Last time, we liberated the Sunnyvall City Power Plant from Team Prime, so now we have to get ready to face the Sunnyvall Gym.
It's here that I realized a bit of a problem. You see, this Gym is an Electric-themed Gym. Which does make sense. The Power Plant is the big feature of this town, which attracts a ton of Electric-type Pokémon. Naturally, the big strategy to counter Electric-type Pokémon is to use Ground-type Pokémon, as Ground-type attacks are super-effective against Electric-type Pokémon, and Electric-type attacks have literally no effect on Ground-type Pokémon. Yeah, lightning ain't going to fry a Diglett or a Geodude any time soon.
Which leads me to my little problem. You see...I don't have many Ground-type Pokémon at my disposal right now. Just Drillbur and Geodude. And my Geodude evolved into Graveler. And since I can't trade so I can evolve it further into Golem...yeah.
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| Ahhh, I really could use you right now, buddy. |
And most of the Pokémon I caught around the Power Plant area are Electric type...which makes sense, as Power Plants tend to attract them. I wonder if the workers give them batteries...
So, I'm forced to research other options. Thanks to Bulbapedia, I learned that Electric-type Pokémon are resistant to Electric attacks, so that's handy. Got plenty to choose from there. Also, Grass and Dragon are resistant to Electric-attacks. I would have loved to bring Rowlet out here, but it's also Flying, so I can't really take that chance. God, I wish I could have a Golem right now...
Well, happily, I do have plenty of Grass and Dragon Pokémon to pick from, so it's not a complete loss. I'm hoping Deino can learn better Dragon attacks than Dragon Rage, as Dragon Rage always does only 40 HP in damage. Great for early on in the game, but grows more useless with time. I can bring back my Grovyle. He could be useful. Also, my Aron knows Mud-Slap, which is a Ground-type attack...but it's also part-Steel, which makes it weak to Electric...
It's one thing I do have to give this game credit for. It's making me actually have to put some real thought into building teams for taking on Gyms. In the end, I decided to go with this.
I could have sworn I had a Gible. And I am still rather mixed about keeping Butterfree on board. Butterfree is a Flying type, which makes her vulnerable to electricity, but her moveset is really helpful, she's fast, and she's been one of my team powerhouses. And I am going to have to do a LOT of grinding to catch up Deino with the rest of the team. Good thing I have an Exp Share!
The thing is, it's an older-style Exp Share. In Sun and Moon, the Exp Share is given early on, and it allows one to grind up your whole team much quicker. I'm guessing that's where some of the criticism of those games being "too easy" comes from. I found that handy as anything myself. Made preparing new teams for doing the trials so much easier.
Considering I still had a ways to go before I was ready to take on the Gym, I decided to check out that shortcut between Floroma Town and Sunnyvall City. The entrances are guarded by cops, who could have been helpful at the Power Plant. This leads me to a complaint. The Floroma Town end of the Underground Path is blocked by rocks. You can use Rock Smash to smash them. That's not the problem. The problem is, these rocks constantly respawn. You HAVE to bring a Pokémon that knows Rock Smash with you on the Path so you can use it.
I do get that the game is trying to get you to use Rock Smash, but this really would have been better if either we were given an item like a pickaxe, or there was instead another barrier that was permanently removed when we got far enough into the game. It feels less like a convenient shortcut and more like a choice between having to go the long way with lots of wild Pokémon battles or the short way, which needs a Pokémon who knows a specific move. Which way do you want to be inconvenienced? It's kind of annoying. It feels wasteful to me.
The cops told me that bad things can happen in the Underground Path. I think they're bored. Only thing I found there was a Gengarite.
The inside of the Sunnyvall Gym is really cool-looking, with laser barriers and the like. There's a cop near the entrance, saying that Gym Leaders have been threatened by terrorists. Is he talking about Team Prime? I can see them threatening Gym Leaders, considering their antics at the Power Plant.
I decided to try and take on one of the trainers at the Gym, a scientist named Max. My Drillbur wrecked most of his Pokémon, but his Dedenne turned out to be a real pain. Fortunately, my Bulbasaur's combo of Leech Seed and Poison Powder helped beat that. After I won, he explained that if I wanted to face Volkner, I had to find the switch that turned off the laser barriers in one of the bins next to him.
The next Trainer I faced was an Engineer named "Cyber". Yes, Cyber. I bet his parents were really into cyberpunk. My Drilbur wrecked most of his Pokémon, but his Pikachu proved to be pretty tough thanks to its Double Team and Electro Ball. Managed to hurt Thundra, my Shinx, pretty good.
After some grinding, I went back to the Gym. The third Trainer I faces was a Super Nerd named Dentis. I'm guessing his name was supposed to be Dennis. My Drillbur took care of his Electrike, and my Grovyle and Bulbasaur took care of his Helioptile. They also took down his Stunfisk.
The fourth Trainer I faced was a Scientist named Kaiber. ...where do these names come from? He starts out with a Tynamo. Tynamo has the ability Levitate, which allows this Electric-type Pokémon immunity to Ground-type attacks. Luckily, Drillbur also knows Rock Smash. Took a beating, but Drillbur was able to take it down. Next was Elekid. A bit of a challenge, but I was able to beat it. And then there was Electrode. But I had that handled. After that, I managed to find the second switch to shut off the second laser barrier.
I figured I had better do some more grinding if I want to face Volkner. I also decided to look through my boxes for any more Pokémon that could help me face him. And much to my shock, I remembered I caught one of these babies.
Yes, a Sandshrew! I had a Sandshrew! Sandshrews are Ground-type, so Electric attacks will be useless against her! But I have to grind her up to make her any sort of threat to whatever Volkner is packing. So, I have to work on that. And that's where I think I'll end this entry. Next time, I should be ready to take on Volkner! Wish me luck!
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