===================
23a. PokeBlocks 101                                                     [goshp]
===================

In order to do well in Pokemon Contests, you will need PokeBlocks. PokeBlocks
are small candies that are used to improve your Pokemon's standing in a
Contest. They are also used to lure wild Pokemon in the Safari Zone. If you've
talked to the registration lady, you will have the PokeBlock Case, the item not
only needed to carry Pokemon candy, but to get into the Safari Zone as well
(section 20 for more information on the Safari Zone).

Once you know what Contest you want to enter, you'll want to feed your Pokemon
good PokeBlocks to jack up its Contest stats.

So, what to feed it?

       Beauty/Dry | Smart/Bitter | Tough/Sour | Cute/Sweet | Cool/Spicy

There you go.

"But Matt, what makes a good PokeBlock? There are tons of berries!"

Yes, there are over 40 berries to use, and you should only be using five of
them. That's right. If you really want to have godlike Contest stats, you
should only be interested in berries 31-35. These are the best berries in the
game to make your PokeBlocks, and if you want to have any chance of winning the
Master Rank, you'll want to only use them.

Just one problem, though. Most of them, you can only get once. A couple of them
you can get if you have the Quiz Lady (check Lilycove's Pokemon Center) and a
friend to mix records with, who hopefully will also have the Quiz Lady. Should
this not be the case, you'll have to plant the one and grow more yourself.

Oh, but that's not all. These babies need time to grow. How much time? Oh, not
much... just three days. And you only get two berries if you water them enough.
Water them every 18 hours and you will be fine.

"Other than the growing part, that's awesome! Where do I get these berries?!"

This information is posted in section 9a as well. These phrases are to be told
to the Berry Master's wife, who lives on Route 123. Get there by surfing east
from Mauville and then walking a short bit. She'll ask you for two words or
phrases. Tell her the following phrases to get the baller berries:

Spelon Berry - GREAT BATTLE. These words are in the bank by default. This Berry
               increases Cool and Beauty.

Pamtre Berry - CHALLENGE CONTEST. To get CONTEST, beat the Elite Four. The word
               CHALLENGE is default. This Berry increases Beauty and Smart.

Watmel Berry - OVERWHELMING LATIAS. OVERWHELMING is default. To get LATIAS,
               simply encounter her. This Berry increases Smart and Cute.

 Durin Berry - COOL LATIOS. COOL is default. To get LATIOS, simply encounter
               him. This Berry increases Cute and Tough.

 Belue Berry - SUPER HUSTLE. HUSTLE is default. Beat the Elite Four to get the
               word SUPER in your bank. This Berry increases Tough and Cool.

Spelon, Pamtre, and Belue must be planted if you want more; those with the Quiz
Lady and a friend to mix records with are fortunate enough to possibly get a
question in which the Quiz Lady will fork over a Watmel or Durin Berry.

Okay, so you've got your berries. How do you make a PokeBlock?

Simple. East of the registration counter, you'll see four little squares. One's
abandoned, one has one guy, one has two people, and one has three people. Those
people are all Berry Blendering to turn their berries into PokeBlocks.

To Berry Blender, you need at least two people. The blank Berry Blender machine
is for link blending. Ignore the lone man and the pair; only use the Berry
Blender machine with three people at it. The reason for this is because the
faster you spin the Berry Blender, the better the berry that comes out.

Don't worry about losing your baller berry if you happen to suck. Everyone who
participated in Berry Blendering will get the same PokeBlock.

So how do you work this thing. Am I right?

Easy. Everyone will ask if you know how to do it beforehand, but here you go
again. Select a berry to put into the Berry Blender. Remember, unless you're
blending with the Blend Master, don't bother using berries that aren't Spelon,
Pamtre, Watmel, Durin, or Belue. And even then, don't use Starf Berries, they
suck big time.

When everyone's selected a berry, they will be placed into the machine, and the
top will close. You will see a red arrow somewhat near your name (with another
arrow that points towards the center). After a three count, the machine starts
up. Your job is simple; press A when the rotating arrow in the center reaches
your arrow. If you're perfectly accurate, you'll see a circle in a circle.
That's what you want to shoot for. If you're not perfect, but reasonably close,
you'll get a simple circle. Most of the time, you'll be getting those, and
those are good. If you're way off the mark, you get an X.

Try not to do that.

As all players get circles [in circles], a red bar at the top will steadily
fill. Once it is full, the machine stops, and all participants are one
PokeBlock richer.

That's all there is to it, really. Your PokeBlock Case can hold 40 PokeBlocks.

Oh, one more thing. If the Blend Master comes to Hoenn (watch TV for details),
forget everything I said about only using those five berries. Everything except
Starf Berry makes very nice PokeBlocks (I think they're always Gold, but if
they aren't, e-mail me) if you don't totally suck at blending.

Still, don't use the reverse vitamin berries or berries 1-10. They're best used
as berries, not as PokeBlocks.