Woodlings draw near!

NOTE: This episode cuts off toward end due to a sudden network outage causing the stream to disconnect. We were only offline for a couple minutes, then we returned and finished out the battle, but it was enough to end the first video and treat the end of the battle as a separate stream. Please watch both of these videos together; they are the same episode, just with an obnoxious technical difficulty splitting them.

In this update:

* Birdy birdy ball ball ball? Ballllll....
* Accidental Shiny Leaves!
* Actually challenging gym battles!
* The Trickiest Rooms in Kanto!
* Nope, even after three years of quiet contemplation and physical and emotional growth, Blue is still an absolute troll.
* The moment that the entire character arc of one certain party mon felt like it was leading to!
* The final challenge before us revealed!

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Some notable clips and highlights from this session:

"I want to get wet with you, but not WET with you..." (thanks to seirea for this clip)
Channel Prediction: Can we catch it within 35 balls?
You were saying? (thanks to xaq_the_aereon for this clip)
Living up to its name (thanks to xaq_the_aereon for this clip)

In this update:

* ZZT references!
* Forgetting the type chart!
* Standard-issue Pokemon road closures!
* Being on hold in a forest!
* Forgetting who my mom is! (One would think the constant berry-related shopping sprees would serve as a reminder)
* Workplace reform...?
* Surfing and unsurfing and surfing and unsurfing and surfing and unsurfing and surfing and unsurfing and surfing and unsurfing and
* Ex-rivals with depression!
* Inconvenient gym locations!

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Some notable clips and highlights from this session:

(Untitled clip with me doing my Sakuya voice) (thanks to penguinmayhem for this clip)
Brutality (thanks to SeireaSong for this clip)
The itemfinder sings to the music (thanks to SeireaSong for this clip)
Lewd (thanks to SeireaSong for this clip)
Nailed it. :D (thanks to xaq_the_aereon for this clip)
Celine Kalante Love says “Nugget” cutely (colorized, 1987) (thanks to SeireaSong for this clip)
Phrasing! (thanks to xaq_the_aereon for this clip)
Mirblue Kablue (thanks to xaq_the_aereon for this clip)

In this update:

* Exploring the backstory of Silver and his issues!
* Exploring the backstory of Celine and why we still call our rival Silver even though that clearly is not his name in our file!
* The concept of time travel, explained! (Edutainment bonus!)
* A sudden difficulty spike!
* Every person in the room acting EXACTLY in character for them!
* LEVEL DESIGN.
* And... uh... that. Descriptions cannot do it justice, but that definitely happened. (Twice!)
* Extra bonus: More Lati-trolling!

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Some notable clips and highlights from this session:
ahahaha no
Ethan, honey, no
Celebi, what have you done? You've created a Time Paradox! (Thanks to xaq_the_aereon for this clip)
I mean, that sounds like a big adventure too, I guess
The exact moment Celine realized we may be in trouble here
No, but we can
Teamwork!
When a plan ALMOST comes together
Clair status: LYING THROUGH HER TEETH AND TRYING NOT TO SCREAM IN RAGE (Thanks to xaq_the_aereon for this clip)
That guy doesn't count
PHRASING, CELINE (Thanks to xaq_the_aereon for this clip)
It's Ho-Oh ENOUGH darn you
N
Slide into our DNs for some direct nuzzling

In this update:

* A fair amount of cheating, honestly. Let us discuss this!
* Latios absolutely 100% doing this on purpose to troll us!
* Wildlife that apparently craves its own destruction!
* Anyway, have the most powerful Rainbow Wing in the world.
* Taking the term Revenge Killing to a whole new extreme!
* An accidental cliffhanger ending!

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Some notable clips and highlights from this session:
Latios is officially a jerk
Latios is an absolute troll
This is why Kabutops are extinct now
Ascending Bell Tower while we play unfitting music
Reena Declares Her Intentions (To Marry) (thanks to penguinmayhem for this clip)

So, remember a few entries ago when we did that listing of the primary offensive stat of everyone on our team (except maybe the HM users because really now?) Now that we've maxed out the EVs of everyone in the team except Moonchild (I could not for the life of me decide what stats she should specialize in,) I think that list needs to be updated.

( Combined list for primary offensive stat + Speed, some closing thoughts )

In this update:

* Awkward conversations about Pokemon exhumation!
* The standards held by Younger Celine might not have been realistic, it turns out!
* Team Rocket gets forcibly disbanded for a THIRD time??
* A genetically enhanced super-soldier learns how to be a person. Aww....
* We finally address this whole power outage situation!
* Return of the Roaming Legendary mechanic!
* The Magnet Train looks really cool now!

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Some notable clips and highlights from this session:
CASSANDRA NOOOOO
It is kind of messed up though
When the House of Memories is kind of growing on you in real time in the middle of your rant
Badgertwo may be a bit TOO strong
Badgertwo may in fact actually be Supermon
Even Badgertwo's weakest move is OP
(The quote was from Winston Churchill, by the way)
The safeword is "Yarah?"
Badgertwo Steals Our Hearts (Thanks to xaq_the_aereon for this clip)
Maybe not the ideal location for this, but still adorable
What an incredible likeness
Steven Stone's true form revealed!?!?
Anyway, here, have the strongest magic word in the world. (Note: If you don't get the reference in the title, it's from xyzzysqrl's Willow stream. Here's the clip in question.)

After this stream concluded, we've been spending the time in between leveling and catching everyone up, as per usual. I think we're just about good to go for next time; everyone (including every second-stringer) now is at least level 53 at the lowest, ranging up to 57 at the highest.

Also, since everyone is more or less on equal footing level-wise, I figured now would be a good time to check out their stats again. We do have quite a few absurdly heavy hitters on the team, now. Where do they stack up? A ranked list behind the cut, plus the latest thoughts on their movesets and held items and whatnot.

( Read more... )

PokePosts without making the obligatory metal lyric title just be Avantasia again: 3 0

(I would be very interested in seeing the "which bands got quoted how many times" stats after this entire run is done but they have to be the eventual winners. Hell, they have the honor of being the only band so far from whom I drew the titles for two different entries from the same song--at 3:35 and 1:47, respectively.)

When we recruited Gmork, I said that that should be the last special aside new recruit bio/intro entry for now. I was wrong. Like, the plan really was just to get those four newcomers--Badgertwo, Rock Biter, Priscilla, Gmork--and those four plus the people who were already there were going to be our Kanto team. That really was the plan. I left the door cracked ajar by using weasel words like "should" only because, you know, who knows? Maybe something unforeseen will happen, maybe I'll end up with an "oops I totally forgot I was going to pick up one of these mons too" realization, maybe I'll just happen across a mon that... actually you know what, I like this mon, let's use them.

So it is with our unexpected fifth Kanto newcomer out of four. Perhaps fittingly for an unexpected arrival whom we were not exactly planning to welcome, meet a lonely outcast, another example of a dark heart not necessarily being an evil one, yet one who struggles to find acceptance due to that perception. Someone whose quest to find someone who loves and accepts them started with none other than us.

( Read more... )

This should be the final new recruit introduction entry for now. The idea was to adopt our newly expanded team options right when said options expanded, which mostly meant right after finishing the Johto League. However, there is one more recruit who comes from a Pokewalker course that doesn't unlock until one actually acquires the National Dex, which we did in our last stream (part 21). We finally picked him up just tonight, so it's time to introduce you to the newest of the new kids.

We've met a would-be super soldier, a pensive guardian, and a diva who works hard and plays hard. Two of them even debuted (and did incredibly) in the last entry. Now, to complete this batch of new recruits, meet a conflicted and tormented soul, a dark heart in search of redemption.

( Read more... )

This is the third Special Aside entry to introduce the new Pokemon joining the team for our upcoming Kanto journey. It will be the last one until we're ready for our next actual playing session, though there will be one more after next session (since we can't get the fourth recruit we're planning on until we have the National Dex.)

Previously, we met Badgertwo, the fruit of a half-finished and all-unethical project to breed the perfect weapon, now rescued and learning what it means to enjoy life the way "imperfect" Pokemon do. We also met Rock Biter, a shy yet dutiful electronic sentinel searching for meaning beyond its service. While they come from different circumstances, each will need to learn how to forget everything they're "supposed" to be and to play and have fun, like Ethan and his Marill.

Now, prepare to change gears as we meet someone who is all about the fun. Meet a dazzling and flamboyant performer who is well familiar with the partying scene. She's flashy, flirty, and here to have a good time, but lest you underestimate her, she harbors a true and fearsome power behind that playful act.

( Read more... )

Now that we have conquered the Johto League, the entire Kanto league is upon us. This something between "postgame content" and "an entire additional game tacked onto the first game." Kanto is an entire region, you see--the region in which the generation 1 games took place, to be precise. Much like Johto, there's even an entire questline to get all eight gym badges before facing the ultimate challenge. On the other hand, Johto was clearly the "main story" of this game. The entire character arcs with both Team Rocket and Silver played out here. The ending was a suitably climactic showdown against the Elite Four and the Champion. There were even end credits. We saved and quit before this happened, technically, but very shortly (like, within the first few minutes of starting up) next time, we can expect to unlock the National Dex, which is usually around the point when most Pokemon games have declared it to be postgame time. "Yeah, you beat the main game with the regional roster, so now it's time to just open everything up and let you play with whatever at this point."

The end result of all of these mixed signals: We still have an entire region to go, but all of the safety locks are now disabled, or at least they will be once we get that National Dex. Our team options have already drastically increased, and we can expect them to increase even further very shortly after we start the next session. (I know using the Pokewalker already let us have certain Pokemon far earlier than it would be possible to obtain them within the actual game--ahem, hi Murkrow--but even by those standards the roster is about to explode. The National Dex acquisition will unlock about a zillion new Pokewalker courses, for one thing.)

This leads us to the point of this Special Aside entry, along with the next few that we intend to follow it. We're going to be getting a lot of new recruits in a very short amount of time, with potentially as much as half the team or more replaced either by next session or the one after. So that these all-new characters can better fit in with the established team whose heartfelt journey was built over the course of everything they've been to up to this point, I feel like the new recruits need... you know... an introduction. Who are these people, and what brings them to our team? Why should you care about them when the Neverending Six already have your heart? Hopefully by the end of this series, the expanded team won't feel as out of place compared to the ones who have been here from the beginning.

That said, the perfect example for what I mean and what I'm going for, the perfect introduction to this topic, comes with our first new addition. This is a Pokemon whose debut I've been planning and waiting for with excitement since early on in this LP, one with almost as much nostalgia and backstory to it as Empress Moonchild herself (even if for completely different, almost polar opposite reasons,) even if I was able to go without mentioning it and keep that fact a surprise all the way until now.

In this entry: Meet a science project searching for meaning. An engineered monster of sorts, born out of frustration and bred solely to be a weapon, now freed and left to learn how to live and love.

( Read more... )


And there you have it; our first new recruit. More new faces to meet next time, perhaps?

In this issue: Affiliate status! Our SoulSilver LP is actually finally coming back (I really hope penguinmayhem is still around)! The latest on that whole CD-i thing! Snakes! The writing backlog! And more! (Note: Maybe not more.)

( A long overdue update about all sorts of stuff! )