Okay, let's check my lineup one more time...
Yeah, it's a pretty good setup. ^^ I think I'll train up my Pokemon a little more by battling against the trainers in the gym before facing the Gym Leader herself, though.
Anyway, time to head on in and-
!
O... kay?
Uh... Well, I have kinda wondered about what it's like inside a Pokeball, myself, but the rest of that stuff never really occurred to me to be curious about. I guess my answer is no.
I think this guy doesn't really 'get' how social interaction works. Still, a battle's a battle, so...
Double battle?!
Okay, that was unexpected.
...Not really helpful, Po.
Okay, Drilbur.
You're first.
And next up...
Ooh, ouch. Drought. Turning the weather bright and sunny, Drought is an ability which entire teams are centered around, and the addition of it to Vulpix's arsenal has made it one of the more frequently-used Pokemon in Gen V.
I want one.
Where did N get a Zorua from?! And come to think of it, what happened to his old team, with the Nincada and the Purrloin and stuff?
It's like this guy is actually practicing what he preaches, catching a new team in each area and letting them go once he no longer needs their help, or something...
Oh no, you KOed Kenny!
You jerk!
Okay, now as I recall, Zorua's a Dark-type, so Ritzy's attacks are going to have to focus on Vulpix. Meanwhile, Tuff Stuff can-
...And Ritzy's out like a light with one Bite from Zorua.
Okay, that's some good damage done. Now, FireMonkey, let's finish things up here!
Good, they're both at really low health. Tuff Stuff, follow up with Twister, and-
Okay, and next...
Okay... Phew... Good, that battle's over. Man, for a weird, socially-awkward guy who talks really fast and says some strange stuff, N sure is a tough opponent...
Admittedly, if I'd led with FireMonkey, instead of Kenny, I think I probably would have done much better, since Bronzong is weak to Fire-type moves, and I probably could have just had Po spam Tackle to do good damage to his Drilbur, rather than Metronome, but aside from those tactical blunders, I think I did pretty well.
...Yes. Yes it is.
...Uh...
I mean, it seems like the guy's got good intentions, but that really sounded ominous...
Unova's founding fathers? Huh. Washington and Reshiram...
Uh... Okay. Good luck finding that legendary, then.
And if you ever do find it, please don't try to take over the world with it, or something like that, okay? That's kinda cliche.
Hmm. N's Pokemon were mostly at higher levels than mine, and I can't help but get the feeling that the ones inside the Gym are going to be even higher still. I could go in there and get my Pokemon stronger by battle, but I'm already having to run back to the Pokemon Center right now.
Maybe I should explore around town a little more...
Those three cheaters?
They wouldn't serve me any tea when I was at their gym.
Now I kinda want to try some...
Hmm? Hey, is that a picture of me on TV?!
...I think I have a stalker.
Alas, right now, it is Sunday.
...? A secret path? Ooh, maybe it leads to some sort of cool item!
Nope. Nothing here.
Ah, thanks. ^^ I'm sure I'll be able to put this to good use.
...Or not. This move is only 40 power. Kenny's Karate Chop blows it out of the water in every way that counts.
This sign looks a little too smug for its own good...
I dunno, I've never been through there before.
I think I'll go and check it out for myself.
!?
What's Team Plasma doing here?! It looks like they've got some sort of assembly going. Let's listen in, and see what we can overhear...
...Must.. resist... urge to deliver... verbal beatdown... ><; Come on, Mariah, you know you can't take on that many at the same time...
...?
Did it suddenly get cold out here, or is it just me and my breezy shorts?
Hey, lady, did the weather just change all of a-
Uh... What's challenge rock?
...Okay, I guess we'll be testing my toughness, then. Against a nurse.
Oh, wait, hang on a second...
I guess I shouldn't be talking smack about nurses.
Yeah, Happiny didn't last too long against Ritzy. She can hit pretty hard with that Psybeam.
And Kenny's Karate Chop is pretty spectacular, too.
Whoa.
Kenny certainly got a lot out of that fight.
Hmm. Fury Cutter. If you recall, that's the weak Bug-type move that gets stronger each time it's used. It could be good for coverage against Grass-type Pokemon...
...Yeah, sure. Why not? Kenny's got Razor Shell for Water-type moves, anyway. ^^
And that takes care of that.
*insert Pokemon Center noise here*
What, you mean you'll heal my Pokemon, free of charge, any time I ask? Awesome!
Ooh, and there's a secret path that leads to a nice item. ^^
Anyway, now that Kenny is level 20, I think I should let him take a proper break for a little while. I should probably train up some other Fighting-type Pokemon for when I take on the Gym.
And I've got just the candidate in mind...
Alright, Jojo, time for a bizarre adventure.
Okay. If you don't mind, though, little girl, I'll be trying out this experience-building technique I've developed called 'the switcharoo'. Go, Jojo!
Pansage paralyzes Tuff Stuff with Lick! Tuff Stuff responds with a Thunder Wave to even things up!
And then Dragon Rage and Twister finish things off.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the system works. ^^
Second verse, same as the first.
Hah, joke's on you, Panpour! As a Normal-type, Po is immune to Lick!
...And he's trying it again anyway.
Ooh, Psybeam. ^^ Nice. Po is turning into quite the talented battler...
Aaaaand time for round 3.
Interestingly enough, this little girl appears to have all three members of the elemental monkey trio on her team...
Hot Pansear-on-Pansear action!
I note that this girl seems to be mostly copying my moves...
Hmm, one hit point left. Jojo can handle this.
Jojo! Nooooo!
Oh well. I'll just get that nice nurse to get Jojo back on his feet. ^^
Oh? Well, make sure to tell all your friends.
And remember, it's called 'the switcheroo'.
Huh. Interesting decision to have to make, then.
Ooooh, what does this TM do?
Uh-huh, and who can learn it?
Hmm... Well, it's the same power as Incinerate, so it certainly won't be a bad move to have. Though, FireMonkey's Special Attack is his highest stat...
...Meh. Why not?
...Hi.
Okay, and here are some of mine.
Ooh, that's a pretty rough move... You get a number, 4 through 10, and the higher the number is, the stronger the attack.
This one was a 7.
As a Grass-type move, Cut has a type advantage over the Rock-type Roggenrola. Of course, Roggenrola's a solid wall when it comes to physical Defense, so it takes out Askew first.
Ritzy didn't have much trouble, though.
Hmm. Aron's a Steel-type, as I recall. Another hefty physical wall, too.
Of course, FireMonkey has a strong Special Attack stat, and is a Fire-type on top of that, so I'm not expecting much trouble.
Heh. He thinks he can survive another hit if he ups his defenses.
Hmm...
Yeah, Po knows Uproar, which is a nice Special attack move. ^^ He's got this one in the bag.
And that's that.
Nice, Jojo has a good, solid attack, now.
Ohhh, I get it. All of his Pokemon had the ability Sturdy.
Heh.
It's true. I think I explained it before...
Hmm. There must be another way around to get at this item.
Well, that's refreshingly direct.
Spinarak is a Bug-type, so...
Yep. That was quick.
Whoa. Nice Pokemon...
Dragon types have a resistance to Fire, but alas, it seems as though this Fire-type wants to spam SmokeScreen.
It knows Dragon Rage?! 
Haaaaaaaax!
Wait, hang on! ><; I accidentally hit the wrong button! I wanted to switch out for Jojo!
...Oh well.
Get'im, Po!
H
2SO
4
Double Hit is an attack that hits twice.
Doduo went down on the first hit.
Feel the might of the Dragon Warrior!
For some reason, all this talk of bravery and boldness is reminding me of DC comics...
...Okay, now I'm actually kinda curious about this Challenge Rock. Is it a test of mettle?
More free stuff. ^^
Alright, let's see'em.
It's a Grass/Bug-type. Quadruple weakness to Fire.
Time to do the switcheroo again...
Once more, the enemy Bug is weak to Fire.
I'm suddenly quite glad I taught FireMonkey that Physical attack move.
Ooh, a Fire-type, this time...
I don't have a Water-type, since Kenny is in the box, so I'll just rely on Tuff Stuff's innate Fire resistance.
Ouch, that's a dangerous ability to face. Torchic's Speed is going to get raised one stage at the end of each turn. Thankfully, its offense isn't much of a match for Tuff Stuff's attacks.
One Dragon Rage, one Twister, and...
Victory.
Hmm. Jojo's XP gain is starting to slacken, now. I think he's almost powerful enough to start taking on the local wild Pokemon on his own, for that matter...
Oh? You could have a pretty powerful team once you train them up. That Torchic in particular could become quite strong.
I think you should broaden your team a little, though. Get some other Pokemon types in there, that kinda thing.
That's the spirit. ^^
Now, up these stairs, and...
Ooh, hey, that's the way down to that item I couldn't get to!
And is that big rock the Challenge Rock? Hmm, I wonder if I might be able to smash one of these smaller rocks with Rock Smash...
Oh, I get it. So the idea is to break off a chunk of it with your bare hands. One piece a day, for that matter.
Maybe the piece you break off becomes some sort of held item for your Pokemon?
Oh, right, we're fighting now.
Fighting-types are weak to Flying, so FireMonkey's Acrobatics should win the fight, here.
...Or not.
Iron Fist is an ability that gives moves that work by punching the opponent a 20% boost in power. Focus Punch, Ice Punch, Hammer Arm, Meteor Mash... Lots of great punching moves. ^^
Ritzy! Psybeam!
Shock Wave. 70 power, and it always hits.
Sorry, Teleport. Your convenient 'porting back to the Pokemon Center will be missed.
Croagunk is a Fighting/Poison type. That's a double weakness to Psychic-type attacks.
Which is why...
...Ritzy's getting sent in again.
Of course, the Croagunk line is known for learning Dark-type moves, such as Faint Attack... ><;
It's up to you, Po!
Aww yeah, quadruple damage.
And the next Pokemon is...
Okay, time to send in Po again.
Po, Psybeam!
...What.
How high is that thing's Special Defense?!
Ouch. ><;
Okay, Tuff Stuff, you're in charge!
Dragon Rage!
A guaranteed 40 damage can be quite useful. ^^
Hmm, as I recall, this thing can evolve into Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, or Hitmontop, depending on its stats...
As a baby Pokemon, it should have low HP, though. Get'im, Tuff Stuff!
And that's the end of that battle. ^^
...Then try harder?
You know, I think I will. Hang on, though, gotta go heal up my Pokemon, and-
Huh. So he's strong enough to take on the local Wild Pokemon on his own, now...
Seismic Toss's fixed damage means it could come in handy for catching wild Pokemon. However, that's not what I'll be using Jojo for, so I'm afraid it has to go unlearned.
That said, I got a certain TM earlier that I've got the feeling we'll need, if we want to try out Challenge Rock.
Alright. Now, let's check out that rock.
Oh yes, definitely.
Whoa!
I really did get an item!
What's it do?
Cha-ching! $_$
Okay, that settles it. We're coming back here tomorrow. Though, come to think of it, the caption said it was 'a challenge rock'. No capitalization, no 'the'. Does that mean that there are more of them out there? Maybe I'll be able to challenge more rocks in the future...
Uh... Okay?
You know, looking at the level differences, I think Jojo can handle this one.
...What.
Since when did Machop learn Metronome?!
Okay, good, crit with the Karate Chop. Now, I just need one more-
...Ah well. C'est la vie.
I'm pretty sure I've already explained Guts. Get'im, Ritzy!
Meditite is a Psychic/Fighting-type. I'll have to take a different tack for him.
Po! Metronome!
Dive is basically the Water-type version of Dig or Fly. Or Bounce, I suppose. Not a bad move to get, though I was kinda hoping for a Dark-type attack, like Sucker Punch or something.
Oh no, he's reading my mind!
He can see that I like to play Nintendo games! And make Metal Gear Solid references!
Well, that takes care of that. Next up is...
Ah, the Steel/Fighting-type Riolu. FireMonkey's fire should take care of this.
Roast'im, FireMonkey!
Wow.
That was quick.
Well, there goes Flame Charge. Lava Plume is pretty powerful. That 'torches everything around the user' bit means it's no good for double battles, though.
Hmm. Throh and Sawk are normally version-exclusives, as I recall. If Throh had the Special Defense, I'm guessing Sawk will have the physical Defense, meaning the best counter...
...Is Ritzy.
When they made her, they broke the mold.
And that takes care of that.
...Could you tone it down a bit?
You're scaring all the wild Pokemon.
Ah, so that's what that item was.
Net Balls are better than Ultra Balls on Water- and Bug-type Pokemon, but are only as good as regular Pokeballs, otherwise. They're pretty nice to have, overall. ^^
Anyway, that's as far as I can get in Pinwheel Forest. Now then, let's go and check out that gym...
...
Well, I guess if the first one was a cafe, it makes sense that the second one could be a museum.
...Okay. Will you pay me money if I find some fossils for you?
Ah, that's nice to know. ^^ I'll just head on back, then.
O... kay?
Sure, why not?
...I don't have to pay for the tour, right?
'And so it became a fossil'?
That is not a very scientific explanation.
...Huh. Now where have I heard about a mysterious Pokemon arriving on a meteorite before...?
Eh, I'm sure there are museums out there that have displayed items for worse reasons.
Plus, it does look kinda neat.
...Hey, what about the other side of the room?
So because you're the Gym Leader's husband, you get to slack off and only give people tours of half the museum?
Not cool, man.
Hey, you. Is that really this guy's only job?
...So she does all the work running the place, and he really does get to slack off all day.
Riiiiiight.
Well, that's it. I'm conducting my own tour. All aboard for the amazing Mariah-chan's Nacrene City Museum Tour, everyone!
Tour start!
I feel oddly drawn to this black stone, for some reason.
A space virus? And they're putting it on open display like that? Man, major health code violation, right there.
Kabutops?
And Dragonite... Look, Tuff Stuff, you're going to evolve into one of those, some day. ^^
Cubone's mother.
I don't really recognize this one. It looks tribal, though.
It's mysterious.
Well, I guess that's all the exhibits the museum currently has on display. If you'll excuse me, I've got to go write in my diary, now. It's been a full day.
