Day 29-- Pokemon Caught:19, Day's left in Challenge: 325

I know, I know, two posts in two days. It’s a record for me! Today I did some major exploring in Castelia City. I always love going into all the buildings in every city and I love seeing what all the people have to say. I find the roads with all the people running around very fun. I love getting in people’s way and seeing how fast they can get around me. But anyways, after walking around as much as I could, I went to the Battle Company and battled my way through each room. Lots of visits to the Pokécenter were required. ^_^ I also found the three dancers, but I haven’t battled all three of them at once yet. I plan on doing that tomorrow.

So, I registered my location on the GTS and I had a thought. I’m really interesting in interacting with other people through my game. I’m not big on battling as I have said before, but I LOVE trading Pokémon and just seeing how other people interact with their Pokémon. So, if you would like to trade with me or I will battle—but I’m not promising anything given that I am not very far into the game—just send me a message and we can trade friend codes. If you email me though, be sure to write that you found me through my blog otherwise I won’t open the email. I get a lot of spam and so I don’t open emails unless I know who they are.

And now, on to why I began typing earlier.

I just caught Victini! And my oh my was that a difficult battle, but not for the reason you might think. When I got to the island, I battled my way through rather easily and went to battle Victini. I have to say though that I did take advantage of the man who offered to heal my Pokémon before I went into the basement. This is something that I have not yet discussed so far, but I rather like the strategic placement of people who can heal my tired Pokémon. It is so much easier than having to walk all the way back to the Pokécenter or having to use all of my Super Potions.

Anyways, back to my story. I quickly entered the battle, excited to see what Victini could do. However, I was so excited, that I forgot to save before I entered the battle. Actually, now that I think of it, I did think about saving, but I naïvely thought that I didn’t need to. The fight itself wasn’t too difficult. Purrlion easily got his HP into the red zone and I was feeling very sure of myself. I threw a Great Ball to start with and was a little shocked when the ball didn’t even move. Almost as soon as I threw it, Victini was out and attacking me. I tried several more times to catch him using various balls. I threw my Ultra Balls. I threw a Heal Ball. I threw a couple Timer Balls. And then I tried numerous Great Balls. Nothing worked.

It was around this time that I decided to look online and see if there was a reason that he wouldn’t stay inside the ball. And I discovered that most of the people who had successfully caught Victini did so by lowering his stats and inflicting status conditions. Unfortunately, at this time, I do not possess a single one of these on my team. I have been so excited to see all the different moves available that all of my status afflicters have been replaced. And so, a little annoyed with myself for not saving before the battle, I decided to just keep at it and hope that maybe I would eventually wear him down. And about seven Great Balls later, I got my wish. Victini is now safely within my PC. I didn’t get a chance to play with him yet though because I had to finish some work for class. But tomorrow I fully intend to see what he can do. Oh and because of the certain luck that allowed me to capture him, Victini shall henceforth be referred to as HUZZZAH!!!   

Day 28 --Pokemon Caught: 18, days left in challenge: 326

Ok, so I have some good news and bad news. The good news is that I will have loads of time to play the next few days. The bad news is that the reason I will have so much time on my hands is that I have somehow contracted shingles. Last Wednesday, my back began to itch like crazy. Now, I have eczema so I’m used to my body itching. But this felt different. So, Friday, I decided to look at my back and see if there was a bug bite or something causing the itching. But when I did, I discovered a rash in the very center of my back. So, I showed my mom and she said she thought I had ringworm. Then today, when I went to Quick Care, they told me it wasn’t ringworm but shingles. Actually, they said that they weren’t sure what it was. They scraped at it and are doing a test to see what it is and until they know for sure, I have to stay in my house. I am not thrilled. So, anyways, because I am not allowed to leave my house for the next three days, I will have lots of time to play Pokémon.

I have to say I really like the way that the gyms are set up in the new games. The addition to another aspect of the gym reminds me of the original first generation anime. I like the fresh look this gives the game. Although, I have to say, choosing the right book in the second gym was nowhere near as difficult and annoying as the trashcan switches in Lt. Surge’s Gym in generation one.

I’m currently debating on changing out one of my Pokémon. I caught a Sewaddle over the weekend in Pinwheel Forest and I really like him. However, I don’t like who he evolves into. So, I can’t decide whether to trade him in now for my Servine, or if I should wait until I have an Everstone so that I can keep him at his current evolution state. I nicknamed him Feireag, which is the name of a plant in Gaelic of which I cannot remember the exact name. Anyways, I have a feeling he will be in my team at some point. I just haven’t decided whether to do it now or later.

So, most of my friends are all through with this game. But I have to say, I am less interesting in battling my way through the game as fast as I can and more interesting in exploring. I spent over three hours in Pinwheel Forest just wandering around finding all the little hidden items. I find exploring the new areas exhilarating. I have never been much of a battler. In fact, I battled a friend of mine just the other day and I lost terribly. I knew I would though. I don’t really care though if I win or lose. I’m more interesting in catching all the Pokémon and exploring all the different areas.

I’m in Castelia City right now and it’s HUGE! I am seriously in shock at how huge this city is. However, I have to say, I’ve already noticed that I really don’t like it when the camera adjusts all willy-nilly. It was very annoying. All these awesome graphics don’t mean a thing if the camera is so jerky that you cannot focus clearly on the image. I love the extended world, but I still prefer the older games. I don’t need fancy graphics. It’s the story and the concept that are important to me.

Well, here’s to another successful entry. I’ll try to write another in a couple of days. I plan on lots of hours playing over the next few days.