Welcome, everyone, to the beginning of yet another liveblog of mine that will inevitably end when I reach some tricky part that causes my interest in the project altogether to deteriorate! ...That’s probably not the best introduction, but at least it’s honest. Anyways, due to Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 being released quite soon, the original games were being sold for a discount at this gaming shop I frequent, and I decided to pick up a copy just in time to obtain a couple of special critters with the Mystery Gift option.
The main reason I had not played this game earlier, I suppose, is that the formulaic nature of the Pokemon series that I enjoyed as a child has lost its appeal. To keep myself interested, and to give you people a reason to read this blog, I’ve decided to limit which Pokemon I will be using to complete major accomplishments. Specifically, I want to focus on a single type of Pokemon, especially since there’s only one blog so far that has done something similar; ?????’s mono-Dark run, to be specific. So, what type have I chosen to be a master of?
Bugs. Couldn't you tell from the blog's name?
Usually, Bug Pokemon are the weakest of the lot. The Gym leaders that specialize in them are usually amongst the first few battled, and while they can be effective against the powerful Psychic and Dark types, common Flying and Rock skills could easily wipe them out. They usually have low stats overall, but gain experience (and, in association, powerful moves) more quickly than other Pokemon. Unfortunately, unlike other games, it takes a while to get a Bug Pokemon in this game (after the second gym, I think). So, until the instant I get a Bug in my party, I hope you will all be okay with my decision to follow in ?????’s footsteps and find a Dark-type Scraggy or Purrloin to bide my time with. If any of you have a better suggestion, though, feel free to speak up in the Comments section.
After a rather nice-looking and somewhat ominous opening sequence, it’s time to officially start the game. Our male protagonist will be referred to as Zidane, after my personal favourite of the various protagonists in the Final Fantasy series. The season when I begin the game is Summer, as despite there being coloured leaves gathering outside my window and an early frost predicted for the weekend, seasons in Pokemon Black and White are progressed through every month (September would have been Spring, November is Autumn, etc.).
Not wanting to bore you with the little details, I’ll skip ahead to choosing my starter Pokemon, which shall be Tepig. Out of the three Pokemon I can choose from, it’s actually my least favourite, but the fact that it can use Strength could come in handy. At the very least, it should tide me over until I can exchange with a friend to get a White-only Rufflet, which can learn both Strength and Fly. As I plan for a Basculin to cover the other four H Ms in the game, this will leave plenty of room on my party for Pokemon focused on fighting opponents. In addition, Black and White 2 will come out in only a couple of days, and I can always pick Oshawott or Snivy in those games. Probably the latter, since with the exceptions of this game and Pearl, where I chose Chimchar because my friends had already selected the other two starters by the time I started playing, I always chose the Grass starter...but that’s got nothing to do with this liveblog, I suppose.
Our quirky female friend Bianca picks Snivy, and that leaves our studious male friend Cheren with Oshawott, which he claims he wanted from the start anyways. Considering that Bianca has a green cap, Cheren has a blue coat, and Zidane has a red hat, I suppose this works out well as far as color matching is concerned. Before I have the chance to give the little piggy a nickname, Bianca challenges me to a battle in my own bedroom, too hyped up over this to follow Cheren’s advice of taking this outside. Tepig can only Tackle and Tail Whip this early on, so like almost every other man, woman and child that has ever faced the initial battle in a Pokemon game, I spam Tackle. After one average hit, my opponent pulls off a critical hit that reduces Tepig to 7 HP, but she spends the rest of the battle using Leer and the grass snake is quickly knocked out.
500 Poke-dollars are mine! That...might cover a fraction of the cost of repairing my room. Way to go, Bianca. How’d we even get footprints on the wall if we only tackled each other? Moving on, after healing up Tepig, Cheren challenges us to a fight and guarantees that he’ll avoid making the room any messier than it currently is. It’s basically the same as before, except that I get lucky and land a critical hit on my first turn, and Cheren never stopped attacking until his Oshawott collapsed. Regardless of the results, Cheren definitely has a positive attitude towards finally becoming a trainer.
Our two rivals head downstairs to apologize to Zidane’s mother for the mess, and I take a quick look around before joining them. The bed is a mess, but the Wii’s not even scratched, which shows the incredible power of product placement. After watching Bianca and Cheren apologize and make plans for everyone to meet at Professor Juniper’s lab, I check out the television. The first show that comes up is called “What’s That?”, and the focus of this episode is the Red Card. Watchy Watchdog, who I assume is the show’s mascot, doesn’t know what it is according to the subtitles. The Lady of the Show misinterprets what he says and thinks Watchy knows what a Red Card is, then decides to explain its use anyways. Apparently, when the holder of a Red Card is attacked, the attacker is kicked out of the battle. The next show is called “The Waving Weaving Walk”, or Wawalk, and it examines a Pokemon with the Pickup ability. Pokemon with Pickup can get the effect of an item opponents use in battle, and can also pick up random junk when you’re just walking around the world.
I leave the house to see Bianca walking south, and since I was playing this at 3:00 AM earlier today (nighttime), a bunch of Woobat fly off into the sky. I try to head as far north as I can instead, but Cheren drags us to the lab so that we can thank Professor Juniper...and then tells me to go to Bianca’s house to hurry her along. After briefly stopping by Cheren’s house to be told how to save, I reach Bianca’s pad just in time to listen to her father disapprove of her dreams. I check out the upstairs to discover that Bianca likes pink and is the only member of the trio that doesn’t have a home computer.
At the lab, it’s finally time to give Tepig a nickname! While I only picked him for his ability to learn Strength, I still want to give him a unique identity and feel like part of the team, so I call him Mid. Why Mid, you might ask? Because it was the name of Cid’s grandson in Final Fantasy V, and you first meet him in the same area you earn the Ifrit summon. As for the name ‘Ifrit’, I plan to save it for a Pokemon that’ll have more importance to the team as a whole.
After some discussion about Pokedexes and their functions, the trio of pals is asked to go on an adventure. I could say ‘no’ and be forced to do this anyways thanks to the ‘But Thou Must’ nature of these things, but I just pick ‘yes’ and get it over with. After Juniper leaves, examining the room doesn’t lead to much, but there’s a picture of an interesting man with the Professor and the same Adventurer Tips that were on Cheren’s home computer. Leaving the lab leads to Zidane’s mother giving the group Town Maps. Checking mine out, I check out a few interesting places...such as a place labelled the P2 Laboratory, Team Plasma’s “Secret” lab. How is it secret if it’s clearly labelled on a map?
Heading up to Route 1, the trio of friends take the first steps of their journey together, and are taught by Professor Juniper how to catch Pokemon. After agreeing to a challenge to catch as many Pokemon as I can by the time we hit the next town, Bianca and Cheren run off. With Pokeballs in hand, I think that now would be a good time to conclude this introductory entry. But before we go our separate ways, here’s Mid’s current status. Since he’s the only party member so far, why not examine him a bit?
- Mid (Male)
- Lv. 6
- Mild nature.
- 10/5/2012
- Nuvema Town
- Met at Lv.5
- Often dozes off.
- Dex No.: 004
- Name: Tepig
- Type: Fire
- OT: Zidane
- D No.: 15437
- Attack: 13
- Defense: 9
- SP. Atk: 11
- SP. Def: 10
- Speed: 11
- Ability: Blaze
- Powers up Fire-type moves in a pinch.
And here’s some data from the Pokedex!
- Fire Pig Pokemon
- HT: 1’08”
- WT: 21.8 lbs.
And that’s everything you need to know about Mid. Catch ya on the flip side! ...Get it? ‘Catch’? ...I think I’ve been watching too much Chuggaaconroy...
Comments
