Part 8: Cold, Hard and Unforgiving
Threat to Ransei
Greetings, today's update is pretty scary, so let's put it off a little, yeah?
The game is nice enough to say when you're completely fucked, but you can retreat from battle whenever you want.
Oh yeah, we've got a lot of space in our army now, since we can't recruit Nobunaga's Warriors, so if the peeps we kicked out pop up again, we'll snap them up.
Like with Munna, might as well link someone up with an Abra. However, I would prefer to link with a Kadabra, so if I'm not linking someone with the Abra line, that's why.
Ah finally! Magikarp evolves into Gyarados when its Attack reaches... 16. It should reach that before it reaches 35% or so and trust me, it's completely worth it. Now we just need Nobuchika to evolve his Magikarp and I never have to baby them again! Anyway, uh, we've ran out of things to do, so which kingdom first...?
Most moves are pretty ineffective against the Steel-type Pokemon we'll find in Valora. Poison-type Pokemon in particular will find it really tough... But Fire-type, Fighting-type, and Ground-type Pokemon might do a little better!
Steel types aren't known for being a pain in the arse, right? Should be a piece of cake. Invasion
Now, allow me to introduce some of the Warriors who serve me.
Lord Nobunaga and I are old acquaintances. The idea of betraying him is simply unthinkable. As a result, I am honor bound to do battle to the full extent of my abilities. VS Valora
Valora is... interesting to go through. We've got quite the fight ahead of us, so let's interact with uncovered machinery!
When you step on a cog, you get moved three spaces to the tile that was clockwise to the one you were just standing on. This connects to the two nearby barriers, raising one and lowering the other. So this map is a bit puzzly, but it can be a little annoying to get around.
Need to open up the path for our other team. In some maps you do get split up and I believe it's random where you're placed, cause fuck strategy Fire Emblem had already got down.
Lord Ieyasu... I have opened the path for you. Please, go through. Thank you. Protecting Lord Ieyasu is our only duty as Warriors. We will do whatever we can to assist our lord. Chatty lot aren't they?
Tadakatsu and Ieyasu are scripted to head up that way so you know to block them with the cog wheel. Though we've already done that. And as you'd expect, levitating and Flying Pokemon can just go over the barriers.
...oh yeah. At the end of every turn these cameras will move 3 spaces around the perimeter of those squares, turning 90 degrees if they end their turn on a corner. And unlike the bridges in Greenleaf or Avia, you can't stop these guys patrolling and you have to watch these three move. Every turn. It's shit.
Our scary Warlord this time around is Tokugawa Ieyasu. You might have seen me mention him a few times, I'm fine with slipping a couple of future characters in, but Ieyasu is too big to ignore, so here we are, let's talk about his early life, before he became the first Tokugawa Shogun. He spent most of his early life as a bargaining chip between the Oda and Imagawa clans. When Nobunaga killed Yoshimoto, Ieyasu allied himself with Nobunaga. From there, he allied with Uesugi Kenshin, fought Takeda Shingen and had his second son adopted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, all while increasing his influence and power. When Nobunaga was betrayed and killed by Akechi Mitsuhide, Ieyasu protected his old lord's lands from Hōjō Ujimasa and when they stalemated, they came to a land dividing agreement. When Hideyoshi became the most powerful daimyō, Ieyasu supported Nobunaga's heir instead and they stalemated in the ensuing fight. Hideyoshi offered a truce to Ieyasu and the latter pledged his loyalty.
Honda Tadakatsu was a samurai, general and daimyō of the Ōtaki clan. A loyal retainer of Ieyasu, he was also one of his finest generals and commanded musketeers in volley cycling, which decimated more standard armies. A powerful man on the battlefield, he is said to have never been wounded and had the spear Tonbo-Giri, Dragonfly Cutter, being so sharp it would slice a dragonfly that landed on it in two. He also used the famous katana Nakasutkasa Masamune. Fearlessly loyal to Ieyasu, he was praised by Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, though he found it difficult to a regular retired lifestyle.
Komatsuhime, known as Inahime as a child, was the daughter of Tadakatsu and was a fierce warrior. Captivated by the prowess of the Sanada at the Battle of Ueda, Tadakatsu and Ieyasu arranged Ina to marry Sanada Nobuyuki, Yukimura's brother. Though Nobuyuki allied with the Tokugawa, something his father, Sanada Masayuki, had not done, they met at Numeta Castle with Yukimura. Ina emerged from the castle in full battle attire and prevented Masayuki from seeing his grandchildren. Masayuki and Yukimura withdrew to Shōkaku-ji and were surprised when Ina and her childen arrived soon after, allowing them time as a family.
Tokugawa Hidetada was the third son of Ieyasu and became his successor as the second Shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. To ensure Ieyasu's loyalty against the Hōjō clan, Hidetada was taken as Hideyoshi's hostage and when he became of age, became Ieyasu's heir, being the eldest surviving son and his favourite. When the Battle of Sekigahara approached, Ieyasu ordered Hidetada and his troops back from the Uesugi clan to assist. However, he was held up by forces from the Sanada clan and thus arrived too late to help his father in the decisive battle. Their relationship never recovered from there.
Nankōbō Tenkai was a Tendai Buddhist monk that served under Ieyasu and served as liason between the Shogunate and the Imperial Court in Kyoto. He reached the highest rank of priesthood, Daisōjō, and was in charge of carrying out Ieyasu's last will. He then served as consultants for the next two Shoguns, Hidetada and Iemitsu, who asked him to establish the Buddhist temple Kan'ei-ji, northeast of Edo Castle.
Yagyū Munenori was a swordsman and founder of the Edo branch of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, a school of swordsmanship, which was originally called Shinkage-ryū by its primary founder Kamiizumi Nobutsuna. It was one of the two official sword styles adopted by the Tokugawa shogunate and Munenori became a direct retainer of the Tokugawa house, gaining enough power to become a minor fudai daimyō (vassal lord serving the Tokugawa). He was an instructor to Hidetada and became a primary advisor of Iemitsu.
Yeah Yukimura does fuck all damage cause of his low link, what a surprise. But it's the easiest way to grind!
The cool thing about the gears is you can trap opponents behind the barriers, or move your guys around to either easily attack, or to move them out of the way. Regardless if you move or not, if you end your turn on a cog, it will move.
Hmm, bit annoying, but nothing Dewott can't handle.
This does mean Chimecho can't go anywhere to hit us and Aron does sweet fuck all, so this is working out. As you'd expect, Chimecho doesn't activate the cog.
Good job guys, this way.
And yeah you get the idea, the cameras are annoying, I didn't screenshot them anymore, aren't I nice?
Everything's going pretty well over here. When Aron jumped onto the cog to guard Chimecho, it caused it to turn again, letting Eevee smack Chimecho and cause the wheel to turn again, meaning Chimecho's only target was now Aron. Battling on the cogs can get very fun.
It is only right that we risk our lives in order to protect you, Lord Ieyasu. Forget us, and deal with the enemies in front of you, my lord. Hmm... I must achieve victory. For the sake of all these people...
Round and around we go, wheeeeeeeeee
Ah shoot, I wanted Aggron to stay in front so Gurdurr can bop it. Metagross is understandably a huge freaking problem.
I cannot afford to sully his name with an inept performance. I must give this all I have! These guys are REALLY chatty.
Nearly done over here, Chimecho's got one last hit to go.
Alright good job Yukimura.
Alright, all that's left is the big 3. Annoyingly, we need Motonari to take on Ina and Yoshihiro to take on Ieyasu, but Tadakatsu keeps getting in the way.
Well might as well make sure Metagross wastes two moves taking out Servine.
Of course Eevee is the one that gets confused. We've got the enemy more or less penned in, but they'll do some damage to us, no mistake.
Like that, see? With both Meteor Mash and Iron Tail pushing you back, it means your defence can get shoved out of the way and exposing the more fragile members of your team. This also lets you move in with other Pokemon in the gap that's now formed. So it's up and down, really.
Now this is a line I can get behind.
Oh wow this is basically perfect, hitting both Aggron and Metagross and the only repercussion is Iron Tail, which I resist.
Dunno why I put Jigglypuff there, it just leaves it in range to get knocked back and beat up.
I also dunno why I let Gurdurr just get hit by Metagross for like most of its health. When things get good I guess I just try and throw it all away.
Hey, I'm all for Metagross taking more damage.
Well better Eevee than Gurdurr, it's a net gain.
That's also helpful, if you stand in the camera's range then you'll get picked up and moved to somewhere on the map, usually to the other side. The highlighted squares are its entire range.
Ow. We've been able to contain Metagross pretty well, but it being able to 2HKO one of our best is a problem.
Little bit late for that, but I appreciate the effort. Now, let's go get Quagsire.
...goddamn AI.
Alright we'll open up this way while Quagsire stares at the block it just put up.
It opening the way back is just a coincidence. It used its full movement to try and go around to me. But this makes it easier to reach it, cause the AI has no real concept of strategy.
Ah this is just perfect, the elevation stops Quagsire from doing anything, like with Chimecho earlier.
This map can be tricky to get around, but you can get the enemy to line up pretty nicely. That Metagross is a super dangerous problem though, so bring Steel resists, more than anything. Long Day
It would appear that my army was incapable of halting your progress... Now go, Lord Azai. I shall be watching your forthcoming battle against Lord Nobunaga with great interest. Threat to Ransei
...wait, already??? Pokemon Evolved
Well Motochika did a lot in that battle, so it's not too surprising. Dewott evolves into Samurott when its Attack is 104. Threat to Ransei
You might have noticed that Samurott didn't emote with Motochika, nor did he talk about it being the Pokemon for him. Seems his Perfect Link is only with Dewott. Wonder what's up with that?
New peeps in Avia before we end the month! Hōjō Sōun was Ujiyasu's grandfather and was a rōnin, a samurai without a master, despite his family being in direct employment of the Ashikaga shoguns. When his sister married into the Imagawa clan, he became a retainer and mediated the dispute between Imagawa Ujichika and Oshika Norimitsu when the latter wanted to take over the clan. Sōun finally killed Norimatsu to protect Ujichika and was given Kokukuji castle as a reward. He then invaded the Izu province and became one of the first Sengoku daimyōs. He then secured Odawara castle and after his death his son Ujitsuna established the Hōjō clan properly.Ishikawa Kazumasa was a notable retainer to Ieyasu, having served him since childhood as hostages in the Imagawa clan. When Ieyasu abandoned the clan, Kazumasa became an invaluable retainer and administrator under him, being his envoy to Hideyoshi and Ujizane. However, when Ieyasu resisted Hideyoshi, Kazumasa believed him to be foolhardy and switched sides, forcing Ieyasu to reconstruct his military and defensive policies, as Kazumasa had significant knowledge about the organization. He decided to retire soon after and lived with his son until his death.
Man, we've been at this campaign for 2 years? Hopefully it'll be over soon.
Gotta see what Samurott can do (spoilers, it's good). Gō was the third and youngest daughter of Azai Nagamasa and Oichi (hmm, maybe we should talk about those two soon). Her third husband was the future Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada and Hideyoshi was her adoptive father before she started marriage. Her oldest sister was Hideyoshi's concubine and birthed Hideyori, Hideyoshi's heir. She passed after Iemitsu became Shogun.
The cool thing about Gyarados is its a Flying type! Very useful in this game and like with Samurott has Aqua Tail, so it can be pretty deadly. Definitely worth the wait.
Shizuka doesn't have any historical counterpart, but is perhaps related to Shingen is some way, as her Perfect Link is with the Rhyhorn line. Oh well.
Another Perfect Link! Also some abilities are the same as their game counterparts, meaning Pokemon with Levitate are still around being annoying butts.
Another new building in Valora, this is definitely something to look at.
Changing a Pokemon's Abilities has an effect on their performance in battle, so I'd strongly recommend trying at least a couple of different ones. Now then, are you ready to choose a new Ability?
For a bit of a price, you can change a Pokemon's ability to either of its other two, though the third ability is usually pretty expensive. Definitely worth it, but most Pokemon have different abilities when they evolve, so you're changing the slot and not the specific ability, so make sure you know what it'll change into in that case!
We'll come back to it later, sure. Now we've got one more place to visit before going after another kingdom. Spectra, or Nixtorm, which will we choose?
This map is a bit annoying since you can't just jump up that ledge, so you can go down, but not up. Also Dragon Rage can be pretty nasty since 40 damage can be a lot.
Finally after being our first ever recruit, Takatora gets his Perfect Link! Anyway, Hasekura Tsunenaga, baptized as Francisco Felipe Faxicura, was a Roman noble of Japanese descent, who was also a samurai and retainer to Masamune. He headed a diplomatic mission to Spain and the Vatican, travelling from Japan, through New Spain (now Mexico) to Europe. While the embassy was received well in Europe, it happened at a time when Christianity was becoming suppressed in Japan. Thus, European monarchs, such as Philip III of Spain, refused the trade agreements and he returned back to Japan with seemingly few results in an increasingly isolationist country.
Sakai Tadatsugu was one of Ieyasu's favoured and most successful military commanders and was one of the Four Guardians of the Tokugawa (known as the Tokugawa-Shitennō). He first served Ieyasu's father and was given command of Yoshida Castle when Ieyasu cut ties with the Imagawa. He mostly fought against Takeda forces and wielded the katana Inokiri, the Boar Slayer, after killing a boar with it. Tadatsugu eventually gained control of over half of the Tokugawa armies, while Kazumasa had the rest. He had a son, Sakai Ietsugu and after accompanying Ieyasu's son and heir Hidetada during the Odawara campaign, Tadatsugu retired in Kantō.
Fire-type, Fighting-type, Rock-type Pokemon are strong against Ice-type Pokemon... But Grass-type and Ground-type Pokemon will be pretty vulnerable... Invasion
Let's send a chill down our spines...
Do you know what my brother is planning to do? One such as myself could never hope to understand Lord Nobunaga... But I can assure you that he has only the best intentions. Lady Oichi... He is your brother. How could you not trust Lord Nobunaga? Maybe I am a bad sister... I just don't... trust him... He used to be so kind... But now... Do you truly believe you can defeat me with such a conflicted heart? ...Let us take to the battlefield. VS Nixtorm
Bit of a power discrepancy, I know. But we'll be fine, probably.
This is definitely a dangerous map, the snow reduces all Pokemon's range by 1, aside from Ice types, obviously. Ice types are also perfectly happy to walk on the ice, but other Pokemon will slide in the direction they enter it from. Flying and levitating Pokemon ignore all this stuff too, cause they're just too good.
Alright, settle down girl. At least them not slipping around the ice means they don't rush towards us immediately, but they will be here soon.
There are patches of thin ice around the area and they'll crack if you stand on them. Stand on it again and it'll break.
Yeah, like that. All it does is create a pool of water, it doesn't damage you, just pushes you to a random spot and may make a barrier or something? I dunno man, it's not very helpful.
Akechi Mitsuhide was a samurai and general under Oda Nobunaga, while also serving the wandering Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Yoshiaki asked Mitsuhide to become his protector, who offered Nobunaga instead. While they were at Kyoto, the Miyoshi clan attacked and Mitsuhide defended the Shogun and Nobunaga asked him to serve him. Mitsuhide gained the trust of Nobunaga and received Sakamoto castle. However, when Nobunaga betrayed Hanato Hideharu and executed him despite a peace agreement, the Hatano clan murdered several of Mitsuhide's retainers and his mother. Nobunaga also publicly insulted Mitsuhide and their personal relationship faltered. When Mitsuhide was ordered to assist Hashiba Hideyoshi and fight the Mōri clan, Mitsuhide instead marched to Honnō-ji and attacked Nobunaga and set the temple on fire, with Nobunaga either dying in the fight or by committing seppuku.
Hosokawa Garasha was a samurai and daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide. She converted to Christianity and her Japanese name Garasha is based on her baptismal name, Gracia. She married Hosokawa Tadaoki and had six children with him. Her life was placed in danger when her father betrayed and killed Nobunaga, making her a traitor's daughter. Tadaoki sent her to Midono in the Tango Peninsula and then later confined her in Hosowaka mansion in Osaka for her protection. She converted to Christianity after hearing that Hideyoshi was against it. When Hideyoshi passed and the power vacuum created the conflict between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Ishida Mitsunari, Mitsunari attempted to kidnap Gracia to blackmail rival generals. However, the family retainer Ogasawara Shōsai killed her and the rest of the household committed seppuku and burned the mansion down. Her death caused so much outrage that Mitsunari was forced to abandon his plans of hostage taking.
Akechi Hidemitsu was a samurai and senior retainer of Mitsuhide and served him until Hideyoshi took revenge and killed Mitsuhide for betraying Nobunaga. Hidemitsu married one of Mitsuhide's daughters and became one of his most trusted advisors, serving in Mitsuhide's vanguard and led the attack on Honnō-ji. When Hideyoshi attacked Sakamoto Castle after killing Mitsuhide in the Battle of Yamazaki, Hidemitsu's men set the castle on fire, killed their families and themselves to follow their master to the grave.
Saitō Toshimitsu was a samurai and retainer of Inaba Ittetsu, though later joined Akechi Mitsuhide. Nobunaga became furious when he heard of it and would have killed Toshimitsu if Mitsuhide hadn't intervened. Toshimitsu was a vital part in the attack of Honnō-ji and the Battle of Yamazaki and was killed along with his master in the battle.
Akechi Mitsutada was a samurai and Mitsuhide's cousin. When the Hatano clan was obliterated, he gained control of Yakami Castle and served under Mitsuhide during the attack on Honnō-ji. After Nobunaga was killed, Mitsutada went on a mission to kill Oda Nobutada, Nobunaga's heir. He was shot in the attempt and recuperated in a nearby temple, but later committed seppuku upon hearing Mitsuhide had been killed by Hideyoshi.
Hosokawa Fujitaka was the father of Hosokawa Tadaoki, making him Gracia's father-in-law. He was a prominent retainer of the last Ashikaga Shoguns, so he joined Nobunaga and became the daimyō of Tango. After Nobunaga was killed by Mitsuhide, Fujitaka refused to join Mitsuhide, despite his son's relations to the clan. He passed his daimyō status to Tadaoki after Mitsuhide was killed. He stayed as cultural advisor to both Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. When Mitsunari asked Fujitaka to join him, he refused as Mitsunari had caused Gracia's death. He garrisoned Tanabe Castle and defended it from a siege, though the general attacking the castle greatly respected Fujitaka and so the attackers amused themselves by barely attacking the castle.
This is a pretty nasty battle, Ice is a great attacking type and the ice and snow make it real tricky to move around, so we've gotta be careful.
Sealeo is also really deadly, having +1 range on ice and Ice Ball. Like with Fury Cutter, it can get very quickly out of hand, so it should definitely be a target.
Mitsuhide is also a super deadly guy, having crazy range with Ice Beam, so he's another big problem.
Gurdurr and Rhyperior are super important, cause these guys are super strong and can deal major damage to the enemy before they do the same to us.
We also want them to not take any damage, especially Rhyperior, so if you can line up 2 Pokemon, then Mitsuhide will go for them. The AI also prefers to move somewhere new to attack instead of staying put, so use that to your advantage.
Beartic is also a problem if Icicle Crash flinches, as not being able to retaliate with Gurdurr is a big deal. The enemy can do a lot of damage overall, so Oichi is as necessary as always.
Hrm, the flinch is annoying, but it gets rid of Beartic for a while, so I'll take it.
OW, let's not do that again.
Nice, using Rhyperior is always a fun time, cause you never know what's gonna happen.
Haha, you can't touch me.
Oh, but you can. The ice reforms after like 3 turns, whoopee.
Ah, hmm, I would've preferred if you'd made Musharna go to sleep.
Only Munna and Musharna are left and you can see why the line sucks. They work together fine enough, but when seperated Musharna is basically useless, so we'll be going after Munna mostly.
It's a bit tricky for us to get across, entering onto the ice or sliding across it, no matter your Range, requires your max movement, for some reason.
Wake Up Slap bitch!
Hey, get back here!
Now we begin the slow trudge over the snow. Thankfully everyone survived the onslaught so we just need to keep hitting Musharna until it goes down.
But you didn't think it'd be that easy, right? Musharna has its own version of Lullaby and its attack can heal it. Isn't that fun???
And it keeps activating too! I'm glad!!!
That's a pretty good combo due to Rhyperior's awful Range right now.
Oh never mind it just healed most of that damage. FUCK
Stop running away!
AND STOP ACTIVATING YOUR ABILITY
Rather do this than Musharna getting even more health.
Ugggggggghhhhhhhhhhh
Oh FINALLY. Musharna's ability activated 5 times compared to Jigglypuff's 1, though admittedly Jigglypuff wasn't always in range.
Get out. Long Day
My brother told me... He told me that he would destroy Ransei! I don't know what he meant exactly, but... he terrified me. The world is going to change. Just like my brother did... ... Lady Oichi, I know not of what you speak. Lord Nobunaga is everything to me... To serve by this side... It is everything I have ever wanted... ...I must go. Threat to Ransei
Woah, hey, ease up! While it is definitely time for Eevee to evolve now that we have Nixtorm under us, the thread needs to vote on which one it'll evolve into. After that, it'll be Spectra time, next time.