[Gen 9] FeraligatrMaster's Scarlet adventure

I've got Pokemon Scarlet, and I'm already enjoying it a lot! I think I'm gonna love this game!

I named my character after Saber, particularly the one from Fate/Zero. Then I had to do the tutorial stuff.

When the starters were introduced to me, I had to take them for a walk. After that, I picked Fuecoco. Meanwhile, I met a nice girl named Nomena. To my surprise, she picked Sprigatito instead of Quaxly. Then she challenged me to a training match, which I won.

Soon after, I had to follow a tutorial on how to catch Pokemon. But this time, there was a twist: I had to catch the Pokemon myself. It was a Lechonk. For the time being, I'll keep it around as a minor team member.

After the catching tutorial, Nomena wanted to go to a lighthouse with me. Along the way, we spotted a cave, as well as a broken fence. I fell down from the cliff and encountered Koraidon. I had to follow it into the cave. We were ambushed by wild Houndour along the way, but Koraidon held them off with relative ease.

Eventually, we encountered a Houndoom. My Pokemon could do nothing about it, but Koraidon saved the day.

After escaping from the cave, we went to the lighthouse, where some arrogant guy challenged me with a Skwovet. Before heading into battle, I went on to look for Pokemon with Fighting type moves. Unfortunately, I couldn't go really far, and didn't find what I was looking for, so I went into battle with my Fuecoco.

When I defeated that guy, I climbed the lighthouse with Nomena, and she showed me the school we're about to attend. Then she headed for that school. For now, I'll explore as much of the region as I can.

Pokemon currently in my possession:
Fuecoco
Lechonk

While exploring the Paldea region, I found some nice Pokemon. I added a Pawmi, a Flamigo, and a Paldean Wooper to my team. I also got a Pikachu from a Mystery Gift.

After exploring everything I could, I headed for the Naranja Academy. There, Nemona was waiting for me. This time, she used Sprigatito and Pawmi against me. I sent out my Fuecoco and Wooper.

After defeating Nemona again, we entered the campus of Naranja Academy together. There, some kids from Team Star harassed someone into joining their team. I stood up for their victim. The bullies used a Yungoos and a Shroodle, which I countered with my Flamigo and Wooper. Meanwhile, Nemona taught me how to Terastallize my Pokemon.

When I defeated those Team Star grunts, it was time to attend school. At school, Nemona informed me about the Champion story arc. The guy who challenged me at the lighthouse, Arven, turned out much nicer than I thought. He told me about Titan Pokemon. Then there was someone who informed me about Team Star and their bases. In other words, there are 3 story arcs, which I can do in any order I want. I can also hop back and forth between story arcs.

Finally, I got taught how to ride Koraidon. This is where the open world part of Scarlet and Violet starts. I'm planning to take on the Titan Pokemon first, then Team Star, and then the Gyms. I'll switch up the order when necessary.

Pokemon currently in my possession:
Fuecoco
Lechonk
Pawmi
Flamigo
Paldean Wooper
Pikachu

As I was planning, I headed for the first Titan Pokemon. It turned out to be a Klawf. I used my Flamigo against it, and I Terastallized it. When I thought I defeated it, it retreated. I chased it, and then Arven came along to help me. He sent out a Shellder, and I sent out my Flamigo again. This time, I decided not to Terastallize my Flamigo. Instead, we defeated the Titan Klawf with teamwork.

With Titan Klawf defeated, I got my first Titan Badge. Additionally, Arven made me a sandwich, but Koraidon wanted it so badly, I had to concede. This allowed Koraidon to learn how to dash.

Afterwards, I continued my journey, and reached Artazon. This town has a Gym. I'm not going to challenge it yet. Instead, I decided to explore the eastern part of the Paldea region. I caught a Finizen and a Toedscool. Also, my Fuecoco, Pawmi, and Lechonk evolved. Unfortunately, my Finizen was a bit stubborn, so I'm boxing it for the time being.

Also, I've decided to split up my Pokemon collection between major and minor team members, just like I did in earlier games.

Major team members:
Crocalor
Pawmo
Flamigo
Paldean Wooper

Other Pokemon currently in my possession:
Pikachu
Oinkologne
Finizen
Toedscool

Poor finizen😔

As I was exploring the eastern part of Paldea, I reached a roadblock which could only be unlocked by defeating Team Star in a nearby base. I thought I couldn't progress any further, but then I tried to cross the water at a nearby beach, and I managed to bypass the roadblock.

Either way, I decided to explore the western part of Paldea. Here, I caught a Tinkatink and a Smoliv. Tinkatink because its line interests me, and Smoliv because I don't like Toedscool that much.

In the western part of Paldea, I found 2 Titan Pokemon: Bombirdier and Great Tusk. I thought Great Tusk would be more threatening, so I decided to challenge it first. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that the Titan Pokemon don't scale, as Great Tusk overwhelmed me. Therefore, I had to take on Titan Bombirdier first. But first, I did a lot of training. This caused my Pawmo, Tinkatink, and Paldean Wooper to evolve.

My new Pawmot overwhelmed Titan Bombirdier, and Koraidon gained the ability to cross water. With this new ability, I decided to search all towns and Titan Pokemon. Along the way, I encountered an Axew with Mold Breaker. I decided to catch it, in case I need a Pokemon with False Swipe. It had a neutral nature, so I decided to deal with it.

Major team members:
Crocalor
Pawmot
Flamigo
Clodsire
Tinkatuff

Other Pokemon currently in my possession:
Pikachu
Axew
Oinkologne
Smoliv
Finizen
Toedscool

While I was looking for all towns and Poke Centers, there were some I couldn't reach. On the other hand, my Smoliv and Crocalor evolved! With my new Skeledirge, I decided to challenge another Titan Pokemon. Since I wasn't strong enough to deal with Great Tusk yet, I headed for Orthworm. Titan Orthworm was good at running away from me, but it had to fight me eventually. It was no match for my Skeledirge.

After defeating Titan Orthworm, Koraidon gained the ability to jump higher, allowing me to reach places I previously couldn't. Also, I did a lot of training, allowing my Dolliv and Tinkatuff to evolve.

Now that I have an Arboliva and a Tinkaton, I'm going after Great Tusk again. If I still can't beat it, I'm going to train even more, and possibly evolve my Toedscool as well.

Major team members:
Skeledirge
Pawmot
Flamigo
Clodsire
Tinkaton
Arboliva

Other Pokemon currently in my possession:
Pikachu
Axew
Oinkologne
Finizen
Toedscool

With my new Arboliva, I was able to deal with Great Tusk. Then Arven came along to help me, and he had a Scovillain with him. I was worried Great Tusk would take out my Arboliva, but it went for Scovillain instead. This allowed me to defeat Great Tusk.

With Great Tusk defeated, one more Titan Pokemon remained. I found it at Casseroya Lake. I had to inspect some Tatsugiri. One of them got eaten by a Dondozo, which appeared to be the Titan Pokemon at first. My Arboliva could deal with it just fine. Then it turned out that the real last Titan Pokemon was Tatsugiri. Arven and I defeated it with teamwork.

With the last Titan Pokemon defeated, I was instructed to go back to the lighthouse at the beginning of the game. Here, I learned that Professor Sada was Arven's mother, and that she never had any time to play with him. Now I understand why Arven acted arrogantly earlier. Either way, he challenged me to a battle, but I wasn't strong enough to deal with him, so I decided to take on Team Star.

The first Team Star base I decided to tackle was the one near Cascarrafa, led by Giacomo. I took the gang on with Pawmot, Tinkaton, and Flamigo. With them, I was able to smoke out the first Team Star base.

Before taking on another Team Star base, I'm going to take on a Gym. I've set my sights on the Levincia Gym. For good measure, I caught a Nacli, evolved it, and also evolved my Toedscool.

Major team members:
Skeledirge
Pawmot
Flamigo
Clodsire
Tinkaton
Arboliva

Other Pokemon currently in my possession:
Pikachu
Axew
Oinkologne
Finizen
Naclstack
Toedscruel

I've finished the Levincia Gym! With Naclstack, Clodsire, and Tinkaton, I was able to defeat Iono. Now that I've got a Gym Badge, my Finizen is no longer disobedient!

Speaking of Finizen, I've got a cousin who loves Pokemon, and I've invited him over for a Union Circle. We both had a Finizen we wanted to evolve. And now, we both own a Palafin!

With my new Palafin, I headed for the second Team Star base, the one near Artazon. For good measure, I caught a Veluza. It turned out that I didn't need it, as my Palafin, Clodsire, and Naclstack were strong enough to take care of the grunts.

The second Team Star leader was a woman named Mela. She started off with a Torkoal, which my Naclstack took care of. Her Torkoal had Drought, but luckily for me, it somehow didn't activate, as there was a heavy downpour. With her Torkoal down, she sent out her Revavroom. I had to let my Clodsire take care of that one.

With the second Team Star base smoked out, I decided to train my Veluza for the third one.

Major team members:
Skeledirge
Pawmot
Flamigo
Clodsire
Tinkaton
Arboliva
Palafin

Other Pokemon currently in my possession:
Pikachu
Axew
Oinkologne
Naclstack
Veluza
Toedscruel

I trained my Veluza until level 40, because it learns Psycho Cut at that level. Then, I stormed the third Team Star base with Veluza, Clodsire, and Tinkaton. My Veluza was useful against the grunts, but for Don Atticus, I didn't really need it. My Clodsire and Tinkaton were sufficient for that battle.

For the fourth Team Star base, I used Clodsire, Tinkaton, and Arboliva. Against Ortega, I started off with Arboliva, which took care of his Azumarill. Against his Wigglytuff, I used Tinkaton. His Wigglytuff paralyzed my Tinkaton with Body Slam, but Tinkaton pulled through. Against his Dachsbun, I used my Clodsire.

With Ortega and Don Atticus taken care of, the time came for the last Team Star base. I took care of the grunts with Skeledirge, Clodsire, and Tinkaton. They were no problem for me, but Eri was difficult. I had to give my Tinkaton Baby-Doll Eyes and Draining Kiss for this battle.

Her Toxicroak was the least difficult, as I could let my Clodsire use Yawn against it and lay 2 layers of Toxic Spikes before finishing it off. Her Annihilape worried me more, as it did a lot of damage to my Skeledirge. I had to send out my Arboliva to take a Rage Fist from it, and then switch out to Skeledirge again to take a Close Combat. After that, Annihilape fainted because of the poison. For her Lucario, I sent out my Pawmot, let it use Arm Thrust first, and then finish it off with Close Combat. Then Eri sent out a Passimian. It did quite a bit of damage to my Tinkaton, but it was still manageable. The hardest part of the fight was her Revavroom, as it had Stamina. Finishing it off with Play Rough was out of the question. Instead, I had to use Baby-Doll Eyes to lower its Attack and Draining Kiss to heal any damage. Even worse, it had Shift Gear. After multiple attempts, I defeated Eri.

With all of Team Star's bases smoked out, I learned that they were formed by people who were bullied at school. Also, I learned that Cassiopeia was their true leader.

Either way, with the Titan Pokemon and Team Star defeated, I decided to take on the Gyms. I've already beaten the Levincia Gym, so I headed for the Montenevera Gym next. I had to defeat a few trainers before I could fight the Gym Leader. I gave my Tinkaton Brutal Swing for this challenge. To my surprise, Brutal Swing didn't just hit the trainers' Pokemon, but also my Skeledirge. Against the Gym Leader, Ryme, I had to Terastallize my Skeledirge.

After I defeated Ryme, I challenged the Medali Gym. For this challenge, I had to order a special menu from some restaurant, and defeat trainers to get hints. Finding the clues wasn't that hard, but I did have trouble with finding the restaurant.

When I found the restaurant, the Gym Leader, Larry, challenged me to a battle. He started off with a Komala, and I started off with my Tinkaton. My Tinkaton managed to finish off his Komala, but not before getting Yawned. My Pawmot had to take care of his other Pokemon. Against his Dudunsparce, I let it use Arm Thrust, and against his Staraptor, I let it use Nuzzle first, only to find out that it had Facade. I decided to let my Pawmot use Close Combat to finish it off, which worked.

My next Gym will be the one on Glaseado Mountain.

Major team members:
Skeledirge
Pawmot
Flamigo
Clodsire
Tinkaton
Arboliva
Palafin

Other Pokemon currently in my possession:
Pikachu
Axew
Oinkologne
Naclstack
Veluza
Toedscruel

Although the Gym on Glaseado Mountain had the highest levels, I didn't have any real trouble with it, as my Skeledirge and Tinkaton were strong enough to handle it.

After defeating Grusha, I headed for the Alfornada Gym. Again, my Skeledirge and Tinkaton were strong enough for the job. But right after defeating Tulip, I had to face Nemona again. Good thing I started off with Tinkaton against Tulip, as Nemona started off with a Lycanroc. Her Lycanroc annoyed me with Sand-Attack, but my Tinkaton took it down eventually. Nemona's other Pokemon were no trouble for me.

Next up, I headed for the Cascarrafa Gym. The Gym Leader of Cascarrafa, Kofu, forgot his wallet, so I had to bring it to him. Afterwards, I had to bid on an auction. After that, I could challenge Kofu. I only needed my Arboliva, really. His Wugtrio flinched my Arboliva with Headbutt, but other than that, Kofu gave me no trouble.

As for the Gyms in Artazon and Cortondo, my Skeledirge easily took care of them.

Before going to the Pokemon League, I wanted to wrap up the Path of Legends and Team Star story arcs. I challenged Arven. He started off with a Greedent, and I started off with my Pawmot. One Arm Thrust and one Close Combat were enough. Then Arven sent out a Garganacl. I sent out my Palafin first, before switching it out for my Arboliva, which took care of his Garganacl. Then, Arven sent out his Scovillain. I thought my Clodsire could handle it, but Scovillain was faster and had Zen Headbutt, so I had to take out my Palafin again and let it use Acrobatics. Fortunately, it was an OHKO. Next up, Arven sent out his Toedscruel, and I sent out my Skeledirge. His Toedscruel did a lot of damage to my Skeledirge with Earth Power, but on the other hand, one Flamethrower was enough to take down his Toedscruel. Then, Arven sent out his Cloyster. Since my Pawmot was heavily damaged by his Greedent, I tried to let Arboliva take on his Cloyster. I was worried his Cloyster would use Icicle Spear, but instead it used Light Screen. Either way, my Arboliva knocked it out with Energy Ball. Finally, I had to face Arvens Mabosstiff with my Tinkaton. Unfortunately, his Mabosstiff managed to burn my Tinkaton with Fire Fang. Fortunately, a third Play Rough was enough to take Mabosstiff down.

With the Path of Legends story arc complete, I went back to the Naranja Academy, where Clive revealed himself to be Director Clavell all along. For my battle with him, I gave my Tinkaton Knock Off, so that it could face his Oranguru. Oranguru was annoying with Yawn and Dream Eater, but my Tinkaton prevailed eventually. Next up, Clavell sent out a Houndoom, which my Palafin took care of. My Skeledirge took down his Abomasnow, Polteageist, and Amoonguss. Lastly, Clavell sent out his Quaquaval. If he sent that thing out earlier, I would've been in trouble. But since he didn't, I could send out my Arboliva, which I Terastallized.

After defeating Director Clavell, I heard that Cassiopeia was actually Penny, the girl who I saved from some Team Star grunts early in the game. She asked me to meet her in the schoolyard. Someone I know in real life had a lot of trouble with this fight, so I expected a challenge. However, my Pokemon were strong enough to wipe the floor with Penny's.

And that's the end of the Team Star story arc. Now, only the Pokemon League remained. While looking for it, I found a cave at the left side of the campus. I expected it to be a Victory Road, but instead, it was a short tunnel leading directly to the League. I also expected one more battle with Nemona, but she didn't show up.

I'm going to the Elite Four with Skeledirge, Pawmot, Clodsire, Tinkaton, Palafin, and Arboliva. I think I'm going to do some training first, and maybe buy some Full Restores too.

I love how you not ruse the game and enjoying it, especially how you sometimes underlevel and need to get strong first to tackle missions, usually people in their diary make themselves look invincible and always win but you doing it more slowly and more humane so yeah i like this style of diary

After some much needed training, I was finally ready to take on the Elite Four. But before I could take them on, I had to take an entry exam. I never had to do that before. Nevertheless, the entry exam wasn't that difficult for me.

My first opponent was Rika. Against her Whiscash, I first sent out my Palafin, then quickly swapped it out for Arboliva, which took care of her Whiscash. Next up, Rika sent out a Camerupt, and I sent out my Clodsire. I let my Clodsire use Yawn and Toxic Spikes, but Rika's Camerupt used Yawn too. I had to send out my Palafin to deal with Camerupt. It also took care of her Dugtrio. As for her Donphan and Clodsire, my Arboliva finished them off.

Next up was Poppy. My Skeledirge took care of her entire team. Then Larry came along, turning out to be both a Gym Leader and an Elite Four member at once. He started off with a Tropius. I started off with my Palafin, but quickly switched it out for my Skeledirge, which took care of his Tropius. Against Larry's Staraptor, I used my Pawmot. I let it use Nuzzle first, and then finish it off with Spark. Larry also had an Altaria and an Oricorio, which my Palafin took care of. Finally, Larry sent out a Flamigo, which he Terastallized. I had to Terastallize my Pawmot to deal with it.

The fourth of the Elite Four was Hassel. I used my Clodsire against his Dragalge, my Palafin against his Flapple, and my Tinkaton dealt with the rest of his team. And with Hassel defeated, I could face the Champion, Geeta. My Skeledirge could take on most of her team, but I let my Arboliva deal with her Veluza and my Tinkaton with her Glimmora. I was worried her Glimmora would outspeed my Tinkaton, but it didn't.

After becoming the Champion, I had to fight Nemona once more. I decided to give my Pawmot Double Shock. Nemona started off with a Lycanroc, which my Arboliva dealt with. Against her Dudunsparce, I let my Pawmot use Double Shock first to reduce the damage from Drill Run, and then finish the job with Close Combat. My Tinkaton dealt with her Pawmot and Goodra, and my Skeledirge finished off her Orthworm and Meowscarada.

With my latest victory over Nemona, I completed the Victory Road story arc. However, there was a new story arc for me: the Way Home arc. I had to go to the Great Crater of Paldea with Arven, and Nemona and Penny came with us. Upon entering the Great Crater, I landed into an area known as Area Zero, which reminded me of NieR: Automata. Professor Sada instructed me to disable 4 locks, located at different labs within the area.

In Area Zero, my Koraidon started acting up, so I couldn't ride it. Therefore, I had to travel to the labs by foot. When I reached the first lab, I got ambushed by a Glimmora. It stood no chance against my Clodsire. At the second lab, I got attacked by a Paradox Pokemon: Scream Tail. I let my Skeledirge take care of it.

As I progressed further into Area Zero, I learned about the existence of Paradox Pokemon. The Paradox Pokemon from Pokemon Scarlet are said to be from the past, and the ones from Pokemon Violet are said to be from the future.

At the third lab, I encountered Great Tusk, which happened to be a Paradox Pokemon. I thought I'd have a hard time with it, even with my Arboliva. Fortunately, Arven helped me out.

With one more lock to go, I headed into the deepest part of Area Zero. Here, the final lab was located. But as I was about to disable the last lock, Professor Sada started acting weirdly, and a bunch of Paradox Pokemon ambushed me and the others. I had to work together with each of my fellow trainers to defeat them.

Eventually, I reached Professor Sada, and started suspecting her to be the main antagonist of Pokemon Scarlet. She turned out to be an AI created by the real Professor Sada, who perished in an accident in which Koraidon was involved. AI Sada challenged me to battle with a full team of Paradox Pokemon. She started off with Slither Wing. I let my Skeledirge use it as setup fodder, and made it use Torch Song twice. Then, it could finish off Scream Tail and Brute Bonnet. AI Sada's next Pokemon was Flutter Mane. Here, I didn't want to take any chances with Skeledirge, so I let my Tinkaton deal with Flutter Mane. While my Tinkaton got badly damaged, it did manage to finish off Flutter Mane. AI Sada still had Sandy Shocks and Roaring Moon left. My Arboliva took on Sandy Shocks, and against Roaring Moon, I used Pawmot. Roaring Moon was faster than my Pawmot and did a lot of damage with Dragon Claw, so I let my Pawmot use Close Combat against it. Fortunately, I got a critical hit.

With AI Sada defeated, I was hoping I'd get the chance to save, but I didn't. Instead, AI Sada had a Koraidon for me to face. AI Sada sabotaged my Poke Balls, so I couldn't use any of my Pokemon, other than Koraidon. I tried to take AI Sada's Koraidon on with Collision Course, Tera Blast, and even Flamethrower, but all moves did little damage. Suddenly, my companions started cheering for me, and my Koraidon's stats started to rise. Furthermore, I was given the chance to Terastallize my Koraidon! I had to take that chance to defeat AI Sada.

This time, AI Sada was defeated for real. With that, the last story arc has been finished.

By the way, I finished the last story arc last Monday. However, the last few days have been so busy for me that I couldn't post this update until today.

Overall, I loved this game. I love how there are 3 story arcs at once, and you've got a lot of freedom in how you want to handle them. The Paradox Pokemon are a great concept too, as are Titan Pokemon, and they fit in way better than the Ultra Beasts ever will.

However, there are also things that could be improved. First of all, I'd add level scaling. I'd make the levels of wild Pokemon and trainers scale to your level. Second of all, I'd add trainer rematches. And last but not least, I'd add an option to remove the tie from your character.

Now, I'm going to put this game down. I think I'm going back to Pokemon Legends: Arceus. But first, my final team in Pokemon Scarlet:
Skeledirge
Pawmot
Clodsire
Tinkaton
Palafin
Arboliva