the very best, pt. xxiii
Welcome back, gentle reader, to The Very Best, our ongoing quest to document the skill and coolness of all the trainers in Pokemon X. Our progress was waylaid somewhat by illness, which made accomplishing tasks somewhat difficult, but we are back and better than ever, for a given value of better. Let's begin.
Lost Woods!
Okay, so I said last time that we'd be doing Snowbelle City this time but that's because I forgot about Route 20, which is a winding lost woods-style labyrinth that isn't actually particularly long but as I emerge from the lethargy that is August it did feel like too much to do on top of the gym. Tasks such as this one require inertia.
Despite not leading anywhere, Route 20 is mandatory; we have to go out there to find Wulfric, the gym leader. What's interesting is there's really nothing else out here. You can meet Mewtwo out here in the postgame, if memory serves, but there's the TM for Energy Ball and a few other random items and . . . that's it. I find myself wondering if it was made mandatory because it is extremely easy to miss otherwise? Anyway.
Route 20: Twins Nana & Nina
Nana and Nina have a level 53 Slurpuff and a level 53 Aromatisse. I feel like I've talked about these Pokemon before but they are kind of fascinating: Slurpuff has a base stat total of 480, but all of the stats are between 72 and 82, so it ends up feeling vastly more mediocre than its BST would suggest. Aromatisse has a worse BST, an abysmal speed, and slightly better HP, Sp. Atk, and Sp. Def; they both end up feeling deeply underwhelming. Skill Rating: 2/5
The twins aren't giving me much to work with here. They want to be the toughest Twins in the world and, honestly, they might be? They remain optimistic about their goal after being defeated, at least, and then they offer some advice about using Protect. Protect is very good in double battles, but I'm not sure either of them use it? Whatever, it's fine, they seem like they've got a bright future ahead of them. Coolness Rating: 3/5
Route 20: Poke Fan Roisin
Roisinh as a level 51 Snubbull and a level 53 Granbull. I think there's probably a world where Granbull is at least okay on a level 53 team, but, c'mon, why haven't we evolved our Snubbull yet. Skill Rating: 1/5
Roisin, as with most Poke Fans, is mostly just excited about showing off her Pokemon. Maybe I'm too hard on the Poke Fan as an archetype but in the world of Pokemon it feels a little like making your whole personality, I don't know, "I love breathing air." Coolness Rating: 2/5
Route 20: Fairy Tale Girl Wynne
Wynne has a level 52 Klefki and a level 52 Azumarill. You may be detecting a theme in this area, and that is "this feels like an area that was originally meant to be, like, level 25 at most". It's nearly all Fairy-types (which is, in fairness, quite a strong type in a vacuum), all of them can be fully evolved by then . . . it's odd. Perhaps they're easy because the area is meant to be a maze? Is it thematic? Skill Rating: 2/5
Wynne is framing her love for Pokemon battles as being in love; she is "head over heels" for them; she says, on being defeated, "Girls in love don't mind if they lose," with a little musical note. This does feel like the sort of mistake a child would make before they really understand what is being said, at least. Coolness Rating: 3/5
Route 20: Poke Fan Corey
Corey has a level 54 Dedenne. Not quite there. Skill Rating: 2/5
Corey is another Poke Fan--his intro line is even identical to Roisin's, suggesting they're a pair, though they aren't hanging out--and normally I'd give him the same rating but he does say, after we defeat him, "Every Trainer's favorite Pokemon is his own Pokemon." This isn't true but it does feel a little bit self-aware, at least: like, yeah, he's a fan, but he kind of understands that this is normal. So, bonus point for Corey. Coolness Rating: 3/5
Route 20: Hex Maniac Desdemona
Desdemona has a level 54 Trevenant. Now, while I don't think Trevenant is amazing at this level, it's at least got the potential to win a fight with a favorable matchup, with solid moves and base stats that are acceptable. I'd rate it more highly with better speed. Desdemona is the clear queen of Route 20, though that is, admittedly, a pretty low bar to clear. Skill Rating: 3/5
Desdemona is doing standard Hex Maniac "my darkness is darker than yours" nonsense. Her dark magic can't be defeated, blah blah, our Pokemon are "shining too brightly" for her dark magic to work, etc etc, "My dark magic will make you even stronger . . . ", look, I'm just as on board with the spooky goth trainers as the next ghost but there are Hex Maniacs who really elevate their art, and Desdemona isn't doing that. Coolness Rating: 3/5
And that's it! A short one this week but I'm trying to build up inertia to get back into performing tasks again. Anyway, next time for reals: a gym, we'll finally have use of Waterfall, and then we are so, so close to the Elite Four. I'll see you then.