Pokemon Variants

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Moon Solo Magneton Part 4: Winning Battles Fairly For a Change


RETCON beat up the local trainers in the Melemele Sea and the routes near the Lush Jungle and leveled to 29. Magnemite learned Electro Ball, an odd special Electric move whose base power depends on the user's Speed relative to the enemy. According to Serebii, it can range from 60-150, but even at its weakest, Electro Ball was still better than Thunder Shock.


Now that I was sure that I wasn't wasting any experience points, I gave Magnemite 2 Rare Candies to evolve it into Magneton. Although Magnemite evolves at level 30, it's best to delay the transformation until 31 to get both the base 80 Steel special attack Flash Cannon, and the base 80 Normal special move Tri Attack.


A +2 Speed level 24 Lurantis was the Totem Pokemon for the Lush Jungle Trial. Its aura made it fast enough to outspeed Magneton unless it got a lucky Quick Claw activation. But Lurantis couldn't survive more than 2 Flash Cannons. The real threat was not the boss and its weak Razor Leaves and X-Scissors, but rather the summoned Castforms. Each level 22 Castform could set up Sunny Day and transform into a Fire type that could cast Weather Ball. Sun also allowed Lurantis to use Solar Blade, a physical version of Solarbeam, and restore its HP with Synthesis.


One Castform Weather Ball scorched RETCON after it defeated Lurantis, resulting in a Game Over.


Death Count: 21


On the second attempt, RETCON aimed for the Castform first, because Lurantis's alternate summon was a less-threatening Normal/Flying Trumbeak. It still took 2 hits to take out the Sun Castform. Trumbeak could still be annoying when it used Supersonic to confuse Magneton, but it beat having to deal with boosted Weather Balls. Solar Blade dealt considerable damage even with Steel's resistances, because Trumbeak also used Screech to lower Magneton's Defense to -2. Quick Claw came in handy once again. RETCON barely hung on at the end of the fight with 11/78 HP.


Konikoni City south of Diglett's Tunnel had a useful item for solo runs lying on the ground near a park bench: Eviolite. This object is the main reason I'm choosing not to evolve Magneton into Magnezone. Eviolite's 50% boost for Defense and Special Defense along with 10 more base Speed makes Magneton superior to its final form in these circumstances.


Team Skull's Admin Plumeria wasn't any harder than her subordinates. A level 25 Golbat slashed with Air Cutter before an Electro Ball shocked it to death. The level 26 Salandit fired a super effective Flame Burst, but Eviolite prevented it from being more than a weak spark. An Affection critical Tri Attack defeated the lizard, and Magneton won with 57/85 HP.


Being a Steel type made the Rock Kahuna Olivia an easy fight, although her Pokemon had Sturdy too. The level 26 Nosepass survived the first Flash Cannon with 1 HP. I tried to save PP and be cheeky by finishing off Nosepass with Tri Attack, but Olivia healed it with a Super Potion. Olivia then switched out to a level 26 Boldore. This was pointless because RETCON now had a free turn to knock Boldore down to 1 HP with Flash Cannon. Olivia didn't heal her second Sturdy Pokemon, but RETCON fired another Flash Cannon just to be sure. A level 27 Midnight form Lycanroc came out of its Poke Ball next. It was fast enough to Bite RETCON, but this didn't save Lycanroc from a super effective attack. One final Flash Cannon smashed Nosepass, and RETCON won with 71/85 HP.



One odd line of dialogue came from an NPC in Konikoni City who praised Olivia for still being a strong trainer despite using a type with many weaknesses. It's like GameFreak knows the type chart has balance issues!



RETCON the Magneton Stats

Level 35 @ Eviolite

HP: 85
Attack: 49
Defense: 83
Special Attack: 105
Special Defense: 58
Speed: 61


Moves

Thunder Wave
Tri Attack
Electro Ball
Flash Cannon

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Moon Solo Magneton Part 5: Greek Tragedian Trial Captain


Before heading off to Ula'Ula Island, RETCON took a short detour to the artificial island Aether Paradise. This section was mostly cutscenes, though there was a battle with the first Ultra Beast, a level 27 Nihilego. Its Defense aura was meaningless to Magneton, and 2 Flash Cannons forced the Poison/Rock Pokemon to return to its own world. Nihilego's first move was an ineffective Headbutt, though its second was the odd fixed damage attack Psywave. One NPC gave malasadas to Hau and a Psychic TM to the player character. This was pointless for Magneton, but potentially useful for other solos.


As soon as RETCON landed on Ula'Ula Island, Hau challenged me to another battle. He led with a level 28 Electric/Psychic Alolan Raichu. It resisted both Electric and Steel, so Tri Attack was the obvious move to use. Alolan Raichu attacked with 2 Psychics, and the second was a critical hit. Next came a level 29 Torracat, who was slower than Magneton and died in two hits to Electro Ball. A lucky Affection dodge made its Fire Fang miss. Hau's last Pokemon was a level 28 Leafeon that fell to 2 Flash Cannons. All it could do was cast a half damage Giga Drain.


The next Trial for RETCON was in the observatory on top of Mt. Hokulani. Most of the trainers there weren't noteworthy, but its "Route Kahuna" was interesting. Veteran Akira sent out a level 30 Absol that used the Dark Z Move Black Hole Eclipse, and it dealt critical damage. But Eviolite's defensive bonuses allowed Magneton to hang on and kill it with one Flash Cannon. RETCON survived with 31/95 HP. (Recording the ending HP counts for some battles is tricky because Pokemon Moon loves to auto-heal you.)


Molayne was a de facto Captain instead of a de jure one, but he would probably have qualified as a Gym Leader outside of Alola. The Steel specialist led with a level 29 Skarmory that survived an Electro Ball thanks to Sturdy. It attacked with Air Cutter that round, and then Molayne switched it out to a level 30 Ground/Steel Alolan Dugtrio. A Tri Attack dealt some damage to it because Dugtrio has terrible defenses regardless of regional variations. A half damage Flash Cannon finished off the hairy Dugtrio. Molayne's third Pokemon was a level 29 Steel/Psychic Metang. Two Electro Balls were required to kill it due to its good Special Defense. It struck once with a Zen Headbutt. Skarmory finally died after a second Electro Ball.


For reasons unknown to me, the boy scientist Captain in Hokulani's observatory was named Sophocles. You'd think the English translators would pick something like Pythagoras or Archimedes if they wanted a classical name rather than a playwright. The Spanish translation gave up and named him "Chris". A few fights with Bug/Electric Charjabugs caused RETCON to lose some HP before the battle with Totem Vikavolt.


Totem Vikavolt came with an aura that boosted all its stats except HP, accuracy, and evasion. A critical Tri Attack on the first turn dealt so much damage that I wish I had tried a Tri Attack-powered Breakneck Blitz to see if RETCON could kill it in one move. Vikavolt used Charge to buff its Special Defense, then summoned a level 28 Charjabug. Another Tri Attack defeated the boss, but the fight wasn't over yet. The real threat, like in the Wishiwashi and Lurantis battles, was the minion. Charjabug used quadruple damage Mud Slaps that also lowered RETCON's accuracy. After several failed Tri Attacks, Magneton aimed true and won the Electric Z Crystal with 33/97 HP.



Back in the gardens in Malie City at the beginning of Ula'Ula Island, the boss of Team Skull awaited me. Guzma was a Bug specialist, an odd choice for a major antagonist in a Pokemon game. He started with a level 31 Bug/Water Golisopod. It didn't open with its signature priority move First Impression, so it failed to act before an Electro Ball struck it. The level 30 Ariados at least attacked twice with priority Sucker Punches. Two Electro Balls were required for the Bug/Poison spider. RETCON defeated Guzma with 69/99 HP.


RETCON's next mission was to head south along the rugged routes to reach Acerola the Ghost type captain. As I keep saying in my Moon playthroughs, she should have been the Steel trainer because the Spanish word acero is in her name. No wonder they changed her to Zarala in that translation!



For future reference, the Shadow Ball TM was on a small island near the haunted supermarket where the next Trial would take place. Several other TMs like Roost, Return, Steel Wing, and Facade could be purchased in the Malie City Poke Mart. Some evolution stones were sold in the jewelry store in Konikoni City. None of this information would do Magneton any good, but other Pokemon Moon playthroughs might take advantage of it.



RETCON the Magneton Stats

Level 42 @ Eviolite

HP: 101
Attack: 61
Defense: 102
Special Attack: 127
Special Defense: 70
Speed: 75


Moves

Thunder Wave
Tri Attack
Electro Ball
Flash Cannon

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Moon Solo Magneton Part 6: One Hit Totem KO


Ula'Ula Island's Thrifty Megamart was meant to be a grocery store, but it offended Tapu Bulu for some reason, so now it was abandoned and haunted. Acerola decided to use it for the next Trial. To prepare, I swapped out the Eviolite for the Steel Z Crystal. After fighting the Gastly family a few times, Totem Mimikyu appeared and started a fight.


Totem Mimikyu's aura boosted all its stats, but its normally good Ghost/Fairy typing was a disadvantage against RETCON. Mimikyu's Disguise Ability prevented the first direct attack from doing any damage, so I clicked Discharge hoping for a lucky paralysis roll. (Magneton had learned it by level up between updates.) Mimikyu's status remained normal, and it summoned a level 27 Haunter after striking with Shadow Claw. The second Shadow Claw missed when RETCON's Affection dodge activated. One Corkscrew Crash derived from Flash Cannon slew the Pikachu imitation. Hypnosis from Haunter missed thanks to Affection too. One more Flash Cannon exorcised Haunter.


The Aether House had fallen to Team Skull in the meantime, and Plumeria challenged me to a battle. Neglecting to switch back to Eviolite almost resulted in a Game Over here. The level 34 Golbat outsped RETCON and bamboozled it with Confuse Ray. Only one turn of confusion damage came out of that, and RETCON snapped out quickly to electrocute Golbat with Discharge. Plumeria's final Pokemon was a level 35 Salazzle that nearly finished off Magneton with a Flame Burst. Its Special Defense was weak without a Totem aura, so one Discharge was enough. RETCON limped out of the fight with 18/106 HP.


Most of the fights after that were random trainers or Team Skull members. To get past the mandatory Double Battle at the Po Town gate, Metapod was the designated partner. RETCON's next assignment was to beat up Team Skull in Po Town and rescue the Pokemon stolen from the Aether House. One of the Preschoolers in the Aether House was generous enough to give me a Rare Candy for the endgame.


For anyone trying their own solos at home, you may want to backtrack to Melemele Sea once Grimsley gives you the Sharpedo Ride Pokemon. There's a Rock Slide TM on an island blocked by rocks.



RETCON the Magneton Stats

Level 46 @ Eviolite

HP: 111
Attack: 66
Defense: 112
Special Attack: 140
Special Defense: 77
Speed: 84


Moves

Thunder Wave
Tri Attack
Discharge
Flash Cannon

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Moon Solo Magneton Part 7: Inevitable Evil Team Gauntlet


Po Town was the beginning stage of an old Pokemon tradition: a gauntlet of fights with the villains near the end of the main story. This gated community was Team Skull's hideout, but most of the gangsters weren't threatening. Even the game treated them as jokes, especially with their 10 Poke Dollar fee for using the run-down Pokemon Center.


Guzma was the boss, and led with a level 37 Golisopod. It failed to use First Impression once again, probably because the AI wasn't programmed to use a half damage Bug move against a Steel type or something. One Discharge knocked it out before it could try to Emergency Exit switch. The level 36 Ariados used a Sucker Punch sneak attack before falling to a second Discharge. RETCON won with 102/116 HP. Sitting in Guzma's chair after the victory made a Team Skull Grunt very confused.


Gladion was so angry at Hau and me for failing to prevent Lillie from being kidnapped that he challenged me to a fight in the Aether House. His level 37 Golbat was slower than RETCON's Discharge. The level 37 Sneasel used a correctly spelled Feint Atack before falling to a super effective Flash Cannon. Gladion's signature level 38 Type: Null took 2 Discharges to kill due to its high defenses. It unleashed a critical Crush Claw before fainting.


Ula'Ula Island's Kahuna Nanu fought RETCON next to prove whether it was worthy to fight Team Skull and the Aether Foundation. He probably should have taken on the villains himself, because the Dark specialist was the toughest battle I had since Totem Lurantis. Nanu had a level 38 Sableye, a level 38 Krokorok, and a level 39 Alolan Persian. Krokorok also happened to be a Ground type with Earthquake that outsped RETCON. The results looked like this:


Death Count: 24


That Double Team TM turned out to be good for something after all. Evasion buffs weren't as overpowering as I thought, because Sableye still hit with Shadow Balls on the first couple of tries as if it had perfect accuracy. Lax Incense's 5% evasion boost didn't work, so it was back to the Eviolite.


On the last try, Sableye whiffed a Shadow Ball and was eventually paralyzed by a Discharge. Before RETCON could kill it, Sableye switched out to Krokorok and laughed off the Discharge. Magneton dodged an Earthquake with an Affection activation, and blasted Krokorok with Flash Cannon. Nanu wasted a turn curing Sableye's paralysis with a Full Heal and gave RETCON a free attack to finish it off. Alolan Persian got a token Fake Out flinch and was fast enough to outspeed RETCON even without priority. It fired off one Dark Pulse before RETCON zapped the cat with Discharge. Magneton barely won with 27/118 HP.


Aether Foundation's Employees had a variety of Pokemon, and occasionally Magneton failed to kill them in one hit. If you're trying an Alola solo for yourself, remember that you won't be more than about 11 levels above the enemies for most of the game. This level curve is stricter than White's. You'll also need a decent Speed stat to go first, unlike in Crystal where you can outrun most opponents with a Slowbro.


Gladion and Hau did well in the mandatory Double Battles, especially Hau's Incineroar. The Aether Foundation villains liked Psychic types such as Slowbro and Hypno a bit too much, and Incineroar's Darkest Lariat move dealt super effective damage to them.




(An aside: Psychic solos must have a terrible time in Alola! The Dark type Sucker Punch is a common enemy priority move. The 3rd Kahuna is Dark type, the leader of one evil team has a Bug squad and a priority Bug move, and one Elite Four member is a Ghost specialist. One Totem is a Ghost type that's immune to the first attack used against it, and the first Totem is Dark type if you're playing Moon.)


Guzma returned for another fight near the end of Aether Paradise. His level 41 Golisopod once again chose not to use a free First Impression and was defibrillated with Discharge. The level 40 Pinsir also flatlined after RETCON gave it a Discharge. At least the level 40 Ariados bothered to use Sucker Punch before two Discharges shocked it. The first attack paralyzed Ariados and it failed the 75% roll to attack on second turn. A level 40 Masquerain was Guzma's final Pokemon. Masquerain was one of those wasted opportunities in Pokemon history. Its first form Surskit was the first Bug/Water type, so why did GameFreak make Masquerain into a common Bug/Flying? Anyway, Masquerain outsped Magneton and made an ineffective Bug Buzz sound right before it crashed to the ground. RETCON defeated Guzma with 88/125 HP.


To prepare for the Lusamine battle, I switched out the Eviolite for the Electric Z Crystal. This was because she had a Normal/Fighting type Bewear that could deal super effective damage if I didn't kill it with one Z Move. Unfortunately, this was a mistake. Sure, Magneton defeated the fellow type-retconned Pokemon Clefable with 2 Flash Cannons, and a Gigavolt Havoc slew the level 41 Bewear. But the level 41 Mismagius was the true danger. It was faster than RECTON because it had a base 105 Speed stat, and a combination of Shadow Ball and Mystical Fire demagnetized my solo Pokemon.


Death Count: 25


In a hilarious case of railroading, the plot moved on even though RETCON lost. Firestorm the solo Butterfree experienced this sort of thing with some Hau battles, but a fight with the main villain? Nanu didn't give me that much leniency! Looks like all RETCON had to do was stall for a few turns, and then Lusamine and Guzma went through the Ultra Wormhole.


More cutscenes ensued, including Lillie's makeover from a Wilkie Collins supporting character to someone who could live in our time. Gladion took the group to Poni Island, the rural area of Alola.


Throughout this game, characters said Japanese stock quotes, such as a line about "not forgiving". Cheren did that in White when talking about Team Plasma. Wicke called Gladion "Young Master", a title I previously saw in Suikoden 1. (Gremio calls the player character Young Master so often in that game that my file name was BOTCHAN as a joke. The Natsumi Soseki novel Botchan is supposed to mean something like "Young Master".)



RETCON the Magneton Stats

Level 46 @ Electrium Z

HP: 128
Attack: 80
Defense: 131
Special Attack: 163
Special Defense: 89
Speed: 99


Moves

Magnet Rise
Tri Attack
Discharge
Flash Cannon

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Moon Solo Magneton Part 8: Fighting Dirty


Poni Island was much more difficult than Ula'Ula. RETCON faced the "route Kahuna" Dancer Julia with all 4 Oricorio forms, but they all had Focus Sashes and required at least 2 hits to kill. A Fire type Revelation Dance from the first Oricorio also scored a critical hit, dooming Magneton unless it survived every other blow with Affection. RETCON couldn't do that.


Death Count: 26


Hapu the Ground master was the final Kahuna, and unfortunately, she led with her fastest Pokemon. The level 47 Alolan Dugtrio outsped Magneton every time and dealt quadruple damage with Earthquake. Even using 8 Rare Candies to level to 64 couldn't save RETCON from this.


Death Count: 28


It was clear there was no way to move on with the game unless I allowed healing items again. RETCON set up Magnet Rise knowing it could drink a Hyper Potion on the next turn. It took longer to defeat the hairy Ground/Steel type than I thought, since Hapu used her own Hyper Potion and set up a Sandstorm. The level 48 Mudsdale tried to use the Z Move Tectonic Rage, but a second Magnet Rise happened just in time. 2 Flash Cannons killed the Ground horse. Next came a level 47 Flygon that attacked with Dragon Breath. A Flash Cannon followed by a Tri Attack destroyed the Ground/Dragon with the wrong name and typing. (Salamence should have been called Flygon, and the current Flygon should have been a Bug type!)


Last of all was a level 47 Gastrodon that tried to Mud Bomb on the turn RETCON Magnet Rose. Tri Attack was the best move available since the Water/Ground type resisted Flash Cannon. Gastrodon's Muddy Waters were strong enough that I had to use another Hyper Potion. Even with all that help, RETCON was still at 92/152 after the battle.


Vast Poni Canyon was a Victory Road in disguise. The same types of trainers with a wide variety of high level Pokemon inhabited the caves and canyon. A Captain Mina appeared, saying she didn't have a Trial. She handed out the Fairy Z Crystal, so it seemed like Mina was supposed to make players battle a Fairy Totem, but the developers ran out of time. This was corrected in the Ultra version where a Totem Ribombee is her boss fight.


Totem Kommo-o's Dragon Trial was another case of rushing. There was no Captain, only a few fights with Jangmo-os and Hakamo-os. To prepare for the level 45 boss, RETCON equipped the Steel Z Crystal and fired a Corkscrew Crash. This didn't kill off the Dragon/Fighting type in one shot, probably because all its stats received an aura buff. Both of Totem Kommo-o's Sky Uppercuts missed due to Affection, and a Discharge finished off both the boss and the level 32 Scizor it summoned.



Many cutscenes followed the Totem Kommo-o battle, which eventually led to the final battle with Lusamine in Ultra Space. She was as hard there as she was in Aether Paradise. RETCON choked at the end of the fight and fell to a resisted Petal Dance from the level 50 Lilligant. On a later attempt, a Hydro Pump from a fast level 50 Milotic drenched RETCON.


Death Count: 30


Say what you will about Butterfree, but at least that Pokemon can put enemies to sleep and then buff its stats with Quiver Dance! Magneton's move selection is so poor that the best it has for setup is Magnet Rise and Double Team.


The plot wouldn't advance unless RETCON beat Lusamine, so I had to allow Max Potions. Magneton's Flash Cannon cold iron scored a critical hit against the level 50 Fairy type Clefable. Two Discharges jolted the level 50 Bewear, which chose to use the Normal type Take Down instead of a Fighting move. Mismagius didn't use Mystical Fire this time, but rather attacked with Shadow Ball and Pain Split. Two Discharges were required to get past the Ghost's 105 base Special Defense. To ensure victory, I used a Max Potion when Milotic appeared. This wasn't just me being paranoid, as I realized when Milotic dealt significant damage with Hydro Pump. A single Discharge shocked the Water serpent. Lilligant planted Leech Seeds shortly before a critical Flash Cannon wilted the flower.


As the plot demanded, I caught Lunala with the Master Ball to save time. I'll be Wonder Trading it along with RETCON at the end of the playthrough.


I have no idea why Smogon users said Magnemite was an S rank in terms of ingame viability in Moon. RETCON often fails to defeat enemies in one hit when a higher level than its opponents, sometimes even with super effective hits. 70 Speed is not enough without buffs. Electric/Steel typing may be good in some areas, but it's a liability in major fights like Hala on Melemele Island, Totem Salazzle, Hapu, and possibly Totem Kommo-o. (Imagine if those Sky Uppercuts hit RETCON!)



RETCON the Magneton Stats

Level 68 @ Eviolite

HP: 161
Attack: 103
Defense: 168
Special Attack: 210
Special Defense: 113
Speed: 126


Moves

Magnet Rise
Tri Attack
Discharge
Flash Cannon

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Moon Solo Magneton Finale: Shameful Final Battles


Mt. Lanakila barely qualified as a dungeon after Vast Poni Canyon. Gladion challenged me along the way. His level 52 Crobat danced with Acrobatics before Discharge made it faint. The level 52 Lucario fired a Fighting type Aura Sphere before Magneton shocked it with Discharge. The level 53 Silvally attacked twice with Crunch, but only the first one hit thanks to Affection. 2 Flash Cannons sent the evolved form of Type: Null back to its Poke Ball. The level 52 Weavile scratched RETCON with Night Slash as a Flash Cannon exploited its Ice type. Magneton didn't need any healing items for the final Gladion battle, but it limped out with only 21/161 HP.


Hau seemed to be better prepared than Gladion. His level 53 Alolan Raichu now had Focus Blast, an inaccurate Fighting special move with 120 base power. The first one hit, but the second lived up to the nickname Focus Miss. Two Tri Attacks were needed to bring down the Surge Surfer because no other move would even deal neutral damage. The level 54 Komala happened to have Earthquake. RETCON held on with 1 HP thanks to Affection, and 2 Discharges jolted the koala. For the level 54 Incineroar, I wasn't taking any chances. One click on Gigavolt Havoc, and the Fire/Dark starter was down. To survive Leafeon, RETCON took a Max Potion, but it might not have been necessary. One Flash Cannon defeated the Grass Eevee evolution when it tried to use Baby Doll Eyes to debuff my Attack.


RETCON the Magneton was level 69 at the Pokemon League, which was especially low considering all the Rare Candies I fed it during the playthrough. What made it worse was that Magneton was a Medium Fast Pokemon. Imagine how low a Fluctuating monster like Breloom or Drifblim would be here! For all the final battles, RETCON had Eviolite equipped for safety instead of a Z Move.


RETCON's first Elite 4 opponent was Olivia. Her level 54 Relicanth was made extinct with a single Discharge. The level 54 Probopass dragged out the fight for many turns, and not just because of its good defensive stats. Probopass had Sandstorm, which had the hidden property of a 50% Special Defense buff for Rock types since Pearl. Many Discharges were needed, and occasionally Magnet Rises to prevent Earth Power deaths. A level 55 Midnight Lycanroc and level 54 Carbink were unceremoniously killed with Flash Cannons. The level 54 Alolan Golem survived with Sturdy, but Olivia must have exhausted her Full Restores on Probopass by then. RETCON won with 92/169 HP.


Kahili, whom the player character had never seen until now, was the Flying Elite 4 member. (Given the plot of the game, this was probably the result of rushed development.) Her level 54 Skarmory had Sturdy like Olivia's Rock types. To get around it, RETCON used a half damage Tri Attack to soften it up after the first Full Restore. The level 54 Mandibuzz was an unexpected threat because it had the rare multi-hit Ground move Bone Rush. It drank one Full Restore because its Special Defense was too high for RETCON to kill with one Discharge. Fortunately for me, the level 54 Fire Oricorio confused Magneton with Teeter Dance rather than attack with Revelation Dance, and was zapped with one Discharge. The level 54 Crobat and level 55 Toucannon suffered a fatal Discharge as well, but at least Crobat was fast enough to use Swift first. RETCON survived with 90/166 HP.


Acerola the Ghost Captain was next on the list. Her level 54 Sableye fell to one Discharge. Magnet Rise was needed to prevent the level 55 Palossand from casting Earth Power. Two Flash Cannons were enough for the sand castle. The level 54 Dhelmise cast Shadow Ball on the turn RETCON used its first Flash Cannon. Both moves got a Special Defense debuff activation. The level 54 Froslass was fast and could use Confuse Ray, but it was also Ice and weak to Flash Cannon. The final level 54 Drifblim took advantage of self-inflicted confusion damage and buffed its Special Defense with Amnesia. RETCON had to use two Discharges to win after that, and Drifblim retaliated with Ominous Wind. At the end of the fight, RETCON had only 30/166 HP.



The most dreaded opponent here was Hala, who had given RETCON a horrible time as the 1st Kahuna. The level 54 Hariyama led with a Fake Out flinch before attacking with Close Combat. It was good for me that Close Combat's drawback was a Defense and Special Defense debuff. Discharges defeated the sumo wrestler. Using Max Potion when the level 55 Crabominable appeared allowed Magneton to survive All-Out Pummeling with Sturdy. When its Z Move was gone, Crabominable struck with Close Combat. One Flash Cannon defeated the Ice/Fighting type. Hala's hardest monster was perhaps the level 54 Primeape that outsped RETCON. One of its Cross Chops missed with an Affection dodge, but a Max Potion was still needed. One Discharge slew the ape. Hala's level 54 Bewear used Hammer Arm, a move with a Speed penalty instead of a defensive one. Discharges electrocuted the stuffed toy, but not before it could drink a Full Restore. The final Pokemon, a level 54 Poliwrath, was slower than RETCON and was weak to Discharge.



Professor Kukui was the last trainer in the playthrough. His level 57 Midday Lycanroc gave Firestorm the Butterfree no end of trouble, but was easy for RETCON. The rest of the team was trickier. Kukui usually used the high Special Defense level 56 Snorlax second, and RETCON needed Magnet Rise to dodge High Horsepower. The level 58 Decidueye outsped RETCON and used a neutral Spirit Shackle that once defeated it due to unlucky Crunch Defense debuffs earlier in one attempt. Kukui's level 56 Alolan Ninetales took quadruple damage from Flash Cannon due to being Ice/Fairy. Kukui also had a rival level 56 Magnezone, which could either strike with Thunderbolt or counterattack any of RETCON's special attacks with a double damage Mirror Coat. The latter move ended one attempt. When RETCON finally got to the level 56 Braviary, it was an anticlimax because it was a Flying type that only attacked with the Normal type Crush Claw.


Final Death Count: 32


I titled this update "Shameful Final Battles" for good reason. RETCON had to drink 5 Max Potions to win the Kukui battle, enough to infuriate any solo run purist. At least Texas Cloverleaf will be happy that I didn't use any X item buffs! RETCON the Magneton's journey wasn't nearly as satisfying as Firestorm the Butterfree's. Perhaps for future solos, I should stick to Bug types of dubious quality?



Tapu Koko in the ending barely qualified as a battle. All it did was use an ineffective Electro Ball and Discharge. RETCON finished off Melemele Island's guardian with two Flash Cannons.



RETCON the Magneton Final Stats

Level 72 @ Eviolite

HP: 170
Attack: 108
Defense: 177
Special Attack: 222
Special Defense: 120
Speed: 133


Moves

Magnet Rise
Tri Attack
Discharge
Flash Cannon

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Moon Solo Magneton Postscript


"Being From Alola" is probably the worst experience group in Pokemon history. Playing a solo run of Pokemon Moon is like using a Fluctuating monster in the older games while having to deal with stronger opponents as well. Good thing the game hands you so many Rare Candies if you take advantage of the Affection minigame!


Base 70 Speed isn't enough to ensure moving first in Moon. (Compare to TOADETTE the Breloom with the same stat, who even had a Speed penalty Nature!) Some Pokemon games like Crystal had enemy Speed stats so low that you could outrun most enemies with a Slowbro.


The harsh level curve and Totem buffs require most Moon solos to use healing items like Max Potions to an extent that wasn't necessary in older entries. In RETCON's case, even Sturdy couldn't save it sometimes when fighting two Pokemon at once in a Trial like Salazzle's.


Magnemite is S rank on the Pokemon Moon ingame viability topic on Smogon, but I think it's overrated. Electric/Steel may sound nice, but this gives you a critical weakness to early opponents like Hala on Melemele Island and Totem Salazzle, as well as some later fights like Hapu. To emphasize how bad Salazzle was for RETCON, I had to temporarily teach it Confide. CONFIDE! Magneton suffers from "Electric type movepool syndrome", where it doesn't get many moves outside of its base typing. Its best attacking moves until level 31 (i.e. after Salazzle and before Lurantis) are Thunder Shock (base 40) and Sonic Boom (fixed 20 damage). The relative lack of recovery moves and buffs doesn't help either.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Since I can crank these out so quickly compared to other RPG playthroughs, here's another solo Pokemon challenge.


Pokemon X Solo Volbeat Part 1: Bug Type Variety Hour


My solo Pokemon wasn't available until Route 7 after waking up Snorlax with the Poke Flute. Whenever I have this sort of situation, I waive the solo rules until I catch the right Pokemon. The protagonist this time was a girl named BUG MANIAC because her parents had poor taste. She picked Fennekin to keep Calem and Shauna from having the Fire starter, and even named it RIVALDENIAL to rub it in. Her nickname among her friends was ILLUMISE.


BUG MANIAC spent much of her time sneaking around unnecessary trainer battles to ensure the solo would get more experience. In Santalune City, she traded a Bunnelby for Quacklin' the Farfetch'd, and used it to make a clean sweep through the first Gym and the battle with Sycamore in Lumiose City.


It took a few tries to get one with decent IVs, but eventually BUG MANIAC found her Volbeat. It may have a dull pure Bug typing, but Volbeat is an interesting Pokemon if you look past that. It's one of the few monsters in the Erratic experience group, which only requires 600,000 experience to get to level 100. Erratic comes at the cost of slow going at low levels, providing the opposite experience to TOADETTE the Breloom's Fluctuating group.


Volbeat's base stats are mediocre at best, and sometimes awful:


HP: 65
Attack: 73
Defense: 55
Special Attack: 47
Special Defense: 75
Speed: 85


But Volbeat can overcome its low stats with a few moves. Moonlight is an HP recovery move with low PP, and its power can vary based on weather. It's still a way to heal without resorting to Max Potions and such. Then there's Tail Glow, which in every game since White buffs Special Attack by 3 stages with no drawback! Remember what OG PUFF the solo Jigglypuff could do when she took X item steroids? Volbeat can match that without items.


Volbeat can swap out special attacks if necessary, since it can learn Thunderbolt, Dazzling Gleam, Shadow Ball, and Bug Buzz. Moonlight can be upgraded to the more reliable Roost after unlocking Surf.


I'll try to go through Pokemon X with Volbeat without Battle Items in combat if possible, though Affection will be allowed as always in my 6th and 7th generation solos.



Volbeat Stats

Level 13 @ Nothing

HP: 42
Attack: 27
Defense: 22
Special Attack: 21 (30-31 IV)
Special Defense: 26
Speed: 31 (31 IV!)


Moves

Tackle
Double Team
Confuse Ray
Moonlight


Solo Volbeat has a Quirky Nature (i.e. no stat boosts or penalties), the Alert to Sounds characteristic, and the Swarm Ability. Swarm is a situational passive that gives a 50% boost to Bug attacks when Volbeat is at less than 1/3 max HP. All Fire/Water/Grass starter trios have the equivalent Ability for their primary types. Unfortunately, Prankster, which gives turn order priority to non-attacking moves, is a Hidden Ability and can't be obtained before the story is over without trading.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon X Solo Volbeat Part 2: Backtracking


Sneaking around the optional trainers in the first phase of the game paid off for solo Volbeat, but not as much as you might think. Volbeat may have had crappy base stats, but those were better than the unevolved Pokemon he was fighting. The Thief TM provided a nice 60 base power physical Dark move to last until the shift to Tail Glow buffed special attacks later on. Confuse Ray worked if I was at all concerned about the enemy type matchups, and I may keep it until after Grant the Rock Gym Leader.


Volbeat only gained 6 levels from the fights from Santalune Forest to Route 7, and one of those was because of a wild Audino jumping me on the way to Parfum Palace. It was weird seeing the experience meter increasing so slowly even with the 20% Affection bonus, but I guess that's what you get when you're dealing with the Erratic experience curve.



Volbeat Stats

Level 19 @ Nothing

HP: 57
Attack: 38
Defense: 30
Special Attack: 29
Special Defense: 35
Speed: 44


Moves

Thief
Double Team
Confuse Ray
Moonlight

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon X Solo Volbeat Part 3: Dancing Bug


Confuse Ray, Moonlight, and Thief took solo Volbeat all the way through the cliffs and beaches near Ambrette Town, including Glittering Cave's Team Flare encounters.


This didn't work so well in Cyllage City's Rock type Gym. Rising Star Didier's Dwebble and Relicanth hit for super effective damage if they were lucid enough to ignore their confusion and use Rock Blast and Rock Tomb. It was clear that Volbeat needed to train among the menhirs on Route 10.


Death Count: 1


Another case of bad luck occurred on Route 10. Tourist Fumiko had a level 19 Azumarill that set up Jigglypuff's dreaded Defense Curl and Rollout combo, and it succeeded on its confusion rolls every time. At least Volbeat leveled up and learned Signal Beam!


Death Count: 2


With a few extra levels and the Signal Beam and Tail Glow combo, Volbeat persevered through Cyllage City Gym. Grant was perhaps the easiest battle of all. Volbeat shone a Confuse Ray on the level 25 Amaura, and the fossil attacked itself immediately afterwards. Volbeat buffed his Special Attack with a Tail Glow on turn 2, but Amaura whiffed its Thunder Wave thanks to maxed out Affection. Volbeat's second Tail Glow was free because Amaura hit itself again. On the next two turns, a +6 Signal Beam made Amaura and the level 25 Tyrunt extinct. Volbeat's flawless victory on the first try was sure better than BEETRICE the Vespiquen's experience!


Volbeat seems to be one of the few Pokemon in X to have a dancing animation in combat. Many of the others seem to stand still or fly in place.


EDIT: To show you how slow Erratic is early on, the Medium Slow BEETRICE was at level 34 after Grant.



Volbeat Stats

Level 28 @ Amulet Coin

HP: 81
Attack: 55
Defense: 43
Special Attack: 41
Special Defense: 50
Speed: 64


Moves

Signal Beam
Tail Glow
Confuse Ray
Moonlight