Part 23: Wherein Joat needs to find a power coin, because IT’S MORPHEUS TIME!
The next morning…
Ah, I missed this adorable image…
Any night sleeping on something other than snow-covered rock is a night well-slept, I say!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, yes. I am not surprised Pelipper knows we are back. I imagine news tends to travel fast in a small town, especially news about the truth behind the suspected cause of numerous natural disasters and an upcoming apocalypse.
Also, Pelipper outright saw us yesterday. That helps, too.
|
|
|
With his bill outstretched? I could understand bill agape or wing outstretched, but… Actually, no, neither of those makes much sense either, but both would certainly make more sense than this.
|
|
|
♫Tempting faaaate…♪
Heck, even if not for that, they are a team of super-competent and powerful experts who aren’t the protagonist, sent in to fight an enemy off-screen that seems far too powerful for anyone else to take on. I think I know where this one is headed.
|
|
|
On the bright side, that miserable time was decently lucrative.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
…I seem to recall you closing in for the kill just like everyone else.
Okay, realistically, it was probably a heat-of-the-moment sort of thing. Or maybe ve was closing in for a hug or something.
|
|
|
Being the only bank in town helps.
|
|
|
Actually, only if I change my mind and decide to swap back in a forgotten move. I mean, I already have a link box. Well, two, actually, since I haven’t sold the other one yet.
|
|
|
Considering that the default look of most Poochyena in Pokémon games is like they’re primed and ready to tear out an esophagus, I do believe that makes me an outlier.
|
|
|
I suppose this explains why my stuff was all available through the inexplicable magic statue thingies. Though, I would still have expected the government to have confiscated it. Then again, the government seems to have only rescue teams instead of any actual law enforcement, so… Does this setting even have government?
When I think on it, probably not. This seems to be a society with very little in the way of bureaucracy or formal laws. That does explain why chasing both Team Zephyrai and Team Meanies away were done in a rather frontier-justice manner. Similarly, the fact that there is such high respect for those who are seen as knowledgeable and wise, such as Alakazam and Whiscash, which actually reminds me a fair bit of certain tribal societies.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To be fair, though, the jury is still out on the morality of the person who actually grabbed one of the tails. I could, in theory, see a good-natured but unintelligent kid being peer-pressured to grab a tail to prove ve’s not a scaredy-Meowth and, after Ninetales attempted to curse ver, being too panicked to be able to think about anything other than saving verself. Even good people can have a moment of weakness like that, after all, and Gardevoir cared deeply about this human, so perhaps said human had some likeable qualities about ver.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You mean the tale we explicitly requested that you tell?
Okay, realistically, Whiscash is probably referring to the first recounting, before that. Still, though, Whiscash is not Psychic-type…
For that matter, despite all the hardships along the way, things actually ended quite well. We came out of it with some useful new information, a way to discredit Team Meanies, and a tidy chunk of PoKé. Not to mention, because of where they ended up, Alakazam’s team was able to readily notice and react to Groudon’s impending arrival. If not for that, Alakazam’s team may well have noticed the problem too late to react in time to fix things.
|
|
|
…Um?
|
|
|
That’s a very unnatural way to put things, for the sake of psyching out the player.
|
|
|
Sorry, but I’m already taken.
|
|
|
Actually, I don’t think I bought one thing from him. I mostly just bought rocks and reviver seeds from his brother.
|
|
|
Er, yes, he was within earshot when you said that.
|
|
|
Tell me, what are we fighting for? Weeee’ve got to end this war!
|
|
|
Or started patronage, rather.
Okay, to be fair, I think I did sell some stuff to him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
“Us”? Singular before, plural now… I’m confused.
|
|
|
To be fair, by the logic of the anime, where a Sandshrew needed special training to withstand a pool, that is fair to say.
Worry not, my beloved! Honey’s back again!
…No, not the Weedle, I’m talking about me.
And now, new courses!
Going with Psychic first. This should be relatively easy, considering, well, Dark-type.
…Well, that nullifies part of the advantage. Wobbuffet does not ever directly attack, instead being built around countering damage.
Reddybear might need a bit of power-leveling…
This Pokémon is not kind to glass cannons. Such as, say, two thirds of the party.
This game actually does somewhat change the dynamic with Wobbuffet. In the original, there was no way for Wobbuffet to go on the offensive. Its moves are all counters. Here, however, it has the basic attack all others do. Which makes sense, from a design standpoint, since otherwise, unless it is blocking the only way forward, Wobbuffet can safely be simply ignored.
Anyway, Wobbuffet may have all its counters, but I have the ultimate weapon!
Iron Thorn… You have failed me…
Whew! That was a close one. You almost got healed, there!
Iron Thorn, you traitor!
This is one major issue with this maze. Dealing with the Wobbuffets is mostly about dealing enough damage to knock the enemy out or dealing little enough damage to allow for easy healing. It is a strategic thing, which is not exactly something the AI is programmed to handle.
I forgot to get a screenshot, but the enemies took a chunk of my inventory. I can understand in the game proper, but here?
Then why did they mug me, good sir?
You mean the training we were just doing?
To be fair, yes, I do know more, going in this time. The main thing I learned from this is that I really need to bring more Reviver Seeds.
Anyway, time once more!
Not staying around and exploring all of each floor, this time. I would outright skip this dungeon, but I want that completion reward, so finishing this up.
Well, that’s convenient.
Ooooof course…
Indeed. Now, let’s never do that particular course never again. Let’s do something a bit more normal.
*ba-dum-TISH!*
But first, a bit of shopping.
Well, this is new. I don’t have much money, but the apples are pretty valuable. I only have one normal apple in my current apple stock. Truth told, the belly size increase probably isn’t worth the cost increase from big apples (for those who don’t know, that increase only lasts until the dungeon’s conclusion), but I don’t see any big apples in stock, so going with these.
In any case, onward!
Oh hey, it looks like this dungeon has Raticates!
…Exclusively.
I mean, seriously? I know the training dungeons aren’t supposed to be major things, so I understand a lack of effort to some degree, but how hard can it really be to add a couple more entries to the array of possible encounters for this dungeon?
I think this dungeon may be a tad easier than the previous one.
Ah, right, I forgot to disable Lick. That said, this demonstrates that, unlike in the main series, Ghost-type moves can damage Normal-type Pokémon and vice versa. It’s just very reduced in damage.
Wow, it took Reddybear more than one swipe to knock an enemy out. He really is out of practice!
Ow.
To be fair, I saw this coming and was actually kinda wondering why it did not happen before now, but still, ow.
Being ganged up on, better call in the tank!
Oh hey, none of those are Raticate! This ought to be interesting!
Oh…
The sad thing is, though Reddybear was technically the least vital party member, being the only one who could fall without mission failure, he was also the one most in need of the experience from that fight.
In any case, here is the jobs list! This time, I actually have a Gold Gummi with me. Just one, though. Let’s hope we have better luck finding another, this time.
And so, off we go!
Oh… Right… Reddybear got sent back to the friend area and I forgot to go retrieve him.
…Screw it, reloading from a save state. This does mean having to go back to before that boss fight, but by doing the exact same actions, I was able to get the exact same results (so, it seems that the game’s combat random number generation is not time-based), so no harm done.
Though, for whatever reason, I got a different shop lineup this time. The X-Ray specs are interesting, but I shan’t go out of my way to get them. I mean, I plan to explore all of each floor anyway. I will, however, be grabbing those Gravelrocks and Reviver Seeds! I am short on cash, so I shall go ahead and sell two Roar TMs (I have four), a Thief TM (I have two), and my spare Link Box (having a second one is literally useless) to get the PoKé needed.
Yep, I’m back! You didn’t think I’d forget you, did I? I’d never do anything like that, ehehe…
There! All better!
…Which is more than I can say for Spearow’s odds. Especially since the end goal for Spearow is 8F. Also, you cannot give escorts hold items, change their tactics, or… pretty much anything, really. At the very least, though, Cherithe and Reddybear being set to Go After Foes should make enemies getting to Spearow significantly less likely.
Also, Cherithe and I are hilariously over-leveled for this dungeon, so there’s that.
Well, looks like someone’s been eating their vitamins! That actually slightly stung a bit!
…Yeah, I know, this fight is not even remotely fair, but considering how I usually fare when taking a hit, I’d like to have this one. Just this once, please.
I think “disintegrated” is the word you are looking for, mister game.
Woo! Go Reddybear!
…I would speak about how I should have thought to take the Max Elixir off Reddybear so that did not happen, but honestly, Cherithe has a hard time conserving PP, so that may have been for the best.
White Gummies are a nice thing to find!
Ah, a nice little nap and a lovely massage…
I have a bad feeling about this. This is the drop-off floor, but nothing bad has happened to Spearow yet. Things are going too well and it cannot last.
…Um, Spearow is just a bit behind me, mister game.
I think I anti-tempted fate, back there.
…Aaaand Cherithe is now back to leaving me in the dust when it comes to leveling.
Sadly, no further Gold Gummies have been found yet. There is still time before the end of the dungeon, but it is quickly running out.
Well, interesting. I have no particular feelings about Slakoth, but sure, why not?
Given how much he sleeps, I feel it is rather appropriate to name him after the Greek god of dreams.
He is level 8, yet has 6HP more than the level 17 Reddybear. To be fair, though, he also has to rest after every attack or orb usage, so he could use all the help he can get, I suppose.
C…Could it be?
Aw…
I mean, it is very useful for boosting Cherithe’s IQ, but still, aw…
When this happens, first priority is to move forward to allow other party members to enter.
And one Hypnosis later, Cherithe joins in on the nap time.
Looking at this, I cannot help but think of how adorable a picture of Joat, Cherithe, and Reddybear sleeping together would be.
I can see a very clear entrance through which we could go any farther.
Oh well. Victory!
…Except for the matter of the other Pokémon who desired a Gold Gummi. That is still a thing.
This move, in this game, reduces all incoming special damage by half for a fair number of turns. This seems like it is very useful for boss fights, but not as much for normal dungeon travel, where it is often more practical to just try to rapidly defeat the threat with a damaging move or two. Nonetheless, this does at least seem like a good move to bring to a boss fight… is what I would be saying if Poochyena could learn Light Screen. Cherithe could, but expecting her to use the move wisely is a fool’s hope, given the AI in this game.
Well, this is interesting. I tend not to pay attention to rewards when I pick up jobs, so this was quite the pleasant surprise.
*headdesk*
…In any case, the other rewards were a Yellow Gummi, 60 rescue points, and a Cheri Berry. 40 of those points were from the escort mission. Escort missions are very difficult missions that can easily go horribly wrong, but at least the game gives a reward to match.
And so, tomorrow, onward to more rescue missions! Not story missions, though. Even if story missions are available, Reddybear has some serious catching up to do, first.