So here I am dicking around on a TF2 map in Garry's Mod...
Monday, March 31, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
On Video Game Difficulty, Part 3, C, or three lower-case "i"s: Class
(I'm trying to clean out the "Vault," and this wasn't published back when I was discussing video game difficulty for some reason. It's incomplete, but enjoy anyway.)
Something interesting happened to me when I played Mass Effect for the first time on my new laptop. I didn't transfer over all the saved files, so I lost all the various buffs you get for fulfilling various achievements. So I was playing the game with a "blank slate," although I had full functioning knowledge of how the game worked.
Something interesting happened to me when I played Mass Effect for the first time on my new laptop. I didn't transfer over all the saved files, so I lost all the various buffs you get for fulfilling various achievements. So I was playing the game with a "blank slate," although I had full functioning knowledge of how the game worked.
I finally saw the Red Wedding again
And I originally said it was a massive disappointment. I would like to revise that opinion slightly.
It was merely a disappointment.
It was merely a disappointment.
Reminder: don't have high expectations for this year's Game of Thrones
So remember last season, where they had about 700 pages of material to get through, and they wasted about half an hour on Theon Torture Porn, and about a full hour with Tyrion (dude gets married and grouses a bit about how he's out of power. That's the sum total of things that happen to him in the first 700 pages of A Storm of Swords).
Yeah, this season they have about 400 pages to get through.
SPLOILERS!!!
Yeah, this season they have about 400 pages to get through.
SPLOILERS!!!
The Rocketeer
Fun fact: about 20 years before he helmed Captain America: The First Avenger, Joe Johnston directed another comic-book film.
If you've seen the Mr. Plinkett Star Wars reviews, you're probably at least slightly familiar with The Rocketeer, and if you were in a movie theater between 1991 and 1996 you're probably familiar with James Horner's score. (Guy has a habit of getting his scores recycled into movie trailers: case in point, 1:00 to 1:30 of this cue from Aliens.)
It's about an aviator who stumbles across a jetpack built by Howard Hughes, but stolen by mobsters working for totally-not-Errol-Flynn. The film takes place on the eve of WWII, and it's... well, far more lighthearted than today's superhero fare, which surprised me given that the main villain is... SPLOILERS...
If you've seen the Mr. Plinkett Star Wars reviews, you're probably at least slightly familiar with The Rocketeer, and if you were in a movie theater between 1991 and 1996 you're probably familiar with James Horner's score. (Guy has a habit of getting his scores recycled into movie trailers: case in point, 1:00 to 1:30 of this cue from Aliens.)
It's about an aviator who stumbles across a jetpack built by Howard Hughes, but stolen by mobsters working for totally-not-Errol-Flynn. The film takes place on the eve of WWII, and it's... well, far more lighthearted than today's superhero fare, which surprised me given that the main villain is... SPLOILERS...
Thursday, March 27, 2014
A Blog of Thrones (Chapter 40) Catelyn VII: Trial By Wombat
Previously on A Blog of Thrones, Ned Stark wanted revenge while Robert Baratheon was the voice of reason. Yes, really. Today, Catelyn continues screwing up, so at least some semblance of normalcy has returned.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Diablo III: I, Um, What?
So there's this thing going around about how there's supposedly a bug that prevents items of the proper level from dropping when your level is somewhere in the mid-60s.
Turns out that's not a bug, it's a feature.
So I have to ask: did Blizzard learn nothing from the Auction House?
Turns out that's not a bug, it's a feature.
So I have to ask: did Blizzard learn nothing from the Auction House?
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
I will now attempt to explain why the Diablo III expansion has forced you to drop a difficult level or 3
Inspired by this post.
I am going to do something I normally don't do, and assume for the moment that you know nothing about the subject material of this post. This is not because I believe you're a moron who needs things spoon-fed to you, but rather because I'm in law school and can't get out of the mindset at the moment.
I am going to do something I normally don't do, and assume for the moment that you know nothing about the subject material of this post. This is not because I believe you're a moron who needs things spoon-fed to you, but rather because I'm in law school and can't get out of the mindset at the moment.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Ten Reasons Why On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the Greatest Bond Film Ever Made
TLDR: a more human Bond, the best Bond Girl ever, the best theme ever written, the greatest scene in the franchise, the biggest risk ever taken, and five other wonderful little touches.
And now a word on March Madness
A friend commented that he was wrong on 5 picks but still in the 86th percentile.
I completely flubbed one of the six questions on my Business Associations final last year and still wound up in the upper half of that class. There's nothing worse-suited to judging you as an individual than to compare your failures to those of your peers.
I completely flubbed one of the six questions on my Business Associations final last year and still wound up in the upper half of that class. There's nothing worse-suited to judging you as an individual than to compare your failures to those of your peers.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Battlestar Galactica ended 5 years ago today
The greatest television show ever had a... erm, problematic ending.
To be sure, a) I don't think the whole season should be written off (the mutiny two-parter was fantastic, for example), and b) there were some things in the finale that worked very, very well.
But certain things could have been handled better. Basically everything from the moment Roslin asked "Where have you taken us, Kara?" felt rushed, oversimplified, and just generally huh?
Except the stuff with Starbuck. That actually made sense, and, if anything, was dragged out too much.
And the "150,000 years later" coda was entirely unnecessary.
All of that said, it wasn't quite the end the show deserved, but it was a damn sight better than Buffy's finale (seriously, just stop watching that show after Season 5).
Wait, I was going somewhere positive with this. Oh, right.
The greatest television show ever ended five years ago today. Boy howdy do I miss it.
To be sure, a) I don't think the whole season should be written off (the mutiny two-parter was fantastic, for example), and b) there were some things in the finale that worked very, very well.
But certain things could have been handled better. Basically everything from the moment Roslin asked "Where have you taken us, Kara?" felt rushed, oversimplified, and just generally huh?
Except the stuff with Starbuck. That actually made sense, and, if anything, was dragged out too much.
And the "150,000 years later" coda was entirely unnecessary.
All of that said, it wasn't quite the end the show deserved, but it was a damn sight better than Buffy's finale (seriously, just stop watching that show after Season 5).
Wait, I was going somewhere positive with this. Oh, right.
The greatest television show ever ended five years ago today. Boy howdy do I miss it.
Ender's Game is The Hunger Games in space????!?!?
(Jim's note: this has been sitting in my "unpublished" file for a while. It dates back to whenever-it-was that Catching Fire came out.)
It's not. It's just... no! Stop! That's a stupid, stupid comparison. The Hunger Games is (I hasten to add a very good example of) a typical Young Adult Dystopian Fiction (on a related note, no, I cannot watch the trailer for Divergent without cracking up). You have the plucky hero,* the love triangle, good and evil. Hunger Games is more nuanced than others, yes, but aside from the fact that it has "Game" in the title, it has pretty much nothing in common with Ender's Game.
*I hate the term "heroine." It implies that what's between her legs defines her more than her actions do. On this blog, "hero" is gender-neutral.
Now, I've hinted before that I read Ender's Game at a fairly young age. It was the first book I read with swear words in it! I certainly did not consider it "Young Adult," although I had absolutely no frame of reference (the only comparable thing I know for certain I read before Ender's Game was the Thrawn trilogy, and I wouldn't consider that "Young Adult" either).
So what do I mean by "Young Adult?" Usually it's going to have these characteristics:
It's not. It's just... no! Stop! That's a stupid, stupid comparison. The Hunger Games is (I hasten to add a very good example of) a typical Young Adult Dystopian Fiction (on a related note, no, I cannot watch the trailer for Divergent without cracking up). You have the plucky hero,* the love triangle, good and evil. Hunger Games is more nuanced than others, yes, but aside from the fact that it has "Game" in the title, it has pretty much nothing in common with Ender's Game.
*I hate the term "heroine." It implies that what's between her legs defines her more than her actions do. On this blog, "hero" is gender-neutral.
Now, I've hinted before that I read Ender's Game at a fairly young age. It was the first book I read with swear words in it! I certainly did not consider it "Young Adult," although I had absolutely no frame of reference (the only comparable thing I know for certain I read before Ender's Game was the Thrawn trilogy, and I wouldn't consider that "Young Adult" either).
So what do I mean by "Young Adult?" Usually it's going to have these characteristics:
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
The Incredibles 2...? Um, what?
Everyone else seems positively optimistic about this. I don't understand why.
top 5 film themes (this month's edition)
Literally the only reason why On Her Majesty's Secret Service loses to Raiders of the Lost Ark in the category of Film With The Greatest Title Theme In Motion Picture History is because of OHMSS's cheesy synths.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly < The Imperial March (The Empire Strikes Back) < Star Trek: First Contact < On Her Majesty's Secret Service < Raiders' March < OHMSS without the synths.
And that's my Top Five Film Themes list.
This isn't quite right either, but at least it doesn't have the synths. When you get to 1:51, just skip forward to 4:54.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly < The Imperial March (The Empire Strikes Back) < Star Trek: First Contact < On Her Majesty's Secret Service < Raiders' March < OHMSS without the synths.
And that's my Top Five Film Themes list.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Yay, grinding.
So right now the best way to grind levels in Diablo III is to go to the Crypt of the Ancients, clear it out (except for the Elite/Rare/Whatever, because he takes too long to kill), warp back to town, and reset the game and do it all over again.
Prior to 2.0, the best way to grind was to follow a creep-heavy path throughout the majority of Act III, because then your increased XP, gold and magic find would stack after every Elite you killed (although you really should have killed Azmodan last because then all the stacks might give you a decent item).
While the loot is a lot better post-patch, I'm not really thrilled with the CotA grind model. I do miss the system where every Elite kill would grant you a temporary bonus to XP gain.
Chances are this is all going to be moot the moment Reaper of Souls and its Adventure Mode hits. Ah well.
Prior to 2.0, the best way to grind was to follow a creep-heavy path throughout the majority of Act III, because then your increased XP, gold and magic find would stack after every Elite you killed (although you really should have killed Azmodan last because then all the stacks might give you a decent item).
While the loot is a lot better post-patch, I'm not really thrilled with the CotA grind model. I do miss the system where every Elite kill would grant you a temporary bonus to XP gain.
Chances are this is all going to be moot the moment Reaper of Souls and its Adventure Mode hits. Ah well.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
James Plays Pokemon: Day 8
On entering Victory Road, team (and levels): Victreebell (35), Starmie (42), Nidoqueen (27), Sandslash (40), Vulpix (27), Zapdos (50).
Game beaten in 25:06 over eight days of playing, with 48 Pokemon caught. Final team (as entered in Hall of Fame): Zapdos (54), Vulpix (28), Nidoqueen (31), Sandslash (40), Victreebell (40), Starmie (46). The closest we came to losing was when Lance killed half the team while I spent time using Revive and Hyper Potion to get Zapdos back in the fight. Victreebell actually managed to inflict a small amount of damage!
The only one that was still fainted when all was said and done was Starmie, mainly because after it had steamrolled all the way through Ash's team save Blastoise, it was low on health and I wanted to switch to Zapdos without sacrificing a move, so I had Starmie stay in the fight until it fell.
...can I just say that the AI was utterly moronic, Lorelei especially but also Lance (yes, Oh Brilliant Trainer, keep using one defensive move while Zapdos Thunders your last Dragonite to death). Seriously, the ten-year-old in me who'd resorted to cheating to finish Red is angry that I was able to use such an underpowered team to just clobber everyone. (When Starmie was 1-hit-KO'ing mons 20 levels higher, I began to wonder how seriously broken this game is.)
Game beaten in 25:06 over eight days of playing, with 48 Pokemon caught. Final team (as entered in Hall of Fame): Zapdos (54), Vulpix (28), Nidoqueen (31), Sandslash (40), Victreebell (40), Starmie (46). The closest we came to losing was when Lance killed half the team while I spent time using Revive and Hyper Potion to get Zapdos back in the fight. Victreebell actually managed to inflict a small amount of damage!
The only one that was still fainted when all was said and done was Starmie, mainly because after it had steamrolled all the way through Ash's team save Blastoise, it was low on health and I wanted to switch to Zapdos without sacrificing a move, so I had Starmie stay in the fight until it fell.
...can I just say that the AI was utterly moronic, Lorelei especially but also Lance (yes, Oh Brilliant Trainer, keep using one defensive move while Zapdos Thunders your last Dragonite to death). Seriously, the ten-year-old in me who'd resorted to cheating to finish Red is angry that I was able to use such an underpowered team to just clobber everyone. (When Starmie was 1-hit-KO'ing mons 20 levels higher, I began to wonder how seriously broken this game is.)
James Plays Pokemon - Day 7
Charizard can't learn fly in RedBlue, you idiot.
Trying not to replicate the TPP team here (this is why Pidgeot's staying in the PC the moment I have another Flying-type), but the fact is I'm happy with the entire team except Charmeleon, who is a) kinda redundant with Vulpix in the mix, b) doesn't actually ever learn any decent fire moves (I'd have to go back to Celadon and grind the f*cking slot machines to get Hyper Beam), and c) seems to have a very weak attack.
Doing the Power Plant will also allow me to get Petra leveled up. Yay.
Zapdos was caught, but not before I accidentally killed him and had to reload the game. (Yet another thing, along with using Escape Ropes, using Fly, using Full Heal, and visiting the PC without causing a slaughter that makes the Red Wedding look as dull as the HBO version, that TPP can't seem to do.)
(Very little happened on Day 7 because I had to drive home for Spring Break.)
Trying not to replicate the TPP team here (this is why Pidgeot's staying in the PC the moment I have another Flying-type), but the fact is I'm happy with the entire team except Charmeleon, who is a) kinda redundant with Vulpix in the mix, b) doesn't actually ever learn any decent fire moves (I'd have to go back to Celadon and grind the f*cking slot machines to get Hyper Beam), and c) seems to have a very weak attack.
Doing the Power Plant will also allow me to get Petra leveled up. Yay.
Zapdos was caught, but not before I accidentally killed him and had to reload the game. (Yet another thing, along with using Escape Ropes, using Fly, using Full Heal, and visiting the PC without causing a slaughter that makes the Red Wedding look as dull as the HBO version, that TPP can't seem to do.)
(Very little happened on Day 7 because I had to drive home for Spring Break.)
Thursday, March 6, 2014
James Plays Pokemon - Day 6(ish)
I'm actually more afraid of Lorelei than I am of Lance, which is why I'm grinding Vulpix. After Starmie creamed Blaine's entire gym solo (leveling from 32 to 35 along the way... Lance's Arcanine was what, 47?!) I taught Vulpix Fire Blast. At this point I'm thinking of making Vulpix my dedicated scorcher (plus Confuse Ray) and making Charmeleon/izard more versatile. With stuff like Hyper Beam.
So final team will be Starmie (Bubblebeam, Surf, Psychic, Ice Beam), Nidoqueen (Toxic, Horn Drill, Thunderbolt, Blizzard), Victreebell (Solarbeam, Mega Drain, Wrap, ...Acid?), Sandslash (Swift, Dig, Cut, Strength), Charizard (Fly, Flamethrower, Hyper Beam, Fissure), Vulpix (Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Mimic).
...hope I don't need Flash for anything.
Starmie all-killed the remaining fighters in the Dojo and I picked up Hitmonlee.
Went back to Sabrina's Gym and got hideously lost. For the benefit of future generations here is a partial map of Sabrina's teleporter system. You enter the gym in the bottom center and Sabrina herself is in the middle.
This was fairly ugly, but Starmie rocked through again. Sabrina's Alakazam was a nightmare since it kept using Recover until I finally switched out Starmie for Sandslash. Whereupon it only used Recover every other turn and I was finally able to kill it.
So final team will be Starmie (Bubblebeam, Surf, Psychic, Ice Beam), Nidoqueen (Toxic, Horn Drill, Thunderbolt, Blizzard), Victreebell (Solarbeam, Mega Drain, Wrap, ...Acid?), Sandslash (Swift, Dig, Cut, Strength), Charizard (Fly, Flamethrower, Hyper Beam, Fissure), Vulpix (Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Mimic).
...hope I don't need Flash for anything.
Starmie all-killed the remaining fighters in the Dojo and I picked up Hitmonlee.
Went back to Sabrina's Gym and got hideously lost. For the benefit of future generations here is a partial map of Sabrina's teleporter system. You enter the gym in the bottom center and Sabrina herself is in the middle.
Like you needed more proof that the Oscars are crap
Blah blah selfies blah blah hollow elite masturbation blah blah hypocrisy...
Look, a few years ago I whined about how science fiction gets brutally undercut at the Oscars year after year, and I stand by that. And yes, I dissed Gravity without ever having seen it, but I'm allowed to do that because this is a blog that is only read, apparently, by the totally-not-in-existence-anymore KGB.
Two Academy members voted for this year's Best Picture winner without seeing it.
Shutter the Oscars. Shutter them now. It's utter, total, tedious, nonsensical crap that only exists so that Hollywood can congratulate itself on existing for another year.
Look, a few years ago I whined about how science fiction gets brutally undercut at the Oscars year after year, and I stand by that. And yes, I dissed Gravity without ever having seen it, but I'm allowed to do that because this is a blog that is only read, apparently, by the totally-not-in-existence-anymore KGB.
Two Academy members voted for this year's Best Picture winner without seeing it.
Shutter the Oscars. Shutter them now. It's utter, total, tedious, nonsensical crap that only exists so that Hollywood can congratulate itself on existing for another year.
James Plays Pokemon, Day 5
It took 16 days, 7 hours, 45 minutes and 30 seconds for thousands of players to complete the game. At the rate I'm going, I estimate taking no more than thirty hours. This gives me nine and a half hours to beat Blaine, Sabrina and Giovanni, (I conservatively estimate 30 minutes for each) Victory Road (1 hour), and the Elite Four (between the grinding and failed attempts, this could take the whole remaining 7 hours). Whatever else, this constitutes further proof of what Tommy Lee Jones said in the first Men In Black: A person is smart, (but) people are dumb, blind, panicky, dangerous animals.
(Of course, the thousands of people played Red, and I'm playing Blue. Which has Weepinbell, AKA The Most OP Early-Game Pokemon, Like, Ever.)
(In case it needed to be said, Starmie is The Most OP Late-Game Pokemon, Like, Ever.)
Taught Nidorina Thunderbolt. Now I don't need Zapdos. (There is a possibility that I might replace Pidgeot with Vulpix/Ninetails once Charmeleon evolves. I just really don't see the need for two birds. Alternatively I might replace Charmeleon with Vulpix if Pix's stats are better.) Also Nidorina has use outside of Horn Drilling whatever tanks are slower than her. Hooray! Also taught Staryu Ice Beam and evolved it into Starmie. Starmie's final move set is Ice Beam, Psychic, Bubblebeam and Surf. I kept Bubblebeam around because it has a slow, and there's a reasonable chance I may end up needing to slow somebody so that Nidorina/queen can Horn Drill them to death. (Am probably going to teach Nidorina Toxic as well.)
Other than that I got to Cinnabar Island (I royally cheated by Flying back to Pallet Town and Surfing south, rather than crawling through Seafoam Islands. Don't need Articuno and there aren't any TMs there, so what's the point?) and then made my way through Pokemon Mansion, leveling up Starmie (and Sandslash, when Starmie ran out of PP) as I went. I caught a Tentacool and a Ponyta, and they're going to rot in the PC for eternity.
(Of course, the thousands of people played Red, and I'm playing Blue. Which has Weepinbell, AKA The Most OP Early-Game Pokemon, Like, Ever.)
(In case it needed to be said, Starmie is The Most OP Late-Game Pokemon, Like, Ever.)
Taught Nidorina Thunderbolt. Now I don't need Zapdos. (There is a possibility that I might replace Pidgeot with Vulpix/Ninetails once Charmeleon evolves. I just really don't see the need for two birds. Alternatively I might replace Charmeleon with Vulpix if Pix's stats are better.) Also Nidorina has use outside of Horn Drilling whatever tanks are slower than her. Hooray! Also taught Staryu Ice Beam and evolved it into Starmie. Starmie's final move set is Ice Beam, Psychic, Bubblebeam and Surf. I kept Bubblebeam around because it has a slow, and there's a reasonable chance I may end up needing to slow somebody so that Nidorina/queen can Horn Drill them to death. (Am probably going to teach Nidorina Toxic as well.)
Other than that I got to Cinnabar Island (I royally cheated by Flying back to Pallet Town and Surfing south, rather than crawling through Seafoam Islands. Don't need Articuno and there aren't any TMs there, so what's the point?) and then made my way through Pokemon Mansion, leveling up Starmie (and Sandslash, when Starmie ran out of PP) as I went. I caught a Tentacool and a Ponyta, and they're going to rot in the PC for eternity.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
James Plays Pokemon - Day 4
Up in Pokemon Tower, basically relying on Sandrew's Dig and Pig's Fly. Caught two Gastlys, but way too bored to go all the way back for them. Will use them in the fighting Dojo in Saffron.
There's a healing zone halfway up the tower. Wow. Now I feel like the game is babying me.
Took care of that, got the Poke Flute (never buying Awakening again, hurrah), accidentally killed the eastern Snorlax.
Got to Fuschia City, picked up Surf and Strength. Caught a Staryu in the sea and a Slowpoke in the Safari Zone. Staryu replaces Asha (Vaporeon - really, really should have gone with Jolteon) on the team by virtue of being more effective with Psychic. (As far as I foresee it, there is only one change left, with Zapdos replacing Pig. The final team will be Charizard, Victreebell, Nidoqueen,* Zapdos, Starmie, and Sandslash. We shall see how well that plays out in practice; I'm not sure having two Grounds, two Poisons, and two Flyings are a top-notch idea.)
*Primarily because Horn Drill is an awesome anti-tank. Other than that, she's basically useless...
By the way, how the hell did I ever beat Red without a Weepinbell? MVP right there. (Although I must admit, if Ground-type attacks weren't totally worthless against Flying-types, Sandslash would give it a run for its money... not that you can get Sandslash in Red either.)
Trounced Silph Co. (after wandering aroudn it for a few hours... grrr/argh) with Charmeleon, Pidgeot, Nidorina, Weepinbell, Staryu and Sandslash. Then they (or rather, mostly Staryu and Sandslash) trumped Fuschia Gym. I like this team. Some of them need levels, and I don't have a hard counter to Psychics (no such animal exists in Gen 1), but on the whole this is good. Next stop: Power Plant, and the possibility of replacing Pidgeot with Zapdos (because the frickin' Birdcatchers are starting to annoy me).
Staryu is speedy and has a monstrous Special stat. I love it. Taught it both Psychic and Bubblebeam.
There's a healing zone halfway up the tower. Wow. Now I feel like the game is babying me.
Took care of that, got the Poke Flute (never buying Awakening again, hurrah), accidentally killed the eastern Snorlax.
Got to Fuschia City, picked up Surf and Strength. Caught a Staryu in the sea and a Slowpoke in the Safari Zone. Staryu replaces Asha (Vaporeon - really, really should have gone with Jolteon) on the team by virtue of being more effective with Psychic. (As far as I foresee it, there is only one change left, with Zapdos replacing Pig. The final team will be Charizard, Victreebell, Nidoqueen,* Zapdos, Starmie, and Sandslash. We shall see how well that plays out in practice; I'm not sure having two Grounds, two Poisons, and two Flyings are a top-notch idea.)
*Primarily because Horn Drill is an awesome anti-tank. Other than that, she's basically useless...
By the way, how the hell did I ever beat Red without a Weepinbell? MVP right there. (Although I must admit, if Ground-type attacks weren't totally worthless against Flying-types, Sandslash would give it a run for its money... not that you can get Sandslash in Red either.)
Trounced Silph Co. (after wandering aroudn it for a few hours... grrr/argh) with Charmeleon, Pidgeot, Nidorina, Weepinbell, Staryu and Sandslash. Then they (or rather, mostly Staryu and Sandslash) trumped Fuschia Gym. I like this team. Some of them need levels, and I don't have a hard counter to Psychics (no such animal exists in Gen 1), but on the whole this is good. Next stop: Power Plant, and the possibility of replacing Pidgeot with Zapdos (because the frickin' Birdcatchers are starting to annoy me).
 |
| Yup, just 2-shotted a Pokemon 10 levels above me like it's nothing. |
James Plays Pokemon, Day 3
Beat Erika with 2 Vulpix, Weepinbell, Sandrew, R'hllor, and Pig (needed Sandrew's Cut just to get inside the gym; he didn't do any actual fighting). At least one of the fights turned into an Epic Wrap Battle between Weepinbell and an enemy that knew Wrap.
Then we found a hidden house and got Fly! YES! ...unfortunately we don't have the badge to use it yet. NO!
Picked up an Eevee and evolved her into Vaporeon. Also named her Asha.
With Asha taking Vulpix's old spot, we raced through Rocket HQ, and then back to Vermilion to beat Lt. Surge and learn to fly.
And then came the grim realization that this team relies far too much on normal-type attacks to handle the ghost tower in Lavender Town. To be continued.
Then we found a hidden house and got Fly! YES! ...unfortunately we don't have the badge to use it yet. NO!
Picked up an Eevee and evolved her into Vaporeon. Also named her Asha.
With Asha taking Vulpix's old spot, we raced through Rocket HQ, and then back to Vermilion to beat Lt. Surge and learn to fly.
And then came the grim realization that this team relies far too much on normal-type attacks to handle the ghost tower in Lavender Town. To be continued.
 |
| I love it when this happens. |
Sunday, March 2, 2014
James Plays Pokemon: Day 2
Where we are
Charmander evolved into Charmeleon; Pidgey evolved into Pidgeotto. Caught two Sandslashs and named the better* one SANDREW. Taught Gnawty (Rattata) Water Gun. Team is Whent (10), Gnawty (13), R'hllor (17), Pig (18), Sandrew (10), Clefairy (10). I'm definitely going to have to refine it before I take on Misty; not entirely sure it's even worth bringing R'hllor in there, which is a problem since his Ember is the most powerful move we have right now. Can't go back for a Pikachu; feeling very stupid. Having spent an hour grinding in the patch of grass west of Cerulean, am now preparing to take on Ash again.
*"better" being a subjective term; Sandrew has higher Defense and Special, but lower Speed.
Grinding
First decided to grab a Spearow since they seem to be good on offense and right now all I've got is tanks who will die instantly against water-types (also, am anticipating more Bug Boys). Too lazy either to nickname Spearow or to catch a second one for comparison's sake. Team is now R'hllor, Gnawty, Pig, Sandrew, Tyene, Spearow. Hoping that R'hllor can take down Ash's Pidgeotto before things get too ugly...
Ash
Ash's Pidgeotto blinded R'hllor. After that it was a slaughter. R'hllor was taken down and Gnawty was taken down to 2 hp... Gnawty learned Hyper Fang and killed Ash's Abra in one hit with it. Then his Rattata burned through half the team leaving only Sandrew and Pig to face Squirtle. I won, but it was still sobering. Trading Sandrew for Rocky before I continue with the bridge.
The Bridge
Also traded Spearow for Burster (Butterfree). Put Gnawty at the front of the pack on the hope that Hyper Fang will come in handy. Trainer #1 (Bug Catcher) fell to a Gnawty/Tyene tag team with no casualties on my end. Lass fell to a Gnawty/Pig tag-team (I'm trying to avoid a Bird Jesus situation, but I didn't feel that anything other than Pidgeotto was suited to taking on her Nidoran). Gnawty all-killed Youngster with Hyper Fang. He finally fell to Lass #2's Pidgey. R'hllor avenged him but was poisoned by Nidoran. The Lord of Light smote fiery vengeance upon the heathen by burning her. Jr. Trainer's Mankey was bested by Pig. With R'hllor and Gnawty down, a tactical retreat was made before I set off to explore Bill's stomping grounds.
It's a Trap!
And good thing I did, since the guy at the top of Nugget Bridge tried to recruit me to join Team Rocket. Then I got to screw around in a grassy area letting Tyene kill a bunch of Metapods to level up. I'm guessing that's just clever game design right there. In all seriousness, though, I need to start thinking about Misty. Half the Pokemon I own are either Fire or Ground, and I'm not sure whether she has any Psychic-type abilities that would rule out my Poisons as well. Found a TM for Thunder Wave; if Clefairy can learn it she gets a spot back on my team for Misty.
I had a few Potions that got me through the trainers near Bill, and then I went straight for the confrontation with the Rocket guy who has Dig. South of Cerulean, I found a field that has Bellsprouts in it. Huzzah! Something I can use against Misty!
...then I wandered all the way down to Vermilion City and grabbed the Bike Voucher and traded Spearow for Farfetch'd.
Misty
Was defeated by two Bellsprouts and Gnawty. Sandrew learned Dig. Caught a Meowth named Castamere. Pulled Rocky out of the PC because he and Sandrew are on Surge duty.
S.S. Anne
Cleared in two trips (and even then mainly only because I didn't have any PP restore and Weepinbell's Vine Whip only has 5 PP) by: Weepinbell, Gnawty (now a Raticate), Sandrew, Clefairy, R'hllor and Pig.
The Miracle of Rock Cave
At this point your humble narrator decided to do something insane and skip Lt. Surge for the present time (this might have something to do with the fact that Pig is carrying the team) and instead wander off through the Rock Cave (after first going through Diglett's Tunnel back to Viridian City to get a female Nidoran named Petra. It did not go well. R'hllor was left behind on the assumption that there wouldn't be any easy prey for his fiery vengeance. As it turns out, the game is subtly trying to inform you that it's a Grass-type Gym next, which is why there were a few trainers down there with Grass-types. Pig got poisoned, Gnawty fell... finally, after dodging trainers left and right and running from wild Pokemon engagements, I got out... and wandered right into another trainer. Her last Pokemon was a Pidgey, which meant that neither Weepinbell nor Sandrew could be expected to perform, Gnawty was down for the count, and neither Petra nor Clefairy was at a high enough level to deal with it. After about five missed Quick Attacks in a row, this finally happened.
Yikes.
Charmander evolved into Charmeleon; Pidgey evolved into Pidgeotto. Caught two Sandslashs and named the better* one SANDREW. Taught Gnawty (Rattata) Water Gun. Team is Whent (10), Gnawty (13), R'hllor (17), Pig (18), Sandrew (10), Clefairy (10). I'm definitely going to have to refine it before I take on Misty; not entirely sure it's even worth bringing R'hllor in there, which is a problem since his Ember is the most powerful move we have right now. Can't go back for a Pikachu; feeling very stupid. Having spent an hour grinding in the patch of grass west of Cerulean, am now preparing to take on Ash again.
*"better" being a subjective term; Sandrew has higher Defense and Special, but lower Speed.
Grinding
First decided to grab a Spearow since they seem to be good on offense and right now all I've got is tanks who will die instantly against water-types (also, am anticipating more Bug Boys). Too lazy either to nickname Spearow or to catch a second one for comparison's sake. Team is now R'hllor, Gnawty, Pig, Sandrew, Tyene, Spearow. Hoping that R'hllor can take down Ash's Pidgeotto before things get too ugly...
Ash
Ash's Pidgeotto blinded R'hllor. After that it was a slaughter. R'hllor was taken down and Gnawty was taken down to 2 hp... Gnawty learned Hyper Fang and killed Ash's Abra in one hit with it. Then his Rattata burned through half the team leaving only Sandrew and Pig to face Squirtle. I won, but it was still sobering. Trading Sandrew for Rocky before I continue with the bridge.
The Bridge
Also traded Spearow for Burster (Butterfree). Put Gnawty at the front of the pack on the hope that Hyper Fang will come in handy. Trainer #1 (Bug Catcher) fell to a Gnawty/Tyene tag team with no casualties on my end. Lass fell to a Gnawty/Pig tag-team (I'm trying to avoid a Bird Jesus situation, but I didn't feel that anything other than Pidgeotto was suited to taking on her Nidoran). Gnawty all-killed Youngster with Hyper Fang. He finally fell to Lass #2's Pidgey. R'hllor avenged him but was poisoned by Nidoran. The Lord of Light smote fiery vengeance upon the heathen by burning her. Jr. Trainer's Mankey was bested by Pig. With R'hllor and Gnawty down, a tactical retreat was made before I set off to explore Bill's stomping grounds.
It's a Trap!
And good thing I did, since the guy at the top of Nugget Bridge tried to recruit me to join Team Rocket. Then I got to screw around in a grassy area letting Tyene kill a bunch of Metapods to level up. I'm guessing that's just clever game design right there. In all seriousness, though, I need to start thinking about Misty. Half the Pokemon I own are either Fire or Ground, and I'm not sure whether she has any Psychic-type abilities that would rule out my Poisons as well. Found a TM for Thunder Wave; if Clefairy can learn it she gets a spot back on my team for Misty.
I had a few Potions that got me through the trainers near Bill, and then I went straight for the confrontation with the Rocket guy who has Dig. South of Cerulean, I found a field that has Bellsprouts in it. Huzzah! Something I can use against Misty!
...then I wandered all the way down to Vermilion City and grabbed the Bike Voucher and traded Spearow for Farfetch'd.
Misty
Was defeated by two Bellsprouts and Gnawty. Sandrew learned Dig. Caught a Meowth named Castamere. Pulled Rocky out of the PC because he and Sandrew are on Surge duty.
S.S. Anne
Cleared in two trips (and even then mainly only because I didn't have any PP restore and Weepinbell's Vine Whip only has 5 PP) by: Weepinbell, Gnawty (now a Raticate), Sandrew, Clefairy, R'hllor and Pig.
The Miracle of Rock Cave
At this point your humble narrator decided to do something insane and skip Lt. Surge for the present time (this might have something to do with the fact that Pig is carrying the team) and instead wander off through the Rock Cave (after first going through Diglett's Tunnel back to Viridian City to get a female Nidoran named Petra. It did not go well. R'hllor was left behind on the assumption that there wouldn't be any easy prey for his fiery vengeance. As it turns out, the game is subtly trying to inform you that it's a Grass-type Gym next, which is why there were a few trainers down there with Grass-types. Pig got poisoned, Gnawty fell... finally, after dodging trainers left and right and running from wild Pokemon engagements, I got out... and wandered right into another trainer. Her last Pokemon was a Pidgey, which meant that neither Weepinbell nor Sandrew could be expected to perform, Gnawty was down for the count, and neither Petra nor Clefairy was at a high enough level to deal with it. After about five missed Quick Attacks in a row, this finally happened.
James Plays Pokemon: Day 1
The Team
Picked Charmander and named him R HLLOR. Got two Rattatas, BITER and GNAWTY. Decided Gnawty's stats were better. Got two Pidgeys, ARRYN and PIG. Pig's stats are better. Caught a Caterpie, BURSTER, and a Weedil, TYENE. Neglected to get a Pikachu, and am currently slapping myself on that one. Later on in Mount Moon, got a Zubat, WHENT, a Geodude, ROCKY, and an unnamed Clefairy. Burster and Tyene evolved to their final forms.
The Progress
After grinding a while in Viridian Forest, managed to beat Brock mostly via Pig. Made it through Mt. Moon with only R'hllor alive (and at 5 HP). Picked up a Dome Fossil. Lost to Ash at the Cerulean bridge and called it a night. Team is currently R'hllor, Tyene, Pig, Gnawty, and Rocky.
Picked Charmander and named him R HLLOR. Got two Rattatas, BITER and GNAWTY. Decided Gnawty's stats were better. Got two Pidgeys, ARRYN and PIG. Pig's stats are better. Caught a Caterpie, BURSTER, and a Weedil, TYENE. Neglected to get a Pikachu, and am currently slapping myself on that one. Later on in Mount Moon, got a Zubat, WHENT, a Geodude, ROCKY, and an unnamed Clefairy. Burster and Tyene evolved to their final forms.
The Progress
After grinding a while in Viridian Forest, managed to beat Brock mostly via Pig. Made it through Mt. Moon with only R'hllor alive (and at 5 HP). Picked up a Dome Fossil. Lost to Ash at the Cerulean bridge and called it a night. Team is currently R'hllor, Tyene, Pig, Gnawty, and Rocky.
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