Let's Play Pokémon Fire Red Chapter 14: Pit Boss

Previously on Pokémon FireRed:

Chapter 14: Pit Boss

All right, time to follow the trail of that jumpsuited jerk.

This is about as dingy as I would expect a casino basement to be.

Oooh, gonna save these for later.

One of you idiots literally told me this was here.

All day every day.

Hmm, locked from the other side...

I'm not scared of you guys. Just irritated and infuriated.

More money for me, I guess. Time to venture further down.

I had a feeling it was one of you cretins that took it.

Now when you say 'Boss', do mean a regional manager or like the dark overlord? I kind of hope it's the latter so I can finish you guys once and for all. 

Either way, those glowing arrow pads look sketchy. I'm going to see if I can go down some more floors.

Aww, that's so sweet. Happy to be so intimidating.

Ohhh, so I need to find an elevator. Thanks!

"Wait, what? No!"

Well, I guess I'll explore this floor with those glowing panels....

Okay, what happens when I step on-WOAH!

woahwaohwoahWOAH!

Ugh, god sooo dizzy. What are these? WHY are these?! Team Rocket, you guys are the wooooooorst.

[[Nilbog Notes: These arrow pads spin you very fast (or very slow in the original Red and Blue) in the direction the arrow is pointing, only stopping when you hit one of the cream-colored squares. I'm not going into detail about which one sends you where, because it's actually not as complicated as it looks if you take the time to survey the path taken. You'll likely double back a few for items.]]

       

Why was any of that necessary...

What can I say? I come from a long line of meddlers. I'm a skilled meddleurgist. It's a gift. 

Now, the Silph Scope?

I've gathered that much.

Stylish.

[[Nilbog Notes: My personal favorite brand of held items are the ones that boost moves of a certain type used by the holder. There's one for every move type and some are harder to find than others. Blackglasses boost Dark Type attacks, but since none of ourteam uses Dark Type moves we will not be equipping it.]]

This was the only way to go, someone must be down here.

How about you tell me or I'll beat you with my monsters. Better yet, I'll beat you in battle first and then you tell me.

....

"...."

................

"....................."

Yoink!

"Aw dangit..."

Well, it looks like my only choice is to traverse this mess, and maybe find a better home for this ill-gotten loot.

Here's the elevator, but first let me clear out whatever's up those stairs. I don't want any surprises.

To retrieve the Silph Scope and maybe put an end to your criminal organization.

I gathered that much.

Shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup

Hmm, if you did, you'd tell me by pretending it's not wherever it is.

Elevator time.

Wait, is B1 the bottom or B4? I can never remember how basements work.

Whoops, not B1.

Well that's a good way out without having to go through that floor puzzle again at least. On to B4

Stand aside. 

And proud I am of that.

Short answer: Yes. Long answer: YYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Someone is taking this way too seriously.

If he's as dumb as the rest of you he'll follow you shortly.

I'm here to speak to whoever's in charge of this operation!

Hire better grunts, then you can be impressed.

'Tools'?! They're living things, you unmitigated bastard!

The only one feeling pain today will be you!

(Okay, I admit, if I didn't have my team backing me up, I would be scared of what this man could do to me...)

Ahh, but we know how this matchup goes. A Low Kick into a weak Tackle and then...

Let's drain you a little bit.

Fighting beats Normal. This is in the bag.

Oh crap, Thade! Are you okay? That was a crit! 

I'll have to check on him in a minute, still an angry kangaroo dinosaur staring down at me.

Fortunately, I have a kangaroo rat to counter...

Ooof, Raiden hung on by the skin of his teeth...but he's still faster!

Believe it, bucko! You were tougher than your underlings, I admit, but I've fought Gym Leaders tougher than you!

Thade...Thade, are you okay over there? Thade, why are you shaking?

Oh Thade, that's wonderful!

Oh dude, you look tough enough to take on anything now! Oh, but maybe a Pokémon Center before we do that...

[[Nilbog Notes:

Primeape

#057

Fighting

Evolves from Mankey at Level 28

"Always furious and tenacious to boot. It will not abandon chasing its quarry until it is caught"

I never used to be particularly fond of Primeape, but over the years it has certainly grown on me as far as Fighting Types go. Probably by how far the line usually carries me in most playthroughs of these remakes. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize the little cross mark on its forehead is supposed to be a throbbing vein.]]

Yeah, and what's it to you?

What do you mean 'This Time'? You're done! I'm taking you in to whatever the closest thing we have to "authorities" are and you are paying for your crimes!

I said - OWWWWWWW!!!

God, OW! 

COINS?! You threw freaking COINS at me?! What are you, a freaking MEOWTH?!

Where the hell did you go?! Did you just escape by tossing coins at me?! Seriously?!?!

These...these aren't even real coins! They're Game Corner Prize Coins! You cheap bastard!

Actually...wait....there's a LOT here...There's gotta be at least three or four thousand! Let me scoop them all in here...

Yes!

Interesting....

[[Nilbog Notes: Generation 3 introduced several new specialy Pokéballs, which I will be going into more in the next LP as this is really the only time we encounter them here. The Net ball, which has a higher catch rate against Water and Bug types, will be the only one worth keeping an eye on in my playthrough here.]]

Time to get the heck out of this place.

I guess I may as well see what these coins can get me.

Hmm....

Hmmm, these are cheap enough that I can get several, but I can do better...

[[Nilbog Notes: In order, these are: an Always Escape item, the Type Boosting held items for the three starters (Grass, Fire, and Water), and a fairly useful item that we will discuss further in a future LP.]]

I'm tempted to get some of these Pokémon to liberate them from this place, but I can't get them all. Plus, I'd rather they go to people who would use them and, frankly, spending coins on them would feel dirty to me...

[[Nilbog Notes: This is the draw for most people. There actually are differences between the two versions here; not only is Scyther a Pinsir in LeafGreen, but the prices differ. Clefairy and Dratini are cheaper in FireRed, while Abra, Pinsir, and Porygon are far cheaper in LeafGreen. The bugs are easier to find here and Porygon is exclusive to this prize window, but as for the other three I recommend not spending the coins unless you couldn't find them elsewhere and/or need them in your party NOW.]]

Now here's what I'm talking about! So many good move choices, and I can only afford one...

[[Nilbog Notes: These TMs are, in order: Ice Beam, Iron Tail, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, and Flamethrower. With the exception of Iron Tail, these are all amazing moves of their type and should be staple moves in any team in any generation. Always save up your money to get the coins necessary for any of these moves that your projected team doesn't learn naturally. With priority going to...]]

I'm planning on entering a tower full of Ghost Types in the near future, so having a Ghost Type move to counter them only makes sense.

And the best Pokémon to teach this to...

...is a Psychic Type that can also use it against his kin while resisting their own attacks!

Oh, THERE'S the Gym. Hmm, I guess I have one more stop before heading back to the tower...

***

[[Nilbog Notes: Sorry for the lateness as my show had tech week and opening weekend. Next week may or may not be similarly delayed, but after that we should be golden for a while barring emergencies. Our fully-healed team:

Tune in next week!]]