The Drifter Challenge

[squirrelfeet]

This challenge is based upon a challenge idea formulated a few months ago. I have already completed a playthrough of it on Pokemon Sapphire.

The rules of this challenge are based primarily around the idea of your player being a drifter who is mysterious and unknown to other. Some of the rules are required, but others are simply optional to the challenge. This can be played on any game, and I have found it to be fairly enjoyable. When playing it, note that it is one of the few challenges that can specifically be "lost", so be careful how you allocate things!

Rules

Required

• Only 6 Pokemon may be caught. Ever. This is to bond with the few "friends" you have.
• The Master Ball which you receive must be tossed. This is a challenge, after all.
• Any facilities* may only be used once in the playthrough so as to prevent connections with others. You must remain unknown and a drifter. *[see list of facilities]
• Species Clause: You may only have 1 of any Pokemon species or evolutionary chain. Your team should have variety, for it is a challenge.
• No P.C. usage is permitted. This means no touching it at all - no mail, items, boxes etc.
• No HM slaves are permitted. At least one non-HM move must exist on any Pokemon. They are your friends, not slaves or tools.
• No Day-Care Usage is permitted.
• Blacking out/Whiting out results in game over unless you revert to the previous save (it would mean that you have used a facility twice).
• No more than 20 items may, at any point in time, exist in the players item pouch within their bag. Travel light as a drifter.
• No legendary Pokemon.

Optional Rules

• Make your player's name "Drifter" to add to the atmosphere of the challenge.
• Nickname each party Pokemon
• Complete all GYM and Contest challenges
• If interviewed, only respond with "Okay, Alright, Acceptable" etc.

NOTE (VERY IMPORTANT)
Plan out what you capture so that you can progress in the game! You must be able to use HM moves as necessary to complete the storyline. Also, if possible, do not use facilities if you do not need to. Sometimes saving them until later if necessary is very useful, if not essential. Finally, be careful when you save. If you save, you should be certain that you have wisely used facilities, or else it could result in the failure of the challenge!
Just for a quick reference, also, when the plot requires heals, they do not count as facilities. This means that if (as part of the plot) your mom heals your pokemon (as in DPPt), you can still heal from her afterwards (though still only once)

List of Facilities

• Anybody who sells things. This includes but is not limited to...
  1. Pokemarts
  2. Berry Shops
  3. Salesmen on the road (such as in Slateport City or the woman selling lava cookies on Mt. Chimney)
  4. Herbal Shops
  Vending Machines such as those in Black, White and Dept. Stores are not facilities, so they are infinite-use. Note this!
• Those who heal Pokemon, such as Pokecenters and people in houses or on roads etc.
• Game Corners
• Battle Tower/Frontier/Subway Prize Turn-in (the actual battling can be used indefinitely, if you wish)
• Anything else based around the concept of "use" not on this list. If you are unsure about any facilities, post a comment.

Ultimate Challenge
Pack/Bag space is limited to 15 items instead of 20 for each game, Only 5 Pokemon may ever be caught. It is not greatly different, but enough to make it far more difficult.

Game Completion
Red/Blue/Green/Yellow: Defeat your Rival and become the Champion
Gold/Silver/Crystal: Defeat Red on Mt. Silver
Ruby/Sapphire: Defeat Steven and become the Champion
Emerald: Defeat Steven
FireRed/LeafGreen: Defeat Mewtwo
Diamond/Pearl: Defeat Team Galactic for the final time at Mt. Mortar
Platinum: Defeat Cynthia again after defeating Team Galactic at Mt. Mortar
Black/White: Defeat Alder
Black/White 2: Defeat Iris for the second time (Challenge Mode is optional)

To sign-up, use the format of...

Pokecommunity Username:
Game:
Pokémon:
(Ultimate?)

Challengers:
squirrelfeet (Sapphire)
Stodd (Crystal)
squirrelfeet (Black 2)
SanityStealer (Diamond)
Inkblots (Leaf Green)
~Sia~ (HeartGold)
ChiKouu (Black)
YourFavorite (Ruby)
PiggyBankLies (Ruby)

Ultimate Challengers
hopelessangelic (Black)

Champions
squirrelfeet (Sapphire)

Ultimate Champions (incase normal mode was not difficult enough)
[None Listed]

Good luck!

[Stodd]

No attempts? I'll give it a whirl!
Name: Stodd
Pokemon to start: Tododile
I'll use crystal version

I'll update after every other gym leader!

[squirrelfeet]

I shall re-play my Black 2 game using this challenge over again.

ULTIMATE
Pokecommunity Username: Squirrelfeet
Game: Black 2 (JP)
Pokémon: <>Samurott
<>Metagross
<>Breloom
<>Krookodile
<>Muk
<>Arcanine

(or at least that is how I shall end-up)

[SanityStealer]

Sign me up!

Name: SanityStealer
Game: Diamond
Starter: Chimchar

To keep with the mystery, I won't tell you the rest of my eventual team right now. And I have a really cool idea for how I'm going to write my updates!

[Inkblots]

I've given up on playing the "traditional" way (I never actually finish...) so here I am for my first challenge (well, I've failed done the Nuzlocke challenge a couple times, but not since joining the forum).

Name: Inkblots
Game: (choosing at random...) LeafGreen
Pokemon so far: Charmander, Butterfree, Pikachu, Mankey

Don't know if you want the "play by play" but here it is anyway

Day 1

Spoiler:

- Got Charmander and beat Gary's Squirtle
- My ROM kept freezing up every time I tried to enter the Viridian Pokemart, so, after half an hour of downloading new copies of the ROM and a few different emulators (the one I was using was slow anyway...) finally got it to work and delivered Oak's package.
- Pass by the PokeCenter in Viridian in case I needed to come back later.
- Caught Caterpie in Viridian Forest.
- Stocked up on potions/antidotes/etc. in Pewter Pokemart
- Evolved Caterpie, and trained Charmander up to lvl 11
- Headed home for a healing from Mom
- Back up to Viridian Forest for more training
- Game crashed, and I hadn't saved since before delivering Oak's package *cry*
This is not going well so far. Possibly for the best that I have to practically start over though, since I kind of forgot about the 20 item limit and probably went over, lol.

Day 2

Spoiler:

- Did everything the same as day 1 up to Pewter City, at which point I decided against going into the Mart
- Caught Pikachu
- Trained for a while, then headed home for a healing from Mom
- Attempted to catch Mankey, but the game crashed... twice (luckily I'd saved just a minute before)
- Finally caught Mankey. Not my first choice for fighting pokemon, but I really needed one if I was going to get past Brock.
- Train for a LONG time, being really careful to avoid anything that I couldn't knock out in one or two turns and/or could poison my pokemon (since I've only got one antidote and no potions).
- Get Charmander up to level 16, with Metal Claw. Figure okay, I can probably take Brock now (note to self, don't be so damn cocky)
- Go to the Pokemon Center, then stock up on potions and such from the PokeMart
- Get past the first trainer no problem, but... well, let's just say I'd forgotten about Onyx's Rock Tomb.
So, crap. Game over for me then, that didn't last long, lol.

This was a great idea for a challenge. I'll almost definitely be trying it again at some point. It definitely meets the definition of "challenge," having to restrict healing so severely, and keep track of not just HP, but PP. Not to mention, it's great to get that slightly scared feeling when you go into a battle, because you know if you mess up, you're going to lose, only have one or two useable pokemon for the next little while, or at the very least have a pokemon's training screwed up and be forced into a battle underprepared. Way more interesting than the traditional way of playing

[squirrelfeet]

Originally Posted by Inkblots

This was a great idea for a challenge. I'll almost definitely be trying it again at some point. It definitely meets the definition of "challenge," having to restrict healing so severely, and keep track of not just HP, but PP. Not to mention, it's great to get that slightly scared feeling when you go into a battle, because you know if you mess up, you're going to lose, only have one or two useable pokemon for the next little while, or at the very least have a pokemon's training screwed up and be forced into a battle underprepared. Way more interesting than the traditional way of playing

You can always save, Inkblots! The issue with that is saving at the right time, for if you save while you are in a bad position you could force yourself into game-over, and it still retains possibilities of running out of facilities. Thanks for the feedback, though.

[Inkblots]

Originally Posted by squirrelfeet

You can always save, Inkblots! The issue with that is saving at the right time, for if you save while you are in a bad position you could force yourself into game-over, and it still retains possibilities of running out of facilities. Thanks for the feedback, though.

Ah, see, I was being a little more strict on myself. Technically, I could have carried on by reverting back to the last save, but for me personally, I feel like a cheat if I do that.

[~Sia~]

If I may ask, is there an ultimate version of this challenge? I'd be very interested in finishing that as my first ultimate challenge on this forum. But, for now, I'll just start with one game.

Pokecommunity Username: ~Sia~
Game: Pokemon Heart Gold version
Pokémon: I'm not quite sure, since I like to figure out which Pokemon I use as I go along, but for now this is the team I've planned -
Totodile/Crocanaw/Feraligatr
Bellsprout/Weepinbell/Victreebell
Gastly/Haunter/Gengar
Jigglypuff/Wigglytuff
Murkrow/Honchkrow
Phanpy/Donphan

Of course, I'll probably change a few of these guys, but until then....

I'll update as soon as I get far enough.

Thanks for coming up with this challenge, squirrelfeet.

[squirrelfeet]

Originally Posted by ~Sia~

If I may ask, is there an ultimate version of this challenge? I'd be very interested in finishing that as my first ultimate challenge on this forum. But, for now, I'll just start with one game.

There is no Ultimate Challenge yet, as nobody has really completed more than one game (I am still playing-through my second) or even one game alone. I have now updated the thread to include one though, should you (or anybody else) wish to participate in it. I don't know if I made it too difficult, but it should make for a fun playthough.

Thank you for the feedback and support.

[SanityStealer]

Hey, so, I have a real quick question for you. In Diamond, your mom automatically heals up your Pokemon for you after you beat the Starly. Can I still go back and heal up at home?

EDIT: Oh, also... The twenty item limit - that's for regular items only, right? Or are things like berries and TM/HMs included?

[squirrelfeet]

Originally Posted by SanityStealer

Hey, so, I have a real quick question for you. In Diamond, your mom automatically heals up your Pokemon for you after you beat the Starly. Can I still go back and heal up at home?

EDIT: Oh, also... The twenty item limit - that's for regular items only, right? Or are things like berries and TM/HMs included?

The item clause is only for the Items section of the bag. You are allowed infinite TMs and Berries. Automatic Heals don't count as facilities, so you can always reuse them. However, if you are healed by your mom because you talked to her independent of the plot, you can't use her for healing again.

[ChiKouu]

Might as well try this.

Pokecommunity Username: Chikouu
Game: Black
Pokémon: Samurott, Liepard, Scolipede, Archeops, Sawsbuck, Cryogonal

[YourFavorite]

I definitely want to give this a go. Love the feel~
Pokecommunity Username: YourFavorite
Game: Ruby
Pokémon:
Swampert, Skarmory, Manetric, Breloom, Camerupt, and Glalie is the plan (though I might go with Castform instead of Glalie)


Optional Rules

• Make your player's name "Drifter" to add to the atmosphere of the challenge.
• Nickname each party Pokemon

I might also try to respond to interviews as blandly as possible, and try some contests. I also want to do something with secret bases (since they're awesome) but I'm not sure what.


Questions:
-Does the move deleter count as a facility? How about the move tutor? (If so, what counts as a "single use"? Can I have the move deleter delete a move from each of my pokemon if I only visit their house once, or can I only choose one move from one pokemon to delete?)
-For Department Stores, if you only visit one person at one counter and then leave the building, have you used up the whole building, or can you go back and talk to someone at a different counter?
-Similarly, can I bug the lava cookie lady 15 times and stock up on lava cookies before leaving forever, or can I only ever speak to her once?
-Does it count as "using" a shop facility (mostly game corner or battle-point shop) if you look in to see what they have and leave without buying something? (It seems silly to save up game corner coins or battle points just to realize that you don't have enough for what you want when you finally get there!)
edit: added a few more
-Are you allowed to rebattle trainers, or does that fall under not making relationships with people?
-Does riding on Mr. Briny's boat (which you have to do at least twice anyway for story reasons) count as using a facility?

Edit: Day 1 progress~

Named starter Sirena. She's pretty awesome, and right away has pulled off a few wins from 2 hp. Also caught Shroomish in Petalburg Woods, and named her Corcepia. Training her was a bit tough at first, but now that she's got mega drain, leech seed, stun spore, and bullet seed, she's doing well. I can already tell that the biggest challenge is going to be preserving PP, since I've had very few issues with conserving HP since Sirena's initial few battles. Also there were no ethers when I went to the Oldale pokemart, which was pretty disappointing. I decided to take a break after wrecking the rock gym.
Facilities used: Mom (littleroot), Oldale Pokemon Center, Oldale Pokemart.

(sorry if this is weird, this is my first time recordng a challenge so... >.>; )

[hopelessangelic]

Name:hopelessangelic
Game: Pokemon Black

Pokemon (planned)-1. tepig 2cottonee then trading with NPC for a petil 3.reviving archen 4.eelektross...eventually haha 5. vanillite 6.deino.

Ultimate: I'll try do the pokemon above work? because technically I revived archen, didn't catch him. and received tepig so i really only CAUGHT 4 pokemon. and if that doesn't count then I guess I'll be a normal drifter.

I'll update... umm when I can XD thanks! can't wait to start!

Day 1: Named myself Drifter
- Got Tepig as starter
-Won both first battles
-Beat Bianca and Cheren again
-Used PokeCenter And Pokemart
-Rejected Elemental Monkey
- Trained Tepig up to level 15 to face Cress
-Healed at moms
-Beat Cress
-Beat Plasma
-Tepig evolved into Pignite
-Beat Cheren again
-Beat N
-Beat Plasma

[squirrelfeet]

Thanks for joining the challenge!

Questions (and my answers):

-Does the move deleter count as a facility? How about the move tutor? (If so, what counts as a "single use"? Can I have the move deleter delete a move from each of my pokemon if I only visit their house once, or can I only choose one move from one pokemon to delete?)

Nope, not a facility.

-For Department Stores, if you only visit one person at one counter and then leave the building, have you used up the whole building, or can you go back and talk to someone at a different counter?

One use per counter. I encountered a similar issue, but I decided that each counter should be a facility, just so that things don't get annoying.

-Similarly, can I bug the lava cookie lady 15 times and stock up on lava cookies before leaving forever, or can I only ever speak to her once?

You can only speak to her once. Again, this happened in my Sapphire run.

-Does it count as "using" a shop facility (mostly game corner or battle-point shop) if you look in to see what they have and leave without buying something? (It seems silly to save up game corner coins or battle points just to realize that you don't have enough for what you want when you finally get there!)

If you don't buy anything, it does not count as using the facility.

-Are you allowed to rebattle trainers, or does that fall under not making relationships with people?

Rebattling is fine.

-Does riding on Mr. Briny's boat (which you have to do at least twice anyway for story reasons) count as using a facility?

Mr. Briney does not count as a facility, just like HM02 (Fly) can be used many times.

I hope this answers your questions. If you have any more, just ask. Have fun!

Originally Posted by hopelessangelic

Ultimate: I'll try do the pokemon above work? because technically I revived archen, didn't catch him. and received tepig so i really only CAUGHT 4 pokemon. and if that doesn't count then I guess I'll be a normal drifter.

Sorry, I did not phrase things well-enough. When I say catch, I mean to obtain it through any method. For instance, Kabuto counts as being caught on Cinnabar island. Sorry, that was my fault for a bad explanation.
I hope you enjoy the challenge!

[PiggyBankLies]

Might as well give this a shot.

Name: PiggyBankLies
Game: Ruby
Starter: Mudkip

Optional Rules Being Used:

• Make your player's name "Drifter" to add to the atmosphere of the challenge.
• Nickname each party Pokemon

I'll edit after every 2 or 3 Gyms.

Edit 1:
Got my mudkip and named him Dredd!!, and breezed through May. I caught my second pokemon, which is seedot (named Anders), and progressed smoothly, up to this point, I hadn't healed once, but had used Oldale Mart. Somehow managed to evolve seedot into Nuzleaf during the first Gym, which with Mudkip was relatively easy. Mudkip evolved in the cave with the magma grunt. Healed up in Rustboro, and made my way to Dewford Town. Got to Steven quickly, and also caught my third pokemon, Aron (named Steeler), and then went to the gym. Surprisngly had no real issues: Mud Shot seemed to do the trick easily enough.
And so the challenge continues...