Gotta Play 'em All! [A journey through all 35 main series games]

[SailorVee]

This will be my own personal space to keep track of my game progress as I attempt to play through all 35 main series Pokemon games within one year.

To avoid burn-out, I will be playing the games 'simultaenously' and rotating every day, following a set structure which should give me enough variety in terms of regions. I have also added a few additional rules to make it a bit more of a challenge, such as banning healing items in-battle and forcing myself to play on set mode. I also have to use a full team of six rather than just speed running through the game with an overleveled starter.

While this is not a fixed rule, I will also attempt to use a unique team of six each time, although some of my favorites (as well as starters) may get featured multiple times. I won't use the same Pokemon twice within one region though.

Feedback/input is much appreciated! I do have most teams planned out, but changes can still be made along the way.

I started this challenge on December 25th of this year, which means I'm currently on day 5 of the challenge.

DAY 1 [25/12/2021] ー POKEMON RED

Spoiler:

Even though these games are quite old by now, I still find myself enjoying them a lot every time I play through them. The weird game mechanics can take a little getting used to and there's definitely some broken stuff. coughwrapcough However, overall I think these are still pretty solid games to this day.

My initial plan was to do one gym per day for each game but since these games have so little cut scenes or extra content to explore, I managed to get two gyms in. I could have probably pushed for Lt. Surge as well, but I don't want this to feel like a chore. There were still other things I wanted to do and enjoy today as well.

Despite having to go up against Brock with a Fire and an Electric type, I actually had very little trouble with the first two gyms. I did get lucky with dumb AI because in both cases, I could have definitely wiped if Brock or Misty played a little smarter. Brock spammed Defense Curl with his Geodude instead of getting damage on me and Misty went for Tackle on the final turn when Water Gun could have easily taken me out.

I'm playing these games on set mode and banned all healing during battle which has definitely made for a refreshing experience. So far, none of my Pokemon have fainted but the fact that I'm only using two team members definitely helps. I usually have to grind a little before a gym but this time, I even skipped most of the trainers on the route North of Nugget Bridge to avoid being overleveled for Misty.

CURRENT TEAM

Arrabiata the Charmeleon - Lv. 22

- Mega Punch
- Growl
- Ember
- Leer

Alfredo the Pikachu - Lv. 22

- Thunder Shock
- Growl
- Thunder Wave
- Quick Attack

DAY 2 [26/12/2021] ー POKEMON SILVER

Spoiler:

The difference in quality between Pokemon Red and Pokemon Silver really took me by surprise! The screen is so much brighter and the colors are vibrant and make everything look so much more alive. I really enjoy a lot of the gen II sprites as well. Special shout-out to Slowpoke in particular for looking absolutely adorable while laying on his back.

Since I didn't catch my second team member until after the Falkner fight, my Totodile was quite a bit overleveled by the time I reached the gym so that wasn't much of a challenge. I expected to struggle with Bugsy and Whitney a bit more, but Flaaffy has been the absolute MVP of this run with Thunder Wave and paralysis hax.

I caught Oddish because I wanted to try using Bellossom since the Sun Stone is the most easily obtainable in these games. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the best STAB move it gets is Absorb until lv. 44 when it learns Petal Dance. (as a Gloom) If I have time until the next part, I might just go through the extra trouble to do some breeding with Sunflora to hatch a new Oddish which has Razor Leaf as an egg move since that would be a HUGE upgrade from Absorb.

CURRENT TEAM

Peppermint the Croconaw ♂ - Lv. 20

- Headbutt
- Mud-Slap
- Ice Punch
- Water Gun

Camomille the Flaaffy ♀ - Lv. 20

- Thunder Shock
- Tackle
- Thunder Punch
- Thunder Wave

Matcha the Oddish ♀ - Lv. 19

- Absorb
- Cut
- Poison Powder
- Sleep Powder

DAY 3 [27/12/2021] ー POKEMON RUBY

Spoiler:

Pokemon Ruby was the only main series Pokemon game I was still missing for my collection for the longest time. Eventually I decided to buy a second-hand copy for only about 5 euro from Japan, so I'm actually playing this game in Japanese. I know Gen III by heart though so even if I couldn't read Japanese, I would probably be fine.

One thing I absolutely love about R/S is how exploitable Zigzagoon are. I have so much money already from selling all the Full Restores, Nuggets and Vitamins my army of Zigzagoon picked up.

On the flip side, training up Wurmple was one of the most stressful things because I was so scared it would evolve into a Cascoon and I would have to sit through the grinding ALL over again. Thankfully, luck was on my side and I got the right one on my first try. Roxanne totally kicked my ass the first time because I didn't evolve my Torchic and a non-stab Absorb was simply too weak. The second time around, I managed to beat her thanks to Combusken's Fighting type and Double Kick. Brawley on the other hand was an absolute pushover with Beautifly. She resists all of his attacks and even though Gust is physical in this game, it still hit decently hard.

I decided to stop after beating Brendan on route 110 because I was getting a little tired. The middle part of these games can drag on, so I didn't want to stop after Brawley but I also didn't have the energy left to go till Wattson. That will have to be for next time.

CURRENT TEAM

Yuuki (Courage) the Combusken ♂ - Lv. 21

Blaze / Bashful nature

- Bulk Up
- Peck
- Double Kick
- Ember

Koufuku (Joy) the Beautifly ♀ - Lv. 20

Swarm / Lax nature

- Morning Sun
- Gust
- Stun Spore
- Absorb

Koukai (Regret) the Loudred ♂ - Lv. 20

Soundproof / Lonely nature
- Pound
- Uproar
- Astonish
- Howl

DAY 4 [28/12/2021] ー POKEMON LEAF GREEN

Spoiler:

Out of all Pokemon remakes, this has to be one which is the most drastically different from the original games. With how bugged and unaesthetically pleasant R/B are to look are, FR/LG are just a delight. My only issue with them is that the pool of Pokemon to choose from is quite limited early game.

I have three badges now but only two team members since all of the Pokemon I want to use only become available around the 4-5th badge mark. Hence why I skipped some of the trainers/routes for now so I can go back to them later to grind up there.

Despite doing this, my current team still ended up quite overleveled for Lt. Surge but there wasn't much I could do about that. I could have skipped some of the trainers on the S.S. Anne but I wanted the money.

Speaking of money, for anyone who has a European version of this game, you can abuse a glitch on the Nugget Bridge to get infinte nuggets from the grunt. Just lose the battle on purpose and every time you go up again, the dialogue resets so you get a new nugget. I always do this to farm money to spend on coins and get all of the good TMs. >3

As far as gym fights go, Ivysaur pretty much powers through the first 3 gyms in Kanto so those weren't a struggle at all. Lt. Surge was a little annoying with Thunder Wave + Double Team but a crit Razor Leaf eventually dealt with his Raichu.

CURRENT TEAM

Brussels the Ivysaur ♂ - Lv. 28

Overgrow / Rash nature

- Tackle
- Leech Seed
- Poison Powder
- Razor Leaf

Paris the Clefairy ♀ - Lv. 28

Cute Charm / Hardy nature

- Secret Power
- Mega Punch
- Water Pulse
- Sing

 

[d4rk]

I like how you went with the nicknaming schemes.
Seems like a hard time to take on all these games all at once. It is good that you add some variety by doing mix and match, I believe it will be a good preventive measure against burn-out.
I didn't know about the nugget glitch, thanks.
Good luck in the future :)

 

[SailorVee]

I like how you went with the nicknaming schemes.
Seems like a hard time to take on all these games all at once. It is good that you add some variety by doing mix and match, I believe it will be a good preventive measure against burn-out.
I didn't know about the nugget glitch, thanks.
Good luck in the future :)

Thank you very much! It was somewhat of a struggle to come up with all of the naming themes, but I'm glad I did. It will surely help make feel each run unique as well as bond with my Pokemon.

Rotating has its disadvantages but overall, I think this is better for my sanity than having to play Pokemon Sun, Pokemon Moon, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon in their entirely back-to-back lol.

DAY 5 [29/12/2021] ー POKEMON DIAMOND

Spoiler:

This is probably the first game in this challenge so far where it wasn't a 100% enjoyable experience. Even though D/P have a lot of nostalgic value for me, since they were the first games I got to play properly. Technically Leaf Green & Emerald were my starting point, but since games are not translated to Dutch here in Belgium, I had to play in a language which I had not mastered at all, so I basically just sped through with my starter and didn't get the full experience.
My biggest issue with the game this time around is just how SLOW it runs. It doesn't help that my Turtwig is in desperate need of glasses either. I swear he missed like 10 Tackles during the first half an hour of playing. > <

Then the second mistake I made was that I mixed up the Eterna Forest version exclusives when planning my teams. This should have been my Pearl team since it has Mismagius, while the other one has Honckrow. I didn't want to restart though and thankfully I had an old save file left on my Pearl cartridge (post-E4) so I could breed a Misdreavus egg and transfer it over. It did require a lot of extra running around and grinding though, because she obviously hatched at lv. 1.

As for the actual fights, nothing too challenging there. Roark is easy for pretty much all 3 starters since Chimchar gets an early evolution + Mach Punch. Gardenia can be challenging but I was lucky to catch an Adamant Starly, so Staravia made quick work of her. Even the boss battle against Mars went pretty smooth after Luxio used a couple of Leers on her Purugly before I switched out to Turtwig to Razor Leaf the fat cat into oblivion.

CURRENT TEAM

Aker the Grotle ♂ - Lv. 22

Overgrow / Lonely nature

- Tackle
- Curse
- Razor Leaf
- Bite

Shu the Staravia ♂ - Lv. 23

Intimidate / Adamant nature

- Tackle
- Quick Attack
- Double Team
- Wing Attack

Horus the Luxio ♂ - Lv. 22

Intimidate / Hasty nature

- Bite
- Leer
- Charge
- Spark

Isis the Misdreavus ♀ - Lv. 22

Levitate / Modest nature

- Astonish
- Spite
- Confuse Ray
- Psywave

 

[SailorVee]

I could not post this earlier because I had to make 5 posts before being allowed to include links but here is the Google Spreadsheet I use to keep track of my progress in all of the games.

 

[Pokeswapper]

All the best sailor 👍 😇 wishing you all the best on this journey you are on .... It's actually the first time I have seen someone take up this kind of a challenge ...

 

[SailorVee]

All the best sailor 👍 😇 wishing you all the best on this journey you are on .... It's actually the first time I have seen someone take up this kind of a challenge ...

Thank you very much! ^^ I was actually inspired by a similar challenge I saw on Reddit! Although the person in question only played through 13 games, I believe? They also only gave themselves 6 weeks to complete the challenge which meant about 3 days per game. I definitely couldn't do that, haha.

DAY 6 [30/12/2021] ー POKEMON HEARTGOLD

Spoiler:

The Johto region has a lot of flaws. From a lot of the cool new Pokemon being exclusive to Kanto, most of the gym leaders not using any of the native Johto mons, to the horrible level curve and painful grinding.

However, I don't think I've ever played through these games and not had a great time. These games are just so aesthetically pleasing to me with the bright colors and the cute chibi models of the Pokemon following you around. There's some really fun side content like the Pokeathlon as well!

My goal this time is to use a bunch of Pokemon which I've never used before, hence why I decided to trade over a Tangela egg from my finished SS copy, rather than using the Oddish line like I always do. I did consider the Hoppip line but Jumpluff offensive stats sounded like a nightmare in a game where you inevitably have to grind a lot for some boss fights.

It's also my first time using the Scyther line which might be shocking to some people since it's a fan favorite. I was so happy when I checked the stats screen and saw the 'Adamant nature' pop up...Only to go to the next page and realize that she has Swarm instead of Technician. I considered resetting to do the Bug Catching Contest over again, but one of my goals with this challenge is to just relax and enjoy the games without worrying about having the 'optimal' team, so I decided to just roll with it. Ironically, my Scyther is named 'Envy' too. Guess she is envious of all those Technician Scizors topping the BDSP OU ladder, haha.

The gym battles were a little more challenging than in Silver this time. Bugsy's Scyther nearly took out my Quilava after going for Leer and Whitney's Miltank could have destroyed my Scyther, but I got a lucky Defense drop with Rock Smash into a crit, taking her out.

CURRENT TEAM

Pride the Quilava ♂ - Lv. 21

Blaze / Timid nature

- Flame Wheel
- Quick Attack
- SmokeScreen
- Ember

Sloth the Tangela ♀ - Lv. 21

Leaf Guard / Docile nature

- Vine Whip
- Growth
- Sleep Powder
- Absorb

Gluttony the Poliwag ♂ - Lv. 21

Water Absorb / Modest nature

- Body Slam
- Rain Dance
- Hypnosis
- Water Gun

Envy the Scyther ♀ - Lv. 21

Swarm / Adamant nature

- U-turn
- Headbutt
- Wing Attack
- Rock Smash

 

[Living Arrow]

I love this! Totally makes me want to start the slog, too! Does the 35 games include Legends Arceus?

 

[SailorVee]

I love this! Totally makes me want to start the slog, too! Does the 35 games include Legends Arceus?

You definitely should! If you make a thread to log your journey, I will definitely read along! ^^ It'd be nice to have someone take on this challenge alongside me.

As of now, I did include Legends of Arceus as the very final game on the list. I started on December 25th because that is exactly 35 days away from the game's release date. I think it looks just similar enough to other main series games to count as one. There are obvious differences, but Legends of Arceus doesn't seem like an entirely different game like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 7 [31/12/2021] ー POKEMON BLACK

Spoiler:

What better way to spend New Year's Eve than by playing some good 'ol gen 5? These games were quite controversial when they first came out because you were pretty much forced to use new Pokemon only. I really like a lot of the designs now, but I have to admit that it also took some getting used to for me.

That being said, I actually haven't replayed these games at all since their initial release, so I'm trying to use Pokemon which weren't on my original team back then. So far, I'm really impressed with Darumaka and its ability to just tear through everything with Hustle-boosted Fire Punch. (Press F in the chat for Burgh.)

Oshawott had a bit of rocky start since I actually had to restart the game like 6 or 7 times because I kept on losing to Bianca's Tepig and I didn't want to miss out on the free EXP. I eventually got lucky because she just spammed Tail Whip but that was quite the embarrassing experience. ^^;; I don't think I've ever lost that many early game rival fights in a row.

The first gym was challenging as well since I only had Oshawott, but I eventually beat him at lv. 15 by using both an X Defend and an X Speed while the Lillipup was out. (I did ban healing items in battle but I never said anything about stat boosting items :p)

Lenora's gym was tough as well because her Pokemon hit so hard. Thankfully, Dewott managed to pull that one off after Munna sacrificed itself to put the Herdier to sleep. If Dewott had taken even the slightest bit of prior damage, it wouldn't have been able to survive a boosted + non-boosted Retaliate from the Watchog.

CURRENT TEAM

Navy the Dewott ♂ - Lv. 25

Torrent / Sassy nature

- Grass Knot
- Razor Shell
- Water Pulse
- Rock Smash

Violet the Munna ♀ - Lv. 24

Synchronize / Sassy nature

- Psybeam
- Yawn
- Moonlight
- Defense Curl

Shamrock the Cottonee ♀ - Lv. 24

Prankster / Calm nature

- Mega Drain
- Leech Seed
- Growth
- Stun Spore

Ferrari the Darumaka ♂ - Lv. 25

Hustle / Lonely nature

- Incinerate
- Work Up
- Fire Punch
- Headbutt

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 8 [01/01/2022] ー POKEMON WHITE 2

Spoiler:

Pokemon Black and White 2 are the only main series Pokemon games I've never actually completed. They were released around the time I was a senior in high school so I was more focused on graduating than anything else. Pokemon's popularity had also completely died down over here in Belgium at that point.

Even though I played over 4 hours today, you will probably notice I did not get very far and that's for one reason only...Friendship grinding. Huge Power Azumarill is an absolute beast but it's not fun to run around between Floccesy Town and the ranch to grind its friendship and get it to evolve at an early level. Needless to say, I did do it but it left me pretty mentally exhausted.

The battles against Cheren and Roxie went well, but I nearly wiped to the Dunsparce trainer on route 20 because Rollout crit my Snivy. Thankfully Marill could tank one and finish the fight.

Elekid caused me all sorts of anxiety because I literally chucked 10 Poke Balls, 5 Great Balls and 2 Ultra Balls at it before it caught in the very last ball. (Bless Lillipup Pick Up squad for giving me early access to Ultra Balls)

Remember I said I only got this far because of the friendship grinding? I lied. I also decided not to continue to Burgh because my team isn't exactly ideal to take on a Leavanny, so I wanted to actually go into that fight with a clear mind rather than rushing it.

CURRENT TEAM

King the Servine ♂ - Lv. 19

Overgrow / Mild nature

- Return
- Growth
- Vine Whip
- Leaf Tornado

Pawn the Azumarill ♂ - Lv. 19

Huge Power / Brave nature

- Work Up
- Return
- Bubblebeam
- Charm

Knight the Elekid ♂ - Lv. 19

Static / Lonely nature

- Thief
- Shock Wave
- Low Kick
- Swift

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 9 [02/01/2022] ー POKEMON X

Spoiler:

Another game which holds a special place in my heart because this is when I got back into Pokemon during my first year at university. I don't care what anyone says about them, I think these games look gorgeous. The towns and locations are gorgeous and I really like the chibi style of the trainers.

The pacing, on the other hand, is...weird. I almost stopped after getting the fossil from the Assistant but realized that there was only like 15 minutes of game content left till I could earn my second badge so I pushed through. There's still quite a big stretch between getting your first and second gym badges though.

I have also been gaining EXP like crazy because I'm addicting to the 'Head It' mini game in Pokemon Amie so most of my Pokemon get boosted EXP. I did turn off the EXP. share to try and compensate for this a little.

As for my team, you might notice I have two starters. Since there isn't a third version of this generation, I'm gonna pull an Ask Ketchum so I can give all three of them a chance to shine. Thankfully, I had a completed file on my Y copy so I could trade over a Fennekin egg at the beginning of the game after picking Chespin.

So far, none of the fights have been particularly hard, but I did get lucky against Grant when his Tyrunt went for Stomp against my Floette instead of the Rock Tomb, even though the latter was an easy 2HKO. Fairy Wind is too weak to take it down from full, but I could then switch in Quilladin and finish it with a Needle Arm. Speaking of Quilladin, while he may get shit talked a lot for his design, he's an absolute beast with great coverage thanks to some of the early game TMs.

CURRENT TEAM

Gladiolus the Quilladin ♂ - Lv. 27

Overgrow / Sassy nature

- Strength
- Leech Seed
- Needle Arm
- Shadow Claw

Rose the Braixen ♀ - Lv. 26

Blaze / Hasty nature

- Scratch
- Flame Charge
- Ember
- Psybeam

Sakura the Floette ♀ - Lv. 26

Flower Veil / Docile nature

- Tackle
- Magical Leaf
- Fairy Wind
- Wish

Snowdrop the Amaura ♀ - Lv. 25

Refrigerate / Gentle nature

- Rock Tomb
- Icy Wind
- Take Down
- Aurora Beam

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 10 [03/01/2022] ー POKEMON ALPHA SAPPHIRE

Spoiler:

My bestie came over today so I didn't play quite as much as I did during some of the previous games. However, the early game of ORAS is pretty easy (especially with the EXP boost you can get from Pokemon Amie) so I still managed to squeeze two badges in. My 3DS was lowing run on battery after I defeated the two Team Aqua grunts at the museum in Slateport, so I decided to call it a day there.

My team is pretty mainstream so far, aside from the Surskit. I've always loved Masquerain's design but in the original games, it gets screwed over by the fact its two STAB types are both physical. However, in ORAS it gets a nice buff in its stats AND a bunch of great moves.

Speaking of moves, I actually went through the trouble of DexNav chaining to get some nice egg moves. I thought this would take a while, but I got super lucky. Literally the first Surskit I chained had Psybeam while the second Lotad had Giga Drain.

As for the gym battles, they were both pretty easy. Lombre swept through Roxanne while Surskit made quick work of Brawly with Psybeam.

CURRENT TEAM

Popeyes the Combusken ♂ - Lv. 20

Blaze / Lax nature

- Flame Charge
- Peck
- Double Kick
- Rock Tomb

Taco Bell the Lombre ♀ - Lv. 20

Swift Swim / Bashful nature

- Astonish
- Giga Drain
- Bubble
- Fake Out

Olive Garden the Surskit ♂ - Lv. 20

Swift Swim / Mild nature

- Bubble Beam
- Psybeam
- Fell Stinger
- Quick Attack

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 11 [04/01/2022] ー POKEMON SUN

Spoiler:

This has to be one of the games I was dreading the most. Not because I dislike Gen VII because I think the Alola region is beautiful and I love both the music and the characters in this game. However, the first 2-ish hours are so...slow. You literally cannot take two steps without someone stopping you for a tutorial. :'')

My original plan was to do two trials today but I eventually decided against it. I will have to play Ultra Moon tomorrow so it didn't seem wise to burn myself out on the Alola games already so I stopped right after defeating Hau in Paniola Town.

Other than the constant hand-holding, I did enjoy building my team. I used the Popplio line in my initial playthrough of Pokemon Moon when the games were released, but both the Pikipek and the Alolan Grimer lines are new for me. I don't particularly like Alolan Muk's design (I do think it's better than Kanto Muk at least) but I will admit that its typing is very good so I'm willing to give it a shot.

These games can be pretty challenging but the first trial and Hala are pretty easy when you have a Flying type which can learn Brick Break as well. Trumbeak did get taken out by Crabrawler's Z-move but Brionne could come in to finish it with Disarming Voice.

CURRENT TEAM

Lucky Charms the Brionne ♀ - Lv. 20

Torrent / Bold nature

- Aqua Jet
- Water Gun
- Baby-Doll Eyes
- Disarming Voice

Froot Loops the Trumbeak ♂ - Lv. 19

- Pluck
- Echoed Voice
- Supersonic
- Brick Break

Apple Jacks the Alolan Grimer ♀ - Lv. 19

- Pound
- Poison Fang
- Bite
- Disable

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 12 [05/01/2022] ー POKEMON ULTRA MOON

Spoiler:

Just as I expected, playing SuMo and USUM back-to-back is not easy. Especially when it's the beginning part of the game because if there's one thing which did not change between these two games, it's that both are easily heavy on the cut scenes.

There are a few minor differences between the two games which I never really noticed unless you play them so close to each other though. For example, yesterday I kept on searching for the elevator in the Song Tide Hotel, only to find out today that this is actually an addition made to the Ultra games.

My team isn't the strongest right now, but they actually did quite well against the boss fights. I did struggle a bit in the beginning because I had to take on the teacher and her Litten with just my Rowlet, but then I traded over a Jangmo-o egg from my Ultra Sun version to help me a bit. I knew I wanted to try using Kommo-o on one of my gen VII teams, but they're usually only available very late into the game.

Cutiefly may be small, but it proved to be very useful against Hala and was also my saving grace against Sina and her ice types.

It took me a bit longer but I eventually managed to get to the same point as I did in Sun yesterday. I might do some Mantine Surfing in between on other days as well to grind BP because there's some really great moves you can get early on via the beach tutors.

CURRENT TEAM

Mercury the Dartrix ♂ - Lv. 21

Overgrow / Quiet nature

- Tackle
- Razor Leaf
- Omnious Wind
- Peck

Jupiter the Jangmo-o ♂ - Lv. 20

Bulletproof / Docile nature

- Dragon Tail
- Brick Break
- Work Up
- Protect

Saturn the Cutiefly ♀ - Lv. 20

Shield Dust / Hasty nature

- Silver Wind
- Draining Kiss
- Stun Spore
- Struggle Bug

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 13 [06/01/2022] ー POKEMON LET'S GO PIKACHU

Spoiler:

I could write a whole essay on how much I love the Let's Go games but I know I'm a minority in the community. While I don't play the mobile game anymore, I really enjoyed these two titles on the Switch. I played the Eevee version when they were released and had the most fun with a Pokemon game in years.

The 'catching to gain EXP' method can be a little tedious at times, but if you get a chain going, it's actually quite easy to grind levels really fast. (Sometimes faster than traditional grinding through wild Pokemon battles)

The thing I love the most about these games is the aesthetic. Everything looks so cute and there's an amazing eye for detail. The battle backgrounds are gorgeous and they actually managed to bring some of the more 'boring' Kanto gyms like Brock and Misty's to life.

Another thing I like is that almost all Kanto Pokemon are actually viable in this. There's no abilities which make one better than the other and you can easily boost their stats by using candy. A lot of the movesets are quite good as well with the Pokemon getting good moves at an early level.

So far, the weakest link of my team is probably Jigglypuff but that's likely to change once I actually get some special moves on her. Her Fairy typing should be useful as well.

I was going to play till I got the 3rd badge but I've had a really bad headache all day so I decided to save and stop after getting Cut from the S.S. Anne Captain.

CURRENT TEAM

Saffron the Pikachu ♀ - Lv. 23

Dolice nature

- Thunderbolt
- Headbutt
- Dig
- Thunder Wave

Rosemary the Gloom ♀ - Lv. 23

Sassy nature

- Razor Leaf
- Acid
- Growth
- Sleep Powder

Vanilla the Jigglypuff ♀ - Lv. 21

Timid nature

- Headbutt
- Disable
- Seismic Toss
- Thunder Wave

Chili the Growlithe ♂ - Lv. 20

Hardy nature

- Flamethrower
- Headbutt
- Dig
- Take Down

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 14 [07/01/2022] ー POKEMON SWORD

Spoiler:

I have not played Pokemon SwSh since my initial playthrough of Shield back when the games were first released, but I have to say that these games impressed me with how good they look compared to the most recent BDSP. I know they get a lot of hate for 'shitty graphics' but as someone who doesn't play a lot of other games, it's honestly impressive to me how far the franchise has come. I'm now two weeks into my challenge and playing the games in order really helps put everything into perspective and see them grow both in terms of aesthetics and gameplay.

Speaking of Gameplay, SwSh offer so many great features which just make for a much smoother and easier playing experience. I love how you can access your box everything, can easily fly from one location to the other, etc. Not to mention Max raids in the Wild Are are such an easy way to farm good TRs and EXP candy to optimize your team with very little grinding necessary.

On the flip side, I do wish Gamefreak had adapted the level curve a bit more. It really is a shame how the trainers in Motostoke and the surrounding routes use lv. 9 - 14 Pokemon when you can easily catch lv. 16-18 mons in the Wild Area.

Thankfully, Dynamaxing in gym battles does make these a little more challenging, but I had no issue with Milo with Raboot on my team. Speaking of my team, I'm using only Gen VIII mons and once again traded over a starter egg so I can use all 3 starters divided over the two games. I used Toxtricity in my original Shield team and loved it so much, I'm using it again this time. Sirfetch is a first for me though and I have to say, this guy just wrecks the early game. I was able to evolve him right away by using the Leek + Focus Energy combination and his stats are far above any of my other team members.

Level-wise, I'm around the same early 20s mark, but I only have one gym badge so far since there's quite a bit of early game content. I'm hoping to catch up a bit next time and cover both Nessa's and Kabu's gym in the next update.

CURRENT TEAM

Chamaeleon the Drizzile ♂ - Lv. 23

Torrent / Naughty nature

- Sucker Punch
- Swift
- Water Pulse
- Tearful Look

Lepus the Raboot ♂ - Lv. 23

Blaze / Hasty nature

- Flame Charge
- Double Kick
- Ember
- Quick Attack

Lyra the Toxel ♀ - Lv. 22

Rattled / Rash nature

- Nuzzle
- Growl
- Flail
- Acid

Perseus the Sirfetch'd ♂ - Lv. 22

Steadfast / Gentle nature

- Focus Energy
- Fury Cutter
- Rock Smash
- Throat Chop

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 15 [08/01/2022] ー POKEMON SHINING PEARL

Spoiler:

I have many issues with this game, most notably the many bugs, weird movement and the strange decisions in regards to putting some Platinum Pokemon in while others got completely scrapped. However, all in all, I did enjoy my first proper experience with the Gen IV remakes.

The chibi artstyle is very cute, although I wish they would have put more effort into the Pokemon following you and made matching chibi models for those as well.

However, the biggest improvement over regular D/P has to be the updated underground. I basically had a full team before Gardenia which is a first in this challenge so far. I also logged in quite a bit of hours today because of running around looking for the rare spawns, as well as grinding happiness so Budew would evolve before the gym battle with Roark. (And now I'm gonna have to do it again for Togepi...)

Mew was not originally going to be a part of the team. I actually had Toxicroak and Houndoom written down on my draft team but then I received it and I saw how cute it is...so I gave in and put it on my squad. I don't think it's OP right now because its moveset is quite limited.

That being said, my team didn't struggle against any of the major battles so far. Piplup and Roselia completely destroyed Roark and Skorupi handled most of Gardenia before Mew finished off her ace Roserade with a Pluck.

CURRENT TEAM

Kappa the Prinplup ♂ - Lv. 23

Torrent / Mild nature

- Metal Claw
- Bubblebeam
- Grass Knot
- Pluck

Tsubaki the Roselia ♀ - Lv. 23

Natural Cure / Lax nature

- Magical Leaf
- Leech Seed
- Growth
- Stun Spore

Bakeneko the Mew - Lv. 22

Synchronize / Mild nature

- Amnesia
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Smash
- Pluck

Amikiri the Skorupi ♂ - Lv. 21

Sniper / Hasty nature

- Bug Bite
- Poison Fang
- Bite
- Toxic Spikes

Konoha the Togepi ♀ - Lv. 23

Serene Grace / Careful nature

- Extrasensory
- Grass Knot
- Charm
- Ancient Power

Inosasaou the Swinub ♂ - Lv. 22

Oblivious / Docile nature

- Ice Shard
- Mud Shot
- Flail
- Rock Tomb

 

[Dragon]

I really like the graphics you use hehe. And I adore the Yokai naming scheme!

 

[SailorVee]

I really like the graphics you use hehe. And I adore the Yokai naming scheme!

Thank you very much! I'm not an expert on Yokai, but it was pretty fun to learn more about them while looking up names for my Pokemon.

DAY 16 [09/01/2022] ー POKEMON BLUE

Spoiler:

It does feel a little odd to go back to Gen I after playing Pokemon Sword and Shining Pearl, but not the 'bad' kind of odd. I've mentioned it before, but I do enjoy the simplicity of these games. There's no natures or abilities to worry about and the game progresses relatively quickly as well.

When reviewing the team I had planned for this game, I realized that I had three poison types (all with different secondary typings but I still figured that wasn't a good idea in the generation where Psychic types are super OP) so I made some last-minute adjustments. Both Butterfree and Sandslash are new additions, but they've been performing well so far. Sandslash in particular is just a hard check to Lt. Surge and completely wrecked his team with Dig. Of course, Ivysaur made quick work of both Brock and Misty.

That being said, I've already wiped once against the Rocket in Mt. Moon with the killer Raticate and neary wiped again twice. One time against the Bug Catcher with a lv. 21 Butterfree on the route north to Vermillion and the second time against my rival on the S.S. Anne. In both battles, I had really bad luck with hax, being put to sleep the whole time or not landing any of my attacks because of Sand-Attack. > <

CURRENT TEAM

Apollo the Ivysaur - Lv. 25

- Body Slam
- Leech Seed
- Poison Powder
- Vine Whip

Demeter the Butterfree - Lv. 24

- Tackle
- Stun Spore
- Confusion
- Poison Powder

Ares the Sandslash - Lv. 26

- Scratch
- Sand-Attack
- Dig
- Slash

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 17 [10/01/2022] ー POKEMON GOLD

Spoiler:

Once again, I can't help but notice what a huge difference color makes in my enjoyment of the game. I don't dislike R/B/Y, but I definitely prefer playing through G/S/C based solely on how the games look.

So far, I haven't had too many issues with grinding either. I actually discovered that the Daycare is a pretty solid option, since I can just bike up and down Goldenrod while watching some YouTube videos. Only thing you have to be mindful of is when the Pokemon learns a new move. (So you don't accidentally overwrite one of your best moves)

Once again, I did not struggle with the gyms as much as I thought I would. Bugsy was considerably easier than Heart Gold since Technician isn't a thing and since I only had my starter for the first section of the game, I was once again pretty overleveled to fight Falkner.

Whitney was slightly more challenging because of Attract, but I had Quilava sacrifice herself to throw some sand in that cow's eyes so she wouldn't land most of her attacks. Eventually Quagsire managed to break through the attraction and finish her with a Headbutt.

I did wipe once, however, against Silver when you fight him before Ilex Forest. I got really unlucky with flinches when fighting his Zubat, so my Wooper was at only 4 HP when Croconaw came out. I'm not using any healing items in battle so it was basically game over from that point. On my second attempt, I used Quilava to take out the Zubat and things went much smoother.

CURRENT TEAM

Jazz the Quilava ♀ - Lv. 22

- Swift
- Sand-Attack
- Leer
- Ember

Blues the Quagsire ♂ - Lv. 21

- Water Gun
- Mud-Slap
- Ice Punch
- Headbutt

Country the Sunflora ♂ - Lv. 21

- Cut
- Razor Leaf
- Growth
- Mega Drain