Completing the Report

I went back to the lab today thinking that my return was going to surprise the Professor. After all, he had dismissed me after I took the photo of Mew, saying that I had done a great job and shooing me out the door. I should have known that he would always be one step ahead of me. When I showed up at the lab he greeted me with “I’ve been expecting you, Todd.” He apparently knows me too well. My next mission is to take the best possible picture of each Pokemon for the report. Oh, and finishing the report. I missed five Pokemon that live on the island. Fortunately, I know just which ones they are and I have a pretty good idea of where to find them.

1. Arcanine- Volcano area, near the end of the track

2. Dugtrio- Tunnel, make Diglett evolve

3. Goldeen- Valley, be ready to take her picture whenever I throw something in the water

4. Gyrados- Valley

5. Muk- Cave

Looks like I've got my work cut out for me!

Rainbow Cloud

It turns out that the first, and only, Pokemon that lives in Rainbow Cloud is Mew. Mew travels around Rainbow Cloud in a protective electromagnetic bubble. This makes it impossible for me to take his picture until I force him outside of it. In order to do this, I had a hunch that the pester balls would be my best ally. After hitting the first blue bubble three times, Mew switched to a yellow bubble. I hit this three times with pester balls and Mew emerged from it. Not for long though, he was running after it and it was very difficult to get a decent shot. Once he got back in his bubble, every time I hit it he would come out. I managed to take a few good pictures before the course ran out.

Although I was not very pleased with my photographs, I chose the one that was closest up, in the center, and not of Mews backside to show the Professor. Despite my grumblings, Professor Oak assured me that it was a wonderful shot. He was also very impressed by the fact that I could get the shot at all and elated at the evidence of Mews natural habitat. He apparently never believed that Mew lived on Pokemon Island and said that “our Pokemon report now as a very memorable picture” all because of my hard work.

Well, just because I was dismissed by the Professor doesn’t mean my work is done. I’m going to return to the lab and request to be able to take more pictures in hopes of getting the perfect shot of each and every Pokemon on Pokemon Island. 

Valley Sign

Well this was definitely the easiest sign, that’s why I saved it for last. Not really, I just sort of forgot about it. From the time Professor Oak explained Pokemon signs giving the really leading hint, “Have you seen a mountain that looks like Dugtrio?” I knew what the sign for this level was. I overlooked the fact that I hadn’t actually taken a picture of it yet. Oh well, that just means I was able to explore the valley area again and get more opportunities for pictures. The first thing I did when going through the valley this time was take a picture of the mountain sign. That way I wouldn’t forget about it again. After I got a picture I was satisfied with, I used the dash engine to speed up the Zero One. I wanted to get a picture of Sandslash before he burrowed into the ground. I managed to capture a few shots of Sandslash, but none were great. At least I have his picture to put into the Pokemon report though. Hopefully I’ll have time later to go back and get better pictures. I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my photography and it bothers me to be handing these shots that I know could be better to the Professor. However, I understand why he’s more concerned right now with getting all of the Pokemon documented in their natural habitat than with having perfect pictures of them. After all, in the end it’s a science report and not an art exhibit.

And speaking of the science aspect, once I presented Professor Oak with the picture of this last sign he was able to figure out what they all meant. The signs are the same as the constellations that can be seen from Pokemon Island. Professor Oak exclaimed, “Now it all makes sense! It’s the sky! Rainbow cloud, floating in the sky, is the last course. Someone in the clouds must have created the Pokemon signs. This could prove very important for Pokemon research!”

Well, that’s why I’m here. Time to go explore Rainbow Cloud and document whatever Pokemon call it their natural habitat. 

The Elusive Cave Sign

Since I had such success getting the signs already, I decided to visit the cave area of the island again. This is my least favorite area to take pictures in because it is just so difficult and confusing. Again, I went with just a few goals in mind. I wanted to get the picture of the sign. I also wanted to get better pictures of Gimer and Weepinbell, as well as try to make Weepinbell evolve and figure out what is in the egg. First, I was able to get a much better shot of Grimer. I found out that if I take pictures of the first two Grimer I see, another emerges on the ledge across from the three Bulbasaur/Ditto. This one is much closer to the Zero One and makes for a much better picture. Last time I was in the cave I noticed two Jigglypuffs, each being chased by a Koffing. I felt bad for them and wanted to stop the Koffings from bullying them, so I hit the Koffings with pester balls until they deflated. Next, I captured a better shot of Weepinbell before knocking it into the pool of water. I figured since this worked with Charmeleon it would work here, and I was right. I snapped a shot of Victreebell before the Zero One moved on to the next area of the cace. Here, I decided to play the Pokeflute. The Pokeflute was the key to hatching Zapdos’ egg, so I thought it might work for this egg as well. When I played the flute Jynx began to dance around and the egg began to shake. Eventually, Articuno hatched out of it. I took a beautiful shot of him right after he emerged from his shell and began to fly. After Articuno flew away, I quickly snapped a shot of Jynx as it danced a “jolly dance” according to Professor Oak. The very last shot I took was of two Jigglypuffs singing on what appeared to be a stage. Professor Oak really loved this pose, calling it “Jigglypuff on stage” and awarding me 500 points just for the pose.

After I completed this run through, I realized I hadn’t found the Pokemon sign. I went back again and took pictures of a lot of different suspicious-looking formations and was glad when one of them developed into a sign. The signed turned out to be a constellation of Mew, found only when looking behind the Zero One from the pool where Weepingbell was. I am very glad that I found this sign on my second try- this a very nerve-wracking and frustrating course for me!

River

This time down the river, I decided to concentrate on just a few things. The most important is finding the sign in this area of the island. Unlike the other areas, this time I have no idea where the sign could be. The second thing is waking up Vileplume and getting her picture. Thankfully, these two things ended up going hand in hand. Knowing that apples and pester balls didn’t have any effect on Vileplume, I tried the Pokeflute. She immediately woke up and started dancing. Professor Oak loved my shot of Vileplume, commenting “isn’t the Pokemon dance fun?!” As I was taking her picture, I noticed a curious rock formation behind her. I realized that it was the shape of Cubone and quickly snapped a few shots of it. This was the Pokemon sign for the river area. After I found the Pokemon sign I went there for, I concentrated on getting better shots of Pokemon I had already documented. I was able to get a better shot of Shellder, even though it still wasn’t in the middle of the frame. I also took much better shots of Slowpoke and Psyduck. Overall, this was a successful run and I am very happy with my progress so far.

Tunnel Sign

Well I’m still on a quest for the hidden Pokemon signs. My next stop is the tunnel to try and find the sign that’s hidden there. This time through the tunnel, I decided to see what the Pokeflute would do in this level. What I really want to do is figure out who or what is inside that egg near Pikachu. I realized that when I play the flute near Pikachu, Pikachu emits electricity. So I decided to lure Pikachu towards the egg and then play the Pokeflute. Good thing I have great instincts not only when it comes to photography! When Pikachu emitted the electricity near the egg, a Zapdos hatched from it. Zapdos then flew over to the old generator and got it going, turning on the electricity in the old tunnel. I was able to get a great shot of Zapdos- a wonderful thunder jolt according to the Professor. Then, I concentrated on capturing a better shot of Zubat. I found that if I look forward rather than upwards when the doors open I can capture a nice shot of Zubat. I was looking around for the sign, but I already had a good idea of where it would be. Towards the end of the course there were some odd-shaped pipes sticking out of the ground. Originally I thought this was the sign, but as I approached I realized that after Zapdos turned on the power in the tunnel, there was a light projecting through the pipes and casting a distinctly Pokemon-shaped shadow on the wall. After the sign, the last thing I wanted to capture was a better picture of Magneton. Last time, Professor Oak said that Magneton was not centered in the shot that I showed him. This time, I made sure to center one of the three parts that make up Magneton.

Volcano Success!

Going to the volcano again I knew I wanted to get a better picture of Rapidash. Unfortunately, I missed my opportunity. I was too busy looking at the strange purple smoke coming out of the hole to my left. It certainly looked like the Haunters that were in the tunnel. I tried throwing pester balls at it to see if anything would happen. Suddenly, the purple haze turned into a face. I snapped a shot because I knew that this could be the sign I was looking for. Next, I took my time at the point in the track where the egg blocked my progress. I figured I might as well get a better shot of Charmander while I was there. I lured them close to me and let them call many friends over. The picture was worth the wait- Professor Oak deemed it much better than the last. Then I remembered my prized shot of the Fighting Magmar that the Professor didn’t like because it wasn’t “centered.” I decided to try again, this time centering one Magmar to the Professor’s liking. My guess about Pokemon hiding in the lava turned out to be correct- there were Growlithe hiding in the three lava pools near the end of the course. I made sure to snap a good picture of Charmeleon before I knocked him into the lava again. I wanted another shot at Charizard- the Professor didn’t give me a lot of credit on the size of my last one. Overall, this was a very successful run. I managed to get better pictures of several Pokemon, found a couple new ones, and found the Pokemon sign for this area of the island. For all my hard work the Professor presented me with the Pokeflute. He told me to use it often to see rare Pokemon poses. Now I’m off to the tunnel to find the sign from that area, then to the river to attempt to find better poses.