Part 10: Shadows of a Finished Plan

Part 10: Shadows of a Finished Plan



Today we're going back to the Lab. This place is pretty long and draining, so make sure to stock up!

Shadow Pokemon Lab




The only thing on the outside is the Revive chest in the back, so let's head straight inside. Uh, if we had the Card Key.



Thankfully by interacting with this screen that totally doesn't look interactable at all, we can proceed. I guess it stands out, but it's not particularly obvious.



Note this PC: it's the only one in the entire area, so if you want to save, you're going to be backtracking a lot, since this place doesn't loop back on itself nicely.



This place's one saving grace is fantastic music, otherwise it's grey and boring as fuck.



There's still packing left for the move out of this LAB... grumble... Wha-wha-wha-who are you? You're suspicious! Therefore, you must be intruders!



These researchers don't seem so bad now, but they get tougher, let me tell you.



The worst we'll deal with is Sonicboom. For now.



Oh hey someone from Cipher dropped something. Neat.



While it would've been nice to come up from the subway, we're in the main section lab now, so let's head down.



Hmm, we can't head right so let's head down.



What? Quit annoying me. You'd better get ready, or Master EIN will... huh?! Waaaargh! You two! You're not LAB staff!



Hope you've got a Pokemon to take on the Magnemite family. I've got one, but he's, uh, blind in one eye or something.



You two! If you don't vacate the premises, Master EIN will do terrible things to you!



Since we don't have the Down... Street? Key, we'll head left. Not only is this place boring, it's confusing!



We'll definitely want to pick three of these up, wherever they might be. Watch our for weirdos coming from the ceiling.



I hope you like Shadow Pokemon, cause we've got a few here in the Shadow Pokemon Lab.



Aww, how cute, too bad Carbuncle is faster.



Nearly at a good move...



Aipom, 45 catch rate (50%, low health, paralyzed, Ultra Ball), starting moves: Swift, Fury Swipes, Tickle, Shadow Rush/Baton Pass

With so many Johto Pokemon thrown our way, we'll come across another bad one. There's a really good Normal type in this area that completely blows this mon out of the water, but Aipom has some options, or, uh, Baton Pass. Otherwise its best attacks are Swift coming from a 75 Attack, which is pretty rubbish. Thankfully Aipom can learn a million TMs though it doesn't have the SpAtk to use all of them. It gets options, but this is pretty late into the game and Aipom is just super fragile, so it's gonna be tough to use. It won't have any moves to Baton Pass until level 50 with Agility and until then there's, uh, Double Team? It's not very good, but at least it's fast.



It's weird how ninja like these guys are, can't even talk to them after battle.



Down we go.




Alright, these guys are gonna get nastier. How?



Here's some fast boys with THUNDER. If you don't have Electric resists, these guys are gonna hurt a lot, unless you get lucky with misses. You'll be burning a fair few healing items in this place, since there's no healing machine anywhere.



And of course they sometimes go boom. Cause why wouldn't they?



Phew, thankfully that battle's over.



GAH




This guy has the same Pokemon as the trainer we JUST faced, which can be pretty nasty if you get hit by a lot of Thunders. Especially if you don't know it's coming and didn't heal. You should absolutely heal between every fight, since you never know where the next one is gonna come from.



We are getting lucky though, Psybeam is pretty useful for the confusion chance.




These two are fucking monsters, I didn't get hit once in that fight.



Damn, I spent too much time buying items and pissing about in Mt. Battle, so the villain plan is going off without a hitch.



Alright, let's continue down this long empty corridor.



Of course it's never that easy.



At least it's not postgame...




Murkrow, 30 catch rate (33%, low health, paralyzed, Ultra Ball), starting moves: Fly, Night Shade, Mean Look, Shadow Rush/Faint Attack

This witch fares slightly better than its counterpart Sneasel due to having the right stats to make use of its STAB, but it's never that easy, as you get Faint Attack and Fly as your best options, since there's no Aerial Ace. With good attacking stats and high Speed, it'll do some damage, but it's a shame it's so fragile and doesn't have too many options. Shadow Ball, Steel Wing, Return and Faint Attack will probably be your best bet, unless you want to be annoying with Fly. It might be getting a bit too late to recommend though, it's gonna become a more common theme the later we get into the game. And we are nearly at the end.



Unlike other games, you can throw balls at Pokemon using Dig or Fly or that, which is super helpful!



This area looks slightly different.



Were you folks wanting a POKEMON, too? You do? Is that so? It's a shame, but they're all gone. They've all been taken away somewhere, every last one.



Science shit over there.




Another Peon, another Shadow mon. It's a Bug type though!




Forretress, 75 catch rate (100%, low health, Net Ball), starting moves: Rapid Spin, Bide, Protect, Shadow Rush/Explosion

This is a weird Pokemon, since in most single player games, it's not a great choice, but in this game? OH MY GOD IT'S SO GOOD! There's gonna be some real tough fights later on and having a Pokemon that's only weak to Fire (which is pretty uncommon in this game) and just does not die no matter what makes it a fantastic wall. While the rest of your team do the heavy lifting, Forretress can Toxic stall, lay down Spikes, which is pretty nice in some long fights, especially when combined with Roar, and can set screens and weather, though Sandstorm is better than Sunny Day, obviously. It's no offensive slouch, despite not learning ANY STAB at all, as Pin Missile is only through breeding. It gets Double-Edge and Earthquake as well as EXPLOSION, which is easy to use with Revives and pairs very nicely with double battles. It won't make the enemy flee in fear, but it will make them watch as they slowly die to an unmoving steel conker.



Did Magnolia put on a Scope Lens when I wasn't looking?



It's not often you can use Net Balls to their full potential, but damn are they good.



What floor are we even on? Fuck I dunno man, there's a quick dead end to the left, so right we go.




It's another Bug type, hell yeah!



Ariados, 90 catch rate (100%, low health, Net Ball), starting moves: Sludge Bomb, Leech Life, Scary Face, Shadow Rush/Spider Web

A weird bug has some kind of relevance due to having Sludge Bomb (a TM we don't even have yet) and, uh, that's it. It's pretty slow and fragile to really be using this late and it doesn't learn much else, aside from Return and Dig. Woo. It can get Solarbeam and Psychic, so it can do, uh, something with its 60 SpAtk, but it's just not that impressive, since it only gets Leech Life as another STAB option. Don't get me wrong, having a strong Sludge Bomb is pretty nice, but that's all it really does. Some of these Shadow Pokemon could've really used some cool starting moves and while a few do, they're just not very interesting overall. Oh well.




Since giving Umbreon Protect these Dig strats have gotten pretty useless. Mawuh could really use some glasses though.



Ooh yeah I need those endgame items. Soon we'll be able to get Revival Herbs!!!



What on earth is going on up here?



Screech? That seems like a weird move to use, I wonder why they ha-



goddammit



There's our goal up there, you feeling worn out yet? I sure am, this place just doesn't seem to end. And you have to explore the entire area since those DNA Samples we're picking up? There's NINE different locations they can be in, so just check everywhere and watch for the flashing.




Oh hey it's one of these things. I like this thing, I used this thing.



Granbull, 75 catch rate (62%, low health, Ultra Ball), starting moves: Strength, Roar, Scary Face, Shadow Rush/Bite

I don't need to tell you how good Granbull is, it's an absolute wrecking ball and can very easily slot onto your team to wreck everything with Return. Sure, coming with Strength is nice, but you've also got Sludge Bomb, Brick Break, Shadow Ball, Earthquake and Iron Tail, it absolutely deserves these moves with its massive Attack. Sure, it's real slow and doesn't like Fighting or special moves, but hey, that's what team support is for. While the other Shadow Pokemon around here can be used with some caveats, Granbull is a great mon to slot in before the endgame and some real nasty shit starts turning up. Easily the best user of Return, so if you've been saving it, this is your reward. The upcoming Thunder spam won't be hugely kind to it though.



I've been catching these Shadow Pokemon with very little effort. You guys sure about your numbers? Ah well, too late to change them now.



Let's head up the right lift first and do some science stuff. We can easily operate this equipment, no training needed!



I'm not gonna question how they got DNA of a Ghost, but hey, we'll need this for later.



Oh god this guy. I hate this guy.



You thought fast Thunders were bad? How about Thunders that never miss? They build on this strategy throughout the facility and it just gets worse and worse.



Dhalsim can remove the dangerous Magneton easily enough, but a fellow Ampharos is another matter.




That whole turn could've gone better, but at least Carbuncle can outspeed the Ampharos easily enough.



Not too bad, but the worst has yet to come.



Noooooooooooooooo

Alarm



Did you click the link? Annoying sound, right? IT PLAYS FOR THE REST OF THE AREA. Now there's not much left to go (thank god), but if you want to save at any point, you need to go all the way back to the start. We haven't looped round or unlocked any shortcuts, so if you're feeling drained and worn out, or you're low on healing items, or you really want to make sure you have a safe reset for a Shadow Pokemon, this is just really, really awful to deal with. This place ain't great.




But onwards we march, to encounter our final team member! Yep, it's been quite a gap from Dhalsim, but you've seen all the Pokemon we've encountered since Pyrite Cave. They're... alright, but nothing I really fancied using. Maybe Stantler? Ah, whatever, she's here now, finally a female! So we just need to weake-



Noooooooooooooooooooooooo! Good thing I can savestate instead of having to go all the way back. Who knew this thing was so fragile?

Shadow Pokemon Resets: 5 6



And this time it's a male. Goddammit. Still, we'll soon have a full team. It'll be a lot better spaced out in XD, honest.



Why yes that was an OHKO on Kadabra with Hi Jump Kick, Dhalsim has around 140 Attack right now.



Vibrava, 120 catch rate (62%, medium health, Great Ball), starting moves: Dragonbreath, Sand Tomb, Screech, Shadow Rush/Crunch

This jittery fly can be a little tough to use this late in the game, but it's not really fair to rate it as a Vibrava, since it is very close to not only getting an excellent STAB in Earthquake, but it'll evolve and become much more dependable. It's still pretty fragile and really dislikes Ice moves, but as a mixed attacker that mostly fires off STAB Earthquake, you could do a whole lot worse. Dragon Claw is deep postgame, so Dragon Fang boosted Dragonbreath will have to do there, but with Steel Wing, Fire Blast and Solarbeam also available, it's not too bad. Sure, it won't do a huge amount with its special moves, but it doesn't have too many options. Levitate is also pretty great and getting Crunch is a nice little bonus. This is a great choice, since you don't have to suffer the mediocrity of Vibrava like you had to in RSE.



Man there's a lot of evolved Pokemon being thrown around, hope your Pokemon are in good shape!




Well that kinda sucked, but Dig and Fly have nothing on this team now.



Now you might be wondering if I'll go all the way back to the entrance and get Vibrava out to use in the next few fights. I'm not, since we're very close to the end and I really don't see Vibrava being all that useful here. But he will be very soon, oh yes.



Hmm, what to do here...



You can very easily bruteforce it if you want, if you can't find the last DNA Sample. Also the Mightyena is weird, since it's not a Shadow Pokemon in either games.



Ooh, it's a trainer we've fought before. Shrub, was it?



Might as well see if I can get away with this.




Damn Magnitude. If you didn't Snag Hitmontop, it would be here instead of Medicham, so snagging Pokemon early means you face all kinds of cool mons later on.



That Wobbuffet is gonna use Mirror Coat forever.



All we need is one focused punch! Okay, two, but that's still ridiculous!



gg



Ooh something to sell later, since we already sold the others and really don't need a piddly 10EVs in a stat if it's just a one time thing. Also, I know you've come really far in this place, but you REALLY need to go back and save. After all, it lets you appreciate this game's wonderful soundtrack even more. Also it's because you're not ready. You'll never be ready.



Ah, I see. You must be the much-talked-about THOMAS. Little did I expect to see you here. I am EIN. I am in charge of this SHADOW POKEMON LAB. No one must be allowed to interfere with our SHADOW POKEMON plan. I won't allow it. Let me acquaint you with the power of my SHADOW POKEMON!

Cipher Admin Battle









Now this is a pretty nasty team, I'm leading with Carbuncle and Dhalsim since I kinda forgot to switch my team to who needed levels, but whatever. If you liked the Rain Dance Thunder combo so much, how about being unable to do anything about it due to Confuse Ray and a smattering of Toxic. Ein's team hits pretty damn hard and can be tough to take down, so definitely make sure you're prepared.



Here comes the rain...




Thankfully they both targeted Dhalsim like idiots, so that's all Huntail gets to do. Rain boosted Surf does sting and confusion sucks, so it can be a nasty opponent.



Oh boy Lanturn is nasty, so let's kick it really hard.



Altaria won't be needing Fly, since Hydro Pump easily one shots. Jesus.



Ah, shit, this is embarrassing. Uh, because the move is on the bottom left of the screen and the PP is on the bottom right, I tend to just focus on what move I'm picking and completely glaze over PP, since you usually don't run out and it's in the corner of my vision. But it's been a WHILE since we healed and all of Psybeam is gone, whoops! This is a big problem and I'm probably gonna do it again, cause there's no colour to indicate how low on PP you are to bring it to my attention!



Well shit, good thing evil people don't use healing items, or we might be in trouble.



Some battles I really should take off the Quick Claw...



Thankfully it decides to use Pursuit on its final turn anyway, phew. Altaria doesn't do much aside from waste your time, it's Lanturn with both Hydro Pump and Thunder that can be a massive pain. Thankfully if we hit something really hard when it first comes in, it's much easier to deal with.



Did you expect anything else? This is definitely a problem.



Okay phew, it won't be dropping accurate Thunders. It'll still drop Thunders no problem though.



Haha nice! Thunder's 30% paralysis chance is pretty good when it happens!



Also mad props to Umbreon for not hitting himself once. All that's left is the thundercat.



Raikou, 3 catch rate (3%, low health, paralyzed, Ultra Ball or 4% chance with 20+ Timer Ball), starting moves: Thunder, Quick Attack, Leer, Shadow Rush/Rain Dance

So here's the best doggy of them all, the one that will easily clear the game for you if you wish, since it's really, REALLY fast and hits really, REALLY hard! It'll learn Spark in a level if you don't fancy relying on Thunder, but it can very easily bring the rain and destroy anything in its path. Since Crunch won't be learned until way past the postgame, it doesn't have much for Ground types, though any Water type Raikou is paired with will have its moves boosted, so that's a good option. Its Attack stat is perfectly fine, so you can give it Iron Tail and Return and be perfectly happy. It's like Umbreon on steroids and how could you not love that?



Let's not weaken it too much, don't want even more resets, the number is high enough as it is!



It took a few turns, but there we go, that's all three legendary dogs, so you don't have to reset FRLG to get them all AND they won't have glitched IVs, so you can properly use them in battle!

Shadow Pokemon Lab (fuck the alarm)



The SHADOW POKEMON we produced have already been moved elsewhere. And that, of course, includes the ultimate SHADOW POKEMON I created for the boss! Wahahahah!



Well that's nice, but that's not the reason we came here.



Oh baby here's a good move. Now we can leave, though this doorway that's one way. Again, I don't know why, but who cares, let's get the fuck out of this shit place and never come back again.



Guess we didn't get any signal down there, or this is really convenient.



Phew, there were quite a few Shadow Pokemon in that place, we should get to purifying next update. Despite all the walking we did, Sudowoodo didn't really fancy it, so we've still got a long way to go that I'll totally do legit and not hack in any way, no sir.



With our final member in tow, let's go down under. Wait I already made that jo-



He was saying something about going to check out REALGAM TOWER. But where is this REALGAM TOWER, anyway?



I'm definitely not okay considering all the draining shit I just went through, but I gotta put a brave face on for the kids.



Oh, now this looks interesting! Let's scope it out right away! Oh, hey! This DATA ROM appears to contain a list of SHADOW POKEMON that have been made so far! Awww, but no! It looks like they've wiped the data. THOMAS. Please leave this with me. I'll somehow try retrieving information from this DATA ROM, even if it means going over it little by little. THOMAS, as soon as I discover anything, I'll e-mail your P*DA.



There's a few small things for us to do in Orre, but after that, we've got this Realgam Tower to check out. It'll soon be the endgame folks!