So I did some serious training in anticipation for the first Gym battle. Here is what my team looked like right before I entered the Gym for the first time:
This might look a bit like over-preparation since Cilan's Pokémon are only lv 12 and lv 14, but since both of his Pokémon pack Work Up, I want to make sure my team can take some hits. Also, Hot Wings is my only real option against Cilan's Pansage, and his only current fire attack, Incinerate, is pretty weak. Also I was trying to remember Pansage's moveset, and I was under the impression that it had Acrobatics, so I wanted to give Hot Wings a chance to withstand that. I had also received some Oran Berries from Cheren earler, so I planned on equipping those right before battling Cilan. I decided to wait until I defeated the preliminary Gym trainers so the Berries wouldn't be used up.
When I entered the Gym, I kept Hot Wings in front to battle the Gym trainers so he could get more experience. This resulted in a scary moment when one opponent scored a critical hit against us, but fortunately Hot Wing's Defense was solid enough to take the hit with some HP to spare. Once we defeated all the Gym trainers, Hot Wings was so close to leveling up that I decided to quickly take him out to Route 2 and fight a couple of wild Pokémon to reach lv 14. Having earned some rest, I healed him up and then entered the Gym once again to take on Cilan!
Since I am not currently following the complete Wedlocke rules, I chose to mix up the pairs and have Gingersnap take on Lillipup, leaving Hot Wings fresh to battle Pansage.
Round 1: Lillipup vs. Lillipup! This was pretty straightforward, and Gingersnap's superior stats allowed her to take out Cilan's Lillipup before he had the chance to set up with Work Up. Now on to the main event!
Round 2: This was the moment of truth. Our levels were equal and I had the type advantage, but just how much damage would Incinerate do? I was disappointed when Hot Wings' first attack took out a mere 1/3 of Pansage's health. Here it comes, I thought, He's going to set up with Work Up and take me out with Acrobatics on the next turn. But, to my pleasant surprise, he instead used Vine Whip. It turns out Cilan's Pansage didn't have Acrobatics... oops. Well, at least it was a mistake that worked to my advantage. Hot Wings took out Pansage in two more hits while barely taking any damage. Such a good little fire monkey! And with that, the Trio Badge was mine.
I also received the TM for Work Up, which I promptly taught to all my Pokémon that could learn it (yay for infinite TM use). After earning the badge I paid a visit to Fennel, who kindly gave me HM01 Cut.
I promptly taught Cut to Guava. Unfortunately with her nature she may be shaping up to be an HM slave. With this HM in tow I could now access another section of the Dreamyard. I returned there to find Bianca, as well as two Team Plasma grunts tormenting a Munna. My Pokémon made quick work of the Plasma grunts, and with a little help from a Musharna they were scared off. Before heading back to Fennel's I did some exploring to grab all of the items in the area. I ran across a wild Munna which I couldn't capture because I had already received Hot Wings here. I was kind of sad about the missed opportunity, but Hot Wings was definitely a necessary addition to the team so I have no regrets.
With that done I began to explore Route 3. I ran into my first double battle there, and Guava and Hot Wings got to fight side-by-side. It was pretty scary though because both opponent Pokémon ganged up on poor Hot Wings. This is why double battles are feared in Nuzlocke runs...
My first wild Pokémon encounter for this route was a female Pidove! A Flying type would definitely be good to have, so I captured it using a recently obtained Heal Ball. I named her "Peach", because the little spots above her beak are sort of peach-colored.
And a Quirky nature... awesome! Can't complain about a neutral nature.
Right after catching Peach, I was sent into Wellspring Cave with Cheren to retrieve a stolen Pokémon from some more Team Plasma grunts. That wasn't a very difficult task with the help of Cheren's Snivy. Once the Plasma grunts retreated, I started thinking about what Pokémon I wanted to capture in the cave. I did some quick research on the area and learned that I could find a Drilbur in the dust clouds that occasionally pop up. So I used some Repels and soon enough I found one. And it was a male which made it eligible to capture. I named the little guy "Cornbread" (again, another impulse decision). He has a Relaxed nature, which raises Defense and lowers Speed. Ordinarily Drilbur have decent Speed, but is a little lacking in both defensive stats, so I don't necessarily mind losing some Speed for a defense boost. If necessary I'll use some Carbos to supplement his Speed later on.
I left Wellspring Cave to tackle the rest of Route 3. I knew right away that Cornbread would be a great partner for Peach when I found some trainers on this route using the Electric type Blitzle. Even though I'm not playing by the rule that Peach and Cornbread are locked into battle with each other, it does add to the overall narrative that Cornbread is able to defend Peach from Pokémon she is weak against.
I finally reached Nacrene City, home of the second Gym. The Leader, Lenora, specialized in Normal type Pokémon. As I started thinking about this next Gym, I started having second thoughts about capturing a Drilbur in Wellspring Cave instead of a Roggenrola. Not only are Roggenrola resistant to Normal type attacks, but they also have the Sturdy ability which prevents it from being taken out in one hit. This would be especially useful since Lenora's Pokémon know Retaliate, which doubles in power the turn after one of her other Pokémon has been defeated. But what's done is done, and I was really excited to try raising a Drilbur because I had never done so before, so I'll just have to come up with another strategy to take on the Gym. Part of that strategy involves some more leveling, so it's back to grinding on Route 3. Fortunately there are Audino around to make things a bit faster.
After some brief research, I decided that I should head west of Nacrene City into Pinwheel Forest to do some training. I read that I can find the TM for Rock Smash, a Fighting type move which could be very useful against Lenora. That's what I'll be tackling in Part 3. See you next time!
(credit for party sidebar format goes to Marriland)
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