Tirtouga just single-handedly plowed through all these trainers. This thing is a smug little beast.
One cannon just smacked me straight into a wall...
One more cannon and... BOOM! Landed right in front of the gym leader! Like literally a foot away from her, she didn't even flinch... I guess those "pilot eyes" of hers saw me coming and knew exactly where I was gonna land?
Now, so far the last few gym leaders in this game have been nuts. My team has a clear advantage against flying types, but I wouldn't be surprised if she has movesets specifically designed to fight flying type's weaknesses. This should be interesting!
Tirtouga single-handedly took Skyla's Swoobat and Swanna. But then her Unfezant crushed me by repeatedly using Air Slash and making my pokemon flinch. Noooooooooo! So close to a flawless victory! Also Tirtouga evolved into... Carracosta.
This is a decent looking pokemon, but he could use some shoulder cannons...
This match was pretty easy and disappointing. I think I'm a bit over leveled now. My team is currently:
Carracosta 37
Stoutland 34
Unfezant 34
Excadrill 37
Gothorita 34
Servine 35
All of Skyla's pokemon were only level 33...
Skyla:...Right, so. If you cross Twist Mountain to Icirrus City...
Team Plasma, was it? Well, they seem to be headed toward there... What kind of people are they, anyway?
Sounds like that's where I'm going next. Speaking of which, N happens to be waiting for me right outside the gym. Let's see what he's babbling about this time.
N: ...To understand each other, Trainers struggle through battle, and wound pokemon in the process. Am I the only one? The only one who sees how very painful it is? Regardless... I have spoken to your pokemon... Since the day I was born, I have been brought up with pokemon. It's more comfortable to me than talking with people. So I know pokemon cannot ever lie.
Unfezant... Would you tell me what kind of trainer warpio is?
...I see. So you were born and raised in Nuvema Town, together with your mother... Taking the opportunity presented to you by the pokedex, you are out on a journey to see the world... hm. Even so, for whatever reason, this Unfezant seems to believe in you... How splendid...! If only all people could get along with pokemon as you all do... Yet the fate of pokemon and humans is left in the hands of those who only use pokemon for themselves...
Ghetsis is having Team Plasma search for a special stone. The paired Light Stone and Dark Stone... they are what we seek. The body of the legendary pokemon was destroyed, and it sleeps in the form of a stone, awaiting the hero's return... I will revive the legendary dragon pokemon from its slumber. And I will befriend it, and the world will recognize me as a hero...
...My dream is to make this a world without strife. If the world is changed by force, there will be those who oppose it. And when there is opposition, those wounded are the innocent pokemon whom foolish Trainers abuse...
Yes... pokemon are not playthings for people to control! As such... It pains me a little to separate Trainers from their pokemon when there are ones like you who respect each other...
At the foot of Twist Mountain... Cheren shows up to battle me again. After that, the champion Alder comments on our battle, some boring dialogue... then oh sweet HM03 Surf!
Inside Twist Mountain, we meet Clay, the gym leader from that other town.
Clay: Wasn't expectin' ta meet ya while checkin' on Twist Mountain... Mighty coincidence, that... Anyway, you look like you've toughened up.
Cheren: ...Really?
Clay: By the way, you two... You seen Team Plasma lately? I've heard from other gym leaders they're meetin' up, but... They buried deep or what? Who knows where they're hidin' out. But this is the only attitude I can have 'bout it... Well, this has got nothin' ta do with you, anyway. Kids oughta just have fun journeyin' with their pokemon.
Twist Mountain's nice! My favorite place of all's just down this passage... Hrm... you'd probably get it better if ya saw it for yerself. See ya, chickadees! If ya want, come see me on my mountain for some Trainer trainin'!
Cheren: I was sorta mentally preparing for him to dump some annoying task on us again...
Yeah by this point you must be expecting every gym leader to get you to to their laundry for them. I have a hard time believing Clay is out here looking for Team Plasma himself. I beat he was just pressuring a kid into going to fight Team Plasma for him, those lazy gym leader bastards...
Servine evolved into... a grass type Dragonaire?
Serperior looks really different from the earlier forms... where'd his arms go?
At the end of Twist Mountain, Cheren beats up a Team Plasma grunt, then another Plasma guy comes in and they talk about how they're going to use force to bring peace to the world... Very different from what N said earlier...
Cedric Juniper meets me just as I enter Icirrus City, telling me about the Dragonspiral Tower, the birthplace of the legendary pokemon... Surely Team Plasma will be up to something in there!