The Monotype Challenge v8, Tera Edition

[Explorer of Time]

Pokemon FireRed+ (Standard Mode)
Mono-Normal - Lass Nora
Update 4 (Route 9 -> Celadon Gym)

Alright. I had some massive moveset changeups once I reached Celadon and got the Game Corner TMs. First off, I taught Raticate Return, since it has maximum friendship from being effectively my starter. I also taught it Hyper Beam and Shadow Ball, giving it a good counter to the Gengar line and a strong attack to use if I need something fainted immediately and don't care if I lose a Pokemon getting rid of it. Wigglytuff evolved after I replaced Secret Power with Body Slam, and I taught it Ice Beam and Psychic after reaching Celadon. Finally, Clefable became a dedicated hybrid tank/special sweeper, with Cosmic Power to boost defenses and the three elemental beam attacks to take advantage of the decent Special Attack that my team mostly doesn't have. I also caught a few Meowth for pickup, but only one ever saw battle, against a Pidgey that whirlwinded it out. I'm not going to bother listing their stats.

My Pokemon were pretty overlevelled by the time I reached Celadon, so I didn't have any trouble in the Rocket Hideout or Pokemon Tower. Wigglytuff soloed Giovanni and Raticate soloed my rival. Then I caught both Snorlax, picked the one with the better nature, then snuck down to the Safari Zone to catch a Kangaskhan and Tauros, the latter of which took me a ludicrous amount of time to actually catch. I taught Snorlax Brick Break and Shadow Ball and kept Headbutt and Yawn for now, but I plan to replace both moves at some point. Kangaskhan learned Secret Power, Brick Break, Shadow Ball, and Attract, and Tauros learned Secret Power, Iron Tail, Swagger, and Attract. Both of these Secret Power moves are going to be replaced with stronger Normal moves later on, though.

I used the Celadon Gym to level my new Pokemon trio up a little. Erika's Victreebel got lucky and fainted Tauros, but my Kangaskhan beat the rest of her team by spamming Secret Power. I'm heading back down Cycling Road to Fuchsia next, since I want the Toxic TM for Tauros.

Team

Spoiler:

Raticate (♂) | Normal | Level 38
Moves: Return, Hyper Beam, Shadow Ball, Scary Face
103 HP / 75 Atk / 71 Def / 56 SpA / 53 SpD / 88 Spe
Ability: Run Away | Nature: Lax | Item: Amulet Coin

Wigglytuff (♀) | Normal | Level 37
Moves: Body Slam, Brick Break, Ice Beam, Psychic
156 HP / 60 Atk / 48 Def / 72 SpA / 49 SpD / 50 Spe
Ability: Cute Charm | Nature: Docile | Item: Smoke Ball

Clefable (♀) | Normal | Level 37
Moves: Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Cosmic Power
124 HP / 61 Atk / 66 Def / 79 SpA / 73 SpD / 60 Spe
Ability: Cute Charm | Nature: Hardy | Item: Charcoal

Snorlax (♂) | Normal | Level 30
Moves: Headbutt, Shadow Ball, Brick Break, Yawn
144 HP / 74 Atk / 53 Def / 46 SpA / 76 SpD / 23 Spe
Ability: Immunity| Nature: Relaxed | Item: Quick Claw

Kangaskhan (♀) | Normal | Level 31
Moves: Secret Power, Brick Break, Shadow Ball, Attract
107 HP / 71 Atk / 58 Def / 33 SpA / 56 SpD / 66 Spe
Ability: Early Bird| Nature: Naughty | Item: Cleanse Tag

Tauros (♂) | Normal | Level 29
Moves: Secret Power, Iron Tail, Swagger, Attract
82 HP / 71 Atk / 65 Def / 36 SpA / 50 SpD / 72 Spe
Ability: Intimidate| Nature: Serious | Item: Soothe Bell

 

[Explorer of Time]

Pokemon FireRed+ (Standard Mode)
Mono-Normal - Lass Nora
Update 5 (Route 16 -> Fuchsia Gym)

This is a pretty short update. I did a little leveling up on Cycling Road, and taught Raticate Super Fang and Snorlax Body Slam, but otherwise no moveset updates pre-Koga. After Koga, I taught Toxic to Tauros, replacing Attract since most of the hardest boss fights in this game use exclusively male Pokemon. I also got both Leftovers and gave them to Snorlax and Clefable, and moved Snorlax's Quick Claw over to Wigglytuff to compensate for it.

Koga himself went down pretty easily. Snorlax took down the first Koffing, then Muk, then the second Koffing SelfDestructed to bring Snorlax into the red and Weezing KOed it next turn. Then I sent out Wigglytuff and 2HKOed Weezing with Psychic.

I'm going for Saffron next.

Team

Spoiler:

Raticate (♂) | Normal | Level 40
Moves: Return, Hyper Beam, Shadow Ball, Super Fang
108 HP / 80 Atk / 75 Def / 59 SpA / 55 SpD / 93 Spe
Ability: Run Away | Nature: Lax | Item: Amulet Coin

Wigglytuff (♀) | Normal | Level 38
Moves: Body Slam, Brick Break, Ice Beam, Psychic
160 HP / 62 Atk / 50 Def / 74 SpA / 50 SpD / 52 Spe
Ability: Cute Charm | Nature: Docile | Item: Quick Claw

Clefable (♀) | Normal | Level 37
Moves: Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Cosmic Power
124 HP / 61 Atk / 66 Def / 79 SpA / 73 SpD / 60 Spe
Ability: Cute Charm | Nature: Hardy | Item: Leftovers

Snorlax (♂) | Normal | Level 35
Moves: Body Slam, Shadow Ball, Brick Break, Yawn
166 HP / 86 Atk / 62 Def / 53 SpA / 89 SpD / 27 Spe
Ability: Immunity| Nature: Relaxed | Item: Leftovers

Kangaskhan (♀) | Normal | Level 34
Moves: Secret Power, Brick Break, Shadow Ball, Attract
116 HP / 78 Atk / 64 Def / 36 SpA / 62 SpD / 73 Spe
Ability: Early Bird| Nature: Naughty | Item: Cleanse Tag

Tauros (♂) | Normal | Level 34
Moves: Secret Power, Iron Tail, Swagger, Toxic
95 HP / 84 Atk / 77 Def / 42 SpA / 58 SpD / 84 Spe
Ability: Intimidate| Nature: Serious | Item: Soothe Bell

 

[GrassN]

Decided to jump back in and do another of these!

As much as I love grass type mono runs, I'm gonna change it up this time.

User: GrassN
Type: Normal
Game(s): Emerald
Challenge Type: Standard

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

Update on Ice Monotype challenge:

I defeated Flannery and Norman, so it was high time for me to breed my Sealeo and my freshly evolved Camerupt, and breed I did. I checked each egg with PK Hex, and one of them was shiny. Big problem: Once I settled in a Brave nature Spheal with Rockslide, um... my Sealeo was level 52... and probbaly evolved into a Walrein off-screen. Someone should've warned me. Whoops. It's time for me to start all over cuz... I don't want to win by being THAT over-leveled. I guess I have to keep at it. (At least I have the fast forward mode in mGBA).

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

Ice Monotype Update: I bred the Adamant Spheal. I'm back into the swing of things, but I will not be doing too many updates because it's not all that interesting. My starting Spheal is way over-leveled; I was not expecting this run to be so easy.

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

I thought I was over-prepared. In regards to PP restoring medicine, I only brought one Max Elixir and some Leppa berries, the latter of which I had to use in battle against Salamance because for some reason I was afraid of switching from my physical attacker Walrein to my special attacker Walrein, so I completely forgot to use ice-type against Salamance, which Drake out early (before the Sandstorm Flygon and Altaria). In spite of not needing these PP restoring items for once (because I used my PP Ups and PP Max wisely on only three Pokemon), I ... kind of lost against the Champion's last Pokémon. That Metagross is hardcore! I'm going to take a break and come back to it because I once again made the mistake of not saving right before the champion, but this time I had an actual reason--a bad reason [forgetting the elixirs and ethers] but a reason nonetheless.

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

Looking over the rules again, I realize I was mistaken about something. I wasn't planning on doing a ghost-type run any time soon, but I was really hoping to get all of them done in Ruby/Sapphire (except Fairy, obviously).

I thought the thread mod changed it in such a way that a ghost-type other than Shedinja can be hacked into the game (or in the event that someone is unable to hack the game, the challenge would be post-poned until a Pokemon not permanently cursed with 1 HP, such as Sableye in RSE). Is it really necessary for me to challenge Roxanne (whose specialty is a type that's super effective against bug-type Pokemon) to a fight with just Nincada? I mean, just look at this moveset! I'm gonna have to grind to level 30. I'm grateful Nincada doesn't have a slow leveling rate, but this would take the ghost monotype run of Ruby & Sapphire from "very hard" to "beyond tedious."

Although, now that I'm looking at the Gen III learnset of other ghost-types in RSE, I'm not sure if they'd be much better. At level 5, Sabeleye has... nothing. ... Duskull at least has Night Shade, and Shuppet is stuck with Knock Off until level 13 when it learns Night Shade. Am I for real doing this?

 

[Explorer of Time]

Looking over the rules again, I realize I was mistaken about something. I wasn't planning on doing a ghost-type run any time soon, but I was really hoping to get all of them done in Ruby/Sapphire (except Fairy, obviously).

I thought the thread mod changed it in such a way that a ghost-type other than Shedinja can be hacked into the game (or in the event that someone is unable to hack the game, the challenge would be post-poned until a Pokemon not permanently cursed with 1 HP, such as Sableye in RSE). Is it really necessary for me to challenge Roxanne (whose specialty is a type that's super effective against bug-type Pokemon) to a fight with just Nincada? I mean, just look at this moveset! I'm gonna have to grind to level 30. I'm grateful Nincada doesn't have a slow leveling rate, but this would take the ghost monotype run of Ruby & Sapphire from "very hard" to "beyond tedious."

Although, now that I'm looking at the Gen III learnset of other ghost-types in RSE, I'm not sure if they'd be much better. At level 5, Sabeleye has... nothing. ... Duskull at least has Night Shade, and Shuppet is stuck with Knock Off until level 13 when it learns Night Shade. Am I for real doing this?

All right, I'll update the ruleset to allow hacking in a Ghost-type starter in Hoenn. Though, to be fair, I think it's probably doable if you catch more than one Nincada, since it isn't weak to Rock because it's part ground.

EDIT: New game-specific rules are up.

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

What can I say except "Thank you"?

 

[Explorer of Time]

Pokemon FireRed+ (Standard Mode)
Mono-Normal - Lass Nora
Update 6 (Route 12 -> Saffron Gym)

I went through Routes 12-15 to level up my weaker team members some more, then went through Silph Co and the Saffron Gym. My Clefable swept through most of my rival's team, but got beaten by a critical Razor Leaf from Venusaur. Tauros won the fight for me next turn, though. Against Giovanni, my Wigglytuff completely crushed his team because his AI made a ton of stupid decisions. I think he used Tail Whip four times, and only used Double Kick once. Snorlax beat Sabrina, 1HKOing all her Psychic-types with Shadow Ball and using Body Slam a few times to take down Venomoth.

In terms of moveset changes, I taught Raticate Thunder Wave via the move tutor in Silph Co, taught Return to Kangaskhan and Tauros once their friendship was high enough, and gave Tauros a Metal Coat that I got off a Magnemite while trying to get more Pokedex data for the Exp Share.

Two more badges to go.

Team

Spoiler:

Raticate (♂) | Normal | Level 42
Moves: Return, Shadow Ball, Super Fang, Thunder Wave
113 HP / 84 Atk / 79 Def / 62 SpA / 58 SpD / 98 Spe
Ability: Run Away | Nature: Lax | Item: Amulet Coin

Wigglytuff (♀) | Normal | Level 43
Moves: Body Slam, Brick Break, Ice Beam, Psychic
181 HP / 70 Atk / 57 Def / 84 SpA / 57 SpD / 59 Spe
Ability: Cute Charm | Nature: Docile | Item: Quick Claw

Clefable (♀) | Normal | Level 42
Moves: Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Cosmic Power
140 HP / 70 Atk / 75 Def / 92 SpA / 83 SpD / 70 Spe
Ability: Cute Charm | Nature: Hardy | Item: Leftovers

Snorlax (♂) | Normal | Level 42
Moves: Body Slam, Shadow Ball, Brick Break, Yawn
198 HP / 104 Atk / 77 Def / 63 SpA / 106 SpD / 36 Spe
Ability: Immunity| Nature: Relaxed | Item: Leftovers

Kangaskhan (♀) | Normal | Level 42
Moves: Return, Brick Break, Shadow Ball, Attract
142 HP / 97 Atk / 80 Def / 45 SpA / 78 SpD / 91 Spe
Ability: Early Bird| Nature: Naughty | Item: Soothe Bell

Tauros (♂) | Normal | Level 42
Moves: Return, Iron Tail, Swagger, Toxic
117 HP / 105 Atk / 96 Def / 52 SpA / 72 SpD / 105 Spe
Ability: Intimidate| Nature: Serious | Item: Metal Coat

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

I'm trying to decide which game to play after I finish up the Ice monotype challenge for Sapphire. Maybe I'll actually do that water monotype challenge for Pokémon Leaf Green.

Side note: If I ever complete a playthrough of Pokémon Ultra Moon, I will probably do a ghost monotype challenge.

 

[Explorer of Time]

Pokemon FireRed+ (Standard Mode)
Mono-Normal - Lass Nora
Update 7 (Route 19 -> Route 23)

The Cinnabar Gym was so soon after the last update that I didn't think it was worth giving it its own update, so I decided to just fold the last two gyms into one big update. I went through the water routes, beat Blaine, mostly with a Cosmic Power-boosted Clefable thunderbolting his team up until it got Roared away by Arcanine. Afterwards, I went to the first three of the Sevii Isles, where I taught Snorlax Belly Drum from the move reminder on Two Island. Then, back to Viridian, where my Clefable soloed the Gym Leader's entire team, with 3x Cosmic Power keeping it safe from Earthquake and Ice Beam dealing super-effective damage to all his Pokemon. I used the TM to teach Earthquake to Tauros and Snorlax, but not to Kangaskhan because I'd rather keep its moveset as is. Lastly, I crushed my rival on Route 22 by having Snorlax use Belly Drum and then 1HKO his whole team.

Two more updates: One for the League and one for the postgame.

Team

Spoiler:

Raticate (♂) | Normal | Level 48
Moves: Return, Shadow Ball, Super Fang, Thunder Wave
129 HP / 98 Atk / 91 Def / 71 SpA / 67 SpD / 113 Spe
Ability: Run Away | Nature: Lax | Item: Amulet Coin

Wigglytuff (♀) | Normal | Level 48
Moves: Body Slam, Brick Break, Ice Beam, Psychic
201 HP / 80 Atk / 63 Def / 94 SpA / 63 SpD / 68 Spe
Ability: Cute Charm | Nature: Docile | Item: Quick Claw

Clefable (♀) | Normal | Level 48
Moves: Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Cosmic Power
159 HP / 80 Atk / 87 Def / 107 SpA / 95 SpD / 80 Spe
Ability: Cute Charm | Nature: Hardy | Item: Leftovers

Snorlax (♂) | Normal | Level 48
Moves: Body Slam, Shadow Ball, Earthquake, Belly Drum
226 HP / 121 Atk / 90 Def / 72 SpA / 123 SpD / 44 Spe
Ability: Immunity| Nature: Relaxed | Item: Leftovers

Kangaskhan (♀) | Normal | Level 48
Moves: Return, Brick Break, Shadow Ball, Attract
161 HP / 113 Atk / 93 Def / 52 SpA / 90 SpD / 106 Spe
Ability: Early Bird| Nature: Naughty | Item: Soothe Bell

Tauros (♂) | Normal | Level 47
Moves: Return, Earthquake, Iron Tail, Toxic
133 HP / 122 Atk / 108 Def / 58 SpA / 81 SpD / 119 Spe
Ability: Intimidate| Nature: Serious | Item: Metal Coat

 

[Explorer of Time]

Pokemon FireRed+ (Standard Mode)
Mono-Normal - Lass Nora
Update 8 (Victory Road -> Indigo Plateau)

All right, time to recap my battles at the Pokemon League.

To start things off, Clefable used Cosmic Power four times and tanked Lorelai's whole team without casualties.

Bruno was easily the toughest of the league, expected given my type. I led with Wigglytuff, which 1HKOed Onix, then went down to Hitmonchan. Raticate paralyzed Hitmonchan, then fainted to Hitmonlee and Snorlax took it down. Then, Bruno sent out Machamp and it kept 1HKOing all my Pokemon, so I had to send Tauros out to cheese it with Toxic and stall with healing items. The second Onix was a pushover in comparison.

I led with Wigglytuff again for Agatha's battle, and it fainted the first Gengar and Golbat, Kangaskhan fainted the Arbok, and Snorlax took down Haunter and the second Gengar.

Against Lance, I led with Clefable and started off with 2 uses of Cosmic Power, then Thunderbolt a few times to 2HKO Gyarados. Lance sent out Aerodactyl, which, since it didn't have Dragon Rage and got infatuated by Cute Charm on its first attack, let me build up maximum defenses with 4 more Cosmic Powers, then Ice Beaming the rest of Lance's team into oblivion.

Finally, I fought the Champion, my rival, Blue. I thought it appropriate to lead with my de facto starter, Raticate, which started off with a Thunder Wave, then a Super Fang and a Return. Blue used a full restore, and I repeated my actions, criticaling this time and KOing Pidgeot. Blue sent out his Alakazam next, and I used another Thunder Wave, paralyzing it. Synchronize triggered, of course, but Raticate's Cheri Berry nullified it as planned. It then got a Super Fang off before Alakazam retaliated with Psychic, bringing it down to half HP. I switched to Kangaskhan and took down Alakazam with a Shadow Ball, but it got defeated by Rhydon soon after. I sent out Snorlax, but Rhydon criticaled and KOed it too, then criticaled and 1HKOed Wigglytuff. I switched to Clefable and Ice Beamed Rhydon to 2HKO it, and Blue switched to Gyarados. Clefable 2HKOed that too, and Blue brought out Arcanine. I used a Max Revive on Wigglytuff and let Arcanine faint Clefable, and switched to Tauros. Tauros Earthquaked Arcanine before going down, and Wigglytuff Body Slammed it, and the Paralysis chance took effect. I spent a couple turns healing and brought out Snorlax, and Earthquaked Arcanine. Finally, against Venusaur, I had Snorlax Belly Drum to maximize its Attack, while Venusaur used Growth, and I 1HKOed it next turn with a body slam.

I'm the Pokemon League Champion now, but I still have the postgame left, so I'm going to do one more update before moving on to Emerald.

Team

Spoiler:

Raticate (♂) | Normal | Level 50
Moves: Return, Shadow Ball, Super Fang, Thunder Wave
134 HP / 103 Atk / 94 Def / 75 SpA / 70 SpD / 118 Spe
Ability: Run Away | Nature: Lax | Item: Cheri Berry

Wigglytuff (♀) | Normal | Level 51
Moves: Body Slam, Brick Break, Ice Beam, Psychic
214 HP / 86 Atk / 67 Def / 100 SpA / 67 SpD / 72 Spe
Ability: Cute Charm | Nature: Docile | Item: Quick Claw

Clefable (♀) | Normal | Level 54
Moves: Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Cosmic Power
178 HP / 91 Atk / 98 Def / 120 SpA / 108 SpD / 91 Spe
Ability: Cute Charm | Nature: Hardy | Item: Leftovers

Snorlax (♂) | Normal | Level 50
Moves: Body Slam, Shadow Ball, Earthquake, Belly Drum
236 HP / 127 Atk / 94 Def / 76 SpA / 129 SpD / 45 Spe
Ability: Immunity| Nature: Relaxed | Item: Leftovers

Kangaskhan (♀) | Normal | Level 50
Moves: Return, Brick Break, Shadow Ball, Attract
168 HP / 118 Atk / 98 Def / 55 SpA / 93 SpD / 110 Spe
Ability: Early Bird| Nature: Naughty | Item: Lum Berry

Tauros (♂) | Normal | Level 50
Moves: Return, Earthquake, Iron Tail, Toxic
142 HP / 130 Atk / 116 Def / 62 SpA / 86 SpD / 127 Spe
Ability: Intimidate| Nature: Serious | Item: Metal Coat

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

When I complete the Ice-type part of the Ruby/Sapphire game mastery challenge, I might pick up a monotype challenge (standard mode) for Pokémon FRLG or GSC. I haven't decided which (or what type), but I kind of think it'd be a good idea to take a break from Ruby/Sapphire while continuing to play old-school Pokémon.

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

I've decided to start a water-type challenge of Pokémon Leaf Green. Squirtle Squirt!

User: Reginald Cosmic

Type: Water

Game: Leaf Green

Challenge Type: Single

Standard Mode or Free Mode: Standard Mode please

I will finish the Ice monotype challenge of Sapphire very soon. I have anxiety disorder, and my heart rate is too high right now for me to challenge the Elite Four on that save file.

 

[JollyRoger25]

I wish to start a Dark monotype challenge. HeartGold->OmegaRuby->ShiningPearl->Black2->Y->UltraSun->Shield->Scarlet. My plan is to trade my Starter in with an Eevee that I will evolve into Umbreon at the earliest point I can unless one of the starters final form includes a dark typing.

User:JollyRoger25

Type:Dark

Game: HG>OR>SP>B2>Y>US>SH>SC

Standard or Free Mode: Standard

 

[Explorer of Time]

I wish to start a Dark monotype challenge. HeartGold->OmegaRuby->ShiningPearl->Black2->Y->UltraSun->Shield->Scarlet. My plan is to trade my Starter in with an Eevee that I will evolve into Umbreon at the earliest point I can unless one of the starters final form includes a dark typing.

User:JollyRoger25

Type:Dark

Game: HG>OR>SP>B2>Y>US>SH>SC

Standard or Free Mode: Standard

Hi. While trading in an Eevee to evolve into Umbreon is acceptable in HeartGold and Shining Pearl, you can't do it in Standard Mode in Omega Ruby, Black 2, or Shield because you can catch a Dark-type Pokemon on the very first route of all three games. If you choose to play these three runs in Free Mode, you can trade in an Eevee, but otherwise you should catch your first route's Dark-type as soon as you get your first Poke Balls, and treat that as your starter. I'll add your Ultimate Challenge to the Challengers list as soon as you make a decision on which mode to run these three games in.

 

[JollyRoger25]

I'll do the Standard challenge and get the dark types native to the region, save for HeartGold and ShiningPearl

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

Pokémon Leaf Green Water monotype:

Spoiler:

I named myself "Mario" and my rival "Sonic" and nicknamed my Squirtle "Bowser." I regret not naming it "King Koopa" for some reason.

I caught some Pokémon for the PokéDex, and then I beat Brock and made my starter evolve right in front of him to assert dominance.

 

[Piloswine]

Finished my HeartGold Bug run! I wrote the log while playing and it became really long, so here's the TLDR:

Spoiler:

- Clair made me use all the potential of my team.
- After passing through Koga's Crobat, I was continuously destroyed by Lance.
- Scyther was strong enough to outspeed some of Lance's Pokémon, and Heracross now could tank while doing great damage so this way I defeated Lance.
- Kanto was mostly easy, I focused my training on Scyther, Heracross and Forretress.
- I had a very fun and surprising battle against Blue where I used all the abilities of my top Trio. I had to use revive once.
- I lost the E4 rematch, so I grinded a lot.
- When I was strong enough, Scyther sweeped the E4 and Heracross and Forretress took care of Lance. Fire and Flying moves still made a big damage to my team, and revives were used.
- (Schukie the Shuckle and Nat the Venomoth are the secret heroes of the team for allowing all the revive and hyper potion uses. Honored mention to Gina the Parasect)
- More grinding, exploring the two regions, looked for gym leaders, rematched Morty, tried my chance against Red, lost, more grinding.
- Finally, Red again: Fred the Forretress set up stealth rock and exploded Pikachu (Pikachu blast off!); Bob the Heracross tried to defeat Charizard, but was burned down; Billy the Scyther finished Charizard; Heracross was broought back and sweeped half of Red's team, but lost to Venusaur; Heracross was brought back again (sorry, Bob) and defeated Venusaur, bringing the victory to my team!

Complete log:

Spoiler:

Clair was tough. I won at the third attempt, and only Scyther remained at the end. I used all of my team: Forretress set Spikes, Venomoth and Parasect applied statuses, and Scyther and Heracross hit really hard.

I had a couple of things to do before going to Victory Road. The first one was to defeat Ho-Oh. Heracross's Rock Tomb did a lot of damage to the Fire/Flying legendary. It took me three turns to defeat it.

I also wanted to get Swords Dance at the Game Corner. After playing the minigame a lot I gathered enough coins to buy the TM an taught it to Heracross. And then I went to the Victory Road.

I tried to defeat the Elite Four dozens of times. Will never was a problem. The first challenge I faced was Koga's Crobat, that was fast, could crush my team with Wing Attack and use Double Team to become annoingly invincible, but when I found out Scyther could defeat it with Aerial Ace, it became easy. I won from Bruno wasily. His Fighting types were countered by Scyther's Flying STAB, while his Rock types were defeated by Heracross's Fighting STAB. Karen wasn't a big deal too. You are right if you're thinking Lance was the big challenge in this run. I used a lot of revives and HP recovering items. His Gyarados was really tough, but with one Swords Dance, Scyther was ready to defeat it. Aerodactyl would be a big problem, but my Forretress was specialized in defeating him. With the defense from its Steel type it took almost no damage and it countered with Gyro Ball. With the high difference between the two Pokémon's speed, it took down Aerodactyl in two hits. His next Poké was Charizard, and Heracross did a lot of damage with Rock Tomb, but Charizard defeated it, so Scyther had to finish him. So there were only the Dragonites left and it wasn't easy to defeat them, but fortunately I have brought Parasect and Shuckle as additional slots in the team so I could revive the other pokémon. Shuckle could even tank two attacks. After getting revived, Scyther and Heracross sweeped the Dragonite with their great attack stat (and Scyther's speed). And this is how a bug catcher became the Indigo League Champion.

After winning, I went to Kanto and battled all of its Gym Leaders. I don't think there's need to describe in detail. I'll just say it was easier and faster to make only a few of my Pokémon strong. So I first trained Scyther, Heracross, Forretress and Venomoth and before battlinge Blue I decided to drop from Venomoth's training. Scyther and Heracross could deal with most Pokémon, and Forretress could deal with what the other two couldn't. I replaced Forretress's Gyro Ball with Rock Slide to deal with flying types.

Blue is really a great trainer, the battle against him was challenging. His first Pokémon was Exxegcutor and it used Trick Room, messing with my strategy for a while. Scyther defeated it easily, and then is sent Pidgeot. Fortunately, Forretress is specialized in defeating Flying Types and didn't have any problem against it. Then he sent Arcanine. For this time only, Trick Room favored me, making Forretress attack first, but Rock Slide didn't make much harm. For my surprise, he K.O.ed himself with Flare Blitz's recoil damage, but not before taking Forretress and Heracross with it. Then I sent Scyther against Rhydon, but Scyhter lost. Fortunately I have brought Venomoth, and used its turn to revive Heracross. Trick Room was no longer in battle so I could move first. Heracross shined this time, taking down Rhydon, Machamp and Gyarados with one hit on each one. Blue recognized my strength and gave me the last of Kanto's Badges.

I trained at Cerulean cave and then challenged the Elite Four. Will's team had a great addition name Bronzong, but when he used Full Restore I had one extra turn, and I used the second Swords Dance, allowing Scyther to sweep his whole team easily. Koga lost because of the same strategy, two Swords Dance from Scyther and he had no chance. In Bruno's case, I used only one. Against Karen I decided to start with Heracross. It defeated her Weavile, but when she sent Honchkrow I changed to Forretress. I set three layers of spikes and defeated Honchkrow with Rock Slide. Then I called Heracross back and it took care of the rest of her team, finishing the Dark Pokémon with Close Combat after they took damage from Spikes. Spiritomb made me sweat a little, cause it's immune to Fighting moves. I used Earthquake, making its HP low, but in her turn, she used Pain Split, that did basically nothing cause Heracross's own HP was low, so I defeated Spiritomb in the next turn. So, after the Elite Four comes the Champion.

Forretress was my first Pokémon. I didn't know it would face Salamence, and of course the dragon defeated it with Flamethrower. Scyther managed to outspeed, bringing its HP to half, and I had a lot of luck, cause Scyther's King Rock made it flinch allowing me to defeated it in the next turn. The next battle was Heracross vs. Charizard and it was like: Charizard used Air Slash, but it failed; Heracross used Rock Tomb, an Charizard's HP became red, and Charizard's deffense fell; Lance use Full Restore, Heracross used Rock Tomb, Charizard's HP became red and its speed fell dwon again. Heracross moved first in the next turn, buuuut it failed. LOL! Charizard used Flamethrower. Bye bye, Heracross! Thank you, you were amazing!

I sent Scyther to finish Charizard. Lance sent in Gyarados, that used Ice Fang and it was a critical hit, making Scyther faint. I sent Schuckle and I used its turn to revive Scyther. Scyther came back to battle, but Gyarados had a nasty Thunder Wave, making Scyther paralyzed and it didn't move. Lance kept using Dragon Dance and swept the resto of my team with Waterfall.

After losing, I decided to get stronger at Mt. Silver. After a lot of grinding, I faced the E4 again. Scyther took care of the E4, and Heracross and Forretress (both level 76) defeated Lance. Immediately after that I went to Mt. Silver's top to find Red. I was a little underleveled and I lost the battle.

After some grinding, I went to battle Red again. We had similar levels, but I still sweat during the battle. I started with Forretress to set up Stealth Rock. Red's Pikachu did a lotof damage to it with Thunderbolt, so I used explosion next, bringin Pikachu down with me. As expected, his next Poké was Charizard, so I sent Heracross. Stealth Rock did a lot of damage to Charizard, but Heracross's Rock Tomb missed. Charizard defeated it, and I brought Scyther to finish him. Red sent Lapras, who defeated Scyther, so I revived Heracross, that defeated Lapras, Snorlax and Blastoise with one hit thanks to Close Combat. Venusaur was Red's last mon. I tanked my attack and made Heracross faint. I had to revive Heracross and this time I used Earthquake to guarantee the victory. I don't know if it was necessary, but I managed to take the plant beast down. So, this is it. I defeated Red. That was a long way, and I made it to the top (literally).

This is the end of my journey as a Bug Catcher. I have to say it, this was the most fun I ever had playing a Pokémon game. Maybe not as fun as when I first played Silver, my first game in the series, but definitely the most fun since then. There's something special about being a specialist, and relying on the same pokémon all through the adventure. I already knew the big bugs (Scyther, Heracross) were good, but I didn't expect them to be so effective in the battles. I'm also fond of the other members of my team and ended this run loving Bug types more than before.

Long live all the bugs!



Team After Winning against the Elite Four for the 1st Time:

Spoiler:

Bob - Heracross - Lv 54 - Mild
Held item: Black Belt
Ability: Swarm
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Rock Tomb
- Earthquake

Billy - Scyther - Lv 58 - Adamant
Held item: King's Rock
Ability: Technician
- Aerial Ace
- Swords Dance
- Night Slash
- U-Turn

Nat - Venomoth - Lv 56 - Quirky
Held item: Quick Claw
Ability: Shield Dust
- Sludge Bomb
- Psychic
- Stun Spore
- Signal Beam

Gina - Parasect - Lv 41 - Mild
Held item: none
Ability: Dry Skin
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Poison Powder
- Slash

Fred - Forretress - Lv 51 - Naughty
Held item: Amulet Coin
Ability: Sturdy
- Explosion
- Iron Defense
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes

Shuckie - Shuckle - Lv39 - Relaxed
Held item: none
Ability: Gluttony
- Wrap
- Rest
- Gastro Acid
- Safeguard

Team After Winning against Red:

Spoiler:

Bob - Heracross - Lv 85 - Mild
Held Item: Black Belt
HP: 240/ATK: 258/DEF:156/SpATK: 100/SpDEF: 180/Speed:186
Ability: Swarm
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Rock Tomb
- Earthquake

Billy - Scyther - Lv 87 - Adamant
Held Item: King's Rock
HP:249/ATK:259/DEF: 170/SpATK: 128/SpDEF:171/Speed: 241
Ability: Technician
- Aerial Ace
- Swords Dance
- Night Slash
- U-Turn

Fred - Forretress - Lv 83 - Naughty
Held Item: Quick Claw
Ability: Sturdy
HP:257/ATK: 187/DEF:279/SpATK: 138/SpDEF: 104/Speed: 101
- Explosion
- Iron Defense
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock

Nat - Venomoth - Lv 61 - Quirky
Held Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Shield Dust
- Sludge Bomb
- Psychic
- Swagger
- Bug Buzz

Shuckie - Shuckle - Lv40 - Relaxed
Held Item: none
Ability: Gluttony
- Bug Bite
- Rest
- Gastro Acid
- Safeguard

Rock Climber: Geodude.
In the PC: Parasect, Butterfree.
Other HM Slaves: Poliwhirl, Hoot-Hoot, Chikorita, Goldeen.

Hall of fame (1st win against the E4):

Spoiler: