Part 57: An Odd Ducklett

Update 58: An Odd Ducklett

Nine months later…









Hm?



Man:… There’s a strange person standing outside the station, and I’m a bit scared to head out… Was that a person from the dojo? …Maybe I’ll pass on joining. Hey, why don’t you join instead?











Avery's Theme - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST



You’re here to join the Master Dojo, are you not? I also train there.

… Absolutely. That is exactly what I’m here to do.



_{Ah, one of THOSE…}

Perhaps a show of strength is the best way to get to know each other. I’ll await you outside. Once you’re ready, come out to face me. _{Time to show her who the better Trainer is…}

… I just came here to see the pagodas. Well, I guess I’ll have something to entertain me for the rest of Easter Break.













It is, yeah.

You would no doubt like to run around and explore freely, but first, let’s make sure you can handle yourself. Naturally, as a member of the Master Dojo…





Welcome to the Isle of Armor, PokéBritain’s favorite island that uses Unovann! But before we do anything, we have to face… This guy.







Battle! (Avery) - Pokémon Sword and Shield







Yeah, he just sort of shoots a Pokéball out of his little halo thing.







I’m not bothering to include a Pokémon list because he only has two, including Abra.



This fucking thing brings back bad memories. Psychic Pokémon were very rare in Gen 1 and Abra here was one of the few you could find in the wild. Problem was, pretty much the only move they knew when you caught them was Teleport, which lets the user instantly exit a fight – which meant catching them was hell on wheels because you had to get incredibly lucky just to pin them down. That or use status effects, which I didn't use much. I never actually caught an Abra, even though I wasted a hell of a lot of time trying .

Also worth noting: that level 58 there? Before you beat the Championship, all the Trainers around here have Pokémon in the 10s to 30s level-wise; afterwards; they bump their levels up to 60+. Just a little something to keep things playable. Not that any of this keeps his Abra alive longer.





Next up is his Slowpoke, or rather the Galarian pure-Psychic variation; the original version lacked the gold and also had a Water typing. There was a plot point in… I think Gen 2 where Team Rocket was harvesting Slowpoke tales to sell to gourmets, which the game portrayed as a horrible crime. Naturally, in this game Slowpoke Tails are one of the ingredients you can using curries .



But yeah. There’s no real reason to drag this fight out. He had only has two Pokémon, for God’s sake.







… _{Amnesia about my very existence! If only I could get rid of her… But I’ve been tasked with escorting her to the dojo…} Ahem!



… My strength! Still... How shall I put this... Our dojo is a respected place, where even the famous Champion Leon trained. What I’m trying to say is, I don’t think you’re quite up to snuff…



I beg your pardon? Is there something you want to tell me?

Oh, not at all. Please, do go on .



… You’re done taking in the sights! Farewell! I doubt I’ll see you again. Avery, Teleport!

He runs off.

(You’re just letting him walk away without setting him straight? For shame, Gloria.)

(No, no, you don’t understand. It has been AGES since someone disrespected me like that! I mean, it’s nice not to have people harassing me for battles at Spikemuth, but since I’m Marnie’s girlfriend they treat me with respect and shit. It’s been FAR too long since I’ve had the chance to really put someone in their place. I hadn’t realized I was missing it! Oh, this is going to be FUN .)

(Now THAT is something I can respect.)

And with that, we finally gain access to –



– New inventory at the boutiques, marked with little stars! Granted, it’s not MUCH new inventory, but I suppose it’s the thought that counts. The most notable additions are recolored versions of Marnie’s outfit and…



…These hideously expensive rucksacks, good Lord. I know roughly $5000 isn’t completely wild for stuff that’s this cutting-edge fashionable, but .



I don’t buy it.

The Isle of Armor - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST

Anyway, the Isle of Armor. This place is a level of open I haven’t seen in a while in a Pokémon game. I mean, the Wild Area theoretically let you run around as much as you wanted, but huge chunks of it were effectively gated off by stronger wild Pokémon. Here, though, just about everything is level 60 and you can explore to your heart’s content.



For instance, I originally intended to head straight to the dojo to get the plot started, but the moment I caught sight of that Wailord island out there I went “fuck that” and rode my waterbike over to investigate, dodging the Sharpedos that come after you like homing missiles in the waters around this part of the island. I was like, “wow, that’s a really neat geographical feature, I wonder if it’s actually like a submarine or something”, until I touched it…



… And found out it wasn’t a part of the landscape at all. But you know the most shocking part? I caught it! Even though it was half a dozen levels past my strongest Pokémon. Maybe the way Sword and Shield prevent you from capturing any Pokémon even slightly stronger than the best in your party got changed for the DLC. Granted, given what I’ve seen from Avery so far, putting this monstrosity in my team would let me cheese everything around here even more rigorously than I’ll probably end up doing, so it went straight in the box.



The island itself is crawling with Pokémon both in and out of the tall grass, all of which seem to be returnees from previous generations. The reasons behind the controversy that sparked Dexit reveal their true, loathsome face. You also have the same sort of Dens you find in the Wild Area and a host of Berry trees, all of which contain new berries unique to the Isle. And speaking of returning Pokémon…





That’s a Ditto! Ditto is the gimmickist of gimmick Pokémon; the one move it knows turns it into a copy of whatever Pokémon is facing off against, right down to the movelist and stats (though it doesn’t copy their HP and gives those moves only a little PP ()). However, that’s all it can do, and it only really shines in niche situations in competitive; nobody even considered using it in their team when I was young. Its only serious use was in breeding, since you could pair it with almost any other Pokémon, even Pokémon that theoretically couldn’t reproduce like Magnemite, and have it spit out the appropriate egg. I caught this one because I felt like it, but I doubt I’ll ever use it for anything.

As we head further in and approach a bridge near the dojo…







This guy caught a ton of these Alolan Digletts on his last trip there, but they escaped. So we agree to help him find them.

All 150 of them.

Jesus Christ, my dude, what motivated you to catch 150 of the same unremarkable Pokémon? Is this a fetish thing? It has to be, it’s not like he seems to be using them for breeding or fighting and there’s no way he could be keeping all of them as pets. From now on, we can help this guy by looking for those three little hairs sticking up out of the dirt and bring them back to him in exchange for various Alolan Pokémon. The pervert.

But enough delays. Back to the plot.





It would appear so. I’ll have you know, my offer to escort her was perfect. She rather abruptly absconded after our battle…



Well, hello? And who are you, love?

Hmm?







That I am!



… Something, you disappeared so quickly! Regardless! It gives me great joy to know that you decided to come after all!

Me too! I look forward to training with all of you.

Oh, everything is just coming up roses! Now, I’m quite sure they already told me your name, but…

It’s Gloria.

That’s right! You’re Gloria! Of course you are, love.





My name’s Honey. I help keep this place running.



_{Bagh! Why? For what purpose is she here?! My Future Sight must be off!}





He’s training hard here at the dojo so he can become a Gym Leader someday. I can trust the two of you to get along, right?

Oh, absolutely !

Heh, it’s an honor to make your acquaintance.

Oh dear, but look at me! Here I am making you stand around outside after you’ve come all this way! Come in, come in! Don’t mind the faint stench of sweat!



If you dare breathe a word of what happened at the station to Ms. Honey…



Oh, I’m sure they are! But, well, I do believe that’s flagrantly illegal.

Only if the authorities find out. Are you willing to risk that?

I am, in fact, because I know just how far actual psychic powers go with affecting the human mind. Why, you may even be able to suppress a second-long memory or alter what color I think your stupid hat is until I notice the change!

My hat isn’t –

That is, unless you’re some kind of record-breaking psychic savant. But if you are, then what are you doing bowing and scraping here on this out-of-the-way resort island?

…

How about I do YOU a favor and not mention to Ms. Honey that you tried to drive away one of her students by threatening to commit a felony against her ?

…Hmph!