Pokemon White: what dreams may come

I’m not sure I should admit this, in fact I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t, but I’m going to anyway. The last couple of nights my dreams have been dominated by Pokemon White.

Last night was the worst. Generally the dreams have just been rather hazy and generic replays of various fights. Actually, that’s not even accurate. It’s not like they are actual replays, but rather just the feeling that I’m playing the game constantly. That I’m being challenged, mainly by wild Pokemons, and having to throw out moves over and over again all night long. I blame grinding for this. Grinding is for the birds, and dreaming about it, even in the abstract, does not make for a restful night’s sleep I find. Last night, however, it got specific.

After the jump, infested and infected

If you have to grind, and I have to in order to level up my team for my rematch with Lenora, then it’s best to find a good place to do it. Thanks to the comments to these very diaries, I’ve found what is essentially the big game reserve of the game so far. It’s this area right outside Pinwheel Forest, and it’s perfect not only because there’s plenty of grass to tromp through in search of wild Pokemon battles (dark grass too), but also because there’s this lovely nurse who hangs out right outside the big game reserve ready to heal your team up at a moment’s notice so you don’t have to schlep them all the way back to town. I kind of feel like I’m doing chores, bringing bucket after bucked of water from the well to fill up the bathtub or something, but at least I’ve got a system. Only one real problem has developed.

Tympole. The big game reserve is lousy with him.

Tympole is a Water-type Pokemon–hey look at me! I’m learning types!–and you can’t swing a purrloin in these grasses without hitting one. Not just wild ones either. I went up against a trainer named Keita the other day and all he did was send out Tympoles. Three times in a row! Come on, dude! How about some variety? I hated that guy, and Tympole too. Stupid Bubble Beam. Sometime after that fight I bagged my own Tympole and came to like Bubble Beam quite a lot until last night when the Tympole infestation became ridiculous and infected my dreams. Over and over again it was Tympole last night when I went to sleep. His stupid smiling floating face and those stupid slapping bubbles and this mind control thing he does that confuses my Pokemons and makes them attack themselves. Insidious and annoying.

In addition to the almost constant dreaming about those attacks, I also dreamed that I got reported for being abusive to another player. I don’t know if that’s even possible, but apparently I taunted another trainer after beating down his Tympole rather handily and he reported me for taunting him. I found this out in a weird coffee-break room where I was hanging out with other trainers after some battle or other.

It’s possible I’m playing this game too much. Again, I blame the grinding. But there’s nothing to be done for it, because I’m telling you I am not going back down into that basement to face that bone collecting you-know-what without being prepared this time. No way. It’s a little annoying knowing that she’s down there relaxing with her thoughts and I’m out in the forest leveling up my dudes and getting driven a little crazy by a Water-type, but too bad. I’m pretty sure I’ve got my team set up now, all that’s left is preparing them.

If that means a couple of sleepless nights, so be it.

Sweet dreams, Lenora. Enjoy them while you can.

Next: starting lineup
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