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

[SailorVee]

DAY 38 [31/01/2022] ー POKEMON RUBY

Spoiler:

Even though these games are clearly outdated in comparison to ORAS, for some reason I just really enjoy playing through them. I guess Emerald being my first ever game plays a part in that. There's just something strangely magic about the OG Hoenn region to me.

The team hasn't changed that much compared to last time, aside from the addition of Roselia. Even without the ability to evolve, Roselia is actually a really solid Pokemon with a great SpA stat! While she won't get a lot of variety when it comes to offensive moves (especially with Sludge Bomb being physical in this gen), having support moves like Leech Seed and Stun Spore is quite nice too.

Unfortunately, she wasn't much of a help against Wattson (despite resisting Electric type attacks), because he uses a Magneton which takes negative damage from Mega Drain. I actually struggled against this gym once more, since my Combusken was Paralyzed earlier in the fight and took some damage as well, allowing Magneton to finish him off with a Shock Wave. I was afraid I would wipe again since the remainder of my team couldn't really hit Magneton for Super Effective damage, but he was weakened enough to the point where Loundred could tank a couple of attacks and pull off the win.

Meanwhile I was super worried about Flannery because I have 0 water types and 2 glaring Fire weaknesses. The Dig TM was my savior here though. I taught it to Combusken and set up with Bulk Up on the Slugma, before wrecking her whole team afterwards. I did get a critical hit on the Torkoal which might have mattered, but I'll take it.

CURRENT TEAM

Yuuki (Courage) the Combusken ♂ - Lv. 30

Blaze / Bashful nature

- Bulk Up
- Dig
- Double Kick
- Ember

Koufuku (Joy) the Beautifly ♀ - Lv. 29

Swarm / Lax nature

- Psychic
- Gust
- Stun Spore
- Mega Drain

Koukai (Regret) the Loudred ♂ - Lv. 29

Soundproof / Lonely nature

- Secret Power
- Shock Wave
- Astonish
- Howl

Setsunasa (Sorrow) the Roselia ♀ - Lv. 29

Poison Touch / Docile nature

- Magical Leaf
- Growth
- Poison Sting
- Leech Seed

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 39 [01/02/2022] ー POKEMON LEAF GREEN

Spoiler:

Today's run started off pretty smoothly because both Ivysaur and Clefairy were fairly high level from duo'ing the whole game up till now. I actually got Voltorb caught up to the rest of the team fairly quickly as well after catching it right before Rock Tunnel.

Rock Tunnel itself got me a bunch of more additional levels and I basically had a fully evolved team by the time I reached Lavender Town. That's where the struggle started though...Even though Ninetales has been kicking ass now with Flamethrower, grinding up a weak little lv. 16 Vulpix was a pain. She has a Hasty nature as well so even the weakest of physical attacks would cause her to faint.

Eventually I got her up to around lv. 24-25, which is when she could somewhat handle her own. The VS Seeker was a big help here as well, since I could use it on the route East of Vermillion to rematch the Gambler with a Bellsprout & Oddish and the Worker with a Magneton. The latter in particular yields a lot of EXP and SpA EVs as well so that's an added plus.

Erika got absolutely wrecked once I got lv. 29, got Flamethrower and evolved Vulpix into Ninetales. Flamethrower OHKO'd all three of her Pokemon with no issue.

Last but not least, I also sold all of the nuggets I farmed last time by using the one glitch, which gave me enough money to bulk buy coins and get Thunderbolt for Electrode. (I also bought Shadow Ball for a future team member). I also remembered to pick up Psychic from Saffron already, which gave Clefable a huge buff as well.

Press F in the chat for those poor low level Rocket Grunts who got completely destroyed on my way to Giovanni. The big boss himself didn't put up much of a fight either though. His whole team is easy Venusaur food.

Now that I have the Silph Scope, I can finally go get the Poke Flute which will give me access to a bunch more areas in the game and my final two encounters too. (Technically I could have gotten one already and it wouldn't have any STAB moves so I'm gonna wait)

CURRENT TEAM

Brussels the Venusaur ♂ - Lv. 34

Overgrow / Rash nature

- Tackle
- Leech Seed
- Poison Powder
- Razor Leaf

Paris the Clefable ♀ - Lv. 34

Cute Charm / Hardy nature

- Secret Power
- Psychic
- Water Pulse
- Sing

Bombay the Electrode - Lv. 33

Soundproof / Sassy nature

- Selfdestruct
- Shock Wave
- SonicBoom
- Thunderbolt

Jakarta the Ninetales ♀ - Lv. 33

Flash Fire / Hasty nature

- Flamethrower
- Dig
- Will-o-wisp
- Quick Attack

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 40 [02/02/2022] ー POKEMON DIAMOND

Spoiler:

After struggling to get through the early game of Pokemon DIamond because of how slow the game runs, I actually enjoyed playing through this part quite a bit.

I think it was mostly tedious last time because I caught a lot of Pokemon early on which required A LOT of grinding. This time, I only added one team member and there's a lot of trainers in between the second and the third gym, so I had to do very minimal additional training.

The only new member on the squad is Octillery, which I managed to catch at lv. 20 and after equipping the EXP. Share and battling the trainers on route 214 with my other Pokemon, she was basically ready to evolve and could handle her own from there on out. God bless the VS Seeker though. There's one trainer in particular with 3 Ponyta which yield a lot of EXP and are perfect for training a water type.

I only got to do one gym battle this time, but D/P are weirdly paced so I should be able to make up for that next time. Maylene can be pretty tough because her Lucario hits hard and its additional Steel typing makes both Psychic and Flying type moves do only neutral damage. I got lucky when Misdreavus' Psybeam confused it, which allowed me an extra hit before swapping out into Staravia to finish the fight with Wing Attack.

CURRENT TEAM

Aker the Torterra ♂ - Lv. 32

Overgrow / Lonely nature

- Earthquake
- Curse
- Razor Leaf
- Bite

Shu the Staravia ♂ - Lv. 32

Intimidate / Adamant nature

- Tackle
- Quick Attack
- Fly
- Aerial Ace

Horus the Luxray ♂ - Lv. 32

Intimidate / Hasty nature

- Bite
- Leer
- Charge
- Spark

Isis the Misdreavus ♀ - Lv. 32

Levitate / Modest nature

- Astonish
- Shock Wave
- Psybeam
- Confuse Ray

Hapi the Octillery ♀ - Lv. 32

Suction Cups / Sassy nature

- Bullet Seed
- Psybeam
- Aurora Beam
- BubbleBeam

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 41 [03/02/2022] ー POKEMON HEARTGOLD

Spoiler:

This is the first time I'm hitting the 10 hour play time mark but I'm honestly not surprised. Grinding can be a little tedious and take a while in these games, but the bright and color aesthetics and Pokemon walking behind you totally makes up for it imo. I actually haven't felt bored playing HGSS for this challenge at all.

One of the reasons why I enjoy playing this save file so much, has to be the team I'm using. It has a lot of Pokemon I've always wanted to use like the Tangela, Scyther and Poliwag lines. I have used Poliwrath before but I'm planning on evolving this one into a Politoed! I picked up the King's Rock in Slowpoke Well after beating Morty, but I want to wait to evolve Poliwhirl until after he learn Mud Shot at lv. 32.

As for the Metal Coat to get Scizor, I actually traded one over from one of my finished DPPt files before I restarted the game, so I could evolve my Scyther at lv. 21 and get both Wing Attack AND Metal Claw. The lack of Technician still stings a little, but she still has a massive 101 attack stat and hits incredibly hard.

Ironically enough, the weakest link of my team has to be Quilava right now. His stats are super low and Ember just isn't cutting it. I do have Flame Wheel as well but that doesn't hit very hard either coming from a lowered attack stat. I really can't wait until lv. 35 when he'll finally learn Lava Plume.

Now let me talk gym batles and how Girafarig absolutely destroyed both Morty and Chuck. There's a reason why I decided to go East of Ecruteak first to go catch one, because its Normal/Psychic typing is amazing for this part of the game. Girafarig is often overlooked but it's actually rather strong and has a varied movepool as well. I would definitely recommend it for an in-game playthrough!

CURRENT TEAM

Pride the Quilava ♂️ - Lv. 31

Blaze / Timid nature

- Flame Wheel
- Quick Attack
- Swift
- Ember

Sloth the Tangela ♀️ - Lv. 31

Leaf Guard / Docile nature

- Vine Whip
- Growth
- Sleep Powder
- Mega Drain

Gluttony Gluttony the Poliwhirl ♂️ - Lv. 31

Water Absorb / Modest nature

- Body Slam
- Rain Dance
- Hypnosis
- Surf

Envy the Scizor ♀️ - Lv. 31

Swarm / Adamant nature

- U-turn
- Metal Claw
- Wing Attack
- Rock Smash

Greed the Girafarig ♂️ - Lv. 32

Inner Focus / Mild nature

- Psybeam
- Strength
- Shadow Ball
- Charge Beam

 

[SailorVee]

I just realized I completely forgot to post here yesterday and only updated my blog on Tumblr, whoops! ^^;;

DAY 42 [04/02/2022] ー POKEMON BLACK

Spoiler:

I had to teach for 6,5 hours today so I was pretty exhausted after that (especially since I've been jobless for a while) but I still managed to play some Pokemon on the train and this evening once I was back home.

Thankfully, the 4th and the 5th gyms are pretty close to each other, so I still managed to proceed quite a bit. While the 4th gym did pose some issues without a Ground type, Whimsicott managed to pull through with Growth + Giga Drain. Clay on the other hand never stood a chance when I have both a Water and a Grass type.

That being said, my team is somewhat lacking on the offensive and defensive side at the moment. Unova is kind of infamous in terms of late evolutions and I'm starting to feel that. While level 35 isn't terribly late for Darumaka, I can't wait to finally get rid of Hustle. He hits incredibly hard when he does but...a miss at the wrong moment can be so frustrating.

Munna has been struggling quite a bit as well, but I really want to wait till lv. 37 to evolve her, so she will learn Psychic by level up. The Psychic TM is post-game in these games (I believe?) and without it, Musharna will be pretty useless.

CURRENT TEAM

Navy the Dewott ♂ - Lv. 33

Torrent / Sassy nature

- Grass Knot
- Razor Shell
- Scald
- Revenge

Violet the Munna ♀ - Lv. 32

Synchronize / Sassy nature

- Psybeam
- Yawn
- Moonlight
- Future Sight

Shamrock the Whimsicott ♀ - Lv. 33

Prankster / Calm nature

- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Growth
- Stun Spore

Ferrari the Darumaka ♂ - Lv. 32

Hustle / Lonely nature

- Dig
- Work Up
- Fire Punch
- Headbutt

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 43 [05/02/2022] ー POKEMON WHITE 2

Spoiler:

I think I'm starting to understand why these games are generally loved within the Pokemon community. Playing them right after the regular B/W version, it does show how much extra content they added. Although I'd also argue that some of it might have been better off not included at all ー e.g. Pokestar Studies and the Join Avenue. ^^;;

That being said, I also noticed that the trainers are quite a bit stronger in these sequels! Even though I'm only at Elesa, my team is pretty much the same strength in terms of levels compared to my B/W file. I did overlevel a tad bit for Burgh though, because my team wasn't very well equipped to take him on. Thankfully, Azumarill is a tanky boy and after one Work Up, Return was almost able to OHKO the Leavanny, leaving it low enough for Servine to swap in, outspeed and finish Burgh's ace with a Return.

The team has gotten quite a bit stronger from last time, actually, with Krokorok being the star of the show. As to be expected, he single-handedly swept through Elesa's team. She really stood no chance after his first Moxie boost.

Solosis was a bit of a pain to grind, but now that he's a Duosion, he should be more useful as well. I'm still figuring out his Hidden Power type but I think it's either Steel or Dragon, since it was neutral on the following 3 Pokemon: Scraggy (Dark/Fighting), Swadloon (Bug/Grass) & Tranquill (Flying/Normal)

CURRENT TEAM

King the Servine ♂ - Lv. 32

Overgrow / Mild nature

- Return
- Growth
- Leaf Blade
- Leech Seed

Pawn the Azumarill ♂ - Lv. 32

Huge Power / Brave nature

- Work Up
- Return
- Aqua Ring
- Aqua Tail

Knight the Electabuzz ♂ - Lv. 32

Static / Lonely nature

- Light Screen
- ThunderPunch
- Low Kick
- Swift

Rook the Krokorok ♂ - Lv. 33

Moxie / Sassy nature

- Dig
- Crunch
- Rock Tomb
- Strength

Bishop the Duosion ♂ - Lv. 32

Overcoat / Hardy nature

- Recover
- Psyshock
- Future Sight
- Hidden Power [Steel/Dragon (?)]

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 44 [06/02/2022] ー POKEMON X

Spoiler:

Even though I didn't play all that much today (I was too occupied hunting for a shiny Buneary on Legends Arceus), the team still changed quite a bit.

With the shared EXP share turned on, it's honestly so easy to gain levels. I feared being overleved, but I actually struggled quite a bit against the regular trainers this time. All of the Fighting type trainers in Reflection Cave were particularly hard to beat, because they have Rock/Ground coverage to take care of my Braixen, which was my only answer at the time. (Floette is not an answer because Fairy Wind does 0 damage)

This made me very scared of Korrina, but I got super lucky during the fight with Braixen dodging the Flying Press from Hawlucha, so two Psyshocks managed to take it out.

From there on out, it was pretty smooth sailing and Ramos is a pushover so a combination of Amaura and Delphox could easily handle him. I could have probably played until the 5th gym but as I said earlier, I was on a mission to find my pink bunny and wasn't really feeling Pokemon X today. This game is pretty short though with barely any post-game, so I still have plenty of time to catch up.

CURRENT TEAM

Gladiolus the Chesnaught ♂ - Lv. 39

Overgrow / Sassy nature

- Strength
- Power-Up Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Shadow Claw

Rose the Delphox ♀ - Lv. 40

Blaze / Hasty nature

- Grass Knot
- Psyshock
- Mystical Fire
- Psybeam

Sakura the Florges ♀ - Lv. 39

Flower Veil / Docile nature

- Protect
- Magical Leaf
- Fairy Wind
- Wish

Snowdrop the Amaura ♀ - Lv. 38

Refrigerate / Gentle nature

- Ancient Power
- Thunder Wave
- Round
- Aurora Beam

Lotus the Clawitzer ♀ - Lv. 38

Mega Launcher / Gentle nature

- Swords Dance
- Surf
- Flail
- Water Pulse

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 45 [07/02/2022] ー POKEMON ALPHA SAPPHIRE

Spoiler:

Even though I didn't get as far on Alpha Sapphire as I did on my Ruby copy, I still ended up at the same spot during the second round. I guess it makes sense since the EXP Share in this game makes it so much easier to train up new Pokemon members. I also have an addiction to the 'head in' minigame in Pokemon Amie so all of my Pokemon get boosted EXP as well.

Speaking of new team members, I really wanted to use Mawile but I'm on the wrong version so I cheated per usual and just caught one in Omega Ruby and transferred it over. Mawile is a beast too because the Move Relearner is fairly early game (between the 3rd and 4th gym) so as long as you get some of the hidden Heart Scales along the way, you can have both Play Rough and Iron Head to wreak havoc.

The true MVP has to be Combusken though. He swept through both Wattson and Flannery. I employed the same strategy as I did in Ruby, setting up a few Bulk Ups on Flannery's Slugma before spamming Dig. Torkoal can survive one even at +3 attack, but it just went for Sunny Day so welp.

Overall, this game is more enjoyable to play through than the original Gen III games though. I do like the changes they made to the evil teams in term of designs and battles. Also the characters are very expressive and a lot of the locations look quite charming. Meteor Falls in particular has me in awe every time I see it.

CURRENT TEAM

Popeyes the Combusken ♂ - Lv. 33

Blaze / Lax nature

- Flame Charge
- Bulk Up
- Double Kick
- Dig

Taco Bell the Lombre ♀ - Lv. 33

Swift Swim / Bashful nature

- Uproar
- Giga Drain
- BubbleBeam
- Fake Out

Olive Garden the Masquerain ♂ - Lv. 33

Intimidate / Mild nature

- BubbleBeam
- Psybeam
- Silver Wind
- Air Cutter

Starbucks the Mawile ♂ - Lv. 33

Intimidate / Adamant nature

- Iron Head
- Play Rough
- Ice Fang
- Crunch

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 46 [08/02/2022] ー POKEMON SUN

Spoiler:

I had so much of a better time playing Pokemon Sun this time around, which really shows just how much the beginning of this generation DRAGS ON. I actually like Alola a lot as a region and I'm fond of most of the new mons which were introduced as well. I just have a burning hatred for Hau and the constant cut scenes at the start of the games can be really frustrating when you just want to play. > <

Anyway, I added two new members to the team this time and managed to clear all regular trials on Akala Island. There's quite a bit of gameplay between Mallow's trial and Olivia's Grand Trial though, so I decided to stop after destroying the Lurantis with my newly evolved Toucannon.

While you may be surprised to see me with a Tsareena already, there's actually a way to get Bounsweet early if you trade a Lillipup for one in the Pokemon Center on route 5. The Daycare is already available as well, so by breeding with a male Fomantis, I got myself a Bounsweet egg. (I don't like using traded Pokemon because you can't nickname them yourself and I like having my own trainer name as the OT.)

Alolan Marowak is another new member to the squad and a Pokemon I've never used before. As a Cubone, he absolutely DESTROYED the Totem Salazzle so he gets a lot of awesome points for that. It's a shame Gamefreak screwed this line over by giving A-Marowak Shadow Bone at lv. 27...even though Cubone doesn't evolve until lv. 28. > < The move relearner is right before the E4 as well so I guess we're using non-stab Brutal Swing to hit the Ghost & Psychic types until then...At least I could be sneaky and temporarily trade him over to my Ultra Moon copy to get Fire Punch from the Heahea Beach move tutor.

CURRENT TEAM

Lucky Charms the Brionne ♀ - Lv. 29

Torrent / Bold nature

- Aqua Jet
- Scald
- Baby-Doll Eyes
- Disarming Voice

Froot Loops the Toucannon ♂ - Lv. 29

Skill Link / Docile nature

- Pluck
- Beak Blast
- Echoed Voice
- Brick Break

Apple Jacks the Alolan Grimer ♀ - Lv. 29

Poison Touch / Impish nature

- Knock Off
- Poison Fang
- Bite
- Disable

Special K the Tsareena ♀ - Lv. 29

Leaf Guard / Bashful nature

- Trop Kick
- Stomp
- Teeter Dance
- Razor Leaf

Raisin Bran the Alolan Marowak ♂ - Lv. 29

Lightning Rod / Adamant nature

- Fire Punch
- Boomerang
- Brutal Swing
- Flame Charge

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 47 [09/02/2022] ー POKEMON ULTRA MOON

Spoiler:

Today I struggled a bit more than I did with Sun yesterday. While rotating games every day does usually provide a refreshing experience, there really aren't that many differences been SuMo and USUM to make up for it. I also find grinding to be rather tedious at this stage in the game since there aren't very many areas which yield a lot of EXP.

At least you can get boosted EXP by abusing Pokemon Refresh and there's a decent amount of trainers to fight as well.

Then there's also my team which just isn't the strongest with a lot of shared weaknesses at the moment. This should get better once the whole team is evolved and complete, but I nearly wiped against the Poipole because nothing could take Venoshocks and the Totem Alolan Marowak caused me a lot of issues as well. Rimbombee was the last Pokemon standing against the Salazzle and just barely managed to take it out after it had been weakened by Dartrix' Pluck.

Totem Lurantis on the other hand was easy-peasy. Huge thanks to its ally Comfey for setting up the sun and allowing my Salandit to burn the oversized plant to ashes with a Flame Burst.

Jangmo-o is definitely the weakest link right now and I honestly can't wait until he evolves because he's just so frail and weak right now. Dragon Tail is a horrible stab move as well because it guarantees you go last and you can't use it for grinding either because it ends the battle. :/

CURRENT TEAM

Mercury the Dartrix ♂ - Lv. 30

Overgrow / Quiet nature

- Giga Drain
- Razor Leaf
- Omnious Wind
- Pluck

Jupiter the Jangmo-o ♂ - Lv. 30

Bulletproof / Docile nature

- Dragon Tail
- Brick Break
- Rock Tomb
- Headbutt

Saturn the Ribombee ♀ - Lv. 30

Shield Dust / Hasty nature

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

Venus the Salandit ♀ - Lv. 29

Corrosion / Mild nature

- Flame Burst
- Dragon Rage
- Toxic
- Smog

Neptune the Mantine ♂ - Lv. 28

Water Absorb / Rash nature

- Water Pulse
- Signal Beam
- Wing Attack
- Headbutt

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 48 [10/02/2022] ー POKEMON LET'S GO PIKACHU

Spoiler:

Every time I play these games, I'm just amazed by how good they look despite the relatively 'simple' style. Sure, the world may not be as vast and elaborate as say Pokemon SwSh or the most recent PLA, but I do think everything is rendered much better and the textures actually look crisp and clean. The battle backgrounds are so pretty too.

This game is kind of notorious for being too easy but my Pokemon have actually fainted quite a few times. (Maybe I'm just bad lol) One of the gamblers got insanely lucky against me and literally wiped my whole team with Fissure until partner Pikachu came in and flinched the little demon with Headbutt. Some of the Ace trainers or Coach trainers have been rather tough as well.

The gym battles weren't too bad at least, although I will admit I was a bit overleveled for Erika since I did the Game Corner stuff first. I was underleveled for Lt. Surge but decided to take my time to grind in Rock Tunnel by chaining Graveler which yield quite a bit of EXP. I'm hoping that I won't have to grind for a bit now since there's so many trainers on the routes surrounding Fuchsia City.

While no new team members were added this time, three out of my four Pokemon evolved! Wigglytuff got a huge boost thanks to the TMs in the Celadon Department Store and Arcanine has a varied moveset as well. I'm gonna have to grind some smart candy to boost his SpA stat though, since I'll probably keep Flamethrower on him as his Fire type move.

CURRENT TEAM

Saffron the Pikachu ♀ - Lv. 37

Dolice nature

- Thunderbolt
- Floaty Fall
- Dig
- Brick Break

Rosemary the Vileplume ♀ - Lv. 37

Sassy nature

- Mega Drain
- Acid
- Growth
- Sleep Powder

Vanilla the Wigglytuff ♀ - Lv. 37

Timid nature

- Tri Attack
- Shadow Ball
- Seismic Toss
- Psychic

Chili the Arcanine ♂ - Lv. 37

Hardy nature

- Flamethrower
- Play Rough
- Dig
- Crunch

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 49 [11/02/2022] ー POKEMON SWORD

Spoiler:

I think I realized today what makes playing Pokemon Sword/Shield such a vastly different experience from playing pretty much any other game. (aside maybe PLA which is also its own thing)

By playing the game alongside the other generations, one thing which immediately jumped out at me is the lack of content/trainer battles in between badges. Especially during this middle part of the game, it's really just one gym after another. Leon is off handling most of the other stuff and Team Yell isn't really a threat at all. ^^;; I also don't mind myself bonding with my Pokemon as much because if you do a bunch of raids to get good TRs and items to sell, you also get a bunch of EXP candy so you never need to grind. I just battle the few trainers there are, look at the level of the next gym leader's ace and then feed my Pokemon some candy, done.

Don't get me wrong, grinding can be extremely tedious, but at the same time, it does give you a chance to watch your Pokemon grow and that's one of main ways how I grow attached to them.

That being said, I'm still enjoying the game, but it's an observation I made and I'm kind of curious if any other long-time Pokemon fans feel the same way.

On a more positive note, the team became much, much stronger in such a short time span. Not only do I have a full squad of six now, aside from Hattrem, they're all fully evolved as well. I managed to snag a few nice TR's from the vendors in the Wild Area as well.

Nessa and Kabu's gyms were both pretty easy for me, with Sirfetch destroying the Drednaw with a Max Overgrowth. (I guess it was worth blowing all of my Watts on that Leaf Blade TR) and Drizzile drowning the G-Max Centiskorch.

Bea actually proved to be more of a challenge, since my team isn't super well-equipped against Fighting types at the moment. Once Hattrem evolves and becomes a Psychic/Fairy type, we should be okay, but right now she isn't the strongest offensively nor defensively so a Night Slash from Pangoro easily took her down.

Sirfetch was able to come in and finish off the Pangoro but was taken out by Machamp shortly after. In the end, half of my team had fainted before a Dynamaxed Toxcriticy managed to pull out the victory with a Max Lightning.

CURRENT TEAM

Chamaeleon the Inteleon ♂ - Lv. 37

Torrent / Naughty nature

- Sucker Punch
- Swift
- Surf
- U-turn

Lepus the Cinderace ♂ - Lv. 37

Blaze / Hasty nature

- Flame Charge
- Double Kick
- Headbutt
- Pyro Ball

Lyra the Toxtricity ♀ - Lv. 37

Rattled / Rash nature

- Nuzzle
- Discharge
- Toxic
- Venoshock

Perseus the Sirfetch'd ♂ - Lv. 37

Steadfast / Gentle nature

- Focus Energy
- Leaf Blade
- Rock Smash
- Throat Chop

Andromeda the Hattrem ♀ - Lv. 37

Anticipation / Docile nature

- Calm Mind
- Magical Leaf
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam

Crux the Copperajah ♂ - Lv. 37

Sheer Force / Serious nature

- Heavy Slam
- Bulldoze
- Stomp
- Zen Headbutt

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 50 [12/02/2022] ー POKEMON SHINING PEARL

Spoiler:

Let me just get this out of the way ーー I strongly believe that BDSP are the worst main line Pokemon games to this day. You might be thinking 'how can these games be worse than Gen I with its shitty graphics and plenty of bugs?'

Simple. Pokemon R/B/Y were made in the 90s for the original Gameboy. Pokemon BDSP were made in 2021 for the Nintendo Switch. Pokemon is the largest game franchise on the planet, yet they thought it was a smart idea to outsource this highly anticipated remake to a company who has never even made a complete game from scratch before. ...AND IT SHOWS.

If you've never played a Pokemon game and your expectations aren't all too high, sure, you might enjoy the game. The chibi style can be endearing and I do like the battle interface with the icons next to the moves to indicate its typing. I enjoy the new mini sprites when you view your party as well. Those look very clean and polished.

It's just that navigating your way through the overworld is so...hard??? I struggled a lot in Wayward Cave and had trouble with Maylene's gym puzzle too because the perspective was weird and I couldn't quite figure out where you could push each section of the bars blocking your path. :/

...

Okay, rant is over for now. Let's talk about the team and actual gameplay. I only did one gym for this update because there's quite a bit of trainers between the 2nd and 3rd gym in Sinnoh. I also was just growing too frustrated with the game to continue tbh.

The team has gotten a bit stronger, with Swinub and Togepi getting their much needed evolution. Skorupi is still a weak baby though so I can't wait till lv. 40 when he'll finally evolve.

With Togetic, Roselia and Mew on the team to resist fighting, the 3rd gym wasn't particularly challenging either. Also, who decided it was a good idea to put all those amazing TMs for cheap prices in Veilstone Department? It's nice to have such strong, diverse movesets early on but what happened to being a faithful remake???

I know the Game Corner no longer exists but they could have just scattered them throughout the region. :/ They make Gligar available early but not his evolution item, yet have no issue dumping a bunch of TMs in a place where they originally weren't available either.

In short...this game is a mess lol. I'd much rather play Platinum or even the original D/P over this.

CURRENT TEAM

Kappa the Prinplup ♂ - Lv. 34

Torrent / Mild nature

- Metal Claw
- Brine
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam

Tsubaki the Roselia ♀ - Lv. 34

Natural Cure / Lax nature

- Magical Leaf
- Giga Drain
- Growth
- Dazzling Gleam

Bakeneko the Mew - Lv. 34

Synchronize / Mild nature

- Amnesia
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast

Amikiri the Skorupi ♂ - Lv. 34

Sniper / Hasty nature

- Bug Bite
- Poison Fang
- Knock Off
- Toxic

Konoha the Togetic ♀ - Lv. 34

Serene Grace / Careful nature

- Extrasensory
- Dazzling Gleam
- Flamethrower
- Shock Wave

Inosasaou the Piloswine ♂ - Lv. 34

Oblivious / Docile nature

- Ice Shard
- Ice Fang
- Bulldoze
- Strength

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 51 [13/02/2022] ー POKEMON BLUE

Spoiler:

After all the frustration Pokemon BDSP gave me yesterday, it felt strangely refreshing to play a gen I game today. While the gameplay is far from perfect, it's what you would expect from a game which is more than 20 years old.

I actually managed to get a bit further than I did in Pokemon Red as well, since I had already beaten Lt. Surge and I only added one team member. You get Eevee at a relatively high level as well, so I basically could just evolve them right away and teach Jolteon Thunderbolt, then defeat all of the trainers on the route before Celadon City to train them up.

I was a little worried about Erika at first because I struggled a lot against this random Jr. Trainer and her Bellsprout on route 9. She basically spammed status moves like Stun Spore and Sleep Powder and then proceeded to Wrap my team to hell and back. I only managed to win because of dumb AI spamming Growth when its Special stat was already maxed out.

Thankfully, I could go grab the Psychic TM from Saffron City and Butterfree could outspeed her whole team as well, so I actually breezed through it.

Giovanni is easy as well when you chose either Bulbasaur or Squirtle, since two out of his three Pokemon are 4x weak to those two types. His Kangaskhan was taken out by my Ivysaur too, who evolved right after.

Last but not least, I powered my way through Pokemon Tower, fully abusing the lack of abilities in this game to destroy all of the Gastly and Haunter with my ground type. Sandslash is serious underrated. It's relatively fast in this gen and Dig is super powerful as a 100 BP STAB move.

The last two team members I want both require Surf, which means I have to earn the 5th gym badge from Koga first. I didn't feel like grinding up to the late 30s though, so I'm gonna keep that for next time.

CURRENT TEAM

Apollo the Ivysaur - Lv. 33

- Body Slam
- Leech Seed
- Poison Powder
- Razor Leaf

Demeter the Butterfree - Lv. 33

- Mega Drain
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Poison Powder

Ares the Sandslash - Lv. 33

- Strength
- Rock Slide
- Dig
- Slash

Hermes the Jolteon - Lv. 33

- Tackle
- Sand-Attack
- Thunderbolt
- Quick Attack

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 52 [14/02/2022] ー POKEMON GOLD

Spoiler:

Today I spent most of my time grinding because I added three new members to the squad which needed to get caught up. There are quite a bit of trainers during this part of the game, but Chuck & Jasmine's gyms are pretty much back-to-back so I'd rather get a bit of a head start with the levels, so I don't have to spend too much time training during the later part of the game.

While my team might not be super wel equipped to take on a Ghost or a Fighting gym, I somehow pulled through. Morty was surprisingly easy because of the lack of abilies, so Primeape with Dig could easily OHKO all four of his Pokemon.

Chuck was a little more challenging. I got really bad RNG during the start of the battle when Sunflora missed his Razor Leaf and got hit by a critical hit Karate Chop for over half of his HP. I tried to recover some HP with Mega Drain but he eventually went down.

This actually worked in my favor though, since I could swap in Magneton to finish the Primeape and have my Electric type in against his Poliwrath. The first Thundershock did about 40%, but luck was on my side this time when Poliwrath missed its Hypnosis and Magneton got a high roll with its next Thundershock, taking out Chuck's ace.

CURRENT TEAM

Jazz the Quilava ♀ - Lv. 31

- Swift
- Rock Smash
- Leer
- Flame Wheel

Blues the Quagsire ♂ - Lv. 31

- Surf
- Mud-Slap
- Ice Punch
- Headbutt

Country the Sunflora ♂ - Lv. 30

- Cut
- Razor Leaf
- Growth
- Mega Drain

K-pop the Espeon ♀ - Lv. 30

- Headbutt
- Bite
- Quick Attack
- Shadow Ball

Techno the Magneton - Lv. 31

- ThunderShock
- Thunder Wave
- Lock-On
- SonicBoom

Rock n' Roll the Primeape ♂ - Lv. 30

- Karate Chop
- Dig
- Thunder Punch
- Strength

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 53 [15/02/2022] ー POKEMON SAPPHIRE

Spoiler:

While yesterday I ended up playing quite a bit to get my whole team grinded to a good level, today grinding just went really smoothly. Personally, I really like the route to the left of Mauville City for mid-game grinding. While the Pokemon are only lv. 13-15, there's a bunch of wild Roselia and Illumise or Volbeat, which yield between 200 and 300 EXP each. (Which is more than some of the higher level Pokemon on the later routes)

I also added two new members to the team and both of them have been really pulling their own weight. Torkoal is very bulky and gets Flamethrower at lv. 30 in this game which is somehing I didn't know! I had been selling all of my Nuggets from abusing Pick Up Zigzagoon to buy the TM from the Game Corner, but I guess that won't be necessary. Spoink is still a little frail right now, but I actually look forward to using a Grumpig.

Since there's a big stretch between the 3rd and 4th gym in these games (and then the 5th gym is right after), I only got one new badge. The fight against Flannery could have gone so wrong when my Marshtomp got both crit AND paralyzed by Torkoal's Body Slam, but somehow Lady Luck smiled upon me today and Marshtomp broke through TWICE to hit the second Dig and take out her Torkoal.

CURRENT TEAM

Tumblr the Marshtomp ♂ - Lv. 31

Torrent / Naughty nature

- Tackle
- Mud Shot
- Growl
- Water Gun

Twitter the Swellow ♂ - Lv. 30

Guts / Rash nature

- Wing Attack
- Focus Energy
- Steel Wing
- Quick Attack

Snapchat the Hariyama ♂ - Lv. 30

Thick Fat / Rash nature

- Tackle
- Vital Throw
- Rock Tomb
- Fake Out

Reddit the Torkoal ♂ - Lv. 30

White Smoke / Gentle nature

- Flamethrower
- Body Slam
- Curse
- Strength

Instagram the Spoink ♀ - Lv. 30

Thick Fat / Docile nature

- Psybeam
- Confuse Ray
- Shock Wave
- Thief

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 54 [16/02/2022] ー POKEMON FIRE RED

Spoiler:

Am I starting to get somewhat sick of Kanto? I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little. I guess this was to be expected though, seeing as I have to play through the region 7 times (12 if you count the 5 Johto games as well).

On the flip side, these games are very straight forward so I can play on auto pilot for the most part. :p I pretty much have all trainer rosters memorized so I know exactly which team member to swap out in front to have the best match-up.

Speaking of team, I only added one new Pokemon being Flareon, but Nidorino and Gloom both reached their final forms. I also blew through all of my money to buy some nice TMs from the Game Corner. I'm still saving up to get Thunderbolt on Nidoking as well.

The gyms were no challenge this time around, with Nidoking making quick work of Lt. Surge while Flareon burned through (literally) Erika's Grass types. I did get quite lucky against the 3rd gym because it could have gone much worse. I completely forgot about Static and of course, my Nidoking got Paralyzed after taking out the Pikachu, which gave Raichu a chance to set up Double Teams. With bad RNG, I could have been there for a while.

CURRENT TEAM

Cedar the Wartortle ♂ - Lv. 33

Torrent / Docile nature

- Water Pulse
- Tackle
- Bite
- Ice Beam

Pine the Nidoking ♂ - Lv. 33

Poison Point / Modest nature

- Dig
- Horn Attack
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break

Magnolia the Vileplume ♀ - Lv. 33

Chlorophyll / Relaxed nature

- Giga Drain
- Secret Power
- Stun Spore
- Acid

Sycamore the Kadabra ♂ - Lv. 33

Synchronize / Bashful nature

- Psybeam
- Thief
- Shock Wave
- Reflect

Cypress the Flareon ♀ - Lv. 33

Flash Fire / Serious nature

- Flamethrower
- Dig
- Bite
- Secret Power

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 55 [17/02/2022] ー POKEMON PEARL

Spoiler:

Today was another grind-heavy day because I added two team members to the team and Bronzor in particular is not the easiest to train up due to its...very lacking offensive stats. Now that they're a Bronzong, they do get a huge buff to their stats though, so that's a relief.

I also added a Rotom to the team by trading over an egg. In Platinum, you would be able to get one right after getting the second badge after all. While Rotom can handle its own now, it obvious hatches at lv. 1 so that was a lot of extra grinding as well. > <

As a result, I didn't quite get as far as I did in Diamond, but I think the levels of my team are pretty much the same. I hope this means that I won't need to grind as much in the future and will just be able to use the trainers to stay on par with the gym leaders, etc.

Speaking of gym leaders, I did have two Pokemon which are strong against Fighting types in Murkrow and Bronzong, but neither of them resist Fighting because of their secondary typing. In fact, the MVP of the fight ended up being Gastrodon who matches up pretty well against her ace because of its Ground typing. Mud Bomb wasn't an OHKO and I got a little unlucky when she missed twice in a row, but then luck shifted in my favor and a Quick Claw priority Mud Bomb took out the Lucario.

Now to talk about the main event of today...While training on route 215, I ran into a shiny Kadabra. Yes, my THIRD full odds shiny in a pre Gen VI game since I started this challenge.

Now here's the catch. Kadabra on these routes know Teleport. So I decided to just chuck a Great Ball at it, cross my fingers and pray...

One shake.

Two shakes.

And then it broke out.

...

"The wild Kadabra used Teleport. The wild Kadabra fled from the battle."

Yup. I basically knew this would happen. Hence why I didn't even bother taking a photo this time. I'm going to just try and forget this ever happened. This is the second failed shiny in DPPt so far and it's starting to become clear to me that I'm just not fated to catch a shiny in these.

CURRENT TEAM

Tabasco the Monferno ♂ - Lv. 32

Blaze / Naughty nature

- Return
- Mach Punch
- Grass Knot
- Flame Wheel

Relish the Roselia ♂ - Lv. 32

Poison Point / Mild nature

- Magical Leaf
- Growth
- Leech Seed
- Cut

Hoisin the Gastrodon ♀ - Lv. 32

Sticky Hold / Relaxed nature

- Mud Bomb
- Body Slam
- Hidden Power
- Water Pulse

Soy Sauce the Murkrow ♀ - Lv. 33

Insomnia / Docile nature

- Steel Wing
- Night Shade
- Assurance
- Wing Attack

Maple Syrup the Rotom - Lv. 32

Levitate / Docile nature

- Thunder Wave
- Shock Wave
- Omnious Wind
- Uproar

Tahini the Bronzong - Lv. 33

Heatproof / Gentle nature

- Extrasensory
- Iron Defense
- Rock Tomb
- Confuse Ray

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 56 [18/02/2022] ー POKEMON SOULSILVER

Spoiler:

First of all ー I never want to play Voltorb Flip again. Perhaps I just have horrible luck but even when using a lot of online calculators, I was still struggling to collect enough coins to get a Dratini. I had already already done this prior to today, because I didn't want it to take up most of my time and then not have any time left to process with the story.

Anyway, with the final team member added to the team, I decided I wanted to get most of my grinding done BEFORE Morty so I could then just battle all the trainers between the 4th and the 5th gym and not have to do any extra grinding for Chuck.

Usually grinding is a pain on HGSS but I had the glorious ideas to swap teams with my HG cartridge and therefore benefit of the boosted EXP traded Pokemon get. This honestly worked really well and I think I will be using it a lot during this challenge!

Anyway, the team is performing well and I breezed through most of the trainers and the gyms. These games really screwed Morty over by putting the Shadow Claw TM on the route East to Ecruteak. Heracross can learn it so that was a clean sweep.

Chuck's Pokemon are quite bulky so Slowking struggled a little with only Confusion, but I got a lucky crit on the final hit against his Poliwrath.

I'm still undecided whether or not I'll be evolving my shiny Haunter into its final form, hence why I haven't done the trade just yet. I'd like to use Gengar since it's much stronger, but Haunter's shiny is just so much better...Let me know what you guys think!

CURRENT TEAM

Kindness the Magenium ♂ - Lv. 32

Overgrow / Lax nature

- Headbutt
- Petal Dance
- Razor Leaf
- Poison Powder

Charity the Haunter ♂ - Lv. 32 ★

Levitate / Hasty nature

- Hypnosis
- Shadow Ball
- Night Shade
- Payback

Humility the Slugma ♂ - Lv. 32

Flame Body / Naughty nature

- Amnesia
- Yawn
- Ember
- Ancient Power

Patience the Slowking ♀ - Lv. 32

Own Tempo / Gentle nature

- Headbutt
- Yawn
- Surf
- Confusion

Diligence the Heracross ♀ - Lv. 32

Guts / Adamant nature

- Shadow Claw
- Brick Break
- Aerial Ace
- Strength

Temperance the Dragonair ♀ - Lv. 32

Shed Skin / Gentle nature

- Shock Wave
- Surf
- Headbutt
- Dragon Rage

 

[SailorVee]

DAY 57 [19/02/2022] ー POKEMON WHITE

Spoiler:

Me and my mom decided to finally clean out our pantry today, so I didn't get to play as much as I originally intended. I might have been able to make it to Clay if I had sped through, but I rather take my time with it next time. I still have plenty of time left until the year is over after all.

That being said, I don't have a lot of exciting stuff to talk about today. I mostly just took on a bunch of trainers on the routes surrounding Castelia and Nimbasa city as well as challenged Burgh and Elesa.

While no new members were added to the team this time around, pretty much everyone but my starter reached their final form, so I have a lot more offensive power right now.

The two gym fights I did weren't particularly challenging either, since I had the perfect types to counter them. I should have probably evolved my Drilbur before challenging Elesa though. I forgot that she has a Hasty nature, so Aerial Ace from Emolga did quite a bit of a damage. I still managed to pull out the victory regardless and now I have a powerful Excadrill to potentially have an 'honor battle' with Clay in the next part.

CURRENT TEAM

Takis the Pignite ♀️ - Lv. 30

Blaze / Sassy nature

- Strength
- Ember
- Arm Thrust
- Flame Charge

Ruffles the Swoobat ♀️ - Lv. 30

Unaware / Quiet nature

- Confusion
- Air Cutter
- Calm Mind
- Assurance

Bugels the Excadrill ♀️ - Lv. 31

Sand Rush / Hasty nature

- Hone Claws
- Metal Claw
- Dig
- Rock Slide

Kale Chips the Lilligant ♀️ - Lv. 30

Own Tempo / Bashful nature

- Giga Drain
- Quiver Dance
- Leech Seed
- Magical Leaf

Funyuns the Scolipede ♀️ - Lv. 30

Poison Point / Quirky nature

- Iron Defense
- Poison Tail
- Bug Bite
- Protect