In the überpopular Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby games, players are working to capture them all — each others’ flags, that is.
As in the original Sapphire and Ruby versions of the pet-battling games, players with the recent 3DS updates can create secret bases with trainers, traps, and decorations. Unlike the originals’ Game Boy Advance gameplay, they now have access to each other’s bases via the Internet.
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Picture the world’s largest game of capture the flag, with millions of flags to capture.
Above: Success!
Collecting hundreds, even a thousand, gives players achievements and unlocks bonuses — including flags made of precious platinum, special decorations, and extra skills for their base’s “secret pal.”
But not everyone is making that easy.
Gamers have been filling their bases for of tricks: stacking cosmetic items and trainers in front of the flag, putting in trap tiles that turn other players around at the door or send them careening in another direction, and even fooling visitors with fake flags, making the real thing almost impossible to get to.
James Paolo Ortiz posted a FAQ for flag collectors as CeruleanGamer. He calls the bases that misdirect you away from the flag “Maze Bases.”
“These bases are designed to make your flag collecting voyage a living hell,” he said in an interview. “They tend to use a lot of trick decorations like spin mats, which prevents you from moving forward; warp panels, which teleport you to panels with the same color; spin panels, which send you spinning where the arrow is pointing; invisible dolls, an invisible blockade that can be revealed by interacting with it; and the really annoying square-one mat that sends you back to the entrance when you step on it.
“The paths will look like they are blockaded at first, but if you search hard enough you can find some hidden warp panel to help you get started with the maze.”
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Above: Players can incorporate a variety of decorative — and frustrating — items into their Super-Secret bases.
His base has an invisible doll maze, but not one that’s too difficult to get through. What’s worse than a maze base is a blocked one, he says, where players stack everything in front of the flag and the player’s objectives (the trainers inside, for example).
Ironically, designing the bases this way mean others can’t use them either, since they have to use a special Escape Rope item to get out once they’ve trapped themselves (and can’t re-enter.)
“These bases are a complete waste of time,” he said. “These bases are designed to troll others and make people angry.”
Mission accomplished, says Pokémon player Marielle Lenehan said. She’s collected 140 flags, giving her a rank of silver. Usually, collecting is no problem, she said: You walk across the secret base and click. But she’s not a fan of bases that make things tricky.
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“Usually they would just block it with a fence piece, or they’ll guide you away from the flag totally using decorations,” she said. “I don’t like it happening to me, so I don’t do it others. If I reach platinum rank, I might trick otehrs with the fake flag. I would never block an actual flag on purpose.
“Flags are quite time-consuming yet a great pastime when you’ve finally beaten the game.”
Serebii.net offers a good introduction to how to set up a Super-Secret Base and collect flags, as does the IGN wiki on the subject.