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

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.
_____________
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.
______________
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

Vs. Vikivolt

The Captain of the Electric Trial at Hokulani Observatory is named Sophocles.  His schtick is that he's quite nervous at the job.  Apparently, Mo and he both work at the observatory as inventors and technicians.  Mo used to be the trial captain, but he passed the position on to Sophocles.  Normally the captains are all chosen by the Kahuna, but Ula'Ula Island is currently in a state of flux about this.  Mo was a bit vague about it all, but I am admittedly intrigued.

"DETECTED PRESENCE OF
APPROACHING TOTEM POKEMON!"

Sophocles greeted me with a slightly short and frustrated remark about how he was going to summon the totem by sing a machine that he had invented.  He was decidedly short with me--almost a little hostile.  He seemed to lack the ceremony of the other Captains--and it eventually came to light that this was because of the fact that he lacked the confidence of the others.  Mo kept encouraging him and telling him that he was doing fine; by the end of the trial he was visibly smiling.  His character was a lot more real than many pokemon characters that I have run into in the past.  He acted the way that a real human would if they lacked the confidence in their own abilities: grumpy and brusque.  Sometimes, all you need in order to get someone else to open up to you is a little reassurance that you respect them.

The machine drained the power in the facility and I had to battle a Grubbin and a Charjabug in the dark as the totem approached via cutscene.  It was still dark in the Observatory when Vikivolt attacked.

Battle Team: Support Offensive

Vs. Vikivolt

The battles that had preceded my match against the totem, Vikivolt, had severely damaged my team and left Salandit unconscious.  Without my Z-move user in Inferno Overdrive, I had to turn my trust over to Tsareena instead.

I had brought this particular team because I don't have any true answer to electric pokemon.  The rest of my pokemon are all weak to shock.  The resulting battle team, "Support Offensive", was a weird bunch that just so happened to be weak against bug pokemon.  Sure, Salandit has the advantage, but as I mentioned previously, she was knocked out.  Crabrawler's fighting moves would have little effect, Tsareena is outright weak to bug moves, and I can't quite recall whether fairy moves are weak to the bug type or if it is the other way around...

It was Vikivolt vs Bouncee, then.  I wanted to spend the time debuffing my foes, so I used Low Sweep to lower Vikivolt's speed and to apply a little chip damage, and then Reflect to give my team a bit of breathing room.

Vikivolt is a bug/electric pokemon and its Bug Bite eventually took out Tsareena.  It's ally pokern was another Charjabug which seemed to be tossing around Thunderwaves all willy-nilly.  I used Ppunches to slow it down again with Rock tomb.  The chip damage was starting to add up and I saw an opening, so I sacrificed my crab in order to use a Revive on Salandit.

Time for revenge!  Z - INFERNO OVERDRIVE!

Occa Berry...

Vikivolt was holding an Occa Berry, which halved the damage of my fire move.

Godamn bullshit.

Now, down to Star Fighter, my question from before remains: does bug do weak damage against fairy or is it the other way around?

I sigh in relief: fairy is effective.  However, Vikivolt is tough and Charjabug continues to keep paralyzing my pokemon.  I use Baby Doll Eyes for a few turns...if I could avoid any critical hits or fully paralyzed turns, I could take him out...

Could becomes "did" and now it is Sylveon vs. Charjabug.  My Paralysis turns start to kick in, but due to all the petting that I've been giving my pokemon in Pokemon Refresh, Sylveon has a chance of recovering from paralysis whilst in battle.  A little luck, and a little more luck and my paralysis is healed and Charjabug has "fallen in love" with my Sylveon (due to its ability, "Cute Charm").  I don't blame it, Sylveon is pretty cute.

Sidenote: How many times can draining kiss fucking miss?!

Both Sailor Star Fighter and Charjabug are mortally wounded.  Will Charjabug's sacrifice itself for love?

Editor's Note: It did.

"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

Vs. Lurantis

Against a Bug and grass type, there is no shelter from my team.  Go Team Foul Wing!

Vs Lurantis: The Hedge Trimmers

I led with Sludj as I always go, spreading poison to Lurantis--and then to its ally partner Trumbeak.  The fact that the mantis pokemon summoned Trumbeak should have been my firs cue that the battle was going to be longer than I expected, but I didn't get the memo.

See, my squad is so strong against grass that I actually started writing this post before I even started the battle.  The original transcript read simply as:

"It was easy and I won easily."

I could not have anticipated that the pokemon would have Synthesis.  Stalling does not work, at the most fundamental of levels, against an opponent that can heal itself. Grimer was able to injure the two, but Lurantis healed itself and Trumbeak took out my lead.  

I switched to the more direct approach.  I sent in Sassy Sally and used the Fire Z-move "Inferno Overdrive".  Against a bug/grass type (even a bug/grass type that is several levels higher) this would be an easy KO.  Apparently however, Lurantis is only grass-typed, and so Inferno Overdrive mortally wounded it.

And then Lurantis just healed itself.

Solar Blade is basically Lurantis
calling upon Divine Intervention.

Obviously this wasn't working; I wasn't losing yet and none of its moves were hurting my pokemon much, but I couldn't keep this up.  Its second ally summon pokemon, castform, had used Sunny Day--thereby making Synthesis doubly effective.  I turned my attention towards the castform and took it out handily enough--but lost Sassy Sally in the process.

I sent in Ori-chan and ate a move called Solar Blade.  Seemingly, this is a two-turn charge move like Solarbeam, but dealing physical damage.  I used Feather Dance and Feather Dance again, then baton-passed out to Trumbeak.  The Feather dances were to weaken that Solar Blade attack.  The baton pass was to ensure that Lurantis' move would target Ori-chan before it switches out so that Trumbeak would enter the battle undamaged.

I knew I had the eventual win at this point.  Trumbeak has Pluck, Flame Charge, Roost, and Work Up.  I could boost my attack and speed and heal off the damage I took with roost--and then take out Lurantis with one attack.  

I'm not going to lie, I felt pretty good about myself after this win.

VICTORY!!

2-0

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!

Vs. Salazzle

I wanted a challenge, so I had decided to take only four pokemon with me on my run up the mountain (Editor's note: Foreboding is an adjective that means 'uninvited dread', but in this case, take it to mean 'the anticipation of disaster').  The squad that I had come up with was made up of my most reliable pokemon that have followed me around all the way from the first island.

Vs. Salazzle: The Melemele Firefighters

During the initial phases of the trial back when I was playing "is there a hiker in this photo", I had been subjected to a few surprise battles.  The first was against that fire-dancing Marowak.  The second was against the Hiker himself.  These matches, while not difficult, had taken their toll on my lead Grimer.  Indeed, Sludj was forced to enter battle with the totem Salazzle with only 13 HP remaining.

"You Toxic bitch, you"

Because I own a Salandit, I already knew how fast the totem pokemon was, so I knew that Grimer wouldn't last very long.  One Flame Burst later and it was now a 3-on-1 match: 3-on-2 once Salazzle summoned Salandit as its partner.

This did not bode well.

I reassessed and found that, while Crabrawler was a good choice against a fire type, the dual Poison/Fire Salazzle/Salandit combo meant that the crustacean would be at a disadvantage.  Fighting moves are weak against the poison type.  I sent it in and attempted to whittle down the supporting Salandit with Bubblebeam.

It was then that the enemy duo revealed their master strategy.  Venoshock is a niche move amongst Poison Pokemon Trainers.  It has a base power of 60 damage under normal circumstances, but a base power of 120 if the opponent is afflicted by poison.  Salazzle knew Toxic.  Salandit knew Venoshock.  Because both opponents were faster than any of my underleveled pokemon, I lost my next two without even scoring a hit.  Salazzle would use Toxic, Sanandit would use Venoshock, and my pokemon would be knocked-off in one hit.

The only pokemon that even had a chance was Pako Pako, who miraculously survived Venoshock.  My partner retaliated with its Hydro Vortex Z-move!!

Salazzle surprised me with its strength.  It clung on and survived (barely) the ultimate water move.

And thus it was that foreboding became foreshadowing.  I was given my first loss.

The Wela Volcano Park Trial

After my requisite amount of side-questing to fill in my pokedex, I made my way to the base of the Wela Volcano.  Ash hung in the air--the taste of carbon and sulfur on my cracked lips.  Nothing could live in this hot, poisoned place, I thought to myself.  Nothing but...

Salandit...

I think that Hawlucnha and Greninja may have been my favorite new pokemon from the 6th generation.  I mean, I did like Dragalge--but I never really had much of an opportunity to appreciate it since it was on my team for such a short time.  Salandit might be the one from this generation that really sticks with me.  I've been fond of them all so far--but something about this Poison/Fire lizard is really getting me excited.

The addition of my newly captured Salandit (named Sassy Sally) completes my Water, Grass, Fire core, so my ragtag pokemon team might finally be considered to be well-rounded.  I'm not going to be using Bagon much for probably the next island or two.  I'll take him out whenever I go on a pokemon-catching spree, but for now, I'm considering him to be simply "in training, non-active"--a lot like Ash's Charizard who was off training in the Charicific Valley until Ash needed him in the Unova finals.  Until Bagon learns Dragon Claw, he's more-or-less just filler--and my team does  not  need filler.

I picked up a Pink Nectar item along my route.  The pokemon Oricorio is a pokemon whose form and type changes based on what nectar it is allowed to sip.  Since I'm currently vacationing on Akala Island, I decided to allow Ori-Chan to take the form of the locals.  I have Yellow Nectar with me to switch her back if necessary, but "when in Rome"--amiright?

At the very top of the mountain, I met Captain Kiawe.  He said that his trial would be unlike any of the others that I had yet experienced.  I would need to rely on my powers of observation.  Ooh, so cryptic!  What he meant by this was that I had to play the easiest and silliest three-round memory game of my life. The first round was a "spot the difference between the fire-dancing Marowaks" sort of thing.  When I chose the Marowak that was different, it attacked.

The second round featured a ridiculous photo-bombing hiker.  Let's see if you can spot the difference...

"Or a coconut!" - Hiker, probably

It all culminated in a sneak attack made by the totem of the mountain, Salazzle...

Look out!  It's right behind you!!!

Current Squad:

Brionne/Pako Pako/lvl 20
Crabrawler/Ppunches/lvl 19
Salandit/Sassy Sally/lvl 20
Oricorio/Ori-Chan/lvl 20
Steenee/Bouncee/lvl19
Sylveon/Sly/lvl 20

On Rotation:
Grimer/Sludj/lvl 20
Misdreavus/Missy/lvl 19
Trumbeak/Pip Pip/lvl 19

Pokedex: 78 caught