Awakening and Evolution: Salazzle, Primarina

I actually felt bad while it was happening.  There I was—the privileged kid who recently moved to paradise with my fancy, expensive gift pokemon and all the money I had earned by vanquishing all my opponents in battle—campaigning through the slums that Team Skull calls home, smiting them one by one.

I bet it is always raining here.  I bet this rain is always here.

None could beat me, nobody even came close.  I made it to the “mansion” (remember that?) and found it to be in the same shape as the rest of the town: run down, leaking.

As I made my sad trek through Po Town, I feel as though I learned a lot about myself and about my own privileges.  In addition to this, Sassy Sally evolved.  It may very well be that Salandit only evolves once its trainer has been sufficiently existentially awakened.  However, I can't prove this one way or another and the simpler solution, that it evolves at level 34, is more likely the case.

Along the way, I was treated to even more examples of why Team Skull is my favorite gang ever.  I found one trainer who said that their goal was to collect all the Buginium-Z in the world so that Guzma would for sure be the strongest bug trainer in Alola.  Ultimately, I found an entire actual treasure chest of the z-crystals, so they must be pretty successful--at least by this metric (joke's on them, I stole a shard for myself).  I also found two girl gang members who were arguing about which Skull tank top was whose.  One of them suggested that they write their names on their own shirts.  The other responded by pointing out that that wouldn't matter because all of the Team Skull members' names are "Grunt".

I'll let that one sink in.

...

This is the best game.

At the top of the rundown mansion, constantly leaking due to the torrential rain of symbolism (Editor's note: who knew that weather has such a knowledge of poignancy!), I found Guzma again.  I had come here to save some kid's Yungoos.  Yungoos would be the prize in our battle.

It was an easier match than last time--I was able to take out Ariados with Salazzle's Z-Inferno Overdrive and the behemoth Golisopod with Pako Pako.  After the battle, Pako Pako finally evolved into Primarina.  At this point, I was just showing off.
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Salazzle is a well-designed pokemon that I had seen already, but Primarina was new to me.  Honestly, I think this is the perfect final evolution of this pokemon!  It is a Water/Fairy pokemon (a great offensive typing given its bulk and its Special attacking prowess) and its design screams "Mermaid".  I would have preferred a female (I already have one trans pokemon on my team in Sailor Star Fighter), but who can complain?!

Its schtick is that it is a singer and it attacks with its voice.  This is immediately apparent in its special Z-move, Z-Oceanic Operetta, a sound-based water type special move which deals massive damage.

Z-Oceanic Operetta

If I had to rank my favorite water starters, Primarina would land at third out of the seven: after Feraligatr and Greninja and above Empoleon, Swampert, Blastoise, and (bleh) Samurott (bleh).
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With Sassy Sally and Pako Pako at their maximum strength, I made my way back to Accerola, Hau, and Lillie.  What I found would shock me.

(Gotta mine those clicks where I can, yo)

Current Squad:
Primarina/Pako Pako/lvl 34
Electabuzz/Buzz/lvl 35
Salazzle/Sassy Sally/lvl 34
Oricorio/Ori-chan/lvl 33
Tsareena/Bouncee/lvl 34
Sylveon/Star Fighter/lvl 34

On Rotation:
Mareanie/Meanie/lvl 32
Trumbeak/Pip Pip/lvl 34

Pokedex: 180 caught

Vs. Boss Guzma

I arrived at the garden after Team Skull.

It's still unclear how the "mansion" fits into the whole thing, but two members of the Skull Gang apparently decided to take a break from living large in order to make vague threats towards Professor Kukui.  Kukui was standing his ground, though.  He said that he only needs four turns in order to dispatch the both of them.  Geez, when you get right down to it, Professor Kuku is kind of a badass.  

Ultimately, though, we were introduced to the Boss of Team Skull, Guzma.  Guzman and Kukui apparently have some history with each other: it seems as though the two both set off on a trial together, but that Guzma was denied a Captainship at the end of it.  Maybe that's why he's such a Grumpy Gus.

Kukui was willing to take on Guzma, but decided to make it a learning experience for me instead.  I'm imagining little greenhorn August trembling in his preppy little boatshoes at the idea.  "Yeh, thanks for throwing me under the bus, Kukui..."

Guzma started the match by sending in what can only be described as the scariest thing that one could possibly find under their stove.  Golisopod, I would later find out, is the evolution of Whimpod, the Bug/Water pokemon that my little brother has mentioned using, and its big, beefy, and strong.

Brionne led the charge.  I wasn't exactly sure if it would also be a bug/water type, so I used my STAB move, Scald.  Scald gains power as a water move and also has a 30% burn chance.  Burn halves an opponent's physical attack...and those are some big, scary looking pinchers...

I successfully burned Golisopod, but it has used Sword's Dance...twice...Factoring both of these aspects in means its attack stat is at a net 200%.  Woof.  The next turn, my foe used Razor Shell, a move that, as a water type, Brionne resists.  It nearly knocks it out in one hit.  That's one strong bug.

Its ability "Emergency Exit" kicks in once I've knocked it down to 50% of its total health and Golisopod immediately switches out for Guzma's other pokemon.  Guzman must have a penchant for physical bugs, because this pokemon is Ariados.

Ariados outspeeds Pako Pako and Knocks it out with Fell Stinger.  I remember this move from my competitive Omega Ruby days when I was breeding and training a competitive Mega Beedrill.  As soon as the attack was announced, I know that I was in a bad position.  Fell Stinger raises the user's attack stat by 150% if it gets a KO.  

The knockouts against Crabrawler and Mareanie were just as easy.  I was down to two pokemon, but both just happened to be perfect for the given situation.  Because of either magic or dark magic, Salandit survived Shadow Sneak and retaliated with a knockout Z-Inferno Overdrive.  

Golisopod outsped Salandit and easily took it out, but with Toucannon in my last slot, it wasn't going to steal the win out from under me.

Progress Report

With Electrium Z and Steelium Z both in hand (prizes after the trial), I was on my way.  First stop would be a pokemon center to heal up.

As I was out the door, Molayne called me back and handed me the mask of the Masked Royal.  He told me to take it to Professor Kukui because he had left it behind.  (Lol)

I ended up battling all the trainers on the Hokulani Mountain trail in order to challenge the veteran trainer at the top.  Just like the Ace Trainers on the previous islands, this trainer had a Z-Ring of his own.  He had with him an Absol which used the move Z-Black Hole Eclipse.
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I think it might be appropriate to take some time to reflect and note a few important bits of progress.  I have had Bagon off training in the Pokepelago training facilities for the past few islands.  Bagon, remember Bagon?  And how I spent hours trying to get him to spawn?  Well he's a level 50 Salamence now and he's unstoppable.  I used him a few times in wild pokemon battles, but he's a bit too much for my current team, considering that my quad is all barely level 30 or less.  Back to the box with this one--to be called upon only when I need him.

Trumbeak evolved into another great pokemon: Toucannon.  It's no secret amongst the people who know me in the real world that my favorite animals are all birds.  While the ordering is always a bit suspect, my top five favorite animals include the crimson shrike, the cardinal, the blue jay, and the toucan.  That my silly woody-the-woodpecker Trumbeak would evolve into a Toucan pokemon has made me the happiest pokemon trainer this side of Johto.  The icing on the cake is that it's quite strong!  It even learned a new move in Beak Blast.

Ori-chan the Oricorio is still in her Akala Island forme, but I plan on changing that whenever I find the local nectar of Ula'Ula Island.  She's a reliable special attacker and a good support pokemon for my team.

My meanie, Mareanie, is performing quite admirably as well.  It's bulky and it's always reliable in battle.  I'm running "Protect", "Payback", "Toxic", "Toxic Spikes" right now and it's been working well.  Hopefully it learns a recovery move sometime soon.  That's the logical next step for such a bulky stall pokemon.

There isn't much to add about Sylveon given its tight performance in basically every trial match that I have ever had.  I hope that it learns some move that would give me an answer to steel pokemon though.  The only damaging moves that it has right now are Draining Kiss (fairy) and Swift (Normal) and, while I probably wouldn't want to leave it in against Metagross or Gengar, it would be nice to have it learn something that could at least hit such a pokemon...does it learn Dark Pulse?  (Editor's note: No, it doesn't.)

Crabrawler can be relied upon to deliver a strong blow and to eradicate anything that doesn't resist Fighting.  Even neutral hits seem to cause massive damage.  Its ability is Iron Fists (which increases the damage of punching moves), so I'm hoping that it will learn Fire Punch or Hammer Arm eventually.

Tsareena, as mentioned before, is my hard-hitting physical support pokemon.  It is walled out by anything "bug" or "flying", but even against these, I can count on it to survive and put up a Reflect or a Light Screen for the teammates.

Sassy Sally...well...things have been a little tough for this one lately...as I mentioned before, its Z-Inferno Overdrive can be a force to be reckoned with...when some crazy bullshit doesn't happen to ruin the moment.  Right now, I can count on Sassy Sally to throw around big damage and to die on a fairly consistent basis.  It's strong and it's fast, but until it evolves into that sexy Salazzle it might have to be part of the "let's see what happens" crew.

Pako Pako may be under leveled compared to the rest of my rotating squad, but thhis is circumstantial to the plot of the game.  I've had more use for the other pokemon recently and it just so happens that Brionne has fallen behind.  Make no mistake though, when I need something dead, Pako Pako always gets it done.  It's a bulky pokemon that hits hard with nearly perfect coverage in Scald, Disarming Voice, and Hidden Power Fire.
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I made my way to the bottom of the hill and finally on to the garden where Kukui would be.  Little did I know that waiting for me there would finally be the main man, the head honcho.

The boss of Team Skull.

Current Squad:

Brionne/Pako Pako/lvl 26
Crabrawler/Ppunches/lvl 28
Salandit/Sassy Sally/lvl 28
Oricorio/Ori-chan/lvl 27
Tsareena/Bouncee/lvl 30
Sylveon/Star Fighter/lvl 29

On Rotation:
Toucannon/Pip Pip/lvl 30
Mareanie/Meanie/lvl 26


Pokedex: 154 caught

"Not Sailor Moon"

I was supposed to meet Kahuna Olivia in the town hidden behind Diglett's Tunnel.  Konikoni City is a town that reminds me a lot of Miyajima Island near Hiroshima in Japan.  There are red structures resembling the tori gates, street markets on old stone roads.  There is a lot about this town that reminds me of my trip to the same place this last summer.

This is the second consecutive Pokemon game where I have found that I have actually been to one of the in-game locations in the very recent past.  I wonder if my travels are actually influencing the game design?!

I had found that I had missed Olivia by just a few moments when I got there and I swore right there in Konikoni that I would find her and have my revenge...

Now on with the chase, Miami, Dallas, New Orleans, then I came face to face with the rat in Niagra Falls...

Olivia told me to meet with her in the sanctuary where the Akala Island Guardian Deity resides.  I suppose that having god watch my battle is the ultimate in nerve-inducing audiences, but that shaking you see of me is probably just the cold.

On my way through another graveyard--this one infested with Gastly and Phantump.  Noteworthy amongst my travels was a near-loss against a tough Umbreon and a double blackout against what can only be described as the douchiest of Douchebag Gyarados.

I also came across a Trainer class called "Punk Girl".  Let's play a game of "Spot the Differences" between "Punk Girl and Boy" and "Team Skull Grunts"

 

Guys, I think we have finally figured it out...Team Skull is just real people!  Phew!

Speaking of those numbskulls, "Not Sailor Moon" showed up to chastise me for picking on her gruntlings.  Her name is Plumeria and apparently she's a leader of Team Skull.  She called her minions idiots a few times and then challenged me with her Golbat and her Salandit.

I actually had a little trouble with this match.  Her Golbat was faster and at a higher level than any of my pokemon and most of the pokemon I had with me at the time (Crabrawler, Steenee, Sylvan, ...) were mismatched against the Poison/Flying pokemon.  Luckily, I have the best pokemon ever on my team, so I was able to finish it off with a few powerful moves.  In this case, "the best pokemon ever" is my water starter Pako Pako, and "a few powerful moves" means Hydro Vortex and Scald.  

Yes, I know I am temperamental about this sort of thing.

Current Squad:

Brionne/Pako Pako/lvl 25
Crabrawler/Ppunches/lvl 23
Salandit/Sassy Sally/lvl 23
Oricorio/Ori-Chan/lvl 23
Steenee/Bouncee/lvl 24
Sylveon/Sly/lvl 24

On Rotation:
Grimer/Sludj/lvl 23
Misdreavus/Missy/lvl 23
Trumbeak/Pip Pip/lvl 23
Mareanie/Meanie/lvl 21

Pokedex: 101 caught

Rematch with Salazzle

After rushing my battered pokemon and my battered pride to the pokemon center for some nursing, I regrouped and thought about what I had learned.  I figured out that the problem was that the match was somewhat out of my control; my team was put together to battle fire pokemon.  I couldn't have anticipated that my trial would be a fire and poison trial.

Let's take stock.  I had one pokemon that was suited for the match: Brionne resisted Flame Burst and hit hard with its Hydro Vortex move.  Had I weakened the Salazzle with any other move, I could have knocked it out with Pako Pako's Z-move.  However, of all my other pokemon, only Ori-chan was any use and it was unfortunately outside and outclassed by Toxic + Venoshock.  My other Pokemon, Grimer and Crabrawler, were each at a severe disadvantage in battling a poison type.  It was a mismatch from the start.

Now who could I use? Probably not Sylveon (Sidetone: I have recently renamed Sylveon Sailor "Star Fighter" because "duh") because he would take extreme damage from that Venoshock.  I could use Trumbeak, but it's a bit too slow and frail to survive more than one turn.  Misdreavus has Thunderwave as an option, but this would require it to survive a venoshock...

...unless I had it out before Salandit is summoned.

I was on to something.  With Salazzle (and maybe also Salandit) paralyzed, my pokemon would have a chance to cause some damage before the inevitable 120 base power venoshock nukes are launched. I just had to choose my fastest and strongest pokemon to support.

Vs. Salazzle Rematch: Speedy Thunder

My plan was weirdly simple: paralyze the opponents and take them out.  I was pleasantly surprised when I was successful in successfully using thunder wave on both salazzle and her summoned salandit.  With luck on my side and the wind in my sails, I was able to slowly whittle the pokemon down.  The major change was that now Venoshock was no longer a one-turn-one-hit KO move.  I was able to move before the speedier foes.

Soon enough, only Pako-Pako remained.  My ace.  It was tight, but I knew I had won.

Hydro Vortex.

VICTORY!