So long, Mr. Stoutland. May you have been deprived of all the litter items you picked up for blocking a public street so long.
Hano Grand Resort is its own (two) separate areas, but mostly it's just a really big place to keep NPCs. There's also one new Pokemon and several Trainers and events, which why this update has plenty of content.
...Hm, I mean, you've already been everywhere on Alola? On the other hand, perspective flips that come with experience...
...Is this one a staff Pelipper or a wild one?
...On second thought, I don't know which one I'd rather it were.
Oh, wow, Mum's asking the same question. Now might be a good time to usher the kids along inside, though...
...Typically, a place with architectural differences was constructed on by multiple settlers at a time. Also, I'm amazed how little emphasis is being put on what the Alolans, themselves, are adding to the pot.
There's an event added here in USUM that... kinda comes out of left field for me, really. There'll be a ton of USUM stuff scattered about here, but this one's the one that most baffles me.
We have a wedding attended entirely by children...
For two Pikachu.
Least they could've done is used the Cosplay Pikachu in a dress.
Even thinking further about how this is likely working, I'm not sure if the Pikachu are in on it or not. All I can tell is that they're following cues.
The thing that makes most sense to me is that the kids are playing "wedding", which explains some of the weird atmosphere while at the same time just making the whole thing weirder.
Considering "chu" is the Japanese equivalent to "smooch" in an onomatopoeic sense, I wonder if this entire bit was a setup for this joke.
And off they go to lay a Pichu Egg.
I mean, real weddings are basically just a bunch of standing around watching a boring ceremony. There's a reason most fictional portrayals take a hacksaw to the proceedings.
Wedding favours, or bomboniere (bomboniera is the singular, and that's why we don't use that term much) are small gifts given out to every guest for attending a wedding. They used to be snacks, but now they can be anything. Much like real favours, this incense is going to be collecting dust. Particularly since Ailey cannot acquire a Roselia without trading.
This is the only Incense available as a random freebie item in any game between BW and SwSh. The weirdness of the scene is followed up by a weird-by-Pokemon-standards mechanical decision.
I missed the first line, sadly, but he mentions Kukui and Burnet's wedding in it. The fact Rotom has a reaction to the scene just makes it even weirder, really. Let's move on to a Pikachu that actually has something cool about its implementation.
Say hello to a Pikachu celebrity. The rat has his own butler.
In SM, this is as far as the joke goes.
In USUM, they add an event where he gets hassled by the paparazzi.
The scene would fit right in with the things we've seen thus far had this Pikachu instead been, say, the Kalos Champion Diantha, but the fact that the celebrity this woman is harassing is a literal Pikachu adds a dimension that pushes the joke over the edge.
The butler trots out the old standby. The reporter has about five seconds to leave before what she does starts encroaching on territory where the lawyers get involved.
We got one that doesn't take the hint.
I'll take this one.
Once again, the generic Office Worker design is used for something that isn't an Office Worker.
This means that there are an equal number of characters-using-this-design to actual female Office Workers in the game.
Rita's Miltank runs flat 20 IVs, but has no further attention. At this level, Body Slam, Bide, Rollout, and Milk Drink.
It seems the Whitney nostalgia fight wasn't removed, it was bumped ahead. Body Slam might actually be worse than Stomp, since it's higher BP and has a chance of paralysis, not just flinch.
Fortunately, Hawkeye has things covered. Miltank is a lot less scary if you have a good Fighting type. Problem with Johto is that they're hard to come by and hard to train up once you realise you need one.
No.
And a nice little misuse of "freedom of the press" on the way out. Freedom of the press is the ability of a news source to publish any news it gets its hands on without the government shutting them down. This is not the authority of the press to get special privileges in obtaining its news.
...I'm not 100% convinced journalists have special privileges on this front. The way journalism works funnels stories that people want spread to the front of the queue, and this means most news sources provide their information to the journalist and not vice versa.
Arguably, this is the ideal distribution for news, since stories that people do not wish to be reported on simply aren't offered. The problem with reporting is that "news people want" and "news people need" is not the same thing. This applies both to the consumers (who don't necessarily know what they should be scrutinising) and the subjects (who may be keeping a story quiet because it harms them if the public is made aware).
Spying on celebrities is high demand, low value. It's well within Chuuster's rights to decline, and well within Rita's duties to accept his declination.
No worries, Chuuster. Free EXP.
Remember how USUM lost the Pikanium Z from Konikoni? It just got moved here. Extra little effort and you can't use it for Olivia, but frankly, this isn't a move you're putting in your toolkit for utility.
I'll take your word for it.
This guy will also do the Volt Tackle tutor deal.
...Any excuse to make a reference to battling strategies, I guess?
This is a real position, and it means exactly what it sounds like it means. The bell captain is the title of the person whose job it is to co-ordinate the bellhops to ensure the most optimal experience for the guests.
I was surprised too.
Off to the east of Hano Grand Resort is its personal beach. Presumably for hotel guests, but nothing's stopping me from being here.
Oh, and this guy.
Strangely, they took him out in USUM.
First of all, two Zygarde Cells on the beach here. One of them's Day-only, the counterpart to the one in Konikoni City.
Out of spite, the first thing I did after talking to the Stoutland guy was dig up every single hidden item. Not one jewel in the pack, but at least he doesn't get the credit.
...So are you the lifeguard, or are you just some guy?
And there are a lot of them for some freebie Water EXP.
This is a minigame you can play with a pretty nifty place in the lore, but I'll get to it once I'm done with the beach.
The black-bikini-Swimmer standing up gives you a freebie Soda Pop. She's moved to the north beach in USUM, but her dialogue is identical.
...Uh, why was that on the table? Probably a difference in flavour, maybe...
The north side of the beach is littered with little bursts of sand are visible encounters. At a 70% chance, you can find Staryu, which is better odds than you got for them on Route 7. They hide a 30% chance at an actually new encounter found only here, though.
This was literally in the Trainer's School.
Ah, there we go. Odds are a little better in SM, though- in USUM, they have something else up here, and I usually only get two visible encounters at a time to spawn.
Sandygast (Ultra Moon): If you build sand mounds when you're playing, destroy them before you go home, or they may get possessed and become Sandygast.
Got one! Sandygast is a living sandcastle introduced in the Alola games, being a Ground/Ghost type that leans into a high Defence, high Sp. Atk and low Speed built, similar to what Gorebyss has. It's Special bulk is respectable, but unfortunately, it's typing means that most of its weaknesses will be targeting it. Still, though, Ground and Ghost are both strong offensive typings, and the one I used worked well for me in my first run. Sadly, Bethany will be passing on it for Murphy (even though she does have a relatively limited Ghost selection), but Noah'll pick it up. I liked it too much to pass on entirely.
Sandygast's only Ability is its signature, Water Compaction. This gives it +2 Defence if it is ever hit by a Water-type attack, but it will still take the full damage of such a move. That second clause kinda kills the utility of it- Sandygast must take this Water move, survive, get rid of whatever just hit him, and then have enough HP left to make use of that +2 Def to take further hits. It has Giga Drain, which is probably the best move on paper to do the job, but that depends on Giga Drain working as intended. Its HA is Sand Veil (increases evasion in sandstorm), which is a little boring, but plays to its narrative and mechanical strengths.
In USUM, there is a Sandygast on this beach to play with, and this is probably the most important part of the entire "play with" feature.
If you play with a Pokemon- fortunately, you can do it with just one left turn- you can get it to start approaching you when you walk in its vicinity.
And this Sandygast is sitting on a Totem Sticker.
This is so creative considering how the rest of the mechanic seems mostly tacked on and manages to overstay its welcome in ten seconds.
He has managed to sell this so poorly, but that's actually part of the whole thing. I remember hearing this is based on a real thing that Pyukumuku's real-life equivalent gets up to, but in the world of Pokemon, this is important for all involved.
First of all, the problem: Pyukumuku settle themselves in place and find themselves on the beach for reasons. As marine animals, they belong in the water, and cannot survive effectively on land. To my understanding, the most common way of them getting into this situation is them not planning for the effects of tides.
There are two main problems with this: Pyukumuku itself suffers for being on land, and tourists do not like dealing with Pyukumuku on a personal or practical level while in a relaxing island resort.
What's one to do? Hire people that actually like dealing with Pyukumuku's slimy membrane to throw them back into the sea, where they can find themselves a much less unpleasant home.
Once a day, you can perform a Pyukumuku chucking for cash, and will be tasked with sweeping the beach for a set number.
I usually see 6, but I'm not sure if that number changes. Note that the number you get here will always be accurate.
Despite pointing out that the main way Pyukumuku chucking becomes a factor is a mix of tides and Pyukumuku's natural locomotion, they can find themselves all the way up the back here.
To the seas with you!
I believe it's RNG, but this is where I found my Pyukumuku with Bethany today, for a comparison's view.
Ailey found them in these places. I'm not sure if it was my monitor's settings at the time, but I had a horrible time finding them during night hours. If you're playing Moon, use these shots to give you an idea of whether you should be planning Pyukumuku chucking
Fortunately, you will get a pop-up message telling you that you've found each one after the last one. Little more than that, though.
Excellent. Again, for all concerned.
Especially me. Yes, that paycheck stays exactly where it is. I won't be doing this, but if you wanted to, nothing is stopping you from coming back daily for 20K a pop. Poke Pelago mining is more convenient for keeping me wealthy while not requiring backtracking to and fro.
Famous enough to have merchandise, but weird enough that it's mostly for the local's benefit. That's Pyukumuku in a nutshell.
I'm keeping your card on hand, but I wouldn't count on it.
In USUM, an event spawns with a Pyukumuku after you've done at least one session of Pyukumuku chucking.
Don't worry, little guy. Kneels down.
Common occurrence when you're a marine animal stuck on land.
But no, apparently this is a love story. Like most fish, sea cucumbers don't procreate the same way terrestrial life does, but spray their sexual organs into the sea and hope for the best. Some species of sea cucumber do practice internal gestation, and also male and female does (for the most part) exist in the species, but also most animals aren't too fussed about the whole "love" thing.
I presume the reason doing Pyukumuku chucking is a prerequisite so this joke can land, but also, uh... how is this my fault? If anything, why didn't Mukeo get chucked right after? The whole "Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy" angle is one thing, but why does this romance have to happen on land? I'm not even 100% convinced any species of sea cucumber can fertilise on land!
(Although presumably Pyukumuku can, considering it runs on the same breeding system as the rest of the Dex.)
How have you not been chucked already? It's like somebody wants it to die!
...
...
Ma'am, get help. Now.
Unlike Rita earlier, this sidequest just doesn't work if you substitute in a Pokemon instead of a human.
"This one?" You mean there were more of them?
Whatever, they got their reunion. Now chuck them both at once!
...You continue to have a profound lack of understanding of Pyukumuku chucking, lady.
Hm... 4K, or 20K...
Never mind, someone else got there first.
The worst part is, you don't even chuck him after her. No idea why the Youngster just passed him by.
Now then, in the water...
There are six Trainers in both SM and USUM. They're all Swimmers in SM, but one of them got replaced in USUM. The following is not chronological order, but it is starting from the south end and working upwards.
I can see how you chose yours.
This Pyukumuku was a pain to take down for all four files, but I don't think it has any investment, Pyukumuku's just like that. At level 25, its set is Safeguard, Counter, Purify and Curse, with Purify being its signature move. If you have a non-volatile status ailment, it will cure it and then heal itself for 50% of its max HP. So, don't use Rest. You won't need it anyway.
Do all of you have to say something like that?
Her post-battle dialogue seems entirely unrelated, though.
She was guarding an Antidote, the most plain of all litter items.
I prefer not spending most of my energy treading water.
...The metaphorical way, not the literal way. Although I see you're doing that too.
Another Gyarados, same old technique.
...Although it looks like Intimidate stopped that Volt Tackle from oneshotting. Whoops. Guess that's what happens when you give -Atk to something that's suddenly using its Atk stat.
OK, I can finish you with another Volt Tackle, but also that's going to finish me.
Snaggletooth finishes the job.
...After taking the basic 40 BP Dragon type move, Twister. You don't normally see any Dragon types using this at a point in the game where it's a move they want (frankly, it's also missing from a lot of Dragon type's sets), Dragon is a poor offensive type on its own merits (it's resisted only by Steel and Fairy, but only SE on other Dragons), and even if Gyarados wanted it for coverage, it's Special, not Physical. It does have a flinch chance, though.
At least we got a male one making this joke.
He had a better item under the ocean nearby.
No bolder than any other, surely.
Finneon and Shellder in SM, Goldeen and Staryu in USUM.
All in all, not one likely to take too much in the way of effort.
...The real reason Water routes might be a bit meh may not just be the Swimmers having nothing but Waters, but also nothing but Water jokes. I remember some older ones having a few better laughs, but few and far between even there...
That cursed of all comboes, Wingull and Barboach. It's Red Basculin and Poliwhirl instead in USUM, being the place to see both of them for your Pokedex.
Incidentally, this fight was the one that got Lord Huggington to achieve his evolution to Bewear. Now we are the one with an Alolan hazard at our beck and call. Kneel, mortals!
...No. It's not a move you'd benefit from. Although I know saying that is just going to cause you to try it anyway.
...Which of us in the good mood, again?
There's the Dark-type 20% item. Looks like somebody had their sunglasses stolen by a Wingull. And they thought the Pyukumuku were the pests.
...Honestly, if you've gotta fill so many Swimmer jokes, why would you put swimmer jokes on a major character?
Psyduck in SM, Pelipper in USUM.
Yeah, I'm looking for an opponent with a bit more meat to them than someone who prefers to train their body.
This guy's the Swimmer who lost out on being in USUM.
He had a Wishiwashi. Managed to finish this one while it was still in Schooling.
I'd certainly appreciate it, but I'm also happy to finish off a Wishiwashi so much more quickly than it took me to take on Lana's way back when. Those Trainers with former boss fights in their set are always treats to find yourself facing.
The new guy in USUM is someone using a Mankey while standing precariously on a rock. This is not a pasttime one can really recommend- those things are slippery, waves keep them regularly wet. Even for a Black Belt, I don't think it's something you want to catch yourself doing unless you want one-way ticket to slipping, getting a concussion, and drowning.
The atmosphere, maybe.
I'm not sure if he's got post-battle dialogue: I couldn't find where you need to stand to trigger it. I hope he doesn't fall off, though...
If you go to the far north, past all the Trainers, you can find some visible encounters guarding an item this time.
They're always Tentacool. Sadly, nothing new in the water here.
Although 15K is hardly anything to scoff at.
The Hotel itself has a lot of stuff to bump into, and almost as much USUM stuff to distract us.
There's also four NPCs on our way in. A mixture of actual dialogue and what seem more like "I say this to everyone" sayings. This one falls into the latter category.
Aww, that one's charming, though.
This one feels like it's part of a song. Not sure if an original one or an old Hawai'ian classic. It's not Oe, at least.
As soon as you walk into the hotel, you're dragged into a cutscene to talk to the Aether dweeb. As you might recall, we got tasked with meeting him in Akala Outskirts, and just now have had the chance to get here.
...I dunno, I think I preferred "Aether dweeb". A name is nice, too.
Our ultimate destination is none other than the Aether Foundation's headquarters itself, Aether Paradise.
Fortunately, Faba is the kind of man who'll talk our ear off about the place for me.
Aether Paradise is, in some ways, the "fifth Island" of Alola. It is also relatively new, so how the Alolans feel about the whole thing is probably another matter (and I'm sure anybody who's a fan of the smaller Hawai'ian Islands is probably chafing at the idea of an artificial "fifth Island").
I'm not sure he's trying to prove he's being truthful by following through on his promise, or he's being truthful about what's on Aether Paradise. If it's the latter, that's incredibly suspicious.
About that, Faba...
I was planning on exploring the Resort, not the Paradise.
Well, someone is clearly motivated by things other than altruism. Don't think you're making a good impression on me, either.
Although it is indeed a But Thou Must question, and we must be dragged to the Paradise even if it is by kicking and screaming, declining Faba's question does kick you out of the conversation and allow you to explore the Resort at your leisure. In fact, you have to click on him to get back into the conversation!
We will not be talking to, or about, Faba for the rest of the update.
Well, that went from 20 to 70 in a hurry. At least this isn't an objectifying thought, although the phrasing is a thing.
Always the best way of finding new favourites: Actually seeing what the hype behind these other strategies is in practice.
Not even USUM gave her anything to do. It's kinda hilarious, actually. It makes it seem like she's trying to invoke the whole "never say it's boring" clause and failing.
This is related to possible one of the weirdest parts of Hano Grand Resort, and the plot in general, and it's something we've encountered already.
The game makes absolutely zero use of that golf course behind the Hano Resort. The presence of the Golfer Trainer Class, as well as mention of this character Kahili, suggest that golf would be something that has a degree of importance in the region- at the very least, a golf course we could visit. This is not in the final game, although if the game had the time it needed to realise it, I have to wonder how Pokemon would do a golf minigame in a main series game. Or hell, how it would even do it in a dedicated spinoff.
What I'm saying is, I want to see a Poliwrath with a golf club.
Kahili's dad seems pretty uninteresting. Maybe once we encounter Kahili later, then.
These hotel recommendations continue to come off the wall, sometimes.
A scent that literally attracts a harem? I can see how this would sell, but also I hope you're not actually killing anything testing the thing.
This NPC is mostly just flavour, but he does have something to offer.
If you show him a Pokemon that has been raised by 30 levels since it was obtained, he will give it a Footprint Ribbon in recognition of how long it has been at your side. The Footprint Ribbon was originally given by Dr. Footstep of the Sinnoh Ribbon in recognition of the standard Friendship stat, but they repurposed it for this.
...I don't think there's a Ribbon for just standard Friendship anymore? I know there's one for Affection...
This guy is another one of those "I'm here to help accommodate some of the baggage Pokemon has" NPCs.
He teaches the moves Secret Sword to Keldeo and Relic Song to Meloetta. Simply knowing the move Secret Sword will transform Keldeo into its Resolute Form (completely cosmetic), while using the move Relic Song in battle changes Aria Forme Meloetta into its Pirouette Forme, changing its type and stats.
Both Keldeo and Meloetta have been added to SwSh and SV, respectively, as normal (albeit DLC) encounters. When caught in these games, Secret Sword and Relic Song have been turned into moves learned in their natural movepool.
Getting too close to this situation in the west side of the lobby starts up a scene.
You could tee up in Akala and get a hole in one on Melemele! I think.
No one mention the possibility of missing.
It kinda enunciates, but it's a little hard to tell. Still, though, a battle's a battle.
And hiring someone is no excuse for abusing them.
Golfer Maile on Route 8 is the only female Golfer in the game, but these two help make up the numbers. Technicalities are technicalities, and it's a little hard to take the class seriously when they are literally redesigned Beauties.
They use Oricorios Pom-Pom and Pa'u in both games, filling the Flying type theming they picked up in USUM even back here. Although less so "Flying types that could be redesigned into golf balls".
As long as you have an Ice or a Rock type, you're pretty good here. Something Ghost or Dark to hit Pa'u on its other weakness is good too. USUM especially might like to bring Electroweb or Icy Wind.
Sadly, Accelerock was not a oneshot, although it is cool to see K9 in full force.
Air Cutter to hit both of us at once has... not been kind. I think this might've been both of them doing it...
Bite and Accelerock finish things in a hurry.
No mystery about it.
In the other files, they actually showed off their other trick: Dancer! Remember Oricorio's signature Ability? These ones can spam Feather Dance to lower one target's Atk power to -4 in one go, although they foolishly tend to double-up on it and attempt four Feather Dances on the same target.
They're a bit hit-or-miss when it comes to aiming. Poor Ray got hit with that on something that actually used physical attacks, while Noah saw them fruitlessly attempting to reduce the physical attack power of a special attacker, leaving the physical attacker to go unchecked.
If you want an idea of what -6 can do to an attacker, here you go. I still won this turn (Agnes has Icy Wind, which hits both of them), but still.
It's called "sometimes, there's a time and a place".
With them chased off, we see the outcome of butting our nose into something that merely looked like sexual harassment:
Turns out the guy was into it.
I'm not sure what you expected, doing it in a public place. Some of us take this sort of thing seriously. Although yes, sadly not all of us.
...Mate, I think that was the least of my worries here. The behaviour was unacceptable if your discomfort was genuine no matter what you are.
...I... don't fully get what's going on, but I think the idea is that Hano rents out Machamp caddies for golfers, with the profits going to the hotel, and this guy is trying to funnel some of that cash into his own pocket? I dunno... I'm still trying to figure out who's doing what, and who's really doing what here. All other factors being equal, the fact I scared the girls off instead of them also being here defending themselves suggests to me that this wasn't a situation all parties had an equal understanding of regardless. Somebody is getting scammed here, and I get the feeling it's more than just the hotel...
I maintain it was probably for the best I put a stop to things here. Although I do worry the person who feels the least hurt is the hotel...
He at least recognises that our attempted good deed was in good faith, and rewards that part of the procedure so we don't decide to ignore him next time- it could be warranted!
Attract is a Normal Status move, and the way to find yourself inflicted with the infatuation status. If a gendered Pokemon uses this on a Pokemon of the opposite gender, they will be inflicted with Infatuate, preventing them from acting 50% of the time. This status isn't reliable enough to count on even before the fact that it only works on less than 50% of your targets. Fortunately, it doesn't rely on Egg Group compatibility, or it might as well not even exist. If you know what gender you want to hit, it's great. Most of the time, that is not the case.
Well, I guess I won't, then.
Up here, we have a Veteran who is... rather full of himself, honestly. I am sorry, sir, you are not Arceus's gift to audio.
...Your what now?
Yeah, I'm not sure we're going to see eye to eye on this one either.
Is that what we're going with, then? I always found too loud an ambient noise to get in the way of composing my thoughts.
My knowledge of music is shallow, and my knowledge of its artists even less so. I wouldn't know your face from your ass even if I have heard your music.
It's called "I listen to music, I don't look at it."
...
...
You know, I love that response, actually.
Sadly, the response is nowhere near as funny.
The name "Future" has been used before, on a Psychic Trainer class in both BW and B2W2. Psychics are a recurring class from RBY to XY, but are absent from this game. I'd say that might be because they now need to be modelled and animated holding their Poke Ball in mid-air, but Avery has something similar...
Anyway, this Trumbeak (which is not the Pokemon he's using as musical inspiration) does have IVs and EVs: 31/0/15/31/15/31 IVs, 252 Sp. Atk EVs, Modest (+Sp. Atk/-Atk) Nature, and the moveset Echoed Voice, Supersonic, Screech, and Growl. A neat and effective sound-based moveset (a Soundproof Pokemon will block all four moves), but a special attacker has no need for Screech. Unless you're comboing with Supersonic, I guess...
Nobody really struggled with it.
Sure thing. I'd prefer a little longer song...
But... but you just said she's loud enough to base music on... I don't understand these new fads...
That's our free Metronome. Very fitting place for it, we'll see if we have need of it later. There are some places...
I'll keep it in mind, there...
For some reason, Veteran Roger was replaced by a completely different character named Veteran Kiara, with a different attitude entirely.
Her job and ambitions have not changed. Just everything else.
...Well, that came out of nowhere!
This one's almost even more hilarious. In this case, Murkrow would probably be a good choice to use, since it could use a mostly similar set while at the same time being a bit more unique in the act.
Similar story going on here: Now running the 30/15/15/30/15/30 IV set and with 252 Spd EVs in the bargain, that's almost boss-like.
It secured her the outspeed, but it didn't change a thing. Unfortunately, she just doesn't have much she can use to be scary. Her only offensive move is a move that has to build itself up to a killer BP, and her chief strategy in the meantime is to hope that Supersonic a) hits and b) stops us hitting back. This is what makes Echoed Voice lose its potential in the lategame.
No, but a cute musical set is little match for a team that actually tries.
Do you think a normal kid is going to be hanging around a hotel like this, anyway? The sorts of families with kids are usually priced out of these sorts of places...
The musical association remains, to continue to give us the Metronome. It just makes me wonder why go to so much effort to change literally everything else about this.
I definitely prefer Kiara, though.
Behind the desk here is a giant water feature, and the camera will zoom out to show it off when you walk behind it. I'm not sure if it's on emulator or happens on hardware, but as I passed through it, Bethany lost the little black outline around her model. She looks really HQ in a very weird, plastic-y way when this happens, and I mostly highlight it because there are cases of this elsewhere that I have seen on hardware. I just don't think I've checked this specific instance.
This event is exclusive to USUM. The only two in SM are the Golfers and Roger, so there's no real need to go behind to pick up this one too.
As we show up (always from this angle), the Crabrawler does its best to hide behind the Dancer. Mostly because it is impossible for it to put the Dancer between it and us here- there's a wall in the way.
He's just a particularly meek specimen.
Like Dugal, this lady also wants us to show off Z-Power for her.
...Bold assumption, but if that's your opinion, I am not one to disagree.
Do you have a Z-Power Ring yourself, perchance?
Similar story to Dugal: If we do not perform a Z-Move in this battle, she will allow us to try again the following day, and so on until we finally use the Z-Move.
Flat 31s, 252 IVs in HP/Sp. Def, and an Impish (+Def/-Sp. Atk) Nature. Knows Power-up Punch, Pursuit and Dizzy Punch. A pretty respectable Crabrawler, all right, if a wall on which to to unleash that might Z-Move on. With its stats, it has Defence scores of 46 and 53- it is weaker to physical attacks.
Xatu (Ultra Moon): While it can see the future, it has no desire to change it, which is probably why it remains motionless at all times.
Xatu is the evolved form of Natu, and a member of Ailey's team (her name is Consilia). As a freebie for evolving, she learns the move Air Slash, a 75 BP 95% accurate Special Flying move with a 30% flinch chance. This is the endgame Special Flying move for most Pokemon, and a perfect candidate for a Supersonic Skystrike.
Oh, and yeah... weird story about the flying. When Pokemon first transitioned to 3D in XY, that game also included a new gimmick for battling called Sky Battles. Sky Battles occur at high altitude, and obey special rules that require a Pokemon be in active flight (and only Flying types and Levitate users could appear). As such, the 3D models of any Pokemon intended as eligible in Sky Battles are posed to be ready for this mode, even after its swift retirement. Xatu has traditionally appeared standing stock-straight, to the point that its fainting animation in earlier 3D games had it stagger around like a bowling pin rather than fall over naturally, but since it is supposed to appear in Sky Battles, it is kept in this soaring state indefinitely. It is far from the only Pokemon to suffer because of this, but it is the most famous, because its whole identity in the Pokedex is based on it standing stock still and refusing to move no matter what.
Oh well, treat for her, she gets to use Ray and Ailey's collective first Supersonic Skystrike! It's not our first one, though- we saw an Ace Trainer use it against us on Route 8.
Another benefit to this odd pose is that it gets a pretty good showing for the soar up and dive bomb. This is an animation susceptible to some awkward posing with the wrong Pokemon.
Never doubt the power of a good Z-Move off a good move. That was 140 BP.
...OK, could've been higher, but we needed something like Brave Bird for that, and we're way too early in the game for Brave Bird.
As an aside, I'm going to show this off, as a bit of a notice about these battles. First of all, making sure Angry Bird gets hit.
...Actually, come to think of it, I'm not sure this fight actually proves anything.
We get to see Angry Bird beat up Crabrawler and barely survive to finish the job itself, but can I truly say I used my Z-Power without using an offensive Z-Move here? I'm fairly sure that using non-offensive Z-Moves does count, though. Z-Splash is probably a better example.
Neither Ray nor Ailey needed to come back for this one.
That's gotten Crabrawler's spirit's raised!
...Nods. That's not what I was expecting, but hey, it clearly works for you! Don't let me stop you...
Crabrawler actually does push Ronda to share these.
Although this is a really weird reward when we can, you know, grow infinite Lum Berries in Pelago...
And so they train on. Good luck out there.
Hm... I guess I can see it, but it is pretty generic.
Oddish is not available at all in this game.
And, as one bit of continuance from way back, these Golfers over here also feel like they'd drop a little more foreshadowing about Kahili than they ultimately do. Oh well. She'll turn up.
Anyway, between Sandygast and some Pokemon that decided to stick around Isle Abeens, I wound up finishing Poke Pelago here! On all four files, too, although Noah got ahead thanks to me going back and doing all those Island Scans.
There is, in fact, a prize for securing all fourteen upgrades to the archipelago.
...It would've been more appreciated if I hadn't discovered using Poke Pelago's Isle Evelup to level up the fodder in my Pokedex, and stuck to grinding the traditional way. Not sure what those'll be used on.
You can count on it, Mohn!
Now then, this would be where the update ended... but there was something I really wanted to show off, I was planning on it coming up around here mechanically, and I got the final push to figure out a setup that allowed it to happen. And it worked! Ladies and gentlemen...
THE KIDS CAN TALK TO EACH OTHER!
There is, however, an unfortunate limitation: Unless there's a workaround I've missed, one of the kids cannot save the interaction as having occurred. Nevertheless, I can cheat my way around that, and the fact I got it working at all is proof enough that I can enjoy the benefits.
I'm not going to show this happening often, although I may come back and demonstrate it a few times later. But with the power of Link Trade, I can put some Pokemon on files they weren't meant to be on, and also induce trade evolutions normally!
Maybe there'll be an excuse to battle my teams. Probably not a massive Multi Battle, though, have a little mercy.
When you initiate a Link Trade with another flesh and blood human, you can trade any Pokemon in your party or your PC. The latter was added in BW, and thanks to the removal of HMs, there is now no limit on what you can send to other files!
Well, OK, there is one limit that applies to these two characters specifically, that I forgot I had an example of at the time: USUM adds Pokemon, Forms and Moves that do not appear in SM at all. It is not allowed to trade anything from USUM to SM that wasn't already available in SM.
What example do I have? Well, aside from Dawn, Theodore! While the Totem-Sized Pokemon were unobtainable in SM, it is allowed to trade any Totem-Sized Pokemon that appears in the vanilla SM itself (such as Gumshoos and Raticate). However, Totem-Sized Araquanid and Marowak are not fair game, since SM did not fight those Totems.
When your cursor stops over a Pokemon, it appears on the top screen. Again, had I remembered Dawn and Theodore were not allowed to be traded to SM, I would've checked, but forgive me, I was a little overwhelmed by the possibility of trading at all.
It ultimately turns out that the preview of what Pokemon is on the top screen remains on the last legal Pokemon shown, and attempting to trade an illegal Pokemon displays a short error message. Wouldn't really translate to screenshots anyway.
When a Pokemon has been selected for trade, there's a little audio chime and this short blurb will appear next to your character's face.
When both players have chosen their Pokemon, this menu appears. When both players have clicked "Trade", the Trade begins.
This is the screen you are allowed to view if you want to "Check Partner's". It shows most of the things you'd really want to see.
It feels right, being able to see the process of not just one, but both team members evolving by trade-induced evolution. Felt kinda dirty, just having Ridley pop up as a Gorebyss.
When you receive a Pokemon that is to undergo a trade-induced evolution, the pre-evolved form is registered in your Pokedex. This is an incredibly useful thing for both sides, so they don't have to worry about issues when it comes to a family that turns up later, but otherwise, it's there to be there.
Alakazam (Ultra Moon): If it trusts someone deeply, it will let them have one of its spoons. Anything you eat with that spoon is apparently delicious.
Melia evolves into the incredibly powerful Pokemon Alakazam. It is not powerful for any particular reason: Just base stats of 135 Sp. Atk and 120 Spd. Back in RBY, it was second only to Mewtwo, a Pokemon whose values in these stats were even higher. Nowadays, it's held back by changes in the mechanics designed specifically to prevent her from being quite so powerful. We'll see how much that stops her.
Also, some Pokedex entries (including that of Pokemon Sun) describe it as having an IQ of 5000. I... don't think that's how IQ works.
Yes, this also registers the evolved form. You don't get screwed or anything. That would be hilarious, though.
Strangely, Alakazam attempts to learn Kinesis if it doesn't already know it. I think trade evos learning moves is already a bit of a weird proposition- it kinda adds an odd hurdle in that you have to communicate with your trading partner somehow what you actually want done with this move. There is in-game communication (albeit very limited) in the actual Trade screen, but not right now. I just taught it over Reflect in case I needed it later.
OH COME ON
Anyway, good etiquette whenever you perform a trade-induced evolution? Send it right back! Part of the issue with trade-induced evolutions even in games with currently-active online services is that you can never be sure this is going to happen with strangers, especially if you're trying the GTS to get this result. Lack of in-game communication, that's the problem.
(Also, it's good etiquette to send over something else that evolves by trade-induced evolution: Not just as a courtesy, but also because while one player is watching a trade-induced evolution, the other player is forced to wait on a blank screen until everything is completed so as to allow them to return to this menu.)
There are special messages if the Pokemon you send in a Trade is returning to its original Trainer, and also for receiving a Pokemon that originally belonged to you from a Trade. A nice, friendly touch, although the usual instance of their appearance will be in these trade-backs for trade-induced evolutions.
Gigalith (Sun): The blasts of energy it makes from sunbeams have terrifying power. However, it's not able to fire its blasts at night or on rainy days.
Ah, right, Gigalith! Funny the Pokedex describes it as using Sunny weather, because Candy is actually an equivalent to Pelipper here. Starting in SM, Gigalith's second regular Ability slot has been changed from a redundant Sturdy, and Boldore's Weak Armour, to Sand Stream, the passive weather-setting Ability for Sandstorm. This gives Candy a nice passive +50% to its Special Defence (and since it's so slow, it's usually going to be one to set its weather in a tie), and also gives it some decent synergy with its team if so prepared. It wasn't entirely intentional, but Dawn, Agnes and Paul will be able to withstand the Sandstorm, and the former two also get the +50% Sp. Def as well. If anything, I think Candy was the biggest winner from this arrangement, rather than Melia.
Next time: ...I'm sorry, Faba, did you want to speak to me?
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