5
Jasmine's almost laughably quick work; her dual Magnemite an easy OHKO, her Steelix a 2HKO. I've given the Exp Share to my Nidoran-F, and the battle is enough to get it straight to level 15 - once I've gotten her badge I head into the grass on Route 39 and kill a couple of Raticate, which levels her to 16 and evolves her into
Nidorina. I also catch a
Meowth when one shows up.
Let's clear out Mahogany. I head back to Lake of Rage and speak to Lance, who I utterly ignored when he showed up earlier, and agree to help him flush Team Rocket out of their HQ.
When we enter the hideout, I make a beeline for that annoying trap floor. Koffing can be caught here, and although it and Weezing can both be caught in the Burned Tower, Weezing has a miserable 1% encounter rate so I'd rather not waste time looking for it. Koffing evolves at the unreasonably high level of 35, but the ones here come at level 21 which is just high enough that I'm content to stick an Exp Share on it and let it slowly rack up points until it's ready. Quilava and Pidgeotto are both coming to the end of their usage "lifespans" and I'll be looking to replace them soon.
I briskly catch both a
Koffing and a
Voltorb, then sweep through the hideout with few problems. I save before tackling the three
Electrode, as I want to catch one, but this proves unnecessary as I catch the first without a hitch.
Time for gym number seven. I don't bother to take on any of the trainers and just go straight to Pryce. Pidgeot 2HKOs Seel, but Dewgong is a blubbery wall that tanks all of Quilava's hits, lowers its Speed, and then uses Rest to undo all my efforts. Since Icy Wind apparently caused a speed tie, it gets in first a couple of times it shouldn't and is able to Rest a second time. I alternate Headbutt and Flame Wheel and finally get it low enough that Quick Attack will finish the job. Piloswine is much easier - solid 2HKO.
Now I've got seven badges, Elm calls to tell me that something weird is happening with his radio. Yes, Team Rocket have occupied Goldenrod City (fun fact: when I went back to Goldenrod earlier, there were a few there already - seems like they gradually build their presence up. Was not aware of this). But I don't care about that. I have business in Ice Path, site of many new Pokemon species. Yes, Crystal lets you in here before clearing the Radio Tower. I Surf across Route 44, catching a
Poliwag in the process, and head inside.
This place has delightful variance depending on the time of day. At night,
Delibird appears, monstrously annoying though it do be to catch. It takes numerous attempts before one remains in battle without fleeing long enough for numerous Great Balls to finally work.
Sneasel takes a little longer to encounter, though is a much easier catch.
Jynx (which requires changing the clock, I ain't coming back here again) is a similarly rare encounter which takes forever to find, and when I do the thought of its abysmally low Defence makes me hesitate to even use Pidgeotto's Quick Attack to weaken it. It just about survives, though. Lastly,
Swinub is also made available during the hours of the day, though I'm stubbornly insistent on only catching one at the highest possible level: 26. That'd be because this thing evolves, too - and I want to make that happen as quickly as I can. I can't resist sneaking onto Route 45 before changing the clock back and end up catching a
Donphan there. Much better than going to the effort of seeking out a Phanpy; probably best to breed that eventually.
Anyway. I Fly over to Goldenrod, checking in at the Day-Care to find my Tyrogue has grown 14 levels. Why, that's exactly what was needed! You can have the Exp Share for a bit, as I enter the Radio Tower and root out these awful so-and-sos inside it. Roughly 1100 exp later, we have two evolutions in the party - Tyrogue levels up and evolves into
Hitmontop (nice - and actually, when you think about the way the Odd Egg IVs are generated, completely unsurprising), while Quilava at last hits level 36 and becomes a mighty
Typhlosion. Hoo-yeah. That's me done with Typhlosion, then. Well, idk. It may very likely be useful for the Elite Four, but I'm wary of investing more experience into a fully-evolved mon than is needed. Backseat for now, to be called upon.
I make it to the top floor, beat the imposter Director, head down into the underground tunnel, fight my way through, and find the real Director. But more importantly I pick up the Amulet Coin. Oooh, yes please. All those Great Balls and Ultra Balls do NOT come cheap. Fighting my way back to the top of the tower, though long and tedious, provides ample experience for my party, and by the time it's all over both Pidgeotto and Koffing are on the verge of evolving.
The Director enters and thanks me for saving everyone, then gives me a Clear Bell. Ah yes, it's Suicune time. Not just yet, though. Gonna hold off on that for a while, there's other stuff I want to do. Namely, Blackthorn Gym!
Being as it's been a while since I caught anything new, however, I make a quick trip into Dark Cave and search for the nighttime-only
Wobbuffet, which I find and capture relatively quickly. Did anyone ever actually use Wobbuffet in Gen II?
Swinub, as I expected, is garbage. I was hoping it'd be at least some use here. It's left to Pidgeotto to take on the first couple of trainers, which finally pushes it to level 36 and prompts its evolution into
Pidgeot. Thank you for your service. Koffing is not far behind, evolving a couple of battles later into
Weezing. This lets me transfer the Exp Share to Swinub for subsequent matches. It's not like I've got anything else to raise yet (or anything that powerful) so Pidgeot and Typhlosion are my best bet against Clair. Weezing can be a suicide bomber.
She's tough, but I come prepared: I give Pidgeot a PrzCureberry as a guard against her Thunder Wave-spamming Dragonair and am able to kill off the first two without winding up statused. Typhlosion sees off the third. Weezing is able to tank a hit from Kingdra, surviving long enough to use Selfdestruct, which surprisingly takes it down in one hit. It's safe to say Swinub enjoys the fat wad of experience from that.
As ever, Clair refuses to hand over the badge. For once, her outrage is kind of justified. That was a very cheap win. I go to the Dragon's Den and head straight for the shrine:
I want that Dratini. It's a shame that I have to hurry or I'd take the time to perform
my signature glitch. Ah, well.
Yes,
Dratini is the next mon I intend to raise, and since its final evolution level is a whopping 55, it's going to eat up a lot of resources. Luckily, I've left a lot of trainers in Johto unfought so that I can raise it relatively quickly.
Elm calls as soon as I leave the Dragon's Den and asks me to come by his lab, as he has a Master Ball for me. Master Ball, eh...? Well, I know exactly what to use that on. It takes almost no time at all to locate
Raikou and capture it. Easy come, easy go. Using
Chamale's method, I also manage to locate Entei after a few tries. For shits and giggles, I use Powder Snow and somehow hit first, and this winds up freezing it.
I believe the correct response to this is lmaoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
It eventually defrosts and escapes, though. Just gotta find myself a sleep inducer...
Pokedex count:
86.
Not quite triple figures yet... but we're getting there. Still a while to go before I call it a day.