[Event] Secret Delibird Challenge (Complete)

[Reginald Cosmic]

It took me longer than expected to catch a Pokemon that could learn Cut. I wanted a Zigzagoon, but the game wasn't having it, so I caught a Nincada that can learn Cut and Flash. I used Cut to battle the trainers on the ledges near Rusturf Tunnel and obtain the Miracle Seed in Petalburg Forest.

I set sail for Dewford and ended up doing a lot of grinding in Granite Cave. I named the Geodude "Tenshinhan" because Tenshinhan (or Tien in the dub) had the ability to grow an extra set of arms. I named the Magikarp "Krillin" because Krillin's always an underdog even though he's arguably the strongest Earthling (after it was confirmed Goku and Piccolo were aliens in Z). I used to be in the camp that Tenshinhan was the strongest Earthling in the OG manga, and that's probably true very late in DBZ, but remember... Krillin killed four Saibamen with one attack. I taught Rock Tomb to Geodude because STAB attack, and by the time I was done grinding, Shu the Poochyena learned Bite. (It's about time!)

I beat all the trainers in Dewford Gym. At one point, Meditite was using Bide, so I used an X Attack and an X Defend that I found on the ground for Yamcha the Lombre. I completely forgot to prepare for the double battle in that gym. (I had to switch Krillin/Magikarp and Tenshinhan/Geodude out immediately.) I healed at the Pokemon Center after finishing off the last of the gym trainers, but then I beat Brawly by spamming Confusion. Meditite raised its attack and started spamming "Focus Punch," and I was like "Hoo boy," so I couldn't stop using Confusion. I actually knocked Meditite to low health three times, but thankfully Brawly only had two Super Potions. I haven't had a single party member faint thus far, but I think that'll change with the next gym leader Wattson. I think I need to speed up this playthrough, but it's hard to balance life.

 

[Kyatra]

GYM 4:
Again, surprised this wasn't that hard! Machoke mostly took care of the hard ones but Grovyle suprisingly carried the fight againts Flannery (limit lvl. 29). Still had to spam potions because of how tanky that Torkoal is. The fight againts Maxie wasn't too hard since Nuzleaf's Rock Slide (Nature Power) and Machoke took care of the team.

Flannery I was worried with how weak my team is with fire and it did took me a few tries but the team got through even with Machoke still at level 28. The winning attempt was putting Grovyle upfront and getting lucky with Magnitude from Numel and a miss Overheat alongside a crit Leaf Blade on Camerupt. Machoke can easily take down Slugma and when Torkoal came in, I sacked Grovyle for a free switch to Illumise who Encored the Torkoal just a turn before the sun ends on Overheat.

From there it was just a scratching battle as Machoke spams Low Kick and Torkoal used Body Slam. I got lucky Machoke didn't get para'd nor attracted too many times but gosh, that went suprisingly well!

Spoiler: Current Team:

Comet the Grovyle - M - Overgrow - Sassy (Item: Miracle Seed)
Pursuit, Leer, Leaf Blade, Quick Attack



Earth the Nuzleaf - M - Early Bird - Relaxed
Bide, Nature Power, Growth, Bullet Seed



Star the Illumise - F - Oblivious - Naive

Encore, Quick Attack, Wish, Charm


Car. the Machoke - M - Guts - Calm
Low Kick, Seismic Toss, Leer, Karate Chop​

​

 

[Kyatra]

GYM 5:
Because of the small distance between gym 4 and 5, I decided to tackle em today as well since I have the free time. Caught Sun the Baltoy and grinded up everyone to around level 29 (level limit 31), I know its risky to enter the gym with that level but honestly, Norman doesn't seem like that big of a threat, heck the trainers probably gave me more trouble. That Sword Dance Zangoose was terrifying because most of my team are slower than it. Machoke of course carried this entire battle, but Grovyle put in the extra hand too, the other mons went easily down either from one-on-one with Nuzleaf and Baltoy, or finished with Machoke.

It took me two tries since the first one went horrible, but the second I figured I could do what I did with Torkoal. Leer + Low Kick. Works like a charm, Grovyle managed to do three Leers on Slaking and even a chip damage with Leaf Blade before going down to Facade and Machoke's Low Kick Oh-Ko it.

Spoiler: Current Team:

Comet the Grovyle - M - Overgrow - Sassy (Item: Miracle Seed)
Pursuit, Leer, Leaf Blade, Quick Attack

Earth the Nuzleaf - M - Early Bird - Relaxed (Item: Black Glasses)
Bide, Nature Power, Fake Out, Bullet Seed

Star the Illumise - F - Oblivious - Naive
Encore, Quick Attack, Wish, Charm

Car. the Machoke - M - Guts - Calm
Low Kick, Strength, Leer, Karate Chop

Sun the Baltoy - ? - Levitate - Bashful (Item: Soft Sand)
Mud-Slap, Psybeam, Selfdestruct, Ancient Power

 

[Devalue]

Update 5 + 6: Sabrina and Koga

Level limit: 43 (Weezing, Alakazam)

Current Team:
Cupid (Wartortle), Dasher (Pidgeotto), Vixen (Ninetales), Rudolph (Trapinch), and Dancer (Gloom)

Delved into Rocket Hideout. Mentions nothing noteworthy until Giovanni. Got a good preview of Kangaskhan. One-shot Dancer with a critical Mega Punch. Apparently should have cared about Giovanni's team (or the Kangaskhan, more precisely).

...Wait. How did it one-shot? (Looking) Might have given all his Pokemon 30 IVs, unlike all the gym leaders with 0 IVs. Explains it no other way. Hits for 91 - 107.6% on a Mega Punch critical with 30 IVs in Attack (50% chance of a one-shot). Deals only 80.7 - 96.1% with 0 IVs and a neutral nature.

Cleared out the Pokemon Tower. Had some trouble with Snorlax (see: a crit and spamming Snore while asleep). Beelined to the Safari Zone for Kangaskhan. Is not looking forward to the (maximum) 4% encounter rate. May not catch four of these.

• Safari Zone #1: Caught 4 Pokemon (one by accident) in 30 balls. Trash luck. No Kangaskhans. (Aimed for the end, not a good Kangaskhan encounter rate.)
• Safari Zone #2: Caught 5 Pokemon. Saw 3 Kangaskhans. Failed to catch any. Fled after after a combined 6 balls.
• Safari Zone #3: Saw the first 5% Parasect. Caught the third one in a combined 7 balls. Saw 2 Kangaskhans. Fled in 4 balls total.
• Safari Zone #4: 2 Kangaskhans. Fled in 7 balls.
• Safari Zone #5: Bagged a Venonat on the way in. 2 Kangaskhans. Fled in 8 balls.
• Safari Zone #6: Caught Kangaskhan #1 in the first ball (Ball #26 overall). Saw 1 more Kangaskhan. Feld after 1 ball.

Timid nature? Come on. What are the odds of catching a Kangaskhan? ...9.265%. Psh. Fine. Back to the Safari Zone.

• Safari Zone #7: 1 Kangaskhan. Fled in 5 balls.
• Safari Zone #8: Read up on better odds. Throws Bait x2, then Ball x3. Returns to bait after that. Saw 1 Kangaskhan. Fled immediately. Saw the first 1% Scyther. Fled immediately. Caught Kangaskhan #2 in two balls.

Modest nature? Really?

• Safari Zone #9: Saw a Kangaskhan and caught it for #3 in three balls. Encountered 1 more Kangaskhan. Fled immediately.

Modest again. What is this?

• Safari Zone #10: 2 Kangaskhans. Fled in 5 balls.
• Safari Zone #11: 6 Kangaskhans. Fled immediately all six times. Also saw a Scyther, who fled immediately. Saved and reset the game to calm down the RNG beast.
• Safari Zone #12: Caught Kangaskhan #4 in two balls. Headed to the other areas with the remaining time. Immediately found a Chansey, who fled just as immediately.

Lonely nature. Good enough. Named it "Comet". Looks like bad IVs, unfortunately. Might be 0 IVs in Defense and Speed. Picks it regardless, for having 61 Attack over the next best of 51. (Looking at the IVs after committing: 0 in Defense and 1 in Speed. Solid HP. Middling in the rest. Could be worse. Not significantly worse than the other three Kangaskhans either.)

Adding up the stats: Caught 4 Kangaskhans out of 24 seen. Tossed 44 balls. Sounds pretty average next to the 9.265% catch rate.

Picked up a lot of TMs recently. Pondered final movesets. Used the following:

• Cupid: Surf + Strength. Did not have many other good choices for the fourth move. Beats Withdraw. Appreciates it for Victory Road too.
• Vixen: Dig. Has a decent Attack stat.
• Dasher: Secret Power. Thought about Return. Decided on the paralysis chance. Fit better with Feather Dance.
• Comet: Brick Break + Return. Competed with Body Slam, particularly if Dasher needed Return more.
• Rudolph: Rock Slide (via move tutor).
• Dancer: Double Team. Commits to an evasive + heal strategy.

Notably held off on Steel Wing for Dasher (in hopes of getting 65 power Hidden Power Rock) and Shadow Ball for Comet (grinding cash for it).

Caught some more Pokemon to get the Itemfinder, Amulet Coin, and Experience Share. Planned to get Comet groomed at Daisy in Pallet for friendship. Apparently only does that in postgame. Returned to Pokemon Tower for a Soothe Bell (and to the Snorlax spot for Leftovers).

Beat up all the grunts in Silph Co. Overestimated how strong Return was off the bat. Hit for about as hard as Fake Out. Was not keen on taking on the Grinch at level 34 and under either. Left to grind some friendship and levels.

Leveled everyone up to 37 for the Grinch and Giovanni (who have a level 40 and 41, respectively). Evolved Cupid to Blastoise, Rudolph to Vibrava (finally), and Dasher to Pidgeot. Also bought Shadow Ball for Comet.

Outsped Pidgeot with Rudolph, somehow (base 70 versus 91). Might have went out of its mind with three Quick Claw activations and double Rock Slide flinches...or something. (Gets a 10% Speed boost from the Thunder Badge, so maybe that.) Handled Gyarados easily with Comet. Did not appreciate the critical Take Down from Growlithe onto Rudolph switching in. Still won. Beat Alakazam and Venusaur with Vixen. Wonders if the critical Flamethrower on Venusaur mattered for the one-shot. Probably?

Wanted to see how well Comet would do versus Giovanni, and in Kangaskhan in particular. Handed it a Pecha Berry before the fight in case of something dumb versus Nidorino. Unfortunately went to Nidoqueen after Nidorino. Won that. Left Comet unable to handle much else solo after a Leer into a Double Kick, however. Finished the fight with other Pokemon and no real problems.

Ah. Finally got the Pickup payoff on Sabrina's gym trainers: one Hidden Power TM. Replaced Dasher's Sand Attack with Hidden Power: Rock (65 power). Loses a debuff, but eh. Was not super fond of Sand Attack except for really dumb fights (like taking on Red in Silver Cave at level 50ish).

Complains about Dasher missing the 95% accurate Fly versus Haunter. Missed again on the very next Gastly...who had used Destiny Bond the turn before. Whew.

Leveled everyone to 42 (a hair below the cap to be good for the second gym). Battles Sabrina first. Picks Dasher to lead here. Goes against better judgment. Sees no good chances ahead for Dasher to shine. Picks these physically frail opponents. Will probably bail for Comet after...two Pokemon? Depends if Kababra picks Reflect on Turn 1. Handed the Leftovers to Dasher for slightly better odds of success.

Led the battle with a Secret Power one-shot on Kadabra before it acted. Boded well. (Suddenly regretted not giving it Return.) Left Mr. Mime on 1 hitpoint. Worked out kind of well, really. Burned both of Sabrina's Hyper Potions without taking damage. Ate Venomoth with one Fly. Happily accepted Future Sight from Alakazam. Went in for the Secret Power...

Forgot about Synchronize. Was really excited, then really sad. Used up Sabrina's Full Heal on that turn. Broke through paralysis for the win. Zero damage, zero items.

Next up: Koga at 43. Aimed for style points for all the other gym battles, but not this one. Holds a grudge against Koga. Weakens your better options with Self-Destruct, Smokescreen, or Toxic. Fights with both a specially-defensive Pokemon (Muk) and a physical-defensive Pokemon (Weezing) who is also immune to Ground. Loves spamming Acid Armor + Minimize on Muk, not to mention poisoning everything. Punishes Dig pretty hard. Leads with Comet (with Leftovers). Hopes to face Muk second. Filled the rest of the party (minus Dancer) with Pecha Berries from Pickup.

Brought down Koffing with Fake Out into Return. Welcomed Muk next. Brought it to 25% health on one Return. Unfortunately followed that up with Acid Armor into a Hyper Potion. Hit just the right amount to be in 3-shot range, but not trigger another heal. One-shot Koffing next. Smacked Weezing for just over half its health. Secured the win at 115/156 health. Handled that miles better than usual. (Probably helps to be properly leveled, but still.) Never even got poisoned.

Spoiler: Current Team

Name: Cupid
Level: 43
Ability: Torrent
Moves: Surf, Bite, Ice Beam, Strength


Name: Dasher
Level: 43
Ability: Keen Eye
Moves: Hidden Power (Rock), Secret Power, Sand Attack, Fly


Name: Vixen
Level: 43
Ability: Flash Fire
Moves: Flamethrower, Dig, Confuse Ray, Quick Attack


Name: Rudolph
Level: 43
Ability: Levitate
Moves: Dig, Crunch, Rock Slide, Sand Attack


Name: Dancer
Level: 43
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moves: Giga Drain, Double Team, Sleep Powder, Acid


Name: Comet
Level: 44
Ability: Early Bird
Moves: Return, Fake Out, Brick Break, Shadow Ball

 

[Devalue]

Update 7: Blaine

Level limit: 47 (Arcanine)

Current Team:
Cupid (Blastoise), Dasher (Pidgeot), Vixen (Ninetales), Rudolph (Vibrava), Dancer (Gloom), and Comet (Kangaskhan).

Likely stops grinding from here on out. Could probably beat the Elite Four at level 47. Compensates for levels with badge boosts.

Blazed through the Pokemon Mansion. Battled all the gym trainers for a little experience.

Gym time. Really wants Dancer to do this. Doubts a good time ahead. Foresees little damage with Giga Drain and little better with a weak 40 power Acid. Will be a -1 Attack versus Arcanine to boot. Might have to use an item to restore PP. Will lead with Dasher for the intended debuffing purpose (Feather Dance), then go to Dancer. Hopes to not take many Fire Blasts.

Disliked this from the start. Hit Dasher pretty hard (down to 88/139) in one Fire Blast from Growlithe. Popped in Rudolph for some Sand Attacks and to soak some Fire Blasts. Depleted Growlithe's last Fire Blast, getting Burned in the process.

Switched to Dancer. Put Growlithe to sleep in-between Double Teams. Reached full evasion while dodging a Roar here or there. Dealt a surprisingly decent ~50% health on one Acid. Burned one of Blaine's Hyper Potions as a bonus. Dodged Ponyta's three Fire Blasts while also wasting Blaine's other Hyper Potion. Kept up that same rhythm versus Rapidash, on top of depriving Blaine of the Full Heal. Missed the third Sleep Powder of the fight on Arcanine. Saw similarly poor luck on Fire Blasts, at least. Estimates Acid only doing 10% of Arcanine's health. Signed up for this. Sleep Powder miss #4. Still fine. Tested Giga Drain. Was no better than Acid. Ran out of time, sadly. Finally connected on Fire Blast and one-shot Dancer from full health. Got Arcanine down to about 25% health, though. Cleaned up with Comet.

Used 6 Double Teams, 14 Sleep Powders, 17 Acids, and 1 Giga Drain that fight. Calculated out the Fire Blast damage. Easily killed at 114.7 - 135.6%. Would have survived it as Bellossom (potentially as low as 2 hitpoints). Also would have won with Sludge Bomb. Sadly receives neither until Sevii Island stuff after this. (Edit: Actually, is that postgame only? Will find out soon enough. Might have been able to get Bellossom all the way back at Misty. Loses Sludge Bomb, if so.)

Spoiler: Current Team

Name: Cupid
Level: 43
Ability: Torrent
Moves: Surf, Bite, Ice Beam, Strength


Name: Dasher
Level: 43
Ability: Keen Eye
Moves: Hidden Power (Rock), Secret Power, Sand Attack, Fly


Name: Vixen
Level: 44
Ability: Flash Fire
Moves: Flamethrower, Dig, Confuse Ray, Quick Attack


Name: Rudolph
Level: 44
Ability: Levitate
Moves: Dig, Crunch, Rock Slide, Sand Attack


Name: Dancer
Level: 44
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moves: Giga Drain, Double Team, Sleep Powder, Acid


Name: Comet
Level: 44
Ability: Early Bird
Moves: Return, Fake Out, Brick Break, Shadow Ball

 

[Kyatra]

GYM 6:

Man do I love Pokemon being an RNG game sometimes. Whether it'd be crit Aerial Ace destroying my set up or the one time Mirror Move into my Thunderbolt causing Illumise to get para'd instead.. I think this gym was the one I dread the most due to the typing of my team, but I somehow forgot the Bulk Up TM I have from Brawly, taught onto Machoke immediately. The road to Fortree was definitely tough and I had to backtrack and heal or faint a couple of time, but at least the May battle is still easy!

Honestly, I done the New Mauville quest just for fun, I didn't know you get Thunderbolt as a TM there, and teaching that to Illumise? The plan for Winona was set. I didn't count how many tries it took but definitely far less than Brawly. Illumise is the Star of this show (get it, because her name is Star-), managing to Oh-Ko the Swablu, Pelipper, and Tropius which is the biggest threat in this fight beside Altaria, I couldn't land any Encore on Sunny day but Wish+Charm and not getting Critted makes Illumise incredible here. She went down when Altaria came in but having Charmed and Encored it into Dragon breath, Machoke was free to Bulk Up 3-4 times and 2-3 takes down hit both Altaria and Skarmory, even if he got para'd along the way.

I'm considering on evolving both Nuzleaf when he finally learns Extrasensory, though I might evolve Machoke right now since I dont see any other move Machamp doesn't learn from Machoke. Wish I had gotten No Guard Machop though but oh well. Time for the longest track of the journey :[

Spoiler: Current Team:

Comet the Grovyle - M - Overgrow - Sassy (Item: Miracle Seed)
Pursuit, Leer, Leaf Blade, Quick Attack

Earth the Nuzleaf - M - Early Bird - Relaxed (Item: Black Glasses)
Faint Attack, Nature Power, Fake Out, Bullet Seed

Star the Illumise - F - Oblivious - Naive
Encore, Thunderbolt, Wish, Charm

Car. the Machoke - M - Guts - Calm
Low Kick, Strength, Bulk Up, Karate Chop

Sun the Baltoy - ? - Levitate - Bashful (Item: Soft Sand)
Mud-Slap, Psybeam, Selfdestruct, Ancient Power

Small tangent but revealing my naming scheme, I'm following the 'Titles' of the Life Series winners, it was just so happen the sixth season concluded before this challenge happened and I thought it'd be fun to do, most of the mon actually fit the theme one way or another, the only coin flip was Earth and Comet since both works so well either way

 

[MachoPony]

Secret Delibird Run complete:

Final Episode: All hail cyber duck

Spoiler:

After chasing and beating up the Galactic Grunt i headed to Celestic town....to beat up another galactic grunt. But then this is platinum so...

VS Cyrus
Sneasel hit screech as Scyther hit wing attack, swapped to Gyarados who took 2 ice punches before a dragon rage finished it. Porygon2 dodged supersonic and hit psybeam for over half, 2nd one hit and it hit itself, after an air cutter a psybeam finished golbat.
Lastly was Murkrow, Togetic took 2 drill peck hitting 2 shock wave but murkrow lived, swapped for gyarados to intimidate and it fell on the 2nd hit, Porygon2 took a drill peck and signal beam finished it.

After getting Surf i raised my Bidoof HM pokemon into a Bibarel to learn Surf and get me across to Canalave. There i fought Barry again.
VS Barry
So Staraptor just set up double teams as Togetic used yawn then 3 shot with Shock Wave. Gyarados came in on Rapidash, got tail whipped, hit bite, take down, dragon rage, take down and one more bite to finish.
Heracross was a clean one shot for Scyther. Empoleon's bubble beam hit Machoke hard but Revenge hit it harder for a one shot. last was roserade who just set up toxic spikes as Porygon2 2 shot with psybeaam.

Iron Island was a good chance to catch up Gyarados who was a few levels behind. and I got a Shiny Stone and a Metal Coat meaning I could evolve Togetic into Togekiss and Scyther into Scizor I also received my final pokemon, an egg that will hatch into Riolu.

Went digging for heart scales.

A *lot* of walking later and Riolu hatched and gained enough happiness to evolve into Lucario.

In the gym Machoke evolved into Machamp at level 37

VS Byron
Machamp knocked Magneton low with wake up slap as it used metal sound, he healed, another slap low then a third for the KO. Togekiss took well over half off steelix with aura sphere as it used sandstorm then a 2nd for the KO. did over half to bastiodon before sitrus berry, then stone edge crit took out togekiss, wake up slap from Machamp won the battle.

After heading to the Fuego Ironworks for the Flamethrower TM and some more exp for Lucario I went on to lake valor

VS Saturn
So i thought he would lead Bronzor, nope Golbat. Scizor still took it down in 3 bullet punches, fury cutter on bronzor stacked higher and higher before finishing it taking a couple of rock tomb in the process, then finally porygon2 took a poison jab from Toxicroak and Psybeam for the one hit KO.

Surfed down toward the pal park to train up Lucario some more, also got the thunderbolt TM near the windworks for Porygon2 who took out most of the water trainers.

At lake Verity
VS Mars
Knowing like Saturn before her, she'd lead Golbat. I sent out Porygon2 who dodged a toxic, hit thunderbolt and paralyzed, psybeam KOd golbat. Lucario set up swords dance and took an extrasensory, force palm did over half before bronzor iron defensed up.
Lucario used SD again and a force palm finished it. Purugly's fake out did nothing against Inner Focus so a +4 force palm one shot the fat cat.

On to Snowpoint

VS Candice
Lucario took an aerial ace and hit force palm to KO sneasel, then Gyarados hit aqua tail on Piloswine low, it stone edged him and after she healed, bite plus aqua tail finished Piloswine.
Scizor 2 shot Abomasnow taking a focus blast and then almost one shot froslass who healed with a sitrus berry, snow cloak and double team meant Froslass swept through my team.

Attempt 2:
Lucario took out sneasel, this time gyarados made piloswine flinch with bite before aqua tail finished it. Machamp took a wood hammer and revenge one shot abomasnow, finally at full health Scizor could bullet punch, froslass used double team and a 2nd bullet punch won the match.

After seeing Barry get his butt kicked i trained up a lot, went back to Oreburgh to pick up brick break from the gate for Lucario, and then through the Galactic building where i got a Dubious Disc finally letting Porygon2 evolve into Porygon Z

VS Cyrus
So Gyarados immediately gets frozen by Sneasel and won't thaw so i swap to Scizor who one shots with bullet punch. Porygon Z one shots Honchkrow with thunderbolt before supersonic confuses it from crobat, it hits itself twice and faints to air cutter, Scizor knocks crobat low with a pair of bullet punches, he heals, the same again taking air cutters all the while before one final bullet punch ends it.

VS Saturn
Gyarados sets dragon dance, gets confused, hits self, air cutter, dragon dance, air cutter, snap out and ice fang KOs Golbat, +2 Aqua Tail one shots Bronzor and Toxicroak.

Before heading on to Mt Coronet I went back to route 216 for the Ice Beam TM and 211 for the Psychic TM and gave both to Porygon Z.

I climbed Mt Coronet, beat the grunts and then

VS Jupiter + Mars
Lucario set swords dance and brick break shattered the light screen and reflect their bronzors set up, one shotting one of them, purugly aerial aced Lucario and brick break took it out as bronzor used extrasensory. Finally Skuntank survived a +2 brick break and flamethrowered Lucario down.
Porygon Z one shot golbat with thunderbolt, took a poison jab, thunderbolted Skuntank for the KO and one shot Jupiter's Golbat with a final Thunderbolt. Munchlax just sat there stockpiling and throwing screeches, it used body slam like one time too.

Through the Distortion world
VS Cyrus
Gyarados took a thunder fang and one shot Houndoom with aqua tail, Porygon Z then one shot Gyarados with thunderbolt, same with honchkrow, Lucario got hit by weavile's fake out but inner focus stopped the flinch and brick break took it out. Last was crobat which hit confuse ray and died to a single mind plate boosted Psychic.

Porygon Z then proceeded to almost one shot Giratina with a download boost and Ice Beam, if i had attached the nevermeltice it might have actually been a one shot lmao. Anyway it tried to shadow force a normal type so after a wasted ice beam, a third one KOd it.

After returning, seeing Rowan and making my way to Sunyshore, the gym was simple enough.

VS Volkner
So Jolteon used thunder wave which a held cheri beri dealt with as Bone Rush from Lucario almost took it out, he healed and bone rush only did 2 hits to below half, a charge beam and a final bone rush knocked it out. Raichu missed focus blast and a 4 hit bone rush took it down.
a 3 hit bone rush almost took out Luxray but it sadly lived and finished with fire fang. He healed so Porygon Z took Luxray low with psychic then a 2nd for the KO. last was Electivire, thunder punch knocked me around half, psychic did well over half, sitrus berry healed, thunderpunch knocked me low and a final psychic ended it.

After making my way through the water, then victory road. I did some moveset refangling, beat up a ton of wild pokemon for exp and finally faced Barry before the Elite 4.

VS Barry
My mons were in the mid 50s, his were in the high 40s. This was easy.
PorygonZ one shot Staraptor with thunderbolt, Togekiss heracross with air slash, gyarados rapidash with waterfall, Machamp snorlax + empoleon with a cross chop each before Porygon Z one shot Roserade with psychic.

Elite 4 time
VS Aaron
Togekiss easily one shot Yanmega with Air Slash, Scizor went back and forth with drapion, aerial ace didn't hurt much as x-scissor took a chunk, then down to sitrus berry, then a third aerial ace and one final x-scissor took out Drapion.
Togekiss then one shot Heracross with Air Slash, took vespiquen low and easily took a power gem, he healed as air slash knocked it low again and a third knocked it out, finally flamethrower KOd Scizor.

VS Bertha
So i forgot her lead was Whiscash and swapped Porygon Z for Togekiss into earth power which did nothing. Grass knot hit it low as it used sandstorm, she healed, then grass knot hit it low and a third one finished it. then Porygon Z got a SpA download boost on Golem and one shot her other 4 team members with one ice beam each.

VS Flint
Houndoom used Sunny day, Gyarados used Dragon Dance, Gyarados used Earthquake x5, Gyarados wins.

VS Lucian
Finally a challenge...ish.
Mr Mime got up Reflect as Scizor landed X-scissor, he healed so another knocked it low and bullet punch finished it, same with alakazam who missed focus blast and by this point reflect was down. espeon's psychic hurt but x-scissor one shot it.
Bronzong knocked Scizor low with Earthquakes after an x-scissor and night slash but another x-scissor finished it. Gallade was last, Togekiss took a psycho cut and hit air slash, dodged a stone edge and knocked it to the red. predicting a potion i swapped to gyarados for intimidate, got a dragon dance as he missed stone edge then a +1 splash plate boosted Waterfall one shot Gallade.

VS Cynthia
Togekiss hit air slash, took a dark pulse, a 2nd got a flinch and a third KOd spiritomb. Porygon Z hit thunderbolt for over half on togekiss, who almost one shot it with Aura sphere but a 2nd thunderbolt finished it.
Up next was Lucario who hit aura sphere on Machamp before a revenge one shot it. Air Slash took a chunk of Roserade as it used toxic, then sludge bomb before a 2nd air slash finished it, toxic KOd Togekiss
Scizor hit X-scissor on milotic who went for mirror coat for some reason, then surf did over half, she healed, another x-scissor took her to just above half, bullet punched her below half and surf knocked out scizor, Porygon Z finished with thunderbolt. last was Garchomp. Gyarados took a dragon rush, set up a dragon dance then at +1 it outsped with Ice Fang for the one shot.

Final Team

Spoiler:

CJ(Togekiss) LV58 w/ Miracle Seed
Aura Sphere
Flamethrower
Grass Knot
Air Slash

Niko(Lucario) LV55 w/ Black Belt
Swords Dance
Extremespeed
Brick Break
Bone Rush

Michael(Machamp) LV57 w/Fist Plate
Revenge
Cross Chop
Payback
Rock Tomb

Lester(Porygon Z) LV57 w/ Mind Plate
Psychic
Thunderbolt
Ice Beam
Signal Beam

Elizabeta(Scizor) Lv56 w/Razor Claw
X-Scissor
Night Slash
Bullet Punch
Wing Attack

Trevor(Gyarados) LV58 (MVP) w/ Splash Plate
Waterfall
Dragon Dance
Earthquake
Ice Fang

Thoughts on team members.
Machamp: Great early and mid, nice bulk. Moveset is a little one note only learning fighting moves by level up but shard tutors and TMs can fix that. Guts is nice but No Guard is insane with Dynamicpunch later, shame i had guts then. Kinda fell off late when fighting wasn't as good offensively

Lucario: see above. only i didn't get him till late. Was alright against Candice but i already had Scizor for that. It would have been great as another special attacker with porygon and togekiss except mine was adamant so i was basically funnelled into physical.

Togekiss: LVP, Still very good, hit decently hard, had great type coverage and with serene grace would have been a lot better, except again i got the wrong ability, this time hustle.

Porygon Z: and this time i got the right ability. Adaptability is good for firing nuclear Hyper Beams and Tri-attacks but download is better in most cases especially if you know you'll get the SpA boost. the ice + psychic coverage basically solod team galactic towards the end and it hit like an absolute truck.

Scizor: kinda underwhelming, with swords dance and possibly roost this thing is nuts but SD is only available in the game corner so no thanks. Technician scyther with STAB wing attack was solid when i got it and technician bullet punch later was powerful too, great defensive typing as well.

Gyarados: MVP, Once this thing evolved it helped with Gardenia, practically solod Fantina and was crucial in a lot of trainer battles and rival fights, Dragon Rage was great for a long time, it naturally learns dragon dance which let it sweep through Flint and quite a few regular trainers, good bulk, good speed, great attack and intimidate is a fantastic ability. This thing is a monster.

 

[Explorer of Time]

Thoughts on team members.
Machamp: Great early and mid, nice bulk. Moveset is a little one note only learning fighting moves by level up but shard tutors and TMs can fix that. Guts is nice but No Guard is insane with Dynamicpunch later, shame i had guts then. Kinda fell off late when fighting wasn't as good offensively

Lucario: see above. only i didn't get him till late. Was alright against Candice but i already had Scizor for that. It would have been great as another special attacker with porygon and togekiss except mine was adamant so i was basically funnelled into physical.

Togekiss: LVP, Still very good, hit decently hard, had great type coverage and with serene grace would have been a lot better, except again i got the wrong ability, this time hustle.

Porygon Z: and this time i got the right ability. Adaptability is good for firing nuclear Hyper Beams and Tri-attacks but download is better in most cases especially if you know you'll get the SpA boost. the ice + psychic coverage basically solod team galactic towards the end and it hit like an absolute truck.

Scizor: kinda underwhelming, with swords dance and possibly roost this thing is nuts but SD is only available in the game corner so no thanks. Technician scyther with STAB wing attack was solid when i got it and technician bullet punch later was powerful too, great defensive typing as well.

Gyarados: MVP, Once this thing evolved it helped with Gardenia, practically solod Fantina and was crucial in a lot of trainer battles and rival fights, Dragon Rage was great for a long time, it naturally learns dragon dance which let it sweep through Flint and quite a few regular trainers, good bulk, good speed, great attack and intimidate is a fantastic ability. This thing is a monster.

I will need you to also give every Pokemon a rating on a 1-to-10 scale, and make a guess for your scrambler. Once you do, your challenge will be complete.

 

[MachoPony]

No worries
Lucario: 6/10
Machamp: 7/10
Gyarados: 10/10
Porygon Z: 9/10
Togekiss: 5/10
Scizor: 7/10

For my guess.i have no idea so i'll pick a random name and say Janp

 

[Devalue]

Update 8: Giovanni

Level limit: 50 (Rhyhorn)

Current Team:
Cupid (Blastoise), Dasher (Pidgeot), Vixen (Ninetales), Rudolph (Vibrava), Dancer (Gloom), and Comet (Kangaskhan).

Researched the Rainbow Pass requirements. Indicated it to be postgame. Sailed to Sevii Islands, just in case. Cannot get to the later islands. Misremembered some of the Sevii Island areas like Mt. Ember to be on a Rainbow Pass island. Blames Archipelago for putting it in the randomizer too. (Also accesses Cerulean Cave in Red/Blue, to be fair.)

Leveled Rudolph to 45. Evolved it into Flygon finally. Lagged behind in almost every stat: lowest hitpoints on the team, second lowest attack (second to Dancer as Gloom), tied for lowest Defense, lowest Special Attack, lowest Special Attack, and third lowest Speed. Pushed up to second or third in most categories after evolving.

Also evolved Dancer into Bellossom. Could have done that since Misty. Presents a new problem: what is Dancer's fourth move? Makes no sense to keep a 40 power non-STAB Poison move. Only learns Grass moves (weak Hidden Power, Magical Leaf, 70 power Petal Dance, and Solarbeam), Hyper Beam, Facade, Secret Power, and a few other weak moves. Cannot fit Sunny Day. So...Secret Power? Potentially interferes with Sleep Powder. Bleh.

Gym time. Cannot think of anything dumb to do here that is reasonable. Foresees a bad time for Dasher or Vixen. Runs into some potential issues with Dancer versus the Nidos, maybe, but nothing that exciting. So...Rudolph? Sat on the sidelines on major fights for most of this playthrough. Ought to win this easily, but oh well. Will be its last fight with Dig. Gave it a Pecha Berry in case of Poison Point.

Went in at level 46. Two-shot Rhyhorn with Dig. Brushed off Dugtrio's measly Slash (14 damage) and one-shot. Beat Nidoqueen in two Digs. Cost three Digs to defeat Nidoking because of Hyper Potions (ending in a critical). Triggered the Pecha Berry on the last hit. Handled the higher level Rhyhorn just like the first. Ended the fight at ~60% health and zero Digs left. A convincing win.



Ends the update by teaching Earthquake to Rudolph.

Spoiler: Current Team

Name: Cupid
Level: 45
Ability: Torrent
Moves: Surf, Bite, Ice Beam, Strength


Name: Dasher
Level: 45
Ability: Keen Eye
Moves: Hidden Power (Rock), Secret Power, Sand Attack, Fly


Name: Vixen
Level: 44
Ability: Flash Fire
Moves: Flamethrower, Dig, Confuse Ray, Quick Attack


Name: Rudolph
Level: 47
Ability: Levitate
Moves: Earthquake, Crunch, Rock Slide, Sand Attack


Name: Dancer
Level: 45
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moves: Giga Drain, Double Team, Sleep Powder, Secret Power


Name: Comet
Level: 44
Ability: Early Bird
Moves: Return, Fake Out, Brick Break, Shadow Ball

 

[Devalue]

Update 9: The Grinch

Level limit: 60 (Lance's Dragonite)

Current Team:
Cupid (Blastoise), Dasher (Pidgeot), Vixen (Ninetales), Rudolph (Flygon), Dancer (Bellossom), and Comet (Kangaskhan).

Definitely not getting anywhere close to that level limit.

Faced the Grinch before the league fight. Passed on the Pidgeot mirror match after both sides Feather Danced on turn 1. Does not have too much to mention. Dodged a Horn Drill from Rhyhorn. Defeated Gyarados with Dasher. Took a rain-boosted Hydro Pump relatively well (50% of its health?). Barely outdamaged Venusaur's heal with Vixen's Flamethrower. Notes Venusaur being level 53, 9 levels higher than Vixen.

Found the Dragon Claw TM in Victory Road. Went to Rudolph. Will not be great, as a Special move. Still has a decent base Special Attack stat (80) and STAB.

Hopes for Secret Power luck for the Elite Four like in Victory Road. Strung together...four flinches in a row?

Arrived at the Elite Four. Stands at level 46-48. Good enough.

First up: Lorelei. Is not above doing dumb stuff here, particularly against the first opponent. Went back-and-forth between Dancer and Dasher. Decided to give Dancer a shot. Likely burns a ton of Giga Drain PP. Seems maybe kind of winnable? Needs to preserve Giga Drains for heals. Hopes for good Sleep Powder luck. (Missed three straight in Victory Road.)

Instantly regretted that. Missed Safeguard on Dewgong, which it used on Turn 1. Dropped to below half health on one Ice Beam. Did not feel like chancing an Ice Beam after two Double Teams or healing. Switched to Comet. Criticaled twice with Brick Break. Kind of needed those criticals too. Saw an opportunity for Dancer to take the field again against Cloyster and did so.

Ran into some bad Sleep Powder luck. (Cost a ton between misses, Protect, and Dive.) Set up all 6 Double Teams. Somehow cost two Giga Drains to take down. Fell asleep against Slowbro, but not before paralyzing Slowbro in return. Took an Ice Beam while sleeping. Healed it off after waking up. Curses the trash Sleep Powder luck once again (currently running about 50%). Barely scratched Lapras with a ~20% damage Giga Drain. Unfortunately got unlucky and suffered a critical Ice Beam one-shot.

Led to some issues. Does not have many good options versus Water/Ice. Turned to Cupid. Dealt some damage, but not tons, in exchange for getting paralyzed. Switched out to Rudolph, expecting a Body Slam or something. Still had a Full Restore in the tank, unfortunately. Switched Cupid back into the inevitable Ice Beam. Lived with 6 hitpoints. Used a Full Restore on that...to get immediately frozen. Tried to unthaw, but no luck. Switched to Dasher, who took an Ice Beam on the switch. (Come on. Be consistent. Probably picked a random move, but even so.) Decided to let Dasher faint to put Comet back in.

Burned a Max Potion to heal Comet back up. Brick Breaked Lapras a few times to get the kill. (Managed through confusion too.) Ended the battle with Vixen against Jynx.

Whew. May not have the leeway to mess around after all. Chalks some of that up to bad luck (see: 1 in 48 hit + critical Ice Beam, plus a freeze).

Healed everyone up and restored Dancer's PP. Used 4 Giga Drains, 10 Sleep Powders, 6 Secret Powers, and 8 Double Teams. Tells you how that fight went from all those Sleep Powders.

Next up: Bruno. Thought about Dancer again. (Really believes in buffing strategies, even ones as iffy as Dancer's.) Decided on Rudolph because of Roar on the lead Onix. Considered Cupid too.

Brought Onix down to red health in one Earthquake. Dodged the retaliatory Rock Tomb. Switched to Dragon Claws while Bruno healed. Used more Dragon Claws on the second Onix. Defeated Hitmonchan, but at the cost of quite a lot of health.

Switched in Dancer versus Hitmonlee. Tumbled to just under half health on a Mega Kick (then back above after Leftovers). Figured a Brick Break would faint Dancer. Saw no good option to take that. Stayed in and Giga Drained. Fortunately picked Mega Kick. Unfortunately barely dented Hitmonlee. Tried Cupid instead. Clearly overestimated Hitmonlee's Special Defense. (Thought Hitmonchan's was high, but not Hitmonlee's.) Fainted to a Brick Break, as expected.

Threw in Dasher. Used a Feather Dance on the heal turn before taking to the sky with Fly. Barely missed the kill. Got it on the next turn. Feather Danced Machamp next. Could not count on Fly here, especially with Machamp Bulking Up once. Feather Danced once more before hightailing it for Vixen...who died to the switch-in Cross Chop critical.

Returned to a very injured Rudolph. Hoped for Dragon Claw's special damage to do decently. Noooope. Survived a Cross Chop. Tried switching in Comet. Thought it got criticaled. Took 107 damage (nearly 2/3 of its health) on a -3 Cross Chop. Could not quite close out the match, leaving Machamp at 1 hitpoint after Return. Expected a Full Restore that did not come. Won after that.

Screenshotted the ending health. Hates to let Pokemon faint, as you can see. (Occasionally results in more Pokemon fainting. Avoids Nuzlockes for a reason.)


Next up: Agatha. Has a much clearer strategy for this fight: Comet. Will be in trouble if something unfortunate happens. Gave it a Pecha Berry in case of Toxic.

...Where did this team's damage go? Are IVs that strong? (Later edit answer: Kind of. Overestimated badge boosts, mainly. Amounts to about +5 levels. Entered the fight, essentially, 4-5 levels under Agatha's ace.) Only hit Gengar for 60% of its health. Used Double Team, then Confuse Ray. Broke through confusion, but missed the second hit. Snapped out of confusion and made the next Shadow Ball count. Defeated Golbat, once again ignoring confusion. (Had good luck somewhere, at least.) Noped out of Arbok after the Intimidate.

Passed it over to Rudolph. Took the Sludge Bomb well, but less so the poison. One-shot with Earthquake, which was refreshing. Faced Haunter next. Did not fear its moveset of Hypnosis, Curse, Dream Eater, and Mean Look, thanks to being poisoned. Hit a little too weakly with Rock Slide to get Haunter to kill itself with Curse.

Switched back to Comet on the inevitable heal. Shadow Balled it to an inch of its life and soon-to-be un-life after Curse. Fell asleep to Gengar's Hypnosis. Started thinking about who to switch to when Early Bird comes through for the first time all playthrough. Immediately woke up and Shadow Balled Gengar. Can Comet take a Sludge Bomb at 40 health? ...Probably not, to be honest. Did not want to deal with Hypnosis either. Went for the Shadow Ball. Nope. Fainted to Gengar's Sludge Bomb.

Turned to Vixen to close out the match. Acted first and Flamethrowered Gengar. Fell asleep to Hypnosis. Stayed in to hope for the best. Healed on that turn, annoyingly. Gave the goose what was good for the gander and used Confuse Ray. Tested Vixen's luck by staying in. Nooooope. Snapped out of confusion already. Imparted a burn before leaving, at least.

Seemed too silly to Feather Dance a Gengar, despite only having physical moves. Made no difference because Hypnosis hit again. Ended up being fine. Barely took damage from Sludge Bomb. Eventually woke up and dealt the little bit of damage remaining, thanks to Vixen's burn.

Next up: Lance. ...Is this the Dancer sweep? No, right? Will get bopped by Wing Attack sooner or later. Might pull off decent enough damage to hand it off to Rudolph and Cupid, though.

Led with Dasher to bring down Hyper Beam's damage. Switched in Dancer on a Hyper Beam, coincidentally. Stacked some Double Teams. Pulled off all six. Started laying in Secret Powers when Lance switched to Aerodactyl. Paralyzed it on the switch. Clearly wanted this win badly with back-to-back Secret Power criticals. (Cannot burn too many Giga Drains.) Eventually healed off the paralysis, only to get put to sleep. Continued slowly chipping away. Switched again to Dragonite. Barely scratched it with Secret Power. Continued going anyways...until a Wing Attack one-shot (non-critical). (Later edit: Must have been the highest possible damage roll.)

Brought in Cupid. Failed to defeat Dragonite with Ice Beam, despite being at 2/3 health from Dancer's chip damage. Laid it low on the follow-up Ice Beam. Defeated Dragonair in two Ice Beams too. Could not do much versus Gyarados.

Switched in Comet. Took a nasty Hyper Beam off the bat to under 33% health. Beat Gyarados with two Returns, at least.

Chose Flygon for Aerodactyl, as Comet was low and of limited effectiveness. Would have beaten Aerodactyl, if not for Lance's Full Restore. Ended up fainting to Hyper Beam.

Left Cupid to clean up. Missed yet another kill, leaving Aerodactyl at 1 hitpoint from Surf. Fainted on the Hyper Beam.

Maybe Vixen, then? Inflicted 1 point of damage to knock out Aerodactyl. Mixed it up with Dragonair. Does not have much effective against it. Got a little luck from Confuse Ray. Opted to heal, rather than let someone else faint. (Can totally do that.) Proved unnecessary, as the next Flamethrower was a critical to close out the match.

The final battle: the Grinch. No mirror match today. Starts with Rudolph. Has not missed Rock Slide yet (against a single opponent, at least). Hopes to not start now.

Met disappointment with Rock Slide only doing one-third of Pidgeot's health. Saw no point in staying in after the Feather Dance. Tried Comet. Did not appreciate the critical Aerial Ace bringing Comet to below 1/3 health. Went back to Rudolph. Used some Rock Slides and prompted a Full Restore from the Grinch. Was not keen on staying in at -1 accuracy from a Sand Attack, however. Stuck in Dasher to Feather Dance it twice. Dropped the damage considerably. Spent 1 of 3 healing items to keep Dasher okay, only to get criticaled right after. (Still lived.) Beat Pidgeot with 17 health remaining.

Saw Rhydon and knew Rock Tomb was coming. Chose Cupid to Surf it, which was thankfully a one-shot.

Picked Vixen for Venusaur, as always. Confused it first and stopped Solarbeam. Entered into a healing war with Venusaur. Won on the (probably unnecessary) critical, partially thanks to some good confusion.

Sent in Dancer to take Gyarados's Hydro Pump. Settled in for a nice, long buffing. Reached the full +6 evasion. Fired off Secret Powers. Became a little dicey when Dragon Rage and Thrash connected back to back. Dropped to about 45 hitpoints. Started spamming Giga Drains for immediate health. (Outsped the paralyzed Gyarados, as a bonus.) Slowly whittled Gyarados down for the knockout. Burned two of the Grinch's Full Restores in the process. Would have loved to try for revenge on the Grinch's Arcanine (from Blaine). Saw no room for showboating (and also having 5 Giga Drains, 2 Secret Powers, and 6 Sleep Powders left, despite starting at full PP or near it). Was not above hitting it with Sleep Powder. Sleep Powder miss. Sleep Powder miss. Sleep Powder hit. Whew.

Switched to Rudolph. Accepted the Earthquake two-shot. Could not handle Alakazam's Psychic, however, despite being at about 2/3 health.

Tried Vixen. Believes in Confuse Ray. Took 90 damage (out of 135) on one Psychic. Was not lucky, unfortunately, and fainted on the next Psychic.

Sent it to back to Dancer. Knew about Synchronize. Accepted it anyways. Sleep Powder miss. Sleep Powder miss. Sleep Powder miss. Come on. Ran out of PP, so...Secret Power? Yes on the paralysis. Go figure. Let Dancer faint, knowing a Future Sight attack was imminent. Closed it out with Comet. ...No, Comet. Do not learn Reversal after winning. What are you trying to say?



____________


Team Thoughts and Ratings

• Blastoise: 9/10. Solid throughout the game. Learns good moves, which can be very hit-or-miss in the early games. Scored a great solo win against Erika.
• Ninetales: 7.5/10. Did its job against Venusaur. But, honestly, what else was there to burn? Erika? The occasional Magneton? Lorelei's Jynx? Was pretty powerful after evolving with Flamethrower, though.
• Bellossom: 7/10. Sits in a similar boat as Ninetales. Learns Grass moves and little else. Relied on far less powerful moves than Ninetales, though.
  
  Thought about giving it a 6/10. Clawed back some score during the Elite Four. Fainted several times, sure. Defeated several Pokemon along the way. Stood up to Aerodactyl. Handled Gyarados throughout the playthrough. Hampered Alakazam enough to get the team win. Blames trainer items and bad luck for robbing Bellossom of some wins.
  
  Almost certainly would have scored, like, 5/10 without Double Team, also. Hit for such terrible damage. Doubts a Sunny Day + Solarbeam build would have done well.
• Pidgeot: 8/10. Exceeded expectations slightly. Was by no means a powerhouse. Felt just barely strong enough to do things. Helped beyond damage with Secret Power paralysis and Feather Dance, despite the latter not being that strong for this team. Credits the Sabrina fight for raising its score a hair.
• Flygon: 5/10. Faced a two-fold problem.
  1. Being behind the curve. Could not use its Attack stat until Cerulean City's Dig TM. Steadily declined again from there until its evolution. Only felt on-par, or maybe slightly behind, upon evolving. Languished until the next evolution at 45. Became...decent? Found it tough to put Flygon in for something at the end. Hoped for a better payoff that never came.
  
  2. Being Ground type. Punished Ground types hard from Generation 1 to 3. Handed out Levitate to two Poison lines (Gastly, Koffing). Gave Intimidate to Arcanine and Arbok. Lowered Dig from 100 power to 60. Who do you want to use Ground moves on in a 1v1? Surge, Rock types, Magneton, Muk (if not using Dig), Rapidash, the rare Ninetales...anything else? Finds no shortage of better counters for some of those.
• Kangaskhan: 9/10. Hit pretty hard once Return was up and running. Had decent answers for opponents between Brick Break and Shadow Ball. Strutted its stuff pretty well against Koga. Needed to be bulkier to be a 10/10, probably. Suspects the -Defense nature and 0 Defense IV playing a role in that.

Total score: 45.5

Scrambler guess: Celèste1.

Reasoning: Expected the scrambler to pick Sword for more Pokemon variety. Likely means someone more comfortable with the older games. Eliminates almost no one, unfortunately.

Some other things of note:
1. Flygon and Bellossom. Does not feel like random picks. Likely mentioned these in some Favorite Pokemon thread. Who would search through posts for that? ...No idea.
2. Covered HMs pretty well. May be coincidence. Wonders if Kangaskhan was put in for Strength, or as a strong sleeper pick. Shrugs. Has anyone ever mentioned much about Kangaskhan? Just Explorer of Time, at least in a searchable way.
3. Considered Explorer of Time. Looked back at the team: four single-type Pokemon. Maybe not.

In conclusion: who knows?

 

[Explorer of Time]

Has anyone ever mentioned much about Kangaskhan? Just Explorer of Time, at least in a searchable way.

This brings me to a point I should have mentioned earlier:

If anyone is unsure about their scrambler, try searching for your team members on the forums. Odds are, your scrambler will have used some or all of them in previous playthroughs, or have talked about liking them. If a finished player (which at this point is just you, @MachoPony, and @Cyddeon) wants to change the guess for their scrambler, they may do so up until the point where the challenge ends.

You can search for a specific challenger and a specific Pokemon if you have suspicions about someone, by searching a Pokemon name and the user in question in the "by member" section. Example: All my posts involving Kangaskhan.

EDIT: Also, now that Archipelago is basically done, I have the time to get back into this challenge run starting tomorrow.

 

[saniachan]

Secret Delibird in Kalos (Y edition)

Base CSS by Aquacorde

|| Chapter 3 || || Proof of Journey || || Party ||

• Chapter 3: Mega Evolution? I would if I could, but...
  
  
  Moving on, Corrin evolved while dealing with some Team Flare grunts at Route 10. I then had her help Kris dealing with Korrina's two Lucario (and no, this is not a gym fight) just when I was heading to Route 11. Then Alear the Divine Dragon of Elyos Dedenne tagged along and Byleth evolved soon after (the latter was a bit tricky on emulator tbh).
  
  Anyway, the band of Sycamore's pupils (as many would refer to Kiran and his friends in-game) reconvened at the Tower of Mastery in Shalour City to learn more about Mega Evolution. Lo and behold, when Gurkinn offered the Mega Ring -- well, the only one he currently had, Kiran and Serena naturally fought for it. She led with Meowstic and he led with Drif-- er, Corrin. The former's Light Screen was oh-so-annoying, so to speak, but thankfully Corrin landed a Payback after getting hit by a Psybeam from the Meowstic. Then it's Serena's Absol vs Kris, in which the latter's Return and Double Kick made short work of the former. As for the neighbor's Quilladin... while taking it down with Corrin was tempting, the chestnut-y guy did pack Bite, so I had to make do with Byleth instead. So yeah, Kiran ended up earning the honor -- which is quite a shame because no one in the party could even Mega Evolve in the first place.
  
  Well, Mega Evolution or not, the need for Korrina's badge still stands. Her gym team had Mienfoo, Machoke, and Hawlucha, all should be manageable with my party at level 30-ish. Corrin was pretty much untouchable by her Mienfoo due to the former's ghost typing. Machoke came with a Rock Tomb, so I had to rely on Byleth's Aerial Ace instead. Bonus point went to the Ashen Demon Malamar becoming a little speedier thanks to the NPC AI failing to factor abilities in while attacking. And yes, my newest member got his share of fun while dealing with Korrina's ace, Hawlucha (Arceus knows why not Lucario). Alear paralyzed the bird wrestler with a Nuzzle for good measure, then went all out with Parabolic Charge and Volt Switch but without actually switching because the latter was his finishing move.
  
  One Mega Evo tutorial later (which I actually lost, lmao), I'm good to go. Here's my next to-do list:
  

  • Grab a Good Rod (and maybe HM Fly too) at Coumarine;
  • Backtrack to Cyllage for my last party member, Robin;
  • Grind until that last member can keep up with everyone else; and
  • Take the next gym on.
• Proof of Journey
  
  
  
• Current Party
  
  
  

  
  
  

  Spoiler: Kris (Diggersby)

  

  
  
  
  Name: Kris
  Level: 33
  Item: -
  Nature: Bashful
  Ability: Pickup
  Moves:
  

  • Double Kick
  • Return
  • Nature Power
  • Mud Shot

  
  

  Spoiler: Robin (Skrelp)

  

  

  
  
  
  Name: Robin
  Level: ???
  Item: ???
  Nature: ???
  Ability: ???
  Moves: ???

  
  

  Spoiler: Corrin (Drifblim)

  

  
  
  
  Name: Corrin
  Level: 33
  Item: Amulet Coin
  Nature: Quirky
  Ability: Aftermath
  Moves:
  

  • Ominous Wind
  • Hex
  • Gust
  • Payback

  
  

  Spoiler: Byleth (Malamar)

  

  
  
  
  Name: Byleth
  Level: 33
  Item: -
  Nature: Lax
  Ability: Contrary
  Moves:
  

  • Foul Play
  • Hypnosis
  • Psybeam
  • Aerial Ace

  
  

  Spoiler: Shez (Binacle)

  

  
  
  
  Name: Shez
  Level: 32
  Item: -
  Nature: Brave
  Ability: Tough Claws
  Moves:
  

  • Shadow Claw
  • Clamp
  • Ancient Power
  • Slash

  
  

  Spoiler: Alear (Dedenne)

  

  
  
  
  Name: Alear
  Level: 33
  Item: Oran Berry
  Nature: Serious
  Ability: Cheek Pouch
  Moves:
  

  • Aerial Ace
  • Volt Switch
  • Parabolic Charge
  • Nuzzle

  
  
  PS: Names on the spoiler titles are the mons' in-game names and the namesakes' genders depend on the mons.
  

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor's Secret Delibird Challenge - Part 4

Noelle - Pokémon Platinum
Assigned team: Empoleon, Yanmega, Gallade, Rhyperior, Houndoom, Rotom

Another fast update because I don't have much free time left (well, after I use most of it to turn off my brain for some time). Nearly as fast as the fights against Byron (Houndoom + Empoleon made it super easy) and possibly even Candice (it turned into a very fast paced, offensive fight, thanks to me using Empoleon against Piloswine and being defeated by Earthquake, then doing some good old revenge killing, then stopping Froslass from setting up too much with Double Team thanks to Xinyan having some good luck).

This was a very cool part of the game though! With Surf unlocked and lots of trainer fights, I was able to evolve every team member to their final form (except Rhyhorn... she's a LATE bloomer for sure) and get some cool moves on everyone to help with my coverage. I'm starting to remember what I liked about Yanmega, actually - despite the lack of a decent Flying-type move, Giga Drain, Silver Wind and some very good stats are definitely making up for it <3

Team after badge #7:
Eula - Empoleon ♀ - lv. 39
Fischl - Rotom (Frost) - lv. 38
Kazuha - Gallade ♂ - lv. 38
Xinyan - Houndoom ♀ - lv. 39
Chiori - Rhyhorn ♀ - lv. 40
Baizhu - Yanmega ♂ - lv. 36

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

I'm falling way behind everyone else, but today's Saturday, and I should be able to knock out at least another gym, maybe two.

I just wanted to reply to the Kangaskhan thing because I have an artist friend on another site who loves Kangaskhan. While I was streaming Pokémon Blue this year, I managed to catch one almost by accident in the Safari Zone (yes, really). I already had a full team, but it was pretty cool to get that surprise.

 

[Kyatra]

Gym 7:
Lots of evolution happened this segment.

By far the easiest gym of the lot, the only one that didn't need any retries nor items. There wasn't really any challenging parts in this, mostly just finding enough trainers to grind on and scouring the ocean. I explored the entirety of Mt. Pyre and Shoal Cave because I've never done that before, so getting Shadow Ball TM is pretty good for the next gym which I taught to Claydol. The last member of the team is here so say hello to Moon the Spheal who evolved into Sealeo while grinding :]

There wasn't really enough trainers to get my entire team to the level limit (42) but with my team basically being super effective againts Tate and Liza's mons (Except Machamp), It was pretty easy even though I didn't know the absolute monster that is Solrock. Claydol and Sceptile carried the entire thing pretty easily since I just focus on one side with the enemy's Claydol being a sitting duck.

I'm now considering what move to erase for Walrein in the end for Dive, I could also just delete it later to give her a move later though I'm not sure what move to teach her.

Spoiler: Current Team:

Comet the Grovyle - M - Overgrow - Sassy (Item: Miracle Seed)
Pursuit, Leer, Leaf Blade, Quick Attack

Earth the Nuzleaf - M - Early Bird - Relaxed (Item: Black Glasses)
Faint Attack, Nature Power, Fake Out, Bullet Seed

Star the Illumise - F - Oblivious - Naive (Item: Lax Incense)
Encore, Thunderbolt, Wish, Charm



Car. the Machoke - M - Guts - Calm (Item: Focus Band)
Low Kick, Strength, Bulk Up, Karate Chop


Sun the Baltoy - ? - Levitate - Bashful (Item: Soft Sand)
Mud-Slap, Psybeam, Selfdestruct, Ancient Power


Moon the Sealeo - F - Calm (Item: Nevermelt-Ice)
Surf, Rest, Body Slam, Aurora Beam

 

[Explorer of Time]

I just barely don't have the time for Lenora's battle tonight, but I finished grinding, beat N, and made it into the Nacrene Gym. I'll have another update tomorrow morning, and hopefully one more gym each day after that, now that my time isn't taken up by Archipelago anymore.

 

[Kyatra]

GYM 8:
Not much trainers left to grind on so I'm planning to just grind in Victory Road later on for E4. Juan himself also wasn't that difficult, only took 2 tries because Kingdra got off on 3 Double Team which destroyed my team. There wasn't really anything memorable on this part since so little thing happened, the Maxie and Archie fight wasn't hard at all and I got TM Earthquake I could teach Claydol.

The Juan fight was mostly carried by Sceptile and Machamp, Sceptile taking care of Whiscash and Luvdisc (I tried using Nuzleaf but confused + Attract combo is impossible to breakthrough), Machamp took care of Sealeo, and Sceptile helps on Kingdra by using Leer so Machamp could barely take down the seahorse before fainting where Claydol finished Kingdra and Illumise finished Crawdaunt. Shoutout to the first try where Machamp got 2 Focus Band hit in a row.

Just the final leg of the adventure left >:]

Spoiler: Current Team:

Comet the Grovyle - M - Overgrow - Sassy (Item: Miracle Seed)
Pursuit, Leer, Leaf Blade, Quick Attack

Earth the Nuzleaf - M - Early Bird - Relaxed (Item: Black Glasses)
Faint Attack, Nature Power, Fake Out, Bullet Seed

Star the Illumise - F - Oblivious - Naive (Item: Lax Incense)
Encore, Thunderbolt, Wish, Charm

Car. the Machoke - M - Guts - Calm (Item: Focus Band)
Low Kick, Strength, Bulk Up, Karate Chop

Sun the Baltoy - ? - Levitate - Bashful (Item: Soft Sand)
Shadow Ball, Psybeam, Hyper Beam, Ancient Power

Moon the Sealeo - F - Calm (Item: Sea Incense)
Surf, Dive, Body Slam, Aurora Beam

 

[Explorer of Time]

Pokemon Black
Secret Delibird - Rich Boy Noël
Update 2 (Dreamyard -> Nacrene Gym)

As planned, I beat Lenora today, somewhat delayed because I was busy with Archipelago. Torchic and Starly both got their first evolution in Pinwheel Forest, and got a couple new moves. Combusken got Rock Smash as a decent early-game STAB Fighting move, as well as Peck, and Staravia got Double Team and Work Up as self-buffing moves. Porygon2's moveset is the same, and Staryu just learned Recover via level up, but Gliscor got an almost-completely-new moveset with Rock Smash, Quick Attack, and Thief. Now that she has decent attack moves, she's not nearly-useless anymore!

Cheren's battle on Route 3 was very easy since his AI was stupid and only used a single attack move, so Porygon was able to easily swep him. N's Nacrene battle was little better, and Staryu 2HKOed Pidove with Water Gun, easily surviving a Gust. It got confused by Tympole, so I switched over to Porygon2, and 2HKOed Tympole and 1HKOed Timburr with Psybeam.

Lenora was also easier than she should've been thanks to the RNG working out in my favor. Gliscor was able to single-handedly beat her normal duo with Rock Smash, nearly 2HKOing Herdier, forcing her to heal it, then actually 2HKOing it, then 3HKOing Watchog. Her Watchog didn't use Retaliate the turn after Herdier fainted, too. Full battle log below:

Spoiler:

Turn 1: Gliscor blocks Herdier's Intimidate with Hyper Cutter.
Gliscor hits Herdier with Rock Smash (~75% HP, -1 Def)
Herdier uses Leer on Gliscor. (-1 Def)

Turn 2: Gliscor crits with Rock Smash (~5% HP)
Herdier misses with Take Down.

Turns 3-4: Lenora heals, but Gliscor 2HKOs Herdier with Rock Smash, and levels up. [1/2]

Turn 5: Gliscor hits Watchog with Rock Smash, lowering its defense. (~80% HP, -1 Def)
Watchog puts Gliscor to sleep with Hypnosis.

Turn 6: Watchog hits the sleeping Gliscor with Retaliate. (28/53 HP)

Turn 7: Gliscor wakes up and hits Watchog with Rock Smash (~33% HP, -2 Def)
Watchog nearly KOs Gliscor with Retaliate. (4/53)

Turn 8: Gliscor KOs Watchog with Rock Smash [Win]

Team

Spoiler:

Combusken (♀) | Fire/Fighting | Level 17
Moves: Ember, Rock Smash, Peck, Growl
Stats: 47 HP / 41 Atk / 26 Def / 32 SpA / 27 SpD / 24 Spe
Ability: Speed Boost | Nature: Adamant | Item: (None)

Staravia (♀) | Normal/Flying | Level 16
Moves: Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Double Team, Work Up
Stats: 43 HP / 34 Atk / 24 Def / 16 SpA / 18 SpD / 31 Spe
Ability: Intimidate | Nature: Adamant | Item: (None)

Porygon2 | Normal | Level 15
Moves: Psybeam, Tackle, Sharpen, Conversion 2
Stats: 50 HP / 29 Atk / 36 Def / 40 SpA / 36 SpD / 26 Spe
Ability: Trace | Nature: Timid | Item: (None)

Gliscor (♀) | Ground/Flying | Level 18
Moves: Rock Smash, Quick Attack, Thief, Sand-Attack
Stats: 55 HP / 40 Atk / 50 Def / 23 SpA / 35 SpD / 42 Spe
Ability: Hyper Cutter | Nature: Jolly | Item: (None)

Staryu | Water | Level 15
Moves: Water Gun, Tackle, Harden, Recover
Stats: 34 HP / 19 Atk / 22 Def / 31 SpA / 22 SpD / 33 Spe
Ability: Natural Cure | Nature: Modest | Item: Mystic Water

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

Update for Gym #3 (finally!)

I delivered the letter to Steven, and then I sailed back to Petalburg to get the Exp. Share from Mr. Stone, which makes raising Krillin the Magikarp much easier. Then I sailed on over to Slateport where my Geodude fainted against a Wingull. How embarrassing! I was also kind of annoyed by a "double battle" ambush... twice, but I made it to Slateport City, then I got six Soda Pops from the Seashore Shop thingy. Geodude fainted again. I was beginning to think Geodude might be dead weight despite the surprisingly fast "level ups," but we'll get to that.

I want to say I got the Soothe Bell from the Fan Club in Slateport, and I gave it to Poochyena, so I can eventually teach it Return. I defeated the two Team Aqua Grunts at the Museum and delivered the Devon Goods.

I started up to Route 110. "Oh, it won't be that bad with Ralts," I said, "I'll just overwhelm Groovyle with Confusion, and then Ralts will evolve into Kirlia." I was so wrong! I think Wingull beat Ralts with Wing Attack, and Groovyle really started putting the pressure on me. With Bulma the Ralts, Shu the Poochyena, and Tenshinhan the Geodude fainted, I was really getting concerned. Thankfully, Yamcha the Lombre at Level 18 managed to use "Nature Power turned into Swift" enough times to K.O. Groovyle, though if Rival May had healed when Groovyle got down to 1 or 2 HP, I would've lost because I completely forgot I had Soda Pops during the battle. Hence, I was super nervous about May's Slugma especially when it made my Lombre sleep more than once. Rival May finally backed down. Phew!

After a quick Teleport to the Pokemon Center, I started making my way through Route 110. Nothing too exciting happened here, though if I remember correctly, I think I found the Trick House trainers a bit annoying to deal with since I was without my usual team. I arrived at Mauville and defeated Wally with my Poochyena's Bite, though I was kind of surprised Wallys' Ralts managed to use an actual attack, albeit a status move before I could make my move. Nonetheless, Shu the Poochyena's Bite one-shoted this thing. (From this point forward, I'll minimize the "Then I healed at the Pokemon Center" portions of the story.) So then I started west towards the house of Wally's Cousin Wanda, and Bulma Ralts finally evolved into Kirlia. It was about time too! Ralts was starting to get less useful in battle.

It was around the time I finished off the last trainer on this route to Verdanturf (ironically the first one on the southern path actually because I initially avoided him) that Krillin the Magikarp finally evolved into Gyarados. I finally made it to Verdanturf. I picked up the Blackglasses for Gyarados's "Bite" attack, and then I headed to the route east of Mauville where Poocheyna caught me by surprise by evolving into Mightyena at only Level 18. I thought Poochyena evolved at Lv 25 for some reason, but anyway, I have two Pokemon with Intimidate now.

I traveled through Cycling Road where Geodude beat a bunch of Magnemite with Magnitude ... huh, that's kind of... a pun in a way, I guess... Well, anyway, after that, I finally went into the Mauville Gym. After beating the trainers there with only mild hiccups, I healed, and then I saved the game (because I was nervous after Rival May).

My entire team had Cheri Berries, but they ended up unused. First I used Bulma the Lv 22 Kirlia's Calm Mind against Wattson's Voltorb, but then Wattson insisted on using Selfdestruct (which I didn't bother teaching to Tenshinhan the Geodude). So yeah, I sent out Yamcha the Lombre next against Wattson's Electrike. Unfortunately, Lombre didn't know a useful Grass moves because I chose to keep Bullet Seed over Absorb, and Lombre can't learn a water-type move for like, forever, in this game, but anyway... I did eventually hammer through, then I shuddered a bit at Wattson already sending out his Magneton, so I immediately switched into Lv 22 Geodude, which dodged a Supersonic and knocked out Magneton with one Magnitude 8. Well, I kind of want to give another Pokemon a turn since Geodude is now above the level cap of 22, which--Oh, that wasn't his ace Pokemon in Emerald? Oh, my. So I tried giving Lv 18 Mightyena some exercise, but it ... didn't do so well against the "Shockwave" attacks from the freaking Lv 24 Manectric, so I switched back to Tenshinhan the Geodude and used Magnitude again. Another Magnitude 8: What a coincidence! So I knocked out the last member of Wattson's team. That wasn't too bad with Geodude, but it's a dang shame my poor Kirlia fainted twice in this update.

I'm actually shocked (pun not intended) that Geodude (not even Graveler or Golem) is actually useful so far. Color me surprised. Well, I think I gotta go back to the Trick House tomorrow, and then I think I'm gonna find a Pokemon that can learn Rock Smash for me to clear some boulders out of the way.