Progress:
Wattson was hard, like really hard. The only Pokémon I had at that point were Marill and Lombre (and an egg). All of Patty's moves weren't very effective on Magnemite and Magneton (Absorb, Astonish, Fake Out and Swift (Nature Power)). I had to grind by beating level 13 wild Pokémon and raised Jonnie to a level 28 Azumarill whose Bubblebeam was pretty useful, along Patty in lv32. Still it wasn't easy, but I managed to beat him using a super potion, paralyze heal and a quick claw on Jonnie.
It went a lot easier for a while then. Matthew (Torkoal) joined the party at the Fiery Path, followed by Slasher (Zangoose) on Route 114 and the hatching of Junior (Larvitar), who didn't have any attacks until level 23 in which she learned Rock Slide. (I chain bred Dragon Dance from Kingdra via Lapras and Rain Dance and Protect came along). In troublesome situations the high-leveled Jonnie and Patty could assist. With two strong water types, Flannery was a piece of cake to beat. Norman wasn't very hard either. Instead of using my whole team, I decided to make Matthew spam Curse in the double amount of turns thanks to Slaking's Truant, use one healing item and finish all Norman's Pokémon with Body Slam.
The ability to surf outside enabled it to get a good rod and catch my last team member, Fishy the Barboach. Winona didn't provide any trouble at all. I skipped the Gym and went to Lilycove City first, on the way back, Matthew learned Flamethrower and Fishy and Junior evolved into Whiscash and Pupitar respectively.
You wouldn't expect Tate and Liza to give any trouble to a team that has three Pokémon knowing Surf in it. Well, think again. Solrock knows Sunny Day. I wouldn't have made it (without using medicines) if Junior didn't know Rain Dance to counter it. Patty's Swift Swim came in handy too.
I continued the story, wrecked Team Magma, captured a Groudon (named it Force), beat Wallace and passed through the Victory Road. The Elite Four wasn't easy, Phoebe's Dusclops were really annoying. It would've been a lot easier if I were allowed to learn Shadow Ball to Slasher, but it doesn't count as a blade move. Glacia was easy, Slasher can use Swords Dance twice and use Slash to one-hit her first three Pokémon. The shell bell heals damage nicely and allow another use of Swords Dance against the second Glalie. After that Walrein can't survive a Slash either. The same worked for Drake, but I used Junior's Dragon Dance instead (Shelgon is too occupied with using Rock Tomb and protect to actually damage her). Steven requires some medicines to beat, but I used the same tactic, but with Matthew's Curse and Amnesia. Building up defense needs to full restores to get rid of the toxic poison Skarmory gives and one hyper potion is used later on. This worked fine if it wasn't for Cradily, which raised all of its stats twice with Ancient Power, but a retry made me Champion.
Some of the tasks were easy, some weren't. Reviving a fossil, catching Kecleon, building a secret base and in-game trading didn't take much effort. I caught Rayquaza on the fourth try, but none of the battles were really long, as my Pokémon have terrible levels compared to the legendary dragon. Junior still wasn't a Tyranitar upon entering the Hall of Fame, but rematching the Elite Four twice while she holds an experience share did the thing. Most problematic side quest was winning the contest. Jonnie has a decent moveset for tough contests, but I think I'm using the wrong berries for Pokéblocks. I fed him yellow blocks until he had enough and he only got five stars, while the opponents in Master Rank all have seven or eight. Anyway I won after some tries, but I don't really like contests, or at least not having to do them with a Pokémon suited for normal battles.
Final team
Patty (♂), lv49, Swift Swim @Amulet coin
Surf, Giga Drain, Fake Out, Ice Beam
Jonnie (♂), lv48, Huge Power @Sea incense
Surf, Rollout, Strength, Double Edge
Matthew (♂), lv55, White Smoke @Quick claw
Flamethrower, Body Slam, Curse, Amnesia
Slasher (♀), lv55, Immunity @Shell bell
Slash, Swords Dance, Crush Claw, Fury Cutter
Junior (♀), lv56, Sand Stream @Hard stone
Rock Slide, Dragon Dance, Earthquake, Crunch
Fishy (♂), lv47, Oblivious @Soft sand
Surf, Earthquake, Amnesia, Rest
Tasks: 8/8
-
Defeat the Elite Four + Champion or Ghetsis Done
-
Catch a non-mandatory Legendary Pokemon without a Master Ball Rayquaza
-
Complete an in-game trade Pikachu for Skitty
-
Revive a Fossil Root fossil
-
Catch a stationary non-legendary Pokemon Kecleon
-
Raise a Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon to its final stage Junior (Tyranitar)
-
Build a Secret Base and fully decorate it Done
-
Win a Master Rank Contest Tough with Jonnie
Lastly, thank you
Azazel, for the event. I had fun playing it!
And thank you,
Alli, for offering the Swablu. Sadly I don't have a 3DS, so I can't accept it, but I still appreciate the offer.
