Surviving the Quarantine: Post 15
Well I made it to Quarantine Post 15. Halloween seems to be cancelled this year and at this point I can only hope that Thanksgiving and Christmas follow suit. Make sure to check out the rest of this series too.
Anyway, its mostly been another good week. But let’s focus on the bad first. Apparently a certain orange turd who will go unnamed is following the medical advice of a lunatic. Its annoying to me as a dark fantasy writer that a pseudoscientist is throwing around terms such as Demon Sex and Alien DNA. Leave my tropes alone and go ruin other things.
I talked at length about Fascism in my last post so there is no need to repeat it again. But The United States is not starting to fall into Fascism. We are here. And soon the genocides happening in China and Russia will be on this continent as well.
I have also talked about the science deniers so many times now that I am tired of bringing it up. But all these conspiracy theorists need to wake up and realized that there is an actual conspiracy and its playing them like a fiddle.
“The easiest people to control are those who believe they are enlightened and above everyone else. Simply feed them what they want to hear and they are yours completely.” Evesta
Pressing Issues:
On a more personal level, my office had to close to be cleaned after potential Coronavirus exposure. The chances of me getting the virus this way are extremely low to almost nonexistent. Still, I’m going to get tested as soon as I can. Better to be on the safe side.
Oh and there is a potential hurricane coming this way. Doesn’t sound like it will be as bad as Irma and Maria were, but Hurricane Season lasts a long time and there are plenty of chances that a terrible storm could show up and cause serious destruction.
Pokemon Go:
Last negative thing. Normally, Pokemon Go is in the positive part of these posts when mentioned. This time however, something that would normally be minor upset me greatly. Pokemon Go Fest was this last weekend and my paycheck came just a few days too late.
While I saw many complain about their lack of shiny catches and the lack of Pokemon they wanted, that doesn’t describe me at all. Shinies are far too easy to get in Pokemon Go. So I don’t find it as special as others when I find them in this game.
So why am I mad that I missed the event? Well, Rotom Wash was released. That little appliance possessed by a ghost is one of my favorite Pokemon in the entire series. But I couldn’t catch it. Nor could I catch Unown. That Pokemon is so rare that I have encountered only 3 of them the entire time I have played Go.
Apparently Deino was more common during the event too. And while Rotom Wash is in my top 6 favorite Pokemon, Deino evolves into Hydreigon who is my favorite Pokemon in the entire series. I’ll get it over it I guess.
The Positive:
Anyway, lets get to the more positive stuff. Re: Zero continues to be the main attraction of my Anime Watches. But Fire Force, Misfit of Demon King Academy, and The God of High School are also puling their weight. Oh and a Certain Scientific Railgun is airing again.
My job is occupying a lot of time this is far from a bad thing though. Working hard and making money helps me escape the cruel debt hole I keep falling into. Maybe I can pull myself out of it with a bit of luck.
Persona 4:
Now that I finally got paid, I’ll be getting Persona 4 in the near future. Maybe when I am done with my Nuzlocke runs to give myself a bit more time to make money. I can’t afford to spend anything recklessly just yet.
Shin Megami Tensei V:
And speaking of Persona, Atlus made a huge announcement this week that excites the masochist in me. Actually, they made two huge announcements. The first was Shin Megami Tensei V, Persona’s tougher and edgier big brother series’ newest installment.
Nocturne:
But the second announcement was the one that drew my attention. Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne is getting an HD Remaster! This game is in a special category of games that separate weenie gamers from the hardcore. Other games in this category include Nioh, Ninja Gaiden, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. I can’t wait for an entire new generation of gamers who will go to Google to figure out “how to kill Matador“
For those of you who have played Persona and are as hyped as I am, there are a few differences between the games. The most notable one is that in Persona you team up with your Friends and slay Demons. In Shin Megami Tensei, you team up with Demons to slay your Friends.
Cycle of Millennia:
Many of my Dungeons and Dragons Campaigns were canceled this last week. Sadly only Cycle of Millennia continued from the week prior. But they are in for a hell of a time as they continue exploring the realm of Demons.
During a fight with an Ancient Black Dragon, one of the party suffered multiple mortal wounds. He was healed promptly, but things took a nasty turn. He had been tapping into the power of a Demon Soul for a while now, and since then group now found themselves in this creatures realm, it took control of his body and tried to kill the rest of the party. It took a lot of effort to reassert control.
Madness:
Farther in, the party came in contact with Kranaak’s Avatar. As the God of Madness and Destruction, tempting fate with such a being is a terrible idea. However, one of the party members represents the God of Heroic deeds and felt a little too brave.
However, it was one of the other characters who suffered the most cruel punishment. Worse to a Chaotic Evil God than a Paladin devoted to good, is a cultist who worships a rival God. Notably a Lawful Evil one as in this poor soul’s case.
She was forced to endure all the mental and physical pain of her entire life in real time. This included lovely gems such as being sold into sex slavery, being brainwashed into being a human trafficker, and most recently coming in contact with Eldritch Abominations whose very presence warps reality and induces insanity. She has gone completely insane after such an ordeal. And its a mystery how this will affect her in the long run.
As the group continued through the literal realm of madness, they managed to stumble upon the Soulforge where pact weapons are made. As expected from the realm of a Chaotic Evil God, the source of these weapons are the souls of innocent people. Naturally this includes children.
Unfortunately, the moment the party started attacking the workers, the taskmasters commanded the prisoners be sacrificed to fulfill their quotas. Its a race against time as the group tries to save as many people as they can. Its implied that a grim fate might await them if too many of these people die in such a cruel place.
Nuzlocke:
Well you guys came for the Nuzlocke right? Let’s get into that. Make sure to check out my Twitch Channel where this story is told in real time.
After the excitement of encountering Shiny Uxie, I decided to upload that sequence to Youtube. You can watch it and my voice crack here.
Platinum Adventure Part 34:
Anyway, after some serious training, it was time to take on the Elite 4. Aaron and his bug types were first. He was easily slaughtered by my team. A combination of Anti Rotom and Aggro Bird made quick work of him.
Next was Bertha. Her ground types were no match for Anti Rotom and Flowrpwer. Even her signature mon and its sandstorm powers were unable to phase me.
Next up was Flint. Unlike some other versions of Sinnoh, he actually had fire types on his team. Of course, Anti Rotom once again stomped him. Or rather, it washed him away.
Up last was Lucian who could do nothing against the power of Dormammu and Dragonx..x. Others might claim he is dangerous. I disagree.
Platinum Adventure Part 35:
Finally, I found Cynthia in the way. I guess its no surprise that she is the champion here. After walking through the Distortion World and watching me claim one of the divine entities of the universe, she still thought it wise to fight me.
Though her team was much stronger than expected, I still emerged victorious. I’ll give her credit where its due. Her team scared me a bit. Though my journey through Hoenn was still more harrowing. I suffered no casualties during this bout against the Elite 4.
Next, I decided to go explore some new areas that opened up once I became Champion of Sinnoh. I wanted to survey the region I was soon to conquer. Plus I wanted to power up my team before I want to go ensnare Dialga and Palkia as well.
Platinum Adventure Part 36:
After a bunch of running, I found my way to Stark Mountain and found some familiar faces. Mars and Jupiter demanded to know where their boss had gone. And even though I told them the truth, the idiots attacked me.
After crushing both their spirits, they both left Team Galactic and the cave. But a few goons remained and so I gave chase. After helping that police dude, Looker capture the rest, I left the mountain.
First, I figured it was nice to let the 10 year old I was controlling visit her home from time to time and so traveled back. But before I could go anywhere, a strange force pulled me away from Sinnoh. Did Dialga, Palkia, or even Giratina sense the danger I posed? I won’t know now, this feels like what happened before in Hoenn.
Frustrated at the fact that I had come so close to taking complete control of the universe, I wondered where the currents of spacetime would take me now.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 1:
When the spinning stopped, I found myself back in Johto. Well this region hadn’t been too difficult to conquer before. And just as usual, I found a 10 year old child to control upon arrival. But why had I been sent here?
Quickly I saw signs that this was another entropic realm like my second adventure in Kanto. My starter ended up being Deez Nuts the Dugtrio.
I explored the first couple routes and ran into Pokemon that normally didn’t appear there confirming my theory. This was another strange realm where everything was all messed up.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 2:
After exploring, I ran into an angry red head. I had fought someone similar in my last adventure in Johto. But this time he had a different name. Sylva. I reported that name to the New Bark Town Police before realizing that this boy had stolen a Dragonair from the lab. Uh oh.
Anyway, armed with Pokeballs, I caught I♥lamps the Venomoth on Route 29 and Mari the Chikorita on Route 46. But the fun was about to come to a stop.
I became convinced that this land served as a prison as punishment for daring to challenging the Gods. The very first trainer I battled had a Garchomp who slaughtered Dez Nutz with Dragon Rage. I had never lost a Pokemon so early in an adventure.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 3:
So I trained Mari and I♥lamps and for one of the first times in my adventures, I completely avoided this trainer. I did not think I was strong enough to best a small child. It was a humbling experience.
I moved on to Route 31 which was home to wild Giritina and Regirock. Both these Pokemon were far too dangerous to fight and one might have been the very Pokemon that sent me here. However, I also ran into a Slaking and caught it. I named it King cause it was about to rule my team.
But tragedy was coming a second time. After being careful and avoiding that trainer with a Garchomp, I ran into a second one. This one killed I♥lamps. I have never lost this many Pokemon before the first gym battle.
Upset at the number of dead teammates, I proceeded carefully into Dark Cave and caught Sonic the Sandslash. I trained this team and entered Sprout Tower where I caught Poofy the Chimecho. Things were looking bleak. Most of this team was not powerful at all.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 4
I ventured to Route 32 hoping to find something more powerful. Luckily, I was rewarded with Rip Box the Seadra. I named it to remind myself of the Horsea that slaughtered my Box Ghost the last time I visited Johto.
At the top of Sprout Tower, the Elder used an extremely powerful team that consisted of Torkoal, Suicune, Cloyster. This was quite a scary team and made me wonder what Falkner, the Gym Leader of nearby Violet City would unleash.
His team was not nearly as horrible as I feared. Pelliper was a flying type, but not very dangerous. His second mon was a Minun. Nothing to see there. And so even though I lost two Pokemon extremely early, I secured by first gym badge.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 5:
I ventured passed where I caught Rip Box and headed towards Union Cave. But first, I went to the ruins of Alph. But despite solving the puzzles, Unown did not appear. Instead I found Yokai the Sedot.
Entering Union Cave I caught myself Transport the Pelipper. I encountered no more problems along the way and safely made it to route 33 where I managed to catch Uri Gellar the Kadabra before he teleported away.
When I reached Azelea Town, Team Rocket was causing trouble, just like my last Johto Adventure. I moved to Slowpoke Well and was careful not to reveal how much I knew about current events. Battling my way through Team Rocket Grunts, I caught Ron Swan the Nidorino while clearing a path.
Finally I encountered their Admin Proton. This character had not been present in my last adventure. His team scared me a bit. He had a Regice who potentially could have exploded and killed one of my teammates. Luckily it did not and I took it out instead. His other mon was the much less dangerous Caterpie.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 6
I needed to train a bit before Bugsy. This version of Johto had been deadly so far and I was not gonna take any chances. During training, Mari evolved into Bayleaf.
Feeling confident I fought through Bugsy’s gym and challenged him to a battle. His first Pokemon was a Dragonair and guess what? It used Dragon
Rage and I lost Sonic before I could beat it. Things got worse as he sent in a Ramparados too. Poor Mari was slaughtered before it could finish it off. His last Pokemon was the not threatening at all Hopip.
I claimed my second badge and buried my fallen friends. Unfortunately, I knew that Sylva was about to appear again. And he also had a Dragonair and since it was the same level as Bugsy’s that meant more Dragon Rage. But I was ready and did not lose any Pokemon to him.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 7:
However, Dragonair was not the only scary Pokemon on his team. He started with a Snorunt which was whatever. However he sent in an Azelf next. I had never seen a rival add a legendary to their team before.
With Sylva out of the way, I pressed on to the Ilex Forest, but before I took even a single step, an egg hatched and I gained Mascot the Pikachu. Amused by this result, I pressed on. This forest is known for Celebi a Pokemon that travels through time. Suppressing a chuckle, I ran into multiple Palkia.
This Dragon that controlled space itself had been my goal while exploring Sinnoh, but right now I was ill equipped to control such a creature. Instead I captured Rollin Out the Phanpy and went on my way.
Next I entered route 34 and found something wonderful. I captured One Punch the Scizor. It even has technician for maximum pain. Everything was starting to come together at long last.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 8:
I arrived in Goldenrod City and the very first thing I did was compel a 10 year old to gamble. After not winning very much I left and realized that it would take quite a bit of work for the better prizes.
But there was a Pokemon Gym ahead and its leader was Whitney. Infamously tough, I remembered how dangerous she was in my last adventure in Johto. Would the same hold true here? I didn’t know. Bugsy had been easy before and this time he had stolen two of my friends away.
After proper training, I took on Whitney’s Gym and all its weird architecture. Finally I fought the menacing woman herself. She started with a Houndoom, which would have been impressive, but I had Rip Ghost who simply washed it away. Last she had an Aipom. This Pokemon posed no threat and I earned my third badge.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 9:
Next I ventured to Route 35. A guard at the gate asked me to deliver a letter and handed me a Porygon 2 named Kenya. I might keep this Pokemon, but who knows? On the Route itself, I was disappointed with a Weedle that I promptly named Go Away.
I saw the National Park and wondered what might await me there. Funny enough, the place was still filled with bug types, even though the rest of the world seemed to have succumbed to entropy. I caught Naruto the Nincada while exploring.
The logical place to go next was, surprise, Route 36. More surprising was what I found there. I am not sure how Wailord lives in such a small habitat away from water. But Wailord happened to live in this small habitat away from water. I named it Monstro for reasons.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 10:
At a major crossroads between multiple routes, a strange tree sat seemingly immobile. In my last adventure around Johto, this tree happened to be a Sudowoodo. Curious to know what would happen this time around, I sprayed the tree with water.
Instead a Flygon attacked me. Pleased with the appearance of a Dragon of my own, I captured it and named the creature of the sands Set. Pleased with this find, I moved north to Route 37. I quickly found a Blaziken and named it BuffThighs.
I entered Ecruteak City. This place had bothered me greatly in my last adventure. A city dedicated to tradition seemed baffling to me. Why honor the past when you could create a new future? I mean, my future would define reality once I could capture the Pokemon that controlled the Universe so the past wouldn’t matter.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 11:
Speaking of things that bothered me, I found a Rocket Grunt and sent him packing. I was rewarded the Surf HM as a present for such a simple task.
Morty was the Gym Leader here and his team had the potential to be much stronger than Whitney’s. It was training time. But I figured I might explore around a bit while doing so.
I went to Burnt Tower first. Apparently some legendary Pokemon lived here. Apparently is sarcasm by the way. I could see some legendary Pokemon in a nearby pit. I caught Stelesaur the Lairon while avoiding holes in the ground.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 12:
Before I could go to the lower levels, I found Sylva again and he was up for another fight. He claimed I would not be able to get any legendary Pokemon. Soon after he sent out his Azelf again. Oof, that was some serious flex. I beat him proving that Legendary Pokemon are nothing more than tools like any other Pokemon.
Speaking of Legendary Pokemon, I found three in Burned Tower’s basement. Two ran off immediately, but the third stuck around for a bit. However, it didn’t sound like a Suicune when it roared.
Amused by this turn of events, I ventered west to Route 38 and immediately was beset on by Ho-oh. I still lacked the tools to catch such a powerful being and- just kidding. I tried to capture it, but eventually it blew my party away with Whirlwind.
Instead, I caught Alpha B the Vespiquen who did not employ a similar strategy. A shame really. Well, feeling a bit indifferent to how this area had been, I went east instead towards Route 42.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 13:
I could not cross the water yet, despite knowing Surf, so I entered Mount Mortar. Filled with water types, even in the non water areas, I was disappointed when I caught Horn E the Goldeen.
What was not disappointing at all was what I crossed paths with next. I ran into a Lucario in the wild. Naming it Knuckles jr in honor of my fallen friend, I intend to find some use for it down the road.
Content with my training, I entered Morty’s Foggy Gym and took on ghosts. Or I would have, but one of the trainers had any. Morty included in fact. He had a Tangagrowth, Feraligatr, Spheal, and Bastiodon. Not bad at all if I say so at all. His team managed to be extremely bulky. Still I won out and claimed my fourth badge.
More tragedy struck. I entered a body of water and ran into a Honchkrow. This powerful dark type killed my retreating Uri Gellar. Still I caught him and called it Big Al. He needed to pull some weight to make up the loss.
Heartgold Randomizer Part 14:
I ventured back to Route 38 and Route 39 beyond it. Here I caught SearchSond the Furret. While it was in the wrong area, this Pokemon at least appears normally in abundance in Johto. I also tried to save a Miltank at one point. Tried being the key word. I lacked the berries to fully heal it. Maybe next time.
Olivine City was my next destination. The open sea sat calmly just beyond. And with surf I wanted to see what I would find. Deciding to get a proper fishing rod, I tried my hand at catching something in the water. In my last entropic adventure I had fished up a Zapdos this way.
And I managed to find a different legendary. Mespirit this time around. Unfortunately, while drawing ever closer to being able to capture a Legendary Pokemon, I was not willing to sink resources into getting it. I settled for TreygoCray the Kingler instead.
I took a rest in the Pokemon Center, reflecting at just how deadly this strange version of Johto had turned out to be so far. What new horrors await me? Am I trapped her as punishment for my plotting in Sinnoh?
Wrap Up:
Well that was an interesting week. I wonder what will happen next? Can my personal life stand up to the horrific reality closing in on us all?