Behind Every Monster Is a Person in a Cute Costume: Let's Play Moemon Leafgreen!

[Penguinator]

Ah, but doesn't Twinneedle come at level twenty?

[Deme]

Yeah. But man is it driving me nuts. Maybe I'll just cheat in the last level... Or just take a break from Helga, anyway. I really, really, really regret replacing tackle with fury attack. Eh, well. It's not like I use her enough for it to matter.

[Solarn]

So do I. My favorite episode of the Pokemon anime was, without question, the "Island of the Giant Pokemon" episode, where the Pokemon could just hang out and have conflict and stuff, so that's definately a plus of having the pokemon be little people. Besides the fact that they're adorable and gave me an interesting starting point for the plot.

Spoiler

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I can't promise the world will stay as optimistic and light as it seems forever... In fact, I can basically promise the opposite. The world of Pokemon is a little messed up to start with. The world of Moemon is a good deal more damaged. There may be hope, there may not be: not even I know for sure the ending of this story, though I know what I'd like the ending to be.

Edit: I decided to spoiler it since it felt like I was getting ahead of myself a bit. I have a hard time keeping things secret, but I think what I talk about in the spoilered paragraph isn't too revealing. I mean, we still have several major revelations we're waiting on, and Team Rocket is only on the "let's go dig up fossils/ set up toll-recruitment bridges" level. A totally vanilla pokemon LP could promise to get at least a little more messed up from here.

Please don't. Pokemon LPs always seem to be going for the "most depressing story possible" for some reason. I want at least the one with the cute monster girls to be different. I mean, the vanilla plot's sort of screwed up anyway, but please don't go out of your way to make it even worse.

I just can't understand what kind of enjoyment people derive from breaking their own characters as horrifyingly as possible.

[Deme]

I can't go much further without going into spoilers, except that I think you're making two assumptions, neither of them true: the first assumption is that this darkness is the result of breaking characters. The second, which is buried in the first, is that Seed is the core sufferer here. There are probably a few more faulty assumptions, but those will involve spoilers or near-spoilers.

I can, though, make an assurance: the best ending for this story, the one that I'll do my darndest to achieve, is an optimistic one. This being said, this is a hard mode-ish game: I can't garuntee the ending that'll happen.

[Solarn]

I can't go much further without going into spoilers, except that I think you're making two assumptions, neither of them true: the first assumption is that this darkness is the result of breaking characters. The second, which is buried in the first, is that Seed is the core sufferer here. There are probably a few more faulty assumptions, but those will involve spoilers or near-spoilers.

I can, though, make an assurance: the best ending for this story, the one that I'll do my darndest to achieve, is an optimistic one. This being said, this is a hard mode-ish game: I can't garuntee the ending that'll happen.

It doesn't really matter who the focal point of the suffering is, really. It's more in-your-face if it's the main character, but in the end, the darkness is the same regardless. And dark stories always result in (or sometimes even start with) broken characters; if all the characters remained unbroken, the story wouldn't be dark.

[Deme]

It doesn't really matter who the focal point of the suffering is, really. It's more in-your-face if it's the main character, but in the end, the darkness is the same regardless. And dark stories always result in (or sometimes even start with) broken characters; if all the characters remained unbroken, the story wouldn't be dark.

You notice I said it wasn't about "breaking" characters, yes? I never said anything about "broken" characters not being part of it. The two are rather different words when it comes to some important aspects. This is really a difficult discussion to continue without going into spoilers. You're just going to have to either stop reading now, or trust that I'll keep up the humor as best I can and that I'll try for a happy ending, which is what I want to do. It's too late for me to do much about it, besides little details.

[Solarn]

You notice I said it wasn't about "breaking" characters, yes? I never said anything about "broken" characters not being part of it. The two are rather different words when it comes to some important aspects. This is really a difficult discussion to continue without going into spoilers. You're just going to have to either stop reading now, or trust that I'll keep up the humor as best I can and that I'll try for a happy ending, which is what I want to do. It's too late for me to do much about it, besides little details.

I guess I'll just stop reading then, no offense to you. I couldn't bear to have the characters you've introduced so far get tormented (more than they already have been) or turn out to be horrible monsters. Especially if it's Seed tormenting her pokemons, which I for some reason expect to happen.

[PhoeKun]

I guess I'll just stop reading then, no offense to you. I couldn't bear to have the characters you've introduced so far get tormented (more than they already have been) or turn out to be horrible monsters. Especially if it's Seed tormenting her pokemons, which I for some reason expect to happen.

I think you're projecting a bit, and if you honestly expect that to happen I don't think you've really been reading the story.

Suffice it to say that there is a line between "Fluffy Wuffy Adowable" and "High Octane Nightmare Fuel" (in fact, there are about 12 million such lines). Deme has picked hers, and walks it with the grace of a trained acrobat. Even if she switches lines at some point, I have ever confidence she's not going to jump over the line and start torturing characters for fun.

You can have silliness and fun in a world that has some DARKNESS[/Billy Zaine] in it. Deal.

[Deme]

Seed tormenting her pokemon isn't going to happen. EVER. That's not a spoiler, that's a basic fact of Seed's character. Seed doesn't have it in her to torment. Except maybe her father, who, as I've already said, isn't likely to be in this directly. As for her being "tormented" (for a value of torment that amounts to "sad things happen") ... This is a hard mode-ish LP. It says so in the first post: the potential for hurting her somewhat would have been in there even if I were going in a different direction, because the chance that a dear companion could be lost forever has been there since the very first post.

I'm sorry to be losing your readership, and that my authority as author could not inspire a bit more trust.

[Domochevsky]

Oh right, hard mode... y'know, this could very well be the only LP where that actually matters, due to the actually existing emotional attachment.

(If i remember correctly, the original ruleset states that a 'mon's death is heartbreaking, but really... it's not. It only becomes so when you give these 'mons a character instead of them being a dime a dozen. You gotta work for having a heart in the first place.)

Be careful with this responsibility. It's our hearts you're playing with here.

[Solarn]

Seed tormenting her pokemon isn't going to happen. EVER. That's not a spoiler, that's a basic fact of Seed's character. Seed doesn't have it in her to torment. Except maybe her father, who, as I've already said, isn't likely to be in this directly. As for her being "tormented" (for a value of torment that amounts to "sad things happen") ... This is a hard mode-ish LP. It says so in the first post: the potential for hurting her somewhat would have been in there even if I were going in a different direction, because the chance that a dear companion could be lost forever has been there since the very first post.

I'm sorry to be losing your readership, and that my authority as author could not inspire a bit more trust.

Well, for what it's worth, you've got me back. But the story you paint now doesn't sound all that dark, so I'm still a bit distrustful. Companions dying isn't dark in itself.

And I don't trust any author. I've been burned before. Cute stories (especially LPs, and ESPECIALLY Pokemon LPs) have a way of turning grim and hopeless the further they last.

[John Cribati]

And I don't trust any author. I've been burned before. Cute stories (especially LPs, and ESPECIALLY Pokemon LPs) have a way of turning grim and hopeless the further they last.

I can see why, though. A story doesn't do well without conflict, and the world of Pokemon is a utopia on the outside. There's not much interest in "lolz, let's all be really cute." All of us Pokemon LP writers (me included) need to find some sort of conflict other than is provided in the story, as well as put their own spin on it. Otherwise, you're just running through what practically all of the readers have done. Does that forgive the tendency to fall back on Grimdark and emo, even though you started out cute and cuddly? Not really. But being cute and cuddly has no real conflict.

[Deme]

Well, for what it's worth, you've got me back. But the story you paint now doesn't sound all that dark, so I'm still a bit distrustful. Companions dying isn't dark in itself.

And I don't trust any author. I've been burned before. Cute stories (especially LPs, and ESPECIALLY Pokemon LPs) have a way of turning grim and hopeless the further they last.

"dark" may or may not be the right word, depending on the definition of dark you subscribe to. All tonal experiences and words vary from person to person.

Well, I did just say that the ending I want is an optimistic one, so I obviously can't let it get too bad without something turning around at the end.

...Assuming, of course, that the game doesn't get really mean and kill off everyone. But the fact that that possibility exists is why I can get away with telling you guys I want a nice ending: because now there's still the question of whether or not it can be achieved.

Oh right, hard mode... y'know, this could very well be the only LP where that actually matters, due to the actually existing emotional attachment.

(If i remember correctly, the original ruleset states that a 'mon's death is heartbreaking, but really... it's not. It only becomes so when you give these 'mons a character instead of them being a dime a dozen. You gotta work for having a heart in the first place.)

Be careful with this responsibility. It's our hearts you're playing with here.

Which is why I'm working pretty hard for that not to happen! I used basically every potion and superpotion in my possession (I kid you not, I am now the proud owner of exactly 1 healing item, though I intend to fix that before moving on) during the fight against Misty preventing exactly that, and I'm training all my "reserve" pokemon so that in case of emergency, I've still got something good to use.

[Penguinator]

Seed doesn't have it in her to torment.

I will find it hilarious if you end up using a Moemon who learns "Torment."

Also, I keep forgetting this is a hard-mode LP, nothing's died, yet. (Knock on Wood)

[Deme]

I will find it hilarious if you end up using a Moemon who learns "Torment."

Also, I keep forgetting this is a hard-mode LP, nothing's died, yet. (Knock on Wood)

The pokemon/moemon have their own personal capacities for tormenting, distinct from Seed's. Azula, for example, could do all the tormenting Seed could ever need done.

...Torment!

[Penguinator]

Yeah, Azula and Fisticuffs, Spike, probably... But I can't see Rya doing much tormenting.

[Deme]

It would be hilarious to see her try... Which means now I will have to find the place to make it happen.

FISTICUFFS can't really torment. She can hurt people, but she can't really torture them: she wouldn't see the point in taking the time to make the difference between pain and torment. If she wanted to hurt you more than just beating the snot out of you, she'd kill you. It's as simple as that. It's Terra who I think would make a good tormenter, though more in the 'excessive teasing or worrying' sense. And Spike, too. Spike's capable of a lot of things, some of which he's not entirely comfortable with. There'll probably more of that coming up in nearby chapters, since that discomfort is something he's not comfortable enough with to reveal openly, and it's mostly been a kind of distant thought...

Edit: I'm looking forward to seeing how Bite effects Eve's training. The first few levels were rough... As for Leafe, the oddish...I'm debating between cheating her levels via gameshark codes, or just waiting until I'm at a better spot for her. Reader's choice, perhaps? First votes before I get to her decide it.

[Penguinator]

Unless Leafe can withstand Rock Tunnel Moemon, I'd say just cheat it for now. It's a while before water types appear often, and even when they do it's tentacool. *Shudder* So, Leafe wouldn't have the grass advantage, anyway.

[Deme]

I'd like to add that there will still be text for Leafe, because when I cheat up a pokemon's level, I generally try to figure out how Seed would train the pokemon if I weren't trying to speed up the update.

Penguinator, you forget Diglett's cave, which would be a nice place to train a grass type.

[Penguinator]

Yeah, but they're fast little buggers. And Leafe would take neutral hits from ground type. And Digletts/Dugtrios (should you have the misfortune to see a Dugtrio) have Arena Trap, preventing you from running or switching. Wind up with an enemy Dugtrio who happens to get a Magnitude 10, and Leafe may not make it.

[Solarn]

I wonder what Diglett and Dugtrio look like as Moemons, though.

Anyway, my advice is to go back to the beginning and GRIND GRIND GRIND on weak 'mons, then GRIND GRIND GRIND on slightly stronger 'mons, then continue until even your weakest pokemons can take anything at your current farthest position with ease (and that means gym 'mons). Continue to GRIND GRIND GRIND whenever you get to a new area. It's what I do in every pokemon game, since I hate losing a battle.

[Penguinator]

Bumped up in this, because if one faints, it's gone.

[Deme]

I wonder what Diglett and Dugtrio look like as Moemons, though.

Anyway, my advice is to go back to the beginning and GRIND GRIND GRIND on weak 'mons, then GRIND GRIND GRIND on slightly stronger 'mons, then continue until even your weakest pokemons can take anything at your current farthest position with ease (and that means gym 'mons). Continue to GRIND GRIND GRIND whenever you get to a new area. It's what I do in every pokemon game, since I hate losing a battle.

The path from Mt. Moon is a one-way street, remember? Otherwise I could just go grind her against Geodudes there, and this would not even be a discussion. So right now it's "wait" or "Gameshark in some extra XP so this doesn't take the amount of time normally reserved for the movement of glaciers." I don't like the cheating version, but there are updates to do, and my patience only goes so far in one sitting.

[Solarn]

The path from Mt. Moon is a one-way street, remember? Otherwise I could just go grind her against Geodudes there, and this would not even be a discussion. So right now it's "wait" or "Gameshark in some extra XP so this doesn't take the amount of time normally reserved for the movement of glaciers." I don't like the cheating version, but there are updates to do, and my patience only goes so far in one sitting.

I hate those paths. There's one in every Pokemon game. It's such a cheap way to force the player to move forward.

[Deme]

Chapter 17: And the Rest

Spoiler

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"...I'm sorry about all of this..." I mutter. Azula looks at me for a while.

"As long as you do not forsake us, Mistress, your conduct is your buisness." Azula thinks about it. Everyone was happy to see me back in shape. "Still, if you are still shaken, it may be wise to ease your mood before we continue."
Ooh, yeah, a spa would be nice, or going to a movie, or...
"I know! We could train! That always makes you smile!"
or that.

...Wait, it does?

"But you guys are pretty good in terms of strength right now -- much more, and we may have trouble catching wild pokemon."

"Then what about the reserves? They could use a bit of work."

"Oh, yeah...I guess I haven't really been working with any of them for a while. Yeah, that's a great plan."

I switch out teams.


"OK, guys! I figure now's a good time to keep you all in line with the rest of the crew, OK? So we're going to be doing some training!"
"Woo. Hoo."
"...This is going to hurt, isn't it?"
"It's good to be back, Lady Seed."
"Yeah, it sure is!"
"This pleases us.YeS. We MuSt GaIn StReNgTh."
"WOO-HOO! Back into the top percent!"

Since Perci was so eager, she seemed like a good first choice.

Some of the pokemon in this area are tougher than her -- I expected her to complain, but she didn't say anything. She just looked her enemies right in the eye and bit on through. I guess her 'top percect' feeling was being tested, and she planned on rising to the top...Or something.
"So... Did you mind being in the box?"
"Yeees! I don't like that you decided I wasn't as good as the newer pokemon! I'm in the Top Percent of Rattata, after all!” She thinks about exactly what I’m asking.”But the box itself is alright. We're really just energy, so space doesn't matter much. Pokeballs are the same way. And we still can hang out with other pokemon in the system."
"Oh... I'm sorry. It's just..." I move to pat her arm, but she brushes me aside.
"I know, I know. I've got to be better to match what you need! One day, you'll need me, and then I'll get to hear you grovel!"
...

But the focus she was putting in paid off, at the end.

As she put that focus to use, she looked up and said something.
"I think I understand something, though. It is not enough to be in the Top Percent of Rattata... If I'm going to keep up, I'm going to have to..."

"Be in the Top Percentage of Raticates!"
"Very impressive. I'll think about it, OK?"
"But... top percent! Raticate!"

"It's very cool, TopPercen. Really."
It was, of course... But I don't make major decisions based on cool. Often, anyway.

Helga was next... And man, the pokemon around here were about even with her, on average: some weaker...and some a lot stronger.

"Well, I guess it's been a while."
"It's cool! I can take it, OK?"
"...If you say so."

"Boy, all you guys sure are...focused."
One thing I have to say about Helga is that her only strong attack right now, Fury Attack, never. hits. I think I made the right choice...
"How does that even work? I mean, you have giant spikes on your arms. That implies a little more... Impressive."
"Well... Maybe now you see why I took myself out. There's no good getting humiliated, right? I want to be a part of something special -- even if it means the only way for it to be special is without me in the way."
"You're special, though. You're the third Pokemon I ever had in my team. That may not seem like much, but... There's always a place for you because of that."
Helga:
"Come on, let's get back to it."
By that point, though, she was nearly caught up with everyone else...

So of course she learned an attack that would have been useful then.
"Well, good job, Helga."


Next up was Mellow, who... Well, I still find them creepy.
Creepy, and yet oddly effective against pokemon stronger than them. It's mostly luck of having a resistant type, but it's still pretty handy for right now.

And they can do that...
"YeS...sLeEp, FoOl...HeHeHe..."

"More tricks with spores, I see... I guess that makes sense, given the mushrooms, right?"
I touch one of the mushrooms on her head, very gently. A small dust escapes into the air around it.
"Do be careful. They're working full-power right now."
"Oh, oh yeah." I kind of wonder what else those little mushrooms can do?... From a safe distance, I guess it's OK to wonder.
Anyway, after a little while, I started seeing that there was a good strategy with her for situations where the enemy pokemon could overpower her: it's the lesson I learned from my mistake against Misty. Start off by debilitating...

And pound into dust from there. It became less necessary as time went on, but when I was worried about her getting wrapped, or a strong gust blowing her away, it was a comfort.

"...I thought those spores put things to sleep."
"They do a lot of things. ThE PoWeR oF tHe SpOrE iS iNfInItE."
"Well...I suppose it works, right? I can't argue with what works." She seems happy I say so.

"Seed, you've been very kind to us. Here...take this."
She places something in my hand.
"A mushroom?" It looks like one of the ones on her head.
"That's right. It's a present. It Is A fEsTiVe HaT. WeAr It AnD yOuR tHoUgHtS wIlL bE cLeAr AnD fOcUsEd."
I laugh. A festive hat?
"It may work that way for Pokemon, but humans don't have things like that...Hmm, you know I bet this'll make great money to buy potions with..."

"CuRsEs..."


Eve was tricky.

"That...wasn't a lot of damage there, Eve."
"Putting that much effort into this is beneath me."

"If you want to fight better pokemon, you have to prove I can trust you. And that means giving every fight your all! You say you're too good? Prove it," I say. I'm smiling to try and pump her up, to ready her to really fighht.
"Now, I want you to try a combo starting with your wrap attack and moving to your poison sting, to inflict as much ongoing damage as possible."
"That's a good strategy. Maybe you aren't so bad."
It's not perfect, but she does seem to like it.

And soon...
"Well, I have to admit it -- I'm impressed. I may actually try and put my mighty jaws to work for you..." She glances at me with cold eyes. "Yes. OK. I throw my lot in with you. For real."

And that improved the training pretty fast. It's not perfect, but it was a step in the right direction. Why did she hold this back, huh?
We still set up wrap, because Bite couldn't one-shot, and that sped things up a bit. We got into a rythm after a while, which was a comfort.


Next up was Lila.
"It's good to be using you again, Lila. Things have been...a little wierd lately."
Lila:
"I-I'm glad to help you, Lady Seed."
The thing is, psychic super-effective against most enemies in the area. Which meant, roughly, that we ripped through enemies like they were tissue.

"Well, we've been having an easy time of it...How about we test out some of these moves?" Because I want to remember that I have options like that next time, darnit!

Heh. Heh. Heh. This is going to make the whole process a lot less annoying. Come to that, Lila's really good at putting enemies to sleep or stunning them...She'd probably be good for catching wild pokemon with. I may have to keep that in mind: there's ways to use pokemon outside of conventional trainer-on-trainer fights. I'm going to have to remind myself of that.
But first...
"Hey, Lila, could I ask you something?"
"O-of course, Lady Seed...?"
I chuckle and wave a hand.
"It's nothing bad. I just want to know if you'd consider being my special pokemon-catcher. I mean, combat weaknesses aside...I think you'd be really good at getting difficult pokemon to cooperate."
Her eyes got big and starry -- for a moment, I thought I could see the individual lenses, overlapping one another on her big, human-like eyes. It was like looking at crystal bowls full of water.
"I'm so glad...I thought you were getting rid of me, since I'm only in the reserves now!"
I take her into a little hug.
"No, Lila. I'd never get rid of you." I pump a fist in the air. "OK, back to work! My pokemon-catcher needs to be ready for all sorts of wild pokemon!"
We trained into the night... And the next day, there was one more thing left to do.

Train Leafe. Was it wrong that I was dreading it? Why was I dreading it?

That's why. Every hit would be like that, or worse.
"Well, I think training you on your own here is...a bad idea."
"Of course it is...I was always bullied here, I'll always be bullied here."
"...I didn't mean it like that, you know...I meant...We need to find you a training partner. How about...Terra?"
I had been bringing her because she could get us to a pokecenter quickly. Her head jerked up.
"As you wish, I suppose...I can't teach you any freudian-sounding lessons, I'm afraid to say..."
"What?"
"Do not concern yourself...Just watch and learn."
It was slow going.

But not completely without progress. With those two techniques, she would at least contribute meaningfully to fights, even against the enemies here.
"For what it's worth... This is very frustrating to everyone, isn't it?"
"...A little, yeah."
"But this is still pretty cozy: I mean, I'm gaining a lot of power, even if it's not going very fast..."
"Right, and things will be easier when we can get to somewhere better."
She looks at me skeptically.
"Really. You're just in a bad place right now."
She nods after a while.
"...To the future, then."
"To the future," I agree with a smile.

Well, that's all the pokemon trained for now. Next time, we'll return to the actual plot...Such as it is. By which I mean we'll get back to walking around.

[Penguinator]

Just a couple cosmetic errors, but you have the "Effect Spore paralyzed wild Caterpie!" pic in three places. One of which has a statement beneath referring to sleep. And the picture with Leafe shown she hasn't taken damage, which I thought the statement beneath was referring to how much damage she took. (Of course, you can't really change that)

Yeah, I'm a nitpicker. Otherwise, it's great to see another chapter. Ekans has an epic back-sprite. And I love how you voice Mellow.

[Deme]

Just a couple cosmetic errors, but you have the "Effect Spore paralyzed wild Caterpie!" pic in three places. One of which has a statement beneath referring to sleep. And the picture with Leafe shown she hasn't taken damage, which I thought the statement beneath was referring to how much damage she took. (Of course, you can't really change that)

Yeah, I'm a nitpicker. Otherwise, it's great to see another chapter. Ekans has an epic back-sprite. And I love how you voice Mellow.

Edits on the way!

Actually, she was reffering to the amount of damage Leafe could dish out. That was her best, it was non-continual...it wasn't the best example, but it's the one I got a shot of.

Edit: Edits made. The people of the future will not understand you.

[Penguinator]

Okay. I wasn't sure, I couldn't quite tell.

[Deme]

It's a touch vague, I admit.

...Mellow made me grin when writing this chapter, so I think I can say that I like them, too.

[Penguinator]

The sad part is, that they all got to level 20, and some of them evolve shortly after that. Oh, well.