The Gauntlet Challenge

[Jimera0]

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Gauntlet Challenge! If you're tired of playing the same old in-game challenges over and over again, then this is the thread for you!

Read the next 5 sections before posting!

What is a Gauntlet?
A Gauntlet Challenge is a playthrough of any Pokemon game of your choice where you ask your fellow Smogonites to provide you with a gauntlet of challenges to complete over the course of your playthrough. Some of these challenges will be ones that govern how you play the entire game (ex. play on Set mode) and others will be one time challenges (ex. beat Sabrina with a Beedrill). These challenges can be assigned at the start of your game or at set points as you progress. Failing some challenges will have consequences set by the person who gave you the challenge, so be careful!

How to Request a Gauntlet:
Simply make a post on this topic that includes the following information:
- What version of the game you are using for your challenge
- To what extent you are able to trade
- What difficulty level you want the challenges you are given to be at.
- When during the challenge you will be taking more challenges. You can take them all at once at the start of your challenge or set it up to receive new ones as you pass various milestones in your game. The points at which you will take new challenges need to be set BEFORE you start your challenge (though the number of challenges you're taking in each section doesn't need to be decided until you reach that section.)
- How many challenges you will be taking at each point in your challenge. Remember, the more you request the longer it'll take for you to start your challenges.
- Any specific rules and restrictions you want to make on your challenges. Remember, the more restrictions you place the less likely people will be to give you creative challenges.
- Record the challenges you are given in the post where you ask for a challenge, so that people can ensure that the challenges they give you don't conflict with ones you've already received.

You are also strongly recommended to provide updates of your progress in your playthrough, especially with regards to your progress and experiences with the challenges you are given. This gives more motivation for people to give you interesting challenges!

How to Give a Challenge:
- Read all the rules and guidelines in the post of the person who you will be giving the challenge to
- Post detailing what the challenge is! A challenge can be almost anything, feel free to get creative! Try not to get so complex the person cannot understand it though.
- Try to adhere to the difficulty requested by the person who is requesting the challenge. Your challenge CAN be rejected if it does not meet their requirements.
- You are limited to one challenge per a section. If the player has set multiple points to receive challenges at, you can give one challenge per an opportunity, but no more. This ensures the most diverse experience for the player and ensures everyone gets a chance to give out challenges.

What exactly am I giving out?
What you're giving out are "challenges", which are tasks or restrictions intended to make the game more interesting and challenging for the player. These aren't like the Pokemon given out in the Scramble Challange thread, as they do not have to be attached to any Pokemon, and indeed, you are encouraged to stay away from specifying what Pokemon someone must use throughout the game. Think of it more like being something along the vein of a Nuzlocke challenge, only the rules are picked out by other people (and don't necessarily include Pokemon death), and random ass challenges thrown in to test your metal (like having to solo certain trainers, not use items against certain trainers, beat a certain minigame, etc.) Each challenge only may contain ONE restriction or challenge event, otherwise it breaks the rule above and will get rejected.

Rules for Rejections and Reservations:
- You can reject any challenges that break your rules or do not fit the difficulty you requested. However, you cannot reject challenges for reasons you did not cover in your initial post.
-- Note, sometimes it is simply easier to request changes to the challenge you are given instead of flat out rejecting it.
- You may make reservations to give a person a challenge, to ensure your spot is not taken while you are writing the challenge. However, such reservations are only valid for one hour. After that point anyone may take your place if they post before you do. The goal here is to give people time to make good challenges, not to allow people to snatch up all the spots before anyone can post.

Now you can post!

Tips for Making Good Challenges:
- Get creative! Simple challenges like those in the opening paragraph are pretty weak, though you're free to make them. The goal is to make the playthrough as interesting for the player as possible.
- Look out for how your challenges interact with other challenges the person has already been given! Sometimes challenges can conflict, making only one possible. Other times a challenge you're giving can make another challenge someone already gave much more difficult. Make sure you read what challenges have already been given to a person before you make your own!
- Try to encourage creative solutions with the challenges you give. Challenges that trap a player into one course of action are very rarely fun to play

Examples of good challenges:

Originally Posted by Fat The Reptile

Naix, all of your pokemon can only use moves it could learn in it's basic form (So Butterfree can only use Tackle and String Shot since that's all it can learn as a Caterpie.) This restrictions apply to TMs and HMs as well (So Nidoking can't learn Fire Blast or Surf by TM/HM because Nidoran can't learn those moves).

Originally Posted by Fat The Reptile

Jimera0, all pokemon that you own can only evolve after soloing an entire gym or soloing your Rival.

Originally Posted by Fat King Serperior

I'll give one of these that I'll call the the extinguisher!!! None of your pokemon can evolve from their first stage until LV. 30 and their last stage until LV. 50.

Bonus: You can't use pokemon that aren't able to evolve when caught (wild Steelix, Fearow, Farfetch'd, etc) or pokemon not in their basic stage upon capture (Pidgeotto, etc..). Note that this is a BONUS addition to the above challenge ^_^ Comment from me: The "bonus" addition is OK, as it is an extension of the main challenge, closing loopholes and stuff, not a completely separate challenge.

Originally Posted by Fat Jimera0

The Reptile, you are challenged to defeat Misty without using any type advantages, be they super-effective attacks, types that resist Misty's attacks, or anything else like that. Good luck, this is harder than it sounds!Comment from me: Yes I know I made it, but it's the only example of a one time challenge we have so far

Originally Posted by Fat 2sly4u

Here's a one time challenge! You need to beat Whitney without using any items, Fighting type moves, or Geodude. Failure to do so means you cannot buy healing items until after obtaining all the badges (you can still use ones you find though). You get three chances.

Credit: A lot of the ideas and procedure for this thread was inspired by the Scramble Challange thread, run by Its A Random. I decided to take the idea and expand on it a bit for people who wanted to try something a little different :)

[Naix]

I'd like to do a Gauntlet of Blue, please.

I can trade between all Kanto games.
Medium difficulty, please.
Updates will be when I get a badge, so I'd like the challenges to be given to me twice per badge. I'd also like to start off with 2 challenges.
Also, you may give me multiple challenges, but not 2 or more at once (you can give me one at the beginning of the game and one after Koga, but not two between Blaine and Giovanni).

Current challenges

---

No using Grass-types under any and all circumstances.
Pokemon can only know moves it could learn in its base form.
Must solo Cerulean Gym without any Pokemon that have type advantages. Items may not be used outside of battle for this solo. (DONE)
If any of my Pokemon get statused or confused inside a gym, they must stay in and won't accept items until either they faint or I clear the gym.
Can only use one of each specific item.
If one of my Pokemon crits, it must switch out, at least until the opponent's Pokemon faints.
Must beat Celadon Gym with only a Grass-weak Pokemon and a Grass-neutral (or Grass-weak if I so desire) Pokemon
Must keep Rage on Jack, have it use said move on the last major Pokemon of every major battle in which it participates

Chapter 1

---

One day, a smogonite named Naix was finishing up a Scramble of Red, and noticed a new thread called "The Gauntlet Challenge". Curious as to what it was, Naix decided to try out a "Gauntlet". The result and the archives of what happened then can be seen here.

With that out of the way, on to the actual gameplay!

I chose Charmander as my starter, due to the fact that I wasn't allowed to use Grass-types, and with my second restriction in mind, I wanted to pick the one that had the best level-up movepool. That, and I like to use Charizard more than Blastoise.

The fight with Sam III (my rival) was nothing to write home about from either side, as Charmander (nicknamed Jack) spammed Scratch, while Squirtle spent around half the battle doing Tail Whip.

After the Parcel fetch-quest, I was ready to catch some Pokemon! My first encounter was on Route 2, with a Caterpie. While I was weakening it for capture, Scratch critted, KOing it. All I can say to that is "meh", given how useless it would've been if I caught it. I then went into Viridian Forest, and what I first ran into there was none other than...


a level 5 Pikachu! I have Jack cautiously weaken it, and I catch it in one Poke Ball. I then proceed to nickname it Sherlock, and put it into the lead slot. I then found another Caterpie, and actually caught it this time. Unfortunately, I forgot to nickname it, although it won't matter too much. I then (for some reason) decided to look for a Weedle. None showed up, and I had Sherlock KO everything it found so it could catch up to Jack. It grew one level before fainting.

After that, I set my sights on Route 22, where I catch a Rattata (Tooie), a Nidoran (F) (Rose), and a level 5 Spearow (Jaques), the last of which I added to my roster. A short trip to Route 1 to catch a Pidgey (Vincent), and I healed so Sherlock would be in prime condition for the Route 22 Sam III fight.

On the way there, I somehow manage to find a Nidoran (M)! Thankfully, no criticals were involved in the capturing of that Nidoran (M), and I proceed to nickname it Hamtaro, after the main character of a show I saw when I was (much) younger. The Sam III fight itself wasn't much more notable than the battle back in the lab, as Sherlock handily dealt with Pidgey and Squirtle, only missing once in the entire fight.

When I entered Viridian Forest again, Jaques was 3 levels behind Sherlock and Jack, the latter of which didn't know Ember yet. 3 Bug Catchers and a bunch of wild encounters fixed that within (what seemed to be) 5 minutes.

Before I fought Brock, I battled the light-years trainer. His Diglett's Scratch and Jack's Ember did around the same damage, but I wanted to save Jack for Sandshrew, so I switched Jaques in, to Peck at it. Unfortunately, it only managed to get one off, due to the fact that Scratch did 10 damage to it. Diglett then proceeded to crit with its next Scratch, and Ember didn't quite finish it off. Jack had enough HP to take another Scratch and fire another Ember back at the mole, finishing it off. Then came Sandshrew, and I switched to Sherlock to lower its attack, as Jack would've been 2HKOed by Scratch. Sherlock managed to pull off 5 Growls before fainting, and Jack managed to burn Sandshrew the turn it was sent out. Scratch, due to the Growls and the burn, did only 1 damage, allowing Jack to comfortably KO it with 2 more Embers.

Judging by how the fight went, it's needless to say that I was worried about fighting Brock, so I levelled my team up a bit: Sherlock and Jaques to level 10, and Jack to level 13. I didn't want to take any chances with Brock, not to mention the levels they were at prior to grinding were pretty low at that point in the game. While I was grinding, I found a Weedle, caught it, nicknamed it Killer, and then proceeded to box it. And now, onto the fight!

VS


ROUND ONE


There wasn't much to say about the Brock fight, aside from Jack critting with Ember on the first turn. Jack essentially spammed Ember that part of the fight. Jack only took 6 damage from Geodude. Notably, I switched to Jaques when fighting Onix, because Jack was at -2 Defense and taking 12 HP from Tackle. After healing Jack, I decided to have Jaques spam Growl. It got 6 Growls and 3 Leers in before fainting. I sent Jack back in, and it got 3 more Embers in while Onix Bided its time, barely surviving the Embers. Because of the fact that Sherlock couldn't do anything to it, I switched it in as Bide fodder, and had Jack finish off the rock snake, giving me the BOULDERBADGE, as the game put it.

Chapter Summary
Badges: 1
Pokedex: 9
Time: 2:10

Note: Party Pokemon will be listed in order of MVP to LVP, and Boxed Pokemon will be listed from "most likely to use, if at all" to "least likely to use"

Party Pokemon


Jack the Charmander
Level: 14
Stats: 38 HP, 22 Attack, 20 Defense, 28 Speed, 20 Special
Moves:
Scratch
Growl
Ember
..---

Jack's doing well, as Charmanders normally do. It was the only Pokemon on my team that could reasonably harm Brock's Pokemon, and it breezed through the latter half of Viridian Forest. Not being able to use Earthquake later on's going to hurt a little, but not as much as it would have if I picked Squirtle.


Sherlock the Pikachu
Level: 10
Stats: 29 HP, 19 Attack, 11 Defense, 25 Speed, 17 Special
Moves:
Thundershock
Growl
Thunder Wave
xxx---

Sherlock was the reason why the Route 22 Sam III fight was'nt notable. Its Thundershock hit both of his Pokemon Super-Effectively. It didn't do much in Viridian Forest aside from being caught there and grinding there. By the way, the reason why I nicknamed it Sherlock was because Wattson was already taken.


Jaques the Spearow
Level: 10
Stats: 28 HP, 17 Attack, 11 Defense, 19 Speed, 14 Special
Moves:
Peck
Growl
Leer
.---

Jaques is doing well, but it's honestly unnecessary at this point in the game, due to the fact that I started with Charmander. Its power meant that it often OHKOed wild Bug-types, but its frailty meant that it could only beat 2 Bug Catchers before going down.

Boxed Pokemon


Tooie the Rattata
Level: 3


Hamtaro the Nidoran (M)
Level: 3


Vincent the Pidgey
Level: 3


Rose the Nidoran (F)
Level: 3


Killer the Weedle
Level: 3


Caterpie (forgot to nickname it)
Level: 4 (out of formation!)

Chapter 2

---

Before I began this part of the game, I was given a daunting task: To solo Cerulean Gym with a Pokemon that doesn't have a type advantage. I was also not allowed to use items outside of battle for that solo. Because I didn't want to constantly restart, I took a look at the Pokemon I could use against the gym that could be obtained up to meeting Bill.

Jack (Charmander): I soloed Misty with a Charmeleon in my Scramble, but I had to get it to level 38 to do so. However, that was without access to Dig, Mega Punch, or Seismic Toss.
Verdict: Unlikely

Jaques (Spearow): It's frail and not too powerful, at least as a Spearow.
Verdict: Unlikely

Tooie (Rattata): Similar case as Jaques, but it has Quick Attack and Hyper Fang to be useful.
Verdict: Possible

Hamtaro/Rose (Nidoran): They either have a weakness to Water, or just aren't powerful enough.
Verdict: No

Vincent (Pidgey): I've read about it being done, but it caused 5 restarts in the process.
Verdict: Unlikely

Killer (Weedle): Can only know Poison Sting and String Shot. Yeah, pretty obvious answer.
Verdict: NO

Nameless Caterpie: See Killer.
Verdict: See Killer

Jigglypuff: High HP, nothing else.
Verdict: No

Zubat: Leech Life is SE against Starmie, but nothing doing anywhere else.
Verdict: No

Geodude: Slow and weak to Water.
Verdict: NO

Clefairy: Fairly bulky for this point in the game (assuming evolution), learns a good variety of TMs.
Verdict: Possible

Sandshrew: See Geodude
Verdict: See Geodude

Abra: Only attacking move is Seismic Toss.
Verdict: No

With this in mind, I decide to grind Tooie, as it's one of only 2 good options, and the other has a 5% encounter rate. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to grind for a while to get Tooie up to speed, as well as giving Sherlock and Jaques a few more levels to be on par with Jack.

*one grinding montage later*

When I was fighting the Route 3 trainers, and something dawned on me: it took almost 3 hours getting my team to Jack's level, and that amount of time should not be spent on grinding 3 Pokemon a total of 19 levels. Clearly, someone had to get the axe. However, Sherlock's Electric-typing is useful for the Pidgeys and later Zubats, and Tooie was needed for an upcoming solo, so this means that Jaques, whose STAB Peck was unnecessary due to the fact that I started with Charmander, was the one to get boxed. I'm sorry Jaques, but I promise I won't trade you away.

And with that (and getting Nibelung the Jigglypuff, Koi the Magikarp, Radu the Zubat, Fred the Geodude, and Seymour the Clefairy), I was ready to go through Mt. Moon. Oh, and Jack evolved on the way there.

Mt. Moon itself wasn't too interesting, as my team handily beat most of the trainers in the area, with even the infamous Raticate Grunt being taken down by Sherlock alone (thanks full paralysis, for activating 3 times). After beating the Fossil Nerd, I took the Helix Fossil, and outside Mt. Moon, I caught a Sandshrew, which I named Cairo. To tell the truth, I was planning on using a Sandshrew or Geodude in my file, but I wasn't sure which to use. After much thought, I eventually decided to go with Sandshrew. Welcome to the team, Cairo! I decided not to grind Cairo, and just constantly switch it in and out unless it has a favorable matchup against something. Speaking of matchups...

I fought Sam III and Routes 24 and 25 before Misty, so I wouldn't have to grind as much for the gym. His Pidgeotto did noticably more than Cairo, so I had to switch it out and have Sherlock deal with it, which was accomplished in 2 Thundershocks and a Quick Attack, despite the -2 Accuracy. He then sent in Abra, which means free experience for Cairo! Yeah, not much to say about it. Rattata, however, had the ability to 3HKO with Quick Attack, and Scratch only did a fifth, and as such I switched in Jack. 2 Embers later, and Sam III was down to just Squirtle. While Sherlock probably would've beat it 1-on-1, I wanted Cairo to get some of the experience, so I switched it in and out to Sherlock, which took a Tail Whip on the switch. Because of Squirtle's lower level as well as the fact that Sherlock grew a level after defeating Pidgeotto, Squirtle fell to just 2 Thundershocks.

One trip to the Pokemon Center later, and I was ready for Nugget Bridge! The first trainer was a Bug Catcher whose Caterpie and Weedle were dealt with by my level 13 pangolin. It did get poisoned, but I used an Antidote after the battle, and Cairo was poisoned the turn it KOed Weedle, so it didn't drain any of its health.
The next trainer put up more of a fight, as her Pidgey's Quick Attack did 6 damage per hit while Scratch did only a fourth, meaning Cairo only had 6 remaining HP when it beat it. Because of teh fact that it grew a level, I kept it in against her Nidoran (F), or at least for a turn. Cairo had the bulk to take 2 Scratches, but nothing more, and thus I either had to switch out or use a Potion. I chose the former, giving Sherlock half the experience.
Another trip to the Pokemon Center later, and I was ready for trainer number 3, who had a Rattata, whose Hyper Fang pressured me to switch Cairo out and again have Sherlock KO the rat. The Youngster also had an Ekans. Needless to say, I switched Cairo in and out, due to bad memories of the first time I played Pokemon (level 12 Squirtle, which was my only Pokemon, getting Wrapped over and over and over and over by Shorts Kid's Ekans...) and had Jack do the honor of killing the snake with 2 Embers, getting poisoned in the process. Then came Zubat, and I decided to have Cairo at least try to beat it. The battle went like this: Zubat did nothing of interest until the third turn it was out, when it confused Cairo. Cairo managed to avoid hitting itself next turn, while Zubat avoided the Scratch (even though there weren't any accuracy or evasion modifiers). Cairo then proceeded to hit itself twice before KOing the Zubat at low health.
Despite Cairo's low health, I fought the next person without going to the Pokemon Center, and I then realize: "Why am I talking about ordinary trainer battles? They're just ordinary trainers!" With that in mind, I decided not to talk about the battles, especially now that Cairo grew to level 15 in the middle of that battle, allowing me to use my 2 Rare Candies on it so it could learn Slash, and it was then officially caught up. By the way, Tooie evolved when fighting a few of the trainers. The fact that Tooie essentially soloed most of Route 25, it was level 22, which I felt was enough for it to take on Cerulean Gym.

VS


ROUND ONE


Tooie started off by obliterating the first trainer, taking only 4 damage in the process. The second one did about as well as the first. Meanwhile, Misty's Staryu went down in just one Hyper Fang. Starmie took a hit and retaliated with Water Gun, which didn't even send Tooie into the yellow. Another Hyper Fang sealed the deal and finished the Cerulean Gym in only 4 minutes.

Chapter Summary
Badges: 2
Pokedex: 17
Time: 8:04

Note: Because I don't want to run out of image space, I'll only include Pokemon I boxed in the current chapter in the "Boxed" section, with another statistic of where it is on my "likelyhood to use it if I for some reason use" list in comparison to previously boxed Pokemon.

Party Pokemon


Tooie the Raticate
Level: 23
Stats: 64 HP, 49 Attack, 42 Defense, 60 Speed, 36 Special
Moves:
Tackle -> Water Gun
Tail Whip
Quick Attack
Hyper Fang

Tooie, what large teeth you have! Tooie, from the moment it was caught up, was one of my best team members, thanks to one move: Hyper Fang, and evolving bumped it up all the way to MVP status. Shame it's usefulness is at its peak, but at least it has that Hyper Fang.


Cairo the Sandshrew
Level: 18
Stats: 49 HP, 35 Attack, 41 Defense, 24 Speed, 17 Special
Moves:
Scratch
Sand-Attack
Slash
..---

While Cairo's moveset isn't filled out yet, all it really needed was Slash to hold its own. As with all Sandshrew, Cairo had a bit of a rough start, but once it learned Slash, it proceeded to beat a good variety of trainers 1-on-1, save for those with special attackers, Zubats, or Rock-types. Considering how good Cairo is now, keep in mind it hasn't evolved yet and is close to doing so...


Jack the Charmeleon
Level: 19
Stats: 56 HP, 33 Attack, 32 Defense, 42 Speed, 32 Special
Moves:
Scratch
Growl
Leer
Ember

Overall, Jack's faded a bit towards "okay", as despite evolving, it didn't gain much of note, while others got more noticable improvements. Still, it's a capable member of my team, and it had almost no difficulty in Mt. Moon, due to the fact that there were 3 trainers whose Pokemon were actually weak to Ember.


Sherlock the Pikachu
Level: 19
Stats: 49 HP, 34 Attack, 19 Defense, 45 Speed, 29 Special
Moves:
Thundershock
Growl
Thunder Wave
Quick Attack

Poor Sherlock, you didn't see much use in either Mt. Moon or Routes 24 and 25. Also, Sherlock didn't gain anything this chapter aside from Quick Attack, and even that's irrelevant due to the fact that Tooie gets STAB from it and Sherlock's already fast enough to outspeed pretty much everybody at this point. At least S.S. Anne is coming up soon...

Boxed Pokemon


Jaques the Spearow
Level: 14
Placement: Above Hamtaro


Seymour the Clefairy
Level: 10
Placement: Above Hamtaro


Fred the Geodude
Level: 9
Placement: Above Hamtaro


Radu the Zubat
Level: 8
Placement: Above Rose


Nibelung the Jigglypuff
Level: 3
Placement: Above Killer


Koi the Magikarp
Level: 5
Placement: Above Killer

Chapter 3

---

Note: I apologize ahead of time for the shortness of this chapter. Not much really happened in the game, so there wasn't much of which to take note.

With the most recent challenge I was given (my Pokemon must switch out if they crit unless it KOed the opponent), I realized that I'd have to stop using Slash on Cairo, at least for a while, as it had a little bit of trouble of OHKOing things with Slash. As such, I taught it Seismic Toss to help wear down bulky Pokemon that weren't weak to Dig, which I probably shouldn't have taught to Cairo, as I could've taught it Earthquake later, which Jack couldn't learn. To make up for this mistake, I taught Jack Mega Punch, as Sherlock (I should probably change the nickname eventually, as I don't really like it too much) would learn Slam, which is the same move, just with lower accuracy. The trainers in Routes 6 and 11 weren't too much to worry about, and nothing out of the ordinary happened when fighting them.

The wild Pokemon between Cerulean and Vermilion weren't worth wasting my 1 Poke Ball on, because of Meowth being outclassed by Tooie (whose nickname I recently discovered I misspelled, an error I will fix when I get to Lavender), Diglett being faster than Cairo, thus having a higher crit rate (and thus a higher switch rate), and my not wanting to use Drowzee because of the dominance of Psychic-types in RBY.

There wasn't much to talk about for the S.S. Anne, with most of the trainers being easily beaten with little trouble, save for those Tentacool that survived 2 Thunderbolts from Sherlock. The trainers in the first part of the ship were cleanly swept by Cairo, who evolved and proceeded to obliterate everything it fought. Another thing of note is that I got TM08 (Body Slam), which gave Sherlock an actual offensive presence against Grasses and fellow Electrics, as well as allowing my entire party to have a Normal-type move with at least 80 BP (Slash's insane crit rate makes it technically 140BP). Oh, and there was a Sam III fight.

The fight began with Sherlock frying Pidgeotto with a crit Thundershock. Raticate got ambushed by an excavating Sandslash. (Translation: Sam III's Raticate got OHKOed by Cairo's Dig) Kadabra's spoon got bent by the Hyper Fang of a rabid Raticate (mine) while Wartortle met a similar fate as Pidgeotto before it, with the difference being that Sherlock didn't crit, thus making Thundershock a 2HKO.







After getting the Cut HM, I discovered that the only Pokemon in both my party and my box were Cairo and Jack. Thus, I had 3 options:

1. Catch a Meowth, wasting my one-use Poke/Great Ball.
2. Trade Jaques for DUX, which would cause me to go back on the promise I gave it in the previous chapter.
3. Teach it to Jack or Cairo, permanently freezing one of their moveslots.

It was obvious that every option I could choose had a drawback of some kind, and I thought long and hard about what to do. After much thinking, I decided to outright teach Cut to Cairo, as Slash and Dig are all it really needs, thus allowing the remaining 2 slots to be filler.

Because I burdened Cairo with the task of being an HM Slave, I decided to make it up to it by letting it solo Vermilion Gym in its entirety right after I spend about 5 minutes (even though in reality it only took around 15 seconds) clearing the gym's "puzzle".

VS[YELLOW][/YELLOW]


Simply put, the Gym trainers never stood a chance against Dig (and occasionally Slash), with all of them getting OHKOed by said moves. Cairo didn't even get hurt when fighting any of them. However, you didn't open this tab just to read about how Cairo crushed the trainers, so I stopped talking about them in 3... 2... 1...

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your interpretation), the fight against Lt. Surge himself wasn't too much more notable than his cohorts, as his entire team either used moves that didn't do anything to Cairo, or used X Speeds on the turns Cairo went underground, sealing their fates.

Chapter Summary
Badges: 3
Pokedex: 18
Time: 10:29
Items used: TM01, TM19, TM28, TM08


Cairo the Sandslash
Level: 25
Stats: 79 HP, 61 Attack, 69 Defense, 45 Speed, 36 Special
Moves:
Scratch -> Cut
Sand-Attack -> Seismic Toss
Slash
--- -> Dig

To get an idea on how good Cairo is at this point in the game, do the following: take an already good Pokemon and evolve it, giving it enough Speed to last it through most of the game (base 65's all you need) as well as the ability to tank physical attacks even better. Also, don't forget (almost) perfect coverage in 2 moves, allowing me to teach it Cut without any noticable drawbacks. Don't forget the fact that it's now powerful enough for Slash to OHKO pretty much anything that's not weak to Dig. Yeah, Cairo's doing awesome.


Sherlock the Pikachu
Level: 24
Stats: 59 HP, 42 Attack, 23 Defense, 57 Speed, 36 Special
Moves:
Thundershock
Growl -> Body Slam
Thunder Wave
Quick Attack

While Sherlock might not be the best statistically, the common Water-types and Flying-types allowed it to thrive. I expect its usefulness to plummet, however, because of the upcoming Ground-types. After that though, it'll be able to evolve and will have the ability to learn a move to deal with the accursed Ground-types. Until then, Sherlock's doing well, but won't for much longer.


Jack the Charmeleon
Level: 24
Stats: 69 HP, 41 Attack, 39 Defense, 53 Speed, 40 Special
Moves:
Scratch
Growl -> Mega Punch
Ember
Leer -> Rage

Jack did okay this chapter. With Mega Punch, it 2HKOed most of the things it went up against. Unfortunately, the Water-types of S.S. Anne didn't do it any favors. Overall, Jack's performance so far is adequate and I think it'll stay that way for a short while.


Tooie the Raticate
Level: 24
Stats: 67 HP, 51 Attack, 44 Defense, 63 Speed, 38 Special
Moves:
Water Gun
Tail Whip
Quick Attack
Hyper Fang

Tooie and Jack's performances were quite similar this chapter, with Mega Punch and Hyper Fang often falling short of an outright OHKO. What put Tooie below Jack was the fact that Tooie came into this chapter overleveled, and thus didn't see as much action as the others. It's still a capable force, and one who I think will be one to be reckoned with for a while yet. Notably, it's one of only 2 members of my party (the other being Cairo) that knows a move that's Super-Effective against Rock/Ground-types, with Water Gun having 2.5 times as much PP as Dig, making it probably my most useful Pokemon for Rock Tunnel.

[Jimera0]

And just to provide an example for everyone, I'll get my own Gauntlet going!

I will be playing Soul Silver version right through the post game all the way to Red.
I'm looking for Hard but not crazy challenges. I can trade via all methods available and have every Pokemon in 4th gen available to me. I will be taking 6 challenges every 4 gym badges (counting Kanto), starting now!

Try to keep your challenges from being too grinding intensive! If I feel your challenge is too tedious I'll either reject it or request you to revise it. I'm looking for a challenge, not to bore myself to death. After I get my first 6 challenges I'll make another post in which I'll put all my updates and stuff. In the meantime, I'll keep track of all the challenges I'm given in this topic.

EDIT @ Naix: How many challenges will you be taking at the first stage? Remember this isn't the scramble; we're not taking Pokemon here, we're taking challenges. I'll give you one to start you off.

Naix, you are challenged to go through the whole game without ever catching or recieving a grass type by any means! Good luck with your challenge!

EDIT2:

Challenges so far:

Originally Posted by Fat The Reptile

Jimera0, all pokemon that you own can only evolve after soloing an entire gym or soloing your Rival.

Originally Posted by Fat King Serperior

I'll give one of these that I'll call the the extinguisher!!! None of your pokemon can evolve from their first stage until LV. 30 and their last stage until LV. 50.

Bonus: You can't use pokemon that aren't able to evolve when caught (wild Steelix, Fearow, Farfetch'd, etc) or pokemon not in their basic stage upon capture (Pidgeotto, etc..). Note that this is a BONUS addition to the above challenge ^_^

Originally Posted by Fat Zaccheaus

Jimera0, whenever you buy an item, you must buy a multiple of 5 of that specific item

Originally Posted by Fat Arcticblast

Jimera0, you may not catch two Pokemon of the same primary type. Normal/Flying Pokemon are considered to have both Normal and Flying as a primary type, because Flying is (almost) never a primary type.

Example: You can't have Rattata + Pidgey or Spearow + Pidgey, but you can have Ledyba + Pidgey.

Originally Posted by Fat 2sly4u

Here's a one time challenge! You need to beat Whitney without using any items, Fighting type moves, or Geodude. Failure to do so means you cannot buy healing items until after obtaining all the badges (you can still use ones you find though). You get three chances.

Originally Posted by Fat DEMo Gorgon7

Alright Jimera0, here is my challenge to you: You must pick either Cyndaquil or Chikorita as your starter, and once you do you cannot use ANY pokemon that has a weakness to one of the types your starter is weak too. (Screw water-types with their two weaknesses, I want you to have common weaknesses)

[Naix]

@Jimera0

Challenge accepted. I should probably edit in that I'm also starting off with 2 challenges. Because I don't want to waste 4-5 challenges on one Pokemon, I'm withdrawing my challenge.

[Jimera0]

Originally Posted by Fat Naix

Jimera0, here's your first challenge. Trade in a Shroomish ASAP. Catch 3 of your other team members with Shroomish alone. Have Shroomish solo the entirety of Sprout Tower. To evolve, it must solo Whitney, and to use Fighting-type attacks, it must max out its "Power" Pokeathlon statistic.

Am I doing it right?

Well technically but I think you're under the impression this is more similar to the Scramble challenge than it is. The idea is to give challenges that aren't necessarily attached to an individual Pokemon. It's like you know how a Nuzlocke works right? Well it's like giving out aspects of Nuzlocke challenges (IE Pokemon die after fainting, only one each route, or the optional restrictions of not being able to use items, not able to use pokemon centers, etc.) instead of Pokemon. For instance, see the simple one I gave you. You can also give out very specific challenges, like "beat Koga without using any super-effective moves with a Jumpluff" or something crazy like that, but you're not supposed to dictate a single Pokemon they have to use the entire game. That's the Scramble challenge's ground and I have no intention of encroaching on that.

Also you need to specify how many challenges you're taking in each stage of your playthrough, otherwise we won't know when to stop giving you challenges!

EDIT: Ok good you specified now, I have to say, I requested hard challenges, and just starting with Chikorita isn't exactly hard. You got time before my challenges fill up so go ahead and try again XD.

I'm also going to add a section to the OP better explaining what a "challenge" is so that people don't make the same mistake you did, so everyone will have to read that new paragraph once I get it up.

[Naix]

@Jimera0
I changed your challenge so it would better suit your difficulty. Is this acceptable?

EDIT: On second thought, I'm withdrawing the challenge in its entirety, as I'm just not getting it right at the moment.

[Jimera0]

Originally Posted by Fat Naix

@Jimera0
I added another "challenge" to the challenge so it would better suit your difficulty. Is this acceptable? I messed up again, didn't I?

Still not really in my difficulty range. To get an idea of the overall difficulty I'm expecting I suggest checking my current black scramble (link in my sig). The difficulty those Pokemon are at is the sort of difficulty I'm looking for in my challenge. The Lucario in particular is the sort of challenge I'm looking for.

Also, you're still thinking somewhat along the line of a Scramble challenge. Why don't you try to give out something different entirely?

[The Reptile]

Naix, all of your pokemon can only use moves it could learn in it's basic form (So Butterfree can only use Tackle and String Shot since that's all it can learn as a Caterpie.) This restrictions apply to TMs and HMs as well (So Nidoking can't learn Fire Blast or Surf by TM/HM because Nidoran can't learn those moves).

Jimera0, all pokemon that you own can only evolve after soloing an entire gym or soloing your Rival.

Alright, that should be good then.

[Jimera0]

Originally Posted by Fat The Reptile

Naix, all of your pokemon can only use moves it could learn in it's basic form (So Butterfree can only use Tackle and String Shot since that's all it can learn as a Caterpie.) This restrictions apply to TMs and HMs as well (So Nidoking can't learn Fire Blast or Surf by TM/HM because Nidoran can't learn those moves).

Jimera0, all pokemon that you own can only evolve after soloing a major battle (Gym Leader, Rival, Rocket Executives, ect.). You can also never use items on your pokemon (excluding TMs and HMs). Finally, after each gym, pick 2 pokemon in your party. Until you beat the next gym, those pokemon cannot use STAB moves. If you have less than 2 members, then just apply this to your one pokemon.


This is how it works, right?

ALMOST! You got Naix's completely right, and that's exactly the sort of challenge I'm looking for.

Problem is that the one you gave me is actually like 5 challenges. I'll show you, I'll have backslashes separating each of the challenges within the one you gave me.

Jimera0, /all pokemon that you own can only evolve after soloing a major battle (Gym Leader, Rival, Rocket Executives, ect.)./ You can also never use items on your pokemon (excluding TMs and HMs)./ Finally, after each gym, pick 2 pokemon in your party. Until you beat the next gym, those pokemon cannot use STAB moves. If you have less than 2 members, then just apply this to your one pokemon/.

So what you gave me there was actually 3 challenges. Give me any ONE of those and that's great, I'll need another 5 like that then I can start.

I'll edit the OP again to reflect this.

[The Reptile]

Originally Posted by Fat Jimera0

So what you gave me there was actually 3 challenges. Give me any ONE of those and that's great, I'll need another 5 like that then I can start.

Alright, I fix'd my challenge.

[Naix]

Originally Posted by Fat The Reptile

Naix, all of your pokemon can only use moves it could learn in it's basic form (So Butterfree can only use Tackle and String Shot since that's all it can learn as a Caterpie.) This restrictions apply to TMs and HMs as well (So Nidoking can't learn Fire Blast or Surf by TM/HM because Nidoran can't learn those moves).

Challenge accepted. I am now ready to start.

[King Serperior]

@Jimera:

I'll give one of these that I'll call the the extinguisher!!! None of your pokemon can evolve from their first stage until LV. 30 and their last stage until LV. 50.

Bonus: You can't use pokemon that aren't able to evolve when caught (wild Steelix, Fearow, Farfetch'd, etc) or pokemon not in their basic stage upon capture (Pidgeotto, etc..). Note that this is a BONUS addition to the above challenge ^_^

I'll edit this later for my own gauntlet :P

[Jimera0]

Originally Posted by Fat King Serperior

@Jimera:

I'll give one of these that I'll call the the extinguisher!!! None of your pokemon can evolve from their first stage until LV. 30 and their last stage until LV. 50.

Bonus: You can't use pokemon that aren't able to evolve when caught (wild Steelix, Fearow, Farfetch'd, etc) or pokemon not in their basic stage upon capture (Pidgeotto, etc..). Note that this is a BONUS addition to the above challenge ^_^

I'll edit this later for my own gauntlet :P

Sounds great! Stuff like the "bonus" bit there are cool, since they basically just close loopholes. I'll take it on, this combined with The Reptile's challenge it sounds like I'm going to be NFE Pokemon for a VERY long time lol.

EDIT: @everyone: I suggest you make your challenge requests in new posts instead of editing old ones because it's really easy to miss them if you edit them into old posts. Just a word of advice, not a rule or anything :P

[The Reptile]

Probably a good idea :P

I'm going to start one of these. The game is Leaf Green

Rules
- Medium-Hard Difficulty
- I'll take 3 challenges right now, and then 2 more every 2nd badge
- I'm playing up until you beat the Elite Four.
- Avoid making me grind please or other tedious challenges.

Challenges so far

Pre-Gauntlet

---

Originally Posted by Fat Jimera0

The Reptile, you are challenged to defeat Misty without using any type advantages, be they super-effective attacks, types that resist Misty's attacks, or anything else like that. Good luck, this is harder than it sounds!

Originally Posted by Fat King Serperior

@The Reptile:

May not use moves with base 50 Power or more against Brock. Include STAB in these calcs of BP.

Originally Posted by Fat Naix

The Reptile, you can only buy 3 items from any individual Poke Mart. Keep in mind that when you buy those 3 items, you can't buy from that Poke Mart for the rest of the game.

2 Badges

---

Originally Posted by Fat DEMo_Gorgon47

@The Reptile: You must defeat Lt. Surge Using only Cherry, Captain, & Fairy Bro

Originally Posted by Fat Naix

The Reptile, if any of your Pokemon get statused when you're fighting Erika, you must switch them out immediately.

Originally Posted by Fat Wyrms Eye

Loving the idea and some of the runs, might have to see if I have a spare cart I can do one of these with!

In the meantime, a challenge for you Reptile (I hope this is in the ball-park of difficulty you were after):

You cannot use any moves which act as a source of light in the Rock Tunnel. For clarification, moves such as Flash, Thundershock, Thunder Wave, Shock Wave, or any move that could provide a source of light for guidance is prohibited inside and outside of battle.

This makes your run through the tunnel semi-blind, with a partial move restriction in effect, and I hope it gives the place an interesting twist. Feel free to clarify moves if unsure.

Updates

VS Brock

VS Misty

VS Lt.Serge

EDIT: Due to some difficulties, I'm going to be playing Leaf Green instead.

[Jellicent*]

Cool idea, Jimera ^.^

I'm just wondering, you said you would take on 6 new challenges every 4 gym leaders. Are these in addition to your first challenges, or are your first ones wiped clean after the first 4 gyms?

[Jimera0]

The Reptile, you are challenged to defeat Misty without using any type advantages, be they super-effective attacks, types that resist Misty's attacks, or anything else like that. Good luck, this is harder than it sounds!

[King Serperior]

Glad you liked it, Jimera!!

I'll do a Platnium Gauntlet!!

RULES:
- Easy-Mid Difficulty
- I'll take four whole game challenges
- Playing until the E4 have been vanquished!!
- No trades >_>
- I'd rather not have overly tedious challenges. I don't mind a little extra grinding, but I don't want too much.

Current Gauntlet Challenges:

Originally Posted by Fat The Reptile

King Serperior, all of your pokemon evolve 5 levels later than they should.

Sounds reasonable. This will make starting with Ape and Terra somewhat difficult at certain portions, but that's not a problem :)

Originally Posted by Fat Naix

King Serperior, each of your Pokemon must learn an HM move ASAP.

This will place some interesting restrictions on my choices....luckily, I already have a team idea forming...

[The Reptile]

King Serperior, all of your pokemon evolve 5 levels later than they should.

[Jimera0]

Originally Posted by Fat Jellicent

Cool idea, Jimera ^.^

I'm just wondering, you said you would take on 6 new challenges every 4 gym leaders. Are these in addition to your first challenges, or are your first ones wiped clean after the first 4 gyms?

In addition, so in the end I'll end I'll have a whopping 24 challenges. Remember, some of them are going to be 1 time things so it won't actually be that many restrictions, and SS is a massive game so I'll be needing longevity. I'll reduce the number or ban whole game challenges if I feel like it.

EDIT: Reserving a challenge for KS, will write it in a minute. Also KS, you're taking 3 whole game challenges, then how many total? Or are you only looking for whole game challenges?

[Naix]

King Serperior, each of your Pokemon must learn an HM move ASAP.

The Reptile, you can only buy 3 items at a time from Poke Marts. Keep in mind that when you buy those 3 items, you can't buy from that Poke Mart for the rest of the game.

[King Serperior]

@The Reptile:

May not use moves with base 50 Power or more against Brock. Include STAB in these calcs of BP.

[Zacchaeus]

Jimera0, whenever you buy an item, you must buy a multiple of 5 of that specific item

[King Serperior]

Originally Posted by Fat Jimera0

EDIT: Reserving a challenge for KS, will write it in a minute. Also KS, you're taking 3 whole game challenges, then how many total? Or are you only looking for whole game challenges?

I'll bump the challenges to 4 and I am wanting challenges that will affect me for the whole game.

[Arcticblast]

Jimera0, you may not catch two Pokemon of the same primary type. Normal/Flying Pokemon are considered to have both Normal and Flying as a primary type, because Flying is (almost) never a primary type.

Example: You can't have Rattata + Pidgey or Spearow + Pidgey, but you can have Ledyba + Pidgey.

[Jimera0]

Alright, accepting Zacchaeus' restriction. TMs just became really damn expensive. I'll have to be careful managing my resources.

Just 3 more and I can start (assuming no one has posted me another while I was typing this)

KS, alright then, you are challenged to a Nuzlocke style catching regimen. You can only catch 1 Pokemon per an area and it must be the first Pokemon you encounter. No abusing Repels to control what you get. If you fail to catch the first Pokemon you encounter in an area, you do not get a second chance.

Good luck and have fun!

EDIT: God I just knew I'd be ninja'd XD accepted Articblast adding it to my main post. I'd appreciate it if I got some one time challenges before too long for a bit of variety! Just two more!