-Went through Route 28 now that I have all 16 badges.
-Arrived at Mt. Silver.
-Did a tiny bit of training, even though it's still not fun.
-What's also not fun is getting Heart Scales. I got one after some unpleasant grinding, and used it to reteach Thunder Fang to Lancelot. Then another, which I used to reteach Screech to Rocky.
-After a bit more training, did some Rare Candy hunting, then had 16 and used the last of them spread across my team, except Lionel (who was my highest level at the time) and Rocky (who gains boosted EXP so I didn't feel a need to).
-Challenged the man himself, Red!
Pokémon Trainer Red overview:
Team entering the fight, listed in reverse order of when I got them: Lancelot LV64 / Leftovers - Earthquake, Roar, Stealth Rock, Thunder Fang
Lionel LV66 / Choice Scarf - Earthquake, Ice Fang, Ice Shard, Rock Slide
Gareth LV65 / Choice Specs - Double Kick, Earth Power, Fire Blast, Thunderbolt
Arcana LV66 / BrightPowder - Earthquake, Surf, Waterfall, Yawn
Rocky LV62 / Quick Claw - Earthquake, Rock Climb, Screech, Stone Edge
Marhaus LV62 / Silk Scarf - Double-Edge, Earthquake, Explosion, Stone Edge
He starts off with Pikachu while I open with Lancelot. The hail is brewing, but Lancelot's Sand Stream ability replaces it with Sandstorm, hahaha. He hits with Iron Tail, but it does just under half, while I go for Stealth Rock just to set the stage a bit. Him: 15/16 HP, Me: 131/224 HP after Leftovers recovery. He uses Iron Tail again, but I live and kill him with Earthquake. Me: 52/224 HP.
After that is…Lapras. He takes super-effective damage from Stealth Rock, but then kills me with Brine. Him: 11/16 HP. I send in Gareth and go for Choice Specs Thunderbolt, but it doesn't do that much at all and he kills me in one hit with Brine. Him: 1/4 HP. I send in Marhaus, and knowing he's gonna heal, I go for Explosion. And sure enough, he does use his Full Restore, while I use Explosion, and…he lives with a sliver of health! But the Sandstorm finishes him off.
I go for Arcana next, as he sends out Venusaur. Shoot! I use a Revive on Gareth as he kills me in one hit with Giga Drain. Him: 15/16 HP. I send in Lionel and use Ice Fang, which looks to do over half, but he uses Giga Drain again, kills me in one hit and gains massive HP in the process. Him: 7/8 or so HP. I'm thinking, how am I supposed to beat this thing?! Then I have an idea, it's risky but it might work. I send in Rocky, and he uses Giga Drain, here I am praying to god I can survive a hit. Thankfully I do, and use Screech…which hits! Keep this in mind in a little bit. Him: 15/16 HP and -2 Defense, Me: 63/192 HP. I use a Revive on Lionel as he kills me with Giga Drain. Him: 15/16 HP and -2 Defense. I send in Lionel and use Ice Fang, fingers crossed…! Thanks to the -2 Defense from Screech, it kills him.
Next up is Blastoise. Another thing i'm quite afraid of. He does take Stealth Rock damage, though. I take the turn to use a Revival Herb on Arcana as he finishes off Lionel with Focus Blast. Then I send her in, and he hits with Focus Blast while I use Yawn. Him: 3/4 HP, Me: 77/215 HP. Since i'm gonna die this turn, I use a Revive on Lionel again, then he hits with Blizzard and kills me, but then he falls asleep. I send in Gareth and, after some thinking, I use an X Speed, but if he wakes up on the second turn that X Speed will have been for nothing (this might do enough to kill him in two hits if he heals, I hope). Him: 11/16 HP, Me: 102/204 HP and +1 Speed. I use Thunderbolt, which…gets a critical hit on the first usage of the move and kills him! Nice! THAT'S what i'm talking about.
Following is Snorlax. That doesn't exactly bode well with Gareth being locked into Thunderbolt. I use a Revival Herb on Rocky before he kills Gareth with Blizzard. I send in Rocky again and use Screech while he hits with Blizzard. Him: 3/4 HP and -2 Defense, Me: 87/192 HP. I use Screech again and he hits with Blizzard again. Seriously, he hasn't missed a single time yet, which is getting a bit ridiculous. Him: 11/16 HP and -4 Defense. Now we're down to just Lionel. I send him in, and am wondering, should I attack, or Revive someone? I use a Revival Herb on Lancelot, then he uses Blizzard and misses, haha, that's what you deserve. I use Earthquake and finish him off. Lionel grows to Level 67 after that.
Finally is his Charizard, which, right off the bat takes half his health from Stealth Rock. (See why Charizard is overrated?) Since I can't attack due to being locked in with the Choice Scarf, I use a Max Revive on Arcana before he kills me with Flare Blitz. Him: 1/3 or so HP. This is it! I bring in Arcana and go for Waterfall, but he uses Air Slash, and…I FLINCH! NO, YOU RUINED THE MOMENT! Him: 1/4 or so HP, Me: 67/215 HP. I take the turn to use a Max Revive on Marhaus as he uses his Full Restore. Him: 15/16 HP. Remembering that Lionel has the Choice Scarf and Rock Slide, I use a Revive on him just for backup before Charizard kills Arcana with Air Slash. I send in Marhaus, just because he's been with me since the beginning of the adventure, to see if he can finish the job. He uses Dragon Pulse, which does more than half even with the Sandstorm, but I hit with Stone Edge, and…finish him, ending the battle.
I think I played that very well. I don't think I was too high leveled nor did I use too many Revives (used ten, but two of them didn't matter). I also liked being able to use Sand Stream to override the hail and make it so all his guys would get hurt and not mine, along with Stealth Rock. Though I did get a bit lucky with the critical hit on Blastoise, because things could have gone quite lopsided against it otherwise (although I did have Arcana to block Hydro Cannon). That Venusaur was immensely scary, and I thought it was going to sweep us! I had over 100 Revives in total, though, so I wasn't too panicked. It was one of those situations where Rocky's Screech actually helped, so i'm glad I took the time to get a Heart Scale to put it back on him! And Lapras, also, had it lived Explosion with more than just a sliver of health, he could have healed and things would have been even worse. So, the whole team played parts in this, and it was an exceptional final fight. That was amazing.
-Red left Mt. Silver without a word, and the game was saved.
