Ryuurazen Tower (リュウラゼンの塔)
A scripted conversation triggers when I approach Araragi. At the end of this conversation, I'm handed an Old Gateau... not exactly a fitting present for the current circumstances. There is a bridge leading into a hole in the wall of the tower now, making it accessible.
The first floor is straightforward - there are stairs in the northeast corner. The tower will shake and a thought runs across the screen before reaching the stairs. On the second floor, Cheren is standing on a ledge to the west and calls out once I enter the map. There is a Hyper Potion in the northeast corner and a Stardust on a pillar. With Strength, I can push in the boulder and access the west stairs directly, but I can also go the long way around by going up a fallen pillar.
The following area has a puzzle that reminds me of the Tin Tower from gen 2. At the path split, the bottom ramp leads to the next staircase that winds to the next area. Cheren and Hachiku are engaged in battles with Plasma grunts. I only have to battle the ones to the south. Plasma grunts have almost exclusively Normal or Dark type Pokemon, which are OHKO'd easily by any of Kojofuu's attacks. Drain Punch also meant that I did not need to use potions to heal in the case where opponents struck first. I also notice at this point that Kojofuu has Inner Focus, which is useful in saving time against Reparudasu's Fake Outs. I pick up a Dragon Fang along the way and head on to the next map.
This map looks kind off cool. It's a series of concentric circles; I head to the right and cross a bridge inwards. To the right, I can find a Stardust; to the left is a Star Piece. Either direction can take me to the next 2 inward facing bridges. On the innermost circle, going to the right is the correct option. The outward bridges are easy; there is a Revive along the path of a small detour. The stairs take me to the next floor.
Almost immediately upon entering the map, the building shakes again. The floor plan here is simple; I grab a Max Elixir and walk in on Jaro (ジャロ), who seems to be a Plasma sage, rallying some grunts. I am surrounded by 4 grunts, and I have to battle them 1 by 1. Not really much of a challenge, considering Kojofuu destroys them all... except for a Yabukuron (should have taught Kojofuu Dig beforehand).
Upon reaching the last map in the tower, cue a cutscene of N and Reshiram (レシラム) in 3D. N flies off on Reshiram and Cheren and Hachiku lead me back down to the entrance. Long conversation, but I have to go to Kodai no Shiro next, so I hop on Shinboraa and fly to Raimon City.
Kodai no Shiro (古代の城)
The guy that blocked my way to the stairs before (when I got the fossil) no longer prevents me from progressing. I descend the stairs and am immediately confronted by a man named Ryokushi (リョクシ), who looks like a Plasma sage. After a forced battle with a Plasma grunt, I get sucked into a quicksand pit to the floor below. Right next to my drop point is a Full Restore. The stairs across the first quicksand pit lead to the exit; the second grunt on this floor has a level 36 Dasutodasu (ダストダス). Across the second quicksand pit is TM30, Shadow Ball. I fall into said pit to another floor beneath me.
South of the first Plasma grunt is a Max Revive. Past the second grunt and the southwest quicksand pit is a PP Up; I fall into said quicksand pit. On this level, I walk out my Super Repel and catch a level 36 Desukaan (デスカーン), to whom I immediately teach Shadow Ball and Will-o-Wisp. I have to fight 2 Plasma grunts in quick succession to the west in order to drop down yet another quicksand pit, this time viewing a cutscene with Geechisu, Cheren, and Adeku (アデク). We exit the place, and Araragi contacts me over the Livecaster. I'm informed that I need to head over to Shippou City.
Shippou City (シッポウシティ)
Beru, Adeku, and the Araragis are waiting in front of the Shippou City gym. Aloe comes out and also joins us in conversation, then hands me a Dark Stone (ダークストーン). Everyone leaves, and I head back to Sekka City.
Route 8 (8番道路)
Nothing of note here, but right before I try to enter the bridge entrance, Beru challenges me to a battle. First is a level 38 Muurando (ムーランド), who, after an Intimidate, survives 2 Jump Kicks from Kojofuu. However, she'll use Cheer Up once or twice before attacking, which gives me 2 chances to paralyze with Force Palm and KO. Next is a level 38 Mushaana, essentially hard countered by Desukaan, 2HKO'd by Shadow Ball while 3HKO'd in return by Psybeam. I force Beru to use both of her Full Restores on Mushaana before it faints. Next is a level 38 Baokki (バオッキ) - I don't have a hard counter, but Desukaan is roughly 6HKO'd by Flame Burst (はじけるほのお) and 3HKOs with Shadow Ball in return. Last is a level 40 Daikenki (ダイケンキ), whom I burn immediately and chip away at with Zeburaika. I get a Max Potion as a reward. Admitedly, this wasn't as easy of a battle as the previous ones.
Cylinder Bridge (シリンダーブリッジ)
My computer doesn't handle the graphics here well. Near the end of the bridge, N's ninjas apprehend me. Nothing really happens, though. I exit the bridge otherwise unmolested.
Route 9 (9番道路)
Someone grows an exclamation point on his head when I enter the map. There is a department store along the route (Colorful & Wonderful Life Shopping Center!), but there is hardly anything that I would want aside from maybe X items.
Souryuu City (ソウリュウシティ)
Adeku is waiting along the path leading into the city and leads me to a Team Plasma gathering. After they leave, Iris (アイリス) and Shaga (シャガ) lead me to a building in which we talk about Zekrom (ゼクロム) and Reshiram. Once the conversation is finished, I head out and make directly for the gym. It is directly north of the fountain in the town. Right before entering, I teach Ice Breath to Tsunbeaa.
The gym here is easy, though not quite as painless as the last 2, because Tsunbeaa doesn't outspeed anything. He does, however, cleanly OHKO every mook trainer Pokemon with an Icicle Drop (つららおとし) except for Kurimugans (クリムガン). I use an Ether on Icicle Drop so that I won't have to retreat to the Pokemon Center midway through the gym.
Tsunbeaa started missing OHKOs on Iris's level 41 Onondo (オノンド), but it forced her to use both of her Hyper Potions. Against her level 41 Kurimugan, I sacrifice Emonga for a free Thunder Wave and get a critical hit Electra Ball (エレキボール) on a full paralysis, which was enough for Tsunbeaa to freely finish the KO. Against her level 43 Ononokusu, I send out Desukaan and burn it and curse it while it DDs up. With all of the residual damage, it's KO'd without me even landing a single attack (Icicle Drop missed). Upon defeat, Iris gives me TM82, Dragon Tail (ドラゴンテール).
The moment that I leave the gym, Araragi leads me to the exit to Route 10 and hands me a Master Ball. With it in hand, I want to go catch Kobaruon (コバルオン) to make endgame significantly easier. I teach Surf and Strength to Tsunbeaa and Flash to Shinboraa and make my way back to Fukiyose Cave.
Code:
Party Pokemon:
Pokemon Lv. Nature HP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe
Shinboraa 20 Naive 61 34 39 47 34 53
Emonga 30 Lax 79 56 55 56 42 72
Zeburaika 33 Serious 96 74 47 67 47 87
Tsunbeaa 37 Brave 123 105 75 61 72 37
Kojofuu 37 Lax 86 73 50 50 40 60
Desukaan 36 Calm 92 46 110 74 90 36
Fukiyose Cave (フキヨセの洞穴)
I wind through the cave, avoiding trainers along the way. Nothing special. I pick up TM80, Rock Slide, after a small detour.
Friend Room (導の間)
And old man talks to me for a long time. I have to listen to his story about the legendary Pokemon, or else I can't progress. There is a Rare Candy along the way to Kobaruon. Because of its obscenely low catch rate, I immediately use the Master Ball on it. After the battle, the old man talks to me about the other 2 Pokemon... I don't really care at this point, though. I use an Escape Rope to leave the cave and make a temporary detour to Raimon City.
Raimon City (ライモンシティ)
At the Pokemon Center, I buy TM16, Light Screen, and TM33, Reflect. I also head back to Route 7 to pick up TM81, X-Scissor, which I had forgotten about earlier. With this in hand, I teach Reflect and Cheer Up to Kobaruon. I am pretty much all set at this point to continue.
Route 10 (10番道路)
Cheren challenges me to a battle as I attempt to cross the bridge. He leads with a level 43 Kenhorou - Tsunbeaa gets an easy 2HKO with Icicle Drop. Next is a level 45 Enbuoo (エンブオー), who is a huge pain to defeat. Desukaan survives a Flamethrower and sacrifices itself to use Curse. Zeburaika and Shinboraa sacrifice themselves for residual damage and let Kobaruon come in for the KO. Kobaruon proceeds to sweep Cheren's level 43 Yanakkii and Reparudasu. Cheren heals my Pokemon after the battle (good thing he does) and Beru gives me a Max Revive as a gift.
In the nearby 2v2 grass, I catch a level 39 Haaderia and evolve it immediately with a Rare Candy. Continuing onwards, the gates are pretty nifty. I don't quite understand the point of them, though, considering that, unlike in Kanto, you wouldn't be able to get to this area without having first acquired all of the badges anyway.
Victory Road (チャンピオンロード)
There is a mandatory battle with an Elite Trainer (she has a level 45 Erufuun and a level 45 Zeburaika), but the rest of the trainers here are avoidable. I pick up a Rare Candy along the way and do a bit of backtracking once I get to the end of Victory Road to get TM02, Dragon Claw. I would have actually liked to get both TM02 and TM93, Wild Bolt, for Zekrom, as Cross Thunder only has 5 PP, but it would take too long and the benefit would be minimal. Along the way, I also capture a level 41 Aianto (アイアント) and a level 40 Koromori. It's too bad that Koromori doesn't evolve by level, as Kokoromori's higher Spe would be useful, but oh well.
I'm informed by Colonel M that the player isn't given the opportunity to teach any moves to Zekrom, which means that getting TM02 is for naught. Oh well.
Pokemon League Preparations
A rather short checklist:
- have 30 Hyper Potions
- have 20 Full Restores
- have 15 Revives
- have 30 X Attacks
- have 10 X Speeds
- have 20 X Defends
- have 20 X Sp. Defs
- have 10 X Accuracies
- have 10 Dusk Balls
Most of these items are in great excess, but I still have a good chunk of cash left over. I also teach Koromori Reflect and Light Screen, and Aianto X-scissor. By the way, X items are sold on the top floor of the Route 9 store, by the person on the right. Finally, I dump my 4 remaining Rare Candies on Aianto.
Pokemon League (ポケモンリーグ)
First up is Shikimi (シキミ). I sacrifice Koromori to Desukaan in order to set up a Light Screen that Aianto can stall behind for 4 turns while it powers up. +3 Crunch with Hustle from Aianto OHKOs Desukaan, but Mummy nullifies Hustle afterwards. +3 Crunch without Hustle OHKOs Shanderaa (シャンデラー), and Aianto is burned by Flame Body. After a Full Restore, it also OHKOs Goruugu (ゴルーグ) and Burungeru (ブルンゲル). Easy battle; Aianto did not even need an X Speed.
Next up is Giima (ギーマ). I don't bother setting up screens here, as Zuruzukin (ズルズキン) would immediately wreck them with a Brick Break. I immediately go for the KO with Iron Head, as Zuruzukin's Sand Attack is an annoyance - I should have purchased a Guard Spec. to counteract this. Aianto just misses the 2HKO, but I get a flinch. Warubiaru (ワルビアル) switches in and puts me at -1 Atk - I get Aianto to +2 Def with X Defends (to make Earthquake a 4HKO); it then OHKOs with a critical hit X-scissor. After Giima sends in Reparudasu, I restore Aianto's Atk to 0 and proceed to OHKO with X-scissor. Aianto being a female was beneficial as it prevents Attract from working, but it's not a big deal anyway because Reparadasu can't do any damage to Aianto and is OHKO'd back. It also 2HKOs Kirikizan (キリキザン) with Dig.
Third up is Katorea (カトレア). Aianto does not like special attacks, even if they're resisted, so Koromori sacrifices itself to set up a Light Screen. An X Sp. Def allows Aianto to survive 3 of Rankurusu's (ランクルス) Focus Blasts behind a Light Screen. An X Speed allows it to outspeed Shinboraa (it's faster than Warubiaru, who outsped Aianto in the previous battle). At +1 Atk, Aianto OHKOs Rankurusu, Gochiruzeru (ゴチルゼル), and Mushaana with X-Scissor, and OHKOs Shinboraa with Crunch.
Last is Renbu (レンブ). His Nageki annoyingly uses Level Ground instead of Mountain Storm against Aianto, which destroys my hopes at outspeeding anything - this is another reason to get Guard Spec. +1 Iron Head 2HKOs Nageki, and I get Aianto to +2 Def to sponge Stone Edges (although the 1/8 critical hit chance is worrisome). Iron Head is an OHKO on Dageki, but Sturdy allows it to survive, so I weaken it with Crunch first and then KO. Roobushin (ローブシン) uses Hammer Arm and becomes slower than -2 Spe Aianto after 1 Spe drop, and Iron Head 2HKOs. +1 Iron Head OHKOs Kojondo (コジョンド).
I'm told to go underground, where I then climb a long series of stairs (this doesn't really make sense, but...). I walk to see N defeating Adeku. A long cutscene initiates and N's Castle rises out of the ground. 14 staircases emerge from the sides of the building and converge to the same place... talk about redundant. I walk into a room with 6 Plasma Sages, and all of a sudden a slew of gym leaders arrive to assist? This doesn't make sense... There are a whole slew of pointless rooms here, but eventually I get to a room where N is sitting upon a throne. Cue cutscene where N summons Reshiram; cue another cutscene where the Dark Stone summons Zekrom.
Code:
Party Pokemon:
Pokemon Lv. Nature HP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe
Shinboraa 20 Naive 61 34 39 47 34 53
Kobaruon 42 Bashful 138 84 114 81 75 108
Muurando 40 Naughty 126 93 77 45 74 70
Aianto 45 Careful 114 115 113 54 61 112
Koromori 40 Calm 95 38 49 56 48 74