Current team:
Azura: Level 40
Toucan Sam: Level 38
Puka: Level 38
Selkie: Level 38
Mata Hari: Level 38
Urlacher: Level 38
So one thing I forgot to mention from yesterday is that Toucan Sam contracted the Pokerus! I had to spend some time running around the tall grass in Male Garden so that I could spread it to my other team members. I also spread the Pokerus to five other Pokemon (Ash Greninja among them) and put them in the PC so that I have Pokemon to use when I need to EV train. Pretty happy that I got the Pokerus this early into the game.
So now it was time to tackle Acerola's Ghost Trial. Navigating through the supermarket was pretty easy. All I had to do was stop by the register, then the cart, then the Poke dolls, and I was all set. The Ghastly. Haunter, and Gengar were no trouble either. Selkie swept them all with Bite.
Now came Totem Mimikkyu. My strategy going into was to use Toucan Sam: It knew Steel-Wing and held the Steelium-Z to make use of that Steel-type Z move. I knew Mimikkyu had Disguise, so I planned on doing a normal Steel Wing to bring the ability out, then follow up with the Z-move the following turn to finish it in one blow while not worrying about the Ally Pokemon because they probably didn't have any attacks that could hit Toucannon other than status conditions.
But then it turned out Totem Mimikkyu hits way too hard with Play Rough. On the first turn, it attacked first and brought Toucan Sam down to a little more than half left, meaning there was no way I was going to pull off the Steel-type Z-move. Toucan Sam did get the Steel Wing to deactivate the Disguise though.
I had to switch into Azura to handle the rest. She dodged the next Play Rough, as well as Ally Haunter's attack. Azura got an Oceanic Operetta to lower Totem Mimikkyu's HP to the red portion. Following that, I had to heal her after she fell asleep from Hypnosis and took some damage from Play Rough. Then Haunter got lucky with the paralysis via Lick. Fortunately for me, Primarina didn't get paralyzed as she finished the Totem Mimikkyu with an Aqua Jet. I then let Selkie handle the Haunter, and the battle was over. Overall, it was an interesting Totem battle. I got the Ghostium-Z following.
Also, Acerola appreciation post because she needs more spotlight:
Seriously, Acerola is a precious cinnamon roll that
MUST be protected. Her facial expressions are adorable! Also helps that she's an experienced Pokemon Trainer who is a descendant of the Alola royal family.
I went back to the supermarket to grind up my Pokemon for a bit and catch some Wild Pokemon. My fifth wild encounter there was none other than Mimikkyu, who is normally really rare here, and I caught it with a Quick Ball. Nice!
Now we had to fight Plumeria. It was almost a repeat of her fight from last time. Her Golbat outsped Alola Raichu and got lucky with Confuse Rays and Poison-hax from Poison Fangs pretty often. Her newly evolved Salazzle was much easier to deal with. One Oceanic Operetta and it was finished.
We were then instructed to head to Po Town to fetch the stolen Yangoose, but we need to navigate through the rocks-in-the-water Route 15 first. To do so, we needed to talk to some guy "wearing a kimono" to get the Sharpedo Poke Ride pager.
I head to the beach, and...
"OH MY GOODNESS IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"It's my favorite Unova Elite Four member! Holy cow, I can't believe he's the one that will give me the Sharpedo-"
"Whoa, what?"
"So whether or not I get that Sharpedo Poke Ride pager will be decided by a coin flip? Oh God. What happens if I lose? Will I put into a tough battle to fight for it?" Oh man, which one should I go with?"
"Let's go heads!"
*Epic cutscene plays of Grimsely flipping the coin into the air. He catches it when it lands on his arm and then he gives this intense stare."
"Geez dude, my heart is pounding! Will you tell me now?"
*Shot now pans over to the player character just staring at Grimsley. My eyes become the size of golf balls.*
*Shot pans back to Grimsley as we now see only his mouth. I'm about to have a heart attack at this point.*
*Grimsley smirks*
"Holy cow, I can't believe I actually got lucky!"
So he gives me the Sharpedo Poke Rider pager, and no battle ensues. Man, that entire scene was nerve-wracking yet awesome at the same time. The Colress scene from earlier was cool and all, but it doesn't compare to an epic scene of Grimsley determining whether or not you get the Sharpedo Poke Rider pager based on a coin flip!
But I gotta say, poor guy looks like he's been really unlucky with his gambling habit lately, because he looks pretty worn out.
He's still philosophical just like in generation 5 though (which is cool because this guy had some great quotes to live by):
I tried the Sharpedo Ride for a bit, and its pretty nice. Shapedo moves so fast!
Time to explore the rest of Route 15!