Last time, the daycare! Also backtracking and evolution.

There’s some battle thingy just past the daycare. Green is trying to tell me about it, but I’m going to just go in and find out.

Oh, if it isn’t Serena, says….someone? Uh, gym leader lady? What is your title in the nobility? What? You don’t have a title?! That’s a surprise. No one could doubt that a kid as strong as you should have one.

The game has gotten really weird.

See, your title here at the Battle Chateau shows everyone just how strong you are. Only a handful of Trainers can join the ranks of the nobility and earn those titles!

It’s like this game is set in every other game’s past.

Her companion walks over. Lady Viola, are you acquainted with the young lady? Ahh, I see you carry the Bug Badge, young miss. It appears that Lady Viola has recognized your ability as a Trainer, then. It is a pleasure to meet you, my lady. My name is Hennessy. Might I ask your name? … … … Lady Serena? A fine name.

Viola, who probably has a title come to think of it, says, I will gladly recommend Serena, so will you grant her a beginning title? and something more I missed.

Of course, ma’am! If you are willing to speak for her, Lady Viola, then that is more than sufficient.

So yeah, the past where there aren’t objective standards and all that good stuff.

And besides… I too, sense extraordinary potential emanating from young Lady Serena.

Still, game knows what I want to hear. I’m really surprised by how great it’s been. Well, aside from the fact I’m so sickeningly overleveled I’ve had to dump most of my team and turn on exp share just so bleed some off.

Lady Serena! You are hereby granted the title of Baroness!

He explained titled trainers can battle other titled trainers and I’ll get better titles if I win and better opponents too.

Huh. “Baron” appears to translate to “one unevolved L15 pokemon”. So yeah, see my leveling problem.

Now I beat them all and I’m a viscountess. So I guess I can come back tomorrow and fight some viscount/esses. All of them had dialogue regarding being super rich, looking down upon me for my presumed commoner status (does this change depending on outfit or is it set?) or occasionally being poor pretending to be rich. So the game is definitely telling some sort of story that has to do with class, I’m just not sure what yet.

There’s also some businesses with a writ and stuff that I’m not sure how it works yet, because it doesn’t seem I need it.

Anyway, that was really easy. Braixen beat all of them, usually in one or two hits.

Oops, ran into alt-me. He declares it’s double battle time, me and him vs the color losers.

But I get to come back later if I’m not ready. When I agree, he explains he thought this was a good idea because we’re neighbors. He’s super into that.

Okay, opponents are now a L14 pikachu and L16 corphish. Alt-me has a L15 fletchling. I defeat the corphish, which appears to be Orange’s only pokemon, while Green turns out to also have a L14 flabebe.

Everyone sure has a different approach to being a Trainer, Alt-me says diplomatically upon our victory. Well, that was fun, but I guess we should head to Ambrette Town.

And up ahead is a cave, but it informs me that’s the shortcut to Cyllage City, and that the Ambrette one is to the south. It’s like the sign assumes everyone would want the other for some reason. Wouldn’t most traffic be to the city?

Ooh, a spikey tree! I cut it down. I should backtrack to cut down all the other stuff I need to.

Also, the results of some trades. Charmander.

The flame on its tail indicates Charmander’s life force. If it is healthy, the flame burns brightly.

Bulbasaur.

A strange seeds was planted on its back at birth. The plant sprouts and grows with this pokemon.

Anyway. My current team are way too high level, so I’m going to put them in a box for now and start raising a pancham, espurr and skiddo, all L10. I also got a female baby eevee, so I’m going to keep her on my team a little while to make her love me. Let’s try that first cave I’m not supposed to take and see how far I can get.

Whismur.

It usually murmurs but starts crying
loudly if if senses danger. It stops
when its ear covers are shut.

Meditite.

It always trains deep in mountains. It levitates when it heightens its spiritual power through mediation.

Skiddo learned leech seed, my favorite move. It’s also just so, so cute.

Dark moves apparently not good against fairies.

Nincada L20, evolving. Ninjask and shedinja.

Ninjask
Its cry leaves a lasting headache if heard for too long. It moves so quickly that it is almost invisible.

Shedinja
A discarded bug shell that came to life. Peering into the crack on its back is said to steal one’s spirit.

Current team:
Skiddo L12
Pancham L10
Espurr L11
Honedge L11
Swirlix L14
Ralts L16 (Doesn’t get to fight, just suck up experience points while I have experience share on.)

In the cave, boulders block my way. So around to the one I’m supposed to be using.

Wow, that was a really short cave. I guess it really was a shortcut. Well, what it loses in fun and challenge it makes up for in sanity – I mean really people, Mt. Moon never did make sense.

Stop right there!

Oh, it’s just Trousers and Skirt. How disappointing.

Ah ha ha! We didn’t mean to surprise you. How are you and Pancham doing? I didn’t even have Pancham last time I saw these people. Are they stalking me?

Skirt says, Haven’t you wondered how a single Pokedex could possibly cover a region as big as Kalos? It hasn’t seemed that big to me. I mean, admittedly I haven’t even reached the second badge yet, so maybe in total area it might end up large, but for the area I’ve covered, it doesn’t seem like I need a second pokedex already.

Trousers says Well it can’t! That’s why we are here to power up your Pokedex.

Now I have the coastal Kalos pokedex. That was unnecessary. Honestly, the entire concept of pokedex upgrades is idiotic to start with, because they’re supposed to be recording data, not have the data preloaded and just refuse to tell you anything until you satisfy their demands and allow you to see it.

Anyway, let’s see if this allows me to see eevee related data. It does!

Eevee: A rare Pokemon that adapts to harsh environments by taking on different evolutionary forms. Sometime, I want to write a story where the ecosystems of the different regions collapse because of invasive eevee. They’re actually only native to a distant area of volcanic islands, where their stats and adaptability are required to exploit the few resources available, and their rareness in the games is the slow progression of some new pokemon being discovered and brought back, then bred to be more common, then a few get into the wild…it takes a while for the first eggs to hatch, but after that they’re like rats with superpowers and they take over all of the niches. All of them.

Vaporeon: It prefers beautiful shores. with cells similar to water molecules, it could melt in water.

Flareon: It has a flame sac in its body. Its body temperature tops 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit before battle.

Espeon (apparently it’s pretty easy to happiness-evolve your pokemon): The tip of its forked tail quivers when it is predicting its opponent’s next move.

Ooh, a trainer with L19 pokemon!

Fairy is supereffective against dragon. Fairy is making less sense by the minute.

Spoink.
It bounces constantly, using its tail like a spring. The shock of bouncing keeps its heart beating.

A horde of zangoose and a serviper have appeared. Maybe I interrupted it while chasing them. The horde promptly murders the serviper before my eyes. AWESOME. See, it’s the little things that matter. Like here, we have pokemon having enough of their own personalities to do something different from the usual attacking me thing. It makes you think about what hordes are and how other pokemon might act.

Hm, can honedge eat? I wonder.

The zangoose was putting up a fight, but then I got a critical capture. Now she’s mine!

It has feuded with serviper for many generations. Its sharp claws are its biggest weapons. Shouldn’t that be “best”, not “biggest”?

Ooh, drifloom! And it’s a girl.

A Pokemon formed by the spirits of people and Pokemon. It loves damp, humid seasons.

Mienfoo!

It takes pride in the speed at which it can use moves. What it loses in power, it makes up for in quantity.

Absol!

It senses coming disasters and appears before people only to warn them of impending danger.

And yet again they go pick the less interesting description by establishing its motivation. The “only” does add the suggestion that there’s an impending disaster right now, though.

Wingull.

Catching sea winds with its long wings, it soars as if it were a glider. It folds its wings to rest.