[Challenge] The Monotype Challenge v8, Tera Edition

[GhostColossus]

This is not something I'd recommend taking to the League in ORAS unless you really want a counter to Steven's Mega Metagross.

There are only four Pokemon in the League that can't 1HKO Shedinja: Drake's Kingdra, Steven's Metagross and Claydol, and Glacia's Walrein, and that last one doesn't work either if she managed to set Hail with any of her other four Pokemon.

That being, said, Shedinja is an excellent option against Wallace. The only things he can do against it are using Luvdisc's Lovely Kiss to confuse it, which is negatable by a Persim or Lum Berry, or Seaking's Horn Drill if Shedinja is level 44 or lower.

Good call. I was laying out possible options. His metagross spooked me but I was able to get him!

 

[GhostColossus]

User: GhostColossus | Type: Bug
Games: FireRed, HeartGold, OmegaRuby, Platinum, Black2, X, Ultra Sun, Shield, Scarlet
Challenge Type: Ultimate | Mode: Standard

Bug Type Black 2 Log #1​

Spoiler: Log #1

Time to run one of my fav gens! Caught Sewaddle at Route 20. He did a good job vs. the first gym. He struggled against Roxie (2nd gym) alone, and I realized I missed opportunity to catch Venipede right before in that dark green grass patch (I think route 20 still) so I went back and caught one and managed to get through Roxie. At this point I have Swadloon and Whirlipede. Took the ship to Castelia, did the story stuff and the gym, which was surprisingly easy. Fought Colress at the exit of the city where all the Crustles blocked the path. He was brutal with the current team. Caught a Dwebble at the Desert Resort, he will hopefully be a good fire/flying buster. Got to Nimbasa and Lostlorn forest, caught a Heracross at Lostlorn. Could've caught a Combee but decided against it.

Spoiler: Current Team

Leavanny Lv.27
Bug Bite / Razor Leaf / Struggle Bug / String Shot

Heracross Lv.24
Chip Away / Aerial Ace / Counter / Fury Attack

Whirlipede Lv.27
Poison Tail / Rollout / Bug Bite / Pursuit

Dwebble Lv.25
Smack Down / Bug Bite / Stealth Rock / Rock Polish

 

[ramzie]

User: ramzie
Type: Flying
Game(s): Yellow, Gold, Emerald, Platinum, Black 2, Y, Sun, Sword, Violet
Challenge Type: Ultimate
Standard Mode / Free Mode: Standard

 

[StenirRPG]

Ultimate Poison Run
Blue / Only Entry / Agility Spamming

Sten's back...did some of the no-evolution runs, had some other things to do, caught something, then became bronchitis, then became pneumonia, but back to the grind, right? I decided to play the first three gens on Poison Ultimate to catch up to the no-evo progress, and then play both of those side by side to finish it out.

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

Spoiler:

-- Brock
-- Misty
-- Surge
-- Erika
-- Koga
-- Blaine
-- Sabrina
-- That leader who shall not be named
-- Elite Four/Champion

The full read:

Spoiler:

-- Brock (1h16m)
Obviously, starting with Bulbasaur this time, then decided to go and pick up both Nidoran. I decided to grind a little with them to get them up to where Bulbasaur was, but knew I'd just use endless Vine Whips to get through Brock.

-- Misty (7h10m)
I picked up a Zubat, as I wasn't sure what the midgame was going to look like. I ended up just dropping it to focus on my newest team member, Bellsprout. Zubat was a party member for the Misty fight, but after that, benched it. I mainly thought about whether it would be worth keeping since it removes the weakness to Ground, but don't really need to be worrying about countering anything if it's KO'd. Misty was exactly how you'd think it would be - Vine Whip by Bellsprout, then when that gets knocked out, Vine Whip by Ivysaur.

-- Surge (10h21m)
Surge wasn't much of a problem, just spamming my most powerful moves to get through it, but of course, before that we have the S.S. Anne, and I just go through the usual "defeat everybody" training. I pick up Body Slam, fully intending to use it, but never did. My original plan was to put it on Victreebel, but then I thought it might go better on Muk. And then never used it.

-- Erika (11h56m)
Fairly easy. Fairly straightforward. Do damage, survive. Also picked up Ice Beam and Rock Slide for later use, and a Leaf Stone for when I'm ready for Victreebel (I wanted Razor Leaf first).

-- Koga (18h48m)
This took some doing, because I did the Rocket Hideout after beating Erika, then of course there's the Pokémon Tower to do. And then the run down the coastline to Fuschia, where I pick up Venonat. I already had picked up Psychic, so that was a quick win to give it. Leech Life is a little more powerful in this gen due to the whole interaction between Bug and Poison. I spent some time training Venonat up to be Venomoth, then kinda just made a couple runs at the gym, clearing out a few trainers, healing up, back and forth.

-- Blaine (20h22m)
Not ready for Sabrina due to the fear of Psychic moves tearing through my entire team, I go and take on Blaine instead...which was, for the most part, boring. I picked up Solar Beam, thinking I might teach it, but just like Body Slam, I never did. I picked up a Grimer, and Minimize is so nice. Well, the BBG is what really makes it nice.

-- Sabrina (22h56m)
Was a quick turnaround to get through the Silph HQ, since I've become used to running for the key card first, then going up each floor, one by one, going out to heal as needed. Gets a nice chunk of change from that. If only the Amulet Coin exist, amirite?

Sabrina would probably have been a challenge if I didn't prepare by using a bunch of Minimize and then spamming Sludge. Easy. I normally don't bother with evasion tactics, but this isn't Double Team, because it takes much longer to set up...which can be scary as a Poison trainer going up against Psychic.

-- Giovanni (23h35m)
Straightforward battle, being ground and fighting types. Get some additional levels on Victreebel.

-- Elite Four / Champion (25h41m)
Pretty easy run. Razor Leaf and Thunderbolt to get through Lorelai, Psybeam and Surf/Bubble Beam to get through Bruno, Psybeam/Psychic to get through Agatha...and then the fun part of a Poison run. "Let's spam Agility, because Agility is a Psychic type move and Psychic type moves are always super effective on Poison types."

Basically, if you can get past the first Dragonite, switch over to Muk, load up on Minimize during the Dragonair spamming Agility, and then just Sludge away.

The Champion had two hard spots - Alakazam and not having enough party members ready to go for Charizard due to the Gyarados before it. Alakazam just requires starting with Muk and setting Minimize up on Pidgeot, then it's a quick one or two shot with Sludge to take it out. Charizard is easy, but the Gyarados knows Hydro Pump and can easily knock out my Nidos. Venusaur and Victreebel spam Razor Leaf (Muk poisoned it, which helps), and that actually pulls out the win. Charizard is a one hit with Rock Slide, and a winner is me.

-- Final Thoughts:
Fairly straightforward of a run. Good spread of movesets, but while I like EQ, it comes a bit late and I wish at least someone could have learned Dig, since you get that so early. Muk is pretty tanky, which is always nice. Everyone got a fair amount of use. On to Johto!

Team Stats:

Spoiler:

Johto by Type:

Spoiler:

 

[ramzie]

Ultimate Flying Monotype Challenge
Game: Yellow, Gold, Emerald, Platinum, Black 2, Y, Sun, Sword, Violet

Spoiler: Log #1 Kanto

-Got Pikachu & Lost to Blue
-Caught Lime the Caterpie, Beige the Pidgey & Cherry the Spearow
-Lime evolves into Metapod then Butterfree
-Cherry destroys Viridian Forest
-Take on Pewter Gym. Win with Lime's Confusion
-Made it through mt moon. cherry & lime combo defeat rival on Route 24
-Get Tangerine the Charmander
-While training, Tangerine evolves & Cherry evolves. Beige is also boxed at this point.
-Take on Cerulean with Lime and Cherry and win
-catch Magikarp named Acai. Placed in daycare and biked for hours
-Acai evolved and learn bite and bubble beam. Look out Kanto. Acai soloed the SS Anne rival.
-Vs Lt Surge forgot Raichu was lvl 28. Tangerine hit 2 digs, lime used pan powder before going down, then cherry finished off with fury attack.
-make it through rock tunnel and prioritize opening the map and getting fly. Catch durian the doduo.
-made it to koga, challenged under leveled and won in second attempt
-revived Fig the Aerodactyl
-went back and beat Erika. Durian evolved
-Beat rival and Giovanni no problem also take on the fighting dojo for some levels
-Durian destroys Sabrina with Drill Peck and Tangerine is finally a flying type!
- We take on Blaine ad win even though Acai faints against Rapidash
-Feeling confident I take on Giovanni and lose several times. Thunder on the Nidos is rough.
-I give it another shot. Acai faints against Nidoqueen yet again. Lime lives thunder and puts it to sleep! We heal and use psychic to take it out. Same strat for Nidoking and Rhydon but with mega drain.

Make it through the rival fight and victory road with no issues.

Lorelei: Basically, Acai spams Thunderbolt here. Lime comes in with Sleep Powder when needed. Jynx is taken out by Fire Blast.
Bruno: Lime for Onix. Durian & Cherry for the rest.
Agatha: lead with Lime and Sleep Powder. Then use Psychic or switch to Tangerine with Earthquake.
Lance: Thunderbolt for the other Gyarados. Ice Beam for the Dragonairs. Aerodactyl was challenging- I used Fig to weaken and Acai comes back in for the kill. Dragonite is also challenging- I have to rely on Lime hitting sleep powder in order to switch in Acai and Ice Beam.
Rival: Basically just prioritizing super effective hits. Takes me two attempts but nothing too crazy happens.

Spoiler: Team

Fig the Aerodactyl Lv 44
Wing Attack Double Team Supersonic Bite

I tried to get it ASAP and it was not worth it. Can't learn rock slide which shocked me. Did some work in the E4 due to being very fast.

Tangerine the Charizard Lv 45
Fire Blast Earthquake Strength Slash

Put in work with the E4 but was honestly mid most of the time.

Cherry the Fearow Lv 46
Drill Peck Fly Agility Double Edge

Honestly I'm a fan. Was solid pretty much throughout the run. Will probably see again in Johto.

Durian the DodrioLv 46
Drill Peck Tri Attack Fly Body Slam

Best normal/flying. Had never used before but now I'm a big fan

Lime the Butterfree Lv 49
Mega Drain Toxic Sleep Powder Psychic

Honestly really impressed. I knew Butterfree was good for the early game but I've never taken one to the E4. One of the MPs by far. Probably going to pick up one in Johto too.

Acai the Gyarados
Lv. 52
Bite Thunderbolt Ice Beam Surf

MVP. Honestly felt like cheating using Gyarados. It's just that good. Will definitely use in Johto.

Overall, a really fun run! I'm excited to continue it into Johto.

 

[Mochorro]

The Ultimate Monotype Challenge! (Fighting)

Yellow, HeartGold, Sigma Σmerald, Platinum, White 2, X, Ultra Sun, Sword, Violet.

Additional Rules: - No items on important battles (rival, leaders, etc.)
- Set mode for important battles.

7. Coming back to pain!

It's been more than 2 months, but I am back with more pain, as I predicted in Poni Island, things weren't going to get easier! But first things first, yesterday was a scary day here in Spain, with a blackout for the whole day, and my 3DS helped my have some fun. Thankfully, light is already back. But without light, playing Ultra Sun was so fitting, with Necrozma absorbing all the light of Alola!

Not much to say for the beginning of Poni Island, until I reached Vast Poni Canyon. Dulse's Poipole there was easy, Poliwrath with Psychic ended up winning the fight. Here I caught 2 more Fighting Types: Mienfoo, and Jangmo-o! (well, Jangmo-o isn't Fighting, but evolves into a Fighting type, and by the way, it took so long for it to appear). I added the Dragon to my team. After some consideration, I will be rotating Pokémon, so I'll use 7 Pokémon. Mienshao is very fast so I may use it in the future as well, we'll see. But for now I removed Hawlucha from the team as he was the highest level Pokémon I had. Jangmo-o evolved very fast into Hakamo-o and then into Kommo-o. At Vast Poni Canyon, a trainer's Xatu almost swept me. I won because of Crabominable's Quick Claw activating and then my opponent's Dewgong having terrible AI. Xatu, Masquerain... Quite scary to think these weak Pokémon are causing so much trouble.

By the end of Vast Poni Canyon you fight Totem Kommo-o. And I lost to it once. I left it with almost no HP, but not enough to win. With Thunder Punch, Dragon Claw and Drain Punch, I had nothing to do thanks to the support from the Scizor. Bullet Punch + Kommo-o's attacks were too much for my frail team. Next try I started with Crabominable to get an Ice Hammer before Scizor came, and it worked. Hawlucha finished the Kommo-o off with Acrobatics, surviving the Bullet Punch + Thunder Punch combo with little HP and then my Kommo-o beat Scizor with Flamethrower.

As soon as you do this, you fight Necrozma fused with Solgaleo. It was easy even though I didn't have Pangoro with me, Flamethrower from Kommo-o burnt it after a few Morning Suns, so then Bewear easily stood its attacks and beat it with Payback.

But then, time for Ultra Necrozma. Quite ridiculous, lv 60, with boosted stats, and very strong moves. It easily destroyed me twice, so I changed my tactics. I taught some of my Pokémon Toxic, and gave them items like Focus Band, Bright Powder and Quick Claw to get the move before it killed me. I wanted to save Focus Sash just in case. It worked on the second try, and I also switched Pangoro into a predicted Photon Geiser to gain a turn. I won with 3 Pokémon left.

And that's where I am. I caught a few Pokémon using the Ultra Wormhole, including Regice and Nihilego, and then I'll go for Mina's trial. I am very scared of Totem Ribombee...

Spoiler: Current Pokémon

@ Quick Claw. Lv. 54 (M). Hyper Cutter.
Rash Nature. Thunder Punch, Ice Hammer, Payback, Close Combat

@ Nothing. Lv. 56 (M). Unburden.
Brave Nature. Toxic, Stone Edge, High Jump Kick, Acrobatics.

@ Choice Specs. Lv. 55 (M). Damp.
Modest Nature. Focus Blast, Hypnosis, Scald, Psychic.

@ Muscle Band. Lv. 55 (F). Fluffy.
Adamant Nature. Hammer Arm, Iron Head, Payback, Thrash.

@ Expert Belt. Lv. 53 (F). Receiver.
Adamant Nature. Bulldoze, Rock Slide, Beat Up, Close Combat.

@ Leftovers. Lv. 55 (M). Iron Fist.
Docile Nature. Crunch, Fire Punch, Parting Shot, Sky Uppercut.

@Shell Bell. Lv. 52 (M). Bulletproof.
Serious Nature. Clanging Scales, Flamethrower, Sky Uppercut, Dragon Claw.

Island Trials cleared: 7.

Kahunas defeated: 3.

Number of losses: 12.

Current Location: Seafolk Village.

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EDIT: Kept going and did some important fights!

The Ultimate Monotype Challenge! (Fighting)

Yellow, HeartGold, Sigma Σmerald, Platinum, White 2, X, Ultra Sun, Sword, Violet.

Additional Rules: - No items on important battles (rival, leaders, etc.)
- Set mode for important battles.

8. Finally some good luck...

Well, well, well, time for Mina's trial. I have nothing against a Ribombee, so let's see how it goes. You have to fight several trainers during Mina's trial, and the first one is precisely Mina. Even if she uses Fairy Pokémon, Mawile and Granbull were easy to defeat, and then my Hawlucha barely survived Ribombee's Dazzling Gleam and beat it with Acrobatics.

Captain Ilima uses Normal Pokémon, so no challenge there, his Komala's Z-move did a lot of damage, but not enough. Mallow wasn't hard either, with Flamethrower from Kommo-o and Ice Hammer from Crabominable. Kiawe was easy too, Marowak didn't use his Z-move, and even if Talonflame was scary, Bewear stood the Brave Bird quite easily thanks to her ability. And finally, Sophocles was a joke, as all his team is weak to Fighting, although Togedemaru was annoying because of making my Kommo-o flinch and also using Spiky Shield a few times.

But then, terror. Totem Ribombee with sharply boosted stats, and all my team is weak to Fairy. My strat was using Focus Sash with Hawlucha, to survive his attack and then hit with Acrobatics. But I didn't do enough damage, so I easily lost twice, it even healed all the damage with Draining Kiss. As with Ultra Necrozma, I tried going for cheesy strategies again, using moves like Toxic and items like Focus Band, Bright Powder or Quick Claw. But they were not necessary, as in my third attempt, Hawlucha got a critical hit, killing the bee in one hit. Then Pelipper beat my bird but Kommo-o finished it off, so I won! I don't have Focus Sash anymore, though...

Kahuna Hapu was next. Poliwrath beat both Golurk and Mudsdale, surviving the latter's Z-move with 25 HP. Flygon beat my Poliwrath, but went down to a single Clanging Scales from Kommo-o. Finally, her Gastrodon took very long to beat due to Recover, but Kommo-o finally managed to take it down, surviving thanks to Leftovers recovery.

Now I went to Mount Lanakila in order to reach Pokémon League, and I had to fight Gladion. I switched into Bewear vs. his Crobat, and again thanks to Fluffy, she could survive 2 Acrobatics and destroy the bat with Thrash. After that the fight was easy. Lucario tried Aura Sphere vs. my Kommo-o, but my Pokémon's ability blocks it! Silvally did little damage and Zoroark fell to a single Sky Uppercut.

So now, time for Pokémon League! But that will have to wait for the next update... Already 14 losses, and haven't even tried Pokémon League... By the way, I caught a Buzzwole, with an amazing Adamant Nature. Still not too fast and a bit frail on the special side, but much stronger than everything I have. It is an Ultra Beast, though, so I am not going to use it, at least not until I beat Pokémon League, but maybe I'll use it in the post-game, as IIRC Team Rainbow Rocket uses Legendary Pokémon.

Spoiler: Current Pokémon

@ Quick Claw. Lv. 59 (M). Hyper Cutter.
Rash Nature. Thunder Punch, Ice Hammer, Payback, Close Combat

@ Nothing. Lv. 58 (M). Unburden.
Brave Nature. Poison Jab, Stone Edge, High Jump Kick, Acrobatics.

@ Choice Specs. Lv. 60 (M). Damp.
Modest Nature. Focus Blast, Hypnosis, Scald, Ice Beam.

@ Silk Scarf. Lv. 59 (F). Fluffy.
Adamant Nature. Hammer Arm, Iron Head, Payback, Thrash.

@ Expert Belt. Lv. 58 (F). Receiver.
Adamant Nature. Bulldoze, Rock Slide, Beat Up, Close Combat.

@ Muscle Band. Lv. 59 (M). Iron Fist.
Docile Nature. Crunch, Fire Punch, Parting Shot, Sky Uppercut.

@ Leftovers. Lv. 58 (M). Bulletproof.
Serious Nature. Clanging Scales, Flamethrower, Sky Uppercut, Stealth Rock.

Island Trials cleared: 8.

Kahunas defeated: 4.

Number of losses: 14.

Current Location: Pokémon League.

 

[Mochorro]

I hope the thread doesn't die. Sorry for the double post, but no replies since Tuesday, and I want to make a pretty big update, as I challenged the E4!

The Ultimate Monotype Challenge! (Fighting)

Yellow, HeartGold, Sigma Σmerald, Platinum, White 2, X, Ultra Sun, Sword, Violet.

Additional Rules: - No items on important battles (rival, leaders, etc.)
- Set mode for important battles.

9. Pokémon League with an incredible finish! (and mixed luck in between...)

I went for the Pokémon League, and had to make a decision first, as I have 7 Pokémon and one had to be left behind. I decided to leave Crabominable. It is strong, but so slow and quite frail. Besides, Poliwrath already has Ice Beam, so I have Ice coverage. After this decision, I went for the Elite Four.

Molayne was first. Klefki paralyzed my Hawlucha, but fell to 2 High Jump Kicks. It was back and forth after that, I lost Hawlucha, Pangoro and Passimian, as Magnezone and Metagross hit hard, but in general fight wasn't too hard, I have an advantage against Steel-types.

Olivia was next, and not much too say, easy, with Stealth Rock not even Sturdy could save her, and High Jump Kick did not miss so Hawlucha easily swept her team.

Acerola was the third one, and it was surprisingly even easier than Olivia. After Stealth Rock, both Bewear and Pangoro easily swept her team using Payback and Crunch.

And the final battle against the E4 was vs. Kahili, the scariest one by far as my team is weak to Flying. And things started bad, because her Braviary outsped my Kommo-o and destroyed him with Brave Bird, so no Stealth Rock this time. My Hawlucha beat it but fell to Mandibuzz, as Stone Edge missed after my Swords Dance. Bad luck continued, as she confused my Poliwrath and even hit her with a crit. My Poliwrath hit himself 3 times so I could not attack, and it was a speed tie, so I lost the speed tie on the first turn + 3 confusion hitting myself + crit Brave Bird, AMAZING. I beat both Mandibuzz and Toucannon, but her Hawlucha swept my team, so I lost.

Next try went much better, as I set up 2 Swords Dances with Hawlucha against Mandibuzz as she went for Flatter. Confusion lasted for only 1 turn, her Brave Bird triggered Unburden as I had equipped a Sitrus Berry, and Hawlucha swept her whole team with Acrobatics.

Hau is the last challenge. I thought it was Kukui, but no, it is not, that was in Sun and Moon, I was mistaken about that. My Pangoro survived Raichu's Focus Blast with 7 HP and beat him with Crunch. Noivern was next, scary. He finished off my Pangoro, and then, thankfully, my Poliwrath didn't flinch as he always does to Air Slash, and beat it with a single Ice Beam. Decidueye's Z-move destroyed my weakened Poliwrath. When my Bewear, which was faster surprisingly, was about to beat Decidueye, he switched into Crabominable. That was odd, a single Superpower and crab destroyed. I switched Bewear out when he sent Tauros as with -2 attack after Intimidate it would do little damage, and set up Stealth Rock with Kommo-o. Then Bewear came back and took the bull down, but fell to his Vaporeon's Hydro Pump. Passimian beat Vaporeon with Bulldoze + Close Combat (he was faster, so I used Bulldoze after his Full Restore to outspeed and ko). And finally, a quite funny ending, as his Decidueye went down to Stealth Rock damage. I actually went for this on purpose, I used Stealth Rock so that he could not heal Decidueye, and it worked! So I am the champion! And while Hawlucha is broken, it was cool that I didn't use him vs. the champion.





Now time for the postgame!

Spoiler: Current Pokémon

@ Quick Claw. Lv. 59 (M). Hyper Cutter.
Rash Nature. Thunder Punch, Ice Hammer, Payback, Close Combat.

@ Sitrus Berry. Lv. 62 (M). Unburden.
Brave Nature. Swords Dance, Stone Edge, High Jump Kick, Acrobatics.

@ Choice Specs. Lv. 62 (M). Damp.
Modest Nature. Focus Blast, Hypnosis, Scald, Ice Beam.

@ Silk Scarf. Lv. 62 (F). Fluffy.
Adamant Nature. Superpower, Iron Head, Payback, Thrash.

@ Expert Belt. Lv. 60 (F). Receiver.
Adamant Nature. Bulldoze, Rock Slide, Beat Up, Close Combat.

@ Muscle Band. Lv. 61 (M). Iron Fist.
Docile Nature. Crunch, Fire Punch, Parting Shot, Sky Uppercut.

@ Leftovers. Lv. 60 (M). Bulletproof.
Serious Nature. Clanging Scales, Flamethrower, Sky Uppercut, Stealth Rock.

Island Trials cleared: 8.

Kahunas defeated: 4.

Number of losses: 15.

Current Location: Route 1.

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I played the post-game for a while, and already reached the Battle Tree.

The Ultimate Monotype Challenge! (Fighting)

Yellow, HeartGold, Sigma Σmerald, Platinum, White 2, X, Ultra Sun, Sword, Violet.

Additional Rules: - No items on important battles (rival, leaders, etc.)
- Set mode for important battles.

10. Post game, more pain!

As I had said earlier, Buzzwole will enter the team rotation for the post game, as opponents will become much harder, and Team Rainbow Rocket even uses legendary Pokémon. Besides, I've never used it and want to have fun with an Ultra Beast xD. I will rotate between my 8 Pokémon from now on. Even though shortly after the Pokémon League I caught Heracross and Riolu, and I have the option of Mienshao, I will keep my 8 Pokémon. Mienshao would be much better than Passimian, as it also hits hard while being much faster, but this is gen VII, so I want to have as many gen VII Pokémon as possible.

But well, things started terribly, as in Poni Plains, you fight Dexio again, and his leading Pokémon is an Espeon with Psychic and Dazzling Gleam. There was nothing my team could do; easy sweep for Espeon. While exploring I ran into Dexio again accidentally, so 17th loss of the challenge (how many losses before we can call the challenge a failure?) How do I deal with a Pokémon that OHKOes my whole team and is faster? Berries! I had the option of Bright Powder or Focus Band, but I collected a Payapa Berry in Poni Island and planted it in Poké Pelago, and that is way more reliable than luck items. With a Payapa Berry, Hawlucha beat the Espeon before going down to the Raichu, and after that the battle was very close; fortunately, his Mega Alakazam went for Psyshock instead of Psychic against my Buzzwole, so I won.

I caught Zygarde and then kept going. And I had another loss at Poni Gauntlet, against the pair of Veterans. They use 6 Pokémon, my team was a bit weakened, and their Volcarona with Hurricane destroyed me. I didn't have Hawlucha with me... So that's 18 losses. Next try with Hawlucha setting up and a bit of better luck things went much better. And right after this fight you fight Blue or Red. I chose to fight Blue, and, you guessed it, lost to him. Alakazam was not a problem for Pangoro, but Machamp got a couple of crits with Cross Chop, Aerodactyl did a lot of damage with Sky Drop, Arcanine was also quite hard to deal with and Gyarados ended up winning the fight for him after a Dragon Dance. Next try was better, as Hawlucha managed to set up, and even though he beat my bird with Arcanine's Extreme Speed, I had a big advantage already and won the fight.

And well, you fight Dexio again after you catch Zygarde if you go back to Route 16. I didn't have enough Payapa Berries, so after farming them, the fight was easy, even though Hawlucha missed High Jump Kick vs. Alolan Raichu, but Pangoro and Buzzwole almost swept his whole team, while Crabominable dealt with Zygarde.

Now it's time for Team Rainbow Rocket. That will be the final update to this challenge! And hopefully someone answers here before that, this post is getting too big!

Spoiler: Current Pokémon

@ Quick Claw. Lv. 67 (M). Hyper Cutter.
Rash Nature. Thunder Punch, Ice Hammer, Payback, Close Combat.

@ Sitrus Berry. Lv. 69 (M). Unburden.
Brave Nature. Swords Dance, Stone Edge, High Jump Kick, Acrobatics.

@ Choice Specs. Lv. 67 (M). Damp.
Modest Nature. Focus Blast, Hypnosis, Surf, Ice Beam.

@ Silk Scarf. Lv. 68 (F). Fluffy.
Adamant Nature. Superpower, Iron Head, Payback, Thrash.

@ Expert Belt. Lv. 66 (F). Receiver.
Adamant Nature. Earthquake, Rock Slide, Beat Up, Close Combat.

@ Life Orb. Lv. 69 (M). Iron Fist.
Docile Nature. Crunch, Fire Punch, Bullet Punch, Sky Uppercut.

@ Leftovers. Lv. 68 (M). Bulletproof.
Serious Nature. Clanging Scales, Flamethrower, Drain Punch, Stealth Rock.

@ Silver Powder. Lv 68. Beast Boost.
Adamant Nature. Stone Edge, Superpower, Leech Life, Ice Punch.

Island Trials cleared: 8.

Kahunas defeated: 4.

Number of losses: 19.

Current Location: Battle Tree.

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The third edit of this post as sadly there are not new replies. I finished this challenge a while ago, but I was waiting so that this post didn't become too long... But it is what it is. Here are my final fights in the run, vs. Team Rainbow Rocket!

The Ultimate Monotype Challenge! (Fighting)

Yellow, HeartGold, Sigma Σmerald, Platinum, White 2, X, Ultra Sun, Sword, Violet.

Additional Rules: - No items on important battles (rival, leaders, etc.)
- Set mode for important battles.

11. 4 multiplied by 5 equals...

I kept going and challenged Team Rainbow Rocket to rescue Lusamine and to finish this monotype challenge.

Faba was first, and he was easy. He focused his attacks on Lillie's Clefairy, while my Passimian's Beat Up destroyed all his Psychic-types. Clefairy fainted, but by then it was a 1 vs. 1 against the Aether employee.

Next up was Archie. Kommo-o could set Stealth Rock up and easily beat Mightyena with Drain Punch. He surprisingly beat Crobat as well, surviving with 16 HP. Passimian destroyed Muk with Earthquake, and Bewear did the same against Sharpedo. But his final Pokémon was Kyogre, quite the scary Pokémon. It easily beat my Bewear with Hydro Pump and my Poliwrath with Thunder, but then it missed Hydro Pump against Crabominable, and Close Combat was enough to finish it off.

Maxie's team is quite similar to Archie's. Mightyena and Crobat were even easier, as Crobat missed Air Slash. Camerupt and Weezing were easy for Poliwrath. His Groudon, with Solar Beam, beat my Poliwrath but with two Thrashes Bewear easily took it down.

Time for Cyrus, Team Galactic's boss! Kommo-o set Stealth Rock and easily beat both Houndoom and Honchkrow, as the latter could not hit me with Sky Attack. I sent Bewear to deal with Crobat after he used Zen Headbutt, and she also destroyed his Weavile with Thrash. Dialga used Roar of Time, so Passimian made good use of that free turn to win easily with Close Combat.

Lysandre was next, and not much to say, honestly. Kommo-o fell to his Mienshao's High Jump Kick, but Hawlucha got to +6 Attack, as Mienshao missed once, and then swept his whole team, including Xerneas, with Acrobatics. Such a broken Pokémon with Unburden and Swords Dance.

I didn't expect Ghetsis so soon after this fight, so my team was not ready. Hawlucha did not have a berry, for instance, so no Unburden. Even so, he managed to defeat Cofagrigus, Bouffalant and Bisharp before going down to burn damage. Thanks to Drain Punch and Leftovers, Kommo-o beat Hydreigon and then almost took down Zekrom with Clanging Scales. Bewear finished the fight, surviving a critical hit from Bolt Strike with 4 HP.

Giovanni was the final challenge. His Dugtrio used both Sandstorm and Stealth Rock but fell to a single Drain Punch from Kommo-o. My dragon also beat his Nidoking with 2 Clanging Scales, but went down to Rhyperior. Poliwrath easily beat Rhyperior and also took down Nidoqueen. Mewtwo was his last Pokémon—Mega Mewtwo X, actually. It beat my Poliwrath, and also Buzzwole and Pangoro, but Bewear ended the fight with Thrash. So, the challenge is over!

But c'mon, 19 is not a very nice number of losses, 20 is better, right? I fought Faba again at the Aether Foundation, and even if his Pokémon were quite underleveled, I got overconfident, and his Alakazam with Psychic and Dazzling Gleam completely destroyed my team. So, 20 losses! Next try I equipped the Payapa Berries, as I did against Dexio, and the fight was easy.

Here is the final list of the Pokémon I used! Kommo-o joined very late, and Buzzwole was only used in the post-game. As it's the final update, no spoiler tag this time, they deserve to be shown!

@ Quick Claw. Lv. 73 (M). Hyper Cutter.
Rash Nature. Thunder Punch, Ice Hammer, Payback, Close Combat.

@ Sitrus Berry. Lv. 75 (M). Unburden.
Brave Nature. Swords Dance, Stone Edge, High Jump Kick, Acrobatics.

@ Choice Specs. Lv. 73 (M). Damp.
Modest Nature. Focus Blast, Hypnosis, Surf, Ice Beam.

@ Silk Scarf. Lv. 74 (F). Fluffy.
Adamant Nature. Superpower, Iron Head, Payback, Thrash.

@ Expert Belt. Lv. 73 (F). Receiver.
Adamant Nature. Earthquake, Rock Slide, Beat Up, Close Combat.

@ Life Orb. Lv. 74 (M). Iron Fist.
Docile Nature. Crunch, Fire Punch, Bullet Punch, Hammer Arm.

@ Leftovers. Lv. 74 (M). Bulletproof.
Serious Nature. Clanging Scales, Flamethrower, Drain Punch, Stealth Rock.

@ Silver Powder. Lv 73. Beast Boost.
Adamant Nature. Stone Edge, Superpower, Leech Life, Ice Punch.

Island Trials cleared: 8.

Kahunas defeated: 4.

Number of losses: 20.

And that's it. For the final thoughts, well, this was much harder than I anticipated. Fairy-type addition was already a bit annoying in Pokémon X, but here it was even worse. Flying-types were also very problematic. Everything was problematic, in fact, as my team is strong, but also frail, specially frail against Special Attackers, and lack priority moves and fast Pokémon. Hawlucha was the absolute MVP of the team, an insane Pokémon, a broken Pokémon, despite his bad -Speed nature, as soon as he learnt Swords Dance, game was different, and I don't know how I would have dealt with some of the fights without him. Ultra Sun is not an easy game, Ultra Necrozma for example is hard even in normal runs unless you prepare or use many Revives.

But well, I had a lot of fun, and it was cool sharing the PAIN I went through xD. Next update will be the start of Pokémon Sword, game that will end this Ultimate monotype challenge. Hopefully someone posts before I start; I don't want to make a triple post!

 

[Mochorro]

Sorry for the triple post, but I have started Sword, and the previous post has already 3 updates, it is extremely long and it was the end of Ultra Sun, so I think it makes no sense to keep on editing it.

The Ultimate Monotype Challenge! (Fighting)

Yellow, HeartGold, Sigma Σmerald, Platinum, White 2, X, Ultra Sun, Sword, Violet.

Additional Rules: - No items on important battles (rival, leaders, etc.)
- Set mode for important battles.

1. From Alola's Pain to Galar's Gains

So I started Sword, let's see how it goes, hopefully better than Ultra Sun, I don't expect 20 losses, but never say never, I guess... By the way, before starting, I asked ChatGPT about the Fighting-types available in Sword, and it recommended... Cufant, because apparently, for this AI, Copperajah's Gigantamax form is Steel/Fighting... Amazing.

Anyways, there are no Fighting-types in the first few routes, so I have nothing to say about the first two fights against Hop. But when you get to the Wild Area, Fighting-types begin to appear, and there I caught 4 Pokémon: a level 10 Tyrogue, a level 7 Pancham, a level 11 Stufful, and a level 20 Machop at a Max Raid battle. This Machop would be broken for the beginning of the game, so I'll add him to the party when the rest of my team reaches that same level. I plan to use different Pokémon than these ones, but for now, it's what I can get. I left the Wild Area with the former three Pokémon, and in Motostoke I had the first important fight of the run with proper Fighting-types in the team: against Hop again. It was a piece of cake, as my Pancham easily swept his team with Arm Thrust and Payback. His bad AI meant Scorbunny didn't go for Ember.

I kept advancing and reached Galar Mine, where I caught a new Pokémon: a level 11 Timburr. And by the end of Galar Mine, you fight Bede. A rival that specializes in Psychic-types, just amazing. The fight was very close. Stufful with Brutal Swing dealt with Solosis and did a lot of damage to Gothita before going down. Tyrogue could not finish the Gothita off, but Timburr did. His Hatenna destroyed my Timburr, but my Pokémon managed to get a critical hit with Rock Throw before fainting, which meant Pancham, my last remaining Pokémon, with a single Payback, outsped and KO'd the Hatenna.

And finally, shortly after Galar Mine I reached Turffield, the place with the first gym of the game. I added Machop to the team before the gym. Leader Milo was not easy, as I don't have any super effective moves against Grass-types. Gossifleur went down easily thanks to Timburr, but Eldegoss Dynamaxed and was much harder. Eventually my Pancham, surviving a critical hit from Round with 1 HP, managed to take it down when I only had two Pokémon remaining (she and Tyrogue). I decided not to use Dynamax myself and almost paid the price. So I got the first badge!

Now I am on my way to Hulbury to fight Nessa and get the second badge. Tyrogue is about to evolve, apparently into Hitmontop. I preferred Hitmonchan, but I'll take whatever he evolves into.

Spoiler: Current Pokémon

@ Heavy-Duty Boots. Lv. 19 (M). Steadfast.
Lonely Nature. Tackle, Helping Hand, Fake Out, Swift.

@ Black Glasses. Lv. 20 (F). Iron Fist.
Naive Nature. Low Sweep, Circle Throw, Arm Thrust, Payback.

@ Silk Scarf. Lv. 19 (M). Fluffy.
Naive Nature. Tackle, Brutal Swing, Baby-Doll Eyes, Payback

@ Hard Stone. Lv. 20 (F). Sheer Force.
Brave Nature. Brutal Swing, Bulk Up, Low Kick, Rock Slide.

@ Nothing. Lv. 20 (F). No Guard.
Gentle Nature. Low Kick, Revenge, Knock Off, Low Sweep.

Number of badges: 1.

Number of losses: 0.

Current Location: Route 5.