[Challenge] The Randomized Nuzlocke Challenge

I started the game and my starters were *drumroll noise in the background*

Wurmple


Kyogre (heh heh)


Alakazam


Wurmple sucks, Alakazam gets crappy moves by level up in gen 3
So Kyogre it is.
My starter is Nemo the Kyogre

I went up and fought May who had an Alakazam (thanks to the rival carries starter setting)

I returned to the town and got pokeballs.

I went into the grass on route 101 and got my first encounter which was a:
Remoraid


Since i knew i was gonna kill it if i attacked, i just threw pokeballs until the last one caught it.
I then added to my team Carl the Remoraid

I went north of olsdale town to route 103 to get an encounter, (after buying some more pokeballs of course)

My encounter was a:
vulpix

which i proceeded to throw pokeballs at until i caught it after 2 throws
I now have on my team, Patricia the Vulpix.

I then went west to route 102
My encounter was:
Koffing

I damaged him with Patricia and caught it in one throw

I now have on my team Bertha the Koffing

Nemo the Kyogre Lvl 8

Moves:
Water Pulse
Scary Face

Carl the Remoraid Lvl 6

Moves:
Water Gun

Patricia the Vulpix Lvl 6

Moves:
Ember
Tail Whip

Bertha the Koffing Lvl 6

Moves:
Poison Gas
Tackle

As my rival then chose Farfetch'd, I almost got bodied right away. Luckily, a combination of a Potion and him getting hurt by confusion meant that I survived the debut battle into my adventure.

After running a random errand for the PokeMart guy and getting a parcel back to Prof. Oak, we're now gifted 5 PokeBalls so our challenge/journey is officially underway.

My first encounter on Route 1 was a although I don't think it wanted to join my team because it kinda got rekt by my Barrage which decided to hit 4 times with a crit in there aswell. So, not off to the best of starts but hopefully we can get plenty of other encounters in the routes to come to make up for it.

Onto Route 22 and my first encounter here is a Lv3 named Amarillo.

I'm clearly not ready for another rival battle yet so I guess I should take a little walk and see what teammate I can find.
Onwards to Route 2 and I come across a Lv2 named Rocket.

After getting my newest members caught up a little bit, it's time to take on our Rival on Route 22. In comes our rival Lazy Gary :P
This time around he had the Farfetch'd at Lv9 aswell as a Smeargle at Lv9. Not as much of an issue for me to win this time around.

Now that I've survived my second brawl with Lazy Gary, I guess it's time to wander through the woods and investigate what is usually the realm of bugs.
As it turns out, some bugs do still call Viridian Forest home as my first encounter here was a Lv4 named Beasting. He can go and sit in the PC for now though as I don't really wanna be training up too many Pokemon at once.

After a little bit of grinding the levels up, it's now time to take our first step towards the Pokemon League by facing Brock aka Man Jessica.

He has a Lv12 Drowzee and a Lv14 Gloom which Mrs.Burns dealt with nice and easily.

Now that we've collected the Boulderbadge and TM39 which was randomized to Sharpen, it's time for us to move on and see what else awaits us in this crazy world.

Well, while working our way through the trainers on Route 3, a trainer decided to throw a Critical Hit Vital Throw my way from a Makuhita which Amarillo didn't appreciate very much. Can't believe we've lost our first member of the squad already :(
Looks like I may end up getting Beasting out of the PC unless I can find a good encounter soon. Let's see what happens!

My encounter over on Route 3 is a Lv6 named Lola. Just so Beasting doesn't get too lonely, I guess Lola can join him in the PC for the time being.

Picked up a nice and powerful Lv5 called Drogon (forgot to actually give it a name but will do when I get to the name rater) for $500 from the Magikarp guy.

Into Mt.Moon we go. Normally an annoying cave with Zubats everywhere but hopefully that's not the case here.
My first encounter here turned out to be a Lv9 named Gunk.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened inside Mt.Moon....... except for the fact I found a MASTERBALL ^^ (That should come in handy later on in the game!)
I also decided to pick the Helix Fossil instead of the Dome Fossil. Not that it makes a huge difference anyway because they'll be randomized plus we don't get them resurrected for an eternity yet.

Worked my way through Mt.Moon and now just have one quick stop to get an encounter in Route 4 before heading to Cerulean City.
My Route 4 encounter turned out to be a Lv10 named fatbat. She can also join the PC squad for now as I already have a few mons plus Gunk already has the primary Poison typing.

Quickly levelled my team upto Lv15 (Gunk to Lv16) so that I'm ready to face rival Lazy Gary once again.
This time around he had a LvLv17 Rhyhorn, Lv16 Treecko, Lv15 Kirlia & Lv18 Farfetch'd.

After defeating all those trainers who are randomly stood on a bridge, I went upto Route 24 to grab an encounter which was a Lv9 but I accidentally killed it.
Right across to Route 25 to pick up another encounter on the way to Bill's place. After coming across a Kakuna (which is species clause) I found a Lv14 named Krystal.

A trainer on Route 25 managed to build up an Ice Ball from a Spheal and took out Gunk :( Losing 2 Pokemon already is making me feel like a bad trainer :(

Worked my way through all the trainers in Route 25 to get my team to Lv18 ready to face off against Misty aka Man Lawrence.

She has a Lv18 Staryu (not sure why this wasn't randomized) & a Lv21 Shiftry.

Now that we've collected the Cascadebadge and TM03 Bubblebeam (which also wasn't randomized for some reason) it's time to make our way towards Vermillion.

Lv4 (Beasting)
Lv6 (Lola)
Lv10 (fatbat)

Lv13 (Amarillo)
Lv17 (Gunk)

Now that we've got our 2nd gym badge, it's time to move forward and see what adventures we can delve into next.
My Route 5 encounter was a Lv13 named Destroyer.
Levelled him upto Lv16 before continuing our journey so he's ready to join the squad. That's means he's now evolved into a nice and powerful . I also have the Moon Stone ready to evolve him but waiting until he learns Horn Attack at 22.

The Trainer at the Underground pass wanted me to hand over a Rayquaza for a Corsola. Even if I had one, I'm not sure I'm getting the better deal here :P

My Route 11 encounter was a Lv12 named Storage.
Took a wander into Diglett's Cave and found myself a Lv18 named NightWing.

Time to work my way through the SS.Anne while grind for Gym #3.
Bumped into Rival Lazy Gary who was probably upto new good.
He faced me with a Lv19 Houndour, Lv18 Sneasel, Lv20 Farfetch'd, Lv16 Vigoroth
That battle helped Destroyer get to Lv22 to learn Horn Attack so now time to use that good old Moon Stone and turn him into the monster that is .

Snagged a Lv5 named Luna by fishing in Vermillion.

I guess it's about time that I went and had a fight with the guy formerly known as Lt. Surge but now known as Man Max.
He came to battle with a Lv21 Bulbasaur, Lv24 Wailord and a Lv18 female Nidoran.
After admitting defeat he handed over the Thunderbadge aswell as TM34 which was randomized to Thunder (so a nice and relevant TM in comparison to his usual theme).

Route 9 encounter is a Lv15 Wingull which got rekt by a Mega Drain. Right onto the Route 10 encounter which is a Lv13 named SirKit. Then over to Rock Tunnel for our next encounter which is a Lv16 named Hydra.

Time to go visit Rival Lazy Gary in the Pokemon Tower. This time around he faces me with a Lv25 Oddish, Lv22 Snorunt, Lv20 Azumarill, Lv25 Farfetch'd and Lv23 Flaaffy

Caught a Lv17 named Jewel
Caught a Lv19 named Spikes
Picked up a Lv25 named Rowena in place of the gift Eevee in Celadon

Battled my way through all the Rockets in the Game Corner to find myself facing top brass Giovanni. Let's make him blast off.
He has a Lv25 Volbeat, Lv24 Omanyte and Lv29 Charizard

Time to get our 4th badge by taking on Leader Erika aka Man Cristiano.
She brought a Lv29 Haryiama, Lv24 Sharpedo and a Lv29 Shuckle.
She reluctantly hands over the Rainbowbadge and TM19 which got randomized to Earthquake ^^

Lv4 (Beasting)
Lv6 (Lola)
Lv10 (fatbat)
Lv12 (Storage)
Lv18 (NightWing)
Lv5 (Luna)
Lv13 (SirKit)
Lv16 (Hydra)
Lv17 (Jewel)
Lv19 (Spikes)
Lv25 (Rowena)

Lv13 (Amarillo)
Lv17 (Gunk)

Now that we've picked up the Silph Scope, it's time to go and check out what may be hiding in the Pokemon Tower.
First encounter there is a Lv20 Haunter which killed itself with Curse before I could catch it :(

As I working my way through the Rockets atop the Pokemon Tower, Krystal hit Lv30 and evolved so now we finally have a

Mr.Fuji handed my the PokeFlute so time to head south and see what the Snorlax is randomized into.
Survey says - a Lv30 which I caught and named Ralphy

Working my way through the trainers on Route 14 when I accidentally stay in vs a Mankey who crit Karate Chops my and kills him :(

Route 14 encounter is a Lv23 named Frenchie
Route 15 encounter is a Lv27 named Squeaks
Went down to the edge of Route 19 and fished for a Lv17 Beldum which used Take Down until it rekt itself -_-
Route 18 encounter is a Lv24 Bulbasaur which I couldn't catch because I ran out of Pokeballs and I'm not using the Masterball on it :P
Safari Zone encounter is a Lv25 Houndour which was also a fail -_-
Route 17 encounter is a Lv22 Rattata which I accidentally killed
The Snorlax next to Celadon City got randomized into a Lv30 named Herbert
Fished in Celadon and found a Lv25 Tyrogue but critted it
Route 16 encounter is a Lv20 Ledyba which also got rekt. Ugh!
Bringing Jewel the to the party to fill the void of losing Rocket. Time to level her up a little bit and get ready for the next gym battle
Got Jewel upto Lv34 first so she could learn Crabhammer earlier before evolving into

Time to finish off the rest of the trainers between Lavender and Fushia and then I should be good to take on Koga
Yet another trainer on Route 14 took down one of my Pokemon. A Selfdestruct from a Forretress to take down Destroyer the :(

Fishing in Fuschia City got me a Lv23 named Perri
Perri can join the team right away. Time to lvl up, I guess...
Perri has now evolved into

Now that my team is at Lvs36/37, I think it's time to go and take on Koga
Koga aka Man Webster faces me with a team of Lv37 Rhyhorn, Lv37 Grimer, Lv39 Venusaur and Lv43 Clefable
Upon defeating him, I was gifted the Soul Badge aswell as TM06 which is randomized to Wish.

Working my way through Silph Co. dealing with all these pesky Rockets yet again. Bumping into the rival Lazy Gary once again with a team of Lv37 Scizor, Lv38 Beautifly, Lv35 Scyther, Lv40 Farfetch'd and Lv35 Lileep

Instead of being given a Lapras, I was given a which I named Wrecker

Time to face off against Giovanni aka Analyst Mallorie with his team of Lv37 Unown, Lv35 Tentacruel, Lv41 Gyarados and Lv37 Slowpoke

Let's move right onto Jasmine aka Man Pi with a Lv38 Beautifly, Lv37 Fearow, Lv43 Glalie and Lv38 Sneasel
Even though she didn't see the defeat coming, I saw it coming that she'd hand over the Marshbadge aswell as TM04 which is randomized into Eruption

Before finishing this update, I'll go and beat up all of those karate guys in the Dojo.
The gift Pokemon in the dojo are really underwhelming. Hitmonlee was randomized into Seedot and Hitmonchan was randomized into Surskit which I already have so I guess I'm picking which I'm naming George

Lv4 (Beasting)
Lv6 (Lola)
Lv10 (fatbat)
Lv12 (Storage)
Lv18 (NightWing)
Lv5 (Luna)
Lv13 (SirKit)
Lv16 (Hydra)
Lv19 (Spikes)
Lv25 (Rowena)
Lv30 (Ralphy)
Lv23 (Frenchie)
Lv27 (Squeaks)
Lv30 (Herbert)
Lv25 (Wrecker)
Lv25 (George)

Lv13 (Amarillo)
Lv17 (Gunk)
Lv31 (Rocket)
Lv33 (Destroyer)

As I Surf towards Cinnabar Island, I encounter a Lv8 named Lizzie
Came across a Lv27 in Seafoam Island named Weezer
Route 21 encounter is a Lv23 named FlameOn
Now I've made it over to Cinnabar, time to see what these fossils are randomized into.
Helix Fossil is randomized into which I named fatbat
Old Amber got randomized into which I named Julie
First encounter in Pokemon Mansion is a Lv32 named BloodyMary

After making my way through Pokemon Mansion and grabbing the secret key, it's time to move onto the gym.
This time we face off against Blaine aka Man Jessica who has a team of Lv42 Aron, Lv40 Ariados, Lv47 Donphan and a Lv42 Politoed

Blaine's Donphan took down our with a Rollout :(
After defeating him he hands over the Volcanobadge aswell as TM38 which is randomized into Return.

Time to bring BloodyMary the onto the team. Shame I can't evolve it though.

Bill seems to want me to help out over at the Sevii Islands so I guess that's where I'm heading next and will hopefully pick up some great encounters over there.

On Kindle Road I encounter a Lv37 named Xiaoyu
Mt Ember encounter is a Lv40 named Bloat
Made my way to the top of Mt Ember to find Moltres randomized into which I straight off Masterball'd. I don't nickname legends though so it'll be staying as Zapdos

Over to Two Island and heading to Cape Brink to encounter a Lv30 which I killed.
After trying to speak to the guy in the Game Corner on Two Island, I guess I've gotta go over to Three Island to find his daughter and deal with some unruly Bikers before moving on.
Came across a Lv32 on Bond Bridge which couldn't handle a Mega Drain so no new partner for me here
Came across a Lv30 in Berry Forest named RedSkull
went down to a wild Arbok in Berry Forest when I couldn't escape :(
Bringing to the team so gonna have to level him up a little before taking on the final gym
Only took one level for RedSkull to evolve so now we have a on the team

Now that I've got my team upto Lv45/46, I guess it's time to make my way through the final gym.

This time, Giovanni aka Man Mallorie faces me with his team consisting of Lv45 Rhyhorn, Lv42 Ledian, Lv44 Golbat, Lv50 Koffing and Lv45 Ninjask

For defeating him he hands over the Earthbadge aswell as TM26 which randomized into Light Screen -_-

Now to head over to Victory Road and the Pokemon League. Before that though, it looks like Rival Lazy Gary wants another fight.
This time he has Lv47 Misdreavus, Lv45 Farfetch'd, Lv45 Sableye, Lv45 Cubone, Lv47 Forretress and Lv53 Farfetch'd

In-between all the badge checks I encounter a Lv40 which gets rekt by a crit Confusion
First encounter in Victory Road is a Lv32 which I accidentally ran away from

A random trainer in Victory Road had a Jirachi, so that marks the first time a trainer has used a legendary mon against me. Faced a Registeel not long afterwards aswell. I'm guessing there's probably a good chance of facing at least 1 legendary during my Elite Four battles

Time for some final training before facing the Elite Four
Was gonna add to the team but that died to a crit Ice Punch while grinding so just a team of 5 for me then

Lv4 (Beasting)
Lv6 (Lola)
Lv10 (fatbat)
Lv12 (Storage)
Lv18 (NightWing)
Lv5 (Luna)
Lv13 (SirKit)
Lv16 (Hydra)
Lv19 (Spikes)
Lv25 (Rowena)
Lv30 (Ralphy)
Lv23 (Frenchie)
Lv27 (Squeaks)
Lv30 (Herbert)
Lv25 (Wrecker)
Lv25 (George)
Lv8 (Lizzie)
Lv27 (Weezer)
Lv23 (FlameOn)
Lv5 (fatbat)
Lv5 (Julie)
Lv37 (Xiaoyu)
Lv40 (Bloat)

Lv13 (Amarillo)
Lv17 (Gunk)
Lv31 (Rocket)
Lv33 (Destroyer)
Lv43 (Krystal)
Lv34 (BloodyMary)
Lv51 (Zapdos)

Time to take on this Elite Four + Champion and hopefully make it out through the other side.

First up is Lorelei aka Nurse Anne.
Her team consists of a Lv52
Lv54
Lv54
Lv51
Lv52


Next up is Bruno aka Nurse Max.
He faces me with a team of Lv51
Lv54
Lv53
Lv53
Lv56


Up next is Agatha aka Nurse Jasmine.
She battles me with a team of Lv54
Lv53
Lv54
Lv58
Lv56

Perri the goes down to a Slash from Ursaring after having her defence lowered :(


Now time to face Lance aka Nurse Landon.
He fires at me with a team of Lv56
Lv58
Lv54
Lv54
Lv60


Finally, we get to face our rival Lazy Gary once again but this time with his being the Pokemon League Champion. Hopefully not for long though.
He faces me with a team of Lv59
Lv57
Lv61
Lv59
Lv63
Lv59

Drogon the goes down to a crit Thrash from Nidoking on the second hit :(
Jewel the went down to a Swords Dance'd Slash from Farfetch'd :(


How I made it through that is beyond me. I should definitely add a couple more levels next time around :P
Mrs.Burns the with her Hypnosis was absolutely clutch against Farfetch'd. If I hadn't landed that as much, there's no chance I'd have made it ^^


Shame that only 2 of that team made it through but I'm just glad to have completed it after Gary started wrecking me -_-

Lv13 (Amarillo)
Lv17 (Gunk)
Lv31 (Rocket)
Lv33 (Destroyer)
Lv43 (Krystal)
Lv34 (BloodyMary)
Lv51 (Zapdos)
Lv54 (Perri)
Lv53 (Drogon)
Lv54 (Jewel)

Good gad, the choices for starters were Mr. Mime, Dragonite, and Zapdos. Took Zeus the Zapdos because Mr. Mime is the worst starter, so naturally I want to bestow it upon my beloved rival.

Route 22 yields Taurus the Tauros, Route 2 yields Sham the Shellder, and Viridian Forest yields Victory the Victreebel, which forced me to use a Potion because it wouldn't climb in the ball fast enough. I brutalize the local wildlife for a couple of levels before challenging my rival, who has nothing more than a Rattata and his starter. Guess how well that works against a Zapdos.

The only thing a Zapdos hates are Rock and Ice types, so Victory and Taurus get some training while I get to Pewter. Fortunately, because this isn't a move-randomization Nuzlocke and it is similar-strengths, I don't have to worry about Rock or Ice from Trainers until L16 or so, when Geodudes start having Rock Throw.

Brock has a Slowpoke and an Onix and thus is a dreadful pushover for a Zapdos and a Victreebel.

Miss a chance to get a Magneton before Mt. Moon because I forgot to get more PokeBalls. On the other hand, with a Zapdos, I'm not dying without it.

Magikarp Salesman has now drastically upgraded his inventory and is selling Eevees; it will likely become a Flareon, since my chances of not getting a decent Water-type in Kanto before Celadon are... slim. I name Flare appropriately and go on my way.

It turns out Snorlaxes do live in the mountains, because one greets me the moment I step into Mt. Moon. Hypnos is gleefully added to the team.

Nothing of note occurs through Mt. Moon, and the Cerulean Gym is unexciting. Misty seems to have become a Ground Gym Leader, with Graveler and Nidoking, but Victory dispatched them in short order. A decent Water-type makes itself known with the appearance of Painless the Slowpoke outside of Cerulean City.

It appears my rival also visited the Salesman, because he leads with an Eevee, followed by a Shellder, a Spearow, and his starter. Zeus solos both him and Nugget Bridge, because, well, Zapdos. (In fact, Zeus also solos the rest of the way to Bill, because Zapdos.) Oddly the Oddish and Aaron the Arbok join on Routes 24 and 25, respectively. They will probably be permanent box residents unless I really screw up with Victory.

Phaser the Fearow shows up on the route below Cerulean, because it didn't get the notice I already had a Flying-type. It joins the box anyway.

Venerable the Venusaur, above Vermillion, similarly failed to get the notice I already had a Grass/Poison type. It may NOT be permaboxed, depending on if I get horrendous luck with Victory.

Bernie the Sandshrew shows up in Diglett's Cave, and, to my surprise, already has Slash. It hastily gets a spot on the team at Sham's expense. East of Vermillion, we find a displaced Diglett that, unfortunately, did not endure a Headbutt from Hypnos. Oops. Here's how Bernie can still win?

This time, my rival has a Grimer, a Magnemite, a Dodrio, and, of course, his starter. Suffice to say, the captain is soon cured and the S.S. Anne departs.

Bernie unfortunately shows poorly in the polls when he winds up with 1 HP after a critcial hit. He retires to the benches for his 2020 run while I slog through the least fortunate part of any Pokemon run, namely the wretched garbage cans.

Surge runs on a platform of Make Weaklings Great Again, but nothing can save a team of a Psyduck, a Mankey, and a Magmar. On the plus side, it had a snowball's chance in Mt. Ember of actually dealing some damage to a Ground Pokemon, so it's better than his usual lineup.

Palm the Exeggutor enlists before Rock Tunnel. While it's unlikely to see use, Gen 1 Psychics ARE Gen 1 Psychics, and it's not like I'm likely to have much other use for the Mega Drain and Psychic TMs.

As though in answer, Mors the Hypnos signs up in Rock Tunnel. I can afford to stuff my team with Psychics because Gen 1 has no concept of "balance" and the only things Psychics will have to fear are A) freak high-level Beedrills with Twineedle (which should be taken out by Zeus long before a Psychic sees them) or B) freak Jolteons with Pin Missile (here's how Bernie can still win a spot on the team).

At Lavender, my rival has a Grimer, Seel, Zapdos... Zapdos?
Cheater! Stick with the one you actually picked!
Ahem. Well, after mine dispatches the impostor, I discover he's kept his Dodrio as well as his starter. Hm, wonder how long that'll last. Zeus avenges the slight to its honor by mowing through his team.

Speaking of imposters, the man who normally gives out Eevees instead has a Mr. Mime. I'm not THAT hard up for Psychics, thanks. Mimen heads to the PC.

Once in Celadon, I load up on drinks, get HM02 for Zeus, and head to the Gym. Erika is sporting a Kabutops, Seaking, and Kadabra, all of which are mowed down in short order.

Since this is dry, I skip leveling and just sprint for a bit. Giovanni carries a Machoke, a Lickitung, and a Pidgeot. Unfortunately, his faith in Bird Jesus is incomplete, and so he is ground to dust.

Just for fun, and because I can actually afford it this time, I pull my usual dumb stunt of entering the Fighting Dojo. With a Legendary in tow, I demolish the leader's Wigglytuff and Ponyta (is that supposed to have "similar strength" to Hitmonchan? Ouch), and inspect my choices. Hitmonlee remains in place, but Hitmonchan was apparently such a disgrace that it was replaced by Poliwhirl. Ouch. I take Hitmonlee because, as I said, Zeus hates Ice and Rock, which conveniently make good kickboxing practice. Mega Kick, named in honor of the thing that killed my Hypno in a recent Nuzlocke, joins the team.

Apparently Lavender Town isn't haunted - it's just the hallucinations induced by the fumes rising from the local Muk population. I name one Ooze and put it in storage. I ascend the tower, which is infested by hippies having really bad trips, and meet Cubone's mother, a Haunter. Seems legit. After beating the tar out of some Rockets, I receive the PokeFlute and go to wake up the thing snoring on the way to Cycling Road. It turns out to be a Slowbro - again, oddly fitting - and I replace Painless the Slowpoke with its older brother YadSothoth.

For the heck of it, I pick up the other "Snorlax" by the Sports Fishing Area, and it disappointingly turns out to be a mere Goldeen. I put Goldy away for posterity, because I'm vaguely terrified by a goldfish large enough to block an entire road.

Unfortunately Mors the Hypno dies to an exploding Golem on Cycling Road.

That's really regrettable, especially as this setup had no need for death. Better Mors than one of my more precious Pokemon, I suppose.

Martel the Kingler joins in Safari Zone, and I get the appropriate HMs. Hypnos the Snorlax and YadSothoth the Slowbro appreciate the boost.

Koga has a Rhyhorn, a Kingler, a Growlithe, and a Rapidash. Nonetheless, all fall before Zeus, and we end the current leg of our journey in Fuchsia, readying for Silph Co.

Silph proves as EXP-rich as hoped, taking Hypnos to L30, Mega Kick to L31, YadSothoth to L33, and Victory to L34.

Rival is carting a Clefable, a Beedrill, a Hypno, a Kabutops, and his starter, all of which fall over in short order. I'd like to make this more exciting, but it really is a walkover. :D;; Lapras turns out to be a mere Star the Staryu.

Giovanni shows up with a Seel, Snorlax, Grimer, and Kadabra, proving he can't get a good team even in a randomizer.

Sabrina led with an Electrode, leading me to swap frantically around my Pokemon to try to soak what was coming without being under Screech. Sure enough, on the fourth turn, it blew up, taking a third of YadSothoth's HP with it. Knew it. Next was a Seaking - far less terrifying, and Victory took it out. The Victreebel followed by dispatching a Raichu, then swapped out to YadSothoth to handle a Rapidash.

Terrestrial matters handled, we headed down from Pallet, caught Leek the Farfetch'd, and learned that the Dome Fossil is actually a fossilized Nidoqueen. Cinnabar Mansion's first encounter was a GOLEM RUN AWAY RUN THE HECK AWAY

Stark existential terror aside, we mosey on through Cinnabar Gym, getting levels as we go. Blaine has a Pidgeotto, Dragonair, Omastar, and Tauros. The Dragonair might be mildly worrisome if Gen 1 AI wasn't horribly broken, and so Victory beats it up with no problem.

Giovanni's last stand has a Staryu, a Muk, a Kadabra, another Kadabra, and a Chansey. Nothing is sufficient. Rival, meanwhile, carries a Haunter, a Beedrill, a Bellsprout (Bellsprout?! At this point in the game?!), a Flareon, a Snorlax, and his starter. Nothing suffices to take down the steamroller.

Victory Road's first encounter is A WEEZING?! WHY. Ahem. Suffice to say, no catches. I make it to Indigo Plateau for the checkpoint, then decide to put on a Max Repel and see what "Zapdos" is. It is... an Onix. Well, L50 is L50, so I catch Olly the Onix and take it along.

A grinding session commences. I buy Hyper Potion x52 and Full Heal x30, then head in with most around L41-45, because why not, right? (Frankly, I know from past experience that random!E4 is generally much weaker than real!E4, because the custom movesets are shot and early gens have terrible default movesets, so this isn't as suicidal as it looks. Plus, I took 7 spare Rare Candies in case of emergency, which proved useful, as you'll see below.)

Lorelei has Aerodactyl, Omastar, Weepinbel, Muk, and Tentacruel.
Bruno has Magnemite, Porygon, Marowak, Omanyte, and Rapidash. The sight of a L42 Slowbro 2HKOing a L58 Rapidash, without boosts, makes me question game balance.
Agatha has Starmie, Kangaskhan, Kabutops, Machoke, and Cloyster. The last one proves irritating not on its own merits, but that of Gen 1 Clamp. YadSothoth struggles through. As a reward, it gets to gulp down two emergency Rare Candies, because I want to actually be able to set up Amnesia next time I get stuck like that.
Speak of the devil: Lance leads with Tentacruel, which lets me set up. Next is Butterfree, which proves INCREDIBLY annoying due to Gen 1's broken AI locking it into Sleep Powder. Suffice to say I am now an expert PokeFlute player. Graveler goes down to Surf, and Golduck and Omastar follow. I'm mildly confused how Fury Swipes took off three-quarters of YadSothoth's HP, but whatever, two Confusions took care of it.

Rival leads with Golduck, which makes me doubly confused because THIS one barely did any damage with Fury Swipes. I must have taken Defense reduction last time and not realized it. Next is Charizard, which immediately locks itself into Rage and provides set-up time. After that comes Electrode, which takes one look at a 3x Amnesia Slowbro and explodes, reducing YadSothoth to 81/158 HP. Next is a Hypno, which goes down in two Surfs. Next is an Alakazam... huh, SOMEONE likes Gen 1 Psychics. Fortunately it doesn't crit, so it goes down to two Surfs. Finally, Mr. Mime is not even dignified with my starter, but with four Confusions. (Yes, I forgot to ever pick up the Psychic TM. Not my brightest moment.)

And that is how the Champions for two regions (I still don't know how Lance ended up there) got taken out by an underleveled Slowbro. In fairness, Amnesia is downright stupid in Gen 1, so it was wandering around with ~400 Special. Still.

Hyper Potions used: 13
Full Heals used: 3 (but YadSothoth is poisoned)

Zeus
L49: Drill Peck|Thundershock|Fly
Met at Professor Oak's Lab

By far the team MVP. No real counters showed up in E4 (what about Lapras?) except for Cloyster, which was face-tanked by YadSothoth.

Hypnos
L38: Surf|Amnesia|Rest|Strength
Met at Mt. Moon

Never REALLY came in handy, due to YadSothoth also having Amnesia. Still, could have swept in a pinch.

Mega Kick
L42: Meditate|Strength|Double Kick|Jump Kick
Met at Fighting Dojo

Never saw much use, actually. Amnesia OP...

YadSothoth
L47: Surf|Confusion|Amnesia|Headbutt
Met as Cycling Road "Snorlax"

Truly Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Ludicrously good. Took out Pokemon 18 levels up. Slowpoke MVP.

Victory
L42: Razor Leaf|Wrap|Acid|Sleep Powder
Met at Viridian Forest

Great Pokemon, very solid, cheap as heck. Fell behind in the end due to sheer levels, but still took out a few E4 Pokemon.

Olly
L50: Strength|Rage|Screech|Rock Throw
"Zapdos"

Freeloader that never actually saw battle.

Okay, NidoranF, Delibird, or Tyrogue. Given that this is Gold, this is a choice between Stuck Unevolved, Feels Like It's Stuck Unevolved, and Actually Can Evolve. Tyson the Tyrogue joins.

Several game restarts then commence, as the wild is full of Steelixes, Scizors, Poliwraths, and so on. At last Tyson grinds to L6 off of Feraligatrs, making him pretty cool if he can actually survive.

To add insult to injury, we even make it to Prof. Oak's before nearly being killed by a HORSEA we can't run away from, finally escaping at 1 HP. Tyson grimly makes it to L7 and likely can face any challenge.

Fortunately I calculated correctly and Tyson faces a NidoranF, and two Potions later we're done. Yes, TWO. This will be rough.

I try to catch a Pupitar on Route 46 and fail. *sigh* Dark Cave similarly fails with Granbull, but I at last get a Sunkern from Route 31. Wait, a SUNKERN? Ugh. I also fail to get a Slowbro in Sprout Tower. I then proceed to lose my Sunkern to a crit from Falkner's Voltorb (after his Hoothoot didn't cut it), so so much for that.

I AGAIN fail to catch a Pupitar in Ruins of Aleph. I then throw up my hands, just run to Azalea, and... you guessed it... FAIL TO CATCH A PUPITAR IN ILEX FOREST.

At this point, I don't even think there are distinct Pupitars. It's been a female each time, too. I think it's one crazy stalker with a crush on Tyson.

Tyson turns into a Hitmonchan after grinding, doubling his stats. Meanwhile, MS Paint the Smeargle hatches from the egg.

Slowpoke Well actually yields a SUCCESSFUL catch with Goht the Graveler. Wonders never cease. I beat the Rockets, grind for a bit, and then prcoeed.

Rival has a Bulbasaur, a Zubat, and a Nidorina. I have a Graveler, so you can guess how that goes. Bugsy has a Cleffa, a Magikarp, and a Shuckle, all of which fall quickly.

I resurrect Sunkern's corpse to learn Cut.

KENYA turns out to be a Pidgeot, which is deeply appreciated at this time. Route 34 yields Shucks the Shuckle, and Route 35 Scientist the Scyther.

Whitney turns out to be easier than normal, with a Delibird and a Flareon.

Sudowoodo, meanwhile, is... L-L-Lord Helix?! What a pleasure to see you, milord!

As we hail Helix, we proceed to Ecruteak. Beneath Ecruteak, we meet NSIXTYFOUR the Porygon2 and get it, because TMs will just love it. Eevee, disappointingly, is Corsola - a decent Pokemon, but not much compared to LORD HELIX.

Rival is more competent than my Blue rival, with a Wartortle, Spearow, and Kabuto in addition to his starter. As such, he's still steamrolled. I find a cousin of his Wartortle in the Burned Tower, and Warrior goes to the PC. Amy the Arbok comes in west of Ecruteak.

Lord Helix brings the gospel to Morty, who sports a Geodude, Meganium, Togetic, and Charmeleon. Meganium proves a good testing ground for KENYA, who puts Sand Attack to good use as I pump Potions. So much for worst starter, that thing terrified me. Razor Leaf was doing a good chunk of damage WITHOUT crits.

Olivine's Pier yields up Mary the Mr. Mime, which must have gotten tossed in the drink for bad performances. The way to Cianwood has a Weezing, which, to my surprise, already knew Self-Destruct. Tyson dusted off his face and moved on.

We then go to Cianwood's Gym and OH COME ON FORRETRESS KNOWS SELF-DESTRUCT AT THIS LEVEL? AND IT DID IT FIRST TURN?

R.I.P. Tyson. Suplexed alligators only to come to this. *headdesk*

Chuck has decided that he might as well be a Water-type Gym Leader, and sports Quagsire and Tentacruel. Unfortunately, Tentacruel is really good, and so I lose Mary and MS PAINT to the sweep, but manage to hold out with Lord Helix.

Mourning the death of half my team, I obtain SHUCKIE the Haunter from the cowardly guy, and meet Bouncer the Wobbuffet above Olivine. Lighthouse adventures later, I'm ready to take on Jasmine.

She has an Oddish, Smoochum, and Slowking. The latter is very powerful, which is why it faints in short order when a L20 Bouncer shows up with Mirror Coat. I've never used a Wobbuffet before. It's awesome. <3

West of Mahogany, we get Liky the Lickitung. At Lake of Rage, Gyarados is...

...

OK, so the Transform glitch still exists in Gen II. I admit to cheating by restarting until I could catch it BEFORE it Transformed, but I view that as only fixing the glitch that gave me something other than my first encounter. >_>

Ahem. HAX the Shiny Mew joins the team.

I get Bernie the Sandslash from Rocket Hideout, but it seems Bernie can win only if the superdelegates select him over Goht. Pity. I clear out the rest of the Hideout without problems.

Pryce has a Bellsprout, a Sudowoodo, and a Miltank. I had a bad moment due to Miltank having Bide, but we pulled through.

Rocket Executive got crushed by Goht, and we head off to the Basement.

Our rival has Octillery, Parasect, Chikorita, Machoke, and Nidorina, or, in short, KENYA bait. We rescue the Director, save the day, and go off to Tin Tower. Llymic the Articuno has replaced Ho-Oh, and we find it's unfortunately better than KENYA in every way. A pity, because I like KENYA...

We grab VV the Weepinbell in Ice Path and Naking the Nidoking beneath Blackthorn. That out of the way, it's time for Clair, who has a Parasect, Azumarill, Gloom, and... Articuno?! Well, at least I know I'm not the only one abusing Legendary catch sites!

Ahem. She really wasn't that bad - honestly, the Parasect was most annoying when it put Llymic to sleep and spammed Slash. So I'll stop before Pokemon League, because it's now time for the Great Grinding Spree, and I'm having flashbacks to the reason I'm not the keenest on Johto Nuzlockes...

Bouncer
Counter|Mirror Coat|Safeguard|Destiny Bond
Most amusing Pokemon I've ever played.

SHUCKIE
Hypnosis|Lick|Night Shade|Mean Look
It's a Haunter. Nothing more to be said than 'I need to look up TM locations'.

Llymic
Powder Snow|Fly|Agility|Mind Reader
Beastly Articuno. Replaced KENYA, who's being kept on backup.

HAX
Pound|Mega Punch|Transform|Metronome
Not used much because I feel slightly guilty about it. Seriously, though, that's an obnoxious glitch.

Lord Helix
Surf|Bite|Withdraw|Constrict
Memes aside, very strong. I didn't realize it got Bite...

Goht
Strength|Rollout|Defense Curl|Magnitude
For whatever reason, Gravelers are always good in Johto, even in randomizers. Goht's served me very well.

Sammy
Died valiantly holding off Falkner.

Tyson
Had a Forretress go off in his face in Chuck's Gym.

MS PAINT
Died holding off Tentacruel sweep.

Mary
See above.

Wil was rather easy, with my counters working well on all his Pokemon. Koga was a bit rough because I expected his Hypno to fire off Psychics, but Bouncer dispatched him as soon as I went to Counter. Bruno's Gengar made matters briefly unpleasant, but my own dealt with it in short order, with aid from Thunderpunch and Ice Punch. Karen's Miltank Rolled Out and found that my Golem's Rollout was worse, followed by a slew of underpowered Pokemon; her Crobat attempted to stop the roll by Confusing Llymic, but that didn't work out for it.
Lance actually broke out the big leagues, with Lapras taking SHUCKIE to 1 HP before being put to sleep and Thunderpunched silly, Llymic facing off with an enemy Articuno, Lord Helix downing an Entei, a vivid and unpleasant Forretress flashback (no explosions this time, though), a Kingdra providing an interesting Clair reference, and an Exeggutor providing that crucial Ice weakness that Lance so loves to have.

Bouncer L37
Counter|Mirror Coat|Safeguard|Destiny Bond
Still most amusing Pokemon I've ever played. Being able to KO Pokemon just by bouncing damage back at them is revenge on every single high-damage foe I've ever faced.

SHUCKIE L41
Hypnosis|Dream Eater|Thunderpunch|Ice Punch
So SHUCKIE grew up and got fists. Hilarity ensued.

Llymic L45
Powder Snow|Fly|Agility|Mind Reader
Hilarious. Even more hilariously: I looked up Battle Maison/Tree rules, and indeed, it is legitimate for the Nuzlocke thread...

HAX L30
Pound|Mega Punch|Transform|Metronome
Not actually used, which I suppose is a good thing, since it's against Battle Maison rules. Well, it's a Shiny Mew. It exists for itself.

Lord Helix L39
Surf|Bite|Protect|Constrict
Go-to Surf spammer. I only wish he had more Sp. Def, because that keeps me from using him more often.

Goht L41
Strength|Rollout|Defense Curl|Earthquake
Great for raw damage spam. Essentially is my "starter", since he's the oldest living Pokemon.

Surge: Rhydon, Nidoking, Magmar, Piloswine, and Dewgong.
Sabrina has an Aerodactyl, Piloswine (again?), and Ursaring. As such, her entire lineup is wiped by one Rollout.
Erika has Gligar, Slowking, Omastar, and Gengar.
Snorlax was an L50 Hoothoot, and becomes a L51 Noctowl with one Rare Candy.
Jasmine was not worth recording. Why IS she so weak?
Brock's Azumarill was nothing to write home about, but his Lapras committed voluntary suicide by Perish Song. Does that move have ANY use other than forcing switches? Especially if the AI can't figure out how to switch? His Magcargo was OHKOed by Surf even after an Amnesia, and his Seel and Tentacruel were similarly maltreated by Thunderpunch. Turning into a Water leader may not have been the best move.
Blaine has a nice, diverse team of Dugtrio, Typhlosion, and Dodrio, all of which are wiped by Surf.
Misty was a pest.
Blue had Victreebel, Arcanine, Forretress (no explosions), Suicune, Electrode, and Heracross.

RED

Red leads with a L81 Bellsprout, because good judgment is a lost art. Next is Ursaring, Blissey, Golduck (whose Hydro Pump spam was tanked by Llymic with much fright, since 10-20 HP was a common occurrence), Gyarados (wasted first turn on Rain Dance and was put to sleep, then Thunderpunched twice), and then Pinsir.
Unfortunately, Goht, who managed to survive the physical hits with aplomb, was Guillotined successfully. R.I.P. Llymic came in, and, surviving Submissions with about 13 HP, Flew the Pinsir to its grave.

…I knew I was tempting fate when I said Goht was the final survivor. Damn it.

SHUCKIE L54
Hypnosis|Dream Eater|Thunderpunch|Ice Punch
A terrifying monstrosity, best "Shuckle" ever. MVP after getting TMs. Awe-inducing queen of the world. SHUCKIE For President. She's not forcing me to write this, I swear. help

Llymic L47
Powder Snow|Fly|Agility|Mind Reader
Repeatedly tanked Hydro Pumps to the face by a Golduck 30 levels higher. Llymic enjoys fine wines, long walks on the beach, and duck-hunting season. Those interested may call 1-800-ICE-BIRD. That's 1-800-ICE-BIRD. Call now to receive a 50% discount on your Articuno today.

Bouncer L43
Counter|Mirror Coat|Safeguard|Destiny Bond
Fell behind due to poor grinding availability, but still a laugh riot.

Lord Helix L43
Surf|Bite|Protect|Constrict
Likewise. Still awesome, but poor typing detracted from use, especially against Red.

Jank L44
Psychic|Ice Punch|Mean Look|Body Slam
Space-filler caught in Mt. Silver. Wouldn't have been much use, but was there anyway.

Sammy
Died valiantly holding off Falkner.
Honestly speaking, an awful Pokemon, especially since I had no hope of Sun Stone. Nonetheless, it did meatshield me past the first Gym, making this run viable.

Tyson
Had a Forretress go off in his face in Chuck's Gym.
And he'd just learned the Punches, too.
Oh, Tyson. Suplexed alligators for exercise as a baby, only to die to a bomb. Also had several previous incarnations die in a variety of painful and embarrassing ways. A pity. I distinctly thought "Wow, a decent Hitmonchan!", but I guess the universe overheard... :( -_-;;

MS PAINT
Died holding off Tentacruel sweep.
Yeah, I had hopes of creating an uber!Smeargle, but that wasn't the case. :( Tentacruels are BRUTAL at low level. Dang.

Mary
See above.
No hopes here, but I at least expected it to last more than one city!

Goht
Died at L50 to a very poorly timed Guillotine from Red's final Pokemon. I knew I was tempting fate with that "oldest living Pokemon" comment. R.I.P., Goht. You were an awesome Golem. :(

KENYA L35
Fly|Sand-Attack|Whirlwind|Quick-Attack
Would have been on end team, if not for Articuno.

Victreebel, Seadra, or Haunter.
I pick Haunter because the TM learnsets are superior.

Route 22: Rhyhorn.
Route 2: Nidorina
Failed Viridian Forest catch (Kabuto).

Brock was absurdly easy, as none of his Pokemon could even touch Haunter.

Route 3: Charmeleon
Mt. Moon: Ponyta
Magikarp: Zubat
Route 4: Drowzee

Unfortunately, Drowzee then died in the Cerulean Rival fight against an enemy
Drowzee.

Route 24: Primeape
Route 25: Magmar

Misty had a Porygon and a Nidoking, neither of which could really touch Haunter.
It was slightly amusing for Nidoking to bust out Bubblebeam, though. A Gen 1
foe with coverage: must be a randomizer.

Below Cerulean: Poliwhirl
Above Vermillion: Paras
Diglett's Cave: Clefairy
Failed East Vermillion catch (Vileplume)

Rival had Grimer, Hitmonlee, Seadra, and Victreebel. I had Haunter.
Surge had Pidgeotto, Ditto, and Magneton. Pity that one spent all its time
asleep.

Before Rock Tunnel: accidentally criticaled Doduo.
Rock Tunnel: Ran out of balls on a BLASTOISE. DX

West of Lavender: Venonat
East of Celadon: Tangela

Eevee turned out to be Gengar. I'm not running Dupes Clause, so it's a welcome
addition.

The Fighting Dojo master ran Tentacool and Marowak, so I'm really not sure what
martial art he's into. And somehow a L37 Marowak can lose to a L28 Clefable.
I'm not complaining. I take his Dratini, because there is nothing more infernally
annoying in a Gen 1 randomizer than incessantly getting TWave+Wrapped.
Except the vagaries of leveling have overwritten Wrap, so... TWave spam is still
horrible to do to anyone but the AI. :)

Giovanni, true to form, had Graveler, Onix, and... Kadabra? Huh. Unfortunately
it used Teleport rather than actually fighting me.

Rival carried Slowpoke, Eevee, Vaporeon, something, and Victreebel. As you might
be able to tell, it wasn't a... spectacular battle.
Pokemon Tower: Machoke

Snorlax 1: Porygon
Snorlax 2: Tentacool
Cycling Road: Tentacruel
Outside Fuchsia: Dodrio
Safari Zone: ANOTHER Gengar

I suddenly remembered Erika existed and faced off against Rapidash, Raichu,
and Arcanine. Easy win. Haunter evolved soon after.

Koga packed Goldeen, Rhydon, Kabuto, and Nidoqueen. They were introduced to
Gengar's brand new Mega Drain.

Above Cinnabar gives Jolteon, and Pokemon Mansion gives Hitmonlee.

I lose one backup Gengar to the abrupt and unwelcome discovery that Geodudes
do in fact learn Earthquake naturally at high level. Oops. I legitimately forgot
that happened.

Dignity gone, I limp out of Cinnabar Gym. Blaine's Pokemon really were not
important. Hosting of When Switch-Grinding Goes Wrong aside...

I really only have one major fear: walking into an Alakazam encounter. I have
no counters whatsoever to the Zam.

Okay, I also need to ask why my Rival has a Zapdos.
One Haunter, Doduo, Zapdos, something, and Victreebel. Not so bad.

Legitimately, though, I have no counters to Alakazam.

Sabrina has Pinsir, Persian, Mr. Mime, and... Gyarados? Whatever. Just so long
as I don't walk into a barrage of Psybeam-Psybeam-Recover-Psybeam-Psychic.
Charmeleon finally evolves.

Giovanni has Growlite, Tentacool, Magneton, Slowbro, and Kadabra, and was soloed
by an underleveled Clefable.

Rival carries Snorlax (my archnemesis), Kabuto, Voltorb, Zapdos, and Victreebel.
I'm beginning to think he genuinely has a Zapdos. Oh, also Exeggutor.

Pre VRoad: Parasect
VRoad: Notified I couldn't get another Tangela because of a full box.


Entering team:
Ghast L44 Gengar
Hypnosis | Dream Eater | Night Shade | Mega Drain
Tiny L33 Dragonair
Surf | Thunder Wave | Slam | Leer
CharmPKMN L36 Charizard
Ember | Cut | Slash | Rage
Third L37 Gengar
Thunderbolt | Lick | Hypnosis | Night Shade
Air L38 Clefable
Strength | Water Gun |Sing | Minimize
Drygon L25 Dodrio: Fly service

Lorelei: Flareon, Vaporeon, Electabuzz, Kingler, Charizard.
Bruno: Staryu, Eevee, Graveler, Seel, Venusaur
Agatha: Vaporeon, Golduck, Golbat, Marowak, Charizard [Elixir used]
Lance: Lapras, Dragonair, Dodrio, Snorlax, Dragonite [Elixir]
Rival: Snorlax, Exeggutor, Weezing, Gyarados, Cloyster, Victreebel

...I never ran into a single Alakazam.
Huh.