My first port of call was the second Trainer along Route 30: Aroma Lady Julia. Things went pretty well, with Garrett and Justin hitting level 8, Justin learning Bite, and Tristan reaching level 9 and learning Poison Powder. There was a brief moment of panic when Bella was hit with Julia's Seedot's Bullet Seed and Quick Attack, but my Bidoof somehow hung on with only 1 HP left. Phew! Needless to say, I healed up in Cherrygrove after that battle.
On the way back up Route 30, I took the opportunity to level Bella up a bit more. I was grateful for the abundance of Metapod and Kakuna, with her Unaware ability completely nullifying Harden, and she was up to level 8 by the time we were back by the Trainers. We also ran into a Ralts along the way, much to my annoyance - I wanted one of those!
Idol Carly was the next Trainer, and pretty easy, despite an annoying Jigglypuff using Sing on Bella and a Skitty almost taking out Garrett with a critical Tackle; both of my guys managed to knock out their opponent and reach level 9. Justin fell victim to Clefairy's Cute Charm, but still managed to knock her out.
On Route 31, I debated going into Dark Cave and looking for a new Pokémon there. Curiosity won, and I did so, running into a level 8 Sandshrew. Better than a Zubat, anyway. He proved to be a bit of a pain to catch, what with his constant Sand Attack spam, but Tristan managed to poison him and I caught him. His name, I decided, would be Michael, and I quickly used my only Antidote on him to prevent him succumbing to the poison.
Another trip to Cherrygrove, to heal up and buy some Antidotes, and it was back to Route 31. I was less happy about the Metapod this time, having Justin up front, but even less happy about a Bide-using Seedot I ran from (no point taking risks) and a Weedle that poisoned my poor Eevee, prompting a use of one of my Antidotes. Lucky I bought them, really!
With no encounters on Route 31 yet, I was hoping to run into a Natu, but no: I found a level 6 female Buizel instead. Not really useful, considering that I already had Garrett, but hey; I caught her, and named her Jenna. That's a full team of six! With that, I managed to avoid Bug Catcher Wade and headed straight for Violet City.
In the Pokémon Centre, I found a guy with a Juggler sprite, who asked me if I wanted to take a quiz. I said yes, and passed, which led to the guy offering me a Pokémon: a Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. I decided to roll a die to choose: 1 or 2 would get me Bulbasaur, 3 or 4 for Charmander, and 5 or 6 for Squirtle. I was secretly hoping for Charmander, since that would cover all three basic types in my party, and, in a stroke of luck, I rolled a three! I named my new Charmander Lucian, and discovered that he has Solar Power. Lovely! There I saved, which turned out to be a very good idea later.
Healed up, I walked back to Route 31 to fight Wade, who was pretty easy, despite almost losing Tristan to a Bug Bite from Nincada. Always the Bug Bite! Fortunately, I pulled him out and Garrett finished it off with a Bubble, narrowly averting disaster for the fifth time.
Back in Violet City, I decided to explore the buildings and talk to a few people. This proved to be a mistake when I went into a particular house - specifically, the one in the south-west of the city - because after I left, the game underwent a bizarre graphical glitch that messed up all the character sprites on the screen. In an attempt to fix it, I went into the Trainer School... which caused the game to crash. Just lovely.
I reset the emulator, and was incredibly relieved to find myself standing outside the Violet City Pokémon Centre, Lucian in tow. Thank Arceus. Unfortunately, I would have to fight Wade again. Annoyed, I gave up for the day - but not before attempting to replicate the glitch, in case it was a thing that happened for that particular house. Spoiler alert: it wasn't. That's something, at least, but I'm wary of it happening again, so I'm saving regularly now.
Still can't believe I've had no deaths yet. But next up are Sprout Tower and Falkner, so that could change very quickly. This is gonna suck.
