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Galick posted:Team Normalize Normalize makes everything identical, yeah? Team Geno 
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May 9, 2014 15:08
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As of this post, voting for the team name is closed. It'll be in by the next update. Chapter 2: The New Guild Recruits (Part 2) The next morning...  *: RISE AND SHINE!  (Ugh! M-my head is pounding! Wh-what a ridiculously loud voice! It almost blasted my eardrums!)  Why are you still ASLEEP?! WAKE UP! (Ugh!) M-my poor ears...  C'mon! Snap OUT of it! I'm Loudred! And I'm a fellow apprentice! If you're late for our morning briefing, you'll be SORRY! So MOVE it! Guildmaster Wigglytuff has got a BIG temper. If you make him lose it... YOWEEE! That would be one very scary scene! The screen flashes, and Loudred trembles with some traumatizing recollection of his pink bunny boss. I've got goose bumps just thinking about it! YEESH! So ANYWAY... I'm not about to get in trouble because you rookies got up LATE! SO GET IT IN GEAR!  Urk! My ears are still ringing... What did he say? Something about getting ready?  Er... Oh yeah!  We signed up as apprentices at Wigglytuff's guild, that's right! But that means... Waaaah! We totally overslept! We've got to hurry, Michael!    You're LATE, rookies!  Hush! Your voice is ridiculously loud!   Everyone seems to be present. Very well. ♪ Let us conduct our morning address. Guildmaster! ♪ The guild is in full attendance! ♪   Thank you, Guildmaster! ♪ Please address the crew.  Apprentice: (Psst...! Guildmaster Wigglytuff never ceases to amaze me!) Apprentice: (Yeah, you got that right!) Apprentice: (Yup, looks like he's wide awake.) Apprentice: (Eek! His eyes are wide open! But he's fast asleep!)  Thank you, sir! We all value your... words of wisdom! ♪ OK, Pokemon! ♪ Take our Guildmaster's words of wisdom to heart! ♪Never forget the Guildmaster's stately drool. Finally, let's not forget our morning cheers! All together now! ♪  Everyone: TWO! RUN AWAY AND PAY! THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES! OK, Pokemon! Get to work! ♪  Everyone goes their separate ways. When we try to do the same...  Hey, you shouldn't just be wandering around there. You two come here. ♪       You're just beginners. We'll have you start off with this assignment. ♪ This is the Job Bulletin Board. Pokemon from various regions post job requests here. You're aware that bad Pokemon are cropping up in greater numbers, right? Yup. Because the flow of time is getting messed up. It's wreaking havoc, right? Which is why lots of bad Pokemon are appearing! (The flow of time is getting messed up? Time? As in hours and minutes? Do they mean something has gone wrong with time here? And, because of that, more and more bad Pokemon are popping up? What's going on here?!)She could just be incredulous, but PMD does this kind of repetition a lot. Precisely. Time getting out of whack has caused an outbreak of bad Pokemon. Perhaps because of all that... We have noticed an increase in the number of jobs. In addition... and it's unknown if this is because of time's influence... (Mystery dungeons?!) So, Michael! You know how we got my Relic Fragment back yesterday? The place where we found it was a mystery dungeon. A mystery dungeon changes each time you go into it. There's a different layout and different items every time you enter! If you faint in the middle of a dungeon, you lose half your money... You can even lose half your items or more...Finally, you get kicked right out. They're very strange places. But every time you go inside one, there are always new things to discover! They really are fantastic places to go exploring! Well! You're quite informed, aren't you! ♪  That makes things much easier for me to explain! ♪ Jobs all take place in mystery dungeons. So... let's look for a job that you should perform! ♪ Ah, yes. ♪ Maybe this will do? Chatot hands them a job request.  Oh, really? Let's read it!"Hello! My name is Spoink! An outlaw has run off with my most prized possession. My precious pearl! That pearl is life itself... to me! I just can't seem to settle down if that pearl isn't in its proper place atop my head! But I've heard my pearl has been sighted! It's said to be on a rocky bluff. But this bluff is reported to be extremely unsafe. I could never go somewhere so frightening! Oh, friendly readers! Would you be so kind as to go to the bluff and get my pearl?"  Wait a second... I would rather do something that's more of an adventure. I'd rather look for treasure or explore unknown places. Things like that! Hush! It's important that you rookies pay your dues! Now pay attention! I'll repeat the warnings again to make sure they stick! You'll be forced out of a dungeon and sent back here if either of you faints. You'll lose half your money! And you could lose half your items or more. You'd best be careful! If you've understood all that, I suggest you get on with the job! ♪ Chatot brooks no complaints in this guild. Later...     This must be the bluff's entrance. Spoink's mission description said the pearl is deep down on the B7F level. It sounds like a seriously dangerous place. Let's be careful.Dangerous to wet cardboard, maybe. Let's do our best, Michael! They briefly rock out before entering the dungeon.    Cool. Let's see what we got.  Aside from our two starter gifts, just the Sleep Seed Michael got in Beach Cave. But the great thing about the gifts is that they're equippable! They go in a Pokemon's held item slot.  The Lime Bow is colored after the aura we got during the opening quiz. All color aura bows do the same thing, and that's increase our attacking and defensive stats a little. Michael appreciates the boost and verdant fashion.  Babar gets the Special Band. Phanpy doesn't get a lot of special attacks, but it boosts Ancient Power.  Not far in, Michael levels up. Tail Whip lowers the defense of the enemy in front, but it's not worth a move slot just using it by itself.  Here we have a new item.  Max Elixirs are vital for dungeon crawling. They work exactly like the Max Elixir in the main Pokemon series, restoring the PP of all the Pokemon's moves to full. They're also a billion times more common.  Drenched Bluff is well-lit, so hallways aren't an issue, and neither is skipping forward a square to slap slugs in the face.  Ancient Power can go around corners, good for getting enemies before they can get you.  Here's how much it hurts with a type advantage and the Special Band. Not bad for the second dungeon.    Here's another super-important item for surviving in dungeons.  Apples fill your belly. The game warns if your belly gets below 50, then 10 percent; once it hits zero, you lose 1 HP per turn. Apples are another common item, so it's not difficult to keep your hunger topped up.  The Heal Seed isn't an absolutely vital item, but it is handy, as it heals all bad status when eaten.  Mud Sport lowers the power of Electric-type attacks for several turns... which neither Michael or Babar use.  Michael hits Shellos so hard, the item it was carrying pops out. Big Apples fill the belly by 100, compared to an Apple's 50.  Enemies capable of walking on water tiles will circle around in them until you get close.  When killing them in tiles none of your team members can enter, be careful if they've picked up an item first, or you might have to leave it behind.  Attract still stops attacks in their tracks.  Blast Seeds are fun.  Just face an enemy, bite down on the seed...  ...And make Skitty spew a fireball.   They can also be thrown from a distance, but the explosion from that will do less damage than up close.  What's that pretty pink item over there!  It's a berry! Pecha Berries cure poison.  Finally, an Oran Berry!  ...Huh?  Something's not right here, and the item's description will tell you as much. Unlike the Oran Berry, the Oren Berry will do damage to whoever eats it. It's a Lookalike Item, and there are several items with Lookalike versions that do detrimental or just plain weird things.  Here we have a... jellybean?  It's a Gummi, a slightly uncommon, yet very important food item. When eaten, they fill the belly some (more than seeds and berries, but not as much as Apples), and increase a Pokemon's IQ stat. They come in colors covering all the Pokemon types, meaning if you give a Grass Gummi to a Grass-type Pokemon, they get the most benefit from it.  For now, Babar gets it.  Even though it doesn't match his type, the Grass Gummi is more effective on Babar than Michael, due to his type. Grass is super-effective against Ground, but neutral against Normal. So, Babar likes the Grass Gummi more than Michael would.  Time to steal back my Oran Berry.  LILEEP   Like Max Elixirs and Apples, Oran Berries are vital for exploring. They heal 100 HP in one go, which will max us out through a lot of the early game, and still heal a bunch later on.  Michael's such a klepto that she even steals rocks off the floor.  Rocks and sticks can be equipped as your throwing item, kinda like arrows in Shiren the Wanderer, separate from things in the held-item slot.  When thrown, rocks don't just go straight, but can also home in on enemies adjacent to your line of sight.  Geo Pebbles are the weakest of the rocks you can throw, but they're helpful if you can spare the bag space. After all that, Babar and Michael finally reach floor B7.    Oh! Look at that!   This must be Spoink's pearl! Let's hurry back with it! One yoink and a trip back later...    Th-thank you! That pearl must be propped on my head, you see. I missed it so much! I just couldn't settle down without it up there! So I was boinging and sproinging everywhere! That's why I'm covered in dings and bumps.Well, at least he didn't sit still. If a Spoink stops bouncing, its heart stops beating. But thanks to you, that long nightmare is over! You have my sincere thanks! Michael's team was rewarded with a Protein! You also received a Calcium! You also received an Iron! These items permanently increase Attack, Special Attack, and Defense respectively. I had to toss out a few items to make room in my bag for the rewards, but vitamins are way worth it.    Oh, wow! 2,000P?! All this money is for us? Of course! Of course! That's nothing compared to my pearl's value! Farewell!  We're rich, Michael! We got rich just like that! Well done, team! ♪  Huh?! Most of the money from jobs goes to the Guildmaster, you see! ♪What's he do, swim in it? And your team's share of the money comes out to this much...! ♪ We keep only 200P? That's awful!So we do all the work, and get 10%. Harsh.  Well that's the guild's rule. You simply have to accept it! ♪  Hmph...That evening...       I finished making dinner! ♪ Come on! Dinner's on! ♪ After a hard day's work, it's nice to sit down to a quiet, civilized...    ...meal.  *: I'm stuffed, and now I'm getting sleepy... *: Yep, I'm off to bed! Good night, gang! *: Good night!    Wasn't today hectic? So much happened! But I'm relieved that our first job was a success. It was really upsetting how Wigglytuff's Guild took most of the money... That's just the cost of training, I guess. We can't do anything about it.Explains why there's no entry fee. And why they can afford to feed all the guild members.  But what made me really happy today, though, was getting thanked by Spoink! Yawn... I'm getting sleepy. I'm going to sleep. Let's try our best again tomorrow. Good night, Michael...
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May 11, 2014 01:06
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That's quite a scam this guild's got going.
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May 11, 2014 01:35
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I've played some of the game but never finished it. If I didn't know better I'd say Chatot was taking that 90% for himself 'cause he's kind of an rear end in a top hat.
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May 11, 2014 02:05
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Cernunnos posted:I've played some of the game but never finished it. If I didn't know better I'd say Chatot was taking that 90% for himself 'cause he's kind of an rear end in a top hat. Here's the first strike against Chatot. For some, one strike is enough.
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May 11, 2014 02:15
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It's a lot less unfair when you consider you're paying for education, promotion, a place to live and food here. They just ask you to work your rear end off in situations that are absolutely dangerous and could potentially kill you, and take 90% of your payment for said jobs! Wigglytuff Guild best guild.
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May 11, 2014 02:25
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Blaze Dragon posted:It's a lot less unfair when you consider you're paying for education, promotion, a place to live and food here. They just ask you to work your rear end off in situations that are absolutely dangerous and could potentially kill you, and take 90% of your payment for said jobs! Pokemon don't die. They just faint. 
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May 11, 2014 17:03
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Wigglytuff is an awesome character, and I love the way he eats. 
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May 11, 2014 17:25
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I am now also of the "Chatot is an rear end in a top hat" camp. At least he's not in Gates (I think).
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May 11, 2014 18:18
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I'm glad this LP is here because Gates has ruined me on the older games. I keep forgetting that hunger is a thing and that the cool new stuff is not there. Weighing in on Chatot, I thought he was a colossal jerk at first but I liked him by the end. OP, will you be doing the extra chapters as they unlock or in one fell swoop at the end? I ask because the first one was a bitch for me when I did it alongside, so I'm curious to see how other people handle them.
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May 11, 2014 20:28
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Silento posted:Pokemon don't die. They just faint. Unless you're Cubone's mom. Or a Durant that a Heatmor is eying.
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May 11, 2014 20:49
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I guess I'm a weird person in that I didn't really like Gates to Infinity. Sure, the story was fine, but mechanically the game just drove me nuts. Eliminating the hunger mechanic just made things too easy, for one. I liked the resource management from the previous games. Also, being able to just outright choose your starter is good, but the range of choices the game gave you was just piddling compared to Sky. It really irritated me. But the thing that drove me the most bonkers was only being able to do one mission at a time. I used to load up on multiple missions in a single dungeon and knock them all out at once. With the way you upgrade Paradise, being able to do that would have been even more useful, but no. Plus the post-game is extremely barren, especially compared to the rich post-game content that PMD2 had. I felt like after I beat it, there wasn't anything left for me to do, except upgrade Paradise. (And with the aforementioned one mission at a time thing? NO THANKS!) However, I did really like Companion Mode. Companion Mode was absolutely the best thing! After a certain point I spent way less time on the main story than I did on The Adventures of Archie the Archeops. This game, though? Love this game. I rolled with Shinx and Vulpix and it was awesome. Best duo there is!
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May 11, 2014 21:05
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Roro posted:OP, will you be doing the extra chapters as they unlock or in one fell swoop at the end? I ask because the first one was a bitch for me when I did it alongside, so I'm curious to see how other people handle them. Silver Falcon posted:I guess I'm a weird person in that I didn't really like Gates to Infinity. Sure, the story was fine, but mechanically the game just drove me nuts. Eliminating the hunger mechanic just made things too easy, for one. I liked the resource management from the previous games. Also, being able to just outright choose your starter is good, but the range of choices the game gave you was just piddling compared to Sky. It really irritated me. But the thing that drove me the most bonkers was only being able to do one mission at a time. I used to load up on multiple missions in a single dungeon and knock them all out at once. With the way you upgrade Paradise, being able to do that would have been even more useful, but no. I actually maxed out my ranking points in Gates, so I could unlock all the track titles for the sound test, and properly tag a gamerip of the soundtrack. It is a SLOG. It basically involved my Samurott stabbing
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May 11, 2014 21:28
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I did the same, but mainly so I can paint my house in sweet coloured Crystal. The Golden Chamber only Pokemon are the only reason I haven't 100% the game, annoyingly. The worst thing about the PMD games is recruiting all Pokemon, so far I'm like 98% for all three iterations. Each of the PMDs have their ups and downs, but it's a consistently good series, which is why I love it so much.
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May 11, 2014 21:37
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VolticSurge posted:I am now also of the "Chatot is an rear end in a top hat" camp. At least he's not in Gates (I think). I'm a fair chunk into the game, and Chatot seems pretty cool, all things considered. I think I know exactly why you people hate him, but that's a fistful of updates from now.
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May 12, 2014 16:52
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Silver Falcon posted:I guess I'm a weird person in that I didn't really like Gates to Infinity. Sure, the story was fine, but mechanically the game just drove me nuts. Eliminating the hunger mechanic just made things too easy, for one. I liked the resource management from the previous games. Also, being able to just outright choose your starter is good, but the range of choices the game gave you was just piddling compared to Sky. It really irritated me. But the thing that drove me the most bonkers was only being able to do one mission at a time. I used to load up on multiple missions in a single dungeon and knock them all out at once. With the way you upgrade Paradise, being able to do that would have been even more useful, but no. The one mission at a time completely killed my interest in the game. The series has amazing music and really good stories for a kid's game, but the gameplay is the most bland roguelike you can get. I slogged through this game for the music and story and figured I'd do the same for Gates, but drat they somehow regressed in gameplay.
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May 12, 2014 18:46
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Why are people saying "Chatot is an rear end in a top hat" as if that's a bad thing or a negative character trait  Silver Falcon posted:I guess I'm a weird person in that I didn't really like Gates to Infinity. Sure, the story was fine, but mechanically the game just drove me nuts. Eliminating the hunger mechanic just made things too easy, for one. I liked the resource management from the previous games. Also, being able to just outright choose your starter is good, but the range of choices the game gave you was just piddling compared to Sky. It really irritated me. But the thing that drove me the most bonkers was only being able to do one mission at a time. I used to load up on multiple missions in a single dungeon and knock them all out at once. With the way you upgrade Paradise, being able to do that would have been even more useful, but no. Doing only one mission at a time is worst than doing multiple at once. Don't really care much about the lack of pokemon, five starters and 200~ pokemon is plenty. The worst part about GtI is the slow out-of-dungeon text speed. I much prefer GtI over EoS mostly because they replaced the IQ system it with a universal Team Skill system and made Experience earned by all pokemon instead of just the ones in the party. This made it possible to use more than 4 pokemon or so without grinding a lot. Improved graphics, music, game speed (besides text) and input layout help too. I've heard good things about the post-game content of I can't even be bothered doing the rest of the post-game stuff in EoS because I dread Exp/IQ. Maybe the post-game solves my problems or something but I'm probably going to play something else first.
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May 12, 2014 19:19
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You fed Babar the Gummy.  In Explorers of Sky, I never feed pokemon gummies directly unless it's an unavoidable "eat or starve" situation. Anyone who's played the game knows why, and anyone who hasn't will know when we get there. It just seems so wasteful. Also related to eating things: Eating any seed will take away 5 hunger. That includes when you eat a Blast Seed to belch out flames. It's another thing good for those "eat or starve" situations, though on a much more limited basis, especially since there are quite a few seeds you don't want to stick in your mouth. EDIT: Benach posted:I've heard good things about the post-game content of I can't even be bothered doing the rest of the post-game stuff in EoS because I dread Exp/IQ. Maybe the post-game solves my problems or something but I'm probably going to play something else first. The post-game in Gates is literally a single dungeon of plot and then a few extra dungeons you grind until the end of time to unlock shop upgrades and the like. There's not really much to it. Of course, one could argue that there doesn't need to be, given that it's a "post-game" and not a "second half of the plot" like what the other PMD games do. Also, while Team Skills are nice, it was kind of obnoxious how randomly they were unlocked, I felt. KataraniSword fucked around with this message at 02:32 on May 13, 2014 |
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May 13, 2014 02:25
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KataraniSword posted:You fed Babar the Gummy. I feel you. But it will be a while before that happens and getting your partner some IQ is always a good thing. I have a thing about blue ones though. I'll rant about it when it comes up, later. Way way later.
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May 13, 2014 02:52
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KataraniSword posted:You fed Babar the Gummy.
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May 13, 2014 03:05
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I just remembered my favorite pastime with the PMD games: using a custom mission generator to accumulate Joy Seeds because honestly, gently caress leveling up in these games.
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May 13, 2014 03:09
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Funky Valentine posted:I just remembered my favorite pastime with the PMD games: using a custom mission generator to accumulate Joy Seeds because honestly, gently caress leveling up in these games. Doing that for the Friendship Ribbon thing is one of the first things I do.
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May 13, 2014 03:31
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7 floors seems like an awfully weird number for a mystery dungeon. Well, I guess it's actually 6 floors. But even so.
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May 14, 2014 01:12
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Glazius posted:7 floors seems like an awfully weird number for a mystery dungeon. Before you know it, you're on floor 56 of a 99-floor dungeon, eating your limbs to survive.
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May 14, 2014 01:47
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Gates to infinity is garbage and I'm getting mad at posts on a comedy forum about this. I wish I could stop. Gates to infinity feels like it should have been the first PMD game. It just isn't as expansive as the earlier ones (Here's to you PMD:EoS, the best game in the series) and it gets rid of important features like being able to do multiple missions. But really just the lack of pokemon and truncated dungeons kills it. It had some good features, but it was just very dissapointing if you wanted more PMD after playing all of the previous ones. EDIT: Aaaaaaaaaand thats what I get for going through bookmarks very late, I post a month late.
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Jun 11, 2014 23:50
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I loved PMD: Gates's story and music enough to forgive the gameplay downgrades. But as long as a PMD game has good music and an enjoyable story, you could probably do worse to it, and I'd still play it through 100%.  This update's a bit long, because it introduces a bunch of things, and I couldn't find an earlier cut-off point I liked. This gets a lot of beginner stuff out of the way, though. Chapter 3: The Scream (Part 1)  The next morning... UP AND AT 'EM! IT'S MORNING!   Loudred has become the team's official alarm clock. Time for another day of training.  Everyone: AND... THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES! OK, Pokemon! ♪ Time to get to work! ♪  So today, we'll--  Well, come with me. You can walk right up to him, and he'll still do that. Welcome to Chatot.    Huh? Last time we did a job, it was from the board on the other side... Correct! ♪ Today, we'll have you do a job listed on this side. ♪ How is this different from the board on the other side? Take a closer look! ♪ Oh, look, Michael! There are posters up here that show a variety of Pokemon! Wow, they all look pretty cool! Are they famous explorers? Who are these Pokemon, Chatot? The Pokemon posted here... are outlaws. They're all shady characters. And they're wanted for committing crimes. They're outlaws?! Correct. So there are bounties on their heads. In other words, there is a cash reward if you capture one. There are so many aggressive Pokemon around these days that everyone's finding it hard to keep up with the problem. Wait! You're telling us to go catch these outlaws? You can't be serious! That's not possible! Just joking! ♪ The bad Pokemon out there come in all shades of badness! ♪ Some of those Pokemon are completely wicked, through and through... But there are also bad Pokemon who are merely petty thieves. So you've got evil to naughty... and everything in between! ♪ So I'm sure we can avoid giving you a job catching a superbad Pokemon... Hee-heeeee! ♪Chatot has issues. So look over these posters, then pick a Pokemon that looks weak enough for you to bring to justice! ♪ You say some are weak... But they're still bad Pokemon, aren't they? I'm scared of dangerous Pokemon! It's all part of your training. You'll work through it, I'm sure! ♪ But I suppose you do need to be prepared to confront a tough opponent... So I'll have someone give you a tour of the facilities. Hey! Bidoof! Bidoof?!Bidoof: Yup yup!    Huff-puff-huff... You called? Ah, Bidoof! ♪ These are the new recruits that just joined us. Take them and show them around the town. ♪ Yes sirree! By golly, I'll do just that! Yup yup! This is Bidoof. He's one of your fellow apprentices. I want you to pay attention to what Bidoof has to say and follow his orders. Off you go! ♪   Aw, shucks! I'm overjoyed! Why's that? I'm glad to have members junior to me! I'm almost overcome right now... I might just blubber with happiness! Before you all signed on, I was the most recent rookie... Well, I'd best show you around. Come with me, please.  First things first!  But to tell the truth, I don't have any idea what that Pokemon's up to... He always seems to be fiddling around with that big cauldron back there. It's all a mystery to me! Yup yup!    Next, I'll guide you both around places outside the guild.    I hear you can make a record of your adventure at that Watering Hole. Usually, you make a record of your adventure by going to your bed at the guild, yup yup. Seems you can make a record of your adventure over there too. By golly, it's a handy spot when you want to record your adventure frequently.This is a new feature in Explorers of Sky. Along with one of the newer translators at the time who worked on this game, who apparently couldn't translate the same phrase a different way over four consecutive sentences. I'll have more complaints about them later.    This is the main square for the local Pokemon... It's called Treasure Town. Oh, I can tell you about Treasure Town too. We can save our money there.Chunsoft-wise, banks are a feature that started way back in the old Dragon Quest games, as well as previous Mystery Dungeon titles. In DQ, you could only store money in increments of a thousand, but in this game, you can store as much or as little as you want. The point of banks in either series is the same--if you get wiped out, your on-hand cash gets cut in half, but your bank deposit remains untouched.  That's where you can do thing like link moves together, but it looks as if Electivire isn't here today.This shop returns from the first PMD, now run by Electivire instead of Gulpin. I'll explain it in detail once it opens. On the west side of town...  Super Kecleon Bros. are back to take your money. The purple one isn't shiny; he just wants to be that color.  If you have precious items that you can't afford to lose, store them here before you go on an adventure.I think storehouses are in every Chunsoft dungeon game. In Shiren the Wanderer, storage was invaluable, as dying not only sent you back to the first town and de-leveled you, it also took all your items. And those are the basic places that exploration teams visit. And that should do it. You sure know a lot, yes sirree! And that's good to know! All right, then. Come find me when you're ready to go. I'll give you a helping hand with selecting the right outlaw for you. Thank you, Bidoof. You've been really nice.  I'll be waiting at the guild's upper underground floor for you.  I'd like to see what kinds of items are available! Let's go to the Kecleon Market! Before we head back, a visit to the Kecleon Market is a must!Looks like we have to take Babar shopping. First, let's get to know the various patrons of Treasure Town.  Seedot and Pidgey form Team Seedgey. Like Michael and Babar, they're an exploration duo. Unlike Michael and Babar, they have no interesting story whatsoever.   Hey, hey! My name's Corphish! I'm an apprentice at Wigglytuff's Guild too. Hey, hey! If you don't know what's going on or whatever... you come ask me! You got that, hey, hey?Corphish's verbal tic comes from his name in the Japanese version, Heigani. So in that one, he's always saying the first part of his name. You can understand Pokemon now, but they're still goofy weirdos.   Oh my gosh! The new guild recruits! Delighted to meet you!Sunflora is like everyone's big sister among the apprentices. We'll get to know her pretty well later on.   That cool name was thought up by my partner Wurmple next to me! What do you think? Cool name, am I right?!  Excuse me? Why did I pick the name Team Tasty? Well... Er, um... I think that's how my partner will think of me eventually... Y-y-yeesh...Way better than the forgettable Team Seedgey, Team Tasty's dynamic is Swellow's obliviousness clashing with Wurmple's paranoia. They're sort of an unintentional comedy duo.  Vigoroth's always hanging around town. It's not clear exactly what he does, but he's probably a solo explorer or something.    I keep telling my partner that we should seek out flashy baubles and glamorous glitz, but Shuppet always reacts coolly to my suggestions. But she seems not to hear! Or she just won't listen! Arrgh, it's aggravating!Team Ebony, the treasure hunters. They clash too much to really get anywhere, though.  Sharpedo Bluff stands at the west end of town.  Nothing here but a nice view of the ocean.  Let's see what storage is like.  Our bag holds 16 items, and storage can hold a total of 64. Storage in PMD used to be infinite, but starting with Time and Darkness, it became limited based on your team's rank. We're Normal Rank, so we get 64 to start with. That's not as much as it sounds like, because most items don't stack. It's a good idea to keep a stock of healing items, like Max Elixirs, so you don't have to buy them from Kecleon all the time, or hope they show up in a dungeon.  Time to finally do what Babar wants.  The green Kecleon sells essential items for dungeon-crawling, like food, throwing items, and hold items. He also sells Gummis, which are a bit out of our price range right now. Kecleon's inventory changes daily, and is finite; you can clean him out for the day if you have enough money.  I decide not to buy anything for now, though.      Welcome, my young friends! ♪ Hello. May I buy an Apple? Oh, most certainly!  Thank you, Misters Kecleon! No, thank you, my young friends! You are to be admired! ♪  Lately, their poor mother has fallen sick. So those youngsters come and do the shopping for her. It's quite remarkable. Though very young, they've stepped up and taken charge. ♪  Oh? What's the hurry? What makes you return in such a rush? There was an extra Apple! We didn't pay for this many. Oh, yes... That, young friends, is a gift from me and my brother. Please, share it among yourselves and do enjoy.  Yay! Thank you, Mr. Kecleon and Mr. Kecleon! Oh, not to worry, my friends. Do take care on your way home. ♪Awww. I'm gonna throw up.     The cheery music cuts out as Azurill trips, and his Apple goes flying. It lands at Michael's feet, and she picks it up.   W-were sorry to bother you. Thank you so much.    (Huh? What was that?) (D-dizzy? Or am I...?)     (What was that? I'm sure I heard a shout for help just now...)   (Did that shout come from you?) Is something the matter?  Yup! I'm coming! Wait up!  Yup! We're done with our shopping... Now we gotta look for an item we've lost! Let's get going. Yup! I'm coming! Ha! Those little guys are cute. What's the matter, Michael?  Huh? Did I hear a shout for help just then? Uh, no... I didn't hear anything like that! Did you hear anything strange just a moment ago? No, nothing out of the ordinary. I didn't hear anything odd either. It sounds like the Kecleon brothers didn't hear anything odd either. You must have imagined it, Michael.  (I definitely heard it! That shout I heard... There's no mistaking it... That was Azurill's scream!) Let's move it, Michael! Now that we've visited Kecleon Market, and convinced everyone we're crazy, let's see what the purple one has to sell.  TMs are out of our range for quite a while, at least as far as buying them goes. Since this came out before the 5th generation of Pokemon, TMs are not infinite-use, but it's not a huge pain to get more. Orbs have the same function as staves and scrolls from other Mystery Dungeon games. Drought Orbs dry all liquids on the floor, like puddles and lava, but it won't work if it's a dungeon where the normal ground is watery. Sandy Orbs change the weather to Sandstorm. The Foe-Hold Orb, which I buy and store for later, petrifies all enemies on the floor. That stops them from moving or acting until they get attacked.  Preparations are complete, so let's go see Bidoof about that outlaw mission.  Oh! What's going on there? Thank you! Please! It's nothing.   Oh! Hi! Some time ago, we lost an item that's pretty important to us... We've been looking all over... But we haven't found it yet! And he says he may have seen our lost item somewhere! He even offered to help us look for it. We're so happy about this! Yeah! That's great for you! Thank you, Mr. Drowzee! Oh, please... I'd have to have a cold heart to ignore kids in need! I can't turn a blind eye! Let us be on our way to begin our search! Yup! Yup!    (Urk... Wh-what is this...?) That Drowzee sure is a nice Pokemon, isn't he? I'm impressed. With more and more bad Pokemon around... it's hard to do good deeds. (It's happening again... Another dizzy spell...) If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!   (What was that?!) It would be nice if those little guys found their item soon. Huh? What's the matter, Michael? ...Hmm? You want to tell me something?The music fades, and Michael drags Babar a few feet over, so the Duskull banker can eavesdrop on them.  You had a dizzy spell? Then you saw Azurill being threatened by Drowzee?! So you want to go rescue Azurill right away? It's an... emergency?! Well, what you describe does sound like an emergency, but... Well, it's not like I don't trust you, Michael, but..."It's not like you're completely bonkers, but..." I just can't believe it! After all, Drowzee seemed to be a sincerely nice Pokemon, didn't he? I watched the three of them go off earlier... They looked like they were having a good time, didn't they? You're probably just tired, Michael. Maybe that's why you just had that bad daydream. (Was that it...? Just a bad daydream? But come to think of it... That Drowzee didn't seem like a bad Pokemon.)Like an amnesiac can tell. An amnesiac with the audacity to hallucinate in public.  Sure, it's worrying, but... We have to concentrate on our guild work for now. Let's get ourselves ready to explore. Then we should find Bidoof. Bidoof's supposed to be waiting on the guild's upper underground floor. Let's go, Michael! We stop at the watering hole first to save.  More like Team Twee. These explorers frolic through tulips and play Candy Land all day or something.  Oh, yes sirree! Reckon you all are all ready! Then let's pick ourselves a lawbreaker for you to find. Well, you've got your pick of this sorry bunch of characters. Let's see. Which should we pick? As your mentor, how about I do the choosing? Don't choose anyone too scary! Yes sirree, I hear you! Let's see. Eenie, meenie... A siren suddenly goes off. *: Stand clear! Updating listings! Stand clear! Updating listings!  The room shakes a bit. What's that? What's happening? Oh, the data's getting updated. It's being... updated?  Yikes! Did you see that?! The panel flipped over! What's going on here? While the panel is flipped over... A Pokemon named Dugtrio swaps out the old jobs with new ones. Dugtrio?  Updating is Dugtrio's duty. He tunnels his way to our guild...   Then he flips the panel and updates the data.    This duty doesn't get noticed much, but it's very important. Yup yup! That's why Dugtrio takes such great pride in the duty he does!  Oh, looks like he's done.  Yes sirree! The data is updated. The list of outlaws has been refreshed, so let's pick one.  ... Why are you shivering all of a sudden? It's not cold here, after all. L-l-look at this, Michael! At the top! On the left!   It's Drowzee! H-he's a wanted criminal!   Now what's going on? Where are you all off to?
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Jun 14, 2014 02:57
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This is the point where poo poo starts to get creepy.
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Jun 14, 2014 03:09
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All Drowzee look the same. How can they tell that it's that specific Drowzee? They don't even have individual names apart from our protaganists!
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Jun 14, 2014 03:30
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Pyroi posted:All Drowzee look the same. How can they tell that it's that specific Drowzee? They don't even have individual names apart from our protaganists! This one smells like fermented Oran Berries.
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Jun 14, 2014 03:40
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It makes me wonder if Drowzee had done any past criminal activities to get an outlaw poster like that. Either that, or someone's psychic and is predicting crimes.. 
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Jun 14, 2014 08:54
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Pyroi posted:All Drowzee look the same. How can they tell that it's that specific Drowzee? They don't even have individual names apart from our protaganists! Because in all situations except one, only one pokemon of any given species qualifies for NPC status. Since this Drowzee is the legendary NPC of his race, everything any Drowzee does must, in turn, be his fault. Being The NPC is a curse and a gift all at once.
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Jun 14, 2014 11:39
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Late to the party on PMD starterchat, but my favorite is Cyndaquil. You start with Smokescreen, an instant "hit something with this and they can't hurt you at all for several turns" move. Works just as well in Red/Blue and Sky/Time/Darkness. (Charmander learns it too, but it takes longer)Pyroi posted:All Drowzee look the same. How can they tell that it's that specific Drowzee? They don't even have individual names apart from our protaganists!
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Jun 16, 2014 06:38
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I really love Team Tasty's schtick, not going to lie.
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Jun 18, 2014 03:00
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Myrmeleo posted:Either that, or someone's psychic and is predicting crimes.. They have psychic pokemon working in a Crime Prevention Division. It's a lot like Minority Report. Most of the "outlaws" you're taking down are probably still innocent. Glad to see this LP, hopefully it's not dead. With many of the status moves, stat boosts and multi-hit attack being broken, this series has always felt like a bullshit arms race, and I'm going to love seeing it played by someone experienced.  I had a really good run with a Shinx and Charge+Discharge just KOing everything that wasn't Ground. It's so obviously good, it's in the name.
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Jul 9, 2014 09:29
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Chapter 3: The Scream (Part 2) Last time, Michael hallucinated in front of everyone like a dorkus.  There's Marill! Where are Azurill and Drowzee? Yes... about them...! After we all left, we went looking for our lost item together... But I wound up all alone when Mr. Drowzee went somewhere with Azurill. I called and called! But they didn't come back. I got scared... So which way did they go?! Th-that way! Turns out Michael's not a dorkus.    You think Drowzee and Azurill went in this direction? Yes... You were saying you saw them in a mountainous place, right?Michael nods. I get the feeling that they're up ahead here. Let's get going, Michael! Michael and Babar head in, while Marill waits outside.   Welcome to the third dungeon. If you remember PMD Red/Blue, the third dungeon in that was also a mountain, and involved a rescue mission as well.  First off, we're gonna drink our vitamins  Babar gets the Calcium, which powers up his Special Attack, therefore making Ancient Power stronger. Michael gets the Iron and Protein, boosting her Defense and Attack respectively.  Protein makes Tackle, Fake Out, and Zen Headbutt stronger, as well. Just look at this Machop eat it.  Her non-crits aren't bad, either.  Rollcall Orbs summon team members to the leader. This is handy if they get separated by traps, moves like Whirlwind and Roar, or really annoying abilities. If an enemy grabs a Rollcall Orb, they waste it immediately, and summon enemies to them. This can suck if they do this near you.  The X-Eye Seed is one of our most valuable weapons for the entire game. When thrown at an enemy, it makes them Cross-Eyed, and throws off their attacks for a few turns. It's a nice way to shut down dangerous foes. If you eat an X-Eye Seed, allies, items, and other interactable objects will appear as Substitute dolls and flowers.  Mt. Bristle has more Rock-type enemies that need more than one hit to kill, like Geodude. They're also Ground-type, so Ancient Power doesn't fare much better against them.  It still splatters bugs, though.  Spinarak is weak, but annoying. It can fire its String Shot in any eight directions with line-of-sight, and slow down whoever gets hit. Being slowed means everyone else takes two actions for every one of yours.  This...  Is the most valuable item in the game to a Skitty. Let's consume it immediately!  White Gummis are the favorite color Gummi of Normal-type Pokemon. (Don't worry, there will be many, many more.)  Doduo is another annoying Pokemon to face. With Quick Attack, it can hit you before you get close enough to attack, and it gets STAB from it, as well.  Take Down is basically a stronger Tackle, but it does a small amount of recoil damage to the user. Not a good move to have in low-HP situations. I bypass learning it for now.  After reaching certain levels, the lead Pokemon gets new partner AI tactics. "Wait there" makes allies sit in place. This is useful if you're trying to round up allies who've gotten separated, and don't want to chase them around without a Rollcall Orb.  There's an enemy one space away, but Michael's out of Fake Outs! What to do? I could use a Max Elixir here, but what if that prompts the Doduo to Quick Attack me? Taking damage is annoying!  That's why we have Blast Seeds. They're nature's grenades.  They do less damage when thrown. However...  It's enough to send Doduo running.  When Run Away activates at low HP, the Pokemon will flee from you at every turn, instead of trying to approach and attack you. If ally Pokemon with Run Away get critical and flee, they'll probably get themselves killed, unless they're healed above critical and come to their senses. This is why Eevee is the worst partner.  Enemy Pokemon don't regen HP by walking, so it's only a matter of time before the inevitable happens.  When eaten, Warp Seeds warp the Pokemon to a random spot on the same floor. They only warp to normal floor tiles, though. It's good for getting an enemy out of the way, or yourself out of danger.  Blowback Orbs work sort of like the moves Whirlwind and Roar. They'll blast an enemy back in a straight line, and take damage if they hit a wall or another Pokemon before they stop.  Our bag is too full to pick it up, but items don't need to be in the bag to be useful.    It's good for shaking up enemy positioning.  Starly knows Tackle and Quick Attack, and gets STAB on both. They can wear you down at this point in the game if you're not ready for them.  Nidorino's an evolved Pokemon, and can lower your Defense with Leer, but he's nothing to worry about.  A lot of things happened when I fed Babar a Blue Gummi, so I popped up the message log to go over it all. Occasionally, any flavor Gummi will give a boost to four stats instead of one. Efficiency Expert makes allies prioritize attacking the Pokemon with the lowest HP first.  Somebody left this perfectly good berry on the floor.  Let's share it with our neighbor.  How does it taste?!  The upper limits of Babar's damage climb higher with every level. Michael and Babar were level 8 at the start of the dungeon.  At level 11, Michael learns Sing. It's a better "I win" button than Attract, so I overwrite it.  Sing puts enemies to sleep, preventing them from acting. It has pretty good accuracy (better than the main series), and works on anything that doesn't have the Insomnia, Vital Spirit, or Soundproof abilities. Pokemon holding certain items or under certain statuses can also avoid being put to sleep, but for most of the game, the only thing stopping it is abilities.  On the floor is an item I'll be hoarding and using a lot in this game.  Sticks, along with their counterparts Iron Thorns and Silver Spikes, are the equivalent to arrows in PMD. Like Geo Pebbles and other rocks, they can be equipped to the "throwable weapon" slot and fired with L+R.  Unlike rocks, they go only in a straight line, and do damage based on the user's Attack stat.  They're also affected by Normalize, so Michael throws STAB Sticks.  A Machop gets the jump on Michael and uses a super-effective move on her!  OH NO IT'S ahahahahaha Meanwhile, at the top of the mountain...    Uh-oh. It's a dead end. Excuse me, Mr. Drowzee. Where is my lost item? Could you show me where the item is now? Sorry, kiddo. Your lost item? It's not here, that's for sure. Huh? My big brother's following us, right? He's coming soon? Nope. Your big brother's not coming. I'll let you in on a little secret. This was all a trick. I deceived you.  Huh?! But let's not dwell on that. There's a little favor I need to ask. See that hole behind you? Well... There's a rumor that there's a trove of thief treasure inside there! But as you can see, I'm too big to squirm my way through that hole. And that's where you come in!  Do that, then I'll help you get back out of there.  Go on, get going!   Azurill makes a run for it.   Sheesh! I said that I'll take you home when you're done! If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!This is too close for coincidence. As it turns out, Michael's not crazy.  Michael is right.    H-how did you find this place?! No criminal can escape us!gently caress yeah!  An exploration team?! You came to apprehend... ...Huh? Are you... trembling? A-ha! I've figured it out! You say you're on an exploration team, but you're total rookies! Urk! Heh. That's right, I'm a wanted Pokemon with a bounty on my head. But can you two do the job? Can you confront this outlaw and bring him to justice? Urk! We'd never lose to a bad guy like you! But never a sorrier-looking bunch than you two! Urk! This should be a laugh. Let's see if you can take me down. Show me what you've got!  Let's go down the list of Drowzee's crimes. 
  Let's take him down.  Drowzee wanders around in a haze as Team America whales on him.   Drowzee eventually stumbles so far away, we have to chase him.  It'd be easier if we could put him to sleep, but as a Pokemon known for putting others to sleep and eating their dreams, Drowzee has Insomnia, and is immune.  Michael throws Sticks until Drowzee straightens out.  We don't have anymore X-Eye Seeds, but Drowzee doesn't have anymore HP.     We came to rescue you. Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you? I'm OK. Great! What a relief! Your big brother is waiting. Let's go home! OK.  ZZZT! I am Magnezone, the primary officer in this region! ZZZT! Thanks to you, we have been able to arrest a wanted outlaw! ZZZT! We owe you great thanks for your cooperation! ZZZT! Officer Magnezone wee-woos their sirens at us in gratitude. ZZZT! We will send the reward to your guild. Thank you again! ZZZT!      Marill!  Waaaaah! Marill! It was so scary! You OK, Azurill? Are you hurt? Really? That's a relief! Oh, Azurill... Azurill... I'm glad you kids are happy!Babar, how old even are you.  We won't forget what you did for us. Thank you so much. Come on, Azurill. You too. Yup... Really... Really, thank you! Michael's team was rewarded with an enlarged Treasure Bag! You can now carry more items than you could before! That increases our bag capacity from 16 to 24. Neat!  Well done, you two! ♪ Here's your share for the job. It's yours to keep! ♪ Woohoo! Catching outlaws is way better than lovely fetch quests! However, because 2,700P of that is the guild's share, that portion was withheld. As a result, Michael's team received only the remaining 300P!  What?! This is all we get?! After all that hard work... ...But of course! It's all part of the training! And we expect just as much effort tomorrow! Hee-heeee! ♪  Scammed again!   But that's all right. We managed to rescue Azurill. And it's all thanks to you, Michael! Because you had that dream, we learned about Azurill's trouble in advance. (It's true! I can't explain it, but that first shout I heard from Azurill, and that dream I had... Both of these events... They took place in the future! Why was I able to see something like that? What was that dream about?) Babar's gut interrupts Michael's brooding. Oh! My stomach growled! Ha ha ha! Your stomach growled too, Michael! We must have worked up a big appetite! We were so focused on rescuing Azurill that I didn't notice at all!Their stomachs growl again.  Come on, let's go get dinner, Michael!  And so, they fed on the flesh of fruits. Later that night...     It looks like it's really stormy tonight...  Hold on! You know the night before we met, Michael? It was storming that night. I found you out cold on the beach the day after that stormy night, Michael. Well? Do you remember anything about being out cold on the beach? Can you remember anything at all? (I wonder... Hmm... There was a storm... But how did I end up unconscious there?)She thinks for a minute. (Nope. I can't remember a thing.) I guess it won't be that easy. But that's all right. Just try remembering a little at a time.   The rain continues deep into the night.  Are you still awake, Michael? I've been thinking it over since it happened. That strange dream you had... Maybe it has to do with you personally. (Huh?) That's just the feeling I get. I sure don't know any other Skitty who dreams about the future.Cats aren't very forward-thinking. And I've never heard of a human suddenly turning into a Pokemon either. That's why I think those two events are connected. I can't help feeling that way. (The key to unlocking my memory... Was it in that dream? But even if that were true, how does it relate to anything else?) I have no way of knowing what you were like as a human, Michael, but I think you must have been a good person.Team Rocket forev--I mean yeah, sure she was. After all, Michael, it was your dream that helped us catch that bad Pokemon. (Bad Pokemon, huh...)Oh come on, there are no bad Pokemon--just bad Pokemon Trainers. They make their Pokemon do... oh. Right. Nevermind!  (Oh! That reminds me of what Chatot said. That the growing number of bad Pokemon has been caused by time going out of whack.) You know, time is getting messed up, bit by bit, all over the world. No one seems to know why. (Huh? Time Gears?) They say Time Gears are hidden in secret places around the world.  Like in a forest... Or at a lake in an underground cavern... I've even heard that there is a hidden altar inside a volcano. At the center of such places is what's known as a Time Gear. Time Gears serve a very important function.Glowing and being very pretty? Each one protects time and keeps time flowing properly in its region. Elsewhere...  A dark figure rushes through the storm.      But my guess is that if a Time Gear is removed from a region, the flow of time in that region will probably stop too.  That's why everyone makes sure never to disturb the Time Gears. Everyone has long been certain that some kind of disaster would strike. So everyone stays away from the Time Gears and doesn't tamper with them. Even the most hardened criminal Pokemon know to avoid messing with them.  *: I've finally found it! A Time Gear! But... this is only the first of many... 
How Ingratiating! fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Aug 21, 2014 |
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Aug 21, 2014 23:06
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It's great to see this LP back! Mystery Dungeon is one of those series I do enjoy but never get too far on because I'm really bad at dungeon games and they're sort of boring to me. That said, seeing you use those X-Eye Seeds instead of keeping them for later, harder bosses was painful, but I'm sure your strategy is better than mine.
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Aug 22, 2014 00:45
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Blaze Dragon posted:That said, seeing you use those X-Eye Seeds instead of keeping them for later, harder bosses was painful, but I'm sure your strategy is better than mine. Items are most of your strength in a typical mystery dungeon game, but only if you use them. If you want hoarding, I'll be doing that primarily with Gummis, starting next update. There will be more X-Eye Seeds.
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Aug 22, 2014 01:04
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That reveal is pretty silly. Oh look! Time Gears probably aren't just a rumor! Oh wow! Someone's actually found one! Oh no! That pokemon might not have the best of intentions! OH poo poo IT'S- ..... the intermediate stage of a Grass starter. 
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Aug 22, 2014 03:49
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Raitzeno posted:OH poo poo IT'S- ..... the intermediate stage of a Grass starter. To be fair, that's higher than we can evolve until post-game.
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Aug 22, 2014 04:47
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Raitzeno posted:That reveal is pretty silly. In Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Caterpie can rise to the level of gods. Main series logic applies practically nowhere here.
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Aug 22, 2014 05:06
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