The Road to Snowbelle City

The road to Couriway town brought me to an optional cave called the "Terminus Cave".  I took some time to explore the cave, coming out with a small fortune in random items, the TM for Shadow Ball (nice!), and a bunch of pokemon: Pupitar, Durant, Sandslash, Graveler, Gurdurr, and Torkoal.  When I reached the lowest part of the cave I met a character blocking a doorway who basically told me to come back when I have become the champion.  Nintendo must be hiding Mewtwo back there.

Just you wait...

When I reached the town, the Professor Sycamore found me and thanked me for killing his friend Lysandre.  Not in these words exactly but I could read between the lines well enough.  He then gave me the HM for Waterfall.  This is one item which I have been waiting nearly the entire game for because Nintendo is very good at teasing new areas to the adventurous.  "Hey, look!  A waterfall and several shiny items right out of reach, bet you can't wait to come back here, huh?"  Jerks.

He then battled me with his Venusaur, Blastoise, and Charizard.  I beat him handily, but it was still a fun battle anyways.  He ran off afterwards, congratulating me and mumbling something about a surprise.  Last surprise was a Bulbasaur, so I hope his next surprise starts with a C and breathes fire.

...

I meant Charmander.  I hope he gives me a Charmander.

The route ahead took me over a swampy gorge.  I didn't have to explore the swamp to cross, but I did anyways and caught a fucking Stunfisk.  No I don't mean a Stunfisk, I mean a fucking stunfisk because stunfisk is the most odious pokemon of all time.

As I crossed the bridge, three of the four Pokemon thieves appeared out of nowhere and challenged me to a battle.  I beat Serena's (the one who Nintendo was building-up to turn into my character's love interest in the game.  Looking back, glad that didn't happen) Delphox handily and Tierno (the one whose only trait is "likes to dance") only put up a slight fight (heh) with his Crawdaunt. 

The third battle was against Tierno (the quiet one) and it was actually quite difficult.  He had a Raichu, a Florges, and an Aerodactyl.  The first two of these were easy enough to beat, but his Aerodactyl outsped everyone in my team, including Pikachu, so I didn't even have the chance to attack before many of my pokemon were knocked-out.  In the end, I stalled it to death with Hippowdon using Yawn while Leech Seed took its health down.  Maybe Yawn/Roar/Earthquake/Toxic isn't the set to be running on this guy...at least not in-game.  I'll change it soon.

I made it to Snowbelle, the town of perpetual winter and bad ice puns, and found that the gymleader, Wulfric (the most Northern-sounding name of all time) had gone into the nearby forest to train.  I guess the path ahead is through the greenery!

Current Squad:

GRENINJA/Froakles/lvl.46
VENUSAUR/Venus/lvl.45
FLAREON/lvl.45
SCRAFTY/Scrappy/lvl.44
HIPPOWDON*/Leviathan/lvl.44
AERODACTYL/Scarydactyl/lvl.46

On Rotation: Lucario, Gardevoir, Skrelp, Pikachu, Haunter

Side Commentary: If Pokemon Were Real...

The other day I was fortunate enough to catch the special series anime "Pokemon Origins" (you can probably find it online if you want, but out of respect for the material I won't provide a link myself).  This is a four-episode special that involves the journey of Red as he learns the ropes of the Pokemon world along his journey alongside his Charmander to become the League Champion.

It was very good--and it was also done in such a way that the source material was a little more believable--and of course this brought up the question that EVERYONE asks: What if Pokemon were real?  Or more accurately, what would be your pokemon squad if you were a real trainer?

Typically when kids answer this question, the obvious examples come up: Gyarados, Rhydon, Charizard, blah, blah, blah.  I feel that this is a little bit inaccurate--or rather--absolutely ridiculous.  Most average people can barely train a dog, much less a fighting animal.  The fact is that 90ish% (and this number is COMPLETELY fabricated, by the way) of people just fundamentally could not find either the time or the endurance to do this.  Even if they could, the idea that they could control something huge like a Gyarados or a Charizard or a Rhydon is furthermore ridiculous.

Imagine these things in real life.  Pretty freaking huge huh?  And scary?  You bet.  Now try showing these animals that YOU are the dominant one in the pair.  You've gotta be a pretty intimidating sonnuvabitch to stare down a Gyarados.

What about an Arbok?  Think you have the nerves to gain the respect and control of an 11-foot long snake?  Or even a 2-foot tall, 40 pound Raticate?

Another thing to note:  No Ghost Pokemon.  I have this feeling that if you started to hang-out with a Ghost pokemon, you will just end up getting increasingly depressed--and eventually just give up on your journey.  I view Ghosts to be like bringers of bad luck or like parasites that would feed on your suffering: just having one around would be a battle of endurance.

Furthermore, just look outside and see what kinds of creatures you see.  A lot of squirrels and bugs and birds, huh?  If pokemon were real, nearly all trainers' teams would include at least one Rattata, Pidgey, or Caterpie.

One more thing: If Pokemon were real, Eevee would be a trendy designer product for rich people.

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It's funny how when you give up on finding a pokemon, it always tends to show-up out of no where.  Right after I gave up on looking for Pikachu, I was able to find and capture one, which I named "PikaPi".

With a giant smile on my face, I made it to Santalune City, future site of my first gym battle.  Soon after entering, I found a guy who offered to trade his Farfetch'd for a Bunnelby. 

I've always had a strange affinity for Farfetch'd.  I mean, you've gotta love the swagger that the duck must have in order to carry around the leek stick that it will eventually be seasoned with before being eaten.  Kind of morbid in an oddly self-aware way.

After getting Pikachu and Farfetch'd, I decided that the night couldn't get any better, so I called it an evening.

Current Squad:

FROAKIE/Froakles/lvl.9
METAPOD/Felix/lvl.8
ZIGZAGOON/Ziggy/lvl.8
SCATTERBUG/Bubbsy/lvl.7
PIKACHU/PikaPi/lvl.5
FARFETCH'D/Quackin'/lvl.10