Pokemon Shield Day 2 thoughts and notes

So, I'm trying this update to do a narration style somewhere between "first impressions" and a narrative of the journey. Still going to use bullet points instead of a "fan fiction" type narration.

We left off with our intrepid heroine Lisa arriving in Motostoke and Sonia telling her to get her rear end over to the local gym stadium for some kind of opening ceremony.

• Less appealing clothes selection in this city but I do change up Lisa's hairstyle. The outfit I carried over is more than cute enough for the time being, anyhow.
  
• Gee, Pokemon League, thanks for shacking up potential gym challengers in a filthy, infested, no name economy motel. I reiterate, QUALITY INNS AND COMFORT INNS AND HAMPTON INNS AND EMBASSY SUITES EXIST FOR A REASON.
  
• Team Yell have GOT to be the ugliest cheerleaders ever. And they keep calling this budget motel "swanky." I do not think that word means what they think it means. Maybe this place has 15% fewer roaches and bedbugs crawling about than the places Team Yell usually stay at? I dunno.
  
• Marnie is cool enough (though not Sw/Sh Lass level waifu material) but the way her Pokemon stares into your soul with that smile is... unnerving.
  
• At this point, Lisa's Galarian Adventure was waylaid by a nasty bedbug infection - nah, just kidding. Off-screen, she got out of that place and found a Quality Inn on the outskirts of town.
  
• I don't appreciate them forcing me to change into these ugly sports uniforms against my will. WE'RE TRAINERS, NOT PRISON INMATES! I smell a lawsuit in the works.
  
• Can't the League hire professionals, who look and act the part, to be Gym Leaders? This crew looks like they just crawled out of their mother's basement. A nice business suit and proper hair care and grooming goes a long way.
  
• I hope that later in this game I unlock the ability to chokeslam Hop through a table.

Vs. Hop Battle 3
Current Team:
Scorbunny Lv15
Rookidee Lv15
Skwovet Lv12
Snorunt Lv8
Wingull Lv11
Bunnelby Lv11

Child's play.

• Wild Pokemon on Route 3 are surprisingly strong, and could probably destroy Hop almost as easily as I did. Whoever said there's no need to grind (permanent Exp. Share or not) is wrong.
  
• Time to head back to the Wild Area to grind. While grinding, both Scorbunny and Rookidee evolve. More power is most definitely welcome.
  
• Mining cave is pretty and the glittering gems look like Christmas lights. And the people online who were saying caves were short and linear are wrong. It's no Mt. Coronet or Mt. Mortar, but there were a few branching paths that led to items.
  
• I seriously thought this guy at the end of the mine was an old lady. Turns out he's not, and actually has the right (arrogant and insulting) attitude for a rival. Too bad he's only a secondary rival. I'd exchange him for Hop in a second if a rival exchange center was a thing.

Vs. Bede Battle 1
Raboot Lv22
Corvisquire Lv22
Skwovet Lv18
Snorunt Lv17
Wingull Lv17
Bunnelby Lv18

Not sure why he's obsessed with these stone thingies. I'd gladly give him the one that the professor foisted upon me, except he took off before I could offer it to him.

• SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MEOWTH? It looks like it was exposed to nuclear waste radiation and underwent a horrifying mutation.
  
• Well, someone in the Pokemon Center wants creepy mutated Meowth, offering a normal (THANK GOD) Meowth in exchange. So, I go back, catch one, and trade it to him.
  
• During this round of level grinding, my other rabbit evolves into Diggersby. I don't think it'll be a permanent member of my squad, though.
  
• Next town is in sight. Turffield isn't the type of place I'd want to settle down in, but for a sleepy countryside town, it's decent enough for a stopover.
  
• Once again, these gym battles would be a lot better if we could wear our regular clothes instead of the state-issued inmate uniforms they force everyone to wear.
  
• Cue the gym leader making me do his menial task for him.

Vs Milo Battle:
Raboot Lv27
Corvisquire Lv27
Skwovet Lv23
Eevee Lv19
Cash (traded Meowth) Lv21
Diggersby Lv22

MAGIC WAND, MAKE MY MONSTER GROW! Or something like that.

• So, this diesel engine ripoff mechanic that everyone in-game has been so hyped about is... turning Pokemon into large, red-tinted hot-air balloons. Consider me unimpressed. Milo made his monster grow. I took it down fairly easily - WITHOUT making mine do the same. I intend to do the same throughout the game. I don't need to rely on a gimmicky crutch like that to win battles.
  
• Awkward long handshake is awkward. I *really* hope Milo washed his hands before the battle. At least it wasn't a long awkward hug like that one creepy guy at my former church used to give everybody.

• The local breeding place is on Route 5. The Meowth I was traded was male. So that means a trip back to Route 4, catching a female mutated creepy grin Meowth, and breeding it with Cash. The effort, however, is VERY WELL worth it.
  
• DAY 1 SHINY BRED MEOWTH HYPE! See attached pic. I hatched it at about 11:55 on 11/15, so it still counts as first day lol
  
• I want to keep my new shiny the way he is, so I get another egg with another Meowth to permanently add to my team. But more grinding because a newly hatched Lv1 Meowth needs to catch up with the rest of the squad.
  
• Meanwhile Skwovet evolved and is now Big Chungus Squirrel Pokemon.
  
• After grinding, it's time to proceed over the bridge and... oh. It's him again.

Vs. Hop Battle 4
Raboot Lv29
Corvisquire Lv29
Greedent Lv25
Jolteon Lv23
Meowth Lv21
Minccino Lv22

• I swear, him doing that weird crouching pose is gonna cause him back problems by the time he's 50, if not before then.
  
• It's a long bridge, but as far as long bridges go, I still prefer the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston, SC.

See my last Hop battle roster for my current team. I'm pretty much stopping there to post and get some much-needed sleep. Photo attached to my post is my shiny Meowth. Picture quality is poor because 3DS camera (and because minimal differences between regular and shiny Meowth), but it does have that red "shiny" mark on the status screen (middle left)