Challenge The Optimized Button Press Challenge

[NuttyRabbit]

So I just came up with a rather unique idea for a Pokemon challenge: the Optimized Button Press Challenge.

The idea of the challenge is to see how few button presses it would take to beat any given Pokemon game, but more interestingly than that, how few presses of any other button but "A" it would take (I do not count the D-pad or analog stick as buttons but I do count Start/X, B, the plus/minus buttons, etc)

I was inspired by other, similar minimum % runs like solo Pokemon runs, minimum battle runs, and the like.

I think it is very possible to at the very least beat a couple Pokemon games (mainly the HMless ones like B/W 1, S/M and US/UM, Sw/Sh, and LGPE) with either minimal button presses other than "A" or even none.

That being said, I wanted to post this so I could gather thoughts from all of you on this challenge idea

 

[Ironmage]

There is at least one other person that has worked on a minimum A press run of pokemon. Here's their work. (Note: it's gen 1, so it gets extremely glitchy)

 

[NuttyRabbit]

There is at least one other person that has worked on a minimum A press run of pokemon. Here's their work. (Note: it's gen 1, so it gets extremely glitchy)

I had a feeling something like this had been done before, especially in gen 1, so I'll certainly take a look.

That being said, I was more curious if this could be done in a more...stable set of games

 

[SadisticMystic]

In the DS era and beyond, you can use the touchscreen to give battle commands instead of pressing any buttons there. In gen 4 (only) you can use field moves that way with no button presses, and starting in XY you can scroll through text boxes after the first line. You still need to press A to talk to characters, and in Alola you have to use it to open doors as well.

 

[Celever]

So I just came up with a rather unique idea for a Pokemon challenge: the Optimized Button Press Challenge.

The idea of the challenge is to see how few button presses it would take to beat any given Pokemon game, but more interestingly than that, how few presses of any other button but "A" it would take (I do not count the D-pad or analog stick as buttons but I do count Start/X, B, the plus/minus buttons, etc)

I was inspired by other, similar minimum % runs like solo Pokemon runs, minimum battle runs, and the like.

I think it is very possible to at the very least beat a couple Pokemon games (mainly the HMless ones like B/W 1, S/M and US/UM, Sw/Sh, and LGPE) with either minimal button presses other than "A" or even none.

That being said, I wanted to post this so I could gather thoughts from all of you on this challenge idea

In the DS era and beyond, you can use the touchscreen to give battle commands instead of pressing any buttons there. In gen 4 (only) you can use field moves that way with no button presses, and starting in XY you can scroll through text boxes after the first line. You still need to press A to talk to characters, and in Alola you have to use it to open doors as well.

Actually, a no A-Button press does seem feasible in HGSS. The touch screen has its own A-Button in the bottom right corner that you can press in the overworld to talk to NPCs, use HMs, and the like.

The restriction would be no use of items outside of battle, and further no equipping items to your Pokémon IIRC. But that's not particularly difficult.

There may be one exception though, which is you probably have to click A in the hall of fame to progress it. So it depends on if you count the credits as the end of the game, or beating the Champion.

 

[Ironmage]

Actually, a no A-Button press does seem feasible in HGSS. The touch screen has its own A-Button in the bottom right corner that you can press in the overworld to talk to NPCs, use HMs, and the like.

The restriction would be no use of items outside of battle, and further no equipping items to your Pokémon IIRC. But that's not particularly difficult.

There may be one exception though, which is you probably have to click A in the hall of fame to progress it. So it depends on if you count the credits as the end of the game, or beating the Champion.

the full main menu is on the touchscreen in HGSS, so item use is doable if we're allowing touchscreen inputs.

Update: HGSS touchscreen is overpowered, and will advance text if you touch anywhere whenever there aren't any buttons (such as long in-battle dialog). It gets through the ending cutscene into the credits fine (source: just tested it). HGSS without the physical A button is likely pretty simple. I would guess we would need to look more into minimizing the use of the button on the touchscreen labeled 'A'

 

[NuttyRabbit]

In the DS era and beyond, you can use the touchscreen to give battle commands instead of pressing any buttons there. In gen 4 (only) you can use field moves that way with no button presses, and starting in XY you can scroll through text boxes after the first line. You still need to press A to talk to characters, and in Alola you have to use it to open doors as well.

Actually, a no A-Button press does seem feasible in HGSS. The touch screen has its own A-Button in the bottom right corner that you can press in the overworld to talk to NPCs, use HMs, and the like.

The restriction would be no use of items outside of battle, and further no equipping items to your Pokémon IIRC. But that's not particularly difficult.

There may be one exception though, which is you probably have to click A in the hall of fame to progress it. So it depends on if you count the credits as the end of the game, or beating the Champion.

I would personally count it as beating Red, the true final boss, but frankly if we can make it to the Champion and beat him without having to press "A" more than once (and/or any button other than A) I would consider that a victory

 

[Zowayix]

If the game is Let's Go, a 'practical' way to envision the challenge would be "beat the game with only the Poke Ball Plus while minimizing wear and tear from pushing down the control stick" :P