Remember how I said I'd be posting a bit earlier? Real life said no, so a somewhat long wait time is probably here to stay for a while. I'll be somewhat busy with exam prep in the interim unfortunately, so that's why.
Anyway, a
poll in this thread is up - vote on it with your preference on how you'd like to see the assist compendium! That being said. The last door unlocked Tyranitar's door in the present, so if that's the last one you missed, this is your out. But if you've got any more left, keep treading forth, brave soul into the veritable voltaic vendetta I have against this place (or at least a quarter of it).
Thunder Temple: The fourth circle of hell
....how many circles of hell are there, anyway? Might as well be a sphere while we're at it.
Map legend is the same as the previous post.
Mission 15: Are you for Riolu?
Objective: Capture 2 Riolu.
Boss: Lucario
Map:
Stage variations:
- Voltorb can be replaced by Snubbull, or Natu in the mini chambers.
- Pachirisu can be replaced by Baltoy or Electrike.
- Granbull can be replaced by Bronzong.
- Electrode can be replaced by Xatu.
- Jolteon can occasionally appear in the top-center room, in the area before the teleporter.
- The stage can occasionally be horizontally mirrored.
Stage notes: (if some of these aren't reflected in the map, I was either lazy or forgot)
All Electrode, Pachirisu, Baltoy, Natu will fire projectiles at you on sight.
All Voltorb, Granbull, Bronzong will chase you on sight.
This mission slightly scales down the labyrinths you might be used to, but the map size itself still is pretty hefty. However, randomization makes a pretty major return here. You'll have to be good at recognizing patterns to know which route to take. You need to capture two Riolu hidden in the stage, and like Blaziken's mission (how long ago was that? Ah, glorious days) you'll have to step on a switch to reveal the Pokemon hidden below. Some of the ones you'll encounter in this stage won't be very easy to avoid! Unlike in Blaziken's mission, this time multiple Pokemon can be concealed under the same switch, and they will almost always chase or launch projectiles at you. Styler energy is a concern here surprisingly, because if you get hit by too many attacks here, the boss is going to sting even more, leading to a possible game over.
Something novel this stage reminds me of is the Perplexahedron from Ben 10 Alien Force; it was essentially a cube-shaped labyrinth where the only cue to knowing your path forward was identifying which chambers had guards, defeating them and moving on - because the guards would only block chambers en route to the final one and not dead ends. It's the same setup here; Lucario is the pharaoh of a lost era with guards commemorating his status, and the guards are Bronzong and Granbull. Perhaps there's some significance these two have to ancient Egypt? Or there's another reference at play that I'm not quite getting. Anyway, moving on.
If you see any chamber guarded by either a Granbull or Bronzong, that has one Riolu. Each Riolu chamber is also diametrically opposite - so lets say your first Riolu chamber was top-left. Then you know the second one will be bottom-right. If you did not see a Riolu in the top-left chamber, that means you'll find them at bottom-left and top-right.
Always check the top-left chamber first, and don't activate any switches unless you actively want the Pokemon they conceal.
If the top-left chamber has a Riolu:
Enter that chamber, capturing that Riolu. Then head to the bottom-middle chamber, grabbing the two time powerups. Then, head to the
bottom-right chamber to grab your final Riolu. Before you head back to the red teleporter, hug the right edge of the map to get a time powerup, head to the top-right chamber to grab another time powerup, then back to the red teleporter when ready.
If the top-left chamber does not have a Riolu:
You should still enter it and check if there's a time powerup (there should be, unless my notes here are wrong - if it's not here it'll be in the top-right chamber). Grab it and head back. Hug the left edge of the map as you head down. Grab the time powerup (which will be here instead of the right edge if you're experiencing this), and head to the
bottom-left chamber, getting the Riolu there. Head to the bottom-middle chamber, grabbing the two time powerups.. Then, head to the
top-right chamber to grab your final Riolu and then the red teleporter when ready.
After you're done with the Riolu - who put up a surprising struggle for an unevolved Pokemon (awarding you with 11 AP? wild stuff), the red teleporter beckons. If you're lucky, Delibird can spawn in one of these rooms (I found it in the same room as one of the Riolu - bottom left if it does spawn) and it gives you a bonkers 60 AP upon capture! That being said, with the guards out of the way, it's time to raid a tomb! Or well, whatever Lucario's guarding here.
Attacks:
! : Lucario launches a heavy (Mega) punch in the direction it's facing. It is impossible to draw a loop around this.
!!: Lucario uses ExtremeSpeed and charges off (or to the edge of) the screen with a blue aura surrounding it. It will return to the screen in a few seconds. It is nearly impossible to draw a loop around this.
!!! : Lucario charges for about half a second and launches 4 Aura Spheres clustered together in an area near it. These spheres linger for about 6 seconds. It is easy to draw a loop around this.
!!!! : This attack is only used after agitation. Lucario may appear to stand still in a spot for a few seconds, and then will run off the screen in the direction it's facing (but not as fast as !!), all the while throwing punches (possibly Close Combat?). It will return in the same direction it came in about a second, still throwing the volley of punches, stopping when it goes a bit past the center of the screen. It might be possible to draw a loop around this but I have not been able to so far.
Lucario is notable for one reason - it's the first boss to get agitated TWICE. Once at 50% HP, the other at 99%. The latter one can be an especially nasty surprise if you're low on time and hope to wrap up the capture. Once again, Piplup's slowing assist is just so wonderful here. However, Lucario is still very much a pain to capture. For one, if he spams Extremespeed you will be hard pressed to draw loops unless your hand is particularly agile.
Partner choice:
Since Lucario's a Fighting type, you might consider using Psychic assists with a slowing effect, like Girafarig. However you need to be pretty careful with the aim, because even at the max level you won't deal that much damage unless Lucario moves across the places in range of the assist. It's really not worth the hassle. You can consider Xatu from this stage as well, but the pausing effect can be hard to time just right, since Lucario's attacks have a somewhat quick execution time. Now, Chingling certainly does exist, being the cheapest partner to max out, and Lucario can be positioned to the point where you can use this assist somewhat well. Still, do not use Chingling here unless you're absolutely certain you can estimate Lucario's patterns because its damage output is pitiful, forcing you to rely on loops a bit more heavily. The double agitation will need you to position it very carefully, each time.
Remember how I talked so much about Froslass last mission? Yeah, unfortunately despite the heavy potency of its slowing, I don't recommend it here. Lucario is just that agile and turns often, so you don't want to be in one place for very long or you're at risk of being hit by a stray attack. Furthermore, you'll still likely not have enough AP to max out Froslass, making it a less useful than Piplup (this Pokemon's really worth its weight in gold, huh?) who you're likely to be at at least 4/4/4 or something close by. As well, none of the Flying assists are particularly good because of their lack of secondary effect, and Lucario is unlikely to be hit by too many air blades due to its agility. As such, you're best off sticking with neutral assists. Where are all the Fairy types when we need them? Now, the problem you might notice is that Piplup's damage output starts to fall off a bit here. However, this is where its second wind comes into play - a 5/5/5 Piplup, expensive though it might be, will still be cheaper than many other max out costs, giving you some pretty reliable slowing. Lucario is agile, so don't count on too many assists hitting it, unless you're adept enough to catch it as soon as you see a !!! - because that's the only opening you'll get. My first S-rank clear was with Piplup, but any slowing effect will probably go a long way here.
How easy to clear?:
This mission will be a struggle to clear early on. However, I do urge returning to it to try and S-rank (doable at some point when I was ~85 power) because Lucario's damage output as an assist is worth it. The biggest tip to S-ranking this? Keep the map available for easy reference, and repeat the mission a few times to get a handle on typical Pokemon patterns. Exploit Lucario's !!! - because it often leads the battle off with that, and you can chain a lot of loops during it. Even when Lucario uses !, you can go back to looping nearly instantly because of how quick the attack is launched. Overwhelming Lucario without letting up is a good way to rank well. As long as you don't get unlucky with Lucario spamming Extremespeed or Close Combat too often, it is doable.
Slates awarded per rank: (rarer drops are in
italics)
S: Grotle /
Lucario
A: Riolu
Slate spotlights:
- Lucario's slate is quite the enigma, partly because it plays very differently compared to all other Fighting type assists. But why is this assist worth it at all? Well, that's because Lucario deals quite hefty damage and inflicts a slowing effect by launching a barrage of aura blasts in the direction it's facing. If the foe's rendered immobile for a few seconds, you can absolutely wreck it. Yet, there's a reason this assist is #3 on my list and not higher; Lucario's slowing, even at the max level wears off in a couple of seconds unlike Piplup/Froslass, where you could actively rely on the effect being around for quite a while. Despite Lucario's tendency to stay on the field for quite a while with only medium range, Fighting's great offensive typing coupled with how many aura spheres Lucario launches at a max level let it inflict dizzying amounts of damage, and sometimes even a few seconds of slowness can be what you need to swing a capture in your favor. Definitely worth the effort to get this slate in my eyes.
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Mission 16: Pikachu Pursuit!
Objective: Capture 5 Pikachu.
Boss: Metagross
Map:
The maroon blocks in this stage represent areas that I recommend you lure the Pikachu towards (with a clockwise path), where they can be easily caught. They do not have any identifying details in the game.
Large maps abound! What is this layout lmao
Stage variations:
- Rampardos can be replaced by Luxray.
- Baltoy can be replaced by Pachirisu or Natu.
- Cranidos can be replaced by Snubbull (in the diagonal pathways)
- Hippowdown can be replaced by Luxray/Cranidos/Rampardos (in the Pikachu chamber)
- Luxio can occasionally show up in some chambers if Luxray appears in them.
- Staravia can be replaced by Luxio.
- The final room's first tile switch might sometimes be found near the northmost time powerup instead of the northeast position displayed on the map.
Anyway, while we're making TV references in here, this mission is an apt demonstration of something iconic to Jojo's Bizarre Adventure; the Joestar secret technique. There are plenty of Rampardos around here, and they will chase you without mercy. Without the speed powerup you find along the way, you're going to be very, very hard pressed to avoid them. What's that, you didn't see a Rampardos? Out of the frying pan and into the fire, you saw Luxray instead, who is as bad, if not worse to capture :D
This does bring up an interesting point about assist types. Given the varied types of the Pokemon in this mission, you might notice how type effectiveness works differently in this game. Resisted (includes immunities) attacks deal 0.5x damage as you'd expect, but super effective attacks only deal 1.5x damage. As a result, type matchups while important, can somewhat be overcome if a disadvantaged assist has other tools at its disposal. This is part of how my #1 ranked assist has a surprising niche that'll be described later!
Miniboss spotlights:
Both minibosses features here have behaviors similar or identical to prior minibosses, but their details will still be listed here for ease of access.
Luxray's attacks are identical to Ampharos'. It
does not get agitated. (remember what I said during that mission?)
!: Luxray generates a lot of sparks around itself for around 4-5 seconds. It is difficult to draw a loop around this.
!!: Luxray charges for a second and looses thunderbolts at random areas on the screen for ~2.5 seconds. It is possible to draw a loop around this, but you'll need to get lucky here - no amount of skill will help.
!!!: Luxray summons an electric orb around it at a short distance that moves along with it, staying for quite a while before disappearing. It is difficult to draw a loop around this.
Rampardos' attacks are almost identical to Bastiodon's, however it uses Rock Slide for ! and Headbutt for !! and !!!. It
gets agitated around 60% HP.
!: Rampardos uses Rock Slide, which drops rocks at random areas on the screen. Each rock is roughly 0.4 seconds apart and breaks apart upon hitting the ground. This attack drops about 8 rocks on average. You need to get very lucky with rock positions to draw a loop around this.
!!: Rampardos launches a Headbutt in the direction it's facing.
!!!: Rampardos launches a Headbutt in the direction it's facing.
Both of these Pokemon are going to chase you with a ferocity never seen before, and you'll be hard-pressed to avoid them even with the speed powerup. Fortunately it's en route, because trying to navigate around them without it seems nigh impossible.
This mission is to me, the gold standard of the past. It's got a healthy dose of fun and difficulty while all the time not being overbearing. First off, the layout is absolutely hilarous. You walk up an eerily long diagonal pathway (which has not been seen before), and are greeted with a warm Rampardos/Luxray hug (which is very difficult if not impossible to dodge). After that's done, you move on to the next room which is also another diagonal pathway, but with 4 (why are there 4 of these? they don't stack lol) speed powerups. Presumably this was a multiplayer feature, because all 4 will always have 4 randomized field move icons on them, but it doesn't matter for the context of a solo run. Just crack one open and head forth - to encounter THREE Rampardos/Luxray along the way. But now you've got the speed to just barely squeak past all three of them and head to the end teleporter. Now, you're taken to another room which is ALSO a diagonal pathway (this adds to the charm). Grab the time extensions you need, heading to the teleporter at the end.
Now, you're taken to a massive chamber, but be careful of your surroundings.
The goal this time is to capture 5 Pikachu. All of them will run away from you, like you might remember from the Vulpix mission. Fortunately, these 5 are the only Pikachu that appear in the stage so you don't need to pay attention to whether or not it's frightened. That being said, they're surprisingly agile and make for the second hardest chase in all of the missions, even with a speed powerup. (the first is not going to be seen for a while). As such, you're best off referring to the map and using the locations marked in maroon to aim the Pikachu towards, capturing them. The one I've had most success with was the south-east corner.
I have marked the spots on the map (in maroon squares) where it's easiest to lure the Pikachu into and catch, assuming you move clockwise, so referring to it helps. When aiming to catch Pikachu from the south-east corner, hug the wall on your left. It might look like Pikachu veers to the right and escapes you, but you will, almost definitely be forced into an encounter with one. As well, be careful about how you chase them because
your post-capture invincibility can render you unable to initiate battle with a Pikachu, so make sure it's worn off before moving, otherwise you might have to chase it around for another lap!
After you have all five Pikachu, head to the teleporter and you'll enter a chamber that seems eerily familiar, especially if you've played the next mission. Dodge the Rampardos/Luxray near the entrance and
head clockwise as much as you can. This is a longer route yes, but it's the only reliable way to avoid the patrolling Skarmory. The Skarmory here are quite difficult to capture...which is why they get an imprompt miniboss segment! Four of them are here, and they all have a set path to move around the outer circle here, so even if you capture one, you might just be caught by another. They've quite a bit of HP for this point in the game, and being forced into even one Skarmory capture will make that coveted S rank here very difficult.
Miniboss spotlights part 2:
Skarmory: (does not get agitated)
!: Skarmory launches 5 whirlwinds in the direction it's facing that travel to the edge of the screen. This attack has very little delay between being telegraphed and actually being used.
!!: Same attack as above but it's 3 whirlwinds insted of 5.
!!!: Skarmory launches a single tornado that moves slowly in the direction it's facing. This tornado increases in size the further away it moves from Skarmory. This attack will linger on the field for about 5 seconds, and will nearly travel to the edge of the screen.
These aren't very easy to beat. Even if you entered this stage with a Fire assist, Skarmory is surprisingly nimble and can just move out of the way of your assists. The real terror is !!! - your styler's health can be whittled down really quickly if you aren't paying attention to it. As such, take the slower route and
don't go anti-clockwise to start off.
As you head clockwise, you'll find a 30 second time bonus and a tile switch. Get the time and activate the switch. If you're lucky, the switch will be at the north end of the stage, which means you can navigate back anti-clockwise with low risk of a Skarmory capture. But be careful, they've got deceptively large hitboxes, so don't be afraid to retreat back to a clockwise path! However, you might also find the tile switch at the north-east edge of the stage. Activate it and head back to the spot you saw earlier (on the west edge of this circle) where the tile switch opens up. Grab the powerups here that appeal to you, but be careful of the last rogue Luxray/Rampardos here that will still chase you, like all others. When you're ready, dive into the red eye of Metagross.
Anyway at this point you should ideally be at least level 34 (50 power) because this iron dude has a metric ton of HP. You'll be drawing loops for quite a while. Now unsurprisingly, being a pseudo legendary means Metagross' attacks hit with a lot of force, but by this point you'll have enough styler energy to withstand a few. Well, that's if you didn't get unlucky with the Skarmory.
Attacks:
! : Metagross launches a Hyper Beam in its line of sight, which has multiple variations (described below). It is impossible to draw a loop around this.
!! : Metagross uses a Stomping Tantrum in a small area around it. This attack is used once after the telegraph, and then again after about a second (and the first attack clears up). It is risky to draw a loop around this. After agitation, it is possible that Meta
!!! ? : Metagross unleashes a barrage of psychic spheres that travel outward in a spiral in 4 directions to the end of the screen. Not only is this seemingly impossible to draw a loop around, you probably shouldn't use your assists during this attack because the spheres will almost definitely strike your Pokemon given their range - but there do seem to be blind spots here if you want to be very thorough. After agitation, this attack can be used without telegraphing, and Metagross can use a Hyper Beam attack at the same time as it's using this attack. As a result,
you might see this attack being telegraphed as ! sometimes.
!!!!: Metagross uses a wide AoE Hyper Beam that quickly sweeps the screen in all directions. Why would you draw a loop around this?
After agitation, untelegraphed: Metagross hops around the stage a few times, covering decently large distance and launching powerful tremors all around it, essentially an upgraded version of !! (similar to Abomasnow but far stronger). It is impossible to draw a loop around this.
Like Empoleon, Metagross too varies its attacks quite a bit, but takes it up quite a notch - so you can't always predict what attack is coming your way. Aside from !!!! being the full-circle Hyper Beam, there are many variations it could use at any time for either ! or !!!. Unless otherwise specified, assume that the point of origin of these Hyper Beams is the direction Metagross is currently facing. (For brevity and because it sounds cooler, I'll call the Hyper Beams lasers for this segment.) The easiest way to imagine these attacks is to think of Metagross at the center of a circle, and each attack covers variable arcs through that circle. That being said, it does not seem to employ partner tracking for any attack. Regardless, what I've seen so far are:
3 lasers that don't move.
2 lasers that don't move (that are launched in between the the 3 above if both attacks were fired simultaneously).
1 laser that circles the field at medium speed.
1 laser that scopes a quarter-circle at fast speed.
1 laser that scopes a half-circle at fast speed.
1 laser that doesn't move
The pattens below were observed only after agitation, but it is possible Metagross could use some before agitation.
1 laser that circles the field at fast speed.
1 laser that scopes a third-circle across the field at slow speed.
4 lasers in a cross shape that don't move. Not affected by the direction Metagross faces.
4 lasers in a cross shape that converge into two beams at slow speed.
How easy to clear?:
This is one of the easier S ranks, especially if you can get the Pikachu chasing down pat. It's not particularly hard, though you might lose time in getting them to circle just right, or getting caught in one too many Rampardos/Luxray captures. On your first attempt, you will likely end up with a high B/low A, but even as early as your second or third attempt you're able to snag that coveted S rank - time's generous here. The Rampardos variant does seem a tad bit easier to S-rank, mainly if you're still using Piplup because the positive type matchup is certainly helpful.
Partner choice:
While you might consider that a Fire type is great, you might want to focus on the long range assists (like Flareon), and not close range like Typhlosion because it in particular tends to stay on the field for a while, increasing the chance it gets hit by a stray laser (which remember, can sweep the screen). But yet, Piplup is once again a great pick because being able to slow Metagross reduces its speed to the point you can spam loops like no tomorrow. The slowing effect is also notable because while Metagross isn't particularly fast, it's fast enough to the point you can't chain loops as easily as you might like. The only time (for any Pokemon) you need to wait is when it uses the psychic sphere barrage. Otherwise, launch your assist immediately after Metagross uses its laser attack, to see which type it is. If it's using !!, place your assist a decent distance behind and let chaos unfold. Like Blaziken, this is actually somewhat of a fun mission which you could use to grind quite an amount of AP. While not the 'optimal' mission to do this in per se, it's still perfectly fine to do so, and there are a reasonable assortment of slates to collect in here.
Lastly, I'm going to recommend you avoid Fighting type assists, particularly the pausing ones (Hariyama and co). This is in large part because after agitation, Metagross' attacks become much harder to predict until it actually launches them, given the variation. Some attacks may not even be telegraphed well, and given the range requirement for Fighting assists, they're very liable to getting sniped by an attack. As such, they're inconsistent. What about Lucario, you might ask? Avoid it for this stage if you can; like the others it lingers on the field for quite a while. However, choosing to use it does have a good return cost. If you can place it down as soon as Metagross launches a slow laser, it can inflict massive damage.
Slates awarded per rank: (rarer drops are in
italics)
S: Pikachu
/ Metagross
A: Noctowl
Slate spotlights:
- Staraptor is arguably the rarest slate here (because you can get it from a Staravia drop 2% of the time, and only 2 Staravia can be found in this stage, near the end), and despite that, this stage will likely be your most fun/reliable bet at getting one. As expected, I have gotten exactly one slate to drop from Staravia in all my times replaying this mission, and it was Staravia itself. While you can technically encounter Staraptor in the next mission, there are many reasons you might not want to play through it again.
- Do not use Metagross. Genuninely, using it feels like it's an occupational hazard. Like, I adore the mon but it is atrocious and terrible in here. Even if you max it out to 5/5/5, it is a Normal type assist (why) and its beam does not have the best horizontal range, even if its damage seems respectable. It's all too easy for an opponent to just walk out of its range. Somehow its stats are better than Porygon-Z who shares the same assist type, and who you get in a later mission, but that doesn't say much. If you do want a Normal assist, consider ones like Glameow who can inflict a secondary effect to make up for the lack of super effective coverage.
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The next post features what many of you might have been waiting for (and warning me about in prior posts); possibly the most dreaded mission of them all! But it's not alone, because the other mission it tags along with has some surprising merits of its own that make it worth many, many repeat playthroughs. Wonder what those might be? Stay tuned to find out!
