Pokémon Moon, Episode 12: In Which I Infiltrate A Gang Stronghold

Once I’ve stopped shaking uncontrollably, and the Rotomdex has reassured me that the horrifying undead Pikachu I just fought is only another Pokémon (a Ghost/Fairy-type called Mimikyu), Acerola offers me some suggestions on what to do next. Although my success in her trial was in some respects debateable – I was, she reminds me, only supposed to get a photograph of Mimikyu, not give its lair a new back door – I did basically achieve its fundamental objectives, so she presents me with her crystal, the Ghostium-Z. As Ula’ula Island has only two Captains, that means I now have the right to challenge the island’s Kahuna. Acerola declines to explain who or where the Kahuna is right away, though, and invites me back to Aether House to talk it over there. Unfortunately when we get there, with Hau just a few steps behind, someone who is definitely not the Kahuna is waiting.

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Anonymous asks:

I’m curious/forget if you addressed this in a post – did you breed your Psychu to have an Ice-type Hidden Power and Timid Nature, or did you just get lucky?

Pure luck, actually. When I found the character who identifies your Hidden Powers, I just went through all the Pokémon I had at the time to see if any of them seemed useful. Not sure whether I’ll keep it long-term as Hidden Power isn’t exactly a strong move, but I’m not sure what else Psychu can learn that I might want instead (I still have a blackout on any information I haven’t yet found for myself in the game).

Pokémon Moon, Episode 11: In Which I Perform an Exorcism

With no other clear direction obvious to me, I leave Malie City and wander south. The southeast coast of Ula’ula Island is dominated by extremely rough, rocky, arid scrubland. Although the Z-Crystal that I earned in Sophocles’ trial gets me through the Island Challenge barricades on the southeast road, it doesn’t take long before the rocks become totally impassable. Fortunately, Hapu (who is almost certainly very important, though I’m still not sure why) is on hand to offer me the solution: she allows me to freely summon her Mudsdale as a riding Pokémon. Mudsdale is slow compared to the other Tauros and Stoutland, but can move effortlessly over rough terrain that would reduce them to uncoordinated stumbling. Hapu points me in the direction of Tapu Village, at the base of Mount Lanakila, for my next trial, then bids me good luck and farewell.

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Pokémon Moon, Episode 10: In Which I Am Recruited To A Cultural Revolution

Among the major selling points of Malie City is its library, the best in Alola. I mean, not that that’s saying much. The Alolans still worship a cabal of fickle and wrathful Pokémon as deities, and their leading Pokémon researcher is secretly a part-time luchador; believe it or not, they aren’t exactly a global centre of knowledge and literature. They are, however, the world’s leading experts on one field in particular: their own traditions and mythology; Alolan myth basically isn’t taught or studied at any university I’ve ever heard of outside the region itself. Lillie, who arrived in Malie City ahead of me and Hau after coming directly from Heahea City, claims to have need of this esoteric knowledge in order to help Nebby. She asks me to come to the library with her to check it out – so of course I brusquely refuse, send her scurrying away in terror, and then follow her anyway at an inconspicuous distance. Gotta stay one step ahead of this crafty b!tch and her freaky living nebula-bomb, or the whole island chain could be a smoking ruin by Tuesday afternoon. The moment I manage to get into a proper stalking rhythm, though, I run straight into… Professor Oak?

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Pokémon Moon, Episode 9: In Which I Do Battle With A Demon Jellyfish From The Endless Void

I should really just get out while I’m ahead.

I got this sparkly bracelet thing, I got a bunch of weird voodoo crystals with a variety of dubiously magic powers, I got a bunch of… arguably cool Pokémon that I’d never seen before. Some of those things’d have to fetch a decent price if I just left Alola and never looked back, right?

And if you’re with the police, no, obviously I’m not talking about the Pokémon; they would stay with me back in Kanto and I would do my best to give them all a good life.

(If you’re not with the police, look, I know a guy who knows a guy, okay? Just be cool)

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Anonymous asks:

Since you so cleverly figured out Kalos’s Champion during your playthrough of X, I challenge you to try and figure out who Alola’s Champion is! No hints, not even whether or not you’ve met them so far.

Well, at the moment I don’t think Alola even has a Champion. At the point I’ve reached in the story (obviously I’m ahead of what I’ve actually written, since writing takes time), I’ve learned that Professor Kukui is currently working to form a Pokémon League in Alola; it seems likely that the creation of the League and the selection of Alola’s first Champion are going to be focal points of the rest of the story. That being the case, it seems possible that the story could end with the player being appointed to the position. Kukui himself isn’t out of the question either, since he’s clearly far more martial than other Professor characters. That Hapu chick also seems like a good bet, since she’s clearly very powerful, but doesn’t wear a Captain’s insignia and doesn’t really act like a Kahuna either (she doesn’t hang out on just one island). She just shows up from time to time, helping people and offering advice, which is consistent with the role Champions tend to have in Pokémon games before their formal introduction. If I were a betting man, my money would be on her.

Pokémon Moon, Episode 8: In Which I Am Given A Stern Talking-To By A Colourful Sisterly Figure

“So what you’re saying is, you almost killed my Totem Lurantis because your crazy great-grandmother would have wanted it that way?” Mallow folds her arms as she waits for an answer.
“…she had a drinking problem. And a gambling problem. And… several legal problems. But she was pretty spry for 94.”
“When did she…?”
“Um… well, about eight years back, the law caught up with her, and she grabbed a shotgun, stole a motorbike, kidnapped the neighbours’ Heracross, and skipped town, laughing all the way. Honestly she’s, uh… probably still kicking. Somewhere out there.” I idly dunk a spoon in the half-finished pot of stew from Mallow’s trial and taste it. “Mmmmmmmm, that’s so f%&£ing good. Good call on the Revival Herb, by the way.” Mallow shudders.
“Okay, well… I’m pretty sure you did technically pass my trial… somehow… so… take these, I guess.” She thrusts a sack of Nest Balls at me, then hands me her Z-Crystal, the Grassium-Z, and leaves me to explore the jungle on my own. Now that I can encounter and catch wild Pokémon there, I am rewarded with three new ones: Bounsweet, Comfey, and Oranguru. I’m not exactly inspired by these so far. Bounsweet is a round, pinkish-red fruit Pokémon that brings to mind the phrase “oh, look, it’s Cherubi,” but it does evolve into something that might not be Cherrim, so we’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. Comfey is a Hawaiian lei Pokémon, one of those Flabébé-like Fairy-types that really looks as though it should be a Grass-type and has a bunch of stuff that supports Grass-types; it’s nice and thematically appropriate to the setting but doesn’t seem to evolve, and so far doesn’t really look like it’ll measure up to a fully-evolved Florges. The third Pokémon, Oranguru, is so far the most interesting-looking – a purple and white apelike Normal/Psychic Pokémon that fights from a cross-legged sitting position. It too shares a Pokédex page with something else, so there’s a good chance it will evolve.

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Anonymous asks:

I’ve been excitedly reading your Sun and Moon playthrough and enjoying it immensely. However, you passed through route 8 and didn’t even mention Colress’s appearance! I’m disappointed, I wanted to see you thoughts and your character’s reaction!

Good heavens, you’re right! I completely forgot about that while I was writing! We must remedy this situation at once!

…

“You there!” I stop walking and turn around, ready to fire off a snarky quip at whoever just called me “you there,” until I see… oh. Ohhhh good. This guy.
“Oh, excuse me! I am a scientist. My name is Colress,” he introduces himself. Colress still has his trademark lab coat and sweeping plume of blue hair, but has added a pair of robotic gauntlets with touchscreen displays on the wrists, so he can look like his every gesture is something important and sciency.
“Yeah, I’ve… I’ve heard of you,” I tell him haltingly. He looks surprised, then worried.
“Really? A young trainer like you has heard of my work? Or- oh. You don’t know about-?”
“The whole war crimes thing, with Team Plasma back in Unova? How you were complicit in a plot to plunge a continent into a new ice age and bring about the end of modern civilisation?” Now he looks very worried. “No, look, it’s fine, I don’t care, just… look, we’ve sort of met before; it’s kind of a long story… I was a few years older, I might have been a chick at the time…” I shake my head. “I was literally a different person, is the point, and so were you, as far as I’m concerned. And I’m on holiday. So unless whatever you’re doing in Alola is somehow a threat to the entire planet, it is officially not my problem.” Colress just stares at me blankly. “Seriously. We. Are. Fine. What’re you up to, anyway?”
“Well…” Colress begins cautiously, “That is… the theme of my research is… ‘bringing out the potential of Pokémon.’ What brings out the power of Pokémon is… I believe that is – the bond they share with their trainers!” Okay, so he’s still working in the same research area, but the events of Black and White 2 have proven to him that supercharging Pokémon with evil machines to create powerful weapons is not the best method. “And thus my attention is drawn to trainers like yourself… trainers bound to their Pokémon through the power of the Z-ring! Z-power… is it the true potential I seek? Does it surpass the Mega Ring?”
“Nope.” He blinks at me.
“…what?”
“Surpass the Digivice. Pretty sure it doesn’t.” He stares at me in confusion.
“Digi- Digiwhat?”
“Digivi- oh, um. Mega Ring. Whatever. Look, the Mega Ring unlocks a whole new level of evolution, changing a Pokémon’s form and powers, bringing it one step closer to spiritual completion… The Z-Crystals blow stuff up.” He raises a finger like he’s about to say something. “I mean, I guess if you only have a Charmander then a Firium-Z is gonna get you further than a Charizardite-X… seriously though, try ‘em both out. They give Z-Rings away practically for free here in Alola; you just have to, like… risk your life to help out a terrorist, or something.” Colress shakes his head in amazement.
“Alola is fascinating! I believe I will stay here for some time! Well then, I hope to see you again some time.” He turns and walks away.
“But don’t get any ideas!” I call out after him. “You better not try to destroy the world with this stuff! I live here!”

Pokémon Moon, Episode 7: In Which My Culinary Skills Are Pushed To Their Limit

Since the next Captain, Kiawe, is a Fire Pokémon specialist, he lives on a volcano. Because of course he does. Fire trainers don’t really ‘do’ subtlety. Wela Volcano, which is named for the Hawaiian word for heat or burning, and corresponds to Haleakala in the real world, looms over the northeast corner of Akala Island. Although many of its basalt flows are still glowing red from the last eruption, the volcano is perfectly safe – or at least, this is the claim made by the Seismic Sisters, a set of Alolan triplets who maintain tunnels that provide surprisingly easy access up and down its slopes. Among the hardy, fire-tolerant Pokémon that live there is a wily black lizard Pokémon called Salandit, a Fire/Poison-type, which nearly blows my Trumbeak out of the sky with Dragon Rage. I decide to retire my Butterfree and recruit one in her place (a female, which I’m told is important); that Dragon Rage is sure to come in handy as long as we’re still low-level.

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