[Gen 5] Janp's Genlocke Adventures - Unova

[Janp]

The Genlocke Challenge - Unova

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NOTE: This is a continuation of my Genlocke Challenge threads. I recommend checking previous threads:
Kanto
Sinnoh
Johto

Here we go with another part of my Genlocke Challenge. It's a Challenge in which I'm Nuzlocking first 7 regions in a particular order. If I blackout, I have to start all over again. Luckily, I'm still on my first try.

Let's go over the rules quickly:

Rules

1. Any Pokémon that faints is considered dead and must be released (or permanently put in PC).
2. I can only catch the first wild Pokémon encountered in each area, and none else. If the first wild Pokémon encountered faints or flees, there are no second chances.
3. All Pokémon must be nicknamed.
4. The region is completed, when I first see credits roll.
5. Starter Pokémon must be randomly chosen. If the last digit of the player's Trainer ID number is 1-3, I must choose the Grass-type starter; if it is 4-6, the Fire-type starter; if it is 7-9, the Water-type starter; if it is 0, it's re-roll.
6. A black out is considered as game over.
7. I have to play with SET battle style.
8. Each Gym battle has a level cap - the level of the last Pokémon of each Gym Leader. For E4 and Champion, I'll go with the last Pokémon of the Champion, but I'll put a softlock on how much I'll grind each Pokémon for the Elite Four.
9. I can't use healing items in battle.

I'll do regions in following order:
Kanto - Sinnoh - Johto - Unova - Kalos - Hoenn - Alola

With that, let's quickly review the situation before the Unova. It's getting quite crowded on my team. I already have starter of each type and Alakazam seems to be sticking on my team for now. Alongside Squirtle, it's my last Pokémon, whose ancestors I caught in Kanto. Turtwig and Sneasel joined the team at the end of Sinnoh were the only Sinnoh survivors (alongside Squirtle and Alakazam) of Lucian massacre. And while both of them are cool, I feel like they are sometimes falling behind. Especially since I can't really evolce Sneasel easily, because Razor Claw is locked in the post-game for most games. I might be switching it up for some other Dark-type in this region. Last two members joined in Johto – Cyndaquil, who might be also replaced soon (if I get Tepig) and Zubat, who joined pretty late in Johto, but was useful against Johto's Elite Four.

And that's it for now! Let's have fun!

 

[Janp]

The Genlocke Challenge in Pokémon Black

UPDATE 1

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Let's keep the momentum going and continue the Genlocke. I got my eggs in Johto and sent them away to Unova.

I started the game of Pokémon Black and created my character, but my ID ended with 0, so I quickly re-rolled my character and got 8, meaning I got Tepig. Actually a solid choice. I'll probably put it on my team instead of Typhlosion, just for the Fighting typing. It proved to be useful in Johto. I quickly got past tutorial, nicknamed my Tepig as Jaden, caught Lillipup as my Route 1 encounter and nicknamed her Asuka. You can probably already guess that my nicknaming theme for this part of Genlocke are characters from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

I got my eggs, hatched them and beat N easily using Tepig. I spent some time grinding up my other team members and eventually decided to box Cyndaquil in favour of Tepig. One thing that I think deserves mentioning is that more Pokémon on my team inherited some cool moves this time. Squirtle got Ice-Beam again, which is slowly becoming his signature move. Abra also got some moves meaning grinding him up is easy now. Sneasel got Avalanche, Ice Shard and Shadow Claw, making him the best Pokémon to clear trainers in front of the first Gym.

Speaking of the Gym battle, I was facing Cress and his Panpour. I first had to beat his Lillipup using Sneasel and then take advantage of my Turtwig's typing to beat Panpour. It was surprisingly close fight.

After than, I continued on and accidentally knocked out my next encounter. It was Patrat, so I don't think it matters that much. Getting to the next city, I was hoping to get one of the Fighting-types living just outside the Pinwheel Forest. Sadly, I only encounter Tympole there. Which means I'm depending on my Unova starter to beat Lenora. Speaking of Tepig, he evolved while fighting trainers in the Gym.

Now for the Lenora battle. She's always tough. Her Normal-types are bulky, and Retaliate is brutal. Luckily, I had Pignite with Arm Thrust, which made things a bit easier. I got lucky and hit 4-5 times per use. Without that luck, the battle could've gone very differently.

After that, I cleared the story events in Pinwheel Forest and saved the game just as I was arriving in Castelia City.

Team

Jaden, Quirky Male Pignite
lvl 22, Blaze
- Flame Charge
- Smog
- Tackle
- Arm Thrust

Oahu 4, Adamant Male Wartortle
lvl 20, Torrent, Mystic Water
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
- Bite
- Water Gun

Hydra 3, Rash Female Grotle
lvl 20, Overgrow
- Tackle
- Absorb
- Curse
- Razor Leaf

Luzon 4, Relaxed Male Alakazam
lvl 21, Inner Focus
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind
- Disable

Uvhash 3, Lonely Male Sneasel
lvl 20, Inner Focus
- Faint Attack
- Ice Shard
- Shadow Claw
- Avalanche

Fiddle 2, Docile Female Zubat
lvl 20, Inner Focus
- Wing Attack
- Supersonic
- Astonish
- Bite​

 

[Janp]

The Genlocke Challenge in Pokémon Black

UPDATE 2

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Taking care of Team Plasma stuff in Castelia City, I explored the city a little bit and got some useful items for my journey. There is so much stuff hidden in the back alleys, just waiting for you to grab. I'm surprised by how much I like this city. It's a shame there's is no view of the city from the skyscrapers. That would be incredible addition.

After getting just enough, I set up to beat Burgh. And I had just the right Pokémon for the battle. As I was making my way through the Gym, Zubat evolved into Golbat and then into Crobat right on the next level (might be due to some happiness grinding while walking around the city). And Crobat is the ultimate counter against Burgh's Bug-types, because of her typing. Well, almost the ultimate counter, since Burgh also uses Dwebble, which knows Rock-type moves. Luckily, I also have my dear Kanto starter, whose water attacks could potentially take Dwebble quickly down.

With all the preparations in place, I challenged Burgh. I started with Crobat and quickly beat Burgh's Venipede. I withdrawn Crobat just as Burgh's Dwebble unleashed his rocky performance and sent out Wartortle. Few Water Guns later and I had to switch again to Crobat, safely taking a hit from Burgh's Leaveanny. Leaveanny really couldn't do much against Crobat and lost after few rounds of Wing Attacks.

After that, I also beat both Cheren and Bianca while leaving the city. I don't like this part, because I usually heal after the Gym battle and fight with Bianca. Then I return to Poké Center to heal again, only to fight Cheren, which results in another visit to Poké Center. I know I could heal with items, but since the Center is so close, it feels like a waste.

And with that, this part is done. So far, I think this run goes smoothly.

Team

Jaden, Quirky Male Pignite
lvl 23, Blaze
- Flame Charge
- Smog
- Rollout
- Arm Thrust

Oahu 4, Adamant Male Wartortle
lvl 23, Torrent, Mystic Water
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
- Bite
- Water Gun

Hydra 3, Rash Female Grotle
lvl 23, Overgrow
- Tackle
- Bite
- Curse
- Razor Leaf

Luzon 4, Relaxed Male Alakazam
lvl 23, Inner Focus
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind
- Disable

Uvhash 3, Lonely Male Sneasel
lvl 23, Inner Focus
- Faint Attack
- Ice Shard
- Shadow Claw
- Avalanche

Fiddle 2, Docile Female Zubat
lvl 24, Inner Focus
- Wing Attack
- Confuse Ray
- Astonish
- Bite​

 

[Janp]

The Genlocke Challenge in Pokémon Black

UPDATE 4

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Okay, let's move on. I have no idea why, but I always thought the route between Nimbasa City and Driftveil City was way longer. This time around, I just beat a few kids and some wannabe Team Plasma knights, and suddenly I was already facing Clay.

Clay's Excadrill has ended more than one of my runs in the past, or at the very least, made them much harder by tearing through my strongest Pokémon. So I was definitely cautious going into this fight. I had my trusty starter, who could technically handle Excadrill, but there were still two other Pokémon on Clay's team to worry about. My plan was simple: use Grotle to take out Palpitoad and Pignite to handle Krokorok.

I opened with Pignite, and even though Arm Thrust kept hitting only twice per turn, I managed to take down Krokorok. But then I had to switch to Grotle as Pignite wouldn't survive a fight with Palpitoad. As soon as Grotle came in, she took a critical hit. That put her in the red HP, and I wasn't feeling confident keeping her on the field. So after one turn of Razor Leaf, I swapped her out for Wartortle. Wartortle handled the rest of the fight against Palpitoad with a few well-placed Bites and solid tanking.

And then came Excadrill. The battle was really close. I think the AI actually messed up a little bit. Excadrill used Hone Claws instead of attacking towards the end of the battle. If it had gone for an actual move, I probably would've lost at least one Pokémon. But in the end, I walked away from the fight with no casualties.

Moving on, I made it through Chargestone Cave. I was hoping for a Tynamo or a Joltik as my encounter, but instead I got stuck with Klink. Bit of a shame, since Tynamo would've been a great addition, especially since a few of my current team members are starting to fall behind. Grotle didn't see much use in this segment, and Sneasel desperately needs to evolve (which I can't do until post-game unless I risk it in the Battle Subway). Yeah, I might switch Sneasel up for someone else. On the other hand, I really want to keep him. But that's all in the future, let's focus on earlier challenges.

Anyway, let's talk about my beloved Skyla. She's actually the perfect opponent for Sneasel. Her Swoobat is practically made for it. I wasn't sure Sneasel could sweep the whole team, though. Unfezant? Maybe. But Swanna? That would be asking for trouble. Luckily, I had a backup ready in the PC. I'd caught a Blitzle earlier in the game, so I brought her out, benched Pignite (definitely the worst pick against Swanna), and trained Blitzle up until she evolved into Zebstrika and was at the right level.

The Gym battle started with Sneasel vs. Swoobat. I always forget how bulky Swoobat actually is. I really need to use one sometime. It took more hits than I expected, but Swoobat couldn't do much back, so Sneasel handled it. I kept Sneasel in for Unfezant, and I got lucky—landed a crit Avalanche and took it down in one hit. When Swanna came out, I switched to Zebstrika, who finished the fight with a single Spark.

After the Gym, I swapped Zebstrika back to the PC and brought Pignite back into the party. Since Zebstrika won't be sticking around, that's all the spotlight she gets for now. Since Zebstrika won't be on the team overview at the end of the post, let's look at her now here.

Yubel, Bold Female Zebstrika
lvl 35, Lightingrod
- Quick Attack
- Thunder Wave
- Charge
- Spark​

I didn't mention it earlier, but aside from the desert, the areas between Mistralton and Icirrus are some of my least favorite parts of the game. They're tedious to navigate, the trainers are pushovers, and it all just drags across several routes. Twist Mountain is a slight improvement, mostly because I like Cheren and this stretch is important for his development. He also acts as a free healing source, which makes things a lot easier. So yeah, I made it to Icirrus City without any trouble.

Brycen, unlike Skyla, was a total pushover. By this point, all of my starters had reached their final evolutions, and Emboar was tailor-made for this Gym. The only challenge was staying under the level cap. I started the fight with Emboar, and I didn't need anyone else. That said, I did take a risk near the end—Emboar finished the battle with only 10 HP left.

And that's all for this part. I'm slowly getting closer to the end, still without any casualties. Feels great.

Team

Jaden, Quirky Male Emboar
lvl 37, Blaze
- Flame Charge
- Heat Crash
- Rollout
- Arm Thrust

Oahu 4, Adamant Male Blastoise
lvl 37, Torrent, Mystic Water
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
- Flash Cannon
- Surf

Hydra 3, Rash Female Torterra
lvl 33, Overgrow
- Leech Seed
- Curse
- Earthquake
- Razor Leaf

Luzon 4, Relaxed Male Alakazam
lvl 36, Inner Focus
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind
- Recover

Uvhash 3, Lonely Male Sneasel
lvl 37, Inner Focus, NeverMeltIce
- Faint Attack
- Ice Shard
- Shadow Claw
- Avalanche

Fiddle 2, Docile Female Crobat
lvl 35, Inner Focus
- Wing Attack
- Confuse Ray
- X-Scissor
- Bite​

 

[Janp]

The Genlocke Challenge in Pokémon Black

FINAL UPDATE

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I'll skip the boring Team Plasma fights and go straight to what happened in Opelucid City.

I challenged Drayden without much of a plan. I had Blastoise with Ice Beam and Sneasel with Avalanche on my team. I started the battle with Sneasel, confident he could safely take down Fraxure. And he did—after just one exchange of attacks. I decided to keep Sneasel in against Druddigon, but after his HP dropped lower than I liked, I switched to Blastoise. Blastoise then handled both Druddigon and Haxorus without much trouble.

Originally, I was going to end this update here. But since I kind of skimmed over the story stuff (and merged a few previous updates together), let's go ahead and talk about the Elite Four and the final battles with N and Ghetsis.

I briefly considered changing up my team, but I couldn't bring myself to bench any of my Pokémon—they'd all been with me since the beginning. So I just leveled everyone up to 50, gave them useful held items, and challenged the Pokémon League.

First up was Shauntal. I led with Sneasel against Cofagrigus. I really hate fighting this thing—it's tanky, it burns, and it's taken down my Serperior in a past run. Sneasel managed to defeat it with a few weak Faint Attacks, but ended up burned and left with low HP (as expected from a glass cannon). That meant I had to rely on the rest of the team. Thankfully, every other Pokémon on her team had a secondary typing I could exploit. Torterra easily took out Jellicent with Wood Hammer, and Blastoise handled both Golurk and Chandelure. It was close, but I beat Shauntal. BTW, I took screenshots this time!

Next up: Grimsley. I started with Emboar and quickly knocked out Scrafty. Bisharp came next, and although Emboar was a solid counter, Bisharp moved first and hit with Aerial Ace, leaving Emboar in the red before going down to Brick Break. When Grimsley sent out Krookodile, I switched to Blastoise and dealt with it easily. I sent Sneasel in to face Liepard. He took a Fake Out, then finished it with Avalanche. Easy fight overall.

Then came Caitlin. I opened with Alakazam instead of Sneasel, mainly because Caitlin leads with Reuniclus, and I wasn't confident that one Faint Attack would finish it, especially since it knows Focus Blast. Alakazam, however, landed a critical Shadow Ball and took it out instantly. He stayed in for Gothitelle, and after a few exchanged Shadow Balls, came out on top again. With Alakazam low on HP, I swapped to Blastoise to deal with Sigilyph, which he handled smoothly. Finally, Torterra went up against Musharna in a slow, tanky battle that eventually ended in my favor.

Marshal was up next… and honestly, it was just an Alakazam sweep. The only Pokémon that got to attack was Sawk, thanks to Sturdy. One Psychic each. That's it.

Meaning that I quickly continued to N's Castle and got to the ultimate finale of the run. I caught Reshiram in Master Ball to save some time. I had no intention in using it and I can't really not catch it. And with that out of the way, I could challenge N. I sarted the battle with Torterra and easily obliterated N's legendary dragon. N sent out Vanilluxe and I quickly switched out to Emboar, only to get hit by Flamethrower. Wait a moment! Vanilluxe ca't learn Flamethrower! It must be Zoroark. Luckily, I sent out Emboar, so it's not a big deal. I quickly took Zoroark down with Brick Break. N then sent out Carrracosta, so I sent out Blastoise. It was a long and close fight, but Blastoise won. N sent out Kliknklang, which meant I switched back to Emboar, tanked Thunderbolt and beat it with Brick Break. N then sent out the true Vanilluxe for some reason, who couldn't do anything against Emboar. N's last Pokémon was Archeops and weirdly, it was the hardest to take down. I had to switch Emboar out. But to whom? Blastoise was weared down after the battle. Torterra and Sneasel weren't a good match against Archeops. Alakazam is way too squishy. So I sent out Crobat and got hit by powerful Acrobatics. I used Confuse Ray and got lucky again. Archeops kept hitting itself, while Crobat beat it with her own Acrobatics.

And finally, the battle with Ghetsis. I wasn't feeling good about it. My team was underleveled. And since I didn't lose a single Pokémon this run, I wanted to finish the run deathless. I started the battle with Sneasel against Cofagrigus. It was almost the same battle as with Shauntal's Cofagrigus. Ghetsis' one missed with Toxic and Sneasel beat it with two Faint Attacks. Ghetsis sent out his ace Hydreigon. I predicted an incoming Fire Blast and switched to Emboar. Now, Emboar would be a great match against Hydreigon type-wise, but this Hydreigon knows Surf. So I had to switch up again and sent out Blastoise. Even Blastoise would be great match against Hydreigon. But... Hydreigon is bulky and tanked Ice-Beam, while retalitating with Dragon Pulse and cut Blastoise's HP in half. I didn't want to risk it and sent out Crobat, just as Hydreigon used Focus Blast, meaning Crobat went in mostly unscratched. I used Confuse Ray and got lucky again with Hydreigon hitting itself, while Crobat finished it with Acrobatics. Ghetsis sent out Bouffalant and I switch to Torterra, expecting Wild Charge. I used one-time opportunity to use Wood Hammer, which took Bouffalant down, but also left Torterra in red HP. Ghetsis' next Pokémon was Bisharp, so I sent out Emboar and finished the Sword Blade Pokémon easily. Now, pretty much all of my Pokémon except for Alakazam were hurt, some of them even in red HP. So when Seismitoad appeared, wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to risk Alakazam, so I sent out Crobat and used Confuse Ray shenanigans again to beat the toad. Ghetsis' last Pokémon was Eelektross and to be honest, I had no idea what to do, so I kept Crobat in and Confuse Ray'd my way to the ultimate victory.

So yeah, it's another part of Genlocke done, this time without losing a single Pokémon. I'm looking forward Kalos. It has been a while since I played through it.

Here's Hall of Fame:

Team

Jaden, Quirky Male Emboar
lvl 52, Blaze, Charcoal
- Flamethrower
- Wild Charge
- Head Smash
- Brick Break

Oahu 4, Adamant Male Blastoise
lvl 51, Torrent, Mystic Water
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- Flash Cannon
- Surf

Hydra 3, Rash Female Torterra
lvl 52, Overgrow
- Leech Seed
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Wood Hammer

Luzon 4, Relaxed Male Alakazam
lvl 51, Inner Focus
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind
- Recover

Uvhash 3, Lonely Male Sneasel
lvl 51, Inner Focus, NeverMeltIce
- Faint Attack
- Poison Jab
- Shadow Claw
- Avalanche

Fiddle 2, Docile Female Crobat
lvl 51, Inner Focus
- Acrobatics
- Confuse Ray
- X-Scissor
- Cross Poison​