Hmm, monkey. (Or: a Monkey trio run through Pokemon Y)

[khlaylav]

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back IN!"

Let's start this off with some spicy takes: X and Y are good games, and the monkey trio gets too much hate.

I know. Real popular opinions.

Despite the many, many, MANY shortcomings of Pokemon X and Y, I really like one aspect of it: variety. With the right starter pick, you can have a Fire/Water/Grass core even before the first gym, and without calling on Black and White's least liked Pokemon. That variety grows from there. I've always appreciated variety, and X and Y has a massive amount of it early and often.

Now, to the monkeys. Really, the issue here is that they're way overexposed. You're all but forced to take one in the Dreamyard, then it feels like every other trainer has to have all three of the little goobers. Beyond Simisear, though, I actually like them. They get a good variety (there's that word again) of moves, they have acceptable stats in the sweeper style I favor, and they can perform pretty well against the majority of the game.

So, why am I doing this? Well, way back when in May of 2020, I'd put up a poll asking for inspiration on an in-game run. They picked the Burmy line, and you can read that saga here. And now I want a palate cleanser of an easier run.

That's my initial post. Today I grab the only three Pokemon I'll need for battle (stupid HMs) and take on Viola.

 

[khlaylav]

Update 1: Is That A Monkey? (It's 3.)

My journey begins by naming my character Ann Darrow, after the character kidnapped by the titular monster in the 1930s classic King Kong. Upon arrival at the usual beginning for X and Y runs, I nickname my character Lady A, making this an unintentional Persona 5 crossover. I flip a coin to pick my starter, since starter doesn't matter a ton when you've got a guaranteed FWG core and I didn't want to pick Fennekin again. I get Heads, Chespin joins the party, and I head over to Santalune Forest.

It's here that I pick up the only three combat Pokemon in this run. First is (of course) Pansear who is named Chili, then Pansage who is named Cilan and finally Panpour who gets named Cress. From there, our journey finally begins. Just like in the Burmy run, I switch out all three of my Pokemon in trainer battles to ensure they get the necessary experience to get to level 10 and learn their first STAB moves. Pansear wins out with the 60 power Incinerate, Pansage gets the 45 power Vine Whip and Panpour gets the 40 power Water Gun.

So, let's talk strategy. What attracted me to the monkeys as a challenge run were their similarities in level up movepools and versatility. Each monkey fully evolved has the same base stat total: 75 HP, 98 Attack and Special Attack, 63 Defense and Special Defense and 101 Speed. That's a whopping 74 base stat total advantage over Wormadam and Mothim, making this a far easier run. With one caveat; Panpour has a Special Attack hindering nature. That means I have to EV train it in Special Attack as best I can since it's the only one to learn the crucial Ice Beam and Blizzard, not to mention powerful water moves like Scald and Surf.

We close with the Bug gym. It's easy overall, but I hilariously lose with Pansear. See, I had Pansage take out Surskit, but it was able to set up Water Sport, and a combination of Infestation and Tackle from Vivilon were just too much. Panpour was able to clean up with a single Water Gun after.

With the first gym complete, this update comes to a close. I'll lay out my general strategy for each monkey next time as I head to the second gym.

 

[khlaylav]

Okay, I'm gonna be real with you guys: I really lost the motivation to do this run. Probably for a couple reasons: since the monkeys are actually competent Pokemon, it's probably not gonna be super challenging, I just did a challenge run, and I've got stuff going on in my personal life I want to focus on more. Nothing bad (it's actually very good) but need to focus on that.

I apologize for giving up on this. I actually deleted the file that had this and started again just for fun, but I won't rule out a return.

Again, apologies.