Journey's Journal: grumbles in Pokémon Modern Emerald #2

Away from Slateport, battling the few trainers at the beginning of Route 110 and the end of Route 103 proved harder than anticipated. Fortunately, Marquis the Surskit was nearly at level 22, so somewhere along the Trick House’s first challenge, she evolved into Masquerain. To my surprise, her evolution came with a whopping movepool upgrade: Air Cutter. This ROM hack must be using OR/AS learnsets.

When Marquis was still a Bug/Water-type, facing Grass-, Water-, Fighting-, and Electric-type monsters was a nightmare. And those are all fairly common to stumble upon at this point in the journey. Yes, it had been a weeny little ordeal. But how the tables had turned! When she became a Bug/Flying-type with a somewhat powerful STAB attack, I smashed all the other opponents on Route 110’s grass path — my rival included, at long last.

Wally had a similar fate when I arrived in Mauville City and noticed the blockade on the gym entrance. That depressed asthmatic boy with a bunch of dreams stood no chance against me. It’s sad the writers treated him so poorly. He’s easily one of my favourite characters in the series, and I wish we could see him more often throughout the game. Had it not been for his absence, I wouldn’t have resorted to that much yaoi fanfic.

Erm… Anyhow… As I was saying, I became unstoppable. The gateway to my beloved Verdanturf, the ever-blossoming Route 117, was yet another killing floor. It’s such an oxymoron, given that it’s also home to the Day Care, where Pokémon come to life. I had been most eager to find it so I could catch a Volbeat and breed a Sableye that knows Moonlight. However, I had to put it on hold.

You see, when I checked Bulbapaedia and found out that the phantom might also learn Recover, it seemed necessary to re-examine my priorities. I could catch an Abra back in Route 116, which is just a short trip away through Rusturf Tunnel. Then I’d have to evolve it into a Kadabra, train it all the way up to level 31, breed it with Sableye, and ta-da! I’d have a self-adjusted ghost that knows how to heal itself with psychology! No more haunting trauma dump.

With a new plan devised, my team and I, we marched across the countryside under the moonlight. And that’s about it for today’s adventure.