Ah, Pinwheel Forest. Full of mystery. Full of Pokemon. Full of trainers eager to battle. And it’s full of Team Plasma goons who made off with the dragon skull from the Nacrene City Museum. Me and new friend Burgh were determined to bring that skull back, and so we entered the forest to take on Team Plasma.
Burgh sealed off the exit leading to Castelia City while I pushed deep into the forest to stop Team Plasma. This didn’t exactly seem like a fair division of labor to me, but who am I to argue with a Gym Leader. As I pushed into the forest I came upon a variety of Pokemon which I gladly added to my collection. I caught a pair of Petilils so I could trade one for a Cottonee with a girl I met in Nacrene City. I also came across a vicious looking Venipede and a Sewaddle. As I battled my way past trainers, rangers and Plasma grunts, my Snivy reached level 17 and evolved into a Servine. It’s always exciting to see one’s Pokemon grow and change; way to go Snakeyes.
Eventually I caught up with the Plasma goons with the Dragon Skull, but for a moment there I thought things were about to get a whole lot tougher before I could return the skull. Grom, one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma showed up, and it looked like he was spoiling for a fight. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do, but fortunately Burgh chose that exact moment to show up, followed shortly by Lenora. Outnumbered and outgunned, Gorm and Team Plasma beat a hasty retreat, with Gorm saying the skull wasn’t what they needed after all to bring their dastardly plans to fruition. With that adventure concluded, Burgh headed back to Castelia City to await my inevitable arrival and ensuing gym battle while Lenora went back to Nacrene City. So with fresh experience, new Pokemon, and a few new treasures as well, I began to make my way to the big city.
Castelia City is like stepping into a Pokemon version of New York City (which, I’ve heard, provided the inspiration for this particular destination). It really is unlike any place I’ve been in previous Pokemon regions (which admittedly is limited to Johto and Kanto regions). My first stop was the Pokemon Center for a quick healing of my team and to pick up a few items, and although there was a lot to see and do, my mind was really only on one thing: capturing the rare Pokemon Victini. That being the case, I headed straight to Liberty Pier, where thanks to my downloaded Liberty Pass (which was only available for a limited time) I was able to access Liberty Island. Upon arrival, I found that once again Team Plasma was causing trouble. In this case, they had heard of Victini and its powers and wanted to make use of it for their own nefarious plans. After taking out a couple of goons outside of an old lighthouse, which apparently was built by some wealthy PokeTrainer to try and hide/contain Victini, I made my way into the basement to capture this rare Pokemon. I have to admit that my first time I accidentally made it faint using Roggenrola, but my next attempt (after a quick re-loading of my saved game) was much more successful. With Victini on board and Team Plasma in custody, I headed back to the city to do some exploring.
Among the many sights and adventures I had in Castelia City was a visit to the Battle Company. This building is filled with workers eager to battle, which gave me a chance to put Victor (the name I gave my Victini) through his paces in battle. Along with gaining some much needed experience, I also found a few items that I’m sure will prove useful in my further travels. One item in particular will be very useful, the Experience Share. If one of my Pokemon is holding this, they’ll get experience from a battle even if they don’t participate. Very useful for getting lower level Pokemon leveled up without risking them fainting. In the Castelia Central Plaza I ran across a dancer who wanted to reunite with his pals. A trip down Narrow Street and a visit to Unity Pier led me to the other dancers, and when I finally convinced them all to team up again, I picked up an Amulet coin for my troubles. A useful item as it doubles my prize money if the Pokemon holding it participates in a battle.
After taking in the sights, I finally decided to meet Burgh and get my next gym badge. Unfortunately, Burgh was on his way out. Apparently someone had stolen Bianca’s Pokemon, the fiends. We quickly met up with her at Prime Pier to hear her sad story. Ironically enough, while we’re there, the goon that committed the crime returned to the scene for a second attempt. However, he hadn’t counted on Burgh and me being there, and as he dashed off we raced to catch him. Our brief chase through the city eventually led to a building that I had previously visited but found empty. It was right across from Burgh’s gym, and low and behold it turned out to be a secret headquarters for Team Plasma. Inside we found Ghetis and a bunch of his goons, but instead of battling, he seemed intent on merely talking; specifically with Burgh. I must admit, there was a moment where I thought Burgh may actually help Ghetis, but when the conversation was over, Bianca’s Pokemon was returned to her without a fight and Team Plasma vacated the Building.
By this point I had had enough of the excitement of the big city, so I followed Burgh back to his gym to earn my badge. For such a helpful guy, he sure does surround himself with a lot of weirdness. All of the trainers in his gym are dressed like harlequins and to get from room to room you have to push through walls of honey. Like I said, weird. However, the bug-type Pokemon that dominate this gym weren’t much of a match for Vicinti or Roggenrola, so it wasn’t long before I was walking out with my third gym badge, the Insect Badge. 
