So now that my DS's battery is dead, I actually have incentive to stop playing and post the next installment of the Platinum Failblog. And I'm not recharging the damn thing until I've finished writing this update. D< (self-control what is this self-control of which you speak I know it not) Sorry for the delay.
Eterna City, just like many other locations in this game, has not had much of a makeover other than its two main attractions: the gym, with its new puzzle that I will be going through shortly, and the Eterna Galactic Building, which has been overhauled inside and out. It's kinda got a "revolving restaurant on a skyscraper" look going on as far as the exterior is concerned, hm.
I don't remember whether or not Gardenia sits outside her gym in the first two games. She says something about Larry before going back inside. Maybe he's looking for me, I don't know. I don't want to challenge the gym until I've had a little more time to train (I'd really prefer going through Team Galactic first, and that was what I'd originally intended to do until I remembered that you have to beat Gardenia first), so I head northwest to battle the trainers there. Larry runs into me at that point and, after blabbering on about something, pulls me over to the city's legendary Pokémon statue (Dialga or Palkia depending on your version, although I think it looks like some sort of fused "Dialkia" or something; I hear it's supposed to be Palkia in Platinum). Cyrus is standing by it and says some stuff before leaving. When Larry leaves, I continue east toward Mt. Coronet to catch more Pokémon and battle the trainers there. The only capture of note is a Bronzor I figure will be quite helpful in the gym (even if I don't care much for Bronzor and Bronzong themselves), seeing as I won't be able to use Porky and Manti at all and Ziska and Sting aren't going to be too much help on their own. Cynthia appears and hands me HM01 as I head back to Route 205 to finish off the Fishermen I'd ignored before. By the way, you guys all remember Fisherman Andrew, right? The guy on the Route 205 bridge with the six level 10 Magikarp that is pretty much a godsend to EV-trainers? Instead of the six lv10 Magikarp he has six Magikarp ranging in level from 8 to 16. I don't know if this means some of his ‘karp will be evolving or otherwise getting stronger in later rematches (I sure hope not), but eh, just figured I'd mention it as a heads-up to any competitive players that happen to be reading this.
After what I hope is sufficient training I go back to the gym and take a look inside. As reported, the hide-and-seek puzzle (if you could call it a puzzle) has been replaced by the giant clock puzzle (again, if you could call it a puzzle). There's a trainer right by the gym's entrance, one on the left side of the clock, one on the right side of the clock and Gardenia on her platform at the 12-o'-clock position. The hands start out arranged so that you can't reach them, and two rows of fountains separate you from the two left-and-right trainers. Defeating the first trainer causes the clock's hands to spin until you can use them to reach the trainer on the right. They take a little too long to rotate to the proper position in my opinion, and I really have no idea what a giant farking clock has to do with flowers and Grass-types other than the fact that they made a big garden display out of it, but okay! it's a simple "puzzle" and I can work with it. Beating the second trainer grants you access to the third on the left side of the clock, but as this means the hands are now situated so you can't get back to the first trainer and the exit the fountains beneath Trainer #2 stop flowing and let you walk back if you need to heal. This is helpful, because the clock doesn't reset when you leave and reenter and you'd be stranded at the beginning otherwise. Defeating Trainer #3 stops the fountains beneath her as well and gives you access to Gardenia.
I actually tried battling Gardenia about three or so times, and not because I'd forgotten to take note of something and she was a cakewalk like Roark. No, while my team was better than perfect for Roark's gym defeating Gardenia without a decent Fire- or Flying-type is... not easy, to say the least. Ziska struggled just defeating her stupid Turtwig and Roserade and Cherrim danced all over Sting and Oldie (the Bronzor... god these names are so lame I hate this five-character limit!). Since I'm not interested in any of the available currently-available Flying-types or Ponyta (and since Dustox and Beautifly are a little on the lame side) that really left me with no choice other than backing out and training some more. Irritatingly enough I've already beaten all of the trainers, so that means that I have to stick to wild Pokémon. I do catch a Gastly in the forest, though, hoping that his resistance to Grass and special-defense-that-is-bad-but-not-quite-as-horrid-as-his-defense will mean he can survive one Grass Knot or Magical Leaf from Roserade and Curse it.
So after taking a quick detour to the southern gatehouse to get the Exp. Share from Dawn's father, I head back to the gym for one more try. Ziska takes her sweet time beating Turtwig, as before, and then I switch to Oldie in an attempt to hypnotize and confuse the Roserade Gardenia sends out. Which works... but Gardenia has no qualms about switching Roserade out when it falls asleep, and its ability is Natural Cure so it'll recover by the time it reappears. Cherrim is usually almost as annoying as Roserade, but Oldie manages to put it to sleep, too. It takes both my Machop and my Bronzor to finally bring the thing down (I really should've been more patient with the whole training thing D:), but then Roserade knocks them out when it returns. I send out Gastly and do manage to Curse it before he faints. At this point the only logical choice I had left was Ziska, and after stuffing her full of potions and being incredibly boring Curse finally takes its toll and Roserade faints. WHOO MOAR BADGE.
...I am never ever EVER doing that without a Fire- or Flying-type EVER AGAIN.
Now that I have my second badge I exchange Oldie for a Budew to use as a Cut Slave. I'll be using it to get into the Galactic building, of course, but there's something more important I want to do first—I'm going to head back into the woods, enter the Old Chateau and see if I can get Rotom. Gardenia's outside when I get there, as she was in DP (although I don't remember if she's there as soon as you beat her or doesn't appear until after you get the National Dex, when Rotom would normally be available). The Gastly in the Chateau are slightly higher-leveled than they were before, reaching a maximum of 17 instead of 14 or whatever it was (which probably means the Gengar and Haunter that appear post-E4 are stronger, too). Rotom is in fact in the TV, at level 20 instead of level 15 and with special battle music (if it didn't have it before—again, I don't remember). It takes me a few tries to catch it without Manti knocking it out, but I manage it eventually. This guy—I think I'll call it Geist—will probably be part of my permanent squad, so I keep it with me.
The Secret Key Wi-Fi event started on that day, so of course I wanted to take advantage of it as soon as I could. Having Cut allows me to take the shortcut back through Eterna Forest, so I take a little time to run back to Jubilife and the TV station I skipped over earlier. (In retrospect, I could've waited until I got the bike—or, better yet, taken that bike and gone down Cycling Road to Oreburgh, which would have been faster—but I wanted the key to my manic lawnmower, dammit, and I wasn't thinking straight.) On reaching the TV station and finding the director on the third floor I had to sift through all of the Japanese phrases trying to find the ones indicated in the (lawnmower!) leaflet that came with the game. For which, by the way, I am eternally grateful. So after fighting with that for a while I active Mystery Gift, download the Secret Key, retrieve it from the Pokémart and head back to Eterna. As soon as I beat Galactic I'll be able to use the key for some serious lawnmower get.
As soon as I step inside the Eterna HQ a Galactic Grunt stops me. This, as it turns out, is Handsome in disguise. I assume he's warning me to be careful as I work my way through the hideout (and you don't go sneak through the rest of the hideout yourself because...?) and says something involving the number two. Not sure what. A quick look around the redesigned ground floor reveals two staircases leading up to the next floor, so maybe that's what he's talking about?
Taking the left set of stairs leads to a dead end, a battle with a grunt and an item; taking the right set allows me to continue to a few more battles and another pair of staircases. This time I take the left set (the right is another dead end with an item) and then take the left set again when I'm on the next floor. This takes me to the top, where Jupiter is harassing Rad Rickshaw and his Pokémon. There's an Up-Grade item on the floor by Jupiter as well.
As I start the battle it occurs to me that Jupiter doesn't have an animation... neither did Mars, now I think about it. Hm, that's a little odd. They're more important than just Joe Average Trainer... anyway. Jupiter's Pokémon, Zubat and Skuntank, are also stronger (by two levels this time, I think). And Skuntank is... disturbing. I trust you've all seen its new sprite, right? If you haven't...
(sprite from Bulbagarden)
It is not fun to watch this thing use Poison Gas. D: Seriously Nintendo could you have made it any more awkward and immature.
Anyway I manage to finish her off at last, she and the other Galactics leave and Rad Rickshaw thanks me, blah blah blah. Before I leave I go back to the ground floor and open the appliance room with the Secret Key I got (it's all the way over to the left between the wall and that big boxy machine). The five appliances are there, along with two books. I'm not sure what one of them is, although it contains the word Wi-Fi which makes me think it's a reminder that the Rotom forms cannot be used over Wi-Fi. The other, or so I read on PokéBeach, is a diary that Pluto wrote when he was a little boy, detailing the story of a Rotom he befriended and built the appliances for. Something about every time he went to hug it it unintentionally electrocuted him... okay, and playing with a demon lawnmower or refrigerator is safe? Anyway, when I approach an appliance it gives me a message before asking for conformation. Before Geist transforms it tries to teach it the relevant move (Leaf Storm, Overheat, Air Slash, etc.) At this point, though, it occurs to me that these moves (barring Air Slash, but no one likes the Fan Rotom anyway) are total overkill at this point in the game... but what's the fun of having the killer lawnmower if it isn't going to use Leaf Storm? I think I'll wait until a little later and come back then. Until then, sweet lawnmower, adieu, adieu... *single tear*
It's late again, so this is where we stop. I *am* pretty much caught up, though, and hopefully the next update will come tomorrow today instead of three/four days late. Off to Hearthome on the morrow, my pretties!
Ugh, this is getting annoyingly laggy no matter which browser I use to post. I'm going to try getting a posting client and see if that helps. >.<