ppe 13: Quantum of Solaceon

[xaq_the_aereon]

Oh hush.

We make our way out of Hearthome onto Route 209. Right off the bat I have my choice of going through a bunch of tall grass, or dealing with a lone trainer holding a bucket.

No points for guessing which way we go.

[VS. Pokemon Breeder Albert]
[Round 1: vs. Bonsly]
Belfries leads off with X-Scissor to drop most of Bosnly's HP. It responds with Flail to do about 6 damage, then gets X-Scissor'd again.

[Round 2: vs. Pichu]
It occurs to me right about now that I don't really have anything effective against Electric-types, so for now I tag in Atlas to minimize the damage it can do.

[Y'KNOW, IN CASE THE 10-LEVEL GAP WASN'T ENOUGH]
Tail Whip drops Atlas's DEF a bit, while Horn Attack drops Pichu. Oops?

[Round 3: vs. Budew]
Grass is weak to Ice, so I leave Atlas out. Worry Seed makes her an Insomniac, preventing her from sleeping. Ice Fang makes Budew comatose.

I see a fisherman just past Albert and check to see if he wants to battle. He instead gives me a Good Rod. Yay! Now we can fish for stuff OTHER than Magikarps!

Up ahead I spot 2 trainers blocking the path to a pair of Berry bushes. Off we go then.

[VS. ...NOBODY???]
Oh. One's just out for a jog and the other's a member of the PFC who gives me some stickers for hitting it off with the Col. Sanders wannabe earlier. Yay?

The twins up ahead prove a bit more ready to battle. Ah well.

[VS. Twins Emma & Lil]
[vs. Bonsly & Mime Jr.]
Dogmeat joins Belfries for the ensuing massacre. Cross Poison does its thing to Mime Jr. while Bonsly suffers a full-party Beat Up for a swift win.

[YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD ROLE MODEL, BEATING UP CHILDRENS' PETS LIKE THAT]
Hey, they started it. Up ahead I spy a kid in a Pikachu outfit standing on the edge of the bridge. In lieu of my cohost's recent quip I decide not to push the brat in...and they thank me with a battle.

[VS. Pokemon Kid Danielle]
[vs. Pikachu]
Chalk up another insta-kill for Cross Poison. We walk off and talk to some more folks on the path. Another jogger relates his daring tale of escape from a wild Pokemon, and another breeder asks for a battle. Okay then!

[VS. Pokemon Breeder Jennifer]
[Round 1: vs. Mime Jr.]
Chalk up another insta-kill for Cross Poison! I swear, if I'd known Crobats were this awesome I'd have been maining them for years.

[ESPECIALLY SINCE POISON'S YOUR FAVORITE TYPE]
Very true!

[Round 2: vs. Cleffa]
Aw, a baby Fairy-type? I let Astra come out for some fun since I've been neglecting her. Wing Attack makes it a very short bout of fun.

[OOPS]
[Round 3: vs. Budew]
And with that, Atlas takes the lead again. Sorry Astra. Stun Spore paralyzes her, while Ice Fang clobbers the Budew. Sorry Jennifer.

Just past here is a broken tower. I get the sneaking suspicion this will be pertinent later. Up ahead is a Hiker with a Gastly. He offers me some Stickers in exchange for seeing one of my Secret Base statues. Deal!

Now we get a choice: Use the Bike for an uphill ramp and immediately battle a cowgirl, or go through some grass to avoid her?

[OPTION C: GO THROUGH THE GRASS AND CONFRONT HER]
Sounds good!

[VS. Cowgirl Shelley]
[Round 1: vs. Bidoof]
I feel bad using Cross Poison on it, so X-Scissor does the job.

[Round 2: vs. another Bidoof]
I let Astra have some more time in battle, and once again Wing Attack makes it a short bout. Ouch.
[ASTRA: Wing Attack -> Aerial Ace]

[Round 3: vs. yet another Bidoof]
I give Aerial Ace a test run. It packs the same power as Wing Attack and never misses, so... yeah.

[Rounds 4 and 5: SEE PREVIOUS]
Glad you had fun, Astra. Further up I spy a TM for Steel Wing. Tempting to give it to Belfries, but not now. Just north of it is the Lost Tower, "the place where departed Pokemon sleep." Oh joy, a graveyard.

[NATURALLY, HE GOES TO CHECK IT OUT]
First floor is pretty uneventful. I go to talk to a child on the 2nd floor to console a possible loss...he mistakes me for a Gastly.

[VS. Youngster Oliver]
[Round 1: vs. Stunky]
Air Cutter scores the knockout. SO glad I didn't swap it with Steel Wing!

[Round 2: vs. Shellos]
A Water-type calls for Nala, who Sparks it out of the battle...I'm starting to feel bad about being so much higher level than everything around here despite not making an effort to power-level this game.

[Round 3: vs. Kricketune]
Bugs call for Flying, so Astra gets to play again. Aerial Ace cuts to the quick...after which Oliver finally realizes I'm not a ghost.

[NOT THE SHARPEST KNIFE IN THE DRAWER, IS HE?]
Nope. On the next floor we run into a man whose Pokemon were taken by Team Galactic...if that's the case, what is he challenging us with?

[VS. Roughneck Kirby]
[vs. Cleffa]
...Oh.

[CROSS POISON?]
Yep. Bye Kirby.

On the next floor, I make a conscious effort to avoid the Trainers. These beatings are just disrespectful.

[AS ARE ALL THE ZUBATS]
Ugh, no joke.

At the top floor, we meet a pair of old gravekeepers who thank us for visiting with some TM96s, containing the hidden move Strength. Once we beat a certain Gym we can use it to shove boulders aside. They also give us a Cleanse Tag, which reduces encounter rates.

[WELL THAT CERTAINLY MADE THE TRIP WORTH IT]
Indeed...time to try something we haven't used yet, though. One Escape Rope exit, if you please!

[SIM SIM SALABIM!]
...Did you just quote Hajji from Johnny Quest? Whatever, moving on, we bump into a pair of lovebirds outside who want to fight.

[VS. Couple Sue & Ty]
[vs. Machop & Meditite]

Dogmeat gets nothing to do as Air Cutter sweeps them both away in one shot. DEFINITELY glad I held onto it now!

Past there, we finally reach Solaceon Town. A nice little place, and thankfully one with a Pokecen. It's also home to the Pokemon Nursery...which I don't think we'll be making use of this go-round.

In the northeast of town is the Solaceon Ruins, which appear to be home to Unown, the alphabet Pokemon. Looks to be a maze, given the myriad stairwells and cryptic instructions:

[TOP RIGHT, LOWER LEFT, TOP RIGHT, TOP LEFT, TOP LEFT, LOWER LEFT]

After the Top Right and Lower Left stairs, I run into an Indiana Jones wannabe who wants to fight. Time to whip this guy into shape!

[VS. Ruin Maniac Karl]
[Round 1: vs. Geodude]
X-Scissor almost does the trick, while its Tackle barely does anything. I finish it off with Cross Poison.

[Round 2: vs. another Geodude]
I tag out for Tessa, who nails it with a Bubble Beam for a quick win.

[Round 3: vs. Bronzor]
Steel/Psychic suggests Nala should do a good job. Bite suggests I was right.

Following the directions the rest of the way leads to a small treasure room. We find a Nugget, a Mind Plate, some Odd Incense, and a Rare Candy. Sweet! The Plate and Incense would be much more useful if I were using a Psychic-type of any sort. Oh well. Also, a touching message on the back wall:

[FRIENDSHIP - ALL LIVES TOUCH OTHER LIVES TO CREATE SOMETHING ANEW AND ALIVE]

Very nice. One bit of backtracking later, and we're out.

Well, that was fun and all, but I'm getting kinda hungry, so I'm calling it a night.

[TEAM STATUS ERROR: USER CLOSED GAME TOO EARLY TO CHECK]
Whoops! Sorry! ^_^;;;

[ANYWAY, LATER!]