Fuck Johto 2k18 continues...

The squirt bottle.

So there's this roadblock on the way to Ecruteak City on Route 36 where a Sudowoodo is blocking the path and you're told by a woman standing by it that it moves when splashed with water. I thought, logically, that this meant I needed a Water-type Pokémon to proceed. This seemed odd but I went looking anyway.

A frustrating hour later I resorted to the internet and the actual solution to this is pure adventure game moon logic.

There is a flower shop in Goldenrod City, which the lady on Route 36 says she works at. Once you have defeated the Goldenrod gym leader you can go to the flower shop and the NPC there will give you a squirt bottle that you can use to squirt water on the Sudowoodo which will make it attack you.

I'm sorry but that's obtuse and one of the most obscure solutions this series has ever thrown at me.

Fuck Johto 2k18.

I remember why I hate Johto

Fuck Johto 2k18.

In all seriousness, for years I have joked about hating the Johto Region and now playing Heart Gold (I played the original the first time) I suddenly remember why.

The tutorial phase is horrible! Its one of those games where you end up running an errand for the Professor to start off. You go off to meet his friend “Mister Pokémon” to fetch an egg because no one is lazier in this fantasy world than zoologists. You get your starter Pokémon (Cyndaquil, in my case) and he sends you off down two Routes without running shoes there and back.

Between random encounters during which I was unable to catch anything because I hadn't been given my pokéballs (oh, Nuzlocke players must love this bloody game) it took me almost an hour to get there and back.

To fetch an egg.

An egg.

I hate Johto.