Justified Paranoia

A slow start, even with turbo mode for power grinding. Since I don't have pokeballs the first time I encounter a wild pokemon on route 1, there's no hope of catching one here ever. Ouch. Fortunately, route 2 gives me a level 2 rattata! Just what I want, and low enough to really benefit from training. Let the power leveling begin!

Ok, time for a brief trip into Viridian forest. Hoping for a pikachu, but get a metapod instead. Level 4, which is respectably low for this region, but would have preferred a caterpie for tackle. This one is gonna take a long time to evolve... although apparently butterfree comes out at level 10, so maybe not *that* long.

Nope. Forever. Splitting xp with rattata and squirtle actually lets her beat rattata to 10. Yay butterfree! Now to get rattata up enough to hyper fang, and I can go take on BOWSA near victory road.

Disaster strikes! Roommate-boy (aka fuzzy sunrise) loses his rattata! Sloppy power leveling and a distinct lack of my paranoia, and the poor soul is lost forever. Now I'm even more careful. If I don't have a backup pokemon at more than half health, it's back to the pokemon center for me. Spent half my purse on antidotes to. Viridian might get dicey.

Ok, new pokemon on route 22 before facing BOWSA. Oh man, a mankey? I don't think I've ever caught one of these here, but it's only level 2. Great for the long term, but I'm more than a little concerned that squirtle will just drop her straight up. Bubble's low attack power is finally going to come in handy... winning. Almost a kill but not quite, perfect set up for the first pokeball. A freaking mankey?! I'm so excited.

Ok, focus. Time to face da BOWSA. Thanks to roommate-boy (aka break and enter), I happen to know all he's got is a bulbasaur and pidgey, around level 9. Rattata's got hyper fang, at level 13. Pidgey goes down to a one hit KO, and I realize that butterfree's confusion is super effective against poisons. I though bulbasaur might only add poison after evolving, but nope! Not quite a KO, he puts a weak tackle up, and just like that, the "mighty" BOWSA is down for the count. Time to go train up mankey, and fantasize about how easy Brock will be.