Inventory

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Pokeballs
10x Poke Balls
0x Great Balls
2x Lure Balls
1x Ultra Balls 


TM/HMs
One use TMs
Volt Switch 
Shadow Ball  
Aerial Ace
Ice Fang  
Roost
Rock Slide
Water Pulse
Thunder
Toxic
Giga Drain
Psychic

HMs
Rock Smash 
Surf 
Strength
Fly

Items
Escape Rope
Amulet Coin
Mirror Herb 
Key Stone (placed in his hat)
Hidden Ability Candy
 
Personal items
1 change of clothes
3 changes of undergarments
1 12oz bottle of liquid soap
1 8oz bottle of shampoo
1 8oz bottle of conditioner
1 washcloth, 2 towels, 1 toothbrush, 1 toothpaste bottle
1 clothes line, 6 clothes pins, and rubber gloves
1 bento box from mom (no lunch inside) + trail mix
1 sleeping bag
1 Tent

Cash
Some (See JBKA rank)

Pokemon items
Slowbronite

Key Items
Map
Trainer Handbook
Guide to Pokemon Breeding
Breeder's Notebook and a pen
Egg Scanner
Green apron with a matching headband
Good Rod
Badge Case
Jotaro's Journal

Comments

Jotaro's Notebook (Travelling log)

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[A detailed log of Jotaro's journey in the Pokemon world. Hopefully he doesn't catch you reading it]

December 11-26, Year 1

[phdepression]

December 11-26, Year 1

December 11
Awoke in New Bark Town and met "Mom". Gave me rudimentary pack and Star Platinum (SP), a Finizen. Inquired about academics at New Bark Town Lab but got no answers -> Made a recording and posted it online.

Jolyne caught up with me. She and her wife (Carly) gave me a tent. Left to deal with an investigation. Started travelling on Route 29. Ate half of "mom's" bento. SP ate the other half.

SP found fallen log and was pushing it around. It's sturdy and it was easy to hollow out. Could be used as a simple sled to help me get to Goldenrod City faster.

I have to reach Goldenrod City before Christmas. Can't miss another one again.

December 12
Route 29 is a long, mountainous route. The sled helped SP and I travel a lot better than expected. SP likes pushing the sled (lets him get rid of excess energy?) but I'm worried about him exerting himself too much.

While resting, the sled began to float on its own. A tiny cat (Espurr?) was staring at it, making it levitate up and down for its own entertainment. Asked it to come along and caught it. Unsure of gender so named it Vivian. Vivian helps by levitating the sleigh an inch off a ground, like a hydroplane, making it easier for SP to push.

Will reach Cherrygrove City by tomorrow. I may actually make it.

December 13
Arrived at Cherrygrove City. It is barely a city and more like a town. Still, it has shops so I restocked my inventory. Bought a Good Rod. Ate not-trailmix. As we were having lunch, Vivian's food got pilfered by a Skowvet. Skowvet got bodied by Vivian.

Took the Skowvet to the Pokemon Center and learned how that works. It's fascinating how efficient they are. Learned that Vivian is a girl and is twice as strong as SP and Beru (Skowvet).

Trained with SP and Beru to try given them more combat experience. While fighting, I saw a floating seastar! Stripped and swam with SP to go catch it. Caught the Staryu. The red gem on it reminds me of JiJi's amulet so I have named it Joestar. It is a star so I have named it Joestar after my mother's maiden name.

Was supposed to sleep on the bed tonight but all my Pokemon tried to snuggle in with me. Ended up sleeping on the couch. Still comfortable.

December 14
Travelling on Route 30. Trip is a lot faster with Beru and Joestar. I bought an 'escape rope' and have tied it to each of them as well as SP, so now they pull the sleigh like sled dogs. Vivian sits with me and makes the sleigh hover. Everyone is surprisingly happy to pull. Good for experience? Morale?

Tried to go fishing and encountered a Poliwag. However, Joestar ran into it so hard it slammed it back into the water. Won encounter. Lost the Poliwag. Must try catch one to see how similar it is to the transparent Glass-Frog Tadpole. Didn't try again because we are on a time limit.

December 15
Continued travelling Route 30. Mostly avoided encounters and rid on the sled.

Did end up fighting another Skowvet. Beru insisted on fighting so I used him. He almost was knocked out so I returned him and let SP finish it off. Beru was not happy by that (pride? Fear of being replaced?).

Beru was upset the entire day so I gave him some of my rations at night. He immediately cheered up. Vivian was displeased by Beru getting extra food so gave her the rest of my food for today to appease her. Good grief.

December 16
Continued travelling Route 30. Uneventful. Arrived at Route 31 by nightfall.

Set up camp and was humming Toshi Kubota's 'Yume with you'. An owl (Hoothoot) then began chirping back. Fought it with SP and caught it. Named it Yume since it seemed appropriate.

I have a quiet moment now. I should text Jolyne and Carly. Not sure if 3 days is too soon though.

December 17
Apparently 3 days is too long.

Continued down Route 31. Saw a swarm of Nacl. Beru kept trying to lick them all so we kept getting into fights. Thankfully SP and Joestar were able to take care of them easily - Seems almost ironic they're the ones getting me out of trouble.

Couldn't even catch one which is a shame because they would have been useful for cooking. Everyone got a lot of fighting experience though so it wasn't a waste of time.

Note: Pokemon types seem to be based on real world logic eg: water beats fire and erodes rock. However, I must be careful with how I interpret the 'logic'. It may be hard to throw a rock at a bird but 'hitting two birds with one stone' is a saying for a reason. Sorry Yume.

December 18
Arrived at Violet City. Unlike Cherrygrove, this is actually a city. Restocked supplies.

As we were walking around, Yume saw a Pidgey. They must have known each other from before because the two of them were squawking at each other for a good five minutes. Then Yume decided to battle the Pidgey. She followed some of my directions, thankfully, and she beat the Pidgey. Under her request, I caught him (Orquesta). After healing, the two of them immediately began cuddling each other. Was this a lovers' quarrel?

Must be nice to be able to resolve differences with a punch out and then go back to being lovey-dovey. If only humans were so straightforward.

December 19
Started travelling on Route 36. As we were sledding, all my Pokemon got caught in a web and out came a giant, green spider (Spinarak). It was ridiculously strong and nearly wiped the whole team. Thankfully, Yume managed to confuse it and I was able to catch it before we had too many casualties. Had six Pokemon so I sent Joestar to the box (They were in bad shape). Will retrieve them in Goldenrod City. Yume evolved into a Noctowl after the fight. Evolution is fascinating. It is a real-time species change. I thought Orquesta would be upset by that but he seems more enamored than ever.

Ended up losing a lot of daylight healing the team. Everyone was apprehensive of the Spinarak but the Spinarak seemed to calm down once given food (probably assumed the team was food stuck in its web).

Spinarak is a male. Because he's green, uses webs, and nearly killed us, I named him Hierophant. Wanted to name him Noriaki for some reason. Maybe because I regret not knowing Kakoyin for long enough to be on first name basis.

December 20
Started on Route 35. While making my way to the main path, we encountered a Jigglypuff. I used Hierophant and a single poison sting nearly knocked it out.

Named the Jigglypuff after my dad (Sadao) and sent him away to the box (typical). Then Hierophant evolved into an Ariados. Didn't know Pokemon could evolve after one battle.

He's now red so I've changed his name to Kakoyin. The name suits him better, somehow.

Entered Goldenrod City at night.

I made it. Hopefully, I can find Jolyne, Carly and Emporio some presents at the markets before they find me. Now resting at the Pokemon Center. Left Yume and Orquesta outside guarding my sled.

December 21
Intended on going to the markets but Beru smelt bread. Chased him to find him chewing on a dog. I wasn't sure what to do so I caught the bread dog before Beru got a taste for flesh(?). It's apparently called a Fidough (Named Bread for now). Told Beru that I would confiscate food if he kept mauling wild Pokemon. That got him to stop for now.

Headed to the beach so SP and Joestar could enjoy the water (left the lovebirds at the Pokemon Center). Sadao was collecting shells but one of the shells he picked up was a hermit crab (Dwebble). Caught it and wanted to name it Hermit Purple. However, he's not purple and it feels mean wrong to name him just Hermit. Ended up naming him Joesph (Joe?) for obvious reasons. Dad Sadao seemed apologetic for the trouble he caused and gave me all of the shells he picked up. I have pasted them to the front of this book to appease him. He seems much happier. I should probably do more gestures like this to the people in my life, not just my Pokemon.

Heading to the market. Hoping it will be a quiet affair.

Met Carly at the market. Bought a few things.

Boarded the Magnet train to Saffron City. They let me bring my 'sled' along which is good. I'm not sure if they'll have logs as accessible in Kanto. My Pokemon could use the rest.

December 22
Dreamed about the last day in our world again. I should have
I could have
If I had only
Jolyne shouldn't have It doesn't matter.

Arrived early in the morning. When coming off the train, I noticed a few people in front of me were yelling about their ankles. Most of them were... injured (I can't say bleeding. No one bleeds in this world???). Kakoyin stopped me from getting out and helping and good thing too. It stopped me from getting stabbed in the leg by a small Pokemon. Some brat of a Pokemon was making a nuisance of itself and I ended up battling it. Kakoyin weakened it, Joestar finished it off.

It's apparently called a Pawniard. I've named it Chariot. He's a menace.

Grabbed some food for the road and started South on Route 6. The Route is deceptively long considering how short it looks on the map.

December 23

Didn't end up sleeping. SP tried to put me down but ended up sleeping in my lap. Maybe I should have Sadao put me to sleep from now on.

Continued to travel. Saw a Pokemon that looked like Jolyne's house so I caught it. I have named the Lotad, Paddy. She is much calmer than Chariot and has taken a liking to Joestar.

Arrived at Vermillion City. Apparently there are rogue turtles around here but I didn't encounter them. Instead, I found a Pokemon (part of a Pokemon?) who seemed more lost than I was. It was begging SP and I to help us find its friends.

Good grief. We missed the ferry but found them in an alleyway, going through the garbage. Apparently they were making a present for our lost friend? Unsure. Regardless, after they reunited I was going to leave. However, they all followed in a line behind me and insisted on coming along. I got six Pokeballs out but they all fit in one. Apparently this is normal for Falinks.

Apparently Ferries can teleport but only between islands. I guess they're like teleporters but they're scheduled?

Got off on One Island for an hour. Ended up looking for anything else I could get Jolyne. While out and around, Bread saw a plush toy and started to play with it... only for it to be a Pokemon. Thankfully Bread is soft and squishy because the damned bear suplexed him so hard I thought it'd break bones. And then it had the audacity to laugh.

I sent out The Squad of Falinks and fought the Stufful with them. Caught her. Named her Bearbarian.

Arrived at Two Island at Noon. Not sure if Jolyne and Carly will be there to see me at portside. May just go for a walk around the island until I feel it's appropriate to see them.

Ended up catching a Wingull while walking around (Gulliver). Figured it would be useful for ocean bird research.

Going in to see Jolyne and Carly now.

December 24

Wandered around Cape Brink this morning. I thought to help but Jolyne told me to get out of the kitchen while Carly is in there. She reminds me of

Sent my Pokemon out and walked around the beach. Came across a little Pokemon Concert where a Popplio and a Politoed were singing together. Sadao decided to join them. The two seemed excited they also found a singing Pokemon and Sadao asked me to let them join. I've named them Soprano and Alto respectively.

Had dinner with Jolyne, Carly, Emporio and a couple of their friends.

It was a nice party. Their house is beautiful. You can see a number of water Pokemon in their natural habitat.

Noting presents given so I don't get the same things for them next year
Jolyne - a Butterfree purse with a swiss army knife inside
Carly - some cool sunglasses and earrings
Emporio - bomber jacket with a Passimian pitching a ball
Pokemon - Berry basket to share

It's been so long since I've been around to give Jolyne her present. It's nice.

December 25

Merry Christmas.

Santa is real and he has Pokemon (Delibird and Stantler).

Got an egg from him (or the Pokemon world's god? It's hard to say) so I have that safely in my bag, swaddled in blankets. I got a number of eggs from Jolyne as well. I have marked Jolyne's eggs with a star to make sure I don't mix them up.

After helping to tidy up the house, I went fishing. I didn't catch any fish but I did catch a shy-looking seahorse which took me a while to wrangle in.
Caught no fish Pokemon but I did catch a seahorse (Seadra) with Kakoyin's help. I've nicknamed her Navy, after the patch on her tail.

I came back in time to help for dinner. Spent the evening with Jolyne and Carly. Sadao, Alto and Soprano did an impromptu concert for the family which was nice. It was one of the best Christmases I've had in a long time. Jolyne's grown up so much.

I hope she knows how proud I am of her. She's doing alright. I'm in the way.

I don't think she'll mind if I move on to the next few islands.

December 26

Good grief. Who the hell designed this ferry system? I took a ferry expecting to get to Four island but apparently it only goes to Three Island from here. Apparently, if I want to get to Four Island, I have to go to One Island and then to Four Island.

I decided to explore since I was here. The trip was a worthwhile one: I caught a number of Pokemon. One of which being a koi-like Pokemon called Magikarp. Apparently, this one man on Three Island raises them to have a variety of colours and patterns, unlike their wild counterparts which are plain orange. In exchange for of these special Magikarp, he asked me to pick some berries for Magikarp feed (apparently all berries are edible in this world regardless of species). The trip to the aptly named Berry Forest was relatively short and mostly safe. Mostly, because I got swooped by a round owl. Thankfully, Orquesta spotted it first and fought back.

Orquesta was a little weaker than this Pokemon (Rowlet, as I learned later) so I hurried to find a Pokeball. However, I must have mixed up the pockets because the keychain Emporio gave me was in the wrong spot. I accidentally threw it but, to my surprise, it was actually a stylised Pokeball and I caught the Pokemon. I wasn't going to nickname him originally but after seeing him preen his feathers almost obsessively and how well SP gets along with him, I'm going to name him Crazy Diamond (CD).

On the way back from the Berry Forest, I encountered a cat (Meowth) by the Bond Bridge. And... good grief. This was a strong Pokemon. If Soprano didn't take so many hits and the squad of Falinks didn't manage to smash it into a rock, my whole team would have wiped. Despite not looking like one, the Meowth reminded me of a tomcat so I have named him Tom. The rest of the journey back to the Magikarp Man passed without incident. When given a choice, I ended up getting a Magikarp with a star on her back because of course I would. I've named her Kei.

I returned to port and decided to continue my beach studies, comparing the mud, sand and pebble ratio of the sand on each of the Sevii Islands, and seeing if I can find trace signs of microorganisms similar to what I'm familiar with. However, as I was digging, I noticed a strange red shovel. I could practically feel the bad aura radiating from it so I quickly sent out Chariot to stab it (Subconscious urge to have Polneraff check for danger?). My instincts were right and it was indeed a Pokemon, a sandcastle called Sandygast. I thought it best to catch it and remove it from the beach.

It has been a long day. Tomorrow I will catch an early ferry to One Island then Four Island.

Note: There were no more particularly hard encounters after Tom but I need to train my team up. If I can't fight for my team, I'll make sure they can protect themselves.

December 27-31, Year 1

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December 27-31, Year 1

December 27

They better not let me find the idiot who made these ferry routes.

I managed to take the right ferry to Four Island. I went straight to the Pelagic gym, which doubles as an aquarium. It was fascinating. I could have spent hours there, studying and reading the various exhibits.

While there, I caught up with Emporio again and met his boyfriend. I also met Armin, the man in charge of the gym. He's a good guy. We had a long chat about the ocean and he even gave me a Wiglett that I've named Heterocongrinae (Heter for short).

Emporio and I are going to Five Island together. He'll show me around and I'll have a chance to talk to him about Pucci and DIO. It's obvious to me that neither of us know the full story - and I intend to learn how DIO's legacy ended.

December 28

We took the ferry from Four to Five Island and flew to Resort Gorgeous. There aren't many good places to camp out on the other islands so we will be returning here each night. Emporio was very polite in asking me if I would rather go to the Five Isle Meadow or the Water Labyrinth. I wouldn't have minded either but I'm glad we are going to what is surely going to be a fascinating place.

Outside, I decided to catch grass Pokemon to help me study water Pokemon out in the Water Labyrinth. Originally, I was just going to catch Dusty the Whimsicott, as she knows a number of status moves to make capture easier, but out of nowhere a Lurantis appeared. Thanks to Yume's timely intervention, we also caught them, and I have named her Claudia.

Surfing on Pokemon is very... cool. Amazing, even. It's free, open, and it feels natural. The water and the sea breeze reminded me of being on one of the oceanography boats, except it was much more... involved, is all I can describe it. Today was just a test to make sure I can manage the rental Pokemon. Tomorrow, we'll see the labyrinth.

December 29

Entered Water Labyrinth. It's not a labyrinthine maze, but a series of sea rocks. I can only imagine the ecosystem such strong waves and large clusters of rocks would cultivate.

Emporio and I spent a long time fishing (Caught a pufferfish/Overqwil and called it Landmine) and talking. DIO's legacy wasn't ended by a Joestar. Someone else broke the cycle. Somehow, that feels... appropriate. Like a proper ending to all of this.

I'm glad Jolyne is happy here, much like I'm happy Irene is at home. Emporio didn't see the other me. I do exist and I'm apparently Irene's father but I suppose it doesn't matter.

December 30
Not much luck with the fishing today. However, I learned Pokemon aren't necessarily restricted by their type or biology. Today, I saw a swarm of Pikachu, which are electric type and land-based rodents, surfing on surf boards. They really seemed to like the ocean.

One came close to me and seemed to challenge me. It didn't want to battle... rather, it wanted to challenge me to a surfing competition. I borrowed a board from another Pikachu (said Pikachu hopped onto another surfboard of yet another Pikachu) and we surfed.

Emporio has promised me to never to speak of what he saw.

Jerry has joined our team (that's the name on the Pikachu's surfboard). We're going to surf some more with his friends before we head off and they migrate.

December 31

We spent another day at the water labyrinth. Didn't catch any Pokemon but I had my team out enjoying the water. Joestar, Paddy, SP, Navy, Karpa and Jerry all did some training with me.

Emporio asked me about my New Years plans. New Years isn't as much a party thing as it is a family thing. While I acknowledged I am family, I didn't want to impose on my daughter and her wife on New Years, especially since I saw them last week. I figured I would just call them when we returned to the resort.

Jolyne is full of surprises. She and Carly were there at Resort Gorgeous. Apparently they were going to spend New Years Eve there and wanted me to come along. So here I am, I suppose.

Countdown soon. Here's to a new beginning.

January 1-18, Year 1

[phdepression]

January, Year 1

January 1
Good grief. I thought having a couple of eggs was a lot. But turns out Yume and Orquesta also decided to give me eggs as present. Eight of them. The two birds were just looking at me and grinning ear to ear (with the same fucking smirk I've only seen on Iggy when he put gum in my hat).

It seems like Breeders get lumped in with a bunch of eggs. I cannot look after so many so I ended up joining the JKBA. Becoming an apprentice is pretty easy, given that all I have to do is give them an egg, and I was more than happy to give them all eight eggs. Surprisingly Yume and Orquesta weren't fussed about me giving the eggs away (probably because they knew they could give me more).

After joining the JKBA and wishing Jolyne and Carly a Happy New Year, I spent the day planning with Emporio where we are going next. Six Island is sizable, with lots to see. I was told I could easily spend a month there.

As we were walking through the resort, one of the eggs Jolyne gave me hatched as well as one of the eggs Santa/God gave me. They are an Oshawott and Cyndaquil respectively. I've been told my Cyndaquil is a shiny, meaning it has a unique colouration. Breeders can make good money by breeding shiny Pokemon or Pokemon with Hidden Abilities.

CD seems to have taken a liking to the two baby Pokemon so I've named the Oshawott 'Zahand' and the Cyndaquil 'Echoes'. I guess even in another world those three are friends.

Tomorrow, we set off for Six Island. They say the view of the stars is amazing there.

January 2
Arrived at the small town on Six Island. It's so small, it doesn't even have a name (it's just called Six Island). Emporio and I enjoyed ourselves at the little history museum. It was nice.

After the museum trip, we went to go get supplies and information about the surrounding routes. Some old woman began rambling about the Altering Cave, the exciting tradition of journeying through the two paths, and all the unusual, rare Pokemon in the area. She kept snickering to herself and it was pretty obvious she was trying to mess with us. Emporio snickering as well affirmed my suspicions. When she left after, I asked Emporio if there were only four Pokemon up in the cave. Apparently, it's just one.

After resupplying, we came out to see a Clobbopus, staring up with me in earnest.

... The world is big. Goldenrod City is days away from here, weeks on foot. There is no way that this is the same Clobbopus that I rescued when I first arrived here. And yet it had a little scar on its forehead, the same one I bandaged weeks ago. It is probably a coincidence... but I caught him anyway. I've named him Cirrata.

Started up the Water Path. It's a pretty simple route but it looks like we won't get all the way across in one day. We decided to camp at a patch of land. We'll finish the trek tomorrow.

January 3
I did not expect to get attacked by a number of crabs today. Yet for some reason as Emporio and I went up the Water Path, numerous Krabby attacked us. I couldn't catch any of them but SP and CD made short work of them. Zahand tried to help but ended up bumping his head on the ride Lapras' shell instead of doing any real damage. He didn't cry but I had to hold him for an hour to keep him calm (Echoes too but he didn't want to be left out).

At the end of the Water Path, there are a couple of houses. Emporio and I have rented out for a few days. With a roof over our heads, I was able to properly talk with Emporio again and cared for my Pokemon.

Caring for Pokemon... is nice. It's calming. I imagine this is what having a pet is like. I just worry... the Pokemon I catch all rely on me and I haven't done well with that before want to make sure I live up to their expectations.

January 4
Woke up this morning to a swarm of Snorunt outside of our home. Snorunts are triangle-shaped ice Pokemon who are associated with good luck during the New Year. Emporio said not to slight them as much as possible.

One came up to me and offered me a piece of paper with what I hope for the New Year. Wrote it down and returned it to the Snorunt with an Oran Berry as a tip. Then it ate the paper (?????) then the berry. When I asked if they wanted to join us, the Snorunt insisted on a fight first. Battled them with SP and caught him. Named him Omikuji because of obvious reasons.

Will finish cleaning up and then we'll continue on the Green Path. What a weird morning.

...

Good grief, I ended my morning journal way too early. The weirdness continued. More Krabby and a Kingler (the evolved form of Krabby) attacked us as we left the house. At first I thought they were upset with the Snorunt but looks like Krabby and Kingler were just dancing. Perhaps they didn't appreciate Emporio and I watching. I couldn't catch any of them again but it was good experience for CD and SP. Even Omikuji had a good bout with the stupid crabs.

It is now late evening. We walked along the Green Path and are camping in the Pattern Bush. Pattern Bush is carpeted in a thick undergrowth and there are multitudes of Bug-type Pokémon here. Interestingly, there are many empty patches of ground here. I sent CD up and marked where the gaps are. Looks like a printed circuit board. Who knows why it's like that.

Tomorrow we'll get out of this forest.

January 5
I have to be more careful with the Pokemon, especially the newly hatched ones.

As we were packing up the campsite, Zahand and Echoes went wandering off by themselves. I didn't notice until I heard a loud scream. Zahand must have disturbed a hive of some sort because a number of Beedril (giant bees) were attacking him. By the time we got there, he was covered in stings. The only reason why he wasn't KO'd was because Echoes was standing over him, flaring up his back. Echoes can't use fire moves yet but the threat display was more than enough to keep the Beedril at bay.

SP and CD cleaned up the mess but both of them were in bad shape. Damn it. Thankfully there are berries in these woods. I gave Zahand a Pecha Berry to help with the poison and used my potions on the two of them. They cried and insisted on me holding them for the rest of the day. It was the least I could do. They calmed down but it shouldn't have come to that...

Because of the attack, we took an easy day. We got out of the Pattern Bush and got to the water's edge. Camping here now. Zahand and Echoes are curled up by my side with CD practically sitting on them like eggs. SP is patrolling. He feels responsible too.

This reminds me of the Stand attack when Jolyne was a child. She was so young and I- I can't let them get hurt again. I need to watch them carefully.

January 6
In the morning, it was as if nothing happened. Echoes and Zahand were happily playing, chipper as ever. Decided to take it easy regardless and take the Ride Lapras up to Outcast Island.

Uneventful. Fished as we surfed. Encountered a rather stupid looking Pokemon called Slowpoke which I caught without a fight. Named her Pause. Looking at her now, I don't think Pause has even realised she is not attached to the fishing line anymore. She keeps looking for the bait that was in her mouth.

Currently 'water camping' which mostly involves resting on top of the Ride Lapras in shifts as they remain stationary. It's nice. The sea air is cool, the smell of salt is comforting, and the sky... The stars are so bright. It's beautiful. I could get used to this.

January 7
Arrived at Outcast Island. Appropriately named, since it's the farthest of the small islets from the main Six Island. The ride in was a little rocky but alright otherwise. I know the locals were just trying to trick me but I was curious to see what one Pokemon there was in the cave. It's some eyeless bat called Zubat.

Considered catching one but SP couldn't weaken them without knocking them out and CD was too vulnerable to the poison and risked getting KO'd. Ended up just using them to get experience for Zahand and Echoes.

Got out of the cave and had lunch. After that, Emporio and I flew back to the Pattern Bush on the Ride Charizard. We've returned to the shore we were at the day before yesterday and are camping there again.

January 8
Jolyne's second egg has hatched. I'm told it's called an Eevee. Eevees apparently look a little like their trainers and I can sort of see it? He's got the same scowl at very least (he was being pestered by a very excitable Zahand).

I've named him Jota for now. Name subject to change if I find something more fitting. He's currently resting with my other egg Pokemon at the foot of my bed.

Asides from Jota hatching, not much has happened. We flew through Pattern Bush and Green Path before returning to our rental. Pokemon travel is far more convenient than traveling on foot but I see why people have to go to a destination before flying there. You really have to travel to experience the full beauty of the Pokemon world.

January 9
Flew to the fork of the Water Path and started heading South. Our final destination is a place called Ruin Valley which will mark off the end of our adventure around Six Island.

As we were walking, we smelt the most foul of stenches. I've smelt rotting corpses and the bathrooms Polneraff had suffered in without batting an eye but this was something else. Some plant Pokemon (Gloom) was stinking up the road. Because my team is largely infant Pokemon, I had to rely on SP and CD to take care of the enemy. It was a tough battle since Grass beats Water and Poison beats Grass. However, we managed to beat the Gloom without Emporio's help.

Didn't end up catching the Gloom though. Before I could use a Pokeball, it started stinking up the route even more and ran away. Probably a good thing. Had to spend the last few hours cleaning my clothes to get rid of the smell.

CD evolved after the fight though. He's now a Dartrix and he looks even more like Josuke. He also spends way more time with his feathers.

January 10
Finally got to Ruin Valley today without much incident. It's a valley filled with tall grass, with some bare patches of earth. The terrain is surprisingly mountainous considering there are no actual mountains here. True to its name, its filled with ancient ruins and there's an archeological dig we could just... walk up to.

Emporio explained to me during our ride down here that they allow people to help sort pottery shards and catalogue their finds. By helping, they exchange Pokemon fossils which can be used to resurrect ancient Pokemon. It's a fascinating way to study differences between Pokemon of then and now. Emporio has done the Fossil Internship here and told me it lasts roughly a week. I'll be helping here for that time while Emporio heads back home. I'm glad Emporio's found his own happiness here, and hopefully, I've helped him find some closure.

Scientists here are nice. It's been a while since I did fieldwork in a team.

January 11
I have a new assistant now. As I was cataloguing a bone, a dog-tiger Pokemon appeared and tried to snatch it. Thankfully, SP was on hand and blasted it with a water gun before it could get away with the rare bone. It tried to get the bone again but I used one of the Pokeballs I had on hand to contain her.

Her name is Ignition. She's apparently a regional form of Growlithe and is equally rock and fire (opposed to being pure fire). She helps me count the fossils in exchange for treats. I mostly allow her to help so she doesn't make off with any of the archeologists' findings.

January 16
One of the eggs that I got from Armin hatched while I was training SP. The small seahorse inside is called a Skrelp. All the archeologists seemed to like him and started calling his Rune. He's very standoffish but cute. Reminds me of Jolyne a little.

January 18
A week has passed. The findings of the archeological expedition aren't mine to share but we found some interesting things. I was given a Fossilized Fish and Fossilized Drake as a reward. The archeologists told me that I could get them revived to Pokemon but they refused to elaborate. I contacted a friend and was told where to go.

Used the ride Pokemon to fly back to Five Island Meadow. However, I was nearly piledrived by a wrestling bird. We must have hit it on the way in and it was very pissed off. SP and CD had a hard time taking the Hawlucha down but managed it in the end.

Found a well-decorated yet abandoned warehouse. Abandoned by humans, that is, there were lots of Pokemon around. It was shockingly easy to get in. Wandered around and saw a strange crystal flower on the wall. Threw a ball at it just in case and it did turn out to be a Pokemon.

There was an odd woman inside the base as I was told by my friend. Called herself Cara Liss. Congratulated me on finding her and even catching a Glimmet. Asked her what her deal was. Ended up just getting down to business.

She took my fossils and 'stuck them together'. Ended up creating... some sort of creature. The head's too big for its body but he seems healthy. Named the Dracovish, Ono. Felt appropriate. Woman didn't end up asking for payment though. She just wanted me to pass her name on quietly to other people with 'fascinating specimens'. She's someone to be wary of.

Managed to get out with no issues. Flew on the Ride Charizard to get to Five Island's port and then hopped on the ferry to 7 Island. Met Emporio and Louie at the port in the evening.

The town is barely a town, even less so than Cherrygrove City. We were told by one of the sailors that wild Pokemon often ventured within the town limits from the canyon and was proven right. We were immediately swarmed by an Alolan Graveler and then a swarm of Pawmo.

We were crushed. Somehow managed I to catch one of the Pawmo (Natsumi) but even with that success, my Pokemon struggled to fight even with one Pawmo, let alone the rest and Graveller on top of it. Emporio and his Pokemon had to rescue us.

They're all resting now. I can't sleep.

My performance as a trainer wasn't good enough. I need to train more.

January 19-31, Year 1

[phdepression]

January 19-31, Year 1

January 19
This morning, Emporio and Louie started preparing for the Trainer Tower. It's a tower North of the main outpost on Seven Island that hosts a timed gauntlet inside. The objective is to battle five trainers on each floor within half an hour. While the boys prepared, I took my strongest Pokemon out and ended up fishing. Pulled up a Tentacruel and fought her with Ono. I was going to let her go but ended up catching her because Ono would have swallowed her if I didn't. Named her Mari.

I returned to the outpost and travelled with the boys to the Trainer Tower. I decided not to participate in the gauntlet but they allowed SP and me to watch.

Emporio stormed through the first two floors with little issue. However, as we were moving up to the third floor, I noticed SP was missing. I let the others go ahead and went searching. I found SP staring down a white bird with a sword and shield made of... leeks. The Sirfetch'd saw me and brandished its blade. I explained I wasn't a trainer but it was apparent it wanted to fight. So we did. He went through my entire team: Kakoyin, Tom, Kris, Chariot, Ono and SP. But during the fight SP evolved. At least... I think it was evolution. He glowed the same as any other Pokemon but all that happened was that a heart appear on his chest.

He did change shape though. That was after I stepped in. I know Jolyne said not to fight Pokemon ourselves but he tried to attack SP when all my Pokemon were down. I had to. The Sirfetch'd was surprised I started to fight but then nodded and started traded blows with me. We went for what seemed like hours but must have been only minutes. I took quite a beating but just when I was going to go down, SP stepped in as its larger, darker form. SP the Palafin and Sirfetch'd then fought.

...

In the end, we still lost but the Sirfetch'd was tired and panting by the end of it. I conceded and then the Sirfetch'd nodded at me approvingly. The Sirfetch'd disappeared and then reappeared with an egg. He gave it to me and then just left.

Weird bird.

I caught up with Emporio on the 4th floor. I think I may have distracted him, being injured coming up the stairs, because he lost a few battles in. He seemed happy he made it that far though and we had my injuries treated.

SP returned to his normal form and is now cuddling the egg. I've promised Emporio I wouldn't fist fight anymore Pokemon. I'm unsure if I'll be able to keep that promise.

January 20
We decided to continue exploring. I told the boys that they could attempt the Trainer Tower again but Emporio said he wants to help me finish my 'tour' of the Sevii Islands. We headed to the canyon entrance and found a Machoke. I trained with SP to practice switching so we could activate his 'Hero Form'. We ended up not catching the Machoke but I have a better idea how Flip Turn and SP's "Zero To Hero" ability works.

The canyon entrance is a steep and rugged path. We didn't encounter a lot but it took us an entire day to get into the main part of the canyon. We should be in the main part of the Sevault Canyon tomorrow.

January 21
Tom evolved today. I had him out as we were walking through the main part of Sevault Canyon since I'm trying to rotate between my Pokemon. However, when we passed a Sentret, Tom's ears perked up and he attacked them. I'm not sure what inspired him to fight but we did some impromptu training. Then he evolved into a Persian.

I think he has some vendetta against mouse-like Pokemon. He and Jerry are always fighting and he's been acting odd since I caught Natsumi. He seems happier now - more self assured. He's back to being relaxed and is now in my lap accepting scritches. Cute.

January 22
The Sevault Canyon is a narrow valley, with a mix of grassy patches and rugged, arid land. There are many strong trainers around, which Emporio and Louie mainly took care of. The trail is difficult and most of our day was making sure we didn't fall to our deaths.

Today, I caught a Jangmo-o. He is the honourable sort and his scales remind me of a samurai's armor. I've named him Hojo. I tried to catch a Skarmory too but Ono fights very recklessly and their Brutal Swing sent it flying over the cavern wall. I'll try train them more to behave.

The Pokemon here are strong but manageable. Probably because everything seems easier after the Sirfetch'd.

January 24
One of my eggs hatched today. It was another of Armin's eggs. Inside was an Azurill with a hidden ability. I've called her Bubbles. She seems very small but she has a lot of spirit. She insisted on walking (bouncing?) by herself even though we struggled to climb down and follow the path.

Travel has been mostly uneventful. Just been talking to the boys. They're good kids.

I wish I had been around to do things with Jolyne. Maybe Jolyne would like to come down this way if she hasn't already. It could be our own bizarre adventure.

January 25
There were a swarm of little knights today (Charcadet). We took the time to train on them and I ended up catching one. She's the strong, serious type. She started fighting with Chariot immediately after getting caught like Avdol and Polneraff used to. I've named her Crimson in his honor.

January 27
We've finally arrived at the Prehistoric Cavern. It's a deep cavern that descends so far down I think it goes into the ocean. The chamber is enormous and it took us the entire day to explore. Apparently the Pokemon here are ancient Pokemon that I do not need to visit a rundown warehouse for.

In the First Prehistoric Chamber, I tried to catch an Archeops but Ono's Dragon Breath is as ruthless as its bite. I used Chariot to fight a Tirtouga. As naughty as Chariot is, he can actually control himself and not stab the Pokemon too hard. Caught the Tirtouga and named him Yoh.

It's rather nice down here. Much warmer than outside. Despite the ground being rock, camping here was surprisingly comfortable.

January 29
Today we went into the Second Prehistoric Chamber. Ordinarily, I wouldn't be allowed in there but the Legendary Seekers (those who look after this cave and the Pokemon in it) let me through because I was with Emporio and Louie, who both have more than five badges and many level 100 Pokemon.

The Pokemon here were much stronger than my Pokemon and most wouldn't be caught. However, as we were resting, an Aurorus came by and sat down near us. I offered him some of my food and let him look at my hat (He was very astonished. I think he mistook my hat for my head for some reason). After a while, I offered to catch it and he surprisingly agreed. So now I have Kosugi.

We're heading South to the last few islands in the 'Seven Island' area. It feels like this leg of the adventure is approaching the end.

January 30
Today is a good day. The last of Armin's eggs hatched into a little female Totodile. I've named her Crush because of her large jaws. We are about to enter Tanoby Chamber, our next destination. They say it has many intriguing puzzles. It'll take us a while to explore but I'm looking forward to a challenge.

January 31
Tanoby Chamber has no puzzles. Lying bastards. All this place has is Unown in the shape of English letters.

I found an Unown in the shape of the letter J. Caught them too. So guess this wasn't a complete waste of time - J for JoJo, I suppose.

February 1-15, Year 1

[phdepression]

February 1-15, Year 1

February 1
Arrived at Exeggutor Island. As the name implies, there were a lot of Exeggutors, which are tree-like dragons with long necks. They mostly were basking in the sunlight, minding their own business, so I didn't bother with them. I considered catching one but I have a lot of Pokemon already. I have to figure out how to take care of them all and not leave them in the PC.

We did encounter a Tropius that wanted to fight so I sent out Crimson to fight him. She is a cautious fighter but she trusted me enough to follow my orders. It ran away afterwards and we didn't bother to pursue it. We just had a relaxing day - honestly a nice one despite the disappointment of the Tanoby Chamber.

February 2
I decided to stay an extra day on Exeggutor Island and do some independent ocean studies. The boys decided to head back to Four Island but before they left Emporio helped me switch my team out. It seems that I have a few Pokemon on the precipice of evolution, so I plan on spending this week evolving a few of my non-egg Pokemon.

Today, with SP's help, Hojo evolved into a Hakamo-o. Hojo's extremely pleased by this and has been non-stop jangling his scales, as if announcing to the world he's stronger.

Tomorrow, I will head back to Two Island to check in with Jolyne. After that, I will have to do some Pokemon training. My efforts to get funding for ocean research hasn't resulted in anything, and I need some sort of income, so I have to do some Pokemon breeding. I have enough Pokemon to breed but if they're stronger it'll be easier to get more money if they have a wider spread of moves.

At least this will give me something interesting to do.

February 3
Took a ferry back to Seven Island and then went to Four Island. Didn't stay to see the boys, I just went back to Two Island. Carly runs the gym on Saturdays so I had some alone time with Jolyne. Things were... awkward but I made an effort to just talk to her. I think she appreciated it

I showed her some of my new Pokemon and she was surprised that "a lonely guy like [me] could make so many friends" (I am also surprised). She helped me with training though and Paddy evolved from Lotad to Lombre. She rolled her eyes when I asked her if she was disappointed Paddy doesn't look like her house anymore but she laughed. I call that a win.

I hope I can keep this up.

February 4

I checked my Pokegear and was reminded to pick up my egg from Goldenrod City from Ulaz. I decided to do a small trip to go pick it up since we decided it wasn't safe for it to travel by air. I opted against training the Pokemon I wanted to evolve since I wanted to just make it a fast trip and just took a few of my usual team members and the tower egg.

The ferry ride was quick and I had the choice to go from Vermillion to Saffron by teleporter. Decided to try it. Note to self: Do not do that again. No wonder Carly and Jolyne got sick when they did it back to back.

Taking the train to Goldenrod now. I won't stay in the city long.

February 5

Got the egg and some supplies. I wanted to let Vivian meet Ulaz's Meowstic but it didn't seem they were in. Oh well, another time. Put both Zahand and Echoes in the PC box so I wouldn't have to worry with them on the way back. Getting back on the train. No point hanging around.

February 6

I could have taken the teleporter back to Vermillion but I decided not to. Instead I walked with my team South. Unfortunately, the snow is melting so I can't use my "sled" to speed down the route even though there is a thin layer still around.

One of the eggs hatched. It was what my Pokedex calls a Farfetch'd, specifically the Galar variant (Where do they get the leek?). I've named him Valor since he gives off that impression. He tries to act stoic but as a new-born he's very curious about the world. Cute. SP loves him already.

February 8
Arrived back at Two Island. Journey was largely uneventful. Still, after a month's worth of travelling, I'm tired. May take a couple of days break. Hopefully Jolyne and Carly won't mind me resting in their home.

February 9
Carly had a gym trainer come challenge them today. I recognised the challenger as Bo-Katan and decided to watch. There was a lot less fighting than expected but I guess all the challenges are different.

February 10
There seems to be a swarm of dragons on the island. Today I caught a Dratini while fishing. Apparently they can become very powerful dragons. I've named her Marina.

February 11
Jolyne and I have been fighting again. Not over anything serious, thankfully. She's been insisting I should rest but I've been trying to make myself helpful by cooking and such. Honestly, teenagers shouldn't need to clean and the like. Let the parents do those sort of things while. Teenagers should do whatever they want to do. Jolyne isn't a teenager anymore though.

...

Anyway, I've gotten back to training today. I've identified four Pokemon who are close to evolving and am going to spend time with them. First is Kei. She can basically just splash and tackle. I've got my work cut out for me.

February 12

Kei's training is slow but steady. She seems to be getting better at tackling. SP is happy with her progress, as am I.

As we were training, Ulaz's egg hatched. Now I have my Spheal. Named her Poly (Po-lee) because she is round. Showed her off to the girls when I got home. I'm not sure if my daughter or daughter-in-law disliked her name more.

Jolyne also had a gym challenger come by today. I got to see her in action. She's a confident gym leader and it's not hard to see her power. I'm so proud of her.

February 13

Kei finally evolved into a Gyarados. I was warned that Gyarados tend to be very ferocious but she's as jolly as ever despite her intimidating appearance. She's not as strong as my other Pokemon but, compared to how she used to be, it's a vast improvement.

...

I was going to leave my journal entry at that but apparently there's an open Carnival celebration at two whackjobs' mansion (Riegfried and Soy). I was going to ignore it but Kakoyin saw the notification that there was a contest happening inside and insisted to participate. I tried to dissuade him but that Ariados is more stubborn than the actual Kakoyin.

Now I have to practice some 'mask' routine with him and attend a party this evening. Good grief.

February 14

Carnival was damn noisy. I tried not to get involved but it wasn't so bad.

Got back and went to train Kei again. Joseph seemed interested in training too and I allowed him since he's also on my list of Pokemon close to evolution.

This was a mistake.

Joseph seemed more intent on playing pranks on me and Kei. Hiding balls. Burying himself in the sand so he could jump out at me. Nipping my toes. Pretending he can't hear my orders only to then do them after I've given up on him performing them.

I probably need to double down on training if I'm going to get any work done with him.

Damn it, gramps. Why couldn't you have been more agreeable so your spirit wouldn't curse this poor crab like this?

February 16-29, Year 1

[phdepression]

February 16-29, Year 1

February 17
It took a lot of work and patience but Joseph has finally evolved into a Crustle. Good grief. He seems happy having a big shell - even though it's mainly so he can shell smash it off and then charge towards you. It's somewhat intimidating to have a 4'07" crab come for you.

He doesn't play as many pranks on me anymore (especially when I made it clear I didn't like it) but he's still very affectionate. He likes cuddling up to me and won't stop until I give him some sort of praise (even a half-hearted one). But he's worked hard to evolve so I don't mind so much.

...

Does sort of remind me of gramps. The old man definitely did a lot for me and mom. I wonder what he's doing now. He's still alive at home... but maybe I'll see him again. Hopefully I do. I should say all the things I should have said while alive.

February 18
I finally decided to properly go explore Johto. I took the ferry to Olivine City, a port city with sea breezes. The big tourist attraction is the lighthouse. Usually I wouldn't have much interest in it but SP wanted to check it out. It's powered by a friendly Ampharos which was cool to see at work.

On our way down from the lighthouse, we encountered a yellow bird with pompoms. Surprisingly, it was an electric Pokemon but SP could deal with it easily enough. He's gotten a lot stronger since 'evolving'. Anyway, we caught the Oricorio and I've named her Anne [She keeps appearing. Seen her through the city]

I spent the day looking around the city. While looking for a place to feed my Pokemon, I found a cafe. The Olivine Cafe prides itself on having "chock-full of hearty fare for beefy Sailors". Weird thing to be proud of but it definitely did serve huge portions. My whole team got their fill and we still had leftovers. I was going to bring it with me but then I saw a Shelmet staring right at my plate so I left it for her.

She ended up following me, as wild Pokemon often do, so I ended up catching her. I've named her Kamakura.

February 19

Traveling on Route 39. It's a long, mountainous route and apparently it will take several days to traverse - weeks if I'm not on a Pokemon. I decided to ride Kosugi since he's both large and not adverse to running around in cold weather.

It's strange just casually riding a dinosaur-like Pokemon but while it's a sight it's actually rather convenient. Overall, it was a peaceful ride though I wish I didn't get so many weird looks from passing trainers. They're so damn annoying.

February 20
Continued on Route 39. As we were passing through, I saw a bunch of small, ruffled orbs. I didn't pay them any mind at first but then the bastards started swarming me. It seemed like they had a heightened sense of smell and even on Kosugi I couldn't avoid it. I ended up having to punch one away after it bit my hand covering my pack. Those protrusions on its face are more like a beak than lips. They're weird creatures so I caught one to study it more. Her name is Emussary because she's as aggressive as a damn emu.

Fighting the other Flittle was good training for both SP and CD. Both appreciated the easy sparring. They appreciated Emussary stealing their dinners less. Good grief.

February 22
Journey on this route is passing smoothly. Mostly have just been training the team and enjoying the countryside. However ,today I encountered a huge ram blocking our path. It seems like this road was part of her territory. As Kosugi approached and tried to ram into him but Kosugi easily swatted it away with his tail. We tried to just pass on but the Dubwool kept bleating after me and following. It was so damn annoying that I fought it with SP. Even outmatched, she kept getting up the second she was knocked down. I just ended up catching her just to shut her up.

She's sulking at the moment but I'm sure she'll come around. She's a proud creature - quite strong- and I've named her Baabara. She's pretty soft - maybe I can sell her wool to make some extra money? Note to self: breed more eggs and sell them. Funds are low.

February 24
There are farms in the Pokemon world. This shouldn't be a surprise but it seemed so normal. Besides the pink cows (Miltank), it was just a regular dairy farm. I went to look around to get supplies and found their Moo Moo milk is more healing than some of the market health Potions. Weird.

I arrived at MooMoo Farm early in the morning and had time to talk to the farmer there. He was more than happy to ramble on about his livestock and he mentioned to me that he needed a hand around the ranch. Ended up helping out so I could get a meal and bedding for the night. It was fairly standard stuff: gathering the Miltank, milking them, bottling the produce. It was a nice change of pace.

The MooMoo Farm provides hand-reared Pokemon and charges for egg moves. I've got a better idea of prices now for my own breeding endeavours when I start seriously breeding eggs (It still feels weird to me that I'm going to have to do it). Initially, I was going to buy a Pokemon for egg moves after I finished working there but ended up getting a different partner.

There are these globular floating liquids called Milcery that usually sneak into the stalls as pests to drink the Miltank milk. I saw one and quickly threw a Pokeball to try scare it off but surprisingly I caught it without battling. The farmer was more than happy for me to take it off their hands so I have Cream now.

I think I've gotten way too soft. I'm catching so many Pokemon for such nonsense reasons. But it's nice... having company like this.

Had a hearty meal and going to rest here for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll keep going towards Ecruteak City.

February 26
Route 38 is shorter than Route 39 but not nearly as uphill and filled with foliage absent from the other path. Despite this, there hasn't been much to write about - I didn't expect it to be another two days travel from my last entry. What I didn't expect to see was a Miltank in the grass. It was a wild one obviously, not as plump or well cared for as the MooMoo Farm Miltank, but I figured I should catch it in case I wanted MooMoo Milk or food in a pinch (money is still tight).

Fight was uneventful and I caught the Miltank. Named her Daisy since I don't know how to name cows.

February 27
Today I had my first (human) ghost encounter in the Pokemon world.

I arrived in the early morning at Ecruteak City. It's quite a nice place - large but somehow not crowded, probably because it's situated between open fields and the woods. The architecture of all the old buildings reminds me of Japan, complete with Kimono girls in a dance theatre. I wasn't interested in a show so I went to look around. Unfortunately I couldn't look around the Bell Tower or the Burned Tower because they're closed to the general public.

I ended up sitting at a tea shop with my current team milling about. I ordered a coffee and a small sandwich, as well as food for my team. Within a minute of me sitting, a young woman came up and served me a weird pot of green tea. I tried to tell her that I didn't order the tea but she turned the corner to presumably back into the kitchen.

Ordinarily, I don't drink stuff I don't find satisfactory and doubly so if I didn't order it. However, I found my hand moving on its own and without me noticing, I grabbed a cup (somehow filled with green tea) and started to bring it to my lips.

Then, Chariot stabbed my hand. It hurt like a bitch but I dropped the cup and it shattered. Immediately, a Pokemon formed out of the teapot on my table and started cursing at me. The Poltchageist lunged for me but Chariot managed to Sucker Punch it and send it running off.

I went to complain to the staff about the Pokemon and they said that the Poltchageist was known to wander around here and play pranks but it was largely harmless if I didn't order green tea. I told them that a waitress served me green tea without me ordering it but they seemed confused when I gave her description.

Apparently no one like that works here. It's just the old couple.

Chariot doesn't want to stay in the town. Neither do I, frankly. I planned on staying around but we're moving on tomorrow.

February 28
Route 42 is a small path at the base of Mount Mortar. The Nurse Joy at Ecruteak warned me that I needed a Pokemon with surf to traverse it, and thankfully I had several Pokemon who could use that skill. Jerry offered the least humiliating way to surf so I stood on the board while he commanded the waves to get us across the two lakes. It seemed like he was having fun.

We were being watched though. As soon as we reached the other side, we encountered a rather grumpy looking panda. He was minding his own business but he kept stealing glances at Jerry's board. My Pikachu went over and showed it to the Pancham and despite trying to look uninterested he seemed fascinated.

Reminds me of me when I was a kid.

The two chatted and eventually Jerry took his hand and dragged him over. Jerry clearly wanted the Pancham to join the team for some reason, even though the Pancham looked mortified. After the initial shock was gone, the Pancham wanted to do things properly and insisted on fighting. I definitely need to fight with Jerry more but between my Pikachu's thunderbolt and surf, we were able to stun the Pancham enough to catch him.

Maybe it's egotistical to name him Qtaro. I don't care. He really does act like me when I was a teen. It's almost endearing.

February 29
Crossed another river with Jerry today. We were swooped by a Tranquill but that was the least of our worries. The moment we set foot in Mahogany Town, some wild bullshit happened. I don't even know where to start...

But fuck the Mirror World.

March 1-21 Year 1

[phdepression]

March 1-22 Year 1

March 1
I can't stop thinking about what I saw in the Mirror Dimension. They're all dead because of my involvement

I'm nothing but a child

I should be over this

I don't know if what I saw was real. But I couldn't travel like this so I spent the day in Mahogany Town following SP who wanted to look around. SP was more than happy to take charge. He played in some snow, pressed up against some shop windows and beat up a Murkrow without any instructions from me. He's gotten pretty strong.

Tomorrow we'll head up to the Lake of Rage so I can check out Emporio's home. It was formerly owned my daughter and my great great grandfather. Should be interesting enough.

March 2
Route 43 is surprisingly short. I expected the journey to take a full day but travelling only took a couple of hours. There's a small gate there and after passing through it's basically a straight path North.

On the way up, I did encounter a plump little beaver. I was going to ignore it but Beru once again decided to cause problems. He tried to steal the Bidoof's oran berry, starting a fight. I should have let Beru get trounced to teach him a lesson but I ended up helping him battle and caught the Bidoof (Ver). I apologised to Ver by giving her another of my berries. I'll take it out of Beru's share.

The Lake of Rage is, unsurprisingly, a large lake. It's the largest lake in the region, surrounded by a thick forest. Local legend says that it was created when a group of Gyarados got together and stirred up a storm, filling out a crater with rainwater, hence why it's also called Gyarados Lake. I brought Kei specifically to see if she would react differently being brought here. She didn't but she was happy to be in the water again.

I surfed on Kei to see the house. It's a pretty interesting place: usually it's on the shore but when the lake is flooded, it floats on stilts. No one's staying there presently (Emporio rents it out as an AirBnB) so I decided to spend the night.

My ancestor was apparently a breeder and I see how he could manage it in here. There's an incubator room, a nursery, and a sun room that was probably a berry greenhouse at one stage. Emporio's renovated it to be more tourist friendly but he's also decorated it... strangely. Maybe it's because he's a kid but the Victorian architecture, furniture and rugs do not match what he's put in here. I don't know why that lamp has human feet for a base. I'm also certain that Xatu poster is watching me wherever I move in the room. Creepy thing.

We'll leave tomorrow and just go to the next town. There's nothing for me here. I knew it's been changed since Jonathan Joestar stayed here and Jolyne never used this place but I thought I would feel more connected to my family by being here. Stupid.

March 3
After I milked Daisy to get milk for breakfast I sent a text to Emporio that I've seen the house and am leaving so he can rent it out again. Then we started to cross the Lake of Rage. On the way out, Kei knocked into something small and invisible. Immediately, it began to cry which cause Kei and me to cry. It turned out to be a Sobble which is known to induce tears when it's distressed. I managed to send SP out to try and calm it down since Kei and I were struggling to see. I thought SP would beat it up but instead he nursed it like a parent and began patting her lightly. The Sobble calmed down and SP asked me to catch her, which I obliged. So now I have Sombre added to my team.

After Kei and I calmed down, we returned to Route 43. We quickly passed through it and arrived back Mahogany Town. We could have stayed the night but I didn't want to after what happened a couple of days ago so we've started on to Route 44 after I switched my team around. The wild Pokemon here are going to be fairly powerful so I didn't want to bring any of the hatchlings.

Right now we're camping by a nearby pond. We're not the only ones, many trainers gather around this pond or another one further ahead. This is one of the first times SP doesn't have a baby Pokemon around him. He seems a little lost honestly. He's a good parent, better than me by far. Maybe he'll have an egg one of these days. I'll have to see what breeding group he's a part of. I've been very lax on my "breeding responsibilities". I at least want to rank up so I can get the egg scanner. Tomorrow, I'll start setting aside time to do the math and log all my Pokemon.

March 4
About midday, we arrived at the second pond. It's a good deal larger than the one we camped besides before. We were stopping for an early lunch when a squid appeared out of nowhere. It started flashing the spots on its head and the patterns made my head swirl. Thankfully, before it could steal food or my things, CD headbutted it. The battle was a little harder than I thought but apparently it's because the Pokemon (Inkay) is not a water type despite its appearance. I've named her Flip since she keeps flipping in circles in the air.

The rest of the day has been pretty uneventful. One of the trainers I met told me that the Ice Path is ahead and it's a long route - maybe a week's travel. Thankfully, I have nothing planned and I'm ready for the cold.

March 5
The Ice Path should be called the Ice Maze. There are many winding paths and slippery surfaces. Thankfully I had the foresight to bring Kosugi, who always has been a cave-dwelling Pokemon. While riding him, there's minimal danger and no risk of slipping. Not that ice Pokemon can't slip, it's just Kosugi is coordinated.

Unlike my new companion, Freezer. Freezer is an Eiscue who is incredibly clumsy (not unlike Hiccup's one from the contest). She keeps stopping to look at her own reflection in the ice and the weight of the ice cube on her head will knock her off balance. Then she'll slip and slide all over the place. It's literally how I caught her.

I didn't go out to catch her. I just noticed her slipping and sliding ever since we entered this place, coincidentally always being in view. But when she slipped and crashed into Kosugi's shins, I decided to put her in a Pokeball for her own safety. I have considered releasing her but he seems to enjoy our company.

It's going to be an interesting journey.

March 9
Navigating the Ice Path is intense but nothing I haven't done before. Haven't written much because not much has been going on. I expected more Pokemon but most of them are probably further in the cave or just avoiding the noise Freezer is making (she is still falling over).

Today I've encountered the most Pokemon I've seen in the cave. It was a swarm of what can only be described as engines. They're apparently called Varoom and they're clearly not local so I took the opportunity to train some of my Pokemon on them. I missed catching one but it's been fairly productive. As we were training Chariot finally evolved into a Bisharp. He's quite happy about it and seems especially enamoured with how much taller he is now. I'm proud of him. I know he's been working hard to evolve.

We should get out of here in a couple more days. I should send a photo to Jolyne and Emporio to show them I'm dealing with the cold, or at least update them that I'm still alive.

March 10
I think something went wrong with CD's evolution.

It's not a bad thing but it's... odd. I read in a book that CD is supposed to evolve into a Decidueye, a grass/ghost Pokemon. However, he didn't evolve into a grass/ghost Decidueye.

Let me start from the beginning. Today, we were training on more of the Varoom swarm in the Ice Cave. I didn't intend on sending CD against the Steel/Poisons. In fact, I hadn't sent him out much, given the type disadvantage. However, near the end of Chariot's training session, Chariot was getting tired. We were almost done the fight so I figured CD could finish off the enemy. With a lucky Razor Leaf, he finished the Varoom off.

It was enough experience to evolve, evidently, as CD took on a new form. However, instead of green, he became bright orange, and his grassy visage began to resemble a ronin. I don't know if it's because of me, the conditions of battle or even just luck but CD's now a grass/fighting Decidueye. It hasn't really changed his fighting style but he now runs more than flies.

We were testing his new attack now and... Damn. Triple Arrows sure is something. I pity anyone in this cave who tries to cross us.

March 12
Kakoyin is a champion. I knew that before but it bears repeating. As we were leaving the Ice Path, he stopped, bit my jacket and tugged me back. Before I could even ask him what was going on, a Sneasel appeared and tried to slash me. Kakoyin must have sensed this Sneasel was trying to jump anyone enters Blackthorn City and stopped me from getting another nasty scar. Being a bug type, Kakoyin took care of it handily. I've rewarded him with an extra couple of berries I've been saving and he's enjoying them now.

It's still cold but notably warmer than the Ice Path. However, that's all this place has going for it. I planned on staying here for a bit because it's been a while since I've been in a town but I may move on tomorrow. Asides from the gym, there's not much here. Blackthorn City is large but scarcely populated and since I'm not doing the gym challenge I'm not worthy enough to enter the Dragon's Den.

Whatever. I don't really care if I don't see anything. It's good just being out in the world, away from my own thoughts.

March 13
Route 45 is more beautiful than I thought it would be. There's something about crossing over the river by the wooden bridge and just seeing the mountain splayed out before you. I considered just going down the mountain but then I spotted a cave on the Western side. I'm surprisingly not over caves because I went in to look around. Apparently it's called the 'Dark Cave' and its name is no exaggeration. Thankfully, Crimson glows in the dark.

We barely made it two steps into the cave before a Teddiursa jumped out and attacked us. Thankfully, Crimson managed to fend off the first attack and we managed to defeat it. I was just going to leave it but the Teddiursa seemed impressed by me and made motions to me to let her tag along. I feel like I don't really choose what Pokemon I catch, they just join me. Anyway, I've got Luna.

Luna doesn't just want to be part of my party because she wants to be with a trainer. It seems she has her own intentions. As soon as I caught her, she came out of her ball and made clear to me she wants me to go deeper into the cave. I don't know what it is since I don't understand her but I get the impression it's important. Good grief. I hope it doesn't take long. I want to explore the slopes.

March 17
That took four days.

We descended deep into the cave, down to the underground ponds. There weren't many Pokemon around because it was so dark. Getting down there wasn't the hard part, nor were the few Pokemon we did fight. What took so long was finding what Luna wanted. Luna was desperately searching for what I thought was a box so we spent days looking for it. There were several times that I wanted to just leave but Luna seemed really desperate to find it.

In the end, we found it by coincidence. CD wanted to rest for a bit and landed on what he assumed was a rock. Then he screeched as he realised it was actually mud and he messed up his feathers. His screech got my attention and Luna's, and when we looked Luna squealed in delight. What we have been searching for isn't a box, it's a block of muddy peat. Good grief.

We got out of the Dark Cave but I must have gotten turned around because we ended up in Route 46, not Route 45. Whatever. I can always go back to Route 45 now that I know where Blackthorn City is.

Right now, we're camping at the base of the mountain. Luna has been hugging the peat block all evening and then CD whenever she gets the chance to thank him. CD hates it because she gets his feathers dirty every time she touches him. I think the only reason why a fight hasn't broken out is SP has been diligently cleaning CD whenever he gets a chance. What a group.

March 18
Today Luna evolved. We were travelling down the route when a Spearow appeared. The fight was nothing spectacular but the experience was just what she needed to evolve. I wonder if that's why she was searching for the peat block so urgently - she knew she was close to evolution and wanted to prepare her next one as well. I'll have to research Ursaring even evolves into.

We'll be traveling through the rest of Route 46 tomorrow. I think we'll head back to New Bark Town. Apparently you can get some sweets for Milcery and I have Cream in my PC. We should see what she evolves into.

March 19
Still on Route 46. We're nearing the end of the trail but not much has happened. All I've done is the math.

I think if Natsumi and Jerry to have eggs, I should have enough to rank up in the JKBA ranks which will increase the monthly stipend I get. I don't know how long it'll take them to produce eggs but I'm in no rush. I'm not strapped for cash. I'll wait for actual results when I get to Kanto.

March 20
We returned to Route 29 earlier today. Even though it's only been three months, it was almost nostalgic being there again. The snow had melted, making travel much easier. The Pokemon here are low-leveled I wish I brought the baby Pokemon.

The Pokemon are so low level here I should have brought my smaller Pokemon. They could have all used the training. Regardless, we breezed through the Route and arrived back in New Bark Town to rest. Took Jerry and Natsumi out of the PC today. Then just enjoyed a slow day. It was nice.

Should call Jolyne again and check in on her. I bet by now she's already forgotten I'm in Johto. If she wants, I should update her on my status more often.

March 21
No eggs today. Saw that woman, "Mom", nearby and felt awkward so I decided to go get my ticket for the Eastern Kanto Ferry Service. It's a three day trip so decided to just board the next ferry.

The ferry wasn't a ferry. Rather, it's a submersible. Even though I know it's safe here, I kept checking all the cups and random objects in the room. Just in case.

March 22-31 Year 1

[phdepression]

March 22-31 Year 1

March 22
Jerry had such a bastard grin on his face as he and Natsumi presented me not 1 but 7 eggs. I guess I'll have to look after them until we get to Kanto and then get them checked by the JKBA. I'm fairly sure I need a Pichu egg to qualify for a rank up. Hopefully at least one of these eggs is correct.

March 23
Pallet Town is a lot less sleepy than New Bark Town. While New Bark Town only has the Pokemon Lab and "Mom's" house, Kanto has an actual inn, a bustling port and fishing industry, and a bakery. The bakery is the only place in both Kanto and Johto that has the evolution item for Milcery.

And it certainly is priced that way. The sweets in the bakery literally cost two-thirds of my income. Thankfully, I only needed just one. I had Cream herself pick the sweet and she picked the star ones. She smiled happily at me and pointed to my shirt, clearly having chosen it due to it matching me. I couldn't help but smirk.

Anyway, I paid for the item and gave it to her. However... she didn't evolve. My book told me some Pokemon need to touch evolution items to evolve while others needed to be traded while holding it so I was surprised. Surprised enough for the cashier to laugh and explain to me that you need to spin to evolve your Milcery. I thought she was kidding but someone else in the store coincidentally was evolving their own Milcery. They held hands and span... and the Milcery evolved when they stopped.

Good grief. I'm in my forties. I'm not spinning around in public.

...I'll figure out how I'm evolving Cream later.

On the way out, we encountered a small, brown Wooper. Initially, I thought it was a shiny so I immediately tossed a Pokeball at it and caught it without weakening it. However, it appears to be the Paldean variant of Wooper. No matter. Clump has given me a good estimate of the strength of the Pokemon around here. This week I'll be training my egg Pokemon up.

Inn is nice and comfortable but even though it's quiet it's too crowded for my taste. I'll head out tomorrow.

March 24
Started on Route 1 with my team. It was good having the Pokemon out, though I think Jota resents me before keeping him in the PC for a while. Regardless, he still listens to me and we took out a Patrat that crossed our path today without any help from my other Pokemon. Doesn't seem like there will be much trouble on this Route.

Considering the attractions in Pallet Town, I'm surprised how quiet this route is. Lots of rolling hills, windmills and a few Pokemon out and about.

March 25
I decided to get over myself and evolve Cream. I considered letting SP do it but Cream clearly wanted me to mix her. I didn't do it for long but it was enough to turn Cream into a Salted Cream Alcremie. She smells like sea salt now.

I strangely didn't feel embarrassed. If anything, it was nostalgic, like picking up Jolyne when she was little and twirling her around around. Oh how she used to laugh and yell for me to spin faster. She'd probably punch me if I tried that now.

March 26
We just trained and walked yesterday and the better part of today. We arrived in a small town called Viridian City, which is ironic since it is smaller and quieter than Pallet Town.

We restocked our supplies and headed straight on to Route 2. I figured it was better to just keep moving. It's strange... I'm no longer in a rush but I feel like I have to keep moving.

I'll try not to dissect that.

Our journey on Route 2 was slowed down by a group of Squawkabilly, parrots with pompadour-esque hair. They were making a racket and singing loudly, which pissed Zahand off for some reason. Zahand insisted I fight all of them, which I allowed. By the time we beat a couple up, the remaining flock flew off faster than lightning.

Pity, I would have definitely named then Josuke if I caught one

March 27
As we were continuing down and out of Route 2, Zahand spotted a large number of Taillow. I don't know if it was the noise or if Zahand has a problem with birds but they went nuts. They started yelling and challenging them to a fight.

I had SP out to monitor the situation but despite that Zahand held their ground. I did have to switch him out eventually but it was with Echoes, under Zahand's insistence. Together they took care of the flock, even though we had to sit aside for a few hours to patch them up. I think it was a worthwhile fight though, because both of them evolved. Zahand is a Dewott and Echoes is a Quilava now. I can really see how shiny Echoes is now.

I think we'll turn in early tonight and let those two have a hard-earned rest. We'll enter Viridian Forest tomorrow and hopefully have no problems.

March 28
Aquatic Pokemon can survive outside of water. They're not bound to it and can just float, like SP who's a dolphin. But it's still surprising to see a swarm of fish dashing and vaulting around when there's no visible water, especially in a forest.

I was just watching a Sawsbuck in the wild when all of a sudden these fish (Veluza) came out of nowhere. Like a bunch of piranhas, they just tore apart the bush it was eating from, eating all the berries. Honestly, it was a little surreal.

The Sawsbuck looked a lot stronger than the fish but it galloped off, looking like it did not think the Veluza were worth its time. The Veluza didn't give chase but instead one came for my bag. I thought I was ready to intercept it but then the Pokemon shed its flesh and leapt over me before I could react.

Thankfully, Echoes was keeping watch on our supplies. They attacked it with a quick attack and we fended it off. I ended up catching the Veluza so I could see if it was injured but, aside from the injuries gained from the fight, it was fine. In fact, Jetstream (as I've named him) has already regrown all the flesh its shed.

It's very weird.

Jetstream keeps punching my stuff, scattering it throughout the forest even as I make camp. It seems he's bored and wants to play. Note to self: get a ball for him and the others for the moments we have downtime.

Now I have to stop him from spreading liquid soap all over the forest floor. What a troublemaker. Hopefully, I won't wake up tomorrow to find anything missing.

April 1-7, Year 1

[phdepression]

April 1-7, Year 1

April 1, Part 1
I am writing this in a new journal on a plane to Paldea. I would have done this as a continuation to my other journal but unfortunately the pages were pilfered by Jetstream's friends. I put out a message to find it but the only response I got to it was from Jolyne, the one person I did not want to see that log. She wasn't even tagged and she ignores the network most of the time. I don't know how she saw it.

Jolyne isn't one to listen to me. I know that. I deserve it even. And yet she... was extremely frustrating. She offered twice the amount I was offering for the pages to get them to her before me even though I didn't want her help.

I love her dearly but I don't know when she became so mischievous. She is many things: loud, crass, determined, strong, forthright, a bit ditzy, etc. but I didn't know she enjoyed provoking people for the fun of it.

Maybe I just don't know her anymore.

I should stop writing my personal thoughts in my journal but I need to get my thoughts out somewhere. Maybe I should get into the habit of writing these into fleshed out reports and then burning the originals to get rid of any unnecessary detail. I don't want her reading my journal so she doesn't realise how weak I am.

Anyway, I can't look for it myself nor can I be in Pewter to receive any pages people do fine. I have been kidnapped by two eccentric men, Soy and Riegfried, who have a certain reputation of being rich and doing what they want. A few others and myself have been taken on 'A free vacation'. It is to a new land... to do what I was doing anyway, so I allowed it, but it bothers me that now I'll never find my other journal.

I'm trying to improve my relationship with Jota, so I brought him on the plane with me since he showed interest in aeroplanes. Instead, he's wandered off, not wanting to stay with me for more than two seconds. He doesn't want to be around me too. Honestly, I can't blame him, nor can I blame Jolyne for just wanting to mess with me.

April 1, Part 2
The flight to Paldea wasn't that long. We arrived a little past midday in Mesagoza, one of the largest cities in the region. While Kanto and Johto are very Japanese inspired, Mesagoza (and what I assume the rest of Paldea) is Spanish-inspired. It reminds me awfully of Barcelona and Lisbon, surprisingly. Especially the school that looms at the top of the stairs, the Naranja-Uva academy, which bares a striking resemblance to the Sagrada Família.

Soy and Riegfried organised for us to stay at that academy in dorm rooms so I decided to check the accommodation out (even though I knew I'd be camping most of the time). As I climbed the stairs though, I was attacked by a Squawkabilly (again). This one was green, opposed to the blue one I encountered last time. I didn't know some Pokemon could come in different colours (aside from shinies) so I decided to catch it. Since it's a female, I won't name her Josuke. Instead, I've settled on Tsubaki.

The front entrance inside the academy is filled with books. You could spend a very long time researching in here alone. However, my attention was brought to a noticeboard that the faculty and the students have put together for us newcomers. Assignments. Essentially, they're little incentives to have us go explore Paldea and a way to show what the school teaches here. There are some simple ones like obtaining a gym badge to get a TM (note: do that for Pokemon Breeding). However, there are others like finding some ancient coins for an item called an Amulet coin- something you can have your Pokemon to hold for double prize money from battles. A useful item to have.

The dorms are nothing memorable and, while the school is impressive, I have no interest in it. I've decided to head to the Secluded Beach in order to cash in on an assignment from the photography club. Money and Lure Balls for half-decent photos sounds easy enough. I could have stayed to explore the Academy and Mesagoza but Jolyne told me that 'Prom' is going to be held in Paldea this year. If it's held in Mesagoza, I'll probably have an opportunity to explore it later.

Paldea isn't divided into Routes like Kanto/Johto. Instead, it's divided into different Provinces and Areas. East of Mesagoa is South Province, Area 3. It's a rocky region, naturally filled with a number of wild rock Pokemon. There were lots of cliffs and slopes, so I just stayed on the path heading South-East. We're camped on one of the plains in a wide open area, just off the road.

A Rockruff wandered into my camp when were were setting up and started growling. I must have been in its territory. It demanded a battle, which CD obliged with. After that, it went scampering into the night and it's been pretty peaceful then.

I must be getting used to this nonsense. Being taken to an unknown region, attacked by random animals... all seems old hat now. Maybe I need to do some more new things to keep myself from getting bored. Training for gym battles seems like a good idea.

April 2
Paldea certainly is innovative. While Johto and Kanto have PokeMarts and PokeCenters only in big cities, there seems to be the equivalent of gas stations or convenience stores for trainers all over the place. A nurse on duty healed my Pokemon and while I was waiting she pointed in the right direction for the Secluded Beach. Since there was a guy selling supplies, I grabbed a bite to eat and went over to one of the standing tables they have for customers. Underneath it though was a small, silver Pokemon, lugging around a gold coin. SP tried to say hello but it shrieked and ran away, dropping the coin.

It looked like one of the coins from the History Class assignment so I kept it. I didn't find any more about but when I brought it up with the PokeMart guy, I was told I can find more in South Area 5. And true enough, I found a few more coins lying around as I walked with my team. I have five of them right now.

I need two dozen of these to get that Amulet Coin. Hope it's not too troublesome.

April 3
We continued to trek through the South Area, Province 5. On the way, we found a few of these ancient coins I needed for my assignment. They're pretty old-looking coins, I'm not surprised the Academy wants to study them. It's said that the coins have a connection to the last king of Paldea but I couldn't find much on the last King.

We collected 4 scattered coins on our way to the marshlands. After that, we didn't get to look for much. Luna loved the marshes. She kept crawling and rolling around in the mud at every given opportunity and Kosugi and I had to keep pulling her out so we could get to the Secluded Beach in good time.

It was about late afternoon before we actually got to the Secluded Beach, one of the Ten sights of Paldea. It's a pretty beach that stretches around the south-eastern coast of Paldea, downhill from the marshlands but, disappointingly, it's not as secluded as the name implies. While not crowded, it's a tourist attraction (it even had its own Pokemon Center).

I snapped a picture for my assignment and submitted it to get some free Lure Balls. After that, I cleaned up in the ocean and set up camp on the sand. Once all my Pokemon were settled, I went fishing. It was nice to get some quiet time - the South Paldean Sea is lovely - and it was almost uneventful but near the end of my bout I ended up catching a Lumineon that I'm calling Cichlidae. She's a small fish but gives off a beautiful blue-pink glow, especially at night. It's quite mesmerising. I'm writing this journal entry mostly by her light combined with the light of the fire.

Earlier, Fortress found a couple of coins that he had dug up from the sand. I managed to get them off him without him stealing my soul. Even though progress is steady, I should pick up the pace. Tomorrow I will head towards the ruins of what seems to be a lookout tower. I heard that many ancient coins can be found around ruins and relics in Pasio. Should be interesting enough.

April 4
We awoke early and headed straight North to get to the tower I saw last night. It didn't take us long to get to the Watchtower. Despite its age, it's not falling apart and overlooks a good part of the plateau to the West. SP and I decided to climb up at have a look around. There wasn't much in the tower itself but at the very top there was a small treasure box. It looked like a trap but I went to interact with chest anywhere. I figured SP could deal with any trouble I ended up in - and I was right. No sooner as the Gimmighoul leapt at me, SP immediately swatted it down. The ghost couldn't even put a scratch on SP.

I noticed its chest was filled with coins I've been looking for so I decided to catch it. Since the assignment gives back the coins, I figure it's no problem using the Gimmighoul's coins to make things easier. Now I have Chester the Gimmighoul. Together, we are going to collect so so so many coins. For my assignment, of course.

We found four coins not in Chester's chest in various corners of the tower. After looking around, we headed North-East up the rocks and cliffs. I came past a decent guy called Harry and his Cyclizar, Bonn. He actually helped me get me most of the coins I needed. I definitely owe him one.

I also encountered a Mudbray today. It's a horse, barely a foot tall, but immensely powerful, evidenced by it pulling boulders along for fun (a natural carrier horse?). I thought it might be useful to have as a ride Pokemon, since Pokemon need at least six hours of rest between travel, so I caught it and introduced them to the concept of a sled. They seemed very excited to carry me around, for some reason. We travelled a good deal further before I insisted on Freight (the Mudbray) to have a rest and set up camp for the night.

Between Freight, Kosugi and SP, I can travel 18 hours a day. This will definitely be useful for exploring Paldea. I should drop by Artazon tomorrow to restock and maybe challenge the gym there.

Chester seems to be acting up. Hopefully, it's not a big deal.

April 5

Chester found a trail of Gimmighoul coins, scattered in a Northerly direction. We ended up following it and by the time I realised where we were we ended up missing Artazon entirely. I decided to press forward through the wilderness since it's probably shorter to get to Levincia than return to Artazon. It's not a big deal but it is strange...

South Province, Area 3 is similar to Area 5, being largely mountainous. The rocky region is West of Mesagoza and has a number of Pokemon, such as Litleo. The Litleo I encountered was playing with some of the Gimmighoul coins. Honestly, I thought of fighting it and then taking the coins off it when it was knocked out but it didn't feel right to me so I caught it and let it keep the coins. Chester isn't happy about Leona keeping the coins but it seems happy that we are finding more coins. Strangely I am too. Is this a curse? Chester is a ghost type...

Note: Send a message to the network to see if anyone else has encountered something similar.

April 6
We finally exited the South Provinces and have now entered East Province, Area 1. I've been seeing the same stones and rocks for so long that seeing all this green is a little surreal. Rolling fields cover the plains as far as the eye can see. I can see a river to the Northeast and the silhouette of Levincia in the distance.

Today was largely uneventful, save for a small accident. Freight was happily pulling the sled along, when she ran over a Yungoos that was having a nap (I'm out of practice driving). It started screaming at us but we were long gone before it could do anything further. We stopped early today so I could check the sled. Some minor damages but nothing critical. I need to grab Vivian from the PC so I can get the sled to float - I'll do so at the next Pokemon Center.

April 7
I caught a Toedscool today. It's not a variant of Tentacool/Tentacruel but a Pokemon that has evolved convergently to it. Rather than being a jellyfish, it's a mushroom that runs on its 'legs'. It's utterly fascinating. I've named her Callie so I remember to study her next to Mari, the Tentacruel I caught in January.

We caught her somewhere in the East Province, Area 2, an area just as grassy as Area 1. She was resting under a tree until she saw us, and then stood up and bolted. SP chased her for fun, hounding her down until I threw a Pokeball at her. I seem to be catching a lot of high-energy Pokemon.

I can see the East Paldean Sea from here and Levincia on the horizon. I think it's time to pick up the pace; it's been some time since we've been in town. Probably won't write again until we hit Levincia or something interesting happens. I can't believe it's already been 1 week in Paldea.

April 9-15, Year 1

[phdepression]

April 9-15, Year 1

April 9
A lot happened today.

We arrived in Levincia, city of lights and second largest city in Paldea. I heard it used to be a port town that profited well from ore exports. It sure did, given that it was a very busy, very alive business hub. I picked up a few things at the store before I went to heal my Pokemon.

I asked the nurse at the Pokemon Center what sort of gym leader was in the area and she told me she was an electric type leader. After she healed my Pokemon, I took some food and had a breakfast picnic on the beach. While we rested, I tried to devise a strategy for Iono and decided to start practicing against the local Pichu and other electric Pokemon in the area. I didn't need much, just enough to feel confident with fighting with Fortress.

When I went to heal my Pokemon again, I remembered that the teleporters functioned all over Paldea so I decided to test it to go back to Mesagoza and submit my assignment. The technology is so convenient. It doesn't hurt, it's instantaneous, and I have all my things still on me. I really do like that the Pokemon World doesn't sacrifice harmony with nature for technology and vice versa. It's a wonderful place.

It took a little fighting with Chester to have them give up their coins so the history club could look at our earnings but he relented after I promised I would find even more for him. Got my prize and my money and then I took the teleporter back to Levincia.

It was about about late afternoon when we returned. We did some last minute touch-ups to the plan and then went to go challenge Iono.

Iono... is a weird one. She's one of those streamers I've heard some of my students back at home talk about. The entire time she was recording herself on her phone and had me on her show. "Iono Zono, or something." I have to ask Jolyne if that's popular with the youth or just a Paldean thing. Anyway, between my eyes and SP beating the shit out of any trainers in our way, we got to fight her quickly enough. (She seemed annoyed that I was breezing through various segments but she seemed to have good feedback from her fans regardless. Personally, I think it's because the damn main character because I don't think my performance was particularly entertaining).

The battle was significantly more exciting than the preamble. My team did well, considering it was our first gym battle. It was a proper fight, going back and forth well into the evening (I think I saw the full moon). Surprisingly, Luna evolved again at the end of it. She was still holding the peat block we found her and I think that triggered her evolution into an Ursaluna. She's still as big and affectionate as ever though, which is nice.

We went to celebrate with a big dinner and some ice cream. The Pokemon seemed to really appreciate it, which was nice. It was pretty funny watching Fortress shovel ice cream into the open hole in his body: he kept wincing because it was Ice but he just loved the whole experience. He really did some good work. All of them did. I'm so proud of them.

I didn't say it though. I should. I will before we sleep tonight. I'm trying to be a better caretaker now.

April 10
I was worried that the teleporter would make me feel sick but I teleported to Montenevera with no issues. It was cold and brisk, so much so that I put on the green coat I was given by 'Mom' over my clothes. Being on top of a mountain, the place is literally a "Fridge Town" (though the nickname could be a reference to how Montenevera is the only settlement in Paldea's North Province).

It's interesting. There are several black, gothic arches around the borders of the town and candles all over the place. I heard a rumor that the candles are ever-burning but I saw one woman in an all-white kimono nearby the candles, tending to them. She smiled and waved to me and I nodded. I only mention her because she was the only one dressed like that - everyone else was in fairly modern clothes. But the locals were all kind and friendly, warm, even. I had a casual look around before I came across the gym.

Immediately, SP jumped out of his Pokeball, sensing the situation. Even though we fought Iono yesterday, he immediately started nudging me towards the gym. Crazy guy wanted to fight the gym leader here too. I told him no, that we were only here because it's the closest town to the peak of Glaseado Mountain, but we discussed it and I relented. After all, it's not like I didn't want to test our power and we were still riding off the high of beating Iono.

The rest of the day was spent planning to fight Ryme. When we did meet her, I was surprised to see Ryme was probably as old as my mother, if not older, because every local I asked failed to mention that of 'the MC of RIP'. She had us participate in a little concert, which thankfully did not involve me performing. We just battled a couple of trainers before Ryme herself. Ryme was no easy battle but we managed to pull through with sheer strength alone. It's crazy that a couple of days ago I had no badges, and now I have two.

Ryme told me something strange before I left though. She said that I shouldn't follow any spirits outside. I told her I wouldn't do anything like that but she told me that "a Froslass had already made me her mark". I didn't know what that meant but I allowed her to 'remove the mark' which just involved her rapping aggressively at me.

Since we were tired and it was quite late I decided to rest at the Pokemon Center for a while. The cold wind was blowing quite fiercely and I got to see firsthand how the Montenevera candles didn't extinguish themselves. It's strange. Despite the gale, the blue glow never faded. I wonder what the kimono woman was doing with them.

I haven't seen her at all today. I assume it's just because it's a big town but I have a feeling that this is just like the teashop incident.

Good grief. I seem to be having so many ghost problems. I should ask Emporio what he does about it.

April 11

Today we started our trek to get up to the peak of Glaseado Mountain. Because I teleported here and didn't leave the town yesterday, I didn't get to see the full scale of this place. It's the tallest mountain of the region, snowed-over and chilly from the base to the peak. It's quiet, with only the wind and cries of Pokemon for company. Even though Montenvera is a day's hike away, it feels like I'm in a whole new region. It reminds me a lot of the days when I was alone on a ship, doing my oceanography research.

I'm very much underprepared for mountain climbing but Kosugi has been very good to me. Since he's an ice and rock type, he knows how to navigate the cold mountains. We don't have many daylight hours so the time saved by riding him is treasured.

I've taken shelter in a cave for the night with my new companion, Frail the whale Cettoddle. I just saw a whale out of the water, walking around like it owned the place, and just had to catch it. She's so cute that I wanted to name her Jolyne but I quickly realised how bad it would be if I did. We'll reach the top tomorrow.

April 12
I see why Paldea's Highest Peak is one of the Ten Sights of Paldea. As the name implies, it's the highest point of Paldea, and it offers a grand view of the region. We reached there early in the morning, so the sun was just rising over the East. I took several photos for the assignment (and even sent one to Jolyne and Carly) but then spent a while just admiring the view. This world is really beautiful. I'm grateful to Kosugi, to Pokemon, for allowing me to see such a thing. Without their help, I probably would have scaled a whole mountain or had any reason to.

After a pleasant start to the day, we started heading down the mountain. My plan was to go down and explore the Tagtree thicket before properly exploring the Paldea East Sea. However, something was... wrong. I'm not sure why I blanked out but one moment I was climbing down the mountain and the next minute I 'blipped' into a cave. According to the network, I'm not the only one. Everyone seems to have gotten confused and just ended up somewhere else.

To add insult to injury, I wasn't just in a cave, I was in a Salamence's nest. I'm not sure if I literally teleported there or I had unconsciously walked there but it seemed to notice me as I regained my senses. It roared at me and started to fight. Thankfully, I was quick to grab a Pokeball and Chariot was there, fending him off.

It was not an easy battle. Even though it didn't seem as experienced as Tear, Jolyne's green Salamence, it was angry and ferocious, unrelenting with its attacks. It was a constant back and forth. I ended up catching it to end the fight and give poor Chariot a break.

After we recovered from the battle with Shred (the Salamence), we proceeded to try find a way out. According to the sign, it seems like we've ended up in Dalizapa Passage, a rugged route that runs between Glaseado Mountain and the Great Crater of Paldea. I only vaguely remember seeing it on the map because it's a subregion of Glaseado Mountain but I know it's near the base of it. I'll follow it and, hopefully, we'll find a Pokemon Center or someone else to tell us how the hell we get out of here.

April 13
Still lost. However, we have plenty of food and an indication of East and West thanks to the sun. We should find an exit soon. If we don't, I'm going to have SP and Aggression smash one for us.

Aggression is my new Primeape. Like Shred, he saw me, got pissed and started to fight. SP made short work of him and originally I had no intention of catching him. However, upon losing, Aggression began to cry. It seemed like he was just lost and confused (I did notice how weird it was for a monkey to be here. Maybe he ended up here due to the same forces that confused us?)

Ended up catching him because I felt bad. Good grief, I'm getting soft. At least he stopped crying after I caught him and gave him my coat.

April 15
We finally made it out. That took three whole days. Three. At least we managed to find a town on top of getting out of that layered maze.

I'm actually not too far off my intended destination. We ended up in East Province, Area Three, a rocky region south-east of Tagtree Thicket. As we were resting (more out of relief that we were out than fatigue), a Dunsparce climbed their way into my bag. And now they refuse to get out. I don't know why they've chosen this, since they haven't eaten any food, but they sure are there. Despite SP literally pulling it out and throwing it some distance away, it keeps crawling back to sit in my bag. Weird.

I caught them to see if they'll allow being in a Pokeball in my bag instead of being just dead weight. Thankfully, they have so now I guess I have Package on my team. What a weirdo.

In less bizarre news, I've finally evolved Crimson into an Armorouge. I thought it was weird to see an old man in Zapapico with a chest plate (what he called Auspicious Armor). I didn't approach him but he hurried me down, seeing I was from out of town, and asked if I was willing to trade ten Bronzor Chips (stuff I found on the ground) for the armor. I almost ignored him but Crimson practically leapt out of her Pokeball and rather politely asked me to get it for her. As soon as we made the exchange, she took the armor and put it on. The Auspicious wishes in the armor seemed to fill her with energy and here she evolved right there and then.

She seems very happy about her evolution and is now showing it off to whoever wants to see. Chariot seems more enamoured than ever. How cute.

April 15-May 8, Year 1

[phdepression]

April 15-May 8, Year 1

April 15
There's not much around in Zapapico so I decided to leave. I considered going straight to Tagtree Thicket but it's been some time since I've been back to Mesagoza and there are some books I wanted to check out for some reading. A three day detour isn't ideal but if I do my idea of rotating Freight, SP and Kosugi as ride Pokemon, I should be able to squeeze it to two days. Purchased a couple of repels to make my life easier.

April 17
Got back to Levincia. Immediately went for the warp back to Mesagoza and headed back to the Naranja-Uva academy. I hung around the library for a bit and checked out some books I wanted to grab before I went to check the assignment board. Since I was last here, the Ranger Club put up a bunch of new assignment tasks, including one called 'Nurse Back to Health'. Apparently, a large number of injured Pokemon are being injured in the Tagtree Thicket so the group was looking for volunteers to take potion packs to the Pokemon there and information on the area.

I already planned on heading to Tagtree thicket before getting muddled up so I collected my pack and warped back to Levincia since Zapapico doesn't have a warp. After switching my team out at the Pokemon Center, I got on Kosugi and started riding West through East Province Area 3. Like a lot of regions, it's really rocky but relatively straightforward to travel through.

Repels are coming in handy. Will probably reach there in three or so days. Don't want to push my team too hard.

April 20
Got to Tagtree thicket. Looks like a hurricane has rushed through here. There are a number of fallen trees, broken branches and injured Pokemon.

My team and I got to work. I don't have many Pokemon that can heal but Daisy can use Heal Bell for any Pokemon too paralyzed to move. Star Platinum and the rest of my team helped me move branches away from waterways and talked to injured Pokemon so they knew to come to me for help. They all looked scared and startled but some managed to be talked down.

Too tired to write more. The situation is pretty bad all around. There's too much to do in one day. May be here for a couple of days.

April 22
We've done what we could. Heading back to Levincia. I've caught some of the Pokemon that are too injured to heal alone and will be giving them to the Ranger Club to deal with. The forest looks better than when we got here, at least. It'll take some time but I'm certain it will heal.

Need to treat my team. They've been so good helping me with everything. We definitely have not trained for first aid but they all adapted well.

April 25
Back in Mesagoza. Turned in the Pokemon today. The Ranger Club thanked me and insisted on compensating me so I have a new TM. Not sure who I want to give that to but I can decide that later.

While handing the Pokemon over and giving my report, I was told by one of the Club members that there's a picnic potluck tomorrow at Poco Path. Usually it's not my scene but I remembered that I haven't seen Jolyne or Carly. I messaged Carly, endured being yelled at for not catching up in months, and was told she and Jolyne would be at the picnic.

So preparing to socialise tomorrow. Finally using the room prepared for me in the Academy too. Ate in the cafeteria, had a proper shower for the first time in a while, and am going to turn in early. I'll figure out what food I should bring tomorrow.

April 26
Poco Path is a short path south of Mesagoza, outside of a small town called Cabo Poco. The picnic was more of a unique take on Calçotada, with most people bringing food from their homeland. I felt bad for not bringing anything so I ended up manning a grill for a time. Cream also got a chance to decorate and share her cream with everyone, which was nice for the desserts.

I met up with Adaine from Kanto. She's the woman who found a bunch of my research notes that were stolen during the Veluza incident. She returned them to me and we got to talking. She's a good kid. Most of the people brought here are.

There wasn't much daylight once we finished so I decided to spend another night at the Academy. It's not too bad here.

April 27
I considered doing more gyms but decided that it may be better to explore North Province Area One from Adaine's recommendation. After doing some studying and asking around the academy, I also learned that there's a way for Bisharp to evolve in North Area Province 2, though that will involve fighting other Bisharp in the area.

I teleported to Glaseado Mountain and started hiking down the mountain. Considered going down to Tagtree thicket again but the drop is pretty steep. I'll likely hike around to the clifface that borders Tagtree to North Area One and make a slow descent from there. Not the most convenient path but it beats backtracking down the same route over and over again.

May 2
Today sure as hell happened.

Since the mountain is cold and snowing, I haven't been training Fortress. So when I got to ground today, I ended up sending him out and doing some exercises. He seemed worked up and excited, and part way through he bolted off. I followed him quickly and I found Emporio and Jolyne, hiding between amid the same rocks I had descended earlier. They were hiding from what looked like a giant Galarian Slowbro who was harassing the local ghost Pokemon. Slowbro are usually around half my height. I think this was four or five times as large. It sure was a titan. I had to also duck down before it shot me too.

Fortress, of course, did not give a shit. He was too busy bouncing around Emporio. I told him to knock it off and not to dare try stealing Emporio's soul but it seemed like he just liked Emporio.

Apparently, enough to evolve too. I don't know what triggered it but he evolved from Sandygast into a Pallosand, which was convenient because we were still being attacked. We didn't have a lot of time, since Emporio's Roaring Moon used Sunny Day and put a target on our backs, so I quickly had it spam sand attack on the Slowbro. Jolyne had the same idea, since her Mudsdale used Sandstorm to keep us from being hit.

Emporio asked us what our plan was. I told him it was not to get hit. We didn't have cures for poison or healing moves so we just had to dodge everything.

And it fucking worked. It couldn't hit our Pokemon because of all the sand, giving Jolyne's and Emporio's Pokemon time to power up. I had Fortress use Hypnosis and a combination of Sand Tomb and Giga Drain to keep healthy and whittle down its health so it was easier for the others to take down. Between the Throat Chops and the High Horsepower kicks, we managed to knock it out.

It disappeared after that. There was no trace of a knocked out Titan anywhere. It was just gone... Pretty weird. But we did the job with no casualties. So it's whatever.

Had the other two over for a meal and asked them what they were doing here. Emporio said Louie and Huey were meeting a friend from their home and he wanted to give them space while he investigated the agitated Houndstone. Jolyne said Carly was on some work-related business (something shady, no doubt) so she also wanted to give her space.

Dinner was nice. No one was poisoned by my potato and leek soup.

I wish I could spend more time with the two of them.

May 3
I seem to have gotten my wish.

I told the two my plans and said they could stay as long as they wanted but Emporio said he was going to head back to meet with Louie. I thought Jolyne was going to meet up with Carly and catch up with me when Prom swung around on the 24th but she said she'd hang around. Said something about Carly needing more time for 'work'. We're both serious about trying to be there for each other.

We decided to go North to North Province Area One, a rugged part of Paldea. There were some cool Pokemon around but I decided that I needed to try train some of my team up. Surprisingly, the first Pokemon I evolved wasn't someone I intended to. It was Freight. He knocked out a Poltchageist (fuck that teacup) and became a Mudsdale. Jolyne laughed and said I was copying her team (since I told her I caught a Salamence before). I teased her for calling her Mudsdale, Ermes. It was nice.

We rode further North, taking advantage of our Mudsdales' ability to navigate on uneven ground. There are so many ruins here (supposedly a castle used to be here) as well as watchtowers. It was interesting to look around. Chester was quite pleased with how many Gimmighoul coins we found while exploring.

Did some further training with Echoes and Zahand. They seem to be in good spirits. Jolyne was impressed with how far Zahand had come from when he hatched.

I wanted to talk about... what happened before the Pokemon world but the atmosphere was too nice. I couldn't bring myself to ruin it. I'll bring it up another time.

...

Jolyne sometimes sleeps with her mouth open. How cute.

May 4
We did some more training today. Surprisingly, Zahand and Echoes both evolved (Note, it's not a surprise they evolved at the same time but I thought they were a bit far off from evolving. Maybe it's because Zahand was trying to show off to his parent's trainer).

Strangely, Zahand didn't become a normal Samurott. He's apparently a Hisuian variant, as is Echoes. We were perplexed at first (I legitimately thought for a second they evolved to older variants of the Pokemon because I'm over 30 unlike many people who end up in the Pokemon world) but then I remembered that the balls I used were Old Balls, the same type as the one I used to catch CD. Thank goodness.

We ended up camping by a watchtower overlooking a lake. I did some fishing but caught nothing but Magikarp. I didn't mind though. Jolyne sat by next to me and though it was awkward we did talk. Didn't end up talking about Pucci and that last fight but she shared a number of her adventures here. Didn't talk much about her time in prison though, I guess it's been three years since then for her. Must not be as important anymore, or something she doesn't want to talk about.

May 5
Area Two in the North Province is filled with great mountains and craggy peaks. However, nestled in the cliffs is a bamboo forest that looks so unlike everywhere else. It was filled with fighting Pokemon, bug Pokemon and some grass Pokemon, all who clash with one another by the watering holes.

Jolyne and I took the time to try figure out how evolving a Bisharp work. According to Paldean texts, Bisharp can evolve if they defeat three Bisharp that hold Leader Crests. However, we struggled to identify which Bisharp had a crest, let alone find Bisharp that lead groups of Pawniard.

It was damn hard though. By the time we set up camp, we only defeated two groups. I thought it was three but Chariot didn't evolve after beating the third. The Pawniard that looked like they were following a Bisharp must have not been part of its group. It was a little frustrating since it's been a nightmare trying to find these things but I suppose there's always tomorrow.

Ironically, Natsumi evolved instead into a Pawmot instead. We had been walking so long and I had been using her to clear out anything that wasn't a Bisharp. Chariot was surprisingly not pissed off and barely disheartened as Natsumi rejected his flirting attempts. I was glad the day hadn't been an entire waste.

Jolyne cooked today. I ate what she made.

It's the thought that counts.

May 6
We got a notification saying that Soy and Riegfried could get us all to Area Zero within the Great Crater of Paldea. It is a spot at the center of Paldea which is generally off-limits due to the dangerous nature of the very powerful pokemon within. It's apparently a fascinating place to research and if we wanted to get there we needed to meet at the front of the Academy in the morning of the 9th.

The problem is that there aren't many towns or cities in the North Province, so the closest warp is Levincia. It'll take us a couple of days to get there but we wouldn't make it if I decided to try and evolve Chariot. Who knew how long it would take us to find more Bisharp?

I discussed it with Jolyne and Chariot. In the end, Chariot made it known to me that we should go. At the time, I thought he was frustrated too and wanted to leave evolving until later but now I think he left because he could tell I wanted to go to Area Zero. I'll make it up to him later.

At the pace we're going we'll make it in time. Hopefully, it'll be worth the effort.

May 8
Can't find the words to write more in detail but I discussed it with Jolyne.

May 9-18, Year 1

[phdepression]

May 9-18, Year 1

May 9
I found out that Soy and Riegfried must have really pulled some strings to get us all to Area Zero. The public usually isn't allowed down there since it's both dangerous and an active research site. We met in front of the Academy and were taken via Flying Taxi to the large gate in the North West. It's a grassy series of paths that descend down in a corkscrew pattern. The paths are cut by a wide river with rushing waterfalls and the paths occasionally branch off to a number of caves. It's interesting terrain but what's most stunning is the crystal formations. The light reflects off it and the low hanging mist, giving the entire area a glittering appearance.

I first followed the trip to the research station and met with the scientists there. They asked us to help with their research as volunteers. Naturally, I accepted so I took a sensor and headed down to the depths of Area Zero. I was told there are a number of strange, robotic Pokemon but I didn't see any up close. I did see a flash of green though and took a photo of it which turned out to be a robotic Pokemon. What it is though, who can say? I did meet Cecil and his team though. He's been here for literally a decade... Wild.

I think Aggression died. I mean, he evolved into a Annihilape but I also think he just died since he's part Ghost. I have chosen not to think of this too hard.

I returned to the research station and was asked to sort out some of the data they have in the lab. I was surprised to see that the sensors have been picking up both electric and psychic energy from Area Zero. Are the robot Pokemon mostly electric Pokemon? That wouldn't be surprising but the energy suggesting many of the Pokemon are psychic type was surprising. I met Dimitri in person for the first time and saw Harry again and both of them agreed to try look into it. I'll probably join the search effort tomorrow.

The crystal formations around here seem to be condensed Terastral energy, the energy that allows Pokemon to Terastralize. They keep dispersing into light once they're picked up or a Pokemon uses them. I wonder if there's some way to pick them up for study back at the research station. Glimmora are rock Pokemon that feed off the energy in the walls. Maybe there's something about them I can take advantage of.

May 10
Glimmora wasn't the answer but it did point me to a solution. I figured that the best way to collect these crystals was to take a good portion of the rock it's growing out of, like how you keep a plant alive by getting the soil and roots as well as the main body. Today, I managed to retrieve a cluster from the crystaline depths of the area.

It wasn't without its own conflict though. I had Chariot dig into the rock for the crystals but we must have disrupted the flow of energy a nest of Glimmora were feeding on. Between 10-15 attacked us all at once, enraged by our escavation. Ordinarily, Chariot and SP would be able to deal with them since they're both very strong Pokemon. However, the Pokemon I photographed yesterday attacked us, Iron Valiant. It took advantage of the fighting and tried to attack my Pokemon. Chariot had to fight it alone while Kosugi and SP fended it off.

Thankfully, Min-Gi came in the nick of time with his team. Together we took out the Glimmora without them all releasing toxic spikes everywhere and put down the Iron Valiant. I managed to carry it in my only Ultra Ball, since capturing it is probably better than letting it run loose.

I've named it Gallant since it's a cross between a Gardevoir and a Gallade. I haven't let them out of their ball yet. Probably for the best. I may need to train up my team so I have multiple 100s ready to dogpile it should it try anything.

Returned to the lab, healed my Pokemon and gave up the crystals. Then I realised I didn't turn on the fucking camera I set down in the depths and decided to go back down despite the researchers' protests.

It was fortunate I went though. I went down and I saw two of the robotic Pokemon fighting one another near the camera. These were what the others were calling Iron Treads and one of them seemed to be shiny, as it lacked the black accents the other did. The two Iron Treads weakened each other and the shiny one chased the other off. Once weakened, I had Star Platinum attack it. Like a good sumo wrestler, SP caught it when it rushed at him, tossed it aside and slammed it down so I could catch it. Compared to Gallant, it was much easier to catch.

I've named him Gyro, since it reminds me of a gyrosphere. I must be really lucky to catch two robot Pokemon in one day... or unlucky if I keep getting such troublesome Pokemon.

Flying Taxis picked us up at 10PM. I'm heading to Medali town and going to get some sleep. Hopefully, the rest of the trip is going to be far less stressful.

Note: buy a Mystic Water for Star Platinum. Min-Gi loaned SP his for a short time and it was really helpful.

May 11
I decided to have some downtime in Medali town. My injuries have healed up but my Pokemon needed the rest. I ended up just taking a small walk and eating out. Medali town's is known for its restaurants and I understand why the food here is so popular, it's very very good.

Resting at the Pokemon Center and doing inventory now. I want to rank up in the JKBA so I spent most of the day making a list of what Pokemon I want to train up so they can learn new moves. I have 14 Pokemon on the brink of evolving by training according to the Dex. I may prioritise them. I'll deposit SP for now and pick him up at Porto Marinada. I'm sure I can deal a few days without SP's help, especially without baby Pokemon.

May 12
SP was fine with being temporarily taken out of the main party but I found it weird to be without him. It's like my first day in Johto when I realised I no longer had my Stand. My partner is missing. But the world keeps turning.

We headed out to the West Province, Area 3. It's a grassy region with lots of cliffs further West. We encountered a lot of normal Pokemon and ended up fighting a fair few. We ended up fighting a lot of Dunsparces for some reason, which was fine since I wanted to train my Pokemon. It was just weird: no swarm and yet I fought five of the bastards. Of those five, three of them evolved my Pokemon.

The Pokegear wasn't joking. I had a lot of Pokemon teetering on the edge of evolution. Mari evolved into a Toedscruel, Kris evolved into a Glimmora and Cirrata evolved into a Grapploct. A very productive day 1.

Camping with a new team was nice. I got to watch them all interact with one another. Mari is deceptively fast for someone who is essentially a giant mushroom and she runs even faster as a Toedscruel. She runs laps around Cirrata who does his best to keep up with her. He's not nearly as fast running on his tentacles but he seems to be having a good time.

Kris and Bearbarian are the opposite to those two. They've taken to snuggling up with me, propping my arms up while I write. I have to be careful not to dislodge Kris' toxic spikes whenever I move.

Beru is still my problem child. I thought it would be good to have one of my older members of my party around but he's still weak and immature. Today, I caught him eating Pause's share of food and making an attempt on Bearbarian's. Thankfully, Cirrata pinned him down before he could steal Bearbarian's share, preventing an incident. I'll need to try get him to listen more on this trip.

I also need to figure out how to get Pause moving. Dinner was an hour ago but I think she's just realising her food was stolen. Hopefully, she'll realise I replaced her food and she already ate it before we go to bed.

May 13
We made some more progress today. After a long walk, we ended up in West Province, Area 2. It's similar to Area 3 but there's a hot, dry breeze that comes from the South, probably the Asado Desert.

There were a lot of Pokemon in the area, including Eevee. I would have caught it if I didn't think of Jota in my box (I've got to start training him again. He still hates me).

Bearbarian showed she was more than happy to battle, not just sleep. She threw Eevees around like she had been shotputting small creatures all her life and basically tore up every and any Pokemon she swore. I think she was inspired by everyone else evolving yesterday because she evolved too. I have to admit, seeing her almost quadruple in size through evolution was terrifying. It must have been obvious because she laughed loudly when she saw my expression. Damn sadist.

After Bearbarian evolved, I tried to train Beru. Surprisingly, he was focused and didn't even need bribery to follow my orders. However, throughout the whole day he seemed nervous especially when we were fighting other Normal type Pokemon. It's not like he didn't want to battle or train but he kept glancing back at me after every attack he made, as if he wanted my approval.

I think he's still nervous about being replaced. That was the feeling I was getting. After we made camp, I took him aside to talk to him about controlling his appetite and how he couldn't just eat the others' food. Not sure if he knew what I was saying but he seemed to understand I wasn't going to just give him away because he hadn't evolved or because he was eating everyone else's portions. Gave him some of my food to cheer him up after the talk to show there was no hard feelings but hopefully, he realises how serious I'm being and try improve his behaviour.

May 15
Today we ran into a swarm of Paldean Tauros. They're big, burly, black bulls with flecks of red in their manes. I didn't intend on getting in their way but when the hoarde of them saw us they went out of their way to battle us. The bastards tried to use Flame Charge on us so I sent out Pause. Pause tanked the hit and used Surf to push the stampede away. That scared some of them off so we weren't fighting all of them at once. Two of them stubbornly stayed to fight us so we had a double battle. I used Beru since he needed training.

Despite having Pause basically controlling the battle, this battle was a little bit of a struggle. I didn't realise those damn bulls were fighting type and Beru took a super-effective double kick at every opportunity, nearly knocking him out each time. Thankfully, Beru's always well-stocked so he spent the battle stuffing his cheeks and healing up while Pause's Water Pulse took care of the oncoming Tauros.

After the first pair, Pause evolved into Slowbro. She seemed to startle awake and looked around at Beru and then me. I explained to her the situation and... And I think she finally had some activity between her neurons. She worked through the rest of the swarm was easily. Normally, I'd have to yell an instruction to her at least twice but now she can now focus. Pause is still docile and gets lost in thought but she's not outright slow anymore which is nice.

As icing on the cake, Beru evolved in Greedent after all that battling. He's changed considerably less than Pause but it seems our talk yesterday has helped. He's learned not to eat the others' share of food. However, he still is eating my food and celebrated his evolution by eating all the rations I had put aside for today. Good fucking grief.

May 16
Today was considerably more relaxing than the last few days. Today, we got Porto Marinada and the whole team and I had a very hearty breakfast at the market place. Then we decided to take a walk and replenish our supplies. I made sure I had more enough for everyone, even though Beru won't be on the team for the next week. With the cash from the Amulet Coin and what we earned from the Research Facilities in the Great Crater, we could afford it.

After that we had a casual stroll along the beach. We didn't do much but we did watch Cirrata swim. He swims distinctly like a fighting Pokemon instead of a water Pokemon (His freestyle has perfect form) which isn't a problem but just something I noted.

It was a quiet day of relaxing and after all of that we returned to the Pokemon Center. I want to go North to the lakes so I switched my team around. The Pokemon there are apparently stronger so I made sure both SP and Chariot were on the team. SP is happy to be back. It's only been three days but he keeps nuzzling me excitedly, happy that we're going to be adventuring again. Admittedly, I'm glad to have him back too.

I think I'll be also taking Soprano the Popplio, Q the Pancham and Sombre the Sobble to evolve, since they're also fairly strong. Since I was feeling nostalgic (for six months ago, unbelievable), I traded Beru out for Orquesta. A mix of old and new members. SP's strength should make up for Orquesta's lack of strength so we should be fine.

The West Paldean Sea is beautiful. Tomorrow, before we head, North I think I'll do some fishing at the same beach we visited today. May catch something interesting.

May 17
The West Paldean Sea is lovely but not ideal for fishing. It's incredibly rough, with fast waves. I spent a few hours catching nothing but Shellder, all of which would scream at me and scamper off in the ocean. I did try to catch one using Soprano but Soprano is surprisingly strong. A single Moonblast would knock out the Shellder, no matter how much Soprano tried to pull back. It wasn't for nothing though. The experience helped Soprano evolve into a Brionne. He seems pleased by this, especially since his voice is now all the sweeter, and he spent the morning serenading me while I fished. Alto's going to enjoy this when I bring him out.

Since fishing wasn't that great, I decided to go surfing. Thankfully SP was more that happily to let me ride him. We saw a few scuba divers looking for treasure but the swim was mostly uneventful until we ran into a Qwilfish. This is apparently the standard form of Qwilfish; it looks like a smaller version of Landmine. The PokeGear says that Non-Paldean Qwilfish don't evolve into Overqwil and they usually spend their whole lives in that form. I wanted to study it so I decided to battle it with Sombre. Both were Water types but Sombre was more than happy to bind it with her tail and sucker punch it whenever it didn't go into the Pokeball.

After that, she evolved into a Drizzile. I'm not sure if it's just a trait of evolution or if that battle tuckered her out but immediately after evolving she crawled onto my back and fell asleep. Whatever, better than her crying and making everyone else around her cry too.

Had SP take us back to shore and headed back to Port Marinada. I was going to swap Sombre and Soprano out but it looks like they're still close to evolving. I only used them today so I figured I could keep them on the team for a little longer.

May 18
We finally left Port Marinada. Since it's a bit difficult to travel North directly from the town, we headed East. Unfortunately, I must have missed the weather report and there was a massive storm that made it hard to see my hand in front of my face, let alone the road.

We managed to find shelter in a place the locals call Colonnade Hollow. It's a large rock formation with lots of structures organised in perfect columns. While looking for a warm place to make camp, I saw a fat little shark (with legs!) waddling through the cavern. It looked so small and proud I couldn't help but want to catch it (also because it's a shark with legs). Not wanting a repeat of Soprano just knocking the wild Pokemon out, I sent Orquesta out to do try and catch it. It wasn't a bad decision, considering the little thing couldn't hit Orquesta with any of its Mud-Slaps and Orquesta could just peck at it before darting away.

I caught the Gible and Orquesta evolved into a Pidgeotto. The battle and aftermath went so perfectly I was wondering if there would be some catch afterwards.

Going to stay here and warm up. Once the storm passes, we'll head North to Casseroysa lake.

May 19-June 11, Year 1

[phdepression]

May 19-June 11, Year 1

May 19
Journey is progressing quietly. Orquesta has a lot more energy and is fond of scouting ahead, letting me know what's coming. It seems like it's going to be a long walk but it's nice having a bit of a break.

I was worried about Sombre. She's been very lazy ever since she evolved and she refuses to battle or talk to the other Pokemon... Apparently it's nothing to worry about though. The Pokedex says its normal behaviour. Hopefully, she'll grow out of it and her trap-building habit. It's nice to have a little extra security around our campsites but I'm sick of stepping into her traps accidentally.

The Pokemon seem to be getting along well. SP is good with all the Pokemon, of course, but of all people I didn't expect Chariot to warm up to anyone he couldn't flirt with. Yet I'm watching him now talk to Qtaro and encouraging him to keep practicing his moves. Maybe it's just because Q wants to evolve into a Pangoro and needs to hang out with a dark type Pokemon to do so but it's really sweet watching them together. They look like two brothers.

May 22
Man, the journey here was peaceful but arriving at Casseroya Lake wasn't. As soon as we made it to the shore, we were immediately abushed by an Altaria. It seemed to be looking for a fight and was screeching angrily at us. It looked strong so I sent out Chariot to fight it. It should have been an easy fight but midway through battle a giant fish Pokemon called Dodonzo emerged out of the lake. I think it was looking for an easy meal (or really didn't like the Altaria) because it let loose a surf, battering us all with water. It was a free-for-all fight!

Not wanting to leave Chariot alone, I tried to send out SP but his Pokeball must have been knocked out of its usual place because I ended up sending out Q. Q was also surprised to be sent out but he recovered quickly and immediately went to Chariot's aide. My Pancham's not nearly as strong as my Bisharp but he's quick and he listens to orders. Not just mine either. Chariot sometimes directs Q where to move so he can strike weak points better. Q was happy to play distraction while Chariot cut down our enemies. The Altaria went down quickly and I caught it to get it out of the way.

The Dodonzo however was a lot more problematic. It was as relentless as Gallant was when I first encountered them. However, it wasn't because it was a legendary Pokemon or whatever. There was another Pokemon inside its mouth, powering it up. A Tatsugiri, I think. Whatever it was, it was yellow and it was making things hard. Under its orders, the Dodonzo slammed its tail into Chariot, making him flinch. But before it could deal a decisive blow, Q jumped in the way and evolved into a Pangoro. It took the blow and I had him use Vital Throw. It knocked the Tatsugiri out of the Dodonzo's mouth but before we could take it out the Dodonzo blasted Q and knocked him out. But what's crazier is then Chariot evolved. I don't know why he didn't evolve when he beat up the Bisharp with Leader Crests weeks ago but he evolved right then and there into a Kingambit. Drawing on the energy of Q, he Kowtow Cleaved the Dodonzo, making it weak enough for me to catch.

The Tatsugiri ran away after realising it was alone, leaving us the victors. I immediately healed Q up and found SP's Pokeball so he could help me secure the area.

We're now all celebrating our victory. Q and Chariot are screaming like how I imagine frat boys would, thrilled that the two of them took on three Pokemon at once. I'll pretend I'm not annoyed at them yelling - they deserve to celebrate.

May 23
Fishing really was peaceful today. Even though I encountered a Barboach, there was absolutely no fight. After the headache from yesterday, I ended up just throwing one of my Pokeballs without thinking about it. I immediately regretted it and went to go get a Pokeball with someone in it but when I turned back the Barboach was captured. It worked for some reason. Whatever.

I didn't do much after that. Prom is tomorrow so I'm conserving my strength. Gotta be ready for whatever bullshit happens.

May 24
Prom is like an American High School Prom. I had to put a suit on but honestly that's the worst that's happened so far. The weirdest thing that happened is I went through a 'door' (one of the Watchtowers scattered around Paldea) and ended up at the Academy's gym. And it's just food, dancing, and forced socialisation. I expected worse.

It lasts the whole weekend though, so I'm going to have to keep an eye on things. Luckily, I have my Stand back to help me with that.

Amusingly, Star likes SP. It's a shame SP can't see my Stand though.

May 26
I'm genuinely shocked nothing happened. After Prom, my Stand disappeared but that's really it. If anything "wild" happened, it was that I was left at the Academy and not Casseroya Lake. There's not much longer left to the trip so I'm just going to take it easy. I'll warp to Cascarrafa and just do training around there - no time to go anywhere else thanks to Prom.

I changed out Q and Chariot, who were more than happy to stay back and just enjoy their new forms. I pulled out Marina the Dratini and Ver the Bidoof and headed to Cascarrafa. It's not a bad place. Nice, peaceful, filled with a lot of water despite being next to a desert. Today I'll just train against the wild Pokemon. I'll decide later whether or not to challenge the gym here.

May 27
I took the elevator up to the higher parts of the city today. They have a lot of nice shopping districts up there, though I didn't bother to stay. Instead we walked out to West Province, Area 1, and trained there on some of the wild Pokemon. There are a lot of mountains in the area but with boulders and rocks falling down the peak we didn't bother traversing up it. I stayed near to the city and worked with Ver, fighting a mix of Normal Pokemon and Nymble until Ver evolved into a Bibrael.

I'll be real, opposed to Sombre's massive personality shift, I haven't noticed anything change about Ver. I guess evolution affects some Pokemon more than others.

We returned to Cascarrafa and rested up. The food is quite good here.

May 28
Today we did the same thing as yesterday, except I focused on training Marina. It went really fast though. Marina just needed a single level and evolved into a Dragonair after maybe three or so wild encounters. Eventually, I switched to Sombre to see if she would be inspired by the progress of another party member but no such luck. Oh well, I've already been very fortunate to witness so many evolutions in such a short time. And there's always tomorrow.

May 30
Even though today's training focused on Sombre, Soprano evolved into Primarina after we defeated a wild Nymble. He seemed very happy about it and spent the day serenading everyone, adding some background music to our training montage. It seemed to help Sombre focus and she listened to a few more orders than usual. Even when she was trying to pretend to be asleep, she kept turning to look at Soprano whenever he sang.

Soprano hasn't stopped singing since he evolved. When we returned to the Pokemon Center, the team had a big dance party. Marina danced pretty well for a snake, Ver bounced like a ball and Orquesta sang along. I even caught myself tapping my feet. Notably, Sombre got up on her own and danced with Ver, making Soprano's song even more excitable. Soprano has definitely caught on that his singing is helping Sombre's attitude. Hopefully his singing will help with tomorrow's training.

May 31
It definitely did help. Today while walking around Cascarrafa, we encountered a Drednaw. While I had Soprano out, I fought it with Sombre and had Soprano sing in the background to lift her spirit. With Sombre focused, catching the Drednaw was easy, and the experience really helped her. She evolved into Intelleon and had another personality shift.

Now she seems... stable. She's still a little shy like when she was a Sobble but now she's focused. Less moody. More... princely? It's hard to say but that's the vibe I got when she reintroduced herself to Soprano. I'm not going to get involved with the love lives of my Pokemon. The important thing is that she's now listening to me a lot more.

Which is good. I have plans to use her tomorrow at the gym. Our Paldea trip is at its end and tomorrow we get returned to a city of our choice. I'll go back to Kanto and start my gym challenge in Pewter City against Brock, the Rock type gym leader. This Drednaw hopefully will come in handy later as well.

I'm going to miss Paldea and its warps. It certainly made things interesting. But this bizarre adventure in the Pokemon world continues.

June 1
I arrived back at Kanto in the morning only to find my campsite invested in what I can only describe as prehistoric dinosaur birds. These beasts were all over the road, using their tooth-filled beaks to harass the locals. They were relatively weak so I fended them off with Chomp, the Dreadnaw I caught yesterday. Most of them ran off but I managed to catch one of these Archen. It resembles a Archaeopteryx so that's what I named mine.

Archen is a prehistoric Pokemon so I decided to have a look at the Museum of Science. It's quite amazing and I got to see all sorts of fossilised Pokemon and artefacts they've dug up from the mountains. They have an exhibit where they show how the Fossil Revival Technology was invented and how cloning works. It's quite a fascinating process. I was particularly interested in the rehab program and the procedure researchers go through to determine if a fossil species will safely be restored to a Pokemon.

I spent much time in the museum that the gym was closed by the time I got there. Oh well. There's always tomorrow. Hopefully, my experiences in gyms in Paldea will translate here.

June 2
I used The Squad, Bearbarian and Chomp against Brock today. We won. It was good to see the Squad are still in sync and Bearbarian is strong as ever. I was worried that since I didn't use them in Paldea, we wouldn't be so coordinated but our morning training shook off the rust. We got the badge, the rewards and the prize money - some of which I blew on treating the trio. Not that I'm worried about money anymore - between the stipend I get from the JKBA and the money I got in Paldea, I can afford to treat my companions.

I thought about leaving straight away but I figured an extra day to rest in Pewter City wouldn't kill me. It's not like I'm in a hurry and we have a long trek to Cerulean. There's only one path from Pewter City to Cerulean City and that's through Mount Moon. Without a ride Pokemon, it takes an average of two weeks to get between the two locations. One of said weeks is spent wandering through the mountain itself. No wonder the people of this world make use of warps.

June 3
I'm glad I decided to bring Freight to make my journey a little easier. Not only is the journey long but the road goes almost exclusively uphill. At least it's quiet here. Route 3 would be a relatively unassuming road if it wasn't for the various craters everywhere. No one's been able to tell me if the craters are caused by meteorites or rocks that have fallen off Mount Moon; the story seems to differ depending who you ask.

Not much happened today. I encountered a wild Serviper that seemed to want to pick a fight but Freight stomped his hooves twice and scared it off. The Pokemon here are relatively low levelled so I shouldn't have problems. Then again, I shouldn't let my guard down.

June 5
You wouldn't think the only route to Cerulean City would go through a mountain but it does. Mount Moon is insurmountable you need to travel through its sprawling caves. The Pokemon Center outside the Western entrance does provide directions but there are no roads or even signposts telling trainers how you should go through. It's basically untouched by man save for a few ladders.

Most of the Pokemon here are quite skittish so we didn't end up encountering one until quite late in the evening when Chomp accidentally stepped on a Goomy that was lying flat (probably sleeping). The Goomy woke up and started thrashing about. I calmed her down and ended up catching her, if only to stop her from angrily (and ineffectually) hitting Chomp. I've named her Gooey for now. I'll try think of a better name while I'm going through this cave.

Probably no more journal entries until I get out of here. It's hard to concentrate. It's not that I see, or I can't light a campfire, it's just I feel like I have to keep an eye out in here. Maybe it's every noise echoing, making me feel like I'm surrounded. Maybe it's the shadow that seems to be following me.

June 8
It's hard to say if I got lost in Mount Moon or it usually takes three days to walk through the caves but I'm finally out. I decided to stop outside of Cerulean City and camp in Route 4 so my Pokemon could stretch their legs and run around. Freight's taken to rolling down the gentle slope and then nudging us all to follow. Thankfully, he's fine with just one of us copying him and Hojo's been enjoying rolling around too.

I've encountered a bunch of wild Pokemon in Mount Moon but I didn't capture anyone besides Gooey. Didn't really get a chance to. There are a number of wild Pokemon around here too but besides a particularly brave Rookidee none have come near our camp. Maybe it's because they saw Chomp reach out and try and bite the Rookidee. He's been biting a lot of things lately. He listens to me for most things but he doesn't stop biting even when I ask him. I'll have to get him something like a chew toy in Cerulean City, or find a way for him to stop biting my coat whenever he thinks I'm not looking.

June 9
This morning we didn't waste time and went straight to the Cerulean City gym. Misty is an expert on water Pokemon so I wanted to talk to her about salinity regulation in water Pokemon but she told me that she has a date after our battle so she hurried me into battle.

I believed her at the time but in retrospect was she trying to get rid of me?

I used Crazy Diamond, Hojo and Qtaro against Misty. Considering I didn't bring any electric or grass Pokemon, I'm surprised I won but those three did very well. I treated CD, Hoko and Q after that to a big lunch and we went around the city.

Cerulean City has such nice waterways and the flowers are so vibrant. Being a mid-sized city, I figured it would be good to shop in so I went around the various stores. The prices are good here except for the bike shop. Apparently, they're selling bikes for 1 million Poke. Good grief, they're trying to scam people in this city.

I may go North tomorrow to explore Nugget Bridge.

June 10
I couldn't be bothered fighting all the trainers so I decided not to cross the bridge. Decided to fish instead. Caught a Finneon but let it go. Not many Pokemon in the water.

While I was fishing, I did notice the Cerulean Cave across the river. Apparently it's filled with powerful Pokemon and you can't enter it unless you're a champion-level trainer. It sounds interesting, honestly... so one more reason to do this gym challenge, I guess.

June 11
The journey down Route 5 started calmly enough but then I got attacked by a swarm of Combee. I caught one but more than fifty came out. Thankfully, they were pretty weak and despite their overwhelming numbers Chomp took them out on his own. I somehow didn't get stung but Chomp did defending me. He's not really hurt but I'm giving him extra snacks. Seems to like this jerky I bought yesterday - must be good for his teeth.

June 12-July 9, Year 1

[phdepression]

June 12-July 9 Year 1

June 12
As I headed out of Route 5, I saw the entrance to the Underground Path. Apparently, it's a shortcut from Route 5 to Route 6 that you can take if you want to avoid going into Saffron City. It's a strange design choice and I'm not sure why it exists. I thought maybe it connects to maintenance tunnels but it doesn't.

Whatever, I got into Saffron City today. I did some research into the Gym Leader here but apparently Sabrina is strong. Much stronger than I am. While SP is level 100, I don't think he could solo it. Maybe I could do it with Chariot with the type advantage but I don't like my team's balance.

I decided to leave it for now since Saffron City is quite easy to get to (from Kanto and Johto). I'll take on the gym after more of my Pokemon get stronger.

Speaking of more Pokemon, I ended up encountering a Duosion today. Apparently, it has two brains and they often disagree what it should do, which was probably why it was just floating on the street corner, doing nothing. I wasn't sure if it was a wild Pokemon or not so I just left it alone. It was causing no trouble. It was just weird. Hopefully, that's the weirdest encounter I come across in this city. I can't be bothered dealing with bizarre shit.

Maybe I need to rest a bit more. I've been taking breaks but I have been constantly travelling. I'll spend a week in the city and see if I feel any better.

June 14
It's only been two days but I ended up leaving town to go down Route 8. I don't know why I'm so restless. Something's really wrong with me.

Route 8 is East of Saffron City. It's a dirt road that twists in an 'S' pattern that goes past a bunch of fields and meadows. Some of the ledges and the tall grasses are fenced off, making this one of the more developed routes I've seen (much more so than the route THROUGH Mount Moon).

Aside from a curious Pidgey, didn't encounter any Pokemon. Just walked forward.

SP's worried about me. I've tried to reassure him that I'm okay but he doesn't believe me with how he keeps stealing glances at me.

June 15
Ever since I came to this world, there has been 'background music'. It's like a video game, where it's constantly playing in different routes to suit the mood. It's weird but I've sort of just accepted it.

Today's the first day I really noticed the music because the music in Lavender Town is... unusual.

The town is also unusual because it was filled with a swarm of Carvanha and Sharpedo flying around. I know I should be used to seeing Pokemon that look like they should be sea-bound flying in the air (SP being one of them) but it's still weird seeing a swarm of sharks and piranhas just... around in a city.

Some of the Sharpedo were causing mischeif so I ended up fighting a few. It was all standard Pokemon affair until about mid-afternoon where, mid-battle against a Sharpedo, a Carvanha rammed into the side of Orquesta. Being attacked during a Pokemon battle isn't new but the Carvanha had a Pokemon on its back, a Litwick. The Litwick was whispering softly to the Carvanha (in it's ear?) and acting like the Carvanha's trainer.

Naturally, Orquesta wasn't going to win a three-on-one so I sent out Chomp out to help. I also sent out SP but that was mostly to keep others from attacking. I wanted to catch this strange Litwick that was able to control (negotiate?) with other wild Pokemon that wasn't in its species.

Candela (as I now have caught and dubbed her) isn't a good trainer but she's a good strategist. She knew to burn Chomp with Will-O-Wisp and try inflict the other Pokemon with statuses like confusion. However, the Carvanha (Carcharhinus) didn't always listen to her and Aqua Jetted straight to Chomp, who is much stronger and was able to tank and crush the duo. After Orquesta finished off the Sharpedo we're fighting, we were quick to catch them.

After all the excitement calmed down, I ended up checking out Silph Co. since it's the largest building asides the Lavender Tower. I somehow ended up signing up for the Type: Null adoption program so they're processing my application now. They'll let me know if I'm viable to adopt... whatever a Type: Null is tomorrow.

Not sure if I need more Pokemon, especially one that can't battle and can't breed, but I did want to broaden my horizons and learn about all types of Pokemon. Hopefully, I get approved.

June 16
Got my Type: Null. Its name Sybil. It's a rather docile Pokemon but it's somewhat vain which is an interesting combination of quirks. According to the book that I got, Sybil will occasionally start bequeathing prophecies. I haven't seen it yet but if it starts floating and chanting in dead languages it's "normal".

Today we walked together around Lavender Town. It's an interesting to see how much death and ghosts are integrated into a society. It's beautiful in a somber way. Aside from the graveyard (Populated by ghost Pokemon) and the radio tower, there's a Volunteer Pokemon House that cares for abandoned and orphaned Pokemon. I may spend the next few days here getting advice with how to look after Sybil and just helping out. May help with my nervous energy.

June 18

Finally left Lavender Town today. I was starting to intrude on Mr. Fuji's kindness and there wasn't much work to do. Time to get back to the Kanto Gym Challenge anyway.

Apparently the Vermillion City warp from Lavender Town was broken so I decided to walk from Saffron instead of waiting around. I got to Route 6 and headed down. Now that I didn't have to rush, I got a chance to fish at one of the various ponds. I caught a Tympole in the process which was nice. I didn't even get a chance to name him (Rana) at the time because Orquesta is sulking that Yume isn't with us. He's restless without her and with me fishing he was left to his own devices, which meant he disturbed a beehive.

Good grief.

Instead of more Combee like Hexa, there were a number of Beedrill. As I often do when I'm attacked by more Pokemon than I know what to do with, I caught one (I'm calling him Hornet because that's what she is) and battled the rest off. It's good for experience, at least.

June 19
Back in Vermilion City. I decided to have a look around the sunny harbor town since I didn't really have an opportunity last time. The Pokemon Fan Club is cute but I wasn't interested in socialising so I didn't spend long there. Instead, I went to the port to look over the ships and just enjoy the sea breeze. Since I noticed that there were some good waves, I went to the Pokemon Center and picked up Jerry so he could surf.

I enjoyed tea with the rest of my Pokemon while Jerry surfed. However, as Jerry came back to shore, some sort of blue bird dove out of the water and tried to swallow him. The bird was choking and Jerry was flailing wildly, probably panicking too much to use his electric moves, so I quickly had Orquesta charge at the Pokemon. It didn't dislodge Jerry from the Cramorant but it did give me time to run over and throw a Pokeball at the Pokemon. I couldn't hit Jerry and return him so I just caught the Cramorant. So now I have Phalacrocorax.

For some reason, that experience was enough to help Orquesta to evolve into a Pidgeot.

It was too weird to challenge the gym after that so I called it the day and spent the rest of the day consoling Jerry. He probably didn't like looking so lame.

June 20
The nutcase that runs the survival camp here in Vermillion City is actually the gym leader. When I met Lt. Surge, he said that I 'looked like someone who could put up with the extreme course' which I think is a compliment. Nevertheless, I turned down the offer and faced him as a trainer. Yesterday I sorted my team out and came at him with Fortress, Callie and Freight. Having mostly ground types, it was an easy enough match against a team of electric types.

Spent the rest of the days going around Vermillion City, restocking supplies. I decided to not backtrack through to Saffron City to go to Celadon so I'll be heading down Route 11 again and down to Fuchsia City next.

June 21
Aside from training my Pokemon up, my goal is to get stronger so I can deal with some of the more difficult Pokemon I've caught. I can't control my Iron Valiant but I want to tame a calmer Paradox Pokemon. Yesterday, I took Gyro out of the PC so I could start training it today. My shiny Iron Treads sees everything as “beneath them” and “not a worthwhile challenge” and getting it to fight a wild Swablu was as hard as pulling teeth.

I'm not sure what to do with it. It's one thing if they don't want to fight but Gyro does. It just doesn't want to listen to orders. It only fought today because it was annoyed at the Swablu.

Got to make a plan to get it to listen. At least they're happy to sit with the rest of the Pokemon and it's not like Gallant.

June 22
Route 12 is a long route down, mostly going over water and consisting largely of bridges. Initially, I thought it was called Silence Bridge because it's South of Lavender Town and therefore creepy. However, I'm pleased to see that part of the name is because it's so quiet. There are a lot of fishermen here focusing so it's quiet for most part here. It would be very easy to take a nap or fish here.

It takes three days to go South by Pokemon but I may just walk it without using Freight. Maybe I'll take it easy, fishing and training Gyro. The other Pokemon seem to be quite happy with this arrangement - especially SP and Chomp. Those two made a beeline for the water as soon as we got to the coast. I can't blame them. The smell of the sea is so calming.

June 24
When I caught a Wishiwashi yesterday, Gyro just took it out like the Swablu, knocking it back into the sea without listening to my orders. I was worried that the entire trip would be like this until today. While fishing, I pulled up a pink Frillish which (despite it's jellyfish-like appearance) is a ghost. I sent Gyro out and Gyro started assaulting it with a combination of all its moves but didn't seem to understand why its normal and fighting moves weren't connecting. The Frillish was tormenting it so eventually Gyro let me start directing him for attacks.

It wasn't a lot but it was progress. I've caught the Frillish to see if I can use her to help me with training Gyro. Turritopsis (as I've named her) seems game. Hopefully, Gyro will start listening to me. We can work on trust later.

June 29
I haven't caught any Pokemon I haven't before (It's a lot of Tentacruel and Carvanha) but this fishing trip is going well. Gyro is starting to begrudgingly listen, even if it thinks it's a waste of time. We should be good for fighting the gym leader when we get to Fuchsia.

Today we've finally gotten off Route 12 and started heading West along Route 13. It's a long, narrow road with lots of trainers. Usually, I avoid them but I think I'll battle if I lock eyes with anyone. We need all the experience we can get and I need some way to tire out my Pokemon. Callie especially, who gets very restless while I'm trying to fish. Hopefully, a few days of battling will get her need to run in circles out of her system

July 4
It took me a while but I finally arrived on Route 14, a rather pleasant coastal road. We're finally out of that weird fence hell and away from all the trainers. There aren't many Pokemon along the main road, most of them choosing to hide behind the long treeline that separates the road from tall grass. The only Pokemon I managed to fight was a Breloom, some sort of mushroom, dinosaur creature. Bastard packs a mean punch. Gyro agrees with me.

They're listening to me more these days, which is good. Will have to keep up with training.

July 6
We're now travelling on Route 15 and are about two days away from Fuchsia. However, something weird happened today. While going to swap my Pokemon around to fight a Karrablast, I ended up with another trainer's Haunter. Apparently there's a server outage at Silph Co. and a bunch of off-worlders' Pokemon have been shuffled around. The Karrablast got away as I was left to deal with Phantom.

This specter is a real bastard. He's pulled my hair, dunked water on me, stolen my stuff, and set off a (small) bomb at camp. It got to the point where Chariot began chasing him around, yelling for him to stop. I got in contact with the trainer, Riku, and he gave me some tips to deal with him. Despite how annoying and troublesome the Haunter is, it could be worse. Despite being powerful, he's not an active danger.

I found out on the network that a young woman called Heather ended up with my Iron Valiant, Gallant. Gallant attacked her but thankfully Heather's team is a lot better trained than mine. She took Gallant down and has stored it in the PC. I'm going to try hurry to Fuchsia so I warp over and pick my Pokemon up in Goldenrod City.

Gonna hide my journal until I can return Riku his Pokemon. Hopefully, the server issue gets resolved soon.

July 8
Today I arrive in Fuchsia City and, ironically, the server issue has been fixed. Gallant is back in the PC and Phantom has been returned.

I spent the day switching my team and cleaning up after Phantom's pranks. I learned Janine's team while in the Pokemon center and I decided to use Gyro and Crimson in our battle tomorrow. However, I needed another Pokemon for coverage and ended up choosing Shred. I haven't battled with Shred before so I went out in Fuchsia to practice using my Salamance.

At a small cafe near the outskirts of town, we found a a rather smelly, tired Skunktank dozing in front of a very haggard looking barista. The barista had been trying to get the Skunktank to move to no avail, since its stench was scaring off customers. He even offered me money to fight the thing so I did.

Despite his bad temper, Shred is actually quite good at listening to me and we had no issues fighting the Skuntank. Since I don't have many poison types, I ended up catching him and naming him Malodor. When I recalled the Pokemon, the stench went with him, thankfully. It's weird (are Pokeballs airtight?) but it's convenient so I'm not complaining.

July 9
Janine was a relatively easy fight, all things considered. Being ground/steel, Gyro resisted or was outright immune to most of her Pokemon. I still needed to use the other two Pokemon I brought but there were no major dramas.

Spent the rest of the day exploring Fuchsia City. Apparently, it used to be a big traditional town but now a good portion of it has been refurbished and upscaled. There's a huge area used to shoot movies and television shows but I decided not to go on a tour of the facility, preferring to go and see the Fuchsia School of Ninjitsu. There's a weird guy there selling the same armor I used to evolve Crimson, so that's good to know.

Ended the day by going to the theme park on my Pokemon's insistence. It was... fine. Mostly ended up chaperoning my team and letting them try assorted snacks and rides.

I should have gone with Jolyne but she's probably too old to go to a theme park with her dad. Maybe I'll suggest to Carly to take her here if they need something to do.

July 1-August 16, Year 1

[phdepression]

July 10-August 16, Year 1

July 10
Celadon City is the last big city I haven't been to on the main part of Kanto. To get there, I decided to go West onto Route 18. On the way to the Cycling Road, I encountered another Karrablast and decided to quickly catch it. Thankfully, I picked up Quick Balls yesterday and I caught Kanagawa the Karrablast with no issue.

True to its name, Cycling Road is a long paved path that you can only travel on if you're riding a bike. I ended up renting one for a week and started up it early in the morning.

Unfortunately, I'm going from South to North... and the Cycling Route is uphill from here. Riding a bike uphill is worse than walking up a hill. It would have been easier warping back to Saffron and walking to Celadon but I don't want to backtrack. So here I am, fucking exhausted.

Can't even think of what else I can write. Too tired.

July 13
I haven't done anything besides eat, sleep and cycle for the last couple of days. It's not so bad once you find your rhythm and the Cycling Road is nice. The sunrise over the ocean makes it easy to want to get up early and the seabreeze is nice to cycle to. It's a bit annoying seeing people going South from Celadon zip past me downhill but I'm managing.

I wasn't going to write but I wanted to note I've caught a Varoom. Its name is Crank. For all of yesterday and today, it was following me up and down the Cycling Road, probably wondering why I was so slow. It zipped and span in circles around me, keeping me distracted from the pain over cycling uphill for several straight hours. Today, it ended up parking next to me when I set up camp and I just ended up catching it. I can't ride on a Pokemon on the Cycling Road but I'll have Crank hover arond as I ride up for the upcoming days.

July 17
Earlier today, we finally got off the track and entered Route 16. It was a relief to finally get off the bike but I have to admit the whole ordeal was enjoyable.

Made it to Celadon City fine. There was a little incident where Crank was attacked by a Corvisquire but Chomp threw some rocks at it and shooed it away.

Celadon City is a fancy, high-end area, filled with boutiques, casinos and hotels. I booked us a reasonably nice room and ended up resting during the afternoon. Earlier this evening, I got up again and looked around the city. While walking through a backalley from my hotel to the main road, I ended up encountering a Purrloin. It was sleeping in the middle of the road so I tried to go around it but then it stood up and actually smacked my legs away. I considered backtracking but before I could do so it attacked. Thankfully, Crank was still out of its Pokeball and it ran over the damn cat.

Ended up catching it though, so now Nyasu's joined the team. I think he and Tom will get along well. They're both damn stubborn cats.

Dinner was nice and I have the research notes for Erika's gym. Will stock up at the Celadon Department Center tomorrow and face the gym.

July 19
After some training, I've decided to go back to Saffron City to finally fight Sabrina. After the battle with Erika, I feel better in my Pokemon Trainer abilities.

I didn't realise how close Saffron is to Celadon. We've started travelling on Route 7 today and will be at Saffron tomorrow. I should have absolutely gone from Fuchsia to Saffron and then Celadon, not how I've done it.

Oh well, not like I'm in a hurry. And now I'm stronger for it.

July 20
Back in Saffron City. I did my study on the gym leader and I'll have to do some more prepwork before I face her. She's no slouch and even with Chariot I'll have my work cut out for me.

I had my first encounter with one of Sybil's prophecies. As I was walking down the streets with it, Sybil stopped and started floating in place, eyes glowing blue. Caused some people a fright.

I've transcribed what was said as best I can below:

'In a plant of white and electrode's might,
Retrieve a generator gold with a tale of black.
Trade the ghost child back of what you have received.
And be gifted with a treasure of one close to your daughter's heart.'

Not sure what that meant but after it was done they returned back to normal. I took Sybil back to my hotel room and started looking up 'plants of white' and electrodes, since this prophecy involves Jolyne somehow.

It took me all of today to figure out that the plant isn't an actual plant but the Power Plant on Route 10. Electrode's might refers to a Pokemon, not a conductor. I have to go there to do... something? Or Sybil predicts I am going to go there to do something related to ghost children and generators. I'm not sure if Sybil's prophecies refer to things I 'might' do or 'will' do regardless if I get the prophecy or not.

May as well check it out. After I'm done here in Saffron City, I'll have a look. If it seems too much of a bother, I won't get whatever this gift is from Jolyne.

July 27
Yesterday, we went from Saffron City to Route 5. After a pit stop at Cerulean City, we've entered Route 9. The road goes over a mountain and the path is almost like a maze, filled with twisting paths and slopes. On the path, I saw a Silicobra and caught it with a Quick Ball. I've named him Dune and he's rather docile. He's quite happy resting on my neck on on Kosugi's head as we traverse the mountain side.

It'll take us some time to get to Route 10 where I can catch the ferry to the Power Plant. Hopefully, this trip will be worth the effort.

July 29
We got to Route 10 today and made our way to the ferry that takes us to the Power Plant. The Power Plant isn't open to trainers but it is open to educational tours, so I paid to join that and see what this place was all about. It was interesting - the Kanto Power Plant generates all the energy for the Kanto region. Power lines and telephone wires connect it to every single town in the region. It's an impressive structure.

I was stuck in the tour and couldn't go exploring but thankfully I didn't need to. Within the Power Plant, there was a Helioptile absorbing power. The guide noted that Joltik, not Helioptile, usually mess with the grid but still encouraged us to catch it. I think that the first two lines of Sybil's prophecy referred to Frills - Helioptile is known as the Generator Pokemon and it's yellow with a black tail. So that's that mystery solved.

On the way back, I considered the rest of the prophecy. A ghost child arbitarily related to Jolyne might be referring to Emporio. I'll call him and see if he knows what to make of the prophecy tomorrow morning.

July 30
I called Emporio this morning and asked him if he needed a Heloptile. He was surprised but did confirm with me that he was looking for a shiny Helioptile for his gym. I'll have to breed Frills to try get a shiny for Emporio.

Good grief, I think that Sybil predicted me eventually trading Pokemon with Emporio. That's it. I knew these prophecies were minor but not that minor. Good to know I can ignore them, then. Or I don't have to go out of the way to fulfill them unless I want to (and I want to help Emporio).

Spent the day going from Route 10 to the Rock Tunnel. I would have reached the cave sooner but Frills decided to go chase a Scraggy that was scattering berries around Route 10. Since Frills likes him so much, I caught the Scraggy. May as well at this point. Not like I'm against adding even more members to the team.

July 31
The map makes going from Route 10 to Lavender Town look so short. I thought I could swing by Lavender Town and check in on the Pokemon House and be back to Saffron in a couple of days. However, I've been told that the Rock Tunnel is incredibly complex and traversing it can take upwards of a week to go through. I was tempted just to walk back to Cerulean and warp back to Saffron, skipping this nonsense, but figured that since I was here I may as well go in.

I've been warned that the Rock Tunnel is much darker and less scenic than Mt. Moon so I doubt I'll be able to write much even with the light from my Pokemon and my torch. I've paid for a guide to lead me through the tunnel, so hopefully this won't take long.

August 7
Not a lot happened in the Rock Tunnel. The guide, Tony, was a decent enough for conversation and was happy to talk about the natural rock formations in the Rock Tunnel. That kept me occupied for most of the week and I learned a lot about geology in the short time. The biggest event that happened in there was I caught a Zorua.

A few days ago (it's hard to keep track of time down there), Tony and I heard lots of loud and shrieking sounds. The sounds were Swoobat using Disarming Voice on Mira. Even though Mira has type advantage, she couldn't reach and strike the Swoobat. I can't stand bullies and I didn't like seeing her outmatched and outnumbered so I stepped in and drove off the Swoobat.

I was going to leave her alone but Mira's a jumpy thing, alert to loud noises, and didn't like being by herself. I ended up catching her to try calm her down. She didn't the entire time we were in the Rock Tunnel but now we're out in Lavender Town she seems like a new Pokemon. Still reserved but much happier.

Visited the Pokemon House as planned. They're doing well. They have new volunteers again so they didn't need my help. I let them look over Mira before heading to the Pokemon Center for a checkup and rest. Tomorrow I'll warp Fushcia City and keep moving forward. The next gym on the Seafoam Island awaits.

August 8
Route 19 is less a costal road and more a path through the ocean that's been designated safe by Kantonian officials. Lots of people swim and sunbathe on this rocky road but thankfully I had the badge for surfing, which allowed me to travel without participating in part of a marathon. Travel would have taken a lot longer if Pause didn't know how to Surf.

The Surfing Pikachu have made their way over to Kanto. Thankfully, I had Jerry and I sent him out to catch up with his buddies. He was glad to see his old friends and was quite happy to surf with them while taking a break on a beach. As we rested, I came across a Mareanie. Mareanies are like living sea anenomes so of course I had to catch her. I've named her Halcampoides.

After Pause was rested up, we continued down the Route. The Pikachu hoard surfed with us, all the way down to Route 20. Having the Pikachus ride the waves with us meant the nearby Tentacool and Tentacruel were less inclined to come close, and the trip was overall peaceful.

The group has broken off from us now, following the waves back from the sea back to Fushcia. We'll be continuing on Route 20 tomorrow and will probably need to travel for a couple of days to get to the Seafoam Islands.

Jerry's in a great mood and has been humming the entire evening, content to do pretty much anything I tell him to do, even help with dinner. I was surprised he didn't want to go with his friends and wanted to keep travelling with us but I'm not complaining. I'm glad he's happy.

August 10
Route 20 is a popular route with swimmers for some reason but there was none when we travelled along there yesterday. Today, we found out why. Apparently, a rather cantankerous Dhelmise has been causing havoc in the area and most swimmers don't want to be attacked by a haunted anchor.

We only encountered it because it was preying on us. Pause, being herself, was completely oblivious to the danger, and travelled along the designated route. Since she was going at a reasonable pace, the Dhelmise found us in the otherwise calm water. At about noon, it emerged from the water and shot chains at Pause, throwing me off her.

I don't know how the swimming trainers do it. Maybe my pack and clothes were just heavy but I struggled to keep my head above the water long enough to order my Pokemon around. Pause was severely outmatched in every way so I had to send out Star Platinum and Chomp. Chomp kept me afloat while I had SP take care of the threat.

Damn thing put up quite a fight. Thankfully, SP is so overlevelled that he put it in its place. I ended up catching the Dhelmise to see what its deal was and to give us time to regroup instead of giving it a chance to attack us again.

I've named it Anchor. Thought it was a steel type but it's actually a ghost type. It's rather fascinating. I may not release it afterwards like I planned.

Note to self: ask the people at Seafoam Islands if people haven't been swimming on Route 20 because of the Dhelmise. Might need to tell them I have the bastard apprehended.

August 11
I have to say, I've never actually had the Gym Leader come to me before. I landed on the Eastern Island of the Seafoam Island and was immediately challenged by Blaine of the Seafoam Island Gym. I thought he was just some guy pretending but a very haggard-looking gym trainer confirmed this was him.

I was tempted just to sweep him with Star Platinum but instead I fought him there and then on the beach. Chomp was key in the battle.

After we both had our fill of battle, and I left that weirdo laughing alone on the shore, I ended up going to the Western Island to rest my team up and book a room. It's surprisingly tropical down here, which I didn't expect given about what I read about the Seafoam Islands. Tomorrow, I'll poke my head into one of the caves for a few days. I could use a few more Ice types.

August 13
This is more what I expected. It's so cold down here that I had to change into that stupid green santa outfit I got when I arrived here. The islands spiral down and ice crystals practically hang in the air, disturbed by only my breath.

I've seen a few water Pokemon around like Azurill and Oshawott but no Pokemon I really need or want to catch. Apparently, it can take a couple of weeks to really explore the Seafoam Caverns to find the rarest of Water and Ice-type Pokemon.

Unfortunately, I've decided not to go and explore. Emporio's notified me that there's a big festival at the end of August in Saffron City and it'll take me a couple of weeks to get back to Sevii Islands to meet up with him and Jolyne. I have to leave now if I want to make it in time. I promised I'd be there and I'm trying to make good on those promises now.

I'll come back afterwards. No reason not to.

August 16
Managed to get out of the Seafoam Islands in one piece and surfed over to Cinnabar Island. The volcano is not only active but currently spewing smoke. Despite this, I was told it's fairly safe to be and I ended up landing here to spend the day and night. It's a beautiful island, despite it being mostly ruins. You can see nature has really reclaimed it from humans, and everything man-made is overgrown with new wildflowers or short, dry grass. There are lots of fire Pokemon running about and I even managed to catch one, a Magby that I've named Danro.

There's only two man-made structures about. One is a natural preserve dedicated to looking after displaced Ultra Beasts. I wasn't allowed to go and look at these alien Pokemon so I ended leaving pretty quickly. The other is the Pokemon Center where I am now, that's pretty quiet save for the Nurse snoring at her desk.

I'll leave this island tomorrow and head down Route 21 to get back to the Pallet Town. Shame I didn't get to see the Ultra Beasts.

Note (written several hours later): What the fuck is that sound?

August 17- October 8, Year 1

[phdepression]

August 17- October 8, Year 1

August 17
When I talked to the Nurse in the morning about those strange sounds, she told me those were just the noises that the Ultra Beasts made. She assured me that those noises were very normal but honestly they sounded nothing short of alien. Moreso than some of the other Pokemon here.

I ended up leaving pretty early since I didn't get any sleep. Route 21 is a coastal route you can only get to by surfing. It's a straight shot from here to Pallet Town.

Like every other Route, there's wild Pokemon about but they kept mostly to themselves, which is good. I got to watch a Sharpedo swim in the water- it looks way more natural than it hovering on land.

Found a small island to camp on. Probably will be back to civilisation in the next day or two.

August 19
Arrived in Pallet Town early. Planning on heading back on the next ferry to Two Island. I'm back earlier than I expected so hopefully I can surprise Jolyne and Carly.

Jolyne's not too old to get a surprise visit and hug from her dad, right? I don't know. Maybe I should get her a gift or something. She probably has everything she needs but she won't reject a keychain, right? Maybe some buns from the bakery? Why am I so bad at this?

August 18
She really liked the present. I'm glad to be home.

August 25
Training progressing as normal. Omikuji evolved into a Glalie. Still likes to eat paper. Making charts to help breeding Pokemon easier.

August 31
Today was finally the day I went with the group to the Chingling Sisters' Travelling carnival. Originally we were going to see the show in Goldenrod City but we ended up going to Saffron.

The fair grounds were just outside the city center, somewhat in the forest. We went during the afternoon well into the night. I'm not a big fan of the carnival but I ended following any rides the girls and Emporio wanted to go on. Asides from the Pokemon theme, it was very much like a regular carnival: a ferris wheel, roller coasters and other rides, a carousel, and even a fun house. It was a pretty fun, all things considered.

There were lots of games at the carnival and Emporio and I ended up bobbing for Applin. And somehow I got lucky and caught a shiny one? So now I have Lerna. I also bought a Syrupy apple to evolve her with when I get around to it.

Not a bad day.

September 1
Training up my Pokemon. Going to try evolve more Pokemon and increase my breeding pool. Also going to try graduate to the Silver Rank now that Chomp has Head Smash.

September 8
Gulliver evolved into Pelipper. He's still vain but he's enjoying the attention. I should make a point to rotate my party out more.

September 14
Bread evolved into a Daschbun. He smells incredibly more like baked goods now and I feel like my Pokemon are hungrier around him. However, he's more willing to play instead of sleep and I did some training with him and Valor.

The news says that Cara Liss is collaborating with Silph Co. This can't end well.

September 15
Fossile scientists shouldn't be allowed to develop portals to alternate worlds, especially if she has a track record of pissing off the god of this world.

A whole bunch of worm holes have been opening up and I got sucked into one of them. I had to trudge through three alternate realities before I managed to find a portal out to Saffron City. This is getting out of hand.

I'll try collect my thoughts another day. Right now I have to go to Silph Co and stop this.

September 21
More Paradox Pokemon I had to deal with today. I need to talk to Carly to discuss what happened at Silph Co since she was also there rescuing people.

A bunch of other off-worlders were there. Together, we defeated the Paradox Pokemon and shut down the machine. Thankfully there were no casualties. But honestly shit like this keeps happening.

September 22
Training has resumed and it's going pretty well. Today both Hojo and Flip evolved into Kommo-O and a Malamar respectively.

Yesterday I used Gallant in a battle and it actually listened to me. I think I'm ready to now start training it up. It's going to be rough but luckily I have the rest of my team ready.

We have to be ready in case anything like the wormhole incident happens again.

October 2
Silph Co. actually got around to rewarding us for helping out with the Paradox Pokemon Incident. We got to pick out of a pool of items so I ended up taking an Ability Patch and a Shiny Basculin.

When I showed Emporio over a call today, he told me that he was willing to trade for my Basculin for his shiny Slowpoke because he needs it for his gym. It reminded me that I was supposed to give him Frills but then he told me that he needed a hidden ability Helioptile. We got to talking and he needs a few Pokemon with Hidden Abilities asides from the Basculin: Kommo-O, Shiinotic, Wugtrio, Helioptile, and Alolan Ninetales

Since I need to breed a hidden ability Pokemon for the JKBA Gold Rank test, I told him I was likely able to get him the eggs for a Jangmo-O and a Helioptile by the end of the month, provided I use the Ability Patch on Frills. We've agreed to meet up on the 25th so I can get the eggs ready and he can get anything else we need sorted.

He seemed really happy he got two of those six Pokemon he needed. Poor kid hasn't had much to be excited over since Louie vanished. Maybe I can see if I can get the rest of these guys together as a surprise. I already have a Wiglett... I can probably breed it with a JKBA hidden ability Pokemon. The others will be trickier but maybe I just need to get out and look for them.

May as well. Besides, I haven't explored all of Johto yet. I still need to see Azalea Town and Cianwood City, plus the Safari Zone. Not like I'm doing anything here anyway.

October 3
Took the ferry from Two Island to One Island and then went back to Olivine City. Sybil seemed happy that we were on the move again. I asked it if they were going to give me a prophecy but all they did was butt their head against my side.

There's a ferry to Cianwood City but I feel like I want to be by the ocean again so I ended up riding Star Platinum out to sea. We rode along Route 40 for the day and encountered a school of Wishiwashi, enjoying the ocean waves. They weren't threatened by us so they passed us by without any incident, thankfully.

The Whirl Islands are ahead. I'll camp there tonight and explore in the morning.

October 4

The Whirl Islands are as hazardous reported. There are whirlpools everywhere, threatening to throw boats and Pokemon alike into the rocks, and there always seems to be a storm overhead. Thankfully, Star Platinum was able to help me navigate through them and we arrived on one of the many rocky beaches.

We spent the morning looking around the exterior of the islands. There was a lot of climbing involved but it was peaceful for the most part, save for the one instance where a particularly aggressive Prinplup tried to attack me (Thankfully, CD was keeping an eye out and easily defeated it). For a few hours it was just me, my team, and the sharp spray of the ocean. Despite being physically exerting, it felt good to be out here.

The islands are seemingly identical, save for one. While easy to miss because of the cliff faces, there is a large, blackened area of rock on one of the islands. When I walked up there, I could feel the atmosphere was heavy with static, almost as if the air itself was charged with electricity. I suppose such a site was appropriately thematic for me to find the rumored gargantuan Cetitan.

Frail, my own Cetoddle, is already large for her species and I know roughly how big Cetitans are supposed to be. This beast far exceeded my estimates. Three? Four times my height? It was hard to estimate given it was charging at me. It only narrowly missed trampling me and instead crushed a large rock formation into little more than sand.

I've done research on Cetoddles and Cetitans and I know this isn't their natural habitat. It was just my luck that I found the lone Cetitan than supposedly roamed these islands. Despite its size, the Cetitan was clearly an ambush predator, taking advantage of its surprising speed by daring in and out. I nearly got crushed again when it charged but thankfully Star Platinum was ready and managed to help me get out of the way. The people in Olivine City who told me these rumors said that my only hope was to run if I ever did spot this creature but I don't run from a battle. Once I was on even ground, I immediately sent Star Platinum after it and he even landed a Hydro Pump on it. However, I didn't get to square up against the Cetitan. As quickly as it appeared, it began to run to one of the caves, and despite SP and I immediately pursuing it, we lost track of it.

While many caves in Kanto and Johto may have some light sources, it's pitch-black and flooded in here. The caverns are huge and winding, with high ceilings that can accommodate a rogue giant Pokemon. It definitely wasn't a shared hallucination though, I managed to find a pink Gastrodon that had been injured by the stampeding beast. Despite his calm demeanor, he was badly hurt, to the point where I don't think his injuries would have been able to be treated with the potions I had on hand. I asked it if I could capture him in a Pokeball so I could take him to get properly treated at a Pokemon Center. He agreed so I caught Dibra. I wanted to get out of here straight away but there's a storm brewing on the horizon and I don't think we'll reach either Olivine City or Cianwood City before it hits so we'll be camping near the entrance of the cave tonight.

Right now, Dibra is resting next to me by my campfire as I write this. Not sure if I'll keep him or release him after he's treated but I'll keep watch over him regardless. I don't know if the Cetitan's rampaging was caused because I was in its territory or if it usually is that destructive. However, if it is the former reason, then I am responsible for Dibra's injury and must be responsible for his care.

October 5
Last night was rough. The storm was loud and the chill from the ocean made it hard for Dibra to sleep. He kept popping out of his Pokeball and complained about the pain a lot. I don't blame him but I'm tired, as is SP. He was keeping watch for the entirety of last night and he refused anytime I asked him to switch with another member of the party. He probably feels as responsible as I do for Dibra, stubborn bastard.

The storm cleared up this morning. As soon we packed up the camp, we immediately hit Route 41. The route to Cianwood City isn't long but our progress was delayed by a school (a fever?) of Mantine. I would expect stingray-like Pokemon wouldn't be so out to sea or so high above the ocean floor but I suppose it's more proof that Pokemon just resemble animals from home and don't always act like them.

One of the Mantine swam up to us and started talking to Star Platinum. I'm not sure what was said but it sounded like an argument. I wanted to intervene but SP assured me that things were fine so I left it alone. Admittedly, I forgot about the Mantine until about ten minutes ago, where he followed us out of the water and made himself comfortable at our camp. Since he seems happy to follow us for six hours straight, I just decided to catch him because... why not.

Mobula has joined the team. I considered using him to swim us to Cianwood City since it isn't a far journey from here but Dibra hasn't complained about the pain and even ate two whole rations' worth. Unless things take a drastic turn tonight, we'll travel tomorrow as planned and reach Cianwood City by the afternoon.

October 6
Got to the Cianwood Pokemon Center in the early hours of the morning. The nurse on duty wasn't happy that I was dripping seawater all over the floor but dropped the topic when I brought out Dibra. It took a while but after a thorough examination the nurse on duty assured me that they could treat my Pokemon. She told me that they would need to keep Dibra for the day to monitor his health and asked me to stay in town in case they needed me. Naturally, I agreed, and left him in her care. Dibra seemed uneasy at first but changed his mind after being given a Sitrus berry by the nurse.

Cianwood is another city that doesn't deserve to be called a city; it's a small port town that is filled with fishermen and a few people who, like me, are just here to go to the Safari Zone. Surprisingly, there is a gym here so after looking around I ended up doing some research on the gym leader, Chuck, and his team.

I wanted to challenge the gym but I ended up stopping to watch two wild Pokemon fight a battle that seemed more like a street brawl. It was a Makuhita and a Hitmonchan, yelling at each other and duking it out. Despite having the size and what I assumed was the level disadvantage, the Makuhita put up quite a fight.

I've always wanted a Pokemon that liked sumo so I decided to catch the Makuhita. The Makuhita got up and immediately raised his fists, despite having just have lost. I tried to comfort it and even offered to heal it but the Makuhita just beckoned me, wanting to face me regardless of his state. I used Mobula to fight it and despite Mobula's inexperience we won and I was allowed to catch him. I've named the Makuhita Toshihide, after my favourite sumo wrestler from when I was a teen.

Since my Pokemon was worn out and it took more time than I expected, I decided to go back to the Pokemon Center. The nurse seemed a bit amused that I was back again so soon but she healed my Pokemon and said Dibra was going to be fine. I'm waiting here in the Pokemon Center for her to do a final check and bring out my Pokemon.

I'll maybe do the gym this evening or not at all. Depends how things turn out after dinner tonight.

October 7
Dibra decided to stay with the team, so I added him to the team and set off towards the Safari Zone. As we passed through Cliff Edge Gate, I saw a sign talking about Route 47 ahead. It said: 'Route 47, A road on a cliff that strikes fear in the hearts of those who dare to pass.' I thought that meant the Pokemon there ahead was dangerous but that's not the case; I didn't see much aside from Magikarp. What it does mean is that there are too many fucking cliff faces to climb to get to our destination.

It's been a long day of climbing but it's nice out here. Peaceful. There isn't much foliage but the waterfalls are beautiful. Not picturesque but natural. Something powerful and concrete but ever-moving forward. There's something really nice out here... or something that makes me wax poetics at least.

October 8
We spent most of the day climbing down the mountain on Route 47. There were several points where I thought we were going the wrong way but I trusted Dibra to lead me down. Eventually, we hit the base of the mountain and found the path to Route 48. Route 48 is much nicer in comparison to Route 47. It's pleasant, with rushing rivers and a verdant forest. The Safari Zone is not too far from here.

I wanted to spend the entirety of tomorrow at the Safari Zone so I pushed myself to get through as much of Route 48 as possible. However, just as I set up camp and started dinner for the team, I was assailed by a familiar, foul stench. It was a Gloom, seeming like it had just woken up due to the noise I was making.

Ordinarily, I would have moved away, sent out a Pokemon to fight, or just ignored it. However, I was tired from the hike as was my team and I wanted this Gloom to stop stinking up the camp, so I threw a Quick Ball at it to scare it away. Very smart of me - to want to get rid of the Gloom... so I caught it and added it to my team permanently.

Whatever. Early start tomorrow. Not going to think about it too much.

October 9 - December 31, Year 1

[phdepression]

October 8- December 31, Year 1

October 9

The Safari Zone is simultaneously an adventure park and a nature reserve. It's designed with the intention to be just an adventure park where you can explore through thirteen different zones and capture Pokemon with bait and... rocks for some reason. I woke up at the crack of dawn and bought the day pass so I could access six of the thirteen zones.

I didn't really plan to catch anything so I didn't bother with any of the guides to help me decide what to hunt for. I just got in the cable car and went off. Because I couldn't bring my Pokemon in, not much happened in between Pokemon.

Firstly, I went to the Plains, where I caught a Galarian Zigzagoon. Not much happened there.

Then I went to the Wetland and tried to throw a rock at the Ducklett but it ran away immediately after, practically crying and squawking. I wasn't entirely comfortable with throwing rocks at the Pokemon after that so I immediately left the Wetlands.

I then went to the Meadow where I saw a Cherubi. I offered it bait and caught it without incident. Thankfully, it's male so I can use it to help Emporio breed a hidden ability Shiinotic.

By then it was about evening time. I had a small meal before I took the cable car to the Rocky Beach to enjoy the sunset. There, I saw a Kingler who didn't seem interested in bait. It attacked me so I quickly got over my rock-related reservations and pelted it with rocks to help it get into a ball.

Then I went to the Savannah but missed out on catching a Bunnelby. It ran away after the first ball. Fortunately, my luck changed immediately and when I went to the Mountain I immediately caught a Dusclops.

They don't have warps here back to Cianwood from the Safari Zone so I'm going to spend the night here. It's going to be a pain walking back but I have a lot of new Pokemon that'll be useful for both breeding and fighting with, so it's worth it.

October 12
Finally back at Cianwood City. Hopefully my next location won't take me to somewhere mountainous. I'm sick of hiking already. It's nice but it's no ocean.

I decided to warp to Olivine and then Ecruteak. Even though two warps isn't enough to make me sick, I've chosen to rest for the rest of the day. I may take the time to shuffle my Pokemon around and train up some lower level ones. I don't plan on doing more gyms until next year but now is the time to train up some of my less used Pokemon.

October 13
In order to meet up with Emporio, I decided to walk to Violet City along Route 37. I had Leona out of her Pokeball with me, since she looked like she needed some fresh air. It was pretty peaceful right up until we encountered a Hawlucha. It was rather large and looked buff but Leona looked ready to fight it despite having the type disadvantage.

I think it was more out of luck than my own skill but the Hawlucha missed its attacks and Leona got some solid hits on it, allowing us to take it down. Regardless, the experience must have been good because she evolved into a Pyroar.

She seems quite pleased with development. She started running around before she insisted for me to get on her back. Must have been eager to use her new strength and energy. Guess I have a new ride Pokemon now, one that's warmer and not as hard as Kosugi. Not that I'm complaining.

October 15
Notebook got destroyed in the Ruins of Alph today. Don't have a lot of paper left. Going to write bullet points for my journal until I can rewrite them. If I can even be bothered to.
- Went to Route 36 and entered the Ruins of Alph
- Went to investigate Ruins
- Got attacked by a sword. Caught the Honedge and named it Jian after the symbols on it.
- Spent two days looking around and travelling on Route 36.

October 17
- Arrived on Route 32
- Encountered an Espurr.
- Long route. Doing training today.

October 21
- Entered the Union cave
- Only encountered Wooper in this cave
- Caves was dark and wet.

October 23
- Arrived on Route 33
- Had a look at Slowpoke Well but didn't go in.
- Got attacked by a Rookidee but shooed it off

October 24
- Entered Azalea Town and helped a Charcadet get back to the Illex Forest.
- Hung around waiting for Emporio.
- Traded Pokemon out from Pokemon Centre

October 25
- Met up with Emporio today
- Traded Harvest the Basculin for Slugger the Slowking
- Put Pause back in the PC so I wouldn't get Slowpoke eggs
- Decided to meet up back at Goldenrod for Halloween
- Spent the rest of day with Emporio

October 26
- Entered Illex Forest
- Got severely lost for five fucking days.
- There's a small shrine in the forest? Nothing of note around. Peacef
- Caught a Tangrowth. Named her Love Deluxe because Tangrowth reminds me of Yukako
- Does not have Yukako's temperament.

October 29
- Finally out of the fucking Forest
- More Jigglypuff around. Probably need to train Sadao up

October 31
- Arrived for Halloween in Goldenrod City
- Helped Beetlejuice with a Duskull possessing him
- Got decked in the face by a Dusknoir
- Fucking weird night.

November 1
- Used warps to get to Olivine City to meet up with Emporio
- Made a plan to explore the rest of Johto
- Started trip along Route 39

November 7
- Travel uneventful.
- Arrived at Route 38.

November 10
- Travel uneventful
- Arrived at Route R37

November 13
- Travel really uneventful
- Arrived at R36

November 16
- Travel uneventful.
- Taking the week to go down R31 and R30.
- Emporio is a good kid. Going to keep helping him with his gym when we get back.

November 23
- Arrived at R29. Almost done the journey

November 26
- Arrived at R36. Almost nostalgic to be back here.

December 1
- Arrived at New Bark Town
- Construction and planning continues for Emporio's gym.

December 5
- Borrowed the Shiinotic from the JKBA to breed for Emporio.

December 6
- Drupe and Shiinotic was bred. Got Eggs immediately????
- Started breeding Crush and Yoh. Got eggs. Will hatch then breed offspring to get Emporio his HA Wiglett.

December 6
- Helping Emporio set up the gym

December 25
- Christmas. Emporio and Jolyne really liked their presents :)

December 31
I took the time to reflect today and I've decided not to keep a journal for next year. Maybe I'll reconsider and write what's been happening out in dot points but I'm really tired. I thought I was getting better but I just feel like I'm drifting at the moment.

I've been dreaming about that day again.

But Jolyne is fine. She is fine and that's all that matters. But I don't think our relationship is going to get any closer. Carly is a good girl though, they'll take care of each other. Emporio is also going to be just fine. He's going to be so busy now his gym has been built and all of his survival classes are started. I'll keep an eye on him but if I disappear, it'll be okay.

I'm not sure what's going to come next for me. Maybe something, maybe nothing. Maybe more gym battles. Maybe more research. But I'm not sure anymore. Travelling hasn't worked. Talking hasn't worked. I don't think anything's really working. Maybe it never did. I feel like I've been dead for a long time.