Pokemon Black Log: Part 3
This was written a little more than a month ago, but I put off making it all legible until now because I had wanted to start Pokemon White before the Victini event ended. And I use the word “legible” loosely, because I pretty much just added capital letters and punctuation to my rambly notes, and that was it.
But enough with the facetious self-deprecation. There was a lot to do in Pokemon Black even after the credit scroll. Such as an irresistible sidequest, catching legendaries, and a third of the region I hadn’t explored yet. Read on for my post-game adventures, full of many many spoilers. You have been warned.
I didn’t change Pokemon during the credit scroll, but for reference…
Current Team: Gokuu (Serperior), Oolong (Simipour), Lunch (Swoobat), Upa (Krookodile), Gohan (Vanillish), Trunks (Galvantula).
Nuvema Town: Went downstairs in my house, and I had two moms! But one of them was… HANDSOME (Looker). He said he came for Team Plasma, but they’re gone now. The Seven Sages were still around, though, so he asked me to find them. And he gave me the Super Rod as thanks! My mom wondered how that was related, but Handsome said not at all.
Outside, I found Cheren and Bianca. Bianca said she couldn’t tell the Striaton gym leaders in time. Cheren said he let Ghetsis escape…? Probably not on purpose. Bianca said to go to Black City for stuff, on the other side of Route 16. Then Cedric arrived and gave us National Mode for the Pokedex.
Route 1: Oh hey, a Surf area with trainers to access. It seemed to lead to Route 17? But I figured I probably shouldn’t go there yet.
Dreamyard: That cone was gone now, so I went downstairs. There were trainers down there, with holy shit Level 63 Pokemon. Foreign Pokemon, no less. It had lots of wrecked furniture and crates, and a TwistedSpoon! One guy said there are special Musharnas on Friday. Gohan evolved into Vanilluxe!
Went up another set of stairs to go outside, and hey Gorm. He talked about trying to surprise people with a giant castle. Then Handsome arrived to take him away. The dark grass had Raticate, but I didn’t care. And I used Strength to get back to the entrance.
Wellspring Cave: Now I could Surf here. Went downstairs, and boo, it required Flash. Yay, found Mystic Water. And some trainers.
Route 3: There was a Surf area here, with trainers to access. A breeder gave me a berry. And the gate sign said there was an outbreak on Route 7.
Pinwheel Forest: That cave was still blocked by rocks. I caught Whirlipede! Named it “Draculaman.” Went through a new Surf area, and found SilverPowder, yay. I finally caught Pansear! Named it “Suke-san.”
Castelia City: Royal Unova was now running, but in the evening only. There was still a black boat, for some reason. And there was a boat to Unity Tower? But I saved it for later. I found the third dancer finally! The dance team was complete, and I got an Amulet Coin as my reward.
Route 4: There was a spot to Surf here. Used it and caught Frillish! Named it “Miira-kun.” Also caught Alomomola! Named it “Akkuman.”
Desert Resort: I caught Sigilyph! Named it “C. Hermit.” As I tried to head into the castle, but Juniper showed up. She said the statues were sleeping Darmanitans, and I could wake them with this RageCandyBar. So I used it! It went into Zen Mode when its health was low. And caught Darmanitan! Named it “Demon King.”
Relic Castle: Found a new room to enter. There was a Plasma in there, who ran away. Then I fought a Team Plasma Grunt, who had a really strong Krookodile with Outrage. He said the sage Ryoku was here. Saw some wild Onixes. This place looked like an Egyptian temple (sup Golden Gun). Seemed like a kind of maze? I found Ryoku, who said he was going to catch Volcarona…? But there was no point now. And Handsome arrested him. There was a legendary in the next room, but no thanks. I went up a bunch of small stairs, and found TM26 Earthquake on the way out!
Route 5: Cheren was here. He said he learned there was more to life than winning and strength. Then he said he was going to Victory Road to think, and I could come battle him there.
Cold Storage: I found Zinzolin, back in his crate. He said I was odd for checking there. He felt alive working for Ghetsis. I gave him a lot to think about, in that Pokemon and people might not need to be separate. Handsome arrested him.
Route 6: Did some Surfing. Yay, Silk Scarf. And a cave.
Mistralton Cave: Had to use Flash, boo. And Strength galore. A few trainers, too. I caught Axew! Named it “Piano.” One trainer said there’s a legendary in this cave!? Yay, Hard Stone and TM80 Rock Slide. And some stairs to a new thing?
Guidance Chamber: An old guy said I might be the one, and told me a story. Long ago, when Pokemon and people lived in different worlds, a people war started a fire in a Pokemon forest. The Pokemon were in trouble, but the legends Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion appeared. Terrakion used its strength to destroy rocks blocking their escape, Virizion used its speed to protect Pokemon from flames, and Cobalion led scared Pokemon out of the burning forest. The people stopped their war because of the three legends. When people fight, there’s no peace for Pokemon. The legends learned that human actions could hurt their world, so they disappeared. And the old guy had been searching for them, and said one is in this cave. But the trio doesn’t trust people, so they attack those who approach. They don’t know people and Pokemon live together now. But he said I could be the one to show them and make them stop hiding.
Yay, Dusk Stone. And there was a legendary already, but I decided to wait.
Route 3: I noticed the Axew knew False Swipe, so I decided to put it in the daycare.
Chargestone Cave: Oh shit, a sage was here too. Bronius said Ghetsis tested my ability here. He wanted to test me again by bringing out some Plasmas. So I fought a Team Plasma Grunt, and another Team Plasma Grunt with no break, aaaah. Bronius said Plasma’s Pokemon fought for their trainers too, so now he understands, and wondered if N also understands. Then Handsome arrested him.
Route 7: There was really hard rain, and I suddenly realized other areas had stopped raining. Aaaah, it got really hard to see. An old lady brought me into her house and made me eat soup (yay!). She said Tornadus causes wind storms that ruin her crops. She tried to catch it, but it’s too fast. It does daily laps around Unova, being south in the mornings, and north in the evenings. I stepped outside to see it, and the rain suddenly stopped. My Pokedex listed it as seen, but with no area info. A kid in the house said to check the gates for weather info, though.
Route 16: I checked the gates from Nimbasa City, but it kept switching locations before I left town. I had to zone in and out of the bridge to get rain here. And I couldn’t use repels because my levels were too high. But I threw a Master Ball, and the first try was Mild natured with awesome Special Attack and Speed IVs. Yay, caught a good Tornadus!
Route 7: Back to usual stuff. I caught Unfezant! Named it “Tambourine.” The old lady wondered if the one who calmed Tornadus was…??? A guy in the house said a Pokemon calmed Tornadus, and has a shrine on Route 14. Got into a trainer fight. Did I miss him before?
Celestial Tower: Alder was here. He rang the bell, mourning his lost Pokemon. He said lots of stuff, then went back to the league.
Twist Mountain: Some guy gave me a Dome Fossil! And he said to come back tomorrow for more! I still can’t reach those areas, so they’re definitely winter-only.
Dragonspiral Tower: I caught Sawsbuck! Named it “Cymbal.” I remembered this BGM from Best Wishes, and it reminded me of A Link to the Past. But there was apparently nothing new here…? Not even a sage? At least I could see the top of the tower better now. Cool clouds and stuff.
Route 8: Oh shit, wild Croagunks. And another Heat Rock.
Route 9: Champion Cave was open now, but I was scared to go in. I caught Garbodor! Named it “Drum.”
Victory Road: I caught Deino! Named it “Raditz.” And caught Fraxure! Named it “Nappa.” That cave was still blocked. And Cheren was here. Marshal arrived to give him encouragement. Then I battled Cheren, who was so much higher than me. Gohan froze his Haxorus in the middle of Outrage, phew! It was really hard, and I barely won. I found a Nugget and TM02 Dragon Claw that I missed before.
Route 3: Nappa was higher level and also knew False Swipe, so I put him in the daycare instead.
Driftveil City: There was a Plasma guy selling all the incenses! One girl wanted to see Dragon Tail, so I used the TM temporarily on Gokuu. And got a Heart Scale for it. I think this is daily? Then I Surfed to the lighthouse and found a Water Stone. A kid wanted me to battle the Mincinno I traded to him, and it turned out it was now a 65 Cincinno. Whoa.
Castelia City: Decided to go catch Victini, finally. The dude in the Pokemon Center gave me a Wide Lens for having traded with 5 people. I went to Liberty Pier and took the boat to Liberty Garden.
Liberty Garden: There were Plasmas here being jerks. Fought a Team Plasma Grunt. Apparently Victini was sleeping in the basement of the lighthouse, which was built 200 years ago. Fought a Team Plasma Grunt, who was guarding the Plasma boat. Fought a Team Plasma Grunt who said selfish people were making Victini suffer. Inside the lighthouse a guard guy healed me. Went down some ramps, then fought a Team Plasma Grunt who said Victini’s energy makes you win.
I entered a room at the bottom, where a Plasma said Victini could make them invincible. 200 years ago, a rich person bought this island and hid Victini. So now they would liberate Victini. Fought the Team Plasma Grunt, who said Victini wouldn’t be as easy as he was. Then I fought Victini. The first catch sucked, but the second was Docile with decent stats, so I kept it. The Plasma said living with Victini means accepting Victini’s cruel destiny. Back outside, guards arrested the Plasmas. And Juniper was there. She said Victini’s energy is powerful, and the rich person probably tried to help protect Victini, though hiding it was a bad idea. And now it was my job to keep Victini from being misused. Then the guards and Juniper left.
Route 11: This was accessible now. One trainer only spoke French. Got a berry from a Ranger. There were some waterfalls. And another Frenchman.
Village Bridge: Some houses led to a bridge. Aaaaah, old timey feeling and pavement here. There was some grass with wild Sevipers and Zangooses (Zangeese?). Found Leftovers in a trash barrel! There was a fishing club, the Hip Waders, where a guy wanted to see Carvanha today. One girl ran out of her house, with Patrats following…??? In one house, a girl gave out heals.
A chef wanted to battle me. Then he wanted me to work as a waitress and serve sandwiches. I got a Lum Berry for getting the orders correct. Apparently I could repeat this tomorrow. There were lots of angsty musicians here. There was a girl from Johto, who said Route 12 was good for Pokeathlon training. Someone said Village Bridge is the oldest bridge, built over 200 years ago. The houses were put on the bridge to avoid floods.
Route 12: Everything was all hilly. Yay, TM53 Energy Ball. And Breeders gave berries.
Lacunosa Town: The roofs all had stuff on them, like lawn chairs and plants. An overhead pass for walking. A girl in the Pokemon Center talked about Gracidea flowers. One guy looked at my badges and told me what my team was when I earned each badge! Elsewhere, an old lady said there was a big hole in the back of town. Because a meteor fell, and there was a scary monster inside it. The monster came to the village at night, brought coldness, and kidnapped people and Pokemon. So they built a wall to keep away the monster, and no one goes out at night. Creepy.
Route 13: Wild Absols. There was a Wingull who lost three grams… what. Found a Razor Claw, yay. And I found Gram 2 (a letter?). A guy in a house offered to teach the elemental Hyper Beams. There were beach umbrellas, just like Hoenn 109. DeapSeaScale! Some Strength boulders. TM29 Psychic!! An old guy gave Gram 1. I fought Fisherman Mick, who had six Magikarps. A parasol lady gave Gram 3. A treasure hunter gave me a Red Flute, and said he’d give me more stuff tomorrow. Found a Pearl String…? One guy gave me a Splash Plate and Draco Plate! He said the plates were in a sunken temple near Undella Town. I gave the Wingull the grams, and it flew away and left TM89 U-Turn. Found Electirizer, yay.
Undella Town: A beach town (like Slateport City and Resort Area, kind of). Found a Big Nugget. What. One guy gave me a Prism Scale (for Milotic?). A girl gave me HM06 Dive! CYNTHIA. She said I remind her of a certain trainer. She was researching myths and investigating the Abyssal Ruins at her friend’s villa. Then she wanted to battle, and her Pokemon were level 75. Fuck. :[ I love that music. Her Full Restores were so cruel. And I wiped out because of stupid Lucario. I said no to a rematch so I could try again much later. Then I encountered a regular trainer, who was much lower, and very rich. He showed me his big fancy villa and said we’d battle tomorrow. There was a rich collector in there, but I didn’t have anything to sell to him…?
Undella Bay: Ugh, swimming. Trainers. And diving spots?
Abyssal Ruins: Some ancient water ruins. Pretty. It was weird to navigate into the entrance. Inside was the Ocarina of Time Water Temple…!? Crazy hieroglyphic writing on the walls. Found a Relic Copper…? Then there was a dull sound…? WHAT? Spooky Plate, Relic Silver, Icicle Plate, Relic Gold, Relic Statue, Meadow Plate… Then there was a torrent of water and I was sent back to the surface. WHAT? I went back and found a Fist Plate, and a way upstairs. Next attempt I went through a new entrance. Earth Plate, Toxic Plate, Relic Vase, Insect Plate, Stone Plate, Sky Plate, Iron Plate, Flame Plate, Zap Plate, Dread Plate, Mind Plate… And eventually got a Relic Crown on the top floor. At one point I cheated and used a map to find all the treasure because… yeah.
Route 14: Fog, ugh. A pretty river here. And waterfalls. Reaper Cloth, yay. I caught Mienshao! Named it “Kewi.” Saw some Jigglypuffs. And I caught Beheeyem! Named it “Freeza.”
Black City: Welp, there was nothing here but a Pokemon Center and fog. The internet says I can’t do anything about it until I can use Entralink with someone. Fuck.
Route 15: More fog. And the Poke Transfer Lab. There were scientists excited I had all the badges. I could use their device to get Pokemon from other regions, but no items, and I needed two DSes. Rainbow stairs. A hiker spoke Spanish…? Slightly more complicated Strength boulder into hole, then I found an Up-Grade. Rangers gave berries. One lady wanted a Ditto for her Rotom (!!!). In the gate, I had my first triple battle. There was also a scientist investigating vending machine purchases.
Marvelous Bridge: High tech bridge over a rocky area. The Shadow Triad appeared and said they still serve Ghetsis. As gifts from Ghetsis, they gave me the Adamant Orb, Lustrous Orb, and Griseous Orb! Found lots of wings. There was some girl, but she disappeared!? That girl with the Patrats was here, doing some kind of show. I couldn’t pick the right one. I caught Swanna! Named it “Duduria.” A guy wanted to sell me a $500 Magikarp, but I had no room.
Route 17: The gate sign was broken. Trainers were really low level. Yay, DeepSeaTooth.
Route 18: Yay, a girl in a house gave heals. A guy wanted to give me an egg, but my party was full. Some Strength boulders. Yay, Dragon Scale. Finally found HM05 Waterfall. Rood was here, and he was confused by Ghetsis. Then Handsome arrested him. I caught Crustle! Named it “Zaabon.” Also caught Jellicent! Named it “Appule.” Then I made room for that egg.
P2 Laboratory: Yay, Dubious Disc and TM24 Thunderbolt. I guess there was nothing else here…?
Lostlorn Forest: I noticed I had Pokerus!!! Waterfall’d up to a Rare Candy. Joy. That lady still wouldn’t talk to me.
Route 14: Still fog. Waterfall’d up to Giallo, who remembered me from Dragonspiral Tower. He said my Pokemon and I understand each other. Then Handsome arrested him, and said someone spotted N and a dragon somewhere. I found some more trainers, and an entrance to something…?
Abundant Shrine: Some kind of farm land? With no fog. One guy said Landorus protects the land and gives a good harvest. Finally found TM35 Flamethrower!! And another BalmMushroom, ching ching. I caught Whimsicott! Named it “Ginyuu.” Yay, Razor Fang. Then there was a shrine like Celebi’s. Some kids argued about what would happen if they broke the shrine. A lady said Tornadus and Thundurus caused storms, and Landorus stopped them. Landorus would come back if they were here.
Undella Town: I rematched that rich kid. Then a rich girl wanted a match. And she also wanted a rematch tomorrow. I sold that guy the Relic items and earned almost 2,000,000! No more 999,999 cap, I guess.
Route 13: Got a Metal Powder from the treasure guy. And I found a new area I missed before. Got another Prism Scale. Moved a Strength boulder, which cleared the way to the entrance. And there was Giant Chasm, but I put it off until I finished Waterfall’ing.
Route 11: Ranger gave a berry, and said he was training under the waterfall. Yay, Protector.
Giant Chasm: Welp, more fog. Found a Comet Shard…? Lots of Strength. This was just a small circular cave, and I had to go way down to an exit. Then I was outdoors again. And what the… I got to a pond, there was a scream, and I was warped to a snowstorm!? Apparently the same area covered in snow? I went into a cave and oh god scary dragon. Not what I wanted.
The egg hatched, and it was Larvesta (some ugly ass Bug/Fire thing). Named it “Jeese.” Yay, TM13 Ice Beam! I caught Ditto! But I didn’t name it. Then I decided to try Kyurem after all, after getting Nappa from the daycare for False Swipe, and it evolved to Haxorus. Aaaaah level 75. But after four deaths and two Dusk Balls, I caught a Mild one. And the snow was gone.
Marvelous Bridge: Bought that Magikarp, yay.
Twist Mountain: Got an Armor Fossil from the guy, yay.
Icirrus City: Sold that guy my gems. Also made big money selling him the Comet Shard, Big Nugget, and Pearl String. And I found out he apparently paid more for Stardust, Pearls, and Star Pieces. But I didn’t have any Nuggets or Big Pearls to test.
Route 5: I sold that girl my BalmMushroom. And she paid more for TinyMushrooms and Big Mushrooms.
Route 13: A White Flute from the treasure guy today.
Undella Town: Rematched the rich boy again, then the girl followed automatically. And a rich grandma arrived next, who wanted to fight again tomorrow.
Relic Castle: I put Gokuu in the daycare with Ditto and got Nappa for False Swipe so I could go for Volcarona. Aaah, level 70. And I learned it was a Larvesta evolution, apparently? So not really legendary? Even though it acted like one. I wished I had Net Balls. But after two deaths, I finally caught Volcarona! Named it “Butta.”
Guidance Chamber: Decided to try Cobalion. What, the battle screen had slicing up glass? Only 42. It resisted Dragon, so I assumed it was part Steel? Eventually got it to 1 HP, and caught in a few Dusk Balls. Then the old man said I’ve helped Cobalion sense there was change, and that could be communicated to Terrakion and Virizion. So the obstacles separating them were probably gone now. Those blocked off caves, maybe? Cobalion was Brave, apparently.
Pinwheel Forest: Yay the cave thing was finally open.
Rumination Field: More battle screen slicing up glass. And here was Virizion, also 42. Didn’t seem to be Steel or Rock, so False Swiping was easier. But oops, it knew Giga Drain for heals. After some Ultra Balls, I caught it. And Virizion was Brave too.
Victory Road: Cheren was still here. And the cave was free.
Trial Chamber: Even more battle screen slicing up glass. And Terrakion, also 42. This one was a bull thing instead of a deer thing. It resisted False Swipe but not Dragon, so I guessed it was part Rock? After many deaths and dozens of balls, I finally caught it in a Dusk Ball. Got Naughty this time.
Route 3: Seemed I had no more legendaries, so Nappa went back to a normal box. Gokuu had made an egg with Ditto. So I no longer had anything in the daycare.
Challenger’s Cave: Remembered to finally check this place out. Boo, it needed Flash. Some trainers. One of them said there was a legendary here!? …Or it just trained a student here. There was one horrible trainer with super powerful Pokemon (who all had Stone Edge?). Then I found TM71 Stone Edge, derp. Yay, Black Belt and Oval Stone.
Royal Unova: Decided to finally do this, and it cost 1000? They said there were 4 trainers today? Couldn’t use Dowsing Machine. Found a girl from Kanto, and a guy from Johto. Aaaaa, Wailord’s sprite. I went up to the deck, just in time to see it pull into Castelia (very pretty). Back at the dock, the lady gave me a Lava Cookie! Apparently I could go back tomorrow?
Unity Tower: Took a boat to a little island, which had lots of different flags (like the United Nations?). There was a security scanner and a guard, so it all looked like an airport. Workers said trainers from all over the world were here. I had two floors, for the US and the UK. On the US floor, it was just the person I traded with talking about the trades. The UK floor was pretty much the same. So… yay?
Nimbasa City: My Snivy egg hatched, and it was female! I decided to try the Battle Institute. I picked Double. Seemed to work like the Battle Tower (level 50, consecutive battles, no using items, no rewards). Except that losing wasn’t the end here…? And what, the fifth one had legendaries. I got 1559 points, a novice rank, and 2/7 stars. Then said to hell with this. Went to the Battle Subway next. More Battle Tower-like stuff, it seemed. I could buy the usual stuff with BP. No thanks. Decided to try the train to Anville Town.
Anville Town: People said there were no trains today, and that more people come to watch trains on weekends. They said something about Star Piece collectors and trading items. A subway guy gave me a Rare Candy from the lost-and-found, and said I could come back for more…? Pretty boring place that didn’t even have a Pokemon Center. At least I’d been there now.
And then I had nothing else to do but the Elite Four and Cynthia, but they were still too high. Was the Handsome sidequest over!? …Apparently so, according to the internet. Welp.
(After that, I explored the new winter areas for April, and I managed to catch Landorus, but I didn’t take notes on those things.)
…So that’s that. I plan to play through Black again with Pokabu as my starter, probably during the (real world northern hemisphere) summer. But I probably won’t post about that. However, Black is my discovery/experimental game, and White is my thorough completionism game, so I may add something about the latter at some point.