On the Hunt for Signs

With the idea of Pokemon signs in mind, I traveled back to the beginning again. I’ve always been a very methodical person and this seems like the best way to ensure I don’t miss anything. I noticed a curious rock formation on my previous trips through the beach area that looked like a crab. Sure enough, when I focused my camera on it this time my viewfinder read ‘sign?’ My suspicions were confirmed back at Professor Oak’s lab. He said this was just the sign he’d been looking for. I sped up the Zero One several times throughout this run to capture better shots. I was able to get the same shot of Doduo I had before, only closer up this time. I also got a slightly better shot of Lapras. After the beginning of the course things started to get interesting. I woke up Snorlax with a pester ball again and maganged to get a nicely centered shot this time. Pester balls also came in handy when I threw them into some high grass on the left hand side of the track and Scyther emerged. Two Pikachu came out after Scyther and began doing flips on the two stumps after the grass. I found out that the Professor really liked this Pikachu pose, calling it “Pikachu on a Stump” and awarding extra points for the pose as well as the multiple Pikachu in the shot. So far, I have recorded 49 kinds of Pokemon for the Professor Oak’s Pokemon Report. Since he awards points for each picture, he decided that after I earn 1150 more points I will have earned access to another tool to make my picture taking easier. I know that there are a lot of Pokemon I haven’t photographed yet in the volcano so I’m going to head back there next. First on my list is Charmeleon, who I didn’t capture before he transformed into Charizard last time. I also have a sneaking suspicion that there are more Pokemon hiding in the lava around the volcano that I can use pester balls to find. And I can’t forget about the signs that are hidden somewhere in each area. 

Exploring the Valley- Twice

What a fast course! I was able to get pictures of a lot of different kinds of Pokemon, but unfortunately the pictures are not that great. I took pictures of Squirtle, Mankey, Graveler, Staryu, Starmie, and Dratini. The best shot was of Starmie- it was a decent size and a great pose, but it wasn’t in the middle of the frame. These Pokemon are fast in this part of the island.  I captured a great pose of Dratini, but it was not nearly in the middle of the frame. From now on, my strategy for this course will be to take my entire roll of film in hopes of catching the perfect shot! At least now that I know what to expect, I can try again. I’m also going to try to figure out how to activate that “suspicious switch” that Professor Oak pointed out.

I went back to the Valley a second time, this time I was ready for the course. I knew from last time that if I hit the Geodude’s with pester balls they fall and I can get a decent shot. I also snapped a shot of Sandshrew after I threw it some apples- impressing Professor Oak with it’s “jolly” pose. I captured an even better shot of Starmie during this run- this time it was in the middle of the frame. I also snapped a better shot of Mankey that was closer up and a better pose than my last one. I was able to get this shot by waiting until the Zero One lined up with the one Squirtle that didn’t run away at the end of the course. Once the Zero One, the Squirtle, and the Mankey were lined up, I threw a pester ball at the Squirtle. This made Squirtle rocket up the cliff and knock Mankey off. Mankey fell down near the switch and I quickly snapped his picture before hitting him with a pester ball. The pester ball made him fall over backwards onto the switch, activating it and leading me to one of Professor Oak’s labs. Here, he told me about Pokemon signs. Pokemon signs are formations that look like Pokemon. The Professor wanted me to take pictures of these signs because he believes they will lead us to some hidden area of the island. I already have a few ideas in mind about these signs and I can’t wait to get started hunting for them. Professor Oak gave me another new item to help me on my quest- the dash engine. The dash engine speeds up the Zero One so that I can catch different angles and poses of Pokemon as I explore their island habitat. 

Tunnel Again, Again.

This time I went through the tunnel, I was able to get a nice shot of Magikarp. The Professor especially loved the splashing pose. I also got a shot of Diglett trying to go underground- another noteworthy pose according to the Professor. I was able to capture a nice shot of Magneton as well, but the Professor didn’t count it as being centered. It’s tough to center a Pokemon that’s in three pieces! I guess I know what he’s looking for next time- one of the pieces has to be in the center. The good news is I have now proven myself enough for the Professor to allow me access to another part of the island.  

Back to the Beginning

Well, I decided to start from the beginning again like I said. I went back to the beach, and although I didn’t find any new Pokemon I did manage to get much better pictures of the ones that were already there. I took better pictures of Butterfree, Lapras, Chansey, Kangaskhan, and Pidgey. Although Professor Oak really liked the pose of my picture of Snorlax (he was waking up and scratching his tummy) the Professor said that the photo wasn’t centered. I’m still having trouble getting a decent picture of Lapras, I can’t seem to gethim close enough to shore. I am proud of the picture I took of Chansey- I captured a very a funny pose according to the Professor. I was also able to get a shot of “gust using Pidgey” with two Pidgey in the shot. I just need to capture a picture of one more kind of Pokemon to show the Professor that I am ready to go to the next course. 

Crazy Cave

Wow, the cave was very disorienting the first time through! I didn’t know which way was up or which direction I was going half the time! I can tell that there are a lot of Pokemon hiding here and it’s going to take several tries to photograph them all. First I took a picture of Zubat, which was much easier than in the tunnel area. I even got two of them in the same picture. I saw Grimer off in the distance and snapped a picture of him, even though I knew the Professor wouldn’t like it because it was too far away. There were three Bulbasaur on a ledge, but they were acting really odd. I decided to throw apples and pester balls at them to see if anything would happen. The Bulbasaurs weren’t really Bulbasaur’s at all- they were Dittos. I managed to get all three Dittos in one picture. Next I saw a Jigglypuff being chased by Koffing. They went right by me and I was able to get great shots of both. The Professor loved the pose of Jigglypuff, which seemed a little mean to me because he was scared to death, and loved the size of the picture of Koffing. The only thing he didn’t like was that Jigglypuff wasn’t in the middle of the frame. I guess he’s never studied photography- a perfectly centered picture is very ascetically boring. I guess that’s scientists for you. Next I saw Weepingbell. I hit it with an apple and took a picture, but the Professor scolded me. He reminded me that Pokemon do not like being photographed from behind. I thought it was a cool shot. The last Pokemon I saw was Jynx. There were two Jynx laying down in a pool of water on either side of a jewel-like egg. Professor Oak said that the picture would be better if more of Jynx was in the shot, because just her head was above water. I don’t know how to get her to move though, neither the apple nor the pester ball had any effect. Maybe the Professor has something else to give me. At any rate, he said that I will find out what the next course is when I take pictures of three more Pokemon. I know that I missed Charmeleon in the volcano because I hit him into the lava and he became Charzard. I bet there are other Pokemon hiding in the lava around the volcano as well, and I know there’s something hiding in the dunes on the beach. Also, I think that I can somehow get more Pokemon (like Diglett) to evolve into new Pokemon. I’m going to sleep on that tonight and give it another go tomorrow. I’ll probably start from the beginning and run through all the courses in order again tomorrow. That way I’ll hopefully not miss anything. 

Second Time's a Charm

Now that I have the pester ball, the river is a much more fun place to photograph Pokemon. I was able to flush out two Poliwag’s and take one’s picture as it jumped into the river- a shot Professor Oak deemed “very nice.” Unfortunately, the pester ball didn’t help with everything. I was able to capture a better shot of Shellder by only 10 points- meaning it was a tiny bit closer up. However, I did capture a much better shot of Slowbro because I knew what to expect this time. During my last run, I had seen several Metapods on the ceiling of a rock cliff, but I knew that I couldn’t have gotten a good shot. This time I used the pester ball and one fell down right in front of me! On top of the close-up shot, there were other Metapods in the backgroud so Professor Oak really loved this shot. I also managed to get a much better picture of Psyduck this time around. Last time I had seen weird moving pieces of a rock wall, and so I decided to  use the pester ball on them to see what they were. They turned out to be Porygons and I was able to get two of them in one picture. I saw another Porygon hiding after I left these two and decided to flush him out as well. When he popped out of the wall, he landed on a switch that opened up an old dam and led to a cave, which is where I will be exploring next.

River Run

Well, my first run through the river area wasn’t too satisfying. There were so many Pokemon to photograph but they were all in hiding! Poliwag was the first Pokemon I saw, it was way up on the riverbank behind the tall grass. I was only able to get a couple shots of Poliwag and the best one received only a few points from Professor Oak’s scoring system. All he had to say was that the size was not very good. Next, I saw a hollow log and nearby a hiding Bulbasaur who I could not coax out with food. I thought that maybe there would be another Bulbasaur inside the log, so I threw an apple near the opening. Surely enough, one came out, but I was already so far down the river that I couldn’t get the shot I wanted. Professor Oak liked the picture of Bulbasaur that I did get, especially since it had such a happy face because of the apple and because you could see the top of the hiding Bulbasaur behind it. Next I saw Slowpoke and was able to get a decent shot of him. Suddenly, Shellder popped out of the water. I was only able to get a very quick snapshot of him that Professor Oak didn’t like at all. It was taken from much too far away. Next I lured another Slowpoke to an area where it looked like he could go fishing. He stuck his tail in the water and came out with a shell on it- transforming him into a Slowbro. Again, I was too far down the river to get a perfect picture of Slowbro but I managed to snap a decent shot. I saw Psyduck next and took a snapshot of him, which Professor Oak also didn’t like because it was taken from too far away. The last Pokemon I was able to get a picture of was Cloyster, which came out decent. The final Pokemon I saw, but was not able to capture a picture of, was Pikachu. I hit him with an apple and he took off- something that Professor Oak calls “speed Pikachu.” I have a feeling if I can get a picture of this Pikachu it would really impress the Professor!

Despite my many setbacks this run, the Professor decided that I take pictures at a good pace.  To make your work easier he gave me his latest invention- a pester ball. I can throw the pester ball at places where I think Pokemon are hiding to try to flush them out. I already know that I’m going to be running the river course again right away using the pester ball!