SolLock's Log: Day 7

I started out the day by going back to the Apricorn trees, to see if there were any new Apricorns, but there were none.  Togepi readily handled the wild pokémon that appeared on the way back to Violet City.
Next, I spent some time training my pokémon against the wild pokémon on the northern part of Route 32.  Watchman isn't doing very well, but that's why she needs this training.  This worked well, though, as she's learned Fury Swipes in place of Scratch.  Also in that time, I happened upon a picknicker named Liz.  She challenged me with her Nidoran♀, which got a frightening critical hit in on Watchman.  I finished her off with Arsonist, though.  Afterward, we exchanged phone numbers.
I went to the southern end of the route and decided to take a brief trip into Union Cave.  I first encountered a Rattata; I caught him and named him Vector.  I also found an X Attack in an alcove.  After returning to the pokémon center, though, I decided to test my mettle against a trainer that I'd seen hanging around near the cave.  He turned out to be a bird keeper named Peter.  Thorough use of Quick Attack on the part of Watchman handled both of his Pidgey, but I let Scrounger handle his Spearow.  Joey called while I was in the pokémon center.  He thinks that his Rattata is in the top percentage of Rattata.  Should I be training Scrounger more?
Somewhat confident in my pokémon's abilities, I had Pitcher lead the way through Union Cave.  Eager to see what lay ahead, I avoided what trainers I saw, and emerged on Route 33.  By that time, though, I had switched Sting to the front of my party, as repeated fights against wild Rattata were starting to take their toll on Pitcher.  There, though, I encountered a wild Ekans.  Fortunately, Sting's Poison Sting was a good way to wear him down without knocking him out, and I managed to catch him.  I named him King.
Then, Liz called with some inane gossip.
Amidst the evening rains on Route 33, I did see some Apricorn plants' bearing fruit.  I was able to obtain one each pink and black Apricorn from them.
The return trip through Union Cave provided good experience for Scrounger, though twilight was already upon me when I emerged from the cave.
I decided to train Watchman and Pitcher against a hiker that I had seen in the cave.  His name was Daniel, and, as it turns out, his only pokémon was an Onix.  I immediately switched to Pitcher, who promptly finished him with two strikes of Vine Whip.  He also learned Sleep Powder, which I expect to be extremely useful.
After a fashion, Watchman evolved into a Furret.  I hope that this means that that hard work has paid off, but she was tired, so I retreated to Violet City, where I put her into the PC in exchange for King.  I tried to train him against the wild pokémon on Route 32, but the first Bellsprout was a tough win, so I healed him and took him back to Route 31.  He handled a Hoothoot alright, but was almost lost to a Rattata.  We'll resume training tomorrow.  Perhaps King will even learn a fourth move.

[NOTE:  This entry corresponds to Saturday, March 30th, 2013.]

SolLock's Log: Day 6

I started the day by going back to retrieve the Apricorns that seem to grow so vigorously around here.  After that, I trained my pokémon thoroughly against the wild pokémon on Route 32.  Pitcher got into some interesting wrestling matches against some wild Ekans, but always won out.
As I worked my way southerly, I encountered a youngster named Albert.  Sting was able to take out his Rattata and Zubat, thanks to judicious use of Harden - though that Zubat's Supersonic had her on the ropes for a while, so I had to use a Potion to keep her safe.  Not far from him, I found a Repel.
Following the western side of the route, I encountered a camper named Roland, whose Nidoran was readily dispatched by Arsonist.  Near him I found a Great Ball and TM09: Bullet Seed.  As I pressed on, Watchman came frighteningly close to fainting against a wild Bellsprout. She really needs some training to bulk up.  I snuck past a trainer and, luckily, right into a pokémon center.
At the center, a man gave me an Old Rod, to get me started fishing.  Another man gave me two Lure Balls because I was collecting Apricorns, and told me of a man named Kurt in Azalea town who makes special pokéballs out of Apricorns.  When I left the center again, I spotted a girl amidst the trees behind it.  Upon speaking with her, I learned that she was Frieda of Friday.  Apparently, today was Friday, and so my lucky day, too, as she gave me a Poison Barb.  I, of course, gave it to Sting to hold, since she knows Poison Sting.
After that, I went to the watchful trainer whom I'd avoided earlier.  This youngster Gordon had a Wooper, so I promptly switched out Watchman for Pitcher.  A single Vine Whip ruined his day.
After that, the Egg that I was carrying hatched into a Togepi.  I called Professor Elm right away, and he told me to bring it to him.  He seems to have been a bit confused, though, as he immediately called me thereafter to tell me the same thing.  When I got back to Prof. Elm's lab, I showed him Togepi. He seemed to get very excited about Togepi's rareness and muttered something about legendary pokémon, then gave me an Everstone and sent me on my way.  An Everstone prevents the pokémon holding it from evolving, but I don't have anyone that I'd like to hold it, so I'm just keeping it in my pack for now.
I trained Togepi on Route 29 until he learned a 4th move, though it's Metronome, so I've no plans to use it:  He could end up using Selfdestruct or Explosion.  Then, I trained him against the Poison-types on the upper part of Route 32, since he knows Extrasensory.
Oh, and Joey called.  He apparently failed to catch a Hoothoot.  Then Wade called.  Apparently, his bugs managed to knock out a Hoothoot.  Good on them, I guess.
At the end of our training, Togepi learned Sweet Kiss, which replaced Growl.  Now, it's time for a well-earned rest.


[NOTE:  This entry corresponds to Friday, December 28th, 2012.]

Nuzlocke: Soul Silver

I recently (several weeks ago) learned of something called The Nuzlocke Challenge.  As you can see at the link, there are just 2 rules:  Only attempt to catch the first pokémon in an area, and any feinted pokémon is dead.
I am going to attempt this challenge with my heretofore unopened Soul Silver edition of Pokémon.  I'll make a few tweaks, though:
1.  Instead of releasing a feinted pokémon, I'll have a PC box labelled "RIP", which will act as a cemetery.  Let me never forget my fallen friends.
2.  I'll try to catch legendaries for the challenge, but I'll never use them.  That works both ways:  Even if a legend is the 1st pokémon that I encounter on a route (likely via judicious use of Repel), it just "doesn't count" for me.
3.  This is more of a clarification, but it's assumed that gift pokémon don't count against any area limit, especially as some are no-choice gifts, anyway.
4.  Another clarification:  I'll assume that each PokéWalker route is an area unto itself, and thus that only the 1st poké radar encounter counts.
5.  Though it's not actually in the rules, I'm taking a tentative pass on breeding, more in keeping with the spirit of the challenge than the letter.
Though I started Heart Gold with Cyndaquil, I'll also be starting Soul Silver with Cyndaquil, owing the the comparative rarity of fire-type pokémon.  I'll post here with occasional updates.