Nuzlocke. Get in here!

[NejinOniwa]

We've kicked the asses of Team Rocket twice, and we're on our way to the last Gym. THE TEAM:
Magistreus, lv37 Mismagius
Scramjet, lv31 Bayleef
Harkness, lv34 Dragonair
Reich, lv34 Dewgong
Awesome, lv30 Glaceon
Swagtotem, lv26 Xatu

BOX:
Zhugeliang, lv33 Haunter
Clause, lv30 Red Gyarados
Romulus, lv40 Raikou
Teide, lv40 Entei
Invus, lv23 Electrode
Cthulu, lv24 Tentacruel
Malachite, lv27 Graveler

I probably need someone with Strength soon, though, so I'll likely bring out Malachite for that. Likewise, Clause and Cthulu will probably soon see use as HM-slaves for Waterfall and Whirlpool (not sure if the term applies if it's just one single HM, but hey).

ONWARD WE MARCH

[Nichi]

...and now, a special message:


So, Cactaur hit level 18, as I now make my way toward Bill's house on Route 25. Also, Blackjack was just narrowly killed by a Spearow; squeezing by with just 1HP left .__.;
But, Blackjack evolved into a Pidgeotto, so everything is good now.

Also, I tried to catch an Abra, but the damn thing broke out of the Pokéball and teleported away >_<

EDIT:
So, now I'm just about ready to tackle Misty. I think I'll get everyone up a level or two more, especially Cactaur, and then charge in -w-

[Chocofreak13]

@nej: then no wonder you like jasmine. she's super-effective. :3


still in training! Wang Fire got the next round of training after Hotaru, and did extremely well, learning leer in the process of getting to level 20. Jade has evolved and currently stands as my highest-level pokemon at level 27. she also learned Selfdestruct, but seeing as how it's a stupid move that i would never imploy willingly, i got rid of it when she learned Harden. Tamagotchi was the next to get to the goal, reaching level 20 with a bit of difficulty (seeing as how metronome's his only combative move, unless you count the newly-gotten sweet kiss, which causes confusion), but now stands there just fine. i doubt Tama will be used for more than support, though, at least until he learns double-edge at level 38. considering Tama's difficulties in training, he often received support from Lemongrass, who was the next to hit 20 (21 actually). in the process, Lemongrass also evolved into a Skiploom, and learned tackle, poison powder, stun spore, and sleep powder (current lineup of moves is poison powder, synthesis, sleep powder, and tackle).
today i intend to draw. tomorrow, training may resume.

(the middle picture, doesn't it look like the sprite is a tokusatsu hero? GO GO POWER TRAINER)

[Nichi]

So, I beat Misty without too much difficulty; all she was able to use against Cactaur was Tackle, which made it easier on me.

Sadly, Dood was lost when I began some post-gym training before heading south to Vermillion City ;_;
But, Monty evolved into a Raticate, so I guess the sadness balances out with badass-ness

-Current party-
Highwind: Lv19 Spearow
Eggie: Lv19 Jigglypuff
Blackjack: Lv19 Pidgeotto
BaconDick: Lv19 Butterfree
Agumon: Lv19 Charmander
Monty: Lv20 Raticate

-On the bench-
Cactaur: Lv20 Bellsprout

-The graveyard-
Raichu: Lv6 Sandshrew
Dood: Lv15 Geodude

EDIT: Check out my time

[Chocofreak13]

all's well. -w-

[NejinOniwa]

So apparently I HAVE to go deal with fucking Lugia before they'll let me run off to the League.

WHAT THE FUCK, HONESTLY. I'VE HAD IT WITH THESE DAMN LEGENDARIES ALREADY

[Chocofreak13]

just yesterday you were praising them in your party. :\

look on the bright side, lugia is a great asset and aeroblast isn't a move to sniff at. -w-

[NejinOniwa]

Entei and Raikou were caught by me after painstakingly stalking them all across Johto, planning for two hours and training Misdreavus for three, then spending another hour chasing them to routes I hadn't caught anything at yet and there FINALLY getting the drop on them. That was an EFFORT, and I succeeded.

Lugia, on the other hand, is just railroaded into my face. "HURR YOU MUST CATCH THIS LEGENDARY BEFORE ADVANCING FURTHER INTO THE PLOT KTHX" - and they're not even decent enough to give it a viable catch rate, either! Hell no! It's 5, just as low as any other fucking overpowered uber! FUCK THIS SHIT. No, thanks, I think I'll just mash her head and be done with it, honestly. _-_

[Nichi]

That's why I preferred the way Lugia was handled in the original Gold\Silver. You don't have to in order to continue the plot; it's more of a side-quest than anything

[Chocofreak13]

@nej: catch and store? it could be part of the plot later. >>;
@pent: that's what i think all legendaries should be, honestly, side-quests more than anything. sure, they can be interweaved into the plot, but to have them be the main focus of the game detracts from what IS the main focus of the game. >>;

[NejinOniwa]

Well, IMO that varies depending on how it's handled, honestly. For example...

Suicune in the original Crystal was pretty much ONE OF the main foci of the game. However, it wasn't any big railroading shit going on with it, and the plot was seamlessly woven in with the rest of things as well.
Kyogre/Groudon/Rayquaza in RSE were, in effect, the main focuses of their respective plotlines - and set the example of later ones as well. Not nearly as well-done as Crystal, of course, but Emerald and its two opposing teams, none of which were obviously "the good guys" like in RS (where one was the evil team and the other was just trying to stop them), came close.
Black/White were this as well, and there was a good amount of that stuff going on in Diamond/Pearl too. Platinum gets special mention, however - while you DID get railroaded into catching one of the legendaries available in that game, it was the penultimate climax of a looong story arc, right after you defeat the big bad, AND it had you navigating a twisted dimension-defying gravity freak maze to get there, which was damn well the first time I've honestly been wowed by a Pokémon game since Crystal. In general, the "Special editions" of each generations are by far the best ones imo - Yellow, Crystal, Emerald, Platinum. I really hope for a gen3 remake soon, because that shit has potential in it.

[Nichi]

Agreed. Platinum was fucking sweet; especially the Distortion World

[Chocofreak13]

i think it has to do with the baseline already being established, meaning that for the special editions they can embellish it with all sorts of details. for example, crystal was the first one to include a female trainer, animated pokemon, and the Battle Tower.

[NejinOniwa]

Indeed. Just makes me wish they'd put that much effort into a plot line from the beginning, though...

It might be too much to wish for, but I really want pokemon to "grow up" at some point. :/

[Chocofreak13]

considering the recent entries into the franchise, i'd say that's not going to happen before the whole thing withers away. :\

this was never discussed, but what do we do about the pokemon available for trade in towns? and what about the bug catching contest?


unrelated: there's a pokemon app for iphones/ipads/etc now. you have to pay for it, and it only comes with the Unova pokedex from the get-go; you have to pay more for the other regions than you did for the app. overall i'd call this a no-go. >:\