[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[The feed opens on Apollo sitting against a tree in Goldenrod, holding a shiny new Plain Badge and Rock Smash HM. A pile of empty Potion spray bottles is visible beside him at the edge of the frame. For someone doing a badge post he doesn't look that happy. He seems more worried than anything.]

I don't get why the badge is supposed to be the important part. The HM is more useful.

[He glances off-camera at something for a moment before looking back and getting to the reason he's making this post.]

Are all the gym battles this hard? Everyone fought really hard, but if that Miltank had lasted much longer they would have lost. They're all pretty tired after that battle, but even though it was really close this time they still want to try and beat the gym in Ecruteak City after this. I'm not sure anymore. If they can win here can they win at the Ecruteak City Gym?

Comments

[Video]

[babel_hacker]

Well, badges are important because they allow you to use HMs outside of battle.

As for gym battles...yeah, they're supposed to be tough. The gym leaders are skilled trainers in their chosen type, so they're challenging for their levels. But they can be beaten with strength and skill.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

I'm a Breeder, so I don't need badges to use HMs. I only challenged the gym because I needed the Rock Smash HM and the Pokémon with me wanted to.

Are all the gyms about as hard to beat? Or are some harder than others?

[Video]

[babel_hacker]

Ah. In that case, you don't need the badges unless you like collecting.

They should be. And yeah, some are harder than others, since they have stronger Pokemon to fight with.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

Do you know how strong the Ecruteak City Gym is? I'm headed there next.

[Video]

[babel_hacker]

Hm...it's been a while since I challenge them and I kinda steamrolled Morty. But he's tougher than Whitney and use Ghost-types.

[And ghost types are usually tricksters.]

[Audio]

[foolishwren]

Yeah, you can do 'em out of order. Nobody really gives a crap.

Anyway, they're all so different, I wouldn't worry too much about beating the others if one gave you a hard time.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Hearing that makes him worry a tiny bit less.]

Do you know what the gym in Ecruteak City is like then? I'm going there next.

[Video]

[foolishwren]

Never been there, but I know he uses ghosts.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

That's going to be annoying. Three of the Pokémon with me are Normal-type. They all know attacks that aren't Normal-type at least.

video

[kyoukashotennis]

[Ah.. he remembers Apollo from that time in Ilex Forest. That seems like such a long time ago.

He doesn't know much about Gym battling, but he has a few things he's kept in mind, just in case.]

I think the key to an easier win is to focus on type advantages. There are plenty of sources to find out what types the leaders use, so using that information should help you train a Pokémon suited for the battles. It should go easier after that.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Isn't that that guy? Looks like he didn't get himself re-lost after that.]

I tried that with the Goldenrod City Gym and the Pokémon with me managed to win. The Ecruteak City Gym is supposed to use Ghost-types though, and three of the Pokémon with me are Normal-type and have mostly Normal-type moves. They all have a few that aren't at least, and two of them have Dark-type moves, which are supposed to be strong against Ghost-type.

[Video]

[kyoukashotennis]

[Maybe the next time he starts traveling again...]

What other types do you have with you? I recall that ghosts are also weak to themselves.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Well he'll have to get someone else to help him because Apollo won't be around.]

Fearow's Normal- and Flying-type, Furret's just Normal-type, Sawsbuck is Normal- and Grass-type, Golett is Ground- and Ghost-type, and Combee and Vespiquen are both Bug- and Flying-type.

[He made sure to memorize his team's types, if nothing else.]

If Golett fought it would be weak to everything, so it probably won't be able to help much.

Video

[dreamsofahero]

The Ecruteak gym uses ghost types, so if you have a good dark type, it should be easy. On the other hand, normal and fighting types would have a hard time against it... Though really, type advantages are one of the most basic things to know when dealing with the pokemon here.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

None of the Pokémon with me are Dark-type. Three of them are Normal-type, too.

[He pokes at the gear and Sion will be able to hear it reading off the menu options out loud, then the movelist and attack types of his team.]

Hm. Fearow and Sawsbuck both have Dark-type attacks, and Golett has Ghost-type attacks. I think I remember this saying that Ghost-types are weak against Ghost-type attacks. Do you think it would work if I told them to use those attacks as much as they could?

Re: [Video]

[dreamsofahero]

That would be a reasonable strategy, but remember your ghost type will be weak to your opponent's moves, as well.

Ah, though it said your furret knows Foresight? I believe that will allow its normal and fighting type attacks to hit ghost types, if you use it. Mirror Move would also work to copy useful moves, but since fearow is part normal type, it's unlikely that the gym leader would attack it with ghost moves in the first place. Also, making use of moves like Attract and such can make it difficult for your opponent to attack you.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

Yeah.

Furret's never used that move. I guess it's because she hasn't fought a Ghost-type before. Fearow hasn't used Mirror Move yet either. I'll have to ask him about it. It could be useful if he gets lucky. And since Furret's a female Attract will only work on males, right? I don't know what sexes the Pokémon at the Ecruteak City Gym will be, but if they're male it might be useful.

video.

[bewilding]

I wouldn't say it's as simple as that. Beating one doesn't necessarily mean you can beat the next.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

That's what I'm [worried] wondering about. Do you know if the Ecruteak City Gym is a lot stronger than the Goldenrod City Gym?

[Video]

[bewilding]

As far as I know, you'll be all right as long as you keep the type of the gym in mind, and stay on guard. Any battle can be unpredictable, even if you are prepared.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

I'll be careful. Even if the Pokémon with me are okay with it I don't want them to get hurt if they don't have to.

[video]

[princelyspirit]

...I gotta say, you're the last person I expected to see with a gym badge. I thought you hated battling.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[He doesn't look happy to have been reminded of that.]

I do. I need some of the HMs though. I was going to ask if there was a way to borrow them from someone, but all the Pokémon with me have been wanting to fight more and kept asking me to challenge the gyms after they found out I needed the HMs. They all said that they were okay with risking getting hurt, and when I asked the Pokémon at the gym they said they were okay too, so I guess it's okay to let them fight a little bit? I'm still not going to challenge gyms that don't have HMs though, so I'm not going to try and get all the badges or anything like that.

[This is the sound of a kid obviously trying to justify something to himself. He doesn't want his team to get hurt but he wants them to be happy too, but they'd be happier if he let them get hurt and...]

[Video]

[princelyspirit]

[Wait, he's talking to them? She hasn't heard of anything like that - except for psychic pokemon, that is. However, she doesn't press the issue. Apollo looks like he's having a hard enough time without adding questions on top of it.]

...I know it's rough. I mean, you obviously care a lot about your pokemon, and I know you don't want to see them get hurt. You want to protect them, right? But sometimes...

[takes a deep breath, getting her thoughts in order]

Sometimes, you just have to trust that your friends can protect themselves. Or else, you could end up hurting them more than whatever it is that you're trying to protect them from.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

I know they can take care of themselves, but I don't like my friends getting hurt for no good reason. I don't want to hurt them by not letting them do what they want either though.

[He pauses while he tries to come up with another way to put it.]

Is it better to try and make sure someone's happy or is it better to try and make sure they're safe?

[Things were much easier back home. The animals didn't usually want to fight just for fun or a challenge. Meeting animals that did was a bit confusing for him. He wasn't used to having to think this deeply about things.]