Part 17: ViOLin Concerto in A miNOr
Music: Krokka Tunnel
I really don't want to deal with these Zubat right now, so let's see what's up with the Poliwhirl on the left...
...Fuck. Guess we have no choice
Fortunately, Zubat is very easy to deal with. And they're just in this one room.
That's... extremely kind of the game.
Required Loops: 2
Possible EXP: 18/22/26/30/34/38
Of course Zubat has no Field Move and the worst Poke Assist type. Why did you think it'd be useful?
...nevermind.
Zubat's beam will confuse us which means that our controls are randomized. It lasts for like 12 seconds and the controls are randomized every 2 seconds. And there's no way to get rid of it other than waiting it out. And the duration is renewed every time we get hit.
In short: it's annoying and bad. And it's even worse in future games where getting hit will reduce our Energy
Okay, what the fuck?
Looking at the bright side; at least they don't shoot the beam that often. Even with 4 Zubat, it's rare to see more than one beam at once.
As to Poliwhirl, it will jump back out after a while (this isn't the one from the previous picture). This also applies to Poliwag, but Poliwhirl is faster.
It has the same water jet, but it will do it multiple times rapidly.
It also has a jump, but it's so short that it doesn't actually affect anything.
Required Loops: 5
Possible EXP: 35/41/47/55
We could use it to get Graveler if we didn't figure out the trick.
Anyway, looks like we found Hariyama's spot.
It's cute that Hariyama's little spot is called its dojo.
Music: Wild Pokemon Capture
Hariyama's attack just like Crawdaunt (chases after our line) it takes a very long time.
Music: Capture Complete
Required Loops: 12
Possible EXP: 70/76/82/90
If you haven't known how to maintain your stylus even when attacked, then Hariyama will be a huge roadblock with that huge 12 loops.
Plusle will be very helpful here if that's the case!
Music: Krokka Tunnel
Down the stairs, there's two Hariyama, making it 3 in total here. That means we don't have to go back and forth through the Zubat cave!
With Kirlia, we can take both of them simultaneously. Without it, it's pretty much impossible due to their long attack duration. They're easy to bait out, though.
Plusle and Kirlia both.
Clown on the punchmen all day long!
Just outside the Hariyama Dojo, we find this mushroom. There's unfortunately no Pokemon with Gust, so we'll have to leave this for later.
I'm imagining that Parasect has Cut, But Better.
Parasect has Cut, But Exactly The Same
Going through Zubat is either a huge headache or a non-issue. There's no inbetween.
The path south of where we fought the grunt with Snubbull brings us to some shortcuts, both the right and the wrong end.
Remember this statue? It's been a long time, hasn't it?
Music: Go-Rock Squad!
The legendary Pokemon hasn't shown up, it's dark, I'm hungry... I'm taking it out on you!Music: Go-Rock Squad Battle (Weak Grunt)
Speaking of Crawdaunt, it's here in case you still don't get the message.
And no, Plusle won't trivialize it (right now) since it's Dark type and thus not weak to Electric.
Just a couple missions ago, it was a bonus boss, and now it's just something we find in our path. We're moving up in the world!
Music: Krokka Tunnel
I pick a fight, and I get creamed? Does this qualify as pathetic? *flees*Yes
I know! Rather than fishing, I'll try to avoid catching anything!We still can't get any fish
Does... does he have more fish than before?
Yes, he does. It doesn't matter since we can't take them, though.
Music: Go-Rock Squad!
That's not a fish
I thought it was a Pokemon, but nope, it's a person! Even better, a Ranger! You're perfect for trying out these Pokemon I caught with my new-type Styler!As a reminder, Zubat needs no loops. And status effects in battles only affects the Pokemon.
Music: Krokka Tunnel
Um... Was the exit this way? Thank you, bye-bye! *flees*
And that's the last grunt in this tunnel. Now all that's left is to destroy the rockfalls.
Like I said before, Hariyama's attack takes a long time.
Apparently there's Spinarak under the rock. I have no idea how they got there
Finding insects under rocks is a common thing! So it makes sense that we'd find the arachni-sect down there.
The last rock is downwards from the Dugtrio Statue, right before the exit to Lyra Forest. I forgot about it and spent 10 minutes looking for it.
From: Spenser
To: Circe
I got word that the Go-Rock Squad is active in the Krokka Tunnel. I will get there as soon as possible. If you've cleared the rockfalls, let's meet at the Dugtrio statue near the Ringtown-side exit.
Video: Camerupt
Music: Go-Rock Quads!
Oh, right. We haven't had our boss fight yet.
Oh, I have so had it! There's no legendary Pokemon to be found! My big brother all left without me, too... And our grunts can't seem to deal with the likes of you! It's time I put things right! Get ready for my headline act! Camerupt, come!
!Weren't you surprised to see my Camerupt come along when I started playing my violin? This is no ordinary musical instrument. It's an instrument-type Styler that our boss made for the Go-Rock Quads! Unlike your Styler, it doesn't need anything like a "sense of justice" to do its thing. It can control Pokemon through musical tension, groove, and stuff like that. ...Oops! Maybe I served up too much of that important information...I would play a Pokemon rhythm game spinoff.
Elite Beat Rangers
Crypt of the Necrozma
Gitaroo Mankey
If you don't need to do anything, we can get started right away!And then we get a chance to move around, save, and catch some Pokemon. It's nice how the game decides to give us this opportunity, especially since Camerupt is HARD.
Camerupt is a Fire type, so Ground/Rock/Water works well, all of which can be found in this tunnel. Not a good choice to bring to a cave, Tiffany
New Music: Go-Rock Quads Battle
Camerupt only has this one attack, but it's a dangerous one. It erupts fireballs from its back. It's dangerous because the fireballs spreads a wide area. And it erupts multiple times in a row, so even if you lucked out the first time, you're still not safe.
My first thought when I saw the screenshot was that its fireballs orbited around it like Options. I'm also not 100% convinced that won't happen later anyway...
Catching it without assists involve holding the line during attacks, reducing the line to avoid attacks, and luck. It's definitely doable on an actual DS, but there's a much easier way.
And that is to use assists. Poliwhirl lasts the longest time, so I went with that.
Using assists in this game normally have two results:
- It trivializes the Pokemon
- It does nothing (either due to type advantages or running out of time)
It's very useful and a great help in simultaneous capture, but in single encounters it feels broken. The sequels fixed this, but that's for another LP.
It's a single player game for actual children. Let stuff be broken!
One thing this series does very right is that it gives you immense satisfaction from a completed capture.
Music: Capture Complete
Required Loops: 10
Possible EXP: 150/156/162/168/174/180
That's certainly a lot of EXP. Not enough to level us up, though.
Music: Krokka Tunnel
Ow... You... You're pretty good... Why don't you join us?
Oh? Someone's coming...There's trouble! Real bad trouble!
You lot... You got beaten by this Ranger first, then you got wiped by another Ranger? I doubt we'd win on our third try, so let's beat a hasty retreat. Bye-bye, see you again!*They both leave*
But you're saying they were searching for a legendary Pokemon? What would make them do that?Don't you know anything about the Underpants Gnome plan?
I love that that's become the title for it.Anyways, you've cleared this mission. Let's head back to Ringtown.Music: Mission Clear!
*They both leave*
Music: Lyra Forest
If you're heading back to Ringtown, let me join you. I want to hear about what you've been up to while we walk back.*They all leave*