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And what's frustrating is you get those uniforms, but you can't modify your challenge clothes at all.
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Dec 13, 2020 19:55
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Okay, I have now seen the hidden link in Raihan's battle music. It's amazing. As for the clothes, I basically live in sweatpants and t-shirts and hoodies, so I for one was really pleased to see a game that lets me be a lazy bum. Don't much like most of the shoes or any of the male backpacks, but eh. At least most of the clothes look like you can actually wear them to roam around cross-country. Not sure why most of the stuff added for the DLC about a martial arts dojo is actually super formal party wear, though.
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Dec 13, 2020 21:06
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I rock a red varsity jacket, blue jeans, and a beret in my main file. I swap between no glasses and glasses every so often. My alternate character, a girl this time, was decked out in Marnie's dress and the starting boots, with a jacket that matched well enough, as well as Marnie's bag for the longest time. I've forgotten what she wears as of now.
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Dec 13, 2020 23:48
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Update 39: Victor of the Semifinals So, as I said earlier, I’ll be taking on these fights in an entirely different manner from their predecessors; while the team itself won’t be customized to my opponents, I’ll have done my homework and planned out my battles based on my research online. If my previous fights were like a first timer moving in with no knowledge of what comes next, these will be like someone who’s already beaten the game and knows what’s coming. Since this isn’t the last time we’ll fight them and they’ll have teams I can fully dissect later, let’s see how much of a difference it makes.     I know that there’s been a lot between us, what with my big brother, Team Yell, helpin’ Spikemuth and all that… I’m not sure I’ve ever connected with someone like I’ve connected with you. It’s like I’m workin’ with an equal for the first time in my life, you know? It’s LOADS of fun hangin’ out with you. And you have the town’s approval, by the way, they appreciated you actually listenin’ to them. But the truth is, when all’s said and done… I really just want to become Champion for myself! Get ready, Gloria – I’m about to beat your arse!   Final Battle! (Marnie) - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST   Our final confrontations with our rivals feature some truly sick remixes of their themes. Marnie’s cranks everything about her original theme up to 11 (appropriate, considering the source), complete with Team Yell losing their minds in the background.   Her Liepard goes first and does a little damage to Baklava, but his Bug-type move takes it out in one hit. When she switches her Scrafty in, I switch Mr. Blobby in and OHKO it with Acrobatics; same with her Toxicroak. Turns out, you know how I thought that move was disappointing? I’d forgotten I’d given Mr. Blobby a holdable item to boost his Ghost-type moves  . That’s gone, and so are his opponents. Jekyll here did something concerning; before Baklava could take it down with another X-Scissors, it hit him with Torment, which prevents him from using the same move twice in a row. For now, I shrug it off and keep Baklava in the field while she throws out her Grimmsnarl.         Her Gigantamax Grimmsnarl. The exchange goes like this:  To avoid Torment (even though I’m not sure it still applies after you Dynamax), I have Baklava use the Fighting Dynamax move, which does a little damage.      Grimmsnarl uses its Gigantamax Move for moderate damage.     Baklava uses the Dynamax Bug move, dealing substantial damage and sealing the win.   This was practically a best-case scenario for me. All of her Pokémon had a chance to outspeed mine, and if they had they could have dealt some real damage, especially Jekyll; if it had used Spark on Baklava, it might have Paralyzed him, putting him at serious risk during the next phase of the plan. But even if worst came to worst, I doubt Marnie could’ve taken out more than one of my Pokémon. I’m not sure if I’d put Marnie’s team’s on the same level as Raihan’s, but they are at least comparable. Playing sloppily against Raihan, I had one Pokémon left at half health. Playing strategically against Marnie, none of them even dropped into the yellow.  I heard them cheerin’ for me and my Pokémon. It was nice… I may have lost, but… D’you hear the cheer they came up with for me? They’ve been usin’ a version of that for nearly as long as I can remember. I came here for myself, not for them, but…… I…  … Oh wait, you’re feelin’ guilty! You feel like you’re stealin’ my dream from me.… Yeah. Oh, Gloria. I hear ya ain’t always clear on how Cup rules work. What, did Sonia tell you that? She’s been spendin’ a lot of time with Piers. So, you know how these are just the Semifinals? Yeah? I decided I’m goin’ to take Piers’s place as Spikemuth’s Gym Leader, for them as much as myself. But it’s the Finals that determine who gets to face the Champion, and all Gym Leaders get guaranteed entry! Back before Leon, at least, Gym Leaders that beat the Champion got to be the champion. The Semifinals just get you into the REAL tournament. As long as I’m the Leader – and I ain’t givin’ that up anytime soon – I’ll get another chance to knock you off your pedestal soon enough. You’re assuming I’m going to win the Cup, though. If you beat me, I know you will  . Looks like she has the right of it  . By the way, once this is all over… Can I take you to Spikemuth and give you the proper tour? Show you the sites, you know? Stop giving me things to look forward to! Think I’ll join my brother in the stands and we’ll watch from the sidelines to see who ends up challengin’ the Champion. See ya, cariad.  We get another quick break, but soon enough, we go back onto the field.   When we got our Pokémon from Lee that day, I never would’ve dreamed that I’d end up standing here… facing you, of all people. I’ll tell you, somewhere deep down, I didn’t honestly think I’d make it through the Challenge, that I’d fail to live up to my brother again. And yet… I feel I’ve learned so much on this journey. I’ve become a better and stronger person as well as Trainer. And you supported me every step of the way, even though you were supporting someone who could cost you the Championship. Thank you, Gloria. From the bottom of my heart. … You’re welcome, Hop. I owe you much the same; you gave me an outlet and support nobody else could’ve provided. You’ve done so much for me over the years, I couldn’t possibly make it up to you. Ha! You say that like it isn’t mutual. …Which is why it’s such a goddamn shame that your journey ends here! I lost to you in our very first match. But it’s time I finish what was started that day… Got it? The one who’ll become Champion is me!    Final Battle! (Hop) - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST  I understand a lot of people like Hop’s base battle theme, but of the rival themes, it’s actually my least favorite. It just doesn’t have Bede’s edge or Marnie’s force. But Hop’s final battle theme is easily their match. It takes every aspect of his regular theme and cranks it up to 11, making it just energizing like its predecessor wasn’t.    He knows how to throw  ! Stage one? Just Body Press Dubwool.  Oh? Take you by surprise? Just you wait  Anyway, one Body Press isn’t enough to finish the job, but even after he uses a Full Restore on it, I just take it down with couple X-Scissors to save PP for later. His Corviknight is up next, and out goes Mr. Blobby, who hits it with Thunderbolt…   … Which it’s weak to. Turns out Steel IS weak to Electric  .  Unfortunately, it nails Mr. Blobby with Swagger, confusing him. Since he isn’t the linchpin of any other part of my strategy here, I decide to just tank it out – and it works, I knock it out before it drops Mr. Blobby into the yellow. Next up is the Pincurchin, which I now know is Electric – so a couple of Mud Shots from Tiddles takes it out.  I could probably take down this Snorlax in one Low Kick from Bruce, but I’m saving him for later on, so I go ahead and take a slightly more risky strategy; I throw out Baklava to start slapping it with Body Presses and see how well it can stand up to Snorlax’s counterattacks. If Baklava fell, I was planning to switch over to L337, who has a powerful move called Draco Meteor which could probably seal the deal. But as it turns out, I heavily overestimated it, and it never even dropped Baklava into the yellow.  And now we face down a fully-realized John Bonham. I already knew Hop would Dynamax him at the first opportunity, so I toss out Bruce for one climactic clash.          He stumbles a little here  .  Unfortunately, even Dynamax wasn’t enough to keep him alive for more than one turn.    One Max Flare keyed off Pyro Ball and he’s out for the count. Once more, the difference between my performance against Hop and against Raihan couldn’t be more dramatic. While there are ways I could’ve made this fight even faster – teach Tiddles Earthquake, for instance – as it was, he went down even more easily than Marnie did. And yes, I know, my Pokémon are far stronger than his, but honestly, when I fought these battles in my first run, I was at least 10 levels higher on average and lost a Pokémon to them apiece. Once again, this isn’t the last time we see Hop and Marnie in battle, and I won’t be nearly as ruthless next time.   Commentator :… Hopeful Trainers in the Gym Challenge is… Challenger Gloria! … Yeah, that was about what I was expecting. But hey – guess what I just got in this morning?  I’ve been accepted! Oh, wonderful! At UNIVERSITY COLLEGE WYNDON  I KNOW! One of the best schools in the country…  Bloody hell, Hop, congratulations! Sonia had me apply. I didn’t think I’d get in, but apparently my A-levels were JUST high enough to qualify... You know, I’m not nearly as sad about losing as I would’ve been even a couple weeks ago. As much as I like battling, I think I just like working with Pokémon more. I think I’m ready to go down my own path now, and before we started the Challenge, I never even would’ve considered that. It’s been an honor fighting you, Hop. Same to you, Champion-to-be.
Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Dec 14, 2020 |
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Dec 14, 2020 02:40
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Eeeeee. 
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Dec 14, 2020 19:48
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Falconier111 posted:Unfortunately, it nails Mr. Blobby with Scary Face, confusing him. I think you mean Swagger here.
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Dec 14, 2020 21:10
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Dareon posted:A thousand bucks (I'm treating Pokebucks as yen, and yen as roughly equivalent to cents, makes for a good enough exchange rate for anime) is probably about right for a trendy leather jacket from a London boutique. But you also noted something I was mildly annoyed by. There are only three clothing themes: Absolute milquetoast, twisted loving psychopath, and... soccer uniform. Mind you, punk is basically my jam, and I did come up with some interesting things using Steel/Poison/Psychic uniform parts with more normal clothing, but the lack of variety sort of grated on me after a while. Falconier111 posted:
Falconier111 posted:I understand a lot of people like Hop’s base battle theme, but of the rival themes, it’s actually my least favorite. It just doesn’t have Bede’s edge or Marnie’s force. But Hop’s final battle theme is easily their match. It takes every aspect of his regular theme and cranks it up to 11, making it just energizing like its predecessor wasn’t.
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Dec 14, 2020 21:10
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Blaziken386 posted:Far more interesting and useful than vitamins, which can be safely ignored in favor of pokejobs, is the item at the top of the list, the QuickBall! Aka, the "gently caress this poo poo i win" ball, because even at full health, a 5x catch rate trivializes almost every single encounter! Using them to chump legendaries will never not be the most satisfying and amusing thing. Boss battle, what boss battle?
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Dec 14, 2020 21:47
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Blaziken386 posted:Far more interesting and useful than vitamins, which can be safely ignored in favor of pokejobs, is the item at the top of the list, the QuickBall! Aka, the "gently caress this poo poo i win" ball, because even at full health, a 5x catch rate trivializes almost every single encounter! I'm worried what you just heard was, "Give me a lot of Quick Balls." What I said was, "Give me all the Quick Balls you have." Do you understand? ...I bought like 115 Quick Balls today at a Watt Trader. I do tend to try and match balls to mons for my actual team (Often by color or just how I feel their VFX matches, like a lot of pink or cute things go in Heal Balls), but if I'm just catching for the dex it's Quick Ball and done. And since I'm at least attempting Mono-Bug (I picked a bad time to actually buy the DLC), nearly everything is for the dex. I grew up with Gen 1, I can't not attempt to catch 'em all.
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Dec 14, 2020 21:51
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Blaziken386 posted:Far more interesting and useful than vitamins, which can be safely ignored in favor of pokejobs, is the item at the top of the list, the QuickBall! Aka, the "gently caress this poo poo i win" ball, because even at full health, a 5x catch rate trivializes almost every single encounter! Black Robe posted:Using them to chump legendaries will never not be the most satisfying and amusing thing. Boss battle, what boss battle?
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Dec 14, 2020 22:21
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AradoBalanga posted:I don't know what's more hilariously busted: chumping hard-to-catch 'mons with Quick Balls....or chumping hard-to-catch 'mons with Dusk Balls. How about taking advantage of Max Den capture rates to put random things in Beast Balls?
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Dec 14, 2020 23:42
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BlazetheInferno posted:I think you mean Swagger here. Fixed, thanx. Blaziken386 posted:Really, all of the tournament battle themes are stellar, for good reason - turning it up to 11 is the name of the game here! What's the Poképun equivalent of Spın̈al Tap? Also, informal poll time; when I get to the next stage of the finals, should I keep fighting strategically or go back to the original style? Edit: oh my God, I forgot how dumb this next sequence is. Every time I write around one awful decision, somebody else makes one that's even worse 
Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Dec 15, 2020 |
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Dec 15, 2020 00:00
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Falconier111 posted:Edit: oh my God, I forgot how dumb this next sequence is. Every time I write around one awful decision, somebody else makes one that's even worse I don't know exactly what's up next, but sometimes you just have to lean into the idiocy. Some people will do things out of stupidity, or because they think it'll look cool, or to maximise pain. As long as you can make it fun to read about, I think we'll be fine.
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Dec 15, 2020 05:14
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Update 40: Good Thinking Wyndon - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST    Challenger Gloria! That was incredible. Brilliant. Honestly… There were even tears rolling down my face before I knew it. To think that the two of you set out together from the same town, built up the greatest teams, and arrived here at this point to throw everything you had at one another… That burning desire to win… Those moves filled with undefeatable passion! It was battling at its very purest, in every possible way!  My team members and I will give everything that we’ve got to defeat our Challenger. And the Challenger standing before us might well end up being you, Gloria. In fact, that’s precisely what I’m hoping for! I’m hoping for a meal and a nap, honestly. Agreed! I’m completely exhausted! I just want to go back to the hotel and rest. Why don’t we go get some dinner together? I wouldn’t say no, but… you never care at all what food tastes like, Lee! A night like this deserves more than rubbish takeaway, so at least pick something good!I hear you two have rooms at the Rose of the Rondelands. How about you check in now? I’ll meet you in a bit.…  Reporter: Got some time for questions?! First question! You and Challenger Hop were both endorsed by the Champion, making the two of you rivals in a sense, wouldn’t you say?  Reporter: Right… Question number two!  Reporter: Question three!  All right – that’s enough! Gloria is already tired from battle! And you’ve been asking rather rude questions! We’ve got ourselves dinner plans with my brother, so, sorry, but clear off already, would you?Reporter: Yes, yes, I understand! Looking forward to seeing the birth of a new star!   I hope Lee gets here soon. I could eat my own arm about now.… ………… Bollocks to this, getting a snack. Seriously? It’s, what, half past two? My stomache’s about to eat itself alive, I don’t know about you. I mean, I won’t be getting a full meal, but, well.… Grab me something too, mate.… … That’s what you’d THINK. But I’m waxing hot and cold on it now, you know? Yeah, I know what you mean. Well, sort of. I just like the attention . Me too, in theory. But… There is something to be said for just not getting hassled on the street by people who recognize you. Like, you know this jacket? Nice jacket, by the way. Thanks! But when I went in to buy it, the woman manning the counter would not stop following me around. It’s like, I have to boot up Social_Interaction.exe to talk to strangers, right? But she wouldn't let me shut it down long enough to actually shop until I told her to piss off...…   … Have you tried calling him again? Of course I have! Straight to the answering machine. Again. I don’t even know if he’s read my texts. He always does what he says he’ll do. As a kid, he promised me he’d become Champion one day, and he went and did just that! He ought to be able to keep to his own dinner plans!  If you were that noisy durin’ battle, you’d unleash a whole new level of power, you know. Oh, pack it in, Piers! I’m seriously worried here! So I don’t need to see your smug mug looking like you’re having a go at me even though you act like you’re giving me good advice! Judgin’ by appearances? No wonder you lost to your mate. If you’re lookin’ for the Champion, I saw him headin’ to Rose Tower. Dunno what he’s up to, but I ran into him at the monorail platform. He said to tell you that he had somethin’ to do at Rose Tower, so he’d be late to your dinner. But why Rose Tower? What could he have to do there at this hour? Piers, do us a favor. Take us to Rose Tower, would you? Neither Gloria nor I know the way. Sheesh… What rude siblings, always so demandin’ of others. Though I s’ppose… It’s a real problem for me, too, if the Finals are held up for any reason. And I don’t really hate the two of you little runts. You were good enough to beat me, after all.  Quick turnabout… Okay, so, this next sequence. This next section is pure solidified videogame logic. While I could theoretically figure out a way to fit it into the story, I just can’t get it to square with everything I’ve written so far unless I completely rewrite it, cutting most of the sequence out in the process. Problem is? I’d be removing big chunks of gameplay and story for convenience, and Pokémon Sword and Shield have seen enough of that already . So I’ve decided to temporarily split the narrative. The rest of this update is  NON-CANON . I’ll pick up the narrative thread from where we left off next update. For now, enjoy the  . … You, Gloria… We decided that Team Yell will cheer you on, Gloria. Let’s help out together.Chairman Rose's Theme - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST  Ms. Oleana? Chairman Rose is with the Champion in a very, very important meeting… There is no way I will let anyone interfere! After all, only authorized personnel with the proper key can ride the monorail to Rose Tower.  I have hand selected a member of the League staff and given them a key. Chairman Rose does enjoy these kind of menial games after all [sic]. Do you think you can tell the difference between normal League staff and the one I chose? What should we do? I got this one! Gloria! Team Yell’s yellin’ will handle this! No. This is brilliant! I’ll search around the front of the stadium!Hop runs off. For now, we should try to head to the Plaza together, right?Wyndon - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST  That bad one was wearin’ those lame shades, right? And now the game ACTUALLY releases us. There’s a bunch of MC goons hanging around near the fountain, but most of them don’t seem to know anything. They don’t even mind talking to us and seem as vaguely confused as we are. Except for one guy standing in the corner who won’t turn around to face the Team Yell Grunt harassing him.  The One Oleana Chose: What?! Blast, I turned around! And I can’t escape?! In that case, time for a Pokémon battle! I’m wasn’t going to even bother recording this fight until…  … Marnie pops in and boosts Bruce’s Attack. I didn’t really need your help, Marnie, but it is appreciated.  He then just bolts as me and the Team Yell Grunt stand there like  . Back to the search! So what if I do  ?   Second verse, same as the first. Once again, he manages to slip away without anyone trying to stop him.  … Seriously?   THIRD verse, same as the first. The One Oleana Chose: Seems like you’ve got me cornered... But I’m not going to give up! An earful from Ms. Oleana is way worse than anything you lot can do! Good luck catching me on the monorail!    You did a crackin’ job of cornerin’ that bad League staff member. Let me sing you a song fittin’ of your rockin’ deeds!      Those… Those lyrics aren’t very punk. They don't even change the background music.  The locals stampede the MC on their way to see Piers .  …   Just how tall do you think it is? I can’t even see the top, up there in the clouds. So what should we do? Team Yell is gonna have their hands full holdin’ up those bad League staff members. They won’t be catchin’ up anytime soon. Good thinking! Let’s collect Lee and get out of here! Without him, there’s no Champion for you to challenge in the Champion Cup! Some right wild concerts we had back then. But no encores! Wait, you’re still here? You better get goin’! I’ll send some support your way with a yell! Gotta stick around to make sure my bro doesn’t do anythin’ too crazy, right? Come back if you need anythin’.
Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Dec 16, 2020 |
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Dec 16, 2020 04:02
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SwSh's idea of endgame plot is... zany. To put it mildly.
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Dec 16, 2020 04:29
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That...sure was a sequence of random events.
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Dec 16, 2020 04:53
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I was wondering how you were going to handle this section. I still have a hard time processing how weird and nonsensical this whole final segment is every time I see it; it honestly feels like they had more content planned and then cobbled this version together when they ran out of time to do it properly? I don't even know. It's not like Pokemon games have ever really been known for having the most coherent plots but even in comparison to others, it feels like this one really fell apart at the end.
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Dec 16, 2020 04:55
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I honestly really like this segment despite it being nonsense. It's a good reminder that hey, we're actually kids and we don't really know how to handle things. Oleana is just stalling for time so Rose can finish doing his thing, and this is friendlier than the usual tactic of just spawning in goons to try and beat us up (sadly she resorts to that in the next part, but at least this bit is different). And since we're a bunch of enthusiastic but clueless kids, of course we're running around after her goons instead of ignoring them and chasing the plot. It's absolutely silly and dumb and that's why I like it. Whenever Pokemon tries to be super serious it never quite works, they're much better at slightly daft. I like the Yells joining in as well. And Piers starting a mini-riot to distract everyone was great even if they should have given him some new music for it. It's the next bit that fails for me, as well as the actual reason why Rose is doing this.
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Dec 16, 2020 09:33
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Wow, that was unexpected. I mean, I'd heard the basics of the upcoming sequence, and that it involved Oleana proving to the kids that something serious is up because of how much she was going out of the way to stop them, and Piers (safely) living out some of his anarchist evil Team fantasies in a raid on Rose tower. But I never would have thought up the details in the chase for the key.
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Dec 16, 2020 12:05
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MightyPretenders posted:Wow, that was unexpected. He actually left out the best part of Piers' scene there: There's two Zigzagoon in the tram station that love his music and go loving nuts in that cutscene.
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Dec 16, 2020 19:15
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Yeah, this is one of the areas you can feel the short dev cycle is hindering the game.
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Dec 16, 2020 20:03
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Oh good, so I’m not crazy  If this were a sillier game, it wouldn’t stick out as much. But while it isn’t exactly realistic, SwSh is grounded enough that this stuff comes out of left field. At least it isn’t outright criminal activity yet! E: oh, not sure I asked this: when I get to the next round of the finals, should I still do the prep work I did for Marnie and Hop or go back to the older style of ignorant flailing? Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Dec 16, 2020 |
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Dec 16, 2020 21:30
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Falconier111 posted:Oh good, so I’m not crazy I think there's probably a middle ground, there's no need to sit and do homework but a quick look at upcoming teams and a reminder of type matchups just so you avoid anything too embarrassing won't hurt.
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Dec 16, 2020 22:39
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Just this section really feels like a time-waster, having Marnie coming in and cheer is fun, but there's probably better places to insert that in.
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Dec 17, 2020 01:02
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Falconier111 posted:E: oh, not sure I asked this: when I get to the next round of the finals, should I still do the prep work I did for Marnie and Hop or go back to the older style of ignorant flailing? At this tier, I would expect challengers to do their homework about the people they'll be facing, as much as they're able. It'd be a bit unrealistic for Gloria to not be able to steamroll either of them, and insulting to low-ball them to boot.
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Dec 17, 2020 09:34
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While it looks like I’m either asymptomatic or my symptoms are so minor they’re easily confused with seasonal allergies, I just got diagnosed with the COVID . I should be able to keep writing this, and in fact probably should in order to stay sane until my quarantine ends in 10 days, but there may be delays as I find places to play and dictate that are safe for my family.
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Dec 17, 2020 17:39
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Stay safe, friend. Get well soon.
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Dec 17, 2020 17:52
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I'm sorry to hear that, drat. If writing the LP helps you get through it, then by all means, but please don't feel obligated. Your health comes first, obviously.
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Dec 17, 2020 17:54
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Sorry to hear of your situation Falconier. Make sure to take plenty of fluids and rest! If the LP helps keep you going through your quarantine then we are more than happy to read it!
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Dec 17, 2020 19:52
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Update 41: Something Truly Spectacular Wyndon - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST Let’s pick up where we left off. Quick turnabout. You’ll need somethin’ to ride the monorail over, though, since it’s limited to MC employees. So, I’ll walk ya over there and use my keycard to start it up for you two. Hell yes! And off he goes……… You played him. He wouldn’t have been ready to force the issue unless revved him up. Mmhmm. Just like you played Marnie before her gym battle. Well, now, that’s a mite uncharitable isn’t it? All I did was push her along a little bit. I didn’t have anythin’ to do with that Team Yell business.… But you knew it was going on. Right perceptive, you are. I just figured she needed a little push to realize how far she’d come, and I knew she was right sick of the lads condescendin’ to her. Were you expecting her to snog me in front of you and half the city? Five years ago she was beatin’ herself up about not being able to hug anybody. Kissin’ you demonstrated how far she’s come. I knew it, she knew it, the lads knew it. I’m right proud of her, I am.… And what about me? With her? I may be, shall we say, estranged from Rose, but I’m still a Gym Leader. I’ve heard nothin’ but good things, and that’s not countin’ all the praise Sonia likes to heap on you. Speaking of which, what’s going on between you and her? A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.… You’d better treat her right, Piers. You don’t have to worry on that front. I’d never hurt her. But how do I know you won’t – FINALLY. What the gently caress took you two so long? So sorry to cut this conversation short, but it looks like your friend’s waiting for you.   … And now the narratives come back together. We get a brief moment of freedom to roam the Tower grounds, but there isn’t much to do except find a couple items. Gloria… Don’t know if you knew this already, but I’ve heard Rose Tower was built on a Power Spot. Yeah, you know what I’m saying… When we get up to the roof and have a bit of space, we can Dynamax our Pokémon! Why would I want to do that? Why would HE want to do that? He’s a big show off?   Uh, ma’am? Can we – can we use the lift?Storming Rose Tower - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST  MC Grunt: I’m afraid you two are trespassing on private property and I have to ask you to leave. What? We literally just walked in – Don’t yell at a security guard, are you mad? MC Grunt: Is there going to be a problem? No, no, we’ll leave now – MC Grunt: Ms. Oleana?! Please answer your phone.MC Grunt:… Ms. Oleana? MC Grunt: Wait, the chairman himself? MC Grunt: What do you MEAN without escort?!  MC Grunt:… Understood. ……MC Grunt: Chairman Rose has invited you to the top of the Tower. Please step through the door behind me and ride the lift to the viewing platform.… Thanks?MC Grunt: Get on the lift. Okay!Move! Why does that bloke scare you so badly? Why DOESN’T he scare you? I’d rather not have my career derailed by getting booked for unlawful entry!Gloria’s right, you know. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise that I’ve been doctoring small parts of the narrative without telling you (<player_name> didn’t actually talk the Team Yell grunt out of trying to steal that bike  ). Last update covered a sequence too extended for me to excise and too nonsensical for me to include, so I compromised by splitting the narrative. This time, though? Canonically, you and Hop scale the tower by having Pokémon battles against employees that try to stop you on the way up. That HAS to be the PokéWorld equivalent of breaking and entering. But no, nobody ever treats it as a big deal even though you used violence to enter and stay within private property. gently caress, man. So, yeah. I’m not having them break the law. As you travel up the tower, workers from Macro Cosmos’s subsidiaries (construction, airliner, and life insurance) come out and challenge you and Hop to double battles. They aren’t terribly notable – the Pokémon are pretty strong, a little below Hop in level, but each employee only has one Pokémon and Hop fully heals your party after each fight so I can’t imagine them posing a threat. They don’t even have separate battle music, the music never changes . They do, however, provide us with something wonderful. They use the possessive correctly! While some people would look at this and say the S on the end is incorrect, in fact according to most accepted style guides, you only omit the S for plural possessive nouns  . For instance, if we wanted to insult our employer, we would talk about our boss’s shriveled genitalia, not our boss’ shriveled genitalia. If we were talking about multiple bosses, only THEN would we omit the S: our bosses’ shriveled genitalia. I’m really glad they got that one right. Otherwise, I’d expect these losers to tell us its there doody twos top use.Anyways the elevator eventually stops.   I actually waited for a few seconds before I realized we were free to walk around. I promptly walked away from Oleana to explore only to get flung right back into a cutscene. I’ve been instructed by the chairman to wait with you until he and the Champion have finished their conversation. Aren’t you his second in command? Shouldn’t you be, you know, doing administration and such? Of course I should! But, the Chairman always knows better. He said I should wait here, and that’s what will happen. Why? That’s kind of wasting talent, isn’t it? I refuse to discuss this with you. I’m not sure I’d accuse the man who raised Bede of having personnel management skills –  How dare you talk about him! You ruined his life! Pretty sure he did that on his own. He’s kind of a mess, did you realize? He was a rising star! And then he ran into you and his whole life went to poo poo! Oleana, I never even tried to fight him. He just challenged me a few times before he lost it. He HAD to! He had to prove himself worthy of the chairman’s attention. When he couldn’t beat you, it humiliated him in front of Mr. Rose. His disappointment would break ANY of us. But wouldn’t that mean Rose set him up to fail?   Battle! (Oleana) - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST   I like how Oleana’s theme is mostly just the Wyndon theme remix, and also how her team is just a little bit more levelled than some of the strongest Challenges. Anyway, it’s actually a pretty easy fight. Her Froslas goes down in one hit, but her Milotic is a pain in my rear end.  It doesn’t threaten Briggs much, but it does constantly heal itself up to make my life harder. Her Salazzle goes down in one Bubble Beam from Tiddles, and her Tsareena goes down in one X-Scissor from Baklava .But remember how Hop said we could Dynamax on this tower?  [img]https://lpix.org/3908470/shield 41 d 2].jpg[/img]        Now Oleana’s pile of garbage Pokémon is a bigger, more visually intricate pile of garbage. It’s still not terribly intimidating, though.   My gut instinct is that this fight exists as some kind of progress check: you might be able to scrape by against Hop and take down Marnie through exploiting her Type weaknesses, but Oleana exists to make sure those weren’t flukes. But honestly, she’s really not intimidating. Most of her Pokémon are pretty fragile and have obvious counters, and frankly, if you’ve made it this far, you should be able to take her down, no problem. … They’re in the viewing station on the top floor. There is a spiral staircase behind you. Take it up. Thank you, Ms. Oleana. You really have a talent for setting people off, don’t you? I mean, I GUESS. I don’t do it on purpose……
Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 03:29 on Dec 18, 2020 |
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Dec 18, 2020 03:23
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Yeah, this is where the story really breaks down. Fighting on an elevator is one, stupid, and two, not very interesting. You just stand there while grunts wander over occasionally. It's the worst final-dungeon-gauntlet in the series. Letting us wander around Rose Tower a bit would have helped even if it was just near-identical offices. Have Oleana disable the elevator to further delay us and make us go use the stairs.
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Dec 18, 2020 06:32
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I totally understand how it feels like making an LP is keeping you sane. I'm enjoying this LP so far, and while I think you're going to be alright, I hope you get better sooner than later. Judging from Spikemuth being underdeveloped, the lack of a Victory Road, and now this tower, it sort of feels like Game Freak ran out of money near the end of development. Is it just me?
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Dec 18, 2020 06:59
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So I see you're not going with the interpretation that Oleana faked or sabotaged the Stow-on-side mission to get rid of Bede. (The game leaves it a bit open whether the "vandalism" was actually part of Rose's plan with Bede being a disposable scapegoat, Oleana "encouraging" Bede's misbehavior to arrange for Rose to kick him out so she has less competition for Rose's attention, or Bede just being an idiot all on his own.)
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Dec 18, 2020 13:50
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HisouTenshi posted:I totally understand how it feels like making an LP is keeping you sane. I'm enjoying this LP so far, and while I think you're going to be alright, I hope you get better sooner than later. Time, more than money, I would think. Generally the first game pair of every gen ends up being quite rushed, and the third version would fill in gaps and expand a few areas along with fixing bugs and such. Now they don't do a third version any more. Kalos got shafted hard, there's a lot of missing content in X/Y and it shows. Alola did better, but the... sequel? AU? whatever... still had to fill in some stuff. Galar's DLC has helped but this model really isn't sustainable any more, they're rushing to put out a new game or DLC every year but the games are suffering as a result. Hopefully they'll slow down a bit and put more into the games going forward.
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Dec 18, 2020 13:55
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Black Robe posted:Time, more than money, I would think. Generally the first game pair of every gen ends up being quite rushed, and the third version would fill in gaps and expand a few areas along with fixing bugs and such. Now they don't do a third version any more. Kalos got shafted hard, there's a lot of missing content in X/Y and it shows. Alola did better, but the... sequel? AU? whatever... still had to fill in some stuff. Galar's DLC has helped but this model really isn't sustainable any more, they're rushing to put out a new game or DLC every year but the games are suffering as a result. Hopefully they'll slow down a bit and put more into the games going forward. Yeah, the thing with Pokemon is the games are just a small part of the media empire. A new game generation will always kick off the new set of mons and locations and characters, and then after that the generation has its anime seasons and trading card sets and new toys and merch and all of it. It means the games can't have delays, as that would delay everything. They're a victim of their own sucess and we end up with big cuts like this because delaying for a better-quality game won't bring in as much money as will be lost pushing back the rest of it all. There's so many obvious cuts after Spikemuth. On top of what I mentioned last time about there probably supposed to be a dungeon in Hammerlocke, then Hammerlocke not having any unique gym environment, and this next dungeon-y challenge just being a long straight elevator (that I think is also used for the battle arena in this gen?). It comes out in the plot too; everything from the hotel onwards assumes everyone undertands Rose is the villain. Leon is late due to meeting him; Hop is worried and wants to go to him. Oleana shows up and tries to delay you or stop you. Piers and Team Yell step in to help you out against the real bad guys. As goofy as the sequence is it all makes sense... if the plot had actually established anyone thinks Rose isn't trustworthy. Sure, as media-savvy adults it's no surprise that the billionaire industrialist with big ideas is a bad guy, but there's definitely a plot beat missing where Hop and the player character come to that conclusion themselves. Still, Oleana is fun. A lot of people have theories about her past, since her team is four elegant, beautiful creatures and then her ace is a literal pile of garbage. There's stuff to work with there. Shame we didn't get to see all that much of her character in the end. At least we're largely at the end of it now, as we reached the story's climax that actually got worked on.
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Dec 18, 2020 14:53
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Tenebrais posted:It comes out in the plot too; everything from the hotel onwards assumes everyone undertands Rose is the villain. Leon is late due to meeting him; Hop is worried and wants to go to him. Oleana shows up and tries to delay you or stop you. Piers and Team Yell step in to help you out against the real bad guys. As goofy as the sequence is it all makes sense... if the plot had actually established anyone thinks Rose isn't trustworthy. Sure, as media-savvy adults it's no surprise that the billionaire industrialist with big ideas is a bad guy, but there's definitely a plot beat missing where Hop and the player character come to that conclusion themselves. I'm replaying at the moment and I noticed on Route 3 Sonia points out a processing plant off in the distance near the mines. I assume originally we were meant to go there at some point and find all sorts of things hinting that Rose had his own agenda, because she really makes a point of drawing your attention to it but you never actually go anywhere near it.
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Dec 18, 2020 16:02
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Black Robe posted:I'm replaying at the moment and I noticed on Route 3 Sonia points out a processing plant off in the distance near the mines. I assume originally we were meant to go there at some point and find all sorts of things hinting that Rose had his own agenda, because she really makes a point of drawing your attention to it but you never actually go anywhere near it. The same thing happened with all those power plants or what have you in XY.
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Dec 18, 2020 18:12
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Even with the plot coming apart at the seams, I will say this much: Oleana's got some very good facial expressions for a mid-boss.
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Dec 18, 2020 19:34
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Hunter Noventa posted:The same thing happened with all those power plants or what have you in XY. I mean, the Kalos power plant/pokeball factory do have THIS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeA53uP_bxU
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Dec 18, 2020 19:36
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It always struck me as odd that, while most regions have some kind of circular layout, Galar has kind of a tree thing going on. It’s an awful lot of backtracking (or using a skytaxi to be fair).
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Dec 18, 2020 21:17
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