First off, a rematch with Hala. With Molayne replacing him in the League, he would otherwise only be an early-game boss, and the devs weren't happy with that.
Crysantha can do some damage, but against a Fighting expert., she is staring down the wrong end of the Physical/Special split. Hopefully that won't bite her in the butt too hard.
Hawkeye really wants to go on an Acrobatics sweep, but I couldn't find a consumable item that would get consumed in time. No item will have to do.
To be frank, if Consilia doesn't shine here, she's reached the upper limits of what she can do.
Shiva should able to Psychic sweep. If she gets hit first, though, that's it.
As weird as it is to bring Leona, she is my counterstrategy to one thing in particular. It's a battle of subtypes there, and hopefully that Normal typing doesn't lead to the predictable result.
Yes, I'm packing a Guardian Deity for a kahuna fight, what of it? This is probably the fairest use case, even if it's not the kahuna Tapu Fini appointed.
Funnily enough, Hala is much better here than he was in the League in SM.
The place where we got our first partner... or would have been, had it not been to Route 1 due to an emergency with a Rattata. Pity we lost that cool little bit of symbolism, particularly since SM never did this when it was relevant.
Remembered? I've never seen you at your peak, remember? All you had to fight me with was a bunch of unevolveds!
For once in this postgame, a character with a unique theme gets to use it- in addition to reusing his kahuna intro, Hala is also using his kahuna theme, too. As for his team itself, flat 30 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk and one other stat, and Adamant Natures. He may be a Black Belt at heart, but he's a Black Belt actually using the rest of his stats for once.
Hariyama has invested in Sp. Def, with the moves Fake Out, Close Combat, Knock Off, and Heavy Slam. A fairly standard Hariyama, all told...
And perhaps exactly the wrong opponent for Crysantha to be fighting.
Fake Out was to be expected. Not as bad as I thought, but...
Moonblast failed the KO. I was hoping there wouldn't be anything like that in the way. Or that Crysantha could handle herself.
I don't think it mattered how heavy Hariyama was there. Things were not going Crysantha's way.
Consilia finished, and as omens go, that is not a good one.
Ace coming out early again. Crabominable is Def invested, with a moveset of Close Combat, Ice Hammer, Stone Edge, and Earthquake. Iron Fist is boosting Ice Hammer, for the Flying types, and there's always that Fightingium Z to watch out for.
This is exactly the opponent Leona was brought in for.
No need to worry about it hitting all my Flying types hard if I set it on fire first!
Machamp is feeling brave and is kitted for Speed. I don't know why- do the devs just think Machamp is fast? Cross Chop and a full suite of elemental Punches on this one. It's not even No Guard.
Never bring a boxer to a wrasslin' contest.
Bewear is running Def and Fluffy, because it knows its strengths. Hammer Arm, Brutal Swing, Dragon Claw, and Shadow Claw, all (but Brutal Swing) being moves I've run on Lord Huggington. Little weirded out by Brutal Swing, though.
Hawkeye can break Fluffy, but not the Def investment, it seems.
Not that this was a threatening response. Can't quite tell how much it did, though...
Poliwrath's running Sp. Def, with the moves Waterfall, Brick Break, Poison Jab, and Payback. Not a bad end to the list, and Hala has remembered his coverage options, but hardly an opponent that's going to make me think twice.
Here's Shiva hitting it on the defence stat it's invested in. I don't look those up in advance, and while it shows, the moments where it turns out not the matter are always the funniest.
In that fight, or beforehand?
The Island Challenge works. I hope you take that lesson to heart. Then again, I suppose it's not your fault the Island Challenge is falling to disrepair.
The main reason for this rematch seems to be giving these bonuses a home. This is where USUM can find the starter Z-Crystals- SM got them from Hau for starting postgame.
...As noble a goal as that is, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the lessons you lot seem to be taking from that sort of thing. Particularly since the Island Challenge, as it stands, is built on you lot accepting the guardians's judgements as gospel rather than actually choosing your Captains and Kahunas on more sensible reasoning.
Seriously, both of those positions are horribly designed and are causing most of your issues.
Our next destination? Surprisingly: Home sweet home.
...I've never actually done this before, so I was a little confused about how to trigger it.
Turns out you need to talk to your Meowth.
Turns out that Mum has some company. I think this woman has a unique model of her own, although I could be mistaken- it's certainly not a Trainer Class.
Mum, please tell me you've actually talked to the neighbours. You better be doing something procrastinating on unpacking our boxes.
On the other hand, if this is actually a neighbour, this is quite the coincidence.
...
Now I'm just confused. So is she a neighbour or not? We live right next to Hau'oli, but this woman describes herself as living a considerable distance... despite that just factually not being true.
Alolan Meowth are supposed to be the spoiled kind of cat, and Madam Meowth (which the dialogue window does not seem to be calling her) is treating hers as such.
Oh great, you're one of those cat owners. Coming all this way just to lord your cat over us seems a bit petty, though.
Look, if you want to feel superior to me, that's your business, but kindly do not enter my house just to lord it over me. If it really is that self-evident, you wouldn't need to.
I'll let Mum handle this. I don't think I have a kind word to say about them.
She seems to be on top of what makes our cat the best.
I've certainly never seen it do anything other than spray Awakenings on me to cure my sleepiness.
Are you sure that's something you're willing to back up, or are you just pulling it out of thin air?
I'd put my money on the Kantonian Meowth in such a matchup. Kantonian Meowth has a slightly higher Atk score, which combined with its Normal typing, means Scratch and so forth will be doing far more. Speeds and defences are tied, so it all comes down to which one is able to get the flinches.
Hey, it's Ray who used Persian!
Now this is the time to bring out the Trainer battle theme.
I love this joke. There's a part of me that thinks the only reason this isn't using the battle engine is because the scripting wouldn't work otherwise, but this is cute enough that I'm glad they did it.
If you actually try pressing one of the non-Fight buttons, Mum will admonish you with an appropriate response.
...Odd set of moves, Mum. Then again, you're using a Meowth, I'm not sure there is much better. I'd probably have packed Fake Out at least, though.
...And that's her with the same idea.
Lackluster? I'm challenging you on that. Lacking? Definitely. It barely counts as fuzz.
Mum knowing that Fake Out on a Meowth is absolutely standard. With a Normal typing and Technician, though, that Fake Out alone is actually pretty good damage. Not for her, though, she's missing the Normal type.
...You, uh, sure you want to use that turn of phrase? In addition to sounding like localisation wasn't kind to it, it also kinda sounds like one of those ideas that started life rooted in racism. Particularly given we're talking the differences between regional Meowths here.
...Well, if it's trust we're looking for...
Nothing quite like a friendship-powered move to prove exactly that.
...Although that does make me wonder how Return's power works when Meowth is borrowed.
That is a highly vigorous fainting animation. To be fair, they don't really have a "lie down" animation. On purpose, yes, but that might've bit them in the butt here.
No prize money, but that might've been Mum's either way.
Mother of the Champion of the Alola region these days.
And apparently, famous in her own right.
(Meowth is described as the "Scratch Cat" Pokemon in the Pokedex.)
Apparently, because Kukui was hot. And because no one told her that he was married.
The game seems to be implying it was for our benefit, but unless you count meeting Lillie, I'm not sure there's much in specific that we got from moving.
I highly doubt that. If you wanted to give us proper respect, you'd have done that by now.
You will not recover your dignity.
The Scratch Cat Girl knows the score.
That would be our incentive to play this sequence, although I'm surprised to see the text specifying this twice.
...That "friends" is absolutely not meant the same way she did, is it?
Our next stop is over in the Route 16 Zygarde lab, because USUM is about to get a new toy. After a battle anyway.
Moss is far and away the best Pokemon to bring for a fight with Sina and Dexio. She beats both of them!
Although yeah, we are going to be fighting Dexio. Again.
This is a very brave option, since most Psychic types are smart enough to hit Dark, but I have hopes.
Leona's here for the Metagross, of course.
While Shade is rearing up the meanest Sucker Punch around.
Shiva... well, Shiva is here because there's an opponent that isn't a Psychic type waiting for us up ahead.
Now that we have a Zygarde, USUM is able to do interesting stuff in here. Well... interesting is a relative term.
For once, it's not just us working towards this. Someone else is helping!
Although given the way Zygarde works, I don't think "two of them" is accurate.
I'm not 100% sure whether these are different Zygardes or part of the same one. Certainly not getting that clarified with these two.
Similarly to the other Dexio battle, this one is and will only be a battle with Dexio himself. They had no plans to give us a Sina battle, apparently. Rude.
The worst part is, aside from an additional three levels, Dexio has not changed his investments in any way. Flat 30 IVs, 252 EVs in two stats, everything. His new Pokemon and one strange change to one of his old Pokemon are the only things of note in this fight.
And we've improved a lot since then.
Poor Espeon, though. No plans for a Fire/Dark, apparently.
And splatted by Darkest Lariat.
Alakazam is the Pokemon that got changed. It no longer has the Alakazite, so we fight the normal version. Not a significant change, but one that is much easier to deal with.
Not gonna stop me just splatting him with Sucker Punch, though. It really needs to go no matter whether it's Mega.
Dexio's sixth Pokemon is, of course, Zygarde. Atk/Sp. Atk investment, with the moves Dragon Pulse, Earthquake, Crunch, and Camouflage. A bit of an odd set of moves, but that's just Zygarde for you.
Camouflage, incidentally, will turn him into a Normal type here inside a building.
This is probably the most useful to one side Aura Break ever gets in SM. And even then, that relies entirely on you planning on using Xerneas.
Don't you just love handily oneshotting a Pokemon you use yourself? Makes you anxious about your own.
You go, Robin.
No, seriously, you pulled that KO out of your skin.
Leona also scored the OHKO on Metagross. I'm not sure which one I had more faith in, but I am much more grateful that Leona pulled this party trick off.
Raichu came out last, and all the worse for it- no screens!
The screens didn't help Raichu herself, and while they probably could've helped Slowking and Metagross, that's only a theoretical!
You, on the other hand? I'm not so sure about.
Twice. You planning on letting Sina in on the fun?
With that, we now have another 10 Zygarde Cells, in Zygarde form. It will be level 63 and match the moves he used, although somehow, I doubt we get to keep the IVs and EVs.
Despite Dexio's claims, this is the same overlong spiel we had in SM. So...
Skipping right ahead to the point where they remember they never actually gave Ailey the Zygarde Cube.
And that is the story of how Ailey won't need to do any real effort to get her hands on the 100% form of Zygarde. 50 Cells in the Zygarde she finds in Resolution Cave, 10 Cells in the freebie Zygarde, and 40 here make the full hundred.
Either Necrozma or Rainbow Rocket. Seems a little late for Necrozma, though.
You two remain the worst.
Quickly checking on our Zygarde. Yep, that is consistent with random IVs and zero EVs.
Now then, we are required to mulch one of our starting Zygardes, and I decided to go with the one I caught. Mostly because the other one is higher levelled.
Ailey did that handily. I do want to take the time to check in on Noah's Zygarde- since, of course, Squishy is a team member.
And we do get a nice message from Sina to show for it.
While fighting Morimoto, I actually found a means to get Squishy to show off Power Construct, and now seems a good time to demonstrate how it works. Note that Flareon's Flare Blitz did 115 damage- also, I do have Leftovers, so I'll be recovering a chunk before I Power Construct.
I like the phrasing "presence of many".
Zygarde-Complete (Sun): This is Zygarde's form at times when it uses its overwhelming power to suppress those who endanger the ecosystem.
Say hello to Zygarde's Complete Forme, with quite the design. Zygarde-Complete has the same stats as Zygarde 50% in most things (aside from moving 10 Spd to Sp. Atk for some reason), but has an additional 108 points in BST... invested entirely in HP.
When you achieve the Power Construct condition, you get all that extra HP pre-filled. This is part of the reason Zygarde is so scary in competitive. 104 HP missing HP matches a post-Leftovers Squishy, but it is a lot smaller a missing chunk now.
It's also worth mentioning that Zygarde will remain in Complete Forme for the rest of the battle, even after a switch out.
Something that turns up now in the exploration: You remember those Captain battles we did in SM? Those are postgame battles in USUM, and they're turning up here.
Flat level 60s, with mixed 30/25 IVs, double EVs, Natures, and moves.
- Gumshoos is Adamant with Def/Sp. Def investment, Hyper Fang, Super Fang, Crunch.
- Smeargle is Hasty with Atk/Sp. Atk investment, Extreme Speed, Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, Power Whip.
- Komala is Careful (+Sp. Def/-Sp. Atk) with Atk/Sp. Def investment, Slam, Zen Headbutt, Sucker Punch, Wood Hammer.
As neat as those moves sound, Ilima is still using Normal types that are easy prey for a half-decent Fighting type. Usagi may have been overkill.
Yay, USUM is getting the fighting styles. She also gets the Everstone Ilima gave as a prize in SM.
Now then, what's really worth walking away with here in USUM: Ilima has a second thing to do along these lines. It's just him, though- Lana and Kiawe/Mallow just have their one battle each.
Although I would prefer not to be called "such a lovely Trainer". I'm not comfortable that's referring to my skill.
Ilima's task is, of all things, to reset the puzzle in Verdant Cavern. Hopefully, after someone else has done it. I hope it's been replaced by Ilima at least once since we did it.
Hau did his after us, I'm fairly sure.
We are given a Key Item version of the Normalium Z to place. Convenient, particularly since it's implied we only have one piece of our own narratively (even if, mechanically, we have as many as we want.)
...Wait a second, you trained for the stage? I think I'm more surprised by that than I am you being able to play a part your mother was cast in.
...That makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Dang...
And this is Ailey, so a black girl is doing this too...
I hope I'm not the only one responsible for them, though.
Jumping over here.
Going back through Verdant Cavern is basically like a trial? Not by much, though.
...Did I accidentally fall into the first Trial again?
Nope, this is a rematch with our very first Totem. Since speedrunners don't have to deal with this guy, I can't tell you what his IVs and EVs are.
I can tell you that's a +2 omnibuff backing it up, though.
- Gumshoos has the Adaptability Ability, with Hyper Fang, Ice Fang, Crunch, and Protect.
- Raticate has the Gluttony Ability, with Hyper Fang, Throat Chop, Double Team, and Protect.
Given what my strategy is, they have the perfect counterstrategy prepared. And I am not prepared to deal with it.
This is, at least, reason to pack Usagi's Mega.
So yeah, you know what happens when you High Jump Kick into a Protect? I honestly didn't catch the Protect in their movesets and wasn't prepared for that. Fortunately, I've got Hawkeye in the wings, but still.
- Yungoos: Stakeout, Super Fang, Tail Whip, Mud-Slap, Yawn
- Rattata: Hustle, Super Fang, Torment, Crunch, Tail Whip
Both level 58, and both infinitely summonable. Honestly, I'm more scared of the Yungoos.
Oh yeah, the Totem has a Chople Berry. Although it's worth noting that it only barely saved Raticate.
There was only so much saving Gumshoos and Raticate, but they do have a trick that's worth writing home about.
...Although it's nice I don't have to get hit by that.
Sue's plan is to resist those Normal moves and hit with spread damage.
Sometimes I think I forget she's not a Ground type.
...And then you see Rattata go down in one hit to her Earthquake and realise it didn't actually matter.
Sure, there's a new one in reserve...
But because Raticate can't spam Protect, he's helpless to the next Earthquake.
...You have a victory animation, Sue? But you have definitely earned it.
...I wish we could've seen Usagi's...
Z-Crystal... placed?
It certainly feels like the end of a Trial, although the substitute comes quickly. They seem to love this joke.
Credit where credit is due, that was a neat trick. Shame it couldn't really hold up without it, but I guess that's not really its fault.
And our reward is clothes. Kinda surprised this is something they had to add to USUM- I'd expect to find it as a reward in the original. But hey, what do I know?
Please don't. It's not my job. It is Ilima's. Trial Captains are separate from Kahunas and the Champion for a reason.
And should probably be permanent positions, but what do I know?
Ilima doesn't have any rewards himself, and seems to see us in the Trial Guide outfit despite not actually having changed. He also seems to have forgotten that Trial Captains are not Trial Guides.
Sheesh, it's like I care more about the Island Challenge system than the writers...
The Trial Guide outfit, incidentally. No unique pants, so that's just what Ailey normally wears. Ilima was right about one thing: Ailey could totally pass for a female Trial Guide.
Anyway, a quick skim through Lana's rematch, we do have to mention Harper and Sarah.
- Luvdisc is Timid with 252 EVs in HP/Spd and the moves Hydro Pump, Blizzard and Charm.
- Corsola is Calm (+Sp. Def/-Atk) with 252 EVs in HP/Sp. Def and the moves Earth Power, Power Gem and Scald.
I'm surprised too. They even have 30/15 IVs!
Anyway, as for Lana herself, she's got her own Natures with 30/25 IVs. And better Pokemon, too, to remain a step up from her sisters.
- Lanturn has Sp. Atk/Spd, Modest Nature, with Discharge, Hydro Pump, Icy Wind and Thunder Wave.
- Cloyster has Def/Sp. Def, Careful (+Sp. Def/-Sp. Atk) Nature, with Spike Cannon, Icicle Crash, Smart Strike and Spikes.
- Araquanid has Atk/Spd, Adamant Nature, with Liquidation, Leech Life, Crunch, Frost Breath and Waterium Z.
And, much like Ilima, me not lingering on this fight robs one of Ailey's Megas of valuable screentime. You go, Genevieve.
The reward for this is the freebie Deep Sea Tooth and Deep Sea Scale. Without S.O.S. chaining Clamperl or getting lucky with a steal from Basculin, Chinchou, or Carvanha, this is when you are expected to get your hands on Huntail and Gorebyss. And, sure, Ridley was awesome, but the reason I've never used her before is because they keep sticking the Clamperl items somewhere stupid like this. Ridley's not that good.
Lana did turn up in here, though.
I'd believe you'd be the Queen of Fishing, and I also wouldn't be entirely opposed to the idea, but I do feel like a fishing league would turn out a bit like the Contest Halls of series past.
Also, you guys will do it ethically, right?
Kiawe and Mallow are version- and time-locked identically to how they were in SM, and likewise offer no rewards other than their battles and battle styles. Unlike in SM, they have the same stats Lana does.
- Trevenant has Careful, Def/Sp. Def focus with Horn Leech, Shadow Claw and Leech Seed.
- Shiinotic has Careful, Def/Sp. Def focus with Moonblast, Giga Drain, Spore, and Ingrain.
- Tsareena has Adamant, Atk/Spd focus with Power Whip, High Jump Kick, Zen Headbutt, U-Turn and the Grassium Z.
Kiawe, like a Black Belt, has decided on going flat Adamant Atk/Spd investment. To be fair, this is a valid choice for two of his three Pokemon right off the bat.
- Arcnine has Flare Blitz, Crunch, and Extremespeed.
- Talonflame has Flare Blitz, Brave Bird, and Quick Attack.
- Marowak has Flare Blitz, Shadow Bone, Bone Rush, and the Firium Z.
And yes, the mentions of the 20 year old limit and the Thrifty Megamart being destroyed in living memory are still in this. Missed the latter, admittedly.
Mallow and Kiawe have lines after battle like Lana does, at least. Mallow even has a pretty good one, ignoring the fact that her cooking skills (and her self-organisation) leave something to be desired. A lot of her food has probably been fed to the Pokemon, admittedly...
Kiawe instead waxes philosophical, and surprisingly, talks about Hau. Those two barely even interacted in the story!
Next visit is to go check in on the route boss of route bosses up here on Mount Lanakila.
What I'm bringing. This team is kinda familiar, honestly. This team really turns out surprisingly well.
Time to see what the ultimate Trainer battle looks like.
Aristo has flat 30 IVs, EVs, Natures, moves, and items. His downside is that he's actually very countersynergistic.
He leads with a fairly solid strategy: Carbink with Calm (+Sp. Def/-Atk) Nature, Def/Sp. Def investment, and the moves Stealth Rock, Light Screen, and Reflect. It's holding a Light Clay, so if it gets a screen up, that screen will be up for eight turns, rather than five.
Mawile makes a solid plan for Carbink, because of the x4 Steel weakness, but Intimidate was never going to do anything even if Clear Body didn't block it.
Perhaps this Ability will be more relevant.
Torkoal will be introducing Aristo's gimmick: He's packed all four weather setters. Torkoal himself is Calm, invested in Def/Sp. Def, with the moves Fire Blast and Solar Beam. All four weather setters have the Rock needed to extend their weather to eight turns- in Torkoal's case, the Heat Rock.
He proved to take an Earthquake. Here is the part where I wonder why I didn't go for STAB Rock Slide.
Fortunately, Solar Beam is neutral, and also not STAB.
I got locked into Earthquake thanks to Choice Band. At least it's guaranteed to hit.
Ninetales is his choice in Snow Warning setter- an odd choice, given that Vanilluxe is the old Pokemon given Snow Warning, but hey, everyone else says Ninetales is the new Hail setter. Sp. Atk/Spd, Modest, with Blizzard and Dazzling Gleam and an Icy Rock. A Ninetales after Keokeo's own heart.
The weather's gone back to normal here. Won't be for long, but...
...Wow. Neutral, too. My poor little fox.
I did more damage to myself than Ninetales did.
Although the Hail chip might've swung the numbers back in Ninetales favor.
Pelipper for Drizzle, of course. Daj calling to join back in Noah's team, please. Modest, Sp. Atk/Spd, the moves Hydro Pump and Hurricane, and a Damp Rock.
It would be nice to be packing Thunder, but either way, I see a x4 weakness to Electric.
And Aristo went for the move Genevieve resists. Hydro Pump would've been neutral. Did he see a miss or something?
Either that or he was gambling on Confusion preventing this attack from materialising.
And the last weather setter is the one Ray's been using all game- Gigalith. Atk/Def invested with an Adamant Nature, Stone Edge and Earthquake for moves, and a Smooth Rock. It really is just Candy!
So anyway, I blast it immediately with Scald.
Sandstorm prevented the KO thanks to the bonus Sp. Def, and Gigalith almost got me back with Stone Edge. Thank goodness Ridley is pretty physically tanky!
Take a second Scald for your troubles.
Your Pokemon are good. You just need some weather exploiters to follow up your setters.
The Life Orb was taken out of Resolution Cave, but turns out it was just moved here. Guess Ailey bought one for nothing. Ah well, earlier access.
I suppose a cool thing to point out about it to add on is that, if you're using a move boosted by Sheer Force, the flag that tells the game "don't apply any bonus effects" extends to Life Orb, but you still get the damage boost. Now that is Sheer Force.
He won't challenge us again, though, this is just him staking out here.
Thanks to having Siri traded to her to evolve it into Porygon-Z (this is probably where Siri lost her nickname, honestly), Porygon base form was the last Pokemon Ailey needed to get 100% Pokedex completion.
Which is a good thing, because I wasn't looking forward to having Ailey do this.
This lady's still doubting her time in the Foundation, despite USUM's plot not... really supporting it? Lusamine was still evil, but the form her evil took wasn't quite so fundamental into the Foundation's workings this time.
Our next stop is this lady. Now that we've got our hands on Tapu Bulu, we need to bring him along in person to host this conversation.
This feels really disrespectful. A part of me feels grateful that Noah isn't the one doing this, but I'm not sure that helps.
The interview, of course, is done over a black screen, because Tapu forbid they be forced to program the event that Tapu Bulu is Shiny separately.
Well... it seems Tapu Koko's conversation with Nebby is not something his brother is eager to repeat for a random stranger.
I am deeply regretting even starting this conversation.
That one, I would like to know. Tapu Bulu clearly is not entirely in the mood for Alola's commercialisation by foreigners, but of course, any actual answer on the topic would point some accusatory fingers in directions Game Freak is in no mood to point at.
Definitely difficult at best.
Truly, the words of someone who hated the conversation from the word go. This was not worth it.
"I got a conversation with Tapu Bulu" would be hook on its own, but I don't think the substance will really carry an article. You'd have to combine it with research elsewhere, and it's not like the talks with the Tapu would sell that article.
This isn't even the only place to get this Seed for free- there's one in Malie Garden in all games. If you need more, you get them as 5% drops from Bounsweet/Steenee. Really feel like I angered the gods for no reason.
Careful? That's actually not a bad competitive nature for it. I don't think any of the canon 25 Natures aptly describe Tapu Bulu's temperament. Impish? Rash? Naughty? These imply a childishness to Bulu's anger that feels incorrect to ascribe to it.
Best of luck with that.
A surprising stumble I came across was a Wicke scene after RR is cleared out.
Much like she did in SM, she's going to talk about the wayward child of Lusamine. All that's changed is which one it is.
Gladion does not know the meaning of the word "vacation".
Although I find myself, once again, spotting the implication that the completion of the Island Challenge is lesser than the alternative of the Gym Challenge.
This is the justification provided. And while it's good... it doesn't escape the general vibe of the Island Challenge being inferior, if he thinks this is enough to get the advantage.
I'm hoping this is just Wicke's personal experiences and not a comment on catching being more engaging in Kanto than Alola.
...Although given S.O.S. is a thing, she might be onto something...
And time to be bribed. She really loves to lean into this thing, doesn't she?
Really doing this whole song and dance again, are we?
A nice surprise is that Wicke actually is going where she says she is. Even more of a surprise, though, is Lusamine chipping in to help.
..."Without interfering" is your takeaway? Interference was the least of your problems with your kids, and if you were worried about that with your Pokemon, the Paradise would take on an entirely different context.
Arceus above knows it's better late than not at all.
Your own mother has failed you horribly. Whether or not that's her fault is out of our purview, but learning basic empathy from your own daughter's girlfriend is a sure sign that there have been several catastrophic failures in the last 40 years.
I'll leave that to people that actually enjoy the taste of malasadas. I prefer not actually having impending responsibilities to stress me out.
It may or may not have taken me a week to write that sentence.
Anyway, our next stop is GAME FREAK's office, where Morimoto has teched up from SM. And it'll be a Doubles match, too!
So what else to lead with but Consilia? In a Doubles context, Tailwind is a fantastic thing to carry, and it ought to come in handy. I also think Consilia herself has a good typing for this.
Hawkeye is really good for the other half. High Jump Kick is doing great.
Zossie will be hilarious to bring out, even if Beast Boost depends on her using the attack.
Funnily enough, there's a Mythical Pokemon this generation with an Ability that is Sp. Atk Moxie that works when anything faints. It hasn't left that Pokemon, though.
Crysantha has a fairly standard reason for being here- a Special Attacking Dragon to worry about, of course.
Usagi is backup Hawkeye- in Doubles, something to actually potentially want on hand. Hopefully Hawkeye can handle himself in the meantime, though.
Really packing heat for the Dragon, aren't we? Fortunately, Fairies have another use in this battle, so it's not like that's the only reason they're here.
Wow. Way to throw the director under the bus. Particularly given who the Director is for USUM- Kazumasa Iwao was a map designer who first started working for Game Freak with BW (although he got a Special Thanks credit in Platinum), before being promoted to Director for USUM specifically. He also later became the Director for Legends: Arceus. Clearly he took the slight on his battling propensity seriously.
The director of SM was Shigeru Ohmori, another fresh-faced director for a Pokemon game. Ohmori was the first Director to be someone other than Tajiri or Masuda, and directed SwSh and SV following.
Shoutouts to his quote for passing up for a save and party reorganisation.
The denigration of Iwao's strengths in battling isn't helped by them not being on a first-name basis. In Japanese culture, I'm not sure that's necessarily an indication of them not being friendly enough for a ribbing, but it's still a relatively icky reading I'm not the biggest fan of having walked away with.
Iwao is actually a uniquely designed NPC- he has a different face to other Black Belts.
I can't tell if those are meant to be wrinkles or paint, though. I'd expect it to be based on Iwao's face, but I don't see it. Morimoto is much the same as he was in SM, but with his Eeveelutions replaced by Iwao's Pokemon and his Kangaskhan replaced with something else. Iwao, meanwhile, has this "worse at battling" thing backed up by mechanics- he only has one perfect IV and no EVs, but he does at least have Natures and moves.
Morimoto's new Pokemon Gengar is Modest with Sp. Atk/Spd investment, running a full complement of Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, Psychic, and Dark Pulse. Much like any Gengar, really. Iwao, meanwhile, packs a Jolly set with the moves Sucker Punch, Shadow Claw, Rock Slide, and Brick Break. It does have its HA Protean, and is planning on making use of that, but Kecleon is not outspeeding anything.
Morimoto has also seen a five level cut since SM. Not sure why that one is- maybe a Doubles tax?
Even if it went for Sucker Punch, it's still weak to Fighting.
And with all the EXP from Rainbow Rocket, Gengar is helpless to Consilia.
Which is good, because that was probably a oneshot in return.
Aside from the five level cut, that Dragonite is identical to how it looked in SM, IVs, EVs, the works. Blissey, meanwhile, is Calm (+Sp. Def/-Atk) with Fire Blast, Thunder, Blizzard, Dazzling Gleam, and Serene Grace to be a pain in the butt to anything that lets it hang around that long.
Using a Blissey may be for EXP grinding purposes, actually.
I decided now was the time to Tailwind, particularly since I didn't see Consilia sticking around in the face of Dragonite.
Unfortunately, Hawkeye missed a High Jump Kick, and apparently drew the "get hit by Dragonite" card. Fair play, Morimoto, that was clearly the bigger threat.
Woe betide whoever sets up Rain or Hail for this fight, though. Probably benefits them a heck of a lot more than it does us.
The Fairies are here for one purpose- getting rid of that Dragonite.
...Hilariously, this serves two purposes: Nerfing Draco Meteor, and preventing Blissey's Serene Grace shenanigans. I wasn't exactly planning on either (and Draco Meteor wasn't that likely), but both are welcome.
Consilia chips off Dragonite's Multiscale, and Kanaloa fires off...
Icy Wind? Well, given it's a Double Weakness and that Blissey's staying around, sure, but I think in hindsight, I should've just Moonblasted.
Consilia got tag-teamed by a pair of high-powered moves she's weak to. It was always kind of a when in this fight.
OK, seriously, what did that Dragonite do to deserve this? Usagi needs to be out to deal with that Blissey.
Because that sure isn't doing it.
Moonblast for Dragonite did the trick, though.
What happens when two immovable objects get deployed against one another?
Morimoto deploys a Physical attacker to Poison Jab me. Machamp is the reason bringing two Fairies didn't go amiss.
I can Moonblast that, too, and now this is a 2v1.
A slow as hell 2v1, but one nonetheless.
Let us never speak of this again.
Ambipom is Adamant with Technician, carrying a kit to abuse that fact- Double Hit, Dual Chop, U-Turn, and Aerial Ace. A Sturdy breaker at heart, but Ambipom's lack of actual attacking power will be its undoing.
Although it has the Speed to land one, at least.
Being 2v1ed sure didn't help.
I definitely prefer Iwao's losing quote to Morimoto's. The kinda arrogant dialogue comes off a little worse with the earlier denigration of Iwao, too...
Also, relying on the powerful, inaccurate moves tends to work against you. Iwao, on the other hand, was mostly just relying on "cool on paper, terrible in practice" strategies where the "terrible in practice" comes down to the users of the strategy just not having the stats.
Different battle, same Oval Charm.
And same daily battle setup.
Ailey was also the first kid to wind up checking in with Iwao on completion of the Pokedex. Albeit with one annoying little addition to that...
Completing all four of the Island Pokedexes is recognised by the game, in addition to the full Alola Pokedex. And each one is commemorated individually.
He opens your Trainer Passport, flips pages to the next available blank page, and adds a sticker of the Island Deity corresponding to your completed Dex.
Oh yeah, by individually, I mean we've got to go through this song and dance five times.
No, different completion noises are not different enough to justify it.
Island stamps for the other three islands.
There we go. Prize pack with the actual prizes.
This one is also completely different across all four versions:
It uses your box mascot, and the Ultra games also added the little black star to the logo. Definitely prefer the Solgaleo design, though.
Traditionally, the reward for completing the Pokedex (usually the National Dex, but SM was the first game to scale back to just the regional Pokedex) was a Diploma. They've also added some tangible prizes since, though.
Although really? Burrowing around in your pocket for something as rare as this?
(Secret Bases were a thing in ORAS, as was ranking them up. Gold Rank isn't the highest rank- that was Platinum- but ranks built so slowly that it was a pain to get that high. Ranking up didn't have much to do with finding hidden items, though.)
Naturally, what possible reward is there for catching every Pokemon except something for catching even rarer finds. The Shiny Charm triples the chance that any particular encounter will be a Shiny Pokemon, through the method of rolling two additional personality values that could be potential Shinies. This was introduced in B2W2 and is a standard Pokedex completion prize since. Starting in SwSh, though, they added Pokemon that don't get affected by the Shiny Charm.
USUM, and USUM specifically, added a second prize, for... some reason: A new player outfit. This one is also gender-specific, too.
Ailey receives an outfit design that allows her to dress up as the Pokemon Centre Nurse- in a vacuum, a perfectly fitting prize, given it's one of Pokemon's more iconic recurring designs.
I'm not sure how I feel about the fact this is juxtaposed against Ray getting a Black Belt outfit, though.
When you consider the series history of the Pokemon Centre Nurse as one of its most iconic designs no matter the region, I definitely feel like giving that design to the female Trainer was the correct choice. Certainly not the design many would have naturally gravitated to, but one that makes perfect sense now it's here.
But outside of that particular vacuum, nurses are a traditionally female job with a history of being used to sideline women. While nursing is a valuable (and more importantly, separate) job from being a doctor proper, it has often had the rhetorical role of implying that female doctors are lesser than male ones. When the male counterpart design is in a traditionally masculine hobby- and moreover, using a naming convention that implies mastery over said field- it's not hard to walk away with a vague feeling that the female design is being sidelined in much the same way. Not helped by the whole "Pokemon is a boy's thing" that hung around near the start of the series.
Again, in a vacuum, the Nurse design is more than fitting, and of the two, it's the one I'd want to keep if there was some sort of reconsideration to try and make this feel more neutral. It also helps that Pokemon Nurses do most of the "real work" within the infrastructure of Pokemon's healthcare system- Doctors are a rare sight, and even when they turned up as Trainer Classes in BW, Nurses were considered the female counterpart, equal in all regards. Still, perhaps there was a reason Doctors showed up randomly in SwSh as a gender-neutral class.
Although speaking of outfits, I have enough money to splurge and get the new-to-USUM "cosplay" outfits from Gracidea, so here's what they look like complete. While stacking a member of the 600 club against a random Grass type may also tie in to the above point, Isabella's wanting performance in a few key battles and the sheer infamy presented by the Totem Lurantis battle is enough to disabuse me of the notion that the girl is being short-changed. At least both of them got a navel window.
I bumped into an event I wasn't expecting when I went back to Kukui's. There are a few events I remembered but couldn't trigger for the blog, and in the interests of reaching an end point, I probably won't wind up working on them, but this one involves Lillie, so I might as well.
...Is this a trick question?
That is one of the weirder possible answers I could've seen there. I mean, I'm not leaning on them- I don't really like only-works-once sort of strategies- but still.
Ah, this is one of those conversations.
Other Tapus are available.
...I think I liked it better when I didn't know what was going on here.
Frankly, I'm not even sure how they expected the children playing this game to comprehend this conversation. It's not really helping me.
And then they decide to complicate it even further, presumably to explain why this is a hitherto unheard of phenomenon. Ignoring that Z-Power seems to have been a part of Alolan culture for much longer than just our own childhoods.
This much, at least, is something I am more willing to accept than the Z-Crystals being Necrozma's body. Although it does imply that the Tapus can only create a finite number, which Alolan culture is using far more than one should expect from such a purpose.
Well, by leeching off Nebby. Which I'd much rather it didn't do. At least we have the spare Necrozma, but...
I was wondering when the conversation was going to circle back around to praise me.
Yes, yes, he gave me the N-Solariser and N-Lunariser.
...Maybe they should've made this conversation be an excuse to give us the other one.
...
What stories are those? My impression is that Necrozma fought Solgaleo/Lunala, which implies that Necrozma predates on them. I'd much rather not think about Necrozma fusions with that interpretation in mind.
Funny you mention that.
It doesn't get any clearer the more you talk, Kukui.
Wait, you've met Red? I thought you lost the Kanto League to Lance? Maybe they're thinking of the Battle Tree, which does admittedly make sense- let Alolans run that thing.
Anyway, for the thing that's actually tangible to take away from this, talking to Lillie here.
The developers have found a way to allow us to fight at Lillie's side on a more permanent basis. Their justification could use work, though, given in what context that is.
The Battle Tree supports Multi Battle formats, which can be completed either with a friend or with a pre-provided AI partner. The game has one partner it gives you for free- a Pokemon Breeder named Rada with a Barbaracle and a Hawlucha- and requires you to gain more by Scouting them during a Battle Tree challenge.
USUM has noticed the opportunity to unlock new Battle Tree partners in other ways, but the only one it ever did it with was Lillie herself. To be fair, a ton of the major battling NPCs can be found in the Battle Tree, but still.
Lillie, like most Battle Tree trainers, uses a fixed set of Pokemon, drawn from the sets that can be randomly drawn for any Trainer. In her case, she uses
- Ribombee with a Timid Nature, HP/Spd investment, a Light Clay, and the moves Pollen Puff, U-Turn, Reflect, and Light Screen
- Comfey with a Timid Nature, Sp. Atk/Spd investment, a Grassium Z, and the moves Dazzling Gleam, Petal Blizzard, Grassy Terrain, and Floral Healing.
The fact that she is using a kit with a Z-Crystal does not go unnoticed- that Comfey kit also happens to be the only Z-Crystal amongst the eight sets these two Pokemon have collectively, implying it's intentional. Little understated- and I'm surprised they didn't give her a Fairium Z, but admittedly, they don't actually have a ton of Fairy types original to Alola, and Clefable is actually missing from the Battle Tree pool. If they wanted to give her a Fairium, they had the options of Banette, Mawile, Mimikyu, and Whimsicott- and I get the feeling they wanted to play more to Lillie's gimmick of team support than her Fairy typing. It sure is nice to get a reason to fight alongside her more than once, and more than that match that was stacked against her.
Next time: Title Defence.
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