Part 18: Mt. Battle, Part Two

Mt. Battle, Part Two

Jumping back in time a little bit, to before Justy, Phenac and Pyrite Colosseum. Many NPCs have some new things to say and do after liberating Mt. Battle from Dakim's incursion.


What happened inside there, I wonder?


I'm sorry, but I want to see the proof with my own eyes!

ATHLETE ADIEL, P$624
Pikachu (Lv.39, M)
Vulpix (Lv.38, F)
ADIEL: I'm convinced now!
ADIEL: You'd be able to protect the world's peace, I bet!
Seems people have differing opinions of our character's potential skill usage. Now, we stroll on over to Pyrite Town.

Pyrite Town, Part Six

The most important thing to do is to visit the Chief. When you do, what a surprise, Johnson runs right in a few seconds after you:

JOHNSON: You see, CHIEF, there's talk that there's a mysterious syndicate poised to take over the world... ...Huh? CHIEF? ...You're not the CHIEF... I beg your pardon!
> I'm here, JOHNSON... That story isn't new. Why are all of your reports so out of date all the time?
JOHNSON: Oh! Oh, CHIEF, there you are! You're such a kidder! Ahaha.

From here, you can talk to two people. Sherles is obviously the more important, but you can chat first with Johnson:

JOHNSON: Oh! If we knew that, then it wouldn't be much of a mystery, now, would it? Ahaha.
I'm not sure if this is incompetence, or just foolishness.


SHERLES: If my guess is true, there ought to be more of his kind. If I hear anything on my end, I'll surely let you know. You're [NAME], right? What's your P*DA number?
No! Don't do it! Don't give "the man" your number!
[NAME] gave the P*DA number to SHERLES.
Damnit...
SHERLES: Okay, got it. You take care!

Folly and Trudly are still here, too:

TRUDLY: Humph... So you beat MIROR B. Big deal. This isn't close to being solved.
Opening the door once more:
TRUDLY: Yeah, don't be too proud that you managed to beat MIROR B. They'll make you pay for that!

Takin' it to the street:

> Of course, I still don't have any money to give.
And one of my personal favorites:



DUKING: [NAME], I heard. Thank you. You did it again. But... We don't know why they would go after MT. BATTLE.
♀ explained what had happened to DUKING.
DUKING: Ah, so that's why. They were after the TIME FLUTE. That's what it was. Still, the RELIC in AGATE seems to be important to SHADOW POKEMON. I think you should check into the RELIC some more.
Welcome to a few updates ago, Duking.


YES: MARCIA: Oh, I'm so glad! Let it battle lots of make it strong!
NO: MARCIA: Oh... really? I'm a little worried... Please be good to it.
Stop trying to guilt me into using Plusle!


> That's it! I'll squash them when I get big!


> It's the song for KIDS GRID. I wrote it. Isn't it easy to learn?
I welcome all renditions of this screaming song to be submitted by any takers, for the next update.


SECC: Waaah! You startled me! And it's you again, big guy! It's still a trickle, but we're starting to get information from all over the place. When I have enough useful information, I'll let you know. Can I have your P*DA number?
[NAME] gave the P*DA number to SECC.
SECC: That's perfect. I'll send you e-mail whenever I get anything useful.
I'm not sure how comfortable I am with children calling me "big guy"...

Next, a stroll to the SUPER HOTEL!

But it's sure one mighty building, that REALGAM TOWER.
Hey, we finally have a name for what they're building! Too bad it won't show up on our map like that.


Might he have something to do with that woman in THE UNDER...
Smells of a plot hook.

Zzz... mutter...

Oh, the irony.



She told me that battling today will bring me good luck!

BODYBUILDER HADER, P$440
Beldum (Lv.34)
Aron (Lv.35, M)
HADER: That's it! I'm never going to believe in silly fortune-telling again!
HADER: A battle today would bring good luck, she said... What, to my opponent?!

Checking in with the attempted "scammer?" in the Poke Mart:

> Ack, I'm losing my focus. I have to watch what I'm saying...

And Fateen has a new fortune for us!

FATEEN: Deep under the ground... A swirling black cloud... I see it clearly! That black whirlpool of smoke is a new enemy. Go with caution. This one won't be easy.

Phenac City, Part Way Too Short to Merit a Number

Last, a stroll to Phenac City, for two characters with new things to say:

>: Wah! Were you watching me? Waaah! How embarrassing! I was doing my imitation of JUSTY, the PRE GYM LEADER. He's my idol!
Hm. Let's just pull up Nosepass's data...

Yeah. It's on the weak side, just better to hit it with special attacks than physical ones. You know, the complete opposite of what we did. I might check back with this kid sometime, but it's probably just an incredulous response of something like "Wow, you beat JUSTY? No way!"

And last, Es Cade:

Followed by his usual "I will continue our investigation. You can count on us!" text. Plot unavoidable, progression to Agate.

Agate Village, Part Two

Upon entering the village and walking up the ramp, we are immediately addressed by one of the elders spoken to before:


EAGUN's worried sick about you! Quick! Hurry home and reassure him that you're safe and sound!

Despite the urgency in his voice, there's no need to hasten back to his treehouse. But, for the sake of plot...


Beluh doesn't have anything more to say; you have to speak specifically to Eagun:

EAGUN: So, how goes it? Have you trounced the cretins that raided MT. BATTLE?
YES: I expected nothing less of my own granddaughter! And, of course, [NAME]! Hmhm... I see! So VANDER conferred the TIME FLUTE upon you. Then, what are you waiting for? Depart to the RELIC FOREST and summon CELEBI at once. I wonder what will happen. I find it quite exciting. Ah, yes! There's something I'd forgotten! [NAME], may I have the number of your PD... uh... thing...
[NAME] gave the P*DA number to EAGUN.
EAGUN: Good. I'll try to reach you at this number if anything happens. This makes us pen pals! Hohoho...
Talking to Beluh afterwards:

BELUH: They should resume training there right away. [NAME], even if it is just once, train at MT. BATTLE. I'm sure it will make you even stronger.
Aww. How sweet. I think. One last chat with Eagun:

EAGUN: Luckily, as it is inscribed on the SMALL TABLET, the RELIC in the RELIC FOREST is imbued with CELEBI's power. If a SHADOW POKEMON is ready to throw open its heart's door, you must visit the RELIC.

The next place to head to is a bit unclear, unless you haven't noticed the new point show up on the map, or have talked to the person outside Eagun's home: we're off to the Mystery Lab!


Or we would be. Problem is, the place is locked up pretty tight. They have an electric fence, and I do mean very electric. The simplest, obvious solutions would be to: destroy the gate, use a Ground-type Pokemon to break the electric fence, or...

… answer the e-mail that we just got, backtrack to Pyrite, see what is going on over there, and completely ignore the lab for now. Guess which we're going to do, next update?

_______________________

So, someone brought up an interesting question: does anyone want any final replacements to our team? Optimally, we're be running with four Pokemon at a higher level than we currently have (Lv.45 Ampharos being the benchmark), but if there was any popularity surrounding a change of a team member, now would be the time. Things are going to start getting rougher from here on out, and Pokemon we Snag from now on aren't going to be as useful, from the lack of training. In fact, the only real way to bring any of them up to speed would be traveling through Mt. Battle, so if a later Snag sees sufficient popularity, we might be visiting the different levels of Mt. Battle between updates. Also, since we aren't really using them, do we want the other currently-Shadow Pokemon to be Purified by off-screen wall-walking?

Here's who are on the sidelines, Shadow Pokemon or not:

Lv.28 Umbreon: Our other "starter" Pokemon, whose stats are excellent for walling. Too bad sweepers are far more useful than walls in this game.

Lv.30 Makuhita: When it evolves, it has a great base 144 HP and base 120 Attack. It also gets the amazingly impressive Belly Drum attack, which causes it to lose half its maximum HP in-battle to raise Attack to the +6 stage. Too bad it doesn't learn any useful Fighting-type attacks by level-up, but it does start out with the awesome 100 base power 80% Accuracy Fighting-type Cross Chop attack. Also, we have a Fighting-type, in Hitmontop.

Lv.30 Noctowl: Great for Hypnosis. Not much else.

Lv.30 Misdreavus: A Ghost-type Pokemon with quite usable Special Attack and Speed, but it tends to be underpowered compared to evolved Pokemon, especially as the game progresses.

Lv.30 Quagsire: We got a Damp-ability one, which is much less useful than one with Water Absorb. Without this immunity/healing opportunity, it tends to fall on the side of the lackluster. That said, I am a bit biased, because Water Absorb Quagsire is one of my favorite Pokemon to use, both in and out of Pokemon Colosseum.

Lv.30 Skiploom: Its evolution is quite speedy, but it doesn't hit as hard as some might like. Nonetheless, it is the fastest Sleep status inducer this game has for a while, in the way of Sleep Powder, which makes it a valuable Pokemon when it comes to Snagging others, and there will be a lot of that coming up.

Lv.30 Slugma: Given our Rain Dance team orientation, this Pokemon is not going to have a chance for its few talents to shine.

Lv.33 Furret: An awesome sock with feet, Furret just seems to fall short of being useful at much stat-wise, but I'll be damned if her attack animations aren't amusing.

Lv.33 Yanma: A lot of fun to use, especially when it outspeeds everything in about one or two turns. However, much like, its movepool in this game is on the lackluster side, needing TMs and move tutors that we just don't have access to in order to reach her full potential.

Lv.20 Remoraid: A fish that evolves into a slow but strong octopus. Make of that what you will. Like Plusle, this will need a LOT of battling in order to bring it up to the 40+ level our other Pokemon are at.

Lv.33 Mantine: Another wall, but this one with a 4x weakness to Electric attacks. Without Surf and Ice Beam, there is little he can do to help us.

Lv.33 Qwilfish: Qwilfish fits in very well with our Rain Dance theme, his Swift Swim ability doubling his speed in the downpour. With Sludge Bomb as a STAB attack, backed up by Surf, it can do some serious damage for a Pokemon usually underrated for its stats.

Lv.33 Meditite: A glass cannon (one very strong attack stat, but weak defenses, and sometimes low Speed) who is unable to reach full potential in this game, without access to some important attacks tutorable in other games. Its best assets, its Attack stat and Fighting type, are mostly covered by Hitmontop, and its ability to use Psychic attacks are underwhelming compared to Espeon.

Lv.33 Swablu: To be honest, I've never really used a Swablu or Altaria frequently, but the ones I have used are supported heavily by a pool of TMs that compensate for its weak movepool. As the Dragon/Flying type Altaria, at lv.35, the 60 bp 100% accuracy Dragonbreath is its main chance at damage and status (Paralysis) afflication. At Lv.40, it gains the Attack and Speed-boosting Dragon Dance attack, and at Lv.59, the two-turn 140 bp 90% accuracy Flying-type Sky Attack, but other than that, good moves are few and far between.

Lv.35 Sudowoodo: Sweet Attack, even better Defense, but a slew of weaknesses and low Speed are hampering characteristics that Sudowoodo has a hard time getting around in this game.

Lv.13 Plusle: Plusle is Plusle, and has been thoroughly explained before. Of all Pokemon, this would need the most training to bring it up to the level of its fellow teammates.