Part 4: Caving in Pyrite Building
Part 4: Caving in Pyrite Building
Pyrite Building
Oh, nice one. Our new champ is quite the appealing charmer. It makes a nice change from that parade of macho musclemen... Wait! This isn't happening! This guy... he's that THOMAS guy that MIROR B.'d been carrying on about?
Wh-What? That same guy who messed with us in PHENAC CITY? Gaaah! I didn't know that when I let him in here! I'll boot you back out!
Damn, our cover got blown. Should've worn a hat or something. Oh well, I'm guessing this is the Shadow Pokemon they were gonna give us, so we'll have to take it by force. Let's see what it's like.
Yanma, 75 catch rate (41%, low health, paralyzed, Pokeball), starting moves: Uproar, Sonicboom, Supersonic, Shadow Rush/Detect
Alright, we've reached our first mon that's pretty bad with not much in the way of redeemable qualities, due to its awful typing, lack of STAB and low stats. Yanma is fast, definitely, but it hits slightly harder on the special side (not that 75 is all that great, but anyway) and gets very little to take advantage of that. Usually the moves Shadow Pokemon get are pretty good, but it's telling when Yanma gets nothing remotely useful, only getting Uproar slightly earlier than in RS, whoopee. It won't get STAB until level 43 and has no way of getting a Bug move in this game. The best option it gets until postgame is Giga Drain or, uh, Steel Wing, so the best it can do is outspeed something and confuse it. Yikes.
This is also the first Shadow Pokemon where Ability really matters, since they can have either when you encounter them. If you don't get the right ability, then you'll need to reset and hope you get it next time. At least you were able to save after finishing the Colosseum. Speed Boost is obviously better than Compoundeyes, unless you want a more accurate Supersonic. Nature can also be reset for, but, uh, you need to reduce the Heart Gauge for that, so it's not something you can really reset for.[/i]
If you fancy outspeeding and confusing with Supersonic, then boy is this the Pokemon for you.
Even Sonicboom is useless on it since we're way past the point where 20 damage is a lot.
This guy really likes Bug types.
It's useless! I don't stand a chance of winning! Now, hold on! You're the one who brought him here!
DUKING! This is where they were giving SHADOW POKEMON to the winners of battle challenges!
SHADOW POKEMON? Those ferocious POKEMON that even attack people?! Yes! They're giving away SHADOW POKEMON to thugs for some reason. It doesn't look good. Grrr... they were using the COLOSSEUM to do that?!
It's Papa's PLUSLE. I'm so worried that they might be mean to it... It's humiliating. But with PLUSLE in their filthy hands, my own hands are tied... He's not getting away with this! That rotten MIROR B.! But we're here now! We'll get PLUSLE back for you! Right, THOMAS? Giggle! I know I can always count on you, THOMAS! DUKING, it's dangerous inside this building. You've got to get everyone out to safety. Thanks for everything... I have to depend on you. I have no choice. Be careful, always! MIROR B. might look like a clown, but his battling is all business!
Ah, finally, this has been twinkling at me the whole update, super distracting!
SHADOW POKEMON, perhaps because of their own overwhelming power, may behave abnormally at times. They may engage in such behavior as ignoring orders, even turning on their own trainers in battle. This, I have named HYPER MODE. On the plus side, HYPER MODE raises the critical ratio of SHADOW RUSH. However, HYPER MODE also prevents the use of items on the POKEMON. HYPER MODE is easily dispelled. Simply call the POKEMON by name. However, this method has a major drawback. Calling the SHADOW POKEMON's name causes the closed door of its heart to loosen and even open. Further research is urgently needed.
We'll find a few of these Ein Files from now on and they go into a few aspects of Shadow Pokemon. I'll give the general info written instead of transcribing them all, since they mostly boil down to "Everything we do with these Shadow Pokemon make them like us! Gah! I need one that can't be purified!"
I'll rant about this door later, but before we do anything in this building, I need to get some more supplies and Pokeballs, will only be a minute. ... Okay, now let's explore this building. And by explore, I mean fight 26 trainers inbetween here and the boss. (I initially put 25 trainers as a joke, but when I went to count it to be cute I found I was 1 off, holy shit)
Trainers in this game have pretty weird, undefined sight, since this Chaser has no sight to the left, but can see you if you go right no problem.
Both Bayleef and Flaaffy have gotten full movesets now and nearly have empty gauges. Can't wait to do something about this in... Part 6?! That can't be right...
It's probably for the best, Shadow Rush is the only way Flaaffy can hurt Ground types right now.
Who here needs to drop the Lift Key???
It's weird that trainers have got diagonal sight now.
Urgh... I'm no match... I must level up more...
On the second floor, we have a tease of cool items we can't get yet cause we've yet to find a working machine.
But yeah, there's just a bunch of trainers to fight. Aren't you glad I chose this LP to show them off more?
We're getting some type advantage now, but the opponent's levels just keep climbing and only Espeon is gaining experience for the moment.
Look just because this game is gritty doesn't mean you can use a gun!
Ooh, now unless we want to use moves aside from Shadow Rush, we don't need to call Flaaffy out of this. Healing via machines won't bring him out of Hyper Mode either, so that's one way to get around the no item restriction.
Beautiful. I dunno why this guy is a robot.
Maybe you have to be crazy to work here.
These will help a lot as while we still get a boost to a Pokemon's catch rate, it could be 10% for all we know, which isn't very helpful against certain Pokemon we'll be facing soon.
It's a bit early to start using Selfdestruct tactics. R-Right?
Okay that's a relief.
Third floor!
That SpAtk is hilarious to look at every time. It's just so big!
I only lost because I didn't have a SHADOW POKEMON this time.
Feels like I can't go four steps without another trainer.
Even with Bayleef out, Espeon gets targeted. The AI in Colosseum is pretty random and oftentimes when they pick a Pokemon to attack, they tend to just keep attacking that mon continuously.
Dunno what the first room is for, but don't miss out on this item you can't see cause of perspective. The game likes doing that.
I'm liking all the Water types we're facing.
Hey, why does this Water type know Dragon Dance? Well, a Razor Leaf sorts it and Sandshrew out.
Alright, the final trainer of this building.
Ganging up on Espeon works better when you use better moves than Wrap and non-STAB Faint Attack.
Alright, the top. What awaits us in the building? It better not be a damsel in distress!
Grr... wh-where's MIROR B.? I'm taking him down!
Take him down? After the beating you took? That's too funny! Ahahah! You wait, I'm going to drive all of you out of this town! Ahahah! Ooh, such a fiesty boy! Don't tell me we have to take your POKEMON hostage to make you settle down. Like we did with DUKING. Wh-What?! Miror B. Peon Battle
This is kind of a boss battle and it's the first Shadow Pokemon we've seen in a minute. It's also our fourth team member! It's gonna be a little tough to use, though, as we'll see in a moment.
And since I need Thunder Wave, Flaaffy comes out of Hyper Mode, though it was great fun having him in it.
And then... I didn't even need it. Still, at least it'll be useful for future battles. Oh yeah, this Remoraid is level 20.
Remoraid, 190 catch rate (62%, high health, paralyzed, Pokeball), starting moves: Aurora Beam, Psybeam, Lock-On, Shadow Rush/Bubblebeam
If you didn't fancy the first two Water Shadow Pokemon, then there are some treats for you up ahead. Remoraid is pretty great, with a wide movepool and good even offenses to abuse the cool moves it learns, as well as gets from TM as an Octillery. There's just one problem: you'll need to baby it, so you can't use it immediately like other Shadow Pokemon. Sure, it's a lower level cause it's thematic (we'll see in a sec), but it really hurts its recommendation, since you want to get it to its third gauge asap so it can actually get some experience. So it'll be a while before you can actually use this Pokemon, which is a shame, since it would be really good right out of the gate with its attacks, though Hustle makes it interesting, if nothing else.
However, despite its wide movepool, it won't get much to add to it for a while, since Psychic, Ice Beam and Flamethrower are practically postgame, though Fire Blast and Blizzard will be good options. It'll also rely on Bubblebeam for STAB, with no Surf and skipping Octozooka if you give it too much exp, which you kinda have to do so you don't have to baby it as much. Sludge Bomb is also postgame and Return has a lot of competition. To top it off, Bullet Seed isn't in this game. The nerve! Anyway, it's good, but it's quite the journey getting there and you'll be using alright moves for the most part, since these games are super stingy on the good stuff.
My POKEMON couldn't muster a thing! You're no ordinary trainer!
Were you hired by DUKING as bodyguards? Let me warn you, if you mess with us, you'd better be prepared for the consequences!
Well that explains the Remoraid. This is gonna be a bitch.
It does a lot of damage with Bubblebeam, but it has monster SpDef, so it'll survive a Thundershock.
Yup. It's a Mantine alright.
Mantine, 25 catch rate (20%, low health, paralyzed, Great Ball), starting moves: Bubblebeam, Take Down, Supersonic, Shadow Rush/Wing Attack
This is a bit fuckin mean for the early game, you might spend a while trying to catch this thing, even with the boosted catch rate of early mons, since if it's a 10% boost or something... that's not very helpful in this instance. Anyway, Mantine is more immediately available compared to Remoraid, but isn't as fun as Quagsire, since it has pitiful Attack and only Bubblebeam and Blizzard to use, with Toxic and Rain Dance if you want to be a special wall that can hit kinda hard.
It's just gonna be fairly one note and only learns Water Pulse later on which, uh, is weaker than Bubblebeam. Not having Surf really sucks and having a Flying typing will be a bit rough against the numerous Electric types you'll face. Water Absorb is nice for the numerous Surfs we'll also face, but with the moveslots for Rain Dance, Swift Swim is also an option. Still, at least you have some interesting choices, but Remoraid is gonna have more to do, so that's why I'm picking it.
Oh hey we've got one of those.
Oh thank god, I was running out of Super Potions, since Mantine solely attacked Flaaffy. That's just what the AI does sometimes.
Well this battle is nearly over, so I'm okay with my mons fainting.
Oh yeah, Sonicboom. Well, Noctowl can be sent out to watch Bayleef finish this up. That was a toughie, but I got lucky with how quickly I caught Mantine. 20% chance with only a few Great Balls is pretty tricky.
Pyrite Building
Righto, FERMA! Ultra-super fire dash!
] Okay... I'm a fool. I didn't know what was happening at all... they'd taken DUKING's POKEMON hostage! How could they do something as downright dirty? That's why we're here. We came to rescue PLUSLE. I'm going, too! Agh, owowow... Not in your condition. You'll have to wait here.
(Yes he is dancing while talking)
Cowardly cheat? That's so not true! Taking a hostage is perfectly fine as a bargaining tactic! You call that a tactic? PLUSLE had better be okay! Oh, the darling couldn't be any safer if it tried! I'm sure it will come to adore me before too much longer. You've got to be kidding! Where is it? Give it back! Fuhohoho. No running or hiding for me! Come to the cave: that's where I'll be. I'll be waiting for you, my pretties! Fuhohoho! Urrggh... I got creamed by the guy who was guarding the cave's entrance... Be careful when you go to the cave! The sentinel is tough!
SHADOW POKEMON: Exudes a black aura some girl could see. Should probably pop a cap in her ass.
We need to prepare for the sentinel, cause he is pretty damn tough. We'll get the item that's been taunting us and, hey, wasn't there a PC here? We can get Remoraid out!
Oh by the way this is a one way door. I don't know why they exist in this game other to frustrate you and force you to go the long way round. This could've easily been an unlocked shortcut, but it's not and there will be more.
We need to get the gauge down to three asap for experience gain, so the best way to do that is to just send it out and switch it out.
That guy earlier was too weak for words. How about you? Are you going to keep me amused?
Hey, want another Water type to consider? It's definitely not the last, either.
Alright, let's start weakening this Shadow mon, it's another low catch rate.
...I dunno what I expected, really. Siiiiiiigh. Shadow Pokemon Resets:
Qwilfish, 45 catch rate (40%, low health, paralyzed, Great Ball), starting moves: Surf, Poison Sting, Minimize, Shadow Rush/Pin Missile
Alright, what does our latest Water type offer us? Well, not much, since it has high Attack. Boy there were quite a few of those around huh? Anyway, its SpAtk is pretty mediocre, like Quagsire's, so you can kinda use Surf, as well as Hydro Pump when it learns it later. As far as physical moves? Uh, well, Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball are postgame, obtained very quickly after each other, in fact, so that's a bit of a kick in the face, so, uh, you've got Take Down, I guess, after you've gotten rid of Shadow Rush.
It'll be an alright recipient for Return, but Croconaw would be better for it, especially since you've had it longer. And, uh, since Revenge is FRLG only, guess that's it. Huh, that went downhill fast. If it could get those two TMs, it wouldn't be half bad, but it didn't, so it is half bad. More than that, actually. Its Water moves will do an alright amount under rain at least, as well as boost its Speed, so you should probably aim for that instead of Poison Point.
Yeah, as you can see, it's not hugely impressive, just a bit of a pain to catch.
At least Flaaffy doesn't do enough damage to one shot it. Espeon is just too good.
In case you were wondering, you can't cheese the Heart Gauge this way by constantly switching, the decrease only happens once per battle.
But again, not too bad, even if does quite a bit with Shadow Rush. Mantine or Qwilfish individually would be nasty, but facing them one after the other is a real ball burner.
Linoone did fuck all, so into the cave we go!
Of course there's loads of trainers in here. What did you expect?
It's cool seeing all kinds of Pokemon with no real restrictions, just here you go, here's an Anorith.
You're a surprise! But I'm not telling you where MIROR B.'s waiting.
Some neat stuff on this floor, let's head down.
Told you this game is janky, this guy just has no sight, so you can walk right past. The stuff you learn from speedruns, man.
Remoraid got a kill, but died immediately after, so, uh, let's not use Remoraid in battle right now.
Up those stairs is an optional part of the cave, but we'll skip it for the moment, there's something important we need to get.
It's our fifth team member! Now I know what you're thinking: wait, already? It's true we're getting everyone pretty quickly, but this game isn't particularly long (we're nearly a third of the way through it) and the selection of Shadow Pokemon in the midgame is pretty dire. Also, like I mentioned, Remoraid is not a Pokemon we can use right away, while Meditite definitely is. Why?
Meditite, 180 catch rate (78%, low health, Pokeball), starting moves: Hi Jump Kick, Confusion, Calm Mind, Shadow Rush/Detect
You can probably guess this mon is good and you'd be right, Pure Power makes a relatively meh stat mon into something pretty potent. Remember, its ability doubles the final Attack number, not the base Attack stat, making it much better overall. So what can you do with this thing? Hi Jump Kick. Uh, that's about it. You won't be using its Psychic typing (we already have an amazing Psychic type after all), you'll just hit hard with all the physical moves you'll learn. So, uh, Return is very useful for this mon, as it won't have anything else to really use, since Shadow Ball is postgame.
You could try a Hidden Power, you never know if you'll get lucky, but yeah, for most of the story, you won't be able to hit Ghost types as Rock Tomb isn't in the game. So that kinda sucks, but then you do so much damage with Hi Jump Kick that you kinda don't care, as well as making Focus Punch pretty tempting with team support. This also makes it useful right away, as Shadow Rush will do much more damage than normal, making it almost tempting to keep it as a Shadow Pokemon. Almost.
That'll be the only time in the LP Meditite will use a Psychic move.
I'm not surprised. Oh wait, you got Meditite after winning the challenge. Hmm, that is surprising then.
There's another optional area to the right, but we'll skip it for the moment.
Oh look it's our sixth team member! ...okay I didn't think you'd believe me, our final team member is actually quite a while away, so it'll give us time to get used to everyone we have now.
Dunsparce, 190 catch rate (78%, low health, Pokeball), starting moves: Take Down, Yawn, Glare, Shadow Rush/Spite
While Dunsparce has pretty rubbish stats, it can do some damage with both sides and spread a lot of status to any Pokemon you fancy with both Glare and Yawn. So if you want something that will help you catch a mon no matter the situation, then yeah, it's useful. Otherwise it just won't impress you, despite having access to pretty much every TM. It's a bit of a harder sell in this game where they're so few and far between, but if you want Fire Blast, Earthquake, Solarbeam and Thunder on the same Pokemon, then, well, you can.
Yeah, they're mainly special moves, but that's what you get, since Shadow Ball and Iron Tail are postgame, while Return could do something for it, but keeps it from hitting Ghost types. Sure, you can put them to sleep, but you also need to damage them, probably. It just doesn't have the oomph behind it to really recommend, but it does some things weirdly well.
Useless crit, but it's the thought that counts.
No way, no way! I'm supposed to beat someone as strong as you? They must be joking!
It's probably for the best to beeline to the healing machine and PC in this place, since while this game hasn't been difficult so far, it doesn't take much to get screwed over here in RNG hell. We've gotta try out Meditite too, the new item for Espeon to hold is just the cherry on top.
Next time, we've got optional areas to explore, a Pure Power monster to unleash, and a dance off. Look forward to it!