Rules
- 5 level limit for every Pokemon, from the level met. Boxes them as soon as possible upon hitting that.
- No in-battle items
- Avoid affection benefits (unless going for an evolution). (Exception: Allows sandwiches for Encounter power, but only with boxed Pokemon who cannot benefit from the friendship.)
- Set mode (as well as possible).
Picked up a save file created a while back for Mew. Skipped some introduction this way. Resumed at Los Platos. Team at this point:
- Clyde the Fuecoco. Level 7. (Met: Level 5.)
- LeChuck the Lechonk. Level 3. (Met: Level 3.)
Named them after ghosts (Pacman ghost and Monkey Island ghost, respectively).
Boxed LeChuck, just in case. Remembered a rough Nemona fight ahead, based on seeing other people with underleveled Pokemon. Battled a trainer to reach level 8 on Clyde. Challenged Nemona and lost badly. Progresses the plot anyways, though, so who cares. (Hit level 9 too.)
Went into Mesagoza. Completed story stuff. Reached Clyde's limit (10) on the Team Star grunts, however. Pulled out LeChuck the level 3 Lechonk. Still fine, just...less ideal.
Gained the freedom to roam. Sprung the plan into action. Headed out the west gate, then south. Found a Scyther (not the Tera one). Conveniently found a single Ultra Ball along the way. Caught it in one ball. Leveled LeChuck from 3 to 10 in that one fight, so off to the box with it.
Nazgul the Scyther
Level met: 19
Nature: +Defense / -Special Defense
Ability: Technician
Tera: Flying
Moves: Wing Attack, Fury Cutter, False Swipe, and Double Team
IVs: 20/4/27/14/30/24
500 base stats and good against the early gyms? Sure. Even got Technician. Knew about some Scythers later. Figured it best to take advantage of the stats now.
Rolled up to Katy. No need for a log. One-shot everything with Wing Attack, unsurprisingly. Did not even need to Terastallize. (Decided to allow that this run for fun.)
Eyed the next Pokemon. Headed over to Kitakami. Crushed Karmine and Kieran. Located a Leavanny nestled between some rocks in the Wistful Fields.
Padurii the Leavanny
Level met: 25
Nature: Timid (+Speed / -Attack)
Ability: Chlorophyll
Tera: Grass
Moves: Razor Leaf, Slash, Bug Bite, and False Swipe
IVs: 7/29/9/17/5/25
Wanted to use Leavanny for fun. Works well for the upcoming gyms. Would not catch a higher level one than this. Lined up well.
Hung around in Kitakami for a little longer. Farmed a few Rare Bones. Scrounged up some interesting TMs, such as Ice Punch, Stone Edge, and Surf. Hoped for more good berries (only one Sitrus), but oh well.
Brought in Padurii for Titan Klawf. Won no problem. Swapped back to Nazgul for Brassius to keep Padurii's experience down. Terastallized Flying to take Sudowoodo's Rock Throw. (Would have survived anyways.) One-shot everything otherwise.
Tried taking on Titan Bombirdier with Nazgul. Nope. Fainted to a single Rock Throw. (Distrusted Terastallization to stick around for the second fight.)
Completed Iono's and Kofu's Gym Tests before tackling the real thing. Thought about Scope Lens and Miracle Seed for Iono. Decided on an Assault Vest (from Porto Marinda, on the ground).
Only brought Padurii at level 27. Lost twice to Iono. (Took a critical and paralysis from Bellibolt both times. Also deals with Intimidate.) Tried the Scope Lens on attempt 2. Nope. So...Kofu instead (with a Miracle Seed).
Dot dot dot. Seriously? Thought about Slash there. Worried it was not enough. What are the odds of missing Razor Leaf? (5%.) Sighs. Demanded an immediate rematch...and missed Razor Leaf again. Fainted on Veluza. (Restarted once again too.)
Fine. Will catch a second Pokemon. Planned later Pokemon in case of things like this. Knows what to not catch.
Pricolici the Pincurchin
Level met: 29
Nature: Impish (+Defense / -Special Attack)
Ability: Lightning Rod
IVs: 31/24/5/19/28/30
Was going to turn it in for a Gengar. Comes in a decent level and match-up, though. Good enough for Kofu, at minimum. Could trade it near the end of its life still. Handed it a Quick Claw.
Two flinches, criticaled once, and no Quick Claws. No Razor Leaf misses, for a change.
Challenged Kofu for a fourth time. Did not bother with the log. Won that time, of course. Still got flinched twice by Headbutt and criticaled by Aqua Cutter. Basically came down to not missing a 95% accurate move. Never criticaled with Razor Leaf either.
Back to Iono.
There. Just needed a little push, not being Intimidated, and average luck to cross the finish line.
Owns a capable Electric type now, come to think of it. Returned to Titan Bombirdier. Zapped it with no issues.
Nearly reached the end of Padurii's tenure (a quarter-level shy of 30). Grabs the next planned pair now. Catches as high as level 40 while still obeying.
Bell the Weavile
Level met: 40
Nature: Jolly (+Speed / -Special Attack)
Tera: Dark
Moves: Assurance, Ice Punch, Slash, and Hone Claws.
IVs: 6/16/28/25/21/18 (roughly)
Caught this fixed encounter Weavile east of Grusha's gym. Expended the Ice Punch TM from earlier. Boosts its power by a ton over the next strongest physical Ice level-up move (Ice Shard).
Killed time waiting for night to fall for the next one. Mentions a Play Rough TM from Kitakami. Filled in the Ghost gym flight path too.
Boo the Banette
Level met: 40
Ability: Frisk
Nature: Brave (+Attack / -Speed)
Tera: Ghost
Moves: Curse, Shadow Ball, Shadow Sneak, Sucker Punch.
IVs: 5/1/26/5/2/21 (roughly)
Hm. Does it learn Phantom Force? Yes, by TM. Where is that? Timeless Woods. Got it and taught it.
Ordered the secret menu item for Larry on the second try without looking it up. (Remembered well enough from watching others.)
Would have won by equipping the Muscle Band (or getting BlackGlasses). Handed it a Quick Claw instead, not expecting Sucker Punch to be the play with Glare and Yawn on the table.
Probably could win a rematch. Had average-ish luck on paralysis and no King's Rock flinches or freezes.
Opted to gain some power through Effort Values. Farmed cash earlier with this in mind. Bought two Power Bracers. Ate an Encounter Power: Fairy sandwich with LeChuck (to avoid friendship benefits, per the rules). Beat up enough Azurills to max out Attack for Bell and Boo. Ought to suffice. Equipped a Cheri Berry on Bell and Black Glasses on Boo.
There. So much simpler. Clearly underestimated the power of random Effort Values. Well, that and teamwork. Completely ignored buff and debuff moves thus far.
Fought Nemona right after. Heals your Pokemon, fortunately. Won that 2 on 4 battle (+4 levels over Meowscarada, for reference). Thanks Tera: Dark for dulling Lycanroc's Accelrock (not to mention critting with Assurance).
Wandered over to Montenevera. Committed to the duo for this (double) gym battle. Cleared the trainers beforehand easy-peasy. Ryme time for a 2 on 4 battle.
Feels nice to win on the first attempt for a change. Fully expected Mimikyu to Shadow Sneak into Boo and faint it. Thanks?
Off to Alfornada for the next--oh, Nemona first. Might be optimal to lose this battle for less experience, honestly. Is not about that life, though. Won the battle. Unfortunately hit level 45 exactly on Bell from that. Throws a wrench into the plan of a Hone Claws sweep.
Plan B: Find a level 50 Dark type. Flew up north for a Lokix. (Considered the nearby Bisharp too.) Caught it in one ball with Pricolici (Pincurchin).
Napstablook the Lokix
Tera: Bug
Ability: Swarm
Nature: Bashful (neutral)
Moves: Throat Chop, Sucker Punch, First Impression, and Lunge
IVs: 18/20/23/18/22/16
Thought about grabbing Swords Dance, using an Adamant Mint, or EV training. Remembered picking up a Leech Life TM. Good enough. Dropped off Boo before making a mockery of the gym test.
Psychic Gym time. Plan: Hit Leech Life four times. Send in Boo to clean up, if necessary.
Not too bad. Ends Boo's time at the team as a level 45. Now, question of the day: Can Lokix handle Grusha solo? ...Maybe with Swords Dance. Where is that? Casseroya Lake near Watchtower 3. Snagged it. Bought an Adamant Mint and Silver Powder for good measure.
Plan for Grusha: Wait for the snowstorm to subside. Stack two Swords Dances minimum before Altaria. Hope for the best. Does not want to take a Hurricane. Either EV trains or catches the planned Arcanine, in the event of failing.
Thank goodness for Sucker Punch. Was not prepared for Tailwind.
Obtained all 8 badges. Could run out and catch a level 75 Tera: Ice Lucario now. Is that optimal for reducing the number of used Pokemon? Yes. Is that fun? Not really. Acknowledges its presence. Same for the level 75 Dragonite. (May be tough to catch anyways.)
Holds no such qualms about some strong, lower level Pokemon, however. Added in all the modifications (Mints, Bottle Caps, TMs).
Myrtle the Tsareena
Level met: 65
Ability: Queenly Majesty
Tera: Psychic
Nature: Impish (+Defense / -Special Attack)
Moves: Zen Headbutt, Trop Kick, High Jump Kick, and Charm
IVs: 10/31/31/11/31/15
EVs: ~32 Hitpoints, 252 Attack
Casper the Mimikyu
Level met: 65
Ability: Disguise
Tera: Fairy
Nature: Jolly (+Speed / -Special Attack)
Moves: Play Rough, Shadow Claw, Leech Life, and Hone Claws
IVs: 31/31/31H/31/26/31
EVs: ~32 Hitpoints, 252 Attack
Ray the Raichu
Level met: 60
Ability: Static
Tera: Fighting
Nature: Calm (+Special Defense / -Attack)
Moves: Thunderbolt, Nuzzle, Eerie Impulse, and Nasty Plot
IVs: 31/31/31H/31/20/31H (roughly)
EVs: ~32 Hitpoints, 252 Special Attack
Slimer the Garchomp
Level met: 65
Ability: Sand Veil
Tera: Water
Nature: Jolly (+Speed / -Special Attack)
Moves: Liquidation, Earthquake, Outrage, and Swords Dance
IVs: 29/20/31/31/31/31H (roughly)
EVs: ~32 Hitpoints, 252 Attack
Overkill? Most likely. Plans partially for Nemona (the real fight with level 65-66s). Also forgot about the level 65 Garchomp being a thing. Was going to get a level ~58 one.
Defeated all the titans (with Napstablook), also. Whines a little about Serebii at this point. Displays all the location squares for wild Pokemon. Gives the level range for all areas, not just the one you clicked. Also claims really high levels which do not seem to appear. (Where are there level 65 Orthworms? Kitakami after the level jump? Should not mention that when on Paldea.)
...Bothered with all the legwork of getting TMs, EVs, and so on. Spaced on buying Leftovers. Remembers hovering over it before. Must not have bought it.
Declined to write the logs for these fights. Already prattled on for a long time. Pared it down to the main points.
- Rika: Led with Myrtle. Smashed Whiscash. Sent in Slimer versus Camerupt. Took a Yawn while setting up. Defeated Camerupt, but with way too much damage for the incoming (Sturdy) Donphan. Switched back to Myrtle. Weakened it with Charm. Swapped to Casper for the sweep on the rest.
- Poppy: Charm x3 from Myrtle. Swords Dance x3 with Slimer. One-shot everything except the Sturdy Magnezone.
- Larry: Eerie Impulse x2 and Nuzzle with Ray. Followed it up with Nasty Plot x3. Ate its Sitrus Berry along the way. Fried everything with a single Thunderbolt each.
- Hassel: Nuzzle + Eerie Impulse x3 with Ray. Gobbled down another Sitrus Berry. Set up six Hone Claws with Casper. Swept it from there.
- Geeta: Nuzzle + Eerie Impulse with Ray. Swapped out because of damage to Casper. Only set up 3 Hone Claws on Espathra because of Lumina Crash damage getting scary. Failed to one-shot Kingambit by a sliver of health (not sure if Reflect was still up). Took an Iron Head from full to 7/177. Fainted to the following Avalugg.
Sent in Ray. Cleaned up Avalugg. Debuffed Geeta's Gogoat with Myrtle. Dodged two straight Play Roughs (compensation for Padurii's Razor Leafs). Set the stage for Slimer's three Swords Dances. (Dodged a third Play Rough, but also took a critical on the one that hit.)
Turned out to not be overkill (at least for Geeta).
Stands at level 67 for everyone except Ray at 63. Feels confident in Slimer's ability to win this solo. Also managed to play without Leftovers for this long. Might as well not for the final fight. What kind of playthrough would it be without trying to do silly things?
Strategy for Nemona: Swords Dance x3 and sweep. Gave Slimer a Sitrus Berry too. Simple. Falls back on the standard debuff and buff strategy if that fails.
Concludes this challenge. Spent too little time with these Pokemon, partially because of the more extreme (self-imposed) cap, but also not needing to. Fought a wild Dugtrio (with Arena Trap), Arven at the lighthouse, the trainer before the academy, the two Team Star grunts in the academy, Nemona several times, Kieran, Karmine, all five Titans, gym test trainers, gym leaders, the Elite Four, and Geeta. Oh, and like 64 Azurills for EV training. What is the most trainers any Pokemon fought? Six?
Describes this as an iffy challenge for this game in particular. Offered higher level Pokemon than your current gym at every turn. Never made sense to level. Enjoyed some of the planning, though, which is part of what the challenge is about.
Checked the game time in Pokemon Home. Clocked in at 12:45. More than expected. Includes the introduction, EV training, TM hunting, and money farming, in fairness.
Respects random EVs and the gym leaders a little more, if nothing else. Paid too little attention to their movesets. Hurt Padurii (Leavanny) in particular. Caught onto the pitfall of Dragonite for the Elite Four, at least. Leads with a Dragon, Ice, or Fairy move on all four trainers. Never planned much of a role there for Slimer (Garchomp) on similar grounds.
One other interesting note: Did not trigger the level jump in Kitakami yet. Probably requires either beating all three main paths or finishing the fourth path.