Our next leg of the adventure takes us back up here to Mount Lanakila. Sorry, Beth, but we're going to be hoofing it up and down this mountain several times before we're done today.
Before we actually deal with the League, let's address what this weirdo is doing here.
He is the replacement for the Hall of Fame function from past games, allowing us to check only two entries- our first one, and our most recent one. Of course, we only have one of those.
It really is literally just the species name. At least put it all in one text box.
There are just so many more Pokemon that deserved a mention... And also, use their names. Especially Keokeo.
Right. We have to refight the Elite Four. A lot. I'd tell you what Pokemon I'm packing, but since I'm doing this so many times, I can rather truthfully say the answer is all of them.
Just saying, guys, the dramatic opening animation wasn't in the older games. That was reserved for just the once, with the Badge Check.
Contrary to what you might expect from the phrase "Title Defence", but not at all contrary to how Pokemon typically works, the Elite Four is still here and ready for a rematch.
The Elite Four have new dialogue suited to you being the Champion, but that doesn't change the way they fight. Then again, they have seen improvements from their initial matches. No team member changes, though.
For SM, the Elite Four have seen a nine level bump. Their IVs, EVs and Nature haven't changed, although they have fixed up the movesets somewhat.
- Hariyama has Heavy Slam.
- Primeape has Rock Slide and Stomping Tantrum instead of Outrage and Pursuit.
- Bewear has Dragon Claw and Shadow Claw
- Poliwrath has Poison Jab, Payback, and Brick Break in place of Submission.
- Crabominable has Stone Edge and Earthquake.
Honestly, Hala's buffs merely cement how empty his old kits were.
I'm going to be sweeping him with a whole array of Pokemon. There's little point specifying what I did in any one round.
That would be the playtime Bernie-Bear put them through.
...Wow, where did this come from, Olivia? I'm not complaining, but that's not exactly the sort of strength Olivia's usually known for.
- Relicanth got Head Smash, Waterfall, and Earthquake, pivoting to being a Physical attacker.
- Carbink got Stealth Rock.
- Golem got Stone Edge, Earthquake, and Heavy Slam, replacing Rock Blast and Steamroller.
- Probopass got Dazzling Gleam and Flash Cannon instead of Thunder Wave and Sandstorm.
- Lycanroc got Brick Break instead of Counter.
Honestly, some of those feel like downgrades. Particularly since they seem to have forgotten to give Relicanth its Atk EVs. Probopass in particular kinda misses its setup, and now SM Olivia has no way of getting up a Sandstorm on her own.
I think part of that is the visit to the Battle Tree. I'd say it's the Megas, but Bethany doesn't have those.
...Again, I really don't see the difference between this and the old final challenge? Is it because there's someone they can point to and say 'that's the Champion, I can be like them'? I'm not sure how much of an extra incentive that is for most people, though.
Surprisingly, Acerola is the one that explains why we're refighting the Elite Four. I think I like the latter explanation.
- Sableye has Brick Break instead of Confuse Ray.
- Drifblim has Thunderbolt, Psychic and Will-O-Wisp instead of Focus Energy, Amnesia, and Baton Pass.
- Dhelmise has Phantom Force, Heavy Slam, Earthquake, and Brutal Swing, pivoting to a Physical attacker.
- Froslass has Thunderbolt instead of Confuse Ray.
- Palossand has Sludge Bomb instead of Iron Defence.
Acerola teched up, definitely. Weirded out by two Thunderbolts when that's not a coverage move for Ghost, but losing Special Dhelmise and Baton Pass Drifblim is a huge boon. Fortunately, Dhelmise wasn't offensively invested in either stat in the first place, so she doesn't even have Relicanth's problems.
You're not quite as bad as you were the first time. Kahili is honestly the SM Elite Four member I was most scared of. USUM had Molayne, of course.
...On a related question, are you still acting in your capacity as Trial Captain? Or is Ula'ula just screwed? The worst part is, aside from setting up her trial in a condemned building, Acerola was probably Ula'ula's best Captain.
Didn't you already do some taking-on-the-world before you got called back for minding the Elite Four?
- Skarmory gets Night Slash and Rock Slide instead of Slash and Feint.
- Crobat gets Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse, and Sludge Bomb instead of Swift, Supersonic and Poison Fang, settling into its role as a Special attacker.
- Oricorio saw no changes.
- Mandibuzz got a complete retool- it now runs Snarl, Air Slash, Roost, and Toxic, actually fitting the stall meta that its EVs were set up for.
- Toucannon gets Brick Break instead of Screech.
Skarmory's huge buffs, Crobat's actual functionality, and Mandibuzz's retool have really buffed Kahili. And she was already good to begin with. I struggled a lot with that Skarmory in particular. The fact it's a Braviary in USUM helped Ray and Ailey a lot.
I think what you really need is a plan for Electrics. Mono-Flying has some good use for Gliscor. Or, you know, Pom-Pom Oricorio, but right now, Baile's her plan for Ice.
There are some opponents out there I'm scared of. Also the real people.
Anyway, before we get into the League, might as well check in on what Molayne and the USUM E4 is doing.
Any point mentioning that when you're doing what the rest of the world is doing, you're relying on said talent, and also them ignoring I'm a Kantonian, right?
Molayne, and the other Elite Four members of USUM, enjoy a round +10 level buff, but like SM, the investments in IVs, EVs, and Natures remain identical. For Molayne's team:
- Klefki remains identical.
- Bisharp gets Poison Jab instead of Metal Sound
- Magnezone gets Signal Beam instead of Screech
- Metagross is unchanged.
- Dugtrio gets Stone Edge instead of Fissure.
Frankly, I'm not sure Molayne needed much in the way of buffs. Literally all they did was take away the moves he was never gonna click, and I think Stone Edge is the only one that has reasonable use cases.
I'm sure being a Steel expert denies you a lot of those really interesting fights. Before Steel lost its Dark and Ghost immunities, Steel had no neutral matchups.
One can't expect anything less pitted against your team. Gotta make the best use of your Fire, Fighting, Ground, and Special attackers here.
- Armaldo got Liquidation.
- Cradily got Stone Edge, Sludge Wave, and Earth Power instead of Rock Tomb and Stealth Rock.
- Gigalith got Throat Chop.
- Probopass got Dazzling Gleam and Flash Cannon instead of Thunder Wave and Sandstorm.
- Lycanroc got Fire Punch instead of Counter.
- Banette got Sucker Punch and Shadow Sneak instead of Feint Attack and Screech.
- Drifblim got a total retool- Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Psychic, Will-O-Wisp.
- Dhelmise got a total retool: Phantom Force, Heavy Slam, Earthquake, Power Whip.
- Froslass got Thunderbolt instead of Confuse Ray.
- Palossand got Sludge Bomb instead of Iron Defence.
Most of these modifications are in line with what they did with her in SM. Banette getting priority is great, yeah, but I found it preferred sticking to Shadow Claw and folded easily to whatever I was using as my ghostbuster. Sableye at least required a Fairy.
- Braviary got Superpower instead of Air Slash.
- Hawlucha is unchanged.
- Oricorio is unchanged.
- Mandibuzz got retooled to Snarl, Air Slash, Roost, and Toxic.
- Toucannon got Brick Break instead of Screech.
Braviary's Superpower is a massive problem for Rock types, but otherwise, Kahili kinda got nerfed by losing her Skarmory. Still, though, she continued to be the scariest E4 member other than Molayne, mostly because Hawlucha is scary enough.
Now then, time to begin the literal dozen Title Defences to look out for, plus the variations between SM and USUM. The Title Defence can usually be savescummed by saving before you click on the throne, but there are four major exceptions to watch out for.
The first exception is that your first Title Defence is always against Hau. Yes, even in USUM. I would have expected USUM's fixed Title Defence to be Kukui.
This is a very fitting choice in first Title Defence for SM, though, with a very nice line for Hau to have.
Hau's USUM line, in comparison. Weirdly, there are two lines for each Title Defence opponent, one for a first challenge and one for a rematch. This line is not the same one as Hau's SM line for a rematched Title Defence. I'm not even sure it's technically considered a rematch line.
All Title Defences use the theme Kukui used in the first round. USUM Hau and USUM Hau only gets to keep his unique variant for Title Defences.
Hau's team is only five Pokemon large here, containing the four he used on Mount Lanakila plus one very fitting final Pokemon. He gets only one 31 IV (mostly Speed or HP, but there's one Atk one) and his EV spreads are weird. Probably because of his miscellaneous builds. Serious Natures, of course.
Raichu runs Thunderbolt, Psychic, Focus Blast, and Quick Attack, making him a fairly standard one of these. The Sp. Atk/Spd build means it's just as effective as ever, but you've had time to figure out a plan.
The Title Defences for SM are either level 59, 61, 63, or 65, depending on the opponent. Level 65 is reserved for rematches against Kukui, while level 63 is reserved for the "important" characters like Hau.
I'm going to keep my showcasing of the actual Title Defence battles to a minimum, but this was worth showing off just to make a mockery of the poor thing.
Komala, the Pokemon you don't remember from USUM, is HP/Atk and runs Wood Hammer, Sucker Punch, Earthquake, and Shadow Claw. No Normal moves, surprisingly. Not that it has good ones.
Hau's Eeveelution- which is the one that's SE on your starter- is running HP/Spd, with the moves Quick Attack, Baby-Doll Eyes, Charm, and either Flare Blitz, Hydro Pump, or Leaf Blade, whichever one is STAB. It's like they tried their best to please everybody and wound up pleasing nobody. Then again, Eevee can only do so much better.
Idiot.
Crabominable is new to his SM team, and was of course chosen because of Hau's familial bond with Hala, who uses it as his ace. HP/Atk with Close Combat, Ice Hammer, Stone Edge, and Brutal Swing- not a bad one all up, but it's still a Crabominable.
His ace is the truly weird one. Only three moves each, the Z-Crystal (of course, just the normal one and not the unique starter one), and a consistent build of HP/Atk- which is all well and good for Decidueye and Incineroar, but screws over poor Primarina.
- Decidueye gets Spirit Shackle, Leaf Blade, and Smack Down.
- Incineroar gets Darkest Lariat, Flare Blitz, and Earthquake.
- Primarina gets Sparkling Aria, Moonblast, and Hyper Voice.
Hard to tell which one won out in the end here.
Hau's defeat quote here feels like a huge one for his character, and one that sells his particular arc in SM that USUM's changes almost weaken as a result. Hau is a kid who learns to acknowledge that some people are just built different, and that while he's not lesser for not being me, he should at least be aware that he can't do the things I do and needs to adjust his ambitions appropriately.
Sure, not the nicest of lessons, but it's better for your mental health if you adopt that philosophy.
And then they subvert that in the post-battle dialogue by giving him frustration over the fact. I guess they're more interested in writing a Hop than a Hau.
Winning a round of Title Defence will replay the same Hall of Fame cutscene associated with winning for the first time. You can press the A Button to skip it, which I wound up doing by accident here. Briefly confused me until I picked it up on the repeat runs.
You also get dropped out here. In older games, the credits also played when you beat the League. I'm not 100% certain when they stopped doing that, but I imagine it coincided with when the credits got less generic "and then the protagonist went back home" and started including callbacks to the journey you have taken.
We now have a latest entry to see here. Just that much, though.
Anyway, as for USUM Hau, his team is largely the same. His levels have been bumped up to 68-70 (the highest in the USUM selection), but all his internals are identical. Except, strangely, his Noivern has a 30 Atk instead of his former 15. That would only matter for Confusion and Struggle anyway.
This line remains the same.
As does the immediate self-contradiction, just in different terms. Persistence really can be a problem in the wrong hands...
Anyway, let's get moving along the rest of the list. I didn't particularly care which of the kids fought each Trainer, but it turns out that one opponent does (potentially) require battling all the others, so this wound up biting me in the butt later. Oh well.
Our next opponent is Hapu, who has some interesting associations because of her very unique position.
She also tells us that the other challengers have to fight the Elite Four too. Ground isn't a terrible type for the USUM League for Hapu, I have to admit, but some challengers have a bit more of an uphill battle.
Most characters who challenge us in Title Defence use the normal artwork, rather than having unique models. Hapu is probably the least important character to have a model, since as a Kahuna, she can use her special Kahuna model.
As a Kahuna, Hapu is also using the higher levels for Title Defence Trainers, using level 63s in SM and 68s in USUM. Three 31 IVs for SM, flat 30s in USUM, and mostly similar EVs and builds. Her SM builds have mistakes in them, though.
Her lead is Dugtrio in SM, Golurk in USUM. This is the only Pokemon her incarnations don't share. Dugtrio is Atk/Spd with Iron Head, Earthquake, Sandstorm, and Rock Slide, while Golurk is HP/Atk with Earthquake, Phantom Force, Dynamic Punch and Stone Edge.
(By the way, shoutouts to me getting to be on the other side of Phantom Force No Guard.)
Krookodile is new to her Title Defence team, carrying Earthquake, Crunch, Dragon Claw, and Aerial Ace. Atk/Spd, and in general, can pull off the tricks Terri does. Very effective, but it's worth mentioning it's not that fast.
Gastrodon is Mud Bomb, Muddy Water, Sludge Wave, and Ice Beam, running a really weird kit where the coverage moves are much cooler than the STAB moves. HP/Def in SM, HP/Sp. Atk in USUM.
Flygon is doing the traditional Flygon thing this time: Dragon Rush, Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Steel Wing. It's still invested Sp. Atk/Spd in SM, based on its original kit, but USUM fixed it to Atk/Spd.
Mudsdale is the first of several Pokemon I missed the send-in animation for, but we'll deal. Earthquake, Rock Slide, Heavy Slam, and Payback, Atk/Def invested and carrying a Groundium Z. A very Mudsdale sort of Mudsdale.
Although failing to secure the KO on Nemo was certainly a hit.
Still a pretty new kahuna to all this. Which is related to why she's a Title Defence and not part of the Elite Four to begin with.
Hapu seems to be taking "not being invited into the Elite Four in the first place" in stride. Part of me wishes she had an opinion on the matter, but I'm not sure that's something she'd talk to us about in the first place.
Next up, a bit of a surprise and the first of the "version-exclusive" Title Defence bouts- Molayne! Molayne can only appear in SM, and he was replaced with somebody else in USUM. Note that we're not getting version-exclusives along Sun/Moon lines, thankfully.
This is certainly the opinion of a man who would later volunteer to serve on the League personally.
Come to think of it, he's old friends with Kukui, is that related to why he's on the League instead of Hala now? Really getting those old boy's club vibes.
Since Molayne isn't significant in this game, he's just level 61. His team is also significantly less scary, even if it still contains Metagross.
Skarmory is carrying Steel Wing, Aerial Ace, Night Slash, and Spikes, with Def/Sp. Def investment. Sturdy means it's probably getting Spikes off, but it really is playing a poor man's Klefki this time around.
Sandslash is actually running 170 EVs- Atk/Def/Spd. Icicle Crash, Gyro Ball, Earthquake, and Shadow Claw, with that Speed investment being counterproductive to running Gyro Ball. That was probably a mistake.
Metagross is doing Def/Sp. Def in this game, running Meteor Mash, Zen Headbutt, Bullet Punch, and Hammer Arm. Even as the Metagross that terrorises USUM, the EVs nerf it to be much more manageable here.
Squishy still had its fun.
Dugtrio is running Earthquake, Iron Head, Sucker Punch, and Fissure, and isn't even running its Steelium Z. Atk/Spd investment, not that I'd expect anything else.
Magnezone is a pretty standard kit. Flash Cannon, Thunderbolt, Tri Attack, Screech, and Def/Sp. Atk investment. The Def is the biggest surprise, but Molayne seems to like that stat.
Come to think of it, how much of that was Kukui's doing? I feel like most of the credit belongs to Hala here.
Look, we're an acquaintance of Kukui's. Just because of that doesn't mean you have the right to consider us a friend. Get to know us on our own terms first.
Next up, a surprisingly fitting match- Sophocles! In SM, there was no other place where there was a battle with this particular Trial Captain, which makes the fact he's a Title Defence match seem fitting. USUM found a point for him to have an independent battle, but he still occupies one of the slots on the Title Defence. To be fair, the only other Trial Captain I'd expect to see make a title bid is Ilima.
Keeping it brief, I see.
Sophocles is one of the easier opponents in SM- he only has one EV investment there. He got a second for USUM, but the kits are otherwise the same. He's level 61 in SM and 67 in USUM, tied for second-lowest level and setting the standard for most non-story-relevant Title Defence opponents.
Togedemaru carries Electric Terrain, Zing Zap, Spiky Shield, and Fell Stinger. It's Spd in SM, Atk/Spd in USUM. Electric Terrain is nice for an Electric master to be carrying, but this fight in general doesn't go well for him if you're carrying Ground.
Golem, his ace, has Thunder Punch, Stone Edge, Steamroller, and Heavy Slam. Def in SM, Atk/Sp. Def in USUM. His USUM plan is neat, but it won't do much more than slow you down, given his kit.
Electivire is running Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Giga Impact, and Quick Attack. Kind of an odd Electivire, all told, but Electivire has its own issues. Atk in SM, Atk/Spd in USUM.
Vikavolt's another mean one, carrying Bug Buzz, Thunderbolt, Air Slash, and the OHKO move Guillotine. Sp. Atk in SM, Sp. Atk/Spd in USUM, not that its Speed is the reason it's getting off any potential OHKOs. At level 61, it should be fine, though.
They're everywhere! Magnezone has Flash Cannon, Discharge, Tri Attack, and Reflect, making me wonder why more Magnezones aren't running Screens on their team. Def in SM, Def/Sp. Atk in USUM.
I honestly kinda feel bad for Electric types. Considering that Pikachu is one of them, you'd think they'd be better.
He gets it. Although his team doesn't really reflect it, but that's not necessarily his fault. The AI and his type specialty hurt him there.
Next up, we've got someone else who's here because they don't have a battle somewhere else- post-Team Skull disbandment Plumeria.
I love how the first words out of her mouth is her absolving herself of agency here.
...I'm not sure "starting from scratch" is accurate, given she's still using her old team members and it's not like she didn't start her adventure with hope. I'd like to see their justification on that.
(USUM had to reword the line to fit Z-Power Ring in the one textbox.)
Plumeria is also running 61/67 and one EV set... in both games. The whole "not even bothering with two EVs" thing is weird, given the E4 has the full kits... With that said, Plumeria does have Natures in both games, something that other challengers can't claim.
Gengar is Modest and invested in Sp. Atk, throwing out a barrage of Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, Dark Pulse and Dazzling Gleam. You could do a lot worse than a Gengar like this.
Her ace Salazzle retains its Hasty Nature, with Sludge Bomb, Flamethrower, Dragon Pulse and Protect. Sp. Atk invested, with an additional Speed investment in USUM (the only one of Plumeria's Pokemon to get a second stat). It is, of course, carrying the Poisonium Z Plumeria promised. Surprisingly one of the few in the set.
Toxapex makes a nice pick. Poison Jab, Liquidation, Baneful Bunker and Recover, Impish (+Def/-Sp. Atk), and Def invested.
Muk stands as the counterpart to Toxapex here. Careful Nature (+Sp. Def/-Sp. Atk) with a Sp. Def investment, but running a more offensive kit with Venoshock, Brick Break, Rock Slide, and Toxic. Just... where's her STAB?
The evil team leader's Golbat has evolved into a Crobat! Plumeria's not quite as cool about it as Gladion, though. Jolly and Spd invested, carrying Poison Fang, Fly, Leech Life, and Protect. Bit of a weak kit, honestly.
...Kind of a weird defeat quote, honestly.
Sounds like a good idea regardless of whether it's helpful. I hope I at least gave you something worth doing.
While Plumeria can be an opponent to any kid, Guzma is found only in USUM, as Molayne's counterpart. This is, I think, because of the rematch for the Dawn Stone that SM had and USUM removed. A bit weird, given it wasn't repeatable, but whatever.
No beating around the bush on this one. Guzma goes right for the old standby.
Guzma has flat 30s in his IVs, 2 sets of EVs, and Natures that boost his relevant attacking stat, is sitting at level 68, and his team is identical to the one he had in Rainbow Rocket. It also happens to be near-identical to his SM team, just with different EVs on Golisopod, Guillotine missing on Pinsir, and Ariados outright replaced.
X-Scissor, Storm Throw, Stone Edge, and Throat Chop, Atk/Spd invested. Could startle you, but we've seen what Kailey is capable of. Shouldn't be hard to beat it.
Bug Buzz, Thunderbolt, Flash Cannon, Energy Ball, HP/Sp. Atk investment. Volty is a much more terrifying opponent to see on the other side, especially if you can't get the upper hand.
Bug Buzz, Air Slash, Ice Beam, Energy Ball, Sp. Atk/Spd invested. Masquerain's stat buffs aren't quite so impressive this late, but they're still worth thinking about if you don't get the upper hand immediately.
Scizor remains his new Pokemon in USUM, as it was in SM. Iron Head, X-Scissor, Bullet Punch, Night Slash, Atk/Spd. A surprise Bullet Punch could always throw you off, especially if you're using Rocks. Hope you packed Fire.
His post-battle dialogue is much more appropriate to his new outlook, although the facial expression is not.
Perhaps when they let adults hold positions as Trial Captains, you'd be a good one. One can only hope that's soon.
...Or maybe Tapu Bulu lets you take over for Nanu, but what are the chances of that?
Next up, a character that, in SM, is invented out of wholecloth to appear in the Title Defence rotation. Development documents do seem to hint that Ryuki had a role to play in the drafts, but his role wound up on the cutting room floor.
Since he's part of the "establishing a Gym League in Alola" subplot that I hate, this was probably for the best.
He has an actual introduction of sorts, since he's being introduced here in SM. And probably in USUM, too, I don't think they expected you to find him in Malie naturally.
This whole "rock star" angle is not pursued by his other dialogue. Honestly, that's a shame. Pokemon has not paid nearly enough thought to what, exactly, goes into being a performance artist when Pokemon are options.
For all his bravado, and the fear of a Dragon expert, this guy's a paper tiger. No EVs, and only two optimised IVs, down at levels 61/67. He packs moves, at least, but if you have something good at fighting Dragons, you'll have the upper hand no matter what dangers you expect to see in return. Zossie is drooling.
The Garchomp makes for an excellent fear factor. Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Crunch, Poison Jab, that is enough for most Garchomps to be able to get to work. If you aren't ready, it might actually be able to leverage that.
Dragon Pulse, Hyper Voice, Blizzard, and Thunder. Normal types usually pull this sort of thing, and Drampa's hoping it'll work for him. Even if it wasn't slow, I'm worried about that accuracy.
Clanging Scales, Focus Blast, Flash Cannon, Flamethrower. They clearly wanted this thing to be a Special Attacker. Maybe if it had Aura Sphere, I might be able to justify it, but that doesn't work out the way it hopes. No Devastating Drake.
Dragon Rush, Hurricane, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch. Some of these kits feel like they're more for intimidation than efficacy.
Overheat, Dragon Pulse, Fire Blast, Focus Blast. See above. Seriously... only way this moveset could be any more scary and any less effective would be if that was a Draco Meteor in place of Dragon Pulse.
This seems like the perfect sort of situation to inspire the emotions required for a rock song.
Piracy is a service issue. Either you were rocking too freely, or you put your songs for sale in the wrong place.
You focus on that rocking spirit. And don't come back looking for a Gym to take over.
An opponent that can turn up is, of course, Kukui for rematches. There really shouldn't be a surprise that this pops up, although there is a bit of a surprise that he deigns to rematch the League narratively.
This is how they choose to justify it. All this really does is point to the fact that Pokemon, in-universe, is kind of begging for some method of rematching bosses on your own time, for free. Like, Kukui should be able to have the in-universe option of going "Hey, mate, wanna battle?". They tried this sort of thing with things like the Pokegear and VS Seeker, but the devs themselves seem to have a complexity addiction that makes such systems still feel like you're jumping through hoops. Let's Go and SV would get better about this.
Team still looks impressive from this side.
Even his win quote is identical!
Your weird hangups with never having beat Lance continue to concern me, but at least you're seeing me as an equivalent challenge, question mark? I hope, at least...
Next up, we have an opponent who is interesting for both his version exclusivity (he is the other SM-only opponent) and his availability- Faba can only appear if it is the first day of the month. His USUM counterpart has the same limitation, but he is the only opponent to be limited by the calendar. Well, conventionally.
Of course Faba thinks he deserves a title like this. I've never heard "just deserts" used to refer to something positive- it is, apparently, a cromulent usage of the expression, but an archaic one.
Faba is even less interesting than Kukui. His team is identical to one we have seen before- the team we had to beat to get the Dubious Disc- and unlike Kukui, even the levels are familiar- 61.
...Planning on finishing that sentence?
As a reminder, he called us a great Trainer to desperately beg us to save his hide when he was being assaulted by Team Skull, and may or may not have also had the objective of getting us, specifically, to the Aether Foundation for nebulous "Lusamine might've wanted her hands on us" reasons. This man never does anything sincerely.
As for his USUM replacement... Lusamine herself. Faba did not have the narrative weight to deserve a Title Defence slot, while Lusamine feels much more like she should have this sort of thing. Although, given that SM Lusamine is out of the region and USUM Faba is too demoted to have any ideas outside of the Foundation, it's not too surprising these two are version exclusive.
Being tactically proficient is also typically a requirement. I'd also hope there's some kind of character assessment, but the position of Champion is one of those really vague ones on whether or not we're actually taking the job when we beat the sitting Champion. Even in this region, where we explicitly take the job, it's still kind of ambiguous.
Don't forget USUM Lusamine has Lopunny, not Mismagius, though.
Lusamine also gets her defeat animation, and somehow manages to be even more unfitting than her intro animation. As a reminder, Lusamine doesn't have her theme, either. We're just blaring the triumphant Champion theme over these villainous animations.
...I am... highly confused by what Lusamine is trying to say. And also how it relates to her story, but that's a general complaint about anything Lusamine says in USUM.
The final potential Title Defence challenger (well, not final in the coverage) is a random Youngster. This is quite the beloved joke, and I like it too, and I'm somewhat surprised to learn that "final" is forced- Bethany couldn't fight him until she beat every Title Defence bout except Kukui. I'm not sure if I got very unlucky or this is a requirement, but given the sheer quantity of savescumming I did, the odds are high that it's a requirement.
Often, when Youngster Tristan is discussed as an encounter, he is implied to have been one of the Youngsters we fought on Route 1. This is not the case- there is no other Youngster Tristan in Pokemon SM. The name "Tristan" has been used- the very first Youngster you fight in DPPt. "ã‚¿ãƒã‚¦", his JP name, has been used by a Youngster in RBY's Mt. Moon and a Hiker on GSC's Route 45. It also happens to be the name of the human kid adopted by a Kangaskhan in the anime.
Presumably, Tristan is meant to be this Youngster, seen only in SM (the rewrite USUM did to the opening excised him from the story).
Statistically, Tristan is just as bad as you'd expect. He has the lowest levels across the board (59/66), IVs at an uncharacteristic flat 15 (flat 20 in USUM), and no EVs at all. No Nature either, of course, but at least he has movesets.
Emolga's kit is Volt Switch, Acrobatics, Quick Attack, and Thunder Wave. Emolgas usually wind up looking like this, and it says more about their weakness than their strengths. Occupational hazard of being one of Pikachu's cousins.
Magmortar has Flamethrower, Focus Blast, Thunderbolt, and Will-O-Wisp. May or may not be better than Eunie- I never liked Focus Blast- but this is definitely a good solid team member. Shame about the investment, but...
Huh, so that's what it looks like when the opponent has an Exeggutor. Wood Hammer, Dragon Hammer, Earthquake, and Brutal Swing, running Physical in spite of Exeggutor's biases. Not awful, especially with that coverage, but Exeggutor's real weaknesses were always on the defensive.
Tauros is the ace. Giga Impact, Rock Slide, Earthquake, and Pursuit, a pretty close to competitive collection of moves supplemented by Normalium Z. Given not all Title Defence opponents have that, certainly quite the surprise. Also, given Hala didn't wind up using that Tauros of "his", it had to turn up somewhere.
Sharpedo is as Sharpedo does. Waterfall, Night Slash, Aqua Jet, and Ice Fang, this completes his Fire/Water/Grass core- a standard for most opponents leaning on the basics- and Exeggutor and Sharpedo are even part of Alola's lore. Magmortar and Emolga are the weirder picks.
...No offence, but in some ways, I can tell. You did a good enough job, but...
I hope you didn't level grind entirely on Route 1. That Island Challenge gives you EXP for a reason. But you really do stand out... even if not up.
Our last opponent will be Gladion. In SM, he is not particularly special, but in USUM, he becomes a very special boy.
I'll be honest, this one throws me through a loop. Gladion's focus on strength has been about proving himself capable of doing the right thing, for Null, for Lillie, and against the Ultra Beasts. Chasing a specific rival hasn't really been a part of it- he thought of us as obstacles in his path. It's quite the turnaround going from that to a single-minded dedication on finding someone strong enough for him to butt his head against.
In SM, he's level 63, with a few good EVs (plus his flat 30s Silvally), two sets of 252 EVs- all in the offensive stat of choice, plus Speed- Serious Natures, and movesets. He's finally finished his team after all of his sub-par investments in the main game, and he does pack his Steelium Z-Crystal on Lucario again.
Crobat runs Acrobatics, Cross Poison, X-Scissor, and Steel Wing. A Crobat worth thinking twice about, just as always.
A fifth Pokemon Gladion has not used before, he decided on Porygon-Z. Given their association with the Aether Foundation in Alola, not that surprising, but may still come a little off-centre, given the fact they require two Trades to evolve. Tri-Attack, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Dark Pulse, giving it STAB, coverage on Ghosts, and BoltBeam for a nice breadth of options. Surprisingly no Psychic, though.
Weavile is proving why Weavile is kinda bad in most hands. Night Slash, Ice Shard, Brick Break, and Shadow Claw, giving it some not-great coverage and not-great STAB. Ivy is better, but she's got no coverage.
Lucario is the Z-Crystal carrier, running Steelium Z. He also continues to be confused about exactly what his kit is, running the moves Aura Sphere, Flash Cannon, Psychic, and Extreme Speed... but being specced for physical Atk/Spd. Make up your mind, buddy!
His Silvally will be holding the Memory that is whichever of Grass, Fire or Water is SE on your starter, with the moves Multi-Attack, Crush Claw, X-Scissor, and Crunch. You know how to deal with it, especially if it's not Water.
This feels more in line with Gladion's beliefs about battling, although "all I have to do is avoid making mistakes" is a bit on the tautological side. What, exactly, do you consider to be a mistake? This will tell you about the direction you are heading.
This one, I can also see coming from Gladion. I feel like it's missing that personal factor, but Gladion always has been a bit more closed off.
Now then, you might recall that, at the end of USUM, Gladion left on his quest to help Lusamine, rather than Lillie. What's he doing back? Well, that's his business, but in order to get Gladion to start spawning, you must wait a real-time month. Gladion's return will be the first match you get after that time, overriding Lusamine if it's the first of the month, but not overriding the first round with Hau if you haven't done that yet.
His intro dialogue has been appropriately modified to reflect the changed circumstances, but what strikes me about this line is twofold. One, Gladion's newfound belief that a strong rival is his goal would actually reflect his experiences after completing a regional journey on his own. And second, even after doing his own thing, he felt that the best way to get what he wanted... was to come back home to Alola. Whatever it was he was looking for clearly wasn't back in Kanto. You should be ashamed of yourselves, Lance and Kukui.
USUM Gladion has teched up- all his Pokemon have flat 30 IVs now. His new Pokemon is not using the [Atk]/Spd setup of the rest of his Pokemon, but it's using Atk/Sp. Atk, so that might be worse.
Crobat, Porygon, Lucario, and Silvally (not pictured for reasons I don't understand) have the same moves as the SM kit, minus Lucario's Z-Crystal. Kinda takes the wind out of his sails to mention that.
Zoroark took the Z-Crystal, a Darkinium Z this time, and carries the moves Night Daze, Hyper Voice, Foul Play, and Grass Knot. This is kind of what Anna might've turned out like if she was still around, which kinda shows her weaknesses in the end. Zoroark can be cool, but it has a few issues with coverage.
Venusaur (Blue): The plant blooms when it is absorbing solar energy. It stays on the move to seek sunlight.
Charizard (Yellow): When expelling a blast of super hot fire, the red flame at the tip of its tail burns more intensely.
Blastoise (Blue): A brutal Pokémon with pressurized water jets on its shell. They are used for high speed tackles.
Having gone through the Kanto region, Gladion will add the final stage of one of the Kanto starters Venusaur, Charizard, or Blastoise to his team. He will select the one matching the type of your starter (...our influence must've rubbed off on him), and in doing so, make me wonder what he used on his journey through Kanto. His old stuff? Wow, no wonder he didn't feel like he got a challenge out of Kanto. All of them are invested Atk/Sp. Atk, matching the mixed movesets they've picked up.
- Venusaur runs Petal Blizzard, Sludge Bomb, Earthquake, and Outrage.
- Charizard runs Flamethrower, Air Slash, Earthquake, and Outrage.
- Blastoise runs Surf, Ice Beam, Earthquake, and Outrage.
...I am questioning Gladion's choices here.
Same final quote, although one that made me chuckle when I did this fight with Ray...
And scored the KO with a Silvally of my own.
I'd say learning in the environment I was born in was important for that purpose, but it's not like I learned in it. It's more of a culture thing.
Now then, this is an event that pops up after your second League rematch in USUM. Mine was after Gladion, so that's where I've put it, but this event is... certainly interesting.
A pair of young girls come up to us and start fangirling over us.
And yes, they're girls for both Ray and Ailey.
This particular flavour of fangirling seems very coded for fangirls who are attracted to their idol- girls typically have a slightly different response to aspirational female idols.
Especially with this.
...I was about to say that the weird "writing girls that turn out lesbian with a female PC" fits in with Lillie, but no, USUM took out the scenes that made Lillie particularly egregious about that. Was... was this intended as a replacement? If so, who thought it would help? And what did they think it would help solve?
They only interrupt us once, and don't stay up here, either. This just kind of feels weird, especially for only being a second clear.
Not beating the romantic attraction allegations. Sweet Hearts are very much associated with romantic relationships in the series, with their description even using the phrase "cloyingly sweet". Combined with their low utility this late, there's nothing else they really can intend.
Shoutouts to only one of them doing the Alola wave. And weirdly, the one not using a Trainer Class design.
Ailey just kinda... awkwardly waves back as they leave. I think I would too.
The other event we can now watch is in the Aether Foundation- after defeating Gladion as a Title Defence opponent in USUM, Mohn will appear.
On account of his distinctive hairstyle and identical name, many players of SM assumed that the Mohn that hosted Poke Pelago and the Mohn that went missing in Lusamine's backstory were the same man.
USUM was happy to confirm that as fact.
Well, it will confirm it in explicit text later. For now, it is content to let Lusamine's natural reaction do the talking.
I mean, given what Lusamine was saying in SM's Ultra Space- and the refridgerator upstairs- I feel confident saying that my boxed Pokemon are doing better in your hands than they would be in Lusamine's. Whoever informed you this was a wildlife preserve that was on the up and up was mistaken.
...Speaking of.
...No, this is his reaction to saying "Sure do!". Guilty conscience? Did the whole "sending the Pokemon into the mines every day" thing bother you that much?
Oops! I guess I shouldn't put you on the spot when we're right in front of the president! I don't expect you to pick sides or anything!
His line if you hesitate, incidentally.
...I am confused on a number of levels. No, you don't let Pokemon do what they please on Poke Pelago, I enlist them for set jobs. You recognise that the Pokemon in the Aether Paradise are tightly controlled under Lusamine's thumb? And you don't see the problem with that?
At least, I hope it was when your dad was in charge.
...At least, I think it was your dad who was in charge.
...Something on your mind?
...
That's what you're worried about, Miss Popsicle Box?
It does explain why Aether in USUM has the sidequest to find the next of kin of a Dartrix whose Trainer died, but this feels like aiming at the wrong people, on the scale of Pokemon conservation efforts. The number of Trainers who bother to catch that many Pokemon is such a statistical outlier that treating them as the biggest problem around makes you- oh god I just realised why I'm so bothered by this...
"Oh, what if I just find more islands? How hard can that be?" I'd be more worried about keeping the islands you have.
...What's stopping you from working together now? You know who can hook you up with new islands?
And on that note, Mohn starts to leave.
Lillie and Gladion were screwed with these two for parents.
Lusamine throws one last suggestion Mohn's way, but pulls her punch at the last second, to make sure she can plausible deniability her way out if the answer is what she thinks it is.
Mohn has no memory of being married to this woman. And honestly, I'm not 100% sure if he would remember his kids even if he didn't have some kind of amnesia.
Lusamine lets Mohn off the hook, her personal curiosity satisfied. There is little reason to try and get this man to be Profesor Mohn again.
Although if there is any way to get a friendship going between the two based on Mohn's new personality, that wouldn't be awful. In theory. In practice, these two might wind up emphasising their worst qualities again.
Apparently, Gladion was responsible for getting Mohn here. Or at least, that's what him having a comment on this scene implies to me, in combination with its trigger condition. The fact Gladion found him while ostensibly being in the Kanto region is odd, though.
Lusamine's response is rather pleasant, though. Particularly given her insistence on forcing her family to do things her way in the past, it actually manages to sell a degree of character growth that no other element of Lusamine's character reaches in either game. A bit too little too late, but better than nothing. Although I do wonder if that's what they were going for, given what got us to this point.
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