Part 35: Flying types are immune to Ice

Music: Sekra Range


Before we continue with this mission, I want to point out this rock wall that I missed from before those Seedot armies.





I don't know who you are... But your Styler... Hand it over. *Recharges our Styler* ... Here's your Styler. It's fully charged.
We got a lot of fog around these parts. Apparently, some Pokemon that live in the forest make the fog.

It's much rarer than in the mainline games (and not as necessary), but these houses are always welcome.
Circe is a very trusting girl, just handing her styler over to a guy who's being cagey about why he wants to hold it.

Music: Go-Rock Squad!


Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't blow your cool, baby. My capturing technique is out of this world.







*Both grunt flee*

Music: Sekra Range


That thoughtless couple... They would do this when we're in a hurry. We can't head for the summit in this murky fog, though. I don't think it will clear up unless you capture that Altaria and get it to calm down.
*When talked to* Creep up to the Altaria so it doesn't spot you.



So...yeah. There's fog which camouflages the Pokemon here. This is the one time the minimap is actually useful.
And here I was trying to be nice to the game. This is mildly annoying to look at, so I can't imagine it being much more fun to play in.



Swablu is unimpressive normally but becomes frightened after a failed capture. It's pretty much there just to annoy us during this section.
At least the fog vanishes during battles!



Required Loops:5
Possible EXP: 40/46/52/60



This fog's a real pain.



Altaria flees after spotting us, so we need to take Aria's advice. That or getting into an encounter with a nearby Swablu.

Music: Wild Pokemon Capture


Altaria moves very quickly and shoots several gusts at once. It's a Dragon type, so Plusle is useless. It's also flying, so Ice assist is useless.
I admit it's been a few months since I last played a pokemon game, but I don't think that's how it should work...
Whoever made this game REALLY hates Ice types.



Moreover, after a failed capture, Altaria will create a fog.



It actually moves much slower now, though, so it's the best time to catch it. Assuming you can actually spot it.


Music: Capture Complete


Required Loops: 10
Possible EXP: 280/290/300/310/320/330

Music: Sekra Range
The fog is lifting! We can climb toward the summit again! You can release the Altaria now.



You've polished your technique considerably since I last saw you.



Maybe someone captured it?

You're welcome
Heehee. Steamed. Fog. Clever hidden pun!
I didn't notice that.



Music: Go-Rock Squad!


We would've been seriously toast if the fog didn't lift. We owe you one!
We can get back to our hideout now! Thank you!

*Both of them leaves*

That's better

Music: Sekra Range




Moving forward...



I think news would've spread if there's a forest fire a while ago. Which means that this was made recently.

*Pokemon cry*



Look! Over there! It's that Charizard!



It looks like it's in terrible pain. I'd like to capture it, but it looks as if it will try to resist capture. Circe, can you handle it?
Using Poke Assists should help with the capture. But don't overextend yourself. If things turn ugly, consider disengaging before it's too late.

Aria gives solid advice here. This Charizard is pretty much the only boss encounter we can flee from and grab some assists before trying again.
The boss so nice we fight it twice! Although I do really hope we can help this poor Charizard. Nothing deserves to be in pain constantly!



To the right of Charizard, we have a cave with nothing in it. There's also Arbok, Poliwhirl, Nuzleaf, Pikachu and Piloswine in this area.

Video: Charizard


Don't expect Piloswine, Nuzleaf or Shiftry to help, though.

Music: Wild Boss Pokemon Encounter


Our rematch with Charizard will be harder with it requiring 5 more loops than last time.



I'd say to use Flying assist, but Swablu doesn't give us enough time.



Charizard during its flying phase attacks with fire breath consecutively while flying. Capturing it in this phase is a hassle.



A failed capture will cause Charizard to land and...



...it will do its gimmick from the previous boss fight. It will return to its flying phase after a certain time (which thankfully doesn't reset our loop this time).
I do like that the captures are getting more tactical the more we play. Having to actually "fail" a capture to force a phase change is pretty clever!
By the way, why do I use Poison assist? For shits and giggles, I guess



But it is pretty much useless, though.



Like I said before, not all assists are created equal.



Poison is one of the most useless assist in the game due to its matchup.



The cloud created by the line lasts for a very short time, so the best way to ensure the Pokemon is hit by it is to ram our line against it.



Obviously that will break our line, which is why line assists are not that useful.



Oh well, I guess it's time to use Poliwhirl...









...









HOLY SHIT, POISON ASSIST ACTUALLY WORKS!?
Holy shit is right!



As a side note, this is how using Poliwhirl will work. Water assist is better than the other flick assist because the projectile stays on the screen longer than the others.

Fun fact: If you capture Charizard during its flying phase, it has the same EXP payout as before. You get 110 extra EXP if you capture it during its ground phase for some reason.
You get less XP for taking the harder route? What?

Music: Capture Complete


Stats Updated

Required Loops: 16
Possible EXP: 350/370/390/410/430/450 (air), 460/480/500/520/540/560 (ground)

Music: Sekra Range
Charizard, please hold still... You're going to be fine now.. We're not here to hurt you. *Treats the Charizard* It's OK now. The Charizard has calmed down. Please release it, but do it gently.





*Charizard approaches Circe for a while before leaving*
Not gonna lie, I'm pretty sure that if I saw a giant red previously-angry fire dragon flying at me, I would require a change of pants.

That Charizard seemed happy... That's a big load off my shoulders. Oh, there's no time to lose! We'd better get moving and find that hideout!

Right, we should be going.



Rock? What rock?



OUCH!!!
Damn, that looks like it hurts! Also is it just me or does that boulder look kinda like a Golem?
That's because they actually are Golem.



This is our first Raichu this mission. It would've been very useful when dealing with Charizard...



It's weird, though. The doors to the Fiore Temple are firmly shut--there's no getting in or out. There's a waterfall up ahead, but it's on a sheer cliff face. There's no getting across that. I wonder where the Go-Rock Squad is coming from?

Spoiler: We're getting across that in this update.

*When talked to* There's supposed to be a temple at the summit of the Sekra Range. I've never seen it myself, though.



There's no Pokemon with Lv 3 Gust available right now, so we'll have to leave the flower for later. Golem has Lv 3 Crush, but I completely forgot about it. Note to self: Don't record this game at 1 AM
Whoops! Just creating bonus roundup update content, right?

Music: Go-Rock Squad!


So, what are you doing? Let me guess, you're playing at being explorers? Or maybe you're playing at being Rangers on a mission? Oh, don't bother explaining. Whatever you're playing at, it all ends here!



Oh, I completely forgot about this Shelgon. Guess there was 3 Dragon Pokemon left to catch in this game (with Altaria and this Shelgon as the first two).

By the way, the Tangela in the previous picture is just a wild Tangela that happen to get near the grunt's Pokemon.
It was curious and wanted to see what was about to happen.





Music: Go-Rock Squad Battle (Weak Grunt)


Required Loops: 3
Possible EXP: 93/98/103/108/113/118

Aerodactyl will sometimes move toward the line just to fuck with us. Its Hyper Beam can lasts for as long as it wants, again just to fuck with us.
Rude!

Music: Sekra Range
Not too bad... But not good enough to get near our hideout! *flees*
*When talked to* There's supposed to be a temple at the summit of the Sekra Range. I've never seen it myself though.

...This grunt is literally standing right in front of the gate to the temple.



There's loads of Tangela at this point, along with this long stairs.
Circe has a vine monster fan club!



Near the bottom of those stairs, we have...
An extremely poorly worded sign?



...a fish! That we can actually keep and carry around!

Oh, and there's a Raichu too, I guess.
O-oh. Fish. That's also good!



Our way forward is by crossing the waterfall near the top of those stairs.



We need 2 Tangela to actually get through, otherwise you'd have to jump down.
I guess it's a good thing that Circe is so popular with ambulatory vine tangles.



Huh? A text message from Elita? Let's see... Circe, sorry! I have to return to Wintown immediately! Elita needs help because there aren't enough Rangers available. Besides, you can manage quite fine by yourself now. You've become that good. I'm sorry, but I'm going now. Please, be careful. *leaves*

Now I'm imagining Aria doing Wintown's version of our Mission 2. Probably collecting Seedot. Good thing our rank is so high!



I spoke too soon...
Gligaaaaarrrr!