Yo let's get this Gen VII party started

[CaptainJigglypuff]

It was an SOS battle and popped up after the second successful cry for help. I wasn't even trying to get a Golbat let alone a Shiny one. I was in Poni Fields and trying to use the Exp. Share to level up and evolve some Pokémon for the Dex. I had to restrain from screaming in excitement because I was in the car driving down to L.A. I needed Golbat anyway because I skipped catching Zubat since getting one is as easy as catching a cold from a preschool classroom.

[Magmar]

Ooh! This reminds me I have to catch up on friend codes!!

I really don't care for Festival Plaza, but fear not, friendless friends and those who can't stand the Plaza, nice folks on the GTS will trade their Electivire/Magmortar for Electabuzz/Magmar with the evolution item attached (this goes for many trade evos). So if you've got a King's Rock and a Slowpoke but nobody seems to be online, throw it in GTS and ask for a Slowking. Someone'll come around and do this for you!

I'm around 260/301 for the Pokedex now. Next trek: Must find a female Selandit. I'll probably breed a ton if I can and release them into Wonder Trade to do a kindness or something. I already have an army of Porygon ready to go--since XY, I do that every game, send out a ton of ridiculously (benign) nicknamed Porygon to the masses at once.

This is the first time I've gone for 'em all in the Pokedex since RBY!! I need some of the Sun exclusive ultra beasts, but they might be in GTS for fair trade.

I'm not loving how hard it is to fish in this game. I still need Alomomola and Relicanth.

I also still have to catch the last two Tapu and the one Mega Beast or whatever, but it's giving me something to look forward to...

Vullaby takes a frustrating amount of time to evolve. I'm running out of other Pokemon to raise while trying to level up this little toolshed.

PRO TIP: Give your lead Pokemon two Rainbow Beans and pet it like twice in the Refresh and it'll maximize friendless and gain 1.5x experience. Then give it the Lucky Egg to hold. It makes leveling them up until they evolve so much easier.

ALSO for those friendliness-contingent evolutions, use the PokePelago to plant only those Beans that lower a stat's EVs but raise Happiness. Then feed a Pokemon at any level like 50 of them and it'll happy-evolve at the next level gained plus if they're freshly hatched or caught, they've got 0 EVs anyway so they just raise Happiness!