[Challenge] The Monotype Challenge v8, Tera Edition

[MachoPony]

Man, I just keep taking long ass breaks don't i? May 10th i finish Heartgold. and don't really start Emerald till July 15th lmao

The Journey so far: up to Gym 7

Spoiler:

Started game, helped out birch. got Kip the Mudkip. Bold nature (+def - atk) oof, not great since all ground moves are physical in gen 3

Beat brendan, went on towards petalburg. helped wally catch Ralts. trainers through rustboro weren't too hard Gym trainers were easy.

VS Roxanne
A single water gun took out Geodude, and her 2nd. Then after many tackles, blocks, 2 potions, a rock tomb and a ton of water guns. Nosepass finally fell to mudkip


After the battle mudkip evolved into Marshtomp

Went on to Dewford town caught Rocky III the Geodude in granite cave before training him up and using Marshtomp mostly in the gym

Twice in a row almost beat Brawly before Makuhita crit and KOd marshtomp

vS Brawly
After a karate chop a Crit Magnitude 8 knocked out Machop, Magnitude 2 shot Meditite and wasted a potion. a heavy magnitude 8 took Makuhita low, it kod Geodude, its berry
healed it then after a ridiculous reversal and a potion, 2 torrent boosted Water Guns from Marshtomp took makuhita down.

Made it to slateport, beat team Aqua. got wiped by Brendan's Grovyle

Attempt 2. Marshtomp was able to slow down Grovyle enough before fainting for Geodude to finish it off, fainted to Wingull sadly

Attempt 3
VS Brendan
This time Geodude one shot Slugma. then Marshtomp took an absorb, hit mud shot, took another absorb, hit mud shot, then crit mud shot to finish off Grovyle
after a super potion a couple of tackles took down Wingull

Made it to mauville, straight into the gym since Geodude and Marshtomp were both nearing my self imposed level cap

VS Wattson
Clean sweep for Geodude, he had nothing to take on a rock/ground mon, all his moves are electric and normal. one shot electrike, low rolled voltorb but rollout did nothing
so a 2nd took it out. then one shot magneton and manectric.

Geodude evolved into Graveler

Caught Humps the Numel on Route 112

Went up and around to fallarbor, then down to Rustboro again through meteor falls. got Strength in the Rustturf tunnel and up Mt Chimney i go

Numel swept through the grunts and Tabitha with ease
VS Maxie
Mightyena with intimidate, sand attack and bite was very annoying but swapping between Numel and Graveler took it out after some embers and magnitudes. Camerupt was
a clean 2 shot from Marshtomp's water gun and a few embers from Numel beat Zubat

Down to Lavaridge, through the gym no sweat

VS Flannery
Marshomp one shot numel and slugma, 2 shot Camerupt who set up sun. then Torkoal almost one shot Graveller with Overheat in the sun but a solid magnitude followed by a body slam
took down Graveller. After 2 hyper potions, another pair of high roll Magnetiude from Numel finished off Torkoal

finally got the Go-goggles and into the Desert. caught Buzzy the Trapinch, Sonic the Sandshrew and Beyblade the Baltoy


Trained up a bit, took out Norman's trainers

VS Norman
oh jeez this was rough. so a held Persim berry helped Graveller ignore Teeter dance and hit magnitude before taking a psybeam and KOing Spinda back with another.
Then in came Slaking immediately, so i had Marshtomp growl it 6 times, taking a few hits in the process then slow it with mud shot. After that it took marshtomp out and
it was a war of attrition with Graveller, he kept using yawn, every turn. So while swapping between Numel and Graveller i predicted it and hit ember before bringing Graveller back in
and just taking the yawn and going to sleep....he kept using yawn even while I was asleep. GBA Ai i tell ya. So after burning through a hyper potion (And a soda pop on my side)
one massive Magnitude 10 took it out finally. a few Magnitudes took out vigoroth. Numel chipped down Linoone, healed Graveller on the last turn before it fell
then Graveller came back in to finish Linoone.

On to the Weather Institute. beat up the grunts, got Trapinch some exp

VS Shelly
Marshtomp one shot Carvahna with Mud Shot then Numel came in on intimidate, but mightyena used Swagger, big mistake now at +1 Numel 2 shot with Magnitude

obviously can't use Castform but the free Mystic Water could be good for Marshtomp

Outside was Brendan, no way i'm winning this, so i thought.

VS Brendan
Ok so Trapinch takes out Slugma then Numel goes against Grovyle which now has changed absorb for Leaf Blade which 2 shots Numel, and permanent rain on this route.
Except. It went for screech, numel crit ember for over half, it missed a 2nd screech, numel took it low and after a leaf blade, numel took it out. leaving Marshtomp to 3
shot Pelipper with rain boosted Surfs. ok then.


On to Fortree. did some training. took on the gym

VS Winona
Trapinch took down Swablu, Tropius set up the sun, big mistake as Numel hit ember, took a solarbeam and hit it low plus burn. i swapped to Sandshrew for a free switch to Marshtomp but uh
she hard switched to Pelipper, so after a lot of Take Downs and a hyper potion Marshtomp took down Pelipper. then came tropius...who immediately died to burn because of
gen 3 game mechanics. Skarmory hit sand attack, took ember from numel, hit aerial ace, took another ember then took it out. a surf finished Skarmory. Last was Altaria
dragon dance, rock throw for half, Graveller took earthquake and rock throw ended the fight.


Onward to Lilycove, got the Pokeblock case so i can go grab phanpy and maybe Rhyhorn if i need it later. To get to the dept store i had to go one more round with Brendan

vs Brendan
A lot easier this time. Tropius kept using Sweet Scent so Camerupt 3 shot with Ember. Marshtomp took down Pelipper eventually, Camerupt took 2 leaf blades and 2 shot Grovyle
while Baltoy came in to finish off Slugma for some Exp

Trained and evolved Marshtomp and Trapinch, with Vibrava i can now fly back to Rustboro and get the exp share i should have got a long time ago. Then back to Lilycove and
on to the Safari Zone for Jumbo the Phanpy.
At Mt Pyre. trained Baltoy with the exp share all the way up and then took on team Aqua, headed for the Magma base after, through there I faced.

VS Tabitha
His mons are a lot lower levelled than my own which is weird because mine are in the mid 30s, winona's Altaria was 33, why are team magma still in the 20s?
Anyway Baltoy took down Numel, Graveller beat Mightyena and Zubat before Swampert one shot Camerupt

VS Maxie
Graveller took down Mightyena, Camerupt and Crobat no sweat. Finally evolving into Golem at 37, along with Baltoy hitting 36 and evolving to Claydol. Also maxie's mons were in the late 30s.
why the discrepency between admin and leader?


Over to Slateport, then Lilycove. Through the Aqua base. Trained donphan with the Exp share

VS Matt
Only a mightyena and a golbat? easy pickings for Golem's new Rock Blast move.

Surfed over to Mossdeep, cleared out the gym

VS Tate and Liza
Ouch. a pretty sizable level jump from Winona huh.
So i used the ol' double team one side strat. forgetting that for some stupid reason they count as one trainer so even taking out Xatu and Solrock, they could just send in Lunatone.
but anyway Claydol got an ancientpower omni boost, letting it hit a lot harder. Between claydol, vibrava and swampert i took out Xatu and solrock
Claydol and golem finished Lunatone and at this point i was down to Claydol and Camerupt but a few psybeams and embers took out their Claydol and won the fight.

Current Team:

Spoiler:

Buzzy(Vibrava)
LV37
Dragon Breath
Fly
Rock Tomb
Crunch

Beyblade(Claydol)
LV36
Psybeam
Mud Slap
Ancientpower
Sandstorm

Kip(Swampert)
LV37
Mud Shot
Surf
Take Down
Growl

Jumbo(Donphan) LV34
Strength
Growl
Defense Curl
Rollout

Humps(Camerupt)
LV34
Ember
Magnitude
Rock Slide
Growl

Rocky III(Golem)
Magnitude
Rock Blast
Tackle
Defense Curl

 

[StenirRPG]

Am I reading this right, Stenir? You got diagnosed with sciatica, arthritis, and psoriasis at the same time? I know this is off-topic on my part, but good lord, that sounds awful! (I don't know exactly what sciatica is, but I've heard that psoriasis is super scary to look up on Google.) Hang in there, man.

I don't have any progress to share on the Monotype challenge because I'm trying to grind up my team in the "No Evolution" challenge, so I can finally update that thread. I just felt really bad for Stenir here, and I felt I should probably say something.

I feel bad for you too, Stenir. A family member of mine has had lifelong arthritis and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Also been busy with real life stuff, moderator-stuff, and other games, but I should have a new update for Platinum before the Get-Together starts on Sunday.

Definitely hanging in there, all. There's some thought that I might have spinal stenosis, which is where the part of the backbone where your spinal cord and nerves go through shrinks, putting a lot of pressure in places where it normally wouldn't. There is a small history of it in my family, so that might be exacerbating the sciatica (which is pressure put on the sciatic nerve), or heck, it could be causing it. I've had symptoms for years, but it's one of those healthcare system issues where you gotta find the right doctor to take everything you are saying serious enough.

It does slow me down - I can't play more than maybe an hour or two at a time on my 3DS. This might be the point at which I start switching back to two or three posts a game - for a while I was just cranking them out, but gotta safely play. Thanks for the kind words, all - love this community.

I am on the second island of Sun, so I'll probably be posting something soon.

 

[MachoPony]

Emerald Complete

Spoiler:

Onwards to the space center. Donphan got some exp beating up the Magma grunts

VS Maxie & Tabitha
i don't underststand why all the Mightyenas with intimidate also have Swagger to give you a net +1 ATK anyway. Well Donphan and steven's Metang cleaned up.


Taught dive to a Barboach i caught and never used awhile back. Got to Sootopolis, then back down to the Seafloor Cavern. Made my way through to

VS Shelly + Aqua Grunt
Not hard for Donphan and Swampert to take on. None of their pokemon are overly bulky and mine are quite so. Meaning i hit them a lot harder even with Shelly's
higher levelled pokemon.

Got the very valuable TM26 Earthquake

VS Archie
Swampert handled the Mightyena with a pair of surf, Crobat was tougher because my mons were so lower levelled but ultimately Donphan took it out, finally a pair of Mud Shots let swampert take out Sharpedo.

Did the shenanigans with Rayquaza.

Surfed from Slatepord to Dewford for training, picked up Ice Beam on the ship and Sludge bomb in dewford, then surfed from Mossdeep to Pacifidlog and over to Slateport
for more training. Cleared the Sootopolis gym.

VS Juan
So i led with Donphan but seeing Luvdisc was female and expecting attract i swapped to Camerupt who sadly fainted to 2 Water Pulse
Swampert took it out, then after claydol chipped away at Whiscash setting amnesia i swapped to Swampert again, knocked it out with 2 mud shots as it set rain
Golem took a chunk off Sealeo but the rain boosted water pulse finished it. ditto Claydol only it was a crit water pulse. swampert got it low
burned a hyper potion then took it out
Donphan got the def drop on Crawdaunt with rock smash before fainting, Swampert got his 2nd hyper potion off and i healed myself before a few mud shots took it out
slowed down Kingdra as it spammed double team. Swampert went down and Vibrava managed to hit dragonbreath, paralyze it, and it was fully paralyzed before a 2nd one finished
kingdra.

taught barboach waterfall on to Ever Grande City and Victory Road

VS Wally
Vibrava paralyzed Altaria then Golem finished it with rock blast. his Roselia lost to Camerupt after a back and forth of ember vs magical leaf. Delcatty was annoying but Golem
took it out with a pair of high magnitudes after spending a couple of turns asleep (I swear the AI always hits sing and hypnosis despite their terrible accuracy)
Gardevoir got Swampert low but after a full restore, 2 torrent boosted Surfs finished it. Mud shot clean one shot Magneton to end it.

Through Victory road, did a lot of training. Vibrava evolved to Flygon, Used the move deleter, reminder and TMs to teach Claydol Earthquake and Psychic, Flygon dig and Swampert Ice Beam

Elite 4
VS Sidney
Swampert took Mightyena low, knew he would heal so i slowed it with mud shot to outspeed next turn and finish with Surf
Camerupt took a needle arm and finished Cacturne with its new Eruption
Flygon put a dent in Crawdaunt before it got up swords dance and 2 shot with Facade, Swampert finished with Mud Shot
Shiftry went for double team and Camerupt one shot it
Lastly was Absol which couldn't do much to Golem so 2 Earthquakes took it down

VS Phoebe
Swampert took down Dusclops with a surf followed by it using curse. Banette went for Grudge as golem hit earthquake then shadow ball so rock blast took it out
camerupt did a chunk to Dusclops 2 which 2 shot with earthquake. Swampert finished it then 2 surfs took out Sableye and the 2nd banette.

VS Glacia
Golem knocked Sealeo low as it set hail, then she healed, got low again and tackle finished it. Camerupt knocked Glalie low with Eruption as it used light screen
before taking an ice beam and rock sliding it. Swampert slowed down Walrein considerably before getting knocked out leaving Flygon to....fail to knock it out and get one shot
ok Camerupt finished with rock slide. then a blizzard took it out before it could rock slide sealeo. Golem took Sealeo low then fainted. Claydol set up a cosmic power
then got the Ancientpower omni boost before 2 shotting with psychic after another full restore. 2 more psychics finished her 2nd glalie.

VS Drake
His shelgon got slowed by Mud shot then finished with ice beam from swampert. Altaria took an ice beam but a surf finished it, Flygon paralyzed his Kingdra then 2 more dragon breaths finished it
Swampert took an earthquake and finished his Flygon in one ice beam. Salamence then swept through most of my team only taking a single rock slide from Camerupt. Well it's over
...except he healed on Claydol knocking it low, claydol got the SpDef drop off psychic, took a dragon claw, then crit psychic to win the fight...ok?

VS Champion Wallace
2 earthquakes, a couple of hits, a full restore, 3 more earthquakes and Swampert beats Wailord
Flygon paralyzed Ludicolo to stop its evasion shenanigans, then took it low enough to KO with fly without triggering another full restore
Swampert took a hydro pump and one shot Tentacruel with Earthquake then foddered Flygon to heal swampert against Whiscash
Claydol knocked it low and hyper beam meant Swampert had a free turn to knock it out. Swampert knocked Gyarados low and hyper beam gave Golem a free turn
to knock it out, finally was Milotic, revived Swampert because i knew neither Golem nor Camerupt could take out Milotic. Earthquake, surf, earthquake, surf, berry, earthquake and Swampert wins.

Not done yet, taught swampert waterfall to get through Meteor Falls

VS Steven
If I was smart I would have trained more. I am not smart.
So Camerupt took out skarmory by eruption, toxic, full restore, eruption, aerial ace, eruption. In came Aggron which Swampert 2 shot with earthquake. Next was Cradily which one shot Donphan immediately. so Claydol comes in, manage to get a spdef
drop off psychic before fainting, Flygon paralyzes Cradily and Swampert 2 shots it with Ice Beam. Claydol was up next and it really couldn't touch Flygon so after crunch reduced its SpD a few times, Swampert finishes with surf.
Metagross was the big kahuna. One shot golem immediately, flygon came in. it missed Meteor Mash, dragonbreath paralyzed it, flygon hit it with dig before fainting. Swampert hit Earthquake, paralyzed, surf it low, berry back up, psychic. then Earthquake to finish it.
Last was Armaldo. Swampert hit surf, got slashed, i healed, slash again, surf, slash, both sides healed, surf crit, slash crit, then a final surf to end the battle.

Final Team

Spoiler:

Kip(Swampert)
LV 54
Surf
Waterfall
Earthquake
Ice Beam

Rocky III (Golem)
LV 51
Earthquake
Rock Blast
Tackle
Defense Curl

Jumbo(Donphan)
LV 50
Earthquake
Rock Smash
Strength
Rollout

Buzzy(Flygon)
LV 51
Dig
Dragonbreath
Fly
Crunch

Beyblade(Claydol)
LV51
Psychic
Earthquake
Cosmic Power
Ancient Power

Humps(Camerupt)
LV51
Eruption
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Growl

Run thoughts: this was quite annoying due to the abundance of trainers, both random and important using grass and water types. Swampert isn't weak to water but unlike say, Quagsire it's not immune either. and Camerupt didn't learn any fire moves besides ember till like. the high 40s. I could have got Fire Blast from the Dept Store or Flamethrower from the game corner if i cba grinding coins but meh more challenging. Also the last stretch of the game features a flying gym, a psychic gym where all 4 pokemon are immune to ground, a battle with Archie, a water gym, an ice type elite 4, and a champion with a mono water team.

MVP: Swampert no question. as a Marshtomp it was my bulkiest mon, mud shot for speed control and damage was fantastic and once it got surf and became Swampert, even better. good speed, bulk, power. Good everything
LVP: difficult because well...aside from swampert most of the rest of them sucked. and the only mons i didn't use were Sandslash and Whiscash neither of which i think would have made a big difference and Rhydon who also wouldn't have done much Golem couldn't already. Golem was at least useful early on and Flygon's dragonbreath paralysis was invaluable. Camerupt was decent early too. I guess Donphan? kinda weak specially and only learned one good level up move (Earthquake) was more an HM user for rock smash and strength later.

 

[Cinnabar Rhubarb]

⋆˙⟡ A Crystal Grass Monotype ⟡ ⋆˙
I don't really have a funny subtitle here but expect a lot of Sleep Powder regardless
Part 2

​

A probably brief update here is all. The team at first is:

• Pear (Bayleef) - Level 16
• Apricot (Skiploom) - Level 18
• Mulberry (Bellsprout) - Level 16

though it'll grow quite a lot rather soon.

Spoiler:

Now onto our rival. This gets a bit sketchy because I somewhat foolishly decided Poison Powder would be more valuable than Sleep Powder in the short term on Apricot, but Mulberry is still able to decommission Quilava for long enough for Pear to Tackle it to death, thanks in no small part to Apricot's Tail Whips.

Now that Ilex Forest is open we have access to a few more team members. Lychee the Paras joins the squad, as well as Plum the Oddish once night finally falls. Vileplume is probably the better evolution choice, but we've used enough Grass/Poison types in the past, so I'll be getting Bellossom when the time comes. Maybe I'll use both in the end, but I want to show the new hires some love.

We can also teach Apricot Headbutt in the woods, letting us knock an Exeggcute out of a tree. We name her Aubergine. Can you imagine having a full team before the 3rd gym?

Getting Cut is nice for Plum to grind, too, since Absorb just does not... Cut it... Somehow she gets three critical Cuts in a row while fighting some trainers outside Goldenrod.

Most GSC players are excited to reach Goldenrod for the elemental punch TMs they hold. Our party can't use a single one, so it's in fact the day care we're hyped for. We can use this to let Plum learn Razor Leaf right away, perhaps the best Grass move she'll ever get (Petal Dance is really late).

We also nab Starfruit the Sunkern from the National Park once we make our way over there (would you believe there's only one catch left after her?) After the Bug Contest we evolve her into Sunflora, who has almost kinda good stats for this point and can also pass Mega Drain onto Aubergine. We'll have a couple more unique egg moves later if I can be bothered to go for them.

I planned for Whitney to be quite easy with Starfruit setting up Growths and sweeping with Mega Drain, but a Fire Blast out of Clefairy puts a damper on that.... Mulberry chips down Clefairy the rest of the way, and Aubergine's Leech Seed mostly seals Miltank's fate. I have to sack some team members to Rollout first, but Plum's Razor Leaf is able to finish the job.

We can now do as we please at the flower shop, strike down the false idol, and open up paths to Violet and Ecruteak. Our rival will likely be tough, so I take care of the surrounding routes first. Along the way, Plum evolves in Gloom, and everyone accrues a few levels.

Rival for real now. Between Curse and our own Leech Seed, Haunter is easy to deal with. Zubat would be easy pickings for Aubergine, but Supersonic has 999 accuracy when the opponent uses it. Apricot's flinch luck with Headbutt is good, though. Quilava is next. Apricot can set up a Leech Seed and then use one Headbutt, but a critical Ember takes us down. Quilava gets ANOTHER critical Ember on Pear, but we now have the stats to not instantly evaporate to it, and Strength finishes the job. Magnemite is annoying but simple to deal with over time.

The Tower of Flames opens its maw and engulfs us for our Grass-type sins, leaving us to be torn to shreds by the mighty beasts below.

Morty comes soon, who I'm sure will be annoying. I check our team in PKHeX to see if we have any useful Hidden Powers, but alas, the best one is Lychee's 58 power Steel. I also learned that my Odd Egg contains a Pichu with literally 0 in all its IVs. All my other eggs have IVs displayed properly so I'm inclined to believe this is correct, but maybe there's some jank with the Odd Egg I'm not aware of.

I do return to National Park to pick up the TM for Dig I missed and give it to Lychee. Despite everything I'm still a little underleveled, so I clear out the Lighthouse in the interim. This finally brings Lychee up to a Parasect, who should be able to put in good work against Morty.

Aubergine OHKOs his Gastly after taking a Curse. I switch to Starfruit to shake off the Curse who goes down without accomplishing much thanks to Haunter's Hypnosis. Back to Aubergine who gets instantly Hypnotized. It takes Plum to finish off Haunter. Gengar is more complicated. I use Apricot to set a Leech Seed, then switch to Pear who is put to Sleep. Baiting Dream Eater, I bring in Lychee. She then eats a Hypnosis thanks to a Mint Berry and KOs with Dig. The remaining Haunter is OHKOd with another dig.

And our team from here on:

• Pear (Bayleef) - Level 23
• Apricot (Skiploom) - Level 23
• Plum (Gloom) - Level 22
• Lychee (Parasect) - Level 24
• Aubergine (Exeggcute) - Level 24
• Starfruit (Sunflora) - Level 23
• Mulberry (Bellsprout) - Level 18

Having more than 6 eligible Pokemon is truly a luxury never before seen.

 

[Cinnabar Rhubarb]

⋆˙⟡ A Crystal Grass Monotype ⟡ ⋆˙
I don't really have a funny subtitle here but expect a lot of Sleep Powder regardless
Part 3
​

A longer update cuz I played quite a lot over the past couple days. Starting off, we have:

• Pear (Bayleef) - Level 23
• Apricot (Skiploom) - Level 23
• Plum (Gloom) - Level 22
• Lychee (Parasect) - Level 24
• Aubergine (Exeggcute) - Level 24
• Starfruit (Sunflora) - Level 23
• Mulberry (Bellsprout) - Level 18

Without many pictures I've been finding my updates pretty tough to look at, so we're double-spacing now. Riveting

Spoiler:

Another Saturday, another Bug Catching Contest. I decide to use the Sun Stone I obtain now - Petal Dance isn't that much better than Razor Leaf considering the downside, and we can always breed to get it later if needed.


Now that Morty is downed, we have a lot of backtracking to do with Surf. Little of it is directly helpful, but it gets us plenty of levels and stat experience. I fight the Red Gyarados first to get the Exp Share and then chip away at all the caves and pools that open op. Once we're done with that, Apricot evolves into Jumpluff, and Mulberry also gets some experience to evolve into Weepinbell. She'll be replacing Starfruit for the foreseeable future. Starfruit was helpful against Whitney but that's about it.


We end our seafaring at Cianwood, where we absolutely dumpster Chuck. Apricot literally just uses Leech Seed and Headbutt to sweep. Imagine getting swept by a Jumpluff. We can now Fly, which probably would've been convenient to get before all the backtracking, but oh well. It's always been a shame to me that Jumpluff can't Fly, but we caught a Farfetch'd to do that for us awhile ago.


Now that I have Fly I can be bothered to do the DST exploit for Leaf Stones. The first switch I do Gina calls me and gives me a Leaf Stone, but after that I get what has to be about 30 calls with no Leaf Stone. I see people claiming that you can get multiples from her, but it's not working out for me. It's whatever, I'm not evolving Mulberry yet anyways, so I'll try again later. I do decide to evolve Aubergine, though. We're missing Sleep Powder and Solarbeam by doing this, but again, can breed for it later if needed.


Instead of fighting Jasmine right away, I clear out Rocket Hideout next. As usual, it's really annoying. Johto's Rocket grunts are somehow even more pathetic than Kanto's. I stubbornly push past the trapped floor into the basement. Nameless Executive falls to four Confusions from Aubergine. Nameless Executive But Woman resists the same fate by virtue of having a Dark-type, but not in a way that matters. Apricot picks up the slack. The biggest threat in the hideout is when our rival shows up and I get scared I forgot there's a rival fight here. He just complains about losing to Lance and leaves, though.


Now Mahogany Gym is open. All I do is click Razor Leaf with Pear and then with Plum. Super easy. Like most of the TMs I get, Icy Wind is totally unusable.


I do pick up a couple moves at this stage, though. By breeding a Paras and Heracross, Lychee is able to learn Counter (and Endure I guess), which should be a fun option. I also overlooked that Plum gets a 41 power Fire-type Hidden Power, so basically Ember. Better than anything she was using before.


I grabbed the Secretpotion all the way back when I fought Chuck, but I guess I forgot to deliver it to Amphy. Whoops. We can fight Jasmine now.


Plum KOs Magnemite with Hidden Power, but not without getting Paralyzed. She then dodges four Iron Tails in a row from Steelix! And then gets critted by the 5th. Steelix is low on HP at this point, but I still feel like bringing in Lychee to Counter an Iron Tail for the kill. Dig finishes the second Magnemite. Seven badges down. Our radio emits a high-pitched screech as we leave.


I try exploring the Whirl Islands now that I can use Whirlpool, but they're quite confusing to navigate. It doesn't seem like there's much here and there aren't any trainers for experience, so I just leave. This is why I play Heartgold over Soulsilver. Guess I won't get to put off the Radio Tower.


I'm very glad I evolved Aubergine - having Confusion to mow through the Zubats here saves so much time compared to spamming Strength with Pear. Nameless Executive But Purple suffers the same fate.


Now the actual tough foe, our rival. Pear takes down Golbat single-handedly and then faints to Quilava. Apricot then manages to miss 3 Sleep Powders and gets burned by Flame Wheel to faint. Mulberry gets a bit of chip, but Quilava wakes up quickly to strike back. It's time to bring out Aubergine, who ALSO gets Burned by Flame Wheel. Nevertheless, we get a confuse off of Confusion which lets us just barely survive and KO Quilava. Sneasel beats down our weakened Aubergine, but now Lychee comes in and uses Spore and then Fury Cutter. Sneasel wakes up immediately and crits us with Faint Attack, and then we miss Fury Cutter. Lychee muscles through and Digs the rest to death. Pretty dreadful luck all things considered.


As we make our way through the Goldenrod Underground, Pear finally evolves into Meganium. Onto Nameless Executive But Purple Again, I'm sure his single Golbat will be able to win a fight.


I'm really running out of things to say about the executives. The final one triggers every random status they can (two Burns and a Poison) and dodges a Leech Seed and a Sleep Powder and I forgot to heal first and I still barely win. Glad that's over.


Now that Route 44 is open, we can access the final catch of the playthrough. Tangela is, unfortunately, abysmal. In Leafgreen it had some niche use thanks to the combo of Growth and Tickle, but she doesn't even learn Tickle this gen. Even so, we catch one and name her Kiwi. Just don't expect to see her much. Still probably better than Sunflora.


The upcoming Ice Path is one of my favorite dungeons in Johto, but as usual, there's little here for us. At least we get the Waterfall HM. Blackthorn also finally opens up the Move Deleter for us.


Route 46 has a few trainers to grind against, and we can finally finish out the rest of Union Cave. Even so, we face off against Clair quite underleveled. I'd like to hold off on grinding until the very end if possible, though.


Lychee still manages to tear things up. Spore into spamming Fury Cutter dispatches all three of Clair's Dragonairs. He was only level 32! Apricot and Pear's teamwork fells the mighty Kingdra who remains. We still have to fill out an outtake survey before the Rising Badge, but nothing much.

Going from four to eight badges in one update is quite quick. Johto gyms have never been much to write of.

 

[MachoPony]

Macho's Pokemon Platinum ground journey Part 1

Spoiler:

Started game, picked Turtwig. Beat Barry's chimchar by it spamming leer while I tackled it down.

Did the early events, nicknamed Turtwig. Tortellini

Went north to the Ravaged Path....then realized Geodude is only there in DP

Found Barry in the trainer school then went to the next route

VS Barry
I HATE how the AI loves to spam Growl in this gen ugh. So after getting growled to -6 i set up Withdraws in his face. hey if i'm dealing minimal damage so are you blondie!
So starly finally went down and then after matching Chimchar's leers with Withdraws and tackling when I could, at half health I got a tackle crit for the KO

Skipped most of the trainers on the route, got to Oreburgh city and caught Rocky 4 the geodude in the mines along with Snek the onix...look i like Golem, it's fine
it was one of the OGs but i don't want to use it for 4 games in a row. i've got Geodude because it's a mon i'm allowed, but i don't think i'll use it this time.

Trained Onix on the previous route, and on the mine workers plus the gym trainers.

VS Roark.
Turtwig cleanly one shot Geodude with razor leaf, onix got up stealth rock and Razor Leaf didn't quite KO, after a potion absorb finished it. Cranidos leered and Razor Leaf was a clean one shot.


Taught geodude rock smash, made my way to floaroma caught sluggo the shellos....forgot storm drain doesn't make you water immune in gen 4, ehh it's still a good enough mon for now
though this basically confirms I'll be swapping to Quagsire later sadly. Maybe sluggo will get a shot in another game.


Got haxxed to death by the two galactic grunts in the meadow, though Turtwig did have enough bulk to take out the stunky and 2 zubat after Shellos got crit
and onix got poisoned.

On to the windworks. beat up the grunts to get Shellos some exp

VS Mars
I knew her Zubat was packing toxic so i gave onix a pecha berry but it just went for bite. Screech and rock throw finished it. Purugly was next hit a screech, missed a 2nd, hit 2 rock throws before berry Onix took a few hits but was low, so i swapped in turtwig who at -2 def cleanly finished it with Razor Leaf

Moved on to the next route, after a close battle with a Roselia, turtwig evolved into Grotle

Went through the forest training Shellos and Onix. Eventually reached Eterna. Grotle was pretty much my only shot here, did some optional stuff, beat the trainers in the gym. Grotle learned bite just in time.

VS Gardenia
So turtwig couldn't hurt Grotle much meaning i could set up Curses in its face. it did use reflect but bite still crit it down low, then she healed as reflect wore off
bite took it down again and she used grass knot so bite finished it. Roserade missed Stun Spore so bite took it low, sitrus berry healed, it went for grass knot which knocked me low
but my oran berry healed me a little and a 2nd bite finished it. last was Cherrim, it used safeguard, i hit bite, grass knot and a 2nd bite finished the match.

Went all the way back to floaroma for a bidoof to cut trees.

Trained on all the grunts in the Galactic building
VS Jupiter
So i led with Shellos knowing her zubat has giga drain, it hit wing attack. Water Pulse confused it, it hit itself, water pulse took it low, hit wing attack and then a third water pulse finished it
Skuntank was the bigger issue so i brought in onix, we both hit screech but i missed Rock Tomb and night slash 2 shot Onix. Grotle hit a few Razor leafs getting poisoned and brought low
then at 2 HP Grotle hit a razor leaf crit to finish off Skuntank.

Current Team:

Spoiler:

Tortellini(Grotle) LV23
Razor Leaf
Bite
Curse
Absorb

Snek(Onix) LV 20
Rock Tomb
Screech
Bind
Tackle

Sluggo (Shellos) LV 19
Water Pulse
Mud Slap
Mud Bomb
Hidden Power

 

[MachoPony]

Me: ok an update after 2 gyms.
Also me: no more till I finish the main game? sure!

Macho's Ground Journey: Platinum Main Game complete (Will do stark mt + E4 rematch)

Spoiler:

Went down cycling road, trained as much as I could. on the route before Wayward Cave i caught Pinchy the gligar, then in Wayward cave as well as a grip claw, and an Earthquake TM i caught nom the Gible
Went into the other Wayward Cave and found Mira, beat all the trainers, found all the items and used her overpowered Kadabra to train everyone up against the wild Onix and Geodude.

On to Hearthome. Entered a contest with Shellos, almost won it somehow lmao. Went to the gym and beat up everyone. Gible evolved to Gabite

VS Fantina
Attempt 1: So gabite hits dragon rage on duskull, she heals, another dragon rage and a third to finish. Future sight doesn't do much.
then Mismagius confuses it, hits self, shadow ball down. Then confuses grotle, hits self, shadow ball, hits self, shadow ball down. Then confuses Gligar, hits self, shadow ball down.
Magical Leaf one shots onix and Shellos.

Attempt 2: so duskull used Pursuit this time so after dragon rage, pursuit, heal, dragon rage, dragon rage. Gabite wins. Hit itself again but had enough HP
to take a shadow ball this time and Dragon raged Mismagius below half before berry. She crit Grotle with shadow ball for a one shot. but then Gligar knocked her into the red
with faint attack, she healed, and then a revenge crit took it out.
Haunter used Sucker punch, then missed hypnosis while Gligar cleanly 2 shot it with Faint Attack.


Went on to the next route and knew what was coming
VS Barry
So Staravia set up 6 double teams, but hax be on my side 2 rock tombs from onix finished it. Then roselia paralyzed Gligar (please tell me why the type immune to electric can be paralyzed at all, even with stun spore)
and landed leech seed though Gligar did hit it hard with faint attack. swapped in gabite, dragon rage, another stun spore, mega drain and dragon rage finished it.
Buizel was a clean one shot for Grotle after a pursuit. then finally Monferno leered Shellos, took a water pulse, mach punch and a 2nd Water Pulse finished Monferno


It was at this point in Solaceon town i decided to actually look at Gabite, since Gible went to the box when i caught it first....Modest nature. Nope. Good thing i looked
That is like, one of the worst natures for a future Garchomp. So i went all the way back to wayward cave and caught another one with a Serious nature.

Onwards to Veilstone, cleared all the trainers down towards Valor lakefront and the restaurant also caught and trained up Gloria the Hippopotas.
Decided to give Maylene a try even though i'm a little underlevelled

VS Maylene
Ok this was easier than i thought. Hippopotas yawned Meditite then Knocked itself out with take down while meditite was asleep. Grotle got 3 turns free to set Curses.
Razor leaf finished Meditite, then took lucario low with a crit, took a drain punch, another crit razor leaf finished Lucario, took a karate chop from Machoke Razor leaf hit it low. focus eneergy and a final Razor Leaf
finished off Machoke and the battle.

Went on to Pastoria. caught Derp the wooper just in case but I do want to try and use as many actual Sinnoh pokemon as i can so I'm sticking with Shellos for now

Got a Razor Fang south of Veilstone, evolved Gligar into Gliscor. trained shellos and evolved it to Gastrodon

Back in Pastoria:
VS Barry
Gastrodon 2 shot Staravia with water pulse, taking a wing attack. Gliscor 2 shot Roselia with night slash taking a giga drain, Grotle took a hit from buiezel then one shot Buizel with Razor leaf and Gastrodon 2 shot
Monferno with water pulse after eating a flame wheel.

In the Pastoria gym Grotle finally evolved into Torterra. I faced wake despite the huge level difference. I was very underlevelled

VS Crasher Wake
Holy S*** it worked.
So Torterra leech seeded Gyarados, then set up 3 curse. taking some hits but healing up with leech seed + a sitrus berry. at +3 with gyarados about half, razor leaf knocked it out
floatzel hit a hard ice fang but Torterra took it with 5 hp and razor leaf was a clean one shot. Quagsire finally took it out with water pulse. Gastrodon went back
and forth with Quagsire through a potion before falling, leaving Gliscor to finish it with 2 Night Slash


Trained in the lost tower and on the way to Celestic town. Hippopotas evolved into Hippowdon. Just in time for...
VS Cyrus
So i had gabite out first against sneasel, bad idea so i swapped for Gastrodon, it took an ice punch, then another, hit mud bomb and fainted to slash
Hippowdon is a tank of the highest order even STAB super effective ice punch didn't quite do half meaning after a yawn and a take down, Hippowdon fainted but sneasel
was asleep. Onix hit rock tomb to lower speed, he healed, screech and 2 more rock tomb did the trick. Screech and 2 rock tomb dodging a supersonic and eating 2 air cutters
did in Golbat. finally was murkrow, it outsped with night shade for the KO. Gliscor hit screech, a couple of quick attack, his berry healed him. He hit faint attack to almost
knock out Gliscor but it didnt so a final quick attack finished Murkrow.

Surfed over to Canalave and prepared to face
VS Barry
double team sucks, but Onix hit screech, 2 rock tomb and a tackle to take out Staraptor despite the double team spam. Gliscor hit Screech and 2 night slash to take out Roselia as it set 2 layers of Toxic Spikes
Torterra came in, took a swift and one shot Floatzel with a crit razor leaf. Gliscor hit screech and spammed quick attack vs heracross' night slash till a crit finished him
Gabite finished it for some much needed exp. Gastrodon took a brick break, hit surf but a 2nd brick break from infernape finished it. Hippowdon ended the fight by taking a flame wheel and finishing with take down.

Went through Iron Island for training but also spent some time there abusing Riley's free heals to level up my team a bit.

Finally with a metal coat on it, Levelling up onix once evolved it to Steelix.

Cleared the Canalave gym.
VS Byron
First time in like, 4 gyms that i had an easy matchup. Tri attack crit hurt but mud bomb from Gastrodon one shot magneton, surf one shot steelix, mud bomb took Bastiodon Low. he used iron defense, the sitrus berry took him out of potion range
and one final surf finished it.

After talking to Rowan I headed for lake Valor
VS Saturn
After some confusehax, Hippowdon defeated Golbat, Gliscor set up Swords Dance in front of Bronzor and took it out with a few night slashes before a +4 aerial ace one shot Toxicroak ez pz.

After returning to Sandgem town to pick up Gastrodon i headed to lake Verity
VS Mars
Gabite took down Golbat with a couple of dragon claws, then gastrodon 2 shot bronzor with surf before Hippowdon hit sand tomb to start chipping at Purugly, then yawn
for sleep and finally a couple of crunches to take it down.

Onwards to lake Acuity. Well more precisely through the snowy route to Snowpoint City
VS Candice
Knew this was gonna be a tough one. Steelix one shot Sneasel with Iron Tail after ice shard then Gastrodon one shots Piloswine with Surf. Abomasnow is the big problem.
Gliscor can hit hard with aerial ace but not hard enough. avalance takes it out, hippowdon survives a wood hammer, yawns, sand storm does damage to abomasnow
as a 2nd wood hamemr finishes Hippo. its asleep and i bring in Torterra, except she heals and avalanches torterra. Steelix should do the trick....it has focus blast and one shots steelix
at this point i reset.

Attempt 2:
Starts the same. Ice Shard, Iron tail, sneasel down. but then Piloswine outspeeds Gastrodon, sets hail, lives a surf and she switches to abomasnow as i set rain dance to remove the hail
So I swap to Gabite, take a wood hammer, dragon claw it back and faint to hail. Then knowing she would heal Gliscor hit aerial ace for a crit, then another to finish it. Brought in Gastrodon
on Froslass, double team, surf, blizzard, surf, berry, missed blizzard, missed surf, blizzard knocks out Gastrodon. I bring in hippowdon to set sand and hopefully dodge
a blizzard, alas no. one shot by blizzard. Steelix tanks a blizzard and rock tomb takes out froslass. she heals Piloswine as Gliscor hits aerial ace. a 2nd then she uses hail
a third then avalance finishes Gliscor, finally Torterra outspeeds with Razor Leaf for the KO.

After seeing the events at lake Acuity i went back for the Ice Beam TM then all the way back to Veilstone and through the Galactic HQ
VS Cyrus
I wasn't sure what his first mon was and thought Hippowdon was my best shot, it was Sneasel, after a screech i yawned it then hippo took the ice punch, knocked it low, it went to sleep
Cyrus healed with a hyper potion not a full restore so a pair of Earthquakes finished it. Crobat got a lucky crit and hit supersonic to confuse Steelix but eventually
steelix broke through and finished it with a few rock tombs and a strength. Last was honchkrow. Gastrodon took a hit and hit back with surf but a 2nd drill peck finished it
sandstorm got honchkrow low enough for the berry to heal it up again. Gliscor got up swords dance, took a drill peck, aerial ace, another drill peck, full restore
a third aerial ace for over half and one final aerial ace to finish off Honchkrow.

VS Saturn
This one was easier. I rememberred his starter was Golbat so Steelix took it out with a rock tomb, followed by a crit, taking 2 air cutter in the process.
Hippowdon took a brick break from toxicroak and one shot with earthquake before Gastrodon hit surf, got confused, hit surf, got extrasensory'd and a third surf finished bronzor.


Onwards and up through Mt Coronet.
VS Mars & Jupiter
Barry's munchlax is useless...So anyway I picked Hippowdon for this one, after a few crunches and a crit, one bronzor went down. Skuntank came in, used flamethrower then they
swapped to Golbat. Golbat and Bronzor started to double target Hippowdon and it went down. Gastrodon took out Golbat and Jupiter's Skuntank finally hit a poison jab crit
to knock out munchlax meaning Barry had to bring in Infernape, an actually useful pokemon. It knocked out bronzor as Gastrodon hit Skuntank and skuntank hit Infernape. close combat finished it
meaning my mud bomb aimed for golbat and did nothing. Air cutter took down Infernape, body slam + aqua jet from Floatzel took out Golbat then purugly knocked out
Gastrodon before taking a brick break, then a 2nd as I used Gabite to dig down. Then aqua jet finished it.

Into the Distortion world
VS Cyrus
This was difficult. To start with Gastrodon got burned by houndoom, hit mud bomb and then took a dark pulse followed by surf for the KO. kept it in vs Gyarados for a free
switch to Hippowdon. Yawn plus sandstorm chip began to weaken Gyarados, swapped in Gliscor, got a swords dance, took an ice fang and an aerial ace crit took down Gyarados
gabite knocked honchkrow below half before being KOd. Hippowdon got crit by honchkrow down after failing to yawn it (Insomnia lol) Gliscor got a SD up and hit Aerial Ace
for the KO. Weavile was a clean one shot by Steelix after fake out and ice punch, Gliscor hit a couple of aerial aces on Crobat before going down leaving Steelix to iron tail crobat low and sandstorm finished it.

Steelix completely stonewalled Giratina and i managed to catch it for the lulz.

Onwards to Sunyshore City (Side note: why only one N?)
VS Volkner
This was never going to be an issue even at a lower level. Jolteon hit iron tail. Hippowdon KOs with earthquake, ditto Raichu's focus blast and Electivire's fire punch
even Luxray's Ice Fang didn't do it with Hippo living on 1 HP and taking it low, he healed, low again, finally took out hippowdon and i brought in gabite to dragon claw
for the finish.

Surfed up to Victory Road, got through. Gabite evolved to Garchomp. Did some massive training, also re-worked movesets with TMs and the move deleter before finally ready to face.
VS Barry
Staraptor kept u-turning out of Gastrodon so Ice beam to roserade followed by switching to gliscor and aerial ace took it down. Raptor again u-turned on Gastrodon
into Snorlax who took a surf, gliscor got paralyzed by body slam then a 2nd crit to KO. Steelix got up a curse, knocked it low with iron tail then he rested and 2 earthquakes finished snorlax
Garchomp outsped infernape, dug down then back up for a one shot. Staraptor finally used Close Combat but Gastrodon survived and ice beam one shot Staraptor. Ice fang flinched Torterra from floatzel
but it lived a 2nd on 1 HP before a razor leaf crit one shot floatzel, last was Heracross, Hippowdon yawned, took 2 close combats as it went to sleep, hit take down then crunch for the victory.

Pokemon league time
VS Aaron
So i knew his lead was Yanmega, Garchomp outsped and one shot with Stone Edge. then Drapion i knew had ice fang so i brought in Hippowdon, she took ice fang and hit hard with earthquake
even after the sitrus berry he healed, but a 2nd Earthquake took it low enough for sandstorm to finish the job. Gliscor one shot Heracross with aerial ace. set up 2 swords dance as Vesipquen used defend order twice
then aerial ace 2 shot taking a power gem. Didn't even need to bring in Garchomp even though i taught it Fire Blast just for scizor since +4 Aerial Ace from Gliscor one shot Scizor for the win.

VS Bertha
much easier. Whiscash actually outsped Torterra but aqua tail didn't do much and Razor Leaf was a clean one shot. then Gastrodon took an earthquake from gliscor and one shot with ice beam.
I wasn't sure what to do with hippowdon but i stayed in, surfed it low, took an earthquake, she healed, surf low again, and then one more for the KO Surf then one shot Golem and Rhyperior for the victory.

VS Flint
So after accidentally hitting Fire Blast, houndoom set up Sunny Day and then Garchomp proceeded to one shot every single member of his team with Dig. Ouch

VS Lucian
Finally a tougher opponent. So mr mime set up screens, a +2 X scissor didn't kill so i swords danced again while he healed, a psychic followed by a +4 x scissor did kill.
Espeon outsped and finished Gliscor. Steelix took a psychic, got up a curse, took a 2nd and crunch one shot Espeon. Hippowdon yawned Gallade after a leaf blade, took a 2nd, Sandstorm chip + earthquake then berry while it was asleep.
one final Earthquake finished Gallade. Alakazam one shot Garchomp with a crit psychic, Torterra took a psychic and one shot with Earthquake. Accidentally hit ice beam on bronzong but Gastrodon froze it. Surf, ice beam to avoid the potion range, and then another surf finished the fight.

VS Cynthia
This was intense
So Gastrodon hit surf, ice beam, surf, took some hits, she healed spiritomb, crit surf, spiritomb knocks it out. Gliscor finished it. Next was Milotic....I had no strategy fo this.
Luckily she went for of all things, mirror coat. so Hippowdon hit yawn. then on the next turn got one shot by surf, but she stayed asleep for Torterra to leech seed and hit 2 razor leaf for the KO Garchomp 2 shot Togekiss with stone edge before out came the big kahuna. Garchomp. Torterra took a flamethrower, got up leech seed then fainted. Gliscor took a dragon rush, got up a swords dance. took another after Leech seed healing and with dig was able to dodge a turn for more healing, unfortunately my own sandstorm backfired as garchomp evaded Dig with sand veil. she'd already used one full restore so i matched it, healing gliscor (by the way she hit every single 75 acc Dragon Rush she fired during this fight) between Leech seed healing and dig i knocked her low, she healed so i got a 2nd swords dance up, a final dig finished
garchomp. Roserade took out gliscor with energy ball. Steelix took a hit, earthquaked it to half then healed garchomp before fainting. she healed but Garchomp cleanly 2 shot it with Dragon Claw anyway finally Dig didn't quite one shot Lucario but after an aura sphere, a dragon claw finished the fight.

Team at the end of the champion battle:

Spoiler:

Sluggo(Gastrodon) LV55
Surf
Ice Beam
Mud Bomb
Body Slam

Snek(Steelix) LV53
Earthquake
Iron Tail
Crunch
Curse

Nom(Garchomp) LV54
Dragon Claw
Dig
Stone Edge
Fire Blast

Pinchy(Gliscor) LV54
Dig
X-Scissor
Aerial Ace
Swords Dance

Gloria(Hippowdown) LV55
Earthquake
Crunch
Take Down
Yawn

Tortellini(Torterra) LV55
Earthquake
Razor Leaf
Leech Seed
Curse

Thoughts on the run so far:
It was fun, difficult in the usual spots, fell behind in levels a little bit at time, as tends to happen in sinnoh but was thankful for Cheryl, Mira and Riley for free grinding. The level grinding from the mid 40s to the low 50s was the longest slog right at the end. I also hate how sometimes the AI just, does something stupid you werent expecting like using mirror coat vs your hippowdon, spamming stat down moves or spamming double team.

MVP: This is very difficult. Everyone performed well at various points. Torterra in the beginning, Steelix when i needed some physical bulk, Hippowdon's sand stream and bulk were great, Gliscor was surprisingly fast and that Flying STAB saved me a few times, Gastrodon had an incredible typing ,well balanced stats and invaluable water STAB and even though it took a long time to get to Garchomp. Gible was good with dragon rage and Gabite was solid up to around Candice and even a little bit beyond vs grunts and cyrus. But if i had to pick just one, gotta give it to Gastrodon. Water/Ground is amazing and Surf hit like a truck against almost everything. And to think I wanted to swap it out for Quagsire. smh.

LVP: This is literally "least valuable" not "Worst" none of them were bad. but like i said Gabite fell off eventually and while Garchomp was invaluable in the Elite 4. Everyone else had more points like that all through the adventure. though dishonorable mention to Torterra. Sinnoh is not kind to grass types.

 

[Explorer of Time]

Pokemon Platinum QOL (Standard Mode)
Mono-Steel - PI Justin
Update 6 (Lake Valor -> Snowpoint Gym)

All right, made it back from the Get-Together and I have time to go back to my monotype runs. The only moveset change this time was teaching Magnet Rise to Magnezone via move tutor in Snowpoint, and Magnezone also got a Quick Claw stolen from a Sneasel along the way to Snowpoint.

None of the battles this time were particularly difficult. Empoleon 1HKOed or 2HKOed everything Saturn had with Choice Specs Surf, and did the same to Candice with Choice Specs Flash Cannon. Mars was slightly more difficult and Lucario set up a Swords Dance and 1HKOed or 2HKOed everything, but he ended the battle with only two hit points left, mostly taking damage from Golbat's Air Cutter.


Team

Spoiler:

Empoleon (♀) | Water/Steel | Level 42
Moves: Surf, Grass Knot, Hidden Power (Fire 70 BP), Flash Cannon
Stats: 129 HP / 87 Atk / 94 Def / 100 SpA / 104 SpD / 71 Spe
Ability: Torrent | Nature: Careful | Item: Choice Specs

Steelix (♂) | Steel/Ground | Level 40
Moves: Earthquake, Thunder Fang, Payback, Curse
Stats: 115 HP / 87 Atk / 170 Def / 52 SpA / 60 SpD / 43 Spe
Ability: Rock Head | Nature: Quirky | Item: Metronome

Bronzong | Steel/Psychic | Level 41
Moves: Extrasensory, Earthquake, Gyro Ball, Confuse Ray
Stats: 110 HP / 79 Atk / 107 Def / 84 SpA / 109 SpD / 38 Spe
Ability: Levitate | Nature: Modest | Item: Quick Claw

Scizor (♂) | Bug/Steel | Level 41
Moves: Bullet Punch, Aerial Ace, Brick Break, Swords Dance
Stats: 111 HP / 121 Atk / 91 Def / 56 SpA / 80 SpD / 70 Spe
Ability: Technician | Nature: Docile | Item: Razor Fang

Magnezone | Electric/Steel | Level 41
Moves: Thunderbolt, Flash Cannon, Tri Attack, Magnet Rise
Stats: 121 HP / 61 Atk / 109 Def / 135 SpA / 89 SpD / 62 Spe
Ability: Magnet Pull | Nature: Modest | Item: Quick Claw

Lucario (♂) | Fighting/Steel | Level 41
Moves: Brick Break, Shadow Claw, Quick Attack, Swords Dance
Stats: 119 HP / 116 Atk / 77 Def / 108 SpA / 63 SpD / 98 Spe
Ability: Inner Focus | Nature: Naughty | Item: King's Rock

 

[Explorer of Time]

Pokemon Platinum QOL (Standard Mode)
Mono-Steel - PI Justin
Update 7 (Lake Acuity -> Sunyshore Gym)

I backtracked and got everything that needed Rock Climb, went through the Galactic HQ, Mt. Coronet, and Spear Pillar, and made my way to Routes 222 and 223, and finally the Sunyshore Gym. Four Pokemon learned a new move, Empoleon getting Ice Beam via TM, Bronzong replacing Extrasensory with the slightly-better Psychic via TM, Steelix getting Crunch via level up right at the end of the gym battle, and finally Lucario getting ExtremeSpeed via level up as well. I used all my Rare Candies to level up Lucario enough to get the latter move, which makes him temporarily stronger than the rest of my team, but I expect this to be fixed by the time I make it to my next update.

Cyrus's Veilstone battle was a pushover, and Magnezone 1HKOed everything. Mars and Jupiter's double battle was also extremely easy, and Empoleon beat them by spamming Surf with the Choice Specs. Barry lost everything but his starter during that battle, though.

Saturn's battle was a little bit trickier but still pretty easy. I led with Empoleon, which was confused by Golbat, but she 2HKOed it with Surf. Saturn sent out Toxicroak next and fainted Empoleon with a Brick Break. I swiched to Bronzong, survived a Brick Break, and 1HKOed Toxicroak with Brick Break. Finally, against Bronzor, I used Confuse Ray, survived a Shadow Ball, then got a free switch-in to Scizor as Bronzor hit itself. Bronzor then confused Scizor, and Scizor hurt himself down to below half his HP, but he still 3HKOed Bronzor with Brick Break and Bronzor itself did basically nothing.

Afterwards, I decided to take a page from Devalue's book and set up turn-by-turn logs, which I have done for Cyrus, Giratina, and Volkner.

Spoiler: Cyrus (Mt. Coronet) Battle Log

Turn 1: Houndoom crits with Flamethrower (18/138).
Empoleon 1HKOs Houndoom [4/5]. Gyarados sent out.

Turn 2: Empoleon switched out for Bronzong, expecting Earthquake.
Bronzong hit by Gyarados's Waterfall (60/114)

Turn 3: Quick Claw activates, Bronzong confuses Gyarados.
Gyarados hurts itself. (~90% HP)

Turn 4: Quick Claw activates, Bronzong uses Psychic. Gyarados' Sp. Def lowered.
Gyarados hurts itself. (~45% HP)

Turn 5: Quick Claw activates, Bronzong uses Psychic. (~10% HP)
Gyarados uses Waterfall on Bronzong (2/114)

Turn 6: Cyrus uses Full Restore.
Bronzong confuses Gyarados.

Turn 7: Switch-in for Steelix.
Gyarados uses Waterfall on Steelix (56/123).

Turn 8: Gyarados hurts itself.
Steelix uses Thunder Fang on Gyarados(~33% HP)

Turn 9: Gyarados uses Earthquake, fainting Steelix. [5/6]
Magnezone sent out.

Turn 10: Quick Claw activates, Magnezone KOs Gyarados with Thunderbolt. [3/5]
Honchcrow sent out.

Turn 11: Honchkrow uses Heat Wave on Magnezone (49/127).
Magnezone 1HKOs Honchkrow with Thunderbolt. Weavile sent out. [2/5]

Turn 12: Weavile uses Fake Out on Magnezone (41/127).

Turn 13: Weavile uses Ice Punch on Magnezone (19/127).
Magnezone crits and 1HKOs Weavile with Flash Cannon. Crobat sent out. [1/5]

Turn 14: Magnezone 1HKOs Crobat with Thunderbolt. [Win]

Spoiler: Giratina Battle Log

Turn 1: Giratina uses Dragon Claw (86/122)
Lucario sets Swords Dance.

Turn 2: Giratina charges Shadow Force.
Lucario sets Swords Dance.

Turn 3: Giratina hits with Shadow Force. (40/122)
Lucario uses Shadow Claw. (~5% HP)

Turn 4: Giratina crits with Ominous Wind, fainting Lucario and omniboosting. [5/6]

Turn 5: Scizor hits with Bullet Punch (~1% HP)
Giratina hits with Dragon Claw. (76/116)

Turn 6: Scizor KOs with Bullet Punch. [Win]

Spoiler: Volkner Battle Log

Turn 1: Jolteon misses Iron Tail.
Steelix 1HKOs Jolteon with Earthquake. Raichu sent out. [3/4]

Turn 2: Raichu 1HKOs Steelix with Focus Blast. [5/6]
I send Bronzong out.

Turn 3: Raichu misses with Focus Blast.
Bronzong nearly KOs Raichu with Earthquake. (~5% HP)

Turn 4: Volkner uses a Hyper Potion.
Bronzong uses an Earthquake to bring Raichu back to the red. (~5% HP)

Turn 5: Raichu hits Bronzong with Focus Blast. (86/122)
Bronzong KOs Raichu with Earthquake. Luxray sent out. [2/4]

Turn 6: Luxray hits with Fire Fang. (30/122)
Bronzong hits with Earthquake (~55% HP)

Turn 7: Quick Claw activates, Bronzong confuses Luxray with Confuse Ray.
Luxray uses Thunder Fang and KOs Bronzong. I send Empoleon out. [4/6]

Turn 8: Luxray hits Empoleon with Thunder Fang. (63/141)
Empoleon KOs Luxray with Surf, Electivire sent out. [1/4]

Turn 9: Electivire KOs Empoleon with ThunderPunch. [3/6]
I send Lucario out.

Turn 10: Lucario uses Swords Dance.
Electivire hits with Fire Punch and burns Lucario. (41/147)

Turn 11: Lucario uses Brick Break. Electivire eats its Sitrus Berry. (~65% HP)
Electivire KOs Lucario with Thunder Punch. I switch to Magnezone. [2/6]

Turn 12: Electivire crits with Fire Punch. (10/136)
Magnezone hits with Tri Attack. (~40% HP)

Turn 13: I use a Max Revive on Steelix. [3/6]
Electivire hits with Quick Attack. (2/136)

Turn 14: Electivire KOs Magnezone with Quick Attack. [2/6]
I switch to Steelix.

Turn 15: Electivire hits Steelix with Fire Punch. (89/129)
Steelix faints Electivire with an Earthquake. [Win]

Team

Spoiler:

Empoleon (♀) | Water/Steel | Level 46
Moves: Surf, Ice Beam, Grass Knot, Hidden Power (Fire 70 BP)
Stats: 141 HP / 95 Atk / 103 Def / 111 SpA / 113 SpD / 80 Spe
Ability: Torrent | Nature: Careful | Item: Choice Specs

Steelix (♂) | Steel/Ground | Level 46
Moves: Earthquake, Crunch, Thunder Fang, Curse
Stats: 131 HP / 105 Atk / 195 Def / 60 SpA / 68 SpD / 51 Spe
Ability: Rock Head | Nature: Quirky | Item: Metronome

Bronzong | Steel/Psychic | Level 46
Moves: Psychic, Earthquake, Gyro Ball, Confuse Ray
Stats: 122 HP / 90 Atk / 120 Def / 95 SpA / 122 SpD / 44 Spe
Ability: Levitate | Nature: Modest | Item: Quick Claw

Scizor (♂) | Bug/Steel | Level 46
Moves: Bullet Punch, Aerial Ace, Brick Break, Swords Dance
Stats: 127 HP / 137 Atk / 101 Def / 62 SpA / 90 SpD / 81 Spe
Ability: Technician | Nature: Docile | Item: Razor Fang

Magnezone | Electric/Steel | Level 46
Moves: Thunderbolt, Flash Cannon, Tri Attack, Magnet Rise
Stats: 136 HP / 69 Atk / 126 Def / 150 SpA / 99 SpD / 71 Spe
Ability: Magnet Pull | Nature: Modest | Item: Quick Claw

Lucario (♂) | Fighting/Steel | Level 51
Moves: Brick Break, Shadow Claw, ExtremeSpeed, Swords Dance
Stats: 147 HP / 146 Atk / 96 Def / 134 SpA / 81 SpD / 123 Spe
Ability: Inner Focus | Nature: Naughty | Item: King's Rock

 

[MachoPony]

Pokemon Platinum Ground Mono Finale

Spoiler:

After the credits rolled I went around finding any pokemon i hadn't yet. Tentacool was the only weird one but i found a trainer on the surfing route to the pal park with one
The lake guardians, manaphy and rotom were easy enough to get data on. with all 210 pokemon seen, I got the national dex and headed for the Fight Area

There i was immediately dragged into

VS Flint and Volkner
They kept targetting Barry so Hippowdon one shot Houndoom + Luxray with earthquake after Staraptor hit close combat on houndoom then fainted to dark pulse + ice fang.
Snorlax came in and Electivire brick breaked it while Magmortar thunderbolted which got absorbed by Electivire. Earthquake took out Electivire and hurt Magmortar. Snorlax finished with Body Slam
lastly Flareon burned Hippowdon, earthquake still did over half to it and Jolteon, Snorlax was already down. barry brought in infernape and after quick attack from jolteon, focus blast miss and Flareon using
overhead on Infernape. Earthquake took out all 3 of them to win the fight.

Headed all the way round to the Resort area, then up through to Stark Mountain...where i forgot there's a couple of fights.

VS Mars
Gliscor set swords dance twice, she set light screen then extrasensory'd me. Gliscor hit x-scissor, took an extrasensory and x-scissor finished it. Aerial Ace one shot
Golbat and Dig one shot Purugly after a Slash.

VS Jupiter
Gliscor was weak so i swapped to Gastrodon on a reflect, after back and forth, 3 surfs finished Bronzong. Steelix got up curse and 2 shot Golbat with Iron Tail and Crunch
before Skuntank finished it with Flamethrower. Leave it to Garchomp to finish with one Dig.

With buck i fought a lot of trainers in Stark Mountain, got to the end, said goodbye to looker and went over to the Survival Area. there I fought and beat Candice and Roark
again. Before doing a LOT of training for the Elite 4 rematch. Cynthia's garchomp is 78 and my highest is Gliscor at 61, yikes.


After said training. I deleted some HMs i had to use to get through Stark Mountain, dug up more heart scales and re-taught some moves. Before taking on the Elite 4 one last time

VS Aaron
Garchomp one shot Yanmega with stone edge. Steelix got up a curse and took an ice fang, then a 2nd followed by an earthquake to KO Drapion. Gliscor set up 2 swords dance on heracross taking 2 stone edge
in the process. Aerial ace one shot Heracross, Vespiquen, knocked Scizor low and took an iron head, he healed, knocked low again and a third Aerial Ace finished Scizor.


VS Bertha
the ground rematch of the century.
So Gastrodon only did about a third to whiscash and took a heavy hit back so I swapped to Torterra, she set sandstorm for some reason but wood Hammer took it out.
Against Gliscor Gastrodon took an earthquake and ice beamed it. Torterra leech seeded Hippowdon, hit hard with wood hammer but not enough, she healed so i set a curse.
Despite a yawn putting me to sleep for 5 turns, the leech seed recovery nearly matched her Crunch damage so i was never in any danger and finally after a critical hit crunch plus a def drop
a wood hammer ended it. Gastrodon then outsped and one shot Golem and Rhyperior with surf.

VS Flint
Last time: Garchomp outsped and KOd every one of his pokemon with Dig
This time: Garchomp outsped and KOd 3 of his pokemon, got burned by magmortar's flame body, 2 shot rapidash then brought in Hippowdon to take a flare blitz from Infernape and KO with Earthquake

VS Lucian
Crits everywhere!
So i knew i had no way to one shot Mr Mime. so Hippowdon came in first to set sandstorm, put mime to sleep with yawn taking a crit psychic in the process then 2 shot with crunch.
Garchomp used Dig on Alakazam to stall a turn so reflect would wear off, took a psychic, then a 2nd followed by Dragon Claw took it out.
Dragon Clawed espeon and fell, Steelix took a psychic and finished with earthquake.
Bronzong took a chunk from Gastrodon before setting Calm Mind, hitting a crit Psychic as i tried to paralyze with body slam then took it out. hit another Crit Psychic
on Gliscor who barely held on and got it lower. He healed, i hit him again, knocked lower again then Gliscor fell, finally Steelix took a psychic and finished with Crunch.
Last was gallade and i was scared Torterra took a leaf blade and used leech seed. I set a curse but really i should have just Earthquaked knowing how many crits he's been getting
sure enough yet another crit leaf blade finished off Torterra.Steelix took a drain punch, hit with earthquake, healed hippowdon but a 2nd finished me. Hippowdon took yet another crit leaf blade before mercifully finishing with Earthquake.

VS Cynthia
So i had a Rawst berry on Torterra fearing Will o Wisp, nope, silver wind. leech seed, earthquake, she heals, 2 more earthquake do the job.
Garchomp outspeeds and 2 shots Togekiss with Stone Edge taking an Air Slash
Gastrodon took earthquake from Garchomp, hit ice beam to just barely miss the KO, sitrus berry healed it up and another earthquake finished gastrodon
Gliscor took a Giga Impact, set swords dance then KOd with dig. I stayed in to try and dent milotic, +2 crit dig one shot it, dig one shot Lucario and aerial ace one shot Roserade

Final Team

Spoiler:

Sluggo (Gastrodon) LV71
Nevermelt Ice
Mud Bomb
Surf
Body Slam
Ice Beam

Snek(Steelix) LV 73
Amulet Coin
Earthquake
Iron Tail
Crunch
Curse

Nom(Garchomp) LV74
Razor Claw
Eearthquake
Dragon Claw
Stone Edge
Fire Blast

Pinchy(Gliscor) LV74
Sitrus Berry (which never got used lmao)
Dig
Aerial Ace
X-Scissor
Swords Dance

Gloria(Hippowdon) LV73
Blackglasses
Earthquake
Crunch
Yawn
Take Down

Tortellini(Torterra) LV71
Earthquake
Wood Hammer
Leech Seed
Curse

New MVP: Gliscor
Good speed, great physical bulk, Swords Dance and good coverage. took out legit 4/6 of Cynthia's pokemon in the end.

 

[MachoPony]

Pokemon White Ground Mono Part 1

Spoiler:

Started game, Since there's no Ground types before Striaton. I edited the first available one in as my starter (Tympole and Drilbur are available at almost the same time. Tympole isn't ground but it does become ground)

Tympole has bubble and was able to beat Bianca's Tepig, after a tough fight with Snivy using supersonic and hoping it kept hitting itself. Snivy won.

Checking out tympole it has a relaxed nature which isn't terrible but swift swim is kinda bad, I was hoping for Water Absorb but honestly considering there aren't any
major Water type trainers in White. I think i'll be fine.

In Accumula town Juniper showed us around and i got beat by N's purrloin. So i went back to Route 1 to train. Lost to N again because lol 2 crits

VS N
This time with some confuse hax and a crit bubble, plus a speed drop letting me outspeed Purrloin. Tympole was able to chip it down and win with a comfortable 10 hp left.

Proceeded through the next route. Tympole is struggling but managing. Maybe I should have took Drilbur lmao. It's been a long time since i played gen 5 so i don't remember where rival battles are....

VS Bianca
Like this one.
Thankfully Tympole was able to confuse lilipup, hit itself, round, hit itself again. she healed, round 2 shot it. Bubble 3 shot Tepig as she used tackle then tail whip.

Inside Striaton city i went to the trainer's school to face.

VS Cheren
So he led with Snivy, supersonic, hit itself then round knocked it low, vine whip wasn't doing a lot and his oran berry healed him up, a critical hit round finished him though.
Round then cleanly 2 shot Purrloin.

Trained at the Dreamyard. Tympole learned Bubblebeam which made the trainers in the Gym easier.

VS Cilan
So Bubblebeam did over half to Lilipup as it used work up, a 2nd finished it off.
Pansage was the real threat. it got a work up, i confused it with supersonic, it hit itself, round took a chunk off it. it snapped out of confusion and knocked me low but an oran berry healed me up.
another vine whip then a supersonic, hit himself, round did damage. One more time it hit itself and round finished the fight.


After the stuff at the dreamyard i headed onwards. And had another surprise Rival fight

VS Cheren
Same as before, and as cilan. Supersonic, round, hope he hits himself. after growth and a couple of hard vine whips Tympole won with 11 hp left. Bubblebeam took a huge chunk off Purrloin who used growl, then a 2nd finished it.

After helping Cheren beat the plasma grunts and rescue a little girl's pokemon I headed on to Nacrene where upon entering the gym i forgot about...

VS N
So Bubblebeam 2 shot Pidove after a gust. then mud shot hit his tympole, missed supersonic, 2nd mud shot, confused me, hit self, bubblebeam, mud shot finishes tympole.
In comes Timburr, i hit myself as he goes for focus energy, then again as he bides. I break out of confusion and miss supersonic to stall a turn of bide, and on turn 3 because i didn't hit him Bide does nothing, bubblebeam takes it well below half and a 2nd finishes it.

After being slaughtered by Lenora, I found out that Drilbur is actually available in wellspring cave. I thought it wasn't till Chargestone. So I went back and caught one.
Moley the Drilbur was trained up to level 19 where it learned Dig. Now I'm ready.

VS Lenora
This took me so many tries, it was so unfair. She hit hypnosis SO MANY TIMES. Broke confusion SO MANY TIMES. But finally I did it
Tympole missed supersonic and got leered, confused herdier which hit itself, hit bubblebeam, herdier's take down took it into potion range so she healed, after 2 more bubblebeams and 0 more hitting self. Herdier knocked out Tympole.
Drilbur finished it with Dig, got leered by Watchog, hit dig for over a third, dodged hypnosis, hit metal claw, got leered, dug down again, then she missed and a 2nd Dig finished Watchog. My Goodness that was rough.

Chased team plasma through Pinwheel forest, across Skyarrow bridge and straight through Castelia to Route 4. Caught Chomp the Sandile and trained him up a bit in the city.

Trained Sandile more, did the team plasma stuff. Tympole handled most of the gym. After a few failed attempts on Burgh I finally had a strategy.

VS Burgh
So, this required a little luck but not a lot. Sandile led against whirlipede and started hitting mud slap. After an oran berry Sandile was able to hit 6 of them before I swapped to Drilbur
Drilbur then used attract on whirlipede meaning he had very little chance to hit me. Allowing me to set up +6 hone claws. After that a metal claw finished Whirlipede
Leavanny was the major problem but with the eviolite i got in Castelia, drilbur took a razor leaf, landed attract, leavanny was immobile, metal claw, immobile again and 2nd metal claw finished it
+6 metal claw one shot Dwebble for the win.

Current Team:

Spoiler:

Chomp(Sandile) LV22
Bite
Torment
Mud Slap
Sand Attack

Froggo(Tympole) LV24
Bubblebeam
Mud Shot
Uproar
Aqua Ring

Moley(Drilbur) LV24
Hone Claws
Attract
Metal Claw
Dig

 

[StenirRPG]

Been quite a while, but let's get down to business (to defeat the run)


Ultimate Grass Run
Sun / First / Weed Really Like To Be Done With This Run As Soon As Possible

In this post (i.e., TL;DR)

Spoiler:

1.) Melemele Breakdown
2.) Akala Breakdown
3.) Ula'ula Breakdown
4.) Poni Breakdown

The full read:

Spoiler:

-- Melemele Breakdown
Starting out with the Owl with a secondary type I haven't really dealt with, the beginning of the game is exactly what you would think it would be - straightforward. I've decided to end up with a team of Decidueye, Whimsicott, Shiinotic, Tsareena, Leafeon, and Exeggutor. What this means if that I'll have two by the end of Melemele, and the next three by the end of second island. I won't get Exeggutor until after reaching the fourth island, but still, can't complain about five until then.

Rowlet doesn't have much trouble with the first trial. I generally pick Echoed Voice over Razor Leaf or Peck in Verdant, just due to the growing power over time. I am happy, of course, to pick up Cottonee, especially as it comes with Fairy Wind. When I get to fighting Hala, I let Cottonee start the battle to spam Fairy Wind, then I switch over to Peck once I have to switch out. Pretty simple first island.

-- Akala Breakdown
By the time I reach the Lush Jungle trial, I've picked up Eevee (Route 4), a Bounsweet from I believe the Route 5 Pokémon Center in a trade (I can get one later, but why not get one now), and then Morelull (on the way to the Water Trial). I basically leave Eevee in the PC until I get a Leaf Stone, but Water Trial goes exactly how you think. Spam some Grass moves and on you go.

Fire Trial...this is the one that I brought Eevee out for, just because I was having so much trouble. I actually got through the first few fights with no problem, but the final Salazzle fight was a bit painful. I didn't really have any strategy given the team I have, other than do what damage I could, ending up with Eevee. The only real "tactic" I could say I used was having Shiinotic use Flash, hoping it would make life a little easier.

Grass Trial was pretty straightforward. I just used Dartrix's Pluck, which was a nice upgrade from Peck. As for the final trial of the island, it's Rock, so just some Grass spam.

-- Ula'ula Breakdown
All I really want to say about this was "your boy Guzma" gave me some trouble. Every fight, I felt like I was way under the level I needed to be. Which is odd because by the end of the island, my average level is around 38. You fight him twice on the island - once between the Electric and Ghost trials, and then at Po Town. After the first battle gave me cause for concern, I decided the best thing to do was fight everybody instead of just beelining it for the next trial. Got me some good levels, but even then, the battle was close at Po Town.

Nanu was pretty easy, given I have /Fairy in my party. Good thing I never have to fight Guzma again...oh wait, welcome to Aether Paradise. If you look at my levels below, from Nanu to Completing Aether Paradise (which, for me, is the point at which you wake up and Wicke informs you Lillie is waiting for you), I gained an average of 7 levels for each of my team members. That's just insane, honestly. But it's good experience. I lost to Guzma once, and barely won against him the second time. Barely, in this case, means that I had one 'mon at full HP and one at partial...with three KO'd.

-- Poni Breakdown
I finally get my final team member, and it's nice that it has some Psychic moves. Gives me a little more coverage. The fight with Hapu is easy, given it's Ground and I'm, well, one of the worst enemies of Ground. The run through Vast Poni Canyon wasn't hard either, but I kept forgetting when Lillie randomly shows up and heals your team, so I kept wasting healing items. Dragon Trial? Pfft, Moonblast it.

The battle against Uber-Lusamine was easy. Of course, I've gained an average of 5 levels since I completed Aether Paradise, so that's really nice.

What's not nice is that, while I beat everyone on the way into the Elite Four, including three of the four, I lost to Ms. Flying. So, I need to take some time to think about what options I have, but in the meantime...time to grind. So close...so close.

Team Stats:

Spoiler:

 

[StenirRPG]

Hate to double-post, but I got lucky in the Champion battle...
I'll make one more post next for the Dark sign-up...anxious to get on that - but want to keep it separate from this.

Ultimate Grass Run - COMPLETE
Sun / Final / What's Grass-t is Past

In this post (i.e., TL;DR)

Spoiler:

Elite Four and then the Champion

The full read:

Spoiler:

Time for the completion of the Grass Ultimate.

This'll be short and sweet, and some dumb luck at the end.

- Hala - Fairy moves across the board, because Fighting.

- Olivia - Grass moves left and right, because Rock.

- Kahili - This one was interesting. I started out by spamming High Jump Kick on Skarmory. From there, Crobat comes out, and that goes down to a couple of Psychics. Mandibuzz is next, which requires some more High Jump Kick. Toucannon's next, and I get through that by swapping over to Shiinotic and using Spore and then Strength Sap. This prevents Beak Blast from going off, which is nice. After that, Oricorio is pretty much simple to get through.

(That was a lot easier once I figured out how to cheese Toucannon.)

- Acerola - Moonblast to take out Sableye. Whatever I can do to take out Froslass, because Blizzard sucks. Dhelmise goes down to a couple Hurricane. Palossand was a couple of Leaf Blades, and Drifblim is a few Spirit Shackle.

CHAMPION TIME
- Lycanroc goes down to Tsareena's High Jump Kick.
- Braviary goes down to a couple High Jump Kick. It missed both Brave Bird.
- Incineroar takes Tsareena down with the Z-Move, which means I can pull out Shiinotic and put it to Sleep.
- Use remaining Strength Sap to take some power out of Incineroar.
- Spam Full Restore as it uses up Flare Blitz, damaging itself.
- Hilariously swap over to Leafeon, use the three moves, and have access to Last Resort.
- Use Last Resort to take out Incineroar.
- Ninetales was just whatever I could do. I don't know how I made it through.
- Snorlax comes out and time to bring back Tsareena. Time for more High Jump Kick.
- Magnezone gets more High Jump Kick, paralyzes Tsareena.
- Full Restores on both sides.
- Magnezone down to High Jump Kick.
- PROFIT?!

Next up will be Dark. I believe what I'm basically planning on doing in G/S, since they are mostly post-game, is the following:
- Starter: Houndour
- post Gym 1: get a Larvitar
- post Gym 2: get an Eevee
- post Gym 3: get a Sneasel
- post Gym 4: get a Murkrow

It'll be interesting, for sure.

Team Stats:

- Note: Didn't realize until after I uploaded the image that I missed putting the time in. Final time was 27 hours flat.

Spoiler:

Updated Average Level/Time Chart:

Spoiler:

 

[StenirRPG]

User: StenirRPG
Type: Dark
Game(s): Gold, Sapphire, Brilliant Diamond, Black, X, Moon
Challenge Type: Ultimate
Standard Mode / Free Mode: Standard

 

[Explorer of Time]

Next up will be Dark. I believe what I'm basically planning on doing in G/S, since they are mostly post-game, is the following:
...
- post Gym 2: get an Eevee

You can get Eevee prior to the postgame, via Bill in Goldenrod City after talking to him in Ecruteak, which means you cannot trade/hack it in. You do have to beat Whitney to get to Ecruteak, though, which means that Eevee isn't available until after Gym 3.

 

[StenirRPG]

Oh jeez good point. Thanks for the reminder on that. For some reason I was thinking that was post-game.

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

I want to go ahead and post this here since this thread is more popular than the "no evolution" challenge: I'm continuing the break from the Fighting monotype challenge because I hate grinding Victory Road. (I'm not sure about the Flying-type challenge in Leaf Green. I might continue that if I find time; I don't know.)

Tangentially (because I don't feel like posting again in my "no evolution" thread.) I also won't be starting the "no evolution" challenge for Sapphire just yet because I'd like to wrap up the Leaf Green one with a full (albeit heavily abridged) recap, and I need to focus on the scripts for the YouTube channel, and it's kind of difficult due to having to review hours of footage. (This was unavoidable for the first and second challenge runs before I committed to all 17 of them, but I wish I could've gotten the chanel going last year, so I won't have this problem. I'm just glad I have the footage from the Ground Monotype challenge, so I didn't have to do it twice.)

The first entry in my YouTube video series "Monotype Mastery" (the Ground-type one) will hopefully be released on the 30th of this month (Friday 30 August 2024 to be overly specific). I do not know if I can make the deadline I set for myself, but I hope I can. I don't know if I can share the video here per forums rules regarding self-promotion. I'd appreciate an answer from Ms. Explorer of Time, so I can stop beating around the bush. I'd like to post about it here (or in the discussion thread) whenever there's a new video every month because the first one's going to end up 40 minutes long, and I'd appreciate all the watch time I can get. (In other words, I will not be spamming this thread promoting the same video every time, and I will not be sending people visitor messages/private messages with the video links unless they explicitly ask, and the mods are okay with it.)

For now, I'll say that I will probably keep it to the video-sharing forum and that the updates will be monthly (hopefully) -- other than there being one video for both November and December because December generally has too much going on.

 

[Explorer of Time]

The first entry in my YouTube video series "Monotype Mastery" (the Ground-type one) will hopefully be released on the 30th of this month (Friday 30 August 2024 to be overly specific). I do not know if I can make the deadline I set for myself, but I hope I can. I don't know if I can share the video here per forums rules regarding self-promotion. I'd appreciate an answer from Ms. Explorer of Time, so I can stop beating around the bush. I'd like to post about it here (or in the discussion thread) whenever there's a new video every month because the first one's going to end up 40 minutes long, and I'd appreciate all the watch time I can get. (In other words, I will not be spamming this thread promoting the same video every time, and I will not be sending people visitor messages/private messages with the video links unless they explicitly ask, and the mods are okay with it.)

For now, I'll say that I will probably keep it to the video-sharing forum and that the updates will be monthly (hopefully) -- other than there being one video for both November and December because December generally has too much going on.

You can post YouTube links in this thread so long as you continue the text-based updates that you've been doing alongside them. The issue isn't with offsite links, per se, but with the fact that relying only on offsite links prevents people who only read the forums from following along, and that's something we'd like to avoid.

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

That won't be a problem. I will still be doing written updates here. It's already going to take me a year to catch up to where I am in the on-site updates. Because I'm only on the very first challenge video, and there's several challenge videos besides the monotype ones (eg, "no evolution" and a certain gauntlet video in 2025). I might catch up by the time of the final update for Ruby/Sapphire Game Mastery challenge, but I'm doubting it. With the current plans, I will probably be done with only 8 or 9 challenges by the end of 2025, and that's assuming nothing goes horribly wrong.

 

[Explorer of Time]

Pokemon Platinum QOL (Standard Mode)
Mono-Steel - PI Justin
Update 8 (Victory Road -> Pokemon League)

I've beaten my run of Platinum. The only moveset changes this time were to make Bronzong a screen setter, give it a Light Clay, and give its spare Quick Claw to Steelix. Bronzong also caught the Pokerus while grinding in Victory Road, unexpectedly, but it comes too late to matter even though my whole team now has it. Unlike the other time I caught it, I infected my three benched party members and stored them back in the box in case I ever need to EV train something on this save file.

I lost my first try at my rival's battle just before the League, but I won on my second try and won everything at the League itself first try. Aaron, Bertha, and Lucian were all easy, while Flint was one of the hardest battles I've had in a long time. Cynthia also gave me more trouble than I usually get from her because I failed to 1HKO her Garchomp and lost my setup-boosted Scizor early on, so I had to dip in to my healing items several times to win the match.

I plan to do one more update for the postgame, which will end once I beat the E4 Rematch. I have no interest in fighting the League 10/20 times to fight my rival's strongest team.

Spoiler: Rival Battle Log

Turn 1: Staraptor uses U-Turn on Bronzong (109/137 HP)
Bronzong uses Reflect

Turn 2: Rapidash uses Bounce, inexplicably
Bronzong sets Light Screen
Turn 3: I switch into Empoleon
Rapidash hits with Bounce (151/158 HP)

Turn 4: Rapidash stalls with Bounce
Empoleon misses a Surf

Turn 5: Rapidash hits with Bounce (145/158 HP)
Empoleon 1HKOs Rapidash with Surf [5/6]
Rival sends out Torterra

Turn 6: Empoleon hits Torterra with Surf (35% HP)
Torterra hits Empoleon with Earthquake (89/158 HP)

Turn 7: Empoleon KOs Torterra with Surf [4/6]
Rival sends out Heracross

Turn 8: Heracross uses Close Combat (5/156 HP)
Empoleon 1HKOs Heracross with Surf [3/6]
Reflect wears off
Rival sends out Staraptor

Turn 9: Staraptor KOs Empoleon with Close Combat [5/6]
I send Bronzong back out
Light Screen wears off

Turn 10: Staraptor uses Close Combat (67/137 HP)
Bronzong sets Reflect

Turn 11: Staraptor uses U-Turn into Floatzel (53/137 HP)
Bronzong crits and 1HKOs Floatzel with Psychic [2/6]
Rival sends Staraptor back out

Turn 12: Staraptor uses Close Combat (31/137 HP)
Bronzong uses Psychic (7.5% HP)

Turn 13: Staraptor U-Turns into Snorlax (18/137 HP)
Bronzong uses Psychic (75% HP)

Turn 14: Bronzong uses Psychic (50% HP)
Snorlax uses Crunch (3/137 HP)

Turn 15: Bronzong uses Psychic (25% HP)
Snorlax KOs Bronzong with Body Slam [4/6]

Turn 16: Magnezone KOs Snorlax with Thunderbolt [1/6]
Rival sends out Staraptor

Turn 17: Staraptor uses Aerial Ace (151/155 HP)
Magnezone KOs Staraptor with Thunderbolt [Win]

Spoiler: Aaron Battle Log

Turn 1: Yanmega sets Double Team
Bronzong sets Light Screen
Speed Boost boosts Yanmega's Speed

Turn 2: Yanmega sets Double Team
Bronzong sets Reflect
Speed Boost boosts Yanmega's Speed

Turn 3: I switch to Scizor
Yanmega sets Double Team
Speed Boost boosts Yanmega's Speed

Turn 4: Yanmega sets Double Team
My Scizor sets Swords Dance
Speed Boost boosts Yanmega's Speed

Turn 5: Yanmega sets Double Team
My Scizor sets Swords Dance
Speed Boost boosts Yanmega's Speed

Turn 6: Yanmega sets Double Team
My Scizor 1HKOs Yanmega with Aerial Ace [4/5]
Aaron sends out Vespiquen

Turn 7: My Scizor 1HKOs Vespiquen with Aerial Ace [3/5]
Aaron sends out Heracross

Turn 8: Heracross uses Close Combat on Scizor (88/144 HP)
My Scizor 1HKOs Heracross with Aerial Ace [2/5]
Aaron sends his own Scizor out

Turn 9: My Scizor 1HKOs Aaron's Scizor with Aerial Ace [1/5]
Reflect wears off
Aaron sends out Drapion

Turn 10: Scizor hits Drapion with Bullet Punch, flinching it
Drapion eats its Sitrus Berry (35% HP)

Turn 11: Scizor KOs Drapion with Bullet Punch [Win]

Spoiler: Bertha Battle Log

Turn 1: Whiscash uses Aqua Tail on Bronzong (98/137 HP)
Bronzong sets Reflect

Turn 2: Whiscash uses Aqua Tail on Bronzong (77/137 HP)
Bronzong uses Psychic (70% HP), Whiscash Sp. Def lowered

Turn 3: Whiscash sets Sandstorm
Bronzong uses Psychic (5% HP), Whiscash Sp. Def lowered

Turn 4: Bertha uses a Full Restore on Whiscash
Bronzong uses Psychic (25% HP) on Whiscash

Turn 5: Whiscash uses Aqua Tail on Bronzong (55/137 HP)
Bronzong faints Whiscash with Psychic [4/5]
Bertha sends out Gliscor

Turn 6: Gliscor uses Fire Fang on Bronzong (29/137 HP)
Bronzong uses Psychic on Gliscor (60% HP)

Turn 7: Gliscor misses with Fire Fang
Bronzong hits Gliscor with Psychic (10% HP)
Sandstorm wears off

Turn 8: Gliscor hits Bronzong with Fire Fang (3/137 HP)
Bronzong KOs Gliscor with Psychic [3/5]
Reflect wears off
Bertha sends out Golem

Turn 9: Golem KOs Bronzong with Thunderpunch [4/5]
I send out Empoleon

Turn 10: Empoleon 1HKOs Golem with Surf [2/5]
Bertha sends out Hippowdon
Sand Stream activates

Turn 11: Empoleon 1HKOs Hippowdon with Surf [1/5]
Bertha sends out Rhyperior

Turn 12: Empoleon 1HKOs Rhyperior with Surf [Win]

Spoiler: Flint Battle Log

Turn 1: Houndoom uses Flamethrower on Bronzong (21/137 HP)
Bronzong sets Light Screen

Turn 2: Houndoom uses Dark Pulse to KO Bronzong [5/6]
I send out Empoleon

Turn 3: Houndoom sets Sunny Day
Empoleon uses Surf on Houndoom (35% HP)

Turn 4: Flint uses a Full Restore on Houndoom
Empoleon uses Surf on Houndoom (30% HP)

Turn 5: Houndoom uses Flamethrower on Empoleon (119/161 HP)
Empoleon KOs Houndoom with Surf [4/5]
Flint switches to Infernape

Turn 6: Infernape KOs Empoleon with a critical Flare Blitz [4/6]
Infernape takes recoil damage (80% HP)
I switch to Scizor

Turn 7: I use a Max Revive on Bronzong [5/6]
Infernape 1HKOs Scizor with Flare Blitz [4/6]
Infernape takes recoil damage (50% HP)
I switch to Magnezone

Turn 8: I use a Max Revive on Empoleon [5/6]
Infernape 1HKOs Magnezone with Earthquake [4/6]
I switch to Bronzong
Light Screen wears off
Sunny Day wears off?

Turn 9: Infernape hits Bronzong with Flare Blitz (5/137 HP)
Bronzong sets Reflect

Turn 10: Infernape KOs Bronzong with Mach Punch [3/6]
I switch to Empoleon

Turn 11: Infernape hits Empoleon with Flare Blitz (105/161 HP)
Empoleon KOs Infernape with Surf [3/5]
Flint sends out Magmortar

Turn 12: Magmortar outspeeds and KOs Empoleon with Thunderbolt [2/6]
I switch to Steelix

Turn 13: I use a Max Revive on Bronzong [3/6]
Magmortar 1HKOs Steelix with Flamethrower [2/6]
I switch to Lucario

Turn 14: I use a Max Revive on Empoleon [3/6]
Magmortar 1HKOs Lucario with Flamethrower [2/6]
I switch to Bronzong

Turn 15: Magmortar 1HKOs Bronzong with Flamethrower
I switch to Empoleon

Turn 16: Magmortar hits Empoleon with Thunderbolt (65/163 HP)
Empoleon 1HKOs Magmortar with Surf [2/5]
Flint sends out Flareon

Turn 17: I use a Max Revive on Bronzong
Flareon KOs Empoleon with Overheat [1/6]

Turn 18: I use my last Max Revive on Empoleon [2/6]
Flareon uses Overheat on Bronzong (57/137 HP)

Turn 19: Flareon misses with Overheat
Bronzong sets Reflect

Turn 20: Flareon misses with Overheat
Bronzong sets Light Screen

Turn 21: Flareon burns Bronzong with Will-O-Wisp
Bronzong hits Flareon with Earthquake (75% HP)
Bronzong takes burn damage (40/137 HP)

Turn 22: I use a Full Restore on Bronzong
Flareon uses Overheat (107/137 HP)

Turn 23: Flareon burns Bronzong with Will-O-Wisp
Bronzong hits Flareon with Earthquake (35% HP)
Bronzong takes burn damage (90/137 HP)

Turn 24: Flareon uses Quick Attack
Bronzong uses Psychic (5% HP)
Bronzong takes burn damage (68/137 HP)

Turn 25: I switch to Empoleon
Flint uses a Full Restore on Flareon

Turn 26: Empoleon 1HKOs Flareon with Surf [1/5]
Flint switches to Rapidash
Reflect wears off

Turn 27: Rapidash uses Bounce
Empoleon misses a Surf
Light Screen wears off

Turn 28: Rapidash hits Empoleon with Bounce (146/163 HP)
Empoleon 1HKOs Rapidash with Surf [Win]

Spoiler: Lucian Battle Log

Turn 1: Mr. Mime sets Reflect
Scizor sets Swords Dance

Turn 2: Mr. Mime sets Light Screen
Scizor sets Swords Dance

Turn 3: Mr. Mime uses Thunderbolt on Scizor (95/146 HP)
Scizor uses Brick Break on Mr. Mime (35% HP)

Turn 4: Scizor 1HKOs Mr. Mime with Bullet Punch [4/5]
Lucian switches to Alakazam

Turn 5: Scizor crits and 1HKOs Alakazam with Bullet Punch [3/5]
Lucian switches to Espeon

Turn 6: Scizor 1HKOs Espeon with Bullet Punch [2/5]
Lucian switches to Bronzong

Turn 7: Scizor hits Bronzong with Brick Break (35% HP)
Bronzong sets Calm Mind

Turn 8: Scizor KOs Bronzong with Brick Break [1/5]
Lucian switches to Gallade

Turn 9: Scizor 1HKOs Gallade with Bullet Punch [Win]

Spoiler: Cynthia Battle Log

Turn 1: Scizor sets Swords Dance
Spiritomb uses Dark Pulse on Scizor (116/149 HP)

Turn 2: Scizor sets Swords Dance
Spiritomb uses Shadow Ball on Scizor (83/149 HP), lowering Sp Def

Turn 3: Scizor sets Swords Dance
Spiritomb uses Dark Pulse on Scizor (29/149 HP)

Turn 4: I use a Hyper Potion on Scizor
Spiritomb uses Psychic (111/149 HP)

Turn 5: Scizor 1HKOs Spiritomb with Bullet Punch [5/6]
Cynthia sends out Garchomp

Turn 6: Scizor nearly KOs Garchomp with Bullet Punch
Garchomp eats its Sitrus Berry (45%)
Garchomp KOs Scizor using Flamethrower [5/6]
I switch to Bronzong

Turn 7: Garchomp uses Flamethrower on Bronzong (56/140 HP)
Bronzong sets Light Screen

Turn 8: Garchomp misses with Dragon Rush
Bronzong sets Reflect

Turn 9: Garchomp KOs Bronzong with Flamethrower [5/6]
I switch to Empoleon

Turn 10: Garchomp uses Earthquake on Empoleon (59/163 HP)
Empoleon KOs Garchomp with Ice Beam [4/6]
Cynthia switches to Lucario

Turn 11: I use a Revival Herb on Scizor [5/6]
Cynthia's Lucario KOs Empoleon [4/6]

Turn 12: Cynthia's Lucario uses Stone Edge on Scizor (117/149 HP)
Scizor sets Swords Dance

Turn 13: Lucario uses Aura Sphere on Scizor (75/149 HP)
Scizor sets Swords Dance

Turn 14: Lucario uses Aura Sphere on Scizor (33/149 HP)
Scizor 1HKOs Lucario with Brick Break [3/6]
Cynthia sends out Togekiss
Light Screen wears off

Turn 15: Scizor hits Togekiss with Bullet Punch (33% HP)
Togekiss KOs Scizor with Aura Sphere [3/6]
Reflect wears off
I send in Magnezone

Turn 16: Togekiss hits Magnezone with Aura Sphere (23/155 HP)
Magnezone KOs Togekiss with Thunderbolt [2/6]

Turn 17: Milotic KOs Magnezone with Ice Beam [2/6]
I switch to Lucario

Turn 18: I use a Revival Herb on Magnezone [3/6]
Milotic uses Surf on Lucario (42/150)

Turn 19: Lucario uses ExtremeSpeed on Milotic, and crits (65% HP)
Milotic misses with Mirror Coat

Turn 20: Lucario uses ExtremeSpeed on Milotic, and flinches it (40% HP)

Turn 21: Lucario uses ExtremeSpeed on Milotic (10% HP)
Milotic KOs Lucario with Surf
I send out Magnezone

Turn 22: Cynthia uses a Full Restore
Magnezone uses Thunderbolt on Milotic (40% HP)

Turn 23: Milotic uses Surf on Magnezone (73/155 HP)
Magnezone KOs Milotic with Thunderbolt
Cynthia sends out Roserade

Turn 24: Roserade uses Energy Ball on Magnezone (31/158 HP)
Magnezone uses Flash Cannon (60% HP)

Turn 25: I use a Hyper Potion on Magnezone
Roserade uses Energy Ball (113/158 HP)

Turn 26: Roserade uses Energy Ball (71/158 HP)
Magnezone uses Flash Cannon (10% HP)
Flash Cannon lowers Roserade's Sp. Def

Turn 27: Roserade uses Energy Ball (28/158 HP)
Magnezone KOs Roserade with Flash Cannon [Win]

Team

Spoiler:

Empoleon (♀) | Water/Steel | Level 55
Moves: Surf, Ice Beam, Grass Knot, Hidden Power (Fire 70 BP)
Stats: 166 HP / 118 Atk / 129 Def / 135 SpA / 135 SpD / 99 Spe
Ability: Torrent | Nature: Careful | Item: Choice Specs

Steelix (♂) | Steel/Ground | Level 52
Moves: Earthquake, Crunch, Thunder Fang, Curse
Stats: 147 HP / 120 Atk / 231 Def / 68 SpA / 77 SpD / 59 Spe
Ability: Rock Head | Nature: Quirky | Item: Quick Claw

Bronzong | Steel/Psychic | Level 53
Moves: Psychic, Earthquake, Reflect, Light Screen
Stats: 140 HP / 108 Atk / 148 Def / 111 SpA / 141 SpD / 53 Spe
Ability: Levitate | Nature: Modest | Item: Light Clay

Scizor (♂) | Bug/Steel | Level 54
Moves: Bullet Punch, Aerial Ace, Brick Break, Swords Dance
Stats: 149 HP / 164 Atk / 123 Def / 75 SpA / 106 SpD / 96 Spe
Ability: Technician | Nature: Docile | Item: Razor Fang

Magnezone | Electric/Steel | Level 53
Moves: Thunderbolt, Flash Cannon, Tri Attack, Magnet Rise
Stats: 158 HP / 81 Atk / 147 Def / 173 SpA / 115 SpD / 87 Spe
Ability: Magnet Pull | Nature: Modest | Item: Quick Claw

Lucario (♂) | Fighting/Steel | Level 52
Moves: Brick Break, Shadow Claw, ExtremeSpeed, Swords Dance
Stats: 150 HP / 148 Atk / 98 Def / 137 SpA / 82 SpD / 125 Spe
Ability: Inner Focus | Nature: Naughty | Item: King's Rock