Hello, Pokejunglers! Mr.Bojingles is back for another installment of Unova Gyms: Untamed! I’m sure you’ve all had a rather busy week wasting away the hours on Diablo 3 (I sure have). I’ve found myself quite addicted. I would recommend dropping the dough if you have a decent computer available. Message me if you would like to exchange gamer IDs! I think my Witch Doctor will make a worthy party member :3
Aside from the Diablo fiasco, we’re closing in on a three day weekend! Finally some time off to sit back, relax and play some games. Pokemon will be on the top of my list. I’m thinking of playing through either Silver or Emerald. I’ve yet to decide!
[spoiler]Enough small talk, let’s get started with the article. Last week we covered Brycen of Icirrus City who wields Pokemon of the underwhelming Ice type. Your next stop after Brycen is the 8th and final gym leader(s) of Opelucid City! Depending on what version you’ll have, you’ll either fight Iris (Pokemon White) or her father Drayden (Pokemon Black), whom each use Dragon type Pokemon. Each version comes with its own respective city design, which I find rather interesting. The only differences in these cities are, as far as I know, simply aesthetic. The buildings all contain the same contents, including the items you receive from them. I’m glad GameFreak is taking more of an initiative with making the different game versions increasingly different from each other. Before it was simply a matter of catching different Pokemon and some minor story differences. I’m glad to see that it’s finally affecting the overall game play (it’s not noticed so much in Opelucid City, but it’s quite different in the post-game areas). I do wish the differences went a bit deeper, since I’ve always felt that they were somewhat gimmicky. It seems like Gamefreak has been tweaking up the series for a time now, so hopefully more changes will come in the future. The gym is set up is a eye catching black dragon temple, but not flashy like the gyms of Mistralton and Nimbasa city.
As mentioned before, you’ll be contending against Dragon types for this gym battle. Dragon Pokes are notorious for their strength, speed, and diverse move pools. I would say the only thing that you can really do to prepare for this fight is level your party up like mad. Most of your attacks will more than likely be resisted against the opposing team, so boosts in stats is the best you can do. That is, unless you’re patient enough to raise a high level ice or dragon type teammate. The ice types, as previously brought up in the last article, are quite frail and underwhelming. Sure, you’ll be able to get off one or two super effective attacks, but if hit by a powerful Dragon STAB attack you’re done for. Dragon types by this point in the game are few and far between. If you do catch one, they have some of the highest leveling curves, so raising one is a huge chore. Steel types would also work quite well (Cobalion comes to mind as a great choice) as they’ll resist attacks and deal neutral damage. If you’re searching for an ice type, I would suggest getting a Beartic or Vanilluxe. Not only are they high in the offensive, but they can also take a hit (or at least better than Cryogonal can with its pitiful defense stat). You can also catch a Druddigon in the Dragon Spiral Tower if you’re patient enough. Axew is also available in Mistralton Cave. Just make sure to level up your Dragon types so they can out-speed the opposing gym. There isn’t much in the town itself to hold your interest aside from a few interesting items, but nothing quite useful enough to make the fight with the Dragon gym leader any easier.
The fight between Drayden and Iris is essentially the same. They both use a level 41 Fraxure, level 41 Druddigon and a level 43 Haxorus. Drayden uses an all male team while Iris uses females. At the start of the battle, you’ll contend with the level 41 Fraxure. While not nearly as powerful as its third evolved form, you should still be wary. This particular opponent comes with the move Dragon Dance, a dragon type stat booster that boosts its user’s speed and attack. Dragon types tend to excel in these two expertise, so it’s important not to let Fraxure abuse this move. After a few uses of Dragon Dance, s/he could decimate your team. Attack with anything that s/he doesn’t resist, and move onto the next opponent; Druddigon. While not as powerful as its dragon brethren, Druddigon is still a force to be reckoned with. This particular species carries the ability “Rough Skin”, which will deal damage to the opponent whenever the user is hit with a physical attack. Iris’ comes with “Sheer Force”, which increases the power of moves by 33%, but the moves lose their secondary effect i.e. paralysis, poison, etc. S/he also comes with the move Revenge; a fighting type move that will inflict double damage if the user has been hurt on the same turn. This can be threatening to any steel or rock types that you happen to be using, so make sure to have a teammate ready for this situation. I should also note that Druddigon (as well as the rest of the gym leaders’ teammates) come with Dragon Tail; a semi-powerful dragon-type move that will force you to switch with another teammate. This can get frustrating if you’re trying to set up with stat boosting moves. Make sure to have plenty of counters ready in case you’re forced to switch. Lastly, you’ll face the level 43 Haxorus. This is where the fight can get tricky. Not only does Haxorus know Dragon Tail, but s/he also knows Dragon Dance. Take it out as quickly as you can with whatever you have. When I fought this beast, my teammate was not only under leveled but at a disadvantage because I didn’t have anything available that was strong against dragon types. Haxorus took out half of my team between the two hyper potions the gym leader uses. My strategy was all out offense, which I think wasn’t the brightest idea. Having a move like Thunder Wave or Will-o-Wisp available would make this fight much, much easier.[/spoiler]
Well folks, this is the last of the Unova Gyms: UNTAMED series! We’ll be conjuring some new material for you all soon. As usual, feel free to leave any feedback!
P.S Something else about myself; I’m also gay! Yes, a vegan/vegetarian gay soldier. I’ve received many strange looks in my time after using this description. But hey, at least it makes for decent conversation.