Common Information concerning RNG that I need to remember
Platinum (capture RNG)
This is an outline of what the process is typically for me when I do capture RNG in Platinum.
Assuming you know what pokemon you want to RNG, these steps might be useful to you, or they might not. These are mainly here so I remember them.
Step 1. Assemble party.
Natu - synch
This is the only pokemon that is not a constant in my capture RNG official party (yes, it's official. I'm cool like that.). Sometimes it's necessary, sometimes it's not. Certain capture spreads show up without a synch with the same nature, but some require a synch. Of course, this really depends on what spread you pick (which I'll cover in step 2), but usually I have my mind set on at the very least the pokemon's nature before I start looking for spreads. Which is why this is step 1.
Please keep in mind that it is best to faint your synch before RNGing your target pokemon. It makes it loads easier.
Smeargle - to aid in catching
For when you meet (or not) your target pokemon. Depending on the pokemon, it could be a fairly easy catch, or it could be a complete monster. Trust me, I've done a fair share of both easy and hard captures, and this guy is a champ for sticking it out thus far. No matter how easy or how hard though, spore + false swipe are going to come in handy here. Also comes with Foresight (for ghosts) and mean look (for roamers).
Salamence - my flier, and usually is helpful when Smeargle faints
Not much here. Salamence is nearly always in my party, and if Smeargle faints, he buys me more time with his many resistances.
Bibarel - cut, surf, waterfall, rock climb
Standard HM slave. To go to where I need to go.
Tropius - defog, rock smash, sweet scent, strength
Standard HM slave. To go to where I need to go.
Step 2. Search for capture spreads (using PokeRNG)
DPPt bullet for Method J spreads
~ Method J is the usual method of PID/IV inheritance for DPPt wild pokemon
Shiny checkbox (not selected because idgaf about shinies) and the corresponding ID/SID boxes
~ Your ID and SID are required if you want to abuse shinies
Nature which I forgot to select because I was in a hurry
~ better known as the nature you want your target pokemon to be
Hidden Power
~ optional, but if you want to capture a pokemon with a hidden power, you can choose what type and what base power you want hidden power to be
IVs
~ If you don't know what IVs are, then you likely won't survive on smogon
~ Here, you select what IV spread you want your target pokemon to have. If you are looking for hexflawless (all 31s), then know that the ones in the above picture are the only natures you can get hexflawless in 4th gen. Not joking.
~ A good thing to note, if you are searching for spreads with a certain hidden power, set all but the downgraded stat (for example, a timid nature downgrades attack) to 30 and search.
Min/Max Delay
~ This outlines what delays you can/are willing to hit for a spread.
~ Depending on your calibrated delay, the Min Delay may be different, and that's fine. Just choose what you are comfortable with hitting.
~ Max Delay I usually set to 5000 just because I use a timer, and it's easy to hit longer delays with it.
Any delay field
~ A nifty little feature that lets you choose whether PokeRNG searches for spreads on even or odd delays. I don't use it since I can easily switch from even to odd delays using a 3rd gen game in my DS lite GBA slot.
~ Since delay changes depending on the year you're abusing the pokemon in, you need select what year you want to abuse the pokemon in for it to work.
Max M1 Frame
~ This sets a limit on what Method 1 frame you want your target spread to be on. Not really useful unless you're abusing a method 1 pokemon (such as the roamers or maybe even Cynthia's egg in Platinum).
Max MJ Frame
~ No, not the frame Michael Jackson is on. That makes no sense.
~ Essentially the same as the Max M1 Frame field, only with Method J. If you don't want to do as many advancements, you can set a limit here and have PokeRNG only search for spreads below a certain frame (like 100).
Enc. Slot checkbox
~ Encounter slots! Encounter slots are basically numbers that determine what pokemon is going to show up on the frame (or frames) your target spread is on. They are vital to capture RNG. You don't want spend an hour hitting a delay and doing advancements only to find out the pokemon with your chosen IV is not what you were looking for! It'd suck to RNG a modest 31/x/31/30/31/31 HP Grass 70 Gyarados. Seriously.
~ You can check this box and hit the Edit button beside it to choose that encounter slots you need for your target pokemon. If you don't know how to find what encounter slots your pokemon is on, you can find them by googling pokemon <version> encounter slots. They should come up. Alternatively, you can find links to them in RNG reporter.
~Check the Use Synch box if you're using a synch.
From there, you can search to see what spreads come up! If nothing comes up, you're too picky when it comes to spreads. Try widening your search parameters a bit.
Step 3. RNG ABOOS
Will outline this later