Art imitates reality. I approve.

 

Seratin will prove itself eventually.

 

I cannot wait to see how my namesake dies.
Hilariously, I hope. On a route/in a ditch, even more likely

 

Moonlight bathes the steps as I climb to the Totem Den. Stars dot the sky overhead, flickering and bright. Are they the souls of my Pokemon who died, looking down at me now? Are they seeing this?

I hope so.

Kiawe greets me and I accept his challenge. I am five Pokemon strong and Mage the Sylveon is in front. I know this is three Pokemon fights in a row, and I will have Mage deal with the first two and switch him out when the Salazzle appears.

I will do this.

Some people find Kiawe’s trials hilarious, and while I don’t, I have to smile.

Marowak battles first. Mage starts off with a Draining Kiss, but it’s not very effective, leaving me flummoxed. I guess it’s the Ghost-type that resists Fairy? I hadn’t know that, and Marowak’s Cursed Body proceeds to disable my Draining Kiss. Mage’s other two attacks are Swift and Hidden Power Bug. Greeeaaaat.

Mage proceeds to Baby-Doll Eyes Marowak on the next two turns, making its Flame Wheel dumb. After a Hidden Power Bug and disable ends, Mage finishes off the Marowak with two more Kisses. Next I’m challenged by a Hiker and his Magmar. Psh, Mage has this, even though apparently Fire resists Fairy and not Ghost. A couple Swifts (and one Super Potion to prepare) end the day, and now it’s time!

Totem Salazzle drops down from the sky, her special defense boosting. Aw, hurting my Water Gun / Hydro Vortex, are you? Rude.

I immediately switch out Mage for Oruma the Croconaw. It’s strange that just as I get into battle, I realize I’m uneasy. I should have trained Oruma a bit more, he’s three levels lower, and the Toxic makes me flinch. Salazzle then summons her ally Salandit, and the true battle begins.

I heal the poison immediately, and am rewarded when Salazzle’s Venom Drench fails and Salandit’s Venoshock doesn’t kill get Oruma past half-health. I heal anyways, and shake my head sadly at the opposing Taunt and Torment. Nice try, guys. You gotta do better than that.

Oruma goes strong with Water Vortex, doing a third to Salazzle. Before the battle I thought that maybe using Z-moves is cheating because it’d make the battle easy, but now I scoff at my naivety. I will show my opponent’s my respect and go all out. (I’ll need it).

Oruma’s poisoned again, and the Venoshock does a lot. I heal, get attacked, then try a Water Gun. Barely nothing, and Oruma is poisoned and injured AGAIN.

Fuck it, I need to switch, but to who?

Not Delphine. She’ll die and she only has grass attacks.

Not Mage. He’ll also die and Draining Kiss and Hidden Power Bug won’t do much.

I check Oruma’s special defense against Jari the Bagon’s and Stanari the Oricorio’s. Jari’s is awful, can’t send him out, but Stanari’s is great.

Stanari it is!

I switch her in, and she takes the Venoshock like a champ. Her resulting Air Cutter cuts halves Salandit and Salazzle to half-health. I love moves that hit both Pokemon. <3

I take the chance to heal Oruma, and in this turn, Salazzle poisons Stanari. Salandit uses Venoshock.

It’s a critical hit!

Stanari dies.

UGH.

Oh well. I wanted a real electric-type anyways, and now I have a free switch.

I send in Jari the Bagon.

I know how this battles works now. Salazzle won’t attack until I’m poisoned, and Salandit only uses Venoshock if I’m poisoned. I have some time.

Jari uses Dragon Breath on Salandit to get rid of it, but it hangs on in red and gets paralyzed. Salazzle uses Torment, and I sigh when I try using Dragon Breath again only to fail.

It’s alright. I’ll keep Salandit alive and in paralysis so Salazzle can’t replace it.

I cure Oruma of poison because it’s important.

Salazzle uses Toxic because it can and Salandit uses Venoshock.

I realize my error.

Jari…

Dies.

FUCK.

I groan into my hands. Okay, it’s okay, I have Oruma, my Croconaw. He can win this. I know he can!

But when I look at Oruma’s moves…

He has nothing.

Water Gun isn’t doing much. Brick Break is useless. Metal Claw is useless. Work Up is useless.

No, it’s not over. It’s not.

“Water Gun!” I scream, and Salazzle looks up. She shaking her head at the water squirt, and stares at me. She knows. Oruma struggles under the Toxic, and then Salandit is in front of him. The Venoshock burns into Oruma’s skin and he screams. He does not die though. He stands, hurting and in pain. I toss him an Antidote, and he Water Guns again, to nothing gained, nothing earned. The second Venoshock doesn’t kill him, but the Torment has him holding his head.

I heal him. He is poisoned. He is tormented.

Water Gun is now out of his reach.

Icey hands run down my neck. It is Death, waiting for my last partners.

“Brick Break,” I whisper.

Oruma does. Salazzle lives.

Salandit kills Oruma.

Delphine the Steenee stands tall on my shoulder, Mage the Sylveon’s side pressing against my leg.

Two left. Delphine has no chance. Neither does Mage, really, but…

I send in Mage. And like that, I remember Mage has Swift.

Salazzle strikes first, poisoning Mage, but Mage is ready. Stars wheel around his head then shoot to the other end of the field. Salandit falls, Salazzle struggles, health red for the first time in the battle, maybe the first time in her life. She eats a berry, raising her special attack. Then she calls another ally Pokemon, another Salandit.

With one last attack, Salazzle uses Flame Burst, sending Mage to yellow before he finishes off Salazzle for good. Salandit’s health is halved, but it uses Venoshock.

I close my eyes.

When I open them, Mage is alive with 14 HP. Poisoned and on his last legs, still he lives, and he kills Salandit with Swift.

The battles ends.

I hold my fallen Pokemon in my arms. Stanari, Jari, Oruma…

They can’t be gone, right? They’re still here, right?

I look up into the sky and see three new stars, shining bright.

I start to cry.


Current Team.

Mage the Sylveon. L24, M. Draining Kiss, Baby-Doll Eyes, Hidden Power Bug, Swift.
Delphine the Steenee. L24, F. Magical Leaf, Play Nice, Sweet Scent, Razor Leaf.

Boxed.

Thaum the Machop. L12, M.
Seratin the Mudbrey. L18, M.
Ash the Zubat. L20, F.
Halt the Pikipek. L17, M.
Octopus the Cubone. L19, M.
Poytin the Wishiwashi. L17, M.
Menace the Magikarp. L10, M.

Rest in Peace.

Zenzao the Spearow. L13, M. Your sacrifice wasn’t in vain (kinda).
Red the A. Rattata. L14, M. I accept full responsibility for your death.
Rose the Gastly. L16, F. Sigh.
Font the A. Grimer. L20, F. Goodbye, my darling.
Fable the Kirlia. L20, M. Meh, I have a Sylveon.
Cheddar the Surskit. L17, F. <_<
Stanari the Yellow Oricorio. L23, F. FUCK.
Jari the Bagon. L20, M. THIS.
Oruma the Croconaw. L19, M. SHIT.

Kill me.

 

Nooooooooooo.

Edit; I'm loving the storytelling though Vira. If this were a fanfic, I'd subscribe and mention it in new and almost recommended, pending more chapters for library submission.

 

Fucking Feels man. You're a stronger person than me, I usually ragequit around this part.

 

Just want to second that the writing has been fantastic to read, and it's a damn fun story to follow along with. Thanks for sharing it, Vira.

 

It's been a really fun Nuzlocke to read so far and half the fun is rebuilding your broken team halfway through.

 

Just checking and I think this is the first time anyone has used my name for a Water type. Probably that pesky fire gym I ran back in the day.

Wishiwashi is a strange tank Pokemon.

 

...well, at least it ain't a ditch.

 

The DLP Nuzlockes always make me glad I'm a 2-bit nobody on this site. I wouldn't want to see my name on a pokemon and then have it strategically killed. Especially because my. Name lends itself well to flying types x and they're always squishy.

 

You know this is just begging for Vira to name her next catch after you, right?

---------- Post automerged at 17:27 ---------- Previous post was at 17:25 ----------

She may not do it, she lacks that touch of maliciousness, but I certainly would.

 

Thanks! You always know something tragic happened when the writing gets artsy.

I considered in during the fire Totem battle. I’d have rather lost Delphine than Jari or Oruma, especially Oruma since I haven’t used a Croconaw in years, but I have Mage so I’m not ‘jump off a building’ depressed yet.

Thank you for reading it!

I just wish I had better building blocks. I have to fight the grass Totem now and I’m running out of Pokemon encounters. I have boxed Pokemon, but ehhh, I think I need a shiny new fire-type more. <_<

I have no clue how to activate its ability. It’s a super strange Pokemon.

The only good news out of this affair.

Perhaps! Better start praying in advance.

You have posted in this thread. I have seen your name. There is no escape.

 

Just train up that Zubat you've got in the box. Crobat should pretty much style on everything Mallow's trial can throw at you. IIRC you should have the Acrobatics TM at this point also?

 

It starts working automatically at level 20.

 

Yeah, okay. This is my worried face.

 

It’s only when I get to the PC do I realize my idiocy.

I knew going into it I would be fighting a fire/poison type. But in my arrogance, I didn’t understand. In this PC is Seratin the Mudbray. He has Bulldoze, which hits all Pokemon on the field. And I left him in the box to rot. I had an empty space in my party.

Just why….

Mage the Sylveon and Delphine the Steenee are the only ones I have trained up. I have four empty spaces, so I fill them with Thaum the Machop, Seratin the Mudbray, Menace the Magikarp, and of course, Ash the Zubat. Ash will resist the Grass Totem’s Solar Blades spam, I just need to get her evolved.

But first I mosey up to Route Eight. I don’t need to rely on Ash. As long as I can catch a fire-type like Fletchinder or Salamidt, everything would be okay. They’re kind of common along here, and even if it’s not them, it’d be a Rattata. It definitely wouldn’t be-

A Snufful looks up at me with black marble eyes.

Please take your 5% self back to the grass and get me a fire-type. ;_;

I start an SOS battle anyways. If I’m going to be stuck with a Snufful, it will be male and fluffy. I accept no substitutes, and it takes half-hour for one to appear. Stupid things keep using Bide and force me to hold off. I name my new Snufful Chaos, because there is no name fitter.

Since I now have a new kinda-fighting-type, I throw Thaum the Machop back into the box, then try to sneak past the trainers on Route Eight to get to the Pokemon Center. I spy on standing above me, and there seems to be a little path through the grass, but I find nothing but a tree with berries. Feh. I get back down and accept the trainer’s challenge.

All they have is a Miltank.

Chaos the Snufful is out front and with Fluffy, this should go okay. I try a Brutal Swing only for it to do next-to nothing. Shit. The resulting Stomp squishes Chaos’s spine against the pavement, but I attack again. Miltank uses Rollout and as I heal Chaos, it uses Rollout again, doing a hunk of damage. Shiiit. I switch to Mage only to flinch as he falls to yellow.

Well, Rollout is a ground attack. I’ll switch to Ash the Zubat. That’ll show it!

I switch to Ash.

I suddenly remember Rollout is a rock attack.

Ash dies.

My facepalm can be heard miles away.

Miltank’s next Rollout misses and Mage kills it with a couple Draining Kisses, but Jesus, there goes the star of my next Totem Battle. Luckily I have another flying type. Halt the Pikipek is boring, if cute, and after a couple battles, he levels up and evolves to Trumbeak.

I’m feeling better about myself, enough to venture onto the upper portion of Route Five where Lush Jungle is. I saw a TM up here days back, so let’s go get that.

A girl challenges me. She sends out a Goomy. D’aw.

I lead with Halt. I use Pluck, doing quite a bit.

Goomy uses Dragon Breath.

Crit!

Halt dies.


Dear Diary,

I think someone put a curse on me to ruin my hopes and dreams.

When I find out who did it, I’m mashing their face into paste then cooking it into a nice soup that I’ll feed to Delphine. It is not cruelty, Delphine loves the taste of humans most of all. Maybe I’ll try it, if I somehow live through this next completely unfair challenge. <3

Love, Vira.


A haze subsumes me. I glimpse the Goomy trainer getting mauled and dying, but that is not as important as the despair I’m feeling. My feet follow a well-worn path to the Pokemon Center. I open up my menu and click Poke Pelago.

I go through the tutorial. I put down some Pokemon beans.

I wait for a savior.

My dead Pokemon wander around me. Jari fights with a leaf, Red pokes Zenzao with his nose. Perhaps this is where I was always meant to be. It would be so nice to stay here. No more responsibilities or worries. No one will ever have to die.

I wait.

And because I’m me, I forget all about Pelago and decide to just go ahead and fight Mallow. Might as well die with my head raised high.

I beat her challenges, do her stupid cooking thing, and when Lunantis rises up behind me, I look it dead in the eyes.

It’s time to fight.

I begin with Chaos the Stufful out front and use Baby-Doll Eyes. Lunantis’s Power Herb charges its Solar Blade and HEEEERE IT GOES-

Chaos survives by half. Daamn. Okay, I got this.

Lunantis summons a Trumbeak and at that moment, confidence flows into me.

No Sunny Day. Lunantis will just have to play the waiting game like everyone else.

I spam Baby-Doll Eyes while Trumbeak uses Supersonic and Lunantis charges. But Chaos, beautiful Chaos, opens its eyes wide and looks past confusion into glory. After another Solar Blade and Screech, Chaos falls to red, and I withdraw him. Menace the Magikarp is thrown out for the free switch, and after which I think.

This Lunantis still scares me. Another Baby-Doll Eyes should do it, and while Mage the Sylveon has that, I don’t want to risk him.

I kick Chaos back into the field and he lets off one more Eyes before falling into eternal sleep. Mage hops in front of his corpse, ribbons spreading around him. Mage’s Draining Kiss does a quarter to Lunantis and he takes each Solar Blade with pride and grace. When Trumbeak Screeches Mage, I substitute Seratin the Mudbray in his place to die, then choose Delphine the Steenee. You see, Delphine has learned a new move!

Delphine uses Teeter Dance.

Both Pokemon fall into confusion. They have no other choice.

I take the time to heal Mage before sending him back out.

After is a war of attrition. Lunantis knows Synthesis, but Draining Kiss not only hurts the opponent, but regenerates Mage’s HP. Not even Trumbeak can change the tide and within six turns, Lunantis dies. Trumbeak follows soon after.

I’ve won.

The professor meets me after the battle and tells me to come to the Dimensional Research Lab in Heahea City, but I can’t. Not yet.

There is a Pokemon I need to catch…

Lush Jungle has many Pokemon, honestly, but I have a grass-type that seems to want to be the sole survivor of my party, so that’s a waste of time. There’s that new monkey, but I’ve always disliked monkeys. No Island Scan Pokemon. Just me and my wits, and the dragon-shaped hole in my heart that wants filling.

To catch a Goomy you need rain, and to get rain you either need Rain Dance (50k, the death of my clothing fund) or wait for rain to appear in the overworld. From googling, rain appears in Lush Jungle between 5pm to 6pm. The time I researched this is 8pm.

An entire day of waiting? For a Goomy? Worth it.

I wait. I struggle. I bide my time peacefully.

5pm - 6pm is my dinner time, and after I’m done eating I sit down with my DS and enter Lush Jungle with an eager face.

No rain.

I exit and enter several times, but the sky is dark and clear.

I research the rain times again, but still, the same.

There is no way the time in my game is stuck to a specific timezone other than my own. Otherwise, why would the night and day switch at 6pm / 6am? So what’s going on here?

I look. I look harder.

And then…

Google: “Look at the time, then the game, then back at me.”

???

It’s 5:40pm! I don’t-

…

No.

NO.

I’m playing Moon. PM and AM are switched. The rain in my version comes at 5am - 6am.

FUCK.

ME.

I cry for a long time. My tears threaten to drown the world, but I can’t stop. I crawl across the pavement, shuddering, fearing, hating-

I hand my entire wallet to the store clerk and buy Rain Dance.

Goodbye, my clothing fund.

We’ll meet again on the other side.

Since Rain Dance only lasts five turns and waiting for a 10% SOS battle will take time, I teach Rain Dance to Poytin the Wishiwashi and Thaum the Machop (which is ???). With Poytin in front, I enter the grass of Lush Jungle and encounter a Trumbeak. I use Rain Dance, then nearly cry when Poytin is Plucked to half-health. I switch to Mage the Sylveon, wasting a rain turn, then I use an Adrenaline Orb before I can FINALLY attack this Trumbeak.

To my great relief, a Goomy appears within two SOS encounters.

I kill the Trumbeak, then capture the Goomy. He will be Rehio, and once again, my journey begins anew.


Current Team.

Mage the Sylveon. L28, M. Draining Kiss, Baby-Doll Eyes, Hidden Power Bug, Swift.
Delphine the Steenee. L27, F. Grass Knot, Teeter Dance, Magical Leaf, Razor Leaf.
Rehio the Goomy. L19, M. Absorb, Protect, Bide, Dragon Breath.
Octopus the Cubone. L19, M. Bone Club, Headbutt, Leer, Focus Energy.
Poytin the Wishiwashi. L17, M. Rain Dance, Feint Attack, Brine, Aqua Ring.
Thaum the Machop. L18, M. Leer, Rain Dance, Seismic Toss, Low Sweep.

Boxed.

None.

Rest in Peace.

Zenzao the Spearow. L13, M. Your sacrifice wasn’t in vain (kinda).
Red the A. Rattata. L14, M. I accept full responsibility for your death.
Rose the Gastly. L16, F. Sigh.
Font the A. Grimer. L20, F. Goodbye, my darling.
Fable the Kirlia. L20, M. Meh, I have a Sylveon.
Cheddar the Surskit. L17, F. <_<
Stanari the Yellow Oricorio. L23, F. FUCK.
Jari the Bagon. L20, M. THIS.
Oruma the Croconaw. L19, M. SHIT.
Ash the Zubat. L21, F. Gah.
Halt the Trumbeak. L18, M. You tried.
Menace the Magikarp. L10, M. I was never going to use you.
Chaos the Stufful. L23, M. At least you were cute.
Seratin the Mudbrey. L18, M. Oh well.

 

For an easy good move you can get Scald in Brooklet hill.

 

Alolan Marowak is a fire type! *wink wink nudge nudge*
Also, couldn't you have just changed your DS time by 12 hours for the rain to show up instead of spending your hard earned clothing money for the Rain Dance TM?

O, and the Miltank rollout gave me nightmarish flashbacks from pokemon Gold, how could you forget?!

*edit* Ah nevermind, just saw you took the Cubone in your team...