I went to a midnight event to pick up Ruby and Smash, though I needed to sleep afterwards. This morning I started Ruby, and Trainer Omega started on his journey! He soon found that Professor Birch was in trouble, and to save him, Omega teamed up with his very first Pokémon.

TEAM PROFILE: Gadunka the Mudkip

TITLES: The Starter, The Meme

Omega’s very first Pokémon! The two have already formed a close bond, and they are ready to take on the world! When Omega walks around towns, Gadunka will walk behind him and play with the local folks. She is well-liked.

After that, Omega met May and battled and caught a few more Pokémon, learning how to use the very nifty DexNav that he probably won’t rely on a whole lot but still admits is super, super cool. He also used Pokémon Link to get a ton of extra Poke Balls. Turns out that Linking things from the demo only works once a day, which is kind of a bummer, but not really a big deal. As Omega was on his way out, someone stopped him at the Pokémon Center, giving him a new Pokémon.

TEAM PROFILE: Beldum

TITLES: The Shiny Psuedo-Legend, The Other Starter, Chief Recruiting Officer

An extremely rare Pokémon that someone named Steven Stone had delivered to Omega very early on in his journey. Beldum hasn’t completely warmed up to Omega yet, but they are exceedingly curious and can often be seen hovering over the shoulder of Omega or their teammates.

The Shiny Metagrossite-holding Beldum can be obtained over the Internet via Mystery Gift until mid-January, and it actually knows useful moves (including Hold Back) rather than just Take Down! Hold Back has proved immensely useful in catching Pokémon, with two other important team members being brought on board thanks to it.

TEAM PROFILE: Falzar the Nuzleaf

TITLES: The Dreamer, Gym Slayer

A young Pokémon Omega met and captured as a Seedot near the beginning of his journey. She has a bashful nature, but despite this, Falzar hides a limitless determination, which is why Omega decided to name her after a ferocious creature of legend. Falzar likes to spar with the rest of the team—her record wasn’t looking so good at first, but now that she’s evolved and learned Razor Leaf, she can usually get the upper hand on Gadunka.

TEAM PROFILE: Icarus the Tailow

TITLE: The Doomed

A Tailow who encountered Omega early in his journey. Omega knew a Flying type would be useful, but feared that he would not keep a Pokémon like Tailow or Wingull on his team for very long, and so was reluctant to catch one. In battle, Bledum expressed this to Icarus, who decided that, even if he might end up in a PC before too long, he wanted to help Omega and the team for as long as he could. Even if he may not get much time with the team, he is determined to enjoy what time he does have.

Icarus had some training in the Petalburg Woods, and is at a decent level. Beldum’s level is a little low, but that’s because they won’t obey me if they go over Level 20 and I want to use them against Brawly, so…they’re holding back for now. It was difficult to train Falzar at first, since she had no usable moves (Bide, Harden, Growth), but that all changed in Rustboro City. By this point, Omega had received the EXP Share, so the whole team was benefitting while Gadunka was sweeping the Rustboro Gym Trainers and their Geodudes. When the last trainer was defeated, Falzar evolved, learning Razor Leaf in the process, so it was decided that she would lead the battle against Roxanne to prove how much she had grown.

She took the Gym Leader down all on her own. She needed a Potion or two, but she absolutely obliterated Roxanne’s Pokémon, earning her the title of Gym Slayer (subject to change). We celebrated as a team, but it seems that shady organization calling themselves Team Magma is up to something, so I should look into that before too long. But…maybe after taking a break to watch Korra and play Smash.

NEW TITLE ACQUISITION: For Omega, "Bearer of the Stone Badge"

When thinking about Omega’s character in all this, I thought that he might wonder if he was going on a Pokémon journey just to follow in his father’s footsteps, and question whether or not this is really want to do. But then, he’d look over at Gadunka and Falzar sparring with each other, with Beldum floating nearby and Icarus perched on Beldum’s back, and the happy feelings that would fill him would be too genuine to deny. He’s on this journey because it’s what he wants. And there you go, the first piece of his identity falls into place.