Pokemon Variants

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 8


Substitute was absolutely worthless in the Kabu battle.  His AI was not predictably stupid like I had hoped, and Ninetales kept casting Ember, which always dealt more than 1/4 max HP and thus broke the Substitute doll.  No Will o Wisp when I wanted it most.  White Herb failed to stop Arcanine's Intimidate too.  Maybe it only works on debuff side effects for moves like Superpower, Draco Meteor, and Overheat?  Experimenting with the Shell Bell was no more successful.  On Take 1 of this session, Arcanine's Flame Wheel scored the KO.  On Takes 2-3, EWE perished after being hit with either G-Max Centiferno or her own Double Edge.


DEATH COUNT:  23


EWE eventually succeeded while still at Level 50, but it was because of luck rather than my skill.  She had the Lum Berry equipped again, and this time Ninetales promptly cast Will o Wisp.  Why couldn't that happen in the Substitute attempts?  Arcanine whiffed its Will o Wisp, and EWE set up all 3 Max Knuckles.  A Double Edge picked off Arcanine when it was at low HP, and with +2 Attack, one Double Edge slew the giant Centiskorch!  Most of the damage EWE took this time was from her own Double Edge at the end based on Centiskorch's Dynamax HP.



SOLEDAD the trainer received the Will o Wisp TM for her victory, a useful move for a change.  But still incompatible with Wooloo.  At this point I was anxious for Hop to shut up about the Wild Area for long enough that I could save.  No need for a stats section for this part because EWE hadn't leveled up.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 9


To reach the city of Hammerlocke, SOLEDAD biked through the Wild Area to the northeast.  I had been to the entrance before, but a gatekeeper prevented entry until I got the first 3 badges.  Hammerlocke had dark medieval castle walls surrounding it, giving it a distinctive look.  Mr. Focus in one house was a joke battle with a Level 2 Cottonee. . .with the infamous Focus Sash and Endeavor moveset to take EWE down to 1 HP.  Someone at GameFreak wanted to reference the Diamond/Pearl Rattata.  A Focus Sash was the reward for this battle.


EWE and all other solos were barred from participating in a Battle Cafe meal because this was only for Double Battles.  She couldn't go to the Gym yet either, as Raihan the Dragon trainer would only accept challengers with 7 badges.  Instead, SOLEDAD and EWE climbed the rocky Route 6 to enter the town of Stow-on-Side.


Team Yell Grunts wanted to stop challengers from moving through the route because they wanted to make sure their favorite Ground type Siliconda could stay asleep.  They were unexpectedly challenging because the first Grunt had a Stunky that dealt passive Aftermath recoil upon death, in addition to the Double Edge damage.  A Galar Linoone was easy to kill with Double Kick, and a Liepard wasn't much tougher.


Double Edge recoil almost caused a loss against random route trainers too.  EWE won a battle against Beauty Anita's Levels 29-30 Clefairy and Clefable with only 28/106 HP.  Backpacker Ruth's Throh was also a threat with its always critical Fighting type Storm Throw.  Artist Duncan had a face that made me think he would stab passerby when no one else was looking, though his Levels 29-31 Koffing and Sudowoodo were ordinary and could be defeated with Double Edge and Double Kick.


Hop wanted to cheer up after his loss to Bede by fighting me again in Stow-on-Side.  He opened with a previously unseen Water/Flying Level 28 Cramorant which died to one Double Edge.  Level 30 Silicobra Dug underground and forced me to waste a turn with Substitute.  A second Double Edge and a Double Kick ensured it wouldn't slither around for a while.  Level 33 Drizzile needed both a Sucker Punch and a Water Pulse to break the Substitute doll, and a Double Edge and Double Kick combo beat the Water starter.  The Electric/Poison Toxel was Level 29 and had low Defense, making it easy prey for Double Edge.  This was a close match as EWE only survived with 15/108 HP thanks to the Shell Bell.


Hop wasn't even the worst battle in this town.  Both versions' Gyms would have been difficult for a weak Normal type like Wooloo.  At least with Sword's Fighting Gym, EWE would have been able to use her best attacks.  Instead, she was stuck with Shield's Ghost Gym where everything was immune to Double Edge and Double Kick.  The gimmick here was riding down a sort of pinball course on a vehicle that required mildly rotating the joystick to move through.  It wasn't as bad as it might sound to some of my readers.


EWE had to leave to heal at the Pokemon Center after every Gym Trainer battle to have enough PP for her only viable damaging move, Payback.  10 uses was low for a move with normally 50 base power.  EWE's opponents sent out Pumpkaboos, Phantump, Haunter, and Drifblim. 


The most significant encounter was with a Level 32 Galar Corsola used by Lynne.  It was a bleached and sad-looking Ghost type as a commentary on global warming who had a nasty habit of casting Disable.  Double Kicks were used to waste turns while Corsola was shooting Ancient Power, and by the time EWE connected with enough Paybacks, she was only at 12/108 HP.  If at any point you ask yourself "Am I overleveled?" during a solo Wooloo playthrough, the answer is "NO!"


Allister the Gym Leader always wore a mask.  He opened with a Level 34 Galar Yamask that used Disable as much as Galar Corsola.  Its Wandering Spirit ability turned Fluffy against Wooloo and made her Paybacks deal less damage.  Its Brutal Swing wasn't powerful, but its Disable allowed it to stall for many turns if the AI was being cruel. 


As if Yamask was not enough of a problem, Allister's 2nd Pokemon was a Level 34 Mimikyu.  Its secondary Fairy type made Payback neutral, and Disguise blocked some damage from the first attack.  The fake Pikachu liked to use Baby Doll Eyes, a sort of priority Growl.  With reduced Attack, EWE barely defeated Mimikyu and saw the 3rd Pokemon, a Level 35 Cursola that used the Curse ailment to reduce HP at the end of every round.  This wasn't technically a DEATH COUNT because EWE ran out of Payback PP and could do nothing.  I then reset the game to avoid wasting time with my character in a "walking dead" state.


PP LOSS:  1


It was now obvious that EWE needed a 2nd move that could hit Ghost types, but Wooloo suffered from a shortage of attacks unlike most Normal monsters.  The only options were Electro Ball, a special attack that dealt damage based on how much the user outsped the opponent, or Wild Charge, a 90 power physical move with recoil damage.  I tried Electro Ball first.  Yamask wasted many turns with Disable as before.  Electro Ball broke Mimikyu's Disguise.  EWE had a  Dynamax growth spurt and attacked Max Darkness, though this did not prevent Mimikyu from buffing its Attack with Hone Claws and Slashing open the sheep.


DEATH COUNT:  24


EWE's next attempt was at Level 55 and with Wild Charge instead of Electro Ball.  Yamask was immune to Electric attacks due to being part Ground, but EWE tricked it into disabling Substitute instead of Payback.  Baby Doll Eyes from Mimikyu softened EWE's attacks, but at least Cursola committed suicide with Curse.  Level 36 Gengar had a Gigantamax form that was mostly a head, a wide open void of a mouth, and arms.  Gengar didn't mind EWE being immune to its main Ghost type, and used its secondary Poison type to drench the arena with Max Ooze.


DEATH COUNT:  25


EWE ate more candy than an entire town during Halloween and leveled to 60.  Her troubles began when Yamask Disabled Payback again.  Though I had a new idea this time:  Max Lightning from Wild Charge.  This not only dealt heavy Electric damage, but also created the Electric Terrain effect that would make future Max Lightnings or Wild Charges 50% stronger.  EWE came close to victory when Gengar wasted its first turn on a weak Max Darkness, though regular Payback even with doubled power couldn't reduce its Gigantamax HP to 0.


DEATH COUNT:  26


Success came when Yamask Disabled Substitute.  EWE's Substitute lasted into the Mimikyu phase, and she took advantage of that by hitting with Payback and Electro Ball before finishing off the Alola favorite with Max Lightning.  Cursola had fragile enough Defense that an Electric Terrain boosted Max Lightning defibrillated it.  Dynamax lasted long enough for one Max Darkness before EWE reverted to her regular size and exorcised Gengar with a final Payback.  Allister's AI wasted the opportunity to win by clicking Max Darkness twice.  Wooloo triumphed at Level 60 with around 70/126 HP.  Hex was the TM reward and was as useless for this playthrough as the others.


Fortunately for EWE, she won't have to face a Red caliber Champion.  Leon's Pokemon are in the low 60s according to Serebii, so it may be possible even if Wooloo has to eat enough candies to be at Level 100.


EDIT:  I forgot to put in the stats section!


EWE the Wooloo Stats and Moves
 


Level 60 @ Shell Bell

Ability:  Fluffy
Nature:  Relaxed (+10% Defense, -10% Speed)
Characteristic:  Alert to Sounds (highest IV is Speed)
 

HP:  126
Attack:  60
Defense:  93
Sp. Atk:  74
Sp. Def:  69
Speed:  80
 
Double Edge
Payback
Protect
Wild Charge

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 10


Once Allister was defeated, a loud noise was heard in Stow-on-Side.  Bede was trying to destroy the mural with a borrowed Copperajah elephant, but it seemed that SOLEDAD caught her just in time.  EWE set up a Substitute in front of the lead Level 32 Duosion, though its Psybeam easily broke it.  It generated both Reflect and Light Screen defenses for its team, so Paybacks only dealt half damage for a few rounds.  Bede healed Duosion with some item I can't remember as well.  Level 35 Hattrem took a Double Edge and required a Payback finisher, allowing it to cast Psybeam once.  Level 32 Gothorita and Level 33 Galar Ponyta both fell to one Double Edge, resulting in a slim 28/126 HP victory.



The Pokemon League chairman Rose was so disappointed with Bede's lack of regard for historical sites that he stripped her of her Gym Challenger status.  The mural collapsed entirely shortly afterwards and revealed a cave with 2 wolf statues.  One wielded a sword and one bore a shield.  This was thought to be a reference to the 2 heroes that saved Galar from the Darkest Day, as depicted in the tapestry.  It was suggested that the historical records ignored 1 hero because there was only 1 statue in the Budew Drop Inn.  (Or maybe they couldn't afford 2 monuments or something. . .)


SOLEDAD's next stop was Glimwood Tangle, a dark forest filled with mushrooms to illuminate the path.  It looked visually distinct from other Pokemon forests.  The wild Pokemon theme here was the Fairy type.  Various goblins like the Dark/Fairy Impidimp and Morgrem lurked in the grass, as well as Shiinotic the Grass/Fairy mushroom from Alola.  


One embarrassing moment occurred when I forgot to heal after the Bede battle.  EWE promptly fainted to Double Edge recoil against Cook Derek's team.


DEATH COUNT:  27


Cook Derek's squad of Milcery, Shiinotic, and Sinistea the Ghost teacup was easily defeated when EWE was at full health like she should have been in the first place.  Would a British region be complete without a tea Pokemon?  Madame Judy sent out 2 Indeedees that succumbed to Double Edge.  It was only after the fight that I learned that Indeedee was Normal/Psychic like Girafarig and Oranguru instead of a Fairy type.


The mushroom forest town of Ballonlea was much brighter than the Glimwood Tangle, though it kept the Fairy theme.  Giving a letter to an old man in one house from what may have been a ghost provided a Choice Scarf, a 50% boost to Speed with the drawback of being locked into 1 move until switching.  Generally not a good choice for a solo run unless you're a slow but powerful attacker.


Pokemon Breeder Elena was much more helpful.  She promised a way to make Pokemon strong without evolution, which got my hopes up for the Eviolite.  Sure enough, she handed it to EWE after her Level 30 Dottler wielding the item died.  Now EWE had 50% more Defense and Special Defense barring the odd Knock Off or Embargo disabling it in combat.  Ballonlea got even better for Wooloo when she found the Rest TM.  Combined with the Sleep Talk TR from the Wild Area, and now a new defensive strategy was possible.  Whenever EWE's health was low, she could count sheep and sleep off the damage.  Sleep Talk had a chance of picking an attack move, so the 2 turn downtime wasn't as bad.


Another discovery happened while talking to the Move Relearner.  Substitute showed up on the "forgotten moves" list, meaning TRs could be relearned without penalty and were not truly "single use" for the purposes of a solo run.  Headbutt replaced Double Edge both to avoid recoil damage and take advantage of the flinch chance.  Raw power wasn't as necessary now that EWE had a healing move.


Opal's Gym was presented as an audition on a stage, and all battles were mandatory.  Gym Trainers here used Spritzee, Slurpuff, Swirlix, Aromatisse, Morgrem, and Gardevoir in the 34-35 level range.  During each combat, a quiz question would appear, and answering correctly or incorrectly would raise or lower EWE's stats.  Taking notes in Microsoft Word paid off when one question was about the previous trainer's name.  But "what do I eat for breakfast every morning?" might as well have been a coin flip because there was no way to know.  I picked "curry" because this game (and Tales of [whatever]) are obsessed with it, but the answer was "omelet".  This cost EWE some Defense and Special Defense for the rest of the battle.



When EWE won her audition, she was at Level 61.  Opal led with a Level 36 Poison/Fairy Galar Weezing, complete with top hat smokestacks.  No Pokemon could fit the idea of the Victorian gentleman better.  Weezing tended to use Sludge, which dealt minor damage at most.  About 3 Headbutts could KO the regional variant, and one scored a flinch.  The quiz question for this part was about Opal's nickname.  I guessed "wizard", and EWE's Speed rose to +2 as a reward.


Level 36 Mawile was another Intimidate monster, much to my displeasure.  Pokemon games tend to be biased against physical attackers, at least if they don't have a move like Swords Dance or Dragon Dance to increase their stats.  Saying Opal's favorite color was "purple" based on her outfit yielded a +2 bonus to Defense and Special Defense.  Telling the truth about Opal being 88 years old instead of 16 was an Attack and Special Attack penalty.  When she demanded such cheap flattery, she was demoted to  "biddy" instead of remaining a respectable "crone". 


Mawile required so many Wild Charges to kill that EWE was at 4/15 PP.  Its minor Draining Kiss attack and Iron Defense buff prolonged the fight.  Next came Level 37 Togekiss, which cast ineffectual Air Slashes as EWE Rested.  A misclick happened at one point when I chose Wild Charge instead of Sleep Talk.


Opal's last Pokemon was a Level 38 Alcremie, which became a wedding cake with Gigantamax.  Not the first time I've fought an enemy like that in an RPG!  Alcremie's only attack was a wimpy G-Max Finale that was based on Draining Kiss.  Its other moves were Acid Armor to increase its Defense and Sweet Kiss to inflict confusion.  The latter seemed like a relief at first, because self-inflicted damage might have offered the opportunity to stall out Alcremie's PP.  But this was not to happen.  EWE Struggled herself to death after many rounds of hoping for a critical hit that ignored enemy buffs and EWE's lowered Attack.


DEATH COUNT:  28


EWE adopted more offensive tactics for Round 2.  One Headbutt made Galar Weezing flinch, though poison status from Sludge required Resting when Mawile appeared.  Lying and saying Opal looked 16 increased Attack to +1.  A few rounds of enemy Crunches and EWE's Wild Charges left Mawile at low enough HP to finish off with a Max Lightning.  Electric Terrain ensured a 1 hit knockout against Togekiss, and 2 Max Strikes demolished Alcremie the cake when Booster wasn't available.  Since EWE was healed automatically after this battle, I couldn't find the exact HP result.  It was in the "medium" range, not healthy or critical.  Draining Kiss was the TM reward.  Perhaps useful for defensive Fairy types, but not for a Wooloo.


EWE the Wooloo Stats

Level 61 @ Eviolite


Ability:  Fluffy
Nature:  Relaxed
Characteristic:  Alert to Sounds


HP:  128
Attack:  61
Defense:  95
Sp. Atk:  78
Sp. Def:  72
Speed:  81


Headbutt
Rest
Sleep Talk
Wild Charge

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 11


Opal liked Bede's pink clothes so much that she reinstated him into the Gym Challenge.  Yes, it was only then that I realized Bede was a boy.  His "grandma hair" gave him a feminine appearance.


What seemed to be an earthquake happened in Hammerlocke near the power plant.  Some worried that Pokemon would then be able to Dynamax in the city proper rather than just the stadium where it would be safe.  They said to "leave the quaking to the adults", but we all know how competent authority figures are in Pokemon games.    


A Pokemon Center in eastern Hammerlocke sold elemental fang and terrain TMs, which I may want to keep in mind for future solos.  One NPC inside said Champions were too strong, and recommended letting challengers use 10 Pokemon against them.  But isn't it better to humiliate them with a Pokemon so weak I sometimes wish I were using Magikarp?  (With Hydro Pump, the joke fish may actually be viable once enough Watts are acquired. . .)


Forgetting to swap out EWE's moveset was punished in the Route 7 Hop battle.  He led with a Level 34 Trevenant that was immune to Headbutt and resisted Wild Charge due to being Ghost/Grass.  Ten Wild Charges along with Rest were necessary to win that round.  Trevenant restored some HP with Horn Leech attacks, and wasted at least one of EWE's turns when it shone a Confuse Ray on her.


Hop's next monster was a Level 35 Snorlax, and EWE had to Rest to recover on the first turn.  Snorlax took the opportunity to Stockpile more Defense and Special Defense in the meantime, while occasionally Heavy Slamming.  A Body Slam paralyzed EWE, creating a possibility of losing the battle.  Headbutts slowly eroded Snorlax's HP.  Level 34 Heatmor had Fire Lash which always debuffed Defense.  Not favorable conditions for Resting, but both Sleep Talks rolled Headbutt and finished off the anteater.  Level 35 Boltund fell to 2 Headbutts after it Crunched Wooloo twice.  


Finally, Level 37 Inteleon loved to decrease EWE's Attack and irrelevant Special Attack with Tearful Look.  Sleep Talk Wild Charge and Headbutt gradually defeated the Water starter, though EWE had to watch out for its signature Water move Snipe Shot.  EWE won with 70/128 HP at Level 61.  I made sure to replace Wild Charge with Payback in case Wooloo encountered any more pesky Ghosts.


Model Mila was another potential death.  Her Level 35 Ribombee flew faster than EWE could walk and attacked with Dazzling Gleam and Pollen Puff.  Level 36 Vespiquen was slow, but sturdy enough to take several Headbutts.  It used Attack Order, a physical Bug move that bypassed Fluffy.


Route 8 involved climbing up and down ladders through some ruins.  Musician Charles's Level 37 Togedemaru was part Steel and had to be attacked with Payback instead of the stronger Headbutt.  Since this was a contact move, it activated the passive Iron Barbs ability that damaged EWE each time.  Its signature Zing Zap attack combined with Iron Barbs hurt EWE enough that she left the arena at 31/131 HP.


Attempting Headbutt against Backpacker Barbara's Dreepy was useless because it turned out to be a Ghost type.  A single Payback sent it back to the graveyard, however, and Headbutts broke through even Vullaby's Iron Defense buffs.  A Terrain Extender item was available at the end of these ruins, and was worth noting for other potential solos.


The snow area of Route 8 had Pokemon like Snom the Bug/Ice monster, Sneasel, Snorunt, and Vanillish.  The only trainer battle here was against Police Officer Bobby (get it?) and his Intimidate Arcanine and Level 37 Boltund.  Headbutt couldn't make Arcanine flinch because it repeatedly used Extreme Speed priority.  Hail damage finished off the Electric dog after more rounds of Headbutting.


Circhester was a snowy town with a Roman bath.  Or whatever Rome's equivalent was called.  Its Gym did not have ice sliding puzzles like you'd expect, but rather a puzzle where SOLEDAD had to use a Trap Detector to avoid pitfalls.  In practice, I fell down most of the pitfalls, which only sent SOLEDAD back to the previous safe platform.  The traps did not reset.  Trainer battles ranged from 38-39.  Lewis's Snom died to a single Headbutt, a rare event in this playthrough!  Micah's Avalugg required around 6 Headbutts due to its massive Defense stat.  Its Ice Fang was weak, however.


Her subordinates may have been easy, but Melony the Gym Leader rivaled Kabu and Allister.  She led with Snom's evolved form Frosmoth at Level 40.  It knew several nasty moves to use against a solo Wooloo, such as Icy Wind to debuff Speed and attack, Hail to cause 1/16 max HP damage per round for 5 turns, Bug Buzz to deal more significant damage, and the rarely seen Feather Dance, a -2 Attack debuff.  It was simple to kill with about 2 Headbutts, however.


Galar's Ice version of Darmanitan appeared at Level 40.  It started with Taunt to disable Rest and Sleep Talk for several rounds, then made Icicle Crash fall on EWE.  Icicle Crash had a flinch chance too.  A couple of attempts ended there, especially when Darmanitan lost more than half HP and turned into a snarling snowman with higher Attack in Zen Mode.  It must have been one of the "snow demons" that Calvin prayed to in Calvin and Hobbes. 


Eiscue the Level 41 pure Ice penguin came next.  Its gimmick was that it wore an Ice Face ability that nullified one physical attack before breaking.  This proved once again that GameFreak hated Pokemon that relied on the Attack stat, as if Intimidate, Burn status, contact move abilities like Iron Barbs, and common debuffs like Growl weren't enough.  Ice Face could be regenerated if Eiscue set up Hail again, which was usually the case.  It liked to attack with either Icy Wind or Freeze Dry, a move super effective against Water types.  On rare occasions it would waste turns increasing its Special Defense with Amnesia.


Melony saved her Gigantamax Lapras for last.  Its specialty was G-Max Resonance, an enhanced Ice Beam that generated a combination Reflect and Light Screen in the form of Aurora Veil.  But this was a relief in comparison to a Surf powered Max Geyser that summoned Rain to boost future Water attacks. 


It took 9 tries to win the 6th badge.  Sometimes EWE held out until Lapras and couldn't Rest again in time.  Darmanitan's Icicle Crash flinches sometimes did Wooloo in.  And even Eiscue once got a KO with Freeze Dry after I clicked Reversal instead of flinch.  (Don't remember whether Taunt was still active at the time.)


Success did not come until Level 70 with the help of more Wild Area candies.  Reversal occupied the 4th move slot for the strongest possible Max Knuckle.  Frosmoth slowed down EWE with Icy Wind before dying, and the first Headbutt sent Darmanitan into Zen Mode.  Stupid AI helped when Eiscue used Amnesia, giving a chance to Rest.  Headbutts combined with a Sleep Talk Reversal marched the penguin back into its Poke Ball.  Lapras wasted all 3 of its turns on G-Max Resonance, when it probably could have won with Max Geyser.  Two Rests outlasted the enemy's Dynamax time, and EWE grew to hundreds of times her natural size to Max Knuckle the plesiosaur to death.


Once again, I couldn't record the exact HP count, but EWE was roughly in the middle of her life bar.  SOLEDAD got the Icy Wind TM as a reward, probably as a reference to the easier Gym Leader Pryce from Crystal.  It was a relief to save and turn the game off after this slog.  Playing a no Battle Item challenge with Wooloo is one step above the Kanto caterpillars.  If the Wild Area candies didn't exist or were harder to obtain, you'd have to look at ugly Dubwool instead.  At least Dubwool has Body Press, Zen Headbutt, Bounce, and most importantly the Swords Dance for +2 Attack.  And decent Attack and Speed to begin with.


DEATH COUNT:  36



EWE the Wooloo Stats

Level 70 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP:  147
Attack:  72
Defense:  111
Sp. Atk:  90
Sp. Def:  82
Speed:  94


Headbutt
Rest
Sleep Talk
Reversal

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 12


Hop's battle in the ancient Circhester baths was another slim victory in spite of EWE being 30 levels higher than her opponents.  Wooloo's abysmal performance in Shield cannot be overstated.  This sheep is the bottom of the barrel unless you count joke runs like solo Weedle, and at least with Weedle no one will criticize you for chugging Full Restores and X Attacks.


Hop had the sense to actually evolve his Wooloo into a Level 40 Dubwool.  Its moveset was still subpar, relying on Take Down and Defense Curl.  Growl was a legitimate threat to a solo with base 40 Attack and a bad IV in that stat, however.  Several rounds of Headbutts made Hop decide to heal his sheep with his only Hyper Potion.


Next came Level 39 Snorlax, which was more dangerous because of its defenses wasting EWE's PP rather than its Body Slam or Heavy Slam damage output.  Rest and Sleep Talk provided much-needed recovery.  Level 41 Inteleon decreased Wooloo's marginal Attack further with several Tearful Looks, and once scored a critical hit with Snipe Shot water.  Paybacks and Headbutts slowly wore down the Water starter.


Level 40 Corviknight was effectively a Skarmory replacement.  It was Steel/Flying with high Defense, though it was interesting mainly because it was the final form of a "Route 1 bird".  Corviknight liked to use Scary Face to lower Wooloo's Speed, but this was mostly irrelevant.  Paybacks were neutral against Steel in this game, so EWE used it over and over.  Hail probably dealt more damage in the end.  Corviknight's Drill Pecks were useless against EWE's Eviolite and Fluffy ability bonuses.


Hop's last Pokemon was a Level 39 Pincurchin, which I initially mistook for a Pyukumuku evolution.  I found out later that it was actually pure Electric, which explained why it used Spark so often.  Spark caused paralysis, forcing Wooloo to Rest once again to cure the status.  Hail conked Pincurchin on the head and EWE won by default.  It was sad to see that 1/16 max HP damage was essential for an "overleveled" Pokemon to win.  EWE emerged from the baths at 48/147 HP.


Failing to go to the Pokemon Center immediately resulted in another casualty against Fisher Harriet and her Water type Barraskewda.  Pokemon Shield sometimes likes to autoheal you, but sometimes doesn't.


DEATH COUNT:  37


Another embarrassing defeat happened when a random Team Yell Grunt happened to carry a Galar Linoone with Counter.  One Headbutt was returned with double power.  Next time I made sure to relearn Double Kick to exploit its 4X weakness to Fighting.


DEATH COUNT:  38


Route 9 was a water area filled with ice floes.  This was unusually large for a Pokemon Shield Route, leading some players to believe that it was made early in development, while the others were rushed.  Saving the bike guy from the Team Yell Grunts enabled the bike to ride on water as a substitute for Surf.  Enemy trainers tended to use Water or Fighting types like Qwilfish, Pyukumuku, Cloyster, Toxapex, Throh, Sawk, and Grapploct in the low 40s level range.  I was forced to redo some of this part when an unwanted wild Pokemon encounter on the map caused my Switch's screen to have a "white out" crash.  To escape this trap, I had to hold down the power button until the game hard reset.  


Notable TMs here included Avalanche, Dive, and most importantly Rock Slide.  So many good moves are Wild Area TRs that it's odd to see Rock Slide come so late.  Not that Wooloo could use it, of course.


On the eastern side of Route 7, EWE unwittingly ran into an impossible situation.  Gentleman Caden sent out a Level 44 Doublade first, and of course Wooloo didn't have Payback at the time.  Wooloo's move selection is so bad that if you don't have Payback, you have to dread every encounter that might have a Ghost.  And if you are using Payback, you run into someone who resists Dark.  EWE avenged her loss, but there was still a chance of losing to Gentleman Caden.  His Passimian knew Bulk Up, and Polteageist was another Ghost, this time with the advantage of Giga Drain healing.  Two lucky Sleep Talks in a row won the battle.



UNWINNABLE BATTLE COUNT:  1


Marnie awaited EWE outside the town of Spikemuth.  Her Level 42 Liepard used one of the worst moves possible against a solo Pokemon:  Torment.  Half of all attacks throughout the battle were wasted on Payback.  Liepard was otherwise weak, and Wooloo's attacks defeated it even when Marnie healed it with a Hyper Potion.  Level 43 Scrafty loved to use Scary Face and Swagger.  A couple of turns lost to confusion were worth it when Swagger wore off and EWE kept the +2 Attack.  Rest and Sleep Talk helped to survive this phase.


Marnie's Level 43 Toxicroak cast Venoshock and whiffed with Swagger before dying to an enhanced Payback and Headbutt.  Her final monster was a Level 44 Morpeko that managed to paralyze EWE with Spark.  Payback and Headbutt allowed EWE to triumph.


The Dark type had been snubbed in the Gym lineup in every Pokemon game until Shield finally decided to give it one.  Then again, it was in a city filled exclusively with back alleys, and its Gym Trainers were Team Yell Grunts.  Its "challenge" was nothing but battles, no traps or minigames.  SOLEDAD was required to bring a 2nd Pokemon for a Double Battle, so a Ralts using only the useless move Teleport was there to fill a "dummy slot".  Payback was kept because I feared that one trainer would pull out a Dark/Ghost Sableye or something.


(This session was played away from home.)


Team Yell Grunts used Galar Linoone, Thievul, Scrafty, Weavile, Liepard, and Drapion in the 42-43 range.  These were mostly simple battles.  The cutscene where Gym Leader Piers made his entrance was an obvious sign of budget limitations.  He rocked out while making lip movements, but there was no voice acting at all.  He said that Dynamaxing was impossible in his arena, but hoped we would have a good battle.  And Piers delivered that.


Piers opened with a Level 44 Scrafty with the perpetually annoying Intimidate ability.  Its Fake Out and Payback dealt only minor damage because they were contact moves affected by Fluffy.  Headbutts made it flinch several times before it died. 


Level 46 Obstagoon, a Galar exclusive evolution of Linoone, was Piers's star Pokemon.  Its signature Obstruct move blocked all attacks, with a -2 Defense penalty to those who hit it with contact moves.  Guess what kind of moves Wooloo was forced to use.  Like Linoones before it, Obstagoon knew Counter.  And it could take advantage of Obstruct's Defense debuffs with an 80 power Dark attack called Throat Chop.  Somehow EWE managed to outlast it, but she was in poor shape for Level 45 Malamar and its Night Slash.  Piers announced it had the Contrary ability, which would turn any debuffs into buffs and vice versa.  Good thing it didn't have Superpower, or it would have received a free Bulk Up for a super effective attack!


DEATH COUNT:  39


I'll have to rethink the moveset before trying again.  Perhaps there may be a way for EWE to win at her current level.  If not, there's always candies.  
 


EWE the Wooloo Stats

Level 72 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP:  152
Attack:  77
Defense:  117
Sp. Atk:  93
Sp. Def:  87
Speed:  99


Headbutt
Rest
Sleep Talk
Wild Charge

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 13


It took an unorthodox moveset to do it, but EWE won the 7th badge at her current level of 72. . .which was still higher than the Champion's team.  Dark types in Pokemon, with a few exceptions like Hyreigon and Zoroark, tend to be physical fighters.  In fact, every Dark move created before the Sinnoh games became physical, if my knowledge of Pokemon is correct.


Piers's Scrafty opened with the obligatory Fake Out flinch because it would have failed if it weren't used on the 1st turn.  A Payback and a critical Brick Break dealt additional damage while EWE Headbutted Scrafty to death.  One of these Normal attacks made the Dark/Fighting Pokemon flinch.


Cotton Guard was the unusual move for this set.  Its +3 Defense boost was both a good way to waste Obstruct turns, and to act as insurance in case I mispredicted the AI pattern and suffered the debuff.  Obstagoon's Throat Chop was pitiful with the combined powers of Fluffy, Eviolite, and Cotton Guard, and Double Kick slowly subtracted HP from the Dark/Normal type.  One Obstruct landed, leaving EWE at +4 Defense when Malamar appeared.


Malamar alternated between Psycho Cut, Night Slash, and Payback, all of which dealt minor damage.  EWE Rested during this phase of the Piers battle for safety between Headbutts.  Last came Skuntank at Level 45.  Piers announced that it had both Sucker Punch and Toxic.  Without Rest to sleep off the poison, EWE would have lost for sure.  Instead of Sucker Punch, Skuntank preferred to cast Snarl, the only special attack Piers's team had.  With only 55 base power coming from 71 base Special Attack, Snarl's ability to ignore Fluffy and Cotton Guard still wasn't enough to shear Wooloo.


Skuntank's final surprise was Aftermath recoil damage from Headbutt being a contact move.  EWE had more than enough HP to survive that, and she gained the useless Snarl TM from a Team Yell Grunt.  Piers happened to be Marnie's brother, and he wanted her to succeed him as the Gym Leader.  But she had the ambition of becoming the Champion instead, and Piers and Team Yell cheered her on.


A loud growling sound was heard from Route 9's tunnel, and Leon ordered SOLEDAD to continue her quest while he tried to handle the situation.  You'd think by now the adults would realize they have to rely on gifted minors to solve all their problems.


No stats section is needed this time.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 14


Galar's 8th Gym in Hammerlocke came immediately after finishing the 7th.  When the gatekeeper wouldn't let SOLEDAD into the trial without a 2nd Pokemon, I knew Wooloo would be in trouble.  In fact, all the battles here were Double Battles.  To maintain the ideal of the solo run, SOLEDAD brought her useless Teleporting Ralts to meet the quota.


Although this was nominally a Dragon Gym, the AI trainers had no objections to using non-Dragon Pokemon to set up automatic weather.  Sebastian's Pelipper and Sliggoo duo based on Rain were simple to defeat, but Camilla's Kanto Ninetales and Turtonator required special tactics.  Turtonator repeatedly used its signature Shell Trap move, a counterattack that didn't protect from damage but made up for it with massive physical Fire power, especially under Sun.  Ninetales itself cast boosted Flamethrowers that not only exploited Fluffy's drawback but hit Wooloo's weaker defensive stat.


DEATH COUNT:  41


To stand any chance against two Pokemon with a passive ability induced weakness, EWE ate enough candies to rise to Level 80.  Ralts made a good distraction for Will o Wisp and a single Flamethrower while EWE Headbutted Ninetales.  To avoid Turtonator's Shell Trap bait and wait out the weather, EWE relied on her Cotton Guard trick.  More Headbutts cracked the Fire/Dragon type's shell.  Abomasnow and Hakamo-o's Hail team led by Aria were a relief.  Abomasnow didn't even set up Aurora Veil defensive screens until its partner was already dead.  All Gym Trainer Pokemon were at Level 45.


Gym Leader Raihan sent out Level 47 Flygon and Level 46 Gigalith first.  Gigalith was only concerning at all because of its passive Sandstorm ability, but was otherwise dead weight except for Sand Tomb gradual damage.  Flygon, however, loved to decrease EWE's meager Attack with the new Dragon attack Breaking Swipe.  EWE could never have enough PP to outlast Raihan's team without rolling an unrealistically high amount of criticals.


DEATH COUNT:  42


On Take 2, I had the idea of using Dynamax early to take out Flygon with a Max Strike and Max Knuckles in order to increase Attack.  Sandaconda took Flygon's place and acted more as a support teammate by blocking attacks with Protect, paralyzing with Glare, or casting Earth Power.  When Gigalith died, a Steel/Dragon named Duraludon appeared.  It grew into the shape of a skyscraper when Raihan used Gigantamax, and liked to buff its Attack with its own Max Knuckles.  Without Defense boosts, EWE succumbed to repeated physical moves.


DEATH COUNT:  43


On the successful attempt, EWE was unlucky when Flygon liked to negate Max Knuckle buffs with Breaking Swipe debuffs.  Obviously it was the top priority to kill while Dynamaxed.  Headbutting Sandaconda made me learn that it had the Sand Spit ability that summoned a Sandstorm whenever an attack hit the snake.  So EWE concentrated on Gigalith and hammered the Rock type with Double Kick.  Cotton Guard ensured survival when Duraludon appeared, and Double Kicks were as effective against Steel as they were against Rock.  Sandaconda was the last to die, and EWE left the stadium at around half HP while paralyzed.


Route 10 was another Ice themed area, but was smaller and more linear than Route 9.  Fighting its local trainers was a miserable experience for EWE, and she had to rely on Hail and Rest stalling to beat enemies like Hiker Douglas's Level 45 Steelix.  In frustration, I swapped out Headbutt for Wild Charge just to speed up the combat.  It was satisfying to take out Postman Harper's Pelipper and Noctowl in one hit!


EWE would have sacrificed some of her Attack stat if she were able to learn Toxic, which wasn't a TM or TR at all in Galar.  Double Team was out of reach too.



EWE the Wooloo Stats


Level 81 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP:  171
Attack:  90
Defense:  136
Sp. Atk:  106
Sp. Def:  98
Speed:  113


Payback
Rest
Cotton Guard
Wild Charge

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 15


It came to my attention that a Facade TM was hidden in the Wild Area, and it was one of the rare moves that Wooloo could actually learn.  It had the same base power as Headbutt, but would double to 140 when EWE was poisoned, burned, or paralyzed.  So status ailments could sometimes be beneficial to the sheep now.


SOLEDAD used some Hondew Berries to lower EWE's Special Attack "effort values", which is why the stat is lower than in previous updates.  Proteins were sold in one of Wyndon's Pokemon Centers which finally boosted EWE's Attack into the triple digits.


Another Wyndon Pokemon Center sold elemental punch, Drain Punch, and "stat swap" moves.  Wooloo couldn't use them, but it might be worth noting for future playthroughs.


At some point before I bought the Proteins, EWE had to fight for her life against. . .3 Level 34 Rotoms controlled by League Staff Isaac.  Granted, one of them was the Electric/Fire version, and it got a critical with Overheat, but still, come on!  She limped out of the battle with 31/171 HP.


Pokemon Shield had no Elite 4 gauntlet, but rather a Champion's Cup.  Marnie was the first opponent with a Level 47-49 team.  Her Liepard must have been prepared to use special moves because it buffed its power with Nasty Plot.  EWE set up a Cotton Guard on the first turn not knowing about Marnie's strategy, though the Team Yell favorite got greedy and used a 2nd Nasty Plot, leaving Liepard open to a one hit Facade KO.


Two Facades killed Level 47 Scrafty, who unintentionally helped EWE with a +2 Attack Swagger.  Level 47 Toxicroak dropped after 1 Facade.  EWE grew to Dynamax size against Level 48 Morpeko, who failed to use Torment.  Confusion damage from Swagger delayed victory by a turn, and Marnie hoped to hinder EWE further with Spark paralysis.  But a Max Strike destroyed the Dark/Electric Pikachu clone. 


Last came Level 49 Grimmsnarl, the final form of Impidimp.  This Pokemon dealt minor damage with 2 Fairy type Max Starfalls during its Gigantamax phase, and full paralysis wasted one of EWE's turns.  One Facade took down the Dark/Fairy type.  I should have taken a picture of tiny Wooloo vs. Gigantamax Grimmsnarl, but I didn't do so.



EWE was healed between matches, but couldn't leave to alter her moveset against Hop.  He opened with Level 48 Dubwool, who Body Slammed EWE in hopes of paralyzing her.  Dubwool succeeded, only to boost Facade's power.  Two hits sheared the evolved Wooloo.  Level 47 Snorlax attacked with a super effective Hammer Arm.  Hop decided to use his Full Restore here, so it took 3 Facades to put Snorlax back to sleep.


EWE sent Level 47 Pincurchin back to the Pyukumuku evolution drawing board with a single Facade.  Three Paybacks rusted Level 48 Corviknight, who attacked EWE with Drill Pecks.  Level 49 Inteleon was the designated Dynamax user, but the AI must have been drunk and decided to use a weak Ground type Max Quake on every turn instead of Max Geyser.  Two Max Strikes based on Facade brought Inteleon down to size.  EWE won the semifinals at "low mid" HP at Level 82.


Before EWE could challenge the finals, SOLEDAD, Hop, and Team Yell had to confront strange events at Rose Tower and the fountain area of Wyndon.  Macro Cosmos served as an evil team of sorts like the Aether Foundation from Alola, though the music was rather cheerful for bad guys.  Their specialty was the Steel type, featuring the following monsters:  Galar Meowth, Durant, Excadrill, Mawile, Galar Stunfisk, Steelix, Ferroseed, Cufant, Klang, and Bronzong.


Hop assisted in some of the battles with his Dubwool.  The only annoying part was one match where Stunfisk kept Bouncing into the air like a Final Fantasy Dragoon.


Oleana the boss was not a type specialist.  Her Level 50 Froslass opened with Will o Wisp.  EWE was forced to use Payback due to it being part Ghost, though its low Defense ensured a 2 hit KO even with half Attack from being burned.  Two ailment powered Facades killed Level 51 Milotic, who only used Aqua Ring to try to heal itself at the end of the turn.  Level 50 Salazzle was fast and dealt heavy damage with an Incinerate, but couldn't handle a Facade.  Before attacking Level 50 Tsareena, EWE took a Rest.  This physical Grass type only used Acrobatics for mild damage.  Tsareena was a good opportunity for EWE to Dynamax and increase her Attack with Double Kick based Max Knuckles.


Oleanna's final monster was a Level 52 Garbodor with Gigantamax who used G-Max Malodor to attack and poison EWE.  The first Facade activated Garbodor's Weak Armor ability and let it go first on the next round.  A final G-Max Malodor left EWE at about 19/175 HP at Level 83 when the battle ended.  Another close match!


Tomorrow we'll see if EWE can make a mockery of the Pokemon League by defeating the Champion.



EWE the Wooloo Stats


Level 83 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP:  175
Attack:  109
Defense:  139
Sp. Atk:  104
Sp. Def:  101
Speed:  117


Facade
Payback
Double Kick
Rest

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 16


The "venerable" Bede returned for an unofficial match before the finals began.  He had become a Gym Leader now that Opal had retired, after enduring the "boot camp on Fairy type Pokemon".  Bede obviously hated the "old lady", so my characterization of Opal as a "biddy" is still apt.  Bede's clothes were pinker than ever thanks to Opal's obsession with the color.  Yet "purple" was the correct answer to her favorite color question in the quiz!


Bede began with a Level 51 Mawile with Intimidate.  The futakuchi-onna must be popular in Galar.  Three Max Knuckles weren't enough to beat Mawile, though raising to +2 Attack made the rest of the battle easier.  Bede fed the Steel/Fairy type a Full Restore after the 2nd Max Knuckle.  A Double Kick finished off Mawile once EWE returned to normal size.


Good thing Level 51 Gardevoir didn't have Trace, or it would have copied Fluffy and made it harder to kill.  One Facade defeated the retconned Psychic/Fairy type.  Level 52 Galar Rapidash lived up to its name and outsped EWE.  Its Dazzling Gleam was weak, however, and a single Facade sent it back to the My Little Pony toy line. 


Bede's Level 53 Hatterene expanded to Gigantamax size and used Max Mindstorm to attack and create Psychic Terrain.  But 2 Facades shrank Hatterne back to normal, and EWE triumphed with about 41/175 HP at Level 83.


Nessa the Water Gym Leader was the first opponent in the official final matches.  She had a different team this time, and began with a Level 51 Bug/Water Golisopod, Guzma's signature Pokemon in Moon.  Its Sword Dance would have been concerning if it didn't have the detrimental Emergency Exit ability that forced it to switch out after 2 Facades took it below half HP.  Level 52 Seaking appeared 2nd, providing a good opportunity to set up Attack boosts with Double Kick powered Max Knuckles.  All Seaking did was try to use Aqua Ring passive gradual healing. 


Golisopod returned after Seaking died, only for its First Impression priority Bug attack to deal minor damage.  A 3rd Max Knuckle raised EWE's Attack to +3, and Golisopod drank a Full Restore.  Facade triggered Emergency Exit once again.  Level 52 Barraskewda's Liquidation was a contact physical move that was blunted by Fluffy, and one Facade broke the fragile fish.


Golisopod Round 3 was an exchange of First Impression and a final Facade to finally make it Emergeny Exit to a Pokemon Center instead of a Poke Ball.  Level 51 Pelipper had only enough time to activate its passive Rain before Facade conked it in the beak.  Last came Level 53 Drednaw, the designated Gigantamax Pokemon.  The AI dumbed itself down again and used Max Rockfall (?!), changing the weather to Sandstorm instead of trying enhanced Water moves in the Rain.  Two Double Kicks exploited Drednaw's Fighting weakness and won the battle at 65/175 HP at Level 83.


Allister came back from the grave like a vengeful Ghost ought to for the 3rd finals match.  He made up for the relative easiness of earlier battles with his new team.  Level 52 Dusknoir had Defense too high for a Level 83 Wooloo to take out in one hit, even with Max Darkness.  Its Pressure made every move cost double the normal PP, and Rock Tomb debuffed EWE's Speed.  Level 52 Chandelure alternated between inflicting Burn with Will o Wisp and casting Mystical Fire against EWE's Fluffy weakness. 


Allister's Level 53 Polteageist sometimes wasted PP with Protect blocking.  Its Giga Drain was fairly weak, and Weak Armor prevented it from stalling for too long.  Level 53 Cursola was more troublesome because it sometimes reduced EWE's Attack with the healing move Strength Sap.  Ancient Power could not even break a Substitute with one hit, though.  If EWE survived the previous Ghosts, Gigantamax Gengar at Level 54 was sure to finish her off with Max Ooze, or Sludge Bomb if EWE outlasted the first 3 rounds.


DEATH COUNT:  49


The only way to win was to knock out Dusknoir and Chandelure quickly before EWE either took too much damage or got Burned.  EWE had to rise to Level 95 with candies before she defeated the Ghost master!


It felt great to finally kill Dusknoir with one Max Darkness, and Chandelure suffered the same fate.  Polteageist survived the final Dynamax attack because it reduced the damage with Protect.  Its Giga Drain was laughable, and the Max Darkness managed to get both a critical hit and a Weak Armor defense debuff.  One Payback exorcised the short and stout teacup.  Cursola cast one Ancient Power because Payback got a low damage roll, but Weak Armor again helped EWE's damage output.  Not even an enemy Full Restore could save the bleached coral.  Gengar's passive Cursed Body ability Disabled Payback after the first use, but EWE had Wild Charge in reserve to win with about 70/199 HP.


EWE swapped out her moveset to Facade, Double Kick, Rest, and Substitute for the Raihan rematch.  He started with a Torkoal that had the automatic Sun ability Drought.  Raihan's AI flubbed the move selection and picked Solarbeam instead of Lava Plume.  Even if he didn't know EWE had Fluffy, he should at least have been aware that Fire is 50% more powerful in Sun and that Torkoal had a same type attack bonus!  Three Max Knuckles cracked Torkoal's shell.


Raihan's Level 54 Turtonator set a Shell Trap, which did not protect against a +3 Attack Facade at all.  Level 54 Goodra could only sit in place when another EWE Facade slaughtered it.  Level 54 Flygon was faster than EWE and summoned a Sandstorm before dying.  Level 55 Duraludon was the Gigantamax Pokemon as in Raihan's first battle.  Its Max Knuckle tickled EWE, and two Double Kicks demolished the skyscraper.  EWE won her last finals match with 103/199 HP at Level 95.  Raihan was a breather after Allister.


SOLEDAD and EWE were not allowed to take Champion Leon's title yet.  Chairman Rose appeared on the giant screen in the stadium and announced he was reviving the Darkest Day to solve an energy crisis that he believed would happen 1000 years in the future.  This was the calamity the two heroes and the sword and shield Pokemon had stopped long ago.  I liked legendary Pokemon better when they were just bonuses for dedicated explorers rather than being part of the plot. . .



EWE the Wooloo Stats


Level 95 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP:  199
Attack:  124
Defense:  158
Sp. Atk:  119
Sp. Def:  115
Speed:  133


Facade
Payback
Double Kick
Rest

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 17


Hop and SOLEDAD ventured through the Slumbering Weald again, but there were no enemy trainers, and EWE could run away from any wild Pokemon she bumped into.  It was more like a cutscene than exploration.  At the end of this "dungeon" were a rusty sword and shield.  Hop grabbed the sword when SOLEDAD took the shield.


Since most of Macro Cosmos had already been defeated in the Rose Tower elevator, only Rose himself remained.  He fought like a Steel Gym Leader instead of an "evil team" boss since all of his Pokemon were of that type.  His vanguard was a Level 55 Escavalier whose Megahorn was ineffective against Fluffy.  Three Max Knuckles raised EWE's Attack to +3 as usual and felled the armored snail.  Level 55 Ferrothorn was too slow to act before a critical Double Kick took it out, but the durian inflicted passive damage with its Iron Barbs ability.  Level 56 Klinklang was completely useless to Rose when another Double Kick ground its gears to a halt.


Rose's next Pokemon was Level 55 Perrserker, an evolution of Galar Meowth.  GameFreak must have decided it was too ugly to dignify with the "Persian" name, which even the bobblehead Alola Dark type form got.  A critical Double Kick rusted the Steel cat.  Rose's Gigantamax monster was a Level 57 pure Steel elephant named Copperajah.  Yes, the same one that Bede used to destroy the mural in Stow-on-Side.  It was so big that most of it was obscured by the trunk, but it was as vulnerable to Double Kick as the rest of Rose's team.  Two uses won EWE the battle at 78/199 HP at Level 95, and the elephant only retaliated once with Max Quake.


What Rose had done to bring back the Darkest Day was to awaken Eternatus, a Level 60 Poison/Dragon legendary.  It was immune to Poke Balls until its HP dropped to 0, so EWE had to legitimately fight it instead of hoping for good luck.  Initially I thought it was a Ghost type for some reason until I looked up Eternatus on Serebii after the first attempt.  Thus Wooloo used Payback for modest damage.  Eternatus often cast Flamethrower, and EWE died in about 3 hits at Level 95 even when she opted for Facade instead of Payback.


DEATH COUNT:  51


The only solution was to use the last of the Rare Candies to raise EWE to the level cap of 100.  Even Eviolite couldn't diminish the power of Flamethrower against Fluffy.  On Take 3, Eternatus decided to go easy on EWE and occasionally attacked with Cross Poison.  It only breathed a Flamethrower once.


EWE was autohealed after the battle, only to prepare for a Gigantamax Eternatus battle.  The first 3 rounds or so were a cutscene when all attacks failed.  This was a Raid, so Hop's Dubwool was there to take some hits as well.  Hop got the idea to use the sword and shield, which summoned the wolf legendaries Zacian and Zamazenta as Raid partners and allowed EWE and Dubwool to attack Eternatus.


Zacian and Zamazenta carried the team with their signature moves Behemoth Blade and Behemoth Bash.  Dubwool's Double Edge and EWE's Facade reduced Eternatus's life bar by such a small amount that scientific instruments would be required to measure it.  Eternatus alternated between scorching Zamazenta and EWE with Max Flares, which also summoned harsh Sun.  Good thing Zamazenta had Light Screen to blunt these special attacks!  Zamazenta finished off Eternatus with a Behemoth Bash, giving SOLEDAD the opportunity to capture it with a Level Ball.


Wooloo is truly one of the worst Pokemon if it has to be at Level 100 to have a chance of defeating a wild legendary 40 levels lower!  EWE's final test will be the Champion Leon battle.  His team caps at Level 65 and has no legendary monsters, so EWE should be able to win. . .


EWE the Wooloo Stats


Level 100 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP:  209
Attack:  131
Defense:  167
Sp. Atk:  125
Sp. Def:  121
Speed:  140


Facade
Payback
Double Kick
Rest


To give some perspective, Wooloo's Attack at Level 100 is worse than TOPPERCENT the Crystal version Rattata at Level 89.  The stat systems of the 2nd generation and the later games have different types of "effort values", but the comparison still makes Wooloo look bad.