QUESTIONS for the people!!!

I have two questions.

1. Am I allowed to trade my Magneton over to Pearl so I can train it (for about 50 xp, actually) so that it evolves into a Magnezone? And if so, can I then attach an item to him when bringing him back, like an evolutionary stone (since all I seem to have are moon stones)?

2. Does the Safari Zone count as one big place or a bunch of small places? In this generation, there are different geographical areas (including but not limited to Plains, Peak, Rocky Beach, Wetlands, etc.). Are each of those a separate area or is the entire Safari Zone one?

(Link to proof of the above: http://www.serebii.net/heartgoldsoulsilver/safarizone.shtml)

New story posts soon, I hope. Buffer is nicely sized, but that doesn't mean I cannot diminish it quickly.

First Recap.

Not that we really need one, but here is the first recap.

PLOT RECAP

So far, Quennel has beaten the first three gyms and lost no pokémon while doing so. He has beaten his rival, Lucius, twice now. He is about to depart from Goldenrod to Ecruteak to, among other things, see Bill and challenge the fourth gym.

BATTLES

Here are the major battles in this chunk.

Lucius 1 (Cherrygrove)

Sprout Tower Sage

Johto Gym Leader Falkner

Rocket Exec Proton 1 (Slowpoke Well)

Johto Gym Leader Bugsy

Lucius 2 (Azalea)

Johto Gym Leader Whitney

LUCKY/UNLUCKY CATCHES

Here are some criteria for lucky:

-Low encounter rate (not necessarily lowest on the route, but lower than other pokémon or really low with a lot of possible pokémon).

-Useful pokémon. Self-explanatory.

-Not horrible nature/ability.

Unlucky criteria:

-Low encounter rate, especially if it was lower than a preferred pokémon.

-Useless move pool at catch.

-Type compared to pokémon I have and pokémon I could have gotten.

-Something I already had, particularly if it has a similar or worse nature/ability.

-Something with a horrible nature/ability

Lucky

-Jenna. 39% chance to find Zubat compared to Geodude's 60%. Maybe she isn't the most useful pokémon yet, but I already had a Geodude and, at higher levels and evolutions, the Zubat family kicks major ass. (SPOILERS: Jenna is not an exception to that rule.) Plus, this nature is better than the nature of my Crobat from Pearl!

Unlucky

-Wayne. Considering I could have found a Mareep, a Wooper, an Ekans or even a Bellsprout (who would have certainly been better...), a low level grass type with no damaging moves (when I picked the grass starter) is certainly an unlucky catch. Then again, I could have avoided this (and had the chance for a Wooper) had I gone at night, but I thought the 80% chance to get something useful (since Bellsprout can be, oddly enough) was enough not to worry about the 10% chance to get this.

-Pierre. Heracross would have been grand, but even a Spearow with a non-crappy nature would have been preferable. Or an Aipom with ANY OTHER NATURE! It seriously boosts the one stat Aipom will never use to reduce one stat Aipom will almost always use. What the hell!

-Randal. I am not a fan of Drowzee's anyway...and at this point, I had both Silver and Luna with psychic move potential. However, the unluckiness is chiefly due to its nature preventing me from doing anything useful with it since...well...it is exactly like Pierre's nature.

-Larten. Sure, the nature is better, but it is still a Drowzee and a redundant one at that. Also, consider this: I was not really expecting to hit the 10% chance Abra or the 1% chance Yanma (though either one would have been nice)...but the 60% chance of a Nidoran (30/30) kinda trumps the 20% chance for a pokémon I already had and never use.

DEATHS

None yet. Woo.

Also, expect this to be made into a full page at some point...though it will be after the deaths happen in the story, of course.

CURRENT TEAM

Timas - Bayleef - Lvl 20 - Miracle Seed

Gideon - Pidgeotto - Lvl 20 - No item

Cecelia - Geodude - Lvl 20 - Hard Stone

Bella - Beedrill - Lvl 21 - Shell Bell

Jenna - Zubat - Lvl 20 - No item

Silver - Togetic - Lvl 20 - Soothe Bell

Descriptions and box pokémon can be seen on the Story Pokémon page until the next update.

PREVIEWS OF THINGS TO COME

Lucius glared at me. "You know, out of desperation, weak people sometimes do okay at fighting back. I guess that's all there is to it." He looked down at the beasts again. "You would never be able to catch one of them anyway. They are too strong, too powerful, too...malicious for you." With that, he walked off. I caught Jenna glaring back at him. She then started to glow...

"This place gives me the creeps," Bella said, coming closer to me.

"Yeah," I said. "It is just plain odd. All these statues and symbols...and those weird creatures that attacked us..."

"They were Unown," came a voice from behind us. It was a scientist who worked here. "They came because you solved the puzzle. They came because they believe you have some sort of otherworldly power."

"But he doesn't," Bella said. "No one has otherworldly power."

"They do..."

Jasmine looked at me. She was almost begging. "I have to stay with him. But you can go. So I need you to get me that medicine."

"You can count on me," I said as I waved to her and ran off. "I'll save that Ampharos. I won't let it down." I paused and muttered to myself, "This is for you, Victor."

Chapter 11 - Plain Badge

"So what exactly are we doing out here?" Timas was looking around, wondering why we left Goldenrod.

"Well Timas," I replied, "according to the sign, the next gym is normal type. I heard we can find Nidorans in the grass here on Route 35, and they learn Double Kick. If we get one, we'll have more than just Rock Smash at our disposal in the way of super-effective moves."

"Ah. But there are a lot of trainers."

"But," Gideon said, "if you battle another level and I battle another three, then we'll both evolve."

Timas looked at Gideon excitedly. "Then what are we waiting for?" He rushed off to battle some trainers, barely waiting for the rest of us.

After battling the trainers, both Gideon and Timas began to glow. Timas got much larger and bulkier, whereas Gideon also grew, but gained the start of an interesting hairdo. They were now a Bayleef and a Pidgeotto. Bella learned Twinneedle as well and we soon made it to the grass where we were greeted by another Drowzee.

Larten, DROWZEE (male)

Insomnia; Gentle (+Sp. Def., -Def.)

Lvl 14, Route 35

"At least it has a better nature," Silver said trying to cheer me up.

"Yeah, I guess."

After we finished with that, we went back into the city. I still had places to visit, after all. The first stop was the hidden bike shop. After finding my way there, I found that the owner was just as annoyed with its location as I was. He gave me a bike and told me it was free - all I had to do was ride it and advertise for him doing so. I rode it around a bit, but it didn't seem to get much interest...

The next stop I made was Bill's house. I went to see if the legendary pokémaniac was home, but he was not. Apparently, he had recently traveled north to Ecruteak City. Well, I guess we knew our next stop after beating the gym here...

I went to investigate the underground and I saw Lyra again. She told me about a place where I could dress up my pokémon and gave me a fashion case to keep track of accessories. None of my pokémon seemed interested, however, so we continued downstairs to find some trainers waiting with some interesting pokémon. They, however, were no match for my team.

I went to the game corner next. They had an interesting game going, one I remembered playing before somewhere. I picked up the rules quite quickly and won some coins, but nowhere near enough to get any of the TMs they had for prizes. I would have to just come back later.

The last stop before the gym was the radio tower. They first had a drawing in which I won a prize, but I saw the real prize further down the counter - a radio card for my pokégear. I had to do a quiz first, but the questions were all pretty simple. After I got the card, a girl who was watching me commented on how well I did.

"Wow, you got them all right! I was sure you had that last one wrong..." She looked at her watch quickly. "Uh-oh, I have to get back to the gym." With that, she darted out. I decided to follow her, since it was my last stop.

The gym was great training for Bella. She swooped in and destroyed all of the regular trainers pretty easily. Thanks to the battles on Route 35 and in the underground, my team was already ready to take on the leader. After healing again, I got to the end of the gym and found the girl who was at the radio station.

"Oh, its you again. Nice to see you."

"Nice to see you too. I take it you are the leader?"

"Yep. My name's Whitney and I use the cutest of cute pokémon, normal types. Are you ready to battle?"

"Of course."

She started by sending out her Clefairy. I first sent out Timas. He shrugged off Clefairy's first attack, then poisoned Clefairy. I then switched to Bella, who promptly took it out with a two Rock Smashes.

Next she sent out her Miltank. I tried to use a similar strategy, but her Miltank attracted Timas. I had to switch him out, so I tried Silver, figuring I could put it to sleep. Silver, however, also became attracted to Miltank. At this point, Cecelia had had enough. She jumped out and accused Whitney's Miltank of being a slut. Then she started chucking rocks at it. The Miltank got angry and powerfully counter-attacked, but Cecelia reigned supreme and beat it, earning me the Plain badge. Or so I thought.

After I won, Whitney started crying. I looked at Cecelia, who shrugged. I looked at her again, and she frowned. "Okay," Cecelia said. She hopped over to Whitney. "I'm sorry. Your Miltank isn't a slut."

Whitney looked down at Cecelia and chuckled. "I know...It just has been a while since I was beaten. Here, you can now have the Plain badge. And this TM of Attract." She handed us the two items and then chuckled. "And now your pokémon can become sluts too."