September 6, 2013
Dream World: Leavanny. Found: Chansey that can use Counter; female Pachirisu with the ability Volt Absorb. Only three Pokémon left to find in the Dream Park!
Dream World 2: Gligar. Found: Yanma that know Quick Attack. So this is the Yanma that Professor Juniper found on Route 3! I'll have to stop by the Entralink later to catch it.
So this afternoon, I decided to train at the Humilau Gym for my upcoming gym battle. The problem with a water-type gym is that there are so many water Pokémon that the gym leader might use, especially being that many water-type species make their home in this northeastern corner of Unova. It makes it hard to devise a strategy and to choose which Pokémon to train for the battle. So I decided to go in with all six of my Pokémon and decide later who will face Marlon.
I battled several trainers in the gym, and boy my fears were right. These folks all had high-level, fully evolved water-type Pokémon in their arsenals, including a few I had yet to see in Unova!
"Walrein, the Ice Break Pokémon, and the evolved form of Sealeo. Walrein shatter ice with their large, prized tusks. Not only does their thick blubber keep them warm, it also protects them from attacks."
"Wailord, the Float Whale Pokémon, and the evolved form of Wailmer. Wailord are the biggest of all Pokémon known currently. They can dive to a depth of almost 10,000 feet on only one breath. They can sometimes knock out opponents with the shock created by breaching and crashing its big body onto water."
After spending a large amount of time battling against all the different Pokémon, I headed back to the Pokémon Center to decide which three Pokémon were coming with me to challenge Marlon.
September 7, 2013
Dream World: Scolipede. Found: Plusle that knows Signal Beam; female Eevee with the ability Anticipation. Finding Plusle leaves only two more Pokémon left to find in the Dream Park, and four more to find in the Dream World overall!
I decided to go into the gym with Vespiquen, Starmie, and Grimer. They have a good mix of types that will hopefully allow me to handle whatever Marlon uses to battle me with!
Humilau Gym Challenge
Vs Marlon
I entered the Pokémon gym, but the Gym Leader was nowhere to be found. I sat down on the battlefield, figuring I would wait a bit. Suddenly, he leaped out of the water near the battlefield.
"Sup!" Marlon called over to me. "Here already, huh?"
"Hi, Marlon!" I introduced myself. "My name is Steve, and I'd like to challenge you for a gym badge!"
"I was just swimmin' with my Pokémon, but I'm ready for a battle with a strong trainer!" Marlon explained. "Shoots! Let's start!"
One of the Ace Trainers took position in the judge's area. "This official gym battle between Steve, the challenger, and Marlon, the Gym Leader, will now begin! Each side will use three Pokémon, and the battle will be over when all three of one side's Pokémon are unable to continue. Only the challenger may substitute Pokémon."
"This water field is going to be tricky," I observed. "So I'm going to start with someone who can fly over it! Vespiquen, maximize!"
"Awesome choice, dude!" Marlon sent out his first Pokémon. "Carracosta, hang loose!"
"A Carracosta??" This isn't good; I'm not sure is any of my Pokémon can handle this evolved prehistoric Pokémon. But it wasn't going to stop me from trying. "Ok, Vespiquen, use Attack Order!"
A swarm of bees descended on Carracosta.
"Carracosta, deflect it with Smack Down!" Marlon gave his first command. A large rock swatted away the bees and then crashed into Vespiquen, causing massive damage! It fell from the air onto the water, struggling to fly back up.
"No, Vespiquen!" I should have known better; rock-type attacks are super-effective against both bug and flying-types. "Vespiquen, return for now! Thank you, take a rest for now."
"Dude, you gotta get more into this!" Marlon yelled over.
"I plan on it!" I responded. "Grimer, you're up, maximize!"
"Whoa, cool color on the Grimer, man!" Marlon complimented. "Still, I'm not goin' easy on it. Carracosta, use Smack Down again!"
The Smack Down hit Grimer and caught it off guard.
"Now, quick, follow it up using Crunch!" Carracosta landed a strong Crunch attack, lowering Grimer's defense significantly!
"Gimer, get out of there!" I cried. "Use Dig!"
Grimer ducked out of Carracosta's grip and dug under the platform Carracosta was on.
"You shouldn't give us a break like that," said Marlon. "Carracosta, use Shell Smash!"
Great. That's going to increase its attack at the cost of some defense. Maybe I can use that as an opening though. Grimer came bursting out of the battlefield and struck Carracosta. The attack did massive damage, but Carracosta was still standing!
"Quick, while its defense is down, use Gunk Shot!" I yelled.
"Carracosta, intercept that with Crunch." Marlon sounded way to calm. I'm making this too easy for him!
Grimer connected with Gunk Shot, and it also poisoned Carracosta! But, Carracosta connected with a powered-up Crunch as well. Both Pokémon recoiled back, but it was only Grimer who fell.
"Grimer is unable to battle. Carracosta wins!"
"Grimer, return," I recalled my Pokémon. "Thanks, buddy. You did a great job out there."
I'm not left with many options. I have to take a chance. "Vespiquen, you're up again! Use Attack Order!"
"No way!" Marlon was chuckling a bit. "Carracosta, finish it with Smack Down!"
Before Vespiquen could get an attack off, it got hit with another Smack Down.
"Vespiquen is unable to battle. Carracosta wins again!"
"Vespiquen, return!" I'm down to my last Pokémon. Marlon still has two others he hasn't had to use yet! But Carracosta seems worn out, so I should be able to defeat it!
"A water-type for a water battle," I said as I pulled out my last Poké Ball. "Starmie, maximize!"
"Not a problem," said Marlon. "Carracosta, use Crunch!"
"Starmie, dodge and use Brine!" Starmie was much faster than Carracosta, so Brine hit, and Carracosta finally fell!
"Carracosta is unable to battle," came the judge's call. "Starmie wins!"
"Carracosta, return and chill out," Marlon still sounded calm. "Jellicent, hang loose!"
Well, this couldn't be worse. Though they're both water-types, ghost-type Jellicent definitely has the type advantage over psychic-type Starmie.
"Quick, Starmie, use Power Gem!" Power Gem was really the only viable attack I could use. It hit Jellicent, but something strange was happening. "Starmie, what's wrong?"
"That would be Jellicent's Cursed Body ability," Marlon explained. Crap. I didn't even think about that. Now the only attack I can use is Brine, which will do nothing with Jellicent's high special defense.
"Jellicent, use Ominous Wind!" As expected, the ghost-type move was super-effective, doing major damage.
"Quick, Starmie, use Brine!"
"Use Ominous Wind again, Jellicent!"
The two attacks collided, but the result can be easily predicted.
"Starmie is unable to battle. The winner of this gym match is the Gym Leader, Marlon!"
And so I lost. I rushed back to the Pokémon Center, and gave my three Poké Balls to Nurse Joy. She gave me back the other three Poké Balls she was caring for while I was at the gym. Then I thought, why not try again with my other three Pokémon? Couldn't hurt!
Later in the day I returned to the Humilau Gym, and Marlon was more than happy to have a rematch.
"You seem pumped up!" Marlon said excitedly. "I'll totally challenge you again!"
We took our places on the battlefield. Marlon led off with his Carracosta again, and it looked fully recovered and ready to go.
"This time, I'm not playing around; I want to take out that Carracosta quickly!" I threw my first Poké Ball. "Ampharos, maximize!"
"An electric-type, that's more usual to what I see here!" Marlon commented.
"Ampharos, quick, Discharge, let's go!" Electricity filled the area.
"Carracosta, use Scald!" But Carracosta wasn't moving. It was paralyzed from the Discharge!
"Yes!" I yelled. "Finally some luck on my side. Ampharos, Power Gem!"
A barrage of gems pelted Carracosta. "Now, finish it with Discharge!"
The electric attack blasted the stunned turtle Pokémon, and it fell!
"Carracosta is unable to battle," called the judge. "Ampharos wins!"
"Ok, now that's a better start!" I exclaimed with a smile. "Ampharos, great job, but return for now and take a rest."
"Carracosta, return," Marlon recalled his Pokémon, then looked over to me. "Dude, you're definitely more into this time! But try this on for size! And by size, I mean…"
Marlon tossed his Poké Ball into the air. Suddenly, a huge shadow filled the water field. Oh. Cripes.
"A Wailord?!" (Seriously, how does this work? You ever notice Wailord has never been in a battle in the anime? I mean, how would this thing even fit *any* battlefield? Hilarious! Ok, here I go trying to make this somewhat realistic…)
"Lopunny, maximize!" I sent out my next Pokémon. (Oh, come on, tell me this match up doesn't make it funnier.)
"Time to show them why David beat Goliath," I said. "Use Jump Kick!"
Lopunny leapt in the air, and kicked the giant whale Pokémon.
"Wailord, use Scald!" Wailord blasted the hot water from its spout, raining down on the field and Lopunny.
"Hang in there, Lopunny! Jump Kick again!" My Pokémon landed another kick, as Wailord blasted it back with another Scald.
"You ok, Lopunny?" I was concerned about the burn effect from Scald, but so far, so good. "Awesome, then Jump Kick it again!"
Another kick connected with the large Pokémon, and the attacks are doing steady damage to Wailord.
"Now check this out," said Marlon with his usual laid-back tone. "Wailord, use Bounce!"
(Aw, come on. This isn't even following the most basic laws of physics now…)
Suddenly, Wailord hurled itself out of the water, high into the air, with a power that I think might even make Arceus stare in awe.
"My Lopunny can handle it!" I said, not noticing the fearful and worried look on my Pokémon's face. "Lopunny, intercept it with Dizzy Punch!"
My Lopunny shot me a look that said, "You're kidding me, right?" but I took no notice. With a sigh, Lopunny used its nimble legs to jump in the air at the diving Wailord, and it closed in, gave it a Dizzy Punch in its underside! Both Pokémon came crashing down on the water! When they surfaced, the judge made his call.
"Both Pokémon are unable to battle!"
"You totally rocked that!" Marlon exclaimed as we both recalled our Pokémon. "You're raising some wicked Pokémon! You got this trainer thing down! Well, you know who my last Pokémon is. Jellicent, hang loose!"
"Yep, and my last Pokémon is a perfect match up for it!" I said with confidence. "Drapion, maximize!"
This time, I've got the type advantage with a dark and poison-type.
"Ok, Drapion, power up using Hone Claws!" Jellicent has high defenses, so I want pure power here.
"Jellicent, turn up the heat with your Scald attack!" Jellicent blasted the jet of hot water at my Drapion. It was able to handle the damage, but my luck turned a bit. Drapion was burned!
"Ok, Marlon," I said. "I'm going all in. Drapion, use Night Slash!"
Marlon calmly commanded his Jellicent to dodge it, but Drapion closed in and landed a powerful Night Slash that sent Jellicent skidding across the water to the other side of the battlefield!
"Yes! Just what I was hoping for!" I yelled excitedly. "That super-effective, critical hit was powered up courtesy of my Drapion's special ability of Sniper!"
"Jellicent is unable to battle," the judge called. "Drapion wins! This gym battle victory goes to the challenger, Steve!"
"Nice job, Drapion!" I yelled over to my Pokémon.
"Jellicent, awesome battling," Marlon said as he returned his Pokémon to its Poké Ball.
We walked to the entrance of the gym. "You don't just look strong, you're strong fo' reals!"
"Thanks, Marlon," I replied. "It was fun getting to battle a gym leader I never faced before!"
"I was swept away, too!" He reached out his hand. "Here's the Wave Badge! Shoots! I'm off then! Good luck in the rest of your journey!"
Finally, my eighth and final badge in Unova, the new Wave Badge!
After winning my badge, I did a little more training with the current team, then sent Ampharos, Lopunny, Vespiquen, Drapion, and Starmie to Professor Juniper for retirement. I then went to the Entralink Forest where I found the Yanma I befriended in the Dream World earlier.
"Yanma, the Clear Wing Pokémon. Yanma can hover in one spot by flapping their wings at high speed. They can fly freely through the air, and even sudden stops are no problem. They flit about to guard their territory."
266. Yanma
Dream World 2: Shuckle. Found: Krookodile that knows Mean Look.