Felt like playing more because I’m really having fun. While grinding on Route 212 I ran into the 1% Dustox LOL. Also got Stomp for Ponyta.
LOL
Our levels are pretty comfortable now.
I actually really like Gardenia as a Gym Leader. Some might think “oh, bland Grass gym leader” but I think she has a fun contemporary flare to her dialogue and has some fun battle quotes (“it’s not the end yet” - “you think you have me cornered?” when on last Pokemon). They made her stand out quite a bit from Erika as Gardenia is pretty confident. Ponyta and Chingling gain one level inside the Gym more or less, barring one wild so Chingling could level up.
Honestly, I think Eterna Gym’s puzzle was more interesting in DP. The Platinum clock is more visually impressive sure, but DP at least had a cute little hide-and-seek game. There really is no puzzle here in Platinum, it’s just a fancy walkway.
Despite her vast array of counters, most notably Staravia, Gardenia is surprisingly durable for a Grass type leader. Her Turtwig is defensive enough to live STAB Flame Wheel from Ponyta (one of the strongest SE moves you can have at this point) and set up Reflect, at a time when your special attacking options are rather limited. We get a lucky burn which helps us two shot on heal. Cherrim also has Leech Seed which aids Reflect’s defensive nature, but it is no match for Ponyta.
It’s not the end yet!
Roserade is no joke. The evolved stats are beefy enough to eat a SE Confusion and Magical Leaf hits like a truck unresisted. Thankfully we can sacrifice Bidoof for a free switch.
Ponyta finishes it off though. You definitely have to work for your win against Gardenia, keeping the trend of rather difficult bosses going. I like this battle because it shows you you can’t always just spam super effective moves in a braindead way. It’s a shame Grass Knot isn’t the greatest reward though, it’s a very inconsistent move.
Looker stop being pointless, I’m the main character LOL.
Honestly Probopass isn’t too bad early on. Yeah, you don’t want it against Gardenia’s Grass Knot, but against standard stuff Rock Throw does good business and it’s a good tank. I remember while training 2 Water Pulses from Goldeen and even some confusion damage I believe left me in green. It helps that unlike fellow wall Bronzor, Extrasensory isn’t walled by the occasional Stunky.
Something weird happened on the way up the building. I had Probopass out against Stunky, but the Grunt switched it out for Croagunk…which proceeded to Pursuit trap me as I switched out to Ponyta.
Jupiter is easily the hardest boss you’ll face yet. Her Skunktank is a beast and more or less has no weakness outside Geodude’s unreliable Magnitude.
Clutch-ling
Skuntank does have Screech but Charm can help give teammates a buffer, especially because it’s only 85% accurate and Pachirisu can outspeed even at a lower level (I hit 49 Speed). Watch out for Night Slash’s high crit rate though.
We debuff it to +6 with Charm, it poisons Kricketune as we surprisingly first turn land Sing. Nice. We roll multiple Defense drops with Rock Smash before finally succumbing to poison as Skuntank is in the red.
Die skunk! You don’t belong at this level!
We get Cynthia’s Egg, the Bicycle, and the Exp Share.
Rolled a Relaxed Serene Grace Togepi first try. Might use it.
Named our Togepi Lemmy.
More fun Gardenia characterization.
We backtrack the long way to avoid some trainers but unfortunately Geodude goes boom on poor Chingling losing us some friendship. Dawn is relatable, we get the VS Seeker and the Dowsing Machine.
And that’s gonna do it for this episode because I really need to grind friendship offscreen.
LOL
Our levels are pretty comfortable now.
I actually really like Gardenia as a Gym Leader. Some might think “oh, bland Grass gym leader” but I think she has a fun contemporary flare to her dialogue and has some fun battle quotes (“it’s not the end yet” - “you think you have me cornered?” when on last Pokemon). They made her stand out quite a bit from Erika as Gardenia is pretty confident. Ponyta and Chingling gain one level inside the Gym more or less, barring one wild so Chingling could level up.
Honestly, I think Eterna Gym’s puzzle was more interesting in DP. The Platinum clock is more visually impressive sure, but DP at least had a cute little hide-and-seek game. There really is no puzzle here in Platinum, it’s just a fancy walkway.
Despite her vast array of counters, most notably Staravia, Gardenia is surprisingly durable for a Grass type leader. Her Turtwig is defensive enough to live STAB Flame Wheel from Ponyta (one of the strongest SE moves you can have at this point) and set up Reflect, at a time when your special attacking options are rather limited. We get a lucky burn which helps us two shot on heal. Cherrim also has Leech Seed which aids Reflect’s defensive nature, but it is no match for Ponyta.
It’s not the end yet!
Roserade is no joke. The evolved stats are beefy enough to eat a SE Confusion and Magical Leaf hits like a truck unresisted. Thankfully we can sacrifice Bidoof for a free switch.
Ponyta finishes it off though. You definitely have to work for your win against Gardenia, keeping the trend of rather difficult bosses going. I like this battle because it shows you you can’t always just spam super effective moves in a braindead way. It’s a shame Grass Knot isn’t the greatest reward though, it’s a very inconsistent move.
Looker stop being pointless, I’m the main character LOL.
Honestly Probopass isn’t too bad early on. Yeah, you don’t want it against Gardenia’s Grass Knot, but against standard stuff Rock Throw does good business and it’s a good tank. I remember while training 2 Water Pulses from Goldeen and even some confusion damage I believe left me in green. It helps that unlike fellow wall Bronzor, Extrasensory isn’t walled by the occasional Stunky.
Something weird happened on the way up the building. I had Probopass out against Stunky, but the Grunt switched it out for Croagunk…which proceeded to Pursuit trap me as I switched out to Ponyta.
Jupiter is easily the hardest boss you’ll face yet. Her Skunktank is a beast and more or less has no weakness outside Geodude’s unreliable Magnitude.
Clutch-ling
Skuntank does have Screech but Charm can help give teammates a buffer, especially because it’s only 85% accurate and Pachirisu can outspeed even at a lower level (I hit 49 Speed). Watch out for Night Slash’s high crit rate though.
We debuff it to +6 with Charm, it poisons Kricketune as we surprisingly first turn land Sing. Nice. We roll multiple Defense drops with Rock Smash before finally succumbing to poison as Skuntank is in the red.
Die skunk! You don’t belong at this level!
We get Cynthia’s Egg, the Bicycle, and the Exp Share.
Rolled a Relaxed Serene Grace Togepi first try. Might use it.
Named our Togepi Lemmy.
More fun Gardenia characterization.
We backtrack the long way to avoid some trainers but unfortunately Geodude goes boom on poor Chingling losing us some friendship. Dawn is relatable, we get the VS Seeker and the Dowsing Machine.
And that’s gonna do it for this episode because I really need to grind friendship offscreen.