Let's Play Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness

[Formalhaut]

What an easy boss fight! Two hits, gone. Didn't even get a chance to move.

I'd be interested in watching more of these, especially the harder ones.

[Skyblade]

What an easy boss fight! Two hits, gone. Didn't even get a chance to move.

I'd be interested in watching more of these, especially the harder ones.

It really isn't his fault. Espeon is absurdly overpowered at this stage in the game. Its incredibly high Special Stat (oh, and do I have a Modest one? Yes, I do), coupled with its easy access to an excellent type, decent damage Special Move just makes this bit a cakewalk. I mean, giving Eevee a Special move with 60 Base Power is no problem, since Eevee doesn't have even a noteworthy Special Stat. But Espeon? Espeon's Special Attack is already 47 (the highest stat on any of my other Pokémon is Teddiursa's Attack, at 27). Heck, Espeon has more Special Attack than any of my Pokémon have HP.

They probably shouldn't have let you evolve Eevee that quickly. Draw things out until at least the point that other Pokémon start to get Evolutions, just to keep things fair.

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If I ever find the guy who stocks these chests, I'll have to thank him.

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That's ok, I'll wait. Oh, you're just going to let me go in? You're so kind!

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Oh, goody, another trainer gauntlet. How far inside is he? On second thought, maybe I should wait out here.

Oh well.

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They weren't kidding about this being for Rookies, were they?

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You had confidence?

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Or, y'know, just have a Pokémon with double the attack strength of anything on the other guy's team. That works too.

Oh, by the way, do you see those numbers? Yeah, there's a trainer for each number. The numbers go up to 100. That's the Mt. Battle challenge.

Every ten battles, you get some reward coupons (which are VERY useful), and the chance to trade out your team. You can also heal at the waystations every 10 fights, but, IIRC, you can go back and heal at any time, even in the middle of one of the gauntlet rounds.

Make it through all 100 without changing out your team, and you get one of the three starters with awesome special moves. This is not that easy, though, as you face a ton of trainers who use a variety of Pokémon, and quite a few near the end who will try actual strategies and Double Battle tactics.

It's still awesome and a heck of a lot of fun.

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You want me to beat up another of your students, don't you?

Well, at least you praise me first.

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And now I get to point out one of the downsides to the system. See that Heal Bell? It's a unique move that Poochyena can only get access to by being Purified.

And, bye-bye, because while curing status effects for the whole team can be useful, it only has 5 PP, and generally isn't helpful enough in the main game. I'd rather replace it than any of your other moves.

It takes a while before you start getting Shadow Pokémon with useful unique moves.

Although, if you're trading them out to your GBA, those are a lot more helpful, because Heal Bell can be really good on a Double Battle Team when fighting other players.

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Don't worry. It's not your fault. Your teacher's just a jerk.

I still have yet to see a school in the Pokémon world. This place is the closest we get. And it's less of a school and more of a volcano.

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And no one has thought to investigate this place because?

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Don't tell me where it is, man! Tell the cops! I'm just a kid. Oh, to heck with it.

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Oh, so the old man does know how to use a phone. So why did he send me up here again?!

Oh well, Aidan is looking out for my dreams of world conquest again, as always.

Although, running out, huh. I wonder what happens to Shadow Pokémon if you fail to catch them in a battle..?

Well, we'll get to that later.

[Formalhaut]

Every pokemon plot-line ever could be solved if there's an actual police force.

[Skyblade]

I'd like to request that this be moved to the Let's Play Forum. Also, if you all would actually like me to continue it, please let me know (feedback had gone a bit dry, so I wasn't sure people were still interested and I let it trail off).

[Pumpkin]

I would

[Skyblade]

Well then, on we go.

When last we left off, we had just been told about the dreaded old Cipher facility. To the southeast.

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Giving directions in Orre is super easy. "It's to the southeast."

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Hey, I know that truck. That's the one which flew off with Prof. Krane. Looks like I came to the right place.

Pity no authorities figures bothered to monitor a famous longstanding Cipher facility.

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Oh my gosh! It's the Phoenix Ranger Featherman R team! There's Red Hawk, Blue Swan, and Yellow Owl. I guess the Purple guy is trying to be Pink Argus, but the other two are way off. I mean, I know the typical Cipher uniform is white, so I guess whoever was being White Swallow didn't want to just use the boring normal outfit, but where is Black Condor? C'mon, guys. If you're going to cosplay, you need to go all the way.

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Of course, since you guys can't even realize that whoever is counting the team isn't counting himself, I guess that brains are not your forte.

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Oh, crap, these guys are packing heat? Um, dude, I didn't really mean that last statement. I'm sure you guys are perfectly witty, and I still love your dedication to pulling off a team cosplay. I know it's not easy, but you all do it really well. Can't we all just-

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...Excuse me, what did you call me? I'm sorry, but boss rush or no, you do not get to call me that and get away with it.

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I noticed that. Yet, again, no one bothered to monitor it, lock it up, destroy it, or anything of the sort. It must be nice to have authorities willing to just leave your facilities fully operational in case you ever decide to return to try to take over the world again.

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Wait, seriously? First you call me a brat, now you're threatening to tell my mother? Guess what, my mom was the one who sent me on this quest to the middle of nowhere. She understands how awesome I am. Ok, it's on. Bring it!

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Wait, you guys aren't boss rushing me? You're just going to sit there and let me challenge you all one-by-one, at my own pace?

Aw, and Resix just wants to play. I feel sorry for being so mean to these guys now.

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He even has a Shadow Pokémon for me!

Shadow Pokémon Alert!

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To be fair, you're my hardest opponent yet. You should be proud.

Quick note on these guys. They all have different numbers of Pokémon. As is typical of the series, the fewer they have, the higher their level. This guy only has his Shadow Pokémon and one other, so he's actually the hardest of the Hexagon Brothers. If Houndour and Slugma (his non-Shadow Pokémon) team up, they can take down even Espeon in two turns, and you can't take down Houndour nearly that easily, unless you get lucky with a high-health capture.

I had Espeon Bite Slugma, flinching it, while Poochyena used Dig on Houndour. Next turn, I used Bite on Houndour while enduring another Shadow Attack on Espeon. Then I was able to capture it with a Pokéball.

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These guys are so nice! Dudes, when you're on security detail, you are not supposed to be this nice to intruders. I mean, I appreciate it, but I'm sure your bosses don't.

I don't think I'm going to fight you just yet, though. Espeon is a little tired from that last fight. I need to heal. Or maybe just go explore the facility more, since they're such nice security guards that they aren't even going to stop me. Hmm...

[Formalhaut]

Yay it's back! Thanks Skyblade!

[Skyblade]

Thank the wonderful staff members who decided to make a place where these can be updated, tracked, and given feedback on far more easily.

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So I decide to head into the spooky facility. Which actually isn't that threatening. There's this kind of mellow music playing.



Wait! What's that in the corner?!

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*Gasp* Is it?! IT IS! Finally, the series long monopoly of the Pokémon Center is at its end! The source of their power has been taken, and can now be freely distributed around the world! No more will trainers need time their visits around those facilities! We can now put healing stations anywhere!

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After the healing break, I head back out, and find the Hexagon Brothers have not exactly perfected their counting.

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Spies. Yeah, that's it. Someone dressed in the proper Black Condor costume would blend in among you all completely unseen.

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Well, maybe they wouldn't be able to infiltrate such masters of perception after all.

I guess I'll take Blusix up on his offer now.

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Onesix, Twosix, Resix, Blusix!

Shadow Pokémon Alert!

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There's that word again.

Considerably easier than Resix. He has three Pokémon instead of two, and his Shadow Spheal didn't even try to attack me, it just used Shadow Mist to constantly lower my evasion. Tactical failure.

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I now have an intense desire to see these consequences.

A quick healing trip away, and...

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Browsix is considerably less polite than his brethren, and didn't offer me an option once I talked to him. He also didn't keep me from entering the facility or healing, though, so he's still not taking the guard duty seriously.

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Shadow Statue Pokémon Alert!

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Done what, exactly? Besides beating you up, taking your money, and taking your Shadow Pokémon?

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Aw, Yellosix is willing to play, despite his incredibly busy work of standing in a circle and counting his brothers. He's such a nice guy to children. I might even feel bad about this.

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Unfortunately, this is before Ampharosite was introduced to the series.

Shadow Pokémon Alert!

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Well, I might have felt bad about it. Until he called me a brat. They really like that word. And here I had thought that Yellosix liked kids.

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Wait, so they actually are on guard duty, they just think I'm a kid who wants to play? Even though I'm beating them constantly at battles and snagging all of their Shadow Pokémon as part of my world-domination ploy?

I don't know whether to be happy that they're willing to play with lost little kids, or shocked at their utter naiveté.

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I told you, she's the one who sent me here.

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Yes, because Espeon isn't overpowered enough, we need to give it a STAB attack. While I'm fighting the Poison brother. Poor guy.

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Really? A Shadow Gulpin? You had a Koffing, a Weezing, and a Tentacool, but the one which deserves to be made into a mindless killing machine is the Gulpin?

Shadow Pokémon Alert!

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Oh, wow, now I feel bad. Are you ok, dude?

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You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

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I decide to take a quick break to exercise my own stellar observational powers.

[Skyblade]

Forgive the double post. But, as awesome as they are, I did want to move past the Hexagon Brothers. They probably aren't the most thrilling content to watch in a Let's Play.

Still, there is one left.

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Oh, Greesix. Your sixfold obsession may be touching, but it's not healthy, man.

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Six grass types (hence, the weakest of all the brothers). Against my beloved Espeon, and a Shadow Houndour that just relearned Ember. This is really not your day, is it?

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Shadow Pokémon Alert!

See, the Shadow Pokémon selection at this point just really isn't that great. Heck, I'd rather have the Oddish. Even if Shadow Nuptup is a downright terrifying idea.

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Well, good. Maybe now that I've beaten you and reduced you to five Pokémon your sixfold obsession will go away.

By the way, these guys actually remain here for quite a while. Their teams remain the same, except that they have one fewer Pokémon. So you can use them for grinding if you want. They still have the awesome Cipher Peon battle music.

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Rather than going inside the main base, I decide to explore the garage to the side of it.

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Apparently it's more of a storage area (which explains why the truck isn't parked there). But at least it has goodies!

Anyway, with that over and done with, time to actually head inside the main base. Tum te dum dum-

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Jeez! Ninja Peons dropping from the ceiling! They think they can scare me to death, apparently.

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Huh? Where'd the ninja go? Wow, he's pretty good if he can vanish as soon as he's defeated. Pity he wasn't that good at battling.

Anyway, there's an elevator up ahead, so down we go!

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A fork in the road. Decisions, decisions. We'll go left first.

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A scientist mumbling to himself about XD001. Apparently it failed. Yet it's still awesome enough to be the name of the game, so it can't fail that badly.

He then challenges me to a fight.

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You know, I'd stop you, but I'm kind of still recovering from the shock that apparently you can get that awesome Cipher Peon music without wearing the cosplay outfits. I'm not sure why the Peons agree to them. Maybe Cipher is the sort of thing that happens when you leave a group of cosplayers alone too long.

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Locked? Ok, that's only to be expected, I suppose. That's ok, we'll find a key card somewhere. We'll backtrack and take the south path this time.

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What the heck?! Since when did people in the Pokémon universe actually start locking their doors?! Not cool, man. Well, one path left (even if it's to the right).

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Apparently even their hall monitors are trained in ninjitsu, because this one just appeared from right above me as well.

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This elevator had better not be locked, or I think I'll be stuck and unable to invade this criminal organization any further.

[Pumpkin]

The hexagon brothers are the most intelligent men of all

[Sephiroth]

You know, I should be impressed that a single Pokémon could lift an entire cruise liner.

Regigigas can pull a continent.

[Skyblade]

You know, I should be impressed that a single Pokémon could lift an entire cruise liner.

Regigigas can pull a continent.

I don't count the Pokédex entries. Too many of them are just obviously wrong.

Top 10 Most Physics-Breaking Pokémon! I don't actually agree with Wailord, because it is called the "Whale Float Pokémon", so it is clearly designed to be lighter than air. But the rest of it? Yeah, Pokémon are broken, even in their own universe.

Besides, Regigigas can barely move. Stupid useless ability.

Anyway, on with our adventure.

It turns out that the elevator wasn't locked. To think: Had they just locked the door, the game would have essentially been over and they would have been successful in conquering the world.

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Hmm, could they be talking about the Professor? Dude, if you want info on Purification, you should be talking to my mom, she's the most competent person at that research facility.

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Hey, you challenged me to a battle, man. I'm not the one who was slacking off at work, don't even try to pull that. I'm so reporting you to your boss.

"That man is playing Galaga!"

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My name's Axel. I'm your new janitor. I'm emptying out all of those little red and white dustbins you guys have all over the place. Don't mind me.

...She doesn't fall for it.

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Shadow-

Aieee! A spider! I hate Spiders! GET IT AWAY!

Ahem.

Shadow Pokémon Alert

Actually, I don't have much problem with Bug Pokémon, and Spinarak is kind of cute (and Ariados looks kind of awesome). But in real life, bugs and spiders do freak me out. I hate bugs.

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Wow. I made a girl cry. I feel like a complete jerk now. Thanks for that, game.

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Takin' out the trash. *Whistles*

That battle with the girl, in addition to getting me a Spinarak and making me feel like a jerk, also finished purifying Houndour. So I took him back to Azalea Town. Because, let's face it, my Pokémon team is far more important than the fate of the Professor. Sure, they may be torturing him for information about Purification...

But on the other hand: Hellhound puppy! A man needs to set priorities.

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Interesting, so the emulator can track daily progress, just like the game can. Cool.

I should also note that Leppa are my favorite type of berry, because they restore PP, and I hate running out of PP.

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Who's a cute widdly doggie? Yes you are!

I guess that's everything. Time to go rescue the Professor (again). They wouldn't have moved him, would they?

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Now I'm getting some serious Black Omen flashbacks. Hmm, I wonder if I could catch Lavos in a Pokéball...

A little bit further ahead, and we jump to a scene with our villains. Well, our villains and the Professor. He's not actually a villain, right? Just an obstacle to our world domination scheme?

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The lady makes a fair point, Professor. Why don't you tell her about your Purification research? We don't want the XD001 to be anything less than "fabulous", do we?

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Really? Why not?

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Seriously. How could you refuse that adorable face?

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I agree! If you'd just walked up and asked, we'd have totally helped you out. Naps is a jerk who had to throw the Professor in a truck, it's all his fault.

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First the scientist who tried to blame me for his slacking off, now Naps trying to blame the Professor because of his poor invitation techniques. Cipher may be dedicated to their cosplay, but they really try to avoid taking responsibility for their actions a lot.

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Wait, XD001 dropped a ship? So that would make XD001 the Shadow Lugia.

Professor, why aren't you helping these nice people perfect the most awesome Pokémon in existence?

Oh, that's right, you didn't get to see the opening cutscene, so you don't actually know how awesome XD001 is. Lovrina is right, you just can't understand.

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Wow, now you're bad mouthing her to her underlings? Not cool, Professor.

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Oh, yes. These are totally reasonable, "let's talk things out" people.

[Pumpkin]

Good update

[Skyblade]

Good update

Thanks. I'm debating a bit about size of updates. I've got another 50 pics waiting, but I don't know how many I should really put in per post, nor am I positive how fast I should put up new updates. Add them in as quick as I get them? Delay them over several days? I just don't know.

[Pumpkin]

I guess its up to you. I post mine as soon as I do them otherwise I forget specifics like names and such (heck I forget names while I'm playing) that I didn't put in the screencaps. I also limit myself to 50 images max, because the limit is 25 per post and like I said, I post it right away so I don't want to triple post.

I think it's really a matter of how you're most comfortable doing it.

Also, you have over 800 views so even if you don't have a super ton of comments, people are obviously still reading it and liking it, so I wouldn't worry about that too much