Writing PMD: Explorers of Time - PokéBeach Edition! Final Chapter! Help Me Decide The Next One!

Yeah, I figured out setting my 1st attempt of the Drowsee level and played around with it a bit. I had "Growl" set for most of my 2nd attempt, since I liked spamming it to get the XP boost, and then I would manually use Ember/Scratch for the poisoning/slowing enemies to save PP on those moves. Probably wouldn't have bothered being as PP cautious as I was had I known that my PP would refill when I reached the boss, but oh well. >.>

I find that to be a good thing; because blazing through the dungeons your PP is drained like instantaneous to get the max amount of EXP Pts. possible per battling the wild Pokemon.
 
Also, how are you liking the music? In my opinion, it's some of the best in all of nintendo.

I kind of tend to tune out the music because I'm writing and playing at the same time, but I'll try and pay more attention and let you know. :p

Saying that something is "the best in all of Nintendo" is a very tall order, though, considering that Nintendo music includes Zelda music. :U But then, I like Zelda music so much my husband and I had some played as part of our wedding ceremony, so I might be a bit biased...
 
Chapter 4: The Good Dungeon, the Bad Dungeon, and the Ugly Sentry Duty

The next morning, Keeper and I woke up and followed our usual morning routine. Afterwards, we were finally left to our own devices, so we went to check our the Bulletin Boards and see what was available. There were a whole bunch of jobs (3 rescues and 1 bounty) over at the Drenched Bluffs, so we took all of those and headed out on our way. We first stopped by Treasure Town to pick up an Apple for the road and to store some of our items and the rest of our money in the bank, then we headed out in the direction of "Exploration" towards the Bluffs. We went through the dungeon making it all the way to the bottom.... but we didn't come across any of the jobs we'd taken?


<Athena> Ugh, what gives? Where's the stuff we're supposed to do?
<Keeper> I dunno.... I guess we should just go back to the guild and figure it out tomorrow.
<Athena> A whole day wasted. >:|
<Keeper> Well, look on the bright side. Our only expense for this dungeon delve was an apple, and we made much more than that by going through the dungeon, and we got experience, so it's still a profit!
<Athena> So long as you don't count time being worth anything, that is... >.<​


We did go back to the guild, though, rested and relaxed, then started out the next morning. I investigated our job list a bit more and learned that jobs taken must be confirmed and not just added to the "job list", so we hadn't actually formally accepted anything yesterday and that's why it didn't work. *sigh* At least the mystery was solved. We went back to Town to restock and bank, then off to the Bluffs again. We made our way down the third floor and teleported away a Kabuto, rescuing him, and then did the same for a Nidorina trapped on the fourth, and another Kabuto on the fifth.


<Athena> You know, the Guild could probably make some really good money and help a lot of Pokémon if they just sold these magically teleporting badges to everyone.
<Keeper> Yeah, but then we wouldn't have anyone to rescue, so there would be less adventures!
<Athena> You have some odd priorities, Keeper...​


On the sixth floor, we found our bounty target, another Kabuto. Although he was the most difficult Pokémon we'd encountered so far, we beat him down and recovered his stolen goods. While that was the last of our jobs, Keeper and I decided to continue to explore the rest of the dungeon in hopes of more sweet loot, and then it was back home. We received quite a few gifts for our hard work, and then our monetary rewards as well! Plus the stuff we'd picked up in the dungeon, it was definitely a productive day.

The next morning, we were about to go grab more jobs and start as usual, but we were called over, rather loudly, by WPM, and brought over to meet with peer.


<WPM> YOU GUYS GET SENTRY DUTY TODAY.
<Athena> Maaaaaaan, so much for profits. >:|
<peer> I'm sorry, but I need to go help my dad with updating the boards today. :< Please do a good job for me!
<Athena> Fiiiiine.
<peer> Thanks! :3 *scoots off*
<Keeper> So, why are we stuck doing this instead of someone else?
<WPM> SHUT UP AND GO DO WHAT YOU'RE TOLD.
<Keeper> Fine, fine, whatever. What do we need to do.
<WPM> CLIMB DOWN THIS HOLD AND STAND GUARD, DUH.
<Keeper> What are we guarding against?
<WPM> SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS. DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHEN WE EVALUATED YOUR FOOTPRINT, DUMBASS?
<Athena> Oh, yeah, of course. There was some confusion about mine.
<Keeper> So what do we actually do?
<WPM> WHY DO YOU KEEP ASKING ME QUESTIONS? CAN'T YOU FIGURE OUT ANYTHING ON YOUR OWN?
<Keeper> :\
<WPM> *SIGH* LOOK, JUST INSPECT THE FOOTPRINTS THEN TELL ME WHAT POKÉMON THEY ARE.
<Athena> But isn't this just promoting more speciesism? I mean, just yesterday we were involved with 3 Kabutos, 2 of which we rescues and one of which was a dangerous criminal. You can't tell if someone is suspicious just because of thei--
<WPM> SHUT UP AND GO DO WHAT YOU'RE TOLD.
<Athena> Yessir. >.>​


Keeper and I climbed down the hole and found ourselves in a pitch black area and had to feel our way across.


<Keeper> It's pitch black in here, Athena!
<Athena> ...
<Keeper> I guess we'll have to feel our way across.... ope.... whoops! ... ... ... ugh, sorry... ... oh, there, I see light!
<WPM> ARE YOU GUYS IN PLACE YET?
<Athena> Yeah, we're here.
<WPM> ALRIGHT, NOW TO GET WORK!​


And then Keeper and I proceeded to spend the rest of our day playing a mini-game. In theory, the mini-game should be recognizing Pokémon footprints, but in reality it meant waiting until we got to hear a hint about the Pokémon and then selecting the right one based off of that. We managed to get them all right! Tails was so impressed, he threw confetti for us, and even WPM cheered happily. We even got a sweet reward, 500g and some items! Considering how fast this day went compared to a day full of dungeon-delving, it actually didn't end up being a bad deal after all. Keeper and I high-fived and then had a nice fun evening.


Team Awesome:
Athena:
Lv. 13 Charmander (Ember, Growl, Scratch, Smokescreen)
Keeper: Lv. 13 Totodile (Leer, Scratch, Water Gun, Bite)


Player Notes:

Another newbie point goes to Athena. I didn't know you had to confirm jobs after adding them to your job list, so we went though that whole dungeon for nothing. Keeper was right in that we did make a good profit, but it still kind of sucked.

The level of detail I give to filler dungeon dives is probably going to drop unless something cool or amusing happens in that one, otherwise they'll all end up reading the same and updates will be boring. I did want to outline these ones since they were the first, but they'll probably just get summarized in the future, the same way I'm summarizing shopping and morning routine, etc.

I thought I may as well start posting the moves of my Pokémon so you guys can advise or give suggestions on good moves to add/keep, bad ones to drop (or pass over entirely), etc. It seems like move usage in PMD are quite a bit different in the traditional games. Keeper's already learned a 5th move, Bite, that I decided to keep in favour of Rage which seems lackluster.

Kind of a shorter chapter today, but I don't know exactly when plot will happen, and I didn't want to add a bunch of plot on top of what was already in this chapter, so I thought I would just end things here for now. Seemed like as good a place as any. We've got some non-plot dungeoning under our belt, and we did the footprint mini-game, too.

I'm assuming it's standard practice to grab as many jobs for the same dungeon as you can to do a lot in one day, yes? Seems like an obvious strategy to me. Going back to this particular dungeon was rather easy, but it had the most jobs available, so I figured it would be decent. Not much experience, but still enough to gain a level, so I'm happy enough. :U

For those of you who are new to reading my playthroughs, I don't really have a lot of connected PC time (usually I just check in sparsely to check up on the forums here and there throughout the day), so don't expect another update until Monday. There are occasional times when I post weekend updates, but they're rare. I probably will play a bit, just in case there's more filler dungeons, and take some notes in case I suddenly find myself with some plot. Unfortunately, I can't find a good place with a script of this game to reference (I did a lot of script referencing for my FE:A playthrough), so plot stuff either needs to be done at PC or with detailed notes, otherwise I'll forget a lot of it. >.<

On the bright side, nobody died today! \o/
 
What I like to do is race myself when I play Sentry Duty to get the highest amount of points possible. I can do it really well now and have scored over 10,000 points twice.

(The points drain as the clock does; so as you spend more time listening to Loudred/WPM, the more time wasted and the less points you'll get. However, if you are stumped with a specific footprint it doesn't hurt to get a hint so you don't needlessly waste a "save".)
 
Yeah, I figure I'll probably learn the various footprints and get better as the game progresses, though I usually don't do super great at these kind of memorizing things.
 
Thena, the story progresses as your rank goes up I think. Not sure if it's every time, but plot stuff will happen next time you rank up at this point for sure. Not sure where you find points until next rank, but it is somewhere. Play with the menus a bit until you find it IMO :p
 
Ah, cool, that's very handy! Points to next rank shows right in a box that pops up when I hope the menu. Seems like I have 35 points until next rank, so 1 more dungeon delve should do it if I can combo a bunch again. I think I got ~15 points or so for each mission I completed today.
 
Did my last round of random dungeoning and made it to the Bronze Rank! I managed to snag 5 jobs all in Mt. Bristle (2 Bounties and 3 Rescues), so I ended up with quite a lot of loot and decent exp, too, since that's the toughest dungeon I've unlocked so far. Got my first 2 TMs as rewards, Swords Dance and.... Swords Dance. Good job there, RNG. One of the bounties I had to take in was a Doduo, which was kind of hilarious because it still had the "Run Away" ability or whatever that caused it to panic and flee when it got to low health, so I had to chase it around the floor until it ran into a Nidorina and couldn't move anymore. No death, either.

I stopped there since it seems like plot is coming, so I should get the next official chapter in tomorrow. I'll probably just gloss over this day's dungeoning events, so I thought I'd chat a bit about it now.
 
Chapter 5: The obviously named waterfall

And so Keeper and I had fun exploring dungeons, and saving dumb Pokémon that went into dungeons and got stuck, and earning rewards totally out of line with out actions. One Jigglypuff in particular rewarded us with 2 gummies and a TM just for retrieving her stolen Heal Seed. I guess there are sometimes when sentimental value outweighs monetary value. Oh well. I'm not going to complain. :U

One morning, we woke up and went out to the group morning meeting like usual, but there was a bit of a change to our standard routine.


<Tails> So, uh, you guys know Treeshroud Forest up in the north east, right?
<Athena> Nope.
<Tails> Well, it's in the north east.
<Athena> That explains everything.
<Tails> Also, time has stopped there for some reason.
<Everyone> lolwut?
<Tails> Yep, I'm afraid so. No wind, clouds aren't moving, even raindrops are staying still in the air.
<Teal> Wait, how is this even a thing? I mean, it doesn't even make sense.
<Tails> It's because of.... THE TIME GEAR. It was STOLEN.
<Everyone> *shocked gasp*
<peer> Not the Time Gear!
<MtC> Why would someone take a Time Gear?
<Tails> Well, Officer DNA is on the case. At this point, though, we're mostly concerned about the other Time Gears begin stolen, too, so keep an eye out for any extra suspicious characters. Anyway, that's all we're going to talk about that plot point for now, so go on and do your jobs! Except you two.​


Keeper and I dutifully waited while everyone else filed out of the room and off to do their work. When we were alone, Tails came up to us.


<Tails> You know, for newbies, we've been pretty proud of your work so far.
<Keeper> Hurray! Thanks!
<Tails> So, we're finally giving you your first proper job!
<Keeper> :'D
<Tails> Can I see your map, please? *ahem* See this waterfall over here? It looks like just a regular waterfall, but.... we got a tip that there might be a sekrit hidden there!
<Athena> :O!
<Tails> So, we want you guys to go check it out and figure out if there's a sekrit or anything else cool.
<Keeper> Our first real exploration! I'm so excited... ;~;
<Athena> You look more like you're about to pass out...
<Keeper> I'll be fine. Let's goooooo!​


We went upstairs and were about to leave, but we were called off to the side by MtC who had set up a stand off to the side. Surprisingly enough, his stand did not contain an effigy of himself.


<MtC> Hey, 'sup?
<Keeper> 'Sup.
<MtC> I've decided to make an Assembly thing!
<Athena> You mean like those things in school where everyone sites in the Gym and you watch some guy give an educational puppet show or whatever?
<MtC> lolno. This is for assembling your team!
<Keeper> You mean like adding more Pokémon to adventure with us?
<MtC> Exactly! You can recruit Pokémon to help you out.
<Athena> So, how do we start?
<MtC> Let me ring the.... FRIENDSHIP BELL. *ding ding* There, now you have the power to recruit Pokémon.
<Athena> That's it? You just shook your head and now we can have more Pokémon traveling with us?
<MtC> Yep! :D If you defeat Pokémon in dungeons and stuff, you might earn some respect from them, and if you earn enough respect, they might ask to join! ANd once they do, you can bring them along to dungeons and stuff.
<Athena> Once again, the explanation is kind of mediocre... but I'm happy to be able to recruit new Pokémon, so sure.
<MtC> To pick which Pokémon come with you, come visit me here and I'll get your team assembled!
<Athena> Cool, thanks, I think.​


Keeper and I went to town to do a bit of shopping and storing, then we made our way off to the waterfall that was creatively named Secret Waterfall.


<Keeper> Ouch! That's water's coming down super hard. :<
<Athena> If it's bad for you, Mr. Water-type, imagine how I feel? :|
<Keeper> So.... how are we supposed to explore this? :\
<Athena> Wait, hold on a sec, I'm getting a conspicuously conveniently-timed vision. I see... a Pokémon.... running and leaping into a certain spot in the waterfall and landing in a hidden cave inside.
<Keeper> So, there's some kind of secret entrance, you think? What if you're wrong, though, and we just jump into a rock wall with water pounding down on us? >_>
<Athena> Yeah, well, last time you didn't believe me and my visions, Porygon-X got kidnapped, so I think you owe me this time.
<Keeper> Fair enough. Let's do this!​


We both backed up and took a running leap at the same time, crashing through the waterfall.... and into the cave beyond.


<Athena> Told you so!
<Keeper> Yeah, but it still hurts.... :<
<Athena> Well, brush yourself off and let's go do some exploring!​


And so we began our exploration of the Secret Waterfall. I had to be careful with all of the Water-type Pokémon running around! We also recruited our first new team member, a Poliwag. He didn't seem like much, but any help is better than none. Then again, he didn't last that long either, getting defeated by a Surskit on the next floor, so we replaced him with a Lotad, and then added a Wooper onto our team as well.

Finally, we made it down to the bottom of the cave to a room filled with... glittering gems! The very back of the cave held a particularly large gem resting on some rocks. It was such a large gem that if we sold it, we'd be instantly rich.


<Keeper> Whoa, check out that particularly large gem! If we sold it, we'd be instantly rich!
<Athena> Indeed.
<Keeper> Such an incredible treasure.... my precious.... I must have it! ... but it's stuck. :<
<Athena> Here, lemme try.... nope, not going anywhere.
<Keeper> Well, we can't just leave it here! We have to keep trying! Urrrrrrk....
<Athena> Oh, wait, *^$%^, I'm having another vision.
<Keeper> Oooh, maybe your vision will help us!
<Athena> I see.... I see the same Pokémon I saw before approaching the gem, trying to move it... and he's successful!
<Keeper> Woohoo!
<Athena> But as soon as he makes it, a huge wave comes and....
<Keeper> Oh, look, it's moving! I've got it!
<Athena> ... and washes him away.
<Keeper> What's that sound I hear.
<Athena> Oh god, I need to protect my tail....​


As predicted, a huge wave of water suddenly came rushing in from the side and washed us all away, me, Keeper, and our new Pokémon companions as well. We were swept out and away and landed in a giant pool. The pool was hosting a few other Pokémon, including a Teddiursa, and a large Torkoal sat on the bank and watched everyone.


<Teddiursa> Dudes, you okay? You scared the crap out of me bro.
<Keeper> Ugh... where are we?
<Teddiursa> The Hot Spring, of course!
<Keeper> Hot springs...?
<Rusty Sticks> Nope, Hot Spring. Just one, capital letters.
<Keeper> Okay, Hot Spring, got it.
<Rusty> The hot water is nice and soothing for your muscles and joints, so we get a lot of visitors!
<Athena> Now that you mention it, this does feel pretty nice after that long dungeon trek...
<Rusty> Here, lemme see your map. *points* That's where you are now, see?
<Keeper> Oh, hey, it looks like the water from the waterfall carried us all the way over here.
<Rusty? Whoa, you rode the water here, man? That's super sweet.
<Athena> Yeah, it was kind of a crazy journey.
<Rusty> Well, rest up here and enjoy, bros.​


And so we did. Keeper and I had fun playing in the water and washing away the dirt of our exploration. Then, we gathered up our belongings and made our way back to the Guild where we reported our findings to Tails.


<Tails> So, there's a cave behind the waterfall that you jumped into, a mystery dungeon inside the cave, and the very last floor contains a gem that's secretly a trap and triggers a huge wave that carried you away to the Hot Spring?
<Athena> That's a pretty accurate tl;dr of today's chapter, yeah.
<Keeper> If only we could have brought back that huge gem.... :<
<Tails> Forget the gem. This is a huge discovery!
<Keeper> Wait, really?
<Tails> Yeah! We never even knew that cave existed before!
<Keeper> Oh, sweet! We discovered something new. :D
<Tails> We have to go tell Guildmaster IA about this immediately!
<Athena> But... in my visions... that Pokémon I saw... I'm pretty sure it was a Wigglytuff, just like IA! Could it be that he already discovered that cave?
<Tails> Pfft, of course not. If he knew about the cave, he wouldn't have told you to explore it, would he have?
<Athena? Maybe not, but still.... I am pretty sure it was a Wigglytuff.
<Tails> Well, I'll go ask him. *flies off*​


Keeper and I stood around waiting for a few minutes, and eventually Tails came back.


<Keeper> Well? What did he say?
<Tails> He said.... "Oh, memories of my youth, like the scent of fresh lemon.... YOOM TAH!" And then he danced around for a bit.
<Keeper> So, uh.... does that mean he was there or not?
<Tails> Eventually he did clarify, yes. Athena was right. IA has already been in that cave.
<Keeper> So we didn't find a new thing after all? Such a bummer. :<
<Tails> Yeah, well, IA's a few playing cards short of a full deck even at the best of times. I guess this sort of confusion is to be expected.
<Keeper> :<
<Tails> Oh well, I expect a full day's worth of work out of you tomorrow, now! For now, go grab some dinner.​


No gem, no discovery, and no reward... with heavy hearts, we made our way to dinner and then eventually to bed. The Hot Spring had indeed helped us recover, but we were still both very worn out from the day's events.


<Keeper> You know, 'Thena... today might have sucked, but it was also fun, too. Our first real exploration!
<Athena> Yeah, it was pretty cool.
<Keeper> Thanks for making an exploration team with me. You've helped me find my courage. <3
<Athena> <3
<Keeper> By the way, I did notice something about your dizzy spells....
<Athena? Oh? :O
<Keeper> You always seem to be touching something when they happen.
<Athena> Huh, I guess you're right, Never really thought about it before.
<Keeper> The first time was when....
<Athena> It's fine, you don't have to list them, all, really. I see the pattern, too. I guess when I touch something, I get a vision related to it.
<Keeper> You've also seen stuff both in the future and in the past.
<Athena> Yeah, that's true....
<Keeper> This is some cool power you've got! It could be so useful! Not just for exploring, but all sorts of things!
<Athena> I can't really control is at all yet, though. I mean, it's not like I get visions every time I touch something.
<Tails> *flies in* Hey guys, before you crash for the night, the Guildmaster wants to talk to you!
<Athena> Why does nobody ever knock...​


Keeper and I followed tails out of our room and out to IA's office.


<IA> Yay, Team Awesome! Welcome. :3
<Keeper> Uh, hi Guildmaster...
<IA> I wanted to let you guys know that we're planning on mounting a formal expedition soon!
<Keeper> :O?
<Tails> We're going to go explore someplace far away! Because we'll be traveling so far, we have a lot of prep work to do to prepare. We also very carefully select who is and isn't allowed to join us.
<IA> Usually we wouldn't consider bringing along such a rookie team, but, well, you are the main characters of the game and all. So, we're willing to make an exception in your case.
<Tails> Of course, we haven't totally decided you'll be allowed to come. You still need to work hard and do a bunch of filler dungeons and work up your ranks and exp.
<IA> But I have faith in you. You're the main characters! You can do anything if you try hard and don't forget to save.
<Keeper> I'm so happy.... :'D​


Team Awesome:
Athena:
Lv. 14 Charmander (Ember, Growl, Scratch, Smokescreen)
Keeper: Lv. 14 Totodile (Leer, Scratch, Water Gun, Bite)

Available Teammates: Lotad (L11), Wooper (L11)


Player Notes:

And so, we reach more plot! I was thinking/hoping we'd get into Groyvle a bit, but it seems they're still just hinting at that overall plotline. Instead, we discover a few more places and unlock some new gameplay mechanics, such as recruiting Pokémon to join the horde. For now, I'm just kind of having them follow along with me and attack as I go. The AI in this game seems to be dumb as bricks (in fact, Keeper keeps consistently healing the enemy Pokémon with his Water Gun -_-), so I'm mostly just keeping them with me, though I guess it doesn't matter all too much if they get KOed, so I may as well send them out to explore and fight dudes and whatever.

I've already started easing down a bit on my "explore everything" mantra in this dungeon because the enemies hit me pretty hard when they're smart enough to use Water-type attacks. There was someone running around with a Rock-type attack too that also hurt a lot. I found myself not quite as eager to explore, and would also let Keeper take point while I stood in back and threw rocks. :U

I haven't actually checked this yet, but is the Poliwag that was on my team and got KOed still a potential teammate or because he got KOed is he just gone? Also, I'm pretty sure I heard/read 4 Pokémon is the limit for my team at a time, but can I still recruit Pokémon even if I currently have 4 Pokémon in my current team? Any other recruitment tips I should keep in mind? Typically, I'm the kind of person in a main series Pokémon game that just catches and trains a few Pokémon; is that a valid strategy here as well, or should I focus on building up a larger pool of possibilities?

Also, is the "Rank Up = More Plot" in affect throughout the whole game? If so, that might start slowing down my updates. I did notice that I have like ~215 rank points needed for the next level, which is a lot of random dungeons before I can even start the plot-related bits. Depending on how long it takes in the future, I might do mini-updates about my shenanigans in the filler dungeons, otherwise I'll just try and take notes and include new recruits or any other interesting tidbits when I do the next full update.

In the meantime, hope you guys enjoy my bumbling though the game!
 
When you recruit a new guy, he needs to make it out of the dungeon alive, or you have to send him back. Otherwise, if he dies during the run where you recruited him, he's gone.
You can recruit any number of mons. They'll just go in your PC box... er, Assembly (though I never ever ran with a full team of four, I preferred keeping just the main chars for more exp). So I can't give any recruitment/teambuilding tips, since I never did that part.
Oh, and I think there's an option or something that allows you to choose which moves other mons in your team may or may not use, as well as using only moves or only autoattacks. Play around with the options and stuff a bit, I'm sure you'll find some helpful stuff.
Waterfall Cave is a pretty annoying, irrelevant piece of plot that mostly just demonstrates you're a seer, so good thing it's out. Keep it up.
 
Chapter 5: The obviously named waterfall

And so Keeper and I had fun exploring dungeons, and saving dumb Pokémon that went into dungeons and got stuck, and earning rewards totally out of line with out actions. One Jigglypuff in particular rewarded us with 2 gummies and a TM just for retrieving her stolen Heal Seed. I guess there are sometimes when sentimental value outweighs monetary value. Oh well. I'm not going to complain. :U

One morning, we woke up and went out to the group morning meeting like usual, but there was a bit of a change to our standard routine.


<Tails> So, uh, you guys know Treeshroud Forest up in the north east, right?
<Athena> Nope.
<Tails> Well, it's in the north east.
<Athena> That explains everything.
<Tails> Also, time has stopped there for some reason.
<Everyone> lolwut?
<Tails> Yep, I'm afraid so. No wind, clouds aren't moving, even raindrops are staying still in the air.
<Teal> Wait, how is this even a thing? I mean, it doesn't even make sense.
<Tails> It's because of.... THE TIME GEAR. It was STOLEN.
<Everyone> *shocked gasp*
<peer> Not the Time Gear!
<MtC> Why would someone take a Time Gear?
<Tails> Well, Officer DNA is on the case. At this point, though, we're mostly concerned about the other Time Gears begin stolen, too, so keep an eye out for any extra suspicious characters. Anyway, that's all we're going to talk about that plot point for now, so go on and do your jobs! Except you two.​


Keeper and I dutifully waited while everyone else filed out of the room and off to do their work. When we were alone, Tails came up to us.


<Tails> You know, for newbies, we've been pretty proud of your work so far.
<Keeper> Hurray! Thanks!
<Tails> So, we're finally giving you your first proper job!
<Keeper> :'D
<Tails> Can I see your map, please? *ahem* See this waterfall over here? It looks like just a regular waterfall, but.... we got a tip that there might be a sekrit hidden there!
<Athena> :O!
<Tails> So, we want you guys to go check it out and figure out if there's a sekrit or anything else cool.
<Keeper> Our first real exploration! I'm so excited... ;~;
<Athena> You look more like you're about to pass out...
<Keeper> I'll be fine. Let's goooooo!​


We went upstairs and were about to leave, but we were called off to the side by MtC who had set up a stand off to the side. Surprisingly enough, his stand did not contain an effigy of himself.


<MtC> Hey, 'sup?
<Keeper> 'Sup.
<MtC> I've decided to make an Assembly thing!
<Athena> You mean like those things in school where everyone sites in the Gym and you watch some guy give an educational puppet show or whatever?
<MtC> lolno. This is for assembling your team!
<Keeper> You mean like adding more Pokémon to adventure with us?
<MtC> Exactly! You can recruit Pokémon to help you out.
<Athena> So, how do we start?
<MtC> Let me ring the.... FRIENDSHIP BELL. *ding ding* There, now you have the power to recruit Pokémon.
<Athena> That's it? You just shook your head and now we can have more Pokémon traveling with us?
<MtC> Yep! :D If you defeat Pokémon in dungeons and stuff, you might earn some respect from them, and if you earn enough respect, they might ask to join! ANd once they do, you can bring them along to dungeons and stuff.
<Athena> Once again, the explanation is kind of mediocre... but I'm happy to be able to recruit new Pokémon, so sure.
<MtC> To pick which Pokémon come with you, come visit me here and I'll get your team assembled!
<Athena> Cool, thanks, I think.​


Keeper and I went to town to do a bit of shopping and storing, then we made our way off to the waterfall that was creatively named Secret Waterfall.


<Keeper> Ouch! That's water's coming down super hard. :<
<Athena> If it's bad for you, Mr. Water-type, imagine how I feel? :|
<Keeper> So.... how are we supposed to explore this? :\
<Athena> Wait, hold on a sec, I'm getting a conspicuously conveniently-timed vision. I see... a Pokémon.... running and leaping into a certain spot in the waterfall and landing in a hidden cave inside.
<Keeper> So, there's some kind of secret entrance, you think? What if you're wrong, though, and we just jump into a rock wall with water pounding down on us? >_>
<Athena> Yeah, well, last time you didn't believe me and my visions, Porygon-X got kidnapped, so I think you owe me this time.
<Keeper> Fair enough. Let's do this!​


We both backed up and took a running leap at the same time, crashing through the waterfall.... and into the cave beyond.


<Athena> Told you so!
<Keeper> Yeah, but it still hurts.... :<
<Athena> Well, brush yourself off and let's go do some exploring!​


And so we began our exploration of the Secret Waterfall. I had to be careful with all of the Water-type Pokémon running around! We also recruited our first new team member, a Poliwag. He didn't seem like much, but any help is better than none. Then again, he didn't last that long either, getting defeated by a Surskit on the next floor, so we replaced him with a Lotad, and then added a Wooper onto our team as well.

Finally, we made it down to the bottom of the cave to a room filled with... glittering gems! The very back of the cave held a particularly large gem resting on some rocks. It was such a large gem that if we sold it, we'd be instantly rich.


<Keeper> Whoa, check out that particularly large gem! If we sold it, we'd be instantly rich!
<Athena> Indeed.
<Keeper> Such an incredible treasure.... my precious.... I must have it! ... but it's stuck. :<
<Athena> Here, lemme try.... nope, not going anywhere.
<Keeper> Well, we can't just leave it here! We have to keep trying! Urrrrrrk....
<Athena> Oh, wait, *^$%^, I'm having another vision.
<Keeper> Oooh, maybe your vision will help us!
<Athena> I see.... I see the same Pokémon I saw before approaching the gem, trying to move it... and he's successful!
<Keeper> Woohoo!
<Athena> But as soon as he makes it, a huge wave comes and....
<Keeper> Oh, look, it's moving! I've got it!
<Athena> ... and washes him away.
<Keeper> What's that sound I hear.
<Athena> Oh god, I need to protect my tail....​


As predicted, a huge wave of water suddenly came rushing in from the side and washed us all away, me, Keeper, and our new Pokémon companions as well. We were swept out and away and landed in a giant pool. The pool was hosting a few other Pokémon, including a Teddiursa, and a large Torkoal sat on the bank and watched everyone.


<Teddiursa> Dudes, you okay? You scared the crap out of me bro.
<Keeper> Ugh... where are we?
<Teddiursa> The Hot Spring, of course!
<Keeper> Hot springs...?
<Rusty Sticks> Nope, Hot Spring. Just one, capital letters.
<Keeper> Okay, Hot Spring, got it.
<Rusty> The hot water is nice and soothing for your muscles and joints, so we get a lot of visitors!
<Athena> Now that you mention it, this does feel pretty nice after that long dungeon trek...
<Rusty> Here, lemme see your map. *points* That's where you are now, see?
<Keeper> Oh, hey, it looks like the water from the waterfall carried us all the way over here.
<Rusty? Whoa, you rode the water here, man? That's super sweet.
<Athena> Yeah, it was kind of a crazy journey.
<Rusty> Well, rest up here and enjoy, bros.​


And so we did. Keeper and I had fun playing in the water and washing away the dirt of our exploration. Then, we gathered up our belongings and made our way back to the Guild where we reported our findings to Tails.


<Tails> So, there's a cave behind the waterfall that you jumped into, a mystery dungeon inside the cave, and the very last floor contains a gem that's secretly a trap and triggers a huge wave that carried you away to the Hot Spring?
<Athena> That's a pretty accurate tl;dr of today's chapter, yeah.
<Keeper> If only we could have brought back that huge gem.... :<
<Tails> Forget the gem. This is a huge discovery!
<Keeper> Wait, really?
<Tails> Yeah! We never even knew that cave existed before!
<Keeper> Oh, sweet! We discovered something new. :D
<Tails> We have to go tell Guildmaster IA about this immediately!
<Athena> But... in my visions... that Pokémon I saw... I'm pretty sure it was a Wigglytuff, just like IA! Could it be that he already discovered that cave?
<Tails> Pfft, of course not. If he knew about the cave, he wouldn't have told you to explore it, would he have?
<Athena? Maybe not, but still.... I am pretty sure it was a Wigglytuff.
<Tails> Well, I'll go ask him. *flies off*​


Keeper and I stood around waiting for a few minutes, and eventually Tails came back.


<Keeper> Well? What did he say?
<Tails> He said.... "Oh, memories of my youth, like the scent of fresh lemon.... YOOM TAH!" And then he danced around for a bit.
<Keeper> So, uh.... does that mean he was there or not?
<Tails> Eventually he did clarify, yes. Athena was right. IA has already been in that cave.
<Keeper> So we didn't find a new thing after all? Such a bummer. :<
<Tails> Yeah, well, IA's a few playing cards short of a full deck even at the best of times. I guess this sort of confusion is to be expected.
<Keeper> :<
<Tails> Oh well, I expect a full day's worth of work out of you tomorrow, now! For now, go grab some dinner.​


No gem, no discovery, and no reward... with heavy hearts, we made our way to dinner and then eventually to bed. The Hot Spring had indeed helped us recover, but we were still both very worn out from the day's events.


<Keeper> You know, 'Thena... today might have sucked, but it was also fun, too. Our first real exploration!
<Athena> Yeah, it was pretty cool.
<Keeper> Thanks for making an exploration team with me. You've helped me find my courage. <3
<Athena> <3
<Keeper> By the way, I did notice something about your dizzy spells....
<Athena? Oh? :O
<Keeper> You always seem to be touching something when they happen.
<Athena> Huh, I guess you're right, Never really thought about it before.
<Keeper> The first time was when....
<Athena> It's fine, you don't have to list them, all, really. I see the pattern, too. I guess when I touch something, I get a vision related to it.
<Keeper> You've also seen stuff both in the future and in the past.
<Athena> Yeah, that's true....
<Keeper> This is some cool power you've got! It could be so useful! Not just for exploring, but all sorts of things!
<Athena> I can't really control is at all yet, though. I mean, it's not like I get visions every time I touch something.
<Tails> *flies in* Hey guys, before you crash for the night, the Guildmaster wants to talk to you!
<Athena> Why does nobody ever knock...​


Keeper and I followed tails out of our room and out to IA's office.


<IA> Yay, Team Awesome! Welcome. :3
<Keeper> Uh, hi Guildmaster...
<IA> I wanted to let you guys know that we're planning on mounting a formal expedition soon!
<Keeper> :O?
<Tails> We're going to go explore someplace far away! Because we'll be traveling so far, we have a lot of prep work to do to prepare. We also very carefully select who is and isn't allowed to join us.
<IA> Usually we wouldn't consider bringing along such a rookie team, but, well, you are the main characters of the game and all. So, we're willing to make an exception in your case.
<Tails> Of course, we haven't totally decided you'll be allowed to come. You still need to work hard and do a bunch of filler dungeons and work up your ranks and exp.
<IA> But I have faith in you. You're the main characters! You can do anything if you try hard and don't forget to save.
<Keeper> I'm so happy.... :'D​


Team Awesome:
Athena:
Lv. 14 Charmander (Ember, Growl, Scratch, Smokescreen)
Keeper: Lv. 14 Totodile (Leer, Scratch, Water Gun, Bite)

Available Teammates: Lotad (L11), Wooper (L11)


Player Notes:

And so, we reach more plot! I was thinking/hoping we'd get into Groyvle a bit, but it seems they're still just hinting at that overall plotline. Instead, we discover a few more places and unlock some new gameplay mechanics, such as recruiting Pokémon to join the horde. For now, I'm just kind of having them follow along with me and attack as I go. The AI in this game seems to be dumb as bricks (in fact, Keeper keeps consistently healing the enemy Pokémon with his Water Gun -_-), so I'm mostly just keeping them with me, though I guess it doesn't matter all too much if they get KOed, so I may as well send them out to explore and fight dudes and whatever.

I've already started easing down a bit on my "explore everything" mantra in this dungeon because the enemies hit me pretty hard when they're smart enough to use Water-type attacks. There was someone running around with a Rock-type attack too that also hurt a lot. I found myself not quite as eager to explore, and would also let Keeper take point while I stood in back and threw rocks. :U

I haven't actually checked this yet, but is the Poliwag that was on my team and got KOed still a potential teammate or because he got KOed is he just gone? Also, I'm pretty sure I heard/read 4 Pokémon is the limit for my team at a time, but can I still recruit Pokémon even if I currently have 4 Pokémon in my current team? Any other recruitment tips I should keep in mind? Typically, I'm the kind of person in a main series Pokémon game that just catches and trains a few Pokémon; is that a valid strategy here as well, or should I focus on building up a larger pool of possibilities?

Also, is the "Rank Up = More Plot" in affect throughout the whole game? If so, that might start slowing down my updates. I did notice that I have like ~215 rank points needed for the next level, which is a lot of random dungeons before I can even start the plot-related bits. Depending on how long it takes in the future, I might do mini-updates about my shenanigans in the filler dungeons, otherwise I'll just try and take notes and include new recruits or any other interesting tidbits when I do the next full update.

In the meantime, hope you guys enjoy my bumbling though the game!
[In Character] Nope. I'm going to taunt the fact that you know I'm in this game but I'm not letting you see me :p

[As thegrovylekid] Great chapter, Athena!
 
If it's actually feasible for me to play through the game with just me and Keeper for the dungeons, I actually might just stick to that. I'll admit that I don't actually relish the idea of keeping track of a bunch of AI-controlled 'mons with various levels of control. The only kind of "tactics" that I've seen so far are very basic options like "stick by the PC character" or "run around and find stuff to attack". Do I unlock more as the game progresses or am I just thinking of the wrong thing and/or looking in the wrong place?
 
If it's actually feasible for me to play through the game with just me and Keeper for the dungeons, I actually might just stick to that. I'll admit that I don't actually relish the idea of keeping track of a bunch of AI-controlled 'mons with various levels of control. The only kind of "tactics" that I've seen so far are very basic options like "stick by the PC character" or "run around and find stuff to attack". Do I unlock more as the game progresses or am I just thinking of the wrong thing and/or looking in the wrong place?
You unlock more as their IQ goes up [I think this applies to your partner, too] A character you'll meet later has one called "PP Saver". You can upgrade their IQ by feeding them Gummis.
 
Yeah, I've mostly been feeding the gummis to my PC, though I found some Blue ones in Waterfall Cave that I gave to Keeper since they matched his type and he even learned a new skill thing. I didn't think that was related to battle tactics, though, whoops. >.>
 
"Exclusive Move User" is an IQ Skill that causes the Pokemon to only use one of its four moves. They would stop using the move if its linked with another move and using it one more time would break the link.
 
You can easily play with just the main chars, or at least it was for me. And it's much more convenient.
 
Playing with just the main would be quite possible. Some of the future dungeons don't allow you to bring extra team members anyway, so focusing on leveling the two characters would probably be most helpful in the long run.

(in fact, Keeper keeps consistently healing the enemy Pokémon with his Water Gun -_-)
B-But... They looked thirsty! :<
 
I guess that's settled, then. I'll focus on Keeper and Athena and just let other guys tag along when they recruit, if/when that happens.
 
Spoiler: The Hidden Land and Temporal Tower do not allow anyone BUT the player and partner.

I find half the fun of the PMD series is the interchangeability with having recruits tag along making some dungeons cakewalks and some dungeons being chessmatch-like challenges.

Can't win 'em all.
 
Chapter 6: ITC: Athena and Keeper suck at exploring

The next morning, Keeper and I woke up and started our morning routines. The morning meeting was shaken up a bit by the announcement of the coming expedition, and everyone was excited, hoping to prove themselves. We dispersed even faster than normal, everyone running off to complete as many jobs as they could to earn a spot on the team. Keeper and I were also eager, but when we approached the job board, we noticed a couple familiar faces...


<Keeper> A Zubat and a Koffing hanging out together... why does this seem familiar to me...
<Athena> You really don't remember bbninjas and Celever? o_o;
<Keeper> Oh, wait, it's coming back to me now, the day we met...
<Athena> Yes, yes, they're the same ones that stole your magic rock. You don't have to go into full-blown flashback mode; it was only a couple days ago!
<bbninjas> Oh, hey losers.
<Keeper> Wh-What are you guys doing here?
<Celever> We're an exploration team too, duh. Team Skull!
<bbninjas> Nothing shady about an exploration team looking for jobs to do, is there?
<Athena> No, I suppose not.
<Celever> So, really, the question should be... why are you chumps going here?
<Keeper> We're an exploration team, too! >:|
<bbninjas> Really? You? Wahahahahahaha!
<Celever> I would have thought you were much too chicken to be on an exploration team.
<Keeper> Well, I might be kind of scared sometimes, a little bit, but I'm working really hard! And Athena and I are going to make it onto the final team for that expedition, so there!
<bbninjas> It's going to take a bit more than hard work and dedication to get picked for that team, kid.
<Celever> Yeah, that's something important you lack.
<Keeper> Oh?
<bbninjas> Talent.
<bbninjas & Celever> *high five*
<Keeper> Yeah, well, if you think I'm bad, then how awful must you guys be since we managed to beat you when you stole my rock!
<Celever> Sure, you beat us, but it wasn't a fair fight. If we had the Chief with us, things would have been different.
<bbninjas> Yeah! Chief Vom could beat you both with all four paws tied behind his back!
<Celever> In fact, I can smell him coming now...​


I, too, had noticed the smell of something, and the source revealed itself soon when a large Skuntank made its way down the ladder. It hits me with a spray of noxious gas, then snickers and goes off to confer with bbninjas and Celever.


<Vom> Hey dudes, how's it hanging?
<Celever> Everything's fine just fine chief!
<bbninjas> Fine just fine!
<Vom> Fine. You guys find any good jobs yet?
<Celever> Eh, all these jobs are the board are pretty weak, but there's an expedition coming up soon.
<Vom> Ooooh, that sounds like some nice potential profits. Come on, let's go run off and do some evil plotting.
<bbninjas> Yay, plotting!​


As Team Skull wandered off, I managed to shake off the worst of the smell and get back on my feet, though I was still a bit dizzy. Man, I would have killed for a shower.


<Keeper> Sorry for not standing up to them for you, Athena. I really am a chicken.... :\
<Athena> Nah, you're already improving quite a lot!
<Keeper> Maybe, but I still feel like a loser sometimes. :< I'll do my best, though!
<Athena> That's all any of us can do, so let's go get some jobs and get to work. :3​


There were sadly no bounties available which limited our options considerably, but we were able to pick up a trio of jobs over at Mt. Bristle. We geared up and set off, working our way through the levels. We also made a couple new friends, a Spinarak and a Geodude, both of which were eager to help us on our quests.

We reached our first destination floor and I spotted our target, a Lileep. Keeper pulled out our job list to take a look and see what we're supposed to do.


<Athena> Probably a rescue, right? These silly Pokémon getting trapped in dungeons....
<Keeper> Nope, not a rescue, actually. This guy wants us to bring him a sleep seed.
<Athena> A sleep seed, eh? We probably have a billion of those stupid things by now. Let's just take a look through the bag...
<Keeper> Heal seed... blast seed.... joy seed.... no sleep seed. :\
<Athena> ^&*(&$ Well, uh, let's just head around the rest of this floor and see if maybe we can find one... >_>​


We sadly had no luck finding a sleep seed, so to avoid any potential embarrassment, we simply went up the stairs and moved on to our second destination floor. We explored around and found a few items, though our bag was full, so most of them we either passed up or ate immediately. When we had finally seen every floor and passageway.... we still had no idea what our mission goal was supposed to be! There were no lost Pokémon or anything in sight, and we'd received no notifications of completed jobs.


<Keeper> Hmm... let me take a look at the mission objectives and see what it says for this floor.
<Athena> So, what's the word?
<Keeper> *reads* We were supposed to retrieve a... royal gummi.
<Athena> You mean like that royal gummy that I picked up off the floor and ate immediately? >_>
<Keeper> Yep, that's probably the one.
<Athena> .... ._.;;
<Keeper> Well, at least there's still one more mission for this dungeon, so it won't be a complete waste, right?
<Athena> Let's look it up now just to make sure we don't screw ourselves over again.
<Keeper> *reads* Looks like it's just a simple rescue mission this time.
<Athena> Alright, finally, let's do it.​


We made it to the last floor and rescue the Shellos, then hurried up to finish the rest of the dungeon. I had no desire to spend more time contemplating my failures than I had to. We got a nice reward and some points for helping the poor Shellos, at least. Oh well. Tomorrow would hopefully be a more successful day.

... Except that tomorrow we were called for Sentry Duty again. :< We spent a day playing the footprint minigame, though at least we got some decent rewards at the end of it. Still, I was bound and determined to make up for our failures, so I crossed all my fingers and toes in hopes of getting more filler dungeons for the next day.

I eagerly mashed A throughout the morning cheer, waiting to be given free reign to check out the boards, but of course there was a special announcement that delayed us. *sigh* There's always plot when you least expect it.


<Tails> I would like to introduce you all to some new allies of ours!
<Luispipe8> ... these are the smelliest allies in the history of alliances. :X
<Keeper> Ohshi- not these jerks >_<
<Tails> These 3 are new partners!
<bbninjas> I'm bbninjas, and this here is my best friend Celever
<Celever> 'Sup?
<Vom> And I'm the Chief of Team Skull, Vom.
<Tails> This group is already well-experienced, so they're not going to be apprentices. Instead, they will be joining our upcoming expedition to help us out!
<Keeper> *groan*
<Tails> Something wrong, Keeper?
<Vom> Oh, don't pay any attention to that loser.
<Tails> Oh, well, alright then. Anyway, whatever you guys think, IA says they're coming with, so, yeah. They'll be sticking around here for the next few days to get used to working with everyone.
<Teal> This stinks. :<
<WPM> YEAH, LITERALLY.
<Tails> Well, I was expecting a bit more enthusiasm...
<IA> YOOOOOOOOOM....
<Tails> Ohshi- IA is charging up his laser. D: Everyone, quick, be cheerful! We need to calm him down!
<Everyone> HURRAY!
<IA> .... tah. *walks off*
<Everyone> *phew* *goes off to do their jobs*
<Keeper> Man, there's something suspicious about those guys.
<Athena> Somehow I, too, have a feeling they will continue to be jerks.
<Keeper> Anyway, let's go find some more jobs. :3
<Athena> Filler dungeons, yesssssss!​


Team Awesome:
Athena:
Lv. 15 Charmander (Ember, Growl, Scratch, Smokescreen)
Keeper: Lv. 15 Totodile (Leer, Scratch, Water Gun, Bite)

Available Teammates: Lotad (L11), Wooper (L11), Poliwag (L9), Spinarak (L10), Geodude (L7)


Player Notes:

Accidental plot, woo! And twice, too.

Opened up my 3DS yesterday to play through some dungeons while hubby was on the computer, and I got surprised by the formal introduction of Team Skull. I made some notes on my tablet so I wouldn't forget too much; hopefully I didn't miss anything important. The second accidental plot was the little bit at the end with Team Skull confirmed for the expedition. I was originally just going a bit past the save point specifically to grab the levels of my available Pokémon to add to the teammates list, then we got a face full of Vom, but at least I was at the computer and ready to include it this time.

I really did laugh out loud at how dumbly I handled this particular dungeon dive. I guess I'll just have to pay attention to these things more in the future. I've never had a mission yet where I had to bring a specific item and so I didn't know I had to actually have one in my bag instead of producing some kind of magical plot-item to give to the customer. I have had instances of picking up items before, but those items have always gone into my bag so I can see them marked with the red "X". Since my bag was full, I just thought "oh, hey, free gummy" and just ate it immediately. >_>

Oh well. :<

So, we're still 195 points away. I mostly just made this little mini-update chapter because of how hilariously bad I failed at the dungeon; the fact that it had a decent amount of plot was mostly a coincidence. It's still on the short side, but I guess not every chapter has to be an epic. :p
 
Back
Top