Part 28: Shadow Pokémon Lab, Part One
Shadow Pokémon Lab, Part OneWell, we've toppled the toughest trainers to be seen thus far in Orre. Mt. Battle has been conquered; its only purpose in-world now is to fight trainers, raise our Pokémon to be even stronger, and get Poke Coupons to buy prizes. Which, of course, is the exact same thing it's always been used for, but at least we've now beaten it all.
(Sorry for the delay, all. To be honest, I spent a bit more time than usual trying to Snag the last Shadow Pokémon from this section, because it is a particularly good one.)
MAINGATE KEY in hand, we can now infiltrate the lab!
Or we could, if the door to it wasn't locked. At least their security is pretty decent... as decent as something can be in a world where you could probably use Pokémon to break in, but whatever.
With our Pokémon as strong as they are now, it should be no problem to breeze through the lab's battles, and generally easy to Snag the Shadow Pokémon we'll run into.
In order to get to that first elevator, we have to head into the other building that we just unlocked, head down a floor, and fight a trainer with the Card Key. First, there are some interesting things to collect outside.
Two floors down, coincidentally, is the room with the chasm that we encountered after riding the Shadow Liner. Also note that we have seen this location's only save point; if we want to save in this area, we need to backtrack to the side-building, no matter where we were at the time.
Also, there are a bunch of walls in the way, with no conceivable reason for them even being there except for purposefully trying to form a maze. This might work great for deterring people, with first-person views, but the omniscience of the camera subverts this. To be fair, though, the entire lab is rather maze-like.
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!
RESEARCHER MYRON, P$1,520
Voltorb (Lv.38)
Voltorb (Lv.38)
MYRON: What did I do to deserve this?
MYRON: Bah! I'll make you regret seeing me!
♀: Oh! That's the CARD KEY! Now we can get into the LAB.
Fortunately, for us, he drops the Card Key we need to get into the lab proper.
If we could get through this door, and down one floor, we'd be able to bypass the entire lab, and just go directly to the Cipher Admin. Sadly, though, sturdy engineering and architecture prohibit us from doing just that. Heading the other way, we get a Cipher Peon, who jumps down from the ceiling, a common theme for this section.
CIPHER PEON COLE, P$1,640
Remoraid (Lv.39)
Furret (Lv.37)
Castform (Lv.41)
Aipom (Lv.43, F, Premier Ball)
NAME: Why am I the loser?
Around this time, I realize I never actually taught Stantler Shadow Ball, so now I use up the TM, before heading down the lift.
Wait a minute... Your faces aren't familiar... Intruders?!
RESEARCHER ODLOW, P$1,560
Magneton (Lv.39)
Electrode (Lv.38)
Magnemite (Lv.38)
ODLOW: This reeks!
ODLOW: You're far too late! There's nothing left here. Fufufu...
Stantler grew to Lv.56!
On a nearby table is something flashing. What is it? A DNA sample, of course! What is it for? Well... given all the other Key Items that have been in this area, it's probably something to unlock a door. There are a total of three in the SPL, the other two of which we'll run into soon enough. Heading upstairs from this room, instead of using the lift, takes us to a sectioned-off room.
RESEARCHER COREN, P$1,600
Magneton (Lv.40)
Electrode (Lv.40)
Magnemite (Lv.39)
COREN: No havoc, please!
COREN: Fufufu... The SHADOW POKéMON that were made here have been transported out already. Battle all you want. There's no stopping our SHADOW POKéMON plan now!
With this, he idly stands there, allowing us to grab the Down St. Key. In some ways, the door it opens leads to some downstairs areas, namely most of the basement floors, but still, odd name for it.
In the room that we use the Down St. Key is another Researcher, minding his own business. The battle is completely optional, if you choose to speak to him.
Waaaargh! You two! You're not LAB staff!
RESEARCHER LETHCO, P$1,560 {Optional}
Magnemite (Lv.37)
Electrike (Lv.36)
Chinchou (Lv.38)
LETHCO: What's this? I don't have time for this!
LETHCO: You two! If you don't vacate the premises, Master EIN will do terrible things to you!
We can now go through, soon after being attacked by another Cipher Peon.
CIPHER PEON LARE, P$1,720
Houndour (Lv.38)
Carvanha (Lv.38)
Nuzleaf (Lv.38)
Murkrow (Lv.43, M, Ultra Ball)
LARE: You might be young, but you know what you're doing.
A branch off to the left brings us to a room that contained what were likely pens for holding Shadow Pokémon. In here is also a construction worker, who says:
> I've been hired to tend to POKéMON. So that's what I've been doing this whole time. Were you folks wanting a POKéMON, too?
YES: > Is that so? It's a shame, but they're all gone. They've all been taken away somewhere, every last one.
NO: > Is that so? Well, that's fine, then. They've all been taken away somewhere, every last one.
Before the next elevator down, there's another Cipher Peon. Surprise.
CIPHER PEON VANA, P$1,720
Zubat (Lv.40)
Swablu (Lv.40)
Larvitar (Lv.40)
Forretress (Lv.43, M, Premier Ball)
VANA: Yeah, think you're tough!
Down the elevator and to the left is someone who's a bit late in greeting us:
CIPHER PEON LESAR, P$1,720
Rhyhorn (Lv.40)
Grovyle (Lv.40)
Ariados (Lv.43, M, Net Ball){@ SilverPowder}
LESAR: Catastrophically strong!
Past him is the third and final DNA sample, but we still don't know what they are exactly, or what they're used for. Oh well, let's keep loitering. Another dead end has a free Full Restore, the most potent healing item of the non-reviving items. There's a branch with two elevators, as well as a branch further upward, to an optional fight. We'll do the optional battle first.
RESEARCHER DUBIK, P$1,560 {Optional}
Electrode (Lv.37)
Electrode (Lv.37)
DUBIK: You didn't duck from security, you walked all over them!
DUBIK: Do whatever you want; it's too late now. We've finished our research. What you're doing is futile.
Be forewarned: both Elecrode can use Explosion, which will hit both of your Pokémon (as well as its teammate). The Speed of Electrode makes this threatening as well. Intimidate-abilitied Pokémon can help lessen the damage, as can Pokémon with high HP/Defense stats, or those resistant or immune to Normal attacks. To be honest, Dubik's losing text is quite accurate, given our team's training.
There's nothing to be had in Dubik's room, so let's go to the elevators... but wait, you guessed it, another Cipher Peon drops from the ceiling!
CIPHER PEON TANIE, P$1,720
Linoone (Lv.39)
Vigoroth (Lv.39)
Granbull (Lv.43, F, Premier Ball)
TANIE: Your mischief is going overboard!
A trio of Normal-type Pokémon, though Granbull's Intimidate will weaken the Attack stat used by Fighting moves by one stage, a strategy you should be familiar with by now.
The two elevators, unsurprisingly, go to two different locations. The one on the right leads to a DNA analyzer, because anyone can offhandedly identify what one of those things are. At least we have something to identify what the DNA belongs to. The three samples each belong to one of nine different Pokémon, randomly assigned in each game. Misdreavus, Bayleef, and Suicune happen to be the ones for this save. That's about all for this room.
We can take the other elevator up, but we get stopped not by a Cipher Peon, but by a Researcher, after arriving at its top:
RESEARCHER KOTAN, P$1,680
Electrode (Lv.42)
Magneton (Lv.40)
Ampharos (Lv.41)
KOTAN: Aww, crud! There's no way that I'm going to let you go!
More Electric-types. Deal with him as you have other Researchers. After the battle, he casually strolls over, and hits a button on the wall, activating an alarm.
KOTAN: Wahaha! Now you're stuck! There's no escaping the LAB for you!
Other than the lights dimming, a red light fading on and off, and a warning siren going off, the alarm does absolutely nothing. You can easily stroll backwards through the Lab, and even leave the area entirely with no ill effect. You can't turn it off, though.
A little up the hall, we get another falling Cipher Peon:
CIPHER PEON REMIL, P$1,720
Kadabra (Lv.42)
Swellow (Lv.43)
Kecleon (Lv.43)
Vibrava (Lv.43, F, Nest Ball) {@ Dragon Fang}
REMIL: You're too strong, little boy!
Hitmontop grew to lv.58!
Stantler grew to Lv.57!
An interesting trait of Kecleon is its ability to change its type; the Color Change ability changes Kecleon's type to the same type of the last attack to hit it. You can use this to your advantage to hit it with one attack, then an attack of a type that was super effective to the last attack type you used.
Oh, hey, a locked door. This is where we finally use the information from the three DNA samples. They can be put in, in any order, or even guessed at if you haven't picked up or analyzed one, two, or any of the samples. Behind it is a meeting with an old friend.
SKRUB: Do you recall who I am? I shall avenge my humiliation at the RELIC FOREST!
CIPHER PEON SKRUB, P$1,760
Wobbuffet (Lv.42)
Graveler (Lv.44)
Clamperl (Lv.43)
Medicham (Lv.41)
SKRUB: Urrrrrrggggh!
As a side note: if you battle a trainer of a Shadow Pokémon and fail to Snag it, that trainer will retain their Shadow Pokémon. In this instance, if you missed Hitmontop, now is your next opportunity to catch it. In fact, if you know the right place, you have theoretically infinite rematches to keep trying and Snagging a Shadow Pokémon; it may be inconvenient to go through the battles needed to do so, but it is never impossible for you to prevent yourself from catching a Shadow Pokémon... well, except for one, but we'll be getting to that much, much later.
Heading downstairs, we finally get to confront Ein, head of the Shadow Pokémon project as well as chief of the Lab. Incidentally, down and to the left of the stairs, you can find an HP Up in a chest.
> Good. This disc has been scrubbed of all data. That's done it. Waah! How did you get in here without my notice? Ah, I see. You must be the much-talked-about [NAME]. Little did I expect to see you here. I am EIN. I am in charge of this SHADOW POKéMON LAB.
Good question. How did he not notice the lighting going berserk and a siren wailing in the background?
EIN: No one must be allowed to interfere with our SHADOW POKéMON plan. I won't allow it. Let me acquaint you with the power of my SHADOW POKéMON!
CIPHER ADMIN EIN, P$4,800
Golbat (Lv.48)
Huntail (Lv.47)
Lanturn (Lv.47)
Altaria (Lv.46)
Raikou (Lv.40, Ultra Ball)
EIN: This power... It... It defies belief!
EIN: Humph! Your struggle to get here was all in vain! The SHADOW POKéMON we produced have already been moved elsewhere. And that, of course, includes the ultimate SHADOW POKéMON I created for the boss! Wahahahah!
Weaknesses: Ice, Rock (Altaria, Golbat), Ground (Lanturn, Raikou), Grass (Lanturn, Huntail)
If Huntail or Lanturn are allowed to attack, Rain Dance is almost inevitably what will be used. Most importantly, this will boost any Water attacks used (Lanturn, Huntail) by 50%, as well as bring the accuracy of Thunder (Raikou, Lanturn) up to 100%. Given the latter's paralysis rate of 30%, the doubled Speed stat of Huntail thanks to Swift Swim, and the fact that Golbat and Huntail can use Confuse Ray, things can get real messy, real quickly. If you've been having trouble with the lab before this, preparing at Mt. Battle might not be a bad idea; at the very least, ready yourself with Lemonades (The Under vending machine), Revives, and possibly Hyper Potions (PokeMarts). In the video, I lucked out, and managed to catch Raikou in only two Ultra Balls; the Snagging process is usually far more protracted than that.
After the battle, Ein flees the lab, causing the alarm to waste countless thousands of Pokedollars of electricity as it will continue to go off for a very, very long time after we leave. Also, after the battle, we pick up the amazing TM26 for the move Earthquake. Previously described, it is an extremely potent 100 base power (75 in Doubles), 100% accuracy Ground-type attack that will hit each of your opponents' active Pokémon, as well as your other Pokémon. Viable candidates for usage include Feraligatr, Hitmontop, Stantler, and Vibrava/Flygon (which I remember someone having an interest in me using).
More important to the plot, though, is the Data ROM left behind. It is possible to leave it behind, but you'd need to backtrack to that room to get it, because as we head out...
We get an e-mail! Hooray! There's nothing left to do at the Shadow Pokémon Lab, so our next destination is a brief stop off to The Under.
What's New? (After Shadow Pokémon Lab)
Surprisingly, not much! Since there's so little, I'll be adding it to this update, so we can start right into the next section of the story. Of note is that the Construction Lot is still, in fact, the uncleaned construction lot.
Pyrite Town
CAIL: Yo, we meet again! How chipper are you feeling? Let me see!
ROGUE CAIL, P$640
Granbull (Lv.40)
Kirlia (Lv.40)
Nuzleaf (Lv.40)
Machoke (Lv.40)
CAIL: I couldn't do it again!
CAIL: Moan... I've learned how tough you are battling. It's a full-body experience.
Plusle grew to Lv.57!
Cail's still the same as the last time we battled him, after we finished The Under.
The Under
But that's not right. SHADOW POKéMON just aren't great. The ordinary kinds are the best!
> Isn't that right, MAKUHITA?
Hiiita hita!
Poor guy's been stood up.
As you can see, a couple of the folk in town have updated things to say, as we've defeated the fourth Cipher Admin, Ein. I get into a battle with Hunter Zada, whose team is also identical to the last time:
YES: Humph. I don't mean any offense, but you don't exactly look tough. I'll test you to see how well you can battle. {to battle}
NO: Oh, you're not? Hm, now that you say it, you don't look as if you're capable of doing any battling.
HUNTER ZADA, P$560
Skitty (Lv.35)
Oddish (Lv.34)
Jigglypuff (Lv.35)
Shuppet (Lv.35)
ZADA: You're better than you look!
ZADA: You are strong. I guess there's no judging people by their appearance.
Were CIPHER's ADMINS all really weak? Or is the enemy trainer too strong? Which could it be?
Pleeeease! Transform for me?! And then fly away?!
Sorry, kid, I'm no Ditto, Smeargle, or Mew.
(Watch up to 2:15.)YES: You won't get away with it! {to battle}
CHASER GURKS, P$1,020
Wailord (Lv.51)
Wailord (Lv.51)
GURKS: I didn't stand a chance from the get-go!
GURKS: By now, Master EIN, lady VENUS, and everyone else should be settled in at the TOWER. Hold it, there. Don't even think about going there if you know what's good for you!
Ampharos grew to Lv.58!
Gurks's team, however... yes. Different. Though he's dropped down to only two Pokémon, both are now massive Wailord. They still get hit by Electric and Grass attacks just as fine, though.
And yes, the Construction Lot is still the Construction Lot, despite the direct references by other characters to Realgam Tower. Still as messy a site.
PERR: [NAME] and ♀, you're taking those people on, huh? That's mind-blowing.s
BITT: He was saying something about going to check out REALGAM TOWER. But where is this REALGAM TOWER, anyway?
Not yet at the Construction Lot, apparently.
YES: MEGG: I'm so glad! That's my hero! You're so inspiring!
NO: MEGG: Oh, really? You both look okay... But you're making me worried...
Depends on if you call an erased disk "data".
[NAME] handed the DATA ROM to NETT.
NETT: Oh, now this looks interesting! Let's scope it out right away! Oh, hey! This DATA ROM appears to contain a list of SHADOW POKéMON that have been made so far! Awww, but no! It looks like they've wiped the data. [NAME]. 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. [NAME], as soon as I discover anything, I'll e-mail your P*DA.
So, as Nett starts recovering SHADOWPOKéMON.txt, we'll be getting occasional e-mail updates, letting us know what info about the Pokémon on the list he's recovered.
With Nett having the Data ROM, where could we possibly g-wait a second. That construction worker wasn't there before!
> Hey, guys! We did it! The REALGAM TOWER's finally finished!
What.
WHAT. How... but I...
So... um... welcome to Realgam Tower (@ 2:17).
________________
I ended up spending the entirety of my current finances on healing items, some Colognes, and some additional Balls, leaving me quite broke. I did another runthrough of the four rounds at Pyrite, the end result being the following:
Bought TM14 (Blizzard).
Feraligatr grew to Lv.60!
Plusle grew to Lv.58!
Dunsparce grew to Lv.53! Forgot Spite, learned Blizzard.
Altaria grew to Lv.44! Forgot Safeguard, learned Dragon Dance.
________________
Espeon: Synchronize, Mild w/TwistedSpoon (Lv.59, M, Poké Ball): Psybeam, Return, Reflect, Morning Sun
Feraligatr: Torrent, Quiet w/Mystic Water (Lv.60, F, Premier Ball): Surf, Hydro Pump, Bite, Ice Beam
Ampharos: Static, Quirky w/Quick Claw (Lv.58, F, Great Ball): Thunderbolt, Thunder, Cotton Spore, Light Screen Altaria: Natural Cure, Naive w/EXP Share (Lv.44, M, Great Ball): Dragon Dance, Fly, DragonBreath, Sing
Dunsparce: Serene Grace, Adamant w/Silk Scarf (Lv.53, M, Ultra Ball): Return, Blizzard, Yawn, Glare Plusle: Plus, Jolly w/(none) (Lv.58, M, Poké Ball): Thunder, Thunder Wave, Agility, Baton Pass Hitmontop: Intimidate, Relaxed w/Black Belt (Lv.58, M, Great Ball): Agility, Focus Energy, Brick Break, Rapid Spin
Stantler: Intimidate, Adamant w/(none) (Lv.57, M, Nest Ball): Shadow Ball, Hypnosis, Leer, Take Down
For the upcoming section and next update, during which we storm through Realgam Tower, pick four of the above, and one of the below, excluding Raikou:Snags:
Aipom: Run Away, Sassy w/None (Lv.43, F, Premier Ball): Baton Pass, Tickle, Fury Swipes, SwiftIVs: 15 / 12 / 11 / 2 / 24 / 10 (Hidden Power Flying 48)
Murkrow: Insomnia, Brave w/None (Lv.43, M, Ultra Ball): Faint Attack, Mean Look, Night Shade, FlyIVs: 25 / 10 / 19 - 20 / 12 / 30 - 31 / 25 - 26
Forretress: Sturdy, Brave w/None (Lv.43, M, Premier Ball): Explosion, Protect, Bide, Rapid SpinIVs: 20 / 29 / 27 - 28 / 19 / 30 - 31 / 20 - 22
Ariados: Insomnia, Hasty w/SilverPowder (Lv.43, M, Net Ball): Spider Web, Scary Face, Leech Life, Sludge BombIVs: 25 / 29 / 29 / 15 / 19 / 11 (Hidden Power Dark 65)
Granbull: Intimidate, Docile w/None (Lv.43, F, Premier Ball): Bite, Scary Face, Roar, StrengthIVs: 29 / 27 / 4 / 25 / 6 / 31 (Hidden Power Ghost 56)
Vibrava: Levitate, Jolly w/Dragon Fang (Lv.43, F, Nest Ball): Crunch, Screech, Sand Tomb, DragonBreathIVs: 24 / 24 / 0 / 10 - 11 / 1 - 2 / 21
Raikou: Pressure, Rash w/None (Lv.40, Ultra Ball): Rain Dance, Leer, Quick Attack, ThunderIVs: 5 / 12 / 3 / 24 / 30 / 13 (Hidden Power Ground 52)
I'll be telling you a bit more about what we'll be facing in Realgam Tower, as well as the upcoming Snags, in a mini-update coming soon.