Pokemon Variants

[superdeath]

Im sure you have/ive missed it... but how about a solo/different Black/white run?

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Im sure you have/ive missed it... but how about a solo/different Black/white run?

Another Pokemon White solo challenge sounds good to me!  What do you have in mind?  I'll probably finish the Crystal Tentacool run on Tuesday.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Tentacool Part 4:  Rare Candy Diet


The trainers on what passed for a "Victory Road" in this game, the watery route in southwestern Kanto, had Pokemon in the 30s level range at best.  Crystal's pathetic regular trainers can work against you when you don't have enough experience for boss fights.  Rival ???'s Victory Road cave appearance wasn't one of those difficult opponents, however.  Body Slam from Meganium was the only enemy attack in that whole battle, since Surf or Sludge Bomb could one shot the rest of his team.  HANAR won with 110/137 HP at Level 56.


Will's Psychic team in the Elite 4 wasn't quite as bad as I thought, since Tentacool had enough base Special Defense to take a super effective Psychic before going down.  The problem was that this Psychic also had a high chance of lowering Special Defense, resulting in two losses to Exeggutor.  Xatus took a Hydro Pump super soaker, and Sludge Bomb polluted Jynx.  Slowbro preferred Amnesia stat boosts to attacking.  When Tentacool triumphed on Take 3, she held on with 4/139 HP at Level 57.


DEATH COUNT:  25


Koga was promoted to the Elite 4 too soon.  Tentacool's Surf was guaranteed to kill anything in two hits, and the Ariados died in one hit.  Icy Wind was used to pick off the Psychic casting Venomoth in order to conserve PP.  Muk's Minimize and Crobat's Double Team couldn't save them, and HANAR won at Level 58 with 107/142 HP.


Bruno, the derided Fighting specialist of the Elite 4, was vindicated when his Hitmonchan struck Tentacool with a critical hit Thunderpunch that also paralyzed her after Hitmontop had hurt her with Dig.  Hitmonlee's Hi Jump Kick was the finisher.


DEATH COUNT:  26


Each "Hitmon" required two Surfs to kill, and Machamp was sturdy enough to take even a Hydro Pump.  Its Cross Chop bisected HANAR.


DEATH COUNT:  27


On Take 3, HANAR used Sludge Bomb to kill the Hitmons after the initial Surf, and Machamp's Cross Chop failed to roll a critical.  Tentacool moved on with 23/142 HP at Level 58.


Karen the Dark specialist was the worst Elite 4 member of all.  She was similar to Agatha of Kanto in that she relied on status ailments rather than direct attacks.  Umbreon tended to throw Sand Attack to lower HANAR's accuracy, Vileplume spread Stun Spore, and Gengar cast the Ghost type Curse if HANAR was either paralyzed or missed with Hydro Pump. 


DEATH COUNT:  30


HANAR's victory was a fluke.  Even with Sand Attack, Surf + Hydro Pump + Icy Wind never missed.  Vileplume's Stun Spore failed, however, even though I had a Przcureberry to remove the effect.  Surf was enough to drown the frail Murkrow and Houndoom.


Although HANAR the Tentacool had conquered the Elite 4, she was still no equal to Lance.  Sludge Bombs could gut Gyarados, but the first Dragonite would barely survive an Icy Wind, even with Nevermeltice equipped.  Its Hyper Beam or Thunder was enough to beach Tentacool.


DEATH COUNT:  33


It was necessary to gather the available Johto Rare Candies in order to prevent the Death Count from increasing much further.  Along the way, HANAR cast Sludge Bomb on Suicune until it died.  The legendary must have been holding back since it only attacked with Gust. . .


HANAR returned to Will at Level 60 and scored a flawless victory at Level 61.  Surf was sufficient for the non-Slowbro members since I'd also picked up Mystic Water in Cherrygrove City.  Slowbro only used Curse.  Koga was another perfect victory since he only used a Full Restore or evasion moves on Muk and Crobat.  Bruno managed to deal damage to Tentacool because most of his monsters still needed two hits to kill.  For some reason Machamp used Rock Slide instead of Cross Chop this time.  HANAR won with 38/153 HP at Level 62.


Extreme bad luck against Umbreon cost me the first Karen rematch.  Sand Attack and Confuse Ray were a fatal combination.


DEATH COUNT:  34


I fought Lance without Rare Candies the first time because I wanted to see if I could save more of them for Red.  Icy Wind was still too weak to chill the first Dragonite in one hit with Nevermeltice, and HANAR had taken damage earlier from Gyarados's Flail.


DEATH COUNT:  35


The magic level for becoming the Johto Champion was 65.  Gyarados used Surf against me for reasons only known to the AI programmers.  The lower level Dragonites went to absolute zero HP with Icy Wind, but the Level 50 version barely survived.  Lance wasted these turns with Full Restore and Safeguard.  One Surf was used to prevent Dragonite from drinking any more Full Restores, then an Icy Wind sent the underleveled Dragonite to its Poke Ball.  Charizard and Aerodactyl were both slower than HANAR and weak to Surf, so Tentacool became the sole Hall of Fame member with 150/160 HP!


You're probably wondering why I set the game to Friday at the beginning.  The reason for that is that Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt aren't TMs in Crystal.  Instead, a move tutor appears outside the Goldenrod City Game Corner and sells them for 4000 coins after you defeat Lance.  The catch is that he only appears on certain days, and Saturday is one of them.  Now HANAR has an Ice move with 95 base power and 100 accuracy for the endgame.


Physical Pokemon prefer Sunday as the day of the week because that's when Return appears in Goldenrod City.


Stats and Moves


Level 65

HP:  160
Attack:  94
Defense:  94
Special Attack:  118
Special Defense:  183
Speed:  133


Surf
Sludge Bomb
Ice Beam
Hydro Pump

[superdeath]

Im sure you have/ive missed it... but how about a solo/different Black/white run?

Another Pokemon White solo challenge sounds good to me!  What do you have in mind?  I'll probably finish the Crystal Tentacool run on Tuesday.

Dont know, but keep me posted when u make it to the Cynthia battle.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Dont know, but keep me posted when u make it to the Cynthia battle.

Are you referring to the bonus battle in White after defeating Ghetsis?  If so, I'll do the postgame for you.  Swoobat sounds like a candidate:  common enough to be a joke, natural Calm Mind + Psychic + Air Slash, an awkward friendship evolution, and a typing that is noticeably advantaged/disadvantaged for the Elite 4.


EDIT:  Forgot to mention the mediocre to subpar stats in everything but Speed, which doesn't count for as much in White due to Sturdy enemies.


EDIT 2:  And a signature move that directly contradicts its role as a Special Attacker!

[superdeath]

Yes, the bonus battle in the house.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Yes, the bonus battle in the house.

Cynthia will never know what hit her!  And now back to our regularly scheduled solo challenges:


Pokemon Crystal Solo Tentacool Part 5:  In Which a Wild Snorlax is Better Than Most Gym Leaders


Lt. Surge seemed a poor choice for a first Kanto Gym Leader for an unevolved Water type in the Slow experience group.  HANAR forced him to surrender while still at full HP at Level 67!  With the Mystic Water equipped, Surf drowned Raichu and Magneton.  Electabuzz barely survived and set up a Light Screen.  After Surge fed it a Hyper Potion, Electabuzz succumbed to Sludge Bomb's side effect.  Both Electrodes fell to one Sludge Bomb since Electric types were not known for their Defense.


Sabrina was the only Gym Leader in this update who dealt any damage at all to HANAR.  Her Espeon survived a Poison Barb powered Sludge Bomb and cast Psychic to reduce Tentacool to 102/168 HP at Level 68.  Alakazam and Mr. Mime collapsed after each Sludge Bomb.


Erika's Grass types withered under Nevermeltice + Ice Beam temperatures.  Janine's Poison types that were underleveled even by Kanto standards fell to Ice Beam and Surf with Mystic Water equipped.  HANAR gained 4 more levels from route trainers between Janine and Misty because reactivating the Power Plant was the only "plot" in this section. 


Miracle Seed finally saw action against Misty.  Tentacool learned Giga Drain from Erika's TM and sucked all the Water types dry at Level 75.  That includes Lapras, and I'm not sure if Giga Drain would have scored the 1 hit KO without the critical hit.


Snorlax's Rollout struck HANAR and knocked her down to 177/189 HP.  Two Sludge Bombs were sufficient to put it to sleep permanently, which made me more optimistic for Red.


HANAR used Miracle Seed + Giga Drain for Brock's Omastar and Kabutops.  Graveler, Rhyhorn, and Onix all had an extra weakness to Surf anyway.  While in Viridian City, KAYLA battled the male protagonist's doppelganger Cal who had all 3 evolved Johto starters.  Ice Beam cooled Meganium, a critical Giga Drain destroyed Feraligatr, and Surf doused Typhlosion at Level 76 for a flawless victory.


Rival ???'s last stand in Mount Moon was a perfect victory at Level 77 with the help of Nevermeltice.  Surf soaked Sneasel, Magneton, and Gengar.  Alakazam couldn't foresee Sludge Bomb, and Ice Beam shot down Golbat and Meganium.  Blaine should have yielded immediately considering this was a Water solo challenge at Level 78! 


Only Blue and Red remain.  Will Leftovers and the remaining Rare Candies be enough to win with a "fair" moveset, or will I have to resort to Double Team?

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Tentacool Finale:  This Makes Up for All the Bad Luck at the Beginning!


Blue's former Champion team was difficult for some solos, but not for a Level 78 Tentacool with Leftovers.  Ice Beam shattered Pidgeot, Sludge Bomb covered Alakazam in gunk, and Surf eroded Rhydon.  Gyarados could survive one round of water pollution, but it missed its one chance to Hydro Pump the jellyfish.  Ice Beam sent Exeggutor to the frozen foods section, and Surf poured on Arcanine.  Blue's only damaging move was an Extremespeed from Arcanine, and that was a turn order priority attack that I couldn't avoid with this moveset.  HANAR triumphed with 159/197 HP.


In addition to the Johto Rare Candies, Kanto had some in Cinnabar Island, the Pokemon Fan Club in Vermilion City, and the eastern forest in the Mt. Silver region.  With all the empty calories that KAYLA could provide, HANAR the Tentacool grew to Level 85 just before the final battle with Red.


Sludge Bomb sprayed toxic waste on Pikachu and critically hit Espeon, killing both in one hit each.  It was a relief to see Red's Psychic Pokemon die instantly, especially after Sabrina's own Espeon survived a Sludge Bomb! 


Snorlax prepared for a long battle by setting up Amnesia for +2 Special Defense.  But the second Sludge Bomb inflicted Poison status, and the third sent Snorlax back to the Poke Ball.  Snorlax had proved itself the most dangerous enemy on Red's team when its Body Slam pressed 100 HP out of Tentacool, who only had 215 at most.  If Snorlax had Rested, it could have tried to stall me to death.  There's a reason I used a couple of PP Ups on Sludge Bomb, the one decent physical move Tentacool could have!


Two Ice Beams were enough to give Venusaur the temperature of a corpse.  It must have been ready to launch Solarbeams considering it had summoned Sunny Day.  Three Giga Drains were necessary to crack Blastoise's shell.  Blastoise used Blizzard twice, which mildly damaged Tentacool the first time and whiffed the second time.  Giga Drain's low base power had an advantage for me:  Sunny Day expired as Charizard entered the battle, just in time for one Surf to make HANAR the Champion of both Johto and Kanto at Level 85 with full health!


It was refreshing to defeat Red without having to use either Rest + Sleep Talk healing or Double Team evasion, an honor shared with Poliwag.  But not even Poliwag could do it without Return, the staple attack for Johto solos. 


Solo Tentacool was a fun playthrough, if frustrating at the beginning when I had to hope enemies would commit suicide in Supersonic confusion.  It's hard to overstate how horrible Constrict and Poison Sting are as starter attacks, especially when so many early game Pokemon are either immune to Poison status or resist both moves.


Learning Bubblebeam at Level 25 is a major improvement, and once you learn Surf in Ecruteak City, the game becomes so simple that it's dull until Clair and her Dragons.  Go to Mahogany Town as soon as you can to acquire Icy Wind and Sludge Bomb.  You'll probably get Hydro Pump on the way to Ice Path if you've been fighting all the enemy trainers, which is useful for Elite 4 members such as Will.  Even if you can beat Karen, you're not guaranteed to beat Lance until you're at a high enough level to kill the lesser Dragonites in one shot with Icy Wind + Nevermeltice.  Kanto is as pathetic as always, and even Red can be easy if you have decent luck.


See you again in Pokemon White!


Final Stats and Moves


Level 85 @ Leftovers


HP:  215
Attack:  129
Defense:  131
Special Attack:  163
Special Defense:  248
Speed:  181


Surf
Sludge Bomb
Ice Beam
Giga Drain

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon White Solo Swoobat Part 1:  Special Request


superdeath on Realms Beyond put a bounty on Cynthia, and a Unova trainer with the codename DIAMOND became the bounty hunter.  DIAMOND preferred the efficiency of a single Pokemon, but was stuck with Snivy and Panpour until he could find his preferred starter Woobat.  DIAMOND was a nonconformist, and questioned the tradition of forcing new trainers into the Grass/Water/Fire trio.  Probably to keep up the Striaton City Gym racket that sicced the appropriate elemental monkey on Pokemon League challengers in order to mug them.


It took many attempts to find the correct Woobat in Wellspring Cave.  Some had the unfortunate Klutz ability, which denied the use of most held items.  DIAMOND knew Ghetsis and his Toxic spewing Cofagrigus were coming, and there was no way Swoobat was going to win without a Pecha Berry to cure it.  Other Woobats died to unwanted critical hits, and others had unsuitable personalities.


(One reason I replay Pokemon Crystal so often is that you don't have to worry about natures and passive abilities!)


The chosen Woobat had the following stats and was caught in a Heal Ball:


Level 10
Mild Nature (+Special Attack, -Defense), Quick Tempered
Ability:  Unaware (ignores enemy stat boosts)

HP:  33
Attack:  16
Defense:  ? (forgot to write that down somehow, but I think it was 14)
Special Attack:  19
Special Defense:  14
Speed:  21


Confusion
Odor Sleuth
Gust


DIAMOND and Woobat began their quest by pillaging the local preschool on Route 3.  It was distasteful work, but Woobat needed the levels!  DIAMOND wondered about his career decisions when School Kid Al's Blitzle zapped Woobat with Shock Wave on two separate occasions.  He should have paid more attention and walked around him in the grass patch. . .


DEATH COUNT:  2


Assurance the Dark attack came in handy against School Kid Marsha's Woobat and any Munnas that came later.  School Kid Gina's Patrat struck with Bite, and her Purrloin tore my Woobat apart with Fury Swipes.


DEATH COUNT:  3


One problem with using a Psychic/Flying type with Unova is that Dark and Rock attacks lurk around every corner.  In the Pinwheel Forest outskirts, some trainers had Rock Throwing Timburrs.  Preschooler Homer and his Roggenrola's Rock Blast buried Woobat, though in an unintentional second attempt, Roggenrola only set up Harden.  Even after 3 generations of Pokemon since Crystal, the AI trainers seemed to behave randomly.


DEATH COUNT:  4


At Level 18, DIAMOND thought it was time to confront N in Nacrene City.  N gave a speech about ideals, but DIAMOND was a pragmatist who believed only military force could change the world.  Pidove charged with Quick Attack twice before being deceived by two Confusions.  Tympole fell to two Confusions after a failed Supersonic, and Timburr was a lower level Fighting type who only needed one Confusion.  Woobat conquered at Level 19 with 38/54 HP.


When a Nacrene City Gym's Herdier used Bite, DIAMOND knew Woobat would have to pummel the Audino population.  They seemed innocent enough with Helping Hand, and Refresh, but sometimes they made Woobat infatuated with Attract, then attacked with Doubleslap.  DIAMOND briefly considered teaching Woobat Attract at Level 25, but his sources in intelligence told him all of Lenora's Pokemon were female.


Lenora's Herdier succumbed to two Air Cutters, and the second took advantage of the increased critical chance.  Herdier cast Leer to lower Woobat's Defense before dying, and it was clear a single hit from Watchog's Retaliate would have struck her down.  In desperation DIAMOND ordered Woobat to strike with Heart Stamp in hopes of making Watchog flinch.  Watchog's first move?  A failed Hypnosis!  Chesto Berry wasn't even necessary to win with two Air Cutters.  Watchog's final move was Leer, and Woobat's first Gym Leader battle was a perfect victory.


Maybe a lone Swoobat would have a chance. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Pokemon White Solo Swoobat Part 2:  Outrunning the Level Treadmill


DIAMOND was wondering what Team Plasma was thinking in their Nacrene City Museum robbery.  They trapped themselves in Pinwheel Forest, believed everyone was jealous of their imitation Templar armor, and were weaker than the route trainers in spite of having a type advantage.  Woobat should have feared Dark types.  Instead she Air Slashed assorted Purrloins and Sandiles in two.


Assurance was still useful throughout this episode, and hit enemy Psychics in Pinwheel Forest such as Munna and Woobat for super effective damage.


Castelia City was a treasure hoard for Woobat, now named ROUGE.  She beat up the trainers in the Battle Company building and replaced Heart Stamp with Calm Mind.  Any attack stat boosting move is great for no item solos, and added Special Defense is a nice bonus.  Eviolite was available in a northern building, and this defensive item for unevolved monsters made Burgh a formality rather than a serious opponent.


Woobat's secondary Flying typing prevented Bug moves from being super effective.  A Calm Mind against Whirlipede gave Burgh just enough time to attack with Pursuit before the entire enemy team collapsed in one hit each.  Confusion felled Whirlipede and Dwebble, while Air Cutter sliced Leavanny for 4 times normal damage.  ROUGE got the 3rd badge with 72/82 HP at Level 30.


Bianca in the gate north of Castelia City was a flawless victory, in spite of her receiving opportunities to attack.  Herdier had such a lower level that DIAMOND thought Calm Mind wasn't necessary at first.  It took an Air Cutter and three Confusions to kill as Bianca kept feeding Herdier Super Potions.  Herdier's one move was the pointless Odor Sleuth.  Dewott set up Water Sport and Focus Energy as two Calm Mind powered Confusions debilitated it.  Pansear died to Confusion, and Air Cutter bisected Munna.


Reaching Level 31 in the Bianca battle caused Woobat to evolve into Swoobat!  After having such trouble with Budew's happiness evolution in Pearl I was surprised to see Woobat reach its final form just after the 3rd badge.  Swoobat's new power comes at the cost of losing Eviolite defenses, but DIAMOND will find out how much that matters in the Electric Gym. . .


Route 4's perpetual Sandstorm was more threatening than anything Cheren could send at ROUGE.  Confusion was too much for Pidove's bird brain.  Pansage barely survived Confusion, only to succumb to Sandstorm at the end of the turn.  At least it managed to Bite ROUGE for some double damage.  Air Cutter sawed Liepard, and Confusion confounded Pignite.  ROUGE won with 61/92 HP at Level 31.


Route 4's other trainers were about as easy as Cheren, though they were worth fighting.  After beating up some Basculins, ROUGE grew to Level 32 and replaced the 55 power Air Cutter with the 75 power Air Slash.  Air Slash is the best special Flying attack a Swoobat can have.  With that and Calm Mind, ROUGE has half her final moveset already.  Psychic will overwrite Confusion at Level 41.  Shadow Ball will replace Assurance, but that doesn't come until the Team Plasma gauntlet in Relic Castle after the 7th badge.


ROUGE is currently in Nimbasa City, ready to stare down N and Elesa.