Surviving the Quarantine: Post 10
Here it is. Post 10 of surviving the Quarantine. I almost didn’t make it last week as those of you who read my last post know. Make sure to read all of these posts as they belong together.
Last week was extremely bleak. I put a lot of what I care about on hold while I put my mental health front and center. While there have been Black Lives Matter Protests, and other activism happenings, I have withdrawn.
It frightens me that I have felt better after doing that. I want to be part of the change in the world. Its not enough for me to write about it on social media and my stories.
Unless I’m on the front lines, I’m just an ally, not a fighter. Allies are expendable. Fighters matter. One of my deeply held fears is that I will be discarded and thrown away. I’m still grappling with feelings of failure.
My debt seems like an impossible mountain. As I continue my job search, I have filled out surveys, done work for others, and just about anything I can just to have enough money to survive. My mental health demands rest, but Capitalism will have none of that. I’m just a slave after all.
Holding Out:
While this week seems to be a calm between storms, I know that another bout of grief is coming my way. I’m never far from another episode during this awful times. I just wish I could get a stable job. Then I could start repairing my life and would be too busy working to be battered by the thoughts in my brain.
Anyway, I am thankful for everyone who reached out to me. Its thanks to all your efforts that I am still alive. From the bottom of my heart, I love you all.
Well, I said that I avoided politics, but that isn’t quite true. I live in the State of Florida. The Coronavirus is having a massive resurgence here thanks to human ignorance. The virus has manipulated people into letting it spread through their bodies.
These sheep refuse to wear masks because the virus is commanding them not to. Their wills are so weak that a life form that biology has difficulty classifying and doesn’t even posses a single cell has complete control over them. These anti mask people are basically zombies pretending to be human.
Anyway, I won’t elaborate further on that. A lot of good happened this week. For the sake of sanity, that is where my focus will lie.
Video Games:
I still have Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne, Pokemon Go, Pokemon Sword and Shield, Town of Salem, Civilization V and a few others to keep me company. About half of these games deal with the darkness in Humanity and the grim outlooks that I feel as a constant. Happy things like Animal Crossing are not helpful right now which is why I am avoiding them.
Anime:
A lot of the Anime I was watching have come to an end. But in a few weeks others will take their place. I can’t wait for Re: Zero. I’ll be feasting on the tears of Rem Fans soon enough.
I love Emilia
Jackbox:
I am hosting Jackbox Streams every Monday Night around 9pm Eastern United States Time. You should join in on the mindless and inappropriate fun.
Persona 4:
I still don’t have Persona 4, but luckily I have plenty of other games to distract me. I’ll get it eventually. Inaba will just go on without me solving murder cases a bit longer.
Dungeons and Dragons:
I did not get to run either of my Dungeons and Dragons Sessions this week. One didn’t happen thanks to scheduling conflicts. The other happened to fall on Father’s Day.
However, I am about to start running a third campaign with many eager players. This setting is set in a large world I created for a video game. That project is only in its infancy and I’ll have more details on them soon.
Nuzlocke:
Well, there isn’t too much to talk about. And that is because I spent most of my free time playing Pokemon. Its time for the Nuzlocke portion of this blog post. You should watch me on Twitch where I write this story in real time.
Emerald Adventure Part 22:
I chased Team Magma and Aqua across the great sea east of Lilycove City and eventually reached Mossdeep City. This site of many rocket launches seemed like a place of importance. After gaining the Super Rod here, I managed to fish up Kossim the Wailmer. I also found a Sun Stone and helped Brumer reach its full potential. It become Bellossom at long last
But before I went further, I traveled north of Mossdeep and into Shoal Cave. There I encountered Fatty the Spheal. I was pleased with this new friend. If I ran into trouble with Dragons in the future, I had an answer.
Returning to Mossdeep, I prepared to take on the infamous murder twins. One Gym Leader is bad enough. But taking on two at once. That would be quite a hurdle. And so I trained until I was certain I was ready.
Finally, after braving their Gym and the traps within, I met Tate and Liza. These two Psychics threatened to end my adventure. I steeled myself and prepare for an intense battle. I managed to win out, but I lost Old Demon and Invader in this clash. Putting these two friends to rest was not easy, but I needed to train their replacements and be on my way.
Emerald Adventure Part 23:
Midir and Sif were up to the task. I trained these two vigorously so that their might would match the rest of my team. In doing so, Midir evolved not once, but twice. First Vibrava and then Flygon. He joined Wyvern as part of my Dragon Murder Squad.
After this small victory, I claimed another against the narcissistic trick master. His newest puzzle was so two gyms ago. I look forward to finally crushing his ego.
Speaking of ego, I returned to Mossdeep and found Team Magma. Their newest scheme was to steal rocket fuel. Apparently they needed to melt steel beams and knew that jet fuel would not be up to the task. They proved once again to be failures. Even when Maxie and his Admin took me on together, I put them under a 10 year old’s boot.
I tag teamed with Steven. I am convinced that he was trying to make me lose on purpose. Probably something to do with the fact that he knows that there is a Demon inside this girl. Target needs to be eliminated soon.
Emerald Adventure Part 24:
Next I gained the ability to dive deep underwater. I caught Titanite the Clamperl and Mimic the Chinchou while exploring. Ultimately though, I found an undersea cave. A familiar submarine sat there. It was time to make a 10 year old crush organized crime once again.
The Seafloor Cavern housed an important secret. The legendary Pokemon Kyogre. Like Maxie before him, Archie thought he was qualified to destroy the world. I tricked him into attacking me so I could put him in his place and show how to properly destroy innocent lives. But despite Kyogre being right in front of me, the idiot I had just defeated activated an orb and made the Pokemon flee.
When I returned to the surface, it turned out that Groundon and Kyogre had decided to destroy the world all on their own. The weather continued alternating between extreme sun and a massive downpour. I knew I could do better and so entered the next major city and the site of a titanic clash between legends.
Emerald Adventure Part 25:
Sotopolis City is built inside an ancient volcano. It is clear as day that this place was built to keep something dangerous inside. Considering people thought to build a city in such a location, I consider the citizens here to be too dumb to live. They proved this farther by gather and watching Groundon and Kyogre duke it out.
Eventually I met with Steven again. I resisted the urge to shove him towards Groundon and Kyogre and have these forces of nature solve a problem for me and decided to help him put a stop to this entertaining conflict.
Instead I talked to his friend Wallace who told me to find another legendary Pokemon called Rayquaza. Since I consider myself a collector of Dragons, I decided to pretend to care about the world and help save it.
Emerald Adventure Part 26:
I made my way to Pacificlog Town. The one place on the map I had not traveled towards yet. The residents there told me about the nearby Sky Pillar and a mysterious green serpent that had been spotted nearby.
I entered this tower and climbed to the top. But not before I caught Blood Gem the Sableye. At the very top, I found Rayquaza. But before I could throw the master ball at him and claim the force of nature as my own, it ran away. I was insulted to think that I had been treated like Maxie and Archie and gave chase.
When I returned to Sotopolis City, I watched Rayquaza figuratively and literally tell the other two legendaries to go fuck off elsewhere. And they listened. I managed to save the day by accident and was admitted access to the 8th and final gym in Hoenn for my trouble.
I didn’t need to train for this gym. My parties’ level was more than sufficient to crush some nobody named Juan. Perhaps in another universe a more interesting trainer was the gym leader here. But with the 8th badge, it was time to visit the Elite 4.
Emerald Adventure Part 27:
I did a bit of exploring around the world. After getting the last badge I gained the ability to climb waterfalls. Content with what I found, I headed to Evergrande City which is neither ever or grand. Instead I ignored the misnomer and stepped into Victory Road.
I battled a few trainers that had somehow bested all 8 gyms without a team of six Pokemon before a pleasant surprise appeared. I detected a worthy opponent and Trainer Wally finally battled me with a competent team. But competent does not guarantee victory. He might have had a dragon, but I had two. Wally still lost like every trainer not named Broly who had dared face me. He seemed content with the loss and promised to battle me again some day.
Proceeding deeper into Victory Road, I traveled through the many twists and turns while defeating any trainer stupid enough to battle me. Finally after what seemed like a more than minor amount of time, I reached the other side.
But before I challenged the Elite 4, I had a couple loose ends to tie up. First, I stepped back into Victory Road and caught Hodrick the Hariyama. But the real prize had gone back to Sky Pillar. I climbed up the tower again. This time I had a Master Ball with Rayquaza’s name on it. After forcing it to submit to my will, I renamed it King Storm as a reminder of who was the true ruler of the weather.
Emerald Adventure Part 28:
Content with my tasks, I trained my team until they were ready to take on the Elite 4. It was a long journey to get here, but I would take this little girl to victory. Otherwise, I might not be able to take down Steven.
Preparations were complete. I stepped into the battle chambers and faced off against the Elite 4. It would be four (five) battles without rest, just like before.
Sydney, a Dark Type Master was first. While he proved that he had earned the title elite, his only dangerous Pokemon was Absol. I was more than happy to send out Sif and show him that mine was stronger than his.
Next up was Phobe. Sif easily swept her team. They had few ways of dealing with the powerful dark type. Though I do commend her for using powerful ghosts. You go girl.
Next up was Glacia. Her ice types had many tricks up their sleeves, but so did I. Oceiros and Paarl took her whole team down without any casualties.
Emerald Adventure Part 29
The first three of the Elite 4 had fallen in defeat, but the next was in a class all his own. I had faced Lance in two other regions, but unlike him, Drake seemed to have properly earned the title of Dragon Master.
His Shelgon, Flygon, and Altaria fell to a combination of Wyvern and Midir. Unfortunately, he then sent out his main menace, and Pokemon I did not have: Salamence. I have the utmost respect for any user of this Pokemon. And the unthinkable happened. Midir was killed in a clash of powerful dragons. Critical hits are deadly when Dragons are weak against themselves. Still, I won the battle but was down to five Pokemon now.
Finally, I marched into the Champion room. It was isolated and the perfect place to remove Steven from reality. But he was not there. Instead Wallace stood in his place. In anger, I battled him instead. Most of his team fell to a single strike from Paarl and Brumer per Pokemon. But then his ace appeared: Milotic. It was bulky enough to survive against Paarl and retaliated with a critical hit surf. One of my most loyal companions fell right at the very end. I won in honor of Paarl and Midir. This was by far the hardest Elite 4 that I had encountered.
Emerald Adventure Part 30:
Content with my victory, I buried two of my most loyal and important friends before wrapping up a few loose ends. I grabbed King Storm and prepared to go on a rampage. But I needed to fill one final slot. There was only one Pokemon worthy of such a place. Though he was much weaker than my team now, I grabbed Hunt Dog.
Hunt Dog has a special place in this adventure. I caught it almost at the very beginning since its not been a Pokemon I consider powerful. Yet when I lost to Broly, this Pokemon saved me from the brink. And when I faced Normon, it was Hunt Dog who defeated his Slaking. All Hail Hunt Dog, the unsung hero of this adventure.
One other thing remained before I hunted Steven down. I needed to finally defeat the Trick Master. And with King Storm, I thrashed the trainers attempting to solve his final puzzle. I finally heard him admit defeat and laughed at him as he fled in shame.
Emerald Adventure Part 31
Well, there was only one foe left in Hoenn. First I visited his house and found a gift: Crystal the Beldum. Foolish of him to grant me such a powerful Pokemon. But he was not home. I knew where to look though.
I returned to Meteor Falls. Steven Stone would disappear forever. But when I finally found him, something strange happened. The Demonic Spirit inside a 10 year old was pulled out of her, and not gently either. Where was I being taken? And why?
In my last moments in that reality I called out to my fallen friends: Basilisk, Greirat, Izalith, Vordt, MnlightFly, Wretch, Lab. Rat, Yuria, Old Demon, Invader, Midir, and Paarl. Hoenn was brutal and took all my wits to win against. I wonder if that girl ended up battling Steven? I’ll never know.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 1:
When I came to, I spotted another trainer to possess. Another 10 year old girl. But something strange was afoot. I was back in Kanto. Yet this realm had summoned me. What was going on?
I went through the motions and helped her get her first Pokemon. Things really seemed out of flux when I looked at the starters: Totodile was a starter, but not in Kanto. Walrein though… was neither a starter or a first stage Pokemon. Nor was Raticate. I ignored that one though.
I chose Bubba the Walrein. What was a Hoenn Pokemon doing here? and this girl’s rival, named JYB grabbed the Totodile. He battled me. I crushed him due to having a fully evolved Pokemon at level 5.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 2:
Things only got stranger on route 1. I didn’t see Rattata or Pidgey. Instead Victreebel and Persian lived here. Low level Pokemon that should not have existed. What was this place?
I got some Pokeballs and captured Sproot the Victreebel. Besides being an odd level, nothing else seemed wrong with the Pokemon. Wondering I had ended up in some strange Demon Purgatory, I explored a few other routes and Viridian City as well.
The buildings looked a bit updated, but nothing else other than the strange Pokemon appeared off otherwise. I caught Nipper the Huntail and realized my Pokedex was just as confused as I was about this Pokemon being here. I battled JYB nearby and he added a Hoenn Pokemon to his team. Neither of his Pokemon had evolved though, so I easily won.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 3:
But I learned the meaning of terror on Route 2. I ran into a field and found swarms of Mewtwo living there. This was a legendary Pokemon. Only one of these was supposed to exist per universe. Yet they were everywhere here. I lacked the tools to catch such a Pokemon and decided to come back later.
In Veridian Forest I caught Armydillow the Armaldo. At this point I just decided that Hoenn Pokemon randomly appearing in their fully evolved forms was an uninteresting sight in this world. However, the trainers here through me for a loop. Bug Catchers are normally harmless. Bug Catchers that send out Pokemon such as Typhlosion or Ampheros are another story entirely though.
I left the forest and returned to route 2. I passed another field filled with Mewtwo and entered Pewter City. But I did not feel strong enough to face Brock given all the strange happenings in this world. So I did something unthinkable. This ten year old battled hordes of Mewtwo to make her team stronger.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 4:
I entered Brock’s gym and his trainers did not use rock types. Wondering just what he would send out instead, I challenged him to a battle. He claimed to be a rock type master, but he sent out a Tyrogue which I laughed at. However, he next sent out a Salamence. I had recently lost a friend to this Pokemon and fought back flashbacks. Luckily Bubba took it out. Perhaps this Pokemon was Fatty reborn from Hoenn and into this strange Kanto.
I left Pewter City and came to grips with the fact that entropy was having a field day in Kanto. The trainers on Route 3 had strange teams too. And I caught Hotrod the Jolteon in a nearby field. However, Mount Moon had a happy surprise for me. I caught Menace the Bagon. If I can protect this baby dragon from this strange world and all its dangers, I’ll one day have a Salamence of my own.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 5:
Before I entered Mount Moon again, I curiously bought a Magikarp from a vendor. Instead, I got Squad the Wartortle. Is everything just random in this world?
In Mount Moon, I ran into Team Rocket. I forced a 10 year old girl to battle dangerous criminals who seemed to have their teams chosen at completely random. But I prevailed over them. Even with evolved Pokemon, Team Rocket is weak.
I exited the cave and entered Route 4. I caught Stagger the Heracross. You know what, I’m ok with this. After training my new teammate up to speed, I ran into JYB again. He had four Pokemon, and one of them was a Feraligatr. Somehow, he also had a Croconaw on his team. Two of the same starter Pokemon at different evolution stages? That’s a new one.
I cleared Nugget Bridge. The trainers had powerful Pokemon. Well that is except the Team Rocket Grunt at the end that the entropy God had decided to curse. I’m gonna call whatever being rules this version of Kanto the Entropy God.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 6:
On Route 24 I caught Nope the Charizard. I hate this Pokemon and all its fans. I will only use it if desperate. Next, on Route 25, I caught Yaldabaoth the Slakoth. This realm defies reality so why not.
After clearing those areas, I decided to train a bit before fighting whatever Misty had in store for me. It didn’t take long though. The more powerful wild Pokemon translated into more experience points.
Content that I could deal with whatever Misty used, I entered her Gym and battled her trainers. When I reached the water master herself, she started the battle. And sent out a Golem. This Pokemon hates water. And things only got worse for her. As it turned out, her signature Pokemon was a Caterpie. I wasted time laughing at her misfortune before slaughtering this Pokemon and claiming my badge.
I have no idea what to expect as this adventure continues. Not only did I run into legendary Pokemon from trainers, but wild ones as well There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to any of this. I’m not even sure if I can flee to another universe. After all this one grabbed me all on its own.
Closing Thoughts:
This week turned out much better than last. As you can see from the above, randomizers in Pokemon are a lot of fun. I can’t wait to see what happens next. Every battle is something new and unexpected. Let’s hope that my next blog post is not mired down in despair.