Part 7: Super Effective
Threat to Ransei
Another update, another recruiting. Surely we must be running out of Warriors already... right? So, Matsunaga Hisahide was the retainer of Miyoshi Nagayoshi and directed the conquest of Yamato, which became independent enough for him to become its daimyō. He was also conspiring against his former retainer, making his heir too young to rule by killing those already in line. Despite his power, Hisahide still fell to Nobunaga and begrudgingly served him. Hisahide temporarily switched sides back to the Miyoshi, but went back to Nobunaga when it didn't pan out.
Not too surprising, we recruited Yuikmura with Tepig at a high link. But it doesn't seem to be Yukimura's Perfect Link, so we'll need to wait until it appears. Tepig evolves into Pignite when its Attack is 41.
Time for some Psychic links. While Tomonobu already has a Ralts, if the evolved form is gonna show up, might as well grab it, eh?
It's cool we can still link while Asleep. Anyway, we're only doing this for the hell of it, since Munna is a terrible Pokemon, since it knows Hypnosis. It still has shaky accuracy and it's better to just hit something than inflict status. Thankfully Sadamitsu is the only one saddled with this awful line (speaking mechanically, you know I love every Pokemon).
Harada Munetoki was a samurai and retainer of Date Masamune (we'll see him later this update), succeeding his uncle as the hereditary retainer of the Date clan. Due to his valiant conduct in combat, he quickly received Masamune's trust and was placed in charge of the clan's military affairs. He was easily visible in combat by his trademark golden sword and was instrumental in the Battle of Suriage-ga-hara by taking the strategic lake of Hibara.Shiroishi Munezane was a samurai and retainer to Date Terumune, Masamune's father, and Date Shigezane. He held the title of Kokushi, a government official sent from the central government to oversee a province, in this case being the Shiomatsu region. He also participated in the invasion of Aizu and for his service he received the Mizusawa domain. He then fought in Korea under Hideyoshi and finally passed in Tokyo in his late 40s.
So most of the Pokemon we'll find there are Poison-type Pokemon. This means that Grass-type Pokemon will struggle... But Ground-type and Psychic-type Pokemon should do well.
It's another kingdom invasion, number 11! Invasion
You're the one who's trying to fight Nobunaga, right? You naughty child! N-Naughty?! We're trying to save Ransei! Stop being so silly! If you don't learn to get along with people, I'm going to have to punish you!
Y-You're... Hideyoshi?! From Ignis?! But you look so different... Surely you haven't... transformed? Long time no see, Azai! A whole lot has changed since I decided to let you have my castle in Ignis. As you can see, Nene here is the one who has to put up with me now! And I'll tell you something else that's gonna be different: this time, I'm gonna beat you! VS Viperia
Well, Viperia is full of ninjas... You'll be amazed when you see all the tricks they've got!
Viperia has a few interesting things about it. The secret passages connect to another one on the same line, usually halfway across the map. There's also lots of poison goo on the floor. Unless you're a Poison or Steel or Flying type, don't step on it.
Uh oh, we're gonna need to reinforce this area.
With these narrow openings the AI will just conga line towards the next flag to take over. Don't think they used any strategy in going through the passages, they use their full move each turn and if they happen to land on the hole then they'll use it.
Nene, also known as Toyotomi Yoshiko, was the first wife of Hideyoshi, before he became one of the great unifiers. She was one of his closest aides and confidantes and her samurai lineage gave Hideyoshi connections and retainers. She advised Hideyoshi on matters of governance and he sent her letters often during campaigns. Despite their closeness, she competed with other women for Hideyoshi's attention, something Nobunaga disliked about him. He took up several concubines and she bore him no children.
We've already met Hideyoshi and he's reached Rank 2 evolution! Let's talk about him some more, cause there's still so much more to say. While under Nobunaga, Hideyoshi was a simple servant, aiding him in the battle against Imagawa Yoshimoto. He managed the kitchen and repaired castles and forts, apparently constructing one overnight in Sunomata. A skilled negotiator, he managed to convince (well, bribe) a number of warlords to desert the Saitō clan to pressure them into submitting to Nobunaga. This gave him an easy victory in the Siege of Inabayama Castle, cementing Hideyoshi as one of his top generals.
Ugh, Spiritomb. Uh, Hattori Hanzō was a great samurai credited with saving the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu and helping him rule united Japan. Born and raised in Iga, he was meritous in battle and helped repel Takeda soldiers from Totomi with just 30 men and a river. During the Tenshō Iga War, he tried to prevent the second son of Nobunaga, Oda Nobukatsu, from invading his homeland, but was eventually defeated when Nobunaga himself pressured the province with his forces. Following Nobunaga's death, he led Ieyasu to safety in Mikawa across Iga territory with the help of the remnants of the local Iga clans.
Hatsume no Tsubone was a ninja that was employed by Ieyasu to spy on Ishida Mitsunari. She may not have existed and may not have been Mitsunari's lover.
Momochi Sandayū, also known as Momochi Tamba, was an Iga ninja and one of the top three Iga Ryu. He was in charge of the southern Iga group and had around 200-300 ninja under him. He was believed to be at Kashiwara Castle when Oda Nobukatsu attacked it with a large force. He was probably killed in that attack, as he was never heard from again, but that's always the problem with damn ninja.
Mochizuki Chiyome was a kunoichi, but may not have existed, as her name first appeared in a 1971 book. Apparently her husband was killed in the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima and that she later got permission from Takeda Shingen to form a Miko-village (miko being a shrine maiden). There, the Miko became spies and Chiyome became a ninja. However, associate professor Katuya Yoshimaru disputes this, saying the battle didn't take place, her husband didn't die, written permission was usually forged in that time, the Miko-village was not full of spies and while there were kunoichi, there's no evidence Chiyome was ever one, if she existed. History bitches!
Damn hit and run tactics, the AI is smart.
M8, you have been suuuuuuuper helpful in this playthrough.
Bringing Kenshin to this fight is kinda cheating, but I want some fun and some of these guys are kinda tough.
Hrm. Jigglypuff is pretty good here since it can't get poisoned, so it can stand on the goo all day.
If too many of your guys get poisoned, then Venoshock can be nasty. But there's hinoki ofuro, uh, wooden bathing tubs around to heal you like the hot springs in Ignis.
Oh no, not a 9 damage crit.
...okay maybe Gallade was overkill. Psycho Cut is just soooooo goooooooood, that crit chance man.
Always make sure of ranges. If Ekans had 1 more range it could take the banner and if we couldn't kill it in one turn (we can, cause Gallade), then we would lose next turn.
Slap Hideyoshi's monkey, Oichi.
Haha, perfect. You want Spiritomb to take this exact path cause it will always poison itself. The AI is dumb as shit in this game. And I'm glad, as you'll see in just a moment. If you're unlucky, then the Spiritomb will make it to the middle banner first and miss getting poisoned completely.
Get away from the banners.
Really, Motochika? One health? Ugh.
Hey, get back here!
Oh for fuck's sake.
Alright, we need to grind down Spiritomb. This Pokemon is a real pain to take down, having high defenses, no weaknesses (which is a big deal in Conquest) and three immunities in Normal, Fighting and Psychic. Which describes the strongest Pokemon in my army right now. Add in an Accuracy lowering ability and the banner healing and it can be infuriating. This is why you want it to get poisoned like a dumbass, it makes this grind a LOT easier.
All that's left is Spiritomb. I wish I could just slap this boy off the tile, but only Yoshihiro can do that right now...
Five turns laytuh...
Fuck Hanzō. Long Day
I couldn't repay Lord Nobunaga... Even though he let us keep looking after our kingdom after we lost to him... I guess he's going to be pretty mad now... We've gotta go back to him, though, Nene... Lord Nobunaga isn't someone you turn your back on. He's the most powerful Warlord of all! Lord Nobunaga is the only one who can help me fulfill my dream! Yeah... I guess you're right. And, Azai... I guess you're not that naughty after all... Just take good care of Viperia, all right? Threat to Ransei
Only one more kingdom remains. Again! Hopefully this is the last time...
But before we go for it, there's stuff to do! Kashin Koji was a ninja and illusionist who may not have even existed. Spooky!
Here we go, Yukimura's Perfect Link is with the Charmander line. Well, Charmeleon actually, but one step at a time, okay?
More Perfect Links, including a Drilbur, very nice! Pokemon Evolved
You know, Servine... Now I feel an even greater strength when I am around you... Do you feel it too? I'm still counting on you, Servine! Excellent, now Motonari has his Perfect Link. Everyone's shaping up nicely. Snivy evolves into Servine when its Speed is 56. Threat to Ransei
New building in Viperia? Sign me up!
The rarer the item that is being made, the rarer the items that are required to make it! Indeed, some of the items that you will be combining are rather rare in themselves. Now, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you luck in your search for items! I should imagine that I shall be meeting all sorts of people here. How exciting! I do hope some of them will be a little charismatic... Now then, please choose which item you would like to make!
So there's a load of useless items that Pokemon drop when you beat them. You bring them here and either combine them with another useless item or with a normal item to get something even better! You already know my opinion on items (they're eh), so you can guess my opinion on the Alchemist (also eh), since a lot of items are just too situational and Skills are more consistent. Seriously, Oichi is just amazing.
Maybe in the future I might make more use of it, but if you're really rolling in these things, then get healing items and leave the Attack boosts to skills. No point raising Defense if you knock out the opponent first, XCOM logic. Anyway, Avia time!
Electric-type, Rock-type, and Ice-type Pokemon are effective against Flying-type Pokemon... But Ground-type attack won't work at all, so do be careful!
Oh we're gonna have some fun. Invasion
The one who's too dumb to see that there's no point fighting against Nobunaga...
My lady... Looking at your beautiful face... Why, I feel like I am floating above the clouds. ...?
I've had enough of this. I'm going to the battlefield. Don't keep me waiting! Sorry about our Warlord. His temper is a bit, you know, short. VS Avia
It's my favorite battlefield in all of Ransei. And one day it's going to be me, not Nobunaga, who unites this region! But not unless you start pulling your weight, Magoichi! Okay, okay... Man, he's a terrible boss...
Like you'd expect, Avia is full of floating islands and Flying types. We'll send everyone over with the Jump Pad (except for Rhyperior who can't reach it), but don't go for the right one, since you'll bounce on two more and end up at the top of the map, which you don't want.
Hey you remember the vine bridge from Greenleaf? Well this bridge will pop up and collapse every turn and you see the animation every time. It's great fun. Anyway, we're turning the camera cause we'll soon have some birds dropping down here, since they don't give a shit about gaps and height.
Using their range boosting abilities to reach us quickly.
Alright, so when I said supereffective damage was king, if the link difference between two Pokemon is big enough, it just makes them really ineffective. This is a problem I have with this game, that unless you're similar in link to the enemy and you're using supereffective damage, your damage just seems really piddly and it's not much fun. Also the Charisma and Speed difference means your weaker Pokemon have a harder time to hit the opponents, wasting their turn, which is never fun. Basically, grinding in this game sucks, but bringing them to battles like this to boost them up just makes them mostly deadweight, which is a real shame.
Date Masamune was a daimyō of the Tōhoku region and came from a long line of powerful daimyōs. He founded the modern city of Sendai, transforming it from a small fishing village, and was a master tactician, made even more iconic for his missing eye lost to smallpox as a child, giving him the nickname dokuganryū, or the One-Eyed Dragon of Ōshu. While he wasn't a huge fan of Hideyoshi after being conquered by him, he nonetheless was a valuable asset to him and was given the lands of Iwatesawa. He fought in the invasion of Korea and followed Ieyasu after Hideyoshi's death, despite Ieyasu's suspicious of him. Regardless, he served his masters loyally.
Saika Magoichi was the name given to the leader of the Saika Ikki, a Buddhist warrior group in Ōta. Three men were given this name, Suzuki Sadayū and two of his four sons, Suzuki Shigetomo and Suzuki Shigehide. We'll talk about the first one for now. His army was famous for weilding arqubuses, long guns held up by a stand, and donning the yatagarasu, a three legged crow, as his crest. Starting as a mercenary, he was employed by the Hatakeyama clan to repel the Miyoshi clan. He later helped the Miyoshi against Nobunaga and even injured one of his great generals. He eventually surrended to Hideyoshi and was forced to commit suicide, despite swearing loyalty.
Katakura Kagetsuna was a samurai and retainer to Masamune. Starting as a page under Masamune's father, he became heavily relied on as a strategist and Masamune placed deep trust in him. Anecdotally, Masamune found himself surrounded in his first battle and was saved when Kagetsuna leapt in shouting "I am Masamune!" distracting the enemy long enough for Masamune to escape. He joined his lord in most of his major battles and suggested Masamune submit to Hideyoshi during the Odawara Campaign. Hideyoshi granted Kagetsuna fief of Tamura, but he returned it soon after, showing loyalty to his master.
Date Shigezane was a samurai and senior retainer of the Date clan of Sendai. A cousin to Masamune on his mother's side, he was one of the the Three Great Men of the Date Clan, along with Kagetsuna and Tsunamoto and was an excellent fighter.
Oniniwa Tsunamoto was a samurai and retainer of Masamune that outlived him. His half sister was also half sister to Kagetsuna and he succeeded the family head after his father's death in the Battle of Hitodoribashi. Masamune deeply trusted him and quickly made him a senior retainer. He changed his name to Moniwa Nobumoto on Hideyoshi's orders.
Irohahime was one of Masamune's sixteen children and his first daughter. Masamune wanted a son to continue his lineage, so chose a masculine name for his first child, so Iroha was pronounced more femininely after she was born. She later married the sixth son of Ieyasu to strengthen political relations, but they had no children and they later divorced when he was exiled by his older brother, the Shogun. She returned to her father and thus to Sendai and was so beautiful and intelligent that Masamune lamented she should have been a boy instead. Her brothers often came to her for advice and insight.
Avia is a bit annoying, especially with Braviary's Sky Drop, which is like Dig, except your Pokemon lose a turn as well, so it can be pretty annoying if it won't OHKO them. We'll also be spending the entire battle here, so this is a kingdom where most of the gimmicks (being jumping and flying around the islands) can be basically moot.
I would like for my Pokemon to not be badly poisoned, that sounds like a great idea. Oh hey, when a Pokemon is standing on the bridge, the animation doesn't play. Yay!
Confusion can be very useful, that Starly is basically a non issue at this point.
That's a bit of an issue.
That too, but hey Shinx survived! (It gets knocked out by the Golbat).
C'mon, daddy needs a new pair of shoes.
SHIT. Oh well, Rhyperior doesn't have cooldown if it misses. Thank god.
We're taking a bit of a beating and I think the bridge is mocking me.
Eh, I think we'll be alright.
I brought Shingen to take on Masamune, but it's difficult when Sky Drop makes him disappear for a turn and Magoichi is running around hitting me for 4x weakness.
Thank you supportive bridge.
No super effective damage? No problem! Ah, jk, it's actually a tedious slog.
You can see why Kenshin is much easier to use.
Ugh, finally. I'm glad Joltik made it to the end, now evolve and be useful already!!! Victory!
See, a 7.5% increase. You can't get those numbers grinding on wild Pokemon. Long Day
I mean, if we were to join Azai's army... Try and think ahead a bit, Magoichi. I want to fight for the army that will eventually unite Ransei... And at the moment, only one army looks capable of doing that. Now, come on! All right... I hope to see you again, Azai.
Nice. Now we're basically unstoppable with 13 kingdoms under us! ...Right? Invasion
I heard that someone was attempting to oppose Lord Nobunaga. I decided to come and see for myself who would be so foolish. I am here to inform you that your current course of action will only lead to defeat.
That is all... ...That was Mitsuhide... One of Nobunaga's closest aides... There are three of them in total, and they are going to be tough opponents... So let's brace ourselves for battle, Lord Azai! Threat to Ransei
These guys sound like trouble.
And they are. We've got some fun times ahead... next time.