LOG ENTRY: THE ALOLAN ANOMALY
Day 1. Landed in Littleroot. The air smells like salt and... malasadas? My Pokedex immediately malfunctioned. It was expecting Zigzagoon, but the sensors picked up a Litten. I haven't slept in 24 hours. The biodiversity here claims to span Generation I through VII. If this is accurate, I’m looking at over 800 slots to fill. I’ve already organized my PC boxes by National Dex number. Coffee is brewing. Let's hunt.
THE CENSUS (POKEDEX INTEGRITY)
The local fauna is a chaotic mix. Alolan forms are roaming the wild grass where Hoenn natives usually nest. I spotted an Alolan Vulpix near the Petalburg woods line—an ecological impossibility that thrills me. The region offers Ash-Greninja and the Alola starters (Rowlet, Litten, Popplio) right out of the gate. However, my completionist senses are tingling with anxiety. The structural integrity of this reality is designated Beta 0.23. This is dangerous territory for a hunter. An unfinished world means unfinished data slots.
FIELD NOTE: The locals speak of a ritual to obtain the Sun Beast. You can barter a Groudon for a Solgaleo. Missable event warning! Save before entering the cave. If you trade your only Groudon and the Solgaleo has bad IVs, there is no undo button.
SUPPLY LINES & QOL
Mauville City has evolved into a logistical paradise. The local merchants have ceased the barbaric practice of making us hunt for stones in dust clouds. You can purchase Evolution Stones directly at the PokeMart with credits. This streamlines the Eevee evolutions—Umbreon and Espeon are confirmed viable via happiness mechanics. I spent four hours grinding happiness just to verify the code.
However, the lack of modern amenities is felt. No Physical/Special split indicator was visually confirmed on the status screens, though the mechanics seem updated. Navigating the PC storage without modern sorting tools is a nightmare for a Living Dex attempt.
THE VERDICT: INCOMPLETE ARCHIVES
I wanted to love this expedition. The promise of Gen VII in a Ruby engine is the holy grail. But the trail goes cold. The architecture hasn't been updated since 2018. I encountered stability issues and empty data pockets. Living Dex is possible without cheats.... is what I wanted to say, but in a Beta of this age, I cannot guarantee slot #700 isn't a glitch block. My run was cut short by the fear of corruption.
100% completion took me 85 hours. Just kidding. I aborted at hour 12 when I realized the map boundaries might not support the full 802 roster. A tragedy.
