Challenge [Complete] All Levels at Once in Platinum

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The End

As promised, here’s one last post. It took a few days to get this ready because there was a lot I wanted to write, but I really wanted to get this done before September is over.

And we have finally reached page 2, yay!

To start with, I want to talk a little about Platinum in general. As a game, I like it a lot. It is not just a good game, but a great game! However, I don’t think it is the best game in the series. If I were to rank the main series games, Platinum would not even be in my top 5. There aren’t many things I downright dislike about Platinum, but at the same time, I can’t think of a single thing it does that isn’t done better by another Pokémon game. Basically, the reason I don’t rank Platinum higher isn’t because of the things it doesn’t do well, but rather because of the things it doesn’t do better. In general, I consider Platinum to be a jack of all trades, master of none.

I hate to be negative, especially towards something I like, but there were a few things I found annoying and frustrating when I played Platinum now, and I want to share some short thoughts on these things.

- Scrolling in the bag is slow and inconvenient, and there’s no way to instantly skip down to the bottom (which is where the last used item gets sent to). This was the reason I wanted to get rid of as many useless items as possible. In comparison, I think the bag in HG/SS is better. I’m not the biggest fan of the interface in HG/SS, but I think the bag menu is one of the things they do better than D/P/P. I think Gen 5 has the best bag menu in the series, while Gen 6 and 7 are very good too.
- One feature I really miss from the newer generations is the “move item” option on the Pokémon menu, it would have made things a lot easier when I moved around the Lucky Egg between party members.
- “Saving a lot of data” happening every single time you catch a new Pokémon or do any changes in the PC boxes. This gets pretty annoying after a while, and I found that it discouraged me from withdrawing Pokémon from the PC (notably HM slaves).
- The Vs. Seeker is good for training, but it isn’t perfect. It is really annoying when you have to use it several times in a row just to get a rematch, especially in areas where your movement is limited or hindered. When it comes to training spots, I prefer the simpler approach of “walk up to trainer, talk to them, battle starts” such as the Secret Bases, Nimbasa Stadiums and the Battle Chateau.
- I have mentioned this before, but I really wish Platinum/Gen 4 had infinite TMs. That would have made it a lot easier to train several of the Pokémon I used now, since I could have given them better movesets. But on the positive side, you can at least obtain some of the best TMs indefinitely, notably Ice Beam/Thunderbolt/Flamethrower/Return.
- However, that brings me to another annoyance. In the PAL version of Platinum, the Game Corner has been changed so you can’t play the slots, only find/buy coins. This creates a completely unnecessary extra step since it means that you must first use regular money to buy coins, then exchange these coins for TMs. It would have been a lot more convenient if you could just buy the TMs with regular money directly, without having to go through the extra hassle of getting coins first. I’m guessing this change was done pretty late in the localization and that they didn’t really think it through. But at least you can buy coins, unlike a certain other Gen 4 game pair.
- I like using Shards as payment for MT moves, and I definitely prefer it over the very heavy BP requirements in HG/SS, but finding Shards can take time if you need a lot of them. I wish they were as easy to farm as in B2/W2.

But even with all these annoyances, I still like Platinum a lot. It is easily my favorite game from Gen 4, and my favorite Sinnoh/Hisui game.

Next, I want to share some gameplay tips. To start with, here’s a great video I found on how to easily farm Star Pieces, which you can then exchange for Shards:


The respawning Star Pieces on Iron Island is something I wish I had known about earlier, but at the same time, I’m glad I learned about it now. I went to Iron Island to make use of the respawning Star Pieces a few times during the challenge, and from my experience, you don’t really need to change the clock (unless you need to obtain a lot of Shards very quickly). Just going there every day or once every few days was enough for me.

There’s also the mystery surrounding the Rival and how to increase his levels. Which has been solved! Just a few days ago, this video was uploaded, which explains everything:


Basically, the Rival battle where his team is in their 70s is programmed into the game, but it isn’t accessible through normal means, while the battle where his team is in their 80s is unlocked after you beat the E4 20 times. In other words, both Serebii and Bulbapedia has been wrong about this for who knows how long. But now we finally have the answer. It would have been cool to unlock the final Rival battle, but I don’t think I’ll ever beat the E4 a total of 20 times on either of my Platinum files.

Since I have trained so many Pokémon for the challenge, I want to talk about some of the best training spots in the game. Obviously, the first step for training in the post-game is the Battleground, since it gives you 2-4 high-leveled trainers to fight every day. There are also the Rival rematches on weekends (with higher levels if you beat the E4 20 times, as shown above). The Elite Four in itself gives a lot of training during rematches, but due to their high levels, it more or less requires you to have a Pokémon/team at level 80 or above in order to win without too many issues. Then there’s the daily trainers in Pokémon Centers. I recommend going for Roxy/Oli, Kinsey/Tevin and Lee to start with (since they give the most Exp), but Grace, Ariel and Arturo can also be battled for some more (but less) free Exp.

Lastly, there’s the Vs. seeker. I have put together some of the best training spots that I used when I played now. Info is taken from Dragonflycave, with some changes and additions by me.
1. Ace Trainer Dennis, Ace Trainer Maya

Location: Route 215, just west of Veilstone City. They will be the first two trainers you see after you leave Veilstone City.
Number of Pokémon: 6
Levels: 59-61

Pokémon:
Dennis: Gliscor lv. 61 (2509 EXP), Floatzel lv. 61 (2326 EXP), Drifblim lv. 59 (2578 EXP)
Maya: Roserade lv. 59 (2578 EXP), Gardevoir lv. 61 (2718 EXP), Lickilicky lv. 61 (2521 EXP)

Total EXP: 15230

Notes: There is constant rain on this Route, so Fire-types are at a high disadvantage, while Water-types are at an advantage. Dennis’ Floatzel also has Swift Swim, making it extremely fast. From my experience, those two can be quite tough to beat since their Pokémon are strong and have good moves, but if you can beat them without problems, they will give you a lot of Exp.

2. Bird Keeper Audrey, Pokémon Ranger Ashlee, Psychic Daisy

Location: Route 225, just north of Fight Area. They will be the first three trainers you see as you walk north from Fight Area.
Number of Pokémon: 8
Levels: 57-62

Pokémon:
Audrey: Farfetch'd lv. 57 (1147 EXP), Swellow lv. 59 (2047 EXP), Pidgeot lv. 61 (2247 EXP)
Ashlee: Linoone lv. 60 (1645 EXP), Butterfree lv. 60 (2056 EXP), Arbok lv. 60 (1890 EXP)
Daisy: Slowbro lv. 58 (2037 EXP), Slowking lv. 62 (2178 EXP)

Total EXP: 15247

Notes: Technically gives a bit more total experience than Dennis and Maya (17 points unboosted!), but it's spread across eight Pokémon instead of six and three trainers instead of two, making it both take a longer time to battle them and less likely that you'll get all of them in one use of the Vs. Seeker. From my experience, these three are generally easier to beat than Dennis and Maya, but it all depends on what you are training.

3. Rancher "Best EXP in the Game" Marco

Location: Route 210, above Solaceon Town. If you go north from the town, he'll be the first trainer you see in the extra-tall grass on the left.

Pokémon: Ponyta lv. 56 (1824 EXP), Miltank lv. 57 (2442 EXP), Tauros lv. 57 (2577 EXP, 1 ATK), Rapidash lv. 58 (2385 EXP)

Total EXP: 9228

Notes: The single trainer in the game which gives the most Exp. Pretty good if you are training something that can take on Normal- and Fire-types. Note that his Tauros has Intimidate, so Physical attackers are at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, there are no other high-level trainers near him, making this less useful as a training spot.

4. Hiker Theodore

Location: Route 206, under Cycling Road. From Oreburgh City, go up to Route 207, up the mudslide on the right using your bike, and then on north. When you get to Route 206, you'll have two sets of stairs to go down before you get to Cycling Road; instead of going down both, only go down the first stairs and then go right, where your path will be blocked by a couple of Cuttable trees. Cut them and then continue on straight up, through the sparse grass on the way, over the bridge and through the grass on the other side, and you'll find Theodore standing near some rocks and a tree when you're well on your way towards Wayward Cave.

Pokémon: Camerupt lv. 56 (2100 EXP), Steelix lv. 59 (2478 EXP), Donphan lv. 59 (2389 EXP)

Total EXP: 6967

Notes: A very good training spot for Water-types, especially weak ones that struggle to beat Pokémon from types they don't have a clear advantage over (such as Lumineon or Corsola). Unfortunately, this trainer is a hassle to reach, and there are no other strong trainers close to him either.
There are others as well, but these are the very best from my experiences.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about the challenge in itself. First, some statistics. Here are all the Pokémon I obtained, ordered by level:
:Chimchar: Minieldapa, Level 1 (Charcoal)
:Bidoof: Majava, Level 2 (Quick Claw)
:Starly: Lee Starr, Level 3 (Scope Lens)
:Shinx: Gaupe, Level 4 (Zap Plate)
:Zubat: Baiat, Level 5 (Lax Incense)
:Seedot: Corna, Level 6 (Big Root)
:Psyduck: Quack, Level 7 (Mystic Water)
:Machop: Styrkur, Level 8 (Fist Plate)
:Shellos: Zlug, Level 9 (Sea Incense)
:Buizel: Hina, Level 10 (Wave Incense)
:Buneary: Rabbitears, Level 11 (Shed Shell)
:Silcoon: No So Lic, Level 12 (Insect Plate)
:Dustox: Le Pwurm, Level 13 (Poison Barb)
:Chingling: Kengele, Level 14 (Odd Incense)
:Meditite: Animus, Level 15 (Mental Herb)
:Gligar: Escorpio, Level 16 (Earth Plate)
:Ponyta: Sunset, Level 17 (Flame Plate)
:Budew: June, Level 18 (Meadow Plate)
:Roselia: Flow, Level 19 (Black Sludge)
:Lickitung: Jack, Level 20 (Lagging Tail)
:Rhyhorn: Nose Horn, Level 21 (Earth Plate)
:Staravia: Avya Starr, Level 22 (Sky Plate)
:Houndour: Dogge Doge, Level 23 (BlackGlasses)
:Quagsire: Mr. Fishy, Level 24 (Soft Sand)
:Wingull: Galeb, Level 25 (Light Clay)
:Unown-T: Timeless, Level 26 (Iron Ball)
:Swablu: Fluffify, Level 27 (Sky Plate)
:Bibarel: Majava-2, Level 28 (Pure Incense)
:Seviper: Repives, Level 29 (Cleanse Tag)
:Floatzel: Big Hina, Level 30 (Destiny Knot)
:Magnemite: Mike, Level 31 (Magnet)
:Delibird: Santa Cool, Level 32 (NeverMeltIce)
:Sneasel: Weavler, Level 33 (Grip Claw)
:Swinub: Sikacochon, Level 34 (Icicle Plate)
:Snover: Enjunju, Level 35 (NeverMeltIce)
:Wailmer: Whalemore, Level 36 (Full Incense)
:Mantyke: Mantini, Level 37 (Oval Stone)
:Chatot: Parrot Top, Level 38 (Sticky Barb)
:Golduck: Cataquack, Level 39 (Dusk Stone)
:Abomasnow: Snowblind, Level 40 (Rose Incense)
:Electabuzz: Wacke, Level 41 (Electirizer)
:Graveler: Microdeval, Level 42 (Everstone)
:Rhydon: Rhi-no, Level 43 (Protector)
:Golbat: Guldbat, Level 44 (Everstone)
:Pelipper: Pelly Khan, Level 45 (Rock Incense)
:Sealeo: Nardo, Level 46 (Hard Stone)
:Tentacruel: Ultra Bleh, Level 47 (Dusk Stone)
:Pinsir: Hjortebill, Level 48 (SilverPowder)
:Fearow: Birb, Level 49 (Razor Claw)
:Machoke: Echo-Mak, Level 50 (Protector)
:Dugtrio: Digneton, Level 51 (Dusk Stone)
:Cacturne: Sagu Aro, Level 52 (Miracle Seed)
:Camerupt: Plumerupt, Level 53 (Rawst Berry)
:Koffing: Poimog, Level 54 (Magmarizer)
:Magcargo: Lava Snale, Level 55 (Stone Plate)
:Illumise: Light-Down, Level 56 (Odd Keystone)
:Pidgeot: Pi D. Geot, Level 57 (Odd Keystone)
:Kingler: Edgepawn, Level 58 (Dubious Disc)
:Hariyama: Fightbag, Level 59 (Flame Orb)
:Victreebel: 2Leaf, Level 60 (Dread Plate)
:Whiscash: Cashwish, Level 61 (Dubious Disc)
:Mothim: Toast, Level 62 (Exp. Share)
:Drifblim: Break It, Level 63 (Spell Tag)
:Ledian: Key Maid, Level 64 (Micle Berry)
:Snorlax: Lucky Lax, Level 65 (Leftovers)
:Ampharos: Aetherwake, Level 66 (Dawn Stone)
:Ludicolo: Loco, Level 67 (Dawn Stone)
:Swellow: Liftoff, Level 68 (Everstone)
:Gliscor: Violette, Level 69 (Everstone)
:Starmie: Stairs, Level 70 (Choice Specs)
:Roserade: Blossom, Level 71 (Spooky Plate)
:Garchomp: Cave Shark, Level 72 (Dragon Fang)
:Weavile: Vyx, Level 73 (Grip Claw)
:Magnezone: Industrial, Level 74 (Metal Coat)
:Staraptor: Apto Starr, Level 75 (Life Orb)
:Corsola: Scarlette, Level 76 (Hard Stone)
:Dodrio: Threehead, Level 77 (Reaper Cloth)
:Granbull: Snowball, Level 78 (Dusk Stone)
:Hitmonchan: Middle Mac, Level 79 (Reaper Cloth)
:Grumpig: Neuf, Level 80 (Wise Glasses)
:Raichu: Corachu, Level 81 (Light Ball)
:Magikarp: Fishplash, Level 82 (Splash Plate)
:Xatu: Utan Xatu, Level 83 (Up-Grade)
:Hitmonlee: Scuffle, Level 84 (Up-Grade)
:Glalie: Jack Frost, Level 85 (Up-Grade)
:Gastrodon-East: S.L.U.G., Level 86 (Hard Stone)
:Linoone: Zigzagzug, Level 87 (Shell Bell)
:Ninetales: Nein Tails, Level 88 (Rawst Berry)
:Steelix: Ironix, Level 89 (Iron Plate)
:Medicham: Psykick, Level 90 (Mind Plate)
:Primeape: Babian, Level 91 (Black Belt)
:Gyarados: Stargazer, Level 92 (Life Orb)
:Froslass: Snow Queen, Level 93 (Spell Tag)
:Togekiss: Jetblade, Level 94 (Soothe Bell)
:Lumineon: Neon Blue, Level 95 (Damp Rock)
:Volbeat: Mindlock, Level 96 (Expert Belt)
:Ninjask: Earthfly, Level 97 (Metal Coat)
:Altaria: Cloudsday, Level 98 (Luck Incense)
:Milotic: Essa, Level 99 (Leftovers)
:Zangoose: Axel, Level 100 (Focus Sash)
Then by species, in alphabetical order:
Abomasnow
Altaria
Ampharos
Bibarel
Bidoof
Budew
Buizel
Buneary
Cacturne
Camerupt
Chatot
Chimchar
Chingling
Corsola
Delibird
Dodrio
Drifblim
Dugtrio
Dustox
Electabuzz
Fearow
Floatzel
Froslass
Garchomp
Gastrodon-East
Glalie
Gligar
Gliscor
Golbat
Golduck
Granbull
Graveler
Grumpig
Gyarados
Hariyama
Hitmonchan
Hitmonlee
Houndour
Illumise
Kingler
Koffing
Ledian
Lickitung
Linoone
Ludicolo
Lumineon
Machoke
Machop
Magcargo
Magikarp
Magnemite
Magnezone
Mantyke
Medicham
Meditite
Milotic
Mothim
Ninetales
Ninjask
Pelipper
Pidgeot
Pinsir
Ponyta
Primeape
Psyduck
Quagsire
Raichu
Rhydon
Rhyhorn
Roselia
Roserade
Sealeo
Seedot
Seviper
Shellos-West
Shinx
Silcoon
Sneasel
Snorlax
Snover
Staraptor
Staravia
Starly
Starmie
Steelix
Swablu
Swellow
Swinub
Tentacruel
Togekiss
Unown-T
Victreebel
Volbeat
Wailmer
Weavile
Whiscash
Wingull
Xatu
Zangoose
Zubat
I also recorded a video showcasing all of them, including the emptiness of my bag. Feel free to watch it if you want to.


There were several Pokémon I considered training for the challenge, but that I ended up not using in the end. Here’s a list of all of them, ordered by Exp. Group.
Fast:
Ambipom
Azumarill
Banette
Blissey
Clefable
Lunatone
Mawile
Solrock
Spinda

Medium Fast:
Dewgong
Donphan
Eeveelutions
Hitmontop
Kangaskhan
Rapidash
Sandslash
Scyther
Ursaring
Yanmega

Medium Slow:
Absol
Luxray

Slow:
Houndoom
Manectric
Mamoswine
How hard was the challenge? In general, it wasn’t really hard, it was more about finding the best possible training spot for every Pokémon, so I could train as quickly and efficiently as possible. It was not easy for weaker Pokémon like Corsola, Ledian, Lumineon and Volbeat.

One rule I considered adding to make it harder was a “nuzlocke” rule, meaning that if a Pokémon fainted while I was training it, it wouldn’t be allowed to be trained any further. After fainting, it would either have to stay at the level it was at when it fainted, or be removed from the challenge altogether. This would definitely have made the challenge harder, but I’m glad I didn’t go with this rule since it would have forced me to play extremely defensively and carefully. Plus, it would just have taken a lot more time. Now, I often played very carelessly, leading to my Pokémon fainting a lot during the training. And this is just confirmation bias, but it really felt like my opponents got Critical Hits far more often than I did. Few things were more frustrating than one my Pokémon fainting or taking a ton of damage just because of an unexpected crit from an opponent.

Another rule I considered adding before I started was to have an equal number of Pokémon from every region/generation (which would have been 25 for each). This was something I scrapped before the challenge started. It would definitely have made it a bit more limited. Just for fun, I checked the statistics for the regions now that the challenge is done, and the result is this:

Kanto: 31
Johto: 14
Hoenn: 27
Sinnoh: 28

I had expected Sinnoh to come out on top, but Kanto is the winner! Sinnoh is at second place, while Hoenn is just one Pokémon behind. It is quite even between those three, while Johto is considerably lower, at around half of the others.

Something I realized when I was almost done with the challenge was that I could have made more use of the Day-Care. Not for breeding, but for training. I could have left two incompatible Pokémon there while I was running around and catching/training other Pokémon, getting some extra "free" training along the way. Since I walked over 200000 steps during the challenge (it is probably closer to 300000 in the end), this could have given me a lot of free training. But I didn’t do that, and I can’t change it now.

There were some things I noticed during the challenge. Exp. Groups really make a big difference when you get to the higher levels. It is crazy how little Exp. a Pokémon in the Erratic group needs to grow from level 90 to 100. I noticed this when I trained The Erratics, and I guess I should have seen it coming, but it was still really surprising. Another thing I noticed during the training is that set-up sweepers are really great, especially when battling trainers with many Pokémon, even more so if they have Pokémon from many different types. Setting up with Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, Nasty Plot or Tail Glow and then taking on a whole team is really neat.

The challenge ended at 16 parts just like my previous challenge, despite how different they were. This challenge was fun, but it took a ton of time, much more than I had expected. I really underestimated how long it would take with all the grinding. I was originally thinking that I would be able to complete everything at some point during the summer, but that didn’t happen. I’m really glad I didn’t set any limit regarding playtime or days, that would almost certainly have been a massive failure, and it would have made the challenge very stressful. My motivation wasn’t always super high either, which made some parts take a bit longer than they should have.

In the end, was it worth spending 127 hours spread over 108 days on this challenge? I’d say the answer is both yes and no. While I could have spent this time on other games and other things, it felt really good to finally get this whole idea out of my head. Now I won’t ever have to think about it again.

Will I do another challenge in the future? Maybe. If I can come up with something good, I might give it a spin, but I have no good ideas right now. I have thought about replaying Violet and doing some kind of challenge there, but I haven’t been able to come up with anything good. Or I might do a challenge on some other game. Maybe in another two years from now? Time will tell. If I make another challenge, I hope it won’t be something that takes as long as this one did.

The challenge is over, so what’s next for me? I have some more Pokémon projects in the works, seven in total. Not all of them will be posted here on the forums, but several. Mostly in the Battle Facilities subforum. I’m hoping to be done with some of these projects before Z-A is released, but I don’t think I’ll be able to complete all of them before then. In addition, I am not quite done with Platinum yet. Before I put it down, I’m going to do some minor things, notably train my old in-game team to level 85. I have already started a little, but it shouldn’t take long before it is done, I should be done in just a few days.

Apart from that, I’m going to play other games before starting on my next Pokémon-related project. I’m quite tired of Pokémon at the moment (especially after this challenge), and I have honestly been for quite a while, yet I somehow always end up going back to the series and starting on some new big project… I don’t know how or why, it just happens. But I feel that taking a break from the series now and then is all for the better. It also makes me appreciate the games more whenever I get back to them.

To those of you who followed this challenge, thank you! I hope you enjoyed it. Personally, I had a lot of fun with it, and I hope you had enjoyed reading and following my progress as well!

To end all of this, have some music. I have already used my two best “ending songs” in previous posts here on the forums, and I didn't want to use either of them again, so I wasn’t sure what to go with. But I thought it over and settled for Life Outside, which I think is a great and inspirational song. It is also quite suitable as an ending song.

 
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