Welcome to another chapter of Diary! As always, I do not own Pokémon, and enjoy!

21. Two of a Kind

Day 20 (March 11, 2018): Hoenn

Welcome back to another episode of the Gracie channel!

Before I get going, a quick addendum to the rules.

I originally said that I was going to only play one game per region. There is a region that is an exception, and that is Unova.

I am planning on doing the one of the first games, Pokémon Black, and then I'm planning on doing one of the sequels, Pokémon White 2. This is mainly because the two games play off of each other. However, there are a few exclusive battles in the prequel, and I haven't done the prequels in a while. Typically, the two games that are played are direct sequels, but I chose not to do that. Mainly, this is because it well make more sense in Traveler. As for why, I will explain it later.

But there is some difficulties I must prepare for.

Unova is ruthless for throwing Dark Types at the player early on, before they have access to any other moves. In the sequels, this is not an issue because the game gives the player a weak attacking TM near the start. Unfortunately, item randomization is not an option, so I can't force Gracie to have another attacking move in the prequels. Luckily, Gracie goes has moves that boost her own stats and lower her opponents'. By the time there is the first mandatory fight against a Dark Type, it's possible to buy enough Potions to outlast foes. In a test run, I was able to successfully clear the first mandatory fight against one of these Pokémon. However, I am not sure how the rest of the game will go, and I probably won't know for a while.

There's also something else that comes up.

And that is something called Liberty Island.

Liberty Island is a place only accessible in the prequels, and it's only done via a real-life event. However, the place leads to several battles, and a Pokémon that can only be caught there.

Unfortunately, I have trouble getting it to work. No matter what I do, I cannot seem to trigger the event that would make it appear. I think it's because the game reads files differently if the player is using a randomizer.

Finally, I figure out how to make it work.

It's a rather simple solution that makes me feel a bit like an idiot.

In order for the item to be inserted, there are two parts. One involves telling the game what the player wants, and the other is telling the game where to insert it. Guess which part I forgot to do? The poor game was so confused, knowing that I wanted an item, but not knowing how to give it to me…

It's worth noting that in the gameplay, Gracie will not encounter the Pokémon on Liberty Island, as it is a legendary that is optional. In story, the battles that take place on Liberty Island have already occurred previously, so Gracie will only find the legendary there. I might edit the confusion into the story somehow. Since going to Liberty Island involves leaving on the ferry, perhaps Gracie loses her ticket or something…

Of course, all this means that Gracie has to go through Unova twice, and it affects the story. The events in Pokémon Black have already taken place by the time her story starts. So some teams may be merged with their sequel equivalents. Or Gracie simply just goes through the region twice, with both enemies and allies knowing her power.

This is why they are stronger the second time, with the gameplay reason being Challenge Mode. However, this also means that the second time, Gracie is in more danger. Enemies know what she is capable of doing, and will stop at nothing to defeat her. So Juniper gives her something that contains magical abilities, like an item. This item allows Gracie to use attacks other than her regular ones. She can utilize these abilities until she gets to a safe area, where she can train and recover from any damage she does receive. When Gracie gets to the safe area and is properly trained, she returns the item to Juniper.

The reason for this is because a randomizer is not used in White 2. If a randomizer is not used, it's impossible to fight without the starter or any other early caught Pokémon until one obtains the first Badge. And since Gracie has to be traded in, I can't actually use her until that point. If a randomizer is used, it's difficult to activate things like Challenge Mode and Memory Link. And if these things are not activated, it's impossible to do all battles and events. So I chose to use the hard copy in order to complete everything.

One of the things that will happen is that Cheren's battle at the beginning of the sequels will be replaced with Lenora. This is because Lenora's is one of the few battles that can be fought in the prequels but not the sequels. This occurs even if all events have been unlocked. The starting city in the sequels also does not have a Gym Leader, because Cheren is just a regular traveling trainer in Traveler.

Another possible story explanation is that the first time, things go as normal. The second time, N hears about two missing trainers, Hilbert and Hilda. He then enlists Gracie's help in finding them. This has to do with the fact that in the sequels, the main protagonists of the prequels are never seen, and no one knows where they are. So I think that someone would get at least a little worried…

Speaking of Unova, I finally breed for the sequel. However, I'm having trouble getting an egg because there are no Pokémon other than a party of six basic ones in my Black 2 file. Instead, I have to use a completed Platinum file to catch Ralts and Magmar (the latter for speeding up hatching). Then, I have to transfer them up before I can even use the day care center. Ralts comes easily, but Magmar is tough to find and even tougher to catch. In fact, my first time, I fail, and need to reset. Eventually, I am both in the egg is made. After one hatching, the baby has the right attributes. Now the egg is in my party until White 2 is ready to go.

And finally, Pokémon Tournament DX is done. This means that the characters there can be inserted into the Traveler series in full. It's a good thing, as the characters impact the rest of the series. The coalition also impacts a one-shot written about them. Said one-shot is confirmed to be called Corruption, and it will most likely be written after Daughter and Diary are done.

So, I've been busy.

But now it's finally time to start the third arc of the story.

Hoenn.

Otherwise known as the game I had to randomize over and over in order to actually start…

But also known as a game I wasn't sure about at first, but now enjoy.

It's worth noting that I am playing Pokémon Emerald. Hoenn has a lot of options for games. These options include two originals, two remakes, and Emerald (which is like the director's cut of the originals). There's a lot of debate about whether the remakes or Emerald are the superior versions, and I happen to be in the latter camp. I will explain why as I go along.

This also means that there will be a lot of comparison between the remakes and this, as well as a lot of character analyses. A few new characters were added in the remakes, one character's story was expanded, and Emerald added a whole slew of characters that could only be seen after the main game was cleared. While I won't be seeing any of the characters in this run, I will do an analysis of them anyway. They still play an important role in Traveler.

But now, on to the gameplay.

First things first, turn up the speedup button. Second things second, watch the intro and fix the clock… For some bizarre reason, the original Hoenn games thought it would be a good idea to use the analog clock to track time, while everyone else used digital… It can make it very hard to read… And it's not like it mattered for cartridges anyway. Since after the game was played for at least a year, the internal clock batteries would run dry and no clock-based events could occur… Luckily, those not playing on a native system can toggle the clock on and off with a button (although, people will generally want it on). The remakes fixed this problem entirely by simply using the 3DS's clock. Also, there's a potion in the PC. I quickly grab it.

And off to continue the rest of the intro. It appears that Norman, the player's father, is having a special show, but the player doesn't get to see it. It's also worth noting that this is the first game where the player is related to someone famous. In this case, it's Norman, a Gym Leader. This leads to some interesting dialogue when he is finally battled, but I will save that for when he gets a proper introduction. There's also some unfortunate implications in the remakes, and in other media about him… Once again, that's neither here nor there.

Anyway, now I have to head next door and get introduced to Prof. Birch's child. The child will be the character the player did not choose. The name will be either Brendan or May, depending on whether or not the player is playing as a boy or girl. Interestingly, May made a full appearance as one of the main characters in anime. Brendan has yet to appear, and while May is Norman's daughter in the anime, Prof. Birch has no children there. In the Pokémon Special manga, both appear at once. They form a bit of an odd friendship, but also are each other's rivals. It's rather interesting to see.

Unfortunately, the game version of the rival is nowhere near as developed. That's why I can't say much about them. It's worth noting they are the first instance of a friendly rival. The battles are often good-natured, and usually end with a gift. There would be other friendly rivals in the series, and sometimes they would be alongside more serious ones. Also worth noting that in the original games, Brendan and May were the only rivals that did not completely evolve their starter Pokémon. This changed in the remakes, where they had a couple battles after the main game was cleared. In these battles, they did evolve their starters to their final form. While these battles are not in the Emerald version, Gracie's story will act like they are. Since the postgame is not being done otherwise, this will be last battle Gracie has before the arc ends.

Anyway, onward I go.

After visiting with Brendan, it seems like I have no choice but to head to the road to the north. There, Prof. Birch is in trouble, and I need to use a Pokémon to help rescue him.

Luckily, I know exactly which Pokémon to use.

Gracie joins my team once again, this time holding the TM for Return.

And now for an explanation on why I had to randomize so much…

I mentioned that this game hurls Dark types at the player early on.

I didn't mention how early.

Since I'm playing Emerald, the first battle is against a Zigzagoon. However, things would have been different if I was playing any other of the Hoenn games.

Instead, I would've had to fight against a Poochyena.

Poochyena is a Dark Type, and Gracie's only attacking move is Confusion.

Which means I would've had to continue to try and fight the enemy Pokémon while I could do no damage. And the only way to end the battle would be if one of them either defeated the opponent or themselves using Struggle…

And there are lots more where that came from.

So it's easy to see why I randomized the items so I ended up with an extra move…

Anyway, the fight is not difficult, with the opposing Pokémon only going down to one Confusion. Professor Birch thanks Gracie by giving her the TM.

I may as well talk about Prof. Birch now.

In the original games, Prof. Birch didn't get much personality. The anime expanded on this by showing he enjoyed being outside and studying, even despite the risk. He also was kind to the protagonists, but he could be fairly nasty to those who weren't respectful to Pokémon (such as when he tries to criticize Team Rocket after they continue to deny that Jessie has a Dustox rather than a Beautifly).

The remakes added a little bit more to him, mainly by making a lot of his interactions comic relief. For example, there's a period in the postgame where he believes he is being attacked by wild Pokémon. It's similar to the intro, where the player has to pick a Pokémon to help rescue him. However, it turns out to be two false alarms. The first was a Pokémon tried to deliver a package, and the second was his wife. The two scenes are hilarious, but I have to wonder how he could be a respected researcher and be that dense… This character development made him easily become one of my favorite professors, but my all-time favorite is still coming up…

After all that, Gracie joins my party, and I immediately teach her Return. Time to head off to the far north, where the first rival battle awaits.

But not before some leveling up first.

Where Gracie shows off her new move.

Return is boosted in power depending on how much a Pokémon likes its Trainer. Unfortunately, I'm still in the beginning of the game, so Gracie doesn't like me much. Furthermore, it runs off of her much weaker Attack stat, so it doesn't do much damage. A single battle with a Poochyena nearly turns into a bloodbath, as the Pokémon brings Gracie to about half HP with a few Tackles.

I make sure to grab some Potions after that, because battles that close could end badly…

Luckily, the rival battle doesn't.

It's just a battle against a single Torchic, so Gracie takes it out with Confusion.

After that, time to head back to the lab and head west. Also capture a Zigzagoon for a HM use.

May as well talk about a remake exclusive mechanic. The remakes also added two mechanics that were much loved in the fandom. They were sneaking, and the Dexnav. Sneaking makes it so that the player can move slowly using the 3DS's control stick. The Dexnav allowed the player to find rare Pokémon in this manner. These Pokémon would often have better stats, exclusive items, or even special moves to differentiate them from their normal counterparts. Furthermore, the more players caught or defeated the Pokémon, the higher chance of another Pokémon of the same species appearing with the rare attributes. The player could also call Pokémon with the Dexnav, but it didn't always work. Sneaking was the only way to catch these Pokémon, and if the player stopped doing it, they would run away. While it was a little bit tough to control at first, this quickly became one of the best mechanics in the games. Unfortunately, it did not make an appearance anywhere else. Since it is not in Emerald, I don't know if Gracie will encounter it here. I'm not even sure what you would use it for, because she's the exact opposite of inconspicuous…

Anyway, on to the routes to the west.

And the problems with Poochyena continue. One consistently lowers Gracie's attack power, and then lands a critical hit. Said critical hit takes off a quarter of her HP, but she is still able to beat her opponent back with Return. Everyone else gets taken down with Confusion.

There's also some berries here. Berries can be held to restore HP and give other effects without wasting a turn. I immediately equip an Oran Berry to Gracie so she can heal herself. The berries can be replanted and replenished, and they have other uses outside of battle. However, I will talk about those uses later.

For now it's on to Petalburg.

First things first. I have to go visit Norman. He's a Gym Leader, but the fifth one. As a result, I won't be able to challenge now. However, I do have to talk to him, as he explains the basics of the rest of the game. And then Wally stops in, acting as the game's Pokémon catching tutorial.

And boy, do I have a lot to say about him.

Wally is the first instance of a disabled character in the series, and that alone makes him interesting. He is implied to be suffering from asthma, and this is confirmed in the Pokémon Special manga. Nevertheless, he catches a Ralts, resolves to become a great Trainer, and goes on his own journey. He eventually becomes so powerful he can hold his own against all the Gym Leaders. At the end, he is implied to at least be the level of the Elite Four. The remakes have him be even stronger than them. Wally's parents are pleased as well, and thank the player for helping him catch his first Pokémon. They say it greatly improved his health and allowed him to go on a Pokémon journey. This is despite the fact that he ran away from home to do all this.

Many find Wally's story charming, even though others find him annoying.

I find the story one big mess.

One of the problems is how Wally's story is executed. He is implied to become incredibly strong from the beginning of the game to the end, and thanks player for it. However, the player never sees this development. It would make sense if he appeared over and over, continuously getting more powerful with each fight. But instead, Wally just shows up at the beginning of the game and at the end. The player can choose to fight him again in the postgame, but that doesn't really add much to his character.

The other involves how his illnesses is handled.

In the games, Wally just runs away and goes on the Pokémon journey, and no one bats an eye. This is despite the fact that he's repeatedly stated to be frail and sickly, with asthma so bad he had to move to another town for most of the story. He appears at the end of the game as if nothing has happened, completely healthy. His family credits Wally's new Pokémon and determination.

But the problem is that no matter how determined someone is, it doesn't change the fact that the illness is there. Furthermore, some of the areas of the Pokémon world are death traps for asthmatics. The game doesn't even acknowledge this. A blatant example is the ash fields that the player has to go through about halfway through the game. Wally also has to pass through here, even though going through an ash field is a good way for someone with asthma to get hurt or even killed. But the game doesn't even mention this, let alone explain how Wally did it.

The remakes tried to explain the illness away by implying Wally's main problem was his shyness. However, the remakes still leave in some of the original references to illness, so it doesn't work. Furthermore, Wally is a runaway. That means that there are people who don't know he left. People that are worried about him, possibly even looking for him. Maybe there's a punishment waiting when he gets back home. Furthermore, unless Wally is manipulative or good at planning (the game doesn't suggest he's either), he would have to run away without much preparation beforehand. Yet the game simply ignores this factor, and the family just dismisses it as Wally being strong-willed.

And I find it all doesn't make sense.

Realistically, Wally should never have been able to go on a journey, let alone get as far as he did.

And apparently I'm not the only one with that mindset.

A lot of fan works deconstruct Wally's fate. They usually end with him dying at some point on or shortly after the journey. Also usually, someone finds him sick and urges him to stop. For some reason, this person is typically Winona. Whether or not he listens depends on the story.

And so the Traveler series also deconstructs what happens.

In Holly Rising, Wally does die. However, in Usurping, he survives.

There are a few reasons for that.

One of the reasons is that it's rather cliché. A lot of readers expect a story with Wally's journey to either end the way it does in canon, or for Wally to die. I wanted to examine a different point of view.

Furthermore, when I was writing Wally's story for Usurping, I realized that making them die of his illness when so many others survived with it (one of which is the main protagonist) didn't make much sense. Finally, I realized I could have the story have the same impact and do many of the same events if Wally ultimately survived his journey.

However, Wally's illness is changed a bit.

He still has asthma, but he also has allergies to the point of going into anaphylactic shock. I have also decided that he will have an immune system disorder, but I'm not sure what. So far, it is likely that he will have lupus (which would be rare given his gender and age, but not impossible). The reason his illness was made to be worse than in canon is because I needed something that would wear him down to the point where he can no longer travel on his own, but still be alive. At the same time, Wally's character required having an illness with the risk of death. This is because there's constantly that risk in Usurping, and in Holly Rising, he actually does die.

I also realized that Wally dying or otherwise being injured and unable to continue from asthma didn't make sense. Although asthma can cause long-term damage and also be fatal, that only really happens if the asthma is not effectively treated. It's implying that Wally has had asthma his entire life and knows he has it, so it would be treated at least somewhat. He would also probably know know which areas to avoid. I was originally planning to say that he did not treat his asthma effectively, hence why he got sick a lot. Unfortunately, I realized that would require him to be rather stupid and reckless, and he's not ever seen as being either.

Furthermore, the protagonist herself has severe asthma, so she would recognize the symptoms and get Wally in for treatment. On top of that, by the time the protagonist starts traveling, her asthma is very well-managed. This is despite the fact that she has not had it for as long as Wally. Finally, having the protagonist's asthma managed while Wally's is not does not make a lot of sense. In contrast, a lot of immune system disorders have a chance of flaring up and doing a lot of damage even with treatment, so it would make perfect sense for Wally to constantly get sick even though he tries to take care of himself. The protagonist does not have an immune system disorder, so she's at a loss for how to try to help Wally.

And all this contributes to what happens to him.

Wally tries to get through the journey, but is constantly getting sick and the protagonist keeps taking him to a hospital. However, due to Trainer laws, she can't force him to get treatment or stop, because he's treated like an adult. This means Wally's in charge of his own treatment, and forcing him to get anything can put the protagonist in legal trouble. Finally, Wally has an attack so bad that the protagonist tearfully orders him to stop the journey. She is able to get support for that to happen, but still faces legal repercussions. Luckily, the support she has from before also allows the protagonist to avoid long-term damage. Unfortunately, her reputation takes a hit, and she begins to make enemies.

Meanwhile, Wally is also punished for being a runaway. He is still allowed to keep his Pokémon, but is cannot own them as a Trainer. This is what inspires Toby, his Gardevior, to begin his own journey as a Pokémon citizen. Wally is also allowed to continue on his journey with a new team and starting from the beginning.

There is one condition.

The other ward I mentioned a few chapters back?

It's Wally.

It's generally agreed that Wally needs supervision in order to make sure he doesn't do something so reckless again, and for someone to watch over his health. The idea of a nurse is debated, but most nurses do not know how to battle very well. Someone points out that with instruction from some of the nurses and knowing where doctors are, another person that can battle proficiently can take the role. Wally is devastated, but is comforted by Winona. She simply saying that he made a mistake, but he's being given a chance to rectify it. Furthermore, she points out that he can do a lot of things on his own, but going on a Pokémon journey is not one of them. Wally is still devastated, but realizes he can't get his training license back or go on another journey unless someone goes with him.

As a result, he reluctantly becomes Winona's ward, and starts out fresh in Hoenn. The reason Winona is the protector is that when Wally gets to the point of becoming very sick and unable to continue, Winona's giving him treatment. She is also often seen trying to convince him to stop his journey. Finally, Winona mentions being prepared for the chance of having a ward and otherwise looking after a young trainer. This is mainly mainly because she's a big proponent of changing the laws to make things more balanced for everyone. As for who looks after the gym, it may be an OC. Falkner might also be a possibility, provided Winona somehow gets paid during her task (as being in the police force and managing the gym might be difficult).

It's unknown if Gracie will meet Winona or Wally, and how much of their journey she will know about. She is confirmed to meet Toby at some point, but it is unknown how much he tells her.

But that is something I will get to for later.

For now, a massive part of the third arc story is done, and I am ready to move on to gameplay next update.