Thursday, May 15, 2014

Pokemon Black 2: The Chronicles of Izalith #4

I'm getting into this game a lot more than when I previously played it, it seems. 
Since last time I found myself moving towards Nimbasa City, and the desert from Pokemon Black and White seems to have turned into some half built up area, with new houses and buildings. If I remember rightly, in the previous games, it was a building site in places, and it is pretty cool that they kept going with that idea, and made it almost finished in these games. Still, the level design is a bit weird, and there are different small routes that are connected, and you have to pass through some of these to get where you are going, for example, just before Nimbasa City, you have to go through some optional sidequest area called Join Avenue. The level design is one thing I think is slightly flawed in these games. Lots of small areas that don't really seem connected or to have any purpose (or theme linking them.) Its interesting to see how they started from scratch, in some ways, with Pokemon X and Y.

So I spent a good while exploring the different routes around the desert and the Desert Ruins. I think I caught most of the wild pokemon available; Maractus, Dwebble, Sandshrew, Yamask, Darumaka, (missed out on Scraggy apparently) and Sandile, the latter of which I decided to take in my team. The Ground/Dark typing seemed a bit more useful than the Purrloin I was taking along in my group and hadn't really used for ages anyway. So I named the Sandile Terra. Which on reflection, could be seen as the second Final Fantasy reference in my team...
After a good while, I decided to have a look around Nimbasa and the surrounding area, and I get an introduction to Hidden Grottoes from Bianca, as well as the HM for Fly, which (I'm sure you all know this) lets me teleport to cities and towns with Pokemon Centres that I've been to. Fast travel, yay!
I managed to get a few cool items in Nimbasa, including the Soothe Bell, which I was looking for. It should make evolving any pokemon that need maxed happiness a lot easier. I reckon the Eevee I've been keeping in my team is near the max, because I had it at the top of my team when I spoke to the NPC and she mentioned something about the Eevee liking me.


Gym# 4 - Electric

The gym pokemon seem to be a lot higher level than me on average, with Flaafy at lv27, Blitzle and other stuff. My highest pokemon was around lv27, so I'd probably have to do some grinding before I can comfortably take them on. Then again, Sandile is a pretty strong Ground type. I quite like the design of the gyms so far, with the Bug one involving cocoons and silk that teleport you from level to level, and this one is pretty simple, but cool for building up before the leader. Its a long stage that becomes illuminated as you beat the trainers on it, and you work your way along to the gym leader.

The gym leader Elesa uses Electric type pokemon, and has a lv28 Emolga, Flaafy lv28 and Zebstrika lv30. I actually kind of got a bit screwed up fighting her. I managed to do some damage to the Emolga, and then it Volt Switched after I went into Magnemite. This move switched in her Zebstrika, and my Thunder Wave activated his Motor Drive ability, boosting his speed....I chipped away at the Zebstrika with Terra, and then even with Moxie activating once, Flaafy took the hit and killed him off. So I had to go in with Lucario, who was strong enough to take out the Flaafy and Emolga afterwards. Bit of a mess, but I got the badge!

My team after the gym: Growlithe "Ghost" lv27, Krokorok "Terra" lv29, Lucario "Genji" lv27, Magnemite "Iron Giant" lv27, Dewott "Barioth" lv27. I think I better level up a bit more...my play time is already so bloated though!

Protip #4 - Don't be afraid to check websites and videos as you go along. I don't normally like to get spoilers, but I don't really see it as that. Checking what pokemon are available in certain areas can be really useful and make all the difference to a well rounded team if you take the time to find them. Also, there are plenty of videos telling you where to get rare pokemon or items if videos are your preferred source of info. Some links I've been using: Serebii BW Pokedex - Bulbagarden BW Habitat List - Kanto University Youtube Channel - SuperDuperTutorials Youtube Channel

Play Time - 36:43
Pokedex - Obtained: 37, Seen: 72
Gym Badges - 4

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Pretty boring character design for a gym leader, and there is very little fan art. But still, what the hell is wrong with people who are into Pokemon fan art? I see weird things every time I search for these images...Urgh...

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