[Challenge] The Nuzlocke Challenge

So I started the game, chose the girl and named her Elsa. I got Tepig, then beat Bianca and Cheren, and once I got to Juniper's lab I named my Tepig Pumbaa. (My naming theme will be animated Disney characters.) He is Quirky nature and hates to lose. Once I was on Route 1, I caught a Lillipup that I named Tramp, who is Brave nature and highly curious. I got Pumbaa to Level 7 so he'd learn Ember, then once I got to the Pokémon Center and healed up, I took on N's Purrloin and beat him. I reached Route 2, got the Running Shoes, then a Patrat named Ratigan who is Lonely nature and proud of its power. I beat the trainers on the route, including Bianca who was no sweat.

Then I reached Striaton City, and after I got past the trainers in the Dreamyard, I received Pansage, who I named Abu. He is Bashful nature and highly curious, but Tramp was highly curious too so I put Tramp back in the box since I figured i'd need Abu more. I got some items and beat Cheren at the Trainer's School, then trained my team to Level 11, except Abu who I got to 12. Then I beat the trainers in the Gym, and afterward got Pumbaa to Level 13 so he'd learn Defense Curl. With that I went back for the Gym Leader!

Lillipup was first, and I began with Pumbaa. I was faster, and even upped against his Work Up with my Defense Curl, and also lowered his Defense with Tail Whip, while his Bite didn't do much at all. I beat him while I still had over half my health left and got him to waste his Potion.
For Panpour, I went straight to Abu, and he used Work Up twice...while my Vine Whip wasn't even a 3HKO. But I managed to best it.

Then I got the Trio Badge and TM83 for Work Up, which are nice. I got the C-Gear from Fennel, met with Amanita, and...that's where I left it.

(M) "Pumbaa", Level 13
Nature: Quirky
Characteristic: Hates to lose
Moves: Defense Curl, Ember, Tackle, Tail Whip

(M) "Ratigan", Level 11
Nature: Lonely
Characteristic: Proud of its power
Ability: Keen Eye
Moves: Bite, Detect, Leer, Tackle

(M) "Abu", Level 12
Nature: Bashful
Characteristic: Highly curious
Moves: Leer, Lick, Scratch, Vine Whip

Other Pokémon in storage:
(M) "Tramp", Level 9
Nature: Brave
Characteristic: Highly curious

None yet!

After I beat Cress and met with Amanita, I saved the Munna and Musharna from Team Plasma in the Dreamyard, then got the C-Gear. I took on Cheren on Route 3 and he was slightly annoying but not hard. Then I caught a Pidove on the same route named Huey, who was Naughty nature and Somewhat of a clown, and beat Team Plasma again in the Wellspring Cave. There I caught a Roggenrola named Mim, who was Relaxed nature and Somewhat vain. I got Tramp back out, beat the trainers on Route 3 and made way into Nacrene City.

At Pinwheel Forest, I caught a Tympole named Tiana, who was Quiet nature and Capable of taking hits, but Huey died to a Black Belt's Timburr that had used Focus Energy, avoided an Air Cutter, and scored a critical hit. Once I was done there I trained everyone to Level 17, and Pumbaa and Tramp evolved into Pignite and Herdier. I beat N fairly easily and beat the trainers in the Nacrene Gym. Then I got everyone to Level 18, and took on Lenora.

Her own Herdier was met with my mirror-match, so we both got off Intimidates. Abu barely survived two hits of Take Down and got in a Leech Seed, allowing me to go to Pumbaa, who was somehow faster and killed her from over half with Rock Smash.
With Watchog, I went to Tramp to soften the blow from her Retaliate, used Leer, then went to Mim, who ate a Retaliate easily, then avoided her Hypnosis twice and with five total hits of Rock Blast almost killed her. She healed, but six more hits of Rock Blast (both hitting three times) killed her.

So I got the Basic Badge, then Team Plasma stole the Dragon Skull. We got the Dowsing Machine from Bianca and went into Pinwheel Forest, catching a Venipede named Atta, who was Adamant nature and Quick tempered (life is GOOD). I beat the trainers and Plasma grunts, and after beating the last trainer Ratigan evolved into Watchog. Then I arrived in Castelia City.

I got the Amulet Coin from the Dancers, and caught a Scraggy on Route 4 named Darkwing, who was Relaxed nature and Thoroughly cunning, but then Abu died to a critical hit from a Fisherman's Basculin. Then Pumbaa died to two critical hits in three turns from a Clerk's Timburr. I was very mad here. Tramp avenged them both. I couldn't add Darkwing to the team because Mim was the same nature, so I was without a full team. I beat the rest of the trainers, and got the Exp. Share. I took care of Team Plasma, trained my Pokémon up, and got Atta to evolve into Whirlipede. Then we took on Burgh's Gym.

Whirlipede was OHKO'ed by four hits of Mim's Rock Blast.
Leavanny I got an Intimidate with Tramp, and a Leer, then Atta OHKO'ed by scoring a critical hit Poison Tail.
Dwebble was OHKO'ed by Tiana's BubbleBeam, but not without missing a Mud Shot due to Sand-Attack.

After getting the Insect Badge and TM76 for Struggle Bug, I took on Bianca at the gate to Route 4. I started to get really pissed after her Herdier scored two critical hits in a row on Tramp after Intimidate, but he lived with 4 HP. Then we took on Cheren, who was mercifully easier. I avoided as many trainers as I could for the time being, and at the entrance to the Desert Resort, caught a Darumaka named Tremaine, who was Jolly nature and Highly curious, so I couldn't use it while I had a Quiet Pokémon on my team. I got to Nimbasa City, and after getting Team Plasma out of the way and receiving the Bicycle, I went to the musical with Bianca, and her dad almost took her back home before Elesa got him out of the way. Then I went to get more encounters.

The first was a Trubbish on Route 5, which proved to be a massive headache to catch thanks to my only regular Poké Balls rule, Stockpile and Swallow. But I caught it and named it Syndrome, and he was Rash nature and Highly persistent. Then I went to Route 16 and caught a Gothita named Maleficent, who was Hardy nature with Sturdy body, so I swapped Syndrome for her. Then, at the Relic Castle, I caught a Yamask named Sally, who was Quirky nature and Likes to thrash about. I beat all the trainers that I didn't battle before to get some EXP.

Finally was the Lostlorn Forest, where I caught a Swadloon named Heimlich, who was Calm nature and Likes to thrash about (how ironic). Once my entire team was Level 24/25, and Tiana and Mim had evolved into Palpitoad and Boldore respectively, I took on N outside of the Gym, who wasn't too hard other than his Sigilyph giving Mim a scare by confusing her with Psybeam and leaving her with 4 HP after she hit herself, but Tramp took care of him. Then we went into the Gym, and reached Elesa.

Her first Emolga I started with Tramp against to get off Intimidate before I went to Tiana. Then I used Growl to cut her Attack as she only used Aerial Ace. Sadly, BubbleBeam was a 3HKO, so she used both her Hyper Potions on it, but I beat it. Her second Emolga I went to Tramp for again, and Tiana ate a Volt Switch then same procedure, but I used one Lemonade along the way.
Zebstrika was last, and I went to Tramp one last time, ate one more Volt Switch as I went back to Tiana, took a Quick Attack and OHKO'ed her with a critical hit Mud Shot.

So I got the Bolt Badge and TM72 for Volt Switch, and healed up before leaving it off.

(M) "Tramp", Level 25
Nature: Brave
Characteristic: Highly curious
Ability: Intimidate
Moves: Crunch, Leer, Return, Rock Tomb

(M) "Ratigan", Level 25
Nature: Lonely
Characteristic: Proud of its power
Ability: Keen Eye
Moves: Confuse Ray, Cut, Hypnosis, Super Fang

(F) "Mim", Level 25
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Somewhat vain
Moves: Iron Defense, Rock Blast, Sand-Attack, Smack Down

(F) "Tiana", Level 26
Nature: Quiet
Characteristic: Capable of taking hits
Ability: Hydration
Moves: BubbleBeam, Growl, Mud Shot, Rest

(F) "Atta", Level 25
Nature: Adamant
Characteristic: Quick tempered
Ability: Swarm
Moves: Bug Bite, Iron Defense, Poison Tail, Screech

(F) "Maleficent", Level 26
Nature: Hardy
Characteristic: Sturdy body
Moves: DoubleSlap, Fake Tears, Psybeam, Psyshock

(M) "Huey", Level 8-15
Nature: Naughty
Characteristic: Somewhat of a clown
Cause of death: Critical hit Rock Throw from Black Belt Kentaro's Timburr while at 35/43 HP.

(M) "Abu", Level 10-19
Nature: Bashful
Characteristic: Highly curious
Cause of death: Critical hit Headbutt from Fisherman Hubert's Basculin while at 37/52 HP.

(M) "Pumbaa", Level 5-20
Nature: Quirky
Characteristic: Hates to lose
Cause of death: Critical hit Low Kick from Clerk Clemens' Timburr while at 45/67 HP.

Got through to Mr. Pokemon's House fine with Hot-Pot. Ran into my rival (Soul), easy battle against his level 5 Totodile. After delivering the egg to Prof. Elm, I was shown by Lyra how to capture a Pokemon and was given 5 Pokeballs. Now the Nuzlocke challenge truely begins. Route 29 I encountered and captured Cheese the Rattata, seems like he'll be a great guy to have on board being able to be a useful HM Slave. Next up was route 46 where I managed to snag myself Meatball the Geodude, I know this guy will be reliable to take hits for the team and most likely going to be the MVP for the first 3 gyms. After stocking up on more Pokeballs and potions at the Cherrygrove city mart, I headed up to Route 30 and found myself obtaining Mango the Caterpie, she was boxed in the reserved box, I don't think she is needed or will make it, she'll only be deployed when I'm truly desperate. As for now I'm off to Violet City to earn my first badge.

On Route 31, Salad the Bellsprout joined the team and I think he is a welcome addition the team, something fresh for my play through of Pokemon in general since I'll always skip out on grass Pokemon unless it was a starter. I skipped out on going to Dark Cave since I know it'll be most likely be a Zubat waiting to join my ranks in there. I got to Violet City unscathed, party doing all well. Took the party to do some grinding on Bellsprout tower. Switching out to Hot-Pot each time to breeze through all the Sage's Bellsprouts. After obtaining the Flash TM and recovering in the Poke Center it was off to Route 32. Route 32 saw another addition to the party being Peaches the Mareep who was always a staple when I play Gen Ii games and has got me through some tough spots so I know she'll prove handy since there will be a lot of tight situations in this run through. (16 Gyms + Elite 4 + Red) For now I'm just grinding everyone to level 15 on Route 32 to face Falkner with Meatball and Peaches leading the charge.

- All Pokémon are to be nicknamed, obviously
- Duplicate clause - if the first Pokémon I find in a new area is one I already have, I can skip it and catch the next one
- Shiny clause; doubt I'll find one, but just to be on the safe side
- Gift Pokémon can be used
- Legendary Pokémon (including the roaming ones) can be caught but not used
- Battle style is on SET
- Black out = game over
- And, of course, make a written log of my journey. Fair warning: these tend to be fairly long. Sorry!

Despite the disaster that was my lost Storm Silver Nuzlocke, I'm determined to complete this challenge, so I've fired up HeartGold. I kicked off with the usual stuff, and it was off to get my starter. Like last time, I decided to use the last digit of my ID number to determine which Pokémon I'd pick - 1 to 3 for Chikorita, 4 to 6 for Cyndaquil, 7 to 9 for Totodile, and 0 would allow me to choose for myself. This time, the last digit was 1, so it's Chikorita again! Tristan has returned!

After picking up the PokéGear and Professor Elm's number, I headed out to Mr Pokémon's house, Tristan reaching level 7 and learning Razor Leaf along the way. There, I picked up the Mystery Egg, got the Pokédex, and was confronted by an invasion of the plot. Oh well, back to the Lab. On the way, Tristan hit level 8.

Back in Cherrygrove, it was time to face my rival. To be honest, it was kind of weird to see a Cyndaquil on my opponent's side rather than my own for once. Whatever, it lasted all of three turns against Tristan. With that done, I headed back to New Bark Town, and Ethan very kindly handed over five Poké Balls. My journey was officially underway.

Next step? Find a Pokémon to catch - which turned out to be a level 4 male Hoothoot. Tristan's Razor Leaf was a critical hit, and my heart stopped for a moment, but the Hoothoot held on, and I threw a Ball at him. Got him!

Tristan, my new partner Whit and I headed out to Cherrygrove to heal up, my Chikorita levelling up and learning Poison Powder along the way. There, I saved for the night; I'll return to this tomorrow!

Having healed up at Cherrygrove, it was time to level my new team member up a bit. A few battles on Route 29 convinced me to move on, and I headed up to Route 30, where I ran into... a Pidgey. Wonderful. I caught her, naming her Olivia, and witg that, I had two birds to train up.

Youngster Joey was a pushover, and the victory spurred me on to challenge the next trainer: another Youngster. Then, disaster: his Rattata got a critical hit out of nowhere, and Olivia fell. I hardly knew you, little girl.

Furious with myself for losing someone so quickly, I decided to look for a new partner on Route 46, just north of Route 29. Surprisingly, it turned out to be a Geodude, whom I named Pavel. Should be useful for Falkner!

I took some time to level up Whit and Pavel, then headed up to Route 30, where I met a Bellsprout. I caught her and gave her a name - Tori - but decided to box her for the time being; she will be my backup in case (Arceus forbid) I lose Tristan. Still, with only three guys on my team, I needed another Pokémon, and headed into Dark Cave. I first ran into a Geodude, but with the duplicate clause in effect, I skipped over it - and the one that showed up immediately after - and found a Zubat. Score!

Back on Route 31, I took the time to train up Kiba before feeling confident enough to tackle Sprout Tower. After the disaster of last time, I was a little apprehensive, but my fears were unfounded: Kiba singlehandedly flattened the first Sage's three Bellsprout. I also ran into a Rattata - a male this time, whom I named Racer. There, I saved. More later today or tomorrow.

With Racer the Rattata on my team, I took the opportunity to finish up Sprout Tower. As before, Kiba was invaluable in dealing with the various Bellsprout, with Whit and Pavel clearing up those Sages that used Hoothoot. Sure enough, I was able to defeat the Elder with no casualties, and the Flash TM was mine. Progress!

Next up was grinding for Falkner - a level 13 Pidgeotto with Roost is likely to be a challenge - but first I decided to head into the Ruins of Alph. There, I solved the sliding puzzle, and ran into an Unown. Not the most useful of Pokémon, but hey ho. This one I called Jai, and through an IV calculator, discovered that its Hidden Power has a base power between 30 and 59. Knowing my luck, it'll be at the lower end of that scale. I'll have to experiment a bit and find out just what type it is.

Anyway, with Jai boxed for the time being, I set about grinding. I debated heading to Route 32 to look for another Pokémon, but I kind of want to find a Wooper further down; for the time being, I stuck with my main five, boosting everybody to level 12. Hopefully that should be enough to beat Falkner!

I have work to do for now, so I'll attempt Falkner this evening. Wish me luck!

(F) "Atta", Level 52
Nature: Adamant
Characteristic: Quick tempered
Ability: Swarm
Moves: Megahorn, Rock Slide, Substitute, X-Scissor

(F) "Matriarch", Level 52
Nature: Naive
Characteristic: Highly persistent
Ability: Motor Drive
Moves: Return, Thunder Wave, Thunderbolt, Volt Switch

(F) "Shan Yu", Level 52
Nature: Gentle
Characteristic: Somewhat vain
Ability: Sturdy
Moves: Brick Break, Bulk Up, Close Combat, Low Sweep

(F) "Ursula", Level 52
Nature: Careful
Characteristic: Quick to flee
Ability: Water Absorb
Moves: Hex, Recover, Scald, Will-O-Wisp

(M) "Zurg", Level 53
Nature: Brave
Characteristic: Scatters things often
Ability: Iron Fist
Moves: Earthquake, Iron Defense, Rest, Shadow Punch

(M) "Huey", Level 8-15
Nature: Naughty
Characteristic: Somewhat of a clown
Cause of death: Critical hit Rock Throw from Black Belt Kentaro's Timburr while at 35/43 HP.

(M) "Abu", Level 10-19
Nature: Bashful
Characteristic: Highly curious
Cause of death: Critical hit Headbutt from Fisherman Hubert's Basculin while at 37/52 HP.

(M) "Pumbaa", Level 5-20
Nature: Quirky
Characteristic: Hates to lose
Cause of death: Critical hit Low Kick from Clerk Clemens' Timburr while at 45/67 HP.

(F) "Tiana", Level 12-30
Nature: Quiet
Characteristic: Capable of taking hits
Ability: Hydration
Cause of death: Pursuit from Ace Trainer Allison's Zebstrika while at 13/92 HP.

(M) "Ratigan", Level 3-30 (I think)
Nature: Lonely
Characteristic: Proud of its power
Ability: Keen Eye
Cause of death: +1 AncientPower from Ace Trainer Corky's Tirtuoga while at 27 HP.

(F) "Mim", Level 10-32
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Somewhat vain
Cause of death: Future Sight from Psychic Bryce's Duosion while at 14 HP. (I should also mention that this death nearly broke me and almost made me lose my confidence altogether)

(M) "Darkwing", Level 16-37
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Thoroughly cunning
Ability: Moxie
Cause of death: OHKO'ed by a critical hit Ice Beam from Black Belt Shandra's Vanillish.

(F) "Sally", Level 21-39
Nature: Quirky
Characteristic: Likes to thrash about
Cause of death: 2HKO'ed by critical hit Giga Drains from Ace Trainer Johan's Accelgor.

(M) "Tramp", Level 4-51
Nature: Brave
Characteristic: Highly curious
Ability: Intimidate
Cause of death: Fire Blast from Shauntal's Chandelure while at 88/167 HP.

(F) "Tremaine", Level 20-52
Nature: Jolly
Characteristic: Highly curious
Cause of death: Wild Charge from Ghetsis' Eelektross while at 52 HP, after a failed attempt at an OHKO with Flare Blitz.

I woke up, my mother told me she went outside, I just wanted to sleep. When my mother came back she asked me some stange questions. After those questions she told me I was going to get my own Pokémon. I should look for a girl with a big green hat. Outside Hugh and his sister also were outside. Hugh's sister went home while Hugh came with me. I didn't know where the girl was, but the most famous place in Aspertia City was the lookout, so we went there too. There we saw the girl with the green hat. Her name was Bianca. She didn't recognize me at first, but when I said she was looking for me she did. She gave me a pokédex and my first pokémon. It was a Snivy. His name is Juju. Hugh also had an own pokémon. So we held a battle. It was a tough one but I won. Bianca showed me the pokécenter and how to catch a pokémon. I decided to catch one myself. A Purrlion named Lucifer. When I was on my way to Hugh to give him a Town map I met a mysterious man named Alder. He showed me the was to his house but I first went to gave the Town map to Hugh. On Route 20 I saw a Sewaddle. 'I'm going to catch you sewaddle!'

'Quick, Juju, do tackle!' Sewaddle Didn't have may HP left so I decided to throw a Pokeball. 'Yeah, Sewaddle is caught.' I was happy with my third Pokemon. 'Your name is going to be Flik!' Flocessy Ranch was just a bit further from here.
There, Flocessy ranch. I met the two owners of the ranch and they said their Herdier wasn't there. Hugh came walking, he wanted a battle. He almost defeated Juju, but I won. 'Nice try, you almost won. Just a little bit more! But it doesn't matter.' Hugh heard of the Herdier. 'We must find it! It could be gone forever!'
What's his problem?', the ranch owner said. I decided to also search for the Pokemon. The first Pokemon I found was Patrat. My Pokemon weakened him and I threw a ball. 'Your name is Dale!' I searched and searched and finally, in the middle of the forest, I found it. He was stolen by a Team Plasma member. We got it back and while the owner was calm, Hugh shouted: 'Why are you so calm? your Pokemon could be gone forever!' I was happy that I could help. The owner's wife healed my Pokemon up and I headed back to Flocessy Town. I almost forgot I was going to train with Alder.
'Ah, You're finally there. I almost didn't recognize you. You're looking tougher. Come with me, we should start our training.' I went inside. There were two trainers. 'Do we really have to battle him?' 'He looks so tough.', they said. I was preparing. 'You can do it Juju!'

'Okay, Panpour, go!' First I had to defeat the boy. My Juju had a type-advantage. 'Vine Whip!' 'Good, very good.' Alder said. 'I shall heal up your Pokemon. You have to battle the girl next.' 'My Pansear has a type-advantage over your Juju, so I'm going to win!' It was a tough battle, but Juju managed to win. 'Way to go, Juju!' 'You even won with a type-disadvantage. So types are not all that matter.' Alder said. 'You also gain bonus if your type matches that of the move.' The girl was happy she also could say something. 'Good bye' 'Good bye, Alder.'
'Oh, I forgot to say something.' Alder was on the mountain where I first met him. He jumped off. I still wonder why he isn't scared. 'You should defeat all gymleaders and become champion. Do your best.' Then he walked off. I headed back to Aspertia.
The gym was next to the pokécenter. I walked inside. It was some sort of trainer school. When I went outside I saw Cheren, the gymleader. Oh, hello. You must be the new challenger. I'm Cheren, the new Gymleader. If you want to have a battle with me, you have to defeat these two trainers first.' Then a strange man came to me. 'Hello I'm Clyde. You're the new trainer. Have this to commemorate your debut' He gave me a fresh water. 'Thank you.' The two trainers were really strong, but I managed to win. I had an idea how strong Cheren was. To be sure I deposited Lucifer and Dale in the PC. 'Flik, Juju we can do it.'
'You defeated them,' Cheren said 'so it's time for our battle now. Patrat, go!' 'Give everything, Flik! Bug Bite' 'Bite, Patrat' 'Patrat is defeated' Clyde said. I was wondering why we was here. 'I'm the referee.' I sent Juju out. Cheren sent Lillipup out. 'Tackle, Lillipup.' 'Growth, Juju.' 'Bite' Critical hit! 'Tackle, Juju!' Juju didn't have many HP left, but Lillipup also didn't. Only one attack left and I win. But what if the attack misses or if Lillipup is faster, then I lose Juju. 'Juju, what should I do now?'

To be continued

Coming soon!

Coming soon!

Juju (Snivy) 5-16
Aspertia City
Lucifer (Purrlion) 2-14
Route 19
Flik (Sewaddle) 2-15
Route 20
Chip (Patrat) 5-15
Flocessy Ranch
R2-D2 (???) 13-17
Virbank Complex.

Luckily none.

It was time to face Falkner, and, if I'm honest, I was kind of nervous about it. Fortunately, things went well! Racer kicked things off, knocking out Pidgey with a few well-placed Quick Attacks, and continued his good work by landing a Tail Whip on Pidgeotto. That was step one; step two involved Kiba and liberal application of Supersonic. Sadly, the curse of the 55% accuracy chose that moment to kick in, and I had to skip to step three when Kiba's health dropped to dangerous levels.

Step three was Pavel, who started the ball rolling with Rock Polish. Even that wasn't enough to outrun Pidgeotto, though, who decided to ruin my day even more with Sand Attack. This time, however, luck was on my side: Pavel's Rock Throw landed not once but twice, handily defeating Falkner and earning me the Zephyr Badge!

With that out of the way, I proceeded to pick up the Togepi egg from the Mart before heading out to Route 32. At this point it was night, so I was in luck with my Pokémon encounters - after Rattata after Bellsprout after Rattata, I ran into a female Wooper, Terra. 'Woo'-hoo! (Sorry.)

Next up was more grinding and hatching the egg. Eventually, my Togepi hatched - male, with Serene Grace! He, I named Artax, and I set about levelling him up before saving for the night. Next, Union Cave!

Travelling through Union Cave en route to Azalea was much less painful than it could have been. Along the way, among the constant Zubat and Geodude, I ran into my catchable Pokémon of the area - a male Sandshrew. I couldn't resist - upon catching him, I named him Michael, in honour of my fallen friend from my Storm Silver failure run.

When I reached Azalea, my first move (aside from healing up) was to do a little bit of grinding on Route 33. There, I met a female Hoppip, whom I named Breeze. I rather like the Hoppip line, actually, so this was a high point. After that, I headed into the town to visit Kurt, who, in a move utterly removed from logic, raced off to Slowpoke Well and hurt his back. Why? Because the plot says so, that's why. Anyway, this first appearance of Team Rocket was underwhelming, to say the least. Two of the three Grunts went down with little effort; the third brought along an Ekans which, in a worrying moment, critted and knocked Artax down to 4 HP. Luckily, my little Togepi immediately hit back with Extrasensory and ended the battle, but that was still too close for comfort. Proton, meanwhile, decided that throwing out a level 8 Rattata would be a good idea; Whit dealt with that admirably, before Pavel demolished Proton's Koffing. Slowpoke saved! And speaking of Slowpoke, a male one became my capture for the area. Nice!

My next idea was to trigger the battle with my rival, which may have been a bit of a mistake, given tthe level of his team. His level 14 Gastly immediately used Curse on Kiba, who managed to Bite it out of the battle. I pulled her out right then before she succumbed to Curse, throwing in Pavel to deal with Quilava. Thankfully, it was less of a problem than I feared, given Pavel's insane defence and his Magnitude; then came his Zubat, whom I set Racer on. A worrying moment came with Zubat's Supersonic, but Racer managed to Quick Attack it out of the battle. Victory!

Next objective: Bugsy. Concerned about his Scyther, I decided it would be a good idea to level up a bit before entering the Gym. That was done around Route 33 and Union Cave; during this, Tristan reached level 16, evolving into Bayleef!

Bugsy is next. I'm expecting trouble.