Pokemon Blue Nuzlocke Time! (Part 15.33)

[guardians_song]

Syaoran: (I entered onto a metallic platform surrounded by water - the room of Lorelei of the Elite Four...)


Syaoran: (A tall, black-dressed woman with her lavender hair tied back in a ponytail, she regarded me with amusement from behind her wide black sunglasses.)



((...Assuming you have time to hit them with such moves, lady.))




Yulong: Allow me.
Syaoran: Are you sure, Yulong?
Yulong: With the powers of heaven of my disposal... I am sure I will be able to dispatch her allies with ease.


((I love Gen 1 animations. :D))

((yulong.jpg
everyone else go home))


((...actually, are there recorded Gyarados solos? Yes, it would be easy, but that might be half the joke...
Wonder what the minimum level would be, though.))

((Okay, this next one is supposedly the hardest, due to Bliz-))

((-ard.

Yulong, have I mentioned that I love you? *glomps the giant, potentially-city-destroying dragon-carp*))



Syaoran: Madam, there's something I need to -
Lorelei: Unless it's personal, go tell Lance - if you can! The League listens to the Champion!
Syaoran: ...That's what I'm afraid of...


Syaoran: (Bruno, a massive man with the build of a martial artist, awaited in a room filled with craggy boulders. Some had evidently been used for training between matches.)


Syaoran: (I carefully approached...)


((Some sparring training would have been more useful. (:V) ))




Syaoran: (Reservoir started out the match...)


Reservoir: An Onix? These haven't grown any more challenging since Brock's day.


LEERSPEAR: Fighting Pokemon? Truly? These too have grown no stronger since the time of the Fighting Dojo...

((OMGosh, the feared Hitmonchan with Thunderpunch! LEERSPEAR had better be c-))

((...are...ful...

This was around the time when I began to suspect that I had overleveled.))


Bruno: Grrr.... Onix! Smash that pesky bird!
Reservoir: Not so fast!

Bruno: ...


LEERSPEAR: Increasing your defenses won't help you now!

((Seriously, the A.I. in this generation has no idea how to use boosting items. I think Giovanni has an obsessive tendency to use Guard Spec. at least once, and... um, Giovanni, your lineup doesn't have to worry about stat-decreasing moves, it has to worry about Y HALO THAR I'M A DECENTLY-LEVELED WATER TYPE moves. -_-;; Arguably Petalburg Gym in Gen III is just as bad, since a strong Fighting-type can often bumrush its way through most of the Trainers before they even get done boosting, as I recall.

A.I., in general, is not set up well to sweep. This is probably intentional, but it does make them laughingstocks at certain points.))



LEERSPEAR: Because your Pokemon were mighty, but ill-trained.


Syaoran: First, there's something I have to say...
Bruno: Eh?

Syaoran: ...
Bruno: ...

Bruno: ...
*some time later*
...I see.
...As Lorelei said, however, all you can do is go forward. If you can defeat Lance, the League will listen to you. Until then, you are but a child bearing a disturbing tale that can scarcely be believed.
...Good luck, boy.
Syaoran: ...


Syaoran: (Agatha's room... it looked like a predecessor of Pokemon Tower. I felt the unearthly chill of ghosts not at rest...)

Syaoran: (...It did not intimidate me, however. Pokemon Tower had rendered me immune to ghosts' fearful effects. But I had no doubt that other, likely-better Trainers had stopped their challenge here, unable to drive themselves onward.

...I drove myself onward...)

Syaoran: (Up close, Agatha herself was a bent, frail old woman with flowing white hair and a cynical smile. The aura of confidence and power surrounding her, however, implied that she had once been a great Trainer...

...Once. Was that still true now?

As if hearing my thoughts, she leaned on her cane and began to boastfully announce -)

Syaoran: - TMI! TMI! D8
Agatha: Oh, hush! You brats today are all so dirty-minded! Clearly I meant -






Syaoran: Nice... try... ugh...
Agatha: Can't blame me for trying, boy...

Syaoran: *breaths through teeth* Well, then... Ambassador! You're too fast to be hit by these land-bound ghosts!
Ambassador: Like Pokemon Tower again, I take it? They'll be handled like Pokemon Tower!

((I have to wonder if Lance is supposed to troll the *BLEEP* out of Pokemon RB players.
Lorelei's lineup would probably be reminiscent of Seafoam Islands for people who played through that.
Bruno's a clear upgraded version of Brock and the Fighting Dojo.
Agatha's a rehash of the Rocket fights and Pokemon Tower.
LANCE has no predecessor, and his sole weakness is something you probably wouldn't realize if you weren't paying attention to type charts or talking to the right people. I honestly don't know if he's the FIRST one to use Dragons in the game, but there certainly aren't many chances to sleuth out their weaknesses. I DO know he's the first one to use Hyper Beam, which is going to be the ubertroll move for 90% of the people playing him [with the other 10% using Rocks or Gengar].

Even Rival would be better if you were doing a completely blind, first-time-through-the-game run. At least Rival's been fought several times before, and his killers/team-sweepers have already been firmly established by this point. Lance just comes out of nowhere and hits like a ton of bricks. His main weakness, if you lack Ice, is the mandatory recharge time, but that doesn't occur in RB unless the receiving Pokemon SURVIVES the blow...

There have probably been low-level teams that blundered through the first three and were hard-stopped by Lance. Just saying.))

((I also should note - Agatha's Pokemon got KOed fast enough this time that her schizophrenic switching didn't appear in the match. For those without a clear recollection of RB - it was ridiculous. She'd literally switch her Pokemon in and out of the fight every few turns. Since that gives the player free turns, it's all to their advantage - but particularly remarkable because almost no other Trainer in RB does this.

Was this supposed to be her gimmick? I don't know what Lorelei's is, but Bruno's is presumably the use of X Items, Lance's is Hyper Beam's recharge-turn, and Rival's is the awful movesets on everything not called "Gyarados", "Alakazam", or "[Starter]" being the same Trainer you've beaten several times and know the lineup thereof... It's interesting to look at Pokemon from the perspective of it being a well-written RPG, that's all. Explains some of the eccentricities.

Moving on...))

Golbat: By tonue ib froben. I'b resigbing dis ma'. *waddles back into Pokeball, shoving its frozen appendage into the capsule with an effort*


((This is the BIG fatal defect in the Agatha A.I., you see.
From all accounts, unless the Pokemon had a move that had a type super-effective against the TYPE of attack that was last used (NOT the Pokemon - Lance's Dragonairs can apparently be trolled to death with Toxic), the RB A.I. used moves at random. RANDOM.
As in, 'moves dependent upon a certain status DIDN'T CHECK FOR THAT STATUS FIRST'.
So the only way for Agatha's Pokemon to use the vicious Hypnosis-Dream Eater combo was for the designers to enable Dream Eater to be used... at random.
If it is truly random, then that means they'll blow their first move 25% of the time (35% if we count a missed Hypnosis as a 'blown' move), and blow their second move 60% of 25% - 15% - of the time. Now, if we count a missed or useless Hypnosis as a 'blown' move...
1st Turn: Dream Eater + missed Hypnosis = 35% wasted
2nd Turn: Dream Eater (no sleep - 85% chance) + missed Hypnosis (no sleep - 85% chance) + Hypnosis (already asleep - 15% chance) = 29.75% + 3.75% = 33.5% wasted
[...]

Yeah, it would take an irritating amount of terms to calculate the chance that a Pokemon was asleep several turns in, but you get the picture. Agatha is probably going to blow a third of her first few moves on any Ghost Pokemon, by which time the Pokemon is going to be likely dead or close to it.

That's not even mentioning that her final Gengar doesn't have a sleep move. That's right. Its moveset, according to Serebii, is Confuse Ray | Night Shade | Toxic | DREAM EATER.

So if the Pokemon at the front is not carrying over a sleep condition [and why would it? It has to knock out the preceding Pokemon! Not to mention that players have the PokeFlute from Lavender Town on], L60 Gengar is guaranteed to waste ONE OUT OF FOUR MOVES.


If Agatha's A.I. was competently programmed, she would be as much of a menace as HGSS Koga - probably not much to you excellent-player folks, but pretty darn bad if you don't have something super-effective against Poison types.
Instead, she's an embarrassing farce of a Trainer. Take note, folks. This is why good A.I. is very, very important.

*/preachy* >_>))




agatha.jpg

((If I'd wanted to be particularly insulting, I could have just used Earthquake instead of Dig and made this into a GIF show of 'Ambassador used Earthquake! / It's super effective!' 2-slides-per-Pokemon.

I wasn't expecting it to be THIS bad, though. I mean, come on... L55 Dugtrio is strong, but THIS strong?
The game is really relying on the player having relatively-underleveled Pokemon to make the Elite Four a struggle, isn't it?

Pity Yellow's Elite Four is harder, or I'd be seeing if I could get through without level-grinding there.

...I technically do have a savestate just after Moltres. I could do a run from that point just as a joke-test of how far Syaoran could get without being humiliated. Tell me in comments if you'd be at all interested in seeing that.))



Syaoran: I need to tell y-
Agatha: Yes. I know.
Syaoran: !!!

Agatha: ...If you should run across Shaoron... try not to harm him, child. It isn't his fault. He just took too much after me... too stupidly reckless...
Syaoran: ! After you...?
Agatha: Hm... Yes, once I and that old duff... But I remained committed to my training, and he degenerated into always running after some foolish project or other...
...And now most of my Pokemon have become Ghosts, and he's teaching bright young people like you...
...Was I the foolish one...?
...Never mind me, child. Go on ahead. See what you can do for Shaoron...


Syaoran: ((I entered a long and winding indigo hallway, its walls lit by harsh white lights...))

Syaoran: ((...The doors slammed shut behind me, leaving no way out of this hall lined by the statues of great and terrible Pokemon.

This, then, was the end of Indigo Plateau. The domain of Lance, head of the Elite Four. Greatest of Trainers. Master of Dragons.))

Syaoran: ...Are you ready, everyone?

Yulong: Allow me to lead the charge. I sense... another of my kind here.
Reservoir: I'll take on the rest. Ice Beam's meant for Dragons, isn't it?
Wormtail: And what about the rest of us? I'm itching for a fight.
Reservoir: ...If any of you have to enter this battle... Something's gone wrong. Badly wrong. And we're in much more trouble than a few of us hogging all the fights.
Wormtail: Urk! Point taken, head honcho...

Syaoran: ...Here we are, then. Let's go.


Syaoran: *coughs and motions to Yulong*
Lance: Ah! I see, then, that you know of what I speak!

Syaoran: *coughs and POINTEDLY motions to Yulong*
Lance: Very funny. You think that mine is weaker than yours?




((Now, here's the thing. This match proves that you're given an UNSEEN advantage in RB(Y?) - your foes are NOT given any Stat EXP. Either that, or they have singularly bad IVs.
Why?
Because this Gyarados has three levels on Yulong. So who outspeeds?))


((Need you even ask?))

Yulong: ...I am sorry, my fellow.
Lance: Rrgh... How?! How?! Can a Gyarados truly learn that move to which it is most vulnerable?
Syaoran: Well, what do YOU think?



Reservoir: Time to bust this out!

Reservoir: ...That isn't good.



Lance: Feel a Dragon's rage!
Reservoir: I'm feeling it, all right, but I don't fear it any more. Hey, Lance! Anyone ever tell you the difference between 159 HP and 40 HP? It's a lot!

Dragonair: ...*now bent into a pretzel, hops awkwardly into the Pokeball*

Lance: Ha! Your paltry attempts at healing will avail you nothing now! DRAGONAIR? DEMOLISH THIS PRETENDER!

Lance: HAHAHAHA-

Lance: Wh-what?!
Reservoir: This shell isn't just for show, you know.
Lance: ...B-blast it all...
Dragonair: ...Can I just skip becoming a pretzel?
Reservoir: *sigh* Sorry, but Trainers insist on formalities.




Syaoran: What is that?!
Lance: A creature that went extinct long ago - but, due to science, lives again! Aerodactyl! Unleash your might upon this foe!

((>_> Yes, I forgot to get the Old Amber, so Syaoran wouldn't know about Aerodactyl. ...Mea culpa. ))

Reservoir: ...Urk. It's still alive?

Reservoir: *brightly* Well, well. Seems you need to recharge too.
Aerodactyl: GRRRRR...

Reservoir: ...If I had known it would be that easy, I would have used Surf in the first place.




Lance: Wh-what?!
Syaoran: Reservoir! Time to end this match!

((Fun fact: this is the first time that I can recall that I EVER froze a Pokemon in the Gen 1 games. :D I'd gotten frozen, but I'd never dished it out.
Ah, fun times with the Nuzlocke challenge! :D))


Syaoran: We did it, everyone!
Pokemon: *cheer*


Reservoir: I can. BD

Syaoran: Then I must tell you -

Syaoran: What?!

Syaoran: ...No... it can't...

Syaoran: Don't you know what he is? He -
Lance: The law is hard, but it is the law! We owe the Champion utter subservience. Nothing you can say can move us from that. If you wish to overthrow him, you must do it yourself.

Syaroan: But I insist...
*he begins the explanation*

Lance: *some time later* ...
...That...
...Still, we have no choice. We serve the Champion. That is the law of the Elite Four.
...
...I am sorry. *turns his face to the wall*
Syaoran: ...Then only my Pokemon can stand between the monster using Shaoron's body and the rest of the world.


Syaoran: Everyone?
Yulong: ...I am ready.
Monarch: Pip pip! This is that for which we've trained all this time, my good fellows!
Wormtail: Just don't feed me to that Venusaur or anythin' that looks too big for its britches.
Ambassador: For all of Diglett Society!
LEERSPEAR: The honor of the Mountain Tribe demands that I serve you once more.
Reservoir: We've been fighting this guy from the start... Whether he's possessed by something more or not, we've pulled out a victory every time. Let's show him that this won't be an exception.


Syaoran: ...Then, my friends, it's time.
Off we go to face the Champion.