09.25.07
Poketoberfest!
Guten Abend! Ja, ist time for der festivalenfunfaire du pocketmonstersgebattlin. Das ist Poketoberfest!
…all right, so I’m barely 1/8th German. Irrelevant. I made a post on Netjak a few months back about how certain times of the year always make me want to play certain games. I get a drive to play Rez around the beginning of spring; I often take a run through a Wild ARMs game in the late fall and early winter (I am, in fact, saving WA Vth Vanguard for the end of November); and in the fall, I have the undeniable urge to Catch ‘Em All. And while I would love to say it’s inexplicable, I know exactly how it started and why I do it. No, it’s not just to spite everyone else playing teh haloz.
I bought Pokemon Blue in the early part of my sophomore year at college– I’d venture to pinpoint it to September or October of ‘99. I’d just picked up the Game Boy Color after having used the old black-and-white ‘Brick’ machine for ten years. In any event, I played the game with a certain amount of dedication during that time; the cooling weather, coupled with the new style of play (new to me, at the time) made a pretty big impression on me. I didn’t actually bother to finish the game until after March and April of 2000, when Gold and Silver had their release dates announced. Once again, in October of 2000, the cool of the fall and the scent in the air just connected so permanently to the game. It didn’t help that I re-affirmed the connection by playing through FireRed in the fall of 2004, in Erie, when my interest in Pokemon was rekindled.
I suppose it’s funny, though, that this time of year is so indelibly connected to the game. There were plenty of other games I played in the fall in between those releases: prime among them, Kingdom Hearts (2002), FF Tactics Advance (2003), Radiata Stories and City of Heroes (2005), and Xenosaga Ep. 3 (2006). (I knew that this “diary” thing was a good idea.) Few made that big of an impression on me– certainly not enough to overwrite the memory of tossin’ Pokeballs into a leaf pile.
So, I’m embracing it this year, rather than resisting it. I never actually finished any of the Hoenn games, so I’m going to settle myself down for a speedrun through Emerald. The rules are again quite simple: I’m starting the run on September 30th (this coming Sunday), and I can’t transfer to Diamond until I beat the Elite 4. If I manage to complete the game prior to October 19th, that will be the fastest completion of a Pokemon game on record (for me) at exactly 20 days. I have to leave a serviceable team on the cartridge in case I need to do some further capturing. Finally, a new twist: if the Elite 4 are not defeated before October 31st, then I have to transfer all of the Pokemon over and delete my save data (so that I don’t cut into NaNo at all).
As always, I’m just tossing this out there; I know RJ just finished his run through LeafGreen, so I’m not sure if he would be willing to take on the challenge again so soon. But, it would be a neat idea to coordinate the starting and all that, to see who can clear first and so forth. A little bit of friendly, remote competition, as it were. Don’t sweat it if you can’t do it just yet, or don’t care to; though, if you are willing to join in, please let me know.
In any event, that’s the plan. I’m sure I’ll be able to take care of it before Tabula Rasa hits on the 22nd of next month, but here’s hoping. I have one more starter left to transfer over (once I get a trainer ID number ending in 3– technically I have two, but I can just breed out the Torchic from my previous aborted run), but once October hits– we’re off. It’s amazing that what started as an atrocious pun is now a personal mission, and a fantastic timesink. Ah well. Catch you all tomorrow.
Ramen Junkie said,
09.25.07 at 6:04 pm
I would probably be up to some coordinated competitive run through on the condition that I actually receive my Emerald cart before September 30th. Also that it doesn’t end up being a bootleg copy. It’s coming from England so the slow shipping isn’t worrying me too much.
Anyway, the handicap I’ll likely have is that unlike Leaf Green, where I had played Blue previously, I’ve never played any Hoenn games at all. Speed running it might be difficult since I’ll be more likely to want to talk to people and what not.
On the other hand, it would give me an excuse to play through again to catch the other Lati. Its a LOT easier the second time when a serviceable set of Pokemon dumped on top of you. I’m at like the 4th gym in Leaf Green now with MAYBE 5 hours on the clock. It took me close to 40 to finally finish everythign the first round, including catching Mewtwo and Raikou
32_footsteps said,
09.25.07 at 7:55 pm
A competitive run through the Hoenn games? With, presumably, the rule that there is to be no trading stuff into or out of the Hoenn game until it’s beaten?
Intriguing… I pondered picking up a used copy of Sapphire. Maybe I will give this a shot. I’ve never actually attempted a speed run through Pokemon before. In fact, I’m noticably lax when it comes to that (but my obsessive play usually results in a fairly early clear, at least in terms of aggregate days).
Ramen Junkie said,
09.26.07 at 8:18 am
I do have a bit of a complaint about the rules. In Leaf Green I regularly traded Pokemon to Diamond so I wouldn’t have to speed a week or two doing it after finishing it. I could probably hold off on it since I’ve never played Hoenn and I don’t know what’s going to be useful.
On the other hand, I’m starting to realize that with proper training, almost everything is useful. My current Leaf Green game has me using Diglet, Polywag, and Beedrill along side my Ivysaur. I don’t care for plant or bug types and the other two strike me as weak and useless initially. Yet, they are doing pretty well (Diglet and Polywag have evolved by now actually).
32_footsteps said,
09.26.07 at 8:32 am
You could always ask, you know.
Let’s see… Linoone is good because it can hold lots of HMs and has Pickup (it’s the original Pickup Pokemon for me), I used Pelipper for Surf and Fly, and I had a Gyarados that I kept around specifically for Dive and Waterfall (but didn’t travel with me ordinarily).
Among Hoenn Pokemon that are fairly usable… You actually have a chance at Ralts almost immediately, and its final evolution Gardevoir is exceptionally useful. Both Shiftry and Ludicolo are good, but they require specific builds and evolution at *just* the right times. Beyond that, just pick what you like (one warning - if you want a Fire type, be prepared to deal with extreme slowness).
John said,
09.26.07 at 8:48 am
I suppose that migrating OUT of the Hoenn games before the E4 are defeated can be permissible, but I’d put that restriction as only once per badge before the sixth, and then unlimited after that. (You can, of course, stock them if you want to.)
When I was going through LeafGreen, I think there was a lack of strong Bug-types and Bug moves in the mid game (at least, it seemed that way; I beat Sabrina through brute force, not a type advantage). It may be different in the GBA generation, so we’ll see. I’m a big fan of Gardevoir myself, and for my water type I’m probably just going to stick with whatever Mudkip evolves into (but will hang onto appropriate critters for Surf/Dive/etc.). Just a reminder that if you use any critters as HM slaves, make sure you catch an extra one to transfer over.
Oh, and I’d be glad to extend a time handicap to you, RJ– whenever you get the game, just let us know. One last thing– I don’t know if Europe-regioned GBA games work with the US-based Diamond/Pearl games. If your Emerald is coming from England, it MAY be unusable to you even if it’s a legit copy. Rick would know for certain.
Ramen Junkie said,
09.26.07 at 4:43 pm
The game lacks official markings and is definitely flimsy. CRAP CRAP CRAP. Two games I’m screwed out of now. Anyway, I’ve asked for a refund, I paid considerably less for the Emerald cart than the Sapphire. If he doesn’t want it back I suppose I could play through it anyway. On the other hand, then I can’t benefit my Diamond cart.
Anyway, I’m supremely irritated.
32_footsteps said,
09.26.07 at 11:10 pm
If it’s a legit copy, any country’s version of Pokemon will function just fine. There were some communications issues in trading between the GBA games, but I understand that those issues cease if you transfer from GBA to DS (and obviously, as GTS shows, the DS versions all talk fine).
As for Bug types, you can forget it. In FR/LG, there is only one Bug type that you can get before beating the E4 that is viable for usage, and that’s Scyther. I’ve heard some make an argument for Venomoth, but that has to require a very specific build (and that build only became truly viable in D/P). As is, after the E4, there are only a couple more viable Bug Pokemon - Heracross and Scizor (and that’s only if you want to tank). Well, there’s also Ninjask if you trade from R/S/E (and Shedinja if you feel lucky - but I wouldn’t want to use one at competition).
It’s worth noting that one of the reasons I do like D/P so much is that they finally made Bug types worthwhile. I’ve actually debated the merits of building competition-ready Pinsirs and Venomoths.
Anyhow, I assume you bring those up because you want to deal with Sabrina, and you obviously don’t have Dark types available. That’s not a good move, considering your lack of Bug moves plus the fact that they don’t resist Psychic types. Here’s your options against her.
1) Bring in a Psychic type with non-Psychic moves. Seriously, a single Kadabra/Alakazam with Shadow Ball (which it can learn by TM, which are sold at Celadon) can do wonders in that gym. Starmie is perfect for this - I typically just Surf through this gym.
2) Bring in a decent Pokemon with a Dark move. I am always fond of a Jolteon with Bite in the GBA games, but other good options include Arcanine (Bite), Dodrio (Pursuit), or Gyarados (Bite).
3) Bring a speedy physical sweeper. Sabrina has a team that’s light on normal defense. If you can get in a good physical shot, she won’t be able to attack. Dugtrio works for this, as do nearly all the Normal/Flying types.
Oh, one other possibility - bring a Magneton. Not the most effective attacker, but it is the only non-Psychic you have access to before the E4 that resists the type.
Ramen Junkie said,
09.27.07 at 6:48 am
I was somewhat concerned with Sabrina. Ususually I just wipe her out with a Kadabra. I may have used Bite on Blastoise as well. Psychics are the whole reason I kept the move on him.
Anyway, the Emerald game was definitely a fake. No printing on the board, Rayquaza (sp) on the label, it was opaque dark green instead of translicent emerald green, the seams of the cart halves had a sharp edge and didn’t git together tightly.
I wasn’t too woried about D/P migration being an issue. I was allready pretty sure trading from GBA game to GBA game wouldn’t be affected so I could always migrate using Red/Green.
I called the guy on his fake game and was issued a refund. He didn’t say he wanted the cart back. I suppose I could use it for the Poketoberfest but I’m still going to look into a legit copy from a store this weekend.
Ramen Junkie said,
09.28.07 at 11:42 am
Somewhat surprisingly, my wife said she didn’t mind of I bought my son a legit copy of Sapphire and myself a legit copy of Emerald this weekend. Especially since I got the refund for Emerald with Sapphire (hopefully) pending.
Just curious, is there a real benefit to having Ruby/Sapphire over Emerald? I’m wondering if my son would prefer having the meta version of the series.
Poketoberfest! « Lameazoid.com said,
10.01.07 at 6:11 pm
[...] to Emerald. I’m teaming up with John over at TheFurryOne.net for Poketoberfest.  Basically it’s a pseudo competition run through a Hoenn game. I’m doing emerald, [...]
Jonny said,
10.02.07 at 8:06 pm
Good luck!