This hack was awesome. One of the best I've ever played, for sure. The story began to shape up almost immediately, with the rocket grunts taking over Tropican Town. However, the game started to get a little hard at this point, requiring enough training to take on a gym. Keep in mind that we're still not there yet. I loved the event though. Chilly Canyon fulfilled all of my expectations. Amazing, if not a tiny bit long. Maybe it only seemed long, because of the 3 repeating Pokemon. I'm addicted to those sliding Ice blocks. A glitch here made me lose my progress though.
Hailstone City was great too. Good weather choice effects, and I just love those tiles. However, for everyone talking about the meteor, it really was a little underwhelming. The girl skating all alone in the upper left was a little weird too. Seems like she'd have a friend or something. Once in Hailstone, I departed for Chilly Canyon to train for the Grass gym. The one in the Snow City. I love it, it threw me for a loop. However, here, Pokemon levels were a little high again. The trainer wasn't too bad, but the leader.. I lost the first time, probably because my highest level Pokemon was my lv. 13 Totodile. Doh. So after training, I came up with my all level 14 team, and my Pidgey and Snorunt finally won it for me, but not without a real fight. It took 4 games hours, but that's probably because I'm a slow trainer. It took me 60 hours to beat the Elite Four in Firered, for reference. Blossom's Pokemon were a tiny bit advanced for this point in the game, especially her Sunflora. Level 15 + Mega Drain + Synthesis = Tko for most of my party. Overall, I felt it was a fun challenge though. In the official games, a full team of lv. 14s would wipe the floor with the first gym. I guess high levels are to be expected though, especially with Ice types so close by. Good job here, but calm down with the levels.
After going back through Chilly Canyon, I found myself in Tropicana City again. From here, I headed east into Mount Demise. bleu_cheese has hit it right on the nail here. Wild Pokemon must have gotten into the Rare Candies again. By comparison, wild Pokemon after the first gym in Kanto never got past the lv 14 range until around the second gym. These ones are level 10ish, and the next town doesn't have a gym. The trainers weren't as lethal, but were still anything but easy. As bleu_cheese said, the hiker with the Mawile was unfair. It took me a second to find the exit. Outside, I ran from the kid running around and the hiker, and accidentally jumped off a ledge, so I don't what happened with them. Luckily, an old lady healed me. I ran from the rest of the trainers, in case they had lv. 70 Gyarados' or something. I fought another trainer right before Timber Town, this one sort of easy. Unreal. I healed up and talked to an old guy seemingly guarding some trees. He wouldn't let me through. I suppose that in the next beta, this will lead to the next town. I headed up north, and into Whistlewind Woods. (Love the name, by the way). I'd talked to someone who said it was full of Bug Pokemon, so I had prepared myself for wild level 15 Caterpies, and the first thing I encountered was a Caterpie- level 3. Dang. I avoided the trainers in here too, as much as I could, because I knew the end was near. At the end, guarding the entrance to the final trainer was a bug trainer, with a lv. 18 Butterfree and a lv. 18 Beedrill. The former I assume only knew status attacks, and pretty much stalled me out for 15 minutes as I struggled to stay awake/ not be fully paralyzed/ not hurt myself in my confusion. After, I saved (which I started to do a lot), and fought the final girl's Natu, but not by choice. Seems like she'd ask me if I wanted to appease the god or whatever with a battle. Lv. 20 Natu + Night Shade = Tko for most of my party, again. Luckily, I had Snorunt again though. Finally, I landed in Timber Town again, and I can only assume that the beta had ended.
Edit again: The Sign in front of the Pokemart says I've finished. Haha. I want a longer, slightly easier (:embarrass) beta this instant. :P
