She's a well known "that one boss".
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Hardest Relative NPC
- Thread starter Deviljho
- Start date
Maybe she's not the hardest but Candice in Platinum has a Froslass, which only had Snow Cloak back then, with Double Team.
Don't remind me, I'm still thinking about the sheer rage I had over my Houndoom consistently missing both Fire Blast and Bite against her Froslass. I managed to win out with Empoleon in the end but I was still annoyed to no end about it.
I beat her Froslass with my Glaceon lol. Choice Specs Blizzard from Glaceon, even resisted, is a 2HKO. And Glaceon's defensive enough to stomach two hits. With the auto hail from Abomasnow, Blizzard was 100% accurate making it a decent strategy if I do say so myself. Plus now Froslass has to worry about my own Snow Cloak, turning the tables.
There is no Hardest Relative NPC in Platinum.
nah jk the whole game is the hardest relative NPC compared to pretty much any other game (I would say HGSS but that game is artificial difficulty by bad design and limiting options).
Only USUM and Colosseum are other contenders for the title of “hardest official Pokémon game.”
nah jk the whole game is the hardest relative NPC compared to pretty much any other game (I would say HGSS but that game is artificial difficulty by bad design and limiting options).
Only USUM and Colosseum are other contenders for the title of “hardest official Pokémon game.”
Been a while since my last post in the thread, but I got a like and it reminded me of a game that wasn't even out at the time.
But you know the Sky Trainer with the Emolga? Good thing the battle is optional, otherwise you WILL get wiped if you haven't specifically trained to counter it.
But you know the Sky Trainer with the Emolga? Good thing the battle is optional, otherwise you WILL get wiped if you haven't specifically trained to counter it.
The Mind Electric
Calming if you look at it right.
There's one towards the end of the game that has an Aerodactyl. I looked up where that battle was so I could skip it.
I made the mistake of challenging that one while I only had a Talonflame and a low-health Hawlucha. No need to describe what happened, right?
I think probably Raihan. A lot of the other gym leaders were pushovers. Espeically as you could use dynamax to set up whenever you wanted, while the NPCs had to wait for their last mon.
But double battles can be deadly in nuzlockes, and its surprisingly difficult to predict when an NPC can protect. Raihan had a solid sand team with some surpising coverage moves and dragon typing is already one of the better ones for a gym leader. Particularly as Raihan's ace wasn't weak to fairy. Raihan really is more like an Elite 4 than an 8th Gym Leader.
But double battles can be deadly in nuzlockes, and its surprisingly difficult to predict when an NPC can protect. Raihan had a solid sand team with some surpising coverage moves and dragon typing is already one of the better ones for a gym leader. Particularly as Raihan's ace wasn't weak to fairy. Raihan really is more like an Elite 4 than an 8th Gym Leader.
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... And then in his Elite Battle it goes back to being a Single Battle where they gave him the bizarre gimmick of constantly changing the weather with every other Pokemon he sends out. It sort of makes the battle a bit of a joke as he's focused on changing the weather first (since only his Torkoal has the weather changing Ability) meanwhile your Pokemon either does a lot of damage on that free turn or possibly even OHKOs. He should have just stuck with his Sandstorm team or just abandoned the weather gimmick.
I like my headcanon where Raihan just doesn't know how to build a competent singles team, much like how most singles-focused players have no idea how to build a competent doubles team.
pssh, i mean, you still use stealth rock, right??? right????
Y'know in my Infernape run (s/o to sinnoh for having all hitters in the starter department btw!) i assumed this was going to be annoying - my team was Infernape/Roserade/Mamoswine/Magnezone/Vaporeon/Yanmega and i had just rid the world of her first 3 ice types, unsurprisingly - with my boy Infernape. Then her Froslass comes in with an evasion strategy so dastardly most hardcore Smogon-goers would bust a vein just lookin at the move set. i wasn't too thrilled about fighting this thing and risking a Psychic KO, so i switch to Magnezone. With the Double teams, Blizzards and hail chip piling on, my Magnezone would no doubt be overwhelmed....
until i remembered i still had Lock-On as a move. So rather than an infuriating evasion hax game, i ended the match in roughly 2 turns with the Flash Cannon TM i nabbed from Byron (three guesses as to how i dealt with him). I would then go on to use this strategy in my Platinum Steel Locke as well, but with Probopass since that thing's got a mammoth SpDef stat.
But anywho. That's enough from you fellas. Let's hear on an NPC i think is pretty damn difficult.
Platinum. Lucian.
Obviously, the Final Elite Four member of Sinnoh is gonna be a toughie, but more often than not, this dude is consistently an ass-kicker if you're not prepared. Let's start with his team.
It ain't just the old standbys of "the Bronzong with one weakness, and you better hope you don't take an earthquake" and "Alakazam's Focus Blast missing? What's that?" now you have to fend off an effectively upgraded Medicham. Say hello to Gallade, who's likely gonna be guarded with some screens when he comes in, as if that nuclear coverage isn't enough of an annoyance. If you think that your good old Weavile is comin in and takin names, you better be ready to play with some fire, and you just faced Flint a while ago! Of course, his Espeon isn't as nearly as annoying, but Signal Beam can still screw you over if you're not prepared, so i still take it as an upgrade to the Girafarig.
Sheesh. If that's what you gotta take down before the infamous Cynthia, I got your work cut out for me.
Early-game XY definitely got some good ones.
Shoutouts to whoever had a Rock Tomb Hawlucha in Reflection Cave, you a real one.
XY's normal route Trainers are actually really really impressive, something I discovered during one of my playthroughs of it. While the bosses are pretty meh, almost all of the route Trainers, especially higher class ones like Black Belts/Battle Girls and Ace Trainers, actually run coverage moves on their Pokemon. The Rock Tomb Hawlucha is one case, but as I went on I battled many Black Belts and Battle Girls in Frost Cavern and Terminus Cave and discovered that almost all of them run coverage moves with stuff like Rock Slide or Stone Edge, Earthquake, and Poison Jab. I saw a Sawk that ran Rock Slide and Poison Jab at one point and a Throh with Earthquake, as well as a Hariyama with Smack Down. Keep in mind those are mid-late game so they certainly don't pull any punches there either. Victory Road also has its share of Trainers with good movesets too, with one person I saw running an Alakazam with Focus Blast and Dazzling Gleam, as well as a Weavile with Low Kick.
Many Ace Trainers and Veterans also run good movesets on their mons, and almost all of them really threw me off guard when I battled them, and these were runs where I wasn't overleveled. The route trainers really do not pull their punches even in the mid and late game which in many cases caught me off guard, and pleasantly surprised me. Unfortunately that doesn't change that the bosses are a bit underwhelming, but the route trainers hold nothing back and I was thoroughly impressed in my replays of Y.
Plague von Karma
Banned deucer.
If I'm allowed to plug in spinoff titles, I have two specific NPCs who gave me a right beating earlier.
Hard Mode Koga and Karen from Pokemon Puzzle Challenge.
For those who don't know what Pokemon Puzzle Challenge is, it's a Tetris Attack-type game on the GBC. Many remember Puzzle League for the N64, but personally I think Challenge is miles better; the OST is absolutely crisp, the sprites look lovely, and it's based on good ol' GSC. The Hard Mode on this game is really really really nice and gives you a good hour or so of, well, challenge.
While the other trainers didn't give my puzzle game addiction much of a sating - I beat most first try - Koga and Karen utterly battered me and my friends who watched me in a Discord call can corroborate that I was going nuts. Not with anger, but a twisted pleasure at the back and forth, this game is just really cool. Anyway, Koga often batters you with a x4 right off the bat, so you usually have to wait for him to get it out of his system and fire back with a well-prepared 7-link or something. But, the catch is, he constantly does them and it's really, really hard to crawl back from it. Similarly, Karen fires off endless x5s or above, which can just bury you with no chance to fight back. It's hard to visualise this for the not-well-learned, but you will just get flattened if you're not prepared. Enough garbage counters should keep you going on the back and forth though, which I really enjoy and was what kept me going "oooooo" and making weird hype sounds.
Also this game is on 3DS VC pls get it
Hard Mode Koga and Karen from Pokemon Puzzle Challenge.
For those who don't know what Pokemon Puzzle Challenge is, it's a Tetris Attack-type game on the GBC. Many remember Puzzle League for the N64, but personally I think Challenge is miles better; the OST is absolutely crisp, the sprites look lovely, and it's based on good ol' GSC. The Hard Mode on this game is really really really nice and gives you a good hour or so of, well, challenge.
While the other trainers didn't give my puzzle game addiction much of a sating - I beat most first try - Koga and Karen utterly battered me and my friends who watched me in a Discord call can corroborate that I was going nuts. Not with anger, but a twisted pleasure at the back and forth, this game is just really cool. Anyway, Koga often batters you with a x4 right off the bat, so you usually have to wait for him to get it out of his system and fire back with a well-prepared 7-link or something. But, the catch is, he constantly does them and it's really, really hard to crawl back from it. Similarly, Karen fires off endless x5s or above, which can just bury you with no chance to fight back. It's hard to visualise this for the not-well-learned, but you will just get flattened if you're not prepared. Enough garbage counters should keep you going on the back and forth though, which I really enjoy and was what kept me going "oooooo" and making weird hype sounds.
Also this game is on 3DS VC pls get it
Oddly enough, those Opelucid Gym Trainers. Not Drayden / Iris themselves (lul Dragon Tail), but their Gym Trainers.
In Black and White, it's mildly more manageable but not by much. Vanillish, the Ice type most trainers would have (Beartic is Winter-only and infamously poor. and Cryogonal is something I'd wager people only know exists because of Brycen because lol 1% outside Winter), can Ice Beam, but those foes are bulky enough to take one and Vanillish gets hit pretty hard back. Steel types that resist Dragon Claw tend to be slow and get chipped anyway.
Then in Black and White 2, while you have slightly more options, most teams still lack an Ice type, as your options pre-Undella are lolCastform and Beartic, and around Undella it's the Spheal line (decent but why would you use an HM slave to get a Water type that late, also Winter only) and Lapras (5% in rippling water at Village Bridge, have fun).
Also doesn't help the BW2 variant has weird strats like that defensive Swagger Substitute guy and Rotation / Triple battles which are just a pain in general
It's annoying because again, your lack of relatively competent, easy to get options
In Black and White, it's mildly more manageable but not by much. Vanillish, the Ice type most trainers would have (Beartic is Winter-only and infamously poor. and Cryogonal is something I'd wager people only know exists because of Brycen because lol 1% outside Winter), can Ice Beam, but those foes are bulky enough to take one and Vanillish gets hit pretty hard back. Steel types that resist Dragon Claw tend to be slow and get chipped anyway.
Then in Black and White 2, while you have slightly more options, most teams still lack an Ice type, as your options pre-Undella are lolCastform and Beartic, and around Undella it's the Spheal line (decent but why would you use an HM slave to get a Water type that late, also Winter only) and Lapras (5% in rippling water at Village Bridge, have fun).
Also doesn't help the BW2 variant has weird strats like that defensive Swagger Substitute guy and Rotation / Triple battles which are just a pain in general
It's annoying because again, your lack of relatively competent, easy to get options
Even with the underwhelming Gyms and bosses in XY, probably over half the routes have a totally normal/unexpected Trainer that's rough to fight, especially if you're doing something like a Nuzlocke:
- Route 22 has the Riolu trainer with Counter.
- Route 5 has the Kadabra trainer as well as Swords Dance Vice Grip Corphish from Tierno.
- Route 6 has the infamous Furfrou double battle, though thankfully they're optional.
- Route 8 has the Axew trainer that knows Dragon Rage. Unless you have Snorlax or caught an Azurill/Flabebe, prepare for pain.
- Route 11 has the Machoke/Mr. Mime double battle that is a huge level spike over everything else in its area. This right after you have to battle two Lucario with boosting moves.
- Reflection Cave might be one of the hardest dungeons in recent Pokemon gaming memory. Almost none of the trainers are free and they have diverse teams with coverage moves. Also Wobbuffet. There's a reason it's dreaded among Nuzlockers.
- Sky Trainers in general, even though they're optional and seemed like a really underused mechanic, are difficult.
- That god damn bridge on Route 19. You have to battle Shauna and Tierno back-to-back with no chance to heal, and then Trevor immediately afterwards.
i'd add a couple of personal nuzlocke nightmares:
- there's a trainer on the route before reflection cave with a terrifying sigilyph
- the inverse battle guy has alarmingly high-level pokémon
- as you say, sky trainers are v scary
N's Sigilyph before Elesa's gym and Elesa herself.
I haven’t been following this thread very much, but I distinctly remember a pair of Ace Trainers on Route 215 in Platinum that were always a fun challenge to try and take on. In Diamond & Pearl, they use two Pokémon each for a total of four in the optional Double Battle, but in Platinum that number goes up to three Pokémon each for a full team of six in the optional Double Battle. I had to look this up on Bulbapedia, but just look at this team composition:
Edit: I’m 90% positive the Ralts is a Kirlia and that this was an error by whoever posted this.
Elsewhere across the franchise, I can think of a few other battles from the spin-offs that have me a tough time my first time through. There’s a rematch with Drapion in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia where it’s joined by four Weavile that I remember being particularly annoying, and in Mystery Dungeon: Explorers there are a surprising amount of early-game Pokémon that can give you trouble if you lack the team members to beat them. Mt. Bristle in particular suddenly becomes way harder in the off chance your team consists of Pikachu and Charmander, let me tell you.
Edit: I’m 90% positive the Ralts is a Kirlia and that this was an error by whoever posted this.
Elsewhere across the franchise, I can think of a few other battles from the spin-offs that have me a tough time my first time through. There’s a rematch with Drapion in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia where it’s joined by four Weavile that I remember being particularly annoying, and in Mystery Dungeon: Explorers there are a surprising amount of early-game Pokémon that can give you trouble if you lack the team members to beat them. Mt. Bristle in particular suddenly becomes way harder in the off chance your team consists of Pikachu and Charmander, let me tell you.
After reading your post I was like "Hmm, wasn't that already mentioned in the Hilarious NPC Quotes?" and I checked and it was me lol. But yea, love that reference.
Testinggg
Banned deucer.
I thought of Butterfree, but reliance on grinding it so it can spam Confusion and hoping Onyx doesn’t use Bind to get free damage is risky. If it uses Screech before Tackle it can really threaten your team. Geodude isn’t much of a threat though.