the very best, pt. vi
Another Monday, another installment of The Very Best! There's a high wind warning up here in Seattle and the lights have been flickering so I am keeping this one short because I'd rather not lose progress or get interrupted due to a power outage. So, let's begin!
A Cliffside Gym Battle
Cyllage City appears to be a city of athletic enthusiasts! It has Kalos's bike shop (I got a yellow bike, to match my actual yellow bike), the first non-hats-only clothing store we encounter, and a rock climbing Gym, led by Grant, set into a cliff face. There's only like four Trainers here! I told you this was short!
This Gym is probably the first moment in the game where, if you turn off XP share and haven't been grinding beyond just fighting everyone you encounter, you will find yourself faced off with opponents who just have more levels than you. Very satisfying to actually find my resources taxed in a Pokemon game.
Cyllage City Gym: Rising Star Didier
Didier has a Dwebble, which is forgettable, and a Relicanth, which hits like a truck. While Didier probably won't pose a significant obstacle to any well-prepared Gym challenger, Relicanth is nasty enough that you can expect to be burning a few healing items here. Skill Rating: 4/5
Didier greets us by saying he needs a break from all the climbing and training, and I can't tell if he's trying to dunk on us by suggesting that battling us will be a break; he then has some very "gym enthusiast" lines upon defeat and being subsequently talked to. Which, hey, it's a gym, right? Do you, Didier. Coolness Rating: 3/5
Cyllage City Gym: Rising Star Manon
With a Solrock and Lunatone duo, Manon has a pair of Pokemon that are well-rounded enough to slow down pretty much any team you can throw at her; unfortunately, at this level their main offensive move is Psywave, which is pretty random. Like Didier before her, Manon is very effective as a hurdle in a gym, not as effective at actually winning the fight. Skill Rating: 4/5
Manon asserts that a noble spirit is a prerequisite for challenging the gym, and then seems to have determined that, since we beat her, we must have a strong spirit. While she is correct that I totally rule, I am a little worried she might have mistaken strength for virtue, and that's a dark road to go down. Coolness Rating: 2/5
Cyllage City Gym: Hiker Craig
Craig has a level 24 Roggenrola--the highest level Pokemon we've yet encountered! It is an absolute pushover if you have any Pokemon that does special attacks, and at this point I'd be surprised if you don't. To add insult to self-inflicted injury, Craig is the Trainer who tells us "The best way to be prepared for any kind of battle is to have lots of different Pokemon trained up." Cool, Craig, why didn't you lead with one of the good ones, then? Skill Rating: 1/5
Craig is a little baffling. He suggests that we come at him if we can find a weakness in his defense, and then after we beat him seems to think that, rather than having a gigantic weakness, he lost because we came at him whether or not we were able to find a weakness? I don't think Craig is a bad person, but I do think he needs to reconsider his approach to Pokemon battling. Coolness Rating: 2/5
Cyllage City Gym: Hiker Bernard
With his Rhyhorn, Nosepass, and Onix, you'd think Bernard would put up a pretty good fight, but unfortunately both Rhyhorn and Onix suffer from what we in the business call "awful stat distribution", so Nosepass is pretty much all he's got. Nosepass is very good for a gym Pokemon, though--it has Thunder Wave, and that not only means you'll need to burn some heals after the fight, it will slow you down enough that maybe Onix will be able to land a few hits later. Skill Rating: 3/5
Bernard sees climbing like a puzzle. (I hear that's a thing people who do climbing actually say? I wouldn't know.) He seems cool, I guess. Coolness Rating: 3/5
Cyllage City Gym: Leader Grant
Grant's Amaura and Tyrunt are both level 25, and the highest level I had at this fight was 21, I think. The level alone makes him the most challenging fight we've yet experienced, but also, this is a solid team. Amaura's stat spread is nothing to write home about, and that Rock/Ice typing is painful, but its Refrigerate-powered Take Down hits hard, and its Thunder Wave is a great way to soften you up for Tyrunt. Tyrunt can hit pretty hard, and its Dragon typing covers for a lot of its weaknesses, and with two flinch-causing moves in its arsenal, it's got a lot of potential to really run away with the fight. He keeps these two in the Battle Chateau later, though with less interesting movesets, but this is a solid team. Skill Rating: 5/5
What I like about Grant is that he seems to have encouraged, in his gym members, an attitude of quiet determination, of overcoming the obstacle in front of them, rather than the highly competitive "go fight win" that is somewhat stereotypical of athletic sorts. I am all about that personal growth shit. Coolness Rating: 5/5
And that's it! Next week: it's time for more rocks! We love rocks. This set promises to be mysterious, so that's exciting.