Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
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What should we nickname Kricketot?
Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Caprizant 28th January 2017, 10:30 pm
- Table of Contents:
Hey everyone, and welcome to my new Let's Play of Pokémon Platinum! I figured a Pokémon LP would be fun to do and hopefully provide some good opportunities for y'all to input into the game a bit.
Why am I playing Platinum specifically, you might ask? Well, I have a bit of a strange history with this game and Sinnoh as a whole. Out of the first five generations, it's probably the generation that I've played the least; I've finished Diamond once and only played Platinum partway through.
At the time of release it wasn't exactly my favorite generation. Sinnoh didn't really feel memorable in comparison to Hoenn for me, for some reason. I suppose growing up in a snowy climate, I just didn't like how cold Sinnoh felt. It ruined the escapism a bit. :V
However, in recent years I've been inclined to think a bit more positively on Sinnoh. After looking back on it through Bulbagarden and social media and other LPs, I decided I wanted to give it another shot.
Since I've been playing Pokémon games quite a bit lately though, I've decided that I want to shake things up a bit this time. I'm gonna be doing a challenge run of sorts. (Not a Nuzlocke though, I'm not quite feeling up to that. :B)
For this playthrough, apart from my starter Pokémon, I'm going to be using a team of Pokémon that I find tough to recommend or that I've never thought to use before. Stuff that has low base stat totals, poor stat distributions, or is generally difficult to encounter and not generally worth that extra work. I have my entire team planned out already, and I may drop hints as we get closer to catching a new member, so feel free to speculate which Pokémon I'm gonna grab!
Also worth noting: I'm gonna give y'all the chance to nickname all 6 of my Pokémon. When we have a new catch, I'll give y'all a set amount of time to suggest a nickname and then we can have a vote on which nickname you like best. I'll throw my own nickname ideas into the fray too, but not until everyone else has.
This first update is going to be quite long―much longer than future updates. I just wanted to get to a part where I found it suitable to introduce the contest for nicknaming our starter.
So without any further blathering, let's begin!
- Part 1:
- Intro Movie:
As you can see, I'm gonna be arranging my screens horizontally, just to make for more condensed reading. Also note, if you happen to be playing along and have a save file already, you can press Up + Select + B at the same time on this screen to erase the old file.
[Soundtrack - "The Pokémon Lab"]
Uh... nice to meet you too?
...You say "just" as though "the Pokémon Professor" is a shorter moniker than "Rowan."
Well, not exactly! I did save Hawaii recently and am at the tail-end of saving New York from the return of Pirate PETA. :B
I remember playing Diamond for the first time and thinking about how cool this was that we actually got to physically press the button on a Poké Ball.
You'll notice the dialogue prompt changed to a stylized DS with the bottom screen highlighted. Kind of a neat little detail.
What I like is his reaction if you press any of the actual physical buttons on the DS.
Fiiiiine gramps :U
Who knew elders would be encouraging me to use new technology! ...New technology relative to the release of this game, but new technology nonetheless!
Buneary has a base friendship of 0. It is not your friend.
Most of the Pokémon canon proves that "work together" really translates to "Pokémon do all the heavy lifting and humans just tell them what to do." Heck, just look at the beginning of the Hoenn games for an example of that.
This is true in both the game mechanical sense (in the form of the friendship/happiness feature) and in the literal sense (in the form of me becoming insanely attached to these dang things over the course of an adventure).
Rowan specifically specializes in evolution, which is rather apt, considering that Sinnoh introduced the most cross-generational relatives of any generation.
I actually kinda miss that. Mega evolutions and Alolan forms are great and all, but they have a different feel compared to new cross-generational relatives being introduced. I really hope next gen does more of them.
I am no one of consequence. :V
Well, life isn't actually that clear cut, but I'll humor you anyway. :B
I have to say, I really like Dawn's outfit here. Very fashionable. (Though I have to question the logic of dressing in full winter gear, and then wearing a short dress anyway.)
Caprizant!
Ok, no, that'd be kind of a silly name to go by in person. It's Daria. :V
Yeppers!
Uh... yeah. You just asked that. :V
Thanks! I chose it myself!
Uh I just got here in this dimension how do I already have a friend
I have a little cousin named Gavin. He's like, 6. It would feel kind of silly to name him Gavin. :V
That said, I don't really want to go with the default Barry, because I've done that before and that's the name he pretty much always has. I kinda wanna shake it up a bit. So I'm gonna name him...
Cedric!
This name is actually used in the game data as a placeholder name for him, and I really like it! Even though he doesn't really remind me of Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter (the only other Cedric I know), I really like the name itself and wouldn't mind seeing that throughout our adventure. Plus, he just gives off kind of a Hufflepuff-y feel, even if he isn't like Alpha Hufflepuff Ced. :B
Yep! Be glad, my friend. You were spared. Others with the ability to name their friends have gone mad with power.
Well uh, I'm sure they can be counted if you're, like, really dedicated, but uh, nevermind
Perhaps I will discover if I can finally finish another LP!
The traditional shrinking-down commences!
I don't know if that has any thematic significance that he was specifically in Kanto? I dunno. I kinda wanna know what he was doing there though, because that could be pretty interesting. I guess that's what fanfic is for.
I like to imagine that he never actually signed onto a contract for this program and they just burst into his lab every week unannounced
[Soundtrack - "Twinleaf Town (Night)"]
And now we have control of our character!
And first thing's first: I WANT TO CHANGE THE TEXT SPEED.
Gen IV gets enough flak already for being slow, so I'll try not to harp on it too much. It's just worth noting that it's pretty much the slowest generation around, and that's a noticeable issue I have with it.
While we're here, I usually like to change the text box frames. Just adds that little bit of flair to each new playthrough.
Out of all 20 of the frames here, frame 14 caught my eye!
It's also worth checking through our bag, as the organization of the pockets varies between each generation.
We have the Items pocket for general items...
Medicine for healing and stat-boosting items...
Poké Balls for, well, Poké Balls...
A full pocket for TMs and HMs (remember HMs? there are HMs)...
Berries! I'm planning on using berries prodigiously throughout our adventure. At least, I'll try. I've never really been good with berry farming, I forget to do it too often.
We need a whole pocket for these?
These could really be in the Medicine pocket, but eh. I guess it could get annoying having to sift through non-field-usable items while looking for your healing items. Especially with this menu speed.
And of course, we have Key Items, which are not necessarily keys.
Despite what that graphic at the left would have you believe, each pocket of the backpack is the exact same size: infinite!
Also, you can use the Poké Ball on the touch screen as a scroll wheel to move through the menu faster. However, it's actually better to grab an item and move its placement in the bag to scroll fast, as moving an item in the bag causes it to scroll at max speed. I don't know why it only scrolls at max speed when moving an item, but that's the way it is.
And of course, the buttons with the icons take you to their respective pockets immediately.
We also have a Trainer Card!
As you can see, I did the gameplay for this over a week ago :V
You can see the outlines of the eight badges we will get throughout our journey. Someday those spaces will all be occupied!
With all that out of the way, if we take but a single step...
[Soundtrack - "Rival"]
He... actually clips through the railing and floor a bit there. The things you notice when you see one action looped infinitely. :B
This is my room. This is my home. You act like this is a strange place to find me.
...Or, like every Pokémon Professor, he has exactly three of the Grass, Fire, and Water types, all at level 5. :B
Just like I can ask someone on the street for their credit card and they will give it to me
!
I don't know Ced, I just got here.
Rowan.
I, uh, didn't actually agree to this plan yet but uh, sure
But I only have
3,000! D:
NYOOOOOM
[Soundtrack - "Twinleaf Town (Night)"]
Uh. Well, guess we better get going, unless I want half a college degree's worth of debt. :B
...But not before noting that you can literally just walk into this bed! Like, you don't even climb into it. You just walk into the blanket and it looks like you're lying down thanks to the perspective.
That's a nice detail.
By the time Diamond and Pearl came out in North America my family hadn't gotten a Wii yet, so this is pretty cool.
...If that's the entirety of the Internet in the Pokémon world that is sad.
Since signs are automatically read when you walk into them in this gen, this sign is perfectly placed to force you to read it before walking down the stairs. Useful reminder since they changed the menu button from Start to X in this generation. Game design!
Now let's head downstairs!
Because her voice wouldn't carry to me if she just stayed where she was. :V
That's a pretty apt summary of his lifestyle.
Let's see what our Mom was watching!
Our Mom is into contests. Interesting!
You... can check the refrigerator?
I wonder what her favorite desert is. Tiramisu?
That is... not the floor.
I actually really like how they have all these little details here? I've never even noticed it before. I wonder if this is in any other Pokémon games.
Hey, since we can examine the counter... I guess you could call it a... check-in counter?
Yes Moooom
Well what a coinkydink that's the thing that Cedric was too impatient to tell you we were going to do
Thanks Mom!
And here we are in Twinleaf Town! Well, we were in it before, but now we are out in it.
I've gotta say, I like the touch of the snow patches around here. You don't often see just patches of snow in media; it seems like snow is either ON or OFF. It's either a blanket of snow or no snow at all. It's just nice to see this little in-between-snowfalls phase represented, kinda gives the sense that this place really has a daily life.
Notably, there are Pokémon in this little pond, giving you kiiiind of a reason to come back here later (although you can find them elsewhere). It's neat that they have different stuff for you here on later visits. Although it's not quite as neat as Pallet Town being connected to Cinnabar Island by water route, but hey, it's there.
There is more to that little spot than the wild Pokémon, but we'll get to that in due time.
Series tradition: Technology is amazing guy!
...Uh...
Well, we'll leave him to his happy thoughts, into this house!
I don't know, what might I have heard?
I have indeed heard that! Though I can't say I've ever heard someone actually call the Pokémon Professor "the Pokémon Professor" before.
We call this unit of measure a "high school."
If he has, I hope he gives them to us like Cedric said he would.
Same, sis!
I feel a sense of urgency!
The word "hip" is not among them.
Uh. Okay?
Despite the connotations you might expect from someone exclaiming "I'm not lying," he is actually right! The Careful nature has a 10% bonus in Special Defense at a tradeoff of 10% in Special Attack. It's... kind of an odd combination given that most specially defensive Pokémon tend to specialize more in Special Attack than physical Attack, but hey.
Uh... that's not a real nature. Jolly is really the closest equivalent, so... you have high Speed and low Special Attack?
In the middle of town we have an extremely inconvenient sign just planted right in the middle of the road. Also, it has a terrible map. Apparently there's only two houses in this town? Which makes the other two like, phantom houses, I guess.
That's nice.
In this house is an entirely useless man!
I'm gonna assume that Cedric is also his dad's name, because seriously, I don't think our Cedric owns this house.
Whoa, bud!
[Soundtrack - "Rival"]
Uh. The futility of existence?
Yeah, I'm here.
[Soundtrack - "Twinleaf Town (Night)"]
I feel like I've known many people like Cedric in my life.
Well, since he is our current guiding light, I suppose we better go after him!
Hi, Cedric's mom! ...If that is your real name.
More like he slammed into me. :B
Obviously not you, given that you probably move a grand total of 8 tiles in the entire game.
The Nintendo Switch can teleport you to another dimension!?
...Weather has been going on for millennia. Hardly cutting edge.
Wow, it must be pretty unlucky to get hit with such an inaccurate move.
1) I can't change my clothes in this game, 2) main characters never sleep.
Thanks Helena!
Cedric's mom isn't cool enough to have checkable furniture. Only my mom is that cool.
...You were going to leave your house without your bag? What the fuck, Cedric?
!
[Soundtrack - "Rival"]
Does that stack with the previous 10 mil?
[Soundtrack - "Twinleaf Town (Night)"]
I feel like my character is just used to Cedric tearing off at the speed of light by now. She knows when to skedaddle.
- image:
My personal belief is that Cedric grew too impatient to make any more rules for his adventure. Now he is a lawless heathen.
I'm imagining him with a jet pack.
Really? I'd pin him more as being in the next galaxy by now.
Another yellow-haired guy who talks about Cedric! This guy and the useless guy in the other house must be related.
I can't exactly chase after him with this movement speed, dude.
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Night)"]
Anyway, here it is! The fabled Route 201! Also known as the road just outside of town.
...I'm gonna be in debt for eternity
Uh Cedric my mother told me not to go anywhere where the lawn isn't mowed
Oh okay that eases my distress instantly
I feel like if we were older this text box would include "hold my beer."
Uh Cedric that's actually the opposite of how it works if you run in tall grass you encounter wild Pokémon more frequentl―
Uh Cedric no
CEDRIC NO
I DID NOT APPROVE OF THIS COURSE OF EVENTS
Uh... wow. Cedric has great reflexes to react to that text box before it even appears.
[Soundtrack - "The Pokémon Lab"]
Uhhhhhh
...
...
...
...
..."This old guy" is surely an appropriate academic title for our region's foremost scholar. :V
I'm too sentimental to answer this frivolously, so I'm gonna say yes. :B
Yeah well I loved them FIRST
Yessirree, bob!
He is ACTUALLY THINKING about whether we can actually take care of animals properly after how reckless we've been. Ones that shoot beams of light and fire, no less. Talk about sensible.
At least he owns up to it!
...I don't know how he said that out loud.
Hey, at least it didn't involve any actual exercise. We've been in this exact position for how many screenshots now?
- image:
Route 201.
[Soundtrack - "Lucas"]
Good to know that carrying a suitcase around constitutes "nice work." I'll add it to my resumé.
When you put it as "these young children are capable of handling elemental-powered monsters" it is quite "Wha!?"-worthy.
I... dispute the fact that you are "practically a grown-up," given that 1) you tried to charge headlong into dangerous territory, 2) you can't sit still long enough to do your taxes, and 3) I am the actual legal adult here. :V
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Night)"]
Well anyway, here we go. Let's pick a Pokémon!
He... just left these rolling around loose in his bag? What if the button was accidentally pressed on one of them? 
Well anyway, let's go over our options!
First up is Turtwig! This is your Grass-type option, and is quite useful for the first gym coming up. It knows the moves Tackle and Withdraw coming right out of the Poké Ball, and will be getting some decent STAB moves pretty soon.
Turtwig's family are slow and defensive, as you would expect from Pokémon based on turtles. In fact, Turtwig has the lowest base Speed of all base-form starter Pokémon, along with being the heaviest base-form starter.
Its main specialties are its physical Defense and physical Attack. It becomes a Grass/Ground type upon final evolution, which from a defensive standpoint means that most attacking types used against it will be neutral. It does have an immunity to Electric, but that would be resisted if it was pure Grass anyway, and it has a glaring 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks.
Do note that this is the starter with the latest first evolution in this game, so it will be some time before you can evolve it.
Chimchar! The Fire-type option and probably the worst-case scenario if any Poké Ball were to accidentally open in Rowan's briefcase. Seriously, this thing has fire for a tail, and you just left its Poké Ball rolling around!?
Anyway, Chimchar's line are essentially speedy mixed attackers. Throughout its evolutionary line its Attack and Special Attack are always equal, and always very respectable. Its Speed is its highest stat, so you'll be going first a lot of the time with this.
However, this all comes at the trade-off of rather poor defenses. It makes quick knockouts, but if it takes hits you won't be having it out too long.
Upon its first evolution, it will become a Fire/Fighting type, which has fantastic offensive coverage. It also evolves the earliest of all the Sinnoh starters, meaning you could have a Fighting type before the first gym, which is incredibly useful. However, if you don't evolve it in time for the first gym, it may be more of a hindrance than a help, since the pure Fire type is both weak to and resisted by the type of that gym.
It knows Scratch and Leer as soon as you use it, and gets a fairly decent STAB move pretty soon after. Its evolved form will learn Mach Punch at the level Chimchar evolves at, so you will have a Fighting-type STAB move pretty soon too.
Finally, Piplup! This is the Water-type option, and will know Pound and Growl when you obtain it. It'll get a decent STAB move pretty soon after as well, just like the other two, and evolves sooner than Turtwig, but after Chimchar.
It's kinda slow, but it has great Special Attack and Special Defense, making it kind of a special-oriented counterpart to Turtwig.
It becomes a Water/Steel type on final evolution, which is FANTASTIC defensively, giving it many resistances and negating its Grass-type weakness. In fact, it has the most resistances of any fully-evolved starter Pokémon. Steel isn't the best offensive type, though. Especially given that the Fairy type hasn't been introduced yet.
Piplup and its evolutions are my personal favorite Sinnoh starters design-wise, although it's worth noting that Sinnoh has probably the most well-balanced starter trio of any Pokémon game.
On that note, I think I know who I'm gonna choose. Piplup is the Pokémon for me!
As is traditional, Cedric chooses the Pokémon that mine is weak to. :V
That's not very hard to do with this trio!
Maybe because you have them TRAPPED in a SUITCASE
What, you think just because I came to this dimension from somewhere with full-sized sprite art, that means I don't know anything about this place!?
Knowing Cedric, there will be trouble soon enough. :B
Uh Lucas
Seems he was so dumbfounded that Rowan gave two foolish children some elemental monsters that he forgot to move. :B
Maybe that's cos the TV crew just busts into his lab whenever they feel like it
Oh boy! Joint grooming session! :D
But of course, no! There will be no grooming today. Cedric...
...is challenging us! Time for the traditional I-don't-care-that-you-just-got-this-fire-breathing-monster-I-want-to-be-better-than-you-immediately rival battle!
[Soundtrack - "Battle! Rival"]
He seems a little... pepped. :V
The Pokémon sprite animations in this game are pretty great. In general much better than the limp, lifeless forms in generations VI and VII. :B
Turtwig's animation in particular is a definite nod to its basis on snapping turtles.
HE SHOUT
So the battle system! As you can see, we have the option to FIGHT.
...I don't see any of the usual options below it, which I assume is because this is the first battle, but whatever! If they were here the options would be to use an item (we don't have any), run away (which is impossible in trainer battles), or switch Pokémon (we only have Piplup).
Here's our attack screen! Each Pokémon can have a maximum of four attacks, each attack has a set amount of times you can use it (PP, or Power Points) and a type (in this case both of our moves are Normal-type, though that's not really relevant for status moves).
Since I don't use it in this battle, it's worth mentioning that Growl is a move which lowers your opponent's physical Attack.
And here's Pound! It's a 40 power physical Normal-type move with no side-effects.
Turtwig's Withdraw is unique in that it's the only starting move of a starter Pokémon to raise its own stats. Also worth noting, Turtwig starts off with a Water-type move and we don't.
This move can be pretty difficult, especially in this first battle, since Cedric can make his Turtwig use Withdraw a ton of times to make it take forever to knock out, and then hit you with its own moves at full power if you didn't use Growl. It's very possible to lose this fight if you're not careful.
That's... kind of what happens when you battle, Cedric. :V
Aaaaaand he's doing the Withdraw thing I said he would.
But will I use Growl to counteract it like I said you should? Nope!
Turtwig has Tackle, which is actually lower power in this generation than the starting moves of the two other starters. Tackle is a 35 power physical Normal-type move in this generation.
In generations V and VI this was massively buffed to 50BP, making it much more powerful than other starting moves. However, in generation VII it's finally settled at 40BP like the rest of the physical Normal-type starting moves.
After you get Turtwig below half health, Cedric says a Thing!
This is. Getting a little out of control.
Look at how much damage I'm doing. I am doing pennies of damage.
If this doesn't knock him out I lose. I'm faster than him, but he has max Defense right now.
Good thing my penguin is Stronk!
[Soundtrack - "Victory! Trainer"]
That was one of the closest rival battles I've had.
And we gain a level out of that!
Decent Defense and Special Attack boosts.
New stats!
I remember when I was little I thought these messages were referring to the opponent as a "player," so I wasn't sure if these were actually real people I was battling from around the world, just displayed as NPCs. :U
I didn't say anything I'm a protagonist
Since the PokéDollar is based on the Yen, this would be equivalent to $4.39 today. So this battle essentially settled a $5 bet. :V
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Night)"]
I expected that he'd want to sprint off onto our journey immediately without informing our legal guardians in any way. I guess he just wants dinner!
Yeah, you bet you're beat. >:B
Bye-bye!
And on that note, I think this is a good place to stop! ...At least, it's the best place we'll have for awhile. Yeah, I was planning to go on longer, but when you put all this into one text box it's starting to get pretty unwieldy. :V
But before we go: A contest! I'm gonna be opening up suggestions for nicknames for our precious Piplup!
You have 24 hours to come up with a suitable name and post it here. At the end of the 24 hours, I'll start up a poll to vote on the best suggestion. There'll be another 24 hours to vote on that, and then we can find a winner!
So good luck, and thank you for reading! Until next time, y'all!
Last edited by Caprizant on 15th March 2017, 4:48 pm; edited 5 times in total (Reason for editing : Poll!)
Caprizant- Admin
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Re: Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Lief Katano 28th January 2017, 10:51 pm
Oooh oooh oooh pick Tur - oh.
Anyways, bang-up job, Cap! Quality humor, as per usual.
Except for this.
Anyways, I'm putting forth the name Dedede!
Anyways, bang-up job, Cap! Quality humor, as per usual.
Except for this.
You've lost internet points for this, young lady. ಠ_ಠHey, since we can examine the counter... I guess you could call it a... check-in counter?
Anyways, I'm putting forth the name Dedede!
Lief Katano- : If I had a gil for all the fiends...
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Re: Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Burnin' Bunnies 29th January 2017, 12:13 am
Piplups have a special place in my heart because of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon!
...I've never actually played (read: had a file of) a Gen IV game myself, so this will be refreshing! I remember when Diamond and Pearl came out though. Just thinking about it gives me so much nostalgia!
hmmmm names for a male Piplup...Harkinian I ended up researching (Pokemon names are important OKAY) and found this, which I think is cool:
"Decebal was the name of the ancient ruler of Dacia, who tried to resist, but was eventually conquered by the Roman military leader Traianus. The meaning of this Romanian name is ‘powerful and brave’ [...]"
I really like that for some reason.
There's also Merrik, "ruler of the sea", which is a name that aesthetically pleases me somehow, and maybe a little less out there than Decebal :V
Also, I listened along with the soundtrack because I really wanted toooooooo thank you for adding the music in~
...I've never actually played (read: had a file of) a Gen IV game myself, so this will be refreshing! I remember when Diamond and Pearl came out though. Just thinking about it gives me so much nostalgia!
hmmmm names for a male Piplup...
"Decebal was the name of the ancient ruler of Dacia, who tried to resist, but was eventually conquered by the Roman military leader Traianus. The meaning of this Romanian name is ‘powerful and brave’ [...]"
I really like that for some reason.
There's also Merrik, "ruler of the sea", which is a name that aesthetically pleases me somehow, and maybe a little less out there than Decebal :V
Also, I listened along with the soundtrack because I really wanted toooooooo thank you for adding the music in~
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Re: Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Guest 29th January 2017, 12:26 am
Very good so far! 
For some reason, even though I don't like this movie, I thought of Mumble from Happy Feet when you picked Piplup, so Mumble is my suggestion.
Also, I know for a fact that other protagonist's kitchens have those kinds of details (Mom's favorite! Cinnabar Island Volcano Burgers! was one from Pokémon Gold).
Another thing: Didn't know Gavin was a suggestion for the Rival. I might name him Gavin next time I play a Sinnoh game and give him a British accent (as in Gavin Free :B ).
One last thing I've been meaning to ask you, and seeing it here reminded me of it: Is Daria the name you're going by now irl, or just an online/game name you like to use?
For some reason, even though I don't like this movie, I thought of Mumble from Happy Feet when you picked Piplup, so Mumble is my suggestion.
Also, I know for a fact that other protagonist's kitchens have those kinds of details (Mom's favorite! Cinnabar Island Volcano Burgers! was one from Pokémon Gold).
Another thing: Didn't know Gavin was a suggestion for the Rival. I might name him Gavin next time I play a Sinnoh game and give him a British accent (as in Gavin Free :B ).
One last thing I've been meaning to ask you, and seeing it here reminded me of it: Is Daria the name you're going by now irl, or just an online/game name you like to use?
Guest- Guest
Re: Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Caprizant 29th January 2017, 12:50 am
Thanks for all the positive vibes, y'all! Seein' some great nicknames so far~!
- mini wallpost!:
Aye, 'twas a noble sacrifice for wit. :VLief Katano wrote:Anyways, bang-up job, Cap! Quality humor, as per usual.
Except for this.
You've lost internet points for this, young lady. ಠ_ಠHey, since we can examine the counter... I guess you could call it a... check-in counter?
I'm actually playing Kirby: Planet Robobot right now, so this is a fortuitously fitting name!Anyways, I'm putting forth the name Dedede!
Ooooo, both of these are very nice! :OBurnin' Bunnies wrote:hmmmm names for a male Piplup...HarkinianI ended up researching (Pokemon names are important OKAY) and found this, which I think is cool:
"Decebal was the name of the ancient ruler of Dacia, who tried to resist, but was eventually conquered by the Roman military leader Traianus. The meaning of this Romanian name is ‘powerful and brave’ [...]"
I really like that for some reason.
There's also Merrik, "ruler of the sea", which is a name that aesthetically pleases me somehow, and maybe a little less out there than Decebal :V
And I agree, Pokémon names are indeed very important! I sometimes put hours of thought behind these things. I love 'em. ;w;
You're welcome~! I figured it was quick and easy to link the songs, and could help the immersion a bit! :DAlso, I listened along with the soundtrack because I really wanted toooooooo thank you for adding the music in~
Funnily enough, I had a Piplup named Mumble in an unfinished file awhile back! I didn't get too far in it before I got distracted by other things, though. But this is a good suggestion!jokool wrote:For some reason, even though I don't like this movie, I thought of Mumble from Happy Feet when you picked Piplup, so Mumble is my suggestion.
That's pretty cool! Although I... have to question the logic of cooking burgers in a volcano crater. Seems they'd be a bit burnt. :BAlso, I know for a fact that other protagonist's kitchens have those kinds of details (Mom's favorite! Cinnabar Island Volcano Burgers! was one from Pokémon Gold).
It's my name! I don't use it offline yet, because people don't know I'm trans yet, but it's the name I'll be using full-time after I come out later this year.One last thing I've been meaning to ask you, and seeing it here reminded me of it: Is Daria the name you're going by now irl, or just an online/game name you like to use?
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Re: Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Truthseeker4449 29th January 2017, 11:41 am
Well this LP is bringing back memories already. It also makes me miss the relative simplicity and organization of DPPt's bag.
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Re: Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Caprizant 29th January 2017, 10:44 pm
Nickname poll is open!
My nickname suggestion was Reign. Since Piplup evolves into a literal emperor penguin, and it's a homophone of "rain," befitting of its Water-type, I figured it was appropriate.
However, I think a better suggestion came up from someone else and will be throwing my weight behind that. Good luck everyone!
My nickname suggestion was Reign. Since Piplup evolves into a literal emperor penguin, and it's a homophone of "rain," befitting of its Water-type, I figured it was appropriate.
However, I think a better suggestion came up from someone else and will be throwing my weight behind that. Good luck everyone!
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Re: Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Caprizant 31st January 2017, 12:17 am
Nickname poll is done. Our li'l Piplup will be named Merrik!
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Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 2―Once More, with Verity!)
by Caprizant 4th February 2017, 2:44 pm
- part 2:
[Soundtrack - "Twinleaf Town (Night)"]
Hey y'all, it's your friend Dari here back for another round of Pokémon Platinum! Last time around, we got our very first Pokémon and used it to Pound the heck out of a turtle.
This time around, we're having dinner with mum!
The world is falling apart
...
...I didn't say anything :V
Eh, it's not like I would be in any danger. Cedric is the one who thought charging into a den of monsters was a good idea. :B
Leered us to death?
Yeah, grass is pretty scary.
FINALLY
Well uh not really it's just the next town over
I wouldn't really class Sandgem Town as "faraway."
...Shoe instructions.
Uh... I don't think I know about the B Button, Mom. :V
I could do without setting the landscape on fire thank you
I'd even call it thrifty!
Now that we actually have a Pokémon, we have a new menu choice!
Here you can find your Pokémon team and do various things with them.
You can view a summary of their stats and various other information, switch their position in the party if you have more than one Pokémon, or give them an item to hold onto!
This screen is pretty self-explanatory.
Quirky nature! I... believe that's a neutral nature? If so, that's not too bad. If it was something awful like -10% Special Attack I'd have to restart. :V
You see those lines, "Good endurance" and "happily eats anything"? Believe it or not, that's not actually flavor text!
"Good endurance" is what's known as a characteristic. These were introduced in Generation IV and, fittingly, tells you what the highest IV is on your Pokémon.
IVs basically are hidden stats that influence your Pokémon's visible stats. Each individual Pokémon you catch will have its own different IV spread, meaning that there can be some stat variation within the same species of Pokémon.
In Piplup's case, this means that Defense is its highest IV, so that's pretty neat! However, just because a stat has the highest IV doesn't mean it has a good IV. For example, out of 31 IVs possible, "Good endurance" could mean my Defense IV is 28, or it could mean my Defense IV is 3.
"Happily eats anything" indicates that this Piplup has no flavor preference. Flavor preference is tied to nature, so every Quirky-nature Piplup will happily eat anything.
Flavor preference is a mechanic which won't come up for awhile, but it basically means that a Pokémon which is fed certain food (like a berry) has a different reaction to it depending on whether it likes or dislikes the flavor.
This is a mechanic that I myself have never really dug into, so don't take my word on it too much, because I'll mostly be getting this info off of slightly-confusing Bulbapedia articles. :V
And here's the stats screen! Seems we actually have higher Defense than Special Defense right now, so maybe that good Defense IV is working its magic?
Piplup's Ability, like all Water-type starters, is Torrent. Torrent gives a 50% boost to Water-type moves when Piplup's HP is below 1/3. Every starter Pokémon has a variation of this Ability for its own primary type; the Grass-type equivalent is Overgrow, and the Fire-type equivalent is Blaze.
And I don't go over it here, but the next menu tab in the summary screen is Piplup's moveset. From the moveset tab you can shift the position of your moves in the attacking menu, as well as view their descriptions and statistics like accuracy, base power, and PP.
Now LOOK HOW FREAKING FAST WE CAN MOVE NOW THAT WE HAVE THE RUNNING SHOES
This is almost Cedric's walking speed!
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Night)"]
Anyway, as you head out for Sandgem Town, a familiar face is waiting for you!
Is that another1 million? 
Wow, some tact for once!
Oh no.
Uh... sure?
Uh where are you going with this
Cedric no
Given that legendary Pokémon are generally mythical beings which have terrifying elemental powers, and given that Rowan was scared of us running into a small beaver, I think it's safe to say that this is an infinitely bad idea
I change my mind. Cedric is a Gryffindor. Because he just doesn't freaking know when to stop.
Well, Cedric is now following us as a party member!
And I LOVE HIS RUNNING ANIMATION. He just keeps his arms COMPLETELY STIFF AT HIS SIDES while running. I love it.
Great, so not only does Cedric want us to challenge a powerful mythical being, but he also wants to capture it and deprive the world of emotion! That's safe. And almost certainly not relevant to the plot at all.
Because signs never lie right? Not like the one in Twinleaf Town with only two houses on it.
[Soundtrack - "Lake"]
Pretty music is going on!
Hang on, if this thing is on the lake bed, how the heck are we gonna get down there? 
Watch out for that tree!
Takes one to know one
Uh, well. I did, but I don't think the audience did, Cedric. :U
Wow, crying? Must be a really emotional being.
Uh... with a net?
Yeah, because there was no item storage to take a Potion from at the start of the game.
Oh.
...Maybe we can stuff it in our bags?
Well he gives TV interviews for breaking and entering so uh maybe
He said to visit him if we had trouble. I don't think this constitutes as trouble.
Hey, no fair! I can't move until this cutscene is over but you can! D:
Welp, there he goes! Straight into the tree which is supposed to represent an exit path.
Daria is my name. Remember it... Until then, sleep while you can, legendary Pokémon of the lake bed...
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Night)"]
Now to catch up to Cedric!
WE CAN FINALLY TRAVERSE UNMOWED GRASS
This grass... doesn't exactly look tall enough to conceal a Pokémon.
Well, not like there's much we can do about it when this is the path of story progression!
[Soundtrack - "Battle! Wild Pokémon"]
And right on cue, we have our first wild Pokémon encounter: Bidoof!
This lovable lug doesn't really have much of a purpose in battle. It has decent Attack and that's about it. But when it evolves it becomes the Normal/Water type Bibarel, which is well-renowned as just about the best HM user in the game.
Its Abilities are pretty neat too. Simple will double the effectiveness of stat changes, so if you use Amnesia you'll get a +4 increase in Special Defense instead of +2. Unaware ignores the opponent's stat changes, so if the target has used Double Team a bajillion times, Bidoof/Bibarel just doesn't care and will ignore its evasion boosts.
Apart from that the only thing that I can really say about it is that it eventually learns Super Fang, which will always deal half of the opponent's remaining HP no matter what, which is nice on highly defensive opponents.
This is definitely one of those Pokémon that I would use as a challenge, because its Abilities can make for some pretty unusual battles and it doesn't see much use outside of HMery, but... it evolves into a Water-type, and I have a Water-type on my team already, so I'm gonna pass. :B
Now since this thing is much lower level than Piplup...
Piplup does a lot of damage!
And of course on the flipside...
Bidoof does pennies. :B
So yeah, that's a wild Pokémon battle! If we had Poké Balls we would've had the option to catch it, but we don't, so I just beat it for experience. :B
[Soundtrack - "Victory! Wild Pokémon"]
It's worth noting that if you were playing Diamond or Pearl, you'd have already come across wild Pokémon by this point―in those games, you actually get your starter Pokémon at Lake Verity, as Rowan left his briefcase behind there and a wild Starly attacks you while you're investigating.
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Night)"]
Now, if you walk along this ledge that was inaccessible before...
...you can pick up a hidden item at the end of it!
Tiny Mushrooms are items which are basically just made to sell. They sell for250.
Now back on the main path!
Yeah, that'll help when I'm like 1000 miles up north far away from home
There is a person in this lawn!
[Soundtrack - "Victory! Wild Pokémon"]
And there was also a level up on the way to the person!
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Night)"]
Yes, although I imagine it sounds kind of weird to say the phrase "Hit Points (HP)" out loud.
That's bad.
I guess I have to buy myself a cauldron and some potion ingredients, then.
Wait, if only the first free sample is free, then is the free sample truly free?
He lied to me. I had to put it in the bag myself.
You can walk back through the route from this direction without running into any wild Pokémon by using the ledges!
[Soundtrack - "Sandgem Town (Night)"]
A familiar face is here!
"Prof" sounds like an awkward word to say out loud.
Seems rather house-y to me. Doesn't seem large enough to be a lab. :V
Whoa bud
[Soundtrack - "Rival"]
He always seems so surprised by everything.
I dunno, he seemed pretty with-it to me. Real down-to-earth. Especially compared to you. :B
Well uh ok
[Soundtrack - "Sandgem Town (Night)"]
An unstoppable force. :B
He's worried that the place he's going to will disappear unless he gets there yesterday.
[Soundtrack - "The Pokémon Lab (Piano)"]
I certainly would!
As selected by our poll, Piplup's nickname will be...
Merrik! This is the one I voted for. Dedede was nice and fitting since I'm playing Kirby: Planet Robobot right now, and Decibal would've been funny because it sounds like Decibel and I made a joke about Piplup shouting in the first update, but I think this one captured Piplup's personality and design the best.
Yes indeed I am!
Uh. Correction. That was Cedric. That was just Cedric. :B
"Foolhardy" is a silly word.
Would you describe this different way as "astonished"? Because if so, that's a pretty terrible move.
Well I may not have a Cherish Ball, but I'll do my best!
It sounds like you've already thought about it.
[Soundtrack - "The Pokémon Lab"]
There's always a catch.
You're a man of wealth and taste?
Got that.
Well, if it were Diamond and Pearl, I could tell you that not many of them are on fire.
Well, I'm not sure if we'll see all the Pokémon in this run, but we'll humor him anyway. :B
Anything to keep the old man happy.
I'm... not exactly sure how that works. The data it lists includes stuff like mythology and species behavior. I don't think any kinda technology can scan for that stuff. :U
ok sheesh I was just on my way out
oh
...Okay, when I was recording this gameplay, I thought Lucas was still talking until the box read "I've lived for 60 long years." You can imagine my confusion.
I mean, it's kinda weird that they just had him interject for just... one, kinda pointless line, tbh? Idk, whatever. :B
"802" isn't exactly countless. :B
But hey, 802 thrills isn't too bad!
...At least it wouldn't be, if they wouldn't stop revealing 95% of new Pokémon before new generations even release, thus dulling the thrill of encountering a new one.
"Teach me stuff" meaning "waste my time with stuff I've known since like age 7." :B
And there he goes!
Looks like Rowan's got a sweet tooth!
Excuse me, that's Lucas' father. Grammar.
...You don't sound confident.
Oh, I guess this is the significance of that TV announcement at the beginning of the game! Since Professor Oak invented the Pokédex he'd certainly be a good person to go to to develop a new one.
...You... have a name? And... Lucas' dad doesn't? o.O
That's. Kinda weird. NPCs don't usually get names. And I don't think she's even a recurring character or anything, she just hangs out in this lab the whole game and may not even have much more dialogue. Hm.
Well, she's nice at least!
Now onward and outward!
Man, Professor Rowan is pretty fast to get to the door in as many frames as it took us to walk out of it!
[Soundtrack - "Sandgem Town (Day)"]
You may have noticed that Professor Rowan's lab appears to be a time machine! It was nighttime when we went in, and daylight when we came out. Well, this is because I saved states on Piplup's nickname screen to give y'all time to suggest some names!
So now it's like we stayed in Rowan's lab from the night of January 19 to the afternoon of February 4. Whoops. :V
I'm always down for a free gift!
One of my favorite moves!
Unfortunately, infinite-use TMs weren't introduced until Generation V, so we have to be a bit more careful with them here. One of the best additions from Generation V, actually, in my opinion.
I think I've got a good use for this TM, but that won't be coming up for a looooong time. I might change my mind by then, too.
An elder? Wanting me to have fun!? Impossible!
Uh. That's. Not actually a surprising thing for him to say, Lucas. In fact if he wasn't a trainer when he was young I'd be very surprised.
Time for us to be the party member!
[Soundtrack - "Come Along"]
I think the only town without a Pokémon Center is Twinleaf Town.
A separate Poké Mart! Old school!
What, they don't think I can handle their expert equipment?
grumblemumblemofumble
My family being just my mother in this game. Dad is apparently somewhere though. :V
Nah I'm sure I can collect 8 badges and information on all Pokémon in Sinnoh from the comfort of my own home
And he heads off north!
[Soundtrack - "Sandgem Town (Day)"]
And I think that's it for today! This... actually turned out to be almost as long as the last update, but hey, I wanted to nickname Piplup before ending it off, and this is the best stopping point after that. :B
Next time around, we'll be exploring town a bit, going back to Twinleaf to visit our mother, and, if time permits, we may even meet a new friend. See y'all then!
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Re: Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Truthseeker4449 4th February 2017, 7:59 pm
Fantastic!
Also, having never played Platinum, was that actually Mesprit's cry?
Also, having never played Platinum, was that actually Mesprit's cry?
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Re: Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Caprizant 4th February 2017, 8:07 pm
This is Mesprit's cry, and it's the one that plays during that scene in-game. I wouldn't say that the text box was a very good transliteration of it, though.
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Re: Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Lief Katano 4th February 2017, 8:14 pm
Quirky is, in fact, a neutral nature. You can tell because Merrik prefers all food items the same, and which flavor a Pokémon likes is directly linked to the stat it raises.
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Re: Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Caprizant 25th February 2017, 5:32 pm
Hey y'all! Sorry about the lack of updates. Classes have been kicking my ass lately.
Just wanted to let you know this LP isn't dead, in fact I have the gameplay for the next update done. It's just a matter of screenshots and commentary now, so whenever I have the time to do that I'll update. :B
Just wanted to let you know this LP isn't dead, in fact I have the gameplay for the next update done. It's just a matter of screenshots and commentary now, so whenever I have the time to do that I'll update. :B
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Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 3―Part and Parcel)
by Caprizant 13th March 2017, 2:31 pm
- part 3:
[Soundtrack - "Sandgem Town (Day)"]
Hey y'all! Your friend Daria here, finally back for another round of Pokémon Platinum! Once again, I apologize for the gap, it's just a bit hard to find the time and energy to update this in the middle of classes. :V
Anyways, last time around we arrived in Sandgem Town and nicknamed our new partner, Merrik the Piplup! We also got a Pokédex from Professor Rowan with the quest of finding out information about all the Pokémon in Sinnoh!
This time around, first thing's first, let's walk into the building right next to us―the Pokémon Center!
[Soundtrack - "Pokémon Center (Day)"]
In here, as in every Pokémon game, you can find Nurse Joy who will fully heal your Pokémon for you. Pretty neat!
Ding ding ding-ding ding!
She's basically saying she hopes our Pokémon get hurt again. Thanks, Nurse Joy. 
Well, it sure is blue. But fancy is subjective. :U
And if you don't have Pokémon with you, using it will put you in debt for life.
Anyway, the PC!
Using this, you can remotely hack into... a random person's PC, your own PC, and the PC of the top researcher in the region. Great.
Time for some publicly funded data theft! 
And instead of allowing us to search through Professor Rowan's super secret data files, we... end up in a voice call with him. OK.
This basically tells you how much progress you've made on the Pokédex. Kinda useful I guess. If you don't feel like. Y'know. Using the actual Pokédex to figure that out. :V
Meanwhile, in this stranger's PC...
You can break your precious partners down into tiny particles and digitize them for your convenience!
There are 18 PC boxes storing 30 Pokémon each, meaning you can store a total of 540 Pokémon in this particular storage system. You can change the wallpaper to various different things and you can unlock various special wallpapers later. Personally, as a kid I really liked to organize my boxes by type and have the wallpaper match the type.
You can use Withdraw mode, which only lets you take out Pokémon; Deposit mode, which only lets you put in Pokémon; Move Item mode, which only lets you move held items around between your boxes and your party; or Move Pokémon mode, which does all of the above and more and is pretty much the only mode you ever need to use. And it seems the developers agree with me on that, because all the other modes were removed in Pokémon Sun and Moon.
It's OK.
But... but... I'm not the public, I'm the main character! D:
Although we can't access this yet, it would be entirely useless if we could access it, because down there is the Wi-Fi room where you could once connect to trainers around the world via Wi-Fi connection. But you can't anymore. Because the Nintendo Wi-Fi network was shut down in 2014. :V
Anyways, onto other things―like what this person is telling us! As they say, the top floor of the Center is where you can battle and trade with friends through local wireless connection!
I... don't know what this person means by a "Trainer's sign" here.
Maybe they mean this? If so, "Trainer's sign" is kind of a weird way to refer to a Trainer's autograph. When I think "sign" I don't think "signature," I think "signpost."
This is a little bit of a unique feature. It's one way they used the at-the-time new features of the DS.
Basically, you just use the stylus to sign your name on your Trainer card. Supposedly. In reality, I think it was used more to send your friends dumb jokes. :V
I don't really feel like signing my name so let's just quit!
[Soundtrack - "Sandgem Town (Day)"]
Now onto the next most important part of town―the Poké Mart!
[Soundtrack - "Poké Mart"]
You can buy and sell stuff here. Pretty self-explanatory.
Interestingly though, unlike other Pokémon games, you can actually buy Poké Balls here before viewing the game's capture tutorial. I don't think I will right now, but it's here if you feel like catching some Pokémon before then, which... I don't see why you'd need to, since the tutorial is about 15 steps away from here, but hey. :V
Anyways, while we're here I'm gonna sell that TinyMushroom we got on the first route!
Now I'm gonna head to the house in the lower left corner of town.
[Soundtrack - "Sandgem Town (Day)"]
It's worthwhile to note that a Pokémon fainting does actually affect you in other ways than just keeping that Pokémon out of the running for a bit. A Pokémon that faints will become less friendly towards you.
This can hinder evolution for Pokémon that must be friendly to evolve, lower the power of Return, raise the power of Frustration, and prevent you from getting rewards from NPCs based on high friendship with your Pokémon.
The amount of friendship lost upon fainting varies depending on the level of the opponent Pokémon and how much friendship you have already.
If an opponent is 30 or more levels higher than your Pokémon, and your Pokémon has less than 200 friendship points (out of 255), it will lose 5 friendship points towards you.
If your Pokémon has 200 or more friendship points in the same situation, it will lose 10 friendship points towards you.
If the opponent is less than 30 levels higher than your Pokémon, it will lose 1 friendship point regardless of how much friendship it currently has towards you.
It's pretty interesting to see what makes your Pokémon more or less friendly to you throughout your adventure. It's surprisingly intricate. For example, your Pokémon gets friendlier towards you if you beat a Gym Leader with it as opposed to beating just a regular Trainer.
But I think I've talked on this subject enough. Let's move on. :V
Lucas is a homeowner!
- image:
That's my name, but I didn't say anything. :U
I'm sure "Pokédex thingy" is the technical term.
I will! Thank you!
I heard he once took down an oak... with his BARE HANDS.
Whether it was the professor or the tree is anybody's guess.
Like, 1357 way back, or 1962 way back?
I guess being an assistant is just in the family tradition.
...Why does a presumably publicly funded service with locations in nearly every town region-wide need advertising? 
same
- image:
I kinda like that you can check these bookshelves, just wish there was a little more variety in what you find there.
The town map here is a bit more complete than the one back home. It's only missing an entire building!
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Day)"]
Now if you go down here out the south exit of town...
You can't actually do much on this route yet, BUT! There is an item!
Antidote! That cures poison. Pretty helpful.
Now it's time to head back to Twinleaf to see our mom before heading off on our journey!
You can use these ledges to avoid going through the tall grass on this route when coming from Sandgem Town, so that's pretty convenient!
[Soundtrack - "Twinleaf Town (Day)"]
Uh. We. Just healed at the Pokémon Center in Sandgem but like. Alright, I guess. :V
Thanks Mom!
Is it money?
Oh. Lame. 
All by itself? Wow, technology is amazing!
This feature can be really useful if it's been a long time since you've last played. If not, it's just kind of a minor nuisance every time you pick up the game.
And the sweet moment is interrupted by another mother!
Wow, he left without even saying goodbye to his mom. Rude.
Yeah, that sounds like him. :B
...I will?
...Guess I will!
Whatever this, that, or the other thing is, I guess I have no choice!
...Very specific.
I will, Mom!
Not like he has much other choice. The only other two directions end in bodies of water. Although knowing him, I bet he could build up the speed to run across those. :V
Mom.
Who is never seen. :B
And that's the only characterization we really get for our dad. Hurray!
And I think that's where we're gonna end it off today! Next time around, we'll be heading north of Sandgem Town, where we'll meet a new partner. See y'all then!
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Let's Play: Pokémon Platinum! (Part 4―Cricket or Ticket!)
by Caprizant 14th March 2017, 4:36 pm
- part 4:
[Soundtrack - "Twinleaf Town (Day)"]
Hey y'all! Your friend Daria here, back for another round of Pokémon Platinum!
Last time around, we explored Sandgem Town a bit before heading back to Twinleaf Town to say goodbye to our mother before heading off on our journey. And it's a good thing we did too, because she must've been worried sick about us, since it took us over a month just to hop over to Sandgem to thank Professor Rowan!
This time, we'll be finally heading north of Sandgem Town in search of Cedric, who darted out the door before his mother could say a word!
[Soundtrack - "Poké Mart"]
First though, I changed my mind―I think I am gonna buy Poké Balls in Sandgem! Because, something special happens if you buy 10 at once.
If you buy 10 or more Poké Balls from any Poké Mart, you will get an extra Premier Ball! It has the same catch rate as a normal Poké Ball, just a different design. If you want the most bang for your buck, it's best to buy Poké Balls in batches of 10 to get an extra Premier Ball every time, but I always forget to do that.
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Day)"]
Now, onwards! To lands uncharted! Except they are charted. Because this is Route 202 and it has a name and connects two towns so presumably people traverse it fairly often. :V
And look what Poké Ball-hatted assistant is awaiting us!
[Soundtrack - "Lucas"]
No, I have gone 12 years playing this series without once learning how to capture a Pokémon. :V
And here is the game's capture tutorial!
[Soundtrack - "Battle! (Wild Pokémon)"]
Lucas is so lucky that he gets to capture a Bidoof as part of the game's plot. Like, imagine waking up to that beautiful smile every day.
And he has the starter that neither I nor Cedric chose! In this case, it's Chimchar. It's kinda weird, since it's implied he has a starter Pokémon before you choose one, but the game doesn't know which one it is until you choose. Schrödinger's firebutt monkey.
Scratch is just a variation of Pound. It's basically the exact same move just with different flavor text. It does function differently in Contests, though, but that's for later.
By the way, I'm sparing y'all the screenshots of Lucas slowly worming his way through this game's menus. Be glad. :U
[Soundtrack - "Victory! (Wild Pokémon)"]
How I would love to see that text box on my own time.
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Day)"]
So basically, you beat up the Pokémon until it's too injured to resist your capture. Rated E for Everyone.
Oddly enough, putting a Pokémon to sleep makes it easier to catch, rather than a guaranteed catch. I have no idea how they escape from a Poké Ball while unconscious, but hey.
Way ahead of ya, buddy.
Bye!
And now to go into the new Pokémon on this route! First up...
[Soundtrack - "Battle! (Wild Pokémon)"]
Shinx! This little guy always reminds me of Lux.
Shinx's line is honestly one of my favorites introduced in Generation IV, which is a shame because I've never actually used it on an in-game team. I tried to on a recent abandoned run of Platinum, and it was a very valuable member of my team, but I just sorta fizzled out on that run.
It's pure Electric-type, which is only weak to Ground and a very useful offensive STAB. Its movepool may leave a bit to be desired though.
Luxray, Shinx's final evolution, has a fantastic offensive distribution of 120 Attack and 95 Special Attack. Its defenses are average and it's a little slow, but it makes up for that with one of its two Abilities.
Intimidate! Intimidate will cut the opponent's Attack stat by one stage upon Shinx entering battle. (A "stage" is a fraction of a stat. In Generation III and on, cutting the Attack stat by one stage means that the Attack stat is reduced by 1/3. Another stage reduction would mean the Attack stat is halved, and then another would mean it's reduced by 3/5, and so on.)
This can be incredibly useful and basically acts as a Defense buff for Shinx, although as I said it only activates upon entering battle so you'd have to switch it out and back in if you wanted to keep it for the next Pokémon.
If the opponent has an Ability which prevents stat reduction, or specifically Attack reduction, then Intimidate won't work. An example of this would be Hyper Cutter, which you might find on things like Crawdaunt and Gliscor.
Intimidate also has an interesting additional effect in the field. If a Pokémon with Intimidate is in your first party slot, even if they're fainted, then your encounter rate for Pokémon that are 5 levels or more below it will be halved.
Also, in the Generation VII games, wild Pokémon will be more likely to call for help if going up against an Intimidate Pokémon.
All in all, Intimidate is one of the best Abilities out there. However, Shinx's other Ability, Rivalry, is... not so great. If your Shinx is of the same gender as its opponent, Rivalry will make it do 25% more damage than it would otherwise, but it will do 25% less damage if the opponent is a different gender. It also makes you take more damage from confusion in this generation for some reason, so I'd steer away from it.
Despite all the good things I have to say about Shinx, this isn't the Pokémon I want on this route! So we'll keep searching.
Next up is Starly! You could actually find this on Route 201, but I didn't go over it then.
Starly is well-known for being one of the best regional birds in the series. It's Normal/Flying type and currently has Keen Eye, which prevents its accuracy from being lowered, which is alright I guess. But when it evolves into Staravia, and later Staraptor, it gets Intimidate.
Not only that, but when this thing evolves, it has great Speed and Attack (100 and 120, respectively). You might need to use some TMs to get some good type coverage, but it does learn Close Combat upon evolution into Staraptor, which is very worth the moveslot.
Once again though, this is not the Pokémon I'm looking for, so let's keep moving!
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Day)"]
There's one more Pokémon on this route that I need to go over, so I'll be back when I find that!
[Soundtrack - "Battle! (Wild Pokémon)"]
Realized why I was having so much trouble. It needs to be nighttime to find this thing! I was wandering around for a few minutes before realizing that. :U
Kricketot is... bad. Once again, it can be found on Route 201, but I didn't go over it then. It's pure Bug-type, which is pretty terrible, especially before Generation V when Bugs got some better representatives. And upon final evolution it only has a BST of 384. To put it in perspective, the middle evolution of Merrik has a BST of 405. Yeah.
And when it evolves, its highest stat is Attack. Which is a whopping 85. Not the greatest highest stat in the world. Not only that, but its next highest stat is Speed, which is an abysmal 65. It learns some surprisingly decent moves for an early-game Bug, but... still.
Its only Ability is Swarm, which is basically a variation of Overgrow/Blaze/Torrent for Bug-types. I've never really noticed the effects of the aforementioned Abilities in regular play myself, and considering how quickly this thing will likely be going down in battle... yeah. Not very useful.
What's funny is it actually gets a more useful Ability, Technician, in later generations as a hidden Ability, but this is Generation IV so it's still sucktacular.
I'm gonna catch it!
[Soundtrack - "Route 201 (Night)"]
We already have a Male Pokémon on our team in Merrik, though, so I think I'm gonna switch it up a bit. Be right back.
[Soundtrack - "Battle! (Wild Pokémon)"]
I was searching. For THIRTY. FIVE. MINUTES. Before I found a SINGLE Kricketot.
At least this one was a girl so I didn't have to keep searching. Let's get catching!
One more thing about raising a Kricketot: Bide. Bide is its only attacking move until it evolves. When you use Bide, you wait two turns to take damage, and then deal twice the amount of HP you lost. This thing probably can't survive two turns without fainting. And it's the only attacking move it has. You can't even use TMs on it.
So yeah, the only real viable way to train it is to send it out in battle and then switch it for something better.
This is gonna be fun. 
[Soundtrack - "Victory! (Wild Pokémon)"]
Well, no going back now. Say hello to our new team member!
As I said in the first post, I'm going to be making this a challenge run of sorts. Kricketot is a terrible Pokémon. But I really like its design and want to give it a chance to shine.
I figured that it has 85 Attack, and Crobat gets away with 90, so it should be alright at least. Plus, it has some type coverage coming up that I couldn't find a good spot on my team for otherwise.
I can think of a few battles where its type coverage could come in handy, and in fact we have an important battle early on where its Bug-type STAB could be very useful, so I thought it'd be a nice team member to have along. It's terrible for the first gym though, so I think I'm just gonna focus on tuning it up for now, if you don't mind the pun. :V
When you catch a Pokémon, its data is automatically added to the Pokédex. I... guess living creatures just... have metadata for the dex to scan now? Weird.
Anyways, here's its entry!
By the way, the dex is right in saying this thing produces a "xylophone-like sound." People often say its evolution has an amazing cry, and yeah it does, but I think this thing's cry is under-appreciated in comparison. Just listen, it's pretty.
In fact, it's so overlooked in comparison to its evolution's cry that this is what greeted me when I put it into Google:- image:
Anyway, time for another contest!
You'll have 24 hours to submit nickname ideas for our new friend here. At the end of the 24 hours, I'll put up a poll of all the suggestions. You'll have another 24 hours to vote. Once again, I'll be putting my own suggestion into the fray, but not until everyone else has had a say.
Unfortunately, since we aren't at the Name Rater yet, I can't make an update to this until the poll is over because I need to stay at the nicknaming screen. So hop to it!
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