Hello, and welcome back to the Torren Region! This is entry #6 of my Text Play of Pokémon Insurgence!
Last time, me made our way to Vipik City, a once-beautiful city that was essentially wrecked by the building of a massive landfill right nearby, showing that local governments can be dumb, too. We encountered Nora and Damien again, and we learned about the local Gym Leader, Xavier. This entry ended with me preparing a brand-new Pokémon team to face off against Xavier, who is a specialist in Bug and Poison-type Pokémon. And now we are here. Now, as is tradition, I will be warning you that I will be spoiling this game.
As such, I highly recommend that you play this game for yourself before reading these Text Plays. You can download the game here. And now, let's get on with this!
So, I've been grinding my new team, preparing to take on Xavier and his team of Pokémon. Hopefully, my new team will be able to spray some metaphorical Raid all over Xavier's team, ha ha.
Yes, I know. I am sorry. As was established in the last entry, I wanted to build up a new team to take on Xavier. He's likely carrying a Shuckle, Croagunk, and Heracross at Level 33, a Tentacruel and Haunter at Level 34, and a Level 35 Beedrill. My new team to counter will consist of Shiro the Charmeleon, Thunderwing the Zapdos (Articuno was my favorite of Kanto's Legendary Bird Trio, but Zapdos was on the team I used to beat the original Pokémon Red Version back in the day as it had two things I wanted: an Electric-Type, and a flier), Krystal the Delta Ivysaur, Razor the Sneasel, Palpitoad, and Gabite.
My goal levels for them were around 36-38, so I had to do some grinding.
Luckily, most of my Pokemon were almost at my goal levels anyway. The only exception was Thunderwing, who I got at Level 1 thanks to the Debug Mode. Now, I know what you're thinking, "why not just get a Zapdos at Level 38?" Well, you see, if you raise a Pokémon from a lower level, they'll have much better stats. Basically, since I raised Thunderwing from Level 1, they'll have much better stats than a Zapdos I got at Level 38.
Not to mention thanks to the EXP Share and the grass area in front of the entrance to Vipik City, the grinding wasn't so bad. Although fighting Furfrous can be a bit more difficult than I expected.
...well, that was the original plan. I had noticed when my team's members had hit around level 35, they would keep getting XP, but not get any higher level wise. Yup, this game has level caps.
I did go to the game's Discord server (yes, this game has one), and I inquired about it. I learned that having level caps is the case here, and they cannot be shut off. Great. So, looks like I'm going in under leveled (at least, for me). Ah, well. I also would prepare by getting lots of Revives, Full Heals, Potions, Antidotes, Full Restores, and Burn Heals. Thank you Debug Mode!
Once I got the new team ready to go, we can go hit the Vipik Gym!
Once we enter the Gym, there is a surprise waiting for us in the first room.
Yeah, there's a...tree. It's a nice tree, but it's not the first thing I expected to see when entering this Gym. I shouldn't have been surprised. Xavier specializes in Bug and Poison-type Pokémon. It makes sense his gym would be themed around a forest. And hey, it's that guy we last saw in entry #4!
Like at the Suntouched Gym, he gives us some advice to face Xavier. He tells us that Xavier's Gym is basically a maze. We have to know the way through to reach him. Finally, he gives us a bottle of Fresh Water and wishes us luck. That's very nice of him. A bottle of Fresh Water is always great to have on a hot humid day. I do wonder why this guy is here cheering us on. I can imagine that from a gameplay perspective, he's here to give us some encouragement, and the Fresh Water is a little reward for making it here to the Gym. Not to mention from an in-universe sense, having some cold water would be handy in a hot forest.
The guy says we need to enter the hole in the tree.
Yeah, I mean. These holes aren't exactly large. How am I supposed to fit?! Well, we somehow can, since we end up here.
Man, a flashlight would be so handy right now. It leads upwards to a crossroads. We can go to the left, or to the right. If we go on the left path, it will take us upwards, and we'll end up here.
We emerged from the tree on the right side in the screenshot. As you can see, there's also a grass patch. However, these patches have no wild Pokémon in them. Which makes sense. I can imagine that allowing wild Pokémon into the gym would be seen as an unnecessary hazard, especially since one of this gym's specialties is Poison-type Pokémon. This room is also a bit bigger than it looks. You see, if we go upwards, we'll find another big grass patch...and a Trainer to battle.
If you want to battle them, you can. It's a nice little way to get some extra experience. He expresses gratitude that he's not in Xavier's room, as there's always a weird mist in there that makes him feel odd (his words, not mine). It sounds sinister, but I think it's meant to imply that Xavier is a bit of a pothead. Which is funny. As long as it doesn't interfere with his job, it's not a big problem, in my opinion.
(Bug Catcher) Melnor
1st Pokémon: Volbeat (Lv. 32)- Defeated by Shiro.
2nd Pokémon: Vivillion (Lv. 35) - Defeated by Shiro. Vivillion's Bug Buzz was able to hit it hard, though.
3rd Pokémon: Dustox (Lv. 35) - Defeated by Shiro.
After we win, Melnor remarks that he's not sure if the mist is legal. Yeah, Xavier is a pothead. This battle was surprisingly tough. That's why one should never underestimate Gym trainers. After we defeat him, we're left with a choice. On the left side of the room are two trees, one near the upper-left corner of the room, the other on the lower left-corner. If we take the lower-left tree, it takes us to another tunnel. The tunnel's path goes to the left, taking us to this room here.
Much like the last one, it's a nice little room with a couple big trees and grass patches. Again, there are no wild Pokémon in the grassy patches. If you battle the Trainer, he'll ask if you have a minute to talk about Arceus. Oh great, she's one of those fundie weirdoes.
(Picknicker) Tara
1st Pokémon: Rosalia (Lv. 35) - Nearly defeated by Shiro, but Tara switches for Skrelp. Defeated by Shiro after Parasect fell.
2nd Pokémon: Skrelp (Lv. 32) - Defeated by Krystal the Delta Ivysaur with Razor Leaf. Skrelp managed to poison her, but Leech Seed and some Antidote helped.
3rd Pokémon: Parasect (Lv. 33) - Defeated by Shiro the Charmeleon.
After this, I felt like exploring the Gym some more. So, I made my way back to the room that you get into when you first enter the Gym. I went back into the first tree and took the path going to the right. That path leads you here.
As you can see in the screenshot. There are two more trees below, and another Trainer we can battle if we want to. She claims Pokemon that live in the forests are the strongest Pokemon. And she will brook no argument about it. Lady, I got a Zapdos on my team, and it didn't live in a forest.
(Aroma Lady) Natalie
1st Pokémon: Gloom (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Krystal the Delta Ivysaur.
2nd Pokémon: Seviper (Lv. 32) - Defeated by Gabite. I tried to use Krystal, but she got badly poisoned. Also, her Psybeam attack was ineffective against Seviper despite it being Posion because it was also a Dark-type.
3rd Pokémon: Roselia (Lv. 32) - Defeated by Shiro.
She takes the loss well.
Heh heh. After this, we can go into the tree in the bottom-left of the room, or the bottom-right. Let's go in the bottom-left tree. If we do so, we'll end up in a path going upwards that takes us here.
And there's also another Trainer. She tells us we went the wrong way. Yeah, I noticed.
(Aroma Lady) Molly
1st Pokémon: Croagunk (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Krystal.
2nd Pokémon: Beedrill (Lv. 33) - Defeated by Shiro, but Beedrill managed to spread some Toxic Spikes.
3rd Pokémon: Golbat (Lv. 35) - Defeated Shiro with two uses of Acrobatics. Switched out for Gabite, Gabite got poisoned by Toxic Spikes. Golbat defeated by Gabite.
And that's pretty much it for this room. We go back to the last room (the one where we fought Natalie) and go into the bottom-right tree. This has a path that goes downward and then branches to the left or right. If we take the left path, it leads us down to this room here.
As you can see, there's yet another Trainer here. He warns to never underestimate Bug-types, as they are small, but tough. He's not wrong. Bug-Type Pokemon often learn moves that can make an opposing Trainer miserable. I mean, look at Butterfree, for example. Look at the moves Butterfree can learn. Sleep Powder, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Psybeam, Supersonic, that Pokemon is made to inflict status problems.
(Bug Catcher) Avery
1st Pokemon: Yanma (Lv. 33) - Defeated by Shiro, but he got hit hard by Ancient Power.
2nd Pokemon: Shuckle (Lv. 32) - Defeated by Shuckle, but it hit her hard.
3rd Pokémon: Butterfree (Lv. 32) - Defeated by Gabite.
Bug Pokémon are just like Avery, strong but tough. No kidding. After defeating Avery, we head to the right as there is another tree. This tree takes us to yet another tunnel.
This tunnel takes us to the left. Halfway on this horizontal path, there's a crossroads. If we keep going to the left, the path takes us downwards, and then we'll be right back in the room we just fought Avery in. But if we go upwards, we'll be right back in the room we fought Natalie in. So right now, you must be wondering something: "How do we get to Xavier?" Well, that's not an issue. First of all, we have to make our way back to the tree in the room that we entered when we first entered the Gym.
Yeah, that one. The one with the guy rooting for us and who gave us that Fresh Water earlier. From there, we make our way back to the room in which we fought Melnor. From there, we enter the tree on the upper-left corner of the room he's in. Once in the tree, we take the tunnel path to the right, and then downwards. That way leads us to this room.
This is the battlefield we'll fight Xavier on. The man himself can be found hanging around a little way upwards.
I imagine he's meditating right now. I don't want to disturb the guy, but I have a badge to win. Xavier seems to be a congenial dude, happy to take us on. He warns us that he's no pushover. Hey, we welcome the challenge. Dude trains Bug and Poison Pokémon for a living. They're not types for those who like to use brute force. He also has a special surprise for anyone that battles him.
(Leader) Xavier
1st Pokémon: Shuckle (Lv. 33) - Switched out for Heracross. Shuckle will spread sticky webs on the battlefiend to slow down opponents.
2nd Pokemon: Heracross (Lv. 33) - Defeated by Shiro the Charmeleon.
3rd Pokemon: Tentacruel (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Krystal the Delta Ivysaur.
4th Pokemon: Beedrill (Lv. 35) - Evolved to Mega Beedrill. Defeated Shiro. Defeated by Gabite.
5th Pokemon: Haunter (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Razor the Sneasel.
6th Pokemon: Croagunk (Lv. 33) - Defeated by Krystal.
The battle ended with Shuckle being brought out, and was defeated by Palpitoad.
And with that, the battle was won! Thank goodness I got some Full Restores thanks to Debug Mode. Those came in real handy. Funny enough, Xavier asks if you liked his Delta Mawile, not his Mega Beedrill. My guess is he had one in a previous version, but got changed out and they forgot to update the dialogue. Oops.
Anyway, he hopes we'll be able to Mega Evolve a Pokemon ourselves. We did see that in the past. With Xavier defeated, we now have badge #2: The Stinger Badge. We also get TM76 (Venoshock). Xavier advises it to use it on a Pokemon that has been poisoned, as that will double the attack's power. He also tells us the next Gym is in Helios City. That Gym is themed around the sky. So maybe Flying and Electric will be their specialty. With that, he wishes us luck.
I hope this win means the game's hidden Level Cap is upped. Shiro is one level away from becoming Charizard, after all. Luckily, we don't have to deal with the tunnel maze to get out of here. We can just jump down a couple ledges and leave.
The fanboy near the front door congratulates us and advises us to bring an Ice-type to Helios. Once we leave the Gym, we encounter this guy.
He has a letter for us. This Hiker claims a guy with blue hair in a blue suit left it for him. Why not give it to a mailman? Or that guy in black from the end of Back to the Future Part II?
Anyway, the letter is basically a form of ransom note. Someone has our friend. Which friend? Nora? Damien? Batman?
Okay. They want us to come alone to the Vipik Dump. Alone. I don't think that'll be a problem. I have not seen a single police officer around here anyway. Well, except maybe those three guards in front of Vipik Dump's entrance. Were they police officers? I mean, they didn't wear blue uniforms. Maybe they were private security?
Either way, the guards were not there anymore, so we can enter the Dump. Let's be very careful. It's still a garbage dump. Don't want to accidentally catch something.
When we enter the Dump, we're spotted by this purple-haired dude.
It turns out she's an Abyssal Cultist, one of the Kyogre worshippers. Yeah, we've encountered these guys before, all the way back in entry #3. Remember that? When they tried to kidnap (Pokémon-nap?) that Riolu in the Ancient Ruins around Route 2 and got sent packing by a Mega Lucario? Sure you do!
Well, we'll have to find our friend, whoever it is. I also noticed she knows our name. This is not good.
(Abyssal Cultist) Purplehead (Yeah, she does not have a name.)
1st Pokémon: Poliwhirl (Lv. 33) - Defeated by Grotle.
2nd Pokémon: Skrelp (Lv. 33) - Defeated Grotle. Defeated by Thunderwing the Zapdos.
3rd Pokémon: Mightyena (Lv. 33) - Defeated by Gabite.
After we defeat her, she remarks that we walked right into her trap.
Yeah, we got to make our way through this Dump and find the kidnapped friend. So, where do we go from here? Well, the path is somewhat obvious. From here, we go upwards and find this blue-haired cultist. Just wandering around the Dump waiting for us.
And if she spots you, she'll take you on. Also, get away from you?! You came to me, lady! Let's do this.
(Abyssal Cultist) Bluehead (yeah, why does she not have a name?!)
1st Pokémon: Frogadier (Lv. 33) - Defeated by Grotle.
2nd Pokémon: Kingler (Lv. 33) - Defeated by Grotle.
After we defeat her, she reveals that the Cult wants something...and we and our friend are free to leave once they get it. Why do I have the feeling that's not true? After battling Bluehead, we go to the left and find a couple more Cultists: another purple-haired girl (I'm calling her Violet), and a redheaded guy (I think that's a guy). I chose to battle the redhead first.
(Abyssal Cultist) Redhead
1st Pokémon: Clauncher (Lv. 33) - Defeated by Grotle.
2nd Pokémon: Golbat (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Thunderwing.
3rd Pokémon: Crawdaunt (Lv. 35) - Defeated by Thunderwing.
4th Pokémon: Lombre (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Krysta the Delta Ivysaur
The redhead is shocked that we beat him, as before the battle, he claimed he was the strongest Trainer ever. Sure, pal. He wonders how we're so strong. Good diet, exercise, regular sleep, and lots of bonding.
If we bet the redhead, the path he guards takes us to the dead-end corner of the Dump. but it's not a complete loss.
Yeah, somebody left behind an Ice Heal. Although I can't imagine why a Trainer would pick something up left behind in a garbage dump.
Let's head back up to where Violet was. She crows that soon, the Abyssal Cult will be unstoppable. Yeah, yeah. 😒
(Abyssal Cultist) Violet
1st Pokémon: Binacle (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Grotle.
2nd Pokémon: Skuntank (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Gabite.
3rd Pokémon: Prinplup (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Grotle. Bubblebeam hits hard.
After we win, she warns us not to underestimate them. Yeah, that's true. One should never underestimate an opponent in anything.
But there is some good news: my Grotle evolved into a Torterra!
I did a bit more grinding in the grassy area nearby, and I managed to get Shiro and Palpitoad to evolve into a Charizard and Seismitoad, respectively. Heading upwards, we see a couple more Abyssal Cultists, another blue-haired one and another red-head.
As can be seen in the screenshot, there's also an item on the ground. It's an Awakening. The blue-haired Cultist spots us and says they don't care what the prophecy says. They're not afraid of a kid. Yeah, pal. You may consider that there is a reason why we were chosen by Mew. Same with Celebi and Nora.
(Abyssal Cultist) Bluehead (seriously, was it that hard to give these guys names?)
1st Pokémon: Sealeo (Lv. 35) - Defeated by Grotle.
2nd Pokémon: Shiftry (Lv. 36) - Defeated by Shiro the Charizard.
3rd Pokémon: Seadra (Lv. 36) - Defeated by Thunderwing.
After we win, the Cultist warns us not to underestimate them. I think they're just doing a lot of coping. And after the battle, Krystal achieved her full evolution. She's now a Delta Venusaur!
I also decided to battle the redhead. He claims he's one of the strongest grunts here. Let's test that out, shall we?
(Abyssal Cultist) Redhead.
1st Pokemon: Relicanth (Lv. 36) - Defeated by Torterra. Relicanth used Yawn, but I had plenty of Full Heals.
2nd Pokemon: Crawdaunt (Lv. 35) - Defeated by Thunderwing. Crawdaunt's packing Night Slash, which hits really freakin' hard. If you have the Delta Bulbasaur line, do not use them against this Crawdaunt.
3rd Pokemon: Starmie (Lv. 36) - Defeated by Krystal the Delta Venusaur. Starmie was a pain to fight, as it had Confuse Ray, Recover, and Rapid Spin (which allowed it to shake off Leech Seed).
4th Pokemon: Alomomola (Lv. 35) - Defeated by Thunderwing.
After we win, he vows that we'll pay for this. Considering how much of a pain his Starmie was, I can see him being a threat to us in the future. Never underestimate your opponents indeed.
If you see a pattern when it comes to the Abyssal Cult's Pokemon teams, you're not crazy. Their teams tend to have plenty of Water-type Pokemon on them. Which does make sense. Remember, the Abyssal Cult worships Kyogre, which is a Water-type. So, members of this cult would prefer training and raising Water-types. What I do like about theier teams is that they don't all use the same Pokemon. They may be members of cults, but they're still going to have some individuality.
From here, we go upwards and to the right. It leads us here.
Yeesh, that puddle does not looks safe. Reminds me of those acid pools all over the base in entry #1. We go downwards a bit and end up here. With a couple more Cultists hanging around.
I swear to Arceus, these guys are like cockroaches. If the redhead spots you, they'll say they're the Abyssal Cult, and they worship Water-types, and they will soon possess Kyogre. Yeah, we figured that part out already, pally.
(Abyssal Cultist) Redhead
1st Pokemon: Simipour (Lv. 35) - Defeated by Torterra. Be warned, this Simipour has Scald, which allows it to give Grass-types a Burn.
2nd Pokemon: Kingler (Lv. 36) - Defeated by Thunderwing.
The redhead warned us not to interfere with their plans. Jerk, you took a friend of mine! What did you think would happen?!
You Cultists brought this on yourselves, really. And speaking of cultists, there's another blue-haired one nearby. And we have to battle that one to move forward. They want us to bring it. Their wish is our command.
(Abyssal Cultist) Bluehead
1st Pokemon: Frogadier (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Torterra.
2nd Pokemon: Kingler (Lv. 35) - Defeated by Torterra.
The bluehead warns us that if we obey, we may leave unscathed. Yeah, I doubt that. From here, we go to the right and upwards between two big piles of trash. And it's here we find our ringleaders.
And it looks like Damian was the friend they captured. I wonder where they grabbed him. The blue-head welcomes us to the Dump. It's not a nice place, but it's still a good place to talk. I do wonder why they're gathering around here as this place isn't exactly one someone would go if they want to catch Water-type Pokemon. He heard us talking about Mew when he was walking by the Vipik Gym. He's got to be lying. I don't remember mentioning Mew around the Gym. Wait a minute...Nora said to us that before he went to Vipik City in entry #5, she told him about us being chosen by Mew and her by Celebi. And since the Abyssal Cult knows about us being chosen by Mew (the note they gave us indicated that), then that means...DAMIAN, YOU BIGMOUTH!
Well, the cat's out of the bag now! The Abyssal Cult wants Mew. Problem with that is, yes, I can summon Mew if I need to, but Mew is not a part of my regular team. Never really was. Mew just helped us escape from the Darkrai Cult base. They trapped Damian in a small island surrounded by the acid water. They'll get him out if we give them Mew. First of all, Mew is not a Water-type. Why do these guys care? Yes, I know that in the lore, Mew is the supposed ancestor of all Pokémon. I get that, but I don't get the impression that these guys care about that.
Also, why should I believe that they'll let Damian go if we give them Mew? For all we know, they'll just give Damian an acid bath anyway, or they have some other nasty trick. So, we refuse. The blue head commands her (yes, the purple-haired henchmen next to her say 'Ma'am', so we know this leader is female) henchmen to take care of us. I'm naming them Iris and Violet. Seriously, these Cultists need names.
(Abyssal Cultists) Violet and Iris - Double Battle
1st Pokémon: Dewgong (Lv. 36) and Starmie (Lv. 36) - Dewgong defeated by Torterra. Dewgong nearly defeated Torterra with Aurora Beam.
2nd Pokémon: Crawdaunt (Lv. 37) - Defeated by Krystal. Starmie defeated by Torterra. Starmie was a real pain to fight thanks to Recover.
3rd Pokémon: Skrelp (Lv. 37) - Defeated by Krystal, but Krystal got poisoned thanks to Skrelp's Toxic.
Of course, the Abyssal cultists were shocked that we beat them. The leader is not happy with this. She demands Mew show itself. She knows Mew will try to save Damien. And true to her prediction...the Ancestor of All Pokémon shows themselves.
Damien is clearly scared out of his wits. She tells Mew it's time to join a new side, but another certain Legendary Pokemon has something to say about that.
Yes, it is indeed Shaymin, lady! Which means it can't be Nora here. She was chosen by Celebi. Shaymin purifies the green water with its Seed Flare ability. The Cultists are confused. Why is Shaymin here? They theorized that Mew maybe called it to help. But how it got here doesn't matter. The Cult can't take on two legendary Pokemon at once. So, they have no choice but to run away.
Before they flee, they warn us that we'll meet again, and they'll get Mew. Damian wants to know why Shaymin rescued him. He's still on the little island, but he can swim to safety thanks to the water around it being purified and safe to be in. He realizes that like Celebi with Nora, Shaymin had chosen him and wants to travel with him. Well, that's nice. He then realizes that "the prophecy" could be about him or me. He has to tell Nora about this. He thanks us for our help, and he's gone.
Mew comes to us, and it's revealed that we now have a sample of Shaymin's DNA. This will allow Mew to use Shaymin's Seed Flare ability outside of battle. There's not much else to see around here, except lots of piles of garbage. Which makes sense. This is a dump, after all. But there are still a couple things worth picking up around here. In the lower left corner of the dump, one can find an Ultra Ball.
I mean, if you want to pick it up, go right ahead. Although I do find it kind of hilarious that somebody would leave perfectly good and useful items here. Traveling to the left, there was another surprise.
A Delta Pokemon! A Delta Numel to be exact. According to the Pokedex, this variant of Numel first appeared in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. Wait...does that mean this Pokémon is radioactive?! That can't be good!
And that's where we're going to have to stop for the month. Join me then as we make our way to Helios City and go for badge #3! Wish me luck! Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and want to give this blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!
Pokemon Obtained:
(Vipik Dump)
- Grimer
- Venipede
- Gulpin
- Torterra (evolved from Grotle)
- Charizard (evolved from Charmeleon)
- Seismitoad (evolved from Palpitoad)
- Trubbish
- Delta Numel
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