Let's Play! Herman Gigglethorpe's Pokemon Solo Playthroughs

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Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowpoke Part 7: Strange NPC Dialogue


CRYSTAL and her Slowpoke could have beaten Morty the Ghost type Gym Leader in Ecruteak City, but she decided to go exploring to the west instead in Routes 38-39 and Olivine City. Hooray for non-linear region design!


Most of the trainers had Pokemon in the high teens to low 20s level range. They included everything from Doduo to Fearow to Wooper to Flaafy. Lass Dana's level 18 Flaafy was especially strange because its Thunder Wave missed CHEIBRIADS. I am not kidding about this. Do moves have a 1/256 chance to fail in Crystal like in the first generation games, or is this some different glitch? Thunder Wave is supposed to have 100 accuracy in this game.

CHEIBRIADS outsped a surprising number of Pokemon, including a couple of Doduos. The enemy trainers must have no bonus stats at all on their Pokemon (either "effort values" gained from training or the random "individual values" added to stats).

More significant were the odd lines from various trainers. Here are a few highlights:

"Along the way to CIANWOOD, there are four deserted islands. Bad kids are taken to the islands as punishment!”

-A father in Olivine City


“Whenever I get in trouble, Daddy always scares me”.

-Olivine dad's daughter


“Right. Anybody would be worried if his or her own Pokemon were hurt. I’ll pray for the Pokemon here, so JASMINE can come back to the GYM”

-A trainer in Olivine Lighthouse. What religions exist in the Pokemon world? Don't say "Arceus worship", because that Pokemon didn't exist until the fourth generation.


“I’m trying to see how far I can go using just bug Pokemon. Don’t let there be any fire Pokemon. . .”

-A monotype challenge enthusiast in the Battle Tower. (A place unique to Crystal.)


“CRYSTAL! This isn’t the time to use that!”

-Professor Oak telepathically scolding CRYSTAL about attempting to ride her bike in Olivine Lighthouse.


“MOOMOO MILK is good for beauty and health, but inconveniently, they only sell a bottle at a time”.

-A trainer near the Moomoo Milk farm. Maybe the business model is based on artificial scarcity like diamonds.


There were a couple of phone calls too. Mom bought an "adorable doll" with CRYSTAL's money after a battle with Sailor Eugene.

Mom Spending Count: 5 (I think of her as a deadbeat dependent on her 10-year-old daughter's income.)


Youngster Joey asked for another rematch after a battle with Bird Keeper Denis. He's CRYSTAL's needy boyfriend.


Youngster Joey Call Count: 5


A random guy in a cafe west of Olivine City handed CRYSTAL the HM for Strength. I wonder how many kids didn't talk to him when this game was new.



CHEIBRIADS the Slowpoke Stats

Level 34

HP: 118
Attack: 61
Defense: 59
Special Attack: 44
Special Defense: 44
Speed: 31



Moves

Curse
Surf
Confusion
Swift

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowbro Part 8: Rival in Denial

CHEIBRIADS's new training regimen involved beating up the weak trainers in the regions east of Ecruteak City and north of Mahogany Town. There was a lake that seemed to block the way, but walking through the Mt. Mortar caves allowed my to access these areas without having to get Morty's badge first.

??? was right about how weak all the Johto trainers were. Their levels ranged from the mid teens to low 20s, and Slowpoke outsped and killed most of them with Surf. At least some brought fully evolved Pokemon like Gyarados, Sandslash, Nidoking, and Nidoqueen. CRYSTAL paid Team Rocket's 1000 Pokedollar toll twice because maybe she was too conscientious to just barge through with Slowpoke?

CRYSTAL couldn't go east of Mahogany Town because there was a Ragecandybar salesman blocking the way. Another man blocked the Gym entrance and told CRYSTAL to check out the Lake of Rage. I couldn't do that because using Surf outside of battle required Morty's badge from the Ecruteak City Gym. Cianwood was across the sea, and also had the medicine for Ampharos needed to get Jasmine to return to Olivine's Gym. There was no place left to go on land, so CRYSTAL backtracked to Ecruteak.

The Burned Tower contained an event unique to this version. Eusine talked about looking for Suicune, and was thrilled when CRYSTAL released it along with Raikou and Entei. This happened because CRYSTAL fell into a pit after winning Slowpoke's last battle with ???.

??? led with a level 20 Haunter that used Lick once before succumbing to Confusion. CHEIBRIADS swamped a level 18 Magnemite with Surf before it could act. Slowpoke outsped ???'s level 22 Croconaw and attacked with Swift. It got in a couple of Bites before dying. The last Pokemon was a level 20 Zubat that had its brains fried with a single Confusion before it could move. After losing, he said “This is why I hate battling wimps. There’s no challenge in it". He was clearly in denial.

CHEIBRIADS reached level 37 and evolved into Slowbro after defeating ???. In case you want a stat comparison between its final Slowpoke stats and its evolved stats:

Slowpoke Stats level 37

HP: 129
Attack: 67
Defense: 65
Special Attack: 48
Special Defense: 48
Speed: 34

Slowbro Stats level 37

HP: 132
Attack: 75
Defense: 98
Special Attack: 92
Special Defense: 77
Speed: 45

This was a dramatic improvement for CHEIBRIADS's Surf and Confusion. I bought an Ice Punch TM from the Goldenrod Department Store and replaced Curse because it was now obsolete. One strange NPC in the mall said this: “I, I, I’m really impatient! I use X Speed in battle to speed up my Pokemon”. A truly impatient Pokemon trainer would pick Totodile at the beginning and play solo rather than spend turns buffing stats.

The advice guy in Ecruteak Gym didn't have useful advice for CRYSTAL. Instead, he told her: “The trainers here have secret motives. If you win, they may tell you some deep secrets about ECRUTEAK”. Nothing at all about Ghost/Poison weaknesses. The Gym had an invisible floor that would violate building codes in real life, but as seen in SeeNoEvil the Simipour's trek through Unova, the Pokemon League had no regard for trainer safety.

There were so few Ghost types in the second generation that the trainers only had the Gastly line. Not even a pure Ghost type Misdreavus, which was odd considering it was a new Pokemon at the time. The only resistance Slowbro faced at all was Morty's level 25 Gengar that launched a failed Hypnosis. All the Gastlys and Haunters were Confused to death before they could act. It's sad when a base 30 Speed Pokemon can outspeed half of Johto.

Youngster Joey asked for a battle when CRYSTAL was leaving the Lake of Rage, and once right before I saved and quit. His second call went like this: “My RATTATA’s looking sharper than before! I doubt there’s a Pokemon as cool as this guy in your party! Oh, yeah, I saw a wild PIDGEY! I thought about going for it, but I decided to work with my one-and-only right to the extreme end”.

Youngster Joey Call Count: 7

When CRYSTAL tuned into Professor Oak's Pokemon Talk, I started to wonder if it was an appropriate show for children. Mary the host said Bellsprout was "sensually frightening" and "heart-meltingly suave and debonair". Maybe Professor Oak and Mary were kinky.


CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro Stats

Level 38 @ Nothing


HP: 136
Attack: 77
Defense: 101
Special Attack: 95
Special Defense: 80
Speed: 47

Moves

Ice Punch
Surf
Confusion
Swift

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowbro Part 9: Team Rocket Executives Don't Deserve Names

CRYSTAL and Lance teamed up to stop the radio signal forcing Magikarp to evolve into Gyarados at the Lake of Rage. Lance's Dragonite Hyper Beamed one of the Team Rocket minions, proving that Pokemon were used as weapons against humans.

Almost none of the trainers were noteworthy. They had Zubats, Drowzees, Rattatas, Venonats, Koffings, and Grimers. One trainer had Magnemites, and another had a Ditto. The only ones that outsped CHEIBRIADS were a Raticate with Quick Attack and the three Electrodes at the end. Levels ranged from the teens to the mid 20s.

Neither of the Rocket Executive bosses had names. The male Rocket Executive had a Zubat and a Koffing which died to Confusion, and a Raticate that drowned in a Surf. The female Rocket Executive had an Arbok that CHEIBRIADS waterlogged with Surf, and a Murkrow and Gloom which were Ice Punched.

Two of the Electrodes Selfdestructed, and one tried Sonicboom before being KOd by Surf.

Defeating Team Rocket allowed CRYSTAL to challenge the Ice-themed Mahogany Town Gym. Right before I saved and quit, Youngster Joey had this to say: “My RATTATA’s looking sharper than before! I doubt there’s a Pokemon as cool as this guy in your party! Oh yeah, I took down a PIDGEY in the wild the other day. It was a cakewalk. Well, I guess it can’t be helped, us being so tough.” To think I almost got through an update without a Youngster Joey appearance. . .

Youngster Joey Call Count: 8


CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro Stats

Level 42 @ Nothing

HP: 150
Attack: 87
Defense: 112
Special Attack: 106
Special Defense: 89
Speed: 53

Moves

Ice Punch
Surf
Confusion
Swift


EDIT: How could I forget to post the Red Gyarados fight, especially when it's my mission to kill as many unique Pokemon as possible?

The Red Gyarados was at level 30 and had good Special Defense, making it tougher than some Gym Leaders. It used Thrash twice and got confused from the move's side effect. It hurt itself once, and Slowbro gave it 3 knockout Ice Punches. CHEIBRIADS had 96/136 HP after the battle.

 

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Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowbro Part 10: Gym Leaders Out of Order

Johto didn't allow the extreme sequence breaking that OG PUFF enjoyed in Kanto, but CHEIBRIADS could fight the 5th, 6th, and 7th Gym Leaders in any order. Pryce was furthest away and therefore supposedly the hardest. But CHEIBRIADS was overleveled enough that it was easier than the Red Gyarados.

The trainers in this Ice Gym had Pokemon in the mid to late 20s level range, such as the Seel, Jynx, Shellder, and Swinub families. These included the evolved forms Dewgong and Cloyster too. But Slowbro's Confusion coming from her high Special Attack was too much for them. CHEIBRIADS fought everyone but the Gym Leader in one trip with 139/154 HP.

Pryce led with a level 27 Seel. CHEIBRIADS killed it with two Confusions, while her opponent only got in one Icy Wind. The level 29 Dewgong was easier than normal because of a fluke. The first Confusion. . .confused it, it used a critical Headbutt, CHEIBRIADS cast Confusion again, and then Dewgong killed itself when it failed its 50% check. One Surf soaked the level 31 Ice/Ground Piloswine before it had the chance to move.

CRYSTAL Surfed southwest from Olivine to fight the trainers at sea. She could easily mug them all with Slowbro's Confusion and Swift because they all had Water types that had a maximum level of 23. The more notable ones included Tentacruel, Gyarados, Qwilfish, Seaking, and Starmie.

Mom told CRYSTAL she bought "useful items" twice. She probably didn't want Youngster Joey to have a higher Call Count than her.

Mom Spending Count: 7

The next things to do in Cianwood City were to fight Chuck and get the badge from the Fighting type Gym, and get the medicine for Ampharos back in Olivine City.

Eusine fought CRYSTAL after a Suicune sighting on Cianwood's northern beach. He had a level 23 Drowzee and a level 23 Haunter which CHEIBRIADS defeated with Swift and Confusion respectively. The level 25 Electrode was the only one who could outspeed Slowbro at all, and all it could do was a weak Rollout.


CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro Stats


Level 46 @ Nothing

HP: 165
Attack: 96
Defense: 124
Special Attack: 117
Special Defense: 98
Speed: 58

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowbro Part 11: In Which Team Rocket is More Competent Than the Gym Leaders

Chuck's Fighting Gym in Cianwood was so easy that Slowbro didn't take a single hit. The subordinate trainers had Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, and the Machop and Mankey families. All died to Confusion. Chuck led with a level 27 Primeape that drowned in a Surf. The infamous level 30 Water/Fighting Poliwrath fell to Confusion before it could act. No Dynamicpunch-induced confusion in this playthrough! Any Psychic type would have had an advantage here, but I would have expected CHEIBRIADS to take a few hits at least.


Jasmine wasn't any better than the musclebound Chuck. The advice guy said "JASMINE uses the newly discovered steel-type. I don’t know very much about it”. The problem with the "newly discovered" comment was that Jasmine had two level 30 Magnemites, a first generation Pokemon. Magnemite was once a pure Electric type, then GameFreak retroactively slapped a Steel type on it when the Johto games came out. I wonder what people in the Pokemon world thought when their Psychic attacks suddenly dealt half the damage they did before.


Either way, the two Magnemites and the level 35 Steelix couldn't handle Surf. When CRYSTAL left the Gym, Professor Elm called and said that Team Rocket was interfering with Johto radio stations. It was time to return to Goldenrod and disband the gang.


CRYSTAL first caught a Pidgeotto to use purely to Fly back to previously-visited towns. (Quilava and Bellsprout were the HM mules for Cut, Strength, and Flash.)


The Team Rocket Grunts in the Radio Tower typically had Pokemon in the 20s level range. They included the usual Rattatas, Koffings, Grimers, and Zubats that could be killed with Swift or Confusion. One of the more imaginative enemy trainers had a level 30 Porygon that Slowbro washed with Surf.


The door to the Rocket Executives in the Radio Tower was locked, so CRYSTAL had to go to the Department Store basement area to get the key card. Along the way, ??? appeared and challenged her to another battle. His level 30 Golbat, level 28 Magnemite, and level 30 Haunter all collapsed after one hit. The level 32 Feraligatr fell after being hit with 2 Confusions. ??? had it use the Speed debuff Scary Face instead of attacking, and even that missed. A level 32 Dark/Ice Sneasel was the other notable Pokemon. It outsped Slowbro and struck with the base 60 Dark move Faint Attack. When that hit, Slowbro had 161/180 HP. This was likely because both of Sneasel's types were special attacks, and Sneasel's stats were designed for a purely physical fighter. The cat was soaked in a single Surf.


CRYSTAL made sure to pick up the Sleep Talk TM and the Amulet Coin. The Amulet Coin provided no combat bonuses, but it doubled prize money. Not that CRYSTAL really had money troubles at this point, but it might come in handy later. As for the Sleep Talk TM, I have plans for that much later in the game. . .



One Rocket Executive had a level 36 Golbat that managed to outspeed CHEIBRIADS and hit with one Leech Life before croaking. (No, this isn't the Alola games where Leech Life is a viable move.) One Rocket Executive had a team of nothing but Koffings and a Weezing in the level 30-32 range. The female Rocket Executive on the top floor had a level 32 Arbok, a level 32 Vileplume, and a level 32 Murkrow which succumbed to Confusion and Ice Punch.


The "leader" was a nameless male Rocket Executive with a level 33 Houndour, a level 35 Houndoom, and a level 33 Koffing. The Houndoom was the greatest threat Slowbro had faced in a while. It was faster, had high Special Attack, and a Dark type to boost Bite's damage. CHEIBRIADS didn't flinch and swept the dog away with a Surf. Team Rocket's reign was over, and CHEIBRIADS survived with 139/191 HP.

CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro Stats

Level 53 @ Amulet Coin


HP: 191
Attack: 112
Defense: 144
Special Attack: 136
Special Defense: 115
Speed: 69



Moves

Ice Punch
Surf
Confusion
Swift

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowbro Part 12: Sore Losers


Only one Gym remained in Johto, and that was in Blackthorn City. Slowbro met only weak opposition for most of her time in northeastern Johto. Enemies mostly had levels in the mid 20s. Compare this to say, Cinnabar Mansion trainer levels in Fire Red (30s), the Winding Woods of Kalos (50s), or the route west of Sunyshore City in Sinnoh (40s). Johto trainers were pathetic compared to their counterparts in other regions, especially in an area programmed for players who had acquired 7 badges.


Slowbro finally learned Psychic at level 54 (!) after a battle with Pokemaniac Zach. Compare that to a fellow Psychic type, Kadabra, that learns it at level 38. For those trying out Pokemon Crystal challenges at home, the Psychic TM isn't available until you get to Saffron City in Kanto, well after you beat the Elite Four.


Mom found an "adorable doll" while shopping again, and of course she spent CRYSTAL's money.


Mom Spending Count: 8


The Ice Path had several items that were worth dealing with ice sliding and boulder pushing puzzles. These included the Waterfall HM (How many kids missed THAT?), the Rest TM, and a PP Up. When I tried to use a Protein, it wouldn't have any effect, indicating that CHEIBRIADS's Attack had maxed out its "effort values". The Nevermeltice could boost Ice Punch's power in the future if necessary.

Youngster Joey asked for another battle while I was fighting the trainers on the long downhill routes south of Blackthorn City.


Youngster Joey Call Count: 9


Clair's Gym had a Dragon theme, but there were only 4 Dragon types in this generation, and 3 were in the same evolutionary line. The only options these trainers had was to send out Horseas, Seadras, Dratinis, and Dragonairs in the 30s level range. Clair herself had horrible team diversity, with 3 level 37 Dragonairs that were all shattered with a single Ice Punch. Her final Pokemon was a level 40 Water/Dragon Kingdra that fired off one Hyper Beam before CHEIBRIADS shattered its mind with one Psychic. Slowbro won the fight with 180/206 HP, so a base 150 power Normal move barely tickled it.


Clair, like Whitney, refused to give away her badge after CRYSTAL won. To earn the privilege of challenging the Pokemon League, CRYSTAL had to go to the center of the Dragon's Den cave and talk to the Master. Several trainers inside talked about needing "permission" to use Dragon types, which was odd considering an appropriate Poke Ball should have been enough to capture one. I had to backtrack to New Bark Town to catch a Chinchou for an aquatic HM Mule. It could learn Surf (already covered), Waterfall, Whirlpool, and Flash. Chinchou dispelled the whirlpools blocking the Master's building. CRYSTAL answered a few questions, and then Clair was forced to surrender her badge.


The Pokemon League happened to be in Kanto, which required Surfing east of New Bark Town. CRYSTAL received the Master Ball from Professor Elm and checked up on Youngster Joey. He had evolved his Rattata into a level 21 Raticate, and it managed to sneak in one Quick Attack before drowning in a Surf. Maybe he would have better luck fighting Falkner and Bugsy.

Right after Youngster Joey's rematch, Mom called again saying she found a "useful item". She couldn't let the Rattata enthusiast take the phone call lead!

Mom Spending Count: 9


CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro Stats

Level 57 @ Amulet Coin

HP: 206
Attack: 122
Defense: 157
Special Attack: 149
Special Defense: 126
Speed: 75


Moves

Ice Punch
Surf
Psychic
Swift

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowbro Part 13: Slowbro Enters the Hall of Fame

CRYSTAL Surfed east of her hometown and wound up in the Tohjo Falls border region with Kanto. An NPC even recognized her effort in crossing into the second region as soon as she stepped on land. Most of the trainers were wimps who had Pokemon in the 30s level range, and were barely worth mentioning at all. Cool Trainer Joyce left me confused when she said she beat 8 Gym Leaders with only a level 36 Pikachu and level 32 Blastoise. (Illegal, by the way. Blastoise's minimum level is 36.) Perhaps she used a ton of X item buffs.


Youngster Joey asked for a battle after I beat Cool Trainer Gaven and his Victreebel, Kingler, and Flareon. They must have excellent cell phone service in the Pokemon world (in 2000-2001, even).

Youngster Joey Call Count: 10

When CRYSTAL beat Cool Trainer Jake and his Parasect and Golduck, Mom said she spent CRYSTAL's money on an "adorable doll".

Mom Spending Count: 10


Generation 2's Victory Road was probably the shortest in the series. It was only a few screens long, didn't rely on HM puzzles, and its only trainer was ???. ??? led with a level 34 Sneasel that debuffed CHEIBRIADS's Defense with Screech before falling to Surf. The level 34 Magneton, level 36 Golbat, level 35 Haunter, level 35 Kadabra, and level 38 Feraligatr all collapsed after a single Surf or Psychic. Sneasel was the only enemy Pokemon that acted at all.


CHEIBRIADS was at level 60 going into the Pokemon League, and was still wielding the Amulet Coin. This was probably a mistake. Will lead with a level 40 Psychic/Flying Xatu that cast Confuse Ray and made Slowbro hurt herself once. It used Psychic, and then CHEIBRIADS snapped out of confusion and Ice Punched it back into its Poke Ball. The level 41 Grass/Psychic Exeggutor wasn't fast enough to outrun a Slowbro's Ice Punch. The level 42 Xatu concentrated and got in a critical hit Psychic before suffering from Ice Punch frostbite.

Will's level 41 Jynx was probably the most dangerous Pokemon in Indigo Plateau. Its Lovely Kiss put Slowbro to sleep on turn 1. Slowbro snoozed for about 5 turns as Jynx Doubleslapped and Psychic'd. Psychic sometimes got the Special Defense debuff too. When CHEIBRIADS finally woke up, she crushed Jynx with Surf. Will's last Pokemon was a rival Slowbro at level 41. I used Psychic once hoping for a Special Defense drop, and it dealt a surprising amount of damage. The enemy used Amnesia to buff its Special Defense, so the only hope was to keep hitting with Swift. Will didn't bother using a healing item on his last Pokemon, so Swift was enough. Slowbro survived with only 34/222 HP.


Before facing Koga, I swapped out the Amulet Coin for a sleep-curing Mint Berry (Chesto Berry in later games). I wanted to get through the Pokemon League while using only hold items in combat. Items like Potions were only allowed after each match ended. Koga was much weaker than Will. His level 40 Bug/Poison Ariados, a level 43 Bug/Steel Forretress, a level 42 Muk, and a level 41 Venomoth all lost to Psychic or Surf before they could move. A level 44 Poison/Flying Crobat was fast enough to use 1 Wing Attack before falling to Psychic. Slowbro won with 209/226 HP.


Bruno was even easier than Koga. His pure Fighting types including a level 42 Hitmontop, a level 42 Hitmonchan, a level 42 Hitmonlee, and a level 46 Machamp all died to Psychic. The level 43 Rock/Ground Onix (?) was eroded by Surf. (He could have at least had a Bug/Fighting Heracross. . .) No damage was taken.

Karen the master of Dark types was as threatening as Will. Her level 42 Umbreon was sturdy enough to need two Surfs to kill. It managed to sneak up to CHEIBRIADS and use a Faint Attack on her once. The level 44 Murkrow was quick enough to outspeed Slowbro and strike with Faint Attack before being frozen with Ice Punch. The level 42 Grass/Poison Vileplume had its mind warped with Psychic before it could move.

The speedy level 45 Gengar used the Ghost type Curse on CHEIBRIADS before being defeated with one Psychic. This would have drained Slowbro's HP by 1/4 at the end of each turn, but for some reason it didn't activate when Gengar died. I think poison damage works this way too. Either way, that weird 2nd generation quirk worked to my advantage. The level 47 Houndoom was the worst enemy of all. It was fast, had high special attack, and the ultimate Dark move Crunch. Slowbro Surfed it to death with only 74/229 HP remaining.

Before facing Lance, I swapped CHEIBRIADS's item to the Nevermeltice. This would give a slight power boost to Ice Punch. Lance started with a level 44 Gyarados that was hardy enough to survive one Psychic. It used Hyper Beam once before Slowbro finished it off with Swift. Both level 47 Dragonites failed to move before an Ice Punch. The level 50 Dragonite cast Outrage before it too died to an Ice Punch. (Outrage isn't as strong in this game as it would be in Sinnoh games.) The level 46 Aerodactyl used Ancientpower before drowning in a Surf. Lance's final Pokemon was a level 46 Charizard that used Wing Attack before having its tail fire put out with Surf. CHEIBRIADS entered the Hall of Fame with 114/234 HP. The total play time was 12:30.

No stat section this time because this part and the next post are based on one play session.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowbro Part 14: Pathetic Postgame

Professor Elm gave CRYSTAL a ticket for the S.S. Aqua in Olivine City so she could take on the rest of Kanto. For a place only accessible after beating the Indigo Plateau gauntlet, the S.S. Aqua had trainers no better than the weaklings in Johto. Some trainers had unevolved Pokemon in the high 20s level range.


When CRYSTAL landed in Vermilion City, Youngster Joey bragged about refusing to catch a Caterpie and sticking to his Raticate solo run.


Youngster Joey Call Count: 11


The guy in the Pokemon Fan Club who was obsessed with Rapidash gave CRYSTAL a Rare Candy as a reward for listening to him. In any solo run, you should save these for the end of the game when it takes much more experience to gain the final levels.


The trial and error traps in Lt. Surge's Gym were inactive when CRYSTAL arrived. The Electric specialist trainers were still weak, with one having a level 27 Magnemite in a team. Before fighting Surge, Slowbro equipped a PRZcureberry in case of an unlucky paralysis, which was a common risk when fighting Electric types.


The "Lightning American" led with a level 44 Raichu, which fell to Surf, and a level 40 Magneton, which also died in one hit from Surf. The level 46 Electabuzz was fast enough to hit with a base 120 power Thunder for super effective damage. It too collapsed when hit by a Surf. The fights with two level 40 Electrodes played out the same, so I wondered if the RNG was as primitive as Etrian Odyssey 3's. On the first turn, they Double Teamed and Surf missed. On round 2, they attacked with Swift and Surf hit for a KO. Slowbro survived with 137/241 HP.


In Saffron City, Pokemon Crystal's memory limitations became apparent. All but the ground floor of Silph Co. was closed because the rest of the building was for "employees only". To compensate CRYSTAL for her trouble, the guard gave her the evolution item for Porygon. Youngster Joey boasted about how his "Rattata" (i.e. Raticate) took down a Pidgey.


Youngster Joey Call Count: 12


The main plot for Kanto revolved around the Power Plant suddenly failing. This disabled the Magnet Train from Saffron to Goldenrod, among other things. This was the same Power Plant where Zapdos once lived in the first generation games. They must have refurbished it, because it was an abandoned dump previously.


More evidence of the Game Boy's low memory could be seen near Celadon. The police closed down the Underground Path because of various hooligans causing trouble there.


CRYSTAL found one of the best hold items in a trash can in a restaurant in Celadon City. The Leftovers could restore 1/16 of Slowbro's max HP at the end of every turn. It's still used in competitive battling many generations later.


One odd comment from an NPC in Celadon's department store struck me: "A vending machine with a prize roulette. . .you never see those anymore". Was that a common practice in Japan?


The pervert who was ogling the trainers in the Celadon Gym was still there three years after the first generation games, and he didn't have any dialogue changed when he was talking to a female player character. As soon as that conversation ended, Youngster Joey called again bragging about how he was only going to use Rattata instead of a wild Pidgey he found. He always has the best timing.


Youngster Joey Call Count: 13


Lass Michelle in the Celadon Gym swapped out her Skiploom for a Hoppip. AI trainers in early Pokemon games switch Pokemon so rarely that I wonder what makes them decide to do it. It couldn't save her Grass/Flying types from Ice Punch, at least.


Erika started with a level 42 Tangela, whose vines snapped off when Slowbro Ice Punched it. Her level 41 Jumpluff and level 46 Bellossom met the same fate without being able to move. A Psychic destroyed the level 46 Victreebel and won me the badge without taking any damage in the whole Gym. Even after the Elite 4, CHEIBRIADS outspeeds a surprising amount of trainer Pokemon.


I didn't equip the Leftovers until after CRYSTAL defeated Erika. Probably an oversight on my part. The Focus Band, an item giving a small chance at surviving a fatal attack with 1 HP, could be found in the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City. The Karate Master wasn't there because he was training in Mt. Mortar's caves. The next Gym will be Sabrina's Psychic teleporter maze in Saffron City.


CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro Stats

Level 68 @ Leftovers

HP: 249
Attack: 149
Defense: 190
Special Attack: 181
Special Defense: 153
Speed: 93

Moves

Ice Punch
Surf
Psychic
Swift (Don't want to waste the Return TM yet. . .)

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowbro Part 15: Wild Pokemon Are Better Than Gym Leaders


Sabrina's Gym was about as weak as the others had been, but it at least generated some memorable lines. Medium Rebecca said "The power of all those you defeated comes to me!" before sending out a level 35 Drowzee and level 35 Hypno. Slowbro, who had literally gained power of all those she defeated with the help of experience points, defeated Rebecca without a struggle. Medium Doris had the worst excuse for losing ever: “Darn! I forgot that I predicted I would lose to you”. Before facing the Gym Leader, I finally replaced Swift with the 102 base power Return.


Sabrina at least had a level 46 Espeon and a level 48 Alakazam that were fast enough to use a resisted Psychic once before CHEIBRIADS swept them away with a Surf. The level 46 Mr. Mime didn't even accomplish that much. Slowbro survived 224/249 HP because of Leftovers recovery.


CRYSTAL accidentally ran into the real Janine in Fuchsia City's Gym while trying to gain experience by fighting her doppelgangers. All five of her Pokemon died in one hit to either Return, Ice Punch, or Surf before they could move: Crobat, Ariados, 2 Weezings, and a Venomoth. Janine was horrible even by 2nd generation standards because her highest level Pokemon was at 39. Even Clair in Blackthorn did better than that with her Kingdra!


The sea route south of Fuchsia was closed due to a recent volcanic eruption, or more likely the developers ran out of space. CRYSTAL headed back to Cerulean City, where the only real plot of the Kanto arc occurred. One NPC said that there was once a cave to the west of town. This was the Unknown Dungeon that had Mewtwo, but it must have collapsed years later. In its former location was the Berserk Gene, a held item that increases Attack but confuses its wielder.


Slowbro finally reached 100 Speed when she reached level 72 while fighting trainers east of Cerulean on the way to the Power Plant. Misty wasn't in her Gym, and the only way to bring her back was to retrieve the part missing from the generator. The last Team Rocket holdout revealed in broken English that he had thrown the part into the water in the middle of Cerulean's Gym after CHEIBRIADS defeated his level 30 Golbat.


Misty was out on a date near Bill's house, only for that "pest" CRYSTAL to show up and mess with her plans. Misty had a variety of Water types, including a level 42 Golduck, a level 47 Starmie, a level 42 Quagsire, and a level 44 Lapras. Starmie outsped CHEIBRIADS and dazzled her with Confuse Ray, but Slowbro never attacked herself. One Return, Psychic, or Surf was enough to beat any of her Pokemon in one hit.


To get to Lavender Town, CRYSTAL went through the Rock Tunnel. It seemed remarkably empty after three years. An Iron had no effect, indicating that Slowbro maxed out her Defense effort values. A Steel Wing TM would have been valuable if I had been using a Flying type like Pidgeot or Noctowl.


Lavender Town had more cheerful music and replaced its Pokemon Tower with a Radio Tower in a rather crass move. CRYSTAL couldn't go beyond the first floor because of increased security after the scare with Team Rocket in Goldenrod. The justifications for inaccessible places in this game are creative, I must admit.

The Poke Flute station on the Poke Gear radio woke up a level 50 wild Snorlax. It survived the first Surf, which should automatically have qualified it for many Gym badges. Snorlax used Rollout and both Pokemon recovered with Leftovers. A final Surf defeated Snorlax, clearing the way to Diglett's Tunnel.


With Diglett's Tunnel now open, CRYSTAL could challenge the western parts of Kanto. Viridian Forest was effectively a hedge maze now. I don't think any NPCs said it was cut down in the time between the first generation and the second, but I may have missed some dialogue. Pewter City's museum was closed for "renovations", making it yet another victim of cartridge space limitations. An old man gave CRYSTAL a Silver Wing needed to confront Lugia in the Whirl Islands caves in Johto.


Brock had a level 41 Graveler, a level 42 Omastar, a level 42 Kabutops, a level 44 Onix, and a level 41 Rhyhorn. None could survive a single Surf, not even the Rock/Water Omastar and Kabutops who would have taken neutral damage. Why couldn't he have had at least a Rhydon, a Golem, or an Aerodactyl?


CHEIBRIADS's next challenges should be Mt. Moon, the Cinnabar Island region, Viridian City, Lugia and Suicune, and finally Red on Mt. Silver. (Ho-oh doesn't count for this challenge because you need to catch Raikou, Entei, and Suicune to fight it in Crystal.)

EDIT: I forgot to mention Youngster Joey. He called three times in this session. Once to ask for another battle, and once to brag about how he wasn't going to use a Pidgey, and once about how he beat up a Caterpie.

Youngster Joey Call Count: 16

CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro Stats

Level 77 @ Leftovers

HP: 285
Attack: 172
Defense: 219
Special Attack: 209
Special Defense: 179
Speed: 109


Moves

Ice Punch
Surf
Psychic
Return

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowbro Part 16: Finally, Opponents Above Level 50!


Youngster Jimmy east of Pewter City was the official shorts kid: "I wear shorts the whole year round. That’s my fashion policy". I run into plenty of people in real life who have the same idea.


Mt. Moon was much smaller in Crystal than it had been in the first generation games. ??? appeared there and challenged CRYSTAL to the final rival battle. His level 41 Sneasel, level 41 Magneton, level 42 Golbat, level 43 Gengar, level 43 Alakazam, and level 45 Feraligatr all died in one hit to one of Slowbro's moves before they could attack.


In the Viridian City Trainer House, a guy named Cal who looked like the male player character fought CRYSTAL with level 50 fully-evolved Johto starters. Meganium became iceberg lettuce after an Ice Punch, Feraligatr was dazzled by Psychic, and Surf swept away Typhlosion.


Youngster Joey asked for a battle shortly after that.


Youngster Joey Call Count: 17


One man in Pallet Town said "Technology is incredible! You can now trade Pokemon across time like e-mail". I've never been able to send an email back in time, but then again I've never stuffed a live animal into my PC either.


An eruption destroyed most of Cinnabar Island's town. Blue (the rival OG PUFF fought) reflected on the destructive power of nature before returning to Viridian City's Gym. Blaine had relocated to a tiny cave in what was left of the Seafoam Islands. His level 45 Magcargo, level 45 Magmar, and level 50 Rapidash drowned in a Surf before they could move at all. Yes, a Slowbro really outran a Rapidash. Either CHEIBRIADS has an amazing Speed "individual value", or the opponents in Pokemon Crystal have abysmal stats.


Blue in Viridian Gym had higher level Pokemon than the previous Kanto Gym Leaders, but they still weren't able to stand up to CRYSTAL. The level 56 Pidgeot, level 58 Exeggutor, and level 56 Rhydon all fell to one Ice Punch or Surf before they could move. The level 58 Arcanine breathed a Flamethrower before being waterlogged, and the level 54 Alakazam set up Reflect. A level 58 Gyarados was his strongest Pokemon because it took two Psychics to do it in. Its one attack was an ineffectual Hyper Beam. CHEIBRIADS won with 288/301 HP.


After CRYSTAL had won all 16 badges, Youngster Joey called bragging about how he beat up a low level Caterpie.


Youngster Joey Call Count: 18


I took a detour to Johto before climbing Mt. Silver to battle Red. The level 40 Suicune in Tin Tower had its mind shattered with a single Psychic. The level 60 Lugia in the Whirl Islands caves took two Ice Punches to kill due to its high HP and Special Defense. It didn't bother to attack at all, instead picking Recover (it outsped Slowbro and wasted a turn this way), and Rain Dance.

Not long after the legendary bird died, Youngster Joey talked about how he would stick with his Rattata solo run instead of using a Caterpie.

Final Youngster Joey Call Count: 19 (Not one "top percentage" call!)


CRYSTAL had to talk to Professor Oak in Pallet Town to open the gate to Mt. Silver. In case you doubt Professor Oak is a fraud, look at these quotes from his assistants:


"The PROF’s POKEMON TALK radio program isn’t aired here in KANTO. It’s a shame---I’d like to hear it”.


Why would Professor Oak not air his radio show in the region where he lives? Maybe the residents of Pallet Town know him too well.


“Don’t tell anyone, but PROF. OAK’S POKEMON TALK isn’t a live broadcast”.


Oak is the Pokemon equivalent of Milli Vanilli. If pressed to answer any questions about Pokemon in public, all he can do is stammer. The "don't tell anyone" part is alarming.


No stats section for this post because I also fought Red in this long session. That deserves a separate post.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowbro Finale: Second Generation is the Stall Metagame For a Reason

Shortly before fighting Red, CHEIBRIADS forgot Ice Punch and Return and replaced them with Rest and Sleep Talk. This tactic works differently in Gold, Silver, and Crystal than in later Pokemon games. Here, if Sleep Talk picks Rest, it "re-sleeps" the Pokemon and restores it to full health. In any later generation, randomly picking Rest would waste a turn.

Red started with a level 81 Pikachu, which should have been frightening for a slow Water/Psychic type. Instead of using any Electric move, Pikachu used. . .the Attack debuff Charm. This resulted in a one hit knockout with Surf. A level 73 Espeon took two Surfs to kill, and my opponent used Psychic twice. The second Psychic dealt critical damage. As for the level 75 Snorlax, well, it's best to let the battle log speak for itself:

Round 1

Slowbro used Psychic. Snorlax used Amnesia (Special Defense +2).

Round 2

Slowbro used Psychic. Snorlax used Body Slam.

Round 3

Slowbro used Psychic. Snorlax used Body Slam.

Round 4

Slowbro used Psychic. Snorlax used Rest (sleep, restore full HP)

Round 5

Slowbro used Psychic. Snorlax used Snore (weak Normal attack that only works while asleep).

Round 6

Slowbro used Psychic. Snorlax used Snore.

Round 7

Slowbro used Psychic. Snorlax used Body Slam.

Round 8

Slowbro used Rest, Snorlax used Rest.

Round 9

Slowbro used Sleep Talk Psychic. Snorlax used Snore.

Round 10

Slowbro used Sleep Talk Surf. Snorlax used Snore.

Round 11

Slowbro used Surf. Snorlax used Body Slam (critical and paralysis on Slowbro.)

Round 12

Snorlax used Rest. Slowbro fully paralyzed.

Round 13

Snorlax used Snore. Slowbro fully paralyzed.

Round 14

Snorlax used Snore. Slowbro used Rest.

Round 15

Slowbro used Sleep Talk Surf. Snorlax used Body Slam.

Round 16

Slowbro used Sleep Talk Psychic. Snorlax used Body Slam.

Round 17

Slowbro used Surf. A critical hit ignored Amnesia buffs and killed Snorlax.


A 17 round battle is ridiculously long for a single player Pokemon battle. If you consider the lower base power moves at the time of the second generation, lower offensive stats in general, Leftovers HP recovery, and the Rest-Sleep Talk combination, you can see why Smogon talks so much about this being the period when stall tactics were at their strongest. Anyone who complains about critical hits should read this battle log to see the justification for it. If it weren't for that last Surf, there was a real chance CHEIBRIADS would run out of PP and be forced to Struggle through the final boss. A couple of PP Ups for Psychic could only take me so far.

After the Snorlax debacle, the rest of the team was easy. The level 77 Venusaur set up Sunny Day instead of attacking, probably so it could use Solarbeam with no charge up turns. This gave CHEIBRIADS the opportunity to kill the Grass/Poison starter with Psychic. A level 77 Blastoise's first Blizzard missed, and Slowbro hit with Psychic. The second Blizzard hit, but wasn't very effective because Slowbro was a Water type. A final Psychic sent the turtle back into its Poke Ball. Charizard benefited a bit from Sunny Day because Surfs were now at half power, and its Flamethrowers were 1.5 times as strong. Two Flamethrowers and two Surfs later, and CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro was the undisputed Champion of both Johto and Kanto.

Thanks to Leftovers, Slowbro survived with 194/306 HP at level 82. I didn't even need to use my 4 or so stockpiled Rare Candies to level up.

Final Stats

HP: 306
Attack: 186
Defense: 237
Special Attack: 225
Special Defense: 192
Speed: 118

Moves

Rest
Sleep Talk
Surf
Psychic


Playtime: 17:42

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Slowbro Postscript


I thought using a slow Pokemon would make Johto/Kanto more difficult . I was wrong. The AI trainers had awful levels and stats for most of the game, so even a base 30 Speed Pokemon could outrun most of them. Kanto was especially silly about this, because level 50 and over trainer Pokemon didn't appear again until Blaine, Cal, and Blue. Janine's team was in the 30s, which was lower than the 8th Gym Leader Clair back in Johto. Why was the game programmed this way? You can't even go to most of Kanto until you defeat Lance, who has a level 50 Dragonite. It feels weird to fight through a game with 16 Gyms and only end up at level 82 with a Medium Fast experience group Pokemon.


The main difficulty was at the beginning, when Slowpoke had to make do with Curse and Tackle at a time when Rock types were common. Slowpoke doesn't learn its most basic Water and Psychic moves until 15 and 20, making it hard to recommend for a full party playthrough where your levels will be lower.


They say Water types are great in Gold, Silver, and Crystal for a reason. As soon as you beat the Kimono Girls in Ecruteak City, you have a 95 base power attack with a same type damage bonus. If you're a Water type with arms, you can backtrack to Goldenrod and buy a cheap Ice Punch TM. That gives you a 75 base power Ice move to deal with Dragon and Grass types which would otherwise be annoying for Water Pokemon. If the day is set to Sunday, Return is also available in the Goldenrod department store. With max happiness that's easy to acquire in a solo run, that means 102 base power Normal damage. No Pokemon in this generation resists both Water and Normal. Slowbro's Psychic is a nice bonus, but you don't get that until level 54, well after most of the Johto Gyms.


If you're willing to pay tons of money to get Coins in Goldenrod, a Move Tutor can teach Slowbro Flamethrower and Ice Beam in Crystal. You can also play around with Shadow Ball and Earthquake if you want.


Slowbro's sturdiness partially makes up for its lack of Speed. The only real threats to it late in the game are Electric types like Surge's Electabuzz and Red's Pikachu, as well as Dark types like Karen and a Rocket Executive's Houndoom. But Dark types are rare (only 6 in generation 2), and you stop seeing the dangerous ones after defeating Karen. Slowbro is weak to Grass, but you'll outspeed Erika's team, and the strongest single turn Grass move is Giga Drain at 60. If Red's Venusaur tries to use the base 120 Solarbeam, you have a turn to kill it with Psychic.


If you really want Gold, Silver, or Crystal to be harder, try using a Grass Pokemon. The Johto Gyms hate them, probably because all the types Grass is good against were already used up in Kanto.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Part 1: Announcing the Stupidest NPC in a Pokemon Game Ever

Pokemon X isn't my favorite entry in the series, but its wide selection of monsters early on makes it easy to replay. My previous playthroughs had all been in Spanish, so I chose the English script to see what differences exist. The protagonist this time was a female trainer named SOLEDAD.

It didn't matter what starter I picked, but I picked Froakie the Water frog just because. On Route 2, the Pokemon catching tutorial cutscene played, and then Shauna said "The Pokemon went INSIDE the Poke Ball?!" This character lives in a world where nobody shuts up about Pokemon, so she must be the most dense character in the series. Even Professor Oak forgetting his grandson's insulting name or not knowing the player character's gender can't top that line.

The first routes and Viridian Santalune Forest were easy with Froakie's Bubble, though I made sure to sneak past as many trainers as possible to provide more experience points for my chosen solo Pokemon. SOLEDAD caught the obligatory early game Normal type Bunnelby so she could trade it for Quacklin' the Farfetch'd in Santalune City.

Froakie wasn't up to the job in the first Gym and had to switch out to Farfetch'd against Youngster David's level 10 Ledyba. (The solo rules didn't apply until I got the One.) Quacklin's Aerial Ace destroyed the level 9-12 Bug types in the spider web Gym, including Viola's team. Viola led with a level 10 Bug/Water Surskit that died in one Aerial Ace. The level 12 Bug/Flying Vivillon took 3 hits, but that was because it used Harden twice to buff its Defense. The Gym Leader's final move was a critical hit Infestation, which barely did anything with its low base power and my Flying type's Bug resistance. SOLEDAD defeated the camera pun Gym Leader, forcing Viola to surrender her badge and her Infestation TM.

Viola's sister Alexa had blander dialogue in the English version. Instead of saying "My saint is leaving me for heaven", she said "Oh! Sorry, I never did introduce myself, did I?". Only one major city into the game and I already prefer the Spanish script. Now that I had the badge, she no longer blocked the way to the next route .

On Route 4, it took some time to get my desired solo Pokemon. Vespiquen has a unique moveset and mostly good base stats, but first I had to get a female Combee. Only female Combees can evolve into Vespiquen, and the gender ratio is 87.5% male. Getting one took running away from enough Flabebes, Skitties, Budews, and Raltses to power up a Final Fantasy 5 Chicken Knife. When SOLEDAD saw the signature mark in the center, she sent out Farfetch'd to use Fury Cutter to soften up the honeybee. It took a couple of tries, but SOLEDAD captured the Combee and named her BEETRICE after the awful pun in King's Quest 5. (Anyone who knows that game will know what I'll name a Noctowl if I ever do that solo. . .) This will also be a "no Battle Items in combat" challenge (e.g. Potion, X Attack), though Affection bonuses and hold items are permitted.

BEETRICE came with a Calm Nature, a "takes plenty of siestas" characteristic, and these stats:

Level 8

HP: 25
Attack: 9 (-10% Nature penalty)
Defense: 12
Special Attack: 11
Special Defense: 13 (+10% Nature buff)
Speed: 16


Her moveset started with only Sweet Scent (Evasion debuff) and Gust (40 base power Flying special attack). SOLEDAD backtracked to Santalune Forest and started mugging the local trainers. They were easy to beat because the strongest Pokemon there was a level 5 Pikachu that sometimes used non-attacking moves instead of Thundershock. One trainer in that area was Youngster Joey, but he was no relation to CRYSTAL's Rattata-obsessed boyfriend.

On Route 22 east of Santalune City, BEETRICE had a close call with a Normal/Fire Litleo that could use Ember, but otherwise didn't have too much trouble. Winning another battle on that route gave BEETRICE the move Bug Bite (60 base power physical Bug attack). The Calm Nature Attack debuff sometimes made Bug Bite less effective than Gust, but it was still nice to have a more diverse moveset.

When SOLEDAD entered Paris Lumiose City, she automatically received the Return TM. You can't get this until Goldenrod in Pokemon Crystal, or the 3rd Gym city. A potential 102 base power move is great for any physical Normal type at this point, though they probably wouldn't have max friendship right now.

Professor Sycamore challenged SOLEDAD with level 10 Kanto starters. Bulbasaur wasn't too much of a problem with the help of Gust, but fighting Charmander and its Ember without any healing items was hopeless.

Death Count: 1

The story continued as if nothing had happened, and Sycamore gave SOLEDAD a Squirtle. I picked the Water type because it would be an effective HM Mule later on. The Cafe Soleil owner said "If you're like a cheerful sun, everyone will be grateful. If you're like the Pokemon Solrock. . .well, some things are better left unsaid. . ." Could someone please explain this quote? Is there a Solrock-related proverb in the Pokemon world?

Tierno the dancing joke "rival" on Route 5 was surprisingly tough with his level 12 Corphish. It was an exchange of blows between Corphish's Vicegrip and Combee's Gust, but BEETRICE came out the winner with 16/42 HP. After the battle, Tierno said "Man, I really want to meet a Pokemon that can use the move Teeter Dance. Then I'd wanna dance with it, right?" That move would more likely confuse Tierno and make him damage himself.

Youngster Keita was the mandatory shorts kid. He said "Because they're comfy and easy to wear!" after I won his battle.


The next difficult opponent was Tourist Hiroko on Route 6 leading to Parfum Palace. Despite her goofy appearance, she used tactics far more advanced than other AI trainers. Her level 11 Pikachu inflicted both super effective damage and paralysis. (Whether the paralysis came through the passive Static ability or Thundershock, I don't remember.) A level 11 Pidgey's Sand Attack decreased Combee's accuracy to the point where her attacks would often miss. Gusts managed to take out the bird, but then there was a level 11 Psyduck to deal with. Bug Bite missed too many times to avoid defeat by Water Gun soaking.


Death Count: 2

It seemed a wiser move to go somewhere else on the route and evolve Combee before challenging Tourist Hiroko again. She was already at level 19, and two more levels would make BEETRICE a Vespiquen at last.


BEETRICE the Combee Stats

Level 19 @ Honey (useless)
Ability: Honey Gather (also useless in combat)

HP: 46
Attack: 16
Defense: 23
Special Attack: 21
Special Defense: 24
Speed: 33

Moves

Sweet Scent
Bug Bite
Gust

 

[adman2]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Part 2: Revenge of the Tourists

SOLEDAD and BEETRICE the Combee fought other trainers in the tall grass around Parfum Palace and a couple of wild Espurrs. When she reached level 21, Combee became the far superior Pokemon Vespiquen. Compare these stats:

Combee level 21

HP: 50
Attack: 17
Defense: 24
Special Attack: 23
Special Defense: 26
Speed: 36


Vespiquen level 21

HP: 67
Attack: 36
Defense: 50
Special Attack: 44
Special Defense: 53
Speed: 24


The Speed is not a typo. Some Pokemon lose Speed when they evolve, and Vespiquen happens to be one of them. BEETRICE should still be faster than CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro.


When she became a queen, BEETRICE's first edict was for SOLEDAD to defeat Tourist Hiroko. Her Pikachu used Quick Attack instead of an Electric move, letting Vespiquen kill it in one shot with Bug Bite. One Gust struck down Pidgey before it could move, and another Bug Bite chewed up Psyduck.


The level 15 Snorlax on Route 7 managed to paralyze BEETRICE with Lick, but then it wasted all its turns buffing its Special Defense with Amnesia while Vespiquen killed it with the physical Bug Bite. (This move also ate Snorlax's Sitrus Berry before it could use it to auto-heal).


In the Battle Chateau, Vespiquen learned Power Gem, a rare 80 base power special Rock attack. Remember when I said Vespiquen had a unique moveset earlier? This is one of the reasons why. Only about 14 Pokemon lines learn Power Gem as of Pokemon X. Why a Bug/Flying type would use it, I have no idea.


One Artist's Smeargle had such a terrible Attack stat that its Rock Throw left BEETRICE with 62/78 HP in spite of quadruple super effective damage.


Calem and SOLEDAD were forced to fight Trevor and Tierno together. Calem led with a Fletchling that loved to debuff the enemy team's Attack with Growl. Power Gem hit Pikachu first because its Electric attacks were the biggest threat. A combination of Power Gem and Fletchling's Quick Attack killed Flabebe, and another Power Gem knocked out Corphish.


The mountain routes near Ambrette Town had trainers too easy to be worth mentioning. One thing that surprised me was that Bagon of all things was a wild Pokemon on Route 8. Normally, Dragon types appear later on in Pokemon games. I'll give a few examples. Dratini in Fire Red is found in the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City, when you're expected to take on the 5th or 6th Gym. In Sinnoh, Gible is found in the Wayward Cave, which requires Strength in Diamond and Pearl (but not Platinum). Axew in Pokemon Black and White is available in Mistralton Cave after the 5th Gym or so. And Bagon itself is native to a section in Meteor Falls that's only accessible with Surf in Hoenn. (i.e. after the 4th Gym.) Pokemon X has such a wide selection of Pokemon that you can try a Dragon type solo before the 2nd Gym!


Team Flare in Glittering Cave was as weak as usual. Houndours and Zubats could be eliminated with Power Gem. Rock covers a few Bug/Flying weaknesses like Fire, Ice, and Flying.


On the beach side of Route 8, BEETRICE learned Heal Order after smashing a trainer's Masquerain with Power Gem. This is one of Vespiquen's unique move animations, though in practice it's a clone of the more common Recover. Since I'm playing without using Battle Items like Full Restores, a 50% max HP healing move is welcome.


Cyllage City's hotel had the Rest and Sleep Talk TMs. In Pokemon Crystal, these aren't available until after beating 7 Gyms and Team Rocket in the Goldenrod Radio Tower, so you can use this combination much sooner in Pokemon X. (Though you won't have the "re-sleep to full health" chance in Kalos.)


BEETRICE probably wasn't ready to fight Grant's Rock Gym in Cyllage City, so SOLEDAD instead went north and fought the trainers investigating the Stonehenge-like structure nearby. Tourist Fumiko was an opponent as difficult as Tourist Hiroko. Her AI was so good that it must have been a fluke. My opponent led with a level 19 Skiploom that paralyzed BEETRICE with Stun Spore. It fell to a Power Gem because it was Grass/Flying. Next came a level 19 Dunsparce that repeatedly used Ancientpower just like HUBRIS in my first Pokemon X solo run. Fumiko's final Pokemon was a level 19 Azumarill that used OG PUFF's old Defense Curl and Rollout combo. Fumiko's Rock attacks stoned Vespiquen to death.

Death Count: 3


Tourist Fumiko's AI rolled inferior moves on the next attempt. Skiploom cast Fairy Wind instead of a status ailment move. Dunsparce attacked with the weak Pursuit instead of Ancientpower. Azumarill still tried to crush Vespiquen with Rollout, but it didn't increase the base power with Defense Curl this time. Power Gem defeated all three Pokemon, and BEETRICE's defeat was avenged.


BEETRICE the Vespiquen Stats

Level 30 @ Amulet Coin (Thanks, Affection experience point bonus!)

Ability: Pressure


HP: 92
Attack: 50
Defense: 69
Special Attack: 62
Special Defense: 75
Speed: 34



Moves

Power Gem
Gust
Bug Bite
Heal Order

 

[adman2]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Part 3: Stone Sarcophagus

My uneasy feelings about taking on a Rock Gym with a Bug/Flying type were validated in this update. Rising Star Didier had a lineup of a level 21 Bug/Rock Dwebble and a level 23 Water/Rock Relicanth. Dwebble had the ability Sturdy, which guaranteed it would survive a mortal blow from full health with 1 HP. This gave it enough time to attack with the 2-5 hit move Rock Blast. Fortunately, it didn't get all 5 hits. Relicanth knew Rock Tomb. The coelacanth fossil would have sent BEETRICE back to the Pokemon Center if the AI didn't pick Yawn twice in a row. Yawn is a 100 accuracy move that puts the opponent to sleep at the end of the next turn, so using Yawn consecutively against a solo Pokemon is useless. Steady use of Power Gem sent both of Didier's Pokemon back into their Poke Balls.


Hiker Craig had only a level 24 Roggenrola, but it also had Sturdy. I don't remember exactly what Rock move it used, but I think it was Smack Down (50 base power, sends Flying types to ground). Rising Star Manon had level 22 Solrock and Lunatune, and the Rock/Psychic types preferred the random damage Psywave to Rock moves. At first I used Power Gem, then BEETRICE switched to Bug Bite. I thought Rock resisted Bug at first, but it actually doesn't.

Hiker Bernard was another narrow victory. He had a level 21 Rhyhorn, a level 21 Nosepass, and a level 21 Onix. Nosepass paralyzed Vespiquen with Thunder Wave and almost finished her off, but then it wasted its turn on Tackle. BEETRICE restored her HP with Heal Order and started casting Power Gem. Onix used Tackle too.


Grant the Gym Leader was far more intelligent than his subordinates. He had a level 25 Rock/Ice Amaura and a level 25 Rock/Dragon Tyrunt. On the first try, Amaura survived a Power Gem and Grant healed it with a Hyper Potion. A Rock Tomb and a Thunder Wave paralysis from Amaura left BEETRICE unable to survive a Rock Tomb from Tyrunt. Not that she could have anyway, because it was a critical hit. Many other attempts ended in failure, as you can see below.

Death Count: 9

It took 7 tries to beat Grant. At some point during the chain of failures, BEETRICE swapped out the Amulet Coin for the Rock attack-boosting hold item Hard Stone. Even that did not always guarantee a Power Gem KO against Amaura. 77 base HP and 63 base Special Defense must be better than I think. BEETRICE had gained enough experience from Amaura KOs that I went north and beat a wild Houndour to increase her level to 34. But Pokemon Amie was the real key to success. As a Pokemon's Affection stat increases from feeding them Poke Puffs and playing minigames, it can gain various benefits in combat. These include an experience point bonus, the ability to survive some fatal blows with 1 HP like a Focus Band wielder, and a higher critical hit chance. Firestorm the Butterfree and HUBRIS the Dunsparce made use of that trick in earlier solo playthroughs.

On the successful attempt, BEETRICE got a good Power Gem damage roll and killed Amaura in one shot. Vespiquen cast Power Gem against Tyrunt and it responded with a Rock Tomb. Tyrunt drank a Hyper Potion on the next turn and BEETRICE used Power Gem again. I almost recorded another Death Count when Tyrunt tried Rock Tomb again, only to find out that BEETRICE endured with 1 HP. One final Power Gem made the miniature T-Rex extinct again.

Grant's post-battle dialogue was oddly appropriate for a no Battle Item solo Bug/Flying challenge: "However, it's important that you never give up-no matter the opponent or the odds". Anyone who thinks Pokemon X is too easy should try something like this playthrough. Vespiquen has a much harder time in Kalos than NOWEAKNESS the Sableye of Hoenn or CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro of Johto/Kanto ever did.

BEETRICE the Vespiquen Stats

Level 34 @ Hard Stone

Ability: Pressure

HP: 104
Attack: 56
Defense: 79
Special Attack: 69
Special Defense: 84
Speed: 37


Moves

Power Gem
Gust
Bug Bite
Heal Order

 

[adman2]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Part 4: Easier 3rd Gym


Since there was no Rock type Elite Four member to look forward to, it seemed that the hardest part of BEETRICE's journey was over.


Route 10 was occupied by weak Team Flare Grunts. The east side of Geosenge Town had a preview battle with Korrina, the Gym Leader of the next city. She had two level 25 Lucarios that used Feint, Metal Sound, or Swords Dance instead of moves that would have been effective against a giant bee queen. Steel/Fighting resisted so many types of attacks that BEETRICE had to resort to Gust to deal neutral damage. It was still much easier than the horrible battles in Cyllage City's Gym.


Reflection Cave had several trainers that were more difficult, but still not too much trouble. They had Pokemon in the mid 20s level range, such as Granbull, Dwebble, Sandile, Helioptile, and Linoone. In the middle of the fight with Battle Girl Hedvig and her Throh and Hawlucha, BEETRICE replaced Gust with the much stronger Air Slash. (One of Firestorm the Butterfree's favorite moves.)


Before facing the Gym in Shalour City, SOLEDAD had to fight Calem to prove she was worthy of the Mega Evolution technique. Calem led with a level 28 male Meowstic that set up a Light Screen to buff the team's Special Defense before succumbing to an Affection critical Bug Bite. The level 28 Absol Slashed BEETRICE once before suffering from Bug Bite stinging. Calem's starter level 30 Quilladin was surprisingly tough for a Grass type, which Vespiquen should have had an advantage over. Quilladin made BEETRICE flinch with Needle Arm and Bite, which cost me a few turns. It took 2 Bug Bites to beat it thanks to Quilladin's high physical defenses.


Shalour City Gym had a Fighting theme, and both of Vespiquen's types resisted that element. With Air Slash, the battles against late 20s and low 30s enemies in the Pancham, Machop, Heracross, Mienfoo, Throh, Sawk, and Meditite lines were easy experience points.


Korrina started off with a level 29 Mienfoo that got a guaranteed turn 1 flinch with Fake Out. One Air Slash on the following turn finished off the fragile Fighting type. BEETRICE whiffed the first Air Slash against a level 28 Machoke, leaving it vulnerable to a Rock Tomb and a Power Up Punch. The second Air Slash landed and killed the bodybuilder in one shot. Korrina's star Pokemon was a level 32 Hawlucha. It used its signature dual-typed Fighting/Flying attack Flying Press, but it wasn't very effective. One Air Slash later and SOLEDAD had her third badge.


But Korrina wasn't finished with me yet, because the game forced a Lucario vs. Lucario Mega Evolution battle. The Lucario on my side won with critical HP after two Power Up Punches. SOLEDAD surprised Korrina when she refused to take the free Lucario with her. SOLEDAD was a hipster who preferred more obscure Pokemon like Vespiquen.


BEETRICE the Vespiquen Stats

Level 42 @ Hard Stone
Ability: Pressure


HP: 128
Attack: 72
Defense: 96
Special Attack: 86
Special Defense: 104
Speed: 47


Moves

Power Gem
Air Slash
Bug Bite
Heal Order

 

[adman2]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Part 5: Kalos Could Beat Up Johto

BEETRICE plowed through the trainers east of Shalour City and Azure Bay, who tended to have Pokemon in the high 20s and low 30s level range. Compare that to the early Surfing routes in Johto where CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro fought weaker opponents with Pokemon as low as 16-23. Any Kalos trainer who needs an ego boost should go to Johto and fight the trainers there. In one of these aquatic battles, BEETRICE swapped out Bug Bite for Attack Order. Attack Order is unique to Vespiquen, and is a physical Bug attack with 90 base power and a higher critical chance than most moves.

One thing that I've noticed throughout the playthrough is that BEETRICE is outsped by more enemy Pokemon than CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro, despite having a higher base Speed stat. I'm not sure whether this is because of the higher enemy level curve, a bad Speed individual value for BEETRICE, or fewer Speed effort values. Effort values work differently starting with the original Hoenn games, so you can't max out every stat like in Pokemon Crystal.

In Courmarine City, SOLEDAD received the Lucky Egg. If this were a Pokemon White or Pokemon Moon solo, I would use it due to those games' diminishing returns experience curve. But in Kalos, the experience formula works like the older games. I abstained from the Lucky Egg in the solo Dunsparce playthrough for the same reason. SOLEDAD bought a Lax Incense in case Vespiquen needed some evasion when fighting a Rock type user or something.


Calem challenged SOLEDAD in front of the Courmarine City Gym, but he seemed weaker than before. He had a level 31 male Meowstic, a level 31 Absol, and a level 33 Quilladin. All three were weak to Attack Order, and all three died in one hit. The only thing Calem got to do in the whole fight was cast Light Screen with his Meowstic.


The Gym wasn't that much tougher. It had a Grass theme, which was no problem for a Bug/Flying Pokemon. The trainers' Pokemon ranged from the high 20s to the low 30s, with a wide variety. No two trainers used the same families, even. Ramos the Gym Leader led with a level 30 Jumpluff that struck with a super effective Acrobatics before BEETRICE cut it up with Air Slash. The level 34 Gogoat was too slow to act before a one hit Attack Order knockout. A level 31 Weepinbell dodged an Air Slash and counterattacked with Acid. A second Air Slash was more accurate and secured victory. BEETRICE came out of the arena with 121/145 HP thanks to Leftovers recovery. (When the biggest offensive threat in your Gym is a Jumpluff, you need to rethink your team.)


Team Flare in the Kalos Power Plant was mostly weak. The only thing BEETRICE had to worry about was self-inflicted confusion damage from Pokemon that had Swagger, and even then, Leftovers blunted that. One thing I'll say for Team Flare is that their Pokemon were better than Team Rocket's. Even the Grunts had some fully evolved monsters like Houndoom, a Pokemon which was reserved for an Executive in Pokemon Crystal. One of the hostages said "Whaddya mean you’re here to rescue us? You’re just a kid. . .”. He clearly did not know that solo kids are the only form of law enforcement in the Pokemon world. Just ask Teams Rocket, Magma, Aqua, Galactic, and Plasma!


The first boss of the Kalos Power Plant had a solo level 36 Houndoom that used Beat Up (?) and then Fire Fang. It took two Power Gems to win. Beat Up is a terrible move for a solo Pokemon, since the number of hits depends on the amount of Pokemon on your team. Aliana sent out a level 38 Mightyena with the passive Attack debuffing Intimidate ability and Swagger. Intimidate is one reason that special attacks are better for solo challenges than physical attacks. Vespiquen must have hit herself in confusion, because Mightyena had enough time to use the Dark type Assurance attack before going down to Attack Order.


When SOLEDAD kicked Team Flare out of the Kalos Power Plant, electricity was restored to the northern part of Lumiose City. It was a good time to take a break.


BEETRICE the Vespiquen Stats

Level 50 @ Leftovers

Ability: Pressure


HP: 151
Attack: 89
Defense: 115
Special Attack: 103
Special Defense: 124
Speed: 58



Moves

Power Gem
Air Slash
Attack Order
Heal Order

 

[adman2]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Part 6: In Which an Infamous HM Move is Good for Something

Lumiose City's Electric Gym in the Eiffel Prism Tower was the hardest since Cyllage. The subordinate trainers weren't too bad with the exception of a level 36 Ampharos that happened to know Power Gem. Clemont the Gym Leader was a major exception. His level 35 Emolga loved to Volt Switch into Magneton. Vespiquen had no attacks at that point that were even neutral against an Electric/Steel type. Magneton knew Thunderbolt, and could power it up by 50% with the Electric Terrain field move. Terrain effects are much more common in competitive matches in the Alola games because the "Tapus" have them as passive Abilities, but they debuted as moves in Kalos.

I might as well give you the number of losses right away, and then I'll explain further.

Death Count: 13

On the first try, BEETRICE had the Leftovers. She could survive a boosted Thunderbolt, but not well enough to continue taking hits. The only way I could think of was to make a 100 accuracy move miss, so on the second try, BEETRICE equipped the Lax Incense. She didn't dodge a single Thunderbolt.

Then I wondered what could be done apart from leveling up. Vespiquen couldn't take the easy way out and learn a Ground type TM like Dig or Bulldoze. But BEETRICE could learn Flash. This was once an unreliable HM move in earlier generations, but it had its accuracy raised to 100 in the Sinnoh games. Flash debuffs the enemy's accuracy by 1 stage, which can be effective combined with the Lax Incense and Affection dodge chances.

Another try ended in failure when Electric Terrain was still up and the faster Normal/Electric Heliolisk hit with Thunderbolts.

On the successful try, BEETRICE's Affection let her dodge every Thunderbolt until she could debuff Magneton's accuracy to -6 with Flash. Electric Terrain then expired. BEETRICE started unleashing her Attack Order bees. Magneton paralyzed her once with Thunderbolt, but she shrugged it off with Affection. BEETRICE restored her health with Heal Order as Clemont used a Hyper Potion on Magneton and set up Electric Terrain again. More Attack Orders finished off Magneton on the exact turn that Electric Terrain expired.

I only used Flash once on Heliolisk, but its Thunderbolt missed multiple times. Alternating between Attack Order and Heal Order allowed BEETRICE to defeat Clemont's star Pokemon. The Flash trick wouldn't work on Emolga because it knew Aerial Ace, a move that could never miss. BEETRICE used Heal Order just in case, then dazzled the flying squirrel with one Power Gem.

This was a short part, but one of the most fun sections in the game. When you're playing a solo challenge with a flawed Pokemon that can't chug Full Restores or Hyper Potions, you'll actually have to use some tactics. (Unless you're playing Crystal, where it's only hard if you pick a Grass type. . .)


BEETRICE the Vespiquen Stats

Level 52 @ Leftovers

Ability: Pressure


HP: 157
Attack: 91
Defense: 119
Special Attack: 107
Special Defense: 128
Speed: 61



Moves

Power Gem
Flash
Attack Order
Heal Order

 

[adman2]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Part 7: Poor Type Balancing

One thing I forgot to mention in the last part was that Bonnie said "That's Thunderbolt! It has a power of 90 and its accuracy is 100 percent! It'll never miss!". She must not have been paying attention as BEETRICE's Flashes blinded her brother's Magneton.

Route 14 was a swamp with abandoned playground equipment. The lady who says the "times of Maricastaña" line in Spanish has a less colorful quote in English: “I’ve known forever-since my previous life-that we would meet here today and face off!” Next I'm going to find out that a certain Team Flare Grunt isn't "bored like an oyster".

Pokemon Ranger Reed was the hardest opponent in this area. He had a Poliwrath that caused paralysis with Body Slam. His Dragon Dancing Fraxure would have been a significant threat if BEETRICE had lost too many turns. His final Pokemon Loudred confused BEETRICE with Supersonic and started using Bite. Paralysis + Supersonic + Flinch chance would ban him from Smogon competitive battles for life.

Evidently I hadn't maxed out BEETRICE's effort values before I arrived in Laverre City, because the guy who checked those said that Vespiquen needed to put more effort in or something like that.

Laverre City's Gym had a Fairy theme that was new in 2013. Fairy type was meant to balance the elements somewhat, with its immunity to Dragon and weaknesses to Poison and Steel. For reasons known only to GameFreak, it also resists the already-weak Bug type. Without Air Slash, I was forced to get through most of the Gym with Power Gem. Hard Stone partially made up for the lack of same type attack bonus. The trainers were in the high 30s to low 40s (already better than Blackthorn City Gym in Johto), and had Pokemon from the Dedenne, Marill, Swirlix, Spritzee, Snubbull, Ralts, and Klefki families.


Valerie the Gym,Leader started with a level 38 Steel/Fairy Mawile. It didn't have Intimidate unlike the Mawiles you see in competitive battles. The only move it used before dying was Iron Defense (+2 Defense buff). One Power Gem got an Affection critical, and a second finished it off. Next was a level 39 Psychic/Fairy Mr. Mime. Its neutrality to Bug allowed Vespiquen to sting it to death with Attack Order after it cast Light Screen. Valerie's final Pokemon was a level 42 pure Fairy Sylveon. Three Attack Orders swarmed Sylveon to death after it tried Dazzling Gleam a few times.

Team Flare was occupying the Poke Ball Factory, so SOLEDAD had to help. The Team Flare Grunts had Pokemon in the mid to late 30s for the most part, including the usual Scraggy, Poochyena, Zubat, Croagunk, Houndour, and Gulpin families. They would have better luck if they moved to Kanto or Johto where the opposition would be weaker.

The final battle was a duet with Calem against Celosia and Bryony. They had a level 41 Manectric and Liepard, which were more dangerous than you might expect. Manectric concentrated mostly on Vespiquen with Spark and Thunder Fang, while Liepard attacked Calem's Meowstic with Assurance. Meowstic set up a Light Screen before dying and being replaced by Chesnaught. Manectric was the main threat to my solo Vespiquen, so I attacked it with Attack Order first. Chesnaught was useful in the short time it participated in battle. BEETRICE held on with 77/172 HP.


BEETRICE leveled up fighting the trainers on the way to Dendemille Town, occasionally having Quacklin' Fly back to town to heal. (The duck makes a good HM Mule!) There was no Gym in this area, but the Move Relearner lived there. BEETRICE could finally relearn Air Slash, and now had the potential for other moves like Defend Order (+1 Defense and Special Defense like Cosmic Power) and Confuse Ray. To do this, I taught Vespiquen Thief with a TM and had her steal a Heart Scale from a Luvdisc on Route 8. Thief must have been buffed at some point, because it's 60 base power in X unlike its original 40 base power in Crystal. Physical solos looking for Dark type coverage may want to consider it.


BEETRICE the Vespiquen Stats

Level 62 @ Leftovers

Ability: Pressure


HP: 187
Attack: 114
Defense: 144
Special Attack: 131
Special Defense: 155
Speed: 76



Moves



Power Gem
Air Slash
Attack Order
Heal Order

 

[adman2]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Part 8: Return of the Rock Types


SOLEDAD couldn't go through the frozen eastern routes of Kalos until she resolved a problem in Frost Cavern. Mamoswine was concerned about something going on in that cave. First, SOLEDAD had to fight her way past Ace Trainers, Black Belts, Battle Girls, and the most dreaded Trainer Class of all, Hikers.


Hiker Delmon had a level 42 Relicanth with Rock Tomb and a level 42 Rhydon. Hiker Alain had 2 Gravelers levels 40-41 and a level 42 Rock/Fairy Carbink. Lower powered Rock moves weren't quite as much a threat as they used to be because BEETRICE was reaching a high level and had Leftovers recovery. The AI for Rhydon boggled my mind when it decided to use the 4 times resisted Hammer Arm instead of a Rock move. That's the way trainer battles go in X: either they destroy you with tactics uncannily similar to a human player, or they waste all their turns on non-attacking moves or ineffective attacks. Fighting types like Throh could sometimes use Rock moves too. Sawk was always annoying to fight because of its 1 HP endurance Sturdy.


BEETRICE survived Team Flare Mable's level 48 Houndoom battle because Power Gem happened to get an Affection critical on the first try. Although she only had the one Pokemon, it was still 13 levels higher than the Goldenrod Radio Tower Rocket Executive's Houndoom in Crystal.


Calem battled SOLEDAD once more in front of Anistar City's Gym. His lead was a level 44 male Meowstic. Its Fake Out got a guaranteed flinch, but it was useless when BEETRICE's Leftovers healed all the damage. It cast Disarming Voice before BEETRICE's drones stung it to death in an Attack Order.


Calem threw in a level 44 Vaporeon for variety's sake this time. It took two Attack Orders to win this time, so Vaporeon had enough time to shoot an Aurora Beam. It may have been "super effective", but Vespiquen's base 70 HP, base 102 Special Defense, and 10% Calm Nature boost made it laughable. The level 44 Absol and level 46 Chesnaught fell to a single Attack Order and Air Slash respectively. The rival in this game almost makes you feel bad for beating him, unlike Blue and ???.


Anistar City Gym was full of Psychic specialists, which provided an offensive advantage. All the subordinate trainers had solo level 46 Pokemon in an odd coincidence. These were Exeggutor, Medicham, Reuniclus, Jynx, and Gardevoir. The Jynx was notable for using the Fighting type Wake Up Slap instead of a same type attack bonus Ice attack. The AI must not know the type chart or something.


Olympia the Gym Leader began with a level 44 Sigilyph. This Psychic/Flying Pokemon outsped BEETRICE and set up a Light Screen to prevent Power Gem from doing much damage. On its second turn, an Air Slash made BEETRICE flinch. Another Air Slash failed to stop BEETRICE from finishing it off with an Affection critical Attack Order. Vespiquen swarmed a level 45 Slowking with her Attack Order drones before it could think.


Olympia's last Pokemon was a level 48 female Meowstic. The female Meowstic variant learns more attacking moves, while the male version is focused on supporting techniques. It started with Fake Out, but that was no more effective than when Calem tried it. Meowstic tried buffing its Special Attack and Special Defense with Calm Mind, but that left an opening for an Attack Order finisher. BEETRICE left the battlefield with 148/202 HP.


Calem wanted to battle SOLEDAD once again, but Lysandre's genocidal holographic announcement ended that plan. SOLEDAD had to return to Lysandre Cafe in Lumiose City to stop Team Flare's evil plans.


(Lysandre talks a lot about "beauty" in his dialogue, but he must really want money. Several characters mention that the Team Flare membership fee is 5 million Pokedollars, or the price of 5 bikes.)


BEETRICE the Vespiquen Stats

Level 67 @ Leftovers

Ability: Pressure

HP: 202
Attack: 124
Defense: 157
Special Attack: 143
Special Defense: 168
Speed: 85



Moves


Power Gem
Air Slash
Attack Order
Heal Order

 

[adman2]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Part 9: A Poke Puff a Day Keeps the Death Count Away


Lysandre himself was the first boss of the hideout in the Lumiose City cafe. His level 45 Mienfoo was slower than an Air Slash. A level 47 Normal/Fire Pyroar breathed out a Fire Blast, which Vespiquen took surprisingly well. A Power Gem slew the lion king. Another Power Gem clipped the wings of a level 45 Murkrow. Lysandre's last Pokemon was a level 49 Gyarados that outsped BEETRICE. Affection let Vespiquen dodge the first Aqua Tail, but the second got a critical hit that was stronger than the Fire Blast from earlier. Two Power Gems were needed to defeat the overgrown Magikarp. BEETRICE left the battlefield with 105/202 HP.


The various Team Flare executives weren't too difficult except for Mable. Her level 46 Houndoom and level 48 Weavile inflicted super effective damage with Flamethrower and the priority move Ice Shard, and BEETRICE was down to 109/211 HP.


One odd incident involved Team Flare Celosia spending two turns buffing her Poison/Dark Drapion with Acupressure. Acupressure gives +2 stages to a random stat, including evasion and accuracy. The first one buffed Speed and the second increased Attack. BEETRICE didn't bother with fancy tactics and simply stung it to death with 2 Attack Orders.


Alas, there's nothing like the "bored like an oyster" line in English. That character says "Spying on people’s Holo Caster conversations gets boring pretty quickly, after all!” instead.


The final confrontation with Team Flare was in Geosenge Town where the ultimate weapon was hidden. Lysandre challenged SOLEDAD to a battle at the beginning of this dungeon too. His level 48 Mienshao buffed its Attack with Swords Dance right before Vespiquen Air Slashed it. The level 49 Pyroar used Fire Blast once again, and was defeated with a Power Gem. The level 47 Honchkrow was slower than the Murkrow from before, and still couldn't endure a Power Gem. BEETRICE's high Affection didn't save her from the level 51 Gyarados's two Aqua Tails, and the second got a critical. Two Power Gems later and BEETRICE limped out of the arena with 60/214 HP. It was going to take quite a few post-battle Hyper Potions and Full Restores to make it through this place. (My variant restrictions only forbid them from being used in battle.)


Several of the battles in the dungeon featured Calem as a partner. His Meowstic was useful for a change. Its Psychic killed a Toxicroak in one shot, and it took several Dark attacks like Sucker Punch and Night Slash instead of BEETRICE. In another battle, Meowstic made a Manectric flinch with Fake Out, allowing BEETRICE to safely KO Mightyena with an Attack Order.


Like in Pokemon White, catching the mascot legendary Pokemon was mandatory. I threw the Master Ball at Xerneas to save time. This put me at a slight disadvantage in the final Lysandre battle because Xerneas automatically moved to the front of the party, and I had to waste a turn switching to Vespiquen.


Lysandre's level 49 Mienshao attacked with Hi Jump Kick and a full power Acrobatics before succumbing to Air Slash. (Acrobatics is a base 110 physical Flying attack if the user isn't holding an item, and only 55 if it is.) The level 51 Pyroar used Fire Blast, and BEETRICE responded with Power Gem like always. The level 49 Honchkrow seemed to be weak enough that Vespiquen spent a couple of turns using Heal Order. Its Aerial Ace wasn't bad at first, at least until it got a critical hit. Power Gem got a possibly unnecessary Affection critical for the KO. BEETRICE outsped Honchkrow with the first Heal Order, but Honchkrow went first afterwards, so I wonder if there was a Speed tie.


Lysandre's last Pokemon was a level 53 Gyarados that Mega Evolved into a more powerful Water/Dark type on the first turn. This made it weak to Attack Order, but it also entered the field with Intimidate. Mega Gyarados struck with Aqua Tail like in every other Lysandre battle. I don't have the exact HP count at the end of the battle, but BEETRICE would have lost if it weren't for her Affection for SOLEDAD causing her to dodge the last Aqua Tail and finish off Mega Gyarados with Attack Order.


After Lysandre buried himself under tons of rock with the ultimate weapon, SOLEDAD and friends decided to continue their quest to become Pokemon Masters. The next stop would be Snowbelle City to challenge Wulfric the Ice Gym Leader.


BEETRICE the Vespiquen Stats

Level 73 @ Leftovers

Ability: Pressure


HP: 220
Attack: 135
Defense: 170
Special Attack: 155
Special Defense: 182
Speed: 92



Moves

Power Gem
Air Slash
Attack Order
Heal Order

 

[adman2]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Part 10: The Jarl of Snowbelle Hold

The Team Flare plot had been resolved, and all that remained for SOLEDAD was to conquer the Pokemon League. I'll only mention the notable battles for the most part.

A trainer in a house on Route 18 had a special gimmick. Psychic Inver challenged SOLEDAD to an Inverse Battle, where type matchups were reversed. Super effective moves were now resisted, weaknesses were turned into resistances, and immunities became weaknesses. (Normal is the ultimate attacking type here.) He could choose from a variety of random Pokemon, and for this fight he picked a level 55 Azumarill, a level 55 Marowak, and a level 55 Skuntank. Azumarill's Water/Fairy type worked against it, letting Vespiquen's Attack Order drones sting it to death. Marowak was perplexed about a Power Gem suddenly being super effective. Skuntank wasn't weak to any of Vespiquen's moves, so Air Slash was the way to go. Two of those defeated the skunk, and my enemy only hit with one Poison Jab because BEETRICE's Affection dodged the second.

Various Rock and Fighting trainers inhabited Terminus Cave, the bane of HUBRIS the Dunsparce. Worker Narek was a surprisingly easy fight for a trainer with two Gravelers and a Golem in the high 40s. Air Slash killed the first one in one hit, the second Graveler blew itself up with Selfdestruct, and Golem used the Stealth Rock field effect which was worthless against a solo character.

Hiker Aaron's level 50 Rhydon used Chip Away instead of a Rock move for some reason, and Hiker Bergin's Boldore opted for Sandstorm instead of attacking. The AI for many trainers hadn't advanced much since the time of Crystal.

But Sky Trainer Jeremy on Route 18 was another bizarre example of an ingame trainer who behaved like a competitive battler. His level 46 Ninjask blocked an attack with Protect before Baton Passing its passive Speed Boost buff to a level 50 Flygon. Flygon then struck with Stone Edge, a 100 power Rock move. One Air Slash was enough to finish off this Ground/Dragon Pokemon. A level 47 Ghost/Flying Drifblim liked to cast Thunderbolt, but its lackluster Special Attack and the absence of same type attack bonus prevented it from doing much. Ninjask was critically weak to Power Gem.


In Couriway Town, Professor Sycamore appeared and fought with level 50 fully evolved Kanto starters. Venusaur's weeds were whacked with an Air Slash, and Charizard picked Slash instead of a Fire move. Blastoise was tougher because one of my Air Slashes missed and BEETRICE became confused due to Water Pulse's side effect. BEETRICE won the fight with 208/228 HP.


The long bridge on Route 19 had a sort of gauntlet with the 3 lesser rivals. Shauna's level 49 Delcatty was so weak that it died to a single Attack Order before it could move. Her level 51 Delphox buffed itself with Calm Mind and survived a Power Gem before attacking and debuffing BEETRICE's Special Attack with Mystical Fire. Attack Order drained most of a level 49 Goodra's HP before it started using Dragon Pulse. It was a good idea to restore HP with Heal Order before taking on the next trainer. Attack Order won BEETRICE the battle with 214/231 HP.

Heal Order was definitely the way to go, because Tierno led with a level 48 Talonflame. The infamous "Smogonbird" attacked with no item Acrobatics before a Power Gem crushed it. The level 52 Crawdaunt was too slow to outrun an Attack Order. A level 49 Roserade outsped BEETRICE, but her Affection prevented a Petal Dance from landing. She responded with Air Slash.


Trevor was kind enough to heal BEETRICE before beginning his battle. His level 49 Raichu and Aerodactyl were fast, and hit BEETRICE with a Thunderbolt and Ancientpower. Attack Order and Power Gem knocked them both out in one shot. The level 51 pure Fairy type Florges was slow and weak enough to safely use Heal Order. The "not very effective" Attack Order was used instead of Air Slash and Power Gem because Florges was meant to be a Special Defense tank instead of a physical one. Not that the type matchup mattered much, because both Attack Orders got Affection critical damage. BEETRICE survived with 209/234 HP.


One odd NPC in Snowbelle City said "“Thanks to the cold air that seeps out of the Gym, no one in this town needs air conditioning!” Perhaps he hadn't considered his heating bill.


None of the trainers in Winding Woods were worth mentioning, so I'll skip to the Snowbelle City Gym. Wulfric's employees all had Ice Pokemon in the mid 50s level range. In Crystal, CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro didn't see levels that high until Blue's Gym late in the postgame.


An enemy Cryogonal laughed at a Power Gem and healed most of its damage with Recover. Its Defense was weak, so Attack Order was the superior option. "Super effective" is not always better than a strong neutral hit in Pokemon.


Wulfric's level 56 Abomasnow caused Hail with its passive Ability, thus negating Leftovers recovery for a few turns. (Hail and Sandstorm damage occur before Leftovers healing, so if you're at 1/16 max HP or less, you'll die.) A single Air Slash cut down the Grass/Ice Christmas tree. Level 55 Cryogonal was annoying because of its Confuse Ray causing a couple of turns of self-inflicted damage. Its same type attack bonus Ice Beam was concerning too. One Attack Order was enough to melt Cryogonal after BEETRICE's confusion finally ended. Against the level 59 Avalugg, BEETRICE rested with Heal Order before attacking. This was because Avalugg was designed to be a physically defensive Pokemon rather than an offensive threat. It only had time for one Avalanche before an Affection critical Power Gem defrosted the iceberg. BEETRICE won with 177/240 HP.

BEETRICE is having a much easier time with the Pokemon X late game than HUBRIS the Dunsparce, even without the benefit of buffing items or Hyper Potions. The next update will likely be the last.

BEETRICE the Vespiquen Stats

Level 80 @ Leftovers

Ability: Pressure


HP: 240
Attack: 147
Defense: 186
Special Attack: 169
Special Defense: 199
Speed: 101


Moves


Power Gem
Air Slash
Attack Order
Heal Order

 

[adman2]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Finale: Unlikely Movesets

Ace Trainer Robbie blocked the way to Victory Road, and his team of a level 56 Carbink, level 56 Raichu, and level 57 Kingdra seemed designed to counter Vespiquen. Carbink's Rock/Fairy typing meant that the only move BEETRICE had for neutral coverage was Power Gem. Carbink responded in kind. BEETRICE was forced to restore HP with Heal Order once during their jewelry exposition. Raichu's Thunderbolt paralyzed BEETRICE, but she fortunately cured herself after an Attack Order KO. The Kingdra cooled BEETRICE off with a super effective Ice Beam. Attack Order and a critical Air Slash defeated the seahorse. BEETRICE barely survived with 50/243 HP.


The Victory Road trainers had evolved Pokemon in the high 50s and low 60s level range. Since it was a cave, there was a good chance of running into Fighting specialists that happened to carry anti-Bug/Flying coverage. One extreme example was Black Belt Ander, whose Heracross reduced BEETRICE to 82/246 HP after piercing her with Stone Edge.

In one of the portions of Victory Road outside of the cave, Calem appeared for one final rematch. He was still easy. His level 56 Meowstic tried Fake Out and then Psychic before Attack Order bees sent it back to its Poke Ball. An Affection critical Attack Order pierced the level 57 Vaporeon in one shot. More Affection criticals eliminated the level 58 Altaria and the level 61 Chesnaught with Power Gem and Air Slash respectively. At least Altaria was fast enough to spit out a Dragon Pulse first. Calem's final Pokemon was a level 59 Absol that buffed its Attack with Swords Dance but didn't have the Defense necessary to survive Attack Order.


Pokemon Ranger Petra with her Singing Altaria put BEETRICE to sleep, which I don't think had happened at all in this playthrough before. She woke up with Affection after a few rounds of snoozing. Veteran Catrina's level 57 Glaceon unleashed one of the strongest Blizzards possible in the game due to its Ice typing and base 130 Special Attack. BEETRICE thawed herself out after the battle with 114/254 HP remaining.


The Elite Four lived up to their names in this solo challenge. The first opponent SOLEDAD picked was the Fire specialist Malva, who was probably part of Team Flare. Her level 63 Pyroar breathed a Flamethrower before a Power Gem scratched it to death. Attempting to use Heal Order against the level 63 Torkoal was a mistake, because it happened to know Stone Edge for some reason. Fortunately, BEETRICE dodged the inaccurate move through Affection and crushed the turtle with Power Gem.

A level 65 Talonflame didn't need its signature Gale Wings ability to outspeed BEETRICE and attack with Brave Bird. It was as weak to Rock as my Pokemon was, so a Power Gem did the trick. The level 63 Chandelure had unorthodox but effective tactics. Instead of going straight for a Fire move, it instead debuffed BEETRICE's Special Attack with Confide and cast Confuse Ray. By the time Vespiquen finished it off with Power Gem, she had only 29/263 HP.

Next up was Drasna the Dragon trainer. Her level 63 Poison/Dragon Dragalge had high Special Defense and a Bug resistance. It also had a diverse movepool including Thunderbolt. BEETRICE eventually won with Air Slashes, but not before Drasna could heal Dragalge twice with Full Restores. The level 65 Dragon/Flying Noivern was tougher than I thought and took two Power Gems to kill. Half of BEETRICE's HP was gone when Noivern bit her with Super Fang, a percentage-based attack.

The level 63 Altaria was more defensive than offensive, so it seemed like a good time to restore with Heal Order. Unfortunately, it knew Sing like the one in Victory Road. Repeated Power Gems won that round. The level 63 pure Dragon Druddigon resorted to Dragon Tail, a relatively weak move that's meant to force the opponent to switch Pokemon. This was useless in a solo run. SOLEDAD conquered Drasna's challenge with 225/263 HP.


Wikstrom the armored Steel master was an opponent I had dreaded since the beginning of the playthrough. Vespiquen had practically no answer to Steel's many elemental resistances. Wikstrom led with a level 63 Klefki that loved to Torment BEETRICE and prevent her from using the same move twice in a row. Its Steel/Fairy typing also reduced Power Gem, Attack Order, and Air Slash to half damage. It must have been one of Wikstrom's favorite Pokemon, because he would often heal Klefki with Full Restores. But the next Pokemon was the worst of all: a level 63 Rock/Steel Probopass with Stone Edge. You can guess by the next line how well a few fights went.

Death Count: 15

After a few failures, I tried a radical solution. Attack Order wasn't going to do me any good for the end of the game, so why not replace it with Hidden Power? My Vespiquen was lucky and had a Water version of that move. This was super effective against Probopass and drowned it in two casts. The level 63 Scizor was slow, and the fight devolved into an exchange of Air Slashes and Iron Heads, with one Heal Order on my side and a Full Restore on Wikstrom's. The final Pokemon was the Ghost/Steel Aegislash at level 65. This sword/shield combo is hated in competitive battling for its ability to switch to an attack and defense mode with the move King's Shield, which works similarly to Protect. Wikstrom's AI wasn't good enough to take advantage of it much, and so Aegislash spent most of the fight in the more vulnerable sword form. It mostly used Iron Head while BEETRICE responded with Hidden Power Water. BEETRICE won with 190/266 HP.


Siebold the Water master's team was more difficult than I remembered. Sure, his level 63 Clawitzer was easy to kill with a couple of Air Slashes (Water Pulse confusion risk aside), but the real danger was a level 65 Water/Rock Barbaracle with Stone Edge. I decided after the first try to swap out Hidden Power with Flash and use a similar tactic to the Clemont battle. Even then, it wasn't guaranteed.

Death Count: 17

On the final try, Vespiquen successfully stalled out Barbaracle's low Stone Edge PP with Flash and her passive Pressure skill. A level 63 Gyarados boosted its Attack and Speed with Dragon Dance before biting BEETRICE with Ice Fang. Two Power Gems destroyed the faux-dragon. Siebold's last monster was a level 63 Starmie. Now that she no longer had Attack Order, BEETRICE couldn't exploit its Psychic typing. Starmie set up a Special Defense barrier with Light Screen before using Surf and Psychic. In case it had odd coverage moves, BEETRICE played cautiously and used Flash and Heal Order. Air Slashes gave Starmie death of a thousand cuts.


But BEETRICE's worries weren't over yet. Champion Diantha's level 64 Hawlucha could be killed with one Air Slash after it tried Poison Jab or Swords Dance, but the level 65 Rock/Dragon Tyrantrum was another story. It knew Head Smash, a base 150 (!) physical Rock attack with 80 accuracy. One hit from that would make Vespiquen's guts spill out. And that happened quite a few times.

Final Death Count: 21

Even with Flash, the last difficult fight required luck. BEETRICE finally stalled Head Smash out of PP and sent out Power Gems. Then came the level 65 Rock/Ice Aurorus. Its low Speed and Rock weakness allowed a Power Gem Affection critical to destroy it in one move. The level 66 Goodra was a drawn-out fight with Fire Blasts, Muddy Waters, Focus Blasts, and Dragon Pulses. Its ludicrously high Special Defense was a headache for Vespiquen, who rued the day she lost Attack Order. Air Slashes finally slew the dragon after having to deal with enemy Full Restores. The level 65 Grass/Ghost Gourgeist added a Ghost type to BEETRICE with its gimmick Trick-or-Treat move before an Air Slash sent it back to its Poke Ball. Diantha saved her strongest Pokemon for last: a level 68 Mega Gardevoir. Flash lowered Thunderbolt's accuracy, while BEETRICE attacked with Air Slashes and sometimes had her Heal Order bees protect her. At last, BEETRICE had entered the Hall of Fame!


But there was one trainer left: AZ, the king from 3000 years ago who created the ultimate weapon. He started with a level 60 Torkoal that immediately fell victim to Power Gem. The level 60 Sigilyph attempted to increase its defenses with Cosmic Power, but failed to stop Power Gem. The final opponent in the game was a level 60 Ground/Ghost Golurk. It tended to use Phantom Force, a 2 turn attack similar to Fly or Dig. I was paranoid about possible Rock coverage, so BEETRICE used Flash and Heal Order. Only a couple of Air Slashes were needed to start the credits. I was getting tired of the game at that point, so I decided not to bother fighting legendaries with Vespiquen.


BEETRICE the Vespiquen Final Stats

Level 90 @ Lax Incense

Ability: Pressure


HP: 269
Attack: 165
Defense: 209
Special Attack: 190
Special Defense: 223
Speed: 113



Moves


Power Gem
Air Slash
Flash
Heal Order

 

[adman2]

Pokemon White Solo Gurdurr Part 1: A Wild Audino Appeared!


It had been almost a year since my Simipour solo of Pokemon White, so I had forgotten enough about the game for it to feel fresh to me. This would be another "no Battle Items" solo, so I had to pick a Pokemon that was strong enough to survive without Full Restore healing yet just weak enough to be interesting. You'll see a detailed description of my choice below.


HILDA's starter Pokemon was Oshawott, which she nicknamed "HM MULE" for its intended purpose. When in doubt, pick the Water starter for your solo runs so you don't have to worry about catching a Pokemon for Surf or Waterfall navigation later. (Or Cut. Oshawott can do that too.) Oshawott barely won the first battle against Bianca's Fire type Tepig with 3/21 HP because White wasn't generous enough to start me with a Water attack. HM MULE wasn't so lucky against Cheren, whose Grass starter Snivy got a critical hit with its Tackle after a few Leers.


Death Count: 1


Not an auspicious start for the playthrough! HM MULE was at least good enough to defeat N's weak level 7 Dark type Purrloin and grew from level 6 to 8. On Route 2, HM MULE easily defeated Bianca's level 6 Normal type Lillipup and level 7 Tepig because of Water Gun.


Cheren challenged me to a battle in the Trainer School in Striaton City, which I had forgotten about. His Snivy now had Vine Whip, and even a critical hit Tackle couldn't save Oshawott.


Death Count: 2


I soon realized that I had to get my "elemental monkey" from the Dreamyard first, since the solo run rules wouldn't take effect until I found the Chosen One. After a few trainer battles, someone gave HILDA a Pansear. This was the worst elemental monkey of all, since its basic Fire attack Incinerate was 30 base power. That's even weaker than Tackle!


Nonetheless, Pansear was enough to get past Cheren's Snivy, and Incinerate was at least good enough to burn up its auto-healing Oran Berry. The trainers in Striaton Gym had the usual early route garbage like Lillipup, Patrat, and Purrloin, but they were at least level 10. Since Striaton Gym's gimmick was to pick the Gym Leader that had an advantage against the player's starter, Cilan fought instead of Chili or Cress.


Cilan's level 12 Lillipup buffed its attacking stats with Work Up before using Bite. Oshawott doused it with Water Gun repeatedly until it died, but not before Cilan could use a Potion. Pansear was so pathetic that it had to eat its Oran Berry while fighting the level 14 Pansage and its Vine Whip. Panpour is the best of the elemental monkeys by far, and partially makes up for having the weak Snivy as a starter.


The Team Plasma Grunts in the Dreamyard and Wellspring Cave were a joke this time. It didn't turn out like the embarassing death to a Patrat's Bide in my solo Simipour challenge.


HILDA ran past as many trainers on Route 3 as she could in order to save some experience for my solo Pokemon, but still had to fight a few that caught her. Cheren challenged me to another battle without asking, but it must have been easy because it didn't appear in my notes at all.


Nacrene City's NPCs were blatant about how to fight their Gym Leader Lenora, a Normal type specialist. Both Cheren and the advice guy had mandatory conversations saying that Fighting types were the way to win. Cheren even gave me some free Chesto Berries that would automatically wake up a sleeping Pokemon once. Another character nearby handed out the Rock Smash TM and said its attack type was strong against Lenora. The writers must have thought players were dense to write dialogue like this repeatedly.


The Fighting type I had in mind lived in the outskirts of Pinwheel Forest to the west of town. A wild female Timburr appeared. It had the Ability I wanted, so I decided to keep her and name her I-BEAM after the construction material her evolution Gurdurr would hold. Gurdurr was picked over Throh because that species could get a 50% Defense and Special Defense buff from the Eviolite hold item.


I forget the exact level because I failed to type it in my Microsoft Word notes, but its stats and moveset looked like this:

HP: 47
Attack: 29
Defense: 18
Special Attack: 14
Special Defense: 18
Speed: 15


Moves

Leer
Focus Energy
Bide
Low Kick

Having Guts as a passive ability was also nice. Guts boosts Attack by 50% if the Pokemon is suffering from poison, paralysis, or burn ailments. Having extra offense in a bad situation was a must to survive without a healing move.


I-BEAM fought all the remaining trainers in the area she could find, but had a close call with School Kid Edgar. Low Kick was weak against his Normal/Flying Pidove and Rock type Roggenrola because they were lightweight. Low Kick is only good against opponents that are considered heavy, and those tend to appear much later in the game. I-BEAM limped out of the battlefield with 11/47 HP with the help of Focus Energy's increased critical chance. Leer was immediately replaced with Rock Smash to have a more consistent attacking move. Bide was dumped in favor of Rock Throw after leveling up. A Rock move would provide type coverage against Fighting-resistant Pokemon like Flying and Bug types.


N surprised me in front of the Gym with another battle. His gimmick was that he never had the same team twice, because he believed in releasing Pokemon into the wild to prevent their suffering at the hands of trainers. Rock Throw missed against the level 13 Pidove, allowing it to debuff I-BEAM's Defense with Leer before falling victim to a second Rock Throw. The level 13 Water type Tympole Growled to decrease I-BEAM's Attack, then attacked with Bubblebeam and confused with Supersonic. A couple of Rock Smashes took down the tadpole. N's last Pokemon was a rival level 13 Timburr, which only used Leer and a weak Low Kick. I-BEAM replaced Low Kick with the base 60 power Wake Up Slap, and survived with 32/63 HP.


The regular trainers in Nacrene City's Gym all had members of the Lillipup and Patrat families at levels 15-17. Playing White after X feels like a step back in terms of enemy variety. But Lenora was not as easy as the NPCs suggested she would be with a Fighting type. Her level 18 Herdier opened with a passive Intimidate, reducing I-BEAM's Attack by once stage. It was bulky enough to take a Wake Up Slap without dying, and took down Timburr with. . .Take Down after two Leers.

Death Count: 3


Another attempt was slightly more successful. Herdier's first Take Down missed, and Timburr managed to kill it with two Wake Up Slaps after an Oran Berry auto-heal. The level 20 Watchog attacked with Retaliate, a Normal move that doubles in power if used the turn after a teammate dies. There was no way I-BEAM could survive that.


Death Count: 4


It was clear that there was no way Timburr was going to get the second badge without some level grinding. An NPC in the Nacrene City Gym suggested hunting Audinos in shaking grass because of their high experience point yield. The game wasn't kidding. After some time spent clobbering the weak Normal types with Wake Up Slap, Timburr leveled to 25 and evolved into Gurdurr.


The third time was the charm. Gurdurr outsped Herdier and gave it a Wake Up Slap worthy of a telenovela. Watchog did not use Retaliate because the AI was being stupid that time. It instead put I-BEAM to sleep with Hypnosis, but I had planned for a situation like this and equipped a Chesto Berry to wake her up. Wake Up Slaps left Watchog with just a sliver of HP with each use, so Lenora got to heal it with a Super Potion. Watchog struck with Retaliate too late for it to do much damage. A final Wake Up Slap won HILDA the badge with 67/83 HP remaining.


I-BEAM the Gurdurr Stats

Level 25 @ Nothing, "Somewhat vain" characteristic

Ability: Guts


HP: 83
Attack: 64
Defense: 43
Special Attack: 29
Special Defense: 36
Speed: 27


Moves

Rock Smash
Focus Energy
Rock Throw
Wake Up Slap

 

[adman2]

Pokemon White Solo Gurdurr Part 2: Random Deaths


Team Plasma had stolen a fossil skull from Lenora's museum Gym, so HILDA and I-BEAM had to retrieve it. The Grunts must have robbed the weakest trainers in Unova, since the best they had were Patrats, Sandiles, and Purrloins in the mid teens level range.

The other opponents in Pinwheel Forest were more eclectic. Three Pokemon Rangers each had an elemental monkey at level 18, Lass Eva had 3 Psychic/Flying Woobats, and Youngster Nicholas had a Bug/Poison Venipede and a Timburr.

School Kid Sammy sent out a level 17 Psychic type Munna. This was already a bad matchup due to Munna's relatively good defenses and resistance to Fighting. I-BEAM made it worse by whiffing a 90% accurate Rock Throw, leading to Yawn-induced sleep and a super effective Psybeam that caused confusion. Count this loss as a freak accident.


Death Count: 5


One NPC in the gate to Skyarrow Bridge handed HILDA a Quick Claw. Gurdurr has only base 40 Speed, which is the same as Vespiquen, so there might be a rare situation where a randomly activated priority attack might be useful.


In New York Castelia City's Battle Company skyscraper, I-BEAM fought various employees. I-BEAM leveled to the point where she replaced Focus Energy with the Attack and Defense buff Bulk Up. This is normally taught via TM, but that item is only in the postgame. (Compare that to Sapphire, where a single use Bulk Up TM is a reward from the second Gym.) One notable enemy was Scientist Samantha, who had a level 20 Munna that received an X Special Attack buff. Rock Throw failed I-BEAM once again, and the penalty was Psybeam head trauma.


Death Count: 6


One way in which Power Gem is unusual is that it's not only a special Rock attack, but it also has 100 accuracy. Physical Rock moves like Rock Throw, Rock Slide, Rock Tomb, and Stone Edge tend to have 80-90 accuracy. Rock would be a good attacking type covering Fire, Ice, Flying, and Bug opponents if it weren't for the high failure rate of its attacks.


Before doing much more in Castelia City, I made sure to talk to an NPC in a northern skyscraper that had Eviolite. This hold item gives a 50% boost to both Defense and Special Defense, but only if the Pokemon wielding it isn't fully evolved. Gurdurr can evolve into Conkeldurr, but only by trading it to another player (or your second DS and Unova game cartridge if you have one.) Some defensive Pokemon like Chansey and Porygon2 take advantage of this item in competitive battles, and it would be invaluable in my solo playthrough.


Another NPC handed out the Rest TM, and even suggested using a berry to instantly wake up. Unfortunately, Sleep Talk isn't a TM in White, so I-BEAM can't fall back on those two moves like CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro did in the Crystal solo. TMs in general are restricted in White, and many only are only unlocked once the credits roll. This is probably because White was the first game to have unlimited use TMs, and the developers had trouble balancing the story mode difficulty around that.


Fighting all three dancers and convincing them to start a group got HILDA an Amulet Coin as a reward. Money isn't a problem in solo challenges with anti-Battle Item restrictions, but its location was still worth noting.


Gurdurr prepared for the 3rd Gym by beating up random trainers on the accessible parts of the Route 4 desert. These included a surprising number of Water types like Basculin and Tympole. Basculin is the "common fish" of Unova, and has a similar ecological role to Magikarp. However, it's somewhere between Magikarp and Gyarados rather than being either weak or strong.


Burgh's Gym was Bug themed. They resisted Fighting, so I-BEAM had to make do with the unreliable yet super effective Rock Throw. The random trainers had Bug/Grass Sewaddles, Bug/Rock Dwebbles, and Bug/Poison Venipedes in the low 20s.


Burgh didn't give I-BEAM as hard a time as SeeNoEvil the Panpour, but it was still a close battle. He led with a level 21 Bug/Poison Whirlipede that had just enough physical bulk to survive a Rock Throw. It started by hitting Gurdurr with Poison Tail, but she wasn't fortunate enough to get a poison-induced Guts boost. Burgh fed Whirlipede two Hyper Potions before giving up and letting it die to more Rock Throws. A level 23 Bug/Grass Leavanny came out of its Poke Ball next. Its guaranteed Protect blocks drained Rock Throw's PP, and its Razor Leaves gave Gurdurr some significant paper cuts. One of them probably got a critical. Gurdurr Bulked Up at some point during this part, and managed to miss 2 Rock Throws without having Protect as an excuse. The last Pokemon, a level 21 Dwebble, was crushed by Rock Throw. I-BEAM held on with only 28/103 HP at level 32.


Bianca asked for a challenge via Xtransceiver in the Route 4 gate building, rather than charging towards the player out of nowhere like her friend Cheren. She led with a level 18 Herdier, whose Intimidate forced I-BEAM to Bulk Up to maintain her Attack stat. Herdier's Take Down was a critical hit, but if Gurdurr's Rock Smash could break boulders, it could break skin.

Next up was a level 18 Munna that sent I-BEAM to slumberland with a combination of Yawn and Super Potion stalling. Gurdurr snoozed for 3 turns and a critical Psybeam. She finally woke up in time to finish off the pink Psychic type with a Rock Throw. One hard Wake Up Slap was enough to make the level 20 Fire/Fighting Pignite faint. I-BEAM leveled up and replaced Rock Throw with the 75 power Rock Slide. (Otherwise a TM that won't appear until Mistralton Cave some time later in the game.) A level 18 Pansage was Bianca's last hope, but if Pignite couldn't take a Wake Up Slap, a lower level elemental monkey couldn't either. I-BEAM won with a 23/106 HP margin. Why do the other NPCs keep calling Bianca weak?


Cheren wanted to fight dirty and chose to battle in the Route 4 sandstorm. Each round made I-BEAM lose 1/16 of her max HP since Gurdurr wasn't a Rock, Ground, or Steel Pokemon. None of Cheren's monsters were immune either, but it was more of a disadvantage for me. One Rock Slide buried the level 20 Pidove. The level 22 Grass starter Servine stole 1/8 of I-BEAM's HP per turn with Leech Seed, and ate a auto-healing Sitrus Berry to try to drag out the fight. However, two Wake Up Slaps were enough. Another Wake Up Slap sent the level 20 Panpour flying. Cheren's last resort was a level 20 Dark type Liepard. This was weak to Fighting, and a Sand Attack accuracy debuff couldn't prevent Gurdurr from Wake Up Slapping her way to victory. I-BEAM returned to her trainer with 69/106 HP. Considering part of that came from Sandstorm gradual damage, Cheren was not nearly as fearsome as Bianca the comic relief character.


Several TMs could be found in the desert, such as Dig and Rock Tomb. Gurdurr didn't need the latter because she had a superior Rock attack via leveling. But Dig may have some use as a Ground attack when you realize Gurdurr can't learn Earthquake. The Pokemon Center in Nimbasa City sold several more TMs, but the only one that was worth the trouble was CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro's friend Return.


Elesa the Electric master was the next Gym leader, but parts of several nearby routes were open and I wanted I-BEAM to level up a bit before fighting her. Most had a variety of weak Pokemon in the low 20s level range, such as Whirlipede, the elemental monkeys, the Electric type Blitzle, and the Fire type Darumaka. HILDA managed to find an Audino in shaking grass that gave far more experience than the trainers. For anyone who's played as many Pokemon games as I have, it feels weird to have low experience gains from NPCs compared to a monster in the wild. I don't want to exploit Audino grinding more than necessary, but if I see rustling grass while walking around normally, I won't pass up the chance to kill one.


I-BEAM the Gurdurr Stats

Level unknown (messed up notes combined with Copy + Paste error) @ Eviolite

Ability: Guts


HP: 119
Attack: 96 (+10% Nature buff)
Defense: 64 (-10% Nature penalty)
Special Attack: 41
Special Defense: 51
Speed: 43


Moves

Rock Smash
Bulk Up
Rock Slide
Wake Up Slap