ppe 12: Queens of the Stone Age

[xaq_the_aereon]

[TEAM STATUS]
Nala, Lv 28
Dogmeat, Lv 28
Astra, Lv 26
Belfries, Lv 26
Tessa, Lv 27
Atlas, Lv 27

Mt. Coronet looks imposing at first glance. It also looks like the kind of place where Zubats will be plentiful, so I have Nala take the lead. Partway in, I come to a fork in the road; 2 stairs leading up and breakable rocks to my right.

[AND THEN CREEPINESS HAPPENS]
Some blue-haired man in a Team Galactic uniform walks down to me, talking about a theory about Mt. Coronet being where life in Sinnoh began. How it should have been peaceful, serene, a paradise.

[AND THEN HUMANS HAPPENED]
This guy's giving serious "Omnicidal Maniac" vibes. Must be the guy in charge. I promptly get the hell out of the way and let him leave, then start busting through the rocks to the right....turns out either path would have med directly to the nearby exit.

[SO MUCH FOR IMPOSING]
And thus we're on Route 208. Speaking of things that aren't as imposing as they first seem...

[VS. Hiker Robert]
[Round 1: vs. Geodude]
Well shoot, Nala's Electric moves won't do squat here. I tag in Nessa, and Geodude takes the opportunity to whip up a Sandstorm. Metal Claw hits hard and boosts Nessa's Attack, while Harden boosts Geodude's Defense...but not enough to keep another Metal Claw from finishing it.

[Round 2: vs. Another Geodude]
With the Sandstorm still raging, I tag in Atlas, who can shrug it off entirely. Her Ice Fang also proves to be too much for this Geodude to handle, and she walks away with a solid win.

Seeing a kung-fu kid up ahead, I move Belfries to the front and check to see if he wants to battle.

[VS. Black Belt Kyle]
[I'LL TAKE THAT AS A YES]
[vs. Machop]
Cross Poison proves once again to be a lethal dose. Once Kyle graciously accepts defeat, we move on to find an X Speed battle item, and a rock-laden cliff.

[OH RIGHT, ROCK CLIMB IS A THING IN THIS GAME]
Fun fact: Rock Climb actually played a role in the creation of my fursona; Aereons started out as a fake Flying-type Eeveelution, which I primarily came up with because none of the real ones could use Fly. At the same time, I also came up with a Rock-type Eeveelution, Terreon, that could use Rock Climb. I ultimately gave up the Terreon concept when I realized they just looked like a Sandshrew.

[FASCINATING...MOVING ON]
You're no fun. Let's see if this guy is.

[VS. Hiker Jonathan]
[vs. Onix]
X-Scissor doesn't do much, but thankfully Bind just misses. With Belfries not having any real ability to deal damage here, I tag her out for Atlas. Onix uses a Curse to drop its Speed and boost its Attack and Defense, then promptly eats an Ice Fang, flinching it. Another Ice Fang does the trick.

[GOOD GIRL!]
And with that, we're off the mountainside, and after scooting past a couple of Trainers we find ourselves at the home of the Berry Master. He gives me a Bluk Berry and his (presumably) daughter sells me a few more Berries, which she apparently grew using "high-grade soil and Pokemon...um...you know."

[IT'S CALLED FERTILIZER, LADY]
Or, if you prefer, Pokemon sh
[FER-TI-LI-ZER]
Right, moving on...remember those Trainers we scooted by? Time to introduce ourselves to one.

[VS. Aroma Lady Hanna]
[Round 1: vs. Combee]
Guess what Cross Poison did again? :D

[Round 2: vs. Roselia]
I let Dogmeat take the lead on this one, forgetting that she doesn't actually have a Fire move yet. She goes for a Beat Up and gets the whole gang in on the win. I go to ask the painter nearby to do a sketch in celebration of our win.

[SEEMS HE HAS OTHER PLANS]
[VS. Artist William]
[Round 1: vs. Mime Jr.]
Why am I being attacked by something from the top of an ice cream truck!? Whatever. X-Scissor takes it out, confirming my suspicion that it was at least partially Psychic-type.

[Roundd 2: vs. Bonsly]
Bonsly is, if I recall, a miniature Sudowudo, so...Rock-type? I send Tessa out to test my theory.
[BUBBLE BEAM PROVES THE HYPOTHESIS]
Whew!
[BELFRIES: Astonish -> Air Cutter]
[OH JOY, YOU JUST GAVE UP OUR ONE GHOST-TYPE MOVE]
Dude, it does 30 damage. I'm sure someone on the team'll be able to learn Shadow Ball at some point.

Past him lies the gate to Hearthome City, where we meet a fancy lady with a Clefairy. Apparently she wants to enter it in a Super Contest Show.

[A WHOBIDAWHATNOW?]
I dunno, I never tried them in any of the earlier games, to be honest. I think it's something like Dancing with the Stars But With Pokemon?

[...OOOOOOOKAY THEN...]
Right. Heading on in, we come across a runaway Buneary and her Trainer, Keira...a SCS judge and magical girl cosplayer. She wants us to stop by the stage later for a proper thank-you.

[OH GREAT, WE'RE GETTING SHOEHORNED INTO THIS SH]
Fer-ti-li-zer.

[TOUCHE]
The entrance to Route 209 and Solaceon Town is blocked by a couple of Hikers and an old man.

[WE ARE *REALLY* GETTING SHOEHORNED HERE]
Yep. One of them asks if we want a Pokemon Egg from Solaceon's Nursery. I look up what's in it...a Happiny. Cute, but no thanks. I think I'll stick to letting
[SPOILERS!!]
take the spot Astra's holding onto...oo, thanks, got a little careless there. Anyway, a visiting fisherman shows me the route to the Contest Hall, whose entrance is blocked by a lady with 4 pigtails and a boatload of purple.

[ANOTHER SCS GOER?]
That or the Gym Leader. I walk up to her, and she introduces herself as Fantina...and BOTH a SCS contestant and the local Gym Leader. Huh. She also says we aren't strong enough to take her on yet.

[$20 SAYS HER WHOLE TEAM WILL GET CREAMED BY CROSS POISON]
Oh, you mean like everything else in Sinnoh has so far? XP Anyway, with that she toddles off and lets us in, where we run into Keira and her friend... MOM!?

[WHAT TH--!?]
Apparently our mother, whose name we are just now learning is Johanna, is a SCS legend.

[HOW!? WHAT!? HOW!??!]
Three excellent questions, which I am not going to think about. More to the point, though, why is Jetty's mom even doing here?

[GUESS SHE'S ON VACATION?]
Guess so. She talks to us about trying out SCS, then mentions that our regular duds aren't gonna cut it for that and gives us a dress to use.

[YOU MEAN WE CAN FINALLY DITCH THE HAT?]
Hopefully. I get it's iconic and all, but...I really don't care for this style of hat. A lad at the desk asks if we're going to enter, and says we should get a Poffin Case before doing so.

[A WHOBIDAWHATNOW?]
Now this I'm familiar with. You can use Berries to make Poffins that can raise a Pokemon's SCS stats. I mainly remember that because if you use Poffins to max out a Feebas' Beauty, it can evolve into a Milotic.

[POFFIN...POKEMON MUFFIN?]
...Y'know what? Sure, let's go with that. Makes as much sense as anything. Talking with the lady at the Practice Booth shows that using Stickers on our Pokeballs to give them some glitz when they open is a factor in the Visual Evaluation, while the Dance Evaluation is dependent on our rhythm.

[OH GREAT SO IT'S A RHYTHM GAME]
Yep, and we can apparently slip in 1 Pokemon Move during the performance to give it some pizazz.

[...SO, YOU GOING FOR IT?]
Nah. Not really my style, plus we don't have a Poffin Case. Fortunately, a trip to the Pokecen reveals that going to the local Pokemon Fan Club can take care of that.

[AND THAT'S...WHERE?]
... ... ...Right, time to explore.

[FIVE STEPS LATER]
Oh. Here it is. Inside we get a brief interview about Belfries from a reporter, and run into some Foghorn Leghorn wannabe who is apparently the PFC Chairman. After a bunch of "I say"s from him, he finally gifts us a Poffin Case.

[...YAY?]
A lady in the corner comments on how close Belfries and I are and gives us a "Best Friends Ribbon" which we...put on Belfries, apparently?

[AGAIN, YAY?]
*shrug* With that, now it's time to check out the main reason we came here: The Hearthome City Gym.

[...WHICH IS CLOSED]
!?!? Well fine then, guess we'll go to the other cornerstone of Hearthome City: Amity Square, a place where you can go for walks with your Pokemon!

[AS OPPOSED TO JUST...LETTING THEM OUT OF THEIR POKEBALLS WHILE YOU'RE WANDERING ABOUT?]
...Wow, now that you mention it, why can't we do that? Anyway, we go in, and...oh, they have a rule: Cute Pokemon only.

[AND THE ONLY ONE WHO QUALIFIES IS TESSA]
How dare they?! I'll have them know my whole team is flipping adorable! Even Atlas!

[SERIOUSLY, HE THINKS RHYHORNS ARE ADORABLE]
Anyway, boycotting this crap. Gonna see if those guys have unblocked the path to SolaceOOF!!!

[HI CLINT]
For crying out loud, man, watch where
[VS. Human Wrecking Ball Clint]
Dude! Seriously!?

[Round 1: vs. Starly]
...Dude. Seriously? It should have evolved to a Staravia by now. Anyway, Cross Poison makes with the KO.

[Round 2: vs. Buizel]
Nala takes the lead. Spark takes the win. So much for "showing us something cool."

[Round 3: vs. Grotle]
I bring Belfries back to take on his starter's evolved form and let a crit from X-Scissor take it down.

[Round 4: vs. Ponyta]
Tessa comes out for a Bubble Beam after getting Tail Whipped, dropping her Defense before dropping Ponyta.

[AAAAND HE'S OUT!]
Too bad, man. Maybe if you focused more on training your team and less on being a ballistic projectile...

[AAAND HE'S GONE]
...never mind.

With a bout of curiosity, I take Tessa to Amity Square. At the very least, it nets us a few items, including a TM for Volt Switch and Attract. I also find a pot for cooking Poffins, which apparently works a bit like the Curry cooking in Galar...except that I'm absolute garbage it and scorch my first one. XP

[EH, PRACTICE PRACTICE]
Anyway, with that we take off...and the lady at the entrance mentions that we ought to let our Pokemon out of their balls and tag along with us when we're walking.

[FLAG RETREIVED]
Boy did we walk right into that one or what? XP Anyway, with that, I put Tessa away and try it out with the rest of the team...before deciding it's a bit wonky and go back to carrying them around.

[AH WELL]
Anyway, I think I'm gonna call it with that. Tomorrow we'll pick up on Route 209.

[TEAM STATUS]
Belfries, Lv 27
Dogmeat, Lv 29
Astra, Lv 27
Nala, Lv 28
Tessa, Lv 28
Atlas, Lv 27

[SEE YA!]
Bye!