Pokemon Blue Nuzlocke Time! (Part 3)

[guardians_song]

((I should note: I was actually at an airport/on a plane for most of these pictures. If I forgot a screencap, it was because the guy in front of me was reclining all the way back, my computer screen was at a 45 degree angle to the keyboard, and I was more concerned with shifting around to relieve an ominous muscle cramp in my hip lest it turn into a clot. On the bright side, it was STILL a fun session with the ROM!))

So, now we meet Queen Aria!


She's weak for now, but she's low-level. That will correct itself in a moment.


((Insert training montage here))



And we'll keep her that way for now, just in case we want anything after Viridian Forest.

((NOTE: FORTUNATELY, I was unable to catch anything in the post-Viridian-Forest patch because of Duplicate Clause. Why was that fortunate? Because, as it turns out, that's still Route 2. Any Pokemon I HAD caught there would have been invalid.))

Pickin' up items...



-at POKe MARTS!

This guy approaches in slow-mo...


And Wormtail is the official first party member to get poisoned...

Wormtail: Ack! Don't mind... me... I've eaten... worse...
Queen Aria: Don't worry, Citizen Wormtail. After you have finished off that insect, I will take over from there.


Wormtail: THAT WAS A WEEDLE YOU LIAR
Sky Warrior: ALSO, I DOUBT YOUR SKILLZ AT WARRIOR LIFE
Queen Aria: SILENCE, Citizens! That is no way to speak to your queen!
Syaoran: (...What have I gotten into here...)



Syaoran: Watch me! *jams out to some heavy metal*

((...Ahahaha. Yeah, here it shows that I had issues. I apparently hit the wrong button when I tried to screenshot playing chicken with poison with Wormtail, so you don't see that I ended up having to use Antidote on the poor rat with 2 HP remaining.

Fortunately, I then proceeded to do THE EXACT SAME THING with Reservoir, so you have screenshots of that! :D))


Syaoran: All right, all right. I'll stop trying to save our hard-earned money.
Reservoir: Please - *cough* - DO...

((I think Reservoir started with ~23/30 HP. You just can't manage to walk back without a KO unless you have REALLY high HP at that point and took essentially NO damage from Poison Sting. Sneaky designers. *shakes fist*))


Back to the forest...


Syaoran: And only the first one you find in an area. :\


Reservoir: I WANT OUT OF THIS POISONOUS HELLHOLE D:<

Bug Catcher: L-like... turtle dude... h-have you considered anger m-management classes?


Reservoir: FINALLY D:<


Syaoran: Don't I know, though. D|


Syaoran: *starts snoring*
Wormtail: *bites on sneaker* Ahhhh, get us to the counter, you bum...



((A quick pre-Brock review of our team...))


((As you can see, a healthy, well-adjusted lot.))

Sky Warrior: WHEN WILL THE TOOTHBRUSH CASE START PULLING ITS OWN WEIGHT?!
Monarch: In due time, in due time...

Queen Aria: Servants! Get me my lettuce bucket!
Reservoir: Uh, we're not your servants.

Wormtail: -________________-;; This is what happens when you let "royalty" into a group of equals...

((...Mostly.))


Syaoran: Um... looks pretty green to me... :\

Syaoran takes a brief trip by the museum.

Random Hunk of Distorted Data: sjkjkjlafqewaqiwdqiojwqamuurjuolwatchingujpriofjwrlqaiuYOU
Syaoran: GAH! *jumps away from exhibits*


((Heeeeey, didn't think you'd be learning anything REAL from this LP, didja? :D))


Queen Aria: ...
Syaoran: Huh? What is it, friend?
Queen Aria: ...According to an old legend, certain Pokemon in this world came not from this earth, but from the stars. It's said that, though they have long forgotten their origins and degenerated into lesser, weakened forms, their exalted heritage lingers still, awaiting an unknown signal...
Syaoran: ...Do you know which Pokemon these are?
Queen Aria: ...N-no. It's nothing.



Syaoran: Huh. Why Mt. Moon? ...Does this have something to do with the Moon Stone?
...Nothing I can do about it until after the Pewter Gym, however. That man keeps blocking the way...

((Insert training montage here!))

Queen Aria: I just had them manicured. *nasty buck-toothed grin*
Wormtail: ...I'm not about to mess with her...


Monarch: JOLLY GOOD, CHAPS! Now you'll learn the secret of my name!










Monarch: THAT'S RIGHT, my good fellows! I am Monarch Vennie Nat of the Caterpie People of the Viridian Forest! While, to you humans, our war with the Weedle People may seem to be going in our favor, the truth is that our overwhelming abundance is born of our desperation to flee the forest proper into the tall grass, where humans can at least distract our pursuers! In this terrible war, the entire ruling house of our people was slaughtered to almost the last bug, leaving my noble self as the sole survivor -
Syaoran: Ah, I hate to interrupt your tale of woe, but isn't there something missing from this picture?
Monarch: Such as what?
Syaoran: Your learning Confusion.
Monarch: Ah... um... that is... I...
Syaoran: ...
Monarch: Er... give me a... a level... or three...
Wormtail: ...Lemme guess. You didn't even know how to Tackle, and now you can't even figure out Confusion.
There was a reason the Weedle People saw no threat in leaving you alive, wasn't there?
Syaoran: Wormtail!
Monarch: ... ... ... I... confess... I may not have always been... the head of my classes...
Sky Warrior: YOU WEAKLING!!! I WILL HAVE YOU FOR DINNER TONIGHT WITH BIRDSEED SEASONING!!!
Monarch: Eek! Unbeak me, you savage!
Queen Aria: *butts in* I second that, you ruffian! That is no way to treat royalty.
Reservoir: *sigh* Look, look, guys? I'm at least two levels above any of you. Break it up, or I'll beat you up and haul whoever's injured worst back to the Pokemon Center while Syaoran tries diplomacy.
Sky Warrior: *squawks and flaps away*
Syaoran: *rubs eyes* ...All right. Look, Monarch? We'll give you another chance. But if you don't learn Confusion, we'll have to take you off the team.
Monarch: Don't send me back to Viridian Forest!
Syaoran: What?! No, you'd just be put in a nice, comfy PC Box. But if you don't get a damaging move soon, we really won't be able to afford having you on the team. Hardening your way to capture is good for weak Pokemon, but we'll be fighting much nastier Trainers soon. Did you see that sign about Pokemon thieves? We can't afford dead weight.
Monarch: ...I... I suppose I must do my best to learn it soon, chaps...

((Fun fact: In RED AND BLUE, Butterfree learns Confusion at level TWELVE. In all other games, including Yellow, it learns it at level TEN - immediately upon evolution. I genuinely thought I had a glitched Butterfree, or that wild-Metapod!Butterfrees in general had some glitch that prevented them from getting Confusion, until I got off the plane and looked it up.))

Syaoran: (...
...Something about Monarch's evolution - or perhaps Queen Aria's story, or perhaps that day in the museum - must have affected me greatly. Because that night, I had a very strange dream.)

Syaoran: (I dreamt that I was at Route 22 again, where I had caught Queen Aria, but that Shaoron was also there.)

Syaoran: (He approached me, scowling, and began to speak to me.)

Syaoran: (...Of course I wasn't going to POKeMON LEAGUE. I knew better than that. Why did I dream I was?)


Syaoran: (...Before I could respond, the darkness closed in on me...)



Syaoran: (...To fight...)


((If you ignore its HP, this is an accurate representation of the battle. That I switched to Sky Terror is probably an indication that the Sand Attacks made Resevoir unable to properly hit it...))


Syaoran: (Fortunately, my Pokemon defeated the images of Shaoron's Pokemon with ease...)


Syaoran: (...But he only laughed sardonically, telling me that my victory was nothing but luck.)


Syaoran: (As you just said, you must obtain the badges -
...Wait. What do you mean by "get past them"?
...Shaoron, what are you-)


Syaoron: (... he said with a purposeful stare and a terrible smile, and as he departed, the dream began to lift...)




.
.
.


Syaoran: (...I came to in front of the Pewter City Gym, Reservoir giving me a strange look.)
Reservoir: Are you all right, Syaoran? You've been out of it all morning...
Syaoran: I... What? I - no, no, I'm fine. So this is the Gym of Leader Brock, is it?


Syaoran: Thank heavens for type advantages.


Syaoran: What? He got here ahead of me? I... well, he does have type advantage as well. I'm sure he made short work of it.


Syaoran: Um, how old are you?
Jr. Trainer: STOP ASKING QUESTIONS! You snot-nosed brat -


Syaoran: *glances over Jr. Trainer's shoulder* They don't make light years as long as they used to, do they?
Jr. Trainer: SHUT UP AND FIGHT ME!


((A hit so powerful it carried over into the next Pokemon! >:D
...All right, just joking, but those screenshots set themselves up WONDERFULLY.))

Jr. Trainer: ...Mooooommyyyyyyyyy...


Syaoran: ...Why do you think I'm here?!



Syaoran: ...Are you always shirtless?
Brock: *indignantly* The chicks love it!


Resevoir: ...You were saying?
Geodude: Ah, never mind! I'll just beat the tar out of you! D:<


((Whoops. As it turns out, Gen 1 Brock's Geodude does NOT have Bide. I ended up wasting turns Tail Whipping while it pounded on me. Fortunately, Bubble was either a 1HKO or 2HKO...))

Syaoran: Ugh! Sorry, Reservoir... My research was incorrect...
Reservoir: It's fine, Syaoran! Let's just finish this up now!

((Onix went MUCH better. Tail Whipped him silly while I waited for Bide to clear, then...))


Onix: Not... paid... enough... for... thi...s...


Syaoran: We won, Reservoir! We won!
Reservoir: Piece of cake!


...

Syaoran: (...The first of the Badges...)


Brock: But, um, just so you know - not around any chicks. Learned that the hard way. D:




Wormtail: Not you, then, royalist.
Monarch: Why, I -


Syaoran: ...You mean that technique that made your Onix a laughingstock? Ah, no thanks...


((Refueling the item stock...))

((Meanwhile, down in the tall grass...))

Sky Terror: And STILL nothing!
Monarch: I'm trying, I'm trying!

((A quick overview of the team post-Brock...))


Monarch: I would like you all to note, my good fellows, that I am superior to my greatest detractor in almost every way.
Sky Terror: EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO BEING ACTUALLY ABLE TO ATTACK!!!
Monarch: *wings droop* Well... yes... aside from that...
 
((And there we run out of screenshots - now, to go 'gather more', and proceed to Mt. Moon! :D))