victory_road | 136th moon [video]

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136th moon [video]

[The feed, when it turns on, mostly shows the barely-lit left half of Cecil's (clothed for colder weather, thankfully) chest. When he adjusts the angle to look at the camera properly, his surroundings become somewhat visible; he's in a cave, though the cave in question may only look familiar to the few people who fought a certain dangerous creature years ago.

Also, a non-negligible portion of his hair is stuck in a chunk of ice. What a weekend, right?]

Due to circumstances beyond my control, please note that the Lunar Gym will be closed tonight.

[Offscreen, a Golbat screeches in pain. When it flies by in a panic, Cecil ducks nonchalantly.]

And most probably tomorrow.

[Absentmindedly, he steps aside to avoid Rosie the Clefable, who appears to be gleefully chasing the fleeing bat.]

Frankly, I'd not get my hopes up for Wednesday, either. We'll see about Thursday.

[Thursday is also not looking good, to be honest.]

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Ah, you must be relatively new!

[Or not paying attention to the network and local gossip at all, but Cecil chooses to believe the first option.]

You are aware of the existence of sixteen official gyms, eight in Johto and eight in Kanto, correct? That's the Indigo League. But those among us who've defeated all sixteen leaders and the Elite Four have been allowed to form the Aurora League. Members have the right to open their own gym if they wish, as long as they follow certain rules.

I just got here a few weeks ago.

[Has it already been a few weeks? It feels unreal, but steadily time has passed despite how Riz might feel about that.]

How big is this-- indigo league you called it, right?

Welcome to this world, then! It can be a confusing and maddening land at first, but after a year or two you'll grow used to it.

[Not that anyone has much of a choice about that, really.]

The Indigo League includes a total of twenty-one trainers to defeat. As for the Aurora League, we currently have seven gyms in total... but a couple are defended by two leaders, and there are still a few victors who could open their own gym at any time.

I really hope I won't be here that long.

[Riz looks deeply unsettled by that thought. Just being here for a few weeks had already been long enough. He wants to go home! Back to his friends and his mom and their quest.]

Twenty-one? [A frown, as he glances back at the booklet.] There's just sixteen here from what I can see. There's even more?

Some people do disappear within a single year, if that's any comfort. The majority of stays are relatively short.

[Relatively, because he's been here long enough for anything short of a decade to seem short.]

The Elite Four and the Champion are, officially, part of the league; thus, twenty-one. But if you'd rather not face that challenge or if you only care about the badges themselves, you'll only have sixteen leaders to deal with, yes.

So, what do you get out of opening a gym? Do you get any special benefits from it?

A regular and decent salary, for one. It's also an excellent way to attract talented challengers, if you enjoy Pokémon battles.

Oh, okay, they pay you. I thought it might be, you know, like a passion project or something.

So, uhm, I guess you must be really familiar with battling then. Any tips for someone new to it?

I have plenty! Would you prefer general tips, or tips more suited for the Gym challenge? I can also offer a mix of both, if you are still considering your options.

Uh, how about we start with the general ones?

[Riz likes to think he's gotten a basic understanding of how battles are supposed to go, and he's battled a few random folks in the park and not... horrendously lost every time.

(there have been a few losses, certainly, but that was usually due to bad luck on his part -- finding the one training with all birds or the sort of unsporting person who didn't mind bringing out their full level sixty team to deal with a newbie with three pokemon total)

But still, better to make sure he's really understanding all the basics.]

Excellent! Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to interrupt.

[For this, Cecil doesn't grab old notes or any instruction manual. He doesn't need to.]

First of all, until you gain more battling experience and access to a greater variety of resources, avoid building a team that shares a common weakness. There are ways to compensate for that, but they involve investing either time or money.

Second! Status and stat-modifying moves may not look flashy, but they can make your life much easier. A Pokémon with improved evasion that faces a paralyzed foe might well be able to win a fight without a single scratch, for example, while a defense boost can be the difference between a loss and a last minute victory.

Can you tell me about the ways of compensating for a common weakness?

[Cause, uh, Riz may two pokemon with a bug typing, two pokemon with a poison typing while having only four pokemon in total. It's not his fault that many of the cool pokemon (in his eyes) are bugs or poison.]

The simplest, but most time-intensive, is to train your team until it reaches levels so high above your opponent's that even a move hitting two weaknesses at once does minimal damage. Of course, the stronger your opponent, the less efficient this becomes.

[Can't really outlevel a Pokémon that's reached 100, after all.]

Another option is to haunt various stores in search of TMs that can counter those weaknesses. For example, as a Water- and Ground-type, Quagsire is weak against Grass users twice over. However, by purchasing and teaching it an Ice-type TM such as Ice Beam, you can give any Grass-type you face a nasty surprise. Of course, that becomes very expensive very quickly, especially if your team is large.

Okay. So there is not like... some sort of armour I could get them that would work?

[Riz is frowning. It's good advice, just also still rather difficult. He doesn't have a ton of pokemon, but do the ones he have learn any sort of TM that could exploit a weakness like that? He'll have to check.]

Do you, like, have to do the badges in order? Can I just skip the first gym and go straight to the second or maybe third one? Cause I'm still not sure my bugs can take on a couple of birds, even if I teach them some new moves.

There are certain items and berries that have similar effects, I believe, but they are difficult to acquire and would only work once, against a single type. The Christmas market in Goldenrod would be your best bet for those.

[It sure sounds like it always comes down to levels or money, doesn't it?]

There is nothing stopping you from challenging gyms in any order. You could even start with Blackthorn, if you wished. But do note that the trainers' and leader's team levels are set; a later gym's type may be weaker against your bugs, but they'd still be much stronger by default.

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136th moon [video]

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