I was going to further my journey by taking on Silph right away but I decided that it'd probably be better off for me to go to Fuchsia City and get the Surf HM amongst other things. So I left Saffron for Cycling Road.
Random beat Snorlax with few Body Slams, and then
Fly and
Opera cleaned up on Cycling Road itself.
It was one of my quickest ever journeys through the Safari Zone, as apart from stopping to pick up the more valuable items, there wasn't actually anything in there I needed.
Random learnt Surf as soon as I got it to complete its moveset.
After that
Bulbapedia did most of the work on our way back round the other end of the continent despite the type disadvantage - Razor Leaf's critical hit ratio actually makes it a pretty decent move even against Flying, Fire and Poison types. On the way
Opera learned Double-Edge and I was able to use my Moon Stone to evolve it into Wigglytuff. We added a Krabby to the team over Oddish as something capable of learning Strength and Cut.
Sold loads of shit again to make my way to 2260 coins, and then realising that if I kept buying I'd end up on 5510/5500 necessary for Hyper Beam I did some actually gambling, but lost the 10 surplus coins just like that. Does anyone ever actually use the slot machines in RBY, rather than just paying for coins? I know that 13200 coins costs a hell of a lot (264,000 pokedollars) but it's so much less hassle.
In Silph Co. there really weren't any major challenges, as my pokémon were all early 40s by then in terms of level. Occasionally a Golbat would confuse something which is always annoying but generally speaking I was OHKOing things or seeing them off with
Opera.
Random soloed my rival as well as Giovanni, both very very easily.
Fly soloed the entire Fighting Dojo after I was done at Silph Co., and
Opera and
Random did most of the work in Sabrina's gym. I think
Random ended up soloing her actually, so massive props to him at the moment. Absolutely unstoppable.
After that I spent the rest of my money back at the Game Corner to get TM15 for
Bulbapedia when it evolves again, and that's where I leave you. Next stop Koga.
The team in order of value:
Fly the
Pidgeotto
Level 44
-Quick Attack
-Agility
-Wing Attack
-Fly
Only being able to use Fly is getting annoying. Just means battles take twice as long, especially when it misses. I'm not missing out on any coverage by not being able to use other moves, apart from being able to hit Electric-types for neutral damage, but I generally switch to
Bulbapedia for them anyway. Looking forward to evolution but not massively, as I don't think it'll give me anything particularly spectacular.
Bulbapedia the
Ivysaur
Level 44
-Razor Leaf
-Growth
-Leech Seed
-Tackle
The fact that I'm still using Tackle says it all. Luckily I get Sleep Powder in two levels, but even that won't actually help all that much. Razor Leaf is better than Tackle even against things that resists it, and Leech Seed just isn't that amazing in this generation. When
Bulbapedia has a type advantage it's great, but I've really not seen any water, rock or ground types for a while (partly because
Random has to solo Giovanni each time). Will the addition of Sleep Powder, Solar Beam and Hyper Beam make
Bulbapedia better or worse? I'm tempted to swing for the latter, as it'll just be so
slow.
Opera the
Wigglytuff
Level 43
-Sing
-Body Slam
-Double-Edge
-Rest
This is actually quite the powerhouse now. Being able to rest off most damage, including recoil damage, and wake up the next turn thanks to Pokéflute is wonderful. Sing seems to be becoming more valuable in conjunction with Rest as it often means I don't take a single hit after going to sleep. Obvs useless against Ghosts, but seeing as
Forgetful is going to be soloing Agatha later in the game, I'll never find
Opera up against one. Surprisingly bulky thanks to her massive HP, but I keep assuming her Special is better than it is. (45!!!)
Random the
Gyarados
Level 44
-Surf
-Body Slam
-Leer
-Substitute
I've only used Leer once, and never used Substitute, but BS + Surf give me good enough coverage, and his stats are so brilliant comparative to AI pokémon that it just smashes through everything.