Main Mission 08: Reaching Rank V

This is a straight-forward mission that will require you to continue powering up a diverse lineup of Pokemon to survive the battle for Rank V.

Find Lida to give her the things she left behind at the hotel.

Head out the front door and into the plaza, then check your map. Lida went off to train a short distance to the north. You can either climb over the hotel's rooftops, or fast travel to a Pokemon Center, then make your way to the point indicated on the map.

When you meet up with Lida, she'll tell you a bit about her past and then challenge you to a duel. When you are ready, accept the challenge. You'll need to have a Pokemon that will fare well against Clauncher, Vanillite, and Staryu. They will have a strong advantage against fire-type Pokemon, so try to bring along something grassy. That, or be ready to heal your character a lot. I actually did reasonably well with Pignite, just using the Flame Wheel move and a handful of potions.

When you win the fight, you get 1,288 Poke Dollars. Your Rotom Phone rings and you learn that your opponent this time around will be Trainer Rintaro. Lida also lets you know that you can rest on benches to pass time, if you're in a hurry for darkness to fall. However, I recommend exploring some more first.

Get a Challenger's Ticket, then find Rintaro for your promotion match.

While you are waiting for darkness to fall, it's a good time to make sure you have evolved any of your Pokemon that can do so, and assigned them a good combination of moves to give them the edge in battle. You also want to ensure that your team is well-rounded by now, since brute force can only take you so far. Side missions are a good idea, or you can head to the local wild zones for experience and items.

When the Battle Zone appears, it will be located north of Hibernal Pokemon Center. If you don't already have fast travel set up for that location, do so now. Then you can easily travel there when the time comes.

As usual, you'll want to move quickly through the zone, finding trainers and attacking them from the shadows. The Bonus Cards will ensure you get enough points in a single evening, even if you only take advantage of a few of them. Most of the fights you should complete take place on the rooftops. Look for the opportunity to climb to the roof after you have tended to three trainers at ground level near the Battle Zone entrance. Then head along the roof, surprising the other trainers.

You'll need to move along several roofs. Some of them have narrow catwalks extending between them. On others, you'll need to head around rooftop peaks using scaffolding. As you explore, make sure to keep an eye on your surroundings, so you surprise the other trainers.

After you defeat a lot of the trainers, you can talk to them for coffee drinks that will restore the HP of any weakened or unconscious Pokemon on your team. That way, you don't have to use items or retreat to a Pokemon Center. Time is of the essence if you're going to tend to everyone. When I had my successful run, I took out five opponents on the rooftops, along with four of them on the ground level.

Boss Battle: Rintaro the Waiter

When you have the Challenger's Ticket, it's time to face off against Rintaro the Waiter. You will find him near the northeast portion of the map, north from Racine Construction.

Enter Restaurant Le Nah to find your opponent standing behind a desk near the door. Talk to him and challenge him to the required battle.

Rintaro brings out a good mix of Pokemon in the form of Simisage, Simipour, and Simisear. Respectively, their primary elements are Grass, Water, and Fire. They are all bruisers, so hit with your hardest moves and keep a close eye on your HP. If you have a strong fire-type Pokemon, that will prove useful in two out of the three rounds, while you need a good Grass-type Pokemon for the round in the middle.

Your victory in this battle earns you 1,440 Poke Dollars. You also move up to Rank V, as expected. Ater that, a cutscene plays and introduces you to your objective for the next main mission.