ppe 20: Alright, where was I?

[xaq_the_aereon]

[BANDITS STATUS]
Belfries, Lv 44
Atlas, Lv 42
Nebula, Lv 44
Dogmeat, Lv 43
Iceberg, Lv 40
Tessa, Lv 45

Okay, Iceberg's about as caught up on level as I'm gonna get her, and frankly it's been way too long since I advanced the storyline...plus I'm more motivated than ever to wrap this up so I can justify getting to Legends: Arceus.

[SO LET'S GET TO IT!]

Heading north onto Route 217 and good lord visibility just went dead. This blizzard can't be dealt with via Defog, so we're gonna have to go half-blind into this mess and blunder right into this trainer's path.

[VS. ACE TRAINER DALTON]
[Round 1: vs. Raichu]
And naturally I'm leading off with a type mismatch. Great return to form, Will. XP Cross Poison does the trick nicely, though, because of our 10-level advantage over him.
[OUCH]
[Round 2: vs. Hippopotas]
To avoid further ice buffeting, I tag in Iceberg...just as the Hippopotas switches the weather to a sandstorm. XP I Ice Beam it away for the trouble.
[Round 3: vs. Pelipper]
I tag in Atlas to avoid sandstorm damage. Pelipper Stockpiles to boost its Def and Sp Def, while Ice Fang takes about a quarter of its HP. It Stockpiles a 2nd time and dodges a Hammer Arm, then Tailwinds to get a speed advantage before another Hammer Arm nails it. Water Pullse hurts pretty badly and confuses Atlas, who whiffs again with Hammer Arm.

With the sandstorm worn off, I tag Iceberg back in while the Pelipper gulps a 3rd Stockpile. At this point the weather has done more damage to it than I have. Its Air Slash does a lot of damage and flinches Iceberg, leaving me compelled to use a Hyper Potion to heal. Water Pulse doesn't do much, and the icestorm puts Pelipper in the red. I have Iceberg Ingrain itself to recharge each turnand let the weather deal more damage as a Tailwind goes to waste. Water Pulse again fails to do much, but does confuse her into hurting herself, though Ingrain recovers most of it. Air Slash misses, and Ice Beam connects to FINALLY wrap this mess up.

[THOUGH THE WEATHER WOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF IT THIS TURN ANYWAY]
True enough.

The area up ahead is an absolute slog of thick snow, with the only comfort being finding a TM07 for Hail, TM100 for Rock Climb (which I can't use as a Hidden Move yet), and a house. Inside the house is a Hiker who dropped the Rock Climb TM. He thanks me for finding it, tells me to keep it, and gives me an Icicle Plate as thanks.

[HE DOES KNOW THIS THING IS A PRICELESS ARTIFACT, RIGHT?]
*shrug* A little ways up is another house, and the lady living there gives me a Spell Tag as thanks for visiting. Behind her house is an Ice Rock, the location for evolving Eevee into Glaceon. Neat.

I finally find the exit to Route 217 and, in my excitement and near-blindness from the snow, run into another Ace.

[VS. ACE TRAINER OLIVIA]
[Round 1: vs. Roselia]
Aerial Ace takes it out quickly.
[Round 2: vs. FUCK YEAH SEAKING!!]
I tag Dogmeat in for this one and Thunder Fang it for major damage. It confuses her with Supersonic before dropping to a Shadow Ball.

And with that, we reach the Acuity Lakefront, the place we should have been at weeks ago...and Team Galactic has the entrance blocked, with no sign of Clint around. Their job is to keep the Snowpoint Gym leader from bothering their comrades...my guess is that's where Clint went. So, a quick exit to the right and off we go.

[WELCOME TO SNOWPOINT CITY]
[POPULATION: LOWER THAN THE TEMPERATURE]
No kidding. Aside from the Pokecen, the Poke Mart, and the Gym, there's nothing here. So...into the Gym we go.

[OH CRIPES IT'S AN ICE-PHYSICS PUZZLE]
Yep. D: We have to slide at the snowballs hard enough to break them. Also, aside from the few spots where you stop, trying to walk here just sends you sliding off until you hit something.

[OHHHH JOY]
After using all my wits to break open the bottom leayer, I get snagged by one of the Gym Trainers. Great.

[VS. ACE TRAINER ISAIAH]
[Quagsire]
I tag in Iceberg, who fires up a hailstorm and gets dinked by a Muddy Water crit. She heals herself up with a Giga Drain that takes everything the Quagsire had.

Miraculously enough, that's the only GT I run into while clearing the rest of the puzzle out. Huh, wow. Well, with that, I move Dogmeat to the front and go to take on the mistress of this ice palace herself.

[VS. GYM LEADER CANDICE]
[Round 1: vs. Snover]
Oh lord. Ice/Grass and I just sent Dogmeat out. This should be a massacre.
[ONE FLAME CHARGE LATER]
G'bye!!

[Round 2: vs. Sneazel]
Dark/Ice? Keep at it, Dogmeat.
[ONE FLAME CHARGE LATER]
Next!

[Round 3: vs. Medicham]
Fighting/Psychic? Ehhhh? I thought this was the ICE Gym? Well, Ghost-moves deal double damage here, so we'll keep Dogmeat out. Shadow Ball puts it at 20% HP, but a Brick Break scores a one-shot.

I tag in Nebula and use a Revive on Dogmeat, while Candice uses a Hyper Potion to recharge Medicham's HP. Dazzling Gleam, hoWever, scores the KO.
[TESSA: Charm -> Mist]

[FINAL ROUND: Vs. Abomasnow]
I didn't have a chance to fully heal Dogmeat, but I put her back out since she has 4x effectiveness with Flame Charge. Sure enough, it scores the KO. With that, the Icicle Badge, the HM Rock CLimb, and some TM72s for Avalanche are ours!

[7 DOWN, 1 TO GO!]
Yeah, but...where's Clint? I check the back of town and find the Snowpoint Temple, a place which only the chosen may enter. I doubt that'd stop him, but he doesn't seem to be here.

[MOVING ON]
Back to the Acuity Lakefront, I find the guards have moved aside. Perhaps Clint crashed them out of the way?
[KNOWING HIM? YES]
Sure enough, he's right inside, along with one of the Galactic Commanders, Jupiter. Apparently she captured Uxie, the Pokemon of the Lake, and he wasn't able to stop her. "It's not about winning or losing. That's not good enough. I have to be stronger."

Shame it took this for him to get his head on straight.

With that done, it's time to head back to warmer pastures...for plot purposes, I'm thinking Veilstone City.

[YO, TAXI!!]

[BANDITS STATUS]
Belfries, Lv 46
Atlas, Lv 43
Nebula, Lv 44
Dogmeat, Lv 44
Iceberg, Lv 41
Tessa, Lv 46

[CATCH YOU ALL NEXT TIME]
Later!