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Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Cover, Box Art

My plan was to take my Gothic save with me over the weekend, so I could play it on my laptop. I copied it to my flash drive, but I left my flash drive plugged into my primary PC in Varaždin, so that plan is out of the picture. I thought about my options and then realized I have a challenge that’s sort of in progress, but I haven’t touched it in months – my Legend of Zelda challenge. Because of this, I got a Link’s Awakening rom and loaded up VisualBoyAdvance. Before I get to that, though, let me tell you a story or two.

Challenge Part 3, Link’s Awakening

Link’s Awakening is a Legend of Zelda game I actually played as a kid. As I already wrote on this blog, early gaming in Croatia was nowhere near the level of the West. We were always a generation or more behind the modern world when it comes to consoles and games and even then, we mostly bought pirated software and hardware due to a multitude of reasons.

So with all that in mind, how did I get my hands on an actual GameBoy and an actual game? I didn’t. I had a cousin who did.

Cousin #1, Waterworld and Link’s Awakening

Somehow, my cousin got his hands on an actual GameBoy and owned two games with it – Waterworld and Link’s Awakening. Both were in German and both were a bit advanced for us. At that time, Tetris and simple LED games were about the only thing we experienced as gamers, so an actual adventure game with puzzles, dialogue, equipment and a save option. All of those things confused the hell out of us.

Zelda - Link's Awakening DX - Title

I decided to go with the DX Color version. It’s a straight graphical upgrade with nothing lost.

Because of that, I’m embarrassed to say, I considered Waterworld to be the better game. I considered it, but I still ended up itching to play Link’s Awakening more often. I guess good games are good no matter what you think. In hindsight, I probably annoyed the hell out of my cousin because I kept hanging out at his place. I was the annoying kid obsessed with games, and he was the cool kid who only plays to waste some time every now and then. I guess gaming was my hobby before I even owned a proper console of my own.

I remember an instance where we somehow managed to delete a saved game and then couldn’t understand why Link didn’t have a sword anymore. We actually looked at the manual, not understanding any of it and then tried to create two new save files, named Ganon and Zelda, because we thought that’s what we saw on the screenshots in the booklet, hoping that would somehow give as the sword. Yes, we actually though Zelda was the name of the character we controlled.

I remember how proud I was when I finally figured out where to get the sword on a fresh save. Even then, neither of us understood the concept of saving the game and continuing later. The game we played before that just didn’t have that feature.

Cousin #2 and just Link’s Awakening

I also remember my cousin’s GameBoy somehow just disappeared one day. I never found out where it went, but that was it for Link’s Awakening for a while. My cousin then got an actual Nintendo Entertainment System, with Super Mario, Wild Gunman, Duck Hunt and a few more games, but The Legend of Zelda was gone and we went back to regular, simple games, without dialogue or saved progress.

Zelda - Link's Awakening DX - Intro

The game actually looks really nice, even on the big screen, thanks to a great style and VBA’s smoothing.

About a year later, another cousin, this one some 20 years older than me, also got his hands on a GameBoy and a copy of Link’s Awakening. This time, I managed to figure out you can save your game and continue later and I figured out the concept of equipment. I remember getting to the point where I could jump, lift rocks and even swim, so from what I know now, it’s might be that I was about half done with the game, but I never managed to complete it. My cousin only lent me the GameBoy for a few days and once the third set of batteries was dry, so was my battery fund, so that was it.

In any case, Link’s Awakening was the only Zelda game that I played when it was current and probably the only video game before the PlayStation was out that I played when it was current. Sure, I talked about owning a Genesis, but even that, as ahead of this region as it was, was still nearly a generation behind. It’s a nice memory to have.

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Pokemon Ruby - Cover

It’s been some time since my last part of the “Follow the Anime” challenge, so I think it’s time to start planning for another one. Since I’ve recently attempted a Nuzlocke Challenge in Pokemon Emerald, I decided to go with Pokemon Ruby as my third generation game of choice.

The Pokemon

In the Hoenn region, Ash manages to acquire even fewer Pokemon than in the Johto region, with me being able to count only four in total. Three of those evolve during his travels through the region, but even so, that’s a tiny number. On the other hand, this might also mean I’ll have an easier time with outleveling my enemies. We will see.

The Starters in Pokemon Ruby

The three starters of the Hoenn region are Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip. While I had a tough choice in Pokemon Crystal, what with either having to start with all three of the starters via cheats or step away from the anime by only picking one, which is what I did in Crystal, there really is no choice in Ruby.

Pokemon Hoenn Starters

The hoen starters have the coolest grass type, in my opinion, though as a combatant, it still sucks.

From the three starters, Ash only gets Treecko. This means my choice is simple and I actually won’t have to cheat to have my roster follow that of the anime in this game. Of course, I’ll have to cheat to transfer Pikachu over, but that’s about it.

Treecko’s Moves

  • Pound
  • Quick Attack
  • Bullet Seed
  • Leaf Blade
  • Solar Beam
  • Agility
  • Leaf Storm

Treecko will evolve some time between gyms number four and five – Lavaridge and Petalburg. He doesn’t evolve to its final form during the Hoenn journeys.

Taillow / Swellow

The rest of the Pokemon are also relatively easy. I probably wont be able to catch all of them at the right moment, but outside of that, all of them are available in all three of the Hoenn games, I believe.

Pokemon - Taillow

I always need a flyer in my team.

The first of the remaining Pokemon is Taillow. I’ll have to catch him in Petalburg Woods if I want to follow the anime, though I could do it earlier in the game. This is well before the first gym, so I’ll have three Pokemon by the time I get there. Taillow will evolve into Swallow some time between gyms number five and six – Petalburg and Fortree.

Taillow/ Swellow’s Moves

  • Peck
  • Wing Attack
  • Quick Attack
  • Aerial Ace
  • Double Team

Of course, I’ll need a Pokemon which can learn Fly, so Taillow will have to sacrifice a move slot for that.

Corphish

Corphish will be my surfer, provided I don’t miss to Good Rod needed to catch it. Ash catches it on the way from Dewford City and gym number three, to Mauville City and gym number four. I can fish for it on routes 102 and 117, or even in Petalburg Town, but I need a good rod to do it, which I can get at route 118, so I’ll probably catch it in Petalburg, after I beat its gym, which is gym number five.

Pokemon - Corphish

I can only get Corphish a bit later in the game, after I get the Good Rod.

Corphish’s Moves

  • CrabbHammer
  • Bubble Beam
  • Vice Grip
  • Harden

Harden will, of course be replaced with Surf the first chance I get.

Snorutn / Glalie

Snorunt is the final Pokemon Ash catches in Hoenn and this happens between gyms seven and eight – Mossdeep and Sootopolis. It evolves to Glalie only after gym 8, so if Phanty has anything to say about it, Glalie will probably be useless throughout the game. Then again, it’s an Ice type, which means it might be useful against any dragon masters, so I hope I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Snorunt / Glalie’s Moves

  • Icy Wind
  • Headbutt
  • Double Team
  • Ice Beam

With such a poor list of moves used in the anime, I’m seriously considering to abandon this “rule” I made up in the last game. I need variety in my team and it seems the team I’ll have in Ruby wont have it. We will see.

Pokemon - Glalie

Despite the lame appearance, an Ice type might be fun.

Torkoal

Though Snorunt is the final Pokemon Ash catches in Hoenn, I decided to save the best for last while writing this. Ladies and gentlemen, we might actually have a proper powerhouse in the Ruby part of the challenge. Torkoal is a tough Pokemon which I’ll be able to raise quite well, since I get it about half way through the game. I’m looking forward to this one.

Pokemon - Torkoal

I’m looking forward to getting this one.

Torkoal’s Moves

  • Flamethrower
  • Overheat
  • Iron Defense
  • Body Slam
  • Heat Wave

It’s a tough Pokemon with great moves. What else is there to say? It also get’s Flamethrower very early, so it will be kicking ass  throughout the game.

In any case, this is the plan for Pokemon Ruby. Right now, I need to figure out the best way to import my Pokedex and my Pikachu into a fresh Ruby save. Hopefully, it’s no harder than it was for Crystal, which I think was already hard enough.

 

 

 

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I’ve added a new challenge to my list which again involved playing through a series of games. I know I still have the Zelda challenge to beat, but I think this one might be a bit more interesting.

 

 

I want to play through the generations in order, so I picked Yellow as my first game, since it follows the anime most faithfully of the three.  At first I thought I might have an issue with the graphics, since the old GameBoy really hasn’t aged well on that department, but I quickly got used to it. What I can’t get used to is that the sound on the emulator get’s truly horrible now and then. Lucky for me, I’m mostly playing through the game on fast-forward, so I don’t get the chance to notice it to often.

Pokemon Yellow - Name

I decided to name myself Nikola, because I’m an idiot and I forgot I’m playing as Ash

Pokemon Yellow starts a bit differently than usual. The professor isn’t at the lab. Instead, he stops me from going into the tall grass and catches a Pikachu there. Once my rival, Gary, takes the Pokemon Oak meant to give me, I get Pikachu instead and he gets to walk around behind me through the entire game.

Catching a Pidgey and leveling it was faster than waiting for a Pidgeotto.

Catching a Pidgey and leveling it was faster than waiting for a Pidgeotto. This one was Taubsy in the German dub of the anime.

I went through the usual notions of going to the next town, going back to deliver something and then finally moving on from town to town, learning the game. Since Ash sucks as a trainer, I didn’t even try to catch anything until Viridian forest, where I caught a Caterpie and a Pidgey. I know I was supposed to get a Pidgeotto, but I didn’t feel like waiting around until I encounter one, so I did the next best thing – I grind-leveled Pidgey until it evolved. I also evolved Caterpie into Metapod, but decided to wait for a bit before I leveled him into a Butterfree.

Pokemon Yellow - Brock

Brock might be a bit dumb, but Ash is pure stupidity.

After a lot of walking (on fast-forward) I finally got to the Pewter Gym, where I decided Ash was a cheater. There was no way he beat Brock with a Pikachu with so little grinding. I actually had to level Pikachu all the way to 17 at which point I still won due to pure luck of a critical hit. I have no idea how that kid got any badges, but it sure wasn’t skill or strategy. Still, he did it with a Pikachu, so I had to do it to.

Pokemon Yellow - Team Rocket

I don’t know about Red and Blue, but in Yellow, you actually keep encountering the terrible duo.

I got the badge and I moved on through Mt. Moon, where I got the Dome fossil. I intend to use it and put the Pokemon in the PC as soon as I get it, simply so I can transfer these rare Pokemon between games later. It’s not following the story, but since I’m playing through all the games, I might as well create a collection. I also fought Team Rocket along the way.

Pokemon Yellow - Bulbasaur

I remember this one as Bisasam from the German anime dub. I don’t really like grass types.

Next up, I got to Cerulean city, where I beat Misty easily, mostly because I couldn’t remember which Pokemon Ash used against her. Based on his track record, he probably decided Pikachu wasn’t the best choice. It was for me, though, so I had no trouble whatsoever. I also got Bulbasaur from a person in the city. Ash catches it in a hidden village in the anime, but there’s no hidden village in the game. Sadly, since there’s no Everstone in Pokemon Yellow, I have to keep remembering to cancel his evolution at each level up.

At this point, I was playing for well over an hour, or about 15 hours if you could believe the game save. Gotta love that fast-forward feature. This was the end of the session.

 

 

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By using the gauntlet, I managed to get to a semi-flooded area in the northeast, filled with those fireball spitting enemies that live in the water. As it turns out, these are the Zoras. Their king was there and he offered me swimming flippers for 500 rupies. Obviously, I wanted those, so I gave him the money. I was at 999 rupies for a while now anyway.

A Link to the Past, Flippers

I’d say something like “costly, but worth it”, but really, you HAVE to buy the flippers.

It was time to get to the third dungeon now. The map was clearly showing it as the tower to the north, so that’s where I went. My gauntlets allowed me to lift a stone and clear the way to a dark cave. Exploring it, I soon met an old man who asked me to guide him through it. It seemed more like he was guiding me, since he told me which direction to go to on several occasions. Eventually, we got out of the cave and to his house, which is now one of my “bases”, allowing me to start the game there upon loading.Using the flippers, I’ve found a couple of heart pieces, bringing me to 8 total (I believe) as well as a hidden cave with a pond. Throwing my boomerang in the pond caused a fairy to appear who then gave me an upgraded version of it. This one can travel a distance equal to the width of the entire screen. Hoping to get something else, I threw various items in and it worked. I got my shield upgraded to and I filled an empty bottle as well, getting a green potion this way.

I explored around his house and found a couple more heart pieces. I also found a magical platform which transported me to a dark version of the mountain and turned me into a bunny. In this dark dimension, I’ve found two other creatures and one of them told me I need the magical pearl from the tower to retain my original form upon teleporting to the dark dimension.

A Link to the Past, Dark Dimension

The dark dimension, and a bunny.

It took me a while, but eventually I figured out I could use the mirror the old man gave me to go back to my original dimension and my original shape. I used this feature to get another heart piece and then to get access to the tower, our third dungeon.

A Link to the Past, Third Dungeon Entrance

The entrance to the third dungeon.

This dungeon was relatively small in area, but had several floors I needed to explore. I didn’t get any new weapons or tools, sadly, but I did get the magical pearl I’ll need for the dark world. The boss of the dungeon was extremely annoying. He moves randomly and the only way to damage it is to hit its tail. The hard part is that the battle takes place on a platform you can fall off of and the boss pushes you around when you get hit, so it’s extremely easy to fall. Of course, if you do fall, he gets back to full health, so you have to start all over. Eventually, I somehow managed to beat it and got the third medallion, as well as my ninth heart container.

A Link to the Past, the Master Sword

The Master Sword

I now had everything I needed to get the Master Sword, so I went directly to the Lost Woods. The sword was where I’ve seen it before and now it was mine. As soon as I pulled it out of the stone, though, I got a message from Zelda, saying the Sanctuary is under attack.

Time to go rescue Zelda again.

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Remember my “Complete every Zelda game” challenge? The one I “started” months ago, but only got through the first game. Well, a person on reddit said they’re considering the same thing, so this made me think about continuing my own. I’ll be skipping Zelda 2 for now and going straight for “A Link to the Past”. Zelda 2 is not really like other Zelda games, so I’m not that eager to play it yet.

Compared to the original, there has been a lot of improvements in playability and user friendliness in the SNES sequel. You now have a proper, usable in game map as well as something akin to an objective tracker. There are also ways of learning where you should go next by spending rupies and hints on where the hidden rooms and items are. Overall, it’s much more polished and really allows you to focus on the game, instead of going around hardware and software limitations.

At the start, Link wakes up in his house in the middle of the night, with his uncle going somewhere. He hears the voice of princess Zelda in his head, asking for help, so he listens. The castle has been attacked and the castle mage is behind it. The game leads you to the castle and teaches you how to find your very first hidden passage, a hole beneath a bush.

A Link to the Past, Castle Door

The door to the castle was locked, and it will probably stay locked for a while.

Once Link jumps through, he finds his uncle injured and takes his sword. The area beneath the castle then serves as an intro dungeon. You learn some of the mechanics, find your first map and finally fight something of a mini-boss guarding Zelda’s cell. Link frees her and she follows him to the ground floor where they uncover a hidden passage. After some more dungeoneering, they finally reach the Sanctuary, where she will be safe. At this point, Link earns his first extra heart container.

A Link to the Past, The Sanctuary

This is the Sanctuary.

She asks Link to find a way to defeat the wizard called Agahnim. Apparently, he’s trying to open something called “The Seven Wise Men Seal”, which he shouldn’t do. To stop him, I’ll need the master sword and the people of the nearby village should know something about that. This is how the game leads you around throughout, so there’s no guessing, no map drawing, you just play.

I got to the village and was told their elder is in a place to the east. Before I went there, I explored everything and found a bunch of items. I got a total of four heart pieces, which gave me my fifth container, some bombs, some arrows, a bottle which allows me to store fairies in it and a net which allows me to catch faeries. Back in the dungeon, I already got the boomerang and back at home, I got the red lamp. All in all, I already have a nice assortment of items.

Once I was done exploring, I went to the east and spoke to the elder. He said he knows how to get the Master Sword, but Link needs to prove himself worthy first, which means he needs to find three magical medallions. The first is the medallion of Courage and it’s located in a dungeon nearby. Now, at this point, I’ve already found the Master Sword at the Lost Woods north of the village, but I couldn’t pull it out of the stone. I guess that’s why I need the medallions.

A Link to the Past, The First Dungeon

The first dungeon.

I got to the first dungeon fast enough and started exploring it. It wasn’t to difficult, but it takes time to get used to the game, so I had to restart at the first room several times. Thankfully, the mechanics work in such a way that the important part of your progress isn’t lost when you die, so eventually, I got the map, the compass, the big key and eventually, the Bow, which is the primary reward of the first dungeon. I used the bow to kill the first boss and got another heart container for it, as well as the Medallion of Courage. I returned to the elder and got information on where to find the next two medallions.

He also gave me Pegasus shoes, which allow me to charge enemies and knock things down. I immediately remembered a book on top of a shelf in the village library, so i went straight there to get it. The book allows me to read the ancient language inscribed, among other places, on the stone the Master Sword is stuck in.

I’m guessing I have to go to the next dungeon now, but before that, I’ll be doing some exploring, to see if my new shoes can get me anything else.

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So that was my second attempt at a Nuzlocke challenge. I’d love to say I lost because of the rules, but I would be lying. I lost, because I played dumb. I didn’t have the patience to grind, I used fast forward on the emulator too much, and I made stupid mistakes. There was literally no reason to lose any of the Pokémon I lost.

It’s not the end. I’ll definitely do more of these runs eventually. For now, though, all I can say is, If you love Pokémon, you should try it yourself. It really, truly makes the game new for you. You don’t have to focus on getting the best team ever, and you get to enjoy some of the less popular Pokémon. It also makes you play more strategically, since you can’t just sweep through your opponents as usual. Some of those defensive and utility moves actually start making sense then.

In any case, that’s it for now. I dub this Pokémon Emerald Nuzlocke challenge a failure.

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Fallarbor Town was just a temporary stop. I needed to go south, in search of Team Aqua. I’ve caught a Swablu on route 114, which was an excellent catch, since I believe it learns Dragon moves at higher levels. I named her Poof, because I think the name fits the looks.

Team Aqua was at Meteor Falls, fighting with another team, Team Magma, over who gets to take some guy with them. I wasn’t really paying attention since both teams sound dumb as hell, so I can’t tell you who the guy was. I’ve chased them off and caught a crappy Zubat before moving further south to Route 115. I don’t even remember what I named the Zubat at this point.

Route 115 didn’t have any bushes, so I guess I’m going to have to catch a Pokémon there by swimming, if I ever get to that. Since I was at Rustboro, I decided to pay a visit to the president of Devon Company, who gave me an Exp. Share for helping him earlier.

Then I took the cable car to Mt. Chimney, where I had a throw down with one of the Team Magma leaders. He was easy to beat, but it was obvious I was starting to fall behind in level grinding. Chasing away Team Magma opened the way to Lavaridge Town, through Jagged Pass. Sadly, I was an idiot and forgot this was a new area, so I killed what could’ve been the best and only Machop I ever owned.

The Gym was easy, deceptively so. I cleared pretty much every Pokémon with no difficulty, since most of them were fire types. This boost of confidence ruined me. Alice was at half health when the gym leader’s final Pokémon entered the battle. It was a Torkoal, and it took one critical Body Slam for Alice to go away, forever. I got my new badge, and lost my most powerful fighter. It was at this point that I knew it wasn’t going to end well.

Terrible Pokemon Drawings

I might actually be getting worse at drawing.

I started training Smokey, hoping it would soon replace Alice as my top Pokémon. It was looking good. Soon he was able to one-hit-KO most of the Pokémon below his level. I got him to 22 before I got bored, and then I decided to try my luck with my dad’s gym. Before that, I also went to the desert on route 111 and caught another potential asset – a Trapinch I named Chompette.

I should’ve waited. I should have prepared more. I didn’t. The rooms before the final one, I was able to clear, though with difficulty and a couple of close calls. Vigoroth and Spinda fell, but I was hurt badly. Then Linoone entered the battle. Headbutt, and my Jonathan was gone. Another one, and there goes Mr Ploppy (who evolved in the meantime, by the way). I was left with 3 Pokémon at around level 20. Care to guess how that ended?

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My task was not yet over. I had to deliver the parcel to a captain in Steelport. He was found at the local museum, under attack by a bunch of Aqua grunts. I disposed of them and gave the captain his parcel. With this done, it was time to continue on my journey.

Route 110, north of Steelport, was next. I caught an Electrike there – a girl which I named Jude. I was hoping for something rarer, but this will suffice. Jude can learn flash, and I good electric Pokémon is always a welcome addition.

With some training, I managed to evolve my Silcoon, which I called Fluffy, to Beautifly. A bit farther north on the route, I’ve met with May, who challenged me to a duel. It was an extremely difficult fight, with her grass Pokémon having evolved, but I somehow managed to beat her without losses.

I got to Mauville City and found out the gym there was electricity-based. I decided to train for a bit, so I explored the outlying routes to fight trainers. I wasn’t very smart about it. Soon, Fluffy, who I just started to like, was lost to a random trainer. It was a shock, but I had to move on. It was time to give Bob, the Makuhita, his chance to shine.

Horrible Pokemon Drawings

Instead of a bunch of bad drawings, you get one large horrible drawing.

Bob was tough. It was very easy to train him and he was level 18 in no time at all. When he got to 20, I decided to challenge a family of trainers living north of Mauville. The daughter and the mom and dad were beaten with no difficulty. It felt great to have a Pokémon who can dispose of his opponents so easily. It was almost too good to be true. I got confident….

The grandma was much stronger. Bob was hurt from the previous three battles and all it took was one hit. Another friend lost to my stupidity…

With only four Pokémon left, I needed to figure out something, and fast. Luckily, I was yet to find wild Pokémon on any of the outlying routes. Route 117 gave me an Oddish I named Mr Ploppy. A grass type could be a good addition, so I decided to train him for a bit. However, it was too weak to train alone, so I used Jonathan to help him. Pretty soon, Jonathan evolved to a Pelipper, which made him even more awesome.

When Mr Ploppy got to level 18, I decided it was time for Jude to catch up. I haven’t trained her at all since she was caught on route 110. I didn’t train her for long. Again, I got careless, and again, one of my friends paid the price. It wasn’t even a trainer battle that time; just a random fight with a wild Pokémon was enough to rip another friend out of my life. No more! I promise I’ll be careful from now on.

I trained for a while longer until I was completely confident I’ll be able to get to the next town, at the base of Mt. Chimney. I had to traverse to routes to get there, as well as a cave between them. At the first route, I caught a Numel, an excellent fire type. I named him Smokey. In the Fiery Path bellow Mt. Chimney, I caught another fire type, this time a Torkoal which I named Smokey. Once out of the cave, I finally caught a Skarmory on the next route. I named her Lancelot, because it can be a girl’s name, dammit!

Finally, I got to my destination, Fallarbor Town. Wait, Fallarbor Town? I thought Lavaridge was next! It seems I’ve taken a wrong turn, or something. Oh well, I’m here, so it’s time to check the place out.

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I did some research before starting and decided to pick Mudkip as my starter. Apparently, it makes the first several gyms simple to beat and its ground attacks can easily handle the grass Pokémon I might encounter. Since this is Emerald, and usually the main protagonist’s name is picked based on the game on these challenges, I named my trainer Irish.

Bad Drawing of Mudkip

A horrible drawing, I know.

I got through the usual motions and got my Mudkip. She was a girl, so I named her Alice. I soon realised this game makes you miss the first two routes on a Nuzlocke challenge. On the third route, which was route 102, I caught my first new friend – a boy Zigzagoon I named Stardust, due to obvious reasons. I remained on this route for a while, and trained both Stardust and Alice to level 10. Stardust learned the move Headbutt at level 9, which made him absolutely awesome.

Horrible drawing of Zigzagoon

Who’s that Pokemon’s got nothing on me.

The Petalburg Gym was owned by the main character’s dad, so that one was off limits until later in the game. Moving through Petalburg, I got to route 104, where I caught a Wingull, out of all. I was honestly hoping to get this one because I love its evolution and I remembered it as being quite tough in my previous Sapphire/Emerald/Ruby playthroughs.  I named him Jonathan, after one of the books I liked as a kid.

Horrible drawing of Wingull

My future star player!

Route 104 was followed by Petalburg woods, where I encountered several bug Pokémon. The first one I encountered was a Silcoon, so that was the one I caught. This one was such an awesome catch. I actually can’t remember what I named it at this time. Suffice to say, it was not used in battle yet. I do intend to train it to its final form later, though.

Bad drawing of Silcoon

It almost looks like the real thing this time.

Rustboro City housed the first gym I could actually fight in. It was a rock gym, so Alice had no problems soloing it from start to end. This got her to level 16 and made her evolve to her next form, Marshtomp.

Horrible drawing of Marshtomp

If this Marshtomp could talk, it would ask to be euthanized.

After getting the badge, I taught Cut to Stardust and used it to get some items on route 104 and in the forest. I then went north of Rustboro and soon saw the first Team Aqua event, where they steal some stuff from a Devon employee. I chased them to route 116 where I caught a Poochyena. I named her Neera, after a dog I used to own. I then followed the Aqua grunt to Rusturf tunnel and beat it. For some reason, I returned to the tunnel and promptly forgot about my challenge, which means I killed a potential new friend by accident. So long, nameless Whismur…

Bad drawing of Whismur

At least it died before I could fail it.

I returned the goods to Devon Company and was promptly asked to deliver them to Slateport, as well as delivering a letter to a guy named Steven in Dewford Town. May was nearby, so she told me I can get to both those places by hitching a boat ride with a guy living on route 104.

Dewford town had another gym, this one completely dark and filled with fighting Pokémon trainers. I fought through it and managed to easily beat it thanks to Jonathan and his Wing Attack. My new badge allowed me to use the Flash HM, which I didn’t have yet. In town, I was told Steven was at Granite Cave, north of Dewfort. That’s where I got flash, but sadly, none of my Pokémon could learn it.

There was one good thing coming out of visiting the cave, though. I caught a Makuhita! I named him Bob, but decided to still focus on Stardust, Jonathan and Alice for a while. I will soon learn that this was a mistake.

Bad drawing of Makuhita

Makuhita actually has some potential.

After collecting myself, I got to the Pokémon Center and gave him a proper burial. So long, my friend.I got the letter to Steven and moved on to Slateport. The beach was filled with trainers, so I had to go through a couple of battles with Stardust. Then it happened. I got into a team fight with Stardust at half health and Alice as his partner. I foolishly thought they would be able to handle a Wingull and a Tentacool, but the Wingull got a lucky first strike. Stardust was gone.

Pokemon Emerald - Releasing a Pokemon

So long, my friend…

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I was a bit bored, so I decided to try another Nuzlocke challenge. I already did one with Fire Red, but the rules ended up a bit too forgiving, so I didn’t have many issues in beating the game. This time, the rules will be slightly harder, but again, not by much. The game I picked was Emerald, because I needed fresh Pokémon. The rules are the following:

  1. Name your Pokémon for more emotional attachment.
  2. If a Pokémon faints, release it. It’s gone forever.
  3. You are only allowed to catch the first Pokémon in each new area.
  4. No going back this time. Once you leave an area, you cannot catch a Pokémon there under any circumstances.
  5. No fishing, no special Pokémon. You can only catch Pokémon through battles.
  6. All levels of a cave count as one area.

Anyway, those are the rules and Emerald will be the game. On a side note, I also decided to draw every single Pokémon I catch, as well as maybe some other things. I suck at drawing, though, so at best, it will be good for a laugh or two.