Time to begin exploring the rugged Route 3. There's not much to do here, since all we really need to do for the plot is go find Lillie before we challenge Hala. Aside from being a connector between Verdant Cavern and Iki Town without passing through Hau'oli City, there's no reason for someone on their Island Challenge to choose this route unless they had a specific goal in mind.
Weird sign here. I've honestly never noticed these, let's see how many I do manage to notice this time.
True: Z-Power can only be used once, no matter what might disrupt it. Really, the ability to disrupt it is a bit of a good thing competitively, even if it can be annoying casually. The alternative is Dynamax, where pretty much any sensible counterplay other than the developer-intended methods is declared null and void.
Route 3 has two paths: a north side and a south side. The south side is filled with narrow corridors patrolled by visible encounters with flying Pokemon- shadows on the ground that'll swoop down if you step in them. You can run from visible encounters (both on the overworld and in battle), but it makes going that route irritating.
North route is guarded by two Trainers. Classic choice with a new twist.
Another Rising Star, this one talking about Abilities- like the last one, actually. It's funny he mentions it, though...
Psyduck's two Abilities- Damp and Cloud Nine- require us to use certain moves, at which point it will negate their effects.
We don't know any such moves. I don't think it's possible for us to know any such moves yet.
It's got the level advantage on Zapple. Worrying, but we can-
...OK, I know Pichu's no great shakes in the bulk department, but where did that come from?
Checks this Psyduck's stats Excuse me, since when did you have 15/15/15/31/15/15 stats and a Modest Nature set? It also only knows Water Gun, so it won't do anything stupid like Tail Whip.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Razzly has something she would like to show us.
...That's alarming.
Absorb was a bit of a silly call, though. I guess I was trying to heal enough HP to survive a third hit. I think I hadn't quite grasped the power of Razzly's real trick yet.
Struggle Bug.
Struggle Bug has 50 BP, is a Special-attacking Bug move that hits both opponents in Doubles, and on landing a blow, 100% chance of reducing the opponent's Special Attack by one stage. This thing is STAB Disarming Voice + Confide. And against these opponents, I like that move.
Struggle Bug probably could've won me that encounter.
What it did win me was another turn with Zapple, and that was all I needed. But still, Razzly'll need to be more prepared next time.
Nasty Plot is one of the better status moves around- it applies +2 Sp. Atk stat stages to the user. There's at least one of these for all five stats, and the ones based on offense serve sweepers well if you can find the chance to set them up.
That's the last move exclusive to Pichu that Zapple learns. It gets the level 18 move Thunder Wave, and then after that, Pichu's done learning moves- you really want it evolved into Pikachu by then. You kinda want it evolved into Pikachu now, so you can get Pikachu's stronger Electric move Electro Ball, but Pikachu has bigger problems than that ahead. So, you know, look forward to that, Zapple.
Sorry, mate. Did you try teaching Psyduck Rain Dance? That would activate Cloud Nine! That would also be an incredibly stupid move.
He has a Psyduck in USUM, too. I have no idea what they were trying to do with this guy.
Knowing that doesn't make your Psyduck any better at making use of them.
If you leave and reload the map for any reason, Trainers that prowl around will spawn at a fixed position somewhere close to their patrol route for future talks. Considering SM introduced them actively looking for challenges, it wouldn't really have sense to keep them looking so active when they won't challenge you again.
The other Trainer is the female version of Rising Star, and this time with STAB on the brain instead of Abilities.
Petilil (Sun): Although the leaves on its head are bitter enough to cause dizziness, they provide relief from weariness- even more so when boiled.
Unlike Ian, Tatiana has actually comes with something prepared to make use of the thing she's thinking about. This Petilil has Mega Drain as its only move, and it has the same kickass combination of 15/15/15/31/15/15 and Modest investment Ian did. Those Mega Drains will hurt, and heal it, too, while it's at it.
This time, Razzly came prepared.
Bedazzling.
Mega Drain is also already NVE against the Bug-type Cutiefly, so Petilil only gets 2 of its HP back. Out of the 36 HP it has, roughly 26 of which I did in a single Struggle Bug.
(Even if it had crit, I did so much damage I'd outpace the few extra points of HP she'd get from it.)
This combination of pose and dialogue feels like a stock meme response image. Ironically, one that can be levelled against Pokemon itself.
The real lesson to take from Tatiana, though, is that STAB won't make up for a straight-up bad matchup. Sometimes you really do need to pack someone else.
This is the... mid-point? of the route. South of here is a different biome of Route 3, bringing it closer in tone to Route 1 and a natural connector. To get there, we must cross a bridge which Kukui is standing in front of.
This guy is an Ace Trainer, and he introduces a new concept to SM- "boss" Trainers. This guy is slightly stronger than the Rising Stars on the route, and uses a particular item in battle to demonstrate its effectiveness. However, he will refuse to accept our challenge until we defeat every Trainer on the route other than himself. There's a Rising Star on the other side of the bridge that counts, as it happens.
Kukui won't let us cross it until we go find Lillie, though.
In USUM, the Ace Trainer was moved slightly north, so his spot could be taken by this old man (he happens to be a Fisherman, but they use this model a lot for non-fisherman old men).
During the Day, both in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, he invites you to watch the sun's rays bouncing through this waterfall to form a rainbow effect.
And also explains a bit of a tradition, although I thought the luck was at the end of a rainbow?
It's probably a cooler variety, since it's because of how nature formed. Without a doubt smaller, though.
Ray'll need it.
This Rancher here gives us an item out of the goodness of his heart, and wouldn't you know it, it's the "increase your Pokemon's friendship" held item! The Soothe Bell increases the bonuses bestowed by friendship by 50%.
...Considering the bonuses for friendship range from +1 to +5 outside the big lump sum bonuses, this is actually kinda pathetic, but at least it's something. Walking is +2 before getting to the very top of the scale, that turns it into +3, which is at least something. It's also courteous enough to apply after the Luxury Ball bonus.
The explanation is its pleasing sound, but sadly, only the Pokemon to which it is currently equipped can make use of it.
Still, Zapple needs to start considering evolving. Preferably now, although soon is also convenient for me.
Time to start discussing the route's encounters, beginning with...
...It is a 70% chance at Spearow, admittedly, but still, I had hopes.
A wild encounter calling for help. Every encounter is like this now.
Also, I feel it's worth mentioning that Spearow's HA is Sniper (Crits do 2.25x damage instead of 1.5x). Cute, probably better than Keen Eye, but I just wanted to throw that out there.
Two more Spearow on the hunt for a 30%, this time showing a bit of the "swoop". You can actually see the Pokemon that will appear in the encounter in silhouette form, rather than a vague "this is a Pokemon attacking". It is not the only visible encounter to have this effect, although I'm not 100% sure if the visible encounter's identity is set when it spawns or when you trigger it- you only see the silhouette after triggering it.
The +20% item for Flying types. Sam feeling very concerned about all these birds overhead.
Rufflet (Ultra Moon): Known as a natural-born warrior, soon after its hatching, it will challenge its parent to a fight in order to gain their acceptance.
Found the other one! Rufflet is the other 30%, and is a Normal/Flying type from the Unova region- not its equivalent to Pikipek (that would be Pidove), but more of a Doduo. High in Atk and Spd, Rufflet makes a particularly good second choice in Normal if you don't want to deal with Starly's downsides, or it would if not for one unfortunate flaw: It evolves at level 54. Now, granted, Rufflet is only somewhat worse than Spearow's evolution, but Spearow is still only decent at best. Rufflet can't handle being worse than that until probably after the final bosses. One of these days they'll fix evolutions like this.
Rufflet's Abilities are Keen Eye and Sheer Force. Sadly, Flying moves don't really benefit from Sheer Force quite as much as Rufflet would like. Its HA is Hustle, but on evolution, becomes my favourite Ability in the game: Defiant. With Defiant, any time your opponent lowers any of your stats, you gain +2 Attack stages. It's just so satisfying to trigger. Honestly, I'd probably consider bringing Rufflet if the hatchling had it.
Rufflet is the first example of a version exclusive Pokemon: Only players of Sun and Ultra Sun will find Rufflet in these clouds. In the same 30% slot in Moon and Ultra Moon, you will find:
Vullaby (Ultra Sun): Mandibuzz gives it the bones it wears. Vullaby's wings are short, so it can't fly yet, but it jumps around, dreaming of wide open skies.
Vullaby! Vullaby is a Dark/Flying type, who formed a version-exclusive pair with Rufflet even in its debut games of BW. Much like Rufflet, Vullaby's effectiveness is hindered by a similar evolution level of 54, but unlike Rufflet, that's not it's only problem. Vullaby focuses more on the defensive side, and while it's hard to call it bad at its job, its moveset doesn't really advertise itself that way, and you have to dig around to find the kit that plays to its strengths. And all of this assumes that you actually have it evolved, and not just the baby like we do.
Vullaby's Abilities are Big Pecks (prevents the opponent from lowering its Defence stat) and Overcoat (protects it from being damaged by sandstorm, hail and powder-based moves). Both play to its strengths in different ways, but aren't the Abilities of a Pokemon that suits my purposes. Don't count it out, but I'll let it pass. HA is Weak Armour- when hit by a physical move, it suffers -1 stage of Defence, but gains +2 in Speed. Makes an effective trap card, but I don't think Vullaby has the offensive power to win that gambit.
Hidden Stardust in the cubby on the other side. Sells for a good chunk, when I finally start selling.
Oh yeah, dropped items. Spearow can also drop Sharp Beaks, but you can get these from both. They sell for chump change, though, hardly worth picking up.
Now for the stuff in this grass...
Mankey (Moon): Its raging tires it out and causes it to fall asleep, but the anger resonating in its dreams causes it to wake up- which infuriates it all over again.
Mankey is a pure Fighting type that's all Attack and Speed. Sadly, having been introduced in RBY, it's not as min-maxed as some other choices that fit that description, but it's still a monkey that takes offense to the idea that it is being told it might lose a fight. It gets Cross Chop, one of the more powerful Fighting-type moves, at level 22, and then kinda coasts on that without TMs. Mankey is the Pokemon you bring out when you want something smashed, but making the most of it depends on knowing when the correct time to be deploying a Fighting type is. Reminder to SV players: Only two stages here.
Mankey's Abilities are Vital Spirit (prevents it from falling asleep) and Anger Point (maximises its Attack if critted). Both suit its temperament more than its needs, and you can't really go worse with one or the other. HA is Defiant, which is pretty nifty, but I'm still a bit too used to SV to use one in an earlier game.
Ah, a Delibird to call our own. Delibird seem to exist more to be a Pokemon Christmas movies can use for the Santa Claus jokes rather than a legitimate option, and it shows. Its stats are basement-tier, with its highest stat being 75 Speed, its only natural move until SM was Present (SM gave it Drill Peck at 25, which I can hardly argue against), and while it does learn TMs like a normal Pokemon, it's still an Ice/Flying type, and suffers heavily from the considerable downsides of both types while being unable to capitalise on their strengths. No, Delibird is not designed to be on your team.
Its Abilities are Vital Spirit (prevents sleep) and Hustle (raises Attack at the cost of accuracy). Similarly to Mankey, both of these are jokes on its concept, not useful to it in battle, but unlike Mankey, it's hard to even call them boons. Its HA is Insomnia (prevents sleep). Back in BW, when HAs were first introduced, they were considered "Dream" Abilities, and the lore justification for their inclusion was often "Abilities Pokemon wish they had". Delibird is apparently such a hard worker that it wants nothing more than to continue being Santa. At least nobody's that upset about it.
It also has a catch rate of 45, and it is highly irritating to deal with this...
Hawlucha (Ultra Sun): It overwhelms opponents with quick moves, but sometimes it showboats for too long when it's using a special move and gets itself into a pinch.
Hawlucha is a fan favourite Pokemon, and with good reason: In addition to, you know, being a luchadore bird, it's a strong and fast Fighting/Flying type with strong supporting moves. You know, the kind of thing Mankey wishes it was. It doesn't exactly learn a ton of moves, but it doesn't really need them when it gets the job done with the ones it gets. This thing is so effective that nearly all speedruns of the games in which it appears switch from "spam the starter" to "spam this" at the first opportunity.
Hawlucha's Abilities are Limber (prevents Paralysis) and Unburden (if it consumes a held item, has a passively doubled Speed separate from stat stages). Honestly, it may just be too fast already for Unburden to be worthwhile, but it's still a good thing to have. Its HA is Mold Breaker, which allows it to ignore any Abilites that would otherwise prevent its moves from working, like Levitate. Sadly, doesn't block Static, but it's very good at its job otherwise.
Island Scan allows one to find Cyndaquil with Double Kick in SM, and Charmander with Counter in USUM on Sundays. Note that Island Scan Pokemon cannot call for help, and are thus ineligible for the bonuses thereof.
After the two branching paths meet up, but before getting to the bridge, one can find this place, Melemele's Meadow. Three of the four Islands have a Meadow, each with a similar list of Pokemon, and this is in support of one of the new Pokemon's mechanics. Mostly, though, these seem to just be tranquil places.
Where else would one find Lillie?
Oh come on, Nebby. What are you even doing in the Meadows? As far as I can tell, these have nothing to do with you.
Don't worry, I'll go fetch it. I have several questions, though, and a sinking suspicion not even Nebby knows the answers.
Not true: It has Teleport!
...
We should hurry.
Oh, you will be fine.
Lillie can heal your Pokemon if you talk to her, which is nice, because some of the Pokemon around here can status you quite a bit while you're trying to deal with them.
And also we need to catch them.
This yellow stuff is also tall grass, and can be explored to find wild encounters. In XY, tall grass with different kinds of flowers allowed for the devs to set different encounter tables per patch of grass, but SM can do that on its own, so this is just cosmetic.
A second version exclusive! Cottonee is a Grass/Fairy type with a propensity for mischief that suited the type even before it was created. With primarily high Speed and a weird mixture in its other stats, this thing wants to do what its movepool tells it to do: scatter all of the status moves around before anyone else has time to act. And it is amazing at that job. It learns all sorts of good support moves to supplement an effective team, and might even surprise you if you give it a good attack, but really, you want it on Support.
Cottonee gets Infiltrator (bypasses screens) and its real Ability, Prankster. Prankster applies +1 stage of priority to any status move it uses. Speed? Who needs Speed? Stun Spore automatically goes first! Charm? Leech Seed? Screens? If you need it applied, Cottonee can do it no matter what. HA is Chlorophyll (doubles Speed in Sun), but why would you forgo Prankster? Honestly, I forgot it had Infiltrator!
In Moon, one instead finds Petilil, a pure-Grass type I find very fun. Where Cottonee's job is setting all of the status, Petilil instead focuses on one strategy. Set up, boost its stats, and then spam powerful Grass moves. The upside? It's one heck of a cannon arm and both its choices- Giga Drain and Petal Dance- allow it to plough ahead without uncertainty. Downside? Grass is resisted by seven types. Grass is not a "click to win" offensive type, and Petilil has outright zero coverage. Well, OK... it has Dream Eater (a Psychic type draining move that only works if the opponent is asleep).
Petilil's Abilities are Chlorophyll (doubles Speed in sun) and Own Tempo (prevents confusion). Petal Dance's whole thing is that it's a powerful move that leaves you confused afterwards, but not for Petilil! Considering the above remarks, though, it might not even need to worry about confusion even without. HA is Leaf Guard, which blocks the non-volatile status conditions from being applied during sunlight. It does not cure ones which already exist, and would barely be worth it even if it did.
While I was catching those, I actually hit 10% Alola Dex completion. Funny to feel like we're tangibly making progress on that.
Oricorio Melemele (Ultra Sun): It lifts its opponents' spirits with its cheerful dance moves. When they let their guard down, it electrocutes them with a jolt.
Oricorio is the Pokemon of the meadows, being a Flying type with four unique forms. Oricorio that drink nectar from the coloured flowers of the four islands can switch between forms, and each form has their own typing- for example, Melemele Oricorio is Electric/Flying. Despite this gimmick, they're not half bad themselves, being competent special attackers with good Flying moves to have at hand. Unfortunately, however, Pokemon like Oricorio have a bit of a weakness at the design stage: Game Freak doesn't like to give them coverage options, because all four of them would have that coverage. As a result, it has to wait a little bit to get its signature move (which changes types along with it) to have its non-Flying STAB. However, Melemele Oricorio's defensive typing is good enough to carry it.
Oricorio's only Ability is Dancer- if any other Pokemon (ally or opponent) uses a Dancing move at any point, Oricorio will immediately follow it up by copying it as a free action- ie, without using its own turn. Pair it up with the right teammate, and watch it set up and fire on the same turn! Well... in Doubles. In Singles, it kinda depends on facing the right foe.
(And yes, it is based on a cheerleader. Each form of Oricorio is based on a style of dance from a different part of the world, with their official names for their forms being based on their dancing. I just love that the devs decided "yeah, cheerleading counts"- it feels like it doesn't fit in, but it just works.)
Welcome to the team.
Incidentally, there are two spots of Yellow Nectar that appear in Melemele Meadow, appearing only at night time. As a consumable item, the only use for it is to be Used to change any Oricorio into a Melemele Oricorio. It's cool now, but every one of these is going to slowly become more baggage in any future game Oricorio is available in.
Flabebe (Ultra Sun): It's not safe without the power of a flower, but it will keep traveling around until it finds one with the color and shape it wants.
Flabebe was added to USUM in all of the meadow areas. It is the queen of Special Defence, being a pure Fairy type with a stat that goes through the roof and a not-bad Sp. Atk stat to hit back with. As a main-story choice, it suffers from a lack of offensive moves and not really thinking through this whole "wall" thing, but it can pull off some nifty stuff if you need it to. There are five colours of Flabebe, and while they don't match up to the four flowers in Alola (it's an XY Pokemon), they do put in an effort at it. You can only find Flabebe with Yellow flowers in this grass, although they can call for help and summon Orange and White flowers. The colours are identical, it's personal preference.
Flabebe's only Ability by default is Flower Veil (prevents any Grass type allies from having their stats lowered), and its HA is Symbiosis (If its teammate consumes a held item, it will automatically bestow its own held item to them). As the games get later and later, they started adding more Abilities that only do things in Doubles, but never committed to actually making Doubles a thing the player worried about in the main campaign, leaving main story Flabebe to have a dead Ability slot no matter what you do. Well, you somehow change it to a Grass type and get Flower Veil that way? Seems a lot of work to block stat drops.
...You need to stop being so hard on yourself, Lils.
(Oh, and funnily enough, finding Lillie gets Kukui to go away. You can't actually fight Hala until you get Nebby back, though.)
Ah, first one of these! The Net Ball has a 3.5x catch rate, but only when used on a Pokemon that is a Water- or Bug-type. This is the first generation with the 3.5x, as it happens- it used to be 3x. It could be useful if you were hoping to catch the Butterfree that appear in this grass, but I'd save it for two later areas, that have more Water and Bug types you don't already have.
As far as he (and I) can tell, this isn't an issue of incompatibility she's not telling him, she's just like that.
Poke Finder spot here. Cutiefly, Oricorio, and in USUM, Flabebe and strangely, its evolution Floette. You can't find Floette through SOS yet, although it is a particularly low evolution level.
Freebie Poison Barb, for the SM players/people who didn't get one to drop from an Ekans earlier. Thanks to Fairy types, this is a bit better than it once was, although Poison does still tend to suffer from a combination of not having good attackers (a lot of Poison-types prefer to play the long game) and not having a large breadth of targets.
This is the tourist from earlier's girlfriend. She seems to think she's engaging in some kind of courting ritual. As charming as it might be, you should probably tell him that's why you're doing it.
USUM adds a recurring character here- this woman, in spite of her outfit, is a dancer, and she likes to punctuate her dialogue with little spins.
She will appear four times in total, and we must battle her in a fixed order. Fortunately, there's an easy way to remember it- she appears once per island, and the order is the same as the island order!
Ah, that explains the difference between outfit and occupation- she's not a dancer by trade, she's learning the dances.
...You know, the way Oricorio changes not just its dancing technique, but its personality between forms kinda makes making it an actor-based thing rather appropriate.
Not going to stop the spins, though.
Meredith is an Actor, a class unique to her (there's a proper Dancer class elsewhere, so making her an Actress helps there). The Actor class has the same payout to Office Worker, so odds are there's not much going on under the hood here.
Rather obviously, Meredith uses an Oricorio of her own. I think you can see where this is going. Meredith has flat 20 IVs, no EVs or Nature, and has the moves Peck, Growl and Pound. No Helping Hand, but that's for the better.
...
Oh, uh, right, you haven't met Shiva yet. Sorry, this is a mainly an issue with USUM being shown non-linearly- she'll actually come up pretty soon after this.
Poor Shiva had a bit of a problem here, but fortunately, Oricorio isn't great on the physical end. Shiva is terrible defensively, though, so it evens out a bit. I managed to win, though, with Powder Snow doing a lot more to her.
I guess that's what happens when you give that cheer to me, too.
...Huh, yeah. Her cheering us on is part and parcel of expressing the Pom-Pom dance.
She's off to Akala to learn that Oricorio's dance. We shall find her when we find where Oricorios roost there.
She even has the Alola wave. Very well, that's the outside of the Meadow talked about.
Nebby is near the Poison Barb, and clicking on it automatically starts the next story sequence with Lillie and a fight with Hau. However, there's a divergence in USUM we have to discuss first-
The Seaward Cave. In SM, this is much like the Sandy Cave in USUM, as it just leads to purely optional areas with all sorts of useful items and team options- albeit a lot more of both than Sandy Cave does.
USUM makes Nebby go in here and adds an additional event before we take him back to Lillie.
And to the surprise of absolutely nobody, it involves the Ultra Recon Squad. I do invite you to connect a few dots here, however- this is the first time the Ultra Recons have seen us with either Nebby or Lillie. Lillie, however, does not see us with them. I wonder if either of us even knows the other one has seen the Ultra Recons.
Now that they know we're involved in the Nebby story, their opinion on how much they should care about us has changed from "keep an eye on her" to "actively plan for her".
And also they needed someone to test out this whole "catching Pokemon" thing with.
...Which sounds like they're probably not going to get an accurate reading on test one.
The Ultra Recons may not have much promise in plot motivations (or possibly too much), but you can't deny they have one kickass theme.
Zossie: Phew... Running around like this sure is tiring! Whoa! So the people of Alola meet in places like this, too, huh?
Dulse: Calm yourself, Zossie. There is only one thing we are here to confirm. We must find someone strong enough to protect the Blinding One. Let us see if you might be the one!
Zossie alludes to the Ultra Recons living in a place like Seaward Cave, or at least frequenting it, while Dulse completely ignores Nebby to focus on making sure we have the strength to accomplish their objective for them. Dulse may have his head screwed on, but he doesn't really have the head for every little thing.
In Ultra Sun, Dulse will battle you. In Ultra Moon, Soliera will. The battles are largely the same and this is, for the most part, the most attention I will draw to the topic, but the differences are substantial enough that they are a significant reason for why Ultra Moon is the faster speedgame.
As Phyco alluded to, they use an experimental type of Poke Ball newly developed both in-universe and out. Telling you its name is a slight spoiler, though.
The Ultra Recon Squad use the same Level 13 Furfrou in each game- flat 20 IVs, no EVs, neutral Nature and the moves Baby-Doll Eyes, Headbutt, Sand Attack and Growl. Because of the Fur Coat Ability and the powerful STAB Headbutt, this is USUM's "hey, look how scary Furfrou is" battle.
These screenshots are mostly to show off the difference between Dulse and Soliera's background animations. Dulse, of course, is the model of patience and serenity, while Soliera looks like she's one bad day away from staging a coup on Phyco. If Phyco has made one good decision so far, it's entrusting Zossie's training to Dulse and not Soliera. Who knows what those two would get up to if left unsupervised together.
Anyway, back to this fight, I have what will later become an excellent answer to Furfrou: Hawlucha. Not by evolution: I decided, after this fight, I was going to go with Mold Breaker Hawlucha, but have not done so yet.
Mold Breaker would get past Fur Coat and ruin Furfrou's day.
It's not like Unburden Hawkeye is a slouch, since this is even after -1 Atk.
I really wish you would stop that.
...On second thought, ow.
Hawkeye comes with a healing move, Roost. Roost heals the user for 50% of their HP, but if they are a Flying type (like Hawlucha), they will no longer be considered such for the rest of the turn. This also temporarily grounds them (unless they happen to have Levitate or are not grounded for some other reason), and they obey any relevant mechanics that result from this. No such mechanics appear here, but it can be good to think about whether you want this effect.
With a combination of Roosts and Karate Chops, Hawkeye is able to secure the win.
Dulse: I don't understand!
Despite her different demeanour, Soliera probably has the better head on her shoulders. Dulse is just more likely to keep it.
We are really going through this. For that it's worth, that does sorta imply a society that has Pokemon but does not have battling- which has interesting implications on the whole philosophy of battle itself, although they're content to largely set that aside.
Phyco appraises the situation, rather accurately, as "we should leave any parts of our plan that require fighting things to people who actually know how to battle".
...Which means us.
...I honestly disagree with the assertion that "having me fight all your battles" logically leads on to "Lillie is no longer an issue" to your long-term goals. With that said, if you want my help, backing off Lillie is a good way to get on my good side.
Interpret this line as "you probably already know that" or "it is imperative you understand that" as you feel appropriate. The former is the accurate reading as the plot played out, but I suspect Phyco intends the latter because he isn't aware we already happen to know.
This, however, is new information- Nebby's ability to teleport seems to be a "in case of emergency, summon escape hatch" as far as it's concerned, but other things do not have the ability to teleport... but can use the tunnels Nebby leaves open. All the more reason to keep doing what we're doing, although Lillie continues not to be a shining example of succeeding there.
And on that note, they go off to... actually, where do they go? The only way to leave this cave and return to the rest of the island on foot is the little path we came in from.
Dulse: I see... So that is a Pokémon battle... We had tried to investigate what it meant to battle with Pokémon, but it is quite different when you do it yourself. At least it seems that the Poké Ball we tried to create has worked properly to capture us a Pokémon here in Alola. And I have seen for myself how strong you are, young Alolan Trainer.
Zossie: So, Dulse, what're we gonna do?
Dulse: Trainer, you should know that this one here warps away if it is threatened in any way... And the holes that are torn open as a result invite dangerous beings into this world. But perhaps things will be all right as long as there are Trainers like you in Alola...
Zossie: What about that other girl, though?
Dulse: That girl should have nothing to do with our investigations, nor this Pokémon of hers... as long as no one is foolish enough to open a path that could lead here from Megalo Tower. Let us carry on, Zossie.
Dulse and Zossie backload all their exposition about their new Poke Ball designs and their unfamiliarity with battle. The order of explanations also puts it so they actually think the pre-existing power level of the Alola region can handle these dangerous beings if properly warned of their arrival, and also allows Dulse to provide a satisfactory explanation of what the Ultra Recon's stance is on Lillie- they can basically ignore her as long as she doesn't accidentally teleport to their base. Which suits us just fine.
If I had to guess which pair was written first, I'd go with Dulse/Zossie. Or maybe it was Phyco/Soliera first, and Dulse/Zossie comes with someone realising "hey, what the hell are these guys talking about?" and constructing more explanatory connecting tissue.
Incidentally, now USUM can click on Nebby to progress with the same Lillie and Hau content. However, we have just opened up a new area to explore!
Irritatingly, as helpful as a map would be, all Rotom tells us is that we're inside an area on this offshoot of Route 3. Couldn't make the map too useful...
Escape Rope right at the start, although I don't think it works as intended here.
SM has Diglett here, which is where Bethany and Noah intend to add it to their catch counts. Sadly for my cunning plan, Ray and Ailey will have to wait to find Diglett- they find Psyduck instead here. Or, since Ray kinda wanted to use one, go grab one from Verdant Cavern as intended.
USUM also moves Delibird here, as part of their plan to make this place more friendly to Ice types. Hawlucha took its spot on the encounter tables in Route 3.
Smoochum (Ultra Moon): Highly perceptive sensors, Smoochum's lips are kept moist by its daily application of tree sap.
Actually new in here, only in USUM, is Smoochum, an Ice/Psychic type Baby Pokemon. Smoochum, funnily enough, kinda has much of the same downsides as Diglett, in a way: It in no way should be made to fight anything with an Attack stat, it's made of paper. It's not quite as fast as Diglett, but it has a much better Special Attack stat and two offensively awesome typings with which to actually deal with her opponents in the single blow she's likely to get. Also unlike Diglett, she has some Special Defence with which she might be lucky enough to take the odd Special attack with.
Smoochum's Abilities are Oblivious (blocks infatuation and Taunt) and Forewarn (identifies a single move with high BP on the opponent's set). If you wanted me to choose the two worst Abilities for one Pokemon to have, this wouldn't be far from it. Its HA is Hydration, which at least turns into something usable on evolution, but the fact remains Smoochum probably loses a lot from not getting a good Ability slot.
Smoochum can call for help from its evolved form and a Pokemon called Happiny. Getting it already evolved causes it to lose out on Confusion for Psychic-type coverage early, and I find it more convenient to get Happiny to appear elsewhere. Just know they can appear.
Island Scan gives SM a Totodile with Metal Claw and USUM a Squirtle with Aqua Jet on Mondays here.
There's a fork in the path here, and the most efficient route is actually to go down here- we have to circle back around, and do so by coming up that other route.
There's some rocks blocking a side path here in SM, but the path has been cleared out for USUM. We're two fights away from being able to clear these rocks in both games.
It's an Expert Belt in both games, USUM having cleared rocks just means USUM gets is slightly sooner.
The Expert Belt, incidentally, is an awesome item, and a candidate for something the endgame team will be holding. It gives a 1.2x boost in power to moves landing Super Effective hits, making it that much more likely you're going to clinch that KO. It's especially good on Pokemon who have a diverse set of coverage moves it expects to be using more than one of, but there are better items for Pokemon who are fine to spam a single option.
At the bottom of the series of ledges is an outdoor area, Kala'e Bay. This place is also entirely optional, although it's possible to see it from the south side of Route 3.
Unlike Seaward Cave, however, there's little to do at this stage of the game. We can't cross water, so all we can do is interact with what few objects are on the shore- a whopping one in SM, and three in USUM.
The sparkly spot USUM finds contains this letter in a bottle. We should probably deliver it to its intended recipient- who is hopefully still there. Who knows how long this has been lying there.
Down here is the night-time version of the rainbow event up on Route 3. It is only in USUM, and is available to both Ray or Ailey- although one of them can see the event during the hours I usually play the game.
Both of them are indeed slightly disturbing when the characters offer to show it off, although I find the Kala'e Bay one moreso, because of the isolated location and the particular phrasings.
Unlike the rainbow, this event doesn't really seems as obvious in inspiration.
It's the natural glow of a bio-luminescent fish! I'm not sure how clear the water needs to be for this to be a visible natural phenomenon in the real world, although I am rather certain it would be a beautiful one where it occurs.
Please do not use that phrasing.
Oh, USUM just made this a lot more irritating. The Dive Ball has a 3.5x catch rate on any Pokemon found in certain types of encounters, none of which we currently have access to. SM also gives us a Dive Ball here (and it's a very useful item here, because this area is full of such encounters), but after we get the ability to make use of them. SM's first Dive Balls are, I believe, the freebies you get as soon as you get the necessary tools to effectively use them. This one will just be collecting dust until then.
On the way back up the cave- which is a lot less branching than it looked to begin with, since a lot of the "branches" are one-way paths- we can find these items. The only item of interest is the Never-Melt Ice, the 20% boosting item for Ice moves. Ice, as a type, has a crippling issue of never being available in a reasonable timeframe, and this also applies to its moves. USUM makes it somewhat better, and arguably means it's the best game to attempt a mono-Ice run in, but that still required more than a little bit of cheating to add in more Ice options early. I say this mostly as an indictment of the other games.
Went and had a Malasada with the new Oricorio to try and get its Affection up before its debut fight. It's annoying how it's so hard to get that first 2 heart barrier...
Anyway, after a lot of jumping around, we have finally clicked on Nebby and began the sequence to get Lillie back out of here.
Nebby's understanding of its situation continues to be woefully inadequate.
Thankfully, you get a free heal before the Hau fight no matter what.
Lillie also goes in to the whole "nectar" thing. Both this game and SV wind up using Oricorio as an example of "form change"- when a Pokemon can, either permanently or impermanently, change into a different type and/or stat spread without changing its Pokedex number. I mean, it's certainly an easy and visually obvious such example, so it makes a good one, but I just find it weird that they actually discuss "form change" so frankly as if it were this complicated mechanic.
Even Lillie kinda hedges her thoughts. It's a neat idea, although as a gameplay mechanic, it kinda gets in the way of the lore idea that Oricorio is based on the Galapagos finches. The finches evolved their beak diversity in response to the different islands, while Oricorio was changed by the islands. Probably splitting hairs, and the Pokemon mechanics don't really allow them to make a proper Galapagos Finch Pokemon without blurring the line between "forms" and "separate species", as necessary for certain gameplay mechanics.
We might need to stop and actually train him to go into the bag when told. It might be the only way.
Too late, Lillie. It's already been seen. In USUM only, admittedly.
...Did we not mention that?
As we walk out of Melemele Meadow automatically, we're stopped by Hau.
Who has been using his time productively and has indeed completed Ilima's Trial.
And Hau just drags you right in for the rival fight. Rivals actually do this quite a bit across the series, but it's not one of the mechanics I'm overly fond of. Fortunately, if you know where they are, it becomes habit to do some kind of preparation ritual when you approach the trigger.
The rival in XY was considered to have lost some of their threat factor because they always called you ahead of time to let you know where they'd be. Hau feels like the guy who'd give you warning, but he also feels like the guy who'd forget that part.
Still only two Pokemon. USUM gives him a third, and in general Hau's team in USUM grows a lot faster than SM's did.
Pikachu (Moon): Its nature is to store up electricity. Forests where nests of Pikachu live are dangerous, since the trees are so often struck by lightning.
Hau's Pichu has gone and evolved! Like in the initial battle, Pikachu still has flat 15 IVs, no EVs (not sure how), and a neutral Nature. Pikachu has no moves assigned to it by the game, giving it is natural learnset at level 13, which means it remembers none of the moves it learned as a Pichu- instead having the moves Growl, Play Nice, Quick Attack and Electro Ball. Honestly, quite a downgrade.
Going for Razzly as the lead, of course.
Immune to the consequences of Pikachu's Growl and Play Nice (both of which lower the Attack stat), and Struggle Bug is a move that special attackers fear. Electric moves are only resisted by Grass, Electric and Dragon types- obviously, our Electric type isn't so good in return, while the only Grass option we have is the one in Melemele Meadow (Cottonee/Petilil). Remember, Rowlet is Flying, it's not resistant to Electro Ball.
Already that lowered Special Attack is coming in useful.
Useful enough that Pikachu thinks it has better ideas.
Yeah, sorry, mate. Better luck next time.
...Aw man. The usual strategy is to replace the weaker Struggle Bug with the stronger Silver Wind, but Silver Wind is just not a move to rely on. It is a 60 BP Bug move that has a 10% chance to raise all five of Attack, Defence, Special Attack, Special Defence and Speed by one stage on use. It only has 5 PP, so you can't spam it, but that also means it's not the sort of move you want to have in... pretty much any single player context as your only move of a certain type, especially your STAB types.
Absorb just isn't really worth the coverage, especially since I have Rowlet for that. The healing utility just isn't high enough for Razzly's needs.
As a matter of fact, Razzly is going to stay in just to continue to Struggle Bug. I think Zapple or Oatchi might have a better time here, but they also won't turn the deductions to Popplio's power down.
Popplio also has 15 IVs, 0 EVs, neutral Nature, and the default moves Water Gun, Growl, Disarming Voice and Baby-Doll Eyes. Popplio is the only one who got stuck with redundant moves, but I think it's also the one making the most of its coverage. Rowlet would have Leafage, Growl, Peck and Astonish, Litten has Ember, Growl, Lick and Leer.
I don't think Razzly's doing this on her own.
And at this point I think trying to will get me oneshot by Torrent.
The correct time for Zapple to rematch Popplio.
Huh, weird. Popplio switched to Disarming Voice. I don't see how that would do more damage, though- although it is true that Fairy is neutral to itself.
Popplio tried to beg Zapple not to click Thunder Shock. It wasn't very effective.
We have the options to come up with something now. Frankly, I have no idea how you beat Gumshoos with that team.
I don't really want to show the other three's fights with Hau separately, because that feels like a little too much extra (especially since we're also about to see everyone fight Hala), but I will note the two significant changes: Hau is now followed by his starter on the overworld, so he leads his fight with this starter instead of Pikachu, using a unique animation too. Hala also has caught a Noibat- unfortunately, this Noibat suffers slightly from being Noibat, but its Speed means it should never be taken for granted.
Starter (13): Sitrus Berry, flat 20 IVs, Same moves as SM.
Noibat (11): flat 10 IVs, Supersonic, Tackle, Absorb, Gust
Pikachu (12): flat 10 IVs, lost Electro Ball for Thunder Shock.
...Technically, his team's been buffed, but I call it a technicality.
Hau thinks highly of himself, for having beat Gumshoos like us, but then realises he might not be a match for his grandfather, because he lost to us. A bit of a thing with Hau is that he has an unfortunate combination of characteristics in an aspiring Pokemon Trainer- a lack of confidence and a lack of persistence. This sort of behaviour is why he avoids difficult things and sticks to the simple activities he enjoys, and while his mental health isn't suffering as a result (by definition, he only does things that satisfy him), it can be considered a character flaw.
Kukui finally finds out we got Lillie. About time we got to that.
Probably a lot of Baby-Doll Eyes.
His grandson and the prodigy. No idea which one excites him more. Although it is probably us, he has his personal reasons for not being as enthused to fight Hau.
...Wait, did they mention this at some point, or have I overlooked its absence? It's hard to imagine the Island Challenge without thinking of the kahunas as the big Grand Trials in between- even if it does a lot of the work in making it hard to number the Island Challenges the same way Gym Badges can work as progress indicators.
The battle with Hala is a proper battle- with both of us using multiple Pokemon.
Wow, Hau. How little of a performer do you think you are?
Not far to walk to get to Iki Town, although watch out for the Trainer just on the side of the bridge.
Yeah, you.
Completing a trinity with Ian and Tatiana, Joshua uses the Ember-spamming Fire type to match Ian's Psyduck and Tatiana's Petilil. This also means it has the same IV spread and Modest nature, be on your toes.
Gave it a shot with our new Oricorio Dottie.
It did not wind up sustainable.
Sam switched in to lower its defences and take one for the team. Once Dottie learns its actually good move, Sam's days are numbered, and missing out on the odd EXP won't be the worst thing ever.
Snaggletooth had good enough bulk to handle finishing the job.
I did not think this Yungoos would be going as far as it did.
Growlithe did not have a hold item, nor did you use a Bag item. I had the former, but I would never stoop so low as to use the latter.
Although a lot of high-level sets do start to look the same- that's part of why official formats have an Item Clause to forbid two Pokemon to have the same hold item.
Little bit of litter...
Not sure if this is the same tourist couple as the lady on Route 2, but this guy indeed has another job for us.
I mean, I'm a foreigner, you can't judge the Alolans based on me.
These two are also on their honeymoon, although in a place like Hawai'i, that's no proof these are the same couple.
But as one fell for Cutiefly, the other fell for Rockruff. Both absolute cuties among the Alolan Pokemon.
In SM, Ten Carat Hill is the only place on Melemele Island to find Rockruff. USUM actually added Rockruff somewhere more convenient, which I almost thought was the case in SM, but no.
Even got the same justification. I'm going to say it is the same couple, because only these two people could be married.
Ray and Ailey are tasked with finding Sableye, which is a much harder Pokemon to find than Rockruff. It might even be something they have to put off.
A nice little hint to Seaward Cave and Kala'e Bay. Particularly since that's Kala'e Bay we can see in the east.
Sitrus first in a big pile, and then you can get Pecha, Chesto, Leppa, Sitrus and Cheri Berries. Cheri Berries cure paralysis- that's a handy one.
Bagon (Ultra Sun): Whenever it sees bird Pokémon flying through the sky, it becomes envious and smashes its surroundings to bits with headbutts.
In this grass, at an absolutely miserable 1% encounter rate, is the Dragon type Pokemon Bagon. Bagon is an example of a recurring archetype of Pokemon- 45 catch rate, a three-stage evolution line that evolves late, the slowest main EXP curve to suffer through to get there, and not quite a shining example of Pokemon until it reaches that final stage, but when it finally does, 600 BST, usually well-distributed, and a terrifying Pokemon for either side to face. This archetype is called "psuedo-legendary", although by this point, I think we are more than justified in demanding another name. The Japanese call them the "600 Club", and official merchandise and marketing has tried out the names "Late Bloomers" and "Powerhouse Pokemon". They also are supposed to appear later in the adventure, but starting with XY, they started to like giving us the older ones early while the new one maintains its late debut. (Bagon is the psuedo-legendary of RSE).
As a Pokemon, Bagon... leaves something to be desired. Its final evolution level is 50 (which embarrasses Rufflet and Vullaby in not even being the highest one we've seen), and it doesn't really have the stats to back up the surprisingly decent moves it gets, even in its middle stage. With that said, however, if you hate yourself, there is an equally incredibly low chance that you can get a Bagon to call for help from a Salamence, its final evolution stage. If you're lucky enough to snag one, you probably have way too much time on your hands.
Bagon's only Ability is Rock Head (renders the Pokemon immune to suffering recoil damage), which turns into Intimidate (lowers opponent's Atk on send out) at its final stage. Maybe if it had some good recoil moves, I could speak more highly of using the unevolved stage? Its HA is Sheer Force (increases the power of moves with bonus effects, but takes away the bonus effects), turning into Moxie (increases the Pokemon's Atk by one stage every time it KOs an opponent) in the final stage. Sheer Force sounds cool, but with Salamence's types, I think Moxie was the way to go.
Well, you're a very helpful sign.
With Ian, Tatiana and Joshua all defeated, the time has come for our boss Trainer, this guy.
You even get the chance to say "give me a sec" before you start.
Makana has actually trained his Pokemon quite seriously, and should be treated as such. Not only are his Pokemon slightly higher levelled than those of the Rising Stars, but he has three perfect IVs, a pair of 252 EV investments, and properly selected Natures. This is the same thing I praised Ilima for having. We also know both of his Pokemon are holding Red Cards- a single-use Hold Item that will automatically switch out the first Pokemon to attack it (unless you can cause it to faint in the same move), in exchange for a random Pokemon of neither side's choosing. This can be absolutely hilarious at the right moment, but these don't tend to come often enough to justify using it as your Hold Item.
As a Trainer Class, Ace Trainers are typically characterised as being the best of the best, or at least seeking the best. When encountered generally, they usually have multiple Pokemon of distinct types, coming the closest a generic Trainer comes to matching an average player team. Many of them even have sensibly chosen moves, like a player might. They also tend to show up later on, although a few turn up in the middle-ish to serve as miniature bosses unto themselves. They are also unisex, although it'll be a while before we see a female Ace Trainer to fight- although her design does make a cameo on this island.
Rockruff is level 13 and has the moves Stealth Rock and Bite. Its IVs are 31/31/15/15/15/31, it has 252 EVs in both HP and Spd, and it is a Jolly Nature, giving it +Spd in exchange for -Sp. Atk. This is a Rockruff that wants to go first, and has done everything in its power to do so. Sadly, no Rock move for STAB, but Bite for spamming flinches might just be scarier. Maybe if it went for Rock Tomb (which lowers Spd when it hits).
Stealth Rock, as it happens, is a status move that sets up an entry hazard that damages any Pokemon that switches in. The damage value is set at 1/8th of your Pokemon's HP, but actually changes based on the type chart- if you're weak to Rock moves, you take double damage from these, and half damage if you resist them (and yes, this even applies to double-weaknesses and resists). I do not believe it is possible to have a move that clears them yet.
As a reminder, this guy's gimmick is forcing you to make switches.
Oatchi's strategy was to rack up a few Work Ups and just oneshot that Rockruff. It's not exactly great at taking hits.
Usually Red Cards are supposed to stop high-stat stage sweeping.
Ooh, how convenient. Razor Leaf is slightly less accurate, but has a higher BP than Leafage.
And the Slowpoke is weak to Grass too! Slowpoke's IVs are 31/15/31/15/31/15, it has 252 EVs in HP and Sp. Def, and its nature is Calm (+Sp. Def, -Atk), and it knows the moves Water Gun, Confusion and Yawn. In all, exactly the kind of Slowpoke that makes it annoying to find on a competitive team, although it's a little weird they've gone all in on Special Defence. I guess most of its weaknesses are Special at this stage, but Bite is also fairly common...
Unfortunately, Oatchi did not Work Up enough times to oneshot Slowpoke, and we are forced to switch to something I have in my party.
Snaggletooth, huh? I can work with that. I think I was an idiot and brought Pokemon to gain EXP, forgetting about the "random switches" nature of Red Cards.
Ugh... Don't forget that, after being Red Carded, the Slowpoke still hasn't acted yet. So it gets a free hit on whatever comes out.
Oh come on, Bag Items, too. Fortunately, it doesn't heal much, because it's only a Potion and this Slowpoke has a lot of HP.
Snaggletooth's Tackle doesn't finish from that HP, but fortunately, it manages to hang on with a sliver of HP. Between the Rocks and two Slowpoke attacks, not exactly guaranteed odds.
Snaggletooth is earning a keep. Somehow.
I love how hapless male Ace Trainers look in this game. The Ace Trainers in SM look so young compared to how they usually look, and that hairdo is not helping them. Their payout is x68- high, but not significantly high.
I liked the ending particularly.
For defeating him, we get a (single) Red Card. Use it wisely or not at all. I'm thinking not at all.
It works on all damaging moves, and it has some funky edge cases I'm fine not going into because I'm honestly confused figuring out what each one is.
Translation: Keep an eye out for more Boss Trainers for cool prizes and tough fights.
Makana has changed his team rather heavily for his USUM appearance...
As well as his gimmick.
That's still a level 14 Slowpoke, as it was in SM, but it has changed its IVs to flat 30s. It is also now Modest (+Sp. Atk, -Atk) instead of Calm, and has the same moves Water Gun/Confusion/Yawn. This is a Slowpoke that has exchanged a slight bit of its Sp. Def bulk for an upgrade in its firepower.
...Since when did you have a Spinarak, Ailey?
Ah, right, yeah, this is Anna. Spinarak is also a good choice to use on Psychic types- if they go for Confusion, Anna's immunity to Psychic moves confuses them. Unfortunately, the fact I am currently in fox form suggests this guy tried Water Gun anyway.
Aw man. And here Anna was ready to deal with the Psychic type...
Right, let's give this Fairy type with Grass coverage a go. It's also supposed to have good Sp. Def.
...Good enough.
Flat 30 IVs, 252 EVs in Sp. Atk and Spd, Timid Nature (+Spd/-Atk). The Butterfree all the Bug Catchers wish they had. It knows the moves Silver Wind and Roost- which sounds like a recipe for hitting the Struggle lose con to me, honestly. If you can survive those Silver Winds- especially if it gets the boost.
This looks like a job for Hawkeye.
Thank goodness for x4 resistances.
That fight can and does go south if you are not sufficiently prepared to handle Silver Wind.
Ray was not adequately prepared.
I think Ray deserves that praise more than Ailey. Hawkeye kinda shattered your ace there.
On the other hand, Hawkeye would be weak to Gust and Confusion, if you had those moves. So maybe that was a you problem.
Instead of a Red Card, this guy instead gives us the TM for the move Roost. Most Roost users will be Flying type, but there are a few weirdos outside the type that can learn it, including Dunsparce. A Pokemon that is not Flying type for whatever reason will use Roost the same way any other healing move works, with no regard to the "losing Flying type" clause of the move. The TM19 is available moderately later in SM, but still well inside the main story.
Next time: An Island Kahuna.
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