Hardest Relative NPC

During my run of Platinum, I ended up getting to the elite four with my highest level being 46 (for reference, Cynthia's Garchomp is level 62). I was planning on grinding my pokemon to level 55 or so on the Aaron fight, but I got around 4 crits in a row on the first try and ended up trying to beat the E4 with my current team. After numerous SRs after things went wrong, I finally made it to Cynthia. The first few tries didn't go well, but I finally got enough hax to make it to Cynthia's Garchomp. I had used my last revive/full restore and my only hope was to get an ancient power boost... which I did. Went into the Hall of Fame with a bunch of level 40s.
 
I remember I was doing a versus nuzlocke of Pokémon emerald with my little brother, I ended up actually loosing the nuzlocke at the 6th gym battle. Let’s just say I only had 5 Pokémon, being Blaziken, Manectric, Medicham, Hariyama and a poochyena. I only defeated the swablu before I got swept by a dragon dancing, earthquaking altaria.
It was embarrassing...
 

Pikachu315111

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I remember I was doing a versus nuzlocke of Pokémon emerald with my little brother, I ended up actually loosing the nuzlocke at the 6th gym battle. Let’s just say I only had 5 Pokémon, being Blaziken, Manectric, Medicham, Hariyama and a poochyena. I only defeated the swablu before I got swept by a dragon dancing, earthquaking altaria.
It was embarrassing...
You're far from her only victims...
 
Long time lurker, first time poster. I just had a really intense battle against Skyla (of all people) in White 2 Challenge Mode.

Now, I know Skyla is usually a joke in a normal run (let's be real, any decent Electric kinda laughs at her) but this was a different story. I entered the battle with Weezing, Castform, Whimsicott, and Scrafty in their mid-high 30s (when Skyla's highest in Challenge Mode is a Level 42 Swanna for reference). I'm doing a challenge run of sorts to shake things up some, and I wanted to beat Skyla so I could get access to Driftblim and Wailord, my last two team members, as soon as possible. I skipped all of the trainers in MANY surrounding areas to save them for my final two members, and...

Well let's just say Skyla took awhile. After Weezing and Castform weakened I believe Swoobat (and maybe Sigilyph) some It ended up with me having to PP stall Air Slash so Scrafty could kill Swanna, all the while hoping for no crits. Then my Whimsicott had to outlast Skarmory with Leech Seed (I had used up all my good healing items on Scrafty). The "gym leader's final Pokemon" music was fitting as I prayed for no crits once again. I just barely did it first try. It was intense and drained practically my entire stock of healing items, save a bunch of Revives and stuff like Oran Berries/Potions.

I'm by no means a novice player (I've done challenge runs on several games and have played every mainline game save Let's Go) but that was a really fun fight that hasn't happened since maybe Volkner in my Pearl Nuzlocke.

Thanks for reading. I might post more in the future.
 
Long time lurker, first time poster. I just had a really intense battle against Skyla (of all people) in White 2 Challenge Mode.

Now, I know Skyla is usually a joke in a normal run (let's be real, any decent Electric kinda laughs at her) but this was a different story. I entered the battle with Weezing, Castform, Whimsicott, and Scrafty in their mid-high 30s (when Skyla's highest in Challenge Mode is a Level 42 Swanna for reference). I'm doing a challenge run of sorts to shake things up some, and I wanted to beat Skyla so I could get access to Driftblim and Wailord, my last two team members, as soon as possible. I skipped all of the trainers in MANY surrounding areas to save them for my final two members, and...

Well let's just say Skyla took awhile. After Weezing and Castform weakened I believe Swoobat (and maybe Sigilyph) some It ended up with me having to PP stall Air Slash so Scrafty could kill Swanna, all the while hoping for no crits. Then my Whimsicott had to outlast Skarmory with Leech Seed (I had used up all my good healing items on Scrafty). The "gym leader's final Pokemon" music was fitting as I prayed for no crits once again. I just barely did it first try. It was intense and drained practically my entire stock of healing items, save a bunch of Revives and stuff like Oran Berries/Potions.

I'm by no means a novice player (I've done challenge runs on several games and have played every mainline game save Let's Go) but that was a really fun fight that hasn't happened since maybe Volkner in my Pearl Nuzlocke.

Thanks for reading. I might post more in the future.
Why are you going into a Flying Gym with half of your team weak to Flying?
 
Why are you going into a Flying Gym with half of your team weak to Flying?
Wait do you swap out all team members with a disadvantageous matchup every time you get to a new gym? If so, I admire the dedication to securing the win, but I think it’s more common for people to have a fixed team of Pokémon they build up over the course of the game, even if that means they end up with bad matchups from time to time.

In any case, the post you’re replying to contains the answer to your question: Drumstick explained that they were doing a specific challenge run, which seems to have restricted their team options.

I can’t quite work out what those restrictions are, although they do seem to involve balloon-like Pokémon to some degree? Scrafty doesn’t fit that, but it has weird stretchy pants I guess? Idk about Whimsicott.
 
Why are you going into a Flying Gym with half of your team weak to Flying?
Because I wanted to do something different and not use Magnezone or another Electric (though I did raise a Magnemite briefly until roughly Elesa). I wanted to use some stuff I liked I guess (all of those four members have been used in my playthroughs save Castform). I could've caught a Tynamo/Joltik or whatever and had a better chance, but I went ahead and did it with my team, and it was the most fun match I've had in years, so whatever.

I can see why you'd wonder about my odd team composition though-it's not the best, haha. I know they aren't amazing mons but hey, I'm having fun, even if I'm not playing super optimally. Just exchanged Driftblim for a Modest Lunatone (first catch!), and traded over a Choice Specs (and Scarf) to make Wailord fun-it almost OHKOed an Audino of equal level with Water Spout!

Oh yeah, and the "balloon-like Pokémon" theme was unintentional but made me laugh all the same, so thanks for that Cobalt Empoleon! It's not so much a challenge run as "I think these mons will be fun, let's play on Set (for the most part) and not use Lucky Egg."
 
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deetah

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I don't want to stay on mine for long since it aas quite embarrassing, but in black 1 I couldn't beat the electric gym leader Elesa(I forgot her name but she sucks anyway :< )for weeks! It was just impossible to beat the volt switch spam between 2 emolgas and since I chose serperior as a starter and skipped palpitoad as a capture all of my pokemon kept losing to volt switch. Yeah I could keep attacking the emolga's, but zebstrika would sweep me in the end. Me being the noob I was didn't know typings exactly or what non attack moves did so to make matters worse I would never be able to come up with some strategy vs the flying squirrels. Luckily on some miracle she switched into zebstrika randomly and I killed it right as it came in and from there I kept attacking the emolga's and I finally won after forever!
I also struggled terribly with Elesa in Black 2, this was probably one of my most difficult battles against an NPC. I chose Oshawott as my starter and so I was very unprepared to deal with her Volt Switch spamming Emolga. Even once I did defeat the Emolga, Zebstrika would then have a clear path to sweep, literally the same situation here. It took me around a week until I finally beat her, but it was definitely one of the most satisfying battles to win.
 
The teacher in he trainer school in S/M is seriously annoying if you didn't choose Litten. She has a magnemite that resists pretty much everything you can throw at it at that point of the game, and STAB thundershock HURTS from a base 95 special attack. You can't really stall or setup against it either because then you will just get parfused to death (it also gets supersonic). She also has a Meowth with fake out and STAB, technician bite to sweep any survivors. It's especially annoying if magnemite paralyzed you.

This might honestly be the hardest fight in the game if you chose rowlet. Popplio also has trouble against magnemite but at least it can deal some neutral damage with its water STAB.
 
The teacher in he trainer school in S/M is seriously annoying if you didn't choose Litten. She has a magnemite that resists pretty much everything you can throw at it at that point of the game, and STAB thundershock HURTS from a base 95 special attack. You can't really stall or setup against it either because then you will just get parfused to death (it also gets supersonic). She also has a Meowth with fake out and STAB, technician bite to sweep any survivors. It's especially annoying if magnemite paralyzed you.

This might honestly be the hardest fight in the game if you chose rowlet. Popplio also has trouble against magnemite but at least it can deal some neutral damage with its water STAB.
It doesn't resist Alolan Grimer's Bite, and it has the bulk to stomach a couple of hits. Also, the teacher's Magnemite doesn't seem to have Supersonic. (granted, I'm just going off of Serebii's Pokearth page for the area, and it's been awhile since I last played through S/M, so I could be wrong)
 

Champion Leon

Banned deucer.
I would actually say that in RBY, Lance is difficult.
You don’t have any good Electric types, especially if you did make the only Eevee you ever get a Vaporeon/Flareon. Zapdos can function, but what about Dragonite?

Gyarados and Aerodactyl can be a concern with Hyper Beam. Jynx works if it can land a hit, or if you managed to overlevel it.

Ironically, Champ Gary is easier. Pidgeot is not a threat, their starter is determined by your starter, so you would have ensured you have caught/trained a Pokémon to beat it by then, and while Alakazam can be intimidating, Exeggutor can Sleep Powder/Leech Seed it no problem, and threatens their Rhydon easily. Jynx can take their Exeggutor/Venusaur, Pidgeot, and Blizzard their Rhydon and stand up and Sleep Alakazam as well.

Basically Jynx wins agains Gary more than Lance who uses Flying types.
 
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Time for another post.

The other day, I found a really obscure postgame sidequest in White 2. In Humilau City, inside a house, there is a couple who want you to ring the bell at Celestial Tower for an Elixir. But there's a catch.

Each floor has a Trainer there not there originally (copy pasted from Serebii so forgive the formatting). At least none have items.
First floor:
��
Waitress Jan
Battle Type
Single Battle
Items
Level 60Level 60Level 60
Attacks:
Fire Blast
Focus Blast
Earthquake
Sunny Day
Attacks:
Flare Blitz
Extremespeed
Wild Charge
Reversal
Attacks:
Fire Blast
Shadow Ball
Solarbeam
Will-o-wisp
Fire Blast SolarBeam Chandelure in sun is scary. But it gets worse on the second floor.
��
Nursery Aide Ilse
Battle Type
Single Battle
Items
Level 62Level 62Level 62Level 62
Attacks:
Return
Jump Kick
Thunder Wave
Charm
Attacks:
Head Charge
Megahorn
Wild Charge
Stone Edge
Attacks:
Body Slam
Brick Break
Rollout
Milk Drink
Attacks:
Retaliate
Outrage
Hammer Arm
Earthquake

That Lopunny can catch you by surprise. Thunder Wave and Charm will cripple most physical attackers. Bouffalant is strong in general, Miltank has Milk Drink and Khan has wide coverage.
Third floor:
��
Clerk Lana
Battle Type
Single Battle
Items
Level 64Level 64Level 64Level 64Level 64
Attacks:
Night Slash
Brick Break
Swords Dance
Ice Shard
Attacks:
Blizzard
Sheer Cold
Confuse Ray
Acid Armor
Attacks:
Blizzard
Sheer Cold
Hail
Explosion
Attacks:
Blizzard
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Ice Shard
Attacks:
Blizzard
Surf
Hydro Pump
Ice Shard

This trainer is crazy for having a mono Ice team. SD Weavile is bonkers. Cryogonal gave me a lot of trouble given it's high Special Defense and Acid Armor. The rest of the team is just strong in general. But the last trainer is a doozy.
Fourth floor, last trainer. A full six-on-six battle.
��
Maid Tammy
Battle Type
Single Battle
Items
Level 66Level 66Level 66Level 66Level 66Level 66

Sturdy

Sturdy
Attacks:
Steel Wing
Aerial Ace
X-scissor
Swords Dance
Attacks:
Stone Edge
Gyro Ball
Earthquake
Curse
Attacks:
Power Whip
Gyro Ball
Explosion
Curse
Attacks:
X-scissor
Iron Head
Reversal
Swords Dance
Attacks:
Iron Head
Night Slash
Stone Edge
Low Sweep
Attacks:
Zen Headbutt
Meteor Mash
Earthquake
Bullet Punch
holyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy crap that team...
Swords Dance Skarmory caught me really off guard. The two Curse users can really bone you if you don't have effective moves. Swords Dance Escavelier may be slow, but if it gets a hit off, something dies. Bisharp circumvents its average speed with Low Sweep, and Metagross is Metagross, it's always tough to take down.

These trainers reminded me a lot of the Orre games, specifically that last gauntlet before the final boss in Colosseum. I loved that they were a challenge and would love it if more sidequest trainers were like this (like that Eviolite Clamperl in USUM for example)!

(and yes this was done with the balloon team from before.)
 

Pikachu315111

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The other day, I found a really obscure postgame sidequest in White 2. In Humilau City, inside a house, there is a couple who want you to ring the bell at Celestial Tower for an Elixir. But there's a catch.
FUN FACT: I liked this little side quest, not just because it does provide a challenge with the trainers but the little details about it. The quest givers are a newlywed couple on their honeymoon and they want to ring the Celestial Tower bell for good luck with their marriage. They can't go but they send you instead. As you go up the tower you face the following four trainers, all who are trying to stop you from ringing the bell because they're angry at the couple for some unexplained reason. Except you can if you pay attention to the first letter of their names (both in English and in Japanese). To quote Bulbapedia's trivia page:

Bulbapedia said:
The initials of the four female side-quest Trainers Jan (Monami), Ilse (Tokico), Lana (Kanade), and Tammy (Nozami) form the word "jilt", meaning to suddenly reject a lover. Likewise, the initial kana of their Japanese names make up the sound of the word "元カノ" motokano, meaning ex-girlfriend.
YUP, these are the husband's ex-girlfriends and from what it sounds like the guy is a jerk. And when you go back to the newlyweds, while the wife heard the bell, the husband didn't; meaning he may still have a selfish heart. Yikes.

Also you could say the Types they use represent the feelings of a lover being rejected: Fire for fiery fury, Normal for the feeling of loneliness/emptiness, Ice for feeling cold hearted, and Steel for hardening your emotions.
 
FUN FACT: I liked this little side quest, not just because it does provide a challenge with the trainers but the little details about it. The quest givers are a newlywed couple on their honeymoon and they want to ring the Celestial Tower bell for good luck with their marriage. They can't go but they send you instead. As you go up the tower you face the following four trainers, all who are trying to stop you from ringing the bell because they're angry at the couple for some unexplained reason. Except you can if you pay attention to the first letter of their names (both in English and in Japanese). To quote Bulbapedia's trivia page:



YUP, these are the husband's ex-girlfriends and from what it sounds like the guy is a jerk. And when you go back to the newlyweds, while the wife heard the bell, the husband didn't; meaning he may still have a selfish heart. Yikes.

Also you could say the Types they use represent the feelings of a lover being rejected: Fire for fiery fury, Normal for the feeling of loneliness/emptiness, Ice for feeling cold hearted, and Steel for hardening your emotions.
Yeah, I vaguely remember the backstory. But the trainers were so impressive it was a bit hard to remember. The trivia is neat.

Besides the Riches and Veteran Shaun, can anyone think of any other full six-on-six mook battles not counting the Magikarp guy, that pre-Veilstone double battle, The Riches in BW1 and final bosses/rivals that are similarly hard? I can't at the moment.
 

Pikachu315111

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can anyone think of any other full six-on-six mook battles
Sometimes Breeders have a full party... of Baby/Basic Pokemon.

There's also the only Veteran Duo you face on Poni Gauntlet. While they both technically have 3 Pokemon each, since its a Double Battle they use all six. And they're quite the battle, their Pokemon are 61 in SM and 63 in USUM and have some good Pokemon:

SM: Wishiwashi, Electivire, Turtonator, Comfey, Alomomola, Lilligant
USUM: Houndoom, Magmortar, Volcarona, Comfey, Whimsicott, Lilligant

USUM seemed to try and decrease their difficulty by making them Type Experts, but still looks like a challenging team.
 
Sometimes Breeders have a full party... of Baby/Basic Pokemon.

There's also the only Veteran Duo you face on Poni Gauntlet. While they both technically have 3 Pokemon each, since its a Double Battle they use all six. And they're quite the battle, their Pokemon are 61 in SM and 63 in USUM and have some good Pokemon:

SM: Wishiwashi, Electivire, Turtonator, Comfey, Alomomola, Lilligant
USUM: Houndoom, Magmortar, Volcarona, Comfey, Whimsicott, Lilligant

USUM seemed to try and decrease their difficulty by making them Type Experts, but still looks like a challenging team.
OH YEAH THOSE GUYS

That fight is hard. Volcarona on a random mook is just mean.

Also these jerks when you team up with Cheren in Pinwheel Forest in BW2:
����
Veteran Sinan
Battle Type
Single Battle
Items
Level 64Level 64Level 64

Sturdy
Attacks:
Energy Ball
Ice Beam
Hydro Pump
Fake Out
Attacks:
Thunder
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Thunder Wave
Attacks:
Gyro Ball
Solarbeam
Payback
Double-edge
Hold Item:
No Item
Hold Item:
No Item
Hold Item:
No Item

��
Veteran Rosaline
Battle Type
Single Battle
Items
Level 64Level 64Level 64
Attacks:
Cross Poison
U-turn
Rain Dance
Sunny Day
Attacks:
Flare Blitz
Psychic
Thunderbolt
Will-o-wisp
Attacks:
Leaf Blade
X-scissor
Quick Attack
Swords Dance

Note that I would love a fangame where the trainers can catch you like this, as long as it's not over the top (looking at you Blue Kaizo). I think Drayano60 hacks are like this, though I've never played them.
 

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I've seen people complain about the Ultra Necrozma level spike (along with massive stat spike) compared to the previous battle with Totem Kommo-o since it's an 11 level jump with nearly no content between, but what about that time that the game let you walk into a 20+ level spike?

BW1's Game Freak Morimoto battle caps at level 77 and is accessible immediately after beating Ghetsis. Unlike the routes to East Unova, this is a full team of 6 fully evolved Pokemon at one of the absolute highest levels in the entire postgame.

I remember vividly going into Game Freak HQ the first time I played through BW1 completely blind and being smacked down hard. It's by far the rudest potential difficulty spike in the entire series in my opinion.
 

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I remember vividly going into Game Freak HQ the first time I played through BW1 completely blind and being smacked down hard. It's by far the rudest potential difficulty spike in the entire series in my opinion.
I did something similar in FireRed, as I had just beaten the Elite Four and decided to do so again for some reason. But upon the rematch, Lorelei's weakest Pokémon has a higher level than Blue's ace had in the first round, everybody has coverage moves, it gets even worse from there and there's no turning back. If you survive the first battle, there are four more like it that are even worse. Unless you're really well prepared, there's really no way to escape a wipeout for a poor trainer who walks into the Pokémon League a second time just after becoming Champion.
 
I've seen people complain about the Ultra Necrozma level spike (along with massive stat spike) compared to the previous battle with Totem Kommo-o since it's an 11 level jump with nearly no content between, but what about that time that the game let you walk into a 20+ level spike?

BW1's Game Freak Morimoto battle caps at level 77 and is accessible immediately after beating Ghetsis. Unlike the routes to East Unova, this is a full team of 6 fully evolved Pokemon at one of the absolute highest levels in the entire postgame.

I remember vividly going into Game Freak HQ the first time I played through BW1 completely blind and being smacked down hard. It's by far the rudest potential difficulty spike in the entire series in my opinion.
Ulltra Necrozma is mean because it's in the main story. If it didn't have those monster stats, the stat buff, and the coverage moves (one of which, Smart Strike, is a TM) it would be manageable.

I mean yeah, Morimoto caps at 77, but his Pokemon are nothing to write home about (swept them with a Durant, albeit grinded a little). Morimoto fits the definition of the Bonus Boss; he requires conscious effort to find postgame and his diificulty is higher than the main final boss. Typically, Bonus Bosses have no standards for difficulty. The game doesn't warn you about the level spike, but Kingdom Hearts II doesn't warn you about how brutal Lingering Will can be (other than "I don't have a good feeling about this.")

Your points are valid yes, I just wanted to bring up some of my own.

And it's not just a Morimoto thing, Look at Veteran Shaun in Challenger's Cave, with 6 good Pokemon from 62-63. Look at Cynthia, who isn't far from starting postgame. Look at the veteran with Tyranitar and Salamence (which has like Draco Meteor and EQ), both at level 70 on Route 18 in BW2, accessible right after beating the Champion. Or look at Unova in general, where the trainers are 60+ (especially scary in BW1 because you end at lower levels, though most are unevolved).

The game gives you a perfectly easy method to combat this though with the level 70 Volcarona, who does not care about almost any postgame trainer save maybe Marshall, though you also have to go looking for it. Ultra Necrozma you almost have to think outside the box and cheese (four Pyukumuku strat, Toxic, etc.); while Volcarona is not like Emerald Rayquaza because you still have to think when using it and pebbles kill it.

Even prior to Black and White, what about Steven Stone at Meteor Falls postgame in Emerald? Former champ like Cynthia yes, but the game gives you pretty much no warning that he will be rocking level 70s. You still have to go out of the way, but Emerald was my first game and I had no idea Steven was the Champion in Ruby/Sapphire already. You still jump about 15-20 levels there.

Red is kinda exempt from this to an extent, because the game clearly warns you that Mt. Silver has pretty strong Pokemon and it's literally the last place on the map. I think level 70s-80s mons are overkill and kinda blindsides you yes, but it's not like any player with common sense would be caught completely unawares because the game warns you.
 
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I did something similar in FireRed, as I had just beaten the Elite Four and decided to do so again for some reason. But upon the rematch, Lorelei's weakest Pokémon has a higher level than Blue's ace had in the first round, everybody has coverage moves, it gets even worse from there and there's no turning back. If you survive the first battle, there are four more like it that are even worse. Unless you're really well prepared, there's really no way to escape a wipeout for a poor trainer who walks into the Pokémon League a second time just after becoming Champion.
Isn’t the Pokémon League closed after you get the National Pokédex? To get the higher level rematches you have to beat Team Rocket in the Sevii Islands so Lorelei returns to Indigo Plateau.

The level jump is still pretty significant even after training on the islands, but you can’t go back and get wiped out by the rematch teams immediately after becoming Champion, unless I’m missing something.
 
Long time lurker, first time poster. I just had a really intense battle against Skyla (of all people) in White 2 Challenge Mode.
Haha, I feel you. ^^ I had a relatable experience with Bugsy(!) in my last Crystal run.

Of course, the harshness of battles depends a lot on your team's composition. And when you're not picking obvious counter choices, normal trainers (but mostly) Gym Leaders can get pretty tough! It's as frustrating as it is entertaining. A lot of people already mentioned Elesa, she often gives me trouble too. I mostly have a lot of Grass and Flying types in my team who have trouble with Emolga or Zebstrika. Cynthia can be pretty tough as well, I've experienced some clever switches from her. Another Gym Leader I feared was Morty. I remember from a long time ago, Morty got me at the point of crying in GSC with his Gengar. He kept sweeping my whole team, and even though Dream Eater isn't the most effective move to have, after you've been switching around your whole team ends up sleeping...

The hardest battle I've had recently, was one against Bugsy in Crystal. I tried to take him on with Hoppip, Bayleef and Phanpy...
Hoppip had to stall Metapod with Poisonpowder, and level up with gained experience to learn Sleep Powder. Then it had to put Kakuna to sleep, for a switch to Phanpy. Phanpy lacks Rollout (in case you've wondered why this would be difficult) and needed to take out Kakuna with Mud-Slap or Tackle. Please don't get poisoned! Then it all came down to my main problem: Scyther. Defense Curl wouldn't help me to survive its Fury Cutter. I had to switch in Bayleef, pray for Bugsy to suffer from acute retardation and poison Scyther with Poisonpowder (don't miss!), use Reflect, and try to stall turns with Phanpy. Actually, this tactic only worked if Scyther started to Quick Attack Bayleef first and misses at least one of its Fury Cutters afterwards. Due to the Poison mechanics in GSC, Scyther wouldn't get hurt after OHKOing one of my Pokémon with Fury Cutter 5. During my first try, I failed on this last crucial part. The second try RNG blessed me with a random miss and I won the battle. I saved my game thrice. xD I didn't want to tempt fate again, haha.
 
If you're doing a "No Battle Item" solo in White, Lenora is probably the hardest battle until N. Both I-BEAM (Timburr/Gurdurr) and HearNoEvil (Pansear/Simisear) had to resort to Audino level grinding to win. In HearNoEvil's case, he won after Watchog decided to miss with Hypnosis on the first turn instead of using a boosted Retaliate.
 
This literally happened this week and I need to vent.

I’ll just say that Bugsy kicked my ass back to extinction in heart gold today. So apparently Bugsy thought it would be funny to use focus energy and critical hit U-turn my entire team. I did only have three Pokémon at the moment, because I’m honestly really picky with my team choices. I had my furret, totodile and togepi so I guess maybe it’s just because my team sucked.
 
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Haha, I feel you. ^^ I had a relatable experience with Bugsy(!) in my last Crystal run.

Of course, the harshness of battles depends a lot on your team's composition. And when you're not picking obvious counter choices, normal trainers (but mostly) Gym Leaders can get pretty tough! It's as frustrating as it is entertaining. A lot of people already mentioned Elesa, she often gives me trouble too. I mostly have a lot of Grass and Flying types in my team who have trouble with Emolga or Zebstrika. Cynthia can be pretty tough as well, I've experienced some clever switches from her. Another Gym Leader I feared was Morty. I remember from a long time ago, Morty got me at the point of crying in GSC with his Gengar. He kept sweeping my whole team, and even though Dream Eater isn't the most effective move to have, after you've been switching around your whole team ends up sleeping...

The hardest battle I've had recently, was one against Bugsy in Crystal. I tried to take him on with Hoppip, Bayleef and Phanpy...
Hoppip had to stall Metapod with Poisonpowder, and level up with gained experience to learn Sleep Powder. Then it had to put Kakuna to sleep, for a switch to Phanpy. Phanpy lacks Rollout (in case you've wondered why this would be difficult) and needed to take out Kakuna with Mud-Slap or Tackle. Please don't get poisoned! Then it all came down to my main problem: Scyther. Defense Curl wouldn't help me to survive its Fury Cutter. I had to switch in Bayleef, pray for Bugsy to suffer from acute retardation and poison Scyther with Poisonpowder (don't miss!), use Reflect, and try to stall turns with Phanpy. Actually, this tactic only worked if Scyther started to Quick Attack Bayleef first and misses at least one of its Fury Cutters afterwards. Due to the Poison mechanics in GSC, Scyther wouldn't get hurt after OHKOing one of my Pokémon with Fury Cutter 5. During my first try, I failed on this last crucial part. The second try RNG blessed me with a random miss and I won the battle. I saved my game thrice. xD I didn't want to tempt fate again, haha.
Love reading posts like these. Sure, a lot of the Gyms are super easy, but a lot of them, particularly in Gen 4, are actually hard. Let's look at Sinnoh, specifically Platinum:
Roark: Headbutt off Attack equal to Gyrados (125) isn't fun so early in the game, plus flinch chance. Not hard, but nowhere near Brock easy (tho harder than Roxanne too)
Gardenia: Not THAT bad (I have literally soloed with a Budew before, or at least beat her Roserade with it). Still though, Reflect up with Roserade out is kinda ew.
Fantina: This is just awful. Makes your shiny new EQ TM useless, and Mismagius's 105 Special Attack Shadow Ball should not be a thing so early on in the game. While there are a few counters (Luxio/Luxray, Floatzel with Crunch, Vespiquen with Toxic) and you can kinda brute force it, it hits so many things super-effectively. Duskull with Will-o-Wisp also screws over a few of those.
Maylene: A breather boss to an extent. Her mons can take a hit but there are loads more counters to her than the last couple of Gyms.
Wake: Odds are if you go in blind you will get wrecked. Waterfall Gyrados? Ice Fang Floatzel? I mean Quagsire is easy but it has good type synergy and all. Bottom line, really good team, and Waterfall Gyrados is enough of a challenge alone.
Byron: LOL, nice break, though not braindead easy. Every starter kinda laughs at him (tho Torterra has to watch out for Steelix Ice Fang and Empoleon has to watch out for Magneton).
Candice: Surprisingly tough. Snow Cloak Double Team Froslass is scary, and the rest of her team has good coverage.
Volkner: Not too bad, mostly because most of his team is easily walled by any decent Ground type (watch out for Luxray Ice Fang though)

All of the E4 are rough because their coverage is insane. Galactic is also a threat early on with Purugly and Skunktank, and Cyrus 3 is incredibly hard. In general, the game is one of the hardest games, but for the right reasons (unlike HGSS).
 

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