Part 48: Deepest Depths and Highest Heights (HGSS)
Update 38.5: Deepest Depths and Highest Heights (HGSS)
Pokemon Gym
Final Gym time. Is our team ready to take on the dragon lady? Welllllll...
: The Gym has unstable footing. Keep your Pokémon in their Poké Balls. Now, Clair uses the mythical and sacred Dragon-type Pokémon. You can't damage them very easily. But you know, they're supposed to be weak against Ice-type moves.
So the puzzle of this Gym is moving and rotating these platforms to cross the lava. It's relatively simple, you just need to the room to maneauvre around.
In-between the movng platforms are the trainers, as well as teleports back to the entrance should you need them.
Fwip
The last one is easy enough. And with that, it's leader time.
: The world's best Dragon-type master. I can hold my own against even the Pokémon League's Elite Four. Do you still want to take me on? ...Fine. Let's do this! As a Gym Leader, I will use my full power against any opponent!Gym Leader Battle
Oh hey, Clair's team has changed so she doesn't have three Dragonair. She still has two, but it's something!
Now, uh, this team isn't exactly the most optimal and we actually don't have much to deal with dragons, but thankfully Steelix can learn all the fang moves through Move Tutor. Very useful. But even a 4x effective move isn't too amazing due to Intimidate.
The AI noticed all of its moves did fuck all to Steelix, so out comes one of the Dragonair. But is it the one with Fire Blast, or Aqua Tail? Both are effective against Steelix.
I've got the perfect candidate to test this, no matter what.
Feraligatr is pretty sweet and it helps my lack of Ice moves. I actually don't have much in the way of elemental attacks, but oh well!
lol Synchronize
Shit, paralysis
Oh goddammit
Well Wol saved the day easily enough, but now comes the real problem, the Kingdra. In Gen 2, it wasn't a huge deal to face against, but in Gen 4, Pokemon are actually good, so you'll have some trouble without a plan. Oh, what's my plan? Well, you're seeing it right here.
No, I haven't gone crazy, I'm just baiting out Hydro Pump so that when it runs out, Steelix has no problems taking it down. At least that's what I'm hoping, cause I honestly don't have much else, this is not a great team.
Long story short, it's time to whittle it down.
Unfortunately it still has one trick up its sleeve in the form of Smokescreen. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaate
It's still slow going, since Thunder Fang isn't all that amazing, but the rest of my team don't really have anything for this damn thing.
After too many Smokescreens, I switched in Wol, then realized that Noctowl is one of the best counters to this thing.
Keen Eye and high Special Defense means Kingdra does barely anything. So there we go people, if you're having trouble with Kingdra, grab a Noctowl.
Paraflinch?
Nooooooo.
But eventually, we grind it down.
: I don't believe it. There must be some mistake...Pokemon Gym
: I might have lost, but you're still not ready for the Pokémon League. I know. You should take the Dragon-master challenge. Behind this Gym is a place called Dragon's Den. There is a small shrine at its heart. Go there. If you can prove that you've lost your lazy ideals, I will admit you are a Trainer worthy of a Gym Badge!Siiiiiiiiiiiigh, give me a few minutes.
Dragon's Den
We done, so we out.
: I'm sorry about this. Here, take this as my apology.
: Well, Dragon Pulse is a kind of er... never mind! It's huge energy of some kind. If you don't want it, you don't have to take it. What's the matter? If you are headed to the Pokémon League, go back to New Bark Town and Surf along Route 27.
: Come on! Whatever you have to face from now, don't you dare give up! If you do, I'll feel even worse about having lost to you! Give it your all.
Well we're back home, our team's looking good, so let's visit Professor Elm.
Professor Elm's Laboratory
"That's so cool."
: The professor is waiting for you.
Neat.
: You've been helping all these people! You make me proud to be your friend.
I wonder who that boy is, have we seen him in this LP before...?
"Ecruteak Dance Theater."Ooh, I feel some plot coming up, let's go!
Ecruteak City
: How...? How is this possible? How can I lose to mere Kimono Girls...? You were watching me, Kotone... Yeah, that's right! I never thought defeating five Kimono Girls would be so hard... I got beaten to a pulp...
: You must have come here for the same reason, right? Don't get cocky just because you defeated Team Rocket! These Kimono Girls are insanely strong. Go ahead! See if you can defeat them. But I'm not going back. I don't want to see you win.
...so why was he here? How did he know the Kimono Girls wanted to battle? Am I supposed to be intimidated by Silver losing to these girls considering he's done nothing but lost since I've met him? Well, whatever, make sure you're prepared, cause it's gonna be a long and tough one.
Dance Theater
: I met you previously in Violet City. In order to bring back LUGIA, we needed someone with the right bond with Pokémon. We asked Mr. Pokémon to give this Mystery Egg to whoever showed true potential. The Egg was eventually handed from Mr. Pokémon to Professor Elm, and then to you. However, being pure alone will not be sufficient to face the power of this Pokémon. I must test you. Are you ready?Nope! But let's go anyway!
So you still face against the Kimono Girls in these remakes, but instead of before Morty, you face them after Clair, one after the other with no breaks. It's pretty tough, but you only fight one Pokemon at a time, so what you do to the opponent stays no matter what. Good luck, cause I'll need it. Since I won't be showing these battles so this update isn't a million hours long, the order is Umbreon, Espeon, Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon.
: You helped me in Ilex Forest. My name is Naoko. I'm the one that's no so good at directions. My eyes witnessed you defeating Team Rocket when Kurt was in trouble at the SLOWPOKE Well. Allow me to challenge you and your Pokémon!
: I remember you chasing off that Team Rocket Grunt from right here. I must thank you for that. Although, I am actually a Trainer myself. She who knows the most speaks the least! I am Miki--the Kimono Girl! Allow me to challenge you and your Pokémon!
: You got me off the ice by pushing me from the back. I am the one who skates in sandals. I am Sayo--the Kimono Girl! I was listening in the Dragon's Den when you passed the test of the Elder. Allow me to challenge you and your Pokémon!
: You were so dependable at the Goldenrod Tunnel. I am the one who twirls even underground. I am Kuni--the Kimono Girl! I looked at you in wonder when you thwarted Team Rocket's mission to take over the Radio Tower. You must show your strength to me now. Allow me to challenge you and your Pokémon!
: Please take it.
Phew, I'm glad that's over. Count how many times my lead Pokemon changed as they each fainted in turn.
: I just saw the big shadow of a Pokémon in the Whirl Islands' waters! It could be...(How the fuck did she see that and come all the way over here? Ah whatever, it makes more sense in HG)
"See you there!"
Hey, let's not do any of that right now and see about that second test at the Safari Zone. Yeah!
Safari Zone
: This time can you catch a SANDSHREW and show it to me? Sounds easy, right? Not really! SANDSHREW will not appear with the current Safari Zone setting. And that's where this comes in handy!
: I call it the Area Customizer! You want to know how it works, don't you? It's a...secret! Well you shouldn't have trouble operating it. Just talk to the staff next to me!
: I was in the middle of explaining the second test, wasn't I? You will not see SANDSHREW with the current Safari Zone Areas, so you have to use the Area Customizer to change them. SANDSHREW live in the desert! Good luck!
Okay, let's get into the second big thing of this Safari Zone. You can change areas at will and swap them around. Want a Pokemon in a specific area? You can plop it right by the entrance and immediately find it! We can add two new areas to the Safari Zone: the Desert and the Rocky Beach. This also means you can rotate in the four other areas that weren't a part of the initial Safari Zone layout, but could've been in another game. With these two areas, the amount of Pokemon you can catch goes from 61 to 70, including Cubone, Slowpoke, Doduo and Lapras. And we can still get more Pokemon later. Hot damn this place is great.
We'll get the Desert up front and go find a shrew of sand.
Hi
Bye
: You've passed the test! You are now the Safari Zone Owner! I've always wanted to see young people playing at the safari! I thought I might get some new ideas. That should help you complete your Pokedex. That's what I have been thinking.
: Don't be upset. I'll keep thinking about how I can create new fun ways to help you complete your Pokedex. Go have fun at the Safari Zone!Route 47
Since we're nearby, there are a couple of waterfalls on Route 47 we can go up.
The first one just leads to a patch of grass which doesn't hold anything new, but has Pokemon scaled properly, so they're around level 30-35. If you want a new team member, then this is as good a time as any!
The second waterfall takes us on a bit of a winding river path.
At the end is the White Flute. Flutes have infinite uses and have different effects depending on the colour. We'll be finding the rest here and there. This one specifically increases the encounter rate by 50%, but I'm unsure if it stacks with Pokemon March on the radio. Maybe one day we'll find out!
Whirl Islands
We'll return to the Safari Zone and its surrounding areas at a later point, but for now, it's time to plot. Since I've already gone over the Whirl Islands in the main LP, let's head straight to the bottom!
I hope this man doesn't stand in this cave all day stopping people from leaving.
Pretty
One small change is how you no longer need Waterfall for this cave. You didn't technically need it in Gen 2 either, as you could go down waterfalls but not up them no matter what. Also note that we don't need Flash for this room, but you do need it for the rest of the dungeon. Still, let's go inside.
: When the dance we practiced many days becomes one with the sound of the Tidal Bell we entrusted with you, then LUGIA shall come out from deep within the waterfall basin once again!
Since I'm too lazy to make gifs or videos about HGSS, do please watch the following sequence here because it's pretty cool.
"ancient times...": So many have tried again and again, only to fail... Kotone, your heart in complete harmony with the Tidal Bell has finally allowed it to appear...
: LUGIA... It must have been waiting for someone like you all this time. Wouldn't you agree...? This is all we can do for you.. What you do now is entirely up to you...
Imma stuff it in a ball.
VS Lugia
Alright, Lugia is a pretty big powerhouse, so actually catching it is gonna be tough if your team isn't too amazing.
It does a lot of damage, but we just need to whittle it down, slowly but surely.
Yet again Wol is like the best Pokemon to face these heavy hitting special attackers.
Since this is Gen 4, Dusk Balls are the best to use against legendaries, so long as you're in a cave, or playing at night.
Oh, uh, I guess I'll just catch it with the first ball then. Out of curiosity, I had a 7.2% chance of capture, so I got really lucky!
: You are so wonderful. There is nothig more for us to say. Take good care of yourself in your journey...
Sounds like a plan!
Professor Elm's Laboratory
: The Kimono Girls said something about me? I don't have anything to do with it. You made up your mind yourself and went through with your decision. Having achieved such a thing, you should be able to take on the Pokémon League now! You should head for the Indigo Plateau!Well we will be doing that in the next HGSS update, but we're not done with this update just yet. I know, this one's really full to the brim, but on we go.
Of course we'll be returning to Japanese HeartGold, but only for the HeartGold part. Instead of going to the Whirl Islands and facing Lugia, we're heading to the Bell Tower and facing Ho-oh.
Pretty
Bell Tower
The setup is relatively similar, you can only go so far without the Rainbow Wing, but we still have to climb the damn thing. I'll be going into more detail when we actually come here in Crystal, but it's relatively straightforward.
Now this tower was renamed in the remakes, from the Tin Tower to the Bell Tower. Why? Well the Japanese name スズのとう Suzu no Tō, can be translated as either Tin Tower, or Bell Tower, as the kana for Suzu can be 錫 tin, or 鈴 bell. The Suzu bells used in Shinto rituals are what the Clear and Tidal Bells are based on. I suppose the Bell Tower is the actual Japanese translation, but I never questioned the Tin Tower when I was younger, since it still continues the metal theme and matched with the Burned Tower's original name, the Brass Tower. It could also be a Japanese pun, being either Bell or Tin, depending on what you think matched up more.
But hey, we've made it to the top, phew, that was a crazy climb.
Since this is the Japanese version, I'll just use the English text.
: Yes, this is where we welcome Ho-Oh. When the dance we practiced for many days becomes one with the sound of the Clear Bell we entrusted to you, then Ho-Oh shall come down from the great arch of the sky once again!
Again, watch the summoning here, it's even better than the other one!
: That IS indeed Ho-Oh... The guardian of the sky around here from ancient times... So many have tried and tried, only to fail... ヒビキ, your heart and the Clear Bell in harmony have finally made fit appear... ヒビキ, don't you see? Ho-Oh must have been waiting for someone like you all this time. Wouldn't you agree...?
Hey there, wanna see my Pokeballs?
VS Ho-oh
Like with Lugia, Ho-oh can be pretty tough, but thankfully I've got some Fire resistence on my team to deal with it. Very nice.
Still hurts like the dickens, so absolutely do not take it lightly.
Still, uh, I don't have much in the way of catching it since I knew I wasn't gonna do too much with this save file anyway. So we'll just Master Ball it.
I am shocked. Shocked! Well, not that shocked.
: You have not only made Ho-Oh appear, but you have also caught it... You are so wonderful. There is nothing more for us to say. Take good care of yourself in your journey...
That's about it for Japanese HeartGold and this update. Maybe there's more to show off in this specific game, but we'll leave that for another time. Later everyone.