Gimme Goes Alola

[gimmepie]

My Alolan Travel Diary

The Journey Begins

I might put more effort into this for my next post, but for now - list format.

1. Begun my journey in Alola as "Pokemon Trainer Loc" once again. I don't remember how that choice of character name came about but it's kind of become a tradition to use it for the first playthrough of each new generation since gen 3 or 4.

2. I've more or less had my starter choice and final team planned out for a while now so it was quite the easy choice for me to go with Popplio. I actually really like all of the starters this time around - and more or less equally - so the choice was mostly made considering the stats I liked the best.

3. I caught my first Pokemon, a Pikipek, fairly quickly. I then spent the next little while simply leveling both it and my Popplio up a bit whilst plodding through the early story.

4. I then wasted about two hours on trying to get a Pichu. I had just the previous night decided that I'd use Alolan Raichu to fill out the last remaining slot in my final team and had been told where to get Pichu early, so figured I'd go for it. The thing here though, is that Pichu is rather rare. The only one I actually found I accidentally KO'd. Oops.

5. Thirty minutes after fainting my only hope for salvation, I rage quit my Pichu hunt and decided I'd just head to the trial already. Along the way I spontaneously caught a Crabrawler and leveled it up a bit too. I also evolved my Popplio and Pikipek whilst I was at it.

6. The trial was easy, Totem Pokemon and all. This was largely due to 2/3 of my team being much higher leveled whilst the other one has a high Attack stat and a type advantage. I ended up almost soloing the entire thing with just my (at the beginning anyway) underleveled Crabrawler.

7. The Melemele meadow was a bit too yellow for my liking, I hope there's prettier ones on the other islands. I did catch a Cutiefly there though so I could make some extra cash from one of those weird tourists who pay you for catching Pokemon. Ended up keeping it on my team anyway (for now).

8. Battled Hala and beat him almost solely with said Cutiefly, although I used my Popplio to finish off his Crabrawler. The next thing I plan to do is to go back around the island to get all the TMs I couldn't access before beating Hala and after that I'm going to go to Ten Carat Hill and capture a Rockruff (and then show it to another weird tourist for more money).

Current Team

Some Thoughts​

1. I wonder why so many of the new Pokemon are so painfully slow?

2. I am really surprised at how powerful Crabrawler is so far. It's pretty good for the early game.

3. I'm really loving this game so far. It looks great, the interface is nice, the story is shaping up to be pretty good and the music is pretty good too.

4. Lillie is probably one of my favourite characters in the Franchise. She's really different and interesting compared to all your typical Pokemon cookie cutter characters.

5. So far so good, not a single fainted Pokemon.

 

[Snorl.ax]

Yep too slow

 

[Somewhere_]

GAHHHHHH this is making me impatient to get the game! Why you do this to me Gimme?

You said you were surprised at the power of the Crabrawler: did you find the other pokemon weaker or stronger than expected? Other than the speed?

Also did you nickname any of your pokemon? What are the nicknames?

 

[gimmepie]

GAHHHHHH this is making me impatient to get the game! Why you do this to me Gimme?

You said you were surprised at the power of the Crabrawler: did you find the other pokemon weaker or stronger than expected? Other than the speed?

Also did you nickname any of your pokemon? What are the nicknames?

Power wise the others are more or less what I had expected, except Cutiefly is maybe a bit stronger than I thought it'd be tbh. The current roster are named Concerto (Popplio), Toucci (Trumbeak), Hook (Crabrawler) and Necta (Cutiefly) - not particularly great names but they fit well enough. It's been a while since I've bothered to nickname but I usually will on my first playthrough.

 

[gimmepie]

Where did you find yourself that Crabrawler? I found one in a berry patch on Route 2 but it has a terrible nature. :(

Same place! I encountered another one in a different berry patch also so you can keep looking if you'd rather find one with a better nature. I don't really put much thought into things like nature or even ability in-game myself.

 

[gimmepie]

My Alolan Travel Diary

Ten Carats Aren't Worth It

1. I explored as much of Ten Carat hill as I could. Right now however it seems most of it is still unavailable. It looks like you need a helper mon with Strength to get deeper into the cave, Tauros isn't enough. I encountered Alola Diglet, Carbink, Marchop, Roggenrola and Rockruff within.

2. Spent most of my time in the big open canyon at the end of Ten Carat Hill training up my Cutiefly. It's leveled up a fair bit now. I also caught myself that Rockruff I was talking about.

3. I then spent forever going through the painful experience of leveling Rockruff up back on Route 3 and in the Melemele Meadow. Rockruff doesn't have great stats and it's movepool is abysmal so it's hard work. It doesn't even get a STAB move until level 15.

4. Finally got Rockruff up to scratch and now that it has STAB and has leveled up its much more usable. I've just taken a boat ride with Kukui, Lillie and carboard... I mean Hau and arrived on Akala Island where we were greeted by a captain and a kahuna.

Current Team

Some Thoughts​

1. Hau is starting to really bore me. Lillie has shaped up to be a great character so far as has Kukui. Hau though is just so damn dull. It's like they gave Barry a tan and sucked all the interesting out of him.

2. The Rockruff line really is bad. I love their designs but they have such awful movepools and stats that aren't much better. Day form looks a fair bit better in the stat department tbh, even though I like midnight for better, but not enough to make up for everything else.

3. I forgot to collect the money for the bloody demon spawn Rockruff.

 

[gimmepie]

My Alolan Travel Diary

I'd Like to Live at Brooklet Hill

1. Met Sina and Dexio and battled Sina (kicked her ass of course). Was interesting to see that she appears to specialize in the Ice type. I was rewarded with the Zygarde Cube and have begun collecting cells.

2. Did not expect to run into a wild west-looking town. Did HBO direct this section? Either way really like the looks of this town and I've found the daycare now, I'll be remembering that.

3. Caught a Mudbray with Stamina. It's still a bit lower than the rest of my team but it's quite the tank and hits fairly hard too which is good. Yet another painfully slow Pokemon though.

4. Met Lana and completed her trial which was a bit more challenging than the first one. One of my Pokemon actually fainted for the first time in the game (albeit Cutiefly which has lower defenses than pulp). She gave me a fishing rod which is cool too.

Current Team

Some Thoughts​

1. Brooklet Hill is the most gorgeous location in any Pokemon Game ever and I wish the entirety of this island looked like it. Absolutely stunning.

2. I really like that the water looks more realistic now. The above lovely location wouldn't be nearly as amazing otherwise.

3. I love Lana, she's such a fun character. Can I have her as my rival instead of Hau please?

 

[Bay]

Sounds like you made some good progress there. =) Oh, a Wild West looking town? Really looking forward to visiting it someday then, haha.

 

[gimmepie]

My Alolan Travel Diary

I'd Kill for a Good Woman

1. I met Hapu, whoever she is (a Kahuna maybe?) and did my first battle royale against Hau, Gladion and Profes - I mean Masked Royal. That was an easy win thanks to my Mudbray.

2. I then entered again for the fun, not realising my opponents would all be level 50. That didn't go very well.

3. Following that disaster I went to the nearby volcano for Kiawe's trial and to catch a female Salandit. Salandit females are very rare and of course they are the only Salandit that evolve. I'm not sure how long it took my to find a female but too long is a good enough description. It's so fragile too and doesn't learn any powerful Fire or Poison moves for a while... it gets Dragon Rage though which is a big help.

4. I completed Kiawe's challenge easily enough and defeated his photobombing Totem Salazzle and used only Salandit to do so. I just poisoned the Salazzle and Dragon Raged it to death before taking out its allied Salandit.

5. I'm going to leave my Cutiefly at the daycare in case I need it again.

Current Team

Some Thoughts​

1. Dragon Rage is so powerful in the early game, it's great fun.

2. Kiawe's photobombing Totem Pokemon is the best thing ever.

 

[gimmepie]

My Alolan Travel Diary

Nihilego is Nihelegone

I could have sworn I'd written most of this up already but it seems to have vanished or something. So here we go again largely.

1. I completed Mallow's trial really easily. It was fun and quirky, much like Mallow herself, but her Totem Pokemon was a fair bit lower leveled than my team and weak to two of my Pokemon. I OHKO'd it with a Flame Burst from Salandit.

2. Learned some more about the Ultra Beasts. They're Pokemon or Pokemon-like creatures from another dimension that somehow crossed over long ago and laid waste to Alola for some reason. The Tapus fought against them and it seems won in the end but it was a close call.

3. I met the boss character from Team Skull and a big wig from Aether. The Skull character was quite boring compared to Gladion or her grunts and not much tougher than either either but I look forward to seeing how she gets involved with the story later on. The old guy from Aether promised to show me something good as a reward for beating her.

4. Defeated the Kahuna of Akala Island quite quickly too meeting up with Lillie along the way. Rock types just didn't stand a chance against Brionne and Crabrawler unfortunately. Soon afterwards I also met with Hau who decides to go with you to Aether, Lillie doesn't want to go anywhere near them.

5. I got to be over 10% complete in my Zygarde collection. I wonder if I can access Zygarde's 10% form now?

6. Went to the Aether Foundation with Hau where I met Wicke and Lusamine (the boss). Lusamine made it obvious through her expression she knows Lillie when Hau mentioned their similar fashion sense, I suspect that Lusamine is her mother. Lusamine also has this weird obsessive personality where she has to possess/love/mother everything.

7. Lusamine's weirdness was interupted by the sudden appearance of Nihilego (the first Ultra Beast/UB-01). I ended up battling it (of course) and whilst it looked awesome with a Totem-like Aura around it and had kickass music it was taken out in one shot by a super-effective High Horsepower.

8. Following that incident, I was very quickly ushered out off of Aether's island and travelled to the next one where Hau, who has no sense of the dramatics of what had just unfolded, battled me. He didn't do very well.

9. With that out of the way, I then met Kukui briefly for something that seemed kind of pointless but also ran into Lillie who invites you to the library. After meeting Hapu again briefly, Lillie and the player meet Acerola who lends them a book.

10. Information about Lunala and Solgaleo was revealed! It turns out they also came through from the other dimension and fought the Tapu's whom they drew with. The pair then had a baby and gave it to the Tapu's as a reward (weird) - that's probably Nebby the Cosmog.

11. After that I battled this weird janitor and his son. You'll understand their weirdness when you battle them yourself. Now I'm about to head off to my next challenge which will be against a Captain specializing in Electric mon.

Current Team

Some Thoughts​

1. Why is the Zygarde Cube not a cube?

2. Hau is still boring.

3. There's definitely something shady going with the Aether Foundation and I can't wait to find out just how messed up they are.

 

[gimmepie]

My Alolan Travel Diary

Sophocles is Shit

1. I kicked things off by rounding up a bunch of lost/hiding Stuffle for some lady. That was actually way more fun than it sounds. Go figure though, the last one I found was not only in plain sight but should have been the first.

2. I continued this section of my journey by catching a bus with a questionable safety rating up a mountain. Afterwards I battled the former captain who seemed like an interesting fellow and then moved on to take on Sophocles' trial.

3. Not only was Sophocles' trial a cake walk but Sophocles himself is by far the most boring and unlikable character I have come across in this game so far. He's basically a slightly overweight version of Clemont - but with much less personality (which Clemont didn't exactly have in spades to begin with). His predecessor was much cooler.

4. I then walked back down the mountain, then back up it to battle the guy at the top, then after thrashing him and regretting wasting that time I walked back down again. From there I returned to the city where I found Kukui and the other (real) boss of Team Skull.

5. Kukui and Guzma talked shit at each other for a while, Kukui looking like a smug bastard the whole time (and me loving every moment of it), and then Kukui made me fight his battle for him. Or rather, I obliterated and humiliated a man who probably already hates himself (and loved every moment of it).

6. After that I took a walk to Tapu Town which is supposedly where the Tapu and Ultra Beasts fought way back when (or something like that) and from there to the Aether House where Hau and I were almost mugged by some pre-schoolers.

7. I exited the Aether House to find Lillie also getting mugged, her by Team Skull. Because I'm a cliche, I jumped right in and saved her (as the plot demands) before leaving her there to follow Acerola back to Tapu Town for her trial.

8. Acerola's challenge was my favourite so far and the Mimikyu doing spooky stuff was both adorable and also probably the toughest of the Totem Pokemon I have encountered so far barring maybe Lana's Wishiwashi.

9. I have just arrived outside the Aether House again where Hau seems to be outside with some Team Skull-looking people. I guess its time to leave more tryhards cowering in my wake... and probably to save Lillie and her Cosmog again.

Current Team

Some Thoughts​

1. How did that lady have eight Stufful with her when you can only carry six Pokemon?

2. Hau is still boring but at least he's not Sophocles.

3. Accerola's trial is my favourite and Mimiku is so cute.

 

[gimmepie]

My Alolan Travel Diary

"No"

1. I defeated Plumeria outside of the Aether House whilst Hau and Acerola dealt with the grunts. Was surprised to see that Nebby had not been stolen, instead one of the preschooler muggers' had their Yungoos taken.

2. Acerola gave me the directions needed to get to Po Town where Team Skull basically live. Along the way I met Grimsley from the Unova E4 who gave me access to Sharpedo as a ride Pokemon and ran into Sina and Dexio who talked more about Zygarde. I managed to put mine together and now have a Zygarde 10% sitting in my box at level 30.

4. Raided Po Town, a heavily vandalised location taken over by Team Skull and defeated Guzma again. Turns out the apathetic guard who lets you into Po Town is actually Acerola's uncle. She takes the Yungoos and says she'll meet you back at Aether House.

Current Team

Some Thoughts​

1. Po Town is my second favourite place in Alola behind Brooklet Hill. It's really vibrantly and well designed as well as really unique. I also love the heavy rain I encountered there and the music- very dramatic.

2. I want to learn more about Acerola and her Uncle.

 

[gimmepie]

My Alolan Travel Diary

Lusamine is Certifiably Insane

1. Got back to Aether House only to discover that whilst Acerola had been pointlessly coming to get me, Plumeria had gone back to confront Lillie and take her back to... Aether Paradise. I knew the Aether Foundation were going to be bad news, did not expect Team Skull to be working for them.

2. Teamed up with Hau and Gladion but before moving on I was challenged by Acerola's uncle Nanu, the (obvious) Kahuna of the third island. Defeated him real quick but I still like that guy.

4. Raid two of the day, got into Aether Paradise with Gladion and Hau where we battled scores of Aether Grunts... sorry "Employees". Also defeated Faba and learned a bit more about Type: Null - turns out it was made specifically to battle Ultra Beasts (funny when you already know its stats).

5. Defeated Faba again and progressed deeper into the Aether Base where Guzma and a bunch of Skull Grunts were waiting outside Lusamine's house. Defeated the Grunts and Guzma before going into the house.

6. Found Lillie arguing with Lusamine who "revealed" (read told us what we already worked out) that Lillie and Gladeon are her children. She also talked a bit, but it was kind of hard to workout much of her point because she's just plain insane. Even Cyrus and Lysandre made sense in their insanity - Lusamine's just broken. Looks like she wants to collect the Ultra Beasts.

7. Defeated Lusamine and her hyper-feminine team but Nihilego appeared again and Lusamine and Guzma both escaped by chasing it back into its dimension. Meanwhile, the other Ultra Beasts have been unleashed all over Alola - I briefly saw Hala and Tapu Koko taking on Pheremosa. Also Cosmog evolved which is freaking people out.

8. Went to bed at the Aether Paradise, the current plan is to head to Poni island and look for the Moon Flute so we can summon Lunala and get it on our side. Lillie - complete with a change of attire - and Hau are set to come with but Gladeon is going to stay behind and try and sort out the Aether Foundation.

Current Team

Some Thoughts​

1. Hau is growing on me now, he's still quite a dull rival compared to others. Maybe it's just that ever since I saw Sophocles I realise he's not so bad after all.

2. I preferred Lillie's other look, but she's among my favourite characters. I've come to really like Super Emo - I mean Gladeon - also.

3. I feel vindicated about Aether.

 

[gimmepie]

My Alolan Travel Diary

Tapu and Hapu

1. Arrived in this quaint, interesting little town made up of houseboats. There's some really interesting places in Alola. Lillie and I were told to go see Hapu, who apparently lives at the only actual house still standing on the island.

2. Met up with Hapu and went with her to the ruins on Poni Island to see if the Tapu there could help with whatever Nebby is now. No luck on that front however was officially made the fourth Kahuna. I guess my earlier guess about her was half-right?

4. Discovered that we could find the Moon Floot on Exeggcutor Island so got the captain of the Houseboat People to take us there. After a really sweet cut scene we got the flute and headed back to the main island.

5. I battled and defeated Hapu and her Ground Pokemon without her ever using her Z-Move sadly. I think she was probably the toughest of the Kahunas but none of them are particularly challenging. Now heading into the Vast Poni Canyon with Lillie in tow in the hopes of summoning Lunala at its alter.

Current Team

Some Thoughts​

1. I wonder what happened to the rest of the houses on Poni? Apparently Exeggcutor Island used to be a trial site too, so it sounds like Hapu's grandfather wasn't the only one in the area who died. I thought maybe it had something to d with the Ultra Beasts and Tapu battling in the past but that doesn't seem recent enough at all - people would remember.

2. Looks like we'll be spending most of the remainder of our journey with Lillie. I really like her character and all the development she's gotten so I am completely okay with that.

3. I think this is around where the Jangmo-o line is available. I'm tempted to catch one and replace Crabrawler with it since that was my original intention anyway but it seems like a waste since I'm so close to being somewhere Crabrawler can finally evolve.

 

[gimmepie]

My Alolan Travel Diary

So Very Vast

1. Started going through Vast Poni Canyon and I can see why it has that name. It's quite the experience though - a great place to train and it looks amazing. Plus it's quite cheap to get through as well because Lillie is with you to heal you at all the major "check points".

2. Spent a great deal of time in the middle of the canyon looking for Jangmo-o. Took forever to find it but I can now say I have two large, female reptiles on my team and that both kick ass. I had to box Crabrawler for it, but I don't regret that at all.

3. Then the training came. I caught my Jangmo-o at level 43 and I am ashamed to admit that out of pure laziness I used all of my saved rare candies to level it up. It evolves to its final stage really quickly because you catch it over-leveled which is both very convenient and a little disappointing. Despite the "cheating" with rare candies I'm still not done training it up to the level of the rest of my team though - although it's getting closer now.

4. I reached the end of the canyon and was greeted with a surprise trial where you get to battle a Jangmo-o, then a Hakamo-o and finally a Totem Kommo-o along with any allied Hakamo-o it calls. It has Soundproof so unfortunately I couldn't one-shot it with Clanging Scales but I did manage to beat it without too much hassle and obtain the Dragonium Z.

5. After that, I was able to reach the alter with Lillie and using the Sun and Moon Flutes we managed to not only heal Nebby, but evolve it into Lunala the first Legendary with an evolutionary line. Nebby has now opened a portal and taken us into Ultra Space which is very exciting.

Current Team

Some Thoughts​

1. Lillie is such a money saver.

2. At first when I heard about Cosmog, I wasn't really fussed about a legendary with an evolutionary line. Now that I am experiencing the story however, I am thrilled because without that addition such a great story wouldn't have come to be. The Cosmog line really is the glue that keeps this all together in a lot of ways. I wouldn't want it to become too regular an occurrence though.

3. Ultra Space is really fantastic visually! I'd say it has overtaken Po Town as my second favourite location by far and is even giving Brooklet Hill a bit of a run for its money. Very good visuals in this game.

 

[gimmepie]

My Alolan Travel Diary

KGJMFDLGJYHLFK#REWAER

I actually ended up playing this until four in the morning finishing the game's main story. It was so good, but I was tired so I'm only just now doing the post.

1. It didn't take long to reach the first cut scene in Ultra Space where, with Lillie, I ment Guzma again... and he was a changed man. He was absolutely terrified and had come to realise that Lusamine was completely nuts and also dangerous.

2. Following that, I headed deeper into Ultra Space where we found Lusamine surrounded by an army of Nihilego. In another emotional cut scene, Lillie finally confronts her mother and gives her a talking to that the woman had more than earned - unfortunately though it isn't enough to save the day and prompts Lusamine to not only be a real bitch to her daughter but to also start a battle.

3. Of course before the battle happens, Lusamine and her pet Nihilego merge together to become some sort of evil jellyfish goddess from hell. So this isn't just any boss battle, you are fighting an entire team of Totem Pokemon and quite a few of them are bulky with recovery/Pain Split so it can be a bit of a hassle. Especially that Bewear.

4. After you defeat Lusamine, she goes mental and uses her super-powered form to try and attack Lillie and the player - seemingly with intent to kill. Lillie calls for Nebby however, and the legendary Pokemon arrives in an instant to defend its friends taking out Lusamine in one shot and seemingly dealing her a fatal blow.

5. As she lays there on the verge of death, Lusamine seems to come to her senses in a touching scene with Lillie. You then escape Ultra Space with Lillie, Lusamine and Guzma to find Hapu waiting outside. You are then informed that Lusamine actually isn't going to die which is great for Lillie I guess but quite disappointing for me.

6. After that it's time to head to that really tall mountain with the name I forget. Upon getting there you are challenged by Gladeon. When you're defeated he says he's glad he met you and that you're not enemies anymore before giving you a gift from Lillie and wishing you luck.

7. THERE'S NO VICTORY ROAD. The trip up the mountain has few battles and isn't very long courtesy of a lift. You are stopped outside of the League by Hau though for that traditional final battle with your rival. It's certainly an improvement on the other Hau battles but he's still easy enough to defeat. After that it's onto the very first Alola E4.

8. The Elite Four consists of Hala, Olivia, Acerola (in place of Nanu) and a character named Kahili who uses Flying Pokemon. This was a pretty fun Elite Four and probably the most challenging in a while, although I did beat them all first try. Acerola was the hardest of the four for me.

9. After that, it looks like you're the first league champion. However you're interrupted by Kukui who acts as a substitute for your champion battle. He has a pretty well-balanced team and puts up a pretty good fight - especially that Snorlax. He too was defeated without too much trouble though.

10. After that it's festival time. You return to Iki Town where you and most of the friends you have made on your journey enjoy a party in honour of the new champion. during this time you're treated to some lovely dialogue from Lillie who suggests you sneak off together... to battle Tapu Koko :P.

11. I almost felt bad for the poor thing. I left it on 1HP after a few attacks from Kommo-o and then switched out to Mudsdale whom it couldn't damage at all with only electric attacks to use. Then it was just a matter of throwing different balls until eventually I caught it in a Luxury Ball.

12. With Lillie, you then return to the party where nobody seems to have noticed you had vanished. There's lots of cute cut scenes again whilst Lillie continues to talk to you. At one point she seems to work up to saying something very emotional and important, but she is interrupted by fireworks and decides to leave you be.

13. The next day you are treated to the most bittersweet conclusion in a Pokemon game ever. It turns out what Lillie was trying to say is that she's leaving Alola and travelling to Kanto to become a trainer and stand on her own two feet. A sad fairwell is said as she departs before the game takes you to one last cut scene where a letter from Lillie or a diary entry of hers is read over a series of pictures of the various characters you've met on your journey, ending on a picture of her and Nebby before the credits roll. I've yet to bring myself to play the post game.

Current Team

Some Thoughts​

1. I established Lillie as my favourite character in the entire franchise. So of course she's not in the post game at all and you never interact with her again. God fucking damn it Gamefreak.

2. I have to say, even with the bittersweet ending, Moon has been my favourite Pokemon game to date. It looked amazing and more importantly, the story and characters were incredible (except Sophocles). I absolutely loved this story and I'm looking forward to what sounds like a much more detailed post game than we are normally treated to where I can hunt Ultra Beasts.

3. I wonder why Kanto? I mean the obvious reason is because of Kukui, but I wonder if its foreshadowing of an all new story in that region? I'd certainly like to experience old regions with new stories - especially Sinnoh. I doubt this is the case and the inevitable Sinnoh games coming will probably just be remakes.

4. It sounds like being the champion might be a little different in this game from some of the things characters have said? Do we maybe actually have to defend our title?

5. My team was really different to what I expected for most of the game but has finished up quite similar to what I originally planned. The only difference is that instead of Alolan Raichu and Golisopod my team has Lycanroc (Midnight) and Mudsdale.

6. Fuck I love this game.