#cleffable

The game has shinnies, which was a nice suprise when I ran into Shiny Pikachu and later Azumarill when grinding/looking for rare mons in the postgame.

I played it with minimal use of the exp all, which functions like the modern exp share but since it can be deposited it is optional (thumbs up). It also has the all switched out pokemon recieve full exp and gaining exp upon catching pokemon, which lead me to try to avoid switching out permanent teammates if possible. This also lead me to decide to complete the pokedex Which I did using switch training for most of the game and later used to exp all with a single permanent team-member to evolve spare mons while grinding up my team for Elite Four and Postgame, both of which feature a massive level spike but are doable even with a level disadvantage (admittedly sometimes due to the bad AI).

Due to the poor documentation on the official wiki and the ingame pokedex locations I had to do alot of exploration to complete the dex as mons were not listed or in the wrong place. And while the exploration was fun with suprise starters being nice, looking for mons in places they are not for long periods of time was not fun. (Larvitar is not found in the International Tunnel despite the ingame pokedex, I had to buy a Totodile in the game corner).

I had fun playing it, but the wiki needs an update.

First up my starter, Cinderella, my female Charmander starter. While she is a species I really like, it was great to play her in fresh region as I've watched to many let's plays to enjoy her in Kanto. The rom retains the lack of late game fire moves until Charmeleon learns flamethrower, which made Cinderella tapper off in the midgame but she then learned flamethrower and evolved and took on fighting gym. Like most mons she has a much more useful movepool than gen one. The fire typing is great, helping against the early ice and grass gyms and Crunch devastated many physical frail psychics. The lack of rock moves besides stealth rocks hurt, but the gas types being extra supereffective against fire would randomly hose her. (I tried not use the extra types.

My next mon was PinkDiamon/PunkDiamond, an early game Clefairy I decided to use to try a fairy type Cleffable in Gen One. She was great in the early game, fell off in the midgame as I delayed evolving her to learn draining kiss, then evolved and did great against the fighting gym. Her sing made catching mons easier. I delibrately forgot minimise due to being OP as heck, and decided on Thunderbolt as her fourth attack due to needing coverage on the psychic gym leaders multiple water mons. She was very versatile and had a great typing.

My next Pokemon is Mendias, an Alakazam, caught as an early game Abra. I have strong memories of using a Kadabra nicknamed Yolanda when playing pokemon yellow (in france when watching cartoons), and have never used an Alakazam but wished I could as a child. So I added to him to my team, and got a fast high special mon was after evolving into Kadabra he was good the entire game. His Teleport was kept until the elite four and was a real time saver. As Kadabra he was crushed by the fighting gym leaders Anihilape. I evolved into Alakazam at 42, and taught him Noise Pulse as coverage for the Psychic Leaders water types. He was great at sniping damaged mons and psychicing mons to death. Special Hyperbeam without the KO when you knock a mon out was a fun cross game mechanic that was fun.

Caught in the midgame at level 20 postcut was Tyson, the Hitmonlee, another pokemon I haven't used before. He really disliked the low singular special stat as it left him frail, had movepool problems and accuracy problems and also lacked coverage to ghosts, but like Mendias he was great immediately and forever being a very fast attacker who does lots of damage but was terrible for switch training pokedex filler mons. He snipped mons and his Tyrannitar OHKOer prowess was vital to beating the elite four. He delivered the final blow of the game, defeating Pallete Red's Scizor with high jump kick for the win.

Tamara, caught as a Rhyhorn beneath the Mansion at the early thirties before the fighting type gym. She was a planned replacement for the first cave/route Geodude, as have never beaten a game with regular Golem before and would have liked to beat Yellow this way, but soon realised doing so with a Rhyperior would be an ever scarcer experience and I had also never used one before. Geodude did terrible with the early gyms being water, ice and grass, did well against lighting and was then replaced. I taught Tamara dig, and this move saved me a lot of travel time. She was a slow physical wall who did good damage. She only evolved to Rhyperior by the postgamr, but I also have never used a Rhydon before so that was fine. She was vital against the first elite four member, a fire user, and always pulled her weight.

Cleffa

Cleffa are the most difficult of the line to find naturally in the wild in Coswellia, as they will typically stay incredibly close to the nests. The most curious will wander away and can be found, however.

They do not gain the Steel typing until they evolve, remaining pure Fairy.

They have limited control over the intensity of their gems; while they have an instinctive knowledge of general communication the majority of their own inter-colony language will be taught by their evolution (or more experienced Cleffa!). 

In practice this means that their most common defensive technique against a threat is to temporarily blind them - they can learn Flash naturally!

Clefairy

Clefairy are, as expected, the most commonly found of the line (though Clefable are actually not far behind compared to most regions). They form the bulk of the colonies in Coswellia.

They gain the Steel typing at this point, naturally.

Their skirts grow in upon evolution and, as stated above, the pattern of gems that forms the hem is random. This is also true for their new fingers!

Clefairy cannot truly fly as their evolution can, but they are also capable of walking on the ground. Their skirt is flexible enough - and short enough - at this stage to where it is an option.

Clefairy will instead ‘bounce’ by storing moonlight in their wings and projecting it in bursts through their skirt, allowing them to clear gaps and climb throughout their homes. This is also how they cross long distances; they will propel themselves off of high enough ledges and harden their skirt while projecting stored moonlight through it - allowing them to float incredibly long distances. Alongside their evolution (who are far more culpable) this is the main cause for ‘UFO’ calls from tourists and unaware natives who glance a Clefairy gliding through the night sky.

Their wings act as rudders and propulsion both, as with the main Kantonian species!

This also plays a big part of how Clefairy will fight off threats if possible - floating above attackers and hammering them with fairy and steel attacks from their gems.

Most Clefairy will not evolve into Clefable - they will live their entire lives in this stage.

Clefable

Coswellian Clefable are surprisingly the most seen of all of the line in stark contrast to most regions and they make up a larger percentage of the total population than most too. This is thought to be down to the higher concentration of Moon Stones in the region as much as it is the role Clefable play in colonies.

Though smaller colonies may only have a single Clefable, they often take up leadership roles as well as forming both the primary means of defence for the colony.

At this point their skirt elongates and hardens into complete rigidity. The length of the skirt surpasses the length of the Clefable’s body and thus they become incapable of touching the ground with their feet. To compensate for this, Clefable utilise stored moonlight as a means of constant propulsion - they hover several feet off the ground at all times (thus gaining Levitate).

Being caught under this beam of moonlight does nothing, though people have reported they feel ‘floaty’.

They are also capable of complete and total flight, unlike Clefairy - they can ascend, descend and move in any direction at will and at considerable speed. It is because of this that they are the most often seen in the night sky as they go about their business. They are also the primary source for UFO scares in the region!

The gems that formed the hem of their skirt as a Clefairy solidify into clusters around the ‘tors’, allowing Clefable to channel much more powerful attacks through them and giving them far greater offence than their pre-evolutions. The sheer level of firepower they can dish out is terrifying in battle. They are also incredibly good defensively, both given their types, aerial mobility and access to various barriers. 

These gems are also the brightest and Clefable are responsible for the most complex communication between colonies.

OOC notes:

So these are the first in a line of hopefully many more posts about my region, Coswellia! As one can imagine these regional variants were inspired by UFO’s, the fact the line is likely from space and their episodes in the anime! As well as movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind!