Lord Chespin

Update #4: Conductor As always, you can see the action here! (You also get to see a behind-the-scenes failed run at the beginning, too). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Diary, Well, the battle with Julia went better than I expected. When I entered the gym, I was greeted by a strange device that had a face-time with Amethyst. After we greeted each other, she gave me advice- not your standard "hurr durr electric is weak to ground" BS, like you normally get, but actually detailed information about the field effects she uses, and how to counter her Pokèmon. Amethyst suggested bringing a full team of Pokemon, but I didn't really have much of a choice, since as far as I can tell there aren't any ghost-types in the Peridot Ward except for Squigly. As for the gym itself, turns out the main gimmick behind it is explosions. Go figure. I had to lead Voltorb to metal gates, and they would explode, taking out the gate with them. I know Julia loves explosions, but couldn't there be an alternate route for those with PTSD or something? Every time a Voltorb blew up, I got a surge of painful memories. Eventually, after Squigly and I fought all the gym trainers and I used a common candy on Squigly to keep her from getting overleveled (she told me that if she got to high-leveled, she would start to disobey me; it wasn't anything personal, it was just standard Pokèmon procedure to make sure that their trainers were worthy enough to use them), we challenged Julia. Julia talked for a bit about how she wished she could have fireworks within the gym (yeah, 'cause that would be a good idea) and then started the battle, sending out her Helioptile. I had Squigly use swords dance twice, while the Helioptile wailed away on her with a thundershock, a charge beam, and a mud-slap. Squigly asked me if I was sure this was a good idea, but I promised her I knew what I was doing, and had her take down the Helioptile with a single fury cutter. Her confidence restored, Squigly then mowed down her Blitzle and her Emolga with a single shadow sneak. Julia decided to bring in the big guns and sent out the first of her two Voltorbs, which went down to another shadow sneak from Squigly but exploded as it went down, taking a big chunk off of Squigly's health. Knowing that Squigly wouldn't survive another hit like that, I spent a turn healing her while the Voltorb let loose a charge beam. Thankful for the heal, Squigly took down the Voltorb with a shadow sneak and survived the explosion damage to face Julia's ace: her Electrode. Miraculously, Squigly managed to one-shot it with a shadow sneak and survived the aftermath, earning me my first badge! Julia went to sleep shortly after giving me my badge and a TM for charge beam, and I waked outside, where I found Victoria waiting for me. Apparently, the killer plants I heard about from the people blocking the entrance to the Obsidia Ward wasn't made up; it really is happening. This just reeks of Team Meteor. II'm going to go there, and Squigly and I are going to give them a taste of her blade! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The team so far:

Update #3: Thanks For Nothing, Fern As always, you can find footage of the fight here! Now then... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Diary, Well, the raid on the factory went a little harder than I expected. I met Julia at the factory, and the maniac blew the door clean off of the factory. I know I shouldn't feel so worried, but I felt terrified watching that explosion; it just brought back horrid memories of my death. I was so out of it that I didn't even notice Julia's friends arrive until I heard a monotone voice right besides me. I whirled around, and right there was a young woman with glasses and green hair and- wouldn't you know it- Fern. Julia introduced me to he two of them (apparently Fern's companion was named Florina; she and Fern are siblings, and she and Julia were friends in trainer's school). I introduced myself to Florina, while Fern put on a goody-two-shoes act and apologized, claiming that he would try to get along with me better. Sure. The four of us entered the factory, and instantly I was hit with this horrendous stench. Turns out the people behind the bombing (Team Meteor, Julia said they called themselves) have been dumping toxic waste into the lake for... well, I'm not sure how long, but a long time. Even more reason for me to kill them. Florina told us to split up, and I got paired with Fern. He claimed he'd be a good partner, but the moment Julia and Florina left, he got this smug grin on his face. I asked him what was so funny, but he wouldn't say anything... at least, not until we got into the first fight with the Team Meteor grunts. I sent out Squigly, but Fern just laid back and smiled smugly. I asked him what the hell he was doing, but he just said, "consider this payback for what you did to me back at the other factory". It wasn't until I held Squigly up to his chest point-first that he relented, and even then he just promised to heal me after each battle. The grunts were a little more relenting (although they, too needed a little coercing from Squigly), as they only took me on one at a time. After storming through the factory taking on guards left and right, Squigly, Fern and I came across what I presume to be their leader and two elite grunts. Their leader monologued about how we were weaker than he expected and he had plenty of time to delete all mission-critical data before we arrived (trust me, we would have taken a lot less time if Fern had just helped me out), but before I coud smite him with Squigly he sicked his two elite grunts- Aster and Eclipse, their names were- on us. Since Florina and Julia were watching, Fern decided to hep me take on the grunts. The Grunts sent out an Elekid and a Magby, and Fern sent out his Budew while I sent out Squigly. Squigly set up a swords dance but got hit by a smokescreen, while Elekid hit Budew with a low kick and Fern had Budew use mega drain on Magby. Bravo, Fern. You're a genius. Anyway, Squigly managed to take down Magby with a single tackle while Fern actually hit a foe who didn't resist its attacks (although he did get paralyzed). Squigly survived a thundershock and took down the weakened Elekid with a tackle, ending the fight. The leader, being the coward that he is, retreated, bringing the rest of the grunts with him, and then Julia blew up the whole factory with some bombs that she stole from Team Meteor. I got out of there as fast as I could, because believe me, I didn't want to die a second time. I just barely escaped with the rest of them, and we all said our goodbyes and went on our separate ways. With that over with, I'll get ready to take on Julia and prepare myself for the next confrontation with Team Meteor. Trust me, as soon as I see that horrible leader again, I'm going to kill him with my own hands. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm not kidding about Fern not helping me; he really didn't help me out. Oh well. Probably just a glitch. Anyway, the team so far:

Don't forget to get the male Nidoran from the Game Corner!

Update #2: Weed Whacking As always, you can find the details for the battle here! Anyway... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Diary, Well, nothing too eventful happened today. I decided to explore the Peridot Ward, the only ward currently accessible to me currently (the Obsidia Ward was on lockdown- something about killer plants- and the North Odsidia Ward was closed due to a bomb threat). Nothing too exciting happened there; I just battled with the locale, gaining experience for Squigly and picking up items as I went along. I did get a rose incense from a prostitute, so that'll come in handy if I ever get a Pumpkaboo or a Phantump. What was really rather interesting, however, was what happened to me in the northern part of the ward. I came across an old factory, and in front of it was a teal-haired boy. I heard him muttering to himself about it being the wrong factory (from what I can gather, someone must have told him to visit a factory or something), when he noticed me and asked me (in a standoffish way) what I was looking at. I tried to tell him it was nothing and walk away, but he blocked me off and told me that was going to "teach me a lesson in class". Sighing, I whipped out Squigly and told her that we were in for a fight. I never did like stuck-up people. The teal-haired boy (his name was Fern, apparently) sent out a Lotad. Squigly set up a swords dance, survived an astonish, and took out the weird duck-lily-pad thing with a single fury cutter. Fern sent out a Snivy next, and Squigly shrugged off a leer to take it down with another fury cutter. All Fern had left was a Budew, and it went down fast to one last fury cutter. I don't know who that figure who revived me was, but apparently he knew exactly what Pokèmon to give me to hold me over until I got more Ghost-types. Fern stormed off, scoffing off his loss as mere bad luck (sure, like getting your entire team OHKO'd was just a stroke of bad luck) and claiming that, unlike me, he had places to be. Although I took offense to him insulting me, he did make me realize that I should probably take on the first gym by now. I went over there as fast as I could, only to just narrowly avoid bumping into Julia as she ran out of the doors like a coffee-addicted hummingbird. She told me that the culprit behind the bombing wasn't working alone, and that his friends were planning to blow up her Gym. Not wanting this to happen, she told me that she was going to chase them down to their hideout: an old abandoned factory in the Peridot Ward. So that's what Fern was talking about. She asked me if I wanted to join her, and I almost instantly said yes. Those thugs are going to pay for what they did to me, and when I personally find their leader, I'm going to make him or her wish he or she was never born. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The team so far:

Does this mean we'll fight Balfrog there? ...In all honesty, somebody needs to make a Cave Story/Pokémon Reborn Crossover.

Update #1: Sword OP Before I get into character, I'd like to let you know that you can find a play-by-play of the events described in the story here.->https://youtu.be/f2MJXWu_HAY Anyway, without further ado... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Diary, Well, I got signed up for the Reborn League. I followed Amethyst to a building she identified as the Grand Hall, and introduced me to another friend of hers: a young woman named Victoria. Victoria seemed nice enough; at the very least, she didn't question my hair and eye color like Amethyst did. We went inside, and Amethyst offered to give us both Pokèmon. I politely declined, stating that I had already brought my own Pokèmon and showing her the Pokèball that the figure had given me. Amethyst was a little confused, since she probably assumed that I had decided to start over fresh, but she shrugged it off and took Victoria upstairs to get her own Pokemon. While I was waiting for the two of them to come back, I was approached by a young man with purple hair. He flirted with me at first (although, if he had known that I was undead, he probably would have thought twice about that), then introduced himself as Cain. He told me that he had to start over by necessity; honestly, I can sympathize with him. I wonder how my parents are going to take the news when they find out their little girl's a shade... Anyway, Cain challenged me to a battle, and I decided to send out the Pokèmon the figure gave me. I wasn't sure what I expected it to be, but I didn't expect it to be a Honedge of all things. I also didn't expect it to turn around and talk to me. Yes, that's right; it talked to me. It introduced itself as Squigly the Honedge, and told me that I could understand her because, being a ghost myself, we could communicate telepathically. I figure that might come in handy later. Cain sent out a male Nidoran, but the poor thing must not have had any attacking moves to use on it, because it just kept using leer. I almost felt bad for it. Almost. I had Squigly use a swords dance, then had her tackle the Nidoran until it fainted. Squigly was quite overjoyed to win, so that mde me happy, I guess. After defeatng Cain, he took me to heal Squigly. We had just finished when Amethyst and Victoria came back. Cain claimed we were just having some fun, which Victoria (poor girl) took the wrong way. After clearing up the miscommunication, Victoria decided to battle me while Amethyst got Cain set up in the Reborn system. The battle went pretty much how my earlier fight went; Victoria's starter (a Tepig) just kept wagging its tail, while Squigly set up a swords dance and then tackled away. Victoria complemented me, telling me that I was no ordinary trainer. Oh, if only she knew... Fortunately, Cain came by and interrupted Victoria before she could draw any conclusions, telling her that he was leaving and that Amethyst was waiting for us to give us stuff. I followed Victoria to Amethyst, who gave us a Pokèdex and a Pokègear. Victoria gave me instructions on where to find the first Gym, and left me be. I walked outside into the cold night air (not that I felt much, being already dead), and began my adventure... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The team so far:

Dear Diary, My name is Marie Dusek, and I've made the biggest mistake of my life. I though going to Reborn would be good for me. My parents told me that getting out and taking on the Reborn League would help me prepare for my role as the future Ghost-type Gym Leader of the Umbrella Region. I was even excited to go; getting out would help me prove that I was truly worthy to be a Gym Leader. Unfortunately, when the time came to actually go, disaster struck. I was being instructed on the Reborn League by a woman named Amethyst and was filling out a form necessary to enter the League, when all of a sudden... I can't remember exactly what happened. One moment, I was just patiently standing there, filling out paperwork, and then there was this massive explosion... I must have blacked out, because the last thing I remember was pain, far more pain than I've ever felt before in my life. When I came to, all I could see was darkness, dark as night, and a strange, black figure in a trench coat (who, for some odd reason, was slightly glowing red). He told me- to my horror- that there had been a bomb planted on my train, and that I had been fatally wounded in the blast. However, he told me that he could save me- but at a cost. He explained that he was not human, but some kind of shade- a spirit that has managed to gain a corporeal form. He said that he could turn me into one as well, or I could just let myself die. Needless to say, I decided to let him transform me. He touched his pointer finger on the center of my head, and mumbled some strange words. Then, an incredible sensation filled my chest- almost as if I had become hollow, lighter than air, and a great weight had been lifted from my chest. The figure then pulled out a mirror and handed it to me so that I could see my new face, and I almost dropped the mirror in shock. I my hair had turned a light gray, my eyes had turned red, and my skin had lightened to a pale, deathlike white. He told me that he was going to send me back to the real world, but first, he had a gift for me. He pulled out a Pokèball from a pocket within his trench coat, and gave it to me. He told me that as a ghost, I might as well have a ghost to accompany me, as it would be less frightened by my nature. And then, suddenly, I found myself awake, in the ruins of the train. I walked out of the wreckage and made my way outside, where I gave the police officers and Amethyst quite the fright. I explained to them that I had just been knocked unconscious by the blast, and one of the officers had just mistaken me for dead. When they asked about my hair and eyes, I attempted to cover it up by claiming that my hair had been stained with ash, and that my contact lenses had fallen out. I'm not sure if they bought it, but I didn't really have a better explanation. Fortunately, the attention was taken off of me by the arrival of a green-haired girl in a cheerleader's uniform. Apparently she and Amethyst know each other, and the green-haired girl (Julia, I think her name was) is the Electric-type Gym Leader of the Reborn Region. Although I'm sure she's nice enough, I was kind of put off by how... happy she was at the destruction of the train station. I died in that explosion, and she had the audacity to marvel at the wreckage? Oh well, I suppose the past is the past. Still, as soon as I find the person who was responsible for my death, I will make him pay. Mark my words, diary. Mark my words. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *cough cough* Um, anyway, hello and welcome to my second challenge run of Reborn! I'll be doing a ghost type monotype (as the opening implies), and as the opening also implies I'll be doing in roleplay, as a character very loosely based off of Marie Korbel from Skullgirls. I'll also be nicknaming my Pokèmon after major characters from Skullgirls. I'll release updates around every major battle, so stay tuned! The team so far:

I heard somebody say we could get Golett if we brought a certain item to the new totem pole that appeared in the area of Rhodochrine Jungle that you get to from the Beryl Cave. Does anybody know the specifics of how that works out?

Huh, didn't know about that. I'll have to check it out. Also, you misspelled "battleable". With the title you gave this post, I went in expecting a clown that you could whack out of the circus with a baseball bat.

Okay, sure thing! Meowstic Female is a pretty good sweeper. It has two great moves in psychic and psyshock, allowing it to hit both physically defensive and specially defensive Pokémon alike pretty darn hard. It also has a godly level-up movepool and TM compatibility list, with great coverage moves in magical leaf, shadow ball, signal beam, and dark pulse. It even gets charge beam to help it set up! Its ability, competitive, is pretty awesome too, as it raises its special attack two stages every time one of its stats is lowered, meaning that in double battles one of its partners can purposely lower its stats to just raise its power further. It also gets infiltrator, which is useful to get through light screen (kind of ironic that the female's great at getting through walls, while the male's good at building them). I t functions best as a sweeper, and it can take out Corey, Shade (despite the type disadvantage), Kiki, Aya, Randomus (with shadow ball and signal beam), Luna (with signal beam), and Sampson. Its biggest flaw is probably that it only has a meh 83 special attack, but that can be remedied pretty easily with a few charge beams. All in all, a great, albeit slightly weaker than ideal, sweeper with great coverage that doesn't disappoint.

Um, if I may contribute my two cents... Meowstic (Both male and female) - A Rank Regardless of what gender you get, this Vulcan kitty cat is a terror on the battlefield. The male gets light screen, reflect, charm, yawn (from breeding) and the ability prankster, making it a godsend for most major battles (especially against a certain Garchomp and Ditto with a god complex) as it can set up dual screens, then switch out or deal some damage with psychic or psyshock. The female, on the other hand, gets the awesome ability competitive (which boosts its special attack every time one of its stats is lowered) and has a godly level-up moveset, with great attacking moves such as psyshock, charge beam, shadow ball, signal beam (which, by the way, can decimate Luna despite Meowstic's type disadvantage) and, of course, psychic. All of this allows it to function as a great sweeper, especially in the early game with charge beam from Julia's TM. Admittedly, they aren't without their flaws; their bulk could stand to be a little better, and their meh 83 base special attack is kind of lackluster (although that can be remedied with a few charge beams). Despite this, however, they're still incredibly effective; in my main run, I got a female Meowstic for the fight against Corey and she's still pulling her weight on the team way into Episode 15. If you want a reliable team member who can either bolster your defenses or come in like a wrecking ball, Meowstic is the 'mon for you. Heck, you might as well get one of each gender, since they're so radically different.

Yeah, that's what I assumed. Thanks!

Um, I've gotten to the point in the game where I have to battle Taka in the Water Treatment Plant. I get the feeling that whether I battle him or not will alter whether or not I get the best ending, so could anybody who's beaten the game already tell me which path leads to the best ending?

Great job so far, and good luck with the Aster and Eclipse fight and the first gym!

Wait... does this have to do with

So, um, I did an infographic about Pokémon Reborn and advice on what starter you should pick, but I haven't the slightest idea on how to get it from Illustrator to this forum. Could anybody help me out?

Update #35: You Can't Handle the Cold Truth AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH. Angie was hands-down just as hard (if not harder) than Marianette! It was brutal! Anyway, on TEH URN, I led with Achilles, and she led with Abomasnow. Achilles hit Abomasnow with an x-scissor, survived a wood hammer, then used smack down while Angie healed Abomasnow. After Achilles took down Abomasnow with an x-scissor, Angie sent out her Froslass, and I switched out to Triton. All Triton was able to get off was a single metal claw before he fainted to a mighty wave of thunderbolts, but our newest team member, Leander the Wailren, fared much better; he tanked thunderbolts left and right like a boss and (with a little help from a hyper potion) managed to live long enough to take the Froslass out with a mixture of blizzards and surfs! Angie sent her Mamoswine out next, and I switched out to Ajax. Ajax got an aqua tail off, but then Angie switched out to her Aurorus, which managed to survive to aqua jets and take the weakened Ajax out with an ancientpower. Fortunately, before Ajax fainted I was able to heal Achilles, and he managed to not only surf Aurorus into oblivion, but also take out Angie's Glaceon with two surfs (she wasn't able to get an attack in because Glaceon flinched thanks to Achilles' king's rock) and took out Mamoswine with one last surf! All that remained was her most problematic Pokemon (woo, alliteration!): her Wailren. Achilles tried using smack down, but it only did not very effective damage, and he fainted to Wailren that same turn. Hippolyte came out to avenge Achilles, and she managed to knock off Wailren's leftovers and get off a crunch before fainting. Running out of options, I switched out to Melpomne, began spamming brine, and praying that Wailren would faint before Melpomne did... and, to my amazement, it worked! With Angie disposed of after her temper tantrum and my seventh badge given to me by the actual ice-type gym leader, it seems that the story of Perseus, water-type master extraordinaire, has come to an end (for now, of course). Thanks to everybody who stayed to read this story to the end, and I'll see all of you in Version 6! The team so far:

Actually, come to think of it, all the girls you have to pick from in Version 5 are kind of scary. Melia tossing that grunt like a piece of Styrofoam, Venam hulking out, Amber tossing you onto the roof of her villa (and, well, Amber in general), Saki trying to crush Amber with an antenna...

That... was incredible. And I though I was good for just defeating her Yveltal... The only thing that that video needed was Yakkety Sax playing in the background.

Update #34: Corrosion Well, I decided to side with Melia, and so I had to fight Saki and Venam. It was a lot harder than I was expecting, but ultimately I think it went pretty well. I led with Melpomne, Melia led with Diligence the Pupitar, Venam led with Dragalgae, and Saki led with Metagross. I had Melpomne aurora beam Dragalgae, and Diligence earth power'd Dragalgae, but Venam and Saki worked together surprisingly well, knocking both Melpomne and Diligence down to a sliver of their health. Melia wisely decided to switch out to Faith the Yanmega, and that was a good call, too: Saki's Metagross let loose a mighty earthquake, finishing off Dragalgae and Venam. Venam sent out her Drapion, and I sent out Atlas. Atlas did considerable damage to Drapion and Dragalgae with an earthquake, but Venam and Saki teamed up on Atlas, knocking him down to half health while Faith used a bug buzz on Metagross. Venam and I spennt the next turn healing our Pokemon, while Melia continued to peck away at Metagross and Metagross ice punch'd Atlas. Venam then inexplicably switched out her Drapion for her Muk, which got hit by an ancientpower from Faith (which seriously boosted Faith's stats, by the way) and I healed Atlas back to full health. Atlas managed to take out Muk and Metagross on the next turn with an earthquake (with a little help from Faith, of course) and so Saki sent out her Mawile while Venam sent her Drapion back out. I sent out Hippolyte (Atlas had fainted from Metagross after taking out Muk; it was Faith who took out Metagross), who finished off Drapion with a mighty crabhammer... and then Mawile mega evolved. 0_0 Uh-oh. As you could expect, Hippolyte went down that very same turn to Mega Mawile, and so I sent out Triton to take on the mighty beast. Fortunately, Venam was all out of usable Pokemon, so Triton and Faith were able to team up on Mega Mawile and take it down within two turns, only sustaining minor injuries. Phew. All that remained was Saki's Aggron, and it went down to a bug buzz from Faith and a brine from Triton! ...And now Amber's been captured. Um, with all the Team Xen admins trying to outdo each other (with Geara kidnapping Nim, Zetta activating the pillars, and Madelis kidnapping Amber), is this going to lead to a "house divided against itself" situation where the admins are going to trip each other up? Only time will tell, I guess... The team so far:

So, uh, I've gotten up to the point where you have to get the DOGARS CD for Amber, and when I mentiioned Amber to Venam she got really mad... and turned green. HOW MUCH GAMMA RADIATION DID SHE EXPOSE HERSELF TO?! Anyway, was this an intentional She-Hulk reference, or was this just a coincidence?

Will you be giving us the play-by-play of each battle like I usually do for my challenge runs, or will you just be showing us your team? Either way, best of luck to you!

Update #34: Pest Control Well, Crawli was kind of hard, but still not Marianette hard. I led with Dionysus, and he led with Crustle. Crustle went down to a hydro pump from Dionysus before the poor bug even got a chance to attack. Crawli sent out his Yanmega next, and I switched out to Achilles. He managed to bounce over a bug buzz, but he go smacked with an ancientpower after landing; fortunately, he managed to survive and finished off Yanmega with a smack down. Up next came Crawli's most problematic Pokemon: Galvantula. I switched back out to Dionysus, and he severely weakened (but sadly didn't defeat) Galvantula with a hydro pump, then just barely survived a barbed web. Fortunately, after Crawli took down Dionysus with another barbed web, Ajax came out and was able to outspeed it thanks to his quick claw, finishing it off with an aqua tail! Crawli sent out his Scolipede, and I switched to our newest team member: Alcyone the Pelipper! While the Scolipede set up toxic spikes, Alcyone just kept chugging away with aerial ace after aerial ace until Crawli's Scolipede eventually fainted (although it did get off a few steamrollers). Alcyone continued to spam aerial ace against Crawli's Vespiquen until Crawli finally switched out to his Volcorona; Alcyone tried hitting it with an aerial ace again, but unfortunately got burned bad by Volcorona's flame body. Even then, the tough little pelican put up a good fight, spamming surf until Vespiquen (whom Crawli had switched back out to) eventually took it down with a barbed web. I quickly swapped out to Achilles, who (despite being seriously weakened and badly poisoned) managed to finish off a weakened Vespiquen with a single smack down before Volcorona came back out and took him down with a bug buzz. Luckily, Ajax came out to avenge his fallen friend and managed to take Volcorona down with a single rain-boosted aqua jet, ending the battle and earning me the Stagweb Badge! Now then, with that over with it's time to go out, rescue Saki, and find out more about this mysterious Angie figure... (By the way, from this point on, I'm going in blind; I haven't gotten this far in my main save. Wish me luck!) The team so far:

Update #33: Surf's Up Honestly, Nastasia and Ren went easier than expected. I led with Achilles and Euphrosyne, and they led with Ninetales and Houndoom. Achilles went first and did some damage with a surf (weakened by the Ninetales' drought), while Houndoom and Ninetales both ganged up on Achilles. Euphrosyne, meanwhile, set up a rain dance, allowing Achilles to surf both Ninetales and Houndoom the next turn, with Euphrosyne healing him with a lemonade. Ren's Greninja and Nastasia's Chandelure came up next, but Chandelure went down fast to a surf (which, coincidentally, healed Euphrosyne back to full health after she got hit by a dark pulse from Greninja). Next up came Nastasia's Dexoy. The Dexoy outsped everyone and one-shot Euphrosyne with a shadow ball, so I switched her out for Dionysus; fortunately, Euphrosyne had hit Greninja with a yawn the previous turn, causing Greninja to fall asleep after Ren healed it up with a hyper potion. Nastasia spent her turn healing her Dexoy with a hyper potion, but to no avail, as Achilles took it down with an x-scissor while Dionysus took out Greninja with an energy ball. Ren sent out his final Pokemon, Scrafty, and although Dionysus missed his mark with a hydro pump, Achilles managed to bounce over a high jump kick from Scrafty, causing it to hurt itself and leaving it in the perfect position to be finished off by a hydro pump from Dionysus! With Team Xen's lab in ruins, it's time to for the Battle with Crawli! The team so far: