Text Play: Pokémon Xenoverse #13

Hello, and welcome back to the Eldiw region! This is the thirteenth entry in my Text Play of Pokémon Xenoverse! And it's the first Text Play entry of 2023! Yayyyyy! 🥳 🎉

Now, as is tradition, I wish to warn you, I will be spoiling this game.

As such, I recommend you play the game for yourself first. You can download it right here. And with that out of the way, let's do this! 

Last time, we tried to take on the X Gengar that had ensorcelled the people of the desert-like oasis hamlet known as Ishtar City. Why did this X Gengar commit this act of vile villainy? Well, quite simply...he's hungry.

Yes, he's hungry. He's fallen in love with this dimension's berries, and his appetite for them has become insatiable. He's always wanting more. More. More. More. MORE.

Thing is, X Gengar is not just greedy, but he's also lazy. Very lazy. Instead of going out forging for Berries himself, he used his psychic powers to make everyone in Ishtar bring the Berries to him. And based on the piles of food all over the place, he's been having the citizenry gather Berries for a long time.

An interesting thing about this particular X Pokémon is that, like Meowth in the Pokémon anime, X Gengar can talk. I don't mean talk like they typically do; I mean actually speak to humans in a human language. I do believe that this is the first time that I've seen an X Pokémon talk in this game. I'm thinking that maybe it's because Gengar is more humanoid in shape than the other X-Pokemon we've encountered so far? I mean, the others that we've encountered so far were a ghost, a shark, a spider, and a plug. Or maybe because it may be a Psychic-type?

Atum and Maat, the X Gengar's guards' Pokémon weren't that much of a problem. My Phantump and Harrowk easily took care of them.

The X Gengar itself is at Level 30, and mine were nearing level 40. I thought that it would be an easy time. After all, my team was nearly ten levels stronger. 

Boy, was I ever wrong. The thing is, despite the gap, X Gengar is no joke. This extradimensional beast is a powerhouse. This thing utterly wrecked my team the first time I tried to fight it. Seriously. Ran through my team like a harvester through a wheat field.

I think that was the first time I ever got completely dominated like that in a Pokémon fan game. Thankfully, I saved the game before I fought the X Gengar for the first time. I ground up my team some more and tried again. The second time around, I managed to beat it.

So, how exactly did I take care of the X Gengar problem? Well, I started out with Phantump. I had it sprinkle some nice little Leech Seeds all over the X Gengar. Phantump's Phantom Force attack also was super-effective against it. So far, so good. Thing is, the X Gengar knows Sucker Punch, which is super-effective against Phantump. 

Thankfully, before it fainted, Phantump was able to bring it down to its last life bar (Remember, X Pokémon have multiple life bars). Leech Seed also helped in wearing it down. I tried to catch it with a Xeno Ball, but I was told I can't capture it for some reason. Harrowk was able to defeat it with a Drill Peck coup-de-grace.

This battle allowed us to get another Achievement: "Drop the 'tude, Tyrant!". With its defeat, the X Gengar vows revenge and makes itself scarce. Not before taking a big pile of Berries with it. Got an insatiable appetite to feed, after all. I think we'll get another chance to catch it in the future. It's probably why the game wouldn't let us catch it here. With the X Gengar beaten and driven off, someone arrives to thank us.

This trident crown-wearing beauty is Queen Nuphar. She's the monarch of Ishtar City. You know, considering her dress and crown, I expected her to be the monarch of an island or a coastal city, not a city themed on an Egyptian desert. I would have expected her to resemble Cleopatra.

She wants to talk to me...after I get my Pokémon rested up at the Pokémon Center, of course. Joel thanks me for helping him and gives me a Max Revive. Atum (the guard on the right side in the screenshot), also gives me a gift in gratitude: some Light Clay. Light Clay is an item that can extend the effects of barrier moves like Light Screen and Reflect.

Inside the Center, I met this nice fellow.

I will never turn down a free Super Potion. After getting my Pokemon all healed up, let's see Queen Nuphar. When he leave the Center, there is this guy in a funny outfit nearby. He explains that in the ancient past, the pyramids here were built with the help of Conkledurr. After all, they didn't have access to modern technology, like the item he gives us.

The Muscular Update is an evolution item. On the way back up to Nuphar's pyramid, I met this old explorer near the entrance to the city. Like us, he himself went through the Gravity Tunnel. He did not find any fossils, but he did find this Nugget, which he gives me.

You can sell Nuggets for a nice chunk of change. Which is why I found it amusing that he complains about leaving the Gravity Tunnel empty-handed. Hey, a Nugget is not a bad thing. You can get a nice bit of cash for one if you need it. We head straight upwards to see Queen Nuphar herself.

She is by herself, which is odd. You'd think that a monarch would always have some form of protection with her. Well, that's intentional. Her Majesty wants to speak to us in private, away from her guards and retainers. She says she knows we know about the Xenoverse and the X Gengar being from there. I wonder how she knows. Maybe Aster told her? I mean, she does mention the guy.

She is in need of our help help. You see, X Gengar is not the only X Pokémon problem Ishtar City has. They've also been causing problems in the nearby Sunflare Canyon. It's a vital location for water trading in the region. You see, Ishtar City has springs that are known for putting out some pretty high-quality water. If you buy Fresh Water in this region, it comes right from here. Mmmmm, Fresh Water...

Another X Pokémon's been blocking the Canyon. And since we have experience with these unusual Pokémon, she wants us to look into it. Also, this new X Pokémon seems to be invincible.

Queen Nuphar fears that our Pokémon can't stop it. Her grandfather Abraham will be able to help us out. He's in Fortbelt Town. The man's a great trainer in his own right, and evidently, he's a friend of our dad's. Huh. Thing is, he's a bit of a hermit. But there is a way to get him to help. Just give him some Miracle Water, which she happily provides.

It's a big container. But then again, Nuphar claims the man has a... big personality. She tells us that to get to Fortbelt, just head back through the Gravity Tunnel, and go north. She gives us another gift to help us get there: Herculeum H. It's this game's equivalent of the old Strength HM, I'm assuming.

You know, now that the X Gengar has made himself scarce, maybe we can explore this town a bit before we head out to Fortbelt. First thing's first, I wanted to explore the Pokémon Center a bit more. 

It's a nice-looking little Center. The gi-wearing dude standing next to the computer will help your Pokemon forget a move if you want. The ninja-garbed guard right there tells us about two Pokemon: Birigiri and Chubiburny. The former likes to harass the latter, but it allows the Chubiburny to get stronger. Huh. 

Yeah, the Center has two levels. 

On the right side is a PokeMart. It's just your standard PokeMart, where you can buy supplies there. It's a standard PokeMart. If you talk about the woman on the left side, she'll tell you that Hippopotas is the city's mascot. They also help transport the water Ishtar City ships out. This...actually makes sense. Hippopotas live in hot, arid areas. Ishtar City is a desert city. It would explain why we saw that Hippopotas in the Gravity Tunnel. The Tunnel leads directly to Ishtar.

With my Pokémon healed up, I wanted to concentrate on exploring the city a bit more. So, I went on my way back to where Nuphar gave us our latest mission. There's a couple houses nearby.

The house on the left is a civilian house. The one on the right is essentially a rest/break area for the guards. If you talk to one of them, you get TM88 (Waterfall).

And to the right of the guardhouse is a merchant. 

You can battle them if you want, if only to get a little closer to another achievement. To the left of the Pokémon Center is this little house.

We go inside and meet this presumably father and daughter.

The girl wonders how Queen Nuphar maintains such great hair in the heat. Considering she's a queen, she likely has access to the best hair products.

The man says that in Ishtar City, the sun is even in the rocks, which he demonstrates by handing over a Sun Stone. So, is he insinuating you can find lots of Sun Stones here? For some reason, I can imagine you can find lots of naturally occurring Sun Stones in hot deserts. 

Did you know that this town has a restaurant? Well, to be fair, that's to be expected in a big city like Ishtar. It's located to the right of the city's Pokémon Center.

See that boarder there in the screenshot? She'll ask you if she thinks she can do a 360 with her Pokeboard. If you answer "Yes", she'll get all like, "Yeah, I know I can", but she does show appreciation for you believing in her. As such, she'll give you a King's Rock. The inside of the restaurant isn't...what I'd expect a restaurant to look like, not even one of those theme restaurants. There's no tables, nowhere to sit. It looks...really primitive. I'm beginning to wonder if this place is actually a restaurant at all. There are chefs here, though. I'll ask them what the deal is with this place.

Ciro the Chef here laments that one of the more distant regions don't appreciate something called "Donanas Pizza" I have no idea what Donanas Pizza is, but I get the feeling that Donanas Pizza is this game's equivalent of pineapple pizza. The other chef, a woman named Terry, dismisses it as a matter of taste. Fair enough, different people like different things. However, there's also a little girl here. She's Ciro's daughter, and she's not too fond of her father's specialty dish, presumably said Donanas pizza. She asks if she should be honest about it. You don't get a yes/no choice here. 

Her thank you gift is a Revive. Never turn down a free Revive. You never know when you'll need one. We also learn the two chefs here are her parents. There's nothing much else here, so we might as well leave. If we head back to the Pokémon Center and go slightly downwards and to the left of the guy who gave us the Muscular Update, we see this bunch of guards hanging out.

It's not as shady as it seems. The guards are just pepping each other up for facing X Pokémon in the future. Heading back up to the Pokémon Center, we go right and slightly upwards.

Right on the bottom there is an Incense Shop. If you like using Incense in battles, you can get some here. The old lady next to the house there has a little fun with you. She trolls you by pretending she's still under the X Gengar's control. 

Whatever, lady. Let's go inside! 

I wonder if Ishtar allows people to keep Hippopotas as pets. I get that they're sort of the mascot of the city, so you'd think they'd have special legal protections for them, like Australia has for koalas. At least, I think Australia has special laws to protect koalas. Anyway, the resident there, an old lady named Nora, states that Pokémon are wonderful creatures. In her case, her Hippopotas make her feel a lot less lonely. I can imagine a lot of Trainers would understand that feeling. Traveling around regions, usually on their own, with only their Pokémon team for company...yeah. Traveling with Pokémon is a lot less lonely. Also, see that jar next to the table next to the screenshot? There's a Hyper Potion in it. Grab it, it could come in handy.

Nearby Nora's house is another store.

This one is an herbalist. He sells herbs and powders that can heal and restore your Pokémon's HP. Thing is, they all taste very bitter. So, just keep that in mind before you give them this. Right nearby, there's this clown with a couple Hippopotas.

The clown, Titus, will give you a Power Herb. Evidently, he found it in his salad he was eating. Yeah, I'm selling this. Considering how bitter these things taste, I am not going to punish my Pokémon by giving them this.

Going a bit downward with the clown, there's a tunnel that will take you to Sunflare Canyon. However, the tunnel has guards blocking it, telling you Queen Nuphar wants to talk to you at the Gym. Presumably, it's about the mission she sent us on. Nearby, there's this person walking around looking listless.

Ahiga here came from Equinox Village. He wanted to see the oasis and bask in its natural beauty. However, some fierce winds have kept him from returning home. I wonder if this is another X Pokémon at work. After all, Queen Nuphar did say this city had more than one X Pokémon causing problems...

Let's head back to the Pyramid we fought the X Gengar at. 

You know, looking at this, I have to admit something. I am impressed about how quickly Ishtar City cleaned up the piles of food that were everywhere. I mean, I get the X Gengar took the pile of food that covered this pyramid with him, but still. There were piles of food everywhere. All over the city. The sanitation department here must be real efficient.

We can't go inside the pyramid. After all, we have a job to do first, by order of Queen Nuphar herself. The twin brother of the dude that gave us the Muscular Update nearby is trying to catch some Birigiri in the river. However, he needs an item called a Big Fish Net to do it. We'll have to remember to give it to him if we get one.

Near the house with the trolling old lady standing in front of it is a bridge that takes you to a little island in the river. You can't fish in the waters there.

See that box in the screenshot? The box there contains TM11: Sunny Day.

And that's pretty much Ishtar City. It's a nice little place. So with that out of the way, we have to head out to Fortbelt...after getting some supplies, of course. Never hurts to be prepared for anything.

Remember those big cheese-like rocks that we saw during our traversing Gravity Tunnel in the last entry? Well, now that we have the Herculeum H, we can move them!

There's an example of it right here near the entrance to the tunnel. We couldn't get to that box before, but now, we can!

The box contains a Hard Stone. And I think that's where we'll stop for now. Join me next time as we try to make our way to Fortbelt Town. Wish me luck! Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!