Thursday, October 30, 2014

Adventures in Pokemon Y Part 3: Santalune City

Alright! We're here in Santalune City, the first real city the player visits in Pokémon X/Y. The first place I decide to visit is the local Pokémon Center to check it out. When there, I ran into Tierno. He's here to get his Pokémon healed up. I wonder what he has in his team...

Anyway, he explains what the Center is for, for all the rookie players (Every Pokémon game is someone's first, so it doesn't bother me that much). He also shows that the Centers now have Poké Marts built into them. In previous games, they were separate buildings. I actually like the idea of the Pokémon Center and the Poké Mart being one building. It's much more convenient. You can get your team healed up and stocked up in one place. Very nice.

There was also an area where a Trainer could adjust their outfits. I had noticed that there was a clothing store nearby. Upon entering the clothing store, I found it was a place that sold hats. I have to admit, this is an interesting new feature for the Pokémon games. I have to admit, it's a cool idea. I'm sure that there are players that would like to customize their trainers' outfits, and shops like this are a great idea to help players make their avatars look unique. Now to my understanding, shops have different items available every day. Personally, I'd prefer all the choices available all at once, but I can see how this can be used as incentive to get people to play the game daily, like rewards on some iOS games.

I had decided to make an adjustment to my team. I decided to switch out Chevy (my Fletchling), for Stingerette (my Weedle). Yeah, it means I now have three bug Pokémon on my team, but I want to build up Stingerette's power levels and evolve her into a Beedrill. Route 3 also is a great opportunity to add some more Pokémon to my collection. Route 22 is also nearby, so that'll be nice to see what Pokémon reside there. I've managed to get my hands on a Litleo on Route 22 (Cute little Pokémon. If I didn't have a Fennekin, I'd use one in my regular team) and I got a Pansear in Santalune Forest. With my Fennekin, that means I have THREE Fire-type Pokémon. Viola is a Gym Leader in specializes in Bug-type Pokémon. Fire beats Bug. All I have to do is train them a bit, and she'll go down faster than a building rigged by an expert demolition crew.

The Gym's front door was guarded by a roller skater named Rinka. I had to beat her in order to get inside. When you win, she gives a nice reward: special attachments to your shoes that'll make them into roller skates. As an idea, the roller skates are awesome. They allow you to move real fast, which cuts down on time it takes to get places (at least until you can get a Pokémon to learn Fly). The thing is, it can be hard to control with the stick.

One of the centerpieces of the City, besides the Gym itself, is the Trainers' School. This place is mainly here to explain to players about the various status changes Pokémon can endure in battle, like Paralysis, Poisoned, and Frozen. Now, I have played many a Pokémon main series game. When it comes to status changes, I can remember my Pokémon getting paralyzed, poisoned, or being put to sleep quite a few times, but I didn't encounter them getting burned or frozen that much. And keep in mind, I've battled and captured quite a few Fire and Ice-type Pokémon in my time. I'm guessing those two are rarer inflictions.

As for the Gym itself, it's quite a beautiful little Gym. The first room is essentially an art gallery. Turns out Viola, when she's not making life miserable for rookie Trainers, is a photographer. She hangs up her photos of Bug Pokémon on the walls. I can imagine that in this world, she lets people visit the Gallery, and sells prints and souvenirs in order to bring a little extra income into the Gym.

Well, time to get ready. Gotta train my Pokémon some more, and then...I'll battle Viola for my first badge. Wish me luck!

Pokémon Obtained:
Neptune (Froakie)
Chestnut (Chespin)
Gnaw (Bidoof)
Stingerette (Kakuna) - evolved from Weedle
Spiral (Dunsparce)
Church (Frillish) - Obtained via Wonder Trade
Honedge (Honedge) - Obtained via Wonder Trade
Tula (Azurill)
Spewpa (Mothra) - evolved from Scatterbug
Butterfree (Kojima) - evolved from Metapod
Beedrill (Stingerette) - evolved from Kakuna
Shada (Burmy)
Firemane (Litleo)
Daffy (Psyduck)
Hanzo (Farfetch'd)

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