So I'm playing Reborn again...

[wildebeast]

DISCLAIMER: I am not good at video games, writing, or puzzles.

 

I have to confess: I've never gotten very far into Reborn, and the farthest I've gotten was the point just after getting Surf.

 

The biggest reason for this, more than anything else, is because my brain does not handle puzzles very well. At a certain chess puzzle, I could feel the gears churning in my head. While a large portion of me (I'd say about ninety percent) believes this is because many of Reborn's later puzzles are outlandish and stupid, a much smaller portion acknowledges that maybe, just maybe, I'm a bit stupid. And I hate puzzles.

 

Anyway, I'm going to be playing Reborn, and this time I'll be doing it without any guides. This will not be a play-by-play, but rather small snippets of the run's highlights. In addition to that, this is my soapbox for pointing out aspects of the game that I like, but also aspects that I don't. This includes (but isn't limited to) the narrative, characters, gameplay mechanics, and more. I'll try my best to be constructive because I do like this game. It's very fun and, as I've stated elsewhere, I think it's a very ambitious project.

 

By the way, I'm not good at Pokemon. I played Pokemon Rejuvenation recently, and a screenshot of my team's ace (who has Fissure, by the way) should tell you what type of Pokemon I like to use.

 

Pictured: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena

 

Anyway, let's get on with it.

 

-PLOT-

 

When you first start the game, you're greeted by Ame, manager of the Reborn League, who asks your gender and name. Despite my being a man, I usually play female characters. This is mostly because when I play games, I don't put myself in the player character's shoes. I'll usually pick the cutest option because that's what I'd rather be looking at for the next chunk of my life. That's why I'm going with this.

 

 

Shortly after picking a player avatar, the plot rolls in and the train blows up. You're briefly introduced to Julia, a green-haired cheerleader who really likes explosions.

 

I've nothing against the "explosions as funsies" trope, but something about Julia irks me. Rather than not liking the character, I feel like she takes away from the scene. The game presents a tone-setting event that suggests I should take it seriously, and within seconds, introduces Julia as a way to shatter the tension of what happened. Granted, this is the only way I can think of to segue from an explosion to the adventurous process of selecting a starter.

 

After some back and forth about the explosion, Ame runs off and Julia asks if you're here to take on the Reborn league. Neither answer changes anything, I think, so I picked "Yes." After that, Julia sends you off to Grand Hall, where you meet Victoria for the first time. I've got a few qualms with this character, but I'll save those for when we get there.

 

Victoria says something about the "Reborn System" and we're off to select the best pony. Victoria always picks Tepig, the dinkiest looking starter. I usually dump my starter immediately after catching it, but this time I guess I should use it. That means savescumming until I get what I want, just like I did in Sun/Moon.

 

Pictured: "Now you wrestle for WILDEBEAST."

 

I've never used Piplup, but Empoleon has always been one of my favorite starter designs.

 

Victoria goes to pick her starter and Cain strolls up looking for a fight. I sort of like Cain. I like his cheesy and embarrassing singing/trashy weaboo gimmick, I like how flamboyant his design is, and I like almost every Poison mon. I dislike how Cain is used in the story, and how most scenarios in which he is involved are written for him to steal the show.

 

Cain is sort of like Marie from P4G. I like a lot about him on paper, but the fact that he is such a creator's pet makes me unhappy. He is a Mary Sue of circumstance. More on that later, when I've got actual scenes to complain about. At this point he's generally likable.

 

Anyway, Cain hits on us and we slam his Nidoran. Or not. He curbstomps King into the red until his Nidoran starts missing every attack. Hustle too good. Victoria steps up to bat too, but Tepig beats King, who doesn't learn a Water move until later. Tepig is bulky and the Piplup line has high Sp.Atk and middling to poor Atk. Victoria wipes the blood off Tepig's tiny piglet feet before Ame gives us both a PokeDex and PokeGear. Also some sick running shoes that break the frame rate in speed-up mode. Victoria gives us five Poke Balls and with that, the hand holding is done.

 

Well, minus one scene where a Torkoal roasts a man alive. It's another tone-setter. Harmless, but I feel like it didn't need to be there. Reborn's biggest issue is that it ping-pongs the tone between grimdark and cheesy, and that makes it hard to stay invested in what's going on.

 

But hey, I'm gonna do it.

 

-THE WILDEBEAST ZONE-

 

I've decided to separate this not-LP into two segments: Plot, where I talk about the story, and this, where I bat cleanup and get incredibly neurotic about a video game for children.

 

After losing 500 neo-shekels to a guy who isn't going to sell me Magikarp, I'm left with a balance of 2640 neo-shekels. I immediately spend all of it on Poke Balls. I don't have enough to get more than 13, so there's no point buying them in increments of 10 for bonus Premier Balls. At that point I've got 18 Poke Balls and 1 Premier Ball.

 

The first thing I do is catch as many Meowth/Rattata as I can. Meowth so I can scum the game out with a Pick-Up mon and Rattata because, for some reason, I'm determined to carry a Rattata through this game. It's gonna be a damn good Rattata, even if I have to catch a bunch of them.

 

Pictured: a damn good Rattata

 

I also considered raising a Patrat because Watchhog looks like LordGenome, but we'll see where that goes. It went, by the way. The Meowth hunting, however, did not. I got a bunch, but all of them had Unnerve. They're useless.

 

After circling around the center to prove my rat is the strongest, I check out which of two mons is getting heckled by a bunch of guys with nothing better to do. It's Pachirisu.

 

Pictured: one man's poor naming sense

 

I've always had a soft spot for the Electric-type roadkill that gets introduced every generation. Plusle and Minun represented an all-time low, and Togedemaru is an all-time high. That stupid ball of spikes is the best. Pachirisu would probably be my next favorite after Togedemaru, half because I like its white-blue colour scheme and half because it's cute.

 

After a trip to Nurse Joy (my rat died) it's time to do event mon cleanup. I don't plan to get too in-depth outside of important battles and the story.

 

Below is the squad prior to big cleanup. It's an early-game mess.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Beasly (Rattata): Docile / Hustle

Tackle/Tail Whip/Quick Attack/Focus Energy

 

Overload (Patrat): Impish / Run Away

Tackle/Leer/Bite/Bide

 

King (Piplup): Mild / Defiant

Pound/Growl/Bubble

 

Luckens (Pachirisu): Sassy / Volt Absorb

Growl/Bide/Quick Attack

 

 

Next time: Cain is Dante, Fern is Vergil.

 

(A bit late, but I've never done something like this before. Criticism might help if something terrible catches your eye.)

[Jess]

1 hour ago, wildebeast said:

I dislike how Cain is used in the story, and how most scenarios in which he is involved are written for him to steal the show.

But he IS fabulous, he deserves to steal the show! I honestly have so much fun reading his sexual innuendos, Cain is pure class!

 

When it comes to Julia, she could have more depth, kinda shallow as a character, I agree, but maybe because story elements aren't revealed yet (early relationship with Flo/Fern/Titania/Amaria, school years, how they fell apart).

 

1 hour ago, wildebeast said:

I've always had a soft spot for the Electric-type roadkill

No pokemon deserves to be called "a roadkill". First of all, because I have lost my pet by a car once and just saying this as an insult to something, to pinpoint its uselessness is beyond offensive and harsh. And secondly, because everything, regardless of how small/ weak/ with low stats it is, it has usefulness in it. And it is same with life. Nobody is useless just because he/she is weak, not good at classes or anything. It consists an indirect bullying to pokemon to say that. I might be overreacting, but this is how I feel.

 

1 hour ago, wildebeast said:

By the way, I'm not good at Pokemon. I played Pokemon Rejuvenation recently, and a screenshot of my team's ace (who has Fissure, by the way) should tell you what type of Pokemon I like to use.

 

Pictured: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena

 

Finally, using Stunfisk doesn't mean you aren't good at pokemon... You just liked to play with a not common option. In the years I can tell that most people who DON'T use common pokemon (which are the most powerful usually), are more skillful. Just because they need to be clever to overcome the weaknesses. And that's Reborn's biggest advantage, that it makes you get out of your way and use underrated pokemon. And not only that. It makes you love them.

Yes, I love Garbodor, you all can kill me now  

[Alextron]

2 hours ago, wildebeast said:

The biggest reason for this, more than anything else, is because my brain does not handle puzzles very well. At a certain chess puzzle, I could feel the gears churning in my head. While a large portion of me (I'd say about ninety percent) believes this is because many of Reborn's later puzzles are outlandish and stupid, a much smaller portion acknowledges that maybe, just maybe, I'm a bit stupid. And I hate puzzles.

 

Oh boy, wait till you reach episode 16 content. I have to tell you, one hell of a puzzle awaits you and I'm already feeling pity for your brain.

 

Nevertheless, good luck on your run and have fun .

[wildebeast]

1 hour ago, Jess said:

No pokemon deserves to be called "a roadkill". First of all, because I have lost my pet by a car once and just saying this as an insult to something, to pinpoint its uselessness is beyond offensive and harsh. And secondly, because everything, regardless of how small/ weak/ with low stats it is, it has usefulness in it. And it is same with life. Nobody is useless just because he/she is weak, not good at classes or anything. It consists an indirect bullying to pokemon to say that. I might be overreacting, but this is how I feel.

Sorry, no offense intended. I display affection for my cat through insults, like calling him a "stupid baby" or a "stupid old man," usually followed up with a high-pitched whine. I didn't call it roadkill to be demeaning, but rather as a term of endearment.

 

37 minutes ago, Alextron said:

Oh boy, wait till you reach episode 16 content. I have to tell you, one hell of a puzzle awaits you and I'm already feeling pity for your brain.

Please no.

[Alextron]

3 minutes ago, wildebeast said:

Please no.

 

I'm afraid Ame God is fresh out of mercy. But worry not! If you need help with teh hard puzzles, don't hesitate to contact me.

[Gentleman Jaggi]

8 hours ago, wildebeast said:

Please no.

I think most of us are here for the challenging battles, not the puzzles.

With how tedious some of them *cough*AventurineWoods*cough* can get I'd say there's nothing wrong with looking up the solutions, so that you can at least get them done as quickly as possible.

[wildebeast]

CHAPTER 1: BEASLY SELLS

-THE WILDEBEAST ZONE-

 

Pictured: "Oh hey."

 

Before I start, I should mention that I'm using "Set" instead of "Shift." This isn't because I'm confident in my ability to slam the opposition, but because I believe that Shift is unfair. The game's AI is already limited, after all.

 

So the first thing I did was cleanup as many event mons as I knew: Budew, Whismur, Panpour, Gulpin, Espurr, Igglypuff, Kricketot (which gave an early introduction to Shelly), and Teddiursa. I didn't get any of the weather-locked Pokemon like Surskit, Blitzle, Tynamo, or Pansear. Excluding Pachirisu and Zigzagoon (the latter I cannot get), to my knowledge I've collected all event mons in this section of the game. Please correct me if I missed anything important.

 

Spoiler

 

Dame (Budew): Hasty / Poison Point

Absorb / Growth

 

Tango (Teddiursa): Naive / Quick Feet

Baby-Doll Eyes / Fake Tears / Lick / Fury Swipes

 

Dudley (Panpour): Modest / Gluttony

Play Nice / Leer / Lick / Water Gun

 

Lady (Espurr): Hasty / Infiltrator

Scratch / Leer

 

Sugar (Igglypuff): Impish / Competitive

Charm / Defense Curl / Pound / Wish

 

Phoebe (Kricketot): Lonely / Shed Skin

Growl / Bide

 

Gusto (Gulpin): Timid / Sticky Hold

Pound / Yawn / Poison Gas / Sludge

 

Tiger (Purrloin): Calm / Prankster

Scratch / Growl / Assist/ Sand Attack

 

 

I also collected a mish-mash of items. Less because I remembered where they were, and more because I'm prone to mashing the interact key against every tile that looks conspicuous. I've listed my spoils below. Again, please correct me if I've missed anything important.

 

Spoiler

 

Antidote x2

Normal Gem x1

Common Candy x3

Red Shard x1

Old Rod x1

Poison Gem x1

Potion x5

Rose Incense x1

Paralyz Heal x2

PokeSnax x1

Poke Ball x1

Purple Shard x3

Dark Gem x1

Super Potion x1

Guard Spec. x1

Sea Incense x1

Grass Gem x1

Ability Capsule x1

Red Shard x2

Burn Heal x1

Repel x1

Green Shard x1

Heart Scale x1

Calcium x1

Clever Wing x1

 

 

This is the squad after said cleanup.

 

Spoiler

 

Overload (Patrat): Impish / Run Away

Tackle / Detect / Bite / Bide

 

Luckens (Pachirisu): Sassy / Volt Absorb

Growl / Bide / Quick Attack

 

Tiger (Purrloin): Calm / Prankster

Scratch / Growl / Assist/ Sand Attack

 

King (Piplup): Mild / Defiant

Pound / Growl / Bubble / Water Sport

 

Gusto (Gulpin): Timid / Sticky Hold

Pound / Yawn / Poison Gas / Sludge

 

Beasly (Rattata): Docile / Hustle

Hyper Fang / Bite / Tackle / Focus Energy

 

And now we continue.

 

 

 

-PLOT-

 

Pictured: a rare sunny day in this slimehole city

 

After Overload and Luckens stomp the tar out of two scammers' Pokemon, it's time to advance the plot. I'm always confused on whether to hit up Fern or Julia's gym first, so this time I checked out the gym. Locked, but a note from Florinia points us towards a factory. That's my cue to go beat up Fern, so let's go and do that.

 

Fern is standing around outside on the northwestern end of the ward. When you talk to him he states that they (Florinia and Julia, I assume) told him to meet at the old factory. He realizes they might have meant the other factory, but before he can leave, he notices us staring directly at him from the front.

 

Fern: "Hey, what are you looking at? Got a problem? I hope not. You don't know who you're messing with. Name's Fern. I'm the cool cat, and the top dog. Got it? Cuz I don't think you do. Get ready for a lesson in class!"

 

Pictured: "Okay."

 

Spoiler

 

 

Fern leads with his Lotad and I lead with my resident Poison mon: Gusto. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

 

 

Two CCs of Sludge later, Fern wastes a Potion and is left scraping muck off his Lotad's stupid face. Snivy comes in next and gets Gusto with Wrap, but not before some Sludge drops it into the yellow. Gusto cleans his plate after taking a Tackle, hits level 12, and Fern brings out his last mon.

 

 

Budew is a level above Gusto, and its Grass/Poison-typing means it won't go down as fast. It opens with Growth while Gusto's Sludge does a fifth of its health. I decide to keep pushing since Gusto should resist anything Budew can throw out. Or at least, that's what I thought before I remembered it was a sunny day.

 

Budew gets off another boosted Growth as it clicks, and I immediately use Yawn. Almost too late, because a critical Mega Drain puts Gusto into the yellow and brings Budew back into the green. Budew hits another Mega Drain and puts Gusto into the red. Budew falls asleep and I use Amnesia, which Gusto learned beating Lotad and Snivy. I'm not sure why I used Amnesia.

 

Pictured: I am not good at Pokemon

 

I'm a very nutty person. I could use a Potion to save Gusto for that sweet, sweet EXP, but I'm among the sub-group of gamers who would sacrifice a mon before using an item. What if I need it, right? What if a tough boss rolls around and my level 60 Ursaring needs those 20 hit points? It's very stupid, yes, but you never know!

 

I salute Gusto for his work and pray he gets off one final Sludge. He actually manages to get off three, putting Budew back into the red before Budew cleans his clock. Unwilling to send out any of my other mons which Budew will cannibalize for health, I send out my overleveled ace. One Tackle finishes Budew off.

 

Pictured: the overleveled Emperor atop his throne

 

 

Fern (Post-battle): "Hah! Way to get lucky."

 

Fern dismissively says he doesn't have time for this, stating he has people waiting for him. Funny considering he instigated the fight. He runs off, leaving me to complain about future events.

 

So here's the deal with Fern. At this point in the game he's a jerk, but he's at least a likable jerk. I have a big soft spot for characters who talk a big game even when they lose. Had this been my first go through, I'd have nothing to complain about. It is not, so I have a lot of things to complain about. Namely that Fern gets the Cain treatment, but in reverse.

 

Most situations in which Cain is involved are written for him to steal the show. He is pushed too hard as this do-no-wrong nice guy who's always there to save the day. Then there's Fern.

 

Later, Fern is pushed as the opposite of Cain: the ultimate jerk that everyone is supposed to hate. The thing is, it's clear that whoever wrote Reborn decided at some point we didn't hate Fern enough, and doubled down on making him unlikable. This isn't uncommon in writing. The mistake came when Fern turned from an actual character to the embodiment of everything the writer didn't like, a target for people who know "that one guy on the internet" to piss on.

 

I'm informed that characters in Reborn are based on real-life individuals, and that Fern was exactly as obnoxious in real life as he got later in the game. Perhaps that's true, but that doesn't excuse the poor writing used to instill within me the negativity he perhaps instilled within the writer. It's like, come on! If you're going to write a slimebag, at least do it well. There is no slow transition from "Fern is a likable jerk" to "Fern is a terrible human being." It was one thing, then it was the other.

 

Buy hey, I'll vent more on this when we get to those points.

 

With Fern thoroughly stomped, I hop over to the Pokemon Center to give Gusto the medal he deserves. Afterwards, I stop by Julia's gym to trigger the next story flag.

 

 

Julia asks if I'm here to challenge her gym, then says it'll have to wait. There are terrorists to stop, and Julia suggests I come with. You can't not help, so I head over.

 

Pictured: the correct factory

 

One day later, I decide to polish off the rest of the game before the first gym. Beating this section seems like a good place to stop this entry. Reborn is a long game, and I won't get anywhere if I don't post in sizeable chunks. That, and the more story content I get through, the more off-screen grinding I can pull when I need something tedious to pass the time.

 

So we talk to Julia, who blasts the factory open. Fern and Florinia show up, and Fern at least comes across as a likably smarmy. Contrary to what Julia would have you believe, Flobot sounds way cooler than Rini. Treasure the day someone gives you a sick nickname because for every good nickname, there's a dozen low-effort nicknames. But yeah, it's time to murk some losers.

 

At this point we learn the terrorists are called "Team Meteor." I think this is the first time the name is used, but I might be wrong.

 

We get in there and the water present is super toxic. It's being dumped into the Azurine Lake, and if I had to wager a guess, I'd say that's why the lake looks like an overblown toilet. We split into two groups, Julia and Florinia, Fern and me. It's time to break some kneecaps. Team Meteor has a lot of Rock and Steel-type mons, and in these weird team double battle situations, your team gets healed every battle.

 

This is an ideal time to let the King in the Ring loose, because that's my stupid gimmick. All of my Pokemon fight for Wildebeast so I get to pretend I'm versed in fighting as sports, and that I'm not a wallflower hobbyist on the subject matter. This oughta be fun.

 

Pictured: a bright young upstart eyes the competition from his corner

 

My King and Fern's Budew stomp the competition like grapes, and it doesn't take long for King to hit level 16. He moves up in the world.

 

 

With King evolved I decide to swap in another mon to sponge up experience. Luckens is my lowest level mon at level 10, so I choose her. Funnily enough, Bide is wasted since the AI is intent on attacking Budew, who is 4 levels higher for some reason. Oh well. I get over it, use Bide again after Budew faints, and the AI decides to attack Fern's level 11 Lotad. These losers don't want to attack my stupid lightning rat.

 

I mean it's fine. Better than the alternative, but nothing is more satisfying than Bide popping when your mon is in the red. Big damage is good damage. That's one of my favorite parts of early Pokemon, mostly because I ditch Bide fairly early into the game. I personally don't find it useful in later portions, where enemies are liable to pulp you in one or two hits. Or maybe I'm just bad.

 

Another failed Bide later, I resign myself to using Quick Attack for piddly piss damage.

 

We eventually meet back up with Julia and Florinia, who are looking for a way to get past some shutter doors. Florinia gets to hacking while Julia sends me and Fern to go find explosives. The gravy train never stops, because everyone between here and there gets slammed. Luckens learns Spark for her trouble.

 

Julia gets her bombs and prepares to blow up the door!

 

 

Florinia hacks the gate instead.

 

 

Inside we run into who I think is Team Meteor's boss plus the two grunts (Aster and Eclipse) who show up to impede you throughout the game. Turns out Florinia didn't actually hack the gate, they let us in, yadda yadda the typical villain statement of "I was trying to slow you down." They cleared all mission critical data off their computers, though I'm not sure why they'd take the risk to put it on there in the first place.

 

Aster and Eclipse step up to bat while Julia and Florinia deal with the bossman. This is sort of a boss fight, but I don't really treat it as one. Sometimes it stomps me, other times I slip through it like butter. I'm spitballing my team at this point, so I'm expecting the former to occur this time.
 

Spoiler

 

 

SO THE FIRST THING I DO IS OPEN WITH BIDE.

 

 

NONE OF THEM WANT TO KILL MY RAT.

 

The long and short of it is that a bunch of stuff goes down, as is the nature of double battles. Luckens lands two field effect-boosted Sparks on Magby and paralyzes it, but Magby's ability procs and Luckens gets burned. I should note that at this point in the fight, two of Fern's mons are down and his Snivy is out on the field.

 

A tag-team Spark + Vine Whip combo finishes off Magby, who was in the yellow. Elekid has barely lost any health, and at this point I'm thinking the battle is won, so I swap in another mon to sponge up second-hand experience. Overload has treated me well, so I send him in. Elekid's Swift punishes my switch-in and puts Overload at just above half health. I wig out and send Luckens back in because I'm bad at video games.

 

Elekid's Shockwave finishes off Fern's Snivy, turning it into a one-on-one. That means there's only one target. Which means Elekid has to attack Luckens.

 

Pictured: BIDE

 

It only drops Elekid to low yellow. Luckens drops dead because of her burn and I send in Gusto to clean his plate. Or that was the plan until Shockwave dropped him with a crit. I'm two mons down because I wanted to be a cool guy.

 

I briefly considered sending in Tiger to use Prankster + Sand Attack, but I soon remember that Swift and Shockwave don't miss. Ever. A little salty, I send out Beasly.

 

Pictured: help

 

So Elekid outspeeds Beasly, who missed his Tackle. Neat.

 

 

 

With that done and over with, I get to see Julia's Electrode and Florinia's Cradily against one Seviper. Why that Seviper hasn't had its spine snapped like an L-Shaped ruler, I couldn't tell you. With his goons down, big bossman realizes he can handle two trainers, but not four. The screen flashes black and the boss is gone. What that transition meant is incredibly unclear.

 

Did the bossman walk past us? Did we let him past us? Did he throw a smoke bomb down, sneak between an Electrode and Cradily, then escape to freedom? Does he have a mon with teleport? The world may never know. I'm nitpicking.

 

Julia blows the place up and we get vomited out onto the streets.

 

Florinia asks if I observed those sick field effects and yes, I did! So here's the thing. I skimmed the field effects manual once, namely when I was trying to slay that one mirror field, but I'm otherwise in the dark about how each one works. Instead of using the dinky little file that comes in the Reborn folder, I'm gonna collect information on field effects in-game.

 

So Julia disappears and I'm left to my own devices. I'll cut here for today. Below is my team as of writing. Nothing much has changed, so I won't outline new moves that I mentioned in this post.

 

 

Next time: easy puzzles, guile

[Jess]

1 hour ago, wildebeast said:

Before I start, I should mention that I'm using "Set" instead of "Shift." This isn't because I'm confident in my ability to slam the opposition, but because I believe that Shift is unfair. The game's AI is already limited, after all.

I'd not say that Shift is "unfair". It is just the way of casual pokemon games. In the anime, it is sometimes mentioned that the Gym leaders aren't allowed to make changes, but the contestant is. It just gives you a tiny advantage, since you are supposed to be weaker (if you weren't weaker, you'd be a Gym leader). Well, if you try defeating Ciel with a Bug monotype team in Set, you'll feel what is truly unfair xD

 

1 hour ago, wildebeast said:

So here's the deal with Fern. At this point in the game he's a jerk, but he's at least a likable jerk. I have a big soft spot for characters who talk a big game even when they lose. Had this been my first go through, I'd have nothing to complain about. It is not, so I have a lot of things to complain about. Namely that Fern gets the Cain treatment, but in reverse.

 

Most situations in which Cain is involved are written for him to steal the show. He is pushed too hard as this do-no-wrong nice guy who's always there to save the day. Then there's Fern.

 

Later, Fern is pushed as the opposite of Cain: the ultimate jerk that everyone is supposed to hate. The thing is, it's clear that whoever wrote Reborn decided at some point we didn't hate Fern enough, and doubled down on making him unlikable. This isn't uncommon in writing. The mistake came when Fern turned from an actual character to the embodiment of everything the writer didn't like, a target for people who know "that one guy on the internet" to piss on.

 

I'm informed that characters in Reborn are based on real-life individuals, and that Fern was exactly as obnoxious in real life as he got later in the game. Perhaps that's true, but that doesn't excuse the poor writing used to instill within me the negativity he perhaps instilled within the writer. It's like, come on! If you're going to write a slimebag, at least do it well. There is no slow transition from "Fern is a likable jerk" to "Fern is a terrible human being." It was one thing, then it was the other.

 

Buy hey, I'll vent more on this when we get to those points.

 

Cain isn't made to steal the show. How is he stealing the show when he gets kidnapped on his way to Apophyll? Or when he gets kidnapped by El together with Luna after we defeat Radomus? Or when he has literally no clue who we must side with, El or Radomus. He is fun, fabulous and all, but I think that you show a tiny bit of prejudice towards him. He has his flaws, as well as everyone does.

 

Fern is beginning with being a jerk. Just that. I honestly find nothing "likeable" about a whining bad loser, who never recognises his mistakes. It is the worst kind of person, in all honesty, someone who always puts the blame on others and wants the spotlight just for himself. Someone who is a bully (proved in Onyx Training School). And, being a victim of bullying myself, when at highschool, I tell you that THERE IS NOTHING LIKEABLE ABOUT SUCH A PERSON. In fact, joining Team Meteor is just expected, right from seeing how he calls his sister. 

[wildebeast]

1 hour ago, Jess said:

Cain isn't made to steal the show. How is he stealing the show when he gets kidnapped on his way to Apophyll? Or when he gets kidnapped by El together with Luna after we defeat Radomus? Or when he has literally no clue who we must side with, El or Radomus. He is fun, fabulous and all, but I think that you show a tiny bit of prejudice towards him. He has his flaws, as well as everyone does.

 

I don't think I put it right. I described Cain's tendency to steal the show as him always solving the problem, and you're right, that's not true. It would be more apt to state that in scenarios in which he is primed to save the day, he does so without fail and without upset. When Cain's faults are being utilized for the narrative, it's rarely resultant in any dire consequences for the story. Cain exists to progress his own story before the actual story. He's written like a viewpoint protagonist but he's not the protagonist. I said it before, but I like Cain. I said in my first post he was a Mary Sue of circumstance. While he does have his faults, it feels like there are numerous points at which the story conforms to paint him in a better light. Light spoilers below.

 

Spoiler

Oshawott is trapped. Cain saves it and the game treats it as if there was no other option, and that Cain is amazing for his actions. Heather runs off. One way or another, Cain is almost always there to try and talk her down. It doesn't work IIRC, but the stage is set for you to look at Cain and go "What a nice guy, wow!" Cain realizes we can't progress past this checkpoint, all the guards are asleep. Cain busts the gate open because the plot says it's time to progress. It might seem petty, but most instances in which Cain is utilized in story are for him to face (and often solve) problems that the game says you the player character are not allowed to deal with.

 

I think Cain's best moments are when he's being an amiable person independent of progressing the story, like when he and his sister are playfully insulting each other, or when you're partied up with him and the first thing he does it start singing for no reason. That's really endearing. He is a genuinely good person who has to face his problems one way or another, and you get numerous clues that suggest either he's not comfortable doing so, or that he's not confident it will turn out well. I really, really like that.

 

Cain isn't my problem, it's how he is used.

 

1 hour ago, Jess said:

Fern is beginning with being a jerk. Just that. I honestly find nothing "likeable" about a whining bad loser, who never recognises his mistakes. It is the worst kind of person, in all honesty, someone who always puts the blame on others and wants the spotlight just for himself. Someone who is a bully (proved in Onyx Training School). And, being a victim of bullying myself, when at highschool, I tell you that THERE IS NOTHING LIKEABLE ABOUT SUCH A PERSON. In fact, joining Team Meteor is just expected, right from seeing how he calls his sister. 

 

I'm sorry about your circumstances, but I think we come from different directions on this. I was bullied through elementary school and middle school, though half way through middle school I hit cool kid territory somehow. Back in high school a few people tried to start stuff with me, and those that did must've ended up coming away with a better impression of me or something, because they never came back. I should state in advance that my problem solving mechanic did not involve violence or self-defense because I've never had to throw a punch in my life.

 

Anyway, Fern comes across less like a bully at this point and more like a boisterous brat. He throws a fit then when you first meet then, in the presence of Julia and Florinia, goes "Hey, maybe we got off on the wrong foot, ha ha ha." I can half imagine him glancing from side to side, making sure his sister is watching him pretending to not be a brat. Then there's the scene later when, for reasons, you are trapped in a cage. The fact that he walks up, snickers, and walks off is hilarious. His early game gimmick is great and I love it.

 

Contrast this against late game Fern, where the character is now written as a "SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST I'M GONNA JOIN THE WINNING SIDE YOU GUYS SUCK" punching bag meant to induce positive reinforcement when you beat him. From the Corey incident to the present, that's not Fern, that's a caricature of Fern written by someone who really wants you to hate him. They forsook writing a character in favor of writing a target to pull the trigger on. Forgive my saying this, but I feel like comparing early game Fern to mid/late game Fern and stating that's the natural progression is you being both hyperbolic and prejudiced.

 

I have younger family who pull that same "I'm the cool guy, you're the loser" shtick and they're great.

[Cataline]

Mind if  may throw my 50 cents in here? At least on Fern anyway.

 

After multiple play throughs all i see is Fern is a jerk. A hyper insecure jerk. 

 

He believes, early game and flaunts he is the best, top dog. He gets beat up by a rookie trainer? No big deal, it was a one time thing, and when you teamed up with him early on he didn't hate you cause you weren't a threat, not yet at least. So he joked about his sister and treated you like you were on his side, more or less. But then you get a badge and proceed to beat him on his home turf. A total insult, he takes it as a challenge. You beat him cause you have a goal in mind, beat the Reborn league, while he's a substitute gym leader. He thanks you for the idea and runs off to get stronger and assert his dominance, cause he deeply believes it'll be easy once he gets training . Except you keep beating him and beating him, as he desperately clings to his superiority and insults you to keep that position. And then he decides to join the opposing team because if you look at Team Meteor outside of the video game lenses-- they're an organized terrorist group that although have faced several short comings, are in a powerful position. Fern's reaches the point where he wants to see you despair. Probably obsessed? Yea, but a little less with you and more with wanting to look and feel on top. 

 

I mean, up to the point you say you left off, we haven't seen him crack exactly.. but ame has mentioned stuff along the line. If I remember correctly, the "didn't get enough hugs" thing is him projecting his feelings on his sister..

Oh and Hardy's sarcastic comments on their time in Onyx together.

[Jess]

8 minutes ago, Cataline said:

Mind if  may throw my 50 cents in here? At least on Fern anyway.

 

After multiple play throughs all i see is Fern is a jerk. A hyper insecure jerk. 

 

He believes, early game and flaunts he is the best, top dog. He gets beat up by a rookie trainer? No big deal, it was a one time thing, and when you teamed up with him early on he didn't hate you cause you weren't a threat, not yet at least. So he joked about his sister and treated you like you were on his side, more or less. But then you get a badge and proceed to beat him on his home turf. A total insult, he takes it as a challenge. You beat him cause you have a goal in mind, beat the Reborn league, while he's a substitute gym leader. He thanks you for the idea and runs off to get stronger and assert his dominance, cause he deeply believes it'll be easy once he gets training . Except you keep beating him and beating him, as he desperately clings to his superiority and insults you to keep that position. And then he decides to join the opposing team because if you look at Team Meteor outside of the video game lenses-- they're an organized terrorist group that although have faced several short comings, are in a powerful position. Fern's reaches the point where he wants to see you despair. Probably obsessed? Yea, but a little less with you and more with wanting to look and feel on top. 

 

I mean, up to the point you say you left off, we haven't seen him crack exactly.. but ame has mentioned stuff along the line. If I remember correctly, the "didn't get enough hugs" thing is him projecting his feelings on his sister..

Oh and Hardy's sarcastic comments on their time in Onyx together.

I bow to you and applaud, thank you! Fern isn't likeable at ANY point of the game, the opposite!

[Jess]

28 minutes ago, wildebeast said:

The fact that he walks up, snickers, and walks off is hilarious. His early game gimmick is great and I love it.

Yes, it surely is hilarious. Wouldn't be if you really put yourself in the main character's shoes. And really, if you think (especially after getting bullied) that a bully is "just a boisterous brat", then you are just outright lying about it...

[Jess]

30 minutes ago, wildebeast said:

I have younger family who pull that same "I'm the cool guy, you're the loser" shtick and they're great.

I'm not jealous of your family... Good luck with that. No offense.

 

[rayyan]

Fern is arrogant but I don't blame him when he calls his sister Flobott. I would've gone insane knowing I had such a sister who is human but speaks like a computer. On the other hand he is a peice of shit who is more likely a top dog ass than a top dog. But he's not the worst considering Sirius

 

[Cataline]

14 minutes ago, Jess said:

I bow to you and applaud, thank you! Fern isn't likeable at ANY point of the game, the opposite!

Ferns not my favorite character but I would prefer to say "he isn't likeable as a person" but "likeable as a character in a story". It's his problem that he's being so horrible.. but he isn't bad for being bad. Perhaps he'll change sometime when it all comes crashing down on him and only if he wants to. But since I'm arguing that the kid isn't even happy... eh, I think it's a possibility.

[wildebeast]

25 minutes ago, Cataline said:

Mind if  may throw my 50 cents in here? At least on Fern anyway.

 

After multiple play throughs all i see is Fern is a jerk. A hyper insecure jerk. 

 

He believes, early game and flaunts he is the best, top dog. He gets beat up by a rookie trainer? No big deal, it was a one time thing, and when you teamed up with him early on he didn't hate you cause you weren't a threat, not yet at least. So he joked about his sister and treated you like you were on his side, more or less. But then you get a badge and proceed to beat him on his home turf. A total insult, he takes it as a challenge. You beat him cause you have a goal in mind, beat the Reborn league, while he's a substitute gym leader. He thanks you for the idea and runs off to get stronger and assert his dominance, cause he deeply believes it'll be easy once he gets training . Except you keep beating him and beating him, as he desperately clings to his superiority and insults you to keep that position. And then he decides to join the opposing team because if you look at Team Meteor outside of the video game lenses-- they're an organized terrorist group that although have faced several short comings, are in a powerful position. Fern's reaches the point where he wants to see you despair. Probably obsessed? Yea, but a little less with you and more with wanting to look and feel on top. 

 

I mean, up to the point you say you left off, we haven't seen him crack exactly.. but ame has mentioned stuff along the line. If I remember correctly, the "didn't get enough hugs" thing is him projecting his feelings on his sister..

Oh and Hardy's sarcastic comments on their time in Onyx together.

This is a viewpoint I can understand, but I still stand by the idea that the writer(s) double down on pushing Fern as a terrible person during the incident of Corey, and that prior to this, he remains likable enough if your blood can take that sort of person.

 

12 minutes ago, Jess said:

Yes, it surely is hilarious. Wouldn't be if you really put yourself in the main character's shoes. And really, if you think (especially after getting bullied) that a bully is "just a boisterous brat", then you are just outright lying about it...

Except I'm playing a video game. Why would I project my negative personal experiences onto a game I am trying to enjoy? Obviously if I were in that situation I wouldn't be happy with it, but the thing is, I'm not not that situation right now. I can look at this through the lens of a person playing a game and go "Ha, look at this jerk, I love him." People do that in video games. There's a reason rival characters and villains find a soft spot in the general public's heart.

 

10 minutes ago, Jess said:

I'm not jealous of your family... Good luck with that. No offense.

 

Okay, don't do that. Tacking "no offense" onto something doesn't make it not smarmy and rude, especially when the intent is clear.

Edited June 18, 2017 by wildebeast

[Jess]

Just now, Cataline said:

Ferns not my favorite character but I would prefer to say "he isn't likeable as a person" but "likeable as a character in a story". It's his problem that he's being so horrible.. but he isn't bad for being bad. Perhaps he'll change sometime when it all comes crashing down on him and only if he wants to. But since I'm arguing that the kid isn't even happy... eh, I think it's a possibility.

Yes, I think that weare missing the backstory behind why he became such an asshole (and why Florinia rejects all emotions). Without these data, we only see the facts (Fern is an asshole that nobody in their right mind would like) and miss major elements of plot. Let's not forget, Reborn isn't completed yet!

[Jess]

3 minutes ago, wildebeast said:

This is a viewpoint I can understand, but I still stand by the idea that the writer(s) double down on pushing Fern as a terrible person during the incident of Corey, and that prior to this, he remains likable enough if your blood can take that sort of person.

 

Except I'm playing a video game. Why would I project my negative personal experiences onto a game I am trying to enjoy? Obviously if I were in that situation I wouldn't be happy with it, but the thing is, I'm not not that situation right now. I can look at this through the lens of a person playing a game and go "Ha, look at this jerk, I love him." People do that in video games. There's a reason rival characters and villains find a soft spot in the general public's heart.

 

Okay, don't do that. Tacking "no offense" onto something doesn't make it not smarmy and rude, especially when the intent is clear.

I project all my experiences on a game I'm playing. That's what makes me like it more. I love Anna cause my late uncle used to say stuff like ''you can't see it, but it's there" and it's magic. I hate Fern cause he reminds me of the bullies at my school. That's why I love kicking his ass. Also, I never "liked" any villains. The general public is the majority of society, which shows why society is going to hell.

 

Finally, the fact that my comment was intentionally rude doesn't make those people in your family any less jerks. Their attitude shows that, as Florinia says. "they need correction". Like it or not, that's not my problem, but their parents'.

[Cataline]

3 minutes ago, Jess said:

Yes, I think that weare missing the backstory behind why he became such an asshole (and why Florinia rejects all emotions). Without these data, we only see the facts (Fern is an asshole that nobody in their right mind would like) and miss major elements of plot. Let's not forget, Reborn isn't completed yet!

We don't have the whole backstory on Florinia but they did clarify a bit. Between certain events the thread owner hasn't gotten to, and her Diary. It may have been the whole beat Solaris's Garchomp split in events. Not super sure but..

 

8 minutes ago, wildebeast said:

This is a viewpoint I can understand, but I still stand by the idea that the writer(s) double down on pushing Fern as a terrible person during the incident of Corey, and that prior to this, he remains likable enough if your blood can take that sort of person.

I just marked Corey as indifference and an assertion of his beliefs. He recognizes it isn't quite good but it's how he feels because there are people who suceed in life and don't. He thinks he's top so why should he care.. also might be why he's avoiding so bAdly being any less.

But ah, Unless it becomes fact or we're given more hints we couldn't be sure. My pov will just be my opinion. I understand your view, though. It's cool dw.

[wildebeast]

7 minutes ago, Jess said:

Finally, the fact that my comment was intentionally rude doesn't make those people in your family any less jerks. Their attitude shows that, as Florinia says. "they need correction". Like it or not, that's not my problem, but their parents'.

You're drawing conclusions based on your own experiences, and the only thing you know about my family is that some of them are smarmy and rude. You have no context, no context of value in regards to this situation, yet act like the little snippet I gave you is enough to classify them as people. If you're willing to project, put yourself in my shoes and try to understand how ignorant and prejudiced you sound right now. You're not some all-seeing eye, you're part of the society you claim is going to hell.

 

6 minutes ago, Cataline said:

My pov will just be my opinion. I understand your view, though. It's cool dw.

I do like your point of view, and I'll keep it in the back of my head when I continue through the game. Often when I play I miss some dialogue, so I can see myself turning around on some points you mentioned. Fern is a jerk, this is undeniable no matter how much I like him at this point. This might paint some of his actions in a new light.

[Jess]

4 minutes ago, wildebeast said:

You're drawing conclusions based on your own experiences, and the only thing you know about my family is that some of them are smarmy and rude. You have no context, no context of value in regards to this situation, yet act like the little snippet I gave you is enough to classify them as people. If you're willing to project, put yourself in my shoes and try to understand how ignorant and prejudiced you sound right now. You're not some all-seeing eye, you're part of the society you claim is going to hell.

 

It's your opinion that got me enraged, just because it makes no sense. But if it pleases you, I don't care. And sometimes, only a tiny piece of information is enough to know about one person's character. You like someone who believes himself to be the "top dog". Enough said. Over and out.

[Commander]

@Jess@wildebeast I'm just going to be blunt and just ask that you two try to avoid provoking each other and keep the discussion a bit more professional. I just noticed a couple of back and forth moments and while nothing bad happened, it usually starts to spiral out of control. And it's okay to have different opinions but try to present yourself more professionally.

 

I normally don't read these kinds of runs as well, I've already experienced Reborn numerous times. What does intrigue me is that you don't glorify Reborn in your run which is rare. Yes, I'm a hardcore (see what I did there?) fan of Reborn, but I'm well aware of its faults and have my own issues, but I choose to accept them. By my definition of a Mary Sue (which you can see on my Rejuv run), Cain is not a Mary Sue but his character is designed to be really likeable but those same characteristics do make some people really, really hate him. I feel it may be the protag that is really bothering you. You see, most of the plot is driven by two or more characters talking it out while the player more or less spectates to the point he is almost irrelevant.

 

Then there's Fern. Fern in a nutshell is supposed to be a thorn in your side which is kind of funny given Roselia is his ace. But I suppose Fern could be more interesting if he knew what the protag actually did to him. You see [WARNING! SPOILERS!]

 

There is a prophecy event in E16 which heavily implies that in the past world Fern was the hero trying to save it. In the current world, the protag pretty much replaced Fern. It would make sense for Fern to start hating the protag more and more as time went on when he realizes that they are superior to them in every way. They are the one who make the name. The one who foiled many of Meteor's plan. It's possible that the real reason he's with Meteor is so that he can live in a word where the Protag doesn't exist.

 

Right now we're currently at a wait and see situation, but Fern's character definitely could be redeemed. I really doubt it though, but we'll have to wait and see.

[wildebeast]

1 hour ago, Commander said:

I'm just going to be blunt and just ask that you two try to avoid provoking each other and keep the discussion a bit more professional. I just noticed a couple of back and forth moments and while nothing bad happened, it usually starts to spiral out of control. And it's okay to have different opinions but try to present yourself more professionally.

Sorry.

 

And yeah, being raw about the game was the intent. I know a lot of people who rib on Reborn and accentuate its negatives, but I also know a lot of people who think it has no flaws and that everything is the pinnacle of storytelling and gameplay. I personally would rate it a high 7 or a low 8 out of 10 as of where I've played up to beforehand. It's a very fun game, and I like enough of the characters, but I think some ways in which the story and gameplay are presented cause it to suffer. I also believe that in some cases the cult following surrounding Reborn harms the game as much as it enriches it. It's easy to find knee-jerk reactions to criticism whenever someone posts the next big LP of this game. While many of those LPs are incredibly negative, it's important to see past the negativity to where legitimate criticism is brought up. I was relieved in another thread, when (I think) one of the Devs mentioned they go through those negative LPs and take notes. I forget who it was.

 

As for disliking the player character's role in the story, that's also true. This aspect feels more subjective however, as the "player character who doesn't matter" trope rubs me personally the wrong way. Obviously the character matters to some degree, but more often than not they're the first line of defense when it comes to stomping the villain present at that moment in time. It gives me White Knight Chronicles vibes, and I really don't like those vibes. Unfortunately that's one of few ways to progress a plot when your protagonist is the silent one in a heavily character-driven narrative. It's a little frustrating.

 

The Fern spoiler is a little more out there than I expected, but at the same time, it does explain why the narrative starts to spit on him as you get further and further into the game. I'll leave it at that since I'm not sure how big those spoilers actually are. Will keep them in mind as I play through the game though.

Edited June 19, 2017 by wildebeast

[Gentleman Jaggi]

@Jess @wildebeast & @Cataline
I went ahead and created a thread specifically for discussing Fern over here:

If you're interested in discussing him some more we can freely do that there. I'd be especially interested in reading more about your opinion, wildebeast, since you have a rather different view of Fern than is typical here.

[wildebeast]

CHAPTER 2: I CAN'T STOP RANTING

 

-PLOT-

 

It took a bit to get back into this since I play these games in large bursts over long periods of time. That's not condusive to this kind of presentation, so I'm trying to play more often. But anyway, let's get right to it. Today the goal is to murk Julia. First though, since it's raining...

 

 

I've never been a fan of the elemental monkies, but something about their evolutions's designs pulls the right strings for my aesthetic sense. Simisage in particular, but I don't have access to that mon right now. I'm not sure where to get one at all. I'll cross that hump when I get there, and I might not get there. Not because I won't finish this LP, but because I might somewhere along the line decide Simisage looks ugly. I'm dancing on the fence.

 

Before I head down to the gym, I decide to do a bit of grinding. My highest mon is level 17 while my lowest is 11. I want to get all of them up to at least level 14 or 15 since I'm pretty sure Julia's Elecrode is level 16. Early game I tend to grind in that one alleyway where you can find poochyena/trubbish/purrloin. Late game I tend to come back there with the EV-training items to get some mons up to 252 Speed/Attack.

 

I won't bore you with the grinding though. Except I found a Zangoose with its butt sticking out of the bin. I've never seen that before, actually.

 

 

Never used a Zangoose before. I've always preferred Seviper because I think snakes are cool, plus I love Seviper's colours. Still, I can get behind Zangoose. Of course it runs off though, right? It's probably another Teddiursa situation, so I start running around town to look for the thing. While I did so, some guy gave me field effect read-out 17. It's the factory, which I experienced when I teamed up with Fern.

 

I'm not gonna devote two screenshots to both pages, and I don't want to look at the field effect manual, so I'll continue under the assumption that you (the reader) know what the factory field does. I have a question though, so feel free to answer if you know. The factory field becomes a short-circuit field if Fissure is used. Does Fissure have to hit for that to happen? Seriously, I'm curious.

 

Anyway, back to Zangoose hunting. Regarding that, below I've included a somewhat crude rant.

 

Spoiler

 

I literally cannot find this damn Zangoose, what the hell. I look over the city and my brain goes "Oh, maybe it's hiding in a dumpster!" So I start mashing against every dumpster I can find, and then my brain goes "Wait, dumpsters are two tiles. Maybe only one of those tiles will activate the next part in the Zangoose encounter!" So I went around and mashed against every dumpster again. I'm starting to think that Zangoose won't appear before/is past Julia.

 

 

Eventually I give up looking for Zangoose, but not before posting a help request on the forums. It's not cheating if I tell them to confirm my thoughts instead of telling me where it is.

 

Anyway, back to grinding. Instead of the alley, I decide to grind on a trainer in the Grand Hall. It clicked that I needed more pokeballs (because 40 isn't enough) and that I had no cash. I learned something during this whole shebang: I'd be a terrible gambler.

 

 

So here's the deal: Tiger has Prankster, and it turns out Assist works with Prankster. I really love chance-based gimmicks. What a thrill.

 

Bottom line, Tiger will probably keep Assist for the rest of the game. If he stays in the team, I mean. It will probably cost me many matches. The world better pray I don't get a mon with Metronome, oh my word. Anyway, I finish up grinding. My post-grind squad is below.

 

 

It's time to solve the Julia problem. The gym puzzle isn't tough. I'd go as far as saying it isn't even a puzzle and, to be honest, I prefer it that way. From the outset I know what to do and how to do it, whereas in the later game I'm left with the "what" and figuring out the "how" comes later, when I cave and look up a guide. That option is off the table, unfortunately. Spoilers below regarding a pre-emptive puzzle rant/critique now that I'm on the topic.

 

Spoiler

 

The big issue is that Reborn's later puzzles are long, so very long, and their fun factor suffers as a result. That entire zone with the powder/Crustle shenanigans could have had its puzzle segment limited to the last part of the area. The purpose of those grooves (where you push the Crustle down to another area) isn't clear on your first go through, and I can see someone without a guide putting the game down for a while. The first time I got there I did put Reborn down for a while. I thought the game was bugged.

 

I'm not fond of the chess puzzle either. You enter a room, there are chess pieces. If you don't know how to play chess, it lists what each piece does in another room. I can't remember how each piece moves and backtracking through multiple rooms to see what each piece does isn't enjoyable. Sometimes I'll get close to Radomus's gym, remember the chess puzzle, then drop the game. It happens pretty often, actually.

 

The puzzle in the Arceus cult area where you have to remember the psalms isn't great either.

 

I feel that puzzles should challenge the flexibility of your mind and that writing down numbers is not a puzzle. That puzzle could be improved by providing choices rather than having to input specific numbers. Then you could have all the library rooms connected to the puzzle area instead of the maze area to the south. Some people might say "but then people will guess the answers" and they'd be right. You get around that by making incorrect answers reset the puzzle. Just a thought.

 

This went on longer than I'd planned so I'll stop here.

 

 

Anyway, here's the deal with Julia's gym. You maneuver the Voltorbs to the shutter doors and boom, problem solved. I know most people taking a negative view of this game remark "look at Julia killing these Voltorbs for her gym's gimmick" and to be honest, I can sort of get why. I doubt the Voltorbs are actually dying since Self-Destruct/Explosion cause a mon to faint, but Reborn does break the one rule I'd prefer untouched: killing mons on screen. That's a personal gripe though.

 

So you slam the guys barring you from getting to the Voltorbs and eventually you get to the last trainer. When you beat the guy (he has a Tynamo), he remarks that everyone is so violent and that there were switches which could open the shutter doors. This is another knock against Julia in my opinion. I don't mind explosions as funsies but this comes across like explosions as reprehensible "anarchy forevurrrr" funsies.

 

I knew a kid in middle school who put cherry bombs into a toilet in the boy's washroom. We were both doing an in-school suspension (myself for kicking a kid's binder down the stairs), but even as a stupid hyperactive brat I remember thinking that other kid deserved an expulsion. Hyperbolic? Sure, but that's the vibe I get from Julia.

 

Anyway, it's time to stomp Julia. Also, there's a rant in there.

 

Spoiler

 

Theme of: Stomping

 

My modus operandi is to try and kill the enemy team without getting hit. This means opening with my ace, spamming its strongest move, and praying that the enemy just, I don't know, dies. That's why I open with my resident one-eyed rat who misses a lot. Julia opens with Helioptile, like always.

 

Pictured: the emperor on his throne

 

Beasly drops Helioptile with one Hyper Fang because duh, any problem can be surmounted if you grind really hard. That's how it is early game. Julia follows up with her first Voltorb (I remember her having two plus an Electrode) which...

 

 

Voltorb's Aftermath takes a chunk off Beasly, but not before my rat stomps it into the dirt with another Hyper Fang. Julia sends out her second Voltorb while Beasly is screaming at the heavens. At this point I start to worry since Hyper Fang + Hustle doesn't have perfect accuracy. It has rather poor accuracy. I decide not to push my luck and switch to Tackle.

 

 

Tackle brings Voltorb to the red, but Sonic Boom drops Beasley to yellow. I know my rat is gonna die sooner or later (I figure Electrode will outspeed it) so I clean Voltorb up all good-like. Julia wastes a Potion considering Voltorb drops anyway, but Aftermath puts Beasley at a meager 2 HP. Emolga comes out next. I try to drop it with Hyper Fang, which misses. Beasly goes down after taking Charge Beam, which gives Emolga a Sp.Atk boost. I follow up with Overload, who leads with Detect for no reason in particular. Emolga pops Acrobatics and I, trusting it to do so again, use Bide.

 

Pictured: a rare instance of Bide working

 

Two Acrobatics worth of sponging sends Emolga crashing to the earth. Overload strikes a legend killer and gets ready for the next battle: Julia's Blitzle. Detect stops Charge Beam, to which I reply with Crunch. Blitzle hits yellow, but not before its Quick Attack puts Overload into the red. I swap in Gusto, who eats a Flame Charge and sprays Sludge all over Blitzle. Then Electrode comes out.

 

 

At this point I'm feeling that I went overboard preparing for Julia. I'm used to struggling with a squad around levels fourteen to fifteen. My secret technique of overleveling is usually saved for the late game, which actively punishes you for overleveling.

 

I can't stop ranting. Here's another one about the overleveling restrictions and the pre-Julia cap.

 

Spoiler

 

I've stated that I'm not a fan of how Reborn handles its overleveling restrictions, but it feels like the pre-Julia level cap could be adjusted. You can't stop people like me who are willing to go five levels deeper than the boss for smooth sailing. You'd have to lower the pre-Julia cap to level 15, but I feel that would make Electrode nigh-impossible unless you prepared specifically to deal with it. Unless the intent is to have Julia as a tutorial?

 

I think the weirdest thing is that you experience a harder battle back at the factory, when you and Fern are fighting a level 16 Magby/Elekid duo. Fern's assist is kind of useless outside of the brain dead damage sponges he brings to the table, and the two level 16 Pokemon are a higher level than anything you've faced up until that point. For all intents and purposes it's a 2v1 with the ball in the enemy's court.

 

Independent of the above, I wish your mons stopped getting experience at the cap. It's the absolute worst when a capped mon levels up in battle and stops listening to you. You can't use common candies in battle either. It makes sense, but it still sucks. It feels as if you're being punished by mechanical limitations rather than a lack of foresight.

 

I recently tried out Pokemon Insurgence and I feel like it got level restrictions right with its "hard mode" option. When at the current level cap, your mons gain 1 exp. It would be nice to have this as a toggle-able option in Reborn. Some people grind past the cap to get certain moves/evolutions early, but to me the constant ping-pong between cap and above cap is nothing short of troublesome.

 

 

But I'm getting sidetracked. Let's deal with Electrode first.

 

Gusto gets Electrode with two CCs of Sludge and the second one crits. He does take a Charge Beam, but he jukes the second. Julia uses a Potion and Gusto spits some more venom, but a Sonic Boom knocks him out of the race. Now I send out Luckens to clean shop. A little while back I saw someone beat Electrode with a Volt Absorb Pachirisu. Explosion and Charge Beam don't do nothing since Explosion is an Electric-type move in this field. Not sure what Electrode's last move is, but I'm pretty sure all it has to hit Luckens with is Sonic Boom. You cheese it with Bide and boom, the perfect problem solver.

 

Except Aftermath finishes Luckens for a sick double KO.

 

Pictured: nobody gets to level

 

 

After the dentist finishes working Julia against the curb, I claim my Volt Badge (which allows the use of Cut, mons up to level 25 will obey) and TM57 Charge Beam.

 

In the wake of slaying Julia, you head out and meet Victoria. Afterwards you're supposed to head east and meet with Florinia, who lets you into the Obsidia Ward. Apparently plants are coming to life and attacking people. Before I tackle that plot thread, I decide to make a pit stop to my local name rater. There are names to be rated.

 

 

My rat misses a lot, so obviously he's blind on some level. There's only two names I was willing to roll with. My rat is too slick to be the Mad Dog so instead he's Big Boss.

 

Anyway, here's the squad post-Julia.

 

 

With that said and done, I go and talk to Florinia.

 

-THE WILDEBEAST ZONE-

 

Okay, so here's the deal.

 

I don't like putting food on the counter because I don't know what could have been sitting there. I wash my hands whenever I touch unopened cans because canned food makes my skin crawl. Cereal makes me gag, but cereal in a bowl with milk (regardless of how long it's stewed) makes me gag harder. I used to like oatmeal, but hearing that it was a cereal grain made me hate the stuff. I have to wear rubber gloves when I do the dishes because watching water wash away grime fills me with disgust and a weird sort of existential dread. It's pretty humorous.

 

I love my cat, but I pet him with my feet because I don't want to touch him with my hands. When I do touch him with my hands, I wash them immediately afterwards. Consequently, there are scenarios in which I may fill the bath with water and spend fifteen or so minutes scrubbing my feet when I've already showered and haven't touched my cat at all.

 

If the meaning of my rambling is lost on you, don't worry, it's leading up to something.

 

 

When I said I had some incredibly neurotic tendencies, I wasn't kidding.

 

I was running around and ended up finding a Spinarak. I've always liked Bug-type mons, more on principle than actual efficacy. I know you can find Combee and Pineco via Heabutt, I know you can get Wurmple, Caterpie, and (I think) Weedle from the roof garden, and I did know you can find Spinarak at night. The original goal had been to find a mon to swap Luckens with since I can't see myself using a Pachirisu past Julia. I wanted Ekans but settled for Spinarak.

 

Today I had some free time, so I sat down and started leveling this Spinarak (I named him Pierre) up. See, the intent had been to hit 20 and stop, but all of a sudden I realized I could do it while I killed time. So I start watching the new Precure, but I kept Reborn open on my computer and just kind of slaughtered wild mons. Blood for the blood god and all that jazz. By the time Pierre hit 25, he was already vaguely EV'd up. Attack and Speed Evs were close to 100 but not quite there. I figured that hey, I might as well finish the job, right?

 

So I went and bought 73 Common Candies to do just that.

 

I'm a big grinder. I like grinding because I like watching numbers go up, especially when that number is an increase in damage. I'm that guy who plays JRPGs with the intent of always being overleveled and always stomping the boss. Usually I level up, go "Oh, but I'm so close to the next level!" and repeat the process until I'm satisfied. That's just how my brain works. I love tedium, but I love optional tedium. Mandatory tedium is different.

 

Anyway, Pierre has murked over a hundred Trubbish/Purrloin each, but he's basically cleared out the Poochyena population with nearly two hundred wins. During that process I found a wild Trubbish holding a Black Sludge so I caught it and slapped its item onto Pierre. I know, even more blood for the blood god. Once I maxed out Pierre's speed (which I lament in retrospect) I went to that fishing hole and fished up 50+ Goldeen for the last of Pierre's Attack EVs.

 

Now, having spent a couple hours making Pierre into an early superbeast, I'm starting to wonder what other wild mons I can hunt for hold items. Black Sludge is really good this early, right? That and I know Meowth can have Quick Claw since I accidentally found one early into Rejuvenation. I did a bit of hunting for that but without Frisk it felt like too much of a hassle. Still, I'm pretty satisfied with my haul for the day.

 

Next time: green greens.