So we’re here. Petalburg City. Lucki, you do your best with the Gym. I’m behind you all the way. See ya!

Right. Current team:

Flare L28 
Grovyle L28 
Tryke L26 
Silver L29 
Mightyena L28
Egg

First opponent is a L28 delcatty. But it loses a turn to getting a x accuracy used plus a lucky burn. Second is a linoone who uses mud sport, because clearly Flare is the sort to use electic moves. Then it’s a zangoose. I take out half its HP on the initial dire hit turn, then it uses hone claws, Flare misses, then it just uses hone claws again. I backtrack and face another delcatty, but attract continues to not stop the hard-working Flare. Next is a linoone that finally knocks him out. I switch to Silver who can ignore the defense boost. It responds with mud sport, because yeah Silver was totally going to use an electric move. Next is another zangoose. This one gets a critical hit against my grovyle and knocks her out in a single move. Let’s try Tryke. And he gets a critical hit too. (Everyone got a critical hit, actually – odd fight.) Now another linoone, who finally manages to use mud sport against a pokemon it makes any sense for. Throughout this, many comments about my being a gym leader’s kid.

Well, I believe that’s all.

I like the idea of this, but mostly what it shows is that the stat boosting items are a waste of your turn. They really should sell max or at least three stage ones, otherwise they’re inferior to the better stat boosting moves which so many pokemon can learn on their own. At the least, they should’ve also been using held items.

Flare and Grovyle are fainted, Silver’s at about 2/3 health and Tryke’s missing a few points. Let’s do this.

I walk in to find my father kneeling on the floor in a long cutscene. Hm… So you did get four Gym Badges. Then, as I promised, we will have a Pokemon battle. Lucki… It makes me happier than I can really describe. Being able to have a real battle with my own daughter like this. But a battle is a battle! I will do everything within my power as a Gym Leader to win! You’d better give it your best shot, too, Lucki!

And…I lose. Near thing, though – this is a fight with a lot of swapping, and my mightyena’s intimidate is pretty powerful under those circumstances. Let’s try again with the addition of my masquerain rather than an egg.

Victory!

So, some notes. The AI actually seemed kind of intelligent, as his vigoroth responds to sand attack by using feint attack. On the other hand, his pokemon no longer have facade, so status effects are now actually a great idea like they always seemed to be. Paralyze + flinch moves = win. I have no clue why they they did that. It seems to have been exchanged for retaliate, which is a similar 70 base power doubling under special conditions, but retaliate only does that if your last pokemon just fainted. So basically it requires you to be losing.

Impossible!

Uh-huh. Thanks, Dad, nice to know what you really think of me.

I can’t believe it. I lost to Lucki? … … You’ve come this far… That’s how it is, then! I will give you this. Having that Badge will ensure that Pokemon us to Lv. 60 will obey you, even if you received them in trades. Pokemon that know the HM move Surf will also be able to travel over water now. And this is my gift to you, Lucki. I’m sure you’ll be able to use it well. Retaliate will allow you to take revenge for a fallen team member. Its power will be doubled if you have a Pokemon use it in the very next move right after an ally faints. I hope you and your Pokemon will be diligent enough to use it wisely.

Pretty sure using it wisely would be to never use it.

… Sigh. As the Gym Leader, I can’t express how frustrated I am. But, as a father, it makes me both happy and a little sad. It’s odd.

How only “frustrated” seems to be coming across? Yes.

… Come on, Lucki. I’ll see you on your way. Let’s get out of here.

Anyway. This honestly is a pretty reasonable reaction if you think about the fact pokemon training seems like it must normally take quite a while, so getting beat by your newbie kid is pretty shocking. The problem is just that pokemon isn’t something I think of as being particularly storybased. The opening of the game said I was the kid of a gym leader, but I didn’t meet him or see him do anything interesting. Then I reach where he is, but he refuses to fight me so again, no sense of him actually being interesting.

I think the way RPGs usually do this is to have the character being built up run into you early and be insanely strong helping you against some other force. It’d also have worked if he’d let me fight him at the time and crushed me. But as Pokemon is less rigid than many RPGs, there’s the problem that it wouldn’t be that impossible to win against him (easier to set up if overleveled pokemon disobeyed you instead of the weird bit of it only being traded pokemon) so that’d have to be taken into account.

Without that, it’s hard to even remember my character should care about this. At the least, she needs to be able to talk for me to think of her as a character with family and feelings.

Anyway. Outside is Wally.

Ah! he says. Lucki! Mr. Norman! I haven’t see the two of you in some time. What a coincidence! I just came back to my parents’ house to grab something I’d forgotten.

“It’s this lovely flowering plant my parents say beautifly love.”

Norman says, You look like you’ve been working hard, Wally. It’s clear even without a battle. Or in other words, he really doesn’t want to have to fight another kid.

R-really? You really think so? Hehe… Thank you! That’s so nice of you to say!

His dad pipes up in what I can only assume is a voice seething with bitternesss: As you can see, Wally’s health has thoroughly improved. It’s all thanks to you and your father. You two helped Wally catch his first Pokemon that day. It’s because of you that he has a partner of his own now. That partner is why he’s grown so strong. That’s my firm belief.

Lest you think I’m making this up, consider: Wally’s family just told him to go catch a pokemon. Even if we assume they made arrangements for him to get a pokemon from the gym leader, his dad is saying that it’s only because of my additional totally unforeseen help Wally managed to get a pokemon. So…what exactly were they expecting to happen when they first sent him off to get a pokemon?

So, I thank you.

Suuuuuuuure you do.

Yes, that’s it. Sometimes words aren’t enough. It would delight me if you’d take this.

Surf. I can only assume there are a lot of deaths from trainers using surf.

If you’re cleared to use Surf outside of battle, you’ll be able to cross seas with your Pokemon.

And then Norman turns to me. Lucki… Considering how much you and Wally have grown, you should be able to handle what lies beyond the sea on Route 118 now. There are far stronger Pokemon and Trainers waiting for you on Hoenn’s east coast. Continue your journey and your adventures there. I know you’ll do your best!

Yes, sir! chirps Wally, oblivious to all the subtext. I will do my best to become as strong as Lucki, sir! I guess I had better start out, then. I’m off for now, Dad! See you next time! Um. Come on, Lucki! Let’s go together!

Wally… Norman says. I look forward to seeing you and your Pokemon grow stronger together. Lucki? Well, take care of yourself out there. Don’t forget to drop by Littleroot to visit your mother from time to time!

It is pretty weird they’re not living in the same town, isn’t it. I wonder if they’re divorced.

OK! chirps Wally, forever oblivious. We’re off!

Be safe out there! his father says, malevolence in his eyes.

Learn a lot! says Norman.

And…off Wally runs with Lucki. No option of saying no here, not that I would given poor Wally doesn’t need anyone else being mean to him. The screen stays on the fathers.

… says Wally’s father.

… says Lucki’s.

I don’t know what it is, but… says Wally’s father.

…Hm? says Lucki’s.

Seeing my little boy all grown up and going off on his own… As a father, it makes me happy and a little sad… says Wally’s dad. He thinks to himself, Mostly I just wanted to get rid of him, so that’s a success, but now I’ll never get to collect that insurance policy…

Hahahah! says Lucki’s father. What a coincidence! I caught myself thinking the same thing.

Hohoho! Is that so? At last, thinks Wally’s father, someone who understands how sometimes you just want to murder your offspring. … But if only… If only my boy keeps growing strong and healthy like that… I wouldn’t ask for anything else. He’s still not over the heartbreak of having to pay for Wally’s medical care. Sure, the government pays almost all of it, but a ten dollar co-pay? Do you know how many hamburgers that’d buy?

Yes. I know exactly what you mean, says Norman, who is either oblivious to Wally’s father’s malice or secretly trying to kill Lucki.

Anyway, scene ends. I actually didn’t mind that cutscene. All the dialogue is so much better when there’s more than one person talking and they’re not conspicuously ignoring me to do it. Maybe it’d have been better to have something like that back when I was here the first time, to better build the eventual battle.

Back to where I’m trailing after Wally. Mr. Norman told us to keep going beyond Route 118, didn’t he… Let me check my AreaNav…

AreaNav. It’s like they forgot that “Nav” kind of already covers navigating an area.

Route 118 is the one east of Mauville City, huh? Lucki! Since we’re both here anyway, let’s go to Mauville together! I’m definitely planning on going to check out Route 118 like your dad said!

And now I’m there, once again having no choice in the matter.

Phew… It’s actually pretty far, isn’t it? All the way here to Mauville…

Kind of impressed you dragged me such a long distance. You really are getting healthy.

So that must be Route 118 ahead… I wonder what kind of Pokemon i’ll meet there. I can’t wait to find out! I’ll see you later, Lucki! I’m going straight to Route 118!

Uh, but I’m standing right in front of the entrance. If you were aware I might want to go heal my pokemon or something, couldn’t you have let me off at the pokecenter?

Let’s definitely have a battle next time we meet!

Also, maybe you should consider the gym first?

It’s a promise, OK?

Seriously, Wally, get a badge.

And you can’t break a promise!

You need more battling experience if you’re going to keep fighting me. Go get a badge!

Arg he just runs off.

Okay, so kicking off most of my team. Tryke is lowest level, but I need Silver for surf, so I’ll keep him.

On the other side, I receive a good rod. At last! And now tentacool.

Tentacool’s body is largely composed of water. If it is removed from the sea, it dries up like parchment. If this Pokemon happens to become dehydrated, put it back into the sea.

So it’s actually like a jellyfish/tardigrade hybrid.

And then I fight the interviewer people and almost lose! I have to use revival herbs and then Silver kills them with surf and gains two levels. And also my 3DS is about out of battery yet again, so we’ll end for the day.