(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.)
(3/25/2010)
Too tired after Lorien last night to do any Poke-ing. But I did have over 3,000 steps -- and when I activated the Pokeradar, I only saw Paras. Which MIGHT mean that the Group A Pokemon for this stroll is Wobbuffet, who is the rarer one. That would mean, in turn, that I need to rack up 4,000 steps today so I can try to catch one. Maybe I can walk around my allergists' building or something?
I also owe Petty a Buneary with Sky Uppercut, to trade for that Spinarak Sunday. Luckily I'll be breeding in Pearl, and Hitmonchan get Sky Uppercut at lvl 36, plus all the elemental punches at lvl 31. Ah, but wait -- if I'm going to tutor Bounce instead of levelling two Buneary to lvl 46, I need to breed in Platinum, where I might not have a Hitmonchan. Graaaaah. Oh well, will make it work somehow. I'm thinking Sky Uppercut, Bounce, Ice Punch, and some interesting TM.
(3/26/2010)
Caught my Wobbuffet last night, though I needed over 5000 steps to do it. Today's stroll is on the Rugged Road, where the selection of the day includes Onix, Geodude, and not sure what the group B one will be.
Also booted Team Rocket out of Slowpoke Well -- Executive Proton was surprisingly weak -- then went for the Azalea Gym. Their bugs burned nicely as expected, with the exception of Bugsy's Scyther. Switching out Cynder for Rocky did the trick though. Then I ventured far enough into Ilex to find the missing Farfetch'd and get Cut (need to remember to pick up the Charcoal from the kiln apprentice). So I'm now at the point where I need the event Pichu for Ilex. All the core team are now trying to evolve (except Cynder, who's holding the Everstone).
I also need to decide what I want to do with Izzel's moveset. The original Izzel from Silver had Cut, Swift, Quick Attack, and Fury Swipes -- a theme of quickness, accuracy, and slashing claws. But I'll need someone on the team to learn Headbutt, shortly. I'd wanted her to learn Slam, but Headbutt is nearly as good and more accurate. Cut is a natural replacement for Scratch. But Fury Swipes? why did I keep such a pathetic attack? I see from Bulbapedia that back in GII they didn't learn much after that (Swift was a TM, and this was back when it was a kickass attack). In fact, they STILL don't learn much of use beyond Slam at 19. And she's already got Quick Attack and Fury Swipes, so maybe I teach her Cut and then just replace Swift with something. Again, it's nostalgia vs. utility. [no. I forgot the kind of damage Fury Swipes can do in a fast Pokemon with a high Attack. Izzel totally rocks the Fury Swipes, as the original Silver one must have.]
Maybe I could teach Headbutt to Rocky instead. I already stuck him with Rock Smash. This creates its own problem, though, because that puts two field moves on a Pokemon I am not planning to keep on the team. ...y'know, though. Making him a Steelix might not be a bad idea; they get Crunch later, and they're Steel/Ground, so Dig would be super-effective. Hmmm.
The essential conundrum here is the nostalgia thing. Do I duplicate my Silver team move-for-move, even though the GII learnsets were so limited? Or do I give up on straight duplication, and go for the newer better moves in GIV? I suspect that the answer is somewhere in the middle....keep signature moves/themes, but replace what just doesn't make sense. I can't just ignore the new attacks, after all. Goodness knows my Blue-redo team in LG didn't end up much resembling their forebearers.
The original Cynder had Swift, Rollout, Flame Wheel, and Flamethrower, all of which they still learn. The only HM they can learn is Cut. Think I'll go for nostalgia here....or maybe, replace Flame Wheel with Lava Plume?
The original Sheepish had Strength, Flash, Thundershock, and Thunder. I usually do end up putting Strength on my Electric types, so that's fine. But Flash? I suspect I needed that to get through Victory Road, and I would much rather keep Thunder Wave. Thunder is still the most powerful attack they learn, but now they can also get interesting stuff like Discharge, Signal Beam, and Power Gem. ...heh. If Faros were an Ampharos, he'd totally have those last two. But for Sheepish I think I'll do Strength, Thunder Wave, Discharge (i.e. an upgraded version of Thundershock), and Thunder.
Hootie's moveset doesn't really matter much, since moves aren't used on the Pokewalker, but I can probably do a close dupe of his original Silver moveset; I don't think Nightmare is available anymore though.
It'll be a while before I get my Natu, so I can worry about that when I get there....plus, since I didn't raise one last time, I can do what I want. Natu should learn Miracle Eye, though; this removes Dark's immunity to Psychic attacks. They also get Night Shade and Teleport pretty early. After evolving, Xatu can also learn Fly and Defog...no Headbutt though. Teleport can be replaced with Fly (which is essentially Teleport with the choice of destination), then the rest can be Miracle Eye, Night Shade, and Psychic.
Oh, but what about my prospective Spinarak? ...actually, they don't learn much either in terms of level-up moves, aside of Night Shade, and don't learn any HM moves either. But they can learn Flash and Dig (sadly, not Headbutt). Signal Beam can be tutored, in the Frontier Front for BP in SS, or by the Survival Area tutor for two of each shard in Pt. Given the Bug/Poison combo, Toxic would be a natural choice as well. Note that they also learn Spider Web, which keeps the target from escaping or switching out; this is one of two Bug moves they learn by level-up.
I gotta say, the necessity of Flash is really annoying. As is the fact that there's so darn many field moves, when only a few are really useful enough to keep around all the time (like Fly or Surf).
(3/29/2010)
And after all that, when I got to Ilex Forest and met the Headbutt guy, the only team Pokes I had with me were Cynder, Rocky, and Izzel, because of having to clear the party for the two Pichus. So, Izzel got Headbutt, and I let her evolve since she's got that instead of Slam. Might have to throw Rock Smash on her too someday....too many dang HMs and field moves.
On the plus side, I did pick up the special notch-eared Pichu. And bred a wacky Buneary with Sky Uppercut, Bounce, Ice Punch, and Solarbeam for Petty, and got a Spinarak Egg in return. Since it hatched male, it got named Chet. It's got no special moves, just what they get at lvl 1, but I'm going to take it out to the early Routes and train it. Can pick up Apricorns and take the notch-eared Pichu by Prof. Elm's while I'm at it.
On the not-so-plus side, breeding that Buneary took an awfully long time, seeing as I had yet to get up to the Survival Area in Platinum. And while I was levelling stuff up I made the decision -- unwise, in retrospect -- to go catch my Shaymin as per Oak's Letter. However, this turned out to be on Rt. 224, and for that I had to truck through the back end of Victory Road, and doing that got me stuck with Marley. In fog. So getting through there took longer than it needed to. But I did catch my Shaymin and named her Petunia, and Corwin did help me move stuff over to SS. He also gave me an Egg containing a Wooper with Surf, Earthquake, and Blizzard, bred I think from the Quagsire from the previous trainer's game.
All this Poke-ing, though, meant I didn't get in much walking. I did walk up to the Paradise 7-11 for some milk, but even that little walk had me panting for breath. I tried to offset this by stepping in place during episodes of SGU, but I can't do that for more than five minutes, either. So I ended up with maybe 3000 steps for the entire weekend, which meant I didn't get any Group A Pokemon from Beautiful Beach.
Also need to send Jirachi to the Pokewalker to unlock Edge of the Night Sky. And there's an event Saturday for a Pokemon group on dA, where everyone brings five Eggs, and trades them with everyone else so that everyone ends up with five Eggs. I know I've got stuff I can run off in Pearl, so I'm thinking of attending....I love the random mystery Egg trade idea.
Anyway. Need to do some walking today, and maybe fire up the Wii to get in a half hour of SOME kind of exercise. D: Maybe spring for Wii Fit Plus, or Wii Sports Resort? Also need to return that cart of FR....
(3/30/2010)
V starts up again tonight. And SGU starts up again Friday, and Deadliest Catch on Tues Apr 13. WHOO
Have been training Chet (have to check if his name should actually be Chester? can't remember) diligently outside New Bark Town, and he's finally getting to where he can hold his own against the weaker Pokes there. Took the notch-eared Pichu to show Prof. Elm, who talked about time travel and Celebi and that this Pichu had surely travelled too much through time so take extra good care of it. So of course I dumped it in the PC and went back to training. ;P
Managed over 5,000 steps yesterday despite the rain -- took the long way 'round the building, walked up 7 floors of the parking garage, and did a LOT of running in place while catching up with the season finale of Caprica. Caught a Poliwhirl, a Slowpoke, and a Staryu off the Pokewalker.
Also signed up for the Poke-fanclub's Easter Egg Scramble, despite having to join the group to do it, and also despite the fact that I'll be at a hotel on Saturday, which means re-configuring WiFi. I should look for a hotel and make sure to get one with wireless internet...
Tonight I wanna train Chet some more, pick up Apricorns along my way back to Azalea, and then see if I can't get to Goldenrod. This will get me Daycare access, and hopefully GTS access too. And I'll need to look over my breeding pairs in Pearl before this weekend, and see what's interesting for the Scramble.
(3/31/2010)
Holy crap, it's gonna be April already and I haven't done my taxes. O:
Trekked back to Azalea, picking up Apricorns and training Chet as I went. Made it through the rest of Ilex and up to Goldenrod, then spent time running around the town. The layout's basically the same, but the graphics are vastly improved -- the place looks great. I grabbed my Bike, answered a quiz for my Radio Card, fought trainers in the Underground and got the Fashion Case from Ethan, and finally got Izzel properly named. Stopped by the GTS to register my location and upload a Sunkern, in hopes of getting the international trade I need to unlock the Beyond the Sea Pokewalker course. And tried out the new Voltorb Flip game in the Game Corner, which is HORRIFYINGLY addictive.
Surprisingly, Ethan showed up to introduce me to the Day Care couple, who are apparently his grandparents. Given their confusion over where those Eggs keep coming from, it's my guess that they adopted. XD
In Pokewalker news, I think this stroll might have Elekid on it, so I didn't connect the Pokewalker last night, and took a 20-minute walk at lunchtime today. I've already got 3500+ of the 5000 steps I'd need to catch one, if it's there, so I think I can do it. Maybe.
Next goal in the game is to wallop Whitney, and that'll take some preparation. I have verrry bad memories of her Miltank -- between Stomp and Rollout, it's a huge powerhouse, and with Milk Drink, it might be almost impossible to take down. Plus Attract, to mess with the boys. It's lvl 19 so I'd best be at levels around 25. Luckily Sheepish and Izzel are both female; maybe if Sheepish can paralyze it (Lum Berry notwithstanding) then I'd have a chance.
After that I can get the Squirtbottle, and possibly the Berry Planter. Should also nab the Gracidea while I'm there.
(4/1/2010)
Well, THAT was anticlimactic.
In dread of Whitney, I spent time running up north of Goldenrod and fighting trainers along routes and in the National Park to get the team up around lvl 22 before I even set foot in the Gym. Yet, when I actually faced her, her Jigglypuff went down to Izzel in one hit, and Rocky and Sheepish took care of her Miltank without too much trouble. Got the Plain Badge first try, and can now use Strength outside of battle (not that I've found the HM yet).
With that done, I got the Squirtbottle from the Flower Shop, and caught the Sudowoodo. Flora from the Flower Shop was standing there, and gave me the Berry Planters, so during beach trip I might try growing me some Berries since I'll be around to water them. I did bring Petunia by the Flower Shop before doing that, and the lady there didn't react to her; but I ought to go back and try again now that the Sudowoodo has been dealt with.
Spent waaaaay too much time trying the Voltorb Flip. It's much easier to win coins a little at a time if you quit the games while you're ahead, but really dang hard to actually clear a game. Still, I've already got over 1000 coins. I'm saving for a Dratini (now I know where Wyrmling came from, in my Silver game).
Couldn't find an Elekid on the Pokewalker to save my life, even though I easily got 5000 steps yesterday. The book says the chance of them appearing is really really low....so maybe I just rack up as many watts as I can in advance of beach, then walk the Boardwalk to get the steps I need and just keep trying?
(4/2/2010)
Morty more than made up for what Whitney lacked.
In a fit of complacency, fresh from my victory at Goldenrod's gym, I trucked on up to Ecruteak (after a quick stop at the Bug-Catching Contest, where I placed third with a Pinsir). I made the rounds of the town, rescued the Kimono Girl from the Rocket Grunt (winning Surf in the process), and took a turn through the Burned Tower. Trounced my rival, met Euisine, released the legendary beast trio. And then, with no further training or ado, I took on the Ecruteak Gym.
The Mediums went down so easily -- one or two shots of Cynder's Flame Wheel for each Pokemon -- that I got cocky and went right up to Morty. And his lvl 25 Gengar proceeded to one-shot half my team with Shadow Ball. If I hadn't been carrying Petunia, I'd have lost that battle. As it was, I was able to squeak through with most of the team down, Cynder at 1 HP, and Petunia using Synthesis to fend off Curse. T'was not a pretty sight. But I have the Fog Badge, obedience to lvl 50, the ability to use Surf, and the Shadow Ball TM.
Before continuing on to Olivine, I want to check out the Bell Tower in Ecruteak, then head down to the Ruins of Alph to net me some Unown and catch my Natu. I'll need a temp Pokemon to teach Surf to, since I don't have Vermillion yet, but it can't be helped.
I should also check on that Ditto I caught, and see if it has Rocky's moveset. And possibly see about that guard and his Spearow with Mail. And let's not forget that somewhere before 7 PM tomorrow, I need to scrape together five Eggs in Pearl for the Scramble event.
As to the Pokewalker -- I finally caught a couple Elekid, even though I spent over 300 carefully hoarded watts to do it, so I was able to finally end my Suburban Area stroll. Downloaded the Yellow Forest, and when I went in to start a new stroll, I noticed that there was a second page of courses. Night Sky's Edge was right there on that second page. DUH. So, have started that, and will likely transfer stuff back at points tomorrow to rack up Stardusts, which are really really easy to find and will get me some money. WHOO. There's no Pokemon worth the watts on this course except Jigglypuff and Clefairy, which both require 5000 steps. We shall see.
(4/7/2010)
Too much progress to go into detail. I did get a Clefairy off Night Sky's Edge, and won enough coins at Voltorb Flip to net me a Dratini to use as my temp Surfer (since she's female I am duping Aquamarine from Blue instead of Wyrmling from Silver). Delivered that Spearow, and the Ditto did not have Rocky's moveset. Also got down to the Ruins after getting Surf and caught Peya, my Natu.
However, ComfortInn's WiFi was set to pop up a terms and conditions page, which prevented the DS from being able to connect. So, even though I'd bred Eggs for the Scramble, I couldn't participate. I even tried walking down to Somerset St to try the municipal WiFi, but with no luck. I've offered them as WiFi prizes for the club.
I tried the Yellow Forest course, but found that I'm not yet in shape enough to walk 10K steps. Mostly I just kept the Watts, since I spent more time cycling than walking (yay bannana bikes). I didn't do any Berry growing at all, despite my best intentions.
Got over to Cianwood and beat that Gym, which was also harder than I'd expected, and brought back the SecretPotion for Amphy. But my first attempt at the Olivine Gym was a complete disaster, so much so that I just switched off the DS rather than lose yet more money. The team's levels just aren't high enough, and preventing them from evolving is starting to bite me in the ass. Peya and Chet are also just weaker than they should be for their levels. I'm going to have to do some serious levelling before taking on Jasmine again -- get Cynder up to learning Flamethrower so he can evolve, and maybe go in there with Petunia as well.
Unfinished tasks include catching a good Krabby to trade that one guy, and getting enough Oran Berries to heal the farm's Miltank. I foolishly started feeding her all my Oran Berries without growing more, and guess what! I didn't have enough. Gonna have to net some off the Pokewalker and grow them -- according to Serebii, they appear with 50% probability on Refreshing Field between 300 and 500 steps.
And another thing: Before leaving for OC I swung by the Catonsville GameStop to exchange that FR cart. Turned out that the cartridge was an illegal hack -- as in, not even made by Nintendo! I should have spotted it -- the cartridge was clear red, not solid; and the version name printing was different. However, they did have a real FR cartridge, so I was able to exchange. Even better (from my viewpoint) there's virtually nothing already on the game. Just a gibberish-named Charmeleon and some common low-level Pokes in the party...the PC is empty. The only standout items are a Star Piece and a Moon Stone.
So I'll just trade out the Charmeleon and the Star Piece, and re-start. Pick my new Irving, get to Viridian, then breed another Farfetch'd (and thankfully the parents are already set up, so this won't take long) and trade it over. That way I'll have a Flying type going into Viridian Forest, and can Peck the heck outta all those bugs. It'd be nice to have something else as insurance, just to get me through Mt. Moon, but I may just see if I can blitz through there with only the two? Maybe I just need to invest in some Repels. Hopefully the new Slither won't be as fragile, and I can get back to Vermillion without too much trouble.
