Pokemon Variants

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

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

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

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

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

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 woes 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 (two Rare Candies raised her from 86 to 88)

Ability: Pressure


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



Moves


Power Gem
Air Slash
Flash
Heal Order

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon X Solo Vespiquen Postscript


Vespiquen may have the same typing as Butterfree, but they function differently in battle.  Butterfree depends on putting opponents to sleep, buffing itself with Quiver Dance (for games made after the Sinnoh ones), and striking with special attacks.


Vespiquen is much slower and more defensive, and has several specialty moves like a Recover clone, a Cosmic Power clone that I never used, and a high critical chance physical Bug attack.  Being a tank with so many  elemental weaknesses is what sentenced Vespiquen to competitive battling obscurity.  These weaknesses include Fire, Electric, Ice, Flying, and especially Rock, which are all common attacks both ingame and in multiplayer.  Vespiquen doesn't have much in the way of defensive status ailments except for the unreliable Confuse Ray and Flash, unlike Butterfree's Compoundeyes Sleep Powder.  The best it can do is cast Flash and hope the enemy misses.  Steel types laugh at Vespiquen unless you get lucky with Hidden Power.


BEETRICE had so many disadvantages that this was one of my hardest solos.  If it weren't for Hidden Power Water, Flash, and Affection bonuses, the playthrough would likely have failed outright.  (BEETRICE the Vespiquen shares her Affection dependence with Firestorm the Butterfree.) 


Pokemon X has a much higher level curve than Crystal (except the final postgame battle with Red).  In Crystal, you see the first level 50 Pokemon in the Champion battle, but even some of the laughable Team Flare members have monsters at least that strong in X.  For this reason, BEETRICE achieved a noticeably higher level than CHEIBRIADS the Slowbro although she was in a slower experience group.  Both X and Crystal took about the same amount of time to go through, but X had more difficult opponents and Crystal had a larger world map.  X's generous experience system combined with the 20% Affection bonus made the Lucky Egg unnecessary, unlike SeeNoEvil the Simipour's adventure in White.  Poor Firestorm the Butterfree had to deal with both the Unova-style diminishing returns experience system and the total lack of the Lucky Egg before the end of the game.


This was a fun playthrough because it forced me to think of some creative tactics to get past a few fights.  It's rare that I use Flash or Hidden Power ingame, much less replacing one of my main attacks with one of those moves.  Abstaining from items like Hyper Potions, Full Restores, and X Speed makes the game more tense, but also more luck-dependent in some situations.  I wouldn't recommend other players try solo no Battle Items Vespiquen simply because of the high chance of being one-shotted by Rock moves.  Pick something with only one type, or perhaps a better dual type than Bug/Flying if you want to try something like this.


Pokemon X is one of the better games in the series for variants because Kalos has more monster diversity in the early game than other entries in the series.  Pick something you think is interesting, and have fun!

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

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

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

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

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon White Solo Gurdurr Part 3: Rapid Gym Progression


N of Team Plasma took HILDA on a Ferris Wheel ride in Nimbasa City and then fought against her with his new team. Unfortunately for him, the level 22 Sandile had Moxie instead of Intimidate as an ability and felt a full-power Rock Smash. The level 22 Sigilyph cast Psybeam, leaving I-BEAM at 90/122 HP. This was the only attack N used in the whole battle. Gurdurr outran the level 22 Darumaka and Scraggy and killed them both with Wake Up Slaps.


Elesa's Electric Gym had many rich trainers who handed out massive amounts of prize money after each victory. They all suffered from a lack of team variety and only had Pokemon of the Emolga and Blitzle families. This included the Gym Leader. Elesa started with a level 25 Electric/Flying Emolga just to spite any player who expected an easy victory using a Ground type with Dig. It used Aerial Ace for super effective damage against I-BEAM before a Rock Slide buried it. Another level 25 Emolga Volt Switched to a level 27 pure Electric Zebstrika. (Yes, Clemont of X took some advice from Elesa.)


The Rock Slide that was intended for Emolga hit the zebra instead. Elesa healed Zebstrika two times with Hyper Potions as Gurdurr attempted to Wake Up Slap it into unconsciousness. One of those attacks activated Zebstrika's Static ability and paralyzed I-BEAM, thus activating Guts. (No, I wasn't clever enough to do that intentionally.) Eventually, it Volt Switched back to Emolga, and even a resisted Wake Up Slap could hurt a Flying type with a 50% Attack boost. Emolga picked the not very effective Pursuit because the AI was stupid. The round of the battle was another Zebstrika Volt Switch followed by a Wake Up Slap. I-BEAM won her 4th badge with 62/125 HP and paralysis.



When HILDA wanted to cross the Driftveil Drawbridge to get to the 5th Gym, Cheren showed up unannounced and challenged her yet again. He opened with a level 24 Liepard that used Fake Out like Calem's Meowstic. It then inflicted Torment to prevent I-BEAM from using the same move consecutively. Gurdurr Bulked Up in case any future Pokemon were stronger, then Rock Smashed Liepard after a wimpy Pursuit hit her. Cheren had evolved Pidove into a level 24 Tranquill, but it was too scared to do anything other than Detect to block a Wake Up Slap. Rock Smash pummeled the pigeon on the next turn. The level 24 Panpour couldn't even last for one round in a Wake Up Slap fight.


The level 26 Servine was the only threat here. Its Leaf Tornado attack dropped I-BEAM's accuracy to the point that Rock Smashes and Wake Up Slaps missed. The first successful Rock Smash wasn't enough to KO the Grass starter even with a Bulk Up, so it ate a Sitrus Berry to survive. A second Rock Smash later on secured victory with 70/125 HP.


The trainers on the route north of Driftveil and inside Cold Storage were barely worth mentioning. The Team Plasma Grunts were as weak as ever, and had Pokemon of the Sandile, Patrat, Scraggy, Purrloin, and Poison type Trubbish families in the low to mid 20s. At least they had a few evolved monsters like Watchog and Liepard this time. After fighting the Trubbish, I-BEAM replaced Rock Smash with Dig. Backtracking to restore PP would become more annoying, but it was nice to have a backup plan for certain Ghost and Poison types later on.


Driftveil City had a Ground type Gym with Pokemon of the Tympole, Drilbur, and Sandile families in the high 20s. Clay's level 29 Ground/Dark Krokorok seemed like easy Bulk Up bait at first, but then it used the confusion-inducing Swagger and Torment. A self-inflicted confusion hit at +3 Attack wasted a large chunk of Gurdurr's HP, even with the +1 Defense from Bulk Up. Its Bulldoze also debuffed I-BEAM's Speed by 1 stage. One Wake Up Slap broke the crocodile's nose.


The level 29 Water/Ground Palpitoad cast the gradual healing move Aqua Ring and tried to lower Gurdurr's accuracy with a Muddy Water attack. I-BEAM had the opportunity to Dig and dodge the latter move and then rise to the surface for the KO. The level 31 Ground/Steel Excadrill was arrogant enough to Sharpen Claws to buff its Attack and accuracy, but the mole must have forgotten what a super effective Wake Up Slap felt like. Gurdurr emerged victorious with 94/137 HP.



I-BEAM the Gurdurr Stats


Level 43 @ Eviolite


HP: 137
Attack: 116
Defense: 74
Special Attack: 48
Special Defense: 59
Speed: 53


Moves

Dig
Rock Slide
Bulk Up
Wake Up Slap

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon White Solo Gurdurr Part 4: Taking Out the Trubbish


Bianca appeared once again to challenge HILDA to the west of Driftveil City after I-BEAM defeated Clay. Gurdurr negated the level 26 Herdier's Intimidate with a Bulk Up, and the dog Worked Up to buff its own attacking stats. I-BEAM was faster and hit with a Wake Up Slap. The level 26 Musharna was a scary opponent. The evolved form of Munna was still Psychic type and now had even more HP and Defense to deal with. I-BEAM dodged a Hypnosis with Dig, but returned to the surface too fast and received a critical Psybeam. Another Dig knocked out Unova's substitute for Hypno. Bianca's level 28 Pignite tried rushing with a Take Down, but Gurdurr outsped and dodged with a Dig. The level 26 Pansage was still weak and fell down after a Wake Up Slap. As a reward for winning with 83/137 HP, Bianca handed out the Fly HM.


Before going anywhere else, HILDA caught a Ducklett and named it HM BIRD. Professor Juniper gave HILDA the Lucky Egg in Chargestone Cave, so I immediately equipped it. Gurdurr needs double experience to counteract Unova's diminishing returns experience formula. (It works a bit like Suikoden's leveling system, though nowhere near as extreme.) Eviolite would still be needed for Gym Leaders and other difficult trainers.


Team Plasma occupied Chargestone Cave, but they still relied on weak Pokemon like Sandile, Scraggy, Liepard, Watchog, and Trubbish in the mid to high 20s level range. This was odd considering some of the random NPCs had Pokemon in the low 30s like the Rock/Flying Archen and a Grass type Whimsicott. During the Team Plasma beatdown, I-BEAM replaced Wake Up Slap with Hammer Arm. 90 accuracy was annoying to deal with, but the latter move was considerably stronger and Gurdurr could fall back on Dig against low level enemies.


N's new team was about as easy as the previous battles. His level 28 Boldore only survived a Dig thanks to Sturdy, and it used Power Gem with a base 50 Special Attack instead of a physical Rock move. I-BEAM flattened a level 28 Bug/Electric Joltik with one Rock Slide. Hammer Arm pounded a level 28 Grass/Steel Ferroseed, but its Iron Barbs passive ability caused some recoil damage. The level 28 pure Steel type Klink couldn't handle a Hammer Arm either. I-BEAM beat Team Plasma's king with 109/146 HP.


In Mistralton City, an NPC in the Pokemon Center identified I-BEAM's Hidden Power type as Rock. But the Gym Leader was climbing the Celestial Tower, so HILDA couldn't get her next badge yet. Some random trainers were surprisingly powerful. Pokemon Ranger Mary's level 30 Simipour hit hard with a rain-boosted Scald, and I-BEAM left that battle with 98/153 HP.


No Team Plasma Grunts were causing trouble in Celestial Tower, but various NPCs gave I-BEAM a hard time. One highlight was the battle against Psychic Lin. Lin's level 31 Swoobat kept dodging Rock Slides and retaliating with Air Cutter. I-BEAM only won with 49/159 HP when a Rock Slide finally hit on the turn Swoobat decided to buff itself with Amnesia instead of attacking.


Skyla's Flying type Gym had Pokemon of the Ducklett, Woobat, and Sigilyph families in the low 30s. Rock Slide beat most of them with an unusual exception. The cannons in the Gym sometimes prohibited backtracking, and on one occasion, this led to Worker Arnold and his level 33 Swoobat. Rock Slide was out of PP and Swoobat was immune to Dig, so the only hope was to win with Fighting moves that dealt 1/4 normal damage. Bulk Up and Hammer Arm succeeded somehow when the AI preferred buffing with Calm Mind to using Air Slash. Before taking on the Gym Leader, I-BEAM switched to the Eviolite.


Before Worker Arnold, there was Pilot Ted and his level 32 Sigilyph. It cast Reflect for a 5 turn Defense buff which was a good idea, and then it started casting Synchronoise. This is one of the worst moves in Pokemon history: a base 70 special Psychic attack that only hurts Pokemon that share a type with the user. The only 5th generation Pokemon that can learn Synchronoise through leveling are Psychic types that resist it.


Skyla first Pokemon was a level 33 Swoobat. Its no item Acrobatics got a critical hit, assuring Gurdurr's demise. One Rock Slide clipped its wings. The level 33 Normal/Flying Unfezant opted for Air Slash, resulting in a Rock Slide cave-in. The level 35 Water/Flying Swanna rolled an unlucky flinch chance with Air Slash, and a final Bubblebeam made Gurdurr throw in the towel.


Death Count: 7


This sort of circumstance is why I don't believe in permadeath solo runs. Pokemon isn't a game of pure tactics, and there is a substantial luck factor involved. Round 2 was much better for I-BEAM than the first. Swoobat used Amnesia this time and died to Rock Slide. Unfezant and Swanna both got conked on the head with Rock Slide after slicing I-BEAM with Air Slash. Skyla surrendered her badge and an Acrobatics TM. This move was good for SeeNoEvil the Simipour, but was useless for I-BEAM the Gurdurr.



I-BEAM the Gurdurr Stats

Level 52 @ Eviolite

HP: 165
Attack: 145
Defense: 90
Special Attack: 58
Special Defense: 71
Speed: 68


Moves

Dig
Rock Slide
Bulk Up
Hammer Arm

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon White Solo Gurdurr Part 5: Unova's Experience Curve Is Your Real Enemy

Cheren rudely interrupted Hilda's journey north of Mistralton City and challenged her to a fight in the rain. His level 33 Unfezant blocked the first Rock Slide with Detect and then Taunted I-BEAM to prevent Bulk Up if I had decided to use that. Instead, I clicked Rock Slide again and defeated the bird. The level 35 Servine only used one move before Hammer Arm crushed it, but that happened to be Leech Seed. This would inflict far more damage than the otherwise weak Grass type could have done with attacks. Simipour debuffed I-BEAM's Defense with Leer before another Hammer Arm conked it on the head. The level 33 Liepard's Fake Out was a good idea for once because it was a free Leech Seed HP drain turn. Hammer Arm missed once, so I-BEAM had to Dig her way to victory.


Because Cheren caught me off guard, I-BEAM had taken some damage from earlier trainer battles and had the Lucky Egg equipped instead of the Eviolite. Gurdurr had 64/168 HP after that ordeal. Alder jumped off the Twist Mountain cliff and handed HILDA the Surf HM. So this powerful Water move is late in Pokemon White compared to other entries:


Kanto: In Safari Zone between what would normally be 5th or 6th Gym without sequence breaking
Johto: A prize for defeating all the Kimono Girls shortly before the 4th Gym
Hoenn: Wally's family gives it to you after defeating the 4th Gym
Sinnoh: Handed to you by an NPC in Celestic Town after the 5th Gym
Kalos: Your main rival gives it to you after defeating the 3rd Gym
Alola: Only available as a TM in the postgame, but you get Scald early in Sun/Moon


Twist Mountain was an area based on the season gimmick exclusive to the fifth generation. My playthrough took place during Autumn, but the recommended season is Winter. Winter dumps snow on the area, letting you skip most of the dungeon and allowing access to items like Rare Candies. The trainers there were easy, with a significant number of Sturdy ability Boldores in the mid 30s range. (Good thing BEETRICE the Vespiquen didn't live in Unova!)


Icirrus City's Pokemon Center had an old lady who gave HILDA the Brick Break TM after saying she was a Battle Girl in her youth. This was great for I-BEAM, since she now had a decent 100 accuracy Fighting attack, albeit weaker than the 90 accuracy Hammer Arm.

Before taking on the Gym, Gurdurr fought the trainers on the sea routes near Nuvema Town. They were typically in the mid 30s and included Water types like Frillish. One opponent was an exception: Veteran Ray. His level 35 Basculin, level 36 Darmanitan, and level 35 Simisage all outsped Gurdurr. A fluke critical hit Flare Blitz from Darmanitan melted I-BEAM's construction materials and knocked her out. A second attempt at the Veteran Ray fight was successful, but still left Gurdurr at 36/187 HP.


Death Count: 8


The Ice Gym in Icirrus City was such a joke that I wondered if I was wasting experience by wielding the Eviolite instead of the Lucky Egg against Brycen. The former actor led with a level 37 Vanillish that I-BEAM shattered with a Brick Break. The level 39 Beartic was another slow Ice type that Gurdurr could smash with a Brick Break. The level 37 Cryogonal could act once due to its high base Speed, but its Aurora Beam only reduced I-BEAM to 172/190 HP. Brycen was no Wulfric, that was for sure!





After her victory in the 7th Gym, Team Plasma demanded that HILDA climb Dragonspiral Tower. Within were weak Grunts who had Watchogs, Liepards, Scraggies, and even a Trubbish. At least the Sandiles were upgraded to Krokoroks this time. All opponents were in the low to mid 30s level range, and all were weak to either Brick Break or Dig. The search for Zekrom's stone in Relic Castle led to battles almost identical to those in Dragonspiral Tower. Cheren said he would "never forgive" Team Plasma. Once you realize "never forgive" is a stock phrase in Japanese games, you start seeing it everywhere! (See also the Suikoden series)


Bianca appeared one more time right before the giant bridge leading to Opelucid City. Her level 38 Stoutland's Intimidate was undone with a Bulk Up powered Brick Break. Bianca must have known that her level 38 Musharna was her best chance, because she healed it twice with Full Restores while I-BEAM was Digging underground. It liked to use Lucky Chant to block critical hits, but once failed to put I-BEAM to sleep with Hypnosis. One Dig destroyed the level 40 Fire/Fighting starter Emboar. Bianca's level 38 Simisage liked to use Leer like Cheren's Simipour, and one Brick Break won the battle for I-BEAM. The enemy AI was so bad that Gurdurr didn't take damage at all.


Opelucid City's Gym had a Dragon theme, and its trainers preferred to use the Axew, Druddigon, and Deino families. There were no Dragon/Flying types like Dragonite, Altaria, or Salamence native to Unova, so Brick Break could defeat all of them. By the time I-BEAM was ready to fight Iris, she was at level 66. Iris opened with a level 41 pure Dragon Fraxure that Dragon Danced once as Gurdurr powered up with Bulk Up. Even with +1 Speed, I-BEAM outsped and karate chopped Fraxure with Brick Break. The level 41 pure Dragon Druddigon was too slow to outrun a Brick Break. The level 43 pure Dragon Haxorus set up with Dragon Dance like its less mature form Fraxure. But this gave an opening to I-BEAM, who struck with Brick Break and won the battle without losing any HP.


The real danger to this variant comes from the lower enemy level curve combined with the experience penalty overleveled Pokemon have to deal with. The 8th Gym Leader's star Pokemon was only a level 43 Haxorus, compared to a level 42 Sylveon that the 6th Gym Leader of Pokemon X had. I-BEAM's worst opponents will come in the Elite 4, as 2 members specialize in Psychic and Ghost types. Marshal the Fighting Elite 4 trainer might also be annoying because he loves to stuff his Sturdy Sawk with Full Restores. Shauntal leads with Cofagrigus that has Will-o-Wisp, so if HILDA can trick her into burning my Guts Gurdurr, the fights may go easier.


I-BEAM the Gurdurr Stats

Level 66 @ Eviolite


HP: 208
Attack: 188
Defense: 116
Special Attack: 74
Special Defense: 89
Speed: 92

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon White Solo Gurdurr Finale: Revenge of the Death Count


Cheren came out of nowhere to attack HILDA on a bridge near Victory Road, as was his custom. If Team Plasma released his Pokemon, I would be happy. (Sure, other rivals sneak up on the player too, but that suits Blue and ???'s personalities more than an alleged "friend" like Cheren).


Cheren led with a level 43 Unfezant, which blocked the first Rock Slide with Detect but couldn't dodge the second that way. Cheren's starter was now a level 45 Serperior that used Leaf Blade and Giga Drain. It also buffed its Attack, Defense, and accuracy with the rare move Coil. After a Brick Break broke the snake's back, a level 43 Simipour came in and Scalded I-BEAM with a 80 power special Water move.


Death Count: 9 (I-BEAM had already taken damage from previous trainer battles on that route)


With the Eviolite equipped, Take 2 was easy. Unfezant died to Rock Slide as usual. A Bulk Up followed by repeated Brick Breaks was too much for Serperior to handle even after using Coil twice. Simipour cast Scald which was followed by a deadly Brick Break. The last opponent here was a level 43 Liepard that used the useless Taunt before falling to Brick Break.


Victory Road wasn't too eventful, and was just the usual collection of diverse Pokemon with a higher level than other caves. By the time I-BEAM entered the Pokemon League, she was at level 71, low compared to other Pokemon solos. The only Rare Candy I had at the time boosted Gurdurr to 72.


HILDA started with Shauntal the Ghost Elite 4 member because of a special exploit. Her level 48 pure Ghost Cofagrigus didn't start with Will-o-Wisp as I'd hoped, but rather Psychic. It only took 2 Rock Slides to win after a Bulk Up because the first one made the sarcophagus flinch. Next came the level 50 Ghost/Fire Chandelure, which was slower than I-BEAM and fell down after she Dug a hole. Since Dig was a contact move, this activated Chandelure's passive Flame Body ability and burned I-BEAM. This would normally be awful for a pure physical Pokemon, but I-BEAM had Guts and now had a 50% Attack boost at the cost of losing 1/8 max HP per round.


Gurdurr's only response to a level 48 Ghost/Ground Golurk was to Dig underground. Golurk had Earthquake, one of the few moves that can hit a Digging Pokemon. Last was Jellicent, a Water/Ghost defensive Pokemon. One more Dig won the fight, with only 8/226 HP to spare.


Next, HILDA attempted to defeat Marshal the Fighting Elite 4 member. The level 48 Throh, level 48 Conkeldurr, and level 50 Mienshao all died to a Bulk Up boosted Brick Break. Mienshao was faster and could Jump Kick, while Throh attacked with Bulldoze while I-BEAM was setting up. Sawk's Sturdy combined with Marshal's love of Full Restores proved fatal, especially since the battle had to be won within 8 turns at best to avoid a burn death.


Death Count: 10


HILDA decided to try her luck with Grimsley the Dark Elite 4 member instead, because Guts wasn't going to work against Marshal. The level 48 Scrafty was Dark/Fighting and therefore weak to Brick Break. A level 48 Liepard of all things was the worst monster on Grimsley's team. Its Fake Out and a critical Aerial Ace decreased the time on I-BEAM's rapidly ticking clock. The level 50 Dark/Steel Bisharp was slow and was shattered by a 4X effective Brick Break. The final monster, a level 48 Ground/Dark Krookodile, managed to strike with one Earthquake before succumbing to Brick Break. I-BEAM held on with only 2/226 HP.


Caitlin the Psychic master was next on I-BEAM's list. Trying Bulk Up against a level 48 pure Psychic Reuniclus was a terrible idea, since it could KO Gurdurr with two Psychics. To make matters worse, Rock Slide missed.


Death Count: 11


On Round 2, I-BEAM Dug underground and beat Reuniclus to a pulp with a critical hit. The level 48 Musharna was hardy enough to survive a Guts Dig and destroyed I-BEAM's mind with Psychic.


Death Count: 12


I then realized Dig wasn't going to do the trick, and replaced it with another TM move. Gurdurr could learn Facade, a base 70 power Normal move that doubles in strength under the same conditions as the Guts ability. With a base 140 attack, Reuniclus and Musharna both died in one shot. Then a level 48 Sigilyph appeared, outsped I-BEAM, and murdered her with a critical Psychic.


Death Count: 13


The next attempt was successful. Reuniclus, Musharna, Sigilyph, and a level 50 pure Psychic Gothitelle died to one Facade each. The only enemy attack was a non-critical Sigilyph Psychic, though burn damage took its toll and left I-BEAM with 55/229 HP.


Marshal was another close battle. Facade sent Throh and Conkeldurr back to their Poke Balls without any trouble. Mienshao dealt some damage with a flying Jump Kick, then died the same way as its earlier teammates. Sawk required a different tactic. It resisted Rock Slide, making it the perfect move to soften up the karate master without making the AI use Full Restores. Sawk hit twice with Karate Chop, and a Facade finisher won the last Elite 4 match with 20/229 HP.


The only place left was Team Plasma's castle in the Pokemon League, which rose out of the ground in a dramatic cutscene. Just for fun, I had Gurdurr fight Zekrom the legendary Dragon/Electric type. The first turn ended with a Zen Headbutt flinch. Then Zekrom used Slash and left an opening for Facade to wipe it out in one shot.


Catching Zekrom was mandatory to advance the plot, like Xerneas in X. This would be a handicap in the final battle with N. Team Plasma's king was generous enough to fully heal my team, removing I-BEAM's Guts burn. N began with a level 52 Reshiram. Switching from Zekrom to Gurdurr allowed N a free Fusion Flare hit, and its high Speed let it hit first with the Psychic attack Extrasensory. A Rock Slide critical knocked out the white dragon in one blow.


The level 50 pure Steel Klinklang unleashed a weak Thunderbolt, and I-BEAM responded with a Brick Break KO. The level 50 pure Ice Vanilluxe was too slow to outrun Gurdurr, so a Brick Break shattered it. A level 50 pure Dark Zoroark cast Focus Blast, an inaccurate base 120 Fighting special attack. Unfortunately, it hit this time. At this point, I-BEAM was in no shape for a fast level 50 Rock/Flying Archeops and its Stone Edge.


Death Count: 14 (I had Zekrom used Slash repeatedly to get it killed off.)


Zekrom wasn't required for any following attempts, so I shoved it in a PC Box. Facade was replaced with Dig because Guts wasn't viable anymore. I-BEAM at a relatively low battle couldn't endure all 6 of N's Pokemon, no matter how hard she tried. Everything from unlucky Reshiram Reflects to Archeops Acrobatics to Klinklang Hyper Beams slaughtered the poor Gurdurr.


Death Count: 19


The only way forward lay in Rare Candies. I hadn't collected those for most of the game, and now was the time to do so. Situations like this are why you should save Rare Candies until the endgame. The failed N battle attempts gave I-BEAM enough experience to make it worthwhile to fight remaining trainers and a few wild Pokemon until she reached level 76. I-BEAM killed off Cobalion the legendary Pokemon for kicks, but that was after level 76 and was just because the last Rare Candy I found was in its room.


With the help of Rare Candies including the one in N's childhood room, I-BEAM ascended to level 83. Only one more attempt was needed to defeat N. Reshiram was still faster than Gurdurr and struck with Fusion Flare. One Dig could KO the white dragon, unlike previous attempts where it could barely survive. Bulking Up against Klinklang may have been a mistake, as it could cast Metal Sound to debuff I-BEAM's Special Defense. Those extra levels gave Gurdurr just enough Speed to act first against the grinding gear Pokemon. Both it and Vanilluxe died to a single Brick Break.


Zoroark aimed true with Focus Blast once again. Its frailty and Fighting weakness made it easy prey for Brick Break. Archeops hit with one Acrobatics, and then I-BEAM buried the fossil bird once again with Rock Slide. Carracosta was a Water/Rock fossil with Sturdy, guaranteeing a Waterfall hit. N only used one Full Restore and repeated Brick Breaks knocked the turtle out of its shell. I couldn't record the exact HP count this time, but it was in the critical zone.


Ghetsis, one of the Seven Sages, was the real final boss. His level 52 Cofagrigus knew Toxic, a poison move that increases gradual damage the longer the fight goes on. Cofagrigus could stall for a turn with Protect to reduce I-BEAM's lifespan. Even a Guts boost couldn't let Gurdurr punch her way through Cofagrigus (Rock Slide), a level 52 pure Normal Bouffalant (Brick Break), and a level 54 Dragon/Dark Hydreigon (Brick Break) before fainting due to poison damage and a Dragon Pulse. A second attempt with Eviolite was no more successful.


Final Death Count: 21


The trick to winning the last battle of the main campaign was to equip a Pecha Berry, which automatically cured poison once. This went to waste when Cofagrigus attacked with Psychic instead of bothering with Toxic. Times like this make me think the AI secretly has the Frisk ability to read your items. Setting up with Bulk Up on the first turn helped quite a bit. Rock Slides wore down Cofagrigus over time, though Ghetsis managed to heal it with a Full Restore once. Bouffalant did nothing as usual. Hydreigon breathed a Dragon Pulse right before Brick Break snapped all three of its necks. Eelektross the Levitating Electric eel had to retreat to its Poke Ball after a single Brick Break. A level 52 Water/Ground Seismitoad and a level 52 Bisharp both failed to stop a Brick Break before they could move. I-BEAM saved Unova with 100/262 HP.


I-BEAM the Gurdurr Final Stats


Level 84 @ Pecha Berry


HP: 262
Attack: 238
Defense: 146
Special Attack: 93
Special Defense: 112
Speed: 116


Moves

Dig
Bulk Up
Rock Slide
Brick Break