Hey folks. It's back, and it's back sooner than you or even I might have thought possible. That's right, it's time for a new instalment of my Pokémon FireRed Nuzlocke Challenge blog series. As always, if you're new to the series, I recommend starting with its genesis - Part Zero. It explains what the concept of a Nuzlocke is, and how it applies to this specific playthrough of Pokémon FireRed Version. If you missed the last episode, or any previous episode for that matter, you can find them all by using the handy-dandy navigation bars at the top and bottom of this blog post. As for the rest of us, let's pick up where we left off...

Part Eight - The Search For A Cutter

For the sake of familiarity, let's just quickly recap what happened in the previous episode. Team Judi Drench powered on from Lavender Town through to Celadon City. There we acquired a new team member (Aunt Sue the Flareon), infiltrated the Team Rocket hideout, and came away with the coveted Silph Scope. Unfortunately that's where our progress came to an end, because with none of the team able to learn the HM Cut, we couldn't gain access to Erika's gym to fight for the Rainbowbadge. With the most obvious route unavailable to us, we've had to take a big side-step in order to search for a Pokémon who can learn Cut and get our gym leader challenge back on track.

Rather than taking the underground passage back to Lavender Town, I decide to cut through Saffron City instead. The old lady's tea is just what the thirsty guards are looking for to wet their whistles, and we're granted free passage in and out of Saffron in exchange. Unfortunately there isn't a lot we can do there at the moment, as Team Rocket seem to have the whole city on lock-down. I do manage to pick up the TM for Psychic from one of the citizens, which nobody on the team can learn right now, but is sure to come in handy further down the line.

Having exhausted my current options in Saffron City for now, I continue east until I arrive once more in Lavender Town. Now that we have the Silph Scope, we can finally climb the Pokémon Tower and investigate the disturbance being caused within. On entering the tower, the melancholy atmosphere hits me pretty hard - this is, after all, where trainers come to remember their dead Pokémon, and we've lost quite a few companions up to this point. I take a moment to remember our fallen comrades - Rufus the Butterfree, Beryl the Rattata, Rosie the Mankey, and all the others - before we press on to the next floor of the tower.

Our old friend Duncan is here, and he's itching for another battle. It seems a bit disrespectful to fight within these hallowed grounds, but Duncan won't back down, so fight we must. His team isn't drastically different to our previous fight, and his levels aren't much to write home about either (probably because the game expected us to battle our rival on our first visit to Lavender Town). Consequently, it doesn't take a lot for Clownbat, Bird Jesus and Judi Drench to undo his team this time around. Shocked at having lost once again, Duncan storms out of the tower, leaving us to continue climbing towards the top.

With the Silph Scope in hand, we're now able to see the various apparitions within the tower. More to the point, now we can identify the ghost Pokémon, we can catch them. I run around the next floor of the tower, searching for our first encounter.

The first Pokémon we meet in the Tower is a Haunter. I'd been expecting a Gastly, given they're more prevalent than their evolved counterpart, but I'm definitely not unhappy to have met the bigger sister on this occasion. If there's one thing the team is missing, it's a reliable special attacker. If we can catch this gal and teach her the Psychic TM we just picked up in Saffron City, we'll have the makings of a powerful special atta--

Before we can even toss a Poké Ball in the Haunter's direction, it uses Curse on us, eating up its last little bit of HP and causing it to faint. Our bad luck in first encounters continues.

The unfortunate outcome of our potential capture encounter aside, ascending Pokémon Tower doesn't cause the team too many problems. Clownbat and Judi Drench do most of the heavy lifting, both using Bite to make short work of the Ghost-types used by the Channelers residing in the tower. We take our time, battling every wild Gastly, exploring every pathway on every maze-like floor and picking up every item on the way. By the time we reach the end of the penultimate floor, the team are nicely levelled and more than ready to deal with the ghost blocking access to the very top of the tower.

With the Silph Scope in our possession, we quickly unmask the mysterious spectre as the spirit of a Marowak. A few Wing Attacks from Clownbat are enough to subdue the restless ghost, who was apparently trying to protect her baby Cubone even in death. The Poké-demon now exorcised, we move up to the tower's top floor, where a few members of Team Rocket are holding a gentleman named Mr Fuji hostage. Much like the Marowak, their Pokémon don't put up much of a fight against Clownbat, who resists their Poison-type attacks while tearing them up with an almost relentless barrage of Wing Attack and Bite. The Rocket grunts flee, leaving Mr Fuji free to get back to his Pokémon rescue centre. As thanks for rescuing him from Team Rocket, he awards us a Poké Flute, which can be used to rouse sleeping Pokémon from their slumber.

Now that we have the Poké Flute, we can wake up the sleeping Snorlax on Route 12 and begin our long trek south to Fuchsia City. My hope is that on the way there, we'll be able to encounter another Pokémon who's capable of using Cut. If we don't, then I'm pretty sure our last remaining hope lies in being able to beat Koga and obtain the Surf HM from the Safari Zone. It's a long shot, but it's our only shot.

It's a very long way from Lavender Town to Fuchsia City, and there are no places to stop and heal along the way, so I make sure to stock up on plenty of Super Potions and status-healing items at the Poké Mart before we begin our journey. Route 12 lies south of Lavender Town, and is largely made up of boardwalks that hug the Kanto region's eastern shores. As a consequence, there are lots of fishermen standing around looking for battles. One of those fishermen hands Judi Drench enough experience to hit level 36, which brings about another exciting evolution for our team:

Another consequence of the route being nothing but wooden boards is that there no opportunities to encounter wild Pokémon (I could technically use my Old Rod, but given it's rigged to catch nothing but Magikarp, there wouldn't be much point). The direct result of this situation is that by the time I reach the sleeping Snorlax at the intersection between Routes 12 and 11, I haven't encountered any potential captures.

I play the Poké Flute, waking up the Snorlax and putting the cantankerous beast into battle mode. It's a tense encounter that lasts almost ten minutes, punctuated by the Snorlax's periodic use of Rest to completely heal itself. To make matters worse, the only balls I have in my possession are simple Poké Balls, and I don't have a huge amount of them in reserve. Having whittled the Snorlax down to its last sliver of HP for the sixth time in the battle, I throw my penultimate Poké Ball and hope for the best...

In a turn of events that can only be described as miraculous, the critically wounded Snorlax stays in the Poké Ball and is captured. It's an incredible upswing for Team Judi Drench, who seem to have suffered nothing but losses and misfortune for the last few episodes. Snorlax is an absolute powerhouse, capable of withstanding just about any hit while dishing out tons of damage in return. He can't learn Cut, unfortunately, but his bulk and strength immediately turn him into a member of the party.

I check out PDT's stats and moves before pressing on, and decide to teach him the Brick Break TM that's been languishing in my bag for some time now. With another reliable fighter now in tow, the journey south along Route 12 continues. A little further on from PDT's napping spot is a hut that turns out to be the home of another Fishing Guru, who hands us a Super Rod in return for listening to his angling-rambling.

Happy to have a new fishing rod in the bag capable of catching sea-dwelling Pokémon other than Magikarp, we continue on our way towards Fuchsia. Just before the point where Route 12 becomes Route 13, there's a patch of long grass to the west. Unfortunately though, it won't do us much good under the current circumstances:

A little further south is Route 13, which has its own patch of grass:

And continuing south and east, Route 14 also has a patch of long grass concealing a potential capture:

Thankfully, the journey through these routes isn't completely wasted. There are tons of trainers hanging out in this part of Kanto, all of which offer decent amounts of experience without putting up too threatening a fight. By the time we hit Route 15, all five members of the team are well past level 30 and we're finally starting to look like a team again. Route 15 also offers us the courtesy of four explorable patches of long grass, meaning we have one more chance to capture a Cutter before we arrive in Fuchsia City. We step into the grass, the screen fades to black, and we're greeted by:

Yep, it's a Venonat. I don't have anything against Venonat or Venomoth. Quite the opposite in fact - the original TwitchPlaysPokémon stream has left me with something of a reverence for the All-Terrain Venomoth that destroyed Lance's Dragonite. The problem here is the disheartening fact that Venonat can't learn Cut. Still, I don't want to pass up the chance to add another Pokémon to my ranks - having a reasonably strong Poison/Bug type in reserve (sorry, Howard) could be a valuable asset should anything happen to Clownbat. I throw my final Poké Ball at the weakened critter and add it to my roster.

From the spot where we caught Stunbug, Fuchsia City is only a short walk to the west. Upon arriving in town, the first thing I do is make for the Pokémon Center to heal up our battle-weary team. Stunbug joins Howard the Beedrill, Boris the Spearow and Splosh Boy the Magikarp in the PC Reserves box, leaving us with a party of five that I'm reasonably happy with - Judi Drench the Blastoise, Bird Jesus the Pidgeotto, Clownbat the Golbat, Aunt Sue the Flareon, and PDT the Snorlax.

We've made it all the way to Fuchsia City, quite the feat for a team without access to Cut. However, our pool of available potential encounters is shrinking rapidly, and with it our chance of finding a new Cutter. Does Team Judi Drench's much-needed tree surgeon lie in waiting in the Safari Zone? Can Koga be defeated before Erika? Or will our crew of confrontational critters finally exhaust both their options and their luck? The answers shall most likely be revealed in the next instalment of the Pokémon FireRed Nuzlocke Challenge...

Progress Report:

Gallery

I think we can call that a pretty successful episode, all things considered. We may not have found our all-important Cutter yet, but we've gained a battling powerhouse in the form of PDT the Snorlax, and we've also managed to avoid losing anyone for a whole episode. That's a bonus in my book.

The next part of this series is likely to cover the Safari Zone and Fuchsia City's gym, and may even stretch as far as Cycling Road if fortune smiles upon us. All being well, the next blog should be ready and available to read around this time next week. Until then, thanks very much for reading, take care, and I'll see you around.

Dan

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Currently playing - Pokémon FireRed Version (GBA)

Glad things turned around with the Snorlax capture. Things were starting to look bleak last entry. You seem to be trucking along pretty well though. Can't wait for next time.

Alright! Things are looking up. Snorlax was still a beast in 3rd gen, so this is a pretty clutch capture. Now you just need to capture someone who knows cut....

Again?! God damn it Game Freak, cut us some slack!