Long, Rambling, Probably Unnecessary Introduction
Way back in the heyday of the Scramble challenge, around 2011-2012, I used to do something special with my Scramble challenges. In fact, I sort of set off a trend that endured right up until the Scramble Challange began to lose steam in 2013 and all the old regulars happened to drift off at once. What I did was write long form updates for my Scrambles that were intended to entertain rather than inform, something that was virtually unknown when I started my first Scramble. They were basically Let's Plays without pictures or videos. This led directly to two different things for me. One was the Gauntlet Challenge, (old thread here, new thread you should actually use here.) which was inspired by the desire to have a Scramble-like experience without being quite as restricted in my decisions. The other was my Twitch thread and channel, which is probably what I'm best known on the forums for today. How I got to the Twitch channel is a bit convoluted, since it started with video scramble updates that turned into Google+ hangout updates that eventually turned into Twitch streaming, but the line of progression does lead right back to those written updates.
In any case, what was once thriving is now floundering. The Scramble Challange is a shadow of its former self, and the Gauntlet challenge never really got to self-sustainability. It's sad seeing those threads now, when there's still as much potential as ever. What it really comes down to is I want to see both my Gauntlet Challenge and the Scramble Challange thriving again. I miss the days where there were so many people eager to give out Scramblemons and Gauntlet challenges that people actually had to reserve spots in order to avoid losing their spots to rushers, where people would actually post regular, entertaining updates instead of getting their challenges and disappearing, and where there was a real community built up around these challenges that knew what was good and what was bad.
Well, after seeing Deinosaur's Let's Play thread seeing my second Gauntlet thread slowly stir back to life, I had an idea how to breath some life back into what now seems a forgotten art. It's time to bring back written updates, and I'm going to start with a Gauntlet in the same game I did my first Gauntlet in: Soul Silver version. It's time to show the new blood just a little of the magic that drew me into this forum and made me a permanent resident. It's time to play a game.
In any case, what was once thriving is now floundering. The Scramble Challange is a shadow of its former self, and the Gauntlet challenge never really got to self-sustainability. It's sad seeing those threads now, when there's still as much potential as ever. What it really comes down to is I want to see both my Gauntlet Challenge and the Scramble Challange thriving again. I miss the days where there were so many people eager to give out Scramblemons and Gauntlet challenges that people actually had to reserve spots in order to avoid losing their spots to rushers, where people would actually post regular, entertaining updates instead of getting their challenges and disappearing, and where there was a real community built up around these challenges that knew what was good and what was bad.
Well, after seeing Deinosaur's Let's Play thread seeing my second Gauntlet thread slowly stir back to life, I had an idea how to breath some life back into what now seems a forgotten art. It's time to bring back written updates, and I'm going to start with a Gauntlet in the same game I did my first Gauntlet in: Soul Silver version. It's time to show the new blood just a little of the magic that drew me into this forum and made me a permanent resident. It's time to play a game.
TL;DR: I'm doing written updates for my challenge runs again, bitches! THIS TIME WITH PICTURES!
The Challenge
The game is Pokemon Soul Silver. The Challenge is a Gauntlet Challenge. Yes, it's kind of a promotion for it, but who gives a fuck, you get a cool thread out of it and I want to actually see some people doing Gauntlets again. Stop whining. I hear you back there. Shush.
Anyway, for those who don't know, the Gauntlet Challenge is a challenge run of my own conception inspired by the Scramble challenge. To get a Gauntlet challenge, you go on this thread and ask for people to start giving you a number of challenges for your run. There are two types of challenges: Rule challenges, which are rules that apply to the whole playthrough, and Event Challenges, which are one-off challenges and events that you have to overcome as you play. Together, they make a Gauntlet: a hybrid of several challenges you've heard of, several you haven't and several that never existed until you asked for a challenge. Every Gauntlet is unique, and every Gauntlet truly is a challenge, because many of the rule combinations you get weren't put together in a challenge run before for a reason. My first Gauntlet way back in 2012 was the single hardest play-through of Pokemon I've ever completed. Of course, since it was the first Gauntlet challenge ever, a lot of that was me underestimating how much multiple challenges can add up. The one I've got this time is a lot less brutal than the one I took two and a half years ago, but it's still not going to be a walk in the park.
Anyway, enough blabbering. These are the challenges I was given:
Rule Challenges:
1. If a Pokemon faints twice it can no longer be used in battle (from turskain)
2. If an active Pokemon has a stat dropped, I must immediately switch it out unless this is impossible. (from Deinosaur)
3. My team must have balanced genders, and only one gender may receive EXP from any given battle, effectively dividing the genders into "teams". Genderless Pokemon get assigned a "gender" via coin-flip at the time of encounter. (from Celever)
4. I can only use items (other than Pokeballs) in battle if my opponent has used an item first, and I can only use as many items as they have used before me. Hold items are not affected by this. (from Kadew)
Event Challenges:
1. I must fight Falkner with only Pokemon that are weak to Flying. (from Celever)
2. I can't use super-effective moves against Whitney's Miltank and my Pokemons' max level must not exceed hers. (from lucariomaster2)
3. One of Morty's Pokemon must be KO'd by a Pokemon I caught during the Bug Catching Contest (from Deinosaur)
4. I am not allowed to use STAB moves in the gym battle against Clair (from turskain)
5. I must box my favorite team member before battling the E4, and take them on with only 5 members. Gotta show Karen she's wrong! (from Kadew)
6. I have to put at least half of Erika's team asleep (from UllarWarlord)
7. I have to "show mercy" to the Rocket Grunt that stole power plant parts in Cerulean. I can only attack his Pokemon with false swipe and confusion (the condition, not the move), and it must KO itself in an act of "surrendering" (from UllarWarlord)
8. I can't have any Pokemon over level 65 when entering my battle with Red (from lucariomaster2)
Bonus Event Challenges:
1. I must use Leer at least once against each of my Rivals Pokemon during our battle in Azalea Town. (Turkain)
1. If a Pokemon faints twice it can no longer be used in battle (from turskain)
2. If an active Pokemon has a stat dropped, I must immediately switch it out unless this is impossible. (from Deinosaur)
3. My team must have balanced genders, and only one gender may receive EXP from any given battle, effectively dividing the genders into "teams". Genderless Pokemon get assigned a "gender" via coin-flip at the time of encounter. (from Celever)
4. I can only use items (other than Pokeballs) in battle if my opponent has used an item first, and I can only use as many items as they have used before me. Hold items are not affected by this. (from Kadew)
Event Challenges:
1. I must fight Falkner with only Pokemon that are weak to Flying. (from Celever)
2. I can't use super-effective moves against Whitney's Miltank and my Pokemons' max level must not exceed hers. (from lucariomaster2)
3. One of Morty's Pokemon must be KO'd by a Pokemon I caught during the Bug Catching Contest (from Deinosaur)
4. I am not allowed to use STAB moves in the gym battle against Clair (from turskain)
5. I must box my favorite team member before battling the E4, and take them on with only 5 members. Gotta show Karen she's wrong! (from Kadew)
6. I have to put at least half of Erika's team asleep (from UllarWarlord)
7. I have to "show mercy" to the Rocket Grunt that stole power plant parts in Cerulean. I can only attack his Pokemon with false swipe and confusion (the condition, not the move), and it must KO itself in an act of "surrendering" (from UllarWarlord)
8. I can't have any Pokemon over level 65 when entering my battle with Red (from lucariomaster2)
Bonus Event Challenges:
1. I must use Leer at least once against each of my Rivals Pokemon during our battle in Azalea Town. (Turkain)
Be prepared to see some carnage, because those challenges are going to ensure I suffer some casualties. I might've gotten off easier than Deinosaur did (probably because I've been around the block a few more times than him :P), but this is not going to be easy. Clair and Whitney are going to be goddamn terrifying. Well, we'll deal with those hurdles when we come to them.
Bonus Participation! Make shit harder for me!
Yes I am giving you the means to make my life miserable. I'm probably going to regret this.
After every update I do, I'm going to give you guys 2 days to give me another Event Challenge that pertains to the area leading up to the next gym. The Event Challenges need to follow the rules laid out in this post. The challenge also can't conflict with any of the existing Rule Challenges in such a way as to be impossible or potentially require ignoring them. Because of Rule Challenge #2, most "solo x" challenges will not work. There's also a limit to how difficult a challenge I'm willing to accept. After all, I want to actually finish this run. If multiple challenges get suggested, I'll pick the one that I think will make the most entertaining update. If no extra challenges get suggested, I'll just make due with the ones I have already.
Update Index
Soul Silver Gauntlet:
Update 1: An early challenge.
Update 2: Surprise difficulty spike.
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