Beyond the Ghost Trial

This week, August has moved beyond the curtained door into the afterlife after seeking his ghosts and defeating them in battle.

Well, or something like that.

The Ghost Trial had me finding and photographing spooky ghosts doing spooky ghosty things in the haunted mall/beach.  Ultimately, my opponent was the Ghost/Fairy Mimikyu and its buddy Haunter.  Mimikyu has a unique ability in "Disguise".  This allows it to avoid the first direct hit of a match.  It would have been great to know this before I wasted by Z-move "Inferno Overdrive" on it.

I came away with the victory in the end, largely because Beak Blast has the ability to cause burn against pokemon that cause direct physical damage.

The next supporting character I would be introduced to would be none other than Grimsley, the Dark type Elite Four from Pokemon Black and White version.  Grimsley showed up out of nowhere (seriously, even the other characters were commenting on how weird he was standing there in his kimono on the beach) to give me the ride pager for Sharpedo (which would allow me to break through rocks whilst surfing).

I battled Plumeria again.  Since our last match, her Salandit had evolved into Salazzle.  It was level 35, so my own Sassy Sally must be close to evolution, herself!  Team Skull left, but not before stealing a poor little kid's Yungoos.

I decided to help because I am the fighter for love and justice known as Sailor August.  No, I didn't decide to help because the plot called for it.

Turns out that Team Skull lives in a walled off slum that they call Po Town.  There is garbage and graffiti all over...plus it is constantly raining.  There is no power for their pokemon center.  I would probably get pretty grumpy having to live there too.

I think I get Team Skull.  I mean, it wasn't until recently that I really understood the plans or the motivations of the other villainous gangs from previous games, but I do get Team Skull.  They're underprivileged and they just want some respect.

One gang member told me that she dropped out of her trial and that she didn't like how I was coming by and bragging about it and throwing it in her face.  I understand this as a motivation for them to want to assemble and cause a little something to get back at the privileged kids.  I understand that.

On the other hand, it wasn't until recently that I understood the motivation behind Team Aqua:  "return the world to the way that it once was and rightly should be."

Considering the dark forces that have recently taken control of the US government, a good ole reset of the entire species might be for the best.

We're probably going to get one whether we like it or not.

Current Squad:


Brionne/Pako Pako/lvl 33
Electabuzz/Buzz/lvl 33
Salandit/Sassy Sally/lvl 32
Oricorio/Ori-Chan/lvl 33
Tsareena/Bouncee/lvl 33
Sylveon/Star Fighter/lvl 34

On Rotation:
Crabrawler, Toucannon, Mareanie

Pokedex: 177 caught

Steel

Steel is a type that has always been special to me, this has been true ever since I had first heard of it back when my entire exposure to Pokemon news was the monthly "Beckett Pokemon Collector" magazine.  A new pokeon type?  This was unprecedented!  And when I caught my Skarmory, it was instantly my favorite from that game.  SUCH a cool design.

However, when on the other side of the coin and steel is my opponent, they love to give me headaches.  While Water types are typically weak to grass and electric, and flying types are more-or-less always weak against rock and ice, the steel type is made up of a whole bunch of nonsense pokemon with crazy dual types: steel/rock, steel/bug, steel/psychic.  As a result, you can't always count on the typical fire, ground, fighting weaknesses of the steel type to always work for you on the fly.

I had Venusaur take the lead on this one--deciding to Err on the side of caution and keep Flareon alive and healthy just in case Wikstrom decided to send in something crazy like Empoleon (Steel/Water).
His first pokemon was Klefki, a Steel/Fairy pokemon.  After going through the regular rigamarole of weakening it with Leech Seed and Sleep Powder, I sent in Lucario on a free turn and powered-up with Swords Dance for an easy KO.  I may rename this particular pokemon squad "SailorScout Mega-Venusaur-cario".

The next pokemon, Probopass, was a Steel/Rock type: easy pickings for Lucario's Close Combat move.  "Hahahaha, fear my 120x2x2x2 power fighting move!" I could see the end of the battle right before my eyes.

However, due to a miscalculation on my part, or more specifically "general idiocy", Probopass survived the 960-damage hit with exactly 1 HP left due to his "Sturdy" ability.  Lucario was taken-out handily.  Dang, guess it's going to be one of those matches...

I got the easy revenge kill with Greninja, but W's third pokemon was called Aegislash and it was a pokemon I had no prior knowledge of.  I had come across a pokemon called Honedge in my travels and it was a Steel/Ghost pokemon, and I assumed that Aegislash was the higher form of it, but I wasn't sure how it would battle.  As a result, I sent in Venusaur for some reconnaissance.

Aegislash kept changing its form due to its weird ability and I think the result of each transformation must have been a change in its base stats, but Leech Seed wore it down enough so that Flareon could come in for the finishing "Flame Charge" attack and gaining the +1 Speed increase to boot.

My heart sank as Wikstrom sent in Scizor.

I think my fear of Scizor stems from my old competitive Heartgold/Soulsilver battling from years ago.  I had a fantastic team at the time but no real answer to opposing Scizor.  I had to hope that I could wear it down with incessant chicanery and luck.  I guess mostly luck...

LUCKILY, Flareon outran Scizor due to that Flame Charge Speedboost and KO'ed it with Flare Blitz.  I checked the numbers: if Flareon hadn't gotten that speed boost against Aegislash, it would have been outrun by Scizor.  Given Scizor's massive attack and Flareon's weak defense, I could not guarantee Flareon's safety.  One Superpower from Scizor would have taken it out.  Basically, without Leech Seed wearing Aegislash into KO range, Flareon would have had to Flare Blitz, and Scizor would have removed it.

Of course this doesn't mean I was in danger of losing the whole match--I mean let's be realistic, I still had four other pokemon after Flareon.  We don't have to be so histrionic about this debackle.  However, it is interesting to consider the importance of even small decisions in a game like this.
_________________
Score that match: 5-0
Hyper Potions: 17 -3
Revives: 23 -1
_________________
Current Squad Status:

GRENINJA/Froakles/lvl.57
VENUSAUR/Venus/lvl.56
FLAREON/Rox/lvl.54
LUCARIO/Knives/lvl.56
HIPPOWDON/Leviathan/lvl.54
GARDEVOIR/Missy/lvl.53

Sidelines: Pikachu, Scrafty, Aerodactyl, Dragalge

Dragon

Originally, I had planned to battle Steelio the Steel-Type Elite Four Trainer before Drasma's Dragons, but I realized my squad was a lot stronger against Dragons than Steel pokemon--especially if one of those steel types happens to be Scizor...<shudder>

I wanted to keep Greninja and Gardevoir at full health for as long as possible in this match.  I wanted to be able to move them in for an easy revenge kill in case the match started going sour, so I lead with Hippowdon.  I didn't expect the sandhippo to do much: maybe a little Sandstorm damage, maybe put the first pokemon to sleep before it is taken out.

However, luck was with me and her first pokemon was the Poison/Dragon typed Dragalge.  Hippowdon was just bulky enough to survive one Surf attack and countered with a knockout Earthquake.


Her next pokemon was Altaria.  After my battle against Serena, I knew Altaris would be too slow for my Greninja, so I sent out Froakles for the One-Hit KO Ice Beam.

Next came a particularly bulky Druddigon which took several turns of Gardevoir's Fairy-type attack to remove since Drasna kept spamming her Full Restores whenever her pokemon got injured.  All through this time, the sandstorm was whittling my own health away, so I was glad when Druddigon finally fainted as the sandstorm subsided.

Her final pokemon was Noivern, which outsped my Greninja, but failed to KO it in one hit--Greninja retaliated with one final Ice Beam to end the incredibly boring match of the boring one-hit-KO's.
_________________
Score that match: 6-0
Hyper Potions: 20 -1
Revives: 24
_________________
Current Squad Status:

GRENINJA/Froakles/lvl.57
VENUSAUR/Venus/lvl.56
FLAREON/Rox/lvl.55
LUCARIO/Knives/lvl.56
HIPPOWDON/Leviathan/lvl.55
GARDEVOIR/Missy/lvl.56

Sidelines: Pikachu, Dragalge, Scrafty, Aerodactyl

Fire

As I crept into the inner sanctuary of the Pokemon League I was met by an auspicious lady with pink hair.  She introduced herself to me as Malva, a fire trainer and Elite Four Champion.  The purpose of the Elite Four is to try to wear you out--as a final test to see if you are worthy of battling the strongest trainer--and she made it absolutely clear to me that I was no hero for defeating Team Flare--and that this meant nothing as I challenged her for my first battle.

And there is no better way to put me in the mood for battle than to tell me I can't do it...

I had decided to open with Hippowdon  to be safe--I knew that Froakles was going to do most of the "heavy lifting" for the match, but his frailty made me take pause from scouting with him.  I knew Hippo' would be able to take anything that she could throw at me--so I started her against Malva's Pyroar.  The exchange was quick, but it left my sandhippo with low health.

Her next pokemon was Torkoal and I knew that this was going to be the time where I set-up Froakles for the game-ender.  Due to Torkoal's naturally high defense and the fact that it kept using 'Curse', I knew Greninja's special attacks would be best for the match, so I used Yawn to put her turtle to sleep and then switched Froakles in and put up a Substitute (for safety).  I took her Torkoal out with one "Scald" the next turn.

Her next pokemon was Chandelure and I outran and overpowered it with one attack.

Her final pokemon was another level 65 Talonflame--and I know that the last time I played, I stall-killed one of those with Mega Venusaur, but in-battle against the fifth-strongest trainer in the known universe is not the place to get cute, so I kept Froakles in for the one-hit-KO Scald.  But thank goodness for that Substitute because Talonflame moved first with Brave Bird--and that would have definitely hurt.
_________________
Score that match: 6-0
Hyper Potions: 24 -1
Revives: 25
_________________
Current Squad Status:

GRENINJA/Froakles/lvl.56
VENUSAUR/Venus/lvl.55
FLAREON/Rox/lvl.53
LUCARIO/Knives/lvl.55
HIPPOWDON/Leviathan/lvl.55
GARDEVOIR/Missy/lvl.52

Sidelines: Pikachu, Scrafty, Dragalge, Aerodactyl

Water

Part of the reason I always choose the water-type starter is this weird fascination I have with bulky "stall" pokemon--that is, pokemon who take hits like they are nothing and retaliate with the same predictable (albeit reliable) moves.  In the case of the "bulky water", these moves are surf, hydro pump, and ice beam (repeat).  As a result of this, I chose to lead with Gardevoir for round 2 of my pokemon gauntlet--Gardevoir has the special defense to take hits--and with calm mind, I could set-up against those very same bulky waters that always loved to set up on me...

Siebold opened the match with a pokemon called Clawitzer.  I used Charge beam, trying to test it out to see how strong his pokemon was and found that Clawitzer takes away exactly 50% of my health while I am unboosted (no Calm Mind).

This was good to know, but it meant that I was going to have to sacrifice Gardevoir initially (I wasn't going to survive long enough to set up, but one revive would fix that).  I sent-in Venusaur and Mega-Evolved to use Leech Seed and Sleep Powder while I used revive and hyper potions on Gardevoir.  Mega-V was doing so well, as a matter of fact, that I kept him in.

What happened next was nothing short of genius.

Solarbeam is a two-turn move: on turn one you gather sunlight to charge your attack and on turn two you fire the 120-damage solarbeam.  I timed my attack so that the sleeping Clawitzer died due to Leech Seed on the turn where I charged my attack and the Solarbeam hit the switch-in for the one-hit KO.  Starmie was the lucky recipient.  I have to say, this was one battling moment that I will most likely remember forever.  It is second only to the time that I predicted the move "Explosion" and switched-in my ghost-type Gengar to ignore this Normal-type attack.

I decided not to test my luck and brought-in Gardevoir on the free switch to start setting-up Calm Minds while I burned through my hyper potions keeping her alive.  The final two turns of the match were two consecutive one-hit-KO's against Gyarados and Barbaracle.
_________________
Score that match: 5-0
Hyper Potions: 21 -3
Revives: 24 -1
_________________
Current Squad Status:

GRENINJA/Froakles/lvl.56
VENUSAUR/Venus/lvl.55
FLAREON/Rox/lvl.55
LUCARIO/Knives/lvl.56
HIPPOWDON/Leviathan/lvl.55
GARDEVOIR/Missy/lvl.56

Sidelines: Pikachu, Dragalge, Scrafty, Aerodactyl

On the Doorstep

And here we are at the Elite Four, ready to take on the best in the world in final battle.

Not quite.

See, I haven't chosen my six-pokemon squad yet--something I should have done at the game's start.  Guess I'm way behind on this one...

As I procrastinated at the doorstep of the Pokemon League, I found a trainer who offered a bit of helpful advice: that the elite four each specializes in a pokemon type and that I could fight them in whatever order I pleased: Fire, Water, Steel, and Dragon.  Let's team build...
 __________________________
Okay, so let's start with the core pokemon: Froakles has Ice Beam and Scald, so he will be invaluable against a fire team and against a dragon team.  And Venusaur is, as previously established, unkillable.

 Let's add Pikachu for that Water gym and Gardevoir for the dragon team.  The addition of Gardevoir will allow my team to maintain some general bulkiness since it takes Special Hits like a champ.

 But I bet that water gym has a water/ground type or two kicking around--and water types are generally known for their bulk, so Pikachu is more of a weak link for this team.  It won't be outrunning anyone at such a low level either...Let's put some more bulk of our own in that slot instead.  And let's get Lucario in here--he just learned Close Combat.

And for the last one...hm...Aerodactyl is pretty fast and powerful and I know a lot of those dragons are actually also flying types...plus the rock moves will be doubly effective against that fire team...but it doesn't look like I have much to battle the steel team...and I know there's got to be a Metagross, there is always a Metagross...Oh god, what if there is a Scizor...it's decided then.

Elite Four Battle Squad: The Secret Six

We may be underleveled and we may be disconnected, but we have the tactical skills and we have the foresight to overcome any obstacles.  Plus, I just bought 50 hyper potions, so there's always that...

Current Squad Status:

GRENINJA/Froakles/lvl.55
VENUSAUR/Venus/lvl.54
FLAREON/Rox/lvl.52
LUCARIO/Knives/lvl.55
HIPPOWDON/Leviathan/lvl.54
GARDEVOIR/Missy/lvl.52

Sidelines: Pikachu, Aerodactyl, Scrafty, Dragalge

The End of the Road

After I defeated Serena, my fortune changed drastically for the better.  My pokemon were finally strong enough to contend with my foes: battle became much less about guessing how many hits I can take before dying and going for a revenge kill and more about which of my pokemon would defeat the foe the fastest.  I was finally back.

As a matter of fact, the last half of Victory Road was a lot of fun.  One notable match that really sticks-out for me was my Mega Venusaur actually stall-killing a Level 65 Talonflame with Leech
Seed and Poisonpowder.  Talonflame is a Fire/Flying type and this particular Talonflame had both Flare Blitz, the strongest fire attack in the game, and Brave Bird, the strongest flying attack in the game.  You can see how this was exciting to me.  Mega Venusaur is just plain unkillable.  He cannot be defeated.

The road ended with a five-person gauntlet of strong veteran trainers with strong pokemon including skarmory and glaceon--but after this was over (and it was over not a moment too soon) I found myself at the base of the steps up to the Pokemon League.  I had made it to the top.

Current Squad:

GRENINJA/Froakles/lvl.54
VENUSAUR/Venus/lvl.53
FLAREON/Rox/lvl.52
LUCARIO/Knives/lvl.53
DRAGALGE/Toxie/lvl.49
AERODACTYL/Scarydactyl/lvl.47

On Rotation: Pikachu, Scrafty, Hippowdon, Gardevoir