Getting every contest ribbon with one pokemon.

[I.care.0]

So, with the Hoenn remakes coming out, due to the fact that I don't have anything better to do, and I won't be able to hatch shinies for a while because reasons, I'll try to obtain every ribbon from the 4th generation onwards with a single pokemon. I'm having some problems planning how to get the Super Contest ribbons, however.

The main one is deciding which pokemon to use, because I have zero Contest experience. I suppose it would have to be something that is both strong enough to carry his weight on the battle tower and has a massive movepool, to be able to choose moves from all categories, but I also wanted a pokemon that I breeded myself, so legendaries are a no go (I.E., no Mew). It would also be nice to use something that won't be only a trophy afterwards due to missing something vital from another generation (E.G. nidoking/queen without sheer force is horrible, but Linoone has some nice utility in pickup). I'm not above using rage glitch egg moves or any other trick avaliable in-game either if necessary, as long as it doesn't render the pokemon incompatible with pokebank.

I thought about using a tyranitar to do it, but I have no idea where to start. I suppose I have to get all five scarfs using five other pokemon, plan a poffin build that get high stats all around, get a crapton of accessories, and then rise up to master rank one category at a time, changing the moveset each time I enter a new category. The specifcs are all fuzzy and I would like any and all advice.

If you have tips on obtaining any other ribbons that may be userfull, please tell me too, specially about the HG/SS' Battle Tower.

Thanks in advance. o/

 

[EtherDrive]

your easiest way of doing this would be Smeargle (which you can catch at the emerald battle frontier). But good luck getting all of your stats high enough without the berries to make white pokeblocks to pump up stats in Gen 3

 

[Kurona]

your easiest way of doing this would be Smeargle (which you can catch at the emerald battle frontier). But good luck getting all of your stats high enough without the berries to make white pokeblocks to pump up stats in Gen 3

He said 4th gen onwards; i.e. not Emerald. Smeargle can be caught in the Ruins of Alph in HGSS.
I've tried to get every Super Contest ribbon, and it's... very difficult. Like, I got all Normal, Great and Ultra ranks with a specially poffin fed Gallade, but Master Rank is bloody impossible.

 

[Belle]

In Platinum there's a lady in the basement of the Veilstone Department Store that sells poffins for an exorbitant price, but at least her poffins have pretty high level and raise two contest stats at a time. That's a much better way of raising contest stats than making your own pokeblocks / poffins, if you don't have friends to link with / the right berries.

In terms of which pokemon to use, I used Latias (and I've seen others here on Smogon have used the Lati twins to earn tons of ribbons with success too), but since you said no legendaries then yeah, a pseudo-legendary like Tyranitar might work. Helps that T-tar can learn all the elemental moves. For contests, you honestly don't need to specialize in a category for the first two ranks (Normal & Great) because having a poffin-fed pokemon and some sense of rhythm in the dancing portion basically already put you at a great advantage, so unless the other pokemon get the crowd going you're all set. So instead of focusing on one category you might as well get the 10 Normal & Great ribbons first; will probably also help your sanity as you WILL get stuck at the Master rank if you focus on clearing one category, so get the low-hanging fruits first.

It's probably also better to do related categories together so you don't have to start from scratch moveset-wise. By that I mean something like do Cute & Beauty together, because using Cute moves in Beauty contests don't drop the applause-meter thing and vice versa. Also good to have at least two moves of the category you're competing in so you can always get the crowd going when the occasion rises. In Ultra & Master, you will probably NEED to get the crowd going since your opponents will have pokemon whose contest stats are maxed out and can dance without tripping over themselves. Finally I think combo moves are useful; there are guides on the net for Super Contests with good appeal combos. I'm fuzzy on the details on myself since it's been a while since I ribboned. Think I had CM + something...

For HGSS Battle Tower, the singles (both silver and gold symbol), doubles, and multi (with a friend, i.e. with yourself if you trade half your doubles team over) IMO are pretty easy to get. A competitive EV-trained team will get you there. Multi with NPC was super difficult for me. My tip for that is to lead with an earthquaker (I had garchomp) and pick a partner NPC whose pokemon are either flying or levitate, so you can mindlessly spam earthquake for the first turn, hopefully take something out, and put your side at an advantage. Trust me, you never want to be in a position where YOUR pokemon are all fainted, and you're relying on the poor NPC to pull the weight against your opponent.

BTW, since 4th gen wifi is dead, unless you already have the World Ability Ribbon that one might no longer be accessible, so you unfortunately won't have ALL the 4th gen ribbons. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

Anyway, hope that some of this helps. Good luck! If my experience was any indication, this endeavor will definitely occupy you until ORAS comes out.

 

[I.care.0]

In Platinum there's a lady in the basement of the Veilstone Department Store that sells poffins for an exorbitant price, but at least her poffins have pretty high level and raise two contest stats at a time. That's a much better way of raising contest stats than making your own pokeblocks / poffins, if you don't have friends to link with / the right berries. Nice to know. Knowing myself, however, I may end up convincing my little brother to help me somehow.

In terms of which pokemon to use, I used Latias (and I've seen others here on Smogon have used the Lati twins to earn tons of ribbons with success too), but since you said no legendaries then yeah, a pseudo-legendary like Tyranitar might work. Helps that T-tar can learn all the elemental moves. That is pretty much the reason why I choose Ttar. Awesome movepool+nice BST. I'm open to new options, however, as long as it isn't a legendary. For contests, you honestly don't need to specialize in a category for the first two ranks (Normal & Great) because having a poffin-fed pokemon and some sense of rhythm in the dancing portion basically already put you at a great advantage, so unless the other pokemon get the crowd going you're all set. So instead of focusing on one category you might as well get the 10 Normal & Great ribbons first; will probably also help your sanity as you WILL get stuck at the Master rank if you focus on clearing one category, so get the low-hanging fruits first. Good to know. I'm confident I won't lose my sanity, specially with all other ribbons to get, but it is nice to know that half the contests are easy.

It's probably also better to do related categories together so you don't have to start from scratch moveset-wise. By that I mean something like do Cute & Beauty together, because using Cute moves in Beauty contests don't drop the applause-meter thing and vice versa. Also good to have at least two moves of the category you're competing in so you can always get the crowd going when the occasion rises. In Ultra & Master, you will probably NEED to get the crowd going since your opponents will have pokemon whose contest stats are maxed out and can dance without tripping over themselves. Finally I think combo moves are useful; there are guides on the net for Super Contests with good appeal combos. I'm fuzzy on the details on myself since it's been a while since I ribboned. Think I had CM + something... Will google it.

For HGSS Battle Tower, the singles (both silver and gold symbol), doubles, and multi (with a friend, i.e. with yourself if you trade half your doubles team over) IMO are pretty easy to get. A competitive EV-trained team will get you there. Multi with NPC was super difficult for me. My tip for that is to lead with an earthquaker (I had garchomp) and pick a partner NPC whose pokemon are either flying or levitate, so you can mindlessly spam earthquake for the first turn, hopefully take something out, and put your side at an advantage. Trust me, you never want to be in a position where YOUR pokemon are all fainted, and you're relying on the poor NPC to pull the weight against your opponent. I probably will deal with multi battles by playing both halfs myself, with my DS and my 3ds, if I ever find the HG cardrige my brother used to use. It probably will have to wait though.

BTW, since 4th gen wifi is dead, unless you already have the World Ability Ribbon that one might no longer be accessible, so you unfortunately won't have ALL the 4th gen ribbons. Correct me if I'm wrong though. I'm aware of this. Welp, if it isn't obtainable, it isn't obtainable. I won't lose my mind if nothing can be done. I'm not even sure it is visible in a XY game.

Anyway, hope that some of this helps. Good luck! If my experience was any indication, this endeavor will definitely occupy you until ORAS comes out. Thanks a LOT.

He said 4th gen onwards; i.e. not Emerald. This. Smeargle can be caught in the Ruins of Alph in HGSS. Yeah, there's smeargle. He is pretty much my last option. I hate the damn thing, but I'll use him if I have to.
I've tried to get every Super Contest ribbon, and it's... very difficult. Like, I got all Normal, Great and Ultra ranks with a specially poffin fed Gallade, but Master Rank is bloody impossible. Hmn, Gallade does have a nice movepool. It is highly reliant on TMs, for non-cool moves however, so that's a thing. Good to know.

Answers in bold.

 

[MegaMewtwo]

If you can get a full four-man group together, here's a Poffin build I found ages ago: http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~yukisoft/poffin/wp_p800.png

It maxes everything, even the stat that's penalised by a non-neutral nature.

As for moves, try a "double next move's score" move followed by one that's boosted if the voltage goes up (in the appropriate contests) or one that's boosted if you go first (since the lowest score goes first barring shenanigans and the boosting moves don't give any points).

It's been a fair while (before HG/SS) since I did this, so I might be off on some things, but I did manage to get all the contest ribbons on a single Shaymin. I didn't even use moves that matched the contest type in some cases and still managed.

 

[I.care.0]

Nice. This is VERY helpfull.

Now I have to find two more people to bake poffins with me. This will take a LONG while, it seems.