I picked up Pokemon Ruby again to close out the week. I was really just killing time before football started, and I could see how the Lions do. As an aside, it feels really weird to be excited for a Lions game now that they aren’t a totally incompetent team.
Anyway, I caught some more Pokémon, some evolved, and there were a few side quests. So far, I like how this game is structured compared to the second generation of games. It feels a lot easier to play, and I don’t have to deal with annoying phone calls. It probably helps that I don’t remember much about this game.
This time, I played through one gym and then did some of the other quests. I thought there was a gym in one of the towns, but I guess I was wrong. Anyway, let’s see what this part of the game had to offer.
Pokemon Ruby Second Gym
I went through one gym. Neither of them were all that different, but I shuffled my roster a bit. Basically, I came across a bunch of Pokémon that I thought looked cool. That really is the main thing that drives me to change around the six that I have with me at any given time. Pokemon Ruby does have a fun variety of new monsters.
My party was still a little odd, and it took me some time to level them all up. A few were holdovers from the first gym. I had no problem with the Fighting Pokémon gym, which I was a little surprised by. Here was my party after the two gyms:
- Combusken – Level 18 (Evolved since last update)
- Wingull – Level 13
- Electrike– Level 13
- Shroomish – Level 17
- Gulpin – Level 13
- Aron– Level 12
I’m still surprised by how this game just hands out the HMs. There aren’t quests or challenges for them so far. Some random NPC is just like, “Here you go, buddy.” I really don’t like this approach all that much.
The Fighting-type gym was a bit of a pushover. I didn’t have to do much to get ready for it, and just powered through. At first, I was a little wary of going through this one, but I just went through it with ease. From there, I went on to the next gym.
So far, this has been a pretty good game. It feels a little easy, but I know that something crazy is going to happen. There is still a lot of plot that I know is coming, simply because I’ve played other Pokémon games.
Side Quests in Pokemon Ruby
There isn’t really much to say here. It was just a couple of delivery quests. Both of them felt like ways to advance the plot or give the player another reason to go to a new town. These quests don’t feel as involved as the previous games. I’m sure this’ll change as I get further in the game.
These two quests feel a little odd, but not out of place. At this point, I’m not too sure how they’re connected to the main plot, but I’m sure that I’ll find out. Anyway, the first one takes you to the Karate gym, and the second brings you to Slateport City.
I’m not too sure if I’ll mention these each time. If they involve Team Magma, then I’ll have to bring them up. Delivery quests are in just about every Pokémon game, so I can’t really fault this game for having them. Even if I don’t really like this kind of quest.
Team Magma
Team Magma didn’t really play much of a part in the story up to this point. Once I got to Slateport City, they popped up. I feel like I’ve played this part of the story before. They’re attacking a museum in this town. I will say that I like the terrorist group in Pokemon Ruby. They are kind of different.
Part of their story ties into one of the delivery quests. They want these parts that you have to deliver to Captain Stern. He’s building an underwater exploration vehicle, basically a submarine, which would’ve been easier for me to write.
You end up fighting a couple of goons, and then you meet Maxie. He explains the goals of Team Magma, and tells you that you’re too young to understand. They want to expand the landmass, which is probably going to involve volcanoes. I know, it’s probably a good guess.
This was the big hurdle before the gym in Slateport City. I’m glad that they showed up. At some point, I might want to go back and see when the other teams show up in the games. With Team Magma, their plans feel more sinister than whatever Team Rocket was trying to do.
Stupidly, I thought there was a gym in Slateport City. I’m not too sure why I thought that there was one. I suppose it was something that I got used to from the other games. Yes, I feel stupid for not checking, and feel free to call me that in the comments if you feel the need to.
Wrap Up For Now
There is a lot that happened in this little update. It is fun to see where some of the Pokémon from the later games came from. I took a long break from this series before I got back into it. The most recent game that I beat was Sword, and I have Violet, but haven’t finished it for a few reasons.
Needless to say, there were a lot of Pokémon that I didn’t know about, and a handful that I did. With Pokemon Ruby, I feel like I’m seeing mostly new ones. This all has to do with me looking at this as the third game and ignoring everything that came after.
Next time, I think I’ll take on another gym and see where the Team Magma plot goes. There is something I find really interesting about all of this. It will be fun to see what their plans are, and how a 10-year-old boy manages to thwart them.
I’m going through this a little slower than I thought. I’m doing some other things aside from this. One of the things I’ve been doing is trying to finish a book that I’ve been working on. It’s gone through a few drafts, and I feel like it is closer to being done than it was last year. If you want updates on that, or want to know more, just ask.
If you like this post, check out some of my other posts on the Pokémon games. Such as the last entry in this series.