Surviving the Quarantine: Post 12
Well here we are with Surviving the Quarantine Post 12. Its been three months since I started writing this series. But I still have not built a habit. I’m only about halfway towards that goal. Make sure to check out the rest of this series.
Anyway, last week was exhausting. This week has been filled with a lot of last minute excitement. The positive part of this blog post is about to swell in size. So let’s get the negative stuff out of the way.
The world is a mess. Everything that we had tried to do to stop the spread of the Coronavirus has basically been undone. The sheer number of completely insane conspiracy theories prove that even the most cynical of science fiction writers couldn’t imagine the stupidity of our species.
Speaking of stupidity, I’m seeing a lot of antisemitic stuff getting shared right now. Its completely insane that after all the stuff that has happened to the Jewish people historically, that there are still people who subscribe to it. I even know people on social media sharing some of these horrific ideas. By the way, those of you sharing the George Soros crap are lumped into this category.
Mental Illness:
But that’s world politics, I want to focus a little on me. Currently, my Depression is hard at work keeping me tired and lethargic as much as possible. I’m hoping that with the positive developments that I’ll be getting to in a moment, that I can stave that off.
However, it is my Anxiety that is causing me the most trouble right now. Phantom pains, racing heart, and most horribly the constant sensation that something is crawling all over my skin. Its like I’m constantly having ants crawl on me. It’s a horrible feeling and I can’t ignore it.
Israel:
Oh, and if you thought I was done talking about Antisemitism, you would be wrong. Everything I outlined above has made me feel the need to reaffirm that I support Israel. The country is doing the best that it can while trapped in a situation that has no positive way of working out.
Does Israel have a bunch of shitty leaders? Yep, just like every other country, the people that lead it probably have no business doing so. But the alternative is giving up our land to people who want us dead. And the rest of the world wants us dead too.
If the Antisemites want Israel to vanish, they should leave the Jews alone for about a hundred years. We are really good at fucking ourselves. But when we have a clear enemy to focus on, we tend to stand together.
Big News:
Well that takes care of the negative. Its positive aspects of my life time. Quite a bit to talk about. After a lot of job applications and even more waiting, those interviews are finally trickling in.
Most important, the Census Job that I was supposed to start in April of this year, finally gave me a starting date. The reason I didn’t have a job when the pandemic really took off was because I had locked that job down. April originally was my light at the end of the tunnel. Its July right now.
I have two more interviews this upcoming week as well. I need to figure out how to not burn bridges. The Census job will really help me financially for a couple months. Even better, those months will be stress free work. There are few times in my life where I was as happy as when I worked that job. After all this doom and gloom, I am eager to be in that emotional state again.
But since it is after all a temporary job, I need to know what I am doing when it ends. I need to have a plan, even in a world where a virus has completely screwed up our very ways of life.
Re Zero:
Anyway, something else kept me going last week. Re:Zero finally aired its second season. I can’t wait to watch the rest of it. That means that my mental health and thus life are safe for at least twenty four more weeks since I refuse to vanish without knowing if the Anime does the Light Novel justice.
Re:Zero is a show that has influenced my writing. Like that story, I am fond of creating one sort of tale, and then right before the reader gets comfortable, I pull the rug away and reveal that I tricked them into reading a different story than they thought.
Dungeons and Dragons:
Speaking of tricking people, I have managed to pull a real fast one this time. A bunch of fools have let me be their dungeon master for three years now. Another group has let me control the fates of their fictional characters for almost 2 years.
Cycle of Millennia:
In the 3 year campaign, better known as my Cycle of Millennia Series, the party fought their way through the second half of a desecrated temple to the God of Madness, Kranaak. When they reached the prayer chamber, they came face to face with the High Priestess of the Dark Elves.
While the party knew a fight was coming, her words managed to be shocking. The High Priestess knew that the party would defeat her. In fact she begged the party to kill her. Though she battled as hard as she could, she was slain, just like every other person and creature that opposed the group. Strangely, her last words were “Forgive me.” Did she feel remorse for her hand in dooming her own people? None will ever know now.
When all was said and done in the Temple, the party went back outside and found that more of their allies had been summoned, just as promised. But while their fight in Kranaak’s Temple was harrowing, they now must enter the realm of this Demon God itself. A place where madness is the norm, and reality itself is out for lunch.
Centrum Glacies:
Centrum Glacies meanwhile had a lot less stuff going on, courtesy of a drawn out fight with Vampire Spawn. However, after the battle reached its end, the group realized that the Vampire Lord had escaped. Their “ally”, if she can even be called such attempted to figure out where he fled to.
When she returned to report, she got attacked by the same killer who had slaughtered all the women in the Red Light District. Realizing that many of their other friends were in danger, the party returned to the Platinum Guild Hall and found out that while they had been attacked, their friends were safe and sound.
The Warlock, realizing that this killer was targeting women close to him, decided to be the bait. The party is preparing even now to set out, knowing that someone, or something dangerous is watching them.
Two More Campaigns:
Two campaigns would be enough for a Dungeon Master, but by popular demand, I’m running four now. So what happened in these other campaigns? Let’s talk about them.
One of the two had been started long ago, but due to lots of scheduling conflicts, it got put on hold. But now we are back, and we played another session through. This party fought for their life in an arena of criminals. And while earlier battles had pitted them against petty thieves at worst, their most recent match was different.
One of the combatants was a deranged killer who even slaughtered one of her own companions with her bare hands before the match even started. The party beat her and her unwitting allies in a close fight. As it turned out though, the lunatic wasn’t even part of the tournament. She just broke into prison so she could kill.
The fourth campaign had their first session this last week. In it, I let the characters role play and meet each other while exposing their strange quirks to each other. They then chose to help escort an apprentice wizard to a Mage Tower nearby. On the road, they got attacked by some bandits. Due to a spell going wrong, a horse also attacked the party.
While this last group, has only started, it won’t be long till they are drawn into one of my wild stories. I already have several plot arcs planned for them.
Nuzlocke:
Well, I got all the boring stuff out of the way. This has been a long three months but one thing has consistently helped me through this pandemic. Its time for the Nuzlocke part of the blog post. You should check out my Twitch Channel where these stories are written in real time.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 21:
After a lot of training, Esphere became a Metagross and joined my army of titans in causing panic upon this distorted world of Kanto. Also I had another fossil to collect in Cinnabar. My prize was Metal Boom the Foretress. Cringing for a moment while thinking about my dead Thor2, I decided to keep this horrific memento.
Next I went fishing at Cinnabar Island’s shore. In another Kanto this spot marked a portal to the Eldritch Realm where Glitches roamed free. But this entire world was too strange for even such a place and instead I caught Jim the Magmar.
Next I entered the Mansion where Mewtwo was created. Frieza honored the path of destruction it might have wrought, assuming it was the original clone. On the way, I caught Kamoshida the Nidorino.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 22:
Blaine’s gym was my next target and I crushed through his arena with my overpowered Pokemon of legend. When I reached him, I braced for surprises. Surprised I was when he sent out a Latias. Unfortunately, the rest of his team did not measure up. Victreebel, Rhyhorn, and Flareon brought up the rest. So much for being a fire master.
After clearing that gym, I got ready to head north to the one route I could still explore before I took on the 8th gym. However, Bill appeared indicating that something else was amiss in this realm. He claimed that there was something I needed to see. So I got on a fast boat and went to places unknown.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 23:
Arriving at a place called One Island, I talked to some of the locals and then tried my hand at some fishing. Expecting more birds, I was disappointed with Not a Bird the Sunkern. Seeing a Volcano on the map, I decided to check it out.
Along the way, on Kindle Road, I ran into Fury the Mankey. But I cared more about the Volcano, called Mt Ember. As it turned out, Lugia swarmed the mountain and wouldn’t let me approach it. Whirlwinds kept blasting me away. Instead, I caught 1000Needle the Cacturne.
But the real prize rested near the top. I saw a Moltress, but knowing what happened in Seafoam Islands, I prepared for anything. And strangeness happened yet again. This time a Chansey appeared from the void. I named it Shell.
Looking at the One Island map again, I saw a beach to the south of the town hub. So I went there too. At this Treasure Beach, I caught Broooooo the Slowbro.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 24:
I wanted to head back to Kanto, wondering if I would be trapped on these random islands forever. However, I was told that I should explore two other islands. Not wanting to arouse suspicion, I was controlling a 10 year old child after all, I complied.
On Two Island, the current was too fast for fishing, so I gave up on it. On the next route, called Cape Brink, I ran into Blue Bunny the Azumarill. Nothing else of note sat there though.
Not pleased with Two Island, I visited Three Island. This place was much larger and I smiled pleased with what I might find. I caught Paarl2 the Manetric on Bond Bridge. Next I traveled to Berry Forest and caught NotCharizd the Rhyhorn.
Meanwhile I found a child scared by a Pokemon. However that Pokemon happened to be a Ralts who teleported away as soon as I saw it. I am a heartless monster and decided not to tell this girl that the Ralts just wanted to be her friend.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 25:
I returned to One Island and finally found a way to return to Kanto. That meant I could finally explore Route 21 where Old Plant the Cradily slowly floated my way. I finally reached Viridian City once more and prepared to fight the 8th Gym Leader.
I pretended to be shocked when it turned out this Gym was run by Team Rocket. Giovanni happened to be a gym leader too. His team had not improved since his last fight with me. This time, he had Doduo, Flygon, Magikarp, Feraligatr, and Grimer. I crushed Team Rocket once again for good, using a 10 year old to destroy organized crime.
After preparing once again, I headed towards the Pokemon League. JYB appeared to talk shit again. I swatted him aside as usual. Only a bunch of guards stood between me and Victory Road. This area happened to be Route 23 and caught Fluffy the Ampharos.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 26:
Victory Road was next and the trainers inside were weak. I caught Chompy the Trapinch right before reaching the exit. When I reached the end of Victory Road, I finally reached the Pokemon League. After some training, I stepped foot into the Pokemon League again and prepared for multiple fights in a row.
Given the completely crazy nature of this version of Kanto, I prepared for the worst as I battled Lorelei. However, my fear turned to laughter when her team revealed itself: Luvdisc, Trecko, Blissy, Steelix and something so weak that I don’t even remember what I fought.
Bruno’s team was no less pathetic. He had Corsola, Slowbro, Magnemite, Golbat, and Primape. At least he had a Pokemon that could be on his team.
Next up was Agatha. Torchic, Murkrow, Breloom, Togepi, and Elekid. She might have been an old woman, but her team was mostly filled with baby Pokemon.
The first three of the Elite 4 had insultingly pathetic teams, but I had high hopes for Lance. Those hopes were completely dashed. His team had Volbeat, Horsea, Nidoran Male, Aipom, and Cascoon. What an insult to the Elite 4 Leader. Most of those Pokemon were common and not even fully evolved. Horsea was the only one even remotely dragon.
Well, Champion JYB was the only person standing in my way to ruling Kanto- I mean being the Region Champion. For his final attempt at trying to have a reason to exist JYB, he sent out: Phanpy, Golbat, Gyarados, Feraligatr, Scyther, and Vigoroth. Well he had one Pokemon that he should have had, and at least his starter put up a fight. Still he was nothing more than an annoyance.
Leafgreen Randomizer Part 27:
Now that I was the Champion, I returned to Seafoam Islands and caught Be Free, the Butterfree who stood in the distortion that should have been Articuno. I talked to Professor Oak after completing this task and found out that there were more Pokemon to discover. I silently whispered that he must have been blind to all the foreign Pokemon running around Kanto already.
Anyway, I explored the rest of the Islands outside Kanto on a victory lap with my extremely powerful team. I even found some Team Rocket members that didn’t realize Giovanni had been crushed. I handed them the memo and went on my way. On my whirlwind tour, I caught Mushroom the Gardevoir.
Finally, I had only one place left to check. Cerulean Cave normally was the home of Mewtwo. Yet Frieza was already on my team. I wondered what I would find instead. After navigating through the twists and turns, I found the temporal location where Mewtwo stood. Instead, I found Rintaro the Celebi.
After I captured the time traveler, I felt a strange power around me. The distorted Kanto faded away as I felt myself pulled away from this world. I wonder what that 10 year old thought as she came to and found herself deep in a cave armed with two reality warping Pokemon as well as some powerful non legends.
Platinum Adventure Part 1:
When the spinning stopped, I found myself in an unfamiliar village. But what I did notice was another 10 year old child about to embark on a Pokemon quest. I knew the drill by now. But where was I this time? The first thing I noticed was snow on the ground. Somewhere cold I guess.
I soon learned that I was in Sinnoh thanks to an energetic kid named Dat Boi. I followed him and ran into a Pokemon Professor. Thanks to being forced into a potentially dangerous situation, I got a free Pokemon: Blaze Ape the Chimchar.
I battled Dat Boi and easily crushed him. His high energy and potential ADHD were no match for a 30 year old Demon possessing a child. Soon after I ran some errands for the people here. Need to fit in after all. Eventually I gained Pokeballs. I was in a new region and that meant new Pokemon to encounter.
Platinum Adventure Part 2:
First I caught Aggro Bird the Starly on Route 201. Next I ventured to Lake Verity where according to Dat Boi, a Legendary Pokemon slept. I was no stranger to controlling such Pokemon, given my last adventure. Yet I was not alone at the lake. A mysterious man also questioned whether he could catch and control a being of legend. He asked me to let him pass and who was I to say no? I caught Moody the Bidoof soon after.
I moved passed the first nearby town and caught Sparky the Shinx on Route 202. A couple trainers tried to battle me here. Given that their Pokemon didn’t seem outrageous, I realized that this was not another entropic realm like my prior adventure.
Platinum Adventure Part 3:
Next, I reached a major hub, Jubilife City where I was forced to play a stupid game with some clowns. After dealing with their insultingly easy quiz, I found an Old Rod and went fishing on Route 218 and found Karpmagiq the Magikarp.
Afterwards I went north towards Route 204 and caught Flowerpwer the Budew. But I got stuck at some rocks in a nearby cave and was forced to go a different route. I did catch Succboi the Zubat before I left. Instead, I headed east onto Route 203 where I caught No Spoon the Abra.
Another cave sat between me and the path forward. Sinnoh sure has a lot of these. Inside I caught Homer the Psyduck. Apparently this place is called Oreburgh Gate. When I emerged at the other end of the cave, I found myself in Oreburgh City. It didn’t take long to figure out where the place got its name.
I headed towards Oreburgh Mine where coal was harvested from the ground. I found A Rock the Geodude and the Gym Leader who for some reason lurked in the back of a cave.
Platinum Adventure Part 4:
Knowing that an important battle was looming, I went and trained my team in preparation. Traveling north to Route 207, I caught Austin the Machop, but found my path blocked by a ramp. After I completed training, Blaze Ape evolved into Monferno and Aggro Bird evolved into Staravia.
I entered the Gym and to the surprise of no one, realized it was all about rock types. The trainers offered little resistance, and it wasn’t long until I battled Roark, the Gym Leader.
He first sent out a Geodude. Flowerpwer easily took care of it. Next he sent out Onix who suffered the same fate. But I saw he had a third Pokemon, and when a Cranidos came out, I realized the easy party had come to an end. What was such a powerful Pokemon doing on the first gym leader’s team? I got lucky and Blaze Ape finished it with a single critical hit. But Cranidos has serious attack power that I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of.
Glad to have earned my first badge, I left Oreburgh with the ability to break rocks. I returned to the cave where I obtained Succboi. Apparently this place is called Ravaged Path. Armed with rock smash, I made it through the small cave. Along the way, Sparky evolved into Luxio.
Platinum Adventure Part 5:
I entered Floaroma Town next and saw flowers everywhere. Guess the name gave it away. What was not given away was the purpose of a couple strange men wearing what appeared to be space suits. They called themselves Team Galactic. Ok, here was the criminal organization of Sinnoh. But besides blocking an entrance to a flower meadow, they were not causing any trouble. I decided to ignore them.
Instead I proceeded east and found the Valley Windworks. I caught Anti Rotom the Shellos Once again Team Galactic was present. This time a Grunt guarding the door battled me. I crushed him and his weak team. However, he proved smarter than everyone in Team Rocket, Magma, and Aqua when he locked the door and refused to let me in.
Deciding to go pay those other Grunts a visit in the prior town, I discovered they had the missing key. I crushed them just as easily as the last and returned to the Windworks. When I opened the door, the Grunt fled stating he would report to the Admins.
Platinum Adventure Part 6:
After fighting my way through the building, I found two of Team Galactic’s leaders, Mars and Charon. Mars told me to keep my nose out of their business and attacked. First she sent out a Zubat which Sparky took care of in a single strike. I almost decided she was as weak as her Grunts, and almost made a fatal error when her next Pokemon turned out to be a Purugly. What was a powerful Pokemon doing at such a low level? After a tough battle I took it down. I won’t be underestimating the Galactic Admins again.
Next I headed north towards Route 205 and the Eterna Forest just passed it. Inside the dark woods, I met a fellow trainer who I teamed up with to battle through the brush. During this bizarre adventure where I encountered double battle wild encounters, I caught GinjaNinja the Gastly.
After making it through the forest, I found myself on Route 205 once again. I caught Food the Wurmple and continued on my way to Eterna City.
Platinum Adventure Part 7:
Two things stuck out here. Team Galactic had a warehouse to the north, blocked by plants. Also, the second Gym Leader was in this town. I trained on Route 211 to prepare for this battle. Here, I caught MagicMiror the Bronzor while leveling my team. I also dared explore a little to the east and entered Mount Coronet. Once again I couldn’t go far.
Once my preparations were complete, I entered the second gym. Clearly this one was dominated by grass types. The trainers were a simple matter, but Gardenia the Gym Leader followed Roark’s example.
She surprised me and led with Turtwig, the grass starter of Sinnoh. Her second Pokemon was the fully evolved Cherrim. And that wasn’t even her ace! The real menace was a Roserade. Good thing I had Aggro Bird and Blaze Ape or things might have gone south quickly. Armed with the second badge and the ability to use cut, I knew where to go next.
Platinum Adventure Part 8:
So I forced a ten year old girl to enter the lair of criminals. First, I ran into a police officer named Looker. I actually saw him earlier, but decided to ignore and forget my first encounter with the eccentric dude.
I climbed the warehouse stairs and it became obvious why Team Galactic was named. When I reached the top, I saw another Galactic Admin. This one called herself Jupiter and attacked, just like Mars prior. Also like her cohort, she sent out a Zubat. Once again Sparky took care of the bat problem.
However, the trouble only started when her ace entered the battle. Like Mars, she also had a powerful Pokemon at too low a level to exist. Unfortunately, her Skuntank even had a powerful move alongside it: Night Slash. Fearing fatal critical hits, I slowly whittled down this foe. I claimed victory after another deadly battle. Team Galactic’s leader at least are competent.
Platinum Adventure Part 9:
Next I ventured back to Eterna Forest and used cut to entered an old chateau. Gardenia was nearby and claimed she was too scared to enter. And she called herself a gym leader? I wasn’t afraid and found my way to the back. A haunted TV beckoned to me, and when I investigated it, a Rotom jumped out! I caught it and promptly named it Harbinger.
Returning to Eterna City with my new ally, I encountered a mysterious woman named Cynthia. She handed me a Pokemon egg, because that is what strangers do when they meet. They hand people Pokemon eggs. That aside, I got a bicycle for saving a Pokemon when I battled Jupiter. I of course remember doing no such thing.
Using this new bicycle, I entered the properly named cycling road and battled some trainers. Along the way, Flowerpwer evolved into Roselia. After exploring the bike part of Route 206, I went below and caught Fireboy300 the Ponyta.
Armed with my bicycle I found the other side of the ramp I couldn’t climb earlier. I rested for a bit in Oreburgh City before venturing back up the ramp and towards my next destination. Once again I entered a cave inside Mount Coronet, but this time I was able to pass through. I also caught Threat* the Meditite inside.
Platinum Adventure Part 10:
On the other end of the cave, I did not find a town. Instead I walked down Route 208 and caught Mushroom the Ralts. It was unable to teleport away in time. Finally I found another town, or rather, Hearthome City.
First, I gained a new friend: Foxy the Eevee. This town also had a gym and I had a sense of unease just looking at the entrance. I decided to train again, knowing that Sinnoh had already proven to be a deadly place with powerful trainers.
I took a deep breath after I was properly prepared and entered the Gym. It turned out that my fears were justified. This place had a ghost theme and the light went out after I left the entrance hall. Even the trainers here proved to be deadly using the move confuse ray to great effect. But I made it past them all. But now I had Gym Leader Fantina and her broken English to contend with.
Platinum Adventure Part 11:
She started with Duskull. Ok, that wasn’t so bad. Next came the Haunter. Much more dangerous, but I had faced plenty of those in the past. However her ace proved to be the most dangerous Pokemon I had faced in all of Sinnoh.
Last, she sent out Mismagius. Scrambling to try and weather this Pokemon’s powerful attacks, I sent out Sparky. The poor Pokemon was slaughtered in a single attack. Next, I used Aggro Bird, worried that my adventure was about to come to a painful end. But luck was on my side and I took the Pokemon out with a much needed critical hit. I claimed my third badge, but at the cost of a faithful companion.
I saw a cave I had missed earlier. So I returned to cycling road and entered Turnback Cave. Within I found something extraordinary. I caught Game Break the Gible. It was time to be a Dragon Master again.
Exploring this cave system further, I found a girl who got lost in the back. Helping her reach the entrance out of kindness that had origins unknown, I was glad to leave this featureless and barren place. After claiming my Baby Dragon of course.
Well Pokemon Platinum is proving to be as deadly as the internet claimed. Rest in Peace Sparky.
Wrap Up:
As you can see, I had a lot more good than bad this week. I hope next week turns out to be as life changing as I hope. Moving forward with optimism scares me since my life has been nothing but nonstop failures. I refuse to say that this time will be different. But I really hope it will.