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Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E


I have been informed that Sword is the better of the two versions, but Shield has Galarian Ponyta and is therefore superior.

I already know what Pokémon Shield is, but why don’t you describe it to me?

“Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are 2019 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. They are the first installments in the eighth generation of the Pokémon video game series and the second in the series, after Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, to be released on a home game console…Like previous installments, they chronicle the journey of a young Pokémon trainer aiming to become the Pokémon Champion, this time in the new Galar region, which is based on the United Kingdom. The main objective of the games is to dethrone the Pokémon League Champion, Leon, in a tournament that various other Gym Leaders and rivals also take part in, whilst dealing with Team Yell and a nefarious conspiracy within the League. Sword and Shield introduce 81 new Pokémon alongside 13 regional variants of pre-existing Pokémon; Dynamaxing, which increases the size of Pokémon under certain conditions; Gigantamaxing, which additionally changes the form of certain Pokémon; and the Wild Area, which is a large, open-world area with free camera movement that contains co-op raid battles. The two games also reintroduce features previously seen in Sun and Moon and Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, such as regional variants and roaming Pokémon depicted in the overworld.

“The decision to not include all pre-existing Pokémon in Sword and Shield was met with backlash from a segment of the fan community, resulting in a controversy known as "Dexit", and calls for a boycott months ahead of their release. Despite this, Sword and Shield received generally positive reviews from critics. Particular praise was aimed at the creature design, new features, and the emphasis on simplicity, player freedom, and streamlined encounters, although some criticized the game's smaller Pokédex and a perceived lack of polish or depth.”

So why should I read this LP instead of watching my favorite screamy YouTuber play it?

I’m an OG Pokémon fan; I bought Red within a week of its English-language release, obsessively watched the anime when it first aired, and played each version of every generation up through Gen 3. I burned out around Gen 4, though, and only picked up Gen 8 during quarantine. And you know, I’m not sure I can go back. The gameplay was just smooth compared to what I remember, even through all the nostalgia; getting from place to place was a breeze, combat had been refined, and training was a hell of a lot easier. I’m used to older versions, where you had to spend as at least much time grinding as actually advancing the plot. This is better. Of course, since I still haven’t shaken those grinding instincts, I found this game piss easy, but you can’t win ‘em all.

I bought Ultra Moon after beating Shield and couldn’t get more than a few hours in. Compared to Galar, I found it slow and clunky, its difficulty based more on endurance than challenge, and its characters a lot less compelling. I really liked all three Galarian rivals but their Alolan equivalents just didn’t pop out like they did.

You didn’t answer my question.

This will be a narrative LP; lots of screenshots, lots of my own questionable writing. I’ll be tweaking the setting a bit (Gloria grew up in Postwick, Galar’s history is significantly more developed, all the protagonists are in their late teens because why the gently caress would people let their 10-year-olds run off into the woods alone), but if you’re familiar with the game it shouldn’t be too shocking. If you aren’t, I’ll try to make this as accessible as possible for everyone reading it, it isn’t like this game is all that complex. Any text from the game will be in plain type, and any commentary or added dialogue will use italics.

As time went on, this LP also started growing more and more commentary on the Pokémon franchise’s history and culture. Like a tumor. I’ve seen some weird parts of Pokémon’s development and that leap I took between generations offers me a perspective most players don’t have. While the commentary and narrative reinforce each other, you don’t have to read one to enjoy the other; both have something to offer.

Also, just because I played a lot of Pokémon doesn’t make me good. I still don’t have a solid grasp on the newer type advantages and I choose my Pokémon based on looks, inclination, random chance, etc. I welcome mechanics chat about this or any other generation in the thread, though keep it civil, obviously. As far as the plot goes, spoiler tags belong around any characters or plot developments that haven’t shown up. That does not go for their Pokémon, however, or Pokémon in general (except the plot relevant ones). Feel free to talk about anything Pokémon – like just how disappointing Falinks is, for instance.

Then let’s compare Sonia and Nessa’s –

No. None of that poo poo. Not in my thread. Talk about Pokémon as much as you like, but don’t be a creeper. God knows how many websites you can go visit instead if you’re after that.

Back on topic: will there be audience participation?

Obviously. I’ll be taking suggestions for which Pokémon to catch and what to name them, though I reserve the right to pick and choose. You can even give me move suggestions! I’ll probably ignore them, though. The other part? Well, I need to learn how to write using British dialects.

Wait, aren’t you from Chicago–

Yes. My options for writing this LP are twofold; either I Americanize the poo poo out of everything, erasing the :britain: that makes this game so endearing, or I try and fail to imitate it. So that’s where you come in. I need the thread to make sure I’m not horribly misrepresenting how actual British people talk (even though I’m pretty sure the game does that too). If you catch me making any serious mistakes and can explain what they were, you get to pick one of two options:
  • Make me catch a specific Pokémon and give it a specific name. I’ll reject any Pokémon that make me hate living to catch, but I will do my damnedest to catch them and keep them in my team long enough to learn that they suck.
  • Name another trainer’s Pokémon (including those of anyone yet to show up). I (and the characters) will refer to them by that name through the rest of the LP and react appropriately; I’ll even edit it into screenshots.
I reserve the right to reject names I despise, but it’d take a lot to push me over that limit.

Additionally, I welcome anyone with something interesting to say about this game, British culture, or (preferably) both is welcome to give us a little write up in the thread. If they do, I'll link and credit them in the OP and give them either of the above choices.

For various reasons I use dictation software to write, and in the past I’ve had it misread me in hilarious ways. The first person to spot any particularly funny misplaced words also gets their choice of those two options. I also appreciate you spotting spelling/grammar errors in general (or just telling me what I can improve), but you won’t get anything special for that.

Will you be doing the postgame and DLCs?

Yes. Not everything in them; I won’t be catching all the Ultra Beasts or whatever, I’m neither a completionist nor a masochist. But I will be doing their main storylines.

So, do you, like, have an update schedule?

Ha, no. Work at my job comes in bursts; some weeks I won’t have a moment to myself, some weeks I’ll spend all day playing Pokémon during work hours (working from home has its perks). Maybe once a week on average? Maybe? Maybe more frequently. Who knows. We’ll burn those bridges when we get to them.

E: turns out I’m a filthy liar. For a variety of reasons, I’ve ended up updating nearly every other day :stonklol:

Speaking of which…



Update 1: You Silly Wooloo!
Update 2: Did You Already Know About Type Advantages?!
Update 3: Sweet Sleeping Wooloos
Update 4: It's Not Very Effective...
Update 5: Every Last Cell In Our Bodies
Update 6: Fish and Camp and Rough It Outside



Update 7: You Took the Time to Talk to a Pokeball
Update 8: Team Yell is Here to Help, After All
Update 9: The Guiding Light of the Wishing Stars
Update 10: A Chance to Shine
Update 11: I Heard That Trainer Was Hop's Rival
Update 12: It’ll Be a Scream
Update 13: The Secret Lost Update
Update 14: I Just Had a Good Idea, As I Tend To Do!
Update 15: You're Not Weak, You Just Lack Talent
Update 16: *Team Yell Members Slipping Out From Behind a Statue*
Update 17: A Proper, Sporty Chant
Update 18: Awaiting Your Instructions



Update 19: It’s Only Natural
Update 20: I’m Cheering For You
Update 21: The Gym Challenge Is About Having Fun
Update 22: You Should Feel Grateful
Update 23: I've Seen More Than Enough To Judge You
Update 24: Neath Shaded Boughs
Update 25: My Morning Tea is Kicking In
Update 26: PINK!
Update 27: Police Officer Bobby
Update 28: I Love the Snow So Much
Update 29: An Absolutely Fantastic Poster
Update 30: Think You've Got Me Cornered?
Update 31: I Have Deduced The Culprit
Update 32: A Punk Vibe
Update 33: Shut Your Gob!
Update 34: I Don’t Do Encores
Update 35: That Right?
Update 36: Do You Have Any Idea Just How High A Hurdle That Is?
Update 37: The Train's Waiting



Update 38: I Really Made It
Update 39: Victor of the Semifinals
Update 40: Good Thinking
Update 41: Something Truly Spectacular
Update 42: Ridiculous of Me
Update 43: Just Too Much
Update 44: Crumbs...
Update 45: The Key to Saving Galar’s Future
Update 46: Grown Tremendously
Update 47: Thank You For The Greatest Battle I’ve Ever Had
Update 48: Post-Credits Scene
Update 49: Compare and Contrast
Update 50: Denouement



Update 51: Something Was Calling Me Here
Update 52: Power Spot Detectors–Access!
Update 53: Wahahahah!
Update 54: Right From The Start
Update 55: A Calm Look
Update 56: You Two Made It
Update 57: Young and Super Energetic



Update 58: An Odd Ducklett
Update 59: Leave This Place
Update 60: H-how Cheeky
Update 61: With a One, Two, Three… This Poké Ball Will Grow Gigantic!
Update 62: Take Good Care of [JAPANESE TEXT]
Update 63: The Essence of Water
Update 64: I Definitely Wouldn't Call It Very Sticky
Update 65: My Heart Just Dancing in Anticipation
Update 66: Ceilidh Sent Out Angel



Update 67: Ultra-Mega-Charmin’
Update 68: Can You Imagine If I Actually Talked Like That
Update 69: Bang in The Middle of The Village
Update 70: Some Sort Of Fairy-Tale Creature
Update 71: And Yet My Powers Could Only Get One To Grow
Update 72: I Have Been Waiting, Human Child
Update 73: Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokémon!

Update 74: Canon Roundup
Update 75: Conclusion

Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Feb 5, 2021

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Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E
OUR CAST SO FAR

(Unless otherwise noted, all concept art comes from this page.)

The Rivals



Gloria : Our protagonist. Scottish South Cameran and proud of it. Hop’s best friend. Walks away from conversations without realizing they’re still going and misses obvious social cues. Her mother didn’t let her have Pokémon around the house when she was little, which might’ve been a mistake.



Hop: Gloria’s best friend. The endearing kind of annoying. Would probably be more confident if his brother wasn’t so good at everything. Worships him anyway. Gets extremely inconsistent grades. Heard Gloria forget what type advantages were a few years back and won’t let her live it down.



Marnie: Idol of Spikemuth and sister of Piers. Has the world's silliest/most aggressive fan club. Patriotic Welshwoman Munethic. Tries to be considerate. Extremely punk rock.



Bede: Rose's foster son/protege(?). Full of issues. Intelligent and capable, but still talks way too much poo poo to be able to back it up. Does not resemble his namesake at all.



Avery: Psychic Trainer, as in he both trains Psychic Pokémon and is a psychic. Not terribly secure and wildly self-important. Prone to viewing things in terms of Psychic moves.

Supporting Cast



(Source)
Gloria's Mum: Wooloo herder and single parent. Has a really nice house for someone running a one person farm. Walking Pokémon center. Might be part of the nobility. Probably isn't.



Leon: Hop’s older brother and the Galarian Champion. Excels at everything he puts his mind to, even though he doesn’t put his mind to much. Gets lost the moment he loses sight of his starting point. Rich as hell due to all the endorsements and doesn’t do much with the money.



Sonia: Prof. Magnolia's unofficial assistant and official granddaughter. Old friend and rival of Leon. Still just a little bitter about losing. Did Pokémon Biology at University of Hammerlocke. Physically and mentally disorganized.



Professor Magnolia: the "Pokémon Professor" of Galar. No, I don't know where she fits in with the University system. Studying the Dynamax phenomenon, though she still can't make heads or tails of it. Wishes her granddaughter was a bit more together.



Mustard: Master Dojo master. Legendary former champion. Trained Leon back in the day. SO happy he can just goof off right now.



(Source)
Honey: Lady of the Master Dojo. Friendly, sweet, and more than capable of herding students. Looks like a trophy wife. Isn't.


(No concept OR fanart for him on the entire Internet, as far as I can tell :()
Hyde: Mustard and Honey's son. Good with his hands. Not good with the outside world.



Peony: Former Steel Gym Leader. Extremely dad. Father of Peonia (to his delight) and brother of Rose (less so). A famous explorer and legendary male model.



(Source)
Peonia: Peony's daughter. Kind of sick of her dad's poo poo. Is a lot more like him than she cares to admit.

Gym Leaders



Milo: the Fighting Farmer. Runs the Grass Gym at Turffield. Highly respected local businessman and philanthropist. A big boi. Really into Wooloos.



Nessa: the Raging Wave. Runs the Water Gym at Hulbury. An old friend of Sonia's. Splits her time evenly between fishing and modeling.



Kabu: the Ever-Burning Man of Fire. Runs the Fire Gym at Motostoke. Twice as old as you and can still toss you over his shoulder. The sort of person who can say "you can do it" and make you believe him.



Allister: the Silent Boy of Mystery. Runs the Ghost Gym at Stow-on-Side. Can see ghosts due to a car accident a few years ago somehow. Caught the Ellipsis Disease from playing too many JRPGS.



Opal: the Master of a Fantastic Theatre. Runs the Fairy Gym at Ballonlea. Is 88 years old and will look you in the eye and tell you she's 16. Extremely fancy and has her eye on an even fancier successor.



Melony: the Ice-Cold Professional. Runs the Ice Gym at Circhester. Loves her 'mons, her son, and her town. About as bloodthirsty as you can get and still be a community leader. Vaguely amused by jokes about her name, but mostly just tired of them now.



Piers: no nickname. Runs the Dark Gym at Spikemuth. Punk rocker, community leader, and Marnie's older brother. Exactly as kind and gentle as he doesn't look. Thinks Chairman Rose is a self-absorbed ponce.



Raihan: the Tamer of Dragons. Runs the Dragon Gym at Hammerlocke. One of Leon's old rivals and his best friend. A case study in how it's possible to be both a genuinely competent professional and a wildly vain social media star.

Other Characters



Chairman Rose: Some rich prick. Organizes the League. Holds a monopoly on the energy industry (and the economy in general). Does not know how to go incognito.



Oleana: Rose's secretary. Focused, to put it charitably. Completely devoted to Rose. Usually hostile to everyone else.



(Source)
Sordward: the Right Honorable the Earl of Spikemuth. Rich and famous nobleman. Shieldbert's elder brother. Posh as hell.



(Source)
Shieldbert: the Right Honorable the Baron of Circhester. Rich and famous nobleman. Sordward's younger brother. Posh as gently caress.



(Source)
Zamazenta: Hero of a Thousand Battles. Thousands of years old. Watched Galar's greatest heroes come and go. Has more respect for Gloria than Gloria's comfortable with.




Calyrex: the King of Bountiful Harvests. One of the few Pokémon capable of speech. Ancient. Regal. Lonely.




(Source)
Ball Guy:The best character in this generation. By universal acclaim, the true king of Galar. Neither human nor Pokémon, but something more. An unsolvable mystery.

:britain:posts

Black Robe educates us on the intricacies of applying for university in the UK
(plus inflatablefish with the assist)
Black Robe briefly touches on the scale of British regional differences.
Tenebrais bottom-lines British stereotypes in East Anglia.
Black Robe discusses the origins of corgis and the United Kingdom’s most :3: TV show.
Tenebrais explains the history of one of Britain's most beloved and terrifying mascots.
Inflatablefish reveals the secret behind Stow-on-Side's name.
Falconier111 expands on the history of Ballonlea.
Black Robe expands on the functions of the House of Lords.
Quantum Toast adds additional commentary.
Crosspiece brings it home and provides a full overview.

BONUS: gently caress Bewears

Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Feb 4, 2021

Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E
Update 1: You Silly Wooloo!

(I know the pictures are really small in this update, I fix that by the next post)

Pokemon Sword & Shield - Title Screen Music







Welcome, one and all!



Our beloved Galar is a wonderful place, with thriving nature, beautiful cities, and many Pokémon with which we share our lives! As you know, our society is able to thrive, thanks to help from these mysterious creatures we call Pokémon.



And those of us who choose to raise and train Pokémon to do battle and compete… we call Pokémon Trainers! Oh! But I’m getting carried away. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rose, and it is a pleasure to be here. Now turn your gaze to the Galar region’s greatest Pokémon Trainer, your undefeated Champion… it’s time for Champion Leon’s exhibition match!

The crowd cheers. Sparks fly up in a line to the center of the arena. In a flash, Leon appears.







You know I don’t lose battles, Raihan! Charizard, Dynamax!

Leon gestures, and his Charizard begins to glow. The audience gasps. It doubles, triples, quadruples in size, changing as it goes, until it reaches its maximum height.



Later…

Postwick - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST





Hello, hello!

Hop enters, followed by a Wooloo.

Oh! That your flash new phone, Gloria? Were you watching Lee’s exhibition match on it? But you can’t cheer him on with your hands full! You know the only way to properly cheer on Lee would be with his famous Charizard pose!



Yeah, that’s exactly why came running over to get Gloria! Never mind watching the match now! I’ve got a recording at home anyway. I record all my brother’s matches. Come with me, Gloria! He should be here any minute! And Lee always brings presents when he visits, so I wouldn’t forget that Bag if I were you!

Yes, Bag is capitalized. For the uninitiated, that’s your inventory.

Now I’ve got to run! See you at mine later!

And welcome to Pokémon Shield! Well sort of, this is the intro sequence. Now that we can move around, let’s pop over into Gloria’s room…



And we’re ready to go
.

Oh, don’t look a treat! I knew that Bag would suit you. Now hurry along. Hop is waiting, isn’t he? But remember – no going into the forest for the two of you!

We walk outside, where Hop is waiting. He points and laughs.

Hahaha! Have a look at you, Gloria! That old Bag looks like it could pull you over! At least we know that should hold anything Lee might bring, even if it’s as big as a Snorlax!

Don’t you dare insult it. It’s a family heirloom, mate.

If by family heirloom you mean your mum bought it at Tesco’s 10 years ago –

Something slams into something else to the left.




Hey! You silly Wooloo! I see what you’re up to! Don’t go using Tackle on the fencing! Now, you listen! No going past that fence! No! Everyone knows there are scary Pokémon living in the Slumbering Weald!

The Wooloo baas sheepishly, then goes back to slamming itself into the fence.

Now that that’s taken care of… How about it, Gloria? Let’s race! Bet I can make it to my house first, what with you lugging about that big old Bag!

And he bolts off, followed by one of the Wooloos that seem to infest the area. Welcome to Postwick, our very first town! If by town you mean a couple buildings down the road from a real town, that is. This place is the definition of picturesque countryside, and traveling through it we run into one of my favorite little features in this game:



They make animal noises when you pass them :3:

Anyway, we head over to Hop’s house, which is a lot bigger than ours; they’ve been putting the endorsement money into home-improvement, I guess. We enter, and apparently Hop was waiting for us in the foyer or something.




Hop’s Mum: There you are at last, Hop! Oh, and you’ve brought along Gloria. Hello, dear.

Morning, Mrs. –

Yeah, yeah, but where’s Lee? Have you got him crammed in a cupboard?

Hop’s Mum: He’s still not here yet! For the hundredth time… Honestly, Hop, you must learn some patience! He’s probably only just arrived at the station in Wedgehurst.

Then that’s where I’m going! You know Lee is hopeless with directions. I’ll make sure he doesn’t get lost on the way!

Hop’s Mum: Oh, will you? Yes, that probably is for the best…

You’ve got to come with, Gloria! I’ll wait for you out on the route!

And so we go to meet him. We also say hi to his mother long enough to learn they’re setting up a barbecue when Leon gets back.



I really like the art in this game.


Only remember, Gloria… Wild Pokémon could come out of nowhere if you walk through patches of tall grass. I’ve got my Wooloo with me, so I’m ready for battles against wild Pokémon, course. But not you, Gloria! So we’ll steer clear of the tall grass as we go.

Yes, you can get between the first two towns without entering tall grass, and in fact Hop nags you if you try to enter it; the first of the innovations that got this game criticism, I think, since it used to be you had to start engaging in the standard blood sports just to get to the next town over; this feels a lot less hardcore. Far as I can tell, the sequences here to show off the graphics a little bit. And really…



If you walk up to this bus stop, your character will actually look up at it. It’s the little things.

Anyway, we spend less than 60 seconds walking down the path until we spot a big crowd huddled around the train station. The train pulls in and Leon steps off.


Champion Leon's Theme - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST







Hello, hello, Wedgehurst! Your Champion, Leon, is back! I promise I’ll keep doing my best to deliver the greatest battles for you all to watch!

Crowd Member One: It’s our unbeatable Champion! Leon, you and Charizard are the greatest!

Well, thank you for that! I hope you’ll all carry on training up your Pokémon and never shy from battle! Then come challenge me for the Champion!

I see the exclamation points are a family trait.

Crowd Member Two: We’re on it! We’ve all been working on our battle skills just like you’ve taught us to, Lee!

Crowd Member Three: But that Charizard of yours is too strong for the likes of us to take on!

It’s true that Charizard is blazingly strong, but that’s why I want the strongest of challengers to fill the gym challenge and come battle me!



Charizard yells something in Charizard. The camera cuts to Hop waving from over some dude’s shoulder.

Lee!

Leon grins.

Hop! So, my number-one fan in all the world has come out of his way to pick me up! Look at you, Hop! I reckon you’ve grown… exactly an inch and a quarter since the last time I saw you!

Bingo! That’s the sort of sharp eye that’s kept you undefeated so long, eh, Lee?

Bingo? Really?

Shush!


And these bright eyes over there… It’s Gloria! Been a while! Heard back from your applications yet?

Yes! I got word from Motostoke – I got accepted to the Galarian History programme! I’ll be going after I take the Challenge.

Ha! Sounds about right. Good for you!

Oh poo poo, don’t let him ask me about –

Got you, mate.
Your mum said she’s whipping up a barbecue for us when you get back. Let’s get out of here!

… If you’re trying to distract me from asking about Hop’s situation, you’ll need to step up your game.

Dammit! Sorry.

Eh, worth a shot.
Come on, Lee! And you, Gloria! Bet I can beat the both of you back home!

Hop skitters off.

That Hop… Always trying to live up to me, huh? With a proper rival of his own, I bet he’d push himself to become something truly special…



I’ll always be around to make sure everyone in Galar can have a champion time!

:rolleyes:

Leon drops any pretense of coolness and darts after Hop, who was waiting for him just off-camera. The camera pans up into the clouds… and comes back down in Hop and Leon’s yard.



If you know anything about Pokémon, you can probably guess this is where we pick our first Pokémon. However, I have already decided we’re going to be using a Scorbunny named Bruce. I also need some advice from the patriotic Britons in the audience. As we’ll soon find out, both Hop and Gloria are trying to get into university, but while Gloria’s grades are great across the board and she got in easy, Hop was a C or D student outside of a couple subjects he excelled in. I don’t know how that would affect their respective chances when it comes to applying for schools, and I haven’t been able to make heads or tails of the system from quick Internet research. So the first person to explain how Gloria and Hop would get through the British university application system gets to name Hop’s starter, plus credit and a link in the OP!

Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 00:02 on Mar 12, 2021

BlazetheInferno
Jun 6, 2015
No input on that last bit, but I'm curious enough to stick around. I always appreciate that touch of adding in a bit of extra narrative of your own between the lines.

Quackles
Aug 11, 2018

Pixels of Light.


Well this looks dope.

My favorite Pokémon gen was actually Gen 3, or the Gen 6 remakes, but this looks amazing.

AweStriker
Oct 6, 2014

I'm intrigued, and also not versed in Britishisms.

Carbon dioxide
Oct 9, 2012

I haven't played this game. I've heard all the same criticisms you have. This LP seems a good way to find out how true they are.

Anyway, two points. Your Title screen music link is broken.

And is there any chance you could make the screenshots bigger please?

The text in them is absolutely tiny and hard to read, and I can barely see the graphics either. While the graphics are supposed to be one of the better points of this game.
I feel the screenshots should be about twice as big for me to properly see what's going on.

Black Robe
Sep 12, 2017

Generic Magic User


Falconier111 posted:

If you know anything about Pokémon, you can probably guess this is where we pick our first Pokémon. However, I have already decided we’re going to be using a Scorbunny named Bruce. I also need some advice from the patriotic Britons in the audience. As we’ll soon find out, both Hop and Gloria are trying to get into university, but while Gloria’s grades are great across the board and she got in easy, Hop was a C or D student outside of a couple subjects he excelled in. I don’t know how that would affect their respective chances when it comes to applying for schools, and I haven’t been able to make heads or tails of the system from quick Internet research. So the first person to explain how Gloria and Hop would get through the British university application system gets to name Hop’s starter, plus credit and a link in the OP!

I got this!

It depends entirely on what degree they're applying for and, more importantly, where they apply.

You get to apply to six universities. Based on your grades up to that point, your predicted final grades and your personal statement, and how many other people are applying, they'll make you an offer (if none of them do, you pick another six and try again while your school's careers advisor offers no help whatsoever).

For someone like Gloria, she may well have received an unconditional offer - Motostoke's a reasonably big place, their university likely focuses more on STEM so their history department won't have been overfilled with desperate applicants, and chances are anyone applying has a genuine interest in the subject which would show in their personal statement. If they had space they'd want her to come.

Hop's more likely to get conditional offers - if he gets certain grades, he'll get a place. If he falls short he has to call them and beg to be allowed in anyway. You didn't mention what subject he was interested in - if it's STEM he'd need to target smaller places with fewer applicants, if not he'd need to target the bigger ones that are less invested in only picking the very best for subjects that aren't as much a priority. And if it's something generic like business studies, aka 'I don't know what I want to do', he'd need to really dazzle with his personal statement. Which I don't think he'd be able to do since all he ever talks about is his brother and he can't sell himself.

(For context, I wanted to go to a smaller university, and was applying for zoology. My first choice were perfectly happy for me to come and only wanted me to get two Ds and I didn't even have to pass anything else. They didn't have much of a biology focus and it was a smaller department. A classmate going into optometry applying to a much bigger and more prestigious university needed three As.)

The system is a little more complicated than this, there's something called UCAS points that you can earn from earlier grades and specific extracurricular programs which will generally mean you don't need as high final marks and some universities won't consider applications from anyone unless they have a certain number of points, but realistically this is generally how it breaks down.

Disclaimer: I am 33, the system may well have changed since I was 18.

Black Robe fucked around with this message at 09:58 on Oct 25, 2020

dotchan
Feb 28, 2008

I wanna get a Super Saiyan Mohawk when I grow up! :swoon:

Falconier111 posted:

Yeah, that’s exactly why came running over to get Gloria! Never mind watching the match now! I’ve got a recording at home anyway. I record all my brother’s matches. Come with me, Gloria! He should be here any minute! And Lee always brings presence when he visits, so I wouldn’t forget that Bag if I were you!

(Bolding mine.)

That looks like a typo, unless Hop is making a super lame dad-tier joke, which I wouldn't put past him.

inflatablefish
Oct 24, 2010

Falconier111 posted:

I need the thread to make sure I’m not horribly misrepresenting how actual British people talk (even though I’m pretty sure the game does that too).

Gor blimey Mary Poppins, as a native Brit I'll 'appily take a stick-and-bucket over 'ow you treat God's own mother tongue, innit!

I was trying to squeeze in a "Nidoqueen's English" in there but it wouldn't quite fit.

Also as far as the University system goes, even if Hop didn't get the grades to match one of his offers, he could always go through "clearing" which is where Unis try to fill up any spare spaces they have, and students who didn't do as well as expected see where will take them. Or he could take a Foundation Year course which is usually to top up your education if you want to take a certain course but didn't take the right A-levels to lead up to them.

Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

Carbon dioxide posted:

Anyway, two points. Your Title screen music link is broken.

And is there any chance you could make the screenshots bigger please?

The text in them is absolutely tiny and hard to read, and I can barely see the graphics either. While the graphics are supposed to be one of the better points of this game.
I feel the screenshots should be about twice as big for me to properly see what's going on.

A) Fixed.

B) Good to know. I wasn’t sure how big I could go - I didn’t want to go around breaking tables - but I can safely expand them next time around.


Black Robe posted:

I got this!

It depends entirely on what degree they're applying for and, more importantly, where they apply.

You get to apply to six universities. Based on your grades up to that point, your predicted final grades and your personal statement, and how many other people are applying, they'll make you an offer (if none of them do, you pick another six and try again while your school's careers advisor offers no help whatsoever).

For someone like Gloria, she may well have received an unconditional offer - Motostoke's a reasonably big place, their university likely focuses more on STEM so their history department won't have been overfilled with desperate applicants, and chances are anyone applying has a genuine interest in the subject which would show in their personal statement. If they had space they'd want her to come.

Hop's more likely to get conditional offers - if he gets certain grades, he'll get a place. If he falls short he has to call them and beg to be allowed in anyway. You didn't mention what subject he was interested in - if it's STEM he'd need to target smaller places with fewer applicants, if not he'd need to target the bigger ones that are less invested in only picking the very best for subjects that aren't as much a priority. And if it's something generic like business studies, aka 'I don't know what I want to do', he'd need to really dazzle with his personal statement. Which I don't think he'd be able to do since all he ever talks about is his brother and he can't sell himself.

(For context, I wanted to go to a smaller university, and was applying for zoology. My first choice were perfectly happy for me to come and only wanted me to get two Ds and I didn't even have to pass anything else. They didn't have much of a biology focus and it was a smaller department. A classmate going into optometry applying to a much bigger and more prestigious university needed three As.)

The system is a little more complicated than this, there's something called UCAS points that you can earn from earlier grades and specific extracurricular programs which will generally mean you don't need as high final marks and some universities won't consider applications from anyone unless they have a certain number of points, but realistically this is generally how it breaks down.

Disclaimer: I am 33, the system may well have changed since I was 18.

And we have a winner! Do you have a name in mind?

Black Robe
Sep 12, 2017

Generic Magic User


Falconier111 posted:

A) Fixed.

B) Good to know. I wasn’t sure how big I could go - I didn’t want to go around breaking tables - but I can safely expand them next time around.


And we have a winner! Do you have a name in mind?

I don't remember what the character limit is for these games... John Bonham if it fits, if not then just Bonham.

Kheldarn
Feb 17, 2011



Falconier111 posted:

B) Good to know. I wasn't sure how big I could go - I didn't want to go around breaking tables - but I can safely expand them next time around.

You don't have to worry about breaking tables anymore. The forums have automatically resized images to fit for quite a while now.

For example, here's a pic from your OP that I resized to 4500x2530:



No overflow, so no need to scroll to the left/right to see the whole thing. And you can alway suse timg if you want:



When clicked on, it makes it a nice size, and clicking the dimensions in the top left corner will make it fit if it's too big.

Of course, I wouldn't recommend doing an entire SSLP with timg, but it's fine for the odd very large image you want to show.

Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E


This is how big screen captures off the Switch are. This work for everyone?

Black Robe
Sep 12, 2017

Generic Magic User


Looks good to me.

Kheldarn
Feb 17, 2011



Falconier111 posted:



This is how big screen captures off the Switch are. This work for everyone?

Looks great! I can read it and see what's going on.

Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E
Good to hear.

inflatablefish posted:

I was trying to squeeze in a "Nidoqueen's English" in there but it wouldn't quite fit.

Also as far as the University system goes, even if Hop didn't get the grades to match one of his offers, he could always go through "clearing" which is where Unis try to fill up any spare spaces they have, and students who didn't do as well as expected see where will take them. Or he could take a Foundation Year course which is usually to top up your education if you want to take a certain course but didn't take the right A-levels to lead up to them.

As it turns out, I actually needed this too. Tell you what, you get to choose which Pokémon I catch on the way to Wedghurst and what to name it.

Also I might work the Nidoqueen’s English into the OP at some point.

Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E
Update 2: Did You Already Know about Type Advantages?!

Last time, Lee was going to give us a present.

Postwick - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST



Right then! The greatest gift from the greatest Champion… It’s showtime everyone!

I can’t really do justice to the following comedy routine here, but this video should do the trick.



Anyway, we now have our pick of the standard selection of Starter Pokémon; three adorable neontenous animals that one day may become imposing titans of the battlefield. This Generation, we have a choice between a Grass-type monkey with a stick, a Fire-type bunny rabbit, and a Water-type… whatever a Sobble is supposed to be. Let me tell you, I nearly went with the monkey because of


(Source)

But the fact that the bunny evolves into a soccer player won me over. Well, that and:





gently caress yes.


So, it’ll be Scorbunny for you? Nice one! Think of a name yet?

… I think I’ll be calling him Bruce.

… Bruce.

He looks like a Bruce, doesn’t he?

Not really.

Well, that tears it, Bruce it is.


Then I’ll go with… Grookey! You’re mine! I’m aiming to be the next Champion, so be ready! You and I’ll be doing some serious training! I’m thinking… John Bonham!

Wait, like, the drummer? You don’t even like Led Drifblim.

No, but Lee does.

Come on, Hop, I appreciate the gesture, but you should name him something
you care about!

But I
do care about it. Like you told me, he was the best. And by the end of the summer, I will be too.

Ha! Good answer.
I bet you will be, Hop. That’s why I brought along these Pokémon for you and Gloria. So the two of you can battle and train and grow stronger together… to try to reach me!

Leon approaches the sad-looking Sobble.

And you’ll come with me! Charizard will show you the ropes. He’s strict – but real strong and real kind, too!

Sobble chitters happily, like this is a good thing.



One of the Mums: Dinner’s ready, children. Bring along your Pokémon, and let’s all eat!

After dinner…

… It just kept slipping my mind! I MEANT to, but…

I’m disappointed in you, Hop.

I’m sorry! I just… I know I should prepare for my future and everything, but that’s my backup plan. I KNOW I’m going to be the next Champion. I spent all that time studying battle, and, and, and –

:sigh: You HAVE to have backup plans, Hop, we talked about this. What happens if you don’t have them when you’re a Trainer?

Yeah, you lose the moment things get out of control.

I’ve seen your A-Level scores in maths and the sciences. There’re plenty of programs you can get into.

Not with the REST of my scores.

Look. At the end of the summer, Sonia and I will both swing by and help you with getting in on Clearing.

If I’m not Champion by the end of the summer.

You’ll try…

The next day…

You spent the whole night with that new partner of yours, right, Hop? You two getting on all right? Understanding one another? Maybe even built up a bit of love?

Course I have, Lee! Gloria’s made fast friends with “Bruce” too.

Then listen up, new Trainers! Believe in yourself and your Pokemon! If you trust in one another and carry on battling side-by-side long enough, then someday… you might even become worthy rivals for me, the unbeatable Champion!

What’re you looking at her for, Lee?!

Harsh.

I’m the one who’ll be coming to challenge you! If you think Gloria might be able to challenge you, then I guess she’s my first rival! But I’m not planning to lose to her and miss out on my chance to beat the unbeatable Champion!



Proper Trainers raise their Pokémon up to be first-rate in battle, too!

Oh, and you think you’re worthy of calling yourself such a proper trainer already, Hop? Guess I’ll be the judge of that! Let’s see how you handle yourself in a battle against your friend, if she’s up for it. What you say? Willing and ready to take Hop on in the first-ever Pokémon battle of your life?

:getin:

Believe in your partner Pokémon! And care for them, too, with all your heart. Do those two things, and I’m certain you’ll learn to choose the moves that suit your Pokémon. And more importantly… to have a champion time battling with them!

I can’t believe you made that a thing.

Perks of being a Champion.
Looks like everyone’s on board, Pokémon and Trainers alike? Then let’s do this!

I’ve read every book and magazine he left behind at home, too! I know exactly what to do in order to win!

Pokemon Sword & Shield - Hop Battle Music



All right, I promised I’d make this as accessible as possible, but I assume most of you at least know the basics of Pokémon gameplay, so I’ll try to keep it short (and I won’t go into everything yet). “Short” is a relative term here.



This is the battle screen. The camera keeps zooming around to get different angles; I remember when this was just a pair of sprites staring each other down. It’s almost like the interface evolved. We have seven important elements here:
  • HEALTH BAR: self-explanatory. The color changes from green to yellow about halfway down and from yellow to red at a quarter health, at which point it starts blaring the most annoying noise to let you know you’re in trouble.
  • BALL COUNT: right next to the health bars; it probably has a proper name, but I don’t know it. You can have up to six Pokémon in any given flight; this counter lets you know how many you and your opponent have total have been knocked out and how many of them have been knocked out (the balls are grayed out).
  • INFO: lets you real quick look at the stats, moves, etc. of either of the Pokémon you have out. This is the only part of the interface that’s new to me; it wasn’t present even in Gen 4, to my knowledge. You used to have to go into the Pokémon screen to look at your troops up close, and you could look at your opponent’s at all.
  • POKÉMON: lets you switch between party members midflight. You switch out automatically when one of your Pokes gets knocked out, but you can do it manually from here. They can get a free shot in if you do, though, so it’s worth playing things carefully.
  • BAG: lets you access items. I’ll get into these later.
  • RUN: lets you flee a fight. Only a fight with a wild Pokémon, though; you can’t run from Trainer battles. Mostly used to run away from undesirable Pokémon in my experience.
  • FIGHT: by far the most important option. Picking it pulls up your move menu. Moves are what your troops do in battles; each Pokémon can have up to four and they do a variety of things. Bruce here has two; Tackle, which does damage, and Growl, which lowers Attack (I’ll cover stats in a later flight). You can also hit Y while in the move screen to bring up the info screen on individual moves.

Well then, let’s try this out.





Sometimes, you’ll land a hit unusually hard, dealing double damage. Shocking right?

A critical hit? What kind of beginner’s luck is that?!

The kind where the game is rigged in your favor, I think you always get a crit here. Alright, let’s attack again:



Welp.



Every downed Pokémon gives the downer a burst of exp, like you’d expect from any other RPG. Used to be that only the Pokémon who participated in a fight would get experience, splitting it between participants; this made training anybody up a chore where you had to start out every fight with a weaker Pokémon and immediately switch it out, giving the other side a free shot on the follow-up. Your only other option was an exp share, an item which gave whomever held it a bit of experience even if they didn’t participate. In Shield, every Pokémon in your party gets a bit of experience from every fight, and I believe participants get proportionately more than they used to. It makes absolutely no sense, but it’s such a quality-of-life movement that I can’t hold it against them.

As you’d expect, once a Pokémon gets enough experience, it levels up, raising its stats (which, again, I’ll explain later. This always happens. Sometimes, though…



… They learn new moves. Every type of Pokémon has a unique move list they can learn as they level up; usually they have the chance to learn them whenever they hit the appropriate level, but sometimes you have to meet certain conditions. In this case, the condition is “reach the appropriate point in the tutorial battle”.

it’s not over yet! It’s about time I break out Bonham!



I said I’d edit them into the posts. I never said that editing would be
good.

Anyway, this fight is just as unbalanced as the last one, but in a different way; Bruce has a type advantage over Bonham. I’ll get into type advantages the next time we get in a fight where it matters (this post is long enough), but suffice to say…



It hurts.

Did you already know about type advantages?!

Oh no.

What? I’m just making sure you know everything you need to win!

Come on!

I wasn’t sure if you’d learned about them yet!

I said it
two bloody years ago, Hop.

Quick – what happens when you hit a Steel/Flying type with a Psychic attack?

Wait, uh, poo poo!

:smugdog:

Oh god, this is going to become a thing, isn’t it?

:mmmsmug:

But yeah, Hop is shafted.



Also you get money for beating trainers; while I think the currency has its own name, it’s basically PokéYen. Hop gave us 400, which works out to maybe 3 ˝ bucks.




You and your Pokémon all fought hard. Made me almost want to let out my Charizard and join in on all the fun! Good effort out there, Bruce –

Hey Leon?

Yeah?

Bruce’s hurt.

Yeah, that happens in battles –

Can you heal him?

Sure! Just let me get Bonham back up first –

Can you heal him.

Better do what she says, bro.

Alright, sure.

Leon fully heals all of their Pokémon. Right there on the spot. That’s new; the only place you got full heels like that up through Gen 4 were Pokémon Centers. The game isn’t shy about breaking these field heals out, either.

Sorry, I just… I was fine when they were fighting, but when it was over, he was hurt, and…

It just means you really care about your Pokémon!
Gloria, you’ve got real promise! In fact, I got a favor to ask you… Be a real rival to Hop, would you? Push him, and make the both of you stronger!

I already want to get stronger and stronger! You’ve seen the battle now, Lee, so come on – you gotta let me take on the Pokémon Gyms!

You think you’re ready for the single greatest competition in the Galar region? If that’s really what you want to do, you two have a whole lot you need to learn about Pokémon. Especially you, Gloria. You should be able to answer that question off the top of your head!

:(

Before you think about getting Gym Badges, best to think about getting a Pokédex.

Leon gives us a brief lecture on Pokédexes here, but this post is already long enough so I’ll save it for another day.

Looks like it’s off to the Pokémon Research Lab for you and me, Gloria!

That’s the kind of enthusiasm a Trainer needs! I’ll let the professor know to expect you.

I’m going to be the next Champion, so completing a simple Pokédex will be nothing! Just another page in the tale of my legend! You should probably go tell your mum that were heading out, though. Hey, I’ll walk with you. I’m to jittery to sit down, anyway.

… You realize Leon was implying you shagged your Pokémon, right?

Wait, what?

“You spent the whole night with that new partner of yours, right, Hop? Maybe even built up a bit of love?”

:doh:

And you confirmed it!

Shut up!

“Course I did!”

:cripes:

:laugh:

Good Lord that was a post and a half. I’m throwing the post up very early just because I can; don’t expect me to be able to pump this out this fast in the future. That said, since we’ll be traveling through the equivalent of the Scottish countryside, why doesn’t someone tell us something weird and/or interesting about Scottish culture? The sort of thing you learn when you actually live in it. Let’s say, first two people to answer get their pick of the two options in the OP’s. Currently up for naming are Hop’s Wooloo, Leon’s Charizard, and anybody in the next gym leader’s roster (remember, rosters don’t count as spoilers), plus the Pokémon of any trainer you happen to know of already.
E: also if you could check me on whether I used the right syntax when talking about admissions I’d appreciate it.

Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 00:04 on Mar 12, 2021

megane
Jun 20, 2008



I can't believe I just realized that Hop's hair is a hop, like the plant. :negative:

ChaosArgate
Oct 10, 2012

Why does everyone think I'm going to get in trouble?

I love Hop’s battle theme, its so good!

limeicebreakers
May 1, 2017

Hop is a good boy.

Liking this LP so far, OP! Can I request that you put sources with any fanart you use? (Here's the one for Hellkey, btw).

Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

limeicebreakers posted:

Hop is a good boy.

Liking this LP so far, OP! Can I request that you put sources with any fanart you use? (Here's the one for Hellkey, btw).

Done and will do.

ChaosArgate posted:

I love Hop’s battle theme, its so good!

Honestly? My least favorite of the rival tracks. It’s fun and pleasant, but it doesn’t stand out like the other two. Especially Bede’s. BASS

Black Robe
Sep 12, 2017

Generic Magic User


I'm not sure you're specifically in Scotland just yet, Hammerlocke gave me strong Edinburgh vibes but Postwick and surrounding countryside feels more generic.

dotchan
Feb 28, 2008

I wanna get a Super Saiyan Mohawk when I grow up! :swoon:

limeicebreakers posted:

Hop is a good boy.

I wish Hop acted a bit more competitively, though. He almost seems unnaturally happy to be an EXP pińata.

Quackles
Aug 11, 2018

Pixels of Light.


quote:

Believe in yourself and your Pokémon excavation point

I think there mighta been a transcription error somewhere.

Carbon dioxide
Oct 9, 2012

Yeah, much better screenshot size.

Falconier111 posted:

But the fact that the bunny evolves into a soccer player won me over.

We call it football over here, ye yankee arse wanker.

Quantum Toast
Feb 13, 2012

quote:

Used to be that only the Pokémon who participated in a fight would get experience, splitting it between participants; this made training anybody up and sure where you had to start out every fight with a weaker Pokémon and immediately switch it out, giving the other side a free shot on the follow-up.
Not sure what that was meant to be, but I don't think this is it.

Falconier111 posted:

Also I might work the Nidoqueen's English into the OP at some point.
Good timing there, Nidoqueen has only existed in Galar since about four days ago. :eng101:

Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

Black Robe posted:

I'm not sure you're specifically in Scotland just yet, Hammerlocke gave me strong Edinburgh vibes but Postwick and surrounding countryside feels more generic.

Eh, fair enough, but I’m talking geographically. See, I have plans for Gloria.

Quackles posted:

I think there mighta been a transcription error somewhere.

That’s the softwares single biggest weakness; get ready to see a lot of that.

ChaosArgate
Oct 10, 2012

Why does everyone think I'm going to get in trouble?

Falconier111 posted:

Honestly? My least favorite of the rival tracks. It’s fun and pleasant, but it doesn’t stand out like the other two. Especially Bede’s. BASS

They’re all fantastic, but Hop’s has a special place for me because it really captures his enthusiasm and I just can’t help but admire it for that. The dramatic reprise for the league is also nothing short of incredible.

limeicebreakers
May 1, 2017

Thanks, Falconier!

dotchan posted:

I wish Hop acted a bit more competitively, though. He almost seems unnaturally happy to be an EXP piñata.

That's what Bede and Marnie are for! :eng99:

For real though, I kind of wish they would go back to having one rival, as long as that rival is more nuanced. I like that a lot more than several rivals who feel more one-note and/or shafted.

Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

limeicebreakers posted:

Thanks, Falconier!


That's what Bede and Marnie are for! :eng99:

For real though, I kind of wish they would go back to having one rival, as long as that rival is more nuanced. I like that a lot more than several rivals who feel more one-note and/or shafted.


Having only one rival doesn’t guarantee that rival will see character development either :v:

Zedd
Jul 6, 2009

I mean, who would have noticed another madman around here?



I actually do like these games, they are not bad just a lot of missed potential and obvious cuts.

Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E
Update 3: Sweet Sleeping Wooloos

Postwick - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST

As we walk over to Gloria’s house, there’s a crash from offscreen.

Gloria, did you hear that just now? The gate’s open! And the Wooloo that was there…



… do you?

… Well… we should.

But it’s off-limits! Nobody’s supposed to go in there! Remember when Sonia went in? She was in a right state. And that was nothing compared to the earful she got from the professor afterward! Gloria… What do you say?

I’m not leaving it in the woods.

Right? Even if we’re not supposed to, this is the kind of scene where you simply have to – Hey! Gloria, wait up!

Slumbering Weald - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST



The fog is really coming on thick now… If we don’t find that Pokémon soon, this might be trouble.

Welcome to the Slumbering Weald, this game’s first wilderness area. If you popped open the music link, after a minute or so you’ll notice that tone that peaks and steadily drops off repeatedly; nice bit of sound design, that. Solid foreshadowing.

For those of you unfamiliar with the system here, in Pokémon you gather team members mostly through encounters in the tall grass: find wild animals hiding from you in the grass, have your tame animals maul them, then force them into prisons too small for them to fit comfortably. They’re also your third best source of experience; in older games, especially since you often couldn’t get in multiple rounds with trainers, you had to resort to grinding on wild Pokémon for a while, but in this game you have better ways to level up. Wild Pokémon don’t even offer as much experience as trainer Pokémon! Anyway, the squirrels we run into here are hardly a threat. Mostly the monsters in here suck, plus you can’t catch them yet. There’s exactly one Pokémon hiding in each patch of grass; in the rest of the game,
you have a selection that wander around the grass and a few hiding out of sight in the grass itself.

Also, you have Hop hanging around nearby; he’ll heal your Pokémon for free, just like that. Way to trivialize this, Hop. With him to remove any threat from an already unthreatening situation, let’s take a moment to look at stats!



You can ignore most of what’s on this page except for the six stats displayed around that wheel in the center. HP is self-explanatory if you ever played an RPG, and speed is likewise intuitive since it just covers where in the initiative order your Poké sits. The two sets of Attack and Defense stats deal with different types of damage: Attack and Defense cover attacks cause damage through the Pokémon using physical force, and their Special equivalents cover anything that doesn’t, from fireballs to super soakers to mind control. Think Physical and Magic damage/defense in equivalent games. You also have a hidden Evasion stat that’s uniform across all Pokémon regardless of type or level. As you might guess, a lot of the strategy in this game comes from manipulating certain stats while emphasizing others in creative ways; say, use a move called Growl to lower their Attack, then switch out for somebody with a high defense.





It looks like this in practice. Of course, around here that’s completely inconsequential, but such is life in the outskirts of the Slumbering Weald. A little bit further in, we hear something that sounds like a digitized wolf howl.


Did you hear that? Was that a Pokémon crying out, you think?!

Soon enough, we hear another howl, Hop worries a bit more, and…



I think I get now why this place off-limits…









So, uh, this is a thing. It doesn’t really matter what you do to it, it shifts like a mirage and just stares at you menacingly. It doesn’t even attack.



It also releases more fog every round. It even fogs over the interface, making it harder to see.


Gloria, I can’t see anything! Are you okay?

Eventually, after another round of increasing fog and Hop trying to find you…







Wha – Lee? How do you manage to find your way here? You’re pants with directions. You always get lost.

Oh, that’s nice to hear from the little brother who had me worried sick! I’ve been waiting ages for you to, and you never showed! Of course I came looking for the both of you!

Doesn’t explain how you found us, though…

Wait, where’s the Wooloo?! We were trying to rescue that Wooloo!



The little chap’s just fine. Though all of you had fainted by the time I found you here. You know this place is off-limits… But it took courage to come in here all the same. And I can understand well enough why you did it. You did good, Hop!

And at least that Wooloo’s all right… Yeah, Gloria? I thought we’d had it when that weird fog started growing in and that mad Pokémon attacked… but at least it wasn’t all for nothing!

Attacked by some mad Pokémon? What are you talking about, Hop?

It seemed loads stronger than any Pokémon I’ve ever seen. And it just had this sort of presence…

Yeah…

Our moves didn’t even touch it. I mean, really – they seemed to pass right through it!



Your moves passed right through it? So, the fearsome Pokémon they say live in the Slumbering Weald…

…!

Are they actually illusions or something? Get strong enough and maybe the two of you could be the ones to reveal the truth someday. For now, let’s get out of the forest. You’ll be all right now that I’m here with you!

Even if we did get an earful from Lee… what an experience! This’ll make a fine first page in the tale of my legend!



What, no commentary?

Sorry, lost in thought…

Oh – you all right there, mate?

Yeah… well, I’m a tad shaken up, but I’ll be fine. Mostly I’m just thinking something over.

A little bit later…


Postwick - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST

You better go tell your mum we’re heading out. She’ll go spare if you leave without a word – even worse than Lee just did!

He bolts off, as is his habit.

Wait, didn’t Leon tell Hop he did good?




And yes, I heard the news from young Leon. Glad someone bothered to tell me! :sigh: Off to Wedgehurst, aren’t you? Here we are! A bit of pocket money for your journey. Buy yourself a little something at the Pokémon Center! Maybe some Potions or something.

You know me so well.

Remember that Scorbunny will battle to the very end for you. But he WILL battle for you, so don’t be afraid to let him put some work in. I don’t have to tell you to be careful with him. Just pace yourself, both of you. And you, Scorbunny! Look after my little Gloria! Come home to rest any time that you need. After all –

“East or West, home is best,” I know. But, before I go… :glomp: I love you, mum.

Same, love. Have fun and stay safe.

I will.

We take a moment to jump-scare the Munchlax…



… Before heading out. And then we run into Hop AGAIN. Because the tutorial can never be over.

Route 1 - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST



Guess I’ll have Bonham do some training in the tall grass, get him a bit tougher. You should probably head over to the Research Lab. I’ll catch up in a mo’.

I mean, I would, but…



I think I’m taking the long way around.

Welp, time to get some obligatory Pokémon battles.



Would you look at that, we have a new option! Look at that X there; if you select it, it opens up the Pokéball menu. You catch Pokémon by smacking them with your balls. The weaker they are, the more status effects they have, the easier they are to catch. You have a bunch of different types Pokéballs with different effects, but I never bother using them unless I really want something specific; it probably won’t come up much (except for when we hit Ball Guy, but we’ll run into them later). Also, you can’t catch a Trainer’s Pokémon. That would be theft.





This Wooloo is now part of our team! I’m going to name him Wallace for now, but I’m open for suggestions.

On the other hand… I failed to screenshot this, like an idiot, but I just ran into a Pokémon with a sort of glowing aura. Those are called Brilliant Pokémon; they start out a bit higher level than everything around them and have moves and stats their local equivalents can’t match.



This Brilliant Rookidee came along with a move called Roost that restored all damage I did to her, which was infuriating, but I caught her! I couldn’t give her the appropriate name, but she’ll just go by Eggbeater for now.

Wedgehurst - Pokémon Sword and Shield OST



Welcome to Wedgehurst, our first actual town; it has a fast travel station, various shops, houses to visit and all sorts of other things we will promptly ignore to go visit Leon.



See how your world is already grown, all thanks to having Pokémon with you?

:rolleyes:



Something lets out a tiny bark.



It’s a corgi. A corgi Pokémon.




Looking for info on another never-before-seen, superstrong Pokémon? I wish you’d stop with these outlandish requests. Oh, hiya Gloria! How’s the mum?

She walks down the stairs and up to Leon and Gloria.


Good to see you, too, Yamper!

Well, thanks. Says she has a Wooloo tikka masala recipe she just ordered in spices for waiting to go.

Oh, that sounds lovely! I’ll make her some of those chocolate walnut biscuits she likes so much.

What, gonna just walk right past me?

That I am! But go ahead and help yourself to the stacks, you know you’re welcome.
Oh. Looks like your mum got you a Rotom Phone. Hey there, Rotom!



We get yet more tutorializing here. Basically, a Rotom is a Pokémon that is also your cell phone, interface, map, etc. Anyway, Sonia downloads an entire Pokédex into our pet’s head.

In the olden days, filling out your Pokédex was the official end goal of any Pokémon game. It starts out an empty list of silhouettes that you fill in as you catch Pokémon one by one; it stores their names, descriptions, and important combat data for you to peruse. I’m not sure I know anyone who actually used the Pokédex for anything, even to keep score, unless they already done everything else in the game.


Just so you know, that Pokédex is a gift from my gran! When you head out, could you let Gran know that you have it?

Sure thing, down Route 2, right?

Yep!

I’m off, then. Take care!

Rather quick to go, weren’t you? It’s alright, I understand.
Leon’s a right amazing Champion, and I’m basically just an assistant… I’m not even Gran’s official assistant, either. I’ve just been calling myself one… I wonder which one of them’ll win…

Just outside, a stranger walks up to us.



:catstare:

He hands us an item.



:geno:

Random Stranger: It’s a Potion. Use it when you’re Pokémon’s HP – their hit points – get low…

:words:

:goofy:

:words:

Random Stranger: …on your journey!.

And then he just walks away like that wasn’t a bizarre thing to do. Speaking of which, I notice nobody bothered :britain:posting about Scotland. And that’s a shame! Granted, you didn’t have very long, which probably played a (big) part in that. So I’ve done some thinking and overhauled the OP: I cordially invite anyone with something interesting to share about Britain or Gen 8 to write about it; in return, they get to pick either of the options in the OP, plus get credit and a link in the second post. I am also taking suggestions from the thread on our Rookidee and Wooloo’s names; I’ll pick from them if and when the names are volunteered, the :britain:posting option just forces me to use your suggestion instead of picking for myself.

Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Mar 12, 2021

Blaziken386
Jun 27, 2013

I'm what the kids call: a big nerd
I hearby suggest the name Woolooloo for our wooloo, because who am i to turn down a good meme

Hunter Noventa
Apr 21, 2010

Blaziken386 posted:

I hearby suggest the name Woolooloo for our wooloo, because who am i to turn down a good meme


It's a big shame that Wooloo gets so much less cute when it evolves.

Black Robe
Sep 12, 2017

Generic Magic User


So far you seem to only have a couple of British goons posting in the thread, and I assume none of us are from Scotland, which is probably why you didn't get anyone jumping in. :shrug: I'm southern English living in Wales so I might have something relevant to throw in later (though Wales got shafted as far as these games are concerned) but I'm not too familiar with Scottish culture compared to a native. Not to mention that just within Scotland there's a world of difference between, say, inner-city Glasgow and the Hebridean Islands.

The UK as a whole is smaller than a lot of US states, but we still manage to cram in as many differences as you'd get across the whole of a much bigger country. Accents, dialect, local customs etc can be widely different after an hour's travel. Britain's like the TARDIS, it's bigger on the inside. Is there anything specific you'd be interested in :britain:posts about?

Also I support this

Blaziken386 posted:

I hearby suggest the name Woolooloo for our wooloo, because who am i to turn down a good meme


and suggest Quoth for our rookidee.

Kheldarn
Feb 17, 2011



Blaziken386 posted:

I hearby suggest the name Woolooloo for our wooloo, because who am i to turn down a good meme

Throwing my vote on the pile!

Falconier111
Jul 18, 2012

S T A R M E T A L C A S T E

Black Robe posted:

So far you seem to only have a couple of British goons posting in the thread, and I assume none of us are from Scotland, which is probably why you didn't get anyone jumping in. :shrug: I'm southern English living in Wales so I might have something relevant to throw in later (though Wales got shafted as far as these games are concerned) but I'm not too familiar with Scottish culture compared to a native. Not to mention that just within Scotland there's a world of difference between, say, inner-city Glasgow and the Hebridean Islands.

That’s actually good news! I was going to ask about advice on transliterating a Welsh accent or where to find that info and on Welsh economic history and current conditions (I’m going to portray Spikemuth (and Marnie) as Welsh and I could use some background). Also, given how important understanding regional differences is to understanding the UK, I’ll go ahead and count this as a :britain:post. Would you like to seal Quoth in or name someone else’s Pokémon? I’ll edit it into the OP after work.

As for :britain:posting in general, my long term goal is to make it so if/when this makes it into the archive, it has a bevy of explanatory posts, like, say, The Shivah or King of Dragon Pass. Join in and be immortalized! I’m looking for anything interesting, really. If it’s something you’ve always wanted to talk about or explain, or if it’s something that doesn’t com up often, or if me or the game got something wrong, please do speak up!

Quantum Toast
Feb 13, 2012

Blaziken386 posted:

I hearby suggest the name Woolooloo for our wooloo, because who am i to turn down a good meme


I was going to suggest "Shaun" but you've converted me.

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Black Robe
Sep 12, 2017

Generic Magic User


Falconier111 posted:

That’s actually good news! I was going to ask about advice on transliterating a Welsh accent or where to find that info and on Welsh economic history and current conditions (I’m going to portray Spikemuth (and Marnie) as Welsh and I could use some background). Also, given how important understanding regional differences is to understanding the UK, I’ll go ahead and count this as a :britain:post. Would you like to seal Quoth in or name someone else’s Pokémon? I’ll edit it into the OP after work.

As for :britain:posting in general, my long term goal is to make it so if/when this makes it into the archive, it has a bevy of explanatory posts, like, say, The Shivah or King of Dragon Pass. Join in and be immortalized! I’m looking for anything interesting, really. If it’s something you’ve always wanted to talk about or explain, or if it’s something that doesn’t com up often, or if me or the game got something wrong, please do speak up!

I'll seal Quoth in for now, and I'll start to put together a Wales post for you. Might take a few days but you won't need it for a while yet.

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