Anyway, back to catch pokemon.

In sharp contrast to the metang that taunt me, the first vullaby I see gets right into the pokeball.

Their wings are too tiny to allow them to fly. They guard their posteriors with bones that were gathered by Mandibuzz.

Gligar.

Enlarged so you have a chance of making out the tiny difference in gender. Good luck!

It clamps on to its chosen prey then jabs the stinger on its tail into the prey while it’s stunned with surprise.

Gruesome. Also, for some reason I always think it’s bug/flying, but no, ground, that’s supposed to be its gimmick of an unshockable flying pokemon.

There’s a big maze and a boulder puzzle that’s actually a puzzle (as well as requiring cut and surf as well) and you have to solve it to get to the upper area. This is probably an entirely optional area.

Oh! A person! I haven’t met another person in so long!

There’s like a dozen trainers right below you.

The roads around here are really very complicated, so hardly anyone ever comes this way.

Oh, so I guess you just mean that you don’t see people since you hang out here in an entirely volunary manner.

It’s true, they are inexplicably complicated. Who sets this stuff up?

And at the end is…a taunt TM. Wow, this was not worth the effort.

Bouffalant!

They are known to charge so wildly that if a train were to enter their territory, they would send it flying.

Also, they have the sap sucker ability, which I can’t stand. It’s basically a free type immunity with an added bonus, and to add to that people won’t even see coming as easily as when it’s type-based. And it’s not like grass pokemon aren’t terrible enough without that.

Sawk?

Desiring the strongest karate chop, they seclude themselves in mountains and train without sleeping.

Eh.

Mienshao!

Using the long fur on its arms like whips, it launches into combo attacks that, once started, no one can stop.

I think that’s it. Well then, on to Victory Road!

…it seems to be the remains of the Plasma castle.

It’s really cool looking, but doesn’t really seem the right theme. I mean, it’s the shattered remains of the victory of the past main character, and I didn’t buy a sequel to languish in my own shadow.

Plus, there’s light from torches? Who’s going down here just to replace torches all the time?

Golurk. I can never remember the type. Well, I remember it’s ghost, mostly because of how frustrating it was when I first tried to hit it and had no effect, but I keep thinking it’s steel typed, when actually it’s ground. I get the golem thing but they should have made it a ground-colored pokemon, not water/crystal.

Golurk were created to protect
people and Pokemon.
They run on a mysterious energy.

It’s not that mysterious, it lists the type as ghost. Golurk run on souls, duh!

That does beg the question of who created them, and why they decided to stuff it full of undead soulstuff as a power source. Also, do the souls actually control the golurk, or are they just harnessed? The pokedex calls it an automaton, so perhaps the brain controlling it is some program and the ghosts are trapped inside.

Also, why are they here? Someone created them, and presumably someone in the past since no one is currently sure what energy source they use, so why would they be in these ruins which we know were only created recently? Do they just gravitate to ruins?

Anyway.

The place looks mazelike, but actually it’s a straight line. I guess Victory Road is still to come?

My Pokemon were once stolen by Team Plasma. I’m just so grateful that we can be together like this now.

How’d you get them back? Were they returned to you by an ex-Plasma member, or did they come back on their own? Did someone else steal them back? Are they friendly with you rather than snarly like the one Failry found because they were always your friends, or because the person who got them back told them to be while the one leaving the liepard didn’t tell it to go with Failry?

Then there’s another doctor guy. Good, now I don’t need to go back.

I am a Doctor

Yeah sure.

Ooh, a veteran! That’s a new sprite, and a not hateful one at that!

Disappointingly, she has nothing interesting to say, just standard trainer stuff: I’d love to brag about my Pokemon, but it would take too long, so I’ll resist!

(Presumably her male version is )

One of the things that’s been slowly getting more annoying is the way the trainers are set up. Playing Blue reminded me of it, and it’s weird, but-

Okay, so, in Blue, they had a really limited number of trainers, so they were doled out over time. When you got far enough, you’d start seeing new trainers who were more powerful than the last.

But now that they have room for lots of trainers, they can mix them up more and have more variety in a given area. Only, I find it really unsatisfying. I don’t want a world where bakers and tennis players are super fighters. I don’t want preschoolers with high level pokemon. I want ace trainers to be aces who only show up around now, not people I’ve been seeing for half the game.

Huh. Turns out those water spots with rare pokemon can form in water areas you can’t technically reach. That’s kind of annoying.

Something about you reminds me of that Trainer from two years ago…

I’m getting so sick of people talking about the last game.

At the end of the battle she says something like Yes, that mixture of kindness and strength was just like that Trainer. Ugh.

A little beyond is a open area. There’s a hiker.

I am… Ex-Team Plasma!

Really?

There are some people who don’t love Pokemon even if they’re strong. And there are some people who love even the weakest Pokemon.

But since you’re here with a L58 sawbuck I’m assuming you’re a middling one who loves pokemon, but only the strong ones.

This brings me to my first waterfall since I got the HM. Then I reach a cave and…it’s just the water area below the castle ruins, doesn’t seem to go anywhere.

Well, I need sleep. I’ll do more tomorrow.