Hey there, transitioning from Smackjeeves over to here as my main hosting site! Right now things are under construction, so don't worry if pages disappear/reappear!

Since I usually have like, 20 people ask me, "other means" means I use an action replay! I actually played this run on a PMD: EOS cartridge I've had since the games came out, so I can't use super fancy hacking. But this way, I can actually shake things up a lil and put the partner in danger more often to give y'all some more suspense :3c

And now for some rule technicalities because there's a lot more words to the rules, but they aren't really important unless you want to know exactly how I played through the game.
-First pokemon who asks per an area is defined by dungeon/area name. For example, lower steam cave and upper steam cave count as two separate areas. The semi-exception to this is cafe recruits and rescue recruits. If I have not recruited a pokemon in a certain dungeon and I rescue a pokemon that wants to join the team, they can technically count as the recruit for that dungeon.
-Tactics don't have to apply to escorts since they're out of my control and always set to the default.
-No map is allowed, but I am allowed to use IQ skills to help find the stairs (esp since those IQ skills require a million gummis to unlock)
-No bank is allowed, but mostly because it's unnecessary since a wipe means the end of the run. What doesn't constitute as the end of the run, however, is if after a quick save I bumped my cartridge which the game counts as a loss. This has unfortunately happened, and that'll be a fun point in the story.
-Get a reviver seed in a dungeon? Eat it immediately. No exceptions. Not even for escorts. If an escort faints, they'll be considered dead in-story. How fun!
-Not much to say about legendaries here.
-The only exception to the Wondermail rule is if the partner dies and needs to be swapped out via Action Replay. Since I couldn't crack a way to directly replace the partner in-story (only post-game), I more or less have to hack my way through it by changing the partner's species and giving them TMs for moves the new partner is supposed to know. It's complicated.
-This run is incomplete at the time I'm writing this, so the hero dying is a fun and dangerous surprise even for myself! As previously mentioned, "outside means" means the Action Replay. I didn't mention it, but the replacement partner must be someone who is already recruited on the team, barring legendary pokemon of course.
-And this isn't listed in the rules, but I used the Action Replay to give the main character Ice typing as well as giving her my closest approximation to the Alolan Vulpix movepool.

And that does it! Though I should mention that not all actions in the game translate directly to the comic, so if you're a bit of a stickler about rules being portrayed exactly in this nuzcomic, this might not be the comic for you. Otherwise, enjoy reading!

I mean, that's not ominous or anything

*shoots a beam that immediately takes effect*

not the relaxing type of long walks on the beach, it seems

Rain can cleanse. Rain can heal. It can also bring with it a new mysterious visitor nobody has ever seen in town before. Or anywhere, really.