[Event] Burning Souls - Halloween Event 2020

[Eleanor]

I need my new rule :(

aaaaa i'm sorry! will update the post above asap!
edit: done~

 

[budube]

Burning Souls - Radical Red: Part 2

While it's true, that I kinda fucked up and had 20 level for limit at first I still had to box everything for the second badge bc Misty's team is between lvl 25 and 26, so no Pokémon was surviving till I got there. I still got to use Ledian, thankfully, at least to sweep Archer in Mt. Moon and against the Rival in Nugget Bridge.

I caught a Galarian Meowth in the first Raid Den and a Swinub I haven't used yet, both level 20 so they are good to battle Surge next round too. In a Raid in front of Bill's house I caught Elekid (also lvl. 20), and I also caught a wild Yamper and Petilil past Nugget Bridge that were level 16 and 15 respectively.

Misty's battle wasn't too hard, honestly. Boltund's Nuzzle came in very handy against her Floatzel and if anything the hardest part was the constant Flip Turn from her Frogadier and Starmie's Natural Cure. Petilil learning Giga Drain pretty early came in handy too.

Current team: Boltund, Elekid, Meowth (Galar), Petilil. Everyone is at level 27.
Badges: 2

 

[Sydian]

y'all if i wasn't so goddamn pissed at this challenge i would give up never make a rule where you lose levels from getting a status affliction ever again this is sadistic

 

[Sonata]

Caught an Oddish (lvl 13) and boxed my kadabra after having served me well in the previous gym. Wingull also hit its cap during a double battle where I forgot to switch its position with oddish, so I had to box him. I went off to capture a whismur (lvl 6) and evolved it into loudred so I could have something that could learn rock smash. Caught a numel (lvl 16). Caught a Swablu (lvl 15). Caught a Lotad (lvl 16). Cleared the teams off of mt chimney. Beat Flannery and boxed my Manectric as he hit his cap. The battles leading up to Norman were actually harder than the norman fight itself. Gloom ended up hitting its max level as well as numel (after having put in the majority of the work on flannery). I made full use of Lombre's fake out and Loudred's rock smash to whittle down norman's mons alongside some frantic switch-viving.

Lombre lvl 34
Loudred lvl 22
Swablu lvl 34

 

[Janp]

y'all if i wasn't so goddamn pissed at this challenge i would give up never make a rule where you lose levels from getting a status affliction ever again this is sadistic

Noted. If you want, I can change it to a rule, where you'll lose a level for each in-game step :)

 

[Hyzenthlay]

Quick update since I am running short on time! So, I beat my first badge with:

Flaxen Lv. 11

Figy Lv. 9

Glimmer Lv. 7

Sitrus Lv. 5

Quacklin' Lv. 13 (traded)

Kelpsy Lv. 7

Looking forward to my new rule! ...I think.

 

[Eleanor]

Spoiler:

Burning Souls - Radical Red: Part 2

While it's true, that I kinda fucked up and had 20 level for limit at first I still had to box everything for the second badge bc Misty's team is between lvl 25 and 26, so no Pokémon was surviving till I got there. I still got to use Ledian, thankfully, at least to sweep Archer in Mt. Moon and against the Rival in Nugget Bridge.

I caught a Galarian Meowth in the first Raid Den and a Swinub I haven't used yet, both level 20 so they are good to battle Surge next round too. In a Raid in front of Bill's house I caught Elekid (also lvl. 20), and I also caught a wild Yamper and Petilil past Nugget Bridge that were level 16 and 15 respectively.

Misty's battle wasn't too hard, honestly. Boltund's Nuzzle came in very handy against her Floatzel and if anything the hardest part was the constant Flip Turn from her Frogadier and Starmie's Natural Cure. Petilil learning Giga Drain pretty early came in handy too.

Current team: Boltund, Elekid, Meowth (Galar), Petilil. Everyone is at level 27.
Badges: 2

Caught an Oddish (lvl 13) and boxed my kadabra after having served me well in the previous gym. Wingull also hit its cap during a double battle where I forgot to switch its position with oddish, so I had to box him. I went off to capture a whismur (lvl 6) and evolved it into loudred so I could have something that could learn rock smash. Caught a numel (lvl 16). Caught a Swablu (lvl 15). Caught a Lotad (lvl 16). Cleared the teams off of mt chimney. Beat Flannery and boxed my Manectric as he hit his cap. The battles leading up to Norman were actually harder than the norman fight itself. Gloom ended up hitting its max level as well as numel (after having put in the majority of the work on flannery). I made full use of Lombre's fake out and Loudred's rock smash to whittle down norman's mons alongside some frantic switch-viving.

Lombre lvl 34
Loudred lvl 22
Swablu lvl 34

Quick update since I am running short on time! So, I beat my first badge with:

Flaxen Lv. 11

Figy Lv. 9

Glimmer Lv. 7

Sitrus Lv. 5

Quacklin' Lv. 13 (traded)

Kelpsy Lv. 7

Looking forward to my new rule! ...I think.

Ruleset Update!

💀 Aeternum / Badge 4 and 5:
Telepathy - All Psychic-type Pokémon currently on your team gain 5 more levels for their level limit.
Meddling with mystic forces - Any time you teach a Pokémon a new Psychic or Ghost-type move, it gains 2 levels for their level limit. Any time you teach a Pokémon a Dark-type move, it loses 3 levels.

💀 Cubism / Badge 2:
Affinity with the enemy - All Ghost-type Pokémon gain 5 more levels for their level limit.

💀 Hyzenthlay / Badge 1:
Starter-lock hex - Your Starter can no longer be used.

 

[11wildy]

Time for a late join. I'll boost through this on emulator!


🔮 Name: 11wildy
🔮 Trainer Class: Dragon trainer
🔮 Your favourite horror monster: Bienfu
🔮 Game: Crystal

I will start when I get home :D. I like the energy aspect of this

 

[Sonata]

Caught a Tentacool (lvl 34). Caught a Swellow (lvl 25). Caught a Jigglypuff (lvl 25). Went ahead and hacked in a Moon Stone and evolved my Jiggly. Evolved Tentacool. Swablu got caught up in a roar during the weather institute and gained its final level, evolved, and then was immediately boxed. Caught Kecleon (lvl 30). Tentacruel and Swellow played the biggest roles in defeating Winona.

 

[Sydian]

Caught a Tentacool (lvl 34). Caught a Swellow (lvl 25). Caught a Jigglypuff (lvl 25). Went ahead and hacked in a Moon Stone and evolved my Jiggly. Evolved Tentacool. Swablu got caught up in a roar during the weather institute and gained its final level, evolved, and then was immediately boxed. Caught Kecleon (lvl 30). Tentacruel and Swellow played the biggest roles in defeating Winona.

welcome to tentacruel master race soon you will understand why i was so sad to lose mine lol

 

[Pok3pals]

So starting off I select Chikorita as my starter cause it is my favorite. Soon I head over to try and get a Mareep for the flying gym, but gave up and decided to catch an Ekans instead. Then I challenged the Sprout Tower and leveled Ekans up. Then I go to take on the gym. What I plan is Wrap, Poison, and then using Bite. And it nearly worked the first time, but Pidgeotto survived on one HP. So round two. This time the Pidgey was being an annoyance since it was just spamming Sand Attack. Second time, for some reason my DS made me heal Chikorita instead of Ekans even though I clicked Ekans. But, third time is a charm. So I have one out of eight badges now!

Team!

Nickname: Oleander
Level Caught At:5
Level:10
Moveset:
-Tackle
-Growl
-Poison Powder
-Razor Leaf
Held Item:N/A
Ability:Overgrow
Nature:Hasty
Stats:
HP:31
Attack:17
Defense:17
Special Attack:16
Special Defense:20
Speed:17

Nickname:Slithers
Level Caught At:4
Level:11
Moveset:
-Wrap
-Leer
-Poison Sting
-Bite
Held Item:N/A
Ability:Intimidate
Nature:Jolly
Stats:
HP:30
Attack:18
Defense:17
Special Attack:13
Special Defense:18
Speed:18

1/8

​

 

[Sheep]

Badge #8 get!!

Currently active rules:

• Normal Pokémon gain 5 levels for their level limit (x2)
• When a Pokémon evolves, it loses 5 levels from its level limit
• No items may be used in battle

Active rule for this segment only:

• None

A struggle. One hell of a struggle lol. But I picked up Lickitung after beating Pryce since the +20 level rule for normals worked really well for it. It's not super strong but still decently bulky, and STAB for moves like Strength and Stomp (+flinch chance) really helped out when training.

Clair beat me many times before I decided to switch my Gyarados's strategy of using Dragon Rage to Thrash instead, since it was enough to 2ko her Dragonair. I'd beat the first Dragonair with two Thrashes and then switch out to Lickitung since her next one had Thunderbolt and I'd be confused. Kingdra was often what ended me though, since STAB Surf was really strong and I just couldn't wittle its HP down enough before she took my team out, especially because of her Hyper Potion. But eventually Pidgeotto managed to get enough Sand-Attacks in to save me! And I got lucky with an initial crit on the first Dragonair to ohko it. so after like.. ugh, idk 20 attempts?? we did it!!

Current team members

Lickitung ♀ Lv. 37 (caught lv. 26 - max lv. 46)
Strength, Stomp, Defense Curl, Supersonic

Pidgeotto ♂️ Lv. 36 (caught lv. 17 - max lv. 37)
Fly, Sand-Attack, Gust, Quick Attack

Gyarados ♂️ Lv. 37 (caught lv. 30 - max lv. 40)
Thrash, Bite, Dragon Rage, Surf​

Former team members
Flaaffy (x2), Sudowoodo, Quilava, Fearow, Girafarig

 

[Janp]

Spoiler:

Caught a Tentacool (lvl 34). Caught a Swellow (lvl 25). Caught a Jigglypuff (lvl 25). Went ahead and hacked in a Moon Stone and evolved my Jiggly. Evolved Tentacool. Swablu got caught up in a roar during the weather institute and gained its final level, evolved, and then was immediately boxed. Caught Kecleon (lvl 30). Tentacruel and Swellow played the biggest roles in defeating Winona.

So starting off I select Chikorita as my starter cause it is my favorite. Soon I head over to try and get a Mareep for the flying gym, but gave up and decided to catch an Ekans instead. Then I challenged the Sprout Tower and leveled Ekans up. Then I go to take on the gym. What I plan is Wrap, Poison, and then using Bite. And it nearly worked the first time, but Pidgeotto survived on one HP. So round two. This time the Pidgey was being an annoyance since it was just spamming Sand Attack. Second time, for some reason my DS made me heal Chikorita instead of Ekans even though I clicked Ekans. But, third time is a charm. So I have one out of eight badges now!

Team!

Nickname: Oleander
Level Caught At:5
Level:10
Moveset:
-Tackle
-Growl
-Poison Powder
-Razor Leaf
Held Item:N/A
Ability:Overgrow
Nature:Hasty
Stats:
HP:31
Attack:17
Defense:17
Special Attack:16
Special Defense:20
Speed:17

Nickname:Slithers
Level Caught At:4
Level:11
Moveset:
-Wrap
-Leer
-Poison Sting
-Bite
Held Item:N/A
Ability:Intimidate
Nature:Jolly
Stats:
HP:30
Attack:[/color]18
Defense:17
Special Attack:13
Special Defense:18
Speed:18

1/8

​

Badge #8 get!!

Currently active rules:

• Normal Pokémon gain 5 levels for their level limit (x2)
• When a Pokémon evolves, it loses 5 levels from its level limit
• No items may be used in battle

Active rule for this segment only:

• None

A struggle. One hell of a struggle lol. But I picked up Lickitung after beating Pryce since the +20 level rule for normals worked really well for it. It's not super strong but still decently bulky, and STAB for moves like Strength and Stomp (+flinch chance) really helped out when training.

Clair beat me many times before I decided to switch my Gyarados's strategy of using Dragon Rage to Thrash instead, since it was enough to 2ko her Dragonair. I'd beat the first Dragonair with two Thrashes and then switch out to Lickitung since her next one had Thunderbolt and I'd be confused. Kingdra was often what ended me though, since STAB Surf was really strong and I just couldn't wittle its HP down enough before she took my team out, especially because of her Hyper Potion. But eventually Pidgeotto managed to get enough Sand-Attacks in to save me! And I got lucky with an initial crit on the first Dragonair to ohko it. so after like.. ugh, idk 20 attempts?? we did it!!

Current team members

Lickitung ♀ Lv. 37 (caught lv. 26 - max lv. 46)
Strength, Stomp, Defense Curl, Supersonic

Pidgeotto ♂️ Lv. 36 (caught lv. 17 - max lv. 37)
Fly, Sand-Attack, Gust, Quick Attack

Gyarados ♂️ Lv. 37 (caught lv. 30 - max lv. 40)
Thrash, Bite, Dragon Rage, Surf​

Former team members
Flaaffy (x2), Sudowoodo, Quilava, Fearow, Girafarig

Ruleset Update!

💀 Pok3pals / Badge 1:
Light's End - Fairy, Fire and Electric-type Pokémon currently on your team lose 10 levels from the level limit.

💀 Sheep / Badge 8:
Fat demons - You can only use Pokémon that weigh more than 100.0 kg (220.5 lbs.) for this segment.

💀 aeternum / Badge 8:
Sneaky tactics - All Dark-type Pokémon currently on your team gain 5 more levels for their level limit.

 

[Pok3pals]

Now the rule I got was Fire and Electric can't level up as much as others. I'm now thankful that I didn't find a Mareep. Anyhow I make my way towards Slowpoke Well and wipe the place out. I then go to the gym and fail the first time cause his Scyther kept using Quick Attack and he sent it out first. But, third time was a charm. Used Poison Powder with Chikorita and thankfully Scyther didn't use U-Turn. Then I just wrapped and poison stalled Scyther and then the rest of the team was an easy sweep.

Team!

Nickname: Oleander
Level Caught At:5
Level:12
Moveset:
-Tackle
-Synthesis
-Poison Powder
-Razor Leaf
Held Item:N/A
Ability:Overgrow
Nature:Hasty
Stats:
HP:35
Attack:19
Defense:18
Special Attack:18
Special Defense:23
Speed:20

Nickname:Slithers
Level Caught At:4
Level:17
Moveset:
-Wrap
-Screech
-Poison Sting
-Bite
Held Item:N/A
Ability:Intimidate
Nature:Jolly
Stats:
HP:41
Attack:26
Defense:25
Special Attack:18
Special Defense:26
Speed:26

2/8

​

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor • Blaze Black 2 • League!

Now we're really talking, uh?
This segment starts with all the usual Team Plasma stuff, and my team is not ready for that. I bring in some new members, and try my best to train them as I proceed through the Frigate, but that is already spelling disaster. Mamoswine and Metang, which I've picked up for this part, are still able to hold up, but by the time I get to Colress and especially the Shadow Triad, I really have to start resetting over and over, and hoping that they don't pull up some weird strategies in their... yes, Triple and Rotation battles (thanks to this hack).
Once that is dealt with, I need to change my team all over again for the Ghetsis fight, picking up a Clefable of all things and still relying on my Accelgor (that I caught in the previous segments) to finish off his Pokémon. Just so you know, one of them is a legendary, and it's not Kyurem (in fact, that was surprisingly easy).
Even then, Ghetsis is far from the worst fight of this segment, crazy enough. That title definitely belongs to the two Veterans that wait for you at the top of Victory Road, right before the last cave. I was changing my team yet again, trying to catch some Pokémon in Victory Road and training them up. I needed just one more, but it was right behind them, as it was only found in that special room... and so I had to try and force my way after those two veterans! It was utterly impossible without changing my team appropriately - I even had to bring back Bellossom, as they're both weather users (Rain and Sand, with things like Shell Smash Gorebyss and Sand Rush Excadrill, the usual I suppose), and hope for the best. And that happened when I still had a Garchomp in my team!
In the end, I cleared the whole Victory Road and Route 23, finally exploring for the first time in my life that whole Cut and Strength maze and battling all the trainers who were hiding there. I even picked up some specific EV training for some of my Pokémon, especially Gengar and Ludicolo, as I really thought I had no other chance... and of course, I got utterly broke while buying remedies such as Vital Herbs and Hyper Potions.
And then... again, over-preparation paid off. I was able to beat the Elite 4 and Champion all relatively easily, and my Pokémon were finally strong enough to go head to head with them and their levels. The same, of course, happened with my rival too. Although... I definitely had some lucky moments there - probably what I deserve after so much bad luck against the Victory Road trainers.

Thoughts on the challenge?
First, I'm happy that I got to use and appreciate so many different Pokémon! Choosing a difficulty hack such as this one probably helped as well, not to mention that Black and White 2 in general are some rather nice games to do this challenge on - there are repeatable trainers, a fairly linear progression, and lots of Pokémon placed in areas where they can be useful (such as having a desert area before Elesa, for example). The hack itself also made things easier by making tons of evolutions easier to accomplish, and allowing me to use Pokémon such as Accelgor very easily.
Second point, however, is... especially by the end of the game, it doesn't feel like you have a lot of freedom when thinking about your team. You just end up picking the (stereotypically, if you will) stronger Pokémon (I had three Pseudo Legendary Pokémon in my team at one point!) and being a lot more careful about typings, movesets, while pushing aside some other Pokémon that you might have liked more but that you can't quite fit in your team. Probably... not a playstyle for everyone - and the reason why I wanted to add rules like type bonus / malus!
Overall, though... I'm still happy, even from the point of view of the event organizer! Sure, in hindsight I could've made some changes and smoothed out some edges, but I still like to think of this as a success! And now...
Come on, you guys! 9 more days remain to complete the challenge! Every bit of help against Chandelure is more than welcome ♥♥♥

Caught Pokémon
Here is the team that made it to the Hall of Fame:

Spoiler:

TEAM (with caught, current and limited levels):
• Metagross, lv. 54 → 68 → 69
Steel / Psychic • Clear Body • Leftovers
Meteor Mash, Psychic, Earthquake, Hammer Arm
202/185/205/155/145/113
• Tyranitar, lv. 61 → 67 → 76
Rock / Dark • Sand Stream • Shell Bell
Crunch, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Flamethrower
217/203/139/165/150/102
• Ludicolo, lv. 62 → 68 → 72
Water / Grass • Rain Dish • Splash Plate
Surf, Ice Beam, Energy Ball, Focus Blast
225/108/118/172/150/107
• Gliscor, lv. 60 → 66 → 70
Ground / Flying • Poison Heal • Toxic Orb
Earthquake, Fly, Swords Dance, Toxic
188/146/161/68/113/151
• Gengar, lv. 58 → 65 → 73
Ghost / Poison • Levitate • Exp. Share (to make sure Metagross doesn't reach the cap)
Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Sludge Wave, Dream Eater
154/110/101/214/102/188
• Conkeldurr, lv. 61 → 69 → 71
Fighting • Sheer Force • Shell Bell
Hammer Arm, Stone Edge, Mach Punch, Superpower
246/208/159/93/109/89

And here's the list of all the Pokémon that I've used in this run, since they all deserve some recognition! They'll be in the order I've met them along the way!

No badges:

Spoiler:

• Snivy: my starter! Did well at first but by the first Gym I already could handle fights without it.
• Butterfree: useful until the first gym and beyond, but boxed soon after.
• Lotad: Absorb looked good on paper but it was too difficult to raise.
• Ralts: at first I thought it wouldn't be useful, but it did alright! I also boxed it soon, though.
• Azurill: not worth it, sorry!
• Riolu: thought it would be useful for the first Gym, but I still managed without.
• Mareep / Flaaffy: super useful against Cheren, but replaced by the second gym.
• Houndour / Houndoom: now this is a MVP of the early game. Didn't bring it for Cheren but picked it up soon after for Roxie and Burgh, and did very well! Also evolved right before the cap, helping out a ton against Colress on Route 4 too.
• Taillow / Swellow: another great member with an early evolution, did super well until Burgh and was then boxed as it reached the limit.

1 Badge:

Spoiler:

• Cyndaquil: gift for those who play this hack, but not worth training.
• Venipede: it absorbed Roxie's Poison Spikes and for this, I thank it.
• Mime Jr. / Mr. Mime: caught in the Route 20 dark grass and an absolute powerhouse against Roxie! Boxed soon after though.
• Magnemite: some NPC told me to use it, I did, and it worked.
• Sewaddle: caught it as a replacement for my starter until I realized I didn't even need a Grass type in the first place.

2 Badges:

Spoiler:

• Bulbasaur: a lv. 10 gift in Castelia? Really?
• Munna: thought it would be useful, but I was wrong.
• Eevee: see above! I had high hopes for it though...
• Gastly: same!
• Roggenrola: caught one just because, but decided to use a different Rock type for the time being.
• Geodude / Graveler: common encounter in Relic Passage and still one of the most useful Pokémon at this stage of the game! Very useful for HMs too.
• Gible / Gabite: left it in the box for a while but brought it back for Elesa, and did amazing! Only to be boxed right after, though. But seriously, it handled Zebstrika very well.
• Timburr / Gurdurr: another amazing teammate! Thought I could take it all the way to Clay but in the end, decided not to.
• Burmy / Wormadam-Steel: your stats got fixed, your moveset didn't.
• Petilil: pretty good Grass type, too bad there was one who was even better right around the corner.
• Cottonee: caught it for Prankster but never really felt the need to use it.

3 Badges:

Spoiler:

• Exeggcute: level limit of 30 sounded enticing, but again, there was a better Grass type around the corner...
• Solosis: interesting option, but there was a different Psychic type I had my eyes set on...
• Combee: oops...
• Doduo: a strong backup Flying type that I didn't need in the end.
• Foongus: as I said, I found a better grass type soon after...
• Nidorino (x2): I was super excited about having a Nidoking, so much that I looked for two of these guys to get a good nature! But then, I ended up not finding them a good place on my team.
• Misdreavus: see Gastly...
• Slakoth: emergency button that I didn't need in the end.
• Scyther: see above!
• Darumaka: well, isn't it obvious that at this point I'm just trying to catch everything in sight, simply because of that sweet level limit of 20?
• Skorupi: see above!
• Togepi: received through trade! But it was too much to train up...
• Munchlax: Hidden Grotto encounter that I ended up boxing right away.
• Dwebble: poor thing never battled...
• Sandile: see above :)
• Tympole / Palpitoad: amazing against Elesa, but was hit by the Odd Team rule...
• Wartortle / Blastoise: super clutch Grotto Encounter, it came to replace Palpitoad and did very well against Clay! It was also very useful all the way to Mistralton, where it almost hit the level cap.
• Heracross: again, extremely useful Pokémon (no surprise there). Great not just against Clay but also against all the rogue trainers all around the region, until it reached the level cap right after Skyla.
• Blitzle / Zebstrika: caught in Route 5 and kept in the box until Skyla, it suddenly became a very important asset in the team during that battle! And then, that one rule hit and off to the box it went.
• Roselia: here it is, the Grass type. Eviolite made it surprisingly sturdy and granted it a spot on my team for a very long time. Not to mention, it kept getting various bonuses for its level limit! Only at about Drayden this Roselia was finally replaced.
• Gothita / Gothorita / Gothitelle: this Pokémon just refused to die! By the cap, that is. From 20 it went up to 30 and some, being always there in the team from Clay all the way to Marlon - and because of this, being a reliable Pokémon to go to whenever things weren't looking too great.

4 Badges:

Spoiler:

• Zorua: the obligatory gift from Ex Team Plasma members that, given the level cap, was absolutely useless here.
• Pidgeotto: wrong nature! wrong ability! get out!
• Pidgeotto / Pidgeot: now we're talking, Speed Boost Pidgeot is actually quite interesting! Too bad it needs Brave Bird to really work and I couldn't let it learn that, so it had to help out in a couple fights and get boxed right after. That level cap is relentless now, man...
• Chinchou: caught one for the novelty, but it's not the best idea against Clay.
• Nosepass / Probopass: thought it could be useful against Skyla but, how wrong I was...
• Ducklett / Swanna: not having the HM for Surf yet turned this into a sitting duck (hahaha so funny), but at least it was immune to Earthquakes.
• Grotle: Grotto encounter, but the level was too low for Clay.

5 Badges:

Spoiler:

• Boldore: eviolite Boldore looked nice until...
• Lairon / Aggron: oh yeah! Did well enough against Skyla, and also helped a lot against other trainers!
• Beeheeyem: was a high level encounter so it's here.
• Litwick: same...
• Durant: again, "thought it was useful but wasn't".
• Magneton: see above! Sturdy seemed like a nice ability against Skyla, but I can only have 6 Pokémon on my team so...
• Eelektrik: same :)
• Haunter: ADAMANT of all things?
• Chimecho: see Beeheeyem hehehe!
• Rotom (x2): first Rotom was Jolly so I looked for another one, and I'm glad I did because that Rotom was great to have during both Skyla and Drayden's Gym Battles! I got lucky with a rule, though. Turned it into the Fridge form at the Route 9 Store and gave it Wide Lens to not miss Blizzard that often, and it worked wonders!
• Shellos / Gastrodon (1): another Pokémon graced by the bonus, this was amazing to have all the way to Drayden and more! Those are very useful types, after all.
• Claydol: high level encounter, right in the Volcarona Room of the Relic Castle!
• Bronzong: took hits like a champ against Skyla, too bad it couldn't dish them back just as good. Boxed soon after!

6 Badges:

Spoiler:

• Skarmory: this thing never dies! Of attacks. But the level cap hit without hesitation at just 10 levels after capture. I'll miss you dearly.
• Mienfoo (x3) / Mienshao: Drain Punch helped this Pokémon stay around more, and let it hit pretty hard and very fast until Marlon, almost. Yes I caught 2 more Mienfoo trying to find a decent nature.
• Magcargo: my only Fire type for a while, participated in some battles but didn't really do much.
• Tangela / Tangrowth: disappointing Special Defense aside, this is a pretty good Pokémon! Undeniably. Actually... I expected more from it, honestly.
• Karrablast: this was caught all the way in Driftveil simply because...
• Shelmet / Accelgor: I needed it for this! Blazing fast and pretty powerful too, it was extremely helpful throughout a ton of battles, especially between the seventh and eighth badge.
• Amoonguss: another useful, stall-ish Grass type with a good ability and access to HP-draining moves! Eventually, it ended up replacing Roselia for a bit.
• Mightyena: thought it would be good, ok?
• Lunatone: level limit of 20 this late in the game? Yes please! And... it stayed in the box.
• Staryu: boxed forever, poor thing.
• Seel: an Ice type seemed good so I caught one, only to find some better ones later...
• Cloyster: took some time getting used to it, but used it to some pretty good effect against Drayden and the boys. Like Skarmory, it took Physical hits like a champ! Emphasis on physical though...
• Spheal / Sealeo / Walrein: I was super excited about this Pokémon, despite the harsh level limit, but I was sort of let down. Still, not bad of a performance, especially for being this underleveled.
• Kirlia / Gallade: biggest letdown of the run, probably, but I guess I should've known. Picked as a slightly bulkier alternative for Mienshao, it just didn't hit as hard and had a terrible moveset for its stats!
• Kirlia / Gardevoir: now we're talking! Kept it in the box until Marlon, but pulled out a pretty good performance there and proved to be a nice user of Calm Mind! I think of it as Gothitelle's little sister.
• Bisharp: caught it hoping for some nice moves but that wasn't the case. Sorry, maybe next time!

7 Badges:

Spoiler:

• Muk: tried looking for a Pokémon that knew Toxic just for a certain Plasma Sage's Walrein...
• Garbodor: who had Ice Body, Leftovers, and Hail up. Luckily I found this.
• Houndoom: had to catch this as well because of said leader's Abomasnow... ugh!
• Pelipper (x2): great for Surf and Fly, great for taking hits and retaliating with Toxic, but not much else really. I expected more, but still got something decent!
• Tentacruel: still in the box!
• Crustle: a Rock type with Sturdy seems useful enough, right?
• Gloom / Bellossom: with Sunny Day and just enough defenses, this Pokémon was just as agonizing to try and work with during the Gym trainer battles, as good to have during the battle against Marlon himself!

8 Badges:

Spoiler:

• Piloswine / Mamoswine: Right after beating Marlon, I had to revamp my team for the madness to come... and this was one of the Pokémon I chose! Very strong, but also very fast when it came to reaching the level limit.
• Slowpoke: My team can only be this large...
• Venomoth: now a pretty strong Bug/Psychic type, it stayed on my team for a bit but had no chance against Team Plasma...
• Gastrodon (x2): one was caught in Giant Chasm and was... alright, the other one was caught on Route 23 and just wasn't as useful as the previous two suggested.
• Mienshao: yes, another Mienshao after the previous one almost reached the limit! This one had High Jump Kick and with it, dealt massive damage to anything - very helpful against Team Plasma and especially Colress.
• Crustle (x2): a Rock type that is also a Bug type lets me survive Earthquakes better, right? I caught two of them, one as a wild encounter and the other as the Colress Machine encounter - both just didn't quite cut it anymore, despite being some pretty nice Pokémon in their own right.
• Swellow: caught outside the Giant Chasm for Fly, was actually quite useful against some trainer battles thanks to its great speed and revamped attack stat.
• Snorunt / Glalie: just for Pokédex I guess?
• Snorunt / Froslass: had high hopes for this but Mamoswine stole the show.
• Clefairy (x2) / Clefable: I saw a certain Pokémon on Ghetsis's team and this was one of the few Pokémon I could use who knew Flamethrower and seemed able to take a hit, so I had to try. It was much more than that, though - amazing to have all the way to Victory Road, against all odds and prejudice.
• Metang / Metagross: I don't know how I caught it, probably this hack changed the catch rate or something. Even with a hindering nature (less Attack), this was probably the most useful Pokémon in this run, taking hits from anything before retaliating. It was just one level away from the limit when I finally beat Iris, and this was counting the Psychic type bonus I received.
• Jynx: Pokédex...
• Excadrill: again, I just decided to use Mamoswine for that one!
• Tropius: caught on Route 23 since it had Dragon Dance, didn't see any use at all though.
• Gligar / Gliscor: this Pokémon worried me to no end because, while looking 100% perfect on paper, during all of Victory Road it just wouldn't work! Not really bulky or hard-hitting enough. Then I got to the actual league, and it did its job perfectly, so I can't complain! In this hack, it was given Poison Heal, which I totally abused alongside Fly.
• Sawk: Mienshao's worthy successor for about... one route.

Special - Victory Road:

Spoiler:

• Bisharp: interesting Pokémon with a lot of attack, but I found a better Dark type later.
• Pupitar (x4) / Tyranitar: another Pokémon that was extremely useful, setting up Sand Storms everywhere (yes I had to find so many Pupitar before getting the one with the right ability) and dealing tons of damage, both with physical and special moves! Bonus points, its very extensive move pool and a very useful typing for two of the Elite Four, Dark!
• Boldore (x3): some strong Rock types just in case!
• Rhydon: the attack of this Pokémon, thanks to the right nature, was astronomical!
• Golbat: potentially a super fast Pokémon, but the evolution through happiness is a big letdown in this kind of run.
• Petilil (x2): some fast Sunny Day users, just like Bellossom but better!
• Roselia: another Grass type that enticed me, but that I wasn't sure how to use.
• Scrafty: Dark and Fighting is a very good type combination to have, so I caught one in Victory Road!
• Reuniclus: somewhat of a big disappointment, as it just didn't learn enough moves for me to put on my team.
• Garchomp: incredibly strong but apparently... not enough for this hack. The problem was mostly with the defenses, actually.
• Druddigon: almost a better Garchomp, just much slower.
• Durant: a Bug type sounded useful, so I kept this one around.
• Cofagrigus: it gains the Steel type in this hack, but even with that added bonus I found a different Ghost type to use...
• Dusclops: see above!
• Golurk: see above!
• Hariyama: Fighting types are almost mandatory to have now!
• Lombre (x2) / Ludicolo: stats may look a bit underwhelming, but it's for that incredibly useful Water and Grass double type that I picked this Pokémon. It filled in lots of different roles, all the while dancing spasmodically.
• Haunter / Gengar: after the right kind of training, this thing did incredible damage even while being a few levels behind everyone else. Very useful against the champion's Serperior, too, and for tricking Marshal into missing Hi Jump Kick. I kept the utterly useless Dream Eater in its moveset to gain a level bonus, but in hindsight I could've done without!
• Gurdurr / Conkeldurr: at first it left me perplexed, but it was able to take just enough damage while still having a totally crazy attack stat. Didn't even need to add much coverage, as its Fighting type moves were all I needed it for - it had one job, and it excelled at it.

 

[Janp]

The Halloween Event in Pokémon Alpha Sapphire

PART 4

​

i really need to pick up some tempo to finish this game. I spent way too long playing with DexNav trying to get Aron with boosted level. But it was annoying more than anything, so I caught one random Aron I encountered and moved on.

This part was pretty long on it's own and adding more DexNav hunting made it almost unbearable. But it was my choice to play with DexNav. At least it was worth it. I got Numel and Grimer, both with boosted level, in Fiery Path. Grimer even held Black Sludge. Then I caught Machop at level 19 to have something against Norman.

I also had to box Pestalozzi, which could make Flannery hard, but Numel learned Eart Power in battle with Team Aqua, so I just one-shot everythingshe sent in my way and got another badge. Oh and Montessori evolved into Golbat somewhere between Fiery Path and Fallarbor Town and then into Crobat after a battle against Archie.

Oh and I switched my team a little bit and will have to catch new Pokémon, since my early game squad is getting to their level limit.

Team

Montessori, Bold Female Crobat
lvl 29 (11), Inner Focus
- Bite
- Confuse Ray
- Wing Attack
- Poison Fang

Locke, Docile Male Alakazam
lvl 31 (12), Synchronize
- Psybeam
- Teleport
- Disable
- Reflect

Bondar, Docile Female Plusle
lvl 28 (12), Plus
- Quick Attack
- Electro Ball
- Spark
- Copycat

Decroly, Brave Female Aron
lvl 24 (12), Sturdy
- Rock Tomb
- Mud-Slap
- Rock Smash
- Iron Head

Clarke, Naive Female Grimer
lvl 29 (24), Sticky Hold
- Sludge Bomb
- Haze
- Mud Bomb
- Minimize

Ward, Jolly Female Numel
lvl 30 (25), Oblivious
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Amnesia
- Curse

Level in () means the met level

Box

Boxed because of Honest

 

[Janp]

The Halloween Event in Pokémon Alpha Sapphire

PART 5

​

Before I update everyone, I realized there is no gameplay between Flannery and Norman, so I went ahead and beat him.

Before I could even challenge him, I had to box Locke because of level limit and I put Machop on my team. I didn't want to lose time leveling it, so I just put it on my team and went straight to Norman. I started with Montessori and I was lucky enough to poison with Slaking with Poison Fang. I also confused it with Confuse Ray and then waited until poison took care of Slaking. I then switched to Bondar to fight against Vigoroth and once again was lucky enough to paralyze it with Spark. Vigoroth barely moved, before it was hit hard with Electro Ball and fainted. I then went back to Montessori to second Slaking and poisoned it with first Poison Fang. I then confused it again with Confuse Ray and I don't it even hit me once before fainting.

Sadly, Montessory hit level 31 with this win, so I had to box it. I think I'll go to the desert to get Cacnea and probably get one fossil Pokémon too. I can't remember which level they are revived though. And I might use Latias, since that's something I never used before.

Team

Bondar, Docile Female Plusle
lvl 30 (12), Plus
- Quick Attack
- Electro Ball
- Spark
- Copycat

Decroly, Brave Female Aron
lvl 26 (12), Sturdy
- Rock Tomb
- Mud-Slap
- Rock Smash
- Iron Head

Clarke, Naive Female Grimer
lvl 31 (24), Sticky Hold
- Sludge Bomb
- Haze
- Mud Bomb
- Minimize

Ward, Jolly Female Numel
lvl 31 (25), Oblivious
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Amnesia
- Curse

Dewey, Gentle Male Machop
lvl 24 (19), No Guard
- Foresight
- Low Sweep
- Knock Off
- Revenge
Level in () means the met level

Box

Boxed because of Honest

 

[Janp]

Spoiler:

Now the rule I got was Fire and Electric can't level up as much as others. I'm now thankful that I didn't find a Mareep. Anyhow I make my way towards Slowpoke Well and wipe the place out. I then go to the gym and fail the first time cause his Scyther kept using Quick Attack and he sent it out first. But, third time was a charm. Used Poison Powder with Chikorita and thankfully Scyther didn't use U-Turn. Then I just wrapped and poison stalled Scyther and then the rest of the team was an easy sweep.

Team!

Nickname: Oleander
Level Caught At:5
Level:12
Moveset:
-Tackle
-Synthesis
-Poison Powder
-Razor Leaf
Held Item:N/A
Ability:Overgrow
Nature:Hasty
Stats:
HP:35
Attack:19
Defense:18
Special Attack:18
Special Defense:23
Speed:20

Nickname:Slithers
Level Caught At:4
Level:17
Moveset:
-Wrap
-Screech
-Poison Sting
-Bite
Held Item:N/A
Ability:Intimidate
Nature:Jolly
Stats:
HP:41
Attack:26
Defense:25
Special Attack:18
Special Defense:26
Speed:26

2/8

​

Ruleset Update!

💀 Pok3pals / Badge 2:
Forest's Curse - Grass, Poison and Flying-type Pokémon on your team lose 10 levels from the level limit. (Pokémon who have 2 of these types at the same time, such as Bulbasaur, still lose 10 levels).

💀 Janp / Badge 4 & 5:
Hexed Hands - Held items can no longer be used.
You are not prepared! - Each Pokémon currently on your team loses 5 levels from their level limit, unless it knows at least one Ghost-type move.

 

[Phye]

Well finally getting around to continue this challenge! ;D Was busy this week but nothing much happened between the sixth and seventh badge. I did however notice I could capture a litwick in a premier ball which would grant me +10 levels on it eventually after it evolves, so that's something. Cleared the Frost Cavern and then went directly to fight the gymleader.

Escavalier hit the level limit just before the gym leader unfortunately but I managed to beat her anyway. This challenge is preventing me from clearing all trainers as to not risk getting to the level limit too early. xD

Seventh Badge get!

Current Team:.

Spoiler:

 

[Eleanor]

Spoiler:

Well finally getting around to continue this challenge! ;D Was busy this week but nothing much happened between the sixth and seventh badge. I did however notice I could capture a litwick in a premier ball which would grant me +10 levels on it eventually after it evolves, so that's something. Cleared the Frost Cavern and then went directly to fight the gymleader.

Escavalier hit the level limit just before the gym leader unfortunately but I managed to beat her anyway. This challenge is preventing me from clearing all trainers as to not risk getting to the level limit too early. xD

Seventh Badge get!

Current Team:.

Spoiler:

Ruleset Update!

💀 Yuna / Badge 7:
Telepathy - All Psychic-type Pokémon currently on your team gain 5 more levels for their level limit.

Gotta make more updates to make sure people can finish their runs in time, right?