(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.)
(1/28/2009)
Should so totally be working on Captivates/documentation.
Progress on the National 'Dex continues. I had wanted to complete it in September, but that didn't happen due to being thoroughly distracted by the whole shadow-kin/Zalmunna thing for a few months. The DS went literally untouched for a good while, there.
However, I'm now down to just two more to go, thanks mostly to data-trading with Dave (plus some trade-evolving with Petty and some good old-fashioned hand-raising). The bad news? It turns out that 482 is NOT the magic number, as such. The 'Dex is actually checking for specific Pokemon -- namely, everything except the event-only ones.
The eleven Pokemon that are NOT required: Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Jirachi, Deoxys, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, and Arceus (and I'm not wholly sure about Phione and Manaphy).
This means that all the legendaries that can be caught in the wild count, even if they have to be brought in from earlier games. Unfortunately this includes Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. That's a severe pain in the ass, since a single player would have to play FR or LG three times -- each time with a different starter, and beating the E4 each time -- to get all three. Sure, that gets you three Mewtwos and three sets of the legendary birds, but...that's a significant time investment. And if you don't have access to FR/LG, you're not even going to SEE these to trade for them. It's way harder than it should be.
It's a pity that the event legendaries don't count towards the total, because I do have Mew, Jirachi, Deoxys, Phione, Manaphy (data only as yet), and Darkrai; and we're about to net Shaymin at an upcoming event (hopefully they'll do Arceus in the US eventually). I'm going to finish with well over 482!
Regardless, Dave and I are cooperating to help finish each other's 'Dex. He's playing through FR with Bulbasaur to get Entei, while I'm going through LG with Squirtle to get Raikou. One last data trade when we're both done, and VOILA completed 'Dex!
Darnit, now I'm in a Poke-mood.... >_<
(2/11/2009)
So I have beaten the E4 and caught my Raikou. And that presents me with a dilemma:
Should I clear out that cartridge and restart?
I named the trainer Rue, and re-created my old team from Blue as closely as possible, with the idea of transferring them to Pearl. Also meant to name and keep the legendaries from that cartridge.
Excpet that I also plan to complete and harvest the Arceus cartridge, then re-start it and pick Bulbasaur, so I can get my own Entei.
So that'd mean keeping the Rue cartridge so that I'd have at least one with all the areas open. In which case, why wouldn't I leave all my carefully raised team and hard-caught legendaries in there?
This much I'm certain of: I want to play through the Arceus cart as quick as possible, and catch all the legendaries. Then I can plunder that cartridge for my team, the one-offs, and the legendaries. The kicker is that I named EVERYTHING I caught in that one...d'oh. So now of course I don't want to just let 'em go....guess I'll use them to import items into Pearl, then throw 'em in my Ranch on the Wii. (Actually, if I just trade between the two LG carts, I can most likely clear out the Arceus game in an evening...then save the items for use in the main Rue cart, and import to Pearl at my leisure.)
The other possibility is to trade my heavy hitters over to the Rue cartridge, so I can use 'em once I re-start Arceus (will most likely also name that trainer Rue). In fact I should leave my Rue/Blue team in LG, for the same purpose. That won't help in the earlier Gyms, but it should really help near the end of the game.
note: Cascade Badge (Misty in Cerulean) - up to lvl 30 obey; Rainbow Badge (Erika in Celadon) - up to lvl 50 obey; Marsh Badge (Sabrina in Saffron) - up to lvl 70 obey; and Earth Badge (Giovanni in Viridian) - all must obey. So teams could be traded in long before reaching the endgame.
So then:
--catch Mewtwo in the Rue cartridge, then take just the legendaries into Pearl (attach Rare Candies); leave everything else in there for now.
--get through Arceus as quick as possible; trade heavy hitters out to Rue, then thoroughly plunder the rest.
--restart Arceus with trainer name Rue, pick Bulbasaur, and power through for another set of birds, Mewtwo, and Entei.
--at that point, I can re-restart and sell that cartridge back to GameStop; I only really need one.
The other issue is severely limited box space in Pearl. I should look over the Poke's from Chris, and only bring into Pearl any max evo's I don't already have. Plus I only really need one set of the in-game trades, since they would all have the same trainer IDs and such -- maybe I can grab those from Arceus or Rue, and throw Chris' in the Ranch? From there I should only import my hand-raised Pokes, legendaries, and one-offs. Bet that's still enough to fill a box, though....
(2/17/2009)
So what I really need to do is wrap up the Arceus game as soon as possible -- beat the E4, catch Suicune, wrap up on the Islands, and nab Mewtwo.
And to do that, I really could use a second Master Ball, which means trading one in from Sapphire. So I need to ask Dave if I can borrow his GBA and cable for a week. Probably I ought to have the Islands cleared by the time I do that.
Then:
--Trade in a Master Ball from Sapphire and nab Arceus' Mewtwo.
--Catch a bunch of trade fodder in Rue cart, and possibly more in Arceus as well -- enough to get all Pokes and items over to Rue.
--Priority on: TMs, Rare Candies, Elixirs, Ethers, hold items. Also Exp Share, Everstone, and Amulet Coin.
--Possibly sell all leftover potions, pokeballs, etc for vitamins for "raise-later" Pokes, to minimize how many items need transferring.
--This is still going to be a bunch of Pokemon and a LOT of trades -- most likely a solid evening to clear out the Arceus cart.
--Can then restart and choose Bulbasaur.
Now here's the questionable part of my plans.
The Rue cart would now have two starters at max evolution, access to the breeding Day Care, and a selection of Dittos. This would allow me to breed two new starters, an Abra, and a flyer -- probably a Dodrio, 'cause I'm tired of Pidgeys. Possibly with movesets, even.
But here's the unknown part: Can I trade Eggs into a cart that doesn't have the National 'Dex??
Best case scenario is that I can, and can trade those four Eggs for random trade fodder. Five to ten minutes of running around in the new game, and VOILA I have my entire final team in baby form as soon as I can reach the Viridian Pokecenter: all three starters plus Abra and Dodrio. Best of all, because they'd hatch in the new game, they'd belong to that trainer. No obedience issues! I can train 'em all up from the get-go.
Next-best case is that Eggs don't trade, and I have to hatch them in the main Rue game and trade them over. That means getting all the way to Cerulean on just what I can catch -- not a prospect I relish, but otherwise the outsider Pokes will start disobeying too early to be much use.
It might be nice to have a Jolteon instead of a Pikachu; just for variety....should look into that. Maybe a different Psychic-type as well. I should see what I don't already have stored in one game or another. Pity that one can't use Jhoto or Hoenn Pokes without the National 'Dex...
(2/24/2009)
So the E4 are down, only the Warehouse awaits, and Mewtwo is a handful of Max Repels away.
Also, I was stupid: no need to catch more than six Pokemon for trade fodder, since one has to leave the Trade Center to retrieve/attach items anyway. D'oh.
All is in readiness to clear out the Arceus cart....except I can't find that dang Suicune to save my life. >_<
Since I can't count on having time tomorrow night, or on having Dave's GBA beyond that, I need to clear out everything in Arceus tonight. That'll mean completing the Islands and grabbing Mewtwo while I've got my team. Then I can trade in that Master Ball from Sapphire, and start pillaging.
Pokeballs and potions can stay, along with the legendaries, the Togepi, and that Hypno to go Suicune-hunting with. All other items and Pokes can come over to the Rue cart. If I need more money for Repels, I can go for the Vs Seeker and fight using the legendaries, if necessary.
This'll let me return Dave's GBA without worrying about how long it'll take to find Suicune. The legendaries and Togepi can then be Pal Parked directly to Pearl, since they're basically for the GTS. And then FINALLY I can restart and do this all over again....yay. *sigh*
I should take a good look at the Pokedex (and my stored Pokemon) before I try trading in eggs, though. Is there a max evolution I don't have stored, that I'd like to raise from scratch? 'Cause core team Pokes turn out really strong....
