So here's the chain of events: you press the button behind the R poster in the game corner so you can sneak into the Rocket hideaway. You beat Giovanni to get the Silph Scope. You need to Scope to uncover the restless spirit guarding the final floor of Lavender Tower. You need to beat that guy - the uncatchable ghost of a dead Marowak, by the way - to meet up with Mr. Fuji at the Tower top. You need to "free" Fuji (three boring Rocket grunt battles) to get the Poke Flute. You need to use the Poke Flute to wake up the Snorlax so you can open up the next couple paths. Whew.

I actually haven't bothered the Snorlax yet, because I have plenty to do otherwise. Celadon is the home of Erika, Gym Leader #4. I think I did the Rocket base and Lavender Town sub-quest out of order, because now I have some pokemon with a level beyond that which I can control.

I've never had this happen before, so I find it pretty amusing now. Misty's badge (#2) guarantees that pokemon up to level 30 will obey you in battle. As you gain badges, you get access to higher and higher levels. It's a smart way to keep folks from trading over a lv100 asskicker from an old game and romping through the quest in 30 minutes. So tonight, once my Gengar (she of the famous Toys R Us trade session) started disobeying me.

She'll be fine for a couple attacks, and then you start getting messages like "Gengar is loafing around!" instead of her attacking. My favorite is when she ignores the attack move I chose and instead carries out another one. Once I score Erika's badge, pokemon up to level 50 will obey me, so Gengar will be snapped back to attention. Remember in the cartoon when Ash's Charmander evolved too fast and became a sullen, worthless Charizard? That's me right now.

Celadon's "Game Corner" casino is the usual crappy slot machine stuff. Annoying. Celadon's few remaining upstanding citizens hate the place. If you win enough credits, you can buy some exclusive TMs and even a couple rarish pokemon. Instead of playing for credits, I just bought some... enough to claim an Abra. Sure, you can catch them in the wild, but why bother. The feral ones teleport out of battle more often than not anyway.

But here's what's cute about the Game Corner, something that US audiences probably don't notice. You ever wonder why you have to walk to the building next door to the casino to get your prizes? Oddly inconvenient, right? Well, there's a distinct cultural reason why the two buildings are set up that way. Gambling is illegal in Japan, so pachinko parlors (think slot machines) can't offer simple cash rewards for winning like you would get in Vegas. Instead, you trade in your credit for some piece of junk toy. Then you leave the game hall, because right next door to the parlor is a wholly separate establishment, sort of a pawn shop, that will buy your junk toy for cash. An obvious loophole, and one that has been more or less ignored by Japanese law enforcement for years... because of tradition and because there's more important crap to do than bust up gambling halls.

That's enough education for you for now! I have to go battle Erika.

Time: 15:37
Badges: 3
Pokedex: 38 (Seen: 83)
Party: Graveler lv28, Gengar lv32, Katamari (Meowth) lv30, Wartortle lv33, Mankey lv27, Raticate lv29