Pokemon Black/White Journal

[SOLDIER #819]

Aight, let's talk about our exploits in the land of Unova or whatever they call it now. I am assuming two or three people here other than me own the game, so hopefully this won't be done on my lonesome. Don't spoil the amazing plot? This gen's Team Rocket seems a bit less stereotypical.

~

My current party is:

Tepig (fire pig)
Drilbur (crazy awesome mole)
Audino (the new Chansey)
Purrloin (klepto cat)
Pansage (grass monkey)
Munna (eats dreams --> poops out fairy dust)

You enter the game and have your Pokemon chosen and are battling with rivals (you have 3 now) not more than a minute later. Haven't had to pick any acorns or berries or listen to little boys over the phone about how amazing their rattata is. Out of the starting town not long after. It really seems like they're trying to cut the fat out. Or at least, it'd be nice if they kept doing it.

Got the first gym badge recently. The battle isn't too hard, but I like how they're trying to make things interesting by switching the leader up depending on what you chose for your starter. Back in Red/Blue/Yellow where being a fire typed screwed you over at the first gym (since rock > fire but grass > rock somehow).

Random battles seem a little harder and more time consuming. That isn't a bad thing. Turned off battle animations immediately though. I can't wait around through Knights of Round like I used to.

Went through the first cave and had to deal with this gen's zubat. I think it even uses Confusion. Godddddddd. Currently in the second (third? fourth) town called Nacrene City. I am assuming this is where you get the second gym badge.

[Angel of Iniquity]

Are the dungeons as annoying as the predecessors?
ya know, can't wait to get out of them?
Oh and, are the battle nicely placed in the open or is it always like 10 steps.

[SOLDIER #819]

I haven't gone through a serious dungeon so I wouldn't know exactly. Like all Pokemon games you can probably assume that there will be lots of walking around in dark caves, however.

Battles? Steps? Open? You mean from town?

Oh, also. TMs can be used over and over again. Big plus. Super big. Now I don't feel like I have to save them up until I'm going to make a serious team. It makes the game so much more fun when you can actually use moves you want to.

[Angel of Iniquity]

Oh that's awesome to hear about the Tm's, big PLUS!!!!!!!!!!!
I mean, are their trainer battles everywhere?
I used to hate that I would HAVE to fight some random bug trainers when I had a lv59 Charizard.

[SOLDIER #819]

Outside of Pinwheel Forest is the most trainer-dense area yet and sports the relatively high level water and fighting types. Whether or not you have to fight them is seemingly up to you. You get stuff if take the chance though. If you want fight them, there is a nurse just a few steps off that will heal you completely so you don't need to go to the pokemon center. It's a pain though. All my Pokemon feel so weak. I'm dropping my Purrloin the next chance I get.

[LocoColt04]

Purrloin is a giant pain in the ass. While you're there outside of Pinwheel though, make sure you catch a Sawk or a Throh, whichever is relevant to your version. If you haven't already done the second gym, having a fighting type is certainly useful.

Sawk is much better than Throh; if you have White, Throh will be your default, so keep an eye out for rustling grass and the chance to get Sawk instead.

[SOLDIER #819]

I am getting KO'd so much. This is unbelievable. I'm wandering around the outside of Pinwheel Forest trying to grind up a bit more. Finally found a female Audino so Attraction isn't quite as worthless. Seems to have a better ability as well. Switched.

That pokemon with the tree trunk is now my mortal enemy. It can KO half my team if the level is high enough. !@#$ing low kick.

Considering trading Pansage in for something else. I've never had good luck with pure grass types, and this doesn't seem to be an exception. It may just be the crappy repertoire of moves though. Tympole seemed like a nice alt until I saw how all over the place its stats were.

Edit: I'm actually using repels in the earlier parts of the game. Before there wasn't a legitimate reason other than laziness. Now they're needed to avoid other Pokemon so I can get to the shaky grass.

~

Sawk is much better than Throh; if you have White, Throh will be your default, so keep an eye out for rustling grass and the chance to get Sawk instead.

5% in swaying grass. Ugggghhhh. I don't even need a fighting type since I have the pig. This is masochistic.

Purrloin is useless, I was terrified that the game had just gotten so unbearably hard in this next gen. Turns out Purrloin is a shitty pokemon.

I'm not going to hesitate to throw it into a shoebox then.

I also forgot to mention that this time around, you don't need Gym badges to use the HMs.

YES.

Telegraph: BUY IT. I REQUIRE SACRIFICES FOR THE PIT.

[Sinister]

Purrloin is useless, I was terrified that the game had just gotten so unbearably hard in this next gen. Turns out Purrloin is a shitty pokemon. I'm loving Conkeldurr, even though it's without a doubt the ugliest pokemon ever. Also Zebstrika is a nice choice. Enpheasant isn't bad either for your standard flying/normal. And I love Victini, might be my favorite legendary yet.

-Sin

[Victoria]

I just got my 8th badge not too long ago. Yes, Liepard is a real pain to master, because it's not a typical pokemon that you just attack and attack with. It requires real strategy to use. Just have to figure out what kind of strategy.

And actually, both Throh and Sawk are in Black/White, just one is more rare than the other. And Timburr's final evolution is the best fighting Pokemon in the game. As I said in facebook, if anyone has time, I'd like to trade with them so I can evolve my Gurdurr into Conkledurr. Thx.

My team currently is thus:
Lvl 34 Rufflet (Just caught. Replaces my Unpheasant.)
Lvl 37 Serperior (Tsutarja/Snivy's final evolution.)
Lvl 37 Zebstrika
Lvl 37 Victini
Lvl 38 Krokorok (Dark/Ground crocodile, second evolution stage. Initially called Sandile/Meguroco.)
Lvl 39 Cryogonal (Had to catch for the 8th gym. Was a pain because it's rarity is 1% in anything but Winter.)

The first two gyms are kind of a pain because you have to grind a lot, or at least I did, because when I reached there, my pokemon were level 7-8'ish and the highest level was 14. So.. I had some work cut out for me.

Then when I beat the gym at 11-12'ish, I had to grind even more since the second gym was level 20.

I also forgot to mention that this time around, you don't need Gym badges to use the HMs. You can use them immediately when you get them. And yes, I also love the fact that TMs are infinite now. And I really only had to go into... one full cave to get to the next area. I really like that you don't -need- the HMs to get to the next towns. They're all mostly for optional areas. (Well, except Fly...) ..Maybe victory road also, but I haven't been there yet so I'll have to see.

The gym battles after the third (mostly cause I used Victini for the easy way out..) were relatively easy for the most part. Just like always. Although I do like the fact that each version is vastly different.

...Mostly because they're in different times. One of the cities, for example, is more futuristic (think Tron) than the White version. There's also exclusive areas to each version.

Addendum: Oh. I misread Cesar's post. Yes... the other one is in the rustling grass and a low percentage. Oi vey.

[Josh_R]

I am currently at the 5th gym. Haven't really had to power train like the others.

Lvl 39 Emboar
Lvl 30 Victini
Lvl 20 Herdier
Lvl 13 Pansage

I have a lot more in the pc this is just my general group. I rely on Emboar, and Victini to do pretty much everything for me.

[Victoria]

That's not really a good way to train...or a good thing to do.

2nd: Normal
3rd: Bug
4th: Electric
5th: Ground
6th: Flying
7th: Ice
8th: Dragon

Victini and Emboar will have a hard time at the 5th Gym. ...Although since your Emboar is way over leveled, it might be fine..? (Considering 39-41 is the 8th gym level.)

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I just prefer to have a variety of types to be ready for anything. I think the only thing I used the 2nd starter (the monkeys) for is the first gym. Never really used them after that.

[Taco-Calamitous]

I have thought of getting either Black or White, but the last two Pokemon games I bought I have not completed; only got halfway through. Granted, both were retreads of older games (Platinum and HeartGold). I also am concerned about spending money right now. Maybe in a couple months... Although the things people are saying about it in this thread (different towns in either games, the first gym leader having types based on what pokemon you picked first, three rivals, etc) have peaked my interest.

Heh. I remember in my first play through a pokemon game, I relied entirely on my charizard, who was like 10-20 levels ahead of all my other pokemon. I got a rude awakening around the point I got to that one city with the poison-type gym and the Safari zone. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Dan558]

Are triple battles a big part of this game because they sound like they are more of a gimmick then double battles ever were? Triple battles just sound so much more cluttered and zany, having to worry about "adjacent pokemon", and switching positions. Basically just more trouble then they are worth.

Reusable TMs seems to me to be the only clear plus of this generation other then just new story/pokemon. Other thewn the TMs it just seems like only minor tuning to the overall game. I dislike the design of so many pokemon in this generation, basically my theoretical team would be limited to 5 pokemon I actually find decent and the evolved starter (NOT the third fire/fighting type in a row). It would come down to this team

Samurott
Krookodile
Archeops
Galvantula
Chandelure
????? (eventually the Deino line but you don't get that till the very end)

How do so many people have that victini pokemon? isn't that one of those non-existent pokemon that Nintendo hordes more and more each generation to screw players out of getting cool pokemon? I havn't bought many pokemon games lately especially the initial generation releases because its a clear money grubbing move when you know they are gonna introduce a third version that's 100 times better.

Of coarse all this is based on what I have read/seen so nothing is definite, just my opinion so far. Also White seems to be the way better version (Zekrom, White forest, general pokemon availability)

[Victoria]

We all have Victini because it's a WiFi event you download from Mystery Gift for free from your own home.

And really, stop letting appearances bother you. "Don't judge a book by its cover" and all that. Some pokemon may not look that good, but may actually be very capable. Conkledurr for example. Best fighting Pokemon in the game. This gen's Machamp.

[Dan558]

We all have Victini because it's a WiFi event you download from Mystery Gift for free from your own home.

And really, stop letting appearances bother you. "Don't judge a book by its cover" and all that. Some pokemon may not look that good, but may actually be very capable. Conkledurr for example. Best fighting Pokemon in the game. This gen's Machamp.

With a game like Pokemon I think appearance does factor into things. It's not like people where there is limitless depth/potential. I find it hard to believe that most people play pokemon games and choose pokemon regardless of looks (although this can also apply to how people judge in real life too). I also did state that nothing I claim is definite because i havn't tried it yet either.

The act of excluding all pokemon from previous generation untill the main game is beaten I think was also a kick in the pants news. Yes it makes you adapt to the new pokemon more but wasn't the disconnection with older generations one of the reasons why Gen III is considered bad by some people?

Thank God wi-fi has allowed less exclusive events but another question, why would you use an such a strong pokemon right from the start wouldn't that take away from the challenge/fun of the game? Unless of course you are completely in love with the look over other fire or psychic types then I understand. Anyways this is probably getting off topic so i'll read rather then write more unless i get the game and have a more conclusive opinion/input

[Angel of Iniquity]

What are the rare game in this game? Anything compared to Heatran or Arceus?

[Fate]

I already beat the game a few days ago, but I'm starting over. My old party was:

Victini - 72

XD Yeah, I used the little guy for all my battles because I loved him. I had filler Pokemon for HM uses, but I only fought with Victini. I will be so pissed if they classify him in the Ubers tier. >_> *anti-Uber*

Oh, and I picked Tsutarja (Snivy in English) as my start, but he never got past being a level 28 Servine. xD But uh, I'm starting over since... I was looking to EV train Victini, and you only get one, but there are no EV-reducing berries in this game. I spent four hours trying to catch a Timid Victini, too. =\ So now I have to catch another Timid one and NOT use it until I have everything I need to EV train it. Currently, in my new file, I have:

Oshawott: 12

>W> I have a hard time training a lot of things. But I'll get more Pokemon in there.

::EDIT::

Oh, allsooooo, which fossil did everyone pick? I personally picked the bird fossil because the turtle seemed to be rather crap. But the bird is amazing. It has like 140 in ATK and over 100 in Speed. But I never did find out where I needed to go to revive the thing. XD Anyone find out?

[Victoria]

You go to the museum, obviously. Talk to the clerk on the right side of the entrance.
And really, just Victini? I guess power leveling overcomes weaknesses. >>

[Fate]

I suspected it was the museum, but I was looking for one of those professor guys with the machines next to them. >_> Guess I shouldn't assume what the person I'm suppose to look for looks like. xD

And yeah, Victini is very powerful against...everything. xD When NPC trainers don't EV train their Pokemon and Victini has a default 100/100 defenses, it has a hard time dying even with super-effective 100 Power STAB moves.

Don't you just love how the game GIVES you a ton of stuff right off the bat? I mean, the Lucky Egg is given as part of the story. We used to have to go through hell for that thing. And then out of nowhere, "Here's a bike," and "Here's Surf." Nicest generation ever. XD

[SOLDIER #819]

Beat the second gym, retrieved something Team Plasma had stolen. Chased them through a forest.

The gym battle wasn't too bad. There was a book puzzle since the gym is museum/library themed. Only 3 trainers. Gym leader had 2 Pokemon, I one-hit KO'd the first one. The second (this gen's Bidoof evolution with deep, red cocaine eyes) kept on using hypnosis. I just spammed potions until my Pokemon woke up since I didn't want to bother using Awakenings only to be sleep'd again. It took about two hits. Used Pignite and whatever fighting move he had the whole time.

Then the forest. Goddamn rangers. They had ninja or something in Diamond & Pearl that hid in the grass. It's like that except they're about as plentiful as hikers. Laughed out loud when one of them said, "Can you feel my _____?" after being beaten.

I got the dowsing rod along the way. It is SO much better than before. I don't have to tap the damn screen over and over anymore. The user interface in Pokemon could still use some work. It'd be nice to just have a main menu with everything on the touch screen so I don't have to quit out of the map or dowsing rod, backtrack past the C-Gear, open the menu, etc., etc. I still can't figure out why after all these years the Pokemon Storage still makes you choose between Withdrawing and Depositing Pokemon when Move Pokemon does both.

I think there were two bug pokemon and one grass pokemon that I caught in the forest. Thinking about switching in either for the grass one. Or maybe that damn cat. I need a replacement. Haven't been leveling it at all. Trying to keep my party's types spread out though.

What do the star fragments from that courage punching rock do? Do you just sell them?

~

Are triple battles a big part of this game because they sound like they are more of a gimmick then double battles ever were? Triple battles just sound so much more cluttered and zany, having to worry about "adjacent pokemon", and switching positions. Basically just more trouble then they are worth.

I think the number of triple battles within the plot portion of the game depends on what version you have. They look fun to do with friends at least! It really does seem like an end game thing.

[Victoria]

Don't forget "Here's Fly" and "Here's Strength."

And actually Victini can lose against stuff. Or maybe I just don't bother to heal it. xP
Although my Victini is level 36 and Cheren's Emboar is 45... Emboar kick's Victini's ass. >.>

[Fate]

Well, to be fair, any Pokemon can lose against other Pokemon (unless it's like, a Steelix against a Magikarp XD), but I suppose my Victini was invincible since it was always 20 levels above the opponent's. =p

And for anyone who's been to the Elite Four:

SPOILER!!:

God, the new layout is so cool. I love how you can use teleporters to get to any of them first. <3

What do the star fragments from that courage punching rock do? Do you just sell them?

That's the Star piece thing, right? Did I miss that rock? I don't remember some punching rock. xD But I would assume that if the description still says, "Can be sold for a high price" or something along the lines, it only serves one purpose.

[SOLDIER #819]

Changed my team up ever so slightly.

Pignite (wrestler pig)
Audino
Drillbur
Munna
Pansage
Swadloon (metapod)

Trying to get Swadloon's happiness up before I level it up again so that it can evolve. It keeps fainting from the pidgeons with their air cutter though. Hope there's a massage place soon.

Also Basic Badge is the lamest name for a badge as far as my own recollection goes. There are some pretty boring names, but this was so boring that it actually stood out.

That's the Star piece thing, right? Did I miss that rock? I don't remember some punching rock. xD But I would assume that if the description still says, "Can be sold for a high price" or something along the lines, it only serves one purpose.

Moneeeyyy. Haven't sold them yet.

There's a big rock up a hill near the entrance to Pinwheel Forest (?). The general area where you can get all the fighting types to take out the 2nd gym leader. You can punch the rock once per day if you have a fighting Pokemon with you to get a star piece.

[Victoria]

Black has Rotation Battle. White has Triple. They are located in Battle Houses or a specific area. There are no Triple battles in the story at all. They're completely optional for you to partake in.

[Victoria]

Just got through Victory Road and reached the Elite Four. I like how they're all the same level, and you can fight them in any order you like.

My team is currently thus:
Krookodile Lv 45
Lv 44 Serperior
Lv 45 Rufflet
Lv 47 Mienfoo
Lv 43 Zebstrika
Lv 43 Victini

I think I need to train some more. Need my Pokemon at least level 50, except for Rufflet, which will be level 54 to evolve into Braviary.

Whew. The Ghost trainer has a really strong Lv 50 Ghost/Fire pokemon. Makes me want to train a Rock type just for this battle.

[SOLDIER #819]

Just got to the huge city with the huge bridge. Even though the graphics are dated by today's standards it really looked cool. Pokemon's never looked so good before haha.

Maybe it's because the NPC population is dense in this city, but it really highlights how wonky the series's translation can be. "Even though I am good at Pokemon, I still lost..." after beating one of the office girls is the only thing that comes to mind right. But yeah, part of the charm!

Still trying to figure out why one of the NPCs was telling people how to do a thumbs up sign. Though the whole city is just weird/funny. Luckily I did the dancing trio thing first and got that amulet coin, which I put on my Pignite and Rollout'd of poverty by beating everyone in the Battle Company (?). CEO janitor netted me about 8000. EXP Share should be nice.

Does the Pokemon equipped with EXP Share, given that they don't fight, get EV points?

I think I'm going to get on the boat and get that legendary before fighting the gym leader. I just hope I'm high level enough...

[Angel of Iniquity]

When do you think they will make a Pokemon game like they do on the handhelds, on the systems? Not like coliseum which died horribly, I mean a 3d-version of the BGA ones, with the old school FF random encounter feel and stuff.
Is it because they want to preserve the Handhelds?

[SOLDIER #819]

I beat the third gym leader. Some of the battles were a bitch. The majority of my Pokemon are at equal or lower level than the opponent's, so if I didn't rush with Pignite it came down to a battle of volition. The gym leader himself was a bit harder than usual, but not unmanageable. Some of his Pokemon were a bit higher than mine, however. I'm going to need to grind more.

It's nice that they're giving the gyms solid themes that relate to the gym leaders' personalities, rather than the same elemental-themed room they've done up until now. They're also involving them with the story more, so I can actually remember them. Until I see their battle sprites they're a bit hard to tell apart though, since speech patterns are more or less the same amongst everyone.

There really does seem to be a bit more story in this game than usual. They are going out of their way to make it very obvious who's bad and who's actually trying to do what they feel is right, but that's okay. It's Pokeymans.

Also beat Bianca. She makes the story worth paying attention to. Probably my favorite of the rivals out of all the past games, this one included. Chardonnay or Cecil or whoever is pretty normal. I bet they'll develop him a bit too though. Still, Bianca. No clue why they felt they had to change her name from Bell... other than the blatant trans to "white", of course. I don't get what the other rival, Chevron's name means. Thus I can't remember it.

I took a peek at Route 4 before I turned it off. Sandstorm everywhere. Goddamnit.

When do you think they will make a Pokemon game like they do on the handhelds, on the systems? Not like coliseum which died horribly, I mean a 3d-version of the BGA ones, with the old school FF random encounter feel and stuff.
Is it because they want to preserve the Handhelds?

What I gathered from an interview I read was that the creator of the game wanted to sort of simulate an outdoorsy feel (playing the grass as a kid with bugs and whatnot) and felt that a handheld complimented the experience. So I wouldn't say it's an effort to keep handhelds popular so much as that they wanted it on a handheld from the very beginning. Nowadays there are a lot of cool things you can with the system's wi-fi, and so long as they don't completely ignore internet battling I think the pluses outweigh the minuses.

They did have one 3-D Pokemon game that wasn't a Coliseum iteration. I think it was similar to an typical RPG. Given that they haven't made another it doesn't seem like it caught on too well though.

[LocoColt04]

They did have one 3-D Pokemon game that wasn't a Coliseum iteration. I think it was similar to an typical RPG. Given that they haven't made another it doesn't seem like it caught on too well though.

Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness!


Route 4 is a pain in my neck, fackin' sandstorm.

[SOLDIER #819]

"This parasol keeps off the sun and rain, but it can't stand up to sandstorms...
Ah! My tears are falling on Route 4."

Finally got through Route 4. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Started out with a rival battle with Cheren (?) followed by lots of walking through sand. That fire pokemon, Darumaka or whatever and Scraggy/Scruggy/whatever looked cool, but I already have a fire/fighting type so it seemed like it'd be overkill. I honestly need an annoyer or to replace Pansage at this point, as awesome as the evolution looks. I think I need less physical attack types in general. As I get further into the game I tend to become more conservative with messing up my team since I've invested so much time into leveling, so I'd better make my choice fast.

Not Victini though. FORGET LEGENDARIES.

So thankful that they have rest NPCs now. If I had to run back to the Pokemon Center to heal every time I think I'd have quit by now.

The Desert Resort, however, so far as been a lot worse. Just one huge sand pit with tons of random battles to wade through to get anywhere. It was hard finding most of the items when every step I took meant another level 20 Pokemon appearing. I guess it's still better than a cave though.

About to enter that temple. I am assuming that is the only place to go at this point. I couldn't find another exit.