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Part 17: Insignificant! Honestly, I leave you guys for five minutes...  Being in the Day Care has let our newest team member keep up in levels pretty nicely. Here's a proper welcome with a nickname by Blaziken386 and a nice Heal Ball, cause regular Pokeballs are boring. But wait, didn't Skulletor have a Heal Ball?  D-Dunno what you mean. He's always had a Timer Ball, cause of... uh, he's a fossil! It's a joke...   Anyway, Huevo now has the SpAtk to contribute in battle and has good enough defenses that he won't die in one hit. I've invested a lot of resources into you, so don't let me down even though half of your moves are useless HMs!!!  Got milk?  Route 210 Day      The Secret with the Potion is that it only works on yellow Pokemon.   PSYDUCK are known to suffer from chronic headaches. But no one's been able to figure out what triggers the headaches. Oh, yes! Can I ask you a big favor? I want you to deliver this Old Charm to my grandma in Celestic Town. I know there are some rare Pokemon between here and Celestic Town, so it will be worth your while to go.  I think you'll recognize her right away. Yes, I'm sure you will. She's the elder of Celestic Town. And the location... look on your Town Map. You can't miss it. OK, I'm counting on you! See you again down the road!  Onto a new area! Well, it's still the same area with the same encounters, but we've only been to a very small portion of this route!   Alright, Huevo's first battle.     I think he'll do just fine. Since I've gotten a proper look at him, Huevo is actually pretty strong, if slow as poo poo, due to have pretty good IVs overall with 10/19/17/31/30/5.   While I hide in the tall grass, I sensed Pokemon all around me! Furtive sounds of movement... stifled cries... I heard them!  There are ninjas here. I don't know why. Hokkaido reference?  My cover is blown, so what should I do? Maybe I'll go catch some Contests in Hearthome City. Maybe I'll do that.  We could pick up every hidden item, but we never stopped to ask if we should.     A Pokemon Trainer's good at finding stuff, I guess.  Balls?  Balls.   The second half of this route has fog, so we'll get rid of this bullshit immediately. This is the best use of Defog in the game, highly recommended to make your life less miserable, but if you don't care about postgame stuff, then you're free to ignore Defog for the rest of the game.   Okay can Huevo fight something that's not a ninja?   I wanted a better reaction from you. Now I feel silly for hiding!  Fluffy birb is here, covered it a few times and it's remained the same, slap Return and Pluck on it and get it ready to evolve. It's not too notable until then, but you can use whatever moves you want on it since its stats are pretty balanced. Can't use Defog until it evolves.  There's no hidden item up by the Cut tree, it's just a way to avoid the grass.   All we're missing is Haunter! We can get one later...     It's still weird seeing the other starters on regular trainers, only see that in Gen 1 and ColoXD.   I think we just made a new friend.   Ah geez, I always dread these fights, they're a bit tricky.   At least I had my Gyarados answer. Thunder Fang is 5BP stronger than Spark and is also Luxray's best physical STAB move, lol. Raichu is a good boy and shaped like a friend and is very usable. You've already got Thunderbolt from Pikachu, so you can buy Focus Blast if you're a mad man, I only want to suggest this move when you have no other options, it's awful for single player, as well as Brick Brick and Grass Knot. Nothing crazy, but dropping bolts is all you'll need to do.  Worth it.    Zac, I'm so sorry. I'm a failure as your instructor. I don't care if I get to meet the greatest Trainer in the region... I'd still rather learn from Jen.   Three magnets? How do those work? It's a bit cheeky to cover this mon now, since we could've obtained it immediately after getting Nosepass, but aside from the boosted stats, there's not much reason to. You catch Nosepass one level after Probopass leans Magnet Bomb, though it doesn't hugely matter since its Atk is garbage regardless. I wouldn't even recommend giving it Earthquake, meaning its best attack for a long while is, uh, Shock Wave. It gets a lot of interesting moves, Power Gem, Discharge, Earth Power, but way too late to matter, it's really weird how wide its movepool is. Once it gets stuff like Thunderbolt and Flash Cannon, it becomes alright, but its weaknesses are pretty big for how miserable it is to use for most of the game.   You seem to have an abundance of talent. It's pretty amazing.  I never slow down in time to not ram straight into this guy.  There's a ninja Gym Leader somewhere far away. I should become a devotee of theirs.  Oh finally a good move. The main benefit Huevo has on being our sole special attacker is he gets first pick for a lot of amazing moves.    Why? Is it because my training isn't enough?!    Woo, Radium is mildly stronger.  I will pick this up in every game, but I will never use it.    The sight of you battling... it was simply a wonder to watch!  Lot of trainers packed into half a route. Imagine doing all these battles in the fog! Yikes!  Bulky stall Tangela is not what I was expecting this guy to have.   Yes! This is fun! Pokemon are fun! Retire? Perish that thought! I'll become a lot tougher. Next time, victory is mine! More crap I'm never gonna use, onto the new town! Celestic Town Day / Night  Celestic Town: The Past Lives From celestial. Kannagi Town: A town that conveys the past. From 覡 kannagi (oracle).      Developing trust in each other is the key to victory.  There isn't anything here, but that only seemed to make him get angry. He's saying he will blow the town up with a bomb... the nerve of it all... if only I were younger, I'd punish that spaceman with my Pokemon...Been a lot of spacemen with bombs recently, we'll deal with it soon enough.     Analog or digital: which kind of watch do you prefer? Personally, I like using an hourglass myself. Analog is cool, I guess. No Pikachu in the corner though, which might be a dealbreaker. Might be for you if you use imperial or a stupid date format like backwards nations.  What's in this inconspicuous house?   Taking off a pair of glasses changes how the world looks, too. Deep, man. So, would you like to change how the world looks to your Pokemon? The sunlight is bright in the day. How about a pair of BlackGlasses? BlackGlasses raise the power of Dark-type moves.  This is just a regular mart, but having both Dusk and Quick Balls is real nice! Also our first location with Timer Balls, they're alright, but still too slow.  Hm, Twinleaf Town, you say. Isn't that close to Lake Verity? That lake is said to be home to MESPRIT, "The Being of Emotion." That Pokemon may well be watching over you. MESPRIT is the legendary Pokemon that symbolizes the emotions. Beside it are also UXIE, "The Being of Knowledge", and AZELF, "The Being of Willpower." These three Pokemon are said to have strong and compassionate spirits. The power of their spirits maintains the natural balance of Sinnoh.  When that Pokemon was born, intelligence bloomed among us, enriching our lives. When that Pokemon was born, emotions bloomed among us, giving us joy and sorrow. When that Pokemon was born, willpower bloomed among us, spurring us into action...  Neat. Though Poliwhirl and Slowpoke aren't in the Sinnoh Dex. A free one in Pt, since you'd need Pickup or a wild hold item to find it otherwise, which are never fun.  There is some fading text etched in as well... The flow of time never stops... the past, future, and present... Space is ever-expanding dimensions... our spirits, too, are as space...  It doesn't need to exist, so I'll blow it up with a Galactic Bomb! If you try to mess with me, I'll shut you down with a Pokemon battle. So, what's it going to be? Are you going to mess with me? You dare to oppose Team Galactic? That means you're taking on the world... no, the universe, even! The universe can kiss my rear end.  Too much to handle... I can't do anything here... this place is nothing! I'll be happily rid of this place!  Oh? That Old Charm... may I see that, dear? ...what's that? You say Cynthia entrusted you with it to deliver to me? That Cynthia... she's my granddaughter.  It was made in honor of a mythical deity said to have created Sinnoh. These Old Charms are still discovered now and again. Since you're in Celestic Town, why not look around inside the ruins? You've gone to the trouble of visiting Celestic Town. Why not take a little more time to examine the ruins? Mysterious designs cover a whole section of the wall. There are three strange things forming a triangle. In the middle of them, a shining sphere? What is this all about? There existed beings... beings so powerful, they were considered deities at the time. There were three Pokemon with power to match either being. The three kept balance with either being, as if they formed a pyramid. It's an ancient legend of Sinnoh that is still told in Celestic Town.     I am seeking the power to create the ideal world. Thus, I want you to answer. The world today can't change because the three Pokemon keep it in balance. Is that what you are saying? I wouldn't know. I do know the world is in balance. I'm quite satisfied with the world the way it is. I'm not interested in your question. ...plead ignorance, will you? What a pointless attitude. You fail to appreciate that the world is incomplete. I will change the world. As the first step, I will destroy this cave painting that you've protected all these years. A new legend of a new world should take its place. Am I wrong? If you feel that way, challenge me.Nah. ...you chose to be a coward. How sensible of you. Stand aside and watch as I change the world. We've preserved it because we value the memories that it represents. It is a legacy of people and Pokemon beyond measure. A man who fails to understand that... what world could he dream of? Why would you want to protect this incomplete world? As the boss of Team Galactic, I will show you the error of your ways. Galactic Leader Battle  Well this is something new to Platinum! It's a while before we next fight Cyrus and I'm never a fan of fighting the evil team leader early, since it's just so weird seeing them with weak Pokemon. Also I don't like it from a story perspective, but whatever, I can't get enough of this track!   Using items in battle, truly he is evil.   But yeah while Murkrow hits hard, this fight is whatever. I'm definitely looking forward to the other fights later.   But, Elder, your attitude told me what I needed to know. If the beings of time and space are brought together, they can't be stopped... Celestic Town Night The time and space of Sinnoh are filled with the memories and thoughts of countless people and Pokemon. This is a wonderful world. What need is there to change it? Oh, yes. I found something useful. You should take this. It belonged to my granddaughter, but she doesn't use it anymore.  You've been a great help. That's my thanks for it. loving finally! We are going to have a lot of fun with this HM.  You saw those strange people with a Galactic Bomb, didn't you? But those Team Galactic people...! I thought they were harmless. The bizarre ways they dress, and all their wild claims about making a new universe... I thought it was just silly talk. Nothing to take seriously. But they're surprisingly more trouble than expected. Trying to monopolize Pokemon just isn't acceptable! By the way, were the ruins fun to explore? If you're interested, there is a library in Canalave City. It's stocked with ancient books. You can look up Sinnoh history there. It might help you complete your Pokedex, too. The quickest way to Canalave City is to go west from Jubilife City. At night, reflect on what you've learned with the Wise Glasses. The Wise Glasses boost the power of special moves. Morning is the start of a new day. Put on the Choice Specs and make the right choices. Choice Specs make the Pokemon use only one kind of move. But they also raise the Pokemon's Special Attack stat.Huevo can have the Wise Glasses, since a 20% boost is nice, even though it's super tempting to use the Choice Specs, but they're too restrictive for the regular game. Route 211 Day / Night  That's all for the quaint little town, so now it's a quaint little route.     I don't reminisce over yesterday. I don't think about tomorrow. I only live today to the fullest. That's my policy!  Rude.   What is the point of those rocks when we can't even climb the cliff yet?  And what is that boulder doing there???   Already completed it, mate.  I'm strong! I'm strong! I'm strong! I'm strong! I'm strong! I'm strong! ...am I really? No, I am strong! I'm strong! OK! I'm all good to go! Wah! You startled me good! I think you'll understand what I was doing when you see this TM.  Let's say your opponent raises its Defense using Harden. Your Pokemon can use Psych Up to get the same Defense boost as its foe. Basically, your Pokemon gets the same status boosts as its target.  I'll wait here for a weaker-looking Trainer and then ambush them!  Short route and also a short trip to Mt. Coronet since we'll still hemmed in by boulders. We'll just Fly to Eterna...   Finally, there's a million ponds around the region hiding items that we can access. There's definitely an update to be made from Surfing around, but since we're pretty close to being able to use Strength as well, we'll go to a couple places on the way to Canalave, but explore the rest of the region after that. This is also the earliest you could evolve a Clefairy in DP if you didn't luck out in the Underground.  Ooh, another Center trainer. You can find these two here on Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday, so we were bound to find them eventually.  They are getting stronger, but since we finally have this wonderful combo, it's no big deal.    That was a good match. It adds flair and drama when many eager Pokemon get involved. Whee! Wasn't that battle smoking hot? You should make a Battle Video of it and share it with the world!I'll get right on that, uh, next time, when we head to Canalave and only get mostly sidetracked.
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Jul 6, 2019 03:24
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quote:Well this is something new to Platinum! It's a while before we next fight Cyrus and I'm never a fan of fighting the evil team leader early, since it's just so weird seeing them with weak Pokemon. Also I don't like it from a story perspective, but whatever, I can't get enough of this track!  Sinnoh's when the evil team themes really found their footing. Although the remix of Cyrus' theme in USUM always disappointed me because they made it sound like a generic youtube electro remix, instead of doubling down on that awesome bassline.
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Jul 6, 2019 03:50
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I'll talk about it in more detail later, since I want to cover Team Plasma at the climax, but the anime really loved this scene because it's the big introduction to Cyrus. And it is fantastic. Cyrus in a civilian business suit and giving not-at-all-ominous speeches and swarms of golbat  Cynthia's grandmother is also a professor, I believe.
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Jul 6, 2019 04:12
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Say what you will about Cyrus, his battle theme is probably one of the highlights of Gen 4. It's a shame that a lot of the stuff surrounding it is such a mixed bag.
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Jul 6, 2019 05:28
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In Pokemon Special, everyone is very upset that Cyrus wants to look at this sacred mural. I don't think he even wanted to destroy it; just look at it. Cyrus is great, though. One of my favorite villains in this series.
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Jul 6, 2019 11:05
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let's talk about The Many Rivals of Ash You know what’s weird? Despite going “we're rivals now [shot reverse shot of them staring intensely]” a lot, Ash rarely gets season-long rivals. Even Gary showed up so infrequently across Kanto & Johto he may as well not count. Which always leads to suddenly introducing a bunch of people at the league to fight and no one Ash has actually met. Not so in Sinnoh! Here Ash doesn’t just get some league rivals, he gets four of them that he meets and interacts with throughout the show. Nando  This goober started out as a seeming random character of the day not sure if he wants to do contests or gym battles. But then he started showing up again and again and wound up being in both the Grand Festival AND the Pokemon League. S-surprise? He sing-speaks, has a cute Mew harp and gets Zoey to almost tear his head off for daring to compete in both because it’s wishywashy (she gets over it). His battle style is more “elegant” than anything else, with a trend towards grass and “performance” pokemon (like Kricketune, Roserade, Lopunny) and also an Armaldo. Honestly despite his shtick….he doesn’t really stand out at all. He shows up, we get a small update on him, maybe see a performance and that’s that. Despite showing up more than the other league rival, he’s probably the weakest and least memorable of Ash’s rivals. Sadly this is kind of the standard used in Unova, too.... But hey Ash got to use his new Quilava against him, so that was cool. Conway  Now Conway, there’s a memorable character. You remember the super nerd type character class? This is basically that. He’s sneaky, smart and does more advance plays and such. We’re first introduced to him in the end of the first year of the DP season, as a competitor at a smaller, tag team tournament where he teams up with Dawn and almost wins with her. Then he got brought back for the end of year 2’s 4 part summer camp arc which had a lot of gags about him being kind of a creepy guy who gets a little cocky. Honestly he’s great and not as big a creeper as you’d think, though, so it was a nice surprise when he got brought back as one of Ash’s matches in the league. His specialty is … basically using game strategies! Liberal usage of protect, he has a Trick Room team, he has a Shuckle that uses Power Trick. You virtually never see things like this in the anime so it was a real treat to see Ash deal with it in the league. I’d suggest watching his match, it’s fun to see the slow Pokemon zoom around. Barry  Now here was a pleasant surprise! The anime ignores Rivals most of the time. We had Gary and that’s about it. Silver never showed up (beyond a cameo in a side episode), Wally never showed up, Brendon only had some movie cameos...but then suddenly Barry showed up about half way through the series and he’s spot-on. He’s still childhood friends with Dawn, he’s hyperactive, he’s fining people and also he’s competent in battle. One of my favorite gags is how his Empoleon is just constantly exasperated from dealing with Barry’s….Barry-ness. Since Barry grew up with Dawn we also get a few extra details: he’s one of the people who knows the horrible origins of Dawn’s embarrassing nickname and the gang returns to Twinleaf for a few episodes letting us see Barry with his dad, Palmer, some backstory on how Barry loved catching bugs and how his Heracross was one of his first Pokemon and then he jammed out on a festival drum. Barry owns, Sinnoh owns. In the anime he idolizes Paul which gets under Ash’s skin leading to a battle, among other arguments. Barry barely gives him the time of day until Ash beats Byron and they reconcile during the Iron Island arc. He’s never shown to believe some of Paul’s worse traits, but you can see how it relates to Barry’s team variety and battle strength.  Quick aside, but when Barry shows off his badges we see an anime staple: anime-exclusive badges we don’t see the context to. I always really liked when the anime does this,, because it makes the regions feel bigger. Like of course there’d be more than 8 gyms scattered around, right? It’d be nice to see them for kicks one day, though. Anyway, Ash never fights Barry at the League, though. Paul does, which is meant to be a humbling experience for Barry but even Paul warms up to him by the end. You know, in the only way Paul can do so. Which leads us to Paul  You can’t talk about rivals without talking about Paul. Paul is THE rival for Ash. He shows up at the start of the series and he never stops showing up and confronting Ash because they have completely different ideologies. I called Conway as using game strategies but Paul is the closest to the actual mindset of a competitive player. One of his first scenes is catching a bunch of Starly and releasing the weaker ones. If a Pokemon doesn’t perform adequately he releases or trades it away. He holds his Pokemon to an extreme regard and was downright abusive to his Chimchar because it was “too spoiled”, “useless,” and refused to access its real power, ultimately ending in its release and subsequent ownership to Ash. He’s also not all-talk. While he does get owned it’s usually by the crème of the crop like Cynthia or Brandon, he is shown to be extremely competent, working around the opponent’s strategies and having a large assortment of strong Pokemon to have at any situation. He’s even competed in three other regional leagues, though he didn’t win them. One of the biggest moments in the series is he & Ash stop having increasingly vocal arguments and instead have a full 2-part 6 on 6 battle that ends in Ash’s total defeat. All said it’s the best rivalry in the series. It’s the only one they really build upon since he meets up so much, they have a distinct difference in everything they do, they use Chimchar’s development to go alongside it and you get to learn a lot about him. He’s competed in 3 other regions before this, his Torterra was his starter Pokemon, he has a brother who retired and whose loss against Brandon was part of the reason he’s so bitter today. So when Ash & Paul finally face off in the Top 8 match it feels earned and worth the time it took to get there and complete. I’d really suggest watching the match, it’s pretty good. A fun detail with that match is while Ash, who up to now has been using not just his Sinnoh team but his reserves, makes a point to use his Sinnoh team….Paul doesn’t. He uses a mix of new Pokemon and a few returning ones, with the only one Ash had fought before being his Electivire. He wasn’t going to give Ash any sort of advantage while Ash is sentimental to the end. It’s a shame, though, because it means Ash never got his revenge against the real star of Paul’s team. It’s not his starter, Torterra and it’s not the semi-starter Electivire, it’s this rear end in a top hat.  This drat Ursaring was caught during a seeming filler and wound up being one of Paul’s absolute monsters. It takes a million hits and barely shows it, it tore through 3 members of Ash’s team before, almost took down 4, against Barry it didn’t even get knocked out despite going against a Hitmonlee and a Focus Blast Emploeon, and in general it’s just a dick. Absolutely ridiculous.  Paul doesn’t stick around to see Ash’s final match, but they seemed to finally reconcile, recognizing each other’s strengths...but it's Paul so he's still kind of a jerk and keeps it to a smirk and see ya. Why do people leave these things all the time? Where are you going?? You have no other appointments! You’re 10 and you spent like a year getting here at least see the championship. At least Barry stuck around!
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Jul 7, 2019 06:22
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Barry is great, and I distinctly remember the episode Paul caught that Ursaring, because he seemingly had an IV checker on his pokedex, and checked its stats beforehand.
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Jul 7, 2019 06:35
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Tobias.  Paul is basically that guy who lives and dies by Smogon.
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Jul 7, 2019 13:59
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Paul is an expy of Gen 2 Silver minus outright stealing 'mons
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Jul 8, 2019 01:35
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Nissin Cup Nudist posted:Paul is an expy of Gen 2 Silver minus outright stealing 'mons Paul is every competitive battler ever; shown with what that mentality in the Pokemon world looks like. "But I'd never yell at my chimchar like that!", you'd say? If you've ever IV bred, EV trained, reset your pokemon for natures, stats, IVs, shiny quality, you're Paul. You don't think you are, but you are. You don't yell at your pokemon; but there's more ways than direct verbal abuse to show what you think of that pokemon you've dumped into the box, or thrown to the winds in a Wonder Trade.
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Jul 8, 2019 05:11
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1234567890num posted:Just found this thread. Can't believe I missed it me too buddy Anyways I had pearl version. Def interesting seeing stuff that was added to platinum
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Jul 8, 2019 05:40
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Tactless Ogre posted:Paul is every competitive battler ever; shown with what that mentality in the Pokemon world looks like. 
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Jul 8, 2019 06:31
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Haifisch posted:But if we're treating Pokemon as actual sentient beings and not bits of data, then we're back to the "is it ethical to make them beat each other up for amusement and glory?" argument. And we're not supposed to be touching on that for another gen yet. It's fine because Pokemon are canonically bloodthirsty monsters whose greatest enjoyment is the thrill of the fight, and who want to be as good as that as they can be and fully realize humans are especially useful for that goal. Now, the real question if it is ethical to force them into doing Contests and the like, where they can't beat each other up and obtain the ever-sweet pleasure of combat.
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Jul 8, 2019 13:23
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Good write up, I completely forget about Nando, even if he is a bit cheeky. Conway was the best kind of weird, but seeing his interactions with Dawn reveals he's totally crushing, while Barry is Barry and great in every medium. Paul was pretty great though it's always weird he's participated in other league fights even though he's from Sinnoh. Does he have other Pokemon he left at Rowan's? What placements did he get? It's meant to draw even more parallels with Ash, but since he's reset every season and acts like this is the first tournament he's fought in, it doesn't matter and it's brushed over too easily. Also lol that he's stronger than Ash, but lost to Brandon, who lost to Ash. Though his Regis are bullshit.
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Jul 8, 2019 18:41
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Crosspeice posted:Good write up, I completely forget about Nando, even if he is a bit cheeky. Conway was the best kind of weird, but seeing his interactions with Dawn reveals he's totally crushing, while Barry is Barry and great in every medium. I mean in fairness to Ash, when he won against Brandon it was against a Ninjask, Solrock, Dusclops and a Regice that was freshly caught. He never beat his more experienced Regirock or Registeel Paul fought all 3 of Brandon's Regi with the team he meant to take to Candace I think we're meant to assume that Reggie, his brother, has his reserves and we just don't see all of them. He also might release them as time goes on. Azumarill he deemed had no more potential for getting stronger and released it, but he could have had that from a prior region.
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Jul 8, 2019 19:12
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"Fun" fact: In the Pokemon fandom, people who ship Ash and Paul refer to it as Comashipping. I have no idea why? Do they beat each other into comas?
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Jul 8, 2019 19:17
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Roro posted:"Fun" fact: In the Pokemon fandom, people who ship Ash and Paul refer to it as Comashipping. I have no idea why? Do they beat each other into comas? Bulbapedia has this to say. "The name is a reference to the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion—a series that is commonly (but not seriously) believed to be referred to by various Pokémon media franchises relating to the Diamond & Pearl series—but more to the point, it is referencing a specific scene near the end of the series with the comatose character, Asuka Langley Soryu, and the main character, Shinji Ikari." I gotta say I wasn't expecting a Pokemon ship name to reference THAT scene from NGE.
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Jul 8, 2019 19:46
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SoundwaveAU posted:Bulbapedia has this to say. Oh what the gently caress, that turns my fun fact into a filth fact.
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Jul 8, 2019 20:50
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Part 18: Only Getting Mostly Distracted  Since we were in the area, might as well get this evolution crossed off. Could've obtained this earlier, but it doesn't really have the stats or movepool to work then.   And anywhere in Eterna Forest counts for evolving Eevee. Location takes priority over happiness, so make sure you're making the right decision. While it would've been a bit of a journey from Hearthome, it's not a huge deal, though Leafeon really needs Eevee's Bite. Surfing Woo Surfing encounters, they're such a pain since it's mostly evolved Pokemon we can't get otherwise.   Various lakes and that have Psyduck and Golduck.     Lots of good stuff at the Windworks, though it's still a while until we get Electabuzz. Radium will also need a good Electric move, Thunder Fang will not cut it for the rest of the game.   We're heading to Canalave, but since this area is on the way...  Wonder how many items are in this area?               Neat.  Now what shall we find in this Fuego Ironworks?   Previously, Magnemite was a perfectly fine choice, if not amazing, but with its new evolution and ease you can reach it, and quickly, then it becomes a real monster. We just got Thunderbolt and Flash Cannon is just around the corner... it, uh, doesn't really need anything else, but relearning Tri Attack before you evolve to the final step is recommended.   It's real hard ignoring this stuff when searching for mons.    Regardless of which Shellos you got, you'll get an identical evolution, same stats, just a different look. It won't learn any new moves for a fair while until Recover at 54, so you've got Surf and Earthquake, since Earth Power is postgame tutor. A lot of its options are later on, such as Sludge Bomb, Ice Beam and Rock Slide, since it can use both sides no problem. Only really fears Grass and is strong and consistent throughout, would recommend.   I feel like Ice Fang should stop that. Magmar has balanced stats and an upcoming evolution, so it can work out. Between Fire Punch, Lava Plume and Flamethrower, you can decide your best option, evolve it and then swim in the ridiculous coverage you've obtained. By itself, it's an alright Fire type that gets some fun stuff like Psychic and Brick Break, but if you've got a second system or, completely impossible, another friend, then open up to a brand new world.   We've been working hard long enough, now it's time to play hard. Fuego Ironworks I'd like to go one generation without spinners.   Hot stuff coming through. There I said it, sheesh.   I toughened up my muscles from honest work. Pokemon have nothing on me!  Dead end, but definitely worth it.   I feel like an area that works with molten metal probably shouldn't have stuff like this, but what do I know?     The floor panels move automatically. We're pretty proud of them here!    Shards are good.   Neat, though Growlithe and Vulpix aren't in the Sinnoh Dex.   We'll fight that guy in juuuuust a sec.  How many incenses do you want cluttering up your inventory? Thankfully I caught Bonsly earlier when it was available in DP, so I won't need to bother, but there's a fair few babies that require this.   Physical Electric type? Come back in, uh... well hopefully they'll be good one day.  The sweat of a working man is beautiful to behold... there is also beauty in the tears wept from defeat... I tried to make the ironworks run better with the moving floor tiles. But no one was happy about it! They said the moving floor made them dizzy! But you don't want to listen to me whine. Here's a souvenir!  In the process, we find a variety of colored Shards. If you'd like, we can trade Star Pieces for these Shards? There you are--red, blue, yellow, and green. Shards in different colors! My ironworks would be nothing if there were no iron. That's why I'm always thankful for nature supplying me with iron. There's gonna be so many special moves we won't be using... This is a great way to get shards if you can get lots of Star Pieces, but there's ways to do it as we'll see later. You just got a Fire Stone and went on your way in DP.   Probably should've caught Azurill in the Great Marsh, since it'll be a while before we find it in Plat, but it's whatever, we'll finish the dex eventually.   Don't forget about the Ravaged Path! This better be worth it.  Ah. That's right. With all these new garbage items, now they can be used as "rewards" for exploring. Since we don't have a Happiny egg like DP, it'll be a fair while before we can get it.   Cool. Let's head to Canalave.    I think it will be useful to know how many people are communicating, like in the Union Room.  Alright, who's nearby???  No one, what a surprise. Only usable in Shibuya, Tokyo, this nifty app searches those nearby and tells you what they're doing, so you can hop in to where you want and join in, make some new friends! What a useless loving app that drains battery life and only useful when you're standing still. Route 218 Day Why the heck can't we grab items from the water?   I've got Radium out front, right?  Cool, always have a Gyarados answer.     Seriously.   I was counting on strength in numbers, but... packing it in and going home sounds good at a time like this...  Oh yeah, we can finally catch Tentacool. Did we even see one before now? That's crazy. Anyway, it's a good mon to use, but since it's late enough and you can catch it up to level 30, just grab one and evolve it.  Thankfully the surfing speed is no longer walking speed like in DP, but running speed, so it makes finding these rare surfing encounters much easier.   Only a 9% encounter (Gastrodon is 1%, which is dumb since we can easily catch it elsewhere), but you'd be surprised how long it takes since surfing encounters aren't very frequent. A speedy tank that dishes out damage, this is a fun mon to use and recommended. It'll be a while before it can get some extra options in Sludge Bomb and Ice Beam, but Surf and Giga Drain are fine and you can use Poison Jab or even Waterfall later on. It prefers its special options, but it has plenty of moves to work with.    I think this is the last baby? You know, that evolves into something old, but it actually has the stats to work out... because it's one of the last Pokemon you encounter before the end of the game. Weird. Anyway, as a baby it's pretty rubbish since it doesn't offer any new moves and it evolves very easily. It can't even be used as a Mantine-lite since it's obtained so late, but it's either this or Remoraid at the end of the game and they made the right choice. Real shame, but at least we don't have to bother breeding it, and that's the most important thing.    You've got what it takes to be a Trainer among Trainers!  I deposited Etrian for the Contest peeps and I forgot to put the Ball Seal back on for it. Oh no what a shame.   I'm too torn up to sing anymore... I am so cool that way... It also feels like Honey trees keep following me for attention but I've completely covered them so we'll ignore them forever. It's a nice feeling.   Oh cool we can finally catch the creepy mime. Great. It's still perfectly fine, load it up with special moves and it'll do some damage, it learns enough of them, but it's not that interesting otherwise. So yeah, fun times.   Took long enough for this cat to become available after seeing it a million times. Way later than its counterpart Stunky, but I guess it's fine to use. Best get it now since the next time this mon shows up to be caught is... ORAS postgame? The gently caress?   Oh? You look puzzled. You're wondering who I am. I'm Professor Rowan's assistant and Lucas's father. The professor asked that I upgrade your Pokedex, you see. So I'd chosen this spot on a hunch that you'd pass through. Hikari, may I have your Pokedex for a moment? Let's see... was I supposed to put in the software here...?  I should probably explain how it's been upgraded, shouldn't I? It can now display images of male and female Pokemon. OK, I'll leave you to carry on with your project for the professor. ...may I also ask you to keep an eye on Team Galactic? The professor is concerned about what happened in Jubilife City... it's probably nothing to worry over! I'll be on my way now.  Woo gender differences and poo poo. Weird that this was pointed out to us so late. Canalave City Day / Night  Canalave City: Cargo Port From canal and lave (to wash over) Mio City: The town that rises from the water From 澪 mio (waterway)  It was mixed in with a load of cargo from another country. It's not anything that I can use, so I think you should take it.  Well, the move Skill Swap exchanges the user's ability with that of its target Pokemon. How you use Skill Swap is a measure of your expertise as a Trainer. Repeat Balls are now available, can be useful if you've caught a lot of Pokemon, but, well, you've seen me using Quick Balls slavishly since I've obtained them. It's so hard not to!!!  Oh, yes, I remember now! I'm the Move Deleter! You've come to make me force your Pokemon to forget some moves?Always useful, since HM juggling is very helpful in this game, we'll be seeing him shortly.  Weird, but let's completely forget about this building and never elaborate on it.   You're going to challenge the Gym Leader up past here, eh? Someone should check to see if you're ready for this challenge! That someone is me! With my brand-new Gym Badge! Rival Battle   I hate how far away Rock Slide still is, I've been carrying this godawful move for so long- uh, instead of having me whine about Rock Tomb for the millionth time, this is a pretty tricky battle in Plat, since Barry's team is all fully evolved and ready to kick rear end, as opposed to DP where only Staravia and the starter is.   The bravest of birds have arrived! We've had some weaksauce stuff with previous birds but now this is where it's at! Those stats, Intimidate, Brave Bird, CLOSE COMBAT! Why did they decide to make them good this late into the series? Of course there's Return, Steel Wing and U-turn for some variety, since Brave Bird is a bit away, but even these stats will make Pluck hurt. This thing will demolish the main game if you let it and it means the early game bird and rodent are pretty legit this time around. Wonder if it will last?  Still not much to it, so we'll use it to train.   loving hell, this isn't even Huevo's final form.    I suppose we should talk about all these and boy is it exciting, all three are great! Turtwig had the slowest start and isn't too amazing, but the combo of EQ and Wood Hammer make Torterra an absolute beast. Add in Crunch later, as well as Stone Edge or Swords Dance and you've got a wrecking ball. I'm gonna be saying that a lot. While I love me that smiling dinosaur, Torterra is a close contender, just such a fun mon to use, so long as you avoid Ice attacks. It's slow, but it's legit.  If you thought the last mon was crazy, take a look at this! Obviously its stats make it an absolute monster and Close Combat and Flare Blitz don't hurt either. Well, it'll be using Flame Wheel for a long time, but Fire Blast is a great move to just melt everything in the way, it's insane how powerful this starter is. Of course, you're fragile but this thing has so many loving moves it's crazy, Grass Knot, Shadow Claw, Aerial Ace, Earthquake, Solarbeam, Thunderpunch, it's so loving stupid. Go nuts, it's the only good Fire type in DP.  If you thought the last mon was crazy, take a look at this! With a great typing and amazing move options, it'll shine no probl- oh, I mean, I guess you could give it SEVEN of the eight HMs, obviously missing out Fly, but it does a lot more aside from that! Surf and Flash Cannon are good bases, but you've got enough Attack to work various physical moves, but Ice Beam will round out the moveset. I mean, you also have a load of HMs that'll eat up slots, but this mon has the potential to hit hard and wide. It's legit.     Well you had your chance to attack and you blew it. Canalave City Day / Night But listen up! Let me tell you who's going to take on the Pokemon League and become the Champion. You guessed right! It's going to be me! Anyway, you should go to Iron Island and toughen up some more. Yeah, train at Iron Island! That's what I did before going to the Gym! Do you want some L O R E? Well you'll get it later.   We'll follow Barry's advice and not go to the Gym. Of course we wouldn't do it this update, you read the title?   He's a real man among men! Even the sea doesn't scare him! Oh, but a Gym Leader'd be cool, too! Byron is so awesome!  Cute little family.   Gotta go to the secret area, ooooooo~     It's island time.   Alllllright, let's try to remember this.   OK, you're Hikari. I'm Riley. I'm a Trainer, and yes, it is a bit odd that I would be training here. Anyway, it's always nice to meet another Trainer. Here's a gift.  To use it out of battle, you need the Mine Badge from Canalave Gym. I'll be training inside. You can join me if you'd like. Iron Island Hmm, let's go left first. We're finally caught up with all the HMs, coming here was completely optional in DP, since they got Strength before the third badge despite still being unable to use it. Skulletor will get it for a general attack, but we'll be shaking up our HMs pretty soon.   Gotta be camp when you camp.    When I'm with my Pokemon, I can camp just about anywhere I want!  Won't be needing this safety jacket for a bit, I always put off the trade evolutions til the end cause I'm lazy.   Handy. There's a couple new Pokemon we can catch in this place, but I'm specifically leaving a slot open for ~reasons~     I'm so lucky that crit.     Hey, wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world? BEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH   I used to work here a long time ago, before it shut down. I worked at the ironworks near Floaroma Town, too. You might say I'm drawn by iron as if by magnet!  They work fine, it's my ears that are broken...   I routinely check the lifts here. You can be sure of their safety!The titanic snake returns and it's perfectly alright, I used it just fine in HGSS, since you can obtain it pretty easily, put that Metal Coat away, trainers! Relearning all the elemental fangs is very nice, but relying on Iron Tail is pretty ehhhh, so EQ will be your most reliable move. And then there's Rock Tomb, but maybe if you were completely crazy you could give it Dragon Pulse or Dark Pulse, or Flash Cannon! Yeah, maybe not.   I'm so glad I'm not using this move this LP. That's all for this room, so down the other stairs!     Oh hey, it's been a while since we've done this. Wonder what this guy has? It's probably completely unknown.   Wrooooar! Coming at you! Let me blow off some steam! When you're up in the mountains, a battle'd do for a proper greeting! Ooh that's pretty strong, though it's pretty fragile.   Too bad it's in the way, Surf now damages everyone, so you can't spam it as much unless you have a resistance.   If it's called a mountain, you can be sure I'll be climbing it. Even if it's a mountain of food, I'll still be stickin' my flag on top! Actually, when you're up in the mountains, a simple hi'd do if you walk past someone. Oh, and this isn't the mountains.  People training here would be those with too much time on their hands. This used to be a fairly thriving ore mine once upon a time. I guess the steel ore's played out. There's only Pokemon here now. Have you met Byron? The Leader of Canalave Gym? He's asked me to become a Gym Leader, but there's his son Roark to consider. Imagine what it would like for a Steel-type Pokemon user to battle a Steel type. Would that be like battling yourself, I wonder? I mean, it's a lot harder to defeat one's self than anyone else. What's going on here, though? The native Pokemon are restless... I don't like this... let's hurry.  Of course to get the most exp we'll do double battles, but we're far from having a partner Chansey.   Bit annoying since I can't use EQ, but whatever.   But when it comes down to it, Lucario can smack that.   They were going to close this place up so no one could get in. But, they left it open so people and Pokemon can get together here. Roark spent his childhood playing here, I think...  Hmm, looks like we've got some bowl cut guys to deal with.  Important to note, these Star Pieces we've been finding inside the cave all respawn, making them kinda alright to grind for shards. The only other best way is the Underground.   I think is just part of the island we just stole. Oh well!  Can't forget these guys in the top right.      This cackling croaker has balanced stats that you can pull to the special side with Nasty Plot. It'll be a while before you get Sludge Bomb to replace Poison Jab but if you want to go special route then you've got Shadow Ball and, uh, Focus Blast. I'm only mentioning it since it's interesting, as it has a million physical moves to use, from Ice Punch to X-Scissor, from Earthquake to Swords Dance. It's pretty nuts, so go with the best options and see how it all works out. You'll die to a stiff breeze, though.  That's the entire moveset, including the missed Bone Rush, so it's pretty good, if low BP.   So, I'm gonna try and shatter steel! I wonder how many more years it would take for me to do that? I wish I could beat Maylene in Veilstone City one day...  There we go, 4 respawning Star Pieces.  Likewise, my Pokemon would also become tougher. It's all good. This calls for a battle! Tough Pokemon... tough Trainers... you tell me, where else can I find a place as good as this to train?   God I wish that were me. AHEM, so you've grinded up 220 friendship for... this mon. It's a somewhat speedy defensive Normal type? At least you have Return but not the stats to back you up. Jump Kick is a nice tech, but there's not much else to note, it gets a million TMs, but again, not the stats to use them. Considering how hard it is to evolve this drat thing, it's actually annoying that it's not very good. But hey, at least you're fast!   Wood Hammer is so bad, but so good.   Pretty rough battle, but we've still got some real dangerous foes up next!!!   This mine's been abandoned, but now it's home to many Pokemon. I guess everything finds a place to call home someday... Tough Pokemon... tough Trainers... their strength comes from their bond. And that's something that can be made stronger anywhere. I don't care what good reason you may have, but I don't want you bringing any trouble into the mine. We're Team Galactic! We'll take all the Pokemon we want! Isn't that right, partner? You said it, brother! So that's what we're gonna do! We're abducting all the Pokemon from this rusted-out Iron Island! To share in all the joys and all the sorrows... that is how all the Trainers and Pokemon live in Sinnoh! I won't allow anyone to defy that code of ethics! Come on, Hikari! This is one battle we can't lose!  I mean, this isn't a tough battle, but you could at least use the right moves!   But yeah, the last fight was real tough, but grunts are laughable.   Stop! I said stop! Your combination is so sick! The both of you, and your Pokemon... let's beat it, partner! You said it, brother! We don't even know what Team Galactic's big plan is anyway! Listen, I have a Pokemon Egg here. Would you take it with you? Thanks! I'd like you to show the Pokemon that's inside the Egg all sorts of new places. Spending time with you was very enjoyable. I intend to test my skills in other places from now on. Let's meet again! Take care on the way out.  BEEHHHHHH! It'll be a while before this hatches. I wonder what it'll be.   BEEHHHHHH! Now THIS is the only reason we came here. Now we can get Togekiss and Roserade, both very nice options.   Weird cave that wasn't here in DP, but some cool free stuff, I guess.  Anyway, time for Huevo to become good.    You will give me an egg. lol if it has Hustle though, completely useless. Like all good stone evolutions, it won't learn any new moves, but what it can relearn is pretty drat amazing. Also every special move you can think of. It's been a long and hard road, but the reward is worth it, though it's a shame it comes pretty late. You can go physical if you want, since Hustle and Extremespeed pick up a lot of slack, but naw.   Since we've got two eggs, we can catch other stuff, including for the first time, Steelix! Very handy, we can save the other Metal Coat for Scizor. Cause I'll totally be trading for those...   And very quickly we're outside looking for another new Pokemon. Yes you can get surfing encounters but the increased speed is actually a problem due to the small space, so we'll need to bump endlessly here.   Pelipper got moved back a bit in Plat, so this is the earliest we can get it, again, pretty low rate, but easy enough.  Ohohohohohoho! We'll get Aura Sphere for now, which will be very useful, but we will grab Air Slash later, we do have Serene Grace after all. And next time, it's finally Gym time!
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Jul 13, 2019 07:40
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Mini Notes 04: DEEPEST LORE   "Betray not your anger, lest ??? will come. Weep not with sorrow, or ??? will draw near. When joy and enjoyment come natural as the very air, that is happiness. Let such be blessed by the hand of Master ???. Those words were spoken often as customary."  "Long ago, when Sinnoh had just been made, Pokémon and humans led separate lives. That is not to say they did not help each other. No, indeed they did. They supplied each other with goods, and supported each other. A Pokémon proposed to the others to always be ready to help humans. It asked that Pokémon be ready to appear before humans always. Thus, to this day, Pokémon appear to us if we venture into tall grass."  "Three Pokémon there were. Into the lakes they dove. Deep, deep, drawing no breath. Deeper, deeper they dove. Into suffocating depths they dove. Deeper, then deepest they alight. From the lake floor they rise. Bearing with them the power to make vast lands, they rise again."  "A young man, callow and foolish in innocence, came to own a sword. With it, he smote Pokémon, which gave sustenance, with carefree abandon. Those not taken as food, he discarded, with no afterthought. The following year, no Pokémon appeared. Larders grew bare. The young man, seeking the missing Pokémon, journeyed afar. Long did he search. And far and wide, too, until one he did find. Asked he, 'Why do you hide?' To which the Pokémon replied... 'If you bear your sword to bring harm upon us, with claws and fangs, we will exact a toll.' From your kind we will take our toll, for it must be done. Done it must be to guard ourselves and for it, I apologize.' To the skies, the young man shouted his dismay. 'In having found the sword, I have lost so much. Gorged with power, I grew blind to Pokémon being alive. I will never fall savage again. This sword I denounce and forsake. I plead for forgiveness, for I was but a fool.' So saying, the young man hurled the sword to the ground, snapping it. Seeing this, the Pokémon disappeared to a place beyond seeing..."  "In the beginning, there was only a churning turmoil of chaos. At the heart of chaos, where all things became one, appeared an Egg. Having tumbled from the vortex, the Egg gave rise to the Original One. From itself, two beings the Original One did make. Time started to spin. Space began to expand. From itself again, three living things the Original One did make. The two beings wished, and from them, matter came to be. The three living things wished, and from them, spirit came to be. The world created, the Original One took to unyielding sleep..."  "Look not into the Pokémon's eyes. In but an instant, you'll have no recollection of who you are. Return home, but how? When there is nothing to remember? Dare not touch the Pokémon's body. In but three short days, all emotions will drain away. Above all, above all, harm not the Pokémon. In a scant five days, the offender will grow immobile in entirety."   "Pick clean the bones of Pokémon caught in the sea or stream. Thank them for the meals they provide, and pick their bones clean. When the bones are as clean as can be, set them free in the water from which they came. The Pokémon will return, fully fleshed, and it begins anew."  "There lived a Pokémon in a forest. In the forest, the Pokémon shed its hide to sleep as a human. Awakened, the human dons the Pokémon hide to roam villages."  "There once were Pokémon that became very close to humans. There once were humans and Pokémon that ate together at the same table. It was a time when there existed no differences to distinguish the two."
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Jul 13, 2019 07:41
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So Uhh Whos up for Tauros steak
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Jul 13, 2019 12:49
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Mantine is one of my favourite Pokémon so Mantyke literally being the very last Pokémon you can get before the League always sucked, but it also never made sense to me why they'd make a Baby of a mon and then put it literally at the end of the game 
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Jul 13, 2019 13:06
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I remember Red Chocobo actually lost to Barry at the end of their Platinum LP since his team actually kept getting tougher.
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Jul 13, 2019 15:28
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Always wondered what exactly was going through someone's mind when they decided to gate the Water Pulse TM behind a surf spot. I assume it's a typo nobody caught, because otherwise what the 
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Jul 13, 2019 15:49
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The ironworks is such a weird area. This series rarely does side areas like this and usually when it does they put something like a legendary there. IE: the Power Plant is off the beaten path and a ways away, but inside there's a Zapdos as well as a multitude of other electric pokemon some of which are only found there. Otherwise side areas might be just a little arm off the beaten path to find a hidden item or what have you. This one is super easy to miss and your biggest reward is the flamethrower TM. It's not bad, or anything, but it's unusual for a series that trends towards being very linear. I kind of wonder if they intended you to go here as part of the plot at one point.
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Jul 13, 2019 20:22
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Crosspeice posted:
 The fact that you can get both of these right now, and not at, like, the elite four, is a godsend, honestly. Mitigated by the fact that you can only use them once, but I'll fuckin' take it. I love the Rival Battles in this game. Barry is such a joy to fight, especially with his theme playing in the background. Crosspeice posted:
...oh god, is the school system actually just pokemon based??  Crosspeice posted:"A young man, callow and foolish in innocence, came to own a sword. rannum posted:The ironworks is such a weird area. This series rarely does side areas like this and usually when it does they put something like a legendary there. IE: the Power Plant is off the beaten path and a ways away, but inside there's a Zapdos as well as a multitude of other electric pokemon some of which are only found there. Otherwise side areas might be just a little arm off the beaten path to find a hidden item or what have you.
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Jul 13, 2019 21:43
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This used to be a fairly thriving ore mine once upon a time. I guess the steel ore's played out. There's only Pokemon here now.
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I can't believe Platinum predicted Pokemon Sword.
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Jul 13, 2019 22:24
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Honedge is the sword that guy broke.
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Jul 13, 2019 22:50
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rannum posted:The ironworks is such a weird area. This series rarely does side areas like this and usually when it does they put something like a legendary there. IE: the Power Plant is off the beaten path and a ways away, but inside there's a Zapdos as well as a multitude of other electric pokemon some of which are only found there. Otherwise side areas might be just a little arm off the beaten path to find a hidden item or what have you. Industrial zoning laws in Pokemon are a little messed up. Either the area has to be abandoned within 5 years of developing it, or you have to run a Gym.
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Jul 13, 2019 23:28
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I always found it interesting how they made Sudowoodo and Mr. Mime version equivalents, but then had them show up opposite of the Stunky/Glameow lines respectively instead of having both pairs of lines just show up in the same spots like usual version exclusive stuff.
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Jul 14, 2019 03:14
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For the longest time, I thought Toxicroak was pointing one of its fingers at its opponent. It wasn't until much later that I found out the "finger" is supposed to be more of a claw-like appendage.rannum posted:The ironworks is such a weird area. This series rarely does side areas like this and usually when it does they put something like a legendary there. IE: the Power Plant is off the beaten path and a ways away, but inside there's a Zapdos as well as a multitude of other electric pokemon some of which are only found there. Otherwise side areas might be just a little arm off the beaten path to find a hidden item or what have you.
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Jul 14, 2019 04:26
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Part 19: Steeling and Stealing Pokemon Gym The Gym Leader here uses Steel-type Pokemon. Steel-type Pokemon have high Defense, so you'd have to hit them hard!  Feels too long since the previous Gym, or maybe we're going through this game pretty quickly. Hard to tell.   When we can 2HKO a Steelix, that's when you know you're good.   Our aim is the red lift over there, surely it won't take too long.   Orb birb's time to shine.   I can't keep up! I'll go back to working on the lifts. Let's see where this li- oh.   Too many choices...  I get to work all day with my Pokemon, and even battle sometimes. I get all the fun I need every day! Top right is the way to go, so let's go the way.   They got rid of the noob at Oreburgh's entrance, but Doug had plenty of backups.   Your earnest enthusiasm... I guess that kinda makes you an ace. Maybe you're a Trainer who has the potential to surpass aces!If you somehow had a friend then you could get a real steel bug. It replaces its Flying attacks with Steel ones, so it's fine to evolve whenever, but you'll want to relearn Bullet Punch, since that's a powerful weapon with Technician. Otherwise, when Slash doesn't cut it, how about X-Scissor or Night Slash? It doesn't learn many moves for its ability, but it does just fine with the tools it has, especially when you slap Swords Dance on it.  Onwards and across! Look at all this 3D craziness!   Okay please stop doing that.     Chatty lot in here.   I must rededicate myself to training. The road extends into infinity... Now that we're through the first multiple choice, the rest of the Gym is pretty drat linear, with only trainers to get in your way. And Magnemite. Lots of those.  "weaknesses of that Pokemon."  Start by becoming friendly with your Pokemon. I mean really friendly. If you do that, you'll learn naturally how you should battle with it. Alright, simple enough, but now it's time for da boss.   I see, I see! You've defeated my son. But that's no surprise. He still has much to learn. In place of my son Roark, I, Byron, will take your challenge! Gym Leader Battle   Byron/Tougan: The Man with the Steel Body! From iron, and 冬瓜 tougan (winter melon) and 鋼 hagane (steel).       While only one Pokemon got changed, Byron got a fair overhaul in Plat, making his team pretty threatening. Or, well, would've been, if he wasn't so hilarious weak to all three starters, but I'm sure they can still be dangerous.   Yeah like that. Dammit. Magneton has the same movepool as Magnezone, but worse stats, so just evolve it asap. Though as we saw there, make sure to relearn Tri Attack, since the line doesn't get many special moves. We have practically everything it needs, so go ham.   Usual tactic of wasting healing items, though this fight will be no problem. But as always, where's the fun in that?   I say, with this immediately happening. I was surprised that was just a simple KO, but it does make sense. Oh well, we've faced a few Steelix on the way up, the worse it could've done was Ice Fang, whatever.    The immovable object. With defenses like that, how could we even stand up to its incredible prowess? Well, easily, actually. Having a 4x weakness to Fighting and Ground is pretty ridiculous, while it has not many defensive tools, especially no reliable recovery. It can get whittled down easily and can't do much in return with those offenses. It does at least have Magnet Rise in an upcoming tutor, as well as Protect and Toxic, Taunt and Metal Burst, which also pairs with Iron Defense. You can see what they're going for, but then accidentally made it pretty rubbish and reliant on Rest. Whoops! You'll set up SR with it, I guess.   Oh hey, it can survive an Earthquake, that's cool. Really shows the equal footing these two are on.   I mean... I don't have something like that. Metal Burst is interesting in that it reflects all attacking moves, but has regular priority, so works great on a slow monster like this.   But this was never going to be a very difficult fight. Pokemon Gym    "outside of battle." And now you have six Gym Badges. That means all Pokemon up to Lv. 70 will obey you without question. Here! Take this, too!  If it hits, it may also lower the target's Special Defense. Gwahahahaha! The Sinnoh region is vast! Tough Trainers like you and Barry crop up constantly to challenge the old guard! With more young Trainers like my son and you two taking charge, the future of Pokemon is bright! But I'm not stepping aside just yet! I merely need to rededicate myself to training on Iron Island. Alright, onto the next Gym, with no distractions! Maybe.  Good going! That makes it six Gym Badges! I tell you what, you're really turning into one fine Trainer. If you were to say you're going to try to become the Pokemon Champ... no one'd laugh at you now! I'm in your corner, kiddo! It's always weird seeing all these badges. Like, drat, did I get those? Canalave City Day You're tough enough to consider becoming the Pokemon Champ. Of course, I'm tougher, so it's not going to actually happen. Anyway, Hikari, come with me to the library.  All right, I'll be outta here! ... ... ... ... ... ... ...OK... I get it... Hm! Everyone's here finally. Hikari, everyone, listen. You may have forgotten already, but I study the evolution of Pokemon. But the more I study, the more mysteries appear and multiply. Pokemon that evolve, and those that don't. What makes them different from each other? Do those that are immature as living beings evolve to ones more mature? If so, what do we make of the legendary Pokemon that don't evolve? Are we to assume that the legendary Pokemon are complete as creatures? In the three lakes of Sinnoh, there are said to be mirage Pokemon. If we can obtain data on them, it may shed some light on how the process of Pokemon evolution works. I need help from each one of you on this grand undertaking. Help me find these Pokemon that are considered to be mirages. What are you saying? I didn't get a Pokedex! ...and who was it that bolted from the lab before I had a chance to give you a Pokedex? But that's water under the bridge! Seeing Pokemon with your own eyes is important for you in becoming a better Trainer, too. You bet, Professor! This will add to the Pokedex database and help advance your research. Hm! I would have made all of you go regardless... anyway. Now, there are three lakes. Fortuitously, there are three of you. You should therefore split up and investigate the lakes individually. Lucas, you go to Lake Verity. Yes, sir! Barry, I want you to investigate Lake Acuity. That would take you almost to Snowpoint City. The road there is harsh. I need a tough Trainer to go. Uh... yeah, of course! Gramps, you know how to call it! You can tell I'm the hotness! And, you know what? I was going to catch those legendary Pokemon for you. You know, as thanks for giving us our Pokemon back on Route 201. ...even though I forgot completely about it until just now. Very well. I'm counting on you. And that leaves Hikari with Lake Valor. The lake is between Veilstone and Pastoria, if memory serves... Oh thank god, I was almost falling asleep.   What was that about?! No, wait, I mean, TV! The TV! News! Anything!  It was taken by a cameraman who happened to be there. It's certainly impressive. Who knows what the explosion could expose at the lake? Hmm... but why at Lake Valor...? Let's get outside. I'm concerned about the town. You kids, be careful going down the stairs.  Oh, sorry, TV screen, can't help but gormlessly stare.   Please keep quiet while you're on the premises. It certainly wasn't me who screamed, or shouted, No, really, that wasn't me screaming!  They're saying there was a huge explosion at Lake Valor! But, I hear everything's fine now. I guess it was just a lot of noise. Gramps! I'm going! I have a bad feeling about this! ...that Barry... can't sit still... Hikari, I don't like to demand, but I need you at Lake Valor. It's impossible for things to be OK. Not after an explosion like that. But I have no idea what is taking place... but before you go, let me stress: don't get in over your head. We will try to join you as soon as we inspect Lake Verity. Lake Valor... I wonder what happened? What is taking place at Lake Valor... you must find out! We're going to investigate Lake Verity before we join you. Don't try to be a hero if anything happens. Surfing Sounds like we're in a hurry, so let's instead explore the rest of Route 212! It's on the way!   There's nothing on the left side, so onto the right we go.    Maybe I should switch to surfing, too...  Lots of Gyarados... but since we're a little busy, we'll properly go around the region with Surf and Strength next update, but at least there's not 20 water routes to look forward to.   Alright, this lonely island better be worth it.   Ehhhh, back onto the main path.   drat Flying types.  Maybe I'll go work out down at the restaurant again. That place gets different people in every day, and they all like battles.  Since we're pretty far north, this water is probably loving freezing. I mean, the sea is always cold, but this one is COLD.  Man I love this strategy.     There aren't many sea routes that you can swim in Sinnoh. It makes me want to take a vacation in the Hoenn region. Cool, but surprisingly, the four other Pokemon that require this aren't in the dex.   Not really worth it, but at least we're done.  And add it to the list...  Anyway, you guys were just dropping some sick beats, r-right? Galactic Attack! The closest civilization is that hick town called Twinleaf! We can roll in there completely unopposed!  Jokes on you, I'm not worth 500.   Cool, another way for them to waste a turn.    I played you for a child, and paid a stiff price for my arrogance... however, you're much too late. Team Galactic has already found the sunken island under the lake. And the Pokemon that lay in it? Well, what do you think?  Since the lake will eventually fill back in, this item is missable, like the Nugget in the Trick House.   But so what? You aim to take us all on? Dream on! Team Galactic is huge in number! Even as we speak, other members should be near Twinleaf Town. That's right, they're on the way to Lake Verity!  Even with the added dex, still not enough variety.  We're Team Galactic! The no. 1 syndicate in the world! To defy us is to defy the universe! Bah, it doesn't matter who you are. It's too late to make a difference. Things are going to get really interesting now. All the legendary Pokemon are going to be brought to our HQ in Veilstone!   I recognize your face! You're the child who raided the Team Galactic building in Eterna! Humph! Jupiter should be ashamed of herself, being beaten by a child. But anything and anyone that opposes Team Galactic must be crushed! Even the very thought of opposition will not be tolerated! Galactic Commander Battle  There's a third commander! Okay, fourth in this game, but it is a bit weird how much of a gap there was between them. But it should be no problem.        This will always make me feel better, though this Toxicroak is hitting like a truck.   But since they don't know how priority works, it's easy enough.   But that's fine. A child like you will never be able to stem the flow of time! Team Galactic will get the three legendary Pokemon of the lakes! With their power, we will create an entirely new universe! By now, Mars should have captured the Pokemon of Lake Verity...  Well this works out, since we haven't seen MOM in a while, even if she'll never do anything again, you only get one chance to fight the patriarchy.  ...I don't wanna know. Galactic Attack! Those Team Galactic scoundrels are after the legendary Pokemon! Hikari, help us! You've got to help Lucas! Ow! Ouch! What's with this old-timer? How dare you! You misguided thugs! Hikari! Lucas needs your help!  Well it's a good thing you guys didn't try this like 18 updates ago.   From the three lakes, we must secure three Pokemon. You simply mustn't interfere! Our boss always had plans for the three lakes... while you were blissfully ignorant, our work went ahead...  I'm sure Lucas is strong enough to hold off Mars! Haaaaaa...  Eventually you'll evolve these, r-right?   The Pokemon here has already been taken to our HQ in Veilstone. So, you see? A child like you can't touch us! I want Team Galactic to become powerful. That is all I want.  Methinks you haven't even fully evolved your starter, you friendly rival, you!   I'm talking about the windworks! I caught a whole lot of trouble for that little incident. What's with that look on your face? You do remember me, don't you? Fine, whatever. I'll tell you who I am again! I'm Mars, one of Team Galactic's Commanders. So, what is it? Are you some lovey-dovey couple to the rescue? Not a chance! Not even a teeny one! You're all going down! Galactic Commander Battle  You wait a while for a Commander battle and then two come at once. Pretty similar though.   This Purugly is nowhere as scary as it used to be!  I lost again... so, first the windworks, and now Lake Verity that I owe you for! This shouldn't be happening to Team Galactic's Commander... My mission was to transport the lake's Pokemon to our HQ... ...that's right! I accomplished my mission without a problem! Team! We're pulling out! The boss is waiting at the HQ! The Pokemon of the three lakes are connected somehow. Thanks to Saturn's grandstanding at Lake Valor, a cavern appeared here. It was the cavern where the Pokemon MESPRIT slept. MESPRIT appeared, too, probably to go help its friends. That worked out well for us. It was super easy to catch.  Now that we have them all... you can look forward to what plans Team Galactic has for them! Lake Verity Another legendary Pokemon was taken away by Team Galactic... both of you went up against full-fledged criminals... the fact that you're unharmed is reason enough to celebrate. ...but what about Barry? What is happening at Lake Acuity? Is Barry safe? Hikari, I need you to go to Lake Acuity right away. I'm worried about Barry. Hikari, what's Team Galactic up to? They'd better not harm the Pokemon they took from the lakes...  Well this escalated quickly.  Least we can grab a freebie, though only Huevo can use it and he covers Fire with Air Slash and Aura Sphere. Or, will eventually, still stuck with Defog...  Next time, I'm sure Barry will be fine, so let's go and goof off!
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Jul 18, 2019 00:19
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There's a good chunk to do next update, but not enough to stave off getting our final team member, dun dun dunnnnnn! So what do you call a sneaky weasel?
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Jul 18, 2019 00:20
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Ah, Platinum, you always had the weirdest order of when you put the commander fights. I mean, uh- Sneaky weasel to go with Pop, huh? I don't quite know why, but I feel the name Manuel sticks out to me as fitting... The Japanese name, if I'm predicting the right 'mon, is roughly romanized as 'Manyula' so it's more of a language joke than anything. You didn't hear this from me. 
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Jul 18, 2019 01:06
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Crosspeice posted:There's a good chunk to do next update, but not enough to stave off getting our final team member, dun dun dunnnnnn! Nack, if the Sonic comics are any indication.
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Jul 18, 2019 01:20
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Crosspeice posted:So what do you call a sneaky weasel? Duke I'm not sorry
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Jul 18, 2019 01:33
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Crosspeice posted:There's a good chunk to do next update, but not enough to stave off getting our final team member, dun dun dunnnnnn! Gamefreak's Lament
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Jul 18, 2019 02:08
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Lame linguistic puns are always the way to go, so let's go Manuel
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Jul 18, 2019 02:52
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Swiper, no swiping!
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Jul 18, 2019 03:12
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Jade Rider posted:Nack, if the Sonic comics are any indication.
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Jul 18, 2019 03:35
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