Timber Dragon

That's a pretty cool concept. It'd make sense that the Pokemon going through a hard time would be more common than the Pokemon who toughed through it and are healthy. Even though they'd be the official sprites, they'd still be special in their own way. Of course, yeah, it still goes back to one of the original problems: the labor. It's one thing to make recolored Shinies, since the most you'd need is Photoshop's color picker tool. It's another to make each individual Pokemon look like it's trying to hang in there. Unless there's a dedicated spriter, there's only so much time and effort Ame should devote to surface-level changes.

That's the one place in Obsidia I didn't look. >.< Well, no worries, I recently beat Aya so I can handle a level 45 Pokemon. Welp, OP, guess you're out of luck with the Vulpix. You can still try the Pansear to keep your arsenal more varied. For Fire-types, it might be your only option since, unless you picked a Fire-type started (and you didn't), nothing else is available to my knowledge.

I actually like these. For something like Reborn I'd appreciate leaning more towards subtlety than zombies--that's a Pokemon game for another time. (Though I gotta disagree somewhat that Shiny Swoobat looks stronger from the experience; he looks more like he's just plain pissed off, though I suppose going from vulnerable to angry is a form of growth...) But, I wonder why sprites like that can't be the normal sprites instead of being limited to Shinies, unless the altered sprites are common. Touches like these do wonders for Reborn's atmosphere.

imo, that Noibat, Kirlia, and Pachirisu will be deadweight here. Their stats are way too low to be useful until they evolve, which won't happen until (especially in Noibat's case) clear past the level cap. My own Ralts/Kirlia was more a burden than anything else until it evolved, and for the time being I totally gave up on Noibat for the same reason. Much of Florinia's team is part Poison-type, so the Mr. Mime might do most of the heavy lifting. For Cradily, I'd recommend a Fighting-type if you have the patience to find one (I don't use Bug-types so I can't verify Kricketune's usefulness with personal accounts). They might scrape by unevolved, but Cradily can hit hard so if things don't go well, you may have to grind them until they evolve. You can find a Mankey or a Makuhita in the Obsidia Slums. It might be good to have a Fire-type under your belt. You can find a Pansear under Opal Bridge when it's raining (it used to be a Magby but oh well). If your Pokemon like you enough, you can also seek out the Vulpix in the salon, except it will run off and I don't know how to find it yet.

Seriously, screw that guy. But just wait. Taka's Chatot eventually bails you out, probably to make up for being so painful in the last battle.

I actually like Mecha-Tangrowth. XD I agree that the alterations would need to have some kind of explanation behind them, even if it's just players inferring what happened to them based on the environment. Y'know, a Bidoof with patches in its fur--can't imagine Reborn's environment is all that healthy. Plus, I'm a sucker for world-building. But it's also a concern because custom sprites for each available Pokemon would be a lot of work, and I anticipate they'll be polarizing (just look at the responses to Zombie!Machop). Cool world-building versus efficiency and erring on the side of caution. Hmm.

They got rid of Magmar and freakin' Staraptor because both were deemed "too powerful." We're not getting the Pseudo-Legendaries in this game.

I totally dig the zombie thing, but maybe not in Reborn. I suppose it depends on what kind of alterations there would be. For a Pokemon game, Reborn has shown to be (disturbingly) down to earth, from city pollution to a terrorist organization instigating it. We don't really see what effects the environment has had on the native Pokemon beyond forcing them to hide, so it would be interesting to see some consequences like that machine-like Tangrowth. On the other hand, do we really need to? I didn't question it precisely because of how closely Reborn played to a real Pokemon game despite the original storyline and region. As someone else mentioned, too much customization might take players out of the experience. Plus, since I don't care for shinies to begin with (inconceivable, I know), it seems like unnecessary work for arbitrary surface-level changes. Recolored shinies, fine, if you're willing to put in the effort. Silver Kabutops, btw.

I guess this is where my underwhelming knowledge of the bits and bytes of Pokemon mechanics comes into play, because I have no idea how Staraptor, of all Pokemon, was removed for being "too powerful."

Fight whoever you're currently more prepared for. As the others have mentioned, it doesn't matter. You fight both eventually.

My team was actually equipped for Luna, but I still lost many times simply because my "strategy" hinged on my mons' high-powered, low-accuracy moves connecting--Magmar's Fire Blast, Jolteon's Thunder, and especially Scrafty's Hi-Jump Kick. I essentially decided that if I couldn't OHKO most of her team, they'd either OHKO me or just cause me problems that I couldn't recover from. For instance, if Jolteon's Thunder on Honchcrow missed, bye bye Jolteon. It also helped that I was wasted at the time of me fighting her. Liquid courage goes a long way in alleviating frustration.

Radomus is a pain in the ass since the gym's field effect means the move Psychic gets an additional Rock type damage. That means that Crobat and Infernape of yours are especially in danger. They won't last long in the fight, but they'll be useful in the beginning if they can hold out. He'll open with Exeggutor and Reuniclus. Focus on Exeggutor since Reuniclus is relatively "safe." Open with Magnezone, and Crobat (try saving Infernape for Metagross) to OHKO Exeggutor--and I do mean OHKO because Crobat, with its weaknesses to both Psychic and Rock, means it'll be OHKO'd guaranteed. If it knows Acrobatics, get rid of any item it's holding and hope for the best. If Crobat can't OHKO it, hopefully Magnezone can finish it off. After taking down Execcutor, Radomus will usually switch in either G.Gardevoir or *shudder* Malamar. Keep training your Magnezone since it'll be a good tank for the battle, and a key player in getting rid of G.Gardevoir. Its Steel typing guards against Psychic, Rock, and Fairy, and its defense-oriented stats can take a hit from Dark- and Ghost-type attacks. It should know Flash Cannon, and hopefully, with backup, it'll take down G.Gardevoir in 2-3 hits. However, if he brings in Malamar instead of G.Gardevoir, you're out of luck with Magnezone since there's some glitch that means Malamar knows Focus Blast. Seriously. Out of all of Radomus's team, it was that goddamn Focus Blast Malamar that determined whether I won or lost. Malamar is fairly meaty as well and its type combo means it's only weak to Bug and Fairy. This is a Pokemon you'll just have to brute force. I suggest using Gyarados for its Dragon Dance and, if it still knows the move, Bite. For me, those were the true hurdles. Your Zoroarks and Gyarados (if it lasts) should be able to handle things okay. If Magnezone's still around, you can keep using it as a tank to keep your Zoroarks healthy. An Electric-type would be useful in taking down his Slowking, but the Zoroarks or Gyarados should be able to deal with it. Your Infernape might be able to take down the Metagross.

We tend to gravitate towards certain Pokemon and/or certain types. Because of our preferences, I think we all have at least one type, type combo, or specific Pokemon that gives us a tough time for one reason or another. Whether in Reborn or in the main games, we all have our weaknesses. Don't deny it, peons. For me, my Achilles heel is usually Water-, Electric-, and Flying-types. The Pokemon I usually have are either only neutral against those types, or are weak against them. Electric in particular is such a problem for me that its gym in DPP was the only gym of that game where I needed to stop and grind something specifically to counter it. Even in Reborn, I opted to go after Sirius instead of Dr. Sigmund Connal simply because my team at the time wasn't equipped to handle Electric-types. Although I might get a Pokemon or two to counter those types, most of the time I find myself just brute forcing them. In Reborn, that doesn't always end well.

... Can we set fire to Apophyll Academy anyway?

If I recall, there's really only one path to take. It just may take some poking around to see where to go, but it's otherwise linear. But isn't it a good sign that it's taking you to a place you haven't been before? The place to get Spiritomb is a completely new area.

Find an Odd Keystone by mining. Go to the Byxbyxhasg;ha Wasteland, find those pillars like you saw in Corey's gym, and turn them all red. It should open a door to a building that was previously locked (I can't give the exact directions, but it's on the main path so it's not out of your way). Go through a long, linear path through the mountains and you'll eventually reach a cave with multiple branches. If I recall, take the second to the left and you'll find a big, weird stone you can use your keystone at. Happy Spiritomb!

Even the lowliest Rattata has the ability to kill me dead if it wants to. There ain't a single Pokeyman I'd want to meet in a dark alley. Even the cute ones like Jigglypuff can put me to sleep and crush me.

I... spent half my money on potions... actually, most of it. Because I thought this time, I wouldn't have to fight hobos just so I can afford a single healing item. Truly, Pokemon Reborn loves us all.

You do? Crap. Well, I didn't get far enough to find out. I only picked my starter (a Torchic this time) and fought a few battles before going to sleep, like a robbed, Magikarp-less loser.