Part 10: Ash Me Outside

Part 10: Ash Me Outside

Route 112

"I'm somewhat decent!"

Uh, what? Well, uh, welcome back to Emerald, let's reach the next town already.




Nobunaga up to level 26 there.

Are you busy right now? I was thinking that maybe we can have a rematch right now... but it's all right if you're busy.

I like the way you battle. It has a certain flair to it.



We'll grab the Rawst and Pecha berries and then head back onto Route 111 to run immediately headfirst into a Cooltrainer ♂. Don't you just hate when that happens?



There is much to be learned from your training style. I request a rematch if it behooves you. POKEMON and TRAINERS learn much through battling. What's important is to never give up even if you lose.



I'm thinking about making my own room here using a POKEMON move. I know! I'll give you this TM. Will you use it to make your own room?



Use SECRET POWER in front of the tree. Some vines should get free and drop down, so you can climb the tree. You'll find a lot of space for putting your favorite things. It'll be your own secret room... a SECRET BASE! You should make one, too. Another thing, you don't always have to make your SECRET BASE in a tree. Try using SECRET POWER on rock walls that have small indents in them. I'm going to look for other places, too. Okay, bye!



Secret Power is an interesting move, like Nature Power, but remains a Normal move with 70BP, 20PP and 100% accuracy that has a 30% chance of causing a secondary effect, depending on the terrain, listed here, which is pretty nice, but like Nature Power, it's not dependable and it's a weaker Body Slam in competitive. It also has the field effect of creating a Secret Base, but we haven't explored the region much, nor got anything to really use in our base, so we'll save it for later.



Yeah sure, we could use this. We haven't gone that far, but why not.



If you'd like, rest up here. That's a fine idea! You should do that. That's right. Take your time and rest up!

Do do do do dooooo



You should take another rest here. That's a fine idea. You should do that. Is that so? You don't need to be shy about it.

I don't get why they ask you again, it's confused me since I was a kid.



Oh hey it's our interview.

"And 'GO EASY'...


Uh sure, random choice is definitely significant.



Making use of the Mach Bike, oh yeah.


"as yourself."

Is, uh, that all that's up here?



Guess so. Neat.



And they gave me lots of BERRIES, too. Here you go! You can have it!



I'm going to try really hard and make BERRIES in different colors. I hope you try hard, too!



We've got Razz and Oran berries. You guessed it, Razz berries don't do anything.

"I have to ask you for an engagement."

At least take me on a date first!



Ah, there's the nice early Psychic for Ranmaru, just what I needed.



I wish I could become friends with more strong people like you! I thought I was raising my POKEMON diligently, but, oh no, there is still much to be done.



We're all set, play that funky music, white boy!

Route 113



Aw yeah, that's the stu-





Imma turn 360 degrees and walk right out of using this thing. That's a fun gimmick with its stats, but it does not make it usable in the slightest, even though it has the wide movepool Normal types usually get. So yeah, let's talk about its spot gimmick instead. Like I've discussed when going over the PID, Spinda has four spots that appear on its face and ears, though the x and y co-ordinates can land outside the sprite. There's a lot of different combinations and some can look pretty dumb but yeah, that's the only interesting thing about this mon, aside from looking cute.

Own Tempo prevents the Pokemon from being confused, including self-inflicted confusion, making moves like Thrash and Outrage much better.





Trap trap trap trap. A very interesting Pokemon that only isn't that great because it evolves! Hear me out, its Attack will never get any better and it'll gain special STAB when it evolves, but its Special Attack will never be as good to compensate. When it evolves into Vibrava, its Attack will actually go down a fair bit to boost its other stats and its level up moves are pretty bad, since the best STAB will be, uh, Sand Tomb, while it continues to learn Dark moves. I guess you could teach it Dig, which is ugh, but other physical attacks will take it super far due to its amazing Attack (Rock Tomb does more damage lol). When it's fully evolved with STAB Earthquake, then it'll do great, but right now it's in a bit of an awkward stage.

Arena Trap prevents a grounded foe from fleeing or switching out, which is super great, though useless against the roamers of RSE and not using your Master Ball on the roamers of FRLG is a super bad idea. Still, it's a great way to set up, or to remove a problem so it can't switch out. It also boosts the encounter rate by 100%.



The volcanic ash blocks the sun, so it doesn't get very warm. That's good for me--I can't stand the heat!



Seriously though, this route is great, unlike anything we've seen in the series, with great music, hidden items aplenty and being able to see what grass patches you've walked through. A good place all around.






You spun and what did you win? A slow tank with a lot of weaknesses? Well shoot. It's not the end of the world, immunities to Electric and Ground and pretty nice and your attacking stats aren't horrendous later on, so the early Psybeam helps, though you'll have no Ground STAB aside from Mud Slap (what a surprise). You could always explode if you can't get your way. Still, you're supposed to stall out foes and that's not great in single player, but you get all the tools you need, Cosmic Power, both screens, Toxic, etc. And STAB Earthquake is never bad. It's just hard to justify using TMs on.





Hey kid, you wanna go fast? No, like really, really, REALLY fast? There's only one Pokemon faster than Ninjask in the entire game and one turn of Speed Boost will change that, so yeah, it's fast. Shame it can't really do anything about that, since it has an awful typing and STAB options. Still, Aerial Ace and, uh, Fury Cutter from that Attack will hurt. You can get Silver Wind through breeding at least and can even use Shadow Ball! Maybe passing Swords Dance and Speed Boosts might be preferable, since it'll fall over pretty damn easily and it's better to help something else rip through the enemy instead of trying (and failing) to do it yourself.

Speed Boost increases the Pokemon's Speed by one stage at the end of the turn. With Protect, this is guaranteed +1 in every battle, making you the fastest Pokemon in the game, period.



I'll use my ninjitsu on you... "VOLCANIC ASH SWIRL CLOAK!" ...what? It's already over?



Why are there three guys in this enclosed area?



Aren't you just the coolest? Humph!

You know what's crummy about hiding? It's lonely if no one comes along.

I ought to hide under the ashes, too.



The haul was worth it, it usually is.

"my dear NUMEL."


Here, slide under my parasol. Let me register you in my POKENAV. You're very good at this. I must say I'm impressed!



(TIA) Both of us, we collect ashes. We battle POKEMON, too.




(TIA) We couldn't win... It's boring, so I'm getting some more ashes. We have a lot of ashes! I think enough for a WHITE FLUTE!



I want to collect ash too, but I've only got 30 spaces in my bag...



That's some good shit right there.



I must refine the art of concealment. I bid thee farewell.




I'm specially gifted, huff-puff. I make glass out of volcanic ash and make items, huff-puff. Go collect ashes with this, huff-puff.



And it will fill up with the volcanic ash, huff-puff. Once you think you've collected a good amount, come see me, huff-puff.



I think this is the only hidden TM in the entire series, but don't quote me on that, you monster. We'll go over the glass items when we've finished the route.




Get it? Ashes and eyelashes? Okay, that was bad, sorry...



That's a sneaky item right there. Let's go collect some ash!



Oh yeah, steel birb is a 5% encounter. Bit annoying, but hey.



Oh! You've got a lot of ashes, huff-puff!



The glass items are pretty cool, if super frustrating to get. After collecting a certain amount of ash, you can buy various flutes, or even decorations. Here is where I'll go into further detail, but it is quite the grind if you want the good stuff (well, decorations).



A BLUE FLUTE it is, then, huff-puff! Okay! I'll make it for you, huff-puff. Just wait a little while, huff-puff. ... Ah, I've finished your BLUE FLUTE. Take it, huff-puff.



I dunno why the most useful flute is the cheapest, but hey, now we don't have to worry about Sleep for the rest of the game and it'll save those Full Heals.






Here's a basic birb that hits pretty hard with Normal and Flying moves and, well, that's about it. You can give it Steel Wing and Fly and it'll do you just fine, if nothing that'll blow you away. Shame the best Flying move you'll learn is Aerial Ace, but Brave Bird didn't exist yet and Return will make up for it, so yeah, that was easy!



A... what? I don't know what to say when I get beaten so easily...

Losing burns me up... I'm just going to sleep right here! Zzz!

Fallarbor Town




Fallarbor Town/Hajitsuge Town: A farm community with small gardens.
From fall (or autumn to the rest of the civilised world) and arbor (tree), and hajiro (chestnut brown) and tsuge (Japanese boxwood).



So that means you use the POKEMON Storage System I developed. How I arrived at that conclusion is a simple deductive process. You spoke to me because you wanted to access something on this PC. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm LANETTE. Honestly, I'm glad to meet you--it's great you're using the Storage System. If you could, please visit me at home. My house is on ROUTE 114.



So there's not much in Fallarbor Town, most of this update will be covering the final Battle Tent. Still, there's not nothing here.



Ah, Great, Super and Super, just what I like to see.

"TEAM MAGMA."

Sounds like a safe and good idea.



Ah, finally, finally, we have the Move Tutor.

"teach POKEMON these moves."

I can teach a move to a POKEMON of yours if you'd like. I'll do if for a HEART SCALE. I'm collecting those now.

FINALLY, you can teach your Pokemon previous level up moves (that doesn't involve fuckin Stadium 2), which is huge for certain Pokemon that just miss out on moves when they evolve, or had forgotten by the time you caught them. The Heart Scale cost is negligible, since we've got a few already and you can farm them very easily later. Still, there's only a few reasons to use this guy, but forgetting moves for HMs becomes a lot easier now.

Route 114



We'll tackle the Battle Tent at the end of the update, but there's something super important we need to get on Route 114, so let's go!



He loves digging holes, too... he dug this hole by himself... You can have this, so you can DIG holes, just like my big brother...



Man remember when Dig had 100BP? Well it's shit now, but some Ground types might not have a choice...



Do you want a FOSSIL? But the FOSSILS around these parts all belong to me... none for you... If you can't bear to go without a FOSSIL, look in a desert where there are boulders and sand that may hide FOSSILS...






This slimy guy ain't a bad option when it comes to Hoenn Water types, since its attacking stats are split for its STABs. It gets alright starting moves in Water Gun and Magnitude (if a bit unreliable), but it will need Surf and Earthquake soon enough. Thankfully if you hold off evolution for 1 level, you'll get Earthquake, which is a huge boon. Otherwise Ice Beam and Rock Tomb will have to do, but until you get to that point of evolution, it's gonna be a little rough. Still, you can't catch it until after Surf anyway, so it'll be all ready for you as soon as you get it. Nice!



This time I'll do it! I always think that, so I can't walk away from fishing or POKEMON.

Have we not seen Mud Sport yet? Oh man, it's a 15PP Ground move that reduces the base power of Electric moves by 50% on both sides until the user switches out. Uh, 6 Pokemon learn this that aren't already immune to Electric moves, so this move is pathetic at best.




Neat



Gonna ignore everything else and get our fourth team member! It's about time.





It'll be perfect. Swablu is cute as all heck, but pretty damn hard to use. It'll never have amazing attacking stats and will take some time to evolve, but it's not completely awful, mainly cause of its evolution. It really doesn't learn anything for moves, only having Peck until level 31 with Take Down. Still, it will become a special attacker later on and get an alright move then, as well as a really expanded TM movepool, but it might not be the best option for all those TM moves, since its stats are kinda low. Also being a special tank is a little difficult when you become 4x weak to Ice, but such is life.



Alright, its at the highest level it can be and gives us some much needed gender diversity, so hopefully it's pretty good.



Thanks to Kemix for the nickname Nimbus, good choice. A Naive nature is +Speed, -Sp.Def, which is, uh, not the best, but screw it, I'll take it. Also, this movepool needs fixing.



Much better, some coverage and an actual STAB move to work with. Sure, Secret Power ain't great, but it'll do for now. Right, we'll see how she fares next update, but for now, we've got a Battle Tent to conquer.

Battle Tent



But, you see, what I'm looking for are people with... how should I say this? Someone bursting with the desire and the drive to win. If there were a TRAINER like that, I'd immediately... whoops! Never mind! Keep working at it! Instead of wasting your time with the likes of me, why not make a challenge?



Now, do you wish to take the challenge of a Set KO Tourney? Very well, now select your three POKEMON, please. I shall now guide you to the BATTLE TENT.




So what's different this time around? Well not too much seems different at first, but there are a few key things we'll go over in a moment.



Alright, good start.



Pfft, using these rubbish non-attacking moves. What's the point of Pokemon if you don't just attack all the time at every second?



Oh no! I've been foiled by a non-attacking move! How could I have not seen this coming???




Still nearly one shot it with that attack, hilarious. One thing you'll notice is you can't choose what Pokemon to send out next, the order you chose at the start of the challenge is the order they'll come out.



No contest, these three are way too strong for these tents. Just like I planned.



Right now this Set KO Tourney just has a load of extra text boxes cause I'm ending the battles so quickly. Uh, just like I planned.



Hey now, I'm sure you've got some cool Pokemon.




You know what actually, fuck you.



I can't believe you made this a 2HKO instead of an OHKO, I'm upset at the seconds of time wasted. Seconds!!!



Man Pinchu is too good. Also the enemy is like super bad.



Last trainer! Will we see what this tent is all about?




Even when I specifically try and draw this battle out (uh, as much as I can with a CB Trapinch), I still nearly sweep through a team anyway, christ.



In commemoration of your 3-win streak, we present you with this prize.



Eh, that's an alright prize. Anyway, let's go back in and actually show off what this place is about.



Finally, we can reach the end of the third turn in a battle. Sheesh.




Judgment: 4 to 2! The winner is YUKI's PINCHU!



There we go. At the end of the 3rd turn, both Pokemon are graded in 3 categories. Mind is offensive style, one point for an attack that deals damage is chosen, excluding Fake Out, which deducts one point, or the countering moves and Bide, which award no points. One point is deducted if Protect, Detect or Endure are chosen. The highest scoring Pokemon gains two points in the overall judging. Skill is accuracy, one point if an attack lands and two deducted if the move misses, unless it was by Protect, Detect, Endure, or Fake Out, in which case it doesn't. It contributes two points overall. Body is the HP remaining at the end of the round compared to where it was at the start of the judging, not the total HP the Pokemon can have. The better ratio wins two points and ties for any of the three categories win one point. If there's an overall point tie, both Pokemon faint.



With that, uh, fun diversion out of the way, next time we'll be heading to Meteor Falls to see about this Team Magma. I'm sure they're not crazy weirdos.