Wedlocke Randomizer Whims of Fate: A Randomized Crystal Wedlocke-type Challenge

[Paracosmic]

I've been very bored at work lately, so I decided to pass the time designing a modified Wedlocke. The RNG said I should do a randomized Crystal run, so here I am.

Here are the rules:

1. Edit (please note this was edited before I started the run): Since this is randomized already, the first pokemon I come across in a given area is that area's encounter. Encounters prior to getting pokeballs are not counted.
2. When a pokemon is obtained, use RNG to determine whether it will evolve and any evolution limitations (for example, if I get a Cyndaquil, I use RNG to pick a number 1-3. If the result is 1, Cyndaquil cannot evolve. If the result is 2, Cyndaquil must evolve to a Quilava but cannot evolve into Typhlosion, etc.).
3. No duplicates. The only exception is duplicate catches where the chosen evolutions are different. So, I can have two Pidgeys, but only if one of them will evolve, or if they're marked for two different evolutions.
4. Every pokemon has a Hardiness score, determined by 1d20.
5. Pokemon fight in pairs, much like in a Wedlocke. However, I won't be following gender-based pairing rules.
   1. Pokemon can only switch with their partner, just like in a regular Wedlocke.
   2. If a pokemon faints in battle, its partner must avenge its injuries or death.
   3. Switching between pairs can be forced by battle (when an opponent uses Roar or Whirlwind, for example).
6. If a pokemon faints in battle, roll 1d20:
   1. If this check is greater than the Hardiness score, the pokemon dies in battle.
   2. If this check is less than the Hardiness score, the pokemon survives.
   3. If this check is equal to the Hardiness score, roll a Fate die:
      1. If the Fate roll is positive, the pokemon survives.
      2. If the Fate roll is negative, the pokemon dies in battle.
      3. If the Fate roll is neutral, the pokemon survives, but is badly injured. It must be boxed. A new partner may be selected from the box if one is available.
7. New partners are selected by RNG from the appropriate box.
8. If a pokemon dies in battle, it must be permanently boxed or released.
9. I'm not counting gift pokemon or shiny pokemon as encounters. They are just bonus, but they must follow the duplicate rules. If for whatever reason they can't follow these rules, they may be boxed or otherwise may be used to replace the same pokemon.

Let me know if I forgot something or if something isn't clear! I'll be doing log-style updates, since I can write them faster than story updates.

 

[Paracosmic]

I was going to wait until I finished the first gym to update, but then things happened and I realized I could take screenshots and my update became a bit too unwieldy.

Spoiler: The Update

First things first. It's 1:40 in the morning and it's super dark. Nevertheless, being the noctowl night owl that I am, I wake up at this time.

And by some miracle, it appears everyone, including the children are also awake at this time!

...Maybe I've been playing too much ACNH.

Anywho, I make my way into Professor Elm's lab, where I'm asked to babysit a pokemon. Just to Mr. Pokemon's house and back, of course.

And here are the starter options:

I use RNG to determine which starter I get. Lucky for me, that number is 1. Making Albright the Electabuzz my first teammate. According to the RNG, Albright has a Hardiness of 11.

I really lucked out there, I think.

Albright and I headed out to find Mr. Pokemon. Route 29, it turns out, has a lot of Jolteon and Flaafy. Makes me sort of worried -- I'd prefer as balanced a partnership for Albright as possible, and I was worried for a bit that I'd messed up my randomizer settings. I cannot remember what, exactly, made it clear that my settings were correct. But either way, Albright and I made our way to Cherrygrove City largely unharmed, and even received a Map Card for our trouble.

Now would be a good time to mention that Albright came with a Polkadot Bow, and even though he's no longer holding it I cannot get the image of an Electabuzz wearing a bow tie out of my head.

After collecting the Mystery Egg from Mr. Pokemon and receiving the Pokedex from Professor Oak, I receive a phone call from Professor Elm. WHAT HAS HAPPENED? WHATEVER SHALL WE DO?

Why, we shall make our way back home, of course. Which we were going to do, anyway.

As I leave Cherrygrove City (which is honestly really more of a village or town), I'm waylaid by a redheaded stranger, who asks me to battle.

Lo and behold, he has the Professor's Snubbull!

But before I can ask any questions, Albright knocks out his pokemon with a single Thunder Punch and he runs away.

Still mystified, Albright and I make our way back to New Bark Town, where the police question me as to my encounter with the mystery person. What is his name, you ask? I...honestly cannot remember what I put down, and I didn't take a picture, so I guess we'll find out what his name is later.

Anywho, we mustn't let crime get in the way of our goals! Professor Elm takes the Mystery Egg off my hands, and I receive my first pokeballs from his assistant, hereby known as George. After a quick trip home to say goodbye to my mom, I'm off to Route 29 to catch my first pokemon.

But first, a tutorial, brought to me by Guy in the Grass and Totodile:

We all need to learn to catch pokemon sometime, I suppose.

We part ways, and Albright and I go hunting. Maybe it'll be a Jolteon. Maybe a Flaafy. Mostly I'm just excited to catch anything....

What.

And that is how Benny the Shuckle became Albright's partner-in-crime.

Spoiler: TL;DR

• I received my starter, Albright the . Hardiness is 11.
• Retrieved the Mystery Egg from Mr. Pokemon.
• Ran into my rival (who I forgot the name of as soon as I thought it up).
• Albright OHKO'd my rival's stolen with a single critical hit Thunder Punch.
• Dropped off the Mystery Egg with Professor Elm and received my first pokeballs.
• Caught Benny the on Route 29. Hardiness is 10.

Spoiler: The Team

- Albright
Male | lvl 8 | Hardiness 11
Partner: Benny the
Quick Attack | Leer | Thunder Punch

- Benny
Male | lvl 3 | Hardiness 10
Partner: Albright the
Constrict | Withdraw

Spoiler: Boxed

None yet!

Spoiler: Deaths

None yet!

And that's it for now! I know my images are weird -- I'm working on fixing that. They're like that up until Sprout Tower, unfortunately, because that's when I noticed it.

Anywho, my thoughts for this update: I'm just so, so, glad I didn't get a Jolteon or Flaafy for Albright's partner. Also that I didn't get Wobbuffet -- that could have ended up extremely frustrating, especially since Wobbuffet doesn't learn any TM's or HM's in Gen 2. All in all, it's a pretty good start. I don't usually use a ton of strategy when I play pokemon, so this will be a nice exercise.

 

[Gokudera]

This first team could have been a disaster.
I cant imagine how annoying the early game would be with a Wobofett and a Shuckle.
It would take 20 hits to take out a Hoothoot with Contrict lol.

But this looks like a really interesting twist on a Wedlocke. Adding some D&D elements sounds cool.

 

[Paracosmic]

@Gokudera - Right? Benny so far has not contributed much (though he's an excellent buffer when I need to heal Albright). But I have plans for him, assuming he makes it that far. Also thank you! One of my coworkers is into tabletop RPGs, and this did inspire the Hardiness score. I have pretty horrible luck with Nuzlockes in general, so hopefully this will help a little.

___

Second update!

Spoiler: The Update

Setting: The untamed wilderness of Route 46.

What I'm doing: Hunting for another pokemon for the team--

WHAT IS THIS?

And Cally the Doduo is the third member of the team! I've never used a Doduo before, which is interesting. She rolls no evolution and a Hardiness of 5, which is kinda lackluster, but I'll take it. All that means I just can't let her die, right? Besides, I really want another team put together as soon as possible -- Albright can't take all of the enemies, after all, and it'll be a while before Benny can be really useful.

Also, as soon as I catch Cally, I run into a Blastoise. O, Woe Is Me! That would have been really nice...but oh, well.

My team and I camp out in Cherrygrove City for a bit, mostly to buy more pokeballs and lots of potions. We're definitely going to need them in the near future.

Route 30 is full of Primeape -- I know this from my visit to Mr. Pokemon. And yet, despite how cool it would be to actually use one, my first encounter is....

A Skiploom? Hardiness 12 and must evolve to Jumpluff when possible?

Eh. Could be worse. I've never used the Hoppip line, either.

And so, Drago the Skiploom is now Cally's partner.

See what I mean about the images? It's weird. I've fixed it now, but they go on for the next bit. Needless to say, my screen does not cut off like that when I'm playing.

And now, a short side story: the infamous Youngster Joey!

All I gotta say is, if he talks about his Rattata on the phone, I'm going to laugh, because you see:

He doesn't even have one.

Anywho, after some training on Route 30, we head on up to Route 31 for the next encounter.

And behold!

Elliot the Gengar becomes the fifth team member. It's all very exciting. He's got a Hardiness of 7, though, so I'll have to be careful not to lose him.

And last but certainly not least, is Gerry the Hoothoot, caught in Dark Cave! Whoo! I've got three complete pairs!

Gerry's Hardiness is an unbelievably high 19, and she can evolve. Not too shabby!

...Please don't mind the fact that I appear to have forgotten the letter F. In my defense I was sick that day and wasn't been focusing properly. It took me way too long to realize it, too. I debated renaming Gerry when I get to Goldenrod, but ultimately decided against it.

Right away, though, we run into some problems. Elliot and Gerry's first trainer battle goes south rather quickly when Bug Catcher Wade's Forretress uses Self-Destruct on Gerry. Elliot then goes into revenge mode against Wade's remaining pokemon:

The problem is something I should have anticipated, having a ghost-type on the team. It took about five extra minutes, but I managed to work Elliot down to zero PP so he could do some damage. Of course, then there was a Seaking and a Slowking to take out -- oh, if only I'd switched Gerry out first thing!

But what's done is done. Gerry's damage score is an incredible, probably never-to-be-repeated-absolutely-ever 1, which is...well, far less than her 19 in Hardiness. So she survives with very minimal damage. Maybe a small scratch or light bruising. I take the team to Violet City to get her looked after. We all need a little rest, anyway.

Spoiler: TL;DR

• Caught Cally the on Route 46. Hardiness is 5, no evolution.
• Stocked up on potions and pokeballs in Cherrygrove City.
• Caught Cally's partner, Drago the on Route 30. Hardiness is 12, will evolve to .
• Caught the fifth team member, Elliot the on Route 31. Hardiness is 7.
• Caught Elliot's partner, Gerry the , in Dark Cave. Hardiness is 19, will evolve to .
• Gerry is knocked out by Bug Catcher Wade's , who uses Self-Destruct. Elliot gets revenge on Wade's , , and , which takes a while because he needs to work his PP down to 0 so he can use Struggle. It was rough. I have some regrets.
  • Post-Battle Determinations: Gerry's damage roll is 1, which is less than her 19 in Hardiness. She survives with minimal damage and can resume her role as Elliot's partner.

Spoiler: The Team

- Albright
Male | lvl 9 | Hardiness 11
Partner: Benny the
Wears a bow-tie
Quick Attack | Leer | Thunder Punch

- Benny
Male | lvl 7 | Hardiness 10
Partner: Albright the
Constrict | Withdraw

- Cally
Female | lvl 7 | Hardiness 5 | No Evolution
Partner: Drago the
Peck | Growl

- Drago
Male | lvl 7 | Hardiness 12 | Evolves to
Partner: Cally the
Splash | Synthesis | Tackle | Tail Whip

- Elliot
Male | lvl 8 | Hardiness 7
Partner: Gerry the
Has some anger issues, will go overboard to protect his partner
Hypnosis | Lick | Spite

- Gerry
Female | lvl 7 | Hardiness 19 | Evolves to
Partner: Elliot the
Just keeps getting back up
Tackle | Growl | Foresight

Spoiler: Boxed

None yet!

Spoiler: Deaths

None yet!

My thoughts for this update: Yes, I forgot the letter F. I have no guarantees that I won't forget another letter. On another note, I'm pretty happy with the team so far. A little nervous about Cally right now, but Drago can take most of the hits for her until she gets a little stronger. Gerry is excellent so far, but she really could use a move other than Tackle. Foresight will help against ghosts, at least. Especially , who lurks on Route 30.

I'll end this update on this note:

Has anyone noticed Pupitar's rather distinguished eyebrows?

 

[Gokudera]

Gerry had some incredible luck!
A hardiness of 19, the 2nd beat And getting a natural 1 on damage? You need to go to the game corner asap and play the slots. That luck is amazing!
The best part about that, though, is imagining Gerry as an anime protagonist shrugging off the super attack of a villain lol. "That all you got?"

 

[Typhlosion]

This is a really entertaining read so far! Even in a Gen II randomizer, where there aren't as many Pokemon options as there would be in a later Gen, you seem to be getting some really interesting pulls. I was going to say it's a good thing you caught Elliot, because otherwise you might be in trouble against Geodude and Onix, but then I remembered they likely won't be in Union Cave at all.

 

[Paracosmic]

@Gokudera - I didn't even think of that! To me she seemed like the Black Knight: "'Tis but a flesh wound!"

@Typhlosion - Thank you! Yeah, I've had that happen a lot. Like, "oh, this would be really great against X...oh, wait." The rock types have to be somewhere, though. And when I find them, I'll be ready.

___

Third update!

Spoiler: The Update

A boy in Violet City offers a trade:

Agh! You can't see it! But he wants an Entei. No biggie, just looking for some legendary dogs. Have any lying around? He'll even trade his Natu!

Alas, I do not. Good luck, trade-seeking boy! We're off to Route 36 to see what encounters we find!

And it's a Swinub! His name is Harry, his Hardiness is 13, and he cannot evolve. I should probably send him to the box home to hang out with my mom.

Next, I head to the Ruins of Alph. First, I make a run-through of the main room before completing the Kabuto puzzle. But there are pokemon hiding in the rafters!

Before I know it, a Fearow has snatched up Cally! Cally's been knocked out!

Drago! Apprehend that pokemon!

But the damage is done. Cally, whose Hardiness is 5, rolls a 9 in damage. Her role in this adventure is tragically cut short.

Drago is devastated. Even more so when Professor Elm deems Iridian, my new Fearow, to be too dangerous to be left unsupervised. She must join my team as Drago's partner. He is, after all, the only unpartnered pokemon on the team at the moment.

We hold Cally's funeral that night. Her death is hard on all of us, but most especially Drago. He refuses to even look at his new partner.

Somehow, I must get them working together. The next day, we head to Sprout Tower. Maybe the Sage there can help.

The tower is silent, but there's a strange rumbling on the third floor.

It's a Tauros! I catch him, name him Jake, and send him home. Maybe his grazing can help keep the yard tidy.

On our way to the top, we're stopped by the tower residences, one of whom has a Kabuto! How can this pokemon be extinct if a trainer has it? Was it revived from a fossil or something?

Finally, we make it to the top, where Sage Li waits. He says he will help Drago, but first we must battle. Albright and Benny take out his team easily.

As we stand there talking after the battle, the redheaded thief storms up the steps to the top of the tower. He berates the man for being weak and not giving him what he asked for. Then, chased by the monks who tried to bar his entry, he takes out an Escape Rope and rappels down the side of the building. The monks look out the window after him and then turn back.

Sage Li shakes his head. "I couldn't give Kale what he wanted because he couldn't give his pokemon what they needed. Like your Drago and Iridian, they need to learn to trust in him and in themselves."

He nods at Drago. "Time and love, care and attention. That's the only way that pair will work together. It will not happen quickly. They may hate each other at first. But in the end they will learn to trust in themselves and in their partner."

Spoiler: TL;DR

• Caught Harry the Swinub on Route 36. Hardiness 13, cannot evolve.
• A wild Fearow in the Ruins of Alph defeated Cally.
  • Cally was no match for Fearow's Fury Attack.
  • Drago helped catch Fearow. Her name is Iridian, and her Hardiness is 15.
    • Post-Battle Calculations: the Damage roll was 9, which was greater than Cally's Hardiness score of 5. Tragically, Cally died of her injuries.
    • Drago's new partner was then chosen randomly from the two pokemon in the box. Iridian the Fearow is Drago's new partner.
• Headed to Sprout Tower to train the team some more.
  • Caught Jake the Tauros. He has Hardiness 6.
  • Albright and Benny battled Sage Li's team: Sudowoodo, Mantine, and Togetic.
  • I found out what I'd named my rival! His name is Kale.

Spoiler: The Team

- Albright
Male | Lvl 11 | Hardiness 11
Partner: Benny the
Wears a bow-tie
Quick Attack | Leer | Thunder Punch

- Benny
Male | Lvl 10 | Hardiness 10
Partner: Albright the
Very shy
Constrict | Withdraw | Wrap

- Drago
Male | Lvl 10 | Hardiness 12 | Evolves to
Partner: Iridian the
Traumatized by his partner Cally's death at the hands beak of his current partner
Splash | Synthesis | Tackle | Tail Whip

- Iridian
Female | Lvl 10 | Hardiness 15
Partner: Drago the
Fierce and unpredictable
Peck | Growl | Leer | Fury Attack

- Elliot
Male | Lvl 10 | Hardiness 7
Partner: Gerry the
Will go overboard to protect his partner
Hypnosis | Lick | Spite

- Gerry
Female | Lvl 9 | Hardiness 19 | Evolves to
Partner: Elliot the
Just keeps getting back up
Tackle | Growl | Foresight

Spoiler: The Box

• Harry the : Male, Hardiness 13, No Evolution
• Jake the : Male, Hardiness 6

Spoiler: Deaths

- Cally
Female | Lvl 2-7 | Hardiness 5
Partner: Drago the
Delicate but enthusiastic
Fell to a Fury Attack by wild (Iridian) in the Ruins of Alph

My thoughts for this update: Nooo! My first death! Poor, poor Cally. We barely knew ye.

On another note, pokemon shouldn't be showing up in the Ruins of Alph before the first puzzle. Probably a randomizer issue. Oh, well. Also, there are Ivysaur in there, and Machamp in Sprout Tower. But overall I'm pretty happy with my progress so far. Just jealous of the RNG. And this update is finally caught up to where I am currently. Next is a tiny bit more training before I head off to battle Faulkner. I'm really, really wishing I'd saved a log file, if only so I'd know what the gym leaders have. Not knowing is making me anxious.

Last but not least, I finally fixed my screencaps! Woo! It's a bit more of a pain to take them, but worth it just to see the bottom of the screen.

 

[Paracosmic]

It's been a bit, but I've been busy with IRL things. Anywho, here's the fourth update~

Spoiler: The Update

Gym Leader Faulkner wants to battle!

I pick Drago and Iridian for this one, since they're honestly the most balanced right now as far as attacks go. Also if they never work together, how will they ever learn to trust one another?

And...Faulkner's not really a flying-type leader in this run. Iridian takes on Dunsparce easily; a Fury Attack and a single Peck brought it down.

This one is a bit harder. Poliwag hits Drago with Hypnosis right away. And then when Drago wakes up, he's hit with it again. And again. And again. Eventually I just give up and let Iridian save the day.

Maybe this will help them work together?

Anywho, Faulkner's dad's "cherished bird pokemon" lost, and I leave Violet City Gym with the Zephyr Badge! *insert trumpets here*

But wait! There's more. Professor Elm's Assistant has a Mystery Egg to give me.

I'll keep it in my team until it hatches.

And off we go to Route 32!

What's this? A Venomoth? With a Hardiness 8? Not too bad. And so Krypton is caught and sent to the box.

There are other pokemon in the grass, too: some Espeon, and some Clingy Things, whatever that last one is:

Okay, boy whose name I forgot as soon as I defeated you. I believe you. I think.

In the Pokecenter on Route 32, a random fisherman gives me his old fishing rod. Just out of curiosity, I wonder what's in the water?

Hm. Interesting. Let's move on.

On the bridge, Drago saves Iridian from an Omastar, so I guess that makes them even on the life-saving front. And then we head into Union Cave.

The first encounter is Leroy the Espeon, who gets sent home to Mom.

Maybe he'll predict the weather for her? Who knows. I really hope we have space for all these pokemon back home.

Also in Union Cave: an absurdly rich Hiker, who bought a Slowpoke tail nobody can afford. Oh, but he's an artist traveling with his Smeargle, so I guess he must have some masterpieces that sold really, really well?

Anywho, we make our way to Route 33, where a Krabby decides to latch onto my pants leg and not...let...go....

Maybe she'll be a bit more useful back home.

I get to Azalea Town, looking for some of the famous Slowpoke. But they're all gone? WHERE COULD THEY BE?

Are they in Ilex Forest?

Nah, but Nexus the Slugma is.

OH, WAIT. Maybe they're in this well that for some strange reason has a ladder and a cave. Pretty sure wells aren't supposed to work like that, but okay.

It's here that we find Team Rocket. But, oh, no! They have a Skarmory, which I was completely unprepared for!

Iridian was low on HP, so Drago covered for her, only to get knocked out right away! Iridian had her revenge, though.

After the battle, I find out that Drago's damage check is 11, which is less than his Hardiness score of 12. Drago survives with some pretty bad scarring, but is still okay to stay on the team.

And this is what the Rocket Grunt had to say for herself:

If they grow back as fast as she says, why the heck don't they grow back over the course of the entire game?! The world needs the answer to this question.

Anywho, Team Rocket has abandoned the well, so let's go fishing in celebration!

Gasp! It's a gigantic shellfish! I'll name him Marcel. He's got a Hardiness 19, which is excellent. Assuming I ever get to use him, of course.

And now I take the team to train for Bugsy. And lo and behold, on Route 33, more common than the Krabby I managed to catch, are...Lugia and Entei?! What? And I caught a Krabby, of all things?

Doesn't he look a bit like the Lorax?

Spoiler: TL;DR

• Battle Faulkner and got the Zephyr Badge.
  • Picked Drago and Iridian for the battle.
  • Iridian beat easily, and then had to come back and fight when Drago kept getting hit with Hypnosis.
• Received the Mystery Egg.
• Caught Krypton the on Route 32. Hardiness is 8.
• Received the Old Rod.
• Caught Leroy the in Union Cave. Hardiness is 7.
• Caught Maribel the on Route 33. Hardiness is 13 and she will evolve to .
• Caught Nexus the in Ilex Forest. Hardiness is 17, and he cannot evolve.
• Drago the was knocked out by Rocket Grunt's in the Slowpoke Well.
  • Iridian avenged her partner.
  • Post-Battle Calculations:
    • Damage Check 11 < Hardiness 12
    • Drago survives and continues on the team.
• Beat Team Rocket and returned to Azalea Town with Kurt and .
• Caught Marcel the in the Slowpoke Well. Hardiness is 19.

Spoiler: The Team

- Albright
Male | Lvl 16 | Hardiness 11
Partner: Benny the
Wears a bow-tie
Quick Attack | Leer | Thunder Punch

- Benny
Male | Lvl 16 | Hardiness 10
Partner: Albright the
Very shy
Constrict | Withdraw | Wrap | Encore

- Drago
Male | Lvl 16 | Hardiness 12 | Evolves to
Partner: Iridian the
Bears many scars
Poison Powder | Synthesis | Tackle | Stun Spore

- Iridian
Female | Lvl 16 | Hardiness 15
Partner: Drago the
Fierce and loyal
Peck | Growl | Leer | Fury Attack

- Elliot
Male | Lvl 16 | Hardiness 7
Partner: Gerry the
Goes overboard to protect his partner
Hypnosis | Lick | Curse | Mean Look

- Gerry
Female | Lvl 16 | Hardiness 19
Partner: Elliot the
Just keeps on getting back up
Tackle | Hypnosis | Foresight | Peck

Spoiler: The Box

• Harry the : Male, Hardiness 13, no evolution
• Jake the : Male, Hardiness 6
• Krypton the : Male, Hardiness 8
• Leroy the : Male, Hardiness 7
• Maribel the : Female, Hardiness 13, evolves to
  
• Nexus the : Male, Hardiness 17, no evolution
• Marcel the : Male, Hardiness 19

Spoiler: Deaths

- Cally
Female | Lvl 2-7 | Hardiness 5
Partner: Drago the
Delicate but enthusiastic
Fell to a Fury Attack by wild (Iridian) in the Ruins of Alph

My thoughts for this update: I'm really exited to see where this is going. I'm thinking of using Gerry and Elliot for Bugsy, since they're starting to become a bit more powerful. Also I'm glad Drago lived -- that was really close!

But oh, the inhumanity! The RNG gods didn't see it fit to give me a or an . Which is probably a good thing, but that would have been cool. I guess the tradeoff was Drago surviving his encounter with ?

Next time will probably cover the battles with Bugsy and Kale, and then it's on to Goldrenrod!

 

[Gokudera]

That kid asking for Entei for a Natu is the GTS personified. Lol.

Poor Drago, though. His new partner is his old partner's killer and he barely survived against a Skarmory.
But hopefully Iridian avenging his injury will help them work together.
(And avenging a 4x Hypnosis hit might help, too. Lol. Seriously, though, I swear AI Hypnosis has a MUCH higher accuracy than 60%)

 

[Typhlosion]

I'm surprised Iridian was able to beat a Skarmory, tbh. That sounds like a very painful matchup on paper. But good job pulling through!

 

[Paracosmic]

@Gokudera - Right? And when you use Hypnosis, enemy pokemon never seem to stay asleep after two turns, while your own pokemon never seem to shake it off. So annoying.

@Typhlosion - Oh, it was very painful in reality, as well. Fury Attack helped -- I did more damage that way than I could have otherwise.

-----

Update!

Spoiler: The Update

It's time to face Bugsy. I've chosen Gerry and Elliot, since together they're a fair bit more balanced than the other two pairs.

Though it looks like Bugsy's got some bugs on hand:

I wasn't expecting this. Gerry, of course, takes out Metapod easily. A decent warm-up. But then Bugsy sends out...

Igglybuff? What? I suppose that is the nature of the randomizer, but it seems so weird.

Anywho, Gerry dispatches this second pokemon easily, with some Tackles and Pecks. This is where things get a little trickier:

But really only a little. I realize now I could have just continued using Gerry, but it was so easy to use Elliot instead.

That's not really a strategy I've used before -- after all, it makes you a little more vulnerable. But if you're certain you're not going to take much damage, it's excellent. And let's face it, while Shuckle can do a lot with TM's, it's not super powerful on its own.

Well, I've received the Hive Badge and now need to make my way to Goldenrod City. But first, an interlude!

What, Kale? What do you want me to tell you?

"Do you want to battle?"

Not that I get a choice in the matter.

Gerry and Elliot are riding high on their success against Bugsy, so they volunteer to fight this weird guy who seems to show up wherever I go. I mean, the first two times, sure, that's coincidence. But the third time in Sprout Tower and the fourth here in Azalea Town? That's just suspicious.

Kale's first pokemon is Kabuto. Gerry puts it to sleep while Elliot whittles away its HP with Curse.

He's also got Snubbull and Vulpix, which are pretty easily defeated. Kale rails against the injustice of having weak pokemon. It's clear his team has no unity, and that's why he lost, but he refuses to listen to reason and runs away past me into Ilex Forest.

Where he promptly scares the Woodcutter's Apprentice and his Farfetch'd.

Well. Maybe he wasn't really responsible for scaring the kid. He's probably not in the right profession. But the startled Farfetch'd is herded back easily enough.

The Woodcutter rewards me with the HM Cut. Finally, I can head to Goldenrod. Only....

No one on my team can learn Cut. Not even Gerry, who was boxed temporarily so I could take care of the Mystery Egg.

I temporarily place Maribel the Krabby in the last slot of my team. She'll go back in the box at the first opportunity and won't battle at all.

There are lots of Kadabra in Ilex Forest, and I find it ridiculously hilarious that a Twisted Spoon is there, too.

It's like, any of you Kadabra around here drop this?

Finally, we make our way through Ilex Forest and onto Route 34. There's a Daycare Center there, and they've got an Odd Egg for me to babysit.

Well, it's time for Maribel to go back in the PC, anyway.

Route 34 is also where the team and I meet Opal.

They want to join our team, guys! i send them home instead. I'm sure there's something they can do around the house.

On another note, I swear I've never before noticed this sign.

I haven't yet battled any trainers on Route 34, but my Mystery Egg is close to hatching, so I kind of want to explore the city first. I start with getting my free Bike -- no Bike Voucher necessary for this one, ha!

In the Goldenrod Department Store, a trainer is oh-so-casually looking for Articuno.

He'll trade his Nidoking! It's better than Natu for Entei, I suppose. Eh.

Also, does Bill know his sister gives his number out to random strangers?

Because that's kinda weird.

Finally, after all this exploring, my Mystery Egg hatches!

Her name is Penelope, and she's an adorable baby Heracross!

Now, back to Route 34 to challenge some trainers!

Aaaaand it seems that this was a mistake. Elliot avenged his partner, but the damage had been done.

Fortunately, Gerry's Hardiness is very, very high -- a near-perfect 19 -- and she rolls a 13 for damage. So she survives! She'll probably always bear the scars of Hitmontop's Rolling Kick, but she'll recover okay!

Unfortunately, it seems we're just having a really, really bad day today:

Both Drago and Iridian had to face Pokefan Brandon's Cloyster. Both lost rather spectacularly, and Elliot, still needing someone to take out his anger on from his partner's recent close call, avenges them both.

I rush them to the PokeCenter to see if they're okay.

Iridian, it turns out, is just fine. She rolls a damage check of 1, and has a Hardiness 15, which is excellent. Her injuries are superficial.

Drago is a little less lucky, but still better than they could be. A damage check of 6 against Hardiness 12. He gets some new scars for his collection, but survives to battle another day.

These pokemon are really going to give me a heart attack one of these days.

Maybe we'd better stick to the city for the time being.

Haircuts make everyone's day better! Nobody was killed while getting a haircut. I think.

But apparently haircuts don't do much to make the team any luckier. This is Albright's first brush with death. He's honestly lucky to be alive, with a damage check of 10 against a Hardiness 11.

Heart. Attack. I swear.

I THOUGHT I WAS BEING CAREFUL, GUY IN THE STAIRWELL!

I'll edit this post again later tonight -- it's been sitting here waiting for me to finish it for way too long.