[Gen 3] Aron the World -- Episode 2: Khaos at Kanto -- FireRed and LeafGreen

[SteCisGreendog]

Hi there, I'm SteC and this is:

The Basics
In the interim of my incomplete attempt on Emerald, this is my second go on the Solo Challenge with my good pal Aron. The same rules apply with the previous run; defeat all species of Pokémon in the region excluding those that appear outside of Kanto. In other words, Pidgey is essential to battle and win against, but Hoothoot... not so much. If the regional Pokédex was too easy (and not at all time-consuming) then the secondary challenge is to clear all existing Pokémon in the national dex up to Gen 3.

This time, the rules have been retuned to fit around the scope from my previous experience, mainly the following:

• catching and breeding another Aron for party use is fine, only if the hatched Aron can evolve and the original starter remains unevolved. Victories with Lairon/Aggron do not count
  
• completing the Pokémon League and beating the last legendary is the minimum requirement. Ideally the regional Pokédex must be beaten before the next region can be explored
  
• try to keep the 'caught Pokédex' count as small as possible until the Elite Four/Champion are beaten and post-game modes unlock
  
• other party Pokémon may be raised for the sake of competing in Double Battles, but not essential
  
• 'Eras' now ecompass each Generation a pool of games appear in while 'Parts' are reserved for each version. Don't think too hard about this - I wanted to change them into 'episodes' but I already made the title graphic, so there!

Path to Domination
The regions I intend to play in order.

Hoenn --> Kanto --> Sinnoh --> Johto --> Unova --> Kalos --> Alola --> Galar --> Paldea

The Rules
Detailed explanation of my playthrough in the spoiler box.

Spoiler:

1. Solo run as Aron - hacked in the game as a starter or traded - and use only that Pokémon without evolving it to defeat every type of Pokémon in the region's Pokédex at least once during a wild battle and/or trainer battle.

2. This challenge has several requirements that grow in scale of difficulty:

Req. 1 - use Aron to defeat every Pokémon in encounters at least once, including version exclusives, legendaries and mythicals. You MUST make the effort to track defeated Pokémon within that Generation
Example: rival's starter, legendary birds, Mewtwo, Oddish (FR), Bellsprout (LG)

Req. 2 - Regional rules; use Aron to defeat all the Pokémon in the chosen region's Pokédex
Example: 151 Pokémon in Kanto Pokedex (play FireRed OR LeafGreen, or preferably both to see everything that the versions offer)

Req. 3 - National rules; use Aron to defeat all the Pokémon up to the specific Generation across multiple versions
Example 1: 386 Pokémon up to Gen 3 (play Emerald AND FireRed OR LeafGreen)
Example 2: 721 Pokémon up to Gen 6 (play any of the older versions including X AND Y)​

3. The challenge is completed when any of these requirements are met. Move on to the next Generation. This will be made up in several 'era' below with eligible games where Aron is featured:

Era 1. Gen III Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, LeafGreen
Era 2. Gen IV Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, SoulSilver
Era 3. Gen V Black, White, Black 2, White 2
Era 4. Gen VI X, Y, OmegaRuby, AlphaSapphire
Era 5. Gen VII Sun, Moon, UltraSun, UltraMoon
Era 6. Gen VIII Sword, Shield, BrilliantDiamond, ShiningPearl inc. expansions
Era 7. Gen IX n/a (Aron is not available... yet)
Era 8. Gen I/II ???
​

4. Pokémon defeated from a previous Generation may not be carried over to each Era, but you may start from any Generation as long as you track your progress somehow. This is useful if you are starting this challenge for the first time, or only want to meet Requirement 2 for a specific region in mind (ie. Kalos, Galar).

5. Other Pokémon can only be caught for using specific TMs and HMs required to progress through the game. As for shiny Pokémon, you may catch them to keep as 'trophies' but no other purpose. Keep your Pokédex 'caught' rate as low as possible until the post-game criteria allows you to keep many Pokémon (ie. battle and contest facilities)

Example: Aron can use Cut, but not Fly. Catch a Scyther that can learn Fly and Cut to save space for Aron's moveset.​

6. If your party has more than one Pokémon (see Rule 5.) then try to use Aron in every single battle. It must lead your party at all times. If Aron faints in a wild encounter, you must Run to end the battle and revive it. If Aron faints in a trainer or gym battle, switch to another party Pokémon and revive. Resets may be tracked. Be sure to save often.

7. Aron must NOT evolve. Cancel the evolution all the time until you give it the Everstone to hold. If Aron becomes Lairon, the challenge will fail. You MAY evolve your Aron when Requirements 1 and 2 are met (deemed as 'retired') and you are ready to move on to a new version. However, should you require an Aggron for your team, you may breed an Aron for an egg to hatch and raise; the original Aron must remain in its base evolution ragardless.

8. When starting over a new version or file, Aron should be a new Pokémon, appropriately low levelled as to keep game balance and remove the hassle of file transferring.
Example: hatching an Aron in Ruby/Sword and raising it to level 5 before trading to Sapphire/Shield is perfectly acceptable.

9. For games where Aron cannot be easily hacked as a starter (Parts 5 onwards...) you should try to get an Aron at the earliest possible chance, either by conventional trading (see Rule 8) or hacking so it becomes a wild Pokémon on Route 1. Start the challenge when it joins your party and move your original starter to a PC or release it.

10. This challenge may be stacked with another Pokémon challenge (ie. Nuzlocke, item restrictions, etc.) for extra difficulty and maybe a more memorable experience.

Notes
Just as before, a vanilla run with the starter hack available to me and nothing else. My Google spreadsheet is now updated to cover Fire Red and Leaf Green as well as the index covering dex #1 to the end of time. I only hope that I don't get stuck in the post-game shenigans for too long like before *cough*BattleFrontier*cough*, which significantly killed the momentum of wrapping up Hoenn. The thing is, I actually have some familiarity with the Kanto remakes long ago, stopping short on Fucshia City when my neighbour and I lost interest around 2005, and I cannot blame my PS2 for that. If I time this well, this could be done by the end of the winter holidays, so wherever you will be going on Thanksgiving and the new year, please stop by for a few minutes if you can. :>

First part of FireRed is... heading down your town!​

 

[SteCisGreendog]

Chapter 1 - Bandit Clowns in Pallet Town

This is Rocky. Say 'hi' to Rocky. The other fella? You'll meet him soon enough. If you're new to this kind of travel log, open the spoiler box to reveal what I've been up to on this chapter.

Spoiler:

Prof. Oak should have his eyes checked. In the event that I would have a shiny starter, the best stats won out and I have an Aron with adamant nature for the journey ahead. That meant my rival chose...

...this squirt. No match without its special attacks.

"There's only room for one shelled freak around here."

Already with the insults...
I will say that nothing remotely of interest happened on the way towards Viridian City and Route 22, save for the updated graphics, sound and dialogue. If you can recall my misgivings with Emerald, you can tell I'm already worried about the polished dialogue they've changed with the curtains.

Gotta politely disagree with you there, matey.

I tried to catch screenshots where I can as it's been months since I did this properly. Spearow and a Mankey who should know better were here to say hello to our *ahem* visitor.

"One nibble on my coat, and I'll stomp all over your nest."

"Who wants to take flying lessons from you?"

"It's just a scratch. *sigh* You've got a lot to learn, monkey mon."

"You can't even move a pebble in a tornado."

Couldn't pass a chance to humble my rival after receiving the Pokédex. Yeah, he's called Sodum. I don't feel like explaining it but I think it's funny.

Antidotes? Nope, ain't gonna need those with my steel-y typey around. Now paralyz heals on the other hand, shut up and take my money!

I've been made aware how the remakes hold your hand a bit. Never mind that - onto Viridian Forest.

They're itching for something else, being around so many bugs and all, heheheh.

"You can't slow me down - I'm already ahead of you!"

"Your shell can't compare with mine."

"Not very effective... sucks to be you."

"You're almost as fun as the green one, but not very much."

*GASP* Wait 'til I tell your mom you said the 'S' word.

That's what Bruce Banner said before he was green.

N-NO! *jaw drops*

Imagine reading that out with the nasally whiney voice you've ever heard, and you have an uber weiner no. 1.

Great, but, why not slowly edge through them like a normal person?

(Hey, I couldn't let my Aron have all the fun, right? ;> )

So, all snarkasm aside, Pewter City was my beck and call, with some late-gen curveballs thrown my way. I guess it's been too long since I revisited this and Leaf Green so I was right to be surprised with one of them in the Pokémon Center.

The Profile system was back, and I prompted a statement that might have costed my life if this were real.

Now 'strong' this and 'strong' that is one thing, but 'outsider...' It's a cold, uncaring word because... no, not now. I'm not ready. It's gym time.

An eerie sense of deja vu in here. Does Roxanne ring any bells?

"What's the matter? Got no-body to go with?"
Foe SANDSHREW fainted!

"Not bad. A few levels higher and you might have got me for sure."

(Hey, my first error, yay! Miscounted the trainer's Sandshrew in front of Brock!)

"With you around, who needs tunnels?"

The first badge was just like that with Hoenn; a literal cakewalk. That TM though sounds very appealing... why not do what Mega Man does and absorb its powers? And a STAB, too?! Sold!

Oooooh yeah. One of several dope unnecessary sequences like this are aplenty here.

The Running Shoes... it's like they read my mind! Ahead was another cakewalk of trainers. I hoped I didn't overlevel because something was waiting for me at Mt. Moon.

"That don't even hurt, you sssssilly sssssausssage."

"The heck was that? The horns, I mean. That tickled."

"That was so easy, you forgot to sing!"

"Hey... What the %&*£*'s wrong with you?" Shaking me by the collar and swearing like that. It's a funny image. I thought this was Kanto, not Unova!

In the Center, I passed on my Magikarp offer. It wasn't high on my agenda and I was determined to keep my dex rate low as possible. Hey, what's that on the table?

Psssh. Kids don't read that ♥♥♥♥.

Mt. Moon time, with added water leaks and sandy pits. By the way, don't be this dweeb.

"Ninety nine flapping Zubats on the wall, ninety nine flapping Zubaaaaats..."

"There'll be no full moon tonight with me around."

I might say that the place was being generous with Clefairy. It was my second ever encounter here, but a more useful 'mon was lurking in the floor below.

Paras, our new (wait for it...) BUDDY! And, because I liked that Corpish's name so much, I named thee the new and improved McTappets. Buddies for life!

A quick trek back to the Mart for some Poké Balls. That encounter had me thinking, that I needed to be prepared for some surprises. Can't say what else I'd find on my way around.

Shut up, nerd. You merely surprised me by bringing out the pre-evolved form of one of Aron's most challenging opponents in Emerald.

"I have a feeling that we'll get along just fine. Too fine..."

"Unlike that other pile of bolts, you're okay... for a faker."

"Lucky for you, I don't dig weeds."

"If you even think about eating me, I'll pluck you out."

I remember...

I honestly thought the Rocket Grunt was waxing philosophy there.

"Slime is crime. Don't waste your time on me."

"Where there's smoke, there's an ingrate."

Given my personal intolerance for smoke, one could imagine what word in the English dictionary I could have used in placed in that last gib. These nerds, man. They seem to bring out the worst in us. Speaking of nerds, I picked up the Helix Fossil for no special reason.

These two bros were bro'ing it out in Route 4 and neither could supply me with the Mega Punch or Mega Kick fix. You know what that means? It's time to end this impressive start on Fire Red. Good thing I stopped there because I forgot to track down a Paras for the list. Will I be actually bothered to do it?! Find out later.




Stats
Kanto Pokémon Faced 23
National Pokemon Faced - 23
Resets - 0
Badges - 1
Technical errors - 1 (missed Sandshrew's KO message)


Closing Notes
That was a thrill. Normally this is where I give my thoughts of the gamplay I covered on this chapter but right now, I'm quite spent from putting this post together. It's a fond rehash of the challenge before it in Emerald and I don't want it to end badly like it did in the post-game. Of course I won't abandon the first run as I'm still going at the stat breeding as I speak. Here, I sincerely hope I won't run into the same problem for a long time yet until I reach the Sevii Islands. Not a pretty thought.

 

[SteCisGreendog]

Chapter 2 - Star Wores

Ooh, I get it. This game has been a TV programme all along. Now about that Paras before I cross the ledge of no return...

Spoiler:

"Free the hostage, you wicked doom shroom!"

Great stuff. Now onto Cerulean City for a nasty -no, horrible - surprise. Take three guesses, and the first two don't count.

No, it's not the stubborn Slowbro that the developers have moved a couple tiles down to block the convenient shrub.

No, it's not the speedo-clad swimmer or my going against the gym coach's advice.

"This is the big blowoff you always wanted, shrimpy."

"No thanks, I don't do tongues."

"Into the bowl with you - you'll love it there."

No, it's not even my rival who handed me my first slice of humble pie with its Squirtle and Pidgeotto.

"Uh, let me try - ahem, Aron. Your plot is so full of holes, you'll be smelling like Swiss cheese when it's all said and done. BAZINGA!"


...


Show 'em how it's done, A-mon.

"Who designed you? Fabio?"

Mr. Sassyboy here is going to fall back on his butt one day. As for the Fame Checker, it's one more gimmick I don't need or care, so Sodum was right about that. So what's my greatest surprise?

Nugget Bridge? Keep guessing. Mew is not illegimately obtainable here? You're kidding me.

This Mankey is getting the hang of it!

"Haha, tickly. You won't get the girls the way you fight."

"I made you disappear the right way, you lazy slob."

"If you can't break iron, maybe it's time to call it quits."

"Happy New Year! ... how do you like that... no reaction!"

And none of which the game cares to show or tell you at this point. I almost thought out loud 'what's the point,' then I realised I had to see Bill and get his S.S. Anne ticket.

Take Down was a great help in Emerald, so much that I passed on the later and more powerful Double Edge by mistake.

*grumble* Story of my life. Anyway, back to the gym for Misty.

"It's about time you saw stars of your own."

This here was the horrible surprise; Starmie and its speedy spamming Water Pulse kept giving Aron the 1, 2 all the time so often that I didn't care to count the resets in case I got a critical hit in (it didn't happen). In the end, I was forced to do something that- yes, Starmie? You have something to say?

"Look at those holes. I don't mind flooding you up all over again."




Off to Route 25 to grind my Aron until it can survive two Water Pulses.

Of course if one was very desperate, I could spam Super Potions until Starmie's signature move runs out of PP (it has 20). Alas, I couldn't afford that many potions. Speaking of which:

Three seconds of my life I'll never get back from these animations.

There's Iron Tail. Less accuracy, but pushes up the ante a bit.

...? &^&£*$((&£*&£%(&££&*$!!!!!!

Kidding. I wasn't that mad but for crying out loud, I could have Lairon at this rate if it weren't for the rules. I stopped at one more level to raise seven in total on this Route before returning to Misty.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

I knew I could!

"On account of you being a spammy starface, you deserved it!"

I, for one, am not grateful for what Fire Red has put me through so early on. Sure I had handicaps with the solo rule, but can you imagine what poor Charmander main babies had to go through with the same conditions? Well, like the rival said, "Who gives a hoot?" Now the police officer can move his caboose outside. Also, the Cascade Badge is mine and it's enough to make those scummy no good-for-nothing outsiders pay attention. Hey, don't take my word for it. Misty said it herself:

It ain't yours either, nutmeg.

"Phew, watching you fight makes me drowsy."

But... but, I could give you your TM back!!

Not long later, Route - what was it...? 6 - was on the cards, just north of Vermillion City where I plan to wrap up this chapter. At least the lengthy schedule and insightful commentary had made up for the short amount of progress, right?

Bless the little squirt. Just don't know when to give up.

IT'S BOULDERIN' TIME!

"Why don't you Pikachu somebody your own type, vermin?"

"Not too shabby. You lasted five seconds longer than the famous fella on TV."

"My goodness, you just cracked your dentures on my armour!"

Not for me. I don't play that game.

What you won't see is that I made myself comfortable in Vermillion City for the next part aboard the S.S. Anne. Will I teach Paras to Cut? Stay tuned.





Stats


Kanto Pokémon Faced - 36

National Pokemon Faced - 36

Resets - 15

Badges - 2

Technical errors - 2 (resized Aron's dialogue portrait)



Closing Notes

As you saw, the type disadvantage and solo rules had reduced me to grind up to a point where my Pokemon can survive two attacks. Neither fun or spontanenous to play. The grinding kind of reminds me of the glorious Prof. Oak's Challenge which I never tried. It also reminds me of my first hurdle in the Emerald travel log when I struggled against Wattson's Magneton/Manectric duo. That made the prior gym - a fighting gym, no less - a pushover in comparison, but I was just lucky. Still, a win's a win, and consquently my overlevelled Aron will steamroll anything in its path until when Fire Red decides to.

 

[SteCisGreendog]

Chapter 3 - Mouth of Steel

The VS Seeker. Just wait 'til the postame. From where I left off, I was about to miss the fabulous party on the S.S. Anne and had a boatload of trainers and a HM for my trouble. Pshh. Wasn't my ticket, anyway.

Spoiler:

Pardon me if I didn't capture enough footage on board so I didn't have to wade through spiel like this.

"Another perfectly harmless sea specimen."

"Who's a bad boy? Who's a bad boy? Me!"

My spidey sense was tingling. :)

Beg your pardon? That meant Bill wouldn't have his own room! What would she say to him?! (so many questions, I know)

Bastard. Wait til I get my hands on him.

"You get knocked down, then I get you down again, You are never gonna keep it up."

Seriously, all my friends still think this way even now.

Hey, watch the eyes!

Been a pretty uneventful retread through the ship, because hey, I did this dozens of times. I had to rush through to get to the interesting part. Never mind, check out 'Johnny Cage' here. New pose, same superiority complex.

"Put away that cotton do rag. I know it's you, squirt."

"We'll have a pysch out some other time. By the way, I already won the pysch out."

The Captain was saved (which could simply be done by one of his crew members instead), and Cut was given to McTappets - oh, hurry up with that scene already!

Sayonora, sister! Thanks for letting this free loader onboard.

Gym time with the 'Lightning...' er - 'Unovan.' Unlike my mates, I get with the times. Off to a great start with a trainer's Magnemite that almost had Aron done for good, just like in Emerald. Good times. The switch puzzle took long enough but eventually I got in and faced the real outsider of Kanto, Lt. Surge.

As much as I like Raichu, it didn't put up much of a fight at all thanks to Aron's past levelling experience in Chapter 2, and also because it ain't Magneton.

"You can keep your 100,000 volts. I like the misery of the dark."

Hmmm no, not really.

En Route 11 to the east brought us battlers, a cave, and a sleeping celebrity, so let's take a look-see.

Yeah, about that... ^¬^

A shout-out to a friend who loves the Polywag line. See this? See this?! You're welcome.

"No thanks. I don't even like biology."

Ah yes, Magneton - a top tier challenger against Aron thanks to its Electric/Steel typing, propensity to combo paralysis and confusion, and cut through my special defense like warm butter. One small problem; it's level was half of mine.

"So we meet again, sparkbag. Learn to keep up."

Growlithe's Roar dragged out the inexperienced McTappets. Don't do that! It hadn't fought its first battle yet!

What did I find there? I forgot.

"Watch where you put that thing next time!"

One of many Aides around Kanto. Whatever they have to give me, I'm nowhere near ready to receive their items. Not even the Flash HM as I was debating what to do about that.

"Your tails... gimme them tails. She loves me, she loves me not. She loves me, she loves me not..."

And here he is... Mr. Big Cheese. Mr. Everybody Loves Me. Mr. Top Banana. Mr. Mister. At this point without hesitation, Aron took a swig of bootleg Shuckle juice hidden in its armor shell and hurled an emotionally charged diss towards the Pokémon who took everything and gave little in between mouthfuls of intoxicating bile. Ten minutes later, my poor comrade was reduced to a bitter sobbing drunk. It must've been cathartic for him.


...

I on the other hand, don't give a hoot, as my rival would say. More pressing issues ahead over at Diglett's Cave. Now Aron was done grieving, it can regain its confidence over picking on some unsuspecting moles. A Dugtrio came out first!

"There's a brand new groove going round, and it's your fault!"

"Are you digging because you hide in shame?"

Over on the other side, the Aide would not give me the HM for Flash. Fat lot of good I am! Let's see if I can manage Rock Tunnel without it towards Route 10.

Sweet! This was something I could never do in Hoenn's Battle Frontier - KO a starter.

"My birthday was a month ago, but I'll make an exception here. *blows the flame tail out*"

"Call that a sting, or was it a love tap?"

"There's a joke to be made at your fuzzy expense but I won't go there."

"That coin for me? *chomp* Thanks for the tip. Heh heh."

Sure, sure, stop gloating and hand over that Everstone- big oop, not enough Pokémon. Oh well.

That's not all, folks! I decided to bumble through Rock Tunnel in the darkness so as to keep my Pokédex count low as possible. Part of the challenge.

The poor sap.

Maybe I won't need to play Leaf Green after all. :>

"That garlic on your back? No wonder you stink!"

OH OOOOOOOH? Spelling 'Pokémon' with a 'C', are we? Who are you to call a fellow Kantonese an 'outsider' while Lt. Short Circuit in Vermilion City ain't? Those boots of yours are ripe for an asskicking, but it'll be your own ass you're kicking for not holding that tongue, you conceited son of a Snorla-

"*sigh* Are you done? You know, it's that I'm beginning to see you quit Legends Arceus over a stupid slur. Chill."

Er, right. Sorry. Over to you. (I was only talking about Shaft)

"You're like a rolling stone with no direction home."

*singing* "The Cubone's connected to my foot bone, my foot bone's connected to the heel bone..."

W-who? M-mememe- me? Scared-d? I am NOT sc-scared! I'll learn it. S-see? Who's sssss-scared now?!

Out of the Rock Tunnel. Actually it went down smooth with no big issues, and -almost- no one said anything inappropriate. Hey, you know one thing scarier than Lavender Town? Finding that hidden berry and I don't even like berries! Everybody should see the nickname I gave to Aron in the next chapter. See you!


Stats
Kanto Pokémon Faced 57
National Pokemon Faced - 57
Resets - 15
Badges - 3
Technical errors - 2

Closing Notes
I talk a lot in this thread, yeah. It's because I can concentrate on that after the grinding at Cerulean City; it feels so rewarding. And since I talk, I require listeners otherwise what's the point?
Enquiring minds like to know why I take offense at the word 'outsider' the games throw at me, even up to now with Legends Arceus and the Scarlet/Violet DLC. Well it's because I am one irl and I don't think I am misunderstanding when I'm called out like that. One day I could pick up Legends again and see if my character can be redeemed by the end-game. Wouldn't it be nicer if we're addressed as 'outlaw' instead?

 

[SteCisGreendog]

Chapter 4 - Ingestion Manifestation

I didn't go far this time. Or did I...?

Lavender Town, where people talk about the ghosts all day long. Too bad the day/night element wasn't put into use back then, because that would be a pretty rad twilight visual. Who's in the mood for spooking the living daylights out of my boi?

Spoiler:

First, some important matters. My solo was renamed Matango. Not much thought went into this - it's been five months since I heard or read it somewhere and I thought it sounded cool. Simple.

Did I come to pay respects? Oh gee, I don't know. I'm a bloomin' OUTSIDER, remember?!

Always a mood lifter, this one. Let's see how easy I can knock Mr. 'Not the Face' flat onto his keister this time.

Now he's brought a bunch of eggs and I feel bad for him.

"I feel bad for you. You'll end up in someone's salad someday."

Go on, then. Smell me. SMELL ME RIGHT NOW, DARNIT!!

.
.
.

"Boy, you smell like a corpse."

.
.
.

*sigh* I'll give him that, but I will win the next war of words.

Awww, it's telling him to go outside and play. <3

Since there wasn't anything else to do without the Silph Scope, we headed west towards Route 9, making sense of this crazy world. Like how this one Nerd brought out the entire Grimer line for our amusement before realising a Grimer was fought before on Mt. Moon.

"For Muk's sake, an entire evo line done in on one fight."

Yes! I did not make the same mistake with Double-Edge. His Iron Head can attest to that.

Was it here that we had our first double Pokémon battle? Yes, it was. Took long enough. Remember that my partner cannot be allowed to attack the opposing team though it can still participate with stat/status moves and recovery items.

"Sure, why not? Can't let the guys have all the fun, eh?"

"Looking at you makes me sick to *my* stomach."

Ooh, those Magnemites cut it close every time!

You know the song. Reach Celedon City, bust heads with the Rockets in the Game Corner. You will never find a more wretched hive of- yeah, we've heard it. First, the gym.

Too bad for Erika, this isn't quite like the anime and the game allowed me in because it's MACHO MONDAY, baby!

And a million dreams were crushed that day. The lass' line reminds of Little Britain, a 2000s UK sketch comedy show that would no doubt never be shown on TV nowadays for super racy skits like crossdressing that's played for laughs (think of Ash in anime). The show was funny for like 5 minutes. It's a different world now. Anyway, back to this...

The first 'Cool' Trainer. Believers of their own crap, if you ask me. Forgive me but I always wanted to call them out.

"Did you know iron is bad for your diet?"

"You're just cruisin' for a prunin'."

"Who wants to smell like you?"

An all too easy battle with Erika, nothing noteworthy here.

"Don't eat me. I'm indigestible."

"Yuck! That's the last time I eat coiled spaghetti!"

"If I had a scent like yours, I could barely live with it."

Stupid girl. She has the language of a thesaurus and still finds my weak spot. Before she even thought of abandoning MACHO MONDAYS forever, I took leave and visited the said wretched hive to pay a visit with the Rockets.

"Hey! No fighting in the vicinity!"

Oh ho ho ho, we will meet these boneheads in a moment.

(Normally I don't do memes, but eff it, this moment was rich!)

Did anybody get in back there? No, good. The Rocket Hideout was your standard labyrinth of multiple trainers and puzzles to solve in getting to the big cheese with a key item. And guess what? It's *still* a standard labyrinth of trainers and puzzles, and so on. It didn't fare much of a challenge but I was amused by the Rockets' dumbfoundedness.

Sounds good, but since we do that a lot already, we didn't really need the TM.

Gotta look the part. *mouth click*

PA "pssssshh. You're fired. Psssssh." These grunts spell Pokémon with an 'A.' We finally have some variety of battles below, right up to the boss' floor. Why so long, guys?

"Wrong move again, dirt rat!"

"Go back to school; you still can't spell your own name!"

Sorry to interrupt your carbonara, spaghetti-head. Yeah, I know, Giovanni... bad Italian jokes. Bad taste.

"Who's your daddy? Wait... who *is* your daddy?"

"You look familiar... like a naked Lairon."

After that battle followed... well... the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in the Rocket family. I could have heard Giovanni cry, "Oh no! I dropped the SILPH SCOPE" in that villainous purr of his. Then in a twist of fate, his goons pranked around the PA system and told him he's fired before erupting in uproarious laughter. That's how I imagined it.

Tons of items were found there so I remembered to sell and store them before heading back to Lavender Tower. So many times I had a full inventory in Emerald, it made me careful not to make the same mistake.

The Tower was something, and I had to admit the Gastly sprites never looked better in this generation. Too bad there's next to no variety in the wild save for the rare Haunter. Enjoy the menu!

"Pee-yew, who cut the cheese?"

"You look more like a figment of my bad breath than a nightmare."

Indigestion, perhaps? Also, I appreciated that the only trainers permitted here were the Channelers who know their purpose. Not like that tasteless public funeral palour in Hoenn, Mt. Pike. I spit in that place.

Without much warning - and I mean, without *any* warning whatsoever - came big momma Marowak's angry spirit, and it had every right to be mad at the world to let me walk around here expecting a sign.

The Bonemarang was a move to be feared and made me question my choices to catch the beast and make it suffer even more in my company, or free it with my toughened companion. What did I do? (Pause for effect...)

.
.
.

"Would you stop waving that bone around? It kills me to see you like this!"

Well, Bonemarang did hurt.

Oh, for- those losers and their Ratatta and wotsits. Next!

No, I didn't save Mr. Fuji. Nope, he was not the same Mr. Fuji who donned a tuxedo and face paint to manage Demolition, a decent pro-wrestling tag team that many said that ripped off the super popular Road Warriors in the WWF. Not the same Mr. Fuji who threw salt in the Real American Hulk Hogan's eyes in 1993. This Mr. Fuji was a national treasure and came to thwart the Rockets in his own accord but came up short to calm those spirits. A kid had to step up to save the day. Yes, this was the Mr. Fuji who gently handed over the Poké Flute to me and recommended using it on sleeping Pokémon, and I know just what to do with that flute.

If only I knew what the heck he meant by that. Wait... oh, I get it now. He hasn't heard of my Pokedex clearing challenge.

Route 12 brought me fishing fools and dash-faced life sucking leeches called 'couples.' They're annoying too, but they're not what the Poké Flute is meant for.

What's Metal Claw times four? Answer:

"Huh. Not a bad thing going for some 'mon who sleeps on their ass all day long."

The End (for Snorlax)





Stats
Kanto Pokémon Faced - 75
National Pokémon Faced - 75
Resets - 15
Badges - 4
Technical errors - 2


Closing Notes
Nice. I've reached the halfway mark of my Pokédex. 75... that's the previous number '57' the other way around. It's a good sign until that number reaches near completion when the in-game event Pokémon are left which you cannot battle against, but hey; I've been proven wrong before with the Kanto starters in trainer fights so maybe there's hope yet to discover those fossils and genetic foxes in future chapters. In closing, don't think that I gave Snorlax a hard time because it's a longtime company favourite and a personal thorn in my side for overexposure. In fact, I've just begun. Hahaha...

 

[SteCisGreendog]

Chapter 5 - Tea is Love

That's... interesting, I guess.

Following Snorlax's (temporary) downfall, we returned to Celadon City to find out how useless these tasty drinks were later on amid much goofing around as follows:

Spoiler:

Matango (to Kangaskhan): "Who's your daddy? Wait... who *is* your daddy?"

.
.
.

Sorry, I blanked out there.

For Kanto's third double battle, they have quickly stepped up their game with the choice of Pokémon to bring out.

"No one wants to ride you with flames that high."

"Hit the bricks, you overgrown feather duster."

Using Cut around Route 16 rewarded me with the Fly HM. If only I had wings... Fuchsia City must be the place to go, but I was ready for some fun beforehand. Three straight routes of trainer heavy trials without a rest area before the next town. With a solo, I couldn't possibly meet them all before running out of PP but I did my best and have no regrets.

Cables? Hey, you're not a rocker - you're just a roadie! Don't bullcrap with me!

"Never take the easy way out, you coward."

"Sorry, you must jump yay high to overcome my steel."

North to Shut Up Bridge, more like.

Um... I am lost!

"Heads, I win. Tails, you lose."

"Fly away before I wring that neck of yours back into shape!"

Enquiring minds would like to know why the move Iron Tail has 70% accuracy. Aron doesn't have a tail!

Those bird keepers sure like talking about moves.

"Mirror, mirror, on the ground. Who's the most awesome all around? Me!"

So tired. Save those lot for later.

Fuchsia City! And those poor saps held in captivity... if only there was a way to free them. Here it made sense to tackle the gym first and the Safari Zone second as it's part of the story.

Shut up and hold my soda!

See? This guy knows what he's talking about!

"That's not a mind trick - it's just food on a chain."

Remember in Gen I when half the trainers would carry a whip around them? This tamer must have gotten a free pass while the others have taken the 'trainer' thing a little less literally, like how the British government banned nunchakus in the UK or something to that effect.

Sorry, had something in my ear. What did you say about poison, Koga?

I said it before and I'll say it again: where there's smoke, there's an... something that rhymes with 'grass bowl.'

"Well color me surprised you didn't evolve into a friggin' cigarette or something!"

I really enjoy insulting poison types. Don't take it personally. Now, onto the safari to find the macguffin.

Naaaaaaaaaaaaants ingoooooooonyama bagithi baba ~ the Safari Zone to me was a phoney front. It's the only area where standard battling is not allowed and the trainer can interact with the wild Pokémon by throwing stuff at them like a naughty child without adult supervision. Or a soccer ultra supporter in a riot. Same thing.

Shoo, shoo! I don't want you! Go!

Lucky for me I had great navigation skills despite putting the game down at this point back in 2005.

I mean, receiving two HMs within a minute was extremely generous and wasn't something I will ever experience again. Time to put them both into good use with a new buddy, and for that I needed the Good Rod and high tail up back to somewhere I could find that Pokémon. Back to Route 14/15/16 to deal with those trainers I skipped before.

"Do I look like a darn dog to you, you waving that stick around?"

"So, who's the third wheel in this outfit?"

I told you these bird keepers were retentive about moves. Why'd this guy mentioned 'Earthquake' in front of Matango? The poor guy got nervous.

"Wiggle your tuff out of my face!"

Whoa! Prepare for trouble and make it double to go! Both Hitmons had the chance to take my Aron down with ease, but how exactly did they fare against my team?

McTappets stayed true to the rules and supported my solo with recovery items. Hitmonlee's Mega Kick wasn't enough to put down Matango at level 56.

"You kick like how you walk funny!"

No! Mi amigo! You will be avenged.

"And you - you punch like how my grandma kiss!"

Obviously, they were outclassed.

I was surprised with the choice of Pokémon in Kanto's double battles. What they lack in quantity make up for quality, so to speak.

Oh, I figured something out with the drinks by the way. So this TEA the lady gave me, was supposed to be the Pope of all drinks. It's the only beverage that mattered in this religion.

See, Olaf? TEA - not love - conquers all!

Krabby, from Vermilion City, was my second buddy seeing as it can learn a myriad of HM moves. The nickname I gave it was pretty weak, though. Onto Saffron City, the next place!

I'm no analyst like John Madden but I am certain that Pyschic is the one move that's been seriously nerfed through the generations. It works well with some Pokémon than others.

Shh! Quiet, he'll hear you! The Silph Co. building - if you got the bang for your buck from Rocket HQ, then you'll love this one. Time to wrap up this chapter with how far I can get through the building without healing.

"Give my regards to Mr. Osbourne."

I tell you what, I began to look forward to every battle with the Magneton line at this point. I consider this Pokémon to be the measuring stick of the whole challenge; if I fail against them, then something must be wrong.

Er, let's do this again: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Matango: "Oh boy! A tasty snack!"

Hmmmmmmm. Nope, got nothin.'

"You should hang your power belt up in disgrace."

Otacon, is that you?

Gen 10 region confirmed! Only kidding.

Look, I already made two anti-smoking jokes, I ain't making another. Shove it, will you?

So, it has come down to this. Matango's PP has all dried up (snicker) and Struggle was the only resort until I find the time to restore his moves. On second thought, I'll roll with it. Adds another layer to the challenge.

Oh, sh-

To be continued...




Stats
Kanto Pokémon Faced - 91
National Pokemon Faced - 91
Resets - 15
Badges - 4
Technical errors - 2


Closing Notes
Here's a fun fact. This was the first chapter that broke the 100 image limit per post without having knowledge of such. It meant that those five extra screenshots had to be removed to make for a slightly abbreviated log of my current progress. What those five pics were going to show is now lost to time. It was a necessity really for that cliffhanger ending. Another fact is that I've hit unchartered territory beyond Fuchsia City when I put the game down out of middling boredom. My neighbour did as well at the time. Remember this was the generation that I lightly glossed over because I moved on to stupid Sonic and stupid GTA on my stupid PS2. My teenhood, it's all stupid!! Although I dove back in with the first Pokemon Ranger on the DS not knowing who the funky duck Skitty and Ludicolo were, my involvement in Gen 3 remains murky. What a stupid guy I've been to skip this generation!!
There, I gave you a fun story instead of something personal to me, like how I've treated the Koffing line even more harshly than Snorlax ever deserved. I don't feel like explaining that one - I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to why.

 

[SteCisGreendog]

Chapter 6 - Speedies

We get it! TEA is amazing.

Mr. Superiority Complex was here in the flash. No, I can't. It's all too much. I need a lie down.

Spoiler:

There, that's better. Now I'm ready to offer him a fresh slice of humble pie. Yes, he still had his eggs and stuff, but his team seemed different. The Pidge had a new wig, the middle sized squirt became a big squirt brandishing illegal firearms, and his psychic fox was holding two spoons. And my Aron was hungry.

"Barry Manilow had a better quiff!"
Foe BLASTOISE fainted!

"Now you know the meaning of 'hell in a shell.' By the way, you're still a squirt."

"We both have a thing in common. If you're so smart, why do we have little merchandise?"

More ready than you'll ever be.

Hey, I know where to look.

*sigh* Of all the words, 'bingo' was your best exclamation?

You used that line before, Gio. Oh don't mind him - he's been watching too many WWE wrestling on the TV. It's true; he switched to football Italia the very second I walked into the room.

Nidoqueen's Body Slam has put Matango in an all-too familiar position. If we had a dollar every time he got paralyzed in this adventure...

"I am diamond, you are plastic."

Uh, what door? After I sent Gio and the Rockets packing, I received the very item I'm sure I'll never use.

"HEY, EVERYONE! LOOK WHAT I GO-" *Rocky used Escape Rope. One sore head and expensive property damage later:

The kids are alright! Whooo!

And yet you did nothing. Way to go, neighbourhood watch. Well, time for Saffron Gym 1 and Gym 2, starting with the one that would have put a death sentence on my Steel/Rock companion if not for the fact that Matango was twice the level in terms of progress.

"If you don't calm down, I'm going to read you the Riot Act!"

No sweat. Too bad about the emblem since either the Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan in the Poke Balls would not have benefitted me in this solo run. Next, Gym 2, the Pyschic one.

"Lose the shell and we can be *fast* friends. Hahaha!"

"That's not miming, that's your trainer giving up on you!"

And, what else? Go on, spell it out. :3

Gym Leader Sabrina - not the teenage witch or the internet skunk girl - stepped it up in a pitiful performance.

"That pixie dust of yours is perfectly harmless."

She said so herself. Better get that ol' training whip out from Gen 1 if she wanted to do better.

Back outside, there wasn't a whole lot to find in Saffron even though I reached new territory in the game. Not even Copycat interested me.

Eep! Change the channel!

Now for something right up my alley. The trek towards Route 19 and the open seas, just like the good old days on Emerald's nautical frontier. I mean, check this out.

As if I need to comment on that?

Always good to hear Team Aqua's pigmented presence felt across the regions.

"Swap the 'king' for 'guppy' and that's you summed up."

"Can you try being... nicer?"

"What is it with Pokemon and spikes in this game?"

"There's no posion on you, you harmless old bubble maker."

So I turned the corner and the route increments by 1. Big floodin' whoop.

First, the speedo guys, then this. It doesn't get better than this. (and I have officially lost it)

Seafoam Islands. Was it me, it has the place become chillier than last time? Another reminder that I have been playing Fire Red blind since first arriving at Fuchsia City. As I recall from the Game Boy era, it was nothing more than a Strength and Surf puzzle with holes and currents.

"Now you know what I feel like after a bowlful of rust."

"Get this mon' some aspirin, looks like that hurt!"

"This is your performance: 2.8"

"Yikes, a ghost! Oh, it's just you, blubber butt."

Oh, the exit so soon! Not so fast...

A little more work here...

Then I posed with this awesome ice sculpture, and- er, why was it screeching at me?

The first legendary Pokemon encounter at the time because I wanted it to measure against Matango's power. Given the right moves it might have given me my first real challenge since Misty's Gym waay back in Cerulean City. Unfortunately for Articuno, it used Agility with my solo's Iron Tail in response.

"Whelp. Guess we gotta worry about global warming now."

Dang. Oh well. This Picknicker said it best: "no mercy! No mercy at all!" Back to the seven seas of rhye towards Cinnabar Island.

No wasting time here. I knew that some goon found it funny to lock people in their own Gym and nobody inside carried a spare key. Leave it to me to run another errand quest to delay the inevitable.

Safety Tip no. 11041987: kids should never f#%& around derelict sites.

*statue goes squish on me* Game Over

.
.
.

Er, no, that's not how it happened. Let me start again...

"Oh, you rebel rouser, you. Just like that stupid monkey."

And the chapter is done with a 'D...U...N.'





Stats
Kanto Pokémon Faced - 112
National Pokemon Faced - 112
Resets - 15
Badges - 6
Technical errors - 3 (forget Blastoise's KO line)

Closing Notes
Not much to say about this run other than being reminded of the lovely time I had on the open waters in Emerald. Here the sea routes were pretty self contained and I knew exactly what I was in for on the way to Cinnabar. What I did not expect will be revealed in the next chapter.

 

[SteCisGreendog]

Chapter 7 - Rocky's Wild Ride Detour

Yes, you read the Batman recap. Preperations were made for this chapter, or at least everything that I already knew. Except for one that you're about to find out below.

Before we continue, happy holidays and thanks for taking the time to visit the travel journals during the busy period. Unlike last year's visit to the UK, I have little in the way of plans from Japan and I am able to keep this going at your leisure.

Blaine was the next Gym Leader to face. Now allow me to suspend my disbelief for one minute; if the front door was locked, then why didn't the coach carry a spare? Then I wouldn't have found out that Mewtwo existed and broke free from the Mansion.

Spoiler:

I didn't know you can burn steel. It might leave a stain.

Can't tell if this guy was going on a tangent or was being sarcastic. This oxygen stuff was getting interesting, too.

Oh, that's right! The gym had quiz machines in each chamber. Answer correctly to bypass the trainer before opening the next door, but that would be unwise if levelling up was your bag. I only took one quiz this whole time.

One obligatory selfie with the gym master and we're on our way! What was he like? From what I remember not a whole lot save for one noteworthy thing that happened. Hope you like dogs.

Um... some of you were secretly rooting for the mutt, right? Then here you go - laugh it up because it won't last long.

I ought to bury you with the rest of the boneheads.

.
.
.

*reset*

Take that, yappers!

"You may be a hot dog, but you'll always be a shaggy weiner to me."

Other than that incident, Blaine was a pushover. Maybe the most I had to work around since Misty thanks to one lucky marmaduke. My companion was not happy.

"Arcanine, no 'mon has ever done this to me in a while. Next time I will get you back, crits and all!" (easy there, Matango. We're both not through yet)

Back outside, this happened. Uh... Bill? In Cinnabar? One Island? Where's the script?

Okay. That's not Steven Stone over there. He's Celio. Kind of like Steven Stone with the rocks and gems obsession but with zero charisma. This is all new to me, what's going on? They both yammer on about a Meterorite to bring to him. Did that mean I can finally encounter Deoxys?

Steven Stone wouldn't have been this humble.

Now what? Lostelle's missng? Missing today?! You mean she goes off all the time? Biker punks tearing up the island out of boredom?

Can someone explain... no, not yet. I had to see how this pans out.

Oh look, attack of the clones. By the way, I'm over here.

And I thought 'a boy named Sue' was embarassing (ask your parents who Johnny Cash was). Wait, I know. Let's push the 'help' button.

But, but... Avatar wasn't that popular!! I kid, I kid.

I can make a ruckus wherever I want. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?!?!

"Less dribbling, more crabbing!"

Well excuse me! I shine its coat twice a day! Shove that sass up your ass, willya?

Whatever. Let's get it over with.

Well, I'll give her that. She is a youngster, after all. Hypnos are no walk in the everglades.

Spoiler: Pick one. Just pick one

Before I leave, change your girl's *(^&£()" name or her character will forever be defined by her namesake!

Oh, hey. Thanks for nothing, Bill! You just shovelled 30 minutes of new hot randomness into my face when I had something more important to do! Like, continue my adventures in Kanto! Sorry you had to see that, everyone. Now we resumed the journey across Cinnabar back to Pallet Town.

Hah! Game Freaks' choice of humour doesn't always hit the mark, but I loved the chemistry from these two trainers. There aren't enough like them, as with the double battles.

Matango: Two things. Number one, stop stealing my jokes, and number two, you need a better rod.

*nervous look*

Oh, happy days are here in Viridian City! I wonder who it could be?

"More like running of the dulls."

"The only difference between you and me is, one of us didn't fall through the floor."

Yup. It's Gelatto man, Giovanni, for the eight badge and a right trouncing despite what should have been a major disadvantage for Aron. Nothing much at all to say about his Ground-type team. My solo took one Earthquake for a quarter of its HP and not much else. Speaking of earthquakes...

I might hang on to that. Before going any further, I had the odd errand or two to make around the Power Plant. No need to be hasty.

"No tongues, I'm not feeling the mood."

Had to say hello to Magnemite. See, we're friends now! Still rivals but, friends nonetheless.

"That's one way to cause a blackout!"

With Zapdos, I cheaped out with a single Rock Slide, and the rest was history. I could have ended the chapter here but I couldn't resist edging closer to the Victory Road when:

*grumble* Him... a wonderful reunion on Route 22. Did I need help? You bet I did!

Don't be silly, the rival was a piece of cake, even Blastoise (foreshadowing). And with that, it's time to bring this chapter to a close.



Stats
Kanto Pokémon Faced - 115
National Pokemon Faced - 115
Resets - 16 (Arcanine KO)
Badges - 8
Technical errors - 3


Closing Notes
The second rival fight on Route 22 came from nowhere. I thought you'd have only done it once at the beginning. Anyway, this adventure dared me to go off the script and take on the first three of the Sevii Islands they hinted at towards the postgame. Yes, the Sevii Islands. I have heard of the bonus content in FireRed/LeafGreen back then but obviously hadn't ventured that far to try them. Hope my reactions were played for laughs because I could have just told Bill 'no' and kick myself for waiting for the next opportunity to do something different. Islands one to three felt rushed to me, so how will the other four present themselves? I'm ready for more surprises.

 

[SteCisGreendog]

Chapter 8 - The League of Extraordinary Gentlemon

Today, the naked Lairon. Tomorrow, the world! HAHAHAHHHHHAHAHHA!

A pleasant Happy New Year to everybody in the PC, and thanks for sticking around! It was time to check out my hard earned gym badges and pass through the Victory Road to teach some so-called Cool Trainer posers a lesson. You know I never liked them, right?

Spoiler:

I mean, who the hell does he think he is, a Gym Leader? When I want a Double Edge Badge, I ask, okay? On the other hand, this wild Marowak almost had me, which I was okay with because I wasn't dealing with a trainer.

Just married.

And then... it came.

Wow, a Charizard! Never mind that the Cool Trainer was desperately pandering to the player's tastes, I never expected to fight one this soon. Keep in mind that this was the Charizard from the mid-2000s with a very nice looking trading card to its name. Not the little darling/teacher's pet/developer's favourite/fr*anch*se saver that it is now (delete where applicable). We're going to keep on eye on this mack daddy throughout this challenge.

"This is one for the record books, you overrated newt!"

And, the rest.

"There's no way I want a rug with that expression."

"Don't you know talent doesn't grow on trees?"

"You have no Chansey in hell!"

"Only a mindless schmuck would fight me."

"Ooooooooh, the claw. I'm midly surprised."

"If I ridden on you, you would have sunk!"

At Level 85, I simply had to see how the solo can handle the entire Elite Four and the Champion. Let's see how far I got on the first go.

"That was the kiss of death - from Mr. Aron."

Whoops, did I say Lv85? Okay, I started at Lv78 but my team of one did not fare well at all against Lorelei's Ice legion. I say it was an Ice-type team (a woefully underrepresented type in the games where they are typically caught three quarters in - a late-game bunch of Pokémon, so to speak), I was hammered by their Water moves like Surf and, well... only Surf. After that, I reset and grinded Aron up to Lv85.

The best way to counter moves like Surf and Brick Break? Lotsa Hyper Potions until they use up their PP. Usually not my way to play, but hey ho. Also gotta do this solo thing properly by leaving my HM buddies in the PC Box.

My silly potion trick paid off against Slowbro but let down that I had to resort to PP reduction to beat Lorelei, the secretary from hell. Let's hope I don't have to do that with the others. Here's Bruno but we don't talk about him. Instead, only his Machamp was the Pokémon to cross off my list. He got me by a hair, too!

"I could beat you with all my legs tied behind my back."

Agatha 'not Christie' was Elite no. 3, and I was happy because I got to wipe Gengar's stupid grin off its face. After Snorlax and Charizard, this Totoro Joke-oro is one of the good ol' boys of the fr*nch*se. Yeah right, more like 'ranch fries.' It's just another 'mon that I'm sick of seeing many, many times and this is coming from a fan from the very beginning. I'm over it like with the others. The thing was though, Gengar's Curse did a number on me by trickling Matango's HP on each turn so I will give the devil his due.

"It's a nightmare that you exist, you grinning purple turd!"

Agatha was no problem. Now here's Lance, the Dragon Tamer. Is that an actual job? If you recall my Emerald run, I remarked on the pretentious nature of Dragon-specific characters in the whole series and how Drake of the Hoenn Elite was an exception. I really liked the rugged sailor. Not so much about this cape wearing doofus. That's all I have to say about Lance, so let's go.

You know what? Let's turn this paralysis thing into a drinking game when I move on to Sinnoh- whoops.

Foe GYARADOS fainted!

"Never forget where you came from, lonely fish."

"Weren't you in Bartok the Magnificent?"

"I fought Barneys more threatening than you, big snooted oaf."

"Some 'mon has gotta catch up with the times!"

Haw haw.

It's no longer a surprise when you've come this way dozens of times before. It's the ultimate showdown with the Champion, who happened to be my neighbour.

"Steel beats rock, look it up!"

Hydro Pump'ed. Deadlier than Sheer Cold, I tells you.

"When you're ready for another dowsing, come see me!"

Blastoise... has made the List.

All that work for five eighths to a semi-quarter of fluff all. Dammit.

Back to Victory Road for the grind. Suddenly...

Meet 'Bobby Dazzler' the shiny Onix. He can stick around as my mascot. Sorry about the plain Poké Ball I used. I've been ignorant of stocking Premier Balls this whole playthrough.

As for my other mascot, Matango got up to a respectable round Lv90 before fighting the League for a third time. Much of the same happened as before up to the Champion.

I survived Blastoise's Hydro Pump a couple times but let's not kid ourselves - it was down to luck, and I hate depending on luck to win a straight battle. The Champ's finale was Alakazam who went down like a stack of cards.

A bit of fan terminology for you: this here is what I like to call 'roasting the turkey.' If you've seen this sequence before, it should be familiar to you that when you become Champion, there's got to be someone in the room to take the heat for your victory regardless if they deserved it or not. In Gen I, Prof. Oak gatecrashes the League (can he do that?) and roasts the rival for your trouble. In Gen II, the reporter is left standing like a moron, and in Gen III, the gatecrashing rival learns of your late victory like an oblivious idiot from a rom-com starring Hugh Grant. Frankly speaking, it's not clever and I think they've done away with this concept from Gen IV onwards when they realise it's in bad freaking taste. Nobody has to face humility for my sake as the new Pokémon Champion.

Remember, it's not 'the end' until the rival runs out of the League crying like a baby and I get grounded back in Pallet Town.

It's 'the end!' But not the end of this challenge as I still have 20 or so Kanto Pokémon to beat whilst my world gets turned upside down by the National Pokédex upgrade (whoopee). Not so fast. The Oakster had to check my Dex before that could happen.

Yeah yeah, very funny, fellas. I could even hear the aides chuckling at the back. Turns out the upgrade won't happen until at least 60 Pokémon are caught and stored as data. Guess I gotta do that then, but I'll spare you every single endeavor and instead give you the highlights, and some lowlights.

Standard stuff so far.

Wild Gyarados can be lured in with a Super Rod! Fascinating.

Arrivederci! Now hand over that Macho Brace, please. Oh wait, no Item Finder.

Uh, wrong room.

Let me IN, you motha- and stop saying 'strong!'

Aw geez, do I have to pick up this Eevee? I'm not one for fan service but here you go, to all the Eeveelegions of the world, from yours truly.

PSYCHE! In your face!

The ones you love to hate, baby! B>

What's a Bicycle? What's a Cycling Road?

Ditto. Useless, for now.

Sorry, Chan.

Nice of those rocks staying as they were after navigating the Seafoam Islands before.

I visited Doctor Who-Gives-A-Shit* here to hand my Helix Fossil to for Omanyte later on (what's an Amber?).

*I apologise to all Doctor Who fans but I've been itching to say that line and get my own back for so many years of putting up with you all. Crazy thing is, I'm speaking as a Brit here. See, not all Brits like British things. Star Trek is more my bag.

So I did what was asked and got the upgrade. Oak gave me some other neat stuff like the Tri Pass and such for- wait. Tri Pass for the Sevii Islands?

Oh boy. I hope you like maths.



Stats
Kanto Pokémon Faced - 130
National Pokémon Faced - 130
Resets - 21
Badges - 8* (League Cleared)
Technical errors - 4 (forget Gyarados' KO line)

Closing Notes
Imgur slightly messed up the order of images when I uploaded but I saw worse. Even so, it's fun as ever to put these logs together and I'll be at it a long time coming before my interest wanes. I'm anticipating the next few chapters which will be broken up from one long playthrough of those infernal islands for the first time.

 

[SteCisGreendog]

Chapter 9 - Math Ocean

No recap for once. It's all VROOM VROOM VROOM to the Sevii Islands. Think of the Orange Islands meets Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land, but without the education and Disney's greed.

Celio on ONE. His choice wording told me this was going to be one bumpy ride. We needed gemstones to initiate the Hoenn trading mechanic, something which is not required for in the solo run!!

Spoiler:

The tide opened up for me to explore the rest of the island, while encountering a few quirks along the way. This was hinting at another HM to waste my moveset on.

Wishful thinking in 2024.

The islands diversify a bit by having restoration points like this while keeping the Pokémon Centers in towns. And here's my Rock Smash HM, given to me simply by being a tourist.

Island ONE also had Mt. Ember, the site of my Ruby- oh, hang on...

"Code Red, code Red, wipe this mutha off the floor. Over."

"Code Blue, code Blue, all asses lead to the sucka. Over."

What uncouth assholes! From now on when I think of rangers, I think of the Counter Strike SWAT team mentality they adhere to.

The Rockets had to muscle in on the plot somehow.

Hello? What have we here? This isn't Kanto country anymore, fella. Have some of this!

"Indigestion? Serves you right."

Great. Where's my Braile pen? Got the Ruby, by the way. Seemed too easy.

There you are, Moltres! It flew the coup from Victory Road and made its new home in Mt. Ember just to f*ck with the old timers.

"Global warming is no longer a threat with you gone."

So the Ruby was handed over to Celio, but I wasn't stupid. There was another stone to go after. This was Generation 3 after all.

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*sigh* FINE.

Checking my notes, this must be the THREE island with that waterfall blocking there. You do realise this was a solo run, so why am I wasting my moveset on another HM that didn't make the cut in the original games? The medium was no help to me, either. No starter, no Hyper Beam variant. I don't get no respect around here.

Relax, lady. This isn't Undertale.

Nope.

"You're 'dun' for, shakey snakey."

Nothing else to see here, so let's head off to new territory to Island ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR! Island FOUR! A-aa-aaaa!

*deep sigh*

Him...

Island FOUR is the home of the sticker guy.

*nervous glance towards Matango* Moving on.

It's also the home of the elitist Lorelei. Come to think of it, my house is becoming like that.

I could make a Rocky joke here, but you don't know Rocky like I know Rocky so forget it! Not this player Rocky, another Rocky.

Here's the second Day Care. This time it's competent in letting two Pokémon in for, you know... not that I needed it right now.

ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE! FIVE ISLANDS! A-AA-AAAH!

Over my dead body, you blue-haired tryhard!

This Egg. I did't need it, but thanking you anyhow. Finally back to the battles below.

"Bobbing for Marill is more fun than it should be. Haha!"

"Your next line is 'you blow me away-yyyyyyyyyyyy.'"

"Good grief! You suck!"

"Too bad, here comes the overcast."

"If I get shocked by a sheep, then I quit!"

"Hit the road, Shaun. Go back to munching meadows."

Blind run, remember. I had to check what every island provided before I continued.

"It's rude to stare, peckers."

"You've seen my future? Please tell me I can't go like a jerk."

The Lost Cave ended in a trainer battle with Selphy. She didn't seem bad... AT FIRST! Of course, I didn't know the real extent of her personality until I left the cave.

So I did what she asked, and oh my stars, what a little number she turned out to be. It might have led me to something good, so I kept going with each request becoming a tedium. After the Fearow, she asked for a Spearow, a Wartortle before banking on a Clefable.

Get a PC, willya?! Let's leave this princess be in her castle.

The Egg hatched. Togepi, Aron and I shall see you very soon.

"SURPRISE!"

Elsewhere on Island FIVE was the Rocket Warehouse which I couldn't get into just a bit. Better close this up before I reach my image limit.

"Hoo hoo, who gives a hoot about you, hoo hoo?"

"You keep your eyes off me, and this happens."

The southern end of the island featured the grave of one brave Onix. It seems, uh... buried in an awkward position. As a resident of Japan, I do not know anyplace where they put lemonade as an offering to the deceased. It's usually sake. *hic* I still had the shiny Onix in my team, so...

What a jerk!




Stats
Kanto Pokémon Faced - 131
National Pokémon Faced - 144
Resets - 21
Badges - 8*
Technical errors - 4


Closing Notes
This was where my Pokédex count got weird, but never mind that. Sevii gave me the opportunity to cross off the remaining Kanto mon in my list and discover a ton of Johto creatures. Most of which made their GBA debut whereas others have appeared before in Hoenn. With Moltres done (+1) and only Moltres, it's a slow buildup though the Sevii saga will be concluded in an additional chapter because of how many screenshots I captured. The end goal has to be Cerulean Cave because that's what my notes tell me, and as of typing I have yet to battle... ah, that would be telling. :>

 

[SteCisGreendog]

Chapter 10 - Scientists Go Home

The Sevii Islands saga should conclude in this chapter with one very obvious exception at the end. Arriving at SIX - count 'em - SIX Island was the Flanders to our Homer, the Dinkleberg to our Turner, it's...

Spoiler:

The rival in the Pokécenter told me something about not acquiring any new Pokémon until the (unknown to him) Hoenn initiation is complete, conveninently telling me to finish the job on my own. It's the way he said it though, as if he really wanted to say 'screw this, I quit.' Open your eyes, man! There's a region full of new monsters here! Don't quit, you coward.

Well, see you back at the League, chicken.

The Johto birdwatching continued as all Matango could do was wax lyrical in anticipation for Gen 4.

"Land or water, you're not safe from me!"

"I know something your tail doesn't, wobbles. It doesn't like you."

"You're wrong there - flight is not might!"

"Oh look, you turned into petrified wood."

"You'd make an amazing workout ball for my papa."

Like my rival, I didn't 'give a hoot' about the Johto mon, but this Golem was just what I needed to check off the Kanto monsters for Aron to win over. Will there be any more today?

Now I got all the way through the sixth Island for a big fat nothing because I didn't clear the Icefall Cave at Island FOUR. Let's head back there and help out Lorelei.

Light on the puzzle side, I thought. I still yearn for an opportunity where Ice types aren't encountered so late in the games. Maybe there was a version where they are found earlier. Pardon me, I'm rambling.

"Plant your snout *that* way, loser."

"Joke's on you, I kept my receipt from last Christmas."

Was that Waterfall? I think it was.

Here's Lorelei at least. The Rockets stood no chance against the elitist and the champion.

With Icefall Cave done and the Generic Evil Scientist mysteriously absent, the door in the Dotted Hole (I think it was?) can be opened with - well, this screenshot up there will give you a hint to how it's done. And thankfully it did not require Relicanth or Wailord.

What're you waiting for? Pick it up!

No can do-oh. Yet Another Evil Scientist called Gideon took the Sapphire in exchange for the remaining password to the warehouse. Why did he have to give away such valuable information? Let's see what else was on this island before we chase him. I'd best point out that the commentary will be light so I could concentrate on reaching my goals.

"Those crossed eyes suggest to me your end is nigh."

"*singing* We all beat up a yellow submarine. Blue and yellow 'rine, yellow submarine."

*nods head, then shakes rapidly*

Did somebody call pest control?

"You look like something a melon eater spat out."

"Come on, you lost. Why do you still look so happy?"

Much ado about nothing in this place, save for the Heracross being something of a hot commodity among the locals.

"No honey for you, sonny."

"Nice dress. Hey, don't be mad, that was a compliment."

"There goes one bugged out nail clipper."

"This is what losing sounds like, pixie ears."
Yoink. Clefable's the one for us. It really wasn't worth skimping on the trainers as I was relieved to see the rarer Pokémon in the extended story. Pattern Bush wasn't so bad after all.

Welp. Gotta take his word for it. After all, this was chopped liver, that and the cave in Emerlad. And, excuse me, "not a one?"

Puzzles and more puzzles. Unfortunately the moving tiles were nothing new whatsoever since they were carried over from a couple maze-like areas before in Rocket Hideout and Viridian Gym.

"I intercepted you, whatcha gonna do about it?"

TRAITOR ALERT! TRAITOR ALERT! Oh, it's you, mom.

"You must be a lot of fun on fondue night."

Caught up with Mad Scientist Gideon. I had to wonder out loud again why the Scientist trainer class had left an antagonistic impression in the early generations. Are their alignment really that iffy?

"Look out! Hackers! ...made you look!"

"Damn, damnit, sonuvab- oh motherf- godamnit to h- piece of sh-, etc."

It's all done. The Sapphire was returned and the Rockets all flew off to the sunset for good this time. One hurried dash to Celio's lab later, and the Hoenn trade capabilities were complete. So of course that's going to be ignored.

Oh, Celio, you don't know half of it!

I wasn't yet done with Sevii as there were a few areas I overlooked once the main questline was history.

Hello, SEVEN Island!

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Goodbye, SEVEN Island!

Stats
Kanto Pokémon Faced - 134
National Pokémon Faced - 162
Resets - 21
Badges - 8*
Technical errors - 4


Closing Notes
Trainer Tower? Nope, not gonna happen. Not after Battle Frontier. I'm not ready for meticulous team building and raising just yet. Expect the next chapter to be the last for Fire Red when I tie up all the loose ends around the region.

 

[SteCisGreendog]

Chapter 11 - Epilogue: The Scraps

This is the concluding chapter of the Fire Red Solo run with Aron. We're going to forget about... that place for now and venture to the southern area in Island SEVEN for any remaining Pokémon. First, there are two menus to choose from, including a lengthy summary of my accomplishment.

Spoiler: Open this spoiler to read the log

For the majority of the post-game, there were many more Johto critters getting their due. Hey, with Matango's help, they need all the exposure they can get; there are still some ways to go until I move on to HeartGold/SoulSilver.

"I'd love to see a Pokemon kicking its own butt."

"Ola hula auana ono uueee alanu un-holy heck, what was that?!"

"I've heard of 'barking up the wrong tree,' but this is silly."

Cop a load of this, violet haired dillweeds!

"Keep on churnin.'"

In their defense, it was a decent battle. There weren't many fights that my team had to work hard for.

Justin Timberlake you ain't, boy.

A puzzling puzzle in Tanoby Bay. Wait, Tanoby Key...? It's not every day I couldn't make out what my handwritten notes say. The room did resemble a key.

"Pack your trunk and go home, Nelly."

"Care to settle this over a pic-a-nic basket?"
Fun Fact #10012024 - Phanpy was one of the few registered Pokémon from the Hoenn region that eluded my discovery back in the Emerald run. Of course it was found in the Safari Zone which I skipped entirely as it was not part of the main storyline. No trainer had ever used it or its evo, Donphan. I'm still baffled. While I'm on the subject of 'missing,' there was also no way one of the legendary dogs could roam around the region as I didn't strictly choose Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. Believe me, I tried.

Level 99! Almost there, peeps. Guess who I saved the big one-oh-oh for.

"It takes two to tango, but it takes you to fall over and me to laugh."

What's this?! Matango fainted in a wild battle. An unprecedented FIRST in FireRed. Somebody had better own up right now or I'll...

"See if you can shut up after that. OOOH YEAAAAHH!!"

Oh. It's only Machoke. You just made The List, pal.

*reset*

My buddies were in rough shape, but priorities are priorities. I changed Matango's held item to King's Rock because the Quick Claw was ineffective chintzy garbage.

Dance the Chansey Dance.

Good dog.

I didn't want to celebrate Aron's maxed out level in this place. It was only fitting to do that in...

Considered the final test in the Kanto Adventure (see, I am purposefully avoiding any semblance of trainer battles here).

So ADAMANT that I didn't want to max out to the likes of Wobbuffet and Magneton - yes, even Magneton - that I resetted a few times after making a little headway towards the next floor down.

Here's our sulky cat man. Don't believe the hype. Two Iron Tails and Mewtwo struck out.

"You're a moody, misunderstood weakling! And your moncave sucks, too!"

My solo became a triple digit champ, and since Mewtwo was (almost) the last of the Kanto Pokémon to battle in a standard playthrough, that would be a fitting end of this log. Except it wasn't. I still had to comb over the other key areas around Sevii to make sure every mon was accounted for.

"I don't need to know my ABCs to kick your collective butts."

"If I grew wings, I wouldn't wanna be you!"

"We can compare our dads later. I'm in a hurry."

"I could eat you up and experience no side effects, you dumb idea of a whoopee cushion."

"No thanks. I've outgrown my fear of spiders long ago."

"You're starting to bore me. How about I call you 'Ledy-BAH' instead?"

"Stay in that cave where no one can find you!"

"No vinegar needed."

And back in Kanto Power Plant...

"Where the heck were you hiding this whole time? No wonder you're yellow all over!"

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What? Try the Trainer Tower? mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmalright. I will show you only once as to why it's not part of the challenge.

Ow.

Yah, fudge this.

That's THE END!

Spoiler: Or if it's the final stats and summary you want to read, open this spoiler

Stats
Kanto Pokémon Faced - 136
National Pokémon Faced - 179
Resets - 26
Badges - 8*
Technical errors - 5 (forgot to crop Hitmontop's KO message)

The Aron Atomizers

These lucky 'mon got my Aron good in battle. I'll give credit where it's due, they have given me my receipt. Next time, Arcanine will be the first to faint.

The Mons That Got Away
Venusaur
Poliwrath
Scyther
Magmar
Eevee
Vaporeon
Jolteon
Flareon
Omanyte
Omastar
Kabuto
Kabutops
Dratini
Mew

Yellow highlights denotes the Pokémon that can be found in the Batttle Tower, green for availibility in the Leaf Green version

Closing Notes
Kanto has been a fun ride once more. Take the postgame battle feature out of the equation and we have a nice self contained challenge that can be met in any level. Now to put on my John Madden hat and get analytical about my successes and setbacks, and to see what I could do about them in future revisits. It sure beats milling around the Battle Frontier for a month without getting anywere, believe me. It could get ranty in places.

If I had taken on the Battle Tower, than I would have had only five more additional Pokémon to show for and, unfortunately, still an incomplete sweep of the 151 Pokémon target, as follows:

• Venusaur was conspicuous by its absence until later in the high reaches of the Battle Tower, and I do not like my chances of reaching that far if my first battle was against Water types. Thus, a new file do-over would be a simpler way to beat Venusaur.
• There's no excuse for Poliwrath not fought before the Trainer Tower when it appeared as an NPC sprite in one of the city locations. It felt like a tease.
• Scyther and Dratini did a Hoenn Phanpy and planted their heads in the ground at the Safari Zone. They were never used in trainer battles.
• Magmar is the sole property of Leaf Green in Mt. Ember, baby.
• Eevee and its evolutions... let's face it, Eevee was an underground superstar from the get go, and deep down I preferred it that way back when it had more to prove. I mean, heck, its second generation of evos might have been responsible for this whole mess in the first place (removal of day/night feature in GBA games). Except for the loyal few, Eevee was not a blip in the suits' radar until the unveiling of two new evos in the next set of games I'm about to play next- ah, listen to me ramble. The point is, evos are in Trainer Tower and Eevee is not possible to encounter in battle. I miss Gen 1-2 underdog Eevee immensely.
• Aerodactyl was the only fossilised Pokémon handled by a trainer (Lance). The others, extinct forever!
• the Mew battle glitch was a literal myth and is only received as an event gift. I won't condone cheats or Action Replay codes to unlock it, either.

At the end of the day, it was a well fought challenge and I'm not going to give the missing mon any more thought as they can be encountered in a later Generation. I'm keeping tabs on my spreadsheet to check them out, especially those Mythicals... I like to be surprised.

For now though, time for a wee break. I welcome any questions about this travel log - if you have any, hit me up with a question on my Q&A thread and I'll be happy to answer them. Time now to say from the bottom of my heart, we thank you, and goodnight!