, and expected to do most of the job. I wasn't expecting a good time.
- I actually had a good time!
- Even against Marlon, whose party got kicked hard.
- Her last battle ended with her at 4 HP.
- Got the Wave Badge and the Scald TM!
- Barely out of the Gym that TTP is ready to hunt Team Plasma down.
- And that's where I'll be starting next update.

Spoiler: THE TEAM

Lady - Leavanny (Bug/Grass)
Level: 48
Nature: Bashful
Caught at: level 3
Characteristic: Loves to eat.
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moveset: Slash, Swords Dance, X-Scissor, Leaf Blade

Mila - Galvantula (Bug/Electric)
Level: 48
Nature: Mild
Caught at: level 26
Characteristic: Often scatters things.
Ability: Compoundeyes
Moveset: Electroweb, Signal Beam, Gastro Acid, Slash

Allison - Scyther (Bug/Flying)
Level: 48
Nature: Sassy
Caught at: level 1 (Egg hatched)
Characteristic: Highly persistent.
Ability: Swarm
Moveset: X-Scissor, Night Slash, Double Team, Wing Attack

Lemmy - Pinsir (Bug)
Level: 47
Nature: Mild
Caught at: level 24
Characteristic: Sturdy body.
Ability: Mold Breaker
Moveset: Swords Dance, Thrash, Brick Break, Superpower

Lena - Escavalier (Bug/Steel)
Level: 47
Nature: Docile
Caught at: level 26
Characteristic: Highly persistent.
Ability: Shell Armor
Moveset: X-Scissor, Iron Defense, Iron Head, Bug Buzz

Atlas - Scolipede (Bug/Poison)
Level: 39
Nature: Jolly
Caught at: level 10
Characteristic: Good endurance.
Ability: Swarm
Moveset: Iron Defense, Rollout, Poison Tail, Steamroller