Pokémon Creepypasta: Scary Stories in the Pokémon Games

Not sure what possessed me to write this at midnight, but screw sleep and pleasant dreams. Here we go.

We all know Pokémon for what it’s meant to be perceived as – a franchise aimed at kids, with cute and cool-looking monsters that non-lethally fight in good spirit. But, like most children’s series created in the 90s, there’s some darker stuff beneath the surface that you don’t quite get until you’ve gained a few levels yourself. Things I either ignored or didn’t think much of in the games now make me want to sleep with the nightlight on and cuddle up with Mr. Snugglepuss. Seriously, a lot of this stuff would be perfectly welcome in an episode of X-Files or Criminal Minds. Things like…

1. Elevator Girl

One of the more recent entries on this list, Elevator Girl (as I like to call her, because that makes her sound way less threatening than she probably really is), is found in one of the many buildings in Lumiose City. You go in, take the elevator up, and you come out on an empty floor. Then the screen goes black…

AND OH MY GOD SHE’S RIGHT BEHIND YOU.

That’s not even the end of it. She then moves around you with no freaking walking animation, then stares at the corner and says something along the lines of “No, you’re not the one.” Then she’s gone. She doesn’t say goodbye, which is kind of rude, but I guess that’s better than having my soul ripped out through my eyes, so I’ll take it.

Then there’s another building where you find a girl with the same character model. If for whatever reason you think it’s a good idea to go up and talk to her, she just says “Don’t talk to me…If you do, I can’t hear the elevator.”

And that’s it. Nobody knows what this girl’s story is. She’s literally (at this point) in this game solely to fill our pants with lemonade and chocolate bars. There’s some rumors that maybe she’s just waiting for someone with a specific Trainer ID (a number randomly assigned to each player), and that when she finds him or her she’ll reveal her secret. Not really sure I want to know. Excuse me for a second. I’m going to go sob in the corner…
…
…
…Alright, I think I’m good now. Sorry. Now what’s next…

2. Pokémon Tower

Oh God why. Well, it needed to be said. This is a morbid-as-hell town. It’s a town literally devoted to death. Its only purpose, its sole excuse for existing, is to be the home for a mass graveyard of dead Pokémon. You walk into town, hear that music (which I’ll get to soon…) and walk right into Pokémon Tower, which is filled with the gravestones of dead animals. Their owners and friends stand around and mourn them, and they never leave. Ever. They just stand there and cry for eternity. Then, you get attacked by an actual goddamned ghost which you are completely defenseless against at that point in time. This is almost exactly like Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, except instead of stabbing children you’re beating the crap out of adorable dead animals and their heartbroken loved ones. You monster.

Then, of course, there’s the music. The town is designed to be creepy, so it makes sense that the music would be too. But there’s a little story floating around on the internet that takes it to new heights…

3. Lavender Town Syndrome

The story goes that the original music for Lavender Town in the Japanese Red and Green Versions caused a huge increase in the amount of suicide among kids. There was a high-pitched sound that only the kids could hear due to their younger and stronger ears. 200 of those kids either hanged themselves or jumped from large heights. The rest acted irrationally for days and had severe headaches that they couldn’t shake. Supposedly, this was fixed when the game shipped to North America. The difference isn't that noticeable, but don't you get a feeling that something just isn't... right in this town?

Even knowing it’s fake, reading this story always sends chills up my spine.


4. Old Chateau

Yep, another creepy building. This place is from Gen IV, and is only accessible with Cut. You walk in and, with the cojones of an action star and look around like nothing’s wrong, even when the game tells you that the statue appears to be glaring at you and the eyes of the painting are following you. Alright, alright, maybe that’s just paranoia.

Oh Arceus, a little girl just walked across the screen. I’ll just follow her into that room, maybe talk to her and find out what she’s doing here…wait, where’d she go?

Oh look, a nice butler setting the table. Wait, how are you moving if you aren’t walking? Why aren’t your legs moving? Sir, you aren’t supposed to be able to phase through walls, only ghosts…can…do that…
Oh well, I didn’t need to sleep tonight anyway.

5. The Pokédex Entries

Oh God, the Pokédex entries…I already kind of went into some of this in my last article, but since there’s 721 Pokémon, there’s way too much to cover in one article, and a lot of it is seriously jacked up. I said before that most of these creatures, due to natural selection, wouldn’t be able to exist. Some of these things wouldn’t be allowed to exist. We’d straight up go genocidal on these pocket monsters. I compiled a few of my favorites here, in no particular order.

Gourgeist

X: Singing in eerie voices, they wander town streets on the night of the new moon. Anyone who hears their song is cursed.
Y: It enwraps its prey in its hair-like arms. It sings joyfully as it observes the suffering of its prey.

What the actual hell?

What kind of curse does it put on people? Is it something simple, like not being able to win a baseball game? Or something horrible, like not being able to eat bacon ever again? Not knowing is almost as terrifying. And do we have to be awake to be cursed? Because we still sort of hear things while we sleep – oftentimes, it’s implemented somehow into our dream, like hearing our alarm going off while you’re taking the math test in your underwear. Are we still cursed? Because that’s just not fair.

Now imagine watching this thing hunt…whatever it is it hunts. It finally catches it and begins to squeeze with its “hair-like arms,” which kind of skeeves me out, but it’s fairly normal in the animal kingdom.

Then it starts singing - a happy, joyful tune completely at odds with the murder that’s happening in front of your eyes. Imagine having those millions of tiny hairs coiling around you, blotting out the sky and slowly making it harder and harder to breathe. Then, just before you go, you hear singing. Is it angels? No, it’s the monster killing you, singing as it watches you die.

Drifloon

Pearl: It tugs on the hands of children to steal them away.

Black 2/White 2: These Pokémon are called the ‘Signpost for Wandering Spirits.’ Children holding them sometimes vanish.

In the English versions of the games, it leaves it there. We never find out where they’re taken, for what purpose, or if they’re ever returned. The Japanese versions clarify a little bit of that…they take the kids to the “world of the dead.” What. First, imagine being a parent of one of these kids. You’re having an excellent day out with your child. The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and a balloon just happens to pass by. You grab it and hand it to your kid, and smile as their face brightens at the surprise present. You notice that the balloon seems to be tugging a bit strongly, but you ignore it. It’s just a balloon, right? And look at how happy it makes your kid. It’d break their heart if you took it back now. So you let it slide. You turn around, briefly, maybe searching for your wallet or your car keys. When you look back…they're gone. You’ll never see them again. You’ll never see them grow old, or become a Pokémon Trainer…you won’t be there for their first Gym Battle, or their first kiss. You’ll never see them get married and maybe have a family of their own. And the entire time, you’ll know it’s your fault. Now, imagine being the kid. You’re out with your parents, and they hand you a balloon. Being a child, you love balloons. Something about them is just awesome and fun. It pulls at your arm a little, but you keep a tight grip. You won’t let it float away. Your parents look away for a second…and you’re someplace else. Someplace dark, and cold. Creatures float by and ghostly hands reach out of the darkness to catch a quick touch of warm, living skin. You call out, but no sound comes. It’s quiet here. It’ll always be quiet. You want your mom, your dad, anybody, but soon you realize that nobody’s coming. You’re stuck, and your only company is the dead.

Banette

FireRed/LeafGreen: Strong feelings of hatred turned a puppet into a Pokémon. If it opens its mouth, its cursed energy escapes. Diamond/Pearl/Platinum: A doll that became a Pokémon over its grudge from being junked. It seeks the child that disowned it.

Unlike some other Pokémon, this thing’s entry pretty much reiterates the same information from game to game. It never says what it would do to the child if it found it, but it’s pretty safe to assume it isn’t nice. This Pokémon is pretty much Lotso from Toy Story 3 meets Chucky from Child’s Play. This is a creature that was literally born of hatred and holds a never-ending grudge against its old friend and, in a way, creator. You’re probably saving the lives of those children by capturing these things.

And what are the other criteria for creating a Banette? Is it only puppets? If so, the solution is simple – stop freaking making puppets, you idiots. These things are coming to life and killing children.

If it can be just any doll or toy, we’re screwed. Children grow up. They lose interest in toys either out of boredom or grow out of them. Do you honestly want to tell me you still play with blocks, or you still try to put the square block into the round hole? Can those become Banette? If it needs to be a doll, kids go through those all the time, too. They might be given one when they’re four or five and lose it, or it gets stolen. Does it become a Banette then? Are some of these Banette alive solely based on a misconception? There’s pretty much an unlimited number of them, so that’s scary likely.

Phantump

X: These Pokémon are created when spirits possess rotten tree stumps. They prefer to live in abandoned forests.
Y: According to old tales, these Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest.

That’s pretty freaking dark. This does happen in our world – more often than we’d like to think about, I’m sure – but it must happen a lot for there to be so many of the damn things. Children, for whatever reason, wander into the forest and get lost. Then, whether it’s from exposure to the elements, from a wild Pokémon attack, or starvation…they die. Their spirits can’t be at rest, so they possess a tree stump, and are stuck like that. When you capture a Phantump, you’re imprisoning the soul of a lost, scared, dead child.

Duskull

Platinum: It loves the crying of children. It startles bad kids by passing through walls and making them cry.
HeartGold/SoulSilver: If it finds bad children who won’t listen to their parents, it will spirit them away – or so it’s said.

HeartGold/SoulSilver’s entry could be chalked up to scare tactics used by parents to make their children behave, kind of like the Boogeyman of our world. Although, this is a bit more messed up because it actually happens (See Drifloon above). They’re just using the wrong Pokémon.

Its Platinum entry, though, is something it has done, and that’s fairly dark by itself. It enjoys scaring children, loves the sound of them crying, and will seek them out and intentionally make them cry.

Holy crap. This is a pretty horrible world for kids to live in. Balloons want to kidnap you and take you to the world of the dead. Your discarded toys come back with a vengeance and supernatural powers. If you get lost in a forest and die, you’re stranded inside a tree stump. If you somehow manage to avoid all that, there are still creatures that will target you and scare you solely for fun. Just for the lulz.

What are your favorite creepy Pokédex entries? Any town or building give you nightmares? Be sure to let us know!

- Azathoth

Pokémon Yellow Nuzlocke - PokéManiac Takes Kanto By Storm, Part 1

Out of all the different Pokémon challenges, none are better known than the Nuzlocke Challenge. Part of what makes this challenge so popular is the numerous ways in which you can customize the challenge to make things harder (or easier) for yourself. If you’ve played Pokémon as long as I have, then you’ve certainly tried the basic Nuzlocke challenge before. The rules are simple: (1) if a Pokémon faints you must release it, (2) you can only catch the first Pokémon you see in an area, (3) if all of your Pokémon faint in battle you must restart your game. But, did you know just how much more complicated and challenging you can make Nuzlocke? Below is a flowchart showing some of the more complex options (credit goes to whoever made this originally):

Holy options, Batman!

Before beginning, I chose my Nuzlocke options. Excluding the three rules listed above they are: (1) No items except for HMs and TMs, (2) battle style set, and (3) no Exp. Share or Day Care.

Look at this dude.  Coolest ten-year old I know.

I came close to losing the opening battle with my rival’s Eevee due to it landing a critical hit, but since then it’s been smooth sailing.

That's right, Eevee.  You were only a speed bump in Pikachu's world conquest!

By not limiting the number of times I can use a Pokémon Center, training can proceed as usual. Thanks to the storyline set up of Gen 1 games, you don’t have any Pokéballs when you embark for Viridian City and cannot catch any Pokémon on Route 1. I was lucky enough to catch a Nidoran♂ and a Caterpie before facing Brock. Nidoran learns Double Kick at level 11 which, after evolving into Nidorino at 16, allowed me to handily defeat the first gym without ever having to use another Pokémon.

I’ll note it here that this is the farthest I’ve ever gotten in a Yellow Nuzlocke. Usually my luck goes the other way and I run into Pidgey and Spearow in the wild, Pikachu easily KO’s them, and I have to face Brock with just Pikachu (and maybe a Butterfree if I'm lucky). Now it’s onto Route 3, Mt. Moon, and another enjoyable challenge in the world of Pokémon.

Until next time,

- PokéManiac

HSOWA: 9 Weird Oversights in the Pokémon Games

Alright, let me preface this with a few things.  First, this isn’t an exhaustive list -  just some stuff I’ve noticed and a couple things I found when looking it up.  Second, these are only from the games.  I didn’t include anything from the show, since that’s a separate universe.  Lastly, I know these are just games, so I’m not actually holding it against anyone.  It’s a list that I figured I’d put together for fun.

All that said, here we go…

1. Hot Skitty on Wailord Action – Since their introduction in Gen 3, it’s been discovered that Skitty, a cute and tiny little cat-thing, can breed with Wailord, a house-sized whale based on one of the largest real-world mammals on the planet.  For whatever reason, the game developers decided to put them in the same egg group.  So, throw these two lovebirds into the day care center together and watch as they ignore the world telling them who they can or can’t love, because love is an emotion that defies logic and physics.

2. Pretty much the entire Gen 1 battle system – I’m willing to chalk a lot of this up to the limitations of the hardware.  For example, in the original games, critical hits used to be based off speed rather than a formula for each Pokémon (Venusaur with Razor Leaf would always get a critical hit – talk about unfair!).  But, some things they seriously should’ve considered a bit more.  Psychic types in Gen 1 was only weak against Bug-type attacks and Ghost-type attacks, because what better way to stop a super-powerful telekinetic creature than with a really big butterfly or licking them with a slimy tongue?  Makes perfect sense.  Even worse, the only attacks that could really take advantage of these weaknesses were Leech Life, Twineedle, and Lick – all horrible attacks.  Then there was Dragonite – the only Dragon type in the original 151, aside from its pre-evolutions.  The first pseudo-legendary.  Professional badass.  With only one Dragon-type attack.  That does the same amount of damage every time, regardless of STAB or super-effective hits.  Dragon Rage, minus the rage.  Just the dragon.  Yep.

3.  Battling on Water – Using Surf and battling on the water was always really cool – at least to me.  But, the logic behind it was always kind of ignored.  What are they battling on?  I guess you could say they’re floating in the water, but what about Graveler?  Or Onix?  Wouldn’t they sink?  And what about Diglett and Dugtrio?  Would it immediately go to the bottom of the ocean just so it can keep its mysterious body under the ground?  Not every Pokémon can swim and fight perfectly.  Some get hurt just by being touched with water.  I mean, Charmander freaking dies when its tail is extinguished.  Brutal.

4. Who could learn Fly – This one’s been noticed before, but bears repeating.  You could teach Pidgey Fly.  You could teach Rufflet Fly.  Their evolutions I could understand, but come on. Both of them are the size of my goddamn shoe.  Yet you can’t teach Scyther Fly, or Butterfree.  For heaven's sake, Hoothoot could learn Fly and its wings are the size of mozzarella sticks.

5. Using Cut on tall grass – This one has since been taken out, but I remember in some of the earlier games you’d be able to use cut on tall grass to avoid wild Pokémon battles.  It was exactly like cutting grass in The Legend of Zelda, only instead of finding someone’s lost money and taking it for yourself, you’re presumably decapitating all of the wild animals that called that grass their home.  On top of that, it was a very slow and irritating process (since you had to go into your party and select Cut, and then it’d only cut down the one in front of you). It’s no surprise they took it out.  It’s easier to just run or bike through and pray to Arceus that some annoying rat doesn't ambush you.

6. Lance was a goddamn cheat – Lance was such a badass in the original games, since he was a Master Dragon trainer with only one Dragon Pokémon.  To prevent him from pretty much using a team of nothing but Dragonite and basically crushing all of our dreams, he was given a couple other sort-of-but-not-really dragon-esque Pokemon, like Gyarados, Aerodactyl, and Charizard (in Gold and Silver).  Despite this more-rounded team, he was still a damn cheat.  His Aerodactyl in Blue and Red knew Rock Slide despite the fact that (back then) it had no way of learning it.  So it’d have an impossible, powerful move that it’d get a STAB from and had a 30% chance of causing us to flinch.  Then there was the fact that all of his Dragonite in Gold and Silver shouldn’t have been Dragonite yet, since Dragonair doesn’t evolve until level 55.  His first two are level 47, and his last is level 50.  There is probably some way around this (it’s possible to find a level 7 Pidgeotto in Viridian Forest in Yellow version), it was still really annoying.

7. Pervert in Celadon City/Underage gambling – These were both in Celadon City, so I’m putting them as the same entry.  In the original games, there was an old guy poking his head through the window of the Celadon Gym, and when you talked to him he’d exclaim “This gym is great, it’s full of women!” before going back to voyeuristically peeping at underage girls just trying to follow their dreams and become Pokémon trainers.

Then, there’s the famous underage gambling situation in the Game Corner.  I’m not mad at them or anything for including it, because frankly I loved it. But, but come on.  It was a slot machine.  Sure, you weren’t betting real money or anything, but I remember sitting at that machine for half an hour straight going “Just one more, just one more.”  Combine this with the unexplained fact that people just wander the streets of every town or city and that there are nowhere near enough buildings to house them all (there might be, if some buildings actually had doors), and it’s painfully obvious that people have bet away their lives and homes on the unrestricted gambling found in the Pokémon world.

8. Ghosts are real, and some were once human – Alright, this is something we’ve all known but never really thought about.  In the Pokémon universe, ghosts are real.  Dead things don’t stay dead.  Each Ghost type is the spirit of something, usually (but not always, which I’ll go into in a second) another Pokémon.  There’s the pretty famous theory that Gengar is Clefable’s shadow, and there’s the ghost of the Marowak from Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town.  The afterlife is real, and there’s pretty conclusive evidence.

Then there’s Yamask.  This poor bastard’s Pokédex entry says that it was once human, and the mask is a replica of its human face and that it looks at it and cries because it remembers being human.  Seriously, think about this for a second: You die, and come back as a monster, forced to hold onto a hollowed-out reminder of the person you used to be.  You can’t move on to whatever afterlife there is for whatever reason, so you spend your nights remembering the life you lost and the loved ones you’ll never get to see again, crying over your dead-eyed mask.  Then some snot-nosed ten-year-old comes along, turns you into pure energy so that you’d fit in their Pokéball, and only lets you out to beat the shit out of (or get the shit beaten out of you) other monsters just for the sport of it.  This shit should be its own circle of Hell.

9. Most of these creatures can’t exist – Due to natural selection most of them would die, and the remainder would rule the entire planet with a Steel/Dragon/Fire/everything fist.  Look at Piloswine’s Pokédex entries: pretty consistently, they talk about how it can’t see anything so it just blindly charges everything and everywhere.  How could it stop itself from charging off a cliff? Or into ice-water?  Or holes it can’t climb out of?  All it’d take is a single drunken weekend and a group of rednecks would be able to eradicate the entire species.

Then there’s the other end of the spectrum.  Some of these Pokémon are literal gods.  Arceus created the universe, Palkia and Dialga created Space and Time, respectively, and Mew is basically Jesus.  Hydreigon flies through the skies and literally sees anything that moves as an enemy.  With its power, I’m sure it would be able to destroy entire cities alone, let alone if they group up.  Darmanitan’s internal fire is 2500 degrees Fahrenheit, and can destroy a dump truck with one punch.  Think what it could do to a car, or a person.

Sure, the excuse could be made that the Pokédex entries are written by a child, which would explain contradictions between generations (“Magikarp can’t jump more than seven feet!” “Magikarp can use Splash to jump mountains!”), but there’s got to be some truth to it, and I’m sure some scientists confirm what the kids put in.  Professors Oak, Elm, Birch, Rowan, Juniper, and Sycamore probably knew better than to put the entire success of their world-changing Pokédex solely in the hands of a ten-year-old that doesn’t have much of a formal education.

Like I said, this isn’t an exhaustive list.  There are a few others that I may cover down the line (I’m thinking of doing a Pokémon creepypasta article), so be sure to read and check back soon!

- Azathoth

Howard's Pokémon Ruby Solo Playthrough Part 1 - "so i herd u liek mudkipz"

"I Want to Be the Very Worst"

I decided it was a time for a celebration as the announcement of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire  found its way to my ears. What better way to welcome the new than to play the old? I loaded up the ol' GameBoy Advance, and because I beat Sapphire ages ago, I started to play Pokémon Ruby.

The rules for my playthrough are simple: try to beat the game with only one Pokémon. I can evolve it, but catching anything else can only occur if I have absolutely no other choice. I know my attempt will be nearly impossible as I progress through the game, but it is something I feel future me can deal with, though it might be much easier than I think.

So It Begins

As the new professor Birch introduces himself and the world of Pokémon, I can't help but notice his appearance. Shorts, sandals, and an unbuttoned lab coat. I conclude a hipster has found the keys to the lab. Despite this, I plan to take him seriously. Without any warning, he asks me the most terrifying and difficult question I have ever been asked by a hipster professor - am I a boy or girl? Oh, the possibilities! If I choose to be a girl, I can make a feminine name, my rival will be a guy, and sexism throughout the Pokémon world will affect my character's mental health. If I choose a boy, I simply can't beat my rival because I will assume the boy has a crush on his same age, same interests, girl neighbor. And, I will have to let her win. It's just courtesy! So, the choice seems logical.

I choose to be a girl and get stuck on the next question - my name. Many pop into my head, though none feel quite right. I decide the only way I can choose the perfect name is to let fate decide. I look at the first name the game has chosen for me:

You're goddamn right.

Lampy, the new girl, arrives in Littleroot Town. As predicted, sexism is already noticed as I am shipped to my new house with the rest of the family belongings in the back of a truck. My mother appears to have already known that it would be a long and uncomfortable ride back there. She then guides me to our new home where I will almost certainly never be again. Inside, the moving company's Machoke are moving and cleaning the new house (It seems Hoenn has yet to set equal rights or abolish slavery). Aching for adventure, I get through the nonsense and rush outside. I meet my only boring neighbors: my rival who I assume has a crush on me, and three homeless people wandering about town.

Seeing everything there is to see, I try to escape my little town. I run into the hipster professor, who is playing tag with a wild Poochyena (and losing, might I add).

Believe me, I tried...

I stand there switching between the hipster's Pokéballs, thinking which one would suit me best for my journey. I can't really remember which gyms come first, what kinds of Pokémon I might be facing, or how it will do later on. After a good five minutes of thinking, I finally grab Mudkip and help the dying hipster, who I suppose has been getting mauled by the rabid pooch for the past five minutes. My first battle ends anti-climactically as I Tackle the Poochyena to death. The hipster, after a long and dreadful dialogue, lets me keep the Mudkip and sends me on a quest. As for the quest, I will completely ignore it and catch zero Pokémon on my way toward beating the Elite Four and becoming a Pokémon Master. Mudkip seems to be the perfect choice for this endeavor.

I leave the dreadful Littleroot Town and embark on my own quest. As I reached a little place called Oldale Town, I think, how did that moving truck even make it to Littleroot Town in the first place? There are no roads whatsoever, and most of the route I took is filled with cliffs and tall grass.  As this appears to be a normal thing around Hoenn, it must have taken flight to and from town by attaching several Pidgey to the roof.

Oldale is another small town - only one building larger than my own. With several battles under my belt, I heal my Mudkip and go find that rival (and future husband) of mine. I find him staring at some trees talking about how many Pokémon he has found already. As I approach him, he immediately wants to battle, and as I suspected, he lets me win. Either that, or he dealt no damage on accident. He gives me money for winning because there also seems to be a gambling problem in this region.

I'm not so sure how I feel about this.

He ditches me in the woods to run home to his dad. What a gentleman. When I finally arrive in Littleroot Town again, I receive my Pokédex from the hipster, who (also) might have a crush on me. My rival lets me know that “if I find any cool Pokémon, you bet I'll try to get them with Pokéballs.”

You bet I won't.

I then get some Pokéballs as a gift and get sent away again to explore. My first piece of business is to sell all of the Pokéballs I just received, as well as the one I found along the way for cash. No need for Pokéballs for a trainer who doesn't want to catch anything. I use the gained money to fill by bag with Potions and Antidotes. Looking west, my eyes fill with wonder thinking about what great adventures I'll see and all of Pokémon I won't catch. But, that awe quickly turned to mild frustration as I came to realize the biggest flaw in my plan - HM01: Cut.

Guess I should have picked that flaming chicken or that badass gecko dude, after all. Stay tuned to relive the wonders of Pokémon Ruby, and all of the frustrations that come with it!

- Howard

PokéManiac Welcomes You to SplashAttack.net With A Challenge!

Welcome to SplashAttack.net everyone!  You can call me PokéManiac. I’ve been playing Pokémon since Gen 1 and as the name implies, I am more of a casual player and collector. That being said, casual gameplay offers numerous challenge styles: Nuzlocke (of varying degrees), the Avatar challenge, and the Conservelocke or Fundamentalism challenge.  But, those can wait - we’re discussing something completely different here.

For the focus of this post, I will be discussing the Avatar, or Clan challenge. This challenge divides the different Pokémon types into the four elemental nations from the popular television show Avatar: The Last Airbender, as seen on Nickelodeon (before it started to suck). The rules are simple: pick a nation and only use Pokémon whose typing aligns with your nation.

If a Pokémon evolves out of your nation, you can no longer use it. On the other hand if it will eventually evolve and gain a typing in your nation, it can be used under the premise that you plan on evolving it. Normal Pokémon can be used by all the nations, barring a second typing (Pidgey can only be used by the Air Nation because of its Normal/Flying typing). In Gen 6 games, the Fairy type has been added to the Air Nation and Bug Pokémon have been introduced as playable by all the nations. If your nation of choice doesn’t have a starter that falls into its types you are allowed to choose whatever starter you like on the premise that as soon as possible it will be stored in the PC.

To get a feel for this, I restarted Pokémon Y and chose the Fire Nation because. Dark, Dragon, and Electric are my three favorite types. Due to Froakie’s potential Water/Dark typing as Greninja, I had the option of picking Froakie or Fennekin. Froakie was my starter in X so I switched things up and went with Fennekin. Early on the choice of the Fire Nation made this an insanely easy play through. The issues began to come up a little farther in when I realized I had three Fire types - Fennekin, Charmander, Litleo - and only one Electric type, Pikachu. The appearance of Pancham and Scraggy on Route 5 alleviated the imbalance. Braixen was replaced with Snorlax, and eventually a Bagon and a more balanced Electric type will be substituted into the team.

Overall, playing through as the Fire Nation hasn’t been overly difficult…yet. I’m sure playing as the other nations completely changes the experience. Before that happens, I look forward to finishing my Fire Nation challenge before playing through other challenges and challenge styles (including the Christian/Conservalocke challenge) through other generations, and to continue writing for the SplashAttack community. Until next time, and the next challenge…

- PokéManiac