Rainbow Chara X
Impossible to gauge!
- 129
- Posts
- 9
- Years
- Shiny Hunting in Sinnoh
- Seen May 12, 2025
Oh snap, a double update. One of these being one I forgot to put up and the other is actual advancement.
Chapter 3.5 - We're not exactly welcome here. (Gameshark Fun)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.5 is more of a bonus episode than anything because nothing that happens in here should be considered part of the actual let's play.
We last left Jack and his merry crew on the entrance to Route 116. However, since I felt like it, I bestowed him a new but temporary power.
: "WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT"
That's right, we're going to use the walk-through-walls code to go places where we're not supposed to be. It's gonna be a show today, folks.
Remember this building that Jack was too much of a coward to go in? Let's break some rules.
Where the hell did we just wind up? We went from the outside of an ornate building to a depressing looking submarine place. Turns out this is an area we're not supposed to be at for another few updates. Whoops.
With that said, let's visit that asshole demon corpse that blocked our way into that house.
Don't think I forgot, either.
Uh? This house looks normal. Surely those two must be horribly mutilated corpses.
... No, they're completely fine. They even give us beginner advice and everything. They must be some very lucky survivors or Cutlerine just didn't want to go through the effort of hacking this house.
You ever wonder what it would be like to live in a world of monsters like Pokemon? 'Cause now that that's crossed my mind, I think it's a very interesting question.
"What's hard? You have to ask? It's trying to figure out what to make for meals every day. It really isn't easy coming up with meals every day."
I love how in a zombie apocalypse setting, this unchanged dialogue makes everything much, much chintzier than it actually is. But yeah. Honestly, this is the problem my mom has almost all of the time. Sometimes she just orders fast food instead of cooking dinner.
: "Oh god I'm in a closed off area surrounded by zombies!"
: "... Wh.. what the hell?"
Sentient talking zombies! They're becoming more intelligent!
... Actually, no. These are just NPCs that have the zombie overworld sprites but their lines are completely unedited from the vanilla game. Cutlerine didn't plan on you using walk-through-walls to communicate with them. But now that we are talking with them, it makes everything either more horrifying or more silly depending on your perspective.
The same thing applies to these kids. They just spout stuff about Pokemon evolving. I honestly don't know what Cutlerine was going for when he put them running back and forth here. At least the zombie pen had a bit of an explanation.
Back in the house where fought Orobas and Kent (*shiver*), I never went to investigate these stairs.
"These stairs are broken and don't look safe to climb. Also there are skulls scattered on them."
It doesn't take you anywhere. Aww.
Cut to Petalburg, and it turns out that the door leads to the gym like it's supposed to. But wait, something doesn't feel right here. The asshole-o-meter is going off the charts. Let's go into a room.
Oh hey, there's zombies here too. I wonder what Pokemon she has?
WE ARE DEFINITELY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE, HOLY SHIT
LET'S GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE
Oh god. That nearly gave me a heart attack the first time I saw it. I can definitely see why Cutlerine sealed the place off, christ.
Now that we're in Oldale though, let's slip through this pesky blockade.
Huh. There's a lady there along with a path on the right. (Jack's left)
"He'll be dead now, of course. No one survived here. Sob... I don't need this anymore..."
Oh.
By the way I have no idea when this is supposed to happen. But at the very least we got it out of the way now while the zombie apocalypse is still relevant.
While we're at it, let's go appraise the Broken Heart item.
... Larry do me a solid please
But let's be real here. Cutlerine, you put in an object called the Broken Heart that can't be sold nor does it do anything when used. It's cute and all, but all it does it clog up space. Thankfully youcan just dump away the Broken Heart. I wouldn't want to keep it anyway, cause ewww.
EDIT: Upon further inspection, it does have a use. I just didn't discover it at this point.
BOW DOWN BEFORE THE SECOND COMING OF POKEMON JESUS
Future Dan speaks: Holy shit this exact thing happens in Dark Rising 2 but for real.
I should mention that walk-through-walls is actually limited. See, you can go through things just fine, but if you hit an NPC or something that has a solid border (like where you would normally surf to get onto the water) it doesn't work. Going through otherwise inaccessible areas like the trees help you get back to normal ground, however.
There are also invisible walls at the edges of every map, so you can't just walk into game crashes (Gen 1's glitch grass on Route 1) or enter a weird glitch dimension with fucked up music (every time you go out of bounds in Gen 2)
I should also mention that there are still wild encounters even as you're walking on the water, so don't get too excited.
Back on Route 101, there was this house next to the Broken Heart lady. It's the Trick Master's house, but the sad Abandoned Ship music (a song that I've loved ever since I heard it, by the way
) is playing instead. I don't like the look of this.
But let's not worry about that. Let's get yelled at by Cutlerine as we try to leave.
Booming Disembodied Voice: "The time is not yet right, Jack. Leave this place at once!"
: "Er... okay."
Alrighty then. Well, that's pretty much the end of this little mini-update. I'm not going to put up the team display because none of these bonus episodes are canon.
Chapter 5 - The Dragon King
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Since I felt the team was a bit unsuited to what was coming up ahead, I did a grinding session before the update started. Everybody's just a bit more badass than they were before.
There's also nothing up in the area where you fought Laura, by the way. It's blocked off by rocks. Rockblocked, you may say.
... yeah i'll stop
Go back here and you get a Caramac. Cutlerine changed every stat-boosting item to a kind of confectionery treat. I like the idea even if it means we'll wind up with cavities by the end of this.
In the forest you can get a Great Ball and a few X-boosting battle items. It's not really that much of a prize, but what the hell let's just go with it.
Back to our regularly scheduled program, we were surfing to go to Dewford. In the water here you can find Qwilfish, Wingull and Pelipper. Pelipper in particular give a ton of EXP (390+!) so they're practically invaluable if you're going to grind in the water areas.
Also, new team member. Say hello to Ballin', who was also inspired by Haydunn's Nuzlocke of Snakewood. Ballin, much like Zagon, gets a buff in this hack as opposed to the real games. Just wait and see until what it is.
This swimmer lady here has a Sealeo of all things. Not too terribly threatening. Plus I like how because of the water there are no zombies to bother anybody.
: ("Of all the rotten luck!")
... YOU'RE SERIOUS.
FREEZE HAX
Let us never speak of this again. This swimmer lady asks you "Why did I fight you, again?" when you beat her, which is the question that everybody in the Pokemon games should ask.
"I'm swimming to Dewford for safety, but I guess I can stop and have a battle. I mean, there's no zombies after us, after all!"
She has two Wailmer, by the way. They're less of a threat and more giant experience pinatas. One of them doesn't even attack, either!
"What am I supposed to do now that you've KO'ed my Pokemon?"
: "Then maybe you shouldn't have fought me if you knew that would have been a problem?"
"So I decided to become a pirate instead!"
But all you have to do is hose 'em with seawater and they die. The zombies are not that hard to kill, dude. Also, hey a new trainer class.
... Which just uses Drake's sprite. At least it fits.
Would you look at that. See, another change that Cutlerine included is that while he didn't exactly tinker regarding the zombified Pokemon aside from sprites, he did switch types around for the more conventional Pokemon. For example, Meowth and Persian are now
/
. I dunno, that's kinda cool to me.
(He also predicted the future because Alolan Meowth/Persian would be Dark type.)
But even better is that Benedict actually killed something on his (its? It's an egg - we don't know what it actually is yet) own! The first thing they beat and it's a
/
Meowth. I would have never guessed, to be totally honest.
Pain in the ass alert
Persian here is awfully strong due to the STAB-boosted Crunch he has. Also, the tendency he has to critical with Slash is not favorable. Thankfully if you chose Paras or just... any Bug Pokemon in general, this shouldn't be that bad to deal with.
This isn't just some random unique trainer class reserved for one guy, either. These guys show up multiple times in the next town we're going. And that you are, mate.
"Haha! Don't worry, we can't be attacked here. Since we're safe, how about a battle like trainers used to have?"
... You know, maybe it's just because I'm a sap but that line kinda hit me. Like remember, no matter how crazy this story gets with all the irrelevant stuff Cutlerine puts into it, it is still taking place in a destroyed Hoenn region. Which kinda tugs at my heartstrings.
That aside, this dude had a Carvanha that Benedict managed to overpower.
I know last episode I said I was going to bench them, but now more than ever I know that's a bad idea.
... We get another Broken Heart. Alright, these things must be like the Heart Scales of this hack. It doesn't make any sense why you can't sell them or use them normally otherwise.
Now that we're actually on Dewford, we find a Riesen aka. a Protein.
Zagon gets it because she's going to need it.
Let's go ask around to see if there's anything of interest.
"The TV Station is no longer broadcasting... I guess all the people got eaten."
Yeah, when you think about it from Dewford's perspective, the entire Hoenn region is falling apart. I would be absolutely horrified for anybody that still lived on the mainland, honestly.
"This Plus Band... It was a gift from my girlfriend, Laura. She worked at Norman's gym... She's probably dead now. I don't want it anymore..."
Oh...
: "Don't worry pal, she's still alive and kicking. She almost kicked my ass, to be frank. She can handle herself."
It will look absolutely fabulous on Zagon at the very least. Especially when she rouges it with the blood of her enemies.
"There're rumors that when Groudon awoke three years ago that the sunlight it summoned stayed in Granite Cave, and that's why you don't need Flash in there anymore."
THANK THE LORD. This is honestly a cool bit of exposition, though.
"Those who have surfed or swam over here have told us terrible stories about the mainland."
See what I mean? Let's go to Dewford Hall.
"I hear there's a monster in Solar Caverns. At least, when anyone goes near, we think we hear something roaring."
I'll keep that in mind when we get shooed away from entering the cave early.
: "The zombies are utter nightmares, man! You'd be lucky to make it out of a battle. Just trust me."
"Oh. It's just a startingly ugly painting."
I know it's just a few pixels, but it doesn't look that bad.
"I'm still watching TV, even though the TV Station's no longer broadcasting... Sigh. I don't even like watching TV."
I can relate, as I don't like watching TV either. It's sort of why I stick to Youtube for entertainment nowadays, to be honest.
"No, no, no! These are trainers who've escaped the zombie plague. They're too traumatized and tired to talk with you... Damn, I'm thirsty."
Bruh, I don't even want to talk with the trainers. I just want to get the item you have in there. I think you have to give him a lemonade or something to let you pass. I dunno.
"I saw it! A huge monster flying overhead! Why does no one believe me?"
Given how everybody's making a fuss about a monster in the cave, why wouldn't they believe this kid? Logic.
Let's try to go into the Solar Cave, actually.
[Venusaur cry]
: "Whatever's in there, I don't want to enter."
Admittedly, if I heard something like that in real life, I'd be a bit disinclined to enter too, but we could probably kick its ass. I am absolutely fearless/reckless.
"I train with my Makuhita on the beach every day in the hope of emulating its unstoppable Arm Thrust!"
Arm Thrust? Well, different strokes for different folks...
Your name is Smash Shot?!
Why would your parents name you th-- then again, the default name for our main hero had a lovely range between Wraith, Shade, Dark, etc. I don't know why Norman would choose those names for his oldest son, so... Jack is best.
Smash here has two Makuhita, which were relatively easy to take out. So much for unstoppable Arm Thrust.
However, he does have this badass. Hitmontop has always been one of those Pokemon that have been a mystery to me. It's one that I could never be able to obtain in the real games because the qualification of having both Attack and Defense be equal is one that I don't know how you would do.
Even without Triple Kick and all of that being effective, look at how much damage it did to Bellamine. Just imagine the pain everybody else would have gone through!
Wait, what?
AWWW DAMN
This is a sign of good things to come.
"That's my son out training on the beach. Did you know that before he tried Arm Thrust, he learned how to do Ice Punch? No? Well, he made it into a TM. I want you to have it!"
awwwww snap
What a generous town. I love these people.
"The Leader here used to be a guy called Brawly. He used the Fighting type. But since he got promoted to the Kahuto Elite Four, we've got a new girl. She's way stronger than Brawly was."
He got promoted to the Elite Four of another region? That's rad, I suppose. At least he didn't die or something.
Into the Gym and oh no
it's dark
this is gonna blow
"I'm the Advisor. I'm no Trainer, no not me, but I can sure give you winning advice! So listen: Haruko uses the Dark-type. It's a fragile type that won't take a Fighting type move, but can deal out massive damage with their rapacious talons and big teeth."
Well, this is actually a bit interesting. Cutlerine changed the Fighting type gym to be Dark type instead. As for the leader... Haruko? Where have I heard that name before? It sure hasn't been in an anime, no sir.
First trainer we fight in the dark is Rocker Tyrone. It's a Dark-type gym, so just what can he throw at us?
Sh-Shinx??
That's right, folks. Aside from putting in new Fakemon, Cutlerine also included Pokemon from later generations. It may not be a new idea, but I like that it mixes things up.
Have I mentioned how cute Shinx are?
But uh-oh, this guy has a Luxio too. To be honest it's not that hard of a fight as the Luxray family is
/
type now.
ESPECIALLY as Reggie's Leech Life rips this guy's health out like a mint-colored milkshake.
Wow, another one already? That grinding really paid off.
she's beautiful
These guys are also in the gym. Film Students are a trainer class that reference something later in the game, mostly around Fortree. The pirate guys carry around Persians and Meowths as usual.
The thing is, though? Now that Zagon is a Linoone with the Plus Band equipped, everything she headbutts just dies. Like one-hit kills. And this isn't even her final form!
pirate power. what is this, one piece
We finally reach Haruko, though. I swear that name is from somewhere really iconic. I know it is.
Future Dan speaks: Give him a minute.
"Ah! You must be Jack. My trainers have been warning me you're strong. Unfortunately I can't battle you just yet. I need you to do a favor for me. You see, there have been rumors lately that there's something nasty at the bottom of Solar Caverns, and I'd like you to investigate. When you come back, I'll fight you. Is that ok?"
So Haruko won't fight Jack just because of the monster in the cave. At the very least it's not some super huge chain deal quest just to have a fight with the gym leader.
Jack, your optimism is contagious.
Cut to the cave, and suddenly we're going in now. Good thing we don't need Flash to navigate this place. Flash is a dumb idea in the actual game anyway. Why would you need to use your own Flash if there's other people in the cave with you?
"Whew... I barely made it out of there alive. There's something down there, kid. Something real nasty. I don't even wanna think about it."
Well shit. We're already in here, let's keep going. The plot demands it.
Literally a few steps later and I run into a Makuhita. I named him Tohru after the Jackie Chan Adventures guy. I like that show, actually, even if it's a bit formulaic.
[Rayquaza roar]
Oh no. I don't like the sound of that, especially as we don't have any good Ice or Dragon types.
A minute didn't even pass yet. We know something's there, dude.
The fuck is that?
This is one of the new Fakemon Cutlerine made from scratch. Honestly, I don't like it. It's a boring design and it's not that good a Pokemon, either. Despite that, expect to see Hombone in practically every route after this.
You have this big stone pedestal for an item ball... and it's just a Pokeball. What a troll.
[White flash]
???: "GRAAAAAAAOOOOOGH! Our contract is terminated!"
Apparently, Jack has memories of interacting with something other than the dead and the Horsemen. Also, I know it's not the same as the screencap, but trust me. The person(?) talking needs a different color than Landon.
The next room over, we have an item blocked off with Rock Smash rocks. A shame we don't actually have it now.
[Another Rayquaza roar]
[Very quick image of what looks like a discolored Charizard pops up]
I don't know either, Jack. It popped up so fast I couldn't even take a screencap of it.
The rock contains a Neverstone (ho ho) which is pretty much just the Everstone but with never instead.
Before we head any further, let's do something first.
In hindsight, this makes a lot of sense considering how he was frozen earlier. It is his destiny.
[Flash of light accompanied by Rayquaza roar (x2) and discolored picture again]
: "Uhh... What is this? What is this thing I'm remembering? And what is this contract?.... I guess the only way to find out is to continue."
Jack, we have to do this anyway otherwise we don't get to fight Haruko.
[Jack runs in and looks around]
: "That's odd. There doesn't seem to be anyone here..."
[Yet more Rayquaza roars, accompanied by a flash of light]
: "Huh? What... what is this?"
Since there's no special music playing for this encounter, use this theme instead.
: "Our contract is terminated, human! We have joined the Horsemen now.
[White flash]
: "I... I remember you now. You're Meteor... the Dragon King."
That sounds pretty badass, actually. The sprite may look kind of barfy now, but sometimes it can become this eye-bleeding rainbow-colored mess due to glitches. I was fortunate to get the actual colors for this screenshot.
: "Yes, I am Meteor. I thought Pestilence had arranged for your death?"
Jack, you need to be this badass all of the time.
: "I suppose I will have to finish the job that she could not complete."
Bring it on, you overgrown lizard.
: "Do you really have to preface every sentence with a roar? It's really startling... and getting kind of annoying."
[Rayquaza roar SFX plays again]
: "Silence! I will eradicate you!"
Meteor looks pretty great... even if his sprite is just shiny Charizard. Also, since he doesn't have a specific music track, just use this song instead.
He sends out what I assume must be the jester of his court of dragons due to looking far less impressive.
Don't let your guard down, though - this guy hurts quite a bit, especially if you didn't train up. Meteor also has an emergency Super Potion if you manage to get his lackey into the red.
Zagon got roasted by this guy's Dragonbreath, so it's up to Ambes to save the day. By the way, this is before the Super Potion gets used.
: ("I've got to do this! Can't be scared now!")
: ("ORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!!")
: ("... I did it!? No way!")
Funny thing, in practice, Ambes actually lost and Bellamine had to do the finishing blow. But then Ice Punch wouldn't have been shown. And that's not as rad.
: ("Thank goodness. We actually beat this guy.")
With that, Meteor goes down.
: "GYAAUOOOOOOOH! We will meet again, mark my words. I may not be able to destroy this town right now, but I'll be back soon enough!"
[Flash of light, followed by Meteor disappearing with another roar]
"What power is it that I lost? Argh, it's so confusing!.... I'd better tell Haruko about this.'
... I feel you, buddy. Besides, you and the guys are pretty damn strong as it is. The team has flown above and beyond in this episode alone.
On your way out, you can get Sunny Day. Appropriate, I guess, considering it's called the Solar Caverns and all.
Next time on Pokemon Snakewood, we fight the Gym Leader. And boy is it going to be an experience.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team setup:
(Reggie, level 19, has Leftovers,
/
) - Feeling pretty rad under the sun
(Bellamine, level 22,
) - Having a nice walk on the beach with the crew
(Zagon, level 23,
) - Ecstatic about evolving - currently glomping Jack out of pure joy
(Ambes, level 23,
) - Feeling like a badass after punching a Dragon's face in
(Ace, level 22, has Anadrin Talon,
/
) - Wearing his shades and downing a giant bottle of beer
(Benedict, level 15,
/
) - Doing egg things on the beach.
(Alice, level 12,
) - Happy to be out of the box and on the beach with the others
(Tohru, Pumbloom & Ballin are all on standby)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 3.5 - We're not exactly welcome here. (Gameshark Fun)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spoiler:
3.5 is more of a bonus episode than anything because nothing that happens in here should be considered part of the actual let's play.
We last left Jack and his merry crew on the entrance to Route 116. However, since I felt like it, I bestowed him a new but temporary power.
That's right, we're going to use the walk-through-walls code to go places where we're not supposed to be. It's gonna be a show today, folks.
Remember this building that Jack was too much of a coward to go in? Let's break some rules.
Where the hell did we just wind up? We went from the outside of an ornate building to a depressing looking submarine place. Turns out this is an area we're not supposed to be at for another few updates. Whoops.
With that said, let's visit that asshole demon corpse that blocked our way into that house.
Don't think I forgot, either.
Uh? This house looks normal. Surely those two must be horribly mutilated corpses.
... No, they're completely fine. They even give us beginner advice and everything. They must be some very lucky survivors or Cutlerine just didn't want to go through the effort of hacking this house.
You ever wonder what it would be like to live in a world of monsters like Pokemon? 'Cause now that that's crossed my mind, I think it's a very interesting question.
"What's hard? You have to ask? It's trying to figure out what to make for meals every day. It really isn't easy coming up with meals every day."
I love how in a zombie apocalypse setting, this unchanged dialogue makes everything much, much chintzier than it actually is. But yeah. Honestly, this is the problem my mom has almost all of the time. Sometimes she just orders fast food instead of cooking dinner.
Sentient talking zombies! They're becoming more intelligent!
... Actually, no. These are just NPCs that have the zombie overworld sprites but their lines are completely unedited from the vanilla game. Cutlerine didn't plan on you using walk-through-walls to communicate with them. But now that we are talking with them, it makes everything either more horrifying or more silly depending on your perspective.
The same thing applies to these kids. They just spout stuff about Pokemon evolving. I honestly don't know what Cutlerine was going for when he put them running back and forth here. At least the zombie pen had a bit of an explanation.
Back in the house where fought Orobas and Kent (*shiver*), I never went to investigate these stairs.
"These stairs are broken and don't look safe to climb. Also there are skulls scattered on them."
It doesn't take you anywhere. Aww.
Cut to Petalburg, and it turns out that the door leads to the gym like it's supposed to. But wait, something doesn't feel right here. The asshole-o-meter is going off the charts. Let's go into a room.
Oh hey, there's zombies here too. I wonder what Pokemon she has?
WE ARE DEFINITELY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE, HOLY SHIT
LET'S GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE
Oh god. That nearly gave me a heart attack the first time I saw it. I can definitely see why Cutlerine sealed the place off, christ.
Now that we're in Oldale though, let's slip through this pesky blockade.
Huh. There's a lady there along with a path on the right. (Jack's left)
"He'll be dead now, of course. No one survived here. Sob... I don't need this anymore..."
Oh.
By the way I have no idea when this is supposed to happen. But at the very least we got it out of the way now while the zombie apocalypse is still relevant.
While we're at it, let's go appraise the Broken Heart item.
... Larry do me a solid please
But let's be real here. Cutlerine, you put in an object called the Broken Heart that can't be sold nor does it do anything when used. It's cute and all, but all it does it clog up space. Thankfully youcan just dump away the Broken Heart. I wouldn't want to keep it anyway, cause ewww.
EDIT: Upon further inspection, it does have a use. I just didn't discover it at this point.
BOW DOWN BEFORE THE SECOND COMING OF POKEMON JESUS
Future Dan speaks: Holy shit this exact thing happens in Dark Rising 2 but for real.
I should mention that walk-through-walls is actually limited. See, you can go through things just fine, but if you hit an NPC or something that has a solid border (like where you would normally surf to get onto the water) it doesn't work. Going through otherwise inaccessible areas like the trees help you get back to normal ground, however.
There are also invisible walls at the edges of every map, so you can't just walk into game crashes (Gen 1's glitch grass on Route 1) or enter a weird glitch dimension with fucked up music (every time you go out of bounds in Gen 2)
I should also mention that there are still wild encounters even as you're walking on the water, so don't get too excited.
Back on Route 101, there was this house next to the Broken Heart lady. It's the Trick Master's house, but the sad Abandoned Ship music (a song that I've loved ever since I heard it, by the way
But let's not worry about that. Let's get yelled at by Cutlerine as we try to leave.
Booming Disembodied Voice: "The time is not yet right, Jack. Leave this place at once!"
Alrighty then. Well, that's pretty much the end of this little mini-update. I'm not going to put up the team display because none of these bonus episodes are canon.
Chapter 5 - The Dragon King
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spoiler:
Since I felt the team was a bit unsuited to what was coming up ahead, I did a grinding session before the update started. Everybody's just a bit more badass than they were before.
There's also nothing up in the area where you fought Laura, by the way. It's blocked off by rocks. Rockblocked, you may say.
... yeah i'll stop
Go back here and you get a Caramac. Cutlerine changed every stat-boosting item to a kind of confectionery treat. I like the idea even if it means we'll wind up with cavities by the end of this.
In the forest you can get a Great Ball and a few X-boosting battle items. It's not really that much of a prize, but what the hell let's just go with it.
Back to our regularly scheduled program, we were surfing to go to Dewford. In the water here you can find Qwilfish, Wingull and Pelipper. Pelipper in particular give a ton of EXP (390+!) so they're practically invaluable if you're going to grind in the water areas.
Also, new team member. Say hello to Ballin', who was also inspired by Haydunn's Nuzlocke of Snakewood. Ballin, much like Zagon, gets a buff in this hack as opposed to the real games. Just wait and see until what it is.
This swimmer lady here has a Sealeo of all things. Not too terribly threatening. Plus I like how because of the water there are no zombies to bother anybody.
... YOU'RE SERIOUS.
FREEZE HAX
Let us never speak of this again. This swimmer lady asks you "Why did I fight you, again?" when you beat her, which is the question that everybody in the Pokemon games should ask.
"I'm swimming to Dewford for safety, but I guess I can stop and have a battle. I mean, there's no zombies after us, after all!"
She has two Wailmer, by the way. They're less of a threat and more giant experience pinatas. One of them doesn't even attack, either!
"What am I supposed to do now that you've KO'ed my Pokemon?"
"So I decided to become a pirate instead!"
But all you have to do is hose 'em with seawater and they die. The zombies are not that hard to kill, dude. Also, hey a new trainer class.
... Which just uses Drake's sprite. At least it fits.
Would you look at that. See, another change that Cutlerine included is that while he didn't exactly tinker regarding the zombified Pokemon aside from sprites, he did switch types around for the more conventional Pokemon. For example, Meowth and Persian are now
(He also predicted the future because Alolan Meowth/Persian would be Dark type.)
But even better is that Benedict actually killed something on his (its? It's an egg - we don't know what it actually is yet) own! The first thing they beat and it's a
Persian here is awfully strong due to the STAB-boosted Crunch he has. Also, the tendency he has to critical with Slash is not favorable. Thankfully if you chose Paras or just... any Bug Pokemon in general, this shouldn't be that bad to deal with.
This isn't just some random unique trainer class reserved for one guy, either. These guys show up multiple times in the next town we're going. And that you are, mate.
"Haha! Don't worry, we can't be attacked here. Since we're safe, how about a battle like trainers used to have?"
... You know, maybe it's just because I'm a sap but that line kinda hit me. Like remember, no matter how crazy this story gets with all the irrelevant stuff Cutlerine puts into it, it is still taking place in a destroyed Hoenn region. Which kinda tugs at my heartstrings.
That aside, this dude had a Carvanha that Benedict managed to overpower.
I know last episode I said I was going to bench them, but now more than ever I know that's a bad idea.
... We get another Broken Heart. Alright, these things must be like the Heart Scales of this hack. It doesn't make any sense why you can't sell them or use them normally otherwise.
Now that we're actually on Dewford, we find a Riesen aka. a Protein.
Zagon gets it because she's going to need it.
Let's go ask around to see if there's anything of interest.
"The TV Station is no longer broadcasting... I guess all the people got eaten."
Yeah, when you think about it from Dewford's perspective, the entire Hoenn region is falling apart. I would be absolutely horrified for anybody that still lived on the mainland, honestly.
"This Plus Band... It was a gift from my girlfriend, Laura. She worked at Norman's gym... She's probably dead now. I don't want it anymore..."
Oh...
It will look absolutely fabulous on Zagon at the very least. Especially when she rouges it with the blood of her enemies.
"There're rumors that when Groudon awoke three years ago that the sunlight it summoned stayed in Granite Cave, and that's why you don't need Flash in there anymore."
THANK THE LORD. This is honestly a cool bit of exposition, though.
"Those who have surfed or swam over here have told us terrible stories about the mainland."
See what I mean? Let's go to Dewford Hall.
"I hear there's a monster in Solar Caverns. At least, when anyone goes near, we think we hear something roaring."
I'll keep that in mind when we get shooed away from entering the cave early.
"Oh. It's just a startingly ugly painting."
I know it's just a few pixels, but it doesn't look that bad.
"I'm still watching TV, even though the TV Station's no longer broadcasting... Sigh. I don't even like watching TV."
I can relate, as I don't like watching TV either. It's sort of why I stick to Youtube for entertainment nowadays, to be honest.
"No, no, no! These are trainers who've escaped the zombie plague. They're too traumatized and tired to talk with you... Damn, I'm thirsty."
Bruh, I don't even want to talk with the trainers. I just want to get the item you have in there. I think you have to give him a lemonade or something to let you pass. I dunno.
"I saw it! A huge monster flying overhead! Why does no one believe me?"
Given how everybody's making a fuss about a monster in the cave, why wouldn't they believe this kid? Logic.
Let's try to go into the Solar Cave, actually.
[Venusaur cry]
Admittedly, if I heard something like that in real life, I'd be a bit disinclined to enter too, but we could probably kick its ass. I am absolutely fearless/reckless.
"I train with my Makuhita on the beach every day in the hope of emulating its unstoppable Arm Thrust!"
Arm Thrust? Well, different strokes for different folks...
Your name is Smash Shot?!
Why would your parents name you th-- then again, the default name for our main hero had a lovely range between Wraith, Shade, Dark, etc. I don't know why Norman would choose those names for his oldest son, so... Jack is best.
Smash here has two Makuhita, which were relatively easy to take out. So much for unstoppable Arm Thrust.
However, he does have this badass. Hitmontop has always been one of those Pokemon that have been a mystery to me. It's one that I could never be able to obtain in the real games because the qualification of having both Attack and Defense be equal is one that I don't know how you would do.
Even without Triple Kick and all of that being effective, look at how much damage it did to Bellamine. Just imagine the pain everybody else would have gone through!
Wait, what?
AWWW DAMN
This is a sign of good things to come.
"That's my son out training on the beach. Did you know that before he tried Arm Thrust, he learned how to do Ice Punch? No? Well, he made it into a TM. I want you to have it!"
awwwww snap
What a generous town. I love these people.
"The Leader here used to be a guy called Brawly. He used the Fighting type. But since he got promoted to the Kahuto Elite Four, we've got a new girl. She's way stronger than Brawly was."
He got promoted to the Elite Four of another region? That's rad, I suppose. At least he didn't die or something.
Into the Gym and oh no
it's dark
this is gonna blow
"I'm the Advisor. I'm no Trainer, no not me, but I can sure give you winning advice! So listen: Haruko uses the Dark-type. It's a fragile type that won't take a Fighting type move, but can deal out massive damage with their rapacious talons and big teeth."
Well, this is actually a bit interesting. Cutlerine changed the Fighting type gym to be Dark type instead. As for the leader... Haruko? Where have I heard that name before? It sure hasn't been in an anime, no sir.
First trainer we fight in the dark is Rocker Tyrone. It's a Dark-type gym, so just what can he throw at us?
Sh-Shinx??
That's right, folks. Aside from putting in new Fakemon, Cutlerine also included Pokemon from later generations. It may not be a new idea, but I like that it mixes things up.
Have I mentioned how cute Shinx are?
But uh-oh, this guy has a Luxio too. To be honest it's not that hard of a fight as the Luxray family is
ESPECIALLY as Reggie's Leech Life rips this guy's health out like a mint-colored milkshake.
Wow, another one already? That grinding really paid off.
she's beautiful
These guys are also in the gym. Film Students are a trainer class that reference something later in the game, mostly around Fortree. The pirate guys carry around Persians and Meowths as usual.
The thing is, though? Now that Zagon is a Linoone with the Plus Band equipped, everything she headbutts just dies. Like one-hit kills. And this isn't even her final form!
pirate power. what is this, one piece
We finally reach Haruko, though. I swear that name is from somewhere really iconic. I know it is.
Future Dan speaks: Give him a minute.
"Ah! You must be Jack. My trainers have been warning me you're strong. Unfortunately I can't battle you just yet. I need you to do a favor for me. You see, there have been rumors lately that there's something nasty at the bottom of Solar Caverns, and I'd like you to investigate. When you come back, I'll fight you. Is that ok?"
So Haruko won't fight Jack just because of the monster in the cave. At the very least it's not some super huge chain deal quest just to have a fight with the gym leader.
Jack, your optimism is contagious.
Cut to the cave, and suddenly we're going in now. Good thing we don't need Flash to navigate this place. Flash is a dumb idea in the actual game anyway. Why would you need to use your own Flash if there's other people in the cave with you?
"Whew... I barely made it out of there alive. There's something down there, kid. Something real nasty. I don't even wanna think about it."
Well shit. We're already in here, let's keep going. The plot demands it.
Literally a few steps later and I run into a Makuhita. I named him Tohru after the Jackie Chan Adventures guy. I like that show, actually, even if it's a bit formulaic.
[Rayquaza roar]
Oh no. I don't like the sound of that, especially as we don't have any good Ice or Dragon types.
A minute didn't even pass yet. We know something's there, dude.
The fuck is that?
This is one of the new Fakemon Cutlerine made from scratch. Honestly, I don't like it. It's a boring design and it's not that good a Pokemon, either. Despite that, expect to see Hombone in practically every route after this.
You have this big stone pedestal for an item ball... and it's just a Pokeball. What a troll.
[White flash]
???: "GRAAAAAAAOOOOOGH! Our contract is terminated!"
Apparently, Jack has memories of interacting with something other than the dead and the Horsemen. Also, I know it's not the same as the screencap, but trust me. The person(?) talking needs a different color than Landon.
The next room over, we have an item blocked off with Rock Smash rocks. A shame we don't actually have it now.
[Another Rayquaza roar]
[Very quick image of what looks like a discolored Charizard pops up]
I don't know either, Jack. It popped up so fast I couldn't even take a screencap of it.
The rock contains a Neverstone (ho ho) which is pretty much just the Everstone but with never instead.
Before we head any further, let's do something first.
In hindsight, this makes a lot of sense considering how he was frozen earlier. It is his destiny.
[Flash of light accompanied by Rayquaza roar (x2) and discolored picture again]
Jack, we have to do this anyway otherwise we don't get to fight Haruko.
[Jack runs in and looks around]
[Yet more Rayquaza roars, accompanied by a flash of light]
Since there's no special music playing for this encounter, use this theme instead.
[White flash]
That sounds pretty badass, actually. The sprite may look kind of barfy now, but sometimes it can become this eye-bleeding rainbow-colored mess due to glitches. I was fortunate to get the actual colors for this screenshot.
Jack, you need to be this badass all of the time.
Bring it on, you overgrown lizard.
[Rayquaza roar SFX plays again]
Meteor looks pretty great... even if his sprite is just shiny Charizard. Also, since he doesn't have a specific music track, just use this song instead.
He sends out what I assume must be the jester of his court of dragons due to looking far less impressive.
Don't let your guard down, though - this guy hurts quite a bit, especially if you didn't train up. Meteor also has an emergency Super Potion if you manage to get his lackey into the red.
Zagon got roasted by this guy's Dragonbreath, so it's up to Ambes to save the day. By the way, this is before the Super Potion gets used.
Funny thing, in practice, Ambes actually lost and Bellamine had to do the finishing blow. But then Ice Punch wouldn't have been shown. And that's not as rad.
With that, Meteor goes down.
[Flash of light, followed by Meteor disappearing with another roar]
"What power is it that I lost? Argh, it's so confusing!.... I'd better tell Haruko about this.'
... I feel you, buddy. Besides, you and the guys are pretty damn strong as it is. The team has flown above and beyond in this episode alone.
On your way out, you can get Sunny Day. Appropriate, I guess, considering it's called the Solar Caverns and all.
Next time on Pokemon Snakewood, we fight the Gym Leader. And boy is it going to be an experience.
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Team setup:
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