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Part 4: The Curator
Route 3 Spring
We've still got a chunk of route left, so let's fight some Patrat or Purrloin or whatever these trainers have.
Woah, a new Pokemon, what are the chances? Blitzle is an interesting Pokemon due to starting off well enough, despite leaning physical, it can use special attacks pretty effectively and gets some interesting coverage in Flame Charge early. However for most of the game your most reliable STAB will be Spark or, uh, Stomp, which is the first time I think I've said that. And it has to be a mixed attacker due to getting fuck all for coverage, with Pursuit being its only other option, TMs do very little until evolution. It also falls over if a Ground type looks at it while not being able to do too much in return.
I was so overwhelmed by your greatness that I forgot everything I learned! I need to keep my wits during a battle.
That dark grass over there... every now and again, two Pokemon will pop out at the same time. In other words, you have to be careful in the darker grass. I'm heading on to Nacrene City.
"depending on their Trainer's style."
Tristan can only Lick so many times before getting bodied by Gust so best to switch.
I feel sorry for Pokemon when they lose because their Trainer lacks skill... a Trainer has a huge responsibility.
Strong Wild Pokemon
On the one Pokemon I didn't want to faint! So darker grass is a cool feature, but won't really see much use. Pokemon in the darker grass are higher level and lets you get into as many wild double battles as you want, though like Gen 4 you can only throw the ball as your first action at the last Pokemon standing. Wild Pokemon have the same encounter rate between the two grasses, but come at higher levels, 2 in earlygame, 5 in lategame, making them useful if you want to add them to your team or evolve them faster. And of course double battles let you encounter twice as many mons so it is useful searching.
"Its mane shines when it discharges electricity. They use their flashing manes to communicate with one another."
Thankfully this section isn't long so I don't have to go back far to revive Corazon.
Least there's no grass for kids to walk through to school.
The only way Purrloin can get STAB rn is through Assist, lol movesets!
I'm mastering the lesson in three dimensions by experiencing it like this!
Thank you for not using a Rock move.
I know all kinds of things! Like if you walk through swaying tall grass, you might find a cool Pokemon!
Hey like one of these!
Ah, the exp pinata, the main reason I'm using more than 6 Pokemon is because it's relatively easy to grind up, even if it's not particularly necessary. One thing I haven't mentioned is how exp now scales to level, so it's really easy to train low level Pokemon. It's just not that noticable until you get your first badge and can get rustling grass, resulting in finding Audino in basically every grass patch in the region. Experience yield is no longer capped at 255, with Audino reaching 390! Chansey has 395, while Blissey has 608 for comparison. Audino go as high as level 50 so you can easily level up anything you want, even if you're above its level.
Oh? ...you want to know how it works in battle? Suuuuuuuuuure. Because the developers intend you to fight so many Audino, its movepool reflects that, sure you can teach it basically any TM you want, though you won't get far with those base stats, hoo boy! Its level up movepool also doesn't help, its best STAB is Pound until Secret Power at 20 and lategame Audino really want to help you with Heal Pulse, After You and Simple Beam, so Take Down is the best you'll get until the end of the game. Without TMs, it has no way of hitting Ghost types and will get Double-Edge at 50 specifically so you can knock it out faster. You could catch one, but man, think about the exp you just wasted!
"It touches others with the feelers on its ears, using the sound of their heartbeats to tell how they are feeling."
Oof that hurts to do, but I've got to catch at least one! Still, this will be useful in getting a team member up to speed, or some lategame evolving if I don't want to hack in Rare Candy for some reason. Anyway, let's see what else is in the rustling grass!
"It is very intelligent and calm. Being exposed to lots of sunlight makes its movements swifter."
"It fights using the scalchop on its stomach. In response to an attack, it retaliates immediately by slashing."
Like these! Okay so I hacked these in, but there are an interesting variety of Pokemon we can catch through the rustling grass, such as Musharna in the Dreamyard, seriously! Since most of the time they're a 5% encounter, I've decided not to bother with the rare evolutions, but there will be a fair few rustling encounters we'll get!
Gate.
Nacrene City
Give your Pokemon a Chesto Berry to hold. Then, if it ever falls asleep, it will wake up immediately. Oh, and another piece of advice--Nacrene City's Gym Leader uses Normal types. If you have a Fighting-type Pokemon, it might give you a big advantage.
Net Balls are always nice to have, let's explore a new city.
Nacrene City: A Pearl of a Place"
From nacreous clouds, polar clouds, iridescent due to nitric acid, and derived from nacre, the material of pearls.
Shippou City: Shippou is the Seven Treasures.
From 七宝文 shippō-mon, a pattern of interlocking circles, 七宝 shippō, Saptaratna, the seven treasures referenced in Buddhist texts, which are gold, silver, crystal, pearl, agate, coral and lapis lazuli, and 七宝焼 shippō-yaki, cloisonné, an ancient technique of decorating metalwork objects.
Lots of fancy apartments here that cost a fortune and are freezing in the winter, perfect to set up my gaming space, complete with greenscreen and memorabilia shelves.
Maybe one day I'll use these... nahhhhhhh
Wow! Coooooool! You collect Pokemon! OK! I'll help you. Which Pokemon did you choose at the beginning of your journey? Do you have Tepig? You have Tepig! Then I will give you this! When you let your Pokemon hold it, it can raise the power of Fire-type moves!
A lot of items have effects when Pokemon hold them, so try to find them! Well, work hard to fill up your Pokedex! Good luck!
Definitely worth picking Tepig up for a nice chunk of cash. Not that we'll really need it, but I guess we can hold it.
Slowly but surely we're collecting all we need to tackle the second Gym, mainly because Normal Gyms are usually hard as fuck.
Nacrene City Accordion
Little more overpowering than other instruments we've seen so far, but still good.
Even I found this glitch when I first got this game... bought it right after school... played it while I was waiting for the bus... man that was a decade ago.
Our cafe has a special on Wednesdays! Here, have a Soda Pop! Enjoy the taste of our speciality!
I think this is the first time I've gotten the house special, what can I say, don't tend to remember Wednesdays.
But I'm stuck now... I just can't come up with a good design. I've been thinking about Decor so great that it will appear in a dream...
Well that's obviously for the Dream World, RIP, you can get various Decor to, well, decorate your Dream House and after connecting with the Dream World, Loblolly designs 1 new Decor for you to unlock each day when you next use Game Sync. This includes the Design Table, Design Stool, Flower Vase, Cuddle Rug and Wall Poster.
There will be more notable Decor to talk about later, otherwise it's mostly whatever.
What the fuck are you talking about?
That's it for the city, I think we're ready, so it's Gym time!
The One Who is Captivated by Equations
GAH
The truths of Pokemon inside Pokeballs. The ideals of how Trainers should be. And a future where Pokemon have become perfect...
What the fuck are you talking about?
Huh. I expected more from you. Now pay attention. My friends and I will test you to see if you can see this future, too.
N Battle
It's N again, he's picked up some new mons since we last saw him.
We'll have this move for a while...
Evenin' eyebrows, Tympole is a good Water alternative if Oshawott didn't shake your fancy, it starts off pretty damn good with early Bubblebeam and Mud Shot and evolves somewhat early to use the latter as STAB. It'll also learn Uproar shortly before evolving and Muddy Water shortly after, so it remains pretty good throughout. It has some physical issues, but with equal attacking stats its impressive special moves it learns through level keep it perfectly competitive. When it gets TMs and later moves like Drain Punch it really starts to shine, but it's great even before then. Its overall bland stats don't mean it'll rock the world and it also really doesn't like Grass moves, as fragile as it is.
Not gonna attack? Well okay then. Timburr is Unovan Machop, but has enough interesting distinctions, such as early Rock Throw! This means it's not reliant on Rock Tomb for coverage like so many before it, though the best Fighting move it'll get for a loooooong time is Wake-Up Slap, which is perfectly passable. It'll learn Chip Away for passable Normal coverage, but otherwise Poison Jab is as varied as you get from TMs, still if that's all you need it for, then it'll do you great. Needs to be traded for the fullest potential, but even Gurdurr rocks enough Atk to outclass some of your other physical attacks, at the expense of its other stats. It'll definitely be slow, but hit hards when it counts, especially for some upcoming fights.
Right now, my friends aren't strong enough to save all Pokemon. Maybe I can't solve the equation that will change the world. So, I need power... power enough to make anyone agree with me.
The legendary Pokemon that, along with the hero, created the Unova region. It's my turn to become that hero--and you and I will be friends!
...aaaaaaaaanyway, it's Gym time!
Gimme like 8 updates.
Welcome! I'm Hawes, the assistant director. Since you were kind enough to visit, I'll give you a tour of the museum.
There's a theory that it had an accident while it was flying around the world, and so it became a Fossil.
Right.
Uh huh.
It was found near the desert, but other than the fact that it's old, it doesn't seem to have any value... we only display it because it's rather pretty to look at.
Quite.
At the end of the Gym, a very strong and kind Gym Leader is waiting. By the way, the Gym Leader Lenora happens to be my wife!
Nice.
Interesting things in this museum, now to ignore them for the rest of the game like all the other museums.
Pokemon Gym
It has a great atmosphere, doesn't it? So... I will give this to you!
This is just between you and me... Normal-type Pokemon are weak against Fighting-type Pokemon. Around here, Fighting-type Pokemon show up around Pinwheel Forest. Now, I will explain about the Gym itself! In this Pokemon Gym, if you answer questions hidden in books, you can move forward. For your information, the first book is "Nice to Meet You, Pokemon." If you don't know where the book is, please ask anyone!
I'll warn you now... I am strong because I spend the entire day either reading books or training Pokemon.
Hard hitter and boosts his Speed, Hamlet is only just getting started.
My first recommendation is a book called "Nice to Meet You, Pokemon." The bookshelves for children's books are close to the entrance.
Nice to Meet You, Pokemon: It's a fairy tale about a little boy who met a Pokemon for the first time in his life. He is with a small brown Pokemon. There is a memo between the pages...
I hid four memos in this library. Each of them has a question. Can you solve the questions and come find me? Now, this is the first question! Q: What is the first Pokemon you met in this Gym? The hint is... on a bookshelf in the middle row! Now try to find it!
You've found a memo already, and you're looking for a book about Pokemon? Tee hee! In fact, I am also reading a book about Pokemon. It's about Tepig.
Duh, yup!
Tee hee! What a pity! The first Pokemon you met in this Gym was not Tepig! Try to remember the Pokemon you battled at the entrance of the Gym. There's a hint on the bookshelf to the left!
The Biology of Patrat: It describes the biology of Patrat. They communicate with each other by movement of their tails. A Patrat raises its tail when it sees an enemy. There is a memo on the back cover...
As I thought, that question was easy. Well, this is the second question! Q: Flame burns inside its body, and it gives off smoke from its head while it runs... what is this book? The hint is... somebody may be reading it.
Oh! Did you find the memo and come here to look for this book? I'm reading a book called "The Structure of a Locomotive." Is this book the correct answer? Oh! That is correct! "Flame burns inside its body, and it gives off smoke from its head while it runs." That's exactly how a locomotive looks! Well, I'll let you read this book. But, before that... it would be great for my research if we had a Pokemon battle.
Aye laddie, Herdier is perfectly good inbetween to the proper mustache dog. Take Down makes it pretty fragile, but it can get shored up by Intimidate, if you went for that option, while an early Crunch gives a nice power boost to breeze to an relatively early evolution, as far as this region goes. Otherwise nothing too notable about the path to Stoutland, the only other coverage you could really get is Rock Smash or, ugh, Rock Tomb, though Return is a great option to sidestep Take Down's recklessness.
Don't think I would've soloed that without the Burn, Herdier doesn't one shot Hamlet with Take Down, but it's real close! But hey, two levels, you know what that means!
Just in time, babyyyyyyy, though this was something I was gonna gun for regardless of Hamlet's level. After all, Lenora is super scary, so we need all the advantages we can.
This is a book about a locomotive. Flame burns inside its body, and it gives off smoke from its head while it runs by using steam power! There is a memo on the back cover...
It's impressive you found this place! That's what I'd expect from a challenger like you! Well, this is the third question! Q: If you heat it up in a pot, it'll be delicious. What is this? The hint is on a bookshelf closer to the entrance than here!
The answer's not Tepig. Clearly. Yeah. ...right?
It describes sweets made by heating Berries in a pot. There are sweets called "Poffins" made from Berries in the faraway Sinnoh region, and Pokemon love them! There is a memo on the cover...
Did you manage to get here without being tricked by the questions? Now, this is the last question! Q: From this bookshelf... move two backward, move one to the left, move two forward, move one to the right, and move one backward... now, where is it? The hint is... find it by yourself!
OK. I'll give you the last question! "Can you challenge the Gym Leader if you win against me?" Tee hee! That is correct! Well, here we go, Trainer!
See, Tristan is barely able to hold his own, what a good Pokemon.
Giz a kiss luv
You'll meet the Gym Leader soon. This is the last book. Now! Read the last book!
The Biology of Tepig: It describes the biology of Tepig. Flame burns inside its body, and it gives off flame from its nostrils. When it's not well, it can give off only smoke. There is a memo between the pages!
You've managed to get here. Well done! You seem to have wisdom as well as strength! I look forward to our battle! Gym Leader Lenora
We're gonna need to go back and heal. While we do that, you should have enough experience to evolve your starter, so let's go over them, I hoped you're ready!
Alright, you got Leaf Tornado, hope you like that move cause it's all you'll get for a long time. Growth and Leech Seed can help Servine be a moderate attacker with Slam giving you something to work with later on. Leaf Blade at 32 is such a blessing, but that's still a long while away yet. If you were hoping for TMs to save you, well Return is as good as you're gonna get, it has some tools and will be just fine, but there are plenty other mons that will surpass it in no time.
FIRE/FIGHTING! How does this keep happening? Well it works to our benefit here, since Pignite hits damn hard, though Arm Thrust isn't exactly great. It can fix its middling Speed with Flame Charge to really start sweeping, but with Smog and Rollout as upcoming moves it really, uh, fucking sucks without TMs, its high Atk stat basically carrying. It learns a wide variety of moves, but they're mostly lategame though some options like Bulldoze and Low Sweep will pop up before evolution. It only really does one thing, but maybe that's all you need.
Razor Shell in hand, crit the world. Dewott is relatively one note until later when you get better coverage, which I guess Revenge counts as, but Fury Cutter does not. Water Pulse gives you some utility as well as Aqua Jet just before evolving, but Scald will be the real prize, and hey maybe even Grass Knot? You're also waiting until you get Surf anyway and there's nothing else to really mention, so on we go.
"When its internal fire flares up, its movements grow sharper and faster. When in trouble, it emits smoke."
Let's see how this goes...
The director of the Nacrene Museum and the Nacrene Gym's Leader is me! Lenora! Well then, challenger, I'm going to research how you battle with the Pokemon you've so lovingly raised!
Gym Leader Battle
Lenora: An Archeologist with Backbone
From lore and orare, Latin for speak.
Aloe: Natural-born mama 
From aloe, the plant genus, but more specifically aloe vera, or true aloe, used for pharmaceutical purposes.
Well you did what you could Corazon, honestly the recoil was the most important part. Before we get to the scary Pokemon, we first need to get past this scary Pokemon. Your team is probably just starting to shape up, so here's a doggy to shit all over that with Take Down.
Crisis in Battle
Tristan barely survives a hit, nice! Oh yeah this is the first time I can clearly show off the low health music. It's... alright, like it's cool when you first hear it but it kinda gets old fast, especially when it plays over better tracks. Interesting idea, but I'm glad they dropped it.
Alright, now for the actual threat!
Leader's Last
Nice going, Purrloin! Because of STAB Retaliate, you need a sacrifice on the turn Watchog comes out, it'll one shot basically anything that isn't Roggenrola.
That was lucky, don't need to deal with its bullshit! Watchog is absolutely terrifying... in this battle alone. Being an early game boss is never great for long term viability, and hey it has less Atk than Pignite! That's not good. It can do some weird support with Hypnosis and Super Fang and will even learn Hyper Fang in like 12 levels, but while it has the TM freedom afforded to it by its typing, it'll never do anything all that amazing due to it capping out so low. Sure, you could solo the game with it, Pokemon is an easy game for babies, but that doesn't mean it's good!
Just prepare for the Gym battle against it and then it won't trouble you again, there's nearby Fighting types to breeze you past this, Roggenrola earlier on, Chesto Berries from Cheren, and your starter should be evolved to at least tank some hits. You'll be just fine, I wasn't worried specifically because of Hamlet being such an easy counter, but Servine can take some hits and Growth past it, while Dewott can crit with Razor Shell and even Rock Smash with the nearby TM, easy peasy.
You're more than just talented... you're motivated! I salute you! Your fighting style is so enchanting. It is charming. You are a Pokemon Trainer worthy of receiving this Basic Badge!
If you have two Badges, traded Pokemon up to Lv. 30 will obey you. Here, I also want you to have this TM.
Retaliate does a lot more damage if an ally fainted the turn before you use it. If you master the timing, you can defeat even strong opponents.
Here Comes Trouble!
Team Plasma is threatening to steal some bones!
What? What's going on?! Touya! You come, too!
I'm in charge now! Okay there's one thing about Lenora we need to bring up, as seen in her JP description. Surprise surprise, a bunch of middle aged nerdy Japanese men are pretty fucking racist. Hmm, well, that's actually racist in itself, but you know what I mean! It wasn't out of malice, Lenora is a real cool character, but having your first black person in the series have artwork like this, it's a pretty poor start. Still, it's wonderful to see more representation, it was sorely lacking.
Oh! The Gym Badge!! Congratulations! So, the museum! Oh, no. What shall we do?!
Plasma Encounter
We, Team Plasma, claim this museum's Dragon Skull in the name of Pokemon liberation! To show you we're serious, we'll steal it right before your eyes!
Ah dammit, my accuracy was reduced by 25%!
Oh! Oh! We have to go after them! Lenora loves that skull...
Nacrene City
This is a surprise visit! Are you suffering from artist's block again? Touya! This is Burgh. He may not look like it, but he's Castelia City's Gym Leader!
...eh? Just looking for a change of pace. Seems hectic or something around here. What's up?
What's up?! Someone just walked away with an exhibit, that's what's up!
And these two are...? Your friends? ... ... Bianca and Cheren... oh, I see. They're Trainers. OK, then. Let's split up and search. I'll head this way.
Everyone! Cheren and Bianca, I want you to stay here at the museum. Burgh and Touya, you two search Pinwheel Forest. Got it? Burgh, you show the way! I'm counting on you, everyone!
Uh-huh. You are... Touya, is it? Are you raring to round up our robbers?
Oh! Oh, Touya! Take this with you! Fennel gave me this Dowsing Machine to give you.
Now, what did she tell me? Um... you can use the Dowsing Machine to find places where items are hidden. So you can find stuff you can't even see!
For now, all we need to do is protect the museum, right?
Hey, wait for me!
I think I'd better stay here, though. Please head to Pinwheel Forest and search very carefully!
So I can't battle the Gym Leader because of Team Plasma, huh... what a bother.
The Dowsing Machine is super good in this game, while you could use HGSS's version while moving, you had to basically glue your stylus to the bottom screen to make it work, this one moves all by itself. Of course, you have to close it if you want to use the menu, but using the Select menu can help avoid some of that. Since you can't register the Pokemon screen there's no way around that, but it's still super useful.
"Here, this might come in handy!"
It is super effective against Normal-type Pokemon, which Gym Leader Lenora likes!
Thankfully we don't need to lug this move around anymore, only useful for the Gym, that's about it.
If they manage to scuttle off into the forest, we might have trouble.
Next time, we will definitely head straight for Team Plasma and will absolutely not get distracted forty times along the way.