I Immediately Regret This Decision

Mandy\'s avatar

 I used to have a group of friends that would meet at a local game shop and play X and Y together. Sometimes people would join in that were hyper-competitive jerks about it, the kind that just suck the fun out of a room by taking it too seriously. I and a few others cheated up some “perfect” 6-IV teams just for crushing those guys until they stopped being assholes.

Fox\'s avatar

 I have never played a Pokemon game.

Mandy\'s avatar

 – but we love couples cosplay, and Raichu is my all-time favorite, and I knew it would be really easy to sell Fox on the idea of wearing a bunch of military gear and portraying a paranoid security-specialist soldier (people who recognize the costume at conventions and complain about those trash cans…)

Fox’s Lt Surge costume is a pretty modernized interpretation (based mostly on his FRLG and TCG appearances), most people don’t quite recognize who he is unless they see my Raichu ears and connect the dots, or notice the little details we tossed all over his outfit (SURGE nametag, Thunder Badge, Pokeballs, DS systems loaded into mag pouches…)

The two other characters in this are just random extras, but I pretty much pulled their outfits (minus Pokemon league-mandated fingerless gloves) from my high school/undergraduate closet, so feel free to mock their fashion sense. 🙂

40 comments on “I Immediately Regret This Decision

    1. Do you have one of the classics from the 3DS shop? Apparently you can transfer a bunch of pokemon from them into Sun and Moon at some point.

  1. All that sprung to mind immediately was the (Kanto) Gym Leader battle theme from HG/SS, a fantastic remix of an already terrifying theme, if you weren’t expecting the Kanto leaders to be such a step above what you’d faced in Johto
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuNObMHP_J0

    HG/SS still my favourite game(s) in the series. Beautiful remakes to the best generation.
    GO GEN2!

  2. All of the outfits and characters are incredibly well designed. I especially like the cat character with the Hot Topic flame shirt and Mandy Seley’s new imposing expression. Speaking of outfits, was that female cat in the previous comic wearing a spa robe or a kigurumi animal suit similar to a black and white cat/beagle?

      1. I haven’t seen the movie, but that is great detail. Is that a particular reoccuring cat character?

  3. Never have I seen Mandy look so evil! I’m getting scared …

  4. Part of why I only do Pokemon for fun.

    Fun thing with Alpha Sapphire, I found out why I never found a shiny Legendary. All my luck was thrown into my Kyogre. (31/26/30/31/31/31 Modest) I often restart my games, and never have I had such luck as I did on my first run through AS.

  5. Nice one. I’d almost want to go to a convention to hep set people up for this one. Especially as Mandy makes a great Raichu in the last panel.

  6. Sounds like you are having fun! Personally I’ve had to work several conventions for the first time promoting my book and I am always nearly dead on my feet by the end of three days at a con.
    Any advice for an introvert working these things?
    So far I just focus on one person at a time and try to tune out the rest while I’m doing that.

    1. Go with an extrovert. 🙂
      I don’t really have any advice. I’m actually an introvert too, I’m just an ISTJ who sees value in socializing, has decent charisma, and the ability to act fairly well. Or so I’m told.
      But the pairing works well. It’s actually the advice I’ve given a lot of webcomic start-ups. A lot of artists are introverts, as they draw their creative energy from themselves while being alone. But marketing and sales are typically done best by extroverts.

      1. And to artists who apparently draw their creative energies from others? I noticed my ability/motivation to draw dropped to zero after I started working in a job where I had no coworkers or supervisors within the same city and very few active friends. Then again I failed the Myers-Briggs assessment 4 times, two of which were supervised to ensure I wasn’t lying (job related), was not aware it was possible to fail those

    2. That was our first time promoting our work too, heh – so I’m not sure I have a lot of advice!

      I kept defaulting to being honest. A big smile and “I’m exhausted but I’m still really excited to be here!” seemed to go over pretty well. I was totally burned out by the end as well!

      Best of luck! Let us know if you come up with any great tips, we’ll do the same! 😀

    3. An introvert, huh? Well, may I suggest you take up acting? Why you may ask? Because, I, too, am extremely introverted, although I do play well with others. I’m not very good around strangers and I love being alone. But, I started acting back in the late 1970s and I found that it helped to bring me out of my shell. Now, I have very little trouble talking to people a barely know. It also helps me to be myself. I don’t know if that advise will work for you; but, it can’t hurt to try.

      1. That’s two suggestions for acting. I see classes in your future.

        I’ve found life is a lot easier when you’re playing it as a role. Especially because then you can change roles to fit the situation.

        1. I always loved acting. That may be part of the reason I took up writing. In my writing, I can become anyone I so desire. When I write, I’m actually acting a part, sometimes several at a time

  7. Yeah, but you have to get past that stupid trash can puzzle first…

  8. That moment when you realize you have just made a terrible, terrible mistake. When a sudden chill crawls up your spine as the shadow of the fell one looms overhead. That moment when you piddle your shorts (because they’re comfy, and easy to wear) and say “Oh, Psyduck this! I’m out!” and you leave behind your Ratatta… which is in the top percentage of Ratatta… even after it evolves into a Raticate.

  9. I actually, really like that flamey shirt… Want one.

    I can honestly say, my entire knowledge of Pokemon comes from Curtailed, except for one or two bits I had to learn for a spoof we made. Still, I’ve always liked the colors of the poke-nades.

  10. The timing on this comic makes me laugh. I just moved, and can’t find the charge cord for my 3DS. So just for fun I broke out the old Gameboy Color and have been playing Pokemon Yellow. Not half an hour before this post, I just finished the Lt. Surge battle… Bloody trash cans.

  11. Love the whole anime-style deadly adversary thing in the last panel!

    I haven’t played Pokemon since red. And I quit before finishing it. As I do with most games. Where do people get that lasting, laser-like focus on things?

  12. I have to admit that, without the explanation, I’d have never known what was going on. (I still don’t understand the guy’s fear when Fox mentions his Raichu.) Why? Because since it first aired here, I’ve seen maybe a grand total of 45 minutes of Pokemon. In fact, I could probably identify maybe 10(?) of the Pokemons. Of course, my age MAY have a lot to do with it.

    1. Gym leaders were especially difficult challenges you have to face in the Pokemon games, sort of like bosses in other RPGs. What makes this one special is that at best you’re only going to have a Gras-type Pokemon or six (if you caught multiples, not advised in the original Red, Blue, Yellow as until you had a Meowth there was a finite amount of cash in the game) and although they take halved damage from Electric-type attacks (Raichu’s specialty) Electric-type Pokemon take normal damage from Grass-type Pokemon. Pair that with his Raichu’s higher-than-relative-norm level, and insane stats, and you have a Pokemon that can almost make it look easy to wipe your team out while having a disadvantage. I can’t remember if it is possible to swing over to the Rock Tunnel or not before taking him on, but I don’t think so. The Rock Tunnel is the first place you can catch Pokemon with the Ground or Rock traits, Ground-types are immune to Electric-type attacks (which nicely limits that Raichu) while Rock-types are resistant to both Electric-type and Normal-type attacks (which covers everything that Raichu knows) and Rock-type attacks are super effective (in game speak for auto double damage) on Electric-type Pokemon. I don’t think it is possible, because if memory serves the whole reason for taking on Lt. Surge was to be able to use Cut outside of battle to take down small trees so you can enter the route the Rock Tunnel is in, but if it is it’s very helpful as you can get both Onix and Geodude there, and they’re both Ground/Rock Pokemon. As rotten as the battle against Brock could be, as depending on which starter you chose you could be in the same lack of advantage situation, even stuck with all of your Pokemon having a disadvantage of some type (note, this isn’t true in FireRed/LeafGreen, as there they added the move Metal Claw to the moves Charmander learns, and Rock-types are weak to that Metal-type move), his Pokemon are at a much lower relative level, and haven’t learned any of the mid-power-range moves yet, many times easier to handle than Lt. Surge’s Raichu with it’s insane stats and mid-power-range moves that without some dedicated power leveling you’re just not ready for yet.

      1. Actually, you can get Geodude at Mt. Moon (Rock/Ground), but if you forgot to do that, you can go east to Diglett’s Cave and catch a Diglett (Ground, fairly quick too) or get lucky and get a Dugtrio. If you’re playing Blue or Leaf Green, you can find Sandshrew (Ground) to the west of Cerulean.
        Also, you got the ability to use Cut from beating Misty, as you need Cut to enter Lt. Surge’s gym. Also also, it’s Steel type, not Metal type.

    1. My face watching that was about the same as the chicken’s. Holy ****

  13. I’ve got a quick question that’s been bugging me with all of Fox’s posts about getting stuff for the stream. What’s the name of your Twitch channel? I’m a huge fan and cannot wait for your stream!

    1. curtailedcomic – we’ll have a more prominent link up when we’re actually doing streams, still just getting set up for it!

  14. Until I can transfer my Yellow version A Team to the next generation I probably wont pickup a pokemon again.

  15. Heh heh. Oh Good lord. If I ever try my hand at the Pokemon series again, remind me not to battle you. I haven’t played the series since I beat Leafgreen.

    1. Oh no worries, I’m not at all competitive, when I DO battle it’s usually with a pretty standard team (and among friends, and the times I’ve actually won I can count on one hand, heh) – the “perfect” one is only for use against jerkfaces.

  16. That’s pretty cool. Did you have any challengers? If so, Mandy what was your battle record?

    Also wanted to say how much I like this comic. I’ll often visit when feeling down (outside of the normal updates). I usually just don’t say much. Thanks for drawing, updating, and all the other behind-the-scenes stuff you and Fox do to deliver this comic!

    1. Heh, none, we keep forgetting to actually solicit challengers! There’s usually panels at conventions for Pokemon players but we either forget about them or don’t get the time for them among other things going on.

      …so I’ve got a stellar record, zero losses! 😀

      I’m thrilled that we can help lift your spirits! Thanks for taking the time to tell us so 🙂

  17. Fox, your assignment for today is to go play a Pokemon game, hahaha.

    And dang, Seley, you make a scary Raichu X3

    1. I already have my marching orders, but they don’t involve playing any games.
      Just prepping the studio to play them in the future!
      (And gardening)

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