Let's Play! Herman Gigglethorpe's Pokemon Solo Playthroughs

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.
 
Pokemon White Solo Swoobat Part 3: ROUGE Sometimes Regrets Having Evolved


DIAMOND couldn't believe N wanted to talk to him on the Ferris Wheel, but then he heard rumors of a similar occurrence involving Cloud and Barret. Swoobat Calmed her Mind against Sandile, who struck back with ROUGE's own Assurance. Every Air Slash and Confusion after that was a 1 hit knockout for ROUGE, from Sandile to Sigilyph. ROUGE won with 77/103 HP at Level 35.


DIAMOND was expecting Lenora to be the most difficult Gym Leader considering her role as the "Misty" of Unova: an evolved Pokemon with a powerful same type attack early in the game. But Elesa was actually the hardest so far. Emolga #1 Volt Switched to Emolga #2 as ROUGE meditated with Calm Mind. Confusion was enough to take out Emolga #2, but not Emolga #1, who drank a Hyper Potion before a critical Confusion sent it crashing to the ground. +2 Special Attack with Confusion was too weak to defeat Zebstrika, who used sound tactics for an AI. On the first turn, Zebstrika attacked and increased its Speed with Flame Charge. Then Zebstrika outran ROUGE and jolted her with a physical Spark.


DEATH COUNT: 5


Round 2 with Elesa went better with 3 Calm Minds, though ROUGE still came close to defeat when Emolga #2 hit her bad Defense with a super effective Pursuit before Volt Switching back to Emolga #1. Zebstrika went down to 1 Confusion with +3 Special Attack, and ROUGE triumphed at Level 36 with 38/106 HP.


Cheren to the west of Nimbasa City led with a Liepard that got a free Fake Out flinch. Not wanting to take any chances setting up in front of a Dark type, ROUGE Air Slashed Liepard. Pansage was Calm Mind bait, though it struck with a Bite before falling to Confusion. Pignite and Tranquill were equally vulnerable to Confusion, and ROUGE won at Level 38 with 87/111 HP.


DIAMOND's guilt at mugging Preschoolers at the beginning of the challenge vanished when Alder ordered him and Cheren to teach more 4-year-olds and their Herdiers the meaning of defeat. What seemed like bullying small children was actually a Unovan tradition.


Cold Storage's Team Plasma Grunts insisted that they were strong members of the group. It reminded DIAMOND of an earlier solo mission where each mole in a cave claimed to be the 3rd most powerful. The only damage ROUGE remembered at all was a guaranteed Fake Out from a Liepard. She was now Level 40, just one away from Psychic. Will ROUGE learn her best attack in time for Clay's Excadrill? It's not like she has any better moves for Steel types! (That's the curse of Flying solos in general. Remember CEDRIC the Noctowl and Jasmine?)
 
Pokemon White Solo Swoobat Part 4: Another Gym Leader Worth Discussing





ROUGE learned Psychic just in time for Clay in Driftveil City, but victory was not assured. Clay led with a Krokorok, and since it was part Dark DIAMOND ordered ROUGE to Air Slash it on the first turn. Excadrill the Steel/Ground mole came second, a monster so strong it was banned from the standard multiplayer tier on Smogon. Calm Mind + Psychic failed to whack Excadrill, even with Rocky Helmet recoil damage from the critical Slash on the first turn! Rock Slide buried ROUGE, and DIAMOND had to come up with better tactics for Take 2.





DEATH COUNT: 6





Take 2 went better than either DIAMOND or ROUGE could have expected. Swoobat meditated with Calm Mind on the first turn as Krokorok inflicted Torment, preventing her from doing so on the second. Air Slash was the only viable move against Krokorok, and Excadrill appeared on the third turn. A second Calm Mind caused Excadril to. . .boost its Attack and Accuracy with Hone Claws? Excadrill wasted its next action on Hone Claws as well, resulting in a free Psychic + Air Slash combo. Palpitoad was neutral to Psychic and died in one hit for a perfect victory at Level 41!





Bianca at the edge of Driftveil City was so underleveled that Calm Mind wasn't necessary. Air Slash and two Psychics put down Herdier, Pansear, and Dewott respectively. ROUGE "Assured" Musharna with two Dark attacks, causing Bianca to give it a Hyper Potion. Musharna's first action was a Psybeam cast and the second was Defense Curl. Air Slash proved Assurance was obsolete in this battle since only two were needed to KO the resilient Psychic type. ROUGE triumphed with 110/122 HP.





Like all White solos, Swoobat equipped the Lucky Egg for double experience as soon as she entered Chargestone Cave. I must have used more Max Repels here than in all of Kanto in the Solo Tentacool challenge!





ROUGE ate an Iron in Chargestone Cave because she needed all the Defense effort values she could get.Especially since Sturdy Pokemon like the Roggenrola line and Sawk would survive one hit and retaliate with Rock attacks. Speaking of the King of Rome, N in Chargestone Cave led with a Boldore. To get rid of Sturdy, ROUGE Air Slashed Boldore to make it flinch before casting Psychic. Joltik was too weak to survive a Psychic, but Klink was a Steel type with decent Special Defense who knew Charge Beam. Assurance finished off Klink. Ferroseed's Grass type negated the Steel resistance to Air Slash. ROUGE won at Level 46 with 118/134 HP.





DIAMOND used the Charge Beam TM to the north of Mistralton City to replace Assurance. Charge Beam sometimes increased Swoobat's Special Attack when used, and more type coverage was welcome. Celestial Tower had no boss and was easy to defeat.





Skyla should have been a Kanto Gym Leader in Pokemon Crystal as far as difficulty was concerned. ROUGE zapped the enemy Swoobat with Charge Beam and shot down Unfezant and Swanna with one Psychic each. It was a perfect victory at Level 52.





ROUGE was Level 53 by the time she confronted Cheren at Twist Mountain. Unfezant barely survived a Charge Beam but wasted its action on Taunt, as if I were going to set up Calm Mind against the lesser rival. Air Slash clipped Unfezant's wings and hunted Liepard after a token Fake Out. Pignite and Simisage collapsed when ROUGE assaulted them with Psychic. Swoobat was at the same level as she was at the beginning, with 141/154 HP.





"DIAMOND found a Pearl!" That line was an unintentional reference to the Sinnoh games when DIAMOND was exploring the sea routes west of Nuvema Town. Thunderbolt and Toxic TMs were worthless for this solo, but gaining 4 levels was worth navigating the rapid currents. It's not just the Lucky Egg that's making ROUGE grow so fast compared to HANAR the Tentacool, because Unova trainer levels aren't as wimpy as their Johto-Kanto counterparts. ROUGE tended to be about 20 levels over the foes, while the nadir of HANAR's playthrough involved fighting Pokefan Joshua's Level 23 Pikachus. . .after beating the Elite 4. ROUGE is also in the Medium Fast experience group, as opposed to Slow for HANAR.
 
Pokemon White Solo Swoobat Part 5: In Which Random Route Trainers Are Threatening


In Twist Mountain, Worker Rob's 3 Boldores cued the dreaded "red HP bar" music to play. All had Sturdy and were thus immune to one hit knockouts, and they stood firm against Air Slash's flinch chance. When they started causing Rock Slides, DIAMOND was astounded . Geodude and Onix couldn't learn Rock Slide without breeding, and only Sudowoodo learned the technique naturally before Mt. Silver! Maybe Johto trainers including player characters were in the Remedial Pokemon League? That would explain the low enemy levels. . .


EDIT: ROUGE only survived Worker Rob because the last Boldore was stupid and selected Iron Defense instead of an attack.


It was December in real life anyway, but DIAMOND would have begun his mission in an ingame Winter month even if I had to change the DS clock. Twist Mountain was covered in snowdrifts which unlocked a Rare Candy and a Substitute TM, and another snowdrift Icirrus City led to an extra Rare Candy.


Brycen anticipated Swoobat's Calm Mind and ordered Vanillish to cast Frost Breath for a guaranteed critical. +1 Special Attack Psychics destroyed Vanillish and Beartic, but Cryogonal the snowflake had unusually high Special Defense and struck back with Aurora Beam. Brycen fed Cryogonal a Hyper Potion, but it seemed the first Psychic was just a bad damage roll, and a second Psychic won the battle at Level 60 with 74/174 HP. Not bad for a Gym Leader that's usually mocked by the players for being weak!



Team Plasma's gauntlet in Dragonspiral Tower was so weak that ROUGE only gained one level. DIAMOND suspected they spent the entire Admin hiring budget on the uniforms, or possibly Ghetsis's robes. Relic Castle's Team Plasma rush was no better than Dragonspiral Tower's Grunts, but there was one notable event. ROUGE finally found a decent move for her 4th slot: Shadow Ball. She couldn't get the TM earlier in the game because Relic Castle's lower floors were blocked by sand. Unova is far more linear than previous regions, but the reward is slightly better enemy level scaling. DIAMOND found a PP Up and used it on Psychic.


The swamp to the east of Icirrus City was frozen, but this didn't prevent Bianca from starting her final battle. As an extra challenge and to gauge Swoobat's power, DIAMOND won without using Calm Mind. He wondered why Bianca was considered the "weak" rival when her Stoutland survived multiple Psychics as she kept healing her dog with Full Restores. At last two Air Slashes were enough to put down Stoutland. Simisear the worst elemental monkey surrendered after one Psychic. Samurott outlasted one Psychic and then Bianca clicked. . .Revenge? A Fighting move that both of Swoobat's types resisted?! Musharna required two Shadow Balls to kill, and ROUGE conquered at Level 63 with 173/182 HP.


Iris of the Opelucid City Gym was a more difficult battle than DIAMOND had anticipated. Her Fraxure didn't use a Dragon Dance that Unaware would have ignored. Instead it lashed out with a critical Assurance, taking Swoobat to below half HP. Good thing Swoobat was on an Iron diet considering Unova's physical Attack bias! A Calm Mind boosted Psychic blasted Fraxure, Druddigon, and Haxorus in one hit each, leaving ROUGE at Level 66 with 76/190 HP.


Veteran Karla on Route 10 had a Cryogonal that lived through a Psychic, just like Brycen's. Its Ice Beam chilled ROUGE down to 98/190 HP.


Cheren's final battle on Route 10 seemed like a good time to stop. Unfezant blocked the first Psychic with either Protect or Detect (didn't see which one), only to drop dead after the second. Liepard didn't use Fake Out for some reason, so ROUGE skinned it with Air Slash. Psychic was super effective against Emboar. Serves it right for being the third Fire/Fighting starter in a row, and the worst of the lot. Simisage was weak to Air Slash, and so ROUGE won a flawless victory at Level 66 without Calm Mind. This proves definitively that Bianca is the superior rival.


EDIT 2: Forgot to mention Veteran Chester, whose Escavalier cut ROUGE down to 69/196 HP with an X-Scissor. Good thing this isn't Pokemon X where there's a Steel type Elite 4 member!
 
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Pokemon White Solo Swoobat Part 6: Hardest Elite 4 Member Isn't What You'd Expect


Victory Road had some enemies comparable to the surprises in Twist Mountain. Air Slash's 95% accuracy let down ROUGE during a fight with Ace Trainer Shanta's Whimsicott. Whimsicott decreased ROUGE's Speed with Cotton Spore, which allowed Shanta's Zebstrika to outrun Swoobat and strike with Spark. Veteran Martell was the worst of all: he had a Sturdy Gigalith and an Eelektross, both in the mid 40s. Air Slash didn't make Gigalith flinch, and Stone Edge gouged ROUGE to 51/201 HP, enough for the Eelektross to eat her with Crunch. This was the first fatality since Driftveil City's Gym.


DEATH COUNT: 7


Swoobat got even with Veteran Martell on Take 2 and managed to make Gigalith flinch this time. Psychic finished off the Rock type. Eelektross had too much HP and Special Defense to die to one Psychic, but that was irrelevant when it committed suicide with Wild Charge recoil! The experience was worth it as ROUGE grew to Level 71 with 102/204 HP just in time for the Pokemon League.


DIAMOND confronted Caitlin the Psychic master first, expecting an easy victory. What he found instead was the hardest opponent in the game. Caitlin must have built her team specifically to counter Swoobat. She led with a slow Reuniclus that seemed like a safe way to set up a Calm Mind, only for it to cast Thunder and paralyze ROUGE. . .on three consecutive attempts. Thunder has 70% accuracy and a 30% paralysis chance, so if my math is correct, that's a 21% chance happening thrice. I was starting to wonder if the predictable DS random number generator for Pokemon stats also applied here. Sigilyph had Ice Beam + Shadow Ball, while Gothitelle could zap Swoobat with Thunderbolt.


DEATH COUNT: 10


On Take 4, I wasn't taking any chances. ROUGE equipped a Pecha Berry, but Reuniclus DIDN'T paralyze with Thunder this time. The berry worked, just not the way I'd intended! One Calm Mind + Shadow Ball was enough for Reuniclus, Sigilyph, and Gothitelle, but not Musharna, whom Caitlin kept healing with Full Restores. ROUGE limped out of the arena with 36/204 HP at Level 71.


Swoobat was supposed to be weak to Ghosts, but their master Shantal was the easiest of the Elite 4. A failed Will o Wisp from Cofagrigus was perfect setup for two Calm Minds. Cofagrigus cast one Shadow Ball before it, Jellicent, Chandelure, and Golurk all fell to my own Shadow Ball. ROUGE triumphed with 153/207 HP at Level 72./


Marshal the Fighting master was the Elite 4 member I was dreading the most, in spite of both of Swoobat's types being super effective. Throh perished after one Psychic, and Sturdy Sawk came second. Air Slash didn't make the blue karate Pokemon flinch, and Stone Edge pierced ROUGE to about half HP. Pressure from repeated Psychics exhausted Marshal's supply of Full Restores, and both Conkeldurr and Mienshao died in one hit. Calm Mind wasn't even necessary to win at Level 72 with 109/207 HP.


Grimsley as the Dark master was difficult, but not as much as you might believe about someone with an entire team that's both immune and super effective against Psychic. Scrafty took advantage of the Calm Mind turn to drop ROUGE's accuracy with Sand Attack, similarly to Karen's Umbreon in Crystal solos. Air Slash struck down Scrafty, but missed against Krookodile. One Foul Play from the reptile bashed Swoobat so hard it was down to 67/207 HP! A second Air Slash defeated Krookodile, and Liepard was as abysmal as always. Next came Bisharp, a Dark/Steel type that resisted all of Swoobat's moves. Such a Pokemon could not exist in Red and Blue! One Night Slash was enough to dissect ROUGE on two attempts.


DEATH COUNT: 12


On Take 3, Air Slash killed Scrafty without giving it any time to Sand Attack. Air Slash forced Krookodile to flinch and sent it into a Full Restore loop for a couple of rounds. Liepard had the sense to use Fake Out this time, probably because I picked Calm Mind instead of Air Slash. (Etrian Odyssey 3 lets you predict bosses' moves perfectly if you select your commands in an exact order. Does Pokemon White work like that?) Calm Mind + Air Slash took down Liepard, and Air Slash made Bisharp flinch too. ROUGE won at Level 73 with 119/210 HP.


The first loss against N's Reshiram is guaranteed since the game forces Zekrom into the leading position on the first try.


DEATH COUNT: 13


Not even a +2 Special Attack Psychic could kill the legendary Reshiram in one blow, and ROUGE withstood 3 Fusion Flares. DIAMOND predicted the enemy Full Restore and set up another Calm Mind. Psychic broke Reshiram and Vanilluxe's will. Air Slash forced the Sturdy Carracosta to flinch, and more Psychics killed it and Archeops. N had been known to disguise his Dark type Zoroark as Klinklang on previous solo challenges, so I clicked Air Slash instead of Psychic. For once, it was the real Klinklang, and Zoroark appeared in its true form to die to the final Air Slash! ROUGE held on with 43/212 HP at Level 73.


Even a Pecha Berry equipped in advance couldn't save ROUGE from Ghetsis's anti-Psychic/Flying team at Level 73. Swoobat automatically cured itself from Cofagrigus's Toxic and powered up with Calm Mind. Shadow Ball sent Cofagrigus back to the Egyptian tomb, but a Bisharp was next. Its Night Slash dealt heavy damage as ROUGE Air Slashed it twice. Bouffalant rammed its afro into Swoobat with a Head Charge.


DEATH COUNT: 14


It seemed the only option was to level to 80 with my Rare Candies. But that might not have been necessary, since Ghetsis seemed to give up on Take 2. Cofagrigus wasted its first turn on Protect, its second on a failed Toxic, and its third on a Toxic that the Pecha Berry cured. ROUGE spent all three turns boosting its Special Attack and Special Defense, and Shadow Ball exorcised Cofagrigus. One resisted Air Slash cut through Bisharp. Psychic threw Bouffalant and Eelektross back into their Poke Balls. Air Slash sliced off all of Hydreigon's heads.


Against Seismitoad, I misclicked Air Slash and watched it miss. . .but Muddy Water missed too, and the next Psychic ended the final battle with a flawless victory at Level 80.


So far, Swoobat has been a fun solo challenge. Its mediocre or worse stats in everything but Speed mean you aren't guaranteed to win even when evolved. Unova has so many Dark types that Psychic can be bad type coverage. Air Cutter and Air Slash are partially redundant with Psychic considering both are super effective against Fighting and resisted by Steel. There are Grass Pokemon to deal with like Burgh's Leavanny, but no Gyms or Elite 4 members, so another of Flying's advantages is questionable. Flying solos in general have had a problem damaging Steel types since Johto even with secondary types, with some exceptions like Staraptor in Sinnoh.


Being a special attacker is good since you don't have to deal with Intimidate or Burn decreasing your Attack. Swoobat learns enough attacks naturally that it doesn't have to put up with the "most decent Special Attack TMs are in the postgame region" problem.


Flying does give you extra weaknesses in Rock, Electric, and Ice, all of which you'll see by the Elite 4. Rock weakness is particularly awful in White considering the Roggenrola line is common, and N's Carracosta and Marshal's Sawk are also Sturdy Pokemon with Rock attacks.


Will Swoobat take down Cynthia in the next update?


Stats and Moves


Level 80

HP: 229
Attack: 149
Defense: 115
Special Attack: 169
Special Defense: 105
Speed: 237


Psychic
Calm Mind
Air Slash
Shadow Ball
 
Pokemon White Solo Swoobat FINALE: superdeath's Revenge


DIAMOND walked through Routes 15, 14, and White Forest, wondering why random unevolved Pokemon were in the 60s level range. He thought apathy caused Unova's woes with Team Plasma if none of the northeastern trainers could be bothered to beat up a few Scraggys and Trubbishes.


In Undella Town, the agent code named DIAMOND found his mark at last. She told him her cover story about researching Pokemon myths in the underwater Abyssal Ruins at her friend's villa. Cynthia had a curious reaction when she looked into DIAMOND's "intense eyes", which reminded her of a certain trainer in Sinnoh. When DIAMOND accepted her challenge, Cynthia said her heart raced as she sent out her Pokemon, and her monsters were "radiating a happy feeling". She was probably horrified as she asked DIAMOND "What are you?"


Cynthia's Pokemon ranged from Levels 75-77, so ROUGE the Swoobat could no longer count on her level advantage. As Spiritomb created two Double Team illusions, ROUGE Calmed her Mind twice. To prevent Spiritomb from stalling out Air Slash PP, or possibly striking with Ghost or Dark attacks, ROUGE Air Slashed the leading Pokemon twice and grew to Level 84.


Milotic was a known Special Attacker, so it looked like a safe Calm Mind opportunity for ROUGE. It was even safer than expected: Milotic only attacked with Dragon Tail, and missed the first time! Dragon Tail would have forced Swoobat to switch if possible. Perhaps this was why superdeath stipulated a solo Pokemon in the contract, DIAMOND pondered. At +4 Special Attack, Psychic failed to KO, which is what veterans of the Sinnoh campaign remembered about Milotic. At least Milotic had only lost its sense after the Sinnoh campaign, not its Special Defense. One more Calm Mind after the enemy Full Restore ensured a Psychic KO.


Swoobat's base 114 Speed was enough to outrun and kill the dreaded Level 77 Garchomp and the lower level Eelektross and Braviary. Lucario's Extremespeed was Cynthia's last desperate attempt to avoid defeat, and ROUGE accomplished her mission at Level 85 with an Air Slash, 77/242 HP, and the Lucky Egg. superdeath was avenged at last.


Final Stats and Moves


Level 85

HP: 242
Attack: 158
Defense: 121
Special Attack: 179
Special Defense: 111
Speed: 252


Psychic
Calm Mind
Air Slash
Shadow Ball
 
Pokemon Crystal Solo Sudowoodo Part 1: If You've Heard of It, It's Already Too Mainstream for Me


Normally, I like to start my solo challenges before the 2nd Gym of any game, or the end of the 1st island if I'm in Alola. But Crystal has 16 Gyms, which could excuse the Chosen One appearing after the 3rd.


"Commander" SHEPARD began her quest with a Totodile to speed up the early game. Rage buildup was enough to destroy Falkner, and Water Gun doused the Rock types in Union Cave. By Slowpoke Well, Totodile had become a Croconaw that chewed through Team Rocket's weak Poison types.


Bugsy proved to be an underrated Gym Leader when his Scyther sliced through Croconaw using Fury Cutter with the help of one critical. . .even though Croconaw had battled every trainer up to that point except for Sprout Tower. This isn't part of the official DEATH COUNT since Croconaw is not the Chosen One, but it was amusing to see. Rage tore apart Whitney's team, including Miltank. She's the overrated Gym Leader of Crystal, since I don't recall having many problems with her in my solos.


SHEPARD's tastes in music tended toward the obscure, and Morinth would have been proud of her choice of Pokemon. Sudowoodo was the only one of her kind, so she could never be "mainstream". And she acted like a Cut tree "ironically" until sprayed with the water bottle! SHEPARD named her solo champion HIPSTER, gave her the Miracle Seed so she could ironically appropriate real Grass types, and marched to Sprout Tower. HIPSTER the Sudowoodo came with the following stats and moves:


Level 20

HP: 59
Attack: 45
Defense: 51
Special Attack: 17
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 21


Rock Throw
Mimic
Flail
Low Kick


Sudowoodo has better physical stats than my usual solo challengers. She doesn't go into anaphylactic shock when touching a leaf or raindrop since she's a pure Rock type, unlike the Rock/Ground Geodude and Onix. But her weakness is her Speed. Even lower level Pokemon can outpace her and attack. In Pokemon Black, you need defenses to survive Sturdy monsters that don't die in one attack, and in Sword and Shield, one blow is usually not sufficient to kill Dynamax bosses. But in Crystal, you can off Pokemon in one hit without taking damage if you're fast enough.


Mimic and Low Kick were immediately replaced with Headbutt and Dig from the Ilex Forest and National Park TMs. SHEPARD knew a bad omen when she saw one: the first Rock Throw of the game missed against a trainer's Bellsprout in Sprout Tower. There's a good reason HIPSTER often used Headbutt instead! Sprout Tower was worth enough experience to gain one level, which surprised me after coming back to Crystal from White's diminishing returns.


SHEPARD had avoided as many trainers as possible around Goldenrod City and National Park to provide cheap experience for HIPSTER. Schoolboy Alan's Tangela nearly did Sudowoodo in with fast Absorbs, reducing her to 10/64 HP. Rock Throw from a Level 22 HIPSTER failed to destroy Pokefan Beverly's Level 14 Snubbull in one hit. If even Sudowoodo can't do it, how weak would an Onix be?


(There was a Snubbull swarm in the grass, by the way.)


One Kimono Girl was actually a threat to Sudowoodo. Espeon cut HIPSTER's accuracy with Sand Attacks and cast Confusions. HIPSTER was able to outrun Flareon if I'm not mistaken. Jolteon failed to Sand Attack HIPSTER before Dig undermined the Electric type. The Kimono Girls yielded enough experience to raise Sudowoodo to Level 28, when she learned Rock Slide. This move makes Sudowoodo the envy of all other Rock types in Crystal. Rock Slide isn't a TM here, and no other monsters before Mt. Silver (i.e. solo ineligible for me) learn it through level up. Other Pokemon have to settle for Rock Throw or Rollout.


Sudowoodo was Level 28 by the time she fought Rival KAILENG in Burned Tower. Haunter was a fast Ghost type who had decent enough AI to use Curse before Rock Slide buried it in rubble. Bayleef spread Poisonpowder around the arena before succumbing to one Rock Slide. Magnemite required a Dig, and the setup turn cost HIPSTER 30 HP from Poison + Curse. Zubat was weak enough to take out with a Headbutt without risking a Rock Slide miss. SHEPARD defeated her Mass Effect 3 enemy with 53/83 HP at Level 28.


The question now is whether Sudowoodo can take out Morty now, or whether she's too slow and will die to Curse damage or something. There are still trainers in the neighboring routes to take out if Sudowoodo needs to level up.
 
Pokemon Crystal Solo Sudowoodo Part 2: Gimmick Tactics


SHEPARD was wondering by the end of this episode if Sudowoodo really was a Grass type. Her Gym matchups were about on par with one. HIPSTER battled Morty twice and failed to outpace even the Gastly. Gastly tried Lick or Curse. Haunter was sure to Curse if Gastly didn't, or it would use the fixed damage Night Shade. Gengar lulled HIPSTER to sleep with Hypnosis and Eat her Dreams. Once HIPSTER died to gradual Curse damage, and on Take 2 Dream Eater was a direct kill.


DEATH COUNT: 2


SHEPARD decided it was time to play Renegade instead of Paragon, and mugged the trainers west of Ecruteak. At the Miltank ranch, a tree had a Mint Berry, good for one automatic awakening. At Level 32, perhaps with the benefit of Speed "stat experience", Sudowoodo was faster than Morty's Gastly and buried it and the first Haunter under a Rock Slide. Haunter #1 was faster and managed to cast Night Shade before its exorcism. Mint Berry cured Gengar's Hypnosis and let Sudowoodo kick it in the butt with Dig. Haunter #2 took exactly the same actions as Haunter #1 and had the same cause of death. HIPSTER won at Level 33 with 53/97 HP.


More troubling signs of HIPSTER's pace came in the Olivine City lighthouse and the ocean routes near Whirl Islands, since Sudowoodo was too slow to attack before a Level 20 Fearow and a Level 20 Starmie at Level 34.


Cianwood Gym usually is easy for solos, but not Sudowoodo! Even the two trainer gauntlet with Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan at the beginning took her down to 26/109 HP at Level 37. Both Fighting types required two Returns to kill. Hitmonlee struck with Jump Kick and Double Kick, but at least Hitmonchan used ineffectual Ice Punch and Comet Punch.


Chuck's Level 25 Primeape was too fast for HIPSTER, but it preferred Leer + Fury Swipes for some reason, even though it knew Karate Chop. Poliwrath made up for its partner's stupidity. Dynamicpunch only had a coin flip chance to hit, but two were sufficient to smash Sudowoodo's petrified wood. Mind Reader + Hypnosis was a guaranteed Sleep status, and SHEPARD didn't have any more Mint Berries. Poliwrath had high HP and Defense so Return didn't hurt it much.


DEATH COUNT: 3


SHEPARD regretted the deletion of Low Kick when confronting Jasmine at Level 38. The first Magnemite was free experience because it was slow and took 4X damage from Dig, but Steelix had one of the best Defense stats of any Johto Pokemon. Rock Slide and Return were worthless, and Dig was only base 60 power in Crystal, compared to 100 in Red and 80 in later games. This is one area where Geodude had the advantage: naturally learned Earthquake + 50% more damage from its Ground type. Rock happened to be one of two types weak to Steel in Crystal, and two Iron Tails slapped HIPSTER back into her Poke Ball.


DEATH COUNT: 4


Sudowoodo leveled up by beating up the trainers around Mt. Mortar and Lake of Rage. Red Gyarados didn't kill my solo character for once while trying to catch it for HM purposes. Sudowoodo didn't have many useful moves for a 4th slot: elemental punches would use the Rock-bottom Special Attack. But there were still some TMs almost any monster could learn. Hidden Power was one hope that was dashed when it dealt regular damage to a Machop. I was hoping for Flying to use against Chuck at least.


SHEPARD was desperate enough that she was trying Mud Slap, Attract, and even Swagger against Jasmine's Steelix at Level 40. Sudowoodo's seductive dances came close to victory, if Jasmine didn't have a Hyper Potion to make her luck run out. Mud Slap was more likely to succeed given Iron Tail's low base accuracy, but Jasmine still won. Sudowoodo had visions about a Noctowl from the past trying to fight Jasmine, and sympathized with him. . .


DEATH COUNT: 8


Chuck was possible at Level 40, but on the first attempt HIPSTER was Dynamicpunch-drunk and knocked herself out.


DEATH COUNT: 9


On the successful try, Primeape remembered it had Karate Chop and struck HIPSTER after a Leer. Sudowoodo ate a Bitter Berry to cure Dynamicpunch's confusion, but she had no defense against a Mind Reader + Hypnosis. Fortunately, two Dynamicpunches missed in a row and HIPSTER used Return for the 3rd time to win with 17/121 HP at Level 41! Never have the mid-Johto Gym Leaders caused such problems since Noctowl, who had to make do with lackluster moves and a Normal/Flying type. Good thing Pryce's team doesn't know any Water moves despite having two Water Pokemon!
 
Pokemon Crystal Solo Sudowoodo Part 3: Vitamin Regimen


Team Rocket's hideout in Mahogany Town was just as dull as always, with one exception: Sudowoodo killed two of Scientist Ross's Koffings with a single Dig because the first had Selfdestructed. His post-battle script was appropriate for the occasion: "A mere tactical error cost me. . ."


SHEPARD learned that HIPSTER's Hidden Power was NOT Steel type when it dealt normal damage to a Jynx in Pryce's Gym. It was super effective against a Swinub but didn't take it out in one hit, making her suspect Fire or Water. Out of paranoia, HIPSTER equipped an Ice Berry in case Pryce decided to Freeze her.


A critical Return clubbed Seel, but a second Return critical failed to slay Piloswine. Piloswine summoned a Blizzard but missed HIPSTER. Two Returns nullified Pryce's Hyper Potion. HIPSTER blew her chance for a perfect battle when the first Rock Slide missed Dewgong, and was punished with an Aurora Beam. (Rock Slide missing the first time is a recurring joke by the random number generator. . .) The second Rock Slide connected, and Sudowoodo won at Level 44 with 112/130 HP.


SHEPARD had no choice but to return to Jasmine's Gym to try again. Dig scrapped both Magnemite #1 and Magnemite #2 at the beginning and end of the successful attempt. Hidden Power once scored a critical hit against Steelix, but Hyper Potion allowed Steelix to outlast HIPSTER with Iron Tail.


DEATH COUNT: 10


The Mud Slap tactic was the right option, though Sudowoodo wasn't strong enough last time. It only caused the first Iron Tail to miss, but HIPSTER's HP and Defense were high enough that Iron Tail now removed less than half her health. A regular Dig and a critical Dig undermined Steelix, and Sudowoodo won her 7th badge at Level 45 with 30/133 HP.


Rival KAILENG in Goldenrod City wasn't brazen enough to crouch in the open, but his Golbat was faster than HIPSTER and started Biting. Two Returns were necessary to KO Golbat, making me wonder if HIPSTER had unusually low Attack for her species. Two Rock Slides crushed Meganium, though it set up Reflect for the rest of KAILENG's team. HIPSTER waited out the enemy's Defense boost by Digging under Magnemite, and it was gone by the time she Dug under Haunter. Haunter cast Shadow Ball but was annoyed because Ghost moves used Attack in Crystal for some reason. Sneasel tried Faint Attack but was annoyed because Dark moves used Special Attack in Crystal for some reason. Sudowoodo won at Level 48 with 89/142 HP.


After pummeling assorted Team Rocket Grunts, Executives, and random route trainers, HIPSTER grew to Level 54. She had equipped the Pink Bow from the Goldenrod Radio Tower to take advantage of Return, so now Sudowoodo was pretending to be Normal rather than Grass. It seemed like a promising start to the Clair battle when Sudowoodo destroyed the first Dragonair with Return before it could move. Kingdra swam around her and soaked her with two Surfs.


DEATH COUNT: 11


Sudowoodo would need either more Speed to outpace Kingdra, or more Special Defense so Surf would be a three hit KO. She was only allowed to eat 3 Carbos and 3 Calciums, resulting in the following:


Speed: 69 to 72
Special Defense: 95 to 98


Sudowoodo's dietary supplements were useless in the next Clair attempt, since she drowned just as easily in Kingdra's Surf.


DEATH COUNT: 12


To avoid using Rare Candies this early in the story, SHEPARD shook down Eusine in Cianwood, and the Wise Trio and Suicune in Tin Tower's entrance. HIPSTER had grown to Level 56 in the meantime, and now had 103 Special Defense and 75 Speed. This was just enough to act faster than Kingdra! Surf still eroded HIPSTER to 82/167 HP, but the last two Dragonairs were free experience.


If the Speed issues continue, Sudowoodo will likely have to use Double Team to beat Red. Rest + Sleep Talk seems too risky with the Special Defense that low. Given how challenging this Rock type can be to use, don't hold your breath for Solo Onix.
 
Pokemon Crystal Solo Sudowoodo Part 4: Surprisingly Decent Pokemon League Performance


Sudowoodo mauled what passed for Pokemon League challengers on the first Kanto routes leading to Indigo Plateau. SHEPARD dropped down a hole in Victory Road and retrieved the Earthquake TM before facing Rival KAILENG in his last mandatory battle. Sneasel was faster and used Fury Cutter, but Return put it down before it could start a combo. Meganium sliced with Razor Leaf after the first Return, and perished to the second Return. Magneton and Haunter were Earthquake's first victims. Kadabra and Golbat fell to Return, and HIPSTER won at Level 61 with 139/184 HP.


One more level can cause dramatic improvements, as evidenced by Elite 4 Will's battle. All of his Psychic types were either one hit KOs with Rock Slide and Return like the Xatus and Jynx, or two hit kills with Return in the cases of Slowbro and Exeggutor. Exeggutor always survived with critical HP and shot Leech Seed at HIPSTER. Slowbro preferred to increase its stats with Amnesia or Curse instead of attacking. On Take 1, Xatu cast Confuse Ray, and as HIPSTER was punching herself twice, Xatu destroyed her mind with Psychic. On Take 2, Jynx gave HIPSTER a Lovely Kiss, Doubleslapped her, and then cast Psychic twice.


DEATH COUNT: 14


The turn order in Take 2 suggested that HIPSTER was in a Speed tie with Jynx! The best solution was to eat a Rare Candy to grow to Level 62 and try again. Return pummeled Xatu #1, Exeggutor did the usual "Leech Seed and die to 2 Returns" routine, Slowbro tried to forget the two Returns with Amnesia, and Xatu #2 cast one Psychic before HIPSTER entombed it with Rock Slide. Sudowoodo won at Level 62 with 125/187 HP.


Koga's Ariados was a frail Bug type that crumpled when hit by Return. Forretress hid in a mighty Bug/Steel shell, but flinched when HIPSTER unleashed the first Rock Slide. A second took out Forretress, and Earthquake cleaned up Muk. Crobat dodged the first Rock Slide with a Double Team and struck with a feeble Wing Attack before collapsing under another Rock Slide. Return squashed Venomoth, and Sudowoodo triumphed at Level 63 with 183/190 HP.


It didn't seem like 7 HP less than the maximum would make any difference in Bruno's battle. A Return critical stopped Hitmontop from spinning, and a regular Return prevented Hitmonlee from Kicking. Hitmonchan was smart enough for a priority Mach Punch before HIPSTER clobbered the boxer with Return. HIPSTER's Earthquake registered high enough on the Richter scale for Onix to die instantly. But Machamp could survive more than one round in the ring with Return, and shattered Sudowoodo with a critical Cross Chop.


DEATH COUNT: 15


Take 2 went the same way as Take 1, except SHEPARD learned that a critical hit wasn't needed for Return to kill Hitmontop. She had an idea when she remembered that Machamp had barely survived Return. . .use Mud Slap to reduce Cross Chop's accuracy! Didn't think I would use that move in the Elite 4, did you, readers? A critical Return wasn't needed, but was payback for Take 1's failure. HIPSTER won at Level 63 with 160/190 HP.


SHEPARD thought Karen would cause many defeats with her status ailments. Umbreon started the fight with a Sand Attack accuracy decrease as in other solo challenges and fell to two Returns. Return plucked Vileplume, and Gengar Cursed HIPSTER as it fell into an Earthquake. Sand Attack only made one attack miss: the first Return against Murkrow. Murkrow retaliated with a Faint Attack, and then HIPSTER knocked it out of the sky with Return. HIPSTER somehow outran the Houndoom (!) and smothered its flame with Earthquake. Sudowoodo moved on to the Champion at Level 64 with 119/193 HP.



Sudowoodo dropped a Rock Slide on Gyarados, but poorly aimed the next Rock Slide at the Level 50 Dragonite. Dragonite thought it was an Outrage. A critical Rock Slide destroyed Lance's best Pokemon, and Aerodactyl tried to avenge it with an illegal Rock Slide of its own. (Lance was always a cheater: he has a Barrier Dragonite in the first Kanto games!) HIPSTER's own Rock Slide took out Aerodactyl on the same turn it appeared, and she smashed the next Dragonite with Rock Slide before it could act. The next Rock Slide missed the final Dragonite, but its Thunder Wave failed to paralyze HIPSTER. The next Rock Slide connected. Apart from Aerodactyl, Charizard was the only member of Lance's team to be faster than HIPSTER, and its Flamethrower singed Sudowoodo just before the final Rock Slide. HIPSTER became the Pokemon League Champion with 93/196 HP at Level 65!


Stats and Moves


HP: 196
Attack: 166
Defense: 182
Special Attack: 75
Special Defense: 121
Speed: 89


Rock Slide
Mud Slap
Return
Earthquake


Pink Bow + Return is standard issue for physical Pokemon. If I do more Crystal challenges, maybe I should stick with Special Attack monsters to keep it from becoming too repetitive. But first we have to find out if Sudowoodo can defeat Red. . .
 
Pokemon Crystal Solo Sudowoodo Part 5: Destroying Authentic Grass Type Culture With Irony


HIPSTER the Sudowoodo charged at Lt. Surge as soon as she disembarked from the SS Aqua. Raichu was too fat to outrun Sudowoodo and was shaken by Earthquake. Electrode #1 (2nd team slot) and Electrode #2 (4th team slot) both failed to dodge Earthquakes with Double Team. Magneton was too slow to magnetically levitate out of Earthquake range, and Electabuzz set up a Light Screen to boost. . .Special Defense. Even though Sudowoodo only uses physical moves and isn't immune to Electric attacks. Lt. Surge deserved a dishonorable discharge with a perfect victory at Level 67.


Sabrina was the one Kanto Gym Leader who deserved her title. Her Espeon learned from Karen's Umbreon and used Sand Attack before Sudowoodo killed it with Return. The 1st Return missed Mr. Mime, who increased its Defense with Barrier. Psychic types in general apart from Slowbro and Exeggutor tended to have awful Defense anyway, so one Return punched the mime. Alakazam was at a high enough level to outlast a Return with a fast Reflect, however. Sabrina fed it a Hyper Potion and Alakazam cast Psychic twice before the final Return, resulting in a 94/206 HP victory at Level 68.


Erika's Grass Gym was the perfect opportunity to mock Grass types, so HIPSTER wore the Miracle Seed instead of Pink Bow. The lack of the small Normal type boost allowed Tangela to barely survive a Return and Bind Sudowoodo. Rock Slide buried Victreebel, Bellossom, and Jumpluff, so HIPSTER was just shy of a perfect victory at 195/209 HP at Level 69.


Janine's team had such feeble levels that Sudowoodo outsped all of them, including Crobat, and destroyed them with Return and Earthquake for a flawless victory at Level 71. Her Ariados was at Level 33. That was lower than Jasmine's Steelix. . .or even Bug Catcher Doug's Ariados on Route 2! Sudowoodo was still wearing Miracle Seed, so Return didn't even have the Pink Bow bonus.


HIPSTER confronted Misty at Level 75 while wearing Pink Bow. Return pounded Golduck, Quagsire, and Starmie, and Rock Slide pummeled Lapras for a perfect victory at Level 76. Snorlax required two Returns to defeat, and its Body Slam scratched Sudowoodo down to 222/234 HP at Level 76.


Return was useless for Brock, so Sudowoodo equipped Miracle Seed again to mock her true type. Earthquake opened a fissure under his entire team for a flawless victory at Level 77. HIPSTER still used Miracle Seed while perfectly eliminating Blaine's Fire types with Earthquake at Level 78. She was faster than Level 50 Rapidash too.


The last trainer in this episode was Cal, the male player character clone in Viridian City. Return knocked out the defensive Meganium with Pink Bow power, and a critical Return hunted Feraligatr. Earthquake dealt excessive damage to Typhlosion, and Sudowoodo was intact at Level 78.


HIPSTER only has 3 bosses left: Rival KAILENG in Mt. Moon, Blue in Viridian City Gym, and Red on Mt. Silver's summit. Will Sudowoodo win without having to resort to Double Team? As a "freegan", Sudowoodo would love Leftovers even if it were a useless item.
 
Pokemon Crystal Solo Sudowoodo FINALE: Red Can't See a Fake Tree for the Forest


Blue as a former Kanto Champion deserved more respect than Miracle Seed or even Pink Bow, so Sudowoodo ate Leftovers throughout the battle. Rock Slide knocked Pidgeot out of the sky on the first turn. Rhydon had Defense worthy of a Rock type and survived the first Earthquake, but Leftovers nullified its Furry Attack. Exeggutor endured the first Return, and planted Leech Seed as Blue healed it with a Full Restore. Blue's healing was useless since HIPSTER picked that moment to strike critically with Return.


Alakazam knew SHEPARD's solo was Attack based and set up Reflect, but was still too frail to survive Rock Slide. Rock Slide with Reflect would have failed to angle Gyarados if HIPSTER didn't hit critically. Arcanine held on after the first Rock Slide and breathed Flamethrower twice. A second Rock Slide knocked out Arcanine, and HIPSTER won at Level 79 with 171/244 HP.


Unlike the Kanto Rival, KAILENG the Johto Rival was too weak for Leftovers no matter how much the Illusive Man helped him. Pink Bow + Return = Dead Sneasel, Meganium, Alakazam, and Golbat. Magneton and Gengar were in the 3rd and 4th team slots, and Sudowoodo caused an Earthquake to rupture them both. It was a perfect victory at Level 80, and HIPSTER finally got her 100th point in Special Attack. tongue


Red's fiercest Pokemon against a slow physical solo like Sudowoodo was. . .Pikachu. Yes, his starter that usually dies in one hit can render your Attack useless with Charm. HIPSTER was too sluggish for either Pikachu or the Reflect wielding Espeon, who cast Psychic until she fainted.


DEATH COUNT: 16


HIPSTER ate all remaining Rare Candies to grow to Level 88 with 128 Speed, and was still too slow for Pikachu and Espeon!


DEATH COUNT: 17


On another take with Quick Claw, Pikachu whiffed with Thunder instead of using Charm and fell into an Earthquake fissure. Reflect got around Espeon's Reflect, but even Mud Slap couldn't cut Venusaur's accuracy enough to prevent a Solarbeam from frying Sudowoodo. If she were a real Grass type, she would have resisted it.


FINAL DEATH COUNT: 18


HIPSTER entered the arena with Double Team and Leftovers, since there was no use in playing fair against a Level 81 Pokemon. Charm missed due to the reduced accuracy for enemy moves, and I clicked Return because I was hoping that would interfere with the AI script. Espeon's Reflect turn was perfect setup for the 1st Double Team. HIPSTER reached +5 Evasion and buried it with Rock Slide after two failed Psychics. Espeon used its other turns on the hopeless Normal move Swift.


Sudowoodo's stealth was insufficient to avoid a laser guided Solarbeam from Venusaur, but she hung on with just 5 HP! Onix, Graveler, or other impure Rock types would have dropped dead. Rock Slide + Return withered Venusaur. Blastoise whiffed both its Surfs before two Rock Slides cracked its shell.


It might have been better to waste turns with Double Team against Snorlax to heal to full with Leftovers, since HIPSTER resisted its otherwise threatening Normal attacks. That is, when Snorlax wasn't trying to increase its irrelevant Special Defense with Amnesia. But I wanted to get the battle over with, so Earthquake + Rock Slide after the final Double Team put Snorlax back to sleep.


Sudowoodo stared down Charizard with only 101 HP remaining, but she knew Rock was resistant to Fire. Flamethrower rolled a Burn status, only for HIPSTER to unleash a critical Rock Slide and win the game at Level 88 with 51/271 HP!


This was an odd playthrough despite the generic move selection and physical stats comparable to evolved monsters. The mid-Johto Gym Leaders are easy thanks to their low levels if you have adequate coverage for Steel and decent Speed. Sudowoodo was stuck with Dig's 60 power, and I had to improvise with Mud Slap against Jasmine. Don't know how much easier Steelix would have been if Sudowoodo kept its initial Low Kick. High Defense can't save Sudowoodo from Chuck's Poliwrath's Dynamicpunch.


Sudowoodo demolishes most of the game. It can do well against the Elite 4 and Champion if at a high enough level to outrun Will's team, which only took 1 Rare Candy in HIPSTER's case. My final time according to the save was 10:00 even, and that includes some time while the game was running while I was interrupted. Sudowoodo is horrible against Red since you can't outlevel to compensate for poor Speed. Double Team is necessary for Sudowoodo to win, making it inferior in this battle to Poliwag's Hypnosis + Belly Drum and Tentacool's assortment of Special Attacks + Sludge Bomb.


Final Stats and Moves

Level 88

HP: 271
Attack: 232
Defense: 254
Special Attack: 109
Special Defense: 171
Speed: 128


Rock Slide
Double Team
Return
Earthquake

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Pokemon Pearl Solo Drifblim Part 1: Manipulating the Game Clock Isn't Just for Johto


AGATHA the Ghost trainer girl rushed through southwestern Sinnoh using her Piplup, or attempted to anyway. It once got knocked out by a trainer's Kricketot with Bide because it had a Timid nature weakening its Attack. Why did GameFreak give its Water starter Peck, Metal Claw, and Water Sport, but not a Water attack better than Bubble?


Prinplup surprisingly beat Commander Mars's Purugly with little trouble thanks to Rock Smash. Now AGATHA could acquire her solo challenger: Drifloon! Since Sinnoh is parallel to Johto in the timeline, some characteristics from Pokemon Crystal return such as day of the week events. Drifloon appears onscreen at Valley Windworks as if it were a legendary each Friday, but this doesn't apply to the current Friday if you drive out Team Galactic on that day. So what I did instead was set the DS timer to a Thursday last night, and then catch Drifloon today. No need to reset for stats or a decent nature with this setup:


Level 22

Bold (+Speed, -Attack), Alert to Sounds
Ability: Aftermath (deals damage to enemy when killed by a contact move)


HP: 72
Attack: 27
Defense: 27
Special Attack: 33
Special Defense: 28
Speed: 41


Gust
Focus Energy
Payback
Stockpile


BOOLOON the Drifloon was actually two levels higher than Prinplup when I first caught her. However, Drifloon is in the slowest experience group of all, Fluctuating. She shares this trait with Solo Breloom in Sapphire. Aftermath activates on death, so BOOLOON might as well not have an ability at all. The other ability Unburden doubles Speed when an item is consumed, but Drifloon isn't as slow as Sudowoodo to begin with.


Drifloon's rare Ghost/Flying type was a hindrance at first. Even after Roark, Sinnoh route trainers were fascinated with Rock/Ground and Electric types. Focus Energy's increased critical chance combined with Payback allowed BOOLOON to limp past the Rock types. When Drifloon defeated Camper Zachary's Level 14 Geodude, she survived with only 8/72 HP. Hiker Nicholas's Level 14 Onix decreased her Defense with Screech and then deflated her with Rock Throw.


DEATH COUNT: 1


AGATHA had to sneak past Hiker Nicholas while he was spinning around. Who knew Pokemon was a stealth game? Besides the Rock types, Shinx and Pachirisu could be annoying on Route 205 and Eterna Forest. Fortunately Eterna Forest had Cheryl the mandatory Double Battle partner to take hits with her Chansey. Gust blew away Bug types there.


Drifloon was at Level 27 when she confronted Gardenia, the Gym Leader of Eterna City. Since I knew Roserade was coming, BOOLOON charged up her criticals with a Focus Energy. Cherubi was cunning and planted Leech Seeds, turning BOOLOON's high base HP against her! A second Gust uprooted Cherubi. Turtwig only sent out a dull Razor Leaf, but its Special Defense gave it another turn of Leech Seed drain before dying to Gust. Focus Energy finally paid off when a critical Gust whirled at Roserade. Roserade healed with a berry and tried to trip BOOLOON with Grass Knot twice. Two more Gusts ensued, the latter being critical. Drifloon won with only 4/86 HP at Level 27 in a Gym where her type was supposed to have the advantage.


Commander Jupiter in Eterna City's Team Galactic building was worse than Gardenia. BOOLOON tried to increase its Defense and Special Defense with a Stockpile, only for Zubat to strike with a critical Wing Attack and later a super effective Bite. Two Gusts were needed to ground Zubat. Drifloon had no chance at all against Level 20 Skuntank. The Poison/Dark type had high HP + Special Defense, no weakness to anything except Ground, and Night Slash's critical chance to penetrate Stockpile.


DEATH COUNT: 2


I wanted to hold off evolution as long as possible for fun, but BOOLOON had no choice but to become Drifblim now to get past Commander Jupiter in any reasonable amount of time. Even with the increased stats the battle was still difficult. Zubat fell to one Gust, sure, but Skuntank needed four. BOOLOON's victory was partially luck based as Skuntank wasted two turns on Poison Gas rather than popping her with repeated Night Slashes. Drifblim flew out of the arena at Level 29 with 59/127 HP, and that was after Oran Berry's healing activated.


Hearthome City's engineers decided it was best to build houses with elevators but no stairs, the opposite of the situation in Hugh Howey's book Wool. The second of these houses had a Shell Bell, but its post-attack healing was minor compared to Leftovers.


At Level 32, Drifblim finally learned her first Ghost move Ominous Wind. It had 60 power, 5 PP, and a low chance of increasing all stats other than HP, Accuracy, and Evasion by 1 stage. This came just in time for the next rival fight with BARRY. Starly's wings and Grotle's shell were vulnerable to Gust. Buizel and Ponyta feared Ominous Wind. Drifblim's first round with BARRY was a flawless victory at Level 32.


Stopping by Solaceon Ruins was worth it for the Rare Candy. BOOLOON needed to clear out Lost Tower south of Solaceon Town anyway for the Strength HM, and made sure to beat up all the trainers for experience. The Return TM was located there, but this was irrelevant to Drifblim.


BOOLOON the Driblim is currently in Veilstone City, home of the 3rd Gym. Her first type is immune to Fighting and her second type is super effective, so this should be simple. If I'm right, there's one TM that she'll want at the Game Corner.
 
Pokemon Pearl Solo Drifblim Part 2: Balloons Don't Have Footsteps!


Maylene in Veilstone City was yet another case of lackluster performance by BOOLOON. For an evolved Ghost/Flying Pokemon at Level 37, it sure was having a hard time beating types it was supposed to be both super effective and resistant to! Meditite blocked the first attack with Detect, since enemies loved to waste Drifblim's PP in Pearl. Ominous Wind turned Meditite's secondary Psychic type against it. One Gust blew away Machoke.


At last Maylene's Level 30 Lucario appeared. Since it was Fighting/Steel, BOOLOON's best option was the neutral Gust against an enemy with stats worthy of multiplayer matches. Lucario shredded BOOLOON with 4 Metal Claws throughout the battle, and the second was critical. BOOLOON's first two Gusts injured Lucario enough for it to eat its Sitrus Berry, and the third Gust triggered Hyper Potion healing. Three more Gusts finally put down Lucario, and BOOLOON won with only 46/165 HP at Level 38 with the Shell Bell's help.


BOOLOON joined Lucas for a required Double Battle at the Veilstone Team Galactic warehouse to get the Fly HM. Immediately after that, AGATHA forced BOOLOON to replace Payback with Shock Wave from a TM. It was only 60 power, but its Electric type would be useful in the next city.


At Valor Lakefront, one woman explained why she preferred swimming pools to the ocean: "The salty tang of the sea tastes like my tears after a hard day at work".


Dr. Footstep psychoanalyzed Drifblim: "BOOLOON is starting to forget a little about being in the wild. But BOOLOON isn't feeling sad. It's never boring with Agatha. . ." That sounds more like Stockholm Syndrome to me. He was such a bad podiatrist that he forgot that Drifblim didn't have footprints!


Crasher Wake was BOOLOON's first flawless victory against a Gym Leader at Level 42. Shock Wave jolted Gyarados and the Level 30 Floatzel. Ominous Wind frightened Quagsire to death with two hits. What move did Quagsire use on its free turn? Mud Sport! That weakened Electric attacks, but it was a Ground type!


After battling trainers around Backlot's mansion south of Hearthome City, BOOLOON ditched Ominous Wind for Shadow Ball. One rich girl asked who the tutor for my Pokemon was, since apparently only vulgar commoners train their own monsters. (This is probably the only reason evil teams are a political threat at all.) The Soothe Bell in the mansion would have been useful if this were a friendship evolution solo like Roserade.


BARRY the Rival challenged AGATHA and her Level 44 Drifblim while she was pursuing a Team Galactic member in Pastoria City. Shock Wave electrocuted Starly. Buizel prevented a perfect victory with its Aqua Jet, but the Shell Bell recovered the minor damage by the end. Shock Wave defibrillated Buizel and Shadow Ball shot down Level 28 Grotle and the final Ponyta.


One man in the Celestic Town shop handed AGATHA a Choice Specs for free. If equipped, Drifblim would have a 50% Special Attack boost, but could only use one move for the rest of the fight. With advance knowledge of enemy teams, this would ensure victory for Special Attack monsters. But Drifblim has to use it cautiously: some foes are immune to Shadow Ball and Shock Wave, and Sinnoh Gym Leaders and Elite 4 have weird type diversity.
 
Pokemon Pearl Solo Drifblim Part 3: Prescription Choice Specs


Fantina wouldn't deign to challenge BOOLOON the Drifblim with only 2 badges, but now that she had 4, she was willing to fight on the top floor of her Gym. The developers or translator must have anticipated me entering the wrong doors to challenge trainers for experience. Wearing the Choice Specs caused Shadow Ball to knock out Fantina's Drifblim, Mismagius, and Gengar for a perfect victory at Level 48.


Defeating Fantina unlocked Surf. The Thunderbolt TM was separated from Valley Windworks by only a small stretch of water, and so BOOLOON replaced Shock Wave. Drifblim took detours to Fuego Ironworks and Iron Island to battle the trainers there, and none were worth mentioning. Fuego Ironworks would be a great place for Fire Pokemon to evolve with a Fire Stone or learn Flamethower, but. . .Sinnoh only has the Chimchar and Ponyta families before the end of the story!


Buizel's Aqua Jet was the only blemish on an otherwise flawless battle at Level 50 with Rival BARRY in Canalave City. Thunderbolt zapped Staravia and Buizel, Gust knocked down Grotle and Heracross, and Shadow Ball blotted out Ponyta's flame.


BOOLOON fought Byron at Level 53, shooting Choice Specs Shadow Balls the whole time. Bronzor fainted in one hit, but Level 39 Bastiodon needed three with the help of a lucky Special Defense decrease. Bastiodon was hoping for a multi-stat boost with Ancient Power, but only dealt modest damage. Steelix summoned a Sandstorm as BOOLOON released two Shadow Balls, and Drifblim won at Level 53 with 172/230 HP.


Drifblim equipped the Shell Bell because I couldn't be bothered to look up the next two Team Galactic Commanders' teams. Saturn's Kadabra and Bronzor surrendered after one Shadow Ball each, but Level 37 Toxicroak barely held on and struck with Faint Attack (?) before dying to the second Shadow Ball. BOOLOON won that round at Lake Valor with 199/235 HP at Level 54.


Mars at Lake Verity had a Golbat that fell to Thunderbolt and a Bronzor that perished after Shadow Ball. But Level 39 Purugly took a Thunderbolt and retaliated with Hypnosis. BOOLOON snoozed for 4 turns as Purugly whaled on her with Faint Attack. By the time she cast the final Thunderbolt, Drifblim was only at 109/239 HP at Level 55. With the Choice Specs, that would have been a perfect victory, but this battle was the most exciting I've had in a while. Pearl starts off difficult, but enters the doldrums at this point. Now if only I could think of a fun unevolved solo that could beat Jupiter's Skuntank. . .
 
Pokemon Pearl Solo Drifblim Part 4: AI Trainer Tactics


Ace Trainer Laura on the snowy northern routes would have killed BOOLOON with a well-timed Mirror Coat from her Level 37 Lopunny after it survived Thunderbolt if not for Drifblim's high base HP. BOOLOON survived the double power counterattack to her Thunderbolt with 86/243 health.


Candice had the most irritating ice sliding puzzle out of any Gym in Pokemon history. To think they kept this kind of annoyance in Nexomon Extinction! BOOLOON equipped the Choice Specs expecting victory. . .only for Sneasel to survive Shadow Ball and pile on a CRITICAL Avalanche. The second Shadow Ball knocked out the cat, but Snover had issued a Snow Warning and the resulting Hail pelted BOOLOON until she perished.


DEATH COUNT: 3


AGATHA remembered that previous Sneasels in the Snowpoint region had barely endured Thunderbolts, so she made BOOLOON put on a Magnet for Candice. Gust uprooted Snover with regular super effective damage, and also Candice's Level 42 Abomasnow with a CRITICAL! I don't know whether to be more depressed about Gust being a viable move in the 7th Gym, or Drifblim's story mode move selection being so poor that she has to rely on an attack that low level Pidgeys have. Medicham stalled for one turn with Detect, and then fell to Shadow Ball. BOOLOON won at Level 59 with 193/256 HP, and all the damage came from Hail.
 
Pokemon Pearl Solo Drifblim Part 5: Choice Specs-tacular


Team Galactic Grunts in their Veilstone City HQ were as tiresome as any Team Rocket Grunt from Johto. One of them even hoped to beat BOOLOON with a Level 32 Wurmple! Can you picture any other evil team trying to take over the world with Caterpies?


Cyrus had a superior team to his Grunts, but BOOLOON still shocked them all with Thunderbolts for a perfect victory at Level 60. Drifblim fried Murkrow and Golbat immediately, but Sneasel had a chance to attack that was wasted on Screech. Drifblim equipped the Magnet, but all opponents could have dropped dead in one turn each with Choice Specs.


Shadow Ball sprayed Commander Saturn's Kadabra and Bronzor with ectoplasm, and a Gust was enough to topple Level 40 Toxicroak. No, it wasn't a critical hit.


Now that Rock Climb was available after defeating Candice, Drifblim replaced Stockpile with Psychic from a TM to the west of Celestic Town. Psychic was less overpowering than it would have been in Kanto or even Johto: most dangerous enemies at this point were Dark types.


On Spear Pillar at the summit of Mt. Coronet, Commanders Mars and Jupiter challenged BARRY and AGATHA to a Double Battle. To make it easier to follow, I'll type a battle log below:


Turn 1: Enemies send out two Bronzors. AGATHA summons Level 61 BOOLOON, BARRY summons Level 40 Munchlax. BOOLOON attacks a Bronzor with Shadow Ball. One Bronzor hits BOOLOON with Gyro Ball, and the other hits Munchlax with Extrasensory. Munchlax uses Screech on one Bronzor.


Turn 2: BOOLOON kills one Bronzor with Shadow Ball. The other Bronzor hits BOOLOON with Gyro Ball. Munchlax uses Screech on Bronzor.


Turn 3: Level 46 Skuntank appears. BOOLOON uses Thunderbolt on Skuntank, causing it to eat Sitrus Berry. Skuntank uses Night Slash on BOOLOON. Bronzor uses Gyro Ball on BOOLOON. Munchlax paralyzes Skuntank with Body Slam.


Turn 4: BOOLOON's Gust kills Skuntank. Bronzor uses Confuse Ray on BOOLOON. Munchlax uses Body Slam on Bronzor.


Turn 5: Golbat appears. BOOLOON's Thunderbolt knocks out Golbat. Bronzor increases enemy team's Special Defense with Light Screen. Munchlax's Screech fails.


Turn 6: BOOLOON hits herself in confusion. Bronzor hits BOOLOON with Gyro Ball. Munchlax Body Slams Bronzor.


Turn 7: BOOLOON's Gust kills Bronzor.


Turn 8: Level 45 Purugly appears. BOOLOON uses Thunderbolt on Purugly, making it eat Sitrus Berry. Purugly uses Slash on Munchlax. Munchlax uses Screech on Purugly.


Turn 9: BOOLOON uses Thunderbolt on Purugly. Purugly's Hypnosis misses. Munchlax kills Purugly with Body Slam.


Turn 10: BOOLOON's Psychic kills the last Golbat while at low yellow HP.



BARRY was considerate enough to heal Drifblim before Cyrus decided to fight AGATHA. Driblim sent Honchkrow crashing to the ground with Thunderbolt, but Weavile had high Special Defense and healed with a Sitrus Berry. Cyrus must have specially bred his Weavile since it jabbed Drifblim with two Ice Punches even after the first Thunderbolt caused paralysis. At least Drifblim took out Weavile with Aftermath while dying!


DEATH COUNT: 4


Reloading the save forced Drifblim to fight Jupiter and Mars again. This time, I had a new tactic: attack the Munchlax to make BARRY send out a better Doubles partner. And none of the Team Galactic bosses had monsters that resisted Thunderbolt, so Choice Specs gave Drifblim the necessary tunnel vision.


Turn 1: BOOLOON uses Thunderbolt on Munchlax. Bronzor uses Confuse Ray on BOOLOON. The other Bronzor uses Rock Slide on our team. Munchlax uses Stockpile.


Turn 2: BOOLOON hits herself in confusion. One Bronzor hits BOOLOON with Gyro Ball, and the other Bronzor hits Munchlax with Extrasensory.


Turn 3: BOOLOON's Thunderbolt knocks out Munchlax. Both Bronzors attack BOOLOON with Gyro Ball and Rock Slide.


Turn 4: BARRY sends out Ponyta. BOOLOON attacks a Bronzor with Thunderbolt for KO (?). Ponyta uses Fire Blast on a Bronzor. Bronzor uses Rock Slide.


Turn 5: BOOLOON's Thunderbolt knocks out Purugly. Ponyta's Fire Blast misses Bronzor. Bronzor uses Extrasensory on BOOLOON.


Turn 6: BOOLOON zaps Golbat with Thunderbolt. Ponyta uses Will o Wisp on Bronzor and defeats it with Burn damage.


Turn 7: Skuntank appears. BOOLOON attacks Skuntank with Thunderbolt and makes it eat Sitrus Berry. Skuntank's Poison Jab knocks out Ponyta. BARRY sends out Staraptor, who Intimidates Skuntank.


Turn 8: Staraptor uses Quick Attack on Skuntank, and BOOLOON finishes it off with Thunderbolt.


Turn 9: Golbat is killed by BOOLOON's Thunderbolt. BOOLOON is at a little over half HP.



Round 2 with Cyrus started with an instant Thunderbolt kill to Honchkrow as expected. Level 48 Weavile still withstood a Thunderbolt, and was paralyzed again. It could only Ice Punch Drifblim once since Cyrus fed it a Super Potion on the next turn. Two more Thunderbolts destroyed Driblim's most dangerous enemy, and one last Thunderbolt jolted Crobat for a Level 63 victory at 150/272 HP.


AGATHA was allowed to save before facing Level 47 Palkia, but this was just a precaution. Two Choice Specs powered Shadow Balls sent the legendary of space back to its home world, and Drifblim was at 211/272 HP after a Dragon Claw scratch.


On the way to Sunyshore City, I noticed that many of the fishermen liked to switch out their leading Magikarp or Feebas. This is such a rare occurrence in Pokemon that it was worth mentioning.


AGATHA relieved Volkner's boredom with Choice Specs. Shadow Ball was out for the final Gym Leader since he had a Normal type Ambipom for some reason. But all targets were neutral to Psychic! Raichu withstood the first Psychic but suffered a Special Defense decrease. Raichu cast Charge Beam to increase its Special Attack and drank a Hyper Potion, only to fall to the next Psychic.


Level 49 Luxray also needed two Psychics to kill, and lost some of its Special Defense too. Luxray opted for Crunch instead of an Electric move and subtracted one stage from Drifblim's Defense. Octillery aimed a Charge Beam and increased its Special Attack, and the octopus that evolved from a remora fell to two Psychics. Ambipom failed to attack at all and grew its Special Attack with Nasty Plot. After the last two Psychics, Drifblim floated out of the arena with 111/281 HP. If those Electric types had known Thunderbolt, Volkner could have added to the DEATH COUNT!


Drifblim is eligible for Charge Beam. Since Calm Mind isn't available until after the game is over, this is the best stat boosting move she will have. How many Rare Candies will it take to get past Cynthia?
 
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Pokemon Pearl Solo Drifblim FINALE: Deflating Toward the Finish Line


The swimming trainers north of Sunyshore City were so feeble, Drifblim could kill some of their monsters with Gust without super effective damage, such as Azurill and Wingull. BOOLOON met her match in Victory Road when she encountered Ace Trainer Mariah and her Blissey. Blissey was commonly used in multiplayer matches because almost all Special Attacks bounced off its fat. This Blissey could Sing Drifblim to sleep, set up Light Screen to increase its Special Defense further, and eat Softboiled eggs to heal back any damage it did take. To save time, I reset the game. Perhaps Drifblim could have won with Struggle, but I wasn't going to spend that much time depleting PP with Pokemon Pearl's slow game engine.



RESET COUNT: 1



Drifblim finally ditched Gust in favor of Charge Beam for Round 2 with Ace Trainer Mariah. At +6 Special Attack, Drifblim still needed 2 Psychics to KO, including the damage Blissey already took from the final Charge Beam!



BARRY became much more competent in his final battle at the Pokemon Center just before the Elite 4. A Charge Beam critical zapped his Staraptor. Charge Beam increased BOOLOON's Special Attack when used against Floatzel, who bit Drifblim iwith an Ice Fang. Thunderbolt eliminated Floatzel, but +1 Special Attack wasn't enough to take out Level 53 Torterra with one Shadow Ball. All Torterra could do was to cast Leaf Storm, a poor move coming from a monster designed for physical attacks. Heracross was a Fighting type and therefore weak to Psychic.



When BARRY sent out Snorlax, it was apparent he'd studied under Red. A Thunderbolt, a critical Special Attack raising Charge Beam, and another Thunderbolt were necessary to electrocute the Snorlax. Snorlax had a super effective Crunch and a high Attack stat to use it, and the second Crunch decreased BOOLOON's Defense. Rapidash wasn't rapid enough for BOOLOON, who shot a Shadow Ball at it. Drifblim won with 95/297 HP at Level 69 courtesy of Shell Bell healing.



Perhaps no other Pokemon in my solo challenges has choked so hard at the end of the game as Drifblim. BOOLOON lost to all 5 Pokemon League trainers at least once. This was probably due to the Fluctuating experience curse, which punished fast growth at low levels with slow growth at high levels. BOOLOON could have benefited from a +Speed nature, or perhaps the Unburden ability combined with a consumable berry.


Aaron won against AGATHA with the help of the unlikeliest of Pokemon: Dustox. Normally, Dustox was used by anemic Team Galactic Grunts. Aaron's version could survive one Psychic from a Level 69 Drifblim, set up Light Screen to defend against the rest of the team, inflict Toxic as if it were Ghetsis's Cofagrigus, and dodge attacks with Double Team. Drapion delivered the final blow with Aerial Ace, but BOOLOON had lost when Toxic struck. This wasn't Crystal where Poison damage was skipped when I knocked out a monster.



DEATH COUNT: 5



On Take 2, I recycled my Pokemon White tactics and equipped a Pecha Berry. Charge Beam failed to increase Special Attack, but did soften Dustox for the final Psychic once the berry cured Toxic. Out of the next three Charge Beams against Drapion, two raised Special Attacks. It should have been an easy victory for Aaron if Drapion bothered to use Night Slash or something, but it attacked with Cross Poison, Aerial Ace, and X-Scissor. Thunderbolt electrocuted Drapion, Beautifly, and Vespiquen, and Psychic outwitted Heracross. BOOLOON won with 233/297 HP at Level 69.



Bertha was a Ground specialist and led with a Quagsire, so Charge Beam was not an option at the beginning. Protect and Double Team stymied BOOLOON when she tried to shoot Shadow Balls, and Quagsire would sometimes summon a Sandstorm to cause gradual damage. But Sandstorm had another benefit: a hidden 50% boost to Rock types' Special Defense! I remember when this was discovered online some time after Pearl's release, since nothing in the game told the player about it.



Bertha had a Sudowoodo and a Golem which could outlast Shadow Ball with a Sandstorm active. Sudowoodo also had Sucker Punch, an 80 power super effective priority move. It wasn't easy to be a Ghost in Sinnoh when Drifblim was being slapped with a 160 power version of Quick Attack. If Sucker Punch didn't knock out Drifblim, Golem's Gyro Ball did.


DEATH COUNT: 8


Drifblim only won after equipping Choice Specs for the last time and eating enough Rare Candies to reach Level 72. Quagsire couldn't attack BOOLOON no matter how many turns it wasted with Protect and Double Team. Sudowoodo Sucker Punched Drifblim and fell to two Shadow Balls. Golem only required one Shadow Ball. Two Shadow Balls defeated Whiscash, who only struck back with a weak Zen Headbutt. Hippowdon called a Sandstorm with its passive ability, ate a Sitrus Berry after the first Shadow Ball, and Crunched into BOOLOON. One more Shadow Ball killed the hippo, and BOOLOON won with 73/310 HP at Level 72.


It took some experimentation and luck to defeat Flint, the Fire specialist with only 2 Fire types. Rapidash once paralyzed Drifblim with a Bounce. Steelix was the worst to face since it resisted all of Drifblim's attacks. Steelix also supported the rest of the team with Sunny Day and Rock Tomb. As a Normal type, Lopunny was immune to Shadow Ball and would survive a Thunderbolt and repay with Mirror Coat.


DEATH COUNT: 10



Drifblim endured Flint's battle with the help of the Magnet and three Special Attack boosts with Charge Beam against Rapidash. Rapidash and Drifblim perished by Thunderbolt (to conserve PP). Two Shadow Balls brought down Steelix since the first decreased its Special Defense. Steelix only attacked with Fire Fang, probably because Rapidash's Sunny Day was still active. Infernape ran around BOOLOON and lunged with Flare Blitz before dying to Psychic. Thunderbolt with the Magnet and +3 Special Attack shocked Lopunny before it could try Mirror Coat, and BOOLOON won at Level 73 with 104/314 HP.


Drifblim equipped Spell Tag for extra Ghost damage against Lucian the Psychic specialist. Charge Beam rolled +1 Special Attack versus Mr. Mime, who thought of Psychic before Shadow Ball killed it. Charge Beam was lucky again against Girafarig, who had to be attacked with Thunderbolt because it was part Normal. Girafarig knew Shadow Ball as well, and dropped BOOLOON's Special Defense with it. Medicham was slow and weak to Shadow Ball, but Alakazam was too fast for Drifblim and launched a Psychic assault.



DEATH COUNT: 11



Drifblim won on the next attempt because Thunderbolt's paralysis prevented Girafarig from attacking. Without the prior damage and -1 Special Defense, BOOLOON survived an Alakazam Psychic. Two Shadow Balls rang Bronzong's bell for a victory at Level 73 with 111/314 HP.



BOOLOON kept the Spell Tag when fighting Champion Cynthia. She was infamous among Pearl players for having perfect stats and unusually strong monsters, particularly Garchomp. When I used to level up against the Elite 4, Garchomp would sometimes kill my much higher leveled Palkia if Spacial Rend missed. What chance would a Level 73 Drifblim have?



It looked like there was no chance once Charge Beam either failed to roll a +Special Attack, or missed outright against Spiritomb. Spiritomb had some of the worst AI in the game because it knew Dark Pulse but often cast Psychic or a resisted Silver Wind (!) instead. In spite of Spiritomb's incomptence, it finally cast Dark Pulse after using every other move, including Embargo. Milotic flash-froze BOOLOON with an Ice Beam.


FINAL DEATH COUNT: 12



Drifblim avenged her loss with three Charge Beam Special Attack increases against Spiritomb as it used Psychic and Silver Wind. A single Magnet powered Thunderbolt cooked Milotic, and Psychic made Roserade regret being a Poison type. Gastrodon was hardy enough to take one Shadow Ball and pour Muddy Water on BOOLOON, but two more Shadow Balls deleted it after Cynthia fed it a Full Restore. Lucario conducted a Thunderbolt.



Cynthia's dreaded Garchomp whiffed a Dragon Rush as BOOLOON shot a Shadow Ball. Garchomp wolfed down its Sitrus Berry and made Drifblim flinch when Dragon Rush connected. But the final Dragon Rush missed, and a final Shadow Ball made BOOLOON the Champion at Level 73 with 42/314 HP!



Drifblim's performance is uneven throughout the game. Its mediocre attacking stats and move selection let it down when confronting Rock, Normal, and Steel types. Ghost/Flying is disadvantaged against many recurring types, particularly Rock in the beginning and near the end, Dark when fighting Team Galactic bosses and Sucker Punch Sudowoodo, and Ice in Snowpoint City's Gym and the final Cyrus battle.



Drifblim sometimes even struggles to beat Gym Leaders that Ghost/Flying is supposed to be good against, such as Gardenia and Maylene, since it has to rely on the 40 power Gust rather than Air Slash. But some Gym Leaders are free victories, such as Fantina and Crasher Wake. Fluctuating is the worst experience curve in the game, so be sure to try it if you want a "low level solo" in Pearl. Wasn't expecting an evolved Pokemon to be this difficult!20211222_185354.jpg


EDIT: Forgot to include the last Stats and Moves!


Level 73

HP: 314
Attack: 139
Defense: 115
Special Attack: 161
Special Defense: 102
Speed: 166

Charge Beam
Shadow Ball
Thunderbolt
Psychic


Drifblim happens to be the last Fluctuating Pokemon ever made. All the others are from Hoenn. The opposite experience group Erratic has been used as late as Sword and Shield with the Applin family.
 
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Pokemon Crystal Solo Abra


The format for this writeup will be different since it's already been completed. I was crazy enough yesterday to think that I could complete a Pokemon Crystal solo challenge in 2 days while battling most enemy trainers. The original plan was to use Umbreon for its novelty as the only Dark type available before Kanto, but I messed up the timing and couldn't get the Return TM. So why not buy an Abra at the Game Corner for 100 coins instead?


Game Corner Abra comes at Level 5 just before Whitney's Gym and is in the Medium Slow experience group like the usual Grass, Fire, and Water starters. Its 105 base Special Attack and 90 base Speed are better than many evolved Pokemon, but comes at the cost of 25 base HP, 20 base Attack, and 15 base Defense. You'll have to be in the mid 80s before you get triple digit Defense! Save Sprout Tower for Abra since you can easily get it to Level 13. Mine grew two levels in the first trainer fight there!


Abra's only default move is Teleport, which would make this an Insanity Challenge if Abra were available at the beginning. But the Goldenrod City department store sells Fire Punch, Ice Punch, and Thunder Punch TMs for a low cost. These elemental punches have 75 power and offer wide type coverage. Pick up the Charcoal in Azalea Town and Nevermeltice in the ice cave to power up the punches. No Psychic type moves are available until you talk to Mr. Psychic in Saffron City, so Abra is only a Psychic type in defensive terms until then.


Gym Leaders and Major Battles


Whitney: She's not a problem at Level 26 with 3 Ice Punches so long as Miltank doesn't attack with Stomp. Clefairy's Metronome became Poison Sting, which poisoned my Abra.


Kimono Girls: Umbreon can be threatening with Pursuits.


Burned Tower Rival: Haunter can survive one punch and deal heavy damage with Lick. Other than that, everything can be killed with 1 super effective punch, even Bayleef.


Morty: My Abra won on the first try, but that was with 1 HP (!) at Level 35 after Gengar shot him with a Shadow Ball. I had previously battled the trainers on the route west of Ecruteak City and in Olivine City's lighthouse. Consider battling the trainers east of Ecruteak to gain another level or two if you try this challenge.


Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan in Chuck's Gym: Both take 2 punches to kill and have to be fought back to back, so I'm counting this as a major battle. My Abra lost more than half his health to Jump Kick from Hitmonlee and a Comet Punch from Hitmonchan.


Chuck: Thunder Punch will barely fail to KO Poliwrath at Level 40. In my case, Fire Punch inflicted Burn on the Primeape. Dynamicpunch doesn't hit quite as hard as you think: my Abra won the battle with 57/88 HP. Contrast that with Sudowoodo's miserable performance in spite of its high Defense. Resistances can sometimes make up for bad stats.


Jasmine: At Level 41, Steelix can hold on after one Fire Punch. My Abra killed it with the Burn side effect and survived an Iron Tail with 43/88 HP. Abra would have died for sure if it weren't for the Burn Attack drop.


Pryce: Don't follow my mid-Johto Gym order. Fight Pryce first instead. You get experience from the route north of town and the local Team Rocket Hideout beforehand, and even Pryce's star Piloswine is 4 levels lower than Jasmine's Steelix. All of Pryce's monsters fall to Thunder Punch or Fire Punch, and Abra gets a Special Attack bonus from his badge.


Team Rocket in Goldenrod City: Scientist Rich's Level 30 Porygon counts as a mini-boss. It can endure one punch and strike back with a Tri Attack that can cause status ailments if you're unlucky. This Rival fight is a flawless victory. The nameless Team Rocket Executive with the Houndoom can subtract more than half of Abra's HP with a Faint Attack: mine had 50/113 HP at Level 52 by the end. Houndoom falls to two Thunder Punches.


Clair: All three Dragonites become icicles when Abra punches them. Kingdra needs two punches to knock out. Don't know how strong it is since it whiffed against my Abra with a Hyper Beam, but it would probably deal a lot of damage.


Rival in Victory Road: A pushover.


Will: None of his Psychic Pokemon can take a Level 61 punch, and that includes Slowbro.


Koga: Muk can defend against one punch and strike back with Sludge Bomb. Other than that, everything dies instantly.


Bruno: Ironically, this is one of the harder battles in the game for Abra. Without Psychic, Abra has to punch each of the Hitmons and the Machamp twice. Hitmontop usually Digs for minor damage, but Machamp can launch Rock Slide, and Hitmonchan can pick off a weakened Abra with a priority Mach Punch. My Abra did it at Level 62, but only held on with 2 HP!


Karen: The Dark master is the hardest boss in the game other than Red. Don't even think about fighting her without using the 7 Johto Rare Candies, which give Abra enough Special Attack to defeat Umbreon and Houndoom with two punches each. Umbreon doesn't always Faint Attack even if it's super effective, and likes to make you blind with Sand Attack. Houndoom's Crunch gouged my Abra down to 44/151 HP.


Lance: If you can beat Karen, you'll cackle as each of the Champion's Pokemon drops dead after one punch each. He should have reconsidered recruiting only Flying types!


Kanto Gym Leaders: All of them are mentioned collectively since they have no chance against Abra. Blue and his Arcanine with Extremespeed may be an exception, but he failed to use that against me for some reason. Cal in Viridian City and the Rival fight in Mt. Moon are no better.


Red: Only playing Double Team roulette can save Abra at Level 86. Even then, that doesn't always work. Pikachu's Thunder hits more often than you'd like for an attack with 70% accuracy. Expect paralysis too: one failed attempt made my Abra lose 8 turns because of Pikachu's Thunder! Abra can survive one Snorlax Body Slam if at high enough HP. If you can get past Snorlax with repeated Psychics and you're not paralyzed, you should win. But Charizard and Blastoise require two Thunder Punches to kill. Venusaur is part Poison type and crumples after one Psychic.



DEATH COUNT


-Accidental encounter with Youngster Ian's Mankey while still at Level 5. You have to walk in a specific path to avoid all the trainers south of Goldenrod.

-Officer Keith's Level 17 Growlithe. Fire types like Growlithe and Flareon are neutral to Thunder Punch, and can Bite you for super effective damage.

-Thrash from Red Gyarados. I usually catch it for convenience because it learns so many HMs, but sometimes it can kill you because it's Level 30.

-Scientist Rich's Porygon. Its Tri Attack rolled both critical damage and a paralysis side effect.

-Mach Punch from Bruno's Hitmonchan.

-Hi Jump Kick from Bruno's Hitmonlee.

-Mach Punch from Bruno's Hitmonchan.

-Crunch from Karen's Houndoom.

-Pursuit from Karen's Houndoom.

-Crunch from Karen's Houndoom.

-Body Slam from Red's Snorlax.

-Body Slam from Red's Snorlax.

-Swift from Red's Espeon. Pikachu had already injured Abra with Thunder.

-Surf from Red's Blastoise. This was after many turns of paralysis.

-Thunder from Red's Pikachu. Double Team's evasion failed here!


Final Time: 9:17. Lower than Sudowoodo.


Final Stats for MARK TRAIL the Abra


Level 86

HP: 196
Attack: 108
Defense: 101
Special Attack: 237
Special Defense: 151
Speed: 221


Psychic
Ice Punch
Thunder Punch
Double Team


20211224_173811.jpg


EDIT 2: There's a blooper I forgot to mention last night. The starting Croconaw managed to die 3 times to the Rival's Bayleef in Azalea Town. Since it didn't involve Abra, it's not part of the official DEATH COUNT.
 
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Pokemon Pearl Solo Bibarel


Few regular Pokemon are associated so much with the Sinnoh games as the Bidoof line. Bidoof's evolution Bibarel has a unique Normal/Water typing. With same type attack bonus on both Return and Surf, it must wish it had debuted in Johto! Normally unevolved Pokemon make for more interesting solos, but Bibarel has uninspiring base stats:


HP: 79
Attack: 85
Defense: 60
Special Attack: 55
Special Defense: 60
Speed: 71


71 Speed may be good enough for Crystal, but it's a genuine disadvantage in Pearl where enemies have proper level scaling by the end. Bibarel has a wide selection of moves like many Normal types, though they often rely on its inferior Special Attack.


My computer crashed while typing the original stats when NORBERTA the Bidoof was caught, so I don't have those. It had a neutral Serious nature and "somewhat vain" (Special Defense) as its individual value characteristic. NORBERTA fought with the rare "Speed tie" against random monsters at the beginning. Lass Sarah near Jubilife City had a Level 7 Bidoof which was evenly matched with my own, as shown by the DEATH COUNT. NORBERTA only won the next attempt because Lass Sarah decided to Growl many times before attacking.


To offset Bidoof's awful Speed, I equipped the Quick Claw for a random chance to go first. Rival BARRY east of Jubilife was a threatening opponent, but threw away the battle when his Turtwig kept Withdrawing to increase its Defense instead of striking. NORBERTA limped to victory with 6/33 HP at Level 10.


Lass Madeline must have been lying when she said she beat Roark! She only had a Level 5 Starly and Level 5 Bidoof. My own Bidoof had to grow to Level 15 and evolve to stand a chance. Once the supply of easy trainers was exhausted, NORBERTA had to beat up much of the local wildlife. This wasn't like Pokemon White where Audino experience yield was better than the trainers either.


Once Bidoof learned Rollout at Level 13, she could crush the minor Rock type trainers in Oreburgh Mine and Oreburgh City's Gym with the help of Defense Curl setup. Bidoof became Bibarel after more wild Pokemon battles and learned Water Gun, the only Water move she would learn naturally. At least it's better than Piplup's Bubble!


Bibarel's first Gym was a clean victory at Level 16. Water Gun doused Geodude and Onix. Cranidos probably would have survived if not for the critical hit, since it was pure Rock rather than Rock/Ground.


NORBERTA learned Headbutt by level up just in time for Commander Mars in Valley Windworks. Was this turning into a Johto playthrough in disguise? Zubat fell like a soccer player after one Headbutt, though Purugly needed 3. Fortunately, Purugly only had a 60 power Faint Attack, and NORBERTA won with 28/60 HP at Level 18.


Floaroma Town had a Pluck TM available for Bibarel, and a physical Flying attack would be necessary for Gardenia. It also had the side effect of eating enemy berries. She was difficult even for Drifloon who allegedly had an advantage over her, let alone a Water type. Pluck could uproot Cherubi, though Turtwig survived on one attempt and built a Reflect wall for its team. Roserade was a competitively competent Grass type with Magical Leaf and Grass Knot, which overgrew on Bibarel. NORBERTA only won on the 3rd try with 35/79 HP at Level 25 because Gardenia was stupid enough to try POISON STING!


I expected Commander Jupiter in Eterna City to be more difficult, so Bibarel tried to build up a Rollout combo but whiffed the first one. Headbutt pounded the Skuntank twice before the Water Gun finisher, and neither Night Slash was a critical. NORBERTA won at Level 27 with 436/85 HP.



Bibarel battled some extra trainers in Wayward Cave, which I hadn't bothered with in the Drifblim challenge. Bibarel's level at the end was significantly higher, though this was due to being Medium Fast rather than Fluctuating. Note for Pokemon with arms: there's a Brick Break TM in Oreburgh Cave's basement.


BARRY's battle in Hearthome City was a formality at Level 32. The only enemy Pokemon attack was the inevitable Buizel Quick Attack, and Bibarel triumphed with 97/102 HP. NORBERTA found the Return TM in Lost Tower and marched to Veilstone City.


Gym Leader Maylene should have been more difficult even at Level 40, as she was a Fighting specialist with a Lucario. Bibarel struck with Return since Pluck's low power was obsolete by now. Lucario once made a wise move with Drain Punch to heal, but then missed with Bone Rush for some reason. A third Return ended the battle at Level 40 with 79/123 HP.


NORBERTA insulted Dr. Footstep with "You're not thinking, are you?" This was a common problem in Sinnoh, however, so it was unfair to single him out. Bibarel had one new option for Crasher Wake: the Shock Wave TM. She zapped the Intimidating Gyarados with one move. I clicked Pluck against Quagsire since I mistakenly believed it had a Sitrus Berry, and then finished it off with Return. Floatzel was the true star of the team with the Sitrus Berry, but wasted its turn against Bibarel with. . .Ice Fang? Another Shock Wave later, and NORBERTA was the victor at Level 45 with 135/138 HP.


Rival BARRY in Pastoria City was a full HP victory at Level 45 with the Shell Bell equipped, but not perfect as Buizel used Quick Attack again.


It was best for Bibarel to take a detour to Celestic Town before confronting Fantina. Along the way was a Shadow Ball TM to use against Ghosts. Celestic Town itself had Surf and the Choice Specs, though I had to manipulate the DS clock after receiving Blackglasses and Wise Glasses. Didn't know Choice Specs was a timed event!


Even at Level 52, Fantina wasn't a flawless victory. Her Mismagius absorbed one Choice Specs Shadow Ball and cast Psybeam before being exorcised with a second Shadow Ball. Bibarel won with 141/161 HP.


Bibarel put on Wise Glasses for a 10% Special Attack boost before fighting BARRY in Canalave City. I had mistakenly believed that Grotle was Grass/Ground and clicked Surf, but the error became pointless when Surf was a critical hit! Staravia had Intimidate but Return was irrelevant anyway. Buizel swapped out Quick Attack for Aqua Jet, and after the last Shock Wave connected Bibarel won with 162/167 HP at Level 54.


With Choice Specs + Surf at Level 58, Byron had no chance even with a puny Special Attack stat. Bronzor was unevolved and both Steelix and Bastiodon were weak to Water. Commander Saturn at Lake Valor was another perfect battle since even the star Toxicroak crumpled after one Return. Commander Mars at Lake Verity was another clean sweep with Choice Specs + Surf, even the Purugly.


RACHEL the player character purchased a Silk Scarf from the Game Corner for 1000 coins, a Normal enhancing item similar to the Pink Bow from Crystal. Snowpoint City had "trendy sayings" like Dewford Town in Hoenn, and for this playthrough it was: PH BALANCE. Maybe they were unusually fond of pure water at the time?


Gym Leader CandICE would have been a flawless victory at Level 64, if not for continuous Hail damage from Snover's Snow Warning ability. Return knocked out Snover, Medicham, Abomasnow, and Sneasel with one hit each thanks to Silk Scarf. NORBERTA conquered the 7th Gym with 160/196 HP.


RACHEL Rock Climbed up a cliff on the snowy Route 216 to gain a free Ice Beam TM, which would have been 10,000 coins at the Game Corner. When Bibarel battled Cyrus in Veilstone City with Wise Glasses, her trainer had forgotten to heal some minor damage beforehand. Murkrow and Golbat became popsicles after Ice Beam casts, though Sneasel lashed out with Quick Attack before falling to Return. Commander Saturn a few rooms later was a flawless victory with Choice Specs + Surf, but Saturn probably isn't hard for any solo!


To save some time in the Commanders Mars and Jupiter Double Battle, Bibarel wore Choice Specs and flooded the arena with Surf. This drowned Bronzors, Golbats, Purugly, and Skuntank, but also BARRY's Munchlax and Staraptor. BARRY's Heracross at least had the dignity to die to Skuntank's Flamethrower.


That Choice Specs decision was a mistake when Cyrus came immediately after! A critical Surf soaked Honchkrow. Weavile outran Bibarel and struck with a super effective Brick Break. Cyrus was too conservative to press the attack and fed Weavile a Super Potion, leaving an opening for Surf. Three Surfs were needed to drown Gyarados, who retaliated with both Earthquake and Giga Impact. Crobat chewed with Bite before Surf inundated the arena, and Bibarel saved Spear Pillar with only 17/210 HP at Level 69. Palkia was easy to defeat with two Returns.


Unlike in the Drifblim challenge, the Fishermen near Sunyshore City did NOT switch out their Pokemon when fighting Bibarel. Gym Leader Volkner in Sunyshore City should have been harder even at Level 72, but none of his monsters ever attacked. Raichu had a chance when it survived a Surf, though it chose to set up Light Screen. All of Volkner's monsters from Raichu to Octillery were vulnerable to Return, and Luxray didn't have Intimidate.


BARRY at the Pokemon League led with Staraptor and its Intimidate. Ice Beam froze Staraptor, but two Surfs were needed to defeat Heracross. Heracross attacked with the Flying type Aerial Ace instead of a Fighting move. Torterra was Grass/Ground and therefore Ice Beam bait. Floatzel had too low Defense to take a Return even at -1 Attack, and two were sufficient to take out Snorlax. Snorlax's Crunch was the last enemy move since Rapidash was too slow to avoid a Surf extinguisher. NORBERTA stood strong with 174/234 HP at Level 77.


The decision before Aaron was between Choice Specs + Surf or Silk Scarf + Return. With Return, Bibarel swatted Dustox, but Heracross barely held on and attacked with Night Slash. More Returns crushed Heracross and pressed Beautifly, though Ice Beam was better for the more durable Bug type Vespiquen when it inflicted Freeze. If only that happened with Solo Abra's Ice Punches! Drapion attacked with Aerial Ace as Bibarel was smacking it with Return. NORBERTA grew to Level 78 with 175/236 HP.


Gardenia had surrendered a Grass Knot TM, and now was the time to use it. All of Bertha's monsters were weak to Grass, creating a Choice Specs opportunity. Quagsire didn't have a chance to set up Double Team, though Sudowoodo was pure Rock and lived long enough to summon Sandstorm. Sandstorm's Special Attack increase for Rock types failed to save Golem, and Hippowdon was too heavy to take a Grass Knot trip. Wiscash despite being Water/Ground survived one Grass Knot and Zen Headbutted NORBERTA. Bibarel conquered at Level 78 with 107/236 HP.


Choice Specs + Surf was the obvious choice for Flint. It was troubling when both Rapidash and Infernape activated Flare Blitz before Bibarel could act. Lopunny used Charm instead of Mirror Coat, which would surely have killed Bibarel. Steelix was as vulnerable to Surf as any other of its species, though Drifblim made a Double Team illusion before deflating after multiple Surfs. Bibarel won at Level 79 with 144/239 HP.


Silk Scarf + Return came back for Lucian. Mr Mime's invisible walls were no match for Normal attacks. Continuing the theme of Fighting types not using Fighting attacks, Medicham clicked Ice Punch (?!) when the first Return failed to KO. Alakazam quickly cast Psychic before facing its Return destiny. Girafarig was the weakest of Lucian's team. Bronzong was both a defensive and offensive threat when it shrugged off Surfs, increased its special stats with Calm Mind, and cast Psychic. But Bronzong wasted a few turns with a resisted Gyro Ball, and NORBERTA held on with only 8/239 HP at Level 79.


Champion Cynthia's team was too diverse for Choice Specs and too Normal-resistant for Silk Scarf. So Wise Glasses were the way to go. Embargo's item disabling power may have been relevant for the first time ever in a Pokemon battle when Spiritomb used it against my Bibarel. At Level 79, both Lucario and Garchomp outran Bibarel and attacked with Dragon Pulse, Psychic, and Brick Break. No, it wasn't the Fighting type Lucario that used the Fighting move. Bibarel was at 1 HP after Garchomp, and a Gastrodon Earthquake ended Take 1.


On Take 2, NORBERTA replaced Grass Knot with Charge Beam to imitate Drifblim's tactics, and grew to Level 82 with Rare Candies. Bibarel's higher Speed stat was enough to beat Lucario, but not Garchomp, whose Earthquake dropped NORBERTA into a fissure.


Take 3 was the final battle. This time Bibarel replaced Return with Charge Beam instead of Grass Knot. Charge Beam's luck was still bad as NORBERTA only received one Special Attack boost. Spiritomb cast Dark Pulse and two Psychics before. . .Cynthia switched to Roserade? Roserade took a Surf on the switch as the Embargo ended, and Ice Beam chilled it to death. Critical Surf poured on Lucario. Garchomp used a high magnitude Earthquake before Ice Beam made it extinct. A good damage roll on Grass Knot eliminated Gastrodon, and Surf exorcised Spiritomb.


Cynthia could have won the battle with Milotic when Bibarel had only 15 HP and couldn't kill it with a non-critical attack. But Milotic planned for long term healing with Aqua Ring (!) and two Grass Knots made NORBERTA the new Sinnoh Champion!


Bibarel is a far more capable solo Pokemon than Drifblim. Bibarel's superior experience group and better move selection make up for its subpar stats. My Bibarel was Unaware like Solo Swoobat, and a Simple Bibarel playthrough would have been different. Simple would have made Intimidates twice as annoying with the reward of a +2 Special Attack Charge Beam after the 8th Gym. Perhaps a +Special Attack nature or a +Speed nature would have helped with the final battles.


In future solo challenges, I may stick to the Slow and Fluctuating experience groups if they're available early on.


DEATH COUNT

-Lass Sarah's Level 7 Bidoof with Tackle.
-Gym Leader Roark's Geodude with Rock Throw. Wanted to see if a Defense Curl + Rollout Bidoof could win.
-Gym Leader Gardenia's Roserade with Magical Leaf.
-Gym Leader Gardenia's Roserade with Grass Knot.
-Champion Cynthia's Gastrodon with Earthquake.
-Champion Cynthia's Garchomp with Earthquake.



Final Stats and Moves

Level 82

HP: 248
Attack: 169
Defense: 139
Special Attack: 132
Special Defense: 135
Speed: 151


Charge Beam
Ice Beam
Surf
Grass Knot


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Pokemon Sapphire Solo Hariyama


I wanted to try another Fluctuating experience Pokemon, and I hadn't played a Hoenn game in a while, so Hariyama was a natural choice. Having a Hariyama starting at Level 24 would have made the playthrough boring, so I kept him as a Makuhita for as long as reasonably possible. Makuhita's base stats look like this, and double upon evolution:


HP: 72
Attack: 60
Defense: 30
Special Attack: 20
Special Defense: 30
Speed: 25


That's slower than Sudowoodo with the Defense of a Weedle! JUNE the trainer started the challenge by teaching Rock Tomb to her Level 8 Makuhita and then mugging the trainers on the mainland that starter Mudkip hadn't already maimed. Fluctuating growth helped at the start when Makuhita learned Arm Thrust for a 2-5 hit Fighting move at Level 10, and later Vital Throw at Level 13. Vital Throw had 70 power and never missed, but the catch was that it forced Makuhita to act second. This was irrelevant at first, but many Hoenn trainers had teams as bad as Johto trainers, so even a 25 Speed monster could outrun them sometimes.


Brawly's subordinates with Meditites were the true threat in the 2nd Gym, not the Gym Leader himself. They were also Psychic types that cast Confusion, and Makuhita only survived the first Meditite with 1 HP at Level 15. The second started the DEATH COUNT.


Fortunately, Sapphire was made before all the Pokemon regions became strictly linear, so JUNE and her Makuhita set out for Slateport City and the route to the north to shake down more trainers. The Team Aqua battle was a farce when Rock Tomb missed 3 times in a row against a Zubat, and then flinched on the next turn due to Astonish.


At Level 23, Makuhita returned to Dewford Town and defeated Battle Girl Tessa's Meditite with the help of paralysis. Like some other Fighting types, my Makuhita happened to have Guts for a 50% Attack increase while afflicted with an ailments.


Brawly's Machop started the battle by Bulking Up to increase its Attack and Defense. Two judo Vital Throws tossed Machop to the mat after it Karate Chopped Makuhita. Brawly's Makuhita connected with a 3 hit Arm Thrust against JUNE's before Vital Throw, and recovered with a Super Potion before Tackle could finish it off. Sand Attack was useless against my perfect accuracy move, and Makuhita won at Level 24 with 25/69 HP. Brawly surrendered the Bulk Up TM, which Makuhita and Hariyama would have on the move list for the entire game.


Sapphire was infamous for weak Rival fights, but the battle on the way to Mauville City with Brandon wasn't one of them. Both Numel and Wailmer liked to shrink Makuhita's Attack with Growl, and attack with Ember and Water Gun. On the first attempt, Grovyle Absorbed the remainder of Makuhita's HP. Take 2 was worse when Numel not only launched a critical Ember, but also Burned Makuhita. Take 3 was victorious at Level 25 with 8/71 HP when Numel failed to Burn for a change.


Makuhita confronted the Winstrate family to the north of Mauville City, which wouldn't have been worth mentioning if this solo used a stronger Pokemon. Vivi's Shroomish preferred to Paralyze Makuhita with Stun Spore, and her Numel also had a tendency to cast critical Embers. If she didn't kill Makuhita, Vicky the grandmother's Meditite did with Confusion.


JUNE retreated and battled the trainers to the west of Mauville, only for Makuhita to hit himself multiple times in confusion after Pokemon Breeder Lydia's Wingull used Supersonic. Poison from her Roselia's Poison Sting finished him off.


Wattson the 3rd Gym Leader, however, was surprisingly easy. Vital Throw killed Magnemite, Voltorb, and Magneton in one hit each. Magnemite and Voltorb tried Thundershock and Sonicboom, but Magneton only used Thunder Wave. Makuhita triumphed at Level 28 with 47/79 HP. The Winstrates were still tough at Level 29 even with good luck against the first few, since Vicky's Meditite Hi Jump Kicked Makuhita down to 16/81 HP.


Archie on Mt. Chimney was a respectable challenge for what was usually the weakest villain team in Pokemon. Mightyena Intimidated Makuhita and subtracted one stage from Attack. Its Sand Attack failed against Vital Throw, and somehow two Rock Tombs hit Golbat in spite of the low accuracy of Rock moves. Even Golbat's Supersonic missed, though it struck with Wing Attack. Sharpedo tried a resisted Crunch, and Makuhita saved the volcano at Level 36 with 34/100 HP.


Makuhita had a gimmick 60 power Normal attack called Smellingsalt at this time, which was usually disappointing. Return from a TM replaced it after giving the Meteorite back to Professor Cozmo in Fallarbor Town. Dig from another TM replaced Rock Tomb because it had superior power and accuracy. Makuhita equipped the Soft Sand to increase Dig's power before taking on Flannery the 4th Gym Leader in Lavaridge Town.


I meant to use Bulk Up against the first Slugma instead of Dig, but a misclick sent Slugma back to the Poke Ball. The first Slugma happened to use Sunny Day, and the second Slugma used the sunlight to cast a 50% stronger Flamethrower with Burn. Return slaughtered Slugma #2, and the power of Guts and Bulk Up undermined Torkoal with Dig. It was a close victory with only 7/105 HP at Level 38.


JUNE easily defeated most trainers in the 5th Gym because they kept using items on the first turn instead of attacking. But Norman was the exact point when Makuhita was no longer viable. Slaking had the base Attack of a legendary, and slapped Makuhita with Facade. Vigoroth gashed Makuhita with a critical Slash and knocked him out. On the next try, Vital Throw with an Adamant (+Attack, -Special Attack) nature wasn't even enough to take out the first Slaking in one hit. Makuhita limped to the last Slaking only to be clobbered with another Facade.


JUNE decided now was the time to unleash Hariyama with a Rare Candy. With double the Speed, Hariyama Bulked Up before the first Slaking could hit with Facade. Vital Throw launched Slaking into the ceiling, and a critical Return conked Vigoroth on the head. Hariyama survived one final Facade from Slaking #2 and Vital Threw it away at Level 42 with 114/177 HP.


Rival Brendan near the Weather Institute dealt some damage when Hariyama used Dig to conserve Return PP against the Numel. Brendan was smart enough to bury him with Magnitude! Still, Numel, Wailmer, and Grovyle fell in one hit each at Level 47 with 114/199 HP.


Winona was a Flying type Gym Leader and should have been more difficult, but Hariyama was too much for her. He Bulked Up against Swellow after taking a super effective Aerial Ace, saw through the Double Team illusion, and struck with Return. Skarmory spread a Sand Attack and fell unconscious after a Vital Throw, while Return bashed Pelipper and Altaria. Hariyama conquered with 164/208 HP at Level 49.


One unusual problem appeared southeast of Fortree City: a Hex Maniac with a Duskull. Duskull was immune to Return and Vital Throw, and also Dig because it had Levitate as an ability. Duskull didn't anticipate what happened next. . .a Surfing sumo wrestler! Surf also conserved PP for better moves against Team Aqua Grunts with Poochyenas and Zubats. It even took out Brendan's Numel in his final battle in Lilycove City. His Swellow, Wailmer, and Grovyle fell to one Return each for a perfect victory at Level 53. The main rival didn't even fully evolve his starter?!


Tate and Liza in the 7th Gym were a mandatory Double Battle and specialized in Psychic types. Solrock and Lunatone were neutral to Fighting attacks, resistant to Return, and immune to Dig. Hariyama tried the "Surf's up" tactic on the first attempt, but Solrock thwarted that with Sunny Day. Not that it would have worked anyway when the enemy could cast two Psychics per round. Lunatone's Hypnosis lulled Hariyama to Sleep on Take 2.


Hariyama fled Mossdeep City and beat up many ocean trainers to grow to Level 59, 4 more than before. JUNE replaced Surf with Arm Thrust and gave Hariyama a Chesto Berry in case Lunatone tried Hypnosis again. Even then it took two tries. One Arm Thrust against Lunatone only hit twice, and a Psychic on Turn 2 was critical.


Turn 1 on the successful battle against Tate and Liza had Solrock use Sunny Day and Lunatone use Calm Mind while Hariyama Bulked Up. Arm Thrust hit twice against Lunatone on Turn 2 again. . .but they were both critical! Solrock retaliated with its own critical Psychic. On Turn 3, Arm Thrust smacked Solrock 3 times, but it had better Defense than Lunatone. Solrock put down the useless Taillow "partner" with Psychic, and ate a Hyper Potion before Hariyama caused an Arm Thrust eclipse. Hariyama won with 117/250 HP at Level 59, and that was close to a best case scenario.


While destroying Team Aqua in Seafloor Cavern, Hariyama picked up an Earthquake TM and finally replaced Dig. He only had 205/250 HP going into the final Archie battle since I'd forgotten to buy healing potions to use between battles. Archie once again led with Intimidate Mightyena, forcing Hariyama to Bulk Up to restore his Attack. Mightyena missed with Scary Face and Hariyama slapped it with Arm Thrust. Crobat out-flew Hariyama and cut him with Wing Attack before Return sent it crashing to the ground. Sharpedo injured Hariyama a bit with its Rough Skin as Arm Thrust destroyed it, and Haryiama won with 134/250 HP at Level 59.


Kyogre was a flawless victory at Level 60 when it whiffed with Hydro Pump. Could it have drowned Hariyama with the automatic Rain bonus from Drizzle and legendary Special Attack? Hariyama at last learned a reliable Fighting attack in Sootopolis City from a Brick Break TM.


Perhaps Hariyama should have Bulked Up in front of Gym Leader Wallace's Luvdisc. Return + Brick Break made Whiscash, Sealeo, and Seaking go belly up, but Milotic barely survived a Brick Break and cast Ice Beam. Wallace fed it two Hyper Potions, though repeated Brick Breaks were sufficient to win the final badge with 227/258 HP at Level 61.


Wally at Level 63 was a perfect victory when his leading Altaria set up Safeguard as Hariyama was Bulking Up. Return, Earthquake, and Brick Break destroyed the entire team from Gardevoir to Magneton.


Sidney as the Dark Elite 4 member should have been a perfect victory, but he was smart enough to lead with Intimidate Mightyena, so Bulk Up was called for. Mightyena struck with Take Down before the rest of the team died one by one to Brick Break. Hariyama won at Level 63 with 228/266 HP.


Solo Breloom's most difficult Elite 4 battle was Phoebe, since the only coverage she had against Ghosts was Iron Tail. Hariyama had Earthquake, and the only attack she used in the entire fight was a Future Sight from the first Dusclops. Dusclops #2, both Banettes, and Sableye were useless, and Hariyama triumphed against a "bad" matchup with 247/270 HP.


Glacia was the easiest Elite 4 member of all, since all she had were slow Glalies, Sealeos, and Walrein that were all vulnerable to Brick Break karate.


Drake was the one difficult Elite 4 member. Shelgon seemed like good Bulk Up setup, but I'd forgotten that it knew Rock Tomb. At -1 Speed, Hariyama would go second after Brick Break cracked Shelgon. Flygon #1 had the foresight to use Sandstorm for 1/16 damage per turn before falling to Brick Break. Salamance's Intimidate was as bad as expected, though it once attacked with an ineffective Crunch (?) before breathing Flamethrower. Two Returns slew Salamence after it ate a Sitrus Berry. Altaria used Dragonbreath and ate a Full Restore after the first Return, but wasted its opportunity with Dragon Dance afterwards. Flygon #2 spewed Flamethrower and Dragonbreath as Hariyama lashed out with Brick Breaks and Return. Hariyama only won with 20/274 HP at Level 65.


JUNE gave Hariyama a Pecha Berry before the last battle with Steven since his Skarmory had Toxic. But Steven wasn't as cruel as Ghetsis, and instead had Skarmory use Aerial Ace and Spikes. One advantage of being a solo character is that you never have to worry about entry hazards like Spikes! At +1 Attack after Bulk Up, Skarmory still needed two hits with Brick Break after a Full Restore since it was one of the best physically defensive Pokemon in the game. Armaldo and Metagross died to Brick Break and Earthquake respectively.


Return was the only decent move against Steven's Claydol, and wasn't a one hit knockout. Claydol started an Earthquake and took a Full Restore before Levitating no more. Aggron and Cradily were saved for last because they were too slow to outrun Brick Break, and Hariyama became the new Hoenn Champion with 187/278 HP at Level 66! A low level for a solo that battled most enemy trainers.


Hariyama is mostly a typical Fighting type, though you may ignore its same type attacks for much of the game if you get rid of the unreliable Arm Thrust. Surf has a niche for pesky Duskulls, and Hariyama is thankful that Gengar doesn't exist in Hoenn. Earthquake is good enough for most native Ghosts, which is one advantage Hariyama has over its fellow Fighting type Breloom.


Final Stats and Moves

Level 66

HP: 278
Attack: 220
Defense: 104
Special Attack: 66
Special Defense: 107
Speed: 104


Return
Bulk Up
Earthquake
Brick Break


DEATH COUNT


As Makuhita

-Bide from Battle Girl Tessa's Meditite, Brawly's Gym
-Absorb from Brendan's Grovyle, Route 110
-Burn from Brendan's Numel, Route 110
-Confusion from Winstrate Vicky's Meditite
-Critical Ember from Winstrate Vivi's Numel
-Poison from Pokemon Breeder Lydia's Roselia
-Critical Slash from Gym Leader Norman's Vigoroth
-Facade from Gym Leader Norman's 2nd Slaking


As Hariyama

-Psychic from Gym Leaders Tate and Liza (Solrock or Lunatone?)
-Psychic from Gym Leaders Tate and Liza (Solrock or Lunatone?)
-Psychic from Gym Leaders Tate and Liza's Solrock


RESET COUNT

-A Duskull used by some Hex Maniac north of Mt Pyre that was immune to Return, Dig, and Vital Throw


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Pokemon Sapphire Solo Poochyena Part 1: An Awful Idea


After finishing the Solo Hariyama challenge, an idea occurred to me. Zigzagoon has an ability called Pickup, which sometimes makes it hold a random item after combat. In Sapphire, Pickup doesn't check for level, and there's a 10% chance for a Rare Candy if the ability activates. If you have 5 Zigzagoons, you can roll for Rare Candies 5 times. This gives terrible early game Pokemon an ambition to become the Champion!


Poochyena was mocked in the Hoenn region for being used by Team Aqua Grunts, but YURI the trainer decided if it was good enough to scare Professor Birch, it was good enough for him. He found a Level 4 female Poochyena with an Impish nature (+Defense, -Special Attack) with the following stats and moves:


HP: 16
Attack: 9
Defense: 8
Special Attack: 7
Special Defense: 8
Speed: 8


With only Tackle as offense and a high chance to "Speed tie" lower level enemies, the quest seemed hopeless. But Poochyena had one advantage over other early Pokemon: Howl. In any "no Battle Item" solo, an Attack boosting move is invaluable.


To win the Growl and Howl wars against random trainers' Zigzagoons, Poochyena had to resort to Sand Attack to lower their accuracy. Being a pure Dark type was a disadvantage since Bug Catchers had Nincadas with Leech Life, and Youngster Joey had a Machop with Low Kick. Both of these scenarios killed Poochyena multiple times. After beating up Lass Janice's Marill, Poochyena grew to Level 13 and learned Bite.


Who at GameFreak thought Dark should be a Special Attack, and Ghost should be an Attack? Was it a programming error? Poochyena didn't appreciate the irony of having to use its inferior stats just to get a same type attack bonus. This wouldn't have been a problem in Sinnoh. Still, this had a benefit against the Geodudes that the subordinates had in Roxanne's Gym. It's a strange solo when you have to fear Nincadas more than Geodudes.


Roxanne was still far above her lackeys. Even Oran Berry healing couldn't get Poochyena past the first Geodude until she grew to Level 16. On the second attempt, Geodude liked to Defense Curl up and drink Potions, but eventually a critical Bite shattered it. Nosepass missed with a Tackle and a Rock Throw, which was probably the only way to win because Poochyena survived with 5/38 HP at Level 16.


Dewford Town must have been in America, since its trendy phrase was perfect for college education: EXPENSIVE TEACHER. There was no way a Poochyena was going to beat Brawly right away, so she and YURI the trainer advanced to the Slateport City area.


Sometimes you'll notice things if you're using a weak Pokemon that you wouldn't otherwise see. Tuber Ricky on the beach south of Slateport had a Surfing Zigzagoon, and Sailor Edmond switched out his injured Wingull for a Machop. A stronger solo would have killed them right away without witnessing the unusual AI behavior. YURI named his Poochyena REPEDE in honor of the Tales of Vesperia wolf.


May the Rival on Route 110 was as bad for Poochyena as for Makuhita, or possibly worse. Once Poochyena got as far as Grovyle when Wailmer opted to Splash and Growl instead of attacking, only to fall to Absorbs and a Quick Attack. Another attempt had Wailmer score two critical Water Guns.


The only trainers still available were in Brawly's Gym, so Poochyena bit them to death and grew to Level 24. Bite's flinch chance helped against the Machops, and the Meditites were neutral to Dark.


After a few more deaths against May, Poochyena finally beat her with 3 HP at Level 25. Wailmer wasted many of its turns on Splash again as Poochyena blinded it with Sand Attack and started Howling. Powered up Tackles knocked out Wailmer and Grovyle during the brawl, but Numel went down in one hit.


Cycling Road's Hoenn equivalent was fatal for Poochyena when the trainers had Magnemites. They resisted all of her attacks with a Steel typing, cast Thundershock with a paralysis chance, and sometimes subtracted 20 HP with Sonicboom. Other trainers in the Mauville City region were dangerous too, such as Aroma Lady Rose with a Leech Seed + paralysis Shroomish.


Poochyena limped through Wattson's Gym. Youngster Ben's Zigzagoon paralyzed her with Thunderbolt and made her flinch with Headbutt. Battle Girl Vivian's Meditite didn't kill Poochyena, but at last I learned why it was in an Electric Gym: it knew Thunderpunch. The next target level was 33 in order to replace Tackle with Take Down. It was still a bad option due to low accuracy, recoil damage, and being ineffective against Steel types, but it was the best Poochyena had. She wasn't a Normal type like Zigzagoon that could learn random Special Attacks!


The plan against Wattson was to Howl once as Magnemite used Thunder Wave, which would be cured with a Cheri Berry. A critical Take Down scrapped Magnemite, but Voltorb was faster and struck with a critical Spark. By the time Poochyena saw Magneton, a single Shock Wave was sufficient to electrocute her.


Wattson wasn't possible at Level 33, but Brawly was. The fight was annoying since the first Take Down missed Machop and gave it a chance to Bulk Up. Still, Take Down + Bite defeated Machop and a final Take Down pulverized Makuhita. YURI remembered to pick up the Silk Scarf in Dewford Town for the 10% Normal attack boost.


REPEDE needed to eat Rare Candies to grow to Level 37, and then 40 and 43 when that wasn't enough to win the 3rd badge. Taunt replaced Sand Attack to prevent Magnemite from using Thunder Wave, though it had a shorter duration in Sapphire than in later games. Besides Spark, there was always the chance Voltorb would Selfdestruct. Even at Level 43, Voltorb still outran (out-rolled?) REPEDE and attacked with Spark. REPEDE would never have won if one of Magnemite's Sonicbooms hadn't missed. The first Take Down missed Magneton as the Cheri Berry cured a Thunder Wave. Two Take Downs followed and Poochyena could finally move on! She had 9/89 HP.


YURI made sure to collect the Blackglasses from an area beside Rusturf Tunnel. REPEDE had learned Crunch after guzzling so many Rare Candies, and a 10% bonus for Dark would be useful.


You know your solo is weak when Archie on Mt. Chimney is a credible threat. His Mightyena had the Intimidate ability and ruined Poochyena's already questionable accuracy with Sand Attack. Bite was ineffective, though that wasn't much comfort when Take Down kept missing. In desperation, REPEDE used Crunch and then Take Down. A critical Crunch knocked Golbat out of the sky. Take Down missed against Sharpedo once, but it preferred to show off its Scary Face and Focus Energy instead of attacking, and a second Take Down made shark fin soup. Poochyena had 27/98 HP at Level 47.


Once Team Aqua had abandoned the volcano, YURI could get the Meteorite and exchange it for Return in Fallarbor Town. At last, a move with 102 power and 100 accuracy! REPEDE certainly had to earn it, unlike a Kalos Pokemon which would have been handed the TM for free after the 1st Gym. Dig in the Fossil Maniac's house was welcome for its super efficacy versus Rock and Steel types, though a 60 power Ground move had its limits.


REPEDE equipped a Rawst Berry in case Gym Leader Flannery tried to Burn her with one of her Fire types. Slugma's Light Screen was useless against a Howl + Dig combo, but the second Slugma summoned Sunny Day when Poochyena Dug again. With the power of weather and a high Defense stat, Torkoal survived a Dig and baked REPEDE with Overheat. YURI made sure not to make that mistake twice by having REPEDE Howl three times against the first Slugma, who only attacked with the weak Smog. At +3 Attack, Dig was a one hit kill for Torkoal, and REPEDE won with 93/101 HP.


A random trainer in Norman's Gym caused trouble with a Level 27 Delcatty, who survived a Silk Scarf + Return , Sang REPEDE to sleep, and started Doubleslapping her. If Poochyena's performance was so woeful against a Delcatty, how could she conquer Slakings? The answer was that Poochyena couldn't, not at Level 49. Dig could exploit the first Slaking's habit of loafing around every other turn, but the Level 31 Slaking was faster than it looked. One one attempt, the first Slaking's Yawn was contagious, and the next Slaking Focus Punched out Poochyena. Facade hit hard on its own with Normal's same type bonus.


REPEDE may have Speed tied Norman's second Slaking on the successful attempt, but I'm not sure. Focus Punch failed when REPEDE struck with Return, and the enemy didn't seem to get a second chance to attack. Might have missed the message saying Slaking was charging up Focus Punch again. Vigoroth Slashed Poochyena's fur, but a +2 Attack Return sent it back to the Poke Ball. REPEDE won the 5th badge at Level 50 with 76/105 HP.


May outside the Weather Institute was a perfect victory with the Silk Scarf equipped even without Howl. Return slapped Numel, Grovyle, and Wailmer at Level 55.


YURI spent far too much time looking for a Tropius to use for Flash, Fly, and Strength. I was wondering if I did something wrong, but it was just bad luck. Moon is one of the lesser Pokemon games, but one thing it did right was getting rid of HMs!
 
Pokemon Sapphire Solo Poochyena FINALE: More Level Grinding Than Ever Before


Winona was a difficult Gym Leader even if REPEDE won on the first try. Swellow set up Double Team illusions that Poochyena could easily see through and dispel with Return. Pelipper survived a Silk Scarf Return and struck back with Aerial Ace. REPEDE took the opportunity to Howl as Winona fed her pelican a Hyper Potion, and another Return knocked it out. Crunch seemed like the best idea against Skarmory since it was known for its Defense in multiplayer, but. . .+2 Attack Return was better. Skarmory attacked with Steel Wing and Aerial Ace, but its metal feathers were dented. One Return caused Altaria to die, and Poochyena left the arena with 5/122 HP at Level 57.


Hex Maniac Tammy was the name of the trainer who forced Hariyama to Surf, but her Duskull was no problem for Poochyena and her Crunch.


May in Lilycove City put up more of a fight than last time at Level 59 when her Swellow set up Double Team. Two Returns missed as Swellow swung with Wing Attacks. When Return finally connected, Swellow, Grovyle, Numel, and Wailmer collapsed. REPEDE triumphed with 82/126 HP at Level 59.


Gym Leaders Tate and Liza gave Hariyama one of the hardest fights in that solo, but REPEDE's Dark type finally became useful. Poochyena Crunched Lunatone on the first turn as Solrock smote the token Zigzagoon companion with Psychic. A second Crunch eclipsed Lunatone as Solrock made a Sunny Day. A solar Flamethrower left REPEDE at 82/134 HP at Level 63, but Tate and Liza spent a few rounds giving Solrock Hyper Potions the last critical Crunch.


Archie in Seafloor Cavern accidentally helped REPEDE when his Mightyena Swaggered to confuse her. The confusion wore off quickly, but not the +2 Attack! Crobat used Air Cutter and Sharpedo Screeched, and none of that stopped Return. Poochyena defeated Team Aqua with 108/145 HP at Level 68.


There was one enemy that REPEDE never could beat: Kyogre! Its permanent Drizzle combined with Hydro Pump was certain death. Poochyena used its ability to Run Away, and all of Hoenn's problems were solved somehow.


Wallace the last Gym Leader was a flawless victory at Level 70. Luvdisc made perhaps the best move it could have with Sweet Kiss confusion, though it passed quickly. Return with one Howl failed to knock out Whiscash, who forgot the incident with Amnesia. REPEDE Howled while her enemy healed with a Hyper Potion, and more Returns sent the entire team to a fisher's net.


Cooltrainer Albert in Victory Road was a superior opponent to Wallace. His Manectric was faster and could paralyze with its Static, while Muk knew Minimize for evasion and Acid Armor for Defense. Dig gave REPEDE a victory on the second try. Wally was easy with two Howls, which were needed when Altaria survived a +1 Attack Return. Dig undermined Magneton and Return killed Delcatty and Roselia. Gardevoir outran REPEDE, which was worrying when it was slow compared to its Kanto equivalent Alakazam. Good thing its Double Team was ineffective, and REPEDE won with 114/153 HP at Level 73.


I wasn't expecting Elite 4 Sidney to be such an obstacle for Poochyena. She had to be Level 84 to outspeed Sharpedo, who would drown her with Surf. Shiftry was faster at lower levels too, and liked to annoy REPEDE with Double Team. With 2 Howls at Level 84 (+1 Attack with Intimidate), Return killed Sidney's entire team in spite of Mightyena's Sand Attack. Speed really is the most important stat in Pokemon, even if you need only 1 more than the enemy.


Elite 4 Phoebe's first Dusclops had the chance to Curse REPEDE and drain a fixed percentage of HP per turn. Shadow Ball had replaced Crunch to use Poochyena's Attack stat, and 1 Howl was enough to exorcise the Dusclops and Banettes. Sableye had no weaknesses and needed +2 Attack to kill in one hit after a Full Restore. The first Dusclops had stupidly used Shadow Punch instead of Curse or Confuse Ray. REPEDE defeated Phoebe with 134/175 HP.


Elite 4 Glacia would have been an easy victory if her Walrein didn't have enough HP and Defense to take a +1 Attack Return and flash-freeze REPEDE with Blizzard. The trick was to Howl 3 times against the first Glalie, who spent time setting up Light Screen and Hail before shooting Ice Beam. Returns killed Glalies, Sealeos, and the Walrein in one hit each, and REPEDE rushed to the Dragon master at Level 85 with 72/177 HP.


Poochyena was not ready for Elite 4 Drake. His Shelgon was hazardous to Howl against because it could sink her Speed with Rock Tomb, and it rarely missed unlike when I used that move with Hariyama. Flygons summoned Sandstorms or breathed Flamethrower, and Altaria spewed Dragonbreath with a Paralysis chance. And Salamence had Intimidate to drop REPEDE's Attack. Level 90 wasn't enough.


The only way was to gain a couple of levels in Victory Road and feed REPEDE more Rare Candies that the Zigzagoons had collected. Elite 4 members up to Drake were easy at Level 100 except for perhaps Glacia's Walrein. Shelgon used Dragon Claw instead of Rock Tomb for once, and a Return with one Howl shattered it. A second Howl against Altaria seemed like a good idea, and I was right when Altaria was greedy with Dragon Dances. REPEDE finally outran the Flygons at the maximum level. Salamence's Dragon Claw gashed Poochyena down to 83/207 HP and drank one Full Restore. One Return must have gotten a better damage roll than the first, since it wasn't a critical that slew Salamence.


Remember how much trouble REPEDE had with Steel and Rock types? Well, Champion Steven specialized in those. It took several attempts to come up with a correct strategy, and several more to execute it. Toxic from the Skarmory would inevitably poison Poochyena, and Rest was the cure. At first I used a Chesto Berry so REPEDE could wake up early from the first Rest. Skarmory could be beaten with many Howls and a few Returns, but the other Pokemon had their own tricks. Dig was worthless when Aggron could bury Poochyena with Earthquake. Claydol was weak, but set up Reflect to support the rest of Steven's team.


When REPEDE finally won, I'd forgotten to replace the Silk Scarf with a Chesto Berry. Skarmory wasted a round throwing Spikes onto the field against a solo character. Its Steel Wings bashed REPEDE and even gave the bird a Defense increase. Six Howls and a Rest after Toxic, Skarmory struck with a critical Steel Wing as Poochyena pummeled it with Returns. Shadow Ball re-fossilized Armaldo. REPEDE Rested when Claydol floated above the battlefield. The doll built a Light Screen and shook the ground with Earthquake twice before Shadow Ball destroyed it.


Without Dig, the only chance against Aggron was Shadow Ball. REPEDE barely held on after a critical Earthquake and shot two Shadow Balls at the dino-rhino hybrid. Cradily and Metagross were slow and neutral to Shadow Ball, and REPEDE finally conquered Hoenn with 8/247 HP! It was weird not seeing the experience message during the Elite 4. That made the battles go faster.


Solo Poochyena was probably the most difficult challenge since Solo Wooloo in Shield. Poochyena combines low stats with a shallow move selection and a typing that's eventually unsuitable for its Attack stat. Dark is useful for Tate and Liza but not much else.


DEATH COUNT


-Leech Life from Bug Catcher James's Nincada, Petalburg Woods
-Leech Life from Bug Catcher James's Nincada, Petalburg Woods
-Low Kick from Youngster Joey's Machop, east of Rustboro
-Poison from a Bug Catcher's (José?) Wurmple, east of Rustboro
-Low Kick from Youngster Joey's Machop, east of Rustboro
-Critical Rock Throw from Gym Leader Roxanne's Geodude
-Quick Attack from May's Grovyle, Route 110
-Critical Water Gun from May's Wailmer, Route 110
-Water Gun from May's Wailmer, Route 110
-Absorb from May's Grovyle, Route 110
-Sonicboom from Triathlete Anthony's Magnemite, Route 110 cycling
-Absorb from Aroma Lady Rose's Roselia
-Sonicboom from Triathlete Anthony's Magnemite, Route 110 cycling
-Flinching Headbutt and Paralyzing Thunderbolt from Youngster Ben's Zigzagoon, Wattson's Gym
-Shock Wave from Gym Leader Wattson's Magneton
-Selfdestruct from Gym Leader Wattson's Voltorb
-Spark from Gym Leader Wattson's Voltorb
-Shock Wave from Gym Leader Wattson's Magneton
-Spark from Gym Leader Wattson's Voltorb
-Sunny Day + Overheat from Gym Leader Flannery's Torkoal
-Facade from Gym Leader Norman's Slaking
-Focus Punch while Sleeping, Gym Leader Norman's Slaking
-Facade from Gym Leader Norman's Slaking
-Hydro Pump from Kyogre
-Hydro Pump from Kyogre
-Sludge from Cooltrainer Albert's Muk, Victory Road
-Surf from Elite 4 Sidney's Sharpedo
-Surf from Elite 4 Sidney's Sharpedo
-Curse from Elite 4 Phoebe's Dusclops
-Blizzard from Elite 4 Glacia's Walrein
-Flamethrower from Elite 4 Drake's Flygon
-Crunch from Elite 4 Drake's Salamence
-Dragon Claw from Elite 4 Drake's Salamence
-Dragonbreath from Elite 4 Drake's Flygon
-Dragonbreath from Elite 4 Drake's Flygon
-Burn from Elite 4 Drake's Flygon
-Earthquake from Champion Steven's Aggron while Digging
-Dragon Claw from Champion Steven's Aggron
-Earthquake from Champion Steven's Aggron


Final Stats and Moves


Level 100


HP: 207
Attack: 146
Defense: 113
Special Attack: 92
Special Defense: 96
Speed: 120


Return
Howl
Rest
Shadow Ball


20220108_155202.jpg
 
Pokemon Crystal Solo Crobat Part 1: Sprout Tower Struggle


CARMILA the trainer sought a vampire companion in Dark Cave east of Violet City and found him as a Zubat:


Level 2

HP: 14
Attack: 7
Defense: 7
Special Attack: 6
Special Defense: 7
Speed: 7


DRACULA's sole move was Leech Life, and not the 80 base power version from Alola. How many Leech Lifes does it take to kill a Level 3 Bellsprout in Sprout Tower? 13. The first battle against Sage Nico took so long that his Bellsprout ran out of Vine Whip PP and attacked with Struggle. DRACULA had to Struggle as well when his fangs were insufficient. Zubat's early game moveset was so bad that Struggle was better.


CARMILA made sure to avoid Pokemon Center healing for as long as possible by buying Potions. Learning Supersonic at Level 6 during a fight with Sage Chow was horrible timing. DRACULA had to use up all the PP for that too and Struggled to kill the final Bellsprout. Chow said something like "Th-thank you!", as if relieved that the battle had ended.


DRACULA and Sage Troy's Hoothoot fell out of the sky simultaneously after a Struggle. Poison/Flying is the best possible defensive type against Bellsprout, but not Normal/Flying birds.


DEATH COUNT: 1


CARMILA and DRACULA came back to humble Sage Troy after bringing a Berry hold item. Zubat wasn't ready for Sage Li yet, so the vampires attacked Bird Keeper Abe in Falkner's Gym instead. His Level 9 Spearow seemed to be in a Speed tie with Level 10 Zubat, which resulted in another mutual Struggle kill.


DEATH COUNT: 2


DRACULA poached the wildlife east of Violet City until reaching Level 11 and came back to Bird Keeper Abe. The extra point or two in Speed made the difference. Bird Keeper Abe's Level 7 Pidgeys were a greater threat because of Struggle recoil attrition, but failed to put a stake in Zubat. After fighting more wild Pokemon like Bellsprout, DRACULA learned Bite at Level 12!


Bite's prevented Sage Li's Hoothoot from attacking at all. It wasted the one turn it had on Foresight after flinching 3 times in a row. Falkner put up a fight, but only critical Gusts from Pidgeotto could have saved him. DRACULA tried to confuse the star Pokemon once with Supersonic. Many Bites later, and Zubat won with 13/37 HP.


Something is wrong with your Water type when a Zubat does better against Onix and Geodude in Union Cave. (That means you, Tentacool!) Bite exploited the Rock types' weak Special Defense. Even Hiker Anthony at the southern entrance was hopeless against DRACULA when his Machop killed itself in Supersonic confusion after Bites.


DRACULA scored a flawless victory against the Team Rocket Koffing in Slowpoke Well. The first Bite was a critical hit + flinch, and the second deflated the bag of poison.


Zubat upgraded to Confuse Ray after Biting a Paras in Bugsy's Gym, and used it judiciously against the Gym Leader's Scyther. Scyther's stats were comparable to an evolved Pokemon, so it took 4 Bites and 2 self-hits in confusion to smash its exoskeleton. Scyther wasted time trying to set up Fury Cutter combos against a Poison/Flying type, but was occasionally smart enough to try Quick Attack. DRACULA won his 2nd badge with 20/53 HP at Level 20.


Rival RICHTER should have reconsidered his vampire hunting team. One Bite exorcised Gastly, and three Bites counterattacked his own Zubat. At least the enemy Zubat tore into CARMILA's Zubat with a critical Bite. Bayleef set up an irrelevant Reflect and tossed Razor Leaves until DRACULA Bit it six times. Zubat defeated the Belmont with 34/55 HP at Level 21.


RICHTER's encounter in Azalea Town was the last major battle DRACULA would fight as a Zubat. He evolved into Golbat on the route between Ilex Forest and Goldenrod City. Crobat will have a hard enough time against Jasmine as it is when the best options are Return, Fly, and Confuse Ray. And Double Team is dull once you've already done it in enough solos. This session ended with DRACULA picking up the Return TM from the Goldenrod department store and CARMILA "borrowing" the bike.
 
Pokemon Crystal Solo Crobat Part 2: Whitney's Revenge


Rather than battling all the trainers in the Goldenrod Underground, the National Park, and the northern routes, CARMILA and DRACULA decided to challenge Whitney right away. In my previous solos, I had the impression that Whitney was an overrated Gym Leader. Jasmine's Steel types stalled the progress of Rock, Flying, and Normal monsters. Clair drowned Pokemon that were weak to Water and paralyzed Pokemon that were too weak to one hit kill Dragonairs. Even Morty had his Hypnosis + Dream Eater casting Gengar, and Bugsy racked up Fury Cutter combos. But Whitney was almost never a major threat. . .until now.


At Level 23, Golbat needed to hit twice with Return to kill the Clefairy. In this fight, Clefairy only tickled DRACULA with Doubleslap. Miltank quickly shrugged off Confuse Ray and started Rollout. Since Golbat was a Flying type, this was twice as powerful as usual, and one scored a critical hit. Before the fatal Rollout combo, Miltank Stomped on Golbat once. Whitney cried tears of joy, instead of her usual tears of defeat.


DEATH COUNT: 3


The second attempt was less auspicious than the first. Clefairy rolled Sing with Metronome, causing DRACULA to snooze for 6 turns straight. Clefairy must have been taunting Golbat when its next Metronomes made Cross Chop and Hypnosis, as if it were expecting to win no matter what moves it used. DRACULA rose out of his coffin and bashed Clefairy with Return for the KO while at only 41/79 HP.


Miltank, however, was only allowed to attack once with a Stomp. The cow hit itself twice in confusion and flinched once from a Bite. After an initial Return, it was apparent that Bite was superior somehow. The last Bite was a critical, but that didn't matter, and DRACULA won with 25/79 HP at Level 24.


Sudowoodo liked DRACULA's fighting style so much that it Mimicked Bite and used it against Golbat before dying. None of the Kimono Girl battles were difficult, though DRACULA learned Wing Attack by this time. Rival RICHTER inside Burned Tower was a perfect victory at Level 31. Magnemite required two Returns to kill, and it seemed it would take three because the first one got a bad damage roll. Too bad for RICHTER that Magnemite whiffed its Supersonic. Haunter and Bayleef succumbed to Wing Attack, and Zubat took a Return.


Morty in Ecruteak City's Gym was another flawless victory at Level 33. Bite dispelled Gastly and both Haunters. Gengar appeared third, and required two Bites. Wing Attack might have done more damage, but probably wouldn't have been a one hit knockout, and Bite had the flinch chance. Gengar stood its ground for a turn and missed with Hypnosis.


The worst enemy so far in this playthrough, other than DRACULA himself when he used Struggle, was Red Gyarados! Golbat had destroyed the trainers on the way to Olivine City, only for CARMILA to learn that her starting Totodile couldn't learn Strength. Since Strength was needed for Chuck's Gym, CARMILA needed an HM Fish. Red Gyarados didn't fancy a life of HM drudgery and put Golbat down three times with Thrash as CARMILA's Ultra Ball and Great Balls failed.


DEATH COUNT: 6


On the fourth try, the Ultra Ball consigned Red Gyarados to servitude. The 2DS was low on power then, and it was a good time for a break.


(It's surprisingly hard to evolve by friendship. The threshold must be much higher than that needed for the Return lady in Goldenrod City to give you the TM. Really the only benefit of friendship evolution is that it doesn't delay at which level you learn new moves. Not that Crobat will be getting much more of those after Wing Attack.)
 
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