Pokemon Variants

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Misadventures of Dawn and Pachirisu Part 4: The Laziest Gym In Sinnoh


While still in Celestic Town, Dawn encountered a man who gave her Choice Specs, a new item at the time of Pearl. Choice Specs increase Special Attack by 50% if held, but limits the user to only one attack unless it switches out. This is a risky item for a solo character, but if the opponent doesn’t have a Ground type, it’s worth considering. The next Gym was Ghost type, and there were no Ghost/Ground types until the Unova games. Fantina’s Gym allowed Dawn to skip the trainers if she knew basic arithmetic, but fighting the trainers gave extra experience anyway. It was funny that all the trainers wondered if I threw the quiz or I was so bad at math I didn’t know how to cheat with the Poketch calculator.



At level 49, a Choice Specs Discharge from SEJUNPARK failed to knock out a level 30 Misdreavus in one hit. That’s sad! Pachirisu grew to level 50 after that battle, and y’all will laugh at his stats:



HP: 127

Attack: 68

Defense: 88

Special Attack: 65

Special Defense: 110

Speed: 124



Choice Specs trivialized all the trainer battles, including the Gym Leader. Fantina led with a Drifblim, and SEJUNPARK took it out with one Discharge due to its Ghost/Flying type. Gengar was second, and I thought it would be a threat at first. But the only move it managed to use was Spite, which reduced Discharge’s PP by 2. One Discharge paralyzed it and sent it into critical HP. The AI prefers to heal its Pokemon at critical HP instead of attacking almost every time, so SEJUNPARK had free turns to defeat Gengar with more Discharges. A level 36 Mismagius was last. It used Psybeam and ate a Sitrus Berry to restore some HP, but Choice Specs brought it into 2 Hit KO range anyway. If you know what enemy trainers are using, Choice Specs is a good option for special attackers.



Fantina gave Dawn the Shadow Claw TM and the ability to use Surf outside of battle. Cynthia waited outside the Gym and recommended that Dawn go to the western city of Canalave to study more about ancient Pokemon. It’s unlikely I’ll be able to use the Choice Specs as freely for Canalave’s Steel Gym, because chances are there’s a Steelix in there or something else that’s immune to Discharge.



But before going to Canalave, it was time for backtracking! Now that Dawn had Surf, HM MULE 2 could take her across the sea south of Sandgem Town and battle some trainers. Surfing is much slower in this game compared to Sapphire, and it would have been torture if Sinnoh had been an island region like Hoenn. Everything in general feels a little slower because of the questionable engine used to program Pearl. That’s why I made sure to turn off combat animations as soon as I started. Supposedly, Platinum fixes some of these issues, but I don’t have that version. Pal Park wasn’t completed when Dawn reached the far end of the sea, and she couldn’t Fly back there. You’d think the developers would have restricted that area to the postgame if you couldn’t use its features until then.

One Smogon user named “sb879” gave me a tip about a TM location. In the Old Chateau in Eterna Forest, Dawn found the Substitute TM, a move that could be useful in the future. Substitute sacrifices 25% of the user’s maximum HP to create a doll that takes attacks in its place. More importantly, Substitutes block ailments and other hindering moves like Leech Seed. Substitute is such a good move that I may get rid of Super Fang in order to take advantage of it. I should remember to come back to the Old Chateau in the postgame to beat up a certain Pokemon that appears in a haunted TV. . .



Surfing north of Valley Windworks revealed a Thunderbolt TM. Thunderbolt has 15 more base power than Discharge, but it has a lower paralysis chance. I’ll probably need to paralyze Elite Four Pokemon, since there’s no way a Pachirisu is going to knock them out in one hit without using 6 X Specials. And maybe a Dire Hit too.



Fuego Ironworks was to the northwest of Valley Windworks. There were spinner tiles inside, which made me wonder how anyone was supposed to work here in the first place. I learned the answer when Dawn made it through the puzzle and met Mr. Fuego. He admitted that he made them, but realized the workers hated them because the spinners made them dizzy. This proves once again that building codes don’t exist in the Pokemon world. Dawn found a Flamethrower TM and a Fire Stone here, so taking a detour to Fuego Ironworks is worth it if you’re using Chimchar or Ponyta. (Though neither of them use Fire Stones. . .)



Canalave was the only place left to go. An NPC in the Pokemon Center said he found the Strength HM in the Lost Tower, but he couldn’t use it on the field without the Canalave Gym badge. That made me wonder why GameFreak handed out a few HMs in this game long before the player could use them outside of combat.



Barry interrupted Dawn on the bridge and challenged her in his usual rude manner. He evolved Starly into Staravia and brought a Heracross this time. When SEJUNPARK was fighting Heracross, the only move it used was an Aerial Ace. Why would the AI use a weak Flying move on a pure Electric type? Maybe the moves are selected randomly like in Dragon Quest games? Grotle had the dreaded Leech Seed and Mega Drain combo, and Pachirisu came close to death. He eventually powered through with Discharges. Dawn made sure to heal SEJUNPARK with a Hyper Potion before the Buizel knocked him out with Aqua Jet. Paranoia is not a bad thing when you’re playing Pokemon!



I replaced Super Fang with Substitute after the fight to spite Leech Seed users, and it proved useful while exploring Iron Island. Take that, random trainer’s Cherrim! Iron Island’s other opponents had the usual Hiker Pokemon like the Geodude, Onix, and Zubat families. Team Galactic was trying to steal Pokemon, and I’m not sure how they manage it when they’re forced to use Beautifly and Dustox. Someone named Riley showed up to be a Double Battle partner, and his Lucario was slightly useful. In a moment worthy of a blooper reel, SEJUNPARK got a critical hit with Discharge and killed Lucario in one hit during the Team Galactic fight.



Riley gave Dawn a Riolu egg, and now it was time to take on the Canalave Gym. One of my update titles had the phrase “Uninspired Gyms”, and this was definitely the case here. All the Gym trainers had Onix or Steelix, with the exception of one random person who had an Azumarill. You call this a Steel Gym? At least give them a Lucario or something! Byron turned out to be Roark’s father, fitting the theme of Steel being a sort of upgrade to the Rock type. (Jasmine from Johto used to be a Rock Gym Leader until she found out about the Steel type.)



Byron lead with a Bronzor, whose poor offense made it perfect Substitute fodder. SEJUNPARK’s Substitute dodged a Confuse Ray for him as he Discharged to kill the Bronzor. Steelix was smart enough to use Sandstorm, since weather damage bypasses Substitutes. Byron’s final Pokemon was Bastiodon, a Rock/Steel type with base 138 Special Defense. Discharges and Grass Knots did little to it, while Sandstorm slowly drained SEJUNPARK’s HP at the end of each turn. But Bastiodon couldn’t do much to Pachirisu either due to my ridiculous level advantage, and couldn’t even break the Substitute. SEJUNPARK was at about 60, and Byron’s Pokemon were in the mid 30s.



After beating the Gym Leader, Rowan wanted Barry, Lucas, and Dawn to investigate Sinnoh’s three lakes and their legendary Pokemon. Then an “earthquake” occurred. An NPC explained that Team Galactic had blown up Lake Valor, so Dawn had to go there immediately to stop them. The Grunts were searching on the lake bed for the legendary Pokemon, but could only find Magikarp flopping around. They had the usual allotment of weak Bug and Poison types, which SEJUNPARK easily defeated. Commander Saturn wasn’t much stronger, but he at least had the sense to carry a Kadabra and a Toxicroak. He taunted Dawn about how Team Galactic’s next target was Lake Verity near her hometown of Twinleaf. (Remember, Lake Verity is where Dawn got Piplup.)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Misadventures of Dawn and Pachirisu Part 5: It Created A Substitute!

This episode is shorter due to a busy schedule today.


Lake Verity had more battles with Team Galactic Grunts who were too weak to be worth mentioning. Commander Mars had a Golbat, a Bronzor, and a Purugly. Golbat died to one Discharge, Bronzor was good Substitute bait, and Purugly was much easier with Pachirisu than Prinplup. Mars informed Dawn that all 3 legendary lake Pokemon were sent back to Team Galactic’s headquarters. Then Rowan asked Dawn to check on Barry, who was going to Lake Acuity in the far north of Sinnoh. That meant trudging through the blizzard on Routes 216 and 217. For all the criticism the snow routes of Sinnoh get, they add some distinction to an otherwise bland region. I used a PP UP on Discharge so Pachirisu wouldn’t need to be healed so often, but SEJUNPARK still had to rest at a nearby lodge occasionally. Many of the trainers had Ice Pokemon such as Sneasel and Snover that had good enough Special Defense to require more than one hit to kill. When you’re 30 levels higher than your opponents and you still have trouble knocking them out in one blow, you have problems. A Rock Climb HM was lying on the ground outside a Hiker’s lodge. I wonder how many kids missed this when they were playing Pearl in 2007. That was yet another of GameFreak’s questionable game design choices.



Dawn couldn’t go to Lake Acuity yet because Team Galactic Grunts were blocking the way. Since Lance and his Hyper Beam Dragonite weren’t available, Dawn had to go to the Snowpoint Gym instead. One of the trainers inside didn’t understand the concept of an Ice Gym, and used a Pelipper, a Golduck, and a Steelix instead. Most of the rest had the Sneasel and Snover families. The ice sliding puzzle was so frustrating, it probably took me more time to get past that than to defeat all the trainers with an underpowered Pachirisu.



The battle with Candice made up for the annoyance somewhat. She led with Snover, whose Snow Warning ability caused permanent hail. Several Hyper Potions were needed to restore the health lost to bad weather and Substitute creation. Do not pick Pachirisu if you want to play a “no item” solo. I doubt it could be done even at level 100. Candice’s star Pokemon Abomasnow came out of its Poke Ball next. Substitutes were essential for dodging Swagger confusion and Grasswhistle sleep, so everyone give a round of “sb879” for proposing Substitute as an option for SEJUNPARK. Discharges did little damage, but paralyzing Abomasnow was worthwhile. Sweet Kiss came in handy to cause confusion damage too. Candice used a Hyper Potion instead of a Full Restore for some reason, which made the paralysis stick. Two critical hit Grass Knots in a row did most of the damage during round 2. Good thing Abomasnow is so fat, or I would have run out of PP with Discharge!



Medicham and Sneasel were Candice’s last two Pokemon, and she had the decency to put Ice Punch on Medicham to fit the Gym’s theme. Discharges defeated them, and Dawn acquired the ability to use Rock Climb outside of battle after her victory. (Defog? Rock Climb? If this game is ever remade, they need to pass the “Alola Act” to abolish situational HMs like those.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Misadventures of Dawn and Pachirisu Part 6:  Copy and Paste Writing Staff

Barry was somehow too weak to fight off a Team Galactic Commander at Lake Acuity.  How did he fail?  Anyone could beat Team Galactic, including the Preschooler trainers.  A Grunt in Veilstone dropped the key needed to enter the underground passage that led to the headquarters.  All the Grunts used the typical Zubat and Wurmple families, and SEJUNPARK dispatched them with Discharges.  Navigating the headquarters required figuring out a pointless teleporter maze. 


One bedroom sign said “Ensure the bed is unoccupied before getting into it!”  I like to think this isn’t innuendo, but rather that the Team Galactic Grunts are so stupid that they injure each other by flopping onto the bed when they don’t notice someone sleeping there.  Cyrus made his nihilistic pre-battle speech and sent out a Murkrow, a Golbat and a Sneasel, all in the low 40s.  Even Team Galactic’s commander uses Pokemon that aren’t fully evolved?  In a generation before Eviolite existed? 



 
He didn’t seem to care that he lost, because he handed over the Master Ball and opened the way to the room where the lake Pokemon were located.  Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf were imprisoned inside machines in a room that made me appreciate how lazy Pokemon X’s plot was.  Lysandre essentially did the same thing with Xerneas that Cyrus did with the lake legendaries.  He also had the “become the ruler of a new world” sort of agenda.  Commander Saturn attacked Dawn with a Kadabra, a Bronzor, and a Toxicroak in the high 30s to low 40s, but they were no match for Pachirisu Discharges.  Saturn allowed Dawn to release the lake Pokemon, and mentioned Cyrus was going to use a “Red Chain” on the summit of Mt. Coronet.
 


Mt. Coronet was a maze filled with weak Team Galactic members.  I had to leave once to restore PP at a Pokemon Center because there were so many easy fights.  Barry decided to be useful for once and assisted Dawn when Commanders Mars and Jupiter challenged them to a Double Battle.  (Wow, there are more mandatory Double Battles in Pearl than any other main series Pokemon game!)  One funny moment that occurred was when Barry’s Staraptor killed itself with the recoil from a critical hit Take Down on Skuntank.  Most of the fight was just killing everything with Discharge.  Barry then healed Dawn’s Pokemon and ran away, leaving her to fight Cyrus for the last time.  Cyrus summoned Palkia with the Red Chain in an attempt to create a new universe for him to rule, and the sky above Sinnoh changed to psychedelic colors.  Mesprit, Uxie, and Azelf used their powers to stop Palkia and went back to the lakes.  Cyrus vowed to make a new Red Chain and become a god, but he couldn’t do that with Dawn in the way. 


 
Cyrus evolved his Pokemon this time, but 3 of them were Flying types and therefore weak to Discharge.  I used Substitute once in case Honchkrow decided to use Sucker Punch or something, but it hit SEJUNPARK with Steel Wing.  Yes, a Steel type attack is sure going to show a pure Electric type!  Weavile was the hardest opponent purely because it had a decent Special Defense stat.  Brick Break broke the Substitute, and X-Scissor did a decent amount of damage.  When Cyrus healed Weavile after a few rounds of combat, Pachirisu became angry and killed it with one critical hit Discharge.     


 
Now Palkia wanted to fight Dawn to be free from the Red Chain’s brainwashing effects.  I always KO the legendaries in my solo playthroughs, but this time it felt more fitting to the story.  SEJUNPARK sent the heavy Water/Dragon Palkia back to its home dimension with two critical hit Grass Knots in a row.  To stop anyone from using the lake legendaries for evil again, Dawn backtracked to Lake Acuity and Lake Valor. 



The battles were so unexciting that even Uxie Yawned at SEJUNPARK.  As for Mesprit, it flew off after Dawn talked to it at Lake Verity.  I’m not going to bother tracking down roaming legendaries.  Pokemon Pearl is already tedious enough, and its legendaries are probably the most forgettable in the series.  GameFreak didn’t remember to give them Fairy types in the 6th generation, despite them being based on fairies.  (It’s not just the English names either, so GameFreak really had no excuse.  Azelf is “Agnome” in the original Japanese.) 
 



Dawn couldn’t go to Sunyshore City at first because the Gym Leader caused a blackout when he renovated his Gym, but now she could.  Yes, that’s really what happened.  Giovanni the mob boss probably caused less harm to his city than Volkner of Sunyshore.  Wait a minute.  A major area is blocked off due to a blackout that’s arbitrarily resolved later in the game?  Pokemon X recycled another plot from Sinnoh.  GameFreak really was phoning it in with the Kalos region plot!

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Misadventures of Dawn and Pachirisu Part 7: Return of the Death Count

Sunyshore City had a Gym Leader who was bored from the lack of decent challengers. I can’t blame him, I guess. Pokemon Pearl is so bland in comparison to other games in the series that this playthrough is now a slog. Then Dawn arrived with her level 72 Pachirisu to give him some excitement. The first trainer had a level 44 Pachirisu. This was probably the hardest fight in the Gym due to Super Fang and unlucky paralysis. Make School Kid Tiera the Gym Leader instead of Volkner! She knew what she was doing.



Volkner started off with a decent strategy involving the use Light Screen to buff Special Defense for his team, but Grass Knots and confusion damage wore it down. Luxray came next and fell to the same tactic. Then he sent out. . .Octillery? And Ambipom? Did they not have enough Electric types in Sinnoh to give its specialist more than two? Maybe he can commiserate with Flint, the Fire type Elite Four member with only two Fire types. Discharges finished off the non-Electric Pokemon, and Volkner awarded Dawn with the Charge Beam TM and the ability to use Waterfall outside of combat. (More HMs? Ugh!)



Route 223, the way to Victory Road and the Pokemon League, was a surfing area much like the last routes of Hoenn. Except less interesting, without any shipwrecks or underwater coral reefs. The trainers here used typical Water types, which SEJUNPARK murdered with Discharge and Grass Knot. By the time SEJUNPARK reached Victory Road, he reached level 75 and had these stats:



HP: 190

Attack: 104

Defense: 130

Special Attack: 100

Special Defense: 164

Speed: 185



Yes, you read that correctly. It took 75 levels for Pachirisu’s main attacking stat to reach the three digit mark. The beginning of Victory Road was uneventful, until I met Ace Trainer Mariah and her Blissey. Anyone familiar with competitive battling will be laughing right now, but I’ll explain for those who don’t know. Blissey has very high Special Defense, and possibly the highest HP of any Pokemon. This tub of lard forces most special attackers to switch out, and I have to take it out with an abysmal stat. Fortunately, the AI was too stupid to use Softboiled when Blissey was low on health, so she (Blissey is female-only) slowly died to Grass Knots and confusion damage. I used an X Special just to stand a chance.



One random trainer in Victory Road caused trouble with a Light Screen Clefable and a Leech Seed Torterra. After that fight, I should have to write on a chalkboard “I WILL USE SUBSTITUTE WHEN FIGHTING A GRASS TYPE” 50 times.



Death Count: 7 (It’s been a while)



SEJUNPARK got his revenge on Ace Trainer Sydney after some preparation. Using a Substitute and 2 X Specials while fighting Clefable allowed Pachirisu to one-shot Torterra with Grass Knot. After this victory, Sydney said “It doesn’t appear as if anyone could even try to stand against your might. The Elite Four should just surrender”. I agree. It would let me play something else instead of Pokemon Pearl. One Black Belt said “I’ve made it this far in life using the karate I learned on the Internet!” I have to admit that was a cute line. One of the English translators was a Something Awful member if I’m not mistaken, so expect to find memes in the dialogue.


After going through the Cave of Superfluous HMs, Dawn found herself at the Pokemon League. Barry rushed in to challenge her one last time before the end of the story, and he actually had a decent team this time. Perhaps I should have used a few X Specials while Staraptor was out, because he sent out Torterra much sooner than I expected. He didn’t bother with Leech Seed, and went all out with Leaf Storm and Earthquake. SEJUNPARK managed to hold on with 1 HP due to a fluke (Affection doesn’t exist in this game), and defeated Torterra with Grass Knots. The rest of the fight with Rapidash, Snorlax, Floatzel, and Heracross was easy by comparison. The only fights left were the Elite Four and the Champion. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Misadventures of Dawn and Pachirisu Finale: Rodent Roid Rage

Aaron was a Bug trainer, an odd type for an Elite Four member. He led with Dustox, which seemed like perfect Substitute fodder. But its Double Team evasion and Light Screen buffs proved annoying. It took several X Specials and a Dire Hit to prepare for that. The rest of his team was fairly easy after the buffing item overkill at the beginning. Heracross, Vespiquen, Beautifly, and Drapion all died to Discharges without too much trouble. (Drapion is Poison/Dark, but at least its pre-evolved form Skorupi is Bug/Poison. . .)



Bertha, the second Elite Four member, specialized in SEJUNPARK’s worst type matchup: Ground. Fortunately, she led with the fairly mediocre Quagsire, which had a critical weakness to Grass Knot due to being Water/Ground. A Substitute worked out nicely, since it wasted its turn setting up a Sandstorm instead of attacking with Earthquake or something. One use of X Special later, I found out it had Double Team, so I had to take it out with Grass Knot before evasion got out of hand. Hippowdon took 2 Grass Knots because of its high bulk. Sudowoodo of all things managed to survive and break SEJUNPARK’s Substitute, probably because of the 50% Special Defense buff Rock types receive in sandstorms. Golem and Whiscash weren’t worth mentioning.



Flint the Fire member was third. Sinnoh is a region with a notorious lack of Fire types, so he only had two on his team: Rapidash and Infernape. One of those was a starter too. SEJUNPARK began the fight with Substitute, while I pumped several X Specials into him. The AI insisted on using Bounce (a 2-turn Flying physical attack) twice in a row for some reason, so Pachirisu wasn’t in any real danger. Infernape’s Mach Punch destroyed the Substitute, but it was frail and died to one Discharge. Lopunny was a Normal type, but Flint gave it Fire Punch as compensation. Lopunny failed to die to one boosted Discharge. I cannot emphasize enough how pathetic 45 base attacking stats are, and a Pokemon that weak can disappoint even when given massive quantities of performance-enhancing drugs. Drifblim deflated with one Discharge, and Steelix tripped on a critical hit Grass Knot.



Lucian used Psychic, a more typical Elite Four Pokemon type. Mr. Mime’s behavior was so erratic that Substitutes were useless. Whenever I set one up, it used Psychic to break it, but when Pachirisu was out in the open, it attacked with Thunderbolt. A few healing items and X Specials were useful for waiting out Light Screen. Pachirisu choked once again and failed to one-shot a lower level Pokemon. Bronzong took two Discharges due to its high defensive stats, but wasn’t much of an offensive threat. Its critical hit Gyro Ball managed to break a Substitute, though. Medicham, Alakazam, and Girafarig weren’t worth mentioning.



Cynthia was the final boss, and one of the most difficult Champion battles in the series. Back when I was level grinding Pokemon for my competitive team, her Garchomp sometimes managed to KO my level 100 Palkia if it whiffed a Spacial Rend. Garchomp was one of the few non-legendary Pokemon banned from Smogon’s “Overused” tier at the time, and you can see why if you fight against it. First came Spiritomb, which I thought was easy Substitute bait because competitive players used it defensively at the time. Cynthia’s Spiritomb had 3 attacking moves instead (Psychic, Dark Pulse, Silver Wind), which broke my Substitutes quickly. Gastrodon died to one Grass Knot. . .but Garchomp didn’t even with what must have been 4 or 5 X Special boosts. Its Earthquake crushed Pachirisu in two hits.



Death Count: 8



Dawn made sure SEJUNPARK was prepared for Round 2. A Dire Hit and 6 X Specials went down Pachirisu’s esophagus before he defeated Spiritomb with a Discharge. Setting up a Substitute against Gastrodon was viable, because it used Sludge Bomb instead of a Ground move. Garchomp came out next, and SEJUNPARK broke its legs with a single critical hit Grass Knot. Enough amps went through Milotic’s body that it too died to one critical hit. Lucario fell to one Discharge too. Cynthia’s final Pokemon was Roserade, a fitting end to this playthrough where the Roselia family caused so much trouble for SEJUNPARK. A Discharge sent Roserade into critical health, and it used Extrasensory to break the Substitute in retaliation. Cynthia healed Roserade with a Full Restore, but it wasn’t enough for it to survive a barrage of Discharges. SEJUNPARK the Pachirisu became the one and only member of the Hall of Fame!



Final Stats:



Playtime: About 23 hours. Some of that was spent typing the updates in MS Word, so it’s shorter than what the game indicates.



SEJUNPARK the Pachirisu, Level 83

Quirky nature, Strong Willed characteristic

HP: 210

Attack: 115

Defense: 143

Special Attack: 110

Special Defense: 180

Speed: 205



Playing with a Pokemon as terrible as Pachirisu was the only thing that redeemed this otherwise bland entry in the series. I don’t think I’ll tackle the postgame, even. Chances are I’ll play something other than Pokemon for a while to avoid burnout.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

While I was playing Chrono Cross and Legend of Mana, I began a new Pokemon variant.  I hope you all enjoy the saga of solo Jigglypuff in Fire Red!  (I wrote this all for Smogon originally, so expect to see a huge dump of posts.)



Fire Red is the underappreciated 3rd generation remake of the 1st generation games. Passive abilities and the IV/EV stat system are the same as Ruby and Sapphire. Fire Red predates the physical/special split, so all attacks of a given type fall into one of the two categories.


One thing I appreciate about Kanto is the relative non-linearity compared to later regions like Unova and Alola. It’s possible to do some Gyms, trainer battles, and locations out of order as long as you know what to do. There are tutorials in Fire Red for new players, but they’re not nearly as intrusive as the cutscenes in the Alola games.


For something different from a typical Kanto run, I picked the female trainer and named her GREEN because I was unoriginal at the time.


I couldn’t start with my preferred Pokemon, so I picked Squirtle to breeze through the early game. Or so I thought. The Potion in the Pallet Town PC was needed to survive the first fight against Gary’s Bulbasaur due to an unlucky critical hit Tackle.


Squirtle leveled up to 7 by fighting wild Pokemon so she could learn Bubble. After that short grinding session, Squirtle was ready to fight Brock. To do so, she had to sneak through Viridian Forest and avoid every trainer except Bug Catcher Sammy at the end. Sammy’s level 9 Weedle almost caused an early Death Count. Bubble was a weak attack even with Squirtle’s same type bonus, and Weedle’s Poison Sting could inflict poison. Fortunately, Squirtle defeated the bug and limped into Pewter City.



Green may have been “light years” away from facing Brock according to his one subordinate, but both trainers were easy. All Brock’s Geodude could do was Defense Curl. That was a useless buff considering all Water moves used Special Attack in this game! Onix attempted to use Bind, but it failed. A few Bubbles later and Green received the 1st badge and the Rock Tomb TM. (Brock’s TM was Bide in the original games. At least GameFreak gave him a Rock type move in this remake!)



Green was as stealthy in Route 3 as she was in Viridian Forest. Squirtle mostly fought the weak Bug Catchers on the way to the patch of grass where my chosen Pokemon awaited. A level 5 Jigglypuff appeared after a few encounters with common birds. I was worried that Bubble would kill it in one hit, but Jigglypuff survived with about half her health.



Upon catching Jigglypuff, I learned she had a Sassy nature and the Cute Charm ability. Sassy increases Special Defense by 10% and decreases Speed by 10%, explaining why she took the Bubble hit so well. A Speed hindering nature could be a problem later on, since 1 Speed makes the difference between going first and going last in a round of combat.



Cute Charm has a chance of making an enemy Pokemon of the opposite gender “infatuated” if Jigglypuff is hit with a “contact” physical move. Given the stupid AI in these games, it’s rare to see an enemy Pokemon switch out and cure infatuation. If an enemy Pokemon is infatuated, it has a 50% chance of being “immobilized by love” and losing its turn. It’s a situational ability, but I’ll be fighting enough male Pokemon where it might have an effect.



Jigglypuff didn’t start with an attacking move, only Sing and Defense Curl. So Green wandered around in the Route 3 grass patch and did the old bait-and-switch leveling trick against Spearows and such. Once Jigglypuff reached level 9, she finally learned Pound. Green deposited Squirtle in the PC for good and then started mugging the Viridian Forest trainers. Metapods and Kakunas were easy prey for Jigglypuff since they couldn’t attack at all. Caterpies and Weedles did around 4 to 5 damage, though Weedle’s poison was still a potential threat.



Gary on the route west of Viridian City was a joke. His Pidgey’s Sand Attack accuracy debuff concerned me a little bit, but Pound hit its mark anyway. I tried out Sing against Bulbasaur, but Gary’s starter was a light sleeper. Growl reduced Jigglypuff’s Attack, but she kept Pounding away. A Tackle activated Cute Charm, though Bulbasaur was never “immobilized by love”.



The Route 3 trainers were a little tougher. There were two “shorts kids” in this remake, so some translator knew about that joke. Youngster Calvin’s level 14 Spearow had Fury Attack, and it rolled more than 2 hits once and caused major damage. Fortunately, it was “immobilized by love” once so I could use a Potion. Youngster Ben’s Ekans caused gradual damage at the end of every turn with Wrap. Good thing this wasn’t generation 1 Wrap where it could immobilize any slower Pokemon indefinitely! I didn’t bother with Sing or Defense Curl and simply Pounded the enemies to death.



I bought some Repels, Potions, and Antidotes and saved outside Mt. Moon to start the next chapter of the game. . .


Jigglypuff Stats

HP: 59
Attack: 19
Defense: 13
Special Attack: 17
Special Defense: 13
Speed: 10

Moves

Sing
Defense Curl
Pound
Disable

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon players dread going into caves for a good reason. The random encounter rate tends to be high, and you run into swarms of Zubats that are difficult to run away from due to their high Speed. Mt. Moon was no exception in the solo Jigglypuff challenge. Her Sassy nature prevented her from running away from Zubats 12 levels lower occasionally. This is why I usually carry Repels when doing solo runs.


Some trainers, such as Bug Catcher Robby with his Caterpies and Metapod, were so easy they were barely worth mentioning at all. Lass Iris had a level 14 Clefairy, and that match almost felt like fighting myself. Two cutesy Normal types with Sing slapping each other around was pretty silly. (Fairy types didn’t exist until the Kalos games.)



One Team Rocket Grunt with a Sandshrew, a Rattata, and a Zubat was tough enough to be memorable. Sandshrew constantly lowered Jigglypuff’s accuracy with Sand Attack, making the next two much more difficult. Zubat happened to be male, and fell victim to Cute Charm after it used Leech Life. (For those accustomed to Alola, Leech Life is 20 base power in the older games.) Zubat knew Supersonic, and confused Jigglypuff with it. Between Jigglypuff whiffing her Pounds and Zubat being immobilized by love, this match took a long time. Jigglypuff still managed to win with the help of a few Potions. (If you really think I’m going for a no battle item run with Jigglypuff’s stats. . .)



Hiker Marcos was the most difficult trainer other than that Team Rocket Grunt. He had two Geodudes and an Onix, and this time I didn’t have Squirtle to kill Rock types. Jigglypuff’s Pound did very little damage, and Geodude’s Defense Curl buffs made matters worse. A buff-ignoring critical hit Pound took out the first Geodude, but I was worried I would run out of PP for my only attacking move. Jigglypuff reached level 19 during that fight, and could thus use Rollout against the Onix. Defense Curl has a hidden property that doubles Rollout’s power, so I made sure to do that. Even with Onix’s base 160 Defense and Rock resistance, Jigglypuff could defeat it with combo Rollouts.



Super Nerd Miguel’s Grimer used Disable to knock out Rollout once, but then I put it to sleep. Disable wore off, and then Jigglypuff could Defense Curl and Rollout to victory. Voltorb and Koffing were crushed too.


Since I couldn’t sell the Moon Stone, I permanently deposited it in the PC. This challenge is funnier with Jigglypuff than Wigglytuff! Next up is Misty’s gym and the Gary battle.


(Part 3 begins here. I took a break between the previous paragraph and the next one.)



To show off the non-linearity of Fire Red and add some variety to the playthrough, I’ll do some of the Gyms out of order. In Cerulean City, I battled the two trainers in the Gym, then ignored Misty and marched north toward Nugget Bridge.



Gary had improved since last time. His Pidgeotto used Sand Attack, crippling Jigglypuff for the rest of the battle. Debuffs hurt a lot more when you can’t switch Pokemon! Cute Charm affected both Pidgeotto and Rattata, giving me a few free turns. I certainly needed those. Rollout had questionable accuracy already, and Sand Attack made it even more unlikely to hit. Eventually, a Rollout combo defeated Rattata, Abra, and finally Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur got in a Vine Whip right before dying, reducing Jigglypuff to 3 HP! My victory raised Jigglypuff to level 23.



Nugget Bridge’s trainer gauntlet had some memorable moments. Youngster Timmy’s Sandshrew spent much of that battle “immobilized by love”. Lass Reli’s male Nidoran made for a battle of contact abilities. Cute Charm made Nidoran infatuated with Jigglypuff, and Nidoran’s Poison Point poisoned Jigglypuff when she attacked with Rollout. Camper Ethan had a Mankey with Low Kick, a move whose base power varies based on the opponent’s weight. Jigglypuff was practically a balloon, and thus took less damage than a super effective hit would suggest. Its Karate Chop, however, sent my solo Pokemon into critical HP.



The Team Rocket Grunt at the end had watched The Godfather one too many times and made Jigglypuff an “offer I couldn’t refuse”. Ekans fell prey to Cute Charm, as did Zubat. However, Zubat’s Supersonic caused confusion problems. Confusion is yet another thing that solos have trouble dealing with. Jigglypuff couldn’t tag out to cure it!



The rest of the route north of Cerulean was somewhat easier. Hiker Franklin had a Machop who pummeled Jigglypuff with a critical Low Kick, but this ended up Cute Charming it. For whatever reason, there were so many male Pokemon in this area that my Jigglypuff had a unique advantage. Gender usually isn’t this relevant to a playthrough! Franklin said a Zubat bit him in Mt. Moon, removing any doubt that wild Pokemon attack humans.



Visiting Bill activated the event flag that moved the cop away from the house that lead to the Cerulean City exit. You don’t have to fight Misty until after the S.S. Anne when you need to Cut trees to proceed. Keep this in mind for your Charmander playthroughs, kids! A Team Rocket Grunt had stolen a Dig TM, and attacked me when he was cornered. Machop was Cute Charmed, while Drowsee used Confusion to. . .cause confusion.



Route 6 to the south of Cerulean City had more female Pokemon, so Cute Charm wouldn’t be as effective. Bug Catcher Elijah’s Butterfree confused Jigglypuff with Supersonic, then made her snooze with Sleep Powder. The AI was moronic in this fight, and kept using Supersonic even after Jigglypuff was already confused.



Before boarding the S.S. Anne in Vermilion City, I headed to Route 11 on the east side of town. This place had several notable opponents. Youngster Dave’s male Nidoran poisoned Jigglypuff, and I only avoided a Death Count because Nidorino wasted a turn using Focus Energy instead of attacking.



One notable case of 3rd generation censorship is that all the Gamblers have become “Gamers”. Nobody calls them that unless they work for a casino or something. Anyway, both of “Gamer” Jasper’s Pokemon used Poisonpowder on Jigglypuff. Oddish used it first, then Bellsprout did it after I used an Antidote. Rollout missed often enough that I had to use a Super Potion.



When I saw Engineer Bernie, I wondered if the Trainer Class had a different name in Japanese. He was clearly an electrician instead of an engineer. When I looked it up on Bulbapedia later, it turned out that Engineers were originally “Old Electricians”. Bernie’s level 18 Magneton was one of Jigglypuff’s toughest opponents. Unlike the original Kanto games, Magneton was a Steel type that resisted both Normal and Rock. It knew Supersonic to cause confusion, and could use Thundershock with a high Special Attack stat. I tried Sing, but Magneton woke up early. Sleep was much more powerful in the 1st generation games since you had to spend an entire turn waking up. A Super Potion was necessary to survive. Fortunately for me, it kept using Tackle because the AI was stupid as usual.



I boarded the S.S. Anne at level 32. After many battles against fairly weak trainers, Jigglypuff leveled to 34 and replaced Pound with Body Slam. Body Slam was far more reliable than Rollout in most cases thanks to its 100 base accuracy, and had a respectable base 85 power along with the same type attack bonus. It also had a 30% paralysis chance. I may keep this for the rest of the game.



Gary was much tougher than the other passengers on the cruise ship. Pidgeotto used Sand Attack just like last time, and then got Body Slammed to death. Raticate didn’t last long either. Kadabra was a pain. It used Disable to block Body Slam, then Kinesis to lower Jigglypuff’s accuracy. I had to use Rollout to kill it. Ivysaur almost made me regret picking Squirtle to breeze through Brock. Sleep Powder was as annoying as always, and Leech Seed drained Jigglypuff’s HP every turn. Super Potions were needed to survive. Vine Whip activated Cute Charm despite being a special attack. (It would become physical in later games.) One Body Slam eventually took out Gary’s starter.



Before leaving Vermilion, I caught a Spearow and traded it for Farfetch’d to make sure I had a good HM mule. I couldn’t go anywhere else without defeating Misty, so level 35 Jigglypuff took her on. One Body Slam murdered Staryu even after Harden, but Starmie barely survived one after using Water Pulse. (Water Pulse is the replacement TM for Bubblebeam from the 1st generation games. Water Pulse is probably worse because it can cause confusion.) Misty’s Super Potion couldn’t save her star Pokemon from an overleveled joke character.



I was supposed to get the HM for Flash to get through the dark Rock Tunnel, but I fumbled through without it. If you come prepared with Super Potions, Repels, and an Escape Rope or two, 3rd generation Rock Tunnel isn’t hard. All those Hikers’ Geodudes and Onixes were so annoying that towards the end of the dungeon, I replaced Sing with the Water Pulse TM.



Route 8 had a “rambling, gaming” character. Was this a hidden snide remark about increasing censorship? At least one Pokemon fan has suggested that Lass Andrea with the 3 Meowths is in fact the player character’s mom from the Alola games. I don’t know whether that’s true, but then again Munna was inspired by dialogue from a minor character in the original games. . .



Instead of buying a drink from the department store’s vending machine to give to the Saffron City guard, you have to get Tea from the Pokemon Mansion in Celadon. This was probably meant to prevent accidental unwinnable states (i.e. somehow running out of money with no way to get more.) Now that I could go to Saffron, I could start the Silph Scope story arc.


After I get the Poke Flute, Jigglypuff could defeat the sleeping Snorlaxes blocking Cycling Road and the route south of Lavender Town. Doing that would let me go to Fuchsia City. I’ll have to defeat Koga before going to Cinnabar Island, but other than that, I could fight the central Kanto Gym Leaders in an unorthodox order. With all these possibilities, Kanto is really an underrated region.


Jigglypuff Stats

Level 44

HP: 167
Attack: 54
Defense: 37
Special Attack: 47
Special Defense: 30
Speed: 32


Moves

Water Pulse
Hyper Voice
Body Slam
Rollout

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Fire Red Solo Jigglypuff: Most Obvious Front For a Criminal Syndicate Ever



Before taking on the next few dungeons, I went to Mr. Psychic’s house in Saffron City to pick up the Psychic TM. This would be useful for the many Poison types I would be facing. This included all Kanto Ghost types too, because the only 1st generation Ghosts were Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar, which all had a secondary Poison type. Psychic would also be super effective against Fighting types, the only element that Jigglypuff was weak to.


A Team Rocket Grunt in the Celadon Game Corner said he was “guarding this poster”, which was suspicious. After defeating him, he went down into Team Rocket’s secret hideout in the basement. The poster concealed the switch that opened up the stairs. All the Team Rocket Grunts were easy to beat at such a high level. \


Giovanni wasn’t much tougher. One Water Pulse drowned Onix and Rhyhorn. Jigglypuff needed to use 3 Body Slams to kill Kangaskhan, and the second hit paralyzed the enemy. Maybe I should use that Brick Break TM I found on the S.S. Anne to deal with sturdy Normal types later on?


Gary challenged me again in the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town. I think Pidgeotto only got to use Gust before falling to a Body Slam. Gyarados’s passive Intimidate ability lowered Jigglypuff’s Attack, so I used Hyper Voice. (It uses Special Attack in Generation 4 and later, so it was force of habit and a stupid move on my part. All Normal moves are physical in this game. I should know better. I’ve been playing Pokemon since Blue first came out!) Gyarados Thrashed a couple of times before being KOd. Growlithe Intimidated Jigglypuff once again, but one special Water Pulse beat it in one shot. Gary’s starter Ivysaur was also a Poison type, making it another target for Psychic.


The Channelers on the higher floors kept attacking with Gastlys and the occasional Haunter. The Gastlys had an annoying tendency to use Confuse Ray and Spite (lowers a move’s PP). The AI was sometimes stupid enough to use Curse on the first turn. When used by a Ghost type, Curse reduces the user’s HP by half, in exchange for taking away a quarter of the opponent’s HP at the end of every turn. If Curse is used by a non-Ghost, it reduces Speed by 1 stage and increases Attack and Defense by 1 stage. (The reason for this is based on a Japanese pun, or so the Internet tells me.)


The Silph Scope obtained from the Team Rocket Hideout revealed the Ghost to be a Marowak. Jigglypuff’s first move was a critical hit Water Pulse that defeated Marowak in one shot. The Team Rocket Grunts at the top of the tower were easy as usual. They used the typical Pokemon like Koffing and Zubat. Mr. Fuji gave me a Poke Flute as a reward for saving him and putting ghost Marowak to rest. Now I could get past the Snorlaxes and go to Fuchsia City if I wanted to. All of that was accomplished without even visiting the third Gym! Kanto really is a non-linear region compared to the other games.


Stats


Level 50 Jigglypuff


HP: 191
Attack: 63
Defense: 43
Special Attack: 56
Special Defense: 35
Speed: 39

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Fire Red Solo Jigglypuff: Return of the HMs


The Silph Co. building opened up after I cleared the Pokemon Tower, but Green didn’t feel like stopping the villains and instead beat up a bunch of bikers on Cycling Road. Jigglypuff killed Snorlax with two Body Slams, sending it back to the mountains. (Possibly referring to Sinnoh?) I got Fly from the house in the northern part of the route and taught it to Farfetch'd. I couldn't use it outside of battle until I defeated Lt. Surge in Vermilion City, though.


Psychic really paid off here because they used almost exclusively Fighting and Poison types, mostly the Machop, Mankey, Grimer, and Koffing families. Their level range hovered in the mid 20s to early 30s, but a few still outsped Jigglypuff and got the first move. What was worse was that Psychic sometimes failed to defeat a Machamp or a Muk in one hit despite the massive level advantage. The Elite Four will be tough with stats this low!


One interesting battle was a Young Couple with a Rapidash and a Ninetales, both level 29. This was a Double Battle, so Farfetch’d came along for the ride. My opponents must have been perplexed when Jigglypuff Body Slammed her partner to death on the first turn! Rapidash survived an attack and used Fire Spin a lot. I should have targeted Ninetales first because it knew Confuse Ray. Fortunately for me, Ninetales had awful Defense and died in one hit once Jigglypuff got over her confusion. My solo Pokemon was down to less than half health after that match.


Once I reached Fuchsia City, I made sure to get the key items in the Safari Zone. I don’t know why the evolution music played in that area when the Route 1 remix sounds much more appropriate for a safari area. Flying type solos should go here as soon as possible to pick up the Steel Wing TM, in case they have trouble with Rock or Ice types. I found the Secret House and got the Surf HM, as well as the Warden’s Gold Teeth.


Warden Slowpoke gave me the Strength HM as a reward for bringing back his dentures. Jigglypuff could do many things, but Surfing was oddly not one of them. So I taught Surf and Strength to Squirtle so she could serve as a non-combat HM mule. I couldn’t push boulders with Strength until getting Erika’s badge in Celadon City anyway. My next Gym Leader will probably be Koga so I can Surf to Cinnabar Island.



Stats



Level 55 Jigglypuff

HP: 209
Attack: 72
Defense: 50
Special Attack: 61
Special Defense: 37
Speed: 45


Moves


Water Pulse
Hyper Voice
Body Slam
Psychic

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Fire Red Solo Jigglypuff Mini-Update: First Death Count

Before taking on a Gym, I thought I'd train Jigglypuff some more by having her mug random trainers on Route 15. It started well enough. Jigglypuff Body Slammed, Psychic'd, and Hyper Voiced her way through Bikers, Bird Keepers, Beauties, and Picnickers. Then I entered a Double Battle with "Crush Kin" Ron and Mya.

Ron and Mya sent out Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, both level 29. Jigglypuff started by killing her partner Farfetch'd with Water Pulse. Hitmonchan used Mach Punch on Jigglypuff, and Hitmonlee buffed his critical hit chance with Focus Energy. On Turn 2, I had Squirtle use a Super Potion on Jigglypuff while Jigglypuff targeted my starter with Body Slam.


A Jump Kick (Either that or Hi Jump Kick?) knocked out Squirtle before Jigglypuff got her turn. For some odd reason, Hitmonchan used Ice Punch instead of a Fighting move and became infatuated with Jigglypuff. Body Slam automatically aimed for Hitmonchan and knocked him out in one hit. Then Hitmonlee got a critical hit Hi Jump Kick and sent Jigglypuff to the hospital.


Death Count: 1


The money loss in Fire Red is merciful compared to RPGs with similar "death taxes" like Earthbound or Dragon Quest. This is probably because some kids ran out of money in Red/Blue and couldn't enter the Safari Zone or something. I lost less than 2000 Pokedollars even though I had more than 60,000.