hashtagafreakingghost | Third 👻 Story [Video/Action for Violet]

[VIDEO / 3/12]

[At a little desk in a Violet City hotel, Ashley sits in front of a lot of...papers. Many papers, a notebook? Whatever's written on them can't be distinguished from the angle, but oh goodness, it looks like there sure is a lot of it! She looks a lot more put-together than the last time she was on video on the network, that's for sure. Probably helps that there's a Zubat poking up behind her shoulder, like he's holding on with his wings from behind, and it's a surprisingly peaceful image? Really, the girl who'd arrived here in hysterics is completely zen with giving a no-eyed bat a piggyback, something works well in this world.]

Hi. [...you don't have to-] I've, um, more or less... I've started training a lot, for my first gym battle, and it occurred to me that there are some Pokémon here that've got unconventional evolution styles. Since no one's an expert on everything and I'd have no idea where to start looking for one, I wanted to put this out to poll. I don't want to mess up and make it so they can't evolve right, especially since- Arwen, c'mere, don't do that-

[She bends down, dips off-screen (with a skitter from her Zubat) and then pops back up, with an excited little Eevee in her grasp, one who leans forward and sniffs at the camera.] Okay, sure, girl. Since I've heard Eevee have a lot of forms.

[A small Vee! as Ashley pulls the girl away. The view moves from Eevee-nose to one of her notes, one that appears to be a small...not-good doodle of an Eevee, with multiple arrows. ...It honestly looks like one for each type, um. Only one has a doodle at the end, which is mostly just a not-good Eevee with ribbons for its ears: Ashley's rendition of a Sylveon, with a little scribble of + puffs??.] I had a conversation with someone on how to get a Sylveon, but I'm not sure on the specifics- or how many forms Eevee has, or what causes them to evolve into each of them!

[Her finger rubs against the PokéGear's lens for a brief moment, leaving a faint print as she sets it back hastily so it's pointed back at her face. Her Eevee has since grown bored and hopped off, it appears.]

I don't want to...to train her without knowing what strategies to use. At least for evolution. And then I realized I don't know anything about the rest of mine either.

[What a god awful long preamble, Ash, do you ever shut up, God-
Looking several shades of awkward now that she's been talking for...awhile, she clears her throat and shifts her shoulders, meaning her Zubat almost falls off.]

S-so! Besides Eevee's...everything. I made up a list of my Pokémon, and, if any of them have special conditions or something besides simple training to help them evolve to their next form!

[And now the view's back to her notes, but a different set- it is indeed her roster, just a list of names; Litwick, Espurr, Happiny, Stantler, Zubat and so on. Not a very long list of species, thankfully.] I already know about Espurr's unique case, but for the rest I'm clueless, and the handbook didn't mention hardly anything about evolution.

[...this is because she wants to study isn't it, jesus christ ashley really]

Any information or just tips for evolution training would be very appreciated. Thanks for your time!

[ACTION FOR VIOLET / FRONTDATED TO 3/13]

[Training. Holy heck has this girl been training a lot. Towards the start of the day, you'll catch her with her Pokémon (Litwick, Luxio, Espurr, Zubat, Munna, and a very shy Snorunt) out of their balls, either on her way to or at Sprout Tower. ...Which is a fun place to be. Isn't it. All those freaking ghosts, and-

Naw, she's calm, she's cool. Feel free to run into her during this point, where she's likely training her Luxio or her shaking Snorunt, or maybe her Zubat.

...There is one point in the day, however.

Toward the end, when most of her Pokémon are all in their balls, save for her Zubat who's piggybacking on her shoulders.

Where this horrible shriek just echoes throughout the Tower, and holy crap she sure can run, can't she, down from the second floor and out the damn door, what the heck is she even running from-

Whatever it is, she's very distressed! Naturally. Because she wouldn't be Ashley if she wasn't.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Dang, talk about attentive! Her reaction brings a small smile to his face. He can certainly appreciate the enthusiasm; he was in a similar boat when he was new... albeit more of an egotistical prick. Thank goodness he's left those days behind.]

Hey, that's the great part about Eevees. They're so flexible that there's incentive to train more than one. Heck, I've seen people specialize in breeding them before, which should say a lot.

I'd say if Arwen's game for being a Sylveon, then stick with it! Fairy's one of those types that's so new, some people still don't know how to deal with it. And I'm serious: there wasn't even a fairy type until about a year and a half ago.

But the cool part's that you could build up a team of Eevee forms, and chances are it'd be pretty balanced. You could use a Sylveon to deal with an Umbreon's fighting type weakness, Espeon to deal with Sylveon's poison weakness, Flareon to deal with steel. Vaporeon balances out Leafeon's ice and fire weaknesses...

Heh, I probably sound like a huge nerd right now, don't I? Sorry-- just been a while since I got to talk strategy.

There wasn't...? [A surprised kind of smile, what the heck. She can ask later.]

Why wouldn't someone wanna talk about this? It's...a whole balanced group, starting from one species! One really cute and fluffy species. [Euuuvee! Someone's pleased somewhere on the other end.] I honestly set my heart on a Sylveon too, but when I showed Arwen the picture I found, she was just so ecstatic- but I'll find her some friends, if I can get more eggs from breeders, or catch them at some point, and I'll have a direction, all thanks to these [tap tap] notes here.

I'm...completely new to all of this, but...a lot of my Pokémon are really enthusiastic about battling, for some reason, and I'm...well, there has to be something to do here, right? So any strategy talks or tips, I appreciate it.

[A beat.] Besides, nerds are underrated. [ c: ]

[Aw, shucks. That nerd comment makes him rub his neck. He appreciates the compliment, though!]

Well, Breeding Center's got a pretty decent stash of Eevee eggs, if you ever need a few spares.

[It's said with a chuckle. He knows self-promotion is a sound business practice, but it just feels so awkward in friendly conversations.]

As for battling, I think part of it's just due to the way Pokémon mature. Winning battles means experience. Experience leads to levels, and levels lead to evolution. For most species, it's the only way they can grow.

Strategies really depend on your own preferences and how you structure your team. Personally, I like a balance of hard-hitters, defensive walls, status inflictions, and type coverage, but other people might prefer to stick to one type or just go with their favorites.

Think the main things you'll want to keep in mind are type combos and status effects, because both can make or break a battle.

Edited 2016-03-17 18:40 (UTC)

Breeding Center... [Jots down a note; she hasn't heard of that before.]

You'd say the ones that have...exceptions or special items are in the minority, then? That's reassuring to know. Less indecision when I catch something! I have been making notes of type advantage and effects, though- it's a lot to remember, but I've got more every day memorized.

Basically what it says on the tin. Sells eggs to trainers. Newbies get special discounts... We'd like to expand our stock, though, since we're not as expansive as the old Breeding Center.

[And that's it for the special plug, heh. He doesn't want to sound like some kinda marketing agent.]

You'll definitely find more Pokémon that evolve by level than Stones, trading, and other methods. Besides Eevee, you won't find many branching evolutions, either.

Off the top of my head, there's just Slowpoke, Ralts, Snorunt, Oddish, Clamperl, Wurmple, and Tyrogue.

Snorunt! Oh, oh, I have one of those! She just hatched. Do you know her forms?

[Hyper-focusing, isn't she?]

Yeah. There's Glalie, which is the natural evolution. Pure ice type, seems... balanced, I guess. Looks like a giant floating head with a constant glare...

Then there's Froslass. Only female Snorunts can evolve into one, and it takes a Dawn Stone, but they're kind of like glass cannons. Fast but frail. Looks a lot more elegant, too.

[More notes and then...she pauses.]

Really? Oh... Do you have pictures of them, maybe? Or, I could find pictures. I just want- well, if she has a choice, I want to ask her what she feels like.

Just a sec.

[He's gotta flip through the Pokédex to find them, but once he does, he'll attach two images.]

Come to think of it, I should probably check my guide to see if I even covered the branching evolutions in detail. People don't really talk about these things much over the network, and it's kinda surprising.

[But then, lots of trainers prefer to wing it.]

[Immediately, Ashley lights up upon seeing the second of the two.] Thank you! One second- Jadis, here- [She turns away and starts speaking to something offscreen, something that lets out a little startled noise. A few moments later, a little shy Snorunt's in her arms, examining while covering one eye nervously.]

Now, hopefully she'll have an opinion and we'll be in business! Thank you, this is a big help.