Sun Nuzlocke – Chapter 4 – Totem Trouble

< Chapter 3

Can emos be blond?

Not long after leaving Paniola ranch behind I ran into Hau who was annoying a new character named Gladion. I’m glad it’s not just me that finds Hau’s optimism irritating, even if the other person is a fictional character. Gladion looks like that kid that desperately wants to be emo and got his mum to take him to Hot Topic one time but he’s not allowed to dye his hair yet. He will wear that Hot Topic outfit every day for the rest of his life though, dammit. He’s also got a bit of a chip on his shoulder about… Something… I think it’s about being kind of a contractor henchman for Team Skull, but not a real henchman. Two Team Skull members came up after we fought to tease him about that AND ABOUT BEING HOMELESS?! Damn Team Skull, what the hell? That was harsh, and kind of brave considering he has a freaky-ass dog-fish-lizard Pokémon that is far better than their Ratattas.

I messed up…

After Gladion was done being dramatic and mysterious I got to move on and it wasn’t long until I was in the next area and ready to start the next trial. This was the one trial I could actually remember from my previous, generic playthrough I think because I had struggled a bit with it and been surprised by it. I knew the Totem was a water spider thing but unfortunately I couldn’t remember what level it was (or called), but my team were all about level 20 and I felt confident with that. I also had a pretty heavy electric/bird team so I went in without feeling I had to do too much grinding and was feeling pretty cocky about it overall. I was in for a shock. The Totem was an Araquanid, a creepy spider with a bubble on it’s head. I sent out Chops the Flaaffy to shock it into oblivion but it hit her with Bubble, not normally a threatening move, but in this situation it was. I had to switch once it summoned a Dewpider to help it. Pom pom the Oricorio was sent out but the same thing happened, and with the Dewpider in the mix as well it just wasn’t happening. Same issue with Peeko the Wingull. Then I thought it was time for the big guns and sent out my beloved Squidward the Inkay to deal with them. Squidward is an amazing Pokémon with the Contrary feat, so if you try to lower his stats they just get higher, and some really good moves that have been making a lot of fights very easy. I used Reflect because at this point I was clucthinc at straws hoping maybe Bubble was a physical move (it’s not) and maybe it could at least lower the damage being done but it didn’t help. Then Araquanid used Leech Life… Which one-shot Squidward. I was devastated. I thought Squidward was going to go all the way to the elite 4 with me, he didn’t even get to evolve yet. I had to take a minute to process his death before I could continue the fight. I was also really annoyed at myself because I had completely forgotten that bug type is super effective against psychic type because you know, Urie Geller can’t bend spoons if a fly lands on him I guess.

RIP to my favourite…

At this point I was getting genuinely worried that this would be the end of my challenge, if no one could stand up to Araquanid more were going to start dying, but I had one last hope (and second favourite) : Rudy the Brionne, my starter. I sent him out and had him just use Work Up to raise his Attack and Special Attack for 6 turns so he was beefed up then struck with Icy Wind and BAM the Araquanid was dead. I felt no joy at his defeat though, there was just a hole in my team that no totem defeat, or many new Pokemon could fill…

Magikrap to Magikal

Begrudgingly, I set about catching a Pokemon in the trial area. This could potentially be the Pokemon to replace Squidward so there was a lot riding on it, I didn’t really have anything in the Box that I felt could match him. A ripple in the water, a jerk on the fishing rod and I reeled in my new team mate… Magikarp.

I was disappointed at first, they take so long to level BUT then I realised that it was a level 21, just one level away from evolution and that was a game changer! Neville the Magikarp was added to the party and put under a gruelling training regime until it evolved into a Gyarados. Now we’re talking. In my previous Nuzlocke I managed to get a Gyarados but it was defeated almost instantly so I vowed to be a better trainer for Neville.

Mandatory Battle Royal

Our next stop was the battle royal stadium where you fight three people with the first Pokemon in your party. I walked in and triggered a cutscene with Hau, Gladion and ‘The Masked Royal’/The Professor in a wresting mask (whatever he’s into I guess, no judgment) and they all decided to battle then and there with me and the Pokemon at the front of the team. Realising that Chops the Flaaffy was the Pokemon at the front of my party and also injured, I desperately tried to claw my way out of the building but the cutscene was in full flow and poor Chops was thrown out the safety of her pokeball to fight a Rockruff, Type: Null, and Torracat. I was very scared. I like Chops and the wound from losing Squidward was still sore, I couldn’t lose Chops too. I tried to be as strategic as possible and used thunder wave on Torracat in the first round. Magically, none of the other Pokemon attacked Chops in that round, which was a huge relief. Round 2 I used thunder wave again on Rockruff as Type: Null was burned but Chops took a hit from Torracat that nearly wiped her out. With just 5 hit points left I resigned myself to Chops’s untimely demise, but she was going to go out swinging! She used thundershock on the Rockruff and… it was defeated, therefore ending the battle! I didn’t realise just defeating one would end it or I would have been more aggressive, I thought you had to be the last one standing. Phew. I ran out of there ASAP knowing that I would never return while on this challenge. I do think that in a normal game it’s a fun format though.

Next stop on the journey is the volcano park for a fiery battle!

Sun Nuzlocke – Chapter 3 – Food for thought

< Chapter 2

Anti-Climactic Rivalry

You might remember back in Chapter 1 I said how I was doing this challenge to relieve some boredom from my sofa-bound, injured boyfriend and that after each Kahuna battle we were going to battle each other. Well… That’s not worked out so much. After a week of me looming over his shoulder asking “have you beat the Kahuna yet?” in the most nonchalant way I could muster while desperately wanting to continue my own game, he finally gave me the go ahead to continue and he would ‘catch me up’. This may or may not happen but I’m going to continue the challenge myself either way. A downside to having a non-gamer boyfriend is that when he does play stuff with me he gets really into it for one or two nights then never wants to play again, which leads to a lot of frustration for my inner achievement hunter.

Ride Pokemon appreciation

After the first Kahuna I was given my very own Tauros to ride and rock smash my way through obstacles. The way this game dealt with HMs is THE BEST, It’s one of my favourite things about it. I hate having to sacrifice one of my party to HM servitude but in Alola you are given a Ride Pokemon to do what would normally be an HM move. You also get some funky riding gear that is… a look, but safety first I guess. There’s a Tauros to smash rocks, Stoutland to sniff out hidden objects, a Charizard for fly, Lapras to surf, and more.

Look what you made me do

I retraced my steps smashing through all the rocks I could find and got to a new area ‘Ten Carat Hill’ where I got a Mawile called Nancy, a Pokemon I don’t usually use but I was very curious so added her to the party straight away. Then there was the ‘Farthest Hollow’ where I COULD have got a Roggenrola, which would have been really cool, but Taylor the Ekans had other plans and 1 shot it. Taylor had become my ‘catcher’ Pokemon, what with her ability to paralyse and not hit too hard, but I guess she wanted to prove me wrong and what with this being the second time she had knocked out a potential team mate I retired her from that role with a stern warning.

Arriving in Akala

Smashable rocks exhausted I headed to the beach and surfed a Mantine to the next island, Akala. Little fact here : The only reason I got Ultra Sun and not regular Sun is because of the Mantine surfing, it’s a fun mini game and I’ve always liked surfing/skating mini games. Once we got to Akala I was greeted by the Kahuna Olivia who is VERY different to Melemele’s Hala. I have a bit of a girl crush on her, not going to lie.

Look at this queen

Lillie wanted to go off to a posh hotel for plot reasons, you have to follow her but once you’re there she just goes “yep… this is the hotel all right!” Ok??? Temporarily unburdened by Nintendo’s albino plot device I ran to the nearest patch of grass to get my new Pokemon… An Eevee! Eevees are adorable and I was very happy. I’d found the TM False Swipe and taught it to Nancy (the new catcher of the team) so it was an easy catch and Smoothie the Eevee was mine! (It was just what I was eating at the time, I don’t know, coming up with all these names is hard). I boxed her temporarily as I wanted to plan what I wanted her to evolve into carefully. There might be a particular type that isn’t very common in Alola or my team might be severely lacking something when I get to the next trials.

The realities of food in the Pokemon world

Next stop was the Paniola Ranch so I could expect a farm-like addition to the team, though isn’t that basically just stealing Pokemon from the ranch? Seems sketchy. Anyway, after some interaction with a farmer and his Miltank I had the disturbing realisation that everyone in the Pokemon world drinks milk from Miltanks. I was then informed by my friend that there are only male Tauros and female Miltank and they can breed with each other so… Miltank provides the humans with milk and the Tauros provides them with… Steak??? That must be why they don’t evolve either, they’re primarily a food source. I guess that’s obvious but I had never thought about it and for a second it took me out of the magical world where humans lived on berries. We looked into it a bit more and apparently Slowpoke tails are a snack you suck on and slowly chew, Farfetch’d were hunted to near extinction because they taste good when cooked with their leek and Basculin is ‘remarkably tasty’. So there’s some light horror for y’all.

Any reserves I had about stealing Pokemon from a ranch were now gone (not that I really had any before) and I walked into some nearby grass to see which Pokemon I could save from the food industry and found a Mareep. I honestly did not realise until I started typing this despite all that ‘horrific realisation’ I then went totally absentmindedly went on to name the Mareep ‘Chops’ so… Yeah. Chops was saved from becoming its’ own name sake and we got out of there. Food talks aside, I am glad I got a Mareep as I think Ampharos can be a good Pokemon.

Now that I need to have a think about my Eevee, which is your favourite Eevee evolution? Or which is more useful? I’m also running out of name ideas, drop some ideas in the comments! Any comment on the food situation? What would a Pikachu taste like?

Sun Nuzlocke – Chapter 2 – Lots of firsts

< Chapter 1

Route 2

After my embarrassing performance in on Route 1 I was hoping for a better time on Route 2. A new route means new Pokémon so I set off optimistically. At the first patch of grass I came to, a man told me how when you can see rustling in the grass that means a Pokémon will run up and attack you, so rather than explore the route a bit more and select my grassy patch tactfully my dumb ass stepped right on into that first one, a shape sped towards me and it turned out to be an Ekans. I’ve never been a big Ekans fan but I’ll take it. Taylor joined the team and I sulked about untapped grassy potential a bit until I got to Sandy Cove. I thought it looked like a good place to come back to when I can fish or surf for a water type just as a Zubat threw itself at me. Has anyone ever not had a Zubat in a Nuzlocke? (Genuine question) My team was full at this point though so it went straight to the PC.

My next stop was the cemetery where I got a Driftloon, which I’ve never used before and their Pokédex entry is uh… intense.

I’m sure there are any number of cool characters that steal people’s soul in fiction/fantasy but the only thing that came to mind is that Simpsons episode where Bart trades his soul to Milhouse for some ALF pogs, so Driftloon is called Milhouse.

First death

Milhouse died immediately. My first casualty of the game. I thought being a ghost type it might fare ok against some physical attacks but… It did not. I spent more time thinking of its name than it spent in my party. I just sent it out, watched it get hit and deflate, zooming around in the sky above me making a fart noise before unceremoniously plopping to the ground, a wrinkled shell of a balloon. You know what though? It’s fine, we’re fine, I’m fine. I could have had a Ghastly but no. Whatever. It’s fine.

First Trial

The first trial is playing hide and seek with some Yungoos before taking on the totem Pokémon, a Gumshoos. I wasn’t worried really, I had been smashing through Route 2 with the unexpectedly effective combo of Squidward the Inkay and Taylor the Ekans: Squidward used reflect to lower physical damage done against the team then switched with Taylor who used Glare to paralyse the totem and its’ ally Yungoos, plus Wrap on the totem for some continuous damage, then we switched out again to Squidward to top up Reflect and then just hit them with Foul Play. I probably didn’t need to be so tactful, but I never usually am so I was enjoying feeling clever. We took them out nice and easy. I never thought an Ekans would be one of my favourites but that’s one of the reasons I subject myself to the emotional torture of Nuzlocke challenges; I’ve been playing Pokémon since I can remember yet I never bothered with an Ekans until now.

Bird Up

I wasn’t very worried about the impending Kahuna fight, but then I had been feeling confident about my trial with Llima and we know how that went… I knew that the Kahuna has fighting type Pokémon so I was pleased when a Spearow named Burdy joined the team on Route 3, that is until I saw his stats. His defence was shocking and I nearly lost him in his first battle, so he wasn’t even a viable option, too much of a wild card. Fortunately there was one area left: Melemele Meadows. Kind of unsurprisingly I caught an Oricorio in the meadow named Pom pom who immediately replaced Burdy as chief bird and was so much better. I think that Oricorio is actually a pretty cool Pokémon, at least early in the game. You can pick different flowers in different areas of the world to give it that turn it into a different type, sort of like a bird version of Eevee, at the moment Pom pom is an electric type but going forward hopefully I can adapt it to whatever upcoming fight we have.

First Kahuna

I needn’t have worried really, the Kahuna fight was pretty easy, Pom pom aced it and secured a place as one of my favourites. Rudy the Poplio also evolved (first evolution) into Brionne, who looks a like a clown that wants to be a trapeze artist but isn’t quite confident enough to fully leave the safety of the clowning career yet.

That’s it until next time! Which Pokémon do you not usually use but have been pleasantly surprised by when you have? Any advice for the road to the next trial?

Chapter 3 >

New Challenge! Pokemon Sun Nuzlocke

Hello! It’s been far too long! I’ve been suffering from writers block very badly over lockdown. Most of the games I’ve been playing are simulators (Sims, Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, etc) and anything I have to say about them has already been said. I’ve really missed writing and the blogging community though and didn’t want to give up completely. Finally, inspiration struck me for a new blog series: Pokemon Sun Nuzlocke!

The idea to start this came about because my boyfriend Dexter has hurt his back and has spent most of the week lying on the sofa, he’s understandably bored and frustrated so to pass the time he has been watching Jaiden Animations play though her Nuzlocke. He mentioned how it would be fun to play one with me where we battle each other after each gym so we would be each other’s ‘rival’. I wanted to do something to help him feel less bored, that and he doesn’t usually play games with me as he’s not a gamer so I got excited and started rifling through our combined Pokemon collection, which is one of the only games he does play. Between us we have quite a few but the only compatible ones were two copies of Sapphire or Ultra Sun and Moon. We settled on Sun/Moon as I have finished Sun but only once and I wasn’t that into it so I felt that a new perspective could change my mind, and he started it but didn’t get very far.

The Rules

As we were playing together, and the Alola region is a bit different to other games (trials and kahuna instead of gyms, ally pokemon, Z powers, etc) we reviewed the rules and came up with the following:

• If a pokemon reaches 0 hp it’s ‘dead’ and must be released
• You can only catch one Pokrmon per route and it must be the first Pokemon you encounter (if ally pokemon are summoned you can only catch the original pokemon)
• The starter Pokemon must be randomised
• A route is whenever the little blue box pops up to say you’re in a new area
• Gift Pokemon and eggs are OK, unless you have already caught a Pokemon on the route it is gifted on in which case you have to release it or put it in the Gift Box on the PC, a thing I made up because gift Pokemon are usually babies and I feel like they wouldn’t last long in the wild, the gift box is a safer place
• If I have a Pokemon that needs to evolve through trading then Dexter must also have one and agree to the trade, he has implied he might just choose not to because you know… He likes to antagonise me
• You can use the Switch Pokemon setting (to be honest, I didn’t know that you could turn this off…)
• No calculating damage before going into fights, this is mainly for Dexter, he loves numbers (nerd) and would do that for fun. I would not.
• You can do some research before big battles to see what you’re up against and what moves they have
• No legendary Pokemon
• You can frontload
• Daycare is not allowed
• Can’t use X items
• Can’t use Pokemon Care (I was upset about this as I like that feature but… fine)

We may add/remove rules as we go as well as we don’t know the game that well so we’ll see.

I Randomly Select You!

To kick everything off we randomised our starters. I was hoping for Rowlet, Dex wanted Poplio, but the reverse happened instead. Nevermind. I have nothing against Poplio I just think he looks like a clown and clowns are creepy. To get around this I named him Rudy after Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (he’s got a big red nose and will be leading my team!) That endeared me to him a lot more.

My First Catch

The part of the game I was dreading the most was the intro/tutorial. I remembered it taking forever. Unfortunately, this game is determined to have a plot and in depth characters, even if it means we don’t get poke balls for 40 mins. Finally I was able to catch my first wild Pokemon on Route 1… Drumroll… a Grubbin. I wasn’t super happy about that at first as I’d had one in my previous playthrough and it was good but it levels slowly, plus it can’t evolve into its final form until you get to Blush Mountain, and by the time you do that it kind of sucks. Having said that, as Bugsy Malone vice gripped her way to several victories I grew more confident, she’s probably one of the best Pokemon you can get on Route 1 after all. Unfortunately, Dex caught one too so I need to make Bugsy Malone the superior Grubbin.

My True Rival

In the first battle with Hau, his Pichu unexpectedly gave me a bit of trouble. Bugsy Malone was paralysed and the Pichu kept lowering her attack and hitting her with Thunderbolt but we persevered and took it out, his Litten was no trouble after that. Hau is an exhausting character with overwhelming positivity. If someone is that nice in real life they must have something to hide. He opens your first battle with “it doesn’t matter who wins as long as we both have fun!” Outside of the gaming world I wholeheartedly agree with that statement but I was raised with Gary Oak as my OG rival so I want to crush you, and if you don’t care when I do it then it takes the fun out of it for me. I really came to appreciate the idea Dex had had in that moment, my anticipation for our future battle was growing, and while I thought he would best me as I have very little experience with fighting real people in Pokemon, I was looking forward to a competitive fight. Dexter is my true rival in this game.

Getting Schooled

In the game-enforced interest of trying to get to know Lillie better we were basically handcuffed together as she dragged me round town and we ended up at the Trainer’s school where it was decided for me that I should enroll. I fought my way through the students there and was then challenged by the teacher who, in a good twist I think in Pokemon games, fought me with the leftover starter Rowlet. Bugsy took care of it but it was a bit tricky and I had to use a fair amount of potions. Then Dexter fought her in his game where she sent out Litten against his Rowlet and… HE GOT KO’d!!! We both looked at each other, and for a second I was torn between laughing maniacally or offering an out. I offered an out. That is how annoying the intro of this game is. If Dexter had had to restart the game at that point he would have had to go through ANOTHER 2 HOURS to get back to this point and we both knew he wouldn’t do it. Instead we agreed to pretend this never happened but any other KO after this would definitely count.

Despite our agreement I did tease him and acted like I had the moral high ground, but Karma is a bitch. I met Llima in Hau’oli city and was taken out by his ridiculously aggressive Yungoos. It just kept coming at me, and when it wasn’t doing that it was lowering Bugsy/Rudy’s defence. I looked at Dex sheepishly and now it was his (rightful) turn to be smug. As he had been KO’d and I’d let it pass he did the same for me on the same conditions. I do feel guilty but… I can’t do that intro again so soon guys, I can’t, and I’d got too excited about finally having something to write about to give up so we’re doing it, think what you will of me. Guilt and failure aside I thought we had bigger problems. I genuinely did not think that I could beat Llima with my two Pokemon. Neither of us expected this game to be this hard so early on. When we made the rules we had done a bit of research on Reddit and there was some dispute on what is classified as a Route. We decided to use the rule where anything classified as being on Route 1 (i.e. the beach near Kukui’s house, the Trainer school and Hau’oli city) is all one area, we had also put a level cap where you could only be the level of the next big battle’s Pokemon (so right now we were capped at 10). However, in light of the aggressive Yungoos we decided to ditch the level cap (it was getting hard anyway as Rudy was leveling so dang fast), and that you could catch a new Pokemon in any area where the blue box appeared in the bottom of the screen saying where you were. This meant I could go back and get three new Pokemon in the city, the beach and the school.

My Hero

My first catch was a Wingull in the city, who I named Peeko (Sapphire throwback). Not the knight in shining armor I was hoping for. At the trainer school I caught a Meowth called Rocket, which is definitely not the best Pokemon I could have got there but it’s fine, I’m fine, we’re fine. My final hope was the beach near Kukui’s house. I had kind of given up hope at this point and had resigned myself to being a basic bitch trainer BUT Tapu Koko must have been smiling down on me. I caught an Inkay (Squidward). It did not take me long at all to realise that Squidward is KICK ASS. It has the ability Contrary which makes stat changes have the opposite effect and it knew both Reflect and Foul Play, meaning I could lower any physical damage being done to my team, then attack using the enemies’ strength against it (perfect for say… An aggressive Yungoos) AND when the Yungoos would inevitably try to lower Squidward’s defence he would just raise it instead. I sauntered back up to Llima and that is exactly what happened. I know you’re not supposed to have favourites but Squidward is currently top tier, the best, I love him. If anything happens to him I might cry.

A very bad start to my new challenge but we are both having fun so it doesn’t matter, right Hau? Have you ever tried a Nuzlocke in Sun/Moon? How did it go? Also, how are you in general if you were a previous Dragons Tea Party reader? I hope it’s been a good year for you all. Stand by for the next post where we will hopefully complete the first Island challenge!

Chapter 2 >

Dragon’s Nuzlocke Challenge: Day 14 – The Finale!

←Day 13

The Final Team

• Heather (Dotrio)
• Pointy (Nidoqueen)
• Sleepy ZZZ (Hypno)
• Swirlyo (Poliwag)
• Friglet (Girafarig)
• MyLilPony (Rapidash)

We had been training for a very, very long time. Many Tentacruels and Stantler were killed in an attempt to level the team with no accidental casualties and finally our hard work had paid off. My team were all levelled to their high 30s and everyone, excluding the stubborn MyLilPony, had evolved. I was sure they’d get to their level 40s in Victory Road. Cautiously we approached the cave.

Dragon: “Right team, here’s the plan: we duck in. Have a look around and see what sort of Pokémon there are and then we duck back out and go back to the lady’s house down the road to rest up… Let’s go!”

Cautiously we entered the cave and were immediately assaulted by a Gravler, he was promptly caught and sent to the PC. The last Pokémon I’d ever catch. I quickly realised that Swirlyo had a huge advantage in this cave: he could one-shot almost everything with Surf. We made our way through the cave, constantly going back to the house a bit down the road to rest when anyone took a little too much damage than I was comfortable with. I didn’t have any money left so I had to be careful! Finally we braved going past the front door and down a couple of ladders when my nemesis BLAAAA accosted us. The rival fight? Already? OK…

We easily beat him and he sort of admitted that he might be a bit of a douche canoe. Cool… What’s through this doorway here? Light? We’re on the other side?

Dragon: “WHAT?! I WAS PSYCHING MYSELF UP FOR AGES FOR THAT?!”

Pointy: “Did you want more fights?”

Dragon: “Well… Yeah! I want you guys to level up as much as possible and I want more money for potions!”

Friglet: “Well, there were some ladders we didn’t explore, there’s probably some items in there still.”

Dragons: “Great idea, Friglet!”

It was not a great idea. Half an hour later, while desperately trying to figure out how to get to an item that was tantalisingly close yet so far, Friglet fell to a self-destructing Graveler. Great. Now I only had 5 Pokémon for the Elite Four.

I gave up on the elusive item and we marched to the Elite Four. I must admit that at this point, while I’d never tell the team, I just wanted it over with. I had procrastinated for too long and I was just happy to have gotten this far. I had made a promise though and I intended to go through with it. I took out the newly caught Graveler (Baldur) to replace Friglet and off we went…

Elite Four Battle Number 1 – Will

Unfortunately, battle number 1 was what I’d been training Friglet up for. His dark moves would have been perfect against all of the Psychic types but… Never mind. Will’s Xatu proved to be a huge problem. I had nothing on bird or psychic Pokémon here and after going with what I had hoped would be the most sensible option (Baldur) I realised my mistake. Baldur was immediately taken out, Swirlyo quickly followed suit…

Crossing my fingers I sent out Sleepy ZZZ, he could take the hit from the Psychic moves and he eventually managed to Headbutt the Xatu to death, though it took him a long while, and a lot of potions. He did the same to the next Xatu, with me throwing a potion at him every few turns until that too fell and Will sent out a Slowbro. Ok… Heather could deal with this, bird has advantage over water… Right? Heather joined her fallen team mates…

At this point I was starting to panic. I wasn’t even going to make it past the first guy after all this time?! Sleepy ZZZ faced the Slowbro and took him out after several headbutts and potions. I was optimistic about the next Pokémon: An Exeggcute. MyLilPony had this in the bag.

MyLilPony somehow did not have this in the bag. Poor Sleepy ZZZ was dragged out again…

Dragon: “We’re nearly there Sleepy ZZZ, keep at it!”

Sleepy ZZZ: “… My head is so sore from all this headbutting bro… I don’t know if I can…”

Dragon: “Don’t be ridiculous, you are my second best Pokémon after Pointy and we would never be here without you. This is your moment, this is what we’ve been working for. Take this Ether and show them who’s boss!”

Sleepy ZZZ: “Uuurgh… OK…”

With a final, fatal headbutt the Exeggcute was sent sprawling at Will’s feet. We’d done it. We’d defeated an Elite Four member!

Dragon: “YEEEEEEEES SLEEPY ZZZ YOU EPIC HYPNO, YOU!”

I hugged him and he gave a weak smile. The battle had definitely taken its’ toll, on our fallen team mates mostly of course but on my potions supply and Sleepy ZZZ’s health as well.

Pointy: “I wanted to help…”

Dragon: “You’re a poison type, you would have been at a huge disadvantage against Psychic… You’re the main event in the next battle though. Are you ready?”

Pointy: “… I am. Do you think we’ll win?”

Dragon: “… I want to… But I don’t think so. Do you?”

Pointy: “No… But I want to try. If we fail I can be reunited with Nointy… Do you think our egg will be OK?”

Dragon: “Burd will take care of it.”

Pointy: “I don’t think I could have named a better godfather… Except Hedwig but you know… He’s dead too.”

Sleepy ZZZ: “Whatever happens you guys, I’ve had a great time.”

Dragon: “It’s truly been an honour.”

We had one last group hug, I took a deep breath and kicked open the door to the second Elite 4 member.

Elite Four Battle Number 2 – Koga

Dragon: “You’re going down Koga… Maybe.”

Koga: “You’re taking me on with just two Pokémon? That’s brave… But foolish.”

Dragon: “I have faith in Pointy and Sleepy ZZZ… I also have no choice.”

Koga: “Very well.”

The battle commenced and we had a strong start. Pointy made short work of the Ariados and Venomoth. That was already two Pokémon down! I started to feel a little more confident.

Dragon: “Keep it up Pointy! You’re doing it!”

Pointy: “As if I was going to let a couple of bugs take me down.”

Koga: “They were just the beginning, Go Forretress!”

Pointy: “Pfft. I do’t think so. Ice Punch, Bit-”

Koga: “SELF-DESTRUCT NOW!”

Dragon: “NOOOOO!!!!!”

The Forretress was too fast, it exploded before Pointy could attack, she tried to stand strong against the blast but it was just too much. She fell to the floor with a resounding THUMP. Her death was a punch to my gut, she’d become a fast favourite throughout the journey and while Sleepy ZZZ could hold his own I did not expect he’d be able to do so in what was coming.

Any minuscule remaining hope I’d had of defeating the Elite Four was shattered. Sleepy ZZZ gulped and nodded at me as he stepped up to the plate. A Crobat was sent out to meet him and, while it poisoned Sleepy he managed to take it out.

Here we were… Koga’s last Pokémon: a Muk. A rather high leveled Muk. Exhausted Sleepy ZZZ never stood a chance. Down he went covered in gross poison goop. Our fates intertwined, I too fell to my knees and collapsed…

It was a rainy, winters’ night when Burd, Squidward, Nommy, Smokey and an egg were released from the PC and informed that their trainer had fallen. Nommy and Smokey wasted no time and ran off into the wilderness. They hadn’t been close to the trainer at all. Burd and Squidward however shared a sad look and then at the egg. They knew what they had to do. Together they hatched the egg and raised the baby female Nidoran that came from it. They make a strange family to be sure, a giant squid, a bird and a guinea pig but it works. The Nidoran had a very unique upbringing, it’s rare to find a Nidoran that enjoys swimming and sleeping in nests. Growing up hearing stories about the bravery of her parents and the trainer that had taken her mother all the way to the Elite Four it was a very ambitious Nidoran, determined to find a trainer worthy of her skill to take her on their Elite 4 journey. One thing’s for sure, if it was anything like its’ mother it would go on to do great things. Its’ name? Nurdward.

 

The End…

 

In a parallel Universe Dragon’s still alive, this version of her was sat at work minding her own business when suddenly…

“… DAMMIT! MY POKEMUM WAS SAVING MONEY FOR ME THE WHOLE TIME I COULD HAVE BOUGHT MORE STUFF!!!” and she sulked for the rest of the day.

 

So there we have it everybody! Thank you to everyone that stuck with me throughout my journey and I apologise for the posts being a little sporadic at times. It was a fun journey, if a little stressful at times, hugely rewarding and I learned a lot more about Pokémon! I would consider doing a Nuzlocke again but maybe with some different rules… Not for a long time though! I need to recover from this one first! 

Would you consider taking the Nuzlocke challenge? Have you ever completed one? Which Pokémon game would you take the challenge on?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dragon’s Nuzlocke Challenge: Day 13 – Getting Ready…

←Day 12

Ah ha! I bet you thought I’d given up on this! Well, I did for a little while to be honest. After beating the 8th gym I needed a little break from Pokémon, I never expected to get past the 4th gym, let alone the 8th! After a couple of weeks I picked it back up and started the journey to the Elite Four…

The Team

• Burd (Fearow)
• Pointy (Nidoqueen)
• Sleepy ZZZ (Hypno)
• Squidward (Tentacruel)
• Burgie (Haunter)
• Fritatta (Exeggcute)

 

Squidward: “No. I won’t do it.”

Dragon: “Come on, I need you to learn Waterfall so we can get to the Elite Four.”

Squidward: “I am sick of being an HM Whore. If you make me learn that too then all of my moves will be HMs and I just won’t stand for that.”

Dragon: “Fine… Fine… I guess I’ll just go and- HIIIYAAAAA!”

I threw the HM disc at Squidward, hitting him in the eye.

Squidward: “NO! I WILL NOT- Wait… I can’t learn it! Woohoo!”

Dragon: “You can learn every other HM move but that one?”

Squidward: “Apparently. Now I can just be a valuable team member instead!”

Dragon: “Into the PC with you Squidward.”

Squidward: “But…”

Dragon: “I know. I wish it wasn’t the case but I need a Pokémon that can learn Waterfall and having two water Pokémon is a bit of a waste… If there’s a computer past the waterfall maybe I’ll get you out then! Goodbye!”

I regarded my new water Pokémon Swirlyo the Poliwhirl, who looked back at me with his big eyes…

Dragon: “Where is your mouth?”

Swirlyo: “…”

Dragon: “Ah well, less dialogue to write!” (yeah, I broke the fourth wall, so what?)

With Swirlyo’s eyes bulging in fear and surprise at the sudden increase of power in his moves we zoomed up the waterfall. Have you ever seen a tadpole climb a waterfall? Have you ever seen a person surf on a tadpole? It’s pretty impressive. I had to maintain my balance on one toe the whole time.

The first Pokémon we encountered was a Doduo, in all honesty I was hoping for something a little more exciting than that in this area but fine. Heather joined the reserves in the PC and I fought my way through some more trainers, all while trying to level up Swirlyo and Fritatta who were both in their early 20s still. We made our way to another new area and suddenly I saw a burst of flame through the grass… Could it be? It was! A Ponyta!

Dragon: “*high pitched squealing* oh my gooood, it’s a pretty pony! I want it! Look at his face he’s so pretty!!!”

Pointy: *filing her claws with a tree trunk* “Pfft, he’s got nothing on me. Stupid dainty horse, I could flick him and he’d fall over.”

Enemy Ponyta: *flicking mane dangerously close to some trees* “What’s that you prehistoric Poké-bitch? Come waddle over on those boulders you call legs and say that to my face!”

Without a word Pointy set down the tree trunk and began sauntering over to the Ponyta, rolling up her imaginary sleeves in the process.

Enemy Ponyta: “Woah, steady on now, when I said boulder I meant boulders of… Of cloud and… Your nails look so good, will you do my hooves like that some day? When you were far away you seemed so much smaller and now… Now that you’re… Right here in front of me… I can see just how magnificent you are… Your breath smells so intoxicating I just… Please don’t kill me.”

Dragon: “Pointy, do NOT touch him! We don’t have any fire Pokémon!”

Pointy rolled her eyes, and turned around. The Ponyta breathed a sigh of relief but then Pointy quickly turned around and growled, making the Ponyta squeal in fear and cower on the ground, his mane spluttering. I sighed and caught him, transferring him to the PC for later.

We travelled a little further when a trainer pounced on us, sending out a Pikachu. We did struggle a little, having no type advantage, but Pointy managed to get rid of it though not without taking significant damage herself. The opposing trainer then sent out a Blastoise. I retaliated with Burd who put up a good fight but got too injured to carry on so Sleepy ZZZ stepped up to the challenge, his health was immediately reduced to the red section… Who else could I send out? Fritatta and Swirlyo wouldn’t last a second, all my “good” Pokémon were badly injured… Except for Burgie. Hesitantly, I him out and he took a hit which was not as bad as others but did over half health damage… Oh no. I needed Burd to recover but to do that I’d have to sacrifice Burgie… Or maybe one of the others… But Burgie was technically my weakest team member…

Burgie: “I know what needs to be done Dragon, I’m ready.”

Dragon: “I can’t do it Burgie… You are my last original team member. You’ve been with me through my whole journey…”

Burgie: “And we had some good times but we both know that I’m not going to be of much use to you in the upcoming battles. There are Pokémon in the PC that would fill this space in the team better. I’m just glad I got this far with you, I’ve been all over the Johto region and licked so many things that I never would have if you hadn’t caught me, and to die on the road to the Elite Four is a good death. I thank you.”

Burd: *Weakly* “Burgie… No… Don’t do it Dragon…”

Dragon: “I… I can’t!”

Burgie smiled sadly and licked my face, for once I wasn’t repulsed, then before I could do anything he used his turn, whipping his tongue into my backpack and grabbing a Hyper Potion, throwing it to Burd who recovered instantly.

Dragon and Burd: “NO!!!”

A jet of water hit Burgie and his ghostly form turned to smoke, drifting away in the wind. The Blastoise smirked, seeing the anguish on the teams’ faces. Burd stepped forward to face him, shaking with anger.

Burd “I have seen too many friends fall on this journey, but I have also seen each of them avenged. Burgie shall be no different, his noble sacrifice will not be in vain.”

With that Burd soared into the air in a graceful arc, then swooped down at a high speed, spearing the Blastoise with his beak and finishing him. We all watched as the last of Burgies’ smokey remains faded into the clouds and then dragged ourselves to a kind lady’s house where we rested.

I decided it was really time to get Fritatta and Swirlyo levelled properly so once everyone had regained their strength we set out to train. As Fritatta prepared for his fight a Doduo appeared, I went to switch out Fritatta but the Doduo used Pursuit finishing Friatta as he zoomed back to his Pokéball. I took a deep breath and sighed. There was no PC anywhere near that I knew of.

We flew back to Johto and I ran into a Pokécentre, there I withdrew MyLilPony, the recently caught Ponyta, and Friglet the Girafarig who had been recommended to me as he can learn dark type moves. I turned off the PC and went to leave but my eyes fell on Burd. I’d been getting worried about him, we had a strong bond and he was one of my most reliable team mates but lately he’d been getting weaker and weaker in comparison to other trainers’ Pokémon. I also couldn’t forget his promise to Hedwig: that he’d take a trip around the world for the both of them. Could I save him by putting him in the PC? That way even if I failed he’d still be able to live out his retirement. I could use my new Doduo, Heather, to fly now (even though that makes no sense as Doduo has no wings). Burd caught me looking at him and smiled.

Burd: “Don’t worry Dragon, my time is nearly up. I can feel it. If Heather fails though, I’ll be here.”

Dragon: “I’ll miss you Burd! You’ve been with me for ages. Remember when you took on the second gym all by yourself?”

Burd: “Good times!”

Sleepy ZZZ: “I’ll see you on the other side bro, take it easy.”

Burd: “You’re Dragon’s oldest Pokémon now Sleepy, keep her and the team safe.”

Sleepy ZZZ: “We’ll be fine bro, don’t stress.”

Old pic of Burd from back in the day when he won us the second badge… They grow up so fast.

They fist-bumped and then the team had a group hug. Everyone had grown to admire and respect Burd, who had become the voice of reason after Hedwig’s unfortunate demise. Pointy had to turn away quickly because she had something in her eye. Finally, Burd was sucked into the PC, waving as he went, and I withdrew Heather. Everyone eyed her doubtfully.

Pointy: “How can she fly… If she has no wings?”

Dragon: “I guess we’ll find out…”

Heather’s right head: “I think we just like… Spin really fast to be honest, there’s no other explanation.”

Heather’s left head: “Uh huh, totally spin fast like a helicopter. You’ll just have to, like, trust us.”

Credit to Zakhero on Deviant Art https://zakhero.deviantart.com/art/Doduo-can-Fly-326087821

Friglet: “I’m sure it will be fine!” *a whisper coming from his rear end* “we’ll plummet to our deaths.”

Swrilyo: *Eyes widen in fear*

MyLilPony: “Death?! No, I don’t do death… Can I go back to the PC?”

Pointy: “You scared, Pony?”

MyLilPony: “… No… I just… Like life.”

Pointy: “Don’t worry, no one’s dying… In flight anyway.”

MyLilPony did a high pitched squeal and cowered on the ground.

Friglet: “Don’t worry, I have faith in Heather!” *whispering* “Life is meaningless.”

Dragon: “… Right… Well we’re off to a good start! We’re just missing some levels… It’s time for some grinding. Cue the montage!”

Join us next time for the final chapter of Dragon’s Nuzlocke Chellenge as the team take on Victory Road and the Elite Four… Will the team succeed? What do you think? Place your bets now!

The Team

• Heather (Doduo)
• Pointy (Nidoqueen)
• Sleepy ZZZ (Hypno)
• Swirlyo (Poliwag)
• Friglet (Girafarig)
• MyLilPony (Ponyta)

RIP

• Burgie (Haunter)
• Fritatta (Exeggcute)

Reserves

• Burd (Fearow)
• Nommy (Slowpoke)
• Smokey (Koffing)
• Squidward (Tentacruel)

 

 

 

Dragon’s Nuzlocke Challenge: Day 12 – Dragon vs Dragon

←Day 11

Apologies for once again being late with this post. I’ve got the point where my writing has caught up to my gaming and so I’m going to just publish these as and when from now on.

The Team

• Zappy (Magneton)
• Burd (Fearow)
• Pointy (Nidoqueen)
• Sluuurp (Lickitung)
• Sleepy ZZZ (Hypno)
• Burgie (Haunter)

I wasn’t sure the team was ready but I was sick of grinding. We marched into the Dragon Gym and fought our way through the trainers with Sluuurp using Icy Wind and Pointy Ice Punching her way through. Eventually we got to the arrogant Gym Leader.

Clair: “My brother is such a good Pokémon trainer, we trained together so I’m basically part of the Elite 4. Like, if one of them dropped out I would totally be up there.”

Dragon: “Uh huh…”

Clair: “One time I went up there and they battled me. They all beat me but I was literally so close that they essentially declared me one of them.”

Dragon: “… Can we fight now?”

Clair: “If I beat you I bet they’ll let me fight them again. I can be an Elite 4 member. They all laughed at me but they’ll see…”

With that her first Dratini was released. Surprise, surprise. I had Sluuurp sort it out. I was pretty tense throughout most of this battle but eventually I realised that it wasn’t actually going that badly… Or so I thought. Claire was down to her final Pokémon while I still had a full, healthy team. Breaking the Dratini streak she sent out a Kingdra.

Dragon: “Pfft, a Kingdra? Zappy, take care of this guy with thundershock.”

Zappy: *shocked* “It… It only took off half its’ health. Usually that’s a KO move on a water Pokémon.”

Dragon: “It’ OK, one more hit and it will be done!”

Kingdra: “Surf’s up, bitch.”

Dragon: “Zappy’s steel type he’s not vulnerable to-”

KO!!!!!

Dragon: “WHAT?! Zappy no!!! You were the first Magnemite I ever stuck with. You’re our go-to KO-dealing Pokémon! Use my phone charger to heal, you’ll be OK!”

Zappy: “I’m afraid it’s time for me to go Dragon… Thank you for taking me on this journey… Beat the Elite 4. You can do it…”

With that his magnets fell to the ground with a deafening CLANG.

Surprised at the power of its’ Surf attack, I was now very wary of the Kingdra. I carefully debated who to send out next and settled on Sluuurmp based on his high defence stats. I was wrong. Once again a wave washed over him and took him out.

I was getting very worried. No one else onthe team had very good defense except for Pointy… Pointy was not happy that her two team mates had been killed by a seahorse and she put all her power behind her Ice Punch. It did a lot of damage, but not quite enough. My whole body tensed as a wave crashed over Pointy’s head but she stayed put, her health in the danger zone. I looked at my remaining Pokemon and sent out Burd, praying he wouldn’t get hit as he had weak defense stats.

Burd: “Don’t worry Dragon, I got this.”

He flew into the sky… Or as far as he could before he it the gym ceiling. The Kingdra attacked with Surf but the wave wasn’t tall enough to reach Burd who sped down and took out the Kingdra, piercing him with his beak.

 

Burd, Pointy and I marched over to the fallen Clair and loomed over her.

Dragon: “Badge please.”

Clair: “Nah.”

Dragon: “What? But I just beat you.”

Clair: “No, I’m not accepting that.”

Dragon: “Well I’m not accepting you not accepting. You have to give me the gym badge, those are the rules.”

Clair: “… No.”

Dragon: “It is literally your job to reward people with badges when they beat you. Is there a gym central that I can complain to or something?”

Clair: “I tell you what. If you go to Dragon Cave and fetch me a Dragon Fang. Then I’ll give you the badge.”

Dragon: “OK.”

Clair: “It’s super difficult. I train there every day.”

Dragon: “OK.”

Clair: “I doubt you’ll manage it, there’s Dragon Pokémon everywhere!”

Dragon: “I’m going now.”

Clair: “You’ll probably die!”

We set off for the cave, taking Squidward and Fritatta the Exeggcute out of the PC to replace Sluuurmp and Zappy. Not that they could ever be replaced. Expecting to be attacked by Dratini left right and centre I braced myself but the only thing that came at us were Magikarp. So. Many. Magikarp. Eventually a Dratini showed its face and I attempted to capture it. Fritatta was doing well, he’d got the Dratini down to the red section of its’s health and it was asleep. I threw Pokéball after Pokéball at it but none of them stuck. I couldn’t attack it again, no one had a weak enough attack…

Burgie: “Let me lick it.”

Dragon: “Ew, no.”

Burgie: “It’s a weak attack…”

Dragon: “I don’t know…”

Burgie: “You’ve only got one Pokéball left… You probably won’t catch it anyway, just let me try.”

Dragon: “… Fine.”

Burgie floated over to the sleeping Dratini and gave it a huge lick, covering it in saliva. The Dratini woke with a start, let out a scream of terror and died of fright.

Dragon: “Dammit Burgie!”

Burgie: “Oops… Sorry…”

Dragon: “It’s fine, I mean what would I do with a Dragon Pokémon anyway? It’s not like it would have been that helpful… It’s so fine.”

Burgie: “In that case, you’re welcome!”

He floated off happily in blissful ignorance as I seethed quietly. As I glared around the cave, daring any more Magikarp to splash me, I spotted something on the floor and picked it up – the Dragon Fang. Suddenly Clair appeared.

Clair: “Fine, you found it. Here’s your badge.”

Dragon: “… What? That was it? There was nothing guarding it?”

Clair: “No that’s it. Difficult, right?”

Dragon: “Do you literally just spend all day battling Magikarp? Seriously?”

Clair: “Do you want the badge or not?”

I took the badge and made my way out of the cave, no dragons in sight. Time to head to Kanto…

The Team

• Burd (Fearow)
• Pointy (Nidoqueen)
• Sleepy ZZZ (Hypno)
• Squidward (Tentacruel)
• Burgie (Haunter)
• Fritatta (Exeggcute)

Reserves

• Smokey (Koffing)
• Fritlet (Girafarig)
• Nommy (Slowpoke)

RIP

• Zappy (Magneton)
• Sluuurp (Lickitung)

Day 13→

 

 

Dragon’s Nuzlocke Challenge: Day 11 – Ice Ice Maybe

←Day 10

The Team

• Burd (Fearow)
• Squidward (Tentacool)
• Sleepy ZZZ (Hypno)
• Pointy (Nidoqueen)
• Zappy (Magneton)

After defeating Team Rocket in the Radio Tower I was gifted the Silver Wing… I had a vague memory of someone mentioning this near the whirlpool infested island that I couldn’t get to before near Cianwood City, and after losing Nointy and Popotte I wasn’t looking forward to my attempt at conquering the 8th Gym. What the Hell. We set off to investigate.

Dragon: “Right Squidward, you need to learn Whirlpool.”

Squidward looked disappointed and sighed.

Dragon: “What’s the matter?”

Squidward: “I already know Cut and Surf, now I’m going to learn Whirlpool… Do you even like any of my original attacks? Am I just an HM Whore to you?”

Dragon: *High pitched* “What? Noooo! No, no, no! Not at all! I really like your original moves… It just happens to be the case that you can learn most HM moves…”

Squidward: “I could be great you know, I could learn Hydro Pump eventually but I won’t be able to because of all these HM moves.”

Dragon: “You still have an extra slot, we can replace Bubble Beam with Hydro Pump.”

Squidward: “I like Bubble Beam! I can shoot bubbles!!! Who wouldn’t want that?!”

Dragon: “OK… If all goes well I promise that, when it’s no longer needed, I will take you to the move deleter and we can delete Cut.”

Squidward: “Fine.”

We sailed over the whirpools and into the cave. A new area! Suddenly the battle music began and the first Pokémon flopped into view. A Seel.

Dragon: “Oh my… You… are… ADORABLE!”

Seel: “Arf?”

Dragon: *tickling his belly* “Who’s a lovely Seel? You’re a lovely Seel! Yes you are!”

Zappy: “Oh god… It’s a cute one.”

Pointy: “Are we not cute enough for you Dragon?”

I glanced over at my team: A magnet, a blue dinosaur, a stumpy ostrich, a jellyfish, and a creepy, yellow hypnotist.

Dragon: “I mean… You guys are so great… You have to remember, beauty is on the inside.”

The team exchanged looks but I was too absorbed in playing with the newly discovered Seel that I didn’t notice.

Pokémon games are looking so realistic nowadays. This Seel almost looks real.

Dragon: “Do you want to come with us boy?”

Seel: *happily* “Arf! Arf! Arf!”

Dragon: “Awesome. I shall name you… Arf Arf.”

Zappy: “Wow.”

Pointy: *Facepalming* “I can’t believe something called ‘Arf Arf’ is taking Nointy’s place on the team.”

Dragon: “I know you’ve suffered a huge loss Pointy, we all miss Nointy. It would be really helpful if you could just reign in the sass a tiny bit though. Arf Arf can learn ice moves, he could be our ticket though the 8th gym.”

Pointy: “We wouldn’t need an ice type to carry us if Nointy was still alive.”

Dragon: “OK, take a time out!”

I transferred a sulking Pointy to the PC and withdrew Sluuuuurp the Lickitung instead (side note: I may have lost my notes around the time I caught Sluuurp and not mentioned him before. I caught him on Route 44 between Mahogany Town and the Ice Cave).

Sluuurp: *lick*

Dragon: “Oh no, not another one. What is it with licky Pokémon?

Sluuurp: “I met Burgie while I was in the PC and we licked all the inside of the computer together.”

Dragon: “Why?”

Sluuurp: “Have you ever been trapped in a PC? What else is there to do?” *lick*

Arf Arf: *licks Dragon’s face* “Arf!”

Dragon: “Awwww! Did you guys see that! He gave me a kiss! Isn’t he adorable?”

Sluuurp: “Oh, so when he does it it’s cute.”

With both Sluuurp and Arf Arf lacking a little in levels compared to the rest of the team it was time to do some grinding. Unfortunately, that seemed hard to come by in this particular area. There were Gravelers Self-destructing everywhere and while Sluuurp could take a hit from that I still had to heal him after every battle and it was out of the question for Arf Arf to go up against one, he had the lowest defence on the team. Eventually I went back to the Ice Cave to find some Golbat for Arf Arf to level up with. Everything was going well, the occasional Delibird even popped up and healed Arf Arf for me!

Dragon: “Ah, another Delibird, go on then, what’s the mystery gift? Are you going to heal Arf Arf again?”

Delibird: “Delivery for Arf Arf.” *lays package down on the floor*

Arf Arf: *flops forward and sniffs the package* “Arf?”

The Delibird grinned at me from across the room and flew away. I suddenly had a bad feeling…

Dragon: “Arf Arf, don’t touch-”

BOOM! The package exploded, taking Arf Arf with it. I stared blankly at the space where my adorable little Seel had been just moments ago.

Burd: *Placing a wing around my shoulders* “I’m sorry Dragon, I know you had high hopes for him.”

Zappy: “At least he went out with a bang.”

Everyone looked at Zappy.

Zappy: “What?”

Sleepy ZZZ: “Not cool bro.”

I sighed and went back to the PC to withdraw a smug Pointy and we headed for the gym. I wanted to get a feel for what the trainers were like. Apparently so far the only Dragon type in the game is Dratini. The first trainer used its’ three Dratini to spam Dragon Rage at my team, doing a fair bit of damage, until Sluuurp disabled it and then it resorted to Twister, which wasn’t so bad but we could still have done without. We left the gym feeling a little overwhelmed. We’d have to do some serious grinding for this gym, if those Dratini were the same level as my current team then the leaders’ would be higher. Meanwhile, IRL, blogger Rory from Free Time = Game Time suggested I level up Powafish to evolve him into a Gyarados. It was true, a Gyarados would be an incredible addition to the team but levelling up a Magikarp… I really didn’t want to do it. It would take forever. I went to the PC to see how many levels he had to get on par with the rest of the team anyway, just in case, only to find he was gone! I was then elated to remember that I’d put Powafish in the daycare! Yes! Thank you past self! Powafish, at level 29 was brought into the team (in exchange for a rather relieved Squidward), but where to train him? I couldn’t take him to the self-destructing Gravelers, I tried the Ice Cave for a while but he couldn’t handle any of the Pokémon there by himself… With a shudder I thought back to the days and days of grinding near Ecruteak City. All those Stantler my team had killed for their chunky XP… Powafish would be able to handle them though. We reluctantly flew back there and the rest of the team and I settled down with a game of Poker as Powafish sweated away, tackling Stantler and Pidgeys.

Powafish: *adjusting sweatband* “I am a dragon warrior on the inside, I can do this.” *Aggressively flops into a tackle*

Dragon: *Not glancing up* “That’s it Powafish you can do it… Sluuurp! Stop eating the poker chips!” As we had no chips we were using berries instead.

Sluuurp: *Juice stains round his mouth* “I’m not eating any berries…” His tongue snuck up the other side of the log we were using as a table towards Pointy’s berries who grabbed it and tied it around the log.

Sluuurp: “NNNNNNGGG!!!”

Sleepy ZZZ: *Sliding one of his cards over to Zappy* “Check Mate, bro.”

Zappy: “… What? This is Poker not Chess…”

Sleepy ZZZ: “… Oh… Go Fish…”

Zappy: “Oh Arceus…”

Pointy: *Slamming four Queens onto the log* “Four of a kind, bitches! Pay up!”

Burd: “How do you keep getting Queens?!”

Pointy: “I guess there’s just something about me.”

We all groaned as Pointy dragged all the berries over to join the mountain she already had and adjusted the twig crown she’d made for herself as Queen of Poker.

…: “You guys better hand over those berries… Because I just got a King.”

A shadow loomed over us and we all stared up slowly. A huge Gyarados towered over us…

Zappy: “That… That’s not-”

Burd: “Just let him have this.”

With Powafish now epic we all headed back to Blackthorn. I’d figured out that he’d be able to withstand the self-destruct attacks of the Gravelers now and we got down to training. It was going pretty well… Until it didn’t. While he was easily able to withstand a generic Graveler self-destruct attack apparently a critical one from a Geodude was too much for him. We all watched, unsurprised and numb at this point to be honest, as Powafish was blown far into the sky, Team Rocket style.

Goodbye Powafish!

Dragon: “Are you kidding me?! I was going to use this TM to teach him Icy Wind as well…”

Pointy and Sluuurp shifted uncomfortably.

Dragon: “Wait… You guys can learn Ice type moves?!”

Pointy: “Well… I mean… Yes…”

Dragon: “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

Sluuurp: *Licking the ground fretfully* “Anything you pin your hopes on for this next gym seems to end up dead at the moment so… We didn’t really want to join attention to ourselves.”

Dragon: “I can’t believe this…”

Next time on Dragon’s Tea Party (Sunday) we take on the 8th gym!

The Team

• Burd (Fearow)
• Sleepy ZZZ (Hypno)
• Pointy (Nidoqueen)
• Zappy (Magneton)
• Sluuurp (Lickitung)

Reserves

• Burgie (Haunter)
• Smokey (Koffing)
• Fritatta (Exeggute)
• Fritlet (Girafarig)
• Nommy (Slowpoke)
• Squidward (Tentacruel)

RIP

• Arf Arf (Seel)
• Powafish (Gyarados)

Day 12→

Dragon’s Nuzlocke Challenge: Day 10 – Jynxing Myself

←Day 9

The Team

• Burd (Fearow)
• Squidward (Tentacool)
• Sleepy ZZZ (Hypno)
• Pointy (Nidoqueen)
• Nointy (Nidoking)
• Zappy (Magneton)

Zappy: Can we just use an escape rope and come back later? I’m so bored!

My team were sat in the corner of the ice cave, playing a game of cards as I slid across the icy floor, throwing myself against rocks and trying to angle myself at the little patch of ground with a ladder in the middle.

Dragon: “No… I… Can… Do… THIS!”

I narrowly slid past the patch, eventually stopping at the other side of the cave.

Zappy: “We’ve been here for ages, it’s just getting embarrassing.”

Dragon: “Burd, can’t you fly me to the ladder?”

Burd: “No.”

Dragon: “Why not?!

Burd: *A look of horrified confusion dawned on his face* “I… I don’t know…”

… : “I can show you the way.”

Two large, orb-like eyes and a creepy, smiling, bright red mouth peered out of the darkness.

Dragon: *Jumping into Pointy’s arms* “AAAH! What the hell?!”

The whole team recoiled as a Jynx appeared.

Popotte: “My name is Popotte, let me show you the way…”

She (he?) effortlessly glided between the rocks, landing on the ground next to the ladder.

Dragon: *Shuddering* “Humanoid Pokémon are so creepy…”

Why is this thing? At least it’s not as bad as Mr Mime.

Burd: “Woah, woah, woah… Why would you show us the way?”

Popotte: “Have you seen what I’m wearing? It’s freezing down here! Take me with you! Besides… I think you’ll want an Ice Pokémon for the gym up ahead.”

The team and I exchanged glances, she was the first Pokémon I’d seen… And Ice Pokémon could be pretty epic…

Dragon: “OK, but you have to wear this bag over your head.”

Popotte: “That’s fair.”

True to her word, Popotte guided us out of the freezing cave and into the sunlight. We had arrived in Blackthorn City. After a bit of exploring I decided to see what wild Pokémon were about, upon jumping into the long grass we were immediately attacked by a Graveler. A Rock type would be pretty sweet. Unfortunately, I had not thought that maybe a Graveler would literally rather die than join my team, as he used Selfdestruct, making me wince as Sleepy ZZZ was hit, hanging in there though, I lost my opportunity to get a Pokémon in that area. Nevermind.

In preparation for the gym I started training up Popotte. She was incredible. Everything was taken down in her first go. She left a trail of smashed up Gravelers behind us as we made our way through, I could almost taste the 8th gym badge. We then decided to go into a nearby cave, would we be able to get another Pokemon? The answer was no. A Wobboffet appeared, and was accidentally killed straight away. Nevermind, back to Popottes training… Another Wobboffet appeared, no problem… Right? Popotte unleased Icy Wind as she had done in previous battles but unfortunately it didn’t kill the enemy straight away. That’s fine, I was sure she could handle whatever was coming next. The Wobboffet then grinned slyly, like he knew he was about to wreck my dreams, and used Mirror Move, reflecting Icy Wind back at Popotte. She was taken down immediately.

Dragon: “NO! DAMMIT MY ONE ICE POKEMON! AAARGH!”

I stomped out of the cave, furious and went straight up to the gym. If I could battle a couple of trainers and get a feel for what my team were like against them then I could get a better sense of what to do.

Guy: “The gym leader’s training in the cave behind the gym right now.”

Dragon: “EURGH, FINE! I’LL GO TO THE CAVE!”

As I approached the cave though anther guy blocked the entrance and informed me that only Dragon Trainers were allowed in.

Dragon: “Well… Where the hell am I supposed to get a Dragon type?”

Zappy: “Maybe we’re not supposed to be here yet.”

Burd: “Didn’t you get a call about a radio tower being attacked by Team Rocket? You totally ignored it but maybe we have to do that first…”

Dragon: “But I don’t wanna fight more Zubat and Koffing…”

Zappy: “No one does, but we if we want to get that badge…”

Dragon: “FINE! Bloody Team Rocket. I haven’t even met Jessie and James yet, they shouldn’t have team Rocket if I can’t fight them…”

Zappy: “Who’s Jessie and James?”

Dragon: “Nevermind.”

The only Team Rocket members I care about. (I am a big fan)

I grudgingly flew to the Radio tower and fought my way through Team Rocket with blinding speed.

Team Rocket Member: “Ah ha, you want to get through the gate! Well the only person that has the key is the guy in the place that is not here!”

Dragon: “GRRRRAAAH!”

We sprinted to the actual place we needed to be and I was faced with a set of three switches. I don’t know what I did but to my shame it took me AGES to figure out how the switches worked. Enough to rage quit, sit in silence for a couple of minutes, sigh and pick up the game to give t another go. Once I could finally get through I found the director and we raced back to the Radio Tower. Finally, the last Team Rocket member remained, an Executive. I barely gave him a second thought as I sent out Nointy to kick his Koffing in the face but then the Koffing used Selfdestruct… And took out Nointy.

Pointy: “NO! Nointy you can’t die! Hold on! It was just a Koffing, you can’t go down this way!”

Nointy: *holding a paw to Pointy’s face and wiping away her tears* My darling, I love you so much. You must stay strong.”

Pointy: “I can’t do this without you!”

Nointy: “You have to. Promise me that, when this challenge is over, you will take our egg from the PC and raise it on that nice little route we picked out. The one with all the Meowths for it to Double Kick and grow strong.” *cough*

Pointy: “I promise. I love you Nointy.”

Nointy: “And I… *cough*… love you Pointy.”

With that Nointy’s eyes closed and Pointy flew into a rage, throwing the Koffing across the room as if it were a ball. It splattered across the adjacent wall, leaving the Team Rocket member stunned.

In a grieving silence we finished the mission, and left the Radio Tower. I hadn’t even wanted to do it in the first place and now Nointy was gone.

Pointy: “It should have been me. He was never as involved in this challenge. I should have been sent out.”

Dragon: “He wanted to be here just as much as anyone.”

Pointy: “You should have sent someone out that had better defence, like me! You know that Koffings can Selfdestruct!”

Dragon: “I’m sorry Pointy, I thought he’d be able to take it! He was so big, it didn’t even occur to me that he wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Pointy: “This is all your fault!”

Will Pointy ever be able to forgive Dragon? Will the team get to fight the 8th Gym Leader? Find out on Wednesday!

The Team

• Burd (Fearow)
• Squidward (Tentacool)
• Sleepy ZZZ (Hypno)
• Pointy (Nidoqueen)
• Zappy (Magneton)

Reserves

• Burgie (Haunter)
• Smokey (Koffing)
• Fritatta (Exeggute)
• Fritlet (Girafarig)
• Powafish (Magikarp)
• Nommy (Slowpoke)

RIP

• Popotte (Jynx)
• Nointy (Nidoking)

 

 

Dragon’s Nuzlocke Challenge: Day 9 – Chilling Out

←Day 8

First of all, apologies for the absence of recent Nuzlocke posts, or any posts at all. I was on holiday and decided to take a break from my blog while I was at it. To be honest with you I never expected to get this far in the challenge and thought that it would be long over before my holiday!

The Team

• Burd (Fearow)
• Squidward (Tentacool)
• Sleepy ZZZ (Hypno)
• Pointy (Nidorina)
• Nointy (Nidorino)

Feeling defeated I stared at the 7th Gym. The Ice Gym. I looked back at my team, my fire-type lacking team. Everyone was quiet and not really feeling it.

Dragon: “You know what? Let’s just have some fun exploring. We need a break. That and there are some things I’m pretty sure I missed.”

The team brightened at this and, withdrawing Zappy from the PC to join us as he was now my most defensive Pokémon, we set off.

The plan was to go back and find some of the things I’d missed. First of all we’d head to Cianwood City again to get the Fly HM which I forgot to get off a woman waiting outside the gym (that’s easy to miss, right? I don’t have time to talk to everyone; I’ve got a Nuzlocke to finish). Secondly, my mum had not yet been saving money for me, so we’d go back to New Bark to say hi and ask her to buy a moonstone for me. I figured that if I could use the moonstone to evolve either Pointy or Nointy into a Nidoqueen/king then that would make the Ice gym a little easier, they were the only ones who knew a fighting move to take on the Ice Pokémon. I’d done a bit of research though and found out that the second moonstone was in the Kanto region somewhere so only one of them would be able to fully evolve. I hadn’t actually announced who would get the one Moonstone, to avoid causing more tension between Pointy and Nointy – but secretly I was planning on giving it to Pointy. She was a little more robust than Nointy, and he was a little too clingy for my liking. In his younger days, he had taken great joy in sprawling on my lap/shoulder/face whenever we stopped to rest – since his evolution into a 200-kilo murdersaurus, he hadn’t quite come to terms with the fact that he was no longer a lapdog. I was limping pretty heavily by the time we reached our destination.

After taking what seemed like hours, we finally reached Cianwood City… Again… I swiped the Fly HM from the lady outside the gym, glaring at her like it was her fault I’d ignored her before, and turned to Burd.

Burd: “Hedwig and I were supposed to learn this together…”

Dragon: “I know. He’d want you to learn it, though, and carry on your dream of travelling.”

Burd: “I just don’t know if I ca-”

Dragon: “You are my only flying-type Pokémon.”

Burd: “Righty-ho, I’m learning Fly then.”

For Burd’s maiden flight, we flew to New Bark Town, where I burst through the door to my home, threw 200,000 whatever-the-currency-is at my mum and then ran back outside again. I was about to fly back to Mahogany Town but then I spotted a large lake to the East of New Bark. We had time to explore a little, so why not? Sailing forth on Squidward, we entered a new area, where a cheerful guy informed us we were in Kanto. Kanto?!

Interesting… As it turned out I couldn’t walk around Kanto much, everywhere was sealed off except for a cave. We surfed in and got jumped by a Slowpoke. A new Pokémon!!! The cave wasn’t very big, all I could get on was a little ledge in the corner of the room… and there was the other moonstone!!! I couldn’t believe my luck. I was going to have a Nidoking and Nidoqueen!

We happily flew back to Mahogany town and, just outside the gym (the trainers inside glancing nervously through the windows) I gave Pointy and Nointy their moonstones.

Two epic dinosaurs stood before me and I suddenly felt a hundred times more confident about the Ice gym. Pointy and Nointy turned to growl at the trainers looking through the windows and they all ducked out of sight fearfully. My team was officially badass.

Pointy: “Nointy, you look… Really cool…”

Nointy: *flexing* “Yeah I do…”

Pointy: “I’m sorry about before… Can we start from the beginning?”

Nointy: “I thought you’d never ask.”

Nointy swept Pointy off her feet to kiss her, her tail sweeping round to knock over Sleepy ZZZ who, in his sleepy state, hadn’t seemed to notice that his girlfriend had turned into a huge dinosaur and gotten back with her ex right in front of him.

Zappy: “Pay up Dragon.”

Dragon: *sticking £50 in change to Zappy’s magnets* “Damn it…”

The now gold-plated Zappy, feeling confident, flung himself at the gym doors and floated through, arrogantly grinning at the cowering gym trainers. It was then that Pointy, Nointy, and Zappy powered their way through the gym leaving a trail of Seel and Dewgong in their wake. The gym leader didn’t look as scared as the trainers, and put up a decent fight, but he was no match for my Triforce team of epicness.

Dragon: “Hey, Pryce… Why don’t you chill out.”

At that excruciating burn, he handed over the gym badge and we sauntered out the gym feeling pleased with ourselves. I’d been really worried about the Ice gym, but what with Zappy being basically immortal and Pointy and Nointy double kicking everything, we’d sailed through.

It was almost too easy…

The Team

• Burd (Fearow)
• Squidward (Tentacool)
• Sleepy ZZZ (Hypno)
• Pointy (Nidorina)
• Nointy (Nidorino)
• Zappy (Magneton)

Reserves

• Burgie (Haunter)
• Smokey (Koffing)
• Fritatta (Exeggute)
• Fritlet (Girafarig)
• Powafish (Magikarp)
• Nommy (Slowpoke)

Day 10→