Part 26: The Rhythm of Rage Pounds the Ground!
We'll deal with that grunt later.
Music: Go-Rock Squad!
It's probably for the good of people and society!...Probably?
Probably for the good of the Go-Rock Squad's bank account.
Music: Go-Rock Squad Battle (Weak Grunt)
As you might have expected, Sneasel moves very quickly. Combined with Meowth hindering us while being hard to capture by itself (stop jumping!
), this is a very tricky capture.It also seems like the captures are getting more and more annoying as time goes on!
The game has to make the captures harder somehow, after all.
Both Pokemon have to stop when it's cutting, though, so that's a great time to use an assist.
Music: Capture Complete
Required Loops: 3
Possible EXP: 42/45/48/52
Kind of a crap reward for the effort required!
Music: Olive Volcano
I said it's for the good of people and society earlier, but... I think it's also for pride and for money, too... Our boss is human, too..."You think"? Do you even know what's your squad's objective?
Let's be honest, there's a really good chance it's almost entirely about money.
Oh, hello. We haven't seen you since, what, the end of the first mission?
Doesn't seem like it was all that long ago, and now here's the first boss just a regular enemy. How time flies, huh?
In any case, there's nothing beyond, so time to deal with the other grunt.
Music: Go-Rock Squad!
Um, no?
Oh yeah, totally it's... generic faceless Go-Rock grunt #23. You know... them!
...You don't remember?! You really don't remember?! Gaaaaah, I'm not taking that!They're dealt with in 3 seconds.
Music: Olive Volcano
I remember you way more than I ever want to... You captured back that Politoed I took from that Ranger. I feel bad for taking that guy's Pokemon, but don't you remember me yelling, "Gaaaah! Don't ever forget this!"Oh, you're that guy. Sorry
They feel bad for stealing the Politoed but not enough to quit the Go-Rocks. Welp.
Well, this time, don't you forget it. Gaaaah! Don't ever forget this! *flees*Up ahead, we find...
Well that was pointless.
Oh, look! It's the Pokemon Spenser captured. How did it get to Fall City?
Is that the only Houndoom in the game?
No, but it's funnier to think otherwise.
Its attack is just like the one from the tutorial.
Required Loops: 6
Possible EXP: 60/66/72/80
Moving forward leads us to the area just above the challenges.
He's not like the grunts you ran into on the way here. The Pokemon he uses is incredibly strong... I desperately did my best to try to capture it, but it wrecked my Styler... I feel so angry and useless...*The screen shakes*
...That tremor... Something happened in there. You two... You don't have the time to be stunned. Isn't it your job as Rangers to investigate and resolve crises? I hate admitting this, but with my Styler broken, I can't do my job. As inexperienced as you are, I have no choice but to pin my hopes on you.I feel kinda bad for calling Aria a jerk now.
To be fair, she didn't give out the best first impression.
There's a save point just off screen, so the stairs is obviously where the boss is. So we'll avoid it for now...
Poliwhirl is not strong enough, so we're not going through this right now.
Instead, we'll just capture this Charmander, our second to last starter. Bulbasaur is still nowhere to be found.
Required Loops: 3
Possible EXP: 25/29/33/39
That's everything here, though. Not much can be done without cooling down the lava.
Which means it's time to deal with the boss.
Well that was a pointless side-trip.
Video: Slaking
Music: Go-Rock Quads!
...Calamity-Causing Combo kind of lacks that street-sensibility thing... Calamity-Creating Combo? ...Who cares about that... Anyways, I have to hand it to you two! Our boss is mighty pleased, yes, sir, tremendously pleased with you. You played a huge part in the testing of our latest Styler! ...But now, your part is done. If we let you scurry around anymore, you'll get under the boss's foot. ...Why are you giving me that eye? I'll show you!
Just going right into it, huh?
Holy shit! Slaking is huge!
Music: Go-Rock Quads Battle
Remember Clyde's part in the slogan? Apparently that's almost literal. And yes, those rocks will deal damage if hit.
Unlike what you'd think, Slaking actually moves constantly. At a normal pace, too.
And, to make matters worse, it requires a whopping 17 loops. It's not 23 loops, but still...
What? Why!? Slaking's whole gimmick is that it's lazy as hell. Why break that up now? They could have even incorporated the truancy into making the fight harder, putting little damage clouds or something around it that only show up when it's resting!
It's kind of a missed opportunity, I'd say.
Fighting assist would've been amazing here, but Fire will have to do. Like the game said earlier, Fire assist will create an explosion after making a loop. The explosion will cause all Pokemon caught in it to become startled, which means that they won't break the line by contact nor will they do any attack.
What the game doesn't explicitly say is that the loop doesn't have to contain the Pokemon, but doing that means the explosion probably won't hit it either. And that the explosion's effect only last for two seconds with a cooldown before the Pokemon can be startled again.
This means that Fire is much better for Pokemon with low required loops. For Pokemon with high required loops (like Slaking), we do actually need to be careful.
Don't get me wrong; Fire is still one of the most useful assists. It's just not THE most useful.
Not everything can be electric assist!
Slaking might take a long time, but it's definitely not Salamence or Charizard levels of difficulty.
Music: Capture Complete
Required Loops: 17
Possible EXP: 200/210/220/230/240/250/260
For a so-called prodigy, failing against Slaking is kinda disappointing...
Music: Olive Volcano
...Well, so much for that bonus pay. But that's all right. I stalled you a bit. I did my job. Our boss is in the back. But while you guys were fumbling around, the experiment finished already. That tremor a little earlier's proof! You were too late to stop it, heh! Bye-bye! *flees*There's only one thing to do now: go up there and see the Go-Rock Squad's leader for the first time.
Is it weird if I think it's kind of a good plan to just send your minions out to delay the heroes for as long as possible? Not to stop them, but to delay them.
New Music: Gordor
...Er, the second time.
What was it I said earlier? 'Mods change my name to telephone because I fucking called it?'
*Notices Circe* Hm? You are...? Oh, yes, I remember now. You're my guide from Lyra Forest. Circe, wasn't it? (Snicker...) You seem surprised. At the time, I certainly wasn't much more than a pitiful old man just lost in the woods. But now... I would think the most pitiful people in Fiore would be you two. As the boss of the Go-Rock Squad, I, Gordor, will explain how this came to be. Consider it a thanks for your help.
You should've taken the Toxx,
Meh! I don't really feel like gambling with the health of my account.
The legend of the Jungle Relic turned out to be true. Thanks to a pair of gullible do-gooders, the fourth and final challenge was cleared. As a result, the underground volcano erupted, and the Entei was awakened!Circe isn't gullible! She's just doing her job!
The Entei, overburned with fiery energy, appeared to become the first capture of my new Styler! Being a legendary Pokemon, it put up a terrific fight. But in the end, my experiment became a smashing success! The loud noise and the tremor from earlier were the result of that capture.
Gordor's Laugh: 8
It won't be long before we, and not you, are considered legitimate Rangers!Now I can understand why the grunt earlier sounds like she doesn't know what her boss wants.
My theory still holds water. Some day I might share what it is!
Let me assign you your final job as a Ranger. If nothing is done with that Entei, its presence is certain to trigger another eruption of the underground volcano. That will not only destroy this relic, it will devastate the natural environments and ruin people's lives in Fiore. Now wouldn't that be a terrible shame? So, let me assign you the mission, which will also mark your retirement!
He's petty as fuck.
*When talked to* Now, you expert Union Rangers... What will you do?
*When talked to* We can't take back what we did... But we have to do what we can! We have to capture that Entei!You know what we have to do.
Video: Entei + 2 Magmar
Music: Wild Boss Pokemon Encounter
No, the video title is not wrong.
As soon as the battle starts, Entei calls in two Magmar. In retaliation, I call in Plusle.
Two helper magmar just feels petty.
Gordor's plan is petty, so this feels appropriate.
That's one less speedbump to deal with.
At least they're gone quickly!
Entei shoots flames straight ahead consecutively, just like Magmar. But unlike Magmar, it can actually change directions mid-combo.
...And that's all it does. For a legendary Pokemon, Entei is pathetic.
Go back and watch the video. Num isn't showing you the sheer number of failed captures because Entei is a capricious jerk who likes to breathe fire at inopportune moments. It looked almost entirely luck-based instead of skill-based!
It's more of me trying to get both Magmar before even attempting at Entei. Entei is barely harder than the average wild Pokemon here, which is kind of bad for a legendary Pokemon.
Just to make it even more pathetic, we'll trivialize it using a Pokemon that can be found in any cave.
It's worth noting that using Rock assist causes a knockback. So it's entirely possible to push the Pokemon into the edge of the screen, where it's literally impossible to capture.
What a joke. Even Slaking is harder just because there's no effective assist available against it.
Music: Capture Complete
Required Loops: 13
Possible EXP: 380/394/408/422/436/450
At least you get one heck of a reward!
Music: Gordor
Captured the Entei?! I'll admit to not having expected that. But that's fine... My experiment was a complete success. Our plan has taken a giant leap forward. With my Styler, even legendary Pokemon can be captured without the need for any special skills!Aside from finding them in the first place, you mean.
The incompetency of the Go-Rocks is really this region's only saving grace
...Though it's impossible to control the behavior of legendary Pokemon quite yet... But that should soon be reality with only minor tweaks. I am plenty satisfied with what we've achieved today.
Gordor's Laugh: 9
Please convey my best regards to your Prof. Hastings, the Ranger Union's chief of technology. Yes, be certain to give the good professor the best regards of Gordor. *leaves**When talked to* I'm not looking forward to seeing Cameron...It's almost like you two had just one thing you didn't have to do. Something that required you to do literally nothing. And yet you still failed.
Aria failed in her mission too, so I guess we're not worse off than her.
Music: Olive Volcano
You did?! That's incredible... ...What exactly happened here? I want you to explain it from the top. ... ...Oh, and there was an injured Charizard? ...You captured it. ...And that was the fourth challenge? That's awful! What a rotten thing for them to do! So that's what you went through... You two got caught up in some terrible things through no fault of yours...*Pokemon cry*
Look! It's that Charizard!
*Charizard flies around for a bit before leaving*
That was the Charizard? It seemed to be wincing in pain, but it seemed to be grateful to you. Let's go back to Summerland and report to Cameron what happened.*All of them leave*
This brings up the question of whether the fourth challenge just has that Charizard be constantly injured. Or whether the Go-Rocks were the ones who did it.
Billy said that they injured the Charizard
accidentally, so I guess it's the latter.