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Gen III Battle Frontier Discussion and Records
- Thread starter Valentino23
- Start date
Alright thanks, I'll go ahead and copy paste what I said before.
Hello, I'm new to the Battle Frontier in Emerald. And have been sent down a large rabbit hole in Natures, EV spreads, IVs, Breeding etc. And unfortunately, this rabbit hole of ideal frontier mons came after picking Sceptile instead of Swampert, and not resetting for a good natured Latios (poor guy is stuck with a minus Special nature)
So this brings me to this thread, I need some help deciding if i should use a physical or special Salamence. My team and their sets are as follows:
Metagross
Clear Body
Choice Band/Leftovers depending on Salamence set
Adamant
252 atk 252 def 4 spdef
-Meteor Mash
-Earthquake
-Explosion
-Sludge Bomb
Metagross shouldn't need much introduction, just a solid hard-hitting adamant Metagross who can explode when needed.
Starmie
Natural Cure
Lum Berry
Timid
252 spatk 252 spd 4 spdef
-Psychic
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
Starmie is my choice for the primary special attacker, amazing coverage while being powerful and fast with pretty good typing. The other two mons have been picked out for their typing complimenting Starmie's, and being good pivots for it.
Salamence
Intimidate
Leftovers
Modest
252 spatk 252 spd 4 hp
-Dragon Claw
-Flamethrower
-Crunch
-Hydro Pump
Or
Salamence
Intimidate
Choice Band
Adamant
252 spatk 252 spd 4 hp
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-Aerial Ace
-Brick Break
This one is hard for me because of the damn single use TMs in Emerald, if i decide to commit to Physical Salamence i can never get Aerial Ace or Brick Break back, plus i would have to take the Choice Band away from Metagross. So, this is a hard one for me, I'd appreciate any help I can get, and I would appreciate advice on the team as a whole as well. Thanks.
Any move a pokemon can learn as a tm it can also get as an egg move. You could catch a male taillow and breed that with swablu then breed a male swablu with aerial ace with bagon and save your tm. I believe you can get the brick break tm from trainer hill.
I would probably go with physical salamence. I really like having a move that can't miss and I think special walls are generally harder to break through with special attackers than physical walls are with physical attackers. I haven't really tried special salamence myself so it might be better than I think.
I've found out about the battle tower dupe glitch so i can dupe my tms, so i'm absolutely going physical. but thanks for the input
Earned a clear streak of 40 in the Battle Dome Open Lv. doubles format at Level 100. This run was done on emulator. My team consisted of the overpowered Gengar, Slaking, and Suicune team:
Gengar (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 14 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 12 SpD / 228 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
- Substitute
- Destiny Bond
Slaking (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
EVs: 252 Atk / 60 SpD / 198 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Double-Edge
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 140 HP / 124 Def / 244 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Protect
- Calm Mind
- Surf
Most battles would just involve Gengar and Slaking. Slaking would either Earthquake or Double-Edge, while Gengar would use Thunderbolt or Ice Punch on the other Pokémon. Pretty simple; even without Adamant nature, Slaking would almost always one-shot whatever it was targeting. With these EVs, the duo speed tied. It was a coin flip which would act first. I am going to adjust Gengar’s speed EVs so he is just a single point slower than Slaking. While I am not sure how much it mattered, there would be times where it would probably have made more sense for Slaking to Earthquake first, then Gengar could switch targets if the his selected target fainted. Suicune was not used that often, and really only used when there was a good chance the opponent’s two Pokémon would both be weak to water.
The streak ended with Gengar and Slaking vs. Metagross and Gengar. I was not checking sets during the run (a testament to how broken the used team is). Off the bat, Metagross’ quick claw activates, knocking out my Gengar. I had gone for Destiny Bond but was not able to get it off, anticipating Metagross would knock out Gengar that turn. I had gone for Shadow Ball on the opposite Gengar, which OHKOed it. However, the non-stab, neutrally effective attack every other turn could not out damage Metagross’ Meteor Mash spam, and I lost. Looking back, this would have been a good time to bring Suicune and Slaking. Suicune could have used protect to bait attacks or set up Calm Mind.
It was a fun run, and I enjoy the Battle Dome more than the other facilities. I will maybe give this run another shot, or change up the team just to try something new. Levitate and Earthquake is just too good of a combo.
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Here to report an 88 win streak in the Emerald Battle Tower, never posted here before so I apologize if the post reads like a noob typing it out. Played on gba sp with original cartridge, used RNG manip to get all pokes, trained them all manually in game, no external cheats, just dupe glitch in the battle tower PC. The Latios was traded from a separate save file which had a much better IV spread on a Timid nature.
The idea is to slay the lead with Metagross, or swap depending on a negative type matchup, which Milo and Latios can do for Meta pretty well. This team is only largely weak to Salac Berry, Reversal Medicham, hax, quick claw, crits, etc.
Lost the streak to a Snorlax getting a crit on Milo, preventing my strategy to recover while Snorlax double edges himself to death, then a quick claw double edge OHKO on Latios, unpreventable and inevitable at some point with a team like this. If Lax wouldn't have quick clawed, Latios would've cleaned up with full HP with a good chance to 1v1, but such is the tower.
Lead Metagross "Stroheim" @ Choice Band
Adamant
IV's: 27HP / 25Atk / 29Def / 11SpA / 28SpD / 31Spe
EV's: 46HP / 252Atk / 212Spe
-Meteor Mash
-Shadow Ball
-Earthquake
-Explosion
Adamant
IV's: 27HP / 25Atk / 29Def / 11SpA / 28SpD / 31Spe
EV's: 46HP / 252Atk / 212Spe
-Meteor Mash
-Shadow Ball
-Earthquake
-Explosion
Latios "Za World" @ Lum Berry
Timid
IV's 26HP / 4Atk /22Def / 28SpA / 24SpD / 31Spe
EV's 42HP / 248SpA / 220Spe
-Psychic
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Calm Mind
Timid
IV's 26HP / 4Atk /22Def / 28SpA / 24SpD / 31Spe
EV's 42HP / 248SpA / 220Spe
-Psychic
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Calm Mind
Milotic "Jolyne" @ Leftovers
Calm
IV's 26HP / 30 Atk / 27 Def / 17 SpA / 24 SpD / 28 Spe
EV's 248HP / 252Def / 8SpA
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Recover
-Toxic
Calm
IV's 26HP / 30 Atk / 27 Def / 17 SpA / 24 SpD / 28 Spe
EV's 248HP / 252Def / 8SpA
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Recover
-Toxic
The idea is to slay the lead with Metagross, or swap depending on a negative type matchup, which Milo and Latios can do for Meta pretty well. This team is only largely weak to Salac Berry, Reversal Medicham, hax, quick claw, crits, etc.
Lost the streak to a Snorlax getting a crit on Milo, preventing my strategy to recover while Snorlax double edges himself to death, then a quick claw double edge OHKO on Latios, unpreventable and inevitable at some point with a team like this. If Lax wouldn't have quick clawed, Latios would've cleaned up with full HP with a good chance to 1v1, but such is the tower.
So I assume event only moves (through ACE or otherwise) are not considered legal for streaks here?
EG: Follow Me Pikachu?
I'm just learning about the following:
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/List_of_Japanese_event_Pokémon_distributions_in_Generation_III#PokéPark_Eggs
Also what about Extremespeed Linoone or Surf Pikachu?
EG: Follow Me Pikachu?
I'm just learning about the following:
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/List_of_Japanese_event_Pokémon_distributions_in_Generation_III#PokéPark_Eggs
Also what about Extremespeed Linoone or Surf Pikachu?
Extremespeed Linoone and Surf Pikachu are still available through Pokemon Box (or some GC demo discs, if I recall correctly). If one wants to buy a copy of Pokemon Box to get those events, it is still possible and thus fine in my eyes. The games were publicly distributed, so it is not akin to buying a distro cart, for example.
I would not recommend using ACE or PKHexing them though, as the available IV spreads for them isn't super well documented to my knowledge. If there is documentation though, please feel free to correct me.
Those PokePark eggs conversely, are no longer available to the public. I would not consider them eligible for leaderboard streaks due to the utter lack of current-day availability.
I hope this makes sense. If you disagree and have an alternative perspective, please let me know.
______________
Important Edit:
The leaderboard has been reupdated and reformatted. With massive, massive thanks to Eisenherz for creating a custom google sheet script that allows us to quickly generate BBCode for the revisions, and automatically sort streaks on a spreadsheet. This means I no longer have to manually edit the leaderboard, which was prone to errors and time consuming. All that has to be done now is input the data into the spreadsheet, then copy paste the BBCode over. That's it. That also means my original issue of wanting to switch to a table format is largely resolved.
Once again, a massive thanks to Eisen for his help.
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Reporting an ongoing Lvl 50 Pyramid streak of 91, i like this team a bit, could try some other pokes but it seems to work well for now. Teleporting rips. All i got to say lol
Alakazam
Modest
Inner Focus
IV's: 10HP / 21Atk / 16Def / 31SpA / 19SpD / 30Spe
EV's: 8HP / 252SpA / 248Spe
-Teleport
-Thunder Punch
-Ice Punch
-Psychic
(depending on the round i may switch one of the punches with fire punch)
Modest
Inner Focus
IV's: 10HP / 21Atk / 16Def / 31SpA / 19SpD / 30Spe
EV's: 8HP / 252SpA / 248Spe
-Teleport
-Thunder Punch
-Ice Punch
-Psychic
(depending on the round i may switch one of the punches with fire punch)
Metagross
Adamant
IV's: 27HP / 25Atk / 29Def / 11SpA / 28SpD / 31Spe
EV's: 46HP / 252Atk / 212Spe
-Meteor Mash
-Shadow Ball
-Earthquake
-Brick Break
Adamant
IV's: 27HP / 25Atk / 29Def / 11SpA / 28SpD / 31Spe
EV's: 46HP / 252Atk / 212Spe
-Meteor Mash
-Shadow Ball
-Earthquake
-Brick Break
Milotic
Calm
IV's 26HP / 30 Atk / 27 Def / 17 SpA / 24 SpD / 28 Spe
EV's 248HP / 252Def / 8SpA
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Recover
-Toxic
Calm
IV's 26HP / 30 Atk / 27 Def / 17 SpA / 24 SpD / 28 Spe
EV's 248HP / 252Def / 8SpA
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Recover
-Toxic
I've followed and posted in this thread a few times, just wanted to butt in to say: I don't think they're documented at all. If they are, IDK where you'd find it.
I have a real Extremespeed Linoone from Pokemon Box on either my White or White 2 version. Neutral nature, not great IVs but all at worst 15 except for SpA IIRC. 14-15 years ago there used to be this fake GTS called Pokecheck where you could upload Pokemon to check their legitimacy. It was the most comprehensive fan-made hack check at the time, and Wi-Fi threads here used to use it to display their collection. My Linoone came up as a hack. It was impossible to prove it was real unless I had the foresight to film me getting it. It's probably still not provable.
Now I want to find out how I can extract my save file and put it into PKHex. That's probably the most modern "look at a Pokemon's data" program we have now, right? If he comes up as a hack there, then I don't see how the legitimacy of one can ever be verified. Will provide update if I do it.
Happy to report a 109 streak in the Lvl 50 Battle Tower with a team of Espeon/Umbreon/Salamence
This team was only moderately exciting and mostly involved Umbreon stalling to the point where Espeon can get to +6, if it was not able to do so by itself. Any advice on what to replace Salamence with is appreciated. I’ll try out some other teams but may return to Espeon-Umbreon in the future, because I sure do love sweeping with +6 Espeon.
Espeon (F) / Lucy
Timid - Synchronize - Leftovers
IVs: 31-4-31-31-31-31 (spread @39.85)
EVs: 164 HP, 44 Def, 4 SpA, 76 SpD, 220 Speed
Lvl 50 stats: 161-64-86-151-125-173
- Psychic
- Protect
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
4 SpA +6 Espeon Psychic vs 0HP/0SD Snorlax: Guaranteed OHKO. Survives 170 +Atk Metagross Shadow Ball, at +3 Zapdos only has a 1/16 chance to break your subs. You can get past Metagross if you are +6, full HP, and behind a sub, barring crits, a turn 2 explosion, or turn 3 quick claw.
Umbreon M/Noir
Calm - Synchronize - Lum Berry
IVs: 31/4/31/31/31/31 (spread @39.85)
EVs: 252/0/100/4/148/4
Protect
Charm
Wish
Torment
This Umbreon is EVd to survive 3 Thunderbolts from max SpA Modest Zapdos. 4 speed helps get the jump on opposing Umbreon/Flareon/Vaporeon and Scizor, the last one being a big threat otherwise. The rest goes into defense, with the given EVs you are almost guaranteed to survive a meteor mash -> attack boost -> 2nd meteor mash, in order to get the torment off. The biggest thing to note about this set is it can’t make any progress by itself. Instead it easily sets up pokes for Espeon to get to +6 with a sub, torment being the most important move in this regard but charm helping a lot as well, especially against strong physical attackers who you don’t want breaking Espeon’s sub with a struggle. Umbreon basically covers Espeon’s weaknesses while stalling out special attackers that are too strong. Watch out for paralysis, although Synchronize helps when it hits. It’s better to let Umbreon get paralyzed rather than Espeon. Your best hope is to have Espeon substitute on a predicted Thunder Wave. I wanted Umbreon to have a different gender compared to Espeon to account for Attract shenanigans. If I could add any move here it would be Roar over Charm, however Umbreon doesn’t get Roar :( It’s possible Roar Charm Wish Protect Vaporeon might be a better fit to counter Metagross and other physical attackers, but losing out on Torment makes it way harder for Espeon to set up against various special attackers without resorting to stalling all the way down to Struggle, and you miss out on the Ghost/Dark resistance. You could probably lead with Umbreon instead and slot whoever you want in the back slots for an extremely effective setup enabler.
Salamence M/Dracula
Adamant - Intimidate - Choice Band
IVs: 27/31/30/23/31/30 (spread @ 23.08)
EVs: 4/252/0/0/0/252
Aerial Ace
Earthquake
Flamethrower
Brick Break
This is a pretty normal CB Mence. Brick break covers Dark types, Snorlax and Blissey, Aerial Ace helps with Heracross as well as double team spam and brightpowder. Earthquake hits Metagross with a chance to OHKO and also importantly covers Houndoom if you weren’t running Brick Break. Outspeeding and OHKO Houndoom is a key feature of this set. Flamethrower hits steel types in particular Scizor and to a lesser extent Forretress and Skarmory. The main consideration I had for the 3rd mon is something that can handle double team Blissey and double team Umbreon especially, because Espeon can’t break through Blissey with Psychic’s low PP. I also wanted a flying or levitating poke to account for Fissure spam (if you run Latios instead of Espeon you don’t have this issue).
Timid - Synchronize - Leftovers
IVs: 31-4-31-31-31-31 (spread @39.85)
EVs: 164 HP, 44 Def, 4 SpA, 76 SpD, 220 Speed
Lvl 50 stats: 161-64-86-151-125-173
- Psychic
- Protect
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
4 SpA +6 Espeon Psychic vs 0HP/0SD Snorlax: Guaranteed OHKO. Survives 170 +Atk Metagross Shadow Ball, at +3 Zapdos only has a 1/16 chance to break your subs. You can get past Metagross if you are +6, full HP, and behind a sub, barring crits, a turn 2 explosion, or turn 3 quick claw.
Umbreon M/Noir
Calm - Synchronize - Lum Berry
IVs: 31/4/31/31/31/31 (spread @39.85)
EVs: 252/0/100/4/148/4
Protect
Charm
Wish
Torment
This Umbreon is EVd to survive 3 Thunderbolts from max SpA Modest Zapdos. 4 speed helps get the jump on opposing Umbreon/Flareon/Vaporeon and Scizor, the last one being a big threat otherwise. The rest goes into defense, with the given EVs you are almost guaranteed to survive a meteor mash -> attack boost -> 2nd meteor mash, in order to get the torment off. The biggest thing to note about this set is it can’t make any progress by itself. Instead it easily sets up pokes for Espeon to get to +6 with a sub, torment being the most important move in this regard but charm helping a lot as well, especially against strong physical attackers who you don’t want breaking Espeon’s sub with a struggle. Umbreon basically covers Espeon’s weaknesses while stalling out special attackers that are too strong. Watch out for paralysis, although Synchronize helps when it hits. It’s better to let Umbreon get paralyzed rather than Espeon. Your best hope is to have Espeon substitute on a predicted Thunder Wave. I wanted Umbreon to have a different gender compared to Espeon to account for Attract shenanigans. If I could add any move here it would be Roar over Charm, however Umbreon doesn’t get Roar :( It’s possible Roar Charm Wish Protect Vaporeon might be a better fit to counter Metagross and other physical attackers, but losing out on Torment makes it way harder for Espeon to set up against various special attackers without resorting to stalling all the way down to Struggle, and you miss out on the Ghost/Dark resistance. You could probably lead with Umbreon instead and slot whoever you want in the back slots for an extremely effective setup enabler.
Salamence M/Dracula
Adamant - Intimidate - Choice Band
IVs: 27/31/30/23/31/30 (spread @ 23.08)
EVs: 4/252/0/0/0/252
Aerial Ace
Earthquake
Flamethrower
Brick Break
This is a pretty normal CB Mence. Brick break covers Dark types, Snorlax and Blissey, Aerial Ace helps with Heracross as well as double team spam and brightpowder. Earthquake hits Metagross with a chance to OHKO and also importantly covers Houndoom if you weren’t running Brick Break. Outspeeding and OHKO Houndoom is a key feature of this set. Flamethrower hits steel types in particular Scizor and to a lesser extent Forretress and Skarmory. The main consideration I had for the 3rd mon is something that can handle double team Blissey and double team Umbreon especially, because Espeon can’t break through Blissey with Psychic’s low PP. I also wanted a flying or levitating poke to account for Fissure spam (if you run Latios instead of Espeon you don’t have this issue).
Other Options: A Flying typing is particularly good because it resists Bug and Fighting, both of Umbreon’s weaknesses, and covers Fissure. Another consideration is that Toxic hits all Dark types on the frontier so fighting/bug coverage is not 100% necessary. Latios is the clear upgrade to Espeon. Blissey could probably do a fine job replacing Umbreon, but it lacks Torment, and I have already mentioned the Roar/Charm/Wish/Protect Vaporeon which could potentially put in some work. A normal, steel, or dark type is key to absorb the Shadow balls that are aimed at Espeon. I think there are some better pokes to consider for the 3rd slot which I may try out, notably Gyarados which can better defensively check Metagross and Scizor, as well as Weezing (HP Grass for Marowak?) and of course Skarmory, which could maybe run Toxic over Torment since Umbreon has Torment, allowing the team to progress against dark types. I could also return to Charizard (it has issues with Houndoom, but is guaranteed to get past Marowak), Moltres, or Zapdos to better handle Metagross, and Flygon is an option to handle both Electric types and Houndoom and OHKO Metagross too. Finally Sturdy users like Forretress or Steelix might be good, the latter also having access to Torment, but this makes the Marowak matchup a nightmare (Try Latios over Espeon with these grounded pokes).
Threats: Dark types stop any sweep, therefore a move like toxic or brick break is very helpful. Many leads threaten Espeon. Metagross is a huge threat, without resistances this team lacks good switch-ins unless it is trying to Earthquake, and Clear Body blocks Charm/Intimidate. Similar threats are Regirock/Armaldo (which may Rock Slide for more damage than Earthquake making it hard to switch Salamence in), Registeel, and to a lesser extent Regice. I got super lucky that all my lead Regi opponents were Thunder Wave spam variety, allowing Espeon to set up to +6. Swampert and Snorlax can usually be dealt with through Charming, but this team lacks a true Snorlax counter. Marowak is scary but a was taken care of a few times by a turn 1 switch to Salamence. Heracross is scary to the Umbreon-Espeon core if Espeon has no boosts and no sub, because of focus band and brightpowder. Paralysis in general is awful so any ground type might be awesome to absorb Thunder Wave. I also got lucky with Salamence dodging 2 naked Sheer Colds from QC Walrein.
Anabel: Both teams are super easy with Umbreon able to torment and (usually) stall both Alakazam and Raikou. Raikou used Calm Mind while I switched to Umbreon on turn 1 both fights. The only way Raikou can get past Umbreon before getting hit with Torment is turn 1 TBolt Crit/Paralyis (Lum berry activates for both) into turn 2 TBolt Crit/Paralysis -> Full Paralysis. As long as you get Torment off the fight is basically free since Espeon can easily get to +6, has a chance to OHKO Snorlax, and does at least 60% damage to Latios so even if it uses Calm Mind it will take the remaining >40% turn 2, as long as Brightpowder doesn’t doom you. Pics of some of the first Anabel fight are included.
Loss: The loss was a misplay against lead Nidoqueen 4 (from Picknicker Melody?). I should have switched to Salamence to eat shadow ball instead of Umbreon. I also should have Charmed first instead of tormenting, but the combo of Earthquake-Superpower seriously messed up Umbreon. After he fell, Mence used EQ on Nidoqueen, and I lost Mence to a Slowbro ice beam. Espeon couldn’t handle the other 2. This team could go farther, it was only the 2nd or 3rd attempt, although I did stop putting in effort after 105 since I would like to try out other teams. The previous attempt ended in the 50s against a Hex Maniac with a lead CB Absol who crit Double-Edge’d Salamence for a OHKO, I stalled with Umberon and Espeon until Absol fainted itself against +6 Espeon behind a Sub, only to reveal Sharpedo. Same stall and dance with Umbreon and Sharpedo, which fainted itself against +6 Espeon behind a sub, only to reveal… Curse Double Team Umbreon. My Umbreon with like 10 PP could do nothing to stop the Double-Edge onslaught. The first loss was a restart on round ~10 after Umbreon got trapped by Block Sudowoodo, lol. Watch out for Block/Mean Look when using Umbreon.
Threats: Dark types stop any sweep, therefore a move like toxic or brick break is very helpful. Many leads threaten Espeon. Metagross is a huge threat, without resistances this team lacks good switch-ins unless it is trying to Earthquake, and Clear Body blocks Charm/Intimidate. Similar threats are Regirock/Armaldo (which may Rock Slide for more damage than Earthquake making it hard to switch Salamence in), Registeel, and to a lesser extent Regice. I got super lucky that all my lead Regi opponents were Thunder Wave spam variety, allowing Espeon to set up to +6. Swampert and Snorlax can usually be dealt with through Charming, but this team lacks a true Snorlax counter. Marowak is scary but a was taken care of a few times by a turn 1 switch to Salamence. Heracross is scary to the Umbreon-Espeon core if Espeon has no boosts and no sub, because of focus band and brightpowder. Paralysis in general is awful so any ground type might be awesome to absorb Thunder Wave. I also got lucky with Salamence dodging 2 naked Sheer Colds from QC Walrein.
Anabel: Both teams are super easy with Umbreon able to torment and (usually) stall both Alakazam and Raikou. Raikou used Calm Mind while I switched to Umbreon on turn 1 both fights. The only way Raikou can get past Umbreon before getting hit with Torment is turn 1 TBolt Crit/Paralyis (Lum berry activates for both) into turn 2 TBolt Crit/Paralysis -> Full Paralysis. As long as you get Torment off the fight is basically free since Espeon can easily get to +6, has a chance to OHKO Snorlax, and does at least 60% damage to Latios so even if it uses Calm Mind it will take the remaining >40% turn 2, as long as Brightpowder doesn’t doom you. Pics of some of the first Anabel fight are included.
Loss: The loss was a misplay against lead Nidoqueen 4 (from Picknicker Melody?). I should have switched to Salamence to eat shadow ball instead of Umbreon. I also should have Charmed first instead of tormenting, but the combo of Earthquake-Superpower seriously messed up Umbreon. After he fell, Mence used EQ on Nidoqueen, and I lost Mence to a Slowbro ice beam. Espeon couldn’t handle the other 2. This team could go farther, it was only the 2nd or 3rd attempt, although I did stop putting in effort after 105 since I would like to try out other teams. The previous attempt ended in the 50s against a Hex Maniac with a lead CB Absol who crit Double-Edge’d Salamence for a OHKO, I stalled with Umberon and Espeon until Absol fainted itself against +6 Espeon behind a Sub, only to reveal Sharpedo. Same stall and dance with Umbreon and Sharpedo, which fainted itself against +6 Espeon behind a sub, only to reveal… Curse Double Team Umbreon. My Umbreon with like 10 PP could do nothing to stop the Double-Edge onslaught. The first loss was a restart on round ~10 after Umbreon got trapped by Block Sudowoodo, lol. Watch out for Block/Mean Look when using Umbreon.
This team was only moderately exciting and mostly involved Umbreon stalling to the point where Espeon can get to +6, if it was not able to do so by itself. Any advice on what to replace Salamence with is appreciated. I’ll try out some other teams but may return to Espeon-Umbreon in the future, because I sure do love sweeping with +6 Espeon.
Attachments
Reporting my PB 318 streak in Battle Tower Doubles, using Kommo-o Reptomons team with just a few personal adjustments (and a few less than optimal stats/moves because I just didn't have access to it):
Hariyama (F) @ White Herb
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
EVs: 30 HP / 180 Atk / 4 Def / 240 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 25 Def / 30 SpD / 27 Spe
- Fake Out
- Brick Break
- Hidden Power [Ghost]
- Protect
Latios @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 28 HP / 4 Def / 244 SpA / 4 SpD / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 7 Atk / 30 Spe
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Calm Mind
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 20 HP / 22 Atk / 12 Def / 25 SpA / 2 SpD / 24 Spe
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Protect
Marowak (F) @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def / 12 SpD / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 22 Atk / 23 Def / 15 SpA / 20 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Body Slam/Attract
- Protect
It was when I was playing through XD I realized how strong the duo of Gyarados and Marowak's Earthquakes were that I really wanted to build a team around it and when I checked on the leaderboards for somewhere to start, I found Reptomons sitting well up on the leaderboards. Add Hariyama with Fake Out support and Latios for premier Spatk damage and I was sure I wanted to try the same team out, so I got to work.
I already had Gyarados from when I first started breeding mons in the frontier, only now am I realizing how awful its IV's are I'm a little embarrassed, gonna have to try for a better one soon! The Marowak I also bred but to relatively better results. His EQ is ungodly strong of course everyone here knows that but it's so satisfying OHKO'ing the likes of Registeel, Quagsire, Metagross and others. The Speed IV is not the greatest but I mean it hardly matters to be honest however I did see that the EV's invested does outrun base 60 mons with no investment and it helped me win a battle against a Wailord so thank goodness that was invested well. Body Slam worked as a pretty good third attack move plus a para chance helps Marowak outspeed things, but I will say Perish Song as Kommo-o suggested is defintiely the right play as it negates any Double Team spammers that just take forever to put away, I just didn't want to spend time doing the Pike Sketch glitch to get Perish Song on my Marowak, although maybe I will for my next run.
As for the two lead mons, I put my newly learned skill of RNG manipulation to use to get the exact Hidden Power I wanted and nearly perfect IV's. The spdef investment on Hariyama makes him soooo tanky he lives almost evey STAB Psychic and can throw back an HP Ghost of equal damage. I swear only like Dodrio Drill Peck and then Jynx and Latios Psychic are the only raw moves that I saw OHKO.
There are however TWO adjustments I made that I think might suit this team better and might have lead to me getting as long of a streak as I did
1. White Herb on Hariyama. So many Intimidate leads that Hariyama can shrug off and do full damage to as well as being able to waste any speed drops or for example, Jynx-4 trying to use Fake Tears. Focus Band is nice for survivability but I don't like using the RNG items at all, I prefer consistency and knowing exactly when my items will proc.
2. Protect, Protect, Protect. Many scenarios where having this move on my three physical attackers really changed the outcome of battles. It was so good I contemplated putting it on Latios too but Calm Mind was just too important. Being threatended with an explosion lead from say Metagross and I can't take it out in time, worst case scenario Latios and both enemies die bc Hariyama protected and then I can trust the rest of the team to win the 3v2.
I got pretty close to getting 2nd place and I was feeling like I could reach it but then...
I underestimated Cooltrainer Bryon.
As far as I know, He had Regirock-1, Regice-4, and a Latios with Ice Beam. it really came down to underestimating Regice-4's physical bulk as I don't believe I ran into one the whole run. I doubled into it with Psychic and Brick Break but it still lived pretty easily while it T Waved my Hariyama instead of Latios and Regirock finished it off with Superpowers.I had to switch in Gyarados bc I couldn't risk getting hit by an Ice Beam with Marowak but instead it used T Wave on Gyarados. after an Earthquake it still barely hung on and if I had doubled up with Latios there it might have went down but I was sure it was in range of EQ. After that things just fell apart and it hurts me to even watch the replay because of how poorly I played that battle especially because I wasn't even fatigued or autopiloting. If I had just went to Marowak way earlier instead of fearing the Ice Beam so much, maybe it would have ended differently but alas, that's the Frontier for ya.
Now that I've written this report, I'm gonna RNG manip for a much better Gyarados and run it back. I'm confident I can hit 400 with this crew. I also am definitely motivated to stream these runs now, just gotta get the proper equipment when my budget can fit it in.
Hariyama (F) @ White Herb
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
EVs: 30 HP / 180 Atk / 4 Def / 240 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 25 Def / 30 SpD / 27 Spe
- Fake Out
- Brick Break
- Hidden Power [Ghost]
- Protect
Latios @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 28 HP / 4 Def / 244 SpA / 4 SpD / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 7 Atk / 30 Spe
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Calm Mind
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 20 HP / 22 Atk / 12 Def / 25 SpA / 2 SpD / 24 Spe
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Protect
Marowak (F) @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def / 12 SpD / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 22 Atk / 23 Def / 15 SpA / 20 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Body Slam/Attract
- Protect
It was when I was playing through XD I realized how strong the duo of Gyarados and Marowak's Earthquakes were that I really wanted to build a team around it and when I checked on the leaderboards for somewhere to start, I found Reptomons sitting well up on the leaderboards. Add Hariyama with Fake Out support and Latios for premier Spatk damage and I was sure I wanted to try the same team out, so I got to work.
I already had Gyarados from when I first started breeding mons in the frontier, only now am I realizing how awful its IV's are I'm a little embarrassed, gonna have to try for a better one soon! The Marowak I also bred but to relatively better results. His EQ is ungodly strong of course everyone here knows that but it's so satisfying OHKO'ing the likes of Registeel, Quagsire, Metagross and others. The Speed IV is not the greatest but I mean it hardly matters to be honest however I did see that the EV's invested does outrun base 60 mons with no investment and it helped me win a battle against a Wailord so thank goodness that was invested well. Body Slam worked as a pretty good third attack move plus a para chance helps Marowak outspeed things, but I will say Perish Song as Kommo-o suggested is defintiely the right play as it negates any Double Team spammers that just take forever to put away, I just didn't want to spend time doing the Pike Sketch glitch to get Perish Song on my Marowak, although maybe I will for my next run.
As for the two lead mons, I put my newly learned skill of RNG manipulation to use to get the exact Hidden Power I wanted and nearly perfect IV's. The spdef investment on Hariyama makes him soooo tanky he lives almost evey STAB Psychic and can throw back an HP Ghost of equal damage. I swear only like Dodrio Drill Peck and then Jynx and Latios Psychic are the only raw moves that I saw OHKO.
There are however TWO adjustments I made that I think might suit this team better and might have lead to me getting as long of a streak as I did
1. White Herb on Hariyama. So many Intimidate leads that Hariyama can shrug off and do full damage to as well as being able to waste any speed drops or for example, Jynx-4 trying to use Fake Tears. Focus Band is nice for survivability but I don't like using the RNG items at all, I prefer consistency and knowing exactly when my items will proc.
2. Protect, Protect, Protect. Many scenarios where having this move on my three physical attackers really changed the outcome of battles. It was so good I contemplated putting it on Latios too but Calm Mind was just too important. Being threatended with an explosion lead from say Metagross and I can't take it out in time, worst case scenario Latios and both enemies die bc Hariyama protected and then I can trust the rest of the team to win the 3v2.
I got pretty close to getting 2nd place and I was feeling like I could reach it but then...
I underestimated Cooltrainer Bryon.
As far as I know, He had Regirock-1, Regice-4, and a Latios with Ice Beam. it really came down to underestimating Regice-4's physical bulk as I don't believe I ran into one the whole run. I doubled into it with Psychic and Brick Break but it still lived pretty easily while it T Waved my Hariyama instead of Latios and Regirock finished it off with Superpowers.I had to switch in Gyarados bc I couldn't risk getting hit by an Ice Beam with Marowak but instead it used T Wave on Gyarados. after an Earthquake it still barely hung on and if I had doubled up with Latios there it might have went down but I was sure it was in range of EQ. After that things just fell apart and it hurts me to even watch the replay because of how poorly I played that battle especially because I wasn't even fatigued or autopiloting. If I had just went to Marowak way earlier instead of fearing the Ice Beam so much, maybe it would have ended differently but alas, that's the Frontier for ya.
Now that I've written this report, I'm gonna RNG manip for a much better Gyarados and run it back. I'm confident I can hit 400 with this crew. I also am definitely motivated to stream these runs now, just gotta get the proper equipment when my budget can fit it in.
I'm listed as having a Level 50 battle factory record (42 wins) but I actually achieved my streak in Open Level: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/gen-iii-battle-frontier-discussion-and-records.3648697/page-80#post-10693304
I am still not aware of any comprehensive documentation for available spreads for Pokemon Box, other than the fact they use "Reverse Method 1" for generation. That does not paint the whole picture of course, on what is actually obtainable on real hardware. So I do understand the grey area here.
There are quite a few methods to extract your save file these days, many of which are fairly accessible. They can include using Rudolph's GBA backup tool with a DS Flash cart + a NDS/DS Lite, using homebrew on a gamecube or wii with a GBA link cable or GB player, or purchasing a dedicated device like a GBOperator.
Otherwise, I will add (and correct) the streaks above later this week.
Hi everyone,
I’ve been a long-time lurker of this thread and have basically been building this streak ever since I collected all of the Gold Symbols a few years ago. I only started taking it seriously after earning the Gold Shield and realizing I could push my streak much further than I initially expected.
After a lot of playing, testing, and plenty of failed runs/teams along the way, my current streak is 637 wins in the Battle Tower and ongoing on retail Pokémon Emerald cartridge.
Team:
Luna (Latias) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 236 HP / 44 Def / 6 SpD / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 4 Atk
- Charm
- Flash
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
Latias is the lead and the main reason the team functions. Against a lot of physical leads, Charm gives Registeel or Latios a much safer chance to set up. Against slower or more passive Pokémon, Thunder Wave and Flash can turn them into setup bait very quickly. Lum Berry is there mostly because the lead slot gets exposed to so much random status. Being able to ignore one Thunder Wave, Synchronize threats, Toxic, etc., can be the difference between a clean setup and a very bad early-game position. The spread is pretty perfect and honestly stolen from Kommo-o. The spread is great, you outspeed base 120s, and have plenty of bulk to survive any physical attackers, especially after a charm, allowing you to outstall them, recover, switch, and set up with either of the following pokemon.
R2-D2 (Registeel) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 188 Atk / 6 Def / 64SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 11 SpA / 30 SpD
- Hidden Power [Steel]
- Curse
- Amnesia
- Substitute
Registeel is the major win condition and usually the Pokémon I want to end games with. With +6 in SpD, Atk and Def, nothing can really break it. Once Latias has Charmed, paralyzed, or Flashed something into passivity, Registeel can come in and turn that one opening into a full setup. The first boosting move depends on the matchup: Curse comes first against physical attackers, while Amnesia is the priority against special attackers. After even one Amnesia, a lot of special attackers become much easier to manage, and after multiple boosts, Registeel walls basically every non-crit special hit. A lot of games come down to getting Registeel behind a Sub against something that can no longer break it consistently. From there, Leftovers, paralysis turns, Flash misses, and the opponent’s reduced damage give Registeel enough room to boost to the point where the game is usually over. Also, between swapping it in and out with Latios, you can easily find an opening to set up once the other Pokémon has been pp stalled. Once again, shoutout Kommo-o for the great set.
Sol (Latios) (M) @ DragonFang
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 108 HP / 172 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 4 Atk
- Dragon Claw
- Substitute
- Recover
- Calm Mind
Registeel and Latias are a common pair, even being used in Gen 4, so it was really just about picking a third mon that fits and patches the team’s main weakness, which is a failure to set up. I tried Suicune, but it was too slow. I also tried Gyarados and Salamence. Salamence gave the team another strong setup option, but it made the team much shakier in things like Walrein, Lapras, and other Ice Beam / OHKO users that can hax their way through if they get too many chances. Gyarados had nice Intimidate utility, but it pushed the team too far toward the physical side and made bad Electric-type move situations much scarier, especially if the initial setup plan failed, which is realistically one of the only ways this team can lose. An additional issue that would sometimes arise is rare Pokémon, like Manectric, Aerodactyl, etc., which is, of course, very annoying given the general strategy. So I wanted a backup sweeper which could work if Latias was haxed out of commission/the setup failed. Meet Latios.
This is mostly Adedede’s Latios set, with the main change being Dragon Fang over Lum Berry. I would love to run double Lum on this team, since both Latias and Latios make excellent use of it, but the Battle Tower item clause obviously does not allow that. Since Latias is the lead and is exposed to random status the most often, Lum felt much more important there, so I had to find a different item for Latios. In the case where latias goes down, and it’s not safe to send in registeel, Latios fit perfectly; it is pretty strong right out the gate and can deal with the physical attackers registeel is not EV’d to handle, so I gave it a dragon fang which while that doesn’t help much (or at all) when you’re at +6, it does change a lot of rolls when you can only get to +1 or 2 safely. This completed the team, and while not perfect, I was happy with it.
Generally, this team has good matchups, but some threats include:
I’ve been a long-time lurker of this thread and have basically been building this streak ever since I collected all of the Gold Symbols a few years ago. I only started taking it seriously after earning the Gold Shield and realizing I could push my streak much further than I initially expected.
After a lot of playing, testing, and plenty of failed runs/teams along the way, my current streak is 637 wins in the Battle Tower and ongoing on retail Pokémon Emerald cartridge.
Team:
Luna (Latias) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 236 HP / 44 Def / 6 SpD / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 4 Atk
- Charm
- Flash
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
Latias is the lead and the main reason the team functions. Against a lot of physical leads, Charm gives Registeel or Latios a much safer chance to set up. Against slower or more passive Pokémon, Thunder Wave and Flash can turn them into setup bait very quickly. Lum Berry is there mostly because the lead slot gets exposed to so much random status. Being able to ignore one Thunder Wave, Synchronize threats, Toxic, etc., can be the difference between a clean setup and a very bad early-game position. The spread is pretty perfect and honestly stolen from Kommo-o. The spread is great, you outspeed base 120s, and have plenty of bulk to survive any physical attackers, especially after a charm, allowing you to outstall them, recover, switch, and set up with either of the following pokemon.
R2-D2 (Registeel) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 188 Atk / 6 Def / 64SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 11 SpA / 30 SpD
- Hidden Power [Steel]
- Curse
- Amnesia
- Substitute
Registeel is the major win condition and usually the Pokémon I want to end games with. With +6 in SpD, Atk and Def, nothing can really break it. Once Latias has Charmed, paralyzed, or Flashed something into passivity, Registeel can come in and turn that one opening into a full setup. The first boosting move depends on the matchup: Curse comes first against physical attackers, while Amnesia is the priority against special attackers. After even one Amnesia, a lot of special attackers become much easier to manage, and after multiple boosts, Registeel walls basically every non-crit special hit. A lot of games come down to getting Registeel behind a Sub against something that can no longer break it consistently. From there, Leftovers, paralysis turns, Flash misses, and the opponent’s reduced damage give Registeel enough room to boost to the point where the game is usually over. Also, between swapping it in and out with Latios, you can easily find an opening to set up once the other Pokémon has been pp stalled. Once again, shoutout Kommo-o for the great set.
Sol (Latios) (M) @ DragonFang
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 108 HP / 172 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 4 Atk
- Dragon Claw
- Substitute
- Recover
- Calm Mind
Registeel and Latias are a common pair, even being used in Gen 4, so it was really just about picking a third mon that fits and patches the team’s main weakness, which is a failure to set up. I tried Suicune, but it was too slow. I also tried Gyarados and Salamence. Salamence gave the team another strong setup option, but it made the team much shakier in things like Walrein, Lapras, and other Ice Beam / OHKO users that can hax their way through if they get too many chances. Gyarados had nice Intimidate utility, but it pushed the team too far toward the physical side and made bad Electric-type move situations much scarier, especially if the initial setup plan failed, which is realistically one of the only ways this team can lose. An additional issue that would sometimes arise is rare Pokémon, like Manectric, Aerodactyl, etc., which is, of course, very annoying given the general strategy. So I wanted a backup sweeper which could work if Latias was haxed out of commission/the setup failed. Meet Latios.
This is mostly Adedede’s Latios set, with the main change being Dragon Fang over Lum Berry. I would love to run double Lum on this team, since both Latias and Latios make excellent use of it, but the Battle Tower item clause obviously does not allow that. Since Latias is the lead and is exposed to random status the most often, Lum felt much more important there, so I had to find a different item for Latios. In the case where latias goes down, and it’s not safe to send in registeel, Latios fit perfectly; it is pretty strong right out the gate and can deal with the physical attackers registeel is not EV’d to handle, so I gave it a dragon fang which while that doesn’t help much (or at all) when you’re at +6, it does change a lot of rolls when you can only get to +1 or 2 safely. This completed the team, and while not perfect, I was happy with it.
Generally, this team has good matchups, but some threats include:
- Metagross: Any of the Metagross sets on lead can be annoying due to Clear Body and the inability to cripple it. The main game plan vs it is to twave, and try to pp stall it until you can set up a substitute and set up your own boosts, although I will say this is the scariest mon in the tower for this team in particular.
- Regirock: Regirock 5 is particularly scary since you can't charm or flash it, but you can stall out the focus punches using Latios so long as you don't get crit a bunch. Regirock 3 can also be scary due to the threat of explosion with a 50% chance of OHKOing Latias, although if you identify it, you can swap into Registeel.
- Wobufett: Annoying as all hell, honestly, and you have no choice but to just pp stall it, which leaves you without a crippled mon to set up on.
- Suicune: Set 1 is very scary if it gets off too many boosts and starts snowballing, but generally, Registeel can take care of it with the help of a few flashes and twave. As for the other sets, the game plan proceeds as before, t-waves to open, and get in Registeel as soon as possible if it's a calm mind boosting set.
- Manectric/Other roar sets: All sets carry Roar, so your best bet is to get in Latios and use a CM before Dragon Claw, which gives you an 83% chance to OHKO. This strategy also applies to the other roar Pokémon, even if you have to sac Latios to get there, ensuring you can set up is the top priority.
Attachments
Hello everyone, reporting streak 88 in Battle Tower Double level 50 (on emulator). I used a team built around Tropius because he is one of my mono grass goats.
Since I wanted to use Tropius, I considered building a sun team. I couldn’t just lead with a sun setter and Tropius because typing is not that great; also, having a passive member turn 1 was not ideal. Instead I opted for a Gengar + Shiftry lead. Gengar is fast, so he can set up the sun reliably, while Shiftry has fake out and explosion, good for supporting and then leaving the field to Tropius after causing huge damage. Aerodactyl as the final member, since she has a good synergy with the team, providing strong physical damage and coverage. Latios was another option, but I needed another physical attacker to deal with special walls like Blissey. I considered Tropius physical swords dance, but I don’t think it could have worked. Level 50 is preferable because there are no Tyranitar.
Gengar
Joker (Gengar) (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 36 HP / 252 SpA / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Fire Punch
- Sunny Day
Thunderbolt helps to deal with flying types and Golduck since it can have cloud nine, which slows down solar beam. Psychic has a good chance to ohko Gengars that are quite annoying for Shiftry, and fire punch for steel types. As item at first I considere twisted spoon to get a guaranteed ohko vs Gengars, but lum berry is way better.
Shiftry
Shirley (Shiftry) (F) @ White Herb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Rash Nature
- Fake Out
- Explosion
- Solar Beam
- Protect
Shiftry helps Gengar with his job to set up the sun using fake out, but not always. If the enemy lead has 2 mons that can potentially target her, protect is the go, but even attacking directly is an option if they are slow. Rash nature allows solar beam to ohko all the damn users, explosion already deals enough damage without the nature boost, and white herb clears her from intimidate drops. She doesn’t need more speed because after the sun she can already outspeed anything.
Tropius
Tropical (Tropius) (M) @ Miracle Seed
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 20 HP / 248 SpA / 240 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sunny Day
- Protect
The star of the team, solar beam with miracle seed damage buff, deals with most of the water/ground/rock types while also hitting hard neutral ones.
Aerodactyl
Bomber (Aerodactyl) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
Level: 50
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 Def / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Double-Edge
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace
Classic Aerodactyl build, she helps Tropius deal with flying/dragon/fire types.
Joker (Gengar) (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 36 HP / 252 SpA / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Fire Punch
- Sunny Day
Thunderbolt helps to deal with flying types and Golduck since it can have cloud nine, which slows down solar beam. Psychic has a good chance to ohko Gengars that are quite annoying for Shiftry, and fire punch for steel types. As item at first I considere twisted spoon to get a guaranteed ohko vs Gengars, but lum berry is way better.
Shiftry
Shirley (Shiftry) (F) @ White Herb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Rash Nature
- Fake Out
- Explosion
- Solar Beam
- Protect
Shiftry helps Gengar with his job to set up the sun using fake out, but not always. If the enemy lead has 2 mons that can potentially target her, protect is the go, but even attacking directly is an option if they are slow. Rash nature allows solar beam to ohko all the damn users, explosion already deals enough damage without the nature boost, and white herb clears her from intimidate drops. She doesn’t need more speed because after the sun she can already outspeed anything.
Tropius
Tropical (Tropius) (M) @ Miracle Seed
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 20 HP / 248 SpA / 240 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sunny Day
- Protect
The star of the team, solar beam with miracle seed damage buff, deals with most of the water/ground/rock types while also hitting hard neutral ones.
Aerodactyl
Bomber (Aerodactyl) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
Level: 50
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 Def / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Double-Edge
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace
Classic Aerodactyl build, she helps Tropius deal with flying/dragon/fire types.
This is a team made for fun to enjoy a rarely used mon, so it’s far from perfect; therefore, the list of threats is quite long. Using explosion has some risks; if Gengar gets sniped by a quick claw user, I’m forced to switch one of my mon into explosion. Mons like Zangoose, Slaking or others that can potentially ohko both Gengar and Shifty, depending on what move they pick, can be hard to deal with at turn 1. Golduck is another annoyance. In the gen 3, game doesn’t tell the player when cloud nine is active, and Golduck can have cloud nine or damp, so selecting a Shiftry’s move turns into a 50/50 (usually I prefer explosion because I get rid of a potential cloud nine). Jolteon sets 1 and 4 outspeed Aerodactyl; thuderbolt always ohko her, and Tropius can’t ohko it with solar beam.
The whole run has been recorded:
Beauty Anya means a team made of eevolutions. Bad news, not only because Jolteon can be there, but also Espeon, Flareon and Umbreon. Flareon + Umbreon lead was one of the worst ones, second only to Espeon + Flareon. It means a Jolteon can be lurking behind, and since Gengar will likely get ohko after setting the sun, after Shiftry’s explosion, we are in a 2v2 in a disadvantaged scenario. Flareon is one of the mons that can potentially kill both Gengar and Shiftry. Fake out would be nice, but Umbreon is right there. If it sets up a double team, explosion can miss. At the same time, Flareon can activate quick claw since 75% of the sets have it. Since Shiftry can outspeed all the sets but 3, I decide to take the risk and go explosion turn 1; that would put me in an advantageous scenario even if Jolteon(1,4) should be next. Sadly that Flareon was set 3, and managed to ohko Gengar with shadow ball, so I was forced to switch Aerodactyl into my same explosion. Tropius was then alone vs 2, and he couldn’t do much more.
Last edited:
Hello, reporting a 318 win streak for Level 50 Battle Tower. This is a re-record with this team, and most of the logic/how to play is explained in the previous post, although some of the playstyle has changed.
The recording of the last two streams were uploaded to Youtube:
Although I definitely misplayed in the loss, I'm still quite happy with the team adjustment and the streak. 318 Wins would either make it the 5th or 6th best 'goodstuffs' team, and considering I didn't use any legendaries (Latios and Suicune are prevalent for the top 5) or 'difficult to obtain' moves (HP Steel is rarely used and can easily be replaced with Rock Slide), this is one of the more viable teams for a player with less resources.
Thank you for reading!
The recording of the last two streams were uploaded to Youtube:
There was a USA holiday weekend of 5-25 and I went on a trip, so the VOD links older than 5 days are gone... but I did stream every time (can probably check Magpie's server since it has the notifications for when a person starts streaming for additional time stamps). Here are the only existing ones not uploaded to Youtube:
Slaking @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Steel]
Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Immunity
Level: 50
EVs: 36 HP / 20 Atk / 252 Def / 196 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Curse
- Rest
Gengar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 36 HP / 76 Def / 176 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Punch
- Destiny Bond
Ability: Truant
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Steel]
Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Immunity
Level: 50
EVs: 36 HP / 20 Atk / 252 Def / 196 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Curse
- Rest
Gengar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 36 HP / 76 Def / 176 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Punch
- Destiny Bond
- Slaking now has Hidden Power Steel over Rock Slide for improved accuracy (although it doesn't really matter, it's rarely used)
- Gengar has EVs shifted from SpA to Def (ifrc it's to reduce Hariyama 4 crit Rock Slide OHKO to only 12.5%)
- Snorlax has EVs shifted from Atk to SpDef. It can now survive 3 Fire Blasts from Charizard 2 (or 1 crit + 1 non-crit, which I had lost on before). In general, the added SpDef bulk is nice for setup as well.
- Gengar has EVs shifted from SpA to Def (ifrc it's to reduce Hariyama 4 crit Rock Slide OHKO to only 12.5%)
- Snorlax has EVs shifted from Atk to SpDef. It can now survive 3 Fire Blasts from Charizard 2 (or 1 crit + 1 non-crit, which I had lost on before). In general, the added SpDef bulk is nice for setup as well.
First, I've realized there are many more Pokemon that Slaking should just attack head-on, given that Slaking outspeeds (and sometimes even if slower). The risk of Snorlax being hit with the side effect of the move is actually just as risky. These Pokemon include Arcanine, Blaziken, Medicham, Electabuzz, Magmar, Espeon, Houndoom, Raichu, Articuno, Alakazam, Gardevoir, Starmie, opposing Snorlax, and Gengar (unfortunately I learned this in the loss).
Second, for Machamp and Hariyama, I've changed my strategy to PP stall their Cross Chops and setup with Snorlax via switches between Gengar and Snorlax. The only case in which it may not be preferred to do so is if it is the set with Rock Slide, since it does seem like that does chip at Snorlax a bit too much. However, more often you'll see Scary Face, Rock Tomb, elemental moves, etc. so I think it is a more viable strategy. Besides Gengar can always just 2HKO either in a pinch.
Also, I think Snorlax is a better initial switch in to Gyarados than Gengar. Gengar cannot OHKO the 2 Dragon Dance sets, but risks the Thunder Wave on the switch from Slaking. Meanwhile, Snorlax with Curse doesn't mind the Thunder Wave, and also incentivizes the opponent AI to DD more as you attack it. Snorlax can get the necessary chip damage for Gengar to come in after and finish off with Thunderbolt.
I don't remember exactly how I played the first time with this team, but I think being more aggressive with Destiny Bond is probably more optimal. Gengar is likely the least valuable member of the team... and if its in a tough spot then at least getting the guaranteed KO and going 2v2 with Slaking and Snorlax is okay, even with no speed control and Fighting resists.
Second, for Machamp and Hariyama, I've changed my strategy to PP stall their Cross Chops and setup with Snorlax via switches between Gengar and Snorlax. The only case in which it may not be preferred to do so is if it is the set with Rock Slide, since it does seem like that does chip at Snorlax a bit too much. However, more often you'll see Scary Face, Rock Tomb, elemental moves, etc. so I think it is a more viable strategy. Besides Gengar can always just 2HKO either in a pinch.
Also, I think Snorlax is a better initial switch in to Gyarados than Gengar. Gengar cannot OHKO the 2 Dragon Dance sets, but risks the Thunder Wave on the switch from Slaking. Meanwhile, Snorlax with Curse doesn't mind the Thunder Wave, and also incentivizes the opponent AI to DD more as you attack it. Snorlax can get the necessary chip damage for Gengar to come in after and finish off with Thunderbolt.
I don't remember exactly how I played the first time with this team, but I think being more aggressive with Destiny Bond is probably more optimal. Gengar is likely the least valuable member of the team... and if its in a tough spot then at least getting the guaranteed KO and going 2v2 with Slaking and Snorlax is okay, even with no speed control and Fighting resists.
Although I definitely misplayed in the loss, I'm still quite happy with the team adjustment and the streak. 318 Wins would either make it the 5th or 6th best 'goodstuffs' team, and considering I didn't use any legendaries (Latios and Suicune are prevalent for the top 5) or 'difficult to obtain' moves (HP Steel is rarely used and can easily be replaced with Rock Slide), this is one of the more viable teams for a player with less resources.
Thank you for reading!
So for the past week or two I’ve been spamming the battle factory and having a grand ole time doing it. I’ve mostly been doing open level doubles and I got up to a streak of 55 (didn’t read the requirements before getting into it lol, been playing on emulator) which I was pretty proud of for being so new to it. My biggest takeaway is that any bulky ground type with EQ is gonna be really good if you get it in the original draft with a floater. Some pokemon that I’ve become a huge fan of for these reasons are Nidoking, Whiscash, Marowak, and Dodrio. If there’s something I can do to validate my record then that’s cool but in the meantime all I can do is pinky promise that it was legit
Heya all! Reporting my 70 streak gold medal win for the Open Level Battle Tower!
This was a massive effort, took me nearly 100 hours of tries, team building and team adjustments, glad to leave my print in these forums that have given me so much knowledge. I did all of this in real hardware just for fun but I did transfer my save to my pc and used an emulator to practice against the leader which... did not transfer well to my experience on the gba, some way or another the AI would act in totally different ways and it took me I believe 4 attempts against the leader to finally beat them in this one.
BigTrouble (Slaking) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
Level: 60
IVs: 18/31/19/31/21/16
EVs: 253 Atk / 2 Spa (?) / 255 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Aerial Ace
- Double Edge
ChocoChonk (Swampert) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Level: 60
IVs: 24/22/27/27/25/23
EVs: 255 HP / 130 Def / 125 SpD
Brave Nature
- Surf
- Eartquake
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
Kweefy (Gengar) (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 60
IVs: 28/17/20/19/25/24
EVs: 36 HP / 255 SpA / 219 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Punch
- Fire Punch
- Destiny Bond
Thank you!
This was a massive effort, took me nearly 100 hours of tries, team building and team adjustments, glad to leave my print in these forums that have given me so much knowledge. I did all of this in real hardware just for fun but I did transfer my save to my pc and used an emulator to practice against the leader which... did not transfer well to my experience on the gba, some way or another the AI would act in totally different ways and it took me I believe 4 attempts against the leader to finally beat them in this one.
I wanted to avoid using Latios and other legendaries, I don't believe they are all that overpowered, hell, Slaking seems to me far more dangerous than most of the legendaries. And I do think that no matter what team you build, this facility asks for your full knowledge on the game. That said, I just wanted to use Pokemon I personally enjoy and I'm simply not that fond of them.
Also since I'm using hardware and got a limited patience the IVs are not going to be perfect, I can settle for "good enough", the EVs might be wonky too lol.
Also n2 I'm doing this on the Open Level category at level 60 since most Pokemon learn important moves in their 50s.
Also since I'm using hardware and got a limited patience the IVs are not going to be perfect, I can settle for "good enough", the EVs might be wonky too lol.
Also n2 I'm doing this on the Open Level category at level 60 since most Pokemon learn important moves in their 50s.
BigTrouble (Slaking) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
Level: 60
IVs: 18/31/19/31/21/16
EVs: 253 Atk / 2 Spa (?) / 255 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Aerial Ace
- Double Edge
ChocoChonk (Swampert) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Level: 60
IVs: 24/22/27/27/25/23
EVs: 255 HP / 130 Def / 125 SpD
Brave Nature
- Surf
- Eartquake
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
Kweefy (Gengar) (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 60
IVs: 28/17/20/19/25/24
EVs: 36 HP / 255 SpA / 219 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Punch
- Fire Punch
- Destiny Bond
This team requires an aggresive playstyle and being able to properly pivot against new threats. Usually you blow your load on the first mon with Slaking and then pivot. Swampert and Gengar are great mons to pivot to because Swampert is bulky and Gengar has a lot of inmunities.
Swampert can take care of most elemental types, water/ice are tricky but it's bulky enough to take them on. Powerful Normal/Fight/Ground types can be absolutely ignored with Gengar and then switch back in to Slaking if you see a Shadow Ball coming. One issue can be Rock Slide which instead can be tanked with Swampert but many a time have I switched into Gengar trying to avoid a Fighting type move and got rock slided instead, oh well.
The team is in a bit of a disadvantage against water and ice Pokemon, if one appears in turn 2 I will usually try to tank them with Swampert and if I see a powerful Surf and Ice Beam coming then Mirror Coat comes into play quite nicely, the main problem is that you have to hope that Swampert can take at least 2 hits, one for the switch in and other for retaliation. Coincidentally, with its bulk + leftovers Swampert can take 4 hits from powerful water/ice mons quite consistently, not sure if lucky or it's hitting a sweetspot but it's usually no problem, but it still makes me nervous. Previously I was using Milotic which I adore but the Electric types were a massive headache and many a run have ended against guitarrists to which I had no good answers on top of getting outspeed very often, but Swampert can just take them on no problem.
I used to run perish song on Gengar, mostly to remove the double-team spammers and other self buffing pokemon but I found that with this team compositions these types of mons are rarely a threat and Destiny Bond is a good alternative since Gengar very easily gets targetted by Psychic and Shadow Ball, which are usually on pokemons that are very strong.
Psychic types can be a headache too, I'm yet to run into a trainer that uses 3 of them back to back but between Slaking's shadow ball, Swamperts Mirror Coat and Gengars Destiny Bond you are almost guaranteed to have a decent response against them.
Between Slaking being good burst, Swampert being a good bulk/damage mix and Gengar being a super fast Black Mage this team has a lot of good answers against many threats
Swampert can take care of most elemental types, water/ice are tricky but it's bulky enough to take them on. Powerful Normal/Fight/Ground types can be absolutely ignored with Gengar and then switch back in to Slaking if you see a Shadow Ball coming. One issue can be Rock Slide which instead can be tanked with Swampert but many a time have I switched into Gengar trying to avoid a Fighting type move and got rock slided instead, oh well.
The team is in a bit of a disadvantage against water and ice Pokemon, if one appears in turn 2 I will usually try to tank them with Swampert and if I see a powerful Surf and Ice Beam coming then Mirror Coat comes into play quite nicely, the main problem is that you have to hope that Swampert can take at least 2 hits, one for the switch in and other for retaliation. Coincidentally, with its bulk + leftovers Swampert can take 4 hits from powerful water/ice mons quite consistently, not sure if lucky or it's hitting a sweetspot but it's usually no problem, but it still makes me nervous. Previously I was using Milotic which I adore but the Electric types were a massive headache and many a run have ended against guitarrists to which I had no good answers on top of getting outspeed very often, but Swampert can just take them on no problem.
I used to run perish song on Gengar, mostly to remove the double-team spammers and other self buffing pokemon but I found that with this team compositions these types of mons are rarely a threat and Destiny Bond is a good alternative since Gengar very easily gets targetted by Psychic and Shadow Ball, which are usually on pokemons that are very strong.
Psychic types can be a headache too, I'm yet to run into a trainer that uses 3 of them back to back but between Slaking's shadow ball, Swamperts Mirror Coat and Gengars Destiny Bond you are almost guaranteed to have a decent response against them.
Between Slaking being good burst, Swampert being a good bulk/damage mix and Gengar being a super fast Black Mage this team has a lot of good answers against many threats
Thank you!
This is from a while ago, but I forgot to add that my streak ended only 5 battles after this post, making a total win streak of 271. Special no thanks to Houndoom-4.
Attachments
Reporting my Battle Tower Open Level 129th streak which has ended! Using This Team.
Greatly underestimated the power of a swords danced Marowak, quite obviously I should have gone to Gengar first, instead I sacced my Swampert for no reason and then had to sacc my Gengar and hope that the last mon was squishy enough for Slaking but of course I had to get facewalled by Armaldo which isn't neutral to Double Edge nor weak to EQ. The crit was the cherry on top but still I found very strange that it 1-shot me, I looked at the spreadsheet after the fact and, yea, it was a choice band armaldo, I never stood a chance lol.
Kinda glad this happened though, I've been ready to move on to the Battle Factory but didn't because of the Tower IV glitch, now I'm fully prepared to tackle it.
Greatly underestimated the power of a swords danced Marowak, quite obviously I should have gone to Gengar first, instead I sacced my Swampert for no reason and then had to sacc my Gengar and hope that the last mon was squishy enough for Slaking but of course I had to get facewalled by Armaldo which isn't neutral to Double Edge nor weak to EQ. The crit was the cherry on top but still I found very strange that it 1-shot me, I looked at the spreadsheet after the fact and, yea, it was a choice band armaldo, I never stood a chance lol.
Kinda glad this happened though, I've been ready to move on to the Battle Factory but didn't because of the Tower IV glitch, now I'm fully prepared to tackle it.
Have you considered 252spa 252 speed with encore calm mind sub and psychic?
The leaderboard has been updated! One housekeeping item to address on the rules page.
Ununhexium In order to verify your streak for factory, we would need a recording, or a detailed report of each round with teams, swaps etc if you were not able to record it + a picture of the streak on your console / emulator. If you do not have this information, I am sorry but I cannot put your streak on the board. I am glad you are enjoying the factory though.
- You cannot perform rng manipulation to manipulate the trainers you face, the layouts of facilities, or your drafts in the Battle Factory. Runs that use these methods will not be accepted on the leaderboard.
Ununhexium In order to verify your streak for factory, we would need a recording, or a detailed report of each round with teams, swaps etc if you were not able to record it + a picture of the streak on your console / emulator. If you do not have this information, I am sorry but I cannot put your streak on the board. I am glad you are enjoying the factory though.
Hello, I'm sorry if this question has been asked/answered already, but I figured I'd ask just in case. I am currently doing casual attempts of Factory on a modded 2DS via a program called open_agb_firm, on an unmodified ROM of Pokemon Emerald. If I were to submit a run to the leaderboard that was performed on my modded 2DS, would the run be accepted? And if so, would the run count as being performed on retail or emulator? Thanks!
Hello,
Yes, it would be accepted just fine. I would consider this to be emulator, as it is not using an authentic cartridge on original hardware.
In case I have been inconsistent or misspoke before I'll make it a bit more official here:
If you are not using an authentic cartridge on regular hardware that it can be used on (Ie a Gameboy Advance (SP), DS/DS Lite, OR GBPlayer), it is treated as emulator in my eyes.
GB Operator, Anbernic, flashcarts, etc may allow you to use an actual Emerald cartridge or play on your original hardware, but they are not the same as using the combination of both.
The only thing I could see myself making an exception for is Gameboy Interface on GBPlayer to bypass the GBPlayer disc, but it otherwise has the same functionality.
If you have any questions, please reach out. If you also disagree with this perspective, please let me know. I am open to changing my mind on this, it's just how I view it is all.