Malarks

So, with the servers down, I have been poking away at coming up with a "Dream Team". Mostly a list of my favourite Pokemon, from my childhood. I have not played any of the games other than Red and Blue, really (at least, they are the only Pokemon titles I took beyond the first gym battle) so the list is heavy on "original 150". I will be honest, a lot of the subsequent series' look... lame. That said, there are usually a few that look decent enough, in each series. I am, in no particular manner, attempting to create a "meta" list, or to "min/max". I have no interest in PvP, simply farting around through the world of Pokemon and soaking up some nostalgia. Obviously, as I play through the game, I will acquire a wide range of Pokemon and should be able to swap out, if needed, but this would be my "core team"; Weedle > Kakuna > Beedrill (Cut) Rattata > Raticate Diglett > Dugtrio (Dig) Poliwag > Poliwhirl > Poliwrath (Surf) While I feel this roster is a fairly solid foundation, the remaining 2 slots have a cornucopia of options available and I am not quite sure how to round out the team. I like having access to HM's for their utility. Are there any [new since Yellow] abilities, and similar, that I should be aware of? Some possible options I have been mulling over have been; Snorlax Bulbasaur > Ivysaur > Venosaur (Cut) Delibird (Fly) Magikarp > Gyrados (Surf) I have no idea what to do about "Flash", is there a decent "HM mule"? I vaguely recall using Farfetch'd for something like that, maybe? I also feel like I am lacking a variety of "Types". An issue I am encountering, when trying to decide upon which Pokemon to include, after "Do I appreciate the esthetics of this Pokemon?", is "What does this Pokemon do 'better' than others?". For example; "Why should I include a Pikachu over a Voltorb, if I just want an Electric-Type?" With TM's, does it really just come down to which Pokemon one likes the looks of? I suppose base-stats also come in to play. Hrm... Something that is making playing "PRO" tricky has been "What reference resources are appropriate to what is on the server?" What "Generation" is PRO? I suppose I could investigate some guides. I dunno... sorry for the blathering... There are actual questions in there, someplace, I am sure of it!

Fair enough... :(

What are you going on about? I mentioned nothing of bugs. I want to play offline. Zombie DC? What?

Is there a way to play the game without it feeling like an "MMO" with a bunch of people running around that I have absolutely no desire to interact with? (which is a lie. I am lonely and depsressed, but life experiences have left me dreading others, so I would rather just not risk the chances, at all) Is there a means of completely disabling chat? To the point where it is not present in the UI? I fucking hate myself...