(note: next chunk pasted from the original "pokeplans" file on my work computer. Dates left as-is rather than attempting to create back-dated blog entries for each.)
(4/9/2010)
Realtor guy had a contract on the house already on Wednesday and it took forever for him and Dad to get through initialing and signing it all, so too tired and late for anything afterwards. Hootie spontaneously found me an Oran Berry, though. I should grow some this weekend, so I can wrap that sideplot up in SS.
Last night, despite being TURNED AWAY for Xolair after driving all the way up to the allergist's, I got FR restarted. Traded out the starter and a Rattata, holding the Star Piece and a Moon Stone respectively. Then went to breed Norton the second, and it took FIVE TRIES to get a male. ARGH. With that done, though, I finally started my new FR game, got to Viridian, and traded Norton in. For insurance, I did catch another Mankey -- I remember that I was going to name the female I'd had in the last game Scorn, so I did that. Got Irving up to lvl 10 and the other two to lvl 8, then marched off to trigger my second rival battle, which was harder than I expected. Still won though, and the next step will be to get through Viridian Forest and take down the Pewter Gym.
The Forest will probably level Norton past where he'll listen to me until I can get to Misty, but with the Mankey to get me through Mt. Moon, that should be okay. I dunno that I'll bother to look for a Pikachu this time -- if one appears I'll catch it, but otherwise, eh. Likewise with Metapod and Kakuna. It's faster to do a few rotating trades than it is to wander endlessly through grass searching for stuff, and at my fourth turn through Kanto, I'm really just looking for speed.
(4/13/2010)
Some progress in both games. Grew me some Oran Berries on Saturday between oysters, visit to house, and an hour's walk around Centennial Lake (which wore me out just as much as the hour's walk on the Boardwalk). Fed the Miltank, got my Seal Case, traded for that Krabby, and wrapped up Olivine. Also got through the bit with the Lake of Rage, and Team Rocket's hideout in Mahogany, but have not yet tried for the Mahogany Gym (which will let me use Whirlpool). Nor did I venture into Mt. Mortar. But I did catch Vermillion, with an out-loud "welcome back." 8D And Sheepish now has Strength, as she ought to.
As for FR, I got through Viridian Forest, swept through the Pewter Gym, and headed out towards Mt. Moon but didn't yet go in. I even managed to catch a Pikachu and a Jigglypuff without too much searching, so my 'dex is getting reasonably filled out. So far I've been able to manage with just Irving, Norton, and Scorn; though at lvl 12 Norton is starting to disobey me. If Irving and Scorn can get me through Mt. Moon, then maybe I can hit the Cerulean Gym before trying to catch another Slither so that Norton will listen to me again. Then I can train Slither up to match the team, clean out Rt. 25, and head for Vermillion, which will catch me up to the previous game. (reading back, I was just about to take on the SS Anne after training Norton when that game poofed.)
Not sure how much of that I'll get done tonight, though, since both V and the new season of Deadliest Catch are on. Might also have an episode of SGU waiting in On Demand. At least I did get my taxes done and filed... And it's raining, plus we're at EOB, so there's nowhere to walk today. I may have to jog during commercials to try and get in at least SOME exercise.
(4/15/2010)
Did laundry, got my exercise by running around the basement, and STILL had time to Poke before my shows -- getting off at 5 really helps! Made a speedy run through Mt. Moon by doing most of the upper level in a few go's, then using an Escape Rope and healing up before the final push. This got me to Cerulean, where I did not wait to catch my Ekans before taking Misty down, so Norton was once again compliant. Then went out to catch my Slither, who is NOT made of glass this time. Did the route up to the cape then headed for Vermillion.
Only, I didn't get Slither up to team level, and spent waaaaay too much time running around Diglett's Cave trying to find a Dugtrio. Apparently the RNG still hates me, 'cause I used up all Irving's attacks while looking. Finally one appeared and I caught it. Also ran out towards the end of Rt. 11 on the vague recollection that one of Prof. Oak's Aides was there, but unfortunately I didn't have the 30 species it would have taken to get the Itemfinder. Gotta buckle down and get Slither up to the point where I can comfortably take on the SS Anne, blow through there, then head for Rock Tunnel. I have an Abra to teach Flash to, and am debating whether to give Dig to Slither, or wait until I've got my Growlithe.
(4/16/2010)
Brought Slither up to speed by going through the rest of the trainers on Rt. 11 east of Vermillion, took down Lt. Surge's Gym, and fought my way through the SS Anne. The rival battle went spectacularly well -- not only was the team quite nicely overlevelled by that point, but Norton's Swords Dance made the whole battle a series of one-shots. With the Thunderbadge, I can now use Fly outside of battle. Normally I wouldn't have the Fly HM at this stage of the game, but thanks to breeding Norton has the move anyway.
Next push will be to get to and through Rock Cave. That'll get me to Lavender, and while I won't be able to do anything about that Snorlax to the south yet, I'll be able to catch my Growlithe (gotta think of a good name). And I can also get the Tea for the thirsty Guards and open up the way though Saffron.
Movesets: I've decided that Dig should go to the Growlithe, and Giga Drain (after I beat Erika in Celadon) to Slither. Poison, as it turns out, seems to be weak against Ground, so having a Grass attack in his moveset would help with that. I might also bring over a Sludge Bomb TM from the main Rue cart, since Acid isn't terribly powerful and doesn't poison; and I had been thinking to give Toxic to Irving. I believe I'll go with a moveset of Bite, Dig, Flame Wheel (or Flamethrower if I can buy the TM) and Extremespeed for my future Arcanine.
(4/19/2010)
Rock Cave went fairly quickly, between Irving and Scorn, and I arrived in Lavender. Caught my Growlithe, though it took forever to find a female with the Flash Fire ability, and named her Khamsin (hot desert wind), which enabled me to retire Scorn. First thing after that, I nabbed my Eevee from the Celadon Mansion, then got the Tea and opened up Saffron. Between the trainers on that route, the Celadon Gym, and the Fighting Dojo, plus a passle of wild battles to rack up some EVs, I got the whole team up to lvl 33 (Norton to lvl 37). Taught Dig to Khamsin and Giga Drain to Slither.
So that gives me four out of six of my final team. The next objective is to get the Snorlax out of the way and get to Fuschia, which means getting the Poke Flute from Mr. Fuji, which in turn means getting the Silph Scope from the Team Rocket Hideout in Celadon. I might also try working the Game Corner enough to get Flamethrower for Khamsin, though that'll take 4000 coins -- not chump change.
Haven't done a darn thing in SS -- I'm still standing in front of Pryce's Gym. Didn't get many steps over the weekend due to cramps, either, so haven't caught anything new with the Pokewalker. Probably I'll keep going with the push through Kanto in FR until I get tired of it (most likely when I get impatient with Entei-hunting).
(4/20/2010)
Blew through the Game Corner Hideout and Pokemon Tower and got both Snorlax out of the way. Because the team's so overlevelled, most of the battles were just a series of one-shots, including the rival battle. Everyone's now lvl 35-37.
I also spent some time at the Game Corner and was able to rack up over 4000 coins -- though, now that I think about it, I might put them towards Ice Beam for my prospective Shellder. Or maybe try to win enough for both Ice Beam and Flamethrower; but if I can only have one, it'll be Ice Beam. Should probably take care of that before leaving Celadon.
So the next thing is the push towards Fuschia. Because I always take the waterside route, I'm thinking of going down Cycling Road this time. But I'll still want to grab the Super Rod, run out to Vermillion, and catch me a Shellder first. In fact, why haven't I done that already? D'oh.
Fuschia means the Safari Zone, which will net me a passle o' Pokes, plus Surf. Once I'm done there, I can take the waterside route back up around to Saffron to clear out Silph HQ. Then once Saffron Gym's down (and between Slither and Khamsin having Bite, this should be easy as long as they're properly levelled) it'll be off to Cinnabar. And THIS time I won't ignore Bill when he invites me to the islands.
...Though, it would likely be worth it to take a side-trip down to the Power Plant the moment I do get Surf, and get my Electabuzz. That way I can train it on those water routes.
That makes the plan: Get Super Rod > Catch Shellder > Down Cycling Road to Fuschia > Visit Safari Zone and obtain Surf > Catch Electabuzz at Power Plant > Circle back around to Saffron > Boot Team Rocket out of Silph HQ and get Master Ball > Defeat Sabrina > Head for Cinnibar > Do the Island sidequest.
Got my 5000 steps yesterday with a solid half-hour of walking and netted myself a Smoochum. Today's stroll on Blue Lake does not include either Dratini or Shellder, so I'll want to return and go back out to Blue Lake when I get home. Tonight's also Deadliest Catch and V, so maybe not much Poke-time.
(4/26/2010)
Much progress.
Got the Super Rod and caught my Shellder, a gal who I named Bertha (after Baltimore's "eat Bertha's mussels!" bumper stickers [ forgot that Pearl's hand-raised Cloyster is also named Bertha, oops ]). Bought Ice Beam at the Game Corner, and after levelling her up to get Aurora Beam and Protect, bought a Water Stone and evolved her to a Cloyster. Whereupon I set off down Cycling Road -- didn't fight all the Bikers right away but got to Fuschia.
That got me Surf, which Bertha immediately got taught, and finding the Warden's teeth got me Strength as well. Thus I ran up to the Power Plant and finally netted my Electabuzz, a male named Farraday (need to check spelling on that though). With my E4 team finally assembled, I went down Cycling Road again and took out the rest of the Bikers, then did a few turns through the Safari Zone to fill out my 'dex. Started up the coastal route back to Saffron, but didn't make it through all the trainers because it was getting late. I did get Exp Share, though, which should prove helpful, and the whole team's at lvl 39.
The next thing will be to finish up the coastal route, and to comb through the grass for a Ditto or two. Even though it's only that gang of Bikers and the fence-maze trainers, it could take a while to spot a Ditto. Then it'll be onward to clear the Rockets out of Silph Co. so I can get into the Saffron Gym. This'll also get me the Master Ball.
I've put almost 26 hours on FR so far, so I probably won't beat it in anything near 31 hours, but still. I've nearly got enough 'dex entries to get the Nat'l 'Dex right after the Elite Four, as long as I rescue Lostelle this time. Evolving Irving should do it; and he's got Synthesis now so I've taken away his Everstone. Getting through Silph should take care of levelling him enough to evolve -- in fact everyone should be lvl 40 or over by the time I hit the Gym. Koga gave me Toxic, so I should replace Poisonpowder with that, too.
After completing Saffron, the path will be: Return to Pallet > Surf to Cinnabar > Detour to Islands and rescue Lostelle > Find Gym Key in Cinnabar Mansion > Defeat Cinnabar Gym > Return to Viridian and defeat Gym > Hit the trail to the Pokemon League. I can leave the birds for after the E4, and after going through the Mansion and Victory Road I should have more than enough 'dex entries.
Once I've caught Entei (fingers crossed and knock on wood!) I'll probably transfer all the Berries to Emerald via rotating trades. Items can go to LG for now, and random catches should be Pal Parked (in fact I don't necessarily need to wait until the game is finished, for that). I should also take the opportunity to catch a breeding pair of all the FR exclusives, for transfer to both Emerald and LG.
So, besides that -- I got 5000 or more steps a day for five of seven days last week, along with my half-hour of walking. However, I managed to severely blister my feet by doing 50 minutes barefooted on Heather's and Julie's treadmill. So, won't get my steps for a few days, and will have to debate some other kind of exercise. I've netted a few more Pokes via the PW, but right now am on Night Sky's Edge for the valuable items.
And I actually DID make some progress in SS -- did some training in Mt. Mortar, and defeated Pryce's Gym. That, of course, triggered the call from Prof. Elm that the Rockets have taken over Goldenrod Tower, so that'll be the next task there. Interestingly, that puts both games at about the same point, and the teams at nearly the same levels.
(4/27/2010)
Definitely am not beating FR in my record hours -- I already have over 30 hours on it, and still have several major chunks of story to go.
Wrapped up the coastal route and caught a Ditto (might go back for another later). Then went to Saffron and cleaned out Silph. I'd been thinking it was about time my rival showed up again, and he did; his Gyrados gave me a little trouble but otherwise he went down pretty easily. With the Gym unblocked, I managed to sweep through all the minor trainers just with Slither. Sabrina's Alakazam gave me a LOT of trouble, though. It one-shotted two-thirds of my team by boosting Psychic with Calm Mind, and Farraday only JUST pulled through long enough to hit it with Strength one last time. Still, I got the badge, so that gives me obedience to lvl 70.
From Pallet I turned south, caught a Tangela, then avoided all the trainers on the way to Cinnabar. Bill was nowhere in sight, which means that I will have to get the key from the Mansion and beat Blaine before I can do the Island subquest. Should also go back over the water and take out all those trainers. And I keep forgetting to teach Irving Toxic; though I did finally let him evolve.
(5/3/2010)
Did not get nearly as many steps from Sheep and Wool this weekend as I'd expected. Too many people and more shuffling and standing than actual walking. My feet hurt from the standing but the blisters were OK.
Got through the Cinnibar Mansion, though, and took down most of Blaine's Gym with Khamsin and Dig. That triggered the Island sequence, so I followed Bill down there and rescued Lostelle. Since I was around there anyway, I also trucked out to the cape on Two Island and got Frenzy Plant for Irving. With that done, the next thing was Viridian Gym, which I wasn't levelled enough to tackle. So I spent a bunch of time running around the Power Plant and Cinnabar Mansion, as well as fishing off Cinnibar, to collect more of the FR exclusives. Besides those, you can also catch some final evo's that aren't in LG, like Seadra and Weezing; so I went ahead and nabbed those too.
When I'd caught enough, the team ranged from Norton at lvl 45 to Irving at lvl 50, so I decided to take on the Viridian Gym. Lots of trainers there with large teams, but Bertha Surfed all the Ground-types to oblivion, and Norton handled the fighting types. Bertha took down all of Giovanni's team as well -- I'd held Irving in reserve but didn't even need him. I remembered to pick up the hidden Macho Brace, healed up at the Pokecenter, and saved.
So now all that stands between me and the E4 is Victory Road. That'll give me a chance to fill out my 'dex some more and get my levels up properly. For the E4 themselves, Khamsin and Farraday should take care of Lorelei and Agatha, Bertha and Norton should be good for Bruno, and Bertha and Farraday should be able to take on Lance. Then it's just that last rival battle, and I can grab the Nat'l 'Dex and start Entei-hunting!
(5/4/2010)
Got through Victory Road in just a couple runs. I was able to catch some Ekans and a couple Arbok, though I missed catching a Machamp. Oddly enough, the wild encounters were almost more trouble than the trainers.
That left me at the doorstep of the Elite Four, and got me Fly access to Indigo Plateau. Thing is, the team's still only lvls 47-50, which is too dang low to take on the E4. Training will be required -- I think I've beat the E4 with a lvl 55 team, so I'll aim for that (which, amusingly, should let me have a nice even battle with one of my other teams, while I'm doing my trading).
From there, I should probably start the process of cleaning out the cartridge. Theoretically I should Pal Park all the non-exclusive random catches to Pearl and transfer them to the Ranch....by the time I'm done I might actually have caught Entei.
FR exclusives will go to LG only -- I don't feel like going through the Islands and fixing the dang machine AGAIN. Although maybe it'd be worth it to pick up another Sludge Bomb TM, since I plan to teach that to Slither. Dunno.
I should likely collect the legendary birds as long as I'm at it, though Mewtwo will depend on whether I feel like completing the Islands again. Then it's items/team/specials/exclusives to LG, Berries to Emerald (if I work the rotating trades with the FR exclusives, that'd take care of that, though the machine would have to have been fixed first).
Bah, who am I kidding, I'll probably finish the whole thing again, 'cause I'm me. Maybe I should go Entei-hunting first, and see how I feel about it after I've netted him.
Still. SO CLOSE. And then I can concentrate on SS, after all this is over with.
(5/5/2010)
Note to self: lvl 50 is too dang low to take on the Elite Four, especially with several weaker team members.
Since I was there, I figured I'd give the E4 a try. Not that I expected to win or anything, but whoah were they a LOT harder with the team not properly levelled. I was already in trouble in the first battle, and had to fall back on revives and potions just to keep going. Even so, I made it all the way to the final rival battle, and through most of his Pokemon. I had just two more to take down when he finally got me.
But that gets me thinking. There's no way of telling when you've maxed your EVs in FR/LG, short of trying to feed your Pokemon vitamins, and them having no effect. If I did that, though, and was able to confirm that the team's got its max EVs, then I could level them with the Rare Candies I've been saving. I've already got three games' worth of the dang things, and it sure would be a lot faster. And I lost with a narrow enough margin that just a few more levels should do the trick.
The other thing I should really do before hitting the E4 again is bring over Sludge Bomb for Slither, because Acid sure as heck wasn't cutting it, and Sludge Bomb did a LOT of damage when Agatha's Arbok hit me with it. While I'm at it I could probably trade the FR exclusives for the LG ones, and fill out the 'dex just a bit more.
I do have to say, though, Slither did better than I thought. When my supereffective choice went down (which happened a LOT) I found myself going back to him time and again as the one to throw out there until I could get my other Pokemon revived. Hopefully that won't be necessary next time, and I can one-shot or two-shot most everything.
(5/10/2010)
And the Elite Four are DOWN.
The vitamin idea didn't work, because as it turned out, more than one team member did not have their full EVs. So instead, I ran around a bit in Victory Road and elsewhere to train, then got impatient with that and just fed everyone a Rare Candy and went for it.
At around lvl 53 this is probably the lowest-levelled team that I've ever taken up against the Elite Four. Still, it went a heckuva lot better than last time. I was able to down most of their Pokes in one hit, and only a few really gave me any trouble. Not an easy win, but not as difficult as, say, the E4 were in Platinum.
This is both good news and bad news: I can go Entei-hunting! Which means....going Entei hunting, and all the time and patience that requires. I've only gone at it three or four turns so far, and I'm already tired of it. But I've got to remember, it took weeks of searching to find Suicune and Raikou, and there's no reason to hope that the RNG will be any kinder to me this time around.
On the SS side of things, I booted up long enough to sell some of the Pokewalker goodies and see if my trade went through yet (after what, a couple weeks?), and discovered that Team Rocket are blocking access to the GTS. How dare they! A trouncing is clearly in order.
I also kept Hootie on the cartridge long enough to feed him a Rare Candy and evolve him. At some point I may fix his moveset, but I have to get to Blackthorn first, which means clearing the Rockets out of Goldenrod.
More importantly, I cleared 9,000 steps for the first time! Since the Mt. Airy shop didn't have any Sidewinders to show me, I went by Subaru for a test drive of an Outback, and came to the conclusion that it's more car than I can justify needing. And then I went out to Ellicott City to check out the Short Line #9 trail. I did at least fifteen or twenty minutes each way, for a good 6,000-some steps, then went home and jogged for the other few thousand. Caught a Bouncing Magikarp, a Bronzor, and a Duskull, but did not get the Munchlax with Leftovers. They only have a 5% appearance rate, but I'm fairly sure they're on my current stroll, so I'm going to save up my Watts until I can get 8,000+ steps again.
