We've not got far to go to get to Wela, although we do have some sights to see along the way.
Starting with clearing out the path to Route 6 at last.
Have some of that, you bonsai fakers!
In GSC, you battled the Sudowoodo after spraying it with the Squirtbottle. This part seems to have been removed, and ultimately, I'm not 100% sure why. Probably because we could get Bonsly so easily anyway, it'd mostly be a waste of time.
You're welcome, kid.
...Hey Lana, too lazy to do it again?
After clearing out the Sudowoodo, you get the Mystic Water, the 20% item for Water moves. You know, in case Scald wasn't already scary enough.
He finishes that conversation with a mention of an interesting sight to see. There is, however, a major change in this scene for USUM...
After scaring off the Sudowoodo, we get another encounter with the Ultra Recon Squad! Been a bit! Since they're not really establishing themselves, they're content to be a more sporadic encounter- plus they can only show up where there's room.
Something they've been very busy with is going on a wiki walk of the entire Alolan Pokedex. Most people only see a few Pokemon at a time, and also aren't quite so fascinated by each one as they go.
They also have an interest in all this studying.
An interest, a fascination, and a lack of direction. Three things that you don't want to have all of.
After that, they turn to us and start talking to us without a greeting.
They have isolated that, in this circumstance, it's probably ideal if they use the Pokemon that are familiar to them, rather than adapt to the new ecosystem.
Indeed you can. I don't tend to turn down many.
It is time for us to encounter a part of USUM that's... a little awkward, when playing the game like this. In SM, the plot has a small mystery arc, where something is introduced that we are not to be able to make head nor tail of. The Ultra Recon Squad, in part, act as an expansion to this plot point, so we are going to be introduced to the subject sooner than SM intended.
Zossie: Woooooohhhhhh!! Wait, those were Pokémon?! I totally thought they were just plants!
Dulse: Calm yourself, Zossie. Those must have been the Pokémon known as Sudowoodo. A most interesting Pokémon. I wish I could research them further. They must be mimicking plant life in an attempt to avoid their weakness- water.
Both turn and wave.
Dulse: These Alolan Pokémon... They're all so unique. It's truly fascinating... But battling them is not easy. So I challenge you with one we are accustomed to... Poipole!
Zossie: I knew it! You can't just challenge people like that! Sorry, Mister Trainer. But do you think a battle would be OK?
Ray says yes
Dulse: I will warn you now. Poipole cannot be found anywhere in Alola.
As usual, I find Dulse and Zossie's reactions to fit in better with the story role they play. Zossie, despite so far appearing to be a Trainee, actually scolds Dulse for poor etiquette. It makes more sense when you realise: the Ultra Recon Squad is still unfamiliar with the rules of the Pokemon world. And do you know who the fastest adopters of new environments typically are? Kids. Zossie may have indeed been the best scout they could've sent on this whole operation- she's the only one who actually asks "hey, what if we actually played by their rules?" Give this kid a Pokemon and send her on an Island Challenge, you'll be far closer to your objective than you ever would otherwise.
The ending warning "Poipole cannot be found anywhere in Alola" sets up what we are about to see, but it does slightly obfuscate it from its intended meaning (well, as intended by Dulse). As we saw earlier when Ray was doing the Photo Club, Galvantula cannot be found anywhere in Alola, and it is no different from any Pokemon we've seen up to this point (even its Bug/Electric type, unique as of BW, has been adopted by none other than Ray's own Charjabug since). Dulse is talking about a Pokemon that we couldn't find no matter what region we're in.
Had we refused, the Ultra Recons would allow us to leave the conversation and do all our business before a fight, but they block the road until we do the fight. They do, however, have some interesting dialogue:
Phyco: I have created a few on my own, but these Poké Balls are the most peculiar devices!
Dulse: Our research is insufficient to define what it means to be a Pokémon Trainer... We'll never be able to stop Necrozma like this...
Phyco's still going at the Poke Balls with a fine-toothed comb, but Dulse (strangely, it's Zossie you have to talk to to initiate the battle if refused) makes mention of something that has not yet been mentioned by name: Necrozma. Although this is not the first time Dulse has mentioned trying to stop something...
A battle with Ultra Recon is in the offing, and this time they have ditched Furfrou entirely to go all in on their stated strategy of using a Pokemon they know.
Poipole (Ultra Moon): [static], it cackles wildly as it sprays its opponents with poison from the needles on its head.
Poipole is... Poipole is. Much like the Ultra Recon Squad do not understand our own Pokemon, we do not understand theirs. However, it turns out that theirs do play by our rules, mechanically, and thus they obey all the same rules of Pokemon battling we have seen thus far. Poipole is almost, but not quite, entirely flat 70s across the board, giving it a 420 BST equal to our second-stage starters. It is a pure Poison type on the damage chart.
Dulse and Soliera's Poipoles have flat 30 IVs and zero EV investment. They do, however, have Natures- and, much to your surprise if you were expecting otherwise, they use different Natures between them. Dulse's Poipole is Lax Nature, giving it +Def and -Sp. Def, while Soliera's Poipole is Gentle Nature, giving it +Sp. Def and -Def. Poison has two weaknesses, Ground and Psychic, and these weaknesses have traditionally been skilled at Atk and Sp. Atk, respectively. As such, it's in your interests to have a Psychic type for Dulse and a Ground type for Soliera- vice versa is pitting you against a tougher nut to crack.
For those keeping score at home, Ailey has a Smoochum and Mr. Mime, and Ray has a Diglett.
Things are not going well on the "hit them on the weaker defence" front.
Poipole is at level 20, making it an appropriate opponent to face level-wise, but it does have one weakness- it has not been taught a good moveset. The moveset programmed into the game for Poipole to draw from is not designed for a player to progress naturally through had they had one through the whole game, and is thus not cohesive at all. At level 20, it knows the moves Acid, Fury Attack, Venoshock and Charm. Soliera appreciates Charm, I guess, but it has two redundant Poison moves, Venoshock wants you to Poison enemies first and they have no means of doing that, and Fury Attack is just a bad move.
...I'm not sure if that's on Poipole or on Moss. That was supposed to be the weaker defence.
Yeow. Poipole may not have much gas in the tank, but a 65 BP move off a 30 IV and a 2 level advantage still hurts.
Kept Moss in in the hopes of a flinch (and knowing switching would probably not go well), but was not that lucky. At least I got the Burn.
Beast Boost is a unique Ability, seen on Poipole and several others of its like. When a Pokemon with Beast Boost lands a finishing blow, they automatically gain a stage in their highest non-HP stat.
Poipole has three "highest stats" when considering BST only. Since the IVs and EVs of these three stats are identical, this means that all three stats are of equal value, and thus it will select which stat to raise based on the order "Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, Speed"- and Attack is the first stat on this list to be involved in that tie.
...I don't think that Burn will faint next turn.
I guess it's time to give Chip his turn.
Oh come on, Soliera. You were supposed to use a different Bag Item earlier.
That Aqua Jet was also supposed to be a oneshot, but...
Oh well. Crunch has a chance of lowering Defence, maybe I'll make it less likely it'll be a problem.
...Or that could happen.
This Poipole managed to figure out the scientifically best way to be annoying.
At least Moss's Burn covered the slack. And also that Chip actually has some capacity for taking hits.
Dulse: So I have failed to understand Poipole!
After losing with Poipole, both Dulse and Soliera come to realise that there is more to our success than their knowledge. This should have been an even battle!
And that is a x12 payout, equalled by Preschoolers. What is your budget?
It will be hard to accomplish your goals until you figure that out, yes.
...Gesundheit?
...Oh. I...
I have an alarming feeling about what's going to go down.
On that note, Phyco and Soliera head off, and hope you didn't think too hard about what they said.
Dulse: I must research the reason for my defeat...
Zossie: Your Z-Power Ring... It's so pretty when it shines like that!
Dulse: What are you suggesting? That it might be like the beautiful light our ancestors once saw?
Zossie: How should I know? See you around, Trainer!
Dulse: "Hey Zossie, we need to drop the same foreshadowing clues as Phyco, help me out here."
Zossie: "You dug the hole, now you lie in it."
I like Zossie's segway better, but Dulse really needed a better way to follow up on it.
Talking with the Youngster after that is optional. It should be noted that a) he still gives you the Mystic Water and b) he only gives you the Mystic Water if you have defeated the Recon Squad.
Route 6 time. Route 6 is an incredibly long stretch of flat terrain going from here to Heahea City- once we've cleared out the Trainers, we've probably doubled the stretch of land going from the ledge on Route 5 south for straight egg hatching.
And the route sign knows exactly why people like it. Some games get better use out of the straightaway than others- Alola's is a bit of a bad one because it has two loading zones on it- but on the maingame trip, you can definitely feel a bit of the lull.
Look at this litter item...
Indeed, you are the only Youngster in Alola with two Pokemon!
...You are not the only Youngster with more than one, though.
Magby (Ultra Sun): When flames drip from its nose, that means it has a cold. Have it lie down for a nice rest in some magma.
He leads with a new Fire type, Magby. It's fast and it's tough, but it's a Fire type. Anything good will off it pretty quick, and Scald would be even better. Just watch out for Flame Body, though- dealing contact damage risks a Burn.
His other mon is a Yungoos.
I figured I'd show him something one-of-a-kind in return. More than fitting.
...For some of us, that is not as pleasant as you think it is. Even with your intended meaning... well, unique doesn't always mean good.
In USUM, instead of the first Trainer being Youngster Anthony (making Anthony unique in another way- he's the only Youngster to be cut from USUM!), you instead get a Doubles Trainer Class that appears nowhere else in the game.
A fledgling Dancing Family! Combining Office Worker and Preschooler, this seems to largely be showing off a side of Trial Captain Kiawe rather than anything specific. I'm not sure this Doubles class really should stick around.
(Jen is the Office Worker and Fumiko is the Preschooler).
Jigglypuff (Moon): Jigglypuff possess a vocal range that exceeds 12 octaves, but each individual's singing skill depends on its own effort.
They use a teamup of Igglybuff and its evolved stage Jigglypuff- I feel like this is more common than it is, but the only other example I've found is Platinum's Ranchers Ava & Matt (who use Ponyta and Rapidash). It makes a very "mother guiding her child" sort of battle.
Well, shoot. Fortunately, they only have the preset moves- Jigglypuff knows Disarming Voice, but Igglybuff doesn't have any way to use its Special Attack other than to hope to copy one with Copycat.
And Moss can take her better than she could Poipole.
You're certainly a team of round things.
...I always thought Jigglypuff was more of a singing Pokemon, but whatever you feel.
One of these over in the tall grass. One mon in SM, but he upgraded to two for USUM.
Sudowoodo (Moon): Apparently, the larger the green parts of this Pokémon, the more collectors value it. It's a particular favorite among elderly people.
Just a Sudowoodo here- easily brought down by Scald or one of Rock's other weaknesses.
I went with Murphy. Worth noting that Sudowoodo does have plenty of physical defence for Murphy to be chewing on.
...I'm not worried, but wow, that was one painful Low Kick. That Trainer back in Paniola wasn't kidding when he said to keep Murphy away from anything that goes for the ankles.
His team is Bounsweet and Mareep in USUM- not only a good way to get back at anyoe who tried to use Water types again, but also fairly decent defensive overlap. He's still more of an EXP fountain than an obstacle, but it's a nifty fight.
You may not be great, but your work has helped many to get on that path.
Just beyond the tall grass behind him is a secret entrance into the back end of Paniola Town. Nice little bit of overworld connectivity, the real purpose is more or less the same of any other hidden item niche.
A hidden litter item (can you even fit Stoutland in here?) and a TM. Sleep Talk is a move they invented that they mostly seem to have gone for to give the player a chance to be creative- the move is a Normal Status move that only works when Asleep, but if it works, it will randomly choose one of the other three moves you know to perform. Some Pokemon can make excellent use of this. It's just a matter of knowing which ones and how.
Hi, Team Skull! Fortunately, that farmer with a Mudsdale probably has this covered. Let's leave her to it and finish exploring the route.
A Trainer Tips that mentions friendship evolutions. We'll be getting a method to make those more accessible not too far in the future, but as we've seen with Zapple, Gonzales and Penny, they're not inaccessible now.
Bold words from a Beauty.
Cubone (Moon): The skull it wears on its head is that of its dead mother. According to some, it will evolve when it comes to terms with the pain of her death.
Cubone is one of Pokemon's more morbid species, coming from the original RBY and there is absolutely no way Pokemon would dare make it today. In RBY, the evolved form of Cubone was outright killed, and one of the things you did to beat the game was set her soul to rest. Nowadays, they try to distance themselves from those aesthetics, and I can't tell if what this game has done with the Cubone line sells that better or worse.
OK, she does have a point about me training my Pokemon- I can't really go around using a Solo Wishiwashi here.
On the other hand, I seem to have shown your Cubone what's what with Scald there.
Cubone was originally designed with three Ground type moves themed around using that bone it carries as a weapon. The only one this Cubone knows is Bone Club, a 65 BP, 85% Physical Ground with a 10% flinch chance. Cubone is so slow that I can't say this is a move Cubone really wants- Bulldoze is better, and indeed, when SwSh started cutting moves, this one was safely declared one of the cuts to make.
I think I first need to be taught to speak up at all. But I will thank you for the EXP that pushed me closer to a Schooling Wishiwashi.
Over here we can find a Trainer Class that, somewhat surprisingly, is a returning Trainer Class to the series. However, her Alolan design is very definitely Hawai'ian, and they have adopted the class well. Dancers will dance on the spot, in a predictable, rhythmic pattern, and their vision will be in whatever direction their head happens to be pointing. SM was the first game in the series where Trainers could be this vividly animated on the overworld, and Trainer Classes like this one knew what they should be using it for.
If you're wondering where they come from, they're in the Unova games (and also later appear in SwSh). In those games, they use street dancer aesthetics. All Unovan Dancers are male, while the Alolan and Galarian Dancers are female.
Akala Oricorio (Sun): This Oricorio relaxes by swaying gently. This increases its psychic energy, which it then fires at its enemies.
Maika introduces us to the second of Oricorio's forms, the Psychic/Flying type Pa'u dancer native to the Akala islands. Aside from the fact it is a Psychic type, it is identical to Dottie's Pom-Pom form in every way. This means that all it has to go on to make itself sound better than Pom-Pom are the defensive benefits of the Psychic type, and its eventual access to a single Psychic type move. The former is not an advantage at all- Electric/Flying has Psychic/Flying beaten handily- and the latter is not much of an advantage in Alola specifically. Pom-Pom really is the best Oricorio.
As with all Oricorios, Rock crushes Bird.
Schooling Form unlocked.
Now that we get to the end of the route, this Dancer points out the big appeal when it comes to using this route as an Egg hatching place. She'll be glad to watch all Egg-hatchers on their many, many laps of this route.
The south exit comes out in Heahea City, a ways up. The Stoutland guy has moved out of the way on the east side of town now, and we can explore a few more buildings. First, though, some mopping up of miscellaneous things over on Route 6.
Two hidden litter items and one behind Tauros rocks here.
And, as literally the only thing that counts as a new Pokemon in the wild grass on Route 6, this is where one can find wild Akala Oricorio. There is no Akala Meadow for Oricorio to inhabit (although one was clearly considered, since "Akala Meadow" is still a valid entry in the location index). The flowers that produce Pink Nectar aren't far from here, but the map that has them doesn't have encounter tables.
Island Scan still has new encounters, though: on Saturday, you can get Gothita with Dark Pulse in SM and Ralts with Misty Terrain in USUM.
I'm not catching it, but this seemed like a good time to demonstrate what Kasplashle looks like when it's Schooling on our side.
If Wishiwashi meets the requirements to School, it does so at the start of battle. Unlike Totem Wishiwashi, Wishiwashi will be in Solo form at the start- what Kasplashle is doing is the norm, the Totem was the exception. We get all the benefits Schooling bestows either way, thankfully.
The Stoutland asshole- no other word seems appropriate- hasn't left yet, he's just no longer blocking the road so close to Heahea. I mean, why even block that area, there's not much there except a Pokemon I'd actually rather like to have.
I'd say go north up Route 6 and then hit up the Ranch first. Probably easier than going through Heahea to get to the Route 4 exit.
We'll be exploring this route "backwards", but there's not much to take issue with here. Over here we have a location that's more for plot than for mechanics.
Did you notice that hidden path behind the wall? Cash injection up here.
And a Zygarde Cell at night.
Despite this, I believe the Dimensional Research Lab is on floor 3F. The owners of Floor 2F are feeling very upset.
The owner of the Dimensional Research Lab is currently not present, and will not return until we visit her in the plot. As such, we can't go upstairs until then.
Does have a unique theme, though. I sorta recognise it as a nostalgia track, but for the life of me I can't track down what the song was before it became this one. Maybe it's just similar instrumentation to an old song.
This Office Worker alludes to which types the other Akala captains will be specialising in. And yes, they are battled in that order.
The building next to the Dimensional Research Lab is rather important, although it has no signage to indicate such whatsoever.
First floor also isn't very indicative.
Now that's more significant. Pokemon likes to have, as a recurring element, a place where you can encounter actual GAME FREAK staff. They also tend to have some unique bonuses for stopping by.
Odd guy to have around. He does mention the encounter rate (well, an approximation- the odds are 1/4096, and have been since XY), but sure.
Welcome to GAME FREAK's holidays.
What, did you think Game Freak gets real ones?
When series run so long that the staff making the new stuff grew up on the old, you get a certain sense of perspective. Whether this is a good thing or not comes down to what their beliefs are on the most important elements.
A lot of slightly different lines for the USUM staff in Game Freak's office. I can see why this lady changed, though.
I wonder if I've heard it yet.
Not sure why you became a more global NPC in USUM. What changed?
Another one of these Choose Your Own Adventures. If the last one was any indication, this could take a while.
He goes unnamed in-game, but since there is only one Game Director, we know this is the in-game avatar for Shigeru Ohmori, a long-time staff member since RSE (and upgraded to major head with DPPt, having designed the Underground and many of DPPt's new evolutions), but SM is his first directing job. Considering all his accomplishments, I'm of two minds about him- he gave us SM and SV, but he also gave us Inkay's evolution (and may or may not be responsible for some of the of the other more annoying evolution conditions that started to creep in around that time).
The nameless game director (who in some games, is the only GAME FREAK staff you can encounter) is the NPC responsible for giving you the Diploma for having found and caught every species in the local Pokedex. In this game, he will give you the five Stamps for your Trainer Card that correspond to having completed all four Island Pokedexes, as well as the big Alola one. It is worth mentioning that there exist Pokemon included in the Alola Pokedex that are missing from any Island Pokedex.
"Time travel... robot Pokemon... final boss is an AI..."
And I bet these would be worth millions in the hands of collectors and archivists.
Meh. I'm not that big on it.
One thing that these guys kinda don't do that older GAME FREAK offices did- and something I kinda appreciate, if slightly miss- is that the older games included staff members who went "I'm the artist, I drew you!". While an appreciable effort to highlight the human effort that goes into games, that much of a fourth-wall break went just a shade too heavy.
He then proceeds to ask a bit of a weird question in context-
And where the hell did that come from? Well, if you notice the order of the colours, he's actually talking about the RGBY games.
For Red, Green and Blue, he instead offers character insights. They're consistent between colours.
This one for Green makes sense, since Green is the only one of the RGBY games that is not available outside Japan (unless you count LeafGreen).
Although these ones for Red and Blue make me wonder if they're drawing on popularity metrics for which game (or possibly which box mascot) is more popular.
Yellow, of course, is a reference to Pokemon Yellow having a following Pikachu partner.
As another case of "what if we bring a foreign Pokemon in for bonuses?", this guy has a secret reward if you have a Pokemon obtained from the Virtual Console release of any of Gold, Silver or Crystal.
Yes, this is the red Gyarados from the Lake of Rage, why did you ask?
For our interest in games before they finally fixed all the jank, we get a nice little reward composing of some of the jankier bits of history:
A complete set of Kurt's custom Poke Balls! These were the original examples of specialised Poke Ball for certain circumstances, and are crafted using an old-fashioned method by an expert as opposed to mass-produced by one of the mainstream Poke Ball producers. SM were the first games that are not set in the Johto region to include them, but they're so ridiculously hard to come by that it's tough to recommend using them unless you're sure they'll work- or savescum like hell if you really want those aesthetics.
Only Ray's getting these ones, so I'll explain how they work one-at-a-time when Bethany gets them. Else we'll be here for ages.
This fellow is based on Shigeki Morimoto, a major battling-focused developer responsible for the part of RBY that catapulted the game from "modest success that wouldn't have done much to save Game Freak" to "global sensation"- he was the man who decided to add Mew to the game after all the debugging had been done. Similarly to Ohmori, he's no doubt one of Pokemon's greatest minds, but also I hate him on principle because fuck time-locked event exclusives like Mew.
As a mechanical NPC, he's actually the one you can fight in-game- he can be battled once we have defeated the final boss. He served this role in both Unova games and every game following this one until BDSP, and no matter why he's there, it's always cute to get the chance to see how the devs build their teams.
The less we ask about Game Freak's self-care routines, the happier we'll be.
Freebie... I guess?
You, er... too?
...That is not something I would have expected. Although considering Game Freak's cramming schedule, it's not out of the question.
Watch your sugar, OK...
This is actually the cheapest Fresh Water sells for, although it's not worth much as a healing item now and you'll still resell it at a loss.
Up on the third floor we have this absolutely sterile room with this kinda disconcerting theme. This is our first encounter with an organisation known as the Aether Foundation- they get formally introduced a lot later, but we can find them now.
They are a wildlife conservation group. BW fans are probably feeling their Team Plasma senses going off. No, these guys are not opposed to Pokemon training, but take greater interests in environmental issues that impact the livability of Pokemon- such as changes in the environment that change which Pokemon are suited to an area, or a sudden spike or dip in a certain species' population. In short, they actually are a wildlife conservation group.
Team Skull, because they are idiots, are mistreating Pokemon. With that said, I'm not sure I'd call them evil.
But you should definitely be looking into that.
Presumably, it's his job to replace the water cooler.
I'd say it's probably different for every Pokemon. Heavens know I have no clue what makes Wooper so happy.
You may have noticed these two NPCs at the counter saying the same thing. USUM gave the female one a new sidequest to do to justify the redundancy.
This sidequest will relate to the subject of "what happens to Pokemon when their Trainer unexpectedly passes away"- their registration on the Pokemon Storage System is deleted, and the Pokemon are transferred to wherever it would be most suitable for them to be sent.
And while they do respect the Pokemon's wishes, that doesn't mean doing so isn't a pain in the neck.
Remaining in the Storage System is a bad idea for all concerned.
Looks aside guiltily.
And of course, we can keep an eye on the problem.
That's left as in "left behind", not left as in "left-hand side". I assume it's text length limitations- most other words that convey this idea are a lot longer than that.
I mean, yes. I suspect they have sapience, they are just incapable of expressing it.
...For now.
Well, that's our cue to forget this sidequest for another island...
Getting back to the vacant lot directly next to the Pokemon Centre in Sun, it has been filled by a new building in USUM: The Surf Association's HQ!
...There's not much here. Just a guy looking for someone who can ride all four of Alola's waves, and will presumably reward us with something once we have.
A poster hanging up on the wall here...
And a quaint little radio in the back. Moving on.
Oh, this is an absolute pain in the ass. Yes, there are two dungeons named after Diglett in the series. Do you want to know what the difference is?
Diglett's Cave is a tunnel and Diglett's Tunnel is a cave.
Oh wow, an NPC that changes the camera. That one took me by surprise.
...Aside from the answer to that being a vehement NO*, what is the correlation there? I didn't know Festival Plaza was a Rotom Dex thing.
Do not do this.
*Minor confession: I already have, I misclicked and hit it during the Water Explore segment. I was hoping Bethany could avoid it, but the other three still have. For now.
...You know, odd that it doesn't mention Royal Avenue (which is closer than Hano Grand Resort). Still, let's go check out Diglett's Tunnel.
Yes. You can visit this place now.
As we walk in, we are soon greeted by Olivia having an inaudible discussion with some Aether members. Hopefully good news.
(On a related note, the official name for them is "Aether Foundation Employee". I will probably never call them that again because that's a mouthful.)
Hi. Olivia, was it?
Diglett have been known to have a feast and cause some impromptu interior remodelling.
Although that is a bit of an alarming one.
Olivia actually does check our Z-Crystals, and is rather flattering about our one of the three.
Oh, you have no idea.
After that, she turns us around and prevents us going any further through Diglett's Tunnel. This roadblock will exist until we get all three Trials completed.
That much praise kinda felt a little put-on, but that may mostly be because of how roundly I got turned around here. I'm like ten steps away from where I entered the conversation here, turnarounds normally only send you two or three.
Although that may have been a bust, we do have a valid reason to turn up here: The encounter tables are turned on, and there is just enough space to run around to spawn some. In SM, it's nothing but Zubat and Diglett.
Larvitar (Ultra Sun): Born underground, it eats its way through dirt to the surface, where its parents are. It doesn't deal well with the bright light it finds there.
USUM adds a 10% chance of Larvitar. Larvitar is a Rock/Ground type that may be found at levels 20-23, already knowing one of the endgame Rock moves of choice (Rock Slide, 75 BP, 90% accurate, Physical Rock, 30% chance of flinch), and it happens to be the first stage of one of the psuedo-legendaries of series history- particularly, it is the Johto representative, and the only one not to be Dragon type. The list of positives ends there, however. As a psuedo-legendary, it is vulnerable to many of the same issues that Bagon suffered as a result of its Slow EXP group and late evolutionary level, and suffering through the middle stages as a Rock/Ground type is a lot less comfortable than the much tougher Dragon type. Yes, Larvitar will switch to a (somewhat) better type on final stage. It won't do so until level 55. I've called Pokemon bad for relying on level 48-52 evolutions. You're not getting this one.
Larvitar's only normal Ability is Guts (increases Atk if statused). It changes on each evolutionary stage, and despite the line having been introduced before Abilities, its final stage's Ability defines how it's used. It does have a HA (Sand Veil, increases Evasion in a sandstorm), but its HA on final stage is terrible.
Your information is outdated, Lillie.
Yes, she still talks about missing her meeting. I was hoping to see otherwise.
Oh well, that's our options south of this exhausted, let's go have a chat with this lady and the Skulls.
She turned around for five seconds. The only reason she did so at all is because her model is not rigged to be able to turn its neck. Don't argue with the woman with the 920 kilo horse.
...No, he's got darker skin, green hair, and is a boy.
"Familiar terms" implies a certain degree of... let's just say I have the same idea as you.
You do wear those masks to hide your identity, right? Who are you to blame me for not knowing who you are.
An introduction to her, slipped in here...
To be fair, they are brazen not because there are no consequences for their actions, but because they choose to ignore the existence of them. Unfortunately, I have seen idiots who believe themselves immune to more dire consequences.
Sure thing.
Notice how I'm not arguing with the lady who keeps her Mudsdale within arm's reach, Skull. Ah, who am I kidding, they don't copy my behaviour...
Hahahaha... no. Not it is not. They may call themselves legitimate businessmen, but most legitimate businessmen call themselves something else: "businessmen."
..."Exiled to Akala"? Frankly, I'm concerned how this happened. What authority has this power, and how can they get you to respect it?
Oh, by the way, these are the same guys that were involved with Verdant Cavern. It's the same Drowzee, too.
I hope this gives them flashbacks.
What? If I'm going to have to listen to you, I demand that you make sense.
...OK, little concerned your "bosses" might approach me, but also that depends on their skill level. Still, though. Running into them looks pretty likely.
...
...
Hapu who gave you that power
That got the two of them ready to not be anywhere on this island anymore.
Look, I didn't listen the second time, I ain't gonna have any idea what you're talking about this time.
If you're going to threaten me a second time, remind me what actions you don't want me doing and what consequences I can expect. I have long since forgotten why I am not to do whatever it is I am doing.
In SM, they play the sound clip that plays when you escape from a Wild Battle here. USUM keeps the joke about Hapu using 920 kgs of lethal force, but takes out the clip. I have no idea why.
Incidentally, the thing the Skulls were doing that we were stopping them from was "kidnapping this Drifloon". I notice Hapu failed to inform us of this fact.
I also wonder how concerned I should be about that.
I'm sure something will come up where we can continue this relationship.
I remain uncertain how willing I am to be party to it.
At least she's impressed with that.
...You know, my Wishiwashi probably counts for something here.
I've got how many hangers-on now? Just make sure you don't run into the Ultra Recons. They might not understand your style of humour.
...That's a weird comment for a Mudsdale to make, but sure, if I'm passing by anyway...
Hapu hops on her Mudsdale and wanders off. I'm sure that won't attract any attention from the big city folk.
Mostly, I'm amazed they actually rigged something to show her riding the Mudsdale.
Looks like we found our next stop.
Weirdly, there's no location tag on this pan around shot. USUM did remember to add one, at least.
Cool lore detail: Battle Royales are based on the four Totems fighting amongst each other. I'm not sure who would win those, but somehow I get the feeling it's either Melemele's or Akala's.
A lot more tourists around here who give a normal wave, rather than the Alola greeting. Strange, where this is and isn't the case.
Because of the Battle Royales here, a lot of NPCs give useful advice about them. Because of the rules, Protect gets a bit more powerful here.
From the looks of things, the main reasons are "buying in bulk to decrease the per-unit cost", "buying things other stores are selling because they didn't need them" and "cutting into their per-unit profits to win in volume". It doesn't matter if you sell for five times cheaper- if you're selling ten times the unit, you're the more profitable one here.
I think focusing on a Pokemon's strong points is the way to go. Obviously, there is a limit- some Pokemon are so fast that they don't need Speed investment- but there's no reason to send Dartrix into a situation with Ice types when I have a perfectly good K9 in the wings.
Traded Pokemon stuff over here.
Instead of asking about your training technique, this Rising Star instead tells you about a new location to USUM. Intriguing, but I'm here for that Cook that wasn't here earlier.
He'll give you a free IGT for Barboach. Not necessary in the slightest, but it is a quality Barboach, so it could lend a hand for utility purposes.
It is also free, so might as well claim it. A spare Tentacool isn't too much trouble.
No one tell him that Barboach's evolution does not have the ba and bo sounds. "Whica" doesn't sound nearly as good, though.
High praise... for Quagsire. But still, Barboach is the one we've got.
Babo's stats. Comes with a Pecha Berry- an odd choice, but a pretty decent one for the next Totem. Its perfect IV is in HP- and, funnily enough, Ailey's Babo is 0 IV in Atk. It comes with a solid set of Special moves, despite its Nature, though. Really, this Barboach does more to sell the weaknesses of Barboach than it is a strong example of one.
(With that said, Water/Ground is a very nice type for the next Trial.)
In the very first city we find after Lana, we get the weather TMs for sale! It's almost funny, seeing Lana's Trial almost naturally introduce rain and then give us the option to start using it in earnest. The four weather conditions have cropped up in certain Pokemon's Abilities, but as coverage:
- Harsh sunlight is a Fire-type weather that increases the power of Fire-type moves by 50%, and decreases Water-type moves by 50%. It also makes moves that use the power of the sun more effective- and also, confusingly, the move Moonlight. The JP name for Sunny Day is "Clear Sky", that's why. And it also blocks Frozen! At first blush, it sounds very synergistic for Fire types- boosting their power and nerfing their enemies, as well as buffing their coverage moves? But it turns out that you really need to build your team to benefit from Sun. A lot of effects that call for Sunlight to be present don't really combo that well together on a single Pokemon.
- Rain is a Water-type weather that increases the power of Water-type moves by 50%, and decreases Fire-type moves by 50%. It also causes a few storm-themed moves to bypass the accuracy check and always land a hit. In contrast to Sun, Rain has proved very dominant because of the high distribution of Swift Swim. Swift Swimmers are usually Water-type themselves and love to attack with Water-type moves: these facts are not true all at the same time for sun teams. Honestly, I don't really like rain, but I work with it where I must.
- Sandstorm is a Rock-type weather that passively damages all Pokemon that are not Rock, Ground- or Steel-type, as well as any Pokemon that has an Ability that buffs their power in sandstorm or renders them otherwise immune to passive damage. It also increases the Special Defence of Rock types by 50%. If Rain is the winner of the weather wars, Sandstorm is a close second- many Pokemon that love Sand have multiple reasons to love Sand. The lack of an innate power boost and the overall lower quality of Sand users outside Sandstorms is what causes the disparity.
- Hail is an Ice-type weather that passively damages all Pokemon that are not Ice-type, or have an Ability that allows them to bypass the dangers for some reason. It allows Ice's strongest attack, Blizzard, to bypass the accuracy check, as well as being required to use the move Aurora Veil. Hail is the definite loser of the weather wars- generations ebb and flow with how useful it is to make one of the other teams, but Ice-types have a definite quality problem, and one that is only made worse if you try to lean hard into the weather- and since it's passive damage, it's hard to just fit it onto any old team. At least with Sandstorm, you have enough types that you can spread your shared typings around and lower the shared weaknesses you'll face.
Only one weather can be active at a time, with the most recent weather to be set up having priority. For the most part, I won't be using these moves, although I will be able to enjoy the effects of weather in other ways.
...A Slowpoke? Well, I suppose going later in the turn order poses its advantages...
The flowers around the centre feature here fill the function of generating Pink Nectar for your Oricorio.
Huh, random mention of the move Pluck's function. Only four Pokemon in the main story (five in USUM) actually learn Pluck- Dartrix, Trumbeak, Vullaby, and a Pokemon we'll meet later called Archen (Inkay added in USUM). If you didn't pick Rowlet and are playing Sun, Trumbeak is your only choice for Pluck.
There's a Poke Finder spot here for the centre of Royal Avenue. You can get Butterfree in the day, Oricorio at night, and Jigglypuff in USUM. I... feel like something is weird here, and I'm not sure if that's the game or me.
Throw another vote to Mallow being a good cook.
This water fountain is just here to be pretty in SM. They gave a purpose to it in USUM.
Rare Candy in this pile of construction...
And over in here, we find ourselves in the Malasada shop of Akala Island. This one serves Sour Malasadas (liked by Pokemon with +Def Natures) and Dry Malasadas (liked by Pokemon with +Sp. Atk Natures). Odd combination, but OK.
This lady also points out how amusing it is that a shop sells two Malasada that hardly fit the brand one would associate baked goodies with. Wait until she hears about Spicy and Bitter.
Nifty comment about Natures and Flavours here.
...Well, he's not wrong. Some dedication is required to sleep in a restaurant, and he is deeply sleeping enough to not notice his surroundings.
Although whether he's meditating is another question.
...I don't think I've ever heard that name for it.
Matter is matter. There is energy to get out of anything, it all depends on how your metabolism works. Some things are easier to get energy out of than others.
And speaking of litter.
Anyway, before we get to the Battle Royale, it turns out there's a lot of stuff in USUM around here.
This Veteran switched to talking about the Fan Club. That's certainly a claim.
...A what?
I definitely have one of those, and it's always good experience.
Oh, it's... it's one of those problems. Yeah, that's not something I can solve with Usagi and Anna.
Well, you see, there was this great battle against... um... Araqua...
Yeah, Ailey's got nothin'.
This is something we can pick up later, when we've done something particularly courageous. Perhaps something like taking on a really hard boss will do...
Since there's no Akala Meadow, Meredith also needs to find a new home, and she's chosen right next to the Pink Nectar.
Time for Round 2 with our wandering actress.
And of course, she's mastering the new dance style of the Akala Oricorio:
The Pa'u style focuses on gentle movements for storytelling, and slowing down is the part Meredith is focusing on.
"I am in tune with my true self..."
Hint: No Intimidate.
Ugh. I can't wait until you learn Special Dark attacks.
It would be so much cooler if you could actually win the fights you pick before the Illusion shattering is a problem.
Two pretty good moves there. Aqua Tail is a 90 BP, 90% accurate Physical Water move that will probably serve as Chip's best choice for the foreseeable future (assuming I don't miss), while Acid is a 40 BP Special Poison move that has a 10% chance of lowering Special Defence. It's not great, but the effect is decent- and supports Basilissa's job.
Perhaps taking it too slow there.
At least it worked for you.
See you on the next island, Meredith.
You can interact with the fountain in USUM, getting a smaller event.
You trip over your own feet somehow and drop a Protein in.
Yes, you do need a Protein on your person to trigger it.
...How deep is that pond? I can only imagine it as you lying flat on your stomach cleaning- which sounds like an unproductive way of going about that.
Please give it back, I can probably still sell it for Poke later.
I don't want to know if he takes it away if you don't admit to it, but somehow I kinda suspect it does.
That was the sole reward for this honest axe joke. There's comically small prizes for a traditionally rewarding secret test of character, but seriously, at least make it a TM...
I continue to question this whole thing...
This is something I didn't find on my first lap, but in the Malasada shop, there's a clerk who has taken... a creative approach to marketing.
Something to keep in mind about her efforts for the rest of the conversation: She is not an official part of the store. She may have the uniform somehow (I can't tell if she's a slightly insane staff member or a very insane member of the public), but nobody in the store is ready to deal with her as anything more than a nuisance.
Not helping matters is that there's only so much Pyukumuku can do to advertise things. Or anything.
And of course, this is set to a fade to black. Actually eating food is for SwSh.
This goes on a lot longer than this. This update is getting a little longer than I had in mind, though, and the cutting process turned out very awkward when USUM poked its head in.
I can't tell if watching someone else eat Malasadas is good marketing or bad marketing. I'm not convinced anyone else in this conversation is any better informed.
...You did sing it, right? I must've missed it.
She's right about Slurpuff being absent from Alola, but also tourists don't exactly find Pyukumuku appetising.
Hm... what Alolan Pokemon would be the best one to advertise doughnut-like pastries?
No, those are its innards. Not a particularly delicious part of the body there.
Good luck.
...I feel scared now. You better not be transferring those vibes to the staff...
Take it! Take it!
By which I hope you can and you're not just saying that.
Oh come on!
...Actually, I'd prefer the Big Malasada, but still. Rude. And also not proving you can actually do what is advertising. Show me the Mythic Malasada exists.
You are not doing this by hiding the Mythic Malasada behind purchase in the advertisement.
At least they're not here anymore.
The Pokemon Fan Club is a recurring location in the series- it was in every game from the originals to BW, but stopped appearing after that, so its absence in SM wasn't missed. Especially since, as locations go, the Fan Club has traditionally been a pretty mediocre place to go. If they even have something, it's usually only a one-time prize. At least in the case of RBY and GSC, it's a good one-time prize.
He is not the NPC that tests your friendship stat- that's somewhere else.
This guy shares the secondary use of Everstones- even if you say you know about it.
Although I question why your Gyarados was holding an Everstone in the first place. It's a final stage evolution, the Day Care doesn't evolve Pokemon who hit their evolutionary level, and the Nursery doesn't raise EXP anyway.
Yeah... looks like the Fan Club and the Photo Club are sharing members.
The original Fan Club leader loved to talk your ear off about the positives of his favourite Pokemon, Rapidash. They never go back and repeat that, but they do love to allude to it.
Usually by having the guy know he has that problem, but have been told to, and are making effort to, cut back.
After seeing this dialogue, I decided to look into it by checking Usagi's Affection directly. I went to 50 points on her for the 1.2x EXP bonus, and have since taken two photos with her. Her Affection is now 70. Looks like the Photo Club is worth Affection! But yes, that's Affection, not Friendship.
Let's Go rolled Friendship and Affection into the same stat, although whether this was a good thing or not comes down to personal preference- people who didn't want Affection dislike this, and it makes Eevee even more of a nightmare than usual when it comes to some of its evolutions.
The Fan Club president will issue a reward if you happen to have a Pokemon at the maximum Affection of 255. I would not recommend going out of your way for this now, but we are soon going to have an easy way of hitting that.
That's nice. I'll show you a real "proper Pokemon fan", though.
Besides, the reward is a photo frame for the Photo Club. Pass.
We're finally down with this side of Royal Avenue for USUM, it's time to actually go check out the Battle Royale Dome.
And it looks like Gladion's beat us to it. It's not playing his theme or Skull's, though.
...Sounds like Gladion is doing this as some kind of self-harm, or at least something that won't help him with whatever his issues are. At least he recognises it, even if that's doing absolutely nothing to stop him doing it.
...Seriously, Rotom? It's your job to comment on the existence of Gladion being Gladion. You're barely even good at the job you think you have.
At least USUM knows what Rotom's doing
...That's... just something I'm going to ignore as best I can.
Battle Royals are a new battling style introduced to SM, and there's almost nothing in the game supporting it. All of them happen in here.
And of course, most of the NPCs in here try to give you the dev's pointers on how to make a splash here. Because of the rules, it does reward different Pokemon to Singles and Doubles.
True, actually. Moves that can hit more than one target traditionally take a 25% power cut if they are doing so, but in Battle Royals, the power cut is bumped up to 50%. Presumably they don't want you clicking Earthquake to victory, but I honestly thought she was just talking about the normal 25% cut.
This is referring to the EV mechanic- Murphy has not yet obtained the maximum 510 EVs it can get, and this NPC will not react until he has done so.
Yeah. This kid's coming here often.
In USUM, he'll also tell you the Masked Royal usually challenges Master Rank Battle Royal people. We're not one of those.
Yeah, there's a reason I don't really like those kinds of games. Not my thing, mainly.
I'm sorry, I can't think of "Done in" without thinking of the Platinum glitch... I think they were just going for the rhyme, though.
I would not be surprised.
Although Gladion himself is present in front of the desk as an NPC, trying to get close triggers this cutscene that starts up a Battle Royal and thus gets rid of him.
Note: We have started a Battle Royal now. You will only be allowed your lead Pokemon, so choose it now.
As we approach, we are greeted by this shirtless fellow with a wrestling mask. He kinda looks like he might be getting into the ring himself.
And he kinda sounds a bit like... actually, wait a sec...
I didn't actually catch this on my first playthrough, so this dialogue option was what told me, but yes, the Masked Royal is in fact Professor Kukui in a mask. This is just something he does in the course of his day-to-day life, so the fact nobody has mentioned it to us is less "it's a big secret" and more "we all know it, but we like to let Kukui pretend we don't."
Because he will insist otherwise.
Because he's Kukui, he's going to teach us Battle Royals, but because he's the Masked Royal, this is not going to make sense to anyone watching.
The best part about this joke is that this is totally how Kukui normally is. It looks exactly like the shenanigans of a shirtless guy in a mask, but it's not Kukui playing up a character- it's Kukui in the job that his personality is better suited to.
Also, yes, Battle Royals are not "last man standing", but "when one team faints, the person who landed the most KOs is declared winner". This didn't exactly make it the most popular format, but considering the Pokemon brand takes an overall unfavourable view of strategies that facilitate stalling, this was probably for the best.
Bethany, standing there: "...Kukui, we need to talk."
Too late, already picked Murphy.
For our first Battle Royal, we get three characters in the four seats- Hau showed up out of nowhere to volunteer, and the Royal is dragging Gladion in because I have no idea. I'm not entirely convinced Kukui knows either.
And Kukui has another of his dramatic speeches as he leads the way in.
It's actually kinda funny, how everyone files in based on their personalities and locations in the room. Kukui goes first, and then us. Gladion reluctantly crawls in, and Hau runs in as fast as possible- but because he was standing at the furthest point from the entrance, manages to make it in after Gladion. I like how he's the last one in- despite his speed, his ability to show up late is also part of what makes him Hau.
The Battle Royal gets this cool panning shot on start, showing three corners of the ring with their giant Pokemon overlooking the field. Charizard in red, Gyarados in blue, Tyranitar in green, and... not showing yellow before jumping to the sendouts. You can sorta see it in other camera shots, but it's a Haxorus.
Gyarados is the only one of these four in the Alola Pokedex. Tyranitar was added for USUM, Haxorus is available by Island Scan in both games, and Charizard is both still in Alolan culture anyway as well as being available by Island Scan in USUM.
You don't often get to see Bethany sending a Pokemon out from the front. That smile is adorable.
Aside from now being level 19, Hau's Brionne is the same as it was in Paniola Town... except the fact it now has a 31 HP IV. Where did you get that?
I mean exactly the same- watch out for that Normalium Z it still has. No Waterium Z- they won't switch to that until Hau's done all three Trials and can have Torracat and Dartrix use their STAB Z-Moves too.
The Royal sends out a very level-appropriate Rockruff for us, knowing the moves Rock Throw, Bite and Protect. It has 15 IVs flat, no EVs or Nature, and overall seems like the weak link here. Except he's the one that knows Protect.
30 IVs, built like a monster, you know what this guy can do. Sure, he's not scary on offense, but he is not being the first person to go down here. No, the weak link is Hau.
There's even a boxing bell chime at the start of the match. Neat how Murphy just happens to be level 19- that won't be enforced, everyone else is level 19 regardless (level 20 in USUM). Those 1s on the boxing gloves are position indicators- we're all tied at the start of Turn 1, since we all have the same amount of damage (zero).
As a Facility, we cannot use the Bag, but the game is more or less set up like a Doubles match, except your Doubles Partner is also your opponent (with all the special rules that are required to make this work).
Since I'm showing off the bottom screen, I should also show off a few rules that come up in Doubles and S.O.S. I've been taking for granted. After selecting your move, you will get a second screen showing which move you intend to point your attack at- and if the move is spread damage, like Bulldoze here, the cursor will point at all targets simultaneously. You are allowed to select an invalid position, but this will either waste your turn (your empty partner slot in S.O.S. Battles) or switch over to a valid target automatically (an empty opponent's slot in a Doubles or S.O.S.)
Also while I'm here- the "this move is super effective" marker will show the most favourable matchup on page 1, and when you get to this screen, it will show you the effectiveness of your current move against each opponent individually. If you have not seen an opponent before, its effectiveness won't turn up (so, say, against Rufflet/Vullaby, I don't see that Fairy moves are SE at all because I've only Seen Rufflet before in Sun, and Rufflet isn't weak to Fairy).
Brionne is suddenly a pain to beat in the Battle Royal. Next turn that Rockruff doesn't Protect, Hau's won here. Because I've favoured Popplio so heavily, I've only ever really seen Torracat in this before, and didn't realise Brionne's weird fondness for Aqua Jet suddenly gave it utility.
That is a huge help, Gladion. Since we know Rockruff isn't Protecting and also that my next move is going to hit Rockruff, I've won this.
...
...
What.
So remember what I said about "Hau's won this next turn?" Yeah, turns out Hau's an idiot and doesn't realise the only person who can win this is the person who lands a KO.
Unfortunately, Gladion does. Bulldoze for Speed drops seemed like a good idea, but that kinda depended on Rockruff doing the occasional Protect like he's normally supposed to.
OK, I get it, you didn't want me winning.
They have this little symbol that shows up when a KO happens, but I mistimed the shot in Sun, so forgive me for using the shot I got in Ultra Moon- in that file, Dartrix was the one to go down, which is why the camera is pointing as if the yellow corner fainted and not the red corner.
The battle continues until the end of the turn before the lack of one of the competitors resolves the round, so Murphy gets a Bulldoze. All of a sudden, I am realising this was a really bad idea all around.
This is not the path to victory.
I didn't think to show everyone's Battle Royal strategies, but I did catch Ailey's. She went for the tried and true standby- bring the Pokemon that looks like it belongs in a ring like this.
See? Rockruff does know it!
Hawkeye is SE on Dartrix, and resists Grass and Dark moves. It would be concerned about Rockruff's Rock Throw and Dartrix's Pluck, but those two are disincentivised from using those moves. Not sure why Null didn't Tackle, though.
Since I missed this in SM, too, here's the shot of the boxing gloves showing positions. It only seems to be counting HP, though, and since Hawkeye has a lower HP than Null, the game things Hawkeye is coming third. It does not take into account the battle's standing:
That I will go first next turn, too, and I have every reason to use Aerial Ace on Dartrix again. Including the fact that it's the only thing on the field that's SE on me.
Wonderful overtime, boys.
Once everyone leaves, they all stand on these boxing gloves on the outside. Neatly, in the positions they were in in the ring. I'm kinda surprised we were green, though- normally, the player is the red one, or occasionally the blue. I don't think I've ever seen "player = green" before.
Of course, all this worrying over victory was for naught, because there is no change in outcome for victory or defeat here. There have been plenty of battles thus far that have the same clause (Hau battles, in particular, do not require you to win to proceed), but this is the first time where victory doesn't even provide us with tangible proof (if we win a battle with Hau, we are awarded EXP and money, neither of which is on offer here).
This is a pretty unlikely one. Everyone in a Royal knows that the best way to win is to take out the small fry rather than to team up- you don't get partial credit for having done the most damage.
Completing the Battle Royal has the next Captain show up for an early appearance.
Come to think of it, there's nothing forcing you to do a Royal in any of the content I found, I wonder what the roadblock is betwen the next Trial and here.
With that said, now our next plot objective is to complete the Fire Trial. There's nothing left in our way.
Kukui drops the act and turns to ask us about our progress. He has either forgotten or doesn't care that he publicly shouldn't know us.
Of all the questions you could've asked, Hau. He doesn't even ask how he knows our names- although presumably, those came up during the Royal.
Hau answers his own question to his satisfaction and fails to interrogate further. I remain uncertain whether Hau knows the Royal is Kukui- he clearly doesn't care.
Hau then turns to ask Mr Grumpy "I must get stronger no matter what" why he might possibly want to participate in a battle format where you fight three Pokemon at once.
I dunno, Hau, I can't think of any possible reason why the idea appeals to Gladion.
Well, I can see why it's unhealthy for him. This is a kid who has learned that he cannot trust anybody for help- something Team Skull is happy to reiterate for him- and of course he appreciates possibly the only non-Singles battle format where no side has teammates.
Whether he knows that's why it's unhealthy is another matter. Probably not on a conscious level.
He walks off to sulk some more, and Hau has a frown on his face for only a few moments.
Before immediately starting to mock the guy. A bit of a turnaround compared to being slightly scared of him on Route 5, but hardly the most polite way of looking at him.
I have the same diagnosis, but he has bigger problems than "deliberately turning this down".
In USUM, Hau has observed some of Gladion's tendencies, and asks him a few more direct questions when he needles him.
Gladion changes his reasoning for why he enjoys Royals from "I have to remind myself I'm all alone" to "I must get stronger because I'm useless otherwise". I feel this suits his character and backstory better, although there is one downside to Gladion getting this change:
Hau has exhausted his capacity to make valid observations, and completely ignores the more blatant cry for help in his USUM reasoning to make the same slightly tone-deaf response he had in SM, managing to come off as even more of an idiot.
Well, good for you, Hau. I'm going to learn how to therapy.
...Goddammit, I'm going into "I can fix him" mode, aren't I?
Hau sticks around the Battle Royal Dome for a while, presumably participating in more Royals.
We cannot claim the same. Remember how I was under the mistaken impression that the Battle Buffet was scaled to endgame? That didn't come from nowhere: The Battle Royal Dome may be open to us now, but all Pokemon that can be randomly selected to appear in the Dome are level 50, fully evolved, with reasonable access to STAB, coverage and/or statuses for their species, have 252 EVs in two stats, useful Natures, and hold items. The worst part is, there are two possible sets for every participating Pokemon, so even if taking on three such Pokemon was something you could be expected to do at level 20, you don't even get the information advantage.
The prize counter, however, is available. Not being the winner in a Normal-Rank Battle Royal awards 1 BP, so the prizes on offer are, strictly speaking, available to SM as well as USUM (remember, Beach Points are of equal value to Battle Points and both Beach shops and Battle Facility shops accept both currencies).
There is nothing in the entire history of Pokemon that sounds like a worse use of time to me.
Furthest right counter sells a variety of "useful" held items, although how useful they are depends on your playstyle. Of course, we have had access to a handful throughout the story, although this will allow us to get duplicates.
- Bright Powder: Reduces accuracy of opponent's moves by 10 percentage points. Already got one.
- Quick Claw: Gives a 20% chance of going first in your priority bracket. Already got one.
- Soothe Bell: Increases all friendship gains by 50%. Already got one.
- Scope Lens: Increases critical hit chance by one stage. Already got one.
- Leftovers: Passively heals the holder for 1/16 HP every turn. If you didn't know they're guaranteeed from Munchlax, this would be the only reasonable source.
- Shell Bell: Heals the holder for 1/8 the damage they do when landing an attack. Already got one.
- Muscle Band: Increases the power of physical moves by 10%. We'll get one later in both games, although from different sources.
- Wise Glasses: Increases the power of special moves by 10%. USUM's got one, but SM is left in the lurch.
- Expert Belt: Increases the power of super-effective moves by 20%. Already got one.
- Zoom Lens: Raises the user's accuracy by 20% against an opponent that has already used a move in that turn. Available for free later only to USUM players.
- Metronome: Raises the user's power by 20% every turn they use the same move consecutively, up to 100%. The chain resets if the move fails for some reason. Available for free later.
- Destiny Knot: If the holder is infatuated, the Pokemon responsible will be infatutated too. Also has a purpose for breeding, although only the highest-level breeders really need it. Available for free later only to USUM players.
- Icy/Smooth/Heat/Damp Rocks: Extend the length of weather from five turns to eight. All are available for free later.
- Float Stone: Halves the weight of the holder (cannot go lower than 0.1 kg). Available for free later to USUM players, although SM players can get free ones randomly from a somewhat reliable method.
- Binding Band: Increases the passive damage of the Bound status (Wrap, Clamp, Fire Spin, Sand Tomb, etc) to 1/6 damage a turn. Available only here.
Fortunately, it looks like there's nothing that demands purchase.
The counter in the middle-left sells these curious items. These are the Power Items, and starting in this game, they increase the holder's EVs in the relevant stat by 8 every time they gain EXP in a battle. This is an extremely effective way to gain EVs, and the premier way of preparing for facilities like these. So of course they're normally locked behind playing in them. USUM added free copies of each, but only two of them are available in the main story, and those are also pretty late. For reference, the latest item available from the far right is the Destiny Knot. Ailey can't get her first Power item until after that.
Far-left sells the usual vitamins and Rare Candies, as well as this useful item added in XY. Available only here, it is a one-use item that can change a Pokemon's Ability from one slot to the other. It can not be used to change a Pokemon in or out of their Hidden Ability, even if they only have one normal and one HA (so no rules lawyering "but it only has two Abilities!"). Since I'm not letting myself get stuck with RNG's whims for whether I get the Ability I want, I'll avoid needing this, but it can be useful in the right circumstances...
...Like Bouncee, that is an awful reason to suddenly realise grinding 100 losses in the Battle Royal Dome might actually have a valid use case. Don't bother, Bounsweet's available in the wild not too much later, but dammit you made an argument...
Next time: What I thought was an equal amount of content before the Fire Trial.
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