Fun Platinum Playthrough!

Triple Cheese Fondue
​
It was time for, in my opinion, the hardest Gym Leader in Pokémon Platinum - Fantina. The title of hardest overall has definitely got to go to a girl with pink hair in a region far far away - we do not speak her name. I digress: before challenging her, however, we of course had to kick some Galactic butt in town. Now able to enter the base in the north part of the city, we could finally see what Team Galactic was up to this time.

James Bond: My, fancy seeing you here! You see those stairwells? One is a trap, but I'm too good to tell you which one is the trap so good luck i guess.

Me: *sigh*

I actually got it right, but went back for the exp. This base (?) is actually really small: in case you haven't played, it's literally like 4 stairwells protected by grunts, no portals or anything. Anyways, at the top...

???: Clefairy came from space. Therefore, I, Jupiter, must claim it for Team Galactic's glory! And also this Buneary for no apparent reason. You're gonna have to fight me for them if you want them!

*Galactic Theme plays*

Her Zubat was no problem, but Skuntank was actually a lot bulkier than I thought it would be. However, after quite a few Growls and Leers, it went down while causing very little overall damage. Having two team members with Intimidate was really helpful, lol.

So after she took Team Galactic with her, the kidnapped Pokémon's owner, who just happened to also be the Bike Shop owner, got his Pokémon back and told me to him later. There might have been a miscommunication there, because when he said later I heard as soon as humanly possible because holy crap biking is so much faster than running.

So now that I had a bike, I could finally hatch the egg Cynthia gave me! This wasn't too hard, since (thank Gamefreak) the egg was already halfway to hatching when I got it, but the bike greatly accelerated the process. Named her after lorde, because of evolving through the power of friendship! It was also suggested that I use Togekiss, so I decided to swap FireLizard out for lorde.

Now it was time to head to Hearthome City, home of Fantina. Basically the only thing separating the two cities was the cycling road, so unfortunately the only things that happened were a bunch of trainer battles and the very much accidental little detour I took to get myself a Gible. I didn't automatically add him to my team, but I'm just mentioning him because I think it's a pretty worthy thing to mention. He's chilling out on the PC for now.

Back in Hearthome, imagine my surprise when...

Me: Mom!?

Mom: Vom!?

Me: What are you doing here?

Mom: I just came for the contests! Speaking of that, here - *hands dress*

Me: (internally) dress...go...spinny...

I actually thought I was gonna have to enter a contest right then and there, but I wasn't really feeling it so luckily for me I just had a little chat with fantastique Fantina who just so happened to be at the Contest Hall all dressed up. She went back to her gym, and I promptly followed.

The mechanics are easy: step in, match the symbol on the tile to one of the doors. As simple as they were, I found it was pretty enjoyable since you also played a game of cat and mouse with the trainers who were there - they played way more of an active role than just standing there hoping you ran into them. Now, they walked around...hoping you ran into them...

That's about everything I like about this gym. If only Fantina didn't have Mismagius - its stats are way too high for that point in the game. That, combined with the fact that our team doesn't really have any obvious advantage, was sure to make this a tough battle. So obviously, that means...time to cheese it! lorde was a high enough level that she could live a couple of attacks, so I sent her in and Yawned. Once Mismagius was asleep, I switched to Violet and used...X Sp. Def. Shamelessly. I'm not trying to get my team killed lmao. I had time for 1 X Attack as well, so with those buffs, Violet was able to dispose of Mismagius without much trouble at all.

Thanks to one of her other Pokémon, however...Turtwig has evolved!

On the way out of the city...

THUD

Me: Dude! Do you ever look where you're going? You can't just-

Turtwig: haha running shoes go brrr

Me: *smacks him, literally. 6-0'd this guy.*

Which brings us to...Solaceon Town! If I'm being honest, it's a pretty forgettable stop, and I'm mentioning it for the sake of accuracy if anything. The 'ruins' everyone in the town keep mentioning are literally just a cave with a lot of stairs, at the end of which you find Defog. If it wasn't for the Day Care, I seriously doubt anybody would bother returning here, which is kind of sad - everybody seems to be kind and everything.

Just past Solaceon town, is my second least favourite route in the game - second only to the whole snowy part. I don't even know why I dislike it so much, it's not like it's an unsolvable labyrinth or anything. On the bright side, though,...lorde has evolved! This evolution would prove to be super important in the battles to come.

Once we reached Veilstone City, there wasn't much to do but hit the gym. The whole hitting bags around thing was actually pretty enjoyable, it was like a little puzzle. As it turns out, I'm actually really enjoying the latter gym designs - you actually interact with things and solve things instead of just walking. Granted, you do that by walking, but walking is not the main objective anymore.

On that note, it didn't take long to reach Maylene, the gym leader. Once again without the advantage, and knowing Lucario would go absolutely bonkers if left unchecked, my game plan was...cheese! I sent lorde out to use a few Charms to reduce its attack to next to nothing, and then Violet was an absolute bae and took care of the rest. That's two badges in one episode!

After helping out Lucas, whose PokéDex had been stolen by Team Milky Way, dear Looker showed up and pointed me to the HM Fly. We overheard some grunts say something about Crasher Wake City, so...that was our next destination!

The route wasn't particularly long but it was saturated with trainers, so I made a point to challenge them when I could, until...bbninjas has evolved! When I reached the beach next to Pastoria City, I looked around and found a few Heart Scales. These were a surprise tool that would help us later.

In the city itself, well, something was going on alright...

But that's it! I don't particularly like putting two gym battles so close together with so little in between, but the game didn't really leave me much choice in the matter - most of the content in between was basically routes and filler battles. On the bright side, bbninjas reached his final form! It's sure to be useful against the mighty Gyarados that Crusher Wake has.

Speaking of mighty...Jade has been falling behind. Water Gun being his only slightly usable move, more often than not I just find myself brute forcing through whatever it is I'm trying to hit for weakness. Jade has been transferred to the PC.

Check the PC to choose who should join the team!


Turtwig (Grotle) Lv. 25
Ability: Overgrow
-Cut
-Curse
-Bite
-Razor Leaf

bbninjas (Luxray) Lv. 30
Ability: Intimidate
-Tackle
-Swagger
-Bite
-Spark

AshCo (Geodude) Lv. 22
Ability: Rock Head
-Selfdestruct
-Rock Throw
-Rock Smash
-Magnitude

lorde (Togetic) Lv. 26
Ability: Serene Grace
-Yawn
-Charm
-Encore
-Fly

Violet (Ponyta) Lv. 29
Ability: Flash Fire
-Take Down
-Tail Whip
-Flame Wheel
-Ember
 
God I remember that Fantina fight. I tried doing a Plat nuzlocke back at the end of 2015/early 2016 (which would have been beaten if I didn't get my original copy of it/my DS stolen by some bozo) and she nearly ended my entire run with that Mismagius. There's some real toughies ahead depending on the kind of team you've got going. (Gym 7 I recall messed me up during a few runs, but conversely gym 8 is pathetically easy with the starter you chose)

Ooh, I promise you, Lorde is going to be a mainstay. I think you can get Aura Sphere on it through a move tutor, if I can remember right (it was 2 or 3 years ago now). I'm definitely liking this crew so far though. What's the ability on it?

(Also I think having Gible in that box is automatically going to get me to vote for him to be added lol. I know Garchomp can be busted sometimes but man do I love its design. It's so basic of me but I think it's legitimately in my top tier of Pokemon. That's not up to me though of course, I just like sharing the love of that pokemon lmao.)
 
AshCo said:
God I remember that Fantina fight. I tried doing a Plat nuzlocke back at the end of 2015/early 2016 (which would have been beaten if I didn't get my original copy of it/my DS stolen by some bozo) and she nearly ended my entire run with that Mismagius. There's some real toughies ahead depending on the kind of team you've got going. (Gym 7 I recall messed me up during a few runs, but conversely gym 8 is pathetically easy with the starter you chose)

Ooh, I promise you, Lorde is going to be a mainstay. I think you can get Aura Sphere on it through a move tutor, if I can remember right (it was 2 or 3 years ago now). I'm definitely liking this crew so far though. What's the ability on it?

(Also I think having Gible in that box is automatically going to get me to vote for him to be added lol. I know Garchomp can be busted sometimes but man do I love its design. It's so basic of me but I think it's legitimately in my top tier of Pokemon. That's not up to me though of course, I just like sharing the love of that pokemon lmao.)
Click to expand...
I got lucky and got a Serene Grace one! It gets both Air Slash and Aura Sphere with Heart Scales after it evolves.

As for Gible, well, I'm not gonna lie...it's a little bit painful seeing him just sit there knowing full well it's a complete upgrade to Geodude. Would you have any name suggestions? Could also be your spiritual successor :eek:
 
Vom said:
I got lucky and got a Serene Grace one! It gets both Air Slash and Aura Sphere with Heart Scales after it evolves.

As for Gible, well, I'm not gonna lie...it's a little bit painful seeing him just sit there knowing full well it's a complete upgrade to Geodude. Would you have any name suggestions? Could also be your spiritual successor :eek:
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Nice! I'm really happy it turned out to be Serene Grace. That's gonna be real fun to use in the longrun. It's got a ton of other good moves it can learn so that'll be a really good asset.

Ooh, If you actually want the Gible to be my spiritual successor, you could name it "Scoop" or "Scoopy" since that's the complete upgrade of my old name (AshCo) to what I use now. Kinda fitting since it's like how that Gible would be a complete upgrade to the Geodude.

I just hope I'm not being too influential on this run though-I don't mean to detract from the experience at all! I'm just pretty invested in this run is all.
 
I'm always a fan of Zubat - speed is key and all that, and the fact that Crobat is just so damn cool. asdfjf and it's not too difficult to get a Zubat to Crobat, especially at this point. Oooooh, and Crobat gets Cross Poison this gen!

Am I fangirling/fanboying (fanpersoning?) too much? I just love Crobat.
 
Team Andromeda Exploded a Lake But We Don't Care I Guess
​
In Pastoria City, we have priorities: the Great Marsh came first, the gym came second, and the possibly dangerous plot to blow something up came last. After being charged an outrageous 500 bucks to enter, I was given 30 Safari Balls (which if you think about it is actually pretty cost efficient) and off we were.

After a few encounters, it quickly became apparent this was a massive downgrade to the Safari Zone - the Pokémon pool was much smaller than in other games (possibly due to the entire area being a marsh, which at least makes sense), the Pokémon you find in each area barely change, and getting around was really annoying because I got stuck every 5 steps or so. On the bright side, I really liked that there seemed to be no step limit unlike older gens, and the only factor limiting your stay was how many Safari Balls you had left. After catching a few mons (but not the Yanma I was chasing after! asdfjnbsrgsjk) I decided to carry on.

Due to popular request, Scoop the Gible has joined the team as AshCo's successor! Naturally, I flew back to one of the early routes to let him go out in a blaze of glory by using Selfdestruct on a Bidoof. It's what he would've wanted. If my Nintendo had an F button, I would've pressed it.

That being said, it was time to challenge Crasher Wake! So like any normal person, I walked up to the gym-

THUD

Turtwig: I'll crush (haha get it) you for Waker-senpai!!!

Me: why are you always in such a hurry I do not Vibe

Technically I had a team of 4 (one free spot and Scoop was way underleveled) so no poking fun but. He actually almost kicked my butt lmao but with smart switching and a lucky paralysis I got the better of him, and he 'gave me permission' (kinda?) to go inside.

I think Veilstone had a much better balance of solving things and walking, this one was mostly walking from button to button hoping I didn't drown or get stranded. Once I got to him, I put bbninjas first because I expected, like, anything but lead Gyarados - I remembered it as his ace Pokémon or something. Oh well. I stayed in because x4 is still x4, and it was swiftly dealt with. Turtwig destroyed Quagsire, and Floatzel gave bbninjas anything but a one sided fight actually, Brine ended up really hurting, but it also went down.

With that out of the way, it was time to give some attention to the game antagonists. Wake, Turtwig and I split up: Wake went to the Marsh, I went to see about a nearby suspicious (read: completely uniformed grunt) individual, and Turtwig...hid behind one of those signs that you stand behind that have a cutout for your face so that you can pretend whatever drawing is on the other side is your body.

Once we were in position, conveniently...a loud, loud boom was heard in the Marsh - think THX intro if you're old enough. A grunt came running out.

Crasher Wake: NOOO! This Marsh is too important to lose. I have to go in and stop...the explosion that...already happened? *goes in*

Turtwig: You go chase after him Vom! I'll stand guard here so nobody comes in.

Me: We seem to be the only ones remotely aware of the explosion, but go off I guess.

After chasing the Orion grunt all the way to the lake near Pastoria (on the route we were in last episode) and a brief encounter with Sherlock, who, you guessed it, was completely unaware of the whole thing, we beat the grunt and...that was it, really. We still let him go inside the lake for some reason - I'm not sure this is what take no prisoners means.

Cynthia: (walking up with very convenient (suspicious!?) timing) hey girl! long time no see. You know those Psyducks by Solaceon town that block the way? I gotchu. *hands cure*

Me: this doesn't have, like, clorox or anything, right? haha jk obviously that would never help. I mean I'm not a doctor but just sayin'

I don't really understand why after the whole Marsh thing we just kinda leave Team Betelgeuse alone. Like, this is REALLY big for Pokémon - they exploded a thing! - but we just...leave it be? Idk not really thing but eh. I have the consolation of - spoiler alert! - knowing it's not the last we'll see of it.

So with nothing else to do, we went back to Solaceon Town to cure the Psyducks. After giving them the medicine, Cynthia conveniently appeared - again!

Cynthia: I see it worked.

Me: You...didn't think it would?

Cynthia:

Me: Well, since you came here, wouldn't it have been easier to just not involve me?

Cynthia: I had to give you this to give to my grandma. *hands little thing*

Me: What's this?

Cynthia: A stone thingy, she'll know what do. And...my number?

Me: (blushing) You're not...gonna conveniently show up after I hand her this, are you?

Oh but she absolutely did.

Anways, in Cynthia's Grandma's Town...

Cynthia's Grandma: (using X-Ray vision as soon as she seems me on the horizon) Is that for me? *takes stone thingy* Also, some shady guy with blue hair is at the ruins?

Me: ok?

Grandma: Oh and he said he's gonna blow it up-

Me: Why? What is it with Team Alpha Centauri and blowing things up? It's almost like they're trying to...*barely containing laughter* go supernova...

Grandma: *smacks me*

In the ruins, sure enough, was Cyrus. He went on about how as long as the Lake Pokémon were in the game, the world could not be changed. Dexit?

Cyrus: This town is so insignificant...I must wipe it off the map in grand fashion.

Me: but if it's so unimportant, why bother? Surely there are better targets for you-

Cyrus: (veins popping up, on the verge of breaking down) I WILL NOT BE LECTURED BY A CHILD. FIGHT ME.

And that's exactly what we did. Sneasel was a bit problematic since it outsped basically everything and had Ice coverage in Ice Punch - that thing's gonna be an absolute nightmare when it evolves, yikes - but his team just didn't cut it. Tail between his legs, he left...and sure enough, Cynthia met us outside for...no apparent reason besides telling to...read a book...in Canalave? Welp. Naturally, we're gonna follow up on that.

After a very short trip west of Jubilife City (I keep calling it Rustboro in my head! Darn Hoenn games), we were in Canalave!

THUD

You know the drill. He's in a hurry. I complain about it. He almost gets me but I come back. This time was no different. I'm just a little surprised that the game would have us fight him so soon after last time - our team barely gained a few levels. After that fight, however...Scoop has evolved! Now that he was out of the way, it was time to head to the gym..after a quick detour to Iron Island for very exactly two things: a Shiny Stone for lorde, and the trainers for Turtwig...Turtwig and lorde have evolved!

Now, this is the point where I'd like to tell you that Byron was tough. He's a tough guy and all, but he just did not stand a snowball of a chance against my team. I mean, Violet roasted Steelix, and Turtwig and Scoop obliterated everything else. Even Bastiodon got one shot - I didn't think it would, but a x4 Weakness is a x4 Weakness I guess. Oh well. To his credit, the gym was fine. Nothing too crazy, but nothing too shabby either.

And that's it! Lots of evolutions here. I'd just like to hammer in the point that Scoop subbed in for AshCo - and so Jade's spot is still open. Not much else to say beyond that I am super excited that the plot is picking up pace and things are coming! Thanks for coming along.



Turtwig (Torterra) Lv. 35
Ability: Overgrow
-Razor Leaf
-Leech Seed
-Earthquake

bbninjas (Luxray) Lv. 36
Ability: Intimidate
-Tackle
-Bite
-Spark
-Thunder Fang

Scoop (Gabite) Lv. 34
Ability: Sand Veil
-Slash
-Dragon Claw
-Rock Smash
-Earthquake

lorde (Togekiss) Lv. 29
Ability: Serene Grace
-Charm
-Aura Sphere
-Fly
-Air Slash

Violet (Ponyta) Lv. 31
Ability: Flash Fire
-Take Down
-Tail Whip
-Flame Wheel
-Fire Blast
​
 
Ephemera said:
I'm always a fan of Zubat - speed is key and all that, and the fact that Crobat is just so damn cool. asdfjf and it's not too difficult to get a Zubat to Crobat, especially at this point. Oooooh, and Crobat gets Cross Poison this gen!

Am I fangirling/fanboying (fanpersoning?) too much? I just love Crobat.
Click to expand...
Not at all! I also like Crobat but I already have a Flying type in lorde and actually I really wanna keep her since it's gonna be my first time using Togekiss in a playthrough.
 
You’re really making me wanna do a Platinum nuzlocke with this thing. And yeah, poor Byron, being the easiest gym leader in possibly all of Pokémon.

Vom said:
after a quick detour to Iron Island for very exactly twothings:
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The ice gym is coming up and you can totally go back and make it three things... put me in coach :p
 
Blakers said:
You’re really making me wanna do a Platinum nuzlocke with this thing. And yeah, poor Byron, being the easiest gym leader in possibly all of Pokémon.


The ice gym is coming up and you can totally go back and make it three things... put me in coach :p
Click to expand...
I forgot about the Ice gym

I could...but it means hatching another egg and fast level another Pokémon...perhaps. It would be a great addition for sure!
 
Vom said:
Due to popular request, Scoop the Gible has joined the team as AshCo's successor! Naturally, I flew back to one of the early routes to let him go out in a blaze of glory by using Selfdestruct on a Bidoof. It's what he would've wanted. If my Nintendo had an F button, I would've pressed it.
Click to expand...
I'm so proud of that lil' Geodude he did such a good job right to the last Bidoof :')
But now his soul lives on in the absolute monster that's going to be Scoop. Him and Turtwig are going to have a field day in gym 8, lol.
 
This World Is Flawed...It Does Not Have Pizza
​
As soon as I came out of the gym, I found Turtwig once again.

No THUD! I believe this is the only instance in the entire game where he doesn't run into you. Amazing!

Turtwig: We're having a team huddle over at the library. Hurry up! *runs off*

Me: ???

After following him to the top of the library, we found Prof. Rowan and Lucas waiting for us.

Prof. Rowan: Some Pokémon evolve, others don't. Why? Capturing three specific Pokémon should give me all the answers to everything I'm looking for. Coincidentally (suspiciously!?) there are three of you. Of course, this will also help your PokéDex-

Turtwig: I don't even have one!

Prof. Rowan: And whose fault is that?

Turtwig: *flashback to how he literally ran out of the lab before the Professor could even give him one*

Prof. Rowan: That's what I thought. Anyways - you each take one lake. Blast off!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Prof. Rowan:

Me:

Lucas:

Turtwig:

Prof. Rowan: Imagine what I could do with these powers?

I find it absolutely hilarious that not only did Turtwig not get a PokéDex, but he didn't get one because he ran out of the lab before he got one! I like him a tiny bit more because I wish I could've been there. Anyways, the explosion happened at the lake we were supposed to check out, so we went there anyway.

The lake was completely devoid of water - the only things there were Magikarp tragically flopping around, and a few grunts that were promptly dealt with. At the center of the lake, there was a cave with with a not-so-familiar face inside.

???: (over his shoulder) You're too late. We already have what we came for. But I'll fight you anyway! Behold the power of Saturn!

...he proceeded to lose very very quickly due to only having three Pokémon. Oh well.

Saturn: You may have beaten me, but your friends were not so lucky...the tiny sliver of civilization that is Twinleaf Town stands no chance! See ya!

This actually kind of got to me. Like, I know it's really not about getting me, but it still felt like the villain going after a loved one because they can't win in a direct confrontation. I immediately flew back to Twinleaf. Luckily, the town was alright, but Prof. Rowan and Lucas were in a bit of a pickle.

Me: You again? How dare you go after my hometown!?

Mars: Uhhh excuse me? I'm the one who's owed revenge, remember?

Me: Whatever. Let's get to it!

*dance-off starts*

Mars: (visibly embarrassed) ...let's get outta here.

Prof. Rowan: Turtwig! You have to check on him, he's all alone! His lake is right next to Snowpoint City, which just so happens to be the next place you have to go to anyway.

Me: well, that's convenient. See ya!

Aaaaaand we're here. After being mostly relatively absent, Team Galactus finally takes the scene by storm. I like that this plot directly relates to your friends and family specifically rather than the classic 'everyone is die', I think by making it personal it gives more depth and is more engaging. Hell, the game got me worried about a place I spent about 5 whole minutes in! And even though I've been hating on him for most of the run...I wasn't about to let Turtwig bite the dust because of some Cosmis grunt.

Aaaaand that brings us to what was previously my least favourite segment of the game - the way to Snowpoint City. It's covered in snow so you move super slowly, and there's a permanent hailstorm so you can't see too well. However, unlike my memory of it, the way was extremely straightforward and the movement penalty was nothing compared to the Great Marsh. All in all, this route was way less painful and much, much shorter than I remembered - I don't even not like it anymore.

Anyways - Ice Gym. I was kind of scared about this since half the team is weak to nice (with two x4 weaknesses) so I put everything on Violet. She had to evolve before facing the leader, or I would simply lose.

So for this gym, you walk around yeeting yourself into snowballs to break them. The annoying part was, they reset every time you walk out. So since I wanted to use only Violet to get as much exp as I could, I was doing a lot of walking in and out. That proved to pay off, however...Violet has evolved! Right before facing the leader, too. Pog friggin' champ.

The battle ran mostly smoothly until her last Pokémon - Froslass. She proceeded to use Double Team exactly once, which I thought would be annoying but no biggie...until I missed twice in a row. I switched out to heal Violet, sacrificing lorde. But whatever, I could get the win next turn. Plot twist! (or is it really, we know my absolutely rotten luck by now...) I missed twice more. So, technically, I missed four attacks in a row because of a single Double Team. So I had to switch out and heal again...this happened a few more times until Violet was the last one standing. Luckily, her attack actually landed this time, cleanly KOing the Froslass for the win!

Medal in hand, we could finally access the lake, previously blocked off by climbable rocks. At the lake...

Jupiter: lol what a scrub git gud

Turtwig:

Me: Not so fast!

Jupiter: We're done here already. Don't come to our HQ in Veilstone btw. You definitely couldn't do anything if you tried. See ya!

...so, obviously, guess where we were going next. The HQ in Veilstone! Their security was actually pretty ok, requiring a physical key stored in a separate location...except that not only did one of the grunts in the entrance straight up tell me what said location was, but it was also just a short walk away.

The storage building's security, on the other hand...yikes. Besides a few grunts, there was very little that could be done to stop me. I found the Galactic Key just somewhere on the floor and I went back to HQ.

Many, many stairs, portals and grunts later...

Cyrus: (to a room FULL of grunts - they definitely did not respect social distancing) Aye, fight and you may fall. Run and you'll live -- at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom!!!

Grunts: (going absolutely wild) *rallying war cries*

*they all magically disappear and go do whatever it is they have to do*

Damn, that Cyrus speech was good. Sure, it was full of lies so that the grunts help him, but Bill Pullman's got nothing on him. Still, we had to press on, to the most guarded levels of the Galactic HQ, where Cyrus was.

Cyrus: I knew you'd come. You can't help it, can you? The thought of those innocent Pokémon suffering...you just can't help yourself. You disgust me. You can take them, of course - we're done with them. However, your ideals...I can't let that stand. Your feelings, your soul - they cannot be allowed to persist! This flawed world cannot be allowed to persist! See my world! I'll show you a world of perfection!

Ok, Cyrus was pretty tough. I already knew he was gonna be a pretty strong opponent, but...today must be my unlucky day or something. He OHKO bbninjas and Violet because of two crits in a row, which put me in a pretty tough spot. In the end, I got lucky with lorde and Scoop.

Cyrus: ...I see. Your strength comes from your emotion - it works as a catalyst rather than an obstacle. Perhaps there can be truth in that. Either way, I suppose I can respect that: your strength eclipses even my own. Here, I want you to have this Master Ball. It can catch any Pokémon. The lake trio is in the next room...you're free to do with them as you please. It's about time I get going.

Ok, I may diss Team Disco whenever I get the chance (come on, they're ridiculous!), but Cyrus is actually one of my favourite villains. He may be a bit crazy, but the sheer respect he has for us commands just as much respect of us for himself. that may just be a me thing, but a rival respecting us to that level somehow gives me respect for them. What I don't get, however, is why he gives us a Master Ball. It's like, the only thing that will 100% stop his plan. And he just. Gives it to us out of respect? Rip to your plan dude.

In the next room, however, Saturn and Charon were waiting for us. My team was pretty decimated from the last battle, and I had almost no healing Items left...luckily, I had a Rare Candy that came in clutch in reviving bbninjas and giving me a chance. Between switching around lorde, Scoop, and bbninjas (Intimidate is my favourite thing in the whole game don't @ me) the battle went way smoother than I expected.

Saturn: Fine. That button releases the Pokémon. Press it.

Me: that's got to be a trap, eh? There's no way it's that simple.

So I pressed the button...and nothing bad happened! The Pokémon were actually freed, and they teleported - presumably to their respective lakes.

I thought I'd also have to face Charon - and if I did, I'd be in for a good one - but I didn't. He just mentioned something about a new plan that benefits Charon...not disturbing at all.

And that's it! I vaguely remember Platinum having a slightly different plot than DP involving Charon, but the details are beyond me, so I guess I'll find out at the same time you do!

Also, since I need a surfer, I kinda just carry around a Quagsire I got from the Marsh but don't use him that much. Might as well make it official now, he's certainly been with me for a while - peer the Quagsire has joined the team! I really hope I get an actual good water type I don't like HM slaves



Turtwig (Torterra) Lv. 37
Ability: Overgrow
-Razor Leaf
-Leech Seed
-Earthquake
-Rock Climb

bbninjas (Luxray) Lv. 39
Ability: Intimidate
-Tackle
-Bite
-Spark
-Thunder Fang

Scoop (Gabite) Lv. 37
Ability: Sand Veil
-Slash
-Dragon Claw
-Rock Smash
-Earthquake

lorde (Togekiss) Lv. 40
Ability: Serene Grace
-Roost
-Aura Sphere
-Fly
-Air Slash

Violet (Rapidash) Lv. 41
Ability: Flash Fire
-Take Down
-Tail Whip
-Flame Wheel
-Fire Blast

peer (Quagsire) Lv. 30
Ability: Water Absorb
-Slam
-Strength
-Surf
-Mud Shot
 
I always liked that scene with Cyrus. Galactic is kind of a ridiculous team all things considered but I think they're executed decently well for a Pokemon game. Nothing to the levels of Team Plasma who were nearly perfect for what the games set out to be, but they're definitely better than some of the other ones around. (Speaking of, if you liked that last Cyrus battle, just you wait until the final one, oh boy that fight).

The water type selection in DPt is pretty interesting honestly. You've got some really solid ones like Gyarados and Empoleon (best pokemon), Tentacruel is pretty fun, and I've always wanted to try Milotic out but finding a Feebas is STUPID hard in that game.
 
AshCo said:
finding a Feebas is STUPID hard in that game.
Click to expand...
*cries in Pokémon Sapphire*

That scene at the top is pretty fuzzy for me, but I'm expecting it will be amazing. Maybe I'll go and get a Gyarados actually lol.
 
Man, it's hard for me to remember to check in here, but I've fun reading through things so far! Since I never actually got to play through my own copy of Platinum (still; I have a horrible backlog of games atm), it's certainly scratching that Pokémon itch for me. And if you want a good Water-type, why not Shellos? :D
 
Vom said:
Turtwig: I don't even have one!

Prof. Rowan: And whose fault is that?

Turtwig: *flashback to how he literally ran out of the lab before the Professor could even give him one*

Prof. Rowan: That's what I thought. Anyways - you each take one lake. Blast off!
Click to expand...

That made me laugh. I really like those little jokes in between. Nice run so far I am still trying to catch up. Just made me play Platinum myself, so I am right behind you!
 
There Ain't No Mountain High Enough
​
With the whole Team Galactic gone somewhere, it's time to chase Cyrus! Which means...time to...hike! Woo! Hopefully we don't pull a Dyatlov Pass, yikes. I wish I could go into detail, but the base of the mountain was a pretty basic cave: rocks, Zubats, areas gatekept by HMs that were previously unaccessible...did I mention Zubats?

After a bit of wandering the endless caves of Mt. Coronet, I saw it: the broken golden door of a lost civilization!

Me: *gasps in Indiana Jones*

So I put on my hat, holstered my whip...and I knew adventure waited for me on the other side!

...or that's what I thought, because, as soon as we got through the door, we found...more cave. I really wish they had done something to differentiate these sections, but I guess that golden door is more of a 'hey kid! this way!' than a '*Indiana Jones theme starts playing*' kinda thing, but still. Ah well, at least I wasn't gonna get lost in this one. *nervously looks at Fire Red Victory Road*

Anyways, after a few stairs, some rock climbing, and kicking some Galactic butt, we made it to the outside of Mt. Coronet. I remember having trouble finding the exact way as a kid because of the poor visibility or something, but this time around it really wasn't too bad and we found our way rather easily - having moved to Sinnoh from the Canada region, I was right in my element.

After the snow, there were more caves, and after those, more snow. After quite a bit of back and forth between environments, we started to find grunts here and there - we were definitely on the right path. Until, finally, we made it to the Spear Pillar. If you haven't played the game, it has serious ancient Greece vibes: the floor and columns seem to be made of marble, except the columns conveniently have a pointy finish for some reason, and there was no roof to be spoken of.

Almost as soon as we stepped forward, we were met by Mars and Jupiter: what an unforeseen turn of events! They were both behind columns, one on the right and one the left, and as I approached, they slowly (and stylishly) revealed themselves - accompanied by a familiar devilish melody coming from speakers set up on the columns.

Mars: Prepare for trouble, we're gonna ruin your day...

Jupiter: ...and make it double, 'cause we're not even gonna get our pay!

Mars: To turn this thing into a world of perfection!

Jupiter: You should have stayed within the kids' section!

Mars: To erase feelings and spirit alike!

Jupiter: After we're done with you, you're gonna have to hitchhike!

Mars: Mars!

Jupiter: Jupiter!

Mars: Team Galactic, blast off at the speed of light!

Jupiter: Surrender now or prepare to fight!

Glameow: Glameow! That's right!

Me: You...know I'm 21, right? I left the kids' section long ago.

THUD

Turtwig: Heya vom, you didn't really think I'd let you fight them all by yourself, eh? Let's do this!

I just want to mention that there were a bunch of double battles on the way to the Pillar, and Scoop and lorde had been tearing it up mainly because lorde was immune to Scoop's Earthquake - having a Munchlax partner wasn't part of the plan. Still, I am a fan of tag battles, but why Munchlax?? There are at least 5 better options - I would've been very happy if he sent out Staraptor to keep my strategy.

They set up dual screens, and Turtwig decided to spam Stockpile and Swallow. I had to use Violet to even scratch the Bronzors, but then Scoop and lorde handled the rest quite well after focusing on Jupiter's Pokémon to leave Mars alone. When Mars was down to Purugly, however, obviously I had to go for style points and use an explosive attack to stay true to the flavour. And so, in true evil team fashion...

Mars and Jupiter: (in unison, as they're sent flying into the unimaginable heights of the atmosphere) we're blasting off agaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain...

Turtwig: That went well. Y'know, I wish I could help you out more, but all I can really do right now is heal up your team. *heals* See ya!

And then he just...left? You'd think now of all times he'd stick around for a bit. Ah well, moving on.

Cyrus: Welcome to the end.

Me: You know I can't let you do that. It's not too late, Cyrus, you don't have to do this!

Cyrus: (pulling the Red Chains out of his pocket, letting out a chuckle) You don't have to be afraid. After all, what is an ending...but a new beginning?

Now holding the chains in his hands, they started to glow crimson red. Eerily, as he continued talking, the wind started to pick up around him, and his eyes started to shift through a thousand shades of blue and pink. He turned around, facing the altar at the back of the room.

Cyrus: Masters of time and space! I must ask something of you. This world...is not worthy. As it happened once upon a time, so it must happen again! You will lend me your powers, and we shall tear apart the double helix of time and space!

Two tiny black dots appeared, one in each corner of the room. Their surroundings seemed to curve towards them, around them, a curve that grew steeper as the dots grew in size. Slowly but surely, they swallowed more and more space, until they each reached the size of a house. Their peak reached, the now spheres faded...revealing creatures of legend.

Dialga: *roars in time*

Palkia: *roars in space*

Cyrus: (now floating in the air, with a demonic, raspy voice) Y̴e̴s̸!̸ ̸Y̴o̴u̴ ̸a̴r̴e̷ ̷h̶e̷r̷e̴!̵ ̵Y̶o̸u̶ ̴r̸e̸c̶o̷g̸n̵i̴z̴e̸ ̸m̶y̶ ̷w̷o̷r̴t̶h̵ ̷a̴s̷ ̷t̸h̸i̶s̵ ̸n̸e̷w̷ ̶w̴o̵r̵l̸d̸'̶s̴ ̷m̷a̸s̶t̷e̸r̶.̴

Dialga and Palkia: (telepathically) No. We came to stop you. You are arrogant - it's time you remember your place.

And just as they were both preparing to blast Cyrus into oblivion, Cyrus broke out into laughter.

Cyrus: Y̸o̵u̴ ̶t̶h̸i̶n̶k̴ ̵y̴o̸u̵ ̷c̷a̵n̶ ̴s̶t̸o̶p̵ ̸m̴e̸?̵ ̶Y̸o̵u̷ ̷c̷a̴n̷'̴t̴ ̶e̷v̴e̷n̷ ̵s̷t̷o̵p̴ ̴y̶o̵u̵r̴s̷e̷l̶v̴e̷s̴.̵.̵.̵n̴o̴w̸,̵ ̸k̶n̵e̸e̵l̶ ̶b̵e̸f̴o̶r̶e̴ ̶y̸o̴u̵r̶ ̶n̵e̸w̶ ̸m̷a̸s̵t̷e̴r̵!̸

He clasped the Red Chains in his hands, and turned around with his back to the Pokémon, arms stretched out triumphantly. And...they did. They bowed down to him...and at that moment, three lights appeared over him, as if in orbit: one yellow, one blue, and one pink.

Cyrus: K̶n̵o̶w̶l̵e̴d̴g̵e̶,̸ ̵W̸i̸l̵l̸p̸o̴w̶e̶r̵,̸ ̸a̵n̶d̶ ̴E̷m̵o̶t̴i̵o̷n̶.̴.̶.̴p̵a̷t̶h̴e̸t̷i̷c̶.̸ ̴T̴h̷e̴y̵ ̷c̷a̸n̴ ̵o̶n̸l̸y̷ ̸b̶a̵l̴a̶n̷c̴e̷ ̷o̷n̸e̸ ̸o̷f̶ ̵D̷i̸a̵l̶g̸a̷ ̶a̸n̸d̸ ̶P̷a̸l̶k̴i̶a̵ ̸a̷t̴ ̸a̶ ̵t̷i̸m̸e̸.̵.̶.̷b̷u̴t̴ ̸w̴i̸t̶h̵ ̴b̸o̸t̶h̶ ̴h̶e̶r̶e̵.̶.̶.̸t̶h̸e̷y̶ ̶h̵a̷v̸e̴ ̷s̸i̸m̷p̶l̵y̶ ̸c̷o̴m̷e̸ ̵t̵o̶ ̵s̵u̵f̷f̸e̶r̸!̴

With these words, blue and pink chains came out of thin air, lashing out at the Lake Guardians! As they were about to reach them, the floor Cyrus was floating over collapsed. Out of nowhere...in a perfect circle...and a terrifying dark shape with crimson eyes appeared! Towering over Cyrus, it spread titanic wings of shadow with equally red tips, destroyed the chains, and immobilized Cyrus using the tips of its wings.

Cyrus, face grimacing in pain as he felt the creature's talons run deeper, seemed more insulted than anything.

Cyrus: (in between heavy breaths) I̴.̵.̷.̵I̶ ̵a̵m̷ ̴a̵ ̴G̷O̵D̴!̴

He tried to send more chains to attack it, but they went right through him. The Red Chains were getting brighter, clearly burning him, but he didn't seem to care. He was too consumed by his rage to think at all.

The shadow stood there for a second, as if enjoying the moment, before taking Cyrus down with it into the portal it came from, followed by all three Guardian lights. With Cyrus not in this world anymore, Palkia and Dialga were free of his influence, and vanished.

Crisis averted, I was getting ready to pack my bags and let Cyrus rot in...wherever it is he was, but Cynthia stopped me.

Cynthia: Sorry I took so long. That shadow...it was Giratina, the fallen Pokémon. It was banished from this world long ago...into its own, the Shadow Realm.

Me: (taking out my Yugioh cards) Awesome!

Cynthia: Not awesome. If we don't calm Giratina down, that black hole will expand forever and swallow the entire universe! Follow me!

Me: (visibly disappointed) Oh...*puts away Yugioh cards*

She took my hand (ohmygod!) and we rushed into the portal left behind by Giratina!

The Distortion World was...certainly very interesting. Platforms moved, disappeared and reappared around us; my hair raised to the top, yet my feet were still on the floor; waterfalls ran from bottom to top; we could walk on walls. As impressive as all of this was...there was really only one way to get to Giratina. Guided by the Lake Guardians, now in their Pokémon form, we reached the bottom.

Much to our surprise, we found Cyrus, now seemingly powerless again, walking toward us.

Cyrus: That thing...it's a monster! I don't need the Red Chains. I never did! Not when there is that much power to claim. You will not stop me, and I will not lose! Not in any worthless world!

He sent out Houndoom first. Despite being weak to Earthquake, and despite Scoop resisting Fire; Houndoom did not fall to it, and Scoop took over half his HP from Flamethrower. Still, despite Cyrus' best efforts to heal up, Houndoom fell to Scoop.

Now, Gyarados. There was no way Scoop was even touching Gyarados, so predicting Ice Fang I switched to bbninjas. Thinking back to Crasher Wake and his Earthquake Gyarados, I switched back and forth between bbninjas and lorde until I was sure I could live two Earthquakes because a) he was probably faster than bbninjas and b) Spark and Thunder Fang have such low Base Power I wasn't sure it would get OHKOed. Sure enough, it didn't, and all that preparation paid off when Gyarados fell without too much trouble.

He responded with Weavile - my worst nightmare. bbninjas was pretty hurt, so I switched to peer into Fake Out. Now, I could either heal up bb or speed control with peer...and the latter meant I didn't have to heal bb at all. So peer got off a couple Mud Shots before going down, and lorde just flinched him to death.

As for Honchkrow, it hits like a truck, so I used the tried-and-true pivot between bbninjas and lorde to stand a chance. Eventually I just left bbninjas in because I thought it was his last Pokémon and it didn't matter if I got low from it...how wrong I was.

After felling it with Spark, the battle didn't end. He had one more: Crobat. Taken completely by surprise, I had to switch out to heal bbninjas. Crobat crit and took down lorde, but bbninjas Intimidated Crobat and was able to take care of it.

Cyrus: After everything I've sacrificed, this is it!? I'm just to be stopped, by the likes of you?

Cynthia: Clearly, you do not rise to the challenge of the likes of her. Come on Vom, we have a world to save.

We shoved past Cyrus and found ourselves before...Giratina itself, as if it was waiting for us. And so, the battle started.

Giratina hit incredibly hard, but after Intimidating it a few times, it was easier to tank its strongest blows until I could catch it. After a lot of switching around, and even more PokéBalls...Giratina was caught! Not added to the team, obviously, but there was no way I wasn't catching it.

Cyrus: So you've done it...you captured the beast. Without it, even if I made new Red Chains...No. I will find a way. This, I promise you. The emotions I feel right now are due to my own incomplete, imperfect spirit...but I promise you one day, you will wake up in my world. Until then. *leaves in the direction opposite to the portal left behind by Giratina, away from the only known exit in the entire dimension*

Cynthia: Well, the emotions I feel right now are, well...I suppose you'll have to come by the League to find out. You should tell Prof. Rowan you're ok! Oh and good job on saving the world, btw. See ya! *steps into the portal*

And for length reasons (and because I wanna do the Elite 4 in one episode) this is what happened next: I visited Prof. Rowan, everyone was happy to see me, I got a basket of fruit for it. Then, I continued the adventure to challenge Volkner in Sunnyshore City - which went extremely well, Scoop destryoed everything with Earthquake until his final two Pokémon, which had Ice coverage and gave ma trouble. Regardless, I beat him, went through Victory Road, and changed up a few things in the team in preparation for the Elite 4 (since we don't need HMs...Athena the Magne(ton)zone has joined the team! I did promise @Athena I'd name someone after her) check the Team to find out.

And that's it! I didn't think this would turn out as long as it did, but I couldn't resist making a really dramatic sequence for Cyrus at the Spear Pillar. I also wanna apologize for the lack of updates, but as I've said elsewhere on the forum, this week waas pretty much a deadline every day so I really couldn't. Hope you enjoyed!



Turtwig (Torterra) Lv. 50
Ability: Overgrow
-Razor Leaf
-Leech Seed
-Earthquake
-Stealth Rock

bbninjas (Luxray) Lv. 40
Ability: Intimidate
-Iron Tail
-Bite
-Spark
-Thunder Fang

Scoop (Garchomp) Lv. 48
Ability: Sand Veil
-Rock Climb
-Dragon Claw
-Rock Slide
-Earthquake

lorde (Togekiss) Lv. 46
Ability: Serene Grace
-Roost
-Aura Sphere
-Fly
-Air Slash

Violet (Rapidash) Lv. 43
Ability: Flash Fire
-Take Down
-Tail Whip
-Flame Wheel
-Fire Blast

Athena (Magnezone) Lv. 45
Ability: Sturdy
-Charge Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Discharge
-Flash Cannon
 
Distortion world always stuck out to me when I first played this game. I actually wasted my master ball on Giratina like a fool (it was the first legendary I ever caught, I even used it on my team lol), but I near immediately regretted it once Mesprit came around. I HATE roamers and that one just always seems to be the most annoying one. Platinum having a whopping five is awful-that's one thing I don't miss about older games. (BW I think is the last one that does it in the traditional sense, iirc).

Good job managing that Gyarados though. I actually have a funny story about that one, and this actually happened TWICE; I used Luxray twice before, once in that Nuzlocke and a second time in a sort of "revival" of it where I brought back a lot of those team members, my Luxray included. Both times, I for some reason let her get hit by that Gyarados's earthquake and she tanked it and came back with a Thunder Fang and knocked it out. Intimidate sure comes in handy, lol.

Also man, I totally feel that this week being just deadline after deadline. I've had the same thing myself. Finally getting some relief after today though! Hopefully it's the same for you this week.
 
AshCo said:
Distortion world always stuck out to me when I first played this game. I actually wasted my master ball on Giratina like a fool (it was the first legendary I ever caught, I even used it on my team lol), but I near immediately regretted it once Mesprit came around. I HATE roamers and that one just always seems to be the most annoying one. Platinum having a whopping five is awful-that's one thing I don't miss about older games. (BW I think is the last one that does it in the traditional sense, iirc).

Good job managing that Gyarados though. I actually have a funny story about that one, and this actually happened TWICE; I used Luxray twice before, once in that Nuzlocke and a second time in a sort of "revival" of it where I brought back a lot of those team members, my Luxray included. Both times, I for some reason let her get hit by that Gyarados's earthquake and she tanked it and came back with a Thunder Fang and knocked it out. Intimidate sure comes in handy, lol.

Also man, I totally feel that this week being just deadline after deadline. I've had the same thing myself. Finally getting some relief after today though! Hopefully it's the same for you this week.
Click to expand...
I feel ya, my first experience with roamers was in Sapphire where I accidentally ran into Latias in the desert. It took me a while to figure out how that worked, but eventually I got it.

Haha it sure does.

I still have a couple more, but after that it's finally over. and then we get to pick a new game.
 
I loved the Team Rocket Galactic theme, good to see there's still humor after going through those slow HP bar drops and surfing times in everything. That Cyrus battle is so intense, I loved fighting fully-evolved Pokemon for once. Gyarados's coverage isn't anything to laugh at. Imagine if it got Power Whip in other gens like now.... But this battle is cool, it seems like the entire game until maybe the 8th gym you're fighting basic/1st-stage Pokemon so Cyrus felt really intimidating.

Turtwig is such a frantic boy, he kinda reminds me of someone...

Can't wait to see your victory with Torterra <3
 
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