knight of truth.

A nuzlocke journal for unovasrose.

[roselocke]

Relic Castle.

    I stumbled upon it in the dark, dusty corners of the Relic Castle remains... a Yamask, all curled up in itself, a sound like a whimper coming from it. Was it injured? Ghost-type or not, I couldn’t just leave an INJURED pokémon behind...

    Before I could get too close, the spirit tipped its head back and let out an anguished wail. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end at the bone-chilling sound and I stumbled back, almost tripping over Rocco in the process. That was all it took for me to reconsider. I scrambled out of there as fast as I could, leaving the Yamask behind in the dark.

Capture Lost!

[roselocke]

Rule Update!

Especially for the instance that’s coming up, I have to add a Rosa-specific rule to this run:

If Rosa's first encounter in an area is a Ghost-type pokémon, she must flee it. Shiny clause is still in effect

[roselocke]

Desert Resort.

    Once more, I found myself heading toward a gym that I had no good counter for. Delta and Hecate were out of the question with their type disadvantages, and I’ve heard Elesa’s Zebstrika knows fire-type moves so Clover was also a no-go. Just when I was considering training the heck out of Serafina, the answer came to me in the form of a curious Sandile that snuck up on us in the dunes. 

Desert Resort Capture!

Current Team:

[roselocke]

Interlude / Castelia.

    Words can’t express the sheer disappointment that Delta and I shared when we finally reached the front of the line at the Casteliacone cart, only to watch the clerk hang up a Sold Out sign. I knew my chances of scoring a cone today were slim based on the queue and how late in the afternoon it was, but I REALLY wanted a cold treat to celebrate our victory... oh well.

    I heaved a sigh and turned around, ready to drag myself back to the Pokémon Center when I was suddenly presented with a glorious Casteliacone. The guy who’d been standing in line in front of me held up his own purchased cone, a bright smile on his face.

    “Here you go miss, I think you deserve this more than I do. Word on the street is you just beat Burgh over at the gym. Congratulations on your win!” 

    Oh, he’s... The heat crept up my neck and onto my face as I flicked my eyes from him, down to the cone, back to him. Crystal blue eyes. Dark blue hair that fell into his eyes. Arceus, he was so handsome, but it was his smile that disarmed me the most. I just stood there for a minute, mouth hanging slightly open, until his lips quirked up further and that’s when I realized I was caught staring. Qwilfish.

    “Oh… no no no no, you don’t have to do that for me! You stood in line for just as long as me, if not for longer. I can always try tomorrow before I leave town! Thank you though…”

      He laughed and I just wanted the pavement to swallow me whole. Arceussss whyyyyy did I have to be so embarrassing around such a cute guy? Still, he didn’t seem too bothered.

    “Please, won’t you take it for me? I want you to have it… besides if I keep holding it out to you and neither of us take it, the only one who’ll get to enjoy it is the pavement.” That kind smile was back and I was a goner. 

    “O-ok… but only if you’re sure…?” I stammered as I reluctantly reached for the offered Casteliacone. I just KNOW my face is bright pink right now... “Thank you, ummm...”

    “Nick. My name’s Nick. And you are... Rosa?”

    I almost dropped the cone when he said my name. “H-how...?”

    Looking distressed for the first time during our interaction, he quickly pointed to one of the nearby displays. “S-so sorry, your name’s all over the screens since you won! I guess that was still kinda creepy, huh? Sorry.” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and I felt myself relax. Of course, the displays...

    Feeling a bit more confident, I flashed him a smile. “You’re fine, don’t worry about it. I guess I sorta overreacted, too.” I always forgot the slight fame that came with successfully progressing through a gym challenge. I’ve heard my name on the radio and on TV once or twice since arriving in Castelia. It’s weird... but it also made sense. No use in stressing over it.

    “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Nick. And thank you very much for the ice cream.”

[roselocke]

Castelia Gym / Vs. Burgh

    I’m so glad I decided to train in Route 4 before I challenged the gym. Delta took care of Burgh’s Dweeble easily but it was Serafina who truly shone during the gym battle. Despite being wobbly and unsteady on her feet, she managed to land every hit against Leavanny! I’m almost shocked at how easy this battle seemed... but you won’t hear me complain about it!

Insect Badge Obtained!

[roselocke]

Relic Passage.

    “Wait, no, come back!” 

    The little Woobat took one at Delta and bolted but I wasn’t about to lose this capture so I took off right after her. She was still spooked when I cornered her so I had to calm her down by offering her some berries. The oran berries weren’t much of a sell but the single pecha berry I offered up definitely piqued her interest!

Relic Passage Capture!

Current Team:

[roselocke]

Castelia Sewers.

    I felt pretty confident about challenging Burgh so we freshened up at the Center and then marched straight to the gym only to find that he had run off somewhere. I did get to meet Iris, though, who was also looking for Burgh... boy, that was such a shock! She was incredibly cool, though, and directed me toward the sewers, where Burgh was supposedly hunting down some shady-looking people. Not exactly my first choice of places to visit but if something’s up, I can’t just sit back and do nothing. Those black-clad “Plasma” members are still out there, smearing the original Plasma’s name, and I’m gonna get to the bottom of this.

    At the entrance to the sewers, I finally found Hugh, who seemed to be under the impression that those Plasma guys from earlier were hiding in the sewers. Intent on finding out more about them, I teamed up with him to explore the area and do some more training along the way. Hugh’s Oshawott is incredibly powerful, taking most of the wild pokémon out in one hit. I managed to catch this bashful little guy right before he knocked it out, though.

Castelia Sewers Capture!

    I know we came down here expecting to find them, but it’s still a shock when we actually run into some of those grunts in black down here. They’re still on their rant about pokémon liberation, which I KNOW is not exactly how they paint it now... No. I’m taking them down!

    The grunts are no match for Clover, who mowed them down with her Leaf Tornado. After admitting that they outright stole the pokémon they used to battle us, they bolted like Patrat. I was torn between chasing them down and pushing ahead to see if we found any more of those guys, but Burgh finally made his appearance and let us know the coast was clear. Hugh was still pretty heated from the encounter so he thanked me for the help before running off... why does he always seem so much more upset than me when we run into Team Plasma?

    With the promise that I’d swing by the gym to challenge him later, I decided to investigate an odd rock passage connected to the sewers. It’s there that I met the weirdest-looking man... he praised the way I brought out Clover’s power during battle against the Plasma grunts before disappearing just as suddenly as he’d appeared, which left me mystified. Who the heck was that guy? I’m finding that the further along I go in my journey, the more questions I have.

Current Team:

[roselocke]

Route 4.

    “Oh thank Arceus!”

    Right after we made it to Castelia, I realized I didn’t really have a good counter for Burgh and his upcoming bug types. As you can imagine, I sorta went into panic mode... until Clover wrapped herself around me and pretty much told me to pull myself together. It took a Casteliacone or two but I eventually felt myself coming back to normal. Alright, Rosa... you can figure this out.

    My best bet is to expand and diversify my team so we headed out to Route 4 in search of some new partners. Out there in the middle of a sand trap, I found a Darumaka! She packed a terrifying punch, though her attacks kept missing us more often than not. Finally, with Delta’s help, I was able to weaken her enough to catch her. 

Route 4 Capture!

    Since we were already all the way out here, we decided to get a good training session in. The perpetual sandstorm was a bit of a pain but Delta handled it the best out of everyone... she even evolved again! It took me by surprise since she’d evolved into Marill just a few days ago but I’m super pumped to see her continue to grow! If I remember correctly, one of Burgh’s bugs is also part rock-type, so she should come in real handy in the gym battle too!

Evolution!

Current Team:

[roselocke]

Interlude / Virbank.

    When we tried to leave Virbank, we ran into that guy I met back in Floccesy Ranch... the one that had called himself Plasma. This time, though, he had company and he was ready to brawl. I teamed up with Hugh and Roxie to knock them back, but there’s something he said that chilled me...

    “Two years ago... we were betrayed by the man we respected as our King and Hero. So our conquest of Unova ended in failure. However, we’ll never give up! We’ll persevere! We already have another plan in motion...”

    Just how many Plasma members feel the way he does, that our goal was to conquer Unova rather than to protect pokémon? How many people knew of and supported Ghetsis’s true vision while those of us who backed Lord N were left in the dark? And who’s WE? How many more ‘Plasma’ members are part of this? What exactly is this ‘plan’ they already have in motion? 

    I better call mom and let her know soon.

[roselocke]

Virbank Gym / Vs. Roxie

    “That was amazing!!! They couldn’t touch us!”

    I shouldn’t have worried so much. Roxie’s Whirlipede attempted to scrape Sterlyn’s armor but its barbs couldn’t even dent it. The series of Protects they fell back on afterward couldn’t keep her safe from our Thundershock for too long, either!

Toxic Badge Obtained!

[roselocke]

Virbank Complex 2.0

    It had been nothing but pouring rain here in Virbank for the last couple of days but we didn’t let that stop us from getting our training in. We had a lot of work to do if we wanted to challenge the Virbank gym. While Sterlyn’s steel typing made it the ideal pokémon to use against Roxie’s poison types, I wanted to work on our bond and our team dynamic before I jumped into any major battles with it. 

    Sterlyn and Clover made a fearsome double team for most of our battles against wild pokémon. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but my little Magnemite’s electric attacks really packed a punch! I almost felt bad for all the Patrat we took down... almost. Not one to cast herself in the shadows, Clover worked even harder to keep up with Sterlyn... to the point where she even evolved!

Evolution!

    Despite Sterlyn’s power and Clover’s success, though, today had been Delta’s time to really shine. The rain gave her a much-needed boost and we managed to out-strategize all of the workers in the complex in combat. I know I was worried about her being too weak when I first caught her but I’m super proud of her! She even evolved too!

Evolution!

    By the end of the day, I was feeling really good about our upcoming battle. Even though it took me a good half hour to wring out my hair, today was totally worth it!

    Watch out, Roxie, here we come!

Current Team:

[roselocke]

Virbank Complex.

    We made it to Virbank just when the sun was setting. I should have probably stopped at the PokéCenter to rest first but mom had talked up the Virbank Complex view so much that I just had to check it out. 

    I ran into a mischievous little Magnemite there! It kept hovering around us and poking Clover when she was least expecting it, so I ended up capturing it just to get it to quit. Its steel typing should be super useful when dealing with Roxie’s poison types, so I’m actually pretty hyped I managed to find one!

Virbank Complex (Outer) Capture!

    While the complex was a bit more of an industrial area than I expected, the view of the water at the very end was so gorgeous, especially at dusk. Totally worth coming straight here! I was leaning on the railing just watching the pinks and oranges of the sky slowly fade into purple when I felt something nudging my leg — an Elekid!

    I stepped aside like it wanted me to, then watched it somewhat stubbornly try (and fail...) to climb up on the railing a couple of times before I scooped it up and set it down on the railing next to me. We ended up watching the rest of the sunset together, and then it followed me all the way back to the city. I guess I made another friend, huh?

Virbank Complex (Inner) Capture!

[roselocke]

Interlude / Aspertia.

    Mom didn’t have any news from Sage Rood when I returned from my gym battle, which was pretty disappointing. However, there's really no point in me getting caught up on this for now, so I should probably keep pushing forward with my journey until we learn more about what’s going on. Who knows? Maybe I’ll learn more during my travels.

   With the promise that we’d keep each other updated via the xtransceiver if anything came up, I said goodbye to mom and headed back out again. With a bit of luck, maybe we can reach Virbank by the end of the day.

    I feel like I’ve wasted so much time traveling to Floccesy and back... though apparently I beat Hugh to the Basic badge, so at least there’s that! Hopefully, he’ll grow to see me as someone he can depend on... I’d love to keep the promise I made to his mom.

[roselocke]

Aspertia Gym / Vs. Cheren

    “Clover, we did it!”

    I ran into the ring and scooped her up into my arms. Mr. Cheren’s pokémon were pretty tough opponents, especially since they both kept boosting their Attack stat, but in the end we were tougher! Our strategy to inflict Wrap damage while we powered up ourselves with Growth worked like a charm. I’m so glad I gave her an Oran berry to hold before the battle, too... that saved me a scare.

Basic Badge Obtained!

[roselocke]

Interlude / Aspertia.

    Mom was just as shocked as I was to hear about the man in the grove and promised to look into it. It’s too late to contact Sage Rood tonight but she’ll do it early tomorrow and let me know what she finds out when I come back home.

    For now, I should try to relax and get some sleep... even if it's easier said than done. We’ll be challenging Mr. Cheren for a Basic badge tomorrow and I’m so nervous that my stomach is in knots. I know Delta isn’t that strong so I’ll make her sit this one out. Dusk is quick and his claws are sharp, but he still seems so frail to me... I haven’t decided if I’ll use him yet. Clover’s definitely ready but I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to jump into the fray solo... 

    I guess we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

[roselocke]

Interlude / Floccesy Ranch.

    No... this can’t be.

    When I agreed to help Hugh find the ranch owner’s missing Herdier, the last thing I’d been expecting was to find the pokémon cornered by a person. But that wasn’t even the worst part. The man doing so... the emblem on his clothes.

    He called himself Team Plasma.

    When I found him and Herdier in that grove, he started yelling at me! I shrank back from him and reached for Clover’s pokéball but he threw a technical machine at me and escaped before I could summon her. I didn’t realize how scared I was until my legs gave from underneath me. The Herdier ran over to me and I wrapped my arms around it, hugging it tightly as it licked my face.

    Team Plasma — the group that strikes fears into the hearts of those who stand before it... no, that’s NOT the Team Plasma I remember! 

    Something’s very wrong. Before Hugh could ask me anything, I sprang to my feet and bolted out of the grove. I had to talk to mom in private.

[roselocke]

Floccesy Ranch.

    “Wow, you’re a stubborn one, aren’t ya?”

    Despite the beating it took at Clover’s hands, the little Azurill I ran into outside of the ranch refused to back down at any point in our battle. It threatened to follow us too, when we started to back away... Guess I’m keeping this one, huh?

Floccesy Ranch Capture!