victory_road | Second Primary [Video]

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Second Primary [Video]

[When the video flicks on, the first thing the camera focuses on is a Zephyr Badge, proudly being held up by some gloved fingers. Then it's pulled away from the camera to reveal a smiling Hawks. A Toucannon - almost half his own size - is perched imperiously on his shoulder, looking haughty but self-satisfied. Judging by the slightly off-balance way Hawks is standing, she's a considerable weight, but he's bearing up well regardless.]

It took me awhile, but I'm finally on my way with this gym challenge stuff. This is technically my second badge - I'm kinda doing things out of order - but hey, I'm the bird guy. The bird gym badge is the one I'm proudest of.

[He tucks the badge into his pocket before lifting a hand to brush the Toucannon's chest feathers affectionately with the back of his hand. The attitude she wears as he does this is as if she's doing him a favor by accepting the attention.]

Sesame here did almost all the work, even though she's only half as strong yet as my main team. I guess even a themed team can make use of type advantages sometimes.

That said, I've got a question for any other trainers out there who've got a selectively limited roster. I want to know if there are any tips for dealing with the drawbacks of focusing on certain types. I know there are gyms out there that aren't going to be too friendly to a team of birds, and I'm curious how other trainers might've tackled being at a distinct disadvantage. I've got some potential tactics of my own, but hearing some other ideas I might be able to incorporate into my strategy can't hurt.

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Ooooh the Flying Gym~ Congratulations! I don't know what kind of advice I can really give on limited rosters...but there's definitely been people playing around with type and move advantages, I remember hearing about someone who beat Falkner using a similarly levelled ground type actually.

[And what a tale that was! And a mess.] Congratulations on access to the power of Flight though~ Unless you're a Breeder I guess, I technically am, [she hums, adjusting her glasses.] ...Though thinking about it not a whole lot of pokemon actually learn that in the wild so I guess the badge chase still has good reason...

Yeah, unfortunately it doesn't look like any of the birds I've got so far learn it naturally. So I still have to get myself that HM. Not gonna lie...I really wonder how those things even work.

It also seems weird to gate stuff like that behind doing this whole gym challenge thing. I don't mind, personally, but it seems like there are people who aren't that big into the whole battle scene. So, what, they just never get access to this stuff?

Yeahhhhh, if I think about it not a lot of birds really do...

I suppose it's to encourage people to make use of the other transport options people have? I mean riding any other pokemon aside, there are people who maintain flying taxis of some kind!

Just uh...we normally can't use them for anything other than party events and such. ...Maybe because we're technically on a 'pokemon journey'?

Ah, yeah, the Ubirds. I've used them a few times myself! Wish access wasn't so limited, but then again, I wonder what they normally charge when the bill isn't being footed by someone else. Maybe I couldn't afford them even if they could be hired anywhere, anytime.

Wonder why 'pokémon journey' is synonymous with 'enforced inconvenience'.

Maybe something about building character..?

It's my best guess honestly. Don't agree with it...but since kids seem to get shoved out at like 10, it's my best guess.

You'd think kids running around in the wilderness would be a reason to guarantee safe travel options. But then again, when pretty much all the wildlife is intelligent and friendly, I guess the risks aren't as great as they might be elsewhere.

Maybe people just don't want to use faster travel much...? Nobody wanting to miss out on potential pokémon encounters, maybe.

Yeah, but we are talking about the place that sends kids off for a three day walk in the snow sometimes... [Yikes!]

Really curious about the statistics on fire type picks from the locals during winter actually.

But yeah, probably. That and trainer battles I guess! You can make some good money just going down a route.

[Themed teams]

[Not that, well, Dimitri didn't exactly end up with an entire team like that on purpose, exactly, but things happened, and he loves his team, so really everyone else is going to have to deal with that.]

[He regrets nothing.]

[He's also showing up on the screen, surrounded by a variety of Raticate - including one that's mostly hiding behind his back but still visible because of So Much Fluff - and with a pair of Rattata cradled on his lap that are just barely visible to the camera. One of them is an Alolan variant, her little mustache twitching as she reaches tiny hands up towards the Gear. The other would be Gremlin, Everstone collar noticeable, and smacking hands along the screen even more noticeable.]

[Hawks might recognize them, and this weirdo, as the team that took on dragons and won.]

The most obvious and simplest thing to do, of course, is to train constantly with your team, so that they can learn the utmost amount of attacks and moves they can naturally learn. Give yourself the most resources. You might be surprised at what they are capable of, all on their own.

[Like how a rat can take out the bulk of HP with their little teeth. Incredible, really.]

Relatedly, saving up for TMs and the like is also a wise move. They can give your team an edge that others won't be expecting.

Still, if your focus is on a certain type of Palien... You may be in even more luck. I believe that the gyms are actually quite good guides for this sort of style, and you may benefit from looking up videos of their battles. I believe that Whitney and Pryce are amongst the best to follow in Johto... Whitney makes fine use of Normal types being one of the most varied in terms of what they dual type with, and Pryce was quite clever in even just our average battle.

Just because a certain singular type may have a weakness in one area does not mean that is always so with those that have adjusted to different types.

[Lapras is one of those Pokemon that Dimitri thinks fits quite well for that kind of thing, when one is going up against an Ice themed gym, for example.]

And finally... I understand that the typical battle is considered "one on one", but I believe that is true only in an active sense. You should always view battles as a team effort. If one can set up a moment of weakness in the opponent, then another can take advantage of that forging on.

[Things learned from working out tactics with his Pokemon... And, like, honestly? Having smart boyfriends probably helped too.]

Those are some of the general things that I have learned, in my time here.

[Okay, Hawks is immediately charmed by the horde of rats. Especially the littler Rattata, whose fascination with the Gear is just cute. He actually grins and waves to them, separate from the attention he directs to Dimitri.]

Yeah, obviously making my pokémon the strongest they can be is the most straightforward solution...but my concern is that's only going to carry me so far. Once my team - and our opponents - start hitting their upper limits, well...if we're at a type disadvantage, I'm wondering just what we'll be able to do there.

The suggestion of looking at how the gyms handle their own themed challenges isn't a bad one. Obviously I'm looking pretty hard at how Falkner handles his teams for tips, but you're right in that it's not going to hurt me to study the other gyms and their approaches, either.

Dual types is one of my concerns with a bird team, though. Some dual types, well, they at least change up the type weaknesses, make it so that you've got pokémon who buck the more predictable weaknesses of their type. But most birds I've seen...well, they're either weak to electric types, or really weak to electric types. I've seen maybe...five that aren't while I've been looking them up? And out of those five, only two aren't weak to ice, which is another thing that could sweep a bird team pretty easily. I feel like I see a wall coming that I'm going to need to find a way over.

I see.... That does make it somewhat difficult.

[The benefits of having a rat team is that, well, for one thing, they're all the same rat, and Rattata and Raticate are all normal typing. That gives them the benefit of having no actual weaknesses in that one particular area. Dimitri's struggles have always been with other things, like standing up against more naturally powerful foes.]

In that case, status effecting moves seem to be the most important thing that you could teach your companions... Paralyze them, freeze them -

[Before he can speak, however, Gremlin starts squeaking and flailing his arms - all of his legs, however - before hopping off. Dimitri blinks, and he and all his rats turn their head to watch wherever the little Rattata is doing. Soon enough, however, he's shoving his way back into frame and triumphantly holding up an HM of some sort. Dimitri has to tilt his head to see which one this is labeled as... And oh! Understanding lights up his face.]

Once you get a hold of Fly, that may actually be beneficial to you! That's right... Even if it is only momentary, the ascent keeps them out of reach for the majority of attacks. Not all of them, and some can put them into a precarious position, but...

Mm. You're probably right. I don't know just how much access I'll have to those with the kind of team I'm going to have, but it's something to look into, right? Of course, one of my big problems is going to be electric types, and they're pretty hard to paralyze, aren't they...? So that restricts my options even more. But there's other options to look into.

[Gremlin's antics get a quizzical tilt of Hawks' head, but when Dimitri explains, he grins.] Oh, believe me, pretty much everyone on my team who can learn Fly is gonna learn it once I get the HM. Unfortunately, that's still a little ways off.

[Gently, Dimitri pats Gremlin's head.]

It was a good idea, Gremlin, and something to keep in mind. Thank you.

[While Gremlin scurries off to put the HM back, Dimitri looks back to Hawks.]

Electric types indeed are rather resistant to moves that would paralyze them, but that is why others of a similar nature would be most helpful. I have found that, with some of my Raticate, the use of one of their moves causes such an intense spurt of pain that it occasionally makes it hard for their opponent to retaliate. So moves that make the opponent flinch may be what you will like.

And also... I do not know how many other bird-like Paliens are familiar with it, but, with my Altaria, I have found his singing voice invaluable.

Ah, an Altaria! [Hawks' eyes light up.] I've been wanting to grab myself a Swablu, but I haven't found a place where they're native yet to catch myself one. I'm still pretty early on in traveling, though, as you can tell. Where'd you get yours?

Sleep is something I'd considered, but flinching...you're right, I should pay more attention to that, too. Especially if I can combine it with other status effects. It might not be enough of an edge to overcome a major disadvantage, but in a close battle it could make all the difference.

For Adarllwchgwin, I had the good fortunate of raising him from an egg - a lover of mine bought it for me. I believe... Claudia, a young woman, was responsible for the breeding that brought the egg about. I am unsure of where she is now, for I have not heard from her in some time. [If she's gone... Well, if she is back home in what looks like a safe land and time, that's the most he can ask for.] I can inquire around, if you are interested.

[But Gwin isn't allowed to egg, because he is Baby! Dimitri will not budge on this.]

Indeed. In a battle, one must take every little advantage they have available to them. I am still learning how to be clever about it.

[Sir, do you want to see a bunch of crabs. Because Fitzroy is just chilling on Goldenrod's beach with a bunch of crabs. And a horse. But she doesn't count.]

If you're overleveled enough, it doesn't really matter, in my experience. Brute force can defeat disadvantages. Though I think my "theme" is a little more varied than "birds". [Crabs is a broad definition and evidently has a lot of different types mixed in.]

[That sure is a lot of crabs. Maybe the horse is a reference to horseshoe crabs? Hawks wouldn't put it past someone.]

There's only so strong my team can get, though. What happens when we're topped out and our opponents are, too?

[A fellow type specialist! And one who's likely to have plenty of overlap with Ash's own favored species, too. He approves.]

Dual-type Pokémon are going to be your new best friends, and so are TMs and move tutors. Who cares if fliers are weak against Ice, when half of them can learn Heat Wave? Of course, training a few extra weeks for those additional levels is always an option.

Unfortunately, it seems like the predominant dual type of bird pokémon is Normal/Flying. It doesn't seem to give too many exciting options for move variations, and it means a lot of my team is weak to the same stuff. Worse, the other dual types I have...well, they don't seem to change the playing field much when it comes to weaknesses. It doesn't seem like a lot of bird pokémon have types that shore up their usual weaknesses.

Also, in my experience...birds aren't exactly great at taking hard hits. If an electric or ice type manages to beat my team to the punch...who knows if they'll get to leverage any move type advantages? It's partly why I'm worried what happens once my team's as strong as it can get, and we're facing off against similarly leveled teams. Once we can't be insanely stronger than the opponents we face, we could be in trouble.

True, it's a particularly common combination. I caught something like three different species of those types just during my first week. Still, some of them do get new types upon evolving, like Fletchling and Swablu. Plain old neutrality against Ice and Electric attacks isn't ideal, I admit, but it's better than nothing.

...Won't help if you somehow end up against a similarly-leveled faster Pokémon that knows a Rock-type attack, of course, but no option's perfect. Are you planning on challenging either Kanto's elite gym teams or the Elite Four themselves?

Unfortunately, haven't snagged either of those birds for myself yet. Don't seem to have found myself at a place where they're available...hopefully soon, though.

As for challenging myself...I'm considering it, but not imminently. I think I want to collect all the birds there are for me to grab, and get them decently strong, before I worry about tackling the highest walls. If I am going to try to clear a skill hurdle that high, I'll probably need every possible option at my disposal.

I would like to prove it's possible, though. Really show off what wings are good for. Besides, it's not like there's a whole lot else to keep a guy occupied around here.

Got mine after a swarm and from an egg, respectively, so I couldn't tell you where to look. But they're both very distinctive species, so the moment you enter their range I bet you'll know.

In the meantime, trying to get all the species within a specific category could be considered a challenge in itself. If you have the determination necessary for one, the other shouldn't be beyond your grasp.

Well, you're not wrong there. But precisely because it's a challenge already, I'd want to be pretty solid on where I stood before I moved to take on an even bigger one.

My, is such specialization really a popular trend? I thought that was more reserved for the local gym leaders.

[Ardyn looked thoughtful, leaning his head on a hand.]

I've found I favor attacking weaknesses myself--but where one can't find them, one can always create them. Confusion and the like, you know.

Well, I can't say if it is or not. I'll admit, I've been a little lax on the socializing front, so I don't have much of a sample size in terms of how people structure their teams in this world. I know it's something I wanted to do, but how common it is in other people... [He shrugs.]

I'll be honest, it's having my team's own weaknesses attacked that's my primary concern. As you can imagine, there's a lot of overlap. But in the same vein, having a lot of similar types also limits my access to what I've got to work with on the attacking front. It may be less of a big deal as I collect more birds and introduce more variety, but right now my potential flexibility's still on the low end.

[ the first thing yachi thinks: that bird can eat his head. it can eat my head.; the second and third thoughts realize the young man is also in violet, beat the gym— and the fourth thing! themed teams. ]

H-hi, congrats on your win! [ yachi’s currently outside, sitting by violet city’s sprout tower to get some air by the waters and the tower’s shade. ] I’ve been looking into that myself . . . Themed teams. The better way really might be to stock up on moves that cover your weaknesses, but in a way you’ll always be at risk? If that makes sense—?

[ —oh, she didn’t mean to be a downer. her smile goes wobbly, she straightens her back and shakes her head. ]

B-but! You can always lessen the risks and surprise people with your strategy! I guess that’s what sports are all about, anyway.

Hey, thanks!

And yeah, it does. Too bad TMs are so pricy; even with income from beating gyms and trainers, just one is a pretty hefty investment. And I'm gonna need quite a few, I'd imagine.

Huh. You know, I hadn't really thought of pokémon battling as a sport, per se, but when you put it like that, I guess it couldn't really be categorized as anything else, could it?

Oh, I— [ yachi swallows, but quite immediately flushes a whole different shade out of her silly fluster. ] It's what I told myself to try and get used to it, at least—! But it started to make some sense, like, [ ah, she snaps her fingers, trying to look for the word: ]

—Wrestling! Sumo! A-And maybe Kendo!

Edited 2021-10-04 14:25 (UTC)

See, I'd almost compare it to dogfighting, but a humane version of it - one where the 'dogs' - [He makes the air quotes with his fingers.] - are smart enough to be able to willingly consent to competition for their own reasons, rather than being forced into it by humans, and it's easy to heal them up afterwards.

But maybe those changes to the formula are so significant that it's actually a better analogy to compare them to proper sports, like you said. I think I'd go with boxing, myself. Wrestling is usually more pageantry than combat, and sumo and kendo have formalized rules. Boxing, however, is real combat - even if it's a regimented form of combat - and battles end when one side is too incapacitated to fight. That sounds more like pokémon battles, right?

Kind of like, ahhh, Mixed Martial Arts, right? That's true!

[ it honestly makes her feel better. even if— she's never actually seen a cage match because the hits freak her out, not counting the blood that may just make her sick. ]

It helps that Pokémon are a lot more resistant. I don't think I've ever seen one bleed on screen, come to think of it . . .

On screen, huh? So are they a digital thing back in your own world, too?

[Thank you, random Garchomp shirt in a sketch of Kirishima, for confirming that Pokémon is a property that exists and is (somehow) still relevant within MHA canon.]

You're right, though, MMA might be a better comparison even than boxing!

Oh, yeah— TVs, computers, iPhones . . . Are there that many people who don't?

No, I mean, are Pokémon a digital thing in your world. Like, a game.

My understanding is that some people here don't even come from worlds that have electronics yet, but even the ones who do don't necessarily seem to come from a world with a culture that ever produced a game about the creatures that're actually real here.

[ !!!! ]

Ah . . . ! You meant that way! Y-yes, back where I'm from— there isn't a soul who doesn't know about Pokémon! Even I played when I was a kid! [ she actually looks quite happy now that she understood! ] I stopped trying to ask when most people've never seen it!

Yeah, in my world it's a pretty old franchise, but people still love it. It's kinda weird here, though - it's like the pokémon from generations ten and up don't even exist here. It's just stuff from the real old-school games. Eevees don't even have all their type evolutions here.

[Hawks is from an Earth considerably further into the future than the modern day - although due to the development of quirks, technological progression hasn't advanced much since. But one thing's for sure - new generations of pokémon games probably kept being made for who knows how long.

Also, thanks to Kirishima's Garchomp shirt, we know Pokémon is canon to Hawks' universe! Talk about ridiculous coincidences confirming minor details.]

[ yachi takes a shallow breath in as she feels her soul leaving her body. ten generations? ]

Not even I’m than far into the future, I think . . .

Edited 2021-12-31 01:54 (UTC)

Well, it's just the present for us. But hey, the future's not so different from the past in any case. People are still arguing which generation is best.

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Second Primary [Video]

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Resuming my tags finally after escaping holiday retail crunch

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