Part 2: Arisu
Everyone agreed we should play as a girl. There were four suggestions for a name. I went with Quackles's suggestion Alice since I liked the idea that we're in Wonderland.
After Totodile and Cyndaquil going head to head for a while, in the end Totodile was the clear winner with 19 votes. I'm not sure if all three people mentioning Air Toto were actually suggesting that as a nickname but I decided to roll with it.
Air Toto comes equipped with an Oran Berry (yes, Fool's Gold uses later-gen berry names), and starts with the basic moves Scratch and Leer.
The romhack devs even made custom animated menu sprites! (I removed the berry for this gif). You can already see a lot of love went into this game.
Anyway, we receive the Potion from Elm's aide, and start making our way to Mr. Pokemon.
Our first encounter on Route 29 is this Pidgey.
Pidgey, the Thwacking Pokemon
Type: Fighting/Flying
Pokedex: This feisty Pokémon picks fights with those around it, but often loses due to its small size.
Of course, without Pokeballs, all we can do is scratch it to death.
Physical? Yep, that's right, Fool's Gold introduces the physical/special split 2 generations early.
In case you're wondering, most of the other internal stats have been kept vanilla Gen 2. For example, IVs/DVs and EVs/Stat exp have not been changed.
Other than the redesigned pokemon, Route 29 seems entirely unchanged. Next, we encounter Sentret.
Sentret, the Squirrel Pokemon
Type: Normal/Flying
Pokedex: Their tails help them leap into the air, where they glide freely using skin flaps under their legs.
Sentret gets Air Toto to level 6.
I get the Potion and make my way to the Route 46 gatehouse. As always, Route 46 is almost entirely blocked by ledges but at least we can take a look at the pokemon.
Corsola, the Flame Pokemon
Type: Fire
Pokedex: CORSOLA are kind-spirited and often appear by weary travelers, eager to warm them up.
Such as this friend. It's unfortunate I don't have balls yet.
Corsola did manage to hurt Air Toto a bit with its annoying combination of Smokescreen and Ember. But Air Toto leveled up again and learned his first STAB move: Gust.
Back on Route 29, I pick an Oran Berry off the tree (they grow back every 24 hours like in the base game), and with that we're already in Cherrygrove City.
Let's get the tour from this guy so he can give us the map.
Hey, what's that pier? Let's check that out in a minute. First, let's heal up and hit the Poke Mart.
Mart - Fool's Gold OST
Here is the first new song of Fool's Gold. Most music is kept unchanged, but when you hit a new tune and it's a good one like this Poke Mart theme, it's a nice surprise.
Anyway, all NPC dialogue in Cherrygrove is unchanged. You've probably noticed the nice red trees as well as what I assume are cherry blossoms on the ground. Let's go see what that pier is about.
The S.S. SAKURA is a ship for only the most elite Trainers.
Nobody really knows where it goes.
Through a short underground corridor, onto the final part of this pier.
Sorry, kid.
This ship's only for the best of the best.
I guess we'll have to come back later. Let's go to Route 30 and meet Mr. Pokemon.
I get the Oran Berries from the tree and from the guy inside the house. The kid battling here says "Go, SENTRET" now, so apparently he doesn't have a Rattata anymore.
In the grass we encounter Hoppip.
Hoppip, the Potato Pokemon
Type: Grass/Ground
Pokedex: A grumpy POKÉMON who stays underground, absorbing nutrients and growing.
It dies to a couple gusts. I found some Antidote on the route as well as a Pecha Berry from the tree next to Mr. Pokemon's house.
I get the Mystery Egg from Mr. Pokemon, and the Pokedex from Prof. Oak.
On the way back to New Bark Town, there's the rival fight. At level 5, Cyndaquil doesn't know any ice moves yet, so it's an easy win.
The police officer asks for his name. Now, there were 2 votes for BUTTS and 2 for ????. Everyone knows ???? is canonically pronounced "HUH?!?" so let's name him that.
We hand the Mystery Egg to Elm, and get 5 Pokeballs from his aide. Finally, before leaving New Bark Town, I ask Mom to save some of my money. She might buy something neat from it for us.
On the way back to Cherrygrove I fill out my initial team a bit, if only to prevent Air Toto from getting over-leveled early on.
Now here's my darkest secret: I can never come up with nicknames for pokemon.
So here's how you can help:
At any time during this LP, please leave suggestions for what pokemon I should have in my party and what their names should be. These can be pokemon I've caught, but also pokemon we've seen. I'll try to catch them if they're on a route I already have access to.
It'll be difficult to change nicknames until we get to the Name Rater, so that part might take a bit.
On route 30 we start encountering trainers.
Youngster Joey indeed has a Sentret.
From what I can tell, most dialogue from random trainers is unchanged or just slightly altered. I don't remember what everyone said in the original.
I'll spare you from talking about every single trainer if they don't have new pokemon or stand out in some other way.
During the trainer battles, Corsola levels up to 6, at which point she learns Sweet Scent. Like in the base game, this move can also be used on the field to force encounters.
Bug Catcher Don sends out a Venonat.
Venonat, the Aphid Pokemon
Type: Bug
Pokedex: These POKÉMON are very easy to miss, as they blend right into the leaves they cluster on.
Venonat only knows Leech Life at this point. I switch to Corsola to kill it with fire.
Don also has a Ledyba.
Ledyba, the Firefly Pokemon
Type: Bug/Electric
Pokedex: Many people use LEDYBA as a light source at night. It is a popular POKÉMON for those who like to camp.
On Route 31 I decide to pop into Dark Cave for a moment. It's too dark to see anything but right away I get attacked by Onix.
With Leech Life to heal itself and with a catch rate of only 45, this thing was annoying to catch, but I managed it with my last pokeball.
Onix, the Earthworm Pokemon
Type: Ground
Pokedex: These massive POKÉMON tunnel through the soil, absorbing moisture through their rubbery skin.
What can I say, sometimes it's immediately obvious what to name a pokemon.
This is a Persim Berry tree. It cures confusion.
For some reason I gave Youngster Joey my number. He already decided to call me. Apparently Sentret is doing well and they beat a Venonat. Good for them.
In the next trainer battle against Bug Catcher Wade, Pidgey grows several levels. At level 5 she learns Arm Thrust, a Fighting move introduced in Gen 3. At level 9 she learns Gust.
Wade throws this... thing at me.
Sneasel, the Festering Pokemon
Type: Bug/Dragon
Pokedex: A strange POKÉMON which hides in the darkest caves. It is considered no more than a cryptid by most.
As the dex implies, Sneasel can also be found in Dark Cave, although its encounter rate is very low unless it's night.
Very early to find a Dragon type though.
Wade also has a Spinarak.
Spinarak, the Spider Pokemon
Type: Bug/Ghost
Pokedex: These pests are difficult to get rid of, as their bodies are only made of shadows and grief.
We make it to Violet City without further incident. This seems as good a place as any to stop for now.
Progress:
- Pokemon seen: 12/433 (2.77%)
